What are you listening to? April 2019

[Ojai Sam]

Various Artists - Cookin' With Country (1975)

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Vinyl Rip Of The Day.

Just add a cup of Tex Ritter and a dash of Roy Clark.

 

[Nickyboy]

The Rutles- s/t (1978)

 

[Unsomnambulist]

Clockwork Boys - A Dor Passa... O Ódio Fica! (2012)

 

[Old Uncle Toe]

Joni Mitchell - Hejira (1976)

Here's a record that I absolutely hated when it came out. Joni had migrated so far from the articulate folkie that I had come to know and love that I was devastated. Moreover, I did not understand or appreciate post-hard bop jazz at all. Now, four decades later, I see this for the inspired work that it is.

More than anything, Hejira is a showcase for the bass of Jaco Pastorius and, to a lesser extent, the guitar of Larry Carlton. Mitchell dedicates a bag full of fine songs and her increasingly abstract vocals to the service of some jaw-dropping contemporary jazz. "Transitional" would be a massive understatemement; "transformational" is more like it.

Wiki says:

The album title is an unusual transliteration of the Arabic word more commonly rendered as Hegira or Hijra, which means "rupture", usually referring to the migration of the Islamic prophet Muhammad (and his companions) from Mecca to Medina in 622. She later stated that when she chose the title, she was looking for a word that meant "running away with honor." She found the word "hejira" while reading the dictionary, and was drawn to the "dangling j, like in Aja... it's leaving the dream, no blame".

The cover art echoes this motif, with the comfort of the woods receding into the background while the highway stretches ahead to the unknown horizon.

on the Sam-O-Meter. Joni has found the Refuge of the Roads.

I don't know that I've ever listened to this one. (Dodging rocks and bottles.) I'll have to give it a spin tomorrow. Somebody remind me, okay?

 

[Old Uncle Toe]

Joanne Shaw Taylor - Reckless Heart (2019)

 

[Unsomnambulist]

Beck - Sea Change (2002)



Hard to believe this is 16 years old.

 

[JazzyRandy]

Herculaneum - Herculaneum III (2009)

In some respects what we have here is music that's a step on from Jimmy Giuffre's work in the 1950s, but if it's the chamber music notion that unites the two bodies of work across the intervening half-century, it's clear that this band marches to a rhythmically more vigorous aesthetic.

Horns, woodwinds, guitar, bass, drums, vibes, but no piano. They craft a little heard asthetic. This has elements of Free Jazz and Avant-Garde, but it also has a lot of order, enough to make this easy enough to listen to while being odd enough to force the listener to listen.

I haven't listened to this in a while, but I should not neglect it so.

 

[JazzyRandy]

Snarky Puppy - Immigrance - (2019)

source Brooklyn-based jam outfit has a lot more to them than the rather dismissive “jam” label often implies. Snarky Puppy incorporates an absolute deluge of influences, ranging from jazz to funk to hip hop and even klezmer. Such is their musical competence that even at 19 members strong, the band still manages to keep it tight as hell.
...
the sludgy funk of Snarky Puppy’s new album lays the foundation for some terrific, slow burn tunes. The first two songs, “Chonks” and “Bigly Strictness,” both having roaring endgame jams that earn their explosiveness with a solid four minutes of buildup – and the payoff is resounding. The immediacy of other forms of jazz has its place, certainly. Still, the intricacy of Snarky Puppy’s sonic forms, the ease with which they build on one another’s ideas in improv sections, and their willingness to keep things on a low simmer until it’s absolutely time to erupt sets them apart.

 

[Zeeba Neighba]

Weezer - Pinkerton

Got this on vinyl yesterday - one of the few albums I own that was put out after the (original) vinyl area. When I saw the wonderful album cover, it struck me that I had never seen the album art so large before. Though I've loved the album for years, I've seen it on CD or my phone or in pictures like this one, but not as large as an LP cover - it was a strangely-glorious feeling.

 

[Unsomnambulist]

The Fat White Family - Serf's Up! (2019)

 

[Unsomnambulist]

Brant Bjork - Jacoozzi (2019)

 

[JazzyRandy]

Freddy Hubbard - Straight Life (1970)

 

[Ojai Sam]

The Walkabouts - See Beautiful Rattlesnake Gardens (1988)

Thanks to @axolotl I am now a confirmed Walkabouts fanatic.

Their lid-lifter from 1988 offered a strong preview of the outstanding work to come. Lots of strong jangle supports a bevy of strong, dark songs. Sadly, it's not on Spotify.

on the Sam-O-Meter. A strong .

 

[Ojai Sam]

The Rattles - The Singles 1 (rec. 1963-65, Bear Family comp. 2000)

The Rattles were part of the Hamburg beat music scene that The Beatles invaded in 1960. Obviously they owe a stylistic debt to the Fab Four both musically and sartorially, but the early singles gathered here are bursting with energy and enthusiasm.

This volume kicked off the extensive "Smash...! Boom...! Bang...!" series on Bear Family Records dedicated to German beat music of the sixties:

https://www.bear-family.com/bear-family/beat-soul-series/smash-boom-bang/

RIYL The early Beatles. Seriously.

on the Sam-O-Meter. An extra half-star because it includes "Zip A Die Doo Dah", a surprise hit in the UK.

 

[JazzyRandy]

Yellowjackets - Shades (1986)


This is good, but when the first track begins, it screams "1980s!!!!!"

That's not necessarily a bad thing. No more than putting on a classical music album and saying, "gee, that sounds like the 1700s." All music can be placed in an era by its sound. It's the nature of the undertaking.

 

[Unsomnambulist]

Yellowjackets - Shades (1986)


This is good, but when the first track begins, it screams "1980s!!!!!"

That's not necessarily a bad thing. No more than putting on a classical music album and saying, "gee, that sounds like the 1700s." All music can be placed in an era by its sound. It's the nature of the undertaking.

Well, the Pixies' Doolittle (1989) still sounds like modern rock music.

 

[JazzyRandy]

Well, the Pixies' Doolittle (1989) still sounds like modern rock music.

Is that the exception that proves the rule? Or the exception that is not an exception, and thus the norm that disproves the rule?
Or are we living in a ruleless society? Does society need rules?

 

[JazzyRandy]

Various Artists - Departure Lounge: Grooves (2005)

I got this back when LaLa was just getting rolling. I think it appealed to the side of me that liked chill music, ala Thievery Corporation. It's not something I would listen to regularly now, but I appreciate it for what it is. Chill. Kind of cool.

 

[Unsomnambulist]

Is that the exception that proves the rule? Or the exception that is not an exception, and thus the norm that disproves the rule?
Or are we living in a ruleless society? Does society need rules?

To be brutally honest, I think it may indicate that modern rock hasn't progressed very much in 30 years.

 

[JazzyRandy]

John Coltrane - Olé Coltrane (1961)

Sometimes, the best really is the best.