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Category Archives: Video
Captain Beefheart on American Bandstand in 1966
17-year-old Kathy Fletcher interviews Captain Beefheart, and discusses the origin of his and his band’s name, the group’s membership, and why their music is getting so popular. DIck Clark spins the Magic Band’s version of “Diddy Wah Diddy.”
8-Year-Old Drummer Destroys Led Zeppelin’s “Good Times, Bad Times”
Yoyoka destroyed Led Zeppelin’s “Good Times, Bad Times” at the age of 8, and then came back to show even more power and finesse at the age of 11.
Exordium/Outgrown
If Gerry and Sylvia Anderson had discussed surrealism with Roman Polanski in the mid-60s, they might have made a disquieting, space-age marionette film like this. Set to the music of Austin’s Man, Woman, Friend, Computer, it “tells the story of a spaceman who comes to terms with isolation and loss as he cares for an injured alien creature.” Filmmaker Yuliya Tsukerman combines “centuries-old Czech marionette techniques with modern materials and found objects” in this memorable short.
The Easybeats: Vigil
The Easybeats’ fifth studio album was released in several different forms. The 14-track UK release was slimmed to 12 tracks, resequenced and retitled Falling Off The Edge Of The World for the U.S. market. In the group’s native Australia, the album retained its title and cover art, but lost three cover songs, gained the original “Bring a Little Lovin’,†and was issued only in mono. It’s this latter Australian release, with its track list, sequencing and mono master, that’s featured on this limited edition Record Store Day 2017 reissue. In addition to the multiple configurations of the album’s release, its construction was likewise multiheaded, as two songs recorded in mid-1967 with Glyn Johns (for the shelved Good Friday album) were combined with material recorded later the same year with Mike Vaughan.
The Australian edition sticks entirely to Vanda-Young originals, but there’s a great deal of musical range on offer. Soul influences course through the hard-grooving opener “Good Times,†rhythmic “See Saw,†mid-tempo “What in the World, and psych-gospel “Come in You’ll Get Pneumonia.†The group dips its toes into bubblegum-ska on “Sha La, La, La, Leah,†but more interesting is the social social commentary of “We All Live Happily Together†and the baroque polish of “Land of Make Believe.†And speaking of polish, the soft-pop closer, “Hello How Are You†may be the album’s most audacious in its distance from the group’s roots. There are numerous musical highlights here, if not an artistic vision that pulls it all together. Get Varese’s vinyl for the mono punch, and the CD for the bonus tracks. [©2017 Hyperbolium] 
The Zombies: Odessey & Oracle
50th anniversary of 1968 standout, with bonus tracks
Standing out among the class of ‘68 is tough. And yet, against The Beatles, Astral Weeks, Electric Ladyland, Beggars Banquet, The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society, White Light/White Heat, Bookends and dozens of others, the Zombies’ swan song made its mark. Perhaps it stands in relief by virtue of its 1967 recording dates – sessions held amid, and no doubt inspired by, 1967’s torrent of musical landmarks and social movements. Or maybe it was the group’s impending sense of professional doom, invention born of a constrained budget, the choice to self-produce and the artistic freedom to record all original material. Whatever the inspiration, the result was one of 1968’s lasting musical achievements.
Achievement and epitaph, actually, as the group disbanded at the end of 1967, four months before the album was released in April 1968 to critical acclaim and little commercial response. A quartet of UK and US singles failed before a re-release of “Time of the Season†finally reached #3 US in early 1969. Worse, with the Zombies disbanded and Rod Argent having formed his eponymous follow-on group, the chance to capitalize on the single’s belated success fell largely to fake touring units. Argent and Chris White recorded material for a 1969 Zombies release, but other than the singles “Imagine the Swan†and “If It Don’t Work Out,†the tapes languished in the vault until their eventual release as R.I.P.
Recorded primarily on the same Abbey Road 4-track as was Sgt. Pepper’s, Odessey & Oracle was carefully rehearsed and laid down quickly. Initially mixed to mono, a stereo mix was created afterwards, and it’s the latter that’s reproduced here. Varese augments the original dozen tracks with seven bonuses, including the mono B-side “I’ll Call You Mine,†a horn-free, stereo mix of “This Will Be Our Year,†and backing tracks and alternate mixes that include a scrapped cello overdub on “A Rose for Emily.†The 12-page booklet includes photos, ephemera and liner notes by Andrew Sandoval that quote interviews conducted by Alec Palao and Claes Johansen. The stereo mix is welcome, but the mono is missed. [©2017 Hyperbolium]
Peter Holsapple: Don’t Mention the War
A powerful new song from Peter Holsapple (dB’sContinental Drifters) about the emotional ripples that from a favorite uncle’s post-traumatic stress. Available on February 4 as a vinyl 7″, digital download and stream.
England Dan & John Ford Coley: The Very Best Of
Poster boys of smooth ‘70s soft rock
Alongside Seals & Crofts, it’s hard to think of a duo more representative of 1970s adult contemporary soft rock than “England†Dan Seals and John Edward “Ford” Coley. The duo first performed together in a series of high school bands, including Theze Few and Southwest F.O.B., and debuted as a duo in 1971 on A&M. This collection picks up with their 1976 move to the Atlantic subsidiary Big Tree, and their breakthrough pair of Parker McGee-penned tunes “I’d Really Love to See You Tonight†and “Nights Are Forever Without You.†They continued to mint Top 40 singles throughout the rest of the 1970s, including Todd Rundgren’s “Love is the Answer†and several self-penned hits, and topped the AC chart four times.
Varese’s sixteen-track set collects nearly all of their Big Tree singles, including the Japan-only “Keep Your Smile.†Omitted are “You Can’t Dance,†and the non-charting “If the World Ran Out of Love Tonight†and “Hollywood Heckle & Jive.†Filling out the track list are album- and B-sides, and a pair of tracks from the film Just Tell Me You Love Me, including the duo’s last single “Part of Me Part of You.†This stacks up well against the shorter Essentials, I’d Really Love to See You Tonight & Other Hits and the period Best Of. Superfans may want to indulge in the import The Atlantic Albums+, but for most, this set will hit all the radio high points, and provide just the right amount of smoothly produced, touchingly sung ‘70s pop. [©2017 Hyperbolium]
Christina Rubino: Down to the Sea
Piano, voice and a whole lot of soul on this advance track from Christina Rubino’s upcoming album Godspeed and Guns.
Dennis Coffey: Hot Coffey in the D – Burnin’ at Morey Baker’s Showplace Lounge
A Motown funk brother plays out live in 1968
Guitarist Dennis Coffey may be most familiar from his 1971 instrumental hit “Scorpio†and its follow-up “Taurus.†But astute liner note readers will recognize Coffey as one of Motown’s Funk Brothers, and the player who introduced harder-edged guitar sounds into Norman Whitfield’s productions, including “Ball of Confusion†and “Psychedelic Shack.†Like many of his Motown colleagues, Coffey also played out live in Detroit clubs, and this 1968 date from Morey Baker’s Showplace Lounge finds him in a trio with Lyman Woodard on Hammond B3 and Melvin Davis on drums. The group played under Woodard’s name, but Coffey’s guitar took most of the leads.
The group’s repertoire included soul, pop and jazz covers, as well as original material, the latter including Coffey’s opening showcase, “Fuzz.†The sounds encompass soul, rock, funk and jazz in equal parts, as Woodard vamped deep and low, Davis provided the groove, and Coffey took the lead lines. Coffey’s guitar is edgy even when he’s picking an upbeat take on the MOR classic “By the Time I Get to Phoenix†or playing slinky lines on “The Look of Love.†The band played from chord charts without rehearsal, fueling their performances with lively, jazz-styled improvisations. Herbie Hancock’s “Maiden Voyage†and Ramsey Lewis’ “Wade in the Water†remain close to their roots, but even here, the trio finds original ground to jam.
Professionally recorded on a half-inch four-track (courtesy of the then-nearby Tera Shirma studio at which Coffey worked with his partner Mike Theodore), the tapes are a world away from the hobbyist recordings one often hears from club settings. The performances are lively, and the results were good enough to score the trio a contract, which resulted in 1969’s Hair and Thangs. Woodard continued on as music director for Martha Reeves and as a jazz leader, Coffey and Davis eventually found their studio gigs drying up and signed on to day jobs. Now retired from the Ford Motor Company, Coffey is gigging weekly at the Northern Lights Lounge, and Davis has released albums on his own Rock Mill label.
In addition to the music, this archival find sheds light on the symbioses that formed between Detroit’s clubs and record labels. The clubs provided a second income stream to the musicians, but also space for players to fully express themselves. What you hear in this performance are some of the musical hearts and souls that fed Motown and other Detroit labels. The 56-page booklet includes archival photos, liner notes from producers Kevin Goins and Zev Feldman, cover art by illustrator Bill Morrison, and interviews with Coffey, Davis, Theodore and Detroit legends Bettye LaVette and Clarence Avant. There are several excellent albums of Coffey’s material, including an out-of-print Best Of, but this previously unreleased live set adds a funky new dimension to his catalog. [©2017 Hyperbolium]