Emerson & Lake

4-30-10 Emerson & Lake

I recently almost had the opportunity to see Keith Emerson & Greg Lake play live in Los Angeles. I couldn’t go to the show. But, yes, I have a lot of EL&P records, and…I think I have some of their solo material…

Keith Emerson

CD CHIESA, LA (w/ Goblin)(O.S.T.) CINEVOX IT CDMDF 329

2001 13 TRKS O.S.T.

7" HONKY TONK TRAIN BLUES (PS) MANTICORE UK K 13513

1976 2 TRKS with pic sleeve

CD INFERNO (O.S.T.) CINEVOX IT CD-CIA 5022

1979 15 TRKS ('89 issue)

LP INFERNO (O.S.T.) CINEVOX IT MDF 33/138

1979 15 TRKS

CD MURDEROCK (O.S.T.) CINEVOX IT CDMDF 345

1984 15 TRKS ('01 issue) (4 x bvonus tracks)

LP NIGHTHAWKS (O.S.T.) BACKSTREET US BSR-5196

1981 11 TRKS O.S.T.

Greg Lake

7" I BELIEVE IN FATHER CHRISTMAS / HUMBUG ATLANTIC US 45-3305

1975 2 TRKS no pic sleeve, Xmas

7" I BELIEVE IN FATHER CHRISTMAS / HUMBUG (PS) MANTICORE FR 13511

1975 2 TRKS with pic sleeve, Xmas

7" LET ME LOVE YOU ONCE CHRYSALIS US CHS 2571

1981 2 TRKS no pic sleeve

LP MANOEUVRES CHRYSALIS US FV 41392

1983 10 TRKS

There are significant solo works by Emerson & Lake on:

CDx2 WORKS, Vol. 1 SHOUT US 10785

LPx2 WORKS, Vol. 1 ATLANTIC US SD 2-7000

So, how do I feel about this stuff in 2010? I may have judged it too harshly in the 70’s – I finished with EL&P pretty early, with “Brain Salad Surgery”. Yes, it is progressive rock, but it was getting too popular, for me.

L'Affaire Louis' Trio

4-29-10

L’Affaire Louis’ Trio – “Le Retour De L’Age D’Or”

My friend Bob G. hipped me to the French band from Lyon called L’Affaire Louis’ Trio

( = Louis’ Busy Trio) about ’87 or so. While I like all of their albums, my favorite is their 2^nd album “Le Retour De L’Age D’Or” ( = The Return Of The Golden Age )(Barclay Records France, 1988).

I never had a particularly easy time finding French CD’s in Los Angeles, but once I knew this existed, it was somehow easier for me to request it from Japan – my friend Wes O. still runs Rockit mail-order and he orders from Japan all the time – and has for 25+ years. I was more than happy to fork over whatever it was going to cost, as I had absolutely loved their debut CD “Chic Planete”. The booklet in this Japanese edition has all the words to the songs, in French, of course. It contains the songs:

1. Bois Ton Café
2. Le Retour De L’Age D’Or
3. Religado
4. Paradis D’Amour
5. Annie
6. Bois Ton Café, Il Est Tard
7. Succes De Larmes
8. Histoires De Fous
9. Bob et Linda
10. Adieux a L’Amour
11. Adieux a L’Amour – Final
12. La Ballade
13. Un Jouet Qui Nous Plait

This album is about 45 minutes long – I’ve never seen an LP of it, but it must exist. I have vinyl (7”) for “Succes De Larmes”, which also has a super music video that a friend taped off of French TV for me. I’ve also got a couple of CD Singles that pertain to this album. Yes, this is the album I loved so much that I read about an upcoming tour, got the Paris dates…actually flew to Paris to check ‘em out at the Olympia theatre…only to discover that the whole tour had been re-scheduled for several months later.

This is one of the CD’s that made life in the late 80’s amusing for me. It’s French pop music of a very high order – funky, chic – yet nostalgic. Even if you can’t understand French, you can tell these guys are having a great time – the sense of humor is very present. Still in the dark? Are you a fan of Les Rita Mitsouko, Etienne Daho or Les Innocents? Give L’Affaire Louis’ Trio a try – with this album.

Believe it or not, I recently found an “extra” copy of this album in my collection – another Japanese copy, in fact. If you’d like to own it, I’d be happy to send it to you – leave your comments, and by May 3^rd, 2010 – I’ll announce who is the “winner” – tell me why you’d like to hear this album or give me any reason why your collection would be a good home for it.

"Time"

4-28-10

Time

Yesterday, “Time Machine” – today….time…

Where did all the time go? Have I really been walkin’ around here for 51+ years? There’s no time anymore…these days, I find I only really have time enough to listen to music in my car. Unlike some people, I do not want to listen to music at work.

Fortunately, work these days is only 32 hours a week (4 days) – but on my “off” time, it’s busy – running errands. And every weekend for over a decade, I spend time away from my home, with my GF up in Los Angeles. I can remember a lot of ‘times’…I can anticipate ‘time’…sort of useless to ponder ‘time’ – it will occur whether we want it to or not.

I’ve been blogging since July of 2002. This blog is in it’s 3^rd incarnation. I would like to think I will keep it in it’s present form, “Music Life”, for as long as possible. ‘Cause that’s what I think I would like my life to be – a “Music Life”. Through music, I have found a path to my better self. It took me a while to realize that. Before it occurred to me, several friends suggested that to me.

I am always slightly amused by the thought of a man with a “Music Life” slowly becoming deaf – think Pete Townshend. And I thought I abused my hearing! Still, I’ve heard a lot of music; and even if I went deaf, I think I could still write about it.

My friends The Nits once had a song called “Tons of Ink” – “Tons of ink make millions think!” It’s true! At least I am not wasting any ink, having written all the stuff for the internet over the last 8.5 years. I used to sometimes generate a print-version of my music writing, but that has pretty stopped these days.

My catalogue swiftly approaches 25,000 titles. Damn. That’s a lot of titles. And I only just started trying Classical Music! Looks likely I am going to try and sell some more stuff, to try and keep the collection ‘down’ to 25,000 only. Can I do it? A lot of the time, I am presently replacing titles with new editions of the same titles (such as Japanese paper sleeve CD’s, or Super Audio CD’s) – and I don’t keep old editions of CD’s (except for Frank Zappa and a few select others). When will I have the time to get to everything?

I am interested in finding a way to re-vamp my collection – perhaps a different style of cataloguing? Different information? Well, with SACD’s, I can certainly do that – differentiating between hybrid and non-hybrid, multi-channel vs. stereo etc. I suppose I could merely add fields to my existing collection list. Hmmm…

Do you catalogue your music collection? What format do you use? I don’t even remember what format I started with, but it’s been in Excel for over a decade. My present computer is non-Mac, so I can’t really do any Mac applications. And I never got comfortable with Access. How much time have I got?

Time Machine 1970 #3

4-27-10 Time Machine 1970 #3

Thankfully, Strange Days magazine in Japan has kept up with it’s “Time Machine” series, which I find quite interesting.

Strange Days 2010.05 lists “March 1970 Albums” as: RINGO STARR – Sentimental Journey (Apple UK PCS 7001); THE FACES – The First Step (Warner UK WS 3000); CROSBY, STILLS, NASH & YOUNG – Deja Vu (Atlantic US SD 7200); TYRANNOSAURUS REX – A Beard Of Stars (Regal Zonophone UK SLRZ 1013); CREEDENCE CLEARWATER REVIVAL – Willy & The Poor Boys (Fantasy US 8397); VAN MORRISON – Moondance (Warner US WS 1835); MOUNTAIN – Climbing! (Windfall US 4501); and CHICAGO – Chicago II (Columbia US KGP 24) double LP.

I must be getting old, because I remember all of these and I actually do own copies (of some sort) of all of these! Seems like the Japanese are now including a few more U.S. albums this month!

Me & my friend(s) got the Ringo Starr album the day it hit the streets here, but…it was a bit ‘traditional’ for us, the old songs. I like it a lot better now than I did then.

I knew Rod Stewart from the Jeff Beck Group, so I was, of course, interested to hear him in The Faces – could this possibly be the same band that did “Itchycoo Park” a few years earlier? Damn right, but Rod seemed to improve the mix. I had heard “Flying” on a Warner / Reprise sampler LP set.

Everybody (that I knew, anyway) were sort of anticipating a 2^nd album from Crosby, Stills & Nash, after their Woodstock appearance, the previous turn of the wheel. “Déjà vu” was kind of like “Required Reading” – you absolutely HAD to know about it.

By now, I was very curious about T. Rex – why did this album come out in th US on Blue Thumb Records? That initially made me suspicious – but, it did mean that the LP was almost immediately in the $1 bin.

C.C.R. was really churning them out, by album #4. It’s not a bad US pop album, though. My memory of it: SHORT. But a few good songs, and some good singles, too.

Bless the Warner / Reprise sampler LP’s! The singer of Them’s debut solo LP had a great tune on a sampler LP: “Caravan”. And I did like Van Morrison’s singles, for a while, anyway.

There was a TV special with Mountain in it – and the press of the day (Circus? Creem?) was touting them as “the American Cream”.

“Chicago II” was yet another double LP from the venerable Chicago Chicago band. It wasn’t a full price 2LP set, either – and it came with a poster. “Make Me Smile” was a pretty good single, which is what I bought immediately, probably before the album came out.

Bo Hansson

Bo Hansson (1943 – 2010)

LP ATTIC THOUGHTS (aka MELLANVASEN) CHARISMA UK CAS 1113

1975 9 TRKS 3rd

7" BLACK RIDERS FLIGHT TO THE FORD (mono) / (stereo) promo CHARISMA US CAR 104

1974 2 TRKS no pic sleeve, promo

LP EL-AHRAIRAH (aka WATERSHIP DOWN) YTF SWEDEN YTF 50350

1977 5 TRKS 4th

CD LORD OF THE RINGS (aka SAGAN OM RINGEN) UNIVERSE CDSP 8915

1988 23 TRK Collection (70's recordings)

LP LORD OF THE RINGS (aka SAGAN OM RINGEN) CHARISMA US CAS 1059

1972 12 TRKS 1st

CD LORD OF THE RINGS (aka SAGAN OM RINGEN) re VIRGIN US 12061.2

1970 12 TRKS ('02 issue)

CD MAGICIAN'S HAT (aka UR TROLLKARLENS HATT) RESOURCE SW RESCD 509

1972 11 TRKS (1 x bonus track)

LP MAGICIAN'S HAT (aka UR TROLLKARLENS HATT) CHARISMA DE 6369 945

1973 11 TRKS

LP MAGICIAN'S HAT (aka UR TROLLKARLENS HATT) CHARISMA UK CAS 1073

1973 11 TRKS 2nd

LP MELLANVASEN (aka ATTIC THOUGHTS) SILENCE SW SRS 4625

1975 9 TRKS 3rd

CD MELLANVASEN (aka ATTIC THOUGHTS) re SILENCE SW SRSCD 3625

1975 10 TRKS 3rd; (1 x bonus track) ('05 issue)

LP MUSIC INSPIRED BY WATERSHIP DOWN (aka EL-AHRAIRAH) SIRE US SRK 6044

1977 6 TRKS test pressing, white cover

CD MUSIC INSPIRED BY WATERSHIP DOWN (aka EL-AHRAIRAH) re VIRGIN UK CDOVD 501

1977 7 TRKS (1 x bonus track) ('04 issue)

LP SAGAN OM RINGEN (aka LORD OF THE RINGS) SILENCE SW SRS 4600

1970 12 TRKS 1st; Lord of the Rings

LP UR TROLLKARLENS HATT (aka MAGICIAN'S HAT) SILENCE SW SRS 4615

1972 10 TRKS 2^nd

Hansson & Karlsson

LP GOLD (Collection) KARUSSEL SW 2468 009

1969 9 TRK Collection (60's recordings)

CD HANSSON & KARLSSON (Collection) POLYDOR SW 557279.2

1998 14 TRK Collection (60's recordings)

LP MAN AT THE MOON POLYDOR UK 583 564

1969 12 TRKS

LP MONUMENT POLYDOR SV LPHM 46 260

1967 6 TRKS

R.I.P., Bo Hansson

Mail-Order

4-26-10 Mail-Order

Kind of hard to get around it these days – I have mail-ordered some CD’s recently:

ADDERLEY, CANNONBALL / MILT JACKSON – THINGS ARE GETTING BETTER, RIVERSIDE US SACD jazz

BARTOK – CONCERTO FOR ORCHESTRA, TELARC US SACD classical

DONOVAN – STORYTELLER, AUDIO FIDELITY US SACD

GENESIS – TRICK OF THE TALE, VIRGIN UK SACD + NTSC DVD

GENESIS – WIND & WUTHERING, VIRGIN UK SACD + NTSC DVD

MOODY BLUES – EVERY GOOD BOY DESERVES FAVOUR, THRESHOLD UK SACD

MOODY BLUES – SEVENTH SOJOURN, THRESHOLD UK SACD

RAVEL – DAPHNIS ET CHLOE, RCA RED US SACD classical

WHO, THE – LIVE AT ROYAL ALBERT HALL (2000), SPV DE SACDx3

Most of what I have been mail-ordering are SACD’s, due to their increasingly limited availability. The above titles came from eBay, Amazon and a place called Elusive Disc, which specializes in audiophile vinyl and CD’s. If you don’t know what the fuss ever was about SACD’s, I can only say that everything I’ve heard so far as an SACD has been re-mastered beautifully. I am not set up to play 5.1 moxes of anything, I am just listening to SACD’s in stereo – on my 70’s equipment (apart from the SACD player, ‘natch).

I once mail-ordered some very cheap stuff from a place in NYC “King Carol”, if memory serves (5 x copies of a 99 cent Mort Garson LP “The Dusk To Dawn Orchestra” on Elektra – still never on CD!) – 35+ years ago! I went through a phase of mail-ordering progressive rock LP’s towards the end of the 70’s, when European artists were tough to find stocked anyplace. I’ve mail-ordered stuff from Red Eye in Australia, a good, reputable dealer. I’ve used Fun Records in Germany (who hasn’t?). I used to run a small mail-order company, “ANZ Imports” – when nobody else was importing much from ‘down under’ (in the early 80’s). I wrote their catalogue!

The above titles arrived on my doorstep for the following reasons: Cannomball Adderley was won inexpensively on eBay, as was the Bartok SACD; Donovan and Genesis came off of Elusive Disc’s website – at sale prices (not terribly cheap, but SACD’s I’ve not seen offered elsewhere); the Moody Blues came from Amazon.com via a local company called something like “Import CD’s” – these are the 2 I just never see stocked anywhere, and both were have-able for no more than standard retail – I could’ve mail-ordered them from Amazon.co.uk, but the shipping would’ve been a lot more then. Ravel is an RCA “Living Stereo” SACD – all of which I have been greatly impressed with (never having heard much classical music). And, finally, The Who came off of eBay for a good price, a triple SACD for under $20 – and it’s ¾ of The Who!

Also recently received via mail-order:

ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND – EAT A PEACH, MERCURY US SACD

BERLIOZ – REQUIEM, RCA RED SEAL US SACD classical

BERLIOZ – SYMPHONIE FANTASTIQUE, RCA RED SEAL US SACD classical

BERTIGNAC, LOUIS – LONGTEMPS, POLYDOR FR SACD + DVD

HANCOCK, HERBIE – V.S.O.P. (The Quintet), SONY JPN SACD jazz

PINK FLOYD – MONEY, EMI US SACD Single, promo

KOTTKE, LEO – 6- AND 12-STRING GUITAR, TAKOMA US SACD

STOCKHAUSEN, KARLHEINZ – STIMMUNG, HARMONIA MUNDI AU SACD classical

…all from eBay…and I just read about some new (rock & jazz) SACD’s coming out in Japan! Oh, boy – the little blue light is going to be coming on!

- Ron

San Francisco

4-23-10 San Francisco

I recently spent a few days shopping for CD’s in the San Francisco bay area! I found:

ALGARNAS TRADGARD – FRAMTIDEN AR ETT SVAVANDE…, SILENCE SWE CD

Psychedelic / progressive rock title that I really used to like a lot – how will it sound in 2010?

ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND – AT FILLMORE EAST, MERCURY US SACDx2

Classic rock music played live, via SACD. I’m not the biggest Allman Bros. fan, but…SACD!

AMON DUUL II – HIJACK, SPV DE CD re

Probably the last Amon Duul II album that I really liked.

BIRTH CONTROL – PLASTIC PEOPLE, REPERTOIRE DE CD

A fantastic Birth Control album, probably my favorite! I never knew about this CD until recently.

BOWIE, DAVID – HEROES, TOSHIBA JPN CD kami sleeve

Nicely mastered and anatomically correct issue. Not my favorite Bowie latter day album.

BRAHMS / TCHAIKOVSKY – VIOLIN CONCERTOS, RCA RED US SACD

More chasing the Classical dragon on SACD – Jascha Heifetz and Fritz Reiner!

BYRDS – G.H., COLUMBIA US SACD non-hybrid

I really don’t like buying non-hybrid SACD’s, but…this was never issued any other way as an SACD.

COLTRANE, JOHN – A LOVE SUPREME, IMPULSE US SACD non-hybrid

See above entry.

COOKE, SAM – AT THE COPA, ABKCO US SACD

COOKE, SAM – KEEP MOVIN' ON, ABKCO US SACD

I wonder how many of these Allen Klein got released as SACD’s? Not a huge Sam Cooke fan.

CREEDENCE CLEARWATER REVIVAL – s/t [1st], FANTASY US SACD

I did not have this on CD at all, so was pleased to find a used hybrid SACD of it.

CUTLER, IVOR / LINDA HURST – PRIVILEGE, HOORGI HOUSE UK CD

The most recent re-issue by his family’s Hoorgi House label, via Rough Trade.

DEAN, ELTON / MARK HEWINS – BAR TORQUE, MOONJUNE UK CD

British jazz CD by the late Elton Dean, who worked extensively with Soft Machine.

FAMILY – PEEL SESSIONS, STRANGE FRUIT NL CD5

Live for the BBC 1973 – Roger Chapman & Family!

GAYE, MARVIN – COLLECTION, MOTOWN US SACD

Yes, I am an SACD freak these days – whatever can be found used, inexpensive etc.

GLASS, PHILIP / KRONOS QUARTET – DRACULA, NONESUCH US CD O.S.T.

Used CD of this title, $6.95 – the movie on DVD with the same Philip Glass soundtrack, $9.95.

GRUPPO D'ALTERNATIVA – IPOTESI, VINYL MAGIC IT CD kami sleeve

I remember having this Italian prog LP long ago, great cover, not great vocalist.

GUTHRIE, ARLO – ALICE'S RESTAURANT, RYKODISC US CD O.S.T.

These green tray Rykodisc OST’s are all out of print now, and this was inexpensive.

HACKETT, STEVE – TILL WE HAVE FACES, HERALD US CD re

Somewhere in my notes, I realized I wanted a CD of this, and I found an inexpensive used copy!

HAMMILL, PETER – SILENT CORNER AND EMPTY STAGE, CHARISMA UK CD re

Been trying to pick up the Hammill re-masters used, as possible. Worth it for the bonus tracks!

IMPRESSIONS – COMPLETE A AND B SIDES 1961 – 1968, ECLIPSE UK 2CD

2010 has really been a Curtis Mayfield / Impressions year for me, 60 tracks!

MANZANERA, PHIL – PRIMITIVE GUITARS, EXPRESSION UK CD re

First time I’ve had this on CD, with bonus tracks!

MORAZ, PATRICK – STORY OF i, VIRGIN UK CD

Not a re-mastered version, very inexpensive!

MR. OIZO – LAMBS ANGER, BECAUSE FR CD

The 3^rd album from Mr. Oizo, from 2008. French electronica with no rules!

OMNIBUS WIND ENSEMBLE – MUSIC BY FRANK ZAPPA, OPUS 3 SW SACD

Incredible sounding Swedish band playing the music of Frank Zappa very accurately.

REED, JERRY – ESSENTIAL, RCA US CD

I like these 20 track RCA C&W “Best Of” CD’s!

RUSSELL, LEON – STOP ALL THAT JAZZ, DCC US CD

The last of the original Leon Russell albums that I wanted on CD; with 2 x bonus tracks!

SOPWITH CAMEL – s/t, ACADIA UK CD

The debut album with “Hello Hello” – real 1966 hippie music!

STARDUST, ALVIN – s/t, 7T'S UK CD

His debut album on CD, with numerous bonus tracks. The album before “My Coo Ca Choo”.

TCHAIKOVSKY – SYMPHONY No. 4, BIS SWE SACD

Another inexpensive used Classical SACD, this time from Sweden!

THOMPSON, RICHARD & LINDA – SHOOT OUT THE LIGHTS, HANNIBAL US SACD

A stereo hybrid SACD, sounded pretty good when I checked out when I got home!

V.A. – GREAT JEWISH MUSIC – MARC BOLAN, TZADIK US CD

“Tribute to Marc Bolan” with Arto Lindsay with Marc Ribot, Lloyd Cole, Tall Dwarfs, Buckethead etc.

V.A. – ORIGINAL MASTERS – THE SINGLES, DEUTSCHE GR DE 2CD

Double CD of Deutsche Grammophon classical 45’s from ’53 to ’65!

V.A. – SCHIZOID DIMENSION – KING CRIMSON TRIBUTE, PURPLE PYR US CD

“Tribute to King Crimson” with Brand X, David Cross and a bunch of people I’ve never heard of.

VAN DER GRAAF GENERATOR – GODBLUFF, VIRGIN JPN CD kami sleeve

I updated my CD of this title with a Japanese paper sleeve CD, with 2 x bonus tracks!

YELLO – TOUCH, POLYDOR DE CD ’09 issue

I didn’t even know this existed! Easily the most expensive CD of the trip (over US$30!)

ZAPPA, FRANK – AS AN AM, FOO-EEE US CD

ZAPPA, FRANK – MAKE A JAZZ NOISE HERE, RYKODISC US 2CD re

I pick ‘em up as I find ‘em. One of the “Beats The Boots” titles and a Rykodisc re-master of a title previously issued by Barking Pumpkin.