Gilberto, Astrud – The Astrud Gilberto Album, 1965
Gilberto, Astrud – Look To the Rainbow, 1966
Gilberto, Astrud – A Certain Smile…, 1966
Gilberto, Astrud – Windy, 1968
Gilberto, Astrud – I Haven’t Got Anything…, 1969
Gilberto, Bebel – Tanto Tempo, 2000
Goldfrapp – Felt Mountain, 2000
Gong – Wingful of Eyes, 1986
Gong – Radio Gnome Invisible, Boxed set, 2015
Gordon, Dexter – Go, 1962
Green, Al – Green Is Blues, 1969
Green, Al – Gets Next To You, 1971
Green, Al – Let’s Stay Together, 1972
Green, Al – I’m Still In Love With You, 1972
Green, Al – The Best Of… (comp)
Green, Grant – Grant’s First Stand (1961)
Green, Grant – Green Street (1961)
Green, Grant – Sunday Mornin’ (1961)
Green, Grant – Grantstand (1961)
Green, Grant – Remembering, 1961 (1980)
Green, Grant – Gooden’s Corner , 1961 (1980)
Green, Grant – Complete Quartets, w Sonny Clark, 1961-62 [inc. Gooden’s Corner/Oleo/Nigeria]
Green, Grant – Nigeria, 1962
Green, Grant – Oleo, 1962
Green, Grant – Born To Be Blue, 1962
Green, Grant – The Latin Bit, 1962
Green, Grant – Feelin’ The Spirit, 1962
Green, Grant – Am I Blue, 1963
Green, Grant – Idle Moments, 1963
Green, Grant – Matador, 1964
Green, Grant – Solid, 1964
Green, Grant – Street of Dreams, 1964
Green, Grant – Talkin’ About, 1965
Green, Grant – Live at Club Mozambique, 1971
Green, Grant – Street Grooves (Comp), 1993
Green, Grant – Seven Classic Albums: Grant’s First Stand / Green Street / Sunday Mornin’ / Grantstand / Feelin’ The Spirit / Reaching Out (with Dave Bailey Quintet) / Born To Be Blue / The Latin Bit
Green, Grant – Collection (8 albums!): Grant’s First Stand / Green Street / Sunday Mornin’ / Grantstand / Born To Be Blue / Feelin’ The Spirit / Am I Blue / Idle Moments
I tried having my entire CD collection on a single private page of this blog. But it didn’t work. Will this alphabet approach work? The idea is to have a handy ref’, to prevent me duplicating purchases!
Diggin’ the Axe!
Abba – Gold (comp), 1992
ACDC – Dirty Deeds, 1976
AC/DC – Let There Be Rock, 1977
AC/DC – Powerage, 1978
AC/DC – Highway To Hell, 1979
AC/DC – Back In Black, 1980
Acklin, Barbara – Complete Brunswick, 2004
Adderley, Cannonball – Somethin’ Else, 1958
Armstrong, Louis – Album, (Boxed Set), 2005
Armstrong, Louis – Satch Plays Fats, 1955
Ashby, Dorothy – Four Classic Albums Plus (comp)
Ashby, Dorothy - The Harpist, 1957 Ashby, Dorothy - Hip Harp, 1958 Ashby, Dorothy - In a Minor Groove, 1958 Ashby, Dorothy - Dorothy Ashby, 1962
Wow! An absolute monstrosity. Led Zeppeloid, at their Titanic swaggering best. With a fuzzed out riff that is pure Valhalla. The power trio of Page, Jones and Bonham, with Plant as hoodoo shaman, stride across continents in shining iron bellbottoms, their sloshing wake a tsunami that drowns entire nations in 100% proof rock’n’roll.
And what amazes me. Nay, astounds me. Is that despite all the trappings that might make for a very dated sound, the energy is so massively ‘in the present’, it sounds as fresh today as it ever did.
People often think of Whole Lotta Love as The Zep’s totemic riff Leviathan. And of course, that’s a fabulous track as well. But there’s something about the joyous elastic bounce of the How Many More Times riff that transcends almost all ostensibly similar rock music.
For my students, a little video I found online, talking about and demonstrating the signature fill from Jr Walker & The All Stars Motown soul classic, Shotgun.
A stone cold soul classic. Could this be what’s sometimes known as a ‘banger’? A one riff wonder: eight chugging bars of solid uplifting soulful grooving. Jackie Wilson sings his heart out. Just as he did his whole life, literally singing himself to death, onstage…
Some versions, such as the one YouTube offered up in ‘first place’ when I searched for the song itself, sound like they’ve had parts replaced with synthesised parts… Sacrilege!!!
The rather silly ‘fly guy n gal’ video, at the top of this blog posts, at least preserves the original sound. With the slightly out of tune guitar, in all its effervescent glory.
The guitar part.
The bass riffs.
I plan to record a version of this number myself, at some point. With me playing all the parts. Or at least all the parts I can. The lead vocal is a very scary prospect ! And do I do ye horns a capella? Or do I get some real horns recorded?
All such shenanigans will have to wait on getting a new computer and up to date DAW software, as my poor ol’ Mac is ailing, and can no longer even run Logic! A terrible state of affairs.
LYRICS
Your love, lifting me higher Than I've ever been lifted before So keep it it up Quench my desire And I'll be at your side, forever more
You know your love (your love keeps lifting me) Keep on lifting (love keeps lifting me) Higher (lifting me) Higher and higher (higher) I said your love (your love keeps lifting me) Keep on (love keeps lifting me) Lifting me (lifting me) Higher and higher (higher)
Listen… Now once, I was down-hearted Disappointment, was my closest friend But then you, came and it soon departed And you know he never Showed his face again
That's why your love (your love keeps lifting me) Keep on lifting (love keeps lifting me) Higher (lifting me) Higher and higher (higher) I said your love (your love keeps lifting me) Keep on (love keeps lifting me) Lifting me (lifting me) Higher and higher (higher)
Alright… I'm so glad, I've finally found you Yes that one, in a million girls And now with my loving arms around you, honey I can stand up, and face the world
Let me tell ya, your love (your love keeps lifting me) Keep on lifting (love keeps lifting me) Higher (lifting me) Higher and higher (higher) I said your love (your love keeps lifting me) Keep on (love keeps lifting me) Lifting me (lifting me) Higher and higher (higher)
Now sock it to me Hold me, you're my woman Keep my love going Higher and higher I said keep on lifting Lift me up mama
Yesterday I finally ‘finished’ transcribing the drums. It’s currently very hard to do that, currently, as I don’t have any software in which I can easily loop and/or slow down stuff. Or, rather, what software I do have I’m not so au fait with it. Net upshot, I’m not able to easily loop sections.
Finished is in inverted commas above, because under the circ’s, it’s as finished as I could make it after a few hours of cabin fever screen-burn-out! I may have to tweak it a bit,* as I both learn to play it myself, and teach with it.
To remedy these transcription issues, I just shelled out (poss for a second time?) for the full version of Amazing Slow Downer, an app by Roni Music. Poss’ one of the best most accurately named apps ever!? £12.99, at the time of my purchase.
Combined with Moises, which I will probably also wind up buying the full version of, I can isolate the drum tracks (or other elements), and slow them down, etc.
These are two great apps that I thoroughly recommend to all budding and long in the tooth musicians alike.
* For starters, there’s a very subtle and tasty little drum fill, rather buried in the mix, at about 1:36-7, which I really must cop! And it’s only really possible to hear it once everything but drums are removed, using Moises.
It’s incredibly rare that I hear of this sort of thing before it happens. More typically I learn about it long after. And frequently – the Burt Bacharach or Magma complete box-sets, for example – it’s so long after that they are no longer available at anything but insanely high prices, if at all.
But, for once, I’ve heard some fab news with almost perfect timing. Joni’s For The Roses, released in ‘72, the year I was born, is now, like me, 50 years old. And it has been released in a remastered form, on vinyl. Including a rather snazzy blue version. So I’ve ordered me a copy.
Joni, Nordic mermaid nature girl Goddess.
Teresa and I are currently on holiday in Cardiff, with family, visiting my sister Abbie, and her husband Dan, who’re now living here, in the Welsh capital. When I learned of this reissue, yesterday, I immediately ordered it. And today I got an email confirming it has been dispatched. We travel home today, so I’m looking forward to it arriving soon.
For The Roses, her fifth studio album, is part of Joni’s early years run of pure gold. Rather like Woody Allen’s purple patch, or Tom Waits in his prime; such artistic genius and musical gloriousness is to be savoured and treasured.
Overshadowed by her two best-selling albums – Blue, which was her previous release, and Court And Spark, which came next – I hold Roses to be an overlooked meisterwerk. My picks/favourites are Barangrill, Electricity, and Woman Of Heart And Mind.
According to the Wikipedia article on For The Roses ‘she originally intended for the cover to be a drawing entitled For the Roses, the imagery in which relating to her feelings on the music industry.’ I’d love to see the artwork in question! I wonder if I can do some sleuthing in that direction?
