What's Playing Now

[Fritz The Cat]

Oh, all these ugly covers...... However, there is an original signature of Paquette on it. Recorded Sept. 14, 1985, in Belgium. Brian Turnock bass. Sven Stahlberg drums and tap dancing. New Orleans style piano player David Paquette played with BB King, Bonnie Raitt, Amos Garret, Maria Muldaur, Kenny Loggins and Lilian Boutte. He holds the particular distinction of being the only musician to have played at every one of Switzerland's Ascona Jazz Festivals. Listen to track B3 with his fantastic version of George Harrison's "Something" in New Orleans style. Astonishing.

[Fritz The Cat]

This is it! This is the album that catches all the gritty power and explosive energy that has made Koko Taylor the undisputed Queen Of The Blues. Listen to the fantastic hammond on track B1 "Something inside me". Listen also to track B2 Booker T Jones et al.'s "The Hunter", famous by Free and here with a fantastic solo by Albert Collins. Track B3 "Queen Bee" with guitar solo by Lonnie Brooks and harmonica solo by James Cotton. Recorded at Streeterville Studios Chicago. And a discovery: Criss Johnson guitar. He plays with Roy Buchanan on "When a guitar plays the blues". Every track is a winner, no filler. No synthies......Good english pressing. Inscription "PAG" into run-off. One for the island.

[SpeakerLabFan]

John Coltrane - The Coltrane Legacy
(1970, Atlantic) WLP, Monarch symbol in the deadwax





Nice. a compilation of unreleased recordings from between '59 - '61.

[SpeakerLabFan]

Hope you find a parking lot. Viel Glück und viel Vergnügen! I'd wish i was there...... But i am here. Na ja, we have the vinyl records: this is the english pressing. An underrated LP. By Kinney. But the dynamics are exceptionally very superb. Much country style. But the female singers are convincing. One of the strongest by Neil Young because of having kept it simple. Listen to track B3 "Like a hurricane". But hey, what an ugly cover.....!!! I won't take the picture of the cover in the right position. This is a kind of protesting against such ugly cover art. It's not artwork in fact. In the deadwax: "Allen" on B side. Hey, Allen Landau how are you? And where are you?

I agree American Stars n' Bars is an underrated LP - love it. There's an interesting story about this LP cover, from Wikipedia:

The album cover was designed by actor Dean Stockwell, who had also written the screenplay that inspired After the Gold Rush. It features Connie Moskos, girlfriend of producer David Briggs, drooping with a bottle of Canadian whisky in her hand and an intoxicated Young with his face pressed against the glass floor

The concert was great. The band behind Neil includes two of Willie Nelson's sons. I don't know how they kept up with Neil - I saw CSNY perform Down By The River in 1974 with Stills squaring off and dueling with Young on stage. The 20 minute performance of the song on Sunday had the same intensity. I've seen Neil every time he comes to town lately - 3 times since 2008 - each time thinking it might be the last chance. But he is still a monster on stage, no signs of slowing down.

[SpeakerLabFan]

Neil Young - Comes A Time
(1978, Reprise)




A great performance of the title song was included in the set on Sunday. We had decent seats and the sound/mix was great - 22 rows back and to the right of the stage.



Neil visited his former road manager's pizzeria in West Seattle while he was in town

[Fritz The Cat]

Neil Young - Comes A Time
(1978, Reprise)




A great performance of the title song was included in the set on Sunday. We had decent seats and the sound/mix was great - 22 rows back and to the right of the stage.



Neil visited his former road manager's pizzeria in West Seattle while he was in town

This is the german pressing. JJ Cale electric guitar. Many strings. Tim Mulligan saxophone with songwriter credits on most songs. Good dynamics. Listen also to Nicolette Larson's later version of "Lotta Love".

[Fritz The Cat]

Singer of many Neil Young works. Track A1 "Lotta Love" is her version of the song by Neil Young 1978 LP "Comes a time". On the back cover the credits of track A4 for lead guitar are marked wit a "?". It's Eddie Van Halen with a superb guitar contribution. This song is creditedto "Chunky": Chunky is background singer of Doobie Brothers Ilene Rappaport, aka Lauren Wood. She sings on "Cleetus" of Zappa's 1972 The Grand Wazoo. Her picture may be seen on the inner fold cover of Wazoo. Nicolette sings french on B4 "French Waltz". J'aime beaucoup cette chanson. We have them all here on this one, all those famous guitar players: Albert Lee, James Burton, Paul Barrere, Herb Pedersen and ? Eddie Van Halen?. Listen to one of her most beautiful songs B6 "Souther/Frey's "Last in love". Good german pressing. But french "SACEM" (not "GEMA") written on label. Deadwax "PF".

[Fritz The Cat]

John Coltrane - The Coltrane Legacy
(1970, Atlantic) WLP, Monarch symbol in the deadwax





Nice. a compilation of unreleased recordings from between '59 - '61.

This is the official US pressing. In Europe, it's very difficult to get these US promos. It's a rerelease with deadwax inscription ST-A- 701873 PR and AT and PRP and further inscriptions...... This is probably one of many thousands of pressings. Good dynamics.

[Fritz The Cat]

Good german 1977 rerelease. Duane Allman dobro & slide & guitars, Eddie Hinton guitars, Jimmy Johnson guitars, Barry Beckett keyboards, and all these studio cracks of Muscle Shoals. Listen to the beautiful slow blues track B2 "Loan me a dime" which is very emotionally but not always perfectly played. Such is life .....

[Fritz The Cat]

Ear cinema. Chris Spedding on most tracks: superb. Very Good english pressing. Listen to track B4 "Railway Hotel" and after that to track B5/6 "Voices in the dark"/"Don't let me be missunderstood"- Chicken skin music.

[Fritz The Cat]

Milestone? Perhaps. But shurely there is a miles-tone on this one. Very good dynamics. Powerful string bass by Oscar Pettiford and Wendell Marshall. This specially priced 1973 two record set includes the definitive 1957 mid-cool era recordings from Rudy Van Gelder Studios. Superb guitar player Joe Puma. These recordings previously were issued on 1957 Riverside and Prestige LPs. Tommy Flanagan, quite new to the New York scene at that time, shows here why his rise to fame was to be quite rapid. (Cit. Philip Elwood, inner fold cover notice). Listen to the light swinging track B1"Sultry Serenade" with impressive solo by Puma. I bought this one yesterday in a thrift store for 5 SFr. though the cover is not in best condition.

[Fritz The Cat]

Powerful funky but also melodious Jazz. The cover art is misleading to a wrong musical direction. Is it New Age music? No, look at the musicians on the back cover refered to, and you will know better.....We have a New York section and a Los Angeles section of studio musicians. Blues Brother Lou Marini, Steve Khan, Toots Thielemans,Tony Levin et al.. MPS is always a sure sign of quality. Good german pressing.Thrift store 3 SFr. this summer.

[SpeakerLabFan]

Jefferson Airplane - Thirty Seconds Over Winterland
(1973, Grunt) -1s/-1s




Although it's a later release after Marty Balin had left the band, it's a favorite with me especially for the thunder from Kaukonen & Casady and the between songs commentary from Slick and Kantner.

[Fritz The Cat]

Jack Casady plays a rare Gibson (????) Flying V bass with the machine heads on top row of headstock: a self-modified Gibson bass body combined with Fender Jazz bass neck? I have never seen this curious bass elsewhere. Does anybody know better or more? Inner gatefold cover shows Casady using a Wah Wah pedal. Recorded live Aug. 5./6. 1977 at Theatre 1839, San Francisco. Very dynamic live sound superbly produced by Felix Pappalardi: mountains of cream....Listen to tracks A1-A4: Kaukonen solo with big sounding acoustic guitar. Listen to the audience. So many women screaming.....

[Fritz The Cat]

This is not an impossible mission for Lalo Schifrin. In fact, as Jeff Baxter is quoted on back cover: it's possible to hear the movie! Lalo took the sounds of the 1940 New York era - swinging jazz, brassy big bands, ballsy hot groups- and added the ragtime feel (Cit. Jeremy Paul Kagan on LP backside cover). Listen to track B2 "Most Men" with famous singer Linda Hopkins.