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À Boris Vian A-Reefer-Derci! After the Storm |
American Song-Poem Christmas Analogy Bakersfield Rebels |
BayProg Be Yourself Christmas in Heaven |
City on a Hill Cozy Powell Forever Cyclops Samplers |
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À Boris Vian: On N'est Pas là Pour Se Faire Engueuler! (2009, 120.21) ***/T½ |
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| Collectif: On N'est Pas là pour Se Faire Engueuler Juliette: Complainte du Progrès (les Arts Ménagers) Katerine: Je Bois Christian Olivier: Les Joyeux Bouchers Lio: Natacha Chien-Chien Maurane: Blouse du Dentiste M: Cinématographe Carmen Maria Vega & Merlot: Bourrée de Complexes François Hadji-Lazaro: Fais-Moi Mal, Johnny Olivia Ruiz: La Java des Bombes Atomiques |
Emily Loizeau: Ses Baisers Me Grisaient Mademoiselle K: Quand J'Aurai du Vent dans Mon Crâne Didier Wampas: Rock and Roll-Mops Thomas Fersen: Barcelone Michel Delpech: J'Suis Snob Lambert Wilson: Monsieur le Jazz Rona Hartner: L'âme Slave Dick Annegarn & Mathieu Boogaerts: Faux Frère Juliette Gréco: Le Déserteur Zebda: C'est Ici... |
Arielle Dombasle: J'Suis Snob J.P. Nataf: Ballade du Lapin Carole Bouquet: Terre-Lune Arthur H: Casserole-Sérénade Claire Diterzi: Elle Serait là, Si Lourde Antoine de Caunes: Cantate des Boîtes Daphné: S'il Pleuvait des Larmes Holden: Il est Tard Agnès Jaoui: L'Année à l'Envers Daniel Darc: Pas pour Moi Jeanne Moreau: Que Tu es Impatiente |
Edouard Baer: Je Voudrais Pas Crever Jane Birkin: Bientôt Kent: Les Isles Carla Bruni: Valse des Mannequins Jean Louis Trintignant: Je Mourrai d'un Cancer de la Colonne Vertébrale Barbara Carlotti: La Neige Jean-Claude Dreyfus: La Marche du Concombre |
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Boris Vian (1920-1959) is a French jazz-era icon, musician, composer, writer and academic, not to mention several other disciplines, all in 39 short years. 2009's two-disc À Boris Vian: On N'est Pas là Pour Se Faire Engueuler! tribute set features some of the cream of the current French scene, not least Jane Birkin (OK, she's English), Kent and Carla Bruni (OK, she's Italian, even if she is married to the ex-president). The discs are labelled 'Chansons Probables' and 'Chansons Improbables', respectively, although I'm not sure of the relevance. Many of its solo contributors sing together on the opening title track, including Olivia Ruiz, Mathieu Boogaerts, Barbara Carlotti and Didier Wampas, most of their individual contributions being in period style, although a handful of tracks are given a slightly more contemporary treatment.
Fred Pallem plays (real?) Chamberlin on several tracks, with a lovely string part on Emily Loizeau's Ses Baisers Me Grisaient, background strings on Carole Bouquet's Terre-Lune, a violent string part on Arthur H(igelin)'s Casserole-Sérénade and polyphonic flutes on Agnès Jaoui's L'Année À L'Envers. One for French jazz enthusiasts, I think, although the Chamby work is actually worth hearing.
See: Jane Birkin | Kent | Carla Bruni
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A-Reefer-Derci!: Recorded Live at the Reefer Cabaret, Melbourne (1976, 74.09) ***/½ |
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| Renée Geyer Band: It's a Man's Man's World Split Enz: Amy Lovey Dovey Time for a Change Ayers Rock: Boogie Woogie Waltz Gimme Shelter Ariel: I Can't Say What I Mean Rock'n'Roll Scars |
Captain Matchbox Whoopee Band: Roll That Reefer The Prefect Out in the Suburbs Skyhooks: Revolution Smut Saturday Night |
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A-Reefer-Derci! (ho ho), subtitled 'Recorded Live at the Reefer Cabaret, Melbourne', does exactly what it says on the tin; it's a record (literally) of the last two nights of Melbourne's infamous Reefer Cabaret nights in December '75. The Reefer Cabaret shifted venue a few times, it seems and the police (amazingly) turned a blind eye to the, er, 'recreational activities' to be found within. Going by the sleevenotes, half the club's problems were caused by various organisers/MCs being too stoned to actually function in any significant way, although they seem to have put on some great nights anyway.
Six bands are included on this set, several of which fall into the typically Aussie good time/jamming category, with Ariel finding themselves the halfway stage between Ayers Rock's lengthy jams and the Captain Matchbox Whoopee Band's jug-band style (the Antipodean Mungo Jerry?). The Renee Geyer Band are introduced by a very stoned young South African lady with an impenetrable accent, performing a version of James Brown's It's A Man's Man's World, for some reason, while the biggest band at the time and the night's surprise guests, the Skyhooks (Iron Maiden's Women In Uniform, anyone?) are actually... rather boring? Not sure where their reputation comes from, anyway.
The only relevant band here are the wondrous Split Enz, limited to a paltry three songs, two of which are (loosely) available on the impossible-to-find Oddz And Enz set, along with other rarities; ironically, the missing track is the Mellotron one... Although they're all excellent, the only one of their contributions to concern us is Time For A Change, with a few Mellotron string notes under Eddie Rayner's string synth, making this rather unnecessary for the Mellotron fan, although a 'must-have' for Split Enz aficionados. And, um, please could we have their whole set? Assuming the tapes still exist, of course...
So; you're not going to find this very easily; I stumbled across a copy in a Melbourne second-hand shop, but only because I asked the staff for Split Enz stuff and was pointed in its general direction. Maybe someone will reissue Oddz And Enz properly one day, rather than as either a) part of an enormously expensive box-set or b) a rumour-only release that I couldn't track down in several dozen shops in most major cities across the Antipodes. To be honest, most of A-Reefer-Derci!'s contents have dated badly, but it's an interesting curio, although exceedingly minimal on the Mellotron front.
See: Split Enz
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After the Storm: A Benefit Album for the Survivors of Hurricane Katrina |
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| Kansas: Song for America The Flower Kings: A King's Prayer (alternate) Woodenhead: Buzz Beat (live) Djam Karet: The Shattering Sky Neal Morse: Sleeping Jesus (live) The Muffins: Essay R (alternate) |
Caravan: Love Song With Flute (live) Änglagård: Gånglåt Från Knapptibble Little Atlas: On and on Arjen Anthony Lucassen: Pools of Sorrow/Not Over You (alternate) California Guitar Trio: Zudoko Bushi (live) Pendragon: Sou' By Sou'west |
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The title of 2005's After the Storm: A Benefit Album for the Survivors of Hurricane Katrina tells you everything you need to know. Every one of the twenty-four artists featured on the two-disc set donated their contributions, as you'd expect, many of them being previously-unreleased, or at least otherwise-unavailable live versions, making this a 'must' for completists of many of the featured acts. Highlights (of the full set) include Echolyn's 15 Days, Happy the Man's Ibby It Is, live from earlier that year, Änglagård's Gånglåt Från Knapptibble (which eventually became Skogsranden, on Epilog), which, while not actually unavailable per se, is one of two harder-to-find tracks from their small catalogue, making its inclusion welcome here. Djam Karet's specially-recorded The Shattering Sky, a synth-heavy piece, presumably written and recorded at short notice, New Orleans outfit Woodenhead's fusionesque Buzz Beat and Little Atlas' unexpectedly good On And On aren't too shabby, either. IQ's otherwise-unreleased Chemical Rain? Intriguing, if out of step with the rest of the set. And why not? The less said about Pendragon, though, the better.
As far as previously-unheard Mellotron work goes, Djam Karet's Gayle Ellett plays a couple of string chords on The Shattering Sky, while Änglagård's Gånglåt Från Knapptibble features the strings, choirs and brass familiar to existing fans. Samples on a handful of tracks, too, but who cares? I don't know if, fifteen years on, this is still available, but it's worthwhile for, as I said, completists, not to mention being for a worthy cause.
See: Djam Karet | Änglagård
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The American Song-Poem Christmas: Daddy, is Santa Really Six Foot Four? |
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| Heather Noel: Santa Came on a Nuclear Missile Bobbie Boyle with The Singers: Santa Claus Goes Modern Norris the Troubadour & the Seaboard Coastliners: Christmas Time Philosophy Dick Kent with The Lancelots: A New Year's Dawning The Sisterhood: Rocking Disco Santa Claus Stan Beard & The Swinging Strings: Snowbows Bobbie Boyle with The MSR Singers: Randy, the Lil' Elf |
Rodd Rogers: Maury, the Christmas Mouse Randall Reed with The Forerunners: The Peppermint Stick Man The Sisterhood: Christmas Treat, Peppermint Kay Brown: Daddy, is Santa Really Six Foot Four? Rodd & The Librettos: How Do They Spend Christmas in Heaven The Sisterhood: Ole Year Christmas Gene Marshall: Evelyn Christmas |
Rodd & Nita: Jolly, Jolly Santa Claus Sonny Cash: Merry Christmas Polka Rodd & Judy: Santa Fix My Toys for Christmas The Sisterhood: Baby, it's a Cold Night in December Rod Rogers & The Librettos: Santa Claus Goes Modern Cara Stewart with The Lee Hudson Orchestra: The New Year Song Teri Summers & The Librettos: Season's Greetings |
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I can't imagine many of you out there are still non-conversant with the bizarre 'song-poem' genre, such as it is; anyone at a loss should probably have a quick gander at my Rodd Keith reviews. The American Song-Poem Christmas: Daddy, is Santa Really Six Foot Four? is a 2003 compilation of twenty-one such Christmas-themed horrors from the vaults, some clearly dubbed from scratchy old vinyl, where, the churlish might add, they should probably have stayed. In fairness, some of this stuff's wet-yourself-laughing funny, not least Heather Noel singing Santa Came On A Nuclear Missile and Kay Brown's sort-of title track. Other 'highlights' include the munchkinesque vocal, tracking the regular one, on Randall Reed's The Peppermint Stick Man, The Sisterhood's highly professional-sounding disco moves, clearly from some years later than the bulk of this set and its crowning glory, Rod Rogers (i.e. Rodd Keith)'s slurred, piss-take of Santa Claus Goes Modern, also present in Bobbie Boyle's more 'pro' version. Of course, the level of schmaltz tops even the cheesiest of mainstream Christmas records, the likes of Snowbows (er, what?), Randy, The Lil' Elf, How Do They Spend Christmas In Heaven and the hilariously mawkish Santa Fix My Toys For Christmas exceeding all expectations, while the music sticks largely to a tried-and-trusted '50s/early '60s template of a kind you could still (just about) get away with today (see: Cliff Richard).
Our old pal Rodd Keith turns up, of course, as does the lesser-known Gene Marshall, although it's difficult to tell how many tracks may feature them, other than those for which they're explicitly credited. I'd imagine that's Keith playing Chamberlin strings on two Bobbie Boyle numbers, Santa Claus Goes Modern and Randy, The Lil' Elf, Dick Kent (Keith?)'s A New Year's Dawning and Stan Beard (also Keith?)'s Snowbows, which adds a clunky flute solo to the mix. Song-poem aficionados will almost certainly already own this fine disc, given that it's been available for over a decade at the time of writing, but how about the rest of us? Are you as sick as myself of the standard seasonal fare? Would you like to drive unwanted relatives from your house over the Christmas period? Do you like the idea of laughing yourself stupid while everyone else watches the Queen's speech? (Sorry, America - UK reference). Then buy a copy of The American Song-Poem Christmas. You really can't go wrong.
See: Rodd Keith | Rod Rogers | Gene Marshall
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Analogy, Volume 2 (2006, 79.58) ***/½ |
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| Rogue Element: Mellowtronthoughts François-Pol Cornec: Tôle Ondulée 4m33s: Sunrise on Cyderia Gert Emmens & Ruud Heij: Velvet Sky Russell Storey: Cosmic Kiwi II part 1 James C Clent: Black Tails |
Craig Padilla: Improbability Drive Kees Aerts: Branch Hopping Zen Paradox: Creation Garden Stephen Parsick: Electromagnetic Create: Reaching Out Altres: Dusktreader |
Russell Storey: Cosmic Kiwi II part 2 Remotion: Sonar Vision Remy: Expectations EM⊃2: Where Two Worlds Meet Ron Boots: Sneak Preview |
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I believe three volumes of Analogy were released, Groove Unlimited's intention being to produce albums of exclusive, original electronic pieces, mixed to sound like one continuous track, recorded using analogue equipment. I wouldn't like to say exactly how 'analogue' the seventeen pieces on Volume 2 actually are, but I can tell you that (wait for it) they all sound a lot like Tangerine Dream. Any genuine originality anywhere? Perhaps Stephen Parsick's clangourous, metallic Electromagnetic and one-time Hawkwind member Ron Boots' Sneak Preview.
Rogue Element kick proceedings off with the only actual Mellotron track on the album, Mellowtronthoughts, with a flute line over what may or may not be Mellotron strings. The duo's Brendan Pollard has reissued the track on Brendan Pollard & More's Collection Volume Two, making Analogy Volume 2 slightly redundant for the Mellotron fan, although the EM crowd (or those who haven't already heard it) will love it.
See: Rogue Element
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Bakersfield Rebels: Late 1960s Gems Featuring Clarence White, The Nashville |
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| Kenny Vernon: Ain't That a Shame Larry Daniels & the Buckshots: Buckshot Dennis Payne: The Conscience of You Rusty Dean: Saturday Satan, Sunday Saint The Dudes: Let's Not Pretend Anymore The Gosdin Brothers: There Must Be a Someone (I Can Turn to) Jan Paxton: She's Taken Everything Bakersfield's Big Guitars: Hugh's Brew The Spencers: King & Queen of Fools |
Gary Paxton: Bummer Guilbeau & Parsons: Your Gentle Ways of Loving Me Leo LeBlanc: Hong Kong Hillbilly Dennis Payne: Who Cares What Happens Dee Mize: Just Leave My World Alone Gib & the Reasons: I'll Live Today Gary Paxton: Half as Much Lorene Mercer: Ballad of a Truck Drivers Wife Larry Daniels & the Buckshots: Bakersfield Steed |
The Dudes: What a Relief, it's All Over Jan Paxton: The Half That's Mine Dennis Payne: I'd Rather Live My Life Alone Bakersfield's Big Guitars: El Tejon Ride The Sanland Brothers: Red Roses (for My Baby) The LeGarde Twins: Night Blooming Jasmine Gary Paxton: Bakersfield |
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Gary S. Paxton was a maverick country artist/producer in the '60s, running his Bakersfield International Productions label and studio from an old bank vault in Bakersfield, California, along with his crack team of musicians, including sometime Byrds members Clarence White and Gene Parsons. 2004's Bakersfield Rebels set collates many Bakersfield productions that received either a limited or no release at the time, despite matching (in fact, exceeding) the quality of mainstream Nashville recordings of the era, with the added bonus of a reduction in the general schmaltz factor. Several tracks are actually pretty experimental, particularly within the genre, being dubbed 'progressive country' by some rather optimistic observers. To the uninitiated, it's a reasonable enough set of early country-rock, although only a handful of tracks stand out in any real way. For the aficionado, however, this must be an absolute goldmine, providing a welcome alternative to the kind of schlock that's been labelled 'country' for the last few decades.
As far as I can ascertain, the label probably owned a Chamberlin (a Mellotron seems most unlikely at that time), Paxton playing it on a handful of tracks here, with strings on Rusty Dean's Saturday Satan, Sunday Saint, Dennis Payne's Who Cares What Happens and I'd Rather Live My Life Alone and his own Half As Much. In addition, several tracks on the set feature a vibraphone, but I suspect it's real, rather than Chamby-generated. Overall, then, good news for country-rock fans in general and Gene Parsons fans in particular, although the rest of us probably don't need to get too excited. A handful of reasonable Chamby tracks, but nothing you can't live without.
See: Clarence White
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BayProg: Progressive Rock From the San Francisco Bay Area (2002, 66.48) ****/T |
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| New Sun: Mammoth Trap: Presage Gravity Tree: Aim to Please Spirits Burning: Clear Audient v.2.5 Metaphor: When it All Comes Together Amy X, Neuburg & Men: Naked Puppets |
Sleepytime Gorilla Museum: Sleep is Wrong! Michael P.Dawson: The News in Farsi Puppet Show: Harold Cain Mind Furniture: The End of Days Monocaine: Another Man's Ditch Tesseract: On the Edge of an Eclipse |
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BayProg is an interesting idea, although I know it's been done before; collect together several bands from the same area, with the bonus here being that all the bands concerned fall into the same (fairly broad) stylistic area. Are there really a dozen prog outfits in the San Francisco/East Bay region? It would appear so, although they cover plenty of ground between them, to say the least. I only actually recognise four of the twelve names, three of whom I've previously heard, so full marks to the compilers for finding some lesser names to stick in with the big(ger) boys.
Of the bands I don't know, New Sun's intelligent prog-metal came as a nice surprise, compared to that sub-genre's usual lack of imagination, while Amy X, Neuburg & Men contribute a very odd track that somehow reminds me slightly of the Fibonaccis, albeit with more 'normal' vocals and actually (just about) manage to out-weird Sleepytime Gorilla Museum. Suffice to say, there isn't actually a bad track here, although a couple have trouble lifting themselves up from 'fairly average'.
Absolute, confirmed Mellotron on one track only, with Don Tillman's cellos and strings on Tesseract's On The Edge Of An Eclipse reminding me slightly of Larks' Tongues-era Crimson. Mind Furniture, about whom I know nothing, use sampled Mellotron strings on their The End Of Days, as do Puppet Show on Harold Cain. A couple of vaguely-Mellotronish sounds towards the beginning of the album almost certainly aren't and Metaphor don't even use samples this time round.
I believe BayProg was only ever available with the Spring 2002 issue of Exposé magazine (no. 24), so if you want this you'll have to buy the back-issue, assuming they still have copies in stock. It's worth a listen, while it seems several of the tracks are available on the relevant artists' albums, although a couple are demo versions. One definite otherwise-unavailable Mellotron track, anyway.
See: Tesseract
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Be Yourself: A Tribute to Graham Nash's "Songs for Beginners" (2010, 37.51) ***½/T |
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| Port o'Brien/Papercuts: Military Madness Brendan Benson: Better Days Nile Nash: Wounded Bird Vetiver: Used to Be a King Robin Pecknold: Be Yourself |
Bonnie 'Prince' Billy: Simple Man Moore Brothers: Man in the Mirror Alela Diane: There's Only One Mariee Sioux with Greg Weeks: Sleep Song Sleepy Sun/Nile Nash: Chicago/We Can Change the World (Reprise) |
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Although ex-Holly Graham Nash's place in musical history should be assured, these days, his name conjures up little of the hero-worship that surrounds his on/off collaborator Neil Young. 2010's Be Yourself: A Tribute to Graham Nash's "Songs for Beginners" is an attempt by fans from the current indie/folk scene to address the problem, reinterpreting Nash's first solo album, 1971's Songs for Beginners, in sequence, for a new generation of listeners, most of its tracks sticking fairly closely to the originals. While nothing here really stands out, better tracks include Port o'Brien/Papercuts' opening Military Madness (current status: no change), Mariee Sioux and Greg Weeks' Sleep Song and Sleepy Sun's rocking Chicago, complete with Neil-style solo.
Weeks plays Mellotron on Sleep Song, with a gentle flute part that enhances the track; shame he wasn't asked to add it to a few others, too. Fans of the original album should make the effort to hear Be Yourself, ditto anyone with even a passing interest in singer-songwriters of the era or any of the artists involved. Worth hearing.
See: Greg Weeks
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Christmas in Heaven (1996, 53.02) **½/T |
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| Sixpence None the Richer: You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch Huntingtons: Merry Christmas, I Don't Wanna Fight Aleixa: Tennessee Christmas Thee Spivies: There's No Christmas on the Moon Phantasmic/Tess Wiley & Her Orchestra: Come on Ring Those Bells |
The Echoing Green: Do They Know it's Christmas? Duraluxe (FKA Fluffy): Feliz Navidad Irwin Icon/Russ Long: Tiffany's Christmas Tree One 21: Carol of the Bells Deitiphobia: She Won't Be Home |
Steve Hindalong & Chris Colbert: Tis the Season of Excess Backwoods/Buka: Christmas Wishes Love Bucket & Slapphappy Super-Fly: Blue Xmas (to Whom it May Concern) Joe Christmas: Christmas in Cobb Country |
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Flying Tart's 1996 Christmas release, Christmas in Heaven, features a variety of artists, few well-known, performing their often rather raucous takes on various seasonal classics. It all starts well: Sixpence None the Richer display a previously-unseen sense of humour on You're A Mean One, Mr. Grinch, while Huntingtons' straight Ramones cover Merry Christmas, I Don't Wanna Fight sounds like, well, The Ramones, but it's downhill all the way after that, with another twelve tracks of rather too 'alt.' for their own good efforts, The Echoing Green's take on the horrible Do They Know It's Christmas? (despite humorous intent) being particularly unlistenable.
Phil Madeira adds excellent Mellotron flute and cello parts to Sixpence None the Richer's contribution, although all other vaguely Mellotron sounds aren't. Well, this is far more listenable than your typical festive album, but then, what isn't? A few amusing tracks almost make this worth the effort, but only almost.
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City on a Hill: Sing Alleluia (2002, 44.14) *½/T |
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| Steve Hindalong et al.: All Creatures of Our God & King (Choral Prelude) Jennifer Knapp & Mac Powell: Sing Alleluia Bebo Norman et al.: Holy is Your Name Nichole Nordeman: You Are Holy Mac Powell & Fernando Ortega: Our Great God |
Derek Webb: Marvelous Light Jars of Clay: The Comforter Has Come Nichole Nordeman & FFH: Shine Your Light FFH: Hide Me in Your Heart Jennifer Knapp: Hallowed |
Derri Daugherty: Lift Up Your Hearts (Sursum Corda) Cliff Young et al.: Communion Steve Hindalong et al.: All Creatures of Our God & King (Choral Postlude) |
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City on a Hill: It's Christmas Time (2002, 40.42) **/½ |
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| Steve Hindalong: I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day Cliff Young et al.: It's Christmas Time Sixpence None the Richer: Silent Night Terry Taylor: Holy Emmanuel |
Caedmon's Call: Babe in the Straw Sara Groves: Child of Love Jars of Clay: Bethlehem Town Third Day et al.: Manger Throne |
Julie Miller & Derri Daugherty: Away in a Manger Out of Eden: Do You Hear What I Hear? Paul Colman Trio: In The Bleak Midwinter Michael Tait & Leigh Nash: O Holy Night |
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The City on a Hill series (four albums, I believe) seems to be a 'devotional songs' project, with various CCM alumni contributing. The end results are, as I'm sure you can imagine, the gloopiest, cheesiest Christian-fest possible, of practically zero interest to anyone who doesn't yearn for a large helping of soft rock punctuated with God. I'm sure these sold loads in Christian-only shops (be warned: God strikes heathens dead on the threshold) and sod-all anywhere else. Pious drivel.
2002's Sing Alleluia was the second collection and is every bit as horrible as you can imagine, with only the occasional ray of light (ho ho) rising up from the deity-related musical murk. Contributors include Bebo Norman (aargh!), Derek Webb and Jars of Clay, on the remote offchance you're interested. Can't say I am. Mellotronist to the Christian community, Phil Madeira, plays Mellotron on Nichole Nordeman & FFH's Shine Your Light, with a decent enough flute part, but hardly enough to rescue this abomination of a record. It's Christmas Time appeared later the same year and only gets a slightly higher rating due to vague nostalgia on my part for carol services attended as a child. The treatments are mostly appalling, but the strong tunes carry the least offensive versions. Caedmon's Call use Madeira again, on Chamby this time, with a string part on Babe In The Straw that could easily be real, forcing me to ask: what's the point?
Unless you're a God-botherer, you really, really don't need to even hear, never mind own these albums. I know my 'CCM is shite' reviews are starting to get a little predictable, but why can't more artists from the bizarre genre make music that doesn't make me want to vomit? I've heard a handful of 'just about listenables', but that's pretty poor going, isn't it? Anyway, avoid like the plague.
See: FFH | Caedmon's Call
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Cozy Powell Forever (1998, 61.35) ***/½ |
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| Overture 1812 Stargazer Over the Top Lost in Hollywood The Score Kill the King Theme One Ice Cream Cakes |
All Night Long Since You Been Gone Slide it in Armed and Ready The Loner - Dedicated to Jeff Beck |
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Colin "Cozy Powell" Flooks (well, you'd change it, wouldn't you?) had one of the most impressive CVs of any British drummer of his generation, playing in eight or nine major-name outfits over a thirty-year period plus innumerable others, not to mention his session work, although he remains best-known for his five-year tenure in Rainbow. He died in a motorway accident in April '98 (six separate factors were involved, which was a little careless), prematurely ending a glittering career, although, in fairness, he'd peaked over a decade earlier. Still wish he'd been more careful, mind...
Mere months later, Japanese hard rock crew Loudness' drummer, Munetaka Higuchi, put together a tribute to (presumably) his premier influence (pun intended), Cozy Powell Forever, featuring Loudness colleagues plus fellow Japanese musicians from the likes of Earthshaker, X Japan and Vow Wow, not to mention Brit bassist Tony Franklin (Jimmy Page, Whitesnake) and famed US drummer Carmine Appice (Vanilla Fudge). Between them, they tackled material from a ten-year period of his career from the mid-'70s to mid-'80s, the exceptions being a couple of early '70s Jeff Beck tracks. Highlights include propulsive takes on Rainbow's Stargazer (Rainbow Rising), Kill The King (Long Live Rock'n'Roll) and Lost In Hollywood (Down to Earth), although it slumps somewhat once it moves into his '80s work towards the end of the disc. 1984 Whitesnake, anyone?
Rei Atsumi (ex-Vow Wow) played keys, mostly Hammond, with little bursts of Mellotron here and there, notably the strings on Stargazer, Over The Top and Theme One (Cozy's Over the Top), although all the choirs sound like bad samples. Saying that, I'm not 100% convinced that the strings are real, either; did Rei still own his by this point? He's credited on several other '90s albums (Sass Jordan, Nicklebag, Stevie Salas), so are those suspect, too? Either way, this is aimed chiefly at Rainbow fans and, er, drummers, so I'm not sure anyone else should really make the effort.
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The Third Cyclops Sampler (1996, 72.22) ***½/TT |
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| Abbfinoosty: When the Sun Explodes (alternate) Anekdoten: Book of Hours (live) Cross: Heavenly (alternate) Fruitcake: Lost My Way |
Lands End: Breathing Deep Mastermind: Miles to Go Before I Sleep Mentaur: Chasing Time Sinkadus: Manuel (alternate) |
Sphere: Again Still: Loveless Vulgar Unicorn: Two Many Secrets (alternate) |
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Cyclops Sampler 5 (2002, 143.48) ***/½ |
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| Rob Andrews: Lake Vinuela 2 Flamborough Head: Limestone Rock Guardians Office: Dark Girl Henry Fool: Pills in the Afternoon Karda Estra: Projected Future Lands End: Coming Down in Sheets Manning: A Strange Place (live) |
Mostly Autumn: Prints in the Stone Noise From My Head Mysterkah: Red Daylight Nice Beaver: Culley on Bleaker Street Odyssice: Scream (live) Parallel or 90 Degrees: Blues for Leah Pineapple Thief: Variations on a Dream Pt 0 |
Saens: Escaping the Hands of God Pt 2 Sphere³: An Unusual January [Monkyfrog Mix] Transience: No Turning Back Now Tr3nity: Which Way Twelfth Night: Fact and Fiction Vulgar Unicorn: Gliders |
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The estimable Malcolm Parker's Cyclops label (affiliated to his GFT prog mail-order company) released their first label compilation, The Cyclops Sampler, in 1994, consisting mostly of tracks from their catalogue, with the odd alternate version or genuinely unreleased effort. The Second Sampler pushed the boat out further by featuring mainly exclusive tracks, as does the imaginatively-titled The Third Cyclops Sampler.
The quality of material here is variable, but that's pretty much what you'd expect from this type of album, with such a diverse collection of artists. Actually, saying that, there are no real stinkers, although the Cross track is a bit neo- and Still's Loveless drones on for a while without really doing anything. Of the rest, Anekdoten's live Book Of Hours is a real treat, with Malcolm freely admitting, "We have bent the rules a little", as the band have never released anything else on the label, while Mastermind's Miles To Go Before I Sleep is far subtler than their usual fare and Sphere's Again (the band were still waiting to add the ³) is excellent. The real standout track, though, is the then-new Sinkadus' gorgeous Manuel (no Spanish jokes, please), although this demo version later turned up on their Aurum Nostrum Version One. As for the Mellotron content... Both Sinkadus' and Anekdoten's tracks are loaded with the thing, although I don't think Sphere's Neil Durant had bought his machine then. Or am I wrong? Pretty sure those choirs are samples, anyway. Lands End's Breathing Deep is definitely samples, although they used the real thing on 1995's Terra Surranum and that appears to be it.
Cyclops Sampler 4 takes something of a backwards step by including mostly previously-released material, but I'd imagine squeezing often expensively-recorded exclusive tracks out of bands already on a tight budget is akin to getting the proverbial blood out of a stone, so it's pretty impressive that Malcolm managed the feat twice. On the other hand, he announces in his Cyclops Sampler 5 sleevenotes that, "All the material (bar one track) is exclusive to this release", although many of these are remixes rather than genuinely new tracks. A (re)mixed bag, as usual, with the dodgy neo- of Rob Andrews, Saens and the Lands End-related Transience and the fake-Celtic schlock of the horrible Mostly Autumn (why does anyone like this band? Oh, an attractive female vocalist) rubbing shoulders with the Taurus pedal-heavy Guardians Office, a Sphere³ remix and a previously-unheard version of Twelfth Night's seminal Fact & Fiction.
On the Mellotron front, the only (almost) definite is Henry Fool, although their album uses a mixture of real and samples, so it's impossible to say whether or not it's real here. Anyway, strings (phased and otherwise) and flutes on the non-album Pills In The Afternoon, which would fit quite nicely onto a second album, should they ever choose to make one. As for the sample users, Flamborough Head use strings and flutes on their really not bad Limestone Rock, Lands End use a brief burst of strings on Coming Down In Sheets, Pineapple Thief get the fake choirs in on Variations On A Dream Pt 0 and Transience put some strings onto No Turning Back Now.
As far as The Third Cyclops Sampler goes, Anekdoten fans need it for their blistering live track and with several other otherwise unavailable tracks, it's worth picking up. Cyclops Sampler 5 lacks its predecessor's highlights, but has its moments, so given that Malcolm sells these cheap anyway...
See: Anekdoten | Sinkadus | Henry Fool
