MONDAY DEC 11 2023 DIGGAGE

 

SUNWATCHERS

MUSIC IS VICTORY OVER TIME

TROUBLE IN MIND RECORDINGS/ 2023

My first exposure to this crew comes via their most recent effort, the aptly titled MUSIC IS VICTORY OVER TIME, a collection of flowing instrumental jams that hit ecstatic and majestic heights from the word go. I've heard their name about and I love a lot of the stuff that Trouble In Mind releases but I just never got around to checking them out 'til recently. This one is really doing it for me, its rock solid rhythms and expansive sax/guitar workouts run the gamut from stormy and heady freaks to some more contemplative wanders. The presence of the sax doesn't limit them to a reductive "jazz rock" tag nor is their music constructed that way (to these ears anyway). Tracks like the shuddering TUMULUS and TOO GARY hit big grooves and swaggers whilst never going on for too long and wearing out their welcome. Call it soundtrack/ cinematic/ improv-ish/ full on rawkin whatever you will, it's a winner all around. I ,for one, am going back to check out some of their other stuff for sure. Beauty.

Music Is Victory Over Time | Sunwatchers (bandcamp.com)

THE ROYAL FAMILY

SELF TITLED

WEHERENOW/ CARDINAL FUZZ/ ECHODELIK

2023

Just in time for that western Canadian winter (tho as of writing nary a snow flake on the ground here in Saskatoon!) to settle in and cover us for awhile, here's a bucolic and comfortable LP that nods in the direction of Fairport/ Donavon/ ye-ye and other late 60s/early 70s post hippie vibes. The Royal Family assembled in the last while in Toronto and member play in other great groups from the area like ROY,  Wine Lips, The John Denver Airport Conspiracy and others. A French and English group mix, and a very eclectic mix of sounds blended and mixed over the last couple years, this one hits on all counts. When I Was A Butterfly's early Floyd-isms and melodic wafts approximate the leafs blowing around on a fall day, or the curl of cigarette smoke that hovers over a kitchen sink. Top recommend for this one if the above stokes yer flame. In a climate of "psych" bands seemingly everywhere, this LP stands out due to its songwriting and production chops, both of which are far above most current "sike" groops. Seek out and buy now.

The Royal Family | The Royal Family | We, Here and Now! (bandcamp.com)

DONALD BYRD

ETHIOPIAN KNIGHTS

BLUE NOTE

1971

Recent reissue extreme heat warning here. Been into Donald's early 70s stuff in a big way as of late, mainly thanks to my brother Keith's tip. Featuring most of the early Crusaders line up, you know this one is going to be stellar and , sure as shit, it most certainly is. Prob my favorite funk album of all time (for whatever that's worth), this one is most definitely focused on the one. File it with Les McCann/ Herbie (Mann and Hancock) and other early 70s classics of forward motion and near telepathic group jams. Three tracks in total and not a wasted second. The 15 plus minutes of opener The Emperor lays out a carpet for everyone to clear their heads and get right, blissful next level stuff (and that over worn phrase is on point here). 10/10. Yikes.

(1) Donald Byrd – Ethiopian Knights (1972) - YouTube

As always, thanks to John Westhaver at Birdman Sound for the solid grips.

See you next Monday with some more heat. Peace!

SOME TOP SHELF JAMS DEC 23

 

ACID ROOSTER/ IRRLICHTER

2021

CARDINAL FUZZ/ LITTLE CLOUD/ SUNHAIR

My lord, this one is a winner. Cut from the same cloth of groups like Wooden Shjips/ Spacemen 3/ HILLS, et al, Leipzig's Acid Rooster go for the gold on this collection of Floydian rippers, great energetic jams and star weirding guitar workouts. Definitely a notch above most of the current crop of sike/space crews going (is fashion-psych a real thing now?), this now sold out album is worth tracking down and blaring out. This one is gonna stick around, and be (re) discovered for quite some time, methinks. Yeah its from 2021, but I only recently really listened hard. TOP! 

https://acidrooster.bandcamp.com/album/irrlichter 

ELEVATOR/ VAGUE PREMONITION

1999/ REISSUE 2022

BLUE FOG RECORDINGS

Going back lots to this one as of late. I got to open for them on this tour (I think??) with a band I was in back in 2000, my memory is hazy, as the say. They killed it infinite and were the nicest people you'd ever want to meet as well, taking pity on us and our nervous snoozegaze. A force of nature live they were, heavy as fuck and light to the touch as well ( a combo few can pull off successfully). This reissue came out last year and I jumped immediately, mostly cause I lost my CD and there is an extra LP of sessions and such (on Blue Fog Recordings).

Rick, Tara and Mark (with all respect to Eric's Trip) are one of my all time favorite Canuck groups, no doubt. They brought a whimsical psychedelia to their echo-plexed mind-expansion, sounding like few other bands of their time (or now for that matter). The acoustic tracks on this one are all killer, Sydish folky wanders (well, they do detonate Syd's No Good Trying on this, prob one of the best Syd covers ever, HEAVVEEE), impressionistic lyrical paintings, maybe a bit of Love/ Skip Spence styles in the mix. And the rocking tracks on here soar. The Only See To Thought is hard rock, how it should be, sparkling, airborne and free. SO many highlights here. hit the link below and check it! Tape collages/ ass ripping space jams, they check all the boxes!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZnfxriCQbs 

https://bluefogrecordings.bigcartel.com/product/elevator-through-vague-premonition-extra-2xlp

GROVER WASHINGTON JR/ LIVE AT THE BIJOU (2LP)

1978

KUDU RECORDS

One of those "dollar bin done me good" type albums. Sweet and blazing funk caught live at the Bijou Club in Philadelphia during a residency in the month of May in 1978. Stretching out and jamming easy, easy like lighting a cigarette. A tenor sax god who sold more than a few copies on the the more pop/ smooth jazz side of things in the late 70's/ early 80's, this one is pretty chilled and verging on "lite" (not a bad thing in my living room) but has the bite and sweat of a tight AF live group working it out and, yes, GROOVIN. Joined by John Blake on electric violin, Tyrone Brown on bass, Leslie Burrs on flute, Leonard Gibbs on percussion, James Simmons on keys, Richard Steaker on guitar and Millard Vinson on drums, they pile through 4 sides of smooth vibes, dancing lightly when need be, and also getting down on some stank when the mood is right. The track Lock It In The Pocket says it all. Millard beats the drums like money is owed, and he is here to collect. So yeah, 4 sides of soulful jazz funk, it's not wild and fusioned out or anything, but is an absolute pleasure to listen to and miles better than most records of its ilk (and most of Grover's other one if I'm being truthful. But he does have a another slammer on Kudu, 1972's Inner City Blues is a solid banger, no doubt). Treat yourself and relax with a winner folks!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYpNUoCpOFA&list=PL8ISe0LkZlKKYdP46R-I3W1rOFd0jWxLM 

 

PRAIRIEWOLF/ S/T

CENTRIPETAL FORCE

2023

A wonder of mellow goodness on display here. A drum machine ticks away in the background, and Stefan Beck, Jeremy Erwin and Tyler Wilcox weave some buttery magic over top with keys/ guitars and deep bass strokes that recall the quieter end of exotica/ blunted Americana wafts, insular space rock and mountain-side streams. When you got song title such as Technicolor Dream Hearse, Return to the Lonesome Prairie and Slow Thrasher, a person just knows it's time to light up the signals, close the drapes and open that ol' third eye for an expansive treasure hunt of the interior. I hear some nice Mancini-esque film themes floating near the ceiling and any track from this could be easily used to enhance a movie's vibe, especially if that vibe is eternal wonder. To all those heads that need a cleansing and/or a cosmic realignment, step up. 

 Prairiewolf | Prairiewolf (bandcamp.com)

(

 CARLTON MELTON (2LP)

TURN TO EARTH

AGITATED

2023

K, maybe it's just me, but are CM one of THE most under-rated groups of the last 10-15 years? I think so, most def. Theirs is an exquisite catalog that takes in ambient drift and hard hitting pure riffage with equal aplomb and skill. And this newest offering on the always quality AGITATED Recordings label is my favorite one yet. Opening track Turn To Earth appears from nothing and builds up to the crushing riff and band interplay of Cloudstorming, always turning and twisting to ever greater heights and full on bash. You can take most of your by-rote stoner rock bands and flush em, this band is the real deal. They have been for a long time now, and the reason they don't get near any of the love or buzz they deserve is becuae they are interested in and adept at colour and shade on their albums and live shows. No mere straight bludgeoning and half rate Sleep worship masquerading as heaviness here.  A track like Cosmicity is a celestial wander through time that is up there with prime Tangerine Dream whilst sounding nothing like them. Which is my point exactly. At this point in their existence as a group and recording concern, they really just sound like themselves. Unconcerned with what everyone else is doing, they just get on with it and go forth. Enjoy them while they are around and still doing it. Damn, this is one fine album.

Turn To Earth | CARLTON MELTON (bandcamp.com)

FREAK HEAT WAVES

MONDO TEMPO

MOOD HUT

2023

Gig of the year for me here in Saskatoon was surely the double punch of the amazing Cindy Lee and these beat heads Freak Heat Waves at ye olde Amigos Cantina. Having evolved from a noisy/ post punk/ indie-ish scree to where they have arrived at with this release has been super cool to see. The current FHW intent is aimed right at the dance floor and all the better for it, in my opinion. Not to say that I didn't like what came before, it's just that this album is so strong in its execution and effect. For me, echoes of Soul 2 Soul/ Neneh Cherry, New Order, Arthur Russell and Massive Attack merge with a minimal funk approach that pays off big time. Big melodies are to the forefront, especially on the track In A Moment Divine (featuring Ms Cindy Lee on vox). Not a duff song on this one. Along with the Tony Price LP, one of the best things to come out of Canada this year.

Mondo Tempo | Freak Heat Waves (bandcamp.com)

 

 RECENTLY...FEB 2023

Here we go with a plethora of sounds from near and far, recent and from years past that have been blowing up the spot here at the 5th Ave Cat Sanctuary here in (currently balmy, relatively speaking) Saskatoon SK.

JAIRUS SHARIF/ WATER AND TOOLS

2022 Telephone Explosion Records LP

Unmoored and leaning into forever far out sounds from Calgary and released on the venerable Telephone Explosion label outta Toronto. Jairus weaves organs, guitars, horns, sounds, whatever he has at hand  it seems, into widescreen tapestries of blare and reverie that can recall Pharaoh Sanders in a top down jeep, a darkened sky threatening rain, quiet moments of bliss and dense soundtrack music of the highest order. Assisted by label-mate and Badge Epoque Enemble chief head Max Turnbull on some of these jams, this collection of recordings are a stone cold wonder and deffo this LP is one of the best to come out of our little vast corner of existence in quite some time. The near 12 minute opener Humility expands very nicely, currents of melody bumping up against each other in an organic and unhurried way. 9-5 Silver has some Blade Runner-esque gas exhalations, orbits of a solar giant, organ dives into large pools of liquid sand, beauty, this track.

 Earth III's concrete bleeps and blops cascade over splashed drums and converge alien dreams into conscious daytime traffic. Title track Water And Tools is one of my favorites, like early Tortoise perhaps, but with a nice epic slanted chatter. Evoking the spirit of early seventies post/jazz/fusion is a hard fucking thing to do, and he does so with ease and confidence here and all over this album. A true head, obviously, who has digested a lot of adventurous sounds and has sketched out this fantastic collection of tracks. A wonderful album. Support and dig if you like out-there, truly creative folks doing top shit.

https://jairussharif.bandcamp.com/album/water-tools

PETE ROCK/ RETURN OF THE SP1200 VOL 2

Tru Soul Records 2022

Anytime Pete drops a new collection of instrumental jams (not even mentioning his extensive discography of production efforts for a multitude of MC's over the years), I for one sit up and take notice. Pete's breezy and intensely psychedelic beat workouts are an essential ingredient around this place, for sure. From 1992's Mecca And The Soul Brother (with CL Smooth), he has maintained a signature sound, often duplicated and bitten by more than a few producers over the yeras, but, as they say, never bettered. Smoked and aged like fine wine, this record fits snugly with his other instrumental comps, like the Petestrumental series of records (Pt 4 out now too) and Vol 1 of these SP1200 joints. Need to centre yourself? Step up to the ruler, he will treat you right.

AMON DUUL 2/ VIVE LA TRANCE

United Artists 1973

An album by the German group that seems to get very short shrift by nearly everyone (yeah, I get it, its not Phallus Dei, but it still rules).

Maybe it's because I'm currently on a Roxy Music tip as of late, but this one makes a lot of sense when you listen to both groups in their 1973-75 incarnations. Both had a very fun and smart take on "pop music" that was happening at that time, super subversive and done for the heads as well. AD definitely were on a bit more of a harder political edge lyric-wise (to be expected, given their previous work) and this LP is a total monster for me. Perhaps a bit more structured and bucolic than the earlier albums but they lost none of the bite and sense of play here (after this one it starts to get a bit more dicey as far as I'm concerned, but hey, the way it goes).

So get lost in this fucking insane track, Mozambique. An commentary on European colonialism in Africa lyrically, set to a  jam out that will light your curtains on fire.

 Mozambique - Amon Düül II (1973) - YouTube

ASTRUD GILBERTO/ NOW

Perception Records 1972

Wow! Just a wonderful batch of songs, produced by Astrud and arranged by Eumir Deodato and featuring Ron Carter, Billy Cobham and Airto Moreira amongst many others on the instruments. One can hear the influence on Stereolab all over this one, it should go without saying. 

"Easy Listening" records rarely sound this good and well crafted and the bossa/jazz vibes sound like a soft summer afternoon. Some of the lyrical content is a bit, uh, dated and of its time, shall we say. But hopefully it doesn't overwhelm the listener of today. Have a listen to the track Take It Easy My Brother Charlie below and enjoy. Spring is coming soon.

Take It Easy My Brother Charlie - Astrud Gilberto - YouTube

LOOP/ FADE OUT

Reactor 1988 (2008 Remaster)

Robert Hampson and crew produced this blazing storm of Stoogian feedback and repetitive glory in 1988, enjoying quite a bit of success on the UK indie scene for this statement of intent along with their notoriously loud live shows.

Along with Spacemen 3 (with whom they feuded in the UK press at the time for allegedly ripping the Spacemen off, bit of truth there but I think they have their own wing of the drone/ space rock complex entirely), Loop ushered in a minimalism into rock at the time, eschewing orthodoxy for investigations into volume and simple riffs. Again like SP3, the Velvets and Stooges are major touchstones, along with interest in durational music like Terry Riley/ Elaine Radigue and also the 60's garage bands. It's easy after all the passage of time since the release of this album in 88 to forget how reductionist/ maximal this music is. It's actually a bit opaque and forbidding on first listens, but reveals itself on repeated airings to be full of light and shade. Also, it just plain rocks, which is no bad thing in and of itself! Not to go on, just turn it up and go. Like the Bruce McCulloch record store character in Kids In The Hall says, when talking about The Doors, "go steal a car and drive west...". Or something to that effect.

THANK YOU CHAD MUNSON FOR TRADING ME THIS ALBUM.

https://loopbandofficial.bandcamp.com/album/fade-out-remastered

ALAN VEGA Live 86

 

ALAN VEGA live March 16/1986 Clarendon Hotel London

In a big Alan Vega/ SUICIDE seam right now. This burner of a show from 1986 is one of the best shows you will find on the Yub, hands down. Alan on vox, one Mark Kuch on guitar and machines on loops, drum machines (Alan hammers on a keyboard at some points).

The setlist features songs from Saturn Strip heavily, plus a Springsteen song and some Suicide bangers. A heavy,  towering live sound here, subtlety jettisoned in favor of impact. Kuch's no-nonsense/ no-frills wall of sound finds the middle ground between James Burton's Ricky Nelson riffs and Faust's high wire air raid siren squalls. As evidenced here, Alan is one of THE great rock showstoppers. Hypnotic. The high priest raining sweaty truths down on his congregation, lost in the noise.

Turn it up and flashdance in front of your mirror, smoke a cigarette and have a holler. Fun, fun, fun indeed. 

Thanks to ScottishTeeVee on YT for this.

Also, check out Sacred Bones ongoing Vega reissue program, top stuff finally getting out there.

https://alanvega.bandcamp.com/album/mutator

RECENTLY... JULY242022

 UNDERWORLD/ BEAUCOUP FISH

1999 Junior Boys Own 2LP

When talk turns to "summer" albums, this one will always be close to hand for me on those long sunny days, when perhaps its just a BIT too hot out. I got promo CDs of this from an old job at CD Plus on 8th St back in the day, 99 for sure. I had no frame of reference for them really, not too up on the UK dance scene at the time (tho in the UK they would probably be considered pop/indie at the time). I was aware of them like many through Trainspotting, thought Born Slippy was a cool enough tune, and that's about it.

The thing about them for me is that for all the sequenced lines, dance-inspired architecture of the tracks and spoken word ranting of frontman Karl Hyde, is that. around this time especially, they were masters of melody, hooks that would get lodged in my head for days. The track Jumbo that opens side 2 on the record is a deceptively light pulsing house-y track with Hyde muttering about locked doors and Tetris key rings, so far so E'ed up and moving. But a couple minutes in, this glistening synth 2 note counterpoint comes in, autumnal, beautiful, adding a bittersweet emotional swell as Hyde continues a bewitching, mantra-like recitation over the hues of washed colour that run into each other, and we are in some weird, strange place. Someone talks about fishing (a sample/ piece  of audio verite from somewhere). Its a gently disorienting track, and one that ends all too soon.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NVLAcKRmjt4

Anther track I really dig is the acid house banging, unrelenting Giorgio Moroder collaboration King Of Snake. Hard to tell who is responsible for what here, Moroder or the brain trust of the UW sound, Rick Smith and Darren Emerson. Again with Karl's stream of conscious-ness vocal refrains and declarations, again with the gliding synth parts and slow arc of the whole enterprise and it's hard to tell where exactly Moroder is in this one, more felt than heard, sort of a ghost haunting the corners of the melody(ies), as far as I can tell.

There is a strong alternating minimalism/maximalism to this record. That is to say they know when to blow the whole thing the fuck up, and alternately when to reduce a track to hushed tones, sweetly sung lullabies to someone/ no one. Perfect sequencing of the order of the tracks and they way it flows as a whole. Something I strive for in my own musical bleatings TBH. In fact the more over time I listen to this one, the more I realize it has heavily influenced me in trying to light and shade moods, construct it into a somewhat satisfying total thing.

A great listen it is. Other ones of theirs worth checking out are the follow up  A HUNDRED DAYS OFF from 2001 (sans Darren Emerson, who had departed by this point) and 1996's SECOND TOUGHEST IN THE INFANTS, an album that seems like a straight dance record on the surface, but has deep experimental depths to it. The track BANSTYLE/ SAPPYS CURRY in particular a weirdly shape shifting monster of progressive psychedelia that sounds like nothing else.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZtxU350Ur60 

OLD DIRTY BASTARD

RETURN TO THE 36 CHAMBERS/ THE DIRTY VERSION

1995 Elektra Records 2LP

Not gonna go into the myriad of details surrounding this one too much, it was a quite a chaotic and convoluted time, due to the Wu Tangs Clan's (then) recent explosion into the top of the charts and the attendant madness that went along with it. This is my fav of the post 36 Chambers Wu solo lps (GHOSTFACE's SUPREME CLIENTELE a close second).

After a long, rambling intro (in which ODB makes like a demented Vegas compere on acid setting the scene for all and sundry who may not be hip to what's going on), SHIMMY SHIMMY YA and BABY C'MON break down the door and set out the Dirty stall quick and correct. RZA's production is on point, of a piece with his work at the time, hypnotic, basically dub in its bent mirror allusions. It's pretty simple and to the point, but encrusted with deep bass and aquatic drum machines that Rick James would not run away from, eh?

Dirt's crowning glory for me is his flow,  haphazard, seemingly improvised, wandering, OFF, in the best possible way. Side 2's RAW HIDE (with Method Man and Raekwon in tow) is one of THEE BEST Wu tracks, drowsy, ancient, dark. traffic light rhythms. "T-murder, which is caused, when you fuck with the positive and negative charge". Wow, I love that line so much, for many reasons. I don't have a clue what it means. Don't matter .Not a bit. Genius.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bPxXe8LCvI8

So many great tracks on this one. SNAKES is a strange one, KILLAH PRIEST/ RZA/ MASTA KILLA going off hard on this one, a rubbery bass line interacting with a jittery kick drum, very boss and droning. BROOKLYN ZOO II (TIGER CANE) is similar to that one, posse cut that gets edited to within an inch of its life. No bad thing that tho. Old Rhythm indeed. There's a sort of alchemy going on this collection of jams, which is how it feels to me. Raw jams, working the material for all its worth. PROTECT YA NECK II THE ZOO is more OG 36 Chambers  style back and forth, hence the title. But it seems even more stripped back, funky, emaciated and all the better for it.

HEADROOM

HEAD IN THE CLOUDS

2017 Trouble In Mind Records

Space rock. Few groups live up to it, this collection of jams mos def do. Kryssi Battalene (also in prime sweat jam merchants MOUNTAIN MOVERS) recorded this slab over two days (Jan 7-8 2017) with a fine group of relaxed individuals ready to do some business. Kryssi guides the trip with her sky scraping leads, over a bed of jam that tend to AMON DUUL II/ BARDO POND/ territory, but quickly assumes its own sort of trajectory, Very off-the-floor and all the better for it. Feedback loops over free bass and drum workouts, yes please. HEAD IN THE CLOUDS, the title track, is a highlight here, the warping organ refrain dissolving into FX inspired reverie, slow motion engines sparking into a dry ditch and igniting warm grandstands into slow applause for the beauty of being alive/ somewhere. Spacemen 3 circa Playing With Fire vibes. celestial back roads, a burnt out smoke, what have you. Church never felt like this, but should've.

A MILLION THANKS TO DAVE CAMBRIDGE FOR PUTTING ME ONTO THIS

https://headroomnhv.bandcamp.com/album/head-in-the-clouds

SERGE GAINSOURG

CANNABIS 

1970

File this under the "reissue it now please" category. Basically a bunch of different takes on a central theme, this is beautiful stuff. The Jane Birkin  starring film is a period piece very much  of its time to say the least, FYI. Serge takes the Melody Nelson sound in a bit more of a baroque direction. Smoked or not, this will go down very well.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jO43ZWdEOY

THE BAND WHOSE NAME IS A SYMBOL

BIKER SMELL

Self Released 2012/Cardinal Fuzz Vinyl And Feeding Tube tape long sold out

My friends from Ottawa ON who allow me to jam with them when I'm out there (THANKS It's always a blast!), this one and Superficial Marks were the ones I first heard from them and made me a big fan. Celestial backwoods choogle, Sun RA meets Status Quo, they're are always pretty undefinable and do their own thing, for a decade plus now. This one I've been on quite regularly of late, it just scratches the itch for that improvised boogie that gets me up and about, maybe do a little dance around the living room even. Check it and zone out/in/on!

https://thebandwhosenameisasymbol.bandcamp.com/album/biker-smell

ALICE COLTRANE

LIVE AT THE BERKELY COMMUNITY THEATRE 1972

Bootleg

Praise to the great Aquarium Drunkard for posting this one up recently. This is the business, all time great stuff here as far as I'm concerned. Absolute jaw dropping magical jams of the highest order and beyond .Check the AD post below for info and blast this loud if able. Words do not do justice, blah, blah.

WOW.

https://aquariumdrunkard.com/2022/06/20/alice-coltrane-live-at-the-berkeley-community-theater-1972-2/

C.Ross/ SKULL CREATOR (NoiseAgonyMayhem/Echodelik/Ramble Records 2022)

 New one from Chad Ross, he of Quest For Fire/ Comet Control/ Deadly Snakes/ Nordic Nomadic plus a lot more outfits thru the years. For full disclosure I have the pleasure to call this man a good friend, our bands having shared stages and floors over the years. We've had many great times together and many more to come. Having said that, I.ve always been a huge fan of his music in whatever form it takes, his unique and highly melodic way with the word and riff is instantly unique and recognizable.

This one, recorded and mixed by Josh Wells at the Balloon Factory in Vancouver, deffo leans to a more gentle/ folkier side of things, opiated soundscapes that drift on by with a sigh. Echoes (gettit?!)of post-Syd Floyd, drowsy synth washes lap up against the tunes like waves on the shore, especially on a track like the title cut Skull Creator, my favorite one thus far. 

Chad played most of the instruments on this record, with help from Josh Wells on drums/percussion/keyboards, Aaron Goldstein on pedal steel and Isiah Mitchell of Earthless/ Black Crowes on tasty guitar flourishes. On Golden Pond, another favorite, has a weightless feel of an old daydream come home to roost, stretching out, relaxed, Galaxie 500 driving down a dusty road in Neil's old jalopy, stopping once in a while to roll a number and check out the rapidly declining sun in the sky.

Much to recommend on this one. If you need a breather, a respite from things, get inside of this one and go away for a bit. The artwork by Olde Nightrifter and layout /design of Roan Bateman complement the whole thing perfectly, kudos. 

A treasure front to back, for sure.

https://noiseagonymayhem.bandcamp.com/album/c-ross-skull-creator

FRED NEIL SESSIONS CAPITOL RECORDS 1968

one thing that could safely be said about Fred Neil is that a more disguised, inscrutable shadow figure floating 'round the nether regions of the 60's folk boom you'd be hard pressed to find. best known for penning "EVERYBODY'S TALKING", made famous by Nilsson's version in John Schleshinger's Midnight Cowboy film, the publishing from this and many other covers of the song insured his escape from performing, recording or any other entanglement with the music industry for pretty well the rest of his life. sporadic shows or recording dates aside, Neil indulged his love for heroin and hanging out with the dolphins near his home in South Florida until his death in July of 2001 from skin cancer. "THE DOLPHINS", his other most well known song, is ample proof of his affinity with the sea faring mammals over most any of the people he encountered during his tenure in the music biz.

which brings us to SESSIONS. recorded shortly before his withdrawal from the work-a-day world (interrupted only by 71's lackluster THE OTHER SIDE OF THIS LIFE), this record is seven songs culled from four days of sessions in october of 67. as the title implies, everything is live, straight-to-tape audio verite, warts and all. along with Neil on vocals and 12 string acoustic, Dylan cohort Bruce Langhorn is credited on acoustic, as are Eric Glen Hord, Cyrus Faryar, Peter O. Childs,along with one James E. Bond on stand-up bass. rather than being a pile-up of inappropriate, busy jamz, the first impression one takes away from even a cursory listen to these songs is the sense of space. gorgeous widescreen spaces opened up by the gently intertwining guitar lines and bass pulse give way to the record's secret weapon, Neil's voice. and for a man who claimed to be the unholy spawn of a brief liason between Jimmie Rodgers and Bessie Smith, well, one listen to his bottomless baritone and just-woke-up-this-mornin' lazed out drawl gets me to thinking that just maybe it's true.

the one thing 'bout this album that always gets me is its otherness, the way it stands apart from a thousand other records of its sort released around the same time. there's a looseness, no doubt inspired by the open party in the studio that Fred actively encouraged, plenty of singing but also a lot of drinkin and druggin going on, a fact bore out by the between song banter left on the record. "fly united" indeed. that said, a song like LOOK OVER YONDER seems to arrive out of a fevered dream, Fred forlornly moaning elemental blues to a setting sun, random guitar lines mimicing birds in flight. and when he sings " mama, mama, ain't you sorry that you bore me, can't you see what I've become?", the curtain is lifted for a second on this intensely private man, an admission of sorts shared, briefly, but he's already gone. that line about how a real showman knows how to disappear in the spotlight? here's how it's done.

check out ROLL ON ROSIE for it's freewheeling raga-drone and spirited vocalese. it's a real gas as well. MERRY GO ROUND deserves a good listen for it's Mary-Janed-to- fuck waltz time stroll, Fred freely interjecting lines from Leadbelly's "Where Did You Sleep Last Night?" into his own inner circular narrative, pitching a tent in the cosmos. in closing, I gotta say it's a real soulful night-time listen, open, warm, pitch-perfect.

www.fredneil.com