The College Crowd Digs Me

"Coryell" - Larry Coryell (1969 ) I enjoyed this spin very much.  Larry Coryell was a guitar jazz mage, of course, but here he is a firestorm of wah-wahs, distortion, and burn riffs.  Oh, the album is still held together with some jazz ideas and threads...but "Coryell"  leans closer into the funky blues-psych rock on this square.  Hints of psych dust, anyway.  And I dig all the unexpected twists and turns.  An album cover that has Coryell looking like Freddy Prinze after taking a few sips from the Kool-Aid punchbowl at a ' y'all come  back'  communal farm leaves little doubt,  Larry Coryell  was having a wee bit of a love-jones going on.  But this only makes for a lot of fun while Larry works it all out.  And don't let the album cover fool ya.  Coryell's guitar playing is an amazing trip.  I think side one may be the stronger, but that's splitting hairs.  "Coryell" sounds fresh and fine and adds a little some...

(4 For Friday) *   Is this a James Bond gadget?  Or some Mr. Bean trickery?  An anti-theft suitcase  from the 1960s. *   Genius Stanley Kubrick lining up  a unique shot in "The Shining."    Who else woulda thunk it?! *   On the early 8-track tapes, a guitar solo was used for "Pigs On A Wing" (pt one & two) to connect the last song with the first song and fill in the gap while waiting for the click-over.  This guitar solo was  only heard on the 8-tracks.  And sounds fantastic! *   A few cartoon characters in real life. "Ain't Quite Right" -  Paul Stanley /  "Paul Stanley" (1978)   : Good stuff. Casey Chambers Follow Me On FACEBOOK  

"The Gospel According To Zeus" - Power Of Zeus (1970 - Rei 2019) There must be something in the Detroit water that makes so many good bands wanna blow your house down.  This time it's the heavy, hard rock sounds from... Power Of Zeus .   Recording just one album, "The Gospel According To Zeus" ... PoZ delivers a square that holds up nicely alongside other, better-known bands from the same era.  I'm thinking, maybe, early Heep or Purple.  However, the Power Of Zeus has its own way to dance. The obscure band has tasty Hammond and riffing guitars all over the album with psych and prog ideas dropping in and out in pleasant doses.  Even dips of doom sneak into the mix with attacking drums to push everything forward.  A bridge into the 70s is being crossed right before your ears.  Not everything is absolute first-string, but the stuff that's good is very good.  Surprisingly a few rap artists, including Eminem and Jay-Z , have sampled the chili. ...

(4 For Friday) *   Amazing illusion sculpture made from a variety of plastic trash pieces. *   15 real-life facts that are downright creepy . *   Four painted ladies join together to create one beautiful tiger . *   A few comedy movies that may cause  a salty discharge to roll down the cheeks. Maybe one or two anyway. "The Valentine Pieces" - Danny O'Keefe / "O'Keefe" (1972) Good stuff. Casey Chambers Follow Me On FACEBOOK

"The Fabulous Wailers" - The Wailers (1960) This is an original pressing of The Wailers' debut... "The Fabulous Wailers" and honestly, I knew very little about this band other than they are known as one of the earliest garage-rock bands ever.  From the album cover, I had a pretty good idea of what I was in for.  Figured I'd bag it, tag it and file it away on the shelf.  But guess what?  This is really good.  Really good.  And I like pulling this square out when I'm feeling no cares.  If you love music history, you'll totally respect the trail of rock crumbs The Wailers were leaving behind.  The Wailers were just teenagers from Tacoma, Washington rocking their shit out and hoping to get laid.  Despite the shirt and ties, The Wailers were coloring outside of the lines and not playing nice with others.  Plus they were writing their own songs.  Mostly badass instrumentals.  These guys were doing it.  "The Fabulous Wailers...

"May Blitz" - May Blitz (1970 - Rei 2022) "May Blitz" is a top-notch early hard rock stoner.  The guitar has a distinctive sound and the bass and drumming are fierce and on purpose.  The ideas are sometimes surprising and a whole lot of fun to crank.  May Blitz was a power triad out of the UK with a name that either could be a covert military operation or the name of a flabby bikini mama filling out an album cover.  I think I read somewhere it's the latter.  It's original, whatever. There is a bit of a Cream vibe here.  No doubt the vocals sometimes echo Jack Bruce's timbre.  But this self-titled debut has more than that going on.  There's a solid and unique hard stone threading throughout this square that can make speakers grin.  I love the early heavy stuff and May Blitz is an essential banger.    "May Blitz" - May Blitz (back) Favorites include: "Smoking The Day Away"  "Tomorrow May Come" "Fire Queen"  ...

(a short jaunt) "Rudy" - Supertramp / "Crime Of The Century" (1974) "Rudy's on a train to nowhere, halfway down the line. He don't want to get there, but he needs time." A proggier pop flavor than some and with a whole Yahtzee of ideas tossed into the cup and ready to be rattled.  But there are no second-guessings with this roll.  You just relax, because the band is all in.  And once you get your head and ears in the right place...and all systems are a go...it's an out-and-out chest rush.  The first time I heard "Rudy" the song made very little if any, impression.  But...the first time I actually listened to the song, it punched my ticket like a conductor in a hurry for me to find my seat.  And that's exactly what it took.  It took actual active listening for me to get my ticket punched.  Active listening made all the difference.  Just put your hands on the wheel and count the headlights on the highway.  And sorry, but this on...

(4 For Friday) *   Neither of these boxes are moving.  Not a smidge!   And you wanna take the word of an eyewitness?  Forgetaboutit! *   28 awesome and seldom-seen vintage Hollywood photos . Patty Duke with Helen Keller who she portrayed as a young child in "The Miracle Worker" is especially cool. *   A guy playing the entire "Freebird" solo on harmonica is pretty kick-ass! *   I always wondered what Uncle Jed was talking about.  A bubbling crude . "Mindbender" - Stillwater / "Stillwater" (1977) Good stuff. Casey Chambers Follow Me On FACEBOOK

"Released" - Jade Warrior (1971) Jade Warrior was a magical conundrum.  Hailing from the other side of the big pond in the United Kingdom, this band could bring the heavy rock drops and the jazzy prog stuff, and the psychy in-betweens.  And excelled on all fronts.  And on the band's second album... “Released” ...they do just that.  Sometimes that can be a blessing; sometimes a curse.  Fortunately, the blend mostly works.  And when in the right mind frame…it's just the kind of blending cacophony that can scratch the impossible scratch. "Released" - Jade Warrior (back) Favorites include “Barazinbar” ... a 15-minute proggy jazz-dipped jam that swirls along with a heady array of guitars, flutes, sax, and congas slipping in and out over a groovy percussive spank.  "Minnamoto's Dream" is a wicked psych acid beast to drop the needle on.  And "Water Curtain Cave" is a gentler jazz bender I'll take any time. This was picked up at the l...

"Time Changes A New Musical" - Ford Theatre (1969) Ford Theatre's second and last album is a folkish psych-pop spin that has a cool darker vibe than I expected.  A few songs are tasty good and the rest are just...average.  The kind of songs that go by before your mind catches up with the needle. The album is supposed to be a loose concept about a fellow named Clifford Smothergill with several musical ideas to further the story along.  A grand idea on paper, I'm sure, but the album just doesn't deliver.  And it's another testament that reminds us how hard a concept square truly is.  AMG gives "Time Changes" a 3 out of 5-star rating and that's about right.  "Time Changes" is a pleasant enough spin with a few good psych-dusted tracks to make it interesting.  Had they left the concept on the floor, this might've been stronger.  Out of Boston,  Ford Theatre's  first album is considered the band's better offering, but  "T...