Simon & Garfunkel - Cecilia - 45 RPM - Original Mono Mix

Here is the original 45 of the great MONO mix of Cecilia by Simon & Garfunkel. You will notice that the percussion is way at the forefront and the vocal pitch is slightly turned up to give this version a unique listening experience compared to its stereo counterpart on the "Bridge Over Troubled Water" album.

Special thanks to YouTube user WABCRADIO77 for sharing this video. Please check out his page for many more 45 nuggets!

THE FOUR TOPS - Reach Out I'll Be There - 45 RPM

FOUR TOPS - REACH OUT I'LL BE THERE (ORIGINAL 45)
This is the best way to listen to Motown, through the original 45's. The bass really thumps throughout this record. A strong case can be made that Reach Out I'll Be There is the greatest song ever released by Motown. If you do not have access to a turntable or are able to find a good clean copy of the original 45 as shown in this video, the next best thing is is purchase the Complete Motown Singles - 1966 released by Hip-O Select. 1966 is arguably the best year Motown had. Unfortunately this will set you back about $125.00 ($US) and the supply is running out due it's limited edition status. But, it is still available on MP3 format on iTunes for $60.00 or by the track at $0.99 in the U.S.I have the set and it is great! The content is wonderful, the box set is first class and the sound quality is top notch but still does not touch the fire of the original 45's.

Special thanks to YouTube user WaxBadgerVinyl with providing us this wonderful video

Frank Zappa - Hot Rats

Frank Zappa’s 1969 album “Hot Rats” has been forced into many different genres. Some will say this is a jazz album, it really isn’t there are jazz themes within but it is not a straight jazz album. Frank Zappa’s catalog was always found within the rock and pop section of the music store (for my younger readers, yes we used to buy music from a dedicated music store, hell I am old enough to have gone shopping in a straight up record store where they had new releases!). There is no denying; Hot Rats is a great album!

On to the tracks:

Peaches En Regalia – The opening tour de force of Hot Rats. Peaches are a very clean, straight-shooting jazz track, which is the most accessible tune on the entire album. Peaches would be a great introduction to someone who wants to explore jazz. As a jazz piece it is not too complex and the themes are very easy to get into and follow. Peaches En Regalia would rank as my favorite track on Hot Rats and probably my favorite Zappa track I have heard to this date.

Listen to Peaches En Regalia (Original Mix) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BSb_YW3p8CY

Willie The Pimp – Willie is the only track on Hot Rats, which features the talents of Zappa pal Captain Beef heart. First off, I must say the vocal stylings of Captain Beefheart are really an acquired taste. The Captain’s raspy vocals are enough to clear a room for those of the faint at heart. I find the captain appealing and vocals are great. I am not too keen on Zappa’s satirical lyrics but there is something about Willie The Pimp is fun and catchy (if pimp’s can be considered fun at all). Zappa give a hell of a vision of what Willie The Pimp looks like “I'm a little pimp with my hair gassed back Pair a khaki pants with my shoes shined black”. A smooth looking dude, huh?

In my opinion Willie could have been well served as an instrumental and the highlight of the piece is Zappa’s guitar soloing which is some of the best you will ever hear.

Son Of Mr. Green Genes – Not much to say here, it is not one of my favorites but again Zappa is the highlight with more tremendous guitar work. Ok who here remembers Mr. Green Genes from Captain Kangaroo? Me!

The original Hot Rats "Bizarre" label.

Little Umbrellas – A super mellow track that has a nice solid jazz feel to it. It is a nice relaxer from the super hot guitar soloing by Zappa during the previous 2 tracks. Side 1 rocks, side 2 is more jazz fusion/avant-garde.

The Gumbo Variations – This is the most complex track on the album. It clocks in at 12 minutes on the original album and Zappa unearthed another 4 minutes of content on his “Zappa-fied” remix/re-recording. Gumbo has 2 very distinct highlights, the first being the avant-garde sax playing of Ian Underwood. Underwood’s playing is very reminiscent of those of latter career John Coltrane or Ornette Coleman. Just mentioning these two greats will tell of the complexity of the music. The 2^nd highlight of the track is the hot violin playing of Sugarcane Harris. Harris takes the traditionally classical instrument and pushes it to the limit on Gumbo. Gumbo is the least accessible track on the album but it still not too out there like an hour version of free avant-garde jazz.

It Must Be A Camel – The closing track is another solid track, nothing too mind-blowing but it is the perfect bookend to Peaches En Regalia and the perfect decompression from the very busy Gumbo Variations.

I mentioned briefly in the rundown about the original mix of Hot Rats and the Frank Zappa remix. I am lucky enough to have both versions. The version I was exposed to first was the Zappa remix on RykoDisc Records. A few years back the folks at Classic Records released the original mix on 200-gram vinyl, which I also have. I feel both mixes are essential as they really can be described as two separate albums. As for my personal enjoyment I find the original mix to be superior. The bass in more punchier on the original mix and I am always partial to the artist’s original vision of their work. My advice if you are a person who is interested in discovering Frank Zappa’s work, Hot Rots should be your first purchase. Zappa’s musical genius glows brightly on this album and there is no need to digest Zappa’s satirical lyrics, which can be a turnoff to some. It is hard to believe this album only peaked at 175 on the Billboard charts since it was released during a time a great musical experimentation and Hot Rats was a sure bright spot of the great year for music, which was 1969. Part of the problem unfortunately is that it is impossible to properly classify Hot Rats, is it rock? Is it jazz? Is it Jazz/rock fusion? There is no correct answer and it can cause a great debate. All I know Hot Rats is an indispensible part of my music collection.

Please "like" my Facebook" page to view bonus material on Hot Rats!

Bob Marley & The Waliers - Legend

First off, greatest hits and comprehensive career spanning collections are not my cup of tea. The greatest hits album serves a functional purpose for me as an introduction to an artist I am not familiar with and build into the rest of their works through their official album releases and move the greatest hits album on to somebody else. Bob Marley and The Wailers “Legend” album is an exception to my rule.

I first purchased Legend as a blind buy when I was 18 years old at a record convention for a cheap price. I had no exposure at all to any reggae at this time but I had heard of Bob Marley so I figure what the hell and plunked down the 7 bucks and I was on my way. Right from the opening track “Is This Love” I was hooked! Is This Love is a great tune that sends a great message about relationships, even though we may not have much, we do have a roof over our heads and we have each other. The next track “No Woman No Cry” is a live version and the choice was spot on. It’s a great mellow tune and the live version destroys Marley’s studio version, which is found on Marley’s “Natty Dread” album. The next track that really stands out for me is “One Love/People Get Ready”. Having recently visited Jamaica I see this as sort of an anthem for the country and it was used in the past to market Jamaican tourism. “One Love! One Heart!
Let's get together and feel all right.” What a positive message. The impression I got from my short time on the island is the great patriotism and pride the Jamaican folks have expressed through their music, food, and dress. One Love, if we all stick together we can conquer anything, powerful stuff!

Listen To: One Love/People Get Ready

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N3KosOPCSiU

The real wow moment I had first hearing Legend was the second to last track “Exodus”.(My favorite Bob Marley track!)

“Open your eyes and look within
Are you satisfied with the life you're living?
We know where we're going; we know where we're from
We're leaving Babylon, we're going to the fatherland”

This lyric anybody can relate to. Instead of wallowing and complaining about the situation you are in, take the time to reflect and understand where you are today and plan the necessary steps to make it better.

Listen to Exodus (Live):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pS3ccI1xxpI

Finally, “Jammin” I find this to be the perfect compliment to “Is This Love”, not so much lyrically but in tempo and emotion. Legend goes in with a high and ends with the same high.

Rarely does a collection of songs that span a decade of an artist’s career fit into a cohesive mold but the tracks on Bob Marley’s Legend fit like a glove. As stated earlier Legend was my first exposure to Marley’s music and I have since collected most of his official career spanning works, but there is no way I will let my clutches loose of Legend.

It was great to go to Jamaica and obtain a better understanding of how important Bob Marley is there. I had questions of whether Bob Marley’s legacy in America was something that was marketed by the record companies or if he was just some cult figure of the marijuana counterculture. Bob Marley, truly is a LEGEND in Jamaica and this was expressed through people of all ages listening to his music including those who were born after his untimely passing over 30 years ago. ONE LOVE!

Kick Ass "Tuff Gong" label!

The Jimi Hendrix Experience - Electric Ladyland

Electric Ladyland was the final of Jimi Hendrix’s official album releases while he was alive. It is hard to believe that a man with such a reputation and legend only released 3 albums in his lifetime. All 3 albums, Are You Experienced?, Axis: Bold As Love, and Electric Ladyland easily could be considered 3 of the top rock albums ever recorded. Electric Ladyland is a vastly different from Are You Experienced? And Axis: Bold As Love mainly because Jimi produced this album himself. Chas Chandler who produced the first two albums was a veteran of the music industry being a member of the rock group The Animals. Chandler knew what was hot at the time and what would sell. Are You Experienced? and Axis: Bold As Love are two extremely polished albums with a distinct sound. Electric Ladyland is a mix of many different genres, rock, blues, jazz, & psych, which in the final product of a double album flows nicely. Double albums can be tricky to digest, many of them contain a lot of shit that should never have been included for the sake of being a double album. Electric Ladyland is strong from front to back.

Side 1 kicks off similarly as Axis: Bold As Love did with the trippy track …And The Gods Made Love segueing cleanly into Have You Ever Been (To Electric Ladyland). Crosstown Traffic is the rocker of side and probably the most single worthy track on the album. Voodoo Chile closes Side 1, this is where things get interesting. Voodoo Chile is a straight blues track that clocks in at 15:00. When I was first exposed to this album as a teenager I could not stomach this track as I did not have the attention span to digest it, now I view this as an indispensible part of Electric Ladyland and when listening to the album on vinyl, it’s time to take a deep breath and take it all in because there is a long way to go.

If a weak side to Electric Ladyland has to be chosen, it would have to be Side 2, for no other reason but one has to be chosen. Little Miss Strange is the weak link of the album written and sung by bassist Noel Redding.  I guess Noel had to have a track on each album and I will leave it at that. Long Hot Summer Night is a fun, upbeat tune, it’s good but doesn’t do much for me as does Come On (Let The Good Times Roll). Gypsy Eyes has always been a favorite of mine, real rocker with killer kick drum and wild guitar riffs intertwined with a great rhythm. Gypsy Eyes is a real roller coaster ride. Burning Of The Midnight Lamp concludes Side 2. Just like Voodoo Chile a great ending to an album side. The wah-wah outro of Burning Of The Midnight Lamp is phenomenal and the lyrics are very poetic.

Side 3 starts with the jazzy Rainy Day, Dream Away. This track is not a favorite of mine but represents what I feel is the direction that Jimi’s music was heading as his music started maturing. 1983…(A Merman I Should Turn To Be), is trippy and creepy as hell. 1983 tells as futuristic story of man living underwater in the future and war consuming the earth. Moon Turn the Tides….Gently Away concludes side 3. 1983….falls into Moon which provides a peaceful calm from the chaos that 1983 presents. Kind of like what it may sound like if the world would come to an end.

Side 4 could be one of the greatest album sides ever. Still Raining, Still Dreaming is a reprise to Rainy Day, Dream Away. The two tracks are a bit disjointed being on two separate sides, but the advent of the cd and later the digital download eliminates this issue. House Burning Down is just what the title states, its explosive. Jimi sings the lyrics “Look at the sky turn hell fire red, somebody’s house is burning down, down, down” with such ease and matter of fact kind of like how firefighters teach us as kids to be cool, if you are burning simply stop, drop and roll. Jimi’s songwriting on Electric Ladyland is phenomenal and diverse, but THE top track on this album is a cover of Bob Dylan’s “All Along The Watchtower”. Dylan’s version on his album John Wesley Harding is very good, but Jimi takes Watchtower to another level. Dylan’s version is very folky and poetic, Jimi’s version fucking rocks. Jimi does sing Watchtower in a similar tone as Dylan but the guitar work by Jimi is insane. Only Jimi Hendrix could take essentially a calm folk-ballad and turn it into a firestorm. With absolutely insane but melodic guitar work. The album concludes with Voodoo Chile (Slight Return), which could have the one of the greatest guitar intros ever. The opening lyrics, holy shit!!! “I’m standing next to a mountain, and I chop it with the edge of my hand.” I still get chills hearing that just like I did the first time. You feel you can conquer anything! The guitar playing by Jimi on Voodoo Chile is so crazy, violent, wild but so damn beautiful it could either fire you up or lullaby you to sleep, it’s that powerful. Listening to Voodoo Chile on headphones is a hell of an experience!

Now, the copies I have. I have what I believe is a 1970’s reissue on Reprise Records. Aside from a few skips here and there this is the best I have heard the album. I also own the original Reprise Records CD, non-futzed, flat transfer. The vinyl does have a bit more punch in the gut feel.

Listen To: Voodoo Child (Slight Return) 

As you can tell, this album and Jimi Hendrix have had a profound effect on me and always will.

Stevie Wonder - Music Of My Mind

Stevie Wonder’s 1971 album “Music Of My Mind” is the start of what many consider Stevie’s “classic period”. I disagree completely. Stevie had many hit singles with Motown throughout the 1960’s. The singles are what drove Motown’s, they were not known as an album label. The scope of Motown completely changed as the label transitioned from Detroit to Los Angeles and great albums were to be churned out starting with Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On” and Stevie Wonder’s “Music Of My Mind”. Music Of My Mind is exactly what it states an album full of Stevie Wonder written tracks with Stevie playing all of the instruments excluding some guitar and trombone parts.  By 1971 Stevie was considered to be a grizzled veteran in the music industry at age 21, he had his first hit with Motown at the age of 13. The tracks on Music Of My Mind show a great maturity beyond the years of a man the age of 21. The key track on the album is Superwoman (Where Were You When I Needed You). Superwoman clocks in at just over 8 minutes, at bit too much in my opinion, the song could have done well as a 3-minute single type track.  What is great about this track as well as the whole album is that it showcases Stevie as a master musician, not just a vocalist being backed by the Funk Brothers as most of Motown’s talent was in the 1960’s. “Music Of My Mind “ does have its weak point, for me it’s the track Sweet Little Girl. The lyrics have a less mature tone, which stands about from the rest of the album talking about how he loves his woman more than his clavinet. Music Of My Mind is a great album and serves as a great prelude of what was to come from Stevie Wonder later in the decade of the 1970’s. My go to copy of Music Of My Mind is the recently remastered gold cd version engineered by Kevin Gray for Audio Fidelity. Music Of My Mind has never sounded better. I highly recommend it.

Listen to: Superwoman (Where Were You When I Needed You)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQEQenuItIM