Los Olimareños - Los Olimareños
I found this in an attempt to broaden my horizons and include more international albums, it’s the debut album for this duo from Uruguay. Despite its strong Latin American folk foundation, it’s not obsessed with tradition and as a result makes for an easy listen. From what I read, their lyrics seem to be surprisingly thoughtful and beyond what you’d expect to be the scope of a record with so obvious pop sensibilities, but unfortunately I can’t tell you more in this regard.
6.5/10.
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Aretha Franklin - The Electrifying Aretha Franklin
There are definitely some moments of Aretha Franklin’s greatness to be found here (even though she is clearly influenced by Etta James, she has enough charisma/personality to stand out as an individual and avoid any comparisons), my main problem is that the band gets too much in the way and barely leaves her room to shine.
7/10.
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Aretha Franklin - The Tender, The Moving, The Swinging Aretha Franklin
Compared to the above, this displays a more standard/pop version of her, can't say I'm a big fan of either the material or her performance. That being said, a few of the ballads - especially Try A Little Tenderness - are worth your time.
6.5/10.
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Mina - Renato
No offence to any fans, but I really don’t get this. Her delivery combined with the production stop me from taking this album seriously, which can be a good thing in some cases, especially if it’s intentional, but I don’t think that was the case here, whatever.
5.5/10.
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John Coltrane - Coltrane Plays The Blues
Too cool for Coltrane, I have to admit that the lack of his trademark intensity was a minor let down - then again, I am not particularly fond of his "big" stuff either, go figure.
6.5/10. _________________ Bob Dylan Charles Mingus
Franz Waxman - Taras Bulba
Hard to judge it without being familiar with the film – added it to my watchlist. The one thing that stands out is its rapid mood swings, it alternates between epic, serious, cartoonish, religious, sentimental and many more in the blink of an eye.
7/10.
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Max Roach - Parisian Sketches
Not his best release, especially if one evaluates it comparatively, but the opening track is excellent, a touch of French finesse mixed with his personal style makes for quite a combo. Too bad that the second side doesn’t reach the same heights, despite being super solid.
7/10.
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Duke Ellington And His Orchestra - Midnight In Paris
Let's keep the Paris theme going. Even though it’s not as exciting as the above, I have to admit that this is more consistent throughout its entirety, remaining faithful to an old school/cinematic vibe that is easy to associate with Paris.
6.5/10.
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Ken McIntyre - Year Of The Iron Sheep
He is mostly well known for his collaboration with Eric Dolphy in the album Looking Ahead, but this is an impressive demonstration of his talent nonetheless. Apart from his addictive saxophone and his gorgeous flute, the piano was a surprising star. Even the most predictable parts were immensely satisfying, weird stuff.
7/10. _________________ Bob Dylan Charles Mingus
(Copy-paste from the "You must listen to the album below you." thread for archival purposes.)
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Nina Simone - Little Girl Blue
Nina Simone has always been an artist I respected and admired, but never considered her among my favourites - I would probably say something similar for the likes of Billie Holiday or Ella Fitzgerald, so I guess it has to do with the fact that I’m not the biggest fan of vocal jazz. Coming to this album, most tracks were somewhat familiar, though I can’t say for sure if I’ve listened to this record before (If I had to guess, most likely not - didn't find it in any of my files, which is an indication, but far from an incontestable truth), it could simply be that these tunes are extremely well-known. Don’t Smoke In Bed was a clear highlight, her unrefined emotional outburst hit home. Love Me or Leave Me was a cool one, it made for a welcome change of pace.
6.5/10.
Ian & Sylvia - Ian & Sylvia
This is exactly the kind of folk that I struggle to get into. I don’t want to call it a snoozefest, but I have a hard time calling it exciting either. If I had to name a positive, I couldn't deny that there are some nice harmonies to be found here.
6/10.
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Rose Maddox - Rose Maddox Sings Bluegrass
Not a fan of bluegrass generally speaking, but this has to be the best example of the genre that I’ve encountered so far, her performance is to the point and takes every song to the next level.
7/10. _________________ Bob Dylan Charles Mingus
Wanda Jackson - Wonderful Wanda
Underwhelming compared to her previous albums, I mainly attribute it to the uncharacteristic lack of energy. I can’t blame her for not trying, it’s just that this more sentimental style doesn’t suit her as much as the rock-ier material.
6/10.
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Bill Evans Trio - Moon Beams
You can tell there’s something missing in this album and it’s surprisingly easy to pinpoint exactly what: Scott LaFaro. I’ve repeatedly mentioned how integral his bass was to the sound of the trio, almost as important as the piano – and occasionally more spectacular. By no means should this statement lead you to believe that this record is a disaster or a waste of time, the material plays to Bill Evans’ strengths, showcasing his romantic side and being strongly influenced by classical music.
6/10.
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Don Friedman Trio - Circle Waltz
People compare him to Bill Evans and if you listen to it right after the above, you will understand why, it even features the same bass player, Chuck Israels, though that’s the least of its problems - actually it's not a problem at all. As it was to be expected, Bill Evans is better at being Bill Evans than anyone else – some real words of wisdom, I know – so I’d rather stick to the man, I can’t say this offered me anything new or noteworthy.
5.5/10.
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John Lee Hooker - Burnin'
Some more essential blues that no fan of the genre is allowed to miss, though I am of the opinion that he is at his best when he is alone - instead of supporting him, the band acts distracting.
6/10.
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Karlheinz Stockhausen - Gesang Der Jünglinge - Kontakte
What can I say, it’s one of the most innovative and influential – and its influence goes well beyond electronic music - albums of all time. To make it even more impressive, the first part, Gesang der Jünglinge, was recorded in 1955-1956 and the second one, Kontakte, in 1958-1960, calling it ahead of its time would be quite an understatement.
7.5/10.
Jimmy Reed - Just Jimmy Reed
The first time I heard of Jimmy Reed was when Goodbye Jimmy Reed came out. Listening to an album of his, it’s clear where the universal acclaim and massive (among blues fans at least) popularity he enjoys come from. One of the best takes on electric blues, his harmonica being the highlight.
7/10.
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Various Artists - Primitive Music Of The World
It gives you the chance of exposing yourself to music that you otherwise wouldn’t, which is always a big plus and the biggest reason to give this a try. Too much to digest in one listening session, but very interesting nonetheless.
6/10.
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Memphis Slim - All Kinds Of Blues
I am not particularly familiar with piano blues and this didn’t convince me to dig any deeper. The combination of piano and blues didn’t work for me - just as it is the case with jazz and guitar. I felt that his playing was too fancy/sophisticated, it was missing the point if you will.
6/10.
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Ran Blake & Jeanne Lee - The Newest Sound Around
The album title doesn’t lie, even though the combination of piano and voice is as classic as it gets, this is indeed one of the “newest” sounding albums of 1962. Unfortunately, it didn’t do that much for me. I hate using this word when commenting on any work of art, but I found it boring, sorry. Never vibed with the vocals, the piano was too distant to relate with it in any way.
6/10.
So, that should be it for 1962, but - just as with 1960 - it's another case of saving the best for last, as I 'll give Dylan the Mingus treatment, i.e. present my favourite albums of his in a countdown format, more on that later. For the time being, here is the 1962 chart (as always, consisting entirely of albums that appeared here and the comments being copy/paste of my relative posts) :
Top 17 Music Albums of 1962 _________________ Bob Dylan Charles Mingus
MercuryTurn your back on the pay-you-back last callProfile St. Louis
So, that should be it for 1962, but - just as with 1960 - it's another case of saving the best for last, as I’ll give Dylan the Mingus treatment, i.e. present my favourite albums of his in a countdown format, more on that later.
Okay, NOW you have my attention very very much so. Dylan is my unquestioned GOAT and I will be very very rude most likely. Actually I promise I won’t no matter how much we disagree. But yeah I was majorly out ofnthe loop with Mingus list yet really really good read, but I think I’m bound to enjoy reading your little comments about his albums. _________________ -Ryan
Okay, NOW you have my attention very very much so. Dylan is my unquestioned GOAT and I will be very very rude most likely. Actually I promise I won’t no matter how much we disagree. But yeah I was majorly out ofnthe loop with Mingus list yet really really good read, but I think I’m bound to enjoy reading your little comments about his albums.
Yeah, based on our history a difference of opinion is pretty much a given 😄 , which makes me look forward to your thoughtful arguments.
Not sure if I would call him the G.O.A.T., but I can confidently say he has the most impressive discography of all time - with all due respect to guys like Miles Davis or Frank Zappa, who could easily make a similar claim, but I have to rank them one tier below. Some of my favourite bands, like The Beatles/The Kinks/The Smiths, have also had legendary runs, but I think he edges them out due to sheer volume.
Hayden wrote:
Will catch up and comment on some stuff in a sec. Still on your 1961 logs 😨
Ha, no worries, the truth is I had tons of free time the last two weeks or so, which allowed me to make considerable progress and be way ahead of schedule.
Hayden wrote:
Def acouple interesting sleeves along the way I might want to pick up.
Your charts remain far and away my #1 source of recommendations, so if you in turn find anything that catches your interest here it would be a pleasure.
Hayden wrote:
Quote:
jazz and guitar.
This has been rattling some thoughts in my head as of late too. Will add more later.
Max Roach - It's Time
It should be clear by now how much I like Max Roach and this has always been one of my favourites. Actually, at some point in the past I would have unshakably insisted that this is better than - the widely acknowledged as his magnum opus - "We Insist! Max Roach's Freedom Now Suite". Nowadays, I'm not as adamant, but I still think that they are pretty close. This comes with plenty moments of magic, but it has to be said that not every experiment works, which is understandable if you take into account the approach this album adopts. This is the epitome of maximalism, Max Roach's bold and forceful drumming, the massive vocals by the choir, Clifford Jordan's frenetic saxophone, all of them equally demand your attention, you are being attacked on all fronts. Everything here is so emphatically epic, I almost feel like watching an Indiana Jones movie (The Temple Of The Doom would probably fit with the overall atmosphere of the album). When it comes to picking a highlight, even though it's a tough task, I would have to go with the opening, self-titled track.
7.5/10.
Edit: Forgot to add that this is a badass album cover as well.
It's Time is top-tier stuff, bizarrely not considered as such. Seeing it ranked in the 14,000s on here with an av of 73/100 is a little disappointing.
Glad you gave Rosetta Tharpe a listen. Essential. Should be taught in schools. Blues picks across the board are important names to know too. Broonzy, Hopkins (that album in particular I haven't heard though), John Lee Hooker, all great stuff. That Memphis Slim record isn't my favourite by him though. Little muddled. Check out some of his other stuff if you can though, especially live recordings. Much better.
The album art for Undercurrent is decades ahead of its time, to the point it could be a black-metal album released tomorrow.
Hank Mobley has a catalogue of bangers. Workout is a highlight. Super accessible stuff too, especially good rec for someone trying to get into jazz. Same with that Ike Quebec record. Caravan, Ellington At Newport, Dialogue, Let Freedom Ring, all records you can spin over and over again whenever.
I blame Tarantino, but the closing track on that Coasters album absolutely slaps.
The Shepp/Dixon record is another gem. Glad you enjoyed that one as much as you did.
And Busto's one of the best fado studio albums ever recorded. Wish the genre got a bit more love in general.
kokkinos wrote:
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Roy Orbison - Crying
I guess you could view him as a male version of Etta James, i.e. monumentally talented individual that shines so very bright even when surrounded by mediocre songs and elevates them to unthinkable levels of greatness thanks to his wonderful voice, crystal clear yet emotionally fragile. We get to see some versatility as well, Dance introduces us a completely different side of him that seems to have come out of the blue compared to the first part of this record. I prefer his ballads by some distance, but it’s nice to see that he rocks better than most of his peers. The self-titled track is fabulous and my favourite here, though most bass aficionados will point to Lana – and for good reason - as the highlight of the album.
8/10.
An 8!
And you know what my first reaction was? "Why don't I remember what this album sounds like?" 🤣
And that's because apparently I haven't heard it 😲
Going in the queue.
kokkinos wrote:
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Alan Watts - This Is IT
Wow, what is this and how isn’t it more well-known? I thought another 1962 album, namely Oh Yeah by Charles Mingus would be the most inspiring for artists like Frank Zappa and Captain Beefheart, but this one is plain bonkers, they must have been taking notes. It's one of the earliest examples of psychedelic music, it makes for a terrifying (in a style Suicide would master more than a decade later), spiritual (a Western take on Buddhism, Taoism, and Hinduism) and outright hysterical journey that words can't do it justice, you got to experience it yourself. There are many albums I’ve encountered in the course of this diary that I plan to re-visit at some point, so that I have a chance to form an established opinion on them, and this is near the very top of this list.
7.5/10.
Gave this a listen a few years back and I don't remember toooo much about it, but I remember being very impartial on to whether or not I was actually enjoying it. Might give it another go some point soon.
Quote:
Maybe it's the live setting, maybe it's the presence of Wynton Kelly, Paul Chambers and Jimmy Cobb - notorious members of Miles Davis' band - but this was significantly more accessible compared to other albums by Wes Montgomery that I've listened. That being said, I suspect the primary reason is that it isn't focused entirely on guitar, rather it is based on the interaction between him and Johnny Griffin's saxophone - the latter comes close to stealing the show quite a few times, but it's all good in the end. The opening track is a clear highlight.
Quote:
jazz and guitar.
This has been rattling some thoughts in my head as of late too. Will add more later.
Sure, feel free to share, I'm all ears.
As someone who is far far far far and away from Wes Montgomery, I've taken it upon myself to learn jazz on an acoustic guitar, and you know what? The sound suits it about as well as a viola :lol:. The theory is of course the same as an electric guitar, or a piano, etc, but the sound isn't right. The genre isn't built like blues, which plays effortlessly. Anyone can pick up a guitar and play Crossroad Blues and make it sound like grilled cheese with tomato soup, but jazz can be very forced on the sound a guitar produces. I don't blame you for not thinking they jibe. Not every style is for every instrument, and no matter how many incredible jazz guitarists are out there, there is a slight disconnect between the genre and the instrument. They weren't particularly originally designed for it. Most strings don't dabble with jazz. Harps, sitars, violins, ukulele, banjo, etc (unlike a sax or clarinet, trumpet, etc... single-note instruments, very suited to jazz). Unless they're the bandleader, most jazz groups don't let guitarists solo because it's usually a completely different mood than what brass can produce. What Django did with an acoustic is slightly different of course. His swing/gypsy style breaks a whole bunch of standard rules, and the sound a Selmer has encapsulates the movement perfectly, plus he rarely bothered playing chords— guitar's being one of the very few instruments in jazz that do so. If he was playing what Wes is doing, it'd probably sound weird.
You can play anything with any instrument of course (jazz violin does exist), I'm not going to stop you, but I think the guitar's tone comes into major play when the instrument takes to jazz. A smidge to the left and it sounds hokey, a smidge to the right and it sounds like elevator music. Have to dial it just right. Wes did. Grant Green. Kenny Burrell (who's still alive apparently, wow). Almost as important as what's played. Check out Charlie Christian when you can. He broke a few barriers too. His stuff in the early 30s was on an acoustic archtop, but he switched to an electric Gibson pretty soon afterwards.
Anywho. Picking up those albums by Booker Little, Cecil Taylor, Barbara Dane, Ken McIntyre, Los Olimareños, and maybe even the Clint Eastwood one.
Apologies for the overuse of the word "Instrument". Very few synonyms. _________________ Doubles & Conch
Last edited by Hayden on 08/24/2021 21:54; edited 2 times in total
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Mercury
Hayden
