Madness "The Dangermen Sessions, Vol.1" 2005****

By now, almost every band that's been around for a while has recorded a cover album. These are rarely received with enthusiasm from fans or reviewers, so why bother? critics cite a lack of inspiration, but I think it's mostly a desire to return to the roots: every musician starts off as a fan, covering their favorite music, and finding joy in playing with like-minded comrades. By going back to the beginning, bands try to rekindle the original spark and have fun playing with each other. Whether the fans have fun listening to the result, is another matter. And yet another, whether they'll feel the urge to listen to the album repeatedly. I, for example, enjoyed listening to Deep Purple's Turning To Crime: classic tunes played with gusto by virtuoso musicians, what's not to like? But I haven't re-listened to the album since I reviewed it for this blog, and I probably won't for a long time. On the contrary, The Dangermen Sessions, vol.1 takes a trip to the (home or car) stereo rather often. Maybe because Madness bring their inherent exuberance to everything they do, and all they need is a bunch of good tunes, which in this case is a given. Most of these have been in the band's repertory from the early days when they were still known as the Invaders. Βefore recording this album they got together and performed a few secret gigs under the alias the Dangermen; the liner notes continue the charade: supposedly the (fictional) Dangermen formed in Havana in the 1960s, and have reformed after 35 years to record this album. Each member also gets a fictional identity and backstory - possibly the original idea was for the CD to be released under the Dangermen moniker but that was considered to be too uncommercial, so instead it became the 9th official LP by Madness. Although the original songs covered belong to a variety of styles, they are all performed in a rocksteady/reggae/ska beat. Because some of them, including The Supremes' "You Keep Me Hanging On" and The Kinks' "Lola", had been reggaefied before, the band based their versions on previous covers rather than the originals. Barbara Lynn's 1962 R&B hit "You'll Lose a Good Thing" and José Feliciano ballad "Rain" also sound good in their reggae-ish arrangements, but it's the classic ska tunes that entertain the most. Some, like Max Romeo's "I Chase the Devil" or Desmond Dekker's "Israelites" are overtly familiar in their original versions; while Madness don't add a new dimension to them, their spirited performances maintain the fun factor. Then there are those old Jamaican tunes that were new to me: Prince Buster's "Girl Why Don't You?", Lord Tanamo's "Taller Than You Are", Rudy Mills's "John Jones" and Edwin Astley instrumental "Dangerman". These also stick close to the originals, and Madness do a great job of introducing them to us. Undoubtfully the most entertaining song here is Lord Melody's calypso classic "Shame & Scandal". It cracks me up every time I listen to it, and I heard it here first. Since then, I've heard countless other covers, including one in Dutch and a very bad Greek one - it's not the fault of 70's pop singer Dakis, it's just that the lyrics sound really daft translated in Greek. The album closes with a faithful roots reggae take on Bob Marley's "So Much Trouble in the World"; I guess Madness rightfully thought that a collection of (mostly) Jamaican tunes wouldn't be complete without a Marley tribute, but subject-wise it's somewhat of a downer. Not the perfect closure to a CD that's really fun to listen to. By now it's been 20 years since the release The Dangermen Sessions, Vol.1 and there hasn't been any talk of a Volume 2 follow-up. Maybe we have to wait until their inspiration dries up again (Dangermen bridged a 10-year gap between albums of original material). Lord knows, there are enough tunes that are just crying for the Madness treatment. Thinking back to all the bands that have released cover albums, it's hard to say that any of them are standouts of their respective discographies, and the same is true for this one. It nevertheless makes for a quite pleasurable listening experience, even more so than many of Madness' regular LPs. In two words: satisfaction guaranteed.

**** for Shame & Scandal, I Chase the Devil, Israelites, Rain

*** for This Is Where/ Girl Why Don't You?, Taller Than You Are, You Keep Me Hanging On, Dangerman (aka High Wire), John Jones, Lola, You'll Lose a Good Thing, So Much Trouble in the World

The Walflower Complextion "The Walflower Complextion" 1966-1967(rec) 2000 (comp)***

Now here's a CD I hadn't played for more than 10 -maybe 15- years! And it might have stayed this way, if it wasn't for Random Selection. Why? Because the way I remembered it, this was as an album of covers of contemporary British Invasion hits. There was a time when I'd buy just any 60's garage album I could find, and get a kick out of every one of them. But most of them were just too similar, and were logged in my mind as "more of the same" - and that included The Walflower Complextion. I mean why listen to their cover of "Gloria" instead of two dozen or more that I have in my collection? Truth be told, now that I'm re-listening to it, there is something different about this version: an insistent guitar motiff that runs through the whole song, and handclaps used as extra percussion; little details I hadn't noticed the first time around that make this stick out as more than another Them/Shadows of Knight copy. Other songs, too, prove that this CD was worth more than the cursory listen I initially gave it. But first a few info about the band: apparently they took their (deliberately miss-spelled) name from a face cream ad. When I saw their photos, I had to laugh, too: the complexion of these pasty redhead teens is indeed not what you'd expect from a bunch of Sudamericano youths - and with good reason; these boys were the sons of yankee officials, all going to the same expat high school in Bogotá, Colombia. Their ages vary between 14 (guitarist Fred Sampson) to 17 (his drummer brother, Richard). Pat Sinex (16) plays bass in all but two tracks, and Mark Lusk (16) is the lead singer. Chris Kyzs (16) also plays guitar on disc 1. Apparently, they made a splash at local dances, enough for Colombian label Daro Records to offer them a recording contract, and even secure them a couple of TV appearances. CD 1 of this comp contains the band's eponymous debut from 1966, featuring four Rolling Stones covers: "Tell Me", "Last Time" and ballad "Blue Turns To Grey" are well played and rather faithful, albeit rather lo-fi, covers. "Empty Heart" on the other hand is embellished with stinging guitar licks; generally the guitarwork on this album is amazing given the age of these kids. That's even more evident in the four instrumentals: their own compositions "Chris's B's", "Blue Bells", "Sapphire" and Link Wray cover "Yack, The Ripper". These instrumentals went unnoticed by me the first times I listened to this album, because I'm not really partial to instrumental music, but after re-listening this CD, I'd have to say that they show where the real strength of the band lies. Of course, by the time they recorded this, surf music was out of fashion, so the focus is more on British-style R&B. Next to the Rolling Stones covers, we get their versions of The Kinks' "Long Tall Shorty", garage folk "Open Up Your Door" (The Richard and the Young Lions) and frat rocker "Hanky Panky" (Tommy James and the Shondells). The only original vocal song ("Sapphire" does have some spoken vocal, but it counts as a surf instrumental in my book) is opener "All It Is", also released as a single. It's a nice garage folk tune with pleasant harmonies, but I prefer the harder stuff myself. Only a few months after their debut, the band produced the follow up When I'm Far From You (1967). Chris Kyzs had in the meantime left, so there's only four of them pictured on the album cover. Funnily enough, their debut's cover photo also originally featured only four members: Mark Lusk joined the band at the last minute, and his photo had to be cropped-in after the fact - and not too subtly, as is obvious by looking at it. The second LP ditches the surf music, and replaces it with some Latin-inspired tunes: "El Caiman" and "Santa Marta" are covers of contemporary cumbia hits, which would have been popular with the crowds at local dances, and "La Bamba" is of course a Ritchie Valens cover. There's only one Stones tune here ("Not Fade Away"), but this time they draw inspiration from Van Morrison's Them, including four songs from Them's repertoire: "Baby Please Don't Go", "Route 66", "Gloria", and "Out Of Sight", all of which provide the highlights on Disc Two. There are two more more, less interesting, covers (Bob Dylan's "She Belongs To Me" and a lukewarm take on The Searchers' "Needles & Pins") and two originals: folk ballad "When I'm Far From You" and instrumental "From Head To Toe" (unfortunately not on a par with the ones on the previous album). The Walflower Complextion folded soon after the release of  Far From You, but left their mark on the Bogotá rock scene - as well as leaving two whole LP's behind, something that few garage bands can boast of. According to the liner notes, Fred Sampson later joined local scenesters Los Young Beats, but he's not mentioned on the notes of the LP I have (The Exciting Sound Of Los Young Beats, to be presented here sometime) so he probably didn't record with them. Apparently he's still making music; his official website introduces him as the "platinum selling songwriter" of "I Need Your Love" fame (from Boston's 1994 Walk On album), and he has recently released a Howlin' Wolf tribute album. For my part, I'm more impressed by his guitar playing skills at such a young age. The Walflower Complextion may not have been incredibly important or original, but this CD still contains some of the best garage rock to come out of South America in the 60's. Now that I've properly listened to it, I'll be sure to play it more often.

**** for Empty Heart, Blue Bells, Sapphire, Open Up Your Door, Baby Please Don't Go, Gloria

*** for All It Is, Tell Me, Chris's B's, Last Time, Hanky Panky, Blue Turns To Grey, Long Tall Shorty, Yack The Ripper, Route 66, When I'm Far From You, Not Fade Away, La Bamba, She Belongs To Me, Santa Marta, Out Of Sight

** for El Caiman, From Head To Toe, Needles & Pins

Johnny Copeland "Bringin' It All Back Home" 1985***

Johnny Copeland was part of a long line of Texas bluesmen. He grew up in Houston's Third Ward ghetto, and apprenticed as a guitarist next to the "master of the Telecaster" Albert Collins. Who was in turn introduced to the guitar at an early age by his cousin Sam "Lightnin'" Hopkins. Who learnt his craft as a child by accompanying Blind Lemon Jefferson on guitar at informal church gatherings. Blind Lemon's own teacher is not recorded - after all we are now talking about the dawn of the gramophone age. But I'm sure that if could follow that line down to its beginning, we'd inevitably arrive to Africa. So, when Copeland finally became the first American bluesman to record an album in that continent, a name like Bringin' It All Back Home made complete sense. By that time, Copeland had spent more than 3 decades playing the blues, garnering a reputation as a performer in the chitlin' circuit, but remaining unnoticed by mainstream audiences until he moved to New York and signed with folk label Rounder Records in the early 80's. I don't know what prompted him to tour the Ivory Coast, but he obviously found some kindred spirits there who introduced him to the prevailing local styles, while he in turn introduced them to electric blues. As he said in a interview at the time "I could tell the roots of the blues comes from there. They mostly understood the Delta Blues. They was expecting it to be all slow blues. But we surprised them and had the kids up dancin' on the stage. We were more uplifting than the Delta Blues they'd heard". Opener "Kasavubu" is certainly an uplifting tune, full of Afro-Cuban dance rhythms and funky sax. "The Jungle" is a more typical R&B piece, featuring some fine electric guitar. "Ngoto" is a cover of a local hit by Orchestre Poly-Rythmo of Benin, embellished with funky horns and stinging blues licks. Side 1 closes with an excerpt of "Djeli, Djeli Blues", an instrumental by the Guinean kora master Djeli Mousa Diawara. For those not familiar with the instrument, the kora is a stringed instrument that is exclusive to West Africa. It typically has 21 strings, each of which plays a different note. At the right hands, it produces gorgeous arpeggios, similar to playing flamenco on a harp - if that makes sense. As this was way before "world music" came into fashion, Copeland must have heard it for the first time during his tour of the region, and was so enchanted by its sound that he asked Djeli Mousa to be a guest at his record. For some reason, the recording was cut in two: part one fades out at the end of Side 1, while part two opens Side 2. It's then followed by "Abidjan", a funky instrumental with a rhumba beat. Back to more familiar sounds, "Bozalimalamu" and "Same Thing" are tasteful electric blues, while the album closes with an interesting reggae-ish instrumental called "Conakry", combining masterful electric guitar and some kind of African percussion that sounds like a slightly stoned woodpecker pecking on wood. All in all, Bringin' It All Back Home is mostly notable as an interesting experiment. Nowadays, there are all kinds of collaborative albums by African and Western musicians, but that all begun after the prominent Paul Simon collaboration with South African musicians on Graceland (1986). Compared to that, Bringin' It All Back Home went relatively unnoticed, and largely unheralded for its innovation. Truth be told, the mixing of styles isn't always successful; most songs are either blues with a few African instruments, or African music with jazz and funk touches. Rarely, the two styles combine to produce something genuinely new. The result is nevertheless never less than enjoyable, thanks to the musicians' playing. While the African instruments add the necessary color, Copeland's guitar is the star, while special mention must be made to the saxophonists - whether the plaudits should be directed to alto sax Koffi Assalé or tenor sax Bert McGowan (or both) I don't know; to my shame (well, not really shame, more like slight embarrassment) I can't always tell the difference between the sound of the two instruments; anyway, there's some very cool sax playing involved. Johnny Copeland would go on to gain increasing recognition, including a Grammy award for a collaborative album with his mentor Albert Collins and (then) rising star Robert Cray. Unfortunately, the congenital heart condition which he suffered from, finally claimed his life just as he hit 60. But that line we talked about, the line which started in Africa and has included so many blues giants, is still going strong: his daughter Shemekia is undeniably one of the best female blues singers and guitarists that this century has produced so far.

**** for Kasavubu, Abidjan, Conakry

*** for The Jungle, Ngote, Djeli, Djeli Blues, Bozalimalamu, Same Thing

Fleetwood Mac "Fleetwood Mac Live" 1980****

Fleetwood Mac are one of the bands I regret most having missed out seeing live; for one reason or another I was not able to see them in the few times they visited Holland in the last 15 years - and, after Christine McVie's death and Lindsey Buckingham's estrangement from the rest, it seems that I'll never get to tick that particular box. Closest I'll get to, is one of their live albums; basically Live and 1997's The Dance. Fleetwood Mac Live was the band's first live release after 13 years and about as many personnel changes. Fleetwood Mac, who had started out as a pure blues band, had lost its leader Peter Green to LSD and religious cults in 1970, and staggered aimlessly for a while, until they incorporated the American singer/songwriter duo, and real-life couple, of Buckingham/Nicks. With founding members Mick Fleetwood (drums) and John Mac Vie (bass) augmented by a trio of talented singer/songwriters (Stevie Nicks on vocals, Lindsey Buckingham guitar and vocals, and Christine Mac Vie on piano and vocals), they finally hit their stride, producing three artistically and commercially successful albums in quick succession: Fleetwood Mac (1975), the mega-selling Rumours (1977), and more experimental double LP Tusk (1979). With all those hits under their belt, the time was right to release a live album; after all this was the golden era of the double live album: Kiss Alive, Frampton Comes Alive, Cheap Trick At Budokan sold spectacularly better than their studio predecessors, and acted as springboards to unprecedented commercial success for the respective bands. Slightly less influential then these, Live captures Fleetwood Mac at their creative apogee, sports a hit-laden setlist and excellent performances. But, on the downside, it fails to convey the excitement of a real concert; there's very little between-song banter, and the recordings come from far too diverse sources: clubs, arenas, soundchecks and rehearsals. Which makes it all sound more like a collection of unrelated live recordings rather than a cohesive album. The band is really tight and professional, so the performances still sound slick (thanks presumably to a fair amount of overdubbing), albeit less glossy than the studio versions. So if you always felt that their studio albums were just a bit too clean, you might enjoy this LP better. What hit me immediately when I first listened to this, is how dominant Buckingham's guitar is, at least compared to the studio versions. I never rated him highly as an instrumentalist, but here he really lets his inner guitar hero shine: notably on Peter Green-era hard rocker "Oh Well", but also on opener "Monday Morning", and on elongated versions of "I'm So Afraid" and the punk/new wave-y "Not That Funny" from Tusk. The latter's yelps and howls are also repeated during the intro to another of his songs "Go Your Own Way", which sounds refreshingly rugged and quite different to the polished version in Rumours. "Don't Let Me Down Again" (from the couple's pre-Mac 1973 LP Buckingham Nicks) sounds fantastic re-imagined as a rowdy Southern rocker. It's fair to say that the aforementioned tracks, which feature Buckingham in lead vocals, are also the wildest and least commercial-sounding ones on this LP. Christine Mac Vie handles the more folk/blues numbers, including ballads "Over & Over", "One More Night", upbeat "Over My Head", country-ish "Say You Love Me", and of course what is arguably her best song "Don't Stop", which here also features some fine blues guitar by Buckingham. Moving on to the most pop-oriented of the band's singers, Stevie Nicks' enchanting voice is on the forefront on her ethereal hits "Dreams", "Sara", "Landslide", and a passionate performance of "Rhiannon". Additionally, she brings a new song called "Fireflies" - a rather upbeat number which, like most of the songs on Rumours, mines the rich dramatic seam provided by the interpersonal relationships within the band. Fleetwood Mac Live closes with Beach Boys cover "Farmer's Daughter", a wonderful showcase for the band's harmonies. Nicks' and McVie's vocals are amazing throughout, while Lindsey's are rougher, which of course he makes up for with his excellent guitar playing. John Mac Vie and Mick Fleetwood are the unsung heroes of the group (although they gave their names to it), but their performance here is also commendable - especially Fleetwood, his drumming on "Oh Well" is one of the album's highlights. Now, my own version of Fleetwood Mac Live is the original double CD release from 1988, but this has now been surpassed by a triple-CD Deluxe Edition featuring 15 more songs stemming from the same period, and superior remastered sound. In conclusion, there are some iconic (usually double) live classic rock albums that capture the artists' essence better than any of their studio LPs, and considered to be essential listening, e.g. The Allman Brothers' At Fillmore East, Kiss Alive!, Deep Purple's Made in Japan, Thin Lizzy's Live and Dangerous, etc. Fleetwood Mac Live doesn't quite belong in the same category, but it's a damn fine live document of the band in their prime, and well worth owning for any fan.

***** for Dreams, Rhiannon, Don't Stop

**** for Say You Love Me, Sara, Not That Funny, Landslide, Fireflies, Over My Head, Don't Let Me Down Again, Go Your Own Way, I'm So Afraid

*** for Monday Morning, Oh Well, Over & Over, Never Going Back Again, One More Night, Farmer's Daughter

The Alpha Band ''Interviews" 1976-78(rec)1988(comp)***

When I saw this LP at the bargain bin in my neighborhood record shop, I initially thought it was an album of actual interviews. There are LPs out there only containing spoken word interviews, but these usually concern more popular artists, people like The Beatles, Doors, Nirvana etc. The Alpha Band aren't really in the same league, which made me curious enough to give it another look - and sure enough, it wasn't a spoken word album at all, but a best-of compilation. Now, all I knew about The Alpha Band was that T Bone Burnett was a member, but that was enough. I mean, he's involved in so many great albums in my collection, either as a musician or -more often- as producer. Surely his own records should also be worth listening? Not that The Alpha Band was a personal vehicle for Burnett - Steven Soles has an equal share in vocals, guitar, and songwriting, while David Mansfield's playing on violin, mandolin, and other instruments is integral to the group's sound. All three of them were members of Bob Dylan's legendary Rollin' Thunder Revue. Apparently, their chemistry was so strong that they elected to keep playing together even after the tour was over. Their eponymous debut The Alpha Band (1976) was recorded and released immediately after the tour ended, and was extremely well-received - by critics and music biz insiders, at least. To my ears, it sounds like an updated take on The Band's folk rock, incorporating power pop and new wave influences - I hear similarities to Elvis Costello and Tom Petty, especially in the first tracks ("Interviews", "Cheap Perfume", "Ten Figures"). "The Dogs" and "Last Chance To Dance" are more country-oriented - the latter features some inspired violin playing, too. From the second album Spark In The Dark (1977) we get "East Of East" (co-written, same as many other Alpha Band songs, by Bobby Neuwirth), electric blues "Spark In The Dark" and Dylan cover "You Angel You". The latter is performed in a Buddy Holly-like rockabilly style, and features one Ringo Starr on drums. Adopting a more commercial sound didn't improve sales, and neither did the famous guests - which may be the reason that their next album, The Statue Makers of Hollywood (1978) was to be their last. There's a strong religious theme to this one; actually, the only song that hits the mark for me is "Mighty Man", which sports a big, Cinematic, sound, and reminds me of the better tracks on Dylan's "Christian" albums from the same period. "Back In My Baby's Arms Again" is a repentant/moralistic country ballad, and "Rich Man" an overlong piece whose only saving grace is Mansfield's mandolin playing. In general, The Alpha Band display great craft in their compositions, playing, and orchestrations. For some reason, they were never as successful as other bands with a similar sound (Doobie Brothers, America, Bread etc.) but they certainly were their equals. Burnett, Soles, and David Mansfield went out of the limelight, producing and playing on other people's records, working on soundtracks, and releasing the odd, low-key, solo album. Their legacy as The Alpha Band is well worth discovering, and this compilation is a good place to start.

**** for The Dogs, Last Chance To Dance, You Angel You, Mighty Man

*** for Interviews, Cheap Perfume, Ten Figures, East Of East, Spark In The Dark, Rich Man, Back In My Baby's Arms Again