Greatest Hits Of The World (1974)

Let us instantly focus on the important question, how is the girl on the cover connected to the music? You could almost find the photo in a soft porn magazine, but a girl on an album cover, standing on a beach wearing a swimsuit, of which the upper part is some sort of net bra, has of course some sort of meaning. Some sort of symbolism. The only question is which one.

Maybe a clue is the album's opening track? It is Sylvia's mother we see. Unconcerned about her motherly duties and responsibilities, totally unaffected by parenthood's heavy and destructive influence, although she is a little dark around the eyes (this made me a moment think that she is a heroin addict, isn't heroin addicts often dark around their eyes?). But where is Sylvia!? Is she swimming? Can she swim? Does she have a life jacket!!!??? Or is the woman's beaming face a confirmation that You made me so very happy? Then I stumbled upon an idea that made me both scared, worried and intrigued - what if she is The Witch Queen of New Orleans!? A beautiful witch, who with her seductive appearance enchants us and makes us do things we never thought possible - reveal our deepest secrets, betray our friends and buy Greatest Hits albums. Things we in hindsight don't understand how we could do.

Other side of the album cover

For it can't be that the record company places a beautiful, scantily clad woman on the cover, with no connection to the music, just to sell a few extra copies? With the idea that heterosexual men possibly get up their wallets easier and consume, instead of ashamed visit a shady magazine store, wearing a cap, hood and sun glasses, to buy the latest issue of Hustler (this was before the Internet, you know)? Can a record be that greedy and cunning, almost evil?

But look at many of Roxy Music's album covers. Why am I not thinking the same way about them? Maybe I define them like art, with some sort of deep thought behind them. But really, aren't they roughly the same?

Well, enough about the somewhat cheap cover. The music? Well, honestly it's some pretty good songs. It's still a Greatest Hits album, so if the title is not lying, the content is such that the general public has apparently appreciated it. Amongst other we have Janis Joplin with Me and Bobby McGee, The Byrds with Mr. Tambourine Man and Fleetwood Mac's Albatross. Good songs all of them. Of course we have some more dull numbers also, like OC Smith's Little Green Apples.

On side A, I knew more or less all the tracks, on the B-side it was the opposite. It made me a little suspicious, either it just chance or the record company did it on purpose. If the latter, probably on the basis that at the time you actually test listened the albums in the store before you bought them (yes, it's true). But often you just listened to the first side, especially if people were waiting for the record player. In the shops there were usually a limited number of turntables, sometimes just one. There was an unspoken, sometimes explicit, rule that one should not occupy a turntable for too long. Well, knowing this the record company could of course place a bunch more unknown songs on the B-side which they creatively would call "hits". But perhaps I am too suspicious. Personally, I was too young to listen to the radio and remember songs at this time, so if the songs didn't become true classics and get a continued existence in various contexts, they have probably passed me by.

On the B-side, I made a new acquaintance in the song Son Of My Father with Chicory Tip. It turned out that Giorgio Moroder was involved in the song which perhaps explains the funny moog synth that makes the song pretty cool. It's from 1972, the same year I was born, so I hope I'm forgiven I hadn't heard it before.

The subtitle of the album is The Original Versions! Here I just want to put in some sort of protest as the Beatles' Obladi Oblada is performed by The Marmelade, and the earliermentioned Mr. Tambourine Man with the Byrds is of course also a cover (there are possibly more). OK, I understand that the songs were hits in the form of these covers, but I still think a protest is justified. It's not the original, original version. Is the subtitle therefore a lie? Thinking about this too long just gets you confused and makes you start questioning reality itself, so I leave this issue here.

Apparently, the cover was a succée, for the other Greatest Hits Of The World are variations on the same theme:

Overall an OK album with some pretty good songs. Sure, the soft porn cover gives it a bit cheapish shimmer, and you can always a bit snobbish look down on Greatest Hits records, but many of the individual songs are good. I've either got the album sometime as a gift along with lots of other LPs, or it has entered my collection when I have bought a bag of records with relatively unknown content. Or it was the cover that attracted me, the shady magazine shop was too far away, and it was less embarrassing to buy an LP. I honestly don't remember.

Tracklist

Side A
1. Dr. Hook & The Medicine Show - Sylvia's Mother 3:55
2. The Marmelade - Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da 2:56
3. Janis Joplin - Me And Bobby McGee 4:30
4. The Byrds - Me Tambourine Man 2:17
5. Bobby Vinton - Sealed With A Kiss 2:48
6. Blood, Sweat & Tears -You've Made Me So Very Happy 3:26
7. Fleetwood Mac - Albatross 3:07

Side B
1. Redbone - The Witch Queen Of New Orleans 2:45
2. Chicken Shack -I'd Rather Go Blind 3:13
3. Chicory Tip - Son Of My Father 2:51
4. Santana - Ji-Go-Lo-Ba 4:18
5. The Tremeloes - Silence Is Golden 2:57
6. OC Smith - Little Green Apples 3:48
7. Georgie Fame - The Ballad Of Bonnie & Clyde 3:07

The Artie Kornfeld Tree - "A Time To Remember" (1970)

Sometimes I think life around 1970 was much more fun - people were relaxed and friendly, they loved each other, the sun was shining every day and you had fun almost all the time. In the parks people danced under the trees holding each other's hands, sometimes with clothes on, sometimes naked, but always with a wreath of flowers around the neck. And hey, why does the smoke from your hand rolled cigarette smell so strange!? In any case, I think so when I hear Artie Kornfeld Tree. The oil crisis, the Vietnam War and famine, can't we forget those things for a while?

This is a groovy album created by one of the men behind the Woodstock Festival. Although he has written numerous songs for other artists, participated on different records, produced albums and been vice president of Capitol Records, this is the only album, to my knowledge, Artie has recorded under his own name.

And just as I sometimes have the idea life was more straightforward in 1970, this is a fairly straightforward record. There are a number of good songs, a running time of 27-28 minutes, and a collection of musicians who have fun together. The opening song Country Morning on 56th Street is one of the highlights, in competition with the album's bombastic and fantastic finishing number Rockn'roll Is Here To Stay. One can not but agree. Amongst other things the listener is also offered a Neil Young cover in form of Helpless. I can't help thinking it sounds a lot like Knocking On Heaven's Door. But a nice song anyway.

The album is released on Dunhill Records, which in itself makes the album extra fun to own. And of course we have the cool cover, a true work of art that confirms my theories about life around 1970. It was the cover that in the end made me buy the album. You see, I still in the naive belief that the cover art says something about the music on the album, although I on countless occasions have had this idea crushed. But when it comes to A Time To Remember the picture pretty well matches the music. It must be really fun to be an album cover designer. The other side of the cover is more moody, though.

Summary: An enjoyable uncomplicated album from the time when the sun was always shining. It's a nice forward moving pace on the record, kind of a psychedelic touch and you get in a good mood by listening to it. I rather take a 27 minute album which is fun (almost) all the way through, than a 72 minute CD, half of which is featureless fill-outs (I have a number of CDs like that from the time when the CD was fairly new and artists went into the trap of using the entire playing time). Some songs, however, I would gladly see being a bit longer at A Time To Remember. Some barely start before they suddenly stop, and you are left wondering where this song could have gone and maybe, just maybe, what a great creation it could have been. Anyway, if you find this album in a store, I think you can buy it with a good conscience.


Tracklist

Side A
1. Country Morning on 56th Street 3:10
2. First Anniversary Cut 3:10
3. McCracken's Cut 12:50
4. Helpless 2:56
5. Sweet Sweet Music Refrain 1:46

Side B
1. Time To Remember 2:30
2. Rockn'roll Babies 2:42
3. Thanks for the Sunshine 2:16
4. Tears Of Yesterday (Chapels Of Our Minds) 3:16
5. Des Moines, Iowa Variety Show 2:44
6. Rockn'roll Is Here To Stay 2:06

I have only found one song from the album on Youtube, the cover Helpless. After a while in the song, you hear a humming noise in the video for a few seconds. It's not supposed to sound like that.

Universal Energy (1977)

You often get the question which is one's favorite album or artist. Usually you're be able to answer quite reasonably, even if the answer can vary depending on the day or be kind of vague and indistinct. A more difficult question to answer is which one is the worst album in the collection.

It was the mid 90s and I was a student in Lund, Sweden. A good friend was visiting, we chilled, talked and listened to good music. When it was time for a new record, my friend suddenly asked me to play the worst album I had. What an unexpected twist. I was forced to think in completely new ways and to really go outside the box, as one say. The result of this intensive thinking was that I put Universal Energy on the turntable.

A somewhat unfair judgement, I would say today.

Universal Energy is a French album which on some places online is described as cosmic disco. Now, that sounds really cool. The men behind the record are Bernard Estardy (aka Le Baron) and Jean-Pierre Bourtayre. Both are described in the French version of Wikipedia, for those who like language exercises. I honestly don't know how famous they are outside France. It's synthesizer based, mostly instrumental music, created almost 40 years ago. That means of course the sound is different than today, for better or worse. The nice thing is that in its best moments, electronic music of the 70s sounds really cool, a sound many artists today are trying to recreate. In its worst moments, though, it sounds cheap and really lousy.

Bernard Estardy

Jean-Pierre Bourtayre

I guess Universal Energy offers both. Even if the album is often described as disco, not everything is danceable. Some more fast paced numbers are quite cool and groovy, with exactly the sound many wish for today, for example the opening titletrack. Then we have a song like Christmas for Space, which is quieter and where the sound is not really working. In this song you get the only vocal element in form of a robotic voice wishing us a Merry Christmas, and some children's voices that create an somewhat psychedelic atmosphere.

I have seen the album sold for sums up to $100 online, which means I made a nice investment. I paid $1 for it in the late 80's (the price tag is still there). The reason I bought it was that I interpreted the title as cosmic energy, and thus the album would contain cosmic, druggy music. And that was what made me so disappointed and got me to label it as the worst record in my collection - it was not the floaty, cosmic music I had hoped for. And in the late 80s, and in the vision of the teenage Markus, the music the album offered was not very hot.

This is not the worst record I have in my collection, far from it. Today, I think it's kind of a cool album and quite groovy, with its stylish electronic 70s sound. Playing it on the stereo, I find myself suddenly at Studio 54.

I can add that I've always thought that the person on the cover is riding a motorcycle. The helmet on the head and the left hand's position suggest it. But when I now for the first time in 25 years take a closer look at the cover, I see that he doesn't. I don't know what he's doing or who he is, but he doesn't drive a motorcycle. I must say it's probably on of the ugliest covers in the collection.


Tracklist

Side A
1. Universal Energy 5:52
2. Space Energy 10:08

Side B
1. Disco Energy (I) 6:53
2. Christmas for Space 6:34
3. Disco Energy (II) 2:57

Paul Simon in Concert: Live Rhymin' (1974)

I've always liked Simon & Garfunkel, who doesn't? I've also liked Paul Simon's solo stuff. Yet, I have never bought any record with these artists. Don't ask me why. Fortunately I still have some of these LPs in the collection, records I have taken /saved from relatives. Good deeds, that is.

This album has belonged to one of my uncles, before this summer's move to Montreal, he offered me to go through his collection and select those records I wanted. Because he never listened to them, I'm not sure if he even had a record player. Offers like these are like Christmas, and filled with bubbling joy I took a look at what he had. This was one of the albums that fowllowed me westbound.

This was Paul Simon's first live album, not sure exactly where it was recorded as nothing is specified on the cover. On internet London and New York are mentioned as a couple locations. The first songs only offer Paul along with an acoustic guitar, then the Brazilian band Urubamba comes into the picture and expands the sound. Of course Pauls sings El Condor Pasa (If I Could) backed by the South American band. On side B the gospel group The Jessy Dixon Singers appears on stage and makes it a bit hotter. They even get to sing a song all by themselves, Jesus Is The Answer, which also happens to be the song on the album you can do without.

What is there to say about this album, really? It's of course of high quality, Paul Simon offers a few doses of melancholy, some beautiful quiet songs and a few more fast paced, gospel-soaked numbers. One can always discuss the necessity of owning the album if you have the songs in their original form, I don't believe the live versions are better than the studio recordings. But if one has no other album with Paul Simon (with or without Garfunkel), it can probably be recommended since it offers a fairly wide range of Paul Simon's creations. It's only one disc, so it's not the whole concert from this tour, only selected songs.

Personal favorites are the beautiful version of the classic Sounds of Silence, Duncan with its beautiful flutes and The Boxer, that to me breathes childhood memories of my grandparents.


Tracklist

Side A
1. Me and Julio Down By The Schoolyard 2:47
2. Homeward Bound 2:45
3. American Tune 3:58
4. El Condor Pasa (If I Could) 4:08
5. Duncan 5:11
6. The Boxer 6:11

Side B
1. Mother and Child Reunion 4:00
2. The Sound Of Silence 4:27
3. Jesus Is The Answer 3:28
4. Bridge Over Troubled Water 7:10
5. Loves Me Like A Rock 3:16
6. America 4:35

Rhapsody - "Rain of a Thousand Flames" (2001)

It's bombastic, pretentious and loud. Drums at supersonic speed, orchestral elements and a few brief interruptions of more tranquil sounds. Also, add a fantasy story as the theme sung by a real heavy metal voice. It's everything music should contain!

No?

Rhapsody was / is an Italian metal band that was created in 1993. The first time I heard the album, I wanted to call the music metal opera. Then I read on Wikipedia that music should be defined as symphonic power metal. Oh, how wrong I was, but I still think metal opera fits quite well.

The band began as Thundercross, before it got the name Rhapsody. Due to legal reasons, they were forced to change its name in 2006 and thus became Rhapsody of Fire. 2011, the founder of the band, Luca Turilli, left the band and created Luca Turilli's Rhapsody. The farewell and the creation of the new band was apparently done on friendly basis, and both bands continue to coexist.

Rain of a Thousand Flames is the only record I have with the band, this kind of music is not what I usually listen to. But I have read that Rhapsody had a red thread through their albums in form of a fantasy story, The Emerald Sword Saga. Later during the record making the tale continued as The Dark Secret Saga. The struggle between evil and good with demons, monsters and magic. Classic fantasy!

Rain of a Thousand Flames, their fourth album, is considered to be a bridge between the records Dawn of Victory and Power of the Dragonflame, the final chapter of The Emerald Sword Saga. The LP contains a parallel story to the main theme and is apparently not essential to the main story. It's about how the evil Akron destroy city and country with the help of the Emerald sword which he had gotten hold of.

The reason I bought this album? I found it a few years ago in Uppsala, Sweden, where it felt quite out of place in the store which otherwise mostly sold chart-topping music on CD. This alone made me curious. The price was less than 15$ and I was currently in a brief period where I hold an extra interest for picture discs. Last but not least, what pushed me over the edge was the sticker on the cover - Limited edition, 3000 copies worldwide. Obviously you have to have a record like that, it can be worth money some day. In addition, it came with a poster inside the cover.

Although it is not my kind of music, the album is quite enjoyable to listen to. I'm a bit weak for powerful and bombastic elements in music, and here you get a lot of it. If you like metal, perhaps especially metal à la Iron Maiden, spiced with a handful of symphonic elements, it is certainly a good buy. But for my part, I will probably not buy more albums with Rhapsody, or any other band of the genre, it's enough with this one.


Tracklist

Side A
1. Rain of a Thousand Flames 3:43
2. Deadly Omen 1:49
3. Queen Of The Dark Horizons 13:42

Side B
Rhymes Of A Tragic Poem - The Gothic Tale
1. Tears Of A Dying Angel 6:23
2. Elnor's Magic Valley 1:40
3. The Poem's Evil Page 4:04
4. The Wizard's Last Rhymes 10:38

Gryphon - "Red Queen To Gryphon Three" (1974)

This is a groovy album. Instrumental, lots of classical elements - especially medieval ones - and a chess game as concept. Does it sound strange? In the progressive world everything can happen, the limits of what's possible disappear, and the smug listener's self-image as a tolerant, open and accepting person will be put to the test.

But fear not. Red Queen To Gryphon Three is not a diffficult record. On the contrary, despite its belonging to the progressive genre, its four songs that clock in on about ten minutes each, and its somewhat different theme, it's a really great album. And not particularly weird.

Instrumental albums are interesting. They are in a minority (I think), at least if you look at relatively modern music. In the absence of the usual structure of sung verse, verse, chorus, the musical construction becomes different. In the worst case, the structure is too loose and becomes boring. At best, it's a fascinating musical journeys. It can be both evocative and dark or bright and energetic. In my record shelves there are examples of all varieties (it may be mentioned that during the 90s I listened a lot to psychedelic trance, where many songs were excellent examples of evocative creations that dug into the subconscious).

Gryphon was an English progressive band, and today's theme was their third album, and the only one I've got with the band. Apparently, it is seen as one of their best, of five released. The band split in 1977, but performed a concert in 2009. Rumors have long flourished of a new album, and the band plans to tour next year (2015). If this becomes reality remains to be seen (there have been plans before, apparently).

I can recommend this album. Gryphon has created really high quality music, which is just enough different. It never gets too difficult or strange, and the mix of medieval classic tones with more modern sounds works really well. Yes, if the sounds from 1974 is to be seen as modern, of course. I mean in a positive way that this is an interesting album. And I never miss the song.


Tracklist

Side A
1. Opening Move 9:42
2. Second Spasm 8:15

Side B
1. Lament 10:45
2. Checkmate 9:50

James - "Hey Ma" (2008)

From the modern era, the English band James is one of my favorite bands (modern era to me is the 90s onwards). The band was formed in 1982 and got their first hit Sit Down in the late 80s. The years have gone by, and James have continously delivered high quality products even if they have never become a band for the really big stadiums.

Personally, I discovered James the autumn of 1994 when I spent six months in South East Asia. It was still the time in history when tape cassettes were readily available, and in Thailand they were sold extremely cheap (and extremely pirated). I saw a tape with a weird cover, a fetus inside a stomach, and thought it would fit well in my Walkman. It was James album Seven. Since then, James has been a favourite band and I still regularly listen to their creations. Some albums are better than others, a few of my favorites are Laid and Pleased To Meet You (both on CD, in fact, Hey Ma is the only vinyl record I have wtih James) and I am now prepared to add Hey Ma to these favorites.

Hey Ma is a really great album. It was their first album in seven years and the band split up and reunited during these years. The album was recorded in France where they built a studio, and where each band member also had his own little studio for creative work. James has a long tradition of creating most of their music through improvisation, a road that Brian Eno had previously led them onto when he produced a bunch of their records. The songs on Hey Ma are created in this way where the producer Lee Muddy Baker has helped the band to turn the improvisations into complete songs with vocals and everything that goes with it.

James is usually considered as an alternative / indie band, whatever that means. It's quite accessible music with a high quality. Many choruses can be quite sweeping, one of my weak spots, and almost invites you to sing along. Each song is its own unique creation, and feels in no way like a mass production for the commercial radio world. Hey Ma gives me some vibes of the previous albums Seven and Laid, especially as the trumpet returns to certain songs, something which gave Seven a special sound.

The music on Hey Ma is fairly timeless and can be highly recommended, I think most people can dig this. James released their latest album, La Petite Mort, the summer of 2014, a record I haven't had time to get yet.

Finally, the European album looks like this:

But as it apparently was a somewhat sensitive with a baby and a gun in the same picture, the cover picture was banned for use in advertising for the album. And in the North American release, the gun in a magically way had disappeared (and the baby in a new pose), which happens to be the release I have.


Tracklist

Side A
1. Bubbles 5:23
2. Hey Ma 4:10
3. Waterfall 5:10
4. Oh My Heart 3:43
5. Boom Boom 4:15
6. Semaphore 3:46

Side B
1.Upside 4:27
2.Whiteboy 2:49
3. 72 3:39
4. Of Monsters & Heroes & Men 4:36
5. I Wanna Go Home 4:21

Gentle Giant - "Octopus" (1972)

A deep dive into the prog world via Gentle Giant's fourth album Octopus. Can that be something? In the prog world, it's often a balancing act between the beautiful, a bit difficult and too difficult. I usually argue that Gentle Giant always manages to stay on the right side of the balance point. Even their regular excursions into the more complex and strange soundscapes are nice to listen to, and are relatively accessible, at least at Octopus. That said, it should be mentioned that the Gentle Giant is considered one of the more experimental bands within the 70's progressive music, and the music they made was unusually complex. So they should not be underestimated. 

Gentle Giant consisted at the time of the recording of the three brother Shulmans, Kerry Minnear, Gary Green and the new drummer John Weathers. Almost all members were multi-instrumentalists and extremely adept at their respective instruments. It's fun to watch concert clips of the band on Youtube, then they unconcerned switch instruments in the middle of songs and seamlessly continues playing. On the album, they often play up to three instruments each in the songs.

Octopus is considered by many to be the start of Gentle Giants best musical period, Ray Shulman argue that it is their best album (possibly second behind Acquiring The Taste). And as mentioned, I like Octopus. It is varied and fun to listen to. Although it can be very complex arrangements and creations that are often outside  the normal musical box, it is never too difficult. Which is one of the things that makes me like Gentle Giant. Many other bands within the same genre sometimes make music that one suspects is difficult just for the sake of it, and it becomes hard to appreciate what you hear. Gentle Giant does not fall into that trap on Octopus.

One of my favorites on the album is Think Of Me With Kindness. A beautiful song that is perhaps the least "progressive" on the record. If you like progressive music the album can absolutely be recommended, almost a must-have. If you like more accessible and "normal" rock and pop maybe Octopus will seem a bit too difficult and strange. A funny detail is that Gentle Giant, before the Octopus tour, was a supporting act for Black Sabbath  on a number of concerts. This combination did not go down well with the audience, one can safely say, which loudly expressed its displeasure with the prog band on stage.

The album I have is the North American pressing, I found it for 4 dollars in good condition in a local vinyl store, here in Montreal, which I of course couldn't resist (I have it on CD since long). The European cover looks like this:

Tracklist 

Side A 

1. Adevent Of Panurge 4:42
2. Raconteur, Troubadou 4:03
3. A Cry For Everyone 4:06
4. Knots 4.10

Side B 
1. The Boys In The Band 4:33
2. Dog's Life 3:12
3. Think Of Me With Kindness 3:32
4. River 5:51

Wire - "154" (1979)

Here's a really nice album - The English band Wire's album named after the number of concerts they had performed at the time of recording. This was their third album, and many pundits believe it's their best creation. Personally I haven't heard enough from their voluminous record catalog in order to express an opinion on this, but no doubt it's high quality music.

Wire was born in the punk movement and their music is often defined as post-punk or art punk. Personally I think it often sounds like a punkier version of Roxy Music, for example the opening track I Should Have Known Better, I can easily hear Bryan Ferry sing. Add some the Stranglers and the mix is complete (I say this without having heard too much of the Stranglers). And maybe a little Blondie ...? Or am I delirious now?

Wire often creates a pretty dark soundscape that can sometimes feel a bit heavy. They mix atmospheric sound collages à la Brian Eno with punk songs as well as some more radio-friendly songs. An example of the latter is one of my favorites, the fabulous The 15th, which sounds a lot like my new hometown Montreal's pride Arcade Fire. Another favorite is the B-side's opening track. A Mutual Friend, where Wire's artistic ambitions are perfectly balanced with the slightly more accessible and very beautiful.

Wire is considered one of the more influential bands in the 70s and 80s, although their record sales didn't reach the same heights. Scores of bands and artists mention Wire as one of their major sources of inspiration and influence. Especially their first three albums are mentioned in this context. Wire is still active and released their last album in 2013.

The first edition of 154 also contained an EP, but I haven't got this one in my possession. In summary, an album I can recommend, but perhaps not for everyone since parts of the album are quite inaccessible. I like the mix of punk, pop and the more artistic sound excursions. It becomes an exciting and varied experience. On the other side of the coin, I find the sometimes too neurotic and dark moods that are created.

Tracklist

Side A
1. I Should Have Knowm Better 3.52
2. Two People In A Room 2.10
3. The 15th 3.05
4. The Other Window 2.07
5. Single K.O. 2.23
6. A Touching Display 6.55
7. On Returning 2.06

Side B
1. A Mutual Friende 4.28
2. Blessed State 3.28
3. Once Is Enough 3.23
4. Map Ref. 41 N 93 W 3.40
5. Indirect Enquiries 3.36
6. 40 Versions 3.28

Beck - "Morning Phase" (2014)

Some may have thought the blog had died? Not at all. Life has been occupied by other things for some time, namely an emigration to Canada, Montreal to be precise. Existence has demanded other priorities, but now I'm back. Nice to see you again.

Today's post is the first album I bought after moving here. We had dinner at a neighbour's house, and a record that was played in the background gave me spontaneous associations with David Gilmour / Pink Floyd. The neighbour told me that it was Beck, I was surprised as I linked Beck with a completely different kind of music, I'll admit that it's I'm a loser that pops up in my head, which was a hit as early as the first half of the 90s... I have in other words rather weak knowledge of Beck. It probably means that I missed a lot of interesting creations. That's the way it is when you're stuck in the past and the sounds from an even earlier yesterday. Perhaps I'm a loser, baby.

This is certainly a really great album. Relaxed, beautiful and I think the word mellow may fit well. Maybe a somewhat melancholic album. It's Beck's 12th studio album, and it passed six years between this and the record before. Everywhere it's described as a companion to the 2002 acclaimed album Sea Change, which Beck also himself describes it as. I like Morning Phase so much that I promptly went and got Sea Change as well (which, however, I have not had the time to listen to yet).

Lots of acoustic guitars, shimmering harmonies, beautiful melodies and large soundscapes - it still reminds me of Pink Floyd. For me an album that fits well in the summer's last trembling weeks, when nature is preparing for its winter rest, reality has a touch of some sadness but twilight is still warm and golden.

Not much to talk about - Morning Phase can be warmly recommended to all and everyone.

Tracklist

Side A
1. Cycle 0.40
2. Morning 5.19
3. Heart Is A Drum 4.31
4. Say Goodbye 3.29
5. Blue Moon 4.02
6. Unforgiven 4.34

Side B
1. Wave 3.40
2. Don't Let It Go 3.09
3. Blackbird Chain 4.26
4. Phase 1.03
5. Turn Away 3.05
6. Country Down 4.00
7. Waking Light 5.02

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