The basic prerequisite in order to like a concept album is to like the concept itself – thank you for sharing words of wisdom Captain Obvious, always a pleasure. In this case, despite Cash doing his best, his delivery fitting the theme like a glove, it’s like his voice was made for this, I couldn’t care less about it. Also, the spoken words parts made me realise how skits/interludes in hip hop albums may be off-putting to some people – which has always left me wondering, but now it makes a lot of sense thanks to this, as I experienced how annoying those can get. 4/10.
Well, at least this has “proper” songs in it and you can’t deny how lovely some of those tunes are, so it has to be viewed as a great improvement compared to the above. He goes for more country in the traditional sense, less rock and roll. The slower, emotional scenery gives him plenty of room to shine. 5.5/10.
A rather streaky album, there are some wow moments for sure, but they find themselves drowning in an ocean of … how to say it…. mediocrity sounds too harsh, frustration maybe, I don’t know. Cool album title nonetheless. The Chromatic Universe, consisting of three parts, is clearly the central piece and arguably the highlight of the album – though it perfectly exemplifies my aforementioned complaint. Dimensions is too weird, I can’t get into it no matter how many times I ‘ve tried. Waltz from Outer Space seems the odd one out, but I mean that in a good way, an exotic touch that spices things up, could be my favorite thing here. Also, an album that features Bill Evans can’t be that bad. 6.5/10.
John Lee Hooker - That's My Story
This is far from an easy listening, you may get the impression it sounds too empty, it's just his acoustic guitar that dictates what's going on for the most part. There is a rhythm section as well, but bass and drums are played by jazz musicians, namely Sam Jones and Louis Hayes, so it's not exactly what you'd expect from an album of this kind. Still, there are many standout moments, like the slow burning Gonna Use My Rod, the more uptempo No More Doggin', the hair-raising One Of These Days, or the politically heavy Democrat Man, which was surprising to say the least, it really came out of the blues - man, I can't resist those puns. 5,5/10.
John Lee Hooker - Traveln'
This is much more accessible, as it has a fuller sound, it almost rocks in comparison. It seems having a "normal" rhythm section in your line up does help indeed. If you are a newcomer to his work, I 'd suggest beggining with this one and then - depending on what you make of it - proceed to the above album. Overall, this is more consistent, but has no particular highlights or memorable tracks. 5,5/10.
Cal Tjader - Latino
The thing with this record is that the original version includes only 6 tracks while the newer, extended one contanis 9 additional tracks and it's the latter I like much more, but I'll have to rate the former, since that's the one that was availabe in 1960, so I guess it kinda makes sense. Not to underestimate the original material, without having listened to that much latin jazz, you can tell this is an essential release, creating an atmospheric yet catchy, percussion based sound, driven by trademark instruments such as conga. What makes the modern version more enjoyable is that it has adopted a significantly funkier approach, which allows you to get into its spirit much easier. 6/10.
Blues-ette - Curtis Fuller
The trombone replacing the trumpet makes this album stand out from the crowd. It enables it to take a unique position in jazz's world, too nonchalant for hard bop, too intense for cool jazz. Also, it has a fantastic flow, it's more like one big song, no weak moments at all. 7/10.
Brenda Lee - Brenda Lee
The "female Elvis" description is way too harsh, but you can't deny her voice can get somewhat annoying, especially when she gets rough - luckily enough, this doesn't happen that often. You can't fault her too much anyway, this album is short and sweet, many lovely tunes that make sure you'll have tons of fun while listening to it. It's worth pointing out that she was 15 to 16 when this was recorded, which makes the feat even more impressive. 6.5/10.
Eddie Cochran - 12 Of His Biggest Hits
What a tragic loss, gone far too soon 🙁 . Regarding this album, it's got some huge hits, like C'mon Everybody and Summertime Blues, but the truth is you expect more from a compilation, the point is to make the best possible collection of songs and this isn't it. 6/10.
Every album in this post is taken straight from Hayden's chart.
This Here Is Bobby Timmons - Bobby Timmons
It seems that in 1960 many great jazz musicians came through with their first album as band leaders, it’s been sort of a running theme so far. It’s labelled as hard bop, but it’s much more than that - but then again you could argue that piano Jazz is a different beast altogether, even when it falls under the hard bop umbrella. There are some huge hits here, namely the big three consisting of Moanin’, This Here and Dat Dere, but my favorite is Lush life, in a sense it reminds me of classical music more than jazz, actually the whole album has this quality, it’s just that here it was more striking, I like to call it cinematic, not only does it tell a story through its music, it’s one that couldn’t fit in a book, it demands the big screen to do it justice – which is even more impressive considering we’re talking about a trio. On the other hand, he is no stranger to contemporary music either, as he incorporates many elements of soul music into his sound. The piano is almost exclusively on the spotlight, the rhythm section is barely noticeable, the bass makes a couple of appearances and that’s all. I don't mean that as a negative, they serve their purpose perfectly. By the way Sam Jones is the same guy who played bass in John Lee Hooker’s That's My Story that I brought up in the previous post. 6.5/10.
King Curtis - New Scene Of King Curtis
Standard hard bop with a touch of his trademark R & B. It’s something I ‘ve repeated for several albums of this style, but had I listened to this outside the context of this project, I think it would have left a stronger impression. Just as the above album, this oozes soul – not in the strict, technical sense of soul music, but in terms of putting emotional energy into his art. One big positive is that the initially intimidating running times of its tracks aren’t obvious at all while listening, time really flies. The highlight of the album is the closing track, In A Funky Groove, with that title you know what to expect. 6/10.
Philly Joe Jones - Philly Joe's Beat
Wow, this took me by storm, what a bombastic way to open the album. The thing is, this manic energy doesn’t drop throughout the entirety of this. Just when you think it’s finally losing steam, you soon realise it’s only picking up momentum to attack even harder. This album desperately needs to see a psychiatrist as soon as possible. Curiously enough, he has another album released this very same year, which actually ranks higher than this in Hayden’s chart, so I really don’t know what made me choose this instead, go figure. 6.5/10.
Jack Kerouac - Readings By Jack Kerouac On The Beat Generation
Not sure how you’re supposed to enjoy this, I really need to take my time in order to fully immerse myself in such a work, it’s literature after all, every word matters, this kinda misses the point, he really needs to slow down. Not a huge fan of his voice either, though he deserves credit for handling it in a way that does the text justice, he captures most of the emotional nuances. Also, I appreciate that there is no background music at all, only spoken word, at least you can concentrate on it. 5.5/10.
The Pulsating Sounds Of Paraguay - Los Chiriguanos
This was much needed, a refreshing change. It has a retro sound that in general is beautiful, but occassionally comes with an unsettling, almost eerie twist, like you are somehow trapped in a state between reality, dream and nightmare. 6/10.
Lonnie Johnson - Blues And Ballads
There are some moments this hardly qualifies as blues, some jazzy ballads thrown in there. The guitars (electric and acoustic) form a nice combo, though it’s the former that shines the most. My main problem with this was that most of its tracks really take their time to build up and fail to keep my attention, admittedly there are some uptempo tracks, the most notable being St. Louis Blues, but it wasn't enough, I ‘d like a more balanced approach.
Blue Mitchell - Blue Soul
I guess I’m not the only one that thinks of something entirely different when the words Blue and Mitchell are in the same sentence. Accompanied by some familiar names - Sam Jones yet again and Philly Joe Jones - he really justifies the title, at least the second part, it's signifcantly more on the Soul end of the spectrum than the Blues one. This man really knows how to get the most of the trumpet, I was talking about my slight prejudice againist this instrument in a previous post and he makes me instantly forget all about it. He gently embraces your ears and then proceeds to slowly fill your heart with warmth. 6.5/10.
Jackie McLean - Capuchin Swing
Being the last part of a big listening session is always unfair, so it's more than likely I 'm underrating this. Jackie McLean is a great sax player and we get to meet Blue Mitchell and his trumpet again, long time no see, lol. Another entry in the long catalogue of highly enjoyable albums that I'd like to be a little more challenging, it hardly leaves hard bop's main routes - especially if you take into account what expected McLean further down the road. On the other hand, this could serve as the ideal entry point to his discography, before you jump into his more experimental stuff - well, the truth is I've listened to only one other album from him, so I'm not sure if that reflected a general shift towards more progressive stuff or if it was an isolated incident. 6.5/10.
Overall, lots of fun with those and there's a very good chance I'll do part two at some point.
Glad you gave them a spin Kokkinos. Especially the Timmons, Philly Joe Jones, Blue Mitchell, and King Curtis records. All artists everyone should listen to at least one album by.
Quote:
There are some moments this hardly qualifies as blues, some jazzy ballads thrown in there. The guitars (electric and acoustic) form a nice combo, though it’s the former that shines the most. My main problem with this was that most of its tracks really take their time to build up and fail to keep my attention, admittedly there are some uptempo tracks, the most notable being St. Louis Blues, but it wasn't enough, I ‘d like a more balanced approach.
This might actually be somewhat similar to my feelings on this record. I've given it a somewhat light 7/10, but it still lands on the year chart.
As for Kerouac, that's definitely a pivot from the usual 'album'. Glad you dove into it though. _________________ Doubles & Conch
As for Kerouac, that's definitely a pivot from the usual 'album'.
Did you happen to have read any of his novels before listening to it? I imagine this must have been immensely helpful to get into the mood. My only previous exposure to him was having watched the On The Road film, which wasn't that great to put it mildly.
Also, are there any other albums in your chart you'd consider "must-listen"? I guess the obvious answer would be that you've ranked them in that order for a reason and I should be looking near the top of the list, but there's a chance you've changed your mind on some of those in the meantime since you constructed this chart (having initially underrated/overrated them) and I wanted to make sure there aren't any hidden treasures that I wouldn't wanna miss on.
Thanks for the abundance of recs anyway!
Did you happen to have read any of his novels before listening to it? I imagine this must have been immensely helpful to get into the mood. My only previous exposure to him was having watched the On The Road film, which wasn't that great to put it mildly.
Oh, course. The Dharma Bums, Big Sur, On The Road (original scroll), Tristessa, Mexico City Blues, Visions of Gerard, And the Hippos Were Boiled in Their Tanks, at least a heavy handful of side poetry. Read plenty by him. Easy recs on the bolded ones. And On The Road should have never been made into a movie, let alone that one :oops:. I don't think they even understood it. If you ever get around to cracking open the pages of any, might be an interesting insight to dive into them knowing how he would have read them aloud. Maybe don't start with On The Road though. I'd go Dharma Bums first, or even Mexico City Blues (which is a poem).
And it looks like you've done a pretty good job 😄 Have you given The Big Beat a spin? One of Blakey's better records. Maybe Showcase (Jones), the Gould concerto, Otis Spann's record, Roland Kirk's Introducing, Nat Adderly's Work Song (very underappreciated record for some reason).
Hopkins, Freddy, Gilberto, Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee— all worth a spin eventually. Might dig a bit deeper into the year myself. Find a dozen or so new things to give a listen to. _________________ Doubles & Conch
Have you given The Big Beat a spin? One of Blakey's better records.
I was going to bring that up at some point, why not now?
Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers - The Big Beat
which gives me a good excuse to also include
Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers - Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers
I 've always thought that the main reason The Big Beat gets slightly overlooked is that this came out one year earlier and that's exactly why I post them together. To be honest, I don't think their difference is that big. The lineup is the same by 80% (trumpet, piano, drums and bass) and the only change being Wayne Shorter replacing Benny Golson at tenor sax. If anything, I prefer the former. That's on theory at least, here it feels as if he isn't 100% part of the team yet, which makes sense if you take into account it's his first album. Many consider Art Blakey to be the star of those albums, but the reason I like them is exactly the opposite, he rarely gets in the way of the band to show off or boost his ego, he is a team player, exactly how a band leader should be. The moments when he becomes the center of attention (e.g. his solo on Sakeena's Vision or pretty much the whole The Drum Thunder (Miniature) Suite and Blues March if we're to talk about the 1959 album as well) are by far my least favorite. What I find particularly enjoyable is the hot and cool interaction between the horns and the piano respectively. On the other hand, most of his albums do sound somewhat similar, despite the various changes in the lineup, which indicates that he is the core of the band's sound, even when this doesn't seem to be the case, so maybe that's where everyone is coming from. Anyway, both of those are undeniably seminal hard bop albums, if you ever want to find out what hard bop means, this is the way, step inside and if that’s how you like your jazz, it’s hard - a wasted chance for a wordplay between hard and hard bop, but I couldn't come up with anything decent - to top this. When it comes to highlights, I would go with It's Only A Paper Moon, one of those instances when I won’t complain about the inclusion of an alternate take, they 're almost equally good. Dat Dere is of course another huge one, but the truth is I liked the trio version more. 6,5/10.
Hayden wrote:
Maybe Showcase (Jones), the Gould concerto, Otis Spann's record, Roland Kirk's Introducing, Nat Adderly's Work Song (very underappreciated record for some reason).
Hopkins, Freddy, Gilberto, Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee— all worth a spin eventually.
Unless I'm mistaken, Gilberto's album is the only one I've already listened to, so adding all the rest to the queue, thanks.
Charles Aznavour - Les Deux Guitares
Not sure if it has to do with the language barrier, in all likelihood it does, but this completely passed me by, these ballads carried no emotional weight at all, I really struggled to connect with it. There is some beauty, you can't deny that, but it is of the untouchable kind, far beyond my reach. Maybe I would keep the self titled track and that’s all. To link it with the next album "Don't know much about the French I took". 6/10.
Sam Cooke - The Wonderful World Of Sam Cooke
This had what the previous album lacked, soul, so much soul you could sell it to the devil and still have enough for three more lifes. It goes without saying that the opening track, Wonderful World, is by far the biggest hit, the success of the entire album is based on that song. Speaking of Wonderful World gives me a chance to move on, you all know where this is going. 7/10.
Louis Armstrong - Satchmo Plays King Oliver
Only the 2001 version exists in BEA, I'm not sure if it makes any sense to add the 1960 version in the database, the difference being it contains only 12 tracks instead of 22, so no alternate takes. If anyone reading has any idea how these situations are supposed to be handled, please let me know. Anyway, moving on to the album itself, vocal jazz is not exactly my cup of tea, quite far from it to be honest, but when this man provides the vocals, it’s another story, what a character. The opening track St. James Infirmary (Gambler's Blues) is the heavy hitter, but this is just like the album right above, everything is executed with so much passion that it will move you no matter what. 6.5/10.
Don Ralke - The Savage And The Sensuous Bongos
I start developing a soft spot for this kind of stuff. This is close to the Tito Puente album I posted the other day, percussion-heavy exotic jazz. The difference is that instead of Latin/Afro-Cuban, this one is more influenced by the African tradition - though that's only a general rule, for example the opening track is inspired by Eastern music. 7.5/10.
Ben Webster & Oscar Peterson - Ben Webster Meets Oscar Peterson
Another album with slightly problematic release date, not sure if this was released in 1959 or 1960, conflicting information based on various sources, 1959 seems to be the correct one, but I guess it shouldn’t matter that much. This guy - Ben Webster I mean - really knows how to treat the sax, his style is instantly recognisable, nobody does it like him, he is so good that he makes me not care about the rest of the band to the slightest, e.g. when the bass makes its move on the opening track, I can't wait for it to be over, I want to hear more from Webster -which is somewhat unfair, since everybody here does a fine job. How to describe what he does, the best I could is that he cocoons you in layers of cotton blankets like a mother does to her baby, that's how gentle and delicate his sax is. 6.5/10.
Bo Diddley - Bo Diddley Is A Gunslinger
Almost nothing to say about it, not my stuff really, but here’s another one that does rock and roll better than Elvis, despite being significantly less known than the man, plus there's a clear touch of country to spice things up, not to mention the cowboy album cover. All of these together make this album as American as it gets - don't mean that neither as a positive nor as a negative, just an observation. 6/10.
Eric Dolphy - Outward Bound
It keeps the pattern going, another case of first album as a band leader and he comfortably lives up to the hype. He surpassed this, but it remains the best entry point to his discography, rather normal for his standards, as close to hard bop as he ever got. That doesn't mean that there aren't moments of madness, e.g. Les will slap you relentlessly, but it's much more balanced than usually. 7/10.
Nina Simone - Nina Simone At Newport
The well known rule that a star performer’s live albums are better than the studio ones proves to be true in her case as well - and it's not only this, she has a bunch of those, at Townhall, at the Village Gate and in Concert being the three most highly acclaimed as far as I know. This isn't the most accessible, especially during your first listen, it moves very slow, but give it some time, it rewards the patient listener, as it elegantly builds up to a wonderful spectacle. Nina is the star, but everyone else plays his part as well, supporting without overshadowing her. 6/10.
Dirk Bogarde - Lyrics For Lovers
Oh yeah, it’s story time. Spoken word is tricky to get right, but this is an exemplary attempt. His voice has so much character, all the subtle messages he adds, he means much more than he says, plus everything is so real and so effortless, you can feel he’s sitting right beside you as he reads you to sleep, but you try your best not to fall asleep because you don’t wanna miss out on the next thing he’s going to say. It's like those distant, slightly enigmatic relatives that visit you once in a blue moon, nobody knows what exactly they do for a living, but they sure have tons of cool stuff to talk about, you could hear them for hours, days even. And it all flows so smoothly together. One of my favorites so far. 7.5/10.
Eden Ahbez - Eden's Island
Psychedelic music before it was cool. It’s what the title says, every little thing – and there’s an awful lot of those, be it a musical instrument in the traditional sense or something completely random– that goes on here is dedicated to one and only purpose: create an island, Eden, where you can escape from the modern world and enjoy life in its simplest and purest form. Even though it all sounds so peaceful, there’s an underlying melancholy that makes the whole experience much more powerful. This promised land, heaven on earth if you will, is nothing more than a illusion, a transient mental construction to forget the mundane and miserable life that's always expecting you round the corner and there's nothing you can do about it. One could expand on that reflection and claim that this album is also a victim of temporality, as it's a product of its time and sounds somewhat dated, which the more you think about it, the more devastating it is. 6.5/10.
B.B. King - King Of The Blues
I’ve never been a huge fan – shame on me, I know, but he is the voice and princinpally the guitar of blues, simply a legend, though he can do everything, rock and roll, soul, R & B, you name it. If you aren’t familiar with his work – hard to imagine, just saying - this is as good as any of his albums to get into him, the main selling point is its consistency, a cherished and hard to find attribute in albums of that era, I don’t think you can spot a weak link here no matter how much you try. 6/10.
RoundTheBendI miss the comfort in being sadProfile Ground Control
Louis Armstrong - Satchmo Plays King Oliver
Only the 2001 version exists in BEA, I'm not sure if it makes any sense to add the 1960 version in the database, the difference being it contains only 12 tracks instead of 22, so no alternate takes. If anyone reading has any idea how these situations are supposed to be handled, please let me know.
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Hayden
RoundTheBend
