Museum Musica

Zhanteimi · 10-08-2018, 06:21 PM

0024 Tortilla Flat - Für ein ¾ Stündchen
(Germany, 1974, progressive rock / jazz fusion)

This is one of about fifty albums in my collection that are solitary albums by bands. In other words, this is Tortilla Flat's only studio album, so, of course, I was interested in this recording initially for the obscurity factor. When I listened to it, however, I found it to be pleasant on its own, without meta considerations, especially since its main instrument is the flute, giving it quite a pastoral feeling overall, the guitar-driven second track excepted. What this here is is standard 70s prog / jazz fusion. It's not going to blow you away, but it's a pretty good offering of the time.

Zhanteimi · 10-08-2018, 10:20 PM

0025 Jeremy Steig - Monium
(USA, 1974, jazz fusion)

Two jazz fusion albums from 1974 in a row? Weird. And another flute-driven jazz-rock album? Even weirder. I guess the year I was born was the Year of the Rambling, Vaguely-Psychedelic Flute. Even the cover of this one is a sketch of some dude playing the flute. I wonder how much of this flute obsession is due to Jethro Tull's influence, especially since they released four highly regarded albums between 1969 and 1972. Steig certainly does deviate from the jazz norm, however, with "Djinn Djinn", a nine-minute psychedelic mong-out. Also, props to the guy for continuing to play the flute even though a motorcycle accident left one side of his body paralyzed.

Zhanteimi · 10-09-2018, 05:03 PM

0026 Ella Fitzgerald with Duke Ellington and His Orchestra - Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Duke Ellington Song Book
(USA, 1957, vocal jazz / big band)

I can't help but feel happy when listening to this. It's really a false-nostalgia rose-colored glasses experience. Simpler times, kinder people, yadda yadda. You know--those times during the Civil Rights Movement? Anyway, my kids weren't too impressed with this, though.

Zhanteimi · 10-10-2018, 07:14 PM

0027 Various Artists - The Rocky Horror Picture Show
(UK, film soundtrack / glam rock / rock opera, 1975)

I listen to the soundtrack more than I watch the film these days, but there was a time when I watched the film a lot. I guess now it's because I can watch the entire film in my mind just by listening to the music. This is such a beloved album in my collection, one that all my kids love and sing along to, too. I love everything about this--its earnestness, its campiness, its homage, and of course the brilliance of all the songs, especially "Rose Tint My World". If for some bizarre reason you've not heard this cult classic yet, bump this to the front of your listening queue.

Zhanteimi · 10-11-2018, 05:38 PM

0028 Neutral Milk Hotel - In the Aeroplane Over the Sea
(USA, 1998, indie folk / indie rock)

The most beloved darling of hipsters everywhere, this album is a musical document I came to without knowing any of the cultural baggage surrounding it. It wasn't until after I'd heard and loved this album that I found out it was the darling of other music nerds, thus making me more hipster than them. Oh, and just for the record, I love Jesus Christ, too.

Zhanteimi · 10-13-2018, 06:24 PM

0029 Miles Davis - Nefertiti
(USA, 1968, post-bop / modal jazz)

Not my favorite of Davis' albums, but I feel like I've just scratched the surface. I have only 11 of his albums in my collection, and it looks like he's got about 60 studio releases. It's just kind of daunting. Anyway, this album--maybe it's because it's not got any Davis compositions on it is why I don't rate it as highly as I do his later jazz fusion stuff. We got Herbie Hancock on piano, so that's a plus. After a re-listen to this, I'm going to have to check out some of Anthony Williams' and Wayne Shorter's music. I enjoy how the lazy horns are juxtaposed with the drum-roll type percussion on the title track.

**Frownland** · 10-13-2018, 08:08 PM

Pretty great Miles record. If you haven't checked out Shorter's Juju, definitely fix that since it's full of simply sublime themes and improvisation alike.

Zhanteimi · 10-14-2018, 05:28 PM

I've got Juju and Speak No Evil on my wishlist.

Zhanteimi · 10-15-2018, 02:56 AM

0030 Renaissance - Turn of the Cards
(UK, 1974, symphonic prog / progressive rock)

The poetic atmosphere created by the melodic lyricism with touches of darkness of this 70s gem comforts me more with each listen. This is a very wintry album, and in my mind, the whole document is a build up to the last, epic track, "Mother Russia", which veers away from the delicacy of most of the album and brings the hammer down. I don't know anything about Solzhenitsyn other than the fact that he was an exile from his homeland, but man I really feel for the guy when I hear the lyric, "Red blood white snow, He knows frozen rivers won't flow, So cold so true, Mother Russia he cries for you." I'm glad he was able to die on his native soil.

Zhanteimi · 10-15-2018, 05:18 PM

0031 Kenso - Kenso II
(Japan, 1982, symphonic prog)

This album comes at the end of prog's heyday, but it's still a worthy addition to the genre. You can tell which decade this one fits into, though, because of the moments of strong 80s synths. 空に光る is generally considered to be the strongest track, but I think I prefer 麻酔パート1 and 麻酔パート2 together.

10-08-2018, 06:21 PM	#901 (permalink)
Zhanteimi Mord Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: Tokyo Posts: 4,873	0024 Tortilla Flat - Für ein ¾ Stündchen (Germany, 1974, progressive rock / jazz fusion) This is one of about fifty albums in my collection that are solitary albums by bands. In other words, this is Tortilla Flat's only studio album, so, of course, I was interested in this recording initially for the obscurity factor. When I listened to it, however, I found it to be pleasant on its own, without meta considerations, especially since its main instrument is the flute, giving it quite a pastoral feeling overall, the guitar-driven second track excepted. What this here is is standard 70s prog / jazz fusion. It's not going to blow you away, but it's a pretty good offering of the time. __________________ Zhanteimi LetsTalkMusic Last edited by Zhanteimi; 10-24-2018 at 10:31 PM.

10-08-2018, 10:20 PM	#902 (permalink)
Zhanteimi Mord Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: Tokyo Posts: 4,873	0025 Jeremy Steig - Monium (USA, 1974, jazz fusion) Two jazz fusion albums from 1974 in a row? Weird. And another flute-driven jazz-rock album? Even weirder. I guess the year I was born was the Year of the Rambling, Vaguely-Psychedelic Flute. Even the cover of this one is a sketch of some dude playing the flute. I wonder how much of this flute obsession is due to Jethro Tull's influence, especially since they released four highly regarded albums between 1969 and 1972. Steig certainly does deviate from the jazz norm, however, with "Djinn Djinn", a nine-minute psychedelic mong-out. Also, props to the guy for continuing to play the flute even though a motorcycle accident left one side of his body paralyzed. __________________ Zhanteimi LetsTalkMusic Last edited by Zhanteimi; 10-24-2018 at 10:31 PM.

10-09-2018, 05:03 PM	#903 (permalink)
Zhanteimi Mord Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: Tokyo Posts: 4,873	0026 Ella Fitzgerald with Duke Ellington and His Orchestra - Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Duke Ellington Song Book (USA, 1957, vocal jazz / big band) I can't help but feel happy when listening to this. It's really a false-nostalgia rose-colored glasses experience. Simpler times, kinder people, yadda yadda. You know--those times during the Civil Rights Movement? Anyway, my kids weren't too impressed with this, though. __________________ Zhanteimi LetsTalkMusic Last edited by Zhanteimi; 10-24-2018 at 10:31 PM.

10-10-2018, 07:14 PM	#904 (permalink)
Zhanteimi Mord Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: Tokyo Posts: 4,873	0027 Various Artists - The Rocky Horror Picture Show (UK, film soundtrack / glam rock / rock opera, 1975) I listen to the soundtrack more than I watch the film these days, but there was a time when I watched the film a lot. I guess now it's because I can watch the entire film in my mind just by listening to the music. This is such a beloved album in my collection, one that all my kids love and sing along to, too. I love everything about this--its earnestness, its campiness, its homage, and of course the brilliance of all the songs, especially "Rose Tint My World". If for some bizarre reason you've not heard this cult classic yet, bump this to the front of your listening queue. __________________ Zhanteimi LetsTalkMusic Last edited by Zhanteimi; 10-24-2018 at 10:32 PM.

10-11-2018, 05:38 PM	#905 (permalink)
Zhanteimi Mord Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: Tokyo Posts: 4,873	0028 Neutral Milk Hotel - In the Aeroplane Over the Sea (USA, 1998, indie folk / indie rock) The most beloved darling of hipsters everywhere, this album is a musical document I came to without knowing any of the cultural baggage surrounding it. It wasn't until after I'd heard and loved this album that I found out it was the darling of other music nerds, thus making me more hipster than them. Oh, and just for the record, I love Jesus Christ, too. __________________ Zhanteimi LetsTalkMusic Last edited by Zhanteimi; 10-24-2018 at 10:32 PM.

10-13-2018, 06:24 PM	#906 (permalink)
Zhanteimi Mord Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: Tokyo Posts: 4,873	0029 Miles Davis - Nefertiti (USA, 1968, post-bop / modal jazz) Not my favorite of Davis' albums, but I feel like I've just scratched the surface. I have only 11 of his albums in my collection, and it looks like he's got about 60 studio releases. It's just kind of daunting. Anyway, this album--maybe it's because it's not got any Davis compositions on it is why I don't rate it as highly as I do his later jazz fusion stuff. We got Herbie Hancock on piano, so that's a plus. After a re-listen to this, I'm going to have to check out some of Anthony Williams' and Wayne Shorter's music. I enjoy how the lazy horns are juxtaposed with the drum-roll type percussion on the title track. __________________ Zhanteimi LetsTalkMusic Last edited by Zhanteimi; 10-24-2018 at 10:32 PM.

10-13-2018, 08:08 PM	#907 (permalink)
Frownland SOPHIE FOREVER Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: East of the Southern North American West Posts: 35,541	Pretty great Miles record. If you haven't checked out Shorter's Juju, definitely fix that since it's full of simply sublime themes and improvisation alike. __________________ Studies show that when a given norm is changed in the face of the unchanging, the remaining contradictions will parallel the truth. d e a f b o x

10-14-2018, 05:28 PM	#908 (permalink)
Zhanteimi Mord Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: Tokyo Posts: 4,873	I've got Juju and Speak No Evil on my wishlist. __________________ Zhanteimi LetsTalkMusic

10-15-2018, 02:56 AM	#909 (permalink)
Zhanteimi Mord Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: Tokyo Posts: 4,873	0030 Renaissance - Turn of the Cards (UK, 1974, symphonic prog / progressive rock) The poetic atmosphere created by the melodic lyricism with touches of darkness of this 70s gem comforts me more with each listen. This is a very wintry album, and in my mind, the whole document is a build up to the last, epic track, "Mother Russia", which veers away from the delicacy of most of the album and brings the hammer down. I don't know anything about Solzhenitsyn other than the fact that he was an exile from his homeland, but man I really feel for the guy when I hear the lyric, "Red blood white snow, He knows frozen rivers won't flow, So cold so true, Mother Russia he cries for you." I'm glad he was able to die on his native soil. __________________ Zhanteimi LetsTalkMusic Last edited by Zhanteimi; 10-24-2018 at 10:32 PM.

10-15-2018, 05:18 PM	#910 (permalink)
Zhanteimi Mord Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: Tokyo Posts: 4,873	0031 Kenso - Kenso II (Japan, 1982, symphonic prog) This album comes at the end of prog's heyday, but it's still a worthy addition to the genre. You can tell which decade this one fits into, though, because of the moments of strong 80s synths. 空に光る is generally considered to be the strongest track, but I think I prefer 麻酔パート1 and 麻酔パート2 together. __________________ Zhanteimi LetsTalkMusic Last edited by Zhanteimi; 10-24-2018 at 10:33 PM.