Pearl Jam - Lightning Bolt (USA 2013)

What I Got For Xmas.

There are two unashamedly commercial stadium rock bands that I enjoy immensely and Pearl Jam are one of them. They have released a string of consistently good Rock albums over the last 23 years and this is their 10th studio set. I really admire Eddie Vedders singing and this album is chocked full of what will become PJ classics. Plenty of great riffs and the songs very quickly become entwined in the memory and grow in stature with repeated listens. PJ haven't let us down with this set, just doing what PJ do best and that is enough. Rating 4.5/5.

Various Artists - The Rubble Collection Volumes 1-20 (UK Late 1960s)

Hot on the Stereo this week.

 

 

Back in my younger days, soon after my initial punk phase, I started exploring the earlier musics of the decade of my birth and soon after that I was somehow introduced to the growing proliferation of sixties garage and psychedelic compilations. The initial plunge into these murky waters was via the first two volumes of Pebbles and then the Back From The Grave comps. Not long after, these Rubble compilations appeared in our local stores and I managed to pick up several volumes on vinyl. They became staples of the scene with quite a few of my friends grooving to these obscure lost sounds while playing card games and partaking mind altering green substances etc...(The Card Game was called "Grass", you can guess what it was about").

 Unlike the other comps mentioned above, the Rubble sets were of British origin and had a more psychedelic tinge to the rare 45RPM pop singles included within. I no longer have the vinyl copies but did manage to download the entire 20 volumes of the net some time back. Am hoping to procure the CDs some time soon. 

The first six volumes and Volumes 11 & 12 were the ones I originally had and they are an  absolute stunning collection of totally awesome lo-fi psychedelic pop like only the 60s could produce. All this stuff just blows all the modern indie pop off the planet. It has been so good to blast these classics again, so many of which have been etched into my subconscious from the thrashing they got 30 years ago. This music hasn't lost any of it's potency through age and volume one introduced me to the totally mindblowing "I Must Be Mad", The Craig's all time classic which would be close to the top of my favourite 60's garage/psych list. It has been a real trip down memory lane revisiting so many fabulous tracks that still sound so familiar today, to many classics to mention. The rest of the volumes have managed to keep up the quality of the earlier ones and  have thrown up some more tracks that could compete with those already familiar classics. Plenty of great little 60s psych guitar solos throughout this large collection and plenty of catchy melodies dripping psychedelica. A highly recommended collection for the 60s psych affectionado.  Rating 5/5.

Sun Ra - Out There A Minute (USA 1989)

The Sun Ra Discography.

Oh look, another Sun Ra CD post sitting in my draft file from last year.
This set is a compilation released back when so much of the Sun Ra Catalogue was almost impossible to obtain. Several tracks come off albums that were re-issued at a later date and I now have on CD, but several tracks are previously unissued. Read more about that at NuViod.
A good sampling of Ra's early 60s output and the unreleased cuts are worth the outlay. " Somewhere in Space" is especially excellent and Ra certainly selected some of his more accessible material for this compilation. Rating 4/5.

Sun Ra - Strange Worlds (AKA Solar Myth Approach Vol.1-2) (USA 1972/2005)

The Sun Ra Discography.

Had this sitting in the draft folder for quite a while as I took a break from Ra's music. I think this was the last Ra Purchase I made last year after probably adding about half of his vast catalogue to my collection. So after a busy day harvesting Vegetables from my garden, mowing my rather large lawns and catching up with some music and blog entires, I am sitting here listening to Ra making some interesting noodlings on some kind of weird sounding electronic keyboard instrument, after opening the first disc with a cool version of "Ancient Ethiopia". The "Strange Worlds" release is actually  the two volumes of "The Solar Myth Approach" from 1971-72, Volume 2 is on disc one and volume 1 is on disc2 and the tracks are all mixed up, but all the titles from the original releases are here and the whole set is pretty far out and weird and quite a mix of the different aspects of Ra's cannon. All pretty cool and enjoyable if somewhat challenging. Rating 3.5/5.

Jacques Demierre : Breaking Stone (Tzadik USA 2013)

More Tzadik music.

I am really starting to get quite a collection of  21st century "Classical" music through these Tzadik releases. most of it isn't anything like the classical music we all know from the 18th and 19th centuries and I am enjoying most of these different type of compositions.

This particular release opens with an impressive 3 part  solo piano piece that is fast in tempo and quite minimalist in structure, especially the second movement. I like it a lot. Things get a lot weirder on "Sumpatheia" which is a very sparse piece with no melody and random sounding noises from the duo of violin and guitar, neither of which are played in any conventional way on a lot of this composition. A lot of plucking sounds from the guitar. Not really my thing and neither is the title piece, which is 40 minutes of the composer making very weird vocal sounds and occasional tinklings on his piano, I have not been able to sit through the whole piece yet. A disappointing release for me apart from the excellent opening piece and get a rating of 2/5. 

Suphala : Alien Ancestry (Tzadik USA 2013)

More Tzadik music.

Suphala plays the Tabula and composes this music, with oud,cajon, garhand and frame drum as well as more familiar instruments sprinkles throughout the compositions you would be right in labeling this some kind of world music. Very Indian sounding and adds another feather in the diversity of the Tzadik catalogue. The music is good  and interesting on closer inspection but not something I would get excited about. Still,a nice relaxing vibe for a warm summers afternoon. Rating 2.5/5.

Marco Cappelli Acoustic Trio : Le Stagioni Del Commissario Ricciardi (Tzadik USA 2013)

A Recent Tzadik Release

Way behind on the Tzadik CDs that I purchased last year and so while I am avoiding mowing my lawns(they're not that long yet) I am getting to listen to some cool music.

This CD is very cool, Marco's "Extreme" classical guitar sounds superb and throughout this set of European styled jazz, which would sound at home on ECM, he takes the breath away with some sublime playing. This is not all serious though, there are some quite fun moments here and the recording quality is excellent. Rating 4.5/5.

John Zorn - Shir Hashirim - (Tzadik USA 2013)

John's last release of the year.

An all female a capella album not unlike the Mycale "Book Of Angels" volume. As the blurb above states, this is a real mix of influences and on first casual listens the atmosphere of Plainchant is obvious, but there is no actual singing on this release. Instead each track is constructed using the voices as if they were musical instruments. It is beautifully done and there are some recognisable melodies from other Zorn music but presented in a different way. It is most impressive, but I find it all starts to sound the same across the whole set, also I have a difficulty of certain resonances created by the combination and pitch of the voices that makes for hard work to listen to. Makes nice background music and is certainly an impressive achievement. Rating 3/5.

John Zorn - In Lambeth—Visions From The Walled Garden Of William Blake (Tzadik USA 2013)

John Zorn's December 2013 Release.

Phew! More Zorn. Zorn's Gnostic Trio recordings are not my favourites, the combination of harp, Vibes/Bells and guitar is too mellow sounding for me although this recording is fleshed out with some subtle electronics from Ikue Mori. Certainly some of Zorn's more accessible music, jazz flavoured and quite laid back, makes good background music though and certainly isn't unpleasant but not one I will revisit a lot. Rating 2.5/5

Painkiller - The Prophecy (Tzadik USA 2013)

Another John Zorn arrival

The second Zorn release from November, a live Painkiller recording from several concerts in europe in 2004-5. Selections edited into one 65 minute long suit of mindblowing proportions. Zorn and Laswell are impressive as usual but the Japanese Drummer is brilliant and his solos are excellent. Not so much of the Hardcore stuff like their first albums but plenty of more atmospheric and dubby improvisations with plenty of great Zorn Sax. A well put together suit and an enjoyable if not taxing listen.Rating 4/5.