Head To Head
Log In
Register
Unsung Forum »
Soundtracks of Our Lives week ending 1 May 2021 CE
Log In to post a reply

13 messages
Topic View: Flat | Threaded
Fitter Stoke
Fitter Stoke
2601 posts

Edited May 03, 2021, 19:55
Re: Soundtracks of Our Lives week ending 1 May 2021 CE
May 03, 2021, 19:52
Hello again all. First post in a while:

Patti Smith ‘Radio Ethiopia’ - ace second album which I’ve always preferred to Patti’s less guitar-driven debut, even its divisive title track;
Beverly Glenn-Copeland ‘...keyboard fantasies...’ Stuart Maconie turned me onto this 1986 sythigem on last week’s Freakzone. Parts remind me of ‘Tin Drum’ era Japan: others have a Canterbury vibe, but the whole is so remarkably satisfying - much more than most music of its era. Where has this been for most of my life?
Gong ‘Camembert Electrique’ - parts of this scare the crap out of me so much I can barely stand it, but when it’s good (which is most of the time) it’s awesome - and a rare reminder of Daevid Allen’s underrated guitar skills;
Led Zeppelin untitled fourth album - not much I can say about this, other than it’s the comparatively lesser known songs that I dig the most, especially ‘When The Levee Breaks’ which may just be the greatest rock cut in my entire collection. Seriously, did they (or anyone else) ever better it?
Bad Company ‘Bad Co’ - Paul Rodgers never fully recaptured the magic of Free, but Bad Company’s first couple of LPs came close. The debut is the finer of the two but my, it’s short on value;
Fairport Convention ‘Unhalfbricking’ - for me, THE epochal Fairports release, even more than ‘Liege & Lief’. I first heard this in 1977 shortly after ‘Marquee Moon’ and, once I’d heard ‘Sailor’s Life’, knew exactly where Television had gleaned their guitar sound. As for dear Sandy, well, she never sang nor wrote better than she did here. ‘Who Knows Where The Time Goes’ is near perfect, but ‘Autopsy’ (written partly in five time) even finer: the “come lend your time to me” sequence, followed by Richard Thompson’s sublime solo, just floors me;
AMM ‘The Crypt’ - as uncompromising as music (if that’s what it is) can conceivably get - some parts make ‘Metal Machine Music’ sound like Mantovani - yet capable of great beauty in its melee. This is an amazing document of what must have been an incredible gig all of 53 years ago;
John Abercrombie/David Holland/Jack DeJohnette ‘Gateway’ - solid early ECM that almost rocks in places;
Miles Davis ‘Relaxin’ With The Miles Davis Quintet’ - Miles and Trane in straight bop mode before changing the world. This is sheer joy;
Keith Jarrett: Sapporo (from ‘Sun Bear Concerts’) - the last, and arguably best, of the six solo concerts recorded on Jarrett’s inspired 1976 Japan tour. These have recently reappeared on vinyl and sound superb;
Vaughan Williams: Symphonies 4 & 6 (LSO/Antonio Pappano) - there have been several fine versions of these symphonies in recent years but Pappano’s are particularly impressive, especially his white-hot rendition of the dissonant Fourth. This rocks, and I mean it;
Brahms: Alto Rhapsody (Christa Ludwig/Philharmonia/Otto Klemperer) - played in tribute to the great German mezzo who sadly died this week;
As above (Annette Markert/Berlin RSO/Kurt Sanderling)
As above (Kathleen Ferrier/Danish Radio Orch/Fritz Busch)
As above (Dunja Vejzovic/Houston SO/Christoph Eschenbach)
As above (Marjana Lipovsek/BPO/Claudio Abbado)
As above (Grace Hoffman/BRSO/Rafael Kubelik) - well, Christa’s beautiful account reminded me of what a wonderful work the Alto Rhapsody is, encouraging me to give some other recordings a spin. All have their merits but only Ferrier moves me as much as Ludwig;
Brahms: Academic Festival Overture & Symphony no.2 (BPO/Claudio Abbado) - Abbado’s second recording of Brahms 2 with the BPO is less dreamy and more focused than his first, though both have real stature. A precise performance of the overture just seals it in favour of the latter, I think. Karajan’s three BPO recordings of this symphony were greater interpretations, but none were as beautifully recorded as this 1988 account, and missed the all-important first movement exposition repeat observed by Abbado;
Bartok: Concerto for Orchestra (Czech PO/Karel Ancerl) - Ancerl was a superb conductor whose talent enabled him to survive Auschwitz; tragically, his family weren’t so lucky, and he never got over it. His impressive recorded legacy includes gems like this superb rendition of Bartok’s post-breakdown (and notoriously difficult) late masterpiece. Check out the woodwinds in the finale: never better IMHO;
Judith Weir: String Quartet (Edinburgh Quartet) - original, yet accessible, modern chamber music, superbly executed here;
Beethoven: Symphony no.8 (ORR/John Eliot Gardiner) - deft if slightly cold account, ultimately spoiled by a perversely overdriven finale.

Do I dare mention that I might have also played a Macc Lads’ album this week? No, I don’t. If I did, did I enjoy it? No, of course not. Honest.

Goin’ down, goin' down now...

Dave x

Unsung Forum Index