Alan Parsons Project - Eye in the Sky

The Alan Parsons Project
Eye in the Sky
Compact Disc
Arista/Legacy 82878 81527 2

1. Sirius
2. Eye in the Sky
3. Children of the Moon
4. Gemini
5. Silence and I
6. You're Gonna Get Your Fingers Burned
7. Psychobabble
8. Mammagamma
9. Step By Step
10. Old and Wise
11. Sirius (demo)
12. Old and Wise (Eric Woolfson vocal)
13. Any Other Day (studio demo)
14. Silence and I (Eric Woolfson vocal)
15. The Naked Eye
16. Eye Pieces (classical Naked Eye)

It seems to me that the Alan Parsons Project gets kind of a bad rap. I don't know why; they have some mighty fine music in their catalog. Perhaps my own musical sensibilities are just more pop-oriented than those of most of you that I see on the forums and blogs, and so the sort of borderline pop/prog that the APP plays just appeals to me more than others. This music is different; it's accessible without being too poppy; it features orchestration without being, well, boring; it's original and progressive without being too self-indulgent; and, while I say it isn't too poppy, it nonetheless features nice hooks that I, for one, can easily dig. And the sounds they make are just........cool.
On this album, of course, you got the Chicago Bulls opening music in "Sirius," followed by the pleasant radio hit and title track. "Children of the Moon" has that wee bit of synthesizer that gives it ...um...a different feel, a bit of a trip in time, nothing bad at all, in my opinion. Interesting choral bits and chord changes in that one. "Gemini" is nice and dreamy, just like me.... *ahem* The relatively extended (7:20) "Silence and I" is a couple of hushed ends bookending a classical/orchestral bridge, which is cool and makes itself known. "You're Gonna Get Your Fingers Burned" is a good, strong bit of pop/rock; some might think that the APP couldn't pull off a "straight" pop/rock sound, but I think it works here.
I think "Psychobabble" might be somewhat well-known among some; I remember it was once incorporated into my old high school's marching band's repertoire. Good, kind of weird vibe to that song. Nice. The instrumental bit that follows, "Mammagamma," I can probably do without; it's rather ground in the pseudo-disco sounds of that era (1982), not to mention unexciting. "Step by Step" is another more poppy song; I played this one a couple times before saying "Yeah, it's okay." And the capper, "Old and Wise"...well, the title sums it up, I think, as the album ends on a quiet note.

John Mellencamp - American Fool

John Mellencamp ("John Cougar")
American Fool
Compact Disc
Riva 814-993-2 M-1

1. Hurts So Good
2. Jack & Diane
3. Hand to Hold on To
4. Danger List
5. Can You Take It
6. Thundering Hearts
7. China Girl
8. Close Enough
9. Weakest Moments


Curiously felt like digging this out recently. This album seems to kind of run out of creative juice after a while, but there's good hard rock on this album, from the hits "Hurts So Good" and "Jack & Diane" to the lesser-known "Thundering Hearts," which is best played in the Camaro on a warm summer day with the top down, cruising around. (Especially with those lyrics.)

Jerry Garcia - Reflections

Jerry Garcia
Reflections
Compact Disc
Grateful Dead Records GDCD40082

1. Might As Well
2. Mission in the Rain
3. They Love Each Other
4. I'll Take a Melody
5. It Must Have Been the Roses
6. Tore Up Over You
7. Catfish John
8. Comes a Time

This thinly disguised GD release from the Godchaux era sounds particularly nice to these ears on damp, grey days...especially "Mission in the Rain" and "I'll Take a Melody." There's a kind of subdued sound on this record, which perhaps makes the up-tempo "Tore Up Over You" sound a bit odd, but this album features some catchy songs by one of the most beloved musicians of our time. The closer, "Comes a Time," features a haunting sound with a sort of odd fuzztone.

I happened to catch the Dead playing "They Love Each Other" at the May 5th, 2009, performance at Rosemont. People can say what they will about what sort of justice Bobby's singing gives Jerry's songs, and I'm going to say this: Great music shall not die.

Can - Ege Bamyasi

Can
Ege Bamyasi
Compact Disc
Mute/Spoon 9056-2 / Spoon CD 008

1. Pinch
2. Sing Swan Song
3. One More Night
4. Vitamin C
5. Soup
6. I'm So Green
7. Spoon


Your introduction to "Krautrock." Many different styles are explored within the progressive.....organized freakouts, if you will, on here. Personal favorite: the kind of jazzy and subdued "One More Night." Krautrock isn't really my genre, but the best of it can probe deep into the night sky, and this album sits firmly in that "best of it" category.

Ananda Shankar - Ananda Shankar

Ananda Shankar (self-titled)
LP
Reprise Records 6398

1. Jumpin' Jack Flash
2. Snow Flower
3. Light My Fire
4. Mamata (Affection)
5. Metamorphosis
6. Sagar (The Ocean)
7. Dance Indra
8. Raghupati

Nevermind those critics who call this "exploitation"; this is a great album! "Classical" styles of Indian music meet then-modern technology (moog synthesizer!) and rock & roll from the west. Truly far-out! I recommend this to all!

John Mayall - The Turning Point

John Mayall
The Turning Point
Vinyl Stereo LP
Polydor 24-4004

1. The Laws Must Change
2. Saw Mill Gulch Road
3. I'm Gonna Fight For You J.B.
4. So Hard to Share
(B1) 5. California
6. Thoughts About Roxanne
7. Room to Move

I'd known "Room to Move" for a while; nevertheless, I wasn't really sure what to expect when I put this on the turntable. It turned out to be an almost entirely acoustic sort of "lite blues" with a few surprises. The saxophones add an almost jazz-like dimension to the already surreal, subdued blues sound. The overall result is a very nice, easy, crisp, different sound that's very much worth investigating. It certainly turned out to be exactly what I was looking for this sleepy evening.

Here are John Mayall's nicely accurate words on the back cover:

"The time is right for a new direction in blues music. Having decided to dispense with heavy lead guitar and drums, usually a 'must' for blues groups today, I set about forming a new band which would be able to explore seldom-used areas within the framework of low volume music. This album is the result of this experiment and it was recorded live at the Fillmore East Theater, New York after only four weeks experience of each other's playing."

—John Mayall - July 1969

Kaleidoscope (UK) - Faintly Blowing

Kaleidoscope
Faintly Blowing
Compact Disc
Repertoire REPUK 1047

1. Faintly Blowing
2. Poem
3. Snapdragon
4. A Story From Tom Bitz
5. (Love Song) For Annie
6. If You So Wish
7. Opinion
8. Bless the Executioner
9. Black Fjord
10. The Feathered Tiger
11. I'll Kiss You Once
12. Music
*~*~*bonus tracks*~*~*
13. Do it Again For Jeffrey
14. Poem (mono single)
15. Balloon
16. If You So Wish (mono single)
17. Let the World Wash In
18. Mediaeval Masquerade

The "toytown" sound demonstrated on Kaleidoscope's first album has grown up. Be warned, though, that, while the songwriting has indubitably matured, the music seems to lack the catchiness of that of Tangerine Dream. Matter of fact, a couple of songs on here can be downright dissonant at times—especially the album closer, "Music", which I sometimes think could make today's goth types weep.

Synanthesia - Synanthesia

Synanthesia (self-titled)
Compact Disc
Sunbeam Records 5007

1. Minerva
2. Peek Strangely and Worried Evening
3. Morpheus
4. Trafalgar Square
5. Fates
6. The Tale of the Spider and the Fly
7. Vesta
8. Rolling and Tumbling
9. Mnemosyne
10. Aurora
11. Just as the Curtain Finally Falls
12. Shifting Sands (bonus)

Described on the back cover as "a beguiling mixture of folk, jazz and psychedelia." Shall give this another listen later today.

(later today:) Sounds about right. Closest, I think, to medium-medium-soft jazz. There is at least one song with a nice, dissonant sax that would be quite effective in pissing off my mother. Narrow-minded bitch gets on my nerves sometimes.

The Dragons - BFI

The Dragons
BFI
Compact Disc
Ninja Tune ZENCD135


1. Cosmosis
2. Food For My Soul
3. Amplified Emotion
4. Sandman
5. On the Wall
6. Are You There?
7. Sunset Scenery
8. Mercy Call
9. Pop's Bag
10. Big Mike Requiem
11. Your Way Too


This is one of the more interesting records I've played the last few days. It claims to have been recorded in 1969 and not released until 2007. It sounds much more modern than 1969..... It's kind of a bizarre combination of jazz, psych, fusion?, and a couple other genres that fail to occur to me just now. Very different, and very much worth listening to.

Family - Family Entertainment

Family
Family Entertainment
Compact Disc
PUC 702


1. The Weaver's Answer
2. Observations From a Hill
3. Hung Up Down
4. Summer '67
5. How-Hi-the-Li
6. Second Generation Woman
7. From Past Archives
8. Dim
9. Processions
10. Face in the Cloud
11. Emotions


I had put this on my "physical wish list" a long time ago and didn't hear it for a long time. Finally got it this past holiday, and played it yesterday for the first time in a long time, and I was quite surprised at how GOOD this album is. The band's music had very much "matured" since their first album (which is very good in its own right), become smoother and more polished. Describing the actual music of Family is something else entirely.......just keep in mind that they're an excellent, eclectic band in 1969, and you should be groovy.

Gandalf - Gandalf

Gandalf (self-titled)
Compact Disc
Sundazed 6152


1. Golden Earrings
2. Hang on to a Dream
3. Never Too Far
4. Scarlet Ribbons
5. You Upset the Grace of Living
6. Can You Travel in the Dark Alone
7. Nature Boy
8. Tiffany Rings
9. Me About You
10. I Watch the Moon


One of the psych-pop classic albums. Great, original sound, with melodic, kind of atmospheric vocals and a dominant Hammond B3 organ—a treat for the ears. According to the liner notes, it wasn't really intended that way, but it sounds great nonetheless, from their takes on Tim Hardin's "Hang on to a Dream" and "Never Too Far" to the remarkable electric-sitar-laden original "Can You Travel in the Dark Alone."

Principal Edwards Magic Theatre - Soundtrack

Principal Edwards Magic Theatre
Soundtrack
Compact Disc
Cherry Red CDM RED 306

1. Enigmatic Insomniac Machine
2. Sacrifice
3. The Death of Don Quixote
4. Third Sonnet to Sundry Notes of Music
5. To a Broken Guitar
6. Pinky: A Mystery Cycle
7. Ballad (Of the Big Girl Now and the Mere Boy) (bonus)
8. Lament for the Earth (bonus)

Sort of a progressive folk-jazz. Think Fairport Convention meets McDonald and Giles.

Mighty Baby - Mighty Baby

Mighty Baby (self-titled)
Compact Disc
Big Beat CDWIKD 120

1. Egyptian Tomb
2. A Friend You Know But Never See
3. I've Been Down So Long
4. Same Way From the Sun
5. House Without Windows
6. Trials of a City
7. I'm From the Country
8. At a Point Between Fate and Destiny
*~*~*bonus tracks*~*~*
9. Only Dreaming
10. Dustbin Full of Rubbish
11. Understanding Love
12. Favourite Days
13. A Saying For Today

In the opening of this compact disc's liner notes, Mighty Baby is described as "Britain's answer to the Grateful Dead". This (to me, anyway; see comments) is basically accurate. They may have had slightly better production than the early Dead records, and of course a slightly more British sense of melody, but, yeah, the Grateful Dead comparison is, to me, fairly apt.

July - July

July (self-titled)
Compact Disc
Rev-Ola 243

1. My Clown
2. Dandelion Seeds
3. Jolly Mary
4. Hallo to Me
5. You Missed it All
6. The Way
7. To Be Free
8. Move on Sweet Flower
9. Crying is For Writers
10. I See
11. Friendly Man
12. A Bird Lived
*~*~*Bonus Tracks*~*~*
13. My Clown (single version)
14. Dandelion Seeds (single version)
15. Hello, Who's There?
16. The Way (single version)


True psychedelia. 'Nuff said.

The Family Tree - Miss Butters

The Family Tree
Miss Butters
Compact Disc
Rev-Ola 185

1. Birthday/Dirgeday
2. Melancholy Vaudeville Man
3. Any Other Baby
4. Sideshow
5. Mrs. McPheeny (Has Flu in Her Chest and Has Needed a Rest For So Long)
6. Butters Lament
7. Simple Life
8. Slippin' Thru My Fingers
9. Nine to Three
10. Lesson Book Life
11. Nickelodeon Music
12. Miss Butters
13. The Underture
14. Keepin' a Secret (bonus)
15. Do You Have the Time (bonus)
16. She Had to Fly (bonus)
17. He Spins Around (bonus)

The first rock opera? Possibly. "Months before the release of the Pretty Things' S.F. Sorrow," it says on here. I wouldn't call it "rock," though....more Nilsson-esque pop with a touch of psych. Little surprise, though, considering they were very close to Harry at the time. Many personnel in common, in fact, according to this. Whatever the case, nice melodies and fine songwriting here. I just love the particularly psychedelic songs at the end, "Miss Butters" and "The Underture," particularly the latter, which seldom fails to make me shiver.

The Mandrake Memorial - The Mandrake Memorial

The Mandrake Memorial (self-titled)
LP
Poppy Records 40,002
Released in 1968

1. Bird Journey
2. Here I Am
3. Rainy May
4. This Can't Be Real
5. Dark Lady
6. House of Mirrors
7. To a Lonely
8. Strange
9. Next Number
10. Sunday Noon

A wonderfully odd mixture of pop and baroque sounds with just a slight dash of rock. Many of the songs feature a pseudo-harpsichord sound. Although my favorite song on here is the well-paced "Dark Lady," I think that, overall, the softer sounds on this album are the ones that work the best. The vocalist's voice seems especially well-suited to soft sounds. Some of the musical themes seem to reappear throughout the album, as though the whole album were a Beethoven-esque symphony. All said and done, though, this is a nice album. Some soft moments, some odd moments, some songs that run right into each other, and a proper psychedelic ending with voices and a sound effect. Good stuff.