I'm in the process of re-listening and re-evaluating my record collection, in no particular order. I'll be sharing the results of my evaluation and thoughts on the music in this blog.
Once again I'm in Greece at the end of the holiday season, posting from my drafts folder. It's almost worth it to be the last to leave, so that you can post photos from your holidays while everyone else is back at work. Well, not everyone apparently, the beaches here in Naxos are still full. I guess, like most of my foreign friends, you're thinking "Naxos? Why does that name sound familiar?" Well, I don't know. To us Greeks, it's mostly known for the nice beaches and some local products, especially cheeses (graviera, arseniko, xinomizithra etc). Naxian potatoes are also quite famous. The old emery mines, and some mentions in ancient history and mythology are also interesting, even if not as well known. But, judging from the number of tourists (lots of French, but also Germans and Italians) this late in the season, Naxos doesn't need any more advertising. Nevertheless it is a big island, so next to the popular places there are always some quiet beaches to be found, if you don't mind the lack of amenities. And the food is usually amazing!
It was only a few days after Greek websites reported the death of Socrates' guitarist Yannis Spathas, that I came across this LP at a Dutch record store. I took it as a sign, and bought the album although it isn't generally considered to be among their best. Despite never becoming a household name -not even in Greece- Spathas was one of the forefathers of the Greek rock scene, and a legendary guitarist often compared to Ritchie Blackmore and Jimmy Page, although his single biggest influence was Jimi Hendrix. After recording a couple of garage rock singles with Piraeus' Persons (1966-1969) he formed Socrates Drank The Conium (later shortened to Socrates), a progressive/hard rock band which released 7 historic albums, and came close to having international success. As it happened, the only Greek rock band that achieved that goal was Aphrodite's Child, whose keyboardist Vangelis produced and played in Socrates' Phos (1976). That LP received a U.S. release and serious college radio play, prompting the band to seek an international career. Plaza was their last effort to that effect. They had been contracted by Virgin Records, which brought them to London to record with Vic Coppersmith-Heaven (producer of Τhe Jam, but also engineer in The Rolling Stones' Let It Bleed and Black Sabbath's Volume 4). For the English lyrics they enlisted the help of Elton John's lyricist Gary Osborne, while the core trio (Spathas, singer/bassist Tourkogiorgis and drummer Antypas) were augmented by top studio musicians and backup vocalists. As a result, it is the band's most professional-sounding LP, sporting a shiny commercial AOR sound similar to contemporary albums by, say, Asia or Toto. Like most albums of that age, though, it hasn't aged well and doesn't hold the cult status of their earlier work. The synths and backing vocals are especially outdated, while the production is ultra clean and lacks punch. Nevertheless Tourkogiorgis lays some of his best vocals ever, and Spathas' solos are excellent as always, although he's holding back which is a pity. The compositions are pleasant but ordinary. Probably the nadir of the record is new wave closer "F F F F F Fashion" and the "funky" "Living in a hot town" which reminds me of the worst Rolling Stones tracks of the 80's. "Sky Ride" reminds me of 80's Eric Burdon - similarly the artist's low point, but at least this one rocks. "Love like dynamite" is another rocker, which sticks out because of some Latin-tinged percussion and nice chorus. Other nice tunes include the ballad "For every clown" and three semi-hard rockers, "Backroom baby", the Journey-like "Baby I'm leaving", and "Stray dogs" which is a bit like Joe Lynn Turner-era Rainbow. Billed as Plaza, Socrates toured the album in support to headliners UFO, gaining sympathetic reviews. They got the desired offer for an international contract, but it meant relocating to the U.S. with conditions more suited to young up-and-comers than to veterans with a 10+ years of discography behind them. So they decided to dissolve the band and follow a more relaxed and lucrative career as session musicians for the elite of Greek singers and composers, especially of the éntekhnovariety. They reunited for a live album and sporadic concerts, and are always fondly remembered as pioneers of Greek rock. Plaza has a strange place in their discography: on one hand it's their most accessible and technically best produced LP, while on the other the move from underground blues and prog towards the mainstream alienated fans and sacrificed some of the band's originality. If nevertheless 80's AOR with a touch of prog is your kind of thing, you'll find a lot to like in this half-forgotten LP. Interesting note: although it remains the band's only album never to have been re-released and never to see a CD release, original vinyl copies can still be found for reasonable prices.
**** for Stray Dogs, Baby I'm Leaving
*** for Backroom Baby, Sky Ride, Love Like Dynamite, For Every Clown
** for Burning Stage, Jump Into The Fire, Living In A Hot Town, F F F F F Fashion
A couple of months ago, I saw the Meat Puppets live at the Paard van Troje club in The Hague. To be honest I hadn't quite followed their career for almost 30 years, and didn't know what to expect. I wasn't even aware they were still going strong. For me they were always an 80's band, despite their coming to prominence in the 90's after a guest spot on Nirvana's gazillion-selling MTV Unplugged. A worn-out cassette of Meat Puppets II and this CD comp of their early years is all I knew of them. Well, apparently they've got a new album out in 2019, it's called Dusty Notes and judging from what I heard at the Paard not much of a departure from their indie psych country days. On concert, one could hardly guess the band's roots in hardcore punk, except maybe from the gruff vocals and long feedback/noise conclusion of many songs. The country streak was more obvious, from the song structure to their mountain men appearance, beards and all. This compilation taking a chronological approach though, we're greeted with two short sharp bursts of hardcore noise: "Foreign Lawns" from their debut In A Car EP 1981 and "H-Elenore" from the Keats Rides A Harleycompilation, both from1981. These got them noticed and signed to California's SST Records, home to the likes of Black Flag, Minutemen and Hüsker Dü. From their first long player Meat Puppets(1982) we get "Blue Green God" and "Walking Boss" which show some progress in the former's supercharged guitars and, especially, the latter's espousing of country music. Meat Puppets II(1984) presents a leap forward for the band as well as American alternative rock in general. The band expertly mixes punk, hardcore and psychedelia to create a new genre. "Lost" is a jaunty cow-punk hybrid, "The Whistling Song" is REM-like indie with winsome whistling, "Lake Of Fire" a psychedelic sludgefest and "Plateau" a folk ballad - the latter two were covered by Nirvana in their Unplugged album. 1985's Up On The Sun continued the band's slow trek to (a kind of) mainstream. "Up on the Sun" and "Two Rivers" are sunny, mid-tempo, psychedelia with sluggish vocals replacing their former throat shredding style. "Swimming Ground" and "Enchanted Porkfist" are reminiscent of The Byrds' country rock, despite the latter's metallic guitar intro. From 1986's Out My Way EP we get 3 tracks, the almost funky title track with its scorching southern rock solo, cow-punk "On The Move" and a more or less straight country cover of Wayne Kemp's"Burn the Honky Tonk Down". Their next albums never quite reached the same heights, which is reflected in the amount of songs sampled for this collection. We get 2 tracks from 1987's Mirage: the Byrdsian country of "Confusion Fog" and indie folk of "Get On Down" with some great guitars solos proving the guys have something more in common with ZZ Top than just the beards. Another 2 tracks here come from Huevos (1987), the Long Ryders-style garage folk of "Look At the Rain" and mid tempo REM-style indie of "Sexy Music". We get nothing from their last album of the 80's (1989's Monsters), but there are two alternate versions of songs that appeared in it, indie mid tempo "Light" and an energetic live workout of "Meltdown" with fiery guitar licks. More rarities include a live cowpunk version of Woody Guthrie's "Dough Rey Mi", and a demo of indie rocker "Strings On Your Heart". The CD closes with an unreleased 1998 song by Curt Kirkwood's band, then going by the name of Meat Puppets but containing no other original members. Classic Puppets makes for a great introduction to the band's best period, as it contains essential tracks from all their 80's albums throwing in some rarities for the older fans. The chronological sequence also helps track their progress, even if it means starting off with some uncharacteristically extreme hardcore. But if you really wants to experience the band in its peak, and see why bands like Nirvana, Soundgarden, Dinosaur Jr, and Red Hot Chili Peppers consider them a major influence, you should seek out their their 2 best albums, Meat Puppets II and Up On The Sun.
***** for Lost, Plateau
**** for Lake of Fire, The Whistling Song, Up on the Sun, Swimming Ground, Enchanted Porkfist, Two Rivers, Out My Way, Get On Down, Look At the Rain, Sexy Music, Dough Rey Mi, Meltdown
*** for Walking Boss, On the Move, Burn the Honky Tonk Down, Confusion Fog, Light, Strings On Your Heart, New Leaf
I was just reading a piece on Richard Thompson on the latest issue of MOJO. I was immediately struck by the beginning of the article, as it starts off with an unexpected scene: former bandmate Sandy Denny's funeral. Sandy died tragically at 31, after drunkenly falling down the stairs. Apparently everyone present commented on the singer's premature death and unrealized potential, but Thompson thought differently: she had glowed brightly for a while, but had nothing else to give as her creativity was stifled by her alcohol and drugs consumption. You may call him insensitive or just a realist. Hemade his opinion public anyway, on the spot as well as, much later, in this song: "That's All, Amen, Close The Door" on 1999's Mock Tudor.
After reading the article, I had to go back to the CD and hear for myself. Could the song be as cold and cynical as it sounded? In truth, no. It's rather sympathetic in tone, acknowledges its subject's (no-one specific is mentioned, but in retrospect it does fit Denny well) contribution to the world and expresses, above all, resignation in the face of death: "That's all, that's all there was/Say amen, close the door/She gave as much as she had to give/Please don't ask for more". Musically, it's a bluesy mid-tempo ballad, as blandly agreeable as can be expected from a middle-aged singer-songwriter. Closer "Hope You Like The New Me" is acoustic and desolate sounding as would befit a deeply emotional song - only the protagonist is as callous a bastard as one can find in Thompson's discography. After listening to the album's penultimate and last tracks, I took it from the beginning: opener "Cooksferry Queen" is a much better introduction, being a gem of a blues rocker with harmonica and electric guitar reminiscent of Dylan circa '65. It sets the pace for the first third of the album (which is clearly divided in three parts) entitled Metroland: the songs are a bunch of upbeat folk rockers revolving about different women - not all of which as wonderful as the the "queen" of the first song, though. "Bathsheba Smiles" sounds a bit like Tom Petty, "Two-Faced Love" rolls on rockabilly-style, and "Hard On Me" even borders on hard rock a la Pearl Jam. Not what I expected from a former Fairport Convention folkie. But then this is Thompson's "American" period on Capitol Records. It proved to be his last album for a major label, as it sold badly despite the great reviews. Part 2, entitled Heroes in the Suburbs, displays more "Englishness" as exemplified by "Crawl Back (Under My Stone)" which chugs pleasantly with a ska rhythm and satirizes British social class separation. The next three songs ("Uninhabited Man", "Dry My Tears And Move On", and "Walking The Long Miles Home") are more typical folk rock balladry - the latter with a distinct country flavor. The 3rd part is entitled Street Cries and Stage Whispers and starts off with "Sights And Sounds Of London Town", featuring a parade of Dickens-like characters living hard lives under the skyscrapers of The City at a time of booming stock markets and golden real estate deals. It is, at last, the traditional English folk song needed to justify the album's title. It's embellished with mandolin, acoustic guitar and upright bass - and all the social astuteness and satirical bite of a Ewan McCall to boot. Not that I didn't enjoy the rockier songs of Part 1, mind you. On the whole the album is a nice listen and displays a lot of wit and good musicianship - it's easy to see why critics liked it. If I was a critic, I'd also give it a glowing review. But, while there are no bad or even indifferent songs here, there's very little that's really memorable - maybe 3 or 4 songs I'd care to revisit. Don't be dissuaded by the 3* rating, though, give it a listen - it certainly is worth listening!
**** for Cooksferry Queen, Hard On Me, Crawl Back (Under My Stone), Sights And Sounds Of London Town
*** for Sibella, Bathsheba Smiles, Two-Faced Love, Uninhabited Man, Dry My Tears And Move On, Walking The Long Miles Home, That's All Amen Close The Door, Hope You Like The New Me
The Doors are one of those groups whose discography I've bought many times over: first, of course, in vinyl. I never bought original cassettes and I thankfully skipped the first generation CD's as mid-80's CD's were not only ridiculously expensive but also sounded awfully flat. They came with a disclaimer claiming that "because of its high resolution, Compact Discs can reveal limitations of the original analogue tapes" - to fool you into blaming the "higher resolution" for what was an inferior listening experience. I bought the complete Doors discography on CD when it was properly remastered in '99. I sold my LP's during The Great Vinyl Purge of 2004, while the CD's followed them to the second hand shops when I acquired the Perceptions Box Set in 2006 or 2007. I subsequently gave in to nostalgia, buying some of their albums in vinyl again, marking the 4th time I got them. I also skipped the "40th Anniversary Mixes" by original engineer Bruce Botnick and surviving members of the band, as I found out that they're based on the Perception DVD stereo mix, including the bonus tracks (every album comes with bonus demos or alternate takes as well as a few rare or previously unreleased songs). Further reissues have followed but they offer little of substance. Now if you log into specialist sites, everyone seems to have their own favorite mix but there's no denying that, unless you're a vinyl fanatic, this particular configuration is the best way to enjoy The Doors' studio recordings. Each album is presented in CD and DVD-A form. The CD mix is based on the '99 remaster with the addition of bonus tracks and few other alterations, while DVD's go all the way including new stereo and 5.1 surround mixes, plus videos, photos and exclusive online content including some for mobile phones (which I've never tried and don't know whether it'd work with modern phone OS). The surround mix is lively and adds to the listening experience, without being sensational or especially revelatory. The booklets are really beautiful, including informative notes about the recording of the albums, photos and complete lyrics. Seeing as an individual presentation of all 6 Doors CD's would fill many pages, I will focus here on the bonus tracks and other details unique to this specific version of the albums, by which I mean the box set as well as the identical 40th anniversary individual CD reissues (the ones with bonus tracks, currently the most commonly available format.)
Starting with the eponymous debut The Doors (1967), there's a bit of controversy on whether this is better than the original mix, and even on which should be considered more authentic. Apparently the original LP was initially mastered at a slightly slower speed because of a technical fault which is fixed here for the first time. Some don't like the new, slightly faster, versions, but I think the reason is that they're used to the older ones. It's true that some songs like "End Of The Night" had a darker, more Gothic, feel which is lost now. Then again, this is how The Doors always meant for you to hear it. Another difference is the "uncensored" versions of "Break On Through" (with the phrase "she gets high") and "The End" (with repeated utterances of the F... word). Some believe the offending words have been pasted over the censored version, probably from an alternate studio take, and sound unnatural. Had they heard these versions first, of course, they may have had another opinion. Bonus tracks include two very different versions of "Moonlight Drive" from 1966: one as a blues ballad with great bottleneck guitar, while the other is faster and poppier. The one used for the LP now sounds to me like a compromise between the two. Also from 1966 is an alternate take of "Indian Summer". Video content includes a videoclip of "Break On Through" and an assured performance of "The End" for Canadian TV. Strange Days (1967) adds alternate studio takes of "People Are Strange" and "Love Me Two Times" as well as Black & White Danish TV '68 performances of "Love Me Two Times" and "When The Music's Over". Waiting For The Sun (1968) bonus tracks include their fabulous baroque-via-Ennio Morricone instrumental "Albinoni's Adagio In G Minor", 3 takes of "Not To Touch The Earth" and the 17-minute epic from which this piece descended, called "Celebration Of The Lizard". This was originally meant to close the album, just as "The End" closed their debut and "When The Music's Over" did with Strange Days. It would have made sense, but I have to admit that "...Lizard" is nowhere as good or cohesive as the other two. DVD Video contains an excerpt of The Doors' historic '68 Hollywood Bowl concert containing "Spanish Caravan". The band are in great form but the way the video is abruptly cut just as the intro of "Light My Fire" starts playing is really annoying. There's also a performance of "Unknown Soldier" from the aforementioned Danish TV show. Interestingly, the surround version of the album has no subwoofer action making it a 5.0 album instead of 5.1. The Soft Parade (1969) is generally considered The Doors' weakest LP, with the addition of the strings and horns especially poorly received by critics. The remix adds a bit more muscle in order to fix this. Regarding the bonus tracks, the album wouldn't have profited by the inclusion of "Who Scared You" (initially a 7' B-side and included here as bonus track) but I quite like the sea shanty "Whiskey And Mystics And Men", which is included here in two versions, the second being a bit bluesier. These two had previously seen the light of day as part of the Essential Rarities comp, but there's also a longer version of "Touch Me" and a completely unreleased Latin jam called "Push Push". Video extras include 1969 soundstage performances of "The Soft Parade" and "Tell All The People" - the latter as a medley with "Whisky Bar" and "Back Door Man". By this time Jim the pop star is replaced by Jim The Bearded Alcoholic Beat Poet. Morrison Hotel (1970) adds many different takes on "Roadhouse Blues" that, far from a sign of a difficult gestation, show the band enjoying immersing themselves in the blues. "Money Beats Soul" is a bit of studio doodling, "Carol" a Chuck Berry snippet, "Peace Frog false starts and dialogue" is what the title says, and "The Spy (Version 2)" is a faster, and indifferent, run-through. At least the lounge version of "Queen Of The Highway" is somewhat interesting. The DVD adds videoclips of "Roadhouse Blues" and "Wild Child". L.A. Woman (1971) includes two bonus tracks: "Orange County Suite" is a Morrison blues demo to which the rest of the band later added music, similarly to what happened with Lennon demos and The Beatles Anthology series. "You Need Meet" is a blues cover previously released as B-side of "Love Her Madly" which features Manzarek doing a half-decent job on lead vocal. The 5.1. audio mix is quite enjoyable, especially on "Riders On The Storm". Video content consists of a clip of "The Changeling" and "The Crawling King Snake" accompanied by footage of the Doors in rehearsal. BOTTOM LINE: If you don't already own the complete Doors studio output, "Perception" is the ultimate purchase. But if you can't spare the time and money to hunt down a copy, and don't necessarily care about the extra videos or the surround mixes, you're equally well-served with the '99 remasters or the 40th anniversary mixes. Sure, there are sonic differences between the two but both sound quite good and the winner is a matter of taste. "Perception" and the 40th anniversary reissues do offer a few bonus tracks but these are far from essential. Lastly, there's a viable budget solution in the form of The Doors A Collection, a mini Box Set featuring all 6 studio albums (40th Anniversary mixes) in simple cardboard sleeves without bonus tracks.
Being a big fan of album cover art, I have a wall space in my living room (one of the few which isn't taken up by LP and CD shelves) dedicated to an everchanging (well, currently renewed monthly) display of album covers united by a common theme (or, sometimes, a common esthetic). Looking forward to my vacations in the Greek islands, I chose a suitably marine theme for August: Dick Dale surfing the waves, The Go Go's water-skiing, and a Neptune-like creature called Kingfish riding a flying catfish.
Now with that cover, one would expect it to be a prog concept album of sorts: about the mythological war between Gods and Titans, maybe, or a warning cry about ocean pollution. I didn't expect anything of the sort, though, as I knew the band to be a Grateful Dead offshoot, so I took a leap of faith based on that info and bought the LP. It's all just good ole roots music: Rock and Roll, Country, and R&B with a bit of New Orleans spice. This being a compilation, the line-up isn't stable, but half the tracks feature Grateful Dead's co-singer and rhythm guitarist Bob Weir, next to his friend and Kingfish leader Matt Kelly who plays great guitar and harmonica throughout. The other band mainstay was Dave Torbert (from NRPS, on bass and vocals) up until his death in '82. Both were also frequent guests at various Dead albums. This LP is split between a studio and a live side, of which I think the latter is probably more representative of the band, showing them to be a barnstromin' bar band guaranteed to give listeners a good time. There are a couple of Chuck Berry covers ("School Days", "Promised Land"), vintage R&B (Jr. Walker's "Roadrunner", The Coasters' "Youngblood", Willie Dixon's "Hidden Charms") and the classic blues "Key to the Highway", all played with gusto: imagine, if you will, a Southern Rock version of The Blues Brothers. The studio side is a bit more diverse stylistically, ranging from blues (Little Walters' instrumental "Juke" and boogie "Put Your Hand on Me" featuring John Lee Hooker on vocals and Mike Bloomfield on guitar), pure country ("Fox on the Run"), R&B (Ray Charles' "Mess Around") commercial pop/soul ("My Pledge On Love") and just two originals: 50's pastiche "Feels So Good" and "Taste of the Devil" (a bluesy mid-tempo piano piece: does Supertramp-meet-Dr.John make sense?). On the whole this is a quite enjoyable album with nice playing and a pleasant party vibe. Inessential, except maybe for Grateful Dead completists, but once you get it you'll be surprised with how often it finds its way to your tuntable.
**** for Taste of the Devil, Road Runner, Young Blood
*** for Mess Around, Put Your Hand on Me, My Pledge of Love, Fox on the Run, Feels So Good, Juke, Hidden Charms, School Days, Promised Land, Key to the Highway
