Speaking of Vernon Wray, I shared a number of the tracks from the lost Band Not Band compilation (see also: Goose Creek Symphony) back in January, via become a member or log in.
Posts
Mike Fiems :: I Would Dream (1974)
Wanting to “mellow” out in the early ’70s, Link Wray’s elder brother Vernon moved to Tucson, Arizona. There, he reassembled the infamous Wray brothers’ Three Track Shack, rechristening it his “Record Factory.” There, he recorded his classic, Wasted. In December 1973 and January 1974, he welcomed a Tucson-based songwriter named Mike Fiems into the Factory, where he served as the producer of Fiems’ I Would Dream. While the LP — recently posted in its entirety by the become a member or log in.
Damien Jurado :: Silver Timothy
This made the rounds earlier today: "Silver Timothy" - the first taste from the forthcoming Damien Jurado LP, Brothers And Sisters Of The Eternal Son, out next year via Secretly Canadian. Once again, Richard Swift produces.
Damien Jurado :: Silver Timothy
Only the good shit. Aquarium Drunkard is powered by its patrons. Keep the servers humming and help us continue doing it by pledging your support.
To continue reading, become a member or log in.
The Lagniappe Sessions :: Porcelain Raft
Lagniappe (la ·gniappe) noun ‘lan-ˌyap,’ — 1. An extra or unexpected gift or benefit. 2. Something given or obtained as a gratuity or bonus.
Porcelain Raft is Mauro Remiddi. Based in New York, the Italian ex-pat released his second LP, Permanent Signal, in June via Secretly Canadian. Regarding the atmosphere of this week's session, Remiddi, in his own words, after the jump...
Only the good shit. Aquarium Drunkard is powered by its patrons. Keep the servers humming and help us continue doing it by pledging your support.
To continue reading, become a member or log in.
SIRIUS/XMU :: Aquarium Drunkard Show (Noon EST, Channel 35)
Our weekly two hour show on SIRIUS/XMU, channel 35, can be heard twice, every Friday — Noon EST with an encore broadcast at Midnight EST.
SIRIUS 319: Jean Michel Bernard — Générique Stephane ++ Reigning Sound - I Walk By Your House ++ The Rock*A*Teens - Down With People ++ Smoke - Awake ++ Vic Chesnutt - Degenerate ++ Songs: Ohia - I've Been Riding With The Ghost ++ Bill Callahan - The Sing ++ Daughn Gibson - Bad Guys ++ Atlas Sound - It Rained ++ Vetiver - Sleep . . .
Only the good shit. Aquarium Drunkard is powered by its patrons. Keep the servers humming and help us continue doing it by pledging your support.
To continue reading, become a member or log in.
Ed Askew :: For The World
With a name like "Askew," you can bet that you'll be slotted you into an oddball/eccentric niche. And to be sure, Ed Askew has outsider cred to burn, having released his debut album on the original avant label ESP Records way back in 1967. But Askew's new LP, For The World, is far from weird -- unless direct, emotional songwriting is weird these days. Which it may well be.
With all-star contributions from Sharon Van Etten, Marc Ribot, Mary Lattimore, and members of the Black . . .
Only the good shit. Aquarium Drunkard is powered by its patrons. Keep the servers humming and help us continue doing it by pledging your support.
To continue reading, become a member or log in.
Jorma Kaukonen :: Genesis
I've been reimmersed in Jorma Kaukonen's 1974 Quah lp the past couple of months, as "Genesis" was originally slated for inclusion on the Indian Summer mix I put together for Cold Splinters. And while the track ended up on the cutting room floor, the record has increasingly acted as life's de . . .
Only the good shit. Aquarium Drunkard is powered by its patrons. Keep the servers humming and help us continue doing it by pledging your support.
To continue reading, become a member or log in.
The Necks :: Open
With a sound that calls to mind the becalmed atmospheres of Miles Davis' In A Silent Way and Eno's Music For Airports, The Necks have been providing captivating listening experiences for more than two decades now. The Australian trio's latest, Open, doesn't stray from the path -- and the world is a better place for it.
Consisting of one unbroken, 68-minute improvisation, this is a deeply immersive record that highlights The Necks' often-unbelievable instrumental interplay and melodic sensitivity. These guys are basically one . . .
Only the good shit. Aquarium Drunkard is powered by its patrons. Keep the servers humming and help us continue doing it by pledging your support.
To continue reading, become a member or log in.
Neil Young & The Ducks :: Little Wing (Santa Cruz, 1977)
In honor of the man's 68th birthday today, let's take a listen to a recently surfaced rarity from the summer of '77. Neil spent much of that year out of the limelight, only to surface with the short-lived Ducks, a band that included former members of Moby Grape. With multiple vocalists and songwriters, this little side-trip suggested that Neil was trying to recapture some of the team spirit of the Buffalo Springfield. Playing mostly low-profile gigs in Santa Cruz, the Ducks . . .
Only the good shit. Aquarium Drunkard is powered by its patrons. Keep the servers humming and help us continue doing it by pledging your support.
To continue reading, become a member or log in.
Warren Zevon :: Join Me In L.A. (Demo & Take 2 Version)
This set has been getting a lot of play of late - New West Records' 2007 Warren Zevon collection, Preludes: Rare and Unreleased Recordings. Spanning 16 tracks, the collection is culled from pre-1976 material that Zevon's son, Jordan, happened upon while clearing out a storage space following his father's death in 2003. From worked up, full-band, demos to Zevon's solo musings on guitar and piano, like the best compilations of this sort, Preludes provides the listener . . .
Only the good shit. Aquarium Drunkard is powered by its patrons. Keep the servers humming and help us continue doing it by pledging your support.
To continue reading, become a member or log in.
Who Is William Onyeabor?
It’s the question asked by the fine folks at Luaka Bop with their new collection, Who is William Onyeabor? This, the first compilation of the Nigerian synthesizer-wielding bandleader’s work, reveals the musical answer to said question: He was a songwriter with groove in mind, recording from 1977-1985. Onyeabor stretched his dance floor incantations denouncing war and injustice past the 10-minute mark, employing minimalist rhythmic grooves, clipped guitar and a chorus of female singers. At times the songs sound . . .
Only the good shit. Aquarium Drunkard is powered by its patrons. Keep the servers humming and help us continue doing it by pledging your support.
To continue reading, become a member or log in.
Cian Nugent & The Cosmos :: Born With The Caul
Just a few weeks after the release of Chris Forsyth's mind splitting Solar Motel, the world is blessed with yet another long-form guitar masterpiece -- Cian Nugent & The Cosmos' Born With The Caul. Praise the Lord.
Dublin-based Nugent has performed and recorded mainly as a Takoma School solo guitarist for the past few years (though his last album Doubles featured some more orchestrated moments), but his latest effort sees him embracing the pleasures of a full band; The Cosmos' violin, drums, keyboards and bass provide a launching pad for Nugent's joyful six-string excursions. Throwing around the adjective "perfect" is a dangerous thing, but I'll be goddamned if I can find a single thing wrong with Born With The Caul.
The album kicks off with "Grass Over My Head," a track that suggests John Fahey and The Band playing a New Orleans funeral, with mournful horns and fingerpicked acoustic guitar suddenly shifting into a beautiful double time rag. As good as that is, it's only a preview of the glories to come. First up is "Double Horse," a dreamy drone that conjures up the magnificent, oceanic swells of Fairport Convention's classic "A Sailor's Life." A powerful, transfixing ride. Then, for the length of side 2, we're treated to the massive "The Houses of Parliament," a 23-minute song suite that travels from majestic folk rock to candy-colored psychedelia to Thin Lizzy-style boogie to pulse pounding raga rave-up as though it's no big thing. It's a lengthy journey, but not one second is wasted.
Only the good shit. Aquarium Drunkard is powered by its patrons. Keep the servers humming and help us continue doing it by pledging your support.
To continue reading, become a member or log in.
SIRIUS/XMU :: Aquarium Drunkard Show (Noon EST, Channel 35)
Our weekly two hour show on SIRIUS/XMU, channel 35, can be heard twice, every Friday — Noon EST with an encore broadcast at Midnight EST.
SIRIUS 318: Jean Michel Bernard — Générique Stephane ++ Courtney Barnett - History Eraser ++ Diane Coffee - All The Young Girls ++ Jonathan Rado - Hand In Mine ++ Richard Swift - Songs of National Freedom ++ Foxygen - No Destruction ++ Courtney Barnett - Avant Gardner ++ Lou Reed - I Can't Stand It ++ Kim Fowley - International Heroes ++ Warren Zevon - Join Me . . .
Only the good shit. Aquarium Drunkard is powered by its patrons. Keep the servers humming and help us continue doing it by pledging your support.
To continue reading, become a member or log in.
Vetiver / Kathy Heideman :: Sleep A Million Years / Reissue
In 2008 Vetiver released Thing of the Past, a collection of a dozen covers mining lost 60s and 70s folk treasures. Sourcing material from the likes of Bobby Charles, Townes Van Zandt, Michael Hurley, Elyse and beyond, in addition its own charms, the record serves as a fine introduction to a wide swath of lesser known crate-digger heroes. Like Kathy Heideman's “Sleep a Million Years” — for which Vetiver, in an inspired move, recruited Vashti Bunyan to lend her voice. While its inherent message is sweet and simple, the song (penned by Dia Joyce) manages to feel mysterious and elusive. And despite this simplicity, it's in the wording of the song's conclusion that lends the track its dream-like ether: “Don’t you know, that much too soon, we’re going to sleep a million years?” Vashti’s soft, lush vocals are the perfect foil to the cover’s aesthetic; her voice practically floats through Vetiver's gauzy blend of countrified charm.
Vetiver w/ Vashti Bunyan :: Sleep A Million Years
Until recently, aside from the occasional eBay listing, there has been little to no information regarding Heideman and her 1976 lp, Move with Love. This changed last month with the Numero Group's vinyl and digital reissue. Here, the original version of “Sleep a Million Years” is a far more ragged and warbling affair, from the opening trembles of piano to Heideman’s voice, which exudes a dusty, quavering quality, not unlike that of another source for Vetiver — Elyse Weinberg. The sound itself is all together more countrified and electric — its atmosphere far less dreamy and transient than the Vetiver/Bunyan interpretation.
Kathy Heideman :: Sleep A Million Years
Concerning the album as a whole, Heideman’s voice is raw, the music a lovely stir of languid, rustic country-folk. There are strokes of psychedelia (“Stormy”), and moments of baroque darkness, such as “Need,” with its reedy organ notes and dreamy vibraphone, where Heideman sings, “I don’t need you to love me, ‘cause mama gave me all the love I could stand." The title track, an era-appropriate simple paean to love and peace, feels like a missed anthem with hints of Melanie.
Only the good shit. Aquarium Drunkard is powered by its patrons. Keep the servers humming and help us continue doing it by pledging your support.
To continue reading, become a member or log in.
The Last Days of NRBQ: Some Kind Of Blues
Any lingering delusions concerning the silly charade that is the “Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame” can be quickly dispelled by a single ludicrous oversight: NRBQ, short for the New Rhythm And Blues Quartet, has never made it onto a single ballot. Over the course of four decades, the band's vibrant, unruly take on everything from power pop to barrel house blues to free jazz has inspired generations of younger artists to emulate their infectious spontaneity. Peerless as musicians and songwriters, and unforgettable as performers, the group's classic line up of pianist Terry Adams, bassist Joey Spampinato, guitarist Al Anderson and drummer Tommy Ardolino was a musical Mount Rushmore, regularly drawing thousands of fans throughout the 80s and 90s to see their live spectacle, usually with little or no backing from a music industry too myopic to recognize their extraordinary appeal. When Anderson departed amicably in 1994 in order to pursue a highly successful career as a Nashville songwriter, Joey’s brother Johnny Spampinato nimbly replaced him on guitar, and NRBQ rolled on gloriously for nearly another decade.
Then in 2004, Adams was diagnosed with throat cancer. The band went on hiatus. The great ride, it seemed, was over.
It remains nearly impossible to overstate the devotion that the name NRBQ inspires in their ardent fan base. Counted within this coterie of admirers is a startlingly impressive cross-section of fellow artists and musicians, whose diversity and high profile are a tribute to the band's protean agility. Paul Westerberg and Elvis Costello have borne witness to the band's genius, and Keith Richards once handpicked Joey Spampinato to man the bass for his Chuck Berry tribute concert film Hail, Hail Rock And Roll. Everyone from Bonnie Raitt to Steve Earle to She and Him has covered their songs. Mike Scully, producer of “The Simpsons” counts the band as one of his very favorites, and has used NRBQ songs in multiple episodes. This is unsurprising - amongst other attributes - NRBQ songs are often hilarious.
Peter Jesperson, former manager of the Replacements, founder of the legendary independent label Twin Tone, and currently a vice president at New West records reflects the following: Whenever I hear statistics about who the biggest artist in the world is at any given time — whether it’s Elton John or U2 or Katy Perry - I always scratch my head. I mean — really? Why not NRBQ?”
Only the good shit. Aquarium Drunkard is powered by its patrons. Keep the servers humming and help us continue doing it by pledging your support.
To continue reading, become a member or log in.