Number Fifty

Buzz Baby Jesus Posted in Afro Cuban Jazz, Ambient, Art Rock, Better Than Original, Escaped Malibu Fire, Extra Heavy, Great Black Music, Hipster classic, Interesting Artifact, Italian Prog Rock, Jazz, Power Pop, Prog Rock, Psychedelic, Real Gone, Rockin', Singer Songwriter, Soul, Ultra Rare, VIP Guest Appearance，Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,
12 March 2010
1

As usual it’s been too long since I posted anything of substance. I look at some of my favorite sites, and there’s something new posted every day and I have to think that they must not do anything else except blog. Either that or I’m very slow. Probably a bit of both.  Even this began as a zip file I just wanted to throw up, and now I’m into more than an hour spent writing practically nothing.
As stated previously the blog began as a series of mix cd’s made in response to the demise of my evil i-Pod. I called them now that’s what I call bullshit as a comment on the popular series of Top 40 compilations called Now That’s What I Call Music.  It was a way of processing the ton of music coming my way through friends, downloads, and occasional purchases while I was driving two hours down to South Jersey on surfari.
Many songs posted were originally featured on the cd’s.

I made the first one for Memorial Day weekend in 2006. Here is number 50.

A swell compilation of highlights from the blog so far. It will fill a blank cd nicely, or remain files you can do with what you please.

You can find the link in the comments.

Mine looks like this

Religious Experience with Syd Barrett

Buzz Baby Jesus Posted in Art Rock, Prog Rock, Rockin', Ultra Rare, VIP Guest Appearance，Tags: , , , ,
19 October 2009
2
 
 
Any good record store should have it.

Any good record store should have it.

Kevin on back of cd

Kevin on back of cd

Syd, about the time of this session

Syd, about the time of this session

When there were record stores I used Kevin Ayers as my main yardstick. I’d walk in, make a bee-line to the A’s, and see if they had a Kevin Ayers section. And if they did, what did they have? I could instantly tell a lot about the depth of their catalog. Next I’d check for Roy Harper. A lot has to do with always being on the lookout for a couple gaps in my collection. A decent stock would have “Joy Of A Toy” as an import.

This was mixed from the original 8 track tapes in 2003 for inclusion on the superb reissue of Kevin Ayer’s 1969 “Joy Of A Toy”. The unissued masters had long vanished. It’s existence known but essentially unheard. I believe this is the only session Syd Barrett played on outside of Pink Floyd and his solo recordings.
Syd was outside Pink Floyd at the time of this session.
From the cd liner:

An Avid enthusiast of Syd Barrett, the wayward ex-Pink Floyd genius. Ayer’s felt Syd’s contribution could enhance his latest composition. On the way to Abbey Road studios, Kevin called into Barrett’s flat and requested his presence on the session. And so it was on November 9th 1969 Kevin Ayers and Syd Barrett worked on the first version of “Religious Experience”. Present ealier in the day were Richard Coughlan and Richard Sinclair from Canterbury band Caravan.
After some consideration it was felt that Syd Barrett’s psychedelic guitar contribution was too uncommercial, the track overlong and the decision was made to re-record “Religious Experience”.

They didn’t exactly do that. Instead the rhythm tracks were bounced to another 8 track (pretty much everything but Syd). Kevin did a new vocal, paraphrased some of Syd’s guitar, added The Ladybirds on vocals, etc.
Kevin knew Syd as his former band, The Soft Machine shared a bill with Pink Floyd , and probably a dozen other bands, at an marathon outdoor festival on Ibiza in the summer of 1967.

Kevin Ayers has had a long and interesting career.  He is an original, and creative artist. As usual, I tend to go for the earlier stuff. I’m unfamiliar with anything recorded after 1978.
Except his latest, “The Unfairground” (2008), is easily one of his best. Affectionately backed by an amalgam of indie superstars I never heard of, it sounds like it could be a followup to “Joy Of A Toy”, all his wit and charm is intact.
Kevin Ayers is currently living in the south of France, according to his MySpace page.

I just checked out the post and need to include the finished version.  Released on a 7″ single as “Singing A Song In The Morning” with “Eleanor’s Cake”(Which Ate Her) from “Joy Of A Toy” on April 19, 1970.  They always say Syd had been excised from the final, but that guy on electric guitar sure plays like him.  If it’s Kevin, he nailed it.

Religious Experience
Singing A Song In The Morning

The Beatles Revolution Take 20

Buzz Baby Jesus Posted in Decent Version, Extra Heavy, Rockin', Ultra Rare，Tags: ,
18 October 2009
0
   

The legendary, unreleased “Revolution 1 (Take 20)” has surfaced. Mark Lewisohn tells us in The Beatles Recording Sessions  that this take (#18, revised to #20 after overdubs) was the first track recorded for The White Album, begun on May 30, 1968. Takes 1-17 were shorter, more conventional versions of the song, but #18/20 (the take edited and used on the album) went on for over 10 minutes, dissolving into chaos and inspiring the infamous “Revolution 9″ – which used some of this track’s sounds, effects & voices (like Yoko Ono’s familiar “you become naked”).

Revolution Remix is mine.  Made out of all the opportunities created by “FULL DIMENSIONAL STEREO”

About 15 years ago I found “The Forger’s Art”, a book mostly about a famous case where an “artist” forged some “new” Vermeer’s and successfully sold them.  One ended up in a National Museum of Art somewhere.  He was tried and found guilty, but he was somewhat redeemed for fooling the Nazi’s, too. Besides reproductions of his really bad painting (it’s amazing they fooled anyone), there was reproduced “The Disintegration of Faith” by Jan Van Toorop.  The moment I saw it I spotted  The Beatles “Revolver” in it.  The more I looked, I became convinced there was a connection.

Where's John?

Where's John?

“Revolver” came out a few months after John Lennon was forced to publicly apologize for saying that The Beatles were “Bigger than God”.  I got to thinking that quoting “The Disintegration of Faith” was an inside joke between John, and Klaus Voorman, the artist responsible for the cover, and a friend of his since the Hamburg days.  Eventually I emailed Klaus directly and asked about it.  I lost his response, archived who knows where, which while not unfriendly, essentially denied there was a connection, but in a manner that could be interpreted a number of ways . I remember it started with, “High, Alan”.  So I wrote back, thanking him for answering, and with a promise not to continue harrassing him, but per chance he would enjoy seeing what I saw.  I attached what you see here, the area featuring the visual quote .  It’s really the drawn John with the hand over his head, near the middle, in the lower right quadrant.  I never heard from Klaus again.

Revolution Take 20
revolution_remix

Happy The Man

Buzz Baby Jesus Posted in Escaped Malibu Fire, Prog Rock, Ultra Rare，
15 October 2009
0
 
Genesis "Happy The Man"

Genesis "Happy The Man"

I don’t know which expensive box set you would need to buy to get this Genesis gem. It has refused to turn up over the years. The only place I’ve ever seen it was an import compilation on their Famous Charisma Label, “Charisma Distubance” from 1973. To further geekify, I’ll add that the compilation was sold as a two record set in a box. A third, unadvertised disc was included labeled “One More Chance”. “Happy The Man” was on that disc.
I had “Charisma Distubance”, but stupidly got rid of it decades ago. I sold my soul to the digital world. A couple years ago, an old friend asked if I wanted his record collection. He shipped it to me in several boxes. There must have been 100 albums. Included were a bunch of my old records. When I had the first great purge, I invited some friends to go through them before I sold them to the record store. Many of the best ones ended up in good homes, where they remain. Anyway my copy of “The Charisma Disturbance” came back, along with this great little ditty. A few months after my friend shipped me the records, his house in Malibu Canyon burned down with everything in it.
I always assumed this song dated to before “Trespass”, but I ran a search and found the following details. 1972 would make it comtemporary with “Foxtrot”

(I wonder what “Seven Stones” sounds like, never even heard of it until just now.)

Singles/EPs/Fan Club/Promo, released in 1972

Songs / Tracks Listing

1. Happy the Man (2:47)
2. Seven Stones (5:06)

Total Time: 7:53
Line-up / Musicians

- Peter Gabriel / vocals, flute
- Steve Hackett / guitars
- Tony Banks / keyboards
- Mike Rutherford / bass, guitars
- Phil Collins / drums
Releases information

7″ Vinyl Charisma CB181 (1972)

from 1973 imported english vinyl:

Happy The Man