Sunday, May 29, 2011

Guitars, Gurus and Beer






The Life Divine- Carlos Santana and John McLaughlin MP3


A Love Supreme- Carlos Santana and John McLaughlin MP3

5/29/11

beeradvocate.com- B-

Samuel Adams Pale Ale- Bought by a friend to my house. 12 oz. bottle into Belgian beer glass. Poured with a pillowy 2 finger head which receded quickly. Some lacing left on the glass. Light orange in color with pretty active carbonation. The mouthfeel is on the lighter side of medium. A pretty malty ale. Biscuity? I think so a bit of hops in there to. Nice aroma not overly strong but a pleasant sweet smell. I wasn't planning on doing a blog today but this was in the fridge so I thought why not. I had been listening and ripping some records and it afforded me the opportunity to do a post. I don't drink to much Sam Adams but this is a nice pale ale. Very easy drinking, in fact to easy. Not a super complex beer but I don't think it really needs to be. A refreshing light ale for a late spring day.

On the turntable is Love Devotion Surrender- Carlos Santana and Mahavishnu John McLauglin- Recorded for Columbia Records in 1973. After reading an article about Billy Cobham in the recent issue of Waxpoetics I searched my stacks for some related LP's. This is the first one I came across and its another $2 winner. I long for the days when major label recording artists could pose on the back sleeve with their guru's...well not really. But this is LP is a testament not only visually but musically as to how far the music industry has regressed. In 1973, according to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Love_Devotion_Surrender, was certified gold on the Billboard charts. Today an album like this couldn't even have been record for a major label nonetheless certified gold. Its an unfortunate truth. That is not to say that the music in between these grooves is an influence on what is happening today. On the bus ride home from Philadelphia (the Willie Nelson show was superb!) I was listening The Life Divine and was reminded of the Brooklyn based band Oneida whose surging rhythms would not sound out of place next to this LP.



A devotional prayer included in Sri Chimnony's album liner notes and the 1973 address for Sri Chimony's Lighthouse located not to far from where I live.

This collaboration was inspired Santana and McLaughlin's spiritual adviser at the time Sri Chinmoy. This record is a spiritual musical journey in the 1970's sense of the term. The group included members of Santana's band and the Mahavishnu Orchestra including Michael Shrieve, Billy Cobham, Doug Rauch, Armando Peraza, Jan Hammer, Don Alias, organist Larry Young. This album has been described as tribute to both Sri Chimony and John Coltrane and to that end I have included a MP3 of A Love Supreme and The Life Divine which I described above. I particularly enjoy The Life Divine which really emphasizes the intensity of, who I presume to be, Billy Cobham on drums (Don Alias and Jan Hammer are also listed in the liner notes for their drumming contributions but I am guessing this is Cobham).

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Just To Satisfy You






Just To Satisfy You- Waylon Jennings MP3


Gentle On My Mind- Waylon Jennings MP3

5/25/11

beeradvocate.com- A-

Cigar City Jai Alai IPA- Euro Market, 31 St. Astoria, NY- 12 oz. Bottle into a Tall Pub Glass- 7.5% ABV- I was excited to find this beer. I had been wanting to try something from this brewery which based out of Tampa, Florida for a bit. I have never come across it so I was happy. I don't really come across to many "southern" beers in this part of the country and reminds me that despite the wealth of beers I have the opportunity to try there are geographical limitations to what I can get my hands on. This is also an issue when it comes to buying records. I am generally limited by what the local record used record guys are able to come acquire. I would love to come across some record sellers from the south or even out west...but that is a whole other post. This beer reviewed very well on beeradvocate.com. A fingers worth of head which receded quickly. Not to dense. I was actually expecting a more impressive. Very smooth fruity aroma. Real pleasant. Little to no lacing on the glass. Orange amber in color, with a translucent but not hazy appearance. Medium bodied with some lively carbonation. As for the taste...not quite what I expected. I am tasting quite a bit of what I identify as malts in this beer and some piney bitterness. I think I was expecting the characteristics of a Hop Wallop or Goose Island but this may be closer to the Stone Arrogant Bastard which people really seem to like but not completely my bag. This is a smooth drinker though. I finished a bottle at a fairly quick clip and there is little indication of the 7.5 abv. So this was a good beer and I am glad I finally got to try a Cigar City brew but not one I would be psyched to see in a bar. I will be looking for other offerings from this brewery and will give them a try.

On the turntable is Ruby Don’t Take Your Love To Town- Waylon Jennings- Pickwick Records compilation of Waylon Jennings RCA material dating to the late sixties. We are going to see Willie Nelson in concert in Philadelphia on Friday and I am really excited. After a few missteps I am finally going to get to see a true American music legend. Unfortunately I don’t have any Willie Nelson vinyl accessible at the moment. What I do have is one of Waylon Jennings records, Willie's long time partner in crime, music and brotherhood, within reaching distance to put me in the mood. Before Waylon Jennings was the long haired, guitar pickin outlaw we have come to recognize he looked a bit more like a long-haul trucker. Albeit a long haul trucker with a counter cultural bent. The mid sixties were a fruitful period for Mr. Jennings at RCA records and he recorded close to a dozen albums long before his mid seventies heyday. These albums were mostly composed of covers and the powers at be at RCA were trying to get Mr. Jennings to fit the more traditional role of male country singing star of the era. There are some real gems in this part of Mr. Jennings catalog and for those interested they should seek out the Omni Recordings compilation The Dark Side of Fame found at at http://www.worldwentdown.com/omni/omni135.php. These songs filled with the production elements of the day ranging from vibraphones, organs and finger-picked nylon string guitars alongside Jennings familiar edgy drawl.

I featured two MP3’s above. The first is Just To Satisfy You from 1969. I have the original LP but it’s packed away at the moment. This is a nice little ditty that starts off with what sounds like a boomy, 12 string guitar and chugs along with some minimal percussion, organ and a tight little guitar break towards the end of the song. Mr. Jennings guitar style, is often overlooked since he was such a powerful vocalist but he was an accomplished axe man. His style style is more hardened compared with Willie's acoustic, slightly Latin influenced finger picked passages or Merle Haggard’s western swing leaning jazz runs. But Jennings could hang with many pickers and towards the mid seventies he even developed a signature tone in his phased out, outlaw licks. Also included as an MP3 is the John Hartford penned, Glen Campbell popularized Gentle On My Mind. The most popularly known version of Gentle On My Mind was recorded by Glenn Campbell in 1968 recorded with Al Casey (guitar), Joe Osborn (bass), Leon Russell (piano), Jim Gordon (drums), and Doug Dillard (banjo). Another Jim Gordon assisted track. Jennings version is fairly conservative and sparsely produced in comparison with Campbell's and doesn't quite capture the originals rambling essence.

Thursday, May 19, 2011

Gifts Of Beer Are Nice...Especially WhenThe Beer Is Good



Nice Gatefold Sleeve.




Cast Your Fate To The Wind- Quincy Jones MP3


Theme from The Anderson Tapes- Quincy Jones MP3

beeradvocate.com- A-

Brooklyn Local 1- Gift from Sister-In-Law- 25 oz. Corked Bottle- 9% ABV- I am kind of embarrassed by the fact that this is my first post for May 2011 since this is the third week of May but things happen that way. I don't have a good excuse for why I haven't posted in a while but hopeful I can step things up a bit in the next week or so since I have a few days off coming up. This beer was a gift from my sister-in-law for letting her stay with us while she was closing on a co-op. Another corked beer, I think this is my second and it's from the local Brooklyn Brewery and is described as a Strong Belgian Pale Ale on beeradvocate.com. I haven't had to many Belgian beers in my lifetime but I was excited to see this waiting in the fridge for me. It poured with at least 2 fingers and a half of head but the foam wasn't very dense and dissipated quickly. Though it receded quickly about a half a finger worth of head settled in nicely throughout me sipping, which I have to say is a bit uncommon in my experience. Probably a good sign. Not much lacing on the glass but at 9% ABV maybe that is why. Super carbonated, prickly against the tongue. Light, golden cloudy appearance. I can't put my finger on the aroma but it has a faint citrus aroma with spicy notes I can't identify. The mouth feel is a well balanced medium body. I have to say I am digging this beer and at 9% ABV I am putting it down fairly easily. This beer has some Wheat Beer qualities to it which I don't normally enjoy but I am certainly digging this beer. Unfortunately, I am sharing it with my wife because I would have enjoyed drinking this one on my own. Probably one of the best Brooklyn Beers I have had.


Run your fingers along the LP jacket and you can feel the tree's, you don't get that with CD's!

On the turntable is Smackwater Jack- Quincy Jones- Recorded for the L.A. centric A&M Records at A&R Studios in NYC with what looks like a hodgepodge of NYC and L.A. session musicians including Jimmy Smith on Organ and the wonderful Carol Kaye on Bass. I had looked for this record for a while after reading a bit about it in Dusty Groove magazine before finding it at a criminally low price. Quincy Jones is obviously one of our countries most gifted composers and musicians whose career spanned the early days of be-bop to the present day. Oh yeah and produced Thriller while he was at it! Unfortunately that last achievement often overshadows all of his other amazing work. I already have a few Quincy Jones LP's but it is earlier work done in the 50's and early 60's and distinctly less funky than this particular LP. This record covers a lot of bases in eight tracks. The title track is composed by Carole King and Gerry Goffin. Whats Going on by Martin Gaye is covered in a close to ten minute epic with vocals contributed by Quincy himself. Closing out the record is a six minute ode to the history of the electric guitar in the 20th Century covering styles from Robert Johnson, Charlie Christian, Wes Montgomery, B.B. King and J. Hendrix. Awesome. Despite those obviously inspiring tracks I included two other tracks one of which is the theme from a film called The Anderson Tapes and another composed by jazz pianist Vince Guaraldi more none for his soundtracks for the animated Peanuts (Charlie Brown, Snoopy) score. These tracks indicate the direction alot of jazz and easy listening music would move towards in the seventies. Both tracks have pleasing, rippling synth's and electric keyboards which at the time of this recording would have sounded ahead of their time but now sound a bit nostalgic.