Outer Music Diary

I’ve got a little news about Outer Music which I posted over at my personal blog that might result in a change in posting activity here over the next month.

John Stevens, LIVE AT THE PLOUGH (England, 1979). I get a lot of enjoyment from listening to John Stevens play the drums, but this isn’t one of the better discs I’ve heard. Very much a jam session feel, with the highly regarded Mike Osborne (as) and Paul Rogers (b) trotting out old workhorses like “Cherokee” and “Summertime”. “Cherokee”, incidently, is approached in a “theme / modal improv / theme” format that was disappointing. There isn’t much to recommend the song’s corny melody; traditionally it’s the tricky chord changes that interest jazz players. So to retain the former and dispense with the latter seems an odd move. Many better John Stevens recordings out there, I’d say.

Robert Plant, PICTURES AT ELEVEN (1982). I suspect that this album will at some point make a comeback with zepheads and rock aficionados. It’s got definite stylistic ties to IN THROUGH THE OUT DOOR (but better) and the jaunty stop-start rock of PRESENCE, after all. Percy’s in excellent voice, delivering some excellent whoops and hollers, and eschewing the orgasmic yelping that worked in the beginning of his Zeppelin career, but never after. Not only that, but one tune builds upon the faux-eastern motifs from “Kashmir”, Robbie Blunt plays some excellent rock guitar (and more Page-like in places than I had thought when I first heard the record as a teen and thought it was disappointingly un-Zeppelin), and Phil Collins sounds great making plenty of Bonham references. Had this on a tinny-sounding LP for many years, and finally bought the CD hoping it would be an improvement. It is.

Paladin, PALADIN (England, 1971). Pretty wildly uneven album, but it straddles the different styles of the time in an interesting way. Album opener “Bad Times” is, at its core, then-new hard rock, but the organ, hand drums and rhythms have a late 60s West Coast flavor. “Carry Me Home” shows Zeppelin influence in the organ and rhythm section (with a little “Whole Lotta Love” lick thrown in), but the song’s core and piano style hew closer to Faces / Stones territory. On top of that the vocals show some American roots influence, but with the systematized regularity of delivery that’s a hard rock hallmark. Side one closes with a dud instrumental (”Dance of the Cobra”) which features a drum solo (yawn). Side 2 starts with the fascinating “Third World” - which is real early for the punk sound its got. Latin hand drums, bass and a sort of male-Blondie “Man from Mars” rap eventually give way to a jazzy piano solo… weird, and cool. “Fill Up Your Heart” has a pedestrian verse, but the funky / hard rock / latin bridges and choruses redeem it. Goes on a bit long, and then an overcooked ending. “Flying High” is an odd amalgam of hard rock ballad and sunshine pop: a stinker. At its start, album closer “The Fakir” wouldn’t sound out of place on a Turkish psych compilation, but then a fiddle makes an appearance and they sound, for a second or two, like the Dixie Dregs. These guys ranged wide. Overall, can’t see rating the album over a 10 because of the low points, but “Bad Times” and “Third World” are especially worth hearing.

The Soft Machine – s/t. 1968. Japanese mini-LP. 11+12. My memory always tells me this is their psych album… with not much in common to what they became a year later. But that’s really not the case at all. While there is some 60s “Laugh In” era sound bytes, most of SM’s debut still carries the jazz leanings mixed in with the psych – plus plenty of wonderful fuzz organ solos. In the end, it can only be considered a classic.

  

Ben – s/t. 1971. 9+11. Proving once again that the bootleg vinyl of the 1980s probably did more to harm my appreciation of the fertile British scene than anything else. Not to say that this jazzy piece would’ve been to my liking given my heavily favored diet of symphonic prog at the time. The opening pieces pack the most wallop here, with strong Soft Machine styled rock through the jazz filter. The further it goes, the more it gets lost in trying to find a groove. Still, a wonderful piece and completely out of place on the otherwise heavy rock influenced Vertigo Swirl label.

  

Still Life – s/t. 1971. Japanese mini-LP. D: 11. Actually I had heard this in my initial discovery (around 1994 or so) of the rare early 70s UK rock scene. This one didn’t make an impact and I had a low impression of it. Not sure how I missed the boat then – as this fits perfectly with the others on the Vertigo label, except instead of guitar being the centerpiece, it’s the Hammond organ. Even better! The pacing can be a little slow, which is about the only thing keeping this from a classic rating.

  

Trifle – First Meeting. 1971. Japanese mini-LP. D: 10. Gritty UK horn rocker originally on Dawn, with tight sax and brass charts, organ, rhythm guitar and the expected BS&T like vocalist. Not as polished as Brainchild or as rocking as Heaven for example, more towards the R&B sound. A couple of gospel rockers keep this from the 11 level.