Just arrived: Live @ Cafe Oto "City Fall" recorded 9/3/2014 Evan Parker: tenor saxophone Mikolaj Trzaska: alto saxophone & bass clarinet John Edwards: double bass Mark Sanders: drums Going to disc 2 which is set 2 / 45:02 split into 2 tracks Sounding great - full out free jazz by masters of this universe
So I went down to the record store today to get the Rolling Stones mono box set. Alas, they had the USA edition, the one many people complained about, mainly because of packaging issues. They also had the Japanese SHM edition, which is twice as big (with 7" sleeves, etc, etc.), and twice as expensive. The American one looked frail and skinny next to its sturdy oriental counterpart. I'm such a weak man... Let's say I'll have to sell my organs to make ends meet. So, be ready to encounter lots of 60's Rolling Stones stuff in my future posts.
I've long thought that one of those Mingus' is the artist and the title is actually Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus, but talk about splitting hairs! In more relevant commentary, Dolphy's alto solo on Hora Decubitus always reminds of that scene in the Bugs Bunny Loony Tunes cartoon when he drinks bad carrot juice.
The scene is a bit like what happens here from 4:38-4:42 (did I just Archtop Mel Blanc? ; great googly-moogly) but he drinks some *cough* "laced" carrot juice (likely from Yosemite Sam or Elmer Fudd, but I can't remember what I had for lunch today let alone that detail) and the music is, for lack of a better way of notating it: ||: oo ee ah oo ee ah ah - :|| I can't seem to find the actual scene, but it is a vivid memory from my childhood in the early '70s (well, except for what episode it was in). This is also similar:
I'm mainly a late 30's - mid 40's Looney Tunes fan, so that's why I don't remember some scenes from the 50's (even though I grew up watching them on TV), but I get the idea. Dolphy's solo is unmistakable Dolphy. Those wild intervals are amazing.
Rolling Stones' first album. I must say that releasing an album with no text at all in the front cover was a daring move in 1964, particularly if it was a debut LP! The album itself is really nice, particularly Diddley's "Mona" (I love that guitar sound), "Now I've Got A Witness" (which reminds me of the early Dead), and Slim Harpo's "I'm A King Bee", possibly the best track in the album (I can't help remembering Pigpen when I listen to it, as well as the version the Floyd recorded a year later when they weren't named Pink Floyd yet). Thumbs up, then!
Just picked up the new Jason Isbell (The Nashville Sound) and Justin Townes Earle (Kids In The Street). JTE spinning now for the first time. It's VERY good. If you liked his first few records, it's much closer to those (Harlem River Blues, Midnight at the Movies). Looking forward to the Isbell disc.
(mono mix) The Rolling Stones second American album, released before their second UK album, but after their second UK EP, which is included in this album tracklist in its entirety. Gee, what a mess. Anyway... 12X5 kicks off with a song every Dead fan should know: Berry's "Around And Around", and it's just fine (nice piano by Ian Stewart). The tracks that had been recorded in Chess Studios (for the UK Five by Five EP) sound better, but as I also enjoy that old primitive Regent Studios British sound, the whole album is sonically ok for me. In my opinion, the best Jagger/Richards-penned material from this album is the solid "Congratulations". We also have "2120 South Michigan Avenue", an instrumental actually written by the whole band (or at least signed by the band under the Nanker Phlege pseudonym) with some nice harmonica playing by Jones. The Drifter's "Under the Walkboard" is a dangerous earworm, but I like it. Bobby Womack's "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue ( )" is another one our beloved band included in their live sets, and a tune the Stones made almost their own. The album closes with an energetic "Susie Q." with some great distorted guitar work by Richards?/Jones? (you choose). Another nice one. (I will possibly get the regular cd version to get those Chess recordings in stereo).
No.2 (mono CD) Second UK album for the Stones. Once again, a textless front cover. This one shares only three tracks with the American second LP. The album starts with a strong rendition of the classic "Everybody Needs Somebody To Love". This song could have been a perfect live vehicle for ad-libbing frontman Pigpen. Jerry played it with his band during the 90's. "You Can't Catch Me" features some nice galloping rhythm work by Watts and Wyman. "Time Is On My Side" (recorded at Chess Studio) is not the same version from 12X5, and sounds far more polished and tight. "What A Shame" is the first of the three Jagger/Richards numbers in the album and features a particularly good slide guitar by Jones which proves to be vital for the song. A nifty swinging "Down The Road Apiece" follows (excellent job by Watts again). After the dangerous "Under the Walkboard" I mentioned in my last post (damn chorus!), it's time for "I Can't Be Satiefied", where Brian Jones shines again on slide playing that great classic Muddy Waters guitar line we can find in other songs of his songbook (when I was a kid I found amusing by the fact that so many of his songs started the same way). Wyman's fuzzy bass tone in Allen Toussaint's "Pain In My Heart" is great. "Off The Hook" is another simple yet effective original number (it reminds me of my childhood listening to the Singles Collection box set, like many of these early numbers). Like I said before regarding 12X5, "Susie Q" works really well as a closer. I'm really enjoying this early Stones albums, people.
The American version, released some months before the British one, feels like a compilation. In spite of some excellent numbers ("The Last Time", "The Under Assitant...", "Play With Fire", "The Spider And The Fly", and I don't mention "Satisfaction" because it's a song that I never enjoyed much), it doesn't flow like a real LP. A subjective view, of course.
BassDrumBone: The Long Road Listening to the 2 longer live tracks which are better than the more polished studio tracks on disc 1 & the rest of disc 2. I'm giving the rest another shot but during my first pass through I wasn't impressed with the Moran or Lovano features plus Hemingway's drums sound all smoothed out
Ken Vandermark's Resonance Ensemble: What Country is This? Recorded live in studio 3/7/2011 in Chicago on Not Two records another great one
