Eagles - One of these Nights
Like many I grew up with this (title) song on AOR radio and to my ears it’s one of those songs I never get tired of. Early Eagles were very much an Americana thing but by this album there was a Carlos Castaneda-influenced mysticism that really spiced things up and made them a band to watch. I do still have a tough time getting through singles “Lying Eyes” and “Take it to the Limit,” without both I’d probably put this album close to near classic status based on most of the first side, including the quite proggy instrumental “Journey of the Sorcerer,” which ended up as the theme song to the British TV series “Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.” I also think the production on this album is outstanding, bringing out a lot of little subtleties in the mix. Overall what I like here I like very much indeed.
Zao - Omote-Sando, Tokyo 6/6/04
This was the second night of a two night bonzana that brought Zao to Japan and also had the musicians collaborating with some of the local talent. The second night is a mighty fine look back to the past, featuring music from a number of their albums, including the early music with vocals. It’s been a while since I pulled out any Zao album per se (I listened to them quite a bit in the 90s), so I don’t remember specifics, but had you not known the date on this it wouldn’t be hard to imagine this was straight from the 70s. They always were the best cabala-jazzers around and to my ears this is even more successful than their Akhenaton-period comeback.
Grateful Dead - Kongressal-Deutsches Museum, Munich 5/18/72
Yet another amazing Europe 72 gig, this one starts with a rippin’ Truckin’ and kills throughout. There’s a story in one of the Dead bios about the guys in Germany (it may not have been Munich) who happened upon some large, um, crystal in a museum (?) and based on the performance here, you wonder if they had a sample before this show as it has an almost Cream like intensity at times. A great Dark Star>Morning Dew caps off a show with a number of interesting song choices like “Mr. Charlie,” “You Win Again” and a terribly upbeat “Sitting on Top of the World.” It’s all bliss to my ears.