Van Halen "Fair Warning" 1981***

This is my second consecutive King's Day without celebrations, and after living in The Netherlands for more than a decade it feels like missing something vital - you see, contrary to other popular Dutch holidays like St. Nicholas' Day, Christmas and New Year, which are mostly celebrated in a cycle of family and close friends, this is the country's biggest public feast: a national holiday marked by lots of outdoor concerts, loud street partying, and massive public drinking. People wear clothing and accessories in orange (the color of the royal house of Oranje), flags are hung from the masts, and everything is decorated in either orange or red, white & blue (the colors of the Dutch flag). On the day itself (April 27) all the streets turn into a huge flea market where everyone sells their own old stuff; fantastic for bargain hunters. It was on such a day, maybe 5 years ago, that I acquired 6 Van Halen CD's -their entire discography featuring original singer David Lee Roth- from their previous owner for something like €10. Unfortunately, today is more than just an un-festive Kings' Day; it's also the first spring without Eddie Van Halen, the celebrated guitar virtuoso who died a few months ago at the age of 65. 

Eddie and his (drummer) brother Alex Van Halen were born in The Netherlands, and relocated to California as kids. Their musician father enrolled them to classical piano classes, which they aced but left to pursue their passion for rock music. Their 1978 debut Van Halen was an immediate smash, thanks mainly to Eddie's guitar pyrotechnics. Fair Warning is their 4th LP in four years, and usually considered as exhibiting the first signs of fatigue. Compared to their other albums, it is darker, with less of a party feel; possibly the mood was soured because the personal relation between Eddie and singer David Lee Roth was not at its best. Musically they also went to opposite directions, with the guitarist wanting to experiment more while the singer wasn't willing to sacrifice their commercial potential, and producer Ted Templeman wanted to keep it as simple and as close to the band's live sound as possible. According to the guitarist, when his proposed changes were outvoted, he would later sneak in the studio at night and record overdubs which went unnoticed at playback. The dark mood extends to the album cover, derived from a painting by Canadian artist William Kurelek, and depicting violent scenes featuring children. It's further mirrored in the lyrics of opener -and album highlight- "Mean Street", introduced with an outlandish guitar solo before turning into a gritty rocker reminiscent of Thin Lizzy - I hadn't previously realized how similar Roth's vocals can be to Phil Lynott's, probably because they are about as different as two frontmen can be. It took a song with a similar lyrical sensibility to bring the similarities out. The content of next two songs is lewd and sexual, but again with a darker flavor from their previous "good times with girls" tunes. The music reminds me of Aerosmith (the bluesier "Dirty Movies") and Guns 'N' Roses (the heavier "Sinner's Swing!") respectively - though of course never derivative. "Hear About It Later" features a melodic intro, unconventional instrumental bridge, and catchy chorus. Somehow, though, they don't all gel together enough to create a truly memorable song. "Unchained" doesn't have any such problem, being one of the band's live favorites with its ultra-memorable riff, call-and-response vocal and amusing in-song banter. Eddie's use of the MXR M-117 flanger pedal here did wonders to boost its sales. It's followed by "Push Comes to Shove" an uncharacteristically funky tune with a reggae beat. Next up is swinging R&B-metal hybrid "So This Is Love?", which was also their lead single from Fair Warning. The album closes with two short (just under 2 minutes) pieces, a synth-based instrumental ("Sunday Afternoon in the Park") and sub-Zeppelin rocker ("One Foot Out the Door"). Both subtract rather than add to the LP's overall rating, but at least the closer sports a brief but fiery guitar solo. Needless to mention, of course: Fiery guitar solos is what this record is all about. 

***** for Mean Street

**** for Dirty Movies, Unchained, So This Is Love?

*** for Sinner's Swing!, Hear About It Later, Push Comes to Shove, One Foot Out the Door

** for Sunday Afternoon in the Park

Axis "Axis" a.k.a. "Someone" 1972***

I used to pride myself on being well-informed on the Greek rock scene, as well as prog rock in general. But last year, while researching international sites for articles on Greek proggers Purple Overdose whose leader had recently passed away, I came across mentions of a Greek prog band I had never heard of, called Axis. Now who were these guys, and how come I had never heard of them? Apparently they were based in Paris France, and the 3 albums they made between 1971-1973 were never released in Greece. Dimitris Katakouzinos (acoustic guitar, bass, vocals) and Demis Visvikis (keyboards, vocals, weird afro hairdo) had accompanied Greek easy listening superstar Demis Roussos to France as members of his backing band. They were joined there by two other Greek expats, drummer George Chatziathanassiou and guitarist Alecos Caracandas, and together formed the band Axis. Their first 2 albums are almost identical and released with various titles (Axis, Someone, and Ela Ela/Osanna) and covers. Confusing as it may seem, this is apparently a Dutch edition of their second album, which is actually their first (a.k.a. Ela Ela/Osanna) with two or three changes. It's titled Axis, but the songlist is identical to another Dutch issue under the title Someone, released later that year when the track "Someone" became a local hit. This was a melodic pop song with soft lead vocals and harmonies, and some nice harpsichord - all reminiscent of those more famous Greek expatriates, Aphrodite's Child. "Nothing To Say" is a similarly soft pop psych ballad - its only saving grace for me being a short but fantastic fuzz guitar solo. "Days Can Be Better" is another pop tune with a nice jazz-funk twist. "Osanna" is boring hippie/Christian rock - again the fuzz guitar is the only redeeming feature, but it's buried under the "ecstatic" harmonies. If you can listen to the soundtracks of Hair or Jesus Christ Super Star in their entirety, you may find this interesting. "Ela Ela" was their other hit - I can't be objective about this one, as it's just a cover of a Greek traditional tune I've always known and found somewhat silly. It certainly has a catchy chorus, though, and rhythmic percussive drive, so it's no wonder it got a lot of airplay in certain European countries. The album does get better later on: "Dedicated" is an emotive ballad dominated by imposing organ and electric guitar, while "Shine Lady Shine"'s hard rocking organ and guitar has traces of Santana and Uriah Heep. "Living In" is another heavy prog number with vocals and organ that remind me of Procol Harum's "Whiter Shade of Pale". "Long Time Again" is a mellow psychedelic ballad, while the two most challenging tracks are tucked away at the end of the album: "Bad Times Go" is a hard rocker with wild drumming, guitars and heavy organ, while closer "Bad Trip" starts off with 1'30'' of soft psychedelia to explode into an experimental prog tune reminiscent of EL&P. Apparently it is inspired by a classical piece by Rachmaninoff. This heavy prog style suits the band very well, allowing them to stretch out instrumentally. Alas, it is their commercial "flower power" songs that they are still (if at all) remembered for, and those now sound hopelessly outdated. But if you can look past those moments (roughly 1/3rd of the album) you'll discover a bunch of talented musicians who deserve better than their current state of near-oblivion. Axis also made a 3rd LP (also called Axis, and released in 1973) that was more in the Canterbury jazz-prog-rock style and which is highly regarded by progheads. It didn't sell as well as the previous ones and the original is therefore rare, but it has been re-released on both CD and vinyl, and I aim to get a copy for myself. When I do, it'll be presented here, too.

**** for Dedicated, Shine Lady Shine, Long Time Ago, Bad Trip

*** for Someone, Nothing to Say, Days Can Be Better, Living In, Bad Times Gone

** for Osanna (Canta di Osanna), Ela ela

Bijelo Dugme "Bitanga I Princeza" 1979****

I've been listening to rock and collecting records for 35 years or so, and it took me a long time to acquaint myself to what one can call (in the absence of a better term) East Bloc Rock. Not surprising really, most people are still not aware of its existence. Yet exist it did, long-haired rockers who, despite the political adversities, recorded for State-owned labels in the so-called East Bloc. It amuses me to think that, contrary to popular belief, the iron curtain was not as impermeable as we think: those east of it were aware of the trends on the other side, creating their own versions of it often as good or surpassing their Western counterparts. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying there was a scene comparable to the one in the US or UK, but when you compare the rock scene of, say, Hungary or Yugoslavia to Western countries of similar size like Austria or Portugal, they weren't falling behind. No, apparently the iron curtain was to block our view, to make us believe that art, creativity, and fun were smothered by a totalitarian regime out of Orwell's 1984. We knew there were symphony orchestras, folk troupes, and high-achieving athletes on the other side - but who could imagine East Bloc youths playing loud rock music, dancing and partying like Western ones? Of course, the situation differed from country to country: East Germany, Poland, Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia, and Hungary produced their fair share of rock music, which was rarer in Bulgaria and Romania, and non-existent in Albania. In the Soviet Union itself, rock was an underground phenomenon to which the State only opened up hesitantly and gradually during the 80's.

Bijelo Dugme was one of the first East Bloc bands that I sought out - apart from East Germans City whose "Am Fenster" was a huge hit with Greek pirate radio stations when I was growing up. Then, during the late 80's, it was Goran Bregovic's turn to steal the hearts of Greek audiences, initially through his music for Emir Kusturica's Time Of The Gypsies film and afterwards through collaborations with popular Greek artists, as well as with Iggy Pop on the soundtrack of Arizona Dream. I enjoyed Bregovic's lyrical take on Balkan folk as presented in these soundtracks, as well as the more upbeat Balkan tunes from Kusturica's next movie, Underground.  So naturally when I heard that he used to be real rock star in Yugoslavia I was excited to hear a sample of his older work. At the time it wasn't possible to get hold of the records he had made in the 70's and early 80's with his band Bijelo Dugme (White Button), but with internet shopping becoming easier I later got hold of a double CD compilation, which I presented on this blog a few years ago. 5 out of the 6 tracks from 1979's Bitanga I Princeza were included in the compilation, but when I came across a vinyl copy for a good price I couldn't help myself; this is exactly the sort of music that's meant to be heard on vinyl. This was their fourth great album in a row, slightly different than the previous ones because it minimized the folk element in favor of conventional hard rock. It is the first time they had problems with the sensors: first of all, their chosen album cover was replaced by the label with the one you see here. The original depicted a female leg in stockings and high heels kicking a man in the groin - it was considered vulgar even though it wasn't any more provocative than their previous ones. Two lyrics were also censored, one for containing the Serbo-Croatian version of the "f" word, the other -curiously for an atheist state- because the phrase "...and Christ was bastard and misery" was deemed offensive to Christians. The band denied having any such intention, the name of Christ probably being used in the song as an umbrella term for "saviors" in general. The album opens with a couple of hard rocking numbers: "Bitanga I Princeza" reminds me of Uriah Heep's FM-oriented singles of the era, while "Ala Je Glupo Zaboravit Njen Broj" is a speedy rocker sounding like a cross between Rory Gallagher and Greek rocker of the same era Pavlos Sidiropoulos. "A Koliko Si Ih Imala Do Sad" is among the band's funkier pieces, while "Na Zadnjem Sjedištu Moga Autaand" even flirts with disco. "Ipak, Poželim Neko Pismo" is a mid-tempo piece with funk groove and a vaguely Balkan-sounding chorus - the only throwback to their pastirski rock days. On a completely different tone, the two symphonic prog ballads "Kad Zaboraviš Juli" and "Sve Će To Mila Moja Prekriti Ruzmarin Snjegovi I Šaš" display aspirations towards serious musicianship. Many consider Bitanga I Princeza the height of the band's artistry. It certainly features a variety of styles without containing any weak moments, while subsequent albums would move away from hard rock towards pop and new wave, and would only intermittently yield a really good song. In my mind, Bijelo Dugme is one of the most underrated classic rock acts in Europe but few outside their native land seem to agree - could it be that because of growing up in another Balkan country, their take on rock music is more familiar to me than to others? Anyway, it's worth delving into the whole East Bloc scene; the fact that all these rockers imported a variety of styles from outside and mixed them with local traditions has produced some interesting, genre-defying, results. I can recommend this Spotify playlist as a starting point, but there's also still much I haven't discovered myself yet... 

***** for Bitanga I Princeza, Sve Će To Mila Moja Prekriti Ruzmarin Snjegovi I Šaš

**** for Ala Je Glupo Zaboravit Njen Broj, Ipak, Poželim Neko Pismo, Na Zadnjem Sjedištu Moga Auta, A Koliko Si Ih Imala Do Sad

*** for Kad Zaboraviš Juli

 

Blue Cheer ‎"The History Of Blue Cheer - Good Times Are So Hard To Find" 1968-1971(rec) 1988(comp)****

Like I said recently, there's no parthenogenesis in rock'n'roll yet there are some records that seem to come out of nowhere and contain the seeds of whole genres. It certainly appeared so in early 1968 when Blue Cheer released their first single, a cover of Eddie Cochran's "Summertime Blues". Often pinpointed as "the birth of Heavy Metal", it was certainly the loudest and heaviest noise committed to vinyl up to that time. Featuring fuzzed-up guitar, hollow and primitive drum banging, low sludgy bass, and throat-shredding vocals, it was all-out frontal attack on a scale never witnessed before - though the power trio format, distorted blues licks and that "foxy lady" intro suggest the boys had been listening to Jimi Hendrix. Were Black Sabbath listening? Probably not, but they came in second anyway! Kids loved the single, so it scaled to No.14 of the charts, even causing the long-haired band appear on national TV, scaring parents half to death. To ensure the safety of the audience and structural integrity of the TV studio they naturally had to mime to the song. If you doubt me consider this: Blue Cheer -incidentally the first American band to use the new Marshall amps- were recorded in the Guiness book of records as being the loudest band ever, a record they held to for 4 years. They lost it to Deep Purple when the latter reached 117db during a London concert that saw 3 members of the audience lose consciousness and many others to temporarily lose their hearing. Also worth noting that Blue Cheer were bona fide bad boys - any band managed by a Hells Angel and taking its name from the most potent batch of LSD on the street must have been!

Anyway, that's the track that opens this compilation, which is subtitled the history of Blue Cheer instead of Anthology or Best Of, because it takes a chronological approach and gives more or less equal coverage to the 6 albums released during the band's initial run. From the debut Vincebus Eruptum (1968) we get "Summertime Blues" and two (almost equally bombastic) tracks, blues cover "Parchment Farm" and original composition "Out Of Focus". Their second album Outsideinside (1968) was no less heavy but did display some evolution from the monolithic simplicity of the debut into something more psychedelic: "Feathers From Your Tree" adds some piano to the mix, the drum sound is much clearer, and the vocals provide more nuance, from the frantic shouts of the funky "Babylon" to the sexual brashness of blues rock "The Hunter". By the next year's New!Improved! (1969) guitarist Leigh Stephens had left to be replaced initially by Randy Holden and then by his nameshake Bruce Stephens. Each of them is heard on one side of the LP. Here we get 2 songs written and sung by Randy Holden, "Peace Of Mind" and "Fruit And Icebergs". Both are excellent bluesy hard rock reminiscent of The Cream - if Holden was (only) slightly less heavy than Stephens he made up for it with his amazing solos. 

Their next LP called simply Blue Cheer (1969) finds bassist/singer Dickie Peterson the sole original member, and another change in direction: with the addition of keyboards and harmonica, and a more reserved guitar and drums sound, they present a more commercial hard rock style a la Steppenwolf with country overtones in the case of Delaney Bramlett cover "Hello LA, Bye Bye Birmingham". Two band originals are also included ("Fool", "Saturday Freedom"). From Original Human Being (1970) we get "Good Times Are So Hard To Find" (an organ-dominated rocker reminiscent of Spencer Davis' "I'm A Man") and two gutsy Southern rock tunes, "Pilot" and the sax-heavy "Preacher". All are sung by new singer/guitarist Gary Lee Yonder who shares the album's vocal spots with Peterson and has arguably the better voice of the two. 

 

Their next -and last, for more than a decade- album Oh!Pleasant Hope (1971) was the furthest removed from their beginnings, sporting a more laid-back country-ish sound. Nothing wrong with that, at least judging from "Hiway Man" and "I'm The Light". The former has some nice organ fills, while the latter's sitar and Yoder's Jagger-esque vocals make it sound like something out of  the Stones' Satanic Majesties Request. After that, the band went into a long hiatus before being revived a few times by Peterson - always with a focus on their early proto-metal sound. Which reminds me: if you like Blue Cheer you may want to also check this Spotify playlist featuring a who is who of proto-metal pioneers. As an introduction to the band, Good Times... is pretty successful: while only their first two albums are essential, the CD's 74 minutes do not contain any duds - provided you're not looking for more of the same; this is classic rock, not heavy metal! Like all CD's of its era (released in 1988) this is a straight, unremastered, transfer from analogue. But don't let this discourage you - it sounds pretty good! Some even prefer the sound of 80's CD's since the loudness wars that followed have had a negative impact on the more discerning listeners' pleasure.

***** for Summertime Blues, Out Of Focus, Parchment Farm, The Hunter, 

**** for Feathers From Your Tree, Babylon, Peace Of Mind, Fruit And Icebergs, Fool, Saturday Freedom, Good Times Are So Hard To Find, Pilot, Preacher, Hiway Man, I'm The Light

*** for Hello L.A. Bye Bye Birmingham

Pussy "Pussy Plays" 1969(rec)**** plus Fortes Mentum "Humdiggle We Love You"1968(rec)***2009(comp)

Sometime during the late 80's or early 90's I got hold of a bootleg version of Pussy's sole LP Pussy Plays, a rare heavy psych album from the late 60's which became something of a favorite of mine. Many years later I came across an official double CD reissue including a second album by Fortes Mentum (FM); the double-sided booklet allowed the listener to put either cover on the front. FM were a studio group formed by Morgan Studio's songwriter/arranger Danny Beckerman. Initially he wasn't going to be part of the band, but apparently he got along with them so well that he joined them on piano. The others were guitarist Barry Clark, vocalist Frank Bennett, bassist Ron Regan, drummer Keith Giles, and organist Alan Ward. Disc One of this compilation contains a remastered version of the Pussy Plays album plus two demos of "Come Back June" and "We Built the Sun", attributed to Fortes Mentum but actually only featuring Beckerman and Clark, the two FM members that continued as Pussy. You can read my review of Pussy Plays on another post, so I'll start right away with Disc 2 which contains what appears to be the entire recorded output of FM: the A- and B- sides of their 3 singles, plus alternate takes and outtakes. These are not demos but complete, perfectly produced, songs. FM were a much more lightweight band compared to Pussy, the only common points being some semi-classical elements and the elaborate production. Their music is a sort of baroque pop psychedelia with quirky lyrics. Inspired partly by Victorian aesthetics and the English music hall tradition, and partly by The Beatles who had scattered similar songs among their albums of the era, some bands embraced that sound wholesale. I think Jeff Lynn's Idle Race is the most typical of the bunch, but there were others e.g. Kippington Lodge, Move, Bonzo Dog Band, early Tyrannosaurus Rex etc. FM's debut single was probably their best: A-side "Saga of a Wrinkled Man" is reminiscent of Simon Dupree's hit "Kites" while B-side "Mr. Partridge Passed Away Today" features nice harmonies, piano and the ever-present here strings. The drumming on the album is also notably good. "I Can't Go On Loving You", "I Love Loving You" and "Baby You Gotta Stay" provide pop soul similar to early Bee Gees, while some of the best moments come from their richly orchestrated ballads: "Gotta Go", "The Man Who Understands", and "I Could Have Loved Her" will remind you of The Moody Blues. The upbeat tracks, though, sound positively overproduced. "Marrakesh" has a charming exotic flavor, and "I Maybe Napoleon (Napoleon)" and "Green Mello Hill" are listenable psych pop, but the likes of "Harry The Keeper" and "Humdiggle We Love You" are too whimsical bordering on silly. All in all, Disc 2 contains 18 songs, some in multiple versions. By keeping one version of each song, one arrives at what would have had the typical duration for an LP of the era, justifying the disc's subtitle "the album that never was". If it was released at the time, it may have been talked about as a companion LP to Idle Races' Birthday Party or Keith West's Excerpts From A Teenage Opera. If that's your kind of thing, it's worth searching for this particular compilation. I personally don't think I'll be playing Disc 2 again, unlike Pussy Plays which returns to my turntable almost every year.

Pussy Come Back June*****, All of My Life*****, We Built the Sun****, Comets***, Tragedy in F Minor****, The Open Ground****, Everybody's Song****, G.E.A.B.****

Fortes Mentum Come Back June****, We Built the Sun****, Saga of a Wrinkled Man****, Mr. Partridge Passed Away Today****, I Can't Go on Loving You***, Humdiggle We Love You***, Gotta Go****, Marrakesh***, Green Mello Hill***, Baby You Gotta Stay***, I Love Loving You**, The Man That Understands**, I Maybe Napoleon (Napolean)***, I Could Have Loved Her**, Harry the Keeper**

Pussy "Pussy Plays" 1969****

I bought this LP during my garage/psychedelic obsession period when I'd indiscriminately get anything in that style if the price was right and the cover striking enough. And this cover certainly was: a psychedelic kitty with fluffy red fur and blood-dripping claws, both cute and nightmarish at the same time - not to mention the naughty band name. It proved to be one of my better instinctive purchases, too: UK psychedelia with nice melodies, a dark streak in the lyrics and organ/guitar sound, and proto-progressive sonic experiments. At the time nothing was known about the band, but now we know that the principal songwriter was one Danny Beckerman (also on piano) previously of psych-poppers Fortes Mentum and in-house producer/arranger/musician of the Morgan Sound Recording Studios. Despite the general assumption Pussy were apparently intended as a real band rather than a studio creation, they just didn't stay around long enough to leave their mark on the live circuit. The album starts (and closes) with a synthesized cat's meow leading to "Come Back June", a catchy psych-pop tune with nice Hammond organ, followed by the heavier "All Of My Life" full of fuzz guitar and gothic organ. "We Built The Sun" competes the perfect opening trio with a lighter touch: acoustic guitar, harmonies including female vocals, piano and a violin or mellotron line, all with a dreamy Floyd-ish feel. Side 1 closes with a freak-out jazz jam dominated by spacey theremin-like sounds. Far-out stuff! "Tragedy In F Minor" is a cinematic instrumental dominated by emotive piano and Spanish guitar. "The Open Ground" features heavy organ and fuzz guitar, while the melodic chorus is offset by some dark and somewhat grotesque poetry reading - which won't be to anyone's taste, but I find it all strangely appealing. "Everybody's Song" is a psychedelic hard rocker with both fast and slow passages, distorted guitar and spooked vocals. Reminds me a bit of Tomorrow, early Floyd, and similar bands of the same era. With little studio time left and only 7 songs in the bag, the band launched into a lengthy jam with powerful drumming, lots of Hammond and fuzz guitars. The superior musicianship and  production saves side 2 despite having relatively weaker tunes, while in my opinion side 1 ranks among the strongest LP sides of the period. That said, when one thinks of their competition around the same time, lack of promotion, and scarcity of live appearances, it's not too strange that a good album like Pussy Plays fell through the cracks when it was released. It was gradually re-discovered during the mid-to-late 80's, becoming a coveted collector's item commanding hundreds of £'s - which led to it getting pirated by bootleggers. The edition I have sounds pretty good for a bootleg LP but now there are other, official and even remastered, reissues around on both vinyl and CD for you to choose from. Highly recommended, especially if you belong to that niche audience that loves the psychedelic/proto-prog  sound that flourished in UK and Europe around 68/69.

***** for Come Back June, All Of My Life, The Open Ground

**** for We Built The Sun, Tragedy In F Minor, Everybody's Song, G.E.A.B.

*** for Comets