Category Archives: Great albums

30 Best live albums countdown: 22 – Kick out the Jams by MC5

March 31, 2013 Hallgeir 3 Comments

MC5-1969-Kick-Out-The-Jams

“And right now, right now, right now it’s time to… kick out the jams, motherfuckers!”

Let’s continue with my countdown of 30 the best live albums ever, at 22 I have MC5‘s ferocious Kick Out The Jams.

I was into punk when I grew up, and not metal. There were two camps in our little town when I grew up. When us punk fans listened to Detroit music, we listened to The Stooges. When the metal kids listened to Detroit music, they listened to Kiss. MC5 were something in the middle, to me they are the ancestors of both punk-and metal music. Their attitude was punk and their riffs were the inspiration of many metal bands. Together with Detroit sparring partners The Stooges, The Motor City Five were truly an anomaly in the peace-and-love hippy climate of 1967.

Kick out the Jams (1970):

And they looked great!
MC5 bare chested

…and the borders between the genres have blurred since my childhood, I now like good music no matter what genre or where it comes from.

On new years eve in 1968, MC5 recorded this earthquake , this thunderstorm, Kick Out The Jams. Not everyone’s new year, but the followers of Zenta, The religion of MC5. To us who have no religin or who has other beliefs and follows the ordinary calendar, it was recorded at the Grande Ballroom in Detroit on the Halloween weekend, 30. and 31. October. It was released in February 1969, through Elektra Records.

I know, they were a special group of people…
MC5 Concert Poster

MC5 was formed by their time, the Vietnam War and the social changes, this was garage rock with a rage not known to anybody before (and very rarely since). The guitars acted as assault weapons in their war against conformity.

John Sinclair (poet) was instrumental in leading the MC5 into creating the soundtrack for the new party The White Panther Party, which had the fitting slogan: “Rock’n Roll, dope and fucking in the streets”.

Video where John Sinclair is reading the liner notes from the album:

This was danger caught on vinyl!
Continue reading 30 Best live albums countdown: 22 – Kick out the Jams by MC5 →

Great albums, Music Calendar

Today: Led Zeppelin’s “Houses of the Holy” was released in 1973 – 40 years ago

March 28, 2013 Egil

The epic scale suited Zeppelin: They had the largest crowds, the loudest rock songs, the most groupies, the fullest manes of hair. Eventually excess would turn into bombast, but on Houses, it still provided inspiration.
~Gavin Edwards (rollingstone.com)

#1 – The Song Remains The Same

Wikipedia

Released	28 March 1973
Recorded	January–August 1972, Stargrovesand Headley Grange with the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio, and Island Studios, London; Mixed at Olympic Studios, London and Electric Lady Studios, New York
Genre	Hard rock, heavy metal
Length	40:58
Language	English
Label	Atlantic
Producer	Jimmy Page

Houses of the Holy is the fifth studio album by English rock band Led Zeppelin, released by Atlantic Records on 28 March 1973. It is the first Led Zeppelin album composed of entirely original material, and represents a musical turning point for the band, who had begun to record songs with more layering and production techniques.

During the sessions, Led Zeppelin also recorded a song named “Houses of the Holy”, and planned to make it the album’s title track. However, the band eventually decided that it didn’t fit in, and the song was instead released on their next album, Physical Graffiti.

Houses of the Holy was certified 11× Platinum by the RIAA
In 2012, it was ranked number 148 on Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.

But side two begins with two amazing, well, dance tracks–the transmogrified shuffle is actually called “Dancing Days,” while “D’Yer Mak’er” is a reggae, or “reggae”
~Robert Christgau (http://www.robertchristgau.com)

#5 – Dancing Days

Album Sleeve Design

The cover art for Houses of the Holy was inspired by the ending of Arthur C. Clarke’s novel Childhood’s End, which involves several hundred million naked children, only slightly and physically resembling the human race in basic forms. The cover is a collage of several photographs which were taken at the Giant’s Causeway, Northern Ireland, by Aubrey Powell of Hipgnosis. This location was chosen ahead of an alternative one in Peru which was being considered.

Giant’s Causeway, Northern Ireland

Critical reaction

Upon its release, the album received some mixed reviews, with much criticism from the music press being directed at the off-beat nature of tracks such as “The Crunge” and “D’yer Mak’er”. However, the album was very successful commercially, entering the UK chart at number one, while in America its 39-week run (2 of them spent at number one) on the Billboard Top 40 was their longest since their third album.

#2 – The Rain Song

Full album on youtube:

Other March-28:

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Beatles, Great albums, Music Calendar

Today: Bringing It All Back Home (48) & Please Please Me (50)

March 22, 2013 Egil 1 Comment

“Bringing It All Back Home” is not included in the “Music Calendar post” … It has a separate post (part of the “Bob Dylan Albums” series):

Bob Dylan – Bringing It All Back Home

..now let’s focus on The Beatles debut album..“Please Please Me” released 50 years ago today!

….they were a group with the luck to meet opportunities, the wit to recognize them, the drive to seize them, and the talent to fullfil them. Please Please Me is the sound of them doing all four.
~Tom Ewing (pitchfork.com)

#1 – I Saw Her Standing There

Wikipedia:

Released	22 March 1963
Recorded	11 February 1963, EMI Studios, London
Genre	Rock and roll, pop
Length	32:45
Label	Parlophone
Producer	George Martin

Please Please Me is the debut album by the English rock band the Beatles. Parlophone rush-released the album on 22 March 1963 in the United Kingdom to capitalise on the success of singles “Please Please Me” (No. 1 on most lists but only No. 2 on Record Retailer) and “Love Me Do” (No. 17).

Of the album’s fourteen songs, eight were written by Lennon–McCartney (originally credited “McCartney–Lennon”), early evidence of what Rolling Stone later called “[their invention of] the idea of the self-contained rock band, writing their own hits and playing their own instruments”. In 2012, Please Please Me was voted 39th on Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the “500 Greatest Albums of All Time”.

…It’s a blueprint of everything the Beatles would ever do, mixing up doo-wop, country, R&B, girl groups, Chuck Berry, Buddy Holly, Little Richard, and Tin Pan Alley into their own exuberant sound. John and Paul sang the openhearted originals “Ask Me Why,” “There’s a Place,” and “I Saw Her Standing There.” Ringo shouted, “All right, George!” in his gender-flipped cover of the Shirelles’ ultrafemme “Boys.” All four Beatles sang and played with total emotional urgency, holding nothing back, knowing their first shot at getting out of Liverpool could have been their last. You can hear John completely blow out his voice in the last track, “Twist and Shout.”
~Rollingstone.com

#7 – Please Please Me

Recording

In order for the album to contain fourteen songs (the norm for British 12″ vinyl pop albums at that time was to have seven songs on each side, while American albums usually had only five or six songs per side) ten more tracks were needed to add to the four sides of their first two singles recorded and released previously. Therefore, at 10:00 am on Monday, 11 February 1963, the Beatles and George Martin started recording what was essentially their live act in 1963, and finished 585 minutes later (9 hours and 45 minutes). In three sessions that day (each lasting approximately three hours) they produced an authentic representation of the band’s Cavern Club-era sound, as there were very few overdubs and edits. Optimistically, only two sessions were originally booked by Martin—the evening session was added later.

The day ended with a cover of “Twist and Shout”, which had to be recorded last because John Lennon had a particularly bad cold and Martin feared the throat-shredding vocal would ruin Lennon’s voice for the day. This performance, captured on the first take, prompted Martin to say: “I don’t know how they do it. We’ve been recording all day but the longer we go on the better they get.”

#14 – Twist and Shout

Track Listing

All songs written by McCartney–Lennon, except where noted.

Side One

“I Saw Her Standing There”
“Misery”
“Anna (Go to Him)” (Arthur Alexander)
“Chains” (Gerry Goffin, Carole King)
“Boys” (Luther Dixon, Wes Farrell)
“Ask Me Why”
“Please Please Me”

Side two

“Love Me Do”
“P.S. I Love You”
“Baby It’s You” (Mack David, Barney Williams, Burt Bacharach)
“Do You Want to Know a Secret”
“A Taste of Honey” (Bobby Scott, Ric Marlow)
“There’s a Place”
“Twist and Shout” (Phil Medley, Bert Russell)

Personnel

According to Mark Lewisohn:

The Beatles

John Lennon – lead vocals, background vocals, rhythm guitar, acoustic guitar, harmonica, hand claps
Paul McCartney – lead vocals, background vocals, bass guitar, hand claps
George Harrison – background vocals, lead vocals on “Chains” and “Do You Want to Know a Secret”, lead guitar, acoustic guitar, hand claps
Ringo Starr – drums, tambourine, maracas, hand claps, lead vocals on “Boys”

Additional musicians and production

George Martin – producer, mixer, additional arrangements, piano on “Misery”, celesta on “Baby It’s You”
Norman Smith – audio engineer, mixer
Andy White – drums on “Love Me Do” and “P.S. I Love You”

Reception

Please Please Me hit the top of the UK album charts in May 1963 and remained there for thirty weeks before being replaced by With The Beatles. This was surprising because the UK album charts at the time tended to be dominated by film soundtracks and easy listening vocalists.
In 2012, Please Please Me was voted 39th on Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the “500 Greatest Albums of All Time”. It was ranked first among the Beatles’ early albums, and sixth of all of the Beatles’ albums, with Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, Revolver,Rubber Soul, The Beatles (The White Album) and Abbey Road ranked higher.
Rolling Stone also placed two songs from the album on its list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time: No. 139, “I Saw Her Standing There”, and No. 184, “Please Please Me”.
According to Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic, “Decades after its release, the album still sounds fresh”, the covers are “impressive” and the originals “astonishing“.

Full album (UK Mono) from youtube:

Other MAR-22:

Continue reading Today: Bringing It All Back Home (48) & Please Please Me (50) →

Classic Concert, Great albums, Great Concert, List, Live, Soul

30 Best live albums countdown: 23 – One night stand Live at the Harlem Square Club 1963 by Sam Cooke

March 15, 2013 Hallgeir 4 Comments

Sam Cooke Harlem 1

Sam Cooke was one the first to blend gospel music and secular music, the early foundation of soul music. He was the opposite of Elvis: He was a black performer who appealed to a white audience, who wrote his own songs and who controlled his own business.

On Jan. 12, 1963, Sam Cooke was not playing to the white audiences who knew him only from his earlier records. He was headlining a few concerts at Miami’s Harlem Square Club, he performed for black audiences who appreciated his roots and expected a grittier, more soulful Sam Cooke, which isexcactly what they got! It is indeed a rougher, rawer and more immediate side of Sam Cooke on display. Sam Cooke’s smooth voice sets the tone but it’s his abillities as an entertainer in world class form that take it to the top.

Sam Cooke Recording at RCA Studios

Cooke was energized by a recent tour of Europe with former labelmate Little Richard, when he took the stage at the Harlem Square Club in Miami. He gave us an electrifying set of sweaty, sanctified, manic and masterful soul music. The show was taped for an album which sat on the shelf for twenty years until it was released in 1985.

It is a fantastic recording and maybe it shows us what direction Mr. Cooke could have gone. But instead he got an eighteen month period which would see his baby son die, see the recording of some of his finest music, and then his all too early death.

One night stand! Live At The Harlem Square Club is one of the finest live releases I know of, worthy of standing next to James Brown’s landmark Apollo Theater date (recorded just a month earlier) and also worthy of the 23rd place on my list of the 30 best live albums.

samcookepic

It is one of the great moments in the history of soul music, heck, any kind of music!

Rolling Stone Magazine ranked it at 443 on their 500 Greatest Albums of All Time:

Cooke was elegance personified, but he works this Florida club until it’s hotter than hell, while sounding like he never breaks a sweat. He croons “For Sentimental Reasons” like a superlover, and when the crowd sings along with him, it’s magic.

Peter Guralnick (in his book Dream Boogie: The Triumph of Sam Cooke):

There was nothing soft, measured or polite about the Sam Cooke you saw at the Harlem Square Club; there was none of the self-effacing, mannerable, ‘fair-haired little colored boy’ that the white man was always looking for. This was Sam Cooke undisguised, charmingly self-assured, “he had his crowd,” said [guitarist] Clif White approvingly – he was as proud as he has been raised to be, not about to take any scraps from the white man’s table.

For me the difference from his studio work and this live album is clearest on Chain Gang. Listen to the two songs from the two minute mark, strike that, listen to the whole song. Both versions are great but the live version is raw, fantastic distillation of Soul! The way he switches from smooth, velvety voice into a gritty rasp, it is amazing, what an “instrument” he had.

Chain Gang:

All the songs are darker, more raw, more sexual. Cooke is twisting the audience around his finger and he sounds like a man who has earthly desires to attend to. It is raw soul, and I never thought I should say that about Sam Cooke!
Continue reading 30 Best live albums countdown: 23 – One night stand Live at the Harlem Square Club 1963 by Sam Cooke →

Classic Concert, Funk, Great albums, James Brown, List, Live

30 Best live albums countdown: 24 – Live at the Apollo by James Brown

March 12, 2013 Hallgeir 1 Comment

“When I’m on stage, I’m trying to do one thing: bring people joy. Just like church does. People don’t go to church to find trouble, they go there to lose it.”
– James Brown

“Our whole thing was based on James Brown. We listened to Live at the Apollo endlessly on acid. We would listen to that in the van in the early days of 8-tracks on the way to the gigs to get us up for the gig. If you played in a band in Detroit in the days before The MC5, everybody did ‘Please, Please, Please’ and ‘I Go Crazy.’ These were standards. We modeled The MC5’s performance on those records. Everything we did was on a gut level about sweat and energy. It was anti-refinement. That’s what we were consciously going for.”
– Wayne Cramer, MC5

One of the best live albums in music history, James Brown – Live at the Apollo was recorded october 24 in 1962.

My favourite moment: The whole horn infused “Think” that borrows heavily from jazz legend Charlie Parker in the way Brown scats over the band with the crowd participating enthusiastically. Not remotely like the studio versions and terribly good!

Lost Someone (audio):

Before the release of the classical and hugely influential ‘Live At The Apollo’ in 1962, James Brown was something of an unknown quantity outside of the R&B charts of the US south. Staying on the pop charts for 14 months, and peaking at #2, it’s a demonstration of Brown’s self-belief that he (himself!) had financed and released the recording when his label saw no sense in releasing a live album that featured no new material. Brown went on to record several more albums at the Apollo over the course of his career, including 1968’s Live at the Apollo, Vol. II (King), 1971’s Revolution of the Mind: Recorded Live at the Apollo, Vol. III(Polydor) and Live at the Apollo 1995 (Scotti Bros.).

Night Train (not the Apollo show but a great video clip from The T.A.M.I. Tv-show!):

Continue reading 30 Best live albums countdown: 24 – Live at the Apollo by James Brown →

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