Özel Türkbas - Alla Turka (1975)

Özel Türkbas - Alla Turka

  Özel Türkbas' Turkish belly dance albums are to die for !    Alla-Turca was one of the most influential belly dance albums of all time  and behind this guise is the most psychy album you will ever hear.

 Recorded in Istanbul in 1975 with  Özel contributing the finger cymbals, wooden spoons and vocals and a line-up of legendary Turkish and Turkish-Gypsy musicians (Yilmaz Sanliel, clarinet Baki Duyarlar, ud Bahattin Duyarlar, kanun Yasar Isin, first violin Irfan Küçükçaglar, second violin Rifat Sanliel, piano Mustafa Özkent, guitar Merih Dumlu, bass Metin Sanliel, dumbeg Ilkin Dinletir, bongo drums Kemal Gürses, tambourine Erdogan Sabunuç, Tarik Bulut, musical arranger, conductor, piano Aka Gündüz Kutbay, ney Aslan Hepgür, violin Faik Dramali, ud Hüsnü Anil, kanun Mustafa Karadeniz, clarinet Merih Dumlu, bass Remzi Emek, guitar Ergün Sener, darbuka Ramazan Senyaylar, bongos

Standout track is the opening 15 minute epic track "Özel’s Bellydance Routine" which is a complete bellydance raga-like number with some pretty trippy parts.   There is also a ton of groovy hand percussion and wild instrumentation......everything you need in life!!

  If you want to try your bit at bellyndancing there is a wee booklet (included) that demonstrates hownto wiggle and jiggle your hips to the music!   I am going to just stick with the psychy music for now but please feel free to give it a whirl! 

Love, Peace & Poetry - Turkish Psychedelic Music

Love, Peace & Poetry (180 gram vinyl)

     Now here is a great compilation of Turkish psych nuggets from the 60's and early 70's that will blow your mind kids!  

    Love, Peace and Poetry is a series of world psych albums with this one being my first of the series (and likely not the last).  All 16 tracks have been taken from old LP's and singles hand picked for this series.   

  Artists include the psychy and Selda (two tracks from two different LP’s)' , the  Özdemir Erdogan band, a short track by Alpay, the legendary Baris Manço and the great Kaygisizlar band along with a fantastic anadolu rock track by Mazhar & Fuat.  

No Turkish psych album is complete without a song by Erkin Koray with his experimental guitar and chord structures.  This comp also features the great mellow voice of Ersen, Edip Akbayram’s band Dostlar, Hardal, Erol Büyükburç Cem Karaca, Üç Hürel, Mogollar,  Bülent, and Erkut Taçkin. 

Kambara Music In Native Tongues (1998)

Kambara Music In Native Tongues, SACD

    Like all the Water Lily Acoustics recordings Kambara Music is sonically sweet and meditative by nature with outstanding musicianship!    

    This album blends bits of folk-rock with the elements of Karnatak music to create a wide musical landscape that will take you places never ventured before.  Performing on the album on this outing is multi-instrumentalist David Hidalgo (bajo sexto and accordion ) , Martin Simpson (steel and acoustic guitars), Viji Krishnan (violin) and Puvalur Srinivasan (mridangam) .   

  Music selected to cover includes three self penned tracks written by Hidalgo and Simpson, Richard Thompson's "Waltzings for dreamers" and Merl Haggard's "The Running Kind".  

B-52's - Wild Planet (1980)

B-52's - Wild Planet 

  After the success of their debut album and the smash hit "Rock Lobster" their second album "Wild Planet" came and went without fanfare!   I think this album is a hidden beauty and an album that deserves a lot more attention than it has received.

  "Wild Planet" is still a crazy over-the-top pop album with that colorful 50's "monster-mash" thing they've got going and power-pop vibes-galore!   Once again there is a very strong emphasis on the harmonies of lead singers Cindy Wilson and Kate Pierson with the sprechgesang vocals of frontman Fred Schneider. 

 My favourite songs off "Wild Planet" are "Private Idaho" and "Strobe Light" with their zany lyrics and awesome be bop beats.........your living in your own private Idaho !...something down the Planet Z or Planet Claire zone!

   The B-52's were always one of the bands that wrote a lot of fun songs and for some reason always appealed to me.  They were totally over the top but I think were somewhere in the "Talking Heads" camp of alt-rock.

Helen Merrill - Helen Merrill (1954)

Helen Merrill - Helen Merrill (LP)

 Helen Merrill had the voice of an angel!

She had just one of those voices that would tear your heart out.....warm.....clear....misty......and emotive

Helen Merrill had one of the great jazz singing voices and is a member I guess of the "Cool-Jazz" 50's Club scene along with Julie London and June Cristy.  

      She made several notable EmArcy albums during 1954-1958 with her debut album standing out as arguably her finest moment.    In 1954 at 21 years old Merrill released her eponymous solo album featuring legendary trumpeter Clifford Brown and bassist Oscar Pettiford with Quincy Jones handling the production.  This debut album in amongst my favorites of this genre and is an album I play quite frequently.  Merrill's voice actually reaches out to you (like Coltrane does) with her delicate yet softly powerful voice and key accents.   The album was an instant success and has remained a treasure amongst jazz and crooner enthusiasts to this day.   Merrill's version of "What's New?" will take you into another dimension and sets the mood for the whole album. 

    This is an essential album to own!  I have the original LP in mint condition as well as Mercury's Japan released 4 disc set (the Complete Helen Merrill on Mercury) which was very well remastered to CD in 1986.  Audiophile will love either version as I checked the DR (Dynamic Range) readings on the CD and they are in the "excellent" zone.  The vinyl is deep and warm as well and this is the perfect album for a chilled out evening when you feel like a softer listen !

   Simple Essential !

you can listen to my Helen Merrill podcast at

http://progboy.podbean.com/2013/08/16/helen-merrill-the-voice-of-an-angel/

The Magic Lanterns - Shame Shame (1969)

The Magic Lanterns - Shame Shame

Brother Jack McDuff - Gin and Orange (1969)

Brother Jack McDuff - Gin and Orange

Vic Franklyn - Friends (1976)

Vic Franklyn - Friends

  My mother bought way back Vic Franklyn's album "Leave Tenderly" which she played over and over and we used to marvel at his voice.   Vic was a Canadian crooner who released four albums via the  'Canadian Talent Library Trust' (a non-profit trust that produced a major series of recordings between 1962 and 1985). 

   Vic's voice was pure and had a velvetty voice somewhere in the Andy Williams / Frank Sinatra crooner school and was actually refered to as the 'Canadian Sinatra'. 

    I have all of Vic Franklyn's albums and they are all great actually, but I think "Friends" is my favourite of the lot!   

   "Friends" was Released in 1976 and had a single released as well "The Hungry Years" which is a great song originally written by Neil Sedaka.

Strawbs - Don't Say Goodbye (1987)

Strawbs - Don't Say Goodbye 

   I remember hearing the song "Let it rain" and not knowing what Stawbs album it was from......after a wee hunt I discovered that in 1987 they recorded an album minus Dave Lambert (and plus Brian Willoughby) and retained Richard Hudson! 

  You can never go wrong with any Strawbs album and of course this one is not as popular as some of their classic prog-folk albums from the 70's, but there are some great tunes on this !    This album and 
"Deadlines" were a bit of a different incarnation of the Strawbs.....definitely more 80's and less 70's!  The 80's is felt in the keyboard sounds at times which are reminiscent of the times !

   Strawbophiles will recognize the tune "something for nothing" which they have done live many times and was a Strawbs staple for many years.

  David Cousins has a voice that just seems to make time stop and I absolutely love his voice (and his music) and having Richard Hudson around is not too shaby either!  Tony Hooper also sings a few songs and has a very nice voice .....a very different sound for the Strawbs.

Touch - Touch (1980)

Touch - Touch 

  There were 2 bands that I know of that had the name "Touch"....and both were excellent bands!   This band named Touch were from New York and were somewhere in the AOR school with parallels to bands like Ambrosia, City Boy and perhaps STYX!  

  I bought this album a long time ago totally based at the time on the cover!    And i can remember really liking this band with its great Starcastle-like keyboards and pop rock flare!

  The lead singer Mark Mangold has a great voice and is very well suited to the prog-pop tendencies of Touch.   My fav song from this album is the tune "So High" which sounds like British progressive rock giants IQ meets ASIA.....a perfect balance of prog and pop"

  Music buffs will like to know that  Band leader Mark Mangold (keys and lead vocals) would later work with Michael Bolton....yup "the bolt" and help him achieve huge success!   

Nektar - Time Machine (2013)

Nektar - Time Machine (180g vinyl)

  Its been a while for Roye Albrighton and Nektar to release a new and memorable album !   Of course it will be very hard to ever exceed the genius and magic of their early albums and although very good "Time Machine" doesn't eclipse these.

  However having said that this new album is quite enjoyable and I would put in the same league as 2004's "evolution".

   Time Machines line up is Roye on guitars and lead vocals, Ron Howden on drums, Klaus Henatsch on the keys and Billy Sherwood on the bass with engineering and mix credits on the album.

  Musically this is progressive rock-lite with some great passages showing that these guys can still inspire at times!    Four of the songs close in on the 10 min marker so you know they are trying to get back to old tricks.  I think for me the extra track lengths give the songs more time to develop and it is during these parts that then songs really shine......for example the title song "Time Machine" really comes to life at the 5:00 mark where the band get to stretch out.

  No question there is a stronger neo-prog pop influence on this album but there are also some stunning prog vintage Nektar'isms in there too.  The vocals are excellent with some great harmonies and emotive moments.

  Overall I do like this album and have been playing it in steady rotation lately and some of the more neoprog pop parts are warming me up ore and more.......fans of Nektar will like this album but just dont expect another "Tab in the ocean".

  I picked up the 180g vinyl edition which I must say sounds excellent and recommend this album for the summer of 2013.

Chango - Honey Is Sweeter Than Blood (1976)

Chango - Honey Is Sweeter Than Blood

  Years ago my buddy Jeff played for me a track from the first Chango album which I really enjoyed and added these guys to my wish list.   A few weeks back at a garage sale I found their second album for a buck !
....and what an excellent discovery this one is too !

 I think their first is really the best of the two that I have heard but in no way is this an album that you should pass on either.   I would say this one is more rock than latin and quite different than their debut album.  Best way i can describe this album is try to imagine "Camel" meets "Santana" with a bit of perhaps a dash of "Malo".

    Apparently the lead singer (Pepe Gomez) for this second album replaced all but one of the band members to record this album.....so no wonder the vibe and feel is so different from the first album.  There are some outstanding latin groove rock moments on this album!