Author Archives: hyperbolium

Roy Orbison: One of the Lonely Ones

RoyOrbison_OneOfTheLonelyOnesMysteriously unreleased 1969 album has several treasures

With an artist of Roy Orbison’s stature, it’s hard to imagine how a fully finished album could simply slip through the cracks of a major label’s release machinery. But such is the case for this 1969 set, which sat in the vaults unheard by the public for nearly fifty years. Released in conjunction with an exhaustive 13-disc box set of Orbison’s MGM albums and singles, one might get the impression that his output was simply too much for the market to handle, but a closer look at this period suggests MGM was losing faith in Orbison’s commercial potential. At the time this album was shelved, 1967’s Cry Softly for the Lonely One had failed to chart, its title single had failed to crack the Top 40, and 1968 found Orbison retreating from the road while he recovered from the death of his two oldest sons.

By early 1969 Orbison was back in the studio, recording the material that would become this unissued album. He paused the sessions for a Spring tour, and reconvened in Summer to finish an album that should have been released in November. And then… nothing. MGM sat on the album, and waited until the next year to release the covers set, Hank Williams the Roy Orbison Way. MGM whiffed again the same year by failing to release The Big O in the US, adding to the picture of a label that no longer believed in its artist. But as both the box set and this newly released album confirm, Orbison’s MGM catalog is filled with excellent, if not always hit single material. In light of the quality, Orbison’s contention that his releases weren’t promoted properly (or, in several cases, actually released) weighs heavily.

One of the Lonely Ones combines catchy original material (co-written with Bill Dees), with covers of Rodgers and Hammerstein, Mickey Newbury and Don Gibson. Like many of Orbison’s MGM albums, there are songs that might have been hits, just not in the year they were released. The wounded falsetto of “Laurie” would have done well in 1963-4, but was out of time for 1969. The personal context in which Orbison sang the title track elevates its drama, and with Elvis having charted “If I Can Dream,” one is left to wonder how this would have fared as a single. Same for “Give Up,” which could have found room on the country chart. This is among the better albums Orbison’s recorded for MGM, and a welcome addition to his legacy. [©2016 Hyperbolium]

Roy Orbison’s Home Page

Alan Price: Savaloy Dip

AlanPrice_SavaloyDipLost 1974 solo album from the Animals’ Alan Price

Though Eric Burdon’s voice crowned the Animals’ sound, founding keyboardist Alan Price’s contributions were equally seminal. He brought the group a deep feel for R&B, blues and jazz, organ sounds that provided some of the band’s most memorable hooks, and songwriting chops that paired with Burdon’s. Though his run with the Animals ended in 1965, his solo career took off quickly, with singles and solo albums charting in the UK into the 1970s. This 1974 album came between his critically acclaimed soundtrack for O Lucky Man! and the socially astute Between Today and Yesterday. Incredibly, though the album was fully finished, artistically successful and had obvious commercially potential, it was released only briefly on 8-track tape and then recalled.

No one associated with the album recalls exactly why it was shelved, nor can anyone explain why it’s taken more than forty years to escape the vault. Price is in perfect form throughout, weaving together R&B, blues, soul, jazz, boogie, pop, rock and music hall sounds. It’s not unlike the post-British Invasion reach of Ray Davies and the Kinks, but eschews Davies’ concept album excess. The opening “Smells Like Lemon, Tastes Like Wine” borrows easily from Eric Burdon’s “Spill the Wine” and tinges the song with the rye attitude of Jerry Reed. Price’s extended piano solo on “You Won’t Get Me” is superb, and his organ keys the trad-jazz cross-dressing tale “Willie the Queen,” a song whose momentary Leon Redbone impression is apt.

Price’s songs are imaginative, delving into autobiography, nostalgia, social commentary and historical portraiture, and his voice, which was always worthy of the spotlight, is particularly flexible and compelling here. He sings soulfully, struts to the New Orleans ramble of the title track, and scats as an overdubbed chorus for the homespun story of small pleasures, “Country Life.” His fondness for Randy Newman comes through on the original “And So Goodbye,” and the album’s one cover, “Over and Over Again” is given a broad, circus-styled arrangement. From opening song to closing, this is a fine album, and one of the best in Price’s catalog. That it’s only finding proper release 42 years after the fact is both a shame and a delight. [©2016 Hyperbolium]

Ralph Stanley and the Clinch Mountain Boys: The Complete Jessup Recordings Plus!

RalphStanleyAndTheClinchMountainBoys_TheCompleteJessupRecordingsPlusRare Ralph Stanley albums, plus a third from Whitley and Skaggs

By the time Ralph Stanley released Michigan Bluegrass on the independent Jessup label in 1971, he was well into establishing the second phase of his career. A twenty year run as half the Stanley Brothers had ended with the passing of his older brother Carter in 1966, but barely missing a beat, he reincarnated the Clinch Mountain Boys, continued to release records for King, and added releases on Rebel, Jalyn and Jessup. His connection with the latter was brief, comprising just two albums recorded in five weeks in 1971, and released in ‘71 and ‘73. The albums were previously reissued as Echoes of the Stanley Brothers, but are augmented here by ten additional tracks drawn from Keith Whitley and Ricky Skaggs’ contemporaneous Tribute to the Stanley Brothers.

Whitley and Skaggs were backed by the Clinch Mountain Boys for their album, and after being invited to join the group, the album was reissued under Ralph Stanley’s name. This 2-CD set opens with ten of the tribute album’s twelve tracks (omitting “White Dove” and “The Angels Are Singing Tonight”), with, according to the Colin Escott’s well-researched liner notes, Stanley leaving the banjo parts to Roy Lee Centers. Whitley and Skaggs delved deep into the Stanley Brothers catalog, showing off the encyclopedic knowledge that had originally caught Ralph Stanley’s ear. The songs of loss, longing and loneliness are highlighted by an unusual murder-suicide in “Little Glass of Wine.” The stereo production is clean and spacious, with the fiddle, mandolin, guitar and bass crisply arrayed around the tight, sorrowful lead harmonies.

In the summer of 1971, after a live outing and a pair of albums for Rebel, Stanley took his band into Jessup’s Jackson, Michigan studio. The first of his two Jessup albums features a trove of then-new material, including a pair of socially conscious songs by Gene Duty. “Let’s Keep Old Glory Waving” is straightforwardly prideful, but the opening “Are You Proud of America” digs deeper with its questioning of those who question America. Wendy Smith contributed “River Underground,” a murder ballad in which the protagonist ends up haunted by guilt rather than jailed or dead. Joyce Morris’ “Another Song, Another Drink” gains an extra shade of sadness in the retrospective light of lead vocalist Keith Whitley’s untimely death, and the album’s instrumentals, “Hulla Gull” and “Buckwheat,” highlight the band’s musical talent.

Five weeks later, the group was back in Jessup’s studio to record an album of gospel material drawn from the Stanley Brothers catalog. In addition to traditional material given the Stanley treatment, the songs include Ruby Rakes’ “Wings of Angels” and J.L. Frank and Pee Wee King’s “My Main Trail is Yet to Come.” The former looks forward to heavenly salvation, while the latter finds a condemned man awaiting his eternal sentence. The vocals are at turns forlorn and praiseful as they essay family, faith, loss and sorrow, mourning those who’ve passed and anticipating reunion in the hereafter. Stanley said that vocalist Roy Lee Centers “had the gift,” and it’s in full evidence here amid the revitalized group. Real Gone’s 2-CD set is a real treat for fans of bluegrass, gospel and the Stanley Brothers. [©2016 Hyperbolium]

Dr. Ralph Stanley’s Home Page

John David Souther: Black Rose

JohnDavidSouther_BlackRoseJ.D. Souther’s 1976 sophomore solo album reissued with bonuses

After releasing his 1972 self-titled debut (which has been concurrently reissued with seven bonus tracks), J.D. Souther joined with Chris Hillman and Richie Furay to release two albums as the Souther-Hillman-Furay Band. So it wasn’t until 1976 that he returned with this second solo album, produced by the red hot Peter Asher, and featuring performances from Lowell George, Joe Walsh, Waddy Wachtel, Jim Keltner and Andrew Gold, Linda Ronstadt, David Crosby, Art Garfunkel, Don Henley, Glenn Frey and other luminaries. The album is more refined and musically expansive than the debut, and Souther sounds more assured as he lets his songs unfold and reach beyond a singer-songwriter style.

Souther draws upon an expanded set of musical roots and allows himself to linger, as on the gospel-tinged vocal coda of “If You Have Crying Eyes.” Souther and Asher let the performance build to a crescendo and then wind down with emotional vocalizing atop the backing of Asher, Gold and Ronstadt. The musicianship is more sophisticated as well, with the opening “Banging My Head Against the Moon” taking on an island tone as the rhythm guitar, drums and Paul Stallworth’s bass provide intricate accompaniment. By 1976 Asher was hitting full stride as a producer, with seminal albums by James Taylor, Tony Joe White and Linda Ronstadt under his belt, and he helps Souther draw something deeper from his music.

Comparing the demo of “Silver Blue” to the album track, the song’s despairing, open-ended questions become more nuanced, and Stanley Clark’s beautiful double bass adds a duet voice. The recording is a textbook example of how instrumentation can reinforce and amplify a song’s tone, as does Donald Byrd’s flugelhorn on the late night “Midnight Prowl.” David Campbell’s arrangement of cello and flute on “Faithless Love” isn’t as surprising, but provides interesting contrast to Souther’s blue, crooned notes, and strings also add drama to “Doors Swing Open.” The latter’s wariness of hollow relationships weaves into Souther’s pessimistic tapestry of romantic turmoil, unrequited love and lost partners, culminating in the title song’s funereal symbol.

The album didn’t launch any singles onto the chart, though “Simple Man, Simple Dreams,” blossomed into a Ronstadt title song and inspired the title of her autobiography. But even with only limited commercial success (charting at #85), the album was a fuller expression of Souther’s music than was the debut, and remains a high point of his catalog. Omnivore’s 2016 reissue adds five demos, a live version of “Faithless Love,” and “Cheek to Cheek” from Lowell George’s Thanks I’ll Eat it Here. The demos highlight songs recorded earlier (by Ronstadt and Souther-Hillman-Furay) and later (by Souther), which are worth hearing, but don’t expound upon the album itself. Buy this for the original ten tracks, enjoy an under-heralded mid-70s classic, and get bonus tracks in the bargain. [©2016 Hyperbolium]

J.D. Souther’s Home Page

Neil Finn and Paul Kelly: Goin’ Your Way

NeilFinnPaulKelly_GoinYourWayA generous document of an extraordinary collaboration

Recorded on the last stop of Finn and Kelly’s 2013 tour of Australia, this double-disc live set was initially released that same year, but only down under; Omnivore now favors stateside fans with this reissue. Finn and Kelly were joined on tour by a full band as they picked their way through both solo material and songs from their previous bands. The latter includes titles drawn from the catalogs of Split Enz, Crowded House and the Messengers. There’s an impressive connection between Finn and Kelly as both songwriters and singers, their songs flowing together seamlessly and their voices enthusiastically shading one another’s.

Perhaps it’s just a mark of their talent and preparation, but this summer fling sounds more like a long-running artistic love story. Their mutual affinity is evident in the way they weave into each other’s songs, highlighted by a Finn-led audience reprise of Kelly’s “One for the Ages.” The performances are thoughtful and often low-key, though Finn’s “She Will Have Her Way” and “Won’t Give In” are given heavier beats and moving electric guitar crescendos. The band, which includes Finn’s son and Kelly’s nephew, provides finely calibrated support throughout. Those who saw the tour must have known it was something rare and special, and this generous set lets the rest of us in on the occasion. [©2016 Hyperbolium]

Neil Finn’s Home Page
Paul Kelly’s Home Page

Lew Card: Follow Me Down

LewCard_FollowMeDownLet the good times roll – funky country, blues, soul and ragtime

Tennessee-to-Texas transplant Lew Card is determined for you to have a good time. The spirited tone of his third album contrasts with the acoustic style of last year’s Low Country Hi-Fi, substituting keyboards and brass (the latter from the superb Tijuana TrainWreck Horns) for fiddle and dobro. The opening “Walkin’ Shoes Blues” brings to mind the daydream of Mungo Jerry’s “In the Summertime,” with a tempo that beckons the listener to strut down the street. Josh Vernier’s backbeat will have you bopping your head to “Baby Won’t Ya,” as Card beseeches a prospective mate, accompanied by fingerpicked acoustic guitar, electric piano and Doug Strahan’s tastefully rugged guitar solo.

The album’s themes span intimate pleasures (“Paradise” “Come On Up”) to broad social criticism (“Condo Town Rag”), stopping off at a claim for independence, “Do My Own Thing,” that brings to mind Charlie Robison. The horns add a moody touch to “30 Pieces,” with a dragging beat, dripping guitar and bird chirps that nod to the Beatles’ “Blue Jay Way.” The album’s ten originals are joined by a full throttle cover of Norman Blake’s “Southern Railroad Blues” stoked by Earl Poole Ball’s boogie-woogie piano and Strahan’s electric guitar. Fans of The Band, Commander Cody, the Neville Brothers,, Dr. John, Little Feat and Creedence Clearwater will certainly cotton to this album. [©2016 Hyperbolium]

Lew Card’s Home Page

The Miamis: We Deliver – The Lost Band Of The CBGB Era (1974-1979)

Miamis_WeDeliverThe best 1970s CBGB band you’ve never heard of

It’s hard to imagine, given the state of musical archaeology, there are still bands to discover among the roots of the ‘70s New York punk scene. But this pop band remains surprisingly unknown, despite numerous performances at CBGB, Max’s Kansas City and the Mudd Club, and fanship from the likes of fellow travelers Blondie, the Ramones and New York Dolls. No doubt their obscurity is rooted in a lack of record releases – the band’s period catalog appears to consist of only a single track on the compilation Live at CBGB’s. There appears to have been no self-released cassettes with handmade inserts, no impossibly rare indie singles (or the requisite bootleg reissue of same), and most detrimentally of all, no record label contract.

But even without records, there were recordings; some made in the studio (and funded in part by Mercury Records) and some cut live. There was, forty years after the fact, a self-released CD collection of the band’s studio work that circulated primarily among those already in the know. But now, finally, there’s an expanded collection that presents a full picture of the band’s wares, with the international distribution that eluded the group in the ‘70s. So why did it take so long for the rest of the world to hear the Miamis? Why didn’t the band latch on to the gravy train that turned a number of downtown club bands into international stars? Though they weren’t the only ones from the scene that failed to click, they may have been the most fully realized act that didn’t catch a break. Why?

The A&R shorthand was apparently “too punk for pop, too pop for punk.” But the set’s title track is clearly pop enough for pop, and fits easily alongside contemporaries like Blondie and the Paley Brothers, and power pop exponents like the Raspberries and Knack. You can hear a bit of New York bravado – ala the Dolls and Dictators – in a few tracks, but by today’s post-hardcore standards, it’s hard to remember how punk this might have sounded at the time. The songs are playful and joyous, melding the puppy love vibe of Gary Lewis, Joey Ramone’s affection for the Brill Building, the Rubinoos’ harmonies and a touch of soul on “I Want a Girlfriend.” The titles and lyrics are clever, as in the group’s salute to modern art, “Dada Mama,” which manages to rhyme “brioche” and “gauche” without breaking stride.

The group’s ten studio sides are augmented by two demos, two alternate versions and nine high quality live tracks recorded at CBGB. The latter show off a polished, energetic and engaging stage show, with nary a hint of DIY punk in their instrumental chops and harmony vocals. Their set includes a generous helping of rock ‘n’ roll, R&B and blues, adding a bit of the ‘50s to their ‘60s, and recalling J. Geils on “Detente.” They get downright goofy with their remembrance of “Elvis, Groucho and Bing,” and together with titles like “Wang It” and “We Need a Bigger Navy,” may have simply distracted A&R reps from the high quality of their music. Hopefully this retrospective can dispel that confusion as it welcomes new fans into the fold. [©2016 Hyperbolium]

The Miamis’ Home Page

The Mamas and the Papas: The Complete Singles

MamasAndPapas_TheCompleteSinglesFor the first time in 50 years, the original mono single edits and mixes

Although the Mamas & Papas’ hit songs are nearly elemental in their familiarity, the actual hit singles are still rare to the ear. That’s because the mono mixes collected here often differ from the more commonly circulated versions by virtue of edits, instrumental changes and vocal overdubs. Unless you have the original singles, you probably haven’t heard these versions since they were on the radio, and even then, you likely heard them only through the limited fidelity of AM broadcast. But heard in remastered form, your ears will be impressed with the coherence of the mono productions and vocal blends, and in their absence, the problems that have plagued the group’s stereo catalog. To make things even better, the group’s A’s and B’s are complemented by the ABC/Dunhill solo singles of Cass Elliot, John Phillips and Denny Doherty.

The set opens with the group’s incredibly rare first single, “Go Where You Wanna Go.” While the recording is well-known through its inclusion on the debut album and greatest hits anthologies (and the song is even more familiar in its later hit cover by the Fifth Dimension), the 7” single saw only very limited release, possibly even promotional only, and was quickly superseded in distribution, record company attention, public acclaim and chart success by “California Dreamin’.” The group would continue to ride high in the charts through 1967’s “Creeque Alley,” fading a bit before “Dream a Little Dream of Me” returned them to prominence and charted the way for Cass Elliot’s solo career. Elliot, Doherty and Phillips all recorded solo material for ABC/Dunhill, and their singles fill out disc two.

Nearly all of these tracks appeared on original albums, though as noted earlier, often in different mixes or edits than the singles. A few, “Glad to Be Unhappy,” “All For Me,” and “The Costume Ball” were originally released only as singles, and though Doherty’s “To Claudia on Thursday” was released as an album track, it was on Jimmy Haskell’s California 99, rather than one of Doherty’s own albums. The UK-only B-side “I Can’t Wait” is omitted from this set, but that’s a nit among the wealth of mono singles returned to print here. Ed Osborne’s liner notes feature interviews with Michelle Phillips and producer Lou Adler, and the 24-page booklet includes full-panel photos, master and release data, and chart info. This is a must-have for fans, but even casual listeners will find it an incredibly compelling collection. [©2016 Hyperbolium]

Wes Montgomery: One Night in Indy

WesMontgomery_OneNightInIndyWes Montgomery and Eddie Higgins jamming in 1959

After several decades with no newly discovered material, Wes Montgomery’s catalog has expanded rapidly in the past few years. First came Echoes of Indiana Avenue, a collection of live material from late-50s dates in Indianapolis clubs. Next was the 2-CD In the Beginning, collecting live and studio material from Montgomery’s early years. And now, for the first time since it was recorded fifty-seven years ago, a one-of-a-kind date between Montgomery and pianist Eddie Higgins. The pair are accompanied by the esteemed drummer Walter Perkins and an unidentified bassist on forty minutes of pop and jazz standards, including Duke Ellington’s “Prelude to a Kiss” and Thelonious Monk’s “Ruby, My Dear.”

Recorded at the Indianapolis Jazz Club, the performance was recorded by club members (the IJC was more a club of jazz aficionados than a nightclub) and passed along the decades until it reached noted photographer Duncan Schiedt. Schiedt contacted producer Zev Feldman with the idea of getting the tape issued, and two years later, here it is: the only known document of Montgomery and Higgins playing together. Originally released on limited-run vinyl in 2015, the tape now makes its debut on CD. The sound quality is very good, especially so for a hobbyists recording, with all instruments having good presence, a surprisingly solid bottom end and warm tone. There’s some distortion in places, but it never get in the way of enjoying the music.

The mood is relaxed, and Higgins and Montgomery warm up to each other quickly on a breezy, swinging run through “Give Me the Simple Life.” Montgomery and Higgins each play extended solos, with Higgins’ light touch providing relief for Montgomery’s more forceful lead, and there’s also some playful back-and-forth before the quartet returns to the theme. The tempo heats up for “Stompin’ at the Savoy,” cools for a romantic pass at Neil Hefti’s “Li’l Darling,” and closes with a fiery ending to Cole Porter’s “You’d Be So Nice to Come Home To.” Among the material recently added to Montgomery’s catalog, this may be the most unexpected, given the lack of history between the principals, and the most surprising, given their quick chemistry. [©2016 Hyperbolium]

Wes Montgomery’s Home Page