Thursday, July 23, 2020

Random Record Reviews: Volume 3

Even more obscure ‘60s/’70s records: 

Here are some more great but overlooked albums I’ve picked up over the years. I can’t remember if I’ve mentioned this before, but if anyone’s curious my setup is a Pioneer PL-518 turntable and a Nagaoka MP-110 cartridge. The latter is a recent purchase and I can’t believe how great it is. I’d read that it was a “surface noise killer” and I can attest that it truly is. The first record I played on it was my copy of Spirit’s selt-titled debut album; on my other cartridge the surface noise was so bad at times that the music was obscured. But with the Nagaoka the surface noise was completely gone – I heard maybe one or two “pops” over the entire record. The cartridge is a definite bargain and shoots way above its price so far as performance goes.


1. The Bob Seger System: Ramblin’ Gamblin’ Man
Capitol, 1968

File this one under “most asskicking piece of acid rock by the artist you’d least expect;” I never would’ve thought of picking up something by the “Night Moves” guy…until I read this review by the ever-awesome Seth Man. I mean folks who knew Bob Seger could’ve rocked so hard, and in such a psychedelic vein? But I guess his “System” was of a piece with the other heavy Detroit acts of the day (The Stooges, MC5, etc), and this album doesn’t disappoint. “2 + 2 = ?” for example sounds like something that could’ve been on the Nuggets compilation, just a total blast of pre-punk aggression. Side 2 in particular is where all the acid heaviness lies; Side 1 goes for more variety, with the grooving rocker “Down Home” being a particular standout; damned if it doesn’t sound like The Stooges meets Creedence Clearwater Revival.

Top Track: My favorite is “White Wall,” well described by the Seth Man at the link above. It’s 5+ minutes of heavy psychedelic rock, the drums thundering and the guitars fuzzed to the max, Seger screaming with abandon.


2. Bodine: Bodine
MGM, 1969

Unjustly overlooked, Bodine came out to little fanfare and quickly faded into the aether. It’s my understanding that a shakeup at MGM caused this; the usual executive-level changes resulted in Bodine, which had only formed the year before, being dropped by the label shortly after the album was released. The record did get coverage in Rolling Stone, though, by none other than Lester Bangs, who delivered one of his typically-dismissive reviews of both this, Stained Glass’s Aurora, and Locomotive’s self-titled album, all in the same review – meaning he only gave a cursory appraisal of each. Bangs was correct though in his statement that all three groups sort of rode on the coattails of Buffalo Springfield, and that is sort of the vibe Bodine appropriates here. But there’s more variety, more of a country-funk atmosphere, plus cool production techniques; final track “Disaster” opens with a distorted guitar riff that pans across the channels. This was a great debut that promised more, but it was the group’s only release; I don’t believe it’s even gotten a CD release.

Top Track: My favorite is definitely the country-funkin’ “Easy To See,” which should’ve been a huge hit and played on FM rock stations of the day. Several tracks here could’ve become hits, but this one in particular stands out and has a groove that would appeal to the crate-digging DJs of today. It’s a wonder it hasn’t been sampled.


3. The Beach Boys: Surf’s Up
Brother Records, 1971

Ever since the ‘90s there’s been a reappraisal of the Beach Boys, in particular the work of Brian Wilson and how the group overlooked his genius; per the oft-told tale, Brian was stymied by the others in the creation of what he thought would be the ultimate psychedelic pop album, Smile, after which he retreated further and further into the safety of his bedroom, taking decades to get himself back together. But even back when this sort of “the Beach Boys were great” revisionism was beginning, the post-Smile material was overlooked. It seems that the Beach Boys enthusiasm was really more of a “Brian Wilson enthusiasm,” and the fact that the rest of the group picked up the slack – and continued releasing albums after Brian had retreated to his bed – was given short shrift. To tell the truth, I much prefer this later material, because the Beach Boys basically remolded themselves into a sort of psychedelic rock outfit, indulging in longer songs than the two-minute pop affairs Brian Wilson was known for; their last album in this vein, 1973’s Holland, is often aptly described as “quasi-prog.”

But this one is my favorite of all the Beach Boys albums. Here they found the perfect balance: we get a few Brian Wilson masterpieces, the titular track being from the aborted Smile, some attempts at actual rock, and a few psychedelic numbers that sound of a piece with other material being released at the time. Even Bruce Johnston’s typical schmaltz is likable here – the epic “Disney Girls,” which despite its treacle is a memorable number of overblown proportions. Surf’s Up flows like an album should, giving a more entertaining listening experience than I ever got from the much-ballyhooed Pet Sounds. And as ever the Beach Boys mastery of the production studio is in full effect.

Top Track: My favorite is definitely “Feel Flows,” a piece of psychedelic bliss by Carl Wilson. If this had been released by some no-name group at the time it would be regaled as a classic today (it even builds up to a distorted guitar solo straight out of Pink Floyd!), but you don’t even see this song on Beach Boys compilations. Also I need to give a shoutout to Al Jardine’s psychedelic-folk tune “Lookin’ At Tomorrow;” with its flangered acoustic guitar and fractured vocals it wouldn’t sound out of place on Skip Spence’s Oar.


4. Barefoot Jerry: Southern Delight
Capitol, 1971

This one’s similar to the self-titled debut album by Wilderness Road (reviewed in the first Random Record Review) in that it’s country-rock that sounds like country-rock, ie not just like country, like so many other similarly-tagged albums do. I guess the closest point of comparison would be the group Crazy Horse, and like Crazy Horse Barefoot Jerry suffered constant lineup changes which prevented them from gaining a solid foothold on the record-buying public. Comprised of a group of legendary Nashville studio musicians – some of whom had earlier performed together as Area Code 615, doing mostly-instrumental countrified covers of rock songs – Barefoot Jerry hit the ground running with an album that epitomizes the “cosmic country” tag, with even what sounds like a wah-wah’d pedal steel guitar appearing at one point. There’s a dopesmoking vibe that permeates the album; lead track “Hospitality Song” makes their inclinations clear, with an invitation to “Light up the pipe/Pass it around.”

Top Track: I guess I’d have to pick “Blood Is Not The Answer,” a number by singer-guitarist Mac Gayden, who went on to release a solo album that’s almost impossible to find. This was the only Barefoot Jerry album he appeared on, giving Southern Hospitality a different sound from the other albums that followed. “Blood Is Not The Answer” starts off almost like some Southern Gothic production number, going through multiple sections (as do most of the songs here – you can tell this album was put together by seasoned studio pros) until it builds to a rousing finale. Bonus note: Southern Hospitality was reissued alongside the band’s self-titled second album on a budget 2-fer titled Barefoot Jerry’s Grocery (Monument Records, 1975); it makes for a very inexpensive way to pick up the first two albums on great-sounding vinyl.


5. Cross Country: Cross Country
ATCO, 1973

Here’s another unjustly-overlooked album that turned out to be the sole release of a promising group. Made up of remnants of the earlier group The Tokens (aka the “Lion Sleeps Tonight” guys), Cross Country answers the unasked question: “What if Crosby, Stills, and Nash had guest-starred on Abbey Road?” To me this is the sound the group appropriates throughout, a slightly psychedelic foray into harmony vocals and sterling production. This is one of those albums I picked up on a whim, and it turned out that I played it a lot more than I thought I would. It’s another that got a dismissive Rolling Stone review, the reviewer (can’t recall his name and I’m too lazy at the moment to look it up in the Cover To Cover CD-ROM) implying it was a CSN ripoff that sounded like so many other albums of the day. I’d definitely disagree, and it’s better than anything the actual CSN did later in the ‘70s, coming off like the album they never released after Déjà Vu.

Top Track: I’d have to pick “Just A Thought,” as it epitomizes the “CSN meets Abbey Road” vibe described above. Every track is good, though, even goofy toss-offs like “A Ball Song,” which sounds ridiculous at first but has such a memorable melody that you’ll be humming it long after the record’s over.


6. Golden Earring: Moontan
MCA, 1974

Every classic rock fan knows “Radar Love,” of course, which has featured in innumerable movies and TV shows. I often wondered though what the rest of the album it came from sounded like. Moontan, originally released in Europe in 1973 and then a year later in the US (with the original cover shown here, which was quickly withdrawn due to the full-frontal nudery – and I’m lucky to have gotten a copy of this original release), provides everything you could want from a classic rock album. Long tracks, great riffs and grooves; the US release was re-jiggered from the original, dropping two “weaker” tracks and adding a long new one, “Big Tree, Blue Sea,” a remake of an earlier Golden Earring song that was given more of a progressive treatment. I hesitate to use “prog” to describe Moontan, as to me prog implies twenty-minute keyboard solos and other twee bullshit. While Moontan does have a slight prog vibe in the length of the tracks and the instrumentation, make no mistake – it rocks, and it’s a shame only “Radar Love” is known by the average rock listener.

Top Track: My favorite would have to be the 9+ minute “Vanilla Queen,” which again is everything you’d always want heavy progressive rock to sound like. It even features modern-sounding sampling toward the end, inserting dialog from a movie over the music. And bonus points for being one of the few – only? – songs to feature the word “bourgeoisie” in the lyrics and still rock hard.


7. Paris: Paris
Capitol, 1976

My favorite Fleetwood Mac era is the Bob Welch era, which began with 1971’s Future Games and lasted five albums, ending with the awesome-but-overlooked Heroes Are Hard To Find in 1974. Welch wanted to take Fleetwood Mac in a heavier direction at this point, to hopefully ride the wave of popularity enjoyed by Led Zeppelin and such. The others disagreed, so Welch, frustrated with Fleetwood Mac’s lack of success and business woes, left the group – and of course soon thereafter Fleetwood Mac went on to megafame with Lindsay Buckingham and Stevie Nicks, but that’s another story. Meanwhile Welch put together a power trio, with himself on guitar and vocals, and holed up in an outrageously garish studio in Los Angeles (one that had originally been built for Sly Stone) to record this album…which turned out to be ignored even more than his Fleetwood Mac albums had been.

Paris treads the same heavy-rockin’ proto-metal path as Randy California’s Kapt. Kopter and Neil Merryweather’s Space Rangers (both reviewed on my first Random Record Review), and like the California album it was recorded – by Welch’s own admission – under the influence of a ton of drugs. It’s a “mystery to me” (Fleetwood Mac reference alert) why this one still hasn’t been embraced, even by modern fans of this era of proto-metal heaviness. Welch hit the nail right on the head, coming up with riffs Led Zeppelin would’ve approved of, but augmenting the sound with production trickery, vocal and instrumental effects, and a progressive sheen. “Religion” for example initially sounds like a clone of Zeppelin’s “Black Dog,” but turns into a psychedelic freak-out with tape edits and other special effects, resulting in a head music vibe.

But as mentioned the album didn’t do well, and Rolling Stone gave it a dismissive review (are you noticing a trend?), the reviewer complaining that the material was lackluster and Welch’s thin sort of vocal style wasn’t suitable for the heaviosity. On the contrary, I think he does a fine job, and besides his vocals are treated throughout the album (much like California’s are on Kapt. Kopter), further lending Paris a druggy vibe. And for that matter, the “light-voiced singer paired with heavy guitars” schtick sort of predates the sound of ‘90s alternative rock. Regardless, Welch must’ve taken the criticism to heart, as the second – and final – Paris album, Big Towne, 2061 (Capitol, 1976), went for a less aggressive approach, heavier on keyboards and predicting the direction of Welch’s future solo material. This first self-titled album though is highly recommended and one of my favorite “finds” of recent years.

Top Track: “Religion,” mentioned above, is great, but I’m really into “Beautiful Youth,” which has one of those classic heavy riffs that just gets stuck in your brain. And it grooves, just like the rest of the album.

3 comments:

Zwolf said...

Dunno if you ever encountered Buffalo before, but if not, here ya go, one of the greatest things ever recorded. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=at7JvfvMB5c And I've never cared much about Led Zeppelin because I've heard Leaf Hound...

Joe Kenney said...

Hey Zwolf, how's it been? Thanks for the recommendation...I've seen that cover before but never listened to any of the music, but I'll do so now. Leaf Hound I like -- and one I recently discovered even though it's very well known is the self-titled album by Grand Funk, aka the "Red Album." I always dismissed that stuff because, you know, it's Grand Funk, but damn that album is so heavy, especially for the era...it almost has an early Sabbath vibe!

Felicity Walker said...

I liked “Easy to See,” “Religion,” “Lookin’ at Tomorrow,” and “White Wall”! Zwolf, that Buffalo track was good too.