I'm going back to the start

[Hayden]

[kokkinos]

[kokkinos]

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The Temptations - The Temptations Sing Smokey
I prefer it when it’s Smokey himself that sings his compositions, but I can’t deny this is a decent effort and they do the songs justice. Light, smooth and easy, impossible not to like, good for anyone really, no matter the time, place or mood – though I expect it to be even more effective if you ‘ve had a tough and stressful day, it can act as a much needed injection of joy.
7/10.

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The Temptations - The Temptin' Temptations
Well, there isn’t that much to differentiate this and their previous album. It's more or less the same attitude, the same sound, the same style, it feels all like a natural continuation. If anything, the average song quality is slightly higher here, despite The Temptations Sing Smokey featuring higher highs – and lower lows. All in all, I consider them equally good. They aren't albums that will change your life but they make for great company if you simply want to have fun.
7/10.
_________________
Bob Dylan
Charles Mingus

[kokkinos]

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The Pretty Things - Get The Picture?
Well, it looks like The Pretty Things did actually release a second album in 1965. I was rather hesitant approaching this, as I found their debut a relatively weak effort and it left a lot to be desired. Fortunately, this one was better. Unfortunately, not by much. The most important difference is that generic r & b - characteristic of the British Invasion - is a thing of the past for the most part, or at least they are willing to experiment and try some new ideas. I guess you could say this album foreshadows some of the trends that would dominate the music industry for quite some time, a decade and more, the one that instantly comes to mind being punk, though you could make a case for psychedelic rock as well – to be fair, there are other albums of the band which go way deeper when it comes to the latter, so this one isn’t the most typical case of that. And of course one can’t ignore the vocal delivery and its similarities to what would become Mick Jagger’s trademark, challenging the traditional male frontman’s archetype, the self-titled track being the most obvious example of that.
6/10.
_________________
Bob Dylan
Charles Mingus

[kokkinos]

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Pharoah Sanders - Pharoah
Rest In Peace Pharoah Sanders, what an absolute legend. That’s his debut album, though he doesn’t sound like a debutant at all. It’s obvious that he already has a clear and well thought-out artistic vision. Now, don’t get me wrong, he would go on to evolve further and fully immerse himself in his “thing” - for lack of a better word, it’s got to be experienced to be sort of understood or felt at least, words don’t do it justice. Anyway, I get that in this context his performance here might be viewed as “light” compared to the work he’d be doing in a few years, but this remains a bold and complete statement on its own, he goes on to prove that he deserves to be viewed as equal to the biggest names of the time – you know who I’m talking about, John Coltrane, Albert Ayler, Sun Ra, Ornette Coleman, Roland Kirk, and of course Eric Dolphy should have been among them. Pharoah Sanders is just as creative, expressive, experimental and unconventional. On the other hand, team chemistry feels slightly weird. It reminds me of some early Coltrane albums, where he was trying to push the boundaries, while the rest of the band simply wasn’t up to the task, it was a one-man show, Soultrane would be a characteristic example of that. The contrast isn’t as striking in this case, but it can’t be ignored either – they aren’t bad by any means, they have some great parts, it’s just that they aren’t on the same page and the outcome is somewhat confused, lacking point or direction. The running time of 26 and 23 minutes – the album consists of only two tracks - respectively might put some people off. Honestly, I didn’t mind that much, especially Seven By Seven could have gone on some more and I wouldn’t have complained.
7.5/10.
_________________
Bob Dylan
Charles Mingus

[kokkinos]

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The Hollies - Hollies
Here come the Hollies, another band that’s a member, but in a sense also a “victim” of the British Invasion, as it is desperately trying to find its own space, its own artistic identity. Most of the songs fall into “we wanna be like early-Beatles” territory (for example You Must Believe In or Put Yourself In My Place), though there are other sources of influence as well. I’ve Been Wrong is such a case, its guitar is heavily reminiscent of The Kinks’ debut. Also, I have to say I found some of the covers puzzling. The two most obvious ones would be the opening track, Very Last Day. The original is from Peter, Paul and Mary and The Hollies somehow make it sound like… Peter, Paul and Mary. Same thing with Down The Line, a Roy Orbison song that in the hands of The Hollies sounds like … no prizes for the right answer here, Roy Orbison. It’s a bit confusing, I am not sure what to make of it. Anyway, I guess the main point is there’s nothing to complain about, everything is totally listenable and enjoyable even, but there’s nothing you can’t find elsewhere either. To be fair, some of their harmonies are lovely and there’s one song – So Lonely – I’d consider great or very good at least.
6/10.
_________________
Bob Dylan
Charles Mingus

[kokkinos]

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The Impressions - People Get Ready
Well, that’s a tricky one. On the one hand, I think it should be instantly clear that this is their strongest album up to this point and that’s by some distance. However, the problem I often face when rating works of artists I really like is that I overrate their “lesser” releases, so when I get to the really good stuff, it’s not that easy to adjust properly, Anyway, that was mostly irrelevant and unnecessary, just a note to myself to go back to their previous records and somehow fix it. It goes without saying that the vocals are the highlight and the main reason they stand out as a group. They are great singers individually but the most important thing is that their team chemistry is off the charts. It’s reasonably consistent, most of the songs showcase a willingness to move away from the generic pop soul of the time, the self-titled track being the obvious choice as the best of the bunch. Now, if you enjoy soul music in the style of Otis Redding, namely raw, gritty and devastating, be prepared for something different. Everything here is super clean and smooth. Think of it as Sam Cooke meets the pop sensibilities of Group Girl - actually, Smokey Robinson may be a better point of comparison, as he combines the sweet with the ambitious. There are moments one might feel it was overproduced and a simpler approach might have done it justice, but it works for the most part. That being said, if there’s one thing to keep from this album, it’s definitely its attitude. It comes with an Infectious joy that can make your day no matter how tough or stressful it has been.
8/10.
_________________
Bob Dylan
Charles Mingus

[theblueboy]

[kokkinos]

[kokkinos]

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Roscoe Holcomb - The High Lonesome Sound
I had no idea who Roscoe Holcomb was prior to listening to this, I just happened to read somewhere that he was a major influence on John Fahey and I thought why not, let’s give it a try. It’s clearly not my style, but I’m glad I did nonetheless. There’s something fascinating about Appalachian Folk Music, it’s like opening a history book and getting to be part of the action. My main complaint would be that the faster numbers – for example Hook And Line - are kinda meh, as they don’t play to his strengths. Thankfully, there aren’t that many of those. He needs a minimal (it’s mostly he and his banjo with a guitar or harmonica occasionally showing up), slow-burning (the closer, Little Bessie, comes with an epic running time of 11 minutes) setting to shine, he’s an impressive vocalist. Obviously I don’t mean that in a technical sense, it’s how he manages to be so direct and emotionally relatable, the pain and the life experiences really come through, Wandering Boy being my favourite of the bunch.
5.5/10.

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Albert Ayler - Ghosts
The second album Albert Ayler released in 1965 is more accessible and easy on the ear compared to Spiritual Unity– especially the first side, after that things admittedly do get out of control -, so I’d suggest using it as an entry point before focusing on his magnum opus. Of course this doesn’t mean that you should expect a walk in the park of hard bop or something, you know it’s free jazz we are talking about and Albert Ayler never fails to offer his listeners a wild, chaotic, violent experience. Big props to the rest of the band as well, they keep up with him – far from an easy task as you can imagine. Actually, two of them, Gary Peacock and Sunny Murray would accompany him in Spiritual Unity, too. The last but not least member of the gang, Don Cherry, is equally impressive. Anyway, there isn’t that much to say about albums such as this, you have to listen to it in order to get the picture.
8/10.
_________________
Bob Dylan
Charles Mingus