Record Roundup: Out Of The Past

My cup of new music runneth over, but there are also many extraordinary sounds from the past that are making my ears happy in 2018. Here are some quick takes on a few reissues and “lost” albums.

Dennis Coffey - One Night At Morey’s If you’ve been following closely, you know I’m a huge fan of this Detroit legend. While I still hope for new music from him, this trio session from 1968 is, like last year’s Hot Coffey In The D, pure catnip. Coffey and Co. burn their way through covers and originals, taking what were then new classics like Eleanor Rigby and Cissy Strut to new heights of exploration and interaction. Melvin Davis's phenomenal drum solo in Burning Spear and the opening groove of It’s Your Thing - featuring a fuzz tone that would blow Norman Whitfield’s mind - are ripe for sampling. Just make sure you check with Mr. Coffey, first!

Malo - Latin Bugaloo: The Warner Brothers Singles While he never had his “supernatural” moment, Carlos Santana’s brother Jorge was also an excellent guitarist and his band Malo made a lot of great records in the early 70’s. This concise compilation features both sides of seven singles released over a two year period and it’s a blast from end to end, even if it gets occasionally as slick as Chicago on a couple of the later songs. Suavecito is probably the one you remember - and it’s still as good as you thought - but skip ahead to Café for the astonishing twin lead guitars of Santana and Abel Zarate. The ideal place to listen is in the car and the punchy mastering had the busy, detailed arrangements fairly leaping out of my speakers as I drove up the Taconic.

Eula Cooper - Let Our Love Grow Higher The bulk of releases from Numero Groups are compilations featuring obscure labels or regional scenes. So, when they focus on an individual artist, it’s usually something special. Eula Cooper was a southern belle of merely 14 when she waxed her first single for Atlanta’s Tragar Records in 1968, and they gave her the full treatment with strings, horns and a driving rhythm section. Cooper’s winsome ways sometimes bring the great Irma Thomas to mind and if she doesn’t cut as deeply as her (or Martha Reeves, whom she covers), this is still a fine slab of soul that should be more familiar to everyone who loves the music. 

Laraaji - Vision Songs, Vol. 1 Another standout release from Numero Group is this collection of songs by Laraaji recorded in 1984, just a few years after his groundbreaking collaboration with Brian Eno. Intersecting somewhere between New Age, gospel and a cassette sold at the airport, the sense of one man’s true self being revealed is palpable. Casio keyboards, along with his signature zither, provide rhythmic and melodic support for Laraaji’s slightly stilted but warm voice. If you enjoyed his cameo on Jonathan Wilson’s Rare Birds, this album is just what the shaman ordered. All of a sudden, I'm waiting for Vol. 2!

The Choir - Artifact: The Unreleased Album Shortly before making this album, 70’s soft-rocker Eric Carmen auditioned for this Cleveland act, which had made some waves locally opening for the likes of The Who and The Yardbirds. He didn’t make the cut but in an odd reversal, four of The Choir’s members became HIS band, The Raspberries. That left these recordings from 1969 crushed by the wheels of history - until now, thanks to the ministrations of Omnivore Recordings. While their baroque rock sometimes seems in search of a personality, these guys were loaded with instrumental talent and when they pushed themselves, prog rock seemed just around the corner. Check out the slamming breakdown in If These Are Men or the furious organ and guitar explorations of Have I No Love To Offer for a sense of what could have been. Aside from a redundant cover of David Watts by The Kinks, Artifact is an exciting transmission from an alternate past. 

Doug Clifford - Doug “Cosmo” Clifford If you’ve gone deep into the history of Creedence Clearwater Revival, you’ll know ‘twas democracy killed the band, as John Fogerty’s supremacy was challenged by his brother Tom and the rhythm section of bassist Stu Cook and drummer Doug Clifford. The man who “wrote a song for everyone” was forced to include songs BY everyone on what became CCR’s last album, Mardi Gras. That record was disappointing enough that had I come across this album at a garage sale, I would probably have given it a once over, chuckled, and put it back. In CCR’s heyday Clifford was a groove merchant of the highest order, making their many Top Ten hits dance with gutbucket rhythms and plenty of cowbell. It also turns out Clifford had a bit more to offer as a bandleader than I thought and was smart enough to know his limitations, providing plenty of cover for his laconic vocals on this assortment of covers and originals. Punchy horns (from members of Tower Of Power), organ and twangy guitar all serve as elements to be goaded on by Clifford’s superbly swinging drums, which are locked in tight with Donald “Duck” Dunn’s bass. While it doesn’t all work, I found myself nodding along and not thinking too hard while listening to much of this extremely enjoyable coda to the CCR story. 

David Sylvian & Holger Czukay - Plight & Premonition Flux & Mutation Perhaps it’s because he wrote such satisfying synth pop in Japan that critics and fans are often impatient with David Sylvian’s ambient explorations. But I think they’re wonderful, with more of a narrative intrigue than the genre’s godfather, Brian Eno. On these two albums, thankfully returned to the catalog, Sylvian collaborates with Czukay, a founder of German art rock avatars Can, and the results are often sublime. Each album consists of two long tracks that seem like sonic representations of the state of creative flow Sylvian and Czukay were in when working together. Let them inspire your own creativity, even in just letting your mind wander throughout the permutations of keyboards, guitar and the occasional field recording. 

Ursula K. Le Guin & Todd Barton - Music And Poetry of The Kesh Now, this is something I never expected to resurface. Originally released as a cassette packaged with Always Coming Home, Le Guin’s masterpiece of pastoral speculative fiction (I still have my copy), the idea was that this was art made by the Kesh, who were the protagonists of the story. At the time, while it helped create an immersive experience in combination with the book, the cassette also seemed so purpose-built that I didn’t listen to it once I had finished reading. But there's enough actual music here to justify this beautiful edition from RVNG Intl. Heron Dance, River Song and A Music of The Eighth House are the most fully realized compositions and are simply lovely. Some of the instruments were built by Barton under Le Guin's direction and seem to speak of a society deeply in tune with the natural world, a sensation also amplified by the "field recordings" and spoken word pieces on the album, some recorded by a creek near Le Guin's house. While the full credits are slightly mysterious, the pure a capella singing on Dragonfly Song will have you wishing you could track down more by the vocalist. Here's music of an imagined past that is now over 30 years old itself and somehow manages to seem surprisingly relevant to our current times. Or maybe not so surprising when the book is filled with prescient nuggets like this: “In a State, even a democracy, where power is hierarchic, how can you prevent the storage of information from becoming yet another source of power to the powerful—another piston in the great machine?”

John Coltrane - Both Directions At Once: The Lost Album That subtitle is a bit disingenuous because this release, in either standard or deluxe editions, is not as cogent as any of the other albums or live recordings released by the sax legend and his classic quartet. But that to the side, it's hard to imagine not getting extremely excited by 90 minutes of unheard music by one of the true geniuses of American music playing with three of his most sympathetic collaborators. And there is plenty to get excited about here, from Coltrane's flights of fancy to the sparkling interplay between him, McCoy Tyner (piano), Jimmy Garrison (bass) and Elvin Jones (drums). Slow Blues is an unexpected magnum opus of a jam session and Untitled Original 11386 has a melodic line with real potential. Take 2 is especially dazzling, with Elvin Jones threatening to take control, pushing Coltrane hard. The day after these sessions, the band was back in Rudy Van Gelder's NJ studio to lay down a few tracks with vocalist Johnny Hartman. You might have heard some of those tunes...all in a day's work!

Miles Davis & John Coltrane - The Final Tour: The Bootleg Series, Vol. 6 It would be easy to take this release, featuring five European concerts from 1960, for granted. For one thing, some of these have been released before, or bootlegged, and for another, the Miles Davis posthumous release train has been running for a long time. But that would be unwise, as not only does everything sound fantastic in these new masters, crisp and spacious, but the music is just too good. Davis and Coltrane are in top form as are Wyn Kelly (piano), Jimmy Cobb (drums) and especially Paul Chambers (bass), who was nearing the end of his strongest period before heroin became more important to him than swinging like a mutha. He was one of the best bassists in the entire history of jazz and there's plenty of evidence for that here. But the fire and ice counterpoint between Trane and Miles is the set's raison d'etre and you might find yourself jumping out of your chair and applauding from time to time as they go at it.

The Allman Brothers Band - Cream Of The Crop 2003 Speaking of things with a potential to be taken for granted, how about eight concert recordings (excerpted here, but you can also listen to the complete shows) by The Allman Brothers from a period well after the time when their legend was born? But consider the fact that this lineup ran from 2000 to 2014, making it the longest lasting in the group's 45 year history. Also, having fired founding member Dickie Betts a few years earlier,the band had something to prove again and sounded like it. Listen to the fiery funk of Rocking Horse, a now forgotten track from their last studio album, or the way they launch into Statesboro Blues, not sounding remotely like they had played it hundreds of times before. Having both Warren Haynes and Derek Trucks on guitars is certainly a part of why it all works so well, but if Gregg Allman wasn't so into it, ripping off his vocals with an authoritative growl and displaying a complete history of American music on piano and organ, then the whole thing would probably sink under its own weight. I don't suggest listening to all five hours of this compilation in one sitting, but dip in anywhere for all the bluesy and soul-drenched mastery you need.

Horace Andy - Every Day People No reissue roundup would be complete without some reggae, a form of music that's forgotten more than it knows. Featuring excellent production by Lloyd “Bullwackie” Barnes at his studio in The Bronx, this 1987 album found Andy, who has one of the most distinctive voices in reggae, in top form on some new songs and a few recuts, most notably the titanic Girl I Love You, originally made in 1974. It might be this version that gave Massive Attack the idea to take the song even further on Heligoland in 2010. Barnes keeps the digital drums restrained and the bass heavy, which contributes to the timeless feel of this album, not something you can say for some reggae from the 80s. Very nice to see this one back in the fold, liberated from overpriced vinyl copies. If you're unfamiliar with Andy's 80s work, Dance Hall Style (1982) is another essential album and features the original Spying Glass, another tune he remade with Massive Attack.

Find tracks from these albums and many other reissues in this playlist or below. 




You may also enjoy:
Best Of 2017: Out Of The Past
Record Roundup: Spirits Of The Past
Best Of 2016: Reissues
Best Of 15: Out Of The Past
Best Of The Rest Of 14: Out Of The Past

Best Of The Rest Of 14: Out Of The Past

As much great new music as there was last year, there was nearly as much reissued and rediscovered material. Some releases were attended with great fanfare, others arrived with not nearly enough notice. In the end, the cream from both categories rose to the top. 

AMERICAN MASTERS 

Wilco - Alpha Mike Foxtrot While there is little on these four superb discs that wasn't issued in one way or another prior to this box set, it all adds up to a magnificent alternate history of one of the greatest American bands of all time. In a year that saw all the members of Wilco pursuing their own projects, AMF is a rousing reminder of why we were interested. 

Their beginnings, scrappy and with only minimal promise in the wake of Uncle Tupelo's split (Doug Sahm bet on the other guys), are covered quickly. By the end of the first disc, they're in their full glory with songs like Sunken Treasure and Monday, included here as a live take and a demo respectively. 

The three remaining discs each hold a well-sequenced mix of stage versions of familiar songs along with hidden gems and cover songs Hoovered up from singles, soundtracks and compilations. After a few listens, including a couple of sessions where I let all 77 tracks run, the only question I was left with was whether Wilco is in the top ten of American bands or the top five. Essential. 

Hank Williams - The Garden Spot Programs The "old lovesick wandering cowboy" himself was a busy man during his short life, spending much time on the road and in radio stations in addition to the dozens of studio sessions for Sterling and MGM that make up most of his legacy as one of the bedrocks of Americans music. 

In the wake of the monolithic compilation of his Mother's Best radio shows from 2011 comes this remarkable find: 24 songs (including jingles) recorded for the Garden Spot show that were all thought lost. Williams is in spectacular voice throughout and sounds relaxed and jovial, even on mega-weepies like I've Just Told Mama Goodbye and At The First Fall Of Snow. The sound is crystal clear, the band is swinging, the songs are unimpeachable. Another special item from Omnivore Recordings. 

Hi Sheriffs Of Blue - NYC 1980 This rough and ready collection is 100% of a time and place yet so full of possibility that it still sounds like the future. Full review to come, but suffice it to say that Byron Coley has performed a public service by getting this material out. 

Love - Black Beauty Speaking of public services, fans of the brilliant Arthur Lee should high five High Moon Records for adding this great collection to the Love catalogue. Although a little uneven, it is a beauty indeed. 

Mutual Benefit - The Cowboy's Prayer Loves Crushing Diamond was one of the best and most distinctive albums of recent years. Yet there was much music by Jordan Lee that came before it, often released in extremely limited quantities during the course of his travels. Thanks to Other Music Recording Co. this gem is now widely available. Like an eggshell, there is both delicacy and strength to these sounds, a combination that keeps it from being too precious. But if you love it as I do, you'll hold it very dear indeed. 

Bayete Todd Cochran - Worlds Around The Sun Welcome return to the catalog for this jazz funk near-classic. Hopefully Omnivore Recordings will turn their loving attention to Cochran's even tougher follow up, Seeking Other Beauty. 

Various Artists - I'm Just Like You: Sly's Stone Flower 1969-70 In 2013 we got Higher,  which was quite wonderful and very nearly the career overview that Sly & The Family Stone deserved. Now thanks to Light In The Attic's brilliant work we get an incisive look at how the funk genius went from being "Woodstock Sly" on Stand! to being "weirdo Sly" on There's A Riot Going On. 

Pulling together the official releases of Sly's Stone Flower label along with demos and alternate takes, we hear him searching out that murky and divisive sound while also trying to make hits for Little Sister, Joe Hicks, and 6ix. Fascinating stuff. 

THE UK IS MORE THAN OK

The Clientele - Suburban Light Even if the reissue of this magnificent sigh of an album hadn't led to me having not one but TWO chances to see them live, it would still be a signature moment of the year. The extra disc of rare gems only doubles the pleasure - Driving South, for example, is one of their finest songs ever. Watching Alasdair MacLean, Mark Keen and James Hornsey commune with these songs - and with each other - made me think their hiatus may not be indefinite. 

The Led Zeppelin Reissues While I'm slightly underwhelmed by most of the bonus material, Jimmy Page's ability to keep drawing new sonic detail out of these monolithic albums is nothing short of astonishing. The first album comes with a punishing live set, which is a must to own, as for the rest - at least so far - getting the single disc versions may be enough of a feast. 

Michael Chapman - Playing The Guitar The Easy Way Light In The Attic continues their excellent series of Michael Chapman albums with this delight from 1978. Sort of an instructional album for experienced guitarists who have gotten "bogged down," Chapman's intricate playing may do a better job at inducing despair in players. The rest of us can just listen and enjoy the sounds of a master at work. 

New Age Steppers/Creation Rebel - Threat To Creation In which post-punk royalty (The Slits' Ari Up and PIL's Keith Levene, for two) meet Prince Far-I's backing band under the heavy manners of British dub maven Adrian Sherwood. The results, as the title suggests, are explosive. For someone like me, who still remembers laying hands on a copy of New Age Steppers's Massive Hits Vol. 1 in a dusty Boston record store, the fact that this is easily accessible on Spotify and elsewhere is a cause for celebration. All praise to the fine folks at Mexican Summer for unleashing this Threat. 

Wire - Document & Eyewitness 1979-1980 The words "post-punk royalty" above should have caused immediate thoughts of this band. After moving forward like a freight train with a remarkable string of albums over the last few years, Colin Newman and friends took a look back by revisiting this formerly hens-tooth rare collection of sounds made by a band imploding. 

On 154, the album just before these performances, producer Mike Thorne had managed to add a bit of pop sheen to Wire's spiky sound. As brilliant as it was, the record caused a crisis of conscience in the arty quartet, leading to the staged confrontations heard here. But there is a lot of music among the madness, as the band made clear by basing several songs on their recent album, Change Becomes Us, on fragments and ideas that first appeared here. The enjoyment and fascination of both albums is enhanced by tracking the connections between the two. Dive in. 

Gazelle Twin - The Entire City In my little corner of the world, the reappearance of Elizabeth Bernholz's striking debut from 2011 completely overshadowed her second album, Unflesh. I highly recommend catching up with both - strong, artful, and dark. 

Life Without Buildings - Any Other City Perhaps if they had lasted longer than this one album, Glasgow would be as identified with this band as much as it is with Belle & Sebastian. With chiming guitars and charming songs, they sound like they could pal around with The Vaselines and The Smiths. They keep things fairly simple in order to showcase the idiosyncratic vocals of Sue Tompkins, who comes off a little like a happier Poly Styrene. 

Tompkins is now an accomplished artist and perhaps her unique vocal style wasn't really meant to last beyond these few songs. But Any Other City is a one-off that should always be in print, awaiting discovery by successive generations, so thanks to What's Your Rupture for making it widely available again. 

COLLECTED CHARACTERS

Max Richter - Retrospective The young composer and "re-composer" (of Vivaldi, among others) gets the deluxe treatment from Deutsche Grammophon with this nice cube containing The Blue Notebooks, Songs From Before, 24 Postcards in Full Colour and Infra, along with bonus tracks. From cloudy to crystalline and from ambient to industrial, Richter has covered a lot of ground. 

Placido Domingo - The Verdi Opera Collection Unlike the Richter set, which is priced quite steeply, this collection of six operas over 15 discs may be the bargain of the decade. The rapturous recording of Luisa Miller alone would be worth $40. Naturally, you don't get librettos at that price, but just listen - you'll get the whole story of these magnificent works of musical theater. 

LIVE IS LIFE

Jonathan Wilson - Spotify Sessions: Live At Bonnaroo I've seen Wilson twice, both times in the cramped confines of the Mercury Lounge and you can actually hear him revel in the big outdoor stage where this recorded. And rightly so: he has a big sound, an ambitious talent, and endless virtuosity in all forms of rock music. He starts this set with a languid take on Angel, the early Fleetwood Mac slow jam, and just ramps it up from there. By the end, he's unleashing fire and has the audience firmly in hand. I wish I was there and I think you'll agree.

John Coltrane - Offering: Live At Temple University The auditorium at Temple University became the Temple of Coltrane one night in 1966. Apparently the Student Union lost money on the gig (they hoped Dionne Warwick's sellout show would make up the difference, apparently), so we owe them a debt of thanks for presenting it and preserving the music for eternity. 

Coltrane's playing ranges from lyrical to anguished, occasionally producing sounds that are still discomfiting today, like some of Hendrix's performances of Machine Gun. Pharaoh Sanders is also incredible, especially on Leo, finding a middle ground between jump blues and the avant garde. The expanded rhythm section of five percussionists led by Rashied Ali provides mainly a bed of constant rhythm, creating a swirl that nears chaos on occasion. Sonny Johnson, when you can hear him, is extraordinary on bass. His solo to introduce My Favorite Things is one for the ages. Alice Coltrane's piano sparkles on nearly every song, as if she were commanding 88 stars instead of keys. And yes, Coltrane sings, or chants, which is fascinating but still very musical and only increases the sense of occasion.

Coltrane only had months to live when he took the stage at Mitten Hall that night. Whether he knew that or not, he plays like a man with much at stake. Even though he included one audience favorite in the set, there is never a sense that he is aiming to please anyone than himself and the dedicated players that surrounded him that night. on Offering, you meet Coltrane on his own terms or you don't meet him at all.

Miles Davis - Miles At The Fillmore 1970 (The Bootleg Series Vol. 3) You could get caught up in the weeds of how this release interacts with earlier releases of those nights at the Fillmore (both East and West) when Miles and his cohort strafed the audience with phantasmagoric sounds. Maybe you have an unofficial bootleg (guilty), or some edited version of some of these sounds. Forget all that and just revel in this beautifully presented release. It was a time that Miles could do no wrong and it's about time it was put into the official canon. 

The Allman Brothers - Play All Night: Live At The Beacon Theater 1992 We mourned a lot of deaths in 2014, but this was the death of a legendary American band. Perhaps their time had come, but what I heard of their last shows displayed plenty of fire. I'm sure some of that material will be released eventually. For now we have this, an excellent set from their early 90's resurgence. They had some good new material, a couple of new members (especially the great Warren Haynes on guitar) - and Dickey Betts was still in the band. My wife and I saw one of these concerts and we were enraptured by the interplay, the soulfulness, and the sheer power they had to go anywhere they wanted. Nice to know it really did sound that good. Now, my hope is that Gregg will go on tour like he did in 1974 - I'll be there.

Bonus Track: Michael Jackson's Love Never Felt So Good, the original take featured on the deluxe edition of odds & sods collection Xcape is pure magic. It has everything that got us interested in the first place.

This concludes my round-up of the great sounds of 2014. In case you missed them, the other posts were:
Best Of 14 (Part 1)
Best Of 14 (Part 2)
Best Of The Rest Of 14: Old Favorites, New Sounds
Best Of The Rest Of 14: Hip Hop & Jazz
Best Of The Rest Of 14: Synths & Who's New (To Me)

Don't get left behind on the greatness of 2015 - the Of Note playlist is already filling up!

Record Fair Thoughts

"Rock'n'roll's a loser's game/It mesmerizes and I can't explain." - Ballad of Mott the Hoople (26th March 1972, Zurich)

The sheer con artistry of the music biz is never more present than at a record fair. Bands promoted as the next big thing fill the dollar bins while great music that never got its due is lovingly traded for big bucks. The former represents the bad investments of record labels, the latter the missed opportunities. One can't help becoming a bit of a skeptic after living a life in music, whether you're onstage, like Ian Hunter singing the words quoted above, or in the crowd, searching for greatness.

Of course, if you're going to talk about music industry charlatans, one would have to touch on used record dealers themselves. Sure there are books that try to rationalize pricing, but dealers know they can charge almost anything they want to the right customer - the one who just has to have whatever it is they've got. Everyone who has ever sold a record to a shop for a dollar and seen it hanging in the window for $20 knows what I mean. Most of them, though, are music lovers and crucial stewards of our recorded legacy.

These are the kind of thoughts I had early on at the WFMU record fair, but it has such a nice vibe and benefits a great local radio station so they were fleeting. They only returned when I was flipping through a bin and realized it was completely unchanged since the last WFMU event. Those Lee Dorsey CD's are still overpriced, thank you very much. Re-price, rearrange - do something to respect the long memories of music fans! Granted, I'm not a vinyl fetishist and I'm always on the hunt for the new so it's easy for me to be selective at an event like this. But I'm also so unreasonable about music that I could spend a few hours flipping through crates and listening to people rhapsodize about their finds without even buying anything and call it a day well spent.

The first vendor I hit, however, made me long for a sugar daddy. I could've dropped a $1,000 on box sets in a few minutes: Harry Nilsson, Bill Nelson, Leonard Cohen, Wilson Pickett, Miles Davis - all in perfect condition or sealed. Most of them were only minimally marked down, it's true, but the magnetism of such a haul was undeniable. He also had practically every issue of Ace records, the excellent British reissue label. Needless to say, I spent a lot of time immersing myself in his stock. I didn't buy anything at first as I wanted to make the full circuit, but I returned later for Miles Davis Gil Evans: The Complete Columbia Studio Recordings - a six CD set for $30 and one of the few Miles boxes I don't already have.

My first trek around the enormous interior of the 69th Regiment Armory on 26th and Lexington was entirely focused on CD's in fact, but I only came up with one other object of desire: George Harrison's posthumous final album, Brainwashed. The reviews were always good for this one and you can't listen on Spotify (although a couple of people have put the full album on YouTube), so I thought $4 was well worth it for the full experience. George had his off moments but he's been my second-favorite Beatle since hearing the dark tones of Don't Bother Me and the brilliantly bitter Taxman as a child.

Going on the last day of the fair can be wise - sure things may be picked over, but people are also willing to deal. On my last go round at the armory, I got sucked by C.J. & Co.'s Devil's Gun album sticking out of a crate accompanied by the words, "Everything's $5 - and if you buy a few, I'll lower the price." The C.J. & Co. Record, featuring the classic title cut, was in good shape and is an out of print Dennis Coffey production so that stayed in my hot hands as I flipped through rest of the stock. Swathes of fantastic Philly soul, early disco and 70's funk kept me going. I struck gold with a sealed copy of Disco Connection by The Isaac Hayes Movement and, in a limited crate of soundtracks, an admittedly ratty copy of Curtis Mayfield's hard to find Claudine, featuring Gladys Knight & The Pips.

The final bin I looked at was 50's rock & roll. I pretty much have most of what I want in that area but I could not resist the album of "Fox Trots with Vocal Chorus by Bill Haley" simply called Rock Around The Clock. I was sold by the beautiful cover and the fact that I recently learned that my son has yet to hear that song. Also re-reading the quixotic tale of Haley in both Bob Stanley's Yeah Yeah Yeah and Mark Lewisohn's Tune In made me think this would be the perfect Haley record to have, instead of a slavishly complete clinically mastered CD reissue. Some music still needs a little smoke and mirrors to get across - or noisy grooves - and for all my sometimes cynical views, I'm always willing to fall in love all over again. Especially for the right price, which turned out to be $15 for all four records. See you at the next fair!

Out Of The Past 2013: Reissues, Etc.

Just a few of 2013's notable reissues

You don't have to be an industry pundit to know that the music business is in transition (if you're an optimist) or in deep trouble (pessimist). Whatever the case, and whatever the motivation, record companies have grown more and more adept at creating objects of desire in the form of super-deluxe box sets. A-list critics must be drowning in gorgeously produced limited editions, filled with smart liner notes, unseen photos and unreleased music. For those of us who pay for most of their music, many of these items are out of reach, although we can dip a toe in on Spotify and other streaming services. So I will not be going in depth about the latest Bob Dylan Bootleg Series entry ($96), Harry Nilsson's Complete RCA albums ($86), The Band live at The Academy of Music ($76), Skydog, the comprehensive Duane Allman anthology ($85), or volume one of Jack White's exhumation of Paramount Records ($500). I will say that what I've heard of these has ranged from illuminating to revelatory and some of them may yet find a home in my collection.

The Beatles were also on sale again, with a new volume of BBC recordings. Let's just say that I'm on an accelerated schedule when it comes to that material and if you like the Fabs you'll want to grab what I am sure is a beautifully executed selection.

Here are the catalog items I did spend time with, some of which have been overlooked as 2013 ground to a halt. Later, I'll let you in on a secret source of free (and legal) MP3's, which is one way I've kept up.

Bobby Whitlock - Where There's A Will There's A Way: The ABC-Dunhill Recordings Bobby is an ace keyboard player and singer who took a back seat to Duane Allman and Eric Clapton in Derek & The Dominoes but who provided a jolt of energy and passion to the legendary proceedings. This fantastic set from Light In The Attic compiles his first two solo albums and is a blast of 70's goodness. The cast is beyond star-studded (George Harrison, Clapton, Klaus Voorman, Jim Gordon, even the Edwin Hawkins Singers) and the music combines blues, folk, country and soul in a way that will be familiar to fans of Layla, All Things Must Pass and Dave Mason's Alone Together, and many of the songs can hold their own in that illustrious company. Some reviews of this reissue have come down on Bobby for being emotionally profligate - he doesn't hold back - but to me he just sings as though there's something very real at stake and I believe every growling syllable.

Michael Chapman - Wrecked Again Like the above, this is another public service from Light In The Attic and their third Chapman reissue. A genius acoustic guitarist whose voice might be an acquired taste, Chapman's early stuff has interesting overlaps with pre-Ziggy Bowie. On Wrecked Again, he broadened the palette significantly, working with Space Oddity arranger Paul Buckmaster on several songs. When the strings and horns swooped in on the title track, I was admittedly surprised, even though I knew they were coming. However, repeated listens caused everything to gel beautifully. On that song, the orchestration serves as a hedge against Chapman's self-lacerating refrain "Oh, Michael, what have you done," while an epic like Fennario is just made more so thanks to Buckmaster. if you like you folk-rock acerbic and British, get Wrecked Again with Michael Chapman.

The Velvet Underground - White Light/White Heat 45th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition Coming out around the time of Lou Reed's death, this lavish and deep reissue was another reminder of why we all cared so much. The Velvets come on like a supercharged rhythm & blues band on the third disc, which features a complete concert taped on East 71st street a few months before they recorded the album. In a flash I understood why The Yardbirds were the first group to cover a VU song. And then, as Sister Ray seemed to condense into a black hole of musique concrete, it was hard to imagine the two bands were even from the same planet. The remastering is perfect, the visuals gorgeous, and the essays, featuring new insights from Reed, John Cale and Moe Tucker, make for great reading. "No one listened to it," Reed said, "But there it is, forever - the quintessence of articulate punk. And no one goes near it." A landmark reissue.

Pierre Boulez - Oeuvres Completes - Complete Works Sometimes sparkling, sometimes challenging, always rewarding, the music of Boulez is essential listening. This collection, drawn from several labels and cheekily subtitled "Work In Progress," features pretty much everything the 88 year old composer is satisfied with at this point.

Sly & The Family Stone - Higher A long time coming and very nearly gives the full measure of the man and band.

Elvis Presley - Elvis At Stax After listening to this thorough investigation of the music Elvis recorded at Stax in 1973, I am more convinced than ever that calling him the King Of Rock & Roll does him a disservice. It's far too limiting - he's more like the king of American song. Comprising funk, folk, pop, balladry and rock & roll, when assembled together, these sessions prove that Elvis was at a peak of talent and engagement. Some of the alternate takes are superior to the released versions, with Elvis cruising to victory over his crack band. Note that it is his band and not Booker T. & The MG's - he wasn't THAT adventurous. These sessions were his last sustained work in the studio in his legendary career and, while not all the material is top-notch, Elvis At Stax is further proof that when given his head, there was no one better.

The Miles Davis Quintet - Live In Europe 1969: The Bootleg Series Vol. 2 Speaking of giants of American music, Sony Legacy follows up Vol. 1 with another spectacular release. Worth it just for the DVD of this short-lived band onstage.

Rodion G.A. - Lost Tapes This Strut compilation features the wild and wonderful (and occasionally wayward) music Rodion Rosca recorded between 1978 and 1983, never before released sounds of young electronic Romania. Think you've heard it all? You're so wrong.

Killing Joke - The Singles Collection 1979-2012 Even if you can't find the three disc version (with demos and rare tracks), this overview of the unstoppable post-punk band is fairly definitive. For now.

Buffalo Daughter - Rediscover. Best. Re-Recordings And Remixes Everyone knows the 90's are back, so what better time to delve into the witty and Krautrock-infused sounds of this Japanese trio? First heard on these shores via the Beastie Boys's Grand Royal label, this collection will bring you up to speed on some really fun stuff.

Finally, a word about Jimi Hendrix. While I wish his half-sister Janie seemed to be a nicer person, there is no doubt that she helped last year be a banner year for the ultimate guitar hero. People, Hell & Angels collected a dozen studio tracks Hendrix recorded at various times and places without the Experience. While some of the remastering is slightly aggressive, the songs burst out of the speakers, crackling with fire and life. If this is indeed the last new release of unreleased Hendrix studio material, it's a more than worthy ending point. 

2013 also saw the release of Hear My Train a Coming, a lovingly produced documentary made in collaboration between the Hendrix family and PBS's American Masters. Featuring spectacular live footage and a wealth of new interviews, it's hard to imagine bettering this film. Show it to anyone who doesn't understand - and even those who think they do. The DVD has some great bonus features, including footage filmed at the New York Pop Festival and the Love & Peace Festival in Germany - his last ever performance. There's also a generous selection from the Miami Pop Festival, which is also the subject of its own release including a complete set from the 1968 concert. The Experience burn their way through a mostly standard setlist, heavy on Are You Experienced? material. However, there was rarely anything standard about a Hendrix concert and there are many inspired and transcendent moments. 

Make sure you watch this performance of Foxey Lady all the way to the end. Hendrix dishes out a number of dazzling effects to finish off the song - scraping the strings, abusing the whammy bar, swinging the guitar against the mic stand, and pounding the strings with his fist. His expression of wicked delight is something to see and a perfect capper to a great year in reissues.

Out Of The Past 2013: Reissues, Etc. from Murgatroyd on 8tracks Radio.

Now, about those free MP3's…Do you have a library card? Then you are entitled to access Freegal Music and download three tracks each week. Is there more than one library card in your household? Do the math - and tell them AnEarful sent you.

The Best of 2013 (So Far)

Bowie's back on top.

Typically, I'm the first person up in my house, getting up at about 5:00am to move the car, make the coffee, pack the lunches and clear the sink. I often catch up on favorite podcasts (like Soundcheck, Studio 360 or Sound Opinions) as I make these rounds but the morning of January 8th was different. I swiped open my iPhone to find a link cryptically shared by a friend of mine who lives in France. It seemed to be a new video by David Bowie - or about him - but I couldn't be quite sure. I broke from routine by tackling the sink first with the iPhone propped on the shelf in front of me, pressing "play" before turning on the water. My first thought was that the video for Where Are We Now? was a brilliant parody, that the need for new material from the Thin White Duke had inspired the internet to spew forth something that would cruelly taunt us fans. A minute into listening to the gorgeous, elegiac ballad and watching the intriguing visuals I knew: it was simply too good to be anything but the real thing. I could scarcely contain my elation at hearing something new from one of my heroes.

I also felt this was a good omen for the music of 2013 and that has been borne out by one great record after another. I'll attempt to corral it all in a preliminary Top Ten (which could become a Top 20 by year's end) and a few other lists.

1. David Bowie - The Next Day Here's why.

2. Kanye West - Yeezus Another masterpiece.

3. Jenny O. - Automechanic Great songs, great singing, deal sealed by Jonathan Wilson's brilliant production.

4. Jon Hopkins - Immunity Composer and producer Hopkins first came to my attention in 2010 as a collaborator on Small Craft On A Milk Sea, Brian Eno's finest record in many a year. Investigating further turned up some ok but not particularly characterful collections of electronic and ambient sounds. So my ears were open if not exactly primed when Hopkins appeared on Soundcheck earlier this year. His performance of Open Eye Signal quickly had me at full attention: Thick slabs of artfully arranged sounds welded to a groove of tectonic proportions built a composition that drew me in and engaged me completely. The rest of the album maintains the promise of Open Eye Signal, from glitchy tracks like Collider to the intimate ambient of Abandon Window and the title track. Electronic album of the year.

5. Jace Clayton - The Julius Eastman Memory Depot I would be mourning the death of Mudd Up much more if not for this dazzling record, which firmly establishes Clayton as a major proponent and participant in the avant garde.

6. Parquet Courts - Light Up Gold It was great to hear Greg Kot revise his already high opinion of this endearing record. At first he had focused on the "ramshackle vibe" and "casual surface" but further listening revealed the craftsmanship behind the songs on this "supremely well-done record." I don't usually quote other reviewers, but I really couldn't have said it better myself. Great stuff with a real New York attitude. Think it's as easy as it sounds? Fuggedaboutit. I can't wait to see them in concert again.

7. Daniel Wohl - Corps Exquis Based on the company he keeps in the new music scene in NYC and elsewhere, it was only a matter of time before I ran into Daniel Wohl's music, and based on the bracingly original and stunningly beautiful sounds on his debut album, I'm glad it didn't take any longer for me to get acquainted. Corps Exquis, performed to a tee by the quintet Transit and featuring valuable assistance from Julia Holter, Aaron Roche and So Percussion, is actually the soundtrack to a video and performance piece but stands completely, entrancingly, on its own. The melding and merging of electronics and acoustic instruments sounds so uncannily inevitable in the nine compositions that the mind ceases to worry what is making which sound. This is also richly affecting music that touches on a variety of emotional colors. Don't wait for the show to come to your town - just get this album.

8. Wire - Change Becomes Us Post-punks never die, they just get smarter.

9. Mystical Weapons - Mystical Weapons In which Sean Lennon and drummer Greg Saunier (of Deerhoof) prove that the vision of Miles Davis's electric period was never about virtuosity (although they are both virtuosic musicians), but rather a musique-concrete-esque coming together of improvised sounds and textures. Seeing them in concert was like witnessing telepathy. One thing they get right that a lot of similar freak-outs don't is dynamic range. Lennon and Saunier seem to think more like co-composers than co-improvisers, resulting in a record that is consistently more rewarding with each listen. Lennon's wandering career is such that this could easily be a one-off but that's fine - it's hard to imagine them bettering it.

10. Chance The Rapper - Acid Rap This free mixtape is an ambitious, sprawling, and almost cinematic collection from 20 year old Chancelor Bennett. Caught between adolescence and adulthood, he raps in a reedy voice about falling in love, falling into bad habits and missing his mom's cocoa butter kisses. He sometimes sings lines and his signature sound is a little shriek that can convey frustration, joy or anger. There's a rhythmic flexibility to Chance's flow that meshes perfectly with the jazz-based grooves on some of the songs. There are plenty of guests on Acid Rap but Chance is in full command and I predict a bright future for this brave and intelligent new voice.

Bubbling Under

Rock-Type Stuff: Both Comedown Machine by The Strokes and Ghost On Ghost by Iron & Wine received a lot of blowback but I like them both and return to their wells of emotion and musical ingenuity often.

Amok by Thom Yorke's Atoms For Peace sounded much as expected - terrific - but I can't help feeling that this material is going to really take off onstage. I've got tickets for one of their shows at Barclay's Center so I'll find out in September.

The Mavericks are back with In Time - and dare I say "better than ever"? The sheer sound and power of these master musicians and the makes it easy to overlook the moon/spoon/June lyrics and (Call Me) When You Get To Heaven brings a new operatic flavor to the picture.

Amor De Dias returned with a second album, The House At Sea, and it's just as gorgeous as the last one. Any year with something new from Alasdair MacLean is a good year.

Pere Ubu secured their legendary status for their first three records alone but they occasionally pull together and put out something new that proves the continuing relevance - and edginess - of their approach. Lady From Shanghai is an uncompromising example.

Disclosure is the duo of Guy and Howard Lawrence, brothers who seem to have absorbed practically everything about the last 20 years of dance music - and they're only in their early 20's - and figured how to refresh and revive it on Settle, their debut full-length. When A Fire Starts To Burn is the standout track and an instant classic floor-filler, but no one at your party will complain if you just leave the whole album on.

Hip Hop: Jonwayne has been on my radar since 2012's Quakers collection. Passing Fancies is merely the best of the quirky songs he's been releasing on cassette over the last couple of years. Can't wait for his official debut.

Prodigy & Alchemist's Albert Einstein is great, if not quite at the level of Return Of The Mac. Essential 2013 hip hop.

If Pusha-T can maintain the level of Numbers On The Boards for a whole solo album, we might stop wondering when the next Clipse album is coming out.

Jazz: I probably keep up with new jazz the least of all the kinds of music I listen to. If there were more records as bold, expansive and thrilling as Without A Net from the nearly 80-year-old Wayne Shorter, that would change in a heartbeat. Recorded at several live performances and featuring several compositions from his past as well as Pegasus, a new work performed with Imani Winds, Shorter and his blazing quartet splash around on stage like whales in a bathtub - its joyful but you feel disaster could be around the corner. It's called "without a net" for a reason.

Classical: The world of Brooklyn Rider produced two great albums so far this year: A Walking Fire, which features Bela Bartok's Third Quartet bookended by contemporary gypsy music and a new composition from violinist Colin Jacobson; and Recursions, the wonderfully wide solo debut by violist Nicolas Cords.

Benjamin Britten's centennial has produced one new classic recording amidst all the reissues and repackages: Britten Songs by tenor Ian Bostridge, accompanied by the piano of Sir Antonio Pappano, and, on five songs, guitarist Xuefei Yang. It's sublime.

Out Of The Past: Speaking of reissues, Light In The Attic has packaged Bobby Whitlock's first two solo albums as Where There's A Will There's A Way and it burns. Anyone who has been moved by his vocals on Derek & The Dominoes tracks will want to dive into his emotionally profligate way with a song. Big, bold arrangements performed by an all-star cast (Harrison, Clapton, etc.). 

Another great label, Strut, has done something of a public service by exhuming the work of Romanian progressives, Rodion G.A. A touch of Krautrock, a touch of psych - it get's better with every listen. Thankfully The Lost Tapes are lost no more!

The wonders of the Miles Davis Bootleg series continue with volume two, Live In Europe 1969, which features a line-up that never recorded in the studio. Four concerts, one on DVD, and you won't want to miss a note.

Finally, more Hendrix is on sale. Again. But fortunately, People, Hell & Angels is as fresh and energetic as Valleys of Neptune was slack and rehashed. The remixing might be slightly aggressive but it's great to hear his guitar jump out and transform the air around you. Supposedly, this is the last new collection of studio material. I assume that means that the Experience Hendrix folks will be concentrating on live recordings, so I'll put my vote in for a professionally mixed release of the storming set at Randall's Island in 1970.

What 2013 releases are still in rotation around your way?

Do The Cut & Paste

It all starts with Edgard Varese. In a 1997 interview, producer Teo Macero claimed Varese as a "second father," specifically citing his Poeme Electronique (1958) as the inspiration for the radical studio manipulations Macero introduced to the work of Miles Davis in the late 60's. Watching Varese assemble the pieces of his remarkable Poeme must have triggered something in Macero's mind: recorded music (and sound) is plastic, in the original meaning of the word. Today, the idea of jamming with musicians and then looping, editing and adding to that material to manipulate it into a composition is just one tool in the record-making arsenal, and a common one at that. But when Miles Davis's In A Silent Way was released in 1969 the idea of taking whole sections of recorded music, copying them and splicing them to other sections, essentially composing in the studio, was a rare thing indeed.

So that makes Varese the spiritual father of so much of today's music, including Atoms For Peace, the extra-curricular project of Radiohead's Thom Yorke, which has just released its long-awaited debut album, Amok. The all-star group was originally formed to do live shows of material from The Eraser, Yorke's solo album from 2006. Including Radiohead's producer Nigel Godrich, Flea from Red Hot Chili Peppers on bass, studio maven Joey Waronker (Beck, etc.) on drums and Marco Refosco on percussion, the band put in studio time over the past few years, creating a wealth of material for Yorke and Godrich to work with.

Since I find Red Hot Chili Peppers loathsome, I will admit to some anxiety around Flea's involvement with Atoms For Peace. I needn't have worried, however, as he avoids the dreaded thumb and seems to take more inspiration from Jah Wobble than attempting Larry Graham, blending perfectly with the other musicians. The end result is a consistently fascinating assemblage of Afro-pop guitars, deep bass, chattering percussion and rich electronic sounds, from chordal washes to astringent jabs of sound, all with Yorke's feather-light voice, often in falsetto, floating above. Amok is a great headphones album, with layers of sound buried in the mix, waiting to be teased out with repeated listens.

There are no songwriting credits per se, but it is safe to assume that York's melodic and lyrical interests were the strongest influence on how the songs finally shaped up. In both cases it follows close on the heels of Radiohead's The King of Limbs, which contained similarly ambiguous harmonies, circular melodies and, in the words, a general sense of anomie and bruised disillusionment. On the whole, however, it's a more satisfying album than TKOL, feeling more complete and less like a blueprint for endless remixes, although I'm sure there will plenty of those to come.

For anyone familiar with Radiohead, there is nothing intrinsically surprising about Amok, but working with some new collaborators has definitely introduced more dynamics and rhythmic flexibility into what we've come to expect from records featuring Thom Yorke. As wonderful as Amok is, it should be said that it seems to continue a retreat from the more soulful and direct communication represented by In Rainbows, which is sounding more and more like a culmination of sorts with each passing year.

In the same interview, Teo Macero also illuminated the process that led to such towering achievements as Bitches Brew, A Tribute to Jack Johnson and other classics from Miles Davis's first electric period: "His stuff was mostly written down. I mean it was worked out in the studio. But I would record from the time he got there...until he left. And then...I would edit everything."

But before Miles and his musicians entered the studio, the music was also worked out on the road. We have ample evidence of that part of the process on an extraordinary new set, Live In Europe 1969: The Bootleg Series Vol. 2, which features four concerts from the fertile period in 1969, between In A Silent Way and Bitches Brew. The band here, featuring Wayne Shorter on sax, Chick Corea on (mostly electric) piano, Dave Holland on bass, and Jack DeJohnette on drums, was famously short-lived although each member was part of the expanded ensemble that made Bitches Brew. Versions of moody masterpiece Miles Runs The Voodoo Down recorded in Antibes a month before the Bitches Brew sessions, as well as Wayne Shorter's Sanctuary, which appeared on the same album in a very different form, provide a feast for the analytic mind when comparing them to their well-known studio takes.

But analysis is mostly shunted aside by the spectacular and fiery attack of this group, which played without pause each night, blasting through a varied set of old and new material. Miles was in a period of transition and this collection showcases one fulcrum point in his legendary career, with two concerts before the Bitches Brew sessions and two after. One thing that is immediately clear is that he was in top form, playing with power and blasting off 16th note runs with impunity, applying a style he perfected in his previous period to the new electric context. As he got deeper into rock and funk, his trumpet playing included more atmospheric textures, rhythmic wah wah excursions, and he began a deepening involvement with playing the organ. Some of that was due to the poor health (from drug use and other factors) that led to his retirement in 1975. But not here - he leads the band with command and control, taking classic tunes like Nefertiti to new and more dynamic heights and presenting new material with an assured swagger.

The fourth disc in the set is a DVD, featuring a concert in November 1969 in Berlin filmed in living color. It's well-edited and makes for illuminating viewing - Miles and the band were completely engaged and listening carefully to each other. The concert, like all the shows presented is brilliant, full of complex interplay, melodic invention and occasionally touching on the outskirts of free jazz. Though there is nothing tentative about these concerts, Miles and his players were still finding their way in the new world they were creating. Some of that future included Teo Macero in the editing room, cutting and pasting, but Live In Europe 1969 is a glorious reminder of the potency of live, uncut performances, and is now an essential part of the story of Miles Davis.