Double Zappa |FZ| 1971-72

, Double Zappa

This would have been good to post two days ago, considering the original Mothers chose their band name on Mother’s Day. The label tacked on “Of Invention” in an attempt to lessen the weird. By 1971, Zappa’s ever evolving band — now fronted by Flo & Eddie, the lead singers from The Turtles — proudly reclaimed their simpler title and re-upped the weirdness to a frenzied degree. To me, these two live albums from the age of 200 Motels are the most fun picks from the discography.

Fillmore East (1971)
FZ kept extensive archives of his live recordings, and Cal Schenkel’s pencil-scribbled cover (“He made me do it!” pleading on the back) must be an homage to one of the actual reels. Opening with a tasty instrumental reworking from Burnt Weeny Sandwich, Fillmore East becomes a stage play of sorts, with the Turtles assuming the role of one of Frank’s long-lived obsessions: starstruck groupies looking to get their “rocks off.” What Kind of Girl Do You Think We Are is genius for its seemingly off-the-cuff yet fully orchestrated vocals, riffing all sorts of mayhem over a modified blues. And before this, the Mud Shark fits a memorable rock n roll tale over a soulful little groove. The sound they had by this show is wild: a combination of organ, Rhodes piano, Don Preston’s Minimoog, and Zappa’s gritty guitar all the while complemented by the over-the-top falsettos of Flo & Eddie (whose voices you might recognize from T-Rex’s Slider album). As usual, Zappa’s band is on top of its game.

“The Mud Shark”

:D CD Reissue | 1995 | Zappa Records | buy from amazon ]
:) Original Vinyl | 1971 | Reprise | search ebay ]

Just Another Band From LA (1972)
“Billy was a mountain. Ethel was a tree growing off of his shoulder.” It just astounds the mind what Zappa was able to accomplish in his lifetime; case in point: the 25-minute, fully developed performance piece on side one of this record, Billy The Mountain. As a canned recording, it’s more road trip fare than casual listening, but it must have been quite a lucky few to have seen it performed live, a bizarre tale complete with character acting, theme songs, sound effects, and very catchy refrains. Side two rounds out the experience with harder rock interpretations of early Mothers classics like Call Any Vegetable and Dog Breath. Two new tracks, Eddie, Are You Kidding and the perverted Magdalena are suitably ridiculous for one of the Mothers’ nuttiest incarnations.

“Call Any Vegetable”

:D CD Reissue | 1995 | Zappa Records | buy from amazon ]
:) Original Vinyl | 1972 | Bizarre | search ebay ]

Kaleidoscope (US) “Incredible!”

Folk,Prog,Psych

Incredible!

Kaleidoscope was an important architect of the American rock n roll sound. This group introduced ethnic sounds that were new and exciting back in the 60s and also featured some fine techinical players in David Lindley and Chris Darrow. Incredible! was their last really good album that saw the departure of Darrow, one of the group’s founders and a key component to Kaleidoscope’s special sound. Darrow explained a while back:

“The root of the problem, was a combination of business hassles and the fact that we weren’t a success commercially. The effect was astonishing; friends started acting like enemies…and, in the end, I just passed. I said ‘that’s it…I’m going,’ at which point David said ‘you’re fired anyway’ – it was he who fired me. So I quit and got fired at the same time. It just ceased to satisfy me all of a sudden – something had to give, and the obvious solution was a change in personnel.”

Darrow went on to release a few solo efforts and contribute some fine material to the late 60s/early 70s Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. His departure was a major blow but the group rallied and released what many feel is their most consistent record to date. Side Trips (1967) and A Beacon From Mars (1968-) were both excellent, eclectic records with more of a psychedelic feel though Incredible saw the band maturing, incorporating elements of cajun, blues and bluegrass into an already diverse mixture of music styles. They never abandon psychedelia though, and turn in two outstanding eastern rockers, the funky Lie To Me, which had serious radio potential and the cosmic 11-minute Seven-Ate Sweet. These tracks bookend Incredible though blues rockers Killing Floor and Cuckoo are just as strong and highlight some fine harmonica playing and nice subtle fuzz guitar work. Other tracks like the stark instrumental Banjo are inventive and show us how good a banjo player David Lindley was.

Fans of psychedelia and roots music are urged to seek out Kaleidscope’s first three albums and non-lp singles, these are all “must haves.” Kaleidoscope is one of America’s greatest lost groups, they were always ambitious, trying out new ideas and never giving in to commercial demands.

“Lie To Me”

:D CD Reissue | 1994 | Edsel | buy from amazon ]
:) Original Vinyl | 1969 | Epic | search ebay ]

Colin Blunstone “One Year”

Baroque,Pop,Sunshine

One Year

The Zombies disbanded before their classic Time Of The Season smashed onto radio airwaves, and lead singer Colin Blunstone took to a desk job.

One year later, he grew tired of insurance or whatever it was and got back in the studio. Armed with fellow Zombs Chris White and Rod Argent as co-writers and producers, Colin managed to record what I consider the most precious record in my collection. One Year is a very, very special record to me, so much that it’s actually hard to even mention here.

Three tracks feature backing by the band Argent, and have a lite rock feel, but the rest feature Colin’s silken voice over a tightly arranged and dynamic chamber orchestra. She Loves The Way They Love Her kicks it off with the album’s full band sound. It takes some getting used to as it’s not quite Zombies and perhaps a little too produced, but believe me, this one will get you in the long run with its amazing melody and Colin’s excellent vocal work. The other rock band songs include Caroline Goodbye and Mary Won’t You Warm My Bed, both excellent, upbeat tunes. It’s the orchestra numbers that will get you on this record though. Songs like I Can’t Live Without You, Her Song, and Let Me Come Closer To You will simply murder you.

If you are in the market for records that grow on you more and more each time you listen, this was made for you. I wasn’t sure what to think about One Year when I finally tracked it down (luckily, it’s easily available these days) but after a few years with it, it is definitely one of my favorites, certainly in the top 20: a Sunday morning staple to last my life.

“Say You Don’t Mind”

:D CD Reissue | 2007 | Water | buy from amazon ]
:) Original Vinyl | 1971 | Epic | search ebay ]

Silver Apples (self-titled)

Electronic,Psych

Silver Apples

Of all records that are considered “ahead of its time,” this may be the most in vogue contender. There are thousands of albums from the sixties that didn’t jive with the times, and many that are still too ahead of its time; what happens in the evolution of music since then determines what we consider to be the most influential. In terms of popular electronic music, nothing really touches what the Silver Apples started up in 68.

To best understand what the Apples are all about, you have to check the diagram in the liner notes. They are only a duo, comprising equally complicated setups: Danny Taylors’ expansive drum kit and Simeon’s boggling assortment of electronic treats. Several custom oscillators drone over sequenced looping bass lines, while tape machines implement found sound recordings (predicting the method of sampling and adding even more their legendary status). Taylors’ drumming seals the deal with programmatic beats that would influence kit players from Can’s Jaki Liebezeit to hip hop drummers like ?uestlove. The Silver Apples were staggeringly prescient in their technical setup, but perhaps even more influential was their use of the drone. Hypnotic and trance inducing, I can’t imagine any modern day electronic pop that shouldn’t show some allegiance to this groundbreaking record.

Period vocal stylings sometimes distract modern day electro fiends, but they are surely missing out. The tunework and lyrics are the match of most good psych records from the time, and this record consistently continues to blow minds just as hard today as it must have back then, to the few who listened. The new Phoenix vinyl reissue carries a pretty high price tag, but looks like its worth the price, limited to 1,000 copies. For those looking to dive in at cost, check out the MCA twofer CD reissue, which also contains their next album, Contact. Positively essential for electronic and psych listeners.

“Lovefingers”

:D CD Reissue | 1997 | MCA | w/ Contact | buy from amazon ]

East of Eden “Mercator Projected”

Art,Prog,Psych

Mercator Projected

Fantastic album from an English group that bridged the psychedelic and progressive worlds together. East of Eden had put out a non lp single prior to their debut album, Mercator Projected, which was released in 1969 off Decca. The band formed in 1967 and was centered around classically trained violinist Dave Arbus, guitarist Geoff Nicholson and vocalist/sax player Ron Caines.

The group had a strong underground following in London and in other parts of Europe but never attained the widespread success they deserved. Arbus’ flute, violin, and sax played a prominent role in East of Eden’s sound and on any given night they could have easily upstaged similar, like-minded bands such as the Mahavishnu Orchestra or Colosseum. Many of these songs have a clear Eastern influence as heard on the experimental Waterways. Waterways starts out as a trippy pop-sike number with lots of mellotron that eventually morphs into an explosive, metallic hard rocking raga piece. The opener, Nothern Hemisphere is a menacing, bass heavy piece of progressive rock that is somewhat similar to early King Crimson in its power and fury. In fact King Crimson’s debut may be Mercator Projected’s closest reference point. It’s difficult to mix classical, blues, jazz, folk, hard rock and psychedelia into a seemless whole but somehow East of Eden does this well. They shine on the classic jazz-psychedelic instrumental In The Stable of the Spinx and completely dismantle the superb blues-rock number Centaur Woman into something new and avant garde. There’s even a few good psychedelic pop tracks (Moth and Bathers) on an album known for its progressive tendencies.

All the songs are really good and there are few early progressive albums that are better than Mercator Projected. It’s all very intense in an English sort of way but there is no denying the greatness and talent that is packed within this record and group. In 1970 they would release another classic album, Snafu before taking a 360 turn and becoming a wasted country-rock outfit. The recent Esoteric disc is recommended as it includes the original album along with some interesting demos, which include an excellent cover of Eight Miles High.

“Waterways”

:D CD Reissue | 2008 | Esoteric | buy from amazon ]
:) Original Vinyl | 1969 | Deram | search at ebay ]

The Speakers “En El Maravilloso Mundo De Ingeson”

Concept Albums,Psych

En El Maravilloso

There are no doubts in my mind that the Speakers were one of the finest rock bands Columbia has ever produced. Prior to Ingeson they had released 4 albums, the first 3 lps mixed rock n roll covers with two or three beat garage/folk-rock group originals. All of their records are sung in Spanish and by the group’s forth lp they were concentrating exclusively on group originals and experimenting with primitive psychedelia.

Their fourth self-titled album from 1968 was a major advancement for the Speakers, as it was crammed with excellent originals that mixed garage pop and acid rock. Later that year the group released it’s final album, the psychedelic masterpiece En El Maravilloso Mundo De Ingeson (In the Wonderful World of Ingeson). A record such as this could only be released independently as it was too far out for major labels to market. Ingeson was notable for being the first Columbian rock record to use multi channel recording techniques which enabled the band to introduce all kinds of strange sound effects to the record buying public. When the lp was released in 1968 it came in a gatefold edition that included a 12 page full-color booklet with photos of the band by Danilo Vitalini, text, drawings, and even a replica of an acid hit! The album has a very cool lo-fi sound and its only flaw is the out of place Historia De Un Loto Que, a silly blues rocker with sped up alien-like vocals. That being said, the rest of this record is great and as whacked out as any of the early Mutantes records.

I cannot read or speak Spanish but I understand Ingeson to have a concept of some kind that runs throughout the lp and the group never makes any compromises in regards to the album’s lyrics. Some of the songs like Reflejos De La Olla and the beautiful folk instrumental Nosotros display a clear Columbian roots influence but are definite standouts and give the lp a unique flavor. Un Sueno Magico (wild guitar distortion and treated vocals), Oda A La Gente Mediocre (killer brain-damaged psych), Si La Guerra, and Ninos are all outstanding tracks and represent some of the deepest forays into Latin American psychedelia. The cheerful Si La Guerra in particular reminds me of something off the first Os Mutantes album while Ninos has an unhinged fuzztone solo about midway thru. There are also a few good psych folk-rockers in No Como Antes and Salmo Siglo XX that balance out all the madness.

Searching for originals is pointless as this classic is extremely rare and exchanges hands for outrageous sums of money. There have been two reissues of Ingeson though, the best being the pricey limited edition SalgaelSol cd (2007) which replicates the original mini lp gatefold, text, photos and placebo acid hit.

More info:
A few years back Speakers’ drummer Roberto Fiorelli shared some words with 60’s rock fanzine Ugly Things. Of En El Maravilloso Mundo De Ingeson he said, “The version of the Speakers that included Oscar Lasprilla and myself was formed during the last months of 1967. Rodrigo Garcia, group leader, and Humberto Monroy had problems with their drummer, Edgar Duenas and they decided to replace him. We talked to the owner of Ingeson Studio, Dr. Drezner, who said we could use the studio free of charge during the night. In return we would have to use the word “Ingeson” any way we could. Since I was a professional studio drummer who worked there eight hours a day, I asked him: “What if we call the album The Speakers in the Marvelous World of Ingeson?” And Dr. Drezner replied, “You can start tomorrow!” The recordings alone took four months, from June through September of 1968. There was an abudance of percussion instruments, marimbas, xylophones, tabla, glass, bells, indigenous percussion all which were used on “Oda a La Gente Mediocore” (Ode to the Mediocre People). The promotion for this record was enormous: television, newspaper, radio talk shows, we did everything you could possibly do and the critics loved it and the end result…….only 800 copies were sold. Things went downhill after this experience. Rodrigo had enough of Columbia and returned to his native country – Spain (He joined Los Pekenikes and recorded their fourth lp). Humberto and I decided to form Siglo Cero. I worked in other musical ventures until Columbia de Fuego, a band that toured Europe and Russia in 1973. I left Columbia being the number one drummer. I really didn’t want to return again and start from scratch. So I bit the bullet , I remained in my native country of Italy where I truly started again from scratch!”

Roberto continues to play drums professionally in Italy. In regards to band leader Rodrigo Garcia, everyone who knew him in Columbia thought he had died in combat fighting for the guerrillas in Central America during the 1970’s. The elusive, eccentric Rodrigo Garcia was shocked to hear this and called it all “rubbish.” He is still alive and well and has been recording in Spain.

From the Speakers self-titled 4th album:

mp3: Reflexiones

En El Maravilloso Mundo De Ingeson

mp3: Un Sueno Magico
mp3: Nosotros Nuestra Arcadia Nuestra

:D CD Reissue | 2007 | SalgaelSol | purchase ]

The Youngbloods “Earth Music”

Folk,Pop

Earth Music

It’s too bad the Youngbloods are mostly known for their classic cover version of Get Together. They are often referred to as a second rate Lovin’ Spoonful too but there was so much more to the group then these generalizations would lead you to believe. They left behind three classic records, a worthwhile oddities lp entitled Two Trips and some good live recordings.

The Youngbloods were an early folk-rock group that mixed blues, folk, good-time music, country, and rock n roll into something fresh and durable. The group’s members were guitarist bassist Jesse Colin Young, bassist guitarist Jerry Corbitt, keyboard player Banana Levinger and drummer Joe Bauer. Young had soulful, gritty vocals that stood out and in the group’s early years both he and Corbitt split the songwriting credits. While Elephant Mountain is usually regarded as their peak (and most experimental album) the first two lp’s were a dynamite mix of various roots music. The early 1967 debut album was a very consistent mix of well-chosen covers and group originals highlighted by Get Together and the classic Corbitt folk-rocker All Over The World. Earth Music came out later that year and was just as good but lacked a major hit single to propel it into the limelight.

Most of the album’s tracks were originals although there were a few excellent covers that rounded the lp out. The last song on the original lp was one of the first great cover versions of Tim Hardin’s Reason To Believe. The arrangement is sparse, the harmonies are wonderful and overall the Youngbloods turned in a fine countried version of this Hardin standard. Dreamer’s Dream, All My Dreams Blue and Don’t Play Games were great tuneful folk-rockers which were perhaps the group’s strong suit. They also found time to turn in two uptempo good time tracks, Euphoria, which came from the Holy Modal Rounders and the Wine Song. Both these songs were highlights along with the Levinger penned acid garage-rocker Fool Me which featured some fine guitar work. The most significant track may have been Sugar Babe. This was one of the first great country rock standards with great lyrics and a spirit that embodies everything that is good about that genre.

Originals were off the RCA label and easy to come by 40+ years later. The best of the cd reissues was put out by BGO in 2007 and it includes the first 3 albums on 2 discs. Anyone who is into American rock n roll or true roots music should really own these albums; the Youngbloods really deserve their due.

Debut:

“All Over The World (La-La)”

Earth Music:

“Sugar Babe”

:D CD Reissue | 2007 | Beat Goes On | buy from amazon ]
:) Original Vinyl | 1967 | RCA | search ebay ]

The Rockets (self-titled)

Classic Rock,Country Rock,Pop

The Rockets

The sole release by the band that would become Crazy Horse. While it may be a bit unfocused, there’s a lot of stellar, inventive material here. Lead vocalist Danny Whitten and guitarist Leon Whitshell each wrote about half of the songs. Traces of embryonic country-rock can be heard, but they mostly cling to a tougher blues-rock sound with interesting psych touches. If anything, it certainly earns originality points for Bobby Notkoff’s innovative use of the electric violin, which ranges from traditional country breakdowns (Hands in my Pocket) to some intense bow-slashing that sounds something like a steel-shed being mutilated by a chainsaw. (Let Me Go).

The album’s highpoint is undoubtedly the melancholic tour-de-force Won’t You Say You’ll Stay, which may be the best song Whitten ever wrote. Unfortunately the album actually suffers because of this”no other track comes close to touching its brilliance. And at least for the sake of consistency they probably should’ve discarded the two awkward blue-eyed soul attempts for something a little heavier in tone. But there’s still some high-quality stuff left, including the snotty, Stones-like Try My Patience and Shed Your Skin, where the ever versatile Notkoff uses the violin to capture a bizarre Eastern feel.

Even with its flaws, the Rockets is an important late 60s album that seems to have been written out of the history books.

“Wont You Say You’ll Stay”

:D CD Reissue | 2001 | Varese Sarabande | buy from amazon ]

Graham Nash “Songs For Beginners”

Classic Rock,Folk,Pop

CSNY dismantled after 1970’s Deja Vu, to release four excellent solo albums: Neil Young’s After The Gold Rush, David Crosby’s If I Could Only Remember My Name, Stephen Stills’ Stephen Stills, and Graham Nash’s overlooked but truly excellent Songs For Beginners.

Graham Nash began his music career penning excellent tunes for the Hollies, a lovely group whose Butterfly album is desperately missing a review on this site. His tunes for the Hollies and CSN: “Dear Eloise,” “King Midas In Reverse,” “Teach Your Children,” “Our House,” etc. were always in top form. Vocally, Nash defined the sound of CSN with a high harmony part joyfully recognizable in Beginners. The ace writing continues on this record with fine tracks like “Better Days,” “Wounded Bird,” no use listing every track as there are no dull points. The production makes very few false steps, with solid choices in the arrangement and a good comfortable sound.

Songs For Beginners has a few politically minded tunes in “Military Madness,” the album’s bouncy opener, and the anthemic “Chicago,” about the 1968 Democratic Convention. The lyrics have a bright and hopeful feeling throughout, which could work in a time like today’s. We can change the world, Graham, and that sentiment remains undated by my standards.

Fans of the CSNY family are lucky folk, with such a depth of wonderful material to dig. This album is definitely as strong as anything released at the time by Neil Young, Stephen Stills, David Crosby, or all of them together.

“Better Days”

:D MP3 Album Download | amazon ]
:) Vinyl | search ebay ]

Classic Gear: The Fender Rhodes

Classic Gear

Press your hand to these keys for the first time and you’ll hear it, the smooth electric ring with a touch of grit and lots of soul. It’s hard not to sound good on a keyboard this classic, but the best players can muscle out a powerful growl. You probably know the sound.

The Rhodes is not an electronic instrument or a synthesizer, it works mechanically like a regular piano. Rather than hammering strings, each key on the Rhodes strikes a thin metal rod, called a tine, that is cut to length and amplified through a pickup. A few knobs on the faceplate can alter the tone or vibrato, but modification of the raw sound is barely needed. Plug this baby in a Twin Reverb and you’re good to go.

It was invented by Harold Rhodes as a bedside piano for wounded GIs, and manufactured by the Fender company as early as 1959, but portable (though damn heavy) stage models produced in the late 60s would drive its popularity and acceptance by artists from jazz, rock, soul, or any genre. Being one of the most important piano innovations of our time, the Rhodes is still dearly loved and highly collected today. As Ray Charles would say during Harold Rhodes’ lifetime achievement Grammy award presentation, “The Rhodes was a musical atom bomb, changing the face of the music landscape forever.”

Examples
First let’s hear from Herbie Hancock from his 1970s Rhodes promo record. This is a great introduction to the capability and sound of the Rhodes from one of the deepest keyboard explorers ever.

Herbie Hancock “Demonstrates The Rhodes Sound; Side A”

Get Back features some nasty Rhodes soloing by “fifth Beatle,” Billy Preston. The Let It Be Naked release is said to better represent Preston’s fine contributions to the Beatles’ music.

The Beatles “Get Back”

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