Jethro Tull - War Child (1974)

Jethro Tull - War Child 

   Following classic progressive rock albums like "Aqualung", "Benefit" and "Thick as a Brick" is no simple task but Tull sidestepped this by writing a lighter less aggressive album with War Child.    Originally intended to accompany a film, War Child is a fusion of prog rock and orchestration conducted by David Palmer.  

  In many ways this album shows another side of Jethro Tull...one less epic and less rock.  There are a few beauties on this album too like "Back-Door Angels", "Skating Away On The Thin Ice Of The New Day" and "Bungle In The Jungle".  

  

K.D. Lang - Shadowland (1988)

K.D. Lang - Shadowland

  I will admit that I was never really a big KD Lang fan but I heard her version of Western Stars and had to track down this album.   What I like about this album is its simplicity and purity with a heavy focus on the voice of K.D. Lang.  
  Musically this album carries a heavy Country twang with a nice cross section of songs including her take on Black Coffee.
  The album was produced by Owen Bradley and offers an excellent sound quality.

Be-Bop Deluxe - Sunburst Finish (1976)

Be-Bop Deluxe - Sunburst Finish 

    Sunburst Finish was the third album released by Bill Nelson and I believe was the first Be-Bop album to have a bug hit with "Ships in the night" reaching reaching top 25 in the UK in 1976.  On this album Nelson add the keyboard talents of Andrew Clark and i think in process found a slightly less angular sound!  

  Bill Nelson wrote some great art rock numbers over the years and no question Sunburst Finish is one of my fav BeBop albums.   Every tune on this album is excellent with loads of cool musical progressions and interesting moments.

Nancy Wilson - Hollywood My Way (1963)

Nancy Wilson - Hollywood My Way

Julie London - Julie is her name (1955)

Julie London - Julie is her name 

  I have always loved the smokey and sexy voice of Julie London.  "Julie is her name" was her debut album from 1955 on which she was accompanied with the guitar of Barney Kessel and the bass of Ray Leatherwood.  

  The format on this album is pretty simple with just bass and guitar setting the landscape for london to layer over her distinct vocals.   This is the perfect late night album to listen to when you just wanna relax and do some thinking.  

  For London this album became a huge seller with "cry me a river" becoming a massive hit!   Following this album London would become one of the most popular contemporary female singers and enabled the release of many subsequent albums.

Miles Davis - Milestones (1958)

Miles Davis - Milestones , SACD

Little Richard - Tutti Frutti (1957)

Little Richard - Tutti Frutti 

  Little Richard was one of the mavericks of what would become known as Rock 'N Roll..........

   With a gospel vocal flare and a furious energy on the piano, Little Richard set the tone and helped pave the way for virtually everyone!

  Tutti Frutti is a sort of rare vinyl compilation of many of his BIG influential hits....."long Tall Sally", "baby face", "Tutti Frutti", "good golly miss molly", "whole lotta shakin'.......and more

  You can't listen to the music of Little Richard and not feel his energy......i mean this guy does not stop.....

The J. Geils Band - Bloodshot (1973)

The J. Geils Band - Bloodshot

  If there was one studio J Geils album to own I would highly recommend "Bloodshot" where I think just about everything clicked.   

  Bloodshot was the third album for J Geils and was also their first album to crack the Top 10 US charts!   This is cool and a musically tough album with Peter Wolf (vocals) and J Geils (guitar) tearing it up and IMHO their finest moment.  Musically Bloodshot is a mix of power pop and funk with some superb songs many of which would appear live on their next live album "blow your face out" recorded at Boston gardens in 1975.

  This album also has my favourite J Geils tune "Back To Get Ya" which is mega-urban-funk at its finest!   

Peter Hammill - pH7 (1979)

Peter Hammill - pH7 

  The music and voice of Peter Hammill is I suppose either a hate of love scenario for most music lovers.  I think his music is like good aged scotch and either you apprecite itnor not!

  pH7  was Peter's 7th solo album released in 1979 and is one of his lesser referenced albums yet underneath is a fantastic exploration worthy of promotion.  

   Like all Hammill works the lyrics are heavy and dark with forboding melodies with vocals that border on the angst.  Instrumentally the music is top notch with the assistance on pH7 by VDDG member David Jackson and Graham Smith (the same line up as found on The Future Now).

david+david - boomtown (1986)

david+david - boomtown 

  What happened to these guys?    Anyone know ?  

  But seriously folks....omg this was a University album for me and I was just spinning this old vinyl album thinking what ever happened to david+david........

David + David was an American rock duo composed of LA based musicians David Baerwald and David Ricketts.   Boomtown was one of the albums that I just loved and played all the time in University.

  This is one of those albums that I can not believe didnt become huge!!!  I guess 1986 was not a good time for great rock albums and new age dominated the youth!

  My fav song on the album is "a rock for the forgotten" which i think is just a great pop tune!

Porcupine Tree - Recordings (2011)

Porcupine Tree - Recordings  (180g vinyl)

   Recordings was kind of a b-sides plus kind of album i think designed for purists...of which I think i might be one of!    Much of the material on this compilation is from both albums Stupid Dream and Lightbulb Sun plus a few extras.   This album opens up with one of my fav PT songs "buying new soul" which absolutely captivated me the first time i heard this 11 mins epic track !

 It is amazing to think that these guys can write so many b-side songs this good.  I can remember buying and just marvelling at the "SHESMOVEDON" CD singles which included both songs "cure for optimism" and "untitled".  Both songs were destined to land on Lightbulb Sun but did not make the cut in the final analysis!

  There are other gems too on this album like the 3:00 pop-prog "Disappear" or the psychocapsule'd "In Formaldehyde" .

 The other highlite for me is the inclusion of the 14 minutes version of "Even less" which i always thought of should have been the version included in stupid dream.

Man Man - Life Fantastic (2011)

Man Man - Life Fantastic (180g Vinyl)

   Life Fantastic was art rock/ indie rockers Man Man's fourth album and a brilliant album full of musical zaniness and creativity.    Fans of the bands Ween and Fleet Foxes will love the music I would think of Man Man.

  Their music is angular and ever flowing with tons of originality and creativity.  

    This album is more tame than their earlier work thanks in part to producer Mike Mogis who has brought a more pop oriented sound to their music and curbed their frantic bits.  But having said that it is pretty hard to tame the dragon cause this one is trying forever to bubble over!

    

DEVO - Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo! (1978)

DEVO - Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo! 

   New age meets punk meets rock meets electronica.......and for most of us this album was THE introduction into something all new!!!     This is Ohio based DEVO's first album and was noted as one of the first pop albums to use synthesizers.  With full production by Brian Eno with recording and mixing being done by the legendary Conny Planck (who was responsible for tons of early 70's seminal progressive and space rock bands and albums).

  DEVO were whimsical yet musical geeks who set out to build a band based on DEVOLUTION where things move backwards while other pices move forward.  As crazy as this sounds this is exactly what their music is like !

  Musically DEVO were a cross of XTC, Talking Heads, Blondie and perhaps Gary Numan and the Tubeway Army all in one shaken...not stired space-age cocktail. 

   This album is a fantastically fun album to listen to with its quirky, anxious and definitely funny songs of mongoloids and paranoia.  They also chalk up a rather punky and angular version of the Stones's  classic "Satisfaction". 

Dillard Hartford Dillard - Glitter Grass From The Nashwood Hollyville Strings (1977)

Dillard Hartford Dillard - Glitter Grass From The Nashwood Hollyville Strings 

 Bluegrass wizards Doug Dillard, Rodney Dillard are teamed  up with hipster singer singwriter John Hartford who released this gem of an album in 1977.  It is definitely an un-likely pairing but the album carries a bluegrass, harmonically folky album with a tad of psychedelia in there.  

  A few songs are clearly more in the Hartford camp while the majority are 100% Dillard bluegrass toe stomping jigs and country ballads.  

  Banjos, mandolins, guitars, dobros, violins, steel guitars, harmonicas, bass, piano and tons of harmonies is exactly what you get.   The collection of songs on this album are also excellent with a nice range of ballads,  jigs and contemporary country folk.  

Other musical contributors include Buddy Emmons (vocals, steel guitar, dobro); Michael Melford (vocals, mandolin); Pepper Watkins, Ginger Blake, Linda Dillard, Laura Creamer, Benny Martin (vocals); Jim Colvard, Amos Garrett (guitar); Sam Bush (mandolin); Jeff Gilkinson (cello, harmonica); Hargus "Pig" Robbins (piano, keyboards) and Kenny Malone (drums, percussion).  

  The albums encompass a wide variety of material, from sweet, weepy, straight country ballads, and funky Byrds-like country rock, to protest songs and a hilarious bluegrass-style cover of Stevie Wonder's "Boogie On Reggae Woman." Overall, the albums have an appealingly loose, jammy feeling, sidesteping the over-earnest drippiness that plagues some '70s country-rock. 

The assembled cast of all-star sidemen includes top-notch bluegrass mandolinist Sam Bush, Nashville steel guitar/dobro legend, Buddy Emmons, Canadian guitar-hero, Amos Garrett, and others. 

Dillard, Hartford & Dillard are to be listened to and It wont take long before you will be hooked on them!  

Get this album ,

Tatum Hampton Rich (1955)

Tatum Hampton Rich 

   Recorded in 1955 in LA California featuring three GIANTS of jazz....the inventive piano of Art Tatum with the vibes of Lionel Hampton and the drumming mastery of Buddy Rich.   This awesome LP is a delight to listen to with these guys performing a number of classics with varying tempos and moods.  This is one of those albums that you just cant stop listening to once you put it on.

   

  

Thijs Van Leer - Introspection 2 (1975)

Thijs Van Leer - Introspection 2 

  As a follow up to 1973's "Introspection 1" Dutch Prog musician (FOCUS) released his second classically infused dreamscape album to the dismay of proggers and the delight of symphonians!  Music on this album was arranged and conducted by Rogier Van Otterloo with flute and keys by Van Leer and vocals by Letty De Jong.

  The album is a fully orchestral flute experience with some fantastic arrangements and musicianship. 

  


  

Tim Buckley - Blue Afternoon (1969)

Tim Buckley - Blue Afternoon  (180g Vinyl)

   "Blue Afternoon" was Jazz-prog-folk legend Tim Buckley's fourth and his first self-produced album.    Buckley stepped away from the more overtly psychedelia on this album and really focused on producing an album of deep thought and personal melancholy.  Joining Buckley is jazz guitarist Lee Underwood and the tonal vibes of David Freedman.  

  Blue Afternoon is very aply titled as the overall album carries a soft mid afternoon feel tomit with a fair degree of reflective vocals and emotive lyrics.  

Tim Buckley was a wonderful song writer and his simple, clear and straightforward vocals allows the listen to feel his lyrics in support of his music.  

Highlight for me is the intoxicating "Chase The Blues Away" which I think is a perfect blend of folk and blues into a song that will make the hair on your arms stand up!