Various "Velvet Revolutions:Psychedelic Rock From The Eastern Bloc 1968-1973" 2013(comp)**

To people who grew up listening to vinyl, like I did, cover art is an important part of a record. At a time before internet when we only had state radio in Greece which seldom played rock music, we relied a lot on the cover to figure out how the music must have sounded: how did the band look on it? what kind of instruments they used? which font did they choose? was the cover funny? serious? sexy? all that played a role. My first record was Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow. I bought it because I'd heard "Temple Of The King", but above all I think because of the cover: a guitar castle out of fairy tales, what more could a 14-year old fantasy fan ask? During the CD era, covers shrinked and became less impressive but there was still a lot to be gathered by looking at them. I'm only starting my review with this because I'm looking at this CD cover and wondering how much ignorance has gone into it, and whether this can affect the way I feel about the album. Let's start with the title: "Velvet Revolution" refers to the regime change (from Communism to Western-style democracy) in Czechoslovakia in '89. Which means that the compilers missed the mark by only 20 years. Many of the bands here do come from Czechoslovakia but that's probably just a happy coincidence. I'd think they had confused the Velvet Revolution with the Prague Spring (1968) but I don't want to give them too much credit. That would imply they have at least some clue. Next, to the one that really irks me: the huge CCCP  means of course that the CD contains music from the Soviet Union. Right? I mean you don't put a huge USA on an album containing music from Guatemala - or Canada, for that matter. Nooo...apparently you do. Just to throw potential buyers off. To amplify the message they use a pseudo-Cyrillic font that renders the band names virtually unreadable. Why? Cyrillic is used mainly in Russia, Bulgaria and Serbia. You feature bands from Czechoslovakia, Hungary, East Germany and Poland. These countries all use the Latin alphabet. Do you just want to get on my nerves by making me strain my eyes to decipher your bullshit font? But then I realized: the compilers apparently believe that the Eastern Bloc was a single country (capital:Moscow) that existed in an unspecified time and place. That explains why the cover features World War II bombers (again, 25 years off the mark) and a Soviet soldier - because this is what eveyrone wore in those countries, right? uniforms and hats with red stars on them. Ah, and according to discogs, the tracklist on the back has no less than 4 spelling mistakes. Now, why am I not surprised? Do you know how much skill it takes to copy a title from a record label? At least the booklet seems to have been written by a different person, someone who can actually tell Poland from Mongolia.

Now let us go to the music, starting with the Hungarian bands: Opener "Visz A Vonat" by Illés is groovy, organ-heavy, soul-rock with female vocals. A second song by the same band is completely different, featuring male vocals and a folk sound akin to Incredible String Band. Another (as Illes Zenckar) has some nice hard rock guitar but is otherwise unimpressive. Neoton is also represented with 3 tracks: hard rockers "A Haz" (Deep Purple-influenced) and "Nehez Fiuk" (Hendrix-like) and ballad "Gyere Alom". Moving on to Czechoslovakia, "18 Minut" by Juventus starts off like typical 60's pop but turns into a freakout with the singer yelling and band attacking their istruments hard. Olympic were a hugely popular band (nicknamed The Czech Beatles). "Tobogan" is a Yardbirds-like rocker and "Ikarus Blues" reminds me of Traffic circa 1968 - including a Chris Wood-like flute solo. Blue Effect were a Matadors offshoot (We'll talk about the Matadors in another post). The Effect's "White Hair" has some nice guitar but otherwise sounds like an outtake from the musical Hair. Of the Polish bands, Czerwono Czarni offer their own take on The Electric Prunes' Mass in F Minor with the instrumental "Kyrie". No To Co's "Saturday To Sunday" is English language flower pop. The band even made an attempt for an international career by releasing a record at the UK, but failed to get noticed. By "international" I mean in the West. Most of these bands did have international careers within the confines of the "Eastern Bloc". Breakout's "We Have Told All" (sung in Polish, despite the English title) sounds a lot like Jullie Driscoll circa 1968-69. Rounding the compilation up, there are some East German numbers. East Germany had a great rock scene, evidence of which is the fantastic hard rock of Scirroco Combo (think Atomic Rooster), Joco Dev Sextett (Black Sabbath without the ultra heavy riffs) and Electra Combo (rather progish -  Jethro Tull meet Cream?). On the whole this compilation helps to dispel the myth that Eastern Europe was this backwards place where rock was unknown or banned. Despite their difficulties in dealing with the state, rock bands flourished and produced music at least equal to the one made on the other side of the Continent. Musically, this is probably worth 3,5 stars but I'm subtracting 1,5* because of the disrespectful cover art presenting all these countries as if they were nothing more than Russian provinces.

**** for Visz A Vonat (Illés), Wege Mit Gutem Namen (Scirroco Combo), Stapellauf (Joco Dev Sextett)

*** for 18 Minut (Juventus), Tobogan (Olympic), Du Bist Mir Nah (Joco Dev Sextett), The Story Of M (Illés), Ikarus Blues (Olympic), Kyrie (Czerwono Czarni), Saturday To Sunday (No To Co), We Have Told All (Breakout), Über Feuer (Electra Combo), Nehez Fiuk (Neoton)

** for A Haz (Neoton), Gyere Alom (Neoton), Menekilles (Illes Zenckar), White Hair (Blue Effect)

Eric Burdon "Power Company" 1983**

I used to have this LP, but I sold it during the great vinyl purge. Seeing it recently at a used records store brought a surge of nostalgia and I went and bought it again. I became a big Burdon fan since my late teens, after seeing him give a passionate performance at Rodon Club, Athens, back in '88 - one of my first rock concerts. He was no haughty rock star, more like a working musician earning his living by shouting the blues at the top of his lungs night after night, club after club. Which is, I guess, the way his black idols lived, back in the 50's and 60's. Among his peers in the British blues boom, Eric Burdon alone turned out to be a true bluesman, as opposed to someone just singing blues music. Whether he's playing blues, hard rock, funk or whatever, he brings that gritty intensity to the table. This album has The Voice, and a decent band backing him up. What it's missing is, as was often the case with Burdon's albums of that period, the songs. With the exception of "Power Company" a potent blue-collar R&B anthem in the vein of The Animals' "We Gotta Get Out Of This Place" and yet another version of "House Of The Rising Sun". Different than his other recordings of the song, solo or with The Animals, this one starts with a long acapella intro, followed by the familiar arpeggio and a short electric solo. It doesn't matter which way he sings it, the man may not have written the song but he sure owns it. Unfortunately, Burdon sings, screams, growls and raps his way through the rest of the album without managing to produce anything else memorable. Except if you count the profanity on heavy R&B "Who Gives A Fuck". The sinister "Sweet Blood Call" and "Devil's Daughter" have a more swampy feel, while "Do You Feel It" is a Status Quo-like boogie. "You Can't Kill my Spirit" and the rockabilly-ish "Comeback" feature some nice barroom piano, and "Wicked Man" and "Heart Attack" are closer to hard rock. This run-of-the-mill bluesy hard rock nature of the album reminded me why I chose to part with it in the first place. It's worth mentioning that about half of the album is recorded live and that it's apparently tied to a film project called Comeback, starring Eric Burdon in the role of a fading rock star making a comeback in the music scene - a bit autobiographic it seems: at the time Burdon retained a following in Holland and Germany, but couldn't get arrested anywhere else. Other English R&B singers of his generation were selling millions of records in the 80's, but to be honest, I prefer even a rough and unexceptional gutsy album like Power Company to any sterile big budget album by the Claptons and Rod Stewarts of that time.

**** for Power Company, House of the Rising Sun

*** for You Can't Kill my Spirit, Do You Feel It, Wicked Man, Sweet Blood Call, Comeback

** for Devil's Daughter, Heart Attack, Who Gives a Fuck

Eric Clapton "Forever Man" 1983-2014(rec) 2015(comp)****

It is a clear sign of the depreciation of the CD as a medium, that a well-curated compilation of a major artist was given away free with a Greek weekly newspaper immediately after its release. On the one hand this doesn't bode well for the value of my own collection (mostly CD's, following the great vinyl purge) on the other hand it was a cheap way to delve into the post-classic Clapton period, which is under-represented in my collection. The first "Studio" disc here does a good job of cherry-picking tracks from 16 (if I'm counting correctly) albums spanning a period of 31 years. Even so, there's little that's essential. Sure he had hits in the 80's, but they were mostly commercial pop with R&B leanings, comparable to what Robert Palmer or Joe Cocker did in the same period. "Forever Man" is probably the best of them while "I've Got a Rock N Roll Heart", "Pretending" and "Bad Love" are also typical of this style. "It's In The Way That You Use It" is more of the same, but I set it apart because of its use on The Color Of Money movie (that Martin Scorsese has a great taste in music). His 90's recordings are more interesting, as that decade found him clean and sober for the first time after a long while, even after fate dealt him a cruel hand: losing his 4-year-old only son in an accident, a tragedy that inspired his best-selling ballad "Tears In Heaven". Another -bittersweet- ballad, about their last father-and-son exit, was "Circus" while more slow songs from the same period include "Change The World" and "My Father's Eyes" - the latter not from personal experience: Clapton never knew his father who disappeared after leaving his teenage mother pregnant. He was subsequently raised by his grandparents, and was initially told that his mother was an older sister. With such a back-story, is it surprising he ended up playing the blues for a living? And it's on the blues covers that Clapton shines: songs like "Motherless Child" from the 1994 collection From The Cradle and "Little Queen Of Spades" from the 2004 Robert Johnson tribute Me And Mister Johnson, or the B.B.King duet "Riding With The King". More 00's recordings include the bluesy "Got You On My Mind" and "Travelin' Alone", his cover of J.J.Cale's "Call Me The Breeze", and "Anyway The Wind Blows" from their collaborative album Road To Escondido (2006). Rounding up the more recent recordings are the reggae-ish "Revolution" (2005) and soul rocker "Gotta Get Over" (2014) featuring Chaka Khan. Rich as Disc One is, though, it still doesn't justify the subtitle "Best Of Eric Clapton". That's where Disc Two comes into play: while the recordings come from the same period, they include live versions of his best 60's and 70's hits: "Badge", "Sunshine Of Your Love" and "White Room" from the Cream period (from 1991's 24 Nights), an acoustic version of Derek & The Domino's "Layla" which went on to become a huge hit, just like its parent album Unplugged (1992), "Presence Of The Lord" of his Blind Faith days, taken from Live from Madison Square Garden with Steve Winwood (2009), and great performances of solo hits "Cocaine" and "Wonderful Tonight". Unexpected treats include the funky Buddy Miles cover "Them Changes" from the aforemetioned collaboration with Steve Winwood, and an earnest cover of "Over the Rainbow" from The Wizzard Of Oz. The rest of the disc is comprised of blues covers ranging from exciting to nothing less than workmanlike. Say what you will about the man, he can really lay it down live..

STUDIO DISC
**** for Anyway The Wind Blows, Motherless Child, Little Queen Of Spades, Tears In Heaven, Call Me The Breeze, Forever Man, Riding With The King, It's In The Way That You Use It, Got You On My Mind

*** for Gotta Get Over, I've Got A Rock'n Roll Heart, My Father's Eyes, Pretending, Change The World, Circus, Travelin' Alone, Revolution

** for Bad Love, Behind The Mask

LIVE DISC
***** for Wonderful Tonight, Cocaine, Layla (Unplugged)

**** for Sunshine Of Your Love, White Room, Worried Life Blues, Nobody Knows You When You're Down And Out (Unplugged), Them Changes, Goin' Down Slow

*** for Badge, Walkin' Blues (Unplugged), Presence Of The Lord, Hoochie Coochie Man, Over The Rainbow

David Bowie "Let's Dance" 1983***

I've been reading MOJO's account of the recording of Bowie's "Let's Dance" album and decided to take the old vinyl out for a spin. To me it was always Bowie's commercial pop LP: good for its time but not on a par with Ziggy Stardust. Re-listening to it now, it's obviously not as simple as that. Its elegant disco/funk rhythm was the obvious selling point, courtesy of the producer Nile Rogers (of Chic fame). Bowie approached him with a return to commercial hits in mind, and Nile successfully worked his magic to that effect. It's not surprising that I wasn't drawn to it back in the 80's. I wasn't above dancing as a teen, but I'd much rather play air guitar. If I had listened more carefully I might have marvelled at the restrained and tasteful licks by Stevie Ray Vaughan. He wasn't a guitar god then, just a talented young player singled out by Bowie at the Montreux jazz festival. But he injects just the right amount of rock into the proceedings to keep it from being a straight disco/new wave album - just like Eddie Van Halen did with Michael Jackson's "Thriller", the album that stole that year's Grammy right under Bowie's nose. SRV cuts especially loose on "Cat People (Putting Out Fire)", which is the saving grace of this particular version. 

Otherwise, the Giorgio Moroder-produced original from the Cat People soundtrack is a much stronger performance with a superior vocal. Which reminds me I've got to see the movie again and compare it to the film-noir 1942 original. Another feature of Let's Dance that I enjoyed more this time around is its jazzy saxophone, so prominent on tracks like opener "Modern Love" - as well as the doo-wop backing vocals. "China Girl" was a Bowie-Iggy Pop co-write from Iggy's '77 album The Idiot. Rodger's ultra-pop sheen took the single to no.2 at UK and no.10 at USA, but Iggy's performance is unsurpassed. "Let's Dance" has Rodgers' signature all over it. Apparently he took a "folky" demo and turned it into a discotheque staple. Being more familiar with the 7' single version, I found the one on the LP unnecessarily long. "Without You" is an elegant romantic tune and sounds curiously like a Roxy Music pastiche. With all four of the album's singles crammed on side one, side two is a more hodge-podge affair with the world music-influenced "Ricochet", throwaway disco of "Shake It", and a new wave cover of Metro's "Criminal World". I'm grateful for the alternative version of "Cat People" (I love both of them) but I'm sure it was recorded as a filler. Anyway, Let's Dance achieved its purpose to make Bowie a star again even though nowadays it isn't spoken of with the reverence everyone reserves for his earlier albums. It took a magazine article for me to really hear the R&B roots under the outdated disco production and re-appreciate it, but even so it's not among my favourite Bowie LP's.

***** for Cat People (Putting out Fire) 

**** for Modern Love,  China Girl, Let's Dance 

*** for Without You, Ricochet, Criminal World

** for Shake It

The Twinkle Stars ‎"Trotyl" 1973****

I bought this LP at a record bazaar. It was a case of buy-3-get-1-free and I couldn't find anything else I really wanted in that record stack. I think I mostly chose it because I thought the album cover was inadvertently funny. But, to be honest, I had once more gambled with an unknown Surinamese album and it paid off. You can read about it here, along with some background info on that lesser-known South African country. This LP turned out to be even better than the Johnny Miranda one. It is, likewise, an irresistably danceable mix of Caribbean and South American styles, and mostly sung in that queer Surinamese dialect comprised of English, Dutch and Portuguese elements. The singing style is typical of Kawina, Surinam's 19th century slave music where the call-and-response gospel-like vocals are accompanied by the rhythmical beating of the skratjie drum. This evolved into Kaseko, a popular dance music genre mixing the local kawina style with influences from Caribbean Calypso and New Orleans Jazz. Twinkle Stars' leader Oscar Harris emmigrated to The Netherlands in '63 and formed the band together with American soul singer Billy Jones and members of the large Surinamese community in '65.

They had some hits prior to this, which was apparently his last recording with the band before following a successful solo pop career. He sings lead vocal on "Singerman" (together with Jones, who also sings on the gospel-style "Jerusalem"), "Mina Mina" and "Me Call'am Said No". The latter has a starker African style, just drums and vocals. With the exception of the gently chugging reggae of lead single "Singerman", the rest of the album is dominated by fast afro-cuban rhythms and jovial horn blasts. "Loekoe Fa Den Boi E Danzie" is another highlight, in a less frantic cha cha cha beat. "If you Wanna See Me" is Tito Puente-meets-Harry-Belafonte pastiche, while the rest is salsa-like dance music with the occasional jazz piano flourish. An excellent collection of Latin dance music, this Dutch-made LP has apparently been reissued only once in vinyl (Spain, in '77) and never on CD. Original copies aren't hard to find, so if you like world music and would like to discover a new and interesting variety of it, hurry up! Also, if you like what you hear you may be interested to learn that there is an Oscar Harris tribute concert planned for October 6 at Rotterdam's Theater Zuidplein. The 75-year old singer will, of course, be there, together with younger artists who want to celebrate his legacy.

**** for Singerman, Mi Matie Wefie, Loekoe Fa Den Boi E Danzie, Jerusalem, Mina Mina, Koele Koele

*** for Kaaiman, If You Wanna See Me, Poeroe Voetoe, Me Call'am Said No, Gongo Té

Violent Femmes "We Can Do Anything" 2016***

Just like the previous couple years, September finds me at my favourite vacation spot, Antiparos island. I've written about it before, and even included some tips for visitors. There is a multitude of islands in Greece, all of them interesting and each with its own distinct character. I'm always trying to visit a new one every summer but there's also something soothing about visiting a beloved old haunt. I was disappointed to find that the open air cinema hasn't opened this year, but other than that everything was as I left it. I know by now in which beach to swim in the morning, in the afternoon or on a windy day, and which dish is the best in each tavern. I'm told it was extremely crowded during July and early August, even now at the end of the touristic season it's far busier than it was a few years ago - what was once a quiet fishing village is now a popular tourist destination, an international jet-set attraction even. Someone like Tom Hanks or Mick Jagger will cause a few heads to turn but that's about it, the locals have gotten used to celebrities. Yesterday there was an open invitation to join a big party/film shooting at a beach bar. Of course we went along, and it was fun to dance and drink while acting as an (unpaid) film extra. I'm really looking forward to the release of the movie - a romantic feelgood flick, judging by what I witnessed. I searched my rapidly dwindling drafts folder for a suitably party-like record to present in the aftermath, and came up with the latest Violent Femmes  - a bit more "alternative" than yesterday's music, but good fun nevertheless.
I own a dozen of V.F. albums, almost their complete output. Not because they're consistently great, but because since I was a teenager I've always had fun dancing to their early records at parties, clubs or in my room. Most of all for their concerts, never short of energy of good vibes. I saw them a few times in Athens during the 90's and 00's but the one I remember most vividly was in Lycabettus ('94 I think) with singer Gordon Gano speaking Greek (apparently he had recently spent some time vacationing and picked up enough to make conversation) and getting a great response from the crowd. At some point he said "Oh, vrehi (Oh no it's raining)" and then corrected himself "Ohi, psihalizei (no, it's drizzling)" at which point the theater shook with laughter and applause. I also remember the bassist (Brian Ritchie) playing rather good Greek bouzouki on a couple of songs, and the drummer (Victor De Lorenzo) always playing standing up. I went to one of their concerts with a metalhead friend of mine who liked the band's energy and he couldn't believe that all this ruckus was just acoustic guitar, bass and a tiny drum set hit by an upright drummer. De Lorenzo is regretfully absent in this, their latest and first post-reunion LP, but that doesn't seem to influence their sound much. If anything, it is the closest they've sounded to their historic debut for some time: basic rock'n'roll with folk/country overtones, earnest wide-eyed singing and kooky lyrics. Opener "Memory" is as typical Femmes as it gets, with its loud acoustic bass, simple upbeat melody, and funny, deceptively silly, text. It's followed by probably their most idiosyncratic song here "I Could Be Anything", a polka/country story right out of the Shrek universe, about an underdog turned dragon-slaying hero. "Holy Ghost" is a glam folk/gospel hybrid, "What You Really Mean" a heartfelt ballad, and "Issues" a hilarious take on an all-too-common relationship problem: the guy loves his girlfriend but can't stand her constant ranting. From the doo-wop-ish "Untrue Love" to country-ish "I'm Not Done", 60's teenage pop with a dark lyrical twist of "Big Car" and beyond, everything is true-to-form Violent Femmes, so if you're a fan you won't be disappointed. If, however, you're not already a fan this isn't the place to start: anything up to (and including) 1991's American Music is prime Femmes, everything else has its moments but is ultimately inessential. P.S. the cover features a drawing of the band by fellow musician Kevin Hearn. Everybody else is recognisable but he drew Gano a bit yellower than he is... with longer neck and spots on his back... not a good likeness, really, he looks more like a spotty humpless camel. 

**** for Memory, Holy Ghost

*** for I Could Be Anything, Issues, What You Really Mean, Untrue Love, Big Car

** for Foothills, Travelling Solves Everything, I'm Not Done

The Isley Brothers "3+3" 1973*****

Here I am at the second stop of my vacation, the island of Sifnos. In addition to its lovely beaches the island is renown in Greece for two other things: handmade earthenware and cooking. Potters' wheels work overtime to make everything from clay toys to cooking vessels to plant pots. Some are ornate, but mostly it's glazed red clay with simple designs. Not too different actually from the 3-thousand year old household items one can see at small Greek museums. Ideal for the (electric or, better yet, wood) oven: a lot of Sifnian dishes owe their tastiness to the slow and even cooking ensured by the use of the local pots. Try the lamb or goat mastelo, chickpeas revithada or giouvetsi - the latter is not a typical Sifnian dish, but it's best baked in this type of earthenware. Interesting tidbit, Sifnos is also home to Nikolaos Tselementes, Greece's most influential chef and writer of the first ever Greek cookbook. Such was his success that his name has become a synonym for the word cookbook. I remember that a popular book at the shady places I'd visit as a youngster was "O Tselementes tou Anarchikou", a connection I'm sure the old chef wouldn't be too proud of. Nowadays I'm more prone to read stuff like 1001 Records You Must Hear Before You Die...

...which introduced me to this CD. I know I'm only supposed to listen them all, not buy them, but if I find one for a good price I often indulge. I thought I knew what this was about: those silky sweet soul songs they made in the 70's, what did they call it, the Philly Sound? Too rich for my taste, I preferred their early 60's R&B like "Twist And Shout" or "Nobody But Me", a song initially ignored which later became a garage rock classic. When I slipped the CD in the stereo, there was instant recognition. Oh yeah "That Lady", their big hit, I've heard it before. But no... I must have been thinking of either the single version or the 1960's one which was modelled on The Impressions' sound. I would have remembered that face melting electric guitar which puts most white rock guitarists to shame. Who was that? Apparently younger brother Ernie Isley (then 21) appeared for the first time as a fully formed badass guitarist of the Hendrix school. Hendrix had incidentally played guitar for the Isleys before he became famous, appearing in a couple of singles and touring the club circuit with them circa 1964. Back then, the band consisted of the three vocalists (O'Kelly Jr., Rudolph, and Ronald Isley). On this album they're joined by younger brothers Ernie and Marvin Isley on  guitar and bass, and brother-in-law Chris Jasper on keyboards - hence the "3+3" title. Amazingly they're all real brothers, unlike The Walker Brothers or The Ramones. Well this version of "That Lady" does have the sweet silky vocals and funk beat I associate with Philly Soul, but also a hint of Latin, and fantastic guitar melding Santana and Hendrix influences. "Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight" is an emotive blues ballad originally written by folkie James Taylor. Appropriating white folk and pop music and making it their own is a trick the Isleys would often employ - I call it doing a reverse Elvis Presley. Here they repeat it with funkyfied versions of "Sunshine Go Away Today" (orig. Jonathan Edwards) and "Listen to the Music" (by The Doobie Brothers). Ernie shines throughout the album but Chris Jasper's keyboards are an equally important addition. He uses a lot of analogue synthesizers giving the record a feel similar to the classic Stevie Wonder LP's of the era."Summer Breeze" was a big hit for Californian duo Seals and Crofts, but The Isleys' version wins hands down: vocals, instrumentation, solos, you name it, they just kick ass... Their original compositions are also very strong: you could say mid-tempo single "What It Comes Down To" and "If You Were There" have a pre-disco sound, but they're way better than that implies. Ballads "You Walk Your Way" and "The Highways of My Life" feature luscious vocal harmonies, the latter being a great showcase for Jasper who adds a long piano intro and a crucial synthesizer solo. Not a weak song in the bunch! The CD adds a live version of "That Lady". Shorter and sped-up, with Latin percussion and up-front guitar from the beginning, it sounds more like Santana than like any funk artist I can name. I rarely get surprised and amazed by new findings any more, but this one unexpectedly shot up to my All-Time-Top 5 Soul albums list. I just can't believe it took me so long to discover it.

***** for That Lady Parts 1 & 2, Sunshine (Go Away Today), Summer Breeze

**** for Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight, Listen to the Music, What It Comes Down, The Highways of My Life, That Lady (Live)

*** for If You Were There, You  Walk Your Way