https://exchange.prx.org/p/633450
This week, after a visit to Montana, we take a trip backwards in time, starting in 1975 and ending in 1968. And then we stay there for a bit of blues jamming.
Artist: Mothers
Title: Montana
Source: CD: Over-Nite Sensation
Writer(s): Frank Zappa
Label: Zappa (original label: Discreet)
Year: 1973
Montana is quite possibly the most recognizable song Frank Zappa ever wrote. The track first appeared on the Mothers album Over-Nite Sensation and quickly became a concert staple. On the original album version Zappa's guitar solo is followed by a series of vocal gymnastics performed by none other than Tina Turner and the Ikettes, who were recording with Turner's husband Ike in an adjacent studio. According to Zappa it took the singers two days to master the complex melody and timing of the section. Reportedly Tina was so pleased with the result that she invited her husband into the control room to hear the finished section, only to have Ike say "What is this shit?" and walk back out. Did she really expect any other reaction?
Artist: Queen
Title: The Prophet's Song/Love Of My Life
Source: LP: A Night At The Opera
Writer(s): Brian May
Label: Elektra
Year: 1975
When Queen's landmark LP, A Night At The Opera, was released in 1975, much attention was focused on the album's penultimate track, Freddy Mercury's Bohemian Rhapsody, which went all the way to the top of the British top 40 charts and is one of the most recognizable recordings of the 20th century. With all this attention focused on one song (albeit deservedly), several other outstanding tracks on the album have been somewhat neglected. Perhaps the best of these overlooked tracks is The Prophet's Song, a Brian May composition that opens side two of the vinyl LP. At over eight minutes in length, The Prophet's Song is Queen's longest song with vocals, and, like Bohemian Rhapsody, features layered overdubs by Mercury, including a fairly long acappella section in the middle of the track. The song also has powerful dynamics, ranging from the almost inaudible acoustic guitar and toy koto introduction to high volume electric lead guitar work set against a heavy metal background. The song ends with an acoustic guitar solo by May that leads directly into Mercury's piano introduction to his Love Of My Life. The two tracks combined take up about half of an album side.
Artist: Gentle Giant
Title: Playing The Game
Source: CD: The Power And The Glory
Writer(s): Shulman/Shulman/Minnear
Label: Alucard (original label: Capitol)
Year: 1974
Following the departure of founding member Phil Shulman in 1973, the remaining members of Gentle Giant, after a period of soul-searching, decided to carry on as a five-piece group with the album In A Glass House. Their US label however, decided not to release the album. Despite this, In A Glass House sold well in the US as an import, leading to a new contract with a different label. The first Gentle Giant to be released on Capitol was The Power And The Glory, which hit the racks in 1974. One of the tracks that got a lot of airplay on FM rock radio was Playing The Game, which closes out the first side of the original LP. For those who might be interested in such things, a special edition of The Power And The Glory has been released on the Alucard label which features not only the original album remastered (plus bonus tracks), but a DVD containing animated video versions of every track on the album, all of which enhance the album's original concept concerning how power can corrupt even those with the best of intentions.
Artist: Focus
Title: Hocus Pocus II
Source: 45 RPM single B side
Writer(s): Akkerman/van Leer
Label: Sire
Year: 1973
Although it was recorded and originally released in Europe and the UK as a single in 1971, the edited version of Hocus Pocus did not chart outside the Netherlands and was not released at all in the western hemisphere until 1973, when it came out with an entirely different and newly recorded B side called Hocus Pocus II. The new tune starts off with a slower funk beat before breaking into a slightly faster variation on the original theme, returning to the funk beat toward the end of the track. Hocus Pocus II was not released in Europe until 1975, when it appeared on a compilation album called Dutch Masters (1969-1973).
Artist: Deep Purple
Title: Space Truckin'
Source: CD: The Very Best Of Deep Purple (originally released on LP: Machine Head)
Writer(s): Blackmore/Gillan/Glover/Lord/Paice
Label: Warner Archives/Rhino
Year: 1972
Deep Purple hit their commercial peak in 1972 with the release of their sixth studio album, Machine Head. The album was recorded in late 1971 in Montreaux, Switzerland, and contains their most famous song, Smoke On The Water, which tells the story of how the album came to be recorded. But there are plenty of other outstanding tracks on the album as well, including some, such as the science fiction oriented Space Truckin', that have received far less airplay than they deserve. I suppose that's the mark of a great album, though.
Artist: Moby Grape
Title: I'm The Kind Of Man That Baby You Can Trust
Source: LP: 20 Granite Creek
Writer(s): Jerry Miller
Label: Reprise
Year: 1971
The original five members of Moby Grape reunited in 1971 for their only album to appear on the Reprise label, 20 Granite Creek. All but one of the tracks on the LP came from individual members writing solo. I'm The Kind Of Man That Baby You Can Trust is one of two songs written by guitarist/vocalist Jerry Miller.
Artist: Beach Boys
Title: Susie Cincinnatti
Source: Mono LP: Appetizers (originally released as 45 RPM single B side)
Writer(s): Al Jardine
Label: Warner Brothers (original label: Brother)
Year: 1970
B sides often get the short end of the stick. Consider, for example, the song Susie Cincinnatti. Written by Beach Boys founding member Al Jardine, the song was intended for the album Sunflower, but got squeezed out by other tracks and was instead released as the B side of the album's first single, Add Some Music To Your Day. The single, however, only spent a total of five weeks on the charts, peaking at #64. Since singles in the US tended to be pulled from the racks once they dropped off the charts (often even sooner), Susie Cincinnatti didn't get heard by a whole lot of people. Three years later, Warner Brothers Records decided to give the song a little more exposure by including on Appetizers, part of the Loss Leaders series of low-priced compilation albums available by mail order using forms included on inner sleeves of full-priced albums. Not exactly what you would call a mass marketing campaign.
Artist: Crosby, Stills and Nash
Title: Suite: Judy Blue Eyes
Source: CD: Crosby, Stills and Nash
Writer: Stephen Stills
Label: Atlantic
Year: 1969
After the demise of Buffalo Springfield, Stephen Stills headed for New York, where he worked with Al Kooper on the Super Session album and recorded several demo tapes of his own, including a new song called Suite: Judy Blue Eyes (reportedly written for his then-girlfriend Judy Collins). After his stint in New York he returned to California, where he started hanging out in the Laurel Canyon home of David Crosby, who had been fired from the Byrds in 1967. Crosby's house at that time was generally filled with a variety of people coming and going, and Crosby and Stills soon found themselves doing improvised harmonies on each other's material in front of a friendly, if somewhat stoned, audience. It was not long before they invited Graham Nash, whom they heard had been having problems of his own with his bandmates in the Hollies, to come join them in Laurel Canyon. The three soon began recording together, and in 1969 released the album Crosby, Stills and Nash. Suite: Judy Blue Eyes was chosen as the opening track for the new album and was later released (in severely edited form) as a single.
Artist: Jimi Hendrix Experience
Title: Little Miss Strange
Source: LP: Electric Ladyland
Writer: Noel Redding
Label: Reprise
Year: 1968
When Chas Chandler brought Jimi Hendrix to England in 1966 he introduced him to several local musicians, including drummer Mitch Mitchell and guitarist Noel Redding. Hendrix talked Redding into switching to bass, and the Jimi Hendrix Experience was born. Redding, however, still had aspirations of being a front man and wrote the song She's So Fine for the 1967 album Axis:Bold As Love. He followed it up in 1968 with Little Miss Strange, which appeared on the Electric Ladyland album. Redding sang lead vocals on both songs. After the Experience split up Redding formed Fat Mattress, but that band had little success.
Artist: Al Kooper/Mike Bloomfield/Barry Goldberg/Harvey Brooks/Eddie Hoh
Title: Albert's Shuffle
Source: LP: Super Session
Writer(s): Bloomfield/Kooper
Label: Sundazed/Columbia
Year: 1968
There is no doubt that one of the most important and influential albums of the late 1960s was the Super Session album. Released in 1968, the album was conceived in part because keyboardist/producer Al Kooper felt that Michael Bloomfield had never been recorded in the right context to truly showcase his prowess as a guitarist. Taking advantage of his position as staff producer for Columbia Records, Kooper enlisted keyboardist Barry Goldberg and bassist Harvey Brooks (both of which had been Bloomfield's bandmates in the Electric Flag), as well as ace studio drummer Eddie Hoh for a series of taped jam sessions. Although Bloomfield himself went AWOL midway through the sessions, the quintet managed to get several outstanding tracks recorded, including Albert's Shuffle, which opens the LP.
No comments:
Post a Comment