Speak my mind (Larry's Rebels} (LP 2976 - 2977)

Larry's Rebels  A Study in Black (CD, Impact Records, 1967) **  

The Rebels  Madrigal (CD, Impact Records, 1969) ****  

Genre: NZ Music, pop 

Places I remember: JB Hi Fi

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Let's Think Of Something

Gear costume: Flying Scotsman, Painter Man, My Son John (Madrigal)

They loom large in his legend (The Album Collection playlists): Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5

Active compensatory factors: This might have been dope back in 1967 (see what I did there?) but in 2024 it's pretty much amateur hour.

Larry's vocals are good and save the record but the musicianship is in embryonic journey mode. I'm being charitable.

The single Painter Man (hilariously banned by the NZBC) stands out and the boys get points for trying with Flying Scotsman (a.k.a. Train Kept A Rollin'), but the covers of things like Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow (a great song) are a bit cultural cringey.

The rest of Madrigal (recorded after Larry left to pursue a solo career) is uneven but it does show the guys had developed musically and they did have the hit with My Son John.

Where do they all belong? An interesting character is Larry Morris, and an icon on the NZ music scene.

Forever my friend (Ray Lamontagne) (LP 2970 - 2975)

Ray LaMontagne  Trouble (CD, 14th Floor Records, 2004) ***  

Ray LaMontagne  Till the Sun Turns Black (CD, RCA Records, 2006) ***  

Ray LaMontagne  Gossip in the Grain (CD, RCA Records, 2008) *** 

Ray LaMontagne and the Pariah Dogs  God Willing and the Creek Don't Rise (CD, RCA Records, 2010) ****  

Ray LaMontagne  Supernova (CD, RCA Records, 2014) ****  

Ray LaMontagne  Monovision (CD, RCA Records, 2020) *****  

Genre: Americana

Places I remember: First few - Hope and Walding collections, Supernova (Kings Recording Abu Dhabi) and Monovision from Fopp.

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: You Can Bring Me Flowers (Till the Sun Turns Black); We'll Make It Through (Monovision)

Gear costume: Sarah (Gossip in the Grain) 

They loom large in his legend (The Album Collection playlists): Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4 

Active compensatory factors: I've accumulated a lot of Ray's albums. Most came from donations from other collections but I have bought a few too.

Ray LaMontayne is an American singer-songwriter who works in the Americana genre (i.e. a blend of pop, country, and folk). A lot of his debut album, Trouble, reminds me of Ryan Adams - try Hannah on for size. 

Many of the songs share the same kind of mid-pace shuffle which makes it easy to listen to and overall it's an impressive debut. His voice is a real asset!

Second album, Till the Sun Turns Black, is a development musically as strings and a more textured approach dominates, plus Ray's voice is softer, not as sandpapery as the debut. For me the quality control is still a little off but that just may be my preferences are different. My favourite track is the bluesy You Can Bring Me Flowers.

Gossip in the Grain is summed up by that cover image of Ray amid golden natural hues and his eyes closed in contemplation. Sarah is an excellent evocation of the cover images, The music sounds like an outtake from Astral Weeks.

By now, Ethan Johns is a crucial part of the operation. He is again producing (he did the previous two as well) and playing every instrument available it seems - a talented guy. They are obviously sympatico. But wait...

God Willing... is album number four and the first without Ethan Johns. The Pariah Dogs is a band in its own right and they join forces with Ray here. That makes for a unity missing from the previous albums and I like that.

This one is very definitely his truest Americana album thus far. You have to have to hand it to him - each album is distinctly different to the one before.

Supernova is well named - his voice is unrecognisable from earlier and it's like he took acid before the sessions. It's out there! But also brilliant psych-pop.

On Monovision he is like the Jedi master who has conquered and is now the guy!

Every track is effortless brilliance. Again, his voice has developed and he's now in the full bloom of his powers. If he ever tops this album I'd love to hear it!

Where do they all belong? His latest album is apparently like the stripped back Monovision so I'll grab it!

Chasing colours (Lake) (LP 2968 - 2969)

Lake  Lake (Vinyl, Columbia Records, 1977) ****  

Lake  Lake II (Vinyl, Columbia Records, 1978) ***  

Genre: Pop 

Places I remember: Real Groovy Records

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Sorry To Say (not available on Spotify)

Gear costume: Between The Lines (also from Lake and also not on Spotify), Red Lake (Lake II) (again not on Spotify but with Carl Wilson as guest).

They loom large in his legend (The Album Collection playlists): Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4

Active compensatory factors: Lake are a German/British pop rock band. I was hunting through the sale bins at Real Groovy and came across the album - the cover is what drew me in to take a punt. It indicated a vague prog rock vibe which turned out to be accurate in a Barclay James Harvest kind of way.

It was $10 well spent as it turned out. They are just enough the prog rock side of things to be interesting. I'm not a huge fan of the poppy single - Time Bomb, but the rest of their debut album is pretty cool. I'm always a sucker for good harmonies and the lead vocals of James Hopkins-Harrison are on the money in a kind of Steve Perry/ Jon Anderson way.

Their second album isn't as strong overall but it's still a great find from an under-valued seventies band. It aims to be a bit more commercial and is therefore a bit too slick in places. The bands harmonies are still spot on though - sounding at times like CSNY, or later day Beach Boys or even Chicago.

Where do they all belong? I think the band is still going but with different members - at least they were in 2012 but these first two are considered their best, as far as I can tell.

Growin' old with rock'n'roll (Corky Laing) (LP 2967)

Corky Laing  Makin' It On The Street (Vinyl, Elektra Records, 1977) ***  

Genre: Rock 

Places I remember: Real Groovy Records

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: On My Way (By The River)

Gear costume: Growin' Old With Rock'n'Roll

They loom large in his legend (The Album Collection playlists): Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4

Active compensatory factors: I have mentioned Corky already on the blog when I wrote about my love of West Bruce & Laing but this time it's an unlikely (brilliant) solo album that is the focus.

Corky's real name is Laurence Gordon "Corky" Laing (his sisters mispronounced Gordy as Corky and it stuck!) and he is best known for his stints in Mountain and West Bruce & Laing - Corky is the only surviving member of those bands and still at it, thankfully.

He's also a talented guy as this solo album (his only one I do believe) attests. He sings well and writes some good tunes. He must have been overshadowed by Jack Bruce and Leslie West in those other groups because I was not expecting this album to be as good as it is. But there you go - turns out it's a gem!

Where do they all belong? More to come in the M's (Mountain) and W's (West Bruce & Laing).  

Poker face (Lady Gaga) (LP 2964 - 2966)

Lady Gaga  The Fame (CD, Streamline Records, 2008) *****  

Lady Gaga  The Fame Monster (CD, Streamline Records, 2009) ****  

Lady Gaga  The Remix (CD, Streamline Records, 2010) ***  

Genre: NZ Music, pop 

Places I remember: Virgin Megastore Dubai

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Boys Boys Boys

Gear costume: Poker Face

They loom large in his legend (The Album Collection playlists): Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4

Active compensatory factors: I had to find out what all the Lady Gaga fuss was about (she was impossible to ignore in the late 2000s) and so I picked up The Fame on a trip into The Dubai Mall while living in Al Ain. It went onto high rotate in the Tiida during our travels from then on. 

The hits are brilliant slices of electro pop/ synth pop and dance floor killers (not that I was about to go clubbing anytime though). Not generally my thing but I'll make allowances for Madonna and Lady Gaga! What a voice!!

Of course, I then needed to grab other Lady Gaga albums as a consequence. Turns out these three albums are all sort of linked. 

The Fame Monster is an 8 track EP - a kind of darker addendum to The Fame, in that it looks at the downside of fame, and The Remix is exactly that - an album of remixes of songs from the previous two 'albums'.

Of course, given this was the Middle East, the cover of The Remix was heavily censored with black pen on the CD case but the songs couldn't be censored. It's an interesting set of experiments - clearly aimed at the dance floor, but I prefer the originals.

Where do they all belong? I also bought Born This Way but I didn't like it at all, so I sold that one off when I got back to NZ.

Alone (James LaBrie) LP 2962 - 2963)

James LaBrie Elements of Persuasion (CD, InsideOut Music, 2005) ****  

James LaBrie Static Impulse (CD, InsideOut Music, 2010) ****  

Genre: Prog rock

Places I remember: Virgin Megastore, Dubai Mall

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Invisible (Elements of Persuasion)

Gear costume: Euphoric (Static Impulse)

They loom large in his legend (The Album Collection playlists): Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4

Active compensatory factors: I have written about his first album before on the blog, but way before I started my collection posts. Having just reread my notes, I stand by my earlier comments: 

I really like James' first solo album - Elements of Persuasion. Only thing is it often sounds just like Dream Theater. He's drafted in some other players who sound awfully like his mates in the mothership [indeed drummer Mike Mangini would eventually end up in DT]. Why couldn't he record with them? The songs are similar - he sounds the same: no acoustic folk or jazz stylings; no urban beats or synth washes here - just great sounding prog rock.

I could add any of the solo tracks to a mix tape with Dream Theater and defy anyone to tell the difference. That's not a bad thing, just a weird thing. 

I wonder what the other guys in the band thought? Or were they off doing 'their own thing' which sounds exactly like the band thing as well?

My present day thoughts on his second solo album - Static Impulse: love the cover! I like the mix of gruff metal vocals and James' more melodic deliver. I like the metallic crunch of the guitars. It presents a different look to the James LaBrie of DT, which is the point of making solo albums, I would have thought.

Where do they all belong? I have enough of this type of music in my collection. It's good to have but I don't reach for it often these days.

Starry eyes (L.A.B.) (LP 2958 - 2961)

L.A.B. L.A.B. (CD, Loop Recordings, 2017) ***  

L.A.B. II (CD, Loop Recordings, 2018) ***  

L.A.B. III (CD, Loop Recordings, 2019) ****  

L.A.B. IV (CD, Loop Recordings, 2020) ****  

Genre: NZ Music, reggae, funk, rock

Places I remember: JB Hi Fi

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Yes I Do (IV)

Gear costume: In The Air  (III); Starry Eyes (L.A.B.)

They loom large in his legend (The Album Collection playlists): Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4

Active compensatory factors: I like NZ reggae/funk bands generally - Katchafire, Fat Freddy's Drop and Herbs have all appeared already in my collection countdown. Now it's L.A.B.'s turn (and no, I don't know what that stands for either - maybe nothing).

L.A.B. (always pronounced with the letters, never as lab) are a band from Whakatāne built around the Kora brothers, who work a more poppy end of the reggae street - so Katchafire more than Fat Freddy, if you like.  

Their first album (I like the numerical approach to album titles and their unifying approach to cover art btw) sets out their modern funk/reggae sound and establishes lead vocalist/guitarist Joel Shadbolt as the star of the show. 

Album number II has a bit more of the same, some more mellow vibes at times, and even some rock (Free Fall in a Dream). It was originally seeing the band on the TV doing a guitar wig out that alerted me to their existence. Overall, I think II is more poppier than album one but their eclectic mix of blues, rock, reggae, roots and dub is their calling card.

Album number III made it three albums in three years - no mean feat in the NZ musical climate.

They sound a bit more relaxed and in the flow on III as they connect again with their reggae/ roots origins. Maybe it's not as commercial as II but it still has their breakthrough single, In The Air, on it.

Joel's vocals are at their soulful best on Running and they even include what sounds like strings to the track - a nice development.

Number IV made it four albums in four years. By now you know what you are getting with an L.A.B. album. Why Oh Why was another massive single in Aotearoa. It seems to sum up the NZ summer vibe with its loping beat and clever reggae style keyboards.

Where do they all belong? I have yet to feel motivated enough to buy V or VI but it's early in the summer and these boys make perfect summer music.