Grateful Dead-Infrared Roses

Infrared Roses

"Infrared Roses" is an amazing collection of live recordings from The Grateful Dead recorded between 1987 and 1991. Unlike other live albums by the Dead, "Infrared Roses" focuses on the free-form experimental moments that were performed during the second set of every live show. These sections were commonly known as "Drums" and "Space".
Producer and GD soundman Bob Bralove compiled and processed these improvisations into four symphonic-style suites consisting of three movements each. While most of the music is presented untouched, there are several sections that are compiled and mixed from multiple improvisations. The style of these improvisations range from ambient ("Little Nemo in Nightland") to easy listening ("Silver Apples of the Moon" which features pianist Bruce Hornsby performing variations on the Dead classic "Dark Star") to avant-garde (the title track and "Magnesium Nightlight") to jazz ("Apollo at the Ritz" which features saxophone extraordinaire Branford Marsalis) to world music ("Speaking in Swords" and "River of Nine Sorrows").Also prevailent in this CD is the band's extensive use of Midi technology. On nearly every track, the band uses Midi to trigger the sounds of trumpets, choirs, flutes, voices and various sound effects from their traditional instruments of guitars, bass, keyboards and drums. As mentioned above "Infrared Roses" is a different kind of Grateful Dead album. The focus is on improvisation and experimentation instead of actual songs (the closing of "Uncle John's Band" can be heard at the beginning of "Riverside Rhapsody" though). This is not recommendend for someone just discovering the Dead. However, it is highly recommended not only for Deadheads but for fans of experimental music, free-form improvisation and jazz. This is a great collection of some of the band's best experimental moments. Buy this album, turn up the stereo, turn out the lights and listen!!

Moody Blues- Seventh Sojourn

Moody Blues-Seventh Sojourn

As the closing album of The Moodies' "classic 7" period, there's definitely a shift in dynamics and mood from the lighter (but thought-provoking), trippy and spaced-out (but fairly accessible) material from their earlier albums. On _Seventh Sojourn_, the mood is more somber and earthy, which was probably highlighted by the fact that the guys were going through a rough period around that time period. Also, the music, while still ethereal, wistful and touching, is a bit more earthy and straightforward.

The way I see it, the album is divided into two halves: The first half features the wispy, new age-tinged rock/pop that The Moodies are pretty known for, while the second half becomes more straightforward and edgy, as some of the tracks rock a little harder than usual.

"Lost In A Lost World" sounds a bit ahead of it's time, mainly because of the percussion. It reminds one a bit of The Beatles, yet it still sounds like a unique fusion done only the way The Moody Blues could have. Features new age, r&b and almost Indian flavors, but topped off with a funky drum beat and rhythm that sounds years ahead of it's 1972 release. The lyrics are deep and thought-provoking, and the luscious vocal harmonies are touching. "New Horizons" is an achingly touching tribute written by singer/guitarist Justin Hayward to his deceased father. The sad orchestrations, combined with Justin's plaintive vocals and the overabundant melody leaves an overwhelming effect. "For My Lady" is written and sung by flautist Ray Thomas. He's usually the writer of the Moodies' most whimsical tunes. While there's still a fair amount of whimsy here, the somber quality still outweighs anything else on this folk-ish track. "Isn't Life Strange" was written by bassist John Lodge, and the title pretty much speaks for itself, as it's a reflection on the stagnations and vicissitudes of life. The choiral-like chorus' are especially moving.

The second half starts off with "You And Me," which is a fairly upbeat rocker. The execution here makes this track sound the most dated, but, I personally like this aspect, as it actually sounds like something that could have come from one of the Moodies' 60s albums. "The Land Of Make Believe" sounds like a mid-tempo, but more sophisticated British-r&b track, especially during the main verses. "When You're A Free Man" features some nice chord changes (Dmin7 and E minor being the opening chords), and some gentle, but tasteful soloing from Justin Hayward. For some reason, some of the atmospherics on this track, particularly the slow tempo, the absorbing and lyrical solos, remind me slightly of Pink Floyd - mainly of their song "Time." Even the vocals (which may have been sung by Mike Pinder, I'm not quite sure) sound a bit like Pink Floyd's lead singer, David Gilmour. Yet, "Time" was released in 1973, and this was released in 1972. Very strange. "I'm Just A Singer (In A Rock And Roll Band)" seems to lighten up the mood a little bit, to an otherwise somber album. It's also (surprise!) the most hard rocking and upbeat on here.

As their most mature album, this is possibly my favorite from them, and that's not an easy thing for me to say. As such, if you're a fan of most of their 60s stuff, and haven't heard this, the somber quality of this album may take some getting used to. But, this shows them at their most sophisticated, mature, earthy and possibly pained (they would not return for another 4-5 years, and keyboardist Mike Pinder would leave.) Highly recommended.

Preferred Trendy Chemical Amusement aid for this Album: Weed, Barbituates

Skip Spence-Oar

Oar

If Death ever picks up a few chords and takes it to the studio, the result is likely to sound a lot like this. From the haunted vocals of "Cripple Creek," the choking heart of "Diana" and the ferocious guitar licks on "War In Peace," perhaps the album's best track, something darkly powerful lurks beneath the surface of this masterpiece. Amid so many tossed-off attempts at marketable psychedelia in Spence's day, this is one of the few with at least an air of authenticity. Though as song after well-wrought song unfolds, it becomes less of an "air" and much more of the real thing. Equally as startling as Spence's sense for great songwriting is the range of voices and tones he explores. The oddly comforting "Little Hands" descends into the possessed "Cripple Creek." "Books of Moses" might as well be the only recorded vocal performance of Moses himself, it sounds that rusty and raw; yet this too floats quietly into that other end of Skip's endless spectrum with the unassuming "Dixie Peach Promenade."

Skip's story is the stuff of legend now: frustrated with Jefferson Airplane's refusal to allow the guitarist any more than the role of a drummer, he fled to the briefly brilliant Moby Grape before strapping his guitar to his back and taking a motorcycle ride to Nashville, where he recorded this album in a haze of drugs and alienation. His is one of those cases in which the confidence of genius is the thing that kept him from glory in his day, but assured him a longer-lasting spotlight among the rock 'n roll immortals. The indignity of his mental illness and the decades he spent wasting away in asylums is compounded only by the alleged "tribute album" released for him in 1999. The hope was that it would pay his medical expenses, but Spence died just around the release of the album. Even so, why guys like the squealing money-bags of rock, Robert Plant, couldn't simply cut a check for the man's bills rather than releasing this "tribute album," bound to fail commercially because hardly anyone living had given a second's thought to its tributee in at least thirty years, is beyond me. At least it served up a classic rendition of "Book of Moses" by the always reliable Tom Waits, as well as a weirdly effective cover of "Halo of Gold" by Beck. Yet only one or two of the various artists featured on the tribute has ever managed the simultaneously accessible and challenging music Spence achieved on this, his only solo album. A solid affair from start to finish, it testifies to the combination of talent and substance so rarely bestowed upon the music world.

Preferred Trendy Chemical Amusement aid for this Album: Alcohol

Tangerine Dream-Alpha Centauri

Alpha Centauri

In a way, this album kinda gives off the impression of being on another planet. And supported by the vision of a science fiction writer about space, conceptualized by a visionary from perhaps the 1930's. The eerie effects of space ships and humming energy fields really gives off the effect of no longer being of this earth. You are mildly introduced to it by the less than five minute opening track called "Sunrise in the Third System", but you know you've really ascended into an out of body experience when you get deeply into the thirteen minute piece called "Fly and Collision of Coma Sola." For more than 30 years that I've had this album, I still never get tired of this piece. This is nothing near what you would call dance floor music. This is totally, anti-socially confined, inner-mind music.

The human brain is just like any other organ in the body. The entries of thoughts and sounds can entertain the brain, and is further enhanced by the stimulation of the heart. Music has an effective way of stimulating the mind and the soul. To truly embrace it, you will need to shut out all other intrusions of thought.

Like the other organs of the body, the brain can harden or soften, due to approval or disapproval of the entities that voluntarily or involuntarily penetrate the processing center in the mind.

Consciousness is an option to participate in the real or imagined presence of existence. If you can master the ability to leave one world, by entering yet another, will you know the meaning of true peace. This is truly, the closest you are ever going to ever meet God.

Sometimes, entering the fictitious world of alternative existence can cause mildly vibrating pulsations in the mind. Do not be alarmed. You are beneficially relieving yourself of tormenting thought toxins that are commonly recognized as routine stress. This is actually your mind sending a means of gratitude back to your heart, for sharing in its comforting euphoria of peaceful, rejuvenating, stimulating, and regulating meditation for overall peace to return to the body, as a whole.

"Alpha Centauri" was released in 1971. Only Klaus Schulze and very early Kraftwerk has introduced me to earlier episodes of spacey sound passages such as this. Tangerine Dream has been known to release over 100 albums, and is still recording today, but after 1983 (when they left the Virgin Record label) Edgar Froese, the one continuous member of Tangerine Dream, the sound of Tangerine Dream sounds like typical pop instrumentals that lost all hope that anything new and unique could ever be invented or discovered anymore.

Preferred Trendy Chemical Amusement aid for this Album:Weed, Barbituates, Alcohol 

Rolling Stones-Their Satanic Majesties Request

Their Satanic Majesties Request

Part druggy experiment, part musical rivalry with the Fab Four, and a total anomaly in the Rolling Stones' catalogue, THEIR SATANIC MAJESTIES REQUEST contains at least three trippy classics in "Citadel," "She's a Rainbow," and "2000 Light Years From Home." That it also contains an extensive sample of Bill Wyman snoring and an eight-minute stoned jam that begins with the timeless phrase "Where's that joint?" is a measure of SATANIC MAJESTIES' breadth of genius and folly.

There's a lot going on here--try comparing the wayward Eastern atmospheres of "Gomper" to anything on BEGGAR'S BANQUET, and marvel that you're listening to the same band. The fact that Jagger and Richards could still come up with the unimpeachably charming "She's a Rainbow"--baroque pop at its finest--and a fair stab at heavy R&B in "The Lantern," while attempting to negotiate the band's rocky passage through Flower Power is a tribute to their vision, their perseverance, and their drugs of choice.

The much maligned Their Satanic Majesties Request is The Rolling Stones obvious response to The Beatles Sgt. Pepper's album. The band dived headfirst into the psychedelic sounds of 1967's Summer of Love and the album sounds like no other in their catalog. Despite the criticism and attempt to keep pace with the Beatles (including the original 3-D cover), the album contains some excellent songs. The album opens up strong with the overture "Sing This All Together" with it's horns and sound effects and then slides right into the grinding guitar of "The Citadel". Bill Wyman's only lead vocal on a Stone's album is "In Another Land" and upon listening to it you can hear why it was his first and last. He has a tremendously thin voice and he makes Ringo Starr sound like Pavarotti. "2000 Man" is fast-paced and along with "2000 Light Years From Home" are the best songs on the album. The reprise of "Sing This All Together" is a major misstep and is a really bad song, but they pick up again with the flowery "She's A Rainbow". This album has taken an undue amount of heat, but as the years have passed, it should be looked at for what it is, a solid foray into the psychedelic arena by one of the best bands of all-time.



Preferred Trendy Chemical Amusement aid for this Album:LSD, Weed

Kraftwerk -Tone Float

Kraftwerk- Tone Float

During my listening of this album, I heard clear and distinct nods of influence to Pink Floyd's "Interstellar Overdrive" and "Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun" - and even some rhythms which seemed to be lifted straight out of Iron Butterfly's "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida". On more than one occasion, the keyboardist is obviously attempting to mimic Pink Floyd's Richard Wright from the post-Syd, early-Floyd era. I believe this music would be right-at-home if used as the soundtrack to a late-60s hippy culture movie. "Zabriskie Point" anyone?

I was alive in the late 1960s but too young to be aware of what was happening culturally around me. Regardless, I have loved much of that period's psychedelic aural and visual output since I began discovering it as a teenager in the early/mid-80s. I give this music high marks. It's not perfect but it certainly deserves to be lovingly remastered and officially released on compact disc. Even if this is not the kind of music and style of cover art with which the members of Kraftwerk have become associated over the decades, this music is historically *important* and provides valuable context for enabling the listener to understand how the guys who created "Autobahn" came to be who they are. Before hearing this, "Autobahn" was the earliest Kraftwerk I'd ever heard - and I bought it on vinyl 23 years ago in the summer of 1986!

Kraftwerk's path is suspiciously similar to the one traveled by Tangerine Dream which also released 4 relatively unknown experimental albums between 1970 and 1973 before suddenly "debuting" in 1974 with the now-classic "Phaedra".

IMO, it is grossly unfair to Kraftwerk's long-time fans that they appear content to deliberately sit on this album and the three which followed it - seemingly pretending they don't exist and doing nothing to see them officially reissued in an easily accessible, high-quality digital format.

Technically speaking, many people consider this to be Kraftwerk's first album, however, programmers frequently choose to begin their counting at zero, not one. Since the first Kraftwerk album can be accurately called "Kraftwerk 1" to differentiate it from "Kraftwerk 2", this album could and perhaps should be affectionately referred to as "Kraftwerk 0". Think about it. :)

For a "needle-drop" version of such a rare vinyl release, the fidelity of this pirate CD is remarkably good. There is some unfortunate distortion during the loudest percussion-drenched passages but, fortunately, it quickly goes away. While listening, I heard only two tell-tale "pops" which reveal that it is sourced from an LP. It shouldn't be difficult to manually remove those "pops" with software such as Audacity which probably did not yet exist in 1996 when this CD was mastered.

I would certainly like to know more about the cover art which I find to be quite hideous. Perhaps if I could understand it, I'd be better able to accept it. And what's up with using "Tone Float" for a title? What is that about?

Preferred Trendy Chemical Amusement aid for this Album: Amphetamines

The Doors-Strange Days

Strange Days

The strangeness of this album is indicated not merely by the title, but also by the obscure photography source.'Alabama Song', from the first album, is a compostion by a strange musician from early century Germany named Kurt Weill, and was originally sung by his wife, the gritty songstress Lotte Lenya.This street on the cover, is where Weill and Lenya were prominently photographed.The Doors were obviously quite taken by this unusual looking place.The characters spookily and humourously gracing this street here on "Strange Days", further enhance the European sentiments of this album.The Doors are of course, an American rock group.But the underlaying mood is here is most definitely not of Americam typicality.The cynicism of the Berlin cabaret scene, of which 'Alabama Song' is an infamous part, runs steadily through almost every song on "Strange Days".A cynicism, which is in contrast to the slick pizazz of the Broadway cabaret culture of the Doors' countrymen.

The man with the fingers(Manzarek) must have dislodged the sound mechanism from some showground carousel to produce his contribution.It's a very different treatment to the upfront, clear and unreverbed sound of the first album's organ.This pretty musicality though, is set-off by excedingly dark lyrics, sung with the utmost gloom.The slide guitaring by Krieger sums up this contradictory sentiment with perfection.I often don't know whether to smile or to fear.Add to this Densmore's odd-ball choice of rhythms, and suddenly the carousel organ doesn't seem so pretty anymore.With the Doors, it's never really darkness by obvious means.They incorporate niceties, then display the perverted relationships that can exist with such things.

'Strange Days', organly chord-grinds its album name-sake onto the scene, true to its word.'You're Lost Little Girl', with an easily detectable bass-line, recieves delicate treatment from Krieger's guitar and Morrison's voice.I find this album's ballads to contain his career's most pleasant singing.'Love Me Two Times' is perhaps the only track which steps outside of this album's induction of emotional confusion.I've always loved the song's well-executed rhythmic interuptions.

Ray 'the Man' zarek, swirls throughout 'Unhappy Girl' like a Dutch organ-grinder with tulips painted on every of the instruments panels.And Krieger has no shame in bending the same note at the end of nearly every single phrase of the song.Semi-playfully, yet eerily aswell.

Next onboard, are broken pianos rollocking on a pirate's ship.A woman ghost,(maybe named Mary Celeste?) wearing a white laced dress flayling in the wind, and shipmates are screaming as the ship goes down, beneath the psychotic waves.Pain.This is 'Horse Latitudes'.(Actually a sea-fearing expression, perhaps likening the sea's power to that of a horse).It can't possibly mean anything.It's merely a dream.No melody to be found, it is a poetry reading atop sound tapestry.'Moonlight Drive' is quite American, but hangs onto the album's vague experimental theme due to excessive guitar-neck slithery, like a hyper-active child insisting on expressing every impulse simultaneously.

'People Are Strange', has arguably Morrison's best, most coherent lyrics.They're even cited in psychology text-books to describe inner symptoms of the global illness which is depression.City life lends itself to feelings of isolation.People are too rushed and enslaved to afford reassuring glances with each other as they're passing by.So, it's easy to feel alone and uncared for.'People Are Strange' is the soundtrack I have playing in my head in such circumstances, just as those confidently strutting down the city street would have 'Stayin Alive' by the Bee Gees as their soundtrack.(Cheesy, I know.But lets face it... if you're STRUTTING, you're already in a cheesy mood anyway).

'My Eyes Have Seen You' rocks itself into the perimeter of passible normalcy.But, bizarre traces just adhere it to this albums rule; The days must remain strange.'I Can't See Your Face In My Mind' introduces a marimba(Central American) with slightly Japanese inclinations.A soft brushing keeps rhythm with this gentille, musical snail.'When The Music's Over' retains the first album's screatchy organ, and the ocean-deep bass-line is well worthy of the song's extenuous length.Its primal creepiness, drags the album home... clawing and screaming!

Preferred Trendy Chemical Amusement aid for this Album: Alcohol

Hawkwind-Quark Strangeness and Charm

Quark Strangeness and Charm

After the somewhat disappointing--and disjointed--Astounding Sounds, Amazing Music, Hawkwind streamlined its bridge crew and refitted the nuclear drive for one of its most daring interstellar voyages. The result, Quark, Strangeness and Charm (a sly reference to quantum physics), is a triumph in every way: ingenius lyrics, tight, well-crafted songs and a wealth of musical invention. Commencing with Calvert's brilliant ode to faster-than-light space travel, "Spirit of the Age" immediately assaults the listener with its nightmarish sci-fried white noise overture, slowly building to a crashing momentum on Dave Brock's simple but effective phase-shifted guitar progression. Calvert's poignant lyrics detail the plight of a lone and lonely star voyager who wrestles with the grim knowledge that upon his return to earth all he has ever known will be long dead. The Roger Zelazny-inspired "Damnation Alley" features more of Brock's phased guitar (though here with a decidely psychedelic edge) but it's really Simon House's excellent synth/keyboard/violin work that gives the track its propulsive fire. Calvert's appropriately post-apocalyptic lyrics ("Thank you, Dr. Strangelove, for giving me ashes and post-atomic dust...the sky is raining fishes, it's a mutation zoo...") are sung with both verve and humorous conviction. The droll irony of the title track (which explains that Einstein could never make it with the ladies because he never understood the random flucuations of sub-atomic particles, i.e., quark, strangeness and charm) plays well against the song's amphetamine-fueled pace in much the same way as a typical Buzzcocks or XTC track from roughly the same time period. The prophetic "Hassan I Sahba" melds middle eastern scales and thunderous hard rock to produce one of the most timeless--and terrifying--visions of global terrorism ever committed to vinyl. Other tracks of note include the album's two instrumentals: Simon House's wholly electronic "The Forge of Vulcan," which features a hammering anvil, and the brief, doom-laden "Iron Dream." The packaging is well-executed (much superior to the original Virgin/Charisma CD release from the early 90's) and the additional tracks are of course nice to have but in no way add anything of importance to the original QSC. As several other reviewers have noted, there are a few slight problems with the mastering, including some frequency quashing, but the overcompression as a general rule doesn't interfere with one's overall enjoyment of the songs themselves. We can just be thankful that an album as prescient and as potent as Quark, Strangeness and Charm is available at all in our increasingly sanitized and dehumanized world.

Preferred Trendy Chemical Amusement aid for this Album:Weed,Alcohol, Uppers

Captain Beefheart -Trout mask replica

Trout mask replica

Like many folks the first listening was jarring and my initial thought was "what the heck? This is awful!" I gave it another chance though and upon further listening I find this album rather charming. It is a combination of blues, jazz, rock, spoken-word beat-like poetry with a dust bowl ballad kind of ambiance. The music will at times feel familiar, as if it may go in a conventional direction, but it won't. It will turn, twist, contort and will go to crazy places. The most off-putting aspect for me is Captain Beefheart sounds a lot like Wolfman Jack, the disc jockey and TV personality of the 60's and 70's.

So if you are safely cocooned in your likes and dislikes of music and are happy with your trusted bands, don't come near this cause you won't like it. If you are like me and are looking for something different this may be for you just to shake things up a bit. And I agree with a review I read somewhere, a negative one I believe, that after listening to TMR you will listen to and appreciate other more "conventional" music even more. This was meant as a put down but I believe it is a compliment. Everything sounds different to me now since I listened to TMR. So give TMR a try if you are in a musical rut or are feeling adventurous.

Clearly these guys were working outside all limitations of musical style and format. But like classical composers who think all good tunes are cliche, if you refuse to make music then it's not music. Of course fans of this album are fine with that even though some would still refer to this album as a different kind of music. Shaking off the chains of convention is a declaration of freedom, just don't try to call it music. Music must be musical. If everything can be anything then nothing means anything.

Preferred Trendy Chemical Amusement aid for this Album:Cocaine

Syd Barrett-Madcap Laughs

Syd Barrett- Madcap Laughs

In The Madcap Laughs Barrett's more vulnerable moments have been left on tape giving the music a more authentic feel.Some sessions occurred between May-June 1968,but the bulk was recorded between April and July 1969,with David Gilmour and Roger Waters,serving as studio musicians and producers.A few tracks have been overdubbed by members of the band Soft Machine.Despite Barrett's descent into insanity,this record is a real exploration of psychedelic rock.Some of the tracks are simple acoustic guitar and Barrett's voice.Others have electric and base guitars, organs,vibes, pianos,cymbals,drums and are more multi-layered, largely overdubbed over his voice and guitar. Barrett didn't want any rehearsals or re-recordings done. Syd's playing and singing were highly erratic and unpredictable--he skipped or added beats and bars seemingly at random, or otherwise he would strum on a single chord for a long time before unexpectedly reverting back to the main portion of the song. This was all much to the frustration of the session musicians leading to certain tension.

Madcap,the rash,impulsive,high-spirited girl he sings to in these songs,flips from being inner demon or muse.The spontaneity and immediacy come from his raw talent,stripped bare.He is slipping away from us mentally,getting into his own groove,out on his own track,soon to be lost forever,far from the world of groups,session musicians and engineers,floundering in a limbo of headspace,a universe in reverse.On the album cover the image of Barrett crouching in the corner of his living room,face obscured by dark, wavy hair and bad lighting.Purple and orange floorboards.This is the antechamber to the end of the 60s,when darkness descends,stark instrumentation,haunting lyrics,a vulnerability so palpable and unedited,you know this man is not sane. He will soon putter out from conscious creation.However he was in fine form during the sessions.Some of the later tracks are rushed and spartan due to time allowed.

We board an unorthodox musical train of thought,not able,like the session musicians,to anticipate where it will go.The opening song,"Terrapin"changes key and skips beats without warning.The word order combination 'Floating,bumping,noses dodge a tooth/the fins a luminous/fangs all `round the clown/is dark below the boulders hiding all/the sunlight's good for us' is rich in imagery,soulful in voice.Are we ever on the same page?In "No good trying" there is the wilful egotism and directness of a child.In `Love You' we have the whooping joy of first love.We know what it means,yet it it has no sense.In "No Man's Land" there is a gibberish verse no one can even understand to write down,meant to be understood,yet Syd liked it that way."Dark Globe",a first person narrative of schizophrenia,with the plaintive refrain "Wouldn't you miss me at all?" or "please lift a hand" like voices in his head."Here I go" Barrett waxes lyrical about a romantic,happy ending,with a happy tune disguising something scary beneath the surface like a darkness he neither knows nor cares about,warding it off with a jaunty,familiar air.

My favorite track "Octopus",a cornucopia of joy from a liberated,child-like soul, full of imagery of promise:"with a honey plough of yellow prickly seeds/clover honey pots and mystic shining feed.." I love his rendition of Joyce's "Golden Hair" with Barrett strumming mournfully against some soft cymbal work by session musicians.Two great souls united through a harmony of song.Sad and beautiful.The sad nostalgia of "Long Gone" combined with a visionary intensity:"I borrowed the page/ from a leopard's cage/and I prowled in the evening sun's glaze". With "She took a long cold look"a simple love song mutates into something much chillier.He is at the lowest ebb of his mental health on "Feel",almost mad,and "If it's in you",both harrowing examples of the misunderstood Barrett, teetering on the edge.The valedictory "Late Night",a beautifully rendered love song,gentle like sunshine through rain.Barrett never did anything to match this superb record,indelibly marked with his genius.As Pope once said:"Great wits to madness sure are near allied".However this record stands as a landmark of true creative promise.After this ,the stutter into vagrant silence,then the long walk home to his mother's house.

Preferred Trendy Chemical Amusement aid for this Album:LSD, Weed

Tangerine Dream -Pheadra

This is one of those albums that people generally enjoy listening to alone. It's not a party favorite unless your party is with a bunch of mellow space cadets seeking darkness and euphoria and wishing to maintain an absence of consciousness, which can be wonderfully amplified by music like this.

This is Tangerine Dream's first Billboard charted album (yeah, can you believe that?). It charted all the way up to #196 in July of 1974. And just as good was Tangerine Dream's next dark dreamscape concept called "Rubycon" which I would imagine everyone already has if they already own "Phaedra." Then a live album called "Ricochet" came out which didn't chart on the Billboard Top 200 either, but what surprised me was that the next Tangerine Dream album "Stratosfear" entered the Top 200, all the way up to #158. I am not too particularly fond of "Stratosfear", but, it's hard to say why some albums get heard and some maybe not.

The Virgin years were Tangerine Dream's most tangible years for being innovative and recognized. Edgar Froese is really the only original member of Tangerine Dream through their entire 40 plus year existence. With over a 100 albums released (including many solo albums from Edgar Froese), I think only Klaus Schulze could possibly have more recorded material.

Klaus Schulze was one of the first original members of Tangerine Dream, but quickly left to have own solo career, and his material is available in single albums and various box sets.

The title track is like plunging into a sea of alien life forms befogged by a sense of mysterious danger...then the threat lifts, but the floating mystery remains. Large shapes loom in the background, Saurian, dense and cryptic. Then a new sea emerges and a new species, which could never have been guessed at from the previous forms encountered. These seal-like polyps call blindly to their lost progenitor, their bittersweet tragedy akin to humanity's own, despite differences in the way it is expressed.









Preferred Trendy Chemical Amusement aid for this Album:Weed, Barbituates, Alcohol

Moody Blues-In search of the lost chord

Moody Blues-In search of the lost chord

IN SEARCH OF THE LOST CHORD is filled with the group's euphoric music, which both explores the cosmos and comforts us with their emblematic, tuneful bliss. There is a remarkable, youthful enthusiasm in both the music and the lyrics, and the album is loaded with songs of unique, psychedelic charm. "Ride My See-Saw" has a mesmerizing groove, but it's intelligently energetic. "Voices In The Sky," "Visions Of Paradise" and "The Actor" are pure ecstasy, with such heavenly mixes of instrumental textures and heartfelt vocals. I don't find "Dr. Livingstone, I Presume" inferior in any way; in fact it's delightful (pay no attention to the detractors if you prefer inventiveness over trendiness). "Legend Of A Mind" is as haunting as you could ask for, and the instrumental break from 2:42 to 4:59 still takes me to OMville. "House Of Four Doors" is mysteriously enchanting, beautiful...captivating. This and "Part 2" frame "Legend Of A Mind" perfectly. And, how can any psychedelia-loving soul not delight in "The Best Way To Travel"? The meditative "OM" completes this musical treasure piece in splendid fashion.

"In Search Of The Lost Chord" is arguably the Moody Blues' most psychedelic album, but it is also one of their all-time greats. Bassist John Lodge's rockin' "Ride My See-Saw," and flautist Ray Thomas' wonderful ode to Timothy Leary, "Legend Of A Mind," remain Moody Blues concert staples to this day. There's also Thomas' playful "Dr. Livingstone, I Presume," the experimental delights of Lodge's "House Of Four Doors" (with "Legend Of A Mind" sandwiched within it), guitarist Justin Hayward's beautiful "Voices In The Sky," "Visions Of Paradise," and "The Actor," keyboardist Mike Pinder's spacious "The Best Way To Travel," and the spiritual "Om," and drummer Graeme Edge's fine poetry in the forms of "Departure" and "The Word." Marvelously written, played, & sung by the band, handsomely produced by Tony Clarke, and remastered for superior sound quality, "In Search Of The Lost Chord" remains one of the Moody Blues' finest works. 

Preferred Trendy Chemical Amusement aid for this Album:LSD, Weed

Krafwerk-Electric Cafe

Electric Cafe

Okay, where do I start? "Electric Cafe" is a masterpiece. Their best album. Not only does it possess the streamlined economy of sound prevalent in other Kraftwerk albums, it combines that with real, cutting wit. I mean, how funny is "Boing boom tschak"? It's not supposed to be taken completely seriously! The rhythms have been honed and layered with precision and calculation. The album is very calculated. Everything is perfect. Everything is there for a reason, and the music woulnd't work without it. For example, the echo stopping the third time the voice says "boing boom tschak" at the very start. If the echo was there as with the first two times, the feel of the music would be very different. One must also point out the variety of sounds on this album is far greater than on any other Kraftwerk album (except "The Mix"). They really used the synths, samplers, vocoders and Robovox (their own synthetic voice generator) to maximum advantage. There are analogue "bleeps" here galore - bent, twisted and coloured with digital processors (every sound is meticulously detailed if you listen closely enough). There are synthetic strings, there are umpteen different snare, bass drum and cymbal emulations. Synthesised guitars. A plethora of new synthetic sounds, more extravagantly detailed than ever before by Kraftwerk and than any songs I have heard coming out these days. Loads of synthetic voices, some blatantly robotic and some very human sounding - "Speak&Spell" could have made a cameo, though! As for the ludicrous insults the title track has suffered in others' reviews, here are some of its lyrics: "aesthetic form, political art, dietary cuisine, in the atomic age". Raising concepts, raising issues, simply and with ambivalence! That's what art should do, and here are Messrs Hutter and Schneider isolating aspects of our modern "atomic age" for the listener to contemplate and evaluate for him or herself. The song is a work of art. The album as a whole lacks thematic omnipotence in that it concentrates rather more on the lonely, depersonalised side of modern living. It's a very social album - tracks like "Sex Object" and "The Telephone Call". I think it could have done with one or two more tracks, about other sides of modern life - office atmosphere, consumer fashions, television soaps, and so on, but I suppose that was all dealt with in the previous "Computer World" album. All in all, "Electric Cafe" is Kraftwerk coming down to the ground level. Technology is sex. Machines are sex. The so-called cold and sterile computer screen can be as "warm" as any human face. You just have to want it. In the end, language doesn't matter, because sound, rhythm and colour communicate so much more. "Boing boom tschak" indeed, because verbal language is dead. Technology could bring about our demise (ie "Terminator" territory) or it could seriously advance humanity onto a new stage, or both. Of course, anything is possible. "Electric Cafe" points to a new era of art.

Preferred Trendy Chemical Amusement aid for this Album:Weed, Amphetemines, Cocaine

Jefferson Airplane-After Bathing at Baxters

Jefferson Airplane-After Bathing at Baxters

Jefferson Airplane tried hard, on this 1967 utterly noncommercial followup to their phenomenally successful classic Surrealistic Pillow. Having made RCA millions of dollars with PILLOW, the Airplane took full advantage of their newly-minted blank check to create what may be the purest example of musical psychedelia to come out of the Sixties.

Listening to AFTER BATHING AT BAXTER'S is literally a trip. Bizarrely torqued lyrics are wedded to experimental recording techniques, sound montages, and off-center tempos and rhythms to provide the listener with an auditory hallucination. Everything goes, and so it went at BAXTER'S. It was all new, avant-garde to excess, and it largely failed to reach its fullest potential.

Most art does fail, but there's no question that BAXTER'S cross-pollinated with many other performers and musical styles. The influence of BAXTER'S can be heard in "Revolution 9" by The Beatles, and on many other recordings of the era. BAXTER'S may have sold relatively poorly compared to PILLOW, but it was heard by the Airplane's contemporaries, and it clearly served as a wellspring of inspiration. An aficionado's album, AFTER BATHING AT BAXTER'S is a ghost in the machine that remains haunting even today.

Preferred Trendy Chemical Amusement aid for this Album:LSD, Weed,  Alcohol

Pink Floyd-Meddle

David Gilmour himself once remarked that Meddle was Pink Floyd's first true album. Though this is their fifth post-Barrett effort, it is musically light-years ahead of any of its predecessors. Of course there are many wonderful, brilliant moments on those early records, but it is clear in those recordings that the band was anxiously searching. Meddle is Pink Floyd finding itself. It is far more focused, far more melodic, and far more cohesive then anything before it. No longer searching, Pink Floyd had finally arrived. The album kicks into gear with the savage instrumental One Of These Days. Howling wind sets the tone as a pulsing doubled bass line (complete with tape echo) pumps along. Intensity grows with organ stabs, reversed cymbal rolls, and fierce slide guitar. After a creepy bass interlude, Nick Mason makes his (distorted) vocal debut with "One of these days I'm going to cut you into little pieces!!" and slams the song into overdrive. Pounding drums and stinging slide guitar dominate for the next two minutes until nothing but wind remains. It is here that (appropriately enough) the gorgeous ballad, A Pillow Of Winds picks up. Made up of acoustic guitars and sparse bass, this is a beautiful floating piece that takes advantage of Gilmour's tranquil vocals. This gentle mood is held through Fearless, a relaxed mid-tempo summer breeze of a song, again driven by Dave's voice. San Tropez and Seamus show off the Floyd's eclecticism as well as humor. The former invokes a bouncy cocktail lounge jazz feel, while the latter stars Steve Marriot's dog Seamus who "sings" along with Gilmour on some acoustic blues.
And then there's Echoes. 31 years later, this epic sound journey stands as one of the band's greatest achievements. Every element that would become synonymous with Pink Floyd was crystallized in this one phenomenal song. Swirling, bubbling keyboards and liquid guitar lines mix with floating vocal harmonies and a dynamic rhythm section to move the music through several dramatic and powerful moods. Truly the band's musicianship had taken a monstrous quantum leap forward from Atom Heart Mother. Of exceptional note is David Gilmour who, after years of struggling, managed to firmly define his role in Pink Floyd with complete confidence. That he asserts his unmatched talents on this track is an understatement. Fluid guitar lines; silky bends; gorgeous vibrato; subtle slide; tremolo bar antics; funky rhythms; and soaring leads abound. A significant part of his style - playing sounds and textures as well as notes - is also well represented. In the intro, he carresses the strings with a steel slide (much like an E-bow) to produce a shimmering string section-like feel. During the middle section, when darkness falls, his echo-laden feedback cries can be heard over ominous keyboards, swirling wind, and the distant screech of crows. Then, as daybreak comes in the form of a musical buildup to the final verses, the track ends with a multi-layered guitar part that sounds almost like a ghostly choir rising higher and higher. All this over the single echoing piano note that started the piece off. Fantastic.
Meddle is often dismissed as a "transitional" album due to the massive success of it's follow-up, Dark Side Of The Moon. Though it's not quite as perfectly structured as Dark Side, it can easily stand shoulder-to-shoulder with it (and any of the golden era Floyd albums). I would say that if you've digested Dark Side, Wish You Were Here, Animals, and The Wall, move on to Meddle next. This is an incredible album and should not at all be overlooked.

Preferred Trendy Chemical Amusement aid for this Album:LSD, Weed, Alcohol

1st Post

Certain music sounds alot better if you happen to be on drugs.  And this weird and strange music that your listening to depends on which kind of drugs your on This blog will guide you thru music reviews of CD geared toward music or videos you would view if you were high. One classic example is Pink Floyd-Meddle.