the spoils of war...
Gil Evans "Svengali" - Not Bill, but Gil, the guy who arranged the strings for some of the best pre-electric Miles Davis records...At least that's why I recognized his name. Big band jazz composition with plenty of synthesizer weirdness. Takes cues from Zappa's "400 Motels" and the epic Mingus stuff. A perfect record with no wasted time.
The Rascals "Collections" - I gotta thank Wax Poetic for putting me up on a band that has been around informally for my whole life without me being aware of who they are. Straight ahead garage r&b from the mid 60's that sounds like Booker T. playing organ for Mitch Ryder. Rhino reissue for cheap!
The Rascals "Groovin" - Their drummer looks so much like McCartney in the picture on the back of the sleeve. The title track was (is) a Top 40 masterpiece that gets played everyday on the radio still. Here's a secret though...Most of the other songs are even better. Fluteman Hubert Laws even pops up on the B side, in all of his pre-CTI glory.
The Rascals "Once Upon a Dream" - Speaking of Paul, this record is one of many from 60's bands that clearly wanted a piece of the Sgt. Pepper's pie, for better or worse. Some songs work well, but some lyrics and string arrangements just become too calculated and are anticipated. There's some great pop-psych numbers on here though, plus the obligatory Indian raga-esque track. Oh yeah, and King Curtis pops in for a bit too!
The Rascals "Freedom Suite" - They really were always a step behind the Beatles conceptually, doing their version of the White Album here. Like that one, this double LP is very eclectic for the band and finds everybody contributing their own compositions. This is worth buying simply for the side 4 track "Cute" which takes up the whole thing. It's the loosest and most far out you'll hear these guys get, a bit like the MG's on acid, or Deep Purple in Memphis I guess.
Vangelis "l'apocalypse des animaux soundtrack" - I'm learning that this guy has a lot more to offer than Blade Runner or Chariots of Fire, or anything from the 80's for that matter. Awhile back I found an Aphrodite's Child record (his prog rock band from the early 70's) that is fucking nuts, and now this odd trance-inducing film score. It's apparently a brooding artsy nature documentary of some sort, with some very psychedelic leanings. So many keyboards here, no cheese though. Some ambient tracks go on for a long long time with ambient patterns, usually played by strings, synthesizers, and gorgeous Rhodes piano chords. Highly recommended.
Sussman, Laverne, Moses "Tributaries" - Two guys with keyboards of all sorts and a drummer put down this fusion jazz from the mid 70's, complete with a letter of intent written by the musicians themselves. Spacey, cosmic, funky, definitely a take on the Weather Report/Headhunters thing that was goin round at the time. Check the gear: 2 MiniMoog's, 2 Fender Rhodes, 2 acoustic pianos, Arp Omni, and a Clavinet...Be me and try not to buy this.
Milt Jackson "At the Museum of Modern Art" - The only other Milt record I have is "Olinga" on CTI, which I've sampled twice already, so this couldn't be bad in my mind. This is a live one, much more classic 50/60's sound than the slick 70's stuff. Amazing gatefold sleeve with sort of a pop up picture layout with detailed liner notes in a book form. Great layout and a superb recording, and another example as to why graphic design on albums will always be superior to cd's.
Paul Horn & Nexus "self titled" - Horn gives me mixed feelings. He has a lot of records that I see everywhere, most of which were probably bought by early New Age flakes and hippies who missed the first time around in the 60's. That being said, he recorded some pretty nice flute music that has been sampled by the likes of DJ Krush and others. His best work (like this) features his trademark minimal playing through echoplexed microphones while some percussionists play very quietly, or sometimes not at all. Nothing pretentious or cheesey on this one, just very spaced-out stoner background music of the highest order.
George Duke "Don't Let Go" - George is always coming up in my life, either through magazines, beatmakers, music blogs, Zappa fans, or my buddy Peter (who just bought some more Duke himself). He is one of the keyboard players from the 70's that did everything but doesn't get the proper recognition for it (like Chick Corea or Herbie Hancock). Did crazy shit on the best Zappa albums, did crazy solo records in Germany for MPS, rock, funk, fusion, slick r&b, and of course disco at the end (and back to classic jazz again). You should buy this lp because the oh so sexy killer cut "Dukey Stick" is on it.
Lalo Schifrin "Towering Toccata" - One of my favorite CTI disco records...And I'm not a big fan of disco. But then again, disco was ok for awhile when it was still a subgenre of funk & soul, or when it's sampled for early 80's hip hop. Anyway, this record is by film composer giant Schifrin, so it sounds way more dramatic, lush, and awesome than most dance music of the time. Tons of fuzz, wah wah, Rhodes, synth, drums, percussion, and everything else fun. Everything is bigger and better when you have the guy who wrote the Mission:Impossible theme song at the controls.
Antonio Carlos Jobim - "Wave" - Rounding out the CTI collection again...One of the best I've heard from the Brazilian master. Ron Carter and Urbie Green are in the band on this one, plus the artwork is awesome. That's all, go get it.
Shawn Lee / Clutchy Hopkins - "Clutch of the Tiger" - Conclusive evidence (or so I think) that Shawn is Clutchy, but I could be wrong. This is new music, therefore you can go read a review HERE.
Ratatat - "LP3" - Oh no, more new shit! Just wanted to get ahold of this on vinyl. This is a lot better than "Classics", which never really impressed me after their amazing debut. They're still one of my favorites, but I think their melody formulas are starting to wear a bit thin. I'm sure you hipster kids don't need any heads up on this one.
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