Tag: 1970s
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Otis Redding / The Jimi Hendrix Experience – Historic Performances Recorded at the Monterey International Festival, 1970 on Reprise
Perhaps the most unusual split record in my collection, pairing Jimi Hendrix and Otis Redding. Both are live performances captured at Monterey Pop in 1967, and both have since been expanded in more comprehensive releases dedicated to each performer. The Jimi Hendrix Experience (with Hendrix, Mitch Mitchell, and Noel Redding) had not yet performed in…
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David Bromberg, Wanted Dead or Alive, 1974 on Columbia
I’m a huge David Bromberg fan – he’s an under-appreciated player in the universe of bluegrass/blues/folk/jazz. This was his third LP. One side was recorded with Jerry Garcia, Phil Lesh, Keith Godchaux and Bill Kreutzmann (of the Grateful Dead) and the other side was recorded live. The opener “The Holdup” was cowritten with George Harrison,…
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Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown, San Antonio Ballbuster, 1974 on Red Lightnin’
Although it was originally released in 1974 on Red Lightnin’, my copy is a reissue from 1979 on Charly Records. Red Lightnin‘ is a blues label started in 1968; Charly a reissue label started in 1975; both are UK labels. Not sure how this ended up in Mel’s Record Shop in Amesbury MA, but that’s…
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Thelonious Monk, The Complete Genius, 1976 on Blue Note
Though this compilation was released in 1976 – part of The Blue Note Re-Issue Series – it actually collects sides he recorded for Blue Note in 1947, 1948, 1951, and 1952. Note: This album contains the complete Monk on Blue Note with the exception of his appearance as a sideman on two of his compositions…
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Neil Young, Decade, 1977 on Reprise
It’s amazing to me that all of this music was before 1977. I came to Neil Young’s music well into the 1980s and while I knew some of the legacy (Buffalo Springfield, CSN&Y and combinations thereof) I didn’t know just how many great songs he’d put out in the first decade of his career. This…
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Gram Parsons, GP, 1973 on Reprise
It’s hard to overstate the importance of Gram Parsons’ two solo albums: GP and (posthumously) Grievous Angel. This was his solo debut though he is joined by Emmylou Harris (with whom he was touring) on two duets. It was recorded Sept-Oct on 1972 and produced by Ric Grech from Blind Faith. My copy (via Reykjavik…
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Coleman Hawkins, Sirius, 1974 on Pablo
Recorded by Val Valentin December 1966 but released posthumously in 1974 (Hawkins died in 1969). Produced by Norman Granz, with liner notes by Benny Green: This is the album which none of us ever wanted to hear, the last milestone on that long fascinating road which stretches back to the day in 1922 when, as…
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Michael Franks, The Art of Tea, 1975 on Reprise
Franks is an interesting figure – from my pov very over looked these days, but quite successful at the time. He was the center of the so-called “Quiet Storm” movement – jazz influenced, sooth vocals – sort of adjacent to Yacht Rock but with a more R&B / smooth jazz base. (There was a “Quiet…
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Duke Ellington, The Intimate Ellington, 1977 on Pablo Records
Recorded in NYC between 1969 and 1971, with a variety of players. Includes “Moon Maiden” with just Ellington singing and accompanying himself on Celeste, and also some great renditions of “I Got It Bad (And That Ain’t Good)” and “Sophisticated Lady” but also some less well known songs. Pablo Records was Norman Granz’s label created…
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Paul Collins’ Beat, The Beat, 1979 on CBS / Columbia
Paul Collins’ Beat was originally just called “The Beat” (as is evident in the artwork) but was renamed Paul Collins’ Beat to avoid confusion with that other “The Beat” (itself renamed to The English Beat in the US). Collins’ legacy includes the Nerves and the Plimsouls, both with Peter Case. Columbia could not use the…
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Butterfield Blues Band, Live, 1970 on Elektra
Paul Butterfield and band (sometimes labelled as The Paul Butterfield Blues Band, here just last name) live at the Troubador in Los Angeles, produced by Todd Rundgren, engineered by Rundgren and Ray Thompson. Great live blues album – Chicago Blues with a horn section and more jazz foundations mixed in. The lineup here does not…
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The Clash, Give ‘Em Enough Rope, 1978 on CBS / Epic
The follow up to the self-titled debut, and the first with Topper Headon on drums. It was actually the first Clash album released in the US – the debut album did not get a US release until 1979. “English Civil War” is a reworking of “Johnny Comes Marching Home” – the rest are all written…
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Kris Kristofferson, The Silver Tongued Devil and I, 1971 on Monument
This was Kristofferson’s second album, following what was originally released as Kristofferson but later retitled Me and Bobby McGee to capitalize on the hit version released on Janis Joplin’s Pearl. This was a more commercially successful release, including one of my favorite Kristofferson songs “Lovin’ Her Was Easier (than Anything I’ll Ever Do Again).” It’s…
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Stephane Grappelli, Uptown Dance, 1978 on Columbia
Only available on vinyl, cassette, and 8-track, Grappelli is joined here by two different bands – one with Jimmy Rowles, Ron Carter, Grady Tate, and Jay Berliner and the other with Richard Tee, Anthony Jackson, Steve Gadd, Hugh McCracken, and Rubens Bassini. For my ears, this album veers at times into easy listening / fusion,…
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ABBA (Björn, Benny, Agnetha & Frida), Waterloo, 1974 on Atlantic
Originally released by Polar in Sweden but by Atlantic in the US, this is the debut album for ABBA, made famous when they won the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest with “Waterloo.” I’m surprised one does not find more ABBA in used record stores – maybe everyone’s holding on to their copies? My copy via Beverly…
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Black Nasty, Talking To The People, 1973 on Enterprise
Enterprise was a sub-label of Stax, and released the early solo work of Isaac Hayes. It is actually named after the Star Trek spaceship – Al Bell was a big fan. Black Nasty cut three singles and an album (this one) for Enterprise before being dropped by the label. Johnnie Mae Matthews, the “Godmother of…
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Dr. John, Desitively Bonnaroo, 1974 on ATCO
Dr. John’s seventh solo LP, Desitively Bonnaroo is the source of the name for the Bonnaroo music festival. It was produced by Allen Toussaint, who is also credited with keyboards, percussion, and backing vocals, and a band including George Porter Jr, Art Neville, Joseph Modeliste, and Leo Nocentelli (aka The Meters). Not sure if Dr.…
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Leo Kottke, Ice Water, 1974 on Capitol
Although he was born in Georgia, I think of Kottke as another Minneapolis folkie. He’s one of the folks who, when I find an album I don’t have, I just buy it without question. He’s also still out touring and well worth seeing if you get a chance. This was his fifth full length on…