Country Joe & The Fish - The Return Of Sweet Lorraine

  #Country Joe & The Fish #psychedelic rock #folk rock #psychedelic folk rock #psychedelic blues rock #acid rock #singer-songwriter #1960s

The “CJ Fish” album was the sixth to be issued by Vanguard Records in 1970, and was the last to feature new material from the group as the only subsequent album was the historical retrospective “Life And Times of Country Joe & The Fish”, issued the following year, by which time the band had broken up and Joe McDonald had embarked on a solo career. The new album can be seen as an attempt by Vanguard to see if they could steer the group towards a more mainstream pop rock position, with production duties being handled by Tom Wilson whose credits by then already included Bob Dylan and Simon & Garfunkel. The group's earlier material had been extremely varied, ranging from blues and jug band music to folk, ballads and eastern-influenced rock, but they had gradually been cutting slightly more commercial material, some of which sat in the then-emerging country rock vein almost akin to Poco and others. This however was not a country rock album, but rather a pop rock one with a more uniform set of songs that producer Wilson was able to meld into a cohesive sounding whole.
The Fish line-up that cut the album was different from what is seen as the classic one. Gone were David Cohen, 'Chicken' Hirsh and Bruce Barthol, and now alongside Joe McDonald and Barry Melton were keyboard player Mark Kapner, bass player Doug Metzner (ex-Group Image) and drummer Greg Dewey (ex-Mad River). The album opens with Melton's very pop-oriented ‘Sing, Sing, Sing’, perhaps strangely not picked for single release at the time, and he also contributes the rockier ‘Silver And Gold’. Otherwise all the songs are from McDonald's pen, and are uniformly professional, varying from the gentle piano-led jazzy ‘Mara’ and ‘She's A Bird’ with its dreamy guitar soundscape midway through to ‘Rockin' Round The World’ which is much more upbeat and funky, as you would expect. ‘Hang On’ is an easy jog-along country-tinged song, while ‘The Baby Song’ is solidly romantic and miles from some earlier Fish material, though here is a later nod to the group's past with ‘The Return of Sweet Lorraine’. Hints of Joe's political leanings surface briefly on ‘Hey Bobby’, built on the well-trodden ‘Hang On Sloopy’ chord progressions, and the album closes with another easy mid-tempo poppy song ‘Hand Of Man’.  Before this however had come the longest track, ‘The Love Machine’, which allows much more instrumental interest. The new players, on other tracks professional but somewhat anonymous, put their heads above the parapet here with some of the invention of earlier Fish line-ups. They provide sudden keyboard interjections and solos, interesting bass runs and even a strong drum break, lifting this track as one of the most interesting and evocative of the band's history. Although quite different to much of what had gone before, this album can be seen as a solid addition to the group's canon, even though it was to be their swansong, and as such no collection should be without it.  From: https://acerecords.co.uk/c-j-fish

Silly Sisters - Four Loom Weaver

 #Silly Sisters #Maddy Prior #June Tabor #Steeleye Span #folk #British folk #traditional #a capella #1970s

Silly Sisters is a collaboration between Maddy Prior, vocalist of Steeleye Span, and June Tabor, the queen of British folk. Originally formed in 1976, during a hiatus in Steeleye Span's recording activity, the "group" was more or less a glorified excuse for a hootenanny, with two of Britain's finest female folk vocalists (Prior from the more "progressive" camp and Tabor from the more "trad") teaming up for rousing versions of traditional ballads and rave-ups. On the 1977 album, Silly Sisters, they were joined by Steeleye Span's Martin Carthy (later associated with the Pogues) among a host of other capable musicians. Most often, either Prior or Tabor takes a "lead" role in a song, with the other providing backup, but on a few tracks, like "My Husband's Got No Courage In Him", a harrowing (from the male perspective) a capella lament, they both shine equally alongside each other.

"Four Loom Weaver" (Traditional) A song about unemployment in the nineteenth century, possibly dating from 1819-20. First recorded by Ewan MacColl in 1951.  

From: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silly_Sisters_(album)

Ewan MacColl was one of the key architects of the post-war British folk-song revival, and a dominant but controversial figure in its development for decades. A lifelong communist, his initial passion was workers' theatre, and in a series of influential groups throughout the 1930s and 1940s, culminating with the Theatre Workshop, he became well known in left-wing drama circles as actor, producer, writer, and propagandist. MacColl moved away from the theatre after the Second World War, although his expertise in dramatic production never left him and imbued much of his subsequent work. In the early 1950s, at the suggestion of American folklorist and collector Alan Lomax, MacColl teamed up with A. L. Lloyd and others to found the new British folk-song revival movement. The timing was perfect. By means of the Ballads and Blues club (which later became the Singers' Club), radio programmes for the BBC (including drama-documentaries in which MacColl's theatrical experience was evident), articles, innumerable concerts, talks, LP records, appearances at Trade Union meetings, clubs, and other venues, they laid the foundations for a highly successful national movement.  From: https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803100121901;jsessionid=7B9810173FE95C1CC067432EEE42B223

IC3PEAK - Fairytale

 #IC3PEAK #experimental rock #electronic rock #witch house #industrial rock #electro-metal #political #subversive #Russian #animated music video

IC3PEAK, a Russian experimental electronic duo, position themselves as an “audiovisual terror” project. Since their third studio record, 2017's Sladkaya Zhizn (Sweet Life), they have started singing almost exclusively in Russian. The vocalist, Nastya, explains: “There was a desire for dialogue with my own generation that happened, and in my native language; it erases distance”. This decision reflects rising nationalism in Russia since 2012 and runs parallel to anti-Putinism in Russian rap. In 2018, the band’s activity caught the eye of the authorities, and concerts were constantly disrupted by law enforcement, resulting in lingering paranoia and social anxiety for the band. IC3PEAK’s music references ongoing Russian socio-political issues, critiquing Putin’s eternal regime in “Death No More,” suppression of individual and democratic rights in “Marching,” and domestic violence in “Boo-Hoo.” All three songs are accompanied by grim videos that are immensely popular worldwide. Nastya draws on a wide range of vocal techniques, from whispers and chastushka-like recitations to yells in verses, while displaying Russian pevuchest’ (melodiousness) in bridges and choruses. Altogether these elements present a personal emotional outcry.
 
“I’m from a scary Russian fairytale!” shouts Nastya Krestlina from IC3PEAK (pronounced “I speak”) on their 2018 record Skazka (Fairytale). IC3PEAK are a Russian electronic duo from Moscow; they are one of a handful of Russian bands who are daring to comment on current socio-political issues in their home country.  IC3PEAK’s vocalist, Nastya, and producer, Nikolai (Kolya) Kostylev, have been collaborating since 2013. From the band’s inception, Nastya takes charge of writing all song texts and melodies, while Kolya produces accompanying beats and layers the multiple song components. The two collaborate closely, aiming to create a final product that equally presents their creative visions.

From: https://ummusicandpolitics.ii.lsa.umich.edu/articles/music-and-protest-demonstration/ic3peak-whispers-and-screams-po-russki-in-russian-of-cultural-downfalls-in-russia-today/

Deep Purple - No No No

 #Deep Purple #Ritchie Blackmore #Ian Gillan #hard rock #heavy metal #prog metal #blues rock #classic rock #1970s #Beat-Club

After their breakthrough "In rock" album, Deep Purple consolidated their new found popularity with a remarkably confident and competent follow up. "Fireball" has all the consistency which was lacking in the brash rawness of "In rock", making for a much more satisfying album as a whole. The title track opens the album in blistering fashion, a phonetic representation of the track name indeed. A sort of cross between their own "Black night" Led Zeppelin's "Immigrant song", and Uriah Heep's "Easy Livin", it packs more into three minutes than most albums manage in forty. Classic stuff indeed! The following two tracks sit well together. "No no no" is a powerful, more structured song, with aggressive lyrics and a fine guitar solo by Ritchie Blackmore, while "Demon's eye" is a rather funky mid-paced number with an infectious melody. Ian Gillan is in fine vocal form throughout the album, but he clearly enjoys himself on "Anyone's daughter". This is quite the quirkiest song Deep Purple have ever recorded. It has a country flavor supporting comedic lyrics which tell the tale of Gillan's various conquests. A superbly outrageous piece, to which Blackmore adds some subtly lilting slide guitar, and Jon Lord contributes some wonderfully dirty piano.  From: https://www.progarchives.com/album.asp?id=9121

Gaupa - Diametrical Enchantress

 #Gaupa #doom metal #psychedelic rock #stoner metal #progressive rock #folk metal #Swedish #music video

The city of Falun in Sweden has an illustrious industrial history; originally famous for its copper mine, it performed a vital service in Sweden for centuries. In modern times it has become the unlikely home to a diverse and rich musical scene ranging from power metal titans to luscious Scandinavian folk maestros. Amongst this is the band Gaupa, a progressive stoner band that utilizes doom, folk and psychedelic influences to create beautifully celestial and enchanting songs. In Swedish ‘Gaupa’ translates as Lynx, and this often elusive and solitary wild cat is the perfect simile for this band. With their distinguishing pointed ears and white, bear-like tufts of fur on their cheeks, the lynx looks wise and magical. Gaupa are very distinctive and unique band; musical magicians that blur the lines between folk, psych and doom with intricate yet heavy riffs, their music is intensely ethereal, enchanting and earthy.  From: https://distortedsoundmag.com/album-review-myriad-gaupa/

Rufus & Chaka Khan - Tell Me Something Good

 #Rufus & Chaka Khan #funk #soul #R&B #1970s #live music video

Rufus began in Chicago with founding member keyboardist Kevin Murphy as an evolution of a renegade band of rock-n-soul musicians. The group’s name morphed from Smoke to Ask Rufus to just Rufus. The group’s future brightened infinitely when original lead singer Paulette McWilliams departed for a solo career, grooming her replacement in a long-time friend - a diminutive yet fiery young singer named Chaka Khan. Chaka had been hanging out with Rufus for at least a year, so when she auditioned she had their show down cold. What she initially brought to Rufus would become one of the most awe-inspiring voices in pop music. The band’s first album, 1972′s self-titled Rufus on ABC Records, didn’t bear any hits, but their version of Stevie Wonder’s “Maybe Your Baby” led to the song which put Rufus on the map. Wonder was so impressed with their cover that he visited them while they were recording their follow-up, Rags to Rufus (1974), and wrote along with Chaka Khan, the sexy funk boiler “Tell Me Something Good.”  From: https://www.highresaudio.com/en/artist/view/de651dfc-9708-47f5-91e4-24f5bdffd5f9/rufus-featuring-chaka-khan

In the 1970s, as the rise of disco exacerbated racially charged divisions between rock & roll and dance music, a band from Chicago brought on the funk with a force, and grace, that defied all boundaries. First formed by black and white members of the 1960s rock band, the American Breed, Rufus acquired a secret weapon in Chaka Khan, whose voice of liquid fire and sweet incense carried a carnality as ferocious as it was distinctly feminine. Stevie Wonder, an early fan, crafted the breakthrough hit “Tell Me Something Good,” which Rufus and Khan made an unabashed simulation of sex without uttering a single naughty word.  From: https://library.rockhall.com/rufus_chaka_khan

Love - She Comes in Colors

 #Love #Arthur Lee #Bryan MacLean #psychedelic rock #garage rock #folk rock #acid rock #psychedelic pop #psychedelic folk #1960s

Love broadened their scope into psychedelia on their sophomore effort Da Capo, Arthur Lee's achingly melodic songwriting gifts reaching full flower. The six songs that comprised the first side of this album when it was first issued are a truly classic body of work, highlighted by the atomic blast of pre-punk rock "Seven & Seven Is" (their only hit single), the manic jazz tempos of "Stephanie Knows Who," and the enchanting "She Comes in Colors," perhaps Lee's best composition and reportedly the inspiration for the Rolling Stones' "She's a Rainbow”.  From: https://www.allmusic.com/album/da-capo-mw0000195829

Seconds into the opening track, “Stephanie Knows Who,” it’s clear that “Da Capo” represented new directions for Love and for rock. A harpsichord dances with guitar in the lovely prelude. A deep-throated sax breaks in. In the break, all of the song’s instruments collide and veer off in different directions. The resulting passage is more in tune with free jazz than psychedelic music - although this is unmistakably a hard rock song. “Da Capo” was Arthur Lee and Love’s second album, out of three made with his core group of L.A. musicians. The album was followed and overshadowed by the rock masterpiece “Forever Changes,” but the songs here are streaked with brilliance and innovation. Many musicians’ minds were blown by its collage of sounds and crazy quilt of influences, the material clearly ahead of its time. “Da Capo” is, in a sense, a more adventurous album than “Forever Changes.” In any case, these tracks are among the finest recordings of Love as musicians. (Key parts of “Forever Changes” were played by hired hands.) The band had expanded to seven players, upgraded its drummer, added woodwinds and, of all things, integrated a harpsichord. The first side of “Da Capo” is a lovely experiment in fusing sounds from rock, Latin rhythms, jazz and classical. Lee and company succeed at this without pandering, producing some of their best songs.  From: https://psychedelicsight.com/no-37-loves-da-capo/