colour as our keyboard

detail from "farbstudie quadrate" by wassily kandinsky, oil on canvas.

Take #3, 

Recorded 14th July 1970, Abbey Road Studios.

Syd Barrett: guitar, vocals;
David Gilmour: bass; drums.
Richard Wright: organ, piano, harmonium.

Engineered by Peter Brown.
Produced by David Gilmour and Richard Wright.


Because life is duller without a little Syd.
 

▼ SYD BARRETT: DOMINOES from "Barrett" LP (EMI Harvest) 1970 (UK)

canto libre, jimmy

Por mi hermano, Löst jimmy, currently "operating" out of Central Mexico. Accompanied by Banda; Reggeton; and the "smell of overly strong coffee and 
fat laden baking".

Not so much breaking bad as bread.

A traditional Mexican song performed by Víctor Jara in the company of Inti-Illimani and Patricio Castillio.

▼ VÍCTOR JARA: CORRIDO DE PANCHO VILLA from "Canto Libre" LP (Odéon) 1970 (Chile)

holiday in कम्बोज)

HIT THE SPOT WIT' ALL YOU GOT!

"Kambuja or Kamboja is the ancient Sanskrit name of the Kambojas, an early tribe of North India, named after their founder, Kambu Svayambhuva."

Appearing in long player format on 1970's "Reggae Movement", released through producer Harry Johnson's Harry J Records, I am assuming this rocksteady gem was first issued as a 45 on the same label; circa 1969. I am by no means certain.That it predates the dark days of the Khmer Rouge is beyond doubt, perhaps even coinciding with the US backed military coup of 1970 - led by Prime Minister General Lon Nol and Prince Sisowath Sirik Matak - which ousted the neutral Prince Sihanouk, formerly Cambodia's sovereign king.

Between 1969 and 1973, US aviation forces repeatedly organized bombing raids in Cambodia in a misguided effort to annihilate Viet Cong factions sheltered by the Khmer Rouge. Reportedly, some two million rural Cambodians were uprooted as a result. They sought refuge in Phnom Penh.

Indirectly, this coup led to Sihanouk forging an alliance with the party in Beijing; escalating recruitment into the Khmer Rouge and facilitating Pol Pot's seizing control in 1975.

Cue Jello Biafra. 

▼ BLAKE BOY: CAMBODIA from "Reggae Movement" LP (Harry J Records) 1970 (Jamaica)

tea for two. or three.

(l to r) keith cross; peter dunton; bernard jinks.

To more or less quote Johnny Thunders verbatim:

"Do you want the 'lectric shit ? Or the hippie shit ?"

I had not heard T2 previous to the inclusion of "No More White Horses" in Emmett's October playlist. From their sole album, "It'll All Work Out in Boomland", released through Decca in 1970, it would appear this overlooked London trio have been kicking up a gentle storm ever since drummer and songwriter, Pete Dunton rediscovered the original reels in his attic and remastered the LP for CD reissue in 1992 with three bonus cuts originally recorded at the BBC.

Incorporating some exceptionally fine guitar from Keith Cross, T2 have been favorably compared to Cream and Procol Harum elsewhere on the net, but to my ears there is more of a Space Oddity vibe to the group in their more reflective moments; faint mellotron laced echoes of a shared fascination, perhaps, with Syd Barrett's Pink Floyd, and a healthy tendency to flirt with some popular motifs more commonly touted on the Franco-European charts between 1968-70.

And there lies the crux.

Had David Bowie not been quite so persistent, we might just as easily be waxing lyrical on the overlooked gem which was "Hunky Dory". Studiously maligned and dismissed by serious progressive types, were it not for shrewd market placement "The Man Who Sold the World" might have found himself fitting shoes somewhere off the Kings Road. Were it not for Mick Ronson and the Spiders from Mars, there quite possibly would have been be no third Stooges album.

Or über selling "Transformer".

And were it not for "Ziggy Stardust" there might feasibly have been no triumphant collaboration with Brian Eno in the shadow of the wall.

So.

"Do you want the 'lectric shit ? Or the hippie shit ?"

The existential angst or the bubblegum ? It all tastes good to me.

Word to the wise, though: it might seem a mere trifle, but never underestimate the damage a bad hair day can inflict on a career. David Bowie learned that lesson quicker than most. Or Faust. That which was acceptable on a geography teacher or social worker in 1970 did not book one a gig on Top of the Pops.

Keith Cross: guitars, keyboards, harmony vocals;

Peter Dunton: drums, lead vocals;
Bernard Jinks: bass guitar, harmony vocals.

Recorded at Morgan Studios.
Arranged and produced by T2 and Peter Johnson.
Engineered by Mike Butcher.

▼ T2: J.L.T. from "It'll All Work Out In Boomland" LP (Decca) / CD (SPM) 1970; 1992 (UK)

S&M ?

"shy boy in soyapango, el salvador". photograph by donna decesare.

Any allusion to a large UK supermarket chain's commandeering of this piece through its television advertising is lamentable. But sadly inescapable. I detest food pornography, and it is a fairly safe assumption that Carlos Santana does not need the bread, however finely baked or dressed.

I notice, too, that a large mobile network has just launched a campaign underpinned by the Box Tops' "Neon Rainbow". I hate that kind of shit. Jim Morrison was right to be churlish. Hand back the jaded junkie glamour it deserves.

Produced by Fred Catero and Carlos Santana.

▼ SANTANA: SAMBA PA TI from "Abraxas" LP (Columbia) 1970 (US)

byrd with coils

albinio banana california king snake.

A Jaques Levy & McGuinn composition from The Byrds' untitled 1970 LP, featuring Clarence White, Gram Parsons and Skip Battin. Also including the great Terry Melcher on piano in pieces, this was undoubtably the last release from McGuinn under the Byrds banner of any merit. McGuinn's voice on this live cut is a barbed thing of wonder; strangled and bitter and devoid of Christian rectitude.


For the most comprehensive and concise detail on Clarence White imaginable, move directly to The Adios Lounge. Do not pass go. Do not collect $200, or gain surplus pounds. And hang on to your "Get out of Jail" card, brothers and sisters.

▼ THE BYRDS: LOVER OF THE BAYOU (LIVE) from "Untitled" 2 x LP (Columbia) 1970 (US)

all right now #2

WIP 6082.

Recorded at the same time as the "Fire And Water" sessions at Trident and Island Studios, London, this abbreviated 45 release lacks the polish of the full album production, but packs more percussive bite. Paul Kossoff was reportedly aggravated that his lengthy guitar solo was edited so savagely (huh ?), but on balance I still prefer this single cut. F@cking prima donna.

Love it or loathe it, just remember even the Runaways fell over themselves to cover it. For fully fledged obsessives, their version recorded for the infamous BBC broadcast is also included as a bonus on Island's 2001 CD reissue.

Written by Andy Fraser and Paul Rodgers.


Paul Rodgers: vocals; Andy Fraser: bass;
Paul Kossoff: guitar; Simon Kirke: drums.

▼ FREE: ALL RIGHT NOW from "All Right Now b/w Mouthful of Grass" 45 (Island) 1970 (UK)

the way it is

You can't think your way out of an avalanche. You can only feel.

I woke up this morning with "I Just Can't Help Believin'" playing in my head. It sounded sweet and honest and laced with caffeine. The snow outside was uncommonly deep and soft. By mid afternoon it was grey and lumpen and tubercular. Funny what comes to mind, and how one's appreciation of it changes as day turns to night. It was all good while it lasted, Elvis. Blink and it's gone.

Written by Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, and originally recorded by Mann in 1968.

Photograph by Vincent J. Musi for an article on the Sicillian catacombs by A.A. Gill in february's edition of National Geographic.

PURCHASE THE WAY IT IS ON (SPECIAL EDITION) ON DVD

the heart which rules the head

artist unknown.

Not the Jerry Garcia led improvisation from the officially repackaged soundtrack, but two keyboard based outtakes from Richard Wright (one assumes, in concert with either Waters or Gilmour) as part of fifteen segments from those original sessions to the Antonioni classic which never made final cut. Tentative and archly fragile - reminiscent of Erik Satie, or Vladimir Cosma - the question immediately arises as to why they were ever excluded in the first instance.

Finally released as a bootleg of superior audio quality in 2004, these meditative explorations reveal a facet to Pink Floyd previously only hinted at in more reflective moments.

Unless, of course, you are already of the opinion that Pink Floyd spent quite enough of the 1970's noodling away in a corner specially reserved for the asinine and self-indulgent. I, too, am often in two minds; but ultimately I beg to differ.

▼ PINK FLOYD: LOVE SCENE (PART ONE) from "The Complete Zabriskie Point Sessions" CD (Two Certain Somebodies) 1970/2004 (UK)

▼ PINK FLOYD: LOVE SCENE (TAKE TWO) from "The Complete Zabriskie Point Sessions" CD (Two Certain Somebodies) 1970/2004 (UK)

plastic jesus on a naugahyde cross

▼ PRETTY THINGS: SICKLE CLOWNS from "Parachute" LP (Harvest EMI) 1970 (UK)

PURCHASE PARACHUTE

free-fall interrupted

Harvest SHVL 774.

One of my favourite albums ever - Rolling Stone's album of 1970 - and the perfect companion piece to the Beatles' own underrated masterpiece, "Abbey Road". Unfortunately, the critical acclaim it gathered never did convert into commercial sales, and as a result this LP has lingered in warehouse recycling bins or dusty store shelves for far too long. As I waxed (pontificated) in a much earlier piece:

"As smokey brown as the Beatles' "Abbey Road" in places, but shimmering and translucent too as the best of Chilton & Bell's Big Star. A perfect pop masterpiece painted from a well rehearsed palette of limited colour, a perfect teenage summer's trip."

Phil May: vocals; Victor Unitt: lead guitar; John Povey: keyboards, sitar, vocals; Wally Allen (aka Waller): bass, guitar, vocals; Skip Alan: drums.
Produced by Norman Smith.
Engineered by Tony Clark.

▼ PRETTY THINGS: THE GOOD MR. SQUARE / SHE WAS TALL, SHE WAS HIGH from "Parachute" LP (Harvest EMI) 1970 (UK)

PURCHASE PARACHUTE

maybe call mom on the telephone...

ron asheston: july 17th, 1948 - January 1st, 2009.

My son's mother communicated this information to me by text some time last night.

That his body should have lain undiscovered for several days over the new year's period - of alleged celebration - saddens me deeply.

No fun. These days we all wait in for the bells, and toll they do.

lain
past participle of lie 1 .

lie 1 |lʌɪ|
verb ( ly•ing |ˌlʌɪɪŋ|; past lay |leɪ|; past part. lain |leɪn|) [ intrans. ]
1 (of a person or animal) be in or assume a horizontal or resting position on a supporting surface : the man lay face downward on the grass | I had to lie down for two hours because I was groggy | Lily lay back on the pillows and watched him.
• (of a thing) rest flat on a surface : a book lay open on the table.
• (of a dead person) be buried in a particular place.



ron asheton; looking oddly - with keen irrelevance - like gerry rafferty from the cover of "city to city", as painted by scottish artist, john byrne.

stooge |stuːdʒ|
noun
1 derogatory; a person who serves merely to support or assist others, particularly in doing unpleasant work : you fell for that helpless-female act and let her make you a stooge.
• a person who is employed to assume a particular role while keeping their true identity hidden : a police stooge.
2 a performer whose act involves being the butt of a comedian's jokes.

verb [ intrans. ]
1 move around aimlessly; drift or cruise : she stooged around in the bathroom for a while.
2 perform a role that involves being the butt of a comedian's jokes.

ORIGIN early 20th cent.: of unknown origin.

"The Stooges guitarist Ron Asheton has been found dead at his home in Michigan. He was 60.

Police told Ann Arbor News that the musician may have been dead for several days before he was found. Although unconfirmed, initial signs indicate that Asheton died of a heart attack.

Asheton was one of the founding members of the Stooges, along with his brother Scott, bassist Dave Alexander and their charismatic frontman Iggy Pop. With Pop, Asheton helped write songs that would set the template for punk rock, including No Fun and I Wanna Be Your Dog. As befits a band from Ann Arbor, their music distilled the experience of being a bored suburban teen and bottled it as a furious and snarling sonic assault. Their feral take on rock'n'roll, full of feedback and clatter, was the perfect backdrop for Pop's wild stage antics, another big influence for punk performers."

Tim Jonze, The Guardian, Tuesday 6 January 2009 16.12 GMT.

This song, produced by Don Gallucci, was culled from The Stooges' second album and originally released as a 45. Recorded at Elektra Sound Recorders, LA between May 10th and May 24th, 1970.

Ring out.

"C'mon an' lemme hear you tell 'em..."

▼ THE STOOGES: DOWN IN THE STREET from "Fun House" LP (Elektra) 1970 (US)

ANN ARBOR REMINISCENCES BY KIM DIJULIO, VIA POETRY IS FOR ASSHOLES

noel!

a christmas tree in arizona.
"a dead tree on the edge of the grand canyon". photograph by john ur, 2008.

Rockette Morton: bass; Drumbo: drums, percussion;
Ed Marimba: drums, percussion, marimba;
Zoot Horn Rollo: slide guitar;
Captain Beefheart: vocals, harmonica, saxophone.

Produced by Captain Beefheart.

Today I feel crippled by inertia and irritated by the nagging impulse
to 'do'. There are many things I could do; there are many things I should be doing. Already I am on my sixth cup of coffee of the morning, and I am drumming my fingers next to the keyboard and mentally logging strokes. Woolworths is in the death throes of its closing down sale. I should throw on my jacket and speedwalk on over there to see if there are any bargains still to be had. Ignore the pained expressions of the soon to be jobless drones manning the
cash registers and throw in my lot with the slavering mob. The prospect of doing so is not overwhelmingly appealing. Ho-fucking-ho. If I suffered from hemorrhoids, I would sooner scratch my ass.

I had to look that one up in the dictionary. "Hemorrhoids". Just so I wouldn't appear illiterate. I had to key in "piles" to get that far; it seems a lot of people out there have a problem with the spelling, if not the condition.

Excuse me while I fetch another cup of coffee. I may be some time.

▼ CAPTAIN BEEFHEART & THE MAGIC BAND: PETRIFIED FOREST from "Lick My Decals Off, Baby" LP (Straight) 1970 (US)

PURCHASE LICK MY DECALS OFF BABY

bombay bulletin

▼ GEORGE HARRISON: MY SWEET LORD from "All Things Must Pass" 3 x LP (Apple) 1970 (UK)PURCHASE ALL THINGS MUST PASS

this pack has nothing to declare

Progressive jazz with an electronic edge. Recorded at Tonstudio Bauer, Ludwigsburg, on September 15th and October 1st, 1970. Produced by Manfred Eicher. Composed and performed by Wolfgang Dauner.

Eberhard Weber: bass; Eberhard Weber: cello; Eberhard Weber, Wolfgang Dauner: flute; Wolfgang Dauner: piano; Wolfgang Dauner: keyboards; Wolfgang Dauner: clavinet; Wolfgang Dauner: main performer; Wolfgang Dauner: modulator; Fred Braceful: percussion; Fred Braceful : drums.

The countdown to part 2 of E4's "Dead Set" is on.

▼ WOLFGANG DAUNER: NOTHING TO DECLARE from "Output" LP (ECM) 1970 (Germany)

OUT OF PRINT

mick jagger: memo from turner

vince whirlwind: memo from turner.

Paranoia. And descent into schizophrenic ambivalence. Directed by Donald Cammell and Nicholas Roeg. Ugly. Faggy. Good shit, Brushback.

Recorded on 17 November 1968. Written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richard. Boris and Dirt.

▼ MICK JAGGER: MEMO FROM TURNER from "Performance (OST)" LP (Warner Bros.) 1970 (UK)

PURCHASE STONES: METAMORPHOSIS (COMPILATION: 1975)

buddy miles: down by the river

them changes.

An absolutely stunning cover of the Neil Young standard by the late Buddy Miles, drummer and vocalist with Electric Flag and - more famously - with Jimi's Band of Gypsies. A collaborator, too, with the great Carlos Santana. This cut also features Miles on guitar.

I do not recall where this vinyl rip originally hails from, but it is certainly worth sharing of a late sunny Sunday afternoon.

I'm keen to hear the bright, shiny remastered take on this, though.

▼ BUDDY MILES: DOWN BY THE RIVER from "Them Changes" LP (Mercury) 1970 (US)

PURCHASE THEM CHANGES REMASTERED

fire and water

photograph by danuta, poland.

Written by Paul Rodgers and Paul Kossoff.

Produced by Bob Clearmountain.

▼ FREE: OH, I WEPT (ALTERNATIVE TAKE: BONUS) from "Fire And Water" CD (Island) 1970 (UK)

PURCHASE FREE REMASTERED + BONUS TRACKS

baby lemonade

"While the sessions for Barrett ran more smoothly, it didn't prevent Syd's by-now characteristically bizarre behavior from coming through. On June 6, 1970, Syd gave his one and only solo performance, backed by David Gilmour and Jerry Shirley, and baffled the audience (including Gilmour and Shirley) when he abruptly took off his guitar during the fourth number and walked off stage."

Recorded at Abbey Road Studios, 26 February - 17 July 1970. Produced by David Gilmour and Richard Wright.

▼ SYD BARRETT: BABY LEMONADE from "Barrett" LP (Harvest EMI) 1970 (UK)

▼ SYD BARRETT: LOVE SONG from "Barrett" LP (Harvest EMI) 1970 (UK)

PURCHASE BARRETT

hotlegs, 1970 BC

fossil hominid skulls.

I mentioned Hotlegs previously in relation to Throbbing Gristle, odd as it may seem.

"Fresh from the breakup of the Mindbenders, guitarist Eric Stewart and songwriter Graham Gouldman opened their own Strawberry Studios in Stockport, England. Joined by Lol Creme and Kevin Godley, but temporarily shedding Gouldman, who promptly relocated to New York, the gang were experimenting with drum sounds when a passing record company executive spotted a hit amongst the hitting..."

"Kevin Godley, in a 1976 interview, said the album included the songs and ideas that he and Lol Creme had intended recording in 1969 with entrepreneur Giorgio Gomelsky. Gomelsky had named the duo Frabjoy and Runcible Spoon, wanting to fashion them in the style of Simon and Garfunkel."

Written by Eric Stewart, Lol Creme and Kevin Godley. Far from essential, but interesting, and it finally provided me with the excuse to post a picture of skulls; courtesy of The Dutch Perpspective after much fruitless web trawling.

Earlier this evening I was obliged to humanely dispose of one of my son's pet sharks after finding it gasping for oxygen on the gravel at the bottom of its aquarium.

Apparently putting semiconscious fish into a freezer compartment to euthanise it is not advised, nor could I very well flush it down the toilet or leave it to slowly drown. The most humane method, it seems - bar having access to 'ornamental' fish anaesthesia, which I'd neglected to purchase - is to hold the stricken fish and sever its spine directly behind the head with a sharp knife. This I finally did. Sharks - even fairly small tropical varieties - are quite muscular and wriggle wildly even in an extremely weakened condition. Thankfully, I managed to dispatch it neatly without accidentally lopping off a fingertip or two in the process.

I do not relish playing God. But the creature was clearly suffering.

Let me say, too, I hate that 'ornamental' fish crap. Like they're somehow less than real. Even keeping fish is fraught with peril.

Now I'm worrying that I did, or didn't do, the right thing. Which is less respect than I give those animals I eat, of course.

I still have the original 7", incidentally.

Did I mention Throbbing Gristle ?

▼ HOTLEGS: NEANDERTHAL MAN from "Thinks: School Stinks" LP (Fontana) 1971 (UK)

PURCHASE THINKS: SCHOOL STINKS