The New York Rock and Roll Ensemble

Based on the idea of a rock/classical fusion, they got a deal with Atlantic. Hey, it was 1968, the time of anything goes. The New York Rock and Roll Ensemble 1968, their eponymous debut, is a curious achievement. The band sounds like a weird blend of The Blues Project, The Association, and Moby Grape with classical trio and quartet interludes thrown in for good measure. Sometimes the classical bits were included in the middle section of a pop song. Three of the members- Michael Kamen (keyboards, oboe, horn), Dorian Rudnytsky (bass, cello), and Marty Fulterman (drums, oboe, horn) were Julliard trained and the other two were rock guitarists (Brian Corrigan, guitar, Clif Nivison, lead guitar). It's a crazy story. And remarkably, the record plays quite well today. Sounds of Time and Began to Burn are solid pop-rock for 1968. The Bach Trio Sonata in A is a straight reading, and just fine. The early Michael Kamen-penned You Know Just What It's Like is the best rocking moment, and the psych-pop of Studeo Atlantis is pretty daring, really.

The follow-up, Faithful Friends 1969 is a real treat, and like nothing else. That's not always a good thing, but these guys could really do rock, and really do classical, and they could also combine some quartet sounds with rock to nice effect in a way not heard anywhere else, at least not until some of the prog rock of the late seventies, and this is still different in a not-bombastic way that is great. Now, to be honest, it's mostly a rock album, and a pretty good one. I'm Too Busy, Asking Too Much, Kite Song, and the Hendrix-penned Wait Until Tomorrow highlight side one. Thinking of Mary's baroque pop, the classical Aria and the remarkable classical-pop fusion of Brandenburg (with Bach themes and new pop lyrics sung by band members, and a rocking ending) close out a strong set. 

Their third release, the strange Reflections 1970, was a collaboration between the band and Greek pop/theatrical composer Manos Hatzidakis. Hatzidakis wrote the music, while NY Rock Ensemble members wrote lyrics, played and sang. The work was ostensibly recorded for a soundtrack to a film that never was made. The music is good enough, but the sound has little to do with the rock/classical fusion of the band, and it is a difficult listen today. It was their last record for Atlantic, and may have been a contractual obligation choice for the band, who were on their way to Capital Records and a slight shortening of their name to New York Rock Ensemble.

In 1971, Roll Over arrived, and it is nothing short of a classic. The band, now down to a foursome with the departure of Corrigan, produced what I feel is their strongest set. They toured the record extensively, and why they didn't become more well-known is beyond me. They put on an excellent live show, and the record didn't have a bad song on it. They even performed some shows with classical orchestras, doing a rock set and a set with orchestra- before anyone else in rock even dreamed the idea. The two ballads Fields Of Joy (later covered by Lenny Kravitz) and Beside You (later used by Kamen for the movie What Dreams May Come) are the only use of their classical instruments. The rockers are all solid. I reviewed the record some years ago here.

The good news is that bands didn't get dropped right away after disappointing sales in the early seventies, so they soldiered on with Freedomburger 1972. Freedomburger, with its cover depicting Washington crossing the Delaware on a giant hamburger, was a fine follow-up to Roll Over, albeit with a less cohesive (or more varied) song selection. A fine cover of A Whiter Shade of Pale, with classical instruments and Kamen's soulful vocal, is great. The band writes and plays a ton of killer tunes, among them More Like The Master, Magic Lady, Shuffle, Barrel Full Of Wine, Carry Me Up, and Raise Your Barriers. I'm Sending A Friend To You is heartfelt, and almost everything works. Looking back today, they must not have been promoted right, because they were certainly talented enough, and these last two records are rock solid.

Michael Kamen tried to give it one more go with his 1973 solo debut titled New York Rock. Bass player Rudnytsky is still in the fold, and the "band" is rounded out with ace studio musicians David Sanborn, Hank DeVito, Larry Packer, and Dennis Whitted. Kamen revists Carry Me Up from Freedomburger and writes the beautiful Everything That Touches You. The rest is all over the place, and a little too ballad-heavy. But the classical quartet shows up for Christophene and the J. S. Bach cowrite Winter Child. All My Trials and 1984 are good, but not everything works as well.

And so another one bites the dust, never to be heard from again. Ou contraire. Not this time. Bassist Rudnytsky has gone on to make a living playing cello and bass in Los Angeles for TV and movies. Drummer Marty Fulterman, with a name change to Mark Snow, has written music for more than 100 TV series and movies, including the entire X-Files series. Michael Kamen went on to score more than 60 movie soundtracks, and collaborate with rockers (Metallica, Pink Floyd) on symphonic/rock projects. Kamen was nominated for two Academy Awards, and won three Grammys, two Golden Globes, two Igor Novello Awards, and an Emmy.

Everything except Reflections is worth hearing, and Roll Over and Freedomburger are highly recommended. Faithful Friends comes awfully close, and features their unique rock/classical fusion.

Erin McKeown Kiss Off Kiss 2021

 

There is a new Erin McKeown record and it is right there with her best work. The record was produced by Steve Berlin of Los Lobos fame, and it has a cohesive, and quite rocking, sound. Most of the songs deal with relationships, and it doesn't sound like those relationships are going particularly well. Of course this topic has resonated in many great records, so this one continues the long tradition of the break-up record. 

 

Cupido Stupido kicks things off in fast, punky style. Litany For A Minor Character has a nice riff and wordy lyric. Melancholy rocker On/Off Heart follows with a hooky chorus and a fine classic rock lead guitar break. Switch Shadows is an airy ballad, while Details Of The Crime has a slinky, "mysterious" guitar part. Go Along/Get Along returns to the fun pop-punk vibe, and details a relationship style just built for animosity. Business Of Show has a guitar figure that sounds like Andy Summers of the Police, and it rocks.

 

The second half is just as good. My Own Baby Now is a bluesy pop of a breakup song (I'll be my own baby now) with a sax break from Steve Berlin. What happens when a girl breaks up with a girl to date a guy inspires the vitriol of Is/He Does/He, a hook filled nasty pop-punk tune that has one of several rather graphic lyrics on the record. The title track is a another solid rocker followed by Landing Spot, an atmospheric piece with spoken word lyrics and great instrumentation. Today/Sex is another fast spiky rocker with solid drive and again with the sex-filled lyric (no innuendo here). The mid-tempo rock of Little Miss Mister with spare verses and big chorus ends the record as strong as it began.

 

Special merit goes to the band. Trent Baarspul (guitar), Damian Erskine (bass), Reinhardt Melz (drums), and Erik Duetsch (keyboards) all have their shining moments, and Melz is especially effective at pushing the rhythms forward. Erin's guitar and Berlin's sax fatten it all up nicely. Ms. McKeown is a fabulous singer that just seems to get better, and her songwriting continues to to produce great material. This one joins We Will Become Like Birds 2005, Hundreds of Lions 2009, and MANIFESTRA 2013 as one of her finest.

Gerry and the Pacemakers Greatest Hits 1965

Today, Gerry and the Pacemakers are mostly a footnote in the early British beat scene, and the British Invasion bands that followed the Beatles to America. Between 1963-1965, they released five LPs in America, and this hits package was the last of those five. They had three #1 hits in the UK, but only managed to climb to #4 in the US with Don't Let The Sun Catch You Crying and #6 with Ferry Cross The Mersey. Those two hit ballads might mean that the rocking side of the band is less well known in the U.S. After 1966, they never again dented the charts in the U.S. or the U.K., although there have been a few compilations and a live BBC issue. The only hit missing (and you probably won't miss it) from this LP is You'll Never Walk Alone, Rogers and Hammerstein's number from Carousel, which became a football fan singalong in the U.K.

This is one of those records to stumble across in a used record store. Having not heard many of the songs, you'd be likely to keep browsing, but if you are a fan of other British Invasion groups (Dave Clark Five, Herman's Hermits, Wayne Fontana and the Mindbenders, The Hollies), you should pick this one up. How Do You Do It sounds like a Herman's Hermits hit, Willie Dixon's My Babe sounds like early Stones, It's Gonna Be Alright and I Like It could be the Beatles, and the aforementioned ballads are classics. I bought it for Ferry Cross The Mersey and was delighted at the quality of the entire record. Oh, and they were recorded by none other than Sir George Martin, so it sounds good, too.

Van Morrison Latest Record Project Volume 1 2021

I read the early, mostly negative reviews, and I was admittedly taken aback. I'm a huge Van Morrison fan, and I've been pretty amazed and impressed with most of his work in the last 20 years. The five (five!!) albums he released between 2017 and 2019 (Roll With The Punches, Versatile, You're Driving Me Crazy, The Profit Speaks, and Three Chords And The Truth) were all above average at least, and represent a remarkably strong period.

So, here's the good news: Van Morrison can still write a good melody, or borrow a good blues riff and make it his own. He's been doing both forever, and while a lot of them sound the same, he's a talented songwriter. The band on this record is highly talented and the recording sounds good. Whoever is playing the Hammond B3 is especially skilled. The backup singers are rather forward in the mix on many songs, and they sound great. 

But here's the rub: The best way to thoroughly enjoy this record is to not understand the English language. Lyrically, Van is very upset about a lot of things these days. His wife of 25-plus years left in 2018, and he's still a mess about that, and not in just a sad way, but clearly dealing with some anger issues. He's mad at the music business. And the media in general. And psychiatrists. And Facebook. And Covid restrictions. Additionally, he thinks everyone that doesn't love him, and maybe those that do love him and thus emulate his work, are all just jealous of his enormous talent. Finally on his list of complaints, is the fact that he is the only authentic rebel left. 

And (I know, how could there be more?), Van seems to think that the music he's making now sounds so different that people don't get it, and they should realize that he's progressing and get over it. Trust me, the only thing really new about this record is how totally bat-shit crazy Van Morrison sounds when words come out of his mouth.

There's been one or two of those angry songs on many of his records over the last 30 years or so. But this one has, by my count, something like 19 of them. Holy crap, there's 28 songs on the 2-CD set, and two thirds are him whining and complaining and being paranoid. And this is only Volume 1?

With brutal editing, this could have been a pretty good single disc release. At over two hours long, it is a disaster.

Jazz from the 1950s and 1960s

I'm a melody kind of guy. Raised on pop and rock with some folk mixed in, music fits me better when I can hum or whistle along. So the jazz I most like is the cool jazz and West Coast jazz of the fifties and sixties that lived in the same moment as the bebop and hard bop that I find overly aggressive and challenging. I understand that those hard boppers are highly talented and wildly creative, but they are clearly not mellow, and I like my jazz mellow. So here are a few of my favorites, in no particular order (well, actually alphabetically).

Kenny Burrell's Midnight Blue 1967 is classic blues/jazz at it's best. Burrell fronts a great band, including Stanley Turrentine, and everything comes out perfect.

Nat "King" Cole's After Midnight 1957. Before becoming a pop crooner singing with an orchestra, Cole was a pianist who led a jazz trio, and was widely considered one of the best. In 1957 Cole returned to his roots for the last time, and recorded this amazing session. If you never knew Cole as a jazz pianist, this is the place to start. The trio, supplemented by percussion, and horn (and violin) soloists, swings like crazy, and Cole's singing and piano are both stellar.

I can add nothing to the discussion of this great record. Sunday At The Village Vanguard 1961 is everything it is touted to be, and deserves the hype today as much as it did on it's release. Both Sunday At The Village Vanguard and Waltz For Debbie 1961, recorded at the same session, have been in print and available for purchase since their release. The pinnacle of the piano trio, with Scott LaFaro on bass and Paul Motian on drums, the three operated almost as one mind with six hands. You can just sit and enjoy it, or you can study it to death, either way, it holds up.

The Chico Hamilton Quintet featuring Buddy Collette 1956 is a fascinating West Coast jazz ensemble. Drummer Hamilton is joined by sax/flute/clarinetist Collette plus bass, cello, and guitar. It is an unusual ensemble, and they are spectacular. 

At The Pershing: But Not For Me 1958 was one of the biggest hits of it's time, staying on the charts for 108 weeks. It includes Jamal's first version of Poinciana, and it is a delightful record. Swinging and easy to love. 

Sinatra'a In The Wee Small Hours 1955 might be the very first concept album, and Sinatra would return to themed records several more times in the 50s and 60s. Great songs, Nelson Riddle's arrangements, and Sinatra at the peak of his understated power, it is one of Sinatra's finest.

Peggy Lee Ultimate Peggy Lee 2020

How many of these apply to you?

1) I love the classic 50s-60s era of great jazz and popular song.

2) I love a great female voice/singer.

3) I love a well-crafted song, delivered in a fine arrangement.

4) Good sound enhances my enjoyment of music. 

5) I'm not sure I am familiar enough with Peggy Lee.

If you can answer yes to a few of those (I'm good for all five), you need to hear this record. Available on CD or a very nicely pressed 2 LP set, the mastering job is excellent and the sound is impressive. The song selection is also good, with a few that don't usually make it to most of her "best of" sets. Of course there are many compilations by Lee out there, and her Decca and Capitol work are usually mutually exclusive, so it is also nice that this one contains three essentials from her mid-fifties Decca stint along with her Capitol work.

And then there's Peggy Lee's voice and sensual delivery. She is unique in her delivery. Sexy, but never coquettish, Lee whispers in your ear like a woman that knows.

Great songs (five that she wrote), great singer, great sound.

Drive-by Truckers The Three Great Alabama Icons 2001

I grew up in north Alabama back in the 1970s when dinosaurs still roamed the earth. I'm speaking, of course, of the three great Alabama icons: George Wallace, Bear Bryant, and Ronnie Van Zant. Now, Ronnie Van Zant wasn't from Alabama, he was from Florida, he was a huge Neil Young fan but in the tradition of Merle Haggard writing Okie From Muskogee to tell his dad's point of view on the hippies in Vietnam, Ronnie felt that the other side of the story should be told. Neil Young always claimed that Sweet Home Alabama was one of his favorite songs and legend has it that he was an honorary pallbearer at Ronnie's funeral, such is the duality of the southern thing
...and Bear Bryant wore a cool lookin' red checkered hat and won football games, and there's few things more loved in Alabama than football and the men who know how to win at it. So when the Bear would come to town, there would be a parade. Me, I was one of them pussy boys cuz i hated football, so i got a guitar but a guitar was a poor substitute for a football with the girls in my high school. So my band hit the road, and we didn't play no Skynyrd, neither. I came of age rebelling against the music in my high school parking lot. It wasn't until years later after leaving the South for a while that I came to appreciate and understand the whole Skynyrd thing and its misunderstood glory. I left the south and learned how different people's perceptions of the Southern Thing was from what I had seen in my life, which leads us to George Wallace...
...now Wallace was, for all practical purposes, the governor of Alabama from 1962 until 1986. Once when a law prevented him from succeeding himself, he ran his wife Lurleen in his place and she won by a landslide. He's most famous as the belligerent racist voice of the segregationist South, standing in the doorways of schools and waging a war against the federal government that he decried as Hypocritical. Now Wallace started out as a lawyer and a judge with a very progressive and humanitarian track record for a man of his time, but he lost his first bid for governor in 1958 by hedging on the race issue against a man who spoke out against integration. Wallace ran again in '62 as a staunch segregationist and won big and for the next decade he spoke out loudly. He accused Kennedy and King of being communist and he was constantly on national news representing "the good people" of Alabama
...and ya know race was only an issue on tv in the house that i grew up in. Wallace was viewed as a man from another time and place, but when i first ventured out of the south I was shocked at how strongly Wallace was associated with Alabama and its people. Racism is a worldwide problem, and it's been like that since the beginning of recorded history and it ain't just white and black, but thanks to George Wallace, it's always a little more convenient to play it with a Southern accent
...and Bands like Lynyrd Skynyrd attempted to show another side of the south, one that certainly exists, but few saw beyond the rebel flag and this applies not only to their critics and detractors but also their fans and followers. So for a while, when Neil Young would come to town, he'd get death threats down in Alabama. Ironically, in 1971, after a particularly racially charged campaign, Wallace began backpedaling and he opened up Alabama politics to minorities at a rate faster than most northern states or the federal government. Wallace spent the rest of his life trying to explain away his racist past and in 1982 he won his last term in office with over 90% of the black vote, such is the duality of the southern thing
...and George Wallace died back in '98 and he's in hell now, not because he's a racist. His track record as a judge and his late life quest for redemption make a good argument for his being, at worst, no worse than most white men of his generation, North or South. Because of his blind ambition and his hunger for votes, he turned a blind eye to the suffering of black America and he became a pawn in the fight against Civil Rights cause
...fortunately for him, the devil is also a southerner