Various "The Legendary Sun Records Story: Volume 2" 1953-1962(rec) 2001(comp)***

I just finished watching "The Road To Memphis" an excellent documentary of the Martin Scorsese -curated series about the Blues featuring many musicians of the Beale Street scene (from famous like B.B. King and Ike Turner to Rufus Thomas and semi-forgotten ones like Rosco Gordon) as well as producer Sam Phillips, owner of Sun Records and better known as "the man who discovered Elvis Presley". He did much more than that, recording many blues musicians (e.g. Howling Wolf) before discovering rock'n'roll was the real goldmine and turning his full attention there. The series had me rushing to the drawers where my Sun Records CDs are, and sure 'nough here were all the artists. dead and alive, mentioned in the documentary. For some reason I chose The Legendary Sun Records Story: Volume 2 to present here. I like the way it encompasses the timeless and ephemeral, the stars and the never-have-beens. DISC ONE opens with a couple of red-hot rockabilly numbers, Billy Lee Riley's "Red Hot" and Jerry Lee Lewis' "Mean Woman Blues". Carl Perkins is represented with two of his best, and often-covered, songs ("Honey Don't", "Boppin The Blues"), Johnny Cash with C&W classic "Big River", Roy Orbison with the rockin' "You're My Baby", and Charlie Rich with the crooning "Stay". Presumably for copyright reasons, the studio's big star Elvis only appears as 1/4 of The Million Dollar Quartet (with Cash, Perkins and Jerry Lee) an unofficial jamming session with underwhelming results. Other notable songs include  Carl Mann's rockabilly dynamite "Ubangi Stomp", Ray Smith's novelty "Rockit Bandit", and Sonny Burgess' "My Buckets Got A Hole In It". Bill Justis' "College Man" is an almost-instrumental with nice sax. Apparently the singer took a nap during the proceedings, waking up during the last 20 seconds to hurriedly add a couple of lines. In Elvis' absence, we get Jerry Lee's version of "Jailhouse Rock", which is not so famous but has its own merrit nevertheless. 

***** for Honey Don't (Carl Perkins), Big River (Johnny Cash), Ubangi Stomp (Carl Mann), Boppin The Blues (Carl Perkins)

**** for Red Hot (Billy Lee Riley), Mean Woman Blues (Jerry Lee Lewis), My Buckets Got A Hole In It (Sonny Burgess), Move Baby Move (Billy 'The Kid' Emerson), Jailhouse Rock(Jerry Lee Lewis)

*** for You're My Baby (Roy Orbison), I Won't Be Rockin' Tonight (Jean Chapel), Rockit Bandit (Ray Smith), Walkin' Shoes (Onie Wheeler), College Man (Bill Justis), Gonna Romp And Stomp (Slim Rhodes), 

** for Stay (Charlie Rich), After The Hop (The Turks),  Treat Me Right (Cliff & Barbara Thomas), Sweet Sweet Girl (Warren Smith), Thats When Your Heartaches Begin (The Million Dollar Quartet)

DISC TWO features many of the same artists, just playing less famous songs. Highlights include Jerry Lee's "Lovin Up A Storm", Cash's "Oh Lonesome Me", Warren Smith's "Uranium Rock" (later covered by The Cramps), Gene Simmons' (no, not that one) "Drinkin' Wine", and Hayden Thompson's mid-tempo ode to a "Rockabilly Gal". One such gal here is Barbara Pittman ("I Need A Man"), while two of the afforementioned documentary's protagonists also appear: Rosco Gordon with his New Orleans-style piano (which he usually adorned onstage with a ...rooster) in "Shoobie Oobie", and Rufus Thomas with the original version of R&B stomper "Tiger Man (King Of The Jungle)" - later a hit for Elvis. 

**** for You Made A Hit (Ray Smith), Lovin Up A Storm (Jerry Lee Lewis), Uranium Rock (Warren Smith), Rockabilly Gal (Hayden Thompson), Tiger Man/King Of The Jungle (Rufus Thomas), Drinkin Wine (Gene Simmons), I Need A Man (Barbara Pittman), Oh Lonesome Me (Johnny Cash), Sadies Back In Town (Sonny Burgess)
*** for Your True Love (Carl Perkins),  Jumpin Jack (Cliff & Barbara Thomas), Wouldn't You Know (Billy Lee Riley), Sweet Woman (Ed Bruce), Sittin' And Thinkin'(Charlie Rich), Look At That Moon (Carl Mann), Shoobie Oobie (Rosco Gordon), I'm Feelin Sorry (Jerry Lee Lewis), It's Me Baby (Malcolm Yelvington)

** for Ballad Of A Teenage Queen (Johnny Cash), Softly And Tenderly (The Million Dollar Quartet)

DISC THREE features the usual suspects Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee and Johnny Cash, both individually and all together singing gospel with Elvis (as The Million Dollar Quartet). There are also some tearjerker ballads ("Tragedy"), country ("Muddy Ole River",  "I'm Comin' Home"), and blues (by Little Junior and The Jesters). On the whole this is a rich collection (60 tracks) which, together with no.1, provides a nice -though still uncomplete- overview of Sun Records' history. If only they could include some of The King's early sides for that label...

****for Mis Froggie (Warren Smith), Pearl Lee (Billy Lee Riley), You Better Dig It (Bill Johnson), Red Velvet (The Kirby Sisters), Little Queenie (Jerry Lee Lewis), Without A Love (Jimmy Isle), Walkin' And Talkin' (Mack Owen), Love My Baby (Little Junior's Blue Flames), Night Train From Chicago (The Jesters)

***for Pink Pedal Pushers (Carl Perkins), Restless (Sonny Burgess), Straight As In Love (Johnny Cash), Tragedy (Thomas Wayne), Sweet And Easy To Love (Roy Orbison), Hey Boss Man (Ray Smith), Muddy Ole River (Dane Stinit), Whirlwind (Charlie Rich), Hambone (Rayburn Anthony), I'm Comin Home (Carl Mann)

** for Just A Little Talk With Jesus (The,  Million Dollar Quartet)

Eric Burdon & War "The Black Man's Burdon" 1970*****

This was, for a long time, the record I had spent the most money ever for. You see, I started collecting Eric Burdon's records after witnessing the man give a soulful performance in one of my first rock concerts at Rodon Club in '88 (hard to believe it's been 30 years already). There sure was something special in the air - Burdon himself has mentioned Rodon as the best club he's ever played in, and his concerts there were historic enough for one of them to form the backdrop of Greek movie My Brother And Me. Some of his LP's were easy enough to get - for example 1967's Winds Of Change which became an instant favourite. It contained a psychedelic version of my favourite song, The Stones' "Paint It Black". I thought he had managed the impossible, to improve on what was already perfect. And then, I heard the Latin version on The Black Man's Burdon. Oh my God, could this be even better? I immediately decided I had to have it, but couldn't get it in any of the usual record shops. It hadn't yet been re-released on CD, as a matter of fact it had barely been re-released on vinyl during the previous 20 years. I had to search second-hand shops for an original copy, which I eventually found in Monastiraki for a budget-crushing 5000 drachmas, original U.S. vinyl being ridiculously rare in Greece at the time before internet shopping. With my allowance I could afford a nice-price LP per week (then 750 drachmas), two if I kept my expenses low, but 5000 drachmas? It took a few weeks to save the money, visiting the shop regularly to check if the record was still available and to hide it at the back of the row. 

War would later become famous on their own right, but when Burdon hooked up with them he was a pop star and they were an unknown live band called Night Shift, mixing black funk and latino music to promote brotherhood in the gang-ridden respective L.A. ghettos. I initially thought the title to be somewhat paternalistic on Burdon's behalf, but apparently it's a wordplay with The Black Man's Burden, a classic anti-racist book on slavery and white imperialism. The provocation continues with the risqué album art: Burdon poses with a black woman on the back cover, the black band with two naked white ladies in the inner gatefold. Imagine how that went down at the South, where even mixed-race bands like The Allman Brothers were a matter of contention.

The provocative inner gatefold

The music mix was then still unheard of: a melange of jazz, latin, blues, funk and rock. Instead of dominating as lead singer, Burdon just improvises while the band jams, singing. shouting or rapping along to the melody. It's all very rhythmical, which lots of percussion which brings it close to Santana territory albeit looser with less prominent guitar. "Paint It Black" is the album's jewel, a 13.5-minute medley in 7 parts. Some of them are percussion and flute solos, while another called "PC3" was apparently removed from certain U.K. copies as it contained an obscene spoken word fantasy about catching the Queen "with her knickers down". Another highlight was the "Nights In White Satin" medley, where the atmospheric Moody Blues ballad is interspersed with  improvised latin passages. "Spirit" is a jazz-soul piece with beautiful sax, "Bare Back Ride" the album's sole boogie rock and "Sun/Moon" an over-long slow number. "Home Cookin’" is an earthy ballad with nice harmonies and cool harmonica by Lee Oscar (the other white member of the band), while the album ends with the wonderful politically inclined gospel of lead single "They Can’t Take Away Our Music". The rest of the album is a series of Latin funk jams, best of which being the perky "Pretty Colors". Despite the evident good vibes, the musician's instinctive interaction and enthousiastic playing, the album wasn't a success - it peaked at No.82 while their debut had gone to No.18. It'd get minimal radioplay due to its long duration and absence of a catchy single like its predecessor's "Spill The Wine". War would later perfect their sound and become hugely successful, primarily but not exclusively with black audiences - their World Is A Ghetto LP was 1973's best-selling album of the year. The first two records with Burdon are often dismissed, although I personally find them very original and exciting. I wonder if they could have grown together or if War had to ditch the Brit in order to play some truly black soul music. Oh well, no point in talking about paths not taken...

***** for Paint It Black Medley (Black On Black In Black/Paint It Black I/Laurel & Hardy/Pintelo Negro II /P.C. 3/Black Bird/Paint It Black II), Spirit, They Can’t Take Away Our Music

**** for Nights In White Satin Medley, Pretty Colors, Gun, Jimbo, Bare Back Ride, Home Cookin 

*** for Beautiful New Born Child, Sun / Moon 

Xylouris White "Mother" 2018****

I have a somewhat erratic relationship to Cretan music: initially it was, next to rembetiko, the only form of Greek folk I liked - especially when sung in the spine-tingling voice of Crete's most famous singer Nikos Xylouris. But later it was all tainted by my experience of living at close quarters with a dozen young Cretan soldier-shepherds for a few weeks during my military service in Rethymnon. The boys were quite respectful to me (I was a good 7 years older, and a doctor, so I was spared the pranks new recruits are usually the victims of) but they spent the whole day blasting loud Cretan folk on the squad's portable stereo while playing with their service rifles (any child in the Cretan mountains knows how to dismantle and re-assemble a G3 in seconds, the region probably has a higher guns-to-inhabitant ratio than any in the US). Had they been playing someone like Psarantonis (Nikos Xylouris' younger brother and current Cretan folk paragon) it might have been OK - well it wouldn't have been, not at 18 hours per day, but it would have been preferable to what they were listening: bootleg cassettes, usually featuring a cousin or a synteknos, recorded at local festivals. I was always eager for the one slightly weird(er) boy's turn to come to choose music, because he constantly played the same cassette by Greek Black Metallers Rotting Christ. I mean, imagine that, black metal actually being a soothing aural experience. 

Owing to that traumatic experience I stayed clear of Cretan music for the next 20 years, but this CD (a present from a very dear friend) reminded me why I used to like it. It's not purely traditional, yet in some ways it is ancient. And formless, as if the rulebook hadn't been invented yet. The band consists of Psarantonis' son Giorgos Xylouris and Australian percussionist Jim White, formerly of Dirty Three as well as collaborator to, among others, Nick Cave, P.J. Harvey and Marianne Faithfull. Opener "In Medias Res" is an avant-garde droning instrumental which didn't prepare me for the following "Only Love", a fast-paced rousing piece that rocks harder than The Rolling Stones have in the last 40 years. Xylouris' singing (in Greek) is soulful and unrestrained while White urges him on with his nimble playing. "Motorcycle Kondilies" is closer to the medieval origins of this music, with two exceptions: the production (by Guy Picciotto of Fugazi) which enhances the "alternative" character of the duo, and the absence of lyra - nominally the main solo instrument in Cretan music. Xylouris plays laouto, which is usually a rhythm instrument, but both players have the virtuosity and instinctive empathy that allows them to sound like a full band, albeit with a single mind. In "Spud's Garden", "Woman From Anogeia" and "Daphne" (especially the latter, with its emotive vocal and forceful drumming) the charming melodies prevail over the experimentalism creating a result that would easily win over anyone with an ear for Mediterranean or Near-Eastern music. "Achilles Heel" and "Call and Response" are low, improvised, songs that evoke the soundtrack to some mysterious atmospheric movie, while the closing "Lullaby" is a hushed ballad. This music is at once modern and ancient, traditional and experimental, rooted in a particular mountain village (Anogeia) and universal. You should check it out - and, while you're at it, there's also an affecting documentary on the Xylouris music family that's definitely worth seeing.

. 

*****for Only Love 

**** for Spud’s Garden, Daphne, Woman From Anogeia

*** for In Medias Res, Motorcycle Kondilies, Achilles Heel, Call and Response, Lullaby

Various Artists "Propaganda" 1979***

I'll admit it, it was the hillarious cover art that caught my attention: an illustration of Mao Tse-tung and band rocking it out in front of an enthousiastic crowd of stylized Chinese workers, mockingly imitating the style of Maoist propaganda posters. Otherwise, a few live recordings by Police and Joe Jackson is not what I urgently needed right now. The compilers make their intentions clear in the album's subtitle "A Blatant Attempt to Influence Your Musical Taste". These relatively famous new wavers were meant to entice you into giving these other artists the label (A&M) was trying to promote a try. The fact that the Granati Brothers, Bobby Henry, David Kubinec, and Shrink haven't exactly become household names is a measure of this record's success: it has been languishing in bargain bins ever since it first came out. In reality, while totally inessential, it certainly has its merits. Especially the first "live" side which opens with The Granati Brothers playing an energetic boogie ("Go Crazy") and continues with sinewy, punky, performances by Joe Jackson ("Throw It Away", Chuck Berry's "Come On") and Police ("Landlord", "Next To You"). Side Two opens with "Joey" by The Reds, a promising new wave/hard rock hybrid. They could -probably should- have been bigger. Squeeze's "Slap & Tickle" from their 2nd LP Cool For Cats flirts with disco. Bobby Henry's "Head Case" and David Kubinec's "Another Lone Ranger" (the latter produced by John Cale) are faceless glam while Shrink's "Valid Or Void" is closer to punk. Interesting soung, too bad they never got to record a full LP of them. A hitherto unreleased Joe Jackson track "Don't Ask Me" is an agreeable but generic fast rocker. If you're into 70's punk/new wave, you may want to give this record a chance. It's typical of that style and era, plus some of you may be surprised to hear how vital Police used to sound before becoming pop hitmakers.

**** for Go Crazy (Granati Brothers), Throw It Away (Joe Jackson), Landlord (The Police), Next To You (The Police), Joey (The Reds), Valid Or Void (Shrink)

*** for Come On (Joe Jackson), Don't Ask Me (Joe Jackson), Slap & Tickle (Squeeze)

** for Head Case (Bobby Henry), Another Lone Ranger (David Kubinec)