Villages - Procession Acts (Bathetic, 2015)

The decade long evolution of Villages (William Ross Gentry) has been a fascinating one. It's been a privilege to watch this personality unfurl. At an impressive fifteen releases, each has growth that is very apparent, one that is indicative of hard work, and a discerning ear.

His initial offering, the lovely and delicate "The Last Whole Earth" in 2010, seems homage to his heroes, a cold yet delicate droning piece that calls to mind artists such as Eno, Stars of the Lid, and Labradford. As his palatte refined, Villages moved in a less ambient / drone direction. At each moment, there is a subtle maturity. The Spilling Past showed leaps and bounds in production, Theories of Ageing sees a shift, not only to cinematic frontier, but a more rhythmic direction with clean piano, acoustic guitar, and banjo, signifying an attempt to distinguish his motif as an accessible music separate from the drone genre. He escaped the pigeon hole only to be dubbed "Appalachian Drone" by several writers.

With "Procession Acts", the ten year oeuvre seems to reach a pinnacle of emotion and individual characteristics. with a production excellence that would inspire all who make music themselves.

If you're a fan of classical music, you know that often it is possible to recognize imagery and incidents the writer was contemplating during the creative process. Gentry's subtleties and nuances are full forward, and he wears his influences on his sleeve: Jonny Greenwood, Cliff Martinez, and Nick Cave & Warren Ellis scores, Type Records artists such as Peter Broderick and Goldmund, western guitar drone and blues from Steven R. Smith to Mississippi John Hurt. All of these elements combine to make a perfect album, and the culmination of an excellent repertoire.

Act One

Beginnings in Dust
Devouring the Whole
The Luddite
Tell the Butcher
Coat of Arms
Pillars in Half Light

Act Two

Open in Reverse
Out of the Mines
Predecessors
Slow Successors
Endings in Rust

Purchase your copy from the wonderful Bathetic Records HERE. Vinyl will go fast!!!

Stream on Spotify HERE.

Listen to a mix he made of his influences for the latest album HERE

Neil Young with The Ducks - Shows from the Summer of 1977

For a few weeks during the summer of 1977 in Santa Cruz, California, a rock group formed by singer/ songwriter Jeff Blackburn played some shows. The band also consisted of Bob Mosely (Moby Grape), Johnny Craviotto (sessions drummer for Ry Cooder, Arlo Guthrie and Buffy St. Marie), and some guy named Neil Young. They played songs about trucks, girls and bars. Here's a compilation of board recordings from these shows. A little summer music for your winter:

Happy Birthday, Don!****Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band - The Spotlight Kid (Reprise, 1972)

Its the only album that was credited soley to Don van Vliet. He wanted to make something a little more accessible. A little bit of bread was appealing. The band was barely eating, living off handouts. They hadn't made any money in three years. What did he do that was so radical? What did he do that made the band hate this collection of songs? What kind of extraordinary preposterous great lengths did he go to?

He wrote some slower songs. Yep, Downtempo. That's all. Slowing these songs down made his vocals feel more like a delta blues singer, garnering a bit of a new audience. This period of time was so tumultuous that the whole band almost abandoned him. Granted, there were more details, like Vliet throwing one of the guitarists into a dumpster as a metaphor. I'm sure the communal residence scenario probably began driving hungry unsatisfied musicians into emotional outbursts of all kinds.

Regardless, this is actually my favorite of his records. Go on, disagree. Lester Bangs liked it, so I stand my ground.

Here's one of my favorite live clips from that album era:



And here's the album in its entirety:

R.I.P. Amiri Baraka

I couldn't possibly do justice to any kind of obituary for this great man. I found this one. Does the trick.

Amiri Baraka Obituary

And these are three of my favorites:

Electric Flag - The Trip OST (1967)

Welcome to another bizarre journey starring Dennis Hopper and Peter Fonda, written by Jack Nicholson and directed by Roger Corman. This one is scored by The Electric Flag, a short-lived but top notch band consisting of Mike Bloomfield, Buddy Miles, Harvey Brooks, Barry Goldberg and Nick Gravenites.

To be honest, out of context, this one may not do much for you. Its not the wildest trip but its still a good one. This band was more blues rock in its skill set, and this is not the type of psychedelic music that's hip these days. That being said, I still recommend it. Dig.



Get it HERE

Lightnin' Hopkins - Blue Lightnin' (Jewel, 1965)

The early 60's was a strange time for Brother Hopkins. As sales and interest fell off for this original gangster, he watered things down a bit to appeal to the hippie/college kid/folk audience. This move toward accessibility put a dent in his cred. Luckily, he rebounded in 1965 with these sessions for Stan Lewis' Jewel logo.

I've always been partial to the Texas juke joint blues, and Hopkins' famous "E shuffle sound" worked the guitar to create a sound that was slightly brighter than the forlorn one of the Delta or the amphetamine style of Chicago.

'Move on Out' and a particularly down and dark 'Back Door Friend' are the bruisers here. A great young band shines on this album while Elmore Nixon, another Houston great, plays piano on several cuts.

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Dr. John, The Night Tripper - Gris-Gris (Atco, 1968)

"My group consists of Dr. Poo Pah Doo of Destine Tambourine and Dr. Ditmus of Conga, Dr. Boudreaux of Funky Knuckle Skins and Dr. Batiste of Scorpio and Bass Clef...(rambles on)...who were all dreged up from the rigolets by the zombie of the second. Under the eight visions of Professor Longhair reincannted the charts of now."

Dr. John Creaux (Mark Rebinnack) was quite the character. After making it big in the Crescent City's R & B scene, he got especially creative and offered us this psychedelic swamp gumbo of a genre. Melding the blues, R & B, Hatian voodoo a la New Orleans, and Afro-Carribean percussion, this genre spawned many cult hit songs.

As weird as it is brilliant, this would easily be in my top 100 albums ever recorded.

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Dead Skeletons - Dead Magick (A Records, ltd., 2011)

If you're as tired of the word psychedelic as I am, you're probably going to hate when I tell you that this is the best psychedelic band I've heard in years. They actually sound like salvation for the genre as a whole.

Mysterious and occultic, the imagery in these songs is vibrant and virile, with a seeming overuse of verbal psychotropics and a healthy fear of God and Death. Danger lurks around every corner here, buried in mescaline-soaked minor cords and peyote-laced reverb. Everything here is some religiously erotic incantation worthy of a Jodorowsky film.

The sound is a driving yet loose ride through elements of Jesus and Mary Chain, Black Angels, the Brian Jonestown Massacre's Methadrone era, roadhouse blues and tuvan throat singing. Quite frankly, this is about as romantic as a nightmarish bad trip can get. Highly Recommended.

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Sonny Sharrock - Guitar (Enemy Records, 1986)

Sonny Sharrock was a man of immense talent and vast creative vision, a sideman in the 60's, performing on Pharoah Sanders' Tauhib and more famously on Miles Davis' Tribute to Jack Johnson.

Sharrock's use of guitar was uncommon in the early years of free jazz. He would skronk out lines like a sax and was well-known for his use of feedback. In fact, he had wanted to play saxophone due to an obsession with John Coltrane but his asthma wouldn't allow. Many times you could hear him say, "I'm just a sax player with a fucked-up axe."

That "fucked-up axe" on this album re-introduced the guitarist to the world as a solo performer. It consists of a man, his guitar and a bunch of pedals on the floor in front of him, overdubbing to create his own distinct blending of jazz, blues, funk and heavy psychedelic. This type performance is commonplace in today's experimental music communities but remember that it was not in 1986.

If you feel this album, check out Ask the Ages, his record with Coltrane bandmates Pharoah Sanders and Elvin Jones, which is Sharrock's finest hour.

Get Guitar Here

The Legendary Marvin Pontiac's Greatest Hits (2000, Strange and Beautiful)

This son of a father from Mali and a Jewish mother from New York wrote many classic songs while in and out of mental institutions. Sadly, he died mysteriously and his vast repertoire was minimally documented. At least, that's what the liner notes to this album would have us to believe. In reality, however, none of this is true. This is an amusing tall tale spun by the inimitable Lounge Lizard himself, John Lurie.

Lurie is a living legend. He was instrumental to the high art culture of the late 70's / early 80's downtown New York City scene. His renaissance man style creative output put him in the limelight; playing cool music, painting and popping up in the hippest films. His charming personna and brilliant sense of humor is irresistible and has always greatly appealed to me.

With this ridiculous moniker, he recorded songs in the trash can blues style made famous by Tom Waits. Although I draw comparison here, this is not knock-off material. He created a pastiche of Jazz, Soul, Blues and even World beat. The finished product is an accessible Pop record with a Leonard Cohen-like vocal style, an all-star backing band (John Medeski, Calvin Weston, Marc Ribot and Steve Bernstein, and lyrics that are as poignant as they are hilarious. There are rocking tunes and thick grooves to boot.

Its been speculated that these are just smoothly arranged versions of songs originally written for the Lounge Lizards project that just didn't fit the mold. Either way, download it and forget its Lurie. Believe in the character that is Marvin Pontiac and you'll have a damn fine time.

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The Mops - Iijanaika (1971, JVC)

The released their third album in the year that was Japan's triumphant time to shine, 1971 (according to Julian Cope's Japrocksampler.com . This is a solid journey through Heavy Psych, Garage, Folk and Blues.

Often overlooked, The Mops were a band that obviously emulated the U.S. hippie scene (Jefferson Airplane) as well as the UK heavy rock scene (Black Sabbath) but did it with their own charismatic personality. At times acidic, epic and gritty; and at other times over the top with its campy heartwarming tenderness, Iijanaika runs the gamut of historically strange Japanese musical affinities.

And dig that crazy cover art, man.

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Gil Scott-Heron - I'm New Here (2010)

I was skeptical. I thought it would be impossible to feel any impression from this album at all. Minutes into my first listen I knew I had judged prematurely.

Its been 16 years since his last studio album. After spending much of the last decade behind bars and continually battling drug problems, it seems he decided it was time for a collection of redemption songs.

His distinct voice is weathered and raspy these days. This combined with Richard Russell's Post-Hip Hop / Post-Industrial beats, Folk / Blues guitar and delicate string arrangements results in a production that is as diverse as it is creative.

With his classic mixture of spoken word and singing, he covers a lot of ground. Oddly enough, there are times when he even reminds me of a very serious and intense Ken Nordine.

As far as the subject matter, we hear him paying homage to the women in his life that taught him how to be a man, reminiscing on a childhood in a broken home, regretting the sheer hardship of existence itself as well as attempting to instill genuine hope in the listener.

The staunchly militant aggression has faded away, leaving the core of a man who is merely reflective and still bent on helping his fellow man, woman and child.

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