ALL TIME FAVOURITES - VOLUME 9

You're Only Pretty As You Feel...

Original released on LP Grunt FTR 1001

(US, September 1971)

Dealing with the album "Bark" is a difficult one at best.  It’s complex, beginning with the cover. What you see today on a CD is not what appeared when the album first came out. The album came in a brown paper bag, the size of a grocery shopping bag, with the letters JA boldly emblazoned, the logo taken from the A&P Grocery Store chain. Inside of this bag, on the cover of the sleeve, was a print of a dead fish, as if it had been wrapped in this bag. It was also a nod to the work Andy Warhol was doing with his soup cans, and everyday objects as art. But more then that, was the term of the day ‘my bag.’  By having this, one was in effect saying "I’m into your bag, your trip, I’m on your side." And all three of those statements were presented on this record. If I’m not mistaken, this was the first album released under the Jefferson Airplane’s new "Grunt" Label. Most people didn’t get what "Grunt" meant. A grunt was a foot soldier, and they were called grunts because of the sound they made when attempting to stand up under the heavy load of their backpack [actually we called it an Alice Pack, if you were in the war], and the Airplane saw, or at least wanted to present themselves as the foot soldiers in the war against the Nixon Administration. This was one of the first ultra-thin flexie discs, the vinyl was very thin and flexible compared to the heavy discs that came before.  But the concept didn’t work very well, and later albums were released on much heavier vinyl.

The album had no contextual feel to it, as the others did, either in the music or the message. "Pretty As You Feel" was the hit, but even that song held disguised meanings. One might be that the band was only as good as they felt they were, and they certainly didn’t feel really good about themselves as they were on the verge of breaking up. A change of name for the band to The Jefferson Starship was in the workds; hoping to reflect a newer, swifter vision of themselves and their music. The track "Law Man" stands the test of time, where Grace representing the band takes their last political stand against the powers that be. "Rock And Roll Island" is a great rockin’ song, though it foreshadows a lonely place, were rock and rollers might go, separating themselves from the world. "Wild Turkey" is amazing, but not as a Jefferson Airplane song, it showed what was to come with the side project of Hot Tuna.  The Airplane was crashing, San Francisco was falling apart, the counter culture had become mainstream, the war ragged on, and serious drugs use had infected the band, not to mention the dissolving of Grace’s personal relationship. The band was moving in two directions, and this was tearing it apart. On one hand there was Grace Slick and Paul Kanter, and on the other was Jack Casady and Jorma Kaukonen. The band could not be relied upon to show up, or worse, be in shape to perform live. There was an event in Germany where Grace just railed the audience for being the losers of the World War II [Nazi’s] because she was so drunk and high. Everything seemed to be crumbling, getting high was no longer fun, it was serious. Dark drugs and rip-offs were more common then ever, it was the winter of Flower Power and there would never be a spring to bring it all back to life. Even with all of this, the music is tight, well thought out and constructed in a considered manner. Some of the best results come from hearing the beginnings of Hot Tuna ... man, they were a great jamming band. While the good songs could have just as easily been placed on either the previous or next record, the body of work stands on it’s own merit, and is a reflection of the times that must be viewed in its contextual nature and atmosphere of the times. (in RateYourMusic)

The Latin Splendor of WERNER MÜLLER

Original released on LP DECCA PFS 4199

(UK, 1969)

Chicago Transit Authority

Original released on Double LP Columbia GP8

(US 1969, April 28)

Few debut albums can boast as consistently solid an effort as the self-titled "Chicago Transit Authority" (1969). Even fewer can claim to have enough material to fill out a double-disc affair. Although this long- player was ultimately the septet's first national exposure, the group was far from the proverbial "overnight sensation." Under the guise of the Big Thing, the group soon to be known as CTA had been honing its eclectic blend of jazz, classical, and straight-ahead rock & roll in and around the Windy City for several years. Their initial non-musical meeting occurred during a mid-February 1967 confab between the original combo at Walter Parazaider's apartment on the north side of Chi Town. Over a year later, Columbia Records staff producer James Guercio became a key supporter of the group, which he rechristened Chicago Transit Authority. In fairly short order the band relocated to the West Coast and began woodshedding the material that would comprise this title. In April of 1969, the dozen sides of "Chicago Transit Authority" unleashed a formidable and ultimately American musical experience. This included an unheralded synthesis of electric guitar wailin' rock & roll to more deeply rooted jazz influences and arrangements. This approach economized the finest of what the band had to offer - actually two highly stylized units that coexisted with remarkable singularity. 

On the one hand, listeners were presented with an incendiary rock & roll quartet of Terry Kath (lead guitar/vocals), Robert Lamm (keyboards/vocals), Peter Cetera (bass/vocals), and Danny Seraphine (drums). They were augmented by the equally aggressive power brass trio that included Lee Loughnane (trumpet/vocals), James Pankow (trombone), and the aforementioned Parazaider (woodwind/vocals). This fusion of rock with jazz would also yield some memorable pop sides and enthusiasts' favorites as well. Most notably, a quarter of the material on the double album - "Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?," "Beginnings," "Questions 67 and 68," and the only cover on the project, Steve Winwood's "I'm a Man" - also scored as respective entries on the singles chart. The tight, infectious, and decidedly pop arrangements contrast with the piledriving blues-based rock of "Introduction" and "South California Purples" as well as the 15-plus minute extemporaneous free for all "Liberation." Even farther left of center are the experimental avant-garde "Free Form Guitar" and the politically intoned and emotive "Prologue, August 29, 1968" and "Someday (August 29, 1968)." (Lindsay Planer in AllMusic)

The Sensational Sound of HELMUT ZACHARIAS

Original released on LP EMI-Columbia STUDIO2STEREO TWO 298

(UK, 1970)

HELMUT ZACHARIAS: "Candlelight Serenade"

Original released on LP Polydor 237 530 SLPHM

(GERMANY, 1965)

MEMORIES FROM THE PAST - November 1968

"La Vallée" OST by PINK FLOYD

Original released on LP Harvest SHSP 4020

(UK 1972, June 2)

"Obscured by Clouds" is the soundtrack to the Barbet Schroeder film "La Vallée", and it plays that way. Of course, it's possible to make the argument that Pink Floyd's music of the early '70s usually played as mood music, similar to film music, but it had structure and a progression. Here, the instrumentals float pleasantly, filled with interesting textures, yet they never seem to have much of a purpose. Often, they seem quite tied to their time, either in their spaciness or in the pastoral folkiness, two qualities that are better brought out on the full-fledged songs interspersed throughout the record. Typified by "Burning Bridges" and "Wot's...uh the Deal," these songs explore some of the same musical ground as those on "Atom Heart Mother" and "Meddle", yet they are more concise and have a stronger structure. But the real noteworthy numbers are the surprisingly heavy blues-rocker "The Gold It's in The...," which, as good as it is, is trumped by the stately, ominous "Childhood's End" and the jaunty pop tune "Free Four," two songs whose obsessions with life, death, and the past clearly point toward "Dark Side of the Moon". ("Childhood's End" also suggests Dark Side in its tone and arrangement.) As startlingly advanced as these last two songs are, they're not enough to push the rest of "Obscured by Clouds" past seeming just like a soundtrack, yet these tunes, blended with the sensibility of "Meddle", suggest what Pink Floyd was about to develop into. (Stephen Erlewine in AllMusic)

PAUL AND LINDA McCARTNEY: "Ram" + Bonus Tracks

Original released on LP Apple SMAS-3375

(US 1971, May 17)

After the breakup, Beatles fans expected major statements from the three chief songwriters in the Fab Four. John and George fulfilled those expectations - Lennon with his lacerating, confessional "John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band", Harrison with his triple-LP "All Things Must Pass" - but Paul McCartney certainly didn't, turning toward the modest charms of "McCartney", and then crediting his wife Linda as a full-fledged collaborator on its 1971 follow-up, "Ram". Where McCartney was homemade, sounding deliberately ragged in parts, "Ram" had a fuller production yet retained that ramshackle feel, sounding as if it were recorded in a shack out back, not far from the farm where the cover photo of Paul holding the ram by the horns was taken. It's filled with songs that feel tossed off, filled with songs that are cheerfully, incessantly melodic; it turns the monumental symphonic sweep of Abbey Road into a cheeky slice of whimsy on the two-part suite "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey." All this made "Ram" an object of scorn and derision upon its release (and for years afterward, in fact), but in retrospect it looks like nothing so much as the first indie pop album, a record that celebrates small pleasures with big melodies, a record that's guileless and unembarrassed to be cutesy. 

But McCartney never was quite the sap of his reputation, and even here, on possibly his most precious record, there's some ripping rock & roll in the mock-apocalyptic goof "Monkberry Moon Delight," the joyfully noisy "Smile Away," where his feet can be smelled a mile away, and "Eat at Home," a rollicking, winking sex song. All three of these are songs filled with good humor, and their foundation in old-time rock & roll makes it easy to overlook how inventive these productions are, but on the more obviously tuneful and gentle numbers - the ones that are more quintessentially McCartney-esque - it's plain to see how imaginative and gorgeous the arrangements are, especially on the sad, soaring finale, "Back Seat of My Car," but even on its humble opposite, the sweet "Heart of the Country." These songs may not be self-styled major statements, but they are endearing and enduring, as is "Ram" itself, which seems like a more unique, exquisite pleasure with each passing year. (Stephen Erlewine in AllMusic)

McCARTNEY Debut Album + Bonus Tracks

Original released on LP Apple PCS 7102

(UK 1970, April 17)

Paul McCartney retreated from the spotlight of the Beatles by recording his first solo album at his home studio, performing nearly all of the instruments himself. Appropriately, "McCartney" has an endearingly ragged, homemade quality that makes even its filler - and there is quite a bit of filler - rather ingratiating. Only a handful of songs rank as full-fledged McCartney classics, but those songs - the light folk-pop of "That Would Be Something," the sweet, gentle "Every Night," the ramshackle Beatles leftover "Teddy Boy," and the staggering "Maybe I'm Amazed" (not coincidentally the only rocker on the album) - are full of all the easy melodic charm that is McCartney's trademark. The rest of the album is charmingly slight, especially if it is read as a way to bring Paul back to earth after the heights of the Beatles. At the time the throwaway nature of much of the material was a shock, but it has become charming in retrospect. (Stephen Erlewine in AllMusic)

ALL TIME FAVOURITES - VOLUME 8

JOSE FELICIANO: "Fantastic Feliciano"

Original released on LP RCA Victor LSP 3581

(US, 1966)

Jose Feliciano continues to refine his folk-jazz aesthetic via "Fantastic Feliciano", a scattershot set of pop standards that pushes the singer in a series of new creative directions, some considerably more successful than others. Feliciano lends his signature stamp to familiar tunes like "Nature Boy," "For Sentimental Reasons," and "The Masquerade Is Over," shifting easily from stark, simple arrangements that spotlight his intricate guitar playing to fuller, R&B-inspired contexts that underline the soulfulness of his vocals. Not all of it works, and the album fails to hang together as a whole, but the pieces of the puzzle are in place, enabling his signature sound to achieve critical mass over the course of subsequent LPs. (Jason Ankeny in AllMusic)