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.