Issue #30 Extra!: Archives & Reissues
Bedford, David - "The Rime of The Ancient Mariner"
Bedford, David - "The odyssey"
Big Brother & The Holding Company – “Live In San Francisco 1966”
Heart – “Little Queen”
Heart – “Dog & Butterfly”
Heart – “Bebe Le Strange”
Kansas – “Kansas”
Kansas – “Song For America”
Various Artists – “Twentieth Anniversary”
Big Brother & The Holding Company – “Live In San Francisco 1966”
(Varese Sarabande 302 066 344, 2002, CD)
Live In San Francisco 1966 is an early recording by the band, from July 28th, only about six weeks after Janis joined the band. The fourteen songs presented here are loaded with energy, great playing by all, and Joplin’s confident blues persona is already in place, but occasionally things get a little sloppier and rough around the edges than what one might hear on live recordings from ’67 and ’68 (the Live at Winterland 68 set comes to mind). Another minus is the level of very audible tape hiss, although for someone used to listening to ROIOs of live shows from that era, this one is really quite good. This is, in fact the same performance that was released on LP back in 1984 as Cheaper Thrills, although a couple songs have been added: “Oh My Soul” from the same performance, and a version of “Hall Of The Mountain King” recorded in April ’67. In summary, I would recommend this primarily for more for seasoned fans of the band. – Peter Thelen
[Availability: www.bbhc.com]
Various Artists – “Twentieth Anniversary”
(Rykodisc RCD 106552, 2004, 2CD)
It’s surprising that Rykodisc is still around considering that the advent of digital recordings and CDs has now evolved and been relegated to old school. Since it is a year of anniversaries, Rykodisc has combed through their vast back catalogue and served a representative set of tracks and artists that indicate just how innovative the label was when record companies were again too slow to adopt new technologies. This two-disc retrospective is a balanced look at an icon of extremes from Frank Zappa to the Replacements and Yoko Ono’s controversial works to English folk legend Nick Drake.
In the last twenty years Ryko had the foresight to offer David Bowie a non-nonsense deal to remaster his entire back catalogue and issue one of the first boxed sets, (Sound and Vision) which I still have on my shelf that captured the marketplace with the precedent setting of present rare live and demo recordings that not only appealed to collectors but curious newbies. Devo’s herky-jerky cover of the Rolling Stone’s “Satisfaction” (which was a gale of fresh alternative air) stands up well against musical cousins, They Might be Giants if only for originality and quirkiness. In the 90’s the label has been a vanguard for independent artists such as Morphine, Golden Smog, and Soul Asylum all with various degrees of acclaim, recognition (and eventually leading to signing with major labels after Ryko helped get them on the map). There are artists as diverse as UK folk rocker Richard Thompson (1983’s "Tear Stained Letter”) to groove masters Martin, Medeski and Wood’s track “Bubblehouse”. Lastly, let us not forget that Frank Zappa also chose the same label to release his back catalogue (represented on disc two with “Joe’s Garage"). In summary, without Rykodisc pushing major labels into the early digital age, it would have been several more years before CDs replaced LPs and cassettes as the media of choice for music delivery. - Jeff Melton
David Bedford - "The Rime of The Ancient Mariner"
(Virgin Records, CDOVD 443, CD 1975/1994)
I never had the pleasure to hear this album when it was still only available on LP. The transfer
to cd is fine, the noise is not disturbing this time. The subject of the album is the famous
poem from the 19th century romantic poet Samuel Coldridge. Bedford could have gone for
only a musical impression of the poem, but he wanted more. So the whole poem is being
recited by the excellent intonating voice of Robert Powell, and that voice and music proves to be
a winning combination. Bedford has created just the right melodies, themes
and atmospheres to float along the great poem Coldridge created a century and a half ago. Like the poem,
the music is also a masterpiece. We hear that typical unruly minimalistic building of suspense and
uneveness in a way only Bedford can do. Although minimalistic in character, the outcome is more of a
complex brew of piano, organ, bells, guitar and synth which culminates in a grotesque, sometimes medieval,
but ever fascinating soundscape. Even within that framework Bedford does leave room for improvisation.
Oh yes, there's even a children's choir aboard. It's deadly horrific in the uprise of disonant harmony and
strangely beautiful in the ultra soft passages. What more do you want from adventurous music. - Roel Steverink
David Bedford - "The odyssey"
(Virgin Records, CDOVD 444, CD, 1976/1994)
Bedford reached a new high with The odyssey from 1976. It's based upon the
Odyssey which Odysseus undertook in the eponymous titled book from Homer. When you look
at the back of the cd, among the 11 tracks you notice the returning of "Penelope's Shroud".
This returns even four times and seems like practising a scale, but nevertheless is an
impressive bridge. In "The Phaeacian Games" Bedford gets help from Mike Oldfield's
guitar, whose chops are instantly recognizable. In "The Sirens" a string of female choir, whirling
arpeggiator, dark synth background, minimal organ and bright guitar noodling shines through a dissolving
hazy light, which makes this one of the most beautiful tracks Bedford ever composed. His music always
has this strong contrast of clear melodies and odd harmonies, which work wonderfully well. What makes
this music so tasty are the warm sounds from the mighty Arp 2600 semi-modular Bedford plays.
It's quite amazing to learn that he actually perfomed this work live in the Royal Albert Hall, but not
without the help of 10 keyboard players! One minor flaw is the level of noise Virgin has let slip through,
which can be a bit annoying during soft passages. Definitely something for Reich and Glass admirers,
who also have a fondness for a more symphonic approach. - Roel Steverink
Heart – “Little Queen”
(Epic/Legacy EK85772, 1977/2004, CD)
Heart – “Dog & Butterfly”
(Epic/Legacy EK85771, 1978/2004, CD)
Heart – “Bebe Le Strange”
(Epic/Legacy EK85770, 1980/2004, CD)
Out of the Pacific Northwest, the two rockin’ sisters Ann and Nancy Wilson and their band hit American radios in early ’76 with “Crazy On You” and “Magic Man”, two hits with a sound that combined an obvious Led Zeppelin influence with a strong feminine touch, along with other album cuts displaying folk, pop and country elements. After a protracted tussle with their Canadian record label over an unfinished second album the band didn’t want released, Heart released what are probably the two strongest albums in their canon: Little Queen from 1977 and Dog & Butterfly from a year later. The former’s first side opens with the unabashed rocker “Barracuda”, displaying a muscular fortitude that rivaled any of the male-dominated hard rock bands of the day, but quickly retreats to a gentler acoustic style that presents a completely different side of the band for the folky “Love Alive” and the surreal “Sylvan Song” and “Dream of the Archer”, highlighting Nancy Wilson’s instrumental abilities on guitar and mandolin, before bouncing back with the hard rocking “Kick It Out”; all taken, this first side of Little Queen is probably Heart’s finest moment. The remainder of the album is more a mix of styles, with the dual-mandolin driven vocal tune “Say Hello” being the highlight. Among the bonus tracks on this release is a live tribute to their heroes in their most famous song: “Stairway To Heaven”.
Dog & Butterfly kicks off with a ballsy live rocker “Cook With Fire”, switching to studio mode for the remainder of the side. All of the albums rockier material like the funky “Hijinx” and “Straight On” inhabit the first side, although much of it is a bit more subdued than earlier more Zep influenced hard rock efforts. The second side features the more soft, folky and acoustic numbers like the hauntingly beautiful title track, and the appropriately titled ballad “Lighter Touch”, which actually kicks up and rocks a bit. “Nada One” begins quietly on acoustic guitar and piano with light orchestration, evolving into a distinctively styled light rock tune, while “Mistral Wind” takes that idea to even further extremes, beginning with Ann Wilson’s breathy vocal delivery over an acoustic guitar bed, eventually giving way to the aggressive delivery befitting this powerful and dynamic rock epic. The three bonus tracks include an excellent live take of “Heartless”, the hit from their unfinished – then finally released second album Magazine. Two years later, Bebe Le Strange takes a more streamlined back to basics approach, with the evident influence of the new wave sound on tracks like “Break” and “Strange Night”. The title track and “Even It Up” are the strongest rockers, outdoing anything on its predecessor, but what makes this one less than satisfying as a whole is the near absence of the acoustic numbers that made the previous two albums so balanced and unique. Most readers are probably familiar with these, but there you have it; start with Little Queen, forget the Bebe. – Peter Thelen
Kansas – “Kansas”
(Epic/ Legacy EK 92577 1974/2004)
Kansas – “Song For America”
(Epic/ Legacy EK 86610 1975/2004, CD)
Kansas’ first two albums contain some of the group’s best material and show a band on the way up in their formative years. Commercial success for the band would not arrive until two albums later when “Carry On Wayward Son” became the first of several radio mainstays for the group. Kansas was in top writing and playing form during these early years. This is certainly due at least in part to the incessant touring schedule the band maintained back then. Some reports have stated the band performed about 250 live shows during 1975 alone! Steve Walsh is mostly known as the high-pitched vocalist for the band, but on these early albums he shows his impressive keyboard skills too. His tasteful Hammond organ parts in “Bringing It Back” and “Incomudro” are excellent. “Journey From Mariabronn” from Kansas and the title track from Song For America are definitely two of the band’s best songs. Both tracks contain all the elements that made Kansas a great band – well-orchestrated guitar, synth, and violin sections, Walsh and Robby Steinhardt’s contrasting-yet-complementary vocals, and strong melodies. These remastered / revamped releases coincide with the 30th anniversary of the band’s debut album and are far superior in sound quality compared to the original CD releases.
Kansas was a band that recorded essentially all the material they had for each of their albums. Unfortunately for the fans, this means there aren’t many unreleased “lost classic” tracks that were recorded, but never released. However, the good news is that the band’s real forte was playing live and they fortunately recorded many of their concerts over the years. It’s only natural that the group would include some of these period live gems as bonus tracks on their reissues. On Kansas, the bonus offering is an extended live version “Bringing It Back” with expanded alternating organ and violin solo sections that’s twice as long as its studio counterpart. A high-energy live rendition of “Down The Road” and a hacked down version of the title track are the bonus tunes on Song For America. These bonus tracks give a glimpse of how good of a live band Kansas really was. Hopefully, the band will someday release a complete live performance from this early period in their history. – Mike Grimes