Color Humano "Color Humano 2" 1973***

Although Argentina has a rich rock history, few bands are known internationally - with the exception of Los Fabulosos Cadillacs, of whom I have quite a few albums and will present them here in time. A few band names ring a bell, including Color Humano about whom I had read in some blogs. So when I found this CD in a used records shop in Granada Spain I managed to ignore the bad cover art, recognise it as an interesting rarity and buy it. Info on them in English is rare, but this is what I gathered from various sources: This band was largely the brain child of Edelmiro Molinari (guitar/vocals) former member of legendary 60's rockers Almendra. Not ignoring, of course, the contributions of agile bassist Rinaldo Rafanelli and powerful drummer Oscar Moro who joined the band after their debut. The band obviously had a wonderful instrumental chemistry, and that's especially obvious in the longer, jazzy improvised pieces. This CD joins their last 2 LP's, recorded together with the intention of releasing a double album but released separately at the time for financial reasons as "Color Humano 2" and "Color Humano 3". This album cover comes from "3", while number "2" featured the band facing forward. The music is heavily influenced by the great rock power trios Cream and Jimi Hendrix Experience but it's not derivative. It often strays into jazz and prog directions with the band improvising and changing pace many times in the same song. As I said, the virtuosity and chemistry of the musicians is commendable, the only sore point being the lead vocals, which resemble not so much singing as a person speaking in a pompous, drawn-out manner. Opening track "Sangre Del Sol" sees the band settling on a repetitive groove while the singer sings above it. A slower middle section reminds of Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love", a trick they repeat in other songs as well. It's an OK introduction, but somewhat monotonous for my taste. "La Tierra Del Gitano" is the opposite, a proggy piece with an improbable number of time changes for its short duration. "Pascual Tal Cual" is a dynamic rocker with an impressive solo, though this also slowly fizzles out in the end. "Humanoides" is a ghostly psychedelic piece, and "Va A Salir Un Lugar" a 13-minute improvisation showcasing the musicians' versatility. Especially the rhythm section finds room to shine here. "Un Blues Para Adelina" is, for once, a straight blues number with Molinari successfully channeling his inner Clapton. This rounds up CD1 or what used to be the Color Humano 2 LP. Moving on to CD2 (aka Color Humano 3), this seems to be better realised despite the fact it was recorded during the same sessions. It was released a few months later so it probably benefited from some more time of overdubbing and mixing. Opener "Hombre De Las Cumbres" is a complex mid tempo piece with a nice guitar solo while "Mañana Por La Noche" once again shows them excel at traditional blues forms. Maybe the best Spanish-language blues I've ever heard. "A Traves De Los Inviernos" combines crunchy hard rock with Floydian (Meddle-era) psychedelia and "Hace Casi 2000 Años" is a classic rocker that reminds me of Hendrix and Uriah Heep until it gets more ethereal with the help of some ghostly female vocals. "Cosas Rústicas" is another prog piece with many tempo changes and "Las Historias Que Tengo" a 12-minute showcase for Molinari's guitar playing. "Vestidos De Agua" closes the album with a delicate prog-folk note, a direction I would have liked to see them take more often. Flautist Jorge Cutello adds a romantic fairytale air to the song. "Color Humano 3" was destined to be the band's last studio album. Molinari would immigrate to the U.S. while the other two loaned their talents to other Argentinian rock groups (Polifemo, Sui Generis etc). A reunion in 1995 spawned a live album which I've yet to hear. I'm sure this CD will appeal more to Spanish speakers, but even for the rest of us it deserves to be heard. Sure it's nothing groundbreaking but neither is it in any way inferior to acclaimed US or European records from that era.

**** for Pascual Tal Cual, Un Blues Para Adelina, Mañana Por La Noche, A Traves De Los Inviernos, Hace Casi 2000 Años, Vestidos De Agua

*** for Sangre Del Sol, La Tierra Del Gitano, Humanoides, Va A Salir Un Lugar, Hombre De Las Cumbres, Cosas Rústicas, Las Historias Que Tengo

The Allman Brothers Band "Brothers And Sisters" 1973*****

I was just reading an interview of the recently departed Gregg Allman to MOJO magazine. Of all the twists and turns of his life (the murder of his father when he was only 2 years old, professional strife and success, struggle with alcoholism, numerous marriages - one of which with Cher) the defining one which he kept coming back to was the death of his brother Duane at a motorcycle accident, aged only 24, and just as the band he had founded was taking off. Gregg soldiered on with the band for nigh on 40 years, keeping the fire of Southern Rock burning - and not in any nationalist way. You see, contrary to other bands, The Allman Brothers didn't need to fly the confederate flag. In Duane's words "We're just plain old Southern cats, man. Not proud or ashamed about it, that's just who we are". They didn't bother with any civil war references, didn't think twice about hiring a black drummer despite knowing that'd make them unwelcome in some places. Their mix of deep southern blues and soul, country, hard rock and jazzy improvisations was all they needed to be instantly adored by Southern audiences and rock/blues fans everywhere. By 1972-3 they were selling out stadiums while their "Eat A Peach" LP, mostly recorded with Duane still in the band but released after his death, had hit no.4 in the charts. The question then was "Can they possibly match the brilliance of their previous albums without Duane? Can there even be an Allman Brothers Band without him?" To make matters worse, halfway through the recording of their new album, tragedy struck again: bassist Berry Oakley died in an accident eerily similar to that of Duane: while riding his motorcycle, on the very same stretch of road. Despite these losses weighing heavily on the band, "Brothers And Sisters" turned out to be a triumph from start to finish. Singer/keyboardist Gregg and (previously second) guitarist Dickey Betts seriously upped their game, delivering their best writing, playing and singing to that point - arguably the best of their career, ever. Betts actually stepped upfront writing most of the songs and singing lead on the album's big hit "Ramblin' Man", an ode to freedom and living on the road. Guest player Les Dudek added more lead guitar, the twin guitar attack on this track reminiscent of the days with both Duane and Betts in the band. Dudek also co-wrote (with Betts) and played acoustic on the wonderful instrumental "Jessica" but he wasn't destined to become a full time member. New members added during these sessions included Oakley's replacement Lamar Williams on bass and pianist Chuck Leavell, nowadays an informal Rolling Stone. The latter added a jazzy New Orleans flavour to the mix, his duel against Bett's electric guitar on the uplifting "Southbound" being one of the album's highlights. "Pony Boy Blues" is the last of the Betts compositions here, a country-ish ballad with superb slide guitar. Gregg Allman's songs include rocker "Wasted Words" and two pure blues songs "Jelly Jelly" and "Come And Go Blues" to counterbalance Betts' country leanings. Both the album and lead single "Ramblin Man" were very successfull, securing the band a lot of airplay and (especially) huge concert audiences. Probably Southern Rock's single best moment.

***** for Ramblin Man, Southbound, Jessica

**** for Wasted Words, Come And Go Blues, Jelly Jelly, Pony Boy Blues

Fallen Angels "Fallen Angels" 1978(orig) 1995(reissue)***

So let me jump the gun and say right away that this band deserved better than the complete anonymity surrounding it. One of many (mostly unknown) bands to sport the name Fallen Angels, it was founded by guitarist Mickey Finn after he left Steve Marriot's All Stars - not Marriot's former band Humble Pie as stated on the cover, who the hell writes this stuff? Further confusion ensues because other ignoramus (e.g Allmusic.com) mix guitarist Mickey Finn with the same-named drummer, wrongly crediting the former T-Rex member with playing on the All Stars' "Marriott". So Mickey Waller (AKA Finn) is erroneously credited with being in Humble Pie, while deprived of credit for the album he really did play in. His legacy isn't well served, to say the least. To make matters worse, when the Fallen Angels' sole LP did get a limited (originally only in Holland) release it was as Phil May (big letters) and The Fallen Angels (smaller ones), presumeably because singer May's name was slightly familiar, him being an ex-Pretty Thing and all. This CD reissue is actually the only version of this album presented as a collaborative effort instead of a -more or less solo- Phil May record. Of course many members came and went, while Finn himself isn't present on "Shine On Baby" and "California". In total, 11 musicians can be heard in these recordings while a lot more passed from the band without recording anything. The music isn't anything revolutionary, just typical 70's classic rock. But neither is it in any way inferior to contemporary albums by famous groups of the era. The band seem to have American FM radio in mind, adopting a commercial rock sound a la Eagles, at least for the first couple of songs "Fallen Angels" and "California". "13 1/2 Floor Suicide" is closer to "Finn's former band" Humble Pie with its hard rock riff and bluesy piano. "Shine On Baby" has a very funky -almost disco- beat and vocal, jazzy sax and rocking guitar. "Dance Again" is a nice ballad, while "My Good Friend" (another ballad) and rocker "Cold Wind" are saturated with violin. I love them both as I'm a sucker for rock songs with violin - for example Pavlov's Dog, Dylan's Desire LP, and Edgar Broughton's "Evening over Rooftops". "I Keep On" has an almost Aerosmith feel, while "Dogs Of War" and "Girl Like You" remind me of Mott The Hoople's laddish glam rock. This CD reissue appends 3 previously unreleased tracks recorded -without Phil May- in 1978: "When The Russians Came Back" is an interesting guitar instrumental, "Chance" an indifferent rocker and "Lazy Days" an equally blunt laid-back instumental. All in all a good album, but I can't help but feel it doesn't belong on CD. Had I discovered it by chance at a vinyl sale, it would have immediately fallen into my "Buried Treasure" category, now it's just an agreeable classic rock CD in a collection full of those.

**** for Fallen Angels, California, 13 1/2 Floor Suicide, Cold Wind

*** for Dance Again, Shine On Baby, My Good Friend, I Keep On, Dogs Of War, Girl Like You,When The Russians Came Back 

** for Chance, Lazy Days

Jerry Williams "Sweet Little Rock'n'Roller" 1974**

Hi again. I'm still on holiday in Antiparos, and posting from my drafts folder. Just relaxing, taking in the sun, swimming and tasting the local delicacies. If you find yourself in Greece remember that every region has its own dishes based on local products. Don't play it safe and go for pizza or burgers, and don't waste your time with gyros and moussaka which you can get at any Greek restaurant in your city. Order instead one of the local specialties, like this beauty from the Paros region: "Gouna" is a way of cooking rather than a specific fish, though mostly they'll use mackerel. The fish is sliced in half and hang to dry for a few days on the summer sun and sea breeze, then grilled and lightly sprinkled with an oil and lemon sauce. An ancient recipe meant to preserve fish for a longer period (as opposed to salting or smoking it), you won't believe how good it tastes. Try it with ice-cold ouzo or raki to watch all your worries evaporating into thin air. 
This is another album I only bought because it was cheap and had an inadvertently funny cover. I just thought the guy on it wasa hilariously clueless pseudo rocker. Everything from the red leather jacket (over a see-through shirt) to the gleaming razor blade in his hand and his even more shiny motorcycle tries to emulate "dangerous teddyboy gangbanger" and does so less convincingly than if he had dressed for a 50's themed costume party. And why exactly is the chick next to him dressed like a showgirl in an Al Capone movie? Anyway, I purchased this LP hoping it'd either be some wild rockabilly or incompetent enough to laugh at. Unfortunately neither case is true - it's just an unremarkable retro pop album. It's telling that the title song isn't a cover of the same-named Chuck Berry tune but of a contemporary Joe Dolan pop hit. Catchy maybe, but not rock'n'roll. Country oriented "Sittin' And Thinkin'" and "Lazy Mornin'" sound more heart-felt but the retro ballads "Love Me" and "Three Steps To Heaven" are just perfunctory. Still they're not as bad as the album's low point, disco-like "Tower Of Strength".

On the Southern soul-influenced "Prisen" the singer tries to sound like Elvis covering Tony Joe White but he just manages to sound like a Johnny Hallyday imitator. After some more Elvis pastiche (the tame rockabilly of "Lonely Weekends" and "It's Worth Believin'") the record closes with the only song worth hearing twice, a rootsy soul rock cover of The Righteous Brothers's "Little Latin Lupe Lu". The album has never been re-released either on LP or CD, so it has some period value, but it's otherwise of little interest. Given how mediocre it is, I was surprised to learn Jerry Williams is considered a bona fide rock legend in his native Sweden. I hope this was just a misstep in his discography, otherwise that's kind of sad for Swedish rock.

*** for Sittin' And Thinkin', Lonely Weekends, Lazy Mornin', Little Latin Lupe Lu

** for Sweet Little Rock'n Roller, Love Me, It's Worth Believin', Three Steps To Heaven, Prisen (colinensinainciusol)

Amanda Lear "Sweet Revenge" 1978***

At long last, I'm back on my prefered holiday spot, the Greek island of Antiparos. Last year I wrote about the island on this blog and included some travel advice, so I'm not going to repeat it here. Just one word of caution: travellers who appreciate quiet and relaxing vacations should definitevely avoid the peak season (mid July to late August) since the town has in the last couple of decades transformed from a fishing village to a tourist hotspot. Anyway since I'm just beginning my vacation I thought I'd post something appropriately summer-y. Now I know for most people the summer's already behind, but I spent a rainy July and August at The Netherlands. Right now it may be September, but in Greece the sun is shining, temperature is above 25 C and the sea is calm and inviting. I call that summer, don't you? Having just spent the night at the island's legendary disco (it opens at 3 AM and really gets going after 4:30AM - these are normal hours for party islands, my friends) which only plays 70's and 80's dance music, I decided nothing spells carefree summer vacations better than disco diva Amanda Lear.

When I was a kid, disco ruled the airwaves. I know that the 70's was also the era of great rock music, especially prog and hard rock as well as the nascent punk/new wave scene, but you couldn't tell that from Greek radio. No - as a child I only remember the likes of Boney M, ABBA and Rafaella Carra. Amanda Lear's "Enigma (Give a Bit of Mmh to Me)" was inescapable, a fact only made worse by the existence of a popular Greek version by ultra-gay singer Giorgos Marinos. Of course I didn't know the singer was gay or what being gay meant, but I thought the guy looked weird and the song was annoying. From the moment I got access to my own radio and, later, stereo it was all rock for me. Nowadays, of course, disco doesn't sound so bad to my ears: It sounds nostalgic and innocent, even when loaded with sexual innuendos. And my opinion of Amanda Lear changed as I got to learn about her: How can you snub someone so close to Salvador Dali? More than just the surrealist master's protégée, for a couple of decades they were inseparable, almost family. Her other early obsession was rock stars (not that Dali wasn't a rock star in his own way): romantic relationships with The Rolling Stones' Brian Jones, David Bowie and Brian Ferry are rumoured or confirmed. Since back then "celebrity" wasn't a profession yet, she was officially a model. It would still be a few years before she'd become a recording artist but before we go to the music we'll have to acknowledge the Lear enigma. Nobody (except maybe Dali who is often credited with her "creation") knows when, where, or under which name and which gender she was born. On occasion she's said that her mother was English or French or Vietnamese or Chinese, and that her father was English, Russian, French or Indonesian. She claimed to having been born in Transylvania in 1950 but was probably born in Hanoi in 1939, or Hong Kong in either 1941 or 1946. 

She is said to have been Alain Tapp, a French or Swiss transvestite born in the Far East and working at a Paris drag queen revue. After a nude photo shoot for Playboy confirmed she was anatomically a woman, the prevailing story became that she was a transsexual who had an operation in 1963 in Casablanca by the guru of sex change surgeons Dr Bourou. An operation ostensibly paid for by Dali, although they were supposed to have met for the first time two years later. The sexual ambiguity was part of her lore and encouraged by her in the beginning of her career, to be persistently denied later. If the latter is true and this turns out to be an elaborate Victor/Victoria-type ruse, I wouldn't be surprised if a certain eccentric genius had indeed masterminded it all. Want more drama? How about her husband (French gay aristocrat Alain-Philippe Malagnac d'Argens de Villèle) burning in a mysterious house fire, together with his young friend and professional cat breeder, pets and some priceless Dali paintings - on a night that Amanda wasn't herself at home. You just can't make all this up, so it's not surprising that the music is overshadowed by her personality. "Sweet Revenge" was her biggest hit, but I hadn't heard any songs beside "Enigma". I bought the LP from the €1 stack of a record bazaar just for its gloriously ridiculous retro cover featuring dominatrix Amanda in leather pants holding a whip. Unsurprisingly it's missing the topless fold-out poster it initially came out with. Some guy surely decorated his room with it -I wonder if he knew Amanda was probably born a boy- but there's still the glam/sexy photos of the inlay and the Marlen Dietrich-like back cover. It frankly wouldn't have mattered if the vinyl was unplayable but thankfully this wasn't the case, as I quite unexpectedly found out I actually liked the music within. The main reason is Amanda's deep husky voice and sexy delivery which reminds me of Marianne Faithfull. Another is Anthony Monn's exemplary Eurodisco production incorporating violins, choirs, Moog synthesizers and Kraftwerk-style proto-electronica. And the ambition of it all: Unlike other disco divas, Amanda wrote her lyrics herself, and didn't do half measures: In the best prog rock tradition, side one is one continuous track, a disco mini-opera based on Faust, no less: A girl sells her soul to the Devil "Follow Me" asks for riches "Gold" but later changes her mind "Mother, Look What They've Done to Me" and runs away (the galloping "Run Baby Run") to find happiness and true love "Follow Me (Reprise)". Side two opens with "Comics" a cabaret ode to the so-called 9th Art which reminds me of Cockney Rebel's "Mr. Soft". This is followed by the silly but utterly danceable "Enigma (Give a Bit of Mmh to Me)" and hard rocking (no I'm not kidding) "The Stud". This song just begs for a Judas Priest cover - please mr. Halford will you do it? I promise I won't bother you ever again. The album ends with "Hollywood Flashback" a nice glam/funk ballad a la Brian Ferry. I still can't believe it, and I hope my teenage self never finds out: this is a disco album I actually enjoyed.

**** for Follow Me, Run Baby Run, Follow Me (Reprise), Comics, The Stud

*** for Gold, Mother Look What They've Done to Me, Hollywood Flashback

** for Enigma (Give a Bit of Mmh to Me)