Rockin' in the Days of Confusion # 1704 (starts 1/25/17)

A look at this week's first four song titles might give one the impression that we're making some sort of political statement.

Artist:    Spirit
Title:    1984
Source:    Mono CD: The Best Of Spirit (originally released as 45 RPM single)
Writer(s):    Randy California
Label:    Epic
Year:    1969
    One of Spirit's best known songs is 1984, a non-album single released in 1969 in between the band's second and third LPs. Unlike the Rolling Stones' 2000 Man, 1984 was not so much a predictive piece as an interpretation of concepts first expressed in George Orwell's book of the same name. Of course, by the time the actual year 1984 arrived it had become obvious that politics had moved in an entirely different direction than predicted, although some of the mind control techniques described in both the book and song were already being used, while others had to wait until 2017 to come to pass.

Artist:    Doors
Title:    Strange Days
Source:    CD: The Best Of The Doors (originally released on LP: Strange Days)
Writer(s):    The Doors
Label:    Elektra
Year:    1967
    One of the first rock albums to not picture the band members on the front cover was the Doors' second LP, Strange Days. Instead, the cover featured several circus performers doing various tricks on a city street, with the band's logo appearing on a poster on the wall of a building. The album itself contains some of the Doors' most memorable tracks, including the title song, which also appears on their greatest hits album (which has Jim Morrison's picture on the cover) despite never being released as a single.

Artist:    Rory Gallagher
Title:    Can't Believe It's True
Source:    British import CD: Spirit Of Joy (originally released on LP: Rory Gallagher)
Writer(s):    Rory Gallagher
Label:    Polydor (original label: Atco)
Year:    1971
    In addition to his obvious prowess on guitar, Rory Gallagher was an accomplished saxophonist, although he largely abandoned the instrument in the mid-1970s. This can be heard on Can't Believe It's True, the final and longest track on Gallagher's first solo album, recorded in 1971. Accompanying Gallagher on the album were drummer Wilgar Campbell and bass guitarist Gerry McAvoy. Gallagher had set up practice sessions with Campbell and McAvoy, as well as former Jimi Hendrix Experience members Mitch Mitchell and Noel Redding following the breakup of his original band, Taste, but ultimately decided to form a power trio with the two Belfast natives for his solo debut.

Artist:    Black Oak Arkansas
Title:    Lord Have Mercy On My Soul/When Electricity Came To Arkansas
Source:    LP: Black Oak Arkansas
Writer(s):    Black Oak Arkansas
Label:    Atco
Year:    1971
    The final phase of my summer of '71 adventures started with a concert. I had arrived at the Southwestern College campus in Weatherford, Oklahoma on a September evening, hoping that our band, Sunn, would be able to regroup after losing our lead guitarist and driving force, David Mason (no, not The Dave Mason). Our rhythm guitarist, DeWayne Davis and drummer, Mike Higgins, were both starting their freshman year at Southwestern and were rooming together at one of the dorms. Our second lead guitarist, Doug Philips, had stayed in Mangum while I had gone back to New Mexico to visit my parents for a couple weeks following Dave's decision to quit the band and join the Air Force so he could marry his pregnant girlfriend. The day following my arrival in Weatherford, DeWayne, Mike and our roadie, Ronnie, were planning on going down to Norman to see Grand Funk Railroad, and had already bought their tickets. I was invited to go along and buy a ticket at the gate. I did, but the only tickets left at that point were way up in the bleacher seats, while the other guys had floor tickets. So, at least for the opening band, I got to sit by myself in the cheap seats. It turns out that was actually a blessing in disguise, as I was able to focus my attention completely on the band itself, without any distractions. This was a good thing, since it was a band I had never even heard of before called Black Oak Arkansas, performing, in its entirety, their self-titled first album. I found myself imagining that I was a music critic up there in the bleachers, and, thanks to an enhanced state of mind, had a very clear picture of Black Oak Arkansas as a band by the time their set was done. My favorite part of their set was the final two songs, a rocker called Lord Have Mercy On My Soul that sequed directly into an instrumental called When Electricity Came To Arkansas that featured twin lead guitars playing in harmony in a way remiscent of Wishbone Ash or the Allman Brothers Band. The next time I had enough money to buy an album I snatched up a copy of the debut Black Oak Arkansas LP, which is still my favorite out of the ten albums they recorded in the 1970s.

Artist:    Leslie West
Title:    Long Red
Source:    45 RPM single
Writer:    West/Pappaliardi/Ventura/Landsberg
Label:    Windfall
Year:    1969
    After popular Long Island club band the Vagrants disbanded guitarist Leslie Weinstein changed his last name to West and recorded a solo album called Mountain for the Windfall label. Helping him with the project was producer Felix Pappaliardi, who had previously worked with Cream on their Disraeli Gears and Wheels Of Fire albums. The two enjoyed working together so much that they decided to form a band called Mountain. West released two singles from the LP, the second of which was Long Red, a song that would later be included on the 1972 album Mountain Live. The song was also part of the newly-formed band's set at Woodstock.

Artist:    Gentle Giant
Title:    Knots
Source:    CD: Octopus
Writer(s):    Minnier/Shulman/Shulman/Shulman
Label:    Columbia
Year:    1972
    In 1972 I was still pursuing the garage rocker's dream, despite the fact that the last band from my high school days, Sunn, had finally given up the ghost in the fall of '71. That dream was sorely put to the test, however, when I heard Gentle Giant's Octopus album. I mean, really! How was a garage rocker supposed to play music that even a seasoned jazz professional would find daunting? Of course the answer was to dive into the heavy metal movement that was still in its infancy, but still, the sheer complexity of Gentle Giant's music nonetheless continues to blow my mind. Take Knots, for instance. Inspired by the works of Scottish psychiatrist R.D. Laing, Knots is full of unexpected musical twists and turns, using dissonance and abrupt timing to enhance the lyrics. To top it off, it is basically an a cappela piece, with only minimal instrumentation until late in the track.

Artist:    Bloodrock
Title:    Fantastic Piece Of Architecture
Source:    CD: Bloodrock
Writer(s):    Cobb/Grundy/Pickens/Rutledge/Taylor
Label:    One Way (original label: Capitol)
Year:    1970
    Dallas's Bloodrock is best known for the song D.O.A., which was heard all over the place in late 1970. The song combined spooky music with macabre lyrics to produce a truly chilling song lasting over eight minutes. It was the only Bloodrock song with spooky music, however. Fantastic Piece Of Architecture, which closes out the band's first LP, is done in a similar style, although lyrically it takes on an entirely different subject. Although, come to think of it, the protagonist of this one dies in the end as well, so maybe it's not so different after all.

Artist:    Pink Floyd
Title:    One Of These Days/A Pillow Of Winds
Source:    CD: Meddle
Writer(s):    Waters/Wright/Mason/Gilmour
Label:    Pink Floyd Records (original label: Harvest)
Year:    1971
    Pink Floyd's sixth studio album, Meddle, is a study in contrasts. The LP opens with One Of These Days, the hardest rocking recording the band had made since the departure of founding member Syd Barrett. The tune actually starts off quietly, with the sound of wind interrupted by a single bass note echoing off into the distance. This soon becomes a steady rhythm of bass, played on two separate bass guitars by Roger Waters and David Gilmour, with each bass panned all the way to one side of the stereo mix. As the song progresses, the drums enter the mix, followed by other instruments, and finally the only vocals of the track: the highly distorted words "One of these days I'm going to cut you into little pieces" spoken by drummer Nick Mason. Following the song's explosive climax, the track fades into one of the band's most quiet and melodic recordings, A Pillow Of Winds. The title of the tune comes from a possible hand of mahjong, a game the band had gotten into as a diversion while touring. Meddle is often cited as the beginning of the band's new direction that would define Pink Floyd in the 1970s, leaving behind the last vestiges of Barrett's influence.

Artist:    Paul Simon
Title:    Still Crazy After All These Years
Source:    Stereo 45 RPM single (reissue)
Writer(s):    Paul Simon
Label:    Columbia
Year:    1975
    Whenever I hear Paul Simon's 1975 recording of Still Crazy After All These Years I flash back to an appearance the singer/songwriter made on Saturday Night Live the following Thanksgiving weekend. For his opening sequence as guest host, Simon came out dressed as a giant turkey and began singing Still Crazy After All These Years, only to stop after a few bars and say "I'm sorry, I just can't do it". Brilliant stuff, that.