Mar

26

‘It’s midnight, lights off, clothes off, candles glowing, incense is fading away, don’t need no electricity, baby, I’ll be your amplifier, ’cause we can boogie in the dark’
- and so pioneer San Francisco disc jockey Abe ‘Voco’ Keshishian introduced himself every Saturday night at midnight, while proceeding to expand the musical palette of his stoned audience. KSAN was the first radio station to bring ‘hippy music’ to SF-area listeners, a large and devoted following whom the laid-back Armenian DJ introduced to an eclectic mix of blues, funk and world music, until 6am rolled around and the tired heads rolled into bed.

In 1972 Voco convinced Blue Thumb to release a double concept album based on his radio show, and gathered together some incredible musicians from the Bay area as contributors. ‘Lights Out: San Francisco’, subtitled ‘voco presents the soul of the bay area’ is an excellent overview of the diverse and exciting San Francisco music scene in the early 1970s. Voco produced the sessions and himself penned several of the songs, including the killer opener ‘Lights Out’ enthusiastically belted out by John Lee Hooker, with his band augmented by 18-year old phenom Neal Schon and Freddie Roulette on Hawaiian guitar. Sylvester, then the flamboyant centerpiece of the marvelous Cockettes drag queen revue and not yet a national R&B star, adds two songs, one an interesting Leonard Cohen cover, and the other a blistering workout with the Pointer Sisters in full voice capped by a superb Schon solo. But even Sylvester’s debut takes a back seat to four cuts by the marvelous Tower of Power, captured just as their funky horn section was rounding into full swagger. Greg Adams, Emilio Castillio, and Rocco Prestio are in fine form here; a few months later the addition of Lenny Williams would turn TOP into an explosive powerhouse, blowing the minds of audiences up and down the west coast. Two of the TOP songs are trademark funk instrumentals, while the others include nice vocal contributions by future Grammy award winner Linda Tillery and Cold Blood’s Lydia Pense. (By the time ‘Lights Out’ was released, TOP had signed with Warner Brothers, who would not allow the band’s name on the cover, prompting Blue Thumb to put little brown strips over the band’s name on the already-printed record jackets). Other artists of note to appear include Cliff Coulter, Fahil Shahin, and Dan Hicks & His Hot Licks.

Voco, better known as Abe Kosh, worked quietly in the San Francisco music scene for over a decade, and was influential in the careers of Blue Cheer, Harvey Mandel, the Charlatans and others. (Blue Cheer later noted that Kosh was very laid back in the studio, although he did insist on cutting a minute out of ‘Summertime Blues’ for radio - leading to the massive success of that single). In 1980 he suffered a heart attack that left him disabled; his fans sent an astonishing 40,000 cards and letters to his San Rafael hospital. Voco passed away in 1989, at the age of 56. The album (which has not yet been released on CD) remains a worthy legacy to Voco’s career, and a solid snapshot of a musical community of startling talent. The selections by Sylvester and Tower of Power are unavailable elsewhere; fans as well as aficionados of Bay area music will want to add the out-of-print ‘Lights Out: San Francisco’ to their collection as soon as they can find a copy.

Mar

25

Songs arranged by Weill for Lenya from 1938-1949, these 1957 recordings remain definitive versions of many of the Weill classics introduced to younger audiences with the successful ‘Lost in the Stars’ A&M release. Of those later recordings, only Marianne Faithfull’s ‘A Soldier’s Wife’ came anywhere near to the sublime stylings of Lenya; the rest of the album (a popular and acclaimed seller) are trivial renditions by comparison. Weill most often wrote music to accompany existing lyrics, and ‘September Song’ features two tracks with lyrics by Ogden Nash, two by Ira Gershwin, two by Langston Hughes, one by Alan Jay Lerner, and the remaining five by Weill’s most-frequent collaborator, Maxwell Anderson. Lenya and Weill were, of course, a married couple, renowned socially as masters of hilarious verbal barbs and arrows, urbane and sophisticated conversationalists who could easily finish the other’s sentence or interject a wonderfully deflating comment with impeccable timing. It was this psychic connection that has made Lenya the definitive performer of Weill’s work - every accentuated nuance, hesitant pause and delicious husky quaver must be regarded as the composer’s intention, brilliantly revealed in emotional memory by his surviving lover. The songs on ‘September Song’ were recorded late in Lenya’s life; she had retired theatrically before Weill’s death, and was devastated by the loss of her beloved mate in 1950. Unable to remain alone, she formed a bond with close friend George Davis, who became her second husband and coaxed her to return to performing Weill’s songs; together they subsequently dedicated their lives to keeping Weill’s memory alive, in stage performance, recording, and the creation of the Kurt Weill Foundation of Music. Her return to recording was then, as now, justifiably applauded, as the advance in recording technology captured many exquisite performances, including brilliant versions of ‘Saga of Jennie’, ‘Speak Low’, ‘Lonely House’, ‘A Boy Like You’, ‘Trouble Man’, and ‘Lost in the Stars’, all on this album. All of these songs have been remastered and reissued on CD compilations, but the original vinyl release, with its many photographs and notes by Maxwell Anderson and Goddard Lieberson and superb Columbia sound, should be proudly part of the collections of enthusiasts of German cabaret or American theatre recordings. Enthusiastically recommended.

Mar

25

The original lyric sheet for the Murray McLauchlan’s 3rd release, ‘Day to Day Dust’ was printed on re-cycled de-inked fibres, a significant financial commitment in 1974 that aptly reflects the heartfelt social commitment on display throughout this album. Beginning with the stirring ‘Hurricane of Change’, McLauchlan forcefully adds his voice to the international folk protest movement:

‘Mama Mama I seen the world and I had to call
The Spring of the world deserted for a bloody fall
For Bloody gold - they kill the land…
What’s the sound that haunts me through the rain
Is it the breath of grief or the hurrican of change?”

In the folk protest traditions of Dylan and Lightfoot, McLauchlan’s erudite and intelligent lyrics poetically explore themes of love, lust, redemption, pain, disconnection and loneliness while eloquently lamenting corporate imperialism and the culture of atomic fear; it is only in the song ‘Revelations’ he finds a way to resolve his angst -
‘Was the story true or was it just in fun
About a resurrection and a life to come
I don’t care much about it anyhow
Resurrection don’t matter much in the here and now
Yes some day when I go down and die
With a quiet mind and a peaceful eye
I won’t worry no more about what goes on
I’ll just like down in the earth ’till the earth is gone.’

The original vinyl was unfortunately poorly produced, with only McLauchlan’s voice and Amos Garrett’s vibrant guitar prevailing through the turgid mix; drums and bass are muted and uncompelling. Despite this handicap, ‘Day To Day Dust’ still is a solid release by McLauchlan, with humanist core values, most of which still ring true. Deleted and long out of print, ‘Day to Day Dust’ is worth picking up at least for ‘Revelation’ alone if you can find it; recommended for fans of McLauchlan, Lightfoot, Dylan, or protest folk music in general.

Mar

25

Looking at the cover art - Barney Bentall, ruggedly downcast, wearing range clothes and cowboy hat, horses on the back cover - it is easy to assume that this is a country record in the manner of fellow Canadian icon Ian Tyson, featuring rugged traditional songs of cowboys, lost love, betrayal and vengeance. Not so - Barney Bentall’s ‘gift horse’ is reflective and pensive, a well-played and produced soft rock album influenced more by western and mountain folk traditions than overt country music influences. Bentall went into semi-retirement a few years ago, working a family ranch in a remote corner of British Columbia, and these songs are the result of his personal lifestyle change: ‘A man is what he thinks about all day long’, he sings on ‘A Man Is’, and on ‘gift horse’ he shares his contemplations on life and aging, matured and sharpened from days of working cattle on the lonely plains of western Canada. There are a few anecdotal songs - ‘The Ballad of Old Tom Jones’, for example, tells of an aging rancher nostalgic to return to his birthplace, and ‘Around the Bend’ sadly laments another broken family. Detractors of Bentall will once again lament his unimpressive range of expression, pointing to his limited vocal delivery and musical arrangements that lack innovation and originality; still, moments of real lyrical beauty in come in his more-personal tracks - ‘Talk To God’ and ‘You and I Will Meet Again’ feel heartfelt and honest. ‘Come Away With Me’ is the bonus track, a bawdy traditional sing-along that lifts the mood of the record, injecting some much-needed liveliness and humor at the right time. The musical accompaniment is top-notch, including Jim Cuddy and Greg Keelor of Blue Rodeo, veteran Vancouver studio stars Rob Becker and Pat Steward, and significant contributions from producer John Ellis. ‘Gift Horse’ will not open any new doors for Barney Bentall, but for his long-time fans or those of Blue Rodeo, this is a nice laid-back addition to your collection that will ring true and clear.

Mar

21

‘Brute Reason’ is an interesting release in the Bernard Szajner catalog, not least because of three collaborations with Howard DeVoto during what was arguably his most creative period. Devoto had broken up the influential, economically unsuccesful group Magazine in 1981, and recorded these three songs with Szajner at the same time he was recording his first solo album, ‘Jerky Versions of A Dream’. Those tracks featuring DeVoto’s lyrics and voice could very well be quirky outtakes from a Magazine recording session, featuring pulsing synth rhythms and melody lines, typical 80’s slapbass (think Tony Levin), dramatic guitar chord changes, wacky song structures, and of course DeVoto’s unique vocal affectations tangled around such lyric wordsmithery as the epigramatic ‘When you take chances sometimes chances are what you get’ to the marvelously obtuse ‘He’s got a skullful of kerosene and shortcuts balanced on his neck’.

The rest of the tracks are solid experimental new-wave synth rock, with the title track being a highlight, a percussive groove featuring the superb Taiko drum master Joji Hirota on drums and wordless vocals, enhanced by wild saxophone and keyboards fills. ‘Domestic Casualty’ references ‘Execute’ from Sjazner’s influential ‘Some Deaths Take Forever’, a heavier reworking that builds to a crescendo using pounding drums,multi-tracked Fripp-ish guitars and compelling synths to build to a similar frightening conclusion as the original. The album closes with the slow insistent ‘The Snark’, a compelling and languid instrumental featuring saxophone, keyboards, guitar and two bass guitars. The artwork includes a dreamy photo of Bernard with his most influential invention, the laser harp, surrounded by all his gear, a near-iconic image. Overall the album is melodramatic, cinematic even, with solid standout performances from all the assembled musicians, with particular credit to guitarist Xavier Geronimi and bassist Bernard Paganotti, as well as maestro Szajner’s strong keyboard work and compositions.

An album that makes more sense with repeated listenings, ‘Brute Reason’ is recommended browsing for fans of Howard DeVoto, Magazine, King Crimson, Brian Eno, prog-rock, synth-wave or experimental rock in general.

Mar

18

In 1980 Bernard Szajner composed a short piece of music for Amnesty International’s campaign against the death penalty, and then expanded it to a full-length recording. The original artwork included the Declaration on the Abolition of the Death Penalty, and Szajner dedicated the album to Amnesty International (he tried to donate all royalties to that organization, but their constitution made it impossible for them to accept donations in such fashion).

‘Some Deaths Take Forever’ is a concept album that is dark, brooding, and futuristic; an inventive album firmly rooted in rock, much like other quirky recordings of the era by Gary Numan, Jean-Michel Jarre, Robert Fripp and pre-ambient Brian Eno. Szajner’s day-job as a visual effects artist helped him recruit top-notch musicians from such influential European groups as Magma, Heldon, and Gong, who effectively add color, rhythm and texture to his robotic and hypnotic keyboard work. The first three tracks, subtitled ‘First Phase’, are sombre electro, as we follow a condemned prisoner into prison with the brooding ‘Welcome (to Deathrow’, to wait despairingly in his cell until the final ‘Execution’ devolves into fuzzy drones, feedback screams and whines, building the dread until sudden silence ends the side. The rest of the album, ‘Phase Deux’, probes the dark and dismal reality of lengthy imprisonment, with often reflective, hypnotic trancey music interrupted sporadically by the inconsequential sounds of a pocket radio; concluding with the sad, elegant ‘A Kind of Freedom’, a paean to man’s ability to hope while in seemingly hopeless situations. Most surprisingly, listening to ‘Some Deaths Take Forever’ is not really a gloomy listen, but manages to suggest the strength of human spirit and the values of justice and humanism, despite its dark subject matter.

Szajner (somewhat controversially) remixed and re-edited the long out-of-print album for the 1999 CD release on Spalax, so it is a bit easier to locate a copy. Exploring themes of death and imprisonment, Bernard Szajner’s ‘Some Deaths Take Forever’ created an urgent and unsettling minor masterpiece that deserves to be recognized as a classic of 80’s French Cold Wave and experimental electronica, and as such is highly recommended to all fans of those genres.

Mar

7

German guitarist, bass player and all-round musician Ladi Geisler has anonymously contributed to thousands of popular studio recordings and hundreds of worldwide Top Ten hits, quietly becoming one of the most versatile instrumentalists of the post-war German music scene and an approachable legend in his own country.

Miloslav Ladislav Geisler was born in November 1927 in Prague, son of the director of an electrical company, who had ambitions for his son to join him in that profession. His father paid for violin lessons, and young Ladi proved to be a quick student; he began teaching himself trumpet as well; but fate and Adolf Hitler intervened. He became a German in 1938, when Hitler annexed the Sudetenland, and then, in 1943 the Nazis, desperate for combat troops, drafted the 15 year old boy into the Luftwaffe, where he was trained to fly the first combat jet fighter, the Messerschmidt 262. He was spared a certain death (the casualty rate by then was almost 100% for young Luftwaffe pilots) when he was captured by the British before completing his flight training, and sent to a prisoner of war camp in Denmark. A young autodidact, while in prison he was given an acoustic guitar and brief lessons by another prisoner, and he took to the instrument immediately with great zeal. Multi-talented pianist Horst Wende, eight years Geisler’s senior, was in the same camp, and, recognizing the young man’s talent, he took young Ladi under his tutelage, teaching him some traditional German lieder and American jazz standards. Around this time Geisler first heard Nat King Cole’s guitarist Oscar Moore playing electric guitar, and, totally infatuated with the new sounds, studied electronics, modified a guitar and built his own amplifier. Electric guitar (and later, electric bass) became the instrument that defined his life and career.

When World War II ended, Wende and Geisler went together to Hamburg, playing as a duo, then a trio, first in the streets and then in the clubs of Hamburg, performing a mix of schlager (sweet upbeat pop), folk, and swing. One night the trio was approached by a charismatic singer, former sailor Freddy Quinn, who sat in with the combo; they were instantly compatible and, playing as ‘Freddy Quinn and the Horst Wende Quartet’, became one of the top-drawing groups in Hamburg, filling the Tarantella Club every weekend and touring American military bases during the week. Geisler was quickly acknowledged as a top-notch and versatile player; his first known record is July 1946’s ‘The Joint is Really Jumping’ by vocalist Evelyn Kunneke, live at the Ohlstedter Hof in Hamburg; typically uncredited, it was an unauspicious beginning to a studio career that would eventually encompass thousands of similarly anonymous recordings.

By 1955 the Hamburg music scene was filled with Europe’s best new talent,as the locals, tourists and occupying soldiers’ appetite for live music seemed insatiable, making that city one of the few places where a musician could earn a decent living. Geisler left the Horst Wende ensemble and, by now a fixture on the scene, became the number one ‘go-to’ guitar player for Norddeutscher Rundfunk Big Band (North German Radio Big Band, aka NDR), an ensemble which included Wende, Bert Kaempfert, and James Last. His contributions to the NDR were so important and well-loved that ‘On Guitar, Ladi Geisler!’ almost became the radio trademark of the band, making him famous to music enthusiasts all over Germany and beyond.

Polydor Records wisely moved into Hamburg, snapping up most of the quality musicians, building studios, and laying the foundation for what was to become a recording empire, with particular emphasis on a pop music department headed by Bert Kaempfert. Affectionately as ‘Fips’, Kaempfert gave Geisler the rarest of honors, making him the number one guitarist in his company while additionally allowing him to record outside of Polydor. Ladi played on all of Kaempfert’s sessions as well as those of developing international stars Horst Wende (and his later incarnation Roberto Delgado), James Last, and Hildegard Knef. Kaempfert rarely toured, and the others hired road guitarists, leaving Geisler free to stay in Hamburg to perform and record with with the orchestras of Franz Thon, Alfred Hause, Helmut Zacharias and Gunther Fuhlisch, while supporting such German schlager and pop artists as Abi & Esther Ofarim, Rudi Shuricke, Margot Eskens, Friedel Hensch, and Freddy Quinn as well as many others. Geisler played on over 1,000 recordings a year, covering every style from polka to pop, rock to rhumba, surf to shlager, with his only credit appearing on his union session sheets as he turned in performances for Polydor, Teldec, Philips and Electrola.

In the early 1960’s he bought a Fender electric bass guitar from James Last, who didn’t like the sound of the instrument; while recording with Kaempfert he developed what became one of the strongest beats in pop music, which came to define the Kaempfert style and separate those recordings from all the soundalike product in the marketplace. ‘Knackbass’ is a treble staccato created when the string is plucked by a pick and immediately suppressed, cancelling the sustain; the impact of the sound propelled such compositions as “Danke Schoen” and “That Happy Feeling” to worldwide hit status and cemented Geisler’s industy reputation as an invaluable contributor.

In the 1960’s he began to release records under his own name, and with his backup group ‘The Playboys’, had German hits with cover versions of such pop standards as ‘Calcutta’ and ‘Wheels’; ‘Little Geisha’ was a top charting single for Ladi Geisler and the Tonics in 1963, and became a hit in New Zealand as well. In the late 1960’s he released his own albums for the first time, Latin and Russian themed instrumentals that showed a great kinship with such skilled American players as Chet Atkins and Les Paul. Even the Beatles came into contact with Geisler; when the band’s equipment proved to be to shoddy for recording their early sessions in Hamburg with Tony Sheridan, Geisler kindly loaned them the use of his gear. Ever versatile, he performed in an avant-garde piece by Pierre Boulez with the NDR Orchestra to considerable acclaim, and played on an album with German hip hop star Ill Will.

A modest person, he was startled to be mobbed by interview requests and fan adulation while touring Japan in 1988 and 1990 with the Alfred Haus Orchestra.
In the 1990’s the ever-astute Bear Family label began compiling some of his work and recording more, making several excellent compilations and new recordings; as well they released the audio-book ‘Anekdoten Eines Gitarrens’, featuring guitar work, tributes and an interview with Geisler.

Since his retirement from studio work in the late 1990’s, Ladi has focussed on jazz performances, playing live in clubs and festivals around Europe with a trio or quartet, often celebrating the works of his idol, Django Reinhard. ‘Work keeps me young’, he invariably replies when asked why he keeps performing in his eighth decade; if that is true, given his prolific high-quality output Ladi Geisler must be the youngest musician on the planet.

Mar

7

Subtitled ‘Ladi Geisler Play’s Russia’s Greatest Hits’, Volume 2 is a typically-capable Geisler record, featuring many of his own arrangements of traditional folk melodies plus such Russian-themed pop hits as ‘Those Were The Days’ and Jarre’s love song from the epic Dr. Zhivago, ‘Lara’s Theme’. Geisler again shows his marvelously fluid ability to simply create tone and expression, by turns rousing and dreamy, melancholic and upbeat, always spot-perfect. Balalaika and electric guitar are tackled with equal ease, while his long-term collaborator Horst Wende provides perfect fills, counterpoints and melodic support on accordian, marimba, and organ. As usual with these collaborators they have a difficult time sticking specifically to the restraints of the genre, for example injecting a mariachi horn section into ‘Casatchok’ or banjo in ‘Those Were The Days’, still it’s all in upbeat good fun. Another quiet gem, this album is recommended to all fans of easy listening guitar, as are all the solo recordings of one of the least-heralded guitar wizards of the 20th century.

Mar

7

It’s not really surprising that it took until 1968 for guitar wizard Ladi Geisler to release his first solo album; for his entire career he has been quietly in the supporting cast, capably and anonymously providing stellar support for dozens of German artists and bandleaders. ‘Guitar a la Carte’ finds Geisler exploring popular and lesser-known Latin tunes, from such standards as Malaguena and Spanish Flea to lesser-known pieces by Waldir Azevedo and Milton Nascimento. Rich in detailing and texture, Geisler’s performances are fluid, dynamic, and creative; the arrangements constantly serving up little surprises, a fuzzbox solo on Malaguena, a Djangoesque fill on Spanish Flea, and so on; with old pal Horst Wende providing melodic support on marimbas, piano and organ. This is a lovely record that should be heard by guitar fans of Chet Atkins, Tommy Emmanuel, or Les Paul, for example; and will be a welcome addition to any easy-listening collection.

Mar

5

A fan looking at the cover could be forgiven for thinking this was another run-of-the-mill disco era Delgado record; after all, ‘Music Box Dancer’ has been covered so many times, by so many artists, that even its unforgettable melody has become somewhat passe. That judgement would be a mistake, for this album is a gem - brisk, lively, superbly played and arranged, a dance record that distills much of the trademark Delgado sound into one of his best party records. Accomplished pianist Wende/Delgado was always ready to jump on a happy melody, and was literally the first to tackle this poppy Canadian hit, the same year it was released while it was still gaining steam on international charts. Yes, there are disco tracks, but not generic thumpers - the steady drum beats are enhanced by lively snares and cowbell, rhythmic bongos, marimbas, funky guitars, Geisler’s trademark snappy bass, all turning those songs into a smiling invitation to the dancefloor. He revisits familiar territory, updating his staple ‘Cielito Lindo’ with a galloping new arrangement by Joe Kirsten; entitled ‘Disco Mexicano’ it is mainly defined by quality steel-guitar work by Ladi Geisler, supported with sweeping strings and solid marimba play by Delgado himself. Geisler returns to the steel guitar on ‘Disco Tropicana’, a dreamy reworking of the traditional Hawaiian ‘Aloha Oe’ that he embellishes with Superfly-ish wah-wah as it evolves into a percussive footstomper. The slowest song is a Gato Barbieri version of Rodrigo’s classic ‘Concierto de Aranjuez’, with a surprisingly sublime performance on guitar, flute, strings, and trumpets, building warmly then lovingly riding Geisler’s acoustic guitar to a suitably low-key finish. Delgado/Wende shines on this record, with top-notch playing, production and arrangements; while some are certainly better than others, there isn’t a single duff track here. If you are curious why his records sell so consistently, this later work is not a bad place to start; and if you are a Roberto Delgado fan, you should add the lively and entertaining ‘Music Box Dancer’ to your collection immediately.

keep looking »

Blogroll

WP Themes