You are probably right. Frank definitely has to take at least some blame, as he could have easily said “no, that doesn’t work so well”.
Air Pocket, Fly On: Let’s catch up with the Fowler Brothers, shall we? Air Pocket was a jazz fusion group the brothers put together in the mid seventies after three of them (Tom, Bruce, and Walt) played with Zappa. This album features Bruce on trombone, Walt on trumpet and miraphon, Steve on alto saxophone and flute, Ed and Tom splitting bass duties, Albert Wing (who would go on to play with Zappa on the (in)famous 88 Tour alongside Bruce and Walt) on tenor and soprano saxophones, our very own Chester Thompson on drums, Mike Miller on guitar, and Stu Goldberg on keyboards. The album, featuring arrangements by Oliver Nelson, was released in 1975 on East Wind. Unfortunately, it was difficult to find a lot of the songs to listen to, and it's a rare album. Therefore, I won't be able to give a thorough review. Shame, as I was looking forward to this one. Oh well, what I do have is some cool jazz rock with some unorthodox touches that hearkens back to Tom, Bruce, Walt, and Chester's time with Frank. Overall, if you can find it, it's worth a shot.
Time to update the list! Canned Heat, Canned Heat (Henry Vestine) [1967] Canned Heat, Boogie With Canned Heat (Vestine) [1968] Canned Heat, Living The Blues (Vestine) [1968] Canned Heat, Hallelujah (Vestine, Elliot Ingber) [1969] The Hamilton Face Band, Hamilton Face Band (Ruth Komanoff-Underwood) [1969] Canned Heat, Vintage (Vestine) [1970] Hamilton Face Band, Ain’t Got No Time (Ruth) [1970] John Mayall, USA Union (Sugarcane) [1970] Don “Sugarcane” Harris, Sugarcane (Sugarcane) [1970] Don “Sugarcane” Harris, Keep on Driving (Sugarcane) [1971] Don “Sugarcane” Harris, Fiddler On The Rock (Sugarcane) [1971] Nolan Porter, No Apologies (Lowell George, Roy Estrada, Jimmy Carl Black) [1971] Bob Smith, The Visit (Don Preston) [1971] T. Rex, Electric Warrior (Mark Volman, Howard Kaylan) [1971] Canned Heat and John Lee Hooker, Hooker n Heat (Vestine) [1971] Canned Heat, Live At Topanga Corral (Vestine) [1971] Canned Heat, Historical Figures And Ancient Heads (Vestine) [1971] Maxayn, Maxayn (Andre Lewis) [1972] Nolan Porter, Nolan (George, Estrada, Black) [1972] Domenic Troiano, Domenic Troiano (Bunk Gardner, Buzz Gardner) [1972] Nicholas Greenwood, Cold Cuts (Bunk) [1972] John Lennon and Yoko Ono, Sometime In New York City (Live Jam/tracks 3-6 featuring Frank, Mark and Howard, Ian, Don Preston, Bob Harris #1, Jim Pons, Dunbar) [1972] T. Rex, The Slider (Mark And Howard) [1972] Pure Food & Drug Act, Choice Cuts (Sugarcane) [1972] New Violin Summit (Sugarcane, Ponty) [1972] Roxy Music, Stranded (Jobson) [1973] Buddy Miles, Chapter VII (Lewis) [1973] Johnny “Guitar” Watson, Listen (Lewis) [1973] Maxayn, Mindful (Lewis) [1973] Don “Sugarcane” Harris, Sugar Cane’s Got the Blues (Sugarcane) [1973] Canned Heat, The New Age (Vestine) [1973] Canned Heat, One More River to Cross (Vestine) [1973] Mick Ronson, Slaughter on 10th Avenue (Dunbar) [1974] Roxy Music, Country Life (Jobson) [1974] Howdy Moon, self titled album (Lowell George, Roy Estrada) [1974] Luis Gasca, Born to Love You [1974] Billy Cobham, Crosswinds (George Duke) [1974] Maxayn, Bail Out For Fun! (Lewis) [1974] Roger McGuinn, Peace on You (Mark And Howard) [1974] Dave Mason, Dave Mason (Sal Marquez) [1974] Herbie Mann, London Underground (Dunbar) [1974] Freddie Hubbard, High Energy (Ian Underwood) [1974] Don “Sugarcane” Harris, Cup Full Of Dreams (Sugarcane) [1974] Don “Sugarcane” Harris, I’m On Your Case (Sugarcane) [1974] Junior Hanson, Magic Dragon (Lewis) Roxy Music, Siren (Jobson) [1975] Freddie Hubbard, Liquid Love (Ian) [1975] Billy Cobham, A Funky Thide Of Sings (Walt Fowler) [1975] Down And Dirty Duck Soundtrack (Preston, Mark Volman, Howard Kaylan, Pons, Dunbar) [1975] Mick Ronson, Play, Don’t Worry (Dunbar) [1975] Nils Lofgren, self titled (Dunbar) [1975] Don “Sugarcane” Harris, Keyzop (Sugarcane) [1975] Mallard, Mallard (Art Tripp) [1975] Journey, Look Into The Future (Dunbar) [1976] Jean-Luc Ponty, Aurora (Ponty, T. Fowler) [1976] Roxy Music, Viva! [1976] Spirit, Farther Along (Ian) [1976] Jean-Luc Ponty, Imaginary Voyage (Ponty, T.Fowler, Allan Zavod) [1976] Grand Funk, Good Singin, Good Playin (Produced by Zappa) [1976] Air Pocket, Fly On (T. Fowler, Bruce Fowler, W. Fowler, Thompson) [1976] Stephen Stills, Illegal Stills (Mark And Howard) [1976] Ian Hunter, All American Space Boy (Dunbar) [1976] Flo and Eddie, Moving Targets (Mark, Howard, Ian) [1976] T. Rex, Futuristic Dragon (Mark and Howard) [1976] Nils Lofgren, Cry Tough (Dunbar) [1976] Carmen MacRae, Can’t Hide Love (Ian) [1976] Sammy Hagar, Nine On A Ten Scale (Dunbar) [1976] Alphonso Johnson, Moonshadow (Ian) [1976] Marathon Man Soundtrack (Ian) [1976] George Duke, Liberated Fantasies (Duke, Napoleon Murphy Brock, Ruth) [1976] Jean-Luc Ponty, Live in Hamburg (Ponty) [1976] Jean-Luc Ponty, Imaginary Voyage (Ponty, T. Fowler) [1976] Don “Sugarcane” Harris, Flashin’ Time (Sugarcane) [1976] Captain Beefheart And The Magic Band, Bat Chain Puller (Beefheart, Denny Walley) [1976] Seals & Croft, Sudan Village (Ralph Humphrey) [1976] Chunk, Ernie, & Novi, Chunk, Ernie, & Novi (Ian) [1977] George Duke, From Me to You (Duke, Glenn Ferris) [1977] Demon Seeds Soundtrack (Ian) [1977] Journey, Next (Dunbar) [1977] Jean-Luc Ponty, Enigmatic Ocean (Ponty, Zavod) [1977] Little Feat, Time Loves A Hero (Lowell) [1977] Genesis, Seconds Out (Thompson) [1977] Quincy, Jones, Roots (Ian) [1977] Mandré, Mandré (Lewis) [1977] Alphonso Johnson, Spellbound (Thompson) [1977] Journey, Infinity (Dunbar) [1978] U.K., self titled (Eddie Jobson) [1978] Lynda Carter*, Portrait (Humphrey) (*yes, the same one who played Wonder Woman) [1978] George Duke, Reach For It (Duke) [1978] George Duke, Don't Let Go (Duke) [1978] The Brecker Brothers, Heavy Metal Be-Bop (Bozzio) [1978] Jean-Luc Ponty, Cosmic Messenger (Ponty, Zavod) [1978] Billy Cobham, Inner Conflicts (Duke, Ruth Underwood) [1978] Steve Hackett, Please Don’t Touch (T.Fowler, Chester Thompson) [1978] David Bowie, Stage (Adrian Belew) [1978] Alice Cooper, From the Inside (Mark And Howard) [1978] Ambrosia, Somewhere I’ve Never Travelled (Ian, Ruth) [1978] Herb Alpert and Hugh Masekela, Herb Alpert/Hugh Masekela (Ian) [1978] Captain Beefheart And The Magic Band, Shiny Beast (Bat Chain Puller) (Beefheart, B.Fowler, Tripp) [1978] Lao Schifrin, Gypsy (Ian) [1978] Barbara Streisand, Songbird (Ian) [1978] Little Feat, Waiting For Columbus (Lowell) [1978] Mandré, Mandré Two (Lewis) [1978] Karen Alexander, Voyager (Humphrey) [1978] U.K., Danger Money (Jobson, Terry Bozzio) [1979] Jean-Luc Ponty, Live (Ponty, Zavod) [1979] David Bowie, Lodger (Belew) [1979] Big Sonny and the Lo Boys, In Heat (Black) [1979] Apocalypse Now Soundtrack (Preston) [1979] The Residents, Eskimo (Preston) [1979] Jefferson Starship, Freedom at Point Zero (Dunbar) [1979] Lowell George, Thanks, I’ll Eat It Here (Lowell) [1979] Peggy Lee, Close Enough For Love (Ian) [1979] Little Feat, Down On The Farm (Lowell) [1979] George Duke, Follow the Rainbow (Duke, Nappy) [1979] George Duke, Master Of The Game (Duke, Nappy) [1979] Tony Banks, A Curious Feeling (Thompson) [1979] Jean-Luc Ponty, A Taste for Passion (Ponty, Zavod) [1979] Freddie Hubbard, The Love Connection (Thompson) [1979] Lalo Schifrin, No One Home (Ian) [1979] The Warriors Soundtrack (Ian) [1979] Mandré, M3000 (Lewis) [1979] Ray Pizzi, The Love Letter (Humphrey) [1979] Leroy Hutson, Unforgettable (Thompson) [1979] David Pritchard, City Dreams (Thompson) [1979]
Stephen Stills, Illegal Stills: We come to Stephen Stills' fourth solo effort, released in May of 1976. Produced by Stills and Gehman, the album's lineup consists of Stills on vocals/bass/guitars/keyboards, our very own Mark Volman and Howard Kaylan on harmony vocals, Donnie Dacus on guitars and vocals, George "Chocolate" Perry on bass, George Terry on guitars, Joe Vitale and Tubby Ziegler on drums, and Joe Lala on percussion. The album makes for a pleasant listen, with the tight harmonies and mellow Southern California feel and aesthetic that you'd expect from Stephen Stills, particularly during this period. It's not Stills' most memorable effort, but it does have some good tunes on it, which feature heavy contributions from Dacus. While I'm not keen on his time with Chicago, Dacus is a good guitar player and singer, and shows himself a capable writer as well. It's not essential listening, but I can recommend it to Stephen Stills fans.
Ian Hunter, All American Alien Boy: All American Alien Boy is the second solo studio album by Ian Hunter, released in January of 1976 on Columbia. Produced by Hunter himself, the album takes his music into a more jazz based direction in contrast to his previous material. Besides Hunter himself on lead and backing vocals and rhythm guitar (as well as piano on “All American Alien Boy”), we have our own Aynsley on drums, bass legend Jaco Pastorius, keyboardist Chris Stainton, saxophonist David Sanborn, trombonist Dave Bargeron, trumpeter Lewis Soloff, clarinetist Arnie Lawrence, conga player Don Alias, accordionist Dominic Cortese, and backing vocalists Erin Dickins, Gail Kantor, Bob Segarini, and Ann E. Sutton. Contributing guitar to the opening track is Cornell Dupree, and performing backing vocals on “You Nearly Did Me In” is none other than Queen members Freddie Mercury, Roger Taylor, and Brian May. I knew of this album from the Jaco documentary first, though it took me a while to actually get around to listening to it. I definitely respect Ian Hunter for taking a chance with this album. It’s very unexpected for someone that made their bread and butter on straight hook-driven rock. Of course, Jaco is amazing as always, and listening to this or the Joni Mitchell album he played on, I can’t help but wonder how this sounded to fans in 1976. It’s great getting to listen to music with the benefit of hindsight, but I can’t lie, I sometimes wish I could truly hear certain music with contemporary ears. Bringing it back to Frank, as insane as his stuff sounds now, imagine hearing it back then. No matter, we have the music with us, and that’s still pretty swell. Aynsley more than holds his own with Jaco. As I’m sure I talked about during the Wazoo reviews or even in the Zappa drummer thread, Aynsley gets kind of pigeonholed as a blues or hard rock drummer, but he’s actually quite versatile. I mean, Jaco, Frank, Beck, Journey, and Bowie-all in less than a decade. Really think about that. The album as a whole, while I don’t like it as much as Mott The Hoople, it’s a very enjoyable album and shows a different side of Ian, which I think solo albums should do. It’s a very good record overall, and worth checking out.
And as I said in the drummer thread, he went from hard rock straight into big band stuff all in one year. Aynsley has almost certainly had higher paying gigs, but I do think Frank pushed him in a way that most of those gigs don’t.
Whoa, I've never even heard of this record. Which is strange given that Oliver Nelson's doing arrangements. Great find!
Albert Wing has said he nearly joined Zappa when the Fowlers were with him in the 70's, but Zappa decided he couldn't afford another player.
Flo And Eddie, Moving Targets: Moving Targets is the fourth studio album by Flo & Eddie, released in 1976 on Columbia. Produced by Mark, Howard, Ron Nevison, and Skip Taylor, the album's lineup consists of Mark on vocals and guitar, Howard on vocals, Phil Reed on lead guitar, Andy Cahan (who previously played JCB, Denny Walley, and the Gardner brothers in Geronimo Black) on keyboards, Erik Scott on bass, and Craig Krampf on drums. Guest contributions are slide guitars on "Hot" by Donnie Dacus and Jeff "Skunk" Baxter of Steely Dan and Doobie Brothers fame, as well as none other than Ian Underwood performing the saxophone on "Moving Targets" and late Skyhooks frontman Graeme "Shirley" Strachan This is a really fun record. Perfectly absurd in tone, with Mark and Howard in fine voice in addition to their comedic timing and delivery being as sharp as ever. The pop hooks are a plenty throughout the album, so people that know and love Mark and Howard from their times as Turtles will be very pleased (a respectable cover of "Elenore" probably won't hurt either). Fans who know and love (or at least tolerate) them from their time with Frank will be pleased by the vocals and satiric edge while depicting the record business throughout the track. I can definitely recommend this album to any fan of Mark and Howard.
Forgot to cover the first T. Rex album, which Mark and Howard also appeared on: T. Rex, T. Rex: T. Rex is the fifth studio album by the band formerly known as Tyrannosaurus Rex and the first under their name T. Rex. Released December 18, 1970 on Fly/Reprise and produced by Tony Visconti, the album marks a transitional point between their earlier psych-folk and the emerging glam rock the band would become known for. The group on the previous album as well as this one is Mark Bolan, who performs lead vocals/guitar/organ, and Mickey Finn, who performs drums/bass/pixiphone/backing vocals. Aiding the newly christened “T.Rex” is Visconti on bass/piano/recorder/string arrangements and, of course, Mark and Howard on background vocals. This is a really interesting record. It’s clearly a different beast, with the rhythms more rock and roll fused along with the remnants of the psych-folk that Tyrannosaurus Rex played. Took was an excellent percussionist in his own right, better in some ways, but Mickey was a perfect foil for Marc musically as well as visually. While the classic T.Rex sound has not fully formed yet, this is still a strong record with highlights like “Jewel”, “The Time Of Love Is Now”, and “Root Of Star”. For newcomers, the next two would be a better starting place, but for T.Rex fans, it’s worth getting. Just don’t expect “Metal Guru” or “Mamba Sun”.
Keith Moon, Two Sides Of The Moon: Two Sides Of the Moon is the only solo effort by Who drummer Keith Moon, released in 1975 on MCA/Polydor. Produced by ex-Beatles roadie Mal Evans, Skip Taylor, John Stronach, Stax guitarist Steve Cropper, and Moon himself, the album is largely made up of covers sung by Moon himself amongst others. The album’s lineup consists of Moon on vocals (and drums on three tracks), our own Mark Volman and Howard Kaylan, Ringo Starr, Gerald Garrett, Ira Hawkins, Ron Hicklin, Augie Johnson, Jim Gilsap, Joe Walsh, Ricky Nelson, Ronnie Wood, John Sebastian, Jesse Ed Davis, Spencer Davis, Miguel Ferrer (yes, the actor), Jim Keltner, Kenney Jones, Clydie King, Dennis Larden, Gregory Matta, Klaus Voorman, Mickey McGhee, Bobby Keys, some guy named Curley Smith, and a bunch of other people who’s names are really not worth remembering. Is this album bad? Of course. Is it one of the worst of all time? No, not really. Yes, it is basically Keith Moon on karaoke night, with his friends coming and going with few more each round. But honestly, I doubt Moon saw this as anything other than a party, and that kind of helps it (not entirely, but still). I can’t really say it’s as bad as it’s notoriety would suggest, but this is still for Who completists only.
Lowell George, Thanks, I'll Eat It Here: Side A "What Do You Want the Girl to Do" (Allen Toussaint) 4:46 "Honest Man" (Lowell George, Fred Tackett) 3:45 "Two Trains" (Lowell George) 4:32 "I Can't Stand the Rain" (Ann Peebles, Don Bryant, Bernie Miller) 3:21 Side B "Cheek to Cheek" (Lowell George, Van Dyke Parks, Martin Kibbee) 2:23 "Easy Money" (Rickie Lee Jones) 3:29 "Twenty Million Things" (Lowell George, Jed Levy) 2:50 "Find a River" (Tackett) 3:45 "Himmler's Ring" (Jimmy Webb) 2:28 Released a couple of months before Lowell's demise, this is is his only solo album. It was recorded during a period of two years and, as Lowell himself states in the liner notes, it's not clear who played in each number. He provides, though, a list of musicians which includes several big names in business: Lowell George - guitar, vocals, production Bonnie Raitt - vocals James Newton Howard - keyboards Chuck Rainey - bass Denny Christianson - keyboards, horns David Foster - keyboards Chilli Charles - drums Nicky Hopkins - keyboards Jim Price - horns Jim Keltner - drums Jim Gordon - drums Michael Baird - drums Dennis Belfield - bass Bobby Bruce - violin, guitar Turner Stephen Bruton - guitar Luis Damian - guitar, keyboards Gordon DeWitty - keyboards, piano Maxine Dixon - piano Arthur Gerst - piano Jimmy Greenspoon - guitar, piano Roberto Gutierrez - vocals, guitar, drums Richie Hayward - drums Jerry Jumonville - saxophone, guitar Ron Koss - guitar, engineering Darrell Leonard - horn, vocals Maxayn Lewis - vocals David Paich - keyboards Jeff Porcaro - drums Dean Parks - guitar, keyboards Bruce Paulson - keyboards Bill Payne - keyboards, vocals Herb Pedersen - vocals Joel Peskin - vocals, saxophone John Phillips - saxophone, drums Peggy Sandvig - piano James Self - tuba Steve Madaio - horns Floyd Sneed - drums, vocals J.D. Souther - bass, vocals Paul Stallworth - bass, guitar Fred Tackett - guitar, vocals Maxine Willard Waters - vocals Thanks, I'll Eath It Here is an excellent eclectic album which proves that even though he was drenched in excess, Lowell could still deliver terrific vocals (as Heard in the Little Feat albums from that period), and produce a very coherent album. Southern blues, swampy New Orleans R&B, Mexican-flavoured acoustic love songs, soul, folk, you name it. His final album with Little Feat, Down on the Farm, would also get released in 1979, but months after he had passed away.
I remember hearing this a few times at the apartment of a real Who completist. I remember thinking it's pretty good, if short, and not nearly as bad as I'd heard it was. But it's also not as good as Townshend's solo projects, and not something I particularly want to listen to again. For all the A-list players, the thing has a slapdash quality and doesn't hold up well.
T. Rex, Futuristic Dragon: We revisit T. Rex once again with their eleventh studio album Futuristic Dragon, released January 30, 1976 on EMI (except in the US, where the album wouldn’t be released until 1987). Produced by frontman Marc Bolan, this marked a lower point in T. Rex’s period when they were slipping commercially and also shows the band experimenting with the then-burgeoning disco sound. The lineup on here consists of Bolan on lead vocals/guitars/Moog synthesizer, girlfriend Gloria Jones on clavinet/backing vocals, longtime bassist Steve Currie, and drummer Davey Lutton. Helping out on string arrangements is Jimi Haskell, and on background vocals is our own Mark and Howard. While this album doesn’t show T. Rex at its best, certainly side two is somewhat patchy, this is actually better than I expected. I can say there’s some choice cuts like “New York City”, “Dawn Storm”, and “Jupiter Liar”. It’s not essential, certainly not the best place to start with T.Rex, but it’s worth checking out. Maybe you’ll find some cool tracks.
T. Rex is one of those bands I never really "got". There are many such bands - the Beach Boys and the Smiths come immediately to mind. I don't dislike them really, and I can see the argument for liking them, but there are way too many bands I'd rather listen to at any given time. God knows the vast majority of people never "got" Zappa either. Maybe if I'd been born earlier, or born in the UK, where T. Rex was god, apparently, I'd have a different opinion.
I obviously can’t comment for you, but Marc Bolan was long dead by the time I was born, so I’m at least one exception to that rule.
