Little Games

The Yardbirds - "Little Games" (1967) - Sundazed

Hello Friends,

We're listening to this great 180-gram vinyl reissue of The Yardbirds' fourth and final studio record.

It sounds great on vinyl, especially the Jimmy Page guitar parts!  An overlooked record that sounds closer to something found on Led Zeppelin I rather than on previous Yardbirds releases! 

It's probably best known for its sugary title track and the british invasion minor hit, "Tinker Tailor". 

The instrumental track, "White Summer", would be featured by Jimmy Page at Led Zeppelin concerts throughout the 70's (usually paired as a medley with "Black Mountain Side"). 

"Smile On Me" is a searing rhythm & blues tune.  

Side One's closer "Glimpses" is a cool psychedelic instrumental with some Gregorian chanting thrown in for good measure.  It almost sounds like something to be found on Pink Floyd's More soundtrack or Atom Heart Mother.

Side Two's opener, "Drinking Muddy Water" is another driving blues tune that most closely resembles earlier Yardbirds songs.

"Puzzles" (a bonus track on this LP's release) and "No Excess Baggage" both sound as if they could have been an outtake from The Who Sell Out. 

The old timey sounding "Stealing Stealing", a Gus Cannon cover, is annoying.  As is the original LP's closer, "Little Soldier Boy" and the second bonus track, "I Remember The Night".  It really sucks when a gritty, down-to-earth blues rock band with an ear for melodies and a talent for song-structure gets too creative for their own good and wind up sounding showtuney!

The pensive "Only the Black Rose", penned by singer Keith Relf, again sounds like nothing else in the Yardbirds library, but there's something strange and hypnotic about it.  Its almost like a Bee Thousand-era Guided by Voices tune. 

One might wonder what would have happened if the band stuck around for another album or two.  Unfortunately, it probably would have been an increasingly scattered affair with a lack of structure and focus.  By 1967 everyone in the band seemed to be going in a different direction and, unless you were The Beatles, that usually doesn't make for the greatest results! 

RATING: 4 rich man, poor man, beggar man, thief out of 5

Gimmie Some Truth

Jeff Beck - "Truth" (1968) - Epic Records

Hello Friends,

Jeff Beck's first LP gets a little lost in the shuffle these days, but it is arguably one of the more important blues-rock records to come out of the last 60's.

Not only does it feature some proto-heavy metal blues guitar work by the innovative Beck, but its the first album to feature Rod Stewart on lead vocals.  Produced by legendary Mickie Most (!), with a young Ron Wood on bass(!!) and expert session drummer, Mick Waller, this album will rock your fucking socks off!

Beck left the Yardbirds in 1966, so what better way to kick-off his first solo LP with a hard rock, bluesy rearragement of the Yardbirds' hit, "Shape of Things"?  Not only is Beck's guitar virtuosity on full display, but a young Rod Stewart's prowess when it comes to interpreting a song lyric.  Boy, this guy might have a future in biz!  

The combination of Beck and Stewart breath life into more traditional covers like Bonnie Dobson's "Morning Dew", Willie Dixon's "You Shook Me" & "I Ain't Superstitious", Jerome Kern's "Ol' Man River", and the English instrumental, "Greensleeves".  (Three originals on the album are credited to "Jeffrey Rod"-- which, coincidentally, would also be my porn name!)

The highlight on the record is the instrumental, "Beck's Bolero".  Written by Yardbirder and session man, Jimmy Page, and featuring Beck & Page squaring off on lead guitars, John Paul Jones on bass, Nicky Hopkins on piano and Keith Moon (credited on the sleeve as "You Know Who") on drums.  That's a shitload of talent on one song!

 

Pretty amazing record all around... a must-listen!  And if you can, listen to it the way it was meant to be heard... Loud and On Vinyl! 

RATING: 5 SHAPES OF THINGS TO COME OUT OF 5

Sitting in the stand of the sports arena, waiting for the show to begin...

Wings - "Venus & Mars" (1975) - Capitol Records

Hello Friends,

We've got a bit of British Fever with the 2012 Olympics going on in London right now, so we're drinking warm pints and playing darts while listening to a little Wings on the turntable tonight!

Recorded in New Orleans, Venus & Mars is the fourth album by Wings.  Its not as good as its predecessor-- Band on the Run-- but much better than its follow-up-- Wings at the Speed of Sound. 

Setting the mood is the lo-fi opener, "Venus & Mars"; an acoustic, minute-long song about the anticipation in the audience before a rock concert begins.  This blends right into the raucous and aptly-titled "Rock Show" (best lyric: "It looks a lot like the one used by Jimmy Page / It's like a relic from a different age").      

Next up is the pretty-- and criminally underrated-- ballad, "Love in Song" featuring some fantastic McCartney melodies.  This might be the best song on the entire album! 

"You Gave Me the Answer" is an old-timey, show tuney-thing and "Magneto & Titanium Man" is a fun tribute to some of McCartney's favorite Marvel comic characters.  Side One ends with the bluesy, soulful "Letting Go", featuring some very New Orleans-style horns.  

Side Two starts out a little on the proggy-side of things.  There's a reprise of "Venus & Mars", except this time the lyrics are about boarding a starship and going away on a "strange vacation."  Sticking with the prog-inspired theme, next up is "Spirits of Ancient Egypt" with ex-Moody Blue, Denny Laine, on lead vocals. 

Venus & Mars is the first Wings album to feature British guitarist, Jimmy McCulloch.  Not only does he contribute some great bluesy leads, but he writes and sings the drug-addled, "Medicine Jar" (Sample lyric: There's more to life than blues and reds / I know how you feel, now your friends are dead.)  McCulloch sounds like a cross between John Lennon & Ace Frehley;  it sort of makes me wish that he and McCartney collaborated on more tunes together!  (McCulloch would die of a Heroin overdose in '79.)

Paul is back on lead vocals for "Call Me Back Again"-- an incredibly soulful tune that features some of McCartney's strongest vocals since his days as a Beatle.  What a showstopper!   

Oh Darling! If the album had only ended there it would near perfect!  Instead, the over-produced, slick-sounding hit "Listen to What the Man Said" sticks out like a sore thumb.  If I wasn't drunk right now, I'd pick the needle up and skip right over this song!  Enough with the sax solo!

The album ends on a nice, redeeming nostalgic note with "Treat Her Gently/Lonely Old People".  Venus and Mars are alright tonight, indeed!

RATING: 4.5 glasses of strawberry wine* out of 5

(* yuck!) 

click thru for the first three songs from Wings 1976 concert film, Rockshow...

Prog Rock Saturday: Shades of Deep Purple

Deep Purple - "Shades of Deep Purple" (1968) - Tetragrammaton

Hello friends and welcome to another installment of Prog Rock Saturday!

We're enjoying this midsummer's weather with a few cool cocktails and the sounds of Deep Purple's debut LP.

Now don't get your wizard hats all in a bunch!  Shades of Deep Purple definitely qualifies as an early example of prog-rock.  With long jam-filled songs and a big emphasis on classically-inspired organ, Deep Purple started out as an English proggy-psychedelic band in 1968 and, rather wisely, evolved into a more hard rock outfit by the early 70's.  Plus, founding member and organist, Jon Lord passed away this week at the age of 71 after a bout with pancreatic cancer.  So hush up and enjoy a killer of a debut album!

The LP opens with the bluesy instrumental, "And the Address", which sets the tone for the rest of the album which might be described as "Cream meets the Hammond Organ!" 

Next is the band's earliest hit, the classic, "Hush".  With its howling wolf intro, killer organ solo and lyrics about an extremely obsessed ex-boyfriend, "Hush" helped put this quintet on the map and, to this day, remains a classic of late 60's British rock. 

"One More Rainy Day" is a melodic, yet heavy ballad that sounds not too different from early Zeppelin (think: "Your Time is Gonna Come", also from '68!)       

Side One concludes with a monster Hammond organ solo-- a heavy interpretation of Rimsky-Korsakov's Scheherezade-- that morphs into the Skip James song, "I'm So Glad" (previously covered by the aforementioned, Cream, on their debut LP, Fresh Cream.

Named for a hallucinogenic plant that is often used in witchcraft and demon conjuring spells, Side Two opens with the Ritchie Blackmore-penned, "Mandrake Root".  In fact, their six minute cover of The Beatles' "Help"-- which follows-- sounds slowed and stoned as if recorded under the influence of a little Mandragora officinarum!  

Following "Help" is a driving, trippy little tune called, "Love Help Me".  

The last song on the album begins with a Bolero-style dueling guitar/Hammond B-3 organ intro (which as Tiki T. points out, reminds her of the Patti Page song "Conquest", also covered by the White Stripes!)  The bolero breaks and a heavy cover of the garage rock standard, "Hey Joe" closes out the album.  Great, great version of the song to close out one of rock & roll's greatest debut albums!

Here's an awesome video of the band performing "Hush" on "Playboy After Dark" in 1969...

  
  
RATING: 4.5 Dancing Playmates out of a possible 5
       

Singing in the Sunshine, Laughing in the Rain

Led Zeppelin - "Houses of the Holy" (1973) - Atlantic Records

Holy shit kids!  Summer is here and you know what that means!?!?!  Let's crack some beers, conjure up some demons and listen to Led Zeppelin's Houses of the Holy.

Is there any better way to kick off a long, hot summer than with Led Zep's fifth album?  If there is, we'd like to know!  

There's a ton of references to summer, and weather in general, on this album.  Its like an ode to meteorology!  Like Robert Plant croons in "The Rain Song":  "It is the summer of my smiles / flee from me Keepers of the Gloom..."  Ummm... our thoughts exactly!  

With the galloping, epic opening number-- "The Song Remains the Same"-- we're off to a great start!  One of the band's best tunes!  It sets the table for what we're in store for: some "California sunlight" & "Sweet Calcutta rain."   

Next we're going to chill out a little bit with the aforementioned, acousticy "Rain Song" and the quiet-loud-quiet of "Over the Hills and Far Away".  Side one closes with the synthy funk of "The Crunge" (hey, they can't all be classics!) 

Side Two is home to the upbeat "Dancing Days" and the reggae-influenced, "D'yer Mak'er"-- two FM radio staples.  Then there's the weirdly atmospheric "No Quarter".  With mystical lyrics about "The winds of Thor" and "Dogs of Doom", the song could be the soundtrack for Game of Thrones.   

The album concludes with rollicking "The Ocean"-- a song dedicated to Led Zep's growing legion of fans-- features a great riff, some bruising drums and a doo-wop inspired coda!      

Fun Fact: The iconic & controversial album cover for Houses of the Holy-- portraying pink-hued, naked blond children climbing some sort of apocalyptic landscape was inspired by the mutant children appearing at the end of Arthur C. Clarke's science fiction novel, Childhood's End (1953).    

The song remains the same, indeed!

RATING: 4.5 Jokes about Jamaica out of 5

(Passed) Out on the Tiles

Hats off to Ned for an outstanding review of Led Zep III! Surely a solid record that has stood the test of time.

Another thing I like about Zep III is its cocktail versatility!

Listening to "The Immigrant Song" may put you in the mood for potent Scandinavian-style shooters of vodka or Akvavit (these selections would pair nicely with pickled herring, smoked fish or freshly killed boar).

But as the record shifts to mellower tones, a lingering cocktail will go nicely. Try a gin martini or vodka with a twist (perhaps a tangerine twist?).

You can also skip the fanfare and enjoy a bottle of sturdy mid priced Bordeaux. Pouring wine into a goblet is preferred for possible demon conjuring later on in the night! Next week: How to wash those stubborn chalk pentagrams out of the carpet!

XO,
Tiki T.

Time to get the Led out!

Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin III (1970)

Hello friends!

Is there any doubt that Led Zeppelin III is the best Led Zeppelin LP? 

Its smack in the middle of a string of five albums that form a "murderer's row" of classic FM rock.

Also, is there a human alive who doesn't get pumped when hearing those opening lines from the lead-off, "Immigrant Song"?  To this day, whenever I hear it, I want to dress like a Viking, navigate across a frozen tundra and kill a wild boar with my bare hands. 

"Ah... Aaaaaaahaaaah... Ah!"
"Ah... Aaaaaaahaaaah... Ah!"

But its the ballad-y, acoustic numbers that makes me feel that Led Zep III has probably stood the tests of time better than any of their other LPs.   Not to mention there's some really fine Jimmy Page guitar-playing, especially on the C-minor blues, "Since I've Been Loving You" and the rawking "Celebration Day".

Plus, the original record has a spinny wheel thing that changes the images on the front cover.  This is a lot of fun for like five minutes.

RATING: 5 hammers of the gods out of a possible 5