The Bridge to Robin Trower

The first time I heard Robin Trower was when I was high school. I was on my way to study hall and I had my Walkman on a popular classic radio station and they were playing great stuff all through the time I was in that study hall. I did not get much homework done, but I did have a neat list of music I should be looking for next time I went to the record store. The list was pretty long and I needed to find most of it because it was all good stuff. A friend of mine told me that some of this he could make a copy for me because his father had it on record. The other stuff I had to find on my own.

One of the big things that caught my interest in listening was Robin Trower. I knew a bit about him because he was in Procol Harum. The music I heard was actually less like Procol Harum and more like Jimi Hendrix and good old blues. The stuff was really good, but I did not have any of that stuff in my collection. I really did not know where to start with his extensive solo collection. Around the same time I was part of one of the record clubs and I saw a deal in the little flier I used to get. "Buy three cassettes and half price and get one free." I went through the flier and picked out things I did not have anything of that artist. In the searching I found a Essential Robin Trower. Hey for little more then $5.00 I picked it up. If I did not like it and I knew I would I would just put it with my cassettes and leave it alone. The album did have the song I liked, so it could not be all bad.



I picked a few other cassettes and I waited for the music to come to my house. In the time it took to get here I went to a few tag sales in the coming weeks. I went to one where this guy had a very good collection of 70's rock. There was the Bob Seger's and the Peter Frampton and the Fleetwood Mac albums. I picked a few of those up, but in his collection there was two Robin Trower albums. One had the song on it that I liked and the other had stuff that was on that cassette tape I was going to get in the mail. I was excited to pay the person for these and go home. He told me that I will really enjoy the music that Robin Trower plays. I was excited to get his music on my turntable.

When I got home I showed my father what I found and at the same time he was cleaning his car the same song I heard on the radio at school was on. I pointed to my dad that this guy is responsible for that song. He told me to wait till he was done washing the car so we can listen to some of his music. It was a great chance to hear what else he did. When he got in the house he told me to put the album on the turntable. Bridge of Sighs was the album. From start to finish this album rocked more then most of my collection of the time. My father told me that it sounded like a white Jimi Hendrix. He really liked it as much as I did. Every song was a winner. The trio sounded great, loud and kicked a lot of ass.



After it was all said and done, I really liked this album. I know it might be the go to album by Trower, but it is very good and full of great guitar licks that anyone could enjoy. The music is classic 70's, but it is also unique because some the music from that time was not exactly great. This is and more. Robin Trower made a lot of albums in the 70's, but this is the one that got him to his guitar status. Add this to your collection, and you will be glad you did. Enjoy a great gem from 1974 and you will love it every time you play it. He is even better live. Classic!! Enjoy!

Giuffre's Fusion and Thesis

The first time I heard Jimmy Giuffre was in a Jazz History class in my community college years. We were talking about small group Jazz and we were going to watch a film about Jazz at Newport. This film talks about the 1958 Newport Jazz Festival. It changed my life on what music was and taught me about some really great classic artist such as Duke Ellington, Sarah Vaughan, Louis Armstrong and countless others. The opening music was one that stuck with me for quite a while. The music was different, sure it was Jazz, but it was not what I thought Jazz was. Before watching this segment (which is at the end of this post) I thought Jazz needed Bass and drums to keep the music going. I did not realize that it trombone and guitar could drive music in a direction like no other. It was "swinging without the use of what I thought it needed to swing with.

The music was quite extraordinary and just added a new kind of perspective for me. Each person was making a complex piece into a larger piece of a really great puzzle. In retrospect it showed how hip things were at that time. Rock and Roll was about to get launched and the world of hip and cool Beatnik time was around at the same time and of course just to be hip was part of the world view. It seemed carefree and fun and all "the hip cats" were into it. It was cool to be cool as it were. The music of Jimmy Giuffre was just unique.



I really did not know much about him but I really thought I could ask my teacher. I was surprised by his response and attitude about him and his music. He told me one day after class that he did not care for his music because it was not cool or popular. I did not understand that coming from a teachers mouth. It was in a way narrow minded and not rational thought. Why would the teacher dismiss the musical (of what I thought) genius of Jimmy Giuffre. Since I did not like the answer that he gave I decided to go ask someone who was actually around at that time. The person I asked was a teacher who I had in High School. He went to college in Boston and he told me he was part of a lot unique Jazz experiences.

When I came up to him and asked him about Jimmy Giuffre he gave this wide gaze. He asked me how I stumbled upon his musical genius. Finally someone who really understood this greatness. When I asked this teacher he told me he loved the way Jimmy Giuffre played in many drummerless groups. Not only was there a group of guitar and trombone, but there was a group of piano and upright bass. He told me that was the ones that were really unique. Both groups had a interesting world to them. He also told me that the bass and piano ones were the ones to seek out. The two people that I should listen to were Paul Bley and Steve Swallow. They are the ones that put out some of the best Jimmy Giuffre's trios.



They put out three well know albums that made everything sound perfect according to my old teachers words. My teacher told me that Jimmy Giuffre is quoted as saying that the inspiration for his late 50s drummerless trio was Claude Debussy's diaphanous SONATA FOR FLUTE, VIOLA & HARP. This is the music that really has it's place for understanding what he wanted to in the Jazz world. The albums I should pick up were two classic in Jimmy Giuffre's cannon. They were called Fusion and Thesis. Both albums are not your typical albums, but they were sure going to turn your head.

It took me a few years to find them on one two CD set that ECM put out in 1992. My teacher was right. The music is great. It's not like Jazz you ever heard, but it's a study on smart and creative music that does not force or keep your toe tapping. It is the ultimate brain music for Jazz fans. It is really well done and if you can find a copy, get it and really see what is so great about music without a drummer or a beat for that matter. Enjoy and get your notes out on this one, there might be a quiz. Enjoy!!!!

Stuck With GBV

In April of 2004 I went to see Guided By Voices for the third time. The other two times I went I don't remember much because besides the band being a mess, I was as well. I was young and stupid and more them likely a bit drunk to remember or appreciate how good they were. This time I went with a friend who actually never went to a concert in his life. I also went with a few friends who were bigger Guided By Voices fans then myself. They breathed GBV air all the time. I am glad I went to this gig. As I tell friends about shows I do exaggerate on how many songs I heard, but I will tell you that they actually played 44 songs. These songs were great from start to end. These songs kicked ass, and these songs are really well done. GBV is a band that I wish I started following more closely when I was younger. I will tell you this, after the show I was converted into a huge fan.

GBV is a band that has more then likely over a 1000 songs to their credit. The music maybe short, but they make a great point on each and every one of them. They are great rockers and they are the songs that hit you really hard. They tell a story weather simple or complex, but they will make you sing along as well. I know about two dozen by heart and they are songs that transform you into a better place. The music is rockin' and takes no prisoners. It is a band that has more energy then any band I have seen. Those 44 songs lasted about three and half to four hours that night and I loved every moment of it. They are like a great local bar band that is on steroids.



GBV is a band that I would want to be in. Every night must be a new adventure. Even better is to hear the wit and wisdom of Robert Pollard. He writes so much. His albums are not simple twelve songs and that is it. He has albums with fifteen or sometimes twenty songs. That is a good writer. His songs are about everything. When I saw them in 2004 I realized this was a show for the ages. This was a show that you tell your kids about when they are going to their first show. I have been to some memorable shows in my life. I was at the five hour Dylan show at Toad's Place in New Haven. I was at a memorable show in New York City that included three great bands; Rollins Band, Helmet and Primus. I went to a Roger Waters show where it was the smallest played date on his 1996 tour. I went to see Richard Thompson and Henry Kaiser in San Francisco (they never played together before or since) I was even at the Rush show that was the first for their return after a lengthy absence because of the personal issues with Neil Peart. The GBV show was that kind of show.



The music of GBV is not complex, but it's fun. The music is good enough to keep you smiling. Each song has some kind of riff that keeps you in the spirit of good old fashion Rock and Roll. From the funky bass riff and drums at the beginning of "Best of Jill Hives" to the odd use of harmonica on "Dirty Water." Each of their songs has something for everybody. Robert Pollard's singing is not top notch, but it's known for some of the best out there. Everything is fun about this band, how can you not like them.

Paid up weathered and type-o,
Clad in gladstone watch him go,
Swimming beneath the microscope.
Hello lonely bless the nation.
Mr. skip to all or none,
Wooden soldiers fall upon,
Try to find what makes her tick,
While their finding out what makes them sick.

I don't know where you find your nerve,
I don't know how you choose your words,
Speak the ones that suit you worse,
Keep you grounded, sad and cursed,
Circle the ones that come alive,
Save them for the best of Jill Hives.

Been around and left you flat,
Tragically decided that,
Every child of god's a brat,
And she's dying to escape them.
But do we really need to see,
All her punchdrunk history,
And which of it might hold the key
For the exit to her destiny.

I don't know where you find your nerve,
I don't know how you choose your words,
Speak the ones that suit you worse,
Keep you grounded, sad and cursed,
Circle the ones that come alive,
Save them for the best of Jill Hives.
Number one in all our souls,
Trifle in the crystal bowl,
Fill it up with 9 to 5,
Save them for the best of Jill Hives.



I get friends who ask me about them. I tell them in one word, "Awesome." They are that and I also tell them what a show they put on. The music is fresh and fun and top notch. If I suggest a starting point then I would tell you that Earthquake Glue is one of their best. The fifteen songs have something for everyone. They keep you on your toes, they run circles around bands that are at their prime and they are a band that you talk about at parties on how awesome they are. The people you talk to might not know what your talking about, but if you put the music on they will afterwords. I am proud to be a GBV fan and really enjoy every moment. If you don't get this album then I suggest their retrospective album called Human Amusements at Hourly Rates. It has thirty one songs, imagine a single CD having that many great songs. Not a bad one in the bunch. Try Earthquake Glue and I am sure you too will enjoy GBV like me. Enjoy!!

Day One With Fripp and Sylvian

The first time I heard David Sylvian was actually this album. Since I was a King Crimson fan I really wanted to hear this artist that Robert Fripp had with him. I knew very little, but I wished to hear more. With only seven songs this album is damn good for anyone who likes great guitar work and also wonderful vocals. I remember bringing it home wondering what this would sound like. I read the notes when I got home and realized that in some way I got excited to think there might be a King Crimson reunion soon. All these musicians I almost never heard of so maybe to me it was a new version of King Crimson. It turned out that two members of this project would be in the new King Crimson.

When I put the music on I realized the great voice of David Sylvian. He has a crisp and really beautiful tone to his voice. Something you don't get with many vocalist. His wonderful sound and the music the band was playing was a perfect match. There were great Fripp moments as well. His guitar stood in front with David's vocals and each worked off each other very well. The fun part was that the songs had great length to them and you did not have to worry about losing focus with them. They kept your attention all the way through.



Each track practically groove and breathe on his own. Fripp keeps our attention with an album full of funk, and electronica. The album is not boring or repetitive. And each song has a great unique spin on what their intent is. The musician's excitement and energy easily being felt from each song to the other. There is not a bad song in the bunch. Their is only seven songs, but that is all it needs. It's not overpowering with filler that tries to keep your attention. Fripp and Sylvian work well together. It was not the only time they did, but this is the first that they both took center stage. I never had the pleasure to see this tour, but I bet it would have been a great show. They really could have formed a super group on what they do together and with the great band backing them.



Want an album that works well then most? This is the album you have to listen to. So there is seven songs, but at a little over an hour, it works. It makes you play it a few times and you realize how great they are together. The signature Fripp licks are there and the music feels like a King Crimson album. It just does not have Adrian Belew singing and acting in his crazy way. The music is fresh, new and a must own. Try it today. I am sure you will like it. Enjoy!

Blue Tribute

In 1993 I saw Henry Kaiser at a rare record store show in New York City. A friend of mine who owns this store told me that It was something I strongly encouraged to go see. I had a friend who was older then I was who jumped at the chance to go to this show and went with me. I had no idea what to expect, he did not know either. He had a ton of his albums and he could play any number of them. As of this post he has over 100 albums out their where he either plays on or put out himself. He only has one career retrospective called Playola where it was sent to radio stations and to other places. I happened to get it on Ebay for a cheap price of $10.00. It now sells for way over that and is still hard to find. I have been offered a ton of money for by people who love his music like I do.

Henry's a musician with great taste in whatever he does. I never saw a musician with great skill on guitar. He appreciated his musical background and where the music needed to go. When I heard other albums that he put out I could see that his direction was unique. The music was wonderful and great and made me get more and more interested in his music. What I did not know was that his guitar playing started later then most. He started when he was about twenty. He picked up the instrument pretty easy.



My friend who went to the show was a huge fan of Henry Kaiser and on the way down he explained that Henry could change the dynamic of any album he was on. He could learn a style or genre and put a fun and unique idea to the artist he was working with. His great gift of understanding the music of world or even people like Capt. Beefheart or Derek Bailey. He could pick up on any sort of musical flavor. He even picked up on musical sounds from different parts of the world and added them to his guitar playing. Henry Kaiser's restless creativity unearthed many new and unconventional electric guitar techniques during these years, and he combined these innovations with a strong sense of logic and concise development, often aided by sophisticated sound-processing devices.

In the 80's he was fascinated with the music of the Grateful Dead. The music there was always something he wanted to explore. The free improving style became his trademark. There is even two albums he works with some impressive musicians as Fred Frith(Henry Cow), John French (Capt. Beefheart) and Richard Thompson (Fairport Convention). They made two albums together and those are wonderful and unique to listen to because they mix all types of styles and genres.



In the 90's he decided to explore the electric side of Miles Davis and more Grateful Dead. With the death of Jerry Garcia he realized that a major important figure was gone. He, as he mentioned in an interview did not want to capitalize on a tribute, but more as an appreciation of Jerry's legacy. Henry pointed out even more was the fact that Jerry sometimes gets lost as a great song writer. The Grateful Dead image tarnished that idea.

In the album I selected Eternity Blue the music of the Grateful Dead takes a new and wonderful spin. The music is fresh and fun and has some really cool guest people such as Tom Constanten and Bob Bralove and also a wonderful piano player in Marilyn Crispell. The music of the Dead and Jerry Garcia are here in great force. The even 30 minute "Blues For Allah" is unique and wonderful. There is even wonderful Bob Bralove and Kaiser tribute to Jerry. The music here is great and fun and you too should check it out. Enjoy!!

Van Der Graaf's Pawn Heart

When I first heard Van Der Graaf Generator I was about twenty years old. I was listening to this new radio show I found on the other side of the dial. It was better then the two Classic Rock Stations I been listening to. I was just getting into Jazz, which this station had, and it had a really neat Progressive Rock type show on Sunday nights. Each Sunday night was great because I could hear music that I never heard before. I mentioned this show in previous blog posts, but in case you forgot here is a quick recap. This show one night opened it's show with Jeff Beck's Beck's Bolero. The song is quite interesting and really ahead of it's time. Other nights it opened up with maybe a King Crimson song or even a really odd song by Yes. Once in a while he would throw the Progressive Rock out and open with Neil Young's "Last Trip To Tulsa." Neil's nine minute piece was quite interesting to say the least. A person young as myself was at a loss for words.

One night he opened up with a song called "Darkness 11/11." I had no idea who or what they were but the music was quite interesting. The song was seven minutes long, but the vocals were wonderful and the music that just sounded way out there. The organ, drums and Saxophones were an interesting mix. The bass was supplied by the organs pedals and once in a while you would hear a guitar. The music was really intense. He did not play just one of this stuff but he played a song that was about twenty-three minutes long. He got on the microphone and told us about one his favorite bands Van Der Graaf Generator. I wrote this down and went to see my friend the next day. I think my friend knew because he looked at me and told me he thought the opening of the radio show was great. He handed me a few tapes of Van Der Graaf. He made me a two 90 minute cassette of their music. He told me to listen carefully. The music is quite intense.



I agreed and put them in my car. The music was quite interesting and was full of audio theatrics and with different tempo and changes. It was really not any other Progressive I heard. I think what stood out was the music was long and had very few short songs to each piece that he gave me. I think the shortest was like seven minutes. Each part of the music was wonderful and full of emotion that I never heard before. The signature Van der Graaf Generator sound in the 1970s was a combination of Peter Hammill's distinctive and dynamic voice and David Jackson's electronically-treated saxophones, generally playing over thick chordal keyboard parts. The band explored the complete range of phonaesthetics from euphony to cacophony, often within the same song. Van der Graaf Generator albums tended to be darker in atmosphere than many of their prog-rock peers.

My friend told me that one album along had just three songs on it. To me that was quite amazing. I never heard music being played for for that long. I mean I heard it in a Jazz setting with Ornette Coleman or Tim Berne, but not in a rock setting. The music of Van Der Graaf Generator was great for it's time. There was moments of greatness that would have made other Progressive Rock bands get a little nervous. I liked the vocals a lot because Peter Hammill he was quite distinct in his approach.



The one album with three songs on it was the one I chose for this post. The music is innovative and fun. The music makes you really pay attention to what the hell is going on. I always thought they were interesting. Pawn Hearts is an album at least to get you in the right direction. The magic that was created was like no other and should be really listened with great interest. I got a wish granted and saw them live in 2009 and they were great, only wish I saw them in the height of their popularity. I was once told they did open for King Crimson in 1970 and 1971. I think it was at Fripp's request because he played on Pawn Hearts. The Music here is new and for most people fresh. Try it out and listen for yourself and enjoy! Have fun with this and tell me what you think. Let me know what you think of it. Rock On!!!!!

Attention Baby!!!

I will be the first to admit I am not the biggest u2 fan in the world. I have seen them six times looking for that moment that the fans around me go crazy for. It might be something simple or it might be just because they are crazy anyway. My first U2 show was in 1985. I thought they were good, but at that age of twelve I thought they were very good. Then again I saw them during the Joshua Tree tour and Achtung Baby Tour and I saw them two more times after that. It was a good show don't get me wrong, but the I really cannot place what makes people go crazy over them. The musicianship is pretty good. Edge's guitar playing is pretty good, but not enough to right home about. Bono's vocals are pretty good. I am really not sure if I missed something.

I have most of their music waiting for that thing to click. It might because their hits are pretty good and catchy. The hooks are great and I think what is even better is the fact that they use Daniel Lanois and Brian Eno as producers to change their sound. Both Daniel and Brian are very good at what they do. Daniel makes music sound really interesting and Brian is an icon who knows what is good. He does it well and if you don't believe me you should listen to either his music or the music he produced with the Talking Heads. What they do to U2 is quite amazing and fun. They put both their heads together and really make a band do something. My like for u2 is just that a like. I am sure the use of Brian and Daniel make me like u2 a bit more.



When trying to figure out what u2 album to choose it became a bit difficult. To choose a u2 album and only one is hard because being a casual fan and yes, I do like some singles from other albums. My choice was difficult. I could go with the album that got them the popularity in the first place or I could chose an album that changed their direction. I am not sure how much it left fans out in the cold, but the music is something I actually can listen to again and again. I don't jump for joy like other people do when they hear a song, but I do like the way each of these songs are crafted. Achtung Baby is actually pretty good. It's an album that has some very good qualities to it. The music sounds futuristic and that is why Wim Wenders used the title of a U2 song for a title of a movie. Wim Wenders loves that kind of stuff.

I think what I also like about this album is the fact that three songs on the album are some of the u2 songs I could listen to again and again. "Until The End Of The World" is a very good song. Also in that group of songs "Mysterious Ways" and "Zoo Station" are wonderful crafted songs. They were really ahead of their times for music. Full of percussion and great guitar playing without getting that early 90's guitar solos in music. When I did research for this album I heard they recorded most of it in Berlin. I really could see that, there is a mix of European music and stuff that we never heard of on this album.



As always I do put albums on this blog to tell you what to listen to. This album is a great starter of people that just casually listen to U2. Give it a listen and I am sure that it give u some ideas of what U2 were like in the early 90's. This I think is their most creative period in music. There is stuff on this album that I am still wondering where they got the ideas from. The music is wonderful and the fresh and most of all you will like it. Enjoy!!