Posts Tagged ‘Neu!’

Albums

1) In Praise Of Learning – Henry Cow (Living In The heart Of The Beast) Second collaboration between HC & SH simply going by Henry Cow at this point.  Just for fun an earlier Henry Cow only version (Halstern), fantastic. 1b) Slapp Happy/Henry Cow – Desperate Straights (Riding Tigers, Apes In Capes) First collaboration between these two bands. Rumor has it that the Henry Cow folks asked Dagmar Krause to join and she refused so they merged bands. Most of this material is clearly Slapp Happy with Henry Cow as the backing band as opposed to the above In Praise of Learning which again is both bands but credited to Henry Cow and a more HC leaning vibe.

2) Tonight’s The Night – Neil Young (Borrowed TuneTonight’s The Night)

3) Bongo Fury – Zappa/Mothers/Beefheart

4) Another Green World – Brian Eno (Sky Saw, Golden Hours)

5) Fish Rising – Steve Hillage – A delightful dish of the Canturbery! Dig how Hillage, Dave Stewert, Pierre Moerlin and company  go absolutely PROG during the “Hiram Afterglid meets the Dervish” movement (10:30 – 13:30) of Solar Mystik Suite…what a jam!

6) Hissing Of Summer Lawns – Joni Mitchell ( The Jungle Line)

7)  Voyage Of The Acolyte – Steve Hackett

8) Sunset Glow – Julie Tippetts (Sunset Glow)

9) The Mothership Connection – Parliament (Give Up The Funk) Parliament/Funkadelic attempt to conquer the world in 1975. Also see Chocolate City (Side Effects), Let’s take It To The Stage (Better By The Pound).

10) Warrior On The Edge Of Time – Hawkwind

Honorable Mention – Bob Dylan & The Band – The Basement Tapes (Tiny Montgomery, Lo And Behold!) Understood that this is not technically 1975, more like ’67/’68 but released officially in ’75.

Songs

1) Throw Back The Little Ones – Steely Dan (Katy Lied)

2) Cobrade – Eddie Palmieri (Unfinished Masterpiece)

3) Right – David Bowie*

4) Barstool Blues – Neil Young/Crazy Horse (Zuma)

5) Symptom Of The Universe – Black Sabbath (Sabotage)

6) Gary’s Step – Sonny & Linda Sharrock

7) ¾ -Carla Bley

8) Deixe Entrar Um Pouco D’água No Quintal – Os Mutantes (Tudo Foi Feito Pelo Sol)

9)  See Land – Neu (Neu ’75)

10) Minstrel In The Gallery – Jethro Tull (Minstrel In The Gallery)

* If you are in the unfortunate habit of disregarding Young Americans as I was guilty of please give this an honest listen.

The “Other 10”

1) Julius Hemphill – Coon Bidness – A left over track from the Dogon A.D. sessions, The Hard Blues is perhaps the heaviest thing ever…Jeez, could Abdul Wadud’s Cello burn and slower?

2)  Frank Lowe – Fresh –  Wadud from the above Hard Blues and Shaw from the below Rocket along with both Bowie brothers (Lester & Joseph…not David) can be found laying out the classic Fresh as well as a gloriously loose (sloppy?) take on Monk’s Epistrophy.

3)  Roscoe Mitchell – Quartet – A lot of overlap again as this features Abrams as well as the recording debut of George Lewis on trombone. Troona…I find this so very intense!

4)  Oliver Lake – Heavy Spirits – An unheralded and underappreciated absolute gem. Dig Charles Bobo Shaw’s rhythm on Rocket.

5)  Air – Air Song – Debut Lp from Henry Threagill, Steve McCall, & Fred Hopkins who would lay down some of the greatest composed and free music of the 70’s.

6)  The Revolutionary Ensemble – The Psyche – Leroy Jenkins and company…anything but your typical chamber jazz outfit.

7)  Creative Construction Company – Volume 1 – AACM heavy weights Anthony Braxton, Steve McCall,  Muhal Richard Abrams, Leo Smith, Leroy Jenkins,&  Richard Davis. Seen by many as THE representation of AACM it’s fitting two tracks are composed and named after the founder (Muhal Part 1, Muhal Part 2).

8)  Don Cherry – Brown Rice – That’s Don’s electric piano on the title track while Frank Lowe blows his guts out over the top.

9)  Peter Brotzmann, Fred Van Hove, Han Bennink – Tschus

10)  Anthony Braxton Five – New York Fall 1974 (Composition 23a, Composition 23b) Wow Mr. Braxton hanging out at the bottom…who would have thought?

Albums

1)  Larks’ Tongues In Aspic – King Crimson – (LTIA Pt. 1LTIA Pt. 2)

Nothing like LTIA!

2)  Raw Power – The Stooges (Search And DestroyPenetration)

Ageless…right?

3)  Betty Davis – Betty Davis (Come Take MeYour Man My Man)

Understood “Come and Take Me” isn’t on the original Lp…but god…how funky it it?

4)  Black Beings – Frank Lowe – (In Trane’s NameBother Joseph)

Frank at his most fierce lays down a free jazz classic.

5)  Lou Reed – Berlin (Caroline Says IIThe Bed)

Gorgeous and harrowing.

6)  Quadrophenia – The Who (The Punk And The GodfatherSea And Sand)

7)  Faust IV – Faust (KrautrockIt’s A Bit Of A Pain)

8)  Indent – Cecil Taylor (Part 1Part 2)

Well…A Master.

9)  Conference Of The Birds – Dave Holland Quartet (See-SawInterception)

10)  Selling England By The Pound – Genesis (Dancing With The Moonlit KnightFirth Of Fifth)

Genesis at they’re most commercial? Seriously!

 

Songs

1)  Aladdin Sane (1913-1938-197?) – David Bowie – Aladdin Sane

Mike Garson’s contributions here can’t be overstated.

2)  Khalid of Space, Pt. 2 Welcome – Larry Young – Lawrence Of Newark

James Blood Ulmer is so right on here and an uncredited Pharaoh Sanders blows!

3)  Jesus Is Waiting – Al Green (Call Me)

His delivery is so moving…make me a believer?

4)  Rain Dance – Herbie Hancock (Sextant)

Herbie steps into the future, or another dimension?

5)  Dolphins – Tim Buckley (Seforina)

Long in his live set…not sure how I missed this on the covers theme…

6)  La Grange – ZZ Top (Tres Hombres)

7)  The Night Comes Down – Queen (Queen)

Honestly not sure if Freddie ever laid down a better vocal track.

8)  They’re Making A Monster – Copperhead (Copperhead Feat. John Cippolina)

9)  Shoot Out At The Fantasy Factory – Traffic (Shoot Out At The Fantasy Factory)

What a groove!

10)  Fur Immer – NEU! (NEU 2)

This was MUCH harder than I anticipated! Turns out that 3 of my favourite Brazilian albums came out in 1972, and it was excruciating shortlisting so many great songs. I decided to only include one song by each artist on my top ten song list, but had to include two tracks from The Harder They Come Soundtrack as they represent two very different genres of reggae in it’s most interesting era (Studio One Presents Burning Spear was a close third choice!) Also had trouble choosing which song to include from Big Star’s #1 Record. I struggled a little with the inclusion of The Bonzo Dog Band’s Rawlinson End as its technically not a song, but it is one of my favourite recordings by Vivian Stanshall, and I highly recommend his continued stories of Henry Rawlinson that appear on Sir Henry At Rawlinson End (1978). Os Mutantes’ Balada Do Louco is a pretty song from a very heavy album – again – so hard to choose! Check out #4. Mr Destroyer (Poobah), its a great rare piece of Midwestern psychedelia – sounding like Blue Cheer playing Sabbath!

TOP TEN SONGS:

1. Cravo E Canela (Milton Nascimento & Lô Borges)
2. Thirteen (Big Star)
3. Johnny Too Bad (The Slickers)
4. Mr Destroyer (Poobah)
5. Hallogallo (Neu!)
6. Balada Do Louco (Os Mutantes)
7. The Harder They Come (Jimmy Cliff)
8. Rawlinson End (The Bonzo Dog Band)
9. Zigy Zigy Za (Astrud Gilberto)
10. Lonesome Crow (Scorpions)

My Top Three albums were easy – Milton Nascimento & Lô Borges’ Clube Da Esquina is in my all time top ten – recorded at Abbey Road its a beautiful trippy easy-listening singer-songwriter masterwork. The rest were tricky – with so much Krautrock/Prog to choose from I had to cut Can’s Ege Bamyasi, Yes’ Close To The Edge  and Kalacakra’s Crawling to Lahasa in favour of Neu!, Lonesome Crow (Scorpions brilliant debut) and Focus III. Rita Lee’s awesome Hoje é o Primero Dia do Resto da Sua Vida came a close second to Os Mutantes’ psychedelic assault Mutantes E Seus Cometas No País Do Baurets. Finally I struggled with including Transformer, but in the end I couldn’t resist it!

TOP TEN ALBUMS:

1. Clube Da Esquina (Milton Nascimento & Lô Borges)
2. #1 Record (Big Star)
3. The Harder They Come Soundtrack (Various Artists)
4. Mutantes E Seus Cometas No País Do Baurets – (Os Mutantes)
5. Neu! (Neu!)
6. Lonesome Crow (Scorpions)
7. Now (Astrud Gilberto)
8. Transformer (Lou Reed)
9. Focus III (Focus)
10. Shakara – London Scene (Fela Kuti)

Great fun! Can’t wait to check out everyone else’s lists and find out what I missed!

Tim