As I mentioned in my Countdown Post 247 and 248 I have come to really enjoy certain jazz. Late 50s, early 60s cool jazz and bop. i also like jazzy Brazilian music and some modern jazz.
Miles Davis, Charley Parker, “Big” Bill Patton, Stanley Turrentine. Chet Baker, etc. are all folks I’ve listened to more on this journey than ever before.
Here’s my list of best jazz piano players. I may be out of my league judging fine jazz but here I go anyway.
Erroll Garner. I had not heard of him until I found for a $2 bill a 10″ 33\ 1/3 record by him. Soon as I heard record I knew it was someone special. He was 5-feet -2-inches tall and never learned to read music — which at first kept him out of some good music schools. They relented and he came one of the best pianists of all time in the Jazz real.
Bud Powell his music is precise and yet it still swings like it has that boppity bop.
Art Tatum. I’ve heard him on several things; would like to hear more.
Thelonious Monk. I recognize his great skills. I haven’t listened that much to really ‘know’ Monk. I have a couple of 78s with Monk, Bud Powell and Charley Parker.
Keith Jarrett. Bought a box set of his music, mostly solo. I’d heard his name before, but the man can seriously play
6) Duke Ellington — The master leader could also play.
7) McCoy Tyner Everything I’ve heard has been good but haven’t heard much.
8) Keith Emerson. This is a little controversial because he didn’t play jazz per se but he played classical in a rock setting thus I think he was often ‘Jazzing up the classical bits). He as an amazing pianist. He performed Scott Joplin music and for one album. (Or half).
9/10. Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea. I recognize their talent but I was never a big jazz fusion fan beyond some home cookin’ bands, Sea Level and Dixie Dregs.
Patti Labelle — like Diana Ross –first gained notice leading a ‘girl’ group.Diana Ross and the Supremes, Patti Labelle and the Bluebelles.
Both singers became stars and left their respective groups and became even more famous with long productive careers.
In fact, one of the Bluebelles became a “Supreme” — Cindy Birdsong.
But the comparisons end at the music. Diana Ross was a hit making songstress whose soft smoky voice appealed to a broader range of people than Labelle.
Labelle was a soul belter with an amazingly powerful voice, think Aretha Franklin, although higher and more piercing. This album is live and she works it out on songs like ‘I Sold my Heart to the Junkman’ and ‘Go On.’ The interesting thing on these older tracks is that Patti keeps her voice under rein. Later, with some big spots on television and concerts she would tend to let loose with her vocal acrobatics, scaling octaves like Mount Everest. A glass breaking voice that dominated and overshadowed anyone who might be on stage with her.
Perhaps her biggest recording was the multimillion seller ‘Lady Marmalade.’
I’ve added to the countdown several times in the last week or so, with posts on Pink Floyd, Elvis Presley, and Peter Paul and Mary.
I’m down 248 left to review from my 678 starting point — that means I’ve done 431 reviews — all posted here and available at your fingertips. Also there are probably about 100 other posts not specifically countdown related. Keep reading and thank you for all the kind words and support.
After about 30 years of not listening to this record, I put it on the other day and have been through it about three times. Before I listened to it I read a description of Pratt’s music as ‘experimental.’
I bought this for his song, the original version, of “Avenging Annie.” I had Roger Daltrey’s cover of the song from his album ‘One of the Boys.’ I still can’t tell which version is better. I lean toward’s Pratt with that falsetto going. But Daltrey’s is a little more straightforward with his lead singer pipes.
But, yes, unlike the Daltry album which was had a couple of mildly interesting songs and then filler. Pratt is indeed experimental, at least when compared to Daltrey.
Pratt tends to go for esoteric dreamy mood songs, that feature a wide dynamic range. Soft singing, loud singing, soft singing, loud singing.
The problem is most have odd structures that upon this renewed hearing sounds like no structure at all. He has a fragile voice. I think it comes down to who has the best Avenging Annie and I say Pratt by a hair (In fact, Pratt and Daltrey have very similar hair.) . I gave Pratt the same grade I gave Daltrey.
Hope you all saw my Top 5 playlist for the apocalypse or armageddon or end times — what ever you want to call it . Click here to start dancing in these grim times.
Other bits and pieces (not from the Dave Clark Five. ):
–My good buddy Chris Brown from Georgia , a reconnected friend from childhood sent me $100 dollar to buy an old relatively obscure album we used to listen to and laugh at. In support of MyVinylCountdown. The album is 10cc’s ‘How Dare You,’ a before-its-time musical theater about love and relationships with pristine musicality. I mean, for real, when the song ‘Don’t Hang Up’ ends there’s a dial tone. Not kidding — that was cool. Of course the album now languishes in garbage dumps and bargain bends because nobody now even knows what a $%^&* dial tone is.
Best line from that song: ‘When the barman asked what’s you’re drinking, I said marriage on the rocks.’
Chris, my brother, I sent you also another 10cc album in addition to that one. It’s called Bloody Tourists and is a little more commercial. It has ‘Dreadlock Holiday’ and that last song about the guy getting so drunk he ruins his night. It has amusing special effects.
— Look for a MVC story over the weekend about the most expensive records you can buy and how vinyl is still ruling.
–One vinyl note, the numbers next to the artists’ names on blog post indicate how many I have left to do. So, for example, now with Process and the Doo Rags there is the number 265, which means I have that many left to review. Starting at 678, I have reviewed and posted 413 records: 265 to go as we count down. There’s some really good stuff coming up as I roll into the last quarter.
I can’t say I’d keep you as entertained as NBA basketball and March Madness but I’ll give it a try.
Leave you with an apocalyptic song from David Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust, one of my fave all times. The album was purchased from me at the record convention by a good friend, Kevin. Here’s ‘Five Years.’
Here’s a list of the Top 3 overall, followed by a list of Top 3 male vocal performances (not including the Top 3 I previously named.) And, yes, Top 3 female vocal performances.
This is highly subjective. When I say performance I don’t mean necessarily live – it could be live or a studio version. Here we go, short and sweet.
1) Joe Cocker‘With a Little Help from Friends.’ Live at Woodstock. This cover of the Beatles song was turned inside out and milked to an explosion of emotion. Seeing him sing it makes it all the more potent as he writhes and sways as he pulls out deep feelings and blasts them into the souls of listeners who know not what is happening
2) Janis Joplin “Me and Bobby’ McGee.’ The cover of the Kris Kristofferson song came as a surprise. No one thought the shrieking hellhound from Texas could wrench so much emotion out of what was a deceptively well-written vagabond song. She gets under and over the notes in an amazing show of restraint letting it out, cathartically, at the end with the most natural sounding ‘na na na’ chorus this side of Wilson Pickett’s Land of a 1,000 Dances.
3) Sly Stone ‘If You Want Me to Stay.’ With its thumping thunking bass line forcing you on your feet, This mid-tempo Sly song covers all the bases vocally, from yodel flip to falsetto and back to heavy chest vibrating low octaves. It has soul and it is making the soul work.
Quick hits male and female:
Top 3 (Male vocal performance other than the above)
2) Wilson Pickett Hey Jude Beatles version is great but Pickett with guitar session help from Duane Allman tears the cover off.
3) Elvis Presley Fever (I also considered Jailhouse Rock and Kentucky Rain.}
Top 3 (Female vocal performance other than the above)
1) Eva Cassidy“Over the Rainbow” a pop ballad, not really rock. But when you hear this live version of the classic song, sung in a DC area night club with only Eva’s voice and acoustic guitar, you instantly are told by the chills down your neck that this is singing. And Magic. Singer died too young.
2) Gayle McCormick “Baby, It’s You.” The Shirelles did it, the Beatles did it but nobody did this song better than the lead singer of A Group Called Smith.
ALBUMS: Ummaguma (1969) : Dark Side of the Moon (1973): Wish You Were Here (1975); The Wall (1979)
MVC Rating: Ummagumma/4.0/$$$$$; Dark Side/ 5.0/$$$$$; Wish/$$$$$ 4.5; the Wall, 4.5/$$$$$ (NOTE: All five dollar signs meaning at least $25 to get any of these in decent shape. Can pay many hundreds for certain Pink Floyd collectibles.)
By the way, which one’s Pink?
A classic line from a classic album.
The line from a meeting between the rock group and the record company executives, in a few words, captures the relationship or lack thereof between artists and the anonymous men in suits, a relationship that historically had been too often built on rip-offs and lies. Their only interest is that ‘Pink’ and his chums can sell more ‘units.’
Come on in have a cigar boys, the producer tells them.
“I’ll tell you the name of the game, boys,” the song goes. I”t’s called riding the gravy train.”
That on ‘Wish You Were Here” echoed a previous song, the ‘hit’ Money from the DSOM album: New car, caviar, four star daydream Think I’ll buy me a football team…
Pink Floyd has become synonymous with the so-called Classic Rock genre. But back when I got it, there was not a lot like it. There was no ‘Classic’ yet.
Pink Floyd deserves their success. I thought they were out of this world when I first heard them. I think my girlfriend in Indiana in the 9th grade gave me ‘Dark Side of the Moon.’ And if I am not mistaken, i gave her David Essex who really had only one song I remember and that was Rock On. Cool song with a little rock-a-billy echo if I recollect.
Floyd was one of those bands that expanded the boundaries of rock and roll, starting with highly experimental sounds with space as a theme or touchstone. Albums like Ummagumma and Piper’s at the Gates of Dawn were long rides, with trippy special effects. It was the kind of music that your parents thought was all rock music. Ummagumma had extreme dyanamic range with soft passages you could barely hear followed by wine glass breaking shrieks. I don’t know what a banshee looks or sounds like, but I imagine it would sound like the end of the first side of Ummagumma.
And yes, there was an element of the music built to ‘freak out’ the psychedelic or stoned crowd. But as many artists have shown before and after those Ummagumma 60’s and Dark Side 70’s, you usually lose when you mess with the drugs.
Pink Floyd became one of the most successful group of musicians in rock history, or should I say music history. They reigned in their psychedelic influenced musical ramblings into something much more accessible and potent. Unfortunately along the way they lost a key band founder, Syd Barrett, whose drug use escalated and his mental health deteriorated. Eventually the band kicked Barrett out, although he remained a muse and influential inspiration for Pink Floyd’s other members.
From Wikipedia: “Pink Floyd’s most popular work drew on the power of what Barrett signified,” wrote Steven Hyden in his 2018 book Twilight of the Gods. “[E]ven after he was no longer in the band, his spirit haunted its records.”
The Floyd album and song ”Wish You were Here,’ was about Syd as was ‘Shine on You Crazy Diamond’ from the same album.
Pink Floyd’s trademark other-worldy sound and echoes, dipping in to free form jazz and touches of Classical music was Barrett’s foundation for the band led by David Gilmour and Roger Waters. A list of top selling artists of all time using data from MTV, VH1, and Billboard shows Floyd with 121 million certified units sold. That puts them 8th on the list of all time sales leaders. The top three are the Beatles, Elvis Presley and Michael Jackson.
By practically creating a new genre, Pink Floyd will go down as one of the most pioneering groups ever. There were other experimentalists. The Soft Machine, Emerson Lake and Palmer, Hawkwind, and Kraftwork. But none ever appealed to as many people. Dark Side of the Moon was on the charts (200) for an astounding 14 years.
I got a column coming up this weekend that is too long but it’s early. As Mark Twain wrote ‘Sorry this letter was so long. I would have made it shorter if I had more time.’ NOTE: From memory, not exact quote.
So, what I’m writing about is my disappointment that there is not more awareness of Lewy body dementia. The old sore spot was resurrected last week when I received an 82-page, 16,077 word report on Alzheimer’s research. One of those 16K words was Lewy. One!
Again everything, money, publicity, public awareness is focused on Alzheimer’s. We’re going to change that.
Look for it on AL.com Saturday. Even though I went ahead and wrote it too long. Ranted too long. so like my old buddies Archie Bell and his buddies the Drells used to say: Tighten Up.
Here are some records I’m pulling out. I’ll probably put up for sale my A through D’s or E’s, about 150 albums or so. (You can see a list just by scrolling my blog starting from the A’s.)
They talk about James Brown being the hardest working many in showbiz. Well I proffer Papa John Creach.
Born in Pennsylvania, classically trained he found some rare symphony gigs open to a black man. So the began to cater to many audiences, learning the biz one nightclub venue at a time in Chicago, he once played many months on a cruise ship and then went West.
His violin playing was a slick mix of blues, jazz, bluegrass and he adapted to his audiences to keep his music gigs alive and to put food on the table. Jazz threw him for a loop at first because he had to learn a new bowing technique, according to his Wikipedia write-up.
“Because of all the nationalities [there], I had to learn to play everything. At some jobs it was strictly German music, or Polish. Now, they used to dance and knock holes in the floor,” according to an LA Times interview in the 1990s cited on his Wikipedia page.
In the psychedelic 1960s, through some connections he made, he was asked to join Hot Tuna, a San Francisco spin-off of Jefferson Airplane. He ended up playing with Airplane as well and played with everybody from the Grateful Dead to the Charlie Daniel’s band to Louis Armstrong.
From St. Louis Blues to Over the Rainow to Danny Boy, Creach help bands expand their musical horizons with his vast knowledge of music and expert playing.
This album has two fun bubblegum singles: I’ll Meet you Halfway and Doesn’t Somebody Want to be Wanted. Besides these two hits for the TV teeny bop band of the 1970s, the album contains innocuous filler, many from the professional songwriting team of Wes Ferrell and Gerry Goffin.
I went into this album hoping there’d be a surprise hidden gem but nah. It’s all pretty mediocre stuff. But I like the hits.
If you don’t already know it, David Cassidy and Shirley Jones are the only ones who had record time along with their camera time on the insipid TV show The Partridge Family. But I watched it — heck I was 11 years old and kind of liked the notion of screaming girls chasing me, um, David around.
The Cowsills, the Rhode Island family band who actually did play their own instruments, were the inspiration for the TV show. If memory serves me the TV producers wanted the family but not Mrs. Cowsill — the mom. Not because she wasn’t a good musician, but because Shirley Jones, who starred in Oklahoma, wanted this chance of being a Rock and Roll mother as she rolled into her middle age.
