BLOG TO COMM

I can't really help it, but today I gotta admit that I actually feel --- just slightly miserable! Well, that sure is a come-up from the glum 'n gloom that I feel almost all of the time anymore given the sad state of life and the way people like YOU tend to treat me (break out the world's tiniest violin for that 'un!). Maybe this post will then have an even more lighter and carefree than a maxipad commercial lilt to it which, thankfully, would be a nice respite from the usual piss I love squirting in most of you readers' faces.

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Although things 'round here have been quieter'n inside Helen Keller's head there undoubtedly have been a few things that have brightened up the pasture. I've been fortunate enough to have received an entire ton of Cee-Dee-Are burns, unsolicited at that, and frankly it would take at least a dozen of me's to sort through the entire batch of 'em within a decent amount of time! Muchos gracias to the likes of Paul McGarry, Thierry Muller (who keeps me abreast of French rarities although no European Son or Crouille Marteau as of yet!) as well as Robert Forward for these, the latter who has delivered package after package of disques these past few weeks in what must have set him back a big bundle not only in the burns themselves but the postage and handling! 

The envelope with a whole batch of jazzbo platters including about five or so Ornette Coleman recordings labeled "boot" sure looks mighty enticing 'specially to a freer 'n free jazz guy like myself, though at this point in time all I have been able to make my way through was this Anthony Braxton live thing from '75 with Roscoe Mitchell, Richard Teitelbaum and some other doofus (a term I usually use as a friendly dig atcha!) whose name I can't recall. Also copped a first few tracks of the Sun Ra one which starts off with the infamous early '80s paen to what we thought was impending annihilation entitled "Nuclear War" with all of the cussing intact! I've always been surprised by this track what with the repeated obscenities --- I mean Ra has always presented himself as a man of virtue who was glad that people were going to see movies like STAR WARS 'stead of dirty films 'n such 'n I never woulda thought he'd be singing all vulgar like he does here! Sheesh, this 'un is almost as startling as if I had heard Mister Rogers blurt out a string of blasphemies in a fit of rage 'r somethin'!

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REST IN PEACE ('n I mean it!) Charles Gayle, the eventually notorious jazz multi-instrumentalist who after years of bubbling way under the free play radar got some well-deserved recognition in the early-nineties and at a time when people like myself were on the lookout for a new avant garde player to rally around. Hey, what's the name of that album where Gayle preaches on about a whole load of moral subjects that really got some of the more, er, forward thinking fans out there mighty uncomfortable? I wanna get that one and drive around town while that 'un's blasting at full volume!

Also r.i.p. jazz bassist Richard Davis, who all of the obits mention played with Van Morrison and Bruce Springsteen but NONE the Creative Construction Company!

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IMPORTANT NOTICE! After being scolded (however, the shaming part of it didn't work) regarding my continual reference to female mammary glands (as if there are "male" ones but these days who knows?) as "suckems" I will from now on avoid that particular term. Not only on this blog but private conversation in fact! I'm doing this in order to placate the more upper torso conscious of you out there who find the term particularly crude for one reason or another. From now on they will be referred to as "squeezies" which actually received approval from none other cyster herself.

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A Batman slaps Robin meme found on The Good Marty that I can heartedly endorse:

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Anyway lotsa good fire music to rant on about so like let's get into it while the gettin's got, or something like that. Personally I think these reviews are strictly of nosedive quality so if you want to skip 'em until next post (or for that matter skip reading anything that was ever written on this blog!) well, I wouldn't blame ya one bit!

 

Milford Graves with Arthur Doyle and Hugh Glover-CHILDREN OF THE FOREST CD-r burn (originally on Black Editions Archive Records)

This is even fiercer than BABI MUSIC or (if you can imagine) ALABAMA FEELING! The Graves/Doyle/Glover trio once again help stretch those jazz boundaries even more'n my own digestive tract with a maddening roar that (frankly) puts a whole load of then-contemp examples of the new thing to utter shame. Doyle's playing so over the top (about on par with early Frank Lowe) that it's bound to cleanse your soul (that is, if you have one) while Graves clonks out some rhythmic aberrations that were probably banned by ancient witch doctors for being too potent. Glover might seem MIA most of the time but he's there (at least on a good portion of this) adding extra percussion as well as horn toots that seem to punctuate the proceedings to an even more maddening pitch. Believe me, there's not a thin wafer in the entire shebang! You can download and burn the thing or buy it on Cee-Dee, but if I were you I'd get the double LP set and pretend that it's 1980 and you're getting a much anticipated order that you (like me) really scrimped and saved for from the New Music Distribution Service.

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Mal Waldron-MAL/2 CD-r burn (originally on Prestige Records)

After givin' the above a spin this un's almost like listening to Guy Lombardo! Mal and crew (including some names you might have heard about like John Coltrane and Jackie McLean) start preparing for the new thing with a hard bop session that might seem rather tame in comparison with the rage to come, but it suits one (or at least just me) rather fine given how moving and alive this is compared with some of the wine 'n schmooze music that's' getting passed off as jazz these sad 'n sorry times. Made for great backdrop to some sunny highway cruising this very afternoon.

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Various Artists- WILD MEN RIDE WILD GUITARS --- ROCKABILLY AND CHICKEN BOP VOL. 1 CD-r burn (originally on Sundazed Records)

Thankfully I ain't in one of my fifties rock 'n roll moods or else I would have been getting even more long-windier than usual about this one. However if I were feeling long windy I'd be goin' up and down the ol' backroads about these fifties rollickers that sure set the pace for some real rock-a-boppin' times, the kind Ron Weiser used to rant and rave about in his old ROLLIN' ROCK fanzine. Other'n a few names I copped outta old issues of KICKS these acts are whatcha'd call all new to me, but they sure do fine not only borrowin' heavily from the big time rockers of the day but takin' them ideas and ricochetin' 'em all over the dadburn place! Might be a good 'un to play for those know nada types who keep thinkin' that the fifties music scene was alla that soft croon glop and nothin' more! 

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BEATEN BRATS CD-r burn (available for download somewhere online)

They's be one of them new punk rock groups, one from France at that. Thankfully not "punque" but still nothing that really reaches out and touches you like that funny guy in the raincoat who's always lurking around. It admittedly is strange to hear music like this being played this late in the game we call agony, and even if this sounds like many other similar efforts up and about it's still good 'nuff and in no way offensive to your rather stilted tastes. Or mine either so if you're game then go for the danged thing!

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Pere Ubu-TROUBLE ON BIG BEAT STREET CD-r burn (originally on Cherry Red Records, England)

I dunno 'bout you, but (I think --- too lazy to check out any earlier reviews to refresh my sieve-like brain) I really haven't been cozying up to Ubu in quite some time. One thing I do remember is being irritated by some of those albums the former Crocus Behemoth had released since the stormy days of DUBHOUSING 'n like, hearing a group that once put out some mighty records going south really did make me question some of my earlier twists and turns in rock (and other) music to the point where I wondered why did I even bother in the first place?

But whaddaya know, but Ubu have redeemed themselves by putting out a platter that --- no doubt about it --- hearkens back to the mad miasma of late-sixties/early-seventies rock 'n roll as noise squall, the same swamp from whence everything from those early Plastic Ono albums and MONSTER MOVIE and FUNHOUSE to CROMAGNON and TROUT MASK REPLICA emerged to make a few much-needed switcheroos in the direction that teenbo music was taking. TROUT MASK REPLICA --- yeah, I can see TROUBLE ON BIG BEAT STREET some sorta mod day equal to the Magic Band crunch of the aforementioned squall back when turds like myself would stumble upon LICK MY DECALS OFF more'n curious about what it was all about in typical scrambled adlo brain format.

And the former Mr. Behemoth can match the ex Mr. Van Vliet in outer realm soul-stretched vocalizing what with his rolling on recitations about meeting up with Howlin' Wolf and Bob Dylan at the local Popeye's! While I'm at it let us welcome Ubu's return to the heavy metal realm with their cover of the Osmonds' classic "Crazy Horses" single. Sheesh, I thought that the Jehovah's Witnesses hated Mormons! 

Hokay, if I hadda say anything negative 'bout it I'd say that the thing was way too long to digest in one sitting. Edited down to about 40 minutes this woulda been a real killer diller deal!

This is thee creepy-crawl rock 'n roll platter of at least this post (if not the entire year?). The kind of thing we all need here in 2023 to resensify our musical obtuseness and maybe stick around hopin' the movie that we call existence doesn't ignite like so much worn nitrate. 

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THE IMMORTAL CHARLIE PARKER CD-r burn (originally on Savoy Records)

I know one BTC "associate" who is definitely going to be angry at me for reviewing this, given one of Parker's -- er -- "shortcomings" I'd guess you'd call it. Eh, so what! If I can drive down the highway with Waldron this afternoon I can spend the same evening coaxing myself into beddy bye with these mid-forties Parker sessions featuring some future big names including Miles Davis, Bud Powell, John Lewis and Max Roach getting their jazz bearings in. Like I said many-a-time, this sorta brew isn't exactly the root beer I usually go for but it sure has the nerve-clanging life-reaffirming sway that kinda makes you're glad that you're up and breathing. And there are no gasps here to worry about nosiree!

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Various Artists-WILL YOU LOVE ME TOMORROW --- THE GIRL GROUPS OF THE 50's & 60's 2CD-r set (originally on RPM Distribution Records)

Unlike a whole slew of girl group collections out there, WILL YOU LOVE ME TOMORROW mixes a scant bit of hit material with loads of obscurities making this more'n just another collection to sell on local tee-vee. The new to mine ears efforts sounded as if they were good enough to hit it big, while the familiar just reminded me of how potent girl vocal groups were for quite a while, well into (and past) the disco era which seemed to ruin too much as far as AM pop went. It woulda been nice if this compilation trekked its way into the early seventies (other'n with the Flirtations' "Nothing But a Heartache") because hey, I woulda loved to have heard the Rock Flowers' "Number Wonderful" again --- sure remember my cyster hating the thing because it sounded more sixties than early-seventies Cat Stevens relevant. Go figure.

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Various Artists-TELEVISION'S GREATEST HITS VOL. 1 CD-r burn (originally on TeeVee Toons Records)

The original material is mostly of echsville sound quality while the re-dos come off even phonier than you. However, if you want a glimpse of what stocking feet plop in front of the tee-vee ranch house living was like for more than a few of us aging guys who never did eschew our fifties/sixties/seventies/(maybe even) eighties suburban slob birthright then look no further.

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Sun Ra and Arkestra-THE PARIS TAPES CD-r burn

You worshippers might find this hard to believe, but I can't tell you much if anything  'bout this particular spinner. All I really can say is that it definitely is a live offering with loads of percussion and occasional wind instruments, and that definitely is June Tyson (and maybe John Gilmore) doing a good portion of the warbling. Skips prove this to have been of vinyl origin and given the flat sound I'd surmise this was some old El Saturn release that easily enough can be identified with an internet search. Still it's a Sun Ra recording so what c'n I say other'n it's good enough to absorb into my own solar plexus.

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Gerry Bright and the Stokers-YEAH! CD-r burn (originally on Soundflat Records outta England, I think)

Thinking I was gonna be in for a middling rehash of mid-sixties hack, I did go into this 'un with a slight bitta trepidation. Surprisingly that all went away once the laser hit the aluminum, for Gerry Bright etc. is one band that really cranks out the six-oh as they used to say at an extremely high energy level. None of that halfway-there dishout --- this thing pumps with Bright's British Invasion-fashioned singing backed up with some heavy duty organ screech and pounding percussion making for some pretty hectic music spinnin' 'round here! Puts much of the retro sounds heard o'er the past thirtysome (if not more!) attempts at reclaiming past glories in the ol' cloud cover. Should be more'n easier to pick up on the internet --- try Bandcamp.

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Nice batch of BLACK TO COMM back issues I got for you here bud. Hope you can take the hint because like, I got friends in New Jersey and we know where your aunt lives (boy are these back issue notifications getting Quinlanesque or what!).