Seb Palmer

Well, this arrived in todays mail. I bought it (very cheap, via discogs.com). It’s possibly a bit off my usual musical map. But I got it to explore various tendrils that emanate from Tom Waits’ 1973 debut, Closing Time.

The primary connection is Jerry Yester, ex-MFQ (Modern Folk Quartet), and the man who replaced Zal Yanofsky in The Lovin’ Spoonful, who produced Closing Time.

Here Yester is working with his then wife, Judy Henske, a folk singer and scenester, once called ‘The Queen of The Beats’!

Other connections with Waits consist in thus first being issued on Herb Cohen and Frank Zappa’s Straight (or was it Bizarre/Straight?) label. The CE-reissue is on the aptly named Phoenix Records label, with ASH- as the serial no prefix, alluding to a rebirth.

The record disappeared straight into obscurity upon release. But has subsequently acquired something of a cult following.

Does it merit one? Hmmm… I’d say, not exactly. At least not to my ears. Or perhaps that’s just ‘not on first listen’? And, as I listen to it now, I’m not sure how many more listens I’d be willing to give it.

The vocal duties are split between Henske and Yester. Of their two voices, and I’m not really a fan of either, I’d say I marginally prefer his. Hers is a bit more ‘dated ‘60s folkstress’, and sometimes gets overly strident! For my tastes.

The music is very much – like the polarised photo in the cover – of its time. And whilst that can be fab’ n’ groovy, it can also just seem a bit mannered and dated. And this stuff, I’m afraid, for me at any rate, leans heftily towards the latter.

Lyrically it’s pretty bizarre, the first track, ‘Snowblind’, sounding almost hallucinogenic. Whereas track four, ‘St Nicholas Hall’ almost sounds like a text for a church fundraiser! Very odd.

Apparently the lyrics are pretty much all Henske’s doing, whilst the music is Yester’s work. Only the opener ‘Snowblind’ being a collaboration between them both, with, rather oddly it might seem, Zal Yanofsky, whom Yester had replaced in The Lovin’ Spoonful.

I prefer the mellower less strident stuff. Such as ‘Lullaby’. But even then it’s not quite down my boulevard. Whilst musically it is quite wide-ranging, there are moments that nod vigorously towards their folkster heritage.

At this point I am starting to listen through a second time, and I am also liking it a bit more. Snowblind was a single! It is quite poppy. It’s also quite ‘psych’, even a tad psychedelic. The lyrics are downright weird. And I’m really not keen on the moments where Henske gets screamy.

As already alludes to, a product o’ it’s times, methinks! But I do like the bass and guitar work on Snowblind: raw and nasty! And I like how Henske bends the note downwards on the word Snowblind.

The single of Snowblind was backed by track two, ‘Horses on a Stick’. Lyrically what we have is more late ‘60s weirdness! I can’t even tell if this is Judith or Jerry singing… I’m guessing it’s Jerry in the foreground, and both adding harmonies!?

This cranky pop ditty appears to be about ‘merry go rounds’, or whatever they might symbolically allude to. But this is no ‘Circle Game’!

Track three is the first one I actually outright like. Dominated by Judy, singing in a more mellow vocal vein – very nicely, actually – with keys and guitars backing. The keys sound like harpsichord, celeste, or possibly even clavichord? With a little piano appearing, very effectively, towards the end.

The tinkling keys continue on St Nicholas Hall, albeit now with a warbling monophonic synth line over the top. I like this number, mostly for its strangeness, and the fact I’ve been visiting churches a lot recently. What on earth it’s actually about, if anything other than the obvious, I have no idea!

Something that I’m beginning to discern on a second listen is that chordally and harmonically there’s sometimes a slight jazzy turn, which their folk pop heritage wouldn’t necessarily suggest. It’s only very occasional. But when it happens, it really warms the sound up.

Track five ‘Three Ravens’ is another that I’m coming round to. And – given that the ‘legendary lost recording’ vibe prob’ derives from the weirder aspects of this album – this is one of the most conventional numbers. It’s kind of pop-folk soused in weird easy-listening, with lush harp and strings. Even brass, as the song crescendos, towards its end.

‘Raider’, which would’ve kicked off side two, in vinyl days of yore, is the most overtly folksy track. Keys, hammer dulcimer (or something like it; (?)?), and harmonica(s?) all add to the trad’ vibes. Yester’s quavering hi-pitched multi-layered vocals are a little bit Jerry Garcia. One of the better tracks, methinks.

I’ll have to study the lyric sheet… ‘Mrs Connor’ sounds like a slightly macabre fairy tale, on first gloss. Musically I like it. The various keyboards, and some vibes or similar tuned percussion, are a good combination.

Rather annoyingly, there seems to be an ‘artefact’ – a disc-fault? – about 1:30 in to track eight, ‘Rapture’. The vocal is great; and it’s been treated with a very groovy and yet subtle effect that I can’t quite put my finger on. I’m beginning to realise… maybe this album is worthy of cult status? Or at least a few of the tracks, perhaps? This being one such.

‘Charity’ starts out beautifully. But when it hits the chorus it gets a bit declamatory for my tastes. There’s a beautiful folk-pop feel in the verses. Perhaps this patchwork quality is part of this albums simultaneous strengths and weakness?

And finally we come to track ten, ‘Farewell Aldebaran’, the title number. Here we reach the apotheosis of the albums erratic mix of psych-pop-folk-weirdness. Around the two-minute mark the vocals go all Dr Who/Davros/Dalek… phew!

I have to admit that on the first listen, I bailed out on this track. It just plain old fashioned did my head in!

As the CD player cycles back to ‘Snowblind’, for play number three, I think Yester and Henske have successfully inserted a sonic, crowbar inside my cranium, and opened it up a little bit…

Made us a simple kedgeree, for today’s lunch. The recipe called for it to be mainly cooked in a casserole dish, in the oven. Is that the normal way kedgeree is made?

Pat wanted his eggs hard-boiled, whereas Teresa and I like ours soft, but not runny. The eggs came out exactly right (8-9 mins, for Pat’s, 6 mins for ours). And I’ve got the hang of peeling them without destroying them now, as well.

I stopped the cooking after 25 minutes – the recipe says 30 – and I’m glad I did; any longer and it’d have been too dry. Fortunately this was a success. Delicious, and easy to make.

Another two-church day. Another good day.

First church of the day was St Faiths of Aquitaine, Wilthorpe. A rather unusual little church, in a tiny little village. Perhaps it’s even just a hamlet?

If you look carefully, you might spot ‘E C 1774’, above. That’s 250 years ago!

There are a number of very beautiful organic carved stone corbels:

Like a few churches I’ve been into recently, this one has a room above the entrance. This time, however, I was able to access the space.

A great little church. Like so many, a bit different, with a character all of its own.

The second church, St Michael & the Angels, is one I’ve been to before. But on the previous occasion ‘twas shut. Today it was not just open. They had a tea n’ coffee morning on as well!

There’s some interesting trickle effect weathering, noticeable on the arches. Less discernible in my snaps, but striking when you’re there, are the sculpted wooden figures at the bases of the supporting roof arches.

Not sure what’s going on up here? A pipe leads into a small boxed off area. Note how the utilitarian is still given decorative aspects, with the various shapes at the bottom.

Sadly this church wasn’t open at the time I stopped to have a look. So these are all exterior shots.

The way it looks, at first (and second!) glance, the tower and church appear to be of differing vintage.

I always like these oddments, such as these steps leading to a bricked up door.

Looking at this old building, on this cloudy and occasionally rainy day, with the sun behind it. It looks pretty picturesque.

The rather unkempt graveyard also has a charm. It was nice to step back and get more of the moody sky in frame.

More patchwork weirdness. Love the big door/little door and big window/little window business, going on here.

The village sign is a nicely unusual metal thing, combining steam age (I nearly said railway, but it’s a traction engine!) and church heritage imagery. Intriguing!

Today was a two-church day. That’s a good day! The first was St John The Evangelist, in Waterbeach. Feast your eyes on my photos. What a lovely church!

The three photos this far are just tasters, all from the front porch. When you get inside the church proper? It’s a feast.

Even the quite plain ‘lights’ are fabulous.

There’s a band of text running around the walls of the church. Filled with Biblical quotes and admonitions.

The pulpit looks what I’d call ‘High Victorian’; i.e. quite fussy and ornate!

Carvings, mosaics, marble pillars… phew!

The impact of walking towards the altar is very palpably uplifting.

The stepped niches remind me of others I’ve seen, in a few other Anglian churches.

You sometimes see weirdly abstract stained glass. Often using old or broken fragments in an abstract form, yet still structured within an overall conventional layout (in other words not ‘modernist’ abstraction). Well, there’s one here, pictured above. It’s a bit weird, as some parts are conventionally representative (the coats of arms and emptier areas), whilst most of the more detailed areas are jumbled of stained-glass ‘rubble’.

And so, back out, and off to Ely. In Ely I visited Topping Books. I rather fancy going to their forthcoming author/book talk about the current show at the British museum, about the Roman army, Legion.

And I was massively tempted by the above book, which looks at Picasso’s life and work through his connections with Barcelona. A gorgeous and fascinating book, that nicely reproduces a lot of his earlier work. And the paper ‘wrap’, around the lower half, unfolds to create a print or poster.

Later the same day I was forced – the Welney route being closed, due to flooding – to go home via a longer more circuitous route. And it took me through Downham Market. A nice old town. I decided to take at St Edmunds, the rather dour looking ‘church on the hill’.

I had to get the key from the Rectory. The guy there (Vicar? Rev?) was friendly and helpful.

Once in the main building, this church has unite dark, fusty cosiness to it. Very atmospheric. The stained glass here is terrific.

Another terrifically powerful effect at the altar. Not so much the altar, as the combined effect of everything around it.

Tonight we went out for a curry, at The Maharajah, on Castle Hill. Teresa loves and misses The Maharajah. We used to go there almost regularly, if not quite frequently.

They’ve redecorated since we were last there. And it’s under new management. So we didn’t see the old guy who always used to welcome and remember us.

Dan and Amy’s younger son, Rowan, works there, as well. Which added a nice familial dimension to proceedings. Rowan and Faz and co looked after us well.

And the food is still very good! We had lamb dhansak, mushroom rice, tarka dhal and a garlic naan. Yummy! Lots of lentils, mind. So it got a bit windy later.

Dear ol’ Dan turned 52, same as me. And very generously treated us all to a birthday dinner that was relaxed, sociable, and delicious. Thanks, Dan!

I bought these two kits at Duxford, over 20 years ago. They’ve been built for a long time too. I ought to dust them off a bit, I guess?

The original decals had mostly dried up and cracked. I did manage to use the orig’ star/bar ones. But all the numbers/letters just disintegrated. Leaving me to either leave off the numbers altogether, or kind of bodge them (E16)

The most fun I had on these was detailing the cockpit interiors. They were super basic as supplied. All I did, tbh, was add straps to the seats, and paint the interiors. The hardest part of these two builds was masking the framework of the cockpit canopies.

I’m not 100% (or even 50%) sure of this. But I think the one with the red edged star/bar things might be USNM, as in US Navy Marines, the other being either plain Army or Air Force?

The above two ‘shrinks dink’ thinks we’re my first ever foray into a little crafty fun, that Sofi and Ali shared with us once or twice, when we were visiting (and poss looking after?) them.

They’re not brilliantly executed. Being my first attempts. And I also learned that the simpler the overall shape – both mine are prob’ a bit too complex – and the ‘blockier’, the more success you’ll have shrinking them flat.

Both of mine have warped a bit when heating/shrinking. And Popeye’s even cracked a little. But he always was more than a little cracked.

I’m wondering can I flog these things, as part of my effort to de-clutter? Or do I just throw them away? That last seems a tad sad…

I had to cancel my dentist appointment this morning, and reschedule it. ‘Cause I’m too broke to pay the quite small/nominal fee an NHS patient is still required to pay.

So I’m back home, doing a few odd-jobs around the house, before going to work, and then out for a birthday curry at The Maharajah, with Dan and Amy Ellis. Dan’s 52 today. How are we going to pay for that? … aargh!

So, the first little job is a fix: glue this little bit back on to this chair. I used Titebond (3A?), an American woodworking glue that I really like. I held it in position for ten solid minutes, wiping off excess glue as I waited. Hand-holding this seemed easier than trying to rig up a clamp for such an irregular and small piece.

I thought about drilling holes and having a reinforcing rod inside the broken joint. But that’s way too much of a faff for me the way I am at present. Which is perpetually utterly exhausted. The discerning eye may note that even with this fix, a wee bobble is still missing, atop this broken ‘finial’ (or whatever it is?).

Clearing messy areas is a constant ongoing process in our home. And probably in most. But in ours it’s a more commonplace and arduous task as there’s ‘too many pigs for the tits’, to misappropriate an Abe’ Lincoln saying.

Too much stuff, and not enough storage. So it becomes a perpetual juggling act. Very tiring! But in those brief moments of clean orderliness it’s very nice. I’m having a wee tea break now. But battle will soon be re-joined, in the neighbouring bedside/modelmaking zone.

Well, I think that’s me done for today, in this corner. I still have plenty to do elsewhere around the bedroom. Never mind in all the other parts of the home.

I’ve got a few Vince Guaraldi Peanuts recordings. The best, so far, is A Charlie Brown Christmas. I also have It’s The Great Pumpkin. The latter has some good moments, but isn’t as good a listen as the Xmas album.

As I think I discuss elsewhere on ye ol’ blog, this Pumpkin release is more ‘bitty’; lots of little repetitive snippets…

Maybe these’ll be similar? But these two Lost Cues discs still look promising. Shame they aren’t available as a single set/disc.

I love the eclectic range of KG&TLW’s music. And, appropriately enough, their cover art is similarly broad ranging. Most if not all of it is the work of one Jason Galea. And I love his work.

Galea does stuff for other folk, not just King Gizzard. Altho’ a lot (most?) of it does appear to be within the Gizz-verse.

From slick, to simple, from psychedelic to stark, Galea’s work is very wide-ranging. And yet it all partakes of something with a core character, just as the music the Gizz-ers (and affiliates) makes also does.

Find a whole heap of Galea’s album cover work on his website, here.

* I’m assuming it is. But the place where I found it doesn’t say…