Ultravox - Rage In Eden (1981)

Year: 11 September 1981 (CD Nov 21, 2012)
Label: Chrysalis Records (UK & Europe), 253 958
Style: New Wave, Synthpop
Country: London, England, United Kingdom
Time: 45:28
Format: Flac Tracks 16/44,1 kHz
Size: 269 Mb

The initial premise of Ultravox came from the 70s school of electro rock represented by pioneers Kraftwerk and the glam rock of Brian Eno and Roxy Music. Formed in 1974, initially as Tiger Lily, the early line-up comprised Royal College Of Art student John Foxx (Dennis Leigh, Chorley, Lancashire, England; vocals), Steve Shears (guitar), Warren Cann (b. 20 May 1952, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada; drums), Chris Cross (b. Christopher Allen, 14 July 1952, London, England; bass) and Billy Currie (b. William Lee Currie, 1 April 1950, Huddersfield, Yorkshire, England; keyboards, synthesizer, violin). Their rise coincided with the ascendancy of the new wave although they were for the most part ignored by a rock press more concerned with the activities of the burgeoning punk scene and consequently live gigs were frequently met with indifference. Signed to Island Records in 1976, their albums made little impact on the record buying public, despite the endorsement of Brian Eno who produced their first album. However, Ultravox’s influence on a growing movement of British synthesizer music, in particular Gary Numan, was later acknowledged. Shears was replaced by Robin Simon in 1978, but after Systems Of Romance had garnered disappointing sales, Island dropped the act, with both Simon and Foxx (who many felt was the main creative force behind the band) leaving to pursue solo careers.

Ultravox was put on hold while the remaining members took stock. On a sojourn with Visage, Currie met Midge Ure (b. James Ure, 10 October 1953, Cambuslang, Lanarkshire, Scotland; lead vocals, guitar), a former member of Slik and the Rich Kids. The duo found a compatibility of ideas and decided to revive Ultravox as a more pop-orientated quartet with Cross and Currie. Having departed from Island, the band signed to Chrysalis Records. Their new direction brought minor chart success with ‘Sleepwalk’ and ‘Passing Strangers’. It was not until the magnificent ‘Vienna’ was released that Ultravox found the success that had eluded them for so long. Held at the UK number 2 spot in January and February of 1981 by Joe Dolce’s inane ‘Shaddap You Face’ and hits from the recently murdered John Lennon, the song’s moody and eerie atmosphere was enhanced by an enigmatic video that paid homage to Carol Reed’s The Third Man. A string of UK hits followed during the next three years, including ‘All Stood Still’, ‘The Thin Wall’ and ‘The Voice’ (1981), ‘Reap The Wild Wind’ and ‘Hymn’ (1982), ‘Visions In Blue’ and ‘We Came To Dance’ (1983), ‘Dancing With Tears In My Eyes’ and ‘Love’s Great Adventure’ (1984). Ure’s anguished, melodramatic style blended well with the high-energy pop of their contemporaries, Duran Duran and Spandau Ballet, the leaders of the UK’s New Romantic scene.

The band enjoyed success throughout Europe, but never quite achieved a breakthrough in the USA. While Ure’s simultaneous solo work proved, for a short time, successful, the group projects became less cohesive as their vocalist achieved greater fame. Cann was replaced by Big Country’s Mark Brzezicki on 1986’s U-Vox, but by the following year Ultravox had disbanded. Billy Currie carried on with U-Vox, featuring original guitarist Simon, which faded away following another name change (to Humania). Currie eventually won a legal battle to use the Ultravox name in 1991. Cann and Cross had lost interest by this point, however, so the band was resurrected as a duo with singer Tony Fennell, releasing the poorly received Revelation in 1992. The follow-up Ingenuity featured yet another line-up, with Currie joined by Sam Blue (vocals), Vinny Burns (guitar), Gary Williams (bass), and Tony Holmes (drums). Currie has since resumed his solo career.

(Source: The Encyclopedia of Popular Music by Colin Larkin.) (oldies.com/artist-biography/Ultravox.html)

01. The Voice (05:59)

02. We Stand Alone (05:39)

03. Rage in Eden (04:12)

04. I Remember (Death in the Afternoon) (04:58)

05. The Thin Wall (05:40)

06. Stranger Within (07:25)

07. Accent on Youth (05:57)

08. The Ascent (01:07)

09. Your Name (Has Slipped My Mind Again) (04:29)

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Hawkwind - Astounding Sounds Amazing Music (1976)

Year: 27 August 1976 (CD 1989)
Label: Virgin Records (England), CDSCD4004
Style: Space Rock, Progressive Rock, Electronic Rock
Country: Ladbroke Grove, London, England
Time: 38:32
Format: Flac Tracks 16/44,1 kHz
Size: 238 Mb

History:

Hawkwind actually began as an outgrowth of the psychedelic movement. Leader Dave Brock first got his feet wet with an acoustic guitar, busking on street corners. He soon joined forces with Nik Turner and Mick Slatery to form Group X. With the addition of Dik Mik, Terry Ollis and Huw Lloyd Langton, and the departure of Slatery, they took on the name Hawkwind -- then replaced a "doors of perception" motif with a more science fiction-themed take, thanks to author Michael Moorcock, and Robert Calvert.

In addition, they emphasized the pulsing urgency of the rhythm as much as the ethereal -- helpig to create "space rock." The band had a surprise hit single in the summer of 1972 with "Silver Machine," which rose to No. 3 in the UK charts. Their live shows remain the stuff of legend. It was an over-the-top sensory overload complete with naked dancer, disorienting light show, and volume set very, very loud.

That same year, they took the show on the road with the legendary Space Ritual tour. "It was like Star Trek with long hair ... and drugs," said Lemmy in a BBC Hawkwind documentary. "We weren't like the f--in' Pink Floyd," he continued, "We were like a f--in' black nightmare. We used to lock the doors so people couldn't get out!"

Legacy:

Their influence can be found over many years and various sub genres. Just as "stoner rock" bands such as Monster Magnet and Kyuss, shoegazers like My Bloody Valentine or Spiritualized, or punk pioneers John Lydon and Jello Biafra.

Many members, somewhere around 50, would wander through the history of Hawkwind, but none as prominent as Lemmy. After being fired from the band by Brock in 1975 for carrying drugs across the border to Canada, Lemmy wasted no time in getting his own band together. Named after his the title of his final contribution to Hawkwind, Motorhead went on to change the sound and shape of hard rock for years to follow. Dave Brock still carries on under the Hawkwind name, though he is the sole original member. In recent years, he has incorporated elements of techno and rave into the mix.

The band has, seemingly, always been surrounded by internal drama ranging from ego, to drugs, to mental illness. After years of legal squabbles between Nik Turner and Dave Brock over the rights to the name, Nik was finally allowed to use the name 'Nik Turner's Hawkwind' in his concert billings, and in staying true to the classic early '70s sound, he represents their legacy very convincingly. In 2010, former members Harvey Bainbridge and Adrian Shaw regrouped under the name Hawkords (the name of a one-off studio LP from 1978) emphasizing the more streamlined style of the late-'70s Hawkwind lineup.

Epilogue:

Over the years, the legend and influence of Hawkwind has continued to grow. Though written off by many over the years as nothing more than a bunch of long-haired stoners, time has proven their catalog to be a more varied animal, gaining them much deserved respect over time. Of their many releases, most of the prime catalog remains easily available. Though they have been with us for going on 50 years, it is Hawkwind's first decade that remains the cornerstone of their legacy.

(ultimateclassicrock.com/hawkwind-history/)

01. Reefer Madness (06:03)

02. Steppenwolf (09:46)

03. City Of Lagoons (05:09)

04. The Aubergine That Ate Rangoon (03:37)

05. Kerb Crawler (03:45)

06. Kadu Flyer (05:07)

07. Chronoglide Skyway (05:04)

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J J Cale - Troubadour (1976)

Year: September 1976 (CD 1984)
Label: Mercury Records (West Germany), 810 001-2
Style: Rock, Pop
Country: Oklahoma City, U.S. (December 5, 1938 - July 26, 2013)
Time: 36:26
Format: Flac Tracks 16/44,1 kHz
Size: 194 Mb

10 Things You Didn't Know About JJ Cale:

 

1. Although a great many fans, and fellow musicians alike, were under the presumption that JJ stood for Jean-Jacques, that is not the case. He was born John Weldon Cale, and although he began his extensive career in Tulsa, and is recognized as one of the architects of the “Tulsa Sound,” he came into this world on December 5th, 1938, in Oklahoma City. It wasn’t until the mid-1960s that the co-founder of the iconic Sunset Strip clubs, Whisky a Go Go, The Roxy, and The Rainbow, Elmer Valentine, suggest the JJ moniker. The recommendation was made so that people wouldn’t confuse him with avant-garde rocker, John Cale, of the Velvet Underground. In addition, Valentine thought it would look good on the marquee at the Whisky.

2. Cale didn’t start out to be rock star. In fact, he shied away from public performances and the media for almost his whole life. His first actual love was electronics and recording. He studied the principles of sound engineering while still attending Tulsa Central High School, building a recording studio in his parents’ home. He furthered his knowledge of electronics while serving in the US Air Force and got his first job in Los Angeles as a studio engineer. In his capacity as studio engineer, Cale recorded artists that included Freddie King and Bobby “Blue” Bland. Many of his own original recordings, including his demo recording of “After Midnight,” in 1966 were done with electronic drum machines providing the rhythm section, since he wasn’t making much money and couldn’t afford session musicians.

3. Speaking of “After Midnight,” Eric Clapton, who recorded it on his eponymous debut solo album in 1970, was turned on to the song by other Tulsa musicians. Well, let’s backtrack a bit. It was Delaney Bramlett, the Mississippi born blues rocker that first introduced Clapton to the music of JJ Cale, while Clapton was working with Delaney & Bonnie and Friends. When Clapton went into the studio to record, Delaney, along with two Tulsa musicians, Carl Radle, and Leon Russell were session musicians on the album. It was Radle that played this particular song for Eric, and the decision was made, on the spot, to include it on the record. It was the runaway hit single from that project, scoring the number four position on the Billboard charts, and Cale had no idea Clapton had recorded it until he heard it on the radio and the royalty checks began arriving.

4. Of course, “After Midnight,” and later, “Cocaine,” were both JJ Cale originals recorded, and made famous by Clapton. Probably his other most famous song, was “Call Me the Breeze,” which he initially recorded in 1970, released on his album, Naturally, in 1972, and became a southern anthem when Lynyrd Skynyrd rocked it on their 1974 album, Second Helping. But that’s just the tip of the proverbial iceberg. Other famed artists to record Cale’s music include, Jerry Garcia, Nazareth, Johnny Cash, John Mayer, Kansas, Waylon Jennings, Dr. Hook, Poco, Beck, Santana, Widespread Panic, Johnny Rivers, Lucinda Williams, Maria Muldaur, Cissy Houston, Randy Crawford, The Band, George Thorogood, and dozens more.

5. Clapton once said of JJ Cale, “He has been misunderstood by most people, referring to him as a recluse when he’s very sociable, open and charismatic. He just prefers his own company.” To say the least. So much so, in fact, that he never publicly claimed to be married to his long-time guitarist, and muse, Christine Lakeland. Her first recorded appearance with Cale came on his 1979 album, 5, although she had been a member of the touring band for three years prior to that. Being a rather cloistered artist herself, no confirmation was made of their actual relationship until the printing of his obituary. They lived for years in mobile homes, and eventually on a secluded piece of property outside Escondido, California. Early in his touring career, supporting Black Oak Arkansas, Cale’s band opened for Quicksilver Messenger Service at the Warehouse in New Orleans. The night before, they had been booed and assaulted with bottles, flung by the young crowd in Baton Rouge. Cale’s response was to play the entire New Orleans show, seated on a stool with his back to the crowd.

6. Famed blues rocker, Tinsley Ellis, was once fired from a gig because of JJ Cale – sort of. Ellis was just getting started in the music business, playing as part of a ’70s-hits oriented, supposed family act at Six Flags over Georgia. The story goes that the band broke into a spirited rendition of the Cale song, “Cocaine,” at the amusement park, and were summarily dismissed from employment, even having to leave the park barefoot. According to Ellis, “They fired us and confiscated our leisure suits and high-heeled boots.”

7. Of all the recognition his songs achieved over the years, Cale has not been included in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Blues Hall of Fame, nor the Country Music Hall of Fame. He was posthumously inducted into the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame in 2014. Cale also received a Best Contemporary Blues Album Grammy Award in 2008 for his collaborative album with Clapton, The Road to Escondido. The award remained in the box for the rest of his life. Cale said, “I may put it on the mantle but I probably won’t. My domestic duties are kinda slow. It didn’t really change my life, ’cept it was a nice pat on the back. Good for my ego.”

8. Cale’s only hit song, that he performed himself, was in 1972. Recorded in one take, with Barefoot Jerry slide guitarist, Mac Gayden, “Crazy Mama,” was actually the B-side of the single, “Magnolia.” It was a DJ in Little Rock, Arkansas that flipped the record, loved the tune, and hammered it out on the airwaves. The song peaked at number 22 on the charts, making it his only Top 40 hit. Cale was glad the flip-side got the airplay. He considered “Magnolia,” a “slow, draggy-ass ballad.” However, his fans loved it, and he ended up playing them both at every gig he played.

9. Neil Young once said, “Of all the players I ever heard, it’s gotta be [Jimi] Hendrix and JJ Cale who are the best electric guitar players.” Guitarist Mark Knopfler, also claimed Cale as in influence on his art, even participating in the 2014 tribute album, The Breeze: An Appreciation of JJ Cale. Cale, though, didn’t feel the same way about Knopfler. According to Gayden, Cale would, “rag” on him, claiming the Brit ripped off both his guitar playing and singing styles. Apparently burying the hatchet however, JJ did eventually open for Knopfler on a US tour.

10. Not all of Cale’s recordings were the relaxed, dirt road, sounding songs that caught the ears of generations of artists to follow. In 1967, while trying to fit in to the California scene of the times, he joined a band called the Leathercoated Minds at the insistence of producer, Snuff Garrett. Their one venture was, A Trip Down the Sunset Strip, which was mostly psychedelic covers of songs such as “Eight Miles High,” “Along Comes Mary,” and even “Puff (The Magic Dragon).” Although it did contain four original Cale instrumentals, Cale considered the entire project regrettable. In a 1999 interview with Max Bell, Cale admitted that it was recorded under the influence of LSD and quite a bit of pot. “I hate that album,”Cale said. “I’ve tried to burn it whenever I see one. We bought into the psychedelic scene but it was a bad imitation. You guys might like it, but you’re nuts!”

(americanbluesscene.com/10-things-you-didnt-know-about-jj-cale/)

01. Hey Baby (03:13)

02. Travelin' Light (02:51)

03. You Got Something (04:00)

04. Ride Me High (03:35)

05. Hold On (01:59)

06. Cocaine (02:49)

07. I'm A Gypsy Man (02:43)

08. The Woman That Got Away (02:53)

09. Super Blue (02:42)

10. Let Me Do It To You (02:59)

11. Cherry (03:22)

12. You Got Me On So Bad (03:17)

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Procol Harum - Procol Harum (UK version) [Japan Edition] (1967)

Year: 1 September 1967 (US), January 1968 (UK) (CD Nov 21, 2012)
Label: Victor Records (Japan), VICP-75091
Style: Progressive Rock, Art Rock
Country: Essex, England
Time: 72:04
Format: Flac Tracks 16/44,1 kHz
Size: 342 Mb

Procol Harum's lyricist Keith Reid told us the story behind this song: "Gary Brooker and I, before we formed Procol Harum, when we were just working together as songwriters and getting into it, we had this regular deal where he lived about 40 miles from London near the ocean, and I'd jump on a train once a week and go visit him. He'd have a bunch of my lyrics and he'd play me whatever he had been working on. This particular time, though, I'd got down there and he'd been working on a tune. He said, 'What does this sound like to you?' And I said, 'Oh, conquistador.' It had a little bit of a Spanish flavor to it. I went into another room and started writing the words there and then. 99 out of 100 of those Procol Harum songs were written the words first, and then were set to music. But that particular one, the words hadn't existed before he had the musical idea."

Conquistadors were Spanish soldiers who set out to conquer the Americas after their discovery by Christopher Columbus in 1492.

This became a hit when Procol Harum recorded it live with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra on November 18, 1971. It was released in 1972 on the aptly titled album Procol Harum Live with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra. When we spoke with Gary Brooker in 2010, we asked him what he considered to be his best vocal performance. Brooker replied: "I would say something off of the Edmonton Symphony Live album. I don't mind which one, really. But it always gives one a great deal of pleasure if you know that when you sing live, that you sing as well or better than you did in the studio. And, of course, when you get excited, when you're playing on stage, a bit more adrenaline, it always fits well in with the feeling. When we played in Edmonton with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra that first time, it was a very inspiring evening, and there was a lot of good music going on from everybody, and the vocals had to get over it all."

(songfacts.com/facts/procol-harum/conquistador)

01. Conquistador (02:39)

02. She Wandered Through The Garden Fence (03:26)

03. Something Following Me (03:37)

04. Mabel (01:56)

05. Cerdes (Outside The Gates Of) (05:08)

06. A Christmas Camel (04:48)

07. Kaleidoscope (02:53)

08. Salad Days (Are Here Again) (03:38)

09. Good Captain Clack (01:30)

10. Repent Walpurgis (05:05)

Bonus Tracks:

11. A Whiter Shade Of Pale (04:07)

12. Lime Street Blues (02:53)

13. Homburg (Single Version) (03:57)

14. Good Captain Clack (Single Version) (01:36)

15. Il Tuo Diamante (Italian Single / Promo Version) (03:32)

16. Understandably Blue (03:33)

17. Pandora's Box (Version 1 / Backing Track) (03:46)

18. Alpha (03:50)

19. Conquistador (Stereo Version) (02:40)

20. She Wandered Through The Garden Fence (Stereo Version) (03:27)

21. Homburg (Album Version) (03:54)

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Flaming Youth (Phil Collins) - ARK2 (1969)

Year: October 1969 (CD 2004, Unofficial Release)
Label: Mason Records (Europe), MR 56420
Style: Progressive Rock, Rock
Country: UK
Time: 51:13
Format: Flac Tracks 16/44,1 kHz
Size: 327 Mb

Out there in Texas they've probably already started building ARK 2. It will be ready and waiting for blast off as the fiery flood ignites the funeral pyre of Earth.
Only this time it won't be God who selects His Noah - it will be Technological Man, maker of miracles and inventor of his own doom. And this time he won't mess with all those animals - they've already had their space flights, pioneering the way of escape for their human masters.
Now there is only room for man with his cargo of blurring memories, his unchanging problems and innocent hopes all in capsule form for easy stowage.
You can anticipate his journey with the music that is ARK 2. You will discover that, though his circumstances change, man's dilemma does not. He is still capable of creating beauty as well as despair, still capable of nostalgia and lust, anger and love. And above all, those qualities which may save him for another ten thousand years: humour, irreverance and wit. At the end of your 45 minute preview perhaps you will discover that you can still like man, admire him even. You will hope he makes it.
This, then, is man's last trip.
Text taken from record sleeve, opposite.
(ark-2.co.uk/)

This was one of the great albums of the sixties - brilliantly melodic, original and intelligent - but known till now only to a small band of passionate cognoscenti.
ARK 2 was the first 'concept album' - a 'space cantata' (though that makes it sound inaccessible and pretentious, which it is far from being). Written by the UK songwriting team whose success, according to The Penguin Encyclopedia of Popular Music, was 'rivalled only by Lennon & McCartney': Ken Howard and Alan Blaikley, both from Hampstead, London.
Though brilliantly reviewed in the music and rock press of the time (it was Sunday Times Rock Album of the Year in 1969), the BBC did not know what to make of it: there were no radio or TV slots for an extended rock work at the time. So it remained largely unheard except by those who sought it out.
It is noteworthy for the first appearance on disc of Phil Collins, but (Flash) Gordon Smith, Brian Chatton and Ronnie Caryl each contributed their own fantastic musicianship and vocal power.
As can be seen from the original 'sleeve notes', ARK 2, nearly forty years ago, was extraordinarily prescient, anticipating many of today's private and global dilemmas and anxieties.

Taken from PhilCollings.com: http://www.philcollins.co.uk/biog1.htm
"After a while, supporting John Walker of The Walker Brothers, Collins and his guitarist friend Ronnie Caryl formed Hickory who soon found themselves with a concept album, the backing of Phonogram, and a new name, Flaming Youth.
Their album Ark II, was premiered at the London Planetarium and received lots of favourable press, but musical differences and a lack of commercial success soon meant it was time to answer another Melody Maker ad, this time from a struggling young band from Surrey, called Genesis."
(ark-2.co.uk/about.htm)

01. Guide Me, Orion (03:18)

02. Earthglow (02:54)

03. Weightless (02:38)

04. The Planets (12:49)

05. Changes (05:47)

06. Pulsar (03:07)

07. Space Child (05:11)

08. In The Light Of Love (03:27)

09. From Now On (Immortal Invisible) (04:21)

10. Man, Woman And Child (Bonus Track) (03:43)

11. Drifting (Immortal Invisible) (03:53)

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Brian Auger and the Trinity - Definitely What [Japan Edition] (1968)

Year: 1968 (CD ????)
Label: Marmalade Records (Japan), VSCD4217
Style: Progressive Rock, Art Rock, Rock
Country: UK
Time: 74:48
Format: Flac Tracks 16/44,1 kHz
Size: 455 Mb

Brian Albert Gordon Auger (born 18 July 1939 in Hammersmith London) is an English jazz and rock keyboardist, who has specialised in playing the Hammond organ.

A jazz pianist, bandleader, session musician and Hammond B3 player, Auger has played or toured with artists such as Rod Stewart, Tony Williams, Jimi Hendrix, John McLaughlin, Sonny Boy Williamson, Led Zeppelin, Eric Burdon and others. He has incorporated jazz, early British pop, R&B, soul music and rock, and he has been nominated for a Grammy.

In 1965 Auger formed the group The Steampacket, along with Long John Baldry, Julie Driscoll, Vic Briggs and Rod Stewart. Due to contractual problems there were no official recordings made by the band; nevertheless, nine tracks were laid down for promotional use in late 1965 and enclosed on a cd by Repertoire Records (1990) (Licensed from Charly Records) as well as 12 live tracks from "Live at the Birmingham Town Hall, February 2, 1964. Soon thereafter the band broke up and shortly after Stewart left in 1966. In 1965, Auger played on For Your Love by The Yardbirds.

With Driscoll and the band, Trinity, he went on to record several hit singles, notably a cover version of David Ackles' "Road to Cairo" and Bob Dylan's "This Wheel's on Fire", which was featured on Dylan Covered. In 1969 Auger, Driscoll and Trinity appeared performing in the United States on the nationally telecast NBC television network special 33? Revolutions Per Monkee.

In 1970, he formed the jazz fusion ensemble Brian Auger's Oblivion Express shortly after abandoning the abortive "Wassenaar Arrangement" jazz rock commune in a small suburb of The Hague. Oblivion Express cultivated the talents of several notable musicians, including future Average White Band drummers Robbie McIntosh and Steve Ferrone, as well as guitarist Jim Mullen. Likewise, in 1971 he produced and appeared on Mogul Thrash's only album, Mogul Thrash. Two members of that band, Roger Ball and Malcolm Duncan, would go on to form the Average White Band.

Brian Auger toured with Kim Simmonds, Gregg Errico, and Tim Bogert in the mid 1980s, in a band they called Maestro. No album resulted from this collaboration/tour.

In 1986, he played keyboards for the Italian singer Mango on the album Odissea.

In 1989, Auger was musical director for the thirteen-part film retrospective series Villa Fantastica, made for German TV. A live recording of the series, Super Jam (1990), features Auger on piano, Pete York on drums, Dick Morrissey on tenor saxophone, Roy Williams on trombone, Harvey Weston on bass guitar, and singers Zoot Money and Maria Muldaur.

Auger toured with blues rocker Eric Burdon in the early 1990s, and recorded the live album Access All Areas with him in 1993. After several projects, including albums with family members, he reformed Oblivion Express in the late 1990s, with a line-up that eventually featured both his son and daughter.

Oblivion Express was revived in 2005 with recording and subsequent touring. The group featured Brian Auger, his son Karma Auger on drums, his daughter Savannah Auger on vocals, and Derek Frank on bass.

In 2012, Auger released one of the few solo albums of his career, Language of the Heart, produced by Tea. It features Jeff "Skunk" Baxter and Julian Coryell on guitars.

In 2014,Auger was invited by producer Gerry Gallagher to record with Latin rock legends El Chicano as well as Alphonse Mouzon, David Paich, Alex Ligertwood, Ray Parker Jr., Lenny Castro, Vikki Carr, Pete Escovedo, Peter Michael Escovedo, Jessy J, Salvador Santana, Marcos J. Reyes, Siedah Garrett, Walfredo Reyes Jr., and Spencer Davis and is featured on keyboards on the tracks "Make Love" and "The Viper" from Gallagher's most recent studio album due out in 2017.

In 2014 Brian Auger and Oblivion Express played at the KJAZZ festival in Los Angeles and toured in Japan and Europe with the following line-up: son Karma Auger on drums, daughter Ali Auger on vocals, Alex Ligertwood on vocals, Yarone Levy on guitar, Les King on bass and Travis Carlton on bass.

(radioswissjazz.ch/en/music-database/musician/12495eebb60ef5cdef31c3677a4d01cd120f5/biography)

01. A Day In The Life (05:15)

02. George Bruno Money (03:58)

03. Far Horizon (05:09)

04. John Brown's Body (03:01)

05. Red Beans And Rice (05:43)

06. Bumpin' On Sunset (04:56)

07. If You Live (03:49)

08. Definiely What (08:05)

09. Misty (Bonus Track) (01:48)

10. Il Gatto Nero (Bonus Track) (03:08)

11. As She Knows (Bonus Track) (03:34)

12. What You Gonna Do (Bonus Track) (03:22)

13. Red Beans And Rice Part 1 (Bonus Track) (02:10)

14. Red Beans And Rice Part 2 (Bonus Track) (02:47)

15. If You Live (Bonus Track Live) (05:24)

16. Season Of The Witch (Bonus Track Live) (04:10)

17. This Wheel's On Fire (Bonus Track Live) (04:13)

18. Save Me (Bonus Track Live) (04:08)

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Jethro Tull - The Jethro Tull Christmas Album (2003)

Year: 30 September 2003 (CD 2003)
Label: RoadRunner Records (Germany), RR 8370-2
Style: Classic Rock, Progressive Rock, Folk Rock
Country: Blackpool, Lancashire, England
Time: 62:32
Format: Flac Tracks 16/44,1 kHz
Size: 418 Mb

How many rock bands have a flutist? Not very many...The Moody Blues uses the flute, and Genesis also used the instrument a little bit. What about a flutist who is also the lead singer, a guitarist, and who also writes all the songs? There is only one band that can fit that description: Jethro Tull.

Jethro Tull was formed in 1967 in Luton, England and has been led by Ian Anderson ever since. A man with many talents, Anderson is a singer, flutist, guitarist and songwriter. He co-formed the group with Michael Stephens on guitar, Jeffrey Hammond on bass, and John Evans on drums.

At this time, the group went by the name of the John Evan Band, but by the beginning of 1968 and several personnel changes (Mick Abrahams, guitar and Clive Bunker, drums) they began performing under the name Jethro Tull as a blues band. They took their name from Jethro Tull, the eighteenth-century agriculturist and inventor of the seed drill.

Why did they name themselves after this particular man? According to their official site, this is a question they are asked quite often. There really wasn't a particular reason other than that their manager knew about Jethro Tull from studying history in college. At the time, they were looking for catchy names and this one seemed to fit the bill.

They had their first major concert success at the 1968 Sunbury Jazz and Blues Festival in England and released their first album at the end of that year. This led to more albums, successful tours in the United States, and favorable press reviews. By the time they released their fourth album Aqualung in 1971, they had achieved international acclaim.

Jethro Tull has a unique and complex style. Although they began performing as a blues band, they quickly began to incorporate influences from other musical genres including hard rock, folk, jazz, classical, and progressive rock.

Progressive rock or (prog rock or just prog) grew out of psychedelic rock of the late 1960s. Many songs were instrumentals, lasted for longer than the average two-or-three minute pop song, drew from many other musical styles, and explored elaborate themes or told stories. In general, the musicians performed at a higher technical level as well, and their goal was to create more artistic and serious musical works.

One of Jethro Tull's defining characteristics, mentioned before, is Ian Anderson's flute playing. He was self-taught on the flute and added interesting effects such as singing while playing and flutter-tonguing, which creates distorted sounds. He also attracted attention for his habit of playing while standing on one leg and for his his wild appearance, leading the band to use his image as their logo.

Jethro Tull is best known in the United States for their fourth album, 1971's Aqualung. It includes hit songs Cross-Eyed Mary, Hymn 43, Locomotive Breath, and Aqualung. Aqualung is so popular it even is included in the music performance video game series Guitar Hero and Rock Band. This album explores the difference between religion and God, and follows the character of Aqualung (a shabby beggar) through several scenes of the struggles of modern England.

(study.com/academy/lesson/jethro-tull-history-songs.html)

01. Birthday Card at Christmas (03:37)

02. Holly Herald (04:16)

03. A Christmas Song (02:47)

04. Another Christmas Song (03:31)

05. God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen (04:34)

06. Jack Frost and the Hooded Crow (03:36)

07. Last Man at the Party (04:48)

08. Weathercock (04:17)

09. Pavane (04:19)

10. First Snow on Brooklyn (04:57)

11. Greensleeved (02:39)

12. Fire at Midnight (02:25)

13. We Five Kings (03:16)

14. Ring Out Solstice Bells (04:04)

15. Bouree (04:25)

16. A Winter Snowscape (04:56)

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Kayak - See See The Sun [Limited Edition, Remastered] (1973)

Year: 1973 (CD 1995)
Label: Pseudonym Records (Holland), CDP 1024 DD
Style: Progressive Rock, Art Rock, Rock
Country: Netherlands
Time: 52:53
Format: Flac Tracks 16/44,1 kHz
Size: 321 Mb

Kayak's debut is often hailed as the band's best offering, and it might as well be so - but that doesn't mean this album doesn't have its own problems. It can be clearly seen that the Dutch guys didn't have any particular "progressive vision" of their own; none of the songs on here betray any particularly amazing or unique 'personality', none of the band members are virtuosos, and even the vocals are totally uncool - I was at least hoping for a quirky Dutch accent or something, but for the most part, the lead vocals on these tracks are bland and "un-devoted", if I might say so, and considering that there are at least two alternating lead vocalists (drummer Pim Koopman and frontman/Mellotronist Max Werner), plus other members chime in with backing harmonies all the time, this really doesn't sound all that promising. Basically, it's just not the kind of album that could shock you or totally amaze you if you've heard at least a wee bit progressive rock before (or unless you're the kind of prog-minded religiously-inclined kind of guy, you know, the kind that isn't able to perceive 'Dust In The Wind' as an abominable violation of everything that foes under "good taste", 'scuse me a bit while I get off the topic and then get back again).

Another problem is the one rather typical of 'second generation prog bands' - the debut album is just a bit too "packed", if you get my drift. Short songs, long songs, throwaways and epics, and an overall overestimation of their own capacities. Granted, they don't suffer from it as much as Camel, for instance, but still, this makes me look fondly at older bands like Yes or Genesis who were taking risks at grand, overtly serious canvases only after some 'humble' beginnings.

That said, all of these problems may be overcome with time, and essentially, they didn't as much influence the rating as they simply prevented me from assessing the album positively on first listen. In fact, that first listen actually left the impression of "oh, not again" - another Yes/Genesis-wannabe with mediocre melodies and pathetic "epic" ambitions. Nice diversity level and nothing that really offends the taste too much (and a spark of humour occasionally), but nothing that sticks out, either. It was only on subsequent listens that Mother Truth spoke out: hello? Sorry for being rude, but ALL of these songs have well-written melodies. Yeah well, not all of them resonate all that sharply, and they're nowhere near as catchy as 'em Beatles, but many of them are catchier than Genesis, actually. There are quite a few poppy moments on here, too - don't believe those who put a rigid dividing line between early Kayak and late Kayak, such a line doesn't exist. But both the poppy and the proggy moments are really well done. There's absolutely no reason to put this album into your Top 20 Prog Necessities, but no fan of the genre should be without this record, and that's understood.

I'll just give a brief rundown track-by-track here, if you don't mind - I really hate doing this, but what else can you do if the particular album has to be understood and enjoyed on a song-by-song level, not on its whole? That's what happens when you put most of the emphasis on melodicity and hooks rather than on general conception and innovativeness. 'Reason For It All' is a smooth pretty pop-rocker with great harpsichord work from Tom Scherpenzeel and Camel-esque guitar solos, although the mid-section is a bit too drawn out. 'Lyrics' introduces the first really catchy vocal melody backed by beautiful sprinkling piano work (actually, I could probably say Kayak is the most heavily piano-based prog band I've heard), and reminds me of Supertramp a bit - at their best, I mean. At Supertramp's best, I mean. Now you know what I mean, don't you?

'Mouldy Wood' is the album's first rocker, with the harpsichord battling the guitar this time, and although the main vocal melody might seem a bit straightforward and dumb to some, I personally enjoy it - at the least, it ain't generic (but they really could have employed a better vocalist than Werner!). Then comes the record's eight-minute epic, 'Lovely Luna', which I have mixed feelings about... the atmospheric sung parts sound a bit like Acquiring The Taste-era Gentle Giant and are quite lovely, but the instrumental parts go for this heavy symphonic universalist feel, pretending for a 'Firth Of Fifth'-like effect with its minimalistic, deeply depressing fuzz bass riff at the core, and it kinda walks the line between beautiful and cheesy in a very hard-to-judge manner. Perhaps it's just a bit too repetitive to win the 'beautiful' tag... then again, the riff IS really cool, so guess we'll just leave it in its suspended state.

The second side opens with the optimistic rocker 'Hope For A Life', perhaps the most aggressive part of the album - which isn't saying that much, because Kayak are wimps! Ha ha! - due to the abrasive guitar riff, which nevertheless comes in and comes out ceding the space to softer piano-and-chorale-harmony parts and stuff like that, and then gives way to the melancholic Mellotron pounding of 'Ballet Of The Cripple'. The ballad 'Forever Is A Lonely Thought' has perhaps one of the two most gorgeous vocal melodies on the album and is again slightly reminiscent of early medieval-based romantic Gentle Giant stuff, only smoothed and slicked and made a little bit more accessible. Then there's the short rocker 'Mammoth' with a rather complex structure for a three-minute song (managing to alternate rocking guitar bits with Elizabethan-style marches with dreamy Beach Boys-like vocalizing), and finally the climactic title track which, I guess, is these guys' 'Time And A Word' and 'Epitaph' at the same time, but I'll be damned if you won't be tempted to sing along with the chorus - the song really melds together everything, some King Crimson, some Yes, some Caravan, some Beach Boys, and even throws in an accordeon for good measure. And that guy, Max Werner, he gotta sing falsetto more often. If you're high-pitched, high-pitched you go.

So, taken together with the cute two bonus tracks (an early single? they're marked as recorded in 1972 in my liner notes), one of which, 'Give It A Name', has a funny Ray Davies-like vocal delivery, this is really just a handy-dandy listening experience and it's hard to imagine the band coming up with anything better - at least, not if they'd still stay in the same "dependent" mould, which they more or less did.

(starlingdb.org/music/kayak.htm)

01. Reason For It All (06:30)

02. Lyrics (03:44)

03. Mouldy Wood (05:17)

04. Lovely Luna (08:21)

05. Hope For A Life (06:50)

06. Ballet Of The Cripple (04:40)

07. Forever Is A Lonely Thought (05:27)

08. Mammoth (02:59)

09. See See The Sun (04:14)

10. Still Try To Write A Book (Bonus) (02:02)

11. Give It A Name (Bonus) (02:44)

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Jethro Tull - Aqualung [40th Anniversary Adapted Edition 2xCD] (2016)

Year: 19 March 1971 (CD Apr 22, 2016)
Label: Chrysalis Records (UK), 0825646487080
Style: Rock, Folk Rock, Classic Rock
Country: Blackpool, Lancashire, England
Time: 43:45, 51:25
Format: Flac Tracks 16/44,1 kHz
Size: 293, 327 Mb

This 2016 remastered release manages to better the 40th anniversary version that was released before. The 40th version was awesome in its improvement of sound over all other versions before it, but this one is even better. They're both clear and shockingly faithful to the original recording, but this version has more midrange presence and space between the instruments than the 40th version. The 40th is a little brighter than this one, so if you like a brighter recording keep that one. If you like MoFi style audiophile, balanced and impeccable sonics, this version is sure to please. It's really like hearing the album for the first time. You can hear Ian's voice like it's just a few feet away from you and it's clear where in the room around him the rest of the instruments are.

(amazon.com)

In 1970 Jethro Tull released Benefit. It just failed to make the US Top 10, and Ian Anderson knew the band had to push themselves to reach a mainstream American audience. Aqualung did that: it was a deft mix a folk, prog and hard rock, with at least a couple of proto-metal riffs thrown into an already bubbling stew. At first, Anderson wasn’t sure if they’d got the balance right.

“We were getting quite esoteric on the album, and I felt that we might have pushed things too far in that regard,” he told Music Aficionado. “What gets you noticed in one territory might not have the same appeal elsewhere. The record had a lot of more acoustic singer-songwriter material on it, and Jethro Tull had become thought of as more of a rock band. The riffy rock material had a pretty immediate appeal to live audiences, so I felt reasonably confident and gratified. But you never know until you put it out, and then the record did very well, so it all worked.”

It really was. The definitive Jethro Tull album, it was evidence of the band’s constant musical evolution, aided and abetted by a bewildering, ever-changing cast of musicians alongside leader Ian Anderson and his long-time lieutenant guitarist Martin Barre. The title track and Locomotive Breath are among the most celebrated and heavy tracks in Tull’s enormous repertoire, with acoustic tracks like Mother Goose providing the light relief.

(loudersound.com/reviews/album-of-the-week-club-review-jethro-tull-aqualung)

CD1:

01. Aqualung (06:37)
02. Cross-Eyed Mary (04:11)
03. Cheap Day Return (01:23)
04. Mother Goose (03:52)
05. Wond'ring Aloud (01:55)
06. Up To Me (03:16)
07. My God (07:12)
08. Hymn 43 (03:18)
09. Slipstream (01:13)
10. Locomotive Breath (04:42)
11. Wind Up (06:00)

CD2:

01. Lick Your Fingers Clean (02:49)
02. Just Trying to Be (01:37)
03. My God (Early Version) (09:42)
04. Wond'ring Aloud (Dec. 13, 1970) (01:51)
05. Wind-Up (Early Version) (05:21)
06. Slipstream (Take 2) (00:54)
07. Up the 'Pool (Early Version) (01:12)
08. Wond'ring Aloud, Again (07:07)
09. Life Is a Long Song (New Mix) (03:19)
10. Up the 'Pool (New Mix) (03:12)
11. Life Is a Long Song ('Life Is a Long Song' EP Flat Transfer) (03:20)
12. Up the 'Pool ('Life Is a Long Song' EP Flat Transfer) (03:13)
13. Dr. Bogenbroom ('Life Is a Long Song' EP Flat Transfer) (03:01)
14. From Later ('Life Is a Long Song' EP Flat Transfer) (02:09)
15. Nursie ('Life Is a Long Song' EP Flat Transfer) (01:37)
16. Reprise Radio Advert (00:52)

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Chapman Whitney - Streetwalkers (First Cut) (1974)

Year: May 1974 (CD 2009)
Label: Mystic Records (UK), MYS CD 202
Style: Classic Rock, Rock
Country: Leicester, England
Time: 39:21
Format: Flac Tracks 16/44,1 kHz
Size: 252 Mb

Chapman Whitney Streetwalkers was the first post-Family album by Roger Chapman and Charlie Whitney, following the late 1973 dissolution of that band. The musicians used here included other former member of Family, and the band soon evolved into the Streetwalkers.

(en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chapman_Whitney_Streetwalkers)

Roger Maxwell Chapman (born 8 April 1942 in Leicester), also known as Chappo, is an English rock vocalist. He is best known as a member of the progressive rock band Family, which he joined along with Charlie Whitney, in 1966 and also the rock, R&B band Streetwalkers formed in 1974. His idiosyncratic brand of showmanship when performing and vocal vibrato led him to become a cult figure on the British rock scene. Chapman is claimed to have said that he was trying to sing like both Little Richard and his idol Ray Charles. Since the early 1980s he has spent much of his time in Germany and has made occasional appearances there and elsewhere.

In Germany, he was awarded an Artist of the Year award during the 1980s, followed by a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2004.

Chapman was originally the vocalist for Farinas, who released the single "You'd Better Stop" b/w "I Like It Like That" in August 1964. (However, lead vocals on that single were performed by Jim King.) He moved on to join The Roaring Sixties who were renamed Family in 1966. In 1967 the first single was released, "Scene Through The Eye of a Lens", something of a psychedelic classic. Chapman wrote most of Family's songs with Charlie Whitney and their debut album Music in a Doll's House was released in 1968. Their bluesy, experimental rock music gained them a reputation as a progressive underground band.

The release of Family Entertainment (1969), A Song for Me (1970) and Anyway (1970) established Family as a fast and loud rock band also capable of producing the most intense acoustic music, in the British underground music scene, at that time. Their single "The Weaver's Answer" from the Family Entertainment album was a hit in 1969. On 28 August 1970 they appeared at the third Isle of Wight Festival. Although the band was popular in UK and Europe, success in the US eluded them and in 1973 they broke up.

Chapman formed Chapman-Whitney with Whitney, late in 1973. They signed to the Vertigo label and recorded an album Chapman Whitney Streetwalkers (1974), with a line-up including other members of Family and King Crimson, as well as Nicko McBrain, now with Iron Maiden. Chapman and Whitney morphed their band into Streetwalkers, who were a polished album-oriented rock band who used more white soul than Family had. They released Downtown Flyers (1975), moving on to record the groove heavy album Red Card (1976) which was released in the UK in 1976 and remains a much respected album by music fans and the music press. Two more albums followed before the band broke up in 1977, ending eleven years of the Whitney-Chapman musical partnership.

In 1979 Chapman began a solo career and recorded his first solo album Chappo. His backing band became known as The Shortlist at this time and he toured Europe extensively. Mike Oldfield's song "Shadow on the Wall" from the album Crises (1983) featured Chapman on vocals and became a hit. He appeared as a guest artist on the second Box of Frogs album Strange Land (1986) singing lead vocals on two songs. Chapman went on to record Walking the Cat (1989) and Hybrid and Low Down (1990).

Since then Chapman has released eleven albums of new and live recordings. His album Hide Go Seek (2009) was produced by former Family bassist Jim Cregan and released during May 2009. His appearance on Saturday 21 August 2010 at the Rhythm Festival was billed as: "The farewell performance from Roger Chapman & The Shortlist".

(wikiwand.com/en/Roger_Chapman)

01. Hangman (04:52)
02. Roxianna (02:49)
03. Sue & Betty Jean (05:09)
04. Call Ya (06:36)
05. Just 4 Man (02:51)
06. Tokyo Rose (02:13)
07. Creature Feature (04:02)
08. Parisienne High Heels (04:04)
09. Systematic Stealth (02:31)
10. Showbiz Joe (04:09)

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