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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.
DeleteContemporary? Yes, there’s something there—quite a bit, actually. I’m surprised myself (is that okay at 73?). It’s all by Angel Bat Dawid, and Irreversible Entanglements, “Journey To Nabta Playa” by Angel Bat Dawid and Naima Nefertari, as well as “The Prophet And The Madman” by Ami Taf Ra.
DeleteI mean, contemporary to the time you were feeling the anticipation, not contemporary as in now, today. Er ...
DeleteBut if you're excited today, about an upcoming release, that's what I mean. As well. I'm so outside current music I only get excited (perhaps too strong a word) after I've heard something, or if I hear of an upcoming archival release, which isn't what I mean. I also mean excited - there's some intensity there. Not just interested, or quite keen. I mean counting down the days, really looking forward to it.
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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ReplyDeleteAnd a damn good thing too.
DeleteStochelo and Mozes Rosenberg are releasing in July, their manouche album that consists of songs that were partially written by Charlie Chaplin. Chaplin had left behind several unfinished songs, and a few years ago, one of his children gave them to his friend, Stochelo, to complete. We heard the inaugural concert of these songs last summer at a Django festival and have been anxiously awaiting its release. Here's a video of a live performance of one of the songs - Gypsy. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0RD6BLyCfQ
ReplyDeleteWell, that's lovely, but I can't see myself leaning against the store door on the day of release. I spent many nights in Saint Wayne listening to Django music.
DeleteI was excited this past April for the Record Store Day releases of The John Coltrane Quartet ‘France 1965: The Complete Concerts’, Miles Davis ‘The New Sounds’, Ahmad Jamal ‘At the Jazz Showcase: Live in Chicago’. They did not disappoint.
ReplyDeleteThese are archival releases, which according to the small print don't count. What I was trying - and obviously failing - to do was get you (anybody) to remember the last time you felt a rush of anticipation for a new record. Put it this way - I remember the buzz of a new Beatles record. I wasn't just interested, or happily looking forward to it. There was a physical buzz, listening to the radio to hear it for the first time. A new Beatles album was an event. That buzz continued post-Beatles through the sixties and seventies. I can think of Santana, Little Feat, Pink Floyd, and personal favourites who never made the charts I invested album money in, unheard. Television's first album, definite thrill about that one. In the eighties, I was a fan of The Church, who still got my VU meter twitching into the red for a few albums. Springsteen, oh yeah. Up until Dancing In The Dark, when I began to back off. Into the nineties, and I'm struggling to remember the buzz. The thrill had been replaced by hope, interest, and satisfaction. I bought music like never before, but "the thrill had gone". And that's what I'm interested to hear about, if you can think back and see a point or a period in your life when the rush of rock n' roll records changed. Age has something to do with it, sure. But it's not the deciding factor. Some of you may still get the Elvis rush, or whoever it was that first lit you up.
DeleteTo answer my own question, it's probably Born In The USA. I've bought and enjoyed hundreds of albums since then, and rock music is an abiding pleasure, but in terms of looking forward to new records, it's mostly archival releases by acts I love, not new bands making new records.
I remember well when I was a college freshman the great anticipation for the soon to be released Stevie Wonders Songs in the Key of Life & Steely Dan’s The Royal Scam. Neither disappointed, although in retrospect Dan’s Scam was not as strong as their 3 previous efforts.
DeleteGbrand
Stevie Wonder had the Buzz, for sure. I was hooked (as were millions) by Superstition. He had a good run.
DeleteHe opened forbthe Stones 72 tour. It was great.
DeleteEdward Vesala 'Ode To The Death Of Jazz' (1990) had me hanging on but then blanked me.
ReplyDeleteLast Exit 'Koeln' (1990) did the job
Faust & Dalek 'Derbe Respect, Alder' (2004)
Main 'Firmament III' (1996)
Nothing quite lit you up in the last couple of decades, Fanny?
DeleteNot ahead of release apart from Ridley Scott's 'Prometheus' and we all know how that turned out.
DeleteThe "I can't wait" counting-the-days thing burned out long ago unless it's waiting for the postman to deliver some aural goodies.
Come to think of it I'm so behind all curves that by the time I've picked up a truffle's scent it's usually coming from the poo of the person who ate it, so the waiting doesn't come into it.
Looking forward to the paperback edition of A Cultural History of the Bagpipes though (Novermber IIRC).
WIth me it was probably the Jam's last studio Album "The Gift' (in other words 46 years ago). Unfortunately it wasn't "the Gift" I was hoping for but more a reflection of the band's subsequent break up than anything else. After that with Weller breaking up the band no music captivated me in quite the same way, not even Weller's early solo stuff.
ReplyDeleteProbably the release that capitivated me most of all over the years was the Pistols single 'God Save The Queen' simply because of the circus surrounding the Sex Pistols after the Bill Grundy show. They're being banned pretty much everywhere ensured anything they released after Anarchy was going to be gleefully anticipated and God Save The Queen didn't disappoint to the extent that the BBC and BMRB actively conspired to stop it from reaching number one (by switching the day of cut off for the sales analysis that created the chart) which ensured Rod Stewart stayed at number one in the Pistols first week of release. I felt similar anticipation towards Never Mind The Bollocks when that came out and somehow John Peel managed to circumvent the ban by playing the whole album after midnight on his show on BBC Radio 1 on the night after its release. The other one I remember was the unveiling of Michael Jackson's Thriller video which was also shown late at night on C4 but in that case the late hour was simply to tie into with its global release in the States.
Now the only things that get raise my anticipation levels are retrospective compilations and boxsets like the recent 5th Dimension boxset covering their releases from 1967~1975 or the similar Freddie & The Dreamers one covering their releases from 1963~1970. Today its more about how hard the music has been to find and how long I've been looking for it rather than hearing anything new (virtually all of it can be listened to on Youtube). That said I think the last Who studio album peaked my interest and I always keep an eye out for any new releases by Paul Weller but certainly with nowhere near the anticipation that I felt back in the day.
Thoughtful stuff, POTRO! I wondered if anyone would cite the Pistols. They were probably the biggest Buzz Event in the UK since the Beatles.
DeleteOkey doke!! I t'ink I gets what ya's after!! A time in the past when at that time I felt a rush of excitement/ecstasy about the future release of a "new" album to be released by a band contemporaneous with that time in the past??
ReplyDeleteLet me put it this way - a time in the past when at that time you felt a rush of excitement/ecstasy about the future release of a "new" album to be released by a band contemporaneous with that time in the past. Hope this clears things up!
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DeleteIf you mean premature praise: I never got excited about a new record to come. Whenever I got such an announcement, it was like "let's hear what they are doing now".
DeleteNo, I don't mean premature praise, I mean a time in the past when at that time you felt a rush of excitement/ecstasy about the future release of a "new" album to be released by a band contemporaneous with that time in the past.
DeleteThis doesn't depend on premature praise, or hype. It's a natural feeling when an act you love has a new record coming out. Or wishing they'd come up with a new album.
You're right, "premature praise" wasn't the right phrase (even though it often goes hand in hand with an announcement). Anyway, that doesn't change what I wrote. I was never excited about the announcement of a new album—if I'd even noticed it in the first place. I usually went to a store, looked around, and sometimes even listened to see what was new.
DeleteYikes. Never excited by the news of a new album? I'm sure you've lived a full and rewarding life, but for this small yet intense pleasure to have passed you by seems unjust at best.
DeleteNot necessarily the 1st, or the last time, but "A" time would be waiting for Hawkwind's "Space Ritual" live album!!!
ReplyDeleteHawkwind were definitely a Buzz Band, although never quite on my wavelength. Anything since then, Steve?
DeleteOh .. there has to have been!! ..but, you know what my brain has gone pretty blank!!
DeleteThe Clash singles--and other singles--that showed up at Inner Sanctum Records from the UK once a month or so. About two weeks after a batch, a set of us would start checking every day ad would gobble up most anything that appeared, ecstatic. Bliss.
ReplyDeleteGood call. Still echoing down from nearly fifty years ago.
DeleteHowdy pardner,
ReplyDeleteI'll keep it short and sweet for you, as the family and I are still in the land of garlic and knots. The last band I got excited over a new release and got burned by is Sun Dial. The Miss' who's part native told me once that Sun Dial is an old Halotuchen word for "Diminishing returns" and, depending on whether you're from the north side of the territory, also "sucker".
As ever,
Billy Gates of the Doubble X Ranch.
Now this is borderline spooky, because I've been preparing a Sun Dial piece. "Diminishing returns" is right. He should have partnered up with someone who could write songs.
DeleteLast band I got close to excitement over was Garcia Peoples, and where the hell are they now?
Howdy again,
DeleteNot to completely crap on that Sun Dial fella', that thing he did as Q or Quad was a good follow-through from the first Sun Dial record (Other Way Out). Why he decided to release all of 30 copies of a record with all of 15 people knowing it even existed, and chose Reflector as the Other Way Out follow up, is a mystery worthy of what the lines in Nazca really were for.
With this two cents and still as ever,
Billy Gates of the Doubble X Ranch.
Q or Quad? me no have. Me want.
DeleteHowdy again (again),
DeleteLet me add another two cents to the "and another thing" jar. I tried finding Quad on that there YouTube, and good luck with that. The best I could do was to go to Discogs and sure shootin', there was a YouTube link...the wonders of electronic wonders...Thank you for Mr. Kane, I'm a pushover for anything Ron Geesin, though the boy says it makes his head squirrely, but I think that might be the Isotopes he keeps collecting. Also, thanks for another entry to the game "Where did Page and Jones first record together before Hurdy Gurdy Man?" I know it's blasphemy in some parts, but I still say that's Big Jim Sullivan on lead guitar and Page is the heavy-handed acoustic.
As ever in the Tuscany heat,
Billy Gates of the Doubble X Ranch.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DhACvoAuajk&t=1s
I think a friend introduced me to Massive Attack in the mid nineties and when reading about the upcoming release of their third album Mezzanine in 1998, my expectations were high! Luckily that one didn't disappoint, great listen at the time.
ReplyDeleteTwo very different albums/artists, but same era.
ReplyDeleteI had heard the first two Massive Attack albums and was really looking forward to their third Messanine (1988), I bought it on the Monday of release, and played it as soon as I got home from work, loved it.
I was on the Bevis Frond Woronzow mailing list, so Nick would write when a new LP was coming out, and Superseeder was imminent (mid 90’s), that one sticks in my mind, and remains one of my favourite Frond albums.
Unfortunately my vinyl addiction had got out of hand, my girlfriend suggested a cull.(!) Instead of a cull I virtually stopped buying vinyl. I live in a small house this was the sensible option.
You wait for hours for a Massive Attack, and two come at once ...
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Delete:-) So to continue, firstly Koen is correct about the date of 1998 for Mezzanine. Second, after I stopped buying so much vinyl, I stopped getting the buzz of antici…..pation when I switched to CDs, I never thought the sound was better than vinyl, also those crappy CD booklets - the only good thing about a CD is you don’t need to get up half way through. As Phantom says (above), retrospective compilations and boxsets sometimes promise so much, but I soon learned that there was a reason much of the music was unreleased at the time of initial release.
DeleteI must check my comments before I hit 'publish'.
Probably A Wizard A True Star. It was out in the US for months before the UK release. I was waiting.
ReplyDeleteI was the same for Birds Of Fire, biting the bullet and paying a hideous sum for the import.
DeleteBefore I forget...back in the day I would get all anticipatey for new material announced by Ultravox and Kraftwerk.
ReplyDeleteAnd like a lot of other v young British saddos I counted the (10?) months between news of Star wars knocking the Yanks for a loop and queuing up to see it over here.
used to get quite excited for a new Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, now I approach with a bit of trepidation.
ReplyDeleteooo ee, ooo ah ah, ting tang, walla walla bing bang !!! david seville's witch doctor now that one tingled my dangle 1958 was the bomb !!! johnny mathis frankie and elvis had something but alvin simon and theodore it down
ReplyDeletewoody
Can someone please knock on Woody's door and make sure he's all right?
DeleteWaited a long time for: JESSE SYKES and the Sweet Hereafter "Forever, I’ve Been Being Born"
ReplyDeleteIt's takes her up to ten years between albums...but, my favourite album of hers is "Reckless Burning" - if you're interested at all, start there.
https://jessesykes.com/
~ Jon in California
If anyone (except Anonymous) wants these albums, ask! ENGAGE with the vibrant online community what are th' Four Or Five Guys©!
ReplyDeleteDearest Farq!! I am shaking with anticipatory delight at the thought of hearing Mr. Amory Kane's oeuvre!! So on behalf of ALL the 4 or 5 guys ... Where's the link? ... . Pretty please!!
ReplyDeleteThis is the ideal way to make a request: ingratiating, even fawning, with a theatrical touch of hyperbole. The link will be issuing forth from the sparkling nebula of the internet shortly.
DeleteHere is the link. This is the link. The link is here. But if you're "anonymous" or one of the HUNDREDS of sorry-looking herberts sitting on their thumbs out there without ever engaging in the lively companionship provided FREE OF CHARGE to you lousy griftin' bums, do NOT click the link because you will be struck by th' CURSE O' FOAM™ (*doomy Farfisa chord*) today manifest as sudden and permanent flattening of scrotum folds. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!!!
Deletehttps://workupload.com/file/cWQe8zvfRvV
Would that your courtly demeanour act as guideline for the mannerless oiks out there!
Delete