PLAUDITS DUE

For those lovers of the (thankfully) bygone "freak folk" era of the early aughts, Accolade's self-titled debut [Capitol ST-597, 1970] is a small gem in the original genre.  The jazz-inflected, all-acoustic arrangements are mostly guitar forward, but supported by excellent bowed bass and wind instruments, though, surprisingly, precious few harmonies.

It's also a great example of how bizarre the rare vinyl market is, as you can find about 5 copies for sale online at most given times, yet at auction it routinely goes for $35, and is often set-listed for far higher.  For my money, it's not nearly enough like the Incredible String Band or Pentangle to warrant such erratic pricing, as most of the tunes are straight up folksy or bluesy light-rock numbers.  Also not sure why some people list it as having breakbeats - there's definitely some tight drumming in a funky mold, but a quick check on the essential Who Sampled shows that no one ever actually has used any of the record.  However, their superb cover of "Nature Boy" is on par with their label-mate Gandalf's freakier version, and makes the LP worth a listen, at the very least. . . although the inner Joycean in you will be severely disappointed that despite the amateur wordplay in the lyrics, the 12-minute "Ulysses" has nothing to do with Leopold Bloom's wanderlust but, rather the actual travels of Odysseus (guess a four syllable name was a little harder to chisel into the form and flow of the song). 

As a result, the mostly feel-good music comes off like the UK equivalent of the Lovin' Spoonful, while the excellent flute throughout puts me in mind of Jade Warrior, but less fuzzy and progressive.  Perhaps an even better comparison would be that Accolade was doing their across-the-pond version of American blues in the way that Danny Kalb & Stefan Grossman tackled British trad folk on their much underrated Crosscurrents.  

In any event, praise is definitely due to Accolade for having nestled comfortably in the weft of the flowing cambric of UK psych-folk's historical tapestry.

GO WOG

I'm not always one for the '80s-inspired, Joy-Division-poseur camp (cf. my feelings that Interpol is completely insufferable and borderline unlistenable), but this is a special, spectral record that deserves some wider attention. Although they'd been around the Los Angeles South Bay area since 1983 (releasing an impossible-to-find 12" 45 album with connections to SST), this self-titled disc from 1988 is Wog's sole artistic statement. A duo consisting of Aret Madilian, a Turkish-born Armenian who emigrated to L.A., and the dubiously-named Ari Excel, Wog were far more than wannabes. Influenced by '80s greats, they convert - and sometimes subvert - the idiom to great effect. Madilian is a multi-instrumentalist who created most of the multi-layered musical underpinnings, while Excel sang and played bass.

The cover broadcasts the enigmatic nature of the music, which exists in a hazy dusk of synthesizer arpeggios. Even so, Wog took their name from a Stranglers song, though the band had little in common with the rockier elements of their namesake providers. Instead, they lay down a darkwave minefield that explodes with creativity on every track.

Issued by what was seemingly their own private label, Claudestine Records, Wog [Claudestine 01] appears to be the label's only release, and a worthy entry into the missing-link minimal/darkwave canon.

Madilian currently lives in France and fronts the haunting, fragile Delavan. Meanwhile, nothing can be found regarding Excel, indicating that this was, in fact, a nom de musique - although the anagrammatically-named Air Excel is the Tanzanian national airline, inviting speculation that Madilian's partner was perhaps similarly repatriated...?

Go Wog. . .

.

NO GOOD WITHOUT YOU

Sunday blues? Dottie Clark gets you, baby. Her album for the Mainstream label, I'm Lost [56006, 1962], is as crackin' a debut as you're likely to find. Mainstream did a lot with vocalists early on before moving full force into heavy psych, breaking both Big Brother & the Holding Company and the Amboy Dukes. But despite a few flops here n' there, it's a label that often signals a worthy purchase, and many of their one-off artist releases are pretty sweet.

Clark was from Washington, D.C., and, with the exception of a stray 45, never made another record. Not much is known about her save for the sparse liner notes that give the basic pitches for why she's a rising star: "excellent voice, beautiful phrasing, and a tremendous amount of experience." Obviously written by someone at the label, since they're anonymous. Guess Mainstream couldn't spring for Nat Hentoff or Leonard Feather. Thing is, the liner notes aren't far off - sure, she's no Ella or Sarah or Dinah or whoever, but Dottie Clark's voice sticks with you. It contributes just as much to the feel of each song as the arrangements themselves. She's haunting, hurt, bluesy; brassy when she needs and vulnerable when she wants.

This has much to do with the arranging. Joe Cain, who's name isn't as well known as some others of his era, was an Italian-American trumpeter (b. Joseph Caiani) who became enamored of, and then a part of, the Latin jazz explosion of the 1950s. He worked with some of the early greats (Tito Puente, Vincentico Valdes, Charlie & Eddie Palmieri) as an arranger, and then moved to producing records for the fabled Tico label until it folded in 1975. Along the way, Cain asked Hugo Montenegro to be his mentor. Montenegro declined, but gave this advice: write for the singer-as-star, not the musicians he was conducting.

This dictum plays out perfectly on I'm Lost, on which Cain snagged several jazz heavyweights (Geurge Duvivier, Herbie Lovelle) and a handful of sessionmen who bridged the burgeoning jazz-to-rock gaps of the time (Vinny Bell, on guitar, invented the electric sitar which he played on the Lemon Pipers' "Green Tambourine", and Lovelle had drummed for Bob Dylan on some Freewheelin' outtakes). The resulting sound is large, yet intimate, the six-piece band never overwhelming Clark, instead allowing her to take command of the song, whether it's a bubbling pop chart or a simmering torch song.

Most of the tunes are unfamiliar to me, though a little searching reveals that at least a few tunes are older - if not super famous - standards. Unfortunately, no writing credit is given, just publishing info on the vinyl's label. And, semantics aside, I'm Lost has the kind of mystery behind it we like here at A List: enough to get a foothold on, more than enough to get an earful of.

ALL ABOARD THE ELLENVILLE EXPRESS!

Well, it's been nigh on a year-and-a-half since I posted something. Why? Hmm... Let's just go with that old cliched chestnut, "Life got in the way."

But feeling newly-invigorated (& finally having some free time), I now return to posting lost gems - starting with this life-affirming volume of songs for swingin' Jews.

Yes, you read that correctly. Bet you didn't think they existed, just like Jewish sports heroes, Jewish astronauts, or Jewish country club members. In fact, the thirteen ditties on Jewish-American Songs For The Jet Set [Tikva T101, 1965] are mostly originals by the songwriting team of Moe Jaffe & Henry Tobias, and have a solid lounge pedigree. Tobias got his start as a Tin Pan Alley songwriter, providing music to his brother Charlie's lyrics. Although they never quite hit the sophisticated stride of other brother acts, the Tobias' sub-Gershwin-styled numbers did well, and their early hits were sung by Bing Crosby, Jimmy Dorsey, Nat King Cole, Ella Fitzgerald and even Lou Rawls. Among the most famous of the Tobias tunes are "Don't Sit Under The Apple Tree" and "If I Had My Life To Live Over". Although Tobias made his name in New York, he was originally from Worcester, Mass - but don't worry, as the son of a struggling tailor, he came by his Jewish bona fides naturally. His autobiography, "Music In My Heart, Borscht In My Blood" is out of print but you can still snag a copy if you try.

Moe Jaffe, similarly, emigrated to the NYC metropolitan area - from Vilnius, Lithuania. Jaffe put himself through college at UPenn's Wharton Business and then Law Schools (Jewish Ivy League students, too!), playing with his own combo. He eventually wrote the minor hit "Collegians", which schmaltz-meister extraordinaire Fred Waring made a huge hit. Jaffe continued on as a songwriter, crafting “If You Are But a Dream" with his old college partner Nat Bonx - "Dream" was picked up by Jimmy Dorsey, who introduced it into the early Sinatra canon, making it consistent number for Ol' Blue Eyes even in his later years. In 1948, Jaffe wrote the unforgettable "I'm My Own Grandma".

By the time Jaffe & Tobias collaborated on the music herein, which was also the premiere release for the short-lived Jewish music label Tikva, the former was subsisting on royalties from his publishing company's ownership of Tony Bennett's hit "I Left My Heart In San Francisco". They found a less memorable vocalist in Bernie Knee, who has about as much personality as an armchair. Musical accompaniment was by Irving Fields & his orchestra. Fields had an array of exploito-exotica "bongos" records in in the mid-20th century (Bagels & Bongos being my obvious favorite), and subsequently went on to write campaign songs for Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Bob Dole, Rudy Giuliani and even George Pataki. My dismay at this tangent aside, Fields' playing is pleasant enough, but gets repetitive - his right hand apparently never met a melodic minor trill it didn't like.

The messages of the songs, sprinkled here & there with Yiddish (despite the "All Vocals Sung In English" disclaimer on the front cover), are positive, community-building and, as with all great Jewish things, occasionally mildly self-effacing. The English-only "Dayenu" isn't a translation, but rather has new lyrics that benefit from a secular optimism; "Alef Beiz" is a counting-style song that also introduces listeners to the Hebrew alphabet; "Passover Time On The Range" indulges in the everlasting wish of Jews to join that one group they never really could - cowboys; and "Orthodox, Conservative or Reform" posits that love trumps all (as long as she's Jewish).

Best enjoyed while sipping a chocolate egg cream.

[The non-profit Idelsohn Society has put together a great CD comp of Tikva's material, available here, along with some other smart, quality releases. Generally, that means that I'd steer clear of posting what can be bought, but since a) this blog is also non-profit (or, really, reverse-profit), b) there are only two "Jet Set" songs on Idelsohn's comp and c) my vinyl copy is so beat that there's no way you wouldn't rather get this music nice & cleaned up if you could, I'm just posting the damn thing anyway.]

MAJOR ARCANA

Love it, love it, love it. Another band I can find barely anything on. Stars' self-titled debut [Barclay 90030, 1976] was a triumph of oddness, no, madness, in its pan-genre approach. Led by Simon Lait, Stars was an incomparable session band, Brits who recorded this one-off for the French label Barclay, which was in turn pressed in Canada. Love it.

A few connections can be made to early psych-prog progenitors like Atomic Rooster - who's drummer, Ric Parnell came over for the project - and, through Stuart Uren, Stray, who's Saturday Morning Pictures is a hazy classic, & who's first LP goes for silly dough online

A true child of the 70s, Stars used hard-hitting, flawless playing to evoke a playful, disco-fusion vibe with serious rock pedigree. "That Was Yesterday" is a deceptively mellow intro that bursts into the kind of wah-ing synths that make Herbie Hancock's Thrust the beast it is. There are also strong odors of Zappa, particularly the George Duke/Napoleon Murphy Brock era that immediately preceded Stars' release: "Heart Of Stone" features all gruff-voiced and slinky and shit, his stuttered vocal verse and the bizarro-harmony Stax horns melting perfectly into virtuosic fuzz-wah guitar funk.

The album rocks on in several variations on these themes, a bocce match between Zappa, Herbie, Yes, Steely Dan, & Stevie Wonder. "Platform Soul" is the perfect play of them all, treading the line between Mahavishnu wonkery & slinky modern soul. Just as inspired is the closing gamut, an incongruous cover of "Not Fade Away", that's nonetheless a break-laden jaunt into good times that refuse to give up.

Stars recorded this sole album before moving on to other, greater things. Parnell eventually created the role of Mick Shrimpton in Spinal Tap, while Lait became a successful producer, working with the inimatble Betty Davis on her Crashin' From Passion LP.

But thanks for Lait & co to take a moment and bring the Stars they saw so briefly down to us.

LONG TIME, NO LIST. STILL LISTENING.

Yes, it's been a while. Who knew that having a long-distance relationship turn short distance would take up so much time? In the intervening months since the sadly-neglected Kepzelt Riport posted below, I've found scads of scalding (new) old vinyl in the stacks. After taking the time to rip them, I found a couple that are actually available for sale directly from the artist, so, in accordance with the List's ethos, am not posting them. Follow the link to buy 'em!

Potter St.-Cloud, Potter St.-Cloud [Mediarts 41-7, 1971]. Great anti-war country psych concept album. David Potter also has single MP3s for download on his site, as well as the rare first record under Endle St. Cloud's name, the even earlier Beantown sound of the East Side Kids, & Potter's work with Lee Michaels. Check it out. . . [Coincidentally-received fact: there are 1,000 people in the U.S. named "David Potter" - ed.]

Dwayne Friend Picks Happy Goodman Hits [Canaan 463, 1967]. Smokin' instrumental album from "Mr. Gospel Guitar", who was admired by Chet Atkins & Eddy Arnold. At age 70, Friend still plays around, & has a huge catalog of his own material available through his site. Sweet, trebly picking laid smoothly within that impeccable White gospel production. Get thee hence. . .



Stardrive, Featuring Robert Mason [Columbia, 1974]. Bumpin' & rockin' synth-funk excursions by Mason & co., who needed to build his own synths to get the sounds he was hearing in his head. Far out! Wounded Bird did a CD reissue of this one but it's out of print. I'd have put it up myself but cursory research reveals that you can get it at Akashaman's stellar blog. . .



Speaking of the '70s, I'll be back shortly with some outrageous finds from the latter half of the decade, as well as a bunch of rare '80s synth & powerpop for the fall . . . Stay tuned! - AMS

PROTECT YOUR SOURCES

This is one of my recent favorites, a smokin' blend of Hungarian folk, American psych, Krautrock and more. In keeping with my not wanting to repeat information that's easily located on the 'net, you are directed here to learn more about this seminal eastern European jam band.

Excellent heavy riffing, lovely femme-fronted acid-pop-folk, a crazy-ass cover like some kind of Dada Cheap Thrills... yum.


While online info credits the album to Locomotiv GT (which is the backing band for the whole record), it's properly a joint collaboration between singer Anna Adamis, Locomotiv GT guitarist Gabor Presser, and the much older, influential anti-communist satirical writer Tibor Gery. The title, Kepzelt Riport Egy Amerikai Pop-Festivalrol [Qualiton SLPX 16579, 1973], translates to "Fictitious Report on an American Pop Festival", the likes of which had already been winding down by '73 (hey, don't blame them, even under Kadar's "New Economic Mechanism", underground hippies and writers in near-exile couldn't keep that current).

As far as I can tell, the additional text on the cover, "Osszes Dalai", means "Dalai Lama"... so although it doesn't seem to have to do with the title itself, flower power wafts throughout the album. Despite being an entirely studio-based effort within a standard rock format, the album definitely conveys a freewheelin', free lovin' feeling through production & the songs, which, oddly, are all in English on the album label, with titles like "The Trees Are Mourning, Too" and "Dream Yourself Away". The band - which would explore some of the blues-rock idioms in more depth throughout the decade

Not such a frequent find on vinyl (though a few on eBay are listed at reasonable prices), and since I ripped it for myself I've been listening to it almost every week. New things are revealed with each spin - guess they were luck enough to avoid the brown acid.

For some reason I can't embed this link, but copy & paste from below... don't let it stop you from getting naked and getting on down!

http://www.mediafire.com/?ywjexmymyku