Schotje's Audio Archives

Neil Young’s music has often pulled me through hard times. Even last year when I was lost in icy mountain roads in the north of Norway, his music made it a lot easier. Lately he stated that he lost inspiration by not drinking and smoking anymore. Well, this 2012 recording of a jam session with his Crazy Horse band shows very different !!! http://www.schothans.com/music/NY_cortez_2012.mp3

Article from the New Yorker, nov. 2012.

The Grateful Dead occupy a curious spot in the canon. Their music has turned out to be extremely resilient, considering that they were primarily a live act and effectively ceased to exist seventeen years ago, when Garcia died, and that for many of the years prior to that (how many is just about the most debated question in Deadland) they were a weak incarnation of themselves. They made a lot of studio albums, but few memorable ones, and had just one Top Forty hit in thirty years, and not for lack of trying. Yet it’s probably safe to say that the Dead have more recorded music in circulation than any performing group in history.

From their establishment, in 1965, to the death of Garcia, in 1995, they played 2,318 concerts, and more than two thousand of those are available in some form or another.

The band has released a hundred archival concert recordings, under various rubrics, but they also often (though not always) tolerated the taping of their concerts by people in the audience, as long as the tapes were traded, not sold.

As Garcia said, “Once we’re done with it, the audience can have it.”

http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2012/11/26/121126fa_fact_paumgarten

These are all especially good musicians but i’m really struck by the piano playing of maestro Laércio de Freitas; ” Less is more”

Katell Keineg is probably one of the best musicians you’ve never heard of. You might know one of her songs sung by Nathalie Merchant called “Gulf of Araby” but otherwise she keeps a very low profile… And that’s a pity because her music and voice is pure and beautiful and very original too.

It was pure coincidence that I discovered the music of Canadian/French group Harmonium. We were on vacation in Bretagne, France and i believe it was in a small recordstore in Concarneau where i bought the album Les Cinq Saisons (1975) of the Québec group Harmonium. Never know why I exactly bought that album; maybe because of the fold-out cover, maybe because of the title of the album, maybe because of the songlisting (long songs) or maybe because it was cheap priced? Anyway, i bought the album and we could listen to it in the local bar at Kerleven which we visited daily (and nightly too). Great music and i collected many of their albums in the following years by visiting the specialized recordstores in Amsterdam like Concerto and Boudisque.

Again pure coincidence when i was looking around on YouTube and found a short documentry of the bands’s visit to America. I’ve edited it a little, leaving out the politics and keeping the music in. Hope you’ll like it! Click on the record cover to see the edited 20 minutes version…

Here’s the link to the original YouTube videoclip (29 min):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYv7GPuQG1c&feature=g-vrec

One of my favourite albums of Bob Dylan is the soundtrack for the movie “Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid”. Both the album as the movie are higly underrated. Now, so many years later, Dylan made a song for the “Tempest” album (2012) that easily could fit on the 1973 album. Both in music style as in theme of the album/movie. Only difference is that the song is a tribute to John Lennon, who was full alive in 1973.

click the picture for the song (incl. the lyrics).

Sam Peckinpah directed the movie. I love all his movies. Sadly when the movie was finished the studio decided to cut scenes. Peckinpah was so upset he wanted his name removed from all the credits… Like all Peckinpah movies this film has many layers. You can view it as a simple cowboy movie in which people die in a way only Peckinpah could film. Bobby “Sunshine” Dylan only plays a minor role in the movie but the influence of his lyrics and music can be felt throughout the film.

“How does it feel?” Billy asks his former friend Pat Garrett, quoting the famous refrain of “Like a Rolling Stone.” “It feels like times have changed,” Garrett replies…

Who need tv-programs like Idols, Voice of Holland, and more when there’s internet?

a place without time

The first encounter with the music of CAN was listening to a German compilation album called “Electric Monster Rock Show”. The CAN and Canned Heat songs on this album were absolute favourites.

Everything of Can was strange… their music, their album covers, their singers and the way they recorded their albums in their own studio and released the records on their own SPOON record label. The importance of the band has been recognised and resulted in a rebuild of their studio.

The Rock’n’Pop museum opened its doors on July 21, 2004. It’s located in Gronau, Germany. It’s the home of the complete CAN recording studio. In 2003 the complete studio moved from a kino in Koln to the museum in Gronau. The shots are from the studio and the music is a live-recording of “Fizz” mixed with some sound-clips of my visit to the museum. The song “Fizz” is from a CD bootleg, dated the 4th of march 1977, recorded live in Aston, (GB).

Holger Czukay: radio waves
Michael Karoli: guitar and vocals
Jaki Liebezeit: drumz
Irmin Schmidt: organ and vocals
Rosko Gee: bass
Reebop Kwaku Baah: percussion

click the picture for the long video (the FIZZ mix)

http://embed.animoto.com/play.html?w=swf/vp1&e=1344423163&f=G80uMTHagL5GiTyhJYUdMg&d=27&m=b&r=360p&volume=100&start_res=360p&i=m&options=or the short 30 sec. clip above…

or for the YouTube version (the VITAMIN C mix) below:

Immaculate Fools were a pop group formed in 1984, who had their biggest success in 1985 with the single “Immaculate Fools”. The band was formed in Kent, England by two sets of brothers: Kevin Weatherill (vocals, guitar) and Paul Weatherill (bass, vocals), and Andy Ross (guitar) and Peter Ross (drums). The band’s single “Immaculate Fools” reached #51 in the UK Singles Chart in January 1985.

The band did very well, expecially in The Netherlands and in Spain. I loved this song instantly and had to buy the single. The musicshop only had a 12″ version and luckily it had an acoustic version as a B-side. So the mix posted here begins with the acoustic, followed by the electric version.
Immaculate Fools

We talk of changes
We talk of many things
When there is sadness
We re-arrange the dream
Those tainted promises
They fade and die
We forget so easily
The love inside

(chorus 2x)
We are enchanted
We are immaculate
We are selected

Immaculate fools (3x)

We talk of changes
We talk of many things
When there is sadness
We re-arrange the dream
Those tainted promises
They fade and die
We forget so easily
The love inside

(chorus 2x)
We are enchanted
We are immaculate
We are selected

I looked out my window
Thought i heard you come
Looked inside my mirror
To see what i had done
Faith hope and charity
They passed you by
Call them now they can´t refuse
Get, side by side

(chorus 2x)
We are enchanted
We are immaculate
We are selected

Immaculate fools (3x)

The pretty tune is at an end
It´s down to you and me again
All the things that i don´t need
Always seem to follow me
Every day´s a holiday
Sink or swim
Laughing as the ship goes down
We shall live again

(chorus 2x)
We are enchanted
We are immaculate
We are selected

Immaculate fools (3x)

When you hear the blues of Shakey Sam for the first time you probably won’t guess that this is music coming from the lowlands of Friesland. Shakey Sam, real name Simon Vlietstra, was born in Franeker on the 17th of May, 1950. His career was way too short, only nine years long. He was called Shakey Sam because he could get real nervous before a gig.

Simon got his first guitar at the age of fifteen and went searching for the blues originals after listening to the music of John Mayall and legendary dutch bluesband Cuby & Blizzards. Cuby’s ‘Desolation” album started it all. His first big public appearance was Loosdrecht’s Jazz Concours. A year later he gained third place at the Laren Jazz & Blues competition. In 1973 he played the Jazzconcours at Biels and a year later he had a chance to open for Jimmy Rogers and Koko Taylor at the “American Blues Legends” tour in Amsterdam.

That same year he was asked to join dutch bluesband Barrelhouse. But Shakey Sam was used at doing the blues his own way and didn’t feel at ease in the band. So when almost a year later singer Tineke Schoenaker joined Barrelhouse Shakey quit and went solo again.

In 1975 he released his first album titled ‘Shakey Sam’ Munich Records BM 150206, recorded at the Mirasound Studio’s, Wijhe. It has a beautiful cover where you can see Shakey Sam riding his Mobilette through a cold and lonely dutch landscape. For me it represents his will to do things his own way and that a white man from the country can really play authentic blues.

In 1978 he released a second album, now playing with a band. In an interview in Musicpaper Oor he was asked if things wouldn’t get easier if he should make more popular music… His answer was that he included some hardrock songs in his set; great for the public and easy to play for me. He could play these songs on technique whereas the blues had to be played with feeling…

Sadly, just at the moment when his career seemed to take off and one day before his birthday, Shakey Sam was found dead at the barn behind his house. He always did things his own way… 31 years old! In 2006 and 2011 tribute concerts were organised in Franeker, Friesland, to honour this authentic dutch bluesman.

The song I’ve posted on YouTube is called ‘Big Town Girl’ and is from the doublealbum “Dedicated to the Blues”

Time goes by. It’s three full years since the news came that the tough and tender John Martyn had died, January 2009, at the age of 60 of pneumonia. A genuine original: not just an astonishing guitar player, but also a brilliantly adventurous vocalist and a remarkable songwriter. His acute sensitivity meant his existence was innately painful. Drink dulled that pain but made him a famously heavy drinker. In 2003 his right leg was amputated below the knee. He was a far more gentle soul than his image as a grizzled wildman suggests and he made some wonderful records and was almost always superb in concert. His death ruled out plans to work with jazz musician Pharoah Sanders

Although all of his albums have at least one jewel on it I favoure the “Solid Air” and “One World” albums. ‘Solid Air’ (1973) what a wonderful album, with Danny Thompson playing the Bass. He handled the traditional or experimental with such naturalness. Beautiful extended live versions of these songs can be found on the famous “Live in Leeds” album.

“One World” is quit a different album: mean, moody and magnificent. The album is included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. Whilst recording the album, John collaborated with Steve Winwood and legendary reggae artist Lee Perry. Both made vital contributions to the album.

Recorded in the Berkshire countryside, outside and mostly late at night. The vision for One World was more considered and arranged than John’s previous work, during the track “Small Hours” you can hear all sorts of ambient sounds, and the nearby lake acted as a natural reverb. Water and background noise can be heard, with John on the far side of the lake from the mobile recording unit, making what Chris Blackwell termed “one of my favourite tracks, not of John’s, but ever”.

In 2004, a remastered Deluxe Edition of “One World” was released. It consisted of the original studio album in remastered form and a bonus disc collating previously unreleased live recordings from Martyn’s summer 1978 concert at Regents Park. The remaining bonus tracks were studio outtakes, previously available on the scarce (deleted) 1999 release “Another World”.

I had long time set my mind on buying the Voiceprint release of “Another World”. Finally I’ve got the album through Ebay and at a reasonable price too. The cover says: “Limited Edition Bonus Disc” for the first 1,000 copies but there never was a second edition. Voiceprint deleted this title from the catalogue after some fuss with Island. There also was some delay as the record is apparently copyrighted and published 1998. The song “One World” is also featured in my “Roadtrip movie part II“.

His music is for all time.

“Some of us live like princes
And some of us live like kings,
Most of us live just like me and don’t know what it means
To take place in One World,
To make our peace in One World,
To make our Way in One World,
To have our say in One World.”

One year after the Cool Buzz Record Release party the Lone Wolf is visiting the Low Lands again. This time it’s an open-air concert at the Ribs ‘n Blues Festival in Raalte. A fine mix of old and new songs. Here is a selection of them followed by two songs of Gerry McAvoy and Band. They played a great tribute to Rory Gallagher. Later that night Alvin Lee did a fine concert. See some articles earlier in this blog.

The clips were recorded in HD quality with a Kodak Playsport camera. The sound was recorded with a Zoom H2 Audio recorder.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=videoseries%3Flist%3DPLACD2EE10BF01CC0B%26hl%3Dnl_NL

article from the Mute/Spoon press release:

CAN – THE LOST TAPES

RELEASE DATE: 18 JUNE 2012

3CD BOX SET OF UNRELEASED MATERIAL

BRAND NEW TRACKS AS IF YOU WERE THERE – HALCYON DAYS, NOT OUTTAKES

Spoon Records and Mute are delighted to announce the release of Can – The Lost Tapes, the long awaited box set of unreleased studio, soundtrack and live material.

The Lost Tapes, out on 18 June 2012, was curated by Irmin Schmidt and Daniel Miller, compiled by Irmin Schmidt and Jono Podmore, and edited by Jono Podmore.

When the legendary Can studio in Weilerswist was sold to the German Rock N Pop Museum, they bought everything, including the army mattresses that covered the walls for sound protection, and relocated it to Gronau.

Whilst dismantling the studio, master tapes were found and stored in the Spoon archive. With barely legible labeling, no one was sure what was on these until Irmin Schmidt and long time collaborator Jono Podmore started to go through over 30 hours of music.

What they found was years of archived material, not outtakes, but rather tracks which had been shelved for a variety of reasons – soundtracks to films that were never released and tracks that didn’t make it onto the final versions of albums due to space.

Irmin Schmidt explains “Obviously the tapes weren’t really lost, but were left in the cupboards of the studio archives for so long everybody just forgot about them. Everybody except Hildegard, who watches over Can and its work like the dragon over the gold of the Nibelungen and doesn’t allow forgetting.”

The final cut of tracks, dating from 1968-1977, features studio material recorded at Schloss Nörvenich and Can Studio, Weilerswist with the Can line up of Holger Czukay on bass, Michael Karoli on guitars, Jaki Liebezeit on drums and Irmin Schmidt on keyboards, and on most tracks, vocals from Malcolm Mooney or Damo Suzuki.

Can was formed by ex-student of Stockhausen Irmin Schmidt, who, fired by the sounds of Jimi Hendrix and Frank Zappa abandoned his career in classic music to form a group which could utilise and transcend all boundaries of ethnic, electronic experimental and modern classical music.

Can’s influence is well known and far-reaching and the impact they made on music is felt today as keenly as it ever has been. They themselves have always been impossible to classify and reflecting this, the scope of artists who in recent years have cited Can as a major influence is varied from John Lydon to Radiohead, The Fall to Portishead.

With a phenomenal cannon of work that includes Tago Mago, which celebrated its 40th Anniversary in 2011 (the anniversary release was awarded 5* from MOJO, Uncut, Artrocker and Record Collector), The Lost Tapes is an opportunity to hear unreleased material from this iconic band – whoever thought that would be possible?

BBC review

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Slowly But Surely
Lyrics: James Booker
Music: James Booker

James Booker with Jerry Garcia – Palo Alto Rehersals (1976)

Jerry Garcia – guitar, vocals
John Kahn – bass
James Booker – piano, vocals
Ron Tutt – drums

I couldn’t find this song on YouTube so I had to post it here myself. No copyright … intended, it’s just for bringing a little joy in your heart. Played by James Booker, one of New Orleans’ true piano geniuses, with the Jerry Garcia Band in Jan 1976. The title in some lists is “Right Back Together” but the correct title is “Slowly But Surely”

Jerry’ s guitar picking and James Booker’ s piano playing match perfectly. And the song is so optimistic. Just a perfect soundtrack for a long drive at night to a far and foreign country… A big thanks to whoever recorded this jam session! The Piano Prince released only five official LPs of music during his lifetime. one of New Orleans’ true piano geniuses who died On November 8, 1983, only 43 years old, after taking a deadly dose of bad quality cocaine.

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Lyrics

Section A
You know the world keeps going on around and round
And slowly getting back together
I know it’s getting right back together right now
Sun’s got the world going round and round
As though they’re getting back together
I know it’s getting right back together right now

There is a great big plan
It’s greater than superman, as great a superman
Tell you no lie, [’cause here is superfly, ooperfly]
Keeps the world running round and around and round
Slowly getting back together
I know it’s getting right back together right now

Section C
Well dead and gone, I may be dead and gone
Just helping the ground rotting
Yeah but the truth will live on
It never be forgotten
Oh but the birds and the ants
I know the trees and plants
They’re gonna bring me all the news
It won’t be no use, it won’t be no use
Because the world still be going on around and round
And slowly getting back together
I know it know it’s going to get back together, slowly but surely
Right back together now

Right back together
I know it’s gonna get back together right now
I know it’s gonna get back together, slowly but surely
Right back together now
Right back together
I know it’s gonna get back together right now

[repeat section B]

[repeat section C]

[repeat section A]

[spoken]
This song here, “Slowly But Surely”, I dedicate this to my aunt down
in Bay, St Louis, Bessie, my aunt Bessie, she inspired this you know,
she inspired the title, ’cause she used to say that all the time,
“Slowly But Surely”, and she used to say this, she said:

[repeat section C]

So much years later we had a chance to see the master of the red guitar live in action! These video’s are from the dutch concert at Raalte, 28th of may, 2012. Alvin Lee, 67 years old by now, plays like he’s at the Woodstock festival again. But this time it’s the Ribs ‘n Blues Festival in Raalte, Netherlands.

Just before the beginning of the concert I had a chance to buy the last miniature replica of the famous red Gibson guitar and what a thrill to see him playing the same guitar at the concert. zijn gitaar : 1959 Gibson Alvin Lee ES-335 BIG RED

You can see concert footage of “I can’t keep from crying” by clicking on the picture of the famous red guitar below….

In march 2012 the BushMan made a roadtrip to the North Cape and back home again. In the old days he made a 90 minutes long ‘Best of personal favorites” tape for listening pleasure on the highway. These day it’s no longer an audio cassette but a DVD disc with more than 10+ hours of music. This mix has all the songs that are featured in the YouTube Roadtrip movies…

click on the picture below for listening to the soundtrack

tracks:
Intro: Boubacar Traoré (intro)
Tony Joe White – Stockholm Blues (live at Hellendoorn)
Daniël Norgren – Live at Hellendoorn
Boubacar Traoé (interlude)
James Brown – Get on the good foot (carradio)
Tina Turner / Sting – Silent Wings (carradio)
Björk – Venus as a boy (instrumental)
Boucabar Traoré (interlude)
Anders Osborn – Improvisation (live)
John Martyn – One World (live)
ClearLight Orchestra – First movement part III
Last Hurrah – Great gig in the sky
King Crimson – Creator has a masterplan (bootleg)
Canned Heat – carradio fragment
Terry Reid – the river
Kilimanjaro Dark Jazz ensemble – Mists of Krakatoa (remix)
Mark Knopfler – Fade to black (live)
Orchestral Queen – Who wants to live forever
Richie Havens – Helplessy Hoping
Derek Trucks – Anyday (guitar solo live)
Andre Hazes – carradio fragment
Jackie Green – Little things (Live improvisation)
The Smiths – There is a light (unknown YouTube videoclip)
Warren Haynes – SoulShine (live)
Porcupine tree – Stars die
Sean Taylor – Kilburn

with thanks to the musicians and my Facebook friends

Actually, this is music I’ve never lost but just found… And I can’t understand why I have never discovered this music before! Sometimes it reminds me a little of John Martyn, other times I hear a little Nick Drake, but all of the time I hear a true original. And even though I can’t understand the words Terry Reid is singing it’s truly fascinating music.

The Prayer Boat had two beautiful and highly underrated albums out and now there is chance to see and hear singer Emmett Tinley play. He was scheduled for a free solo gig at the cafe of the Burgerweeshuis in Deventer. Later plans changed and he took his band with him.

It was early in the evening when I arrived and much to my surprise the band was already playing. It turned out they were doing a rehearse for the gig later that night. I let the tape rolling and enjoyed two beautiful relaxed songs.

Then we had to wait for another hour for the concert to start. I killed time by drinking coffee and waving to the webcam high in the corner of the pub, hoping the family at home could see me and wave back…

It didn’t took long before the pub was very crowded. Unfortunately there was no stagelight so the video-recording was terrible. And the students kept talking and shouting so the audio-recording was a mess too! What’s left is the 6 min. + rehearsal with some fuzzy images… Hope you will like it anyway!

click on the image for the music

Spinvis: Oostende

The song begins with a strange poppy bassline, followed by a typical spinvis intro. In fact, all the Spinvis cliches are coming back in this song but it’s no problem what so ever. The video-footage match the music perfectly and the instrumental part (after 4.20 min.) is great , may even last much longer but fortunately we have a ‘replay’ button.

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De song begint met een pakkend, poppy bass lijntje waarna er een typische Spinvis melodie begint en eigenlijk alle Spinvis cliches terugkomen maar nu veel meer in een ‘band’ setting.. En dat is prima! De teksten intrigeren en de song verveelt geen moment. Het instrumentale gedeelte, na 4.20 minuut, had voor mij nog veel langer mogen duren maar gelukkig hebben we de ‘replay’ knop nog…

De YouTube videobeelden passen perfect bij de muziek en doen mij denken aan een zomervakantie waarbij onze koffer op de eerste dag werd gestolen en we op de vakantiekiekjes steeds dezelfde kleren aanhadden. Dezelfde vakantie waar we op een camping dichtbij Oostende ruzie kregen met een groepje jongeren omdat ze de godganse nacht Dexy’s Midnight Runner op vol volume bleven afspelen. En dat is de kracht van de muziek van Spinvis; het haalt herinneringen op, roept gevoelens op, prikkelt de fantasie en is ook nog gewoon lekker om naar te luisteren!

concertfoto’s dec. 2005, Hedon, Zwolle

Who needs tv-programs like Voice of Holland, Idols, X-Factor when there’s internet…

… it took me 3 years before i learned to like “Brokedown Palace”… The original version of Jerry Garcia and Robert Hunter. This version brings it up to date to 2012. It lacks the heartfelt voice of Capt. Trips but the piano playing of Jeff Chimenti is beautiful too….

Who needs tv-programs like Idols, X-Factor, Voice of Holland when there is internet…

The two most memorable live albums of the early seventies were the ‘Live/Dead’ album of the Grateful Dead and ‘At Fillmore East’ of the Allman Brothers Band. Two bands who love to jam and are still playing today, despite the fact that the legendary foremen Jerry Garcia and Duane Allman are no longer with us. It’s amazing that Rolling Stone often had bad critics of both the Grateful Dead albums as of this song: “The original Rolling Stone review of Idlewild South said the song “just goes and goes for a stupendous, and unnoticed, seven minutes.” The song is named after a headstone Betts saw at the Rose Hill Cemetory in Macon, Georgia, a place frequented by band members in their early days for relaxing and writing songs.In memory of Eilisabeth Reed keeps popping up on my record player. This version is of the mid-ninetees with composer Dickey Betts together with Govn’t Mule frontman Warren Haynes.

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Hermeto Pascoal – Lagoa Da Canoa

Long time ago i’ve bought a cheap double album called “Airto & Friends”. It was double album and very cheap; a ‘cut-out’ album meaning it was a LP made for the american market but for some reason they shipped large quantities of that album to sell for low prices in Europe. But to prevent they would came back to the american market there was a cut made in the cover of the album…

The music on that album was magnificent. The percussion of Airto, the beautiful voice of his wife Flora Purim and Ron Carter on Bass! But the most surprising sound came from Sivuca and Hermeto: two strange looking man with an extra-ordinairy sound.

Hermeto often makes music with unconventional objects such as teapots, children’s toys, and animals, as well as keyboards, button accordion, melodica, saxophone, guitar, flute, voice, various brass and folkloric instruments. He learned the accordion from his father and practiced for hours indoors as, being albino, he was incapable of working in the fields with the rest of his family.

Hermeto could make everything sound okay; the YouTube clips where he plays on his beard, or where he improvises on the speech of french actor Yves Montand are classics. Perhaps because he grew up in the countryside, he uses nature as a basis for his compositions, as in his Música da Lagoa

Live at the Montreux Jazz Festival, 1979. The long “Lagoa Da Canoa” jam kicks off with a tenor sax solo by Cacau (Claudio Araujo de Queiroz). Other members are Nivaldo Ornelas (soprano sax), Jovino Santos Neto (keyboards), Itiberê Zwarg (bass), Nenê (drums), Pernambuco (percussions) and Zabelé (vocal / percussions).

Hermeto has also developed the Sound of the Aura concept, in which music is developed out of people’s speech, traffic noise, and out of every possible source of sound. That didn’t impede him from conquering the admiration of world-class musicians such as Miles Davis, for whom he recorded as instrumentalist and composer.

The Grateful Dead has always been a ‘live’ band. And because they allowed taping their shows it’s one of the most documentated bands in rock history. And they sure like to jam and travel into deep space… Their live album “Live/Dead” is together with the Allman Brothers’ “Live at the Fillmore” a great example of how adventurous music can be.

The song featured below isn’t actually a song. The band did a soundcheck for a concert the next day at Watkins Glenn. And once they get into the groove there is no way of stopping them. Luckily the soundboard tapes were rolling and you can hear how close these guys were.

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Text below is from Icepetal from the “deadlistening.com” blog, where you can also download the audience tape of this soundcheck which became a two set long concert. Other sources are available at Etree.

…. There are two distinct jam sections in the Watkins Jam and both defy anything that was stereotypically 1973, the second one even more so than the first – Keith’s amazing lead off to the second jam always sends shivers up my spine. These jams embody the fluid acrobatic and lyrical dancing of Jerry Garcia’s playing style in 1973. And coupled with the rest of the band locking in and playing such intricately inspired counterpoint, it is easy to see how this jam somehow becomes one of the greatest musical events of the band’s entire existence. This entire jam strums the strings of an instrument that is more than simply Rock music. In its ability to intertwine formless spacey improvisation into spiritually and physically uplifting move-your-body music, into a good old country-folksy-rocking homegrown underground Americana jam, this musical journey goes beyond. It transcends ….

Various Artists – EARLY LA

Surfing on the net on a rainy sunday… checking the Spotnet to see if there ‘s anything interested posted. Among dozens of hard core / dub step / popular titles i’ve noticed a “Early LA” title. Much to my surprise it’s a posting of an album with early recordings of some of my most favourites West-Coast rockers.

Dino Valenti is well known as frontman of the legendary Quicksilver Messenger Service and his song “Gone Again” is my all-time favourite love song. David Crosby is still performing today. He has one of the most beautiful voices on this planet. His first solo album didn’t get any positive review by the critics at the time of release but is now considered a masterpiece. The Byrds & Dillards are true originals and the two live tracks of Canned Heat are steaming!!!

This album, an odds-and-sods “before they were famous” sorta deal, is a rarity, and while this material has turned up elsewhere for the most part, I figure some curious soul might be looking for this particular configuration. Most of these tracks were cut in 1964, with the Canned Heat ones dating from (probably) ’66. Due to its title, this LP is sometimes confused with the Gene Clark LP “Collector’s Series: Early L.A. Sessions”. So, to clarify this is two different albums entirely!

The back cover credits read “selections and artists”, but the artists are not listed – instead the songwriters are! The artists are actually not credited anywhere in the packaging to indicate which songs they appear on!

“You Movin” is a different take than the one on the Preflyte LP (the Together one, anyway). The Canned Heat cuts are live recordings.

Artwork included

Tracks:
1. Dino Valenti – Black Betty (2:07)
2. Dino Valenti – Life Is Like That (2:31)
3. David Crosby – Willie Jean (2:05)
4. David Crosby – Come Back Baby (2:21)
5. The Byrds – The Only Girl (2:23)
6. The Byrds – You Movin’ (2:08)
7. The Dillards – Each Season Changes You (3:28)
8. The Dillards – Don’t You Cry (2:09)
9. Canned Heat – You Know I Love You (6:36)
10. Canned Heat – First Time Around (10:38)

Musicians:
1&2 – Dino Valenti: guitar, vocal / Leon Russell: harpsichord / Larry Knetchel: bass / Hal Blaine: drums
3&4 – David Crosby: rhythm guitar / Tommy Tedesco: lead guitar / Ray Puhlman: bass / Earl Palmer: drums
5&6 – Gene Clark: lead vocal, guitar / David Crosby: vocal / Roger McGuinn: vocal
7&8 – Rodney Dillard: guitar, lead vocals / Douglas Dillard: electric banjo / Dean Webb: mandolin / Chris Hillman: bass / Michael Clarke: drums
9&10 – Bob (The Bear) Hite: vocals, harp / Al (Blind Owl) Wilson: guitar, harp, vocals / Henry (Sunflower) Vestine: guitar / Mark Andes: bass / Frank Cook: drums

1-8 produced by Jim Dickson
9-10 produced by Richard Moore

See “comments” for getting this rare gem. Thanks to the original poster!

Age doesn’t matter anymore! Lately we’ve seen some great old blues musicians visit our town: Peter Green, Cuby, Canned Heat, Tony Joe White… And now it’s time to see mr. John Mayall in action. He’s giving a concert at the Blues & Ribs Festival, 12/6/2011, in Raalte. And they all performed very well!

Now 76 years old and allways been a true master of the blues. The public in Raalte is very enthousiastic and the band is in great shape but what a shame that the sound quality in the tent wasn’t that good. Mr. Mayall played the main stage but the sounds of the band at the second stage came through much too loud.

Despite the sound problem it was a great concert at a festival that grows more popular every year! A video collection of five songs from this concert can be seen below. For the download of the raw and unedited soundmaster check the comments page… The video’s were shoot in HD quality with a Kodak Playsport and the soundrecording was made with the ZOOM H2 audio recorder.

Playlist: 1.) Nothing to do with love 2.) All your love 3.) Have you heard about my baby 4.) Checking on my baby 5.) Room to move

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Text is from a recommended music blog “Birds with broken wings”

One of Martyn’s more experimental recordings was ‘One World.’ Released in 1977, the story behind the record is as interesting as the date itself. Created in the courtyard of an island home situated in the middle of a small English lake, equipment was set up on either end of the body of water to incorporate the calming sound of waves lapping at the shores, and to additionally include the flock of geese that called the body of water home. The lake also served to reflect back the amplified music, creating a ‘strangled’ quality to the guitar solos, resulting in a most unusual sounding LP. There is also a companion piece, ‘Another World’ that contains instrumentals and material not included on the official release which informs us that the all of the sessions were recorded exclusively between the hours of 3am to 6am. Unfortunately, you’d need to possess the U.K. mix of ‘One World,’ as the version released here in the States was entirely remixed having been deemed to contain ‘no commercial content.’ Not surprisingly, Martyn moved towards decidedly more mainstream recordings after this, perhaps at the urging of his label, or maybe to finally earn a bit of money, and perhaps to gain some well deserved recognition from the buying public.

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This review is from: Gentleman / Confusion by Anthony C. Rubbo (Amazon review)

Anyone who thinks they know something about funk, groove music or world beat and doesn’t own a handful of Kuti’s LP’S is both a poseur and charlatan. It’s that simple,
as harsh as it sounds. Afrobeat was his invention, he put it on the map and had
no equal during the 60’s or 70’s and would be a household name like James Brown
if his political leanings didn’t keep him persecuted, incarcerated and tortured
by his government during the 80’s.

These two LP’s are among his finest and come
highly recommended, along with ‘London Scene/Shakara’, ‘Open And Close/
Afrodisiac’, ‘Inside Out’ and ‘Rofororo Fight’, among others. Non-stop
percolating rhythms, punctuating horns, call and response vocals, fiery horn
solos and Fela’s social and political diatribes keep things constantly sizzling,
searing and smoking. No joke, on a funk level, some of his recordings make James
Brown and George Clinton sound like the Captain and Tennille – if you’re not
familiar, I invite you to indulge, imbibe and intoxicate yourself immediately.

Producer, Arranged By, Composed By – Fela Ransome Kuti
Saxophone [Alto, Tenor], Electric Piano, Vocals – Fela Ransome KutiSaxophone [Tenor] – Igo Chico
Trumpet [Solo] – Tunde Williams

Some songs of the Grateful Dead will take time and several listenings to appreciate. Other songs of them give you the goose-bumps at first listening… Wharf Rat is such a song. The band never released a studio version and the song featured here is from a beautiful cd bootleg called Floating Celestial. It’s the complete recording of the new year’s eve concert of 1991 in Oakland in crisp and crystal clear soundboard quality. The first (and only) new years concert without famous rock-promoter Bill Graham who died that year in a tragic helicopter accident.

It’s these lines that make this song work so good for me:

… I know the life I’m livin’s no good I’ll get a new start live the life I should …

When Bob Mayes and myself followed the band on the german and english concerts in the ninetees, I still remember the gig in the International Congress Halle in Berlin. There were a lot of americans present at that concert. Maybe even more americans than european fans. It was a fine concert and when the first notes of Wharf Rat emerged I was thrilled!

But american fans react very different at the dead’s music and I was really pissed off when they began shouting and yelling at the song’s most sensitive moment…! Now, twenty years further along the way, i realise it’s the same emotion. It’s just another way of showing it… Above is a picture of August West by Jerry Garcia. Below is the YouTube video I made of the song from the bootleg, lyrics included.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=RsqifssXIuw%3Frel%3D0

What’s the connection between dutch painter Jan Toorop (20-12-1858 – 3-3- 1928) and brazilian musician Seu Jorge…? It’s a painting called “Jeugd en Ouderdom” and a song composed by Seu Jorge and performed by Mariana Aydar and Leci Brandao.

Jan Toorop was a painter influenced by realism, impressionism and eventually painting in a symbolic style, getting inspiration by sources from faraway cultures. The image of women played a significant role in his works.
In 1905 he became a catholic after which his paintings had only religious subjects in a more geometric style. The painting above belonged to my parents and shows a young woman, full of energy and willing to go forward, while the older and wiser woman is more laid back, almost warning …
One of my favorite YouTube video’s is a song of Seu Jorge “Ze do Caroco” performed by two brazilian ladies: Mariana Aydar and Leci Brandao. And although I do not understand a word brazlian, every time I see this video the Toorop painting comes to mind…

When I first heard Tom Wait’s “Driving on the wrong side of the road” I was struck by lightning. What a song! The same sensation happened when I first heard Daniël’s Norgren song “I would grow a moustache for yöu” Two years later the big scandinavian bluesman is coming to the Lantaarn Club in Hellendoorn. Record label Cool Buzz is giving a labelnight and Daniël is the second act of three. Much to my surprise his latest album is for sale in a vinyl version too! And when you hold that album with such a sweet design and terrifying title one has to ask the artist for an autograph…. Mr. Norgren was very kind and signed the frontcover for me!The recordings you see here were made with a Kodak Playsport and the audio was recorded with a ZOOM H2 audio recorder, during the Labelnight/Record release party of the Cool Buzz Record Label at the Lantaarn club, Hellendoorn, 26 march 2011. Songs played are: 1.) High Bird 2.) Moonshine Got Me 3.) Stuck in the Bones 4.) Though it Aches 5.) Down the Railroad (?). Link to the full concert >>>>

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Augustus Owsley Stanley III, Artisan of Acid, is dead at 76

Owsley Stanley, the prodigiously gifted applied chemist to the stars, who made LSD in quantity for the Grateful Dead, the Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, Ken Kesey and other avatars of the psychedelic ’60s, died on Sunday in a car accident .

Mr. Stanley, the Dead’s former financial backer, pharmaceutical supplier and sound engineer, was in recent decades a reclusive, almost mythically enigmatic figure. He moved to Australia in the 1980s, as he explained in his rare interviews, so he might survive what he believed to be a coming Ice Age that would annihilate the Northern Hemisphere. Hè was 76 and lived in the bush near Cairns, in the Australian state of Queensland. His car swerved off a highway and down an embankment before hitting trees near Mareeba, a town in Queensland, The Associated Press reported. Mr. Stanley’s wife, Sheilah, was injured in the accident.

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Some words from his website thebear.org:

“THE music of the Grateful Dead is an important assistant to the revival of tribality. Because it has to do with the way things are. It’s not somebody’s idea about the way things might be, or the way things could be or should be. It’s what it is. It’s real music about real things. The whole thing is about a social movement. It’s tribalism. Which is the only social structure that is truly human. The structure of the world today runs on feudalism–governments, companies; all those structures are feudalistic, arranged in a hierarchy which at the root of it follows Parkinson’s law. That is, once you create a hierarchy or bureaucracy, it has only one purpose, and that is: To Continue. There’s nothing else. But that has nothing to do with the tribal entity. The tribal entity exists so as to abide in harmony with its environment. It’s something that benefits everyone, not just this one structure.”

Schotjes own all-time top 14 album chart (including YouTube links)

… and so it happened that my wife Mercedes would like to visit the local second-hand store. Strolling along I found a good looking leather vest. Right size and really cheap, only three euro’s. Next step was a search on Ebay for some Grateful Dead patches. I found four smaller ones in the UK, Germany and US. For the back I found a real big Cyclops Skull 1977 tour patch from a seller from Singapor! Within a week all patches arrived and I went to see the local Armenian shoemaker. He could do the job even within an hour. But it costed dearly; 30 euro’s! But hey, are you a big Dead Head or not… So now i’m really proud of my custom made vest, looking a bit like PigPen. If I only could afford a nice Harley too….

Jerry Garcia Band : Don’t Let Go (jam like only Jerry can do…!)

“Forgotten masterpiece”

This song “Stuck (the circle)” and the pictures in this video were taken from the album Western Justice: excerpts from a diary. Jack Rieley was the producer of the Beach Boys and during the making of the “Holland” album he met dutch photographer Machiel Botman. Together they made this beautiful album that was released in 1975. The music is very diverse and has beautiful arrangements of Gerard Stellaard. The album did not only had the record, but also an ep, a booklet and a real size newspaper print.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=Z7sJzJ9xkp8%3Frel%3D0

One day i was cruising in my automobile, a real Dacia Logan Limo, when this ”moustache” song came on the radio. I was struck by the music but didn’t get to hear the name of the artist. I could however write down a part of the lyrics; some weird title about growing a moustache… The music sounded like it came from deep down black america.

Great surprise to see it was a song performend by a one-man band from Scandinavia named Daniel Norgren. And an even greater surprise… he’s coming soon to my club in hometown Hellendoorn!!! No need to say we’ve bought the tickets for the COOL BUZZ Record release party right away! And now hoping that he’s gonna play the ”moustache” song for us!

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Tony Joe White in Hellendoorn

The old black fox from the Louisiana swamps is coming to the lowlands for some concerts! A perfect chance for the BushMan to see this legend live in action. He only brought his drummer along. It gives the man in black with the sunglasses total freedom of playing whatever song he likes. I missed ”Rainy night in Georgia” but apart from that the concert had a good mix of classic songs and songs from his latest album. Moanin” and groaning and playing some mean guitar: the old master was in great shape!

Here are some songs I recorded with my Kodak Playsport and Zoom H2 audio recorder. 1.) Stockholm blues 2.) Undercover agent for the blues 3.) Roosevelt and Ira Lee 4.) Season Man 5.) Tunica Motel 6.) Polk Salad Annie 7.) Tell me why 8.) Steamy Windows.

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Most of the records have been re-issued on CD but not always… Here’s a playlist of long-forgotten songs that have been recorded from original black vinyl. So you may here a scratch or two but eventually, it’s the music that counts!

1.) Herman van Veen – Do you remember (weet je nog)
2.) Mike Cooper – From time to time
3.) Mighty Baby – A blanket in my muesli (live Music Revelation Festival)
4.) Andy Zwerling – Spiders in the night
5.) Kid Murphy Band – Ghetto (german rock)

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Who needs tv-programs like Idols, X-Factor, Voice of Holland when there is internet…

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YouTube couldn’t handle it…. 18+ minutes of pure Canned Heat boogie

Boogie Chillen #2

Canned Heat 2010: Woodstock Legends John Paulus, Fito de la Parra,
Harvey Mandel, and Dale Spalding

My own favorite blues-rock band comes to town. I’ve followed them since the early seventees and collected most of their record albums. One of the first movies i’ve put on my home-site was a clip from the German program “Beat Club” with a very young and high-energy Canned Heat. The footage of the song “So Sad” played live at the Kralingen Festival in 1970 was just as impressive…

And now the band is coming to the Lantaarn club at my home town. Expectations weren’t too high because original members Bob ‘the bear” Hite en Al “the blind owl” Wilson are long time gone.

But much to my surprise I saw a band that was as hot as hell! Original drummer man Fito has found some first class musicians that made this concert my favorite one of the year 2010. Never heard of John Paulus and Dale Spalding before but they fit in perfectly and Harvey “the snake’ Mandel has always been mine favorite guitar player. His albums, both lp’s and cd’s have a special place in my record album collection.

Here are five video-clips from that remarkable concert at De Lantaarn club in Hellendoorn, the Netherlands on the 16th october, 2010.

01) On the road again 02) So Sad 03) Back to the country 04) Cristo Redentor 05) Let’s work together

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Dutch BluesRock legend Cuby + Blizzards is coming to the ZinIn theatre in Nijverdal. Holland’s first blues-musician made some legendary albums like “Groeten uit Grollo” and “Appleknockers Flophouse”. In the early days Van Morrison visited Cuby’s farm in Drente and some years later Herman Brood played for two years with the band. Cuby is a veteran now, no more booze during the concerts but the music is as hot as it was in the old days.

Fine concert!

Cuby + Blizzards

Harry Muskee (zang)
Erwin Java (gitaar)
Hans La Faille (drums)
Helmig van der Vegt (piano, toetsen)
Feico Nijdam (bas)
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What a pleasant surprise when we walked the evening market in the port of La Foret Fouesnant and heard the folky music of Mary-Lou. Couldn’t help it: I had to take the cam and shoot some pictures….

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A week later we visited the nice open-air theatre in the village to view the folk dances of ” Cercle Celtique” and Concarneau.

October 2010 is for the blues!

First we go to a concert of the legendary dutch bluesband Cuby & the Blizzards and a week later the legendary Canned Heat will rock the house in the Lantaarn Club in Hellendoorn.

Ok, big man Bob Hite won’t blow the harmonica and the beautiful voice of Al Wilson won’t be heard but the songs of the original band are as strong now as they were forty years ago!

Really looking forward to boogie on the music of Canned Heat!

“You gotta get into that groove, you know…”

click on the photo to view three original Canned Heat video clips.

1.) Let’s Work Together 2.) So Sad 3.) On the Road Again

Aaaah, so much fond memories to those holidays in Bretagne…. Drinking my first Calvadoz, Tasting the sweet love, Campfires on the beach, And music all around. I’ve seen concerts of Johnny Halliday, Bernard LaVilliers, Magma and Gong and can’t remember much of it… thanks to Mari Juana and lots of beer! Now we go back to Brittany, after more than 30 years and i’m looking forward to show my family all those mystic places. Fun has already begun with listening to the old records of Alan Stivell…

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It’s a small theatre, the Parkhotel at Rijssen. And only a few people turned up at the Tarika Sammy concert. No more than 20 people… And that’s really a shame because the two blues brothers from Madagascar deserved a full house! Beautiful and original music played by just two man, but with a sound of a complete band.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=videoseries%3Flist%3DPLFE4584A9CFD7BE28%26hl%3Dnl_NL