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Monterey Pop: Sometimes You Really Can't Go Home Again
by John Kelman
They say you can't go home again, but people often expend a lot of energy proving just the opposite. Anyone who was alive during the so-called Summer of Love in 1967 would like to remember a time of openness and innocence. While Vietnam was full-throttle, Kent State was still three years away. Woodstock was two years away and Altamonte--the wake-up call that signalled the end of an idealistic decade--a few months further beyond.
But in 1967 it was all about ...
Continue ReadingGimme That Old Time Shellac: Two Treasure Troves Of Vintage Americana
by Alexander M. Stern
There is a powerful irony in the modern consumption of old music. When record companies first sent representatives into the Appalachians and the Mississippi Delta, the intention was to record music that the inhabitants of those regions themselves would buy. The idea that people in cities like New York or Boston would be interested in the music captured on those fragile shellac discs seemed absurd to the early talent scouts. At best, a few transplanted southerners in cities like Chicago ...
Continue ReadingVarious Artists: The House That Trane Built: The Story Of Impulse Records
by Chris May
From 1965-75, the Impulse! label was what Blue Note had been in the preceding decade--namely, the label that defined its era--but much of its back catalogue has been only fitfully available for years. The release of this four-CD set, plus a label biography and ten single-artist CD compilations, suggests that might be about to change.
If so, there's a thick, solid gold seam to mine. During one five-year period alone, Impulse! released over a hundred albums, and the innovations of ...
Continue ReadingA Confusing Musical Story About Pierre Verger
by Norman Weinstein
This is a rumination about a great collector of world music, and an equally great photographer, Pierre Verger, whose name is now on the sleeves of some outstanding world music CDs.I'll return to the particulars of the several discs in the Collection Edition Pierre Verger series. But first, let me share my puzzlement about the series' packaging and presentation, which in this case is far from being a trivial matter.Verger devoted decades of his long life ...
Continue ReadingThe House That Trane Built: The Story of Impulse Records
by Norman Weinstein
Various Artists The House That Trane Built: The Story of Impulse Records Impulse! 2006
Your reaction to this four-CD box has a great deal to do with whether you give more emphasis to the main title, “The House That Trane Built, or the subtitle, “The Story of Impulse Records. If you want to follow the Impulse! story, this is a fine cherry-picking by jazz journalist Ashley Kahn of many of the high points of ...
Continue ReadingVarious Artists: The Royal Dan
by Jim Santella
For this tribute to the genius of Steely Dan, the Tone Center label brought in ten leading fusion guitarists who apply their veteran skills on one track apiece, doing their best to capture the magnetic force embodied by this memorable rock duo. Several of the musicians appearing here have worked with Steely Dan.
Robben Ford, along with saxophonist Ernie Watts, gives “Peg a fiery, blues-based feeling that stands tall and runs hard. Steve Morse celebrates “Bodhisattva with fiery, ...
Continue ReadingVarious Artists: Swedish Songbirds
by Mark Sabbatini
Full-price sampler albums tend to be unsatisfying, sort of like paying for a catalogue. Too many labels sell them at deep discounts, give them away with other CDs, and/or offer comparable collections on the web. The song selection is also usually less than spectacular, designed to appeal to as many potential customers--and offend as few--as possible.
All of those drawbacks are evident on Swedish Songbirds. Even though it's pleasant in a middling non-offensive way, the collection has the ...
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