{"id":15499,"date":"2018-11-15T05:30:16","date_gmt":"2018-11-15T10:30:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/?p=15499"},"modified":"2020-05-18T14:29:24","modified_gmt":"2020-05-18T18:29:24","slug":"hundred-word-reviews-november-2018-part-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/2018\/11\/15\/hundred-word-reviews-november-2018-part-1\/","title":{"rendered":"Hundred-word Reviews, November 2018 Part 1"},"content":{"rendered":"

More hundred-word reviews. If you\u2019ve wandered in here before, you know the drill: they\u2019re all worthwhile and deserve deeper coverage. These ten are all archival, reissue or compilation releases.<\/p>\n

\"\"Oakland Elementary School Arkestra \u2013 The Saga of Padani
\n<\/i><\/b>Let\u2019s begin by acknowledging that this disc isn\u2019t for all tastes. Imagine the Residents meeting Sun Ra, and setting their kids or grandkids loose on their musical gear. Nearly three dozen tracks \u2013 all covers of Sun Ra material \u2013 tackled in a kind of Orff Ensemble manner is what you\u2019ll find here. Recorded in the 1990s, the fidelity\u2019s fine, and the guest musicians (Marshall Allen and Terry Riley, to name two) are impressive. But way-weird. The liner notes recognize that: \u201cWhile some may find the microtonal intonation of the instrumentalists grating, others may hear music from a parallel dimension.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"The Posies \u2013 Frosting on the Beater
\n<\/i><\/b>Originally issued in 1993, this album is the one in which the Posies went the big-guitar route. With Don Fleming\u2019s sharp production, the songs on Frosting on the Beater<\/i> have the sonic heft that was required for radio play in those days. The best songs here (\u201cDream All Day,\u201d \u201cFlavor of the Month,\u201d \u201c20 Questions\u201d) are (or should be) classics, and represent some of the band\u2019s best work. Fans of their earlier, more nuanced material may find it a bit too<\/i> rocking, but it\u2019s still all quite good. Loads of bonus tracks are included on this reissue, 13 previously unheard.<\/p>\n

\"\"Chris Darrow & Max Buda \u2013 Eye of the Storm
\n<\/i><\/b>Darrow and Buda were, with David Lindley, one of the prime movers in Kaleidoscope, one of the late 1960s\u2019 most groundbreaking, adventurous and (of course) underappreciated groups. Camper Van Beethoven owe a massive debt to them for their eclectic sonic approach. This album was recorded in 1981, but \u2013 like Kaleidoscope \u2013 sound out of time. The myriad musical styles that informed their earlier work are here as well on these ten instrumental tunes. At times the duo and their musical associates sound like a cross between Papa John Creach and Steely Dan. In total. equal parts idiosyncrasy and tunefulness.<\/p>\n

\"\"Haruomi Hosono \u2013 Cochin Moon
\n<\/i><\/b>Hosono is a prolific Japanese composer and musician; his body of work is far too eclectic to fit into any one genre. A raft of his music from the 1970s and \u201880s \u2013 five albums, in fact \u2013 has received Western release for the first time ever thanks to Light in the Attic. But where to start? 1978\u2019s Cochin Moon<\/i> combines synthesizers, disco beats, Bollywood textures (it\u2019s the soundtrack to a nonexistent film) and more. As such, it\u2019s perhaps the entry point for newcomers. Your next stop should be Philharmony<\/i>; that 1982 record is a showcase of then-current synthesizer technology.<\/p>\n

\"\"Permanent Green Light \u2013 Hallucinations
\n<\/i><\/b>The so-called Paisley Underground scene of the 1980s shone a light on some fine bands; the Three O\u2019Clock was one of them. But for some, the band\u2019s instrumental style coupled with Michael Quercio\u2019s vocal style was a bit too twee. After that band folded, Quercio joined Scott Miller\u2019s Game Theory, and then he went on to form this group. At its best, Permanent Green Light rocked much harder. Quercio\u2019s songwriting was always stellar, and here he\u2019s joined by guitarist Matt Devine, an impressive songwriter himself. This new set draws from the band\u2019s two albums, adding a few previously unreleased cuts.<\/p>\n

\"\"Peter Holsapple vs. Alex Chilton \u2013 The Death of Rock
\n<\/i><\/b>If I told you that there\u2019s a newly-unearthed recording from the late 1970s featuring Alex Chilton, you\u2019d likely think two things: (1) \u201cWow\u201d and (2) \u201cUh-oh.\u201d Chilton was famously dissolute in those days. But don\u2019t worry (much) because these tapes prominently feature Peter Holsapple of the dB\u2019s. Recorded in Memphis with the assistance of Richard Rosebrough (see also: Chilton\u2019s delightfully shambolic Bach\u2019s Bottom<\/i>), The Death of Rock<\/i> channels Chilton\u2019s muse toward Holsapple\u2019s always superb songwriting. This is truly a great lost gem, simply essential for Holsapple and\/or Chilton fans (it\u2019s hard to imagine someone liking one but not the other).<\/p>\n

\"\"Lee Michaels \u2013 Nice Day for Something
\n<\/i><\/b>Michaels is best-known for his organ\/drums\/vocal approach, showcased on the 1971 hit \u201cDo You Know What I Mean.\u201d With drummer Frosty, he created a wonderful string of albums (sometimes aided by ace guitarist Drake Levin, formerly of Paul Revere and the Raiders). Manifesto reissued all of Michaels\u2019 A&M era albums in a 2015 box set; his two Columbia LPs remained out of print until now. The better of the two is 1973\u2019s Nice Day for Something<\/i>; it has all the hallmarks of Michaels\u2019 earlier material. But Tailface<\/i> is quite good as well, and features Frosty\u2019s return. Track \u2018em both down.<\/p>\n

<\/a>\"\"Ben Sidran \u2013 Ben There, Done That
\n<\/i><\/b>Subtitled Ben Sidran Around the world (1975-2015)<\/i>, this three-disc collection draws from radio broadcasts, live concert tapes and other high-fidelity sources to provide an overview of the immensely talented jazz keyboardist. His style is sometimes fusion-leaning, sometimes showy Broadway-style jazz. He\u2019s really all over the jazz part of the map. (Sidran developed rock sensibility as a member of the Steve Miller band in its pre-pop era.) The album is deliberately not sequenced in chronological order. Sidran\u2019s unique and idiosyncratic vocal approach \u2013 it can\u2019t be explained; you\u2019ve got to hear it \u2013 isn\u2019t for all tastes, but it\u2019s surprisingly effective.<\/p>\n

\"\"Yum-Yum \u2013 Dan Loves Patti
\n<\/i><\/b>Did you know that Paul McCartney had a deejay? Me neither. When I heard music piped over the PA pre-show, I assumed it was Macca\u2019s Fireman alter ego. Alas, no; it was Chris Holmes. As Yum-Yum, Holmes made three albums of winsome pop. If you like a kind of DIY aesthetic aplied to pop sensibility, you\u2019ll enjoy this. A more discipline R. Stevie Moore, a more AM radio-focused Jason Falkner, a more indie Paul McCartney. This reissue of the group\u2019s debut adds a bunch of bonus originals alongside cleverly-chosen covers. It\u2019s a nice blend of underground and ear-candy musical values.<\/p>\n

\"\"Fastball \u2013 All the Pain Money Can Buy
\n<\/i><\/b>If you listened to \u201cnew rock\u201d radio even a little bit in the late 1990s, you heard \u201cThe Way,\u201d the hit single from Fastball. The tune has unusually evocative lyrics and a sound that reminded listeners of what Elvis Costello sounded like when he still rocked. The album from which that tune came, All the Pain Money Can Buy<\/i> had plenty of other strong tunes, too. People forget that \u201cOut of My Head\u201d made the charts as well. This Omnivore reissue add nine bonus tracks, showing that \u201cThe Way\u201d clearly developed between demo and album sessions. A welcome expanded reissue.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

More hundred-word reviews. If you\u2019ve wandered in here before, you know the drill: they\u2019re all worthwhile and deserve deeper coverage. These ten are all archival, reissue or compilation releases. Oakland […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15523,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,42,51,55,62,64,65,70],"tags":[157,3601,2540,814,3603,2558,1319,3604,1622,3602,1692,1719,2083,3600],"class_list":["post-15499","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-avant-garde","category-jazz","category-pop","category-powerpop","category-rawk","category-reissue","category-review","category-soundtrack","tag-alex-chilton","tag-ben-sidran","tag-chris-darrow","tag-fastball","tag-haruomi-hosono","tag-lee-michaels","tag-light-in-the-attic","tag-max-buda","tag-omnivore-recordings","tag-permanent-green-light","tag-peter-holsapple","tag-posies","tag-sun-ra","tag-yum-yum","cat-7-id","cat-42-id","cat-51-id","cat-55-id","cat-62-id","cat-64-id","cat-65-id","cat-70-id","has_thumb"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15499","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15499"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15499\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18859,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15499\/revisions\/18859"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15523"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15499"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15499"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15499"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}