Pride and joy (Stevie Ray Vaughan) (LP 605 - 606)

Stevie Ray Vaughan  Texas Flood (Vinyl, Epic Records, 1983) ****

Stevie Ray Vaughan  Couldn't Stand The Weather (Vinyl, Epic Records, 1984) **** 

Genre: Blues 

Places I remember: Marbecks Records

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Cold Shot

Gear costume: Love Struck Baby, Rude Mood 

Active compensatory factors: I was knocked out by the video for Cold Shot when it came out in 1984. Big year 1984 - I was married and we had our first child that year.

So, it's fair to say that music wasn't my main priority in the mind to late eighties, so buying records definitely slowed down as we set up house and started the child raising years. Music on TV was a great saviour though because I could access music for free.

That's where Cold Shot comes in. From there I picked up the first two solo albums from Marbecks when we moved from New Plymouth back to Auckland at the end of 1985.

He certainly had a distinctive style and I'm picking those scenes in Cold Shot weren't too far from the truth - like Hendrix and others - always noodling on a guitar.

He could do it all too - slow blues, pop (with David Bowie), hard rock, guitar wig outs and so on. Tragic waste that he passed away in 1990, in that helicopter accident while getting to another gig.

Where do they all belong? Those are the only records I own by SRV - but more to come on CD. 

Death and the lady (Shirley Collins) (LP 604)

Shirley Collins Lodestar (Vinyl and CD, Domino, 2016) ***

Genre: Folk 

Places I remember: The Spellbound Wax Company (in Gisborne)

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Pretty Polly

Gear costume: Old Johnny Buckle

Active compensatory factors: Contemporary reviews called this 'an austere, foreboding' record and they're not wrong. Not a lot of joy on offer here.

The 38 year gap in recording (check here for details) means this was a big deal in 2016 and it earned high praise.

I can see why - Shirley's voice is amazing and the sparse instrumentation creates that austere atmosphere.

My problem is that the songs are so dark and yes, foreboding that it becomes a really heavy set to get through.

Things perk up a bit for side two (where my selections come from) but death looms large over the record.

Where do they all belong? I'll go back to the seventies and the Albion Bands more often than Lodestar I sense.

Nuclear burn (Brand X) (LP 598 - 603)

Brand X Unorthodox Behaviour (Vinyl, Passport Records, 1976) ***

Brand X Moroccan Roll (Vinyl, Charisma, 1977) ***

Brand X Livestock (Vinyl, Passport Records, 1977) ****

Brand X Masques (Vinyl, Charisma, 1978) ***

Brand X Product (Vinyl, Passport Records, 1979) ***

Brand X Do They Hurt? (Vinyl, Passport Records, 1980) ***

Genre: Progressive rock (some may say jazz fusion has some claims as well but the Phil Collins presence lends me to prefer prog rock, as well as the Hignosis inspired covers) 

Places I remember: Real Groovy Records/ Vinyl Countdown

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Running on Three (Unorthodox Behaviour)

Gear costume: Rhesus Perplexus (Product); Isis Mourning i), ii) (Livestock); Macrocosm (Moroccan Roll)

Active compensatory factors: Only Product features the distinctive vocals of Phil Collins, apart from that he's the (occasional) drummer in Brand X, and the songs are all largely instrumental prog work-outs with some brilliant musicians.

Given the high rotation through various members and supporting musicians, the quality remains surprising high throughout each of these albums (released on Charisma in the UK and Passport Records in the USA). 

Phil Collins pops up on most of these albums, apart from Masques but that's not very noticeable given Chuck Burgi's excellent drumming on that album.

Product is probably the one that deviates most from the Brand X brand, in that it contains a large number of actual songs with actual vocals by Phil Collins. That makes it the most commercial album amongst this lot. Given it's release date of 1980, it also makes it the one that leans most heavily on post punk sensibilities. 

That, plus the fact it features two bassists, makes it the most eclectic album here.

Do They Hurt? is made up of vocal-less outtakes from the Product sessions and is actually the more cohesive of the two albums.

Where do they all belong? That's my current Brand X collection in one swoop. There's one more Collins/Brand X album for me to find - Is There Anything About? - a further album of Product outtakes. And then there are two more without Collins: X-Communication and Manifest Destiny.

Exposure (Modern Jazz Quartet) (LP 596 - 597)

Modern Jazz Quartet Under The Jasmin Tree (Vinyl, Apple Records, 1968) ** 

Modern Jazz Quartet  Space (Vinyl, Apple Records, 1969) ** 

Genre: Apple Records 

Places I remember: I found Under The Jasmin Tree in an early version of Real Groovy Records; Space came from Noel Forth, also back in the seventies.

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles/ Gear costume: Three Little Feelings (Part I) (Under The Jasmin Tree)

Active compensatory factors: I love a lot of jazz, but I don't love the Modern Jazz Quartet. The vibraphone is the principle reason - it's just not for me (unless it's played by Ruth Underwood in Frank Zappa's Mothers Of Invention).

So a lot of this music leaves me cold I'm afraid - hence the two stars. Why on Apple? Well it's a case of who you know it seems: band manager knows a big wig at Apple kind of thing.

The band liked these two albums but returned to Atlantic after Space, so...not that committed to the label were they.

Where do they all belong? I'm pretty sure this the third time I've played these albums (I have a policy of doing a fresh hearing before each of the posts on the relevant albums). I'll keep them in my Apple Records collection though - they are obscurely touched by Beatle dust.

I feel fine (The Beatles) (LP 591 - 595)

The Beatles Australia, Festival Hall, Melbourne, 17th June 1964 (Vinyl, AVA, 2018) *** 

The Beatles USA, Philadelpia Convention Hall, Melbourne, 2nd September 1964 (Vinyl, AVA, 2018) *** 

The Beatles France, Paris Palais Des Sports, 20th June 1965 (Vinyl, AVA, 2018) ** 

The Beatles Blackpool, ABC Theatre, 19th July and 1st August 1965 (Vinyl, AVA, 2018) ****

The Beatles Japan, Budokan Hall, Tokyo, 30th June 1966 (Vinyl, AVA, 2018) **** 

Genre: Beatles pop 

Places I remember: EMI (Vienna). Jacky and I were in Vienna to see the famous Spanish horses show and I had to stop off at the EMI shop while we were there (sadly we didn't get to eat chocolate cake in a bag), where I found this.

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Boys (Philadelphia) - Ringo fair tears into this in proto-punk fashion.

Gear costume: If I Fell (just as if) (Blackpool); Yesterday (Blackpool); Paperback Writer (Japan). Who says the harmonies didn't work live? These are great versions - clearly they could hear themselves and George/John's banter around Paul's solo version of Yesterday in Blackpool is hilarious!

Active compensatory factors: This is a limited edition five album boxed set (titled Home and Away '64 - '66). My copy is number 324 of 1,000.

The French one suffers from a slightly inferior sound to the others and Paul's attempts at French are terrible!

The early ones in Australia and the USA have all the atmosphere but Blackpool and Japan sound mighty good. You get a great sense of what a dynamite live band they were but the sets are very short - blink and you miss them versions of songs became the standard operating procedure during Beatlemania.

Where do they all belong? A return to The Anthology videos where you can see and hear some of these performances. That's it now for Beatles LPs. 

Next up in the Beatles' pop genre - George solo albums.

The Tennessee toad (Leo Kottke) (LP 590)

Leo Kottke 6- and 12- String Guitar (CD, Takoma Records, 1974) ***** 

Genre: Folk 

Places I remember: Marbecks Records

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Watermelon

Gear costume: The Driving Of The Year Nail

Active compensatory factors: I can listen to this album over and over again without ever getting bored with it, and I can always tune into little things that I've never heard before.

It's as pure as Leo Kottke got - his vocals on subsequent albums, which also added other instrumentation, presented a different Leo Kottke. Sure - he didn't want to repeat himself. So this album is like lightning in a bottle!

Here he's presented as a solo steel-string fingerpicking guitarist. Pure and simple.

Where do they all belong? Back to the vinyl next (can't wait!)

Black cat bone ((LP 589)

Albert Collins, Robert Cray, Johnny Copeland   Showdown! (CD, Alligator Records, 1985) *** 

Genre: Blues

Places I remember: From Lindsay Hope's collection

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Black Cat Bone

Gear costume: The Dream 

Active compensatory factors: I am not a big fan of any of these three blues guitarists. I find Albert King's tone too strident, Robert Cray's too smooth, and... Johnny who?

Having said that, the three together manage to balance each other well, so what we have here is a pleasant, inoffensive set of songs, played well.

I wish I could be more effusive, but that's the truth ruth.

Where do they all belong? A stand alone item in the collection.