What's Playing Now

[Fritz The Cat]

You will have to bury me with this one. I will not give this away. This voice is a non plus ultra. Hugh McCracken and Steve Cropper guitar. Joe Farrell alto sax. So many famous musicians!!! Look at the picture on inner fold cover: David plays a Gibson Flying V!!

[Fritz The Cat]

Late Punk. Sloppy work. Especially the vocals by Ray Davis are very weak. But after Punk the Kinks were the kings of sloppy rock music again. This is not one of the better albums by Kinks, but it's a kinky one. A hate-love. Nearly 35 years old album: they didn't give the people what they wanted...... I want it. Thanks to a thriftstore this summer. 5 SFr. A rare german "cut-out" because of suboptimal pressing.

[Fritz The Cat]

Does humour belong in music? Yessss: The intergalactic laxative. Listen to this song on track B2. Wonderful cover artwork by John Kosh. Cosy (sic!) Powell drums. Chris Spedding guitar. Very interesting: Chris Spedding did all the strings (??). Bobby Keyes (sic!) sax. Jim Horn alto sax. John "Rabbit" Bundick (sic!) piano. And hey, yes, Donovan (without any further writing errors) did the vocals and guitars and shurely knows to reproduce all the cosmic sounds of the universe. What else?

[Fritz The Cat]

Yes: beautiful melodies. A little bit too lightweight. Like the "Schlagersänger" in Germany in the seventies. I like it anyway. Life is not always serious, it has sometimes also beautiful hours: my wife loves it. It's a never ending song of love..... Look at the picture on back cover: the first time in pop music we see an instruction on a LP cover, how to use dental floss....I prefer another technique!

[Fritz The Cat]

Excellent 2 LP album by Don Nix and his all-star-show. He put together a great bunch of talent from all kinds of american musical background and took them on the road. Wayne Perkins guitar. It might best be compared to Nitty Gritty's "Will the circle be unbroken" (See one of my next posts) or Joe Cocker's "Mad Dogs and Englishmen" (see next posts) or the Volunteer Jams by Charlie Daniels (see next posts). It's Blues, Gospel, Country and Rock. Don Nix (ex Mar-Keys) produced it and contributed his vocals on side B,C and D. Recorded October 15, 1971 at Long Beach Civic Auditorium, Long Beach and October 17, 1971 at Pasadena Civic Auditorium, Pasadena, California. Side A is performed solo by 78 years old Blues musician Furry Lewis. This is great american music history! The price sticker on front cover tells me: in 1972 the price was 32 SFr. ("sticker removable"!!?). This week i found it in my favourite record store BRO Records in St. Gallen, Switzerland for 2 SFr.. Good german pressing with excellent live sound and good dynamics after having been washed.

[Fritz The Cat]

As the record label tells us: these are the United Artists! American music history. 36 tracks on 3 LPs. Perfectly made art work. Good german pressing with fine dynamics. Music forms a new circle..... Who is the bold soldier shown on front cover picture?

[Fritz The Cat]

Big Circus entertainment. And afterwards they (except some lawyers) were poor dogs & penniless men....
Recorded March 27/28, 1970 at the Fillmore East, New York. By Eddie Kramer and Glyn Johns. Leon Russell guitar. Chris Stainton piano and organ. One or two further more musicians seemed to be involved in this humble event. German pressing. Luxurious cover art as usual then. Not in the best condition anymore. 45 years old and many hours of having turned on various turntables and been played by some suspicious pickup needles.

[Fritz The Cat]

Recorded live January 8, 1977 and January 14, 1978 at Municipal Auditorium, Nashville, Tennessee. Very good recording techniques. Perfect mastering by George Marino at Sterling Sound, NY,NY. Wet Willie, Sea Level, Grinderswitch, Willie Nelson and Band, Marshall Tucker Band, Mylon LeFevre, Bonnie Bramlett, Papa John Creach and many furthermore musicians for the Jams. Good US pressing. Les Paul guitar festival....

[SpeakerLabFan]

Freddie Hubbard, Curtis Fuller, Yusef Lateef - Gettin' It Together
(1961, TCB) 60s or 70s reissue; G.K. in the deadwax, mastered by Gilbert Kong




a really nice sounding set or sets of early 60s hard bop

back after a week away from the turntable while I was getting some desert sun and some hiking near Palm Springs and Joshua Tree National Park. We had a great time scrambling and exploring canyons and caves with a guide on the first day, then more of the same on our own.
No rattlesnakes but we had some excitement when we noticed a large tarantula on the trail.

[SpeakerLabFan]

Freddie Hubbard - Backlash
(1967, Atlantic) Monarch pressing; gatefold cover




More nice sounding F. Hubbard hard bop.

[Fritz The Cat]

Freddie Hubbard - Backlash
(1967, Atlantic) Monarch pressing; gatefold cover




More nice sounding F. Hubbard hard bop.

Very good US pressing. Superb dynamics. Listen loud to track A3 "Little Sunflower"! Reissue 1985. Listen to the driving drums by Otis Ray Appleton on all tracks and to the hot percussion playing by Ray Baretto on tracks A1, A2, A3. Tom Dowd was one of the recording engineers at Atlantic Studios, New York in October 1966.

[SpeakerLabFan]

Captain Beyond - Sufficiently Breathless
(1973, Capricorn) -1C / -1C; STERLING in the deadwax




Nice, a combination of heavy and progressive with enough variety to keep things interesting.

[SpeakerLabFan]

Very good US pressing. Superb dynamics. Listen loud to track A3 "Little Sunflower"! Reissue 1985. Listen to the driving drums by Otis Ray Appleton on all tracks and to the hot percussion playing by Ray Baretto on tracks A1, A2, A3. Tom Dowd was one of the recording engineers at Atlantic Studios, New York in October 1966.

great stuff, Hubbard was overshadowed by Miles but I really like his 60s and early 70s work, even several of the CTI records that he did into the 70s before that label was overtaken by schmaltz and string arrangements.

[Fritz The Cat]

[QUOTE=SpeakerLabFan;359913]Freddie Hubbard - Polar AC
(1975, CTI) WLP/Promo


[/QUOTE

Ready for Freddie. Yessss you're right: too much sugar coating by orchestra. But at least we have George Benson playing on this one. Try to catch his tunes on track A3. And Jack DeJohnette. And Billy Cobham. And Lenny White. Hey you connoisseurs of the best drummer legends: on which track may you recognize anyone of them especially? On track B2 "Son of sky dive" there is not too much sugar coating. Was the white label made only for promo copies? Does anybody own a vinyl copy of the original soundtrack "The Pawnbroker" by Sidney Lumet (with Quincy Jones)?

[Fritz The Cat]

Captain Beyond - Sufficiently Breathless
(1973, Capricorn) -1C / -1C; STERLING in the deadwax




Nice, a combination of heavy and progressive with enough variety to keep things interesting.

What about the vocals of Rod Evans (Ex Deep Purple)?