@slaw
You are very welcome. If you've not spent any time with that BS&T, it is worth checking out if you can look past some of the psychedelic silliness. Music from a bygone time when everything seemed possible. Al Kooper's vocals are really really good and a few of his songs are very strong. It's a much more interesting album than the more calculated and commercial BS&T II.
Reading the notes on the back cover of the album, John Simon is credited for a variety of roles. That's the same John Simon as worked on The Bands 1st & 2nd albums as well as S&G's Bookends and that's hardly a complete list. I don't hear him talked about with the same reverence as George Martin. I don't hear him talked about much at all actually, but I think the man was a creative genius that brought out the best in a wide range of talent.
BTW - Agree with you about the post-Green, Kirwan/Welch era of FWM. Penguin & Mystery to Me (though sadly without Danny) + Future Games make a nice "trilogy" from that time.
I haven't listened to any vinyl in weeks and weeks but now that the gramophone is cranked up, might have to log some more listening time with vinyl.
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@slaw
That has to be a great sounding setup. Those Townshend tables are beautifully engineered.
The Police - Syncronicity, original US pressing, weird master on this record, it goes from great with good low end to thin in places very quickly |
Tom Petty "Let me Up (I've Had Enough) from THE box |
@ghosthouse ,
One of my very all time favorite lps is BS&T...the one that begins with 'Variations of a Theme...."...so as to not have this title confused with their other's...
I own several pressings, but, by far and away, the best sounding one is my ORG!
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Eels "Daisies, of the galaxies" OP. BTW
I really do (like birds)
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Okay, @slaw ...that would be the self-titled BS&T which is their 2nd. Track 1 (below) Variations On A Theme By Erik Satie. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GreaN1ljqGYYou will forgive me my preference for Child is Father. I like Al Kooper’s voice (and songs) better than David Clayton Thomas’ HUGE pipes. Am in a minority though. A LOT of people seem to have preferred that 2nd album w/DCT. It charted way higher than the first and produced a number of hit singles. To each his own. That was yesterday though... Right now, Chick Corea’s Three Quartets I don’t buy much new vinyl but did with this composition once I heard it (not all that long ago) thanks to Frogman. It is a 2016 release on "Stretch Records". Nice piece of vinyl - flat, good weight and quiet. What is "ORG"? (original pressing??) |
ORG = Original Recording Group
DCT = David Clayton Thomas.
"Frogman" _ I'm surprised you aren't aware of (ORG)
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Yeah, DCT is as you have it.
Frogman is a frequent poster over on Jazz Aficionados. He referenced Three Quartets...maybe included a link to music from it. Don't recall. It was a must buy after spending some time with it. Got new vinyl and a CD version.
re ORG, I might have heard of that label. Not sure. Like I said, I don't buy much new vinyl. Most vinyl purchases are for old stuff...original pressings or as close as I can afford to get :-) I get off holding a 40+ year old piece of plastic that sounds fantastic. Case in point:
Peter Framton's self-titled studio release playing now. Black with rainbow colors in his white block letter name. A lot the music on Frampton Comes Alive is on this recording.
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Ghosthouse 10-7-2018
Reading the notes on the back cover of the album ["Child Is Father To The Man"], John Simon is credited
for a variety of roles. That's the same John Simon as worked on The
Bands 1st & 2nd albums as well as S&G's Bookends and that's
hardly a complete list. I don't hear him talked about with the same
reverence as George Martin. I don't hear him talked about much at all
actually, but I think the man was a creative genius that brought out the
best in a wide range of talent.
John had a very classy and musically-oriented upbringing. His father was a medical doctor, but was also a founder, first violist, and for many years president of the local classical orchestra, the Norwalk (Connecticut) Symphony. How do I know this? My wife and I lived in his parents' guest cottage, adjacent to their home in Norwalk, from when we were married in 1970 until we moved out of town in 1980. John no longer lived with his parents during those years, but I met him a number of times, and of course knew his parents (and also his sister) quite well. A fine family. Best regards, -- Al |
Thanks for sharing that, Al. Seems a nice example of positive parental influence paying dividends.
FWIW - my favorite John Simon credit: tuba on The Band's "Brown" Album. Added some nice punch to the bass line. |
I consider John Simon almost a sixth member of The Band on their first two albums. I hadn't known he produced the first BS&T album, which is completely different from the ones that followed. I've never read why Al Kooper left his own creation after only one album. |
Hi Eric (bdp24), According to the Wikipedia writeup on BS&T:
Colomby and Katz wanted to move Kooper exclusively to keyboard and
composing duties, while hiring a stronger vocalist for the group,
causing Kooper's departure in April 1968. The writeup provides a reference for that statement in a footnote, but the link no longer works. Katz, of course, is Steve Katz, who during prior years in the 1960s was a member of The Blues Project along with Kooper. Their "Projections" album is one of my favorite rock albums. Best regards, -- Al
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Climax Blues Band - FM Live
Climax Blues Band - tightly Knit
Rory Gallagher - Irish Tour "74"
Wishbone Ash - Live Dates |
@bdp24 Looks like you are not alone in that "6th member" opinion... http://theband.hiof.no/band_members/john_simon.htmlAl's Wiki info about Al Kooper leaving BS&T not withstanding, the Wiki entry for Child Is Father to the Man puts it more bluntly: "After a brief promotional tour, Colomby and Katz ousted Kooper from the band, which led to Child is Father to the Man being the only BS&T album on which Kooper ever appeared." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Child_Is_Father_to_the_ManAll explanations covered handily, no doubt, by the hackneyed "artistic differences". |
Don Sugarcane Harris - Keyzop
Genesis - Wind & Wuthering |
Genesis - ...And Then There Were Three
You might want to consider asking the mods to ban me from the thread @slaw . I seem to be manifesting my mysterious alter ego known as "Thread Killer". |
ghosthouse, one of my most fun gigs was backing Don (Sugarcane Harris) & Dewey on a set at The Foothill Club in L.A. (a place that booked pure American Rock ’n’ Roll and Rockabilly artists) in the late-90’s. Don & Dewey had been on Specialty Records in the mid-late 50’s (along with Little Richard), and had a couple of minor hits (you may have heard their "Justine", a real barn burner). Don went on to work with Frank Zappa, but hey, a guy’s gotta eat ;-). Don showed up for the gig quite high, and was a real sweet guy. Dewey showed up dressed to kill---a sharp suit and shoes, tie pin and cufflinks. We had no rehearsal (shades of Chuck Berry), so before each song their bassist (the only musician they "carried") would call out the key and "feel" (shuffle, straight-8, etc.), and count it off. High pressure playing! I love playing for real Rock ’n’ Roll audiences---they dance! |
bdp24 - Of all your many music experiences, that one has to be top of the heap. No rehearsal? Don & Dewey probably share telepathy and the bass player had been working with them for a while. Which leaves you! Talk about a high wire act. I know you don't much care for FZ (an understatement, I expect) but he did display a softer side towards Don. Bailed him out and or got his fiddle out of hock on more than one occasion, as I recall. Mighta been self-serving if he just needed him for a show or a session, I guess. I suspect you're already familiar with it, but just in case not, check out Don's soaring solo on, "Little House I Used to Live In" on Burnt Weeny Sandwich. It starts at 5:13 on the track at the link here if you don't have patience for the lead in (and again at 10:35). Interesting set of musicians too. https://www.youtube.com/watch?gl=SN&hl=fr&v=1AhmgaF46F8 |
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bdp24
Say it isn't so... I knew you didn't like the Dead, but know Frank too? |
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Aw boxer12, I was just kiddin'. I actually DO like The Dead, at least when they do what they're good at, which isn't singing. It just so happens I love, love, love harmony singing, and superior chord progressions, melodies, arrangements, etc. In other words, songs. That's not their forte'. It was also not Zappa's, imo. I know he was a pretty smart and talented guy, but his talent was not at what I value in music. Plus, I found him to be a little too pleased with himself, and more than a little smug. Just my take on him, and I don't expect everyone to see it as do I. |
No Problem bdp24. Music would be on a pretty narrow beam if we all liked the same.
Tom Waits / Rain dogs |
Amy Winehouse, Back to Black
Lana del Rey, Paradise
The Doors, Absolutely Live
Oh, and my new KAB TD1200 Dampener. OMG it has really smoothed out the high end!! And no sidewall chatter or skipping yet. I'm more impressed than I thought I would be. |
Windsor for the derby / We fight till death |
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@ghosthouse ,
You, "Thread Killer"? If that is true, it’s just one more thing we have in common, as I had thought I held that title.
The more discussion the better as far as I’m concerned.
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@boxer12,
How’s "Double Negative"?
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Mark Knopfler "Get Lucky"
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Haha... @slaw
You might be right. We should each do a count of our discussion responses where we have "the last word" vs total discussions responded to. That would settle the question :-) We both have better things to do (I hope). Happy to share the title with you instead.
Be well.
PS -
Hey last evening, Van Morrison’s, "Hard Nose The Highway". I swear the first track seems, lyrically, to be a listing of all these local businesses and shops that are open late in some town somewhere. Haven’t researched it at all. Just seems like odd subject matter for a song.
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John Hiatt "Dirty Jeans & Mudslide Hymns" |
time to rock out...
The Vines "Winning Days" probably an overlooked lp from the early 2000’s. The SQ is Ex.
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Haydn, "Concerto in D Major" Vanguard - Danish Radio Symphony/ Mogens Woldike / An overlooked masterpiece for Harpsichord and String
Orch. wonderfully played .
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Gregory Alan Isakov "The Weatherman" |
Gregory Alan Isakov "Evening Machines" …..wonderful, as was/is the above lp. |
@slaw Did you come across Evening Machines in an email from TMR? Saw that myself this afternoon. I've not listened yet but found it on Tidal and saved it to favorites. Will check it out later. Hope it is good. Don't know Isakov from Nabokov. Right now though, Dan Fogelberg's "Nether Lands". The album his "masterpiece" in my O-pinion despite some (major) over-production (e.g., the opening title track!). "Loose Ends" (Track 5), however, is by itself worth the price of admission. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQBGX0KKQ1M |
Hey @ghosthouse ,
Funny you mention that, because I just noticed it in my email from TMR. But to answer your question, no. I ordered it last week and received it a couple of days ago. I now own 4 of his lps. I've been a fan for a while and he just keeps getting better, IMO.
PS, I may have one-upped you on our "Thread Killers" debate. I believe I was just, not long ago, partially responsible for someone completely removing a thread.
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Smashing Pumpkins, Adore
Rebelution, Peace of Mind - acoustic
but the night is young... |
Welcome @aqueousaris,
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Rolling Stones "Live/San Jose '99" side 3&4 (right now)
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Slaw, I'm digging double negative. It is a bit different than their other albums. Kind of fuzzy, very good though and well recorded.
Pressed Meat & the Smallgoods
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Slaw, BTW thanks for letting me know Low had a new out :-) |
@slaw
Good one. So in the thread killer contest, each "last word" will be like 1 point but a complete thread kill as in "removed by the moderators" will be a 100 points! Tough to catch up on something like that.
I said I didn't know Isakov, but as it turns out I had saved in Tidal his, The Weatherman. Once I saw it, I recalled listening to a bit of it some time ago but did not make it through the whole thing. Will try again. Track 1 on Evening Machines (like that title) dragged on for me so I cut things short this afternoon. Might have just been the mood I was in. See how it works later tonight.
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@ghosthouse ,
laughing...………
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replaying side 2 of The Vines "Winning Days"
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up next....Amy Helm "This Too Shall Light"
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Rolling Stones / Let it bleed |
Thanks @slaw! I’m newly initiated into vinyl and it feels amazing. Its all i think about, or spend money on. :0 |
You guys are cracking me up with the rules of the ultimate thread killer! 😂
i agree though if a mod cans you its at least 100pts! |
FINALLY! I have two people here that get my humor. What a great feeling! |
Parquet Courts / Monastic Living |
Lucinda Williams "Car Wheels.."
Dire Straits "On Every Street"
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Hey @boxer12, I'm responding to your ongoing (rack) construction...….. |
The Flaming Lips " Heady Fwends"
Doobie Brothers "Cycles"
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