CARAVAN'S 1ST ALBUM

Original released on LP Verve VLP 6011 (mono); SVLP 6011 (stereo)

(UK, December 1968)

For their first album, Caravan was surprisingly strong. While steeped in the same British psychedelia that informed bands such as Love Children, Pink Floyd, and Tomorrow, Caravan relates a freedom of spirit and mischief along the lines of Giles, Giles & Fripp or Gong. The band's roots can be traced to a British blue-eyed soul combo called the Wilde Flowers. Among the luminaries to have passed through this Caravan precursor were Robert Wyatt, Kevin Ayers, and Hugh Hopper and Brian Hopper (pre-Soft Machine, naturally). By the spring of 1968, Caravan had settled nicely into a quartet consisting of Pye Hastings (guitar/bass/vocals), Richard Coughlan (drums), David Sinclair (organ/vocals), and Richard Sinclair (bass/guitar/vocals). Inspired by the notoriety and acclaim that Soft Machine encountered during the burgeoning days of London's underground scene, Caravan began a residency at the Middle Earth club. Additionally, the band was shopping a homemade demo tape around to local record companies. Before long, entrepreneur Tony Cox worked out a deal for them to record on the newly founded U.K. division of the Verve label. Caravan's self-titled debut is equally as inventive and infinitely more subtle than the Soft Machine's Volume One or Pink Floyd's Piper at the Gates of Dawn. Two of the album's best tunes - the ethereal "Place of My Own" was backed with the dreamlike "Magic Man" - were issued as the band's first single. Those tracks accurately exemplify the subtle complexities that Caravan would hone to great effect on later recordings. The same can also be said for album cuts such as "Love Song With Flute" and the extended nine-minute "Where but for Caravan Would I?" The latter title aptly exemplifies Caravan's decidedly less than turgid attitude toward themselves - a refreshing contrast from the temperamental and serious Art School approach adopted by Pink Floyd and the Moody Blues. The mono and stereo mixes of the long-player are striking in their disparities. The stereo mix is at times opaque and virtually swallows the vocals most specifically on the tracks "Policeman" and "Grandma's Lawn." Otherwise, there are numerous additional nuances that discern the two. The single version of "Hello Hello" is also included as a bonus. This track was the follow-up 45 to "Place of My Own" and would appear in a slightly different form on their next LP, "If I Could Do It All Over Again, I'd Do It All Over You". Potential consumers should note that the sound quality on this package is indescribably better than the HTD Records 1996 CD pressing.

MR. ZIMMERMAN'S SONGBOOK - VOLUME 6

This is the final volume of this collection

EVA CASSIDY LIVE AT BLUES ALLEY - 2/3 January, 1996

Original released on CD Blix Street G2 10046

(UK, 23 September 1997)

The late Eva Cassidy gained a loyal following in the Washington, D.C., area through appearances in small clubs, utilizing her pitch-perfect singing voice to interpret a variety of tunes ranging from standards to modern-era pop songs. A notoriously shy performer, Eva Cassidy had a somewhat stiff stage presence, but she endeared herself to her audiences by performing songs she obviously loved, combining elements of soul, gospel, blues, and jazz. "Live at Blues Alley" is an excellent showcase for her vocal talents and her ability to make even the most familiar tune uniquely her own. Admittedly, the titles on "Live at Blues Alley" seem like a set list for a bad Vegas lounge act; songs such as Irving Berlin's "Cheek to Cheek" and Louis Armstrong's "What a Wonderful World" have been done to death for decades. Fortunately, Eva Cassidy had an obvious affection for these standards. She sounds as if she had a ball performing the Irving Berlin number, while her subtle reading of the Louis Armstrong tune is nothing less than extraordinary. She was equally successful with more contemporary pop classics like "Bridge Over Troubled Water" and "Take Me to the River." Ultimately, the slower songs are the most stirring, particularly her rendition of "Fields of Gold." Her tear-jerking version of the Sting tune could very well be one of the greatest cover songs ever recorded. Eva Cassidy's popularity slowly began to spread outside of the D.C. area upon the release of this album in early 1996. Unfortunately, Eva Cassidy passed away later that year, just as she began laying the groundwork for what could have been a stellar career in music. However, her posthumous success has been astonishing, with worldwide critical acclaim and extensive exposure on British television that helped her album "Songbird" climb to number one on the British album chart in March, 2001. "Live at Blues Alley" was the only solo album released during Eva Cassidy's lifetime (an album recorded with Chuck Brown, "The Other Side", was also released), and it's an excellent introduction to a performer who never lived to witness the impact her voice made on her fans all over the world.

On The Road Again - Volume 8

R.I.P DAVID BOWIE (8/1/1947 >>> 10/1/2016)

HOW BOWIE TOLD US HE WAS DYING

VIDEO "LAZARUS"

SALUT LES COPAINS - VOLUME 1

TRINI LOPEZ'S LATIN ALBUMS (1964 / 1966)

Original released on LP Reprise R-6125

(US, 1964)

QUESTION:

What Could Be Better Than Trini's First "Latin Album"?

ANSWER:

The Second "Latin Album"!

Original released on LP Reprise R-6215

(US, 1966)

One of the nice things about understanding Spanish is that you'll be able to know what Trini Lopez is singing about. But one of the nice things about not understanding Spanish is that you won't have to bother. Either way it's a good deal, but the bi-lingual listeners are going to have a tough time just sitting back and enjoying the sound of Trini Lopez. We're not talking about the sound of the whole musical group. We're not talking about the familiar sound of Trini's guitar and a mouthful of English lyrics. We're talking about the comparatively neglected and absolutely delightful sound of Trini's voice. Granted that the Spanish language is more euphonious than English, and more mellifluous, still there are voices and there are voices. Trini Lopez has one of the nice ones. It's happy, it's warm, it's romantic, it has a sincere lyrical line for ballads and an explosively creative approach to up-tempo tunes. Trini Lopez has been enjoyed by the world for some time now. And if you mentioned all the qualities that have endeared him to people you'd have a list that listed enthusiasm, a beat, warm personality, a refined approach to rock and roll, a happy combination of Latin feeling and American folk music.

THE CREATION: 1966 >>> 1969

They could've been contenders - hell, they should've been contenders! That's the first thought that passes through one's head as one hears the early singles by the Creation - and, indeed, how they weren't contenders is astonishing. They had it all, the in-house songwriting, the production, the voices, and the sound that should've put them right up there with the Who and ahead of the Move and Jimmy Page, among others. Their lead guitarist, Eddie Phillips, was even asked by Pete Townshend to join the Who as their second guitarist. But thanks to an unaccountable weakness in their British sales - as opposed to their German chart action, which was downright robust - and some instability in their lineup, they were never to enjoy any of the recognition they deserved, and a right turn from psychedelia into soul at the wrong moment took whatever wind they had out of their sails (and sales). And the final few months of their history, filled out by the work of a revived band that never quite got it together in the studio, and singles derived from early outtakes, did nothing but confuse fans and admirers, who couldn't be sure "which" Creation they were dealing with on record.

JULIE LONDON'S "For The Night People"

Original released on LP Liberty LRP 3478 (mono); LST 7478 (stereo)

(US, 1966)

After 1959's excellent 2Julie...at Home", a small-group West Coast session cut in her own living room, Julie London's albums became increasingly orchestral and less jazzy during the first half of the '60s. While many of these albums are excellent (particularly "Around Midnight"), most weren't up to her best recordings from the 1950s. Then, in 1965 something changed, and stripped-down jazz backings reappeared on her albums until her notorious final disc went soft rock with a vengeance in 1969. For this album, the West Coast arranger and bass player Don Bagley combines an excellent jazz trio with subtle string charts that never swamp the intimate feeling of the disc. London came to fame by recording stripped-down sessions with just guitar and bass, so it makes sense that on "For the Night People", an unidentified jazz guitarist gets to solo throughout the album. A typically low-key and melancholy session, standout tracks include a languid reading of the usually manic "Won't You Come Home Bill Bailey" and two songs made famous by Frank Sinatra - "Saturday Night (Is the Loneliest Night in the Week)" and "I'll Never Smile Again." This album is a must-have for Julie London fans and thankfully she worked with Bagley again on the more upbeat but no-less-languid "Nice Girls Don't Stay for Breakfast", which keeps the guitar heard here, but after the title track replaces the strings with a jazz organ and horn.

Unforgettable Natalie (6/2/1950 - 31/12/2015)

Original released on CD Elektra 9 61049-2

(US, 1991, May 14)

A major change of direction for Natalie Cole, "Unforgettable" found the singer abandoning the type of R&B/pop she'd been recording since 1975 in favor of jazz-influenced pre-rock pop along the lines of Nat King Cole's music. It was a surprising risk that paid off handsomely - both commercially and artistically. Naysayers who thought that so radical a change would be commercial suicide were proven wrong when the outstanding "Unforgettable" sold a shocking five million units. Quite clearly, this was an album Cole was dying to make. Paying tribute to her late father on "Mona Lisa," "Nature Boy," "Route 66," and other gems that had been major hits for him in the 1940s and early '50s, the 41-year-old Cole sounds more inspired than she had in well over a decade. On the title song, overdubbing was used to make it sound as though she were singing a duet with her father - dishonest perhaps, but certainly enjoyable. Thankfully, standards and pre-rock pop turned out to be a primary direction for Cole, who was a baby when the title song became a hit for her father in 1951.

TRINI LOPEZ RECORDED LIVE AT PJ'S

Original released on LP Reprise RS 6093

(US, August 1963)

PH GRAND HOTEL

Original released on LP Chrysalis CHR 1037

(UK, March 1973)

Procol Harum's first album for Chrysalis, "Grand Hotel", found the band returning to the grandeur of earlier works such as "Shine on Brightly" and "Salty Dog". Robin Trower's replacement Mick Grabham is capable, even powerful, but not nearly as distinctive as his predecessor; consequently, the material tends to rely more on ornate arrangements than guitar riffs, making this somewhat more dignified than either of their previous studio albums, "Home" and "Broken Barricades". Brooker and lyricist Keith Reid step up with strong material, notably the title track, "Toujours L'Amour", and "Fires (Which Burnt Brightly)". While the keyboard and orchestra-based arrangements harken back to earlier triumphs, the lyrics deal less with whaling stories than with social commentary; "A Souvenir of London" is about social diseases, with "T.V. Caesar" about the pervasive influence of television.

On The Road Again - Volume 7

CLIFF LIVE IN TOKYO, 1967

Original Released on LP Columbia SCX 6244

(UK, 1968/05)

This is a terrific show which Cliff recorded with The Norrie Panamor Orchestra at Shibuya Public Hall in Tokyo, Japan, on 18 October 1967. The album first entered the british charts on 1 June 1968 and reached #29. Now you can enjoy this digitally remastered edition, with two bonus tracks: it's  Cliff at his very best!

TO ALL MY FRIENDS

THE BEAT OF THE POPS - VOLUME 8