Straight up and down (Eric Dolphy) (LP 2620 - 2621)

Keith Jarrett  Eyes Of The Heart (Vinyl, ECM Records, 1979) ****  

Eric Dolphy  Out To Lunch! (Vinyl, Blue Note Records, 1964) ****  

Genre: Jazz 

Places I remember: My Music Taupo

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Eyes Of The Heart (part 1)

Gear costume: Out To Lunch (Eric Dolphy)

Active compensatory factors: Eyes Of The Heart is a live album (from a concert in Austria) featuring Keith Jarrett on piano (obviously) and soprano sax (less obviously).

He is joined by three brilliant musicians: Paul Motian on drums; Charlie Haden on bass, and Dewey Redman on tenor sax. All three have a sizable catalogue of their own albums.

I was thrilled to find a copy of this in the secondhand bins at My Music Taupo. It's an unusual record - three sides are from the live concert and the fourth side is blank.

It's basically two songs - Eyes Of The Heart takes over the first two sides and Encore is on side 3. Both start off in one direction but each one twists, turns, and launches off in different directions. I was hooked from the start of the title track.

Out To Lunch! is a jazz classic from the year of Beatlemania and, previously, a glaring omission from my collection. Interestingly, it's his only album for Blue Note as a leader.

It's a challenging album to listen in some regards but, like Trout Mask Replica, when you settle in and accept that Dolphy is doing his free form thing and don't fight it, the music opens up. Multiple listens are required. I can see myself coming back to this one many times for the interplay between the instruments. 

Normally, I find the trumpet and vibes a challenge, but Freddy Hubbard and Bobby Hutcherson respectively, embellish Dolphy's bass clarinet and alto sax brilliantly.

Where do they all belong? A couple of great additions to my jazz collection.

Dizzy heights (Dana Gillespie) (LP 2619)

Dana Gillespie  Weren't Born A Man (Vinyl, RCA Records, 1974) ***  

Genre: Pop 

Places I remember: RCA music club

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Andy Warhol (Bowie/ The Spiders From Mars and Rick Wakeman appear on this one)

Gear costume: Mother, Don't Be Frightened (Spiders and Wakeman present on this one too)

Active compensatory factors: I suspect, like a lot of people, I got this in 1973 because of the Bowie/ Ronson/ Spiders From Mars connection.

I appreciate this album more as the years go by. Her career certainly flourished in different directions after this, with acting and stage productions figuring a lot more.

That said, she still writes most of these songs (only Bowie's Andy Warhol isn't by her), and she plays guitar and sings brilliantly. What a talent!

There is certainly a very theatrical style at work in these songs, something that didn't really appeal to me much in the seventies but does more these days.

Where do they all belong? She's certainly very prolific, but this is my only Dana Gillespie album.

Shuffle, stop and slide (Billy Gibbons) (LP 2618)

Billy F Gibbons  Hardware (CD, Concord Records, 2021) ***  

Genre: Rock

Places I remember: JB Hi Fi

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Stackin' Bones

Gear costume: Shuffle Stop & Slide, My Lucky Card

Active compensatory factors: Billy's third solo album. It's not a million miles away from his day job with ZZ Top, but so what!

Billy just does what he does - playing scuzzy lead guitar, growly lived in vocals, and a fun atmosphere. These songs kinda write themselves too.

Where do they all belong? Admittedly, I took a punt on this but, really, it's not much of a gamble. I still prefer him in ZZ Top but Dusty Hill's death in 2021 means that Billy Gibbons solo is as close as we'll get now.

Prime mover (Ghost) (LP 2617)

Ghost  Opus Anonymous (CD, Rise Above Records, 2010) ***  

Genre: Heavy metal; rock 

Places I remember: Keegan gave me a copy of this one.

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Prime mover

Gear costume: Con Clavi Con Dio

Active compensatory factors: Melodic metal with hooks from Sweden your thing? Look no further than Ghost. 

At times they remind me of Blue Oyster Cult. I'm a big fan of this genre and Ghost's debut album is in good company.

The album is book ended by two instrumentals and, between them, various Nameless Ghouls (as the band members call themselves) contribute some great guitar riffs and inventive prog metal songs. 

Where do they all belong? A fine addition to the metal genre. Thanks Keegan.

Watch out (Fleetwood Mac) (LP 2614 - 2616)

Fleetwood Mac Fleetwood Mac In Chicago (Vinyl, Sire Records, 1969) *****  

Fleetwood Mac Heroes Are Hard To Find (Vinyl, Reprise Records, 1974) ****  

Rory Gallagher Blueprint (Vinyl, Polydor Records, 1973) ****  

Genre: Blues rock

Places I remember: Real Groovy Records

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Watch Out (FM in Chicago)

Gear costume: I'm Worried (FM in Chicago)

Active compensatory factors: Thankfully, the blues became an obsession with a whole generation of young poms. Among them: Eric Clapton; John Mayall; John McVie; Stan Webb; Christine Perfect; Mick Fleetwood; Peter Green...the list is long and includes a youngster from Cork - Rory Gallagher.

In January 1969 Fleetwood Mac, a band made up of Mick Fleetwood, John McVie, plus three guitarists - Peter Green, Jeremy Spencer, Danny Kirwin, went to Chicago and recorded with some giants of the blues. The Chicago blues musicians who played at this session were Otis Spann (piano, vocals), Willie Dixon (upright bass), Shakey Horton (harmonica, vocals), J.T. Brown (tenor saxophone, vocals), Buddy Guy (guitar), Honeyboy Edwards (guitar, vocals), and S.P. Leary (drums).

The result is outstanding! The musicianship is first class and sounds fresh as a daisy in 2024.

The inclusion of studio chatter is particularly appropriate. It definitely puts you right there, listening along with the engineer and producers Mike Vernon and Marshall Chess. I can visualise the band in the Chicago studio vividly, as they take advantage of this return to the source.

By 1974 the band had been transformed into a different beast entirely. On board for this one are Fleetwood and McVie, plus Christine McVie, and Bob Welch. Chris provides four songs, Bob seven.

I love Christine's bluesy sway and her lyrics, which explore her vulnerabilities. Bob is more pop oriented and together they provide a template and a bridge from the blues to the pop world for the next iteration of the band, when Buckingham/ Nicks arrive. Bob and Chris have great voices that blend together well.

Sidebar: Not sure what they were aiming for with that cover. I was always put off by the image - a very tall, very thin Mick Fleetwood and his daughter shot in black and white.  It's so incongruous to the music of the album, which is very full bodied, warm and groovy. 

I somehow neglected to get Rory's Blueprint when I was buying the rest of his canon back in the seventies and eighties. Bizarre given how Rory and Irish Tour'74 were such landmarks for me in those early seventies.

Listening to it now, I'm thankful it wasn't a peak that I'd missed out on, like that live album. The studio was problematic for Rory. As I've subsequently come to understand, he certainly played many of the other songs live but only Walk On Hot Coals from Blueprint would make it onto the original Irish Tour '74 album.  

It's still a very worthwhile purchase and I'm thankful to finally have it nestled between Live in Europe and Tattoo.

Where do they all belong? That will do me for a while. I now have a complete collection of Rory's albums and enough Fleetwood Mac for the time being.

Low ridin' man (Geronimo Black) (LP 2613)

Geronimo Black  Geronimo Black (Vinyl, MCA Records, 1972) ****  

Genre: Rock 

Places I remember: Amoeba Records (Los Angeles)

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Low Ridin' Man

Gear costume: A County Jail '59 C/S  

Active compensatory factors: Bunk Gardner, Jimmy Carl Black (the Indian of the group) and Denny Whalley make up over half of Geronimo Black (actually named after Jimmy's son - Geronimo Black). All were late of The Mothers Of Invention or The Magic Band (in Denny's case - and he would soon be a Mother as well).

This is the band's only album with this line-up in the seventies. Closest they come to being Zappa-esque is Quakers Earthquake (sic), otherwise it's a cool amalgamation of hard rock, prog experimentation, and jazzy stylings. Right up my alley!

It's also OTT and nuts at times (what would you expect with Bunk Gardner and Jimmy Carl Black?) Jimmy handles the vocals and drums with aplomb. 

Not available on Spotify but YouTube has some of the songs.

Where do they all belong? Another true one-off.

Honest man (Lowell George) (LP 2612)

Lowell George  Thanks I'll Eat It Here (Vinyl, Warner Bros Records, 1974) ****  

Genre: rock

Places I remember: Record fair

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Two Trains

Gear costume: What Do You Want The Girl To Do 

Active compensatory factors: Lowell's only solo album is always interesting and worthwhile. 

Given he was the main man in Little Feat until his death, he doesn't stray too far from that signature sound of early Little Feat. Two Trains is a highlight here because it's a great song, and it's a well-known Little Feat song.

His liner notes indicate it took over two years to produce and it seems that most of the west coast's top musicians played on it at some point. Given that, it doesn't feel overcooked, disconnected or meandering. In fact, it sounds like a sequel to Dixie Chicken if anything.

I like most of the cover versions but Himmler's Ring feels out of place and vaguely icky. Best skip that one if listening via Spotify.

Where do they all belong? A real one off.