Greatful Dead – ”American Beauty” (1970)

Let's continue the last post's theme with country & western inspired music. At the same time continuing with my process to come out as a country & western lover, a process that isn’t easy. I still haven’t dared to tell my parents.

Greatful Dead was in my world the ultimate dope band - the band used mindbending substances, the audience used mindbending substances, the band's most fanatical fans, the deadheads, seemed to be a psychedelic cult with Jerry Garcia as Messiah. They were the house band for Ken Kesey and his Merry Pranksters on their LSD events, the acid tests.

The songs I had heard contradicted to some extent this picture. The music seemed to be more of long blues jams, and not the druggy acid rock that I had expected. I must admit that in addition to today's theme and Terrapin Station, I have just heard a few songs here and there by the band, so my picture is far from complete. But it seems like other bands did more uninhibited musical experiments.

My first album I bought with GD was Terrapin Station, which I like very much. The second was American Beauty, almost a classic when it comes to GD. On American Beauty GD gives us music with a lot of country & western influences. Garcia plays some groovy pedal steel guitar and on the song Candyman, solid dope country, we get to hear a really nice solo on that instrument. I didn’t know that steel guitar could sound so druggy and dreamy.

 

Country & western hasn’t been a favourite genre of mine, with some rare exceptions. To some extent I am willing to let American Beauty become a part of this group of exceptions. It should be clarified that this is not a pure country & western album, it’s a mix of rock, folk, country and probably some other genres. Country & western, however, is the most obvious influence. There are lots of vocal harmonies and acoustic elements, and some songs are no doubt pure country & western.

One of the album’s best tracks is the opening song Box Of Rain. It's a song you want to play again and again. A beautiful and slightly melancholic song the bassist Phil Lesh sings. He asked lyricist Robert Hunter to write a text he could sing to his dying father, which he allegedly did. Another favourite is the mentioned Candyman, where country music becomes dope music, which perhaps is a contradiction. Sugar Magnolia is a fast-paced rock / country song that is one of the most famous GD songs, and one of the most frequently played at concerts.

 

On the B-side is Attics Of My Life where beautiful vocal harmonies dominate and creates almost a hymn. It’s different from the other songs with its acapella arrangement. The closing song Truckin is a classic GD song that became a huge hit. It has since the album was released been the 8th most played song in concerts (520 times) and the song many associate with GD. Personally, I don’t like it at all, a boogie song I think CCR or some such band could have done. I don’t understand why it has become such a big song.

 

The text on the cover is an ambigram, which means that the text also can be read when you rotate it, or change perspective (such as the background becomes the foreground). With the same content, or a new one. Here American Beauty can also be read as American Reality. And reportedly one can turn the cover upside down and hold it up against a mirror, and then read Devil's Kingdom in the mirror. I can’t deny that this sounds a bit like a tale, much like all the backwards messages that supposedly appear on numerous albums. But who knows? I haven't tried.

 

In summary, an OK album, with its highs and lows. Some songs are a bit too much country & western for me, but with its highlights in the form of eg Box Of Rain and Candyman, I think it has its place in the collection. I'm a bit fascinated by GD exploring country & western. I've always imagined country & western and LSD-inspired hippie music as opposites, but apparently a band can without any major problems move between these extremes. Also bands like The Byrds made ​​excursions into the country & western world, so perhaps it is as some people say - it's not a line but a circle. At the extremes you meet. The hippie takes the hillbilly’s hands and unite in harmony.

 

Tracklist

Side A

1. Box Of Rain 5:18
2. Friend Of The  Devil 3:24
3. Sugar Magnolia 3:19
4. Operator 2:25
5. Candyman 6:14

Side B

1. Ripple 4:09
2. Brokedown Palace 4:09
3. Till The Morning Comes 3:08
4. Attics Of My Life 5:12
5. Truckin 5:03

 

Bob Dylan – ”Nashville Skyline” (1969)
 

What if I’m someone who likes country & western. Cowboy hat, boots with spurs and a pickup truck around the corner. When people ask me what kind of music I like, it has often been easier to say what I don’t like. Opera and country & western is included on that list. I've always made ​​an exception for Lee Hazlewood. His version of country & western is OK, but the others ...

Bob Dylan hasn’t been a great favourite of mine, either. Sure, he has undoubtedly written amazing songs, but his voice and the songs’ sound have never appealed to me. Bob Dylan, I often think, is one of the few artists where the covers are better than the original songs.

Nashville Skyline has caused me to doubt myself and question different aspects of my identity and history. What if I simply haven’t come out of the closet? What if I’m a country & western lover? What would my parents say?

Nashville Skyline was Dylan's ninth studio album and quite different than the previous ones. The first time I heard Lay Lady Lay (on a compilation CD I have), I refused to believe it was Dylan. It must be a cover or a lousy attempt to fool people with a home recording purported to be Dylan. However, undoubtedly a nice song which I immediately fell for, and which I later realized, of course, was Dylan. Although he sounded so... different.

On Nashville Skyline Dylan sings with a very different voice than his usual, it’s deeper, softer and better (according to me). And the music is country & western recorded in Nashville. On the opening track Girl From The North Country, he even sings a duet with Johnny Cash. Cash spent some time in the studio with Dylan and they recorded more duets, however, only one was used on the album. Dylan had on the previous record, John Wesley Harding, some country & western inspired songs, but on Nashville Skyline he took it all the way.

 

Nashville Skyline is a different Dylan album I can recommend, even to those who don’t like country & western. Here you get a pretty relaxed country album without the whining southern accent, banjos or fiddles. It's a nice sound and many great songs. The classic Lay Lady Lay is a favourite, as are the before mentioned opening track, I Threw It All Away and Tonight I'll Be Staying Here With You. It’s certainly heard now and then it’s Dylan, he is not completely free from his heritage.

I still maintain that country & western isn’t my favourite kind of music, but I have in Nashville Skyline found yet an exception. The album was well received by the audience and press and got high rankings on lists, including a number 1 spot in England. My copy has a golden text where it says it’s forbidden to sell, it’s only for promotional use. This makes it almost illegal to own, which speaks to the rebel inside me.

 

Tracklist

Side A

1. Girl From The North Country 3:41

2. Nashville Skyline Rag 3:12

3. To Be Alone With You 2:07

4. I Threw It All Away 2:23

5. Peggy Day 2:01

Side B

1. Lay Lady Lay 3:18

2. One More Night 2:23

3. Tell Me That It Isn’t True 2:41

4. Country Pie 1:37

5. Tonight I’ll Be Staying Here With You 3:23

 

 

 

David Bowie - "Hunky Dory" (1971)

The first time this album was in my possession was my 11th or 12th birthday. I owned it for a few days, until I returned it to the store. I had wished for Let's Dance, which my father was not really aware of. A Bowie album is a Bowie album, I guess he thought, and obeyed the staff's recommendation that this was the album to have.

At the time, Let's Dance surely was the right album for me, but seen in a larger perspective, I without a doubt prefer Hunky Dory. It's relatively new in my collection, but since my older brother owned it and played it regularly during my younger years, it has been in my life for many years. So it doesn't feel like a new album to me.

The version I have is a Spanish reissue with the addition of  A Pedir De Boca in the title, and I don't know how official it is. What's different with it is that it's a brown vinyl, which when held up to the light becomes almost purple in color. I have read online about Spanish editions with different colors, but the brown one I have found difficult to find information on. But the other colored Spanish editions are usually mentioned as non official releases, so I guess this goes for mine as well.

This is almost a classic and it's a really good album. Songs like Changes, Life On Mars? or Andy Warhol are well known to the public (I think anyway). This was Bowie's fourth album but the first on his new record company RCA. When he began the recording he was actually without a contract, but RCA heard a demo tape and signed him.

Hunky Dory sold quite OK initially, but it wasn't until Bowie's big break the following year, with the album Ziggy Stardust, it began selling in higher numbers. It is on countless lists of best album ever made, best album from the 70's and so on. Bowie himself considers it one of his most important album throughout his career.

It's relatively easily-accessible music, while at the same time not mainstream. I think it can suite quite a lot of people, whether you identify yourself as a music connoisseur and a knower of great stature or prefer to listen to today's radio with more impersonal computer-generated music. Should I mention something negative, it's Bowie's voice, at the time a little thin and nasal, which I can't say I'm overly fond of. It gives the songs a touch that feels on the verge of somewhat neurotic. Nevertheless a really good album that should probably be in every person's album collection.


Tracklist

Side A
1. Changes 3:37
2. Oh! You Pretty Things 3:12
3. Eight Line Poem 2:55
4. Life On Mars? 3:53
5. Kooks 2:53
6. Quicksand 5:08

Side B
1. Fill Your Heart 3:07
2. Andy Warhol 3:56
3. Song For Bob Dylan 4:12
4. Quen Bitch 3:18
5. The Bewlay Brothers 5:22

Pink Floyd - "The Best Of Pink Floyd" (1970)

As a true Pink Floyd fan, I couldn't resist buying this album when I stumbled upon it the other week in a record store, although it was a bit expensive. But the chance of getting Pink Floyd's early single releases on vinyl was too tempting to resist, songs that are not found on any of their LPs (I have the songs on CD, though, since many years) .

Besides the single releases there are some songs from their first album The Piper Of The Gates Of Dawn. A string of psychedelic creations, most written by Syd Barrett. Why then is David Gilmour on the cover and where is Syd, man of order probably wonders? The songs are from the years 1967-68 and recorded before Gilmour came into the picture. According to sources on the internet, he only appears (in secret) on Julia Dream. EMI, which released the album, probably thought it was better to show the 1970 version of the band, I suppose. But fact is that the album was reissued later with Syd Barrett instead of Gilmour on the cover. After the crazy succcess with Dark Side Of The Moon the record company wanted to earn even more money on Pink Floyd, and re-released The Best Of Pink Floyd under the new name, Masters Of Rock, a serie that was made under the same name with a number of artists. That's when Syd got a spot on the cover.

The songs are of course quite different from the Dark Side Of The Moon and Pink Floyd's other 70's creations. This is the very definition of psychedelia, often with a dark touch, as if the music predicts Syd's future fate. Some might dismiss a few songs as a bit whimsical, but not me. I think all the creations are really groovy. Apples And Oranges is perhaps the song that most reminds of the music on Syd's solo albums that were released a few years later, with a peculiar timing of the vocals. Rich Wright and Roger Waters also contributes with a few songs. One might miss Point Me At The Sky, it was created , however, when Syd in practice had left the band, so perhaps it's OK. But personally, I would prefer it got a spot on the album instead of some song from Piper At The Gates Of Dawn.

The Best Of Pink Floyd invites the listener to the band in its younger years, filled with youthful energy and experimentation. Fun, trippy, sad and somewhat dark. Knowledge of Syd's later fate surely enhances this darkness.

Tracklist

Side A

1. Chapter 24 3:36

2. Mathilda Mother 3:03

3. Arnold Layne 2:51

4. Candy And A Currant Bun 2:38

5. The Scarecrow 2:07

Side B

1. Apples And Oranges 3:01

2. It WouldBe So Nice 3:39

3. Paint Box 3:27

4. Julia Dream 2:28

5. See Emily Play 2:50

Jimmie Haskell – ”California ’99” (1971)

Some albums are more fun to own than to listen to. Jimmie Haskell’s California '99 is one of these. The record must be defined as some sort of rock opera with a rather odd content. Recorded in the early 70's it looks into the future, to the faraway 80’s and 90’s. USA is bankrupt, people eat insects that in turn feed on cannabis (which grows in the central region of the country, in the insects and marijuana corridor). USA is also renamed California and love is for the lower classes, almost forbidden. And not to mention, there are no clocks anymore, instead music is played - slow tempo in the morning and then faster and faster as the day goes by. To know what time it is, you just listen to the music.

The main character chooses not to be part of the military, instead he gets an alternative assignment, Situation 19 - Love as your burden. He must love three people simultaneously, namely Claudia, Jessica Stone and Barbara. Moreover, he must find and fall in love with them in that specific order. He gets two years to do this, he fails it will be the military anyway.

Yeah, the story goes something like that. Tom Gamache wrote it. When I’ve read online about the album a lot of people come back to the idea that the creators must have smoked large amounts of dope. Wonder why...

Jimmie Haskell has been a productive person, both as a writer and arranger of music. He has also acted as a conductor a lot during his career. He has received an Emmy and a number of Grammies. Besides various artists, Jimmie has been involved in a lot of soundtracks, such as Big and The Color Purple.

The music at California '99 is nothing out of the ordinary, honestly, and not as weird as the story. The album consists of about as much story telling as music. Personally I think the narration becomes a bit boring after a while, even though the story itself is crazy enough. But if you’ve heard it once, you don’t need to hear it again. Different guests appear - Joe Walsh, Big Wanda And The Wombats, Jimmy Witherspoon and others. Some songs are covers, while others are written by Haskell. An odd bird on the album is The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down where Jimmy Witherspoon sings. A perfectly OK song, but a little odd in this context. The record ends with a cover of Peter Townshend's Underture.

The best thing about the album is the cover. You can unfold it into a poster, as large as six album covers. Some weird photos with accompanying descriptions on one side, and a map of the United States (no, California, of course) on the other. That’s kind of neat.

As mentioned, the music on the album might not justify a purchase, but the foldable cover along with the generally freaked out content still makes it fun to have in the collection. How the story ends is not revealed here, look up the album for yourselves.

Tracklist

Side A

1. Overture

2. Appopopoulisberg

3. The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down

4. Jessica Stone

5. To Claudia On Thursday

Side B

1. Prelude

2. California Fairy Tale

3. Barbara

4. Underture

Dire Straits – ”Brothers In Arms” (1985)

This is one of the first LPs in my collection. I got it when I turned 13, the same year it was released. I remember it well, my birthday took place at Sweden’s west coast where we sometimes spent a few weeks in the summer. I became a teenager, and began increasingly to say farewell to my childhood. The sun was shining just like the day before, it was hot but something was still different.

Part of getting older was to start creating your own identity and in that process your own record collection. Brothers In Arms was a step along that way. Besides children albums that lingered on the shelf, the album had company by some KISS albums I received from my brother because I sometimes cleaned his room, Magnus Uggla’s Välkommen Till Folkhemmet, and at Christmas -85 Paul Young’s Secret Of Association showed up. Slowly but surely the children albums disappeared to give room to rock 'n ' roll. Brothers In Arms is part of the foundation of my collection, one of my first albums and has accompanied me for almost 30 years.

With that being said, it doesn’t mean I think it's an amazing album that is played daily at home. Truth is that I practically never listen to it today.

Brothers In Arms is Dire Straits fifth album and their most successful. The album is the seventh best selling album ever in the UK, and has spent countless number of weeks at the number one spot on national sales charts all around the world. It has sold approximately 30 million copies worldwide. Brothers In Arms was also the first album that sold more in the CD format than in the vinyl format, for a time in 1985 it was difficult for other companies to release CDs since all the available CD manufacturing was occupied by Brothers In Arms.

Something that helped make Brothers In Arms such a success was the classic video for Money For Nothing. I remember how cool I thought it was, computer-animated and all. It was at the time MTV was new, fresh and cool and music videos were discussed extensively in the schoolyard. And that Sting helped with the singing made it even more interesting.

 

The reason I don’t listen to Brothers In Arms today is not that it's a bad album, because it’s not. It's a good album. It’s rather that I went further in my music listening and left this one behind after some years. After intensive listening in my early teenage years, I have also associated it with this particular period in my life, and have found it difficult to relate to it as an adult. But the truth is, it has now passed enough time since this album was played, so I can actually appreciate it again. When I listened through it before writing this text, I realize it is with new ears I listen to it.

Money For Nothing no longer feels like I’ve heard it too many times. Instead it feels quite fresh and its cool guitar hook really sounds great. The Man 's Too Strong is as good as before and the title track is still beautifully melancholic and slightly suggestive. The opening song So Far Away is actually better than before and the beautiful Why Worry has probably become even more beautiful. And still really dislike the hit Walk Of Life, Your Latest Trick and One World.

 

I will still probably not listen very often on Brothers In Arms in the future, since I have so much else to choose from today. But I have certainly gained a renewed respect for the album and actually think it's really good.

Tracklist

Side A

1. So Far Away 3:59
2. Money For Nothing 7:04
3. Walk Of Life 4:12
4. Your Latest Trick 4:46
5. Why Worry 5:22

Side B

1. Ride Across The River 6:58
2. The Man’s Too Strong 4:40
3. One World 3:40
4. Brothers In Arms 7:00

 

 

Roxy Music – ”Stranded” (1973)

Roxy Music’s third album and the first without Brian Eno. This was one of 2013 Christmas presents for my mother, who had been hunting in the town’s stores for used LPs. This must surely have been a funnier Christmas gift hunting than the usual on Wal-Mart, H & M or the local book shop. I am happy to receive more Christmas gifts like this.

Despite Roxy Music's legendary status, the band is a relatively unexplored area for me. But it feels great that there is still unknown territory even within rockn’ roll’s more well-known areas. On the album cover you’ve got Bryan Ferry's then girlfriend Marilyn Cole, who was also the Playmate of the Year 1973. Ferry had a habit of putting his girlfriends on the band's album covers. Although it’s relatively daring it’s still innocent compared to the cover on the subsequent Country Life, which my wife doesn’t allow lying around when we get visitors at home.

 

There are many who believe that this is Roxy Music's best album, one of these is actually Brian Eno. Personally, I also think it's a very good album. You’ve got a mix between some fast paced numbers, such as the classic opening track Street Life, and quieter pieces like Psalmor the beautiful A Song For Europe. Many of the tracks must be described as almost epical, with its various twists and parts. Epic glam and art rock. The great Mother Of Pearl is an example of this, which after a loud and messy intro takes a completely different turn. Also Amazon takes a somewhat unexpected turn into a more dreamy path after some initial minutes with a completely different sound.

 

Rolling Stone magazine wrote at the time:

 

Roxy Music has been unable to cross the Atlantic so far, but that should change with this album. Stranded is one of the most exciting and entertaining British LPs of the Seventies.

A really great album without any real weak tracks, according to me. Bryan Ferry, the main songwriter, confirms his expertise and talent as a composer. Perhaps it’s the absence of Brian Eno that makes Stranded lacking a little of the previous album For Your Pleasure’s more strange and difficult pieces. If this is positive or negative is a matter of taste, personally I think both albums are great.

 

 

Tracklist

Side A

1. Street Life 3:27
2. Just Like You 3:34
3. Amazona 4:12
4. Psalm 8:04

Side B

1. Serenade 2:55
2. A Song For Europe 4:44
3. Mother Of Pearl 6:53
4. Sunset 6:00