Glass Casket - We Are Gathered Here Today
I’ve mentioned before, but I’m a casualty of Dave Kerman’s recent interest and uncovering of a lot of extreme and progressive metal (www.rerusa.com) and this is one of the titles he recommended. I can’t remember if this was one he mentioned where there were some tracks not as consistent as others, as this idea stuck in my mind during the second listen of this. Because at a few times during the album, the rather technical and intense death metal stylings give way to a much more simpler, ballad-like technique, and while I find it often helpful to have some moments that ground technical death (like, for instance, that piano intro in Cryptopsy’s “Phobophile”), I found that at least one or two of these moments were maybe slightly twee and ballad like. For some reason the rest of the music leaves me a bit chilly, although this is an album that gets even weirder by the end and thus leaves me on a high note.
Grant Green - Sunday Morning
Really laid back quartet session, that like with Feelin’ the Spirit, is one of Grant’s attempts at jazzifying gospel music, although in this case this is a less inspirational sort of album and more easy and bluesy. I tend to like most of the Grants with Ben Dixon in tow, they had a pretty nice feel whether trio or quartet sessions, but overall Sunday Morning isn’t coming out and blowing me away, which is fairly typical for me and Grant’s music in the nascent stages of his career. It only got better after here.
Stephen Stills s/t
Stephen Stills - 2
I’ll always have a slight fondness for Mr. Stills as my friends and I entered a talent contest in high school as CSNY and I happened to be the S. So of course I maintain he’s the most talented in this bunch and point at Buffalo Springfield and these records as evidence. But honestly, I’m not sure if I ever sat down in those days and played one of these in its entirety besides a few obvious songs from the radio and those he dragged over to CSN. What struck me is how diverse and creative both of these albums (I’d probably give the nod to the first at this point) were covering a lot of different ground, although very little that he covered with the other group. Perhaps its my affinity for anything 60s/SF Bay area related or inspired, but these look to be getting some serious mileage for me.