October 30, 2016 - Metallica - Blackened (1988)

The opening track from Metallica's ...And Justice For All album, Blackened deals with the subject of global environmental destruction.

The opening 0:37 is a slow fade in of layered guitars. Then the drums kick in and a guitar riff ups the tempo, the drums joining in at 0:47.  It all merges onto the chugging metal highway at 1:14. The cruise control is turned on and away we go. James Hetfield unleashes his angry man rhymes at 1:22:

Blackened is the end winter it will send
Death of Mother Earth never a rebirth

At 1:44 there is a downshift into Fire to begin whipping dance of the dead. Lars Ulrich does some double bass drum kicks. It all sounds like some kind of violent flaming tornado, burning everything in its path. After another pass around verse and chorus, at 2:35 we chug into a new section filled with passing road signs that warn us the death of life is ahead:

Opposition Contradiction Violation Mutilation Cancellation....no rest stops for the next zillion miles.

Really intense stuff: See our Mother put to death, see our Mother die. At 4:07 we cruise ahead through a desolate valley of demons who bombard us with fireballs and curses. This is what we get for not taking care of the planet. At 4:32, Kirk Hammett unleashes a raging solo that leads us further into the wasteland. At 5:02, Kirk turns on the turbo boosters and we race past the demons at breakneck speed. We can barely control the vehicle as we come out of the valley at 5:34. The rhythm is all discombobulated and we bounce all over the place. We get back on track at 5:51 and Hetfield looks through the rearview mirror:

Millions of our years in minutes disappears. What a ride. Many listeners complain about the sound of the album, the clicky drums, the way the bass is buried in the mix, but the level of musicianship, sophistication and complexity makes it hard to be too critical. It's a great album.


 

October 29, 2016 - Ash Ra Tempel - Light: Look at Your Sun (1972)

Today's selection is called Light: Look at Your Sun. It is from Schwingungen (Vibrations), the second album by German legends Ash Ra Tempel.

It starts off all quietly slow and bluesy, mournful like a funeral bell tolling, and I am reminded of the very beginning of Sir Elton's Funeral for a Friend. Then at 0:33 we hear the faintest of voices, like a kid hiding underneath the covers, afraid of something in the closet. The covers pull away at 0:42:

when I get up I look out of my window and see the blue sky and I know: He is my own

The lyrics are recited in a kind of shaking trance. The vocalist, the mysterious John L, sounds overloaded and afraid, along the lines of Mole and Rat in the presence of Pan in the Piper at the Gates of Dawn chapter of Wind in the Willows. The Sun! This dude is trippin. 

Light percussion comes in around 1:25. The drums pick up when we head into the second verse at 1:46:

In the morning, when I get up I stand in your garden you can see me you can hear me and I say: We are all one We are all one

When dude gets to and I say, get ready, because when it finally all makes sense to him it's like the ape realizing a weapon in the 2001 Dawn of Man sequence. He works himself into a frenzy and shouts out We are all one at 3:17, resulting in a furiously distorted guitar volcano of epic proportions from Manuel Göttsching.

Look at Your Sun and feel it all around you, ahhhh... OK...ow! my eyeballs! I was wrong, mama, that's not where the fun is!

October 28, 2016 - Al Stewart - Year of the Cat (1976)

Elegantly produced by Alan Parsons, Al Stewart's Year of the Cat is a classic of smooth 70s light rock. It's like going to bed on a warm summer night as a breeze blows lightly through the curtains. Like snuggling on a soft giant papasan chair in 1976 and having this on eight-track. Like buttah. No rough spots whatsoever; even the heavier guitar solo is balanced by strings to maintain the equilibrium. 

If it were some sappy 70s love song I wouldn't like it. It's romantic, yes, but also esoteric and cool, like a Bogart movie. A tourist arrives in a town and meets a mysterious woman. He spends the night with her and in the morning realizes that he has been left behind by his tour group so he is stuck there. No big deal to him, he's carefree and open. Any way the wind blows....

It has some of my favorite lyrics of any song, especially:

She comes out of the sun in a silk dress running
Like a watercolor in the rain

Gives me goosebumps sometimes when I hear that.

Also, you go strolling through the crowd like Peter Lorre contemplating a crime. I had no idea who Peter Lorre was for a long time, but I knew his voice from cartoons. Eventually I saw him in Casablanca. He was also incredible in M.

She comes in incense and patchouli. Nowadays, whenever I hear the word patchouli I imagine John Cusack telling Tim Robbins to get his 'patchouli stink outta my store' in High Fidelity. Great film for music geeks.

The middle instrumental passage is great as well. It flows...strings at 3:10 into light electric guitar at 3:24 into heavier electric guitar at 3:54 into Phil Kenzie's superb saxophone at 4:14...then into the final verse.

FYI: the cat is the fourth animal symbol in the 12-year cycle of the Vietnamese zodiac, replacing the rabbit in the Chinese zodiac. So, if you were born in 1963, 1975, 1987, or 1999, you might be a cat. Can you say 'meow'?

October 27, 2016 - Led Zeppelin - Ten Years Gone (1975)

Has an intro ever sounded so autumnally heavy as the opening 0:30 on Ten Years Gone? It has that 'getting darker earlier' feel to it - leaves blanket the ground, the sunlight slants create strange hues, and there's a chill in the air.

Robert Plant tells of a woman he was in love with ten years ago (so 1965-ish?), a few years before Led Zeppelin formed. She gave him an ultimatum: her or the music. Jimmy Page patched the musical ideas together. The song goes through a number of variations. After the first 0:30, a second part comes in with a descending chord sequence, like A-G-D-Dm. The intro sequence then comes back in at 1:01 and Robert waxes nostalgic starting at 1:16:

Then as it was, then again it will be
And though the course may change sometimes
Rivers always reach the sea

John Bonham thunders in at 1:34...building on to the repeated second part of the intro, and we continue along into the next verse.

At 2:30 we head into the middle section. Jimmy's guitar rises up out of the mist and it's like the sun has come out and everything sparkles and shines. Robert gains strength from this and expresses his bitter feelings of regret:

Did you ever really need somebody
And really need 'em bad 

At 3:47 Jimmy leads us across a field and we head back in among the trees at 4:10. Now, though, the sun filters down through the branches and Robert remarks that even though much time has passed

We are eagles of one nest
The nest is in our soul

There will always be a special bond that they shared. At 5:03, Robert turns reflective again; the face of his lost love still appears in his dreams. He cries out at the end that the memories are still there. He still cherishes them, holdin' on, ten years gone. The music surrounds and comforts him like protective spirits.

October 26, 2016 - Smashing Pumpkins - Rhinoceros (1991)

                                      

I remember reading this New Faces article about the Smashing Pumpkins in Rolling Stone. I went out and bought their debut album Gish at...dang, I can't remember the name of the store! I can picture windowless double doors leading outside, kind of a bluish carpet, not super bright lighting. Probably in the northern suburbs of Chicago. I bought Metallica's Black Album at the same time and one other that I've forgotten.

Rhinoceros is on the blog mainly because of the instrumental section between 3:34 and 4:25. The explosion of Jimmy Chamberlin's drums and the wild guitar pyrotechnics. It blew me away when I first heard it. It blew away Dave O when he first heard it. The rest of the song is good, the repeated outro riff is very Beatlesesque. I must admit there are times when Billy Corgan's languid bedroom stoner vocals make me want to punch something. His early look reminds me of Naboo from the Mighty Boosh. Hey Billy, I'm just joshin yuh, Gish is still one of my favorite albums from the 90s. It has tons of crazy guitar solos and amazing drums. Sorry I pretty much lost interest after Siamese Dream.

P.S. - Please don't smash anyone's Halloween pumpkins.

October 25, 2016 - James Brown - Give It Up or Turnit a Loose (1970)

Give It Up or Turnit a Loose is a classic funky groove from the hardest working man in show business, James Brown, and the original J.B.'s, featuring Bootsy Collins on bass and his brother Catfish Collins on guitar. It appears on the Sex Machine album as the third part of Side 2's Medley.

It sounds live, but it was recorded in the studio with applause overdubbed onto it. Just let it wash over you, feel the groove, tap your toes, clap your hands. Jump around, it's great exercise music. Work up a sweat. The lyrics are a combination of grunts, shrieks, screams. "baby"s and other exclamations. 5:12 - "Clyde" (James telling drummer Clyde Stubblefield to get back on the groove train).

October 24, 2016 - Musi-O-Tunya - Tsegulani (1975)

Zambia had been a British colony until 1964, so the cultural influences were still very much European throughout the 60s and into the 70s. Young Zambian musicians were influenced by the British Invasion, Stax, Motown, James Brown, and Jimi Hendrix. Gradually, as independence progressed, Zambian and other African folk influences crept into the music.


Tsegulani appears on the Dark Sunrise compilation of songs by Rikki Ililonga and Musi-O-Tunya, the rock group he founded in the early 70s. 

The song begins with a flourish of African drums. Then a low bass line followed quickly by simple rhythm guitar. Then horns, with western drums. Ndara Mbao is the lead vocalist and bassist. Listen to the rhythm guitar, it occasionally produces these cool little riffs in between the chords, like around 1:41. The lead guitarist on Tsegulani is Paul Ngozi. I love his solo. It starts after the second verse and chorus, at 2:33. It is a gritty messy pile of fuzzed out wah pedal mud. The drums and bass keep dancing around it, giving it some room. Things get back to normal around 4:30. Time for another run through of verse and chorus and a final blast from the guitar.

October 23, 2016 - Oasis - Columbia (1994)

1994 was a significant year for me. My best friend moved to Los Angeles, another friend was in Seattle or maybe Rochester, I can't remember. I spent the first few months drifting around chilly northern Illinois, working some lame temp jobs while living off the goodness of my dear parents, who I don't think knew how lost I felt although they might have privately worried about it. I don't know, they were pretty busy themselves and I wasn't saying much. And I wasn't helping them much.


Eventually April rolled around. Kurt Cobain died. He was the same age as me. I house sat for a friend's parents for five days or so. They lived in a quiet wooded area. I spent the evenings hanging out in their jacuzzi, getting stoned and reading books, including Charles Perry's The Haight-Ashbury: A History. I was working an awful temp job that week answering phones at an insurance agency. I remember this guy calling up while one of the owners was in a meeting and yelling at me to 'just get him, Okay!?!' F that crap. Why would anyone want to sell insurance?

By the end of April I had made up my mind to leave. I threw my stuff in the car and drove out west to Portland, Oregon. I got a job working at a Borders Books and Music downtown. It was a pretty fun job. I was there when the Britpop thing started happening; we played the first album from Oasis all the time. I loved it, and I loved reading about this band, lead by brothers vocalist Liam and guitarist Noel Gallagher. The Gallaghers always seemed to be arguing and fighting with each other. They did a tour of the US and played the Satyricon in Portland in September. A guy I worked with played in a band called the Lincoln Brigade and they opened for Oasis. After his set he came out and told me all about the quantity of beer Oasis were drinking and how they were building things with all the cans. They played an extremely loud show and I could tell Liam was really wasted. Afterwards, I saw him puking next to their tour bus outside the venue.

They also played my favorite song of theirs, Columbia. It starts off with 30 seconds of guitar noise, then gets into this groove that last the whole song. It has some great hooks, layers of guitars, and some fun singalong lines like I can't tell you the way I feel because the way I feel is oh so new to me. I particularly like Noel's guitar, the ringing note bend at 3:08, the riff at 3:26, and the louder one that begins at 4:04. Take that, Blur! and Cast, Supergrass, Suede, James, Pulp, Menswear, and all the other countless one word britpop groups!

October 22, 2016 - Sugar - Judas Cradle (1993)

A co-worker had the EP Beaster by Sugar, and I remember being knocked out by Judas Cradle when he played it for me one day in the summer of 1993.

Bob Mould howls behind a massive wall of guitars. The coolest part is from 1:13-1:36, when these giant guitar chords dive bomb the speakers.

You would not want to fall up on the Judas Cradle. It's a horrible torture device supposedly used by the Spanish Inquisition that splits you down the middle. Only nine more days til Halloween!

October 21, 2016 - Yes - Everydays (1970)

Wow, I have to talk about the video first. I never knew it existed! It's Yes in Bruges, Belgium! Jon Anderson, wearing a groovy shirt, takes a leisurely boat ride on a beautiful canal. During the second verse he's walking among tall trees in some sort of quasi-academic setting. At 2:25 we get heads popping up from behind trees...the playful side of Yes! At 2:35 we get a quick glimpse of a nun. Soon she is chasing them on cobblestone streets, down stairs and around corners. She's saying No! to Yes!: 'We do not want your rock n roll British progressive music near the church! You had better run!' Wow, it looks like Yes are short of breath, they really need to stop smoking. In the end, they give up and the nun takes the whole band on a canal trip...to jail! Dire non a Oui!

Everydays was written by Stephen Stills (appearing on the Buffalo Springfield Again album), and Yes covered it on their second album, Time and a Word. It will always remind me of laying on the floor in an upstairs room at the Garcia's house. My high school friends Alex and Eugene Garcia had access to their older brother's record collection, and he had lots of prog rock. I can recall listening to Time and a Word while studying the covers of albums like King Crimson's Lizard and Uriah Heep's The Magician's Birthday.  

Yes's version is heavily orchestrated, featuring arrangements by Tony Cox, conducting musicians from the Royal College of Music. I remember being stunned by the thick strings at 0:06-0:08 when I first heard them. The first two minutes are slow and leisurely. At 2:00, the strings become spooky and meandering. At 2:13, Bill Bruford sets up an intense pace on the high hat, and at 2:25 (the heads around trees part), we are shaken by a loud unison of instruments. Things build up and are released at 2:56 into a swirl of guitar, bass and organ. Although guitarist Steve Howe is in the video, Peter Banks is the guitarist on the song. He plays a fantastic solo, even inserting a line from Ode to Joy at 4:15.

Stick around for Chris Squire's mighty bass flourish at the very end. So cool.

October 20, 2016 - Led Zeppelin - Fool in the Rain (1979)

I remember hearing Fool in the Rain on the radio in 1980 and calling the radio station to find out what it was. I wasn't too familiar with Led Zeppelin yet, so I was later surprised at how poppy this song was compared to stuff like Whole Lotta Love. The middle samba section is fun, but the best part of the song is the awesome fill that comes out of it at 3:44. I get fixated on it sometimes and have to rewind and listen to it multiple times. Jimmy's guitar solo after the break is also one I like a lot. It's a bit sloppy, but so is standing in the rain.

Fool in the Rain is Robert Plant channeling his inner Elvis Presley and Bill Murray's Nick the Lounge Singer. He sings like he's suavely strolling on a Vegas stage with a glass in his hand...Well there's a light in your eye that keeps shinin' (thayouverymuch), like an ol star that can't wait for the night (you know what I'm talkin about), somebody get me a scotch and tonic, it's gonna be a long night, hrumph.

And I stand in the rain on the corner (with no umbrella mind you) just watchin people go shuffling on down-town-uh. Look at those crazy ol people, they gonna turn it aroun, roun roun. (hey where's Charlie Hodge with my scarf, I'm sweatin like a pig here, ladies and gentlemen). I'm a fool in the rain, I'm just a fool in the rain. I'm all wet and I'm cold and don't you know that I'm a fool in the rain, (scats: 'see I was on the wrong corner all along and so all this worryin was really unnecessary'). Hit it, Ron. (big drum roll and ensemble flourish) Thank you, ladies and gentlemen, thank you.

I still don't know why Robert makes that spitting sound at 1:05 after and you said you would always be true...puxchh. What's up with that?

I remember seeing the below image from Knebworth 1979 and thinking John Paul Jones (left) must be the coolest guy in the band. Then I watched The Song Remains the Same and he was so geeky. Fee! Fi! Fo! Fum! Of course I liked him even more once I imagined him the cool geek of the group. Brush with fame moment: I shook his hand in 1994 or 1995 when he was in Portland supporting Diamanda Galas.

October 19, 2016 - BLO - Chant to Mother Earth (1973)

With Chant to Mother Earth, we BLO across the six minute mark in songs.....!!.....and set sail for beautiful Nigeria. BLO is an acronym of the band members' names - Berkley (g), Laolu (d), and Odumosu (b). The track is from the compilation album Nigeria Rock Special.

It is a song of praise to the ultimate provider. It starts off like a new day has just begun, waking up and stretching and looking out the window, shaking off the sleep. The music has a San Francisco acid rock 1968 feel to it, particularly the guitar. At 0:45 we are up and moving about, making the coffee, turning our brains on. The chant starts up at 0:52, o-way,  o-way-ay-o. The first verse comes in at 1:33, I'm not sure but it sounds like My feeling this morning, show me I'll tell it to you. The reverb and accent make it hard to understand.

Following the second verse and another chant, at 3:15 the guitar solo comes on like a mix of Clapton, Garcia and MC5/Stooges Detroit. It is raw and bluesy and chaotic, all Mother Earth-inspired wildness, opening the wah pedal at 3:32 to bliss out even further.

We come out of the trance at 4:55. Time for one last chant and then we wander off into the rest of the day.

October 18, 2016 - Pink Floyd - One of These Days (1971)

I am not sure when I first heard it, but I remember my friend Fred asking me if I knew the song where a growly voice says...you know. That part still freaks me out. Was it really necessary, Nick Mason and sound engineers? Nick: Of course it was, it's gotten me a few extra Ferraris now, hasn't it?

The first 0:34 is mostly faint whispers of air that build to a couple of small gusts, blowing across a barren icy landscape. The first bass note hits at 0:35, the second at 0:38, and then at 0:41 we climb aboard the mighty Rubberband Express and drive across the speakers. It's a fluid and reliable vehicle designed to transport us safely across this desolate territory.  Unfortunately, soon into the trip we pass across some sort of organ chord minefield that shakes the earth beneath us. At 1:53 our vehicle is pelted with reverse blow darts, but we must keep going. Then at 2:07, unknown pursuers pull up along side us; large fists pound on the door and power drills are forced against the sides of our only sanctuary.

Finally, at 2:49 we can go no further. We are dead in our tracks. A massive helicopter descends. We wait with our hearts beating, wondering if our transport is about to be boarded. At 3:09 we can hear faint sounds outside the vehicle. By 3:20 we can tell that the main door is being pried off its hinges. There are a few loud pounds at 3:30.  Suddenly, at 3:37 a giant scary head materializes outside the door and bellows ONE OF THESE DAYS I'M GOING TO CUT YOU INTO LITTLE PIECES!!

But not today! We immediately come to our senses, apply the emergency 'get us the hell out of here' power supply and take off. Our enemies follow, and we race across the ice field once again. Finally, at 5:35, we see our stronghold ahead and the ones from whom we fled evaporate into the wind.

Cool moment: from 3:02 - 3:07 listen for Ron Grainer's Doctor Who theme. Huh, I can imagine Doctor Who in the above story. Of course it would have to be Jon Pertwee, who played the Doctor during 1971. Yes, I can also picture Lethbridge-Stewart alongside him, and poor Jo worrying and/or in trouble back at the stronghold.

October 17, 2016 - Steve Miller Band - Space Intro/Fly Like An Eagle (1976)

I can't imagine listening to Fly Like An Eagle without the one minute plus Space Intro. It is an essential part of the whole mind-blowing experience. Space Intro is basically an ARP Odyssey solo from Steve Miller, something that wouldn't sound too out of place as incidental music from Land of the Lost, perhaps during an episode where Will and Holly are tripping on Pakuni mushrooms or pylon crystals.

The song is from the album of the same name, which was released in May of 1976, when I had just turned nine. It is one of the songs I remember hearing a lot on the radio while hanging out in the back seat of the Mercury station wagon as my parents drove me somewhere, to a swim meet or baseball practice, or maybe to McDonalds afterwards. (see April 17 and August 29 entries)

After Space Intro ends, there is a whoosh of wings that welcome in Fly Like An Eagle, followed soon thereafter by a classic Steve Miller guitar riff. The song features some of the coolest Hammond B3 organ ever, played by the late Joachim Young. As Miller's ARP meanders around, Young chops the air with some awesome staccato notes. Impeccable timing, applying the drawbars, harmonics and swells perfectly. Lyrically, it's pretty dreamy stuff...bummed out by all the problems in the world? Well, there's a solution. Just fly like an eagle to the sea. Groovy, but it sounds like too much hippie talk, man. Yeah, just fly away to the sea, that will solve everything, Steve Miller.

October 16, 2016 - The Rolling Stones - Moonlight Mile (1971)

A beautifully delicate song that was based on a Keith Richards riff he called 'Japanese Thing', Moonlight Mile is about the exhaustion of being on the road for too long, and wanting to be home. Mick Jagger plays the acoustic guitar. Mick Taylor on lead. It is mostly a two Micks composition (Jagger and Taylor). Keith wasn't around when the Micks were working on it, so Mick J wasn't so self-conscious and poured out these improvised lyrics. They conjure amazing visions:

The sound of strangers sending nothing to my mind
I'm sleeping under strange strange skies
Made a rag pile of my shiny clothes
I got silence on my radio

It is full of majestic strings, and you can definitely feel a Japanese theme running through it, like a Samurai traveling home after battle. Charlie Watts is amazing, the drums and cymbals are incredible. The beginning is the longing to be home, and the end is finally arriving. The final chord reminds me of the end of Beethoven's Pastoral Symphony. Beethoven ends on these two chords that are like a big sigh of relief of getting home after a long day in the country, and Moonlight Mile ends on a long chord - getting home and closing the door behind you.

October 15, 2016 - Funkadelic - Comin' Round the Mountain (1976)

Comin' Round the Mountain is from Hardcore Jollies, a CD I apparently bought through BMG. The album cover artist is Pedro 'Blastoid Blaster' Bell, creator of over two dozen George Clinton and P-Funk covers and liner notes. Sadly, this man who was basically responsible for creating the outer space image for the group was barely paid anything. Hmmm, that first article was from 2009. Thankfully, an article form earlier this year reports that Pedro Bell is doing better and receiving more appreciation for this contribution to the history of funk music. Yea! A Vote for Pedro!

This is a funkified version of the classic song She'll Be Coming 'Round the Mountain. The lyrics are the opening verse Comin round the mountain when she comes and second verse Ridin two white horses when she comes, with an added line Get out on the dancefloor when she comes. Instead of all going out to meet her, George Clinton and the gang are letting her come to them, since where else would she be going but to the dancefloor?

The music grooves along to about twelve repetitions of those lyrics and the doin it just for fun parts. The vocalists sing the first few in unison, then individuals take turns. Check out 2:04 (kind of Sly Stone-ish), 2:13 (low guy voice), 2:17 (awesome group chord), 2:21 (all singing in high voices), and 2:41 (a capella).

While everyone is singing over and over, the music is driving those horses round the mountain with great intensity. The bass is a thumping coach, the guitars are a coaxing, occasionally cracking whip from the driver, the drums are pounding hooves.

She eventually arrives to the dancefloor at 2:49, and everyone gets to groove on a three minute Eddie Hazel guitar effects masterpiece. One of my favorite solos in existence, it starts out all phaser wah and distortion. At 3:40, Eddie turns on the reverb and delay and the dancefloor lifts off the ground and everyone ventures off around the galaxy. Check out the pitch bend at 4:39.

Whoa, Nelly! I like to think the horses are eating well and resting up in a nice cozy barn while everyone is away.

October 14, 2016 - Cornershop - We're In Yr Corner (1997)

Punjabi is the 10th most spoken language in the world. So, you'd think finding a translation of this song on the internet would be easy. If you find one, please let me know. All I could find was another person bemoaning its nonexistence. Maybe the lyrics are Punjabi nonsense words?

One of the three fantastic albums I bought in South Korea that were released in 1997 was Cornershop's When I was Born for the 7th Time. Great album. I had read a review...in Q...bought it new...then I flew...back to Sangju...to...listen to...it. I liked the idea of Indian music with a modern sampled DJ twist on it. Sitars and breakbeats, bring it on.

We're In Yr Corner is the best of the album. Sitars and cymbals...Hanji (google translate says it means Hanji in English...hey google, what are we paying you for?) Drums and sitars and finger cymbals, Indian instruments are so psychedelic...why is that? Not because of the Beatles, the instruments are just naturally trippy. The tones feel so ancient, magical and mysterious; you tune in on a spiritual level automatically.

I always thought the first lyrics were 'marijuana shout it come on and wanna shout it.' But, the almighty google says it's Mar, mar osharle Ekuh, oshart mar, mar. Whatever, the vocals are cool so let's just enjoy the sounds and not worry about what's what. Tjinder Singh does mention IBM and Coca-Cola, and says the m-----f--ker word too at 3:31, yeah get those corporate douches off our land.

The final two minutes are an East meets West jam. It all dissolves into a cloud of smoke in some Peshawari opium den. Or so I imagine.