April 10th, 1970. The Miles Davis sextet plays as the opening act for Grateful Dead, no more, no less. I guess that our beloved band must have felt a bit threatened by the blistering musical eruptions that they would have to follow. I'm sure they were also fascinated, of course.
Amon Duul II Phallus Dei Black Sabbath Vol IV I have never, at least since my teens, been a very big Sabbath-head but it really appeals to me right now...feels a little strange at the age of 50 to go into a Sabbath phase, but I feel one coming...
Some groovy stuff during the commute today: Caetano Veloso (1971) Fairport Convention (debut) ...and now at home, I wanted to hear the original version of "Time Will Show the Wiser", so on goes this fab collection: The Merry-Go-Round - Listen, Listen: The Definitive Collection
More Merry-Go-Round. This is proto-indie-pop at its best. Belle & Sebastian and Big Star certainly took notice... "Had to Run Around"
Switching gears. Miles Davis - The Complete On the Corner Sessions Disc 1: Track 1 "On the Corner" (unedited master) It's a blast to hear this jam in full without Teo's edits and insane stereo mixing tricks. Recorded June 1, 1972.
Finishing up disc 1 of On the Corner Sessions. Love it. "Jabali" is an awesome outtake. Oh, and RIP Reggie Lucas.
...and now, my first listen to Bootleg Series Volume 6: The Final Tour. Playing the 3/24/60 show from Tivoli Gardens, Copenhagen, Denmark first. Twelve years later (minus ten days) the GD would play an epic show there as well. Wow, folks are rightly raving about 'Trane's playing from this tour. You know what though? On first listen to "So What" from Denmark, what strikes me the most is how tight, swingin', and excellent the rhythm section is. Wynton Kelly, Paul Chambers, and Jimmy Cobb are on fire, man!
I'd love to have the On The Corner sessions box, but nowadays you have to be a millionaire to get a copy. Columbia should re-release it now.
Tony Williams+John McLaughlin+Larry Young. Not very well recorded, but the inspired performances make up for any sonic issue.
If this is any indication, and it must be some, 1990 was a great year for the JGB. Oh, and the four Dylan covers make it awesome in case there is confusion on that issue.
I took a while to get to this one because latter day Garcia band isn't a go-to for me, usually. But this volume moves when it moves (whatever that means). Jerry is present. All the official late Jerry releases have been solid, so I'm not sure of the origin of my hang up.
I've been spending some more time with Ten Years After. I really really like Alvin Lee's blues riffs. There's just the right hint of psychedelia. I really dig Watt (1970) even though it stumbles a bit at the end with the live covers. But you can't beat Side 1. In any case, Alvin was a monster live.
