Outer Music Diary

If – s/t. 1970.
If – 2. 1970. If had a pretty good run in the early 70s, before falling out of the limelight rather unceremoniously. You could argue that their success was born from the horn rock movement. And they do retain some of those elements, particularly in the song style, with a poppier feel in the vocal lines. But you’ll also hear quite a bit of the Brit jazz scene that was prevalent in those times, as fused with rock, similar to how Nucleus operated in their infancy. And, finally, there’s some of the sax lead UK proto prog, which I’ve heard quite a bit lately (Hannibal, Aquila, Raw Material). Both albums are inconsistent, but plenty of good fruit to be picked off these trees.

Lighthouse – s/t. 1969. Canada’s Lighthouse were one of the more known horn rock groups from the heyday of the movement, and achieved some moderate success with a couple of Top 40 singles. One striking element of their sound at this point of their career was the use of bumble bee fuzz – a relic of a psychedelic past no doubt. Like 90% of all horn rock albums, this too suffers from indecision, as in what style are we really going to play? And, as usual, there are a handful of killers on here that make it all worthwhile even if pressed for time.

Semool - Essais

Anyone notice the “Black Sabbath” (the song) riff on the third track? It’s about the only familiar landmark on this collection of amateur noisemaking. It’s like Limbus 3’s Cosmic Music Experience but lacking much of interest. Lots of quiet bits as unidentifiable sounds fade up and out, rattling, scuttling, and humming. It’s actually kind of difficult to talk about anything like this because it might work better as an ambient release, while being nothing of the sort in concept. Definitely one of those emperor’s clothes issues.

Open Air s/t

I hadn’t heard this 70s French band in at least a decade or so and I remember it being something of a dud. What I don’t remember is how quintessentially French prog the album is with all those wonderful buzzy tones, in fact this reminds me quite a bit of amateurs like Skryvania whose ambitions reached farther than they were quite capable of. However, once you start talking about the vocals and lyrics, Open Air becomes something of an embarassment. For one thing, they were one of the few in the genre that decided to sing in English and they’re a posterchild for why it’s a bad idea. I had “Seelly Games” floating through my head for a while after it ended. It might have all been salvageable if the lyrics didn’t sound like a bad take on mid-period Steve Hillage. For connoisseurs of the embarassing, this has quite the chuckle factor.

Jim Cole - Godspace

Have to thank Peter for turning me onto Jim Cole, his music has been at the forefront of my ambient night time music cartridge (I have a 6 CD cartridge I often play over night, I’m usually lucky if I hear 1 or 2) for about as long as I can remember, this being the final title I have yet to put a grade on. Cole is thrifty in the way I like my drone artists, long echoing, mournful sounds, slowly moving with the amazing vocals that make you have a hard time telling them apart from electronic patches. And I can’t believe I’m saying this for an ambient music, but this is actually too short.

Haze – Hazecolor-Dia. 1971. Haze, along with Hairy Chapter’s “Can’t Get Through”, are albums I probably discovered too early in my record collecting career. I was fortunate to happen on these LPs in the late 1980s, but the direct hard rock approach they both took was rather off-putting and I traded to other dealers not long after. Of course, both are highly sought after now and fetch large sums of money (it’s quite possible what I traded for does too, but probably not). So this listen is the first in almost 18 years. And I didn’t remember the extensive use of flute for one thing! Definitely adds color to what may have been an all too generic hard rock workout. Jethro Tull is always the easy out when flute is mixed with hard rock, but sometimes the comparison cannot be avoided. But we’re talking pre “Aqualung” Tull, and makes me often wonder just how influential albums like “Stand Up” or “Benefit” really were (to me, it’s this version of Tull you’ll find most Europeans copying). So if you like the bluesy side of JT, this one may fit the bill. Tolerance for the heavily German accented English is required though. Personally, I bumped this up two points.

McChurch Soundroom – Delusion. 1971. One of the most prized Krautrock albums from a collector’s standpoint. McChurch Soundroom were one of the early albums on Pilz, before the label became a bastion of Germanic folk psych. In the end, it’s pretty much basic UK styled heavy rock, with some flute and a few progressive moves. Rather generic overall, and certainly puzzling how it’s gained such a lofty reputation. Still, I found enough here to raise another point. While listening to the album, I had a chance to do some research on the internet, as I know nothing about the band. And I was in for a surprise, as GEPR recently reported the band wasn’t from Germany at all, but rather from Basle, Switzerland! Fred still had the documentation, which was quite detailed on their background. We’ve since updated Gnosis too. I often wonder how many other bands purported to be from Germany, are really Austrian or Swiss – but are labeled German due to the record being pressed there?

Pop Instrumental de France – s/t. 1971. With a corny name like Pop Instrumental de France, one would think this was going to contain happy organ covers of ‘Eleanor Rigby’ and ‘Paperback Writer’. But this being France in 1971, insiders know it will be something entirely different. A splendid romantic instrumental rock album, with a large palette of instruments – creating different moods, atmospheres and rhythms. Somewhere between William Sheller’s “Lux Aeterna”, Jean Cohen-Solal’s two albums and Alain Goraguer’s “La Planete Sauvage”, you’ll find Laurent Petitgerard’s “Pop Instrumental de France”. New legit CD on Vadim comes with great liner notes from Laurent, and a good sound. A must pick up for fans of early French rock.

Lollipop Shoppe – Just Colour. 1968. Pretty much in the same vein as the psychedelic era Rolling Stones, right down to the Jagger voice imitation. Long album for the date, and a couple of the tracks have an almost progressive-like tone and complexity, which is pretty rare for a US band in 1968. Then again, Lollipop Shoppe were another buried Uni label band that also housed another exploratory minded outfit called Strawberry Alarm Clock. Still, no one is confusing Lollipop Shoppe with Music Emporium and most of the album goes under the heading of “punk psych” or “fuzz punk” and is overall too basic to be anything more than a period piece.

Bull Angus – Free For All. 1972. Last album by obscure US band, whose 2 albums on Mercury graced the $1 bins for years – but now are quite collectable. Similar to the first, a mix of hard rock, bar boogie, late psych and proto prog. Organ and guitar are the focal instruments. I also picked up a distinct “Midwest Prog” sound on a couple of tracks, which prompted me to do a little research. Turns out, they’re actually from upstate New York, but did do extensive touring in the Midwest region. They opened for major acts like Fleetwood Mac and Deep Purple, so they may have had some impact amongst the crowd. A good friend of mine will tell you Bull Angus were the best US band ever, and he’s heard a ton of music, so they definitely had something going on.

Tangerine Dream – Hyperborea. 1983. The last stop on the creative train from Tangerine Dream. The end of the fabled “Virgin Years”. And this train creaked to the station, huffing and puffing, before finally giving out. A tired iron steed, but a well respected one. The band would’ve been wise to stop here, walk away calmly, with a series of successful albums unparalleled anywhere. But instead they invested in a new train, filled to the brim with modern features. This new locomotive was so sophisticated, one didn’t even need to fiddle with it – just flip a switch and watch it move all by itself. More efficient and great for the bottom line. And dull.

Troka s/t

There are exceptions to any blanket rule (Samla Mammas Manna, Nimal), but for the most part every time I hear accordion I’m reminded of cafe music and more traditional styles, so this work by the Finnish quintet has much the same impact most formal music has on me, a nod to their obvious talent and a general disinterest overall. They’re perhaps one of the most traditional of the Northside stable and are actually quite different from most of the droning, female vocalist-led modern folk gropus on the label. I’m not sure I’d even be moved by this in a live setting.

Ivor Cutler - Life in a Scotch Sitting Room

Ever since I heard him on Robert Wyatt’s Rock Bottom, I’ve found the music/poetry of Ivor Cutler to be some of the most delightful, idiosyncratic art on the face of the planet. His little song viginettes with lyrics about day to day subjects like shoes and the like are such a blast to listen to, in fact I’d suggest that there’s likely not to be another Ivor Cutler in the rest of recorded history. This album, like any of the others I’ve heard, is no different, fun, brash, gentle, curious, childlike and witty.

Godspeed You Black Emperor - Slow Riot (EP)

There’s something irritatingly inoffensive about a lot of post rock. GYBE, a rather large group and one a bit on the edge of the genre (although this EP might be the closest of their releases), can certainly put together some lovely sounds, but there’s no bite, no adventure and no challenge. Majestic, symphonic sounds slowly build up to big climaxes and gently fall back into silence, but they just make me want to look at my watch. OK I actually don’t wear one, so maybe just my cell phone. In a way, this is a little different from their long plays, as there’s less time for the big majestic pieces, so in a way it’s a little more personal individual. But its real benefit is that its over a lot sooner, an EP length probably quite the fair length for this sort of thing.

Mountain - Nantucket Sleighride

It’s hard, at least with Mountain’s first two albums, to separate the band from the Felix Pappalardi and Cream legacy, even if this Mountain reminds me more of the early Jack Bruce solo albums than Cream itself. While this one doesn’t quite ascend to the heights Climbing does, it’s definitely a solid record nonetheless combining more muscular hard rock with the melodic sense that Bruce brought to Cream. A solid 10 undoubtedly.

Sensation’s Fix - Finest Finger
Sensation’s Fix - Boxes Paradise

After listening to these again recently, I wondered why the band doesn’t show up on the space rock lists, as both of these are rather fine examples. Given that some of their albums were actually distributed internationally one also wonders if perhaps they made a minor impact on the genre. The albums do have something of a home studio feel to them and the production values tend to the lo-fi, but, unlike so many Italian progressive rock groups, Sensations Fix is basically guitar based and something of an analog to some of Manuel Gottsching’s work both in and out of Ashra. The closest Italian analog would be even more obscure, Riccardo Zappa. I almost went up a point on Boxes Paradise, but given this was my only listen in several where I felt that, I figured they needed another confirming listen. And yes, these are conspicuously absent from CD, tied up by their major label I’d guess.

Pirana - 2

Santana is the obvious model with this early Australian band, although the model on the covers is clearly Roger Dean, they are rather gorgeous and colorful pieces of art, the sort of artwork that adds value to what are collectors items. I broke it down a little more this listen, the Santana influences themselves probably don’t put Pirana in the group of obvious clones, there’s a little of other classic rock groups there too. I wonder if they heard Azteca, which I believe was Neal Schon’s first band, and I say that not only because of the obvious similarities Azteca has with Santana, but also because there’s also a little early Journey in these guys, even though I believe this band predates Journey. In fact I even hear some slight similarities to New Zealanders Dragon and Ragnarok in their sound, even though this is not a symph/prog band by any stretch. It’s a minor item musically, but one fans of the Santana lineage will probably enjoy nonetheless.

Freddie Hubbard - Ebbetts Field, Denver, CO 10/20/73

This is one of those live show treats that shows up occasionally, the quality of this being in the 1 in 500 odds bracket. I’m a huge Freddie Hubbard fan, for my money he’s got some of the most impressive chops I’ve seen in a trumpet player (I might put Lee Morgan a close second). I wrote a few weeks ago about the In Concert CTI releases with Herbie Hancock et al, this live show is in a similar style. It’s actually kind of interesting to compare the polished CTI albums to the live shows at the time, as the former were definitely a lot more safe than what’s here. I’m not sure any line up information came with this, but the electric piano player really seems on fire, although I highly doubt it was Herbie given this was during the Head Hunters ascendance. Anyway it’s a little on the muddy side for a soundboard, so I think it might be from a second gen tape, but it’s joy from beginning to end. Hubbard burns the place down. Anyone famliiar with the bonus tracks you see on CTI remasters, usually long jams, will get the idea of what’s here.

Collectif Mu - Don Quichotte

If you do a search on “Collectif Mu,” you’ll see it come up in Zeuhl lists just based on being part of Magma’s Seventh label, but this is really a jazz group no matter how you look at it, sharing the same Coltrane influences. When a lot of these Seventh jazz releases came out in the late 90s, I wasn’t as familiar with jazz at the time, and I didn’t rate many of them as highly as they probably deserved. Now I’m getting around to revisits, I’m finding them quite enjoyable and Don Quichotte is no exception. It may be one of the more interesting to my ears just based on the fact that it’s a larger group with two sax players and one trumpet player, when some of the Seventh jazz releases are by smaller bands. Anyway I found it pretty elating, even if there always feels like there’s something missing, it seems the engineers really got some nice takes on this disc. I’m bumping it up to a 10. And no I don’t think there’s anything Zeuhlish about this at all.

Loituma - Things of Beauty

More Northside revisits here and I’m generally finding my enthusiasm (which wasn’t huge to begin with) waning with these bands as experience places them in a far more traditional context than I remembered when I was first visiting these in writing an article for Expose magazine years ago. I remember the vocals being very beautiful and while I’m not going to go back on that, they seem par for the course for modern Scandinavian folk groups. It’s very pretty stuff, but it seems like Hedningarna (who the vocalist joined later) and Varttina have a little more to them. I lowered it to an 8.

Roxy Music - Konzerthaus, Vienna, Austria 12/1/73

I’ve seen the Konzerthaus in one of the Miles Davis videos and it doesn’t look big or cavernous enough to produce some of the booming in this recording. I get the impression that pressing play and pause on this was akin to a cavity search. At first you can barely hear anything, by the time it adjusts to normal quality you can barely get the impression it is indeed Bryan Ferry singing. Maybe an interesting listen, once, but it’s hardly what I’d call enjoyable. Too bad, because it seems like it was a pretty good show.