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Post by Deleted on Jul 15, 2024 11:30:38 GMT -5
5) Eric Dolphy - Out to Lunch! I must confess that I've never heard of Eric Dolphy before. The musicianship on that track you posted is very good, and I do kinda like the slinky quality of the music, but in all honesty, this is a little too Avant-garde for my tastes. Truth be told, I have to be really in the mood myself to listen to this! But when I am, it just hits that spot for me. |
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Jul 15, 2024 11:52:51 GMT -5
Favorite albums of 1964
#5 - Buck Owens - Together Again/My Heart Skips a Beat
Anchored by the double-sided number one monster, this is one of Buck's best albums. And it's far more than just those huge hits. This is chock full of honky tonk Bakersfield goodness. Buck does excellent covers country standards like "Close Up the Honky Tonks," "Save the Last Dance for Me," "Truck Drivin' Man," "A-11," and "Hello Trouble." If this album doesn't get your toes tapping and get you moving there's something seriously wrong with you. There's a reason that Buck was a big influence on an obscure band from Liverpool named after insects. Buck and the Bakersfield sound rocked and rolled.
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Jul 15, 2024 13:19:04 GMT -5
Today I present a return to the vibes taking the lead with "The Sensuous Rhythms of Spanish Harlem": 6) Dave Pike and His Orchestra - Manhattan LatinIt's so jazzy and romantic, my wife and I are relaxing to it right now in fact, life is good  A very young Chick Corea on this as well! I was not familiar with this album at all. Nice sound. I'll have to give it a listen. The album cover alone is worth the cost of admission. I enjoyed the Muddy Waters and Otis Redding selections, while they are not artists I listen to a lot, I have always particularly loved both of their voices. Another example of where a thread like this expands my listening a little which is always a good thing. For today, things get a little more avant-garde, or considerably so to be honest. While I do love the sheer musicianship of jazz, it sometimes takes some listening fortitude in my opinion to access some of the more free form material no matter how talented the players are. That's my experience with this album led by Eric Dolphy (sadly posthumous as he passed away very shortly before its release all too young), and features a talented lineup indeed including a very young Tony Martin on drums. Not for the faint of heart, but for some tastes an intriguing musical exploration (this is probably one of the more accessible numbers): 5) Eric Dolphy - Out to Lunch!I believe I mentioned this one in my list of jazz albums from 1964. It's an important album. That said, I only listen to it about once a year or so, because I really have to be in the mood for it, which doesn't happen that often. Yet another one of my Top 10 favourite albums of 1964... #5 - Rhythm and Blues at the Flamingo by Georgie Fame By 1964, the Flamingo jazz and blues club had become the most happening nightclub of the burgeoning Swinging London scene. It was a place where mods, "Dolly Birds", aristocracy socialites, Caribbean immigrants, and African-American military personnel all danced the night away until 5 or 6am. It was simply the place to be in London in the early '60s. Of the venue's resident bands, it was Georgie Fame and the Blue Flames who were by far the most popular. So, once Fame signed to EMI subsidiary Columbia Records in 1963, it was a no-brainer that his debut album release would be a live recording from the Flamingo. The great thing about Rhythm and Blues at the Flamingo is that it makes you feel as if you're right there among the sweaty bodies, spilled drinks, and clouds of cigarette smoke: the album carries the swinging, high-energy atmosphere of '60s club life and the attendant Rhythm & Blues scene like nothing else. It's almost like listening to an aural documentary record! The album features a great selection of R'n'B, ska, soul, and blues numbers, designed to get clubgoers' feet moving, and, while it failed to chart, it sold steadily over subsequent years – helped in part by Fame's later hit singles (including three UK number 1's). Although it's far from being a "hi-fi" recording, there's an honest and sensuous energy to Rhythm and Blues at the Flamingo that is hard to beat. This was one of the must-have LPs for young partygoers in mid-60s Britain. Here's a sweaty-sounding cover of Rufus Thomas' "Do the Dog" from the album… I was today years old when I first heard of Georgie Fame. I'll have to give this some more listening. |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 15, 2024 13:58:18 GMT -5
Very much a Buck Owens fan, and this music does indeed get my toes tapping, great choice.
On Georgie Fame, ditto to what Slam said. I'll be listening to more.
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Confessor
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Post by Confessor on Jul 15, 2024 19:24:38 GMT -5
#5 - Buck Owens - Together Again/My Heart Skips a Beat
I knew we'd see some Buck Owens from you in this run down. I'm not familiar with any of Owens' individual albums in their entirity, but of course I know a few songs from this album, such as the two title tracks, "Close Up the Honky Tonks", and "Truck Drivin' Man". Based on those tracks, all of which are great, I'm sure this must be a pretty good album. |
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Jul 15, 2024 21:01:54 GMT -5
#5 - Buck Owens - Together Again/My Heart Skips a Beat
I knew we'd see some Buck Owens from you in this run down. I'm not familiar with any of Owens' individual albums in their entirity, but of course I know a few songs from this album, such as the two title tracks, "Close Up the Honky Tonks", and "Truck Drivin' Man". Based on those tracks, all of which are great, I'm sure this must be a pretty good album. We almost saw two. Buck released a second album in 1964, “I Don’t Care,” in November. It’s not as good as this one, but likely would clock in at #12 or 13. |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 16, 2024 5:53:50 GMT -5
There's something about the sound of a nylon string acoustic guitar to me, it was what I started on and used quite a bit as a student and I still adore them to this day. One of mine is my "daily player" that I will always reach for first when I don't need an electric at the moment.
And in terms of genres often associated with it (though it can cover much more ground), while I love traditional classical music, the Spanish style has always had so much appeal to me. And so I present today's selection:
4) Paco de Lucía and Ricardo Modrego - Dos Guitarras Flamencas en Stereo
This is where it began for legendary flamenco guitarist Paco de Lucía making it particularly noteworthy, though not to overshadow the fine work of Modrego on this as well. I initially discovered Paco by way of guitar duo Strunz & Farah, who influenced me considerably, and Jorge Strunz mentioning him as a major influence.
Oftentimes when I listen to jazz, it takes me back to my hometown of New York City, and my wife and I working and living in Manhattan and enjoying the city life. But we also share a connection to the Southwest as we met in college in New Mexico and have a great love for that region too, and delightful Spanish flavored music like this similarly connects me back to that time and place.
Had to grab this video with the later compilation cover, but originally appearing on this album:
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Confessor
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Post by Confessor on Jul 16, 2024 7:29:39 GMT -5
More top albums of 1964... #4 - All Summer Long by The Beach Boys The Beach Boys released four albums in 1964 – three studio albums and a live record – something that is unfathomable from the perspective of today's music industry. Of the four, it's All Summer Long that I'm picking for my list. The album mostly eschews songs about surfing and hot rods (which had been the group's mainstays up to this point), and instead focuses on more universal teenage themes. This was the first album that the band's chief songwriter and producer Brian Wilson created after having heard the Beatles, with his own competitiveness spurring him on to create his most accomplished and complex material to date. The album is arguably the apex of the band's early "fun in the sun" period and was also the start of Wilson's musical progression towards later mature albums like Pet Sounds and Friends. Standout songs on All Summer Long include the title track, along with "Little Honda", "Wendy", "Don't Back Down", and the semi-autobiographical smash hit single "I Get Around". Mind you, not every track is a home run – there's some right old filler in here too – but I'd say that around two thirds of the album is damn good. Have a listen to the ebullient title track, which chronicles a series of blissful events that the singer and his girlfriend enjoy during the summer. Yeah, lyrically it's corny as all hell, but the melody is fantastic, the harmonies sound effortless, and the bouncy instrumentation – featuring boogie-flavoured bass guitar, marimba, and piccolo – perfectly captures the sunny, carefree romanticism of the lyric… |
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Confessor
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Post by Confessor on Jul 16, 2024 9:14:24 GMT -5
4) Paco de Lucía and Ricardo Modrego - Dos Guitarras Flamencas en Stereo Wow! That's a nice track you posted to highlight the album -- it kinda sounds semi-classical. It's impressively played too. That said, I'm not sure it's really my thing, insofar as I'm not sure I could ever imagine myself putting stuff like this on the hi-fi. But it's certainly a striking piece of music. |
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Jul 16, 2024 9:36:41 GMT -5
Favorite albums of 1964
#4 - Roger Miller - Roger and Out
Roger Miller's first studio album is anchored by two big crossover hits. "Dang Me" hit #1 on the country charts and crossed over to #7 on the Hot 100. "Chug-a-Lug" hit #3 on the country charts and #8 on the Hot 100. Miller seemed like an overnight phenomenon. Of course looks are deceiving. Miller had been a very hot songwriter, writing a string of hits for the likes of Ray Price, Ernest Tubb, Faron Young and Jim Reeves. Along the way he had recorded a number of singles that had been modestly successful.
But with Roger and Out, Miller found the formula that would make him one of the biggest country stars, and something of a pop phenomenon, during the mid-60s. Clocking in at a super svelte 23:42 this almost feels like an EP, except it has 12 tracks. Yep...you read that right. The longest song here is 2:37 and seven of the songs clock in at under two minutes. Roger Miller, the TikTok of the 1960s.
There's a lot more here than the two hit songs, though they are both incredible and deeper than a short listen would tend to make one think. "Private John Q" looks at Cold War concerns through the lens of the small individual. "Got 2 Again" is a lost love song that seems super cute on the surface. There isn't a song on here that's not worth a few listens...and they won't take long.
But, damn, those two hits. "Dang Me" is about a really bad husband, but is so dressed up as a fun song that you really have to listen to it for it to sink in. "Chug-a-Lug" is just one of the great drinking songs...that shows the road to incipient alcoholism. Just amazing singles that have a bit more punch than the normal "wacky" view of Miller's work.
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Confessor
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Post by Confessor on Jul 16, 2024 10:02:50 GMT -5
#4 - Roger Miller - Roger and Out
You're gonna roll your eyes at this, but the only thing I know of Roger Miller's is "King of the Road". I'm pretty sure that's the only hit he had over here in the UK. That's a decent enough song though, but if I'm honest I do kinda tend to file it under "novelty song" in my mind. Listening to these two tracks that you've posted, I'm coming to the conclusion that Miller is definitely a novelty act -- or at least a comedic one. I don't hate those two tracks, but at the same time I'm not going to be in a rush to seek out his albums, I'm afraid. Clocking in at a super svelte 23:42 this almost feels like an EP, except it has 12 tracks. Yep...you read that right. The longest song here is 2:37 and seven of the songs clock in at under two minutes. Damn, that is a brief album! There are some other super-short '60s albums that I'm familiar with, like Nashville Skyline (26:46), Hums of the Lovin' Spoonful (26:48), and Friends (25:32), but the only one I can think of that beats Roger and Out is The Ceyleib People's Tanyet, which clocks in at a measly 21:14. |
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Jul 16, 2024 10:52:33 GMT -5
4) Paco de Lucía and Ricardo Modrego - Dos Guitarras Flamencas en StereoThis is where it began for legendary flamenco guitarist Paco de Lucía making it particularly noteworthy, though not to overshadow the fine work of Modrego on this as well. I initially discovered Paco by way of guitar duo Strunz & Farah, who influenced me considerably, and Jorge Strunz mentioning him as a major influence. Oftentimes when I listen to jazz, it takes me back to my hometown of New York City, and my wife and I working and living in Manhattan and enjoying the city life. But we also share a connection to the Southwest as we met in college in New Mexico and have a great love for that region too, and delightful Spanish flavored music like this similarly connects me back to that time and place. Had to grab this video with the later compilation cover, but originally appearing on this album: Interesting stuff. I used to listen to a fair bit of Spanish guitar back in the day, but I admit that it's not something I ever actively listened to. I find it to be great background music if I'm writing or doing other stuff. |
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Jul 16, 2024 10:57:42 GMT -5
More top albums of 1964... #4 - All Summer Long by The Beach BoysThe Beach Boys released four albums in 1964 – three studio albums and a live record – something that is unfathomable from the perspective of today's music industry. Of the four, it's All Summer Long that I'm picking for my list. I think I've mentioned before that I'm not a fan of The Beach Boys. I don't actively dislike them, but they're just kind of there for me. I 100% have never understood the love for Pet Sounds. This is fine. But if I were flipping through channels on satellite radio, I'd flip on past it for something I wanted to listen to. It is crazy the way that acts used to release albums though. Merle Haggard released four albums in 1968 then turned around and released four more in 1969. Sheer madness. |
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Jul 16, 2024 11:15:06 GMT -5
#4 - Roger Miller - Roger and Out
You're gonna roll your eyes at this, but the only thing I know of Roger Miller's is "King of the Road". I'm pretty sure that's the only hit he had over here in the UK. That's a decent enough song though, but if I'm honest I do kinda tend to file it under "novelty song" in my mind. Listening to these two tracks that you've posted, I'm coming to the conclusion that Miller is definitely a novelty act -- or at least a comedic one. I don't hate those two tracks, but at the same time I'm not going to be in a rush to seek out his albums, I'm afraid. Looking at the charts it looks like he charted in the U.K. with "Engine Engine #9," "Kansas City Star," and "England Swings." I think if you just listen to his biggest hits and not super closely, he can look like a novelty act. But his songwriting and even his own songs are a lot deeper. Which is not to say that a lot of his songs were novelty songs, because they were. "King of the Road" is absolutely not a novelty song though. This is a hill upon which I will die. |
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Post by berkley on Jul 16, 2024 18:55:51 GMT -5
You're gonna roll your eyes at this, but the only thing I know of Roger Miller's is "King of the Road". I'm pretty sure that's the only hit he had over here in the UK. That's a decent enough song though, but if I'm honest I do kinda tend to file it under "novelty song" in my mind. Listening to these two tracks that you've posted, I'm coming to the conclusion that Miller is definitely a novelty act -- or at least a comedic one. I don't hate those two tracks, but at the same time I'm not going to be in a rush to seek out his albums, I'm afraid. Looking at the charts it looks like he charted in the U.K. with "Engine Engine #9," "Kansas City Star," and "England Swings." I think if you just listen to his biggest hits and not super closely, he can look like a novelty act. But his songwriting and even his own songs are a lot deeper. Which is not to say that a lot of his songs were novelty songs, because they were. "King of the Road" is absolutely not a novelty song though. This is a hill upon which I will die.
I definitely do not see Roger Miller's songs as novelty songs - to me, that would imply something that's specifically written to take advantage of a temporarily popular trend or catchphrase, that kind of thing. Ray Stevens's song The Streaker would be an example. Maybe England Swings would come close to that kind of novelty song approach.
I don't even think of him as primarily a comedy songwriter, though he makes use of humour in a lot of them. Even a seemingly light-hearted song like Dang Me has serious undertones if you look at some of the lyrics: "Out all night and runnin' wild/Woman sittin' home with a month old child" - not too funny for the woman and the child. Or "Just sittin’ ‘round drinking with the rest of the guys/Six rounds bought and I bought five/And I spent the groceries an' half the rent" etc - imagine these words sung with a different delivery and tempo and you're not far from Kris Kistofferson territory.
But of course Miller doesn't sing it like Kristofferson, he delivers it in a much more relaxed and easygoing way and yeah, with a dash of humour, so the overall effect is a sort of light-hearted, rueful acknowledgement or perhaps even celebration of his own waywardness and the serious implications of what he's saying remain an undertone. But I think they're still there.
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