While I was familiar with the work of John Fahey and his proteges like Leo Kottke, until recently I didn’t really look into the phenomenon that is generally known as “American Primitive.” Musicians I follow closely like Joey Burns of Calexico, and MC Taylor from The Court & Spark and Hiss Golden Messenger, and the guys from Tortoise have all mentioned Fahey one time or another.
It actually took a conversation with MC Taylor regarding Tortoise and the similarity of the song titles “In Sarah, Mencken, Christ and Beethoven There Were Women and Men” from TNT, and “In Christ There Is No East and West” the Christian standard interpreted by Fahey and a chance PR e-mail from Thrill Jockey about their new signing of Glenn Jones to send me falling down the rabbit hole that is John Fahey’s career. In particular, it was this video of Glenn Jones that Thrill Jockey sent that really grabbed me:
Beautiful, right? The fact that there is a whole genre of music that is based in this classically-inspired folk acoustic guitar playing is a bit overwhelming to me. In an e-mail exchange with Glenn Jones recently, he referred to Fahey as “the fountainhead” in that Fahey inspired so many guitarists with his work. In addition to his own career recording his own music, he also worked on a very extensive reissue of Fahey’s early works dating from 1958-1965. Titled John Fahey: Your Past Comes Back to Haunt You (The Fonotone Years 1958-1965) it is a project that Jones started working with Fahey on before his passing in 2001. Weighing in at 115 tracks spread over 5 CD’s and an 88-page accompanying book, it is clearly a labor of love for Jones.
Jones continues his Fahey influences in his own solo work. Spread over three albums on the label Strange Attractors Audio House Glenn Jones’ solo work are stringed instrumentals– guitar, slide, banjo– in spare arrangement. His fourth solo album and first on Thrill Jockey titled The Wanting continues largely in this vein, although it is really a culmination of the developments he has made.
The Wanting has been in very regular rotation for me since I got the promo and I’m still struck by the sheer beauty of the work and I’m looking forward to seeing him perform this week in Iowa City and Dubuque. Monday night he will be at The Mill in Iowa City and admission is $7 and doors are at 8:30PM. On Tuesday night he’ll be in Dubuque at Monk’s Kaffee Pub which will be NO COVER and is a super place to see Glenn who should benefit from such an intimate setting!
Click Here for Glenn Jones’ Facebook Page (that I’m helping him with) – please consider clicking “Like”
The dusty desert highway of Tuscon-native band Calexico’s15-year career is dotted with a notable collection of passionate Latin infused Americana (for lack of another general category to place them). While the band may not be familiar to most, their music shows up in many places– from interstitial music in NPR to movie soundtracks and in their many collaborations (including one fantastic album with The Iron and Wine). If only for these works, Calexico will stand as one of the important and influential American bands.
Along this same highway of releases are the roadside attractions of Calexico’s self-released albums. These generally “tour-only” albums were released under Calexico’s own imprint Our Soil, Our Strength and served sometimes as a clearing house of studio demos and projects that didn’t make it to other albums, live albums or other experiments. Ironically, maybe, it was through one of these albums that I was first exposed to Calexico. Someone posted the instrumental collection Travelall as mp3’s on the internet newsgroup alt.binaries.sounds.mp3 which left me initially of the opinion that Calexico was an instrumental post-rock similar to Tortoise. (I didn’t know it at the time, but Travelall has Thrill Jockey artists Rob Mazurek (Isotope 217, Chicago Underground), Doug McCombs (Tortoise, Brokeback, etc.), and Noel Kupersmith (Brokeback, Chicago Underground Quartet) on it which lends some weight to that idea).
This misconception was quickly dismissed with the 2006 release of Garden Ruin which quickly made me a fan of the band and motivated me to get all of their albums, including the tour-only releases which were all limited releases and quickly fell out of print, so I had to resort to Amazon and eBay to track the ones down I couldn’t get from the band’s website and from the band during the Garden Ruin tour. All of these releases are essential to the fan of Calexico, as they provide valuable insight to the band’s creative workouts. Not forced into an album format that would have appeal to a more casual listener, we are treated to a much richer view into the true heart of the band which include an audio treasure trove of atmospheric instrumentals, audio experiments, home demos, live performances, one-off collaborations and outtakes.
So, you can imagine my excitement hearing that Calexico is releasing a vinyl box set titled Road Atlas 1998-2011. Encased in a cloth hardbound box and limited to 1,100 hand-numbered sets, Road Atlas 1998-2011 collects the tour-only releases, plus the aforementioned live release and the Circo soundtrack as well as a 40-page book by music journalist Fred Mills. In addition to the 12-LP’s, the box will include mp3-downloads of all the tracks, PLUS BONUS other unreleased music not found on the LP’s or the band’s regular releases! Here is the breakdown:
ROAD ATLAS 1998-2011
Limited Edition Hand Numbered 12 LP vinyl boxset of Calexico’s tour only CDs
Includes: 98-99 Road Map LP (originally released on CD 1999) Travelall LP (originally released on CD 2000) Aerocalexico 2xLP (originally released on CD 2001) Scraping 2xLP (originally released on CD 2002) The Book And The Canal 2xLP (originally released on CD 2005) Toolbox LP (originally released on CD 2007) Ancienne Belgique-Live in Brussels 2008 2xLP (originally released on CD 2008) Circo- A Soundtrack By Calexico LP (originally released on CD 2010) MP3 download codes for all the albums MP3 download code for previously unreleased Calexico tracks A 40-page perfect bound book of photos, handwritten notes, and extensive liner notes A heavy duty, linen wrapped, screen-printed slip case to house it all!
Priced at around $130, the box will be available via the band’s website, Touch and Go, Amazon and Insound.com. For those that don’t want to drop that kind of cash, there is also a great compilation CD of tracks from the box available as well.
I created a special 32-minute mix of tracks from the box to get you in the mood including these tracks:
“Hushabye” from Aerocalexico
“Ghost Writer” from The Book and the Canal
“Waitomo” from Toolbox
“Escrito En La Piedra” from Circo
“Two Silver Trees” from Anceinne Belgique – Live in Brussels 2008
“Dona Lupe” from Circo
“Chachaca” from Travelall
“Griptape” from The Book and the Canal
“Wind Up Bird” from Scraping
“Glowing Heart of the World” from 98-99 Road Map
Today it was announced that Garbageis back in the studio in L.A. after a seven-year hiatus following their 2005 studio album Bleed Like Me, which was their highest-charting album at #4 on Billboard Top 200 Album chart. As-yet-untitled, the album is projected to release in Spring 2012, and the band posted earlier that there should be a song coming out in October.
They’ve been in the studio all summer in L.A. recording in a basement, and apparently at the infamous Western Recorders (now called EastWest Studios). The progress of the sessions has been tracked on the band’s official Twitter and Facebook pages along with photos and small video clips, and the little bits we hear seem to point to the trademark bombastic, distorted and compressed sound Garbage is known for and Shirley Manson seems as gothic as ever.
They posted a picture of themselves recording in Studio 3, which is where the Mamas and the Papas recorded “California Dreaming.” A bit of a scenery change for the band who had recorded at drummer Butch Vig’s now-defunct Smart Studios in Madison, WI for their previous albums. Smart was the landmark of recording during the grunge period when Vig worked with bands such as Nirvana and Smashing Pumpkins, so it’s a little sad in light of the anniversary of Nevermind (which was demoed there) that Garbage isn’t continuing their tradition of recording there.
Apparently they are free-agents from a label perspective. From the press release: “Now free of all their corporate obligations, the band has been able to start again with a clean slate on their own terms. They add, ‘We are making a record filled with the music we love to hear. The new songs have been inspired more by what we haven’t been hearing rather than by what we have.'” It does seem that the band is coming into the record refreshed and taking a new-world-view of things. Considering that the first part of their career represents “big label” times it will be interesting to see how they embrace the new modes of distribution and promotion.
I still remember the first time I heard Garbage on the radio in Minneapolis on the late, great REV105. It was late one night and the lady DJ who spun the record– literally, it was a 7″ in a metal tin, likely the Discordant import– talked about the connection with Butch Vig and Duke Erikson and their 90’s band Fire Town (and Spooner before that). The aggressive and angry single “Vow” was earthshattering to me– I hadn’t heard anything like it with a woman lead singer. I kept my eyes peeled on AOL (pre-internet days for me) for any kind of sign that the promised album would drop. I picked up the domestic version of the CD single on Almo Sounds.
When the CD finally came out, it included an e-mail address for the band and I shot a quick note over about how much I loved the record and that I had seen Fire Town perform at Loras College in Dubuque in the 90’s and that I was a fan of their jangle-pop record In the Heart of the Heart CountryRock Music CDs) (which I have on cassette, and has apparently been reissued). To my delight, I got a reply back from Garbage guitarist/keyboardist Steve Marker, who was the sound engineer for Fire Town. He said that he remembered that particular gig, even though it was a long time ago– he had been running sound that night.
Thus, for some of us, Garbage is the “home team” coming from Madison, WI and showing what the Middle West of the US could do. I hope they play a hometown gig as part of their comeback– I know I’ll be there!
Hiss Golden Messenger is the band name that former Court & Spark members MC Taylor and Scott Hirsch have been using since the dissolution of their previous band in 2007. Since then there have been four releases under this moniker: Live in Big Sur in 2007, Country Hai East Cottonin 2008 (which was re-released last year on Black Maps), and in 2010 we saw Root Work which was based on live in-studio Country Hai tracks and Bad Debt which was a recording of spiritually-themed songs Taylor recorded in his kitchen to a cassette recorder.
On November 1st, Hiss Golden Messenger will be releasing a new album called Poor Moon. Poor Moon will be released on a new record label, Paradise of Bachelors and will come out in a hand-numbered limited edition of 500 on beautiful 150g vinyl with a tip-on sleeve designed by Brendan Greaves from Paradise of Bachelors featuring a beautifully-detailed illustration by Alex Jako.
As if this wasn’t enough reason to jump on this purchase, there are tiers you can purchase at which get you bonus downloads. The base $20 “Oak” level gets you the vinyl on your doorstep around 11/1/11, but also a digital download of the album via Bandcamp on 10/15, so you can enjoy it whilst you wait for the physical version. (By the way, they are charging a very reasonable $5 domestic shipping and handling, as opposed to typical shipping charges seen via TopSpin these days). If you order at the $25 “Ash” level, you get an EP of demos and outtakes titledLord, I Love the Rain which has some tracks from the Bad Debt sessions as well as some studio tracks from an “conceptual soundtrack” called He Wore Rings on Every Finger. At the $30 “Rowan” level you get the aforementioned EP, plus a live recording from 2008 called Plowed: Live in Bovina which was recorded in upstate New York around the same time that the Root Work radio session was taped.
Notably, the tracks on Lord, I Love The Rain will be the basis of the next HGM release, which is targeted for Spring 2012!
As for Poor Moon itself– the album shares it roots with the kitchen table ruminations of Bad Debt in that most of the songs started there. We get full-band treatments of “Balthazar’s Song,” “O Little Light,” “Jesus Shot Me in the Head,” a driving “Super Blue (Two Days Clean),” Balthazar’s Song” and “Call Him Daylight” (which was a bonus track on the vinyl version of Bad Debt). The Lord, I Love the Rain EP also includes a Bad Debt version of “Westering.” So, you might consider Bad Debt and Poor Moon together as being a “deluxe” edition.
There are few songwriters today that have the ability to capture the sentiment of reaching desire that really grabs me. I think that MC Taylor is in a small group of current songwriters that includes Kurt Wagner of Lambchop and Richard Buckner that excel in this. If you’ve been following the combined story of The Court & Spark and Hiss Golden Messenger, the music on Poor Moon is not as much a revelation as it is a reinforcement of this fact.
Poor Moon captures a certain timelessness in its sound– the production doesn’t stand in the way of the music. Taylor confirms this in a recent conversation, “That was the intention. I wanted sort of a neutral production with the rhythm section fairly up front– which it is– and more acoustic instruments than Country Hai and Root Work. Country Hai was a concerted effort to feature no acoustic guitar whatsoever.”
To that end, Taylor has never been afraid to draw inspiration from his very diverse musical tastes and Poor Moon to these ears has some subtle but definite vibe and tone from early 70’s Van Morrison and Grateful Dead (more American Beauty than Aoxomoxoa, though). Certainly a more rustic setting than Country Hai, I would say, but no less enjoyable.
Below are the Bandcamp links to samples of tracks from Poor Moon and the two bonus releases and the links to order.
I’ve mentioned Talk Talk’s final studio album before, but it has been a few years. Recorded in 1991, Laughing Stock and the previous album Spirit of Eden were a departures from the band’s more pop efforts previously. These albums represented Talk Talk stretching their creative muscles by incorporating a less-synthesizer and more acoustic instrument approach, drawing from many music styles, but employing a very jazz-influenced approach. It’s this overall ambiance and approach that confounded fans and caused a dramatic drop in sales.
Much as albums from bands like Big Star and Velvet Underground were not big sellers, it would seem that the few that did give Laughing Stock a serious listen found a completely new and compelling album, and this approach is often credited as being the first “post rock” album.
I first heard Laughing Stock when it came out– the guitarist in my college band was a big fan of Talk Talk and raved about this album. Although it was too different for me at the time, I’ve come to appreciate it.
Laughing Stock, and Mark Hollis’s first and only solo album which is similar in sound to Laughing Stock are getting the vinyl treatment on October 11th by Ba Da Bing Records— home of Sharon Van Etten and The Dead C. This will be the first time that Hollis’s solo album will be released on vinyl in the US.
According to a contact at the label, the LP’s will be “standard weight” (I take this to mean 140g-ish), mastered from the CD masters and will have jackets and art reproduced from the original art.
This release really great news and an essential addition to a collection! They are available for pre-order right now for $16.99 plus shipping.
Click Here to see the Laughing Stock vinyl reissue information at Ba Da Bing.
Click Here to see the Mark Hollis self titled vinyl reissue information at Ba Da Bing.
When news broke earlier this year that Capitol and the remaining members of the Beach Boys gave the long-awaited green light to dig into the Capitol Vaults to finally release the great lost SMiLE album from the original sessions, all of the Beach Boys aficionados, vinyl freaks and collectors started heating up the various boards on the internet. My favorite navel-gazing crowd of record collectors is the Kevin Hoffman Boards, which has already spawned seven very active threads on the topic with experts and Smile-ologists chiming in with track speculation and session history dating back to the missed release in 1967. A good place to start is the Wikipedia article on the topic. However, a quick synopsis for the uninformed:
Brian Wilson stepped into the role as leader of the Beach Boys around the time of the brilliant and revolutionary Pet Sounds. Tired of touring, Brian wanted to focus more on studio efforts. The often-told story goes that Paul McCartney hearing preliminary tracks from Pet Sounds was motivated to create Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. So influential was Pet Sounds, that Brian wanted to up the ante and create an even more involved creation.
So, work began on the follow-up– originally to be called Dumb Angel— in early 1966. Wilson brought in the best session people in L.A. at the time– the Wrecking Crew– and also elicited help from his friend Van Dyke Parks to assist with the writing. The album was centered around some basic concepts– the elements– which allowed the two of them to try to craft a very American epic. Between April and September of 1966 many hours of writing and recording happened for the album, but by November of 1966 it was clear that the stresses from depression, drug abuse, and maybe the prospects of trying to achieve such a lofty goal– a “symphony to God” caused the project to end somewhat abruptly in early 1967 over disagreements over the direction of the album. A kind of salvaging of the album work appeared in the very stripped-down Smiley Smile release that September.
And, that might have been the last anyone ever heard about the album– just a footnote in an impressive career. However, leaked recordings from the sessions started appearing in the late 1980’s as a result of Capitol’s interest in remastering and reissuing the catalog. That, plus the inclusion of Smile sessions in the 1993 Good Vibrations box set sparked an avalanche of interest resulting in more session tapes showing up on the Sea of Tunes bootlegs in astonishing quality which resulted in the cottage industry of attempts by fans in creating the “definitive” SMiLE based on speculation and history gathered. The most famous of these– the “Purple Chick Presents” series was one that most fans stand behind (at least the ones I know do). The advent of easy digital editing by consumer computer hardware made this a relatively easy task compared to the work that would have had to be done to the original tapes. And, when Wilson himself decided it was time to finally release SMiLE in 2004, he did it as a completely new recording based on what he and Van Dyke Parks recalled about the compositions and likely even listening to fan reconstructions, actually. Everyone was excited for the release, and it gave a kind of “definitive” version of the track listing. The Purple Chick made a new version based on this “Brian Wilson Presents” version. I wasn’t as excited about this release as most fans were because it really didn’t sound like the original Beach Boys. Wilson’s voice has changed over the years, and the Wondermints who were the backing band on it weren’t the Beach Boys.
In February of this year the announcement was made by The Beach Boys, Brian Wilson and Capitol across many outlets that they were going to release a massive box set of SMiLE. Titled The Smile Sessions, it would have as accurate a reconstruction of what Smile should have been as would be achievable from the tapes they had. It’s important to remember that Smile was never finished. Lots of studio backing tracks were recorded as well as a lot of vocal takes from the Boys, but many of them were never assembled– so there were lots of studio trickery needed to make things line up. The first releases from these sessions were a Record Store Day “Good Vibrations” single in the form of a 78 RPM record. The next release was a bonus clear yellow 7″ that was included in the UK magazine Mojo of “Cabin Essence” and “Wonderful” in a special “Mojo 60’s” magazine with interviews from the members of the band. Lots of chatter ensued– it wasn’t clear how fans could get copies of this issue– although stores like Barnes & Noble carried Mojo, they didn’t tend to carry the special issues. I spent a lot of time calling around trying to figure out if stores were carrying it. In the end, I ended up getting three issues– one from Parasol Records in Champaign, IL, and two copies from Prairie Lights in Iowa City (one of these was for a friend who is as big a Smile fan as I am).
After much speculation from the many experts and critics on the internet boards, a likely mock up of the box set showed up. This is the picture at the top of the article, followed quickly by entries on Amazon’s website for preordering the three versions of the release– a massive box set and two “album” releases (CD and LP). The original release was likely slated to only be one LP, but there was enough completed sketches that it easily fills out two LPs, plus, Wilson himself did not limit himself to the 45-minute barrier for his 2004 version, so that becomes the template. In fact, it really becomes a three-sided release for the CD and LP versions with the fourth side being “bonus” material in the form of some stereo versions and session chatter.
The definitive version of SMiLE has always been a MONO one. Wilson had hearing loss in one ear and thus stereo production was never a priority for him. So, we are presented SMiLE in mono, the way it was meant to be.
Here are the details on the big Smile Sessions Box which includes 2 LP’s, and 5 CD’s of music, 2 7″ singles, a hardcover book, a poster and a reproduction of the photo booklet that was supposed to be in the original release. (From Amazon.com) As of 8/28 it is at $149 (up from $110 on Friday?)
5 CDs / 2LPs / 2 7″ singles
Three-dimensional shadow box lid featuring the original artwork of Frank Holmes.
The Box Set measures 13″ x 13″ x 2.5″
60 page case bound book features liner notes by:
– Brian Wilson
– Mike Love
– Al Jardine
– Bruce Johnston
– Frank Holmes
– Peter Reum
– Tom Nolan
– Dominic Priore
Anecdotes by:
– Marilyn Wilson-Rutherford
– Diane Rovell
– Dean Torrence
– Mark Volman
– Michael Vosse
– David Anderle
– Danny Hutton Timeline Sessionography Lyrics Frank Holmes drawings Producer’s Notes More than 60 previously unreleased photos
Box also contains:
6 panel folder holding 5 CDs and singles. Features photos of original session tape boxes.
7″ vinyl singles
“Heroes and Villians” in sleeve art
Vega-Tables” in sleeve art
Gatefold 2 LPs
Features full tracklisting of proposed unfinished album +
Stereo mixes and session highlights (not available on CDs)
12″ x 12″ booklet created for original release features:
Photos by Guy Webster
Drawings by Frank Holmes
24″ x 36″ poster of Frank Holmes cover art
Track Listing for the Full Box Set (from Amazon.com)
Disc: 1
1. Our Prayer
2. Gee
3. Heroes And Villains
4. Do You Like Worms (Roll Plymouth Rock)
5. I’m In Great Shape
6. Barnyard
7. My Only Sunshine (The Old Master Painter / You Are My Sunshine)
8. Cabin Essence
9. Wonderful
10. Look (Song For Children)
11. Child Is Father Of The Man
12. Surf’s Up
13. I Wanna Be Around / Workshop
14. Vega-Tables
15. Holidays
16. Wind Chimes
17. The Elements: Fire (Mrs. O’Leary’s Cow)
18. Love To Say Dada
19. Good Vibrations
20. You’re Welcome (Bonus Track)
21. Heroes And Villains (Stereo Mix) (Bonus Track)
22. Heroes And Villains Sections (Stereo Mix) (Bonus Track)
23. Vega-Tables Demo (Bonus Track)
24. He Gives Speeches (Bonus Track)
25. Smile Backing Vocals Montage (Bonus Track)
26. Surf’s Up 1967 (Solo version) (Bonus Track)
27. Psycodelic Sounds: Brian Falls Into A Piano (Bonus Track)
Disc: 2
1. Our Prayer “Dialog” 9/19/66
2. Our Prayer 10/4/66
3. Heroes And Villains: Verse (Master Take) [Heroes And Villains Session: 10/20/66]
4. Heroes And Villains: Barnyard (Master Take) [Heroes And Villains Session: 10/20/66]
5. Heroes And Villains: I’m In Great Shape 10/27/66
6. Heroes and Villains Intro (Early Version) circa 12/66
7. Heroes And Villains: Do A Lot [Heroes And Villains Session: 1/3/67]
8. Heroes And Villains: Bag Of Tricks [Heroes And Villains Session: 1/3/67]
9. Heroes And Villains: Mission Pak [Heroes And Villains Session: 1/3/67]
10. Heroes And Villains: Bridge To Indians [Heroes And Villains Session: 1/3/67]
11. Heroes And Villains: Part 1 Tag [Heroes And Villains Session: 1/3/67]
12. Heroes And Villains: Pickup To 3rd Verse [Heroes And Villains Session: 1/3/67]
13. Heroes And Villains: Children Were Raised [Heroes And Villains Session: 1/27/67]
14. Heroes And Villains: Part 2 (Cantina track) [Heroes And Villains Session: 1/27/67]
15. Heroes And Villains: Whistling Bridge [Heroes And Villains Session: 1/27/67]
16. Heroes And Villains: Cantina [Heroes And Villains Session: 1/27/67]
17. Heroes And Villains: All Day [Heroes And Villains Session: 1/27/67]
18. Heroes And Villains: Verse Edit Experiment [Heroes And Villains Session: 1/27/67]
19. Heroes And Villains: Prelude To Fade [Heroes And Villains Session: 2/15/67]
20. Heroes And Villains: Piano Theme [Heroes And Villains Session: 2/15/67]
21. Heroes And Villains: Part 2 [Heroes And Villains Sesssion: 2/20/67]
22. Heroes And Villains: Part 2 (Gee) (Master Take) [Heroes And Villains Sesssion: 2/20/67]
23. Heroes And Villains: Part 2 Revised [Heroes And Villains Sesssion: 2/20/67]
24. Heroes And Villains: Part 2 Revised (Master Take) [Heroes And Villains Sesssion: 2/20/67]
25. Heroes And Villains: Part 3 (Animals) (Master Take) [Heroes And Villains Sesssion: 2/20/67]
26. Heroes And Villains: Part 4 [Heroes And Villains Sesssion: 2/20/67]
27. Heroes And Villains: Part Two (Master Take) 2/27/67 [Heroes And Villains Sesssion: 2/27/67]
28. Heroes And Villains: Fade 2/28/67 [Heroes And Villains Sesssion: 2/27/67]
29. Heroes And Villains: Verse remake [Heroes And Villains Session: 3/1/67]
30. Heroes And Villains: Organ Waltz / Intro [Heroes And Villains Session: 3/1/67]
31. Heroes And Villains: Chorus Vocals [Heroes And Villains Session: 6/14/67]
32. Heroes And Villains: Barbershop [Heroes And Villains Session: 6/14/67]
33. Heroes And Villains: Children Were Raised (Remake) [Heroes And Villains Session: 6/14/67]
34. Heroes And Villains: Children Were Raised (Master Take Overdubs Mix 1) [Heroes And Villains Session: 6/14/67]
35. Heroes And Villains: Children Were Raised (Master Take A Capella) [Heroes And Villains Session: 6/14/67]
36. Heroes And Villains Piano Demo (incorporating “I’m In Great Shape” and “Barnyard”) Brian with Van Dyke Parks and “Humble Harve” Miller, KHJ Radio 11/4/66 (Bonus Track)
37. Psycodelic Sounds: Brian Falls Into A Microphone 11/4/66 (Bonus Track)
12. Surf’s Up – Session Excerpt and Stereo Mix (Side Four)
The CD edition is a little more expansive having a special box and will include more content on 2 CD’s. Priced at $24.5 on 8/27, it has the following content (from Amazon.com):
Disc: 1
1. Our Prayer
2. Gee
3. Heroes And Villains
4. Do You Like Worms (Roll Plymouth Rock)
5. I’m In Great Shape
6. Barnyard
7. My Only Sunshine (The Old Master Painter / You Are My Sunshine)
8. Cabin Essence
9. Wonderful
10. Look (Song For Children)
11. Child Is Father Of The Man
12. Surf’s Up
13. I Wanna Be Around / Workshop
14. Vega-Tables
15. Holidays
16. Wind Chimes
17. The Elements: Fire (Mrs. O’Leary’s Cow)
18. Love To Say Dada
19. Good Vibrations
20. You’re Welcome (Bonus Track)
21. Heroes And Villains (Stereo Mix) (Bonus Track)
22. Heroes And Villains Sections (Stereo Mix) (Bonus Track)
23. Vega-Tables Demo (Bonus Track)
24. He Gives Speeches (Bonus Track)
25. Smile Backing Vocals Montage (Bonus Track)
26. Surf’s Up 1967 (Solo version) (Bonus Track)
27. Psycodelic Sounds: Brian Falls Into A Piano (Bonus Track)
Disc: 2
1. Our Prayer “Dialog” (9/19/66) 3:02
2. Heroes and Villains (Part 1) 3:08
3. Heroes and Villains (Part 2) 4:18
4. Heroes and Villains: Children Were Raised (1/27/67) 2:07
5. Heroes and Villains: Prelude to Fade (2/15/67) 3:42
6. My Only Sunshine (11/14/66) 6:52
7. Cabin Essence (10/3/66) 5:19
8. Surf’s Up: 1st Movement (11/4/66) 4:55
9. Surf’s Up Piano Demo (12/15/66) 3:53
10. Vegetables Fade (4/12/67) 5:25
11. The Elements: Fire session (11/28/66) 8:27
12. Cool Cool Water version 2 (10/26-10/29/67) 3:32
13. Good Vibrations Session Highlights 8:20
14. Psycodelic Sounds: Brian Falls Into A Microphone (11/4/66) 1:10 (Hidden Track)
So, Capitol has done a good job of giving a variety of releases to suit any level of fandom or commitment. As we get more information about the release, I will update this article.
I made a quick run to Iowa City last week– mostly with the intention of picking up the August issue of Little Village Magazine so I could have a hard copy of the review I wrote for it (Rockygrass band Finnders & Youngberg’s new album FY5). While I was there, I stopped into the Record Collector to see if there was anything worth picking up. Of course, there was. One great aspect about the Record Collector is that they have a pretty extensive used vinyl section that has a lot of 90’s college rock in it! Like a lot of collectors, I seem to be spending a lot of collecting time rebuying things I bought back in high school and college– I’m building an R.E.M. collection for example, and finding obscure releases like Love Tractor. I came away with some really great nostalgia releases on this trip:
Angry Samoans – Yesterday Started Tomorrow (EP, PVC Records, PVC 6915, 1986)($20) I kind of spent a lot on this particular release. Anyone who hung out with me in high school got to hear this EP a lot. Back then, the only way I was exposed to most new music was through KUNI the closest public radio station (now part of Iowa Public Radio), and I would wait anxiously for Night Music to start. In fact, I used to tape it so that I could listen to it the next day in hopes of finding some new gems. One early find was the Angry Samoans through their great song “It’s Raining Today.” Though I didn’t know it at the time, The Angry Samoans were contemporaries of seminal LA punk bands like X, The Circle Jerks and Black Flag, which I became aware of through late-night showings of “Urgh! A Music War” and “The Decline of Western Civilization.” Though, Yesterday Started Tomorrow was a departure in sound for the band– choosing to embrace its love of 60’s garage rock. A great record that still holds up today.
Love Tractor – Themes From Venus (LP, DB Recs, DB92, 1988)($5.00) An obscure band– likely only known from people who lived in Georgia at the time or people who saw the documentary Athens, GA Inside/Out. A band I’m always keeping an eye out for. I’ve managed to pick up three LP’s of their vinyl career thus far. Themes From Venus was a return to their original label home DB Recs after a one-record stint at minor-major label Big Time Records which had distribution by BMG and RCA in the US with their album This Ain’t to Outerspace Ship and it’s single– a cover of “Party Train” (almost the precursor to “Love Shack” by the B-52’s!) Love Tractor started as a band that only occasionally had vocals, but over time that changed. Maybe they learned how to sing and play their instruments? Here is “Venus” from Themes From Venus.
The dB’s – The Sound of Music (LP, IRS Records, IRS-42055, 1987)($7.00) I became familiar with The dB’s when they opened for R.E.M. on the Document tour in Davenport at Palmer Auditorium. Though The dB’s are known for the writing partnership of Peter Holsapple and Chris Stamey– much in the tradition of Chris Bell and Alex Chilton of Big Star or Chris Difford and Glenn Tillbrook of Squeeze– The Sound of Music was post Stamey’s departure from the band. Holsapple tried to carry the mantle of The dB’s for two more albums before they gave it up. The album is a blend of jangly Byrdsian guitar power pop with country influence like a lot of bands at the time — we call it Americana I suppose these days, but back then it was just rock. I always loved “Never Say When.” These days both Stamey and Holsapple have solo careers and release the occasional album together.
Tom Petty – Full Moon Fever (LP, MCA Records, MCA-6253, 1989)($7.00) Firstly, big props to Record Collector for pricing this record very reasonably. Recently, I was visiting one of my other favorite record shops and they were asking $40 for a copy of this record– not nearly in this nice of shape either! The justification by the kid behind the counter who did the pricing at that store was that there are copies of this on eBay going for $40. Sadly, they will probably get that price for it from someone who isn’t willing to do a bit of searching. As it is, I’ve seen nice copies on discogs.com for less than $20. Plus, it is just a matter of time before the big remastering project that is well underway for Petty’s catalog will eventually hit this record and create a completely new 180g version with bonus tracks. Anyway, what is there really to say about this record that hasn’t been said– HUGELY successful release from Petty during the period when Jeff Lynne of ELO had infiltrated a bunch of camps with his production: The Traveling Wilburys, George Harrison, Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, Roy Orbison. So, you end up with these guys all hanging out and working on each other’s records as well as collaborating on the Traveling Wilburys. If you see Petty in concert these days, he seems to do more songs from this album than almost any other in his catalog. All the big hits: “Running Down A Dream,” “Yer So Bad,” “Free Fallin’,” “I Won’t Back Down.”
Ultra Vivid Scene – Joy 1967-1990 (LP, 4AD/Columbia C4 6227, 1990)($8.00) This was one of those “holy shit!” moments flipping through the bins. One of my very favorite albums coming from the astonishingly fertile 4AD camp in the early 90’s. The Pixies blasted the doors open and bands like UVS, The Cocteau Twins, The Breeders and Lush found themselves with major label deals in the US. UVS is pretty much the project of Kurt Ralske. He had three albums as UVS before moving on to other things. These days he seems focused on graphic arts. This album was the breakthrough for him and largely due to the single “Special One” which featured prominently Kim Deal from the Pixies, as did the video for it which got some MTV rotation. Kurt was a lucky, lucky man in 1990.
Stuff I put back: Camper Van Chadbourne, plus a reissue of Blind Joe Death by John Fahey on Takoma– apparently a recent reissue.
This afternoon Ryan Adams posted the link to the preorder for his upcoming release Ashes & Fire to Facebook which is due out on October 11th on PaxAm Records through a distribution arrangement with Capitol Records. The album was recorded at Sunset Sound in Los Angeles and produced by Glyn Johns who produced albums from the likes of The Who, The Clash and The Rolling Stones among many others. Glyn happens to be the father of Ethan Johns who worked on Adams’ Heartbreaker, Gold and 29. The album has garnered a substantial amount of buzz since it is his first studio album of new material since Cardinology in 2008– although he did some housecleaning by releasing some archival material in the form of his Metal Space Opera Orion and III/IV, a collection of songs recorded around Easy Tiger in addition to some 7″es and some digital releases.
Ryan solicited help on the album with some keyboards by Heartbreaker Benmont Tench (what albums is he not on these days?) and some vocals from Norah Jones on several tracks (she provided the guest vocals on “Dear John” for him previously).
Along with the link to access the pre-orders, Ryan posted a bandcamp link to “Lucky Now” which is also a free download with the pre-order. Everyone who pre-orders will get a digital download of the album the day of the release by accessing their online account created at order time.
There are four pre-order options for Ashes & Fire. CD and vinyl ($12.99 and $20.00 respectively) and a Deluxe Bundle which can either be CD ($40) or vinyl ($50) and a Deluxe Bundle with a teeshirt ($50 for CD, $60 for vinyl). The extra goodies for the Deluxe Bundles includes a flexidisc of unreleased track “Darkness” as a 3D Lenticular Photo of Ryan Adams, a Booklet of expanded album artwork including 3D photos, A pair of Ryan Adams 3D Glasses and PAX-AM Bucks (To be redeemed toward future paxamrecords.com store purchases).
My wife had a wedding makeup gig in Mt. Vernon on Saturday and since I didn’t have a lot going on I offered to come along and help her load in and out. I figured I’d check out the antique shops to see what books or vinyl they might have. Unfortunately, there used to be a really great record store in Mt. Vernon above one of the art stores. I guess the father of one of the owners of the store had a large record collection that they wanted to sell, so they ran a store for a while.
After helping Sherry, I parked the car and set out on foot to see what I could find. The former Mt. Vernon Middle School is now known as The First Street Community Center and this is where I found the one record I picked up. The school has been converted into a number of small shops and businesses– most of them antiques and gifts. On the second floor of the building I found a lone stack of records in front of one of the shops. The stack was marked $2. So, I flipped through them not expecting to really find anything as the records were largely 60’s era ephemera like orchestra, some odd soundtracks and some foreign music titles. One I almost picked up was a University of Iowa title called The Songs of Iowa or something like that and had a selection of music from the various cultures– Mesquaki Indian music, Czechoslovakian, German, Dutch. But, just before I got to the bottom of the pile this familiar collection of African masks was staring me in the face.
Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers – Drum Suite (LP, Columbia CL 1002, 1957)($1.00) Wow! First, it is Mono and original Columbia Records “Six Eye” label, so it is an original pressing. The record was missing the inner paper sleeve, but the record itself was in pretty decent shape! It had some slightly incriminating scuffs, but I figured for a record over 50 years old, it wouldn’t be perfect, and the price was right. After a conversation with the nice lady who ran the little shop, and who attempted to just give the record to me, we arrived at $1.
When I got home, I gave the record a wipe with Gruv-Glide II (I highly recommend this stuff!) which did a fantastic job of cleaning out the groove of dust and debris and also provided an anti-static barrier. The record had a deep black sheen and it took some close looking to even see the original scuffs! The record played with very little noise.
Drum Suite is really two recordings. Side One is the three-part “Drum Suite” performed by The Art Blakey Percussion Ensemble which was made up of Specs Wright on percussion, Ray Bryant on piano, cellist/bassist Oscar Pettiford, Sabu Martinez on congas, and bassist Candido Camero. As is frequently commented about this release, it predates Afrobeat music by many years, and considered by many to be quite revolutionary at the time. Listening to it now, I notice how well the ensemble ties standard hard bop jazz with the world beats making it pretty listenable (“never descends into cacophony” was one review I read).
The second side of the record is a selection of songs by one of the many iterations of The Jazz Messengers. While enjoyable, is not in my opinion as strong as other Jazz Messenger releases like my personal favorite Mosaic.
When I heard the middle part of the Drum Suite “Cubano Chant” I found it to be familiar, so I looked into that track further. “Cubano Chant” was composed by the pianist Ray Bryant and included in his 1956 album on Epic Records The Ray Bryant Trio (Epic LN 3279)– which is sadly very out-of-print. The version on Drum Suite has some vocals (“Vamos a bailar la cha-cha-cha!”) where his version (and most other cover versions) doesn’t. Ray Bryant passed away in June at 79 years old. One of his noted contributions to the world of jazz is “Cubano Chant” which seems to be regarded as kind of a standard, considering how many people covered it. I found a pretty cool video of Steely Dan’s touring band from 2003 performing it as a warmup before a concert. I’m not exactly sure where I heard this before, but I guess it could be anywhere– but I’m pretty sure I heard it on “Dancing With the Stars” though I don’t know what season that would have been.
I managed to find a vinyl rip of Ray Bryant Trio (the Epic release, not the confusingly same-titled Prestige album from the same year– although some call that one Piano Piano Piano) on the internet which is pretty cool– but considering the apparent significance of “Cubano Chant” you’d think that they would have reissued this. It’s on my “wishlist” to get on vinyl.
There is also a pre-order on iTunes with two-minute samples of every track on the 13-song album. At first blush the album continues the honey-drenched laid back bluesy folk sound that is her trademark sound.
Pieta’s first album on Red House Records, One and All, marked the re-entry of the label back into vinyl records, and although the e-mail sent out today doesn’t specifically mention Mercury vinyl, I know the label is supporting more releases in the future, so it stands to reason that this album will be too.
(I highly recommend this stuff!) which did a fantastic job of cleaning out the groove of dust and debris and also provided an anti-static barrier. The record had a deep black sheen and it took some close looking to even see the original scuffs! The record played with very little noise.
