Short Cuts: Volume 1

So… as I continue to move along with this blog, a few things have become increasingly clear. For starters, I’ve learned that writing a record review to my own satisfaction takes time.  It’s either very hard or I write reviews very slowly.  I’ve also learned that because I spend so much time writing my reviews, I’m never going to be able to write about everything I listen to. Unless I do it differently.

That’s the idea behind Short Cuts. It’s a chance for me to list everything that’s hit my turntable, CD player or iPhone while I’m working on the more in-depth reviews. I won’t go into details; just touch on a few points that may…or may not be of interest. Hope you enjoy this new feature.  Let me know what you think!

The Practice of Everyday Life: Celebrating 40 Years of Recordings

Bill Nelson

2012

This is a little box filled with magic.  Best known as the mastermind behind glam rock pioneers, Be Bop Deluxe in the 70s, Bill Nelson was once one of the most revered electric guitarists in rock music. Breaking up the band after six amazing albums, Nelson went on to establish himself as one of music’s most endearing, eccentric, and reclusive studio geeks. Often recording alone in his home studio, Nelson’s post Be Bop output has covered everything from movie soundtracks, new wave pop, ambient soundscapes and guitar hero showcases. The one recurring theme in his work is a fascination with an idealized retro vision of the future that reminds me of the Jetsons.  Think robots, flying cars and enclosed monorails. This career spanning, 8-disk box set is only for fans, but offers enough to listen to and think about for the better part of a lifetime.

Futurist Manifesto: Harvest Years 74-78

Be Bop Deluxe

2011

Future Manifesto collects all five of Be Bop Deluxe’s studio recordings and assorted bonus tracks in one awesome, re-mastered box set.  At less than $25 on Amazon for the whole shebang, I can’t think of a better introduction to the band. Lead guitarist, vocalist and primary songwriter Bill Nelson plays like no one before him or since, but for a point of reference, I have heard the band occasionally compared to early Bowie and Queen.  I fell in love with Modern Music after finding it in a Woolco bargain bin at the Cinnaminson Mini Mart back in the 70s.  Still, this is one band that never made a bad record and every one of their five studio releases (Axe Victim, Futurama, Sunburst Finish, Modern Music and Drastic Plastic) is worth getting to know and love.   Live in the Air Age, their excellent double live LP (originally released on white vinyl and later CD), is not included in this set, but available separately and possibly the best place to start exploring this vastly underrated band.

Chrysalis Years: (1973-1979)

UFO

2011

UFO never quite matched the success of rival 70s hard rock bands like Bad Company or Van Halen, and probably spent a better part of the decade with a chip on their shoulders. I personally witnessed a testy exchange between lead vocalist, Phil Mogg and someone in the audience during a show at the Tower Theater in Upper Darby many years ago. Addressing this poor guy, who probably wanted nothing more than to go to the bathroom and drain out some pre-show brew, Mogg pointed the dude out, directed a spotlight his way and exclaimed, mid-song, without missing a beat, “Why don’t you sit your ass down!” Insecurities aside, UFO had a solid run of modestly successful releases, occasionally gaining FM airplay with songs like “Too Hot To Handle,” “Lights Out” and “Electric Phase.” While still actively recording and performing to this day, this box set collects everything UFO recorded with the classic mid-70s lineup that featured the amazing German guitar prodigy, Michael Schenker. Included in their entirety are, Phenomenon, Force It, No Heavy Petting, Lights Out, Obsession and the double live document Strangers in the Night. Aside from the occasional power ballad, and Mogg’s odd habit of turning flat notes into vocal hooks, this re-mastered, budget box set showcases six years of consistent, entertaining hard rock that holds up surprisingly well in 2013.

Eat a Peach

Allman Brothers Band

1972

There’s something about sunshine, cold beer and the Allman Brothers that makes a chore as potentially mundane as washing, sanding and priming outdoor patio furniture seem like fun. So this was an easy pick last Sunday afternoon. Originally released as a double LP set, two sides of which contained their epic, 33-minute Mountain Jam, Eat a Peach was the Allman’s follow up to their breakthrough Fillmore East album and the last album to feature the brilliant slide guitarist Duane Allman, before he was tragically killed  in a 1971 motorcycle accident. The title comes from one of Duane’s final interviews in which he was asked what he was doing to help the revolution. Duane replied, “There ain’t no revolution, it’s evolution, but every time I’m in Georgia I eat a peach for peace.”

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