Whats on your turntable tonight?

The new Coltrane ’A Love Supreme-Live in Seattle" becomes available tomorrow, October 22 for the first time. Can’t wait to get it. Listened to the the only other live version, "Live from Antibes" today. from the Deluxe Edition set, which arrived in the mail today. It was nicely recorded, as well as quite good, Some other versions of the Antibes recording have been reported to be poorly done, so I’m happy to have this one.

And speaking of masterpieces, can anyone recommend their favorite, version of Stravinsky’s "Rites of Spring" to acquire. The one I used to have mysteriously disappeared in the early 80’s and never got replaced. At least the thief had good taste. He, or she, also nabbed Kid Creole’s "Off the Coast of Me", so go figure. Always did like that album too. which was replaced fairly recently. You know, you don’t meet thieves with that sort of eclectic music taste every day. Still can’t figure who did that deed though. It will have to remain in the cold case file unless one of you would care to confess.

Mike

Reuben, Jeff Beck's Loud Hailer is playing right now at home at your suggestion.  Got it a few months ago, along with some other later Beck recordings, and only played it that one time. Sounds even better the second time around. 

Mike

Erykah Badu’s "Baduizm". Just got it yesterday and was impressed, not having heard it before.

Mike

Bill Evans "12 Classic Albums", a new arrival, so I’ve been working my way through them. Sam and Dave: "Hold On I’m Comin’ ", Mendelssohn Piano Trios, and The White Stripes "Elephant", an eclecltc listening day. Too cold to go out and split wood today as intended, so stayed indoors, listened to music, and purchased more records (CD’s) on Amazon and a vintage bandsaw fence on Ebay. An unproductive but fun way to while away the day. So nice to be retired. Season's Greetings to you all.

Mike

Thirty-some years ago I purchased a copy of the then new Hendrix "Live At Winteland" double album on Rykodisc-RykoAnalogue. It was pressed on clear vinyl in ’86 maybe, recorded live in ’68.

My B&O Beogram 4002 turntable (RIP 2019) had tangential straight arm tracking, whose tonearm "read" the record with an electric eye, telling the tonearm when and where to drop onto the record and when to lift up and return. Needless to say the electric eye couldn’t read the clear vinyl and would think the record was over before it ever started. So I never got to play it.

Over the years I forgot all about "Live At Winterland" until I stumbled across it last night, when playing some records while continuing to break in my new VPI Classic 2 turntable. So I finally got to give it a listen. Man, was that a good Hendrix concert. I’ve honestly never heard him play better and I’ve almost all his records up to when his family must have exhumed him to put out additional material. His playing was more nuanced than usual is the best way I can describe it. What a pleasant surprise after all that wait.

Also listened to Fairport Convention’s Unhalfbricking and some Jan Akkerman on the last Focus album,"Ship of Memories". Both were excellent, Sandy Denny was in good voice and both Fairport’s Richard Thompson’s and Jan Akkerman's playing was impeccable, but no one is quite up to Hendrix in fine form.

Mike

Mike Bloomfield's "Live at Bill Graham's Fillmore West" Columbia Records, 1969. Best thing he ever did, and that's saying something. Nick Gravenites on vocals. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bObzGncczCo

So true slaw. If Winwood got rid of that infernal bongo player, "Gimme Some Lovin’" could have fit seamlessly right into "Nine Lives".

Mike

Steve Winwood’s "Nine Lives" from 2008. His first non-commercial effort since Traffic petered out. Nicely done and well recorded. Even a tasty Eric Clapton solo on one cut. When’s the last time for that from Clapton. Early 70’s around Layla maybe. A pleasant surprise all around. The boy’s still got it, or at least did 13 years ago. Just got the CD yesterday.

Also listened to some superlative Winwood on Stomu Yamasta.s "Go" and "Go in Paris" along with fine accompaniment from Al Dimeola, Mike Shrieve, and someone whose name I forget from Tangerine Dream. Stomu’s contribution was an at times overblown fusion composition , but that couldn’t hold the other musicians back. Winwood’s vocals were exemplary and Dimeola's guitar was on fire as needed. 

Mike

Correction; Toad does show up as "Camels and Elephants on "There's a Bond Between Us".

Mike

Tomic601, I promised I’d get back to you with a Graham Bond Organisation recommendation after listening to the four albums of theirs I have, so here goes. I checked out some Youtube videos too.

This band went through some permutations in it’s recorded history. It started out as a decent straight ahead jazz band around the very early sixties, up until ’63 maybe. That’s when John Mclaughlin played with them before Ginger Baker reportedly fired him. You can find some of that music on their "Live at the BBC and Other Stories" four album set, which covers that period, and more. You can find that material on Youtube, maybe the full box set. I listened to about an hour of it to hear the McLaughlin material. There are three more Mclaughlin cuts from 1963 on the album Solid Bond.

In 1964, the line-up of Bond, Ginger Baker, Jack Bruce and Dick Heckstall Smith were recorded live twice, at Klooks Kleek (which I thought I had ) and the eponymous "Graham Bond Organisation" live at the Railway Station (which I do have). The second has a more horn oriented sound in a Mod vein.

Next are the two legitimately released Graham Bond Organisation albums from 1965 with the same line-up, "The Sound of ’65" and "There’s a Bond between Us". The first is the better of the two and continues the bands mod blues-jazz-rock sound. It’s more horn oriented than let’s say early Who. You can hear the sound of Colosseum or the first Ginger Baker Air Force in there.

The early Cream song Traintime was first recorded on "The Sound of ’65". They were also playing Ginger Baker’s Cream tour de force "Toad" then, but that doesn’t show up on either record. A curiosity from this period, a movie clip featuring this band on a British equivalent to "Beach Blanket Bingo", can be seen and heard on Youtube. It’s quite good. Try https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPEAK3RjfLk

Last but not least, a later version of the band in 1966 is recorded on the compilation "Solid Bond", along with the material from 1963. By that time Ginger Baker had fired Jack Bruce and later quit himself to form Cream with Bruce and Eric Clapton. John Hiseman replaced him and did a credible job on "Solid Bond" before he and Dick Heckstall -Smith also departed to join John Mayall’s band, and later form Colosseum. The 1966 sessions were not released when first recorded. "Solid Bond" was a later compilation of that 1966 session and some earlier 1963 Klook’s Kleek material with McLaughlin, predating the Klook’s Kleek live album from 1964. All of it is decent.

If I were you I’d start with the "Sound of ’65", but that might be a little too horn heavy for your taste. There’s a number of their recordings on youtube you might want to sample first as their output was so varied. There is another boxed set that contains their two major label releases plus numerous odds and ends which may be worth picking up if you’re looking to acquire a single Graham Bond Organisation set. That’s " Wade In The Water-Classics Origins and Oddities." 

Mike

I’ll get on it tomic60 and will report back. Might take a few days.

That’s good advice to keep from buying doubles. I recently purchased the Van Morrison and the Chieftans album again, ruefully not consulting my check list first. I normally download Allmusic discographies for each artist or group, and with a bit of modification use them for checklists. The links to individual record reviews stays active on downloaded Allmusic discographies, which is handy to use when checking out potential purchases.

I missed a trick on the Graham Bond Organisation though, and didn’t have a discography on them. And I’ve other records of early British blues and R&B groups that will now be getting their discographies downloaded. Groups like Alexis Koerner, Lord Sutch, Long John Baldry, Spencer Davis and the like, where a bunch of ’60’s British rockers got their start. At least the John Mayall list is in order, and recently completed I might add.

Mike

Anyone remember the Graham Bond Organisation (sp) from the early to mid- 1960’s. Band members beside Graham were Jack Bruce, Ginger Baker, Dick Heckstall-Smith and John McLaughlin. What a talented line-up, who were the first ever to play jazz-rock.

I accidentally came across one of their albums in my collection tonight, "The Sound of ’65", and played it. Even though they all must have been youngsters at the time, these future stars and virtuosos sounded pretty good.

I looked up what other albums they made back then. Their output was four records, "The Sound of ’65"’, " There’s a Bond Between Us", "Solid Bond", and the live "One Night at Klooks Cleek". I checked out what these obscure records were going for on Ebay and Discogs, which was too much.

But fortuitously, when putting "The Sound of ’65" away, I spotted the other three albums sitting on the same shelf. They had been played once and forgotten about for the next fifty years. Made me laugh. I was a completist record collector nut back then too.

Mike