Outer Music Diary

Barrock - Oxian

Barrock were highly touted in their day, mostly based on a review in Audion of their first album, L’Alchimista. If people still used neo-progressive in the way Audion used to (still the first place I ever saw the term used), Barrock would be described as such, as they are basically updating the 70s sound with very brassy, digital instrumentation, and a dual female vocal presence fairly unusual for the genre. Oxian presents a more mature Barrock, showing their classical roots the most strongly, in fact the keyboard dominance, with its substitution for various orchestral instruments reminds me of similar attempts made by the Enid. I’ve never really gone for Barrock, in fact they made a third before they, assumedly, broke up, that I haven’t heard. They definitely go for a high drama factor that, combined with brassy synth patches and a rhythmic feel more of classical than rock ilk, tends to grate on my nerves quite a bit. Don’t get me wrong, they’re fairly sophisticated and may be worth checking out for fans of, say, the post-90s Banco, but if you’re in any way allergic to digitalia this is one you’ll want to avoid. My 8 is probably about right.

Deep Purple - In Rock

Tom talked about this one recently, and while I haven’t visited the third and s/t album (and pre Mk-II) in a while, I think i can probably safely say that this is the first good Deep Purple album, in fact it may be my current running favorite. As Tom mentioned, there’s a bit of a psychedelic crossover here that would be gone once the sound solidified. Gone are the corny covers and quasi-classical rock, this is music that would go onto to practically define hard rock. Looking forward to getting more familiar with this, it’s not as hit-laden as later albums would be and thus, less familiar.

High Tide - The Flood

Big fan of the first two High Tides here, but have been way less than enthused with the plethora of albums recorded after the original quartet. Even the bonus tracks on the remasters of the first two are heads and tales better than the outtakes presented on The Flood. Everything sounds like it was recorded in a garage or basement and it’s not really like the band could use being any less hi-fi than the already are. Plus, the longest song on this charts in at almost eight minutes, and most are half that length. I did adjust it up a point to an 8, but I doubt I’ll be hanging onto it.

The Vinny Golia Large Ensemble - Commemoration

I’m not sure how much I could describe a double album, big-band release like this on a first listen except to say it was quite impressive, with great playing and lots of free-ish atmosphere. I suspect a great deal of this was composed or directed though. There’s just scads of these modern-day, West Coast jazz releases, so it’s amazing how many of them are so good. I’ll report more on this later when I do some more absorbing.

Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin - II

Not sure what I could say new about these two classic Led Zeppelin albums. I’ve got the big studio box and am trying to get it off my boxset shelf into the regular collection, so am giving them all a once through before I do, after all just about anyone into classic rock has most of these albums memorized. It does bring to mind though, that it is very difficult assigning grades to albums like this, whose high quality is somewhat compromised by consistent radio play. I’m not as burnt out as you might think, I wasn’t a huge LZ fan when I was younger, in fact I probably like them now more than I ever do. So I had a really hard time deciding between the 10 and 11 on these, and being in a generous, festive, Christmas spirit, I went with the 11s.

Various Artists - Blues for Salvador, Henry J. Kaiser, Oakland, CA 1/23/88

If I was to invent a caricature of the 80s in my head, this is what it might sound like, all the way down to the really bad digital recording, it’s almost like what you would imagine a primitive, low-quality mp3 would sound like. Anyway you get artists like Tower of Power, Garcia, Weir, and Santana, all getting way, way past their prime and it shows. Of course it’s easy to be forgiving given the charitable aspects of this show, although I’d likely to have been more so had it sounded a little better. I might have even kept it.

Black Sabbath - Cal Jam 4/6/74

You expect to hear lots of s/t and Paranoid at any Sabbath show, no matter what the year, so it’s fun to hear this 1974 performance and get a few pieces you don’t hear so often like “Killing Yourself to Live” I kind of wonder if there’s some tape issues on this one, as Ozzy sounds like he’s had a bit of helium. Performance is pretty solid, quality a tad on the low side.

Happy New Year everyone!

Sapphire Thinkers – From Within. 1969. D:10. Earlier in the year I queried a panel of psych experts on the topic of Strawberry Alarm Clock. Is there anyone else like SAC I asked? I was pleased to see the answer is quite simply “no”. I was pleased because they didn’t overlook what SAC had done, and they knew exactly how much deeper the band was than the general media would ever understand. However, a couple of the wise men suggested a few bands that I should investigate as they had the “spirit” of the almighty Clock. First and foremost on the list was Sapphire Thinkers – and here I am with a copy. Elements of Soft Machine, Guns & Butter, and Crosby, Stills and Nash. At times complex, and others a naïve simplicity is brought forth. All the tracks save the close are between the 2 and 4 minute mark. I could see where the recommendation came from, a good one it was.

Truth – Of Them and Other Tales. 1970. 9+10. Thought I’d bring this one up since apparently I’m the only one at Gnosis who’s heard it. Picked up the CD reissue a few years ago and beginning to realize how scarce it may be. This is a 1995 archival release, on Epilogue Records, complete with a full biography covering 18 pages. The “Them” in the title is in fact the Northern Irish bunch that eventually included one George Ivan Morrison. In the mid 1960s, Them toured the US, primarily the West Coast and Truth is the part of the band that decided to stay (ultimately settling in Chicago) and added US members along the way. Album includes recordings from 1968 to 1970 and shows a band going from song based psych to jazzy progressive. As with any type release like this, the quality is wildly inconsistent, both in music and sound. There are flute led rockers, sitar ragas, long jams, straight up rural west coast psychers, and everything in between. Definitely worth seeking out.

Also, wanted to call out a few cool reissues that I’ve recently heard, but didn’t have a chance to write them up.

Rainbow Theatre – The Armada. Australia’s Aztec has done an exemplary job of documenting the 1970s Australian rock scene.  And “The Armada” is no exception. Gorgeous tri-fold digipaks, with plenty of historical notes. This is the way to do a reissue. As for the music, “The Armada” is more like “Fantasy of Horses” than I had remembered (see my Gnosis review of that here: http://gnosis2000.net/reviews/rainbowtheatre.htm ) One of progressive rock’s most original bands!

Guruh Gipsy – s/t. If I understand correctly, Guruh Gipsy’s only album was released on cassette only. And while it still escapes a CD reissue, the LP “issue” on Shadoks is nothing short of stunning. In a faux leather cover with gold embossed lettering. If you still do LPs, this one is a must. Nice history included, which shows that Guruh Gipsy were found by no other than one of the sons of the “royal family”. Musically a mix of Yes and gamelan, a fantastic and unique combination. Shadoks generally reissues CDs (far less elaborate) of their output 2 to 3 years after the LP.

Jacques Thollot – Cinq Hops. Nice to see this out legit. On the jazz leaning Orkestra label. Maybe a little too barebones of an issue (would’ve liked to see more history, a little better sound (though it does sound like its from original tapes), and better packaging). Still – no question it’s worth springing the money for. The quality of the music supersedes any questions on that. A cross between jazz rock and Zeuhl. Fine album.

Thirsty Moon – You’ll Never Come Back. Already went on about the first album.  As with that album, the documentation here is superb, with great liner notes from an outside reviewer and a founding member of the band. Long Hair does them right!

Also picked up 2 CDs based on recommendations from Mike and Nobuhisa. The Stark Reality reissue looks great, with a great many liner notes. As well, the Pop Instrumental de France also has great liner notes and definitely looks legit. I haven’t heard either yet.

Sunscape – s/t. 1999. D: 11. Marketed as an Ozric Tentacles like band, it certainly seems a fair comparison, even if it’s not truly the case. In fact, it recalls more the unorganized and unpredictable Italian group Mary Newsletter. I hear elements of Porcupine Tree, Groovector and the aforementioned Ozric. Nice guitar work, modern synths, flute and occasional voice. A promising debut from a group who has already disappeared.

Sieges Even – The Art of Navigating By the Stars. 2005. D: 9. I’m the rare prog fan who actually likes the Watchtower-ish gymnastic thrash metal of their 1988 debut “Life Cycles”. Yea, so the vocalist was shrill – that was the protocol of the era! And the protocol of today’s era, is the breathy emo-styled vocalist of every InsideOut band I can think of. I actually prefer the squeezed balls sound of the late 80s! Anyway, that aside, this is still Sieges Even, so they can’t resist the art school complex math bits on occasion. And that’s what keeps this in the collection for the moment. But the alternative rock / radio bits are hard to take, and show a lemming side to a former pioneer. Kinda sad in that way….

Outer Limits – The Scene of Pale Blue. 1987. 11-10. Starts off in that typical brash, digital 1980s way the Japanese are famous for. I was beginning to question why I liked this album at all, as many of those 1980s Japanese prog bands have fallen into the sell bin over the years. But “The Scene of Pale Blue” is different – with plenty of long exploratory instrumental parts and a willingness to break out the old equipment, like the mellotron for example, which was still unusual in those days. Lead violin and old school rhythm guitar flesh out what could’ve been a pretty painful release. The silly low voice singing is a definite lowlight. Definitely a keeper, though at a 10, it’s almost the high point for the entire scene.