Vinyl In The Valley

Tuesday, March 31, 2015

Built To Spill - Living Zoo (2015)

Good to know that these guys are still at it!

Idaho's pride & joy!

Friday, March 27, 2015

The Dictators - "Search And Destroy" (1977)

Hello Friends,

Its almost the weekend and we feel like street walkin' cheetahs with hearts full of naplam!

Time to break things!

Enjoy this live clip featuring Handsome Dick Manitoba in his prime!

Tuesday, March 24, 2015

Alice Cooper - "Is It My Body" (1971)

Hey Kids... This is the Alice Cooper band in their prime!

Sleazy, scummy, down & dirty rock & roll!

They don't make 'em like this anymore!

Sunday, March 22, 2015

Pass the Sausage... its a Sunday Jazz Brunch!

Jack Teagarden - "Jazz Maverick!" (1960) - Roulette Records

Hello Friends,

Its Sunday Jazz Brunch time on Vinyl in the Valley and we need some coffee, some French Toast and some breakfast links to help soak up the ample quantities of booze we drowned ourselves with last night.

On the turntable, we got a great record by Mr. Jack Teagarden aka "The Father of Jazz Trombone". Jazz Maverick is the perfect soundtrack record for an early Spring Sunday Brunch/hangover cure; its bright and upbeat without being too manic-sounding or overly complex.

A self-taught jazz trombonist originally from the Texas panhandle, Teagarden eventually made his way to New York and, later, Chicago playing with a who's who of jazzmen along the way including Glenn Miller, Paul Whiteman, Benny Goodman, Bix Beiderbecke and, perhaps most famously, Louis Armstong. (Some of his best work was done as a member of Armstrong's All Stars from 1946 to 1951; their duet of "Rockin' Chair" is always worth a listen!)

An all-time great, Teagarden would be best remembered for his blues-influenced, ethereal-sounding, slightly-behind-the-beat trombone playing. And his gravelly, world-weary tenor would complement his trombone playing perfectly. Not bad for a white guy!

This record would sadly be one of his last recordings as he would die of a heart attack in January of 1964, age 58. Its a first rate recording, opting for a more a throwback/traditional swing sound rather than the bebop that had all the hipster's hopped up!

Side One contains the upbeat "Ever Lovin' Baby", "Riverboat Shuffle", a breakneck version of "High Society" and the pretty ballads, "Aunt Hager's Country Home" & "Blue Dawn".

Side Two kicks off with "Roundtable Romp" and a pensive version of Fat Waller's "Ain't 'Cha Glad". Perhaps the album's best track is Teagarden's take on the melancholy standard, "A Hundred Years From Today" with heartbreaking lyrics like: "The Moon is shining and that's a good sign / Cling to me closer and say you'll be mine / Remember darling, we won't see it shine / A hundred years from today." F'ing Great!

(A "hundred years from today" is when it feels like my hangover will be going away! Know when to say when, kids!)

The side and record closes out with a fantastic update on The New Orleans Rhythm Kings' 1923 classic, "Tin Roof Blues". Great record from start to finish, not a stinker in the bunch!

Now pass the syrup!

RATING: 4 its always Spring and music is the thing 'round Aunt Hager's Country Home out of 5

Thursday, March 19, 2015

Neil Young's Second Record aka Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere

Neil Young and Crazy Horse - "Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere" (1969) - Reprise

Hello Friends,

We've got a true classic on the turntable tonight, Neil Young's remarkable sophomore LP, Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere.

Now Tiki T. and I are pretty big fans of Neil's self-titled debut record (review here), but he really ups the ante here. It would be his first full collaboration with Crazy Horse

And it sounds so fucking perfect on scratchy vinyl.

Opening with one of Neil's signature songs, as well as one of Classic Rock's greatest riffs, the punkish, "Cinnamon Girl."

Next up is the sublime title track which, according to YouTube, a lot of military guys and gals like listening to while stationed overseas.

Onto side two.

Few can do lonely as well as Mr. Young can and "The Losing End (When You're On)" is no exception.

"Running Dry (Requiem for the Rockets)" is another quiet & acoustic song featuring some great fiddle work courtesy of Bobby Notkoff. The Rockets, by the way, were a psychedelic blues band out of L.A. who released one album in 1968 before changing their name to... Crazy Horse.

Neil Young wrote in the liner notes on his Decade compilation album that this album's closer, "Cowgirl in the Sand" was written (along with "Cinnamon Girl" and "Down By The River") in Topanga, California while he was suffering from the flu and fighting a fever of 103 degrees!

On a related note, the last time I had the "flu" I stayed in bed and watched a marathon of that television show where the adult who played Peter Brady on The Brady Bunch married some hot, young model who liked to be naked all the time.

And by flu, of course I mean the Irish variety...

RATING: 5 gotta get away from this day-to-day running around everybody knows that this is nowhere out of 5