Alice in Chains – Facelift – CBS, 1990.
🪨🫧 🪩:
I probably back tracked to this album after listening to Dirt. Alice in Chains already have their heavy, riff-driven sound on this recording and everything has a dark hue, like the Sun is blocked by clouds, but that shaded light filters through. It makes the album a pretty draining listen, they haven’t added the catchy riff dimension to their songwriting consistently yet. “Man in the Box” Was a popular song, but maybe as much for the unsettling video as the song itself. I prefer the next few albums and then lost interest in their work by 1996? ’97? “Man in the Box”
Overall = 3.1 (10) – The songs aren’t as interesting as the become in a few years.Get it!
& Sap – Sony, 1992.
🪨🫧 🪩 ◐🫂:
An EP that had a few really great songs on it. In retrospect I think I was grappling with the more depressive sides of my personalty when I was listening to Grunge. Being in a different place now, it is less interesting to me, I still appreciate it, but I do not identify with it anymore.
I also can’t decide if songs that describe dark, internal subjects, such as depression, actually help me identify my feelings (like they most definitely do when I listen to Love, Sad or Power songs, they help me decipher and also help my mood) or they just feel like an immersion in the environment of depression? I generally consider my music as for certain listening moods. “Got Me Wrong”.
Overall = 5.1 (10) – I’m not sure listening to this music means the same thing to me anymore? But I did hunt this EP down for 2 good songs.Get it!
VA – American Warriors: Songs for Indian Veterans – Ryko, 1997.
🇺🇸📣 🍏🌾⌛️ 🏋🏽:
On Rykodisc, and also on Smithsonian Folkways, a collection of Indigenous American songs for Indian Veterans. Though mostly addressing modern wars these songs are pretty specific to individual Wars. The songs are a tribute to those Native warriors, but also highlighting that Native American Veterans have been poorly honored throughout our country’s history. Their contributions are not well known. Also their is a clash, between the reality of Native American citizenship and volunteering to defend a conquering entity that doesn’t consider you a citizen in your own home. This rings cold, but the music is memorializing this history. It is an important historic document, possibly the kind that could now be “disappeared” by the scrutiny of our current government on the Smithsonian collection. “World War I & II”
Overall = 6.3 (10) – This is a highly specific listen and also a snapshot of our American history. Powerful, maybe not for general listening pleasure. Get it!:
Kokomo Arnold – The Complete Recorded Works in Chronological Order V.3 (22 May 1936 to 12 March 1937) – Document, 1936-1937.
🇺🇸📣🏙️:
Classic, Folk Blues from Chicago, though Arnold is originally from Georgia and made his recordings in Chicago after a period of moving around. He performs here with several important figures like Peetie Wheatstraw (The Devil’s Son in Law) and Albert Ammons, as vocalist and as an accompanist on Slide Guitar. I trust Document Records for Blues, they don’t appear second hand much and when you see them. They are basic and diligent in their documentation. “Mister Charlie”.
Overall = 5.5 (10) – Solid Folk Blues, regardless of its Chicago recording roots.Get it!
James Cleveland – Sings With the World’s Greatest Choirs (20th Anniversary Album) – Savoy, 1980.
🇺🇸📣🌳🗣️⛪️ 👁️🗨️:
Modern Gospel and what a power voice! Everything is big here: the arrangements, the choral backing and the power of Mr. Cleveland’s voice. It is not the Gospel I usually pursue (Vocal groups and less congregational situations are) for listening pleasure, but I do like to have something from all the arenas and this is a quality example of the intensity that a serious Choir and lead voice can bring. “The Promise”
Overall = 5.3 (10) – The recording can get too religious for me, it’s both musically so and experientially so, but if you are looking for that. Get it!
VA – Black Banjo Songsters of North Carolina & Virginia (Produced and Annotated by CeCe Conway and Scott Odell) – Smithsonian Folkways, 1974-1997.
🍏🌾📣 ⚖️⌛️🪕:
I’m hot for a banjo. Since watching a short PBS special about Minstrel Banjos, the makers of Minstrel Banjos today and Rhiannon Giddens, I have had a closet desire to acquire one (but I do have quite enough instruments to focus on already). This guy makes these beauties Hartel Banjos. In addition to the desire to acquire a banjo, I want to find Banjo music and this is a pretty important collection of Banjo music. These recordings capture practitioners of regional early styles of Banjo technique and Folk music. They were recorded mainly in the 70’s, but feature multi-generational music and styles. By ear, I always thought these performances were older. I based that on the rawness of the song forms and performances. Many of the songs are older songs, songs like “John Henry” and “Coo Coo”. The liner notes are extensive, and dense, which triggers me a little, because the music is so simple, and truthful, that picking it apart, even to learn about it, feels jarring. I do understand the importance of good notes and have more complaints about instances with misleading, or lacking, notes, but this is living music, to dance, to celebrate, to tell a story of another time and place, better to listen than read. “Love Somebody (Soldier’s Joy)” Joe & Tommy Thompson.
Overall = 6.7 (10) – It sounds primal, and authentic. It is a great document of American banjo Techniques. Get it!
Gavin Bryars – The Sinking of the Titanic – Point Music, 1994.
🌌⚡️✆ 🕳️ 🤿🌊⚰️ 🌃📀 👁️🗨️:
This is a really wondrous piece of music. From conception to performance, it is moving and tranquil. I could file it in Classical, but I chose Ambient/Electronica, because of the mood that I would be in to choose to listen to it. I use the beginning for a movement exercise with my youngest students, just breathing and stretching to the slow pace. The story of the inspiration for the piece was that Gavin Bryars researched and discovered the musicians on the Titanic played while it was sinking He designed this haunting piece as an impression of that research & speculation. This is a more recent recording of the piece, apparently inside various ambient structures like an abandon water tower and a swimming pool. It is hard to choose a segment for a playlist as it is really an immersive listen and a long form composition. “2. Titanic Hymn (Autumn)”
Overall = 8.7 (10) – It sustains a certain mood, and has great depth to return to, I really always hear new things.Get it!
VA – Island Gamelans and Drums: Bali – Sri Lanka – Arion, 1971.
🇮🇩 🇱🇰 ꧂📣:
A French collection of Balinese Gamelan and Sri Lankan drumming. The opening piece reminds me of a song I have elsewhere on another compilation, but I can’t decide if its actually the same recording or a different recording of the same, specific, ceremonial piece. I pick up Gamelan recordings indiscriminately, so either could be true. The Sri Lankan drumming is an added bonus and a style I am less familiar with. Though it has expansive liner notes, they really don’t identify performers which makes it hard to find the specific performances for the playlist. “Barong ou Danse du Kriss”
Overall = 5.3 (10) – Good Gamelan. Possibly also included in other compilations I have? Also confusing, and extensive liner notes, without getting to important information! (yes, a French release, so possibly the important bits got lost in translation?)Get it!
VA – Analog Africa No. 3: African Scream Contest – Analog Africa, 1971-1981.
🌍🪮🫧📣🔮 🇧🇯:
Music from Benin. AfroPop with a strong James Brown influence. These Analog Africa collections, when mixed with Ethiopiques, Original Music and Secret Museum of Mankind + various reissues, can really paint a clear picture of African Popular Music. The is a wonderful boomerang in World Music where the traditional sounds echo through cultures and eventually become reframed in the original culture. AfroPop echos music, like American Pop or Cuban music, that itself was inspired by African music. Our pasts are more mingled than we can conceive. In Music, we can always make connections, and it is a wonderful process to discover connections between culture. I highly recommend the Analog Africa collections generally, great party music and high energy. Orchestre Super Jheevs des Paillotes – “Ye Nan Lon An”
Overall = 8.3 (10) – The kind of collection I appreciate the most. One which collects difficult music to find and draws thematic connections between different artists. Get it!
The Band – The Band/Live at Woodstock 1969 – Capitol, 1969.
🪨🫧 🪩 🌳📣💰🆑:
This popped up neatly against the Dylan set down the list a bit. The Band really blended a sense of Rock & Roll and Traditional/Roots inspired music. Everyone sings in the band and the song writing is very deep. They turn some occasionally hokey riffs into something funky and each song has its own distinct palette, without interrupting the cohesion of the musicians or the overall band sound. My CD version is a double that has the Woodstock concert. Which is great because some of these songs I can listen to over and over again.
“The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down” This song! Robertson apologized for its perspective of a Confederate soldier, but it is so powerful. I don’t sense any fault in choosing this perspective to tell a story, nor anything offensive in its lyrics. To me, it defines the loneliness of failure and despair of loss accurately. I do understand the idea of tributes to the Confederacy are at issue, but this is not one of those. There is no glory here.
Overall = 8 (10) – Great album, many great songs.Get it!
Bachir Attar – The Next Dream – CMP, 1992.
🌎🫧📣🔮 🇲🇦🫂:
A Trance-like and hypnotic recording of traditional World Music, produced by Bill Laswell. In the 90’s Laswell documented a lot of traditional musics, primarily from North Africa. (? at least I have several of these, also there are other regions of the World represented) He amplified the traditional elements of Dance and added modern connections to the sounds being created. Something old arrives, but steeped in something new. Usually these recordings were weird but very listenable, with startling moments that might not exist without the cultural juxtapositions occurring.
Attar is a long standing World Music progenitor, he is the leader of The Master Musicians of Jajouka and his father led the Pipes of Pan at Jajouka album which Brian Jones of the Rolling Stones presented in the 60’s. That recording was one of the early examples of International recordings that crossed over into Pop culture. An added bonus is Maceo Parker. “Under the Shadow of Liberty”
Overall = 7.1 (10) – Vibing Trance-y World music. The collaborative elements fit naturally and lift the connection into something unique. Get it!
Bob Dylan – The Bootleg Series Vol. 1-3 (Rare & Unreleased) 1961-1991 – Columbia, 1991.
⏺️🪨🫧🪩🌾⌛️✪:
This retrospective collection of bootleg Dylan recordings has reached 17 volumes! Almost equal to half the number of studio recordings in his career! Dylan, a true American icon, has that mix of nearly continuous documentation, and cultural relevancy, even in the last few years. I’m not positive but Dylan might have the largest collection of discs outside of my favorite artist collections. This set of 3 discs is more like a greatest hits of outtakes, covering 3 decades of his career. Other Bootleg series recordings are actual bootlegs of concerts and such. I admire Dylan’s music, it’s not my main taste, but as a teacher of Popular Music I consider him integral to music history.
After listening to so many Folk/Country/Blues recordings for In the Stacks, and then listening to the early recordings here, it helps me recognize one of Dylan’s accomplishments. Before Dylan, Folk music is culturally popular music, everyone should be familiar with a Folk song to sing it (think in a “Happy Birthday” scenario), Folk songs are songs communities know and learn. Dylan really transformed and modernized that idea. He became an eloquent voice for the Folk. He is not the only artist to become that, but he is the most famous. He was a catalyst and Folk music became the Political/Social device that his inspirations, like Woody Guthrie, initiated. “The Kingsport Town” & “Nobody ‘cept You”
Overall = 8 (10) – It’s great music, but some may prefer the original album releases instead of this collected version.Get it!
Found Sounds 