Yes We Did! - The Best of 2008

Avast, maties! I spy land on the horizon. Could this be what we've been waiting for? The dawning of a new era? The unfolding of a new whirled hors d'oeuvre? I'll leave you to decipher that one.

Though one must remember, it was a battle hard-won. We were assailed by charlatanical homophobics, intemperate capitalists, and pugnaciously impetuous militants. You know the ones I mean.

But we shook off their cannonfire, wiped off our poop deck, and kept our sights straight: our course never veering from numero uno, that great glory of glories, treasure among treasure-- I am speaking of course about the quest for the crown of captaincy, the staff of superintendence, the throne of directorship. Directorship for what? To direct a sinking ship! To navigate out from these tempestuous waves to a bed of more peaceful, prosperous brine.

Mission 1 accomplished:

After a savage duel the fell antagonist revealed his true nature: a bloodthirsty creature from beyond the deep, solely focussed on world domination. This sanguinary hellion reared its ugly head and spat acid bile at our noble hero. But Captain Brackbeard, our saintly skipper, would not be thwarted, instead turning his shield of truth to deflect the monster's attack. Then, with his sword of justice, Brackbeard pierced the swine's veil of lies and scored the creature in its gaping lack-of-heart cavity. Thus punctured, the demon gave up its ghost and promptly discontinued its earthly dominion.

And there was much rejoicing.

Our righteous vanquisher then withstood several attempted mutinies (seemingly based on the hue of his epidermis) and set about the task of evicting the suit-clad aliens from our great vessel's treasury. Finally, upon ascendance to the helm, Captain Brackbeard proclaimed a new era of armistice and affluence, gathered unto himself a noble cr

ew and prepared to launch this resplendent corsair fleet into the great foggy unknown.

O fortuna!

To celebrate this remarkable year, I've gathered some of its musical highlights together. I tried to make a mix-cd at the new year, but it swelled to 2 discs and the stormy weather diverted my course (blowing a tree onto my phone-line in the process). The tracks contained within are my favorite tracks from my favorite albums released in 2

008, presented in no particular order. I didn't count any re-issues, compilations or archive-issues (such as the great Capt. Beefheart album). Though much of the work draws upon tradition, it is all contemporary in spirit and execution; I left out any music that was strictly traditional (such as the great young sitarist Tejendra Majumdar). Actually, since I haven't been anywhere near a record store most of the year (and wouldn't have found this stuff in most of 'em anyways), most of this music was found on blogs, forums, and other domains of musical mischeif. Many of them are new to me, and I indend to do some pocket-digging and support some of them in times to come.

The compilation is a healthy mix of guitar soli, progressive bluegrass, world fusion, and skewed visions of americana, representative of much of this blog's content. In other words, if you're reading this, chances are you'll like listening to it.

My favorite track? I'd have to go with Louisiana Red & Stelios Vamkaris - I Fantasia Stin Eksousia, from their album "Blues meets Rembetika" -- a first of its kind as far as I'm aware.

At the moment, the wind is knocking out my connection again, so my itunes-snapshot-tracklist will have to come later. Guess you get to DL it mystery-style! Tracklist is below.

Yes We Did! - The Best of 2008

3 parts; various bit rates

Yes | We | Did!

New Grass Revival - When The Storm Is Over

this is the third installment of IncaRoads' gifts:

While David Grisman & others were pioneering a sophisticated bluegrass/jazz fusion called "Dawg", the New Grass Revival were crossbreeding bluegrass with contemporary trends in rock and other strains of Americana. Banjos and mandolins are here in plenty (and expertly played at that), but electric guitars, basses, drums, and pianos creep in the mix from time to time as well.

As you can guess, I favor the driving acoustic tracks over the slow ballads and electric stomps. But I do have a special place in my ear for White Freightliner Blues, having grown up with my father singing it in his bluegrass band. Vamp in the Middle (by the late Townes Van Zandt) is quite compelling too, especially the superb and unusual fiddling. Some really stunning instrumental work towards the end too, on Tennessee Wagoner, Colly Davis, and especially Crooked Smile. In fact, it's worth it to get the album for Crooked Smile, in my opinion. The vocals aren't bad, but are rather unremarkable compared to the high lonesome style of traditional bluegrassers.

Biography by Stephen Thomas Erlewine & David Vinopal:
New Grass Revival, formed in 1972 by four former members of the Bluegrass Alliance, flourished in a decade when numerous groups took traditional bluegrass and changed it to varying degrees. The group was successful enough to have the group's name become a generic label: "newgrass." The band's image, with long hair and occasionally electrified instruments, as well as its musical material contrasted greatly with standard (traditional) bluegrass like that played by Bill Monroe, Ralph Stanley, the Lilly Brothers, and Lester Flatt's band. In terms of longevity, popularity, and exposure, the Revival, with its hip reputation, was perhaps the most successful in competition against II Generation, Seldom Scene, the Country Gentlemen, and others.

The origins of New Grass Revival lay in the Bluegrass Alliance, which Sam Bush (vocals, fiddle, guitar, mandolin) and Courtney Johnson (banjo, vocals) joined in 1970. At the time, the Alliance also featured bassist Ebo Walker and fiddler Lonnie Peerce. Within a year after Bush's and Johnson's arrival, Curtis Burch (dobro, guitar, vocals) joined the band. In 1972, Peerce left the band, and the remaining members decided to continue under a new name -- New Grass Revival. The band released their eponymous debut, Arrival of the New Grass Revival, later that year on Starday Records.

After the release of their debut, Walker parted ways with the band, and the group replaced him with Butch Robbins, who was only with the band for a short time. He was replaced by John Cowan, an Evansville, IN, native. This lineup was stable throughout the '70s, recording a number of albums for Flying Fish Records. As their name suggested, New Grass Revival never played traditional bluegrass -- all of the members brought elements of rock & roll, jazz, and blues to the group's sound. Consequently, certain portions of the bluegrass community scorned them, but they also gained a devoted following of listeners who believed they were moving the genre in a new, fresh direction. (AMG)

"When The Storm Is Over" continues to solidify the New Grass Revival as America's premier progressive bluegrass band. All of the elements that would become the band's trademarks throughout their existence are already evident; innovation, distinctive interpretation, superb presentation, excellent writing and song selection, not to mention their unsurpassed musical abilities.

New Grass Revival - When The Storm Is Over
Year: 1977 (lp), reissue 1992
Label: Flying Fish, reissued by Rounder

This is the complete 1977 album, which was reissued as half of a two-fer. So the tracks are:

11 Four Days Of Rain 03:39
12 White Freightliner Blues 02:38
13 Sail To Australia 03:48
14 When The Storm Is Over 02:40
15 And He Says "I Love You" 03:42
16 Vamp In The Middle 03:44
17 Like A Child In The Rain 03:48
18 Tennessee Wagoner 01:32
19 Colly Davis 02:42
20 Crooked Smile 07:42

revive yourself.
mp3 320kbps | 84mb
and if you like these, you can buy the companion album from Rounder.

thanks IncaRoads!

New Riders of the Purple Sage - Before Time Began

Here's the second contribution by loyal blog-reader IncaRoads. More to follow soon.

Biography by Bruce Eder

For most of the early '70s, the New Riders of the Purple Sage™ (yes, the name is trademark-protected) were the successful offshoots of the Grateful Dead. Although they never remotely approached the success or longevity of the Dead, they attracted a considerable audience through their association with Jerry Garcia, Phil Lesh, and Mickey Hart, whose fans couldn't be satisfied with only the Dead's releases -- the New Riders never reached much beyond that audience, but the Deadheads loved them as substitutes (along with Garcia's periodic solo projects) for the real article. Their initial sound was a kind of country-acid rock, somewhat twangier than the Dead's usual work and without the Dead's successful forays into experimental jams, but they later acquitted themselves as straight country-rockers.

Essentially, the New Riders of the Purple Sage (their name derives from an old country outfit, Foy Willing and the Riders of the Purple Sage, who in turn took the name from an old Western novel) were initially formed as a vehicle for Garcia, Lesh, and Hart to indulge their tastes for country music beyond the albums Workingman's Dead and American Beauty. Their original lineup at early performances consisted of Garcia on pedal steel, Lesh on bass, John Dawson (born 1945) on rhythm guitars and vocals, sometime Dead contributor-member David Nelson on lead guitars, mandolin, and vocals, and Mickey Hart on drums. The New Riders quickly evolved into more of a free-standing unit, with Dave Torbert succeeding Lesh, and ex-Jefferson Airplane member Spencer Dryden on the drums, succeeding Hart. They also developed an identity of their own through Dawson's songwriting, which had an appealing command of melody and beat.

Review by William Ruhlmann
Before Time Began is an album of archival material assembled for Relix Records by New Rider Dave Nelson. It contains: two songs recorded by New Rider John Dawson on July 31, 1968; The New Riders' (Nelson, Dawson, Jerry Garcia, Phil Lesh, and Mickey Hart) four-song demo tape of November 1969; and an entire LP side of experimental tapes made by Nelson, recording tracks backwards.(amg)

While there's some passing interest (nostalgia?) in the humorous dated backwards tracks, the real reason to get this album is Garcia's pedal-steel playing. It's simply outstanding (considering it wasn't his primary or even secondary instrument). As an amazon reviewer noted, "Like his guitar playing with the Grateful Dead and his banjo picking with Old and In the Way, Jerry shows that he had music in his head that nobody had ever heard before. Buddy Cage and Barry Sless carry on his style with the pedal steel, but here it is, fresh from the source."

New Riders of the Purple Sage - Before Time Began
Year: 1976
Label: Relix
a handful of brains
mp3 320 kbps | 2 parts | 87mb total

thanks IncaRoads!

the last great post this year

Well, this blog has been fun, but I'm going to have to put it on hold for a while. I'm going to be working on organic farms in Ireland and perhaps other parts of Europe through the WWOOF organization, for 6-12 months. As I'll have neither a reliable internet connection nor access to my music horde, I won't really be able to post for some time. But before I go, I thought I'd leave you with a bunch of albums which I've uploaded but never got around to posting with images, reviews, etc.. Some of these links are fairly old, so I apollogize for any expired links, but I won't be able to re-post them. Anyway, this ought to keep you busy for a while:

Fiddle Me This: A Fiddle for your Fancy
one of my longstanding pasttimes has been making mix-cds. this one was for a friend who was learning violin. it includes celtic, folk, bluegrass, cajun, and jazz fiddling, from many of the best.
http://www.shareonall.com/Fiddle_ybmq.zip


Britain to Brittany: A Celtic Feast of Song
another mix-cd, this time full of celtic and folk music from England, Scotland, Ireland, France, French Canada, and Colorado. Many of the tracks on here are from the Acoustic Folk Box, which sparked a revival in my interest in this kind of music.
http://rapidshare.com/files/280147821/BritainToBrittany.zip


Christy Moore - Paddy on the Road
Christy's first album, before the legendary Prosperous which spawned the even more legendary Irish supergroup Planxty. Not a great album, as Christy is backed by some english session musicians who don't really have a feel for the irish music. But a good indication of the greatness to come. Vinyl?
http://rapidshare.com/files/29050280/CM-POTR.rar.html
0ld dead link replaced by older, lower-quality link courtesy of Time Has Told Me


Jethro Burns - Jethro Burns
The best mandolinist in the world before David Grisman got really hot. Some of you may recognize him from the session with Norman Blake, Vassar Clements, Dave Holland, et al. Vinyl.
http://sharebee.com/6f0c66cd


Kinky Friedman - Sold American
The Frank Zappa of country music, with a flair for fearless subject matter and perfect turns of phrase. Later, a successful novelist. Now, a governor-cantidate for the state of Texas. Long-live The Texas Jewboy!
http://sharebee.com/abc11290


Jean Carignan
The best French-Canadian fiddler in recent memory, and conspicuously absent from my fiddle cd.
http://sharebee.com/88b16fdc


Dave Van Ronk - Gambler's Blues
Early-60s session for Folkways. Some of this album was included on The Folkways Years 1959-61. Raw and great. Vinyl.
http://sharebee.com/07c54f84


The Great Clarence White Bootleg Tapes
a while back I promised you more Kentucky Colonels live recordings. Here they are. Taken from recordings at the Ash Grove in LA, mid-60s. Includes a lot of stuff with Scott Stoneman, the Jimi Hendrix of the fiddle. Here's what Jerry Garcia said about 'The Eigth of January', included here (though it's actually about 8.5 minutes, despite Jerry's memory):

I get my improvisational approach from Scotty Stoneman, the fiddle player. [He's] the guy who first set me on fire -- where I just stood there and I don't remember breathing. He was just an incredible fiddler. He was a total alcoholic wreck by the time I heard him, in his early thirties, playing with the Kentucky Colonels... They did a medium-tempo fiddle tune like 'Eighth of January' and it's going along, and pretty soon Scotty starts taking these longer and longer phrases -- ten bars, fourteen bars, seventeen bars -- and the guys in the band are just watching him! They're barely playing -- going ding, ding, ding -- while he's burning. The place was transfixed. They played this tune for like twenty minutes, which is unheard of in bluegrass. I'd never heard anything like it. I asked him later, 'How do you do that?' and he said, 'Man, I just play lonesome.' (Garcia, c. 1985, via Blair Jackson's Garcia: An American Life)
Disc 1: http://sharebee.com/6172bc99
Disc 2: http://sharebee.com/6269010b
Disc 3: http://sharebee.com/4d1cd530
Disc 4: http://sharebee.com/613af688


Fred Sokolow - Bluegrass Banjo Inventions
Brilliant Kicking Mule album includes Jody Stecher on guitar and an amazing pice called Banjo Gamelan or something. Vinyl.
http://sharebee.com/92c293ce
or http://rapidshare.com/files/134319831/Fred_Sokolow_-_Bluegrass_Banjo_Inventions.rar.html (re-posted with cover by Teclas Petras at Uncle Gil's Rockin Archives)



Tanz! with Dave Tarras & The Musiker Brothers
From the Benny Goodman of Jewish music, a wild fusion of klezmer and big band swing.
http://rapidshare.com/files/106722133/TanzWithDTtMB.zip


Rob Wasserman - Solo
Amazing solo bass album by a member of the original David Grisman Quintet. Vinyl.
http://sharebee.com/08a03824


Larry McNeely - Live at McCabes
This Takoma session is more straight-ahead bluegrass than Rhapsody for Banjo, though it includes his version of Beethoven's 5th Symphony for banjo. Vinyl.
http://www.mediafire.com/?gmjmnmnwz5i (re-post Jan-15-09)


Alan Lomax Southern Journey Vol 12 - Georgia Sea Islands
Amazing pre-blues tradition of vocal group singing. Gullah. Great.
http://www.badongo.com/file/11082092 thanks to anonymous for the repost!


Alan Lomax Southern Journey Vol 13 - Earliest Times: Georgia SeaIsland Songs for Everyday Living
More of the Same.
http://www.mediafire.com/?nmzjw4zn3yn


Alan Lomax Collection - Georgia Sea Island Songs
Even more. really excellent.
http://www.shareonall.com/GeorgiaCIsland_sjnh.zip


Bob Brozman - Blue Hula Stomp
Early Kicking Mule album for Brozman, the world master of the steel/slide guitar, and ukelele too. Title says it all: blues, hawaiian, stomp.
http://rapidshare.com/files/134318227/Bob_Brozman_Snapping_The_Strings.rar.html (re-posted with cover by Teclas Petras at Uncle Gil's Rockin Archives)


Tut Taylor - Dobrolic Plectral Society
Down-home bluegrass on Takoma. See also Norman, Vassar, Jethro...
vinyl, cleaned mp3 >192kbps vbr w/ cover 59mb
http://sharebee.com/33864b12 [re-post thanks to Bumkuncha]
see expanded page at Pathways to Unknown Worlds


Snehasish Mozumder - Mandolin Dreams
Indian ragas on mandolin!
http://sharebee.com/11cdea46 [re-post thanks to Bumkuncha]
see expanded page at Pathways to Unknown Worlds


Raphael Rabello & Dino 7 Cordas
two of the greatest guitar masters from Brazil on 7-string guitars. Stunning.
http://lix.in/ee409755
now from Um Que Tenha


Paulo Moura & Raphael Rabello - Dois Irmaos
Guitar and clarinet duets, brazillian, amazing choro music.
http://lix.in/fe40b12b
now from Um Que Tenha

Cornell Lab of Ornithology - An Evening in Sapsucker Woods
The archetypal field recordings of birds. Reissued by popular demand.
http://www.shareonall.com/Cornell_Lab_of_Ornithology_vqji.zip


Sonny Sharock - Black Woman
Free-jazz on electric guitar and voice. Powerful stuff from the late 60s. Sharrock's guitar-skronk is the stuff of legend. His wife's voice is an instrument of expression, not a song-producer.
http://sharebee.com/aa205ec7


Lenny Breau - Five O'Clock Bells-Mo' Breau
a seminal pair of albums from the greatest guitarist to ever live (arguably). He can sound like 3 people at once, playing a walking bass, jazz chords, and a melody simultaneously. Country meets Jazz meets flamenco meets classical meets pure innovation.
http://sharebee.com/38284fd7


The Legendary Lenny Breau... Now
More of the same. Absolutely stunning.
http://sharebee.com/10093576


Tommy Jarrell - Tommy Jarrell Legacy Volume 3: Come And Go With Me
a master of old-time music on this all-banjo record. for ejg.
http://sharebee.com/49b21321


Original Blind Boys of Alabama - Original Five Blind Boys of Alabama
before their crossover days. gospel and guitar; it'll make you believe.
http://sharebee.com/d7178553


Roosevelt Sykes - Chicago Boogie
master of blues/boogie/barrelhouse piano. 'The Honeydripper'
http://sharebee.com/fcfd6d0b


Roosevelt Sykes - Raining in My Heart
more.
http://rapidshare.com/files/102313397/Roosevelt_Sykes_-_Raining_In_My_Heart.zip.html


Mud Acres: Music Among Friends: Music from Woodstock Mountains
a jam featuring Happy & Artie Traum, Bill Keith, Maria Muldaur, & others.
http://sharebee.com/96a03307


Munir Bashir - The Art of the Oud (Ocora-Irak. L'Art du Oud)
oud improvisations from a master.
http://sharebee.com/eaba2552


Munir Bashir & Omar Bashir - Duo de 'ud
more
http://rapidshare.de/files/38926859/MunirBashirOmarBashir.zip.html


Joseph Moskowitz - The Art of the Cymbalom
vintage hammer-dulcimer music. east-europe meets swing. gypsy classical russian new york.
http://rapidshare.com/files/101197655/JMoskowitz-TAotCymbalom.zip


From Spirituals to Swing (Reissue 3-cd box)
arguably the most important single concert in the first half of the twentieth century. Produced by the legendary John Hammond, it brought the genius of black music to white people. Bessie Smith, Charlie Christian, Count Basie, Sonny Terry, Benny Goodman, & more. many booklet scans.
Disc 1: http://sharebee.com/d203a0d8
Disc 2: http://sharebee.com/b9fae446
Disc 3: http://sharebee.com/d0c11848
Reissue Notes: http://sharebee.com/06348cd4 Size: 94.71 MB
Original Notes: http://sharebee.com/9d2c3d0b Size: 54.36 MB


John Kirkpatrick - Jump at the Sun
british accordion-driven folk music
mp3 160k w/ big front & back cover 40mb
http://rapidshare.com/files/100780668/JKirkp-JatS.zip


Genghis Blues soundtrack
Featuring Tuvan master Kongar Ol-Ondar and throat-singing blind bluesman Paul "Earthquake" Pena. Must be heard to be believed. RIP, Paul.
http://sharebee.com/a7c4af9a


Othar Turner & the Rising Star Fife & Drum Band - Everybody Hollerin' Goat
the last living master of the cane fife, and a critical link between african music and the birth of the blues. held a legendary annual barbecue.
http://rapidshare.com/files/249320807/OthTurn-Goat.zip


Othar Turner & The Afrosippi Allstars - Senegal to Senatopia
more of the same, though with more contemporary accompanists
http://massmirror.com/e81d834c30443fd481016525b8315258.html
direct links:
http://www.zshare.net/download/8674580690f718/
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=EWB85B4Y


Bob Brozman - Snapping the Strings
more great slide guitar music and wild singing
http://massmirror.com/df2f82135219fb2f95926c7a872b4763.html
Direct Links:
http://www.badongo.com/file/8168279
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=BGBEY2S9
http://www.zshare.net/download/8592133567984b/
http://fastuploading.com/download.php?id=B978D0D71
http://rapidshare.com/files/97680082/BBrozman-StS.zip.html
http://4filehosting.com/file/98132/BBrozman-StS-zip.html


Snooks Eaglin - New Orleans Street Singer
Early acoustic Folkways session from 'the living jukebox', a new orleans legend and great guitar player with a Ray Charles-esque singing voice.
http://sharebee.com/7affa56a


Mississippi Fred McDowell - Standing at the Burying Ground
electric show from England, late 60s. Delta blues slide master. "I do not play no rock & roll"
http://sharebee.com/a892a73a


John Fahey - Yes ! Jesus Loves Me: Guitar Hymns
"Christ is not cute."
http://sharebee.com/c433d60e


Rahsaan Roland Kirk - Does Your House Have Lions: The Anthology
brilliant and strange stuff from this sax-innovator. see post in the archives. includes a track that mixes Dvorak's 'Going Home' with an 'old apple pie melody' by Stephen Foster, played simultaneously on different horns coming out of different sides of his mouth. Also a version of "Ain't No Sunshine" where he sings while playing the flute.
http://www.shareonall.com/RRK-DYHHLions_ndph.zip


Vishwa Mohan Bhatt & Musicians of Rajasthan - Desert Slide
Indian slide-guitar master meets desert caravan. kinda east-meets-east.
http://rapidshare.com/files/141343641/VMBhds.rar.html [re-post thanks to Bumkuncha]
see expanded page at Pathways to Unknown Worlds


Booka White, Skip James, Blind Willie McTell - Three Shades of Blue
3 of the greatest masters of acoustic blues. What more could you want?
http://sharebee.com/e08d6131


Reverend Pearly Brown - You're Gonna Need that Pure Religion
slide-guitar-playing religious street-singer carries on the legacy of Blind Willie Johnson. Also posted at Broke Down Engine
http://sharebee.com/2ec06d84


Victoria Spivey & Lonnie Johnson - Idle Hours
from the man who invented the guitar solo and the woman who sang Blake Snake Moan (and taught Maria Muldaur how to sing, and revived the carreer of Sippie Wallace)
http://sharebee.com/75f54cec


Lonnie Johnson - Another Night to Cry
you'll begin to see where Geoff Muldaur learned to sing...
http://sharebee.com/49899407


Lonnie Johnson-Playing with the Strings
and where Charlie Christian got his single-string work...
http://sharebee.com/9f5c7c41


Lonnie Johnson - Blues by Lonnie Johnson
more of the same
http://sharebee.com/45090544


Paul Butterfield's Better Days - Bearsville Anthology
band with Geoff Muldaur and Amos Garrett; this is white chicago blues-rock at its best, from the Woodstock region of New York.
http://sharebee.com/3c84d97b


Memphis Minnie-Queen of the Blues
that's what she was. even beat Big Bill Broonzy in a guitar contest. Led Zeppelin stole 'When The Levee Breaks' from her.
http://sharebee.com/5cf40ed5


Ewan MacColl-Black & White: The Definitive Collection
from the grandfather of british folk. the Scottish Pete Seeger, if you will.
http://sharebee.com/f9251130


Mississippi John Hurt-Best Of (Live at Oberlin College 1965)
The great folk-blues songster with elegant fingerpicking and a gentle demeanor that pervades all his work. all his well-known songs are here.
http://sharebee.com/ce4973ec


Mississippi John Hurt-D.C. Blues: The Library of Congress Recordings Vol.2
not his best performances, but include some cuts not recorded elsewhere
Disc 1: http://sharebee.com/e9324028
Disc 2: http://sharebee.com/77a5cd2b


Frank Stokes-Creator of the Memphis Blues
that's what he was
http://sharebee.com/750234ca


The Blues Project-Live at Town Hall
blues-rock featuring Danny Kalb (see Merlin-In-Rags blog)
http://sharebee.com/fb09ae26


Jo Ann Kelly - Jo Ann Kelly (1969)
there are few artists for whom John Fahey played back-up guitar (though not on these sessions). On par with Maria Muldaur as the best female white blues singer. Better than Janis Joplin, and she could play a pretty mean guitar too. Though British, somehow she ends up channeling Memphis Minnie.
http://sharebee.com/ec8621a0


Gertrude Stein, James Joyce, Kurt Schwitters - read their own works
there was some talk a while back about 'poetry'. And while I know lots of people think Leonard Cohen's songs are 'poetry', including Leonard Cohen, I really don't think they hold their own against any real 'poetry'. Here is proof.
http://www.mediafire.com/?kydzdz5kwnr



enjoy! i'll be back eventually, and maybe i'll turn some of these into real posts.

Kaleidoscope (U.S.)

"They're my favorite band of all time - my ideal band." - Jimmy Page

There have been few, if any groups, who could play rock, blues, country, cajun, Irish, swing, psychedelic, bluegrass, Hawaiian, folk, Balkan, flamenco, jug band, and Middle-Eastern music, much less combine them together. There were none who did it as seamlessly as Kaleidoscope. In addition to rock instruments (electric guitar, bass, drums), folk instruments (fiddle, banjo, mandolin), and blues instruments (steel guitar, harmonica), they played instruments most people hadn't even heard of, such as the caz or the harp-guitar. And they played the hell out of them, turning what could have been a novelty act into a tight, energetic professional band.

"We never were a group for screaming teeny boppers, but you bet your sweet ass every damn town we’d play in all the other professional musicians in town would show up to catch every last set we’d play." - David Lindley

You'll hear echoes of Hamza El Din in the oud and saz solos that emerge out of 11-minute psychedelic workouts like 'Seven-Ate-Sweet (7-8 Suite)' and 'Taxim', or the oud-driven 'Egyptian Gardens'. You'll hear echoes of Howlin' Wolf via Hendrix on 'Beacon from Mars'. You'll hear echoes of the Kentucky Colonels' bluegrass in 'Life Will Pass You By' and 'Banjo', perhaps the single best use of an echo box in the history of music (perhaps not, but it's very fun). You'll hear echoes of Cab Calloway, Doug & Rusty Kershaw, The Loovin' Spoonful, Ralph Stanley, Ry Cooder, Taj Mahal, The Byrds, Bob Dylan, Jim Kweskin, Chuck Berry, The Sons of the Pioneers, Duke Ellington and even flamenco masters like Sabicas and Carlos Montoya. But, though this list of multi-varied influences and genres guarantees that they were the most eclectic rock band in America, the way that Kaleidoscope fused them together made all the disparate elements uniquely their own. To top it all off, they wrote taut, witty lyrics and sang with emotion that ranged from sweet to gritty to spaced-out.

The Musicians (at different stages of the band):
David Lindley aka De Paris Letante - guitar, oud, violin, harp-guitar, banjo, vocals
Chris Darrow - fiddle, mandolin, guitar, vibes, sax, tuba
Solomon Feldthouse - guitar, oud, finger cymbals, tuba, caz, canun, doumbeg, vocals
Chester Crill aka Max Buda aka Templeton Parcely aka Fenrus Epp - harmonica, organ, piano, violin, vocals.
John Vidican - bass
Stuart Brotman - bass, penny whistle, gudulka, cemenche, oud, vocals
Paul Lagos - drums, vocals
John Ware - drums


check out these albums:

Kaleidoscope - Side Trips
Year: 1967
Label: Epic
get it here
Their first album, it lays out the blueprint for everything that was to follow. The musicianship would get better on later albums, but they can already beat the pants off rivals like The Doors.




Kaleidoscope - A Beacon From Mars (aka Bacon from Mars)
Year: 1968
Label: Epic
get it here (re-posted Mar 22 '08)
This is my second-favorite album of theirs. Perhaps the best showcase of all their different styles.




Kaleidoscope - Incredible! Kaleidoscope
Year: 1969
Label: Epic
get it here
My favorite Kaleidoscope album, and one of the best psych-rock albums ever. Period. Their musical prowess is in top form here.





Kaleidoscope - Bernice
Year: 1970
Label: Epic
get it here
More straightforward, less exciting. Most of the Eastern influence is gone, as well as half the founding members. They broke up shortly afterwards.




Kaleidoscope - When Scopes Collide
Year: 1976
Label: Island
get it here (fixed Nov-2, 2008)
The mid-70s reunion, featuring most of the original members, and some new ones.All the various genres are there, but they never quite gel like on the first 3 albums.




Kaleidoscope - Pulsating Dream: The Epic Recordings
Year: 2004
Label: Epic
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4 (from Lost-in-Tyme mirror)
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4 (from Orexis of Death, thanks to Emberglow)

The box set, containing all their classic releases plus unreleased and hard-to-find cuts. 3-cds. If you know you like them, get this rather than the individual Epic albums.



Thanks to Telhadosmundo and Lost-In-Thyme blogs for the d-links. If there's anything wrong with the dls, or the links die, let me know and i can up my copies. [update: well, I can't actually upload any for a while, but Lost-in-Thyme has been resurrected and the box set is also available on Orexis of Death and Chocoreve. Thanks to those who posted comments to help.]

and you'll find all the Kaleidoscope news, articles, images, & reviews you want at the Pulsating Dream website.

Sister Rosetta Tharpe - The Gospel of the Blues

While thinking about what to say and also looking for a picture of Sister Rosetta Tharpe, I found that another blog had done my work for me. Jason Chervokas of The Astounding Trickster! blog had this to say:

"If Sister Rosetta Tharpe had sung secular blues instead of the gospel music to which she devoted her prodigious performing career, she would be revered today as the greatest ever female rocker, an icon on par with contemporaries like Hank Williams and Robert Johnson.

But unlike Williams and Johnson, Tharpe had nothing going for her when it comes to the business of becoming a music legend. She didn't die very young (born in 1919 she died in 1973 after a long performing career). She was a woman. And, most of all, she sang gospel (sure Hank sang gospel too, but not exclusively).

But in the 1930s and 1940s no one was bigger or more influential that Sister Rosetta. And only Sister Ernestine Washington could top her for sheer power and spirit. If you care a whit about American music and you're unfamiliar with Sister Rosetta's best work your knowledge is incomplete.

Rosetta's records, though gospel, were juke box hits along the chitlin' circuit where they influenced everyone including Ray Charles (the best thing about Taylor Hackford's cliched Ray Charles biopic—besides Jamie Fox's spectacular performance—is its representation of the chitlin' circuit.). She began performing with her mother along the gospel highway as a teenager in the 1920s. In those noisy, unamplified rooms she developed a clear, bold voice that cut through the din like a great lead trumpet player with a smoking big band. And her guitar playing, Lord Almighty, was one of a kind. Playing in an open tuning she had a set of stock riffs and gestures on which she would rely. But her speedy runs and driving downstroke grinding riffs resounded all the way down to the guitar playing of Chuck Berry.

Rosetta took gospel to places it hadn't gone before (and some said it should never have been)-- sin-filled nightspots like the Cotton Club and Cafe Society--when she began performing as a featured singer with Lucky Millinder's big band in the early 40s. And in so doing she started the ball rolling on the fusion of spiritual and secular music that became rock and roll—especially audible in the tracks she cut in front of the trio of boogie woogie pianist Sam Price.

Her repertoire has bestowed rock a number of standard tropes and themes thanks to songs like like “This Train” (which Woody Guthrie adapted for “Bound for Glory,” Curtis Mayfield adapted for “People Get Ready,” and Bruce Springsteen adapted for “Land of Hopes and Dreams”), Thomas Dorsey's “Rock Me,” and “The Lonesome Road” (the only song I know that was recorded by Tharpe, Van Morrison, and Frank Sinatra!). Her 1941 version of the classic “Trouble in Mind” (first recorded in 1927 by Chippie Hill backed by Louis Armstrong), cut with Lucky Millinder, is damn near definitive. And her touchstone song, “I Looked Down the Line,” remains the greatest sinner's dream of redemption ever recorded."

And I must say I agree. A perfect match for Blind Willie Johnson and Chuck Berry, in terms of righteous power and rockingness. She was responsible for rock & roll as much as anyone.

Sister Rosetta Tharpe - The Gospel of the Blues
Year: 2003
Label: MCA/Decca
shout, sister, shout.
not my rip | mp3 192kbps | w/o cover | 65 mb