I'm going back to the start - Music Diaries

kokkinos

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Johnny Cash - Orange Blossom Special
Ok, I have to admit Johnny Cash shows some commendable adaptability here, he proves to be capable of following the sign of the times. What I mean is that he doesn’t go all out to keep true to his country roots. Instead, he is willing to add contemporary elements to his sound, as he moves closer to the ‘60s folk scene. After all, this album is notable for the inclusion of three covers of Bob Dylan songs (It Ain't Me Babe, Don't Think Twice, it's Alright and Mama, You've Been on My Mind). I don’t think this style suits him particularly, though if I’m being honest I have to say I never found him that relatable no matter the setting. Still, it doesn’t feel as unnatural or phony as I had expected before listening to it, I definitely appreciate the effort – and it’s undoubtedly better than the most famous Dylan/Cash collaboration, namely Girl From The North Country from Dylan’s Nashville Skyline.
4.5/10.

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Vince Guaraldi - A Charlie Brown Christmas
We are less than two months away from Christmas, let’s get in the mood! It’s an iconic album and for good reason, it perfectly captures the spirit of Christmas from a child’s point of view. Of course this doesn’t mean that an adult can’t enjoy it. It’s so pure and innocent that it makes for a nostalgic time travel back to one’s childhood, but at the same time is so cool, light and playful that you won’t get overly sentimental, it quite simply has infinite replay value and it doesn't even have to be Christmas, it's piano jazz at its finest.
7/10.
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Bob Dylan
Charles Mingus

Hayden

Location: CDMX

kokkinos wrote:

it's piano jazz at its finest.
7/10.

RIP Piano jazz Laughing

kokkinos

Hayden wrote:

RIP Piano jazz Laughing

Yeah, I buried it right next to jazz guitar. Mr. Green

Joking aside, there are many jazz pianists I like, though the typical piano/bass/drums trio rarely works for me (though I can occasionally enjoy the work of the likes of Bill Evans/Cecil Taylor/Duke Ellington/Michael Garrick/Oscar Peterson/Jan Johansson/etc. to various degrees), it usually takes a “bigger” setting to make it to my favourites (Andrew Hill, Mal Waldron, Sun Ra, Thelonious Monk and so on and so forth).
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Bob Dylan
Charles Mingus

kokkinos

And let’s wrap 1965 up with the usual year chart and move on to 1966.
Now that it’s all said and done, I have to say I expected 1965 would have been a much stronger year than 1964, which wasn’t the case, I consider them more or less equal, looking forward to finding out what 1966 has in store, which is supposed to be even greater.
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Bob Dylan
Charles Mingus

kokkinos

Two years without MF DOOM, rest in peace.

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Bob Dylan
Charles Mingus

kokkinos

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Violeta Parra - Las Últimas Composicio...leta Parra
Well, I guess it’s rather far from the most obvious or expected choice to start the 1966 exploration, but it’s an album that made quite an impression on me the first time I listened to it – according to BEA, I rated it for the first time all the way back in 2014, so it’s been a while. The most striking aspect of it is that she has a really expressive voice that proves to be essential when it comes to overcoming the language barrier, as I have little to no idea what she is singing about. If I had to take a stab at it, I’d say that even though it all sounds relatively simple, light and easy-going, there’s an underlying pain. And after I took the time to read a bit about her background and her story, it confirmed my initial thoughts. The opening track is the clear highlight to the point it may slightly overshadow the rest, it perfectly captures this somewhat bittersweet feeling that runs through the album. Also, it has to be said that the guitar work is excellent, nothing fancy or unnecessary, distinct, direct and to the point, it manages to create a unique atmosphere combined with her voice.
6/10.
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Bob Dylan
Charles Mingus

kokkinos

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The Mamas And The Papas - If You Can Be...s And Ears
One of those albums that has the ‘60s written all over them, you can listen to it for just one minute and you can instantly classify it as a product of its time. I guess it’s arguable If that’s a good or a bad thing. On the one hand, it takes you back in time and is highly successful in recreating this very specific atmosphere. On the other hand, you may find it unbearably dated, it’s a matter of preference after all. Anyway, it’s hard to deny what a lovely record it is. It combines the pop sensibilities and vocal harmonies of The Beach Boys, the “summer of love” psychedelia of the Sgt. Pepper’s era Beatles, the folk elements of The Byrds or Peter, Paul And Mary and the occasional nod to British Invasion (e.g. Straight Shooter comes with Kinks-esque and early Beatles-esque energy and vocals). It goes without saying that California Dreamin’ is a huge song that towers over the rest of the album – which isn’t that consistent to begin with, so having one track stand head and shoulders above everything else, the problem becomes even clearer. It’s a shame they didn’t last longer together – though they aren’t the only group to have been affected because its members broke up, see Fleetwood Mac – but at least that song, that one moment of pop perfection if you will, secured their place in the history books.
6/10.
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Bob Dylan
Charles Mingus

Romanelli
Bone Swah

Gender: Male
Location: Broomfield, Colorado

Moderator

kokkinos wrote:

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The Mamas And The Papas - If You Can Be...s And Ears
One of those albums that has the ‘60s written all over them, you can listen to it for just one minute and you can instantly classify it as a product of its time. I guess it’s arguable If that’s a good or a bad thing. On the one hand, it takes you back in time and is highly successful in recreating this very specific atmosphere. On the other hand, you may find it unbearably dated, it’s a matter of preference after all. Anyway, it’s hard to deny what a lovely record it is. It combines the pop sensibilities and vocal harmonies of The Beach Boys, the “summer of love” psychedelia of the Sgt. Pepper’s era Beatles, the folk elements of The Byrds or Peter, Paul And Mary and the occasional nod to British Invasion (e.g. Straight Shooter comes with Kinks-esque and early Beatles-esque energy and vocals). It goes without saying that California Dreamin’ is a huge song that towers over the rest of the album – which isn’t that consistent to begin with, so having one track stand head and shoulders above everything else, the problem becomes even clearer. It’s a shame they didn’t last longer together – though they aren’t the only group to have been affected because its members broke up, see Fleetwood Mac – but at least that song, that one moment of pop perfection if you will, secured their place in the history books.
6/10.

This group and this album bears closer inspection and appreciation...the vocal arrangements of John Phillips to this day rival anything recorded before or since in the world of popular music. As a singer, there is nothing dated about this material in the way of vocals...and the vocals are the only really important thing about this group.

"California Dreamin'" is great...but please do not dismiss the real excellence of songs like "Go Where You Wanna Go", "Monday Monday", "Got A Feelin'", and their take on The Beatles' "I Call Your Name". These songs are all vocally insanely good. It's all in the arrangements, and how incredibly well they worked together to create these sounds.
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May we all get to heaven
'Fore the devil knows we're dead...

kokkinos

Romanelli wrote:

This group and this album bears closer inspection and appreciation...the vocal arrangements of John Phillips to this day rival anything recorded before or since in the world of popular music. As a singer, there is nothing dated about this material in the way of vocals...and the vocals are the only really important thing about this group.

"California Dreamin'" is great...but please do not dismiss the real excellence of songs like "Go Where You Wanna Go", "Monday Monday", "Got A Feelin'", and their take on The Beatles' "I Call Your Name". These songs are all vocally insanely good. It's all in the arrangements, and how incredibly well they worked together to create these sounds.

Yeah, the vocals are far and away their strongest suit – I mean, drawing comparisons to The Beach Boys is the highest compliment one can receive in that department - and that’s exactly what makes their songs, even the covers, worth listening.
The dated part is mostly related to the overall hippy/flower power/summer of love atmosphere and as I said in the previous post, it’s not necessarily a bad thing, it’s a matter of perspective. If you are looking for an album that captures the zeitgeist and is essentially a photograph of the ‘60s, this is the way.
And there are some good songs in here, sure, but in my opinion California Dreamin’ is in a league of its own, a thing of sheer beauty, one of the all-time greats.
Thanks for posting, I appreciate your insights.
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Bob Dylan
Charles Mingus

kokkinos

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The Beach Boys - Pet Sounds
Ok, everyone knows it, that’s the absolute album of ’66, if not of the ‘60s in their entirety. There’s hardly any point in trying to describe why it’s so great and that’s both because it’s already been done countless times and because words barely do it justice. This is the sound of pop heaven, quite possibly the most beautiful album of all time – and one of the most influential at the same time, The Beach Boys became the gold standard of pop music. However, I have to confess I don’t visit it that regularly and I’ve never considered it a favourite of mine, even though I’ve always been fond of The Beach Boys, I think I’ve already mentioned that The Beach Boys Today! Is my go to album. There’s no particular reason for that – I mean, it’s virtually impossible to find anything to dislike here. If anything it’s all too perfect and I’m partial to their more naïve, innocent and imperfect version. Speaking of perfect, who knows how Pet Sounds would be viewed and how different would the history of music have been if SMiLE had been finished, but that’s another story, more about that at some point in the future, perhaps when we get to 1967.
7/10.
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Bob Dylan
Charles Mingus