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Valensia/Valentine (Netherlands) - V, 1999 (Art Pop)

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1. Tokyo-Kko
2. The Bell
3. The Internet
4. And When I See You (Renee Mon Amour)
5. Free
6. E-mail Baby
7. New Age Woman
8. Lion
9. All We Want Is A Littlebit Love!
10. For Holland With Love
11. I Still Try
12. Love Is A Riddle
13. You You You
14. The Mercurian Mistery Marchi
15. The Waltz Of The World
16. As The World Goes 'round

Wiki:
"Valensia grew up in Waalwijk and used to spend a lot of his time at the family's beachhouse in Dénia, Spain. When he was a little kid, he used to play guitar and sing at the beaches in Dénia. He had also written a lot of songs and was even offered a record contract, but his parents decided he was too young for the music business and refused the offer. Several years later, in the Netherlands, Valensia used to play in some bands, usually on keyboard or guitar.

Valensia met Robby Valentine (another Dutch singer) at an airport, as they were both listening to Queen´s Bohemian Rhapsody. After that, Valensia started sending demos to several record companies and producer John Sonneveld noticed him. Then Valensia signed a record deal with Mercury Records and in 1993 his first album 'Valensia' was released.
Influenced by Kate Bush and Queen, Valensia's self-titled first album (known as 'Gaia' in Japan) contained the hit single 'Gaia' that, out of nowhere, reached #2 in the Dutch charts and stayed in the charts for several weeks. 'Gaia' had success in other countries too. The album itself spent almost 20 weeks in the album charts and had good critiques. Four singles were released: Gaia, The Sun, Nathalie and Tere.
He was quite a success in the Netherlands, but he was an even greater success in Japan. Valensia noticed that, so a mini-album called 'The White Album' was released in Japan only, in 1994, including a Valensian-styled Christmas song ('21st Century New Christmas Time') and a version of Duran Duran's 'A View to a Kill.'

Valensia's second album 'Valensia II' (also known as 'K.O.S.M.O.S.') was the first Dutch surround sound CD ever made. It was, again, a success in Japan, but his Dutch record company didn't want to promote it. Due to this fact, it received less attention than it perhaps deserved in the Netherlands.
K.O.S.M.O.S (Valensia often refers to it as 'Costmost') was the most expensive album in the history of the Netherlands. Valensia said that people often forget that his first 2 albums were produced by 'the best Dutch producers' (as Valensia himself said): John Sonneveld and Pim Koopman (KayaK's drummer).
Three singles were released: 'Kosmos', 'Thunderbolt' (only in Japan) and 'Blue Rain' (only in the Netherlands).
For his next album, the record company ordered him to write songs in an Alanis Morissette-style, because they thought the public wouldn't like Valensia's style of music. At the request of the Japanese record company, 'Gantenbrink' (the only real Valensian song on the album) was added. Ironically (or sadly), Valensia's new album 'Valensia '98' (full name: 'Valensia '98 Musical Blue Paraphernalian Dreams Of Earth's Eventide Whiter Future & Darker Present Soundspheres From New Diamond Age Symphonian Artworks To Yesterday's Westernworld Rockcraft Under The Raging Nineties' Silver Promise Of The Happy Hundreds On The Break Of The New Millennium's Hazy Misty Dawn') also known as 'Millennium' or 'Valensia III,' was never released in the Netherlands.
Though his Dutch record company refused to release 'Valensia '98', Valensia still had a lot of fans in the Netherlands. A fan meeting took place near the Carré theater in Amsterdam and they were presented with a promotional copy of 'Valensia ´98.' The fans started gathering on the Internet and, finally, in June 1999, in cooperation with Valensia himself, the Official Valensia Website at www.valensia.com went online.

In the summer of 1999, 'V' was released. V was a cooperation between Valensia and Robby Valentine. Valensia's style have always had a mysterious atmosphere around it, but 'V' sounded absolutely different. With a Beatle-esque ELO-esque and Queen-esque style, the sound of 'V' was quite naive and happy.
Valensia's mother Jacqueline died, in November 1999. This had quite an impact on him. So, his next album 'Gaia II' (released on the new record label Marquee) had a song dedicated to his mother, 'Requieme pour Jacqueline'.
Since then he has released several quality albums with little commercial success. For this reason he is still struggling to find a good company record. Meanwhile he records his albums in his own home studio. He is a respected artist in Japan. He is known also because of his complex music (arrangement-wise), and also for his guitar skills (among other instruments). Valensia has also released albums with the bands V (with Robby Valentine) and Metal Majesty (with his brother David on drums).
In 2008 Valensia appeared on the Dutch TV program De Reunie. He has been working on a new album which will be released on Spring 2010. A single entitled 'One Day My Princess Will Come' was to be released on February 24, 2010. However, the release was cancelled."



V

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V


Millie Jackson - Feelin' Bitchy, 1977 (Soul)

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1. All the Way Lover 10:45
2. Lovin' Your Good Thing Away 3:14
3. Angel in Your Arms 4:07
4. A Little Taste of Outside Love 3:39
5. You Created a Monster 2:59
6. Cheatin' Is 3:48
7. If You're Not Back in Love by Monday 5:41
8. Feelin' Like a Woman 5:33

Millie Jackson - Vocals
Jimmy Johnson - Guitar
Larry Byron - Guitar
Ken Bell - Guitar
Barry Beckett - Keyboards
Tim Henson - Keyboards
David Hood - Bass
Roger Hawkins - Drums
Tom Roady - Percussion
Spider Harrison - Vocals
Brandye - Vocals

AMG:
"Soul fans who don't have a taste for off-color humor have often argued that Millie Jackson should stay away from the racy stuff. They insist that a soulstress as talented as Jackson doesn't need to be raunchy, claiming that her sexually explicit diatribes are an unnecessary distraction. But here's the thing: those diatribes are genuinely funny - at times, she's downright hilarious. Jackson would still be a great singer even without the R-rated and X-rated monologues, but those monologues are a nice bonus. Not without its share of raunchy humor, this 1977 LP is unlikely to get Dr. Laura's stamp of approval any time soon. But those who don't mind off-color humor will find Feelin' Bitchy to be a first-rate soul album. Jackson provides some hilarious diatribes on 'You Created a Monster' and the bluesy 'All the Way Lover' (which lambastes women who prefer soap operas over their husbands), and she fares equally well on less explicit material like Hot's 'Angel in Your Arms' and Merle Haggard's 'If You're Not Back in Love by Monday' (which was a number two country hit for Haggard and a number five R&B hit for Jackson). While Hot's original version of 'Angel in Your Arms' was slick R&B/pop and crossed over to adult contemporary audiences, Jackson's gritty remake is hardcore soul. From the explicit to the not so explicit, Feelin' Bitchy is among Jackson's finest albums."



Feelin' Bitchy

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Feelin' Bitchy

John Harbison - Chamber Music

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North and South: Six Poems of Elizabeth Bishop, for mezzo-soprano & chamber ensemble
1. Book I. No. I. Ballad for Billie (I) 3:55
2. Book I. No. II. Late Air 1:57
3. Book I. No. III. Breakfast Song 4:48
4. Book II. I. Ballad for Billie (II) 3:28
5. Book II. II. Song 2:49
6. Book II. III. "Dear, My Compass..." 2:17

Six American Painters, for flute & string trio
7. 1. Bingham 2:23
8. 2. Eakins 1:57
9. 3. Heade 1:31
10. 4. Homer 2:44
11. 5. Hoffman 2:29
12. 6. Diebenkorn 2:06

The Three Wise Men, for brass quintet & narrator (from Christmas Vespers)
13. Prelude 3:45
14. II 1:26
15. III 1:20
16. IV 1:53
17. V 1:23
18. VI 1:46
19. VII 1:28
20. Postlude 2:35

Book of Hours and Seasons, for mezzo-soprano, flute, violoncello & piano
21. 1. Dem aufgehenden Vollmond 3:28
22. 2. Immer und überall 2:28
23. 3. Interlude: Jahreszeiten Kommen wieder 4:48
24. 4. Mich ängstigt das Verfängliche 1:52
25. 5. Um Mitternacht 5:34

Bill Kurtis - Narrator
Lorraine Hunt Lieberson - Mezzo-Soprano (Vocal)
Emily Lodine - Mezzo-Soprano (Vocal)
Mathieu Dufour - Flute
Kuang-Hao Huang - Piano
Brant Taylor - Cello
Chicago Chamber Musicians

AMG:
"The song cycle accompanied by a small instrumental ensemble is one of John Harbison's favored genres, and this CD, featuring vigorous performances by the Chicago Chamber Musicians, includes two of his cycles. Mezzo-soprano Lorraine Hunt Lieberson performs North and South: Six Poems of Elizabeth Bishop, composed in 1999. Harbison's blues-inflected settings of the two Ballads for Billie (Holliday) stand out for Bishop's vividly human portrait of her narrator and for Harbison's virtuosity in playfully flirting with popular clichés without ever slipping into them. Hunt Lieberson's performance is artless in the best sense - these songs come off as entirely honest and deeply felt expressions of the narrator's character, rather than as artistic 'interpretations' - and she manages to bring the same convincing sense of personality to the more abstract songs in the set. Her voice, warm, velvety, and enveloping, seems to emanate from a pool of great inner strength. Unfortunately, the recorded balance in this cycle favors the instrumental ensemble, and Hunt Lieberson's radiant performance occasionally comes close to being swallowed by the instruments.
The other set of songs, Book of Hours and Seasons: Goethe Settings for voice, flute, violoncello, and piano, is sung by mezzo-soprano Emily Lodine, whose rich and powerful voice, particularly striking in its lower register, is ideal for these strongly dramatic pieces. Both this set and North and South are eloquent and significant contributions to American song literature of the late twentieth century, and in a perfect world, would be widely known and frequently performed.
Two less substantial works, Six American Painters for instrumental quartet and The Three Wise Men for brass quintet and narrator, fill out the recording. The quartet, a set of attractive quasi-tonal abstract miniatures, would have benefited from a less evocative title; the fact that Winslow Homer inhabits a sound world so idiomatically similar to that of Richard Diebenkorn is disconcerting and distracting. The Three Wise Men would be highly effective in the liturgical setting for which it was conceived, but as a concert piece on CD, the alternation of narration with instrumental interludes comes across as stilted and simplistic."



Chamber Music

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Chamber Music

Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen, 1975 (Country-Rock)

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1. Southbound 2:20
2. Don't Let Go 2:40
3. California Okie 2:48
4. Willin' 3:38
5. The Boogie Man Boogie 3:35
6. Hawaii Blues 3:05
7. House of Blue Lights 2:41
8. Keep on Lovin' Her 3:13
9. Devil and Me 3:11
10. Four or Five Times 2:30
11. That's What I Like About the South 2:35

Commander Cody - Piano, Vocals
Billy C. Farlow - Harmonica, Harp, Vocals
Andy Stein - Fiddle, Saxophone
John Tichy - Guitar, Vocals
Ernie Hagar - Pedal Steel
Paul Grupp - Guitar
Bill Kirchen - Guitar, Vocals
George Frayne - Piano, Vocals
Bruce Barlow - Bass, Vocals
Lance Dickerson - Drums, Vocals
Tower of Power Horn Section

AMG:
"This was their first recording for Warner Bros. after leaving Paramount. With songs by Hoyt Axton, Lowell George, as well as plenty of contributions from Farlow, Tichy, Barlow, and all the rest, this is another good outing for the wild boys. The Tower of Power horn section lends a hand, making their big sound even bigger. Their cover of 'Don't Let Go' is outstanding and 'House of Blue Lights' never rocked or shuffled and twanged the way the Airmen do it. With plenty of hillbilly stuff to go around, 'California Okie' stands proud. A tip of the hat to the South is found on 'That's What I Like About the South.' 'Keep on Lovin' Her,' 'Hawaii Blues,' and 'Four or Five Times' are also wonders to behold. 'Willin',' done up right here, fits the band perfectly. This Lowell George tune is a standard, and when the Airmen did it their way they gave a whole new meaning to the song. One more time, this band holds all the aces and plays every hand with a poker face that just won't quit. Commander Cody & His Lost Planet Airmen knew exactly what they were doing."



Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen

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Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen

King Crimson - Live in France TV Melody Show (1974)

Muhal Richard Abrams & Roscoe Mitchell - Spectrum, 2009 (Avant-Garde Jazz)

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1. Romu 11:50
2. Non-Cognitive 1 6:32
3. Non-Cognitive 2 2:03
4. Non-Cognitive 3 8:20
5. Mergertone 17:14

Roscoe Mitchell - Saxophone
Muhal Richard Abrams - Piano
Thomas Buckner - Baritone (Vocal)
Janácek Philharmonic Orchestra
Petr Kotik - Conductor

AMG:
"Mutable Music's Spectrum is a short, LP-length disc featuring two masters of the middle ground between classical composition and jazz improvisation - Muhal Richard Abrams and Roscoe Mitchell - in a combined effort as improvisers, Romu, followed by two composed orchestral works performed by the Janácek Philharmonic under Petr Kotik; Non-Cognitive Aspects of the City - by Mitchell, with a text of Joseph Jarman delivered by baritone Thomas Buckner - and Mergertone by Abrams. Romu is a soulful duet between Abrams' piano and Mitchell's alto saxophone that represents both individual streams of searching and a spontaneous confluence of ideas; figures are effortlessly cast back and forth between the two players, are modified, these gestures lead to other things along the way and the whole journey ends very calmly and naturally at 12 minutes. Mitchell's Non-Cognitive Aspects of the City is both a narrated orchestral work (like Copland's Lincoln Portrait) and an orchestral lied, as vocalist Buckner is required both to speak and sing. The piece has a beautiful, Ivesian orchestration and Buckner does seem to be performing from the perspective of the 'vox populi' similar to Ives' application of unison choral lines in works like Lincoln, the Great Commoner. Abrams' Mergertone, which also uses electronic keyboards at least at its start and later, a concertante solo piano part, is more impressionistic, declamatory, and spectral than the Mitchell, which has its text to provide continuity and direction. However, it could hold its own at a Darmstadt Festival without much trouble, but is not overtly Western stylistically or particularly 'third stream,' either.
Included in the book is a fine essay by George E. Lewis that reviews Mitchell and Abrams in the context of various pros and cons regarding improvisation and fixed music. It's a shame that the text of Jarman's poem isn't also included, but it is not as though one cannot divine the words from Buckner's delivery of them on the recording. Mutable Music's Spectrum demonstrates how Abrams and Mitchell can both be well inside the established norms of composition and improvisation and still tread somewhere off the path; it likewise demonstrates the vital contributions these masters continue to make in the realm of American music."



Spectrum

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Spectrum

Les Baxter - Que Mango!, 1970 (Exotica/Lounge)

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1. Que Mango!
2. Tropicando
3. On a Warm Night
4. Flight in the Andes
5. Felicia, My Love
6. Affair in Aruba
7. Jungle Montuno
8. Soolaimon
9. Boca Chica
10. Come Back to Paradise
11. Night in Buenos Aires
12. Morning on the Meadow

101 Strings Orchestra
Les Baxter - Conductor

AMG:
"Les Baxter's Que Mango! is considered one of the hallmark albums of the exotica genre, and also his last great release. The album's liner notes claim it to be the last of the first generation exotica albums - and that it was originally sold in grocery stores for $1.99! Baxter's popularity waned in the late '60s and an offer to record with the world's largest orchestra, the 101 Strings resulted in Que Mango!. The album is an attempt to capture a South American vibe on what is often described as his 'virtual tourist' albums. Baxter's Best may have a higher percentage of his better (and more accessible) songs, but it is the thematically unified albums that exotica fans will get more use out of. Recorded in January of 1970, Que Mango! is a fun, lush, orchestral album for creating a go-go, jet-set party atmosphere. This functional use side-steps the reality of the album and the exotica genre itself, which is that lounge instrumentals are not the easiest music to listen to without a cocktail in your hand or a barbecue going on. Standout tracks include 'Tropicando,' 'Flight in the Andes,' and 'Jungle Montuno.' Les Baxter's last non-soundtrack album is a pleasant, but hardly essential, purchase."



Que Mango!

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Que Mango!

The Mars Volta (US) - Frances The Mute, 2005 (Heavy Prog)

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1. Cygnus... Vismund cygnus 13:02
a) Sarcophagi
b) Umbilical syllables
c) Facilis descenus averni
d) Con safo
2. The Widow 5:50
3. L'vi l'viaquez 12:21
Miranda that ghost just isn't holy anymore 13:09
4. a) Vademecum
5. b) Pour another icepick
6. c) Piscacis (Phra-men-ma)
7. d) Con safo
Cassandra Gemini 32:27
8. a) Tarantism
9. b) Plant a nail in the navel stream
10. c) Faminepulse
11. d) Multiple spouse wounds
12. e) Sarcophagi

Cedric Bixler Zavala - vocals
Omar A Rodriguez-Lopez - guitars
Ikey Owens - keyboards
Juan Alderete - bass
Jon Theodore - drums
Marcel Rodriguez - percussion
+
Adrian Terrazas - saxophone, flute
Flea - trumpet
John Frusciante - guitar
Larry Harlow - piano

AMG:
"The Mars Volta's 2003 debut was a dense, experimental run-on sentence of science fiction and musical exploration. But though it ultimately rewarded patience with stretches of unbuckled rock & roll genius, De-Loused in the Comatorium was also a maze-like and obtuse migraine dealer that made people frustrated and crazy. For 2005's Frances the Mute, Omar Rodriguez-Lopez and Cedric Bixler-Zavala worked principally with their touring band, but 'joining the band for selected moments' are strings, horns, electronic programming, pals Flea and John Frusciante, and the coqui frogs of Puerto Rico. There are no song breaks, making the track listing more of an outline. But Mute's printed lyrics are a helpful guide, a map of Mars that's meant to both direct and fascinate. 'She was a mink handjob in sarcophagus heels'; 'Don't be afraid when all the worms come crawlin out of your head'; 'they were scaling through an ice pick of abscess reckoning and when Miranda sang everyone turned away....' - perhaps the only match for the cerebral weirdness and eventual beauty of Mars Volta's lyrics is their music itself. The roar of Rodriguez-Lopez and Bixler-Zavala's post-hardcore past is fully locked away, replaced by an equally powerful flair for expressive percussion, intricate vocal harmonies, and extended solos for electric guitar (as on the initial part of 'Cygnus...Vismund Cygnus'). Sure, there are moments on Mute that reach the grandiose heights of heavy music - 'L'Via l'Viaquez''s ear-splitting changes will blow back your hair. But the same song is sung half in Spanish, half in English, and its flashes of heaviness fall between stretches of Afro-Cuban rhythm. Other portions of Frances the Mute are murky and distant, like field recordings from the ocean floor, while still others shift drastically between brittle acoustics and a stuttering, guitar-led volatility that threatens to crack open the earth. Its constant shifts mean the record is claustrophobic and even dizzying; it demands perseverance. But it's great when a blast of a trumpet cuts through a gloomy moment, and Bixler-Zavala's vocals are a thread to reality. For example, while his lyrics for 'Miranda That Ghost Just Isn't Holy Anymore' and 'Widow' are mysterious poems, he sings them with a fervor that's immediately identifiable. That passion is evident throughout Frances the Mute; it's the organic fever that was buried on Comatorium."



Frances The Mute

or

Frances The Mute


Bill Laswell - Invisible Design, 1999 (Dub/Ambient)

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1. Black Aether 4:19
2. Commander Guevara 7:02
3. Oceans of Borrowed Money 5:10
4. Aisha 5:41
5. Night Air & Low Frequency 9:15
6. White Arc Spiral 5:38
7. Aghora 9:47

AMG:
"Though Bill Laswell is no stranger to his inner creative genius, there is something about the complete free reign that the Tzadik label routinely gives its artists that seems to bring out their best work. So it is not surprising that Invisible Design, his first Tzadik album, hums with energy and the poetic grace of a well-executed thought. The overwhelming element throughout is a kind of meditative flow - with synth elements and lingering bass notes floating in and out like breath. The percussive element of some of his other albums is not to be found here - this is a work of pure contemplation. Deeply spiritual, the album also creates a landscape of chill and emptiness. It is nearly never dark, but sometimes gives the impression of light viewed from a place of shadow. A few pieces show contrast - 'Black Aether' alternates the atmospheric elements with swaths of grind and buzz, and 'Oceans of Borrowed Money' trades the slow, lingering bass of many of the other tracks for something more up-tempo and funky. The result is active, but never frenetic or tense. Invisible Design may echo elements of Laswell's other ambient projects, but this is a unique project and nowhere yet has he produced a record that is so consistently good from start to finish."



Invisible Design

or

Invisible Design

Introducing Milli Vernon, 1956 (Vocal Jazz)

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1. Weep For The Boy
2. Moments Like This
3. Spring Is Here
4. St.James Infirmary
5. My Ship
6. This Years Kisses
7. Moon Ray
8. Everything But You
9. Every Time
10. Blue Rain
11. I Don't Know What Kind Of Blues I've Got
12. I Gess I'll Have To Hang My Tears Out To Dry

Milli Vernon - Vocals
Ruby Braff - Trumpet
Dave Mckenna - Piano
Jimmy Raney - Guitar
Wyatt Reuther - Bass
Jo Jones - Drums

AMG:
"With its intimate, closing-time atmosphere and thoughtful performances, Introducing Milli Vernon boasts a maturity and honesty that cut surprisingly deep - despite Vernon's relative anonymity, she's a compelling vocalist with a genuine sense of style and drama. Of course, it's the names below the title - trumpeter Ruby Braff, guitarist Jimmy Raney, and pianist Dave McKenna among them - that many jazz buffs will find most appealing, and while their contributions are firmly within the Storyville label's signature style, the session's overall emphasis and atmosphere and mood means their contributions are largely subordinate to Vernon's voice. That said, this is a solid album, even if some of the material is a bit too slight; given the right song, like 'I Don't Know What Kind of Blues I've Got,' Vernon excels."



Introducing Milli Vernon

or

Introducing Milli Vernon

Girls With Guitars / Backcombing, 60's

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1. The Girls - My Baby (1965)
2. The Tomboys - I'd Rather Fight Than Switch (1964)
3. The Angels - Get Away From Me (1964)
4. Denise & Company - Boy What'll You Do Then (1966)
5. Goldie & The Gingerbreads - Chew Chew Fee Fi Fun (1964)
6. The Beattle-ettes - Only Seventeen (1964)
7. Sugar & The Spices - Do The Dog (1963)
8. Kathy Lynn & The Playboys - I Got A Guy (1964)
9. The Goodees - Double Shot (Of My Baby's Love) (1969)
10. The Pandoras - (I Could Write A Book) About My Baby (1967)
11. Pat Powdrill & Powerdrills - They Are The Lonely (1966)
12. The 2 Of Clubs - Heart (1966)
13. The Daughters Of Eve - Help Me Boy (1967)
14. Goldie & The Gingerbreads - Skinny Vinnie (1964)
15. The Percells - Hully Gully Guitar (1964)
16. Kathy Lynn & The Playboys - Rock City (1964)
17. Lonnie Mack & The Charmaines - Sticks And Stones (1963)
18. Goldie & The Gingerbreads - Take My Hand (1965)
19. Sugar & The Spices - Boys Can Be Mean (1964)
20. Al Casey With The K-C-ettes - Guitars, Guitars, Guitars (1963)
21. Goldie & The Gingerbreads - V.I.P (1965)
22. The Hairem - Come On Along (1966)
23. The Girls - My Love (1965)
24. She - Outta Reach (1970)

AMG:
"To clear up some inevitable confusion right off the bat, this does not feature the same music as the 1989 LP compilation also titled Girls With Guitars, which came out on Impact, a subsidiary of Ace, the same label that put out the 2004 CD also titled Girls With Guitars [Ace]. The 1989 Impact LP bearing this title was devoted entirely to '60s female British acts, with the exception of Goldie & the Gingerbreads, an American band who were based in Britain in the mid-'60s. The 2004 Ace CD called Girls With Guitars [Ace] has 24 entirely different tracks, all of them by American-'60s girl groups, many (though not all) of whom played their own instruments. Goldie & the Gingerbreads appear on the 2004 Girls With Guitars [Ace] as well, but are represented by four mid-'60s tracks that don't appear on the 1989 Girls With Guitars LP. Got all that? Moving on to the music, it's okay and usually competent enough to avoid categorization as mere novelty. But it's not great - it's mid-level period-'60s rock (actually from 1963-70), reflecting girl group, soul, British Invasion, and pop-rock trends of the day. Some of it has the raw guitar rock approach associated with garage rock, but not all of it does, by any means. Few will have heard of any of these acts, save perhaps Goldie & the Gingerbreads (whose tracks are only so-so); one-time Ikette Pat Powdrill, represented by an atypical (for her) piece of typical 1966 L.A. flower power pop/rock, 'They Are the Lonely'; and, perhaps, She, who got some notoriety decades later after Ace issued a CD of that garage band's material. There's also Lonnie Mack, who's not a woman, of course, but whose 'Sticks and Stones' featured vocals by women singers the Charmaines. Some of the standout tracks are the Beatlettes' 'Only Seventeen,' one of the most British Invasion-influenced songs on the disc (as if you couldn't tell from the group's name), though some of the melody borrows liberally from Lesley Gore's 'She's a Fool'; 'Help Me Boy,' the Daughters of Eve's awkward, gender-adjusted cover of the Animals' hit 'Help Me Girl'; the Girls' moody 1965 single 'My Baby'/'My Love'; and the 2 of Clubs' version of Petula Clark's 'Heart' (which actually charted in Billboard in the 'bubbling under' section of the Hot Hundred in 1966), a song strong enough that it's hard to ruin, though both Clark and the Remains did better versions. This anthology will benefit from much stronger distribution than the many volumes in the Girls in the Garage series, the best-known anthologies of the small-'60s girl group/garage group genre. But to be honest, if you cherry-picked the best tracks from that series into one or two volumes, you'd have collections that would blow Girls With Guitars [Ace] out of the water."



Girls With Guitars

or

Girls With Guitars



1. The Essex - Are You Going My Way (1963)
2. The Cookies - Stranger In My Arms (1962)
3. The Cinderellas - Baby, Baby (I Still Love You) (1964)
4. The Raindrops - You Got What I Like (1964)
5. Jeannie & The Big Guys - I Want You (1964)
6. Julie Grant - Everyday I Have To Cry (1964)
7. The Exciters - There They Go (1965)
8. Glenda Collins - Something I've Got To Tell You (1966)
9. Antoinette - Why Don't I Run Away From You (1966)
10. Sandie Shaw - It's In His Kiss (1965)
11. Tawney Reed - You Can't Take It Away (1966)
12. Betty Lavette - Let Me Down Easy (1965)




Backcombing

or

Backcombing

Yes - 1969-1971

Enrico Rava - The Pilgrim And The Stars, 1975 (Avant-Garde Jazz)

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1. The Pilgrim and the Stars 9:45
2. Parks 1:48
3. Bella 9:20
4. Pesce Naufrago 5:15
5. Surprise Hotel 1:55
6. By the Sea 4:49
7. Blancasnow 6:50

Enrico Rava - Trumpet
John Abercrombie - Guitar
Palle Danielsson - Bass
Jon Christensen - Drums

AMG:
"Enrico Rava's debut for ECM, 1975's The Pilgrim and the Stars, is a stellar progressive jazz effort from the Italian trumpeter who was then just coming into his own. Previously, Rava had spent his formative years working with such artists as saxophonist Steve Lacy, trombonist Roswell Rudd, and pianist Carla Bley, and obviously took much to heart when approaching his own music. This is cerebral, atmospheric, often groove-oriented music that rests nicely in between such touchstones as late-'60s Miles Davis and Brown Rice-era Don Cherry with some obvious nods to the melodic jazz of ex-pat Chet Baker. To these ends, such tunes as the expansive title track and the reflective 'Bella' begin with lyrical melodic statements from Rava and slowly build to more serpentine, post-bop segments that push toward free jazz but never quite go atonal. Buoying Rava is an adroit ensemble of guitarist John Abercrombie, bassist Palle Danielsson, and drummer Jon Christensen. A ceaselessy inventive guitarist, Abercrombie's knotty, fractured, and sometimes distorted playing is a perfect match for Rava and the two often intertwine their lines. Similarly, the moody slow funk of 'By the Sea' finds Rava floating in a minor mode over Abercrombie's delay-laden guitar in a kind of dusky twilight raga. This is just the kind of contemplative and experimental Euro-jazz that ECM made its name on, but with some seriously cinematic post-bop guts. In that sense, The Pilgrim and the Stars sounds something akin to a soundtrack to a '70s neo-noir film - albeit a deliciously avant-garde one."



The Pilgrim And The Stars

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The Pilgrim And The Stars

California Ramblers with Adrian Rollini - Jazz Archives No 11, 1923-1927 (Early Jazz)

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1. Louisville
2. Copenhagen
3. Gotta Getta Girl
4. Dustin The Donkey
5. Tiger Rag
6. Ev'rything Is Hotsy Tosy Now
7. Sweet Georgia Brown
8. Collegiate (take A)
9. Collegiate (take B)
10. Look Who's Here
11. Stockholm Stomp
12. Sidewalk Blues
13. Sidewalk Blues (-alt)
14. Lazy Weather
15. Vo-Do-Do-De-O Blues
16. Beale Street Blues
17. Delirium
18. Farewell Blues

Bobby Davis - Clarinet, Sax (Alto), Sax (Soprano)
Arnold Brilhart - Clarinet, Sax (Alto)
Pete Pumiglio - Clarinet, Sax (Alto)
Max Farley - Clarinet, Sax (Tenor)
Freddy Cusick - Sax (Tenor)
Sam Ruby - Sax (Tenor)
Adrian Rollini - Sax (Bass)
Red Nichols - Cornet
Frank Cush - Trumpet
Chelsea Quealey - Trumpet
Roy Johnston - Trumpet
Tommy Dorsey - Trombone
Abe Lincoln - Trombone
Eddie Lappe - Trombone
Lloyd 'Ole' Olsen - Trombone
Arthur Hand - Violin
Ray Kitchhingman - Banjo
Tommy Felline - Banjo
Irving Brodsky - Piano
Jack Russin - Piano
Stan King - Drums
Herb Weil - Drums
Arthur Fields - Vocals
Ed Kirkeby - Vocals

AMG:
"Two major myths surround the California Ramblers band that recorded for the Edison record company in the mid-'20s. First, despite the fact that both Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey served tenures with the group, this was not the Dorsey Brothers' college band immortalized in their Hollywood biopic. Secondly, the group was not from California (by all reports they never even played in that state), but formed in Ohio by banjoist Ray Kitchenman in 1921.
the California Ramblers were one of the very first big bands on record to aim for dance music with strong jazz overtones. Although Paul Whiteman and Jean Goldkette (both of whom employed Bix Beiderbecke at various junctures) were mining this turf around the same period, their recordings sound almost quaint in comparison to the Ramblers. The band had a drumming dynamo in Stan King, an early playing partner of Benny Goodman's, whose rock-solid beat induced dancing. On bass saxophone was Adrian Rollini, a musical genius who could shine on multiple instruments. Add to this the aforementioned Dorsey brothers, Red Nichols, the straight-ahead rhythm of banjoist Kitchenman, and clarinetist Fud Livingston (comedian Jerry Colonna served a brief tenure with the band on trombone before finding his true leather-lunged calling) and you have a society dance band with real bite and verve. They also hold a parenthetical place in jazz history, hiring trumpet man Bill Moore, one of the first African American jazz musician to work with a white band. Although their time in the limelight was brief, with several of their members going on to bigger and better things by decade's end, the California Ramblers stand as the quintessential white dance band of the 1920s."



Jazz Archives No 11

or

Jazz Archives No 11

Krokodil (Switzerland) - Getting Up For The Morning, 1972 (Hard/Kraut)

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1. Marzipan
2. And I Know
3. Rabatz
4. Was There A Time
5. Schooldays
6. Song No. 2 (Thought Under Bad Conditions)
7. The 12th Of March

Mojo Weideli - Harmonica, Flute, Vocals
Walty Anselmo - Guitar, Bass, Sitar, Vocals
Terry Stevens - Bass, Guitar, Keyboards, Vocals
Düde Dürst - Drums, Percussion, Vocals

wiki:
"The band Krokodil was an influential group, the first to bring progressive rock to Switzerland. Composed of Zürich-scene veterans Hardy Hepp, Walty Anselmo and Düde Dürst with Mojo Weideli and English bassist Terry Stevens, Krokodil used exotic elements like the sitar."



Getting Up For The Morning

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Getting Up For The Morning


Live At The Knitting Factory - Volume 1, 1989 (Avant-Rock/Jazz)

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1. Curlew - St.Croix
2. Bosho - Atsui Yoru No Kawa
3. Jazz Passengers - Decomposer By A Neck
4. Mark Dresser, Mark Feldman, Nels Cline - Harkening
5. Jazz Passengers - Spirits Of Flatbush</b> - Angel Eyes
6. Scanners - Ironcide
7. Miracle Room - Open Heart
8. Curlew - The Hard Wood
9. Hansundtom - Angel-Carver Blues
10. Alva Rogers - Pizza Party




Volume 1

or

Volume 1

Pierre Dørge & New Jungle Orchestra (Denmark) - Live In Chicago, 1990 (Experimental Big Band)

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1. St. Louis Blues in Chicago 7:59
2. Monkey Forest 5:59
3. 254 Bowery/Nteri Malamini 6:02
4. Wa Wa Wabash Bush Leo?/Sunday in Zurich 16:33
5. Slow Down Boreas 6:41
6. Sky of July 3:51
7. Mbizo, Mbizo 13:17
8. The Mooche 11:20

John Tchicai - Tenor Saxophone, Soprano Saxophone
Jesper Zeuthen - Alto Saxophone, Bass Clarinet, Flute (Bamboo)
Harry Beckett – Trumpet
Pierre Dørge - Guitar
Irene Becker – Keyboards
Harrison Bankhead – Bass
Hamid Drake – Drums

AMG:
"Using a substantially pared down version of his standard New Jungle Orchestra and enlisting the services of two Chicago locals for his rhythm section, Danish guitarist Pierre Dorge still manages to give the listener a reasonable, if thinned out, picture of what this band was capable of. Dorge's music tends to be an amalgam of African-tinged jazz and early Ellingtonia, making up in energy what it sometimes lacks in cohesion. There are several attractive themes presented here and some fine soloing, notably by John Tchicai and Dorge himself, whose clear, ringing tone is instantly recognizable. Bassist Harrison Bankhead, known for his work with 8 Bold Souls, and the wonderful drummer Hamid Drake provide fine support, but the ensemble as a whole sounds overly hesitant and lethargic. While this concert has its moments, the group as a whole is far better represented on albums like Even the Moon Is Dancing and Johnny Lives."



Live In Chicago

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Live In Chicago

Hawkwind - In Search Of Space, 1971 (Psych/Space)

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1. You Shouldn't Do That 15:43
2. You Know You're Only Dreaming 6:33
3. Master Of The Universe 6:15
4. We Took The Wrong Step Years Ago 4:48
5. Adjust Me 5:45
6. Children Of The Sun 3:13

Nik Turner - alto sax, flute, audio generator, vocals
Dave Brock - vocals, acoustic & electric guitars, audio generator
Dik Mik - audio generator
Del Dettmar - synthesizers
Dave Anderson - bass, acoustic & electric guitars
Terry Ollis - drums, percussion

AMG:
"In Search of Space strengthened Hawkwind's science fiction-type brand of progressive rock, gaining bass player Dave Anderson and galactic poet extraordinaire Rob Calvert, while losing John Harrison at the same time. The album opens with the mind-numbing galactic haze of 'You Shouldn't Do That,' a spooky little 15-minute excursion that warps, throbs, and swirls with Dik Mik's 'audio generator' and the steady drum pace of Terry Ollis. Then comes the ominous whispering of the title, set to the pulsating waves of Dave Brock's guitar and Turner's alto sax, with Dettmar's synth work laying the foundation. Wonderfully setting the tone, 'You Shouldn't Do That''s improvisational looseness and rhythmic fusion smoothly open up the album into the realm of Hawkwind. The peculiarity never ceases, as 'You Know You're Only Dreaming' and 'We Took the Wrong Steps Years Ago' delves even deeper into obscurity, sometimes emanating with the familiar jangle of the guitar which then has its acquaintance overshadowed by the waft of the keyboard. Just as 'Master of the Universe' chugs and rolls with a foreboding rhythm, 'Adjust Me' retaliates with its moaning verse and tonal fluctuations fading into oblivion. The groundbreaking sound which Hawkwind achieved on In Search of Space helped to open up a whole new avenue of progressive rock. This album would lead to their most successful release in Space Ritual, coming two years after In Search of Space, with their interplanetary groove already set for takeoff."



In Search Of Space

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In Search Of Space

Randy Brecker - Score, 1969 (Jazz/Fusion)

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1. Bangalore 4:34
2. Score 7:17
3. Name Game 5:14
4. The Weasel Goes Out to Lunch 1:21
5. Morning Song 4:09
6. Pipe Dream 4:33
7. The Vamp 5:14
8. The Marble Sea 5:44

Michael Brecker - Sax (Tenor)
Randy Brecker - Flugelhorn, Trumpet
Larry Coryell - Guitar
Hal Galper - Piano
Eddie Gomez - Bass
Chuck Rainey - Bass
Bernard "Pretty" Purdie - Drums
Mickey Roker - Drums

AMG:
"Randy Brecker's debut album features the trumpeter leading two distinct all-star small groups, each with younger brother Michael (who was only 19 when this was recorded) on tenor sax, Larry Coryell on guitar, and Hal Galper on piano. The tunes alternate between jazz-rock (a style the Brecker Brothers were later to successfully exploit) and modern mainstream jazz. There are the customary fades, popular at the time, and a light, though constant, beat throughout that makes the music both accessible and even danceable, an impressive feat considering that virtually all the tunes are originals. the Brecker Brothers exhibit a command of their horns and a maturity that was to serve them well for many years. The recording has weathered the years well, in part because even the fusion pieces never lose their focus, nor do they compromise artistry for popular fads. 'The Weasel Goes Out to Lunch' is a cute, though very short, take on the childhood theme, with the remaining tracks fine examples of late-'60s popular jazz. With well-constructed arrangements, strong soloing, and catchy melodies, Brecker knew he was onto something, and this album was the first of several successful ventures."



Score

or

Score

Randy Brecker - The Geneva Concert, 1994

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