Woodstock

Stevie Wonder - Signed Sealed and Delivered

I don't think I've ever listened to this record, despite the fact it has been in my possesion for 13(ish) years?!! My best friend growing up, Mark, had brought this over to my house (along with the Star Wars record) and left it behind. Well, I've had it for a long time, and I'm listening to it for the first time. I didn't realize this came out in 1970, and it has a funky cover of We Can Work it Out by the Beatles.

I "Wonder" why I've waited so long to give this one a spin...

Lenny White - Big City

Nice outfit on the front cover, cartoonized Lenny White.

Lenny White - Venusian Summer

My one-time favorite drummer. Drummed with Chick Corea and Return To Forever. Drummed open handed. Very cool dude.

Played drums on Red Clay

This record has Larry Coryell and Al Di Meola on the same track.

Lenny played drums on Bitches Brew.

Favorite Lenny White album is Adventure of Astral Pirates (I have it on CD)

Love his production on RTF's Romantic Warrior.

Weather Report - Tale Spinnin'

W/ Alphonso Johnson on Bass. I have NO Weather Report records with Jaco... interesting...

Weather Report - I Sing the Body Electric

Umphrey's McGee - Safety in Numbers

In high school, all my friends loved jam bands. Mainly, Umphrey's McGee. This was my gateway into prog, which led to jazz fusion, which led to straight ahead jazz, which led to free improvisation, which brings us back to free improvisation, which is a unique thing that Umphrey's tries to incorporate into all of their sets. There is such a nostalgic push to this LP.

I could write forever and ever about this, but the main details I should get are this: This album came out in 2006. I bought the CD at Sam Goody when it came out, and later bought the RECORD at Best Buy (?). I rarely will buy a record if I already own the CD, but I guess I just was that into Umphrey's McGee at the time.

Storm Thorgerson (of Hipgnosis... i.e. Pink Floyd album artwork, some Zeppelin, others too) designed the album cover, which I guess flipped the role of a sleeping/counting sheep/ sleep?

I think Partyin' Sheeps would do it, no?

U.K. - U.K.

PROG PROG PROG PROG pop PROG PROG PROGGY MCPROGGERSON PROGRESSIVE ROCK PROG ROCK PROG POGS PROGPROGPROG PROG PROG prog PROG.

Billy Bruford - Alan Holdsworth - John Wetton - Eddie Jacobs.

Supergroup.

Kinda poppy, but true to prog. IS THIS WHAT THE BAND ASIA WAS TRYING TO DO????

U.K. What a band...


AND I FOUND THIS RECORD IN MARQUETTE MI. When I was in college, I was still riding high in the Prog Rock Helicopter.

McCoy Tyner - 4x4

Another McCoy 70's/80's concept record. This one is just as strong as Supertrios, IMO. Each side is the McCoy Tyner Trio + one; the trio is Tyner, Al Foster, and Cecil McBee. Side one features Freddie Hubbard, side two is John Abercrombie, side three is Bobby Hutcherson, and side four is Arthur Blythe. Pick yer poison here. Rather, pick yer nectar- each side is heavenly. Surprisingly enough, the John Abercrombie collaboration really works well. They play Backward Glance and Forbidden land. Abercrombie has his own approach to modality which slithers through the jungle storm that Tyner and McBee lay out. Foster's drums act as branches for Abercrombie to swing freely from... and Abercrombie plays ELECTRIC MANDOLIN ON THIS ALBUM. HOLY WAH.

McCoy Tyner - Supertrios

This is a double album of McCoy playing with two different trios. A brave concept, yet a concept McCoy tried frequently in this period (next review is for 4 X 4 (unless I've already reviewed it???)).

LP1 is Tyner, Carter, Williams. So much power. Coke jazz (?)
LP2 is a bit more mysteriously syncopated: McCoy and Dejohnette and Eddie Gomez. I saw Eddie Gomez live in Milwaukee. At the UWM recital hall. Venue was barely half full. I felt much shame that the place was not packed. UWM has a Jazz studies program. Where were the students???? JAZZ LEGEND!!!! PLAYED MANY YEARS WITH BILL EVANS!!!! WHAT COULD YOU HAVE BEEN DOING THAT WAS MORE IMPORTANT THAN HEARING EDDIE GOMEZ???????

Sorry for the rant.

Ethan Iverson has written about Supertrios. I agree with just about everything he has written.

Fun Fact: My copy of disc one is hella warped, but it still plays just fine!!!

Ralph Towner and Gary Burton - Mathbook

I wrote about this one before!

Cecil Taylor - For Olim

This one got a high recommendation from Ben Ratliff in his book "Essential Library of Jazz." I was happy to find a used record for sale at a WMSE event in 2011.

:)

Cecil Taylor - Dark to Themselves

Energy Music. Explosive journey led by Cecil. David S. Ware is on Tenor Sax on this one. Jimmy Lyons also on Alto. No bass, but no bass necessary.

Lord Tariq and Peter Gunz - Make it Reign

Uptown baby, uptown baby. We gets down, baby, for the crown baby.

Styx - Kilroy was Here

Yes, I just listened to this album. Yes, I sang along to Mr. Roboto.

Feelin' okay....

Styx - Grand Illusion

Styx was my first favorite rock band. At one point, I could name all of the band members, now I can barely think of one (I just saw Tommy Shaw's name on the record... Dennis DeYoung... The Drummer and Bassist were bro's I believe, and I think the drummer died far too young... I guess I can always go on wikipedia to double check those type of details...)

(Tommy Shaw, I remember at a family get together, my older cousin talked about seeing Damn Yankees at the State Fair in the early 90's, and she was infatuated with Tommy Shaw, lol!)

Some good deep cuts on this: "Grand Illusion," "Angry Young Man," "Superstars." "Come Sail Away" was the big hit. Listening to this now with a little more sense of Rock Music history, I can hear how they were trying to ride some of Emerson Lake and Palmer's lightning. This record opens this way: "Welcome to the Grand Illusion... pay your price get your tickets to the show."

Karn Evil 9 has the famous line: "Welcome back my friends, to the show that never ends, we're so glad you could attend, come inside, come inside."

Coming up next... KILROY WAS HERE

The Story of Star Wars

My childhood friend Mark left this at my house in the 7th grade. It's a weird record: an abridged retelling of Star Wars using actual sound from "A New Hope." If I was a talented DJ/Producer, this would have been a great record to sample R2D2 or other sounds from the movie...

I always enjoyed playing J5's Quality control on one turntable, and throwing this on the other. Trying to scratch anytime there was weird droid noises...

More on this record here