Archive for the ‘ RnB ’ Category

The Remains (self-titled)

| Garage,Pop,RnB

The Remains

This album was out of print when I initially reviewed it here, and I’ve got the old flashy yellow cover, which is a Greatest Hits collection but still a blazing hot disc. A month later their self-titled debut lp was reissued featuring the original album artwork, which is an important update. The yellow cover makes the Remains look like some novelty rock act, whereas the cover above restores their authenticity and edge. The Remains are positively one of the best rock bands you’ve never heard.

Barry Tashian and The Remains used to cook it up for Boston audiences back in the mid 60s (they were originally from Brookline), and this record, though none of it recorded live, is still proof. The beauty is in their by-the-book formula: loud rhythm guitars, electric piano, bluesy bass riffs, and most importantly, great songs.

The Remains get it started every time. But apparently they had trouble doing so for Beatles fans. The Remains toured with the fab four a short while, playing to a screaming mob who were impatiently awaiting one of the all time historic rock concerts. But the truth is, the Remains deserved all the same attention back then, and now we can give it back, for the first time in style. Will I be buying the reissue just for the packaging? Yes, I think I will.

Literally, every song on this record is good. Each one a gem so surprisingly radio friendly it’s astonishing to think we haven’t heard these before. They are quick friends with instant familiarity and appreciating resonance.

If you’d like to hear The Remains tear it apart in a live setting, check out A Session With The Remains from Sundazed, a live studio audition recording.

Barry Tashian used to play with Gram Parsons on GP and some stuff for the Burritos. Currently he is playing and recording bluegrass music with his wife, Holly.

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“Time Of Day”

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Crazy Horse “Crazy Horse”

| Country Rock,RnB

Crazy Horse

Crazy Horse was formed by Danny Whitten, an excellent songwriter who originally released an album while known as The Rockets, considered essential for collectors. Nils Lofgren, virtuoso guitarist, and Jack Nitzsche, Spector associate and renowned producer, joined when Neil Young recruited the band to back him on his 2nd solo album, and they were renamed Crazy Horse. Their debut is an excellent hard country rock LP that would prove the capability of the band apart from Neil Young’s lead vocal and songwriting.

At the right time this record packs the most satisfying punch. There are some bruisers on here in “Gone Dead Train” and the foot-stompin’ “Beggars Day” with its phaser/flanger sound penetrating the mix. Parts sound inspired by Young and “Dance, Dance, Dance,” under his pen, is a kickin country rock number with an old-timey feel. Arguably, the best tunes come from Whitten, like the awesomely hypnotic “Look At All The Things,” a soft and beautiful ballad, “I Don’t Want To Talk About It,” and of course the rollicking “Downtown” which would resurface on Neil’s Tonight’s The Night.

Sadly, Danny Whitten’s heroin use would lead to him being excused from Crazy Horse and he overdosed in late 1972. A major loss considering his unrealized talents, best heard on this album, and his death would partly influence the Ditch Trilogy.

Forget the whole story though. Forget Neil Young. Just get yourself some Crazy Horse and drive.

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“Look At All The Things”

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McGuinness Flint (self-titled)

| Americana,Folk,Pop,RnB

McGuinness Flint

Here’s another roots rock classic in the same vein as The Band, only this slice of ‘Americana’ is from the UK! McGuinness Flint is sort of ‘The British Band’ and their debut album is a good, straightforward roots rock record worthy of your attention.

McGuinness Flint are Steve McGuinness, former Manfred Mann guitarist, and Hughie Flint, former John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers drummer. They only lasted from about 1970-1973 and thus were a bit ahead of the emerging Pub Rock scene in the UK, which might have provided them some more longevity, but it was well received in 1971. Two of these songs made the top 5 upon release in the UK: the upbeat go-to track, When I’m Dead And Gone(#2), and the polka-ish Malt And Barley Blues(#5). There are fun and strong tunes here like Bodang Buck, and Lazy Afternoon has a great mid-song transition. Mister Mister is brilliantly penned and infinitely catchy. Mainly, a good English folk/blues classic, and a pleasurable listen.

Faintly, the album teases some classic rock schmaltz; I don’t know how comfortable I’d be singing along to the lyrics “Rock on, rock on, everybody’s gonna rock on!” (unless it were a T-Rex song or something). And one time I dj’ed a track from this at a party and had to cut it short. But you can’t let missteps like these be judge. Fans of the Band are sure to be pleased with this quality record and will find the right time and place to let it ride.

The Capitol Years collection of Flint is your best bet, combining their first two albums on the same affordable CD. Their 3rd album, Lo and Behold, is a collection of Dylan covers!

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“When I’m Dead And Gone”

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Bobby Charles “Bobby Charles”

| Americana,Pop,RnB

Bobby Charles

Bobby Charles’ self-titled debut album is an easy favorite. Fans of The Band have no excuse not to track this one down, as it features production work from Rick Danko, keys from Garth Hudson and contributions from Levon Helm, and Dr. John as well. (Check the lineup here). If you love The Band (s/t) and Music From Big Pink, this is the next record you need.

The record hits you song after song with its relaxed vibe, authentic lyrics, and instantly gratifying hooks. Bobby kills me when he sings “oh what a good day to go fishing” on the ballad “I Must Be In A Good Place Now” and the 100th time thru the “Save Me Jesus” chorus gets me too. Bobby Charles s/t is split pretty much down the middle with soulful ballads and upbeat groovers. “Grow Too Old” borders on a Randy Newman sound. “He’s Got All The Whiskey” should be a standard! “Small Town Talk” is like a country-cajun Shuggie Otis! Who’s not going to dig this?

The songs on the B side take a little more investment to hear, but they all pay off. There’s the beautiful “Tennessee Blues” and an ahead-of-its-time treatment to (bonus track) “New Mexico.”   A really classic and contemporary sound on these tracks and just a perfect feel. Sick album, I love it.

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“Small Town Talk”

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mp3: New Mexico

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The Pretty Things “Parachute”

| Classic Rock,Pop,Psych,RnB

Parachute

In our world, the Pretty Things are as big as the Pink Floyd, and Parachute is our Dark Side of the Moon. And while this analogy works in terms of production values and signature albums, Parachute really owes more to The Beatles and Abbey Road.

The Pretties’ early material is strong and bluesy. They were pioneers in the style that influenced the Rolling Stones in the 60s. In 1968 they recorded the seminal rock opera S.F. Sorrow, known to have influenced Pete Townshend in recording Tommy. Parachute followed two years later and, unlike most albums reviewed here, was a critical success, receiving the Best Album of 1970 accolade from Rolling Stone magazine. It’s an amazing leap from Sorrow as well. While I love S.F. Sorrow for the gutsy and no-holds-barred psych bomb that it is, I must confess that I believe Parachute to be the better album for its intricate production, dynamics, and developed songwriting.

The opener tears it up with massive drum sola and intimidating rhythm section. Abruptly, we are swept into a soothing number that rallies into the next, The Good Mr. Square into She Was Tall, She Was High. And though we may not have a concept record here, the flow of Parachute continues as such, a dramatic experience, seamlessly passing from heart-pounding rock anthems to smartly arranged acoustic-based gems.

If you are a fan of rock music, this is a completely essential album. Bonus tracks are excellent quality.

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“Grass”

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The Zombies “Into the Afterlife”

| Pop,Psych,RnB,Sunshine

Into The Afterlife

A rare and welcome treat from the Zombies’ archives, and a continuation of the wonderful box set, Zombie Heaven from the Big Beat label. This brand new release is a compilation of mostly unavailable tracks recorded by different incarnations of the Zombs during the unsure period of time after they broke up and before their next projects. This is what I live for!

The tracks have been packaged almost in album form, with the sleeve appearing to be a Ninja Turtle fan’s watercolor homage to Odessey & Oracle. It’s nice to pretend that this could indeed be the follow-up release to the Zombies’ fantastic final offering, but what we have instead is really a collection juxtaposing three distinct post-Oracle projects: Rod Argent & Chris White (who were recording demos trying to figure out how to be Argent), Neil MacArthur (Colin Blunstone’s alter ego), and The Zombies themselves.

Rod Argent & Chris White’s demo material on this record was never meant for release, they were just stretching out and trying to figure out how to expand their sound. But you can hear the Zombies songwriting still lingering in there. Unfortunately, you can’t hear the Zombies voice in there; Rod’s lead vocal on She Loves The Way They Love Her sounds like a karaoke mishap compared to Colin’s take on his brilliant One Year. Still, this material is indispensable to fans of the Zombs and Argent as a bridge between both groups.

The complete Neil MacArthur recordings on this disc are seriously awesome. It kicks off with the psyched out and groovy remake of She’s Not There and a version of Buffalo Springfield’s Hung Upside Down. Harry Nilsson’s Without Her gets a fitting redo as well as the classic Never My Love. Don’t Try To Explain and World of Glass both point to what Colin would achieve a year or so later with One Year and his subsequent solo career.

While all these recordings were going on, Time of the Season was becoming a big hit and efforts were made to eek a few more singles out and cash in on the success, known as the unreleased RIP album (available on Zombie Heaven). An interesting mix on this record, Walking in the Sun, has been reconstructed only with Colin’s vocal, original backup vocals, and an orchestral arrangement. If It Don’t Work Out, the official final single from the Zombs is presented with orchestral overdubs as well and in Going To A Go Go we can hear the hard-working Zombies exercise their chops. If you love the Zombies you need to get this brilliantly satisfying rarities release.

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“Walking In The Sun”

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The Poets “Scotland’s No. 1 Group”

| Garage,Pop,Psych,RnB

Scotland’s No. 1 Group

The Poets were one of Scotland’s top rock groups during the mid 1960′s. The above disc is a collection of singles (all 6 of their official singles) and rough hewn studio outtakes. The singles play like an album because most of them were recorded between 1965 to 1966. Of the studio outtakes there is one aborted single in decent studio fidelity and a handful of rough, garage blues numbers that were recorded before their singles.

It’s a shame this great band never had the opportunity to record an album, they never did record a bad song and were loaded with talent. Now We’re Thru was their first single released back in 1964 during the original, first wave of the British Invasion. It was a minor key gem with awkward vocals that reached England’s top 30. None other than John Lennon sat up and took note, claiming the single was “weird” and original. The flip, There Are Some, was another strong sob rocker highlighted by piano and good drum work.

In early 1965 they released their second single, which was even better. That’s The Way It’s Got To Be began with throbbing fat bass lines and is a great powerful mod rocker that ends with some sizzling maracas. The b-side, was I’ll Cry With The Moon, an excellent, offbeat 12-string acoustic song with strange percussion. At this point, George Gallacher, founder and principal songwriter, was frustrated with the band’s lack of success. Their records were mostly originals (they just covered one song) and of a consistently high standard. I’ll Keep My Pride, Some Things I’ll Forget , I Am So Blue and I’ll Come Home are all first-rate British Invasion minor key compositions similar to that of another underrated mid 60′s band, the Zombies.

The Poet’s 5th single was their last hurrah with George Gallacher. The optimistic, promising I’ll Come Home was a departure from their moody, gloomy approach and it was backed by their legendary Baby Don’t Do It cover. This b-side was tremendous and in terms of originality it may even eclipse the Isley Brothers’ and Marvin Gaye’s versions. It’s got everything a great mid 60′s rock single should have: thumping drums, dramatic 12-string guitar runs and nervous, passionate vocals by Gallacher. This song is stronger than 99% of the cheap punk imitations it spawned during the 1977-81 era. The Poet’s soldiered on for one last single after Gallacher’s departure. In 1967, they released the double sided psychedelia masterpiece, Wooden Spoon/In Your Tower. The A-side was a storming mod rocker with an acid tinged fuzz guitar solo while the B-side had some strange renaissance-like flute, fat raga guitar riffs and smashing cymbals. All in all, it was a great way to end the career of this legendary Scottish cult band.

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“Baby Don’t Do It”

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Little Feat “Little Feat”

| Americana,Classic Rock,Pop,RnB

Little Feat

Drop any preconceived notions you may have about this band and get this debut record. It’s a unique sound in their discography. A bluesy, roots rocker masterpiece with the loose feel of Exile on Main Street and the all around good presence of Manassas.

Formed under the wake of Frank Zappa, and even including former Mother, Roy Estrada on bass, Little Feat would go on, after their poorly selling debut record, to release albums with a different sound, featuring iconic sleeves by Weasels Ripped My Flesh artist Neon Park. I think it’s impossible to flip through a stack of used vinyl without finding that lady duck on the cover of Down on the Farm. Later Little Feat has its place, but we recommend this beast.

Some gems: there’s the beautiful, stripped-down Willin’, the song Zappa supposedly fired Lowell George over (either because it was too damn good for a session man or because it championed “weed, whites, and wine”). This song would be re-recorded by a later incarnation of Little Feat and become one of their most loved songs. A ripping Howlin’ Wolf tribute medley in Forty-Four Blues / How Many More Years is a nice feature. The album is great for a first listen because it just fills up the room with rock, but it is truly better as you delve in and listen more.

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“Snakes On Everything”

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Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band “Trout Mask Replica”

| Art,Garage,Psych,RnB

Trout Mask Replica

The Captain’s 10 Commandments for Guitarists

1. LISTEN TO THE BIRDS
That’s where all the music comes from. Birds know everything about how it should sound and where that sound should come from. And watch hummingbirds. They fly really fast, but a lot of times they aren’t going anywhere.
2. YOUR GUITAR IS NOT REALLY A GUITAR
Your guitar is a divining rod. Use it to find spirits in the other world and bring them over. A guitar is also a fishing rod. If you’re good, you’ll land a big one.
3. PRACTICE IN FRONT OF A BUSH
Wait until the moon is out, then go outside, eat a multi-grained bread and play your guitar to a bush. If the bush doesn’t shake, eat another piece of bread.
4. WALK WITH THE DEVIL
Old delta blues players referred to amplifiers as the “devil box.” And they were right. You have to be an equal opportunity employer in terms of who you’re bringing over from the other side. Electricity attracts demons and devils. Other instruments attract other spirits. An acoustic guitar attracts Casper. A mandolin attracts Wendy. But an electric guitar attracts Beelzebub.
5. IF YOU’RE GUILTY OF THINKING, YOU’RE OUT
If your brain is part of the process, you’re missing it. You should play like a drowning man, struggling to reach shore. If you can trap that feeling, then you have something that is fur bearing.
6. NEVER POINT YOUR GUITAR AT ANYONE
Your instrument has more power than lightning. Just hit a big chord, then run outside to hear it. But make sure you are not standing in an open field.
7. ALWAYS CARRY YOUR CHURCH KEY
You must carry your key and use it when called upon. That’s your part of the bargain. Like One String Sam. He was a Detroit street musician in the fifties who played a homemade instrument. His song “I Need A Hundred Dollars” is warm pie. Another church key holder is Hubert Sumlin, Howlin’ Wolf’s guitar player. He just stands there like the Statue of Liberty making you want to look up her dress to see how he’s doing it.
8. DON’T WIPE THE SWEAT OFF YOUR INSTRUMENT
You need that stink on there. Then you have to get that stink onto your music.
9. KEEP YOUR GUITAR IN A DARK PLACE
When you’re not playing your guitar, cover it and keep it in a dark place. If you don’t play your guitar for more than a day, be sure to put a saucer of water in with it.
10. YOU GOTTA HAVE A HOOD FOR YOUR ENGINE
Wear a hat when you play and keep that hat on. A hat is a pressure cooker. If you have a roof on your house the hot air can’t escape. Even a lima bean has to have a wet paper towel around it to make it grow.

(Via Music Thing)

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“Veterans Day Poppy”

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The Rolling Stones “Between The Buttons”

| Pop,RnB

Between The Buttons

You’d think that we’d recommend Satanic Majesty instead of Between the Buttons, but no. The Stones were getting hang of the studio, and starting to experiment before they decided to try and get all psych on Their Satanic… but man, just because an album is psychedelic, or at least just because the cover is psychedelic, it don’t make it good. We’re not all about psychedelic music, we’re all about good music.

Anyway, there are interesting sounds sprinkled all throughout this record. A swell dose of xylophone, flutes, glass clinks, tambourines, crunch guitar, and weird sounds in general gracing each track on this killer LP. It’s psychedelic enough, and the Stones are doing what they do best… not faking it. Some of my favorites include the driving Connection, a staunchy Something Happened To Me Yesterday, and the rocking My Obsession and Complicated. All the songs on this record are great, it’s a classic Stones record with wild sounds.

If you can live without the big hits, Ruby Tuesday and Let’s Spend The Night Together, you’d be well off picking up the UK record, it’s the original lineup (on remastered Super CD or whatever they are calling it these days) because in the UK they would save the big ones for greatest hits records. Back Street Girl and Please Go Home are featured only on the UK release of “Btw” and are also available on Flowers (US). Between the Buttons is probably their best record?

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“Cool, Calm, Collected”

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The Zombies “Odessey and Oracle”

| Pop,Psych,RnB,Sunshine

Odessey and Oracle

Forty years ago today, if you were listening to music, Sgt. Pepper was on the turntable. It’s the album that fueled the 1967 Summer of Love and it’s the true nexus of all of this music. The hard working Zombies were in the studio at this time, beginning work on their intentional swan song LP, the beautiful, unforgettable, essential Odessey and Oracle. There’s no doubt these boys were spinning Lonely Hearts while they were recording at Abbey Road.

From the Mellotron, brass sections, to Argent’s other keyboard work, the interesting (and warmly sparse) production overall, Sgt. Pep’s impact on music is crystal clear from the very beginning; these are the days when the studio became an experimental playground. But enough about the monster. The truth is, it owes more to Pet Sounds anyways.

Care of Cell 44 is a sleeper hit, and a beautiful opener. The kind that makes you flip it back to Side 1 when it’s over. The best part about the Zombies, they’ve got soul. This isn’t an experimental record, there are rhythm & blues roots in it. Even the softer fare takes it home like in Brief Candles and Maybe After He’s Gone. Tunes like A Rose For Emily (named after a short story by perhaps our best American writer) would hint at the masterpiece to come shortly after from lead singer, Colin Blunstone, whose voice is unmatched.

I wont go on much more, except to say that if you haven’t heard this, you are in for a treat. Maybe you won’t love it at first, but one day you will miss it dearly. It deserves a digipak reissue akin to that of the new Kinks VGPS package. Honestly, I would listen to any millisecond recorded at these sessions! Would love to see that for next year. But just get it any way you can.

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“Changes”

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