I Talk With The Spirits

 

Rahsaan Roland Kirk was a multi-instrumentalist who played saxophone, clarinet, oboe and English horn, flute, harmonica, trumpet, keyboards and percussion, as well as several instruments that he modified or invented.  For example, he would often play a trumpet with a saxophone mouthpiece.  He also invented a mouthpiece that allowed him to play three saxophones at the same time.  

As a fan of Mr. Kirk, I'm in good company.  Others who have cited him as an influence includes Ian Anderson, Eric Burdon, Jimi Hendrix, Derek Trucks, Paul Weller and Frank Zappa.  

'I Talk With The Spirits' was released in 1965 and showcases Mr. Kirk's mastery of the flute.  He is also listed as playing a music box and a cuckoo clock.  Using every day items as instruments was another one of his talents.  

 The full album can be found here or here.

Shiny Beast (Bat Chain Puller)

 

'Shiny Beast (Bat Chain Puller)' is the tenth studio album by Captain Beefheart and The Magic Band.  The original 'Bat Chain Puller' was recorded in 1976, but a feud over money led to the master tapes being withheld, so the Captain recorded some of the songs over again, added a few new songs, and released it in 1978 as 'Shiny Beast (Bat Chain Puller)'.  

You can find the full album here or here.  

Rum Sodomy & The Lash

 

In the mood for some Celtic-Punk on this Sunday evening.  

Released in 1985, 'Rum Sodomy & The Lash' is The Pogues second studio album.  

The full album can be found here or here.

They Call Me The Snake

That would be Luther "Snake Boy" Johnson...

The full album can be found here.

Innervisions

 

Back in 1972, I managed to get some tickets to see The Rolling Stones.  I saw them again a few years later, and they sounded pretty good, but that first time they really sucked.  Mostly, it was because Keith was so inebriated that he could barely play.  

The night would have been a total loss if it weren't for the opening act.  That would be Stevie Wonder.  He was all by his lonesome up on that stage.  No backing band.  Just Stevie with his synthesizer, a trumpet and a snare drum, and he blew the audience away.  

I always did like Stevie's Motown hits, but I became a full-fledged fan that night.  A year later, he released 'Innervisions' and sealed the deal.  

You can find the full album here or here.  

Monsters and Robots

 

Gotta love a fella who plays kickass guitar while wearing a KFC bucket on his head.

Released in 1999, 'Monsters and Robots' is the fifth studio album by Buckethead.  As an extra bonus, Les Claypool and Bootsy Collins trade off on the bass and vocals.  

The full album can be found here or here.  

Far From The Pictures

 

We're going to France today with Kat Onoma.  

Released in 1995, 'Far From The Pictures' is their fifth album.  

The full album can be found here or here.  

Am I In?

 I Think I'm In

 I'm In.

I Robot

 This one brings back memories of dropping acid and reading science-fiction, not necessarily at the same time.  

Chalk it up to my misspent youth.  

 The full album can be found here.

Slayed?

 

Because we all need a little kickass Rock 'N' Roll from time to time...

You should be able to find the full album here or here.  

Old Friends

 

Sunnyland Slim, Honeyboy Edwards, Kansas City Red, Big Walter Horton and Floyd Jones had been friends since the 30's and 40's, often crossing paths as they travelled around the country playing in juke joints and coffee houses.  Sometimes, two or three of those gentlemen would tour together, but it wasn't until 1979 that all five got together for a show, taking it to the stage at Carnegie Hall in New York City.  A year later, they went into the studio to record the album that became 'Old Friends'.  

David 'Honeyboy' Edwards: Guitar, Harmonica (on track 5)
Floyd Jones: Bass
Sunnyland Slim: Piano
Kansas City Red: Drums
Big Walter Horton: Harmonica

The full album can be found here.

South Delta Space Age

 

Third Rail is James Blood Ulmer, Bill Laswell, Joseph "Zigaboo" Modeliste, Bernie Worrell and Amina Claudine Myers.  They recorded 'South Delta Space Age' in 1995.  Most critics were not impressed.  As if I ever listen to critics.  

The full album can be found here and here.  

Kaleidoscope

 

Siouxsie and The Banshees came out of the London punk scene of the Seventies.  'Kaleidoscope' is their third studio album, released in 1980.

The full album can be found here or here.  

Transformer

 

'Transformer' is Lou Reed's second solo album after he left The Velvet Underground.  The album was produced by David Bowie and Mick Ronson.  Ronson was also featured as one of the primary session musicians, playing guitar, piano and recorder, while Bowie contributed acoustic guitar, keyboards and backing vocals on a couple of songs.  

As for Lou, he was at the top of his game with this album, creating a mix of darkness and whimsy

.      

The full album can be found here or here.  

Cosmic Wheels

 

'Cosmic Wheels' is Donovan's tenth studio album, and while the critics tended to pan it, I've always thought it was one of his more interesting recordings.    

Released in 1973, it includes contributions from such artists as Chris Spedding, Cozy Powell and Alan White, Bobby Keys and Suzi Quatro.  

The full album can be found here.  

Trilogy

 

Woke up this morning with an itch for some Prog Rock.  

Released in 1972, 'Trilogy' is the third studio album by Emerson, Lake and Palmer.  

The full album can be found here or here.  

Brighter Than Creation's Dark

 

Thought I'd continue the Americana / Alt-Country theme by playing the Drive-By Truckers.

'Brighter Than Creation's Dark' is their seventh studio album, released in 2008.

You should be able to find the full album here or here.  

Waffles, Triangles and Jesus

 

Jim White is one of the more interesting musicians to come out of the Americana/ Alt-Country genre.  My introduction to his music was his debut album, 'Wrong-Eyed Jesus (The Mysterious Tale of How I Shouted)'.  Six years after his debut, he also made a wonderful little film about Southern culture titled 'Searching for the Wrong-Eyed Jesus' that is worth watching at least once.  

Released in 2017, 'Waffles, Triangles and Jesus' is his seventh album.     

The full album can be found here and here.  

Here Comes The Warm Jets

                                                               

 Brian Eno's prominence in the music world may owe as much to his oddball persona as it does to his talent as a musician... he's often described himself as a non-musician..., and I've never been a fan of his ambient phase, but he can play some damn good Rock 'N' Roll when he feels like it.  

'Here Comes The Warm Jets' is his debut solo album.  It was released in 1974.

The full album can be found here or here.  

Breakin' It Up, Breakin' It Down

 

Breakin' it up and breakin' it down as only Muddy Waters, Johnny Winters and James Cotton can do, with plenty of help from Pinetop Perkins on piano, Willie 'Big Eyes' Smith on drums and Charles Calmese on bass.  

Released in 2007, the songs on this album were recorded during a concert tour in 1977.  

Sure wish I could have seen one of those shows.  

You should be able to find the full album here or here.  

Cheap Thrills

In the mood for an old classic on this Sunday afternoon...

Due to technical difficulties, I'm just going to post a link.  You should be able to find the full album here.

Ptooff!!

If bands such as Pink Floyd and The Beatles were the standard-bearers of Britain's Sixties Psychedelia then The Deviants were its dark underbelly.  

Consisting of Mick Farren and whoever else happened to be filling in at the time, 'Ptooff!' was their debut album.   

  

The full album can be found here or here.  

Too Much Pressure

The Selector were part of the British 2 Tone Ska revival of the early Eighties.  The name came from the Jamaican word for disc jockey... "selector". 

Released in 1980m 'Too Much Pressure' was their debut studio album. 

The full album can be found here.

Then Play On

Peter Green has left for the Land of the Ancestors. 

This was the last album he made with Fleetwood Mac. 

The full album can be found here or here. 

L.A.M.F.

Don't think anyone ever made a guitar shriek, growl, talk and snicker quite like Johnny Thunders did.  Starting off with The New York Dolls, he went on to form The Heartbreakers after the Dolls' broke up.  L.A.M.F. (Like A Mother Fucker) was released in 1977.  It is The Heartbreakers only studio album.  

The full album can be found here.  

Our Beloved Revolutionary Sweetheart

In the mood for some Folk Punk goofiness.  That means Camper Van Beethoven. 

Released in 1988, Our Beloved Revolutionary Sweetheart is their fourth studio album. 

The full album can be found here or here.

Nevermind

Some albums don't need an introduction...

You can find the full album here. 

I completely forgot

I tried to make this post earlier, and coudn't do it.

Let's try again.

Various Positions

Been on a bit of a Leonard Cohen binge these past few days.  This is his seventh studio album.

The full album can be found here or here.

Green Street

Think I'll end this three part series on guitarists with the Jazz Guitar of Grant Green.


Enjoy!

The full album can be found here or here.

Appalachian Swing!

Thought I'd focus on another guitarist this week.

Clarence White is given credit for making the guitar a lead instrument in Bluegrass instead of just a rhythm instrument.  He became known as a master of the guitar while playing with The Kentucky Colonels, who were part of the Folk Revival scene of the early Sixties.  He also worked as a session musician, sitting in with such performers as Joe Cocker, Linda Ronstadt and The Byrds.  In 1968, White was invited to join The Byrds, staying until the band was dissolved in 1973.

After leaving The Byrds, White joined The Muleskinners, a Bluegrass supergroup that formed for a one-time TV gig as a backing band for Bill Monroe.  When Monroe couldn't make it because his bus broke down on the way to the studio, The Muleskinners ended up as the main act.  This earned them a one-album recording contract.

In 1973, White rejoined The Kentucky Colonels, as part of a Country Rock tour that also featured Gram Parsons and Emmy Lou Harris, among others.  When that tour ended, he began work on a solo album, recording six songs.  The album was never finished because White was hit by a drunk driver and killed on July 15, 1973.  Gram Parsons' song, 'In My Hour Of Darkness', was written in part as a tribute to Clarence White.

'Appalachian Swing!' was The Kentucky Colonels second studio album.  It was released in 1964.

You can find the full album here.

Primitive Guitars

Phil Manzanera is best known as the lead guitarist for Roxy Music.  He has also worked with musicians such as John Cale, David Gilmour, Stevie Windwood, Robert Wyatt and Nico.  His first solo album was released in 1975.  'Primitive Guitar' is his third solo album, released in 1982.  For the most part, it's just Manzanera with his guitar, keyboards, some percussion instruments and a drum machine, although John Wetton contributes some bass on one or two songs. 

The full album can be found here or here.

Last Time Around

It's been awhile since I've listened to Buffalo Springfield.  'Last Time Around' was their third and final studio album. 

The full album can be found here or here. 

Electric Music for the Mind and Body

Most people may know Country Joe and The Fish from their performance at Woodstock, but the music of Country Joe McDonald, Barry "The Fish" Melton and the rest of the band went beyond the Fish Cheer ("Give me an F...") or 'I Feel Like I'm Fixin' To Die Rag'.  Released in 1967, 'Electric Music for the Mind and Body' was their debut studio album.

The full album can be found here or here.

Wild and Frantic

Thought I'd pay tribute to Richard Penniman, also known as Little Richard, who left this mortal coil on May 9. 2020.

Released in 1967, 'Wild and Frantic' was his tenth studio album. 

The full album can be found here.

Coz the Old Lady Asked

I get to make a thread tonight.

Black and White

Thought I'd paid tribute to Dave Greenfield by posting an album by The Stranglers.  We lost Mr. Greenfield last week.  His death followed a prolonged stay in the hospital for heart disease, although the press is attributing his demise to The Virus of Doom. 

'Black and White' was the third studio album by The Stranglers.  This coming Tuesday will mark the forty-second anniversary of its release. 

You can find the full album here and here. 

Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs

Some albums don't need an introduction.

This is one of them.

You can find the full album here or here.

Evolution

The Hollies started off as a cover band, only recording the occasional original song.  Released in 1967, 'Evolution' was
their sixth studio album and their second one to feature all
original songs.

You should be able to find the full album here or here.

Old School

I had the pleasure of seeing Koko Taylor in concert back in 1989.  She truly was the Queen of the Blues.  

'Old School' was her last studio album.  

You can find the full album here.

Risin' Outlaw

Hank III didn't fall far from the tree.  That would be his grandpa's tree.  Sometimes grit and talent skips a generation. 

Released in 1999, 'Risin' Outlaw' is his debut album. 

You should be able to find the full album here or here. 

The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn

'The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn' is still in my Top Ten for best Rock 'N' Roll albums.  I always did prefer the whimsy of Syd Barrett's Pink Floyd to their later recordings.

You can find the full album here or here. 

The Roots of Lightnin' Hopkins

In the mood for an old favorite... 

The Last Days Of Oakland

Sometimes success comes later in life.  That was the case for Xavier Dphrepaulezz, better known as Fantastic Negrito.  As a young man, he taught himself to play music by sneaking into music classes at UC-Berkeley.  He even signed with a record company, releasing an album in 1996.  Alas, it wasn't his time.  In 1999, a car crash almost killed young Mr. Dphrepaulezz, leaving him in a coma for several weeks.  This was followed by the record company deciding to drop him. 

In 2007, Dphrepaulezz chose to walk away from his musical dreams and find some other way to pass the time and earn a living.  Lucky for us, he changed his mind a few years later.  In 2014, at the age of 44, he returned to the studio and recorded his first album as Fantastic Negrito.  'The Last Days Of Oakland' is his follow-up album, released in 2016. 

If that doesn't work, you can find the full album here.

Closer

According to the narrative, two young men from Salford, England formed Joy Division in 1976 after going to a Sex Pistols show.  Peter Hook played bass.  Bernard Sumner played guitar and keyboards.  They recruited Ian Curtis as their singer and lyricist, eventually settling on Stephen Morris to play drums. 

The band originally called themselves Warsaw, but later changed their name to Joy Division.  They took the name from 'House of Dolls', a novel about sex slaves who were kept in a wing of a Nazi concentration camp called "the joy division". 

To describe their music as dark would be an understatement.  This was in no small part due to the influence of Ian Curtis, a tragic young man who suffered from depression and epilepsy.  It was not uncommon for Curtis to have seizures during live performances.  Towards the end, his seizures became uncontrollable, and so on May 18, 1980, the night before the band was scheduled to leave for a tour of North America, Ian Curtis killed himself. 

'Closer' is the second and final studio album by Joy Division.  The other members of the band would go on to form New Order after Curtis' death.  I like New Order just fine as synth-pop bands go, but their music lacks the depth and the darkness that Curtis brought to Joy Division.

You can find the full album here or here




.

Friday the 13th

Somewhere around 1986 or 87, I broke my baby daughter’s arm on Friday the 13th.

Told ya I hate kids.

My Favorite Things

Thought I'd venture off into Jazz and pay tribute to my favorite piano player, who left this mortal coil two days ago. McCoy Tyner was a special talent. Most might know him for his work with John Coltrane.

I first fell in love with John Coltrane's recording of 'My Favorite Things' when I was ten years old. Drove my father crazy, asking him to play it over and over again. One of the benefits of being the daughter of a horn player. And sure, I fell in love with Coltrane's saxophone, but it was McCoy Tyner's piano that carried me off into worlds that I had never imagined before listening to this work of wonder.  

            

Fair passage to the Land of the Ancestors, Mr Tyner.  You will be missed.  

                                               

                                  

You can find the full album here. 

The Days Of Wine And Roses

The Dream Syndicate were part of the Paisley Underground, meaning Alt-Rock bands in the 80's who were influenced by such 60's bands as The Byrds and Love.  'The Days Of Wine And Roses' was their debut studio album.

The full album can be found here or here.

Kinda Feelin' Relieved

Fire On The Bayou

Thought I'd stay in New Orleans and play 'Fire On The Bayou', the sixth studio album by The Meters.

For those who aren't familiar with The Meters, the band was founded by one of my favorite drummers, Zigaboo Modeliste, Leo Nocentelli and George Porter Jr, and Art Neville, who also performed with his brothers in the appropriately named The Neville Brothers.  Considered one of the early pioneers of Funk, The Meters also worked as a backing band for such New Orleans musicians as Dr. John, Allen Toussaint and Lee Dorsey.  

You can find the full album here or here.  Enjoy!

Zydeco Cha Cha

Because it's almost Mardi Gras...

Empty-Headed as Usual

Didn't have anything in mind tonight. Very tired.

Psychedelic Shack

Put on your dancing shoes.  I feel some Motown comin' on. 

Released in 1970, 'Psychedelic Shack' is The Temptations twelfth studio album. 

You can find the full album here or here. 

Signs of Spring

The starlings are back and my goats were doing their spring dance yesterday.  Sure, winter is still kicking our ass, but I'm a glass half-full kind of gal so I'm going to focus on these early signs of spring. 

Valentine's Day - Lotsa Choklits & Purdy Smellin' Weeds

You know the drill.

Great Escape

"Endtime ballads" is the phrase used by the founding member of Crippled Black Phoenix, Justin Greaves, to describe their music. 

'Great Escape' is their most recent studio album.  It was released in 2018. 

The full album can be found here. 



(Hat tip to a poster who calls himself TowerofBabel for introducing me to this band.)