Guybrush

Yeah, I know how it goes. Responses have generally been sparse in this section of the forums, at least historically, but these days I get the impression people are more interested in journals than they were going back a year or perhaps three.

__________________
Something Completely Different

Big Ears

Thank you for the support, TH. Did I leave out 'self' or 'over-indulgent'? What's the matter with me? I see those adjective as terms of endearment. This is what The NME Book of Rock said of Jimi Hendrix's Voodoo Chile from Electric Ladyland (1968), 'Criticised on release for apparent untogetherness and self-indulgence, Voodoo Chile was later accepted as one of his greatest achievements.' If Jimi Hendrix was regarded as self-indulgent, it's good enough for me and ELP!


US, your comments on my writing about ELP nearly brought a tear to my eye (I'm serious). Re Golden Earring, I recommend Moontan, of which there are two versions, and Live (1977) as essential. Make sure you hear the US version of Moontan as it has Big Tree, Blue Sea, from an earlier album, and leaves off the mediocre Suzy Lunacy. This configuration of Moontan, NOT the original, was a masterstroke from someone at the record company. Just Like Vince Taylor is pretty good, but the live version is much better anyway. The Contraband and Bloody Buccaneers albums are both strong. Earring's only weak album, in my view, is the new one, Tits 'n' Ass.


Tracklist for the US Version of Moontan - Recommended



1. Radar Love (6:24)
2. Candy's Going Bad (6:12)
3. Vanilla Queen (9:20)
4. Big Tree, Blue Sea (8:13)
5. Are You Receiving Me (9:32)

Confusingly, this is also the track listing for the original UK vinyl and cassette release, as well as early US LP pressings. The US version of the album was originally issued with the UK 'exotic dancer' cover, but it was quickly withdrawn and replaced with the literal 'earring' design. This later cover survived the CD release, so remember, bad cover = great album.


Moontan Original Tracklist (European/ UK version) - Not recommended until you've heard the above version



1. Candy's Going Bad (6:12)
2. Are You Receiving Me (9:31)
3. Suzy Lunacy (Mental Rock) (4:24)
4. Radar Love (6:23)
5. Just Like Vince Taylor (4:33)
6. Vanilla Queen (9:16)


Contraband, known as Mad Love in the US:




Live:




Bloody Buccaneers:

Big Ears

I didn't mean specifically on this forum, as I am new here. I have written reviews and biographies on other forums and I am collating those that have not been lost in this section. Other forums tend not to have reviews in the journals, but I think it is a good idea on this site. I am not a prolific writer, in any case, so there is not a huge number of them. However, wherever I posted, my reviews did not get many reactions and my biographies got even less.

There is nothing lost by posting my reviews and biographies at Music Banter. I am relatively new to writing reviews and I want to perfect my technique. One of my problems is that I cannot just churn them out. Sometimes, I have to keep writing and re-writing them, while others do not see the light of day.

A forum equivalent of a creative writing group, called something like The Creative Review Writing Thread would be a good idea (in my opinion). Members could share critiques, pitfalls and tidbits from established writers. They could also exchange tips, solicit feedback on writing skills and, dare I say, even give mini-tutorials. These are just idle musings, as I am aware of the problems of setting up and running such threads.

Trollheart

I wouldn't presume to tell people how they should/could write --- I have my own style and it may not suit everyone --- but I did put together an introduction to writing a journal here http://www.musicbanter.com/album-rev...c-journal.html with the basics. Don't know if you've seen it.

I think too few people would be interested, or at least continue to have an interest, in a thread about writing journals. Few enough people run them, even fewer maintain them; it just wouldn't be practical. That's what I think, anyway.

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Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

Big Ears

Nantucket Sleighride by Mountain (Windfall 1971)

A Mountain-ous achievement





Nantucket Sleighride Tracklist

1. Don't Look Around (Leslie West/ Sue Palmer/ Felix Pappalardi/ Gail Collins) 3:42
2. Taunta (Sammy's Tune) (Felix Pappalardi) 1:00
3. Nantucket Sleighride (To Owen Coffin) (Felix Pappalardi/ Gail Collins) 5:49
4. You Can't Get Away (Leslie West/Gail Collins/ Corky Laing) 3:23
5. Tired Angels (To J.M.H.) (Felix Pappalardi/ Gail Collins) 4:39
6. The Animal Trainer And The Toad (Leslie West/ Sue Palmer) 3:24
7. My Lady (Laing/Felix Pappalardi/ Gail Collins) 4:31
8. Travellin' In The Dark (To E.M.P.) (Felix Pappalardi/ Gail Collins) 4:21
9. The Great Train Robbery (Leslie West/Laing/ Felix Pappalardi/ Gail Collins) 5:43

Bonus Track
10. Travellin' In The Dark (To E.M.P.) [Live] (Felix Pappalardi/ Gail Collins) 5:14


Nantucket Sleighride Lineup

Leslie West: Guitar, vocals
Felix Pappalardi: Bass, rhythm guitar, piano, vocals
Corky Laing: Drums, percussion
Steve Knight: Organ, handbells


It became a cliche, by the mid-seventies, for the music press to describe Mountain as 'more Cream than Cream', while others said they were too heavy-handed. Although there were connections between the two bands (bassist Felix Pappalardi was Cream's producer and Jack Bruce/Pete Brown wrote for Mountain), their music is only similar in that they were both pioneers of heavy blues rock. Bruce and Eric Clapton tended to be crooners, while Leslie West, although not averse to crooning, had a raw and sometimes strained voice - hence, perhaps, the criticism of heavy-handedness. Most significantly, Leslie West's guitar playing was counterpointed by Steve Knight's keyboards, so they were not a three-piece, guitar-led supergroup. Nevertheless, Corky Laing may not have been the best drummer in the world, but he certainly remains one of the most distinctive, and Felix Pappalardi, predominantly a producer, was no slouch on bass either.

Nantucket Sleighride, the album, opens with one of Mountain's best and most dynamic tracks, Don't Look Around, still a staple of their live set when they reformed in the mid-eighties (along with the title track). I always think of the second track Taunta (Sammy's Tune) as a gentle intro to Mountain's masterpiece, Nantucket Sleighride (to Owen Coffin), which begins with West's melodic vocals and segues into his and Knight's weaving in-and-out of each other's instruments in a workout to rival Stairway to Heaven, Smoke on the Water, Echoes and Freebird. Nantucket Sleighride did not receive the accolades of the aforementioned, but it is equal to them all. The song and album title is about a true story of being towed in a small boat by a harpooned whale. Owen Coffin was a young seaman on the Nantucket whaleship Essex, which was rammed and sunk by a sperm whale in 1820. The lyrics were written by Felix Pappalardi with his wife, Gail Collins, who shot and murdered him in 1983. Those of us of a certain age can remember Nantucket Sleighride as the theme to the current affairs show, Weekend World, shown on ITV in the nineteen-seventies. According to journalist Keith Ling*, Leslie West told him that he did not like the song at first, "But Zakk Starkey told me that he and his father [Ringo Starr] used to wait by the TV each Sunday afternoon, so I ended up warming to the darned thing." Corky Lang's drumming thrillingly propels the song in a manner worthy of Keith Moon, but Pappalardi's best bass playing is heard later on the album.

You Can't Get Away! has a very catchy riff, but West tends to strain his voice. Tired Angels (to JMH) reminds me of Nantucket Sleighride, but with a more spiky guitar riff. The Animal Trainer and the Toad is a slowish blues with bizarre lyrics by Leslie West/Sue Palmer, but is the catchiest track on the album. It often appears, albeit incongruously, on Mountain compilation albums. My Lady flows, inconsequentially, into the lengthy Travellin' in the Dark, an anthemic piece with adept playing from Pappalardi and West. A live version of Travellin' in the Dark, not available on the original vinyl LP, is added as a bonus track to the CD and, although West's voice is shakier, the feel is more punchy and less-anthemic. Leslie West always demonstrates what a great musician he is on live material and this no exception. The penultimate track is The Great Train Robbery, about how, "The wages of sin are too hot to handle." Words which must be ringing in Gail Collins's ears!

Nantucket Sleighride is a truly great album because, like Cream, Mountain were among the first and best bands to create the template for the heavy rock bands to come. It is also a marvellous abum for the enduring quality of outstanding pieces like Don't Look Around and Nantucket Sleighride (to Owen Coffin). Mountain were no strangers to the epic, as Theme from an Imaginery Western had already been released on the first official album, Climbing! (1970) and stunning live versions of Nantuck Sleighride (to Owen Coffin) were yet to be issued.

* Keith Ling's article on Mountain can be found on his website: DAVE LING - MUSIC JOURNALIST

Originally writtten in July 2012, re-written October 2012

Unknown Soldier

This is unbelievable, I was actually in the process of deciding whether I should include this album in my top 10 list for 1971 in my journal. I have the first eight places sorted out and was toying with the idea of including Budgie, Humble Pie or Mountain for the other two spots. I was actually thinking about this when I saw your above review, spooky eh!

So I'll be listening today and tomorrow on these three albums to decide.

__________________
Metal Wars

Power Metal

Pounding Decibels- A Hard and Heavy History

Big Ears

I fear you are right, TH. It was just a thought. Charles Dickens said words to the effect that we can live in hope, even if we die in despair (Dombey and Son).

Big Ears

Fragile by Yes (Atlantic 1971)

In and Around the Lake, Mountains Come Out of the Sky and They Stand There





According to drummer Bill Bruford, Yes were formed as a jazz band, while soprano Jon Anderson held the view that they should be the next Fifth Dimension. Initially, they were completed by former choirboy Chris Squire on bass, guitarist Peter Banks and classically trained keyboard player Tony Kaye. Whatever the band members' individual intentions, they combined to create a sound which uniquely was progressive from the outset, blending The Beach Boys, The Beatles, Simon & Garfunkel and others with their own developing instrumental dexterity. After two promising, experimental albums (Yes in 1969 and Time and a Word in 1970), Banks, although a fine guitar player, departed to be replaced by Steve Howe from Tomorrow. Immodestly declaring that he was joining musicians of equal strength, Howe nevertheless complemented Anderson perfectly and the band found their style on The Yes Album (Atlantic 1971). Engineer and long term collaborator, Eddie Offord, switched to production at the time of The Yes Album. He produced their best known albums and remained until Relayer (1974), but assisted with Drama (1980) and Union (1991). Offord, also engineered albums by ELP at this time and went on to produce David Sancous & Tone, Pallas, Utopia and others. For Fragile (Atlantic 1971), Kaye was replaced by Rick Wakeman from The Strawbs and almost everything was in place for the album . . .

I should point out that my first introduction to Yes was on Sounding Out, a BBC TV music documentary series shown on weekday mornings during the school summer holidays. By then Rick Wakeman was keyboard player and already sharing amusing anecdotes. I recall another episode featured Stephen Stills. Soon after, I heard Roundabout on weekend radio, blissfully unaware that it was a radio edit, until I bought Fragile in a WH Smith's sale a few years later. It came in a gatefold cover with Roger Dean artwork, lyrics and a booklet containing photographs of the band members. Most notable is Steve Howe with his considerable collection of guitars arranged in a circle.

Fragile, in its original vinyl form, was not made up entirely of Yes band tracks. Instead, it consisted of four band tracks, two on each side, among which are four short solo pieces, one by each member of the group. So, between Roundabout and South Side of the Sky, on side one, are Wakeman's Cans and Brahms and Anderson's We Have Heaven. Bruford's Five Per Cent for Nothing is out on a limb, opening side two, followed by the band's Long Distance Runaround. Between this and Heart of the Sunrise are Squire's The Fish and Steve Howe's Mood for a Day. Incredibly, Fragile was recorded and released in one month (November 1971). Thus:


Fragile Tracklist

Side One

1. Roundabout (8:30)

2. Cans and Brahms (Extracts from Johannes Brahms' 4th Symphony in E Minor, Third Movement) by Rick Wakeman (1:38)
3. We Have Heaven by Jon Anderson (1:40)

4. South Side of the Sky (8:02)

Side Two

1. Five Per Cent for Nothing by Bill Bruford (0:35)

2. Long Distance Runaround (3:30)

3. The Fish (Schindleria Praematurus) by Chris Squire (2:39)
4. Mood for a Day by Steve Howe (3:00)

5. Heart of the Sunrise (11:27)

2003 Remaster Bonus Tracks

10. America W. by Paul Simon (10:33)
11. Roundabout (Early Rough Mix) (8:35)


Roundabout begins with a single, rising note, which becomes a folk-inspired classical guitar into, but soon develops into Squire's propulsive, melodic bass sound. Rick Wakeman's keyboards are fully formed and it is as though he has been a member of the group from the outset. The song has various vocal parts, the backing voices shared between Jon Anderson and Chris Squire, while Roundabout's lyrics are concerned with an occasion when the band were travelling in a van, from Scotland to the north of England, through a cold mountain and lake landscape. Anderson's dry but sweet vocal delivery, the surreal lyrics and the sublime melody merge to produce a glorious piece of music of which The Beatles would have been proud. Unlike the 7" single edit, there is a bass-led instrumental passage at around 3:20 minutes and the second half of the track has such a commanding keyboard solo from Wakeman, it is unsurprising that almost overnight he became the most famous musician in the band.

Rick Wakeman's solo, Cans and Brahms, on which he plays all the parts on keyboards, sounds pleasant, but should have been part of a longer track or discarded. The same applies to Jon Anderson's We Have Heaven, on which he sings all the harmonies and plays instruments. The solo tracks cry out for the band and show a lack of cohesiveness in Yes.

Southside of the Sky does not sound unlike Roundabout in conjuring up another journey through a cold, mountainous landscape. However, it is quicker and more urgent, with Jon Anderson showing he can rock and Steve Howe playing frantically as though he cannot hear the rest of the band. In this respect, it predates his playing on Going for the One, but unlike Yes's late seventies work, this piece hangs together brilliantly. There is a Wakeman acoustic piano section at just over two minutes, balancing the energetic intro, followed by a multi-part harmony segment from Anderson, Squire and Howe. Before closing the song and side one of the vinyl, we are back to a fast passage, which fades with soloing from Howe.

Side two of the vinyl opens/opened with Five Per Cent for Nothing, where the band follow Bill Bruford's drumming, and the least successful of the solo pieces - such that it should have been left off the album. Long Distance Runaround has a jazzy feel but this is not jazz rock; it is full blown progressive rock music but with sprightly, complex and intricate playing. When Rick Wakeman invited Jon Anderson to sing on his solo album 1984, he said in a BBC radio interview, "Jon always gives a performance even when he is singing in the studio." A performance is in evidence here along with interesting lyrics, despite the criticism Anderson later took for his efforts.

Chris Squire's piece The Fish, the most successful of the solo works, flows naturally from the jazz-feel of Long Distance Runaround, thanks to Bill Bruford's inventive drumming, which combines well with the bass and demonstrates the excellent clarity of the remastered version of Fragile. Squire plays everything, apart from drums, on the bass guitar, which is multi-tracked. One cannot help thinking that Squire would make a more than competant lead guitarist if he chose to switch responsibilites. Steve Howe's Mood for a Day is more folk-inspired classical guitar, which, along with his work on the title track, may have led to Wakeman's observation that the Americans thought Yes were an obscure English folk group.

Last track on the album, Heart of the Sunrise opens with a group intro, but evolves into a typically distinctive Squire bassline which is joined by Wakeman's haunting mellotron. Squire's passage is fast, multi-tracked and fairly lengthy. Jon Anderson sings quietly, except for the later SHARP - DISTANCE passages - accentuated with upper-case letters in the album cover lyrics. His singing is really beautiful, showing why he one of the best progressive rock singers. Not to be outdone by Squire, Wakeman joins with some speedy synthesizer, again with a jazz feel. Heart of the Sunrise, although followed by a We Have Heaven reprise, is a fitting conclusion to the flawed masterpiece that is Fragile.

The remastered version of Fragile has two unusually high quality bonuses in Simon and Garfunkel's America and an early rough mix of Roundabout. America was recorded for an Atlantic sampler and released on Yesterdays, a compilation of early single a and b-sides with a distinctive Roger Dean cover. Coming from the Fragile-era, America was slightly out of place on the compilation. Here, it fits almost perfectly; the only discrepancy being that it is a cover version - a rarity for the classic-era Yes. However, the energy and dexterity of the playing, make it as strong as anything on the album and a far more satisfying piece than the short solos. Imagine if Jimi Hendrix played country or Mark Knopfler picked with dynamism and you would have Steve Howe's guitar workout from the halfway mark. Although a Simon and Garfunkel fan, when I think of America, it is this version which springs to mind. The early rough mix of Roundabout is not hugely different from the version which made it on to the original album, although Bill Bruford and Jon Anderson try out different ideas on percussion and vocal parts respectively. Chris Squire plays bass as though his life depends upon it, making this a surprisingly enjoyable bonus.

Although Fragile contains Yes's best song in Roundabout, more consistency was to come with their brilliant Close to the Edge album in the following year. Had the band put their collective talent into one more band track, instead of the five individual solo pieces, it would have competed with Close to the Edge as their best work. Ironically, a similar thing was said when the band split, following Relayer (Atlantic 1974), to concentrate on solo albums, before reconvening for Going for the One (Atlantic 1977) and the unsatisfactory Yes Tormato (Atlantic 1978).


Fragile Lineup

Jon Anderson: Lead vocals
Bill Bruford: Drums, percussion
Steve Howe: Electric and acoustic guitars, backing vocals
Chris Squire: Bass guitars, backing vocals
Rick Wakeman: Hammond organ, piano, RMI 368 electra-piano and harpsichord, mellotron, Moog synthesizer


Written August 2012

Unknown Soldier

Great review on Fragile there. For years I could never make up my mind what I really thought about the album, despite its huge reputation. For years I felt it was disjointed despite having some classic Yes material and then I read somewhere, that the band had rushed the album in order to finance the newly recruited Rick Wakeman's electrical equipment (which was extensive) and that kind of answered my question. Recently though, I've listened to it again and my opinion has completely changed and I now regard it as a classic Yes release.

__________________
Metal Wars

Power Metal

Pounding Decibels- A Hard and Heavy History

Big Ears

I had not heard about Yes rushing Fragile because of lack of finances, but it would explain a few things. After clearing his garage, Rick Wakeman decided to use these analogue instruments to make the Retro albums, but I found them (the albums) disappointing. He made me laugh in an interview, when he said, after switching the instruments on, smoke started to come out of the cabinets.