Outer Music Diary

Click Zap - Live at the Silver Elephant 1992

One of my current projects is getting rid of cassettes. This entails going through lots of them and upgrading, deleting or holding for a later appraisal. In doing so I’ve been putting off some of what I’m considering bottom of the barrell and this was one of those cassettes. To be honest I barely remember what the deal was except they have an unusual trio format, a drummer fronted by two guitarists, one a steel string acoustic player, the other a nylon string. Unsurprisingly, with amplification, you get a lot of what I’d call the Ovation sound, lots of nasally twang in what is a more avant style than say, the California Guitar Quartet. They’re obviously excellent guitar players, but with a lot of shredding and quick playing and little in the way of bass sound, it gets samey very fast.

Chicago - Port Chester, NY 10/31/70

The live recordings from Port Chester represent one of the larger mines disseminated on live torrent sites over the years, in fact some of the shows from that archive are Grateful Dead shows in what was a period where many shows were not recorded for the band’s own archive. Strangely enough, my second appraisal of this Chicago show is a lot like the last one or two where I thought the sound quality was much worse than it is. I don’t remember the performance being particularly good either, but I seem to have mistaken about that as well. There’s nothing like hearing Terry Kath go for it. Nothing.

Tangerine Dream - 1/22/76

As it turns out with a little research this turns out to be the Tangerine Tree recording of 11/22/76 which meant I ended up with two copies. I don’t mind hearing this early by any means, it’s a very sequenced show and particularly impressive. When you hear these unadulterated recordings, you’ve really got to wonder why they get altered later by Froese. You have to wonder if he’s ironing out the good bits just because he’s embarassed by the technology or something else. Because this is truly amazing stuff, way better than Ricochet, Encore or all but one of the shows on the Bootleg box. Although it’s very hissy.

Tryo - Dos Mundos

I think I spaced my listen on this, at least beyond knowing I heard Tryo and their yin/yang cycle of heavy and acoustic bits. They’re always a good listen, although I’ve yet to see one break out of the 10 spot.

Sam Vitoulis - April 4th, 1984
Ian Boddy - Shrouded

Both of these two ambient releases kind of ran together, and for once I think I got the listening cycle correct in that albums like these two take a lot less attention to parse. In trying to choose things to listen to over the nightshift, I had taken these out as too noisy, but now I’m wondering why I did so. Boddy’s music has always been somewhat percussive in a way, he just seems to release things less so more often these days.

Atoll - Musiciens-Magiciens
Agora - Live in Montreux
Alice Coltrane - Lord of Lords

All mini-LP files. The Atoll was one of my first non-mainstream symph albums and was pretty influential on my thinking. Early on they had a lot of intriguing American stylings in their music, as if they were listening to the Dead or something (the bonus tracks), but by the recording of the album they were obviously on something of a Yes kick. It’s a poorly produced album that a volume yank didn’t really help too much, but its charm and naiveté win through in the end. The Agora is my favorite of all the non-Area jazz-rock records. Lord of Lords is an album that’s decayed for me over listens. The whole Stravinsky meets JC with Terry Riley on organ thing has to be something I’m in the mood for and I think she’d already had better success with it on World Galaxy (or parts of the sparser Universal Consciousness).

The Allman Brothers Band - Live at the Atlanta International Pop Festival

I remember thinking the second of the two shows on this double was by far the finer of the two, but I don’t think the gap is quite as wide now. It’s just so classic Allmans that it’s kind of hard to complain. It may only fall short of Fillmore East due to it not being a collection of highlights.

The Incredible String Band, THE BIG HUGE (1970) D:10. Not as consistant as HANGMAN’S or 5000 LAYERS, there’s nonetheless some top-notch material on this (and its sister volume WEE TAM too, incidentally). Namely, “Cousin Catepilliar” and “Lordly Nightshade”, which match up to their best stuff.

Chris Potter, TRAVELLING MERCIES (USA 2002) 9=9. I saw Chris Potter (saxophone) live one time many years ago when he was maybe still a teenager and playing in Red Rodney’s group at Birdland in NYC. He was really good, as best I could tell at that point. Certainly he was a fluent soloist. I haven’t kept up much with his career, but picked up this CD at some point which I’ve kept in my collection since, despite the Gnosis “9″. Thing is, there’s some nice, accomplished music here: Potter’s still quite good, I like the Rhodes keys textures, and John Scofield plays some of his nice tension-and-release solos. But overall the fusion-tinged jazz is just too correct, too slick for any fires to be lit. Normally that criticism leads a CD to the “out pile”, but I’ve held on to this one despite mulitple plays at a stubborn 9. I guess there’s something about it.

Quicksilver Messenger Service, HAPPY TRAILS (USA 1969) 8+9. With a lot of QMS talk in the last week here and in WIRE magazine, it was time to relisten. I like the group’s playing quite a lot - Cippolina’s got a nice touch and sense of phrasing that takes rock/blues phrases and puts them a little in front of the beat to interesting effect. And the rest of the band sounds good too. I guess it’s the material that doesn’t appeal to me: the workouts on Bo Didley tunes, and the atmospheric Western stuff. Still, appreciated this much more than I have before.

Devendra Banhart, CRIPPLE CROW (USA 2005) D:12. Banhart’s a really talented guy. I think of him along the lines of the ISB - he has that ability to make simple things sound fresh and interesting by a twist of phrase or an unexpected chord. I’ve enjoyed listening to his first three albums a lot, but would often feel afterwards a nagging sense that I wished he could flesh out and “complete” some of his songs more; a lot of them seemed to present a strong idea and then drop it, ending without any development. Looks like I’ve gotten my wish with CRIPPLE CROW, and not only are the songs (in some cases, anyway) more skillfully arranged, but his textural and stylistic palate has widened considerably. Some influences are ablolutely on-sleeve here (I thought of Elvis, Bob Dylan circa BASEMENT TAPES and BLONDE ON BLONDE, classic Motown, and even classic rock like the Doobie Brothers) but the material and delivery is singular enough not to be overburdened by these references, weighty as they are (well, except for the Doobie Brothers, natch).

B.B. Blunder, WORKERS’ PLAYTIME (England 1971) 11+12. Found a vinyl copy of this a couple years ago and it’s been growing in my estimation steadily since. Hasn’t made it to CD though it’s a perfect candidate for reissue through Eclectic or somebody. WP is pretty much the third Blossom Toes record and continues the direction established on IF ONLY FOR A MOMENT: hard rock informed by the WHITE ALBUM and ABBEY ROAD but with a willful eclecticism occasionally bordering on the abrasive. It’s got some great songs and even better guitar work (I think that Jimmy Page must have known this record becuse it sounds to me like he might have ‘borrowed’ a riff or two), but a very odd flow and one pretty weak track (side 1, track 2). Fans of classic British early 70s guitar, if nothing else, should hear side 2. Guests include Mick Taylor and Julie Tippets.

(Note: looks like WORKERS’ PLAYTIME is being reissued on CD in March 06 by the German label Long Hair. The label promises 2 bonus tracks and improved sound - a good thing as the vinyl sound is dodgy.)

Herbie Hancock - NDR Studios 1970

The words NDR Studios is starting to become something of a quality stamp for live material, you can nearly expect a minimum A-. This transitional era Hancock live set probably clocks in at something like 2 1/2 hours in total and presents a style totally different from any of his albums. One might say it’s a combo of the end of his Blue Note period and Fat Albert Rotunda, but that wouldn’t really be accurate, as a lot of this is a sidestep. His sound from the Blue Note years is already mutated from Hancock’s experience on the early electric Miles albums. It’s almost too much to handle really, 2 1/2 hours of prime A quality Herbie, most of it totally unfamiliar. This would make an incredible CD!

Frumpy - Kronau, Germany 2/12/72

Too bad this wasn’t NDR either as the sound quality drop is gigantic between these two shows, an A drops to high Cish. Anyone who has heard the Frumpy live album knows exactly what to expect here, except this is a pretty short gig without quite so many longer tangents. Quite good though.

Tammatoys - …within a Dream

As a former player, I get a little weary when bands use the mellotron in such a deadpan background-ish sort of manner and particularly when it’s as anachronistic and 70s progrock-referential as it is on this album. The music is something of a more song-oriented prog rock style, very modern, but mixed in with 70sisms that don’t blend too well. However, it’s also a fairly short release, so it’s not agonizing and drawn out enough to give it a lower grade than an 8 or 9.

Patto - BBC Sessions

This is another long set and now that I remember, I’ve got another Patto live show plugged at the end of disc 2 on this that I probably played as well. It’s a great overview of the band’s career covering both the short, vocal oriented tracks and the long Halsall-laced guitar and vibes explorations. Some great between-song Peel Sessions banter as well. Almost too much to take in even after a couple listens.

Santana - Bandshell, Central Park Free Concert, New York City 8/10/69

I think this is a bit better of a show than I remember from my first spin, which was overshadowed some by hearing the Jefferson Airplane gig that preceded Santana’s set. The Santana show isn’t great quality but it far surpasses the JA show, which I deleted. This is within the same month as Santana’s famous Woodstock gig and it’s very similar, except with more time to stretch out. This is more the case later in the set, with some pretty great firey jams. While I don’t like this era of live Santana as much as I do the shows from a few years later (which isn’t the case with the studio albums), this is a strong example of who they were in 1969.

Grateful Dead - Winterland Arena, San Francisco, CA 6/9/77

File listen on this very strong show, one I’d probably put between an 11 and 12, as I felt the final listen was maybe a bit weaker than I’d previously thought. But that’s mostly set 1 (except for a rather great opening Half-Step), set 2 with all the Terrapin and Blues for Allah material is insanely good.

Magic Pie - Motions of Desire
AOR/quasi-prog from Norway, solidly in the The Flower Kings mold. When they go prog, it’s passable, but the crunchy guitars and overtly AORness puts me off. 8.

Lumbee “Overdose”
Lame amateur hour hard rock on the Gear Fab label. Crap. 7.

Limbus 3 “Cosmic Music Experience”
Very early and very whack german “kraut”, basically just a buch of random noises. It’s not very abrasive, which is a plus, but overall, this doesn’t amount to much. 6.

Kossoff, Kirke, Tetsu & Rabbit “Kossoff, Kirke, Tetsu & Rabbit”
A mix of late period Free and Bad Company. Not bad, but pedestrian hard rock. 8.

Magic Carpet “Magic Carpet”
Folk raga thing from England, 1972. Not nearly as good as solo member clem alford’s solo album, as it lacks the “rock” element. Still, good to chill, with all the sitars and stuff. 8.

Magi “Win or Lose”
US midwestern hard rock that’s pretty nice, and avoids being cheesy. Points for that. Reminds me a bit of early Rush, before they

Sume “Inuit Nunaat”
This one’s from, and I kid you not, Greenland! And it’s actually pretty good, some very tasteful rock with occasional prog/jamming tendencies. I bumped this from a 9 to 10.

Subway “Subway”
What a weird album… For the most part, it’s a conventional folky duo thing, guitar and violin, but on some songs, there’s a full band backing, and they go into these wonderful proggy trips, stuff like Gong, Clearlight… Apparently they were just 2 bums (one american, one brit) busking on the underground in Paris, and that’s where they got their name… The folky stuff is rather boring so it gets an 8, but I’m closing this on a 10 overall.

Andrew Hill - Time Lines

This is simply a favorite of mine right now. Andrew Hill’s newest album on Blue Note registers high on the WOW meter. This stuff is pretty dense which is not surprising coming from this genius. Mr. Hill has done it again. I’ll be seeing him at Birdland soon!

Steely Dan - The Royal Scam

The re-issue sounds great. I’m recently updating a few of these onto CD, this one was a must. Walter Becker’s lead guitar lines are brilliant; namely in Kid Charlemane. Awesome stuff.

Roger Smith - Unexpected Turns

Solo guitar improvisations totaling at 69:48, right up my alley. Roger Smith is one of the forerunners from the british improv scene. His playing is precise, but yet subtle and contemplative…I get the sense that I’m listening without him wanting me to, kind of like eavesdropping. Anyway, I really enjoy his approach at guitar improvisation, a stream-of-consciousness as moody as winter.

Joe Morris - Singularity

Fastest chops in the Northeast, Joe Morris has got him one hell of an improv record here. Mr. jB sold me on this one quite a while back. This stuff takes time. Dense and very busy.

U Totem - Strange Attractors

I wonder how many reviewers thought they had a strange attraction to this disc. I wanted badly to stay away from the comparison but after playing it 2 or 3 times and finding myself enjoying it a little more in increments, I realized that we’re probably dealing with a 9 here rather than an 8. It’s not the debut by any means, but it does indeed have a weird sort of attraction to it. Although I feel with a lot of music like this that I get more out of it just sitting there and listening, something I don’t do very often.

Dragonfly s/t

This US psych album is no major work by any means, but it was another revisit I needed to decide whether or not to part with or not. Like the U Totem above it ended up making the cut, even if it’s kind of at the bottom of the pile. And the difference, as it is with so many psych albums, is that the songwriting is just average, none of those memorable melodies that made the classics.

Miles Davis Quintet - Juan-les-Pins, Antibes, France 7/26/69

Electric Miles is one area of music I’m completist about, even to the point of upgrading shows and keeping an eye on sound quality issues. This is one of those upgrades, however I’m not sure it was totally necessary given that this is still slated as a Legacy release with the show the day before (that exists as 1969Miles Festiva de Juan Pins) and it’s not really quite as good as that gig, even if it does sound better now. With something like this, I just want to wait until the Antibes set finally comes out and really sink into it then.

2066 and Then - Reflections on the Future

I must admit to some confusion over 2066 and Then, their original LP and the Second Battle reissues or archive releases. In listening to this, what I believe is the original LP, I’m not really noticing any differences from the CD I’m more familliar with, at least in the important ways. That is, I’m not sure what the appeal of this band is, poor melodies, poor vocals, bad production and sloppy playing. Kind of that undergroundy sound you get on a lot of the Garden of Delights reissues.

Fields s/t

I’m not sure I could totally describe this after a first listen except that it sounded like a keyboard-led prog rock band with a style very different than one might imagine by the ELP lineage. Some really good playing and a few oddly intriguing songs will make this cool to go back to.

R. M. Tocak s/t

One could more easily file this next to Den Za Den than the Smak band Tocak hailed from. This poorly produced and washy fusion album might have been totally incredible had they just gone for the same sound Smak had. Unfortunately this is a very tinny sounding record and the guitar player has one of the worst tones I’ve ever heard. Musically it’s of the late 70s ilk, but the edge ensures it isn’t too polished.

Phil & Friends - The Warfield, San Francisco, CA 9/27/03

Out of the five P&F shows I own (correction: owned), this is probably the finest. The magnitude of the issue with Lesh’s vocals is demonstrated aptly by how relieved you are to be having Warren Haynes taking many of the spots. In fact his obvious “southern” presence takes this in a more Allmans-y direction, just like the 99 Phriends run was more Phishy. But never fear, Phil is around to ruin a couple of Garcia’s numbers. Correction: I now have one Phil & Friends show.

Santana - Winterland Arena, San Francisco 12/31/73

I am so enamored by the Jaycee Fairgrounds show from August that I think I gave this short shrift the first time around on all accounts. It’s a very good Lotus-era performance and sounds quite good as well. Unquestionably my favorite Santana tour thanks to Leon Thomas bringing the spirit of Pharoah to the proceedings.

Neu! - 75

Revisit listen. I did end up keeping this at a 9, it’s just a little askew in a krautrocky sort of manner. I’m not sure it will make the later cut though, I’ve never really quite warmed to this. 

Led Zeppelin - Fillmore West, San Francisco, CA 4/27/69

Now that’s more like it. Perhaps Page didn’t wake up with a hangover this morning, but man this is night and day compared to the night before both sound quality and performance. This is why people collect Zep boots, when they’re on fire they’re quite impressive. And undoctored.

Ginhouse s/t

Just got in a big batch of late 60s and early 70s British albums, an area I’ve just been dying to dig more into as the heavier edge, less style-conscious early bands were often far more adventurous than what was to come. The first of the batch bodes very well, this was an amazing guitar-driven early progressive rock album, demonstrating the ethic stripped of its later aesthetics. Lots of funky time signatures and great songs, but all done in a Vertigo label-like manner. Oh man I was thinking minimum 11 all the way on this one!

Fuzzy Duck s/t

2 for 2. The same year I believe (1971) but with more of a keyboard approach, that sort of heavy rock and classical keys thing that the Nice started and everyone else improved. Great stuff, some of the songs on this album made me wonder if I’d discovered another Jody Grind album. Another one I’m thinking an 11 on.

Groundhogs - Solid

I didn’t get much of a chance to listen to this as I had company coming in and out. But my friend voiced what I was thinking when he came in and said ”It’s like Motorhead with mellotrons!” I don’t seem to remember the vocals being like this in prior albums so much, but the guy sounds like Lemmy here, which has to make you wonder about their connection to the biker scene. Anyway I’ll need a better crack at it, it was time for bed soon after.