Jean-Luc Ponty - Jazz in Paris - Jazz Long Playing (1964)

Roddus Album Of The Day

1 Une Nuit au Violon Solal 4:45
2 Modo Azul Gilson 4:40
3 Spanish Castles Gruntz 3:41
4 Sniffin' the Blues Gilson 3:30
5 Postlude in C Fol 3:22
6 Au Privave Parker 3:46
7 Manoir de Mes Rêves Reinhardt 3:06
8 Ytnop Blues Ponty 3:12
9 I Want to Talk About You Eckstine 3:50
10 A Night in Tunisia Gillespie, Paparelli 3:03
11 Satin Doll Ellington, Mercer, Strayhorn 4:20 

Daniel Humair Drums
Eddy Louiss Organ, Piano
Guy Pedersen Bass, Double Bass
Jean-Luc Ponty Violin
Michel Portal Flute
Gilbert Rovere Bass, Double Bass

A super quick review just before I shoot out the door and head into the city for a meeting. European style Jazz from this Violin player on his first outing as a band leader. As usual, well played and recorded quality jazz, but just doesn't inspire me much at all, makes ok background music but I just couldn't really get into it much and can only rate it 2/5.

Check it out here

Mississippi John Hurt - Avalon Blues The Complete 1928 OKeh Recordings

Roddus Album Of The Day

Another release from the excellent "Roots & Blues Series, Mississippi John Hurt's music from these exceptional sounding 1928 recordings sound more like folk with blues roots. If you listen carefully to his pickin' you will hear the blues but to me the overall feeling is folkish.  These old recordings, when listened to in this format get a bit tedious. When this music was originally released, it was as 10 inch 78rpm discs with one song per side and most properly recorded in those pairs as well, so they wern't listened to as a whole collection of songs as they are on a Cd release such as this and this is always a consideration to take into account when listening to a set like this.Having said that Johns music really does fail to move me and although his pickin' is very good and the singing is clear and he is clearly talented, I really can only rate it 2/5 on the Roddusometer.

 Check it out here

Mashmakhan - Mashmakhan / The Family (1970/71 Canada)

Roddus Album Of The Day

01.Days Whenwe Are Free 6:11
02.I Know I've Been Wrong 4:47
03.As the Years Go By 3:03
04.Shades of Loneliness 4:46
05.Afraid of Losing You 4:07
06.Gladwin 4:23
07.If I Tried 4:33
08.appy You Should Be 3:47
09.Nature's Love Song 3:49
10.Letter from Zambia 6:11

1-Children Of The Sun
2-The Family
3-The Prince
4-Come again
5-Children Laughing
6-Couldn't Find The Sun
7-Start All Over
8-The Trees

 Another two on one re-release from this very good Canadian rock group. Quality pop/rock with progressive learning's on par with their English counterparts of the time. All sorts happening in these songs, with organ, strings, flute, vocal harmonising, some very good guitar solos and extended breaks, some interesting lyrics and social commentary, as well as some spirituality of sorts. Plenty of catchy melody's also make this a very enjoyable  listen across both albums and re-listening more attentively to this again tonight as I type, I find that the songs have grown on me as from what I thought of them earlier today. A good sign of what could become a favorite of mine given enough attention. My rating 4/5

Pickin' On Pink Floyd(A Bluegrass Tribute) - Various Artists (USA 2001)

Roddus Album Of The Day

01. David West - See Emily Play (3:43)
02. Dennis Cannonball Caplinger - Money (6:11)
03. David West - Astonomy Domine (5:14)
04. Lorenzo Martinez  - Julia's Dream (3:59)
05. Tom Ball - Another Brick In The Wall (4:03)
06. David West - Run Like Hell (4:16)
07. Bill Flores - Wish You Were Here (3:33)
08. Lorenzo Martinez - Breathe In The Air (4:02)
09. David West - Lucifer Sam (3:25)
10. Byron Berline - Comfortably Numb (5:45)
11. Tom Ball - Time (4:28)
12. David West - Goodbye Blue Sky (3:06)

Been a busy day on the Ipod today, as well as a busy day working. Had three albums on the go today, this one being the original random selection for the day and the other two cos I heard bits of them last night and they needed to be listened too today.

 After the laughter dies down on the first listen to "Pickin' On Pink Floyd" you get to realise these guys are serious. I do like Bluegrass and the potential for this to be awesome is high. Although the playing is excellent and the guys get to stretch out with some imporv within the context of the songs, it gets a bit tedious after a while and not all the material works that well for me, especially the tracks off "The Wall", which along with "Dark Side..." predominates here. It does make for very good background music and would be far superior, played in malls than the dribble they usually feed us.It also stands up better to closer inspection to appreciate the quality of the playing here. My Rating 3/5

Listen to this here

Manna - Manna (USA 1972)

Roddus Album Of The Day Part Two

01. Good Old Rock And Roll  (2:50)
02. Tell Me Why (3:24)
03. Save The Country (3:07)
04. What Ya Gonna Do (3:05)
05. We Can Make It (3:11)
06. Red Man (4:52)
07. Southern Bound (2:43)
08. Clap Your Hands (2:59)
09. Hold On (4:48)
10. New Day's Coming (4:05)
11. Children Of The Mountain (5:01)

This little gem has that early 70s rock vibe that I like so much with its Blues/country influenced pop/rock. There must have been some Indian blood in the group because there are several references to Native Americans, especially "Red Man" which totally rocks out and then finishes wit an authentic sounding Indian chant. "Southern Bound' deals with moving away from racial prejudice. "Tell Me Why" references Crosby, Still and Nash and there is a bit of Neil Young as well as southern rock across the rest of the album. I wish I had the time  to give this more attention as it really deserves it  and  I have enjoyed it thoroughly. Another excellent rare post from the brilliant Rare MP3 Music Blog and my rating 4/5.

Listen to this rare classic  Here

Abstract Truth - Totum/Silver Tree (South Africa 1970)

Roddus Album Of The Day  Part Three

1. Jersey Thursday - 3:51
2. Coming Home Baby - 6:36
3. Oxford Town - 4:12
4. Fat Angel (Working Song) - 10:05
5. Summertime - 5:18
6. Scarborough Fair - 3:47
7. Parchman Farm (Moaning) - 3:01
8. Ain't Necessarily So (Take Five) - 10:05
9. Total Totum (Acid Raga) - 5:19 

Album of the day, of the albums of the day, this one, these two. This comes from the CD re-release of these two 1970 albums from this excellent but short lived South African  folk/jazz/prog band. Totum, I believe, was the first release and comprises of mostly covers, but covers done like you have never heard them before.  With flute and sax as well as guitar and hand percussion, this album is mostly a mellow laid back affair but psychs out  on "Fat Angel"  and has a real stoned late night feel about the rest of it. A lost classic and worthy of 4.5/5.

 Listen to this quality lost gem here

1. Pollution - 3:13
2. Silver Trees - 8:14
3. In A Space - 3:54
4. Moving Away - 2:58
5. Two - 2:36
6. Blue Wednesday Speaks - 4:12
7. It's Alright With Me - 2:42 

This next album is quite a different affair, more conventional Prog type rock songs this time but still with flute and some organ as well. Also still has that laid back feel even though the pace has lifted somewhat from the previous album. The Jazz thing is still there with some nice playing on the title track. "In a Space" is a cool number with great guitar and more sax. A strong album throughout, though I believe my version has two tracks missing from the Cd release. The last track "Its Alright With Me" is a real choice rocker and  the song that really caught my attention last night and deserves to be on A Roddus sampler. Overall an outstanding album and so different from it's  predecessor, which just show the talent of  this band. My rating 4.5/5

Listen Here

Deep Purple - The Book of Taliesyn (UK 1968)

Roddus Album Of The Day

1. Listen, learn, read on 04:04
2. Wring that neck (instrumental) 05:13
3. Kentucky woman 04:44
4. Exposition / We can work it out 07:07
5. Shield 06:06
6. Anthem 06:31
7. River deep, mountain high 10:12
8. Oh no no no (Studio Outtake) 04:25
9. It's all over (Live) 04:14
10. Hey bop a re bop (Live) 03:31
11. Wring that neck (Live) 04:42
12. Playground (instrumental) 04:29

I have been into The Purple for many many years, but until a few years ago only ever owned their double Cd Anthology set from 1991, which served me pretty well and survived many a party.

This second album I scored on CD some time ago was released in 2000, remastered with bonus tracks. tracks eight and twelve are previously unreleased studio tracks and stand up pretty well with the other original songs on the LP although "Oh No No No" is a bit rough on the recording quality but "Playground" sounds much better and is a very good piece as well and adds  to the release, whereas the rest of the bonus tracks are pretty lo-fi recordings taken from the BBC's Top Gear and are really unnecessary here.

As for the seven tracks from the original release, "Wring That Neck" and "Shield" I know well from Anthology and are classic Purple, brilliant songs awesome guitar and of course the trade mark organ sound. I really enjoyed the tight bass playing in this set and there are some classic bass lines happening here. Some of this sounds like the purple were taking notice of The Nice as well. The rest, except "Anthem", are pretty good covers and again Ritchie's soloing on "River Deep..." is great. " The Neo-Classical "Anthem", apparently one of their best known songs off this set(according to the liner notes) and not on the Anthology set, doesn't cut it for me and lets the whole thing down a bit. For such a rushed second album it sure is pretty strong , but the covers testify that The Purple  were still finding their feet and although there are shades of what was to come, this sounds still rooted in the sixties.My Rating 4/5 without the bonus tracks, 3.5/5 with bonus tracks.

Get into it Here

Human Temple - Murder of Crows (Finland 2010)

Another Roddus Album Of The Day

Now these guys want to be big, and they want to be BIG in America. Another album by a band that sounds just like they should come from somewhere in middle America, with no indication of their Finnish roots. Well produced and well polished AOR/Hard Rock, very commercial sounding and not bad to boot. Although mostly strong tracks, a couple or so tracks get a bit boring, but  introducing some stylistic changes such as the blues inflected "Promised land" and the more full on Heavy Metal of the stand out,  "Emily", keep this album more interesting. Overall I will give it 3/5.

Check it out here

Jag Panzer - The Age Of Mastery (USA 1998)

Roddus Album Of The Day

1. Iron Eagle (5:39)
2. Lustful And Free (4:49)
3. Twilight Years (4:37)
4. Sworn To Silence (3:24)
5. False Messiah (Jack Starr cover) (5:12)
6. The Age Of Mastery (4:30)
7. Viper (4:39)
8. Displacement (4:28)
9. Chain Of Command (5:50)
10. Take This Pain Away (4:46)
11. Burning Heart (3:54)
12. The Moors (5:38)



Had two albums on the go today and both of them were metal. By the end of the day I wasn't sure which one I was listening to as they repeated on the ipod, but I did have a pretty busy day and it was difficult to focus on the music while working. That said this album is surprisingly better than I expected. This Iron Maiden influenced effort starts off with a couple of pretty strong full on numbers, with "Lustful and Free" Being the albums strongest track.Although predominately what I think is referred to as power metal, this LP also has plenty of other metal styles mixed in such as "Sworn to Silence" which has that slight rap lilt like Anthrax, and they pull it off well. As I re-listen to this again tonight, the playing is excellent and some of the guitaring is pretty technical and almost verging on speed metal. The title track is a great heavy rock number and wouldn't be out of place on the radio, has the right kind if catchy chorus. Plenty of metal cliches abound on this, but then it wouldn't be a metal album if it didn't. Just going on a bit to long at 57 minutes and as is usually the case for most  albums over 40 minutes the quality of the songs tends to deteriorate towards the end, or maybe its that I loose concentration, but again it all starts to blur into sounding the same. Still, overall another enjoyable metal album to ad to my small "Good Metal Albums" collection with a rating of 3.5/5.

Listen Here

Flux Of Pink Indians - Strive To Survive Causing The Least Suffering Possible (UK 1982)

Roddus Album Of The Day

1. Song For Them (0:37)
2. Charity Hilarity (1:29)
3. Some Of Us Scream, Some Of Us Shout (2:00)
4. Take Heed (2:30)
5. TV Dinners (4:35)
6. Tapioca Sunrise (4:36)
7. Progress (1:42)
8. They Lie We Die (3:07)
9. Blinded By Science (2:36)
10. Myxomatosis (2:18)
11. Is There Anybody There? (3:50)
12. The Fun Is Over (2:15)
13. Sick Butchers (2:27)
14. Background of Malfunction (2:47)
15. Neu Smell (0:36)
16. Tube Disasters (2:43)
17. Poem (0:44)

After the last two terrible "Roddus Albums of The Day", I deliberately picked an album for today that I know I liked. As well as being the debut LP by one of the best named bands ever, "Strive To Survive Causing The Least Suffering Possible" is one of the best Anarcho-Punk albums ever.

 Sometime in my early music collecting career, I brought an imported single on Crass Records, because I really dug Crass, called "Nu Smell", being the debut single by Flux Of  Pink Indians. Like Bad Brains "Pay to Cum" before it, this slab of  incendiary punk sent me into 7th heaven every  time I played it and almost 30 years later it still gets my adrenalin pumping. "Strive to Survive" continues on with the anti-establishmentarianism, anarcho-punk cum vegetarianism and anti- religionism of Flux' and although this music is agressive, its  has plenty of melody and great hooks to keep you interested and is a bit more diverse than your average wall of noise anarcho-punks. As I may have mentioned before, many years ago someone slightly older than me said I would grow out of this sort of music, and although I have grown into many other forms of music in the intervening 28 years, I still really dig  this album and will rate it 5+/5.

Listen to this masterpiece here and if you dig it as much as I do, buy it.

Jad Fair and Kramer - The Sound Of Music - An Unfinished Symphony In 12 Parts (USA1999)

Roddus Album Of The Day

More offbeat music from weird America. This didn't load onto my ipod properly last night and I didn't know until I was walking out the door this morning to go to work and it wouldn't play. It was a good thing, cos I couldn't really have handled listening to Jad's Nerdy whine for too long and the music is just is totally uninspiring and uninteresting, this stuff is underground and fairly obscure because it should be, will only appeal to other weird people and indie nerds and I cant be bothered with it for any more of my precious listening time. I expected more from Kramer, as his Shimmy Discs label and his other project, Bongwater, were much more worthy of attention than this album.I will give it a rating of 1/5

The Frogs - Racially Yours (USA 1993)

Roddus Album Of The Day

1. Truth (2:05)
2. Holidays 4 King (1:37)
3. Sorry I'm White (1:20)
4. White Guy (2:11)
5. 400 Years (2:17)
6. Racially Yours (1:50)
7. Now You Know You're Black (2:58)
8. White Like Me (2:14)
9. My Slave (2:54)
10.Freedom (2:18)
11.Whitefully Dead (2:06)
12.Blackman, Blackman (4:07)
13.Full Of Monkeys (2:29)
14.I Had A Dream (2:45)
15.Revolution (2:18)
16.Massa (2:17)
17.Darkmeat 4 Sale (2:34)
18.The Flag (2:29)
19.An Unwanted Child & A Wanted Man (2:11)
20.2 Blacks Don't Make A White (2:02)
21.The Purification Of The Race (2:26)
22.You're A Bigot (2:27)
23.The Blue-Eyed Devil & The Brown-Eyed angel (2:34)
24.Uncle Sam Loves U (3:22)
25.Prejudiced (2:20)

Just listening to this weird indie type music as I prepare this post for tomorrow and load the album onto my ipod, I don't think I could stand listening to this obscure offbeat American underground indie dribble for very long at all, so I 'm gonna just say that this inspires no interest at all in me to want to listen to this album or this band ever again and the person who likened it as to being up there with Pavement's "Slanted and Enchanted" as the best indie albums of that year, must be deaf. Got this off emusic many years ago and have only now just listened to it and now will delete it off my hard drive.There is far too much very good music to listen to than bother with this.Rating 0/5.

Stars - Paradice (Australia 1977)

Another Roddus Album Of The Day

01. Back Again (4:13)
02. Let's Get Moving (4:08)
03. Paradise (3:26)
04. Jupiter Creek (3:32)
05. Mighty Rock (3:08)
06. West Is The Way (5:02)
07. Song For The Road (4:16)
08. No Time for Crying (4:48)
09. Look After Yourself (4:00)
10. Rocky Mountain Way (11:03)

 

Another little known band that my blogging Buddie, Chuntao, has posted over at Rare MP Music. This lightweight rock or AOR ,as it is known in  the industry, album doesn't look too inspiring from the cover art and this type of music being released during the first punk wars, is surely a warning. Of course you can never judge a book by the cover, and this album defiantly for fills that prophecy. Although not something to rave about, this is an enjoyable debut outing from these guys with these finely crafted songs with plenty of good guitar hooks and a tinge of country to boot. Not really any stand out tracks but mention must be made of the rock out finale of an extended live jam of Joe Walsh's "Rocky Mountain Way" which,  although I can do without the Pete Framption imitation, does have some great guitar soloing going down.A clean and very competent recording, there isn't much to indicate they were Australian, more like Middle America. "Mighty Rock" was a moderate hit, deservedly so, and "Back Again " should have done similar.My Rating 3/5

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The Sugar Shoppe - The Sugar Shoppe (Canada 1968)

Roddus Album Of The Day

01. Skip-A-Long Sam (3:00)
02. The Attitude (2:18)
03. Baby Baby (3:18)
04. Take Me Away (2:59)
05. Let The Truth Come Out (2:57)
06. Follow Me (2:30)
07. Poor Papa (2:24)
08. Priviledge (3:08)
09. Papa, Won’t You Let Me Go To Town With You (3:30)
10. The Candy Children Song (2:35)
11. Hangin’ Together (2:29)

Clearly modeled on the Mama's and The Papa.s, this obscure Canadian vocal orientated 60s pop group is a pleasant and enjoyable listen with this mix of originals and covers. Like their Californian counterparts, their harmony singing is excellent and this mellow offering maintains a reasonable quality throughout.Good bass lines, plenty of well arranged strings, quaint 60s lyrics with a hint of Beatles, of course, and some nice psychedelic guitar, this should keep any 60s pop fan happy. "Let the Truth Come Out" has some excellent Neil Young Style guitaring, and their cover of Bobby Gentry's "Papa won't let Me Go to Town With You" has a real jazzy vibe. Sometimes its gets a bit sugary, but there are no songs that I have any real aversion too.My Rating 3/5. Another quality rare post from Rare MP3 Music.co.uk

Listen to this Here

Whiskeytown - Pueumonia (USA 2001)

Roddus Album Of The Day

The other of my essential favorites of the younger generation of  musicians along with Jack White is the also prolific and idiosyncratic Ryan Adams. Whiskeytown , fronted by Adams, was an alt country band along the lines and properly influenced by Uncle Tupelo. They released 3 Lps before they folded, this being their third, which wasn't released untill well after they had split and Adams had released his debut solo effort.
 Adams is a class A song writer and this albums consists of  a score of  excellent melodic laidback alt country pop tunes that grow in stature after repeated listens and have become classics for me over the years, along with much of Adams other releases and I suspect that if this album had been released earlier and they had stayed together, the commercialbility of this music may have payed off handsomely for them.That said, for me this is the weakest Whiskeytown Album and clocking in at 57 minutes is a tad long and the songs in the second half don't have quite the same appeal for me. Another album where the songs tend to blur into each other later in the piece and make it harder to retain my attention,although they do stand up well on their own. still overall, worth a respectable 4/5 on the Roddusometer.

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Cosa Nostra - Cosa Nostra (Mexico 1971)

Roddus Album Of The Day

1. Get Down And Do It (6:34)
2. Memory Of Your Touch (6:42)
3. I Like It Like That (3:22)
4. Somebody Been Sleepin On MY Bed (4:31)
5. Squeeze It Tight (6:12)
6. Proud Mary (4:01)
7. Cosa Nostra (5:13)
8. Change Of Mind (5:13)

Can't seem to find anything about this obscure artifact and I can't even remember from where I found it, possibly from the blog linked below, and I am not even sure what motivated me to check it out. It's been on my hard drive for a little while and today I was inspired enough to keep it playing on the ipod throughout out the day. There is not a lot here to indicate the Mexican origins of this LP, except the groovy Latin number "I Like It like That". Apart from that, the rest of the album is pretty much psychedelic soul infused funk, and pretty good funk at that. with some strong tracks that make me want to move and some enjoyable blues tinged psychedelic guitar breaks giving it that late 60s vibe. Also a bit if an early disco vibe to some tracks. Not a particularly serious band as indicated by some of the silly lyrics sung with funny voices, which while works ok, I feel it takes away from the more serious musical passages. The other slight let down is the schmaltzy ballad "Memory of Your Touch", but this is the only real low point of this interesting platter. My rating for this one is gonna be 3/5

Listen to this here

Bainito Muyanda - Kifo Cha Wamalwa (Kenya )

Roddus Album Of The Day

A very quick review,cos it's late and there ain't too much to say about this except that I agree with Brian from Awesome Tapes from Africa blog, where I found this in that it all sounds pretty much the same, hard to tell each song apart from the last and although the music is pleasant enough to the ears, overall it just gets a bit tedious.So I won't spent any more time with it and will rate it 1.5/5.

Check this out Here

Sufjan Stevens - Greetings from Michigan- The Great Lake State (USA 2003)

Roddus Album Of The Day

Brought this one quite a while back after falling for his next album released after this one. This album was the first one in an ambitious (and now abandoned) project to do an album representing each of the 50 States of Mainland America. Hadn't really absorbed too much of this album before today and although it starts off strong and I really enjoy the originality and quaintness of his compositions on this disc, at 66 minutes it tends to drag on a bit too long to keep me interested all the way through and after repeated listens by early afternoon I had had enough. Sufjan has talent. His compositions presented here are well thought out,  well recorded and well played and he has combined so many different styles into his unusual and idiosyncratic version of indie pop, that the attentive listener will find plenty to keep them going after many repeated listens. But on general listening it kind of all blurs into itself . Once you hear Sufan's  music it is unmistakable and his style is melodic and catchy in a quirky sort of way. The instruments he plays mostly himself and include such non pop/rock items such as: Oboe,Vibraphone,Glockenspiel, Wood Flute and Banjo, just to name a few. There are some short instrumental interludes between tracks which don't amount to much, are pretty uninspiring and are part of the reason the album drags on too long. Enjoyable enough with some strong tracks at the start and an engaging style, but too long and some of it is unnecessary, My rating 3/5.

Bob Dylan - Highway 61 Revisited (USA 1965)

Roddus Album Of The Day

The Infamous Dylan Electric album. Any body with any sort of interest in Dylan will have probably heard it and if they haven't then they probably ain't into Dylan. What can I say about this album that hasn't already been said 1000 times over. Number four on the Rolling Stone Top 500, why? Because it should be, why? Because it is awesome, it is unique, it is one of the most incredible statements of popular music ever produced and Dylan is a lyrical and musical genius. From an album full of classics its not easy to produce songs that stand out but "Desolation Row" with its beautiful Spanish style guitar, which I assume was played by Charlie McCoy, While Dylan Strummed the Rhythm, is musically stunning. I have had a most enjoyable day revisiting this album and I can safely say that it fully deserves my 5/5 rating.

Pantera - I Am The Night (USA 1985)

Roddus Album Of The Day

I had a good laugh when I heard the first track off this third Pantera album from 1985, as it was a real flash back to the 80s Glam/Hair Metal that I remember from the likes of Quiet Riot and to a lessor extent Van Halen. Most of that type of music I didn't get into too much (think Twisted Sister etc...) but the two mentioned above I did enjoy a lot, as well as Girlschool. I was also surprised by what I was hearing because I am a little bit familiar with some of Pantera's later recordings from the 90s and it is quite a contrast between the two periods. All the cliches of the genre are present, the bombastic songs, the crap lyrics, the Van Halen guitar, the high pitched vocals, the fasr pace of the music etc.. But all that aside I am really enjoying this album, I know it doesn't really stand out from the crowd, which is why it didn't do too well when it was released but the songs are pretty ok and the musicianship is excellent , especially the guitar pyrotechnics of  Dimebag Darrel and the sound quality is very good also.  This is a rockin good fun of a metal album and even though Pantera  disowned these earlier albums I think they did a really good job on this one and I'm gonna rate it 4/5.

Check this out Here

The Dead Weather - Horehound [Kronman Ent. T.] (USA 2009)

Another Roddus Album Of The Day

1. 60 Feet Tall (5:32)
2. Hang You From The Heavens (3:36)
3. I Cut Like a Buffalo (3:27)
4. So Far From Your Weapon (3:40)
5. Treat Me Like Your Mother (4:10)
6. Rocking Horse (2:59)
7. New Pony (3:56)
8. Bone House (3:26)
9. 3 Birds (3:43)
10.No Hassle Night (2:51)
11.Will There Be Enough Water? (6:17)

Imagine what it would sound like if you took the sounds of The White Stripes, The Raconteurs, The Queens Of The Stoneage, The kills, A bit of grunge and Led Zepplin Blues and mixed them all together for a dark and dirty low down monster of  epic proportions. Imagine no longer, for this is The Dark Weather, another side project from the ever prolific and constantly brilliant Jack White teamed up with Jack Laurence from The Raconteurs, The Kills Alison Mosshart and Dean Fertita on guitar, also from the Raconteurs and late of The Queens Of The Stoneage. White plays drums on this effort and the drum sound and playing are great, especially on the first two cuts, and although White is only credited on 3 tracks, his influence permeates the whole album, Fertita's playing and the guitar sound is excellent throughout, with some impressive soloing. A very grungy sound with plenty of distortion, but very well recorded and these guys have gelled so well together that they sound like they have been playing together for years, some great chemistry going on here.

this album grabbed me from the very first listen and hasn't yet let go. At 43 minutes it is a reasonably concise statement that doesn't drag on more than necessary, although musically interesting it does have a sameness about most of the songs.  My Rating 4/5

Bad Brains - Bad Brains (USA 1982)

Another Roddus Album Of the Day

1. Sailin' On
2. Don't Need It
3. Attitude
4. The Regulator
5. Banned in D.C.
6. Jah Calling
7. Supertouch/Shitfit
8. Leaving Babylon
9. F.V.K. (Fearless Vampire Killers)
10. I
11. Big Take Over
12. Pay to Cum
13. Right Brigade
14. I Luv I Jah
15. Intro
16. Jah the Conqueror

Way back when I was around 15, I happened to be fortunate enough to hear Bad Brains first single played on an alternative music show on one of our local radio stations, and I was even more fortunate to actually get it on tape from that play, that night, cos it wasn't something I would properly hear again. That single, "Pay To Cum" was the fastest and heaviest slab of punk I had yet come across and I was knocked out by it. 28 years later, it still thrills me with its pure energy and passion and it certainly hasn't diminished too much in the intervening years. It was many many years later before I actually had a copy of that song on a proper disc(via a compilation) as it was almost impossible to buy their records here. Although the rest of Bad Brains debut album fails to reach the lofty heights of "Pay To Cum", it is still an exhilarating slab of hardcore US punk that rocks out superbly with some great guitar and plenty of good pop melody's as well as a mix of reggae/dub tracks to help break up the relentless onslaught of the hardcore stuff. There are no weak moments on this disc and it has stood up well from the test of time to become a classic of the genre My Rating 4.5/5

Listen to this cool album Here

Oval - 94 Diskont (Germany 1996)

Another Roddus Album Of The Day

01 Do while
02 Store check
03 Line extension
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While it is a freezing cold winters Sunday here, with snow falling and settling on the lawn, I get to sit in my favorite chair(pictured above) and explore new musical sounds and keep toastie warm by the wood burner. During my online travels this morning I decided to Check out Allmusic.com's Album of the Day , especially as it was given a five star rating by the reviewer. Now I like plenty of electronic type music and don't mind experimental sounds mixed into some sort of cohesive whole, but this rubbish, called "Glitch" is a bit like what that word describes and mostly sounds like a Cd scratched and sticking. Not very relaxing, very little in the way of conventional song structure or melody ,jarring, irritating, repetitive and overall just plain BORING.

Now of course fans of this music(if you can call it that) would say that I don't understand the music and what the composer is trying to achieve. Frankly, I couldn't give a toss, about the only thing this stuff is good for is to get rid of the last of the party guests who don't know when its time to move on. I can't believe this got 5 stars, I'll give it 1/5 for effort. I don't usually like to be so harsh on any music as all music has some merit and this obviously appeals to some people , but, lets say. I won't be putting this om my Xmas wish list.

If you dare, listen to it Here

Lester Young - Le Jazz in Paris Le Dernier Message de Lester Young (Recorded France 1959)

Roddus Album Of The Day

01. I Didn't Know What Time It Was
02. Oh Lady Be Good
03. Almost Like Being In Love
04. Three Little Words
05. I Cover The Waterfront
06. I Can't Get Started
07. Back Home Again In Indiana
08. Pennies From Heaven
09. New DB Blues
10. Lullaby Of Birdland
11. There Will Never Be Another You
12. Tea For Two

Tenor Saxophonist Young's last recordings before he died  less than two weeks later, this recording, part of the Jazz In Paris series, consists of  Young on Tenor Sax, Rene Urtreger on piano, Jimmy Gourly on guitar, Jamil Nasser on Double base and Kenny Clark on drums. Great sound quality and excellent playing of this laid back sounding cool jazz consisting of mostly standards and one Young composition.Mainstream Jazz with  Some more upbeat numbers mixed with some slower numbers makes for a pleasant listen as background music for a dinner party or chatting with friends. Not really all that inspiring  though, and I properly wouldn't spend too much time giving it too much serious attention. More deserving than the short slagging it got in my copy of "The Penguin Guide To Jazz Recordings" but not quite up to the fours stars it got on Allmusic .com. my rating 2.5/5.

Listen to this here

Sonny Boy Williams and the Yardbirds - The Complete Crawdaddy Recordings (UK 1965)

Roddus Album Of The Day

1. "Bye Bye Bird" (Williamson, Willie Dixon)
2. "Mister Downchild"
3. "23 Hours Too Long" (Williamson, Eddie Boyd)
4. "Out On The Water Coast"
5. "Baby Don't Worry"
6. "Pontiac Blues"
7. "Take It Easy Baby"
8. "I Don't Care No More"
9. "Do The Weston"(instrumental)
Bônus Tracks:
10. The River Rhine
11. A Lost Care
12. Western Arizona
13. Take It Easy Baby (version 2)
14. Slow Walk
15. Highway 69

The earliest recordings by the awesome Yardbirds, they don't come across as too awesome on this live set backing Sonny Boy in 1963. Sonny sounds fine and is blowing pretty good, but this very early Yardbirds haven't really found their feet yet and their playing is mostly uninspiring and simple. I got bored with this fairly quickly, although the small audience seemed to enjoy it and considering the vintage, the recording is of  good quality. My Rating 1.5/5

Listen Here

Happy Birthday Howlin' Wolf 100 Years 10/6/2010

Just found out that the Mighty Howlin' Wolf would have been 100 years old on Thursday. Here are some great vids of the Man.

 

 

And finally, the totally mighty Moaninn' At Midnight.

Kevin Ayers - Shooting at the Moon (UK 1970)

Roddus Album Of The Day

01. a) May I? (4:01)
b) Rheinhardt & Geraldine
c)Colores Para Delores (5:41)
02. a) Lunatics Lament (4:53)
b) Pisser Dans un Violon (8:02)
03. a) The Oyster and the Flying Fish (2:37)
b) Underwater (3:54)
c) Clarence in Wonderland (2:06)
d) Red Green and You Blue (3:52)
04. Shooting at the Moon (5:53)

Bonus Tracks:
10. Gemeni Child (3:16)*
11. Puis Je? (3:41)*
12. Butterfly Dance (3:45)*
13: Jolie Madame (2:26)*
14. Hat (5:27)*

Kev's second LP from 1970 is another one that didn't last much past morning tea on the Ipod today. A real mixed bag with some great prog type tracks,especially "lunatics lament" with it's excellent guitar solo and psychedelic overtones. "Clarance in Wonderland" is a wonderful offbeat pop number with a great bass line,funny sounding sax and other weird sounds. Several other songs are OK, with elements of folk and psychedelia and others are just plain stupid( the bonus track "Hat" and pretty boring(the couple of Avant-Garde noodles on the main album are pointless and irritating). This album does have merit and Kevin's quirky  and off beat style is unique and he has certainly created something different but overall I am mostly unmoved and can only rate this 2/5.

 Listen  to this here

Landscape -- From the Tea Rooms of Mars... to the Hell Holes of Uranus (UK 1981)

Roddus Album Of The Day

01 - European Man (4:17)
02 - Shake The West Awake (3:20)
03 - Computer Person (2:55)
04 - Alpine Tragedy (1:37)
05 - Sisters (3:17)
06 - Face Of The 80's (3:23)
07 - New Religion (3:09)
08 - Einstein A Go-Go (3:05)
09 - Norman Bates (5:25)
10 - The Doll's House (5:22)
11 - From The Tea-Rooms Of Mars ... To The Hell Holes Of Uranus (7:20)

A leap back in time for this next record from the fairly obscure Landscape, a quite excellent British Synth pop outfit who did quite well with this 1981 release.
this album originally came to my attention via a video on, the religiously watched late on a Sunday night, "Radio With Pictures", hosted by the very hip and cool Karen Hay. "Norman Bates"(based on the character from the movie Psycho)  was the track in question and it stood out as something cool and slightly out of the ordinary at the time and so the album was soon sought out and it became a regular with a group of my mates of the time.
Catchy, quirky, synth driven pop songs, with a slight weirdness factor to make them more interesting is the order of the day for this set. "Tearooms'... is an enjoyable and quality listen and still holds up well nearly 30 years later and sometimes reminds me of Aksak Maboul, whom I reviewed recently, while the 'Hit', "Einstein A Gogo" was included in a recent Roddus Sampler. An Imaginative and fun LP, worthy of more attention and deserving of its rating of 4.5/5 on the Roddusometer.
Check it out Here

Salmonella Dub - Inside The Dub Plates (New Zealand 2001)

Roddus Album Of The Day

1. Problems
2. Platetetechonics (Farty Boom Boom)
3. Love Your Ways
4. Wytahlib
5. Bromley East Roller
6. Gospel According To Mant
7. Push On Thru (Dancehall)
8. Loop 7
9. Bodie & Doyle (Ramplings From The Anatoki)
10. Tui Dub

Oh Yeah, this stuff is da shit man! Welcome to the awesome world of Kiwi roots/dub/reggae and the album that was the breakthrough for the hardworking Dub' and the template for the great Kiwi music scene for the last 9 years.These boys, who hail from my home town of Christchurch, really know their stuff. With this album, they have infused elements of Dub, Reggae, Drum N' Base, Acid Jazz, Electronica, Jungle, Toasting, Dancehall, Soul and Rap, just to name the obvious ones, into a cohesive uplifting, danceable, poppy, melodic masterpiece of contemporary music.. The first two tracks kick off in brilliant style with these bass driven dance floor monsters, followed by the beautiful and radio friendly "Love Your Ways".Track five is the truly magnificent "Bromley East Roller" a roller coaster of D N' B and jungle groove that is quite possibly the best song here and a reminder that I too use to roll in  Bromley during my teenage years. "Inside.." is a true NZ classic and went to No.1 here and the rest of the world don't know what it missed. this album GROOVES from start to finish. My Rating 5/5.

Go Buy This awesome kiwi album Here

The Kills - Keep On Your Mean Side (UK 2003)

Roddus Album Of The Day

1. Superstition 4:40
2. Cat Claw 3:32
3. Pull A U 3:23
4. Kissy Kissy 5:02
5. Fried My Little Brains 2:08
6. Hand 0:50
7. Hitched 4:03
8. Black Rooster 4:24
9. Wait 4:48
10.F**K The People 4:17
11. Monkey 23 3:06
12. Gypsy Death & You 2:10

This debut album by the Male/Female duo known as the Kills firmly put them in the first echelon of contemporary indie rock. The dark and dirty, distorted blues infused rock of this album is far Superior to much of the indie dribble released today. Although the feeling of this music is one of quality and the songs stand up well on an individual basis outside the context of this album, I find the album as a whole difficult to stay interested in for it's entire duration.The Hip sounding "Pull a U" is one of the stronger tracks as well as the stripped down garage of "Fried My Little Brains" If you dig the White Stripes or the Black keys, then this should appeal to you. A pertty raw and stark album by today's standards but that is its strength and although its not one I will come back to again regularly, it is still worth 3/5.

Listen to this here

Chicago/The Blues/Today Vol.1,2 & 3 - Various artists (USA 1966)

Roddus Album Of The Day

Vol.1

1. Junior Wells Chicago Blues Band - Help Me (A Tribute to Sonny Boy Williamson) (4:09)
2. Junior Wells Chicago Blues Band - It Hurts Me Too (When Things Go Wrong) (2:47)
3. Junior Wells Chicago Blues - Messin' With The Kid (2:25)
4. Junior Wells Chicago Blues Band - Vietcong Blues (5:00)
5. Junior Wells Chicago Blues Band - All Night Long (3:48)
6. J.B. Hutto and his Hawks - Going Ahead (2:06)
7. J.B. Hutto and his Hawks - Please Help (2:55)
8. J.B. Hutto and his Hawks - Too Much Alcohol (2:32)
9. J.B. Hutto and his Hawks - Married Woman Blues (3:09)
10. J.B. Hutto and his Hawks - That's The Truth (2:51)
11. Otis Spann - Marie (2:31)
12. Otis Spann - Burning Fire (3:17)
13. Otis Spann - S.P. Blues (2:55)
14. Otis Spann - Sometime I Wonder (3:31)
15. Otis Spann - Spann's Stomp (2:20)

Vol. 2
1. James Cotton Blues Band - Cotton Crop Blues (2:22)
2. James Cotton Blues Band - The Blues Keep Falling (4:04)
3. James Cotton Blues Band - Love Me or Leave (3:29)
4. James Cotton Blues Band - Rocket 88 (2:05)
5. James Cotton Blues Band - West Helena Blues (3:30)
6. Otis Rush - Everything's Going to Turn Out Alright (3:56)
7. Otis Rush - It's a Mean Old World (2:25)
8. Otis Rush - I Can't Quit You Baby (3:17)
9. Otis Rush - Rock (3:36)
10. Otis Rush - It's My Own Fault (5:59)
11. Homesick James Williamson - Dust My Broom (3:19)
12. Homesick James Williamson - Somebody Been Talkin' (2:18)
13. Homesick James Williamson - Set a Date (2:47)
14. Homesick James Williamson - So Mean to Me (2:49)

Vol.3

1. Johnny Young - One More Time (2:29)
2. Johnny Young - Kid Man Blues (3:03)
3. Johnny Young - My Black Mare (3:44)
4. Johnny Young - Stealin' Back (3:21)
5. Johnny Young - I Got Mine in Time (4:22)
6. Johnny Young - Tighten Up on It (3:13)
7. Johnny Shines - Dynaflow Blues (2:39)
8. Johnny Shines - Black Spider Blues (3:06)
9. Johnny Shines - Layin' Down My Shoes and Clothes (2:27)
10. Johnny Shines - If I Get Lucky (3:27)
11. Big Walter Horton - Rockin' My Boogie (3:30)
12. Johnny Shines - Mr. Boweevil (3:14)
13. Johnny Shines - Hey, Hey (2:22)

Well, it's been a long weekend here but I have had to work most of it and so I loaded these three CDs and the four Alligator "Living Blues"(see Below) CDs onto my Ipod to keep me company. It's been a very busy Three days but I have been kept almost sane by these three exceptional slabs of late 60s Chicago blues.

Compiled by Sam Charters, a well known blues historian and fan, recorded in Chicago in 65', these records showcase the cream of the second generation of Chicago electric blues. The highlight of this series must be Junior Wells, but the rest is also brilliant and the quality of the music stays uniform across the three volumes.

These discs are properly the most important releases in the history of the blues scene in Chicago,apart from the Chess catalogue and they still sound awesome 43 years later. Another must for any serious Blues collector. As the music is uniformly so good across all three volumes I will rate them as a set and give them 4.5/5.

Listen to this set Here and then go and buy it

Living Chicago Blues Vol. 1-4 - Various Artists (USA 1978 &1980)

Roddus Album Of The Day

Vol.1 

1. Jimmy Johnson - Your Turn to Cry (5:50)
2. Jimmy Johnson - Serves Me Right to Suffer (3:58)
3. Jimmy Johnson Blues Band - Ain't That Just Like a Woman (3:13)
4. Jimmy Johnson Blues Band - Feel Like Breaking up Somebody's Home (4:46)
5. Eddie Shaw & The Wolf Gang - It's Alright (2:52)
6. Eddie Shaw & The Wolf Gang - Out of Bad Luck (3:21)
7. Eddie Shaw - Stoop Down Baby (4:00)
8. Eddie Shaw & The Wolf Gang - Sitting on Top of the World (3:42)
9. Eddie Shaw & The Wolf Gang - My Baby's So Ugly (3:31)
10. Left Hand Frank - Come Home, Darling (4:02)
11. Left Hand Frank - Blues Won't Let Me Be (2:31)
12. Left Hand Frank - One Room Country Shack (4:29)
13. Left Hand Frank - Linda Lu (4:12)
14. Carey Bell's Blues Harp Band - Too Late (2:41)
15. Carey Bell's Blues Harp Band - Laundromat Blues (4:31)
16. Carey Bell's Blues Harp Band - One Day (2:50)
17. Carey Bell's Blues Harp Band - Woman in Trouble (4:40)

  

Vol.2

1. Don't Answer That Door - The Lonnie Brooks Blues Band (4:16)
2. Two Headed Man - The Lonnie Brooks Blues Band (3:28)
3. Cold, Lonely Nights - The Lonnie Brooks Blues Band (4:45)
4. Move Over, Little Dog - The Lonnie Brooks Blues Band (4:16)
5. Would You, Baby - Johhny 'Big Moose' Walker (3:26)
6. Worry, Worry - Johhny 'Big Moose' Walker (4:16)
7. Sunnyland Blues - Johhny 'Big Moose' Walker (2:51)
8. Cry, Cry Darling - JJohhny 'Big Moose' Walker (3:22)
9. Stranded On The Highway - Magic Slim And The Teardrops (4:25)
10.Dirty Mother For You - Magic Slim And The Teardrops (5:08)
11.Spider In My Stew - Magic Slim And The Teardrops (4:21)
12.Don't Say That No More - Magic Slim And The Teardrops (3:44)
13.Take It Easy, Baby - Pinetop Perkins (3:30)
14.Blues After Hours - Pinetop Perkins (5:03)
15.Little Angel Child - Pinetop Perkins (5:18)
16.How Much More Long - Pinetop Perkins (3:31)

Vol.3 

1. A.C. Reed - Hard Times (3:18)
2. A.C. Reed - She's Fine (4:17)
3. A.C. Reed & His Spark Plugs - Moving Out of the Ghetto (3:53)
4. A.C. Reed - Going to New York (3:38)
5. Scotty and the Rib Tips - Big Leg Woman (3:41)
6. Scotty and the Rib Tips - Careless With Our Love (3:02)
7. Scotty and the Rib Tips - Road Block (2:49)
8. Scotty and the Rib Tips - Poison Ivy (3:17)
9. Carey Bell/Lovie Lee - I Dare You (2:47)
10. Carey Bell/Lovie Lee - Nobody Knows My Troubles (5:18)
11. Carey Bell/Lovie Lee - Sweet Little Girl (3:13)
12. Carey Bell/Lovie Lee - Naptown (3:04)
13. Lacy Gibson - Drown in My Own Tears (4:40)
14. Lacy Gibson - Crying for My Baby (2:48)
15. Lacy Gibson - Feel So Bad (3:54)
16. Lacy Gibson - Wish Me Well (2:57)
17. Sons of Blues - Have You Ever Loved a Woman (6:09)
18. Sons of Blues - Berlin Wall (4:25)
19. Sons of Blues - Prisoner of the Blues

Vol.4 

1. If I Hadn't Been High - Detroit Junior
2. Some Nerve - Detroit Junior
3. Somebody to Shack - Detroit Junior
4. I Got Money - Detroit Junior
5. Somebody Have Mercy - Luther "Guitar Junior" Johnson
6. Got to Have Money - Luther "Guitar Junior" Johnson
7. Just Like Mama Said - Luther "Guitar Junior" Johnson
8. Look What You Done - Luther "Guitar Junior" Johnson
9. Going Upstairs - Queen Sylvia Embry
10. Blues This Morning - Queen Sylvia Embry
11. Tired of Being Pushed Around - Queen Sylvia Embry
12. Please Let Me Stay - Queen Sylvia Embry
13. Blues For a Real Man - Big Leon Brooks
14. Thirteen Years in Prison - Big Leon Brooks
15. Country Boy - Big Leon Brooks
16. My Life Ain't the Same - Big Leon Brooks
17. I Got News For You - Andrew Brown
18. Morning, Noon and Night - Andrew Brown
19. Two Years - Andrew Brown

Back in  1978, the still young, Alligator records, took the template of the above Chicago/The Blues/Today series and did the same for upcoming or unrecorded Chicago blues artists of the late 70s. This four volume series from 1978 and 1980 is just as exceptional and awesome as it's earlier sister set and has a cleaner sound than its predecessor, due to improving technology and the style, while of course, still rooted in that Chicago sound, is also more closer to the contemporary blues sound we know today. Volume One was the catalyst for me to review both these series and in particular, the unbelievable Jimmy Johnson's, unarguably, four of the most awesome slabs of soulful blues ever committed to disc. Sounding like a cross between Koko Taylor and Bill Withers, Jimmy is astounding and his blues just move my soul.  As with the aforementioned Chicago/Blues/Today series the quality of the music stays constant across all four volumes and again these are another must for serious blues collectors and people just discovering the blues. My rating for the complete Series 4.5/5.

Listen to these totally brilliant series HERE and then go and buy them.

The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band - Will The Circle Be Unbroken Vol. 2 (USA 1989)

Roddus Album Of The Day

1. “Life's Railway to Heaven” – 4:39
2. “Grandpa Was a Carpenter” – 3:24
3. “When I Get My Rewards”– 4:25
4. “Don't You Hear Jerusalem Moan”– 3:56
5. “Little Mountain Church House” – 3:32
6. “And So It Goes” – 3:54
7. “When It's Gone” – 2:34
8. “Mary Danced With Soldiers” – 3:07
9. “Riding Alone” – 3:09
10. “I'm Sitting on Top of the World” – 3:10
11. “Lovin' on the Side” – 2:57
12. “Lost River” – 3:26
13. “Bayou Jubilee” – 3:01
14. “Blues Berry Hill” – 3:26
15. “Turn of the Century” – 3:39
16. “One Step Over the Line” – 4:30
17. “You Ain't Goin' Nowhere” – 3:53
18. “The Valley Road” – 4:13
19. “Will the Circle Be Unbroken” – 5:39
20. “Amazing Grace” – 1:48

I have never been a country music fan. As a matter of fact, I pretty much detested it when I was much younger mainly due to the country garbage they played on the radio when I was a kid and also the fact that I wasn't mature enough to appreciate its better composers and musicians at that time.Bluegrass, at it's best, is truly awesome music and this second volume of "Will The Circle Be Unbroken" is totally the best country music I have heard. Fiddles, banjos, piano, guitar, upright bass with those simple oohmpa bass lines and drums brilliantly recorded all acoustic, vocal duets,plenty of that cool southern style country singin', some really catchy numbers like  “Don't You Hear Jerusalem Moan” and  “One Step Over the Line”, not to mention an excellent cover of Dylan's “You Ain't Goin' Nowhere" by guests Chris Hillman and Rodger McGuinn.. I just love great quality Male/Female country duet singing like on “Mary Danced With Soldiers”, with Emmylou Harris. A mix  of some traditional tracks with other great covers as well as some very good originals by both the guest contributors and the Dirt band themselves.this album totally deserves the awards and success it received because it is one of the best in it's genre. My rating 5/5.