John Zorn's Book Of Angles Volume Seven(Masada Book Two - Asmodeus - Mark Ribot (USA 2007)

Masada Book Two.

Volume seven takes us back to a more Rock format with this power trio led by Marc Ribot. The music is more Fusion orientated and The Mahavishnu Orchestra could be a good reference point. Some impressive guitaring from Ribot, as expected, amongst the chaos of many of these tracks. The stand out is "Yezriel" which is more melodic and finds the band doing a fine Hendrix impersonation. A pretty full on set with a bit to much chaos for my liking and I am finding I am not as impressed with the more Rock orientated releases in this series.Still a good release and I rate it 3/5.

Sun Ra - Fate In A Pleasant Mood (USA 1965) and When Sun Comes Out (USA 1963)

Latest Sun Ra Arrival.

As we leave the 50's recordings of Sun Ra and enter the 60's with the 7 tracks from the excellently named "Fate In A Pleasant Mood", recorded with a smaller set of musicians in Chicago in 1960 and 61.

Still mostly recognisable as jazz music and mostly more conventional sounding, this is a nice set of Ra tunes of mostly a slower tempo with some cool sax melodies which are growing on me as I get more familiar with them. "When Sun Comes Out" recorded a couple of years later starts off a little weirder than "Fate...." and has taken a little more time for me to get into it but I am enjoying it more now and the later part of the album is a little more conventional sounding."Kingdom of Thunder" is my personal favourite from "Fate..." and is the most unconventional and Ra like track on this set. A real bonus on this set is the previously unreleased "Dimensions in Time" which could quite easily make it onto a best of Sun Ra set, the sax blowing is beautiful. 
Overall Rating for this CD release 4/5.

John Zorn's Book Of Angles Volume Six(Masada Book Two - Moloch - Uri Caine (USA 2006)

Masada Book Two.

This solo set of piano interpretations by the impressive Uri Caine has impressed me no end. Sitting here several nights this week with my headphones really got me into his playing on this set. Some really quite beautiful moments that really captivated me. I was reminded of some of the Keith Jarrett solo stuff I have heard. This set is played mostly straight, with only a small amout of the usual musical chaos usually found in Zorn's music, plenty of great melodies here and overall an exquisite listening experience. A highly recommended volume. Rating 5/5.

John Zorn's Book Of Angels Volume Five(Masada Book Two) - Balan - The Cracow Klezmer Band (USA 2006)

Masada Book Two

I have struggled to give this one as much attention as I should due to being constantly drawn to the next volume in this series. So here we have a real Klezmer band interpreting John Zorn's Klezmer inflected Masada compositions. It's a good set, the band are hot and the music interesting, although I could do without the strange vocal noises that permeate some of the tracks.  Another good and enjoyable album but one that doesn't draw me back as much as others. Rating 3.5/5.  

Shovels & Rope - O' Be Joyful (USA 2013)

Another new CD arrival.

This really caught my attention when the opening track appeared on this months Uncut Magazine. Instant connection with the music and even more impressed when I checked out the album on Spotify. Album arrived today and played it to Mrs. Roddus over dinner and even she was quite impressed. The first thing that stands out about this Husband and Wife Duo is her sounding so much like Loretta Lynn. A set of classic Americana with all the right trappings, a bit of banjo, a bit of fiddle, great tunes, some dirty bass and guitar, a tour with Jack White, a bit of attitude and just plain good. Rating 4.5/5.

Jeff Buckley - Grace (USA 1994)

Off The Shelf.

The cover star of this months Uncut Magazine, with a gushing article about this late lamented Singer-Songwriter. So I was inspired to dust this off and give it a listen again. Jeff has always come in for some very high praise for his limited output and although I do really like this record, some of that praise seems a bit overboard. I actually brought this on the strength of his cover of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" Quite probably one of the most fantastic cover versions ever done, next to Devo's version of "Satisfaction", I'd rate"Hallelujah" in my top 10. Anyhow, this is a folksy tinged pop/rock record par excellent and takes some listens for its contents to reveal them selves fully. Several songs impress me plenty but some more quieter ones like "Corpus Christi Carol", I struggle with, especially his very high pitched singing. But plenty here to enjoy and it is a grower. Rating 4/5.

Neneh Cherry and The Thing - The Cherry Thing (UK 2012)

Recent CD arrival.

This one has been on my wants list for a while since hearing the awesome version of Suicide's "Dream Baby Dream" on an uncut CD Last year. Arriving recently for my listening pleasure, this collaboration presents us with a kind of jazz inflected I don't know what. The brilliant version of the Stooges "Dirt" reminds me of Morphine, just to give you an idea. Lots of dirty late night sax and heavy beats. A great set with mostly covers and a couple of originals, including one tracks by Neneh's father Don Cherry as well as an Orenette Coleman number to close the set. A very cool release and rating 4/5.

Jon Madof - Zion80 (USA 2013)

Another Recent Arrival

Wow! Arrived yesterday and blowing my mind straight away. Put on to this by fellow blogger Sarah and what a great recommendation. The Fela Kuti connection had me interested right away but not all Afrobeat influenced music tickles my fancy. This album just rocks, Jewish afro-funk cum prog rock combined to perfection on this non stop roller-coaster of a record and will appeal those who loved John Zorn's Masada Rocks and Electric Masada. No weak links here just 60 minutes of pure joy and pleasure. One of those records that just blows you away on the first listen and holds up well after several repeats.Rating 5/5.

Bob Dylan - The Bootleg Series, Vol. 5: Bob Dylan Live 1975 - The Rolling Thunder Revue (USA 2002)

Off The Shelf.

Mrs Roddus out done herself the other year by getting me all the rest of Bob Dylan's Bootleg series that I didn't already have, for Christmas. This was one of them. 

Chock full of great songs, especially from the "Blood On The Tracks" and "Desire" albums. Bob dose some acoustic numbers, some duets with Joan Baez and just rocks out on the rest of the selections on this 2 CD set from the Rolling Thunder Revue tour of '75. The band is excellent the sound is good and I have so been enjoying this through the week so far. A great addition to the Bootleg series and I rate it 4.5/5.

Fela Ransome Kuti & The Africa '70 - Afrodisiac (Nigeria 1973)

Off The Shelf

There is a fantastic video on You Tube of Fela playing some damp club in Nigeria in 1971 and filmed by Ginger Baker. The sound quality is crap but the music is phenomenal and none of the later concert footage I have seen on dates in Europe and the UK can compare with the spectre of Fela playing on his home turf.

The track they played in that video is " Je'Nwi Temi (Don't Gag Me)" from this album and after watching the clip again tonight thought I would listen to the studio recording of that song which then led to me checking out the rest of the album. 

I really dig Fela and none of his early 70's releases are bad. Chock full of fantastic and infectious grooves with Sax melodies that become instantly recognisable and like totally blow me away. This set is mindblowing all the way through and doesn't let up. I can't review this stuff, I can only rave about it. If you haven't yet experienced Fela then start now and this album is as good as any place to start. Rating 5/5.

John Zorn's Book Of Angles Volume Four(Masada Book two) - Orobas - Koby Israelite (USA 2006)

Masada Book Two.

And now for something considerably different. Volume four is a far more rock orientated affair, consider progressive rock a-la king Crimson blended with world music and a little jazz and you get a kinda description of this music. It is similar in style to Volume 19 which I reviewed recently and is also similar to the Electric Masada project that Zorn released from the first Masada songbook. It is an interesting release and rocks quite heavily in places and I find the tracks stand up well on their own but like volume 19 I find it difficult to stay with this set throughout its entirety. It is quite good though and there are some unusual instruments given a good playing by Koby. Overall I rate it 3/5.

John Zorn's Book Of Angels Volume Three(Masada Book Two) - Malphas - Mark Feldman & Sylvie Courvoisier (USA 2006)

Masada Book Two

This third volume kinda blurs the line a little between Jazz and classical or chamber music. Mark Feldman appears on his second Book of Angles along with pianist Sylvie Courvoisier and this combination of instruments doesn't quite impress me as much, perhaps I miss the bass to get things swinging. Sylvie is a talented player but after the Jamie Shaft volume I am slightly under whelmed by the playing here. Again a mix of melodic pieces mixed with more atonal moments as is usual on these releases. It is still an enjoyable volume but lust lacks the intensity and passion of the first two volumes.Rating 3/5.

Throbbing Gristle - 24 Hours Of Throbbing Gristle (Box Set) (UK 1980/2003)

Off The Shelf.

Yes that's right, I do own a copy of this outrageous box set. Yes that's right I am not allowed to play it without headphones in the house and yes it is a fabulous wall of noise, unlistenable to most normal humans. 24 hour long live recordings from 1976 to 1980, originally released in a limited edition of like only 50 copies back in 1980, my copy is the 2003 CD reissue, also limited and now getting quite rare as well. The label industrial music suits this music well. Throbbing Gristle make an unholy racket, but manage to actually make something both intriguing and wonderful and these concerts are nothing short of astonishing. I can't describe them or articulate why I like this music, but TG had something magic about them that made this sludge work and made them a major influence on the modern rock scene.  A mammoth box set that is not for the faint of heart, this is one of the most precious CDs I own. I don't listen to it nearly as much as I should and usually approach it with some dread until its sonic vibrations finally wash over me and blow my mind.

Rating 5/5.