Yes, just when you think you've seen it all - here comes "Empire Jazz". Well, this is a side of Chewbaca I just never knew! Watch out McCoy Tyner! And just dig R2D2 rockin' those beats! C'mon - you know you would have picked this up if you saw it. The cover alone was worth the $3 I paid for this thing. But what also got my attention was the list of musicians involved on the back cover:
Wow! The cream of jazz royalty paying tribute to Star Wars (or cashing in - who can tell)? One thing I was certain of - there must be some good playing happening on this record. So I bought it, brought it home and................was pleasantly surprised! Side One was a little iffy - "The Asteroid Field" is a bossa-nova of all things. But Side Two has some really tasteful playing going on. I really enjoyed hearing more from trumpeter Jon Faddis. He was a young guy when he joined Charles Mingus in the 70s - just about anybody that spent time playing in Mingus's band is worth hearing and Faddis is no exception. Apparently this has never made an official appearance on CD, but I made sure I made a "needle-drop" since I'm going to find an LP cover frame and give the record to my stepson who loves all things Star Wars. It was so funny I had to get it for him, but I wanted to hear the music first. And the music is not anywhere near as cheesy as the cover might convince you otherwise. Figures that Robert Stigwood would see the value in releasing this kind of project - did it make more money for him than the Sgt. Pepper movie with Peter Frampton and the Bee Gees?
From the blatantly commercial to the blatantly mystical................
Here's a record released ten years prior to "Empire Jazz" - also featuring Billy Cobham on drums. This album has been re-released many times over the years. The copy I have was issued by Rykodisc in the late 1980s on clear vinyl (in its analog incarnation).
Side One is mainly solo acoustic guitar workouts by McLaughlin (starting with a very nice rendition of "Goodbye Pork Pie Hat"). There's some overdubbing going on here, but the end result is tasteful and quite expressive. I have to say this kind of playing sounds pretty singular to my ears. Thoughtful, meditative and expressive. I always enjoyed John McLaughlin - electric or otherwise. Maybe he's a bit more "cerebral" in his aesthetic, but there is a real fire to his approach that is uplifting to hear. Side Two features two ensemble pieces with some great soprano sax work from Dave Liebman. I wonder if this is where Miles Davis heard of him - Liebman would be a steady fixture of Miles' early to mid 70s bands - before the late 70s "retirement" phase.
I've had this record since forever, but the past few nights I've been spinning it quite a few times. The vinyl pressing is really nice - and it's sure fun to look at and handle. Some folks will claim that records pressed on anything but black vinyl are somehow inferior to standard black, but this record proves otherwise (as do some other clear vinyl LPs I have in the collection). It still all comes down to mastering and cutting practices. Colored vinyl can be as pleasing sonically as black vinyl. The only advantage to black vinyl is it does tend to show scratches (when present) moreso than other colors - buying used colored vinyl can be a real crap-shoot for that reason. But if the record is new there should be no wear and as long as you take care of it there should be no problem. And these suckers sure can look cool........
Whether it runs the gamut from the ridiculous to the sublime - jazz is jazz is jazz or is that to say - just improvised-upon music from whatever dimension you like so long as its rooted in the blues - but that could be the American Blues or Eastern European Blues or Brazillian Blues or Japanese Blues..............its all music. Townes Van Zandt broke music down to two categories: "Zippidy Doo Dah" and THE BLUES. So there you go. I don't care what you call it, just don't call me late for dinner. Bright Moments!
In my last post here, I eulogized “the album” as an entertainment object. Oh, those plastic platters can still be found if you know where to look. But the “glory days” of mass-consumption are pretty much kaput when it comes to the 33 & 1/3 Long Playing vinyl album. When you think about it, there was a pretty small window where LP records ruled the marketplace. Though in existence from 1948 or so, most people didn’t really bother with them until about 1964 when the Beatles first Capitol album “Meet the Beatles” redefined the potential of the format.
Prior to “Meet the Beatles”, teenagers mainly bought singles – 45 RPM discs. Hit on one side, filler on the B-side. LP records prior to “Meet the Beatles” were usually laden with filler with a few of the hits sprinkled in to generate interest. Not that “Meet the Beatles” was all hits, but the publicity machine that cranked up the Beatlemania hysteria made it seem like EVERY song was a hit. Beatlemania was a marketing device – the image was the real driving force behind the campaign, the music was merely the background noise to the fad of long hair and English accents. Trouble was, the Beatles took their music seriously. The fans also started taking the music seriously and kept buying the records as the fad slowly turned into a revolution. All of this activity pushed sales of LP records into hitherto-unknown regions as baby boomers with disposable income cranked up the demand for long-haired singing groups.
“Meet the Beatles” came along at a time in the industry when sales units of 500,000 would certify a record for “Gold” status. This was the pinnacle of bragging rights I suppose. In reality, “Meet the Beatles” and other LPs did in fact sell beyond that number, but it wasn’t until 1976 that the status ceiling was raised to “Platinum” status – one million units sold. Now, supposedly the first record to qualify for this new status was this one:
That’s right – Iron Butterfly’s “In-a-gadda-da-Vida” was apparently the first record to be awarded for “Platinum” sales. Now, who knows if this distinction is as accurate as it claims to be? After all, I seem to remember how Slim Whitman sold more records than Elvis and the Beatles COMBINED, but hey……why should the Beatles run away with all the accomplishments? As far as I’m concerned I think it’s mighty cool that Iron Butterfly gets the nod for “first Platinum-selling act”. I’m especially pleased that, absurd as it sounds, I was able to see this edition of Iron Butterfly play live in a small club. Now, I’m not fortunate enough to be able to say “I officially don’t remember the sixties for all the cool reasons not to remember them.” Fact was, I wasn’t yet on the planet to experience the sixties. How did I get to see the “In-a-gadda-da-Vida”-era Iron Butterfly then? 1988. This year marked the 40th anniversary of Atlantic Records. A big blowout bash of a concert was planned to happen at Madison Square Garden that year and all the important acts that helped put the company on the map were invited to perform – including IRON BUTTERFLY! Well, they did sell over one million units, right?
Sad reality was – although different versions of Iron Butterfly came and went over time, the most famous version of the band hadn’t worked as a unit in nearly 20 years! To get in shape, those members got together and played some “warm up” gigs. I got to witness one of these at The Chance in Poughkeepsie. And, sad to say, the audience turnout was pitifully small, but brother did these guys ROCK! And they seemed so happy to be playing together again. Before the show proper, guitarist Erik Braunn came onstage alone and played a new song solo – I think he called it “Albatross”, I could be wrong. But he introduced the song as a comment about how old friendships can be healed and renewed over time…….y’know, that kind of thing. It sure was a heartfelt performance that remains with me today. An especially treasured memory since Erik Braunn passed away far too young back in the early 2000s.
Anyway, Iron Butterfly took the stage and blasted their way through “Are You Happy” – Doug Ingle looked utterly bemused at the small but enthusiastic group of neo-hippies jumping up and down in the pit area in front of the stage! I’ll also never forget the smell of the incense sticks the band stuck into the cracks of their gear onstage – it smelled like spicy peanut butter! I’ve never smelled anything like it before or since. Wild! The tunes came from the first three albums (my good friend Carl kept yelling for them to do “Shady Lady” from the Metamorphosis album, but they avoided stuff from that record – Erik Braunn wasn’t on it anyway…..oh well!). The “Iron Butterfly Theme” was a standout along with a full-length version of the seminal classic “In-a-gadda-da-Vida”.
“In-a-gadda-da-Vida” somehow resonated with the public in its time and has had the good fortune to be one of those “evergreen” songs that will always conjure up the emotions and sentiments of the era it came from. Even if the lyrics hadn’t been slurred – the real, non-inebriated lyrics were supposedly “In the garden of Eden….” – it would have qualified as a hippie classic. For the casual fan I’d also recommend the “Best Of” LP from 1971 as a teaser for some (but not all) of the better cuts off their main four Atlantic / Atco LPs. This thing, along with the “In-a-gadda-da-Vida” album, was kept in print well into the 1980s and shouldn’t be too hard to find.
Other groups, like YES, would come along and put long songs on a single LP side of a record, but none would reach the commercial peak that Iron Butterfly did in the summer of 1968. If The Beatles helped to push more LP records out to consumers in 1964, Iron Butterfly helped to push the boundaries of what a hit song could be – even something impossible to contain except on a whole side of a 33 and 1/3 LP record!
If you’re vinyl-ready and don’t yet have this classic album – I’d bet there are plenty of used copies floating around out in the shops for RECORD STORE DAY. In the meantime, here's a neat clip of Iron Butterfly from back in the day - enjoy!
I wish I could say this record contained some great lost psychedelic masterpiece, but in fact - it's a spoken-word recording that is little more than a pre-historic "infomercial" designed to teach you how to perform facial exercises in order to rid yourself of unseemly wrinkles and make your face look younger and more vibrant! Such was the power and ubiquity of the long-playing vinyl record in 20th Century culture - it was at one time a viable method of advertising and persuasion in areas of life that had NOTHING to do with music. Before "workout videos" there were "workout records" - even for your face!
For reasons I don't entirely understand I found myself meditating on the concept of THE ALBUM today. While this concept might seem old hat now, the idea of the “self-contained collection of relevant music in one place” – The ALBUM – is really a kinda new concept, in terms of music consumption and appreciation. If we harken back to the era of the 78 RPM disc – the album was the cardboard container which held several 78 discs together, either as a set of, say, classical music – like all the 78 discs that comprised the entire Beethoven 9th. There were also blank holders you could slip your favorite hits into. Awright – you don’t know what I mean – here’s one:
See how the discs are stored in this thing? Well, when 45 RPM discs were invented, they came out with holders for those too. Storage and organization tools. Funny how these things were manufactured to look like books sitting on a shelf with their spines facing outward. How analog! A tribute to Gutenberg maybe? Now, I could be wrong, but it would seem likely that when 45 RPM discs hit the market, it must have been around the same time as when 33 & 1/3 RPM “Long Playing” discs arrived. Let’s call it 1948. The difference? The material of the disc itself – vinyl compound used for the new LPs was more durable than the shellac of the 78s, which could shatter easily. Also – the resulting grooves from the new cutting process known as “microgroove” could reproduce a more sophisticated frequency response – potentially better sound (though I will concede that there are 78s that sound shockingly hi-fi).
The long-playing discs, using microgrooves, could contain longer musical passages so whereas that Beethoven symphony took up several 78 RPM discs that had to be changed one to another to hear the whole deal – the same performance would easily fit on one LP record flipped only once. Niiiiiice. The typical running time of an LP could be between 40 to 50 minutes. Sometimes less, occasionally more. For popular music releases, an industry standard of 30 minutes of music was the minimum to be considered “album length”. Some sneaky artists would get away with 27-minute long albums once in awhile. Rarely would the program last beyond 50 minutes. The main reason, aside from basic economic concerns (always leave the audience wanting more than less!) was the fact that the fidelity of the music would suffer if too much information was squeezed on one side of an LP (witness several of Todd Rundgren’s solo albums from the 70s – great music, squashed sonics – at least on LP!).
The long-playing format was reserved mainly for classical music and hits collections until the 1960s. As the baby boom had access to disposable income and better record playing gear, popular groups met the demand for more sophisticated music product with quality material not just reserved for 45 hit singles, but transferring better quality songs to LP records. Thus began the idea of using the LP format length of 30 – 45 minutes as a framework within which to create a singular piece of art that hangs together beyond just a collection of hit or miss tracks. The ALBUM as a potential artistic platform was born. Pet Sounds. Sgt. Pepper. A Love Supreme. Hot Rats. The GREAT ALBUM had arrived.
However………
This notion kinda faded from view once black-light posters and lava lamps fell off the hipness radar. And by that time, the new physical music format – the compact disc – was ready to replace the LP as the preferred physical music product. Now, to tell the truth, although the analog versus digital debate rages on, there were and (still) are a lot of benefits to CDs – find one that has been mastered well (and there are plenty!) and you’re going to be satisfied for life. Unless you really abuse of compact discs, they will keep providing the same fidelity from the point of purchase. Plus – many titles that went out of print on LP came roaring back to life on compact disc. I’m no purist – CDs were a blessing in many ways, even though they get short shrift now.
The effect on popular music, however, was another issue. Popular artists had gotten pretty good at putting programs of 40 to 45 minutes worth of music together in a way that could hold the average modern person’s attention and entertain. But even that was a struggle at times. How many great artists put out “duff” albums in a career? PLENTY. It seems that as CDs came onto the market, there had already been a sense of “giving up” among major artists to put together great ALBUMS full of quality tunes. The old standby of using an LP to prop up a couple of hits with a bunch of second-rate "filler" was making a comeback by the late-70s. Some artists continued to take the album format seriously as in days of old, but for the most part – the industry and the public had moved on. Times change – it’s really no big deal. LP records can be a lot of fun and I wouldn’t want to be without my vinyl albums, but deep down I know that LP records were merely another MYTH VEHICLE of the modern age. The myths those plastic waffles spread were pretty potent though! Entire careers and industries revolved around those things. Wild times!
Vinyl records have made a comeback of sorts, but they remain the least convenient medium through which music enjoyment can be experienced by a LONG STRETCH. Analog music devices will likely continue to thrive for the hobbyists, but not for the masses. The Album has officially given way to “The Playlist”. Convenience has won over the public, as well it should I suppose. New myths will replace the old. Not even the vinyl record was a suitable container for talents like Frank Zappa who insisted that all his albums were really just “one big album” he identified as the “Project / Object”. Yet, Zappa was a master at using the medium to his advantage. He understood the power of the vinyl record as a conduit for musical knowledge as a young lad himself – from the discovery of Edgard Varese on a crusty old LP to the doo-wop and R&B hits he loved so much on 45s. As much as Zappa predicted the downfall of vinyl record culture with the emergence of digital recording techniques, he was a product of that analog culture himself.
For those who still crave the analog experience (or even the physical music product experience) this month is host to a new phenomenon : Record Store Day. This quasi-holiday has turned into a minor-movement to bring awareness to the smaller record shops that continue to serve and fascinate music lovers all over the country. Here's a link about how to find out more: http://www.recordstoreday.com/Home
The basic gist is - if you value a local record dealer - get out and buy something on that day or any day. Times may be changing, but it would be a sad day indeed if there were no more places to browse discs. In November we get to vote with our political consciences - this month we can vote with our purchasing power whether or not we still value our local record haunts. But don't take it from me, here's Mel Blanc:
HAPPY RECORD STORE DAY EVERYONE!!! APRIL 21, 2012 - NO FOOLIN'!!!!
The music my parents listened to when I was a kid was an odd mix (to me) of good and bad stuff. Popular music in the 70s wasn’t entirely distasteful to them so I wound up hearing a fair amount of whatever was popular on car rides and around the house. I was also exposed to the great originators of rock and roll through a pretty impressive collection of 45s collected by my father and his siblings when they were growing up in the 50s and early 60s. At times, they really showed excellent taste. So long as they weren’t on an “Easy Listening” kick. Remember the radio station that would play instrumental MUZAK’d versions of standards from the 1930s and 1940s - songs only your parents seemed to know the words to and they would SING ALONG with the radio driving you crazy? Yes, you remember that radio station. Well, these torture sessions would unfortunately help to fuel my ideas of what instrumental music was all about at an early age. Outside of movie or TV theme music (most of which was actually really cool – “Rockford Files” anyone?) – my view of “instrumental music” was this evil, insipid, brain-numbing “easy listening” hoo-ha. No words = BORING.
My ears gradually opened up to instrumental music as I became exposed to more exciting and challenging stuff. But one experience really threw me for a loop which I (thankfully) never got over. Some credit must go to Frank Zappa. In the late 70s I hated disco music. Anything making fun of disco was awesome. So when I first heard “Dancin’ Fool” on the radio I thought I’d died and gone to heaven. Not just because of the lyric content, but also because I really liked that marimba part (percussion being my “thing”). I eventually wound up with the “Sheik Yerbouti” album and that was my introduction to Zappa. Now, of course there are some instrumental tracks on that record, but I was more interested in the crazy humor (of which there’s a LOT on that record). I thought Zappa was the funniest guy on the planet. So I decided to branch out a little to check out some of his other records.
In those days, the Zappa bin was full of the weirdest looking LPs I ever laid eyes on. The covers were outrageous along with many song titles. Not much Zappa beyond “Dancin’ Fool” was played on the radio so there was no telling what the records sounded like (especially since nobody I knew was into Zappa at the time). Once in a while I might quiz some guy behind the record counter if he had a favorite Zappa album. The dude I talked to at Lloyd’s was helpful. Recommended a few more popular titles like Apostrophe, Roxy and Elsewhere and Zappa in New York. Though I would eventually get those, my next Zappa purchase involved something I didn’t do much at the time – a blind purchase! I chose SLEEP DIRT based entirely on the cover art which led me to believe this would have to be the most outrageous, disgusting, vile, vulgar record I could possibly bring home because, well………look for yourself:
Remember – I was about 12 years old and into shocking, immature, crazed humor. If I could learn a few new swear words it could improve my status with my pals. I got a huge boost in coolness for being the guy who turned all my catholic-school friends onto Cheech and Chong. Now THIS record was going to really do it for me since Zappa was the funniest, coolest dude ever, right? I was about to get my first lesson in applied Zappa-ology!
When I bought SLEEP DIRT I was totally ignorant of the history behind it. Seems that in the late 70s, Zappa was desperate to end his contract with Warner Brothers Records (who distributed his imprint DISCREET) and delivered a bunch of master tapes in somewhat unfinished form to close out his end of the bargain to get a quick exit from the company. SLEEP DIRT was cobbled together from some of those tapes and was, with the exception of a few seconds of studio chatter an entirely INSTRUMENTAL album! Now, this blew my circuits at the time and helped to elicit the burning question:
“If Frank Zappa had such a great sense of humor, how could he possibly put out a whole album without a single “funny” moment on it?”
I felt cheated, but more than that I was just floored over what I saw as a total WASTE of good comedic talent! I was looking for some great new swear words or crazy stories and Zappa just didn’t deliver. Then…..the second idea started to form which went something like this………
“There’s just NO WAY Frank Zappa couldn’t at least try to be funny somehow. If I could get laughs like that guy I’d never be able to resist the urge to go for it as often as possible! Wait a minute……maybe……MAYBE the humor is there after all. Maybe the humor is somehow…………… IN THE MUSIC!”
Desperate logic maybe, but that moment was the beginning of a new outlook. I started playing SLEEP DIRT again and lo and behold! I heard the humor indeed – it was there all along. It just wasn’t conveyed through lyrics and singing. Totally abstract thought process, but it’s the truth and it happened for me just that way. Over the years I would find out the truth about SLEEP DIRT. It wasn’t originally designed as an all-instrumental album (it’s actually one of the very few of these in Zappa’s catalog!). Zappa also had nothing to do with the cover art! Actually, the music on SLEEP DIRT was originally intended for a different project known as “Lather”, but that’s a whole other story I won’t go into here! When he got around to reissuing the SLEEP DIRT album on CD many years later, he actually added new vocals to some of the tracks (which he claimed was his original intention). I heard samples of this new version and steered clear. I didn’t want my memories tampered with. Not this time. SLEEP DIRT remains a watershed experience for me and it shall forever be in its vinyl form in my heart and mind. Plus, there’s some BURNING playing going on that I don’t want buried underneath some half-baked lyrics. Sorry Frank!
Over the many years I’ve remained a Zappa fan and my enthusiasm for the many facets of his career continues unabated. While most rock fans associate Zappa with rock and roll, his interest in modern composing and music is something that sets him apart from the typical rock crowd. Although he would die at a young age (only 52), he packed so much living and WORK into those years – there were always several side-projects going on at the same time - many of which remain unreleased even though he saw them to completion. In the 1980s he pioneered the use of a sampling / composing device known as the Synclavier. Compositions for this machine made their way onto a Grammy-winning record called "Jazz from Hell”. When he toured in 1988, he brought the darned thing on the road with the band. Amazing.
One of the sessions for that record was captured on video tape and reveals a facet of Zappa’s life few know about – the periodic “salon experiments” which consisted of informal concerts organized by Zappa at his house which were devoted to exploring uncharted musical territory. This territory could include new compositions from Zappa himself or historic “jam sessions” with some very disparate participants involved. For one of these events, the cameras were rolling and some blessed soul decided to leak it onto youtube. Here’s a great intro clip to give you a feel for what the longer clip shows: a jam session between the Celtic group “The Chieftains”, the Tuvula throat-singers from Mongolia, Johnny Guitar Watson (!) and Zappa himself.
Now, here’s a longer clip that shows a lot of what was essentially a recording session for “Civilization Phase Three”. In the longer clip you can see all sorts of characters including original Mother Motorhead Sherwood (who recently passed away as it happens……)! The recording session is more like a party at the Zappa house. The music is cultural-diffusion gone wild! It’s a bit tough to watch the whole clip in one shot, but toward the end there’s a fascinating discussion happening between the Mongolian throat singers and a Russian woman at a piano. They’re talking to each other in Russian and the Chieftains are standing around watching with looks on their faces like they’re DYING to know what the heck the others are talking about and SO AM I! The addition of Johnny “Guitar” Watson to the proceedings is just so cool, man. Look, this is the kind of party I want to go to in the Great Beyond so I’m going to have to try to be a good boy while I’m here on God’s grey golfball because I don’t want to miss this kind of action.
Now if all this wasn’t enough, I also stumbled upon another offbeat, yet totally amazing Zappa-related film created in 1991 that is a pro-shot and finished piece of work by a European film-maker. It’s part documentary and part art-film. And it has an unusual twist related to the rather obscure title of the documentary (which serves as the “secret word” in this case): PEEFEEYATKO. Now, if anyone reading this already knows the significance of this unusual term you won’t be surprised by the appearances of Ray Wallace in the film. For everybody else I won’t spoil the fun – the title / word reveals itself in a dramatic, guffaw-inducing segment about 3/4ths of the way through. Even after all these years, Zappa gets one over on me. Too funny!
Anyway, the real value of this film cannot be overstated: it is a rare peek into the inner sanctum of Zappa’s home studio environment during his love-affair with the Synclavier. Zappa gets to talk about his philosophy as a composer AT LENGTH and the monologues are nothing short of stupefying. Adding flavor to the mix, we also get to see and hear from none other than Pierre Boulez, Stockhausen and John Cage. One of my other favorite moments happens towards the end of the film when Zappa is riding in a limo on the way to a TV studio to do an appearance of some sort. He is asked by the film-maker if he likes to “walk around downtown Hollywood for fun”. Zappa’s response is caustic, funny and frighteningly prescient and relevant to……how shall I put this…..PREMONITIONS CONTINUING TO COME TRUE!
It is also worth noting that the film-maker’s suggestion that Zappa re-record his favorite Anton Webern pieces takes an interesting turn a few years later. The suggestion of such a project elicits a complicated reaction from Zappa that is clearly evident in the film – it’s a weird combination of both excitement and cynicism. You can tell Zappa is really tickled by the idea, but he doesn’t want to get too excited since he knows how unlikely it would be. Although he doesn’t undertake such a project with Webern as the subject, he DOES complete a recording project AND film doing this exact thing with the music of Edgard Varese! It’s not well-known (mainly because it’s still sitting in the Zappa vault), but Frank Zappa’s last project completed before his untimely passing in 1993 was titled “The Rage and The Fury” – a Zappa-directed performance by the Ensemble Modern of the music of Varese. It sure would be great to see and hear this and I hope the Zappa family sees fit to bless us with a release of this important and historic project.
Now, I can appreciate Chicago on some levels, but I am by no means a rabid fan. I can dig some of the jazz stylings even though sometimes the horn section tends to play in the “safety zone” a little too often. But this is supposed to be commercial music anyway – and that’s where Chicago really shines. Its those tracks that have what I call the “Chicago Magic”. These guys had an uncanny way of coming up with some truly awesome pop/rock material. Even if you’re not a true fan – could anyone really deny all the great tracks on Chicago’s Greatest Hits? You just don’t have soul if that stuff doesn’t hit you. But even beyond the hits, the early albums had some experimental and rockin’ moments. Actually, most Chicago albums featured extended 10-minute plus pieces with a few commercial pop songs sprinkled throughout. Part of the experience was finding out what well-known, radio hit was lurking amidst whichever progressive jazz-rock opus pocus was dominating the groove space on the platter. It remains a puzzling combination: were the hits there to lure the listener into the extended pieces or were those extended pieces just “filler” to pad out a double-LP with a few hit songs thrown in? I guess it depends on your point of view towards the more experimental tracks. If the results weren’t always compelling, at least they were trying to do something out of the ordinary. And for that I have to cut them a few points.
But by the 80s, Chicago lost a lot of edge in their music. Mainly due to the tragic death of guitarist Terry Kath – possibly THE most under-rated guitarist of the 70s (somewhere near Eddie Hazel from Funkadelic, but that’s for another entry!). The 80s Chicago was long on the Peter Cetera ballad and short on, how shall I say……BALLS? This was not a rock band anymore. I think we can appreciate the “what happened” concept, but this once-rockin’ group got tagged with a stigma of uncoolness by the 80s that hasn’t let go. Even the distinctive logo became a calling card for ……….. unrelenting MILDNESS.
Anyway, I’ve been grabbing some Chicago records on the cheap over the years. Got a nice original copy of the second album – have I played it very often? Nah…..but hey, like I said I really like those hits. And Terry Kath too so I’ll give ‘em a shot once in awhile. But these guys had a LOT of records – many of them double albums and that’s a lot of information to sift through for the admittedly casual fan. So I’ve kinda worked my way up through the numbers – skipping a few here and there…..it’s like this funny “Chicago Game” I like to play……..find the records used and see how they fit into the puzzle of their career. I’ll probably even end up buying the cheesy albums eventually ‘cause that’s what I like to do. Its no fun if all you ever hear is the best stuff from an artist. It’s refreshing to hear artists struggle with their art once in awhile – humanizes them because, hey – they’re only HUMAN after all.
So lesseee….I got Chicago I through III. I don’t have the live album. Then there’s V, VI and VII – all these albums had big hits on them and I don’t have those yet. In 1975, the group put out two records - VIII (a new album) and IX (the Greatest Hits album). VIII was the first new Chicago LP with no major hit singles on it. The Greatest Hits had, well, all the great songs on it. Which one do you think sold? No contest, right?
So I rescued a copy of VIII from the dollar bins last summer. It even had the cool iron-on decal and obligatory-by-now goofy poster stuck inside the cover. Since it was only a single-album release I figured it would be a quick listen and, never having heard it before, I gave it a spin. SURPRISE! This may be my favorite Chicago record ever! Chicago VIII is the sound of a hit-making group struggling to figure out their identity after establishing themselves on the charts for years, almost effortlessly. They’re really trying on this record, but ultimately the plot is lost. And they’re throwing in the kitchen sink here – every possible attempt to do something that captures “the magic” and ………it just doesn’t happen. In the meantime though Chicago covers some unlikely territory. The styles run the gamut. There’s even a song that sounds like a cross between Bachman-Turner Overdrive and Neil Young’s Crazy Horse. And, of all things, it’s a Peter Cetera song! It all revolves around a really basic bass-guitar riff that’s downright GRUNGY! I LOVE IT!! It almost sounds like a Kiss song – just not as (can’t believe I’m writing this…..) sophisticated? Unthinkable, but true!
Chicago VIII could be considered more of a Terry Kath record. He’s got some tunes on here that wouldn’t sound out of place on a Moby Grape album. In fact, if they’d hired the Moby Grape guys to sing backup on some cuts that would’ve cemented the coolness factor for sure. "Oh, Thank You Great Spirit” is a Terry Kath tribute to Jimi Hendrix – cooler still since Terry’s lead vocal sounds a lot like Richard Manuel of The Band! My God, if Terry Kath had lived he could have replaced both Robbie Robertson AND Richard Manuel in The Band if he’d wanted to! The mind boggles!
As it stands, this LP is a totally schizoid affair. It’s really saying something when the “hit single” was an unlikely ode to Harry Truman. Well, that must’ve gone over real well with their Japanese fans don’t you think? Though they might be stuck in identity-crisis mode they’re still rockin’. In some ways, it’s like the last hurrah. The next all-original LP would be X – the one that looks like a chocolate bar. The X album would feature the smash hit Peter Cetera ballad “If You Leave Me Now” – the song that would set the standard for that kind of material folks would expect from Chicago henceforth which would ultimately force Cetera out of the group and into a short-lived solo career.
So there’s a lot of reason to love Chicago VIII. There were no rules then. The album opens up with a BLUES SHUFFLE for God’s sake. Sadly, it would be the last time Chicago let their guard down and just let the music take them wherever it might lead. Within a few short years, Terry Kath would be gone and so too would Chicago’s right to call themselves a rock band. So if you see that lonely Chicago LP with the cardinal bird on the cover sitting in the dollar bin somewhere – grab it, take it home and marvel at a time when a major group could load up the 24 track analog tape machines, let them roll and play whatever came to mind. If it wasn’t immediately commercial – ah, no big deal. Just keep playin’ the music. At least it was an honest record – not contrived, but not forced-sounding either. Kinda like a garage band just getting together and tryin’ out some tunes. Only in the 70s could a group get away with a record like Chicago VIII. I can dig it!
By 1969, a group called Fleetwood Mac had been pounding stages across Europe for about two years. Started by guitarist Peter Green after serving an apprenticeship in John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers, the original Fleetwood Mac’s mission was to serve a diet of straight-up blues to British audiences eager to hear something authentic. In that regard, Fleetwood Mac delivered the goods – big time! Yet, just as Eric Clapton had done with Cream, Peter Green would navigate his own ship through more progressive waters beyond the blues lagoon. In September of 1969, the above record appeared as the group’s third official LP. THEN PLAY ON came in the wake of several chart-topping single releases that placed the group at the forefront of Europe’s rock scene at that time. Aside from these popular record releases, Fleetwood Mac earned a reputation as one of the most blistering live acts of the era. Witness the “Live at the Boston Tea Party” discs recorded in the USA in February of 1970 – the material from those shows offer a glimpse of what the band was capable of at their peak. Downright mindbending, in fact.
Yet, as 1970 wore on – Peter Green would lead the charge in a different way – he would abandon the group he founded due to personal problems with the other two guitarists following suit over the next few years. Green, in particular, would have to deal with the onset of legitimate mental health issues that undermined the momentum of a career once bent on superstardom. Though he remained active, Green would never quite recapture the spark and fire of his days leading the Fleetwood Mac. That September 1969 LP release would serve both as his undisputed progressive blues masterpiece and his swan-song to a former life. Even the front cover image reflects a sense of “leaving” and “loss” – the white horse is in full gallop with the naked man looking behind him with a slightly forlorn expression on his face. The orange leaves falling in the air around him reflect the changing of the seasons from summer to autumn. It’s a spooky visual – a near-premonition of Green’s own gallop into the winter of his tortured spirit that would soon follow the release of this record.
Now, you might say I could be reading a bit too much into the symbolism of the record cover here, but even one casual earful of the music itself quickly betrays an artist in turmoil. And considering what came AFTER this record, personally and artistically for Peter Green, it’s a story that ranks right up there with Brian Wilson’s SMILE / SMILEY SMILE drama. The last fully-realized track released from this edition of Fleetwood Mac with Green at the helm was the 45 “The Green Manalishi (With the Two-Pronged Crown)” – unleashed in May of 1970. On the Boston Tea Party tapes Green introduces this song with the casual statement “This is a song about the Devil”, although he has since maintained the song was equally a commentary about the evils of money. What it sounds like is an audio equivalent of a man struggling with personal demons – and not exactly winning, either!
THEN PLAY ON was the first album delivered to Warner / Reprise under a new contract the band had signed with a hopeful eye to the future. Although that future would look pretty shaky six months down the road, the move to Reprise was an obvious attempt to have a better presence in the American market – something that had eluded Fleetwood Mac up to that point. They were huge in Europe, but relatively unknown in America. The desire to make a splash in the United States would lead to some futzing around with the running order of tracks on the album. There are basically three vinyl versions of the album and one digital (CD) version – each with a slightly different order / inclusion of tracks. Somehow, despite the confusion, the record manages to retain its power and sense of artistic integrity. Whichever version you may prefer is up to you. Here’s the short version of the differences:
1. UK LP - 14 track LP
2. US LP #1 – 12 track LP (same as above minus 2 Danny Kirwan tunes that had already been released on the Epic Records compilation “English Rose”)
3. US LP #2 – 11 track LP – a few songs deleted from the above order, shuffled around slightly with the whole 2-sided single “Oh, Well” stuck in as one big track.
4. Universal CD – 13 track edition (includes everything but the two Kirwan tracks featured on the original UK LP and cut from all Warner/Reprise releases).
As it happens, my first encounter with this record was the US #2 LP version – the one with “Oh, Well”. I imagine this was the most well-known edition since the change to the running order happened pretty early on and remained the longest in-print. In a weird way, it happens to be my favorite version of the album. “Oh, Well” is such a strong track and does indeed fit in perfectly with the rest of the material on the album. As a 45 release it was split up into parts 1 and 2 – each quite distinct from the other: Part 1 being a pretty rocking, near-heavy metal rave up. Part 2 being – I kid not – classical chamber music. Trust me – it works and isn’t contrived or cheesy at all! Quite powerful stuff, in fact! In some ways the whole vibe of THEN PLAY ON is encapsulated by this one song – near-maniac heavy jamming on the one hand and heart-wrenching melancholy on the other. I really hesitate to even put this link up here since the sound is so awful, but here’s a u-toob version:
No matter where the thread of the music leads, the beginning and ending of all versions of the record are the same – with “Coming Your Way” as the leadoff track on Side One and “Before the Beginning” as the last track on Side Two. Where the listener is taken in between those two points depends on which version of the album you wound up with. There were two “Madge” jams – one “Fighting for Madge”, one “Searching for Madge”. These are instrumental detours away from some of the more serious and searching songs that seem to dominate the sonic landscape here. Songs about self-loathing / doubting show-biz performers, alienated men and women………..melancholy daydreams and inner-torment allsorts alike. Even in the jam segments, the dual lead-guitar pyrotechnics of Peter Green and Danny Kirwan are like shouting, screaming and pleading matches between the instruments to prove which is the more tortured……it’s brilliantly raw and scorching stuff with the thunderous pummeling from Mick Fleetwood’s drums and John McVie’s bass. California smooth-rock this AIN’T! (The un-cut studio jams have since been released on a 2-disc import set called “The Vaudeville Years” – for those who are familiar with the studio albums, hearing the raw takes is a revelation and a half!)
When Fleetwood Mac was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Mick Fleetwood quoted a line from Shakespeare that provided the inspiration for the title of this record. At the podium that night stood the well-known version of the band – Mick, John McVie, Christine McVie, Stevie Nicks, Lindsey Buckingham and some little gnarly looking old dude – who just happened to be THE Peter Green. In the world of rock music – Mick Fleetwood’s little gesture of including Green and reading that Shakespeare quote had to be one of the more touching moments I’ve witnessed connected to that much-maligned institution that is the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Equally inspiring is Peter Green’s return to regular guitar-duty over the last 20 years or so. The fact that he continues to make music in defiance of his illness is a testament to the triumph of the human spirit. The fact that he turned his struggles into timeless art with THEN PLAY ON is nothing short of a miracle. The fact that there are three different versions of this classic make for a record-collector’s dream. The fact that all three versions still maintain the integrity of the artists’ vision is absurdly unlikely.
Yet this album is merely ONE of the great things about that original Fleetwood Mac – scout out some stuff on the net – sample a few things, read some reviews – they’re usually laudatory for a REASON – the accolades are deserved. Fleetwood Mac Mark I still remains one of rock music’s best kept secrets – THEN PLAY ON, one of rock music’s least-recognized moments of pure genius! Grab a copy today!
US open-reel features the US #1 running order of tracks
Rare tri-color Spanish pressing. Features the US #2 running order, oddly enough!
Myth….myth…..there’s a bug in my soup – and it looks like a BEATLE! It took me a long time to understand / appreciate the concept of myth. I’m not the biggest fan of Yoko Ono, but I have to give her credit for helping me understand this idea. Many years ago I read a quote attributed to Yoko in which she described the Beatles as a myth – quite an astute observation, in fact. As a young person that idea baffled me because I thought myths had to be imaginary and the Beatles were a real group of people, of course. What I understand better now, and what I think Yoko was getting at, is how popular figures – be they politicians, musicians, sports figures - can capture the imaginations of masses of people. Imaginations with the ability to conjure up stories sometimes based in truth, sometimes not, which can inspire others to action. Sometimes positive action, sometimes not. In terms of popular culture, the Beatles managed to enter into that MYTH territory. To illustrate the Beatles-effect from an unusual perspective, consider checking out this documentary “How the Beatles Rocked the Kremlin”:
The book I read that Yoko quote in is this one: Beatles Forever by Nicholas Schaffner.
A real classic tome for Beatles freaks. This could be found pretty easily into the mid-1980s. One of the best things about it was the extensive discography. I knew about the differences between American and English pressings, but I had no idea how many different countries released their own versions of albums. One of my favorites was the infamous “Beatles in Italy” – what looked like a “live” album, but ended up being merely a collection of studio cuts designed specifically for the Italian market! Well into the 1980s, one could find plenty of these import LPs in record stores. It was good to have a resource that could clue you in on what these things were – and I’m glad I nabbed a few back in those days.
What especially held my fascination with that discography was the inclusion of the letters “OOP” next to certain entries. The letters standing for “Out Of Print”, in other words NOT AVAILABLE. Beatles records? Not available? Sure enough – there were indeed some titles that you just couldn’t find easily – at least not in MY neck of the woods. Some of those were understandable – like the naked John and Yoko album “Two Virgins”. But those OOP records became a challenge for me to find. When I started getting my hands on them over time I could see why they’d gone out of print. Experimental stuff like the John and Yoko records……….but one of those OOP deals became a favorite: George Harrison’s Wonderwall Music.
This was George Harrison’s first solo album, but he barely plays any instruments on it himself and there’s not a lot of vocalizing on it because it was movie soundtrack music. I have never seen the film, but I hear it’s bad (I just wonder if it’s one of those “so bad it’s good” kinda deals…..). Just as well for me since I’ve found the music on this record to be so fun and interesting I’ve had years to imagine what kind of movie theses little compositions could possibly go with. Considering the diversity of motifs, styles and vibes to be experienced on this album – it must be a pretty wacky film indeed! There’s a good amount of Indian music here. Some really beautifully recorded stuff. Some western sounding business……generic cowboy music………some psychedelic sound-collage stuff……..and one genuine rockin’ track featuring Eric Clapton (kinda short and sweet though……) called SKI-ING. The whole record is just one crazy grab-bag of tracks.
I found an imported copy of this LP many years ago and I must have played it a lot since it’s got some extra pops and clicks here and there (and I usually take really good care of my stuff!). It was issued on CD around the early 90s with a lot of the Apple catalog (Wonderwall Music has the distinction of being the first long-playing Apple Records release – well prior to the White Album in fact!). I wish I’d grabbed a copy then, because would you believe – OOP! Buggers!! So, I’m sorry to say – the only way to get to hear this record is to either seek out an expensive used copy, borrow one from a friend or wait until the Harrison Estate gets in gear and re-releases it. Personally, I’d love a Deluxe Edition – with the original MONO mix (I haven’t seen or heard this yet!) and maybe a nice 5.1 surround edition for kicks!
So here’s my plea to Olivia and Dhani Harrison: RE-RELEASE WONDERWALL PLEASE!!!! Cut and paste this message and send lots of emails to the George Harrison website. It’s a CRIME that this cool album is MIA. With any luck, we could see a new version of this – and when you get your copy, here’s my recommendation: go to the local convenience store and pick up a roll of these to munch on while you listen:
