Insights, observations, cheap gags.
If ’70s prog band Babe Ruth is remembered for one song (and that is about all they’re remembered for), it’s “The Mexican.” It’s from their 1973 debut album First Base and it’s one of the catchiest, grooviest prog tracks you’ll ever hear.
I found a really cool YouTube video with this song played over some Samurai Jack clips, but they faded the song too early for my liking. Check it out though, it’s sweet.
Stupid real life is really putting a crimp in my ability to review this season of The Venture Bros. As a result, you may have noticed that last week’s episode – “Handsome Ransom” – was skipped. I’ll get around to it at some point, but suffice it to say that I enjoyed it quite a bit. And now on to newer business.
I don’t know about you, but Season 4 of VB is clicking in a way that Season 3 seldom did. Maybe it’s the more character-driven storylines, but it doesn’t feel as if Jackson and Doc are trying so hard this year. “Perchance to Dean” is a perfect example. It’s got the feel of an early episode, but with the comedic and storytelling sophistication of more recent efforts. It really is a neat hybrid, just like Dean’s creepy, Phantom of the Opera-esque clone brother.
More prog goodness, you say? Sure! Here’s my favorite KC tune ever, from their 1974 masterpiece Red.
Witness the majestic and face-melting drumming of one Bill Bruford, who absolutely owns on this number. My favorite moment comes just after the 4:20 mark, when he kicks out this sinister groove that I could listen to on repeat all day. That weird-sounding cymbal he uses, in a stroke of great luck, was the result of some impromptu dumpster-diving.
Forget just prog rock, kids, music doesn’t get much better than this.
Patrick Jarenwattananon over at NPR’s A Blog Supreme posits a most interesting challenge – name five albums I’d recommend to someone looking to get into jazz. The twist is that the list needs to made up of recording from the last decade or so, in order to showcase what jazz is about today rather than in its heyday. In other words, no Kind of Blue or Time Out (even 50th anniversary reissues). Hmmmmm….
So here’s my list in no particular order, in case anyone reading this is looking for one collection of high-quality, contemporary jazz.
1. Robert Glasper, In My Element (Blue Note, 2007) – As much as I do like Glasper’s latest offering I think it would be too jarring for someone just getting into jazz. In My Element showcases Glasper’s ability to meld his muscular yet cerebral style of jazz with blues, hip hop, rock, and R&B to create a winning brand of music. This is highlighted to great effect on “Maiden Voyage / Everything in Its Right Place”, a deft hybrid of the ’60s Herbie Hancock classic with the latter day Radiohead gem.
2. The Bad Plus, Suspicious Activity? (Columbia, 2005) – I’ve written about this trio before, and every non-jazz music lover I’ve exposed to them has come away impressed. TBP’s output takes a decidedly rock approach to jazz. That’s not to say it’s all bombast and volume, as tracks like “Prehensile Dream” and “Lost of Love” prove. Just as progressive rock groups like Emerson, Lake & Palmer were a gateway to appreciating classical music for me, so I think TBP can be the same for non-jazz fans.
3. Koop, Waltz for Koop (Quango/Palm, 2002) – Stockholm-based duo Oscar Simonsson and Magnus Zingmark didn’t invent the rather nebulous Nu Jazz genre, but they’re about the best ones doing it. At least when they get around to it, as they’ve released just three proper studio albums since 1997. That’s mainly because of the rather labor-intensive way they create their sonic treasures, which is by assembling songs from thousands of separate sound clips. If this sounds like a recipe for cold, soulless music it’s not. It’s got the the feel of jazz at its breeziest and bounciest, but is thoroughly modern in every other way.
4. Tord Gustavsen Trio, The Ground (ECM, 2005) – This is pretty much the complete opposite of Koop, just for some variety in the list. This album is beautiful and glacial, with just a hint of swing to it. There are few better albums equipped to help you relax without putting you to sleep. It’s smooth, but not smooth jazz. It’s studied without being academic. In a word, it’s art. Leave it to the Norwegians.
5. Russell Malone, Sweet Georgia Peach (MAXJAZZ, 1998) – This falls just outside the decade mark, but I had to get some guitar jazz love in here. This is easily the most straightforward jazz outing on this short list; something a non-jazz fan might expect to hear. But that’s OK, sometimes just hearing mainstream jazz performed at a high level is all you need.
Is there even a point anymore to comparing new Queensrÿche releases to older ones such as Rage for Order or even Empire? It seems that to do so is unfair to the band, who clearly don’t care to repeat the past. And yet that’s what has been happening for more than a decade, and in the process some bitter or resentful fans have missed out on some really good music. Case in point, the band’s latest offering – American Soldier.
A look at the front and back covers of American Soldier (showing a pair of combat boots and an American flag, respectively) might give pause to some fans – has the same band who railed against war and the American government in the past turned into Toby Keith for the progressive metal set? Not quite. As the name implies, this is a theme album about American soldiers – their experiences, their sacrifices, and their hopes. There’s no real soapbox moments here.
But what about the music? Queensrÿche usually turns in at least good lyrics most of the time but has been a bit, shall we say, uneven since 1994’s Promised Land. Well on that account, it’s a pretty strong statement by the boys. I don’t think there are any instant classics here, but I’ve found myself humming or playing air guitar to some of the new material on more than a few occasions over the last few weeks.
To no one’s surprise, last year’s round of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees included not one progressive rock act. This despite the millions of albums sold, the countless musicians inspired, and the long-lasting impact of the genre’s best. Hell, can anyone under 50 even name two Dave Clark Five songs? Yeah, me neither.
But to be fair, I can understand why someone not very familiar with prog rock might be inclined to write it off as so much boring instrumental wankery and bastardized classical music pastiches. But to paint an endlessly rich style of music with such a broad brush is not only lazy, it’s downright inaccurate. So to show that prog ain’t all clinical sweep arpeggios and no heart, I’ve put together a mixtape to showcase the gentler side of the genre.
OK, it’s been a few weeks (more like four or five) since the last entry in this series, but what can I say? I needed a break I guess. But now that summer is a distant memory and the first frost of the season is almost upon us (in central Jersey anyway), I found some inspiration.
This week’s featured album art is the 1976 Genesis classic, Wind & Wuthering. And I think you can see why.
Beautiful, isn’t it? Reminds me a lot of Fleetwood Mac’s Bare Trees actually, another album I really like. It fits perfectly with the slightly chilly mood of the album, which turned out to be guitarist Steve Hackett’s last with Genesis (leaving the trio of Phil Collins, Tony Banks, and Mike Rutherford).
And surprise – this is another Hipgnosis effort! Doesn’t look like one, does it? Colin Elgie was responsible for this understated and pretty effort, for those keeping score at home.
The autumnal feel of the album cover extends to the back as well:
