Friday, December 24, 2021

Alan Braufman - 1975 - Valley of Search

Alan Braufman
1975
Valley of Search




01. Rainbow Warriors
02. Chant
03. Thankfulness
04. Love Is For Real
05. Forshadow
06. Miracles
07. Ark Of Salvation
08. Little Nabil's March
09. Destiny

Alto Saxophone, Flute, Horn – Alan Braufman
Bass – Cecil McBee
Drums – David Lee
Percussion – Ralph Williams
Piano, Synthesizer – Gene Ashton




In 1974, after Village Voice jazz critic Gary Giddins slagged their fellow Berklee alum David S. Ware in newsprint, a few musician friends residing at a little-known artist loft space at 501 Canal Street goaded Giddins with mimeographed posters. If he really wanted to hear what was happening in downtown jazz, they taunted, he should visit the building’s first-floor performance space. Giddins took the bait and caught reedsman Alan Braufman’s band, writing a positive review that noted the group’s “kaleidoscopic densities.”

By the early 1970s, those incandescent strains of jazz, as exemplified by John Coltrane, were in sharp decline. While plugged-in fusion acts were topping the charts, forward-thinking players practicing “black creative music” were no longer drawing bar-friendly crowds to clubs. For players and fans who deemed such music “as serious as your life” (a phrase subsequently used as the title of Valerie Wilmer’s excellent book about that era) they began to gravitate toward downtown loft spaces like Ornette Coleman’s spot on Prince Street, Sam and Bea Rivers’ Studio Rivbea on Bond Street, and late Coltrane drummer Rashied Ali’s own Ali’s Alley. But there’s little documentation of what was cooking at 501 Canal Street save for the lone record credited to Braufman, 1975’s Valley of Search.

There’s nothing to suggest that Valley of Search, the second release on the revered India Navigation label, attained grail status among collectors or was heavily in demand, and Braufman never released an album as leader again; there are no canonical drum breaks fetishized by latter-day beat producers, though Four Tet’s Kieran Hebden did slot “Rainbow Warriors” in his Just Jam set in 2013. But with players like Kamasi Washington, Shabaka Hutchings, Nubya Garcia, and Makaya McCraven initiating a groundswell of interest beyond the confines of the jazz community, the moment is ripe for rediscoveries.

While the sleeve denotes nine selections, Valley of Search really moves as two sidelong suites. Across these large-scale pieces, the first takeaway might be that Braufman is often eclipsed by his excellent sidemen. That’s no knock against him: The album features one of the 1970s’ most formidable bassists in Cecil McBee, a nimble and foundation-deep heavyweight who could be both lyrical and primal as he held down the low end for Pharoah Sanders, Jackie Mclean, Andrew Hill, and Charles Lloyd. The extra percussion and whistles that add to the din come from Ralph Williams, a future collaborator of Wadada Leo Smith.

Making Valley of Search especially noteworthy for jazz historians is an early appearance from Gene Ashton, known today as Cooper-Moore, who continually adds curious new textures throughout the session. Soon after the recording, Ashton decamped to Virginia, but he reemerged in the late 1980s as one of the most electric and eclectic players on the downtown scene, playing with artists like William Parker and Susie Ibarra. Here, he shows flashes of his multifaceted genius and acts as a catalyst for the album’s unique energy. His dulcimer playing gives opener “Rainbow Warriors” its uncanny African folk edge; his chanting of the Bahá’í prayer “God sufficeth all things above all things” leads to a fiery outburst from the band; his dense, choppy piano chords power the climactic “Love Is for Real.”

Braufman’s alto and flute provide the emotional resonance on the album’s final two pieces. His careening, drunken playing on “Little Nabil’s March” is a fine foil to the lurching martial beat behind him. On “Destiny,” he and his band muster a lucidity that is perhaps not as dense as Valley of Search’s other chaotic peaks but quite evocative, drawing on the roiling emotions of something like John Coltrane’s “Alabama,” luminous and sorrowful at once. It verifies Giddins’ impressions in that early press clip and reveals Braufman’s sense of the kaleidoscopic.

What we know of Downtown New York comes from the countercultural and creative flowering that emerged in lower Manhattan in the 1960s, attributable to cheap live-work spaces called lofts. These were often abandoned and disused small manufacturing spaces and they became a nexus for artistic practice and life. From a jazz perspective, lofts were alternatives to the club scene, and they gained notoriety in the 1970s. Places like Studio We, Studio Rivbea, The Ladies’ Fort, Ali’s Alley, and Environ became central in the development of the new music. But even the underground had an underground, and the happenings at 501 Canal Street on the West Side were a point of activity in which a small but dedicated number of people took part.

In 1973 a cadre of free improvising musicians relocated from Boston to lower Manhattan: pianist Gene Ashton (now known as Cooper-Moore), bassist Chris Amberger, and saxophonists David S. Ware and Alan Braufman. All had studied at Berklee College of Music, though they stood apart from most collegiate musicians. Ashton secured the building at 501 and the rent for the each of the four usable floors was $140 a month. The first floor became a performance space, while Ware and Braufman took the front and back of the second floor, respectively. Ashton was on the third floor with his young family, and Amberger was on the fourth. Later, drummer Tom Bruno and his partner, vocalist Ellen Christi would take Amberger’s spot. Along with bassist David Saphra and drummer Ralph Williams, the Braufman-Ashton unit became the house band, rehearsing regularly and performing in the storefront.

Braufman was born in 1951 in Brooklyn and raised on Long Island, moving to Boston to attend Berklee in 1968. In his own words, he “started playing clarinet at eight; my mom was deeply into the music, so she would play Mingus, Eric Dolphy and Coltrane. It grabbed me – there was something exciting about it that I didn’t hear in other music, so no matter what I was going to be a musician. When I was thirteen I got my first saxophone. I had a teacher who could teach me how to play but not how to improvise (which is what I wanted to do) so I had to figure it out. I didn’t know changes, but I could pick out the patterns that were happening in free music and I could figure out what to do. I would teach myself patterns and scales, figure out some harmonics – I was self-taught until I got to Berklee.”

Braufman's sound — “Alan had a huge sound on alto and voice that was his, and that was rare in a town where you had lots of young players coming up” (Cooper-Moore) — was immediately appealing and rooted in such forebears as Jackie McLean. In Boston, he made other connections, including drummer David Lee Jr.’s wife-to-be who ran the coat check at the Jazz Workshop. The saxophonist parlayed that into working lights at the venue and, more importantly, a friendship with Lee that resulted in the percussionist’s place on this album. Braufman also sat in at the Jazz Workshop, which is how he met future mentor and collaborator Cecil McBee, whose partner Lucia, an artist, was also living in Boston — in this case, on the bandstand when the bassist was coming through town with Pharoah Sanders. Braufman later played on McBee’s debut Strata-East LP Mutima, recorded in New York in May of 1974 and a precursor to the bassist’s role in Valley of Search.

As Cooper-Moore tells it, “when we moved to 501 Canal Street… that’s when I got to really play with Alan. When we started putting on concerts, we used the same musicians but [depending on the day it] would be either his band or my band. It was around that time Cecil Taylor did a concert at Carnegie Hall with his orchestra, and Gary Giddins, who was writing for the Voice, wrote very badly about David S. Ware. Tom Bruno was living at Canal Street then, along with Ellen Christi. Philip Polumbo, a bass player and painter, was living on the top floor, and they were all working at the Village Voice. Tom said, you know, ‘we gonna get back at this guy Gary Giddins,’ so they mimeographed these posters, little sheets about how Gary was an idiot and he couldn’t hear, he really didn’t know the music and he should come down to Canal Street sometime and hear what’s going on there. So one week when it was Alan’s band, Giddins showed up and reviewed us, and we got good press. He thought that the space was loud but the headline read ‘Taking Chances at 501 Canal’ and then people started coming.” The article, in the June 13, 1974 issue of the Voice, discusses the music as it relates to figures like Taylor and Don Cherry, and notes the programs’ “kaleidoscopic densities” and that Ashton and Braufman’s linkage is what pushes the music forward.

Valley of Search is a document of the music at 501 Canal, but it’s also a document of relationships — people who lived or worked together and were humanly close. Braufman met Bob Cummins, the founder of India Navigation Company, at a party at McBee’s apartment in Harlem. The label had just been conceived, and Braufman would be its second artist. McBee, Lee, and Williams were obvious foils for their place in the saxophonist’s work and life, the latter providing a bevy of instruments that he would later apply to work with trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith. In late 1974, Cummins set up microphones in the building’s storefront, documenting two short sets by the band with no alternate takes or additional cuts.

Invoking with a dulcimer and bowed bass drone undergirded by flits of percussion, Ashton chants the Bahá’í prayer “God sufficeth all things above all things, and nothing in the heavens or in the earth but God sufficeth, verily he is in himself the knower, the sustainer, the omnipotent. God sufficeth all things above all things…” granting the music’s higher search a stirring, declaratory shout amid mountain strings. Soon, liquid alto keen, harried screams, and rhapsodic piano chunks edge a dense fracas toward the sharp, sinewy groove and foamy crests of the following movement. One would imagine that the music on this recording reflects the overall feel at 501; the compositions are among those that were in their book at the time, fleshed out with a powerful array of percussion, whistles, and cries, McBee’s bass steadily thrumming and in counterpoint to burred, throaty alto and briskly twined piano.

When Bruno and Christi moved from the fourth floor down to the first, that was the end of performances as they had been at 501 Canal; Ashton relocated to his home state of Virginia soon after, before returning to New York in 1985 as Cooper-Moore. Braufman would go on to work with drummer William Hooker and his own more commercially-leaning groups (as Alan Michael) before relocating to Salt Lake City, where he resides today. Valley of Search has enjoyed a cult status among followers of this music, and it captures a unique and very alive historical slice of New York’s creative improvised underground.

Atmospheres - 1974 - Voyage To Uranus

Atmospheres
1974
Voyage To Uranus



01. Shifting Phases (6:55)
02. Culture Release (6:50)
03. Inner Spaces and Outer Places (5:15)
04. Un Jour Dans Le Monde (4:43)
05. Voyage To Uranus (5:52)
06. Electric Impulse From The Heart (4:15)
07. Water Rhythms (8:44)
08. Return To The Earth (5:15)

Clive Stevens / electric tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone, alto flute, echoplex, wah wah pedal
Michael Thabo Carvin / drums
David Earl Johnson / congas, timbales, assorted percussion
Stu Woods / electric bass
John Abercrombie / electric guitar, acoustic guitar
Ralph Towner / electric piano, clavinet, 12 string acoustic guitar



A few months album the debut's release, Clive Stevens returned to the studio, but this time, the line-up is less stellar, even if Ralph Towner (keyboards) and John Abercrombie (guitars) are still present, with the former also toys with 12-string guitar. Stu Woods (bass) and Mike Carvin (drums) replace the MO alumni rhythm section along with Johnson on percussion. Again recorded in a NY studio and still released in 74, the album's cover with an intriguing flowing naked humans tripping out on whatever they took.

Opening the album, Shifting Phase is hotter and faster than anything on the first album, nearing RTF or MO execution speed (Aber even sounds a bit like McL), but this is not the case of the next few tracks, Inner Spaces And Outer Places even using a strong mid-tempo riff, while Aber, Towner and Stevens are jumping stars and galaxies with superb mastery, especially Aber's guitar. However the album takes on a contemplative turn with the really slow Un Jour Dans Le Monde, an ideal vehicle for Stevens' soft sax playing.

The flipside is definitely slower and more introspective, but it is no less hot-er than the afore- mentioned Shifting Phases track, even if the almost-9mins Water Rhythms is like a supernova exploding your mind. The album close on the aptly-titled Return To Earth and indeed it was a cool cosmic glide between galaxies, black holes and other spaceships, with Stevens shifting to a calm flute.

With its second and final album Voyage To Uranus (ever wonder why Uranus and never Neptune??), Stevens would not renew the experience again (most likely for sales and visibility issues - JR/F groups abounded in a more or less closed microcosm - and the project ends with this album. Just two largely forgotten albums, but well worth the hunt if you're into that trip. And I am.

Atmospheres (Featuring Clive Stevens & Friends) - 1974 - Atmospheres

Atmospheres (Featuring Clive Stevens & Friends)
1974
Atmospheres




01. Earth Spirit 5:30
02. Nova '72 5:52
03. Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow 6:40
04. Astral Dreams 9:21
05. All Day Next Week 6:50
06. The Parameters of Saturn 5:47

Clive Stevens / tenor sax, sopr sax, flute, perc
Ralph Towner / electric piano, ring modulator
Steve Khan / 6 & 12 str guitars
John Abercrombie / electric guitar
Harry Wilkinson / perc
Rick Laird / bass
Billy Cobham / drums



Clive Steven's idea of a project had grandiose line-up and unfortunately, such a stellar membership has not done much for this album's reputation and memory, since hardly anyone remembers it and the album (and its follow-up) has yet to receive a Cd reissue. Not that the music on the album is revolutionary or groundbreaking ? this is close to an early jazz- rock ala Mwandishi, Nucleus and Bitches Brew, but we are in 74 ? but it is the type of album that consolidates the genre.

Obviously, one of the strong points of this album is the Laird-Cobham section, which is obviously used to playing together, thus giving the greater freedom for the others to improvise at lengths. Indeed, composition-wise, all of the tracks are written by Clive Stevens, but the least we can say is that this is a minimum service, since the improvs are taking voluntarily most of the space. Don't get me wrong, the album is of an excellent level, both in collective cohesion (excellent interplaying between all participants) and solo-wise, where they all shine like a thousand suns. As Clive Stevens' is the project leader, you'd expect him to grab a lot of aural space with his wing instrument, which is often the case, but he allows this two guitarists space (namely in Earth Spirit and Nova 72), and Abercrombie shines particularly in Yesterday Today & Tomorrow with his electric guitar. Towner's Rhodes playing is very much in like with Hancock or Zawinul, especially in All Day Next Week.

A jazz fusion classic from Atmospheres – a hip group led by reedman Clive Stevens, and which also features some usually-mellower players really taking off together! Stevens blows a great range of horns – electric and acoustic tenor, sopranos sax, and often a wah-wah pedal to inflect the notes coming out of his electric horn – a bit like John Klemmer in some of his early electric moments! This quality is emphasized nicely by the guitars of Steve Khan and John Abercrombie, and the electric piano and ring modulator of Ralph Towner – players who really know how to keep the right sort of space between the notes, which makes for a few funky moments – especially with core rhythms from Rick Laird on bass, Billy Cobham on drums, and Harry Wilkinson on percussion.

Arabesque - 2002 - Tales Of Power (1972-1979)

Arabesque
2002
Tales of Power



01. An Epic: Krail Mountain (11:53)
02. Cobbler's Knob (10:42)
03. We (The Farmer Song) (7:42)
04. The Forgotten Pond (4:52)
05. As the Novelty Wears... (8:37)
06. Arcanum of Atlantis (10:37)
07. Except for Dreaming (live 1978) (12:06)

- August Smarra / guitar, lead vocals
- Budd Kelly / keyboards, lead & backing vocals
- Tom Ketterer / bass, backing vocals
- Jim Renda / drums, glockenspiel, percussion
- RJ Ketterer / vibes, percussion, backing vocals

Collection of songs written and recorded between 1973 and 1979




ARABESQUE were an American Prog band from Pittsburg (Go Steelers!) who were never able to get a record deal so they created their own music over the years in a basement with 4 track tape.This is a compilation of those songs which were created between 1973 and 1979. Unfortunately the sound quality isn't top notch but man the music sure is. It's sad really that a label didn't give these guys a chance to do it right because they were a very talented group.

"An Epic : Krail Mountain" was started in 1975 but not completed until the next year. Again recorded on 4 track tape so it doesn't exactly sound that great. Nature sounds early then music followed by vocals. Spoken words 2 minutes in then keyboards and drums start to lead before it settles again.Vocals are back before 4 minutes. An impressive instrumental section from after 5 minutes to before 10 1/2 minutes. "Cobbler's Knob" is an instrumental and a top three track for me.This was the last tune recorded in the basement in 1979. Percussion to start as sounds come and go. Some nice guitar before 1 1/2 minutes.The drums are prominant followed by chunky bass 4 1/2 minutes in.The guitar is ripping it up a minute later. "We (The Farmers Song)" is simply a good song that could have been a single if shortened. Catchy and meaningful with excellent vocals. A top three. "The Forgotten Pond" opens with intricate sounds that come and go then it picks up and gets fuller before 2 minutes.

"As Novelty Wears..." is sort of a shot at the music business who at the time were only interested in disco and pop music because they sold records.This is really all over the place.Tempo changes galore as in "in your face" music business (haha). Good song. "Arcanum Of Atlantis" is the other top three for me.The sound builds and the tempo picks up.Vocals 1 1/2 minutes in. I like this one a lot. A nice long instrumental section on this one too. "Except For Dreaming" is the first original song they created but it was under a different name and it has been spruced up. I like when it turns dark and fairly powerful 7 minutes in.The tempo then picks back up with guitar. Nice.

A good album that more importantly allows us to get a glimpse at a talented band doing what they loved.

Tuesday, December 21, 2021

Led Zeppelin - 2018 - Ally Pally Hard Rock Daze (1972 UK Tour)

Led Zeppelin
2018
Ally Pally Hard Rock Daze (1972 UK Tour) 
(Empress Valley Supreme Disc EVSD 951/52/53/54/55/56)




Ally Pally The 1st Daze
December 22 1972
Alexandra Palace
London England




101. Rock and Roll
102. Over the Hills and Far Away
103. Black Dog
104. Misty Mountain Hop
105. Since I've Been Loving You
106. Dancing Days
107. Bron-Y-Aur Stomp
108. The Song Remains the Same
109. The Rain Song

201. Dazed and Confused
202. Stairway to Heaven
203. Whole Lotta Love

301. Immigrant Song
302. Heartbreaker
303. Mellotron Solo
304. Thank You


Ally Pally The 2nd Daze
December 23 1972
Alexandra Palace
London England,





101. Rock and Roll
102. Over the Hills and Far Away
103. Black Dog
104. Misty Mountain Hop
105. Since I've Been Loving You
106. Dancing Days
107. Bron-Y-Aur Stomp
108. The Song Remains the Same
109. The Rain Song

201. Dazed and Confused
202. Stairway to Heaven
203. Whole Lotta Love
204. Heartbreaker

Bonus Disc [Riot House LP version]

Alexandra Palace
London England, Dec 22 1972

301. Stairway to Heaven
302. Whole Lotta Love
303. Immigrant Song
304. Heartbreaker
305. Mellotoron Solo
306. Thank You


Zeppelin’s longest tour of England would come in late 1972 with 25 dates spanning a two month period, the band would feature the same basic set list they had used in Japan the month prior that would also be used for the following European tour and become the framework for the American jaunt in the coming months. The group would take a short break mid tour for Christmas, just prior they would play two concerts in London at the Alexandria Palace, a venue that while very architecturally ornate and beautiful, was rather difficult to properly set up for musical concerts. Led Zeppelin would struggle with not only sound but also the temperature inside being somewhat cold. With a somewhat cool and lack luster audiences, the band would nonetheless put is two very enjoyable performances, collected in the new set from Empress Valley.

There are two audience sources for the first night at the “Ally Pally”. The first recording is in the very good range, it is more distant and while clear and detailed lacks dynamics, a bit flat sounding. This had a few titles  on vinyl as Alexandria Palace 1972 (Gell), Alexandria Palace 22/12/72 (LZ 1972 AOZ7211AAPZ7211B), and People Weekly (Toasted TSTD 1910AD).

The second was the source for the brilliant and quite famous vinyl title Riot House (Jump JMP02AB).
The quality is excellent being taped close to the stage but sadly only features the last hour of the concert (I had this title for years on green vinyl). This concert would also be the subject of a scant few titles, Riot House (Wendy WECD 47/48/49) would feature both recordings but kept separate while Flawless

Performance (Image Quality IQ 013/014/015) and Riot Show (Cobra Standards Series 006) would mix the sources together. For this new release, Empress Valley uses the entire first source and fills a couple small gaps and for the entire mellotron solo > Thank You. I dug out my old Flawless Performance title to see how this new one stacks up. Surprisingly I found them both to be similar, the IQ title is amplified a bit more and thus has a bit more tape hiss where this new EV sounds cleaner with more natural dynamics, a big difference is that the bass podoes not muddy it up.

The concert begins with announcements, short and sweet sit down so all can see and the band get into Rock And Roll. Ah hearing this song as an opener can be a good thing (72/73) or a bit rough (75), thankfully Jimmy is in perfect shape and his playing is most fluent. The sound clears as they transition into Over The Hills and Far Away, I have always thought the band was thinking on what to put in this second spot as it is not as dynamic as Train> I Can’t Quit You or the devastating Immigrant Song> Heartbreaker openers used prior. London gets its first airing of this most important new song, something that would be a mainstay of the next five years. Jimmy plays a wonderful guitar solo while the rhythm section bobs along. Robert gives his opening speech about the prior date in London at Wembley Arena and mentions how cold it is and states “we must Instill the warmth in our bodies”, Black Dog certainly starts the thaw. The coupling of Misty Mountain Hop into Since I’ve Been Loving You was started on the Japanese tour the previous October and for me would be perfected as high drama on the American tour the following year. This combo is no slouch, the audience applauded the guitar solo that transition the two as Page breaks into Since I’ve Been Loving You’s opening chords.
Dancing Days has a great intro by Robert, “Summer, Inebriation…good times” and I must concur. I first started listening to this album on the junior year of high school and that was certainly our mantra. I love live versions of this song and wonder why the band did not keep it in the set for the American tour other than the rare second night in Detroit encore. The single acoustic number, not a Conway Twitty song but a tune written in the Mountains of Wales about a blue eyed dog, BronYRStomp. The hootenanny style of the song gets the audience clapping, at least some of them perhaps in a way to generate heat. The audience sound a bit impatient and shouts of Whole Lotta Love and Stairway To Heaven are heard as the group prepares for The Song Remains The Same and Rain Song, the double neck sounds a bit out of tune during Song giving an even feel to the first half.
The ever evolving Dazed And Confused gets a nice ovation, the song is also in transition into a structure that will last through 1975 and features the first known inclusion of San Francisco, curiously in his most recent Led Zeppelin Tape Documentary, Luis Rey traces its origins to the previous weeks performance in Birmingham and even goes deeper in recognizing the piece as being loosely based upon Neil Young’s Cowgirl In The Sand. Things finally heat up, Dazed is almost a prelude to a brilliant and well received Stairway To Heaven, and as with concerts from this era, it is Whole Lotta Love that brings the house down. The string of songs in the Medley features the band hitting a stride where the music flows and in dizzying pace. Everybody Needs Somebody To Love and a couple of Elvis classics are split by a cut in the tape from 11:3911:34 that is filled with source 2. Lets Have A Party and Heartbreak Hotel give Robert a chance to play King and for Jimmy to really let loose with some excellent lead playing. I Can’t Quit You has the group returning to its roots, Page plays what he feels brilliantly while Bonham and Jones play a shuffle as it flows effortlessly into Shape I’m In bringing an end to a typically well played set ending epic.
The second source is used for a few seconds of crowd noise at the end of the second disc and beginning of the third. The first encore is a brilliant Immigrant Song > Heartbreaker, the devastating combo is just as effective in the latter part of the show as the beginning, the audience are quite pleased with Heartbreaker and clap along joyously, the first source ends at the songs conclusion, the mellotron solo and Thank You are both solely from the second source. The difference between the two sources is like night and day, I like the labels choice to present the complete first source and it is nice to have it. Jones’ solo is interesting, at times it sounds quite whimsical and other time you feel like you are in some English cathedral. The audience seems happy as the band break into Thank You, Robert gives a beautiful vocal rendition of the track, sounds very much from the heart. Despite the cool conditions and audience the band plays well for the first night in London.


There are two sources for the second night in London, the first is by far the best, a bit distant falling in the good to very good range with just a bit of hiss. It has been the singular source for all previous titles, Merry XMas Mr. Jimmy (Lemon Song LS 720809), Titanic (Image Quality IQ 16/17/18), and Disturbance House (Wendy WECD 52/53). The second source is a short fragment of the first 30 minutes of the concert, is much poorer in sound and has never been bootlegged before. I broke out the old Lemon Song title Merry XMas Mr. Jimmy for evaluation, This new title was not amplified as much so it has less hiss and also sounds clearer, brighter and has a warm sound I find much more easy on the ears, clearly a much better version of the tape. Second night in London, While this concert is not as good as the previous evenings performance, it is certainly no slouch either. Again the band is plagued by the temperature of the building and Plant’s vocals do sound a bit rough at times, the band is so in tune with each other that even an average performance makes for a good listen.
You can hear a pin drop as Rock and Roll ends and Page plays the first few bars of Over The Hills and Far Away, they do however help Robert out a bit in Black Dog. Plant’s initial good evening finds him talking of good vibes something that does get a response of Hallelujah from one punter and he also says they left on the heaters in the bathrooms in an attempt at sarcasm.
Misty Mountain Hop is really good, Page’s guitar has a nasty sound to it and he plays an almost pregnant
transition to Since that again the audience give polite applause to. The pure English blues of Since I’ve Been Loving You is easily the highlight of the first half, Plant and Page put some really nice nuances to the performance as they share their musical conversation. Jones switches to the organ for the second part of the song giving it a very heavy vibe. Tuning is a constant in these cold temperatures, Plant asks the audience if anyone was there and he gets a loud response. He introduces Dancing Days to zero applause, and while the other three seem content with the isolation, Plant will continue to create a rapport with the audience, easier said than done.
The audience sounds bored and impatient prior to Dazed and Confused, they shout at the band but at least they’re alive! Another good transitional Dazed, each night Page sounds like he is experimenting with different notes and themes and is slowly working his way to perfection that would come during the European tour in a couple months time. The audience seems to agree and the song gets the first warm applause of the night. Shouts of sit down precede Stairway, the band seems a bit harassed by some trouble in the audience, which Plant addresses as “its one of the hardest numbers to do with a monkey house”, the band then start the piece over. Perhaps wanting to sooth the crowd and retain the vibes brought upon by Dazed, the band deliver a really nice version of Stairway that culminates the energy of the group in a positive manner. Just before Whole Lotta Love Robert tells the audience Bonham has a new drum solo called Titanic, and the band embark on a glorious 28 minute joy ride of a Rock n Roller coaster. The band gets into a funky instrumental version of The Crunge and don’t know how to get out of it so they just stop. The medley is the same as the previous night and has the same effect, awakes the sleeping audience with superb playing from the entire band and based upon the ovation at the end, their noble quest was successful. The band come back and dedicates the sole encore of Heartbreaker to Roy Harper. Just prior to Bouree, Page gets into some hoedown picking that had the audience stomping along, the vibes are finally real.

As a bonus, EV gives us the complete second source of the first Alexandria Palace gig, the recording is
excellent, full range of dynamics and sounds clear and atmospheric almost in complete contrast to the first source. This brings back a lot of memories for me as the recording picks up an atmosphere the other does not and was my first audience source for Immigrant Song and to this day is still one of my favorites. A great addition to this set. The packaging is nice, both concerts are house in a box with cover art taken from an Italian Magazine feature on the band showcasing pictures from the event. It seems like the latest trend is to include an OBI and the back of the box features a live shot of Robert. You open the box and each concert is housed in its own gatefold sleeve both with the same cover art with the center being different and the back has venue, date, and track listings and each also feature its own OBI. Simplistic yet classy looking. I like the mastering on this set very much, the packaging is nice and while it seems these mini box sets are a new fad, when done like this, works most effectively.

Monday, December 20, 2021

Zoppo Trump - 2009 - Zoppo Trump

Zoppo Trump 
2009
Zoppo Trump



01. Man Of Peace 6:16
02. Queen Of War 4:25
03. Get Out Of The Fixer Circle 7:43
04. Confusion 6:41
05. From My Window 7:01
06. Six Of Eight 6:42
07. Dream Of Hope 11:18
08. Wellengang 6:46
09. Fluktuation 5:15

Bass – Udo Preising (tracks: 8, 9)
Bass, Backing Vocals [Hinter-grundgesang] – Thomas Laleicke (tracks: 1 to 7)
Drums – Wolfgang Hahn (tracks: 8, 9)
Drums, Percussion – Nicky Gebhard (tracks: 1 to 7)
Guitar – Ulrich Beck (tracks: 3 to 7)
Piano, Organ, Mellotron, Alto Saxophone [Alt-Saxophon] – Martin Buschmann (tracks: 8, 9)
Vocals, Guitar, Tenor Saxophone [Tenor-Saxophon], Organ – Ferdi Eberth

1-2: Studio Pomerin, Dortmund, Weißenburger Straße (bisher unveröffentlicht) © 1971
3-7: Studio Pomerin, Dortmund, Bleichmärschstraße (bisher unveröffentlicht) © 1972
8-9: Förderturm-Studio, Dortmund (von Sampler-LP „Scena Westphalica“) © 1976




Dortmund-based Kraut Rock band, originally formed in 1971 by drummer Nicky Gebhard, keyboardist Reimund "Ferdi" Eberth and bassist Thomas Laleicke.Despite having a hard time finding decent rehearsal rooms, Zoppo Trump (named after a character from a book of Tilder Michels) were a live beast around the Ruhr area.For some sort time they opearated with Uli Beck as a second guitarist.This most important period of Zoppo Trump covers most of the self-titled archival album, released in 2009 on Garden of Delights.We find here a group of little character, generating from the already established fundamentals of the Kraut Rock movements, playing in a cliche jam mood, adding a few jazzy spices into their music and mostly performing over a variety of rhythmic paces with little imagination and a spirit, that's been long outdated.Stretched instrumental material with the guitar and organ in evidence and a few sax lines, lyrics come in English, but there is not much to recall after such loose executions.In complete shock Laleicke left the band in 1972 to relocate with his girlfriend and was replaced by Martin Buschmann on keyboards and -for a short period- Dieter Gorny on bass, who was soon left his spot to Udo Preising.The band became trully active again in 1973, until in 1975 Gebhard left to join Wallenstein and he was replaced by Wolfgang Hahn, who stayed with the group until its demise in 1977.Two tracks from 1976 show a totally different group, now playing much in a delicate Prog Fusion vein and unleashing some nice progressive values on organ, sax and guitars as well as different stylistical segments within the same track.A pair of cool pieces to save this archival document from going down to the hill.

The first two tracks here are when Zoppo Trump still existed as a guitar/keys-bass-drums trio. The music has a certain sophistication, but is also quite informed by the West Coast USA psych sound. At this point, they could be considered a parallel group to Walpurgis. Summary: Good not great. However change was on the horizon. Adding dedicated guitarist Ulrich Beck in 1972, which freed up band leader Ferdi Eberth on the Hammond organ, resulted in a remarkable progression for the band. As represented by tracks 3 to 7, Zoppo Trump sound more like their Krautrock contemporaries who adopted jazz characteristics as additives to their psychedelic Krautrock stew. Comparisons to bands such as Out of Focus, Thirsty Moon and Eiliff would not be an exaggeration here. This gets us to the two previously released tracks from 1976, that were initially on the "Scena Westphalica" compilation. Eberth rebuilt the band from the ground up, himself switching back to guitar, while adding three new members on keyboards/sax, bass, and drums. Here the band trades in their psychedelic Krautrock chips for a sound entrenched in more standard forms of jazz rock. Overall, an extraordinary musical document, which clearly demonstrates that Zoppo Trump could very well have released one of the all-time great Krautrock albums had they the proper chance. Only drawback is the less than stellar sound quality throughout (though still very listenable and miles better than bootleg standard).

Sunday, December 19, 2021

Prism - 1999 - Live 75-77

Prism
1999
Live 75-77



01. Bach's Lunch At The Why
02. Zombie Roch
03. Suspended Evening
04. Plain Truth
05. Great Deceiver
06. Prelude #1
07. Triangle Of New Flight
08. Multi Dimensional Jive
09. Hands In The Fire
10. Nasebluten
11. Flute Solo
12. Ditty
13. After The Games
14. Keyboard Solo
15. King's Mischief
16. Skeletone Rag



Here is pre-Hands aka Prism in an earliest 1975-76 incarnation and the 1976-77 near-Hands form that finally coalesced into Hands. Get a sneek peak at the raw and true life of a band struggling to be heard through noisy nite club chatter, apathetic ping pong ball echoes, local Texas radio shows, live and in the studio.
Prism plays mostly original tunes but does cover Gentle Giant’s “Plain Truth” and King Crimson’s “Great Deceiver”. Their Crimson cover is impressive, even in such a raw format and Prism sings as good as if not better than Wetton. The best offering of this early era is the live studio session cut, “Triangle Of New Flight”. Probably a crowd pleaser with all its funk but weakest cut to me was the you-can-dance-to-it, “Multi Dimensional Jive”.
Things polish up noticeably with late era Prism’s “Hands in the Fire” which sounds much better than the later version found on Hands. Probably the hippest, jazzy, offbeat cut is the 8:43 “Nasebluten” which shows just how creative and what potential these guys really had. This is great Canterbury jazz fusion stuff here. Tracks 11-15 are all from Prism’s opening for Gentle Giant at the Electric Ballroom in 1977. We hear a great flute solo, then “Ditty” which is found on Hands’ Palm Mystery release. More quality Prism follows in a Dregsian mode, then a keyboard solo, and another Palm Mystery cut, “King’s Mischief”. Prism outros in a whacked, jazzy, and playful tune called “Skeletone Rag”. For fans of Hands this a completist must-have.
Prism was the bridge between the immature Ibis (as taped on ''Hands - The early years'') and their later incarnation, the masterful Hands.Shroom collected live material between 1975 and 1977, when the group was using the Prism moniker and a 16-track CD was released two decades later, showing an evolving and complex Symphonic Prog band with influences from Kansas, Yes, Gentle Giant and the likes.Sound quality is below acceptable levels, but most tracks are great with extended instrumental work, based on electric guitar, keys, flute, violin.Some tracks are included in Hands' regular albums and there is a great cover on Gentle Giant's ''Plain truth''.Plenty of rural touches all over as well as some nice jazzy interludes.Cool stuff.

Hands - 2015 - Caviar Bobsled

Hands
2015
Caviar Bobsled



01. The Last Song (8:20)
02. Heavy Lifting (6:20)
03. Discourse On Method (5:38)
04. Drum Roe (1:06)
05. Halfway to Salem (7:36)
06. Still Life (7:01)
07. Talking Points (3:52)
08. Like Me (6:18)
09. Into the Night (2:20)
10. Shards (3:16)
11. Alis Volat Propiis (4:48)
12. This and That (4:23)
13. Busy Signal (11:31)

- Ernie Myers / vocals, guitar
- Mark Cook / Warr guitar, bass, keyboards, drums, percussion
- Shannon Day / keyboards
- Skip Durbin / woodwind
- Steve Powell / bass, keyboards, guitar, backing vocals, noises
- Rex Bozarth / Chapman stick, bass, cello, backing vocals
- Martin McCall / drums, percussion
- John Rousseau / drums



When discussing the somewhat obscure US prog scene of the Seventies, Hands will likely not be among the first names that spring to mind. However, the Texas band – founded by guitarist Ernie Myers and keyboardist Michael Clay (both members of jazz-rock outfit Prism) – has been around since 1977, more or less as long as higher-profile bands such as The Muffins and Happy the Man. Their first two albums, Hands and Palm Mystery, though released in the late Nineties, feature material dating back from the band’s early years, before their 2002 reunion with the aptly titled Twenty-Five Winters – followed in 2008 by the excellent Strangelet.

Seven years later, Hands are back with the elegantly-packaged, cryptically-titled Caviar Bobsled, and a revamped lineup that comprises no less than eight members. Founder Michael Clay and drummer John Fiveash have left, replaced by Skip Durbin, Rex Bozarth, Shannon Day and John Rousseau, all involved in the band’s previous incarnations. With Myers and bassist Steve Powell at the helm, the 2015 version of Hands amounts more to a small orchestra than a mere rock band, as the array of instruments employed on the album (duly detailed in the extensive liner notes) is nothing short of astonishing.
While all too often such ambitious undertakings turn out to be triumphs of style over substance, Caviar Bobsled is nothing of the sort, delivering instead a lesson on how modern progressive rock should sound like, and handling the inevitable references to prog’s “golden oldies” in such a way as to provide fleeting reminders rather than blatantly obvious homages. In fact, there is very little on Caviar Bobsled that can be termed derivative.

Clocking in at almost 73 minutes, Caviar Bobsled is a long, densely packed album. While I usually consider running times in excess of 60 minutes a drawback rather than an asset, Hands’ latest effort holds together admirably well, with a minimal amount of filler. Though Myers (whose polite, well-modulated vocals fit the music to a T) is responsible for writing most of the 13 songs, other band members get their chance in the spotlight. Individual times are also well-balanced, with the two longest tracks bookending the album, and the shorter, catchier numbers located closer to the middle.

Musically speaking, Caviar Bobsled is a veritable rollercoaster ride, running the gamut of styles and deftly blending various sources of inspiration to achieve a strikingly original result. Eclecticism is the name of the game: I can think of very few albums in which echoes of Queen and The Beatles rub elbows with angular patterns in pure King Crimson style – often in the space of the same song, as borne out by the brilliant “Heavy Lifting”, a song that packs more in barely over 6 minutes than many epics do in 20, or the deceptively accessible “Discourse on Method”.

In opener “The Last Song”, the rugged appeal of Shannon Day’s Hammond B3 organ injects shades of Deep Purple in a richly arranged texture that brings to mind Belew-era King Crimson. Warm folksy traits emerge in the playful, largely acoustic “Talking Points”, “Shards” and “This and That”, the latter also reminiscent of Gentle Giant and Caravan with its pastoral flute and jaunty percussion. On the flip side, the intricately orchestrated “Still Life” with its dramatic, surging intro, mercurially shifts from ethereal sparseness to roaring organ and guitar passages with a more classic prog feel. Closer “Busy Signal” encompasses all of the album’s characteristics, veering from nostalgic to majestic to atmospheric in the space of 11-odd minutes, and putting each band member’s skill on display in a breathtakingly multifaceted whole.

My personal highlight, however, is one of the three instrumental interludes that add a further layer of interest to the album. With its poetic title and gorgeously hypnotic sounds, “Alis Volat Propiis” (“Flies With Its Own Wings” – I will always be partial to a bit of Latin!) turns the spotlight on Mark Cook (of Herd of Instinct and Spoke of Shadows fame), whose Warr guitar recreates the spellbinding atmospheres that characterize his work with those bands. Though Cook plays only on 5 songs out of 13, his contribution to the fabric of those composition is essential – as in the elegiac “Halfway to Salem” (where he plays 12-string electric guitar), or in the instrumental sections of “Still Life” and “Busy Signal”. Though shorter, the other two instrumentals hold their own – “Drum Roe” showcasing drummer Martin McCall’s skills, and Rex Bozarths’s lovely, mournful cello solo spot “Into the Night” treading in chamber music territory.

Those prog fans who are often frustrated in their search for new music that is fresh and interesting – though not as openly challenging or potentially offputting as anything with metal elements or avant-garde leanings – are warmly encouraged to check out Caviar Bobsled. The care and dedication that have gone into its writing and recording are evident, and the album offers something to almost everyone. Although Hands are still one of the best-kept secrets of the thriving US prog scene, this highly rewarding fort deserves to be known to a larger audience, and will definitely find a place in my personal Best of 2015 list.US band HANDS was originally active back in the '70s, but time and circumstances didn't see them acquire a great deal of success back then. They reformed in 2001 however, and have been a going entity ever since. "Caviar Bobsled" is their most recent studio album, released in 2015 via the US label Shroom Angel Records.

Those with an interest in progressive rock that feels intrigued by a US band that manages to incorporate Americana, folk music and acoustic rock into an adventurous mix and context that also incorporates elements from jazz, chamber music and vintage symphonic progressive rock should find this CD by Hands to be well worth getting familiar with. The music is deceivingly and subtly complex though, so it really needs a few spins before it will settle with you.

Hands - 2008 - Strangelet

Hands
2008
Strangelet



01. Strangelet (0:41)
02. Dark Matter (15:12)
03. Tambourin (5:42)
04. Running Room (7:13)
05. Entry Of The Shiny Beasts (3:53)
06. Miracle In The Mind (9:48)
07. Rotten (Live *) (6:50)
- Bonus tracks
08. Piano Improvisation #4 (5:09)
09. Destro, She Said (6:10)
10. Zenith Of Mars (6:41)
11. Dead In The Water (9:34)

* Recorded at Crystal Clear Sound

- Ernie Myers / vocals, guitars
- Mark Cook / Warr guitar, devices
- Michael Clay / piano, keyboards, guitars, alto saxophone
- Steve Powell / bass, guitar, backing vocals, keyboards, noises, samples
- John Fiveash / drums
- Martin McCall / drums, percussion

This album is dedicated to Ian Wallace (1946 - 2007)





Being a real prog survivor from the 70s and with a wide array of influences and notions in its musical style, it is just a pity that Hands' discography hasn't been so consistent. It is also a miracle that in the idological-commerical circumstances that have shaped the music industry for the last 28 years this band still manages to make music in the new millennium. Not a miracle at all, but an absolute pleasure it is the fact that Hands' 2008 effort Strangelet happens to be one of the most solid and creative albums to be released in the current experimental rock scene. This album features a strong presence of guitars in many places: besides the habitual guitarist, the keyboardist and the bassist als oadd guitar inputs, plus veteran Stick/Warr Guitar player Mark Cook enters the band to make his own contribution. This is also teh first Hands album without a violinist and without a wind player, so I didn't kwno what to expect before getting it, but now I am totally convinced that the band remains as colorful as always, taking advantage of the present instrumental strategy. The opener is a very brief interlude that leads to the monster track 'Dark Matter', which lasts 15 minutes. The first sonorities offer a hybrid of Gordian Knot and Djam Karet, exploring an alternation of exotic Eastern-like textures and dense space rock- influenced passages. The heavy-friendly twists bring occasional ornaments in order to emphasize a sense of extravagance. The bucolic section that gets started at minute 7 bring a stylish serenity that gradually builds the elaboration of another bombastic section. The relatively Yessian epilogue tha tfills the track's last 2 minutes state a contemplative stance, with a cleverly ordained pompous closure. This track is pure progressiveness incarnated in a frame of modern sonic structures - 'Dark Matter' is a world in itself within the world that is Strangelet. 'Tambourin' features the piano on a prominent role: this piece goes to a different mood, combining the jazzy side of Keith Emerson and Happy the Man's lyrical reflectiveness. The instrumental approach takes fair advantage of the 5 ¾ minute span. 'Running Room', with a cadence that bears an unhidden inspiration from The Beatles' psychedelic era, may bring some memories from the early stages of The Flower Kings and Spock's Beard, more specifcially, during its first 4 minutes. Then comes a series of Gentle Giant-like tricks that brings an augmented intensity to the instrumental development, adding a variety so fluidly that it doesn't kill the natural flow. 'Entry of the Shiny Beasts' is based on a playful melodic approach to jazz-rock, stating a midway between late 70s Chick Corea and Happy the Man. 'Miracle in the Mind' offers a semi-acoustic portion that reminds us of a hybrid of King Crimson and Gentle Giant: there is an inevitable weirdness that fills the overall relaxing scheme. Things get more intense with the emergence of a tribal section, in which the plural drumming frenzy is augmented by soundscapes and street noises. The last 2 ½ minutes retake the opening motif with an extra touch of neurosis. But nowhere does this album get as neurotic as in the closing track, 'Rotten', which was recorded libve at Cristal Clear Sound Studios. This is a solid study of Crimsonian tension with a neccntuation of the hard rocking aspect. This album is a must for any lover of prog rock with a tight eclectic approach and abundant traces of creativity: in a few words, good prog rock music. Thsi album is dedicated to the memory of drummer Ian wallace (a friend of the band's), and honestly, I cannot imagine a better tribute than this magnum opus. Write down this item's name - Strangelet... and take into your collection!!