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| You had to be there ... |
Possibly most people who've heard of Amory Kane (a neat pun on American) heard him first on the life-changing double album sampler on CBS, Fill Your Head With Rocks, which featured the beguiling Inbetween Man. Those who got beyond the smirk-inducing cover of his album (I'm, like, seriously, bro?) discovered a bunch of fine singer-songwritery material lifted above the norm by a subtly psychedelic production from Tony Cox (Caravan, Trees, Family etc.), with nicely sinister sonics from Ron Geesin (Pink Floyd). Kane has a good voice, avoiding the Donovan vibrato, and the only mis-step is his over-wrought rendering of Get Together, a song already dated in 1970. The rest is as good as the introspective, quietly stoned genre gets.
His debut album from two years previous [left, Ed.] features a paid-at-scale Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones. Very much a product of its time, and Steve Rowland's production veers into commercial pop, which doesn't fit as well as Tony Cox's sensitive experimentation. Also - Protest Song Advisory.
Neither album exactly gave the charts a good kicking, and Kane (real name Jack) returned to the States and became a chef. Good for him. Thanks for the music, Jack. Times like these, it fits just right.
This post made possible by torrential tropical downour. Can't even see the river! Yikes!
Not "lost classics", just good, well-made albums from a singer/songwriter worthy of the genre. If you'd like to add them to your collection, why not drop me a line in the comments and tell us the last time you were actually excited by an upcoming new release?
ReplyDeleteRight now actually!! A big fan of CAN who're gonna release another album in their "Live" series in September!!
ReplyDeleteI can dig it. But I'm going to have to tighten the definition a little. Upcoming new albums by a contemporary act. Not archival.
DeleteI'm hoping for an upcoming Angine de Poitrine release soon. They stood the Montreal Jazz Festival on it's head. Most exciting, fun and funny thing to happen in pop music in a long, long time. They defy all the conventios. Enjoy the rsin
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