Candy Dulfer "Sax-A-Go-Go" 1993**

When I first came to the Netherlands, I had a conversation with a young lady who told me she played the saxophone. I surprised her by telling her that it's a rare instrument for a woman to play. She believed it to be a rather feminine instrument. I guess that's a testament to Candy Dulfer's success in her native land: that she familiarised everyone with the image of a beautiful young woman playing an instrument previously associated with older black guys, and made it look sexy. Not that black jazz musicians can't be sexy to some people, but for most of us Candy is an infinitely preferable sight. Her father Hans Dulfer is a renowned sax player who began teaching Candy the basics of the instrument at the age of 6. Her debut "Saxuality" in 1990 sold very well and was nominated for the Grammy award. Although still only 20 years old, she soon began performing and recording with giants of the music world such as Van Morrison, Pink Floyd and Prince. This follow up plays up her R&B/Hip Hop influences and is obviously aimed at the pop charts rather than the jazz connoisseurs. The slick production values and use of synths and drum machines may have served their purpose at the time but sound dated today. Candy's playing, on the other hand, is technically faultless - maybe a bit too safe and sometimes almost bland. But it is what it is -no Miles Davis cool genius or John Coltrane passion but a pop approach to jazz as background music to groove to at a club or chill out with a glass of wine. The funky dance numbers include "2 Funky" (obviously), "Sax-a-Go-Go" (featuring rapper Easy Mo Bee), "Bob's Jazz" (classy acid-jazz with nice organ/saxophone interplay) and the Funkadelic-like "Jamming" - all composed with the help of her producer, Ulco Bed. Two classic soul covers showed what she can do given classic material: Average White Band's "Pick Up the Pieces" and Eugene McDaniel's "Compared to What" (the only track with full vocals, a bad idea when you're competing against Roberta Flack's original version). "Mister Marvin" and "Man in the Desert" are two mid-tempo originals while "I Can't Make You Love Me" and "Sunday Afternoon" a couple of smooth ballads. Granted, it's all glossily produced, packaged and sugarcoated to sell to a pop and R&B (rather than jazz) audience, yet under all the gloss and glitter there still lies a jazz musician. And not a bad one, either...

**** for Bob's Jazz, Pick Up the Pieces

*** for 2 Funky, Sax-a-Go-Go, Bob's Jazz, I Can't Make You Love Me, Compared to What

** for Mister Marvin, Man in the Desert, Jamming, Compared to What, Sunday Afternoon

Energy Orchard "Stop The Machine" 1991***

Kolimbithra Beach, Tinos

Platter of local cheeses in Tinos ouzeri "st'Alani"

If any of you visit my blog often, you've noticed that I post with admirable regularity - I, for one, admire myself for it, since I know how demanding it is. I have to keep a fast pace of course, as I have a lot of ground to cover. Lately though, I've been away on vacation and lack the time (or discipline) to sit in front of the laptop. Last week I was in Italy and yesterday we arrived to the Greek island of Tinos, one of the less touristic in the Aegean. Except, that is, on August 15th when the island gets overrun by pilgrims from all over the Christian Orthodox world flocking to the island's church to see the miracle-performing icon of Panaghia (i.e. the Holy Virgin). I'll be gone by then and spare myself the sight of the commercialization of faith. Anyway, my days now consist of swimming, lying on the beach and delving into the island's cuisine. It's incredible how, in a country with dozens of islands (I'm purposely limiting myself to the medium-to-big ones) each has its own distinct customs and cuisine. Yesterday, I was served a platter with cheeses impossible to taste outside the island, as they are too rare to standardize, package and market. Most of them were completely new to my taste buds and only one was similar to the famous graviera produced in the nearby island of Naxos. The incredible variety and taste of Greek cheeses can easily compare to e.g. French ones, but remains to this day an international secret despite the millions of tourists visiting the country every summer. All that foreigners know is feta, and even then they don't realize how many different kinds exist or that not all white soft cheese is feta - certainly not the tasteless white blocks made from cow's milk sold as such in the Netherlands. Here's a tip: Next time you're in Greece, walk into a super market and buy some unknown cheeses. Even better, ask for the local specialties at any village in the islands or mainland and you'll acquaint yourself with culinary experiences unavailable to city dwellers - not to mention foreigners. All of these have nothing to do with today's CD which is Energy Orchard.

Their name was vaguely familiar to me, as was the singer's name (Bap Kennedy), but what really convinced me, other than the fact I found it for price  €1 on a market stall, was the producer: the name of Glyn Jones commands the respect, as he's worked with Led Zeppelin, Rolling Stones, The Who, Dylan, Clapton, The Clash and even The Beatles. Though not really worth mentioning in the same sentence with those giants (notice how I didn't?) Energy Orchard were, on the basis of this evidence, a pretty solid rock band with a nice twist: incorporating elements of their homeland's (Northern Ireland) traditional music. 1992's "Machine" is their second effort, and it carries echoes of Van Morrison, Tom Petty, U2 and the Waterboys. Thankfully these influences are all successfully assimilated, the music never sounding derivative but neither completely original. Opener "(When I'm With You I'm) All Alone" is a potent soul rocker with hard rock guitars a la Crazy Horse which is followed by a nice cover of Dylan's "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue" with a strong 60's folk rock vibe. Another garagey rocker follows in "How the West Was Won", possibly the fastest song of the CD. After that, the band's Irish blood takes over, resulting in a string of lyrical folk rockers: "My Cheating Heart" sports a nice fiddle intro and is more than a little indebted to Van Morrison's celtic soul sound, while "Pain, Heartbreak and Redemption", "Slieveban Drive" and "Blue Eyed Boy" add a bit of The Waterboys' Big Music, augmented with a gospel choir (the first) and fiddle (the second)."Stop the Machine" is a blues rocker with harmonica and "Three Days on the Tear" an upbeat folk song with lots of fiddle in the Waterboys/Pogues style. The rest ("Tell Your Mother", "All Your Jewels" and "Little Paleface") are all ballads, often with harmonica, Hammond organ and other flourishes. In my opinion, the band suffered from a lack of direction, opting for a clean pop production and including generic rockers like the title track rather than fully embracing their folk instincts. Nevertheless I found the album quite enjoyable and I am now persuaded to delve deeper into the work of Bap Kennedy and his band.

**** for (When I'm With You I'm) All Alone, My Cheating Heart

*** for It's All Over Now, Baby Blue, How the West Was Won, Pain, Heartbreak and Redemption, Slieveban Drive, Blue Eyed Boy, Stop the Machine, Three Days on the Tear, All Your Jewels, Little Paleface

** for Tell Your Mother

Durwood Douché "Big, Banned & Blue: The Original Underground Sound Of Forties" 1997***

I got this at the platenbeurs (moveable open record/ cd market) in den Haag, never having heard of Durwood Douche but intrigued with the idea of original, banned, songs from the 40's - which it isn't. It's all new songs on -let's say- adult subjects, but impeccably played and produced, with a faux period charm that is utterly convincing. You see, Durwood Douché was actually the pseudonym of septuagenarian L.A. jazz pianist Dick Shreve, who's played all kinds of jazz clubs since the 40's and even worked with such big band legends as Benny Goodman. Supposedly the (uncredited) singers and musicians are also the cream of LA's jazz club scene. Based on the musicianship displayed, I tend to believe it. Opener "Why Me God" was Douche's first release with this name: It appeared on a 7' single as "Everybody's Fucking But Me" in 1979. Almost 20 years later, Douche's entire oeuvre was released on CD, in the US with the title "Everybody's Fucking But Me" and in Europe as "Big Banned & Blue". The result is utterly hilarious, mostly when the songs are seriously played. For example "Why Me God" is a blues ballad where the singer moans in deep emotional pain, Billie Holiday-like "Everybody's fucking but me/I just can't seem to get laid/And though it's well made, my pussy's useful only when I pee". It's followed by another winner, a music hall duet called "My Most Favorite Things" (a.k.a. I can't keep my mitts off your tits) and "Air For A Dinosaur", a combination of jazz, gregorian hymn and incessant farting sounds. "Mister Bumpy" is a jovial music hall number on exhibitionism etc. The cabaret style (complete with faux- Marlene Dietrich vocals) "Merrilou" deals with face-sitting and cunnilingus, while "I'm In A Pickle" is a fiddler on the roof parody about sex with vegetables - you get the idea. The music veers from big band swing ("Here You Are") to Sinatra ballads ("Front Naughty Nocturne") to Hank Williams C&W ("Crazy To Be Crazy Over You"), while the album ends with Doris Day-like holiday number "The Christmas Gift": "Just a little Christmas blowjob will brighten up his day". I've heard the CD quite a few times and never get tired of it: the comedy may not be to everyone's taste, but the tunes are so good you'll be humming them in the bus - just don't forget yourself and sing the lyrics out loud, people might take it the wrong way...

**** for Why Me God, The Christmas Gift

*** for My Most Favorite Things, Mister Bumpy, These Remind Me Of You, Merrilou, Duet In Blue And Brown, Here You Are, I'm In A Pickle, 'Front Naughty' Nocturne, Crazy To Be Crazy Over You, Without You, 

** for Air For A Dinosaur, The Limerick Blues

Rolling Stones "Bridges to Babylon" 1997***

Last year, when I learnt the Stones were to tour again, I was delighted. As their only appearance in the Netherlands was in a festival near the German border, I even booked a hotel at a nearby town and got ready for the day the tickets would be on sale. Alas, it was not to be. When I logged in around 12, it was already sold out (in less than two hours). Same with their gig in Belgium. I was disappointed of course, but at least I was lucky enough to catch The Stones during the Bridges to Babylon tour in Athens. It was their second appearance in Greece. The first was in April 1967, only a few days before the coup d'etat that saddled us with a fascist military junta for 7 years. Greece is now going through a similar period, only the CIA has been replaced by the EU (a euphemism for Germany & minions), elected government is blackmailed into submission rather than overthrown and tanks have been replaced by banks as weapon of choice. 
Anyway, the Stones' Athens concert in '67 ended in violence when Jagger approached the crowd handing out red flowers, a gesture the police chief on duty found to be too subversive for his liking. The one I witnessed was a much happier affair, with the band playing their hits for an enthusiastic generation-spanning crowd. Truly one of my best memories as a concert-goer. Of course, I had already bought the album and learnt the songs. Despite the absence of any real classics, it's quite good. After the return to form that was "Steel Wheels", 1994's "Voodoo Lounge" was a semi-successful effort to recapture former glories by recycling riffs and melodies from the past. "Bridges to Babylon" on the other hand was a product of Jagger's constant attempt to stay modern, this time by adding elements of electronica. He hired producers Dust Brothers (Beck, Beastie Boys) and Danny Saber (Black Grape) to produce some tracks, while Keith chose others for his own songs and Don Was oversaw the record as a whole trying to bind the different elements together. Thankfully it still sounds like the Rolling Stones, with only "Might as Well Get Juiced" and "Gunface" veering too closely to electronica. Lead single "Anybody Seen My Baby?" does feature a rap sample but is an otherwise typical mid-tempo Stones ballad with a lusty Jagger vocal.

A RS concert in '98 cost 12.000 drs ( €36) 

 And, with a young Angelina Jolie playing the subject of his desire in the video clip, I think we can all share in that sentiment. Just before the album's release, Keith's daughter pointed out the song's chorus similarity to k.d. Lang's "Constant Craving". Despite never having listened to Lang's song, Keith and Mick acknowledged a possible unconscious debt and gave her a part of the royalties, thus making the Canadian songstress a good deal richer. Opener "Flip the Switch" is arguably one of the Stones' fastest songs, followed by a typical Stones rocker in "Low Down" and emotive, insecure ballad "Already Over Me". The aggressive electronically treated rocker "Gunface" comes from the other end of the emotional spectrum while reggae-ish "You Don't Have to Mean It" is the first of 3 songs featuring a lead vocal by Richards. Unlike Mick, he sure keeps getting better as a singer as he gets older. Uptempo funk rocker "Out of Control" was the album's second single and "Saint Of Me" the third. As if we needed convincing, Jagger explains he's not fit for Sainthood over a warm gospel/r&b melody augmented by electronic drum loops. The funky electronica of "Might as Well Get Juiced" is followed by acoustic ballad "Always Suffering" and rocker "Too Tight", while the album closes with a couple of fine, jazzy Richards ballads in "Thief in the Night" and "How Can I Stop". All in all, another well crafted but rather nonessential latter-day Rolling Stones album, notable mostly for its (thankfully cautious) flirtation with electronica...

**** for Anybody Seen My Baby?, Already Over Me, You Don't Have to Mean It,Out of Control, Saint of Me

*** for Flip the Switch, Gunface, Always Suffering, Too Tight, Thief in the Night, How Can I Stop

** for  Low Down, Might as Well Get Juiced

Wayne Kramer "Citizen Wayne" 1997***

Wayne Kramer is mostly known as former guitarist of the MC5, the 60s' most out-there, revolutionary rock group. The MC5 started off as a loud garage band playing rock'n'roll covers at high school dances, but got radicalised in the polarised political climate of the times, eventually joining John Sinclair's radical left White Panther Party and playing all kinds of benefits and demonstrations. They recorded 3 hugely influential albums, inspired by free jazz and inspiring, in turn, countless punk and hard rock bands. But they soon disintegrated, as they couldn't handle the responsibility of publicly representing the whole radical left movement, getting dragged from one violent protest to another and being endlessly persecuted by the authorities. In 1969, their manager John Sinclair was framed and imprisoned for drug charges (John Lennon campaigned vigorously for his release). A few years later, an addicted and disillusioned Kramer also got imprisoned for passing cocaine to an undercover cop. His road to recovery was long and arduous. By the time he resurfaced in 1995, many of his comrades in the MC5 was already dead and gone: singer Rob Tyner and guitarist Fred "Sonic" Smith (Patti Smith's husband) coincidentally both died of heart failure at the age of 45. This is Kramer's third solo record, produced by David Was of Was (Not Was). The music is a mixture of prose, funk, heavy metal and electronic music. His autobiographical lyrics and guitar playing remain stellar, the music unfortunately less so. The CD does begin impressively with funk-metal "Stranger In The House" sounding like a cross between Frank Zappa and Guns N Roses. "Back When Dogs Could Talk" is a typically experimental piece, poetry recited over jazzy licks, metallic riffs and soul backing vocals. "Revolution In Apt. 29" is the second highlight of the record, featuring sympathetically satiric lyrics about his days with the far-left middle-class "revolutionaries": "We're having a revolution/ In apartment 29/ Someone brought bazookas/ Someone's chilling wine/ We'll write a manifesto /Just after chips and pesto/ We've got more problems than solutions/ But no one seems to mind". "Down On The Ground" is a welcome hard-rocking return to the days of MC5 and "No Easy Way Out" an earnest autobiographical mid-tempo rocker about addiction. "You Don't Know My Name" is funk-metal and "Snatched Defeat" a straight-up hard rocker a la Neil Young. Most of the rest is a combination of electronic sounds, metallic riffs and prose. The most interesting moments of these are "Shining Mr. Lincoln's Shoes"'s oriental bouzouki licks and bluesy guitar solos, and the captivating storytelling about the U.S. penal system in "Count Time" and  CIA covert operations in "Dope For Democracy". Interesting album, for sure, as is Kramer as a person. Yet a far cry from his MC5 heyday...

**** for Stranger In The House, Revolution In Apt. 29

*** for Back When Dogs Could Talk, Down On The Ground, Shining Mr. Lincoln's Shoes, No Easy Way Out, Snatched Defeat

** for Dope For Democracy, You Don't Know My Name, Count Time, Doing The Work, A Farewell To Whiskey

Randy "The Human Atom Bomb" 2001****

Today is a day of grave mood in my country, Greece. Six months of incessant diplomacy and negotiation between Greece's left-wing government and other governments and Eurocrats culminated in a weekend of brutal aggression on the part of Germany and EU. Monday morning found prime-minister Tsipras succumbing to blackmail and signing his surrender: 3 more years of crushing austerity for the poor in return for yet another "rescue" package to ensure that the banks keep working and that the IMF, ECB and other creditors get their loans back with interest. For those who believed that change is possible, it feels like a shattering defeat, but the only thing shattered here is illusions. The illusion that people are free to make their own choices, that we live in a democracy and that the EU is actually a union based on cooperation, solidarity and equality (Boy, did I choose the wrong time to go and live in the proverbial belly of the Beast!). We were basically told that our opinion doesn't matter, the governments we choose are voiceless and powerless and that we're forever chained in perpetual debt bondage. In truth, there can only be one answer to that: The fight must and will go on! If elections cannot change anything, so be it - The fight will move from the parliament halls and government buildings back to the streets! And Randy is one of the bands that can help provide the soundtrack, with their music being both joyous and rebellious and lyrics full of conviction and certainty that If we unite we can break them ("If we unite"). As they say "Come on everybody sing with me/This is a song about being free/Days of submission, oh no, won't last long/This is a freedom song"(Freedom Song). Sloganeering, you say? I guess so, but I'd still rather sing that tune than the poor man's blues.

Randy come from Sweden and their brand of melodic punk rock is as populist (and as good) as that of their American counterparts Green Day and Rancid. Like them, they draw inspiration from the Ramones, Clash, Who and Stooges. And like them, they write catchy choruses that can easily be chanted back at them by huge crowds at football stadiums - only in this occasion, they won't. It doesn't matter how commercial their music is, they come from the wrong continent. And, more crucially, their subject matter isn't one the public is very likely to warm up to: Swedes can get Americans to sing about Dancing Queens but Proletarian Hop? Isn't that a bad word? Frankly, it never seizes to amaze me that so many bands of the Marxist persuasion (e.g. Randy, International Noise Conspiracy) come from this moderately socialist country with the smallest class differences in the world. How do you get radicalised growing up under the comfort and security of the welfare state? On the other hand, a good education, free time and access to information via books and the Internet can also be an eye-opening combination. You don't have to see your neighbour searching for food in the garbage cans (like it's happening in Greece lately) to draw the conclusion that there's something wrong with capitalism. Of course, Randy's not all about politics: They also sing about the thrills of rockin' out (the rockabilly/hardcore of "Chicken Shack", Rancid-meet-AC/DC of "Punk Rock City", Dropkick Murphys-like of "Rockin' Pneumonia and the Punk Rock Flu", Eddie Cochran-referencing "The Heebie Jeebies/Dial 911"). They sing the praises of early rock'n'roll idol Little Richard ("The Human Atom Bombs"), male friendship ("Summer of Bros") and modern slackerdom (the double-speed rockabilly of "Shape Up"). The Buzzcocks-like "Addicts of Communication" is a satirical jab on their generation's mobile phone and Internet fixation. "I Don't Need Love" reverses the Beatles' message to adjust it to the 21st Century, while the Hives/Stooges garage punk of "Keep Us Out of Money" accuses stock market-types for the perpetual poverty of the working class. The Green Day-ish "Karl Marx and History" is about turning protest marches into a joyful celebration driven by the certainty of final victory, because "...so says Karl Marx and history". Thankfully they don't forget to exhibit some self-mocking humour with lines like "We got all kinds of freedom fighters gathered here/We got our friends in the corner over there drinking beer". But the real gems here are a trio of songs that sound as if they've come right out of The Clash's London Calling (and I can't think of any higher praise than that). The same mix of punk rock, ska, latin and rockabilly licks and left-wing sloganeering. On "If We Unite", you could even mistake singer Stefan Granberg for Joe Strummer himself as he sings with conviction "If we unite we can break them". "Freedom Song" is another Clash carbon copy (in the best sense possible) and a mighty enjoyable one, complete with bells chiming and singalong Rama lama ding dong's . "Proletarian Hop" has a ridiculously catchy chorus and guitar riff that would be guaranteed to make it the ultimate frat party anthem, if it wasn't for the lyrics. The song draws a straight line from the Spanish Civil War to today, effectively equating the fascists to today's neo-liberals and urging us to continue the fight: "They say it ended that last year/But the fascists are still here/The war ain't over and the battle ain't won/The struggle, baby, has just begun/It's a war between the classes/The privileged few against the masses/Spanish anarchists said: No pasaran!/I say we stick to that until the war is won". Amen to that!

**** for Addicts of Communication, Karl Marx and History, If We Unite, Proletarian Hop, Rockin' Pneumonia and the Punk Rock Flu, Freedom Song, The Human Atom Bombs

*** for Punk Rock City, Keep Us Out of Money, Summer of Bros, I Don't Need Love, Shape Up, The Heebie Jeebies (Dial 911)

** for Chicken Shack, Whose Side Are You On?, Win or Lose, I Believe in the Company

Various Artists "From Clarksdale to Heaven - Remembering John Lee Hooker" 2002***

Born in Mississippi in 1917, John Lee Hooker was around almost as long as the blues itself, devising a new urban blues boogie style, scoring his first hits in the 40's and experiencing a late career rebirth with 1989's "The Healer" that lasted until his death in 2001. These late records were full of guests from the blues and rock world, lining up to play the blues with one of the last original pioneers of the genre. Many of them are also featured here to pay tribute to the master bluesman and help raise money for a charity in his name. The result is entertaining but uneven, as it often happens with such tribute albums. Although most of the songs are J.L.Hooker originals, the end result mostly reflects the players themselves. A bit of the old DNA is in evidence in the opening soulful performance of "I Want to Hug You", sung by his daughter Zakiya backed by Johnnie Johnson & Bobby Murray. The classic "I'm in the Mood" is given a generic hard rock treatment by Jack Bruce and Gary Moore (now both also sadly deceased). Not bad, but I much prefer their slow take on "Serve Me Right to Suffer". Yes, it does sound like any other Gary Moore ballad, albeit a very good one. In any case, neither song sounds anything like the original. "Bad Like Jesse James" (by Vince Converse backed by Leo Lyons and Ric Lee from Ten Years After) comes somewhat closer. "Baby Lee" and "Little Wheel" are even more faithful, played with gusto by 60's veterans Gary Brooker (Procol Harum) and Andy Fairweather-Low (Amen Corner and, more recently, Roger Waters' band). The acoustic "Ground Hog Blues" also sports a quite original feel, not surprisingly since T.S. McPhee (from The Groundhogs) has played with Hooker since the 60's and was one of the first people to introduce him to British audiences. Colosseum's Dick Heckstall-Smith on sax adds a welcome jazz twist. On "I'm Leaving" they rock harder, as they're joined by Humbie Pie guitarist extraordinaire Clem Clempson. Jeff Beck offers his guitar pyrotechnics to the Hooker-like boogie "Hobo Blues" and the traditional gospel "Will The Circle Be Unbroken". Former Rolling Stone Mick Taylor adds workmanlike boogie "This Is Hip" and Peter Green takes on "Crawlin' King Snake", one of Hooker's most famous tunes. Of all the superstar guitarists involved in this project, Green was (in his Fleetwood Mac days) once the greatest. Inspired by religion (and drugs) he took a break in 1970 and never completely returned. His folk-blues guitar playing here is beautiful but very different and inferior to his old style, while his vocals sound like they're from beyond the grave. The remaining two tracks are the most intriguing as they come from half-finished J.L.Hooker projects: Greggs Eggs' blues-soul "The Business" (vocals by Suzanne Sterling) was destined for the next Hooker CD but never recorded by him due to his death and "Red House" features the great man himself backed by Booker T. Jones on organ and Randy California (from Spirit) on guitar. It was supposed to appear on a Jimi Hendrix tribute album and it's typical late-period J.L.Hooker, a nice slow jam with his trademark mumbling vocals. Not an extraordinary find, but a fine epitaph nevertheless.

**** for I Want to Hug You (Zakiya Hooker & Johnnie Johnson), Baby Lee (Gary Brooker & Andy Fairweather-Low), I'm Leaving (T.S. Mcphee, Dick Heckstall-Smith & Clem Clempson), Serves Me Right to Suffer (Gary Moore), Red House (John Lee Hooker & Booker T & Randy California)

*** for I'm in the Mood (Jack Bruce & Gary Moore), Bad Like Jesse James (Leo Lyons, Ric Lee, Vince Converse), Will the Circle Be Unbroken (Jeff Beck), Ground Hog Blues (T.S. McPhee & Dick Heckstall-Smith), This Is Hip (Mick Taylor), Little Wheel (Gary Brooker & Andy Fairweather-Low), Crawlin' King Snake (Peter Green), The Business (Greggs Eggs), Hobo Blues (Jeff Beck)