Author Archive

Ronnie Lane’s Slim Chance “One For The Road”

| Folk,Pop

One For The Road

This album snuck up on me, from behind, and knocked my ass on the floor. I forget how important it is to space them out. Put em away for awhile, re-listen two weeks later. Change the situation. Sometimes, you just need to crank it up and let them do their thing.

Ronnie is well-known as one of the founding members of The Small Faces and The Faces. His solo output is consistently good, the Slim Chance recordings a late-night, rousing and old-timey affair, usually combining mandolin, harmonica, acoustic for a solid roots rock sound. One For The Road seems to be the moment where it fell together best. There are memorable tunes set a dynamic paces, some starting off at barely audible levels. Every number is damn near anthemic the way they build. The music is at once traditional and uniquely original. No, this one doesn’t kick in right away, but when it does. Something something.

I have two more requests concerning Mr. Lane. I heard the 2006 biopic, The Passing Show, was really good. Anybody got word on this? Also, the Slim Chance twofer excludes two tracks, Single Saddle from Slim Chance, and Snake from One for The Road. I’d be glad if somebody could pass them my way so I can replace the tracks here.

“32nd Street”

:D CD Reissue | 2003 | Acadia | 2fer | buy from amazon ]
:) Original Vinyl | 1975 | search ebay ]

Space Opera (self-titled)

| Classic Rock,Country Rock,Folk,Pop,Prog

Space Opera

An obscurity from day one, Space Opera is an overlooked classic-rock wonder. Three of the four members of Space Opera (Philip White, Scott Fraser, David Bullock) had previously recorded a stellar country-folk gem in Whistler, Chaucer, Detroit, and Greenhill. As good as that record was, they were still green compared to the fully developed band (adding drummer Brett Wilson) they would become by 1972.

From Forth Worth, Texas, but recorded in Canada, Space Opera forged a familiar rock sound in an unheard context, combining blissful three part harmonies with searing guitar leads and righteous, intricate jams. The reissue is appropriately billed as “12 string prog rock” and while references to the Byrds and Zappa abound in other reviews, it behooves me to agree. Though it is a must; Space Opera combines these musical forces like nothing I have ever heard before. Still, if you have ever hankered for the sounds of local FM radio rock, this is an album you won’t believe didn’t hit the airwaves.

Songs are well developed and near classical in form, developing into finely tuned suites. “Country Max” leads off as the clear “hit” record, remarkably recognizable, it’s the kind of record you feel like you’ve heard a million times. Moodier numbers like “Holy River” and “Riddle” jangle their way into your head with good craftsmanship and memorable refrains. “Guitar Suite” is the album’s instrumental centerpiece that successfully merges prog and country rock during every moment of sound; gnarly double-tracked harmonica and tape effects stealing the show. The recordings are so warm it’s as if the master tapes were filtered through a rainbow of vintage tape machines, and the flutes on “Outlines” even sound suspiciously mellotron-esque. Some of the beauty to this record must be owed to the warmth and grit that you just can’t get with modern digital technology.

More than pleased to discover one like this. Beautiful songs that are truly unheard classics. These fellas clearly understood how to create rock music in a way more advanced than many better known contemporaries and are still awaiting their recognition.

Available from It’s About Music as a digital download or Collectors Choice CD. The liner notes are actually halfway decent for a CC release, including a scan of the original 16-track channel assignments, revealing all sorts of uncredited instrument parts and the lyrics.

“Holy River”

;) MP3 Album | download at itsaboutmusic ]
:D CD Reissue | 2003| Collectors Choice | buy from itsaboutmusic ]
:) Original Vinyl | 1973 | Epic | search ebay ]

Ernie Graham (self-titled)

| Americana,Folk,Pop

Ernie Graham

Ernie Graham was a member of Eire Apparent, whose claim to fame was their Sunrise album, produced by Jimi Hendrix. His brilliant 1971 solo record often gets the ‘pub rock’ tag, but sounds closer to genuine Americana, like The Band record that never was. It doesn’t feel like most pub rock (even considering Nick Lowe’s Brinsley Schwarz filled out the backing band); it may just be because Graham hailed from England that we call it pub rock. Labels aside, this is a pretty much perfect record.

“Sebastian” is a wonderful folksy opener, but overtly dylanesque.  “Belfast,” the closer, is the other anomaly on this disc, definitely a good number but drastic in its divergent Irish style. All the tunes in between are delicately produced gems and true lost classics. Thankfully, the Dylan impersonation tones down as Ernie lets his natural voice shine through. “So Lonely” kicks in with that mellow groove and tunes like “Girl That Turned The Lever” etch their melody into your mind. A laid-back combo: acoustic guitar, touch of organ, the bass and drums sound warm and wooden, with doubled electric guitar punching it up. Even the harmonies are low key, just barely there, lending to the album’s lovely, lulling mood. The “la la” refrains to “For A Little While” and “Don’t Want Me Round You” are positively anthemic and the psyched-out shuffle of “Blues To Snowy” and dreamy feel to “Sea Fever” seal the deal.  It’s hard to believe this record could fall so far through the cracks.

Beautiful growing melodies, choruses that resonate before you even know the song. Bruce Eder calls this “perhaps the greatest unknown album of the 1970s” and I tend to agree.

The bonus tracks included on the Hux Records reissue are interesting but severely out of place, sounding like Springsteen jams. After this record, Graham would play guitar and pen tunes for Help Yourself, who released their own Cali-flavored gem from the pub rock scene, and would later form his own band, Clancy, who released two albums in 1975.

“So Lonely”

:D CD Reissue | 2003 | Hux | buy from amazon ]
:) Original Vinyl | 1971 | Libery | search ebay ]

Bohemian Vendetta “Enough”

| Garage,Pop,Psych

Bohemian Vendetta

A melee of clangy guitars, screeching Vox Contintental, thick fuzz, angst, acid, and pure energy make Bohemeian Vendetta’s album one of the best garage finds ever reissued. It’s maybe no masterpiece, waiting to change your life or blow your mind, but it is the essence of rock music, and too powerful to miss out on.

After a series of ripping beat demos and a single for United Artists, even scoring a tv spot on Dick Clark’s Rate-A-Record, the Long Island bred Bohemians got a shot at a full LP on the legendary Mainstream label in 1968. Given the chance, this small group of teenage acid punks let loose with their monster, penning some excellent original numbers and warping a couple of very popular covers. The label delayed their album and hardly promoted it, relegating Enough to the cracks in the floor, but it screams.

While the album’s lead-off, Riddles & Fairytales is a little too good for words, songs like I Wanna Touch Your Heart combine a healthy Rnb feel with psychedelic interludes, and suprisingly well played vocal backups. Love Can Make Your Mind Go Wild shows the band could write and sing tunes on par with The Remains, adding their own touch with the fuzz lead breakdowns. And narrated segments and operatic interludes in numbers like Deaf Dumb & Blind and Paradox City reveal the band’s psychedelic tendencies. The two non-originals are daring and disturbingly drawn-out cover versions of Satisfaction and House of the Rising Sun. It makes you wonder why modern groups fear the notion to cover songs of their contemporaries – it’s part of the tradition of rock and roll, and so many rediscovered garage bands make that exceedingly clear.

After their album went nowhere, members of Bohemian Vendetta formed the backing band for Faine Jade. Today the record is available on an anthology put out by Distortions Records, including all the singles leading up to the album and unreleased acetates. There are also several fairly recent LP reissues. Enough is strange, but a record to reaffirm your love of garage rock.

“Riddles & Fairytales”

:D CD Reissue | Distortions | buy from amazon ]
:) Vinyl Reissue | 2006 | Tapestry | search ebay ]

Mu “Mu”

| Pop,Prog,Psych,RnB

Recognize those licks? Fans of Antenna Jimmy (Jeff Cotton’s) unmistakable slide guitar work will hear it off the bat. And this may be the record to clue the skills behind the Magic Band to those who ever thought Captain Beefheart’s troupe were overrated hacks. But Mu is really a Merrell Fankhauser project, the man behind a string of awesome albums including Fapardokly and HMS Bounty’s Things.

The band happened across a copy of James Churchward’s The Lost Continent of Mu, a book about the mythical “Hawaiian Atlantis.” This provided the band name and a set of ideals (the bands’ matching those of the lost civilization) for inspiration. The fascination grew to a point that the group moved to Maui to try and find the lost city themselves.

The sound of Mu is a wholly unique mix of psychedelic rock and rhythm and blues. The interlocking rhythms and primal pulse of the Captain’s music shows its influence, but Mu is a more radio-friendly affair, think the Magic Band Lite. The tunes are largely instrumental and mildly progressive suites, with just enough structure and restraint to entice more conventional listeners. Mu benefits from this, the rare even blend of experimental with consonant songcraft. Cotton turns in some excellent slide, but also bass clarinet, and contributes a good deal of the songwriting. The rhythms are undeniably good, the songs sound better and better, and the drum break on the 9 minute Eternal Thirst (the longest track by a while) nudges the album into the realm of the hypnotic.

After an unissued follow up record recorded in Maui (included on the Sundazed 2CD set). Jeff Cotton, along with Randy Wimmer, left Mu in 1975 to study the Christian Ministry. Merrell grew increasingly fascinated with the lost continent of Mu, recording more albums based on the Mu theme and continuing to play music in the Hawaiian islands. The record they created in 1971 is remarkably fresh, out-there, and absolutely one-of-a-kind. Recommended.

“Ain’t No Blues”

:D CD Reissue | Sundazed | buy from sundazed ]
:) Original Vinyl | Lemurian | search ebay ]

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News: Music Blog Survey

| Site News

This questionnaire came thru the mail and I find it interesting, so if you’re not busy maybe you could take a couple minutes and fill it out. Try our podcast if you need some background music.

“Help policy makers, record company executives, artists and promoters alike better understand the new phenomenon of music blogging by filling out this short questionnaire. By answering these questions you are helping to define a very important aspect of the current music industry and we appreciate your help.

The results will be used alongside Hitwise data from over 2,500 blogs to give us the first large-scale study into a specific area of blogging. We believe this will be an exciting and interesting study that will help us to better understand the music blogshpere and its impact on the music industry. “

TAKE THE SURVEY

While you’re at it, send any suggestions or questions you might have for this site my way. It’s summer time and the blogging is easy but I have every intention of continuing and improving THE RISING STORM.

Big thanks to the readers out there, as always.
-B

Classic Gear: The Minimoog

| Classic Gear

Minimoog

Bob Moog’s modular systems were some of the first widely used synthesizers, but the Minimoog was created for portability and performance, designed for keyboard players looking to easily tweak some expression into their playing. Use of the Minimoog gained popularity in the early 70s and quickly found its place in nearly all genres of music. Today the Mini is still the most in-demand vintage analog synthesizer and has achieved iconic status.

Sound is produced by one, two, or three oscillators – basically tone generators that can produce sawtooth, square, or triangle waves – and then processed through a mixer, noise generator, filter, and amplifier, all with fully adjustable controls. Further control of the sound was easily accessible via the modulation and pitch wheels located to the left of the keys.

It’s a monophonic synth, meaning you can only play one note at a time (ie. no chords). Mono synths are useful for leads however, in that quick melodic runs (and bass lines) never have overlapping notes and sound exceptionally neat and fluid. Besides, tweakable sound modules hardwired inside this unit guaranteed that the lack of polyphony could never be a limitation. Performing with the Minimoog goes beyond the keyboard; to truly master the instrument you have to play the knobs.

Today Minis trade at high prices on ebay and demand has led Moog Music to produce a reissue, the Minimoog Voyager boasting MIDI support and the ability to save presets. For analog purists they have even introduced the Voyager Old School with absolutely no digital interference. French company, Arturia has even released a faithful software emulation of the Mini, the Minimoog V (as well as several other classic synths).

Note: the word “Moog” rhymes with “rogue” or “vogue.” This is detailed at the Robert Moog wikipedia page and the official Moog homepage. It is considered polite not to correct people who pronounce it with a cow’s “moo” but those insisting that your “mogue” pronunciation is incorrect will not be tolerated.

Examples
Sun Ra’s “Seen III Took 4” from The Solar-Myth Approach Vol. I is a great example of the minimoog. I believe he used a prototype that he got directly from Bob Moog on a trip to Trumansburg in 1970. It was the model B, as opposed to the Mini D that became the standard. –Kenneth

Sun Ra – Seen III Took 4

Don Preston tears the Mini apart during the encore of the Mothers performance on Fillmore East, June 1971.

The Mothers – Lonesome Electric Turkey

After three experimental records, Kraftwerk released Autobahn in 1974, a massive success and a blueprint for much of electronic pop to come. Here’s an awesome cut from side 2:

Kraftwerk – Kometenmelodie 2 (Comet Melody 2)

To be honest, it can be difficult discerning which records used the Minimoog unless it is specifically noted in the credits. But I am sure the Beach Boys had a Mini lying around during the Love You sessions. First time listeners and critics often mistake this 1977 record for a low point in the Beach Boys career, but I assure you it is brilliant synthesizer pop and the best Brian Wilson album.

The Beach Boys – I’ll Bet He’s Nice

Let us know if you think of some other essential Minimoog recordings!

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Euphoria “A Gift From Euphoria”

| Baroque,Country Rock,Folk,Pop,Psych

A Gift From Euphoria

A Gift From Euphoria is a well-funded album loaded with symphonic arrangements, excellent studio musicianship, psychedelic audio collage, and sound effects. It’s probably near to the apex of experimental rock from this era, and of the melding and juxtaposition of different styles of music.

The first two tracks on the record demonstrate the pace. Lisa an expansive and string laden orchestral number gives way to a legit bluegrass-country tune with banjo and pedal steel. Wait a little longer and you’ll get some fuzz guitar brain melters. Euphoria is all over the place on this album, which was recorded in Hollywood, London, and Bradley’s Barn. Some of the best session men in town put this one together, and it shows. Nary an unprofessional sound is on this record and some of the arrangements are stunning. They could use this album to replace the orchestra at the Boston Pops.

This is the only album released by the short lived Euphoria. The liner notes imply that the members disappeared, but parts of the liners are as out there as the sounds. Get this one for a supreme example of country and rock gone suicidally psychedelic, sounding remarkably fresh today.

For more from the Euphoria guys, be sure to check out the Bernie Schwartz record, The Wheel.

“Did You Get The Letter”

:D CD Reissue | 2003 | Revola | buy from amazon |
:) Original Vinyl | 1969 | Capitol | search ebay ]
reposted from June 6, 2007

The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band “Uncle Charlie & His Dog Teddy”

| Classic Rock,Country Rock,Folk,Pop

Uncle Charlie & His Dog Teddy

It’s kind of a shame the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band is best known for an album that isn’t really theirs. Will The Circle Be Unbroken is a landmark bluegrass recording organized by the NGDB, but the main draw are performances by legends like Maybelle Carter and Earl Scruggs and the songs are mostly traditional. To get to the heart of what the real Dirt Band were all about, you have to look past the ‘tribute’ album, delving into the solid string of albums leading up to it (and beyond), especially this excellent 1970 outing released just before Circle.

Uncle Charlie is a bold mix of classic rock, country rock, audio pastiche, and traditional bluegrass – maybe one of the best country rock records this side of the Fantastic Expedition. The songs fiddle their way into your consciousness at the same non-immediate pace it takes with Dillard & Clark. But for those familiar with classic rocknroll and Americana, these finely curated tunes should get to you pretty quick. Only a few songs were actually written by members of the Dirt Band, with great contributions from Michael Nesmith, Kenny Loggins, Randy Newman, and Jerry Jeff Walker, who contributed a major gift with Mr. Bojangles (NGDB recorded a definitive version on this record). You can hear the idea forming for Circle in the banter from the band before and after ‘live’ cuts, and the recordings of old Uncle Charlie and his singing dog. A song with hit potential, Prodigal’s Return is the equal of any classic rock radio staple, but fresher and better, completely untouched by the machine of overplayed hits.

Sweeter numbers really shine on this disc, like the bare bones treatment to Randy Newman’s Livin’ Without You and Nezzy’s laid-back and easy Propinquity, though I can’t quite get a handle on House At Pooh Corner: did they sing about Christopher Robin and Owl for kids? And why do I like it so much? There’s also such a hard rocking version of Buddy Holly’s Rave On that it resembles the feel of a Roxy Music song. Let me not undermine the strength of the original songs on the album, however as Cure, Traveling Mood, and the various other snippets bring Uncle Charlie full circle, so to speak.

The early Dirt Band albums never caught on, probably because of their jug band sound – though they were one of the few bands with the skills to pull off a successful jug band rock. Their live album, Alive, is great as is the debut, Ricochet (a true lost 60s classic), and Rare Junk. But the triumvirate of Uncle Charlie, Circle, and Stars and Stripes Forever are considered their high water mark. Nitty Gritty’s the real deal.

“Prodigal’s Return”

“Livin’ Without You”

:D CD Reissue | 2003 | Capitol | buy from amazon ]
:) Original Vinyl | 1970 | Liberty | search ebay ]
;) MP3 Download | buy from amazon ]

LP Giveaway Contest: Dennis Wilson “Pacific Ocean Blue”

| Giveaway

Pacific Ocean Blue

After 30 years the first Beach Boys solo album, Dennis Wilson’s Pacific Ocean Blue , is getting the reissue it deserves. This is a truly special album, able to touch your soul. Today it is finally available either on Sony Legacy’s Enhanced Double CD or Sundazed’s new Hi-Definition 3-LP vinyl set.

From Sundazed: “Sundazed’s vinyl edition of this lost masterpiece comes in a lavishly illustrated, triple-gatefold sleeve with the three LPs pressed in high-definition Pacific Ocean Plue vinyl. The first LP presents a gorgeous, newly-mastered version of the original album, and the other two LPs contain the absolute cream of Dennis Wilson’s unreleased solo work, including enthralling material from his long-rumored Bambu project.” Read more on Bambu @ aquariumdrunkard.

We’re so thrilled about the release that we’re giving away a free copy of the vinyl Sundazed LP. To enter, all you have to do is leave a comment naming one of the albums we’ve used in our header image up above. Please only name 1 album per person. The contest ends when all the albums have been named (or guesses run out of steam) and the winner will be selected at random and emailed (so enter a valid email address). Sorry! Contest ended.

Honestly, I’ll be surprised if all 23 albums are identified because some are a little tough. We have reviewed a bunch on this site, but not all of them. Have fun and Good Luck!

“River Song”

:D CD Reissue | 2008 | Sony Legacy | buy from amazon ]
:) Vinyl Reissue | 2008 | Sundazed | buy from sundazed ]