CANTERBURY:
PIERRE MOERLEN'S GONG: Downwind CD
The recent death of the Gong drummer was another tragedy to hit the rock world, and it seems appropriate to pay tribute by featuring one of the more underrated albums from his own brew of the Gong mixture. This is a 5 instrumental, 2 song album of which the highlight is the twelve minute title track that features none other than Mike Oldfield on electric guitar on a track dominated by that and the drums of Moerlen plus the percussion of brother Benoit. Violinist Didier Lockwood, guitarist Mick Taylor and singer Steve Winwood, all put in guest appearances along the way, and while a lot of the album is quite laid back, it has a swing to it that keeps it fresh with some great playing by the core band and some sterling soloists, throughout.
PAU RIBA: Licors CD
Semi-legendary psychedelic-Canterbury crossover album from what is essentially a Spanish language answer to the Euterpe period of Gong's Daevid Allen, who also plays glissando guitars and sound collages on this album of songs that are in a similar vein.
SHORT WAVE: Live CD
A veritable Canterbury Music supergroup featuring Phil Miller & Pip Pyle of Hatfield & The North, Soft Machine & Isotope's Hugh Hopper on bass and Gong's Didier Malherbe on saxes and flute, recorded in immaculate quality at Jazz Festivals in France in October 1992. With instrumental tracks that see each member of the band get a compositional credit as the main instigator of the idea, you hear as tasty and magical a selection of pure "Canterbury" flavoured fusion as you'll hear, from relaxed to powerful, even slipping in a version of the old Matching Mole track 'Nan True's Hole' along the way, as, individually and collectively, four amazing musicians play jazz-rock with feeling and heart.
EURO-ROCK/CONTEMPORARY:
EILIFF: Close Encounter With Their Third One CD
Previously unreleased live album from 1972 and recorded in excellent stereo quality. For those that aren't aware of this band they were an instrumental quintet based around drums, electric bass, Hammond organ, saxophone and electric guitar, the guitarist being Houschang Nejadepour who would shortly move on to fill guitarist Ax Genrich's place in the legendary Krautrock band, Guru Guru. This album, though, opens with a near five minute excursion on the Hammond, before the band, in a hail of Hammond and drums, launches into the eighteen minute 'Girlrls' and onto a slice of pure early seventies prog-fusion that was almost unique to German jazz-rock at the time, the atmospheres, melodies and structures allied to improvisation that band like this could produce on such a stellar performance as this, nothing short of spellbinding. The sax, Hammond and guitar all get their chance to shine, and the music evokes everything from Soft Machine to The Nice, Colosseum to Collegium Musicum, outstanding in every way. With a further fifteen minute and a seven minute track to follow, this is manna from heaven for anyone into early seventies Kraut-fusion.
NO-NECK BLUES BAND: Intonomancy CD
For those that know the album, this opening couple of tracks on this new release have all the atmosphere and some of the structure of the seventies classic by Yatha Sidhra called 'Meditation Mass' only here given a contemporary makeover and featuring shoegazing guitars, seventies sounding Xhol style organ work, tinkling percussives, rolling echoed rhythms and lots more, as the whole thing gradually steers away from the incense-fuelled Sidhra style into a more eerie scenario as the rhythms and percussion flow along while all sorts of sounds, effects, textures and melodies are added on top, and the bleak blossoms out into the warmth of the sun as what sounds like echoed wah-wah guitars mix with twisted violin backdrops, exotic percussion layers and the whole thing starts to exude a feel of early Krautrock in a parallel universe, but still laid-back, chilled-out and totally absorbing - and all this one the eleven minute 'Play Your Play' with 8 more tracks still to come. As the album moves on, things become progressively more experimental and edgy, with the fourth track proving the most extreme if engaging example at four minutes of tinkling and general shuffling from a variety of percussion and effects, while the rest of the album becomes a heady brew of stark, edgy and percussive - all in all a bizarre series of soundworlds that will test the most open-minded of listeners.
POPOL VUH: Das Hohelied Salamos CD
There can be few more stirring opening tracks on any album let alone a Popol Vuh album, that matches the awe-inspiring, almost religiousm majesty and intensity that is the near five minute 'Steh Auf, zieh mich Dir nach'. Beginning with an almost Magma-like sea of drums and deep bass, immediately the soaring voice of Djonng Yun (a female) flies high, then the track opens up into a swirling sea of drums, bass, piano and electric guitar as the cyclical guitar lead rises up and rings out above a solid and texturally varied layer of drums and percussion, almost mantra-like, it intones you to prayer, and as the multi-tracked female chorus joins the fray, the pace and intensity changes as the piece moves into flowing, melodic mode, and it's almost like being in the middle of a spiritual Magma before the mood lightens once again and this gorgeous guitar lead snakes and weaves over Fricke's solid piano work and the heavenly choir that is Yun's wondrous voice, the whole track moving forward on waves of multi-tracked guitar only to fade to a conclusion - just awesome. After this, it comes as no surprise, and completely natural, that the four minute 'Du schonste der weiber' is altogether slower, more relaxed but no less wondrous, as the slowly flowing layers of melodic, ringing, chiming guitar leads soar above crashing cymbals and solid drums as the track gradually becomes more cosmic sounding, settling down to a beautifully slow and high-flying lead guitar solo above the percussion and deep bass, the guitars ringing out in bell-like celebration, the heavenly choir re-appearing at one end, Fricke's piano deep in the mix at the other - just gorgeous. The next 6 tracks last between one and a half and four minutes, the first focusing more on the heavenly voice and piano above the percussive sea, then another melodic track where the guitars and piano weave tunes in and out of one another, the guitars taking the lead while the piano acts almost as a bass line, as the vocal enters, then the track fades. The three minute 'In Den Nachten auf den Gassen II' accelerates the rhythm as what sounds like several lead guitars move in and out of each other, weaving a tapestry of leads above the ever present solid drums and percussion, as it all climbs higher and higher to perfection. The near four minute 'Der winter ist vorbei' takes things into a more Asian territory with tables and sitar providing the lead focus alongside the piano, distant crashing drums and percussion. As the snaking guitar, with the heavenly voice of Yun completes a most moving and solid musical painting in sound. Three more tracks of a similar nature then lead us onto the three previously unreleased tracks, between two and five minutes long, of which the sadly way too short 'In den Nachten auf den Gassen III' has a melody line to die for as the cyclical guitars swirl round and the fade making you cry out "nooooo" as you want so much more, but then the piano and percussion/drums track that is the stark but solid and somehow emotive 'Schon bist Du vor Menschensohnen' (alternative Session). Finally, the album ends as it should - just Fricke at the piano proving that he could play the simplest of melodies and make it sound like a life-changing experience - incredible!! Overall, a timeless album that will sound THIS good in 25 years, let alone now - you owe it to yourself to take this in and let it sink deep inside.
POPOL VUH: Letzte Tage - Letzte Nachte CD
The first thing you notice about the way this album begins is the sheer intensity of the sound - it's like a wave coming at you as the guitars are almost riffs as the soundpool of guitars, drums and percussion ride out majestically. The pace decelerates slightly and the intensity toned down a little on the four and half minute 'Oh Wie Nah ist der Weg hinab' with rippling piano lines supplementing the mighty drums and the multi-tracked chiming electric guitars, the whole thing ringing out in a joyous celebration of just being alive, as a guitar solo rises above it all and just shines like a light in the dark, rising up and taking your whole spirit with it - music rarely felt so good. The similar length following track is more of a mantra-like affair with chanting female vocal courtesy of the ever present Djong Yun as the whole mass of guitars, piano, drums, percussion rolls forth, onwards and upwards, to provide another swirling, crashing, solid soundpool that rise to great heights but unfolding so majestically at the same time, music so strong and yet so heart-warming. 'In Deine Hande' is a three minute east-meets-west slice of majestic Vuh music, again that intensity of production making the multi-layered sound, so strong as what feels like an ocean of guitars rings out like peeling Church bells, and the hairs stand up on the back of your neck as you literally feel its Presence, allowing the whole glorious thing to wash through you from head to foot - superb! The four minute 'Kyrie' starts with soaring chanting female vocal as the piano and acoustic guitars enter, deep bass appears to provide a solid foundation above which the main body of sound starts to form, as percussion slowly crashes in like waves upon the shore, the whole sonic spectrum flying majestically and religiously upwards to inspire and delight. After a brief Asiatic flavoured track it's onto the awesome heights of 'Dor ist der weg' where, over solid, rolling drums, the female voice just flies upwards as the guitars spiral, more guitars join the fray and the piano provides extra tonal coloration at the bottom of the heady mix. The title track features English lyrics, a surprise in itself, as the unmistakable voice of Amon Duul II's Remate Knaup sings the song with a passion that would make grown men weep, the whole musical panorama of guitars, piano, drums and bass rivers providing this swirling, flowing sonic expanse that opens out into a seriously and searingly gorgeous guitar solo, and, once more, when it fades you just want it to go on forever. The three previously unreleased bonus tracks, 1 at two and a half minutes and 2 at six minutes are all in keeping with the musical journey that is this album, only the last track chimes a mantra of rolling drums, guitars, percussion and, for once, a male vocal that chants briefly before the whole thing becomes this gorgeously solid flowing mass of melody as the guitars chime, more lead guitars rings out, the cymbals splash upon the shore, the drums roll on forever and the piano provides the texture - all combining to make a great album into something that goes beyond that and then some - mere words just don't do this justice. You could find (your) God on this album!
POPOL VUH: Coeur De Verre CD
It's obviously Popol Vuh - but it's also obviously a soundtrack, for here the atmosphere is wholly different from their normal output. There is still a strong sense of the spiritual which pervades everything Fricke does, but here there is extra thought that has gone into providing a music that befits the film and yet sounds positively wondrous apart from it. The eight minute 'Engel Der Gegenwart' that opens the album, is an almost slow-motion slice of Vuh magic, starting off almost starkly with guitars and keys and flute, before gradually it settles down to a more typical sea of melodic guitars, keys and percussion, only without the intensity of production and the rolling drums that were so prevalent on previous albums, a deep sea of bass providing the foundations as the guitar lead spirals over the chiming rhythm guitars that take the centre of the mix, all quite sublime but also quite ethereal for such solid music. The next track however, returns to former glories, although once again with the drums and percussion buried right at the bottom of the mix, as the now anthemic guitars and keys ring out above the river of rhythm that slowly and inexorably flows underneath, but it's so beautiful as to be almost breathtaking. 'Das Lied von den hohen Bergen' is led by sitar and tables and becomes a new friend to the familiar, in keeping with the sound and feel of both album and band, but a new and somehow almost unsettling arrival - the nervousness of the unknown, but you realise that it will become a friend you learn to cherish. The four minute 'Huter der Schwelle' is classic Vuh - solid drums, crashing, tinkling percussion, guitars that ring out majestically and in crystalline fashion while the sonic whirpool of sound from more guitars, bass and piano forms this intense core of sound around which everything else revolves - just superb! Three further, similar sounding, tracks do not disappoint as the album sails its course and wins your favours completely. Of the two previously unreleased tracks, the second is a near five minute slice of acoustic guitars that chimes away over a similarly sounding electric guitar melody that runs alongside, the whole thing just guitars, while the first one is a typically joyous slice of guitars-led Vuh magic. Overall, a highly underrated album and an essential part of the band's repertoire.
POPOL VUH (and others): Fitzcarraldo OST CD
This is NOT a Popol Vuh album - it's also not got any bonus tracks, and, of the forty-seven minute running time, only features 4 tracks and twelve and a half minutes of Vuh music. But, especially if you know the unique and incredible work that is this film, the whole soundtrack does make sense to the Vuh fan - as well as the majestic music of the band, you will hear the legendary opera singer Caruso, a typically operatic diva doing a scene from'Ernani', a piece of music from Strauss that's just beautiful with its violin magic, short one minute tracks that feature Burundi drums or brass or similar, a scratchy slice of old-operatic-style singing from Manon/Verdi that takes me back to heady nights in Paris back in the seventies when you'd hear music like this coming out of the apartments on balmy summer evenings, more operatic singing that takes me back to days when my parents were still around, and so much more - if you have lived, if you have felt emotion, and if you have seen the film (which, incidentally, I haven't!!), this all makes perfect sense. Open your mind and discover.
POPOL VUH: Die Nacht Der Seele CD
The last Vuh album of the seventies that opened up on a seriously dark note with just deep chanting vocal above equally deep bass and crunching, slow drums, only to open out onto track two in a gorgeous melody of oboe, bass, slowly splashing cymbals and ethereal piano. Apart from the last of the bonus tracks, all the rest last between two and five minutes, and the result is one of the most varied albums that you've heard from this band to date - hardly any track is similar to another and several take the Vuh magic into wholly different territories, sometimes dark and brooding, sometimes just drums, occasionally more acoustic than electric and, overall, one of the most ethereal and spacious albums to date - hardly any intensity to be found in a world where notes and chords hang suspended, where everything feels relaxed and almost slow-motion, occasionally the glimpses of what made the band such a heady force several years back, shining through. But, it's still a great album - a change of style possibly reflecting the imminent end of a decade and he start of a new one - as the compositions give you pause for thought and maybe even shed an internal tear as you realise that a musical era may be coming to an end, but if you listen carefully and take it all in, you will discover, not an end, but a new beginning. Four previously unreleased bonus tracks carry on the realms of the varied and the unfamiliar, as three short tracks arrive and leave, before the album ends on a ten minute 'In Garten der Ruhe' (piano session version) that is simply Fricke at the piano and a piece of playing that is inspiring in its simplicity, magical in its emotion and spellbinding in its effect - in many ways, the sum of what makes all Vuh music so timeless and unique in every way.
PSEU: Pseu CD
New French septet that includes two electric bassists and two keyboards players alongside electric guitarist, drummer and vocalist - and to say that they are influence by Magma is putting it mildly. They have Magma oozing out of every pore, with erupting, supremely solid electric bass playing throughout, while the drums are suitably solid and kept tight, in keeping with the bass thunder that continues uninterrupted. Across tracks from three to twelve minutes long, there are many times where, without knowing, you could swear you'd walked into some lost Magma or Weidorje album - yes, it really is that close. With the tasty keyboards and chiming, occasionally searing electric guitar providing extra coloration and melodic qualities, it remains the domain of the rhythm section to provide the meat - and provide it they do. With a consistency of composing, playing and producing that is a wonder to behold, this is an album that simply has to be bought by any fan of the "Zeuhl Music" spectrum.
GENERAL:
DEEP PURPLE: The Deep Purple Story DBLCD
As they say, a right mixed bag. This is a seriously bargain priced double CD that showcases a wide variety of activities, from the modern version of the band live in concert, through assorted collaborations and own groups, to guest appearances. So, you get tracks from Deep Purple (Including thirty three minutes of 'Concerto For Group And Orchestra'), plus Ian Gillan Band, Ian Gillan & Roger Glover, Nick Simper, Ian Gillan, Steve Morse Band, Jon Lord & Ian Paice, David Coverdale, Glen Hughes, Roger Glover, Wrahorse & Eddie Hardin.
JOHN MARTYN: Live In Nottingham 1976 CD
Mixing desk recording of a solo concert he gave in 1976 for the fanzine Liquorice - I still have some of those!! - and as an example of an early, many would say "vintage" period, Martyn concert, it's absolutely outstanding, for me better than the much heralded 'Live At Leeds' album. This is Martyn playing a blinder for an appreciative and enthusiastic audience, and every track is classic Martyn at work. There's even a previously unreleased barnstormer of a track called 'Dead On Arrival', a dedication to friend and guitarist Paul Kossoff who'd recently died, with a filthy, grungy guitar riff and echoplexed to hell while the suitably heartfelt lyrics are delivered with passion over the top, a song that oozes feeling and lament from every pore. Elsewhere, we move from delicate and gorgeous - all the usual faves, 'May You Never', 'Over The Hill', 'Solid Air', 'Bless The Weather' and more - to soaring excursions for echoplexed guitar that are the seminal 'Outside In' and 'Rather Be The Devil'. All told, it's just an outstanding performance and one of the finest archive Martyn albums in existence - simple as that.
PRIMARY 5: North Pole CD
Debut album from group that includes a guy who used to be in Teenage Fanclub and, across ten tracks and thirty minutes of songs, it's pretty darned good. Opening up with the distinctly Byrds-esque 'Comin' Home', there's a tingle that runs down your spine when you hear the harmony vocals and the jangly guitars, the gorgeous and purposeful arrangements on a song that is pure addiction right from the start - it's like coming back to an old friend once loved and from whom you've been away for far too long. 'I'll Lay You Down' carries on this vibe, this time with the lead vocal slightly more upfront, but the guitars and organ texture shining in the background as the harmonies climb and the song just flows. But then the strident tones of 'Mailman' come along and you're in heaven on a song that is pop and sixties and Byrds and Buttercup E and more all wrapped up in one amazingly wondrous package as the guitars, rhythm section, lead vocals, organ backdrop and vocal harmonies just fly to heights you'd long forgotten existed but are so welcome to hear once more - this is the sort of song that, if it was a single, you'd just be playing and playing and playing - genius in less than three minutes. The equally forceful passion, grace and fire of the fourth song 'Everybody Knows It Hurts' is simply breathtaking as the song and, by now, trademark arrangements, sound and vocals, just hit the spot dead on, this huge tidal wave of pure pop-Americana in the hands of writers that love it to bits, as yet another mini-anthem unfolds to jaw-dropping extent - and still you are absolutely in awe of the harmonies, the song and the guitars - stunning and, again, in less than three minutes, a slice of pure genius. 6 more songs are all just as hot - this is the best thirty minutes of song-writing and delivering in this sort of musical vein that I've heard in years - this band should be enormous - the songs are just incredible, the vocals and playing even more so. If you've ever liked the Byrds, the quality song-writing end of the sixties and early seventies, the purity of vocal harmonies, and sheer quality of songs that you can play to death without ever tiring of hearing them, then you have to get this album.
GUITAR MUSIC/GREAT GUITARISTS:
TODD GRUBBS: Beautiful Device CD
Back when I first began reviewing CD's for CD Services' "Guitar Music" portion of the mail-order, one of the first few unsigned musicians in the field of instrumental rock guitar, was this guy with a rather exciting CD called 'Combination'. Now, several years on, he's come back to wanting to produce a new album and this is the result. Right from the opening two tracks everything is just spot-on, as this huge-sounding blend of lurching rhythms, throbbing electric bass, swirling clavinet-like keys and rolling electric guitar work start to flow, and almost immediately, Grubbs launches a solo over the top that is melodic, double tracked (or is it split-stereo - well, I'm no technophile) but sounds just superb as this lead guitar soars then reverts back to a more riffing lead role as the track drives forward, the playing, production and arrangements all sounding crisp, clean, solid and expansive, as the musicians pack a lot into the composition. 'Time Phazer' gets even more fired up, this time with an express train rhythm that features some searing lead guitar on top, but just as it gets up a head of steam, it quickly fades into the metalli-funk of 'Inky Goes To Tampa' where, as on the whole album, the bass and drums sound just sensational up in the mix as keys fill in the distant backdrop and the guitar work is positively jaw-dropping, climbing higher and higher as the solos progress, the presence of an acoustic guitar chording in the right speaker adding that extra dimension to the sound, the track slowing down then becoming more anthemic as the organ texture adds to the fluid electric guitar lines on top of a strident rhythm section, the perfect mix of melody and atmosphere in a rock guitar instrumental setting. 'Ma La Vo Day' is altogether slower but no less a force to be reckoned with as the band once again sound so crisp, clean and solid, but full of latent power and dynamics, the fluid and passionate playing revealing a set of musicians who are clearly loving every note. This time for the first section the organ and guitars spar together before a red hot electric lead comes to the fore and the tracks rolls on. 'I Am Frebis' returns to rock with a vengeance as this magnificent sounding trio of electric guitar, bass and drums just powers in and the whole thing takes off like Jeff Beck on steroids, this massive combination of rhythm section and guitar, with an electrifying lead break, that literally makes the windows rattle if you turn it up loud enough - just sensational stuff. Six equally fine and class tracks show off the full quality of this ensemble and the sheer passion that they exude in their playing. It's quality rock rather than out and out metal, with plenty of melody, varied paces, changing arrangements as well as dynamic sensibility to the max, and rocking out, a bonus. Overall, nothing less than enjoyable and a fine, fine album.
TODD GRUBBS: Toddities Vol 1 CD
An album of instrumentals that are all previously unreleased and not because they weren't good enough for the albums that did get issued - far from it - it's just that, for one reason or another, they didn't fit. Which suits me just fine, because, if they had, we wouldn't have had such an amazing album as this to enjoy. The best bit is that the compositions conform to no one style, although all rock-based. To call this pure metal would be a wide of the mark as calling something like the classic early Steve Vai albums that, and it's that sort of quality which we're talking about here - even that sort of humour too. So, from start to finish, we're treated to 11 stunning tracks that range from searing heat to positively funky, all emblazoned with Grubbs' stunning, steaming and passionate guitar work. Covering a wide array of paces and moods, the band - for let's not forget that this is a band at work - graces everything with a cohesion that is so strong while allowing Grubbs the room on top to weave guitar solos that embody melody without ever being insipid or uninspiring. Just guitar-bass-drums, this is a faultless and quality set of tunes that can be played and enjoyed over and over without ever tiring of them, cliché-free, crisp, clear, powerful, emotive and, above all, serious air-guitar fun.
JIMI HENDRIX EXPERIENCE: Winterland Night DBLCD
The transition phase between the sets with shorter songs and the wild, open-ended jams that were to follow in a live setting, this immaculately recorded album is taken from several performances at the legendary Winterland Ballroom in USA during October '68. Featuring a complete cross-section of tracks, many of them already starting to be extended way beyond what was originally intended, and you'll find a selection of classic Hendrix songs that share the limelight with some startling and electrifying soloing, so much so that you can scarcely believe these emanate from 1968 - heck, there are guitarists playing NOW who don't sound this hot. Pointless to choose highlights - it's all one big highlight, but you'll find a rare outing for 'Manic Depression' with an incendiary mid-song solo, an early rendition of 'Sunshine Of Your Love' that gives Redding a share of the lead limelight as a fierce bass riff ensues, a thirteen minute 'Are You Experienced' that takes guitar soloing into a whole new dimension as the band go from supernova to supercool in the space of one gloriously evocative track, a supercharged 'Voodoo Chile (Slight Return)' and disc one ending with a thirteen minute 'Like A Rolling Stone'. With disc two featuring killer versions of 'Tax Free', 'Red House', 'Killing Floor' and ending with back to back hits from 'Foxy Lady' to 'Wild Thing', this a whole CD way greater than its component parts, a slice of rock history and one of the finest mid-period performances available on official release.
INDUSTRIAL:
AUTO AGGRESSION: Gerauschinformatik CD
The first half of the album is primarily electronic EBM, largely instrumental save some voice samples, and riding on this elephantine stampede of supercharged electronic and electro-percussive rhythms and beats, over which a whole ton of synth, electronic and string synth layers all fly to create this immensely heavy and yet gloriously high-flying sizzler of massive EBM proportions. A more sedate track along the way provides a calmer, more ambient respite before another headcharge comes along, But then the album sails into slightly more bizarre and calmer waters, as three of the last four tracks are altogether more serene, if that could be a word to use here, with stuttering rhythms, jazzy keyboards and scratched beats among the variety of twisted electronics and hushed female voice on 'Balken Und Schwarz-Weiss-Kontraste' before 'City Of I.C.E.' takes us on a trip through melodic synth chording aside of smooth female vocal, staccato electronic rhythms and choppy drum beats, almost like ambient drum 'n' bass - meets- industrial electronic - highly unusual, but it works. 'Blau' is another mind-melting barnstormer of a track with blistering beats, shredded electronic rhythms and Geiger-counter-like electronics on top, all very trancey-techno, with even massive waves of soaring strings before the rhythms finally power up and the whole thing just rushes headlong to demolish your skull. After this, the album could only end on a more subdued note - but even here, the electronic rhythms and sequenced beats become ever more twisted and then suddenly disappear to leave this echoed ocean of synth washes before the twisted rhythms reappear on top and the bizarre soundscape ends the album.
