ON THE TURNTABLE- Best of 1969

ON THE TURNTABLE -1969:

Putting out my BEST OF for this past year made me nostalgic in a way. So I dug out some listings from yesteryear and over the next few weeks I’ll post a few.My brother and I actual compiled lists of our favorite records but this listing is from most of the records I bought that year, in no particular order or preference.

It’s 1969 and my record collection was growing in leaps and bounds. Seems like the more money I had the more records I bought. However, my stereo was not what one would expect of a serious record collector.  I was using an old split speaker (in a case) record player propped up on my desk. But hey, the sucker did the job. That and my portable single speaker cassette player tucked along side my portable PANASONIC AM/FM stereo radio made up my “sound system”. I also had an AM/FM radio bedside. A friend had a huge stereo unit, one with humongous speakers,a turntable with a “stylus” no less, but alas he had virtually no records, always borrowing mine.

Records In My Rotation throughout that year included:

The debut album from LED ZEPPELIN “Led Zeppelin”, I bought this early on in the year after a recommendation from my work buddy, Pete, who saw this “unknown” band open for IRON BUTTERFLY. This album was amazing and it took me a few days to realize that this JIMMY PAGE was the same JIMMY PAGE from THE YARDBIRDS. Later, in the year after its release and after seeing the band live twice I copped LED ZEPPELIN II. Geez, these recordings were unique, and the band was …WOW.

THE BEATLES “Abbey Road” was and still is a hard listen for me, yet when it first was released I played it continuously, usually picking out a song or two before moving on to some other record .It was probably the Harrison tunes that I liked the most.

THE WHO “Tommy” is another difficult record to listen to all the way through, but that year I did see the band perform “Tommy” in its entirety twice, and I must say, live WHO was better than any record.

KING CRIMSON’S “In The Court Of The Crimson King”was/is a great record, one that for its time was truly original. This band blew me away when I saw them in the fall of 69, opening for FLEETWOOD MAC and JOE COCKER. After their 34 minute set, I bought the album the next payday. Speaking of FLEETWOOD MAC “Then Play On”( their 3rd album) drew me to see them live and I became a PETER GREEN fan that night. This collection showed the originals of the name sake take their blues influenced and mostly refurbished recordings a step further. I must have recited the opening of  “Oh, Well-Part 1” a million times to friends, to the point where I was annoying. I still am, say some. And JOE COCKER’s “With A Little Help From My Friends” which I grabbed in the early summer after hearing some of his tunes on the radio and before seeing him and THE GREASE BAND open for The AIRPLANE at FILLMORE EAST was a goodie, but again, live he was a trip.

Also, there was NEIL YOUNG’s masterpiece “Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere”, along with FRANK ZAPPA’s “Hot Rats” which help change my musical perspective and soon led me to CAPTAIN BEEFHEART  “Trout Mask Replica”.

Two debuts, one from CROSBY, STILLS AND NASH, a summer hit and Blind Faith’s one and only official release, which I thought was a mess, as was their show at MADISON SQUARE GARDEN. “Nashville Skyline” by BOB DYLAN was a pleasant surprise, even my POP liked it, well, it had JOHNNY CASH on it.THE FLYING BURRITO BROS “Gilded Palace of Sin” was a good pick up and  ISAAC HAYES’ “Hot Buttered Soul” arrived unannounced when I did not respond in time to a record company selection deadline but boy was I glad I got that gem. CHICAGO TRANSIT AUTHORITY’s debut double set before they shortened their name to CHICAGO, and coincidentally was the only record I ever bought by them. JETHRO TULL’s “Stand Up” was a mainstay on the turntable along with the profane MC5’s “Kick Out The Jams” which was played on minimal volume as not to upset the parents. And then there was the profanity nestled in JEFFERSON AIRPLANE’s “Volunteers” another record which kept a low profile when played.

I practiced my drums listening to  THE GRATEFUL DEAD’s “Live Dead” but was not enthused with The DOORS “Soft Parade”, and

PINK FLOYD’s Ummagumma was, well, just listen to “Careful With That Axe ,Eugene” and wonder why my Mom would yell, “What is that? Please, no more.” She didn’t particularly enjoy THE STOOGES “The Stooges”, either, no matter how many times I played it. Speaking of Mom’s taste, THE VELVET UNDERGROUND “The Velvet Underground” was more to her liking as was THE KINKS “Arthur”.

JOHN MAYALL’s “Turning Point” was bought the same day as PHAROAH SANDER’s “Karma”, late 1969. Both late night incense burning albums.

and of course, THE ROLLING STONES Beggar’s Banquet which never left my turntable and the follow-up release Let It Bleed (see blog Oct. 20, 2018)

PROCUL HARUM’s “A Salty Dog” which was actually my kid brother’s record found it’s way into my room many a night, along with his SLY and The FAMILY STONE’s “Stand” and JANIS JOPLIN’s “I Got Dem Ole Kosmic Blues Again Mama” but not any of his CREEDENCE CLEARWATER REVIVAL or his “Odessa” by THE BEE GEES. Just the red felt cover on that one turned my stomach.

R.I.P.: JON HISEMAN- Drummer/ Colosseum

(NYTimes)  Jon Hiseman, the British drummer, composer and progressive-rock innovator who led the bands Colosseum and Tempest and played in many other groups, died early Tuesday in Sutton, England. He was 73.

His son, Marcus, said the cause was complications of surgery that Mr. Hiseman underwent in May to remove a brain tumor. He had lived in Sutton, a suburb of London, before entering hospice care there.

Mr. Hiseman was a nimble, hard-hitting player who tuned his drums melodically and kept an improvisational spirit through complex pieces. His music held elements of the classical music he grew up on, the modern jazz and free jazz he played early in his career, and the blues and rock that built his career in 1960s London.

The original Colosseum lasted barely three years, from 1968 to 1971. But the band reunited in the 1990s and continued to perform and record for two decades.

ROCK’S IN MY HEAD: CHAPTER 4- The Heart of American Music

 

Looking for “THE HEART OF AMERICAN MUSIC” one needs to look no further than the infectious sounds of Rhythm and Blues music. New musical styles develop as a reaction to what previously transpired musically so in the case of R&B we can hear the traces of New Orleans jazz, gospel, spirituals, jump blues and more.

Originally called RACE MUSIC Jerry Wexler ( check him out) coined the more appropriate term R&B as a marketing tool for BILLBOARD magazine which could then track R&B sales without offending people (politically correct before their time).

At first, R&B was considered “low brow” when compared to “high brow” jazz. In the phrase R&B the rhythm part refers to the backbeat (on the 2 and 4) and the blues part is from the lyrics which usually depicted life as being “blue” or sad.

With its forefather the blues this new rhythm and blues music inspired so many British teenagers who as musicians attempting to emulate their  American musical heroes revamped this American music and made it their “own” sound which strangely became popular to American teens. The fact was these Brits just rehashed America’s original music.

In a nutshell rhythm and blues music is the heart of American music. If one truly scratches the surface of rhythm and blues music you can hear jazz, old gospel, and spiritual music. When mixed together with a little kick it becomes rock n roll.

The backbone of good ole RnR music is The BACK BEAT, hitting the snare on the 2 and the 4 sometimes slightly late in a 4/4. As Chuck sang:

Rock`n`roll music just, let me hear some of that rock ‘n’ roll music

Any old way you choose it

It’s got a back beat, you can’t lose it…

So what is THE BACK BEAT,  just look to the drums, aka  the “skins”. At one time drum heads were animal skins. Search any time period, in any location, and one will find artifacts of what can be construed as drums, usually made of stretched animal skins. These “drums” were played in ceremonies, both solemn and celebratory, and as a way to communicate (Talking Drums). Bronze cymbals can also be found in ancient greek tombs and later in Turkey where The Turks perfected the process.

Before rock drumming, before jazz, no drum “kits” existed. In the late 1800s, separate percussionists in military and concert bands were assigned to one specific drum or cymbals. As these ensembles typically played in parades, there was plenty of space for a large percussion section to roam about. Indoor concerts, on the other hand, had obvious physical constraints and therefore percussionists often had to do double duty, a drum or two. The drummers performing with The Second Line processions in New Orleans, after the parade would head to the local spot for a drink and to play some tunes.The drummer (one) would have a snare and a bass drum. The bass drum which was “kicked” sometimes had a cymbal attached to its top. A clever solution to this issue, that is to get the drummers feet in on the action occurred in 1909. William F. Ludwig, Sr helped drummers when he pioneered a foot pedal for the bass drum. One drummer could then play multiple parts simultaneously—kind of a big deal at the time. THE CONTRAPTION as the drums were now known was shortened to THE TRAP KIT.

Back to THE CORE of RnR, THE BACK BEAT is the progression of 2&4 accents in Western (American) popular music. It probably starts with Swing Jazz and Big Bands where the drummers emphasized these beats and played 2 & 4 with the High Hat. Next, this style moved over to the snare drum in very early Rock n’ Roll and Blues. Once it was on the snare drum, virtually all styles of American popular music using drums feature snare on 2 & 4. Calling this a “Rock” beat is probably just a historical nod to the early rock n’ roll songs.

So what is this Rock and Roll or better yet HOW DID IT GET IT’S NAME?

Rock and roll, the phrase itself is a euphemism for sexual intercourse. A simple euphemism that appeared in song titles since at least 1914 (Trixie Smith’s “My Man ROCKS Me With One Steady ROLL”)

Disc jockey Alan Freed is widely credited with coining the term “rock and roll” to describe the uptempo black R&B records he played as early as 1951 on Cleveland radio station WJW.

This Rock and Roll music grabs from musical styles such as gospel, jump blues, jazz, boogie woogie, and rhythm and blues, along with country music. Determining the first actual rock & roll record is a truly impossible task. But you can’t go too far off when citing Jackie Brenston’s 1951 Chess waxing of “Rocket 88”, which has all the prerequisite elements firmly in place: practically indecipherable lyrics about cars, booze, and women, booming tenor sax, and a churning, beat-heavy rhythmic bottom.

See you next time….ROCK’S IN MY HEAD Chapter 5: DRUNKS, THIEVES and SCOUNDRELS.  Comments? Jazzbus@gmail.com