Buffalo Springfield "Last Time Around"1968***

Though chosen randomly, "Last Time Around" is a fitting title for my last record presentation of the year. It was the last and probably weakest album released by Buffalo Springfield but that doesn't make it a bad one. It contains two of their greatest songs, Neil Young's "I Am a Child" and Richie Furey's wonderful country rock ballad "Kind Woman". By the time it was released the band had drifted apart with Bruce Palmer deported to Canada and Neil Young often disappearing from view. It was recorded sporadically with everyone bringing his own songs to the mix and singing lead in them while there isn't a single track featuring the whole band together. Neil Young contributed only two songs ("I Am a Child" and "On the Way Home") and bassist/producer Jim Messina one ("Carefree Country Day", the title of which is also descriptive of its content). Richie Furay contributed "Kind Woman","So Hard to Wait","Merry-Go-Round" and the psychedelic"Hour Of Not Quite Rain" while Stills wrote 5 songs of which the best were the Latin inflected "Uno Mundo" and Beatlesque "Pretty Girl Why". He was to join forces with Young again at the supergroup CSN&Y (with the Byrds' David Crosby and Hollies' Graham Nash), unveiled for the first time at the Woodstock festival. Furrey & Messina also resumed their colaboration in the country-rock band Poco.

**** for I Am a Child, Kind Woman

**** for Uno Mundo, Pretty Girl Why, On the Way Home

*** for Carefree Country Day, Special Care, The Hour Of Not Quite Rain, Merry-go-round

** for Four Days Gone, It's So Hard To Wait, Questions

So, the year closes to its end and I'd like to thank everyone who's visited these pages and wish them a very fine 2015 with good health, happiness, peace on earth and hopefully great music. I'll keep on posting presentations of random albums from my collection but on a more leisurely pace. I'm glad I managed to keep my initial goal of 1 album daily until the end of the year but timewise it's impossible to keep up for long, even if that means that it'll take a few decades to finish my task. STAY WELL!

Crazy Horse "Crazy Moon" 1978****

Crazy Horse are best known as Neil Young's backing band - for his harder rocking albums, a least. But they do have a history of their own. They started off as The Rockets in 1968 and in between albums and tours with Neil Young they released the highly acclaimed eponymous "Crazy Horse" album in 1971 containing, among others, the often covered (Rod Stewart, Everything But The Girl) hit "I don't want to talk about it". Then tragedy stroke in the form of band leader Danny Whitten's accidental overdose. This album, their 4th, is also the one where everything falls into place again. New recruit Frank "Poncho" Sampedro proved a worthy successor to Whitten and together with original members Billy Talbot, (bass) and Ralph Molina (drums) formed the definitive -and longest running- incarnation of the band. This album was recorded between Neil Young's "Zuma" and "Rust Never Sleeps" with more or less the same personnel (Neil Young also guests here on guitar and vocals). Not surprisingly, it's like a page from the same book and a great record that probably even beats the first Crazy Horse album, as it is more consistently good. The band is recognizably Crazy Horse as known from Neil Young albums, with scorching guitars and pleasant vocals. The 3 core members share songwriting and vocal duties, which allows for more variation, with forays into R&B and country and some tasty instrumentation including brass and fiddle. A couple of songs ("Too Late Now" and "Lost and Lonely Feelin'") even sound uncannily like The Band. Best tracks are the rockers "She's hot", "Downhill" and "Thunder and lighting" and ballads "Love don't come easy" and "End of the Line". I bought this album on a whim, never having heard of it and not knowing what to expect, and I felt vindicated at first listen. My only objection is that the songs are much too short. Neil Young and Crazy Horse have great chemistry and their long guitar jams are always exciting but here the songs fade out just when the band seems to be warming up...

**** for She's Hot, Love Don't Come Easy, Downhill, Thunder and Lightning

*** for Going Down Again, Lost And Lonely Feelin', End Of The Line, New Orleans, Too Late Now

** for Dancin' Lady, That Day

Tav Falco & the Unapproachable Panther Burns "Conjurations: Séance For Deranged Lovers" 2010***

Tav Falco is a curious one. He is a proud son of Memphis Tennessee (Elvis' town) but has been living in Europe for more than 20 years. He formed his band, The Panther Burns, in 1979 together with veterans Alex Chilton and Jim Dickinson and has been leading that band (with an ever-changing line-up) all these years, but he's not content with just being a musician: He's also a cinematographer, performer artist, actor, tango dancer and writer. I used to think of Panther Burns as a psychobilly group (maybe because of their close connection to The Cramps). On the basis of this album, that's an  obvious oversimplification. "Gentleman in Black" is psychobilly but he also plays jazz, tango and psychedelia. "Ballad of the Rue de la Lane" is jangly psych-folk (Is it just me or does it really sound like Dylan's "It's All Over Now Baby Blue"?). "Sympathy for Mata Hari" reminds me of Billy Childish's lo-fi garage blues. Two tango numbers "Tango Fatale" and "Secret Rendezvous" combine beautifully the bandoneon with stinging rockabilly guitar licks. "Chamber of Desire" and "Garden of the Medici" are neo-psychedelic ballads with some nice harpsichord flourishes. The latter kinda reminds me of The Fuzztones while "Conjuration of Masques" sounds more like Calexico. This is an ambitious record by The Panther Burns. They display their competence at various genres, the production is rich, arrangements well thought of, sound is clean and crispy. Not what you'd expect from such an "underground" artist. I wanted to like this record but unfortunately I can't warm up to Falco's voice. He still seems an interesting character though, and I'll be sure to check him out live if I get the chance.

**** for Ballad of the Rue de la Lane, Gentleman in Black

*** for Tango Fatale, Secret Rendezvous, Garden of the Medici, Conjuration of Masques

** for Sympathy for Mata Hari, Chamber of Desire, Administrator Blues, Budapest, Lady from Shanghai, Phantôme Demoiselle

Kin Ping Meh "Kin Ping Meh" 1971***

Yet Another German rock CD? Well that's random for you. Not that I mind, it's a good one to present from a rather underrated band. Curiously, I always got their name wrong. Even after buying this album I was sure they were called "King Pin Men". Because, you know, it makes some sense, "king pin" meaning according to the Urban Dictionary "the leader of a crime syndicate or organisation". So my eye always auto-corrected "Kin Ping Meh", because it seemed meaningless. Researching the band for some background information I found out that their name was of Chinese origin and probably derived from a German mistranslation of a medieval Chinese pornographic novel, Jin Ping Mei (金瓶梅, known in English as The Golden Lotus). Now the cover makes more sense...These guys from Mannheim, Germany never hit the big time despite being accomplished musicians. Their music was hard rock with nice guitar/organ interplay. It reminds me a lot of Atomic Rooster and, at places, of Uriah Heep. The heavy guitar and emphasis on keyboards is typical of Kraut bands of the era but thankfully the singer's vocals are devoid of any heavy German accent and there are also some pleasant vocal harmonies to lighten the overall atmosphere. Opener "Fairy Tales" is probably their best song and, at 10+ minutes, gives enough space to the guitarist and organist to stretch out. The long drums passage is mis-judged, I think, but should be a highlight of the live shows. "Sometime" is an excellent ballad with soaring organ and mellotron and "Don't You Know" a good prog song with many changes, almost ruined by the inclusion of gunfire and other effects. "Too Many People" is, for a change, a folky number with harmonica and handclaps. "Drugsen's Trip" is another "trippy" hard prog number, followed by one of the highlights, a melodic song with mellotron called "My Dove", reminiscent of Barclay James Harvest. "Everything" is a good rocker with great guitar work but silly lyrics. The last song on the original album was "My Future", a short melodic folky number with light percussion and CSNY-style vocal harmonies. Repeating the phrase "I hold my future in my hands" over and over is a nice way to close the album with a dose of healthy hippy optimism, rapidly going out of style by 1971. My edition includes 4 bonus tracks taken from concurrent singles. "Everything's My Way" is another version of the album's "Everything" and sounds better, with a more Santana-influenced sound and less of the silly refrain."Woman" a ballad with beautiful organ and harmony vocals. "Every Day" and the country-ish "Alexandra" are just OK.

**** for Fairy-Tales, Sometime, Everything's My Way

*** for Don't You Know, Too Many People ,My Dove, Drugson's Trip, Everything, My Future, Woman

**  for Every Day, Alexandra

AC/DC "Rock Or Bust" 2014***

I recently got this CD as a Christmas present (cheers, guys!) and it was a good choice. You always know what you're getting with AC/DC -or do you? After all, Angus Young and co. are not getting any younger. The other constant member of the band, his brother Malcolm, had to regrettably quit the band due to the onset of dementia. Everybody agrees that his rhythm guitar riffs were an essential part of the band's sound, so how much has his absence changed the band? Did Angus snatch the chance to write that rock mini-opera he always wanted? Is it time for that romantic ballad, to show that metalheads have feelings too? After all, even Metallica write ballads and they're fuckin' heavy motherfuckers (I'm writing this in metallica-ish, the language where 2 in every 3 words are "fuck"). Well, let's put it this way...Remember what happened when Coca-Cola replaced their traditional product with the new "improved" Coke? The rage, the nervous breakdowns, the riots until they brought back the old recipe? And that was only a beverage. AC/DC is an institution! Mess with the formula? No sir-ee, this is as pure as it gets. Producer Brendan O' Brian (Pearl Jam, Springsteen, Rage Against The Machine) keeps it simple, lean and mean by removing all the fat - at 11 songs in 35 minutes, this is the band's shortest album ever. Malcolm is seamlessly substituted by his nephew Stevie Young - not the son of younger brother Angus, of course, but neither of older brother George Young guitarist of  the Easybeats or even older brother Alex Young bass player of The Grapefruit. No, Stevie is the son of the even older brother, Stephen Young (who presumably pre-dated rock'n'roll and thus didn't play in any bands). Which accounts for why the band still looks like a bunch of old geezers -Angus' nephew is almost 60 himself... Now back to the record itself: The lyrics are, as always, about rocking, drinking and having sex. The band's philosophy is summed up in the opening song's chorus "In Rock We Trust - It's Rock Or Bust!". Great riff and great chorus - I picture it already: 60.000 mouths singing it all together, fists pumping the air, the crowd moving like the sea in a storm... Second track "Let's Play Ball" is another future classic, destined to accompany the highlight reels at sports shows for decades to come.“Rock The Blues Away” somehow reminds me of John Fogerty and "Miss adventure" sports another nice riff and some "na na na"'s, just for variation. "Dogs Of War" is the closest the album comes to heavy metal - I could swear I've heard something similar by Accept. The following tracks are equally enjoyable but their sameness starts to weigh on you. "Rock The House" stands out with its bluesy Zeppelin sound but the CD ends with 2 more predictable numbers "Sweet Candy" and "Emission Control", the latter title an embarrassingly puerile pun. Not that it makes any difference of course - you don't listen to AC/DC for their insights into the human condition. Let's hope they'll just continue to soldier on despite the losses, because they've obviously still got what it takes. If not, "Rock Or Bust" should make a fine final statement...

I tried to capture the cd cover gimmick, with the words "AC/DC" seemingly exploding as you look at them

**** for Rock or Bust, Play Ball, Rock the Blues Away, Rock the House

*** for Miss Adventure, Dogs of War, Got Some Rock & Roll Thunder, Hard Times, Baptism by Fire, Sweet Candy

** for Emission Control

Keith Christmas "Sixty Minutes With" 2006(comp)***

Christmas comes but once a year but for some people it never stops. Keith Christmas was born with this name and I can only guess what kind of jokes he's used to hearing. He nevertheless became a recording artist and is one of the few singers who have never issued an album -or even a lone single- of Christmas music (see what I'm talking about? with a name like that, puns just write themselves). His usual style was Nick Drake/Bob Dylan-influenced acoustic folk, although he also rocked on occasion. The closest he ever came to fame was playing acoustic guitar on Bowie's Space Oddity. By the late 70's he was poor and disillusioned and left the music business to do handyman work repairing old Victorian houses. Like with so many obscure and forgotten artists, internet helped him graduate from "loser" to "cult" status and gave him the chance to a second career (Now that's a real Christmas miracle!). This CD compiles tracks from both stages of his career, only missing the first (and folkier) albums. It starts off with "Robin Head" a medieval folk ballad given a 1960's twist: "It was in the forest of Sherwood, in the year 12 hundred and 10/Lived a pusher by the name of Robin Head, and his band of very merry men...The sound of merry laughter echoed through the forest green/ There was old Friar Tuck, with whom nothing rhymes, and Marion the Acid Queen/ Said Little John, 'let's have some mead', said Robin 'Oh what's the point? I'm tired of doing this Venison thing, let's go and roll a joint!". "The Dancer" has some groovy acid jazz organ, "Weatherman Blues" and "Corinne Corinna" are electric blues and "Light of the Dawn", "Stone with a View", "The Bargees" and "Mr Optimistic Me" country/folk. "The Astronaut", "Lie Down with the Devil" and "Life in Babylon" sport rocking electric guitars and Bob Dylan-ish vocals. "High Times" is a proggy song that sounds a bit like Caravan or Jethro Tull. "Getting Religion" is a sarcastic acoustic song that reminds me of Randy Newman and "Brighter Day" a soul protest song with funky brass as befits an album distributed by the Motown label. A lot of talented musicians help Keith out on those mid-70's recordings, including members of King Crimson, EL&P, The Grease Band and The MG's/future Blues Brothers. To round it up, I have a piece of advise for you: If you see an album by this guy, buy it-everybody loves Christmas! And another for Keith himself: Keith, whatever you do, if you have a daughter don't name her Mary! Sorry, couldn't resist...

**** for Robin Head, Lie Down with the Devil, High Times

*** for The Dancer, Stone with a View, The Astronaut (Who Wouldn't Come Down), Life in Babylon, Getting Religion, Brighter Day

** for Weatherman Blues, Light of the Dawn, The Bargees, Corinne Corinna, Mr Optimistic Me 

Die Roten Rosen "Wir warten auf's Christkind..." 1998***

Aaah, Christmas Eve... All over my homeland, children go door to door singing Christmas carols in exchange for the traditional holiday cookies (melomakarona or kourabiedes). Some prefer cash with which they can buy toys or alcohol or cigarettes (since in Greece adherance to age restrictions is a bit loose - as a matter of fact that applies to every other rule, too). But the worst kind of kids are adults like Die Roten Rosen-German punks with an adolescent's sense of humor. Open your door to them on a Christmas Eve and they will shower you with rude "sex and drugs" versions of your beloved holiday songs, sing in annoying voices or play punk-fied carols in breakneck speed. Die Roten Rosen (The Red Roses) is, by the way, the alter ego of Die Toten Hosen (The Dead Pants) which they use for "thematic" cover albums. The CD opens with an instrumental "Ave Maria" which leads to a fast-and-funny German version of Silent Night. "Ihr Kinderlein kommet" (O come, little children) is a melodic hardcore song, apparently inviting kids to take drugs. Holiday hits by 70's rock heroes like Lennon, Slade and Wizard are played almost straight while others like "The Little Drummer Boy" and "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" are given the sped-up Ramones treatment. Medieval "Auld Lang Syne" is played in folk-punk mode with a drunken pub chorus and "White Christmas" starts with a slow mock-crooner voice and gradually speeds up to ska and finally punk rock. "Weihnachtsmann vom Dach" (Santa Claus from the roof) is a pleasant alternative rock song with a catchy chorus which was the album's lead single while "We Wish You..." and "Jingle Bells" are reggae with rude lyrics."Still, still, still" is sung in a silly voice and so is the holiday classic "Oh Tannenbaum" (Oh Christmas tree). Now obviously you won't want to listen to it any other day of the year, but for today make an exception  and press "play" on the youtube video below. If you don't like it, drink a few shots/beers and try again. I promise it'll sound better.

*** for Ihr Kinderlein kommet, Stille Nacht Heilige Nacht,Merry X-Mas Everybody, Weihnachtsmann vom Dach, Auld Lang Syne, Alle Jahre wieder, Frohes Fest, The Little Drummer Boy, White Christmas, Weihnachten bei den Brandts, Hark! The Herald Angels Singe, Wish You a Merry Christmas, I Wish It Could Be Christmas Every Day

** for Ave Maria, Leise rieselt der Schnee, In Dulci Jubilo, Happy Xmas (War Is Over), Jingle Bells

* for Oh Tannenbaum, Still, still, still

Joe Cocker "20 Years" 1988(comp)***

Today I've made an exception to my "random selection routine" due to the sad news of Joe Cocker's passing. He was a unique singer with a rough and gritty but extremely soulful voice who became known more for his masterful interpretation of others' music rather than for any songwriting ability. He shot to fame during the late 60's with a legendary Woodstock performance and a couple of excellent records. Alcohol problems saw him following an erratic course but he resurfaced in the 80's with a new string of hits. He wasn't consistently great, though. Although his vocal performance should not be faulted, he needed a real band behind him. On early records where he was backed by The Grease Band, his talent shined. Later recordings were often plagued by indifferent studio musicians and sterile production. This Dutch compilation focuses on the hits and is a bit of a mixed bag. It opens up with a 1987 Top 40 hit: "Unchain My Heart" re-introduced Ray Charles to a younger generation and remains one of the best soul covers by a white artist. "Up Where We Belong" was a #1 hit in 1982 and is a duet with Jennifer Warnes from the film "An Officer and a Gentleman". "There Goes My Baby" has a 50's retro vibe and Traffic's "Feeling Alright" is even better than the original as he is backed by some great musicians and the song is given a pleasant Latin twist. His cover of The Beatles' "With A Little Help From My Friends" is probably the definitive rendition of the song and also notable for featuring a young Jimmy Page (pre-Zeppelin) on guitar. "Civilized Man" sports some nice electric guitar while "You Are So Beautiful" is another song that Joe Cocker didn't write (Billy Preston did) but managed to make his own. "Delta Lady" is an intricately written and arranged piece by his then collaborator Leon Russel. Randy Newman's "You Can Leave Your Hat On" was a mid-80's hit, originally from the movie "9 1/2 Weeks". The album continues with covers of songs by Marvin Gaye, Bob Dylan, Jimmy Cliff and Randy Newman, all performed in an exemplary manner. R.I.P. Joe Cocker. You will be missed...

***** for Unchain My Heart 1987, With A Little Help From My Friends 1968

**** for Feeling Alright 1969, You Are So Beautiful 1974, Delta Lady 1968

*** for Up Where We Belong 1982, There Goes My Baby 1984, Ruby Lee 1982, Civilized Man 1984, Two Wrongs 1987, You Can Leave Your Hat On 1986, Inner City Blues 1986, Many Rivers To Cross 1982, Guilty 1974

** for Don't You Love Me Anymore 1986, Threw It Away 1988, Long Drag Off A Cigarette 1984, Seven Days 1982

Annie Haslam "Annie Haslam" 1989***

Another CD I recently bought at the second hand store and which is often out of print. Annie Haslam was the voice of prog rockers Renaissance and this was her third solo album. By the time it came out, prog rock was a long forgotten and defamed genre and the sheer mention of it was enough to kill the commercial potential of any album. Which is probably why Haslam chose to switch to a new wave-ish sound for this synth-driven album. At 42 years old, her voice was still a magnificent instrument and the real dominant element in this record. The use of synthesizers instead of organic instruments has hurt the album's reputation with Renaissance fans and given it an outdated 80's sound. You shouldn't let it discourage you though, because the vocal performance on the album is amazing. Next to synth wizard Larry Fast, she is aided by such luminaries as the Moody Blues' Justin Hayward and King Crimson's Mel Collins. Opener "Moonlight Shadow" is the definitive performance of this Mike Oldfield song, putting even the very fine Maggie Reilly-sung original in the shade. Hayward's "The Angels Cry" is another superb number. "When a Heart Finds Another" is characterized by sweet vocals set on a backdrop of pseudo-African beats and simulated orchestra sounds. "Let It Be Me" is  a love song enriched by a beautiful Mel Collins sax solo and "She's The Light" is an atmospheric new age synth-dominated track. "Celestine" is a slow pop song and "Further From Fantasy" new wave with angelic vocals and a catchy chorus. "Wishing on a Star" is a Rose Royce R&B hit and curiously sounds like a Kate Bush-fronted ABBA. "Wildest Dreams" is another new wave number with some welcome electric guitar towards the end. "One More Arrow" sports another great vocal of the kind that Candice Night (a.k.a. Mrs. Blackmore) always tries so hard to emulate. Closer "One Love" is a pop song that sounds like an outtake from an Andrew Lloyd Webber opera. To summarize, this album should please friends of new age and artists like Kate Bush or Blue Nile. Rock fans will just have to look past the artificial instrumental backing and focus on the amazing vocal performance by Ms.Haslam.

**** for Moonlight Shadow

*** for  The Angels Cry, When a Heart Finds Another, Let It Be Me,She's The Light, Further From Fantasy
** for Celestine, Wishing on a Star, Wildest Dreams, One More Arrow, One Love

Mick Taylor "Mick Taylor" 1979****

Of all the guitarists in The Rolling Stones (the others being Keith Richards, Brian Jones and Ronnie Wood), Mick Taylor was the most technically proficient and his period in the band (1969–74) was by far the Stones' best. His contribution to the music was important, although he was no showman when it came to performing live. Exactly why he left them at the peak of their success is uncertain. He probably felt out of place in the world of jet-setters, top models and drug dealers the Stones were moving at that time - or maybe he didn't like being called Mick no.2 (just joking). He had begun his career at the age of 16 with psychedelic rockers Gods, playing alongside future Uriah Heep and Jethro Tull members. At 18 he was called upon to fill some very big shoes, namely the lead guitarist spot in John Mayall's Bluebreakers, formerly occupied by Eric Clapton and Peter Green who had just left to form Fleetwood Mac. Two years later he replaced Brian Jones in the Rolling Stones, making his live debut in front of 250,000 people at the historic Hyde Park concert in 1969. "Mick Taylor" is his first album after leaving the Stones. You probably won't find it at your local record store, since it never sold well and drifts in and out of print. Many reasons for that are mentioned, one being that his vocals were rather ordinary and another that in 1979 his style was out of synch with current trends. One thing that can't be blamed is his guitar playing which is amazing throughout. He combines blues, rock and jazz, sometimes reminding of the Stones, others of Clapton and more often of Jeff Beck in his jazz-rock period. Which is why, although the vocals tracks are also nice, the instrumentals steal the show. Opener "Leather Jacket" was the projected "hit" of the album, but not the best song. It's rather typical rock of the era, something you might find in Bad Company or Stones album of the late 70's but you'd still not really notice. "Alabama"is much better, with great slide guitar like something from the Stones' "Let it Bleed" or "Sticky Fingers". "Slow Blues" is what it says, an instrumental with beautiful bluesy solos. "Baby I Want You" is a commercial bluesy ballad of the kind Eric Clapton produced in the same period. "Broken Hands" is the only bona fide rocker and the one that will remind you of The Rolling Stones."Giddy-Up" is a masterful instrumental and "S.W.5" another commercial blues rock ballad with a nice vocal by Mick. Closer "Spanish / A Minor" is his tour de force, a complex 12-minute piece with light and fluid playing in a variety of styles (Rock, Jazz and Latin). It's an amazing instrumental that proves Taylor was the equal of his more celebrated colleagues like Eric Clapton and David Gilmour. He nevertheless was never destined to have a solo career, lending his talents to, among others, Bob Dylan, Alvin Lee and John Mayall.

**** for Alabama, Slow Blues, Broken Hands, Spanish/A Minor

*** for Leather Jacket, Baby I Want You, Giddy-Up, S.W.5

Various Artists "Nouvelle Génération Francaise II" 1995(comp)-disc2**

As I previously mentioned, "Nouvelle Génération Francaise II" seems to be a compilation produced as a showcase of modern French popular music. CD no.2 is subtitled "Rap, funk, groove, world, reggae" and starts off with a forgettable disco song by Native. Tonton David offers some decent roots reggae and Sinclair some funk-rock very reminiscent of  Lenny Kravitz. 3 Rap songs follow, of which the best is the one by MC Solaar. Surprisingly, and contrary to rock, rap seems well suited to the French language. There's a thriving hip-hop scene there and probably worth the try to investigate further. EFF offer more Kravitz-style funk-rock -I don't get it. I know babe-du-jour Vanessa Paradis was Kravitz's girlfriend at the time but did they really think they'll get some hot French starlets into their beds by imitating him? Phénoménal play a weak rap/raggamuffin hybrid and Fabulous Trobadors are even worse. Malka Family play a sort of electronic disco and Les Negresses Vertes a funky latin number marrying War with the Gypsy Kings. It's the first really good song on the disc. Some socially conscious songs follow by rappers Schoonk! from multi-cultural Belleville and Les Garçons Bouchers. The latter remind me of my favourite anarcho-punks Metal Urbaine, with their angry vocals, electronic sounds and pre-Rammstein industrial riffs. Zebda are a Franco-Arabic band playing a dancable mix of ska, rock and rap. Somehow they reminded me of the chaotic early Red Hot Chili Peppers. Franco-Algerian Rachid Taha delivers his anti-fascist message through a funky dancing beat and Christian Fougeron brings the proceedings to end with some sunshine "Lazy Reggae". On the whole, I found the 2nd CD of the compilation even less convincing from the 1st. But I have to admit that my French isn't good, so I'm missing a potentially important element to this music, which is the words.

*** for Il Marche Seul (Tonton David), Séquelles (MC Solaar) Répugnant (Soon E MC) Apres La Pluie (Les Negresses Vertes), Humanitaire (Les Garçons Bouchers) Arabadub  (Zebda), Voilà Voilà (Rachid Taha), Lazy Reggae (Christian Fougeron)

** for  La Vie Demande Ça (Native), Mes Valeurs (Sinclair) Sachet Blanc (IAM), La Camisole (FFF), Est-Ce Que Le Son Est Bon ?(Phénoménal), Pas De Ci (Fabulous Trobadors), Ciscomulkr (Malka Family), Le Soleil Brille (Schkoonk)

Various Artists "Nouvelle Génération Francaise II" 1995(comp)-disc1**

Random selection generated headache for me today. In particular a double cd with 34 artists and very little information available. Internet search yields absolutely no evidence of its existence. It is nevertheless as real as you and me (well, me at least. I don't know about you). It seems to be a co-production of the Ministries of Culture and Foreign Affairs with the intention of promoting modern French music and culture abroad. Given that I am the proud owner of the only known (to me, that is) copy worldwide, it's safe to say it hasn't met with the success those bureaucrats envisioned. Tonight I will present the 1st cd, sub-titled "Chanson, variete, rock". It starts off with a dramatic cabaret number from Patricia Kaas and continues with 3 more female artists: velvet-voiced ("voix veloutee" according to the liner notes) Liane Foley, Nilda Fernández with a slightly countryish song featuring celtic pipes and Axelle Renoir with the kind of ballad you'd hear at "Grey's Anatomy"- maybe you do hear it in Grey's Anatomy in France, after all they dub everything in French. "Alain Bashung's "Ma Petite Entreprise" is the first song I like, somewhere between Serge Gainsbourg's pseudo-reggae and Chris Rea. Charlélie Couture is (liner notes, again) evidently a man of many talents including design and songwriting. Pow Pow seem to want to be the French Beautiful South but they still have a long way to go. From there on, things begin to warm up: Enzo Enzo play jazzy and breezy pop and Les Têtes Raides offer their very Parisian melange of cabaret, jazz and indie rock. Le Clam's play fast gypsy chanson-punk in the style of Mano Negra. Kent offer a C&W number with fiddle and Fredericks Goldman Jones another forgettable pop song. The name Patrick Bruel rings a bell but the song sounds like 80's Phil Collins at his worst. Jean-Louis Aubert (leader of 80's new-wave Telephone) seems also to be stuck in that decade. Stephan Eicher is apparently a Swiss gypsy, a curious combination for me to visualise. Some folkloric elements save an otherwise boring song. Daran Et Les Chaises present a typical indie ballad (think Travis, Starsailor, Coldplay etc). Noir Désir are, at last, authentic rockers, playing intense and powerful post-punk. Arno is famous but this is the first time I heard his music."Je Ne Veux Pas Etre Grand" echoes Tom Waits' "I Don't Want to Grow Up". He's very theatrical and reminds me somewhat of Jacques Brel and Leonard Cohen but his voice is more ragged. Overall, I wasn't really impressed by what I heard. Only 2-3 really good songs and maybe another 4-5 passably good. Not a great case for French music, monsieur le Ministre...

**** for Les Papiers(Les Têtes Raides), Tostaky (Noir Désir)

*** for Fatiguée D'attendre (Patricia Kaas), Ma Petite Entreprise (Alain Bashung), Jacobi Marchait (Charlélie Couture),Juste Quelqu'un De Bien (Enzo Enzo), J'attends Mon Tour (Les Clam's), Dormir Dehors (Daran Et Les Chaises),  Je Ne Veux Pas Etre Grand (Arno)

** forDoucement (Liane Foly), On T'a Appris (Nilda Fernández), Lulu (Axelle Renoir), Le Poisson Dans La Vitrine (Pow Wow) Allons-Z'à La Campagne (Kent) Juste Après (Fredericks Goldman Jones) Combien De Murs? (Patrick Bruel) Entends-Moi (Jean-Louis Aubert) Rivière (Stephan Eicher)

Tim Buckley "Live at the Troubadour 1969" 1994****

Tim Buckley was one of the greatest vocal talents ever produced by the pop/rock scene. He started his career in 1966 as a promising teen idol for the thinking youth (although at 19 he was an already divorced dad) and ended it at the age of only 28 as a penniless, artistically spent, washed-up drug addict. In between he revolutionised the art of singing by using the human voice as an instrument and pushing his own to extremes never reached before -with the only possible exception of Yma Sumac. He was also a prolific writer, composing songs in a variety of styles: folk, pop, psychedelia, free-form jazz, avant-garde and funk. He was largely forgotten until 4AD band This Mortal Coil had a hit with a cover of his "Song to the Siren". Subsequently, live recordings of his music continue to be unearthed. This is the 2nd out of 7 or so. It was recorded in 1969 in the Troubadour club in California and finds him at the beginning of his experimental stage, performing songs from the avant-guard "Lorca" album as well as the folkier two previous ones, "Blue Afternoon" and "Happy Sad". The sound quality is very decent, considering that it was never supposed to be released. The band (guitar/bass/congas/drums) is in great form and very adept at improvising without missing a beat. Guitarist and long-time associate Lee Underwood's fluid and imaginative playing is worthy of special mention. Opener "Strange Feelin'" is bluesy song played almost conventionally and followed by the instrumental "Venice Mating Call" which Buckley presents with a horrible joke as "Give smack (heroin) a chance". "I Don't Need It to Rain","Gypsy Woman" and "Nobody Walkin'" are three over-long numbers combining improvised music and vocal acrobatics. "I Had a Talk With My Woman", "Blue Melody" and "Chase the Blues Away" are closer to his previous psychedelic folk jazz style and the better for it, while "Driftin'" is a slow acoustic song that perfectly showcases his amazing vocal talent. Although this live album is yet another testament to this talent, it's hardly a good introduction. Start with "Goodbye and Hello" and "Greetings from LA", then a good compilation. Proceed with his folky debut, then the more experimental later ones if you're feeling adventurous, skip the last two studio albums and work your way up the live albums starting with "Dream Letter".

**** for I Had a Talk With My Woman, Chase the Blues Away, Driftin

*** for Strange Feelin', I Don't Need It to Rain, Gypsy Woman, Blue Melody, Nobody Walkin

** for Venice Mating Call

Ólöf Arnalds "Innundir skinni" 2010****

on stage at Rotown

I saw Ólöf Arnalds a few months ago at the Rotown Club in Rotterdam. There were maybe 70 or 80 attendants that night and Olof played her songs on an acoustic guitar and sang.  She has a beautiful voice, although a bit too soft and dreamlike. Coming from Iceland, she will inevitably get compared to Bjork. Does she sound like her? Well, maybe a little bit when she sings in Icelandic. The singer she reminds me the most is not Bjork but Joanna Newsom. On stage she was warm and relaxed but rather awkward, like a fairy who had just had her first mug of beer (although more probably she had just sampled the product at the local coffeeshops). The music is basically melodic folk with acoustic guitar and vocals on the forefront. Opener "Vinur minn" is a childlike singalong with a choir actually singing la-la-la's. "Innundir skinni" is a simple and beautiful folk song, given an otherworldly quality by Ólöf's voice and Icelandic language. In the next (English) song she tries to persuade a friend not to immigrate to America because it is a "Crazy car"(?). "Vinkonur" is sung in a very high voice and sounds almost Chinese, "Jonathan" has a medieval quality and "Madrid" is enriched with strings. "Surrender" features a high profile collaborator in the form of Bjork and provides the high point of the album, where weirdness and charm are magically transformed into pop material. File next to Sigur Ros, Joanna Newsom, Devendra Barnhart and Jeff Buckley.
**** for Innundir skinni,Crazy car,Svif birki, Surrender
*** for Vinur minn, Vinkonur, Jonathan, Madrid, Allt i guddi

Madeleine Peyroux "Careless Love" 2004****

Madeleine Peyroux was born in Athens, Georgia and grew up in New York and Paris. She started singing in her teens and gathered rave reviews for her debut album "Dreamland" in 1996. Her voice bears an uncanny resemblance to that of Billie Holiday and the public (and record company) immediately started asking for more. Her response was to dissappear completely from view for 7 years. It transpired that she had gone back to the scene of her youth, busking on the streets of Paris and working on her singing away from pressure. This album was her comeback and found universal acceptance from jazz and pop fans alike. The voice hasn't changed and the similarity can be eerie, but she's clearly not haunted by any ghosts. The songs are not strictly jazz, for example Leonard Cohen's magnificent "Dance Me To The End Of Love" is performed in an almost cabaret fashion, faster and more playful but also less sensual than the original. Bob Dylan's "You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go" is countryish while country legend Hank Williams' "Weary Blues" is given a more straight jazz spin. "Careless Blues" is blues with some nice groovy organ and Elliott Smith's alt.country "Between The Bars" gets a suitably melancholic treatment. Not that the album is a rollercoaster drifting from one genre to the other. Far from that, it's really coherent with a distinctive sound. All the above are subtle strokes coloring each song slightly differently. Josephine Baker's "J'Ai Deux Amours" retains its feline sensuality although it's a love song to a city rather than a person. Her own composition "Don't Wait Too Long" is one of the highlights and showcases a talent for composition in addition to singing. Listening to this album is always a delight and I play it often, much more often than her other 2 (or 3?) albums I own.

***** for Dance Me To The End Of Love 

**** for Don't Wait Too Long, J'Ai Deux Amours, Weary Blues, Careless Love

*** for Don't Cry Baby, You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go, Between The Bars, Lonesome Road, This Is Heaven To Me

** for No More, I'll Look Around

Can "Future Days" 1973*****

Future Days is the last Can album to feature Damo Suzuki, who evidently left the group to join Jehovah's Witnesses (Wow, I didn't know that Jehovah's Witnesses were so anti-rock. Next time they knock on my door, I'm not sending them away politely). Of course an album like "Future Days"  can be labeled rock only in the widest sense i.e. musicians using electric instruments. The album has 4 songs and lasts more than 40 minutes - which is not that rare for 1973, but without solos? Instead of one solo after another, the songs evolve slowly. 1st track "Future Days" starts off with 2 minutes of ambient noise from radio static to sea waves and birds. Slowly a beat establishes itself and keeps driving the song until the end (Some time after the 3rd minute a song does emerge and it is a killer tune). Vocals and guitar are subdued but handled well. There are no concurrent reference points for this kind of music, but think of the tropicalia-styled songs of Beck and Devendra Barnhart, give them a prog twist and you'll have an idea of the pop song hiding inside "Future Days". "Spray" continues on the same ambient motif but this time without the melody. Suzuki's vocals are buried deep in the mix, almost inaudible. "Moonshake" on the other hand is a bona fide pop single, to my ears the equal of their big hit "Vitamin C". Latin percussion, great keyboard work, discrete sax and flawless vocal delivery, all condensed in 3 minutes. Brevity is the one thing missing from "Bel Air". It seems to be an expansive suite edited from a number of improvisational sessions and it is the proggiest piece of the record. Experimental though it is, a couple of songs threaten to emerge (between 0:00'-2:43' and 4:30'-7:14') before the song descends into space-rock chaos. This album is considered required listening and features on a lot of "all-time-greatest-albums" lists. It's easy to see why: rarely have I heard an album pointing to the future so much. Although it also draws from rock's experimental past (Pink Floyd circa Ummagumma), it has created a completely new path for adventurous bands (e.g. Radiohead circa "Kid A") to explore. Very aptly named, then.

***** for Moonshake

**** for Future Days

*** for Spray, Bel Air

Various Artists "Psychedelic Underground 3" 1998(comp)****

Aah, Kraut Rock! An undiscovered continent full of hidden treasure known only to a handful of collectors. Unlike their British counterparts who were inspired by the blues, German bands approached their electric instruments with a more exploratory mood and got the most interesting sounds out of them. This is a limited edition sampler from German label "Garden of Delights" and does indeed offer some rare delights. It presents the labels's releases 021-029 and features one song from every album. It starts off with a live rendition of Bernstein's "America", obviously patterned after Nice's version. Some impressive organ solos there, but in 2:22' it's too short to go anywhere. At 20 minutes, "loneliness" is quite the opposite, allowing the musicians lots of room to stretch. With heavy guitar and organ, it sounds a lot like Eloy while the singer reminds me somewhat of the Scorpions' Klaus Meine (or am I only making the connection because he's German?). #3 is from the early 90's and has a more new wave feel, with female vocals and distorted guitars (reminiscent of early Bevis Frond). "Abflug" is a long song with jazzy improvisations and nice sax. Next we have Gaa who, like Kraftwerk, get their inspiration from the famous autobahn. It's a gothic song with heavy keyboards and thick German vocals. The following band Zyma is much lighter and with airy female vocals, flute,piano and violin. Towards the end it reminds me of  late 60's Julie Driscoll/Brian Auger. "Wreck on the wire" is another excellent atmospheric piece with female vocals and beautiful guitar solos, Next up we have the only group I was familiar with, Agitation Free. Left-wing radicals living in a communal Berlin house, they produced some great improvisatory music. "Silence of the morning sunrise" is part of a live jam, a bucolic instrumental with liquid guitar work and birdlike noises, probably produced by the bands' keyboard meister Michael Hoenig. Siloah are the last of the bunch but their album is the oldest one (1970). They present a beautiful instrumental with acoustic guitars and light percussion. No, wait a minute, there are vocals, they just appear after the 5-minute mark when the song is almost finished. After hearing this I was convinced to dig deeper into the world of Kraut Rock. Keep your eyes open for these groups and take a risk when faced with unknown German bands of the 70's. You may be in for a treat...

**** for Loneliness(Arktis), Autobahn(GÄA), Thoughts(Zyma), Wreck on the wire(Try)

*** for America(Tyburn Tall), Change bad horizons(Crabs), Abflug(Morpheus), In the silence of the morning sunrise(Agitation Free), Road to Laramy(Siloah).

Green Day "American Idiot" 2004****

This album must be one of the last giga-sellers, having sold (according to wikipedia) more than 6 million copies in US alone (+ 2 mil in UK). But let's pretend you haven't heard it already and let me present it to you. At the time it was a most unexpected offering from a band that had broken through ten years before with MTV hit "Basket case" and was following a respectable but declining course. I guess we have George W. Bush to thank for revitalizing punk rock by providing plenty to rebel against: War, Corporate Greed, Oppression, Mass Propaganda. Green Day make their position clear on the opening song "I'm not a part of a redneck agenda...Don't want to be an American idiot/One nation controlled by the media/Information age of hysteria/It's calling out to idiot America". And it's a really anthemic song, with a strong sing-along chorus. So far they seem to be mimicking their punk rock heroes like The Clash. But then they follow it up with a 9-minute mini-epic comprised of small segments and introducing the record's main character Jesus of Suburbia. During the course of the record we follow the life of Jesus of Suburbia and other characters and their struggle to survive in Bush's "Mindfuck America". I will not analyze the story because frankly I haven't delved too deep in it, but there's enough plot to warrant a Broadway musical with a possible movie adaptation in the works. Musically there's also a fuller palette than before with punk being just one of the colors. Bands from The Who to U2 come to mind, next to the usual suspects like The Ramones and Clash. Although there's no lack of loud guitars, some of the highlights are melancholic mid-tempo numbers like "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" and "Wake Me Up When September Ends", The latter being a reference to 9/11, made more explicit from the video clip portraying a young couple torn apart by the war in Iraq. Not much more to say except that the album is already considered a classic and included in all-time-greatest lists. If you want more details on the story, wait for the movie!

***** for American Idiot, Wake Me Up When September Ends

**** for Holiday, Boulevard of Broken Dreams, She's a Rebel

*** for Jesus of Suburbia, Are We the Waiting, St. Jimmy, Give Me Novacaine, Letterbomb, Whatsername

** for Extraordinary Girl, Homecoming