https://exchange.prx.org/p/552166
Thanks to a rather annoying virus (physical, not electronic) going around, this week's episode of Rockin' in the Days of Confusion is a contingency show recorded over six years ago but never before aired. When it was recorded, over half the songs had never appeared on the show before, which, considering that Rockin' in the Days of Confusion had only been around for slightly more than two years at the time, is understandable. In fact, a couple of them still hadn't been played before this week. Overall it's a pretty decent collection of tunes, most from the early 1970s, so enjoy!
Artist: Eric Clapton
Title: Lay Down Sally
Source: 45 RPM single
Writer(s): Clapton/Levy/Terry
Label: RSO
Year: 1977
By the end of the 1970s Eric Clapton had fully embraced the "Tulsa Sound" pioneered by singer/songwriter J.J. Cale, as can be heard on his 1977 single Lay Down Sally. Clapton gave much of the credit for the song's sound to his backup band, including backup vocalist Marcy Levy and guitarist George Terry, who share writing credit on the song with Clapton.
Artist: Fleetwood Mac
Title: Albatross
Source: European import CD: Pure...Psychedelic Rock (originally released as 45 RPM single and included on LP: English Rose
Writer(s): Peter Green
Label: Sony Music (original US label: Epic)
Year: 1968
Albatross was the third single released by Fleetwood Mac. Released in November of 1968, it hit the #1 spot on the UK Single Chart in January of 1969. The song, which is said to have been inspired by a series of notes in an Eric Clapton guitar solo (but slowed down considerably) had been in the works for some time, but left unfinished until the addition of then 18-year-old guitarist Danny Kirwan to the band, who, unlike the band's second guitarist Jeremy Spencer, was more than willing to help bandleader Peter Green work out the final arrangement. Although Spencer was usually the group's resident slide guitarist (as is seen miming the part on a video clip), Kirwan actually played the slide guitar parts behind Green's lead guitar work, with Mick Fleetwood using mallets rather than drumsticks on the recording. John McVie, of course, played bass on the tune.
Artist: Paul Simon
Title: Mother And Child Reunion
Source: 45 RPM single (promo)
Writer(s): Paul Simon
Label: Columbia
Year: 1972
Paul Simon became one of the first white musicians to incorporate elements of reggae music into a rock song with his 1972 hit Mother And Child Reunion. Before recording sessions commenced, Simon was instructed by members of Toots And The Maytals and Jimmy Cliff's band on the differences between reggae, ska and bluebeat. The song itself was recorded at Dynamic Sounds Studios at Torrington Bridge in Kingston, Jamaica with many of those same musicians. Simon finished the song by adding piano and vocal tracks in New York at a later date.
Artist: Deep Purple
Title: Child In Time (live version)
Source: CD: Made In Japan
Writer(s): Blackmore/Gillan/Glover/Lord/Paice
Label: Warner Brothers
Year: 1972
One of the most powerful antiwar songs ever recorded, the original studio version of Child In Time appeared on the LP Deep Purple In Rock. The album is generally considered to be the beginning of the band's "classic" period and features the lineup of Ritchie Blackmore (guitar), Ian Gillan (vocals), Roger Glover (bass), Jon Lord (keyboards) and Ian Paice (drums). That same lineup recorded this twelve minute long live version of Child In Time for the 1972 album Made In Japan.
Artist: Flash
Title: Small Beginnings
Source: 45 RPM single
Writer: Peter Banks
Label: Capitol
Year: 1972
Before Steve Howe joined Yes, the group featured Peter Banks on lead guitar. After the first Yes album, Banks left the group to form a new band, Flash. Despite having a similar sound to Yes at a time when such bands were in vogue, Flash failed to achieve more than a small fraction of the original band's success, despite moderate airplay for songs like Small Beginnings, released in 1972 as a single from their second LP.
Artist: King Crimson
Title: Red
Source: CD: Red
Writer(s): Robert Fripp
Label: Discipline Global Mobile (original label: Atlantic)
Year: 1974
Red is the seventh and final album of the original run of King Crimson, released in 1974. By then, only guitarist Robert Fripp remained of the original King Crimson lineup; he would form a new King Crimson seven years later. The title track of Red, which opens the album, is the only piece on the LP written entirely by Fripp. It is an instrumental written for multi-tracked guitar, bass and drums, and redefines the term "power trio" in a scary way. Fripp himself was somewhat ambiguous about including the track on the album, but bassist John Wetton insisted on it (drummer Bill Bruford reportedly told Fripp "I don't get it, but if you tell me it's good, I trust you").
Artist: Collectors
Title: Teletype Click
Source: Promo LP: Grass And Wild Strawberries
Writer(s): The Collectors/George Ryga)
Label: Reprise
Year: 1969
The Collectors made their debut in 1961 as the C-FUN Classics, the house band for CFUN radio in Vancouver, British Columbia. In 1966 they changed their name to the Collectors and released a single, Looking At A Baby, on the Valiant label. This was followed by a self-titled album for Warner Brothers in 1967. Around this time the group was hired to provide the instrumental backing for the Electric Prunes album Mass In F Minor (after producer Dave Hassinger decided that the music written for the album by David Axelrod was too complex for the Prunes themselves to play). In 1969 the Collectors collaborated with Canadian playwrite George Ryga to create music for his play Grass And Wild Strawberries. The songs, including Teletype Click, were released on an album of the same name in 1969. Not long after Grass And Wild Strawberries was released, original lead vocalist Howie Vickers left the band, which, now fronted by guitarist Bill Henderson, began calling itself Chilliwack.
Artist: Savoy Brown
Title: Second Try
Source: LP: Lion's Share
Writer(s): Kim Simmonds
Label: Parrot
Year: 1972
Despite being released on the heels of their highest charting LP Hellbound Train, Savoy Brown's 1972 LP Lion's Share did surprisingly poorly on the charts, never climbing above the # 151 spot. Perhaps the band's frequent lineup changes were finally taking their toll, as Savoy Brown is a contender for the all-time record for having the most former members of any band in rock history. Regardless, Lion's Share, in a ddition to having pretty cool cover art, contains some tasty tunes, such as Second Try, written by the band's founder (and only permanent member) Kim Simmonds.
Artist: Wishbone Ash
Title: Queen Of Torture
Source: CD: The Collection (originally released on LP: Wishbone Ash)
Writer: Upton/Turner/Turner/Powell
Label: Spectrum/Universal (original label: Decca)
Year: 1970
One of the first bands to use dual lead guitars was Wishbone Ash. When Glen Turner, the band's original guitarist, had to leave, auditions were held, but the remaining members and their manager couldn't decide between the two finalists, Andy Powell and Ted Turner, so they kept both of them. Queen Of Torture, from their 1970 debut album, shows just how well the two guitars meshed.
Artist: Guess Who
Title: Orly
Source: 45 RPM promo single
Writer(s): Burton Cummings
Label: RCA Victor
Year: 1973
By 1973 the Guess Who had gone through several personnel changes, with only vocalist/keyboardist Burton Cummings and drummer Garry Peterson left from the band that had hit it big with songs like These Eyes and American Woman. The rest of the band included lead guitarist Kurt Winter, rhythm guitarist Donnie McDougall and bassist Bill Wallace. Orly is pretty much a straight 50s style rock 'n' roll song that takes advantage of more modern recording technology.
Artist: Doobie Brothers
Title: Evil Woman
Source: CD: The Captain And Me
Writer(s): Patrick Simmons
Label: Warner Brothers
Year: 1973
The Doobie Brothers, in their original incarnation, had two primary songwriters: Tom Johnston and Patrick Simmons. As a general rule, Simmons's tunes tended to be a bit quieter than Johnston's, but there were exceptions. One of the most notable of these was Evil Woman, one of the hardest-rocking tunes in the entire Doobie Brothers catalog. The song was featured on the band's third LP, The Captain And Me, released in 1973.
Artist: Aerosmith
Title: Movin' Out
Source: CD: Aerosmith
Writer(s): Tyler/Perry
Label: Columbia
Year: 1973
Steven Tyler often introduces Movin' Out as the "first" Aerosmith song, explaining that it was written on a waterbed when the entire band shared an apartment in Boston. Whether or not the story itself is true or apocryphal, it is definitely the first song co-written by Tyler and Joe Perry, who came up with the song's signature guitar riff. The song appeared on Aerosmith's debut album in 1973.
Artist: Grand Funk Railroad
Title: High On A Horse
Source: CD: On Time
Writer(s): Mark Farner
Label: Capitol
Year: 1969
When lead vocalist Terry Knight decided to leave his band, the Pack, for a solo career, two of the members, guitarist Mark Farner and drummer Don Brewer, decided to carry on without him, first by continuing as the Pack, and later as a trio with new bassist Mel Schacher. In early 1969 they called Knight, who by then had relocated to New York and was recording for Capitol as a solo artist, and asked him to come out to Flint, Michigan to hear their new band and possibly become their manager. Knight accepted the job, and gave them their name, Grand Funk Railroad. In April Knight took the band into Cleveland Recording to cut a pair of tunes that Knight would submit to Capitol as an audition record. One of those songs, High On A Horse, would become the B side of the band's first single, released in July of 1969. The following month the song was included on the band's first LP, On Time. Although not an immediate hit, the album would be one of four Grand Funk Railroad albums to achieve gold record status in 1970.
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