Sunday, February 5, 2023

Rockin' in the Days of Confusion # 2306 (starts 2/7/23)

https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/460173-dc-2306 


    This week, Rockin' in the Days of Confusion presents, in its entirety, Rick Wakeman's Journey To The Centre Of The Earth, along with a couple other tracks we've never played on the show. To start, though, we have a couple of more familiar pieces...

Artist:    Deep Purple
Title:    Smoke On The Water (edited live version)
Source:    British 45 RPM EP
Writer(s):    Blackmore/Gillan/Glover/Lord/Paice
Label:    Warner Brothers
Year:    1972
    I'm not quite sure what prompted Deep Purple to release an EP in 1977 that included an edited version of a live performance of Smoke On The Water, the original studio version of My Woman From Tokyo and a live version of Child Of Time, especially when you consider that the band had split up the year before. Nonetheless, the EP was well-received, despite some jarring edit points in Smoke On The Water, and was one of many releases that eventually led to the reformation of the band in 1984.

Artist:    Doors
Title:    Love Me Two Times
Source:    CD: The Best Of The Doors (originally released on LP: Strange Days)
Writer(s):    The Doors
Label:    Elektra
Year:    1967
    Although the second Doors album is sometimes dismissed as being full of tracks that didn't make the cut on the band's debut LP, the fact is that Strange Days contains some of the Doors best-known tunes. One of those is Love Me Two Times, which was the second single released from the album. The song continues to get heavy airplay on classic rock stations.

Artist:    Delaney & Bonnie And Friends featuring Eric Clapton
Title:    Groupie (Superstar)
Source:    European import CD: Pure...Psychedelic Rock (originally released as 45 RPM single B side)
Writer(s):    Bramlett/Russell
Label:    Sony Music (original label: Atco)
Year:    1969
    Originally released as a B side in 1969 and included on the 1972 album D&B Together, Groupie (Superstar) was written by Bonnie Bramlett and Leon Russell. In addition to Bonnie Bramlett on lead vocals, the track features an all-star lineup, including Eric Clapton, Delaney Bramlett and Dave Mason on guitars, and most of what would become Derek And The Dominos on other instruments. Rita Coolidge, who came up with the original idea for a song based on the relationships between rock musicians and groupies, sings backup vocals on the track.

Artist:    Rick Wakeman
Title:    Journey To The Centre Of The Earth
Source:    LP: Journey To The Centre Of The Earth
Writer(s):    Rick Wakeman, with narration adapted from the novel by Jules Verne
Label:    A&M
Year:    1974
    Keyboardist Rick Wakeman began his career as a session musician, appearing on recordings by Davie Bowie (Space Oddity), Elton John and Cat Stevens, among others. In 1970 he became a member of Strawbs, but left the following year to replace Tony Kaye in Yes. His presence, along with guitarist Steve Howe's, revitalized a band that had been on the verge of losing its record contract, elevating Yes to the upper echelon of rock music in 1972. In 1973, while still a member of Yes, Wakeman released his first solo album, the all-instrumental Six Wives Of Henry VIII, which was a commercial success and led to the creation of his second solo work, a narrated adaptation of Jules Verne's Journey To The Centre Of The Earth. In spite of pressure from the shirts at A&M to use well-known musicians on the album, Wakeman chose to go with a group of unknowns to keep the focus of the audience on the music rather than the performers themselves. He also enlisted the services of the London Symphony Orchestra and English Chamber Choir for two live performances of the piece on January 18, 1974, with narration provided by English actor David Hemmings, best known for his lead role in the film Blowup. The second of these performances was recorded and released on May 3, 1974 as Wakeman's second solo LP. The album topped the British music charts and hit #3 on the Billboard albums chart in the US.

Artist:    Savoy Brown
Title:    Sitting An' Thinking
Source:    CD: Looking In
Writer(s):    Kim Simmonds
Label:    Deram (original label: Parrot)
Year:    1970
    After the charismatic Chris Youlden left Savoy Brown for an ill-dated solo career in 1970, the remaining band members went to work on the sixth Savoy Brown album, Looking In. The second single from the album was the instrumental Sitting An Thinking, but by 1971 singles were no longer considered necessary to an artist's being considered a success in the US. Just as well, since Sitting An' Thinking failed to make the top 100, despite having some tasty guitar work from founder Kim Simmonds. Not long after the single was released the other band members left the group to form Foghat, leaving Simmonds the task of forming a new Savoy Brown lineup for the band's next LP, Street Corner Talking.

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