What Are You Listening To?

[CRAZY-HORSE]

I think your comments about the Knopfler album sum him up over his whole career...subtle but vital!

[Jerome]

The man's a magician.

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the way I read your Oldfield posts through the years, his material seems to be hit or miss...would that be a fair assessment Jerome???

Yes, some albums are brilliant and some are terrible. And then there are some albums that have a mix of those two on the same album.

[CRAZY-HORSE]

I guess most artists with longevity do at times suffer the same fate with their music,
as McCartney once said "theres some albums I shouldn't have released (on looking back), but they felt right at the time"

Neil Young is the same Jerome....some brilliant, some aweful, and some a mix of the two on the same album, you just don't know what youre going to get from one album to the next.

[Ruby]

RAMASES – Space Hymns




 
One those freebies. Unfortunately, my copy has a regular envelope cover and not the six panel foldout which would have been nice, since it’s a rather magnificent example of Roger Dean’s artwork – the steeple of a church blasting off like a rocket. But I am not complaining!
 
Once upon a time there lived a man named Kimberley Barrington Frost who believed himself to be a reincarnation of the great Pharaoh, Rameses, tasked with bringing a message to mankind through music. Not entirely sure why he changed the spelling of the name for himself – received wisdom, I guess! He made two albums – this one, in 1971, and Glass Top Coffin, in 1975. Space Hymns lists among its personnel all the members of the soon to be 10cc plus Martin Raphael who played the sitar, and Ramases’s wife, now named Selket (as opposed to Dorothy), who also sings and co-wrote some of the songs. As far as I can tell, she is still with us.
 
This is what it says on the back of the cover:
 
“This album is dedicated to the earth people who are unusual because they have begun to pause, look back, and wonder where they have come from and why, and where they are going to!
The earth is a living thing just as we are and has a soul as we do.
You look at the heavens through a telescope. Reverse the telescope and you have a microscope through which (if powerful enough), you would see almost the same sight. (Electrons in orbit around their stars.) “In my father’s house there are many mansions” (The Bible)
We are most probably existing on a molecule inside the material of, perhaps, a living thing in the next size up.
The rocket ship shape of churches probably dates back to Moses’s visit to speak to God on the mountain and what he saw there.”
 
Psychedelic rock of the prog persuasion - the music is (in parts) as compelling and mysterious as the (possibly quite confused) character behind its creation whose life and death appear to be shrouded in misinformation and/or a complete dearth thereof. Unsurprisingly, there is talk of mental illness.  Anyway …

The first track from Side 2 – “Earth People” … https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wj1ijRZvPX4

And the lead track – “Life Child” 

[Ruby]

I’ve been listening to Shawn Phillips over the past few days – Faces, primarily, but woke up today to a fantastic earworm from Rumplestiltskin’s Resolve – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wy0WdvlVU8E
 
Then I looked for clips from Faces on YT which are few and far between – the whole album is here … https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQNYUSPhW4I
 
This is “We” from Faces … https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fz4DCLsRp4I
 
And this is the very beautiful “L Ballade” from Contribution and which is also on Faces, just a more orchestrated version … not sure which I prefer – might be this one … (Next up, Second Contribution, which I haven't listened to in a looong while.) 

[Jerome]

RAMASES – Space Hymns




 
One those freebies. Unfortunately, my copy has a regular envelope cover and not the six panel foldout which would have been nice, since it’s a rather magnificent example of Roger Dean’s artwork – the steeple of a church blasting off like a rocket. But I am not complaining!
 
Once upon a time there lived a man named Kimberley Barrington Frost who believed himself to be a reincarnation of the great Pharaoh, Rameses, tasked with bringing a message to mankind through music. Not entirely sure why he changed the spelling of the name for himself – received wisdom, I guess! He made two albums – this one, in 1971, and Glass Top Coffin, in 1975. Space Hymns lists among its personnel all the members of the soon to be 10cc plus Martin Raphael who played the sitar, and Ramases’s wife, now named Selket (as opposed to Dorothy), who also sings and co-wrote some of the songs. As far as I can tell, she is still with us.
 
This is what it says on the back of the cover:
 
“This album is dedicated to the earth people who are unusual because they have begun to pause, look back, and wonder where they have come from and why, and where they are going to!
The earth is a living thing just as we are and has a soul as we do.
You look at the heavens through a telescope. Reverse the telescope and you have a microscope through which (if powerful enough), you would see almost the same sight. (Electrons in orbit around their stars.) “In my father’s house there are many mansions” (The Bible)
We are most probably existing on a molecule inside the material of, perhaps, a living thing in the next size up.
The rocket ship shape of churches probably dates back to Moses’s visit to speak to God on the mountain and what he saw there.”
 
Psychedelic rock of the prog persuasion - the music is (in parts) as compelling and mysterious as the (possibly quite confused) character behind its creation whose life and death appear to be shrouded in misinformation and/or a complete dearth thereof. Unsurprisingly, there is talk of mental illness.  Anyway …

The first track from Side 2 – “Earth People” … https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wj1ijRZvPX4

And the lead track – “Life Child” 

Somehow, Dorothy just does not sound like a 'rock star' now does it? LOL..... Listened to Glass Top Coffin quite a bit in my youth trying to figure it out. I never did. A strange outfit indeed.

[Jerome]

Jethro Tull - A Little Light Music. Not bad, but not brilliant either.

[Jerome]

Camel - The Paris Collection - a live album recorded at the Bataclan Theatre in Paris. Some great variations on some of their tracks. I like it - a lot. The liner notes describe the tour in detail. How they managed to get through the tour with all the ups and downs, personnel changes, technical difficulties and medical problems is beyond me. A determined man, Mr Latimer. And kudos to Susan Hoover for refusing to cancel the tour even when she ended up in hospital herself. A Herculean effort by the band.

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The solo during the middle/end of this track just gives me goosebumps every time I hear it. Incredible performance. https://youtu.be/CeH94cBrA64

[Ruby]

^Another one to look out for!

KEATS – Keats


 
Yet another of those vinyls. A project put together, or encouraged by Eric Woolfson and Alan Parsons (who produced). The membership was drawn from the core of the Alan Parsons Project and affiliates, the idea being to allow these musicians to shine on their own, outside of the APP. According to Ian Bairnson, Woolfson was the driving force behind assembling the membership and he also says that while the line-up looked great on paper, and in theory should have worked brilliantly, it was a rather clinical ‘pairing’, and ultimately, there was just no zing. The band name is nothing to do with the romantic poet and everything to do with Woolfson’s favourite restaurant at the time! Bairnson said they were lucky the flavour of the month wasn’t Fat Bob’s Café, or the Bombay Curry Den! Lol! James Marsh (of Talk Talk artwork renown) is responsible for the rather strange cover which I simply cannot fathom – perhaps that is the point. They folded after this one album.

Personnel:

Ian Bairnson – lead guitarist (Pilot, APP, and a lot more session work)
Colin Blunstone – vocalist (the Zombies, APP, solo and more)
David Paton – bass guitarist (Pilot, APP, Camel)
Peter Bardens – keyboards/synths (Them, Camel)
Stuart Elliot – drummer (Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel)
Plus – not credited as a member, but playing a substantial role – Richard Cottle – keys and synths.

I have listened to this before - it’s quite a bit more commercial sounding than the early APP albums and probably a shining example of the AOR/melodic rock of that era. Some catchy melodies, well executed, of course, but hmmmm – a bit bland and lacking in emotion.

Coupla picks …
 
“Tragedy” (primarily for the Spanish guitar solo) … written by Blunstone and Elliot - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQccxLTIqGY
 
“Walking on Ice”, written and sung by David Paton … https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_grjpdLaSU
 
The single “Turn Your Heart Around”, written by Pete Bardens … 

[Jerome]

The Moody Blues - Every Good Boy Deserves Favour. Great listening to this again after so many years.