A SALUTE TO THE THIN WHITE DUKE.
A SALUTE TO THE THIN WHITE DUKE.
Over the last year, Cleopatra Records have released a series of “Tribute To” compilations. These Tribute To compilations see a new generation of up-and-coming artists homage to rock, psychedelic and pop royalty.
Everyone from Pink Floyd and The Doors, through The Rolling Stones and Creedence Clearwater Revival, to Black Sabbath, The Beatles and Judy Collins have had their music reinvented by a new generation of artists. Some of these Tributes have a twist.
There have been be Psyched Out or Stoner Tributes. One thing they all have in common, is they bring new meaning to familiar songs. That’s been the case since the first instalment in the series. Since then, each new instalment in this series has been eagerly awaited.
Part of the fun, is wondering who Cleopatra Records will pay tribute to next. The answer to that is The Thin White Duke, David Bowie. A Salute To The Thin White Duke will be released on CD and vinyl be Cleopatra Records on 13th November 2015. It sees sixteen up-and-coming artists give A Salute To The Thin White Duke.
Among the sixteen groups paying tribute to David Bowie on A Salute To The Thin White Duke, are Rogue Wave, Dum Dum Girls, The Deer Tracks, Magic Wands, Heartless Bastards, Ume, The Vacant Lot, Coves and The Muffs. Each of these artists rework a David Bowie song. They’re a real eclectic selection.
Some of the songs on A Salute To The Thin White Duke, are among David Bowie’s finest. This includes Heroes, Changes, Suffragette City, Fame, Star Man, Rebel Rebel and John, I’m Only Dancing. There’s a few classics amongst that lot. Then there’s Ashes To Ashes and Modern Love, from David Bowie’s, early-eighties renaissance period. However, other tracks are far from the most obvious choices.
Which band, when asked which David Bowie track they wanted to cover, would come up with Moonage Daydream, Letter to Hermione, Blue Jean, Cat People (Putting Out Fire) and Absolute Beginners? The answer to that is Boy Hits Car, Dum Dum Girls, Electric Six, Magic Wands and Coves. Each of these bands try to revitalise what was far from David Bowies finest hour. Maybe that’ll be able to breath new life into these tracks? That will become clear, when when I pick highlights of A Salute To The Thin White Duke.
Originally, Modern Love was a track from David Bowie’s 1983 album Let’s Dance. It reached number one in Britain and number four in the US Billboard 200. This resulted in Let’s Dance being certified platinum in Britain and five time platinum in America. When Modern Love was released as a single it reached number two in Britain and number fourteen in the US Billboard 100. For David Bowie, this resulted in a silver disc Britain and a gold disc in America. The Let’s Dance success story continued.
Thirty-one years later, Rogue Wave’s cover of Modern Love opens A Salute To The Thin White Duke. The Oakland based band transform the track into an eight minute, moody indie rock epic. It’s very different from the original, and reinvents a familiar song. If the rest of A Salute To The Thin White Duke is as good as Rogue Wave’s cover of Modern Love, it’s going to be a compilation to remember.
When asked what David Bowie song The Tulips wanted to cover, they chose Heroes. It’s the title-track to the second in David Bowie’s Berlin Trilogy. When Heroes was released on 24th October 1977, it reached number three in Britain and thirty-five in the US Billboard 200. However, when Heroes was released as a single, it reached just twenty-four in Britain. Despite that, it’s now regarded as a Bowie classic.
That’s why The Tulips chose to cover Heroes. However, it’s not easy to cover a classic. Shat The Tulips do, is create a haunting, ethereal and understated cover of Heroes. It’s nothing like the original, and transforms the song into something The Thin White Duke never imagined. So good is The Tulips cover, that it’s one of the highlight of A Salute To The Thin White Duke.
For A Salute To The Thin White Duke, The Deer Tracks cover Starman, a track from The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust and The Spiders From Mars. It was released in 1972, reaching number five in Britain and just seventy-five in the US Billboard 200. Despite this, The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust and The Spiders From Mars was certified platinum in Britain and gold in America. When Starman was released as a single, it reached number ten in Britain and a lowly sixty-five in the US Billboard 100. Forty-three years later, and Starman is one of David Bowie’s most popular singles from the early seventies.
The Deer Tracks didn’t set about remaking the original. It reminds me of Bjork, before the track takes on a slow, dreamy, lysergic and mesmeric sound. It’s indie pop with a hint of psychedelia. Incredibly, The Tulips who are from the MacArthur Park area of downtown L.A., are still unsigned. Some record company should give this truly talented band a contract. If they don’t someone else will.
In 1974, the glam rock era was well underway. That year, David Bowie released Diamond Dogs, which featured Rebel Rebel. When Rebel Rebel was released as a single, it reached number five in Britain and sixty-four in the US Billboard 100. However, Diamond Dogs became David Bowie’s most successful album. Not only did it give him his third consecutive number one in Britain, but reached number five in the US Billboard 200. This resulted in David Bowie receiving gold discs on both sides of the Atlantic. Rebel Rebel, one of the singles from Diamond Dogs is covered by one of the veterans of the Tribute To series, The KVB.
The KVB give Rebel Rebel a hypnotic, haunting sound. Rebel Rebel has been reinvented. So much so, that it bears no resemblance to the original. That’s as it should be. Here, The KVB have used their imagination to reinvent the track. They fuse elements post rock, psychedelia, indie rock and electronica, with the sound of Berlin circa 1977. The end result is a track The Thin White Duke would be proud of.
David Bowie released The Jean Genie as a single in 1972. It reached number two in Britain and number seventy-one in the US Billboard 100. Then on 13th April 1973, David Bowie released Aladdin Sane album, The Jean Genie was the penultimate track on side two. Aladdin Sane reached number one in Britain, and number seventeen in the US Billboard 200. This resulted in gold discs on both sides of the Atlantic for David Bowie. However, the song that started it off, was The Jean Genie, which is given a makeover by the Heartless Bastards.
For those who have still to discover the Heartless Bastards, they’re from Austin, Texas. They released their new album Restless Ones in June 2015. It’s the fifth album from The Heartless Bastards. Their cover of The Jean Genie is sure to have you looking for a copy of Restless Ones. They’ve been described as indie rockers and an old fashioned rock ’n’ roll band. That’s apparent on their blistering, swaggering take on The Jean Genie.
Another L.A. band is The Vacant Lots. However, the two members of The Vacant Lots, Jared Artaud and Brian MacFadyen are based in New York. They’ve contributed a cover of Fame to A Salute To The Thin White Duke. Fame was a track from David Bowie’s 1975 album Young Americans. It reached number two in Britain and number nine in the US Billboard 200. This resulted in a silver disc in Britain, and a gold disc in America. That wasn’t the end of the success. When Fame was released as a single, it reached number seventeen in Britain and number one in the US Billboard 100. Forty years later, The Vacant Lots cover Fame, as they too, search for fame and fortune.
The Vacant Lots cover is a captivating fusion of rock and electro. Just like the other bands on A Salute To The Thin White Duke, they’re determined to make their mark on the song. This is no slavish remake. Far from it. Instead, The Vacant Lots give the original a welcome, moderne twist, and in the process, pay tribute to The Thin White Duke.
It’s hard to believe that it was in that David Bowie released Space Oddity as a single in 1969. It reached number five in Britain. Then on 4th November 1969, David Bowie released his sophomore album Space Oddity. While it reached seventeen in Britain, Space Oddity reached number sixteen in the in the US Billboard 200. However, in Britain Space Oddity was certified silver and was the first of many discs David Bowie received. Kittie however, are still awaiting their first disc.
They’re a a talented Canadian metal band, who were formed in London, Ontario in 1996. Since then, they’ve released six albums. For A Salute To The Thin White Duke they unleash a blistering, rocky take on Space Oddity. Kittie stay true to the original, before kicking loose and showing why they’re regarded as one of North America’s best metal bands.
Anyone who had the misfortune to see the film Absolute Beginners had paid to see what was without doubt, one of the worst films of 1986. Twenty-nine years later, I still feel director Julian Temple owes me a refund. Just as bad, was the soundtrack to the film. David Bowie’s contribution Absolute Beginners was a far cry from his seventies heyday.
It was slightly better than Peace On Earth and his dreadful duet with Mick Jagger, Dancing In The Streets. Incredibly, Absolute Beginners reached number two in Britain and was certified silver. Across the Atlantic, Absolute Beginners only reached fifty-three in the US Billboard 100. Given that Absolute Beginners wasn’t David Bowie’s finest hour, I was surprised anyone chose to cover it. However, step forward Coves.
Incredibly, the Coves moody, lysergic cover of Absolute Beginners works. Elements of indie rock, psychedelia and even a hint of shoegaze are combined by Coves. They do the impossible, and transform Absolute Beginners, into a track that’s much better than the original. For that I salute them.
Closing A Salute To The Thin White Duke is a The Muffs cover Changes. It’s a track from Hunky Dory, which was released in 1971. Hunky Dory reached number three in Britain, and was certified platinum. In America, Hunky Dory stalled at ninety-three in the US Billboard 200. Then when Changes was released as a single in 1972, but stalled at number sixty-six in the US Billboard 100. Despite that, Changes has featured on numerous Greatest Hits and Best Of albums. Maybe that’s where The Muffs heard Changes?
The Muffs arent a new band. They’ve been around since 1991. Fronted by Kim Shattuck, who was a member of The Pixes, The Muffs deliver a feisty version of Changes. They fuse elements of indie pop and garage rock. This is a cover the The Thin White Duke would approve of, and bookends Salute To The Thin White Duke perfectly.
Although I’ve only mentioned some of the tracks on A Salute To The Thin White Duke, there’s nothing wrong with the rest of tracks. They’re an interesting and eclectic selection of tracks from David Bowie’s back-catalogue.
Classics, old favourites and even some unlikely candidates are combined on A Salute To The Thin White Duke, which will be released by Cleopatra Records on 13th November 2015. Whether you’re a David Bowie fan, or just someone interested in discovering new bands, it’s well worth adding A Salute To The Thin White Duke to your collection. It’s available on CD and LP, and is a fitting addition to Cleopatra Records’ series of “Tribute To” compilations. These Tribute To compilations see a new generation of up-and-coming artists homage to rock, psychedelic and pop royalty.
Everyone from Pink Floyd and The Doors, through The Rolling Stones and Creedence Clearwater Revival, to Black Sabbath, The Beatles and Judy Collins. Each of these artists are musical royalty. So is David Bowie, who the latest generation of band pay a fitting tribute to on A Salute To The Thin White Duke.
A SALUTE TO THE THIN WHITE DUKE.
JON SAVAGE’S 1966: THE YEAR THE DECADE EXPLODED.
JON SAVAGE’S 1966: THE YEAR THE DECADE EXPLODED.
It was the best of times, it was the worst of time. That’s the best way to describe 1966, which musical historians and cultural commentators remember as the year that transformed music. 1966 was a game-changer. Nothing would ever be the same again. Jon Savage explains why in his forthcoming book 1966: The Year the Decade Exploded, which will be released by Faber and Faber on the 19th November 2015. To compliment his book, Jon has compiled a double album. This forty-eight track compilation Jon Savage’s 1966: The Year the Decade Exploded was recently released by Ace Records. It features an eclectic selection of the music that made 1966 such an influential and important one.
From folk, rock, pop and psychedelia, to soul and funk, Jon Savage’s 1966: The Year the Decade Exploded is a truly eclectic compilation. It’s representative of 1966. There’s contributions from innovators like The Association, The Velvet Underground, The Seeds, Freaks of Nature and The Thirteenth Floor Elevators, Love and The Human Expression. Rock royalty The Who and The Yarbirds feature on 1966: The Year the Decade Exploded. So does a young David Bowie, who was just beginning his journey to stardom. Folk singer Tim Hardin’s Hang On To A Dream which provided a hopeful anthem to this new beginning. However, there were plenty of familiar faces still in the charts during 1966.
While 1966 was a new beginning, with new musical genres making their presence felt, soul was still popular in some quarters. Otis Redding, Wilson Pickett, The Four Topes, James Brown and The Supremes all enjoyed commercial success during 1966. It seemed this latest generation of music lovers had much more eclectic tastes than their parents and grandparents. They were much more willing to try new things. An opportunity arose early in 1966 to try something new.
As 1966 dawned, across San Francisco, posters were put up. They asked Can You Pass The Test? The curious and adventurous made their way to the Trips Festival at San Francisco’s Longshoreman’s Hall on the 3rd of January 1966. This was where Ken Kesey and Stewart Brand conducted their three day Acid Test. As people dropped LSD, the Grateful Dead played against a backdrop of strobe lights. An estimated 10,000 turned up, tuned in and tripped out. They were the “lucky ones.” Each night, thousands were turned away. However, maybe the ones who were turned away were the lucky ones.
While many who took the Acid Test had life-enhancing or life-changing experiences, many others became acid casualties. They were damaged by LSD, and never fully recovered. For the rest of their lives, these acid casualties were a shadow of their former selves. Alexander “Skip” Spence and Syd Barrett would would soon become two of the highest profile acid casualties. However, in 1966 the Merry Pranksters took great delight at watching 6,000 people drink punch spiked with LSD. This was how 1966, the year that changed music began.
January.
Part of the soundtrack to the Acid Test could’ve included The Strangeloves’ Night Time. It was released on the 1st of January, just as the year dawned. It’s one of twenty-four tracks on disc one of 1966: The Year the Decade Exploded. 1966 started with an eclectic array of singles.
The Guys From Uncle released The Spy on 15th January. It was one of numerous instrumental singles inspired by films like the James Bond series, and The Man From Uncle television series. A week later, on 21st January, two very different singles were released.
Little By Little was Dusty Springfield’s eighth single, and featured what critics called a vocal masterclass. She combined pop and soul on the Buddy Kaye and Bob Verdi penned single. However, The Uglys’ single The Quiet Explosion was a much more sombre affair. They broached the subjects of nuclear devastation and famine. These were both subjects that were on people’s minds. It was a harrowing reminder of what could happen at a touch of a button. Music it seemed, was no longer about the throwaway pop and escapism.
February.
While many rock groups were determined to bring about change with their music, soul music was about escapism and having a good time.
The San Remo Golden Strings’ Festival Time on 5th February. Then on 11th January, James Brown and The Famous Flames released one I Got You (I Feel Good). Ray Sharpe With The King Curtis Orchestra then released Help Me (Get The Feeling) Part 1 on February 19th. Later that month, garage rock pioneer Link Wray released his take on the Batman Theme. However, one record released in February 1966 was a much more sombre affair.
The Monitors’ Greetings This Is Uncle Sam was released on the 24th February, just as the Vietnam War was worsening. This anti-war story featured the voice of the stereotypical drill sergeant, who would’ve put anyone off signing on the dotted line. However, from a sombre song full of social comment, a classic opened March 1966.
March.
4th March saw The Who release a stonewall classic, Substitute. Pete Townsend windmills his way through track, while Keith “The Loon” Moon, provides the heartbeat. Substitute was just the start of a month where rock classics rubbed shoulders with innovation.
The Association released their fusion of psychedelia and sunshine pop Here Comes Mary on 8th March. Then four days later, on the 12th March garage rock pioneers released one of their finest singles, Pushin’ Too Hard. On the flip side was Try To Understand, one of the most underrated songs in The Seeds’ back-catalogue. These two groundbreaking groups would make their mark on sixties music.
April.
So would one a band who were one of the leading lights of Los Angeles’ psychedelic scene, The Electric Prunes. They covered Roger and Terrye Tilson’s Ain’t It Hard. It was produced by Leon Russell, and released as their Reprise debut on 27th April. Aint’ It Hard was a tantalising taste of what one of pioneering bands of the psychedelic era were capable of.
May.
Just a few weeks later, another of the greatest psychedelic bands of the sixties released their debut single. This was the Houston based, The 13th Floor Elevators who released You’re Gonna Miss Me in May 1966. Roky Erickson and the rest of The 13th Floor Elevators endorsed the use of drugs, especially LSD. This would prove ironic.
By 1968, the effects of drugs were taking their toll on Roky Erickson. He had developed mental health problems, and doctors diagnosed that suffering from paranoid schizophrenia. Doctors prescribed ECT, against his wishes. A year later, and Roky Erickson was arrested in Houston. Police found him in possession of one Marijuana joint. Facing a mandatory ten year sentence, Roky Erickson plead insanity, and spent three years incarcerated in State Hospitals. Roky Erickson was yet another musical acid casualty. However, psychedelia was just part of the musical soundtrack to 1966.
Nothing Comes Easy was released on 12th May, as Sandie Shaw’s tenth single in just two years. It reached number fourteen in Britain, and in the process, tightened Sandie Shaw’s grip on the title of Britain’s top female pop vocalist. Sandie Shaw, it seemed, could do no wrong. Soon, that would the case with one of the most famous bands in the history of music, The Velvet Underground.
June.
Midway through 1966, the world were about to be introduced to The Velvet Underground, when they released I’ll Be Your Mirror as their debut single. It was penned by Lou Reed and David Lang, and released by Verve on 15th July. By then, The Velvet Underground had a residency at Andy Warhol’s 47th East Street Factory. There, they introduced audiences to their unique sound. The Velvet Underground fused art rock, experimental, folk rock, psychedelia and proto-punk. This sound would influence several generations of musicians, and is a fitting way to close disc one of 1966: The Year the Decade Exploded.
July.
Just as America was sweltering in ninety degree heatwave, The Loving Spoonful unleashed what many thought was the perfect soundtrack, Summer In The City. However, when people paid closer attention, Summer In The City spoke of riots and disturbance. It was tantamount to a call to arms. Released on 2nd July, it reached number one, and became a classic track. So did Lee Dorsey’s cover of Allen Toussaint’s Working In A Goldmine.
Produced by Allen Toussaint and Marshall E. Sehorn, Working In A Goldmine was released on the 8th July. It began to climb the charts, and eventually, reached number eight on both sides of the Atlantic. Since then, Working In A Goldmine has been synonymous by Lee Dorsey, and is seen as his finest hour. Meanwhile, another of the pioneers of the psychedelic scene’s recording career was just about to get underway.
Arthur Lee and the other members of Love, were a new name to most people. Not for long. Soon, Love were veering between garage rock, baroque, psychedelia and folk rock. They were an innovative group, who like The Velvet Underground, would influence several generations of musicians. That was the case from their debut single.
Love’s debut single was Seven And Seven Is. Released on 16th July, this Arthur Lee penned track eventually reached number thirty-three. It also featured on Love’s eponymous debut album. It’s now regarded as a classic, and showcased what Love were capable of. They would become one of the most important groups of the late-sixties,
August.
August was an eclectic month for record buyers. There was everything from soul to rock, and everything in between.
Otis Redding released I Cant’t Turn You Loose on 12th August. Then on the 18th July, The Four Tops released one of their biggest singles, Reach Out and I’ll Be There. It reached number one in Britain and America. As August drew to a close, the Mod’s favourites returned.
The Who were back with their new single I’m A Boy. It was released on 26th August, and told the story of a woman who dressed her son as a girl. This leads to confusion about his identity and eventually, self harm. Just like previous singles from The Who, I’m A Boy made its way to the top of the charts, reaching number two in Britain. Keith Moon, Roger Daltrey, John Entwistle and Pete Townsend were well on their way to becoming rock royalty.
September.
There’s only one track from September 1966 on Jon Savage’s 1966: The Year the Decade Exploded. That’s Come On Back by Paul and Ritchie and The Crying Shames. This was the B-Side to September In The Rain. It was produced by Joe Meek. While September In The Rain was throwaway pop, Come On Back has a much harder, rocky sound. It’s a hidden gem, and proved a fitting swan-song for Joe Meek, one of the most innovative producers of his generation. Another innovator about to make his mark in 1966, was Jimmy Page
October.
By October 1966, The Yarbirds line had changed. Bassist Paul Samwell-Smith had left in June. Not long after this, the remaining members of The Yarbirds realised their music was no longer relevant. So they brought onboard Jimmy Page.
At first, Jimmy Page played bass. Then he switched to guitar, his preferred weapon of choice. He makes his debut on the lysergic sounding Happenings Ten Years Time Ago. It was released on the 7th October, and reached number forty-three in Britain, and number thirty in America. For the revitalised lineup of The Yarbirds this was disappointing. Such an innovative record deserved a better fate. Meanwhile, The Supremes released the followup to You Can’t Hurry Love.
You Keep Me Hangin On was released on 12th October. Many people thought it would repeat the success of You Can’t Hurry Love. It looked as if that wasn’t going to happen when You Keep Me Hangin On entered at number sixty-eight in the US Billboard 100. This was a disappointment for the Holland–Dozier–Holland penned single. Then the American feminist movement got behind the single, and it reached number one in the US Billboard 100 in November 1966, and became The Supremes’ eighth number one single.
November.
With The Supremes climbing the charts, a new group was trying to make their presence felt in America, The Human Expression. They seemed to have been inspired by British Invasion groups like the Rolling Stones and The Yarbirds. That becomes apparent on their debut single, Love At Psychedelic Velocity. It was released in November 1968 on the Accent label. This was the first of three singles The Human Expression released. The following month, another new name was about to release a single, David Bowie.
December.
Unlike The Human Expression, David Bowie wasn’t a musical newcomer. Neither was Tim Hardin. They both released singles on the 2nd of December. David Bowie’s was Rubber Band.Tucked away om the flip side, was The London Boy’s, which was released on Deram. Meanwhile, on the other side of the Atlantic, Tim Hardin released Hang On To A Dream. This hopeful and poignant song seemed a perfect soundtrack to the start of a new musical era.
It began in 1966, and is documented on 1966: The Year the Decade Exploded, was recently released by Ace Records, as a double album. This forty-eight track compilation features a truly eclectic selection of the music, including some of the music that made 1966 such an influential and important one.
The story of 1966, and why it’s such an important and influential one is documented on Jon Savage’s book 1966: The Year the Decade Exploded. It will be released by Faber and Faber on the 19th November 2015. To compliment his book, Jon has compiled this double album. It’s a tantalising taste of the music that changed musical history forever
There’s folk, rock, pop and psychedelia, to soul and funk, 1966: The Year the Decade Exploded. Describing the compilation is almost an understatement. However, the music on Jon Savage’s 1966: The Year the Decade Exploded is representative of 1966. Innovators like The Association, The Velvet Underground, The Seeds, Freaks of Nature and The Thirteenth Floor Elevators, Love and The Human Expression rub shoulders with rock royalty The Who and The Yarbirds. A young David Bowie even makes an appearance. So do soulsters Otis Redding, The Four Tops and The Supremes. Then there’s two contributions from the self-styled ‘Godfather Of Funk,’ James Brown. However, Jon Savage’s 1966: The Year the Decade Exploded reaches a poignant conclusion with Tim Hardin’s Hang On To A Dream, which seems a fitting slogan for the new musical era, which was about to unfold.
JON SAVAGE’S 1966: THE YEAR THE DECADE EXPLODED.
GIRL ZONE-VINYL EDITION.
GIRL ZONE-VINYL EDITION.
Vinyl it seems, has made a Lazarus like recovery over the last few years. The sales figures for 2014 are proof of this.
In Britain, sales of vinyl albums are at their highest in eighteen years. It’s a similar story in America.
Sales of albums on vinyl rose by fifty-two percent. Meanwhile, sales of downloads, the supposed saviour of the modern music industry are down.
Downloads of albums fell by nine percent. Cheerleaders for downloads within the music industry will try to argue that’s because people aren’t buying albums any more. They’re wrong. Sales of downloads of songs fell by twelve percent. The problem is, the cheerleaders for downloads are in denial. No wonder. They’ve two reasons to be worried.
A few years ago, many small, independent labels bet the bank on downloads and streaming. Granted streaming’s popularity has increased by fifty-four percent in 2014. However, it’s a seriously flawed model.
The music industry didn’t understand the streaming model. Especially small, cash strapped independents. Many of these labels live a hand-to-mouth existence. Streaming offered them an extra revenue stream. For labels who were barely breaking even, it was a case of where do we sign? However, many of the people running these independent labels aren’t business people.
Far from it. Essentially fans at heart. That’s a recipe for disaster. Especially if they fail to read a contract carefully. This is something many labels failed to do. Instead, they happily signed contracts with the streaming companies. Then it was a case of trebles all round, and have a cigar. What the various label managers and owners didn’t realise, was how much, or rather, how little, they would be paid.
After a year it all became clear. For most independent labels, the money was negligible. It was a similar story at the majors. To their horror, the accountants realised that a million streams is only worth between $6,000 to $8,400. That’s if the streaming companies paid up. Some have been reluctant to pay what they were due. Record companies big and small, had backed the wrong horse.
Meanwhile, some independent labels were still flying the flag for vinyl. They released lovingly curated reissues of classic albums and compilations. These releases were released to an audience with an insatiable appetite for vinyl. They didn’t want lossy, compressed music. Instead, they wanted to hear the music as the artist intended. This was on vinyl.
That’s the case with the artists on Girl Zone, which was recently released on vinyl by Ace Records. It’s an addition to Ace Records’ Where The Girls Are series. However, it’s not the next instalment in the series.
Instead, Girl Zone is a musical amuse bouche, to whet the listener’s appetite for the next instalment in the Where The Girls Are series. However, Girl Zone gives no indication of the direction that the Where The Girls Are series is heading. It’s a collection of twelve eclectic tracks.
On Girl Zone, there’s contributions from The Angels, The Darlettes, The Teardrops, The Drake Sisters, The Fashionettes, The Charmaines and The Ikettes. There’s a total of twelve tracks on this slab of delicious 180 gram, heavyweight red lava vinyl.
The first of these is Reparata and The Delrons’ Panic. It opens side one of Girl Zone. Panic was the B-Side to Saturday Night Didn’t Happen. This was one of two singles Reparata and The Delrons released on Mala, an imprint of Bell Records in 1968. By then, Reparata and The Delrons’ were experienced campaigners.
Their recording career began in May 1964, when the Delrons released Your Big Mistake on the Laurie label. After becoming Reparata and The Delrons, they enjoyed success with When A Teenager Cries and Tommy. Four years later, several singles and an album later, Reparata and The Delrons’ lineup had changed. They were popular in Europe, where Bell Records released Saturday Night Didn’t Happen. Those that flipped over to Panic, discovered a melodic, stomper that’s the perfect way to open Girl Zone.
Louie Louie has been an oft-covered track. In 1964, The Angels decided to give the track a makeover for their fourth album, A Halo to You. For some reason, the track wasn’t released as a single. If it had been, it could’ve given The Angels a hit single. It’s a potent combination of garage rock, proto-punk and rock ’n’ roll. Since then, the track has become something of an cult classic.
In 1963, The Darlettes were about to record their sophomore single for Dunes Records. That’s when they came across Here She Comes, which had been penned by Ellie Greenwich and Jeff Barry. They were one of the hottest songwriting teams. So were Lieber and Stoller, who produced Here She Comes. With such a stellar lineup of songwriters and producers, many forecast great things for The Darlettes’ new single.
When Here She Comes was released, it wasn’t the commercial success many forecast. That’s despite its soulful, poppy sound. . For the Bronx-based trio, this was the end of road. After just two singles, The Darlettes’ recording career was over. However, they bowed out with a song that fifty-two years later, has stood the test of time, Here She Goes.
The Teardrops’ Here Comes Loneliness has been released by Ace Records before. That was back in 1993, as part of the Kent Anniversary Special. It was a welcome rerelease. That’s the case twenty-two years later, when Here Comes Loneliness makes a return on Girl Zone. With its Spector-esque arrangement, and vocals that are tinged with hurt and heartache, it’s good to hear this hidden gem once again.
Mousie and The Traps only ever released one single, It’s All In The Way (You Look At It Baby). The song was penned by Jim Holvay, and released on the Toddlin’ Town label in July 1968. Sadly, it was a familiar story. It’s All In The Way (You Look At It Baby) failed commercially, and Mousie and The Traps never recorded another single. That’s a pity, given the quality of this hook-laden dancer.
Another group that only released one singles was The Drake Sisters. The group consisted of identical triplets. Their only single was What Did You Do Last Night? It was released in 1964 on the Chattahoochee label. Tucked away on the B-Side was Smoke From Your Cigarette, a soul-searching ballad, with doo wop harmonies. It’s a poignant and beautiful way to close side one of Girl Zone.
Having flipped over to side two of Girl Zone, The Fashionettes’ sassy Losin’ Control bursts into life. Quickly, it takes on a Northern Soul sound. Losin’ Control was penned and produced by Gary Paxton and Dale Davis in 1964. However, it wasn’t until fifty forty years later, in 2004 that Losin’ Control was released as a single by Kent Select. Belatedly, Darlene McKinney and Josephine Rosborough was heard by the audience it deserves. Eleven years later, and Losin’ Control returns for an overdue encore.
By 1964, The Charmaines were signed to Ohio based Fraternity Records. It had been founded in 1954, by Harry Carlson. Since then, many people had passed through Fraternity Records’ doors. The Charmaines were the latest. They entered the studio with producer Carl Edmonson and covered Ike Turner’s I Idolize You. However, the song was never released until 2008, when it was released twice.
The first time I Idolize You was released, was on the Kent Soul compilation New Breed R&B With Added Popcorn. That wasn’t the end of story. I Idolize You was also released by on the A-Side of a limited edition single by Kent Soul. After forty-four years languishing in Fraternity Records’ vaults, this heart wrenching ballad had been released twice in one year.
In 1964, The Angelos were about the record their debut single. The song chosen was Bad Motorcycle (Wooden Wooden). On the B-Side was Backfield In Motion, which was written by Elzie Bynem. He was the brother of The Angelos’ lead singer Linda Martell. Later in 1964, Bad Motorcycle (Wooden Wooden) was released as a single on Tollie Records, and sunk without trace. On reflection, The Angelos had chosen the wrong song.
If Backfield In Motion had been chosen as the single things would’ve been different? It oozes quality, as Linda Martell accompanied by harmonies, brings this irresistible song to life. It’s a very welcome addition to Girl Zone, and the Where The Girls Are series.
Just like several groups on Girl Zone, Pat Powdrill and The Powerdrills Together Forever only ever released one single. However, what a single Together Forever was. It was penned by Barry White and Jack Stern. They’re responsible for a joyous paean which was released on the Downey label in 1967. Sadly, the single flopped, and there was no followup.
The Kavetts’ I’ve Got A Story To Tell You is one of the rarest records on the Northern Soul scene. If a copy comes up for sale, it will cost anything up to $325. I’ve Got A Story To Tell You was released on the Len-Dre label in 1963. Although the single failed commercially, it later became a favourite in the UK Northern Soul. Its addition on Girl Zone will be welcomed by many within the Northern Soul fraternity.
Closing side two of Girl Zone, is The Ikettes’ Camel Walk. Penned by Ike Turner, Camel Walk was the B-Side to The Ikettes’ 1964 single Nobody Loves Me. It was released on Modern. Those that flipped over to the B-Side found a storming version of the Camel Walk. It’s the perfect way to close Girl Zone, as it leaves the listener wanting more.
For those in need of their next fix of the Where The Girls Are series, then Girl Zone is just what they’ve been waiting for. This eclectic, twelve-track musical amuse bouche is sure to whet their appetite.
There’s contributions from The Angels, The Darlettes, The Teardrops, The Drake Sisters, The Fashionettes, The Charmaines and The Ikettes on Girl Zone. It was recently released on a slab of delicious 180 gram, heavyweight red lava vinyl. It’s like a work of art, and seems almost too good to play. However, having lowered the stylus onto the red lava vinyl, pop, soul and garage rock come blasting out of speakers. Suddenly, it’s the sixties again.
While the twelve tracks on Girl Zone are the biggest hits you’ll ever hear, you’ll surely want to hear them again. Compiler Mick Patrick has put together twelve tantalising tracks for Girl Zone, a delicious musical amuse bouche for fans hungry for the next instalment in the Where The Girls Are series.
GIRL ZONE-VINYL EDITION.
CHVRCHES-EVERY OPEN EYE-VINYL EDITION.
CHVRCHES-EVERY OPEN EYE-VINYL EDITION.
It was 10.30pm, when there was a knock at the door. The old couple from up the stairs stood there almost embarrassedly. “Could you possibly turn it down a wee bit. We’re trying to sleep?” This actually happened to Chvrches during the recording of their new album Every Open Eye which was recently released by Virgin on vinyl.
Chvrches were laying down some drum loops for a track on Every Open Eye. As often happens, there’s the temptation just to increase the volume slightly. Usually, that’s okay. Especially if it’s a luxurious, custom-built studio on the outskirts of town. However, that doesn’t describe Chvrches’ studio. It’s a basement flat, situated on the South side of Glasgow. To passers by, it’s just another Glasgow tenement. However, that’s not the case. Instead, it’s been Chvrches’ headquarters since they formed in 2011.
Their rented basement flat was where Chvrches recorded their debut album The Bones Of What You Believe. This was the album that transformed the fortunes of Lauren Mayberry, Ian Cook and Martin Doherty. It was released on 20th September 2013, and was hit Britain, America, Europe, Japan and Australasia. After selling over a million copies worldwide, Chvrches’ thoughts turned to recording their sophomore album.
Many who had charted the rise and rise of Chvrches, presumed that they would head off to one of the major studios. There’s plenty to choose from. How about Sunset Sound in Los Angeles or Electric Ladyland in New York. Closer to home Abbey Road is just a shuttle flight away. However, Chvrches chose to forsake the splendour and dare I say expensive of these legendary studios. Instead, they returned to their basement studio in the Southside of Glasgow. This was where the story began.
Ian Cook and Martin Doherty, who was a member of The Twilight Sad when they played live, were working on a new project. They needed someone to lay down some vocals. Neither Ian nor Martin saw themselves as lead vocalists. Ian suggested a singer he had encountered recently Lauren Mayberry.
They met came about when Ian was producing an E.P. for Blue Sky Archives in September 2011. Their lead singer was Lauren Mayberry. Ian had been impressed by her voice. It was only when Ian and Martin started discussing bringing onboard a vocalist, that he remembered the Blue Sky Archives singer. So, Ian told Martin about Lauren, and they decided to ask her to sing on one of their demos. A phone call was made and Lauren agreed to add a vocal to Ian and Martin’s demos.
Little did Lauren realize what she’d let herself in for. Ian and Martin it seems, are perfectionists. That proved to be no bad thing. They spent eight months in a basement studio, working on their new project. Eventually, it was finished. It had been such a success, they decided to transform this studio project into a live band, that became Chvrches.
The newly named band released its debut single in May 2012. Chvrches did this in an unusual way. People were able to download a free copy of their debut single Lies, via the Neon Gold label’s blog. This somewhat unorthodox release worked.
Soon, people were talking about Chvrches. They were fast becoming an internet sensation. Before long, the press and media were taking notice of Chvrches. One of the first publications to do so, were The Guardian. Quickly, others followed. Momentum was building. What helped was that Chvrches were a great live band.
Throughout the summer of 2012, were honing their live act. Quickly, word was spreading about this new Glasgow band. September 2012 it seemed, was the right time to release their sophomore single.
Chvrches found two free days in their increasingly hectic touring schedule. Somehow, they wrote and recorded The Mother We Share in just two days. Little did they know that these two days would transform their nascent career.
When The Mother We Share was released in September 2012, critics were falling over themselves to heap praise on Glasgow’s newest band. This classy and classic slice of glistening, ethereal electro-pop, had made an impression on critics. It would also make an impression on record buyers.
Across the world, The Mother We Share was introducing Chvrches’ music to a much wider audience. It reached thirty-eight in Britain, and was a hit in Belgium, Germany, Japan and most importantly for a new band, America. The Mother We Share had reached number twelve in the all important US Alternative charts. Things were looking good for Chvrches, and were about to get a whole lot better.
At the end of 2012, various blogs, magazines and radio stations publish their best of 2012 polls, Chvrches name loomed large. The NME, BBC and Huffington Post praised Lies and The Mother We Share. This new band had made a big impression. However, this was just the start of Lauren, Ian and Martin’s big musical adventure.
By February 2013, Chvrches were ready to release third single Recover. Just like The Mother We Share, Recover was released to widespread critical acclaim. Not only was it a hit in Britain, but in Australia, Belgium and Germany. With every release, Chvrches’ fan-base was growing. Every concert sold out and record buyers awaited the release of their debut album. So Chvrches got to work.
This meant time spent in their basement studio in the South side of Glasgow. That was where Ian wrote and recorded his music for films and television. Compared to many studios, Chvrches studio was almost minimalistic. There were just two synths, samplers, drum machines, guitars and bass. However, this was more than enough to record an album. Especially given Chvrches combined talents and determination. This wasn’t easy.
For much of the spring and summer of 2013, Chvrches had a busy touring schedule. So when they had time, they recorded their debut album The Bones Of What You Believe. Once it was completed, Chvrches headed back out on tour. There were still parts of the world where Chvrches’ gospel hadn’t been heard. Agnostics had to be transformed into believers. This was working.
In July 2013, Chvrches released their fourth single Gun. It was a tantalising taste of Chvrches’ debut album. Critics hailed Gun the finest single of their career. Record buyers agreed. Gun was a hit everywhere from Britain, to Belgium and Japan. Chvrches were on a roll. This was perfect timing for a band about to release their debut album.
Two years after Chvrches first recorded together, they released their debut album The Bones Of What You Believe on 23rd September 2013. It had been released to widespread critical acclaim. By then, Chvrches had had been on a coast to coast tour of America. Just like everywhere they had been, they had been winning friends and influencing people. This became obvious when The Bones Of What You Believe was released.
When The Bones Of What You Believe hit the shops, it reached number nine in Britain and five in Scotland. Across the Atlantic, The Bones Of What You Believe reached number twelve in the US Billboard 200 and topped the US Alternative charts. That wasn’t the end of the story.
Elsewhere, The Bones Of What You Believe was a hit in Australia, Canada, Germany, Holland, Ireland, Japan and New Zealand. Chvrches debut album had been a huge success. The icing on the cake was when The Bones Of What You Believe was certified gold in Britain. Chvrches were riding a roller coaster.
It was showing no sign of stopping. That was the case through much of 2014 and 2015. Chvrches seemed to have continually toured the world. They’ve undertaken coast-to-coast tours of America, before crossing the border to Canada. Then they’re off on their travels again. There’s been tours of Europe and concerts in Japan. That’s not forgetting the festival circuit.
Recently, Chvrches have been familiar faces at the biggest festivals in the worlds. Scotland’s finest have played at SXSW, Canadian Music Fest, The Great Escape, T in the Park, Electric Picnic, Reading and Leeds Festival and the V Festival. Despite this punishing touring schedule, Chvrches still found time to record their eagerly awaited sophomore album.
The recording of Every Open Eye began in January 2015. That was just six weeks after they had finished touring The Bones Of What You Believe. So Lauren, Ian and Martin returned to where it all began, the basement studio on the South-side of Glasgow.
They had decided that rather than move from their old studio, they would upgrade the equipment. Using some of the royalties from The Bones Of What You Believe some new synths were installed in the studio. This meant Chvrches were no longer having to rely on just two synths. Now they had banks of synths to deploy. While the synths were mainly for Ian and Martin, Lauren had a new room to record her vocals.
Next door to their studio, was another room. That studio was occupied by engineer David Simpson. Chvrches were needing anther room. So they made David an offer he couldn’t refuse. If he gave up his studio, Chvrches would employ him full-time. He accepted the offer, and proved invaluable over the next five months.
Much of David’s time was spent in his former studio. It had been given a makeover. A vocal booth was installed, and Lauren laid down her vocals. They were recorded by David Simpson. He was kept busy.
When the recording sessions began, Chvrches had written thirty demos. A total of twenty-one were recorded. The way Chvrches worked, was Ian, Martin and Lauren recorded a backing track. Then Lauren had to write the lyrics and record a vocal. It could’ve been very different.
Unsurprisingly, various people had offered to cowrite songs with Chvrches. Chvrches decided to continue to write the songs themselves. It had worked well so far. So for the next five months, Chvrches worked six hours a day, five days a week. They proved a potent partnership.
The three members of Chvrches are multi-talented, multi-instrumentalists. Ian played guitar, bass, synths and added vocals. Martin added synths, samplers and vocals. Lauren added lead vocals and played synths and samplers. After five months, the three members of Chvrches had written, recorded and produced Every Open Eye. It was then sent to mixer Mark “Spike” Stent. He applied the finishing touches to Every Open Eye.
Once Every Open Eye was mixed, it was scheduled for release on the 25th September 2015. This was fitting, as it was nearly two years to the day Chvrches had released their debut album The Bones Of What You Believe. A lot had happened since then. Not all of it pleasant.
Over the last year of so, Lauren had been threatened on social media. Vile and explicit threats were made against her. Although the other members of Chvrches put a protective cordon around Lauren, it must have been a difficult time for Lauren, and her family and friends. After all, how was she to know that these were idle threats? Something had to be done about this situation.
The last thing many people in this situation would’ve done, was expose and confront the perpetrators. However, they had picked the wrong lady to threaten. Lauren Mayberry is no shrinking violet. She exposed the threats on social media, and has spoken spoken and written about them. With all this going on in the background, writing, recording, producing and promoting Every Open Eye can’t have been easy.
Somehow, though, Lauren and the rest of Chvrches have managed to write, record and produce an album that won the approval of both critics and record buyers. Every Open Eye was far from the difficult second album. It was released to widespread critical acclaim, and commercial success. Every Open Eye reached number four in Britain, one in Scotland and number eight in the US Billboard 200. Elsewhere, Every Open Eye has reached the top twenty in Australia, Germany, Ireland and New Zealand. That’s despite Every Open Eye only being released a couple of weeks ago. Every Open Eye, which I’ll tell you about, looks like surpassing the success of The Bones Of What You Believe.
Never Ending Circles opens The Bones Of What You Believe. It’s the perfect way to start Chvrches’ sophomore album. Banks of the new acquired synths play a big part in the arrangement. A bass synth buzzes, while crystalline, chirping synths join rattling drums. They provide the backdrop for Lauren’s urgent vocal. It’s tinged with sadness and anger on this relationship song. Soon, her vocal is feisty, as ultimatums are issued. There’s a degree of uncertainly though: “cut off, I’ll go my way, if I’m going at all…I will try and find my feet and go.” Lauren’s vocal plays a starring role on this hook-laden, anthem. It’s sure to be a favourite of as Chvrches continue their never-ending tour.
Almost otherworldly synths open Leave A Trace. That’s until the buzzing, mesmeric synth and drums that crack usher in Lauren’s vocal. It’s full of emotion and anger. Soon, there’s relief in her vocal at the thought of leaving a failing relationship behind. By then, her vocal grows in power and passion, before reaching a crescendo. Then at the breakdown, the arrangement becomes wistful before this emotional, and sometimes ethereal sounding roller coaster sweeps you away.
Briefly, a vocoder makes its presence felt on Keep You On My Side. Then the arrangement explodes into life. Synths and drums propel the arrangement along. Atop the arrangement sits Lauren’s diva-esque vocal. She doesn’t so much sing the lyrics, but lives them. It’s as if she’s experienced them, and survived to tell the tale. By then, it’s obvious that this track’s been designed with the dance-floor in mind. Elements of electro-pop, Euro pop, Euro Disco and even trance-influenced synths are deployed by Chvrches. Together, they create a track that’s guaranteed to fill any dance-floor, anywhere.
Shimmering synths and thunderous, urgent drums are at the heart of the arrangement to Make Them Gold. That’s until Lauren joins the fray. She delivers a dreamy, joyous vocals. Behind her, the arrangement seems to have been influenced by electro-pop, Euro pop, Euro Disco, Hi-NRG and house. Again, it’s an anthemic dance-floor friendly track. It’s truly irresistible.
Briefly, the tempo drops on Clearest Blue. That’s until Lauren’s vocal enters. It’s pensive, melancholy and tinged with hurt and heartbreak. Behind her, banks of synths drive the pulsating arrangement along. Later, Lauren’s vocal is needy, as she sings: “so please say you’ll meet me, meet me half way.” Briefly, when the vocal drops out, Martin and Ian go through the gears. The tempo increases and there’s an injection of urgency. Stabs and jabs of synths punctuate the arrangement, before poignantly Lauren asks: “will you keep it, half-way?”
Crystalline, shimmering synths open High Enough To Carry You Over . They’re joined by drums and the vocal. Surprisingly, it’s not Lauren. It’s an eighties, yacht rock influenced vocal. That, by the way, isn’t a bad thing. Needy, rueful and tinged with sadness, the line “if I only hadn’t given you up” will be one that resonates with many people.
Lauren returnson Empty Threat. Her ethereal vocal seems to march to the beat of the drums. Gradually synths play a bigger part in the arrangement. As Lauren delivers a powerhouse of a vocal, the synths and drums match her every step of the way. She delivers a needy, desperate vocal. At the breakdown at 2.07 it sounds as if her vocal has been pitched up. This adds to the urgency and emotion. Especially as Lauren sings: “take it back with no regrets, I was better at your side.” From there, the arrangement rebuilds and the drama builds, before reaching arrangement swaggers to a crescendo.
Spacey sci-fi synths open Down Side Of Me, before Lauren’s dreamy vocal enters. Harmonies accompany her, as the arrangement to this ballad becomes floaty and dreamy. A very different side of Chvrches is unfolding. It suits them. Their trusty synths provide the perfect backdrop, veering between floaty and dreamy, to big, bold and sometimes, dramatic. It’s one of the highlights of Every Open Eye, and has single written all over it.
Filters are added to the chattering synths as Playing Dead unfolds. Briefly, the notes run into one another. In doing so, they’ve gotten your attention. So does Lauren’s delivery of: “no more excuses and no more playing dead, there are no silver linings in anything you said.” Her vocal is impassioned, defiant and powerful. Later, that defiance shines through as she sings: “you can tell me to go move and I won’t go.” Like the lyrics to others songs, the way they’re delivered seem personal. Aided and abetted by an arrangement that’s big, bold and not short of hooks, it’s Chvrches doing what they do best, delivering anthems.
Stabs of a bass synth open Bury It, before Lauren accompanied by a shimmering synth and drums begin in another journey into anthem territory. By then, emotion and power are being combined by Lauren. Chvrches aren’t a one woman band. Ian and Martin play their part. They lay down the synth lines and program the beats. They add occasional backing vocals, and knowing that a classy slice of electro-pop is unfolding, whoop in the distance. They’re like lottery winners as they realise they’ve just won the jackpot.
Afterglow closes Every Open Eye. It’s another ballad. Just slow, washes of synths accompany Lauren’s tender, ethereal and heartfelt vocal. The minimalist arrangement is the perfect accompaniment. Even when the vocal briefly drops out, Chvrches resist the temptation to overload the arrangement. Instead, it’s a case of more is less. This is perfect for Lauren’s beautiful, soul-baring vocal. It’s like a cathartic unburdening, as she cleanses herself of all the hurt and heartache. This had to be the final track on the album. Not only is it the best track on Every Open Eye, but it’s the most beautiful and poignant song Chvrches have written and recorded.
Chvrches set the bar high with their debut album The Bones Of What You Believe. Many critics felt it wasn’t going to be hard to surpass its quality. Oh ye have little faith.
With its mixture of anthems and heart wrenching ballads, Open Every Eye is almost flawless. From the opening bars of Never Ending Circles, right through to the closing notes of Afterglow, it’s a emotional and musical roller coaster. The music veers between anethemic, beautiful, dreamy, ethereal and joyous, to dramatic, haunting, poignant and rueful. Elements of Euro pop, Euro disco, Hi-NRG, house, and pop are combined with Chvrches’ unique brand of electro-pop. It’s music that tells a story.
Unlike so much modern day music, this isn’t throwaway pop. Lauren Mayberry is an intelligent and educated young woman. Her lyrics are bound to resonate with many people. They speak of heartbreak and hurt. Other times, hope and joy shines through. Sometimes there’s a poignancy and ruefulness. Occasionally there’s a defiance. Combined with hook-laden arrangements, it’s proved to be a potent and successful musical partnership.
Proof of this is Every Open Eye, an album full of dance-floor fillers, anthems and beautiful ballads. The five months Chvrcges spent recording Every Open Eye was five months well spent. Every Open Eye is a stunning album, and almost flawless album.
Undoubtably, Chvrches’ sophomore album feature heavily on the best of 2015 lists. It deserve to. Then when the awards for the best British album of 2015 are dished out, Glasgow’s talented trio Chvches are sure to be a contender with their triumphant return Every Open Eye.
CHVRCHES-EVERY OPEN EYE-VINYL EDITION.
LOVE AND AFFECTION-MORE MOTOWN GIRLS.
LOVE AND AFFECTION-MORE MOTOWN GIRLS.
For a generation, Motown was the label that provided the soundtrack to their youth. They fondly remembers singles by The Temptations, Gladys Knight, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Gladys Knight and Diana Ross. These singles bring back memories, of times, places and people. It’s escapism.
Suddenly, they’re transported back in time. Once again, they’re young and have their whole life in front of them. There’s hope, and a sense that anything is possible. Gone is the drudgery and reality of life. Then after three minutes, the spell is broken and reality sets in. However, for three minutes, their life was transformed. All because of music, music that was recorded fifty years ago.
After all, it was 1959 that Motown first opened its doors in Detroit. Little did Berry Gordy realise, that his nascent record company would become one of the biggest soul labels ever, and in the process, transform the lives of a generation. Motown was, for many, their introduction to soul music.
From there, they headed off on a voyage of discovery. Soon, they were discovering the delights of Southern Soul, Deep Soul, Philly Soul and even, Northern Soul. However, for many, their dalliances with Southern Soul and Deep Soul were mere indiscretions. They returned home to Motown, promising never to stray again. For those who have strayed, and those who have stayed true to the Motown sound, then Love and Affection-More Motown Girls will be a must have.
Love and Affection-More Motown Girls was recently released by Kent Soul, an imprint of Ace Records. It’s a twenty-five track compilation, featuring tracks recorded between 1962 and 1969. The majority of these tracks have never been released before. Twenty tracks make their debut on Love and Affection-More Motown Girls. This includes Brenda Holloway, Gladys Knight and The Pips, Barbara Randolph, Martha Reeves and The Vandellas, Debbie Dean, LaBrenda Ben and Barbara McNair. Many artists feature more than once. They return for an encore, picking up where they left off earlier. This includes Brenda Holloway.
She opens Love and Affection-More Motown Girls Reassure Me That You Love Me. It’s never been released before, and features a truly needy vocal. It was recorded in March 2015, not long after the backing track and strings were recorded. However, for whatever reason, Reassure Me That You Love Me was never released, and somewhat belatedly, makes a debut here.
Brenda Holloway’s other contribution Lonely Teardrops, was released in 2014. That was fifty years after Brenda recorded the song in 1964. It had been made famous by Jackie Wilson in 1962. However, Brenda’s delivery is dramatic and impassioned, and a reminder of her ability to make a song come to life.
During her time at Motown, Gladys Knight played second fiddle to Diana Ross. She seemed to get the best songs, and worked with the best songwriters and producers. This must have been frustrating for a truly talented artist. However, occasionally, Gladys Knight and The Pips got the chance to work with some of Motown’s best producers and songwriters.
This included the lauded Holland, Dozier, Holland. They wrote and produced Any Girl In Love (Knows What I’m Going Through). It was recorded in April 1966 and features a vocal full of heartbreak. Despite that, it was left in the Motown vaults. So was Ivy Jo Hunter produced The Things Time Can’t Erase, which was recorded in May 1967. Given its sound, it’s sure to be a favourite among Northern Soul fans.
Martha Reeves and The Vandellas were one of Motown’s most successful ‘girl’ groups. They were regular hit makers and added their vocals to the backing track in January 1969. It became This Is The Love (I’ve Been Waiting For). Motown never released the song. That was also the case with Mother Tell Me What To Do. Penned and produced by Ivy Jo Hunter, it was recorded in August 1966. Since then, it has languished in Motown’s vaults until Keith Hughes and Mick Patrick discovered the tracks when compiling Love and Affection-More Motown Girls.
I Can’t Make It Without You was recorded by Debbie Dean in November and December 1966. The song was written by Debbie Dean and Dennis Lussier, who produced I Can’t Make It Without You. It’s a needy outpouring of emotion, that sounds as if Debbie’s lived the lyrics.
Unlike some compilers, Keith Hughes and Mick Patrick eschew the tired and familiar. Instead, they’ve picked two tracks from LaBrenda Ben. This will be a new name for many people. Her contributions are Just Go On Sleeping and Fugitive. Both tracks were released in 2014, but make a welcome return on Love and Affection-More Motown Girls.
Just Go On Sleeping was recorded in January 1964, and produced by Fay Hale. A month later, in February 1964, LaBrenda Bren was back in the studio with producer George Fowler. He produced this trademark Motown stomper. It has the name Motown written all over it. Later, LaBrenda Bren and George Fowler left Motown. George found religion, and became a minister. LaBrenda Bren became Mrs. LaBrenda Fowler, and only sung gospel music.
Connie Haines will be another new name to many people. She’s not as well known as some of the names who passed through Motown’s doors. She worked with William ‘Smokey’ Robinson. He wrote and produced Mr Pride And Mr Gloom, three minutes of raw emotion from Connie Haines.
Chris Clark is another artist who features twice on Love and Affection-More Motown Girls. Her first contribution is Check Yourself. Unlike most of the tracks on the compilation, the backing track and vocal were recorded in New York in May 1966. Nearly three years later, in January 1969, Chris Clark recorded Forgotten at Golden World Studios, in Detroit. Just like Check Yourself, Forgotten showcases a talented and underrated singer who sadly, didn’t enjoy the success their talent warranted.
Barbara McNair spent around four years at Motown. During that period, she released several singles and an album. At the start of this period, in January 1965, Barbara got the opportunity to work with one of the greatest songwriters of his generation, Jimmy Webb. His career was just beginning, and during 1965, he penned seventeen songs at Motown. This included Come Back Half Way, which he cowrote with Mary Dean. Barbara breathes life and meaning into the lyrics. A month later, in February 1965, Barbara is back in the Motown studios, recording a desiring take on The Good Times Are Gone. Sadly, neither track was released, and has spent the last fifty years languishing in the Motown vaults. Somewhat belatedly, both tracks make their debut on Love and Affection-More Motown Girls.
Yvonne Fair was a member of The Chantels, and then, became a member of James Brown’s touring band. By 1969, she was signed to Motown, and recorded Close My Crying Eyes at Gold World Studio in the September. This Leonard Caston production was an outpouring of emotion and hurt from Yvonne Fair.
Kim Weston’s Lover Man (Oh Where Can You Be) closes Love and Affection-More Motown Girls. It was recorded in February 1964, with producer William Stevenston. For the next fifty years, nobody heard Lover Man (Oh Where Can You Be)? Then in 2014, the song was released for the first time. A year later, this poignant tale of betrayal proves the perfect way to close Love and Affection-More Motown Girls.
Fifty-six years after Motown opened its doors, people still have an insatiable appetite for Motown. That’s why so many Motown compilations are released. Many, however, constantly recycle the same songs. Not Love and Affection-More Motown Girls, which was recently released by Kent Soul, an imprint of Ace Records.
Love and Affection-More Motown Girls features twenty tracks that will be new to everybody. These tracks have never been released before. The other five only made their debut in 2014. So for Motown fans, Love and Affection-More Motown Girls is going to come high on their Christmas wish-list.
No wonder. There’s contributions from Brenda Holloway, Gladys Knight and The Pips, Barbara Randolph, Martha Reeves and The Vandellas, Debbie Dean, LaBrenda Ben and Barbara McNair. The only big name whose missing is La Ross. However, there’s plenty to occupy both newcomers to Motown, and veterans of countless compilations. For both camps, Love and Affection-More Motown Girls features a plethora of long forgotten hidden gems. They somewhat belatedly, make their debut on Love and Affection-More Motown Girls the followup to Finders Keepers- Motown Girls.
LOVE AND AFFECTION-MORE MOTOWN GIRLS.
LOST WITHOUT YOU-THE BEST OF KENT BALLADS 2.
LOST WITHOUT YOU-THE BEST OF KENT BALLADS 2.
Just over five years ago, Deep Shadows-The Best Of Kent Ballads was released to critical acclaim by Kent Soul in August 2010. Deep Shadows-The Best Of Kent Ballads featured a truly eclectic selection of ballads. That’s almost an understatement.
When soul fans pressed play on Deep Shadows-The Best Of Kent Ballads they heard everyone from Lolleatta Holloway and Sam Dees, to Phillip Mitchell and Garland Green, through The Charmels, The Ravins and Debbie Taylor. There was everything from heart-wrenching Southern Soul and Deep Soul sides to Northern Soul rarities. Familiar faces rubbed shoulders with B-Sides and hidden gems. Deep Shadows-The Best Of Kent Ballads was a musical voyage of discovery.
The best way to describe Deep Shadows-The Best Of Kent Ballads, was as the musical equivalent of Forest Gump’s box of chocolates. It was a case of: “you never know what you’re gonna get.” For many soul fans, Deep Shadows-The Best Of Kent Ballads was one of their favourite compilations of 2010. Surely it wouldn’t be long before a followup was released by Kent Soul?
A followup was released. However, it’s taken just over five years before Kent Soul, an imprint of Ace Records, released Lost Without You-The Best Of Kent Ballads 2. It finds Mick Patrick and Tony Rounce digging deep into the Kent vaults, and coming up with twenty-four heartbreaking ballads. They became Lost Without You-The Best Of Kent Ballads 2.
Among the names on Lost Without You-The Best Of Kent Ballads, are The Wanderers, Julius Wright, Dori Grayson, Johnny Watson, John Edwards, Alice Clark, Joe Mayfield, Danny White, Lou Johnson and Mary Love. Then there’s ten previously unissued tracks from. This includes contributions from Jerry Washington, Lorraine Chandler, J.J. Jackson and The Jackaels, Julius Wright, The Exotics, Peggy Gaines and The Turquinettes. These tracks were released between the sixties and eighties, and feature on Lost Without You-The Best Of Kent Ballads, which I’ll pick the highlights of.
Opening Lost Without You-The Best Of Kent Ballads is one of the unreleased tracks, The Turn Arounds’ Stay Away. This is one of five tracks the Los Angeles based The Turn Arounds recorded for Fraternity in 1966. None of these tracks has been released..,until now. Stay Away, which was penned by Terry Evens and Jimmy Russell. Full of emotion and heartache, it’s a stonewall hidden gem and whets the listener’s appetite for the rest of Lost Without You-The Best Of Kent Ballads.
Another of the unreleased tracks comes courtesy of Jerry Washington. He was signed to the Nashiville based Excello label in 1974. His career at Excello began with Let Me Love You Right Or Wrong in 1973. Other singles included I Won’t Leave You Hanging and Set Your Soul On Fire. One of Jerry’s recordings that wasn’t released the defiant I Don’t Need Nobody. Looking back, this could’ve been a missed opportunity for Excello and Jerry Washington, who never quite fulfilled his potential.
By 1963, The Wanderers were signed to United Artists. They had started their career at Decca in 1954. Since then, The Wanderers had been signed briefly to Onyx, before finding a home at Club. Then after four years at Club, where The Wanderers enjoyed a trio of minor his, they signed to MGM in 1962. That proved to be short-lived, and in 1963, they signed to United Artists.
That was where they released Run-Run Señorita as a single. On the flip-side was After He Breaks Your Heart. It’s a better song than the single. The vocal is rueful, and there’s a slight gospel sound to the arrangement. It’s augmented by quivering strings, which adds to the heart-wrenching sound.
John Riley and Joe Lindsay formed The Exotics in Orangeburg, South Carolina. They later signed to Excello, where they released just two singles. It was a familiar story. Neither Boogaloo Investigator nor Let Me Be A Part of You were a commercial success. After two flops, it was a case of stick or twist. Excello decided to stick, leaving Nobody But You in the can. That was ironic, as Nobody But You was The Exotics’ finest hour. It’s a needy, hopeful slice of Southern Soul that’s reminiscent of Sam and Dave.
Dori Grayson cut I Can Fix That For You for Murco in 1968. She penned the song with Willie James. Against an understated arrangement, Dori’s vocal becomes a cathartic outpouring of hurt. It’s without doubt, one of the highlights of Lost Without You-The Best Of Kent Ballads.
Back in the seventies, New York Johnny Watson recorded several songs with Phil Medley. He was one of the Brill Building songwriters, who by then, was also a producer. His biggest hit hit was Twist and Shout. Doubtless, he had high hopes for
I Give A Damm when the song was recorded. However, it wasn’t until 1989 that the song was released on the Valise label as part of a collection. Belatedly, this long-forgotten soulful gem could be heard by a wider audience.
Back in 1974, future Detroit Spinner John Edwards was signed the ill-fated Aware label. That had been home to John for the last few years. Everything was going to plan. He had released his eponymous debut album in 1973, and was seen as a rising star of soul music. Now was the time for John Edwards to release his new single.
For his new single, John Edwards chose to cover Clayton Ivey, Frank Johnson and Terry Woodford’s You’re Messing Up A Good Things. For the flip side, he chose Claim Jumping. The two tracks were produced by Floyd Smith, who was married to Loleatta Holloway. Both sides ooze quality. Especially, the needy, heartfelt You’re Messing Up A Good Thing. It’s one of the finest sides John Edwards cut for Aware.
James Taylor’s Don’t Let Me Be Lonely Tonight, is an oft-covered song. He released the original in 1972. Since then, many artists have covered it. This includes Ty Karim in 1973. She covered the song at Ray Charles’ studio, and the single was released by Romark. Although the song was a hit locally, it wasn’t a hit nationwide. However, Ty Karim’s version was one of the most soulful and impassioned.
Alice Clark first experience of music came when she sung in church choirs. That’s apparent on her Heaven’s Will (Must Be Obeyed). It’s the B-Side of her 1968, Warner Bros. single You Hit Me (Right Where It Hurt Me). Although Heaven’s Will (Must Be Obeyed) was penned by Eddie Jones and Arthur Mitchell, there’s a similarly to People Get Ready. This becomes really noticeable in parts of Richard Tee’s arrangement. However, Alice Clark’s soulful, gospel-tinged vocal is unique. It’s a mixture of emotion and sincerity.
The Bart Bacharach and Hal David songwriting team wrote The Last One To Be Loved. It was covered by Lou Johnson in 1964, and became the B-Side Kentucky Bluebird (Send A Message To Martha). This was another Bart Bacharach and Hal David composition. That was the end of their part in the song. Bart Bacharach arranged, conducted and produced both songs.
Then Kentucky Bluebird (Send A Message To Martha) was released as a single on Big Hill Records. However, of the two sides, The Last One To Be Loved is the best of the two. It’s the perfect vehicle for Lou Johnson’s vocal. Combined with Bart Bacharach trademark production it was a potent partnership. It might well have fared better than Kentucky Bluebird (Send A Message To Martha), which failed to chart in America, and reached a lowly thirty-six in Britain.
The Soul Brothers recording career was short-lived. They released just two singles for the New Orleans’ based Sho Biz label. Their second and final single was Later For You, which was released in April 1966. On the flip side was Lonely Man, a devious slice of needy, blue-eyed soul produced by Walter Quezergue.
My final choice from Lost Without You-The Best Of Kent Ballads 2 is The Price from Mary Love-Comer. The former Mary Love had found God and married Brad Comer. With a new faith and new name, came a new sound.
This was showcased on The Price, which was released in 1987, the same year Mary released her Sin No More album. It’s described as soul with a Christian message. Her new sound was very different to Mary Love’s sixties sound. Especially, the synthetic eighties drums. However, one thing hadn’t changed, Mary’s voice. It had matured with age, as The Price proves. This hidden gem closes Lost Without You-The Best Of Kent Ballads 2, the eagerly awaited followup to Deep Shadows-The Best Of Kent Ballads.
Just over five years after the release of Deep Shadows-The Best Of Kent Ballads, Kent Soul, an imprint of Ace Records, return with Lost Without You-The Best Of Kent Ballads 2. It’s twenty-four songs where hope, hurt and heartbreak are omnipresent. Other times, the vocals are heartfelt, needy and impassioned. That’s the case on each of the heart-wrenching ballads on Lost Without You-The Best Of Kent Ballads 2.
It’s a truly eclectic selection of all things soulful. Whether blue-eyed soul, Deep Soul or Southern Soul is your bag, there’s all this and more. Familiar faces rubbed shoulders with rarities, B-Sides and hidden gems. Then there’s ten unreleased tracks.
This includes contributions from Jerry Washington, Lorraine Chandler, J.J. Jackson and The Jackaels, Julius Wright, The Exotics, Peggy Gaines and The Turquinettes. They’re just some of the tracks that make a belated debut on Lost Without You-The Best Of Kent Ballads 2. Some of these tracks are good enough to have been released as a single. For whatever reason, that never happened. Now somewhat belatedly, a plethora of hidden gems prove a welcome addition to Lost Without You-The Best Of Kent Ballads 2, the latest addition to Kent Soul’s burgeoning discography.
Kent Soul is the gift that keeps on giving. For more years than I care to remember, Kent Soul has been one of the finest purveyors of soul compilation. The Kent Soul logo means quality is assured. That’s been the case for four decades. Still, it’s compilers dig deep, for new compilations. This includes Mick Patrick and Tony Rounce, whose latest compilation Lost Without You-The Best Of Kent Ballads 2, will ensure that Kent Soul the premier soul reissue label.
LOST WITHOUT YOU-THE BEST OF KENT BALLADS 2.
GEORGIE FAME HEARD THEM HERE FIRST.
GEORGIE FAME HEARD THEM HERE FIRST.
Not many compilation series has enjoyed the longevity and success of Ace Records’ Heard Them Here First series. There’s a reason for this. The series allows music lovers to hear the music that influenced some of the biggest names in music. This has previously included The New York Dolls, The Ramones, David Bowie, Nick Cave, Elvis Presley and even Dusty Springfield. To celebrate the tenth instalment in the series, Ace Records have chosen Georgie Fame, Britain’s “original mod hero.”
This was back in the early sixties, when Georgie Fame’s was enjoying the most successful period of his career. He enjoyed a string of hit singles, and enjoyed three number singles. The first of these was Yeh Yeh in 1964. Get Away followed in 1966, with 1967s The Ballad Of Bonnie and Clyde being Georgie Fame’s final number one single. However, by then, Georgie Fame was a popular live act.
That had been the case, ever since Georgie Fame and The Blue Flames were playing four or five sets a night at London’s Flamingo and Roaring 20s. Soon, Georgie Fame and The Blue Flames were one of the most popular British R&B bands. They toured the country. Often, Georgie Fame and The Blue Flames’ sets included singles Georgie had had heard in clubs or bought as imports.
Georgie Fame was, a keen record collector. In his free time, he searched London’s specialist record shops, looking for blues, jazz, R&B and soul singles. Other times, sound system operator Count Suckle would give Georgie Fame records to add to his burgeoning collection. Soon, Georgie Fame had an enviable collection. Since then, Georgie Fame’s love of music has never diminished. He’s still got an insatiable appetite for music, so when Ace Records asked him to pick twenty-five tracks for Georgie Fame Heard Them Here First, he was spoiled for choice. He could easily have chosen enough material for a box set. However, after much ruminating and reflecting, George Fame came up with the track list for Georgie Fame Heard Them Here First.
On Georgie Fame Heard Them Here First, there’s tracks from The Spinners, Major Lance, Rufus Thomas, Mose Allison Trio, Paul Anka, Fats Domino, William Bell, Lee Dorsey, The Miracles and Jimmy McGriff. It’s an eclectic selection of music, with everything from jazz, pop, R&B, reggae, soul and Southern Soul on Georgie Fame Heard Them Here First. It’s not going to be easy choosing the highlights of Georgie Fame Heard Them Here First.
A good enough place to start is with The Spinners’ Sweet Thing, which opens Georgie Fame Heard Them Here First. This was before commercial success came The Spinners way. They started their career at Harvey Fuqua’s Tri-Phi Records. It was bought out by Motown, and between between 1964 and 1968, that was home to The Spinners.
Their Motown debut was Sweet Thing, which was written and produced by William Stevenson. Three years later, in 1967, Sweet Thing featured on The Spinners’ only Motown album, The Original Spinners. Sadly, success passed The Spinners by at Motown. While Sweet Thing was a taste of what they were capable of, it wasn’t until The Spinners met producer Thom Bell, that they fulfilled their potential.
Major Lance’s recording career began at Mercury in 1959, when he released I’ve Got A Girl. By 1962, he had signed to Okeh. His Okeh debut Delilah failed commerically. However, when Major Lance released a cover of Curtis Mayfield’s Monkey Time in 1963, it was a case of third time lucky. Monkey Time reached number eight in the US Billboard 100 and number two in the US R&B charts. Despite its success in America, Monkey Time failed to chart in Britain. This soulful dancer became a favourite of discerning DJs, and Georgie Fame, who covered it on his 1964 album Fame At Last.
A year after Titus Turner released the original version of Get On The Right Track Baby, Ray Charles covered the song in 1957. It was released on Atlantic, which had been home to Ray Charles throughout his career. However, Get On The Right Track wasn’t a commercial success. By the sixties, Get On The Right Track was a favourite in many clubs. That would be the case right through to the early seventies. Partly, that’s down to a vocal masterclass from Ray Charles. His delivery and phrasing are almost flawless.
By 1965, Joe Tex was signed to the Dial label. He had already enjoyed two number one singles in the US R&B charts. This would soon become three, when Joe Tex released A Sweet Woman Like You. It was another of Joe Tex’s compositions. When it entered the charts, it reached just twenty-nine in the US Billboard 100. However, it kept climbing the US R&B charts, right to the top stop. Two years later, in 1966, A Sweet Woman Like You was released as a single in the UK. On the B-Side was Close The Door. While A Sweet Woman Like You was a favourite of many DJs, some flipped over to the B-Side and discovered the stomping Close The Door. Quickly, this stomper became a favourite of DJs and Joe Tex’s fans.
In 1960, The Mose Allison Trio released their debut album on Columbia, I Love The Life I Live album on Columbia. Mose Alison was already an experienced musician. He had been signed to Prestige since he released Back Country Suite in 1957. By 1959, Mose Allison had released six albums. His seventh album, and Columbia debut was released in 1959.
This was the Transfiguration of Hiram Brown. A year later, in 1960, came The Mose Allison Trio’s debut I Love The Life I Live. The title-track was a cover of a song penned by Willie Dixon. However, when Muddy Waters covered the song for Chess Records, it was as I Live The Life I Live. The Mose Allison Trio’s version is very different. This a slinky slice of blues-tinged, jazz struck a nerve with Georgie Fame. Four years later, he covered I Live The Life I Live on his 1964 album Fame At Last.
Billy Stewart started life with The Rainbows, a vocal group. That was his introduction to secular music. It was also where Billy Stewart met Don Covay. The two men would forge careers as soul singers in the sixties. By 1965, Billy Stewart was signed to Chicago’s Chess Records. He had spent most of his career at Chess Records, and repaid them with a string of hits. This included Sitting In The Park, which reached number twenty-four in the US Billboard 100 and four in the US R&B charts. Sitting In The Park was one of the biggest hits of Billy Stewart’s career. Sadly, five years later, Billy Stewart was dead, aged just thirty-three. A reminder of his talent is Sitting In The Park, a truly beautiful ballad that’s the best track on Georgie Fame Heard The Here First.
Fats Domino influenced many British artists. This included everyone from The Beatles and Rolling Stones to Van Morrison and Georgie Fame. For this generation, they had never experienced anything like Fats Domino. He was seen as a breath of fresh in air to these aspiring musicians. In April 1958, Fats Domino released Sick and Tired on Imperial. It reached number twenty-two in the US Billboard 100 and fourteen in the US R&B charts, and featured on The Fabulous Mr. D album. A few years later, these artists were rubbing shoulders with Fats Domino. This included Georgie Fame, who covered Sick and Tired in 1964.
Most people asked to name their favourite Lee Dorsey song, would choose Working In The Coal Mine. Not Georgie Fame. He throws a curveball, choosing Do-Re-Mi. This was Earl King composition became Lee Dorsey’s sophomore single. It was the followup to Ya Ya, which had given Lee Dorsey a number one single in the US R&B charts. Lightning didn’t strike twice, and Do-Re-Mi reached just number twenty-seven in the US Billboard 100 and twenty-two in the US R&B charts. It’s an often overlooked track, that’s a welcome addition to Georgie Fame Heard The Here First.
Berry Gordy and William Robinson penned The Miracles’ 1960 single Shop Around. It gave The Miracles the biggest single of their nascent career, when it reached number two in the US Billboard 100 and one in the US R&B charts. Shop Around transformed The Miracles’ career, and after that, they were on the road to becoming one of the Motown’s biggest success stories.
In 1964, Joe Hinton covered a Willie Nelson song, Funny. It had originally been recorded by country singer Billy Walker in 1961. Three years later, in 1964, Joe Hinton released Funny as a single on Back Beat. By the time Joe Hinton released his debut album in 1965, the song had been rechristened Funny How Time Slips Away. was released on Back Beat in America, the song was entitled Funny. It wasn’t until Joe Hinton released his debut album that the song had been rechristened. His reading of this wistful R&B ballad is one of the album’s highlights, and one of the highlights of Georgie Fame Heard The Here First.
Closing Georgie Fame Heard The Here First, is Jimmy McGriff’s All About My Girl. It was released on the Sue label in 1963, and showcases one of the finest Hammond organ players of his generation. Jimmy McGriff showcases his considerable skills on the ‘big burner’ and makes All About My Girl swing. In doing so, he leaves the listener wanting more. That’s how every compilation should finish.
Georgie Fame Heard The Here First is the tenth instalment in Ace Records’ Heard It Here First series. It’s certainly one of the most eclectic in the Heard Them Here series. There’s everything from blues, jazz, pop, R&B, reggae, soul, soul jazz and Southern Soul. Everyone from The Spinners and Major Lance, through Rufus Thomas and Mose Allison Trio to Paul Anka, Fats Domino, William Bell, Lee Dorsey, The Miracles and Jimmy McGriff make an appearance on Georgie Fame Heard The Here First. That’s not all.
Billy Stewart makes a very welcome appearance with Sitting In The Park. He’s an artist. So do Joe Tex, Marvin Gaye, William Bell and Earl Van Dyke. Never, does your hand stray towards the remote control. Instead, you’re captivated, as Georgie Fame takes you on a guided tour through the music that influenced and shaped him musically. His taste is not just eclectic, but impeccable. Georgie Fame digs out singles, hidden gems, B-Sides, instrumentals and album tracks for Georgie Fame Heard The Here First, which is a fitting way for Ace Records to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the Heard It Hear series.
GEORGIE FAME HEARD THEM HERE FIRST.
SPOOKY TOOTH-THE ISLAND YEARS.
SPOOKY TOOTH-THE ISLAND YEARS.
All too often, some bands don’t get the credit they deserve. That was the case with Spooky Tooth, who for a time, pioneered the use of twin keyboards. They lead the way. Soon, other bands were following in their wake. By then, the Spooky Tooth story was over.
Spooky Tooth were only together seven years between 1967 and 1974, but managed to release eight seven albums. They could’ve become one of the biggest British bands of the late-sixties, early-seventies. However, Spooky Tooth wandered down a rocky road. That was the case since for a lot longer.
The Spooky Tooth story started in 1963, when The V.I.P.s were founded in Carlisle, Cumbria by lead vocalist Mike Harrison and bassist Greg Ridley. Over the next four years, The V.I.P.s lineup evolved. Rhythm guitarist Frank Kenyon and lead guitarist Jimmy Henshaw were members between 1963 and 1967. Other musicians played a walk-on roll on The V.I.P.s’ story. This included Keith Emerson whose keyboards would play a starring role in The Nice and Emerson, Lake and Palmer. However, by the time The V.I.P.s decided to change direction musically, Keith Emerson had left the band.
For the four years they were together, The V.I.P.s played blues and R&B. By 1967, they decided that to change direction musically. So The V.I.P.s changed their name to Art. Then in October 1967, Gary Wright joined Art. He played on Art’s one and only album Supernatural Fairy Tales, and played an important part in The Spooky Tooth story.
It’s documented on the nine disc Spooky Tooth box set, The Island Years which was recently released by Universal Music Group. The Island Years features Art’s album Supernatural Fairy Tales and Spooky Tooth’s seven studio albums. Then on the ninth and final disc, there’s a live recording, Live In Oldenburg 1973. This recording has never been released before, and makes its debut on The Island Years, which documents the seven year career of Spooky Tooth. However, there would be no Spooky Tooth without Art, the group that gave birth to Spooky Tooth.
Supernatural Fairy Tales.
In 1967, the newly named Art found themselves signed to Chris Blackwell’s Island Records. Art were about to go into the studio with producer Guy Stevens, so began work on their debut album.
By then, Art still a quartet. However, only two original members of The V.I.P.s remained. Ironically, they were the founding members, vocalist and keyboardist Mike Harrison and bassist Greg Ridley. They were joined by drummer Mike Kellie and guitarist Luther Grosvenor. The four members of Art got to work on what became Supernatural Fairy Tales.
For their debut album Supernatural Fairy Tales, the four members of Art wrote ten tracks. They would be augmented by covers of The Young Rascals’ Come on Up and Buffalo Springfield’s For What It’s Worth. Recording took place at two studios.
Pye Studios was where the majority of Supernatural Fairy Tales was recorded. Some recording took place at Olympic Studios. At the two studios, producer Guy Stevens, whose career was in the ascendancy, took charge of production. He guided Art through the maze that’s recording a debut album. The result was Supernatural Fairy Tales, which became a cult classic.
When critics heard Supernatural Fairy Tales, the reviews of Art’s debut album were mostly positive. Its progressive, psychedelic rock sound was decidedly on trend. It tapped into a sound that was commercial. Surely, Supernatural Fairy Tales would prove a commercial success?
That proved not to be the case. When Supernatural Fairy Tales was released in the Autumn of 1967, the album wasn’t a commercial success. This was disappointing for Art and Island Records. Chris Blackwell wasn’t giving up on Art. Instead, he introduced them to Gary Wright, an American vocalist and organist.
Gary Wright was also a psychology student, who had travelled to Berlin to finish his studies. That was where Gary Wright formed the band The New York Times with some American expats and a German bassist. They had opened for Traffic, and were thinking about recording an album. So Gary Wright contacted his old friend Jimmy Miller. The producer was working for Island Records, and suggested that The New York Times hotfoot it to London.
When The New York Times arrived in London, the recording sessions didn’t go to plan. The rest of the band split, leaving Gary Wright. It was then, in October 1967, that Gary Wright was introduced to Art. Ironically, Art were just about history. However, a new band were about to be born, Spooky Tooth.
It’s All About.
Straight away, work began on Spooky Tooth’s debut album. The new recruit quickly made his presence felt. Whereas the four members of Art cowrote most of their debut album Supernatural Fairy Tales, that wasn’t the case with Spooky Tooth.
Gary Wright penned Sunshine Help Me and cowrote another six tracks. This included It Hurts You So and Forget It, I Got It with his ole buddy Jimmy Miller. The Wright and Miller partnership weren’t finished. They cowrote Love Really Changed Me with Luther Grosvenor. That trio joined Mike Harrison in penning Here I Lived So We. Luther Grosvenor and Chris Wight also cowrote Bubbles. Spooky Tooth was quickly becoming the Gary Wright show.
If the other members felt uncomfortable that Chris Wight was playing a leading role in Spooky Tooth. He was friends with Jimmy Miller, who was chosen to produce It’s All About. He just happened to be friends with Island Records’ owner Chris Blackwell. To onlookers, these relationships looked too cosy. After all, it was Chris Blackwell who introduced Gary Wright. He would join the rest of Spooky Tooth at Olympic Studios.
Island Records’ recording sessions were notorious for only allotting a specific amount of time to record an album. Woe betide the band and producer who went over budget. Spooky Tooth had twelve songs to record when they entered the studio in November 1967. This included covers of Janis Ian’s Society’s Child, Bob Dylan’s Too Much Of Nothing and John D. Loudermilk’s Tobacco Road. Along with the songs penned by members of Spooky Tooth, the twelve songs became It’s All About.
Before the release of It’s All About in June 1968, critics had their say on Spooky Tooth’s debut album. They were won over by It’s All About. Many critics gave the albums rave reviews. Some critics liked that Spooky Tooth had two different vocalists. This was uncommon. However, with Mike Harrison and Gary Wright sharing the lead vocals, this allowed the band to take their music in a variety of directions. On It’s All About, this included blues, rock and psychedelia. Despite winning over critics, record buyers weren’t convinced.
When It’s All About was released in June 1968, the album wasn’t the success many had forecast. This would soon change.
Spooky Tooth were about to become one of Europe’s most popular live bands. Then in August 1968, Spooky Tooth were invited to tour America. This was a game-changer. Especially when Spooky Tooth were invited to play at one of the most prestigious venues in America, the Fillmore West in San Francisco.
Promoter Bill Graham invited Spooky Tooth to play the Fillmore West. This was a rite of passage for bands touring America. It was a signal they had arrived. Spooky Tooth were going up in the world, so Island Records’ thoughts turned to their sophomore album, Spooky Two.
Spooky Two.
Unlike their debut album, Spooky Two only featured eight songs. Partly, this was why Spooky Too was a leaner, more focused album. Again, Gary Wright who had assumed the role of Spooky Tooth’s songwriter-in-chief.
Gary Wright penned four tracks and cowrote three others. This included Feelin’ Bad and I’ve Got Enough Heartaches with drummer Mike Kellie. Mike Harrison and Luther Grosvenor cowrote Waitin’ for the Wind with Gary Wright. Spooky Two’s other track, was a cover of Larry Weiss’ Evil Woman. These songs were recorded at Morgan Studios, London.
Just like It’s About You, Spooky Two was produced by Jimmy Miller. Recording began in November 1968, and Spooky Tooth began recording what’s now considered their greatest album, Spooky Two.
Once Spooky Two was complete, the release was scheduled for March 1969. This didn’t leave much time to promote the album. However, the reviews did a good job of this. Spooky Two was hailed a masterpiece of blues, hard rock, psychedelia and classic rock. Luther Grosvenor’s guitar playing was at the heart of the album’s success. It was loose, but fluid. Spooky Tooth’s played hard, raw and rock on Spooky Too. Critics forecast that Spooky Too was going to be Spooky Tooth’s breakthrough album.
That proved to be the case. On its release in March 1969, Spooky Too reached number forty-four in the US Billboard 200. This resulted in Spooky Tooth’s profile rising.
Suddenly, they were playing in front of bigger audiences on nearly every continent. Other musicians wanted to work with Spooky Tooth. This included French electronic musician, Pierre Henry.
Ceremony.
After the release of Spooky Too, there was a change to Spooky Tooth’s lineup. In 1970, bassist Greg Ridley was asked to join Humble Pie. He agreed, and Andy Leigh was drafted in as his replacement. This was the first, but not the last change in Spooky Tooth’s lineup.
After the commercial success and critical acclaim of Spooky Too, Spooky Tooth’s star was in the ascendancy. Suddenly, people wanted to work with Spooky Tooth. This included French electronic musician, Pierre Henry.
He described himself as a found-object” composer. Pierre Henry took everyday objects and transformed them into an instrument. This wasn’t a new concept.
Pablo Picasso had pioneered the idea in 1912, when he pasted aprinted image of chair caning onto his painting Still Life with Chair Caning. Turning everyday objects into musical instruments took the idea further. That’s what Pierre Henry, and many other moderne musicians did.
Originally, Spooky Tooth were collaborating with Pierre Henry. It was his album. The new lineup of Spooky Tooth were essentially his backing band, on Ceremony.
For Ceremony, Pierre Henry and Gary Wright wrote six tracks. He and the rest of the new lineup of Spooky Tooth made their way to France. It was agreed that Pierre Henry and Spooky Tooth would co-produce Ceremony, due to the fact the album takes the form of a church service.
Quickly, Spooky Tooth recorded their parts. This left Pierre Henry to play synths and take charge of electronics on five tracks. On Hosanna, which closed Ceremony, Spooky Tooth took centre-stage. It was Ceremony’s Magnus Opus. Once the recording was complete, Spooky Tooth headed home.
Having returned home, Spooky Tooth were sent a copy of Ceremony. Gary Wright didn’t like what he heard. He was straight on the phone to Chris Blackwell, urging him not to release Ceremony. This didn’t work.
Chris Blackwell disagreed, telling Gary Wright: “people will love this album. We have to put this out.” According to Gary Wright, the rest of Spooky Tooth didn’t want Ceremony released. He went as far as to say: “it was against our wishes.” He thinks that the “release of the album lead to the initial breakup of the band.”
With Island Records determined to release Ceremony, December 1969 was scheduled as the release date. Before that, critics had their say on Ceremony. This fusion of rock and avant-garde was billed as an album from Spooky Tooth and Pierre Henry. Reviews were mixed. It wasn’t what most critics had expected from Spooky Tooth. The problem Mike Harrison says was;”people thought it was Spooky Tooth’s third album.”
When Ceremony was released in December 1969, it reached just ninety-two in the US Billboard 200. Spooky Tooth were going backwards. That was only part of the story.
All wasn’t well within Spooky Tooth. There was disharmony within the ranks. Mike Kellie believes things would’ve been different if Spooky Tooth: “had independent management.” They could’ve been an arbiter in the conflicts. Without that, Spooky Tooth split-up.
The Last Puff.
That wasn’t the end of the Spooky Tooth story. Instead, it was just the end of a chapter. Mike Harrison, Mike Kellie and Luther Grosvenor remained. Gary Wright exited stage left. So did bassist Andy Leigh. In their place, came some new faces.
Among them, were guitarist Henry McCullough, bassist Alan Spenner and Chris Stainton. He played bass, piano and organ. His versatility would be put to good use on The Last Puff, which was billed as an album from Spooky Tooth Featuring Mike Harrison.
For The Last Puff, seven cover versions were chosen. Among them were Lennon and McCartney’s I Am The Walrus; Joe Cocker and Peter Nichols’ Something to Say; David Ackles’ Down River and Elton John and Bernie Taupin’s Son of Your Father. New recruit Chris Stainton contributed The Last Puff. Ironically, The Wrong Time a song penned by Gary Wright and Hugh McCracken. Given Gary Wright had just left Spooky Tooth this seemed a strange decision.
Recording of The Last Puff took place at Island Studios, London. Producing the album was Island Records’ owner Gary Blackwell and Chris Stainton. Once the new lineup of Spooky Tooth finished recording The Last Puff, it was released in July 1970.
Critics however, received advance copies of Spooky Tooth Featuring Mike Harrison’s album The Last Puff. Critical acclaim accompanied this album of art rock, blues rock, psychedelia and rock. It seemed the loss of two members hadn’t derailed Spooky Tooth.
That seemed to be the case. The Last Puff proved more successful than Ceremony, reaching number eighty-four in the US Billboard 200. However, not long after the release of The Last Puff, Spooky Tooth split-up.
That looked like the end of the line for Spooky Tooth. Island Records were dismayed. They had just lost one of their most popular groups.
So a year later, in 1971, Island Records repackaged and rereleased It’s All About as Tobacco Road. When the album was released, it reached number 152 in the US Billboard 200. That many people thought, was Spooky Tooth’s swan-song. It wasn’t.
You Broke My Heart So I Busted Your Jaw.
In 1972, Spooky Tooth reformed, with a new lineup. The only musician who had played on The Last Puff was Mike Harrison.
Luther Grosvenor had joined Mott The Hoople, where he dawned the alias Ariel Bender. His replacement in Spooky Tooth, was future Foreigner guitarist Mick Jones. Mike Kellie was replaced by drummer and percussionist Bryson Graham. Chris Stewart became Spooky Tooth’s fourth bassist. However, the biggest surprise, was the return of Gary Wright.
Quickly, Gary Wright resumed the role of Spooky Tooth’s songwriter-in-chief. He wrote six of the eight songs, and cowrote Times Have Changed with Mick Jones. The other song on You Broke My Heart So I Busted Your Jaw was the Bryson Graham composition This Time Around. These eight songs were recorded at three London studios.
Recording of You Broke My Heart So I Busted Your Jaw. Olympic Studios, Island Studios and Apple Studios. It seemed no expense was being spared for Spooky Tooth’s comeback album. These were some of London’s top studios. One expense that was saved was a producer. Spooky Tooth produced You Broke My Heart So I Busted Your Jaw. It was scheduled for release in ay 1973.
Many of Spooky Tooth’s fans eagerly awaited their comeback album. However, when reviews were published, they were mixed. Some critics felt that You Broke My Heart So I Busted Your Jaw wasn’t Spooky Tooth’s finest hour. That’s despite Spooky Tooth combining progressive rock, hard rock and blues rock. While hard rock was still popular, progressive rock dominated the charts. However, other critics were won over by Spooky Tooth’s comeback album.
Other critics liked the dual keyboard sound on You Broke My Heart So I Busted Your Jaw. This brought a new dimension to Spooky Tooth’s sound. There was no consensus. For once, a Spooky Tooth album had divided the critics’ opinion. However, record buyers were of one mind.
On the release of You Broke My Heart So I Busted Your Jaw, in November 1973, the album reached number eighty-four in the US Billboard 200. This matched the popularity of The Last Puff. Spooky Tooth were back to where they were before Ceremony. What could go wrong?
Witness.
After making their comeback with You Broke My Heart So I Busted Your Jaw, Spooky Tooth looked as if their career was back on track. Then there was a change in Spooky Tooth’s lineup.
This time, Spooky Tooth’s original drummer Mike Kellie made a comeback, and replaced recent recruit Bryson Graham. However, that wasn’t the end of Bryson Graham. He played on some of the tracks on Witness. It was a tale of two drummers.
One thing didn’t change, Gary Wright wrote most of Witness. He penned six of the nine tracks, and cowrote the other three tracks with members of Spooky Tooth. Considering the other members weren’t regarded as songwriters, they were proving a reliable source of songs. Gary Wright and Chris Stewart penned Don’t Ever Stray Away. Mick Jones collaborated with Gary Wright on All Sewn Up. Drummer Mike Kellie celebrated his return by cowriting Pyramids with Chris Stewart. It seemed the other members of Spooky Tooth had hidden talents.
They also produced Witness, which was recorded at Olympic Studios and Island Studios, in London. At two of London’s premier studios, Spooky Tooth recorded their sixth studio album. Little did anyone realise, but this would be the last time one of the band set foot in a recording studio with Spooky Tooth. It was the end of an era.
Sadly, with one of the band about to call time on their career with Spooky Tooth, the reviews of Witness were mixed. Not for the first time, a Spooky Tooth album divided opinion. Some critics enjoyed Witness mixture of hard rock, blues rock, progressive rock and psychedelia. Others felt the sound was dated. Record buyers had the deciding vote.
They too were undecided. When Witness was released in November 1973, it stalled at ninety-nine in the US Billboard 200. Witness hadn’t matched the commercial success of You Broke My Heart So I Busted Your Jaw. That was disappointing. However, it wasn’t as disappointing as losing one of the band’s most important figures.
Mike Harrison, who founded The V.I.P.s ten years previously, called time on the band he cofounded with Greg Ridley. The group’s cofounder wanted to pursue other projects. Another departure was bassist Chris Stewart. While he was a loss, his departure didn’t leave the void that Mike Harrison’s left. It was a case of the King is dead, long live the King.
The Mirror.
By 1974, music was changing, and changing fast. Progressive rock was one of the most popular genres. It was the most cerebral type of rock music. Glam rock however, was all style and no substance. Then there was Art Rock, which groups like Roxy Music pioneered. Heavy rock was still popular, with Led Zeppelin and Bad Company two of it’s finest purveyors. Spooky Tooth had previously aligned themselves with hard rock. Now they decided to change direction.
With Spooky Tooth changing direction, a new member joined the band. Val Burke had featured on Witness, but on Mirror became a permanent member. Again, Mike Kellie and Bryson Graham both featured on Witness. Drummer, percussionist and keyboardist Mike Patto, was another new addition. It was a very different version of Spooky Tooth that began work on The Mirror.
Gary Wright wrote just two songs and cowrote the other seven songs. The other members of the band seemed to want to contribute to The Mirror. Mick Jones cowrote Fantasy Satisfier with Gary Wright. They cowrote Two Time Love and The Mirror with Mike Patto. He joined Gary Wright in penning The Hoofer. Along with Kyle and I’m Alive, which Gary Wright cowrote, these nine songs became The Mirror.
When recording of The Mirror began, Gary Wright, Eddie Kramer and Mick Jones were co-producing the album. It quickly became apparent to onlookers, that Spooky Tooth had changed direction. Gospel, pop and R&B combined with rock on The Mirror. Once it was complete, Island Records announced The Mirror would be released in October 1974.
Before then, critics had their say on The Mirror. Most were impressed by the new Spooky Tooth. Some weren’t convinced. The new lineup of Spooky Tooth was a shadow of its vainglorious self. Cynics suggested that Spooky Tooth had dumbed down their sound in the hope of commercial success. If that was the case, it backfired on Spooky Tooth.
When The Mirror was released in October 1974, it only reached 130 in the US Billboard 200. It became Spooky Tooth’s least successful album. However, there was a twist in the tale.
A month after the release of The Mirror, Spooky Tooth announced they were splitting up. The members of Spooky Tooth joined other bands, or embarked upon new projects. Some critics said it was the end of an era.
In reality, the departure of Mike Harrison marked the end of an era. He had founded The V.I.P.s with Greg Ridley in Carlisle, in 1963. The V.I.P.s became Art, and then Art became Spooky Tooth. However, Spooky Tooth without Mike Harrison was gin without the tonic. He was part and parcel of the band’s sound, and been a vital cog in the Spooky Tooth Wheel. Without him, the band limped on, and a year later, literally fell apart.
That was the end of Spooky Tooth until 1999, when they reformed and released Cross Purpose. Mike Harrison was back at the helm. Gary Wright wasn’t part of the newly reformed Spooky Tooth. Making a comeback in the Spooky Tooth story was Island Records founder, Chris Blackwell. He produced Cross Purpose, which proved to be Spooky Tooth’s last studio album.
Spooky Tooth released two live albums, Live In Europe in 2001 and Nomad Poets-Live In Germany 2004, which was released in 2007. By then, Spooky Tooth were still a popular band. That’s the case today, and is why the release of The Island Years box set has to be welcomed.
The nine disc Spooky Tooth box set The Island Years was recently released by Universal Music Group. Unlike many box sets, The Island Years is crammed full of bonus tracks. Every album has numerous bonus tracks tacked onto the end. This makes The Island Years the most comprehensive retrospective of Spooky Tooth’s career.
Especially since it features Art’s one and only album Supernatural Fairy Tales. Along with Spooky Tooth’s seven studio albums and the previously unreleased live recording, Live In Oldenburg 1973, The Island Years is the most comprehensive overview of Spooky Tooth’s sometimes turbulent seven year career. Despite the changes in lineup and breakups, Spooky Tooth managed to make some of the best, most memorable rock music of the late-sixties and early-seventies. Sadly, Spooky Tooth never quite fulfilled their potential.
Drummer Mike Kellie’s observation about the Spooky Tooth’s initial breakup after The Last Puff. Things would’ve been different if Spooky Tooth: “had independent management.” That would’ve been the case throughout their career. Maybe, with the right manager guiding their career, Spooky Tooth would’ve had a settled lineup and The Island Years would’ve lasted longer than seven years.
SPOOKY TOOTH-THE ISLAND YEARS.
VAN MORRISON-HIS BAND AND STREET CHOIR.
VAN MORRISON-HIS BAND AND STREET CHOIR.
When Van Morrison began work on his fourth album His Band and Street Choir, he faced the biggest challenge of his career. His last two albums, 1969s Astral Weeks and 1970s Moondance, had been stonewall classics. Following these albums up wasn’t going to be easy. It was going to be the biggest challenge of Van Morrison’s career.
This challenge began in early 1970. The recently married Van Morrison, was living in Woodstock, in upstate New York. So it made sense to record some demos locally. Van found the perfect location, a small church in Woodstock Village. It was the perfect place to work on new material, which would eventually feature on His Band and Street Choir, which was recently rereleased on Rhino.
Originally, Van wasn’t intending this new material to feature on an album. He had recently released Moondance on the 29th January 1970. It was too soon to think about a new album. That could wait. However, he was happy to hone old songs and work on ideas for new songs. This included songs he had previously written and recorded over the last few years. Van hadn’t been happy with them. Now that he had with some time on his hands, he decided to hone these songs.
Among them, were I’ve Been Working, Domino, Virgo Clowns and Crazy Face. None of these songs were new. Some had been written and recorded years ago.
I’ve Been Working was first recorded in 1968, during the Astral Weeks’ sessions. Crazy Face had been inspired by Going Around with Jesse James, which Van had recorded for Astral Weeks. So it wasn’t a new track. Nor was Domino, which had been recorded several times before. The first times was just after the Astral Weeks’ sessions were completed. Virgo Clowns had been recorded in early 1969. However, just like the other tracks, they never made it onto to an album. So Van began work on them.
At the church, drummer David Shaw (Dahaud Shaar) began setting up microphones and some basic equipment. This included the tape recorder. It was a low-fi setup that Van and his band encountered. Despite this, they began recording demos of I’ve Been Working, Domino, Virgo Clowns and Crazy Face. They then began work on Crazy Face and Give Me a Kiss, which had never been recorded before. Over the next few days and weeks, the sessions at the Woodstock church became a dry run for the recording of His Band and Street Choir in the spring of 1970.
Recording of Van Morrison’s fourth album began in March 1970, at the A&R Recording Studios, in New York. That would be home to Van and his new band for the next four months.
As Van Morrison’s arrived at the A&R Recording Studios, there were some familiar faces in the new band. This included bassist John Klingberg and guitarist John Platania. Both had played on Moondance, and slotted into the rhythm section alongside David Shaw (Dahaud Shaar). He played drums, percussion and bass clarinet, and had played on the Moondance tour. Three other familiar faces were the backing vocalists Judy Clay, Emily Houston and Jackie Verdell. Their backing vocals featured on Moondance. On His Band and Street Choir, they added backing vocals on If I Ever Needed Someone. Joining the veterans of previous Van Morrison albums and tours, were some top musicians.
This included Alan Hand on piano, Hammond organ and celeste. Keith Johnson played trumpet and Hammond organ. Jack Schroer switched between alto and baritone saxophone, and piano. Van Morrison played guitar, harmonica and tenor saxophone. Most importantly, he added his unmistakable vocals. Augmenting his vocals were The Street Choir.
Originally, Van Morrison planned to record his fourth album without a backing band. He had wanted to sing a cappella, with only backing vocalists accompanying him. The backing vocalists Van decided, would be called The Street Choir. However, things didn’t work out that way. Van recorded with a backing band and The Street Choir. It eventually featured Larry Goldsmith, Janet Planet, Andrew Robinson, Ellen Schroer, David Shaw and Martha Velez. The Street Choir and Van Morrison’s band spent the next four months recording the album that was originally meant to be entitled Virgo’s Fool. By July 1970, Virgo’s Fool was complete.
Six months after the release of Moondance, Van Morrison had handed his fourth album into Warner Bros. It hadn’t been smooth sailing. Van Morrison wasn’t happy with the backing vocals. Originally, he had planned to use a quintet. However, additional backing vocalists were drafted in. This he felt, had spoiled the sound of Virgo’s Fool. There was very little he could do now. Warner Bros. were planning on releasing Virgo’s Fool on 15th November 1970, just in time for Christmas.
Although Virgo’s fool had been recorded, the album still had to be mixed and mastered. Then there was the small matter of an album cover. Warner Bros. were determined that the album be released before Christmas. That wasn’t their best idea.
This resulted in the design of the album cover being rushed. Janet Planet, Van’s then wife, designed the album cover and wrote the sleeve notes. They were later criticised by Van’s biographer Brian Hinton as sounding: “a little desperate.” Especially the words: “this is the album that you must sing with, dance to, you must find a place for these songs somewhere in your life.” However, Janet Planet’s words were well meaning. She was trying to ensure Virgo’s Fool was a success. Others weren’t being as careful.
As Warner Bros. prepared the promotional versions of Virgo’s Fool, it was like a chapter of accidents. Instead of the title Virgo’s Fool, the album was entitled His Band and Street Choir. That wasn’t the end of the mistakes. The track listing was wrong. Then as I’ll Be Your Lover, Too draws to a close, part of a conversation could be heard. It should’ve been edited out. That however, wasn’t the end of what was quickly becoming a fiasco.
Photos had been taken for the gatefold album cover by David Gair. He shot the photos at a party for John Planet’s son, Peter. Van Morrison was pictured surrounded by the wives and family of his band. When Van Morrison saw the photos, to was scathing. The photos were “rubbish.” Things got worse. The album cover featured Van Morrison dressed in a full length kaftan. It made Van Morrison looking like the stereotypical hippy. This didn’t please him. He fumed, as he had never embraced the hippy lifestyle. This was just the latest in a series of mishaps. It didn’t bode well for the release of His Band and Street Choir.
Before His Band and Street Choir was released, critics received their copy of the album. Despite the wrong title, incorrect track listing and dreadful album cover, critics were impressed. That wasn’t surprising. Domino had been released as a single, giving people a taster of the album. It reached number nine in the US Billboard 100 and number twenty-two in Holland. So it was no surprise that the reviews of His Band and Street Choir were positive. Just like his last two albums, His Band and Street Choir was released to widespread critical acclaim.
His Band and Street Choir was released on 15th November 1970. The album reached number eighteen in Britain, thirty-two in the US Billboard 200 and number forty-eight in Holland. Despite Astral Weeks and Moondance being regarded as classics, His Band and Street Choir had been a bigger success upon its release. That wasn’t end of the success.
Blue Money was released as a single in 1971, and reached number twenty-three in the US Billboard 100. That made it two hit singles from His Band and Street Choir. Sadly, two didn’t become three when Call Me Up in Dreamland stalled an ninety-five in the US Billboard 100. However, His Band and Street Choir was regarded as a success by Warner Bros. and Van Morrison.
Opening His Band and Street Choir, is Domino a tribute to New Orleans’ born singer Fats Domino. A chirping guitar is joined by an urgent rhythm section and Van’s lived-in vocal. Soon, stabs of blazing horns and a jangling piano join the rhythm section. They drive the arrangement along, while Van delivers a vocal powerhouse, as he gives thanks for “Domino.” Van combines elements of Celtic soul with R&B on what would become one of his best known songs.
Unlike the majority of tracks on His Band and Street Choir, Crazy Face has an 8/4 beat. It’s a track that was inspired by Jesse James. A thoughtful meandering piano is joined by an acoustic guitar and rhythm section. Van’s vocal is best described as a mid-Atlantic twang. Like an actor in a play, Van brings the lyrics about one of America’s most famous outlaws to life. When his vocal drops out, washes of Hammond organ and joined by a scorching saxophone. It’s panned right, leaving plenty of space for the rest of the band. They stretch their legs until Van’s vocal returns. His vocal is a mixture of power and passion. He’s like a showman, as he adds an element of theatre and drama.
A strummed guitar opens Give Me A Kiss, a song Van wrote to celebrate the birth of a child. Happiness fills his vocal, as the bass helps walk the arrangement along. Stabs of growling horns are added. So are doo wop harmonies as this joyous, feel good song begins to swing.
As I’ve Been Working unfolds,the rhythm section, guitars and percussion set the scene for Van’s weary vocal. Soon, the weariness disappears and hope and happiness shines through. He’s with the woman he loves, and suddenly, everything seems worthwhile. Again, the bass is prominent in the mix. Washes of Hammond organ can also be heard in the distance. Then braying horns make an entrance as Van vamps. His vocal is like a stream of consciousness. Then when the vocal drops out, his band jam, and showcase their considerable talents. When Van returns, he vamps and the band play around him. Van and his band are one, on what’s one of the highlights of His Band and Street Choir.
Call Me Up In Dreamland has been inspired by gospel music. and is a song about life on the road. Subtle horns and the bass combine, before a roll of drums signals the arrival of Van’s grizzled vocal. Soon, Van’s joined by gospel-tinged harmonies. They’re crucial to the song’s success. The R&B inspired saxophone that replaces the harmonies work, but only just. The song seems to loose momentum. Then Van saves the day. He literally grabs the song and makes it work. Adding the finishing touch are the returning harmonies. They ensure the song reaches a joyous crescendo.
Slowly and deliberately, a lone acoustic guitar plays on I’ll Be Your Lover, Too. It’s joined by Van’s needy, heartfelt vocal. Soon, drums played by brushes join the acoustic guitars. They allow Van’s impassioned, hopeful vocal to take centre-stage on this beautiful ballad about his relationship.
Blue Money was penned by Van about his financial situation. Despite the seriousness of the situation, Van’s lyrics are full of humour. He’s able to laugh at himself and his problems. That’s the case from the opening bars. A guitar is joined by the rhythm section and Van’s vocal. He strolls through the lyrics, delivering a plethora of puns. Behind him, the band make sure the arrangement swings. Later, The Street Choir add harmonies which augment Van’s vocal on this catchy, pun filled track.
Virgo Clowns should’ve been the title-track to the album. It wasn’t a new song. Originally, it was recorded in early 1969 as (Sit Down) Funny Face. Van rerecorded it during the first Street Choir session as Funny Face. Then at the the A&R Recording Studios it became Virgo Clowns. Urgently strummed guitars, backing vocals and later, a braying saxophone accompany Van’s impassioned vocal.
A celeste opens Gypsy Queen before the bass and acoustic guitar accompany Van’s vocal. It veers between heartfelt to reassuring and powerful. He uses his full vocal range. Behind him, washes of Hammond organ and horns are added. They provide the perfect accompaniment to Van on this heartfelt ballad.
It’s thought that Sweet Jannie was inspired by The Impressions’ Gypsy Woman. There’s certainly an R&B influence present as the arrangement bounds along. Van’s accompanied by the rhythm section and chiming guitars. They’re omnipresent as Van pays homage to The Impressions. Ironically, this homage is by far, the weakest song on the album. Van’s at his best when he’s himself.
Proof of this is If I Ever Needed Someone. He’s accompanied by gospel-tinged harmonies, piano and the bass as he delivers one of his best vocals. It’s full of emotion, and can only be described as soul-baring confessional.
Street Choir closes His Band and Street Choir. A Hammond organ is joined by the rhythm section and piano. Van’s impassioned, hurt-filled vocal is accompanied by soulful harmonies and wistful horns. They’re a potent combination and prove the perfect way to close Van Morrison’s fourth album, His Band and Street Choir.
Despite the problems that beset the release of His Band and Street Choir, the album became the most successful of Van Morrison’s four album career. That’s ironic, given Astral Weeks and Moondance are two of the most important albums not just in Van Morrison’s career, but the history of music. Every album Van Morrison went on to release, was compared to his two classic albums. This includes His Band and Street Choir, which was recently remastered and rereleased by Rhino.
His Band and Street Choir has always been overshadowed by Astral Weeks and Moondance. In 1970, Van Morrison was trying to followup an album of the magnitude of Moondance. It was almost impossible. Critics had said the same about Astral Weeks, and Van came back with Moondance. However, His Band and Street Choir is no Moondance.
Having said that, His Band and Street Choir is a very good album, and for too long, has been understated. It’s one of the finest albums Van Morrison released during the seventies. His Band and Street Choir is only let down by Sweet Jannie, Van’s homage to The Impressions. Apart from that, it’s a case of wallowing in Van Morrison at the peak of his powers on His Band and Street Choir. This creative spell continued.
Right up until 1972, Van Morrison could do no wrong. From Astral Weeks and Moondance, through His Band and Street Choir, 1971s Tupelo Honey and 1972s Saint Dominic’s Preview, Van Morrison was writing and recording some of the best music of his career. These albums featured Van Morrison at the peak of his powers. Despite their undoubted quality, they’ve been overshadowed by his two classic albums, Astral Weeks and Moondance.
Every album Van Morrison released was compared to Astral Weeks and Moondance, rather than viewed as a new piece of work. As a result, Van Morrison spent his career trying surpass, or even match Astral Weeks and Moondance. He never quite managed to do so. However, the nearest Van Morrison came, was on albums like His Band and Street Choir, Tupelo Honey and Saint Dominic’s Preview.
VAN MORRISON-HIS BAND AND STREET CHOIR.
MOGWAI-CENTRAL BELTERS.
MOGWAI-CENTRAL BELTERS.
2015 finds post rock pioneers Mogwai celebrating their twentieth anniversary. A lot has happened in that twenty year period. Mogwai have released eight studio albums and three soundtracks. These albums have been critically acclaimed and commercially successful not just in Britain, but in America. That’s why nowadays, Mogwai are regarded as Scottish music’s elder statesmen. So it’s fitting the Mogwai have recently released a three disc retrospective box set, Central Belters, on Rock Action Records. Central Belters tells the story of twenty years of Mogwai. It’s a story which began in 1991.
That’s when Stuart Braithwaite and Dominic Aitchison first met in Glasgow. Four years later, they met drummer Martin Bulloch and formed Mogwai, which film buffs will remember, is a character from the movie Gremlins. Mogwai was always meant as a temporary name, but it stuck and was on the label of Tuner, their 1996 debut single.
Tuner was released to critical acclaim and the NME awarded it their single of the week award. Two other singles were released during 1996 Angels v. Aliens and Summer, which features on Central Belters. By then Mogwai were a quartet.
Guitarist John Cummings joined the band in 1995. He’s also something of a maestro when it comes to all things technical and is described as playing “guitar and laptop.” He was part of one of the hottest bands of the late nineties, Mogwai who released two more singles in 1997.
The first of these was New Paths To Helicon Pt. 1 which features on Central Belters. It showed Mogwai growing and maturing as a band. NME agreed, and just like their debut single Tuner, New Paths To Helicon Pt. 1 was won NME’s single of the week award. Club Beatroot the followup to was also well received by critics. This was the perfect time for Mogwai to record their debut album, Mogwai Young Team.
Mogwai Young Team.
For Mogwai Young Team, Mogwai brought onboard Brendan O’Hare the Teenage Fanclub’s drummer. Another guest artist was Aidan Moffat of Falkirk based band Arab Strap. He added the vocal to R U Still In 2 It. The rest of Mogwai Young Team consisted of instrumentals. Mogwai Young Team was recorded at Chem 19 studios and produced by two of Scotland’s top producers, ex-Delgado Paul Savage and Andy Miller. Once Mogwai Young Team was completed, it was then released on Scotland’s biggest record label, Chemikal Underground.
Before its release, critics were one over by Mogwai Young Team. Mogwai were hailed Mogwai as a band with a big future. Mogwai Young Team was a hailed as a groundbreaking album of post-rock. An example of that was Mogwai Fear Satan, which features on Central Belters. It’s just one reason critics forecast a big future for Mogwai.
That proved to be a perceptive forecast. When Mogwai Young Team was released on 21st October 1997, sold over 30,000 copies and reached number seventy-five in the UK. The Mogwai Young Team were on their way. However, a few changes were about to take place.
Come On Die Young.
A year later, Mogwai were back in the studio recording their sophomore album Come On Die Young. Much had changed. A new member had joined the band. Barry Buns a flautist and sometimes pianist, had played a few gigs with the band. They then asked him to become the fifth member of Mogwai. Violinst Luke Sutherland joined Mogwai, but not on a full-time basis. This wasn’t the only change.
Recording was split between New York and Glasgow. This time, they’d forsaken Chem 19 in Blantyre and recorded parts of the album in Rarbox Road Studios, New York. Some sessions took place in Glasgow’s Cava Studios. Producing Come On Die Young was Dave Fridman. For some critics, his addition changed Mogwai’s sound.
Some critics felt his production style resulted in a much more orthodox sounding album. However, personally, I felt that Come On Die You was part of Mogwai discovering their “sound” and direction. Come On Die Young is a much more understated, but also ambient, experimental, multi-textured and melodic. There’s a fusion of ambient, grunge and post rock on Come On Die Young, which was released in 29th March 1999.
On its release, Come On Die Young reached number twenty-nine in the UK. Mogwai it seemed were now on their way to finding their sound and fulfilling the potential evident on their debut album. This was apparent with tracks of the quality of Two of its highlights, CODY, Hugh Dallas and Christmas Steps feature on Central Belters. However, like all innovative bands, Mogwai continued to reinvent their music.
This proved to the case on their eponymous E.P. Two of E.P.’s four tracks feature on Central Belters. This includes Stanley Kubrick, which was recorded in the exotic surroundings of Cowdenbeath in Fife. Burn Girl Prom Queen was recorded at Cava Studios, in Mogwai’s hometown of Glasgow. These two tracks were part of E.P., which further enhanced Mogwai’s reputation as post rock pioneers. So did their third album Rock Action.
Rock Action.
Mogwai’s music continued to evolve on their third album 2001s Rock Action. More use was made of electronics on Rock Action. This was part of a process that would continue over the next few albums. There were even more layers and textures on Rock Action. It was as if Mogwai had expanded their palette. Seven of the songs were instrumentals, while Dial Revenge featured Gruff Rhys of Super Furry Animals.
Again, Rock Action was produced by Dave Fridman, while recording took place in New York and at Glasgow’s Cava Studios. Once Rock Action was completed, it became Mogwai’s first album to be released on Play It Again Sam.
Rock Action was released in April 2001, and proved to be Mogwai’s most successful album. It reached number twenty-three in the UK. Critics remarked upon how Rock Action wasn’t as dark an album as its predecessors. That didn’t mean that Mogwai’s view of the world had changed. They were still worldweary. That would become a Mogwai trademark.
Six months after the release of Rock Action, Mogwai returned with another single, The My Father My King. It was released in October 2001, and was described “as the companion piece to Rock Action.” A sticker on the cover bore Mogwai’s description of the single as: “two parts serenity and one part death metal.” That was about to change. Soon, they’d be happy people writing happy songs and making a breakthrough into the American market.
Happy Songs For Happy People.
Happy Songs For Happy People was released in 2003. Mogwai’s evolution continued. Their music continued further down the electronic road. Yes, electric guitars and a drummer were used, but synths were playing a more important role in Mogwai’s music. So were the addition of strings and a piano. They played their part in what was a much more understated album. Part of this change in style was a change of producer.
Tony Doogan was brought onboard as producer. He replaced Dave Fridman. Gone were transatlantic recording sessions. Happy Songs For Happy People was recorded at Cava Sound Studios, Glasgow. On its release in June 2003, Happy Songs For Happy People was well received by critics. Critics drew attention to I Know You Are But What Am I? and Hunted By A Freak, which feature on the new Central Belters compilation. The critics welcomed Mogwai’s latest change in style. So did record buyers.
While Happy Songs For Happy People only reached number forty-seven in the UK, it spent a week in the American charts, reaching number 182 in the US Billboard 200. After four albums, Mogwai had broken into the American market. Happy Songs For Happy People it seemed, was a landmark album.
Having made inroads into the lucrative American market, Mogwai didn’t rush their fifth album. It was released three years after Happy Songs For Happy People. There’s a reason for this. They were working on tree separate projects.
The first was their fifth album Mr. Beast. Then there was the first soundtrack they’d written and recorded. This was for the 2006 movie Zidane: A 21st Century Soundtrack. Mogwai also collaborated with Clint Mansell on the soundtrack to The Fountain. Although soundtracks were a nice sideline for Mogwai, their fifth album Mr. Beast was of huge importance. Especially, if it was a commercial success in America.
Mr. Beast.
Recording of Mr. Beast took place at Mogwai’s new studio, Castle Of Doom Studios in Glasgow. Co-producing Mr.Beast with Mogwai, was Tony Doogan. Between April and October 2005, Mogwai honed their fifth album. Tony Doogan and Mogwai co-produced Mr. Beast. After six months, Mr. Beast was complete. It was Mogwai’s most important album.
Everyone realised the importance of Mr. Beast. Mogwai were on a verge of breaking into the American market. Happy Songs for Happy People had got Mogwai’s foot in the door. Now was the time for the Mogwai Young Team to kick it in, and make their presence felt. That’s what Mogwai intended to do with tracks like Travel Is Dangerous,Friend Of The Night and We’re No Here. They featured Mogwai at their best, and are on the new Central Belters compilation. This trio of tracks would please critics.
On its release, it was mostly, to critical acclaim. Critics were fascinated at how Mogwai’s music continued to evolve. For Mogwai, standing still was going backwards. Groundbreaking music was what record buyers expected from Mogwai.
When Mr. Beast was released on 5th March 2006, record buyers found an album of innovative music. It climbed thirty-one in the UK. Across the Atlantic, Mr. Beast reached number 128 in the US Billboard 200. Mogwai were now one of Scotland’s most successful musical exports. They were certainly Scotland’s most innovative band. This was a title they weren’t going to give up without a fight.
Zidane: A 21st Century Portrait.
Following the release of Mr. Beast, the other two projects that Mogwai had been working on, were released. The first was Zidane: A 21st Century Portrait. The project came about in late 2005, when artist Douglas Gordon asked Mogwai to write and record a soundtrack to a film he was making about Zinedine Zidane, Zidane: A 21st Century Portrait. Mogwai agreed, and this gave them their entry into the world of soundtracks.
Maogwai grasped this opportunity. They recorded Zidane: A 21st Century Portrait at Castle Of Doom Studios. At first hand, Mogwai had recorded ten tracks, which were produced by Tony Doogan. However, when the soundtrack was released, it came baring a secret.
Unlike the seven minutes of Half Time, which features on Central Belters, the hidden track Untitled, is a twenty-three minute epic, featuring Mogwai at their most inventive. That was the case throughout Zidane: A 21st Century Portrait. Most critics realised this. A few, however, didn’t seem to ‘get’ Zidane: A 21st Century Portrait. However, the critics that mattered, gave Mogwai the recognition they deserved when Zidane: A 21st Century Portrait was released on 30th October 2006. Then less than a month later, the soundtrack to The Fountain was released on 27th November 2006.
The Fountain.
The Fountain was a collaboration between contemporary classic composer Clint Mansell, string quartet the Kronos Quartet and Mogwai. To some onlookers, it looked like an unlikely collaboration. That wasn’t the case though.
Mogwai had spent December 2005 locked away in their Castle Of Doom Studios with producer Tony Doogan. Other parts of The Fountain project were recorded in New York and Los Angeles. Then once the project was complete, The Fountain was released on 27th November 2006.
When The Fountain soundtrack was released, the reviews were positive. Mogwai’s contribution to the soundtrack had proved vital, while the Kronos Quartet proved a perfect foil the Mogwai Young Team. Mogwai’s lasted soundtrack had enhanced their reputation as the go-to guys for a soundtrack. That would their sideline in the future. However, before they released another soundtrack, Mogwai would release another two albums.
The Hawk Is Howling.
The first of these was The Hawk Is Howling. To ensure they kept their title of Scotland’s most innovative bands, Mogwai returned to the studio where it all began, Chem 19 in Blantyre.
Andy Miller who’d co-produced Mogwai Young Team, Mogwai’s debut album was chosen to produce what became The Hawk Is Howling. This was Mogwai’s sixth album and marked a first. It was Mogwai’s first album to consist of just instrumentals. Among them were I’m Jim Morrison, I’m Dead, The Sun Smells Too Loud, Batcat and Scotland’s Shame which feature Central Belters. They feature the post rock pioneers pushing musical boundaries to their limits, and sometimes, beyond. Once The Hawk Is Howling was recorded, Garth Jones mixed the album at Castle Of Doom Studios in Glasgow. After that, The Hawk Is Howling was ready for release.
The Hawk Is Howling was released on 22nd September 2008. Critics were won over by The Hawk Is Howling. There were no dissenting voices. This was one of Mogwai’s best albums. So, it was no surprise it sold well in the UK and America.
On its release, The Hawk Is Howling reached number thirty-five in the UK and number ninety-seven in the US Billboard 200. It seemed with each album, Mogwai’s music evolved and matured. This resulted in even more success coming their way. Would this continue with Hardcore Will Never Die?
Hardcore Will Never Die.
For their seventh album, Mogwai returned to Chem 19 Studios in Blantyre, where they hooked up with ex-Delgado Paul Savage. Since he’d produced Mogwai’s debut album, Mogwai Young Team Paul had established a reputation as one of Scotland’s best producers.
By then, Paul Savage had worked with everyone from Franz Ferdinand to R.M. Hubbert. However, it was a very different Mogwai Paul encountered. They were very different to the band who recorded Mogwai Young Team Paul. Their music had evolved and was continuing to do so. They’d matured as musicians and embraced the new technology. Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will was proof of this.
Here was an album of groundbreaking, genre-melting post-rock with attitude. Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will was also an album not short on humour. Poppy soulster Lionel Ritchie provided the inspiration for You’re Lionel Ritchine. There was also a celebratory sound to Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will
The death of Scotland’s nemesis, Margaret Thatcher sparked celebration on Glasgow’s George Square. Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will celebrated that great night again with George Square Thatcher Death Party. Sadly, it’s not on the new Central Belters’ compilation. However, Mexican Grand Prix, Rano Pano and How To Be A Werewolf are. They’re a reminder of an album of pioneering, post rock music crammed full of hooks, humour and attitude. Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will was an album that couldn’t fail.
Before the release of Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will, Rano Pano was released as a single. On the flip side was Hasenheide, which didn’t feature on Hardcore Will Never Die. However, it makes a welcome appearance on Central Belters, and is a reminder that Mogwai’s B-Sides are better than most band’s singles. Things it seemed were looking good for Mogwai.
Yet again, Mogwai won over the majority of critics with Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will. A couple of contrarian critics proved to be mere dissenting voices in the wilderness. Most critics realised that Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will was one of Mogwai’s finest hours. Record buyers would agree.
Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will reached number thirty-five in the UK and number ninety-seven in the US Billboard 200. For Mogwai, they were now into their third decade as band and had just enjoyed their biggest album to date. What next?
Les Revenants.
The answer to that was Les Revenants, a soundtrack to a French television series. Les Revenants or The Returned is essentially a television program about zombies. Unlike similar programs, when the “undead” return to the town they lived in, it’s as they were, not how most films portray zombies. Another difference was the way Mogwai were commissioned.
Usually, someone writing a soundtrack can see the film they’re writing music to. Not Mogwai. They were just shown a few scripts. Then they were given an overview of what the series was about. From there, Mogwai wrote thirteen of the fourteen tracks including Wizard Motor and Hungry Face which features on Central Belters. The other track they chose was What Are They Doing In Heaven Today, which was written by Charles Elbert Tilney. These fourteen tracks were recorded by Mogwai, who produced Les Revenants with Neil MacMenamin. Once Les Revenants was finished, it was released in February 2013.
Before Les Revenants was released an E.P. was released. It featured four tracks. That was a tantalising taster of what was to come. After all, Mogwai would approach a soundtrack like Les Revenants in a different manner. They wouldn’t do anything predictable. Les Revenants was a case of expect the unexpected. Critics loved Les Revenants and hailed the album as one of the best albums Mogwai had released. However, Mogwai had other ideas.
Rave Tapes.
Rave Tapes features ten tracks which were written by Mogwai. These tracks were recorded at Mogwai’s Castle Of Doom Studios, in Glasgow. Producing Rave Tapes was ex-Delgado Paul Savage. He’s produced previous Mogwai albums and knew how the band worked. This was important, given Mogwai were at last, enjoying the critical acclaim and commercial success their music deserved. Work began on Rave Tapes on the 28th August 2013.
This was like the first day back at school. Mogwai were ready to begin recording what was their eighth studio album. The lineup of Mogwai has been settled for a few years. This included a rhythm section of bassist and guitarist Dominic Aitchison, drummer Martin Bulloch and guitarists Stuart Braithwaite and John Cummings who also played piano. Barry Burns plays organ, piano and guitar. at Castle Of Doom Studios, Glasgow, Mogwai recorded the ten tracks that became Rave Tapes, which was released on 20th January 2014.
Rave Tapes was one of the most anticipated albums of 2014. The big question was, what direction Mogwai’s music would head? After all, Mogwai’s music never stands still. It’s in a constant state of evolution. That’s no bad thing. Standing still is akin to going backwards in Mogwai’s book. On Rave Tapes, Mogwai’s music continues to evolve. Musical genres and influences melt into one on Remurdered, The Lord Is Out Of Control and Tell Everyone I Love Them, which all feature on the Central Belters’ box set. However, one of the most prominent influences on Rave was Krautrock. Add to this ambient, avant-garde, electronica, experimental, indie rock and rock. We hear different sides to Mogwai on Rave Tapes. Whether it’s fuzzy soundscapes or kicking out the jams, Mogwai don’t disappoint on Rave Tapes, their most recent album.
Since then, Mogwai haven’t released the followup to Rave Tapes. However, Mogwai released Music Industry 3. Fitness Industry E.P. on 1st of December 2014. Opening this six track E.P. is one of its highlights, Teenage Exorcists. So fittingly, it finds its way onto Mogwai’s three disc retrospective box set, Central Belters.
For anyone yet to discover the delights of of post rock pioneers Mogwai, then the Central Belters’ box set is the perfect starting place. It was recently released on Rock Action Records, and costs no more than an individual CD. It’s Mogwai’s way of thanking their loyal fans who have supported them over the last twenty years. And what a roller coaster it’s been.
Since they formed in 1995, Mogwai have released eight albums and three soundtracks. Then there’s countless singles, E.P.s and two remix albums. Mogwai must be one of the hardest working bands in music. That’s not forgetting one of the most innovative.
For the last twenty years, Mogwai’s music has been ambitious, bold, challenging, influential and innovative music. It’s full of nuances, subtleties and surprises as Mogwai seamlessly combine musical genres. They fuse ambient, avant garde, classic rock, electronica, experimental, indie rock, psychedelia and Krautrock, to create their unique post rock sound. All the time, Mogwai continue to push musical boundaries to their limits and even sometimes, way beyond.
That’s why Mogwai’s music has continued to evolve. They’ve never been content to stand still. Mogwai never play it safe, and their music is never predictable. Leave that to lesser mortals, like Coldplay, Mumford and Sons and Ed Sheeran. While they churn out album after album of similar music, the Mogwai Young Team will be off on a new adventure.
Glasgow’s famous five are due a new musical adventure. It’s nearly two years since the release of Rave Tapes. Hopefully, Mogwai are hard at work on their next musical adventure in their Castle Of Doom studios. This isn’t the type of adventure Enid Blyton’s Famous Five once enjoyed. There’s no picnics, lemonade and bicycle trips. Instead, it’s a bit more edgy and gritty. That’s the case with Central Belters Mogwai’s career retrospective.
Central Belters celebrates twenty years of pioneering post rock from Glasgow’s one and only, Mogwai, who for the last two decades, have been producing music that’s innovative and influential. Long may that continue.
MOGWAI-CENTRAL BELTERS.
DAVID GILMOUR-RATTLE THAT LOCK-VINYL EDITION.
DAVID GILMOUR-RATTLE THAT LOCK-VINYL EDITION.
After a career than spanned forty-seven years, Pink Floyd released their final album, The Endless River. It was the end of an era. Pink Floyd had been a musical institution. For six decades, Pink Floyd had provided the soundtrack to the lives of several generations. However, realistically, The Endless River had to bring the curtain down on Pink Floyd’s career.
Sadly, only two members of the David Gilmour led Pink Floyd were still alive. Drummer Nick Mason and Dave Gilmour were the last men standing.Keyboardist Richard Wright had died in 2008. Despite this, he featured posthumously on The Endless River. It proved a fitting finale to long and illustrious career.
When The Endless River was released on vinyl in November 2014, it was to commercial success and critical acclaim. Across the world, The Endless River was a huge success and showed that Pink Floyd were just as relevant in 2014, as in 1967. This allowed Pink Floyd to bow out while they were still at the top.
After the dust had settled, the speculation began in what the Nick Mason and David Gilmour would do post Pink Floyd. Soon, the word was out that David Gilmour was planning to release his long-awaited fourth studio album.
Over nine years had passed since David Gilmour had released his last studio album On An Island. It had been released in March 2006. Since then, David Gilmour’s only release was Live In Gdańsk in September 2008. For David Gilmour’s loyal fans, another solo album was long overdue.
Their patience was rewarded when Rattle That Lock was released on Sony Music, on 18th September 2015. David Gilmour had spent much of 2014 and 2015 recording Rattle That Lock.
Rattle That Lock featured ten new songs. This included three instrumentals, 5 A.M., Beauty and And Then. They were penned by David Gilmour. So were Faces of Stone and Dancing Right In Front Of Me. A Boat Lies Waiting, In Any Tongue, The Girl in the Yellow Dress and Today were written by David and his partner Polly Sampson. They also cowrote Rattle That Lock with Michaël Boumendil. These ten tracks would become David Gilmour’s fourth studio album Rattle That Lock. It was recording at four studios.
Most of the recording of Rattle That Lock took place at David’s Medina Studio, in Hove. Other parts were recorded at Astoria Studio in Middlesex, Abbey Road Studios and the orchestral parts were recorded at AIR Studios in London. Zbigniew Preisner took charge of the orchestration. He was just part of a huge cast that accompanyied David Gilmour.
This included some big names. One of them was coproducer Phil Manzanera. He had previously co-produced On An Island and Live In Gdańsk. This time around, he played Hammond organ, keyboards and acoustic guitar. Phil was just one of over thirty musicians and backing vocalists played a part in the making of Rattle That Lock. Some played on just one tracks. Others played on several tracks.
That’s why rhythm section included several drummers, bassists and guitarists. Drummers including Martin France, Andy Newark and Steve DiStanislao who added percussion. Bassists included Guy Pratt and Yaron Stavi also played standup bass. So did Chris Laurence. Guitarists included Rado Klose and John Parricelli. This was just part of cast that featured on Rattle That Lock.
Joining the rhythm section were pianists Roger Eno, Gabriel Gilmour and Jools Holland. Jon Carin and Mike Rowe both played electric piano. Robert Wyatt played cornet on The Girl In The Yellow Dress. Saxophonist Colin Stetson joined percussionist Danny Cummings was joined by Eira Owen on French horn. A poignant inclusion was a sample of Rick Wright’s voice. The late Pink Floyd keyboardist. Augmenting the musicians were backing singers.
Backing vocalists included two members of Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young. David Crosby and Graham Nash joined some less well known names. Among them were Mica Paris, The Liberty Choir and Louise Marshall. They were joined by David Gilmour’s partner Polly Samson. Together, they accompanied David, who played guitars, bass, bass harmonica, electronic harmonica, Hammond organ, keyboards, piano and added vocals. He also co-produced Rattle That Lock with Phil Manzanera. It was scheduled for release on 18th September 2015. Before that, the title-track was released as a single.
On 17th July 2015, Rattle That Lock was released as a single. Although it was well received, especially by DJs, the only place that Rattle That Lock charted was in France. Even then, it stalled at number seventy-one. Two months later, on 4th September 2015, Today was released as a single. Just like Rattle That Lock, it wasn’t a commercial success, failing to chart anywhere. To make matters worse, the critics were about to have their say on Rattle That Lock.
When Rattle That Lock was released, critics didn’t go overboard about the album. Some hailed Rattle That Lock David Gilmour’s finest album to date. Others disagreed. Some went further, and seemed to take an instant dislike to the album. That was ironic.
Previously, David had patiently had done the rounds of the music press. Having granted them interviews, he patiently and politely answered the same question time after time. They proceeded to stab him in the back. Suddenly, it 44BC and David was Julius Caesar. The cynics in the press were Gaius Cassius Longinus and Marcus Junius Brutus. However, these mixed reviews didn’t affect sales.
After being on sale for less than a month, Rattle That Lock has been in top ten in twenty-four countries. In America, Rattle That Lock reached number five in the US Billboard 200 charts. Meanwhile, Rattle That Lock reached number one in Britain. It was a similar story in Belgium, the Czech Republic, France, Italy, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Scotland, Spain and Sweden. That wasn’t the end of the commercial success. Rattle That Lock was certified silver in Britain and gold in Italy. David Gilmour’s fourth studio album Rattle That Lock, had been a resounding success. No wonder.
Opening Rattle That Lock is the instrumental 5.A.M. The sound of the day dawning opens the track. Birds cheep, as a wash of strings combine with a bass. David’s crystalline guitar shimmers and chimes. All his years of experience shine through, and a beautiful track unfolds. Stabs of keyboards, a glistening cymbal and guitar join the washes of strings. However, it’s David’s guitar playing that’s at the heart of the song’s sound and success.
Rattle That Lock was chosen as the lead single from the album. No wonder. It has a contemporary sound, and should’ve been a much bigger success than it was. Especially given it’s long on hooks. Synths usher in the rhythm section. A funky bass and chiming guitar are joined by David’s lived-in heartfelt vocal. He reassures, trying to tell her things can be the way they were. Harmonies accompany David. They’re almost reassuring. They remain when the vocal drops out. Then it’s time for David to unleash another of his searing guitar solo. When his vocal returns, it’s needy and hopeful. It’s as if David has experience what he’s singing about. Maybe that’s why it’s such an irresistible, hook-laden and radio-friendly song?
The piano on Faces Of Stone is almost reminiscent of Brian Eno’s seventies ambient music. It’s accompanied by subtle swathes of synths, and then a guitar. It accompanies David’s rueful vocal, as memories come flooding back. An accordion is played by Damon Iddins who also adds a calliope keyboard. By then, the arrangement is perfect foil David’s vocal. Then David lays down a searing guitar solo so far. It’s replaced by strings, before David’s vocal brings back memories of classic Pink Floyd. Later, the arrangement has a French sound. Maybe the meeting David is singing took place late one night in Paris, by the Seine, and he wants to replicate this?
Just like the previous track, A Boat Lies Waiting is reminiscent of the piano on Brian Eno’s seventies ambient albums. This time, it’s not surpassing. The pianist is Roger Eno, Brian’s brother. His moody, ambient piano paints a cinematic sound. It’s joined by a weeping guitar. Then the understated sound is gone. As the piano injects an element of drama, percussion and sound effects join the guitar. Still, there’s a cinematic sound. David’s vocal doesn’t enter until 2.20. Its rueful and tinged with regret and loneliness. Backing vocals, piano and weeping guitar accompany him. Together, they create a lament for love lost.
Jaunty keyboards open Dancing Right In Front of Me. They’re played confidently, while a subtle guitar chimes and reverberates. Then a bold, blistering guitar ushers in David’s vocal. It’s full of emotion, sadness and despair. He can’t believe what’s happened to his relations. There’s still hope though: “I’m stuck here waiting for the stars to align.” When David’s vocal drops out, the guitar blistering cuts through the arrangement. Then when David’s vocal returns, cooing harmonies continue to accompany. They then take centre-stage. So do a guitar, jazz-tinged piano and standup bass on this six minute soul-baring ballad.
David whistles happily as In Any Tongue opens. Then washes of broody synths and what sounds like an animal growling can be heard. Already, it sounds like a lost Pink Floyd song. That’s definitely the case when the rhythm section, piano and David’s despairing vocal enters. “What has he done, God help my son,” a maudlin David sings. This sounds like a reference to the arrest, and subsequent imprisonment of David’s son in 2011. Emotion seems to well up, as David wonders where he went wrong? Drama and emotion are present in equal measures. A piano adds a pensive, moody sound. So do the strings, as David lays bare his hurt and soul for all to see on this confessional.
After baring his soul on In Any Tongue, it’s as if David needs emotional respite. Beauty is an instrumental. A jagged detuned electronic harmonic is joined by washes of moody synths. Pianist Roger Eno returns. He proves the perfect foil for David’s guitar. They converse, and take centre-stage. Later, weeping and scrabbled guitar join swathes of strings. So does a bass and a searing guitar. Elements of ambient, electronica, post rock and rock melt into one, as David Gilmour and his multi-talented band create a majestic musical tapestry.
A standup bass gives The Girl In A Yellow Dress a jazz-tinged sound. Everyone takes their lead from the standup bass. David’s vocal is delivered in a similar jazzy style as he sings: “The Girl In A Yellow Dress says yes.” There’s a sense of sadness and pathos in the lyrics, as he remembers this emotionless encounter. Adding to the sadness and pathos is Robert Wyatt’s cornet. Along with the rest of David’s band, he helps transport the listener to a smokey, jazz club in the late-forties or early-fifties. Meanwhile, a rueful David has dawned the role of storyteller on what’s another cinematic track.
Just a lone droning sound ushers in the choir on Today. They sing tenderly, giving the arrangement a pastoral sound. After fifty-one seconds it’s all change. The rhythm section get funky, while chunky keyboards accompany David’s floaty, dreamy vocal. “Feel that sun on your back, feel the shadows falling.” Soulful harmonies accompany David as he continues to show his versatility. Seamlessly, he switches between styles. Today sees David move towards the dace-floor. Doubtless, someone will remix what’s another joyous, hook-heavy song.
Closing Rattle That Lock is And Then, the third instrumental. A lone drone gives way to David’s crystalline guitar. Behind him, a standup bass and lush strings are playing supporting roles. They frame another of David’s peerless, chiming guitar solos. It brings back memories of classic Pink Floyd albums, where David’s inimitable guitar played a starring role. Here, his guitar adds a melancholy, sometimes reflective hue. Maybe he’s reflecting on what’s been a glorious six decade career with Pink Floyd and as a solo artist, and realises that only Nick Mason and he remian. Sadly, it’s a case of And Then there were two. However, one thing will remain, Pink Floyd and David’s musical legacy.
The latest addition to this rich musical legacy is Rattle That Lock. It’s a worthy addition, and is the best album in David Gilmour’s four album solo solo career. Rattle That Lock took the best part of two years to record. That was time well spent.
Over nearly two years, a huge cast of musicians, backing singers and an orchestra accompanied David Gilmour. He and his co-producer Phil Manzanera crafted a quite beautiful and eclectic album. There’s elements of ambient, classic rock, jazz, pop and post rock on Rattle That Lock. Seamlessly, David switches between genres. He’s just as happy delivering a soul-baring ballad like In Any Tongue as he is delivering the jazz-tinged The Girl In The Yellow Dress. Then there’s a trio of cinematic instrumentals. Each and every one of them paint pictures. However, And Then features a reflective David. It’s as if he’s remembering his fallen comrades from Pink Floyd. And Then proves a poignant way to close Rattle That Lock which was recently released on vinyl by Sony Music.
David’s Gilmour’s fourth studio album, Rattle That Lock, is his first since Pink Floyd’s swan-song, The Endless River. Rattle That Lock is, without doubt, the finest album of David Gilmour’s career, and shows that there’s life after Pink Floyd.
DAVID GILMOUR-RATTLE THAT LOCK-VINYL EDITION.
MUSIK FOR AUTOBAHNS VOLUME 2.
MUSIK FOR AUTOBAHNS VOLUME 2.
The compilation market has to be one of the most competitive markets. Every week, hundreds of compilations are released. They vary considerably in quality, and range from the good, bad and indifferent. However, very occasionally, a compilation stops a critic in their tracks. That was the case with Gerd Jenson’s Musik For Autobahns compilation.
Musik For Autobahns was released back in March 2013, on the Rush Hour label. Described as: “Industrial Ambient and Electrifying New Age,” Musik For Autobahns struck a nerve with critics and record buyers. It was well received upon its release. No wonder.
There were exclusive tracks from Âme, Move D, Quiet Village Marco Passarani, Roman Flügel and Tom Trago on Musik For Autobahns. It seemed compiler Gerd Jenson was picking up where he left off with his Computer Incarnations For World Peace compilations. They had been one of success stories at the Sonal Kollectiv label. Musik For Autobahns looked like being Gerd Jenson’s next success story.
Many people thought that it wouldn’t be long until Musik For Autobahns Volume 2 was released. After all, why not strike while the iron is hot? However, two-and-half years passed before Musik For Autobahns Volume 2 was released on 30th October 2015 on Rush Hour.
It seems Gerd Jenson was determined that Musik For Autobahns Volume 2 would match or surpass the quality of Musik For Autobahns. He was only going to release Musik For Autobahns Volume 2 when he had the best music possible. Eventually, Gerd had secured tracks from Conga Radion, Joy Orbison, AKSK, Shan, Bicep, Orson Welles and Lauer. Will this music match Musik For Autobahns Volume 2’s description of “Ambient Race Car Music?”
For Musik For Autobahns Volume 2’s opening track, Gerd Jenson has chosen Conga Radio’s 168 North. Conga Radio will be a new name to most people. They released Naturalmente as a single in March 2015 on the Good Timin’ label. 168 North is an interesting choice of track. It’s not as ambient as I’d expected as genres melt into one. Elements of ambient, electronica, funk, house and jazz can be heard. From hypnotic and funky, the the music becomes upbeat, melodic and joyous. With its feel-good sound, many people will enjoy 168 North as party of the soundtrack to their journey. However, personally, it’s the wrong track to open the album. I would be controversial and suggest that the track doesn’t belong on the album, given it’s so far removed from “Ambient Race Car Music.”
Portsmouth based ‘producer’ Leon Vynehall released his debut album Music For The Uninvited in 2014. However, Leon has submitted a new track for Musik For Autobahns Volume 2. That’s Midnight On Rainbow Road. Its much more what I’d been expect. It has a dreamy, mesmeric ambient sound. The music just washes over the listener, and sometimes, sounds like a journey at Midnight On Rainbow Road. Given the track’s ambient quality it would’ve made sense if it opened Musik For Autobahns Volume 2. It would certainly have set the tone for the album much better.
Peter O’Grady a.k.a. Joy Orbison is following in the footsteps of his uncle, Ray Keith. He spent four decades DJ-ing and producing. However, Joy Orbison is just at the start of his career. Going by the quality of Joy Orbison’s contribution A213, he has a bright future ahead of him. His moody, pulsating, Kraftwerk influenced journey down the Autobahn or A213 one of the highlights of Musik For Autobahns Volume 2.
AKSK is a collaboration between Adda Kaleh and Suzanne Kraft. They contribute Breathing, a quite beautiful, dreamy ambient track. It’s reminiscent of the music that was popular in the mid to late nineties, when ‘chill out’ music was popular. There’s a nod to AIR and Afterlife on a track that will make your trip down the Autobahn all the more enjoyable.
Since 2013, Shan, a Frankfurt based producer has released a handful of singles. His star seems to be in the ascendancy. So it’s fitting that this rising star has been asked to contribute a track. Awakening is Shan’s contribution. With its futuristic, otherworldly sound, it’s as if Shan’s drawn inspiration from the great German ambient composers of the seventies. He’s then given this a moderne twist, including the hypnotic, mesmeric drums. The sci-fi sounds add to the cinematic sound, and make you wonder what’s hovering above your automobile?
Bicep are an experienced DJ and production duo from Belfast, in Northern Ireland. Andrew Ferguson and Matthew McBriar have been making music together since 2010, and have an impressive back-catalogue. They contributed Bicep, which again, sounds as if it’s been influenced by Kraftwerk. This seven minute epic has a futuristic, hypnotic epic. Again, I wouldn’t describe the track as ambient. However, it could be part of some people’s soundtrack to a journey down the autobahn.
Michael Greene has released two albums as Fort Romeau. His debut was Kingdoms, with Insides following earlier in 2015. Seleno is a new track, and is perfect for Musik For Autobahns Volume 2. Just like other tracks on the compilation, Krafwerk are a noticeable influence. So are ambient, techno and house. This mesmeric, otherworldly sounding track oozes quality. Fort Romeau experience has been put to good use, and the result is a track that’s a perfect fit for Musik For Autobahns Volume 2. It sounds like “ambient race car music.”
A compilation with a track from Orson Welles I hear you ask? That would be incredible. He died thirty years ago. So unless a medium was brought into the recording studio, and they channeled copious amounts of woo, it’s someone else. That’s the case. Instead, it’s Orson Wells. This is one of three aliases producer Lennard Poschmann uses. Orson Wells’ contribution is Orbiting Jupiters. It sees Orson spiring a cornucopia of surprises. From a spacey, sci-fi sound Orbiting Jupiters becomes jazz-tinged, before there’s a nod to Acid House. All the time the dreamy, meditative and otherworldly cinematic sound captivates.
Just like James Bond, Mike Taylor dawns an alter ego. Mike’s is the wonderfully named Disco Nihilist. His previous productions include It’s Grim Up North and Running Far Away. For Musik For Autobahns Volume 2, Disco Nihilist contributes Melancholy. Somewhat ironically, given his moniker there’s a disco influence to the shuffling, mesmeric Melancholy. Whether it fits the description of: “ambient race car music” is debatable? However, it’s quality can’t be faulted.
Lauer’s Autofahrn closes Musik For Autobahns Volume 2. DJ and producer Phillip Lauer is obviously a huge fan of Kraftwerk. He pays homage to Ralf Hütter’s groundbreaking group on Autofahrn. It’s been inspired by Kraftwerk’s Autobahn. Phillp Lauer even uses the vocoder to add sing “Autofahrn.” Despite being influenced by a Kraftwerk classic, Autofahrn is one of the highlights of Musik For Autobahns Volume 2, the long-awaited and much-anticipated followup to Musik For Autobahns.
It was released in March 2013. Since then, many people have eagerly awaited the release of Musik For Autobahns Volume 2. Two-and-a-half years is a long time to wait for this compilation of “Ambient Race Car Music.” However, has it been worth the wait?
When I pressed play and heard Conga Radio’s 168 North, I was disappointed. There was nothing wrong with the quality of music. Instead, 168 North isn’t what most people would expect from an album of “Ambient Race Car Music.” Things improved with Leon Vynehall’s Midnight on Rainbow Road and Joy Orbison’s A213. It was like being on a journey down the autobahn late at night. Even the breathy ambient sound of AKSK’s Breaking fitted in. From there Shan, Fort Romeau and Orson Wells keep the “Ambient Race Car Music” coming. There’s a blip with Bicep’s Carmine the ironically named Disco Nihilist. Despite their quality, neither track fits in with the “Ambient Race Car Music” theme. However, Lauer, like a musical superhero, saves the day with Autofahrn, his homage to Kraftwerk’s Autobahn. That seemed a fitting way to end Musik For Autobahns Volume 2.
After all, Kraftwerk are one of the most important and innovative groups in the history of electronic music. Without them, the musical landscape would be very different. Given the influence they’ve had on electronic music, it’s no surprise that so many artists on Musik For Autobahns Volume 2 referenced Kraftwerk. Their influence can be heard on several tracks. This includes some of the highlights of the highlights of this eagerly-awaited compilation. However, has Musik For Autobahns Volume 2 been worth the wait?
Yes and no. There’s some good music on Musik For Autobahns Volume 2. Sadly, none of the tracks are outstanding. Similarly, the compilation is good, but not great. It’s more Borussia Monchengladbach than Bayern Munich. Musik For Autobahns Volume 2. That’s a shame, as Musik For Autobahns Volume 2 has been eagerly awaited. However, there’s been much better compilations released during 2015. Most of the tracks are worthy of their place on Musik For Autobahns Volume 2. The others have wandered onto the wrong movie. Gerd Jenson’s compilation of “Ambient Race Car Music” has left me feeling somewhat disappointed.
For some time, I had been looking forward to the release of Musik For Autobahns Volume 2. Sadly, the compilation hasn’t matched the hype. This album of “Ambient Race Car Music” isn’t the laid-back, loved-up journey I had hoped. Musik For Autobahns Volume 2 won’t send you down the autobahn in a beatific, mesmeric and chilled out state. Having said that, road-rage will be the last thing on your mind. Most likely, you’ll end up reaching for your trusty copy of Kraftwerk’s Autobahn, rather than Musik For Autobahns Volume 2.
MUSIK FOR AUTOBAHNS VOLUME 2.
GLORIA-GEISTER.
GLORIA-GEISTER.
Just two years have passed since Gloria released their eponymous debut album. Since 2013, Gloria’s star has been in the ascendancy. They’re regarded as one of the rising stars of the German music scene. However, things were very different when Klaas Heufer-Umlauf, Mark Tavassol, and Tim Schierenbeck first started making music.
Back then, music was a hobby for the three members of Gloria.They practised in various flats in Hamburg. It was their way of relaxing when the day was done. Gradually, though, things started to change.
After three years practising and recording songs, Mark Tavassol realised that maybe, they had enough material for an album. Given Mark’s past, it made sense that he become producer.
Between 2000 and 2012, Mark Tavassol had been a member of the band Wir Sind Helden. They released six albums between 2003 and 2010. However, in 2012 Wir Sind Helden was put on hold indefinitely. It wasn’t long after that, when Mark met the other two members of Gloria.
Tim Schierenbeck had also been in a band, The Splashdowns. They released three albums between 2000 and 2011. The only member of Gloria not to have been in a band, was Klaas Heufer-Umlauf. However, he was a familiar face in Germany. He was a TV host and actor. When he joined Gloria, he added singer to his CV.
When Mark took over the role of Gloria’s producer, he realised the band had potential. Although Klaus was initially a reluctant vocalist, he was talented. Combined with the experience Mark and Tim brought to Gloria, they could be a potent combination. So Mark began working on the songs.
Soon, the songs began to take shape. These songs were unique. Later, the members of Gloria described them as: “rough clever poetry, verses for deep nights…things for the best times of the day, lines that you write on the hand, so you have them ready quickly.” These literate, musical musings beam Gloria, the Hamburg based group’s eponymous debut album.
Gloria.
Before Gloria was released on 27th September 2013, on one of Germany’s premier labels, Grönland Records, critics had their say on the album. Gloria was well received by critics. They were impressed by an album of well crafted songs written by the three members of Gloria. These songs were melodic, emotive and came to life thanks to Klaas Heufer-Umlauf’s vocals. Buoyed by critically acclaimed reviews, Gloria was released on 27th September 2013, just before Gloria headed out on tour.
The tour started in Berlin, before heading to Hamburg, Gloria’s hometown. That night in Hamburg, Gloria were the homecoming Kings. Having wowed their hometown crowd, Gloria’s tour continued. By then, their eponymous debut album was proving a commercial success. Gloria’s star was in the ascendancy, and a great future was forecast for the group.
Geister.
Since then, Gloria have returned to the studio and have recorded their sophomore album Geister (Ghosts). It features eleven new songs. Just like Gloria, the eleven songs on Geister were penned by the three members of the band. Gloria then headed to the studio.
In the Hamburg studio, Gloria began work on their sophomore album. Mark Tavassol played bass and Tim Schierenbeck drums. Klaas Heufer-Umlauf the once reluctant frontman, was now an assured lead vocalist. The three friends recorded eleven tracks which became Geister.
Just like Gloria, Geister was released on Berlin-based Grönland Records. However, before that critics had their say on Gloria’s new album. They hailed the album a fitting followup to Gloria. Geister was released to plaudits and critical acclaim. Gloria had come a long way since their early days in Hamburg.
That’s apparent on Geister. It seemed that in the two years since Gloria had released their debut album, they’ve certainly grown and matured as a band. They’re a tight, talented who come across as self-assured and confident. Seamlessly, Gloria combine brief moments of ambient with elements of indie rock, pop and post rock on Geister. However, where they’ve really matured is as songwriters.
That’s the case from Heilige Und Hunde. Gradually it builds and soon, Gloria are heading towards anthem territory. Hooks haven’t been rationed, as the song becomes a rhythmic and emotive roller coaster. By then, it’s hard to believe that Geister is only Gloria’s sophomore album. They sound much more assured than many bands who’ve only released one album. That continues to be the case.
Gloria are fortunate that they’ve three talented songwriters. They contribute lyrics that thoughtful and pensive. Soon, the listener is reflecting and ruminating. Especially on tracks like the piano lead Geister. It’s just like Heilige Und Hunde, in that it starts slowly and quickly builds. In the process, you’re captivated by Gloria’s ability to combine cerebral lyrics and subtle hooks. That continues throughout Geister.
Das, Was Passiert and Das Seil follow one after another. It’s as if Gloria are looking for, and need answers. Impassioned, searching and questioning vocals seek answers. On each song, Klaas sounds on the edge. There’s an element of desperation. It shines through on Schwaches Gift. This outpouring of emotion is akin to a cry for help. It’s powerful, emotive music. Sometimes, though, the darkness lifts.
Then on Neu Beginnen its all change. There’s a New Beginning. All of a sudden, there’s hope for the future. However, then on the melancholy sounding Kreis, it’s as if the darkness has descended and there’s no way out. Despite this sense of despair, Neu Beginnen is one of Geister’s highlights. It’s a beautiful, soul-baring song. So is Der Pilot, which is akin to a moving confessional. Without doubt, it’s another of Gloria’s finest moments.
Having just said that, the quality keeps on coming.The mid-tempo Haut is another anthemic sounding track. Then on the wistful sounding Ohne Träume, which closes Geister, Gloria burst into life and take the listener on a melodic musical journey. Sometimes, they sound like mid-period U2. Especially the guitars. However, there’s a sense of sadness in the vocal to Without Dreams. Just like so many of the songs Geister, Ohne Träume oozes emotion, and tugs at the listener’s heartstrings. That’s down to Klaas’ vocal and a trio of talented songwriters, whose career is blossoming.
Listening to Geister, it’s difficult to believe that this is just Gloria’s sophomore album. They’re a tight, talented and self-assured band. In a way, that’s not surprising. Two members of Gloria have been members of successful bands.
Mark Tavassol spent twelve years with Wir Sind Helden. Tim Schierenbeck was a member of The Splashdown when they recorded three albums. Both were experienced bands. This was good experience for Gloria, the bedroom band turned musical phenomenon. However, Klaas Heufer-Umlauf had been an actor and TV host. Now he’s added singer and songwriter to his CV.
Klaas Heufer-Umlauf seems to have grown into the role of frontman. He seems much more comfortable with his new role, as he brings the lyrics to life. Sometimes, it’s despair or sadness that’s required. Other times Klass has to empathise. Then occasionally, hope and joy shines through. Just like all vocalists, Klaas has to be a chameleon, bringing a variety of emotions to the table. He does this very well. Maybe his experience acting experience helps? Whether that’s the case, Gloria are a band with a big future ahead of them.
After releasing just two albums, Gloria’s star is in the ascendancy. They’re one of the rising stars of the German music scene. Geister, their recently released by Grönland Records marks a coming of age from Gloria.
For anyone who enjoys well-crafted, cerebral and emotive music then Geister is sure to appeal to them. It’s melancholy, pensive and reflective music. That’s not all. The music on Geister is also beautiful, sometimes hopeful and joyful. Geister is also awash with a plethora of hooks. They grab the listener’s attention, and soon they’re captivated. What follows is music that’s variously anthemic, melodic, contemplative, reflective and thought-provoking. Geister, which is Gloria’s latest and greatest album, is designed to make the listener think, and certainly does that.
GLORIA-GEISTER.
HARMONIA COMPLETE WORKS.
HARMONIA COMPLETE WORKS.
All too often, groundbreaking music is overlooked upon its release. It’s only much later, that the music’s importance and innovation is recognised. Musical history is littered with examples. This includes Harmonia, Germany’s first supergroup.
Harmonia featured members members of Neu! and Cluster. They decided to form a new group, and went on to release two studio albums. Their debut was Musik Von Harmonia in 1974. Brian Eno on hearing Musik Von Harmonia, called Harmonia: “the most important band in the world.” Despite such high praise, Musik Von Harmonia wasn’t a commercial success. However, Harmonia weren’t going to give up.
Instead, Harmonia returned to Forst, where they recorded another album, Deluxe. When Deluxe was released in 1975, lightning struck twice. Harmonia’s sophomore album passed critics and record buyers by. They didn’t seem to ‘get’ Harmonia’s music. However, Brian Eno did.
So Brian Eno joined Harmonia in Forst, where they recorded an album in eleven days. This could’ve and should’ve been the album that gave Harmonia their commercial breakthrough. However, the master-tapes were lost, and only discovered twenty years later. By then, Harmonia were being recognised as one of the most important, influential and innovative Komische bands of the seventies.
Since then, Harmonia sit proudly at the top table of German music, where they rub shoulders with Can, Karaftwerk and Neu! Belatedly, Harmonia are receiving the plaudits that they so richly deserve. To document and celebrate Harmonia’s arrival at the top table of German music, a new Harmonia box set, Complete Works will be released by Grönland Records on 30th October 2015.
The best way to describe the Complete Works box set, is a lovingly curated and luxurious box set. Michael Rother has overseen the remastering of Harmonia’s music for Complete Works, which will be released. He explains what’s included in the Complete Works box set. “There’s five digitally remastered LPs, including: Musik Von Harmonia, Deluxe, Tracks and Traces, Live ’74 and an album of unreleased material. Then there’s a thirty-six page booklet, download code and a copy of an original tour poster.” It’s a fitting tribute to Harmonia, whose career began in 1973.
Back in 1973, Neu! had just released their sophomore album Neu! 2. It failed to match commercial success and critical acclaim of their eponymous debut album. Neu! had sold 30,000 copies in Germany alone. This was good for an underground album. However, Neu! 2 was a different matter.
The problems started when Neu! went into the studio to record Neu! 2. They had booked ten days to record their second album. This should’ve been plenty of time. Neu! had recorded their debut album in four days. However, Micahel and Klaus spent too long recording side one of the album. With only three days left, the pair panicked. Desperation set in. Then they remembered a single Neu! had released, Neuschnee which featured Super on the flip-side. This was the solution to their problems.
So for side two of Neu! 2, Michael and Klaus recorded versions of Neuschnee and Super. Michael remembers “We did all sorts of things. I played the single on a turntable, and Klaus kicked it as it played. We than played the songs in a cassette player, slowing and speeding up the sound, and mangling the sound in the process.” Just like their debut album, Neu! 2 was completed just in time. It was another: “close shave.”
With Neu! 2 complete, it was scheduled for release later in 1973. When the album was released, critics were won over by side one. Neu! were refining the sound of their debut album. Für immer was Neu! 2’s masterpiece. However, critics weren’t impressed by side two.
Many critics saw the music as gimmicky, and accused Neu! trying to fool and rip off record buyers. Indignant critics took the moral high-ground. Some record buyers agreed. “They felt that we were trying to rip them off. That was not the case.” Side two was Neu! at their most experimental, deconstructing ready made music only to reconstruct or manipulate it. However, neither critics nor record buyers realised this, and Neu! 2 failed commercially. This left Michael Rother and Klause Dinger with a problem.
Both men decided to look for a solution to the problem. Klaus headed to London, where he tried to drum up interest in Neu! Meanwhile, Michael found the solution to his problem in a song.
After hearing “Im Süden, a track from Cluster’s sophomore album Cluster II,” Micahel Rother decided to turn Neu! into the first German supergroup. So Michael embarked upon a journey to the Forst Commune, where his he had a proposal for two of his friends, Dieter Moebius and Hans-Joachim Roedelius of Cluster.
As Michael made his way to the Forst Commune, he wondered if Dieter Moebius and Hans-Joachim Roedelius would be interested in joining an extended lineup of Neu!? Then Michael began to consider another possibility, a German supergroup consisting of Neu! and Cluster? This would be a first. Nobody had ever tried this before. It was the opportunity of a lifetime.
Soon, it became apparent that Michael’s idea of a supergroup was about to take shape, just not in the way Michael had originally envisaged. That initial jam later became Ohrwurm, a track from Harmonia’s 1974 debut album Musik von Harmonia. Following their initial jam session, Michael stayed at the Forst Commune to prepare for the recording of Harmonia’s debut album. Germany’s first supergroup had just been born. It wasn’t an extended version of Neu! Instead, it was a new band Harmonia.
Musik von Harmonia.
Soon, Michael Rother, Dieter Moebius and Hans-Joachim Roedelius started recording what became Musik von Harmonia in June 1973. It was meeting of musical minds. Over the next five months, Harmonia recorded eight songs. The two members of Cluster were receptive to Michael Rother’s way of working. Hans-Joachim Roedelius explained recently: “there were no problems, we wanted to learn. Previously, we improvised, which made playing live problematic. A song was merely the starting point, it could go anywhere. Michael however, taught us about structure. We influenced him. It was a two-way thing.”
That’s definitely the case. Michael Rother believes: “that working with Dieter Moebius and Hans-Joachim Roedelius made him a more complete musician.” Over his time working with the two members of Cluster; “I learnt so much.”
This became apparent when Musik von Harmonia was completed in November 1974. Harmonia’s 1974 debut album, Musik von Harmonia, was a move towards ambient rock. Both Michael Rother and the two members of Cluster’s influences can be heard on the nascent supergroup’s debut album. It was released in January 1974.
When Musik von Harmonia was released, many critics realised the importance of what’s a groundbreaking classic. It saw this nascent supergroup seamlessly embrace and incorporate disparate musical genres. In the process, Harmonia set the bar high for future ambient rock albums. Despite the critical acclaim that accompanied Musik von Harmonia, the album wasn’t a commercial success.
Michael Rother remember ruefully: “the seventies weren’t a good time for Harmonia. Our music was ignored, it was tough to survive during this period. So towards the end of 1974, Michael and Klaus reunited for Neu!’s third album.
That wasn’t the end of Harmonia though. Neu! spent December 1974 and January of 1975 recording their third album Neu! 75. It was scheduled for release later in 1975. By then, the recording of Harmona’s sophomore album began in June 1975.
The Reuturn Of Harmonia-Deluxe.
In June 1975, the three members of Harmonia returned to their studio in Forst for the recording of their sophomore album, Deluxe. Joining them, was a new face, Conny Plank, who was
Co-producing Deluxe. Conny Plank and Michael were good friends, and had worked together on three projects. This included Kraftwerk’s aborted album and Neu!’s two album. The addition of the man who Michael Rother calls: “the genius,” just happened to coincide with Harmonia changing direction musically.
Deluxe saw a move towards Kominische musik. Partly, this was down to the addition of Guru-Guru drummer Mani Neumeier. He played on some track, and added a Kominische influence. Another change was that Michael Rother’s guitar played a more prominent role. That wasn’t Michael’s only influence.
The music on Deluxe was more song oriented. This was Michael Rother’s influence. He had taught the two members of Cluster the importance of structure. However, still Harmonia were experimenting, pushing musical boundaries. This was Cluster’s influence. Other parts of Deluxe had been influenced by Michael Rother. Hans-Joachim Roedelius agrees. “Michael Rother’s influence can be heard on Deluxe, more so than on Musik von Harmonia.” What was also noticeable, was that Deluxe had a more commercial sound.
“This wasn’t a conscious decision. The music morphed and evolved, and the result was Deluxe,” Hans-Joachim Roedelius reflects. Michael Rother agrees. “Every album I’ve made I set out for it to be commercial. Sometimes, though, it doesn’t work out that way.” Sadly, that proved to be the case.
When Deluxe was released in 1975, to the same critical acclaim as Musik von Harmonia. The noticeable shift to what was a more commercial sound, surely would lead to a change in Harmonia’s fortunes?
That wasn’t to be. Deluxe was released on 20th August 1975, and sales of the album were slow. They never picked up, and history it seemed, was repeating itself. Michael reflects: “Still our music was being ignored. It was a difficult time for us. So much so, that Michael decided to record his debut solo album.
By then, it looked as if Harmonia had run its course. So Michael Rother decided to embark upon a solo career. That would take up the majority of his time. Michael’s first solo album was “Flammende Herzen which I recorded at Conny’s Studio,” during June 1976. Then later in the summer, Harmonia recorded their third and final studio album.
Tracks and Traces.
Little did the three members of Harmonia realise, that Deluxe was the last album they would release for thirty-two years. For what was their swan-song, Harmonia were joined by another legend, Brian Eno.
At the studio in Forst, Hans-Joachim Roedelius, Dieter Moebius, Michael Rother and Brian Eno spent eleven summer days recording what was meant to be their third album. The working title was Harmonia ’76. However, by then, “Michael Rother was wanting to concentrate on his solo career. Once the album was completed, it became apparent Harmonia had run its course. It was evolution.” So, Harmonia ’76 was never released until 1997.
During the next thirty-one years, it was thought that the master tapes had gone missing. “That was a rumour. Harmonia ’76 was released as Tracks and Traces in 1997.” Then ten years later, in 2007, Harmonia reunited.
Live ’74.
The reunion was for the release of their Live 1974 album. It featured a a recording of Harmonia’s concert on the 23rd March 1974, at Penny Station Club in Griessem, Germany.
Live ’74 features just five lengthy tracks. As Harmonia open the show with a near eleven minute version of Schaumburg instantly, the listener is transported back to that night on 23rd March 1974. Harmonia then work their way through Veteranissimo, which becomes a seventeen minute epic, Arabesque and the Magnus Opus that’s Holta-Polta. Then Harmonia close the set with Ueber Ottenstein. These five tracks are a snapshot of Harmonia at the peak of their powers. They were one of the greatest German bands, but very few people had realised this. By 2007, when Live ’74 was released, it was common knowledge that Harmonia were Komische royalty.
To celebrate the release of Live 1974, Harmonia played live for the first time since 1976. This landmark concert took place at the Haus der Kulturen der Welt in Berlin, on November 27th 2007. Sadly, it was the last time Harmonia played together.
After a brave and lengthy battle against cancer, Dieter Moebius died on 20th July 2015. Sadly, he never lived to see the release of the Harmonia box set Complete Works. Michael’s saddened by the passing of his old friend. During the making of Complete Works, Michael says: “I always made sure to keep Dieter up to date with how Complete Works was progressing. Only after he had approved everything, did I move on. I would never have done anything without his approval.” Four months after Dieter Moebius’ passing, the Complete Works’ box set is ready for release.
The Complete Works’ box set is fitting reminder of the group that Dieter Moebius played such a big part of. Along with Hans-Joachim Roedelius and Michael Rother, Dieter Moebius was part of one of the most innovative groups in the history Kosmische musik. They’re now regarded as one of the finest purveyors of Kosmische musik. Harmonia sit alongside Can, Kraftwerk and Neu! at Kosmische musik’s top table.
Sadly, it was long after Harmonia released two classic albums, Musik Von Harmonia and Deluxe that they received the recognition they deserved. Nowadays, Harmonia are regarded as one of the most important, influential and innovative Komische bands of the seventies. That becomes apparent as one listens to the Complete Works box set, which will be released by Grönland Records on the 30th November 2015.
The lovingly compiled Complete Works box set features five digitally remastered LPs, including: Musik Von Harmonia, Deluxe, Tracks and Traces, Live ’74 and an album of unreleased material. Then there’s a thirty-six page booklet, download code and a copy of an original tour poster.” It’s a fitting reminder of a groundbreaking group, Harmonia, who have influenced several generations of musicians. However, the Complete Works box set is also a fitting tribute to Dieter Mobieus.
Hans-Joachim Roedelius said recently: “after a lifelong friendship, losing Dieter has left a void. We were friends since 1969, and spent a lifetime making music. Many a month we spent on the road, talking, and enjoying friendship as the kilometres passed by. We travelled the world together, and enjoyed every minute. So losing Dieter has come as a shock, albeit it was expected. However, I have great memories of a great man, and a great friend, who I’ll never forget.” This includes a rich musical legacy, including the music Dieter Mobieus made with Harmonia.
Now, just over forty years after the release of Musik Von Harmonia and Deluxe, the music of Harmonia is more popular than ever. This is ironic. Michael Rother remembers how: “the seventies weren’t a good time for Harmonia. Our music was ignored, it was tough to survive during this period.” Now however, things are very different for Harmonia. They’re quite rightly regarded as one the giants Komische music. Harmonia are regarded as just as important, influential and innovative as Can, Kraftwerk and Neu! A reminder of why can be found in the Complete Works box set, which celebrates and documents Harmonia’s illustrious career.
HARMONIA COMPLETE WORKS.
GILES PETERSON PRESENTS-SUN RA AND HIS ORCHESTRA TO THOSE OF EARTH…AND OTHER WORLDS.
GILES PETERSON PRESENTS-SUN RA AND HIS ORCHESTRA TO THOSE OF EARTH…AND OTHER WORLDS.
During a career that spanned six decades, Sun Ra released around 125 albums. These were no ordinary albums. They featured Sun Ra and His Orchestra combining Egyptian history and space-age cosmic philosophy with freeform jazz. It was unlike anything anyone had heard before. That wasn’t surprising.
Musically, Sun Ra was a maverick. He did things his way. Soon, he was one of jazz music’s pioneer. No wonder. Sun Ra was determined to create music that was both innovative and groundbreaking. This meant that constantly, Sun Ra’s had to push musical boundaries. He was never content to stand still musically. Similarly, he was always striving to reinvent his music.
That was the case whether in the studio or live. For Sun Ra, the original version of a song was merely the starting point. What it became, was anyone’s guess? Sun Ra and His Orchestra were determined to innovate, and reinvent a track. This meant his music headed in the most unexpected directions. It was a roller coaster ride, as Sun Ra and His Arkestra seamlessly combined Egyptian history and space-age cosmic philosophy with freeform jazz. The self confessed member of the angel race was regarded as a one off. Sun Ra was unique, and enigmatic.
Very few people knew the real Sun Ra. One word that’s constantly used to describe him is enigmatic. Hence his nickname Mr. Mystery. In mid-thirties, Mr. Mystery claimed he had a visionary experience. He believed he had transported to Saturn, where he spoke to the Angel Race. They warned him the world was heading for chaos and Sun Ra could make a difference with his music. Sun Ra’s music certainly made a difference.
For six decades Sun Ra was heralded as one of the jazz’s pioneers and innovators. Sadly, Sun Ra died in 1993, aged just seventy-nine. Since then, many people have kept Sun Ra’s music alive, and introduced it to another generation of music lovers. This includes DJ Giles Peterson, who has compiled a new compilation of Sun Ra’s music.
Giles Peterson Presents-Sun Ra and His Orchestra To Those Of Earth…and Other Worlds. This double album, which will be released by Strut Records on 30th November 2015. It’s available as a two CD set, double album and as a digital download. There’e a total of thirty-four tracks on Giles Peterson Presents-Sun Ra and His Orchestra To Those Of Earth…and Other Worlds. Quite simply, it’s the perfect followup Strut’s previous Sun Ra compilation, Marshall Allen Presents Sun Ra and His Arkestra In The Orbit Of Sun Ra. These two compilations are the perfect introduction to the man born Herman Poole Blount.
Before dawning the moniker Sun Ra, Herman Poole Blount was born on the ‘22nd’ of May 1914, in Birmingham, Alabama. Very little is known about Herman Poole Blount’s early life. So much so, that for many years, nobody knew what age he was. What we do know, is that growing up, Herman Poole Blount immersed himself in music.
He learnt to play the piano at an early age and soon, was a talented pianist. By the age of eleven, Herman Poole Blount was to able read and write music. However, it wasn’t just playing music that Herman Poole Blount enjoyed. When musicians swung through Birmingham, Herman Poole Blount was there to see everyone from Duke Ellington to Fats Waller play. Seeing the great and good of music play live inspired Herman Poole Blount to become a professional musician.
By his mid teens, Herman Poole Blount was a high school student, but even by then, music was his first love. His music teacher John T. “Fess” Whatley realised this, and helped Herman Poole Blount’s nascent musical career.
John T. “Fess” Whatley was a strict disciplinarian, and this rubbed off on Herman Poole Blount. Later, he would acquire a reputation as a relentless taskmaster when he formed his Arkestra. He was determined that the musicians in his Arkestra to reach his high and exacting standards and fulfil the potential that he saw in them. At rehearsals, musicians were pushed to their limits, but this paid off when they took to the stage. Led by Sun Ra, the Arkestra in full flow were peerless. However, that was way in the future. Before that, Herman Poole Blount’s career began to take shape.
In his spare time, Herman Poole Blount was playing semi-professionally in various jazz and R&B groups, and other times, he worked as a solo artist. Before long, Herman was a popular draw. This was helped by his ability to memorize popular songs and play them on demand. Strangely, away from music, the young Herman Poole Blount was very different.
He’s remembered as studious, kindly and something of a loner. Herman Poole Blount was also a deeply religious young man despite not being a member of a particular church. One organisation that Herman Poole Blount joined was the Black Masonic Lodge. This allowed him access to one of the largest collection of books in Birmingham. For a studious young man like Herman Poole Blount, this allowed him to broaden his knowledge of various subjects. Whether this included the poetry and Egyptology that would later influence his musical career.
In 1934, twenty-year-old Herman Poole Blount was asked to join a band that was led by Ethel Harper. She was no stranger to Herman Poole Blount, and just a few years earlier, had been his high school biology teacher. Just a few years later, and he was accepting Ethel Harper’s invitation to join her band.
Before he could head out on tour with Ethel Harper’s band, Herman Poole Blount joined the local Musicians’s Union. After that, he embarked on a tour of the Southeast and Midwest. This was the start of Herman Poole Blount’s life as a professional musician. However, when Ethel Harper left her band to join The Ginger Snaps, Herman Poole Blount took over the band.
With Ethel Harper gone, the band was renamed The Sonny Blount Orchestra, and it headed out on the road and toured for several months. Sadly, The Sonny Blount Orchestra wasn’t making money, and eventually, the band split up. However, other musicians and music lovers were impressed by The Sonny Blount Orchestra.
This resulted in Herman Poole Blount being always in demand as a session musician. He was highly regarded within the Birmingham musical community, so much so, that he was awarded a music scholarship to Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical University in 1937. Sadly, he dropped out after a year when his life changed forever.
In 1937, Herman Poole Blount experienced what was a life-changing experience. It’s a story he told many times throughout his life. He describes a bright light appearing around him and his body changing. “I could see through myself. And I went up … I wasn’t in human form … I landed on a planet that I identified as Saturn. They teleported me. I was down on a stage with them. They wanted to talk with me. They had one little antenna on each ear. A little antenna over each eye. They talked to me. They told me to stop attending college because there was going to be great trouble in schools … the world was going into complete chaos … I would speak through music, and the world would listen. That’s what they told me.” For a deeply religious young man, this was disturbing and exciting. It certainly inspired the young Herman Poole Blount.
After his: “trip to Saturn,” Herman Poole Blount decided to devote himself to music. So much so, that he hardly found time to sleep. Day in, day out, Herman Poole Blount spent his time practising and composing new songs in his first floor home which he had transformed into a musical workshop. That was where also where he rehearsed with the musicians in his band. Away from music, Herman Poole Blount took to discussing religious matters. Mostly, though, music dominated his life.
It was no surprise to when Herman Poole Blount announced that he had decided to form a new band. However, his new band was essentially a new lineup of The Sonny Blount Orchestra. It showcased the new Herman Poole Blount, who was a dedicated bandleader, and like his mentor John T. “Fess” Whatley, a strict disciplinarian. Herman Poole Blount was determined his band would be the best in Birmingham. This proved to be the case as seamlessly, The Sonny Blount Orchestra were able to change direction, as they played an eclectic selection of music. Before long, The Sonny Blount Orchestra were one of most in-demand bands in Birmingham, and things were looking good for Herman. Then in 1942, The Sonny Blount Orchestra were no more when Herman was drafted.
On receiving his draft papers, Herman Poole Blount declared himself a conscientious objector. He cited not just religious objections to war and killing, but that he had to financially support his great-aunt Ida. Then there was the chronic hernia that blighted Herman Poole Blount’s life. Despite his objections the draft board rejected his appeal, and things got worse for Herman Poole Blount.
Herman Poole Blount’s family was embarrassed by his refusal to fight, and some turned their back on him. Eventually, though, Herman Poole Blount was offered the opportunity to do Civilian Public Service. However, he failed to appear at the camp in Pennsylvania on the December ‘8th’ 1942.
This resulted in Herman Poole Blount being arrested, and when he was brought before the court, Herman Poole Blount debated points of law and the meaning of excerpts from the Bible. When this didn’t convince the judge Herman Poole Blount said he would use a military weapon to kill the first high-ranking military officer possible. This resulted in Herman Poole Blount being jailed. For Herman, this led to one of the most disturbing periods in his life.
Herman Poole Blount’s experience in military prison were so terrifying and disturbing that he felt he no option but to write to the US Marshals Service in January 1943. By then, Herman felt he was on the verge of a nervous breakdown. He was suffering from stress and feeling suicidal. There was also the constant fear that he would be attacked by others within the military prison. Fortunately, the US Marshals Service looked favourably on his letter.
By February 1943, Herman Poole Blount was allowed out during the day to work in the forests around Pennsylvania. At nights, he was able to play the piano. A month later, Herman Poole Blount was reclassified and released from military prison. This brought to an end what had been a harrowing period of his life.
Having left prison, Herman formed a new band. They played around the Birmingham area for the next two years. Then in 1945, when his Aunt Ida died, Herman Poole Blount left Birmingham, and headed to the Windy City of Chicago.
After moving to Chicago, Herman Poole Blount quickly found work. He worked with Wynonie Harris and played on his two 1946 singles, Dig This Boogie and My Baby’s Barrelhouse. After that, Herman Poole Blount worked with Lil Green in some of Chicago’s strip clubs. Then in August 1946, Herman Poole Blount started working with Fletcher Henderson. However, by then, Fletcher’s fortunes were fading.
By then, Fletcher Henderson’s band was full of mediocre musicians. The main man, Fletcher Henderson, was often missing, as he was still recovering after a car accident. What Fletcher Henderson needed was someone to transform his band’s failing fortunes. This was where Herman Poole Blount came in. His role was arranger and pianist, but realising the band needed to change direction, he decided to infuse Fletcher Henderson’s trademark sound with bebop. However, the band were resistant to change and in 1948, Herman Poole Blount left Fletcher Henderson’s employ.
Following his departure from Fletcher Henderson’s band, Herman Poole Blount formed a trio with saxophonist Coleman Hawkins and violinist Stuff Smith. Alas, the trio was somewhat short-lived and didn’t release any recordings. Not long after this, Herman Poole Blount would make his final appearance as a sideman on violinist’s Billy Bang’s Tribute to Stuff Smith. After this, Herman Poole Blount became Sun Ra.
By then, Chicago was changing, and was home to a number of African-American political activists. Soon, a number of fringe movements sprung up who were seeking political and religious change. When Herman Poole Blount became involved, he was already immersing himself in history, especially, Egyptology. He was fascinated with the Chicago’s many ancient Egyptian-styled buildings and monuments. This resulted in Herman Poole Blount discovering George G.M. James’ The Stolen Legacy. Discovering this book was a life-changing experience.
In The Stolen Legacy, George G.M. James argues that classical Greek philosophy actually has its roots in Ancient Egypt. This resulted in Herman Poole Blount concluding that the history and accomplishments of Africans had been deliberately denied and suppressed by various European cultures. It was as if his eyes had been opened. For Herman Poole Blount, this was just the start of a number of changes in his life.
As 1952 dawned, Herman Poole Blount had formed a new band, The Space Trio. It featured saxophonist Pat Patrick and Tommy Hunter. At the time, they were two of the most talented musicians Herman knew. This allowed him to write even more compacted and complex songs. However, by October 1952, he wasn’t writing these songs as Herman Poole Blount. No. Sun Ra was born in October 1952.
Just like Malcolm X and Muhammad Ali, adopting the name Sun Ra was perceived by some as Herman choosing to dispense with his slave name. This some felt, was a kind of rebirth for Sun Ra. It certainly was a musical rebirth.
After Pat Patrick got married, he moved to Florida, which left The Space Trio with a vacancy for a saxophonist. Tenor saxophonist, John Gilmore was hired and filled the void. He would become an important part of Sun Ra’s band. So would the next new recruit alto saxophonist Marshall Allen. They were then joined by saxophonist James Spaulding, trombonist Julian Priester and briefly, tenor saxophonist Von Freeman. Another newcomer was Alton Abraham, who would become Sun Ra’s manager. He made up for Sun Ra’s shortcomings when it came to business matters.
While he was a hugely talented bandleader, who demanded the highest standards, Sun Ra, like many other musicians, was no businessman. With Alton Abraham onboard, Sun Ra could concentrate on music while his new manager took care of business. This included setting up El Saturn Records, an independent record label, which would release many of Sun Ra’s records. However, El Saturn Records didn’t released Sun Ra and His Arkestra’s debut album, Jazz By Sun Ra.
Jazz By Sun Ra was released in 1956, on the short-lived Transition Records. However, Sun Ra and His Arkestra’s sophomore album Super Sonic Jazz was released in March 1956, on El Saturn Records. Sound Of Joy was released on Delmark in November 1956. For the next few years, El Saturn Records released most of Sun Ra and His Arkestra’s albums. By his death in 1993, Sun Ra had released over 125 albums. The man they once called Mr. Mystery was by then, one of the most prolific recording artists. Sun R was also regarded as one of the pioneers of free jazz. Since then, Sun Ra’s popularity has grown, and every year, his music is discovered by a wider audience.
For those looking for an introduction to Sun Ra’s recording career, Giles Peterson Presents-Sun Ra and His Orchestra To Those Of Earth…and Other Worlds is the perfect starting point. It features a selection of Sun Ra’s best and most innovative works. They come not just from his best known albums, but some of his lesser known albums. And there were plenty of these.
The fifties and sixties saw Sun Ra at his most productive. He oversaw the pressing of records, and drew the artwork himself. Other times, Sun Ra oversaw the recording of concerts. They were later released on vinyl. Often, these live recordings came in a plain white bag. Nowadays, they’re a prized item among collectors, and change hands for ever increasing sums of money. Those that have them aren’t parting with them. Others who want them, hungrily lust after them. After all, Sun Ra is one of the most collectable artists in music.
To collect the thirty-four tracks on Giles Peterson Presents-Sun Ra and His Orchestra To Those Of Earth…and Other Worlds would be beyond those with the deepest pockets. Collecting copies of each track would require a second mortgage or the sale of a kidney. So the money spent on Giles Peterson Presents-Sun Ra and His Orchestra To Those Of Earth…and Other Worlds will be money well spent. It’s crammed full of timeless, innovative music, so choosing the highlights isn’t going to be easy. In homage to Sun Ra’s dedication to Egyptology, I’ll pick seven track from each disc. The number seven in Egyptology is a symbol of perfection, effectiveness and completeness. That seems fitting when taking about Sun Ra.
Side One.
Opening side one of Giles Peterson Presents-Sun Ra and His Orchestra To Those Of Earth…and Other Worlds is Calling Planet Earth. It’s credited to Sun Ra and His Myth-Arkestra, and is a track from their 1963 album When Sun Comes Out. It was released on the Saturn Research label, and finds Sun Ra at his most accessible. Pensive and thoughtful sounding, Calling Planet Earth is just the start of captivating journey with cosmic jazz pioneer Sun Ra as the guide.
India opened Sun Ra and His Arkestra’s 1957 debut album Super-Sonic Jazz. It was released on El Saturn Records, and was unlike the majority of the music being released in 1957. Super-Sonic Jazz was a groundbreaking fusion of free jazz, avant-garde and big band music. The new met the old on Super-Sonic Jazz, and one its highlights was India where a musical pioneer introduced himself to the world.
Not only was Sun Ra reinventing his music, but he constantly changed his bands name. By 1970, they were known as Sun Ra and His Intergalactic Infinity Arkestra. That was when the album The Night Of The Purple Moon was released on Thoth Intergalactic, an imprint of El Saturn Records. One of the highlights of the album is a Sun Ra classic, Love In Outer Space, which is a welcome addition to Giles Peterson Presents-Sun Ra and His Orchestra To Those Of Earth…and Other Worlds.
In 1978, The Sun Ra Quartet release their New Steps album on Horo Records. By then, The Sun Ra Quartet included John Gilmore. The legendary free jazz tenor saxophonist was a shrewd addition to Sun Ra’s latest band. He plays a leading role on New Steps. This includes on When There Is No Sun, which features a musical masterclass where elements of free jazz meet soul jazz. It’s a heady brew, as Sun Ra continues to reinvent his music.
One of the albums Sun Ra and His Solar-Myth Arkestra released in a plain white bag was The Lady With The Golden Stockings. This was in 1966. A year later, in 1967, the album was rereleased as The Nubians Of Plutonia, on the Saturn Research label. That wasn’t the end of the story. In 1969, The Nubians Of Plutonia was rereleased again. This time, it featured a new cover by Richard Pedreguera. Since then, many regard Nubians Of Plutonia as one of Sun Ra’s classic albums. It’s best described as a genre-melting album. Proof of this is Watusa, a glorious fusion of hard bop and free jazz. It’s Sun Ra and His Solar-Myth Arkestra at their best, and most innovative.
As an added bonus, there’s a quartet of live unreleased tracks on Giles Peterson Presents-Sun Ra and His Orchestra To Those Of Earth…and Other Worlds. The version of Strange Worlds was recorded in France, and features Sun Ra and His Arkestra. They provide a tantalising taster of what Sun Ra and His Arkestra live sounded like in their prime.
Closing disc one of Giles Peterson Present-Sun Ra and His Orchestra To Those Of Earth…and Other Worlds is Blackman. It was recorded by Sun Ra and His Blue Science Arkestra for his 1972 album Universe In Blue. Later in 1972, Universe In Blue was released on El Saturn Records. One of the tracks that caught the attention of critics and record buyers, was the defiant anthem Blackman.
Side Two.
Just like disc one, it’s not easy to choose the highlights of disc two of Giles Peterson Presents-Sun Ra and His Orchestra To Those Of Earth…and Other Worlds. A good place to start is the opening track Twilight. It’s a track from Sun Ra And His Astro Infinity Arkestra’s 1971 album My Brother The Wind, Vol II. This eleven track album was recorded during 1969 and 1970. By then, Sun Ra was an early adopter of synths. They feature on the album. So does tenor saxophonist John Gilmore. Along with this stellar lineup, Sun Ra showcases his considerable skills. Especially on Somebody Else’s World, one of the albums highlights.
By 1979, Sun Ra had decided to change the name of his band again. This time, they became Sun Ra and His Intergalactic Myth-Science Solar Arkestra. Sun Ra’s latest band’s debut was Sleeping Beauty, which was released in 1979 on El Saturn Records. The centre-piece of the album, was the modal classic Sleeping Beauty. It’s classic Sun Ra and shows Sun his versatility.
When Children Of The Sun was released on Saturn Research, in 1985, it proved to be a controversial album from Sun Ra and His Arkestra. Some of the tracks had featured on the 1983 album Ra To The Rescue. However, Children Of The Sun was one of the new tracks. This mesmeric, anthemic and uplifting track lent its title to the album. When critics reviewed Children Of The Sun, they called the title-track the best of the new tracks. Sun Ra’s career may have been five decades old, but he was still creating music that was relevant to a new generation of music lovers.
The cover of Sun Ra and His Myth-Science Arkestra’s 1963 album When Sun Comes Out features Sun Ra sitting at a piano, with a cape draped around his shoulders. He looks like a musical superhero. His superpower was making music. Not just any type of music, but some of the most innovative free jazz of the early sixties. When Sun Comes Out is an example of this. Dark, moody, but melodic and captivating, the musical superhero weaves his magic, and saved the world from third rate jazz.
Sun Ra And His Solar Arkestra recorded On Jupiter in 1979. The album was released on El Saturn Records. Some well known names joined Sun Ra. This included trumpeter Eddie Gale. He plays his part on what’s a hidden gem in Sun Ra’s back-catalogue. The highlight of the album has to be On Jupiter, a quite beautiful, melodic track. Gone is the avant-garde, experimental sound of many of Sun Ra’s albums. Instead, Sun Ra and the Arkestra produce a much more traditional sounding track, which shows yet another side to this musical chameleon.
The cinematic sounding There Are Other Worlds (They Have Not Told You Of) is a track from Sun Ra’s 1978 album Lanquidity. It was released on the Philly Jazz label. It’s a mixture of the melodic and avant-garde. This is something Sun Ra did so well. He plays it straight before throwing a musical curveball. There Are Other Worlds (They Have Not Told You Of) is a perfect example of this.
My final choice from Giles Peterson Present-Sun Ra and His Orchestra To Those Of Earth…and Other Worlds is a live version of Space Is The Place. It’s a track that even those with just a passing interest in Sun Ra’s music will have heard. Space Is The Place is a favourite of compilers. Usually, the original version is chosen. It was the title-track of Sun Ra’s 1973 album for Blue Thumb Records. However, it became favourite of Sun Ra and His Arkestra. Together, they reinvent one of Sun Ra’s best known tracks, which seems a fitting finale to what’s without doubt a fitting followup to Marshall Allen Presents Sun Ra and His Arkestra In The Orbit Of Sun Ra. These two compilations are the perfect introduction to Sun Ra, a true musical innovator.
Sun Ra’s career lasted six decades. During that period, Sun Ra released around over 125 album. These albums showcase one of the most enigmatic and innovative musicians of the 20th Century. That’s no exaggeration.
Many artists are described as innovative. However, very few really are. Sun Ra is one of the exceptions. From the moment he dawned the role of Sun Ra, his music was transformed. It became much more complex. This was only possible because Sun Ra found liked minded musicians. Among them were Pat Patrick, Tommy Hunter, John Gilmore, Marshall Allen, James Spaulding, Julian Priester and Art Yard. They became Sun Ra’s legendary Arkestra.
For nearly forty years, Sun Ra and His Arkestra pushed musical boundaries. Sun Ra was a perfectionist and relentless taskmaster. With some of most talented, inventive and adventurous musicians of their generation, Sun Ra set about honing the Arkestra’s sound. He was demanding and exacting standards. Second best was no use to Sun Ra. What he was after was an Arkestra who were innovators and musical adventurers.
Sun Ra was never content to stand still musically. Similarly, he was always striving to reinvent his music. The original version of a song was merely the starting point. What it became, was anyone’s guess? Sun Ra was forever determined to innovate. When he reinvented a track, he took the music in the most unexpected direction. He combined Egyptian history and space-age cosmic philosophy with freeform jazz. This innovative fusion transformed the career of the man born Herman Poole Blount.
Eventually, Sun Ra became a giant of jazz. This took time, patience and dedication. He had come a long way since his early days in Birmingham, Alabama. Sadly, very little is known about Sun Ra’s early year. This just adds to the man many called Mr. Mystery.
So does his alleged ‘trip’ to Saturn, which changed Sun Ra’s life forevermore. Thereafter, Sun Ra became added philosopher to his C.V. However, it was music which made Sun Ra famous.
Even twenty-two years after his death, interest in Sun Ra’s music is growing. So Strut Records couldn’t have picked a better time to release Giles Peterson Present-Sun Ra and His Orchestra To Those Of Earth…and Other Worlds. It’s available on 30th October 2015. Giles Peterson Present-Sun Ra and His Orchestra To Those Of Earth…and Other Worlds is the perfect introduction to a musical pioneer, whose career spanned six decades and 125 albums of groundbreaking and inventive music.
GILES PETERSON PRESENTS-SUN RA AND HIS ORCHESTRA TO THOSE OF EARTH…AND OTHER WORLDS.
BOY-WE WERE HERE.
BOY-WE WERE HERE.
Valeska Steiner and Sonja Glass first met in 2005, at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg. They were both students on a pop music course.
Singer Valeska Steiner had travelled from Zurich in Switzerland, to join the course. Bassist Sonja Glass was local. She had been born in Hamburg, and lived in the city all her life. Soon, Valeska and Sonja became close friends. By 2007, they decided to form a band, and put what they had spent the last two years learning into practise.
Their nascent band was called BOY. Initially, BOY concentrated on playing live. This allowed them to hone their sound. It was a case of BOY were putting into practise what they had just learnt at Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg into practise.
Given that BOY had just completed a course in pop music, this gave them an advantage over other bands. They knew the perils and pitfalls of the music industry. The two members of BOY knew how important it was to play live. Not only did it allow BOY find their voice and hone their sound, but it allowed the nascent band to build a following. So that’s what BOY spent the next three years doing.
It took time. BOY were no overnight success story. That never happens. Just like so many bands before then, BOY discovered it’s not easy for a new and inexperienced band to get gigs. So, they played wherever they could get a booking. During this period, Sonja Glass’ mother drove BOY to concerts. She believed in BOY, who after three years hard work and perseverance, were beginning to make a breakthrough.
By 2010, BOY’s popularity had grown. Their star was in the ascendancy. So the two members of BOY, decided to record their debut E.P.
Hungry Beast.
For their Hungry Beast E.P., five tracks were chosen. This included three penned by the two members of BOY. Drive Darling, July and Skin showcased Valeska Steiner and Sonja Glass’ songwriting skills. Valeska Steiner also cowrote Zapping with Adrian Stern. The final track on the Hungry Beast was a cover of Ben Folds Fred Jones, Pt. 2. These five tracks were recorded in Berlin in June 2010, and released later that year.
The Hungry Beast E.P. was well received by both critics and music fans. BOY’s music was beginning to find a wider audience. Surely, it was only a matter of time before BOY came to the attention of a record company?
And so it proved to be. In 2011, Berlin based Grönland Records swooped, and signed BOY. For BOY this was a coup. Grönland Records were one of Germany’s leading independent labels. Their career was in good hands.
Mutual Friends.
Before long, Grönland Records sent BOY into the studio. By then, the two members of BOY had penned twelve tracks. This included Drive Darling, July and Skin from BOY’s Hungry Beast E.P. A further nine new tracks would make their debut on what became Mutual Friends. It was produced by Philipp Steinke.
This made sense. Philipp Steinke had produced BOY’s debut E.P. The Hungry Beast. He was an experienced singer and musician, who was just beginning his production career. However, the advantage Philipp Steinke had, was he knew BOY, and had worked with them before. This stood him in good stead, as BOY recorded the twelve tracks that became their debut album Mutual Friends. Once the album was complete, it was scheduled for release in the autumn of 2011.
Before the release of Mutual Friends, critics had their say on BOY’s debut album. Rolling Stone, The New York Times and Filter were all won over by BOY’s debut album. So were record buyers.
Soon, Mutual Friends was selling well in Germany. This was helped by the success of four singles. The lead single was Little Numbers, with Waitress, Drive Darling and This Is The Beginning all proving popular. So popular, that Mutual Friends was released in 2013 in Britain, North America and Japan.
By then, Mutual Friends had won the 2012 European Border Breakers Award. This was just the start of a roller coaster year for BOY. Soon, they were playing at Hamburg’s prestigious Stadtpark, in front of a 4,000 audience. After that, BOY headed out on tour.
Across the world, BOY continued to wow audiences. They had enjoyed a number four single in Japan’s Hot 100 chart. By then, Mutual Friends was a hugely successful album. Tens of thousands of copies of Mutual Friends had been sold, and BOY had won a glittering array of awards. BOY had come a long way since they signed to Grönland Records.
This roller coaster journey has continued apace. For four years, BOY have become a musical phenomenon. They criss-cross the globe, winning friends and influencing people with their award winning sound. However, there’s been no sign of a followup to Mutual Friends. Until now.
We Were Here.
Ten years after Valeska Steiner’s and Sonja Glass’ first met, they released their long-awaited, and much-anticipated sophomore album, We Were Here on Grönland Records. It’s the latest chapter in BOY’s roller coaster career.
For We Were Here the two members of BOY penned nine new tracks. These nine tracks were recorded and produced by Philipp Steinke. The recording of We Were Here took place at various studios, where BOY were augmented by some of Germany’s best session musicians.
Just like on Mutual Friends, producer Philipp Steinke put his years of experience to practise. He played keyboards, Juno, percussion, guitars and took charge of programming. Both members of BOY, Valeska Steiner and Sonja Glass added vocals. That wasn’t their only part in the recording of We Were Here.
When recording began, some musicians played on several tracks, other featured just once. So at the various studios, the band kept evolving. This included the rhythm section, which featured drummers Marcello Romero, Thomas Hedlund and Marco Moeller; guitarist Denis Erarslan; and Sonja Glass who played bass, guitars and Juno. Valeska Steiner added percussion. Other musicians were brought onboard to play on just one track.
A horn section was needed for We Were Here. So trombonist Michael Flury and Gregor Lentjes were drafted in. Then when Hit My Heart was being recorded, the strings came courtesy of cellist Matthias Bartolomey and Klemens Bittman on viola and violin; while Eden Boucher and David Turley added choral vocals. Gradually, We Were Here began to take shape, and eventually, recording of BOY’s much-anticipated sophomore album was completed.
All that was left was for We Were Here to be mixed and mastered. Michael Ilbert mixed We Were Here at the Hansa Mix Room in Berlin. However, Tom Coyne at Sterling Sound was chosen to master We Were Here. Now BOY could prepare for the release of their long-awaited sophomore album, We Were Here.
A lot had happened in the four years since Mutual Friends was released in the autumn of 2011. BOY’s star had been in the ascendancy ever since, and their music was popular all over the world. Since then, they had sold tens of thousands of albums, won numerous awards and enjoyed hit singles around the world. Now they were ready to release their new album.
After four years away, BOY must have been nervous about how We Were Here would be received. They needn’t have worried. BOY were back with a bang. Critics called We Were Here a BOY fitting followup to Mutual Friends. The music was variously melodic, melancholy and mischievous. Other times, it was anthemic and hook-laden. It was impossible not to be captivated by BOY, as they continue to win friends and influence people. That’s the case from the start of We Were Here.
Opening We Were Here was the title-track. Just slow, deliberate chord changes on the keyboards accompany Valeska’s pensive vocal. Soon, memories come flooding back. Sadness is omnipresent as Valeska sings: “We Were Here.” By then, the rhythm section, keyboards and percussion accompany her vocal. Later, sci-fi synths are added. They become more prominent as the vocal begins to drop out. The arrangement becomes understated before the trombone and flugelhorn are added. Neither overpower the arrangement. Just like the rest of the instruments they complement the vocal on his carefully crafted slice of heartfelt, perfect pop.
From the opening bars, Fear reminds me of the Scottish band Chvrches. Stylistically and sonically there’s similarities. That’s down to the instruments used. A pulsating synth joins the rhythm section and chiming guitar. They provide a backdrop for Valeska’s vocal, and propel the arrangement along. By then, the Fear in Valeska’s vocal seems very real. It’s as if she’s lived with it. Frustration turns to anger as she sings: “I wish I could blow it off.” There’s sadness in her voice as she realises: “it won’t let you get away.” By then, Fear is a fully fledged anthem, that’s bound to be a favourite when BOY play live.
Subtle, bubbling pizzicato strings open Hit My Heart. Soon, drums join the keyboards, percussion and harmonies are accompanying Valeska’s jaunty vocal. She almost skips through the arrangement of this carefully crafted song. As she sings: “and we’ll fast forward to the chorus, join the choir, spread the word,” this signals the entrance of harmonies. This is a masterstroke. So is the addition of the subtle bursts of strings. Everything seems to fall into place, and another irresistible slice of classy pop unfolds.
Hotel marks a stylistic change from BOY. Just a lone guitar accompanies Valeska’s wistful vocal and the track takes on
a folk-tinged sound. Sometimes, Valeska sounds like Suzanne Vega as she sings the cinematic lyrics. Later, she reminds me of Karen Carpenter. Valeska brings the lyrics about an affair to life. She describes the clandestine meetings in a Hotel: “362 do not disturb, if no one knows no one gets hurt, if he turns off his mobile phone, he’s never been this far from home.” As Sonja’s bass underpins the arrangement, keyboards and percussion frame the vocal. The tempo quickens, and the vocals full of sadness and regret. It’s a wistful and cinematic song from BOY, who showcase another side to their music.
Just like Hotel, No Sleep For The Dreamer has an understated arrangement. That’s not the end of the similarities. The lyrics have a cinematic quality. They’re also some of the best on We Were Here. That soon becomes apparent. A lone guitar takes centre-stage, before drums usher in the vocal. The tempo is slow, as Valeska delivers a hopeful, joyous vocal. “And now I’m driving home from your house, something big’s about to begin.” Throughout the song, pictures are painted. “Of morning radio, and people leaving bars.” All this is going on around Valeska. She’s found love: there’s something in the wind, there’s something big about to start, no sleep no sleep for the dreamer.”
A guitar is strummed deliberately and subtly on Flames. It almost fades away as the two members of BOY sing in unison. They compliment each other perfectly, and bring the lyrics to life. That’s the case from: “an empty house, the roof’s on fire, you’re fighting with the flames.” From there, the listener is spellbound, as the story unfolds. BOY sound not unlike Wilson Phillips. Partly, that’s because of the way their vocals interact and compliment each other. Meanwhile, the arrangement of a
chiming guitar, pounding drums, percussion and jangling keyboards augments the vocals perfectly. It doesn’t overpower the arrangement. Instead, if frames the vocals, as the story to unfold. There’s a poignancy to the closing lines: “oh if only I could find, a way to ease your troubled mind.”
Galloping percussion and the rhythm section join a crystalline guitar on New York. Taking centre-stage is Valeska’s tender vocal. She’s misty-eyed, as she remembers her first visit to New York. Memories come flooding back. Valeska shares them, and is accompanied by occasional ethereal harmonies. They add to the beauty of this cinematic ballad.
Distant percussion, bass and drums combine as Rivers Or Oceans unfolds. A chiming guitar signals the arrival of Valeska’s vocal. Bravado, confidence and relief combine as she sings: “a pale blue rising, as I’m sailing away from the scene of the crime.” As a muted bass, keyboards and drums combine, Valeska adds: “no traces behind me, yeah the water will sweep away the blood and the gold.” This is described as: “such a shimmering misfortune, such a dark kind of bliss, I’ll cry Rivers Or Oceans, ’til I get over it.” It’s the perfect crime, courtesy of BOY. They use drama, humour and irony to cover their tracks.
Into The Wild closes We Were There. A droning sound grabs the listener’s attention, before percussion, drums and a guitar combine. They provide a slow, mesmeric backdrop to Valeska’s heartfelt, hopeful and impassioned vocal. That becomes apparent as she sings: “or I could follow you, into the wild…we’d live with the animals, play by the fire.” As Valeska delivers the lyrics, a crystalline guitar adds a wistful accompaniment. It plays a supporting role to Valeska as her vocal takes centre-stage, on this heartachingly beautiful vocal. It’s the perfect way to close We Were There.
Unlike so many modern albums, We Were There is a gloriously old school album from BOY. It features just nine songs, that last only thirty-five minutes. That’s how long albums used to last. It meant record buyers were hearing a band’s best work. Nowadays, albums are padded out, and feature fifteen tracks or more. This results in the quality suffering. After all, no artist or band can write fifteen flawless tracks. However, BOY wrote have written and recorded an album that’s almost flawless.
That’s no exaggeration. Rather than write and record a sprawling album, BOY have only committed their best songs to tape. From the opening bars of We Were Here, right through to the closing notes of Into The Wild, BOY continue to captivate with music that’s cinematic, beautiful, heartfelt and hook-laden. Other times, the music on We Were Here is melodic, melancholy, joyous, ironic, poignant, dreamy and dramatic. Quite simply, We Were Here is an emotional roller coaster, that anyone who enjoys good music will enjoy.
No wonder. The two members of BOY, Valeska Steiner and Sonja Glass are talented singer, songwriters and musicians. They write, craft and record music that’s cerebral and cinematic. There’s everything from tales of love and love lost, to hurt and heartache, to drama and tragedy on We Were Here. There’s also delicious anthems and carefully crafted perfect pop. Aided and abetted by producer Philipp Steinke, Valeska Steiner and Sonja Glass create a critically acclaimed followup to Mutual Friends.
BOY have come of age musically with We Were Here, which was recently released by Grönland Records. We Were Here is a career defining album from BOY. The former pop music students have graduated summa cum laude with We Were Here, a carefully crafted album of hook-laden, perfect pop from BOY.
BOY-WE WERE HERE.
INTERVIEW WITH HANS-JOACHIM ROEDELIUS-A LIFE MAKING MUSIC.
INTERVIEW WITH HANS-JOACHIM ROEDELIUS- A LIFE MAKING MUSIC.
The words pioneer and innovator are often overused. However, it is a fitting description of Hans-Joachim Roedelius. He is, without doubt, one of the most inventive and influential musicians of the past fifty years. His music has influenced several generation of musicians. And Hans-Joachim Roedelius has released more music that most musicians.
Prolific describes Hans-Joachim Roedelius. He has released over 200 albums over the past six decades. This includes solo albums and the albums he made Kluster, Cluster and Harmonia, who Brian Eno called: “the most important band in the world.”
By then, Harmonia had released two albums. Their debut album Deluxe, was released in 1974. A year later, Harmonia released their sophomore album, Music Von Harmionia in 1975. Both albums featured innovative and influential albums. They came to the attention Brian Eno. This resulted in Harmonia and Brian Eno collaborating on an album.
Recording of the collaboration took place in the studio in Forst. Harmonia and Brian Eno spent eleven days recording an album. Once the recording sessions were complete, the album was given a working title of Harmonia ’76. It was scheduled to be released later that year. That wasn’t the case.
The master tapes to the album went missing. Despite a frantic search for the lost tapes, it looked like they were lost forever. That wasn’t the case. They were discovered two decades later. Belatedly, Tracks and Traces was released in 1997. It’s part of the Harmonia’s forthcoming vinyl box set Complete Works, which will be released by Groenland Records on 30th October 2015. The lavish and lovingly curated Complete Works box set is a celebration of Harmonia’s music. However, Harmonia is just one of many chapters in Hans-Joachim Roedelius’ career. He’s also collaborated with the great and good of music.
Over the last forty years, Hans-Joachim Roedelius has collaborated with everyone from Brian Eno and Tim Story, to Lloyd Cole, Conrad Schnitzler, Morgan Fisher and Christopher Chaplin. He is a truly prolific musician, who even today is working on ten separate collaborations. It seems Hans-Joachim Roedelius, who I interview recently, has an insatiable appetite for music. His story began in 1934, some eighty-one years ago.
The Hans-Joachim Roedelius’ story began in Berlin, on 26th October 1934. That is when one of the future leading lights of the German music scene was born. However, unlike many future musicians, Hans-Joachim Roedelius didn’t grow up in a musical household.
Music was a luxury as Hans-Joachim Roedelius grew up. Like so many young Europeans, World War II interrupted his his childhood. He grew up “hearing bombs drop across the city” of Berlin. It must have been a terrifying sound and time for young Hans-Joachim Roedelius. However, better, more peaceful times were ahead for all Europeans. It was then that music entered Hans-Joachim Roedelius in earnest.
As Hans-Joachim Roedelius grew up, he begin to discover music. “It was classical composers who I listened to. Their music was played by the great orchestras, including The Bonn Orchestra. This was my eduction, and how I discovered music. I learnt through listening.” This was the first step in Hans-Joachim Roedelius’ journey to becoming a musician. Meanwhile, his future contemporaries were studying music.
By the sixties, many of the musicians who became leading lights of the German music scene were music students. Holger Czukay, Conny Plank and Irmin Schmidt were studying under the legendary Karlheinz Stockhausen in Cologne. Meanwhile, another aspiring musician, Dieter Moebius was studying under Joseph Beuys at Düsseldorf Fine Arts Academy. Their paths would cross with Hans-Joachim Roedelius’ after they graduated.
In 1968, at the height of the psychedelic era, Hans-Joachim Roedelius “cofounded music commune Human Being.I also co-founded Zodiak Free Arts Lab in West Berlin with conceptual artist Conrad Schnitzler. At that period, I was a member of the group Human Being, a forerunner of Kluster.” For Hans-Joachim Roedelius: “this was an exciting time, where there was a sense that anything was possible. It was like a revolution. We were happy to have found this place to work. All the freelance musicians in the city found their way to Zodiak Free Arts Lab. There were members of Can, Tangerine Dream, Ash Ra, Neu! at Zodiak. They were great times.” The Zodiak Free Arts Lab was also where Hans-Joachim Roedelius met someone who would play a huge part in his career.
This was Dieter Moebius. “About the end of 1969, Dieter Moebius visited The Zodiak Free Arts Lab. He wasn’t a member. No. He just visiting, and we got talking.” The two men found they had a lot in common, including the way they believed music should be made. It was almost inevitable that Hans-Joachim Roedelius and Dieter Moebius would form a group.
Kluster.
“It was later, in 1970 that we founded Kluster.” Hans-Joachim Roedelius and Dieter Moebius joined with Conrad Schnitzler to form Kluster. However, Kluster was no ordinary band. Initially, Cluster played an eclectic instruments and utensils. “Everything was spontaneous. Improvisation was key.” Kluster’s music was described in The Crack In The Cosmic Egg magazine as “unlike anything heard before.” Hans-Joachim Roedelius admits: “that was what Kluster set out to do. Kluster was about musical activism.” Soon, the musical activists would record their debut album.
Kluster’s debut album came about in the unlikeliest of circumstances. Although band were based in West Berlin; “one night we were playing a concert in Dusseldorf. A priest just happened to be walking past, and heard the music. He liked our music, and came in to the hall. Once the concert was finished, he asked if we would like to record an album of new church music? The answer was yes!” So Kluster made the journey to the Rhenus-Studio in Gordor.
When Kluster arrived at the Rhenus-Studio, “we met Conny Plank and producer Oskar Gottlieb Blarr. We went into the studio and recorded an hour of music in one take. Religious text was added to this, and became the ‘new church music.’ The music became our first two albums Klopfzeichen and Zwei-Osterei.
Only 300 copies of both albums were pressed. Klopfzeichen was released in 1970, with Zwei-Osterei following in 1971. Critics realised the importance of Kluster’s music. It was described as quite extraordinary, bleak, stark, unnerving and full of electricity. Despite the reviews, the sales of Klopfzeichen and Zwei-Osterei were small. However, later, Kluster would be recognised as one of the most influential groups of the early seventies. This influential and innovative group would only release one further album.
This was Eruption, which was recorded by Kluster during 1971. It featured an hour of experimental music, which was recorded by Klaus Freudigmann. Eruption is quite different from Kluster’s first two albums. There is no religious text, just Kluster at their innovative best. For many, Eruption is Kluster’s finest hour. However, 1971 marked the end of an era for Kluster. One group became two.
Cluster.
In the middle of 1971, Conrad Schnitzler left Kluster, and briefly, worked with another band, Eruption. This was the beginning of the end for Kluster.
After the original lineup of Kluster split-up, “Dieter Moebius and I anglicised the band’s name, and Kluster became Cluster.” Between 1971 and 1981, Cluster would release eight studio albums and a live album. Cluster’s debut was released later in 1971.
Cluster.
When Cluster recorded their eponymous debut album, they were joined in the studio by another legend of German music, Conny Plank. He featured on Cluster, which marked a change in sound. Gone was the almost industrial, discordant sound, which was replaced by an electronic sound. Dieter and I played all the instruments and Conny added all sorts of effects. For us this was the start of a new era.”
Cluster was released later in 1971 on Phillips. “This was Cluster’s major label debut. It found Cluster at a crossroads.” They were ready to turn their back on the avant-garde, almost discordant and industrial sound of Kluster, and begin the shift towards the ambient and rock-tinged sound of the late seventies. That was the future. Cluster which had very little melody, is a series of improvised and atmospheric soundscapes.” They would become part of Cluster, which is now regarded as an innovative classic, and in a sense, this was the start of Cluster’s career in earnest.
Cluster II.
“For the followup to Cluster, Conny Plank was no longer a member of Cluster. We were now a duo, consisting of Dieter and I. Conny had other projects he wanted to concentrate on.” With three becoming two, the two remaining members took a different approach to recording. “To some extent, it was trial and error. We tried different things. Some worked, others didn’t.” Hans Hans-Joachim Roedelius explains. The end result, Cluster II “saw a further shift towards a more electronic sound,” and an album that is seen as a influential classic. Cluster were evolving, and would continue to do so.
Zuckerzeit.
Zuckerzeit, Cluster’s third album released in 1974, was co-produced by Michael Rother of Neu! “Michael first met Dieter and I in 1971. By 1973, Michael was on a break from Neu! We decided to head into the countryside to Forst, to build our own recording studio.” This could’ve been fraught with problems? “No. We knew what we were doing and trying to achieve. All of us had experience in studios, so knew what was required.” The result was a studio “where Michael, Dieter and I recorded the two Harmonia albums, Musik Von Harmonia and Deluxe.” However, before that, Zuckerzeit was released.
On the release of Zuckerzeit, in 1974 Michael Rother’s influence is noticeable. He placed more emphasis on melody, rhythm and the motorik beat.” Hans-Joachim Roedelius explains that previously, Cluster didn’t place the same importance on melody or structure. Michael introduced structure and discipline.” The result was a very different album. That would be the case through Cluster’s career. However, by then Cluster’s career was on hold. Harmonia had been born.
The Birth Of Harmonia.
After completing their recording studio in Forst, it seemed only natural that the three friends record an album. So Harmonia was born. It was meeting of musical minds. The two members of Cluster were receptive to Michael Rother’s way of working. Hans-Joachim Roedelius explains: “there were no problems, we wanted to learn. Previously, we improvised, which made playing live problematic. A song was merely the starting point, it could go anywhere. Michael however, taught us about structure. We influenced him. It was a two-way thing.”
Musik von Harmonia.
That proved to be the case. “Harmonia’s 1974 debut album, Musik von Harmonia, was a move towards ambient rock.” While Michael Rother influence can be heard, so can the two members of Cluster. Their influence is more prominent. They adds an ambient influence to what’s a groundbreaking classic. It saw this nascent supergroup seamlessly embrace and incorporate disparate musical genres. In the process, Harmonia set the bar high for future ambient rock albums. However, Harmonia changed tack on the followup to Musik von Harmonia.
The three members of Harmonia reconvened in their studio in Forst for the recording of Deluxe. Co-producing Deluxe was Conny Plank. This just happened to coincide with Harmonia changing direction musically.
Deluxe.
Deluxe saw a move towards Krautrock or Kominische music. The music was more song oriented. However, still Harmonia were experimenting, pushing musical boundaries. This was Cluster’s influence. Other parts of Deluxe had been influenced by Michael Rother. Hans-Joachim Roedelius agrees. “Michael Rother’s influence can be heard on Deluxe, more so than on Musik von Harmonia.” What was also noticeable, was that Deluxe had a more commercial sound. “This wasn’t a conscious decision. The music morphed and evolved, and the result was Deluxe.” It was released in 1975, to the same critical acclaim as Musik von Harmonia. However, the end was nigh for Harmonia.
Tracks and Traces.
Little did the three members of Harmonia realise, that Deluxe was the last album they would release for thirty-two years. For what was their swan-song, Harmonia were joined by another legend, Brian Eno.
At the studio in Forst, Hans-Joachim Roedelius, Dieter Moebius, Michael Rother and Brian Eno spent eleven summer days recording what was meant to be their third album. The working title was Harmonia ’76. However, by then, “Michael Rother was wanting to concentrate on his solo career. Once the album was completed, it became apparent Harmonia had run its course. It was evolution.” So, Harmonia ’76 was never released until 1997.
During the next thirty-one years, it was thought that the master tapes had gone missing. “That was a rumpur. Harmonia ’76 was released as Tracks and Traces in 1997.” Then ten years later, in 2007, Harmonia reunited.
The reunion was for the release of their Live 1974 album. It featured a a recording of Harmonia’s concert on the 23rd March 1974, at Penny Station Club in Griessem, Germany. To celebrate the release of Live 1974, Harmonia played live for the first time since 1976. This landmark concert took place at the Haus der Kulturen der Welt in Berlin, on November 27th 2007. By then, Hans-Joachim Roedelius had recorded nearly 200 other albums. However, following the breakup of Harmonia, Hans-Joachim Roedelius and Dieter Moebius returned to Cluster.
A New Cluster Album.
Sowiesoso.
After “Harmonia ran its course, we returned to Cluster. We had never stopped being Cluster. We played live, but didn’t release a new album until Sowiesoso, in 1976, which we recorded in just two days.” Despite being recorded in just two days, Sowiesoso found Cluster at their creative, as they recorded an album of understated and beautiful melodies. This was the start of a three year period when Cluster could do no wrong.
Enter Brian Eno.
In June 1977, the two members of Cluster were joined by three old friends. The first was Holger Czukay of Can. “Dieter and I knew Holger from way back, back to Zodiak Free Arts Lab. We hung around with members of Can. Back then, there was a great sense of community. Everyone helped and influenced each other. We even went on to tour together.” Another of the guest artists on Cluster’s 1977 album first met Dieter and Hans at a Cluster concert.
That was Brian Eno: “who Cluster jammed with in 1974. Brian joined us on stage, and we spent the second half of the concert jamming. That was how we first met Brian. Then in 1977, he joined as for the recording of Cluster and Eno. We learnt a lot from Brian. Similarly, I like to think we influenced him. That was the case when we recorded After The Heat.” Before that, Cluster and Eno was recorded.
The four great innovators got to work. They spent part of June 1977 recording enough for two albums. Conny Plank laid down bass lines, while Dieter and Hans-Joachim Roedelius played synths and keyboards. So did Brian Eno who added bass and vocals. Once the recording session was complete, the first collaboration between Cluster and Brian Eno was released later in 1977.
Cluster and Eno.
When Cluster and Eno was released later in 1977, the album was a meeting of minds. Elements of both Cluster and Brian Eno’s music melted into one. Cluster supplied elements of avant-garde, while Brian Eno’s supplied the ambient influence. When this was combined with drone and world music, the result was another classic album.
Widespread critical acclaim accompanied the release of Cluster and Eno. It was hailed a groundbreaking album, one that was way ahead of its time. Cluster and Eno is an album that Hans-Joachim Roedelius: “is proud of.” He remembers the recording sessions fondly, and sees both Cluster and Eno, and its followup After The Heat, as an equally “influential album.”
After The Heat,
Just a year after the release of Cluster and Eno, the second collaboration between Cluster and Brian Eno was released. It too, was released to critical acclaim. This fusion of ambient, art rock, avant-garde, experimental and Krautrock were combined by Cluster and Brian Eno. Again, both Cluster and Brian Eno were influencing each other.
“This was not one way. We both influenced each other. On After The Heat, I believe we influenced Brian’s production style. If you listen to David Bowie’s Low and Lodger albums which Brian Eno produced, Cluster and Harmonia’s influence can be heard. So while Brian influenced Cluster, we certainly influenced him.” After two albums with Brian Eno, Cluster’s next album saw them return to a duo.
The Return Of The Cluster Duo.
Grosses Wasser.
Following two albums with Brian Eno, Cluster returned to the studio in 1979. This time, Cluster were joined by Peter Baumann of Tangerine Dream. He would produce Grosses Wasser, Cluster’s seventh album.
When Cluster released Grosses Wasser later in 1979, it proved to be Cluster’s most avant-garde album. “This wasn’t a conscious decision. Instead, it was just a case of evolution. That was the way that the Cluster worked. It was the same live.” That became apparent on Cluster’s first live album.
Live In Vienna.
Despite releasing seven studio albums, Cluster had never released a live album. That changed when Cluster took to the stage at the Wiener Festwochen Alternativ, on June 12th, 1980. It was the only time that Cluster took to the stage with Joshi Farnbauer. The result was one of Cluster’s most experimental albums.
Sometimes, the music veered towards discordant, and was reminiscent of early performances by Kluster. Hans-Joachim Roedelius remembers: “a song was just the starting point. We never knew what direction it would take. It was improvisation at its purest. Partly, it was because we couldn’t replicate our music live.” That was the case on, Live In Vienna, which featured Cluster at their most ambitious and inventive. However, just like Harmonia four years earlier, the end was nigh for Cluster.
Curiosum.
Cluster recorded their ninth album Curiosum in 1981. Recording took place at Hamet Hof, in Vienna, which was now Hans-Joachim Roedelius’ adopted home. At Hamet Hof, Cluster recorded seven tracks. Some were relatively short by Cluster standards. Given the title, the seven tracks on Curiosum were somewhat unorthodox. However, they were unusually melodic. It was a fitting way to end chapter one of the Cluster story.
Just like Harmonia, “Cluster had run its course. We decided to concentrate on other projects. There was no fall-out, Cluster just came to a natural end. After nine albums, Cluster was over. Or was it?
The Solo Years.
By the time that Cluster came to an end, Hans-Joachim Roedelius’ was a respected solo artist. “My solo career began in 1972, and by 1978, I was working on various projects, including my debut album Durch die Wüste.” It featured Conny Plank and Dieter Moebius.” There was no ill feeling. The former member of Cluster was happy to help launch his friend’s solo career.
Durch die Wüste was released in 1978. Just like so many albums Hans-Joachim Roedelius had been involved with, critical acclaim accompanied the release of Durch die Wüste. A year later, Hans-Joachim Roedelius released his sophomore album, Jardin Au Fou. It was a fusion of ambient, avant-garde, electronica and new age music. Just like before, Hans-Joachim Roedelius was a pioneer, of what was being called new age music.
Selbstportrait, which was released in 1980, was another album of new age music. It’s described as understated and thoughtful album. That was the case with Selbstportrait Volume II and III. Already, Hans-Joachim Roedelius was showing that he was a prolific artists who is capable of juggling disparate projects “That has been the case throughout my career. Even today, I am working on seven, no ten projects. Back in 1978, I was combining Cluster and my solo career. Since then, I’ve continued to combine projects.”
Throughout the rest of the eighties, Hans-Joachim Roedelius released over a dozen solo albums. Some years he released two or three albums. It seemed Hans-Joachim Roedelius lived to work. “I love music, always have. Making music comes naturally to me. It’s what I enjoy doing.” So is innovating.
By 1986, Hans-Joachim Roedelius was still releasing groundbreaking music. This includes Wie das Wispern des Windes, an album of ambient piano music. The album had been recorded at Hans-Joachim Roedelius’ home, a friend’s house and at the Bloomsbury Theatre in London. Hans-Joachim Roedelius even designed the album cover. There seemed no end to his talents. Meanwhile, a new generation of artists were discovering the music of Hans-Joachim Roedelius.
From the early eighties, a new generation of artists had been influenced by Hans-Joachim Roedelius’ music. Whether it was the music he made with Cluster, Harmonia or Brian Eno, Hans-Joachim Roedelius’ music was proving influential. That would be the case over the next three decades.
As the eighties gave way to the nineties, groups like Primal Scream and the Stone Roses were being inspired by groups like Can, Cluster, Harmonia and Kraftwerk. So were the a new generation of electronic musicians, and even some hip hoppers. They were looking to the past for inspiration for the future. Meanwhile, Hans-Joachim Roedelius was still one of the hardest working musicians. He was looking forward.
During the nineties, Hans-Joachim Roedelius was averaging over an album a year. Still, his music was innovative, inventive and influential. There was no sign of Hans-Joachim Roedelius slowing down. Artists wanted to collaborate with hime. Then there was Hans-Joachim Roedelius various side-projects. Despite this, he managed to find time to reform Cluster.
The Return Of Cluster.
Cluster reformed in 1989, and straight away, began work on their first album for eight years. So Dieter Moebius made the journey to Austria, where his old friend was still living.
Apropos Cluster.
Recording of Cluster’s tenth album took place during 1989 and 1990. Dieter Moebius and Hans-Joachim Roedelius recorded five tracks, including the twenty-two minute epic title-track. It was part of an album that was similar to Grosses Wasser.
That is the comparisons critics drew, when Apropos Cluster was released in 1991. The only difference was, that Apropos Cluster wasn’t as rhythmic as Grosses Wasser. Instead, it was understated, ethereal and thoughtful ambient music. The followup to Apropos Cluster was the first of three live albums.
One Hour
The first of the trio of live albums Cluster released during the nineties, was One Hour. It came about after Cluster improvised in the studio for four hours. They edited this down to One Hour. The result is a truly captivating album that was released in 1995.
One Hour is Cluster at their most imaginative. They take their music in the most unexpected directions. Curveballs are constantly bowled, as what sounds like the soundtrack to a surrealist film unfolds. Elements of ambient, avant-garde and modern classical music combine, resulting in one of the most intriguing albums in Cluster’s discography.
Two years later, in 1997, Cluster released the first of two live albums. The first was Japan 1996 Live. It was followed by First Encounter Tour 1996, which was their thirteen album, was the first double album Cluster had released. It would also be the last album they released for eleven years. During that period, Hans-Joachim Roedelius released countless solo albums, side projects and collaborations.
Collaborations.
Throughout his career, Hans-Joachim Roedelius has collaborated with an eclectic selection of artists. Michael Rother and Brian Eno were among the first. That was just the start of Hans-Joachim Roedelius’ unquenchable thirst to make music.
From the eighties onwards, Hans-Joachim Roedelius would collaborate with everyone from Alexander Czjzek, keyboardist Richard Barbieri, Aqueous and Mexican vocalist Alquimia. However, one of his most high profile collaborations came with Tim Story.
As Lunz, Hans-Joachim Roedelius and Philly born composer and musician Tim Story recorded four albums. The story began in 2000, when Lunz released The Persistence of Memory. Two years later, in 2002, came Lunz’s eponymous sophomore album. Just like Lunz’s debut, it won favour with critics and cultural commentators. However, Lunz’s finest album came in 2008, when Inlandish was released. That is the album that Hans-Joachim Roedelius: “is most proud of. It’s the best album Lunz recorded and is the perfect introduction to Lunz. Recording these albums was an enjoyable period of my life, and I’ll be pleased to be reunited with Tim Story at the forthcoming festival celebrating my career.” Three other artists Hans-Joachim Roedelius has collaborated with will feature at the festival.
This includes Conrad Schnitzler, who back in 1968, co-founded the Zodiak Free Arts Lab with Hans-Joachim Roedelius. They collaborated on the album Acon 2000/1. “That brought back great memories, of the early days at Zodiak. Back then anything seemed possible. It was an exciting time not just for me, but everyone involved.” Then in 2012, Hans was joined by the son of a famous father.
Christopher Chaplin is the youngest son of comedian Charlie Chaplin. He began life as an actor, and became a composer. In 2012, Christopher Chaplin and Hans-Joachim Roedelius released their collaboration King Of Hearts. The following year, Hans-Joachim Roedelius worked with an honorary Scot.
Although he was born south of the border, Scots regard Lloyd Cole as one of their own. He was the lead singer Lloyd Cole and The Commotions, who released a quartet of albums. Their finest hour was Rattlesnakes, a stonewall classic. After Lloyd Cole and The Commotions split-up, Lloyd embarked upon a solo career. Not only has he released a string of successful albums, but has collaborated with a variety of artists. In 2013, this included Hans-Joachim Roedelius.
He has fond memories of their collaboration, Selected Studies Volume 1. “Lloyd is a nice guy, who I enjoyed working with. He is talented and interesting. I will be pleased to see him at the forthcoming festival.I’ll play piano for Lloyd who I enjoyed working with.” That is what everyone who has collaborated with Hans-Joachim Roedelius says.
There are so many people who have been fortunate enough to work with. Among them are Fabio Capanni, Felix Dorner, Hirishi Nagashima and Robin Storey. They collaborated with Hans-Joachim Roedelius on their 2001 album Evermore. Then there are the collaborations between Hans-Joachim Roedelius and Nikos Arvanitis, Morgan Fisher, David Bickley, Kava and Italian composer Alessandra Celletti. Each and every one of these artists have been fortunate enough to work with Hans-Joachim Roedelius. That list continues to grow, as “currently I’m working on ten separate projects.” Then there are Hans-Joachim Roedelius’ various side projects.
Side Projects.
Ever sice his days working with Harmonia, side projects have played an important part in Hans-Joachim Roedelius’ career. This includes Aquarello, who fused ambient music and jazz.
Aquarello were based in Austria, and featured Hans-Joachim Roedelius, multi-instrumentalist Fabio Capanni, and saxophonist Nicola Alesini. As Aquarello, they released three albums. The first was Friendly Game, which initially, was credited to Roedelius, Capanni, Alesini. It was released in 1991. By the time To Cover The Dark was released in 1993, the trio were known as Aquarello. Their swan-song was the 1998 live album Aquarello. A year later, and Hans-Joachim Roedelius embarked upon a new project.
This was the short-lived Globe Trotters. It featured Kenji Konishi, Susumu Hirasawa, Alquimia, David Bickley, Felix Jay, Alex Paterson of The Orb. The Globe Trotters only album was Drive, released in 1999. Later that year, a remix album was released. That however, was all that was heard from the Globe Trotters. They’re just one of the side projects that Hans-Joachim Roedelius has busied himself with. However, with a new millennia about to dawn, the sixty-six year old’s career was about to enjoy one of the most productive period of his career.
The Solo Years Continued.
As some artists struggled to complete one album in two years, Hans-Joachim Roedelius released eight albums between 2000 and 2001. This Hans-Joachim Roedelius acknowledges “was one of the most productive periods of my career. It’s also some of the music I’m most proud of.” Despite approaching the veteran stage, “I was still brimming with ideas, ideas that I wanted to record. It was what I enjoyed doing. There was hardly any time for anything else.”
That would be the case throughout the noughties. Hans-Joachim Roedelius’ album count was rising. He had long passed the hundred mark, and in 2015 “has released over 200 albums. I’m not finished yet. There are still the ten projects I’m working on, plus albums awaiting release.” However, back in 2007, Hans-Joachim Roedelius and Dieter Moebius decided to reform Cluster.
On The Road With Cluster..One Last Time.
It had been ten years since Cluster split-up. They reformed in 2007, and made their first appearance at the Kosmische Club, London. However, the main event was in Berlin.
Berlin ’07.
It had been thirty-eight years since Cluster played in Berlin. That was back in 1969, in the early days of Cluster. That time, Cluster played a twelve hour concert. This time around, Cluster were playing to a packed concert hall. The concert was recorded, and released in 2008 as Berlin ’07.
When Berlin ’07 was released, it featured just two lengthy tracks. This allowed Cluster to stretch their legs and experiment, while fusing musical genres. The album was well received, and resulted in Cluster returning to the studio.
Qua.
Qua was released on May 21st 2009, and showed that after making music for thirty years, Cluster were still relevant, and capable of making music that was imaginative and inventive. This was Cluster’s twelfth album, and first studio album in fourteen years.
It was described as variously cinematic, spartan, sombre and hymnal. Qua was also intriguing. Still Cluster were capable of taking the listener down avenues and alleyways that they never expected. That was what one would expect from one of the most innovative groups of the past forty years, Cluster. They decided to call it a day in November 2010. That wasn’t quite the end of the story.
Qluster.
Following the demise of Cluster, Hans-Joachim Roedelius announced he was forming a new group. Just like Cluster picked up where Kluster left off, Qluster was picking up where Cluster left off. It was an exciting time for Hans-Joachim Roedelius, and his new group.
Qluster were a trio, consisting of electronic musicians Onnen Bock and Armin Metz. They released four studio albums and a live album between 2011 and 2015. Their debut was the studio album Rufen, which was released in 2011. This was the first in a trilogy.
Fragen was also released by Qluster in 2011.The third and final instlemnt in the trilogy was released in 2012. That was Antworten. By then, Qluster were being heralded as one of the most important modern day groups. Age didn’t matter to Hans-Joachim Roedelius. What mattered was the music.
By the time Qluster released their fourth album, Lauschen Hans-Joachim Roedelius was seventy-nine. He wasn’t slowing down, and certainly hadn’t lost any of his enthusiasm for music. Several generations of record buyers were drawn to Qluster’s music. From those who grew up listening to with Kluster, Cluster or Harmonia, Qluster was essential listening. They released their fifth album earlier in 2015. Tasten however, isn’t the end of the road for Hans-Joachim Roedelius.
Far from it. Talking to Hans-Joachim Roedelius he has the energy of someone half his age. He enthuses about music, past and present. Still he constantly juggles numerous projects. “Currently, I’m working on ten different projects. Nowadays, I work with an iPad and software. It’s very different from the old days, when we worked in studios. I can make music anywhere, and the equipment is much lighter! The new software is so helpful and easy to use. Digital audio workstations and plug-ins mean anything is possible. I could never go back to what it was like. Always, I want to go forward, and make more music. One of the projects Hans-Joachim Roedelius I’m most excited about is Imagori, my recent collaboration with Christoph H. Mueller.” However, that’s not the only release that Hans-Joachim Roedelius is excited about
“On October 30th 2015, the Harmonia box set Complete Works will be released.” At last, Harmonia’s albums have been remastered and given an overdue reissue. This has been Michael Rother’s baby. The result is a loving curated and luxurious box set. Michael Rother has overseen the remastering of Harmonia-Complete Works. It will be released by Grönland Records on 30th October 2015. Included in the box set are the five digitally remastered vinyls; including Musik Von Harmonia, Deluxe, Tracks and Traces, Live ’74 and an album of unreleased material. That’s not all.
There’s a thirty-six page booklet, detailing Harmonia’s history and a tour poster and even a digital download code. Looking at the Complete Works’ box set, it’s without doubt, a luxurious, lavish and lovingly compiled product. This seems a fitting way to remember the group Brian Eno considered as: “the world`s most important rock group.“ However, the release of Complete Works is tinged with sadness.
After a brave and lengthy battle against cancer, Dieter Moebius died on 20th July 2015. The man whose been at Hans-Joachim Roedelius during some of his greatest and most ambitious musical triumphs will be missing. “After a lifelong friendship, losing Dieter has left a void. We were friends since 1969, and spent a lifetime making music. Many a month we spent on the road, talking, and enjoying friendship as the kilometres passed by. We travelled the world together, and enjoyed every minute. So losing Dieter has come as a shock, albeit it was expected. However, I have great memories of a great man, and a great friend, who I’ll never forget.” Hopefully, when the star studded lineup celebrate Hans-Joachim Roedelius’ career over four days in Berlin, they’ll take time to remember Dieter Moebius. He played a huge part in life and career of Hans-Joachim Roedelius.
And what a life it has been so far. Hans-Joachim Roedelius’ career that has lasted forty-six years. During this period, Hans-Joachim Roedelius’ has released over 200 albums. This includes some truly innovative music.
While a very few artists will be part one groundbreaking group, Hans-Joachim Roedelius has been a member of several. This started with Kluster, then Cluster and Harmonia. For the last five years, Hans-Joachim Roedelius has been part of Qluster. Just like the other groups he has been part of, they continually made music that’s innovative, inventive, imaginative and inventive. That has been the case throughout Hans-Joachim Roedelius’ career.
During his career Hans-Joachim Roedelius hasn’t been afraid to push musical boundaries to their limits, and sometimes, way beyond. That’s what you expect from a true musical pioneer. Hans-Joachim Roedelius has boldly gone, where others musicians have feared to tread.
That has been the case throughout Hans-Joachim Roedelius’ long and successful career. Now eighty-one, Hans-Joachim Roedelius thoughts are the future. This means more music that is ambitious, innovative, inspiring and influential music. That is what Hans-Joachim Roedelius has been doing for forty-six years. It’s certainly what Harmonia did for three year.
Harmonia were musical pioneers, and released music that was ambitious and innovative. It was also inspiring and influential. Even today, a new generation of musicians have been influenced and inspired by Harmonia’s two Komische classics, Musik Von Harmonia and Deluxe. So impressed was Brian Eno, that he called Harmonia: “the most important band in the world.”
Brian Eno was one of the first people to recognise the importance of Harmonia. Nowadays, they’re regarded as one of the most important bands in Komische history. That’s why it’s fitting that at last, all of Harmonia’s music has been remastered and will be reissued in the lovingly curated Harmonia box set Complete Works which will be released by by Groenland Records on 30th October 2015. Hans-Joachim Roedelius looks forward to the the Complete Works box set, which he sees a “fitting way to celebration the music of Harmonia,” the group he formed with his two friends Dieter Mobieus and Michael Rother.
INTERVIEW WITH HANS-JOACHIM ROEDELIUS- A LIFE MAKING MUSIC.
BRIAN ENO-AMBIENT 1/MUSIC FOR AIRPORTS.
BRIAN ENO-AMBIENT 1/MUSIC FOR AIRPORTS.
After leaving Roxy Music in 1973, Brian Eno’s career changed direction. Instead, his attention turned to ambient and electronic music. This was a controversial decision, given Roxy Music were one of the most successful British bands of the early seventies. Brian Eno’s creativity was being stifled. He felt he’d much more to offer music. So, he made the decision to leave Roxy music and change direction musically.
Whilst he didn’t enjoy the commercial success he enjoyed with Roxy Music, Brian Eno released a string of critically acclaimed albums. Some of his most critically acclaimed music was released between 1974 and 1983. During that period, Brian Eno could do no wrong. One of the finest albums he produced during this period, was Ambient 1/Music For Airports which was recently reissued by Glitterbeat. It was released in 1978 and is an ambient classic. However, Ambient 1/Music For Airports wasn’t Brian Eno’s debut album.
As Brian Eno’s solo career began, it was apparent he hadn’t turned his back on glam rock entirely. His 1974 debut album, Here Come The Warm Jets was a fusion of art rock, avant garde, experimental and glam rock. Here Come The Warm Jets was recorded in just twelve days in September 1973, with the help of some of rock music’s luminaries. This included Robert Fripp of King Crimson and Phil Manzqnera of Roxy Music. On its release in January 1974, Here Come The Warm Jets was well received, reaching number twenty-six in the UK and number 151 in the US Billboard 200. After Here Come The Warm Jets, Brian Eno’s music changed direction again.
Just ten months after the release of his debut album, Brian Eno returned with his sophomore album, Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy). It was a concept album, where Brian had been inspired by a series of postcards of a Chinese revolutionary opera, entitled Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy). That’s why the subject matters included revolution in China and espionage. This was what Brian Eno did so well, create cerebral, experimental music.
Accompanied by a band that featured Robert Wyatt and Phil Manzqnera, with Andy McKay of Roxy Music one of the guest artists, recording took place in September 1974. The result was an album of contrasts. Somehow, the music manages to be upbeat and dark. Essentially, Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy) was a concept album. Released in November 1974, Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy) failed to chart. Critics, however, hailed the album. They approved this progressive concept album. For Brian Eno, the lack of commercial success was surely just a minor blip. Things would improve with his third album? Surely?
Another Green World which was released in September 1975, saw a change in direction from Brian Eno. He moved further towards the ambient sound he became known for. There were less songs with lyrics. Most of the songs were ambient instrumentals. When there were songs with lyrics, they were lush, lysergic and dreamy. They were more like sonic experiments. With a band featuring John Cale and Robert Fripp, Brian Eno recorded what was undoubtably his best solo album of his career so far.
Critics realised this and hailed Another Green World a minor classic. Despite being critically acclaimed, Another Green World failed to chart. It seemed Brian Eno was enjoying the most creative period of his career, but apart from critics, nobody realised this. Maybe his next album Discreet Music, would mark a change in fortune for Brian Eno?
Discreet Music saw Brian Eno release what many critics describe as his first ambient albums. Previous albums were hybrids, while Discreet Music was purely an ambient album. Brian drew inspiration from Erik Satie and recorded an album of what was described as “furniture music.”
This meant the music was designed to blend into the ambient atmosphere of room. You didn’t need to concentrate or focus on it to the exclusion of everything else. Side one, which features the title-track, was a thirty-minute movement designed for Robert Fripp to play against in concerts. On the second side, were Three Variations on the Canon in D Minor, by Johann Pachelbel. Brian gave the Cockpit Ensemble parts of the score and asked them to repeat these parts several times. Brian also gave them the freedom to alter the tempo and improvise. This was truly groundbreaking.
Cultural commentators and critics realised this, and plaudits came Brian’s way. His ambient debut Discreet Music was released in 1975, but failed to chart. Following the disappointing sales of Discreet Music, Brian decided to change direction again.
Just over two years later, in December 1977, Brian Eno released his fifth album, Before and After Science. It saw Brian make a brief and final return to rock music. With an all-star cast, including members of Fairport Convention, King Crimson, Roxy Music, Free, Can and Cluster, ten songs were recorded in Berlin and London.
Having taken two years to make and with Bhrett Davies co-producing Before and After Science, great things were expected of the album. Especially when critics referred to the album as one of Brian’s finest albums. Sadly, that didn’t translate to album sales. Before and After Science failed to chart in the UK and reached just number 171 in the US Billboard 200. Brian’s return to rock music hadn’t worked. So his next album Ambient 1/Music For Airports was a return to ambient music.
Ambient 1/Music For Airports would prove to be the first in a quartet of the “Ambient” series. Brian came up with the Ambient term to differentiate his music from what many people referred to as “canned music.” Originally, Brian perceived the music on Ambient 1/Music For Airports as being played continually at airport to calm people down and defuse tension. This idea came to Brian when he was waiting for a plane at Bonn airport in the mid-seventies. Brian found the lack of a soundtrack uninspiring. Music like that on Ambient 1/Music For Airports was the answer. So, he recorded what he’d have liked to hear in Bonn airport.
For Ambient 1/Music For Airports four tracks were penned. Co-producer Rhett Davies, Robert Fripp and Brian wrote the opening track 1/1. Brian wrote 1/2, 2/1 and 2/2. These four tracks were recorded by a small band in London and Cologne. Robert Wyatt played acoustic piano and Brian played synths and electric piano. Vocalists included Christe Fast, Christine Gomez and Inge Zeininger. Engineers included Dave Hutchins, Conny Plank and Rhett Davies, who co-produced Ambient 1/Music For Airports with Brian Eno. Once Ambient 1/Music For Airports was completed, it was released in 1978.
When critics heard Ambient 1/Music For Airports they realised that Brian Eno had just recorded one of the best albums of his career. Some described Ambient 1/Music For Airports as a classic. They described it as innovative due to its use of tape loops and its ambient quality. Despite the reception Ambient 1/Music For Airports received, it wasn’t a commercial success. Indeed, it failed to chart. However, since then, Ambient 1/Music For Airports is seen as a classic album which deserves to be in any self-respecting record collection. I’ll tell you why, once I’ve told you about Ambient 1/Music For Airports.
Ambient 1/Music For Airports opens with 1/2. Just a slow, spacious and pensive piano are played deliberately. Synths drone in the background, as if posing a question. This piano melody is constantly repeated. as instruments fade in and out. Chimes, synths and acoustic piano played by Robert Wyatt. Ethereal, dreamy, becalming and thoughtful, the music washes over you. It’s like a balm that massages your very soul. There’s a hypnotic and mesmeric quality to the music. You’re drawn to the music, become part of it, focusing on its hidden secrets and subtleties. Sometimes, there’s a zen like quality to the music as ambient, avant garde and experimental music combine to create a soundtrack to calm any travellers weary soul.
A celestial choir opens 1/2, their voices cascading above the arrangement. Accompanying what sounds like a choir of angels are washes of synths. They too have an elegant, ethereal sound as the arrangement unfolds in waves. Again, it washes over. It’s akin to waves washing up on a deserted beach. Both have the same relaxing and becalming quality and are nine of the best minutes of minimalist music Brian Eno ever recorded. This track is also proof that sometimes, less is more.
Just a thoughtful, pensive piano opens 2/1. Soon, ethereal harmonies descend. They’re celestial and tender, drifting in and out of the arrangement. Accompanying them are a lone piano and occasional plucked bass. It’s played slowly, deliberately and as if every note has been considered with care. Space is left within the arrangement, as if mindful of Miles Davis’ comment about the space between two notes being as important as the notes them-self. The space only heightens the anticipation of the swathes of harmonies that swoop in. Tender, beautiful and otherworldly, they’re the perfect accompaniment to Brian’s piano. Ying and yang describes them as they play their part in this ethereal celestial symphony.
2/2 closes Ambient 1/Music For Airports. This ten minute track is quite different from the previous tracks. It has a cinematic sci-fi sound. A synth creates a droning, atmospheric sound. Squelchy, spacious, dubby synths prove an atmospheric, evocative and dramatic soundscape. It brings to mind a spacecraft sailing towards a distant galaxy, going where no man has gone before. Whilst the music is still minimalist, it lacks the ethereal quality. That’s no bad thing. It offers variety, and demonstrates Brian Eno’s versatility and ability to paint pictures with music.
It’s no exaggeration to say that Brian Eno’s Ambient 1/Music For Airports, his sixth solo album, is an ambient classic. I’d go further and say that Ambient 1/Music For Airports is a classic album. Minimalist, understated, spacious, ethereal, haunting and becalming, it was an ambient Magnus Opus. That’s quite fitting. Back in 1975, Brian drew inspiration from Erik Satie for his fourth album Another Green World. On Ambient 1/Music For Airports Brian took this concept further. Much further.
Rather than record what Erik described as “furniture music,” Brian Eno expanded this concept. He recorded an album that could and would provide the soundtrack to everyday life. He envisaged this providing the backdrop at airports, becalming the weary traveller and diffusing tension. In some ways, Brian music is utilitarian. Brian also envisaged the music as providing a constant backdrop to art installations. So, Ambient 1/Music For Airports could be all things to all people. Ambient 1/Music For Airports also marked the blossoming of Brian Eno’s creativity.
A lifelong musical pioneer, Ambient 1/Music For Airports was the start of the most creative period of Brian Eno’s long career. He released another three albums in the “Ambient” series. From 1978s Music For Films, which is another classic album, Brian embarked upon a string of innovative albums. This includes 1982s Ambient 4: On Land, 1983s Apollo: Atmospheres and Soundtracks and then 1983s More Music For Films. These albums, plus Another Green World, Discreet Music and of course, Ambient 1/Music For Airports feature the Godfather of ambient music at his creative zenith. Since then, Brian Eno has continued to release ambitious, challenging, groundbreaking and innovative music. However, one of the finest albums of Brian Eno’s solo career has to be Ambient 1/Music For Airports, a truly groundbreaking classic album.
BRIAN ENO-AMBIENT 1/MUSIC FOR AIRPORTS.
LARAAJI-AMBIENT 3 (DAY OF RADIANCE).
LARAAJI-AMBIENT 3 (DAY OF RADIANCE).
Despite being one of the most innovative musicians of his generations, Laraaji still remains one of music’s best kept secrets. That’s despite releasing nearly thirty albums. Many of these albums showcase Laraaji’s unique ambient sound. Best known for playing the zither, Laraaji’s music is best described as a fusion of ambient, experimental and psychedelia. Hypnotic, mesmeric and meditative also describes Laraaji’s music. That includes the album that launched Laraaji’s career, Ambient 3 (Day Of Radiance) which was recently reissued by Glitterbeat.
Ambient 3 (Day Of Radiance) was produced by Brian Eno and released in 1980. It was Laraaji’s third album, but the first released by a record label. This was a coming of age for Laraaji, who over the next four decades, released nearly thirty ambient albums. However, growing up, the music that inspired Laraaji was very different to the groundbreaking music he went on to create,
The Laraaji story began in Philadelphia in 1943. That was where he was born Edward Larry Gordon. At an early age, Edward and his family moved to New Jersey.
That was where he studied violin, piano, trombone and singing. At high school, Larry played in the school band and orchestra. Music was part of Larry’s life. He was exposed to an eclectic range of music. His family attended the local Baptist church, so Larry heard choral and gospel music, as well as negro spirituals. At home though, Larry heard very different music.
He sat and absorbed everything from jazz, R&B and rock ’n’ roll. The great piano players inspired Larry. This included Oscar Peterson, Fats Domino and Ahmad Jamal. So it was no surprise that having graduated from high school, Larry decided to study music.
Having won a scholarship to study piano and composition, Larry headed to one of the most prestigious universities in America, Howard University, in Washington D.C. He spent the next few years immersed in music. It seemed that Larry was destined to pursue a career in music. That wasn’t the case.
After graduating from Howard University, Edward decided not to pursue a career in music. Instead, Larry decided to pursue a career as a standup comic. His love of comedy began in college. Then when he left University, Larry and his comedy partner decided to head to New York to audition at the Bitter End, who regularly held talent shows. This was where Bill Cosby’s comedy career began. For an aspiring comedian, this seemed the perfect place to launch their new career. However, the night Larry and his comedy partner were meant to make their debut, his partner never turned up. Having been left in the lurch, he had to make his debut as a solo artist. He was well received. That was the start of Larry’s comedy career. Soon he became a regular on the New York comedy circuit. Comedy wasn’t the only career Larry had.
Through his exploits as a comedian, Larry came to the attention of Ernestine McClendon, who was a respected theatrical agent. She took Larry under her wing and guided his nascent career. Larry was sent to auditions, and soon, was appearing on television commercials, in theatre and even in films. One of these films Putney Swope. Much of the film was improvised. When it came out, it inspired Larry to look at the role of the mass media. Looking for answers, Larry read books and learnt to meditate.
To help him, he turned to teachers who taught Larry how to mediate. He soon was practising meditation and calisthenics. Larry was also using piano exercises as an outlet. This is how he discovered spontaneous music. Everything was improvised, off-the-cuff and experimental. Straight away, Larry realised the possibilities were endless. However, meditation was key to this. He could do with music and art now he’d discovered meditation. Discovering meditation was akin to a spiritual awakening. Before long, the next part of Larry’s Meditation spiritual awakening took place.
Around 1974 or 1975, Larry living near JFK airport. One night he had been out walking, and on his return home, he started hearing what he describes as “the music of the spheres.” This was akin to a cosmic symphony. The music was joyous and celebratory. Larry became part of the music. He was at one with the music. The whole experience had a lasting effect. It was a spiritual and cosmic awakening. Suddenly, he understood things that had puzzled him. Things made sense after what Larry refers to as “a trigger for a cosmic memory.” It was as if Larry had been enlightened. However, he wanted to know more about what had happened. So, he embarked on a course of study.
To further understand what had happened to him, Larry embarked upon a study of Vedic teachings. Part of the Vedic teachings is that the yogis hear music in layers. This is what Larry had experienced, and why he was able to describe the music so vividly. His teachers told him he’d reached such a high level of consciousness that he was able to see things differently from most people. It seemed his spiritual and cosmic awakening was almost complete. Now he wanted to recreate the music he’d heard.
At last, Larry was able to put his musical education to good use. He’d always played music, even when he was working as a comedian and actor. Latterly, he’d been playing the Fender Rhodes. However, Larry was fed up having to transport such a heavy instrument. One night as he was preparing to go onstage, he told his “cosmic ear” he would “like a lighter instrument to share his musical consciousness with the world.” A few days later, he found himself in a pawn shop, ready to pan his guitar, when out of nowhere, a voice told Larry to swap his guitar for a stringed instrument in the shop window. This was an autoharp. Now all Larry had to do was master this new instrument.
When Larry took the instrument home, he tuned it to his favourite piano chords and open guitar tunings. The effect this had, was to return it to what was essentially a zither, whose roots can be traced back the the ancient, traditional instrument the kithara. Gradually, through a process of experimentation, Larry discovered what the autoharp was capable of. Then when he added an electric pickup, this was a game-changer. The possibilities were endless. He was able to begin creating the music he’d heard that fateful night, albeit with a little help from a friend.
Not long after Larry begin playing the autoharp, he was strumming and plucking it like a guitar. That seemed the way to play the autoharp. That’s until he met Dorothy Carter. She was hammered dulcimer artist and encouraged Larry to play his autoharp with hammers. The other thing Dorothy did, was invite Larry to the Boston Globe Music Fest. That’s where Larry met another innovator.
At the Boston Globe Music Fest, Larry met Steven Halpern. It’s no exaggeration to say, that he is a pioneer of new age music. Meeting Steven exposed him to music that he never new existed. It changed Larry’s way of thinking. He realised that music didn’t need to follow the structures that he’d been taught. Music didn’t need to have a beginning, end or even a melody. Instead, it could be a freeform stream of consciousness. There was room for experimentation and improvisation within music. For Larry this changed his approach to music. Inspired and confident in his ability to play the autoharp, Larry was ready to make his debut.
They say all the world is a stage, well that proved to be the case for Larry. He made his debut as a busker on the streets of New York in 1978. A year later, Larry was still busking. However, he was playing in a different location. This proved fortuitous. Some would say it was fate.
Larry was now busking in Washington Square Park. He sat on top of a blanket, cross-legged and with his eyes closed, played his zither using the open tunings he favoured. So he never saw Brian Eno standing watching him. The Godfather of ambient music was transfixed. He’d been walking through the park with Bill Laswell and came across a fellow innovator. Recognising the potential that Larry had, Brian Eno wrote a message to Larry on a piece of paper.
This message asked whether Larry would be interested in working with him on a recording project. For Larry this was kismet. A few weeks previously, people watching Larry play suggested Larry might like Brian Eno and Robert Fripp’s music. Here, lying at his feet when he opened his eyes after playing, was a message from Robert Eno. This Larry felt was an example of cosmic synchronicity. So he contacted Brian Eno.
The next day they met and spoke about ambient music and electronics. Straight away, they got on. Three weeks later, Larry now calling himself Laraaji, headed to Apple Studios, in Green Street, New York. That was where Ambient 3 (Day Of Radiance) was recorded.
When Laraaji arrived at Apple Studios, he brought with him his zither and dulcimer. He also brought the five songs he had composed. Along with producer Brian Eno, they recorded the five tracks.
As the session got underway, Laraaji’s 36-stringed open-tuned zither was treated and amplified. Then when played his dulcimer, he used a series of hammers. Brian Eno added a variety of instruments and effects, which added the all important layers to the five tracks. Once the five tracks were recorded, they became Ambient 3 (Day Of Radiance). It was released later in 1980 and was the latest instalment in a groundbreaking series.
The story started in 1978, when Brian Eno had released his ambient classic, Ambient 1 (Music For Airports). This was one of Brian Eno’s finest albums of the seventies. However, it was another two years before he returned with the next instalment in the series.
Ambient 2 (The Plateaux Of Mirror) was released earlier in 1980, Brian Eno had collaborated with Harold Budd. It was a tantalising prospect, two of ambient music’s pioneers collaborating on an album. On Ambient 2 (The Plateaux Of Mirror)’s release, it didn’t disappoint. With the two colossi of ambient music pooling their resources, it was a fitting followup to Ambient 1 (Music For Airports). This must have left Brian Eno with a dilemma, how do followup Ambient 2 (The Plateaux Of Mirror)? Then fate intervened, and he encountered Laraaji busking in Washington Square Park.
He was the perfect person to record the next instalment in the Ambient series. So Brian left a note asking Laraaji to call him, and the rest was history. They had recorded an album together, and later in 1980, Ambient 3 (Day Of Radiance) was just about to be released. Before that, the critics had to have their say.
For many artists this is a worrying time. Especially, with a left field project. There’s always the possibility that critics won’t understand the music. In the post punk days, the snarling angry young gunslingers in the music press weren’t exactly accommodating to music that didn’t fit their particular agenda. However, some critics gave Ambient 3 (Day Of Radiance) a chance, and realised that this was a groundbreaking album. Elements of ambient, electronica, folk and world music combined on Ambient 3 (Day Of Radiance). Thirty-seven year old Laraaji’s debut album was on its way to becoming an ambient cult classic. No wonder.
Opening Ambient 3 (Day Of Radiance) The Dance #1. Spacey, flourishes of Laraaji’s hammered dulcimer add a dreamy, meditative sound. Then it’s all change. Laraaji plays with a degree of urgency. It’s as if he’s determined to get his ideas down on tape. His playing is impassioned and relentless. Soon, the music takes on a rhythmic, mesmeric quality as it washes over the listener. They bathe in its glistening beauty as the arrangement literally dances, and captivates. Subtle, distant, washes of synths, and later a zither is added. They’re the perfect foil for the relentless energy. Together, they’re responsible for what’s akin to a cathartic outpouring of ideas and energy from Laraaji. It’s is been waiting years to take listeners on his magical, mesmeric, rhythmic and meditative musical journey.
Again, washes of dulcimer ring out in The Dance #2, giving the track a spiritual sound. It’s like some cosmic call to worship, in a 21st century temple. In the background, there’s a almost industrial sound. It has a mesmeric, machinelike sound, as if saying: “chop that wood and carry water.” Later, a wash of celestial sound arise from the arrangement. They wash over the listener, soothing their weary soul. By then, the industrial sound is much more prominent. Despite that, it’s still melodic, celestial and like The Dance #1, has a mesmeric and rhythmic sound.
Stabs of shimmering, glistening dulcimer open The Dance #3. Soon, the music grows in power, and begins to jar. It threatens to become discordant. That’s because Brian Eno has slowed the tape down. This has the effect of the sound vibrating and become deep and distorted. It’s worth it though, when an ethereal and celestial sound shines through. From darkness, there’s light and ethereal beauty, on this three minute soundscape where contrasts are omnipresent.
Meditation #1 is a nineteen minute. Understated, dreamy and spacey, gentle washes of zither ripple slowly. They wash over the listener, and have a meditative quality. It’s a case of less is more. Space is left between the notes. A chiming cheeping sound resonates, before there’s near silence. Many artists fear silence. For them, it’s the elephant in the room. It allows the listener to reflect, before the arrangement glistens and shimmers. There’s a hypnotic quality. Mostly, though, the music’s serene, ethereal beauty washes over the the listener, allowing them to bathe and cleanse their weary soul.
Closing Ambient 3 (Day Of Radiance), is Meditation #2. Slowly and thoughtfully, the zither reverberates into the distance. This is the result of Brian Eno treating Laraaji’s zither electronically. His treatment and the zither’s long decay-rate creates what can only be described as an ethereal sound. Washes of synths and dulcimers are added, creating a shimmering soundscape. One minute there’s an element on drama, the next there’s near silence. From there, the arrangement meanders along, glistening and shimmering. The music is ethereal and elegiac. Sometimes, it hypnotic, and always is captivating. Briefly, Laraaji springs a surprise when dramatic flourishes of his zither add a contrast. Later, the arrangement returns to its understated, spacious and elegiac sound. By then, Laraaji’s music is reminiscent of Brian Eno’s classic seventies ambient music. It seems the pupil has learnt from the master, as Ambient 3 (Day Of Radiance) is an ambient classic.
That’s why Glitterbeat’s recent reissue of Ambient 3 (Day Of Radiance) is to be welcomed. It’s an ambient classic, that for far too long, has been overlooked. Especially, when compared to other albums in the Ambient series.
Brian Eno’s Ambient series started with Ambient 1 (Music For Airports). It’s an ambient classic. However, it was another two years before he returned with the next instalment in the series.
Ambient 2 (The Plateaux Of Mirror) was released earlier in 1980, Brian Eno had collaborated with Harold Budd. This was a tantalising prospect. Here were two of ambient music’s pioneers collaborating on an album. They didn’t disappoint. Not only did the two colossi of ambient music produce a fitting followup to Ambient 1 (Music For Airports), they whetted record buyer’s appetites for the next instalment in the series.
Rather than bring onboard one of the big names in ambient music, Brian Eno brought onboard an unknown. It was Rocky-esque.
Laraaji had been in training for this opportunity for years. This included years spent busking on the Big Apple’s streets. Then fate brought Brian Eno and Laraaji together. The result was Ambient 3 (Day Of Radiance), the album that introduced Laraaji to a wider audience.
When they dropped the needle on Ambient 3 (Day Of Radiance), they heard music that was variously beautiful, dreamy, elegiac, ethereal, melancholy, mesmeric and rhythmic. Other times it’s challenging, meditative, otherworldly and spiritual. Always, the music on Ambient 3 (Day Of Radiance) was innovative. It was a fusion of ambient, Arabic, avant-garde, electronic, experimental, neo-industrial and world music. However, just like so many musical innovators, many people didn’t understand Laraaji’s music.
It wasn’t just Laraaji’s music people didn’t understand. They didn’t understand ambient music per se. Ambient music was very different to most commercial music. Throughout the seventies, it had been overlooked by most people. Instead, Philly Soul, disco and punk proving the soundtrack to the seventies. This was formulaic, disposable music at its worst. However, this music for social dopes was filling the charts and polluting the airwaves. Sadly, ambient, Komische and progressive rock were all being overlooked. That was music for the mind, rather than the feet. However, thankfully, times have changed.
Over the last few years, a new generation of record buyers have rediscovered Laraaji’s music. Somewhat belatedly, Laraaji’s music has found the audience it so richly deserves. This includes Ambient 3 (Day Of Radiance), Laraaji’s collaboration with Brian Eno.
With Brian Eno’s guidance, Laraaji blossomed on Ambient 3 (Day Of Radiance). Soon, he came to be regarded as one of music’s pioneers. Since Ambient 3 (Day Of Radiance), Laraaji has released nearly thirty albums. It’s innovative, cinematic and ethereal music. It toys with the listener’s emotions, and takes them on a journey, all the time, painting pictures in their mind’s eye. Sometimes, Laraaji throws a curveball, taking the listener somewhere they never expected to go. However, it’s a case of trust in Laraaji. This musical visionary takes the listener by the hand on Ambient 3 (Day Of Radiance), and takes them on an ethereal, mesmeric and captivating journey.
LARAAJI-AMBIENT 3 (DAY OF RADIANCE).
RIM AND KASA-TOO TOUGH.
RIM AND KASA-TOO TOUGH.
Music was in Rim Kwaku Obeng’s blood. Both his father and uncle were master drummers. So it was no surprise when he followed in their footsteps. He started life as Samuel K. Mfojo, in Begoro, Ghana. However, when his career in music began, he adopted the name Rim Kwaku Obeng.
He released his debut album Rim Arrives in 1980. A fusion of disco and funk, Rim Arrives failed to find an audience. That’s until later, when DJs spinning Afro-disco discovered the album. By then, Rim Arrives was a real rarity. However, it wasn’t Rim’s only release.
In 1982 Rim and Kasa released a three track E.P. Too Tough. Then the following year, 1983, Rim and The Believers released I’m Not Going To Let You Go as a 12” single. Both releases can be found on the Too Tough mini-album, which will be reissued by BBE Africa on 30th October 2015. Too Tough is the next chapter in the story of Samukel K, Mfojo.
Samukel K, Mfojo proved a quick learner. By the time he was eighteen, he was a master drummer. There was no higher position. Or so it seemed,
Soon, Samy became the personal drummer to the Ashanti chief in his community. This was a position Rim held for the next eight years. He held this position until he was twenty-six, Then he heard the comedy group the Accra Trio.
They were playing a type of music that was new to Rim. It excited and inspired him. So much so, that Rim asked if he could tour with them. Given Rim’s position in the community, they agreed. It was to everybody’s benefit. He was after all, the Ashanti chief’s personal drummer.
This was the start of Rim’s professional career. It began with Rim touring with the Accra Trio. Then he was approached by Duke Oketa, the leader of one of the top Highlife bands in Ghana, the Uluru Dance Band.
Over the next five years, Rim toured Britain, America and even Russia with the Uluru Dance Band. During that period, he honed and perfected his playing style, Rim also became firm friends with Duke Oketa as the Uluru Dance Band toured, All the time, their music continued to evolve. That was the case for five years, until Rim was called up and had to spend time in the armed forces.
Once Rim’s time in the armed forces was over, he was reunited with his old friend, Duke Oketa. He told Rim he was going to Los Angeles for a recording session. What’s more, he wanted Rim to accompany him. This was no surprise.
Rim and Duke travelled far and wide for five years. By then they had become firm friends. So when Duke Oketa headed to Los Angeles for a session, Rim went too.
By then, the Uhuru Dance Band could do no wrong. Every song they recorded, had the potential to be a hit. So, for their next session, Duke Oketa decided to head to Los Angeles, and one of the city’s top studios.
Once there, Duke booked a studio for a new recording. Duke, however, didn’t do things by halves. He booked one of L.A.’s top studios, A&M Studios. However, Duke wasn’t done yet. For his session, he hired a huge string section. They made their way to the A&M Studios expecting everything to be ready. It wasn’t.
There were no charts awaiting the string section. Duke had no option but to postpone the session for a week. Luckily, Duke knew a man who could have the charts ready within a week. That was his drummer and friend, Rim Kwaku Obeng. He got to work preparing the charts. Within a week they were completed. Duke was so pleased that he paid Rim $700. While all this was playing out, one Quincy Jones was watching on.
He just happened to be spending some time at A&M Studios. When Quincy Jones saw how Rim handled the situation with the charts, he was impressed, Preparing the charts within a week was a big ask. However, Rim managed it. So, Quincy Jones asked Rim to join him. Unfortunately for Rim. Duke got involved, and threatened to sue Quincy Jones if Rim left his employ. Despite ruining the opportunity of a lifetime, Rim stayed loyal to Duke. That was a big mistake.
After the L.A. escapade, Duke invited Rim to accompany him to London. Duke told Rim they were going to record with “a band called Traffic” and Joan Armatrading, who was then, an up-and-coming singer-songwriter. For Rim, this must have seemed like the opportunity of a lifetime. Sadly, that wasn’t the case.
When Duke and Rim arrived in London, they booked into a hotel. Everything it seemed, was going well. However, that was until Rim’s second morning in London. Rim discovered that Duke had checked out of the hotel taking with him Rim’s passport, documents, money and luggage. While the hotel staff were sympathetic at his plight, this left Rim with a huge problem, how did he get home? The answer was, he couldn’t.
With no money, passport or documents, Rim was stranded. What’s more, he had nowhere to live. In the space of little over twenty-four hours, Rim found himself homeless. For the next six long and lonely months. Rim spent them sleeping rough. He was down, out and destitute. It was as if his world had ended. Over the next six months, Rim experienced hell on earth. It was only after a chance meeting with Joan Armatrading that Rim turned his life around.
One day, Rim saw that Joan Armatrading was playing in Ronnie Scott’s jazz club. He recognised and remembered the name. Here was the young singer-songwriter that he was meant to work with when he arrived in London. So, he returned to Ronnie Scott’s the night Joan was playing. He couldn’t get in, given his dishevelled state. So, Rim tried plan B.
Rim found a phone box and tried to phone home, call collect. No luck. Eddie Lee who he was phoning wasn’t around. With things going from bad to worse, and Rim exhausted, he fell asleep in the phone box. That was until someone wanted to use the phone. Then Rim was on the move again. He was out of luck. Or was he?
Surrounded by hotels, Rim decided to try and find a hotel where he could either phone home, or spend the night. Then fate intervened, The hotel he decided to try was the one where he spent his first night in London. When the receptionist who had asked him to leave, saw the state of Rim she was worried. Rim told her what had happened, and slowly, she began to realise that he was a well known musician. So she allowed Rim to phone Eddie Lee.
Having got through to Eddie Lee, his old friend paid for a room in the hotel for three weeks. Eddie Lee also got in touch with Joan Armatrading.
When she heard what had happened to Rim, and what he’d been through, Joan promised to help him. No longer was London the lonely, scary place it had been for the past six months. During that period, Rim had survived by the skin of his teeth. It had been a terrifying time, Now life was looking up, and could only get better for Rim. Joan took Rim home, got him fed and cleaned him, and the next day, bought him new clothes. Soon, he was rehearsing with Joan’s band. Thanks to Joan Armatrading the next chapter in Rim’s life was about to begin.
By 1977, Rim Kwaku Obeng had gone from sleeping rough on the streets of London, to Los Angeles. He had struggled to raise the money to cross the Atlantic. Eventually, he had saved enough, that he could say goodbye to London.
When he arrived in L.A., Rim was able to stay with a friend while he found his feet. Soon, he was working with a group of expat African musicians. Some weren’t even professional. However, before long, Rim turned them into a crack band who were able to seamlessly, combine Western and African music. This fusion of musical influences, would feature on Rim’s debut album, Rim Arrives.
For his debut album, Rim Arrives. Rim had written seven tracks, He took the band he had honed, and augmented them with some top L.A. session players and expat African musicians. They recorded what could’ve, and should’ve been an album of dance-floor fillers.
Especially with 1977, being the year disco’s popularity peaked. Everyone and anyone were releasing disco records. This included the biggest names in music, actors and stars whose career had hit the buffers. However, back in 1977 Rim was one of the rising stars of Afro-funk and disco. Rim Arrives, his debut album, many felt would lunch his career.
That didn’t happen. When Rim Arrives was eventually released in 1980, it wasn’t a commercial success. Very few copies were sold and the album passed record buyers by. That’s despite the disco being at the peak of its popularity. However, Rim wasn’t about to throw in the towel.
Two years later, Rim returned in 1982, with three new tracks that he had written. He went into the studio and recorded them a small band. This included bassist Baba Tunde, keyboardist MrStro, trumpeter Bill Oritz and lead vocalist Anita Berry. Rim played drums, bells, congas, shaker, timbales, piano and vocals. He also arranged and produced his E.P. Once it was completed, it was released later in 1982.
When Too Tough was released on Sum-Sum Records, it was credited to Rim and Kasa. History repeated itself when the Too Tough E.P. failed commercially. Very few copies of Too Tough were sold. That’s why nowadays, copies of Too Tough can change hands for up to £240, $360 or €312. However, back in 1982, the one-time master drummer’s career looked as if it was at the crossroads. Rim however, wasn’t going to give up that easily.
In 1983, Rim was back, with a new band. Rim and The Believers went into the studio recorded what became the 12” single, I’m Not Going To Let You Go. Just like Too Tough, Rim wrote and produced I’m Not Going To Let You Go and the B-Side Peace Of Mind. Once the two songs were recorded and mixed, Harmony Records agreed to release I’m Not Going To Let You Go.
After the commercial failure of Too Tough, Rim must have been hoping that his luck would change with I’m Not Going To Let You Go. That wasn’t to be. When Harmony Records released Rim and The Believers’ first single later in 1983, it disappeared without trace. It would be another two years before Rim and The Believers returned with their second and final single, International Funk.
Still, Rim and The Believers’ were out of luck. On International Funk’s release in 1985, it too, failed commercially. Life was hard for the one-time master drummer. His music wasn’t attracting an audience. That would change, but it took a while.
It was only much later, that DJs spinning rare disco came across copies of Rim Arrives. They were the lucky ones. Very few copies of Rim Arrives still exist. Some of the DJs wondered whether Rim had recorded anything else? Some discovered the Too Tough E.P. and the 12” single I’m Not Going To Let You Go. However, just like copies of Rim Arrives, they were real rarities. Unless record collectors had deep pockets or were very lucky, they very little chance of finding any of Rim’s music. So, the newly founded BBE Africa decided to reissue Rim’s back-catalogue.
BBE Africa’s first release was Rim Arrives, which was recently released. Now Too Tough has been released as a mini-album. it features the original Too Tough E.P. and the 12” single I’m Not Going To Let You Go. These five tracks become Too Tough, and are the latest chapter in the story of Rim Kwaku Obeng.
Opening Too Tough is Shine The Ladies, a slice of Afro-disco. The rhythm section lock into a groove, with Baba Tunde’s underpinning the arrangement. Meanwhile, short, sharp, stabs of blazing horns accompany harmonies. Soon, keyboards and chiming guitar join a jazz-tinged rhythm section and disco strings. They build up the arrangement, before Anita Berry’s vocal enters. She sings call and response with the backing vocalists. Anita’s message is equality and respect. This is a rarity, a disco track full of social social comment. Later, a blistering saxophone solo nearly steals the show. That looks like being the case. Then a searing, rocky guitar solo is unleashed. It’s gave set and match. That’s despite the rest of the solos showcasing a tight, talented band. Along with Anita Berry they play their part in a nine minute Afro-disco epic.
From the get-go, the rhythm and horn sections combine with percussion on Love Me For Real. They create an über funky backdrop. Stabs of horns combine with a funky bass before rumbling drums announce the arrival of the dreamy, sing-song female vocal. By now, the arrangement veers between hypnotic to swaggering. It’s very different to the vocal, which is variously tender and sassy. Then as the vocal drops out, strings sweep and horns sound. When the vocal returns, it’s a needy vamp. Later a myriad of percussion joins the horns and rhythm section are unleashed as the cry is: “make it make make it funky.” Then when Rim’s earnest vocal enters, the band have kicked loose. In full flight, they seamlessly combine elements of Afro-beat, disco, funk and jazz, on this long-lost, hidden gem.
I’m A Songwriter closed the original Too Tough E.P. Previously, comparisons have been drawn to Roy Ayers, when he was inspired by Fela Kuti. Another way to describe the track is genre-melting. The backing vocals realise this, and begin to reel of the influences. They describe it as “funky reggae music.” That’s just part of the story, Later, they ask: “do you hear the jazz feeling, do you hear the African feeling?” The closer you listen, the more influences make their presence felt. There’s a soulful sound, a psychedelic twist and a nod to dub pioneer Lee Scratch Perry. Quite simply, it’s genre-melting, roller coaster ride, which somehow, makes sense.
I’m Not Going To Let You Go was the 12” single released by Rim and The Believers. Thunderous drums, chiming guitar and piano join trippy, dubby synths. They set the scene for Rim’s hopeful, and later, bravado fuelled vocal. Needy harmonies augment his vocal. Meanwhile, squeaky synths, percussion and the rhythm section provide the backdrop to Rim, on this sassy paean.
Closing Too Tough, is Peace Of Mind which was the flip side to I’m Not Going To Let You Go. I much prefer this side. It’s an instrumental, and is another genre-melting, roller coaster. Just the rhythm section and percussion combine with keyboards. Underpinning the arrangement is the bass. The keyboards veer between jazz-tinged and jaunty to a much more lounge sound. Vibes are added, filling up the arrangement. This adds to the feel-good sound, and seems the perfect way to close the Too Tough mini-album. It’s the second chapter in the Rim Kwaku Obeng story.
The first chapter in the story was Rim Arrives. It was rereleased recently by BBE Africa. Now they turn their attention to the music Rim Kwaku Obeng released between 1982 and 1983.
This includes Rim and Kasa’s three track E.P. Too Tough. It was released in 1982 on Sum Sum Records. Just like Rim Arrives, Too Tough wasn’t a commercial success. Neither was Rim and The Believers’ debut single I’m Not Going To Let You Go. It was released on Harmony Records in 1983. That was the last anyone heard of Rim and The Believers for two years.
They returned in 1986 with International Funk. Just like I’m Not Going To Let You Go, it was released on Harmony Records. International Funk failed commercially. That was the last single Rim and The Believers released.
Very little was heard of Rim Kwaku Obeng for many years. Then rare disco DJs started spinning Rim Kwaku Obeng’s music. This resulted in a resurgence in interest in the one-time master drummer’s music. There was a problem though, copies of Rim Kwaku Obeng debut album, E.P. and single were few and far between. Any copies that came to light were changing hands for anything up to £300. This meant only those with the deepest pockets could afford a copy of Rim Arrives, the Too Tough E.P. or the 1983 single I’m Not Going To Let You Go. What was needed, was a record company to reissue Rim Kwaku Obeng’s back-catalogue.
That’s what BBE Africa have been doing recently. They started with Rim Arrives, and the next chapter in the Rim Kwaku Obeng story is Too Tough, which will be released on BBE Africa on 30th October 2015.
RIM AND KASA-TOO TOUGH.
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