The Action - Rolled Gold 1968

The Action - Rolled Gold  Reaction Recordings  1968

   The Action were one of the best long lost bands of all time !   May be best to describe The Actionn's music as perhaps a combination of the classic Who with The Small Faces and the happening 60's MOD scene.  Hard to believe that this band didnt make it considering how good every song is on this album.

The History Of Vancouver Rock & Roll Volume 4

The History Of Vancouver Rock & Roll   Volume 4 

   I am always on the hunt for long lost garage-psych treasures, but it was this rare Canadian compilation that had my ear in 2010.  This highly sought after collection was assembled by the Vancouver record collectors association has was released on both long playing vinyl and CD (sorry Simon no 8-Track!).   Too many high points to capture them all here but this 16 track collection will keep your toes tapping and your spirits HIGH.   Lots of pre-famous musicians and bands presented here for you to discover which makes this an ever trippier album.  Unlike many of the garage-psych era recordings a good chunk of these songs were remastered from the original tapes.   A wonderful collection!

Bob Carpenter - Silent Passage, Stony Plain Records, 1975

Bob Carpenter - Silent Passage, Stony Plain Records, 1975
 
According to the sketchy bits of info I can find on Bob Carpenter this was sadly his only album recorded .  Silent Passage was written and was recorded over a 4 year period and is a true magical Canadian-folk masterpiece IMHO.   The music on Silent Passage plays is highly emotional and memorable and I played this album a lot in 2010 and fell in love with this one BIG time !   Guest appearances from a young Anne Murray,  Emmylou Harris and Canadian Prog Rocker Ben Mink.  A few interesting side notes is that Bob used to open for the Perth County Conspiracy and he was born in North Bay !. 

Judy Garland - Live At Carnegie Hall, Capitol Records, 1961

Judy Garland - Live At Carnegie Hall, Capitol Records, 1961

    As you know I grew up with a musical mom who adored Frank Sinatra and Judy Garland.  "Judy Live" was an album that I grew up living to and had not heard this album in over 20 years (since the last time my mom played it and sang along...any maybe cried along the way).   Judy could tear your heart out and bring you as a listener to places few others could.  In 2001 Capitol Records released the 40th anniversary edition of this huge album.   Along the way Bob Norberg (Capitol Mastering) managed to find a missing track originally left off the album and unbelievably found the orignal had been overdubbed with crowd noise and fake applause and so Bob totally reconstructed this album in the proper sequence and included missing monologues and segments between songs.  The end result is simply breathtaking and I recently satr and re-listened to this album with my mom who said it "totally sounds like a new album". 

R.L. Burnside - Wish I Was In Heaven Sitting Down, Fat Possum Records (2000)

R.L. Burnside - Wish I Was In Heaven Sitting Down, Fat Possum Records (2000)
 
 Along with Mississippi Fred McDowell, R.L. Burnside was an old time blues musician that as far as I knew was long ago gone from Chicago Blues Scene .  Then to my surprise I heard a few news songs from him and was so intrigued that I started to track down his later albums.  "Wish I Was In Heaven Sitting Down" takes the Blues into totally new territory and has managed to break new boundaries here on this album.  I think Bob will absolutely love this album with it's wild mix of scratch , guitar, harmonica and deep blues vocals of a master.  Tracks like "got messed up" completely won me over and this album is an absolute gem.   a bit of a cliche i suppose but i highly recommended album to you and you need to hear this one before YOU die !

Porcupine Tree - Moonloop Transmission IV (2001)

Porcupine Tree - Moonloop Transmission IV , Delerium Records (2001)

    Most of Porcupine Tree's music is excellent and I really could have posted any of their recordings from their past, but for this blog I thought I'd add a lovely 40 minute and 7 Second continuous space rock piece of improvisation genius titled "Moonloop Transmission IV".   This was a single released by Delerium Records (back when PT were on Delerium!) and showcases some of my personal favourite PT musical moments.   Steve Wilson,  Colin Edwin, Chris Maitland and Richard Barbieri  (x- Japan) transporting the listener into the outer reaches of the solar system.  I likely should point out the fact that there is a much shorter version of this song (Moonloop) on PT's album "Sky Moves Sideways" .    

Kevin Gilbert - The Shaming Of The True (2000)

Kevin Gilbert - The Shaming Of The True, KG Music, 2000

   Kevin Gilbert has been of great interest to me over the years with his creative musical versitility and his many musical influences.  "The Shaming Of The True" was remastered and re-released in 2010 by the Kevin Gilbert estate and now we really get a high quality production of this grand finale.  "Certifiable # 1 Smash" never sounded so good with Gilbert's tongue- in- cheek acapella-ode to the music industry.  Musically this album is of course rich in texture and variation pretty much in the prog-rock vein.  Assisting Kevin Gilberts is Genesis / Spock's Beard drummer Nick D'Virgilio.  Kevin Gilbert was a musical genius and this album is a testament to this fact. 

Oscar Peterson - Girl Talk (1968)

Oscar Peterson - Girl Talk, MPS Records, 1968SACD

     Girl Talk was one of the first albums Oscar recorded while living in Germany over a period of over 5 years in the 1970's.  Apparently all the recordings in this series were recorded in the home of a local producer Hans Georg Brunner-Schwer Studios West Germany.   According to documentaiton they would host a small `chamber-style' concert in Hans' studio and over a 5 year interval managed to record a number of albums in a series aply titled `exclusively for his friends'.   The other band members who support Peterson on this recoding is Sam Jones (Bass) , Ray Brown (Bass), Bob Durham (Drums) and Louis Hayes (Drums).

Kansas - Two For The Show (30th Anniversary Edition)

Kansas - Two For The Show, 1978 Epic Records (30th Anniversay 2 CD Edition)

  I have owned the 2 vinyl record set for eons and have always loved this live set which i think showcases some of the best Kansas songs with higher energy then achieved on their studio recordings.  The 30th Anniversary Edition is a 2 CD set with most of the second CD being totally NEW and unreleased versions of songs from their 1977 - 1978 tour.  The thing that really made this album stand out for me as one of my favourite live recordings is that this album was not toyed with and contains no additional overdubs or studio fixes...it was pure recorded live and includes warts and all.  This was not the way of the day as many live recordings from the 70's were enhanced later and cleaned up (it was the thing to do back in those days!) The end result is a very live and real feeling album that now plays an extra hour !   Fans of Kansas will need to get this release as Kansas were at the top of their game in 1977.

Virgil Fox - Heavy Organ (1972)

Virgil Fox - Heavy Organ (Bach Live In San Francisco), 1972 MCA Records

  Virgil Fox's Heavy Organ is a pure masterpiece capturing a rather wild integration of psychedelia with  classical organ!   Not sure this one has ever been done before but thoese in attendance at Winterland Gardens got to experience the Pablo Light Show with the classical organ work of Bach as played by Virgil Fox.  

Buddy Guy - A Man & The Blues (1968)

Buddy Guy - A Man & The Blues, Vanguard Records, 1968

  Here is "THE" template for modern blues inspired performers!.  This album is the template for what musicologists refer to as the "second generation Chicago Blues".   Buddy's performance on his fender Stratocaster will transport you into a smoke filled seedy Chicago bar where the you will get the blues.   There are tons of great blues players and albums out there but this one is just kinda extra extra special.  One listen and you will know what I mean ! 

Dorothy Ashby - Afro-Harping (1968)

Dorothy Ashby - Afro-Harping, Cadet Records , 1968

  Dorothy Ashby was as strange as it might sound a jazz harpist who recorded in the 60s and 70s for lables like Prestige, Verve and Cadet.  This little gem has been a mecca for hip hop artists over the years and has been sampled extensively !  ...and why not...great trippy grooves, tons of great bits and pieces showcasing a nice range of instrumentation..flutes, bongos, xylophone, harp......what else could you ask for........dont think that after listening to this album you will say "man...that was great, but it could have used a bit more harp!" (aka Cow Bell)

Gravy Train - A Ballad of a Peaceful Man (1971)

Gravy Train - A Ballad of a Peaceful Man, Vertigo Records, 1971

  Trapped deep in the Vertigo Records vault lies this little beauty of an album.  This album is full of timeless melancholy and offers a wonderful mix of Progressive, Folk and Rock elements.    Lots of great flute and toe tappin grooves but the stellar part of this album for me is the immediately noticeable raw yet pure vocals of Normal Barrett.     

Roxy Music - For Your Pleasure (1973)

Roxy Music - For Your Pleasure, Virgin Records, 1973 (2008 Remaster)

  Brian Eno, Brian Ferry....the first 2 Roxy albums are a coin toss for me with "For Your Pleasure" standing out as an album I will always love and i hope you agree is a fine choice for this BLOG.  Intriguing, creative and yet totally "Roxy", this album nice balances the controlled and cool tendencies of Ferry with the experimental and improvised mannerisms of Eno.    This variation is quite evident as songs range from the driving singles "Do the Strand" and "Editions of You" to the slow and almost-eerie "In Every Dream Home a Heartache," with with atonal synthesizer textures which seem to fit perfectly with Ferry's sedated vocals.  High on the creativity and inspiration front, this album is an essential listen.       

Sonny Clark - Cool Struttin' (1958)

Sonny Clark - Cool Struttin', Blue Note Records, 1958 (XRCD)

   Let me just start off by saying that this is a fantastic album that lovers of jazz will adore.   Based less on the modal jazz stylings, "Cool Struttin''' really draws mainly on the blues !    The lineup of this album ooozes with  talent including Art Farmer (trumpet), Jackie McLean (alto saxophone), Paul Chambers (bass), Philly Joe Jones (drums) and of course the star of the show Sonny Clark (piano).   This laid back album really grooves and never stops grabbing your attention from the start of the album.