The Dark Prince inspires a very dark Bitches Brew

12/30/10

beeradvocate.com rating- A-

Dogfish Ale Bitches Brew Russian Imperial Stout- Community Beverage, Queens, NY- 25.6 oz. bomber into Pub Glass- 9.0% ABV- First batch of Dogfish Ale Bitches Brew Russian Imperial Stout brewed in conjunction with the 40th Anniversary of Mile Davis' Bitches Brew album. Bought approximately 3 months ago. My first Imperial Stout so I have no reference other than a regular stout for taste comparison. Poured super black, like motor oil or Coca Cola with no light penetrating the brew. About a fingers worth of head which receded pretty rapidly. Head was a dark, burn butterscotch color. Not much lacing. Medium bodied mouth feel, which is less than I expected with modest carbonation. Smells like dark chocolate and possibly even black licorice. After the brew warmed up a bit it smelled kind of boozy. Taste is like a rich complex stout with a definite fruity characteristic which I have never tasted in a stout before. Honey and Gesho as the bottle advertises? Definitely a possibility, especially the honey. Its a pleasant surprise. A bit of alcohol detected at the end. Not a beer I would drink regularly but certainly a well crafted "off-center" beer in tribute to an off beat , classic album. I have to say, well done.

On the turntable is Miles Davis- Bitches Brew- Recorded in 1969 for Columbia Records. I am listening to this as a counterpart/tribute to this brew. I am a fan of the album but this album needs no further discussion from me and its not exactly what I would choose to listen to on an average Thursday night. I actually spent quite a bit of time listening to both Miles Davis' acoustic and electric albums and have a majority of them on CD but my cousin lent me this LP because I didn't have it on vinyl myself. My favorite electric album is probably Dark Magus: Live At Carnegie Hall with the guitar stylings of Peter Cosey with his extremely funky, evil wah-wah guitar providing searing rhythms. Compared with alot of "hard rock" or "heavy metal" albums I have listened to this actually has a way more evil quality to it which can be unnerving. I wonder what I would have thought of this album if I first heard it as a teenager or in my early twenties as opposed to hearing it for the first time when I was about 30 yrs old. I am certain I would have liked it even more than I did at 30. Davis was searching in a way that many of his contemporaries chose not to do and it left him open to criticism. Davis had the last laugh because his electric albums have proven to be very influential for a wide variety of artists and continue to inspire to this day.


Bob Dylan and Davis were label mates on Columbia when they both managed to enrage and ostracize the more conservative elements in their audience by going "electric" in the mid to late 1960's. Especially Davis, whose career was much longer than Dylan's at this point, who was universally revered by the critics for the majority of his career and saw little if any criticism towards his various incarnations until his electric period. Where Dylan was merely taking what were essentially his songs, at the time, to a new level by adding an electric backing band Miles Davis music became fundamentally unrecognizable in comparison to his prior albums. The shift from his "cool" period and his early to mid 1960's albums, largely conceived and orchestrated with the arranging skills of Gil Evans, left most of his fans and critics unhappy.

Frank Zappa would be 70 today....RIP...aka "Guitar Notes That Irritate"

12/21/10

beeradvocate.com rating- B

Blue Point Winter Lager- Euro Market, 31 St. Astoria, NY- 12 oz. Bottle into Pub Glass- 5.5% ABV- Poured with a nice 1 1/2 finger head which dissipated pretty quickly and left a thin web of lacing on the glass. Clear reddish brown color. Nice mouth feel a little on the light side of medium but has a creaminess to it. Average carbonation. I smell malts, grapes and maybe some raisins in here. This is not a bad beer, i'd say it is very drinkable if I don't focus on the "grape" aroma which is reminding me a bit of wine. This is pretty low in the ABV but I do sense a bit of alcohol warmth from this one in a not unpleasant way. I think I like this beer an would try it on tap I definitely like it better than the Magic Hat winter lager I had last week.

On the turntable is double LP Bootleg (unofficial release) called Fred Zappaelin- Frank Zappa- Recorded in multiple venues from Europe and the USA in 1980 by Zappa and his current band of the time distributed by the Mudshark Label.



Bootleg info provided by www.lukpac.org:

Issued in December 1980 with a black & white paper insert. The original edition was 2000 copies, but a re-press of 500 copies came in a deluxe color sleeve, and another 500 copies were pressed on colored vinyl.
This boot was made from a soundboard tape stolen from Carlos Santana's luggage at a hotel in New Haven, Connecticut, where Carlos was staying after a concert at the "New Haven Coliseum" [?]. Crazy but true. (A "friend of the thief" has been in touch, reporting that he also came by some Santana tapes of the same time period, as "both Frank and Santana were touring Europe at the same time".)

Frank Zappa would have been 70 yrs old today so I am listening to this as a tribute to him. Ironically Zappa's cohort Captain Beefheart passed away at age 69 a few days ago. I have a large Zappa collection which started about 5-6 yrs ago after reading Zappa by Barry Miles which was given to me for my birthday on December 19 as a gift from my mom. I subsequently got really into Zappa through his studio albums which I mostly have on CD. I chose this bootleg instead of a studio album as a reminder of how much the music industry has changed. These type of illicit bootlegs are basically extinct today because they are unnecessary in the advent of the internet. They are an interesting indicator of the dedication to artists that fans no longer have for current day artists. To produce these bootlegs one had to actively participate in criminal activity and in the case of the Mudshark Label founder he eventually served time in prison. One can argue the fact that these bootleggers were stealing from the musicians who created this music but one also must take into account who was the audience for these bootlegs, the hardcore fans. It is fairly safe to assume that no one was going to simply buy these bootlegs and not the studio albums. Most bootleg consumers were fans so infatuated with their favorite groups or artists and were willing to buy "more" than what was commercially available through mail order and under the counter transactions in brick and mortar record stores. In the case of Zappa he openly condemned bootleggers, but I theorize, he was most unhappy with the bootleggers making money of his fans. In one case Zappa openly encouraged fans to tape record his music off the radio when he broadcast his "Lather" acetates after they became caught up in legal limbo with Warner Bros. There is something special about these bootleg LP's. In the case of this LP the cover is handmade with Xeroxed pictures and setlists and the record labels themselves are all different with individual titles. This was obviously prepared by someone who was not "in it for the money." This type of product borders on folk art in my opinion.

A few years later I read Cosmic Debris: The Collected History & Improvisations of Frank Zappa by Greg Russo and started getting hardcore into Zappa bootlegs i.e. live concert recordings via the peer sharing website zappateers.com. The live recordings were what really hooked me on Zappa especially those which included his prodigious guitar workouts enhanced by his use of a wah-wah pedal which he used in a more refined sense as a tone controller. I currently have about 125 live recordings ranging from the late sixties up until the late 1980's. In addition I acquired about 40 or so hours of interviews culled and compiled from radio stations, magazine interviews, television which are fantastic and fascinating. For about a year that is all I listened to when I got on the subway at 5:30am. My sweet spot for Zappa is 1969-1974 give or take a year or two.

The Cosmic Debris book really opened my eyes to the culture and mythology surrounding Zappa's life and work. Conceptual Continuity, Los Angeles, Doo Wop, Stravinsky and Edgar Varese were some of the influences and ideas described in the book, as well as analysis of his studio albums, which helped me understand Zappa more than I would have. The vast amount of recorded output and the array of themes explored over the course of his lifetime as a musician is hard to get your head around at first especially when you are starting from scratch. I encountered a similar problem when I first started listening to John Coltrane. Not only was I a complete novice as far as jazz experience goes but his musical phases were very different. From his early years as a sideman to the avante garde of his Impulse! catalog I was pretty lost on where to begin and it took me a while to fully appreciate his immense catalog. I think Zappa is genuinely misunderstood by the general public and one of the few true geniuses in rock n' roll. That is not to say I agree with all his methods or opinions because he actually spent alot of time disparaging artists that I enjoy.

"Well, the conceptual continuity is this: everything, even this interview, is part of what I do for, let's call it, my entertainment work. And there's a big difference between sitting here and talking about this kind of stuff, and writing a song like 'Titties and Beer'. But as far as I'm concerned, it's all part of the same continuity. It's all one piece. It all relates in some weird way back to the focal point of what's going on." — Frank Zappa, Interview by Bob Marshall, October 22, 1988.

provided from wiki.killuglyradio.com

I am often asking myself the question."Does humor belong in music?" which in fact Zappa named one of his live compilation albums. In some ways it does and some ways it doesn't. Minstrel show artists, hillbilly singers and blues guys incorporated comic elements in their music. The Beastie Boys certainly included humor in there music. After listening to Paul's Boutique for the last few days I was wondering if there was any way to apply the idea of "conceptual continuity" to their work. Primus, a direct descendant of Zappa, was a really funny group lyrically and musically. Winonna's Big Brown Beaver, Nature Boy and Those Damned Blue Collar Tweaker's to name a few songs used to make me and my friends laugh out loud. Country and Western and R&B artists from the beginning of the genres all had comical songs in their repertoire. Music certainly does take itself to seriously sometimes. Music also is unintentionally funny. Check out Will Smith's daughters single "Whip My Hair Around". It would be fun to see what Zappa thought of that song. Howard Stern certainly had some fun with it on his show a few weeks back.

"What's cooler than getting sued by the Beatles?" quote from Mike D. of the Beastie Boys

12/16/10

beeradvocate.com rating- B

Magic Hat Howl Winter Lager- Key Food, Forest Hills Queens-12oz bottle into Brandy Snifter- 4.6% ABV- Poured a dark brown with hints of red around the edges when held to the light. Pretty nice dense head yellowish in color. Medium carbonation with a medium to light mouthfeel. Poured like a stout but has more of a lager feel in the mouth. Taste and aroma have bits of coffee and dark chocolate. This was a good beer but I would like less of a lager feel, with more body in the mouth. Also the coffee qualities make this a beer I wouldn't really reach for under normal circumstances but not bad for a winter night which this is designed for. Was a little more pleasant when it warmed up a bit.

On the turntable is Paul’s Boutique- Beastie Boys- Released by Capitol Records in 1989- I looked up on the wall at one of my regular record stores buying some LP's to give as gifts and there it was! I was momentarily speechless, I had some reservation this may have been a reissue when I first saw it. But upon further inspection it proved to be the real deal, a first pressing Paul’s Boutique LP by the Beastie Boys. This was definitely a cool find and for under $20 it was no doubt a steal. I don't really understand why it was less than $20 condition wise the record had no real imperfections but there was some schmegma on the sleeve but nothing that really took away from its presentation. I have never seen this record in any store or at any show and even on Ebay I haven’t seen it to many times for a reasonable price. The Twentieth Anniversary reissue on LP and CD were out two years ago and I actually bought the CD (which was sadly lack in extras, but I needed a new copy anyway. This record unfortunately will not be staying in my collection it is definitely going to be gifted to my friend who gave me my first record player and records and to my knowledge does not have an original pressing of this LP despite having all the other original Beastie Boys LP’s. However since it is temporarily in my possession I figured why not do a blog about it since I don't expect to see this one again anytime soon.




This is record without much comparison. It could have been the Sgt. Pepper’s of my generation, but not enough people heard it the first time around. After the runaway success of Licensed To Ill the Beastie Boys went west and landed in Los Angeles and with the help of the production team known as the Dust Brothers brewed up this masterpiece of modern music. Dense layers of samples and swinging lyrics created an unparalleled record that begs to be listened to from beginning to end. With one song blending into the next sometimes seamlessly occasionally abruptly these songs were connected through a series of samples, guitar riffs, sound effects (i.e. drumbreaks, bonghits, etc.) and in one instance Johnny Cash. When I first heard this record it was shortly before Check Your Head was issued in 1992 and I was a bit taken a back. I certainly had known of the Beastie Boys from Licensed to Ill as a grade school kid but I didn't buy this album till my friend showed it to me in the spring of 1992. I have to say it took me a few listens to really get my head around it since I had never heard anything like it before. But soon enough Egg Man, High Plains Drifter and Looking Down The Barrel of A Gun captured my attention and I was hooked. Alot of the cultural references were a bit lost on me as a 17 year old and the music sampled therein was for the most part foreign to me. Frankly I don't know if I could have named any of the songs or the artists who sung them when I first heard this album. In the end it didn't matter, it was music that captured my imagination and probably in someway steered me towards a life in New York City. The Beastie Boys are also in part responsible for me becoming a bit of a record/music fiend. I always loved music but the diversity that was going on on the Beastie Boys records really opened my ears to the variety of music out there. The Beastie Boys also don't get enough credit for their "musical" influence on a whole generation of music fans who were unwittingly exposed to a wide range of music and artists who had been largely ignored in the era of MTV and corporate radio. Some of my favorite records which I found early on when I started buying records were records sampled by the Beastie Boys and I didn't know it until I heard them (i.e. Johnny Hammond, Sly Stone to name a few). This was in the days before the internet. Now all their samples are compiled on websites, a good one being, for those interested is http://miscreant-productions.blogspot.com. I love their lyrics but more importantly I loved the music that supported the lyrics. Not just the heavy stuff, which I was accustomed to, like Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin but more unfamiliar genres like jazz, funk and dare I say the Eagles. The only way to find some of that music at the time was to go out and look for the records which I did, and restlessly in a sense, continue to do.

If only Elvis could have played "Freeborn Man" circa 1970...

"Freeborn Man" MP3



beeradvocate.com rating- A-

Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale- Community Beverage, Queens, NY- 24 OZ. bomber into Pub Glass- 6.8% ABV- Yes another Sierra Beer but it is the winter version of their Celebration Ale and it was on sale for $3 and change at my local store so I decided to try it. Poured a hazy orange with reddish highlights. Again like the last Sierra beer this has a nice rich frothy head, cratered with good retention. Very piney aroma, damn, it reminds me of one of those pine tree air fresheners. Wow, I don't think I've ever had a beer so piney, even last beer weeks was not as strong as this. Pretty nice mouth feel, on the lighter side of medium bodied. Moderate carbonation. Taste, is well, piney and bitter and a tad malty. Not as well balanced as the previous week's beer and I don't think this is for me. But I do get a bit more alcohol warmth from this which is nice on a cold night like tonight. I would have preferred some more spices in this to round out the pine qualities.

On the turntable is Games People Play/ These Are Not My People- Freddy Weller- Recorded in 1969 for Columbia presumably in California but the jacket does not indicate. This record is a lesson in digging in the crates. When you go out record shopping any respectable record store there should be crates of cheap records on the floor, at least that is my opinion. Problem is I don't always feel like getting down on my knees and going through the effort of digging through the dregs in the hopes of finding at least one gem. Sometimes though you just suck it up and do it. Recently I was crouched underneath some large shelves of records digging through hundreds of records when I came across the above record. I recognized the name Freddy Weller and had a faint suspicion Clarence White had played with him at some point but wasn't sure when or on which record. I turned over the back and this is what I saw:



Jackpot!!! Clarence White (of the Byrds) on guitar, Red Rhodes on steel guitar and Glen D. Hardin on Piano. I was psyched and for $2 I was even more happy. This is what digging is all about and keeps me going because you really never know what you will find and when you find something like this in an unexpected place it definitely gets your blood pumping. The fact that Clarence White was on this record was good enough. The realization one of my favorite steel guitar players was on here and one of my new favorite musicians Glen Hardin from Elvis Presley's TCB band was really cool. I got hip to Glen Hardin after watching That's The Way It Is the concert film made about Elvis' first shows in Las Vegas and subsequently hunting down bootlegs of shows from that period. He's a great piano player and in addition to Elvis has played on classic albums with Merle haggard, Emmylou Harris and others. Where did these guys find the time. Red Rhodes was a West Coast based steel guitar player. Additionally he developed a guitar pickup called the Velvet Hammer used by Clarence White, James Burton and even Joan Jett. He was a country player no doubt but hooked with the country rock crowd which was brewing up in Los Angeles in the late sixties through the mid seventies. Some excellent examples of his playing can be found on former Monkee Mike Nesmith's First National Band records, Bert Jansch's L.A. Turnaround LP recently reissued on CD as well as dozens of others. I really like his style of steel playing which is versatile in its elegance, percussive attack and phrasing. It has elements shared with Hawaiian steel guitar where the instrument developed but also has ethereal qualities, reminiscent of Sneaky Pete Kleinow. These ethereal qualities are not always found in country players but are really evident in the First National Band recordings and with Bert Jansch and probably helped Rhodes crossover to less traditional artists.

As for Freddy Weller, the subject of the post to begin with, he was a one time member of Paul Revere and the Raiders a slightly ill conceived mid sixties "garage rock" group who actually dressed as Revolutionary War era soldiers. The music however was popular and in the vein of the British invasion groups popular at the time. From videos I have seen on youtube Mr. Weller was an accomplished guitar player and a fine singer as evidenced on this album. This album has some excellent guitar and steel guitar breaks on it. The song Birmingham has some particularly fleet fingered runs which compliment one other in a wiry haze. A smoking version of Freeborn Man was included, a song written by Keith Allison and Mark Lindsay from Paul Revere and the Raiders, and could have been a perfect song for Elvis Presley circa 1970-1972 with the TCB Band.

Dylan, Desire and a Harvest Ale

11/30/10

beeradvocate.com rating- A-

Sierra Nevada Northern Hemisphere Harvest Wet Hop Ale- Community Beverage, Queens, NY- 22 OZ. bomber into Pub Glass- 6.7% ABV- Weather wise today is not an optimum beer drinking day, 60 degrees, rainy November 30, 2010, but with the holiday I wasn't able to do a review last week but I wanted to try and do one more review by the end of November so here it is. My first wet-hopped ale, which is from what I read, when the brewer brews with some portion of hops harvested within 24 hrs. of brewing. Thus the hops retain much of the water lost when hops are aged thus the name "wet" hopped. Clear amber in color. This beer poured with a creamy, dense head which retained nicely. It also left a mixture of lacing and rings on the glass. I definitely smell the hops in this one which are more pungent than I am used to and they definitely have a grassy, piney quality. From what I read these "wet" hops add more dimension to the aroma of the beer than the taste. Nice medium bodied mouthfeel and minimum carbonation. This is a nice beer with bitterness of the hops fairly well balanced. It is a beer that I am happy to try and may have again but not something I would consider a personal favorite, but certainly well crafted.



On the turntable is Desire- Bob Dylan- Recorded for Columbia Records in January 1976. Currently I am reading a newly published book by Sean Wilentz which I got from the library called Bob Dylan In America. It got me to thinking about my own relationship to Dylan. In December 2002 I bought Bob Dylan Live 1975 (The Bootleg Series Volume 5, Live) on a whim as my Christmas present to myself. It was a fortuitous purchase because it opened me to a world of Dylan that I had never experienced. I had largely ignored his career post Nashville Skyline. I was a big fan of his early albums and certainly was also a fan of his electric album my favorite being Blonde On Blonde but I had never really gotten into anything after the late sixties. I can’t tell you why, probably just a lack of exposure. I had grown up during a time where Dylan was kind of perceived as washed up. I alos had a vague bias of his 70’s period but for some reason had no real interest in digging any further informed by rumors I heard he turned "religous." Obviously this rumor was partly true but it was not until the last quarter of the decade that he trruly started making identifiable non-secular records. That fateful snowy, Saturday afternoon everything changed as far as my perception of Dylan went. From the get go Tonight I'll Be Staying Here With You pulled me in with a raging sonic palate I was unprepared for. Romance In Durango, Sara, Isis, and One More Cup of Coffee were completely foreign to me. The songs I was familiar with had been re-imagined with bolder arrangements and often a new dramatic sense of urgency. Specifically, It Ain’t Me Babe and A Hard Rains Gonna Fall were filled with surging new rhythms and Dylan’s voice seemed more masculine, mature and passionate. Honky swells of pedal steel and squealing, modal fiddle runs dominated many instrumental passages. I soon realized I was going to need to find the original versions of these songs. Which brings us to today’s LP, Desire. I have heard people say they prefer Blood On The Tracks and it is hard to argue with Tangled Up In Blue, Idiot Wind or Simple Twist of Fate. But over time I have found myself more drawn to and have logged more hours with the LP Desire. Though lacking in some of the dramatic sweep and instrumentation of the Rolling Thunder Revue bootleg songs like Joey, Romance in Durango, One More Cup of Coffee and Sara are all wonderful in there sparser, original LP versions. Joey and Romance In Durango are the two songs for me which really pull me. Both songs are visually suggestive and Dylan becomes both a historical narrartor and pulp-noir novel author. The spaces these songs both inhabit are different geographically but a wonderful sense of the past is evoked in both.From the gritty streets of the Brooklyn Waterfront populated by Longshoreman and Union Organizers to the dusty, cantinas of Mexico where traditional bands are heard in the background. These songs all really continue a cinematic tone as well as the influence of Norman Raeben, artist and Dylans art teacher at the time, first established in songs like Tangled Up In Blue from Blood On The Tracks. These songs feel like a series of vingettes, often evoking real and possibly imaginary events and are visually detailed. The songs on Blood On The Tracks feel a bit more connected emotionally and/or thematically than Desire but I think the songs on Desire share over-arching themes namely: restlessness, travel and outlaws that give this album a conceptual feel even if the songs are not happening in sequence or involving the same characters. After referring to Wikipedia for some album information I learned a number of these songs were co-written by Jaques Levy, who co-wrote one of my favorite Byrds songs with Roger McGuinn, Chestnut Mare. Inspired by my current reading I will be doing a post in the future involving the composer Aaron Copland which the author Sean Wilentz suggests had parallel experiences and influences with Dylan.

11/17/10

beeradvocate.com- B+

Goose Island India Pale Ale- Euro Market, 31 St. Astoria, NY- 12 oz. Bottle into Brandy Snifter- 5.9% ABV- Chicago, IL-Tried a new beer store this week in Astoria, Queens and was pleasantly suprise. I think this store has been around for a while and had a pretty extensive selection of brews and they will sell you single 12 oz. bottles which is cool. This weeks beer is Goose Island IPA which I had once before in the form of a post record shopping pint. I had only planned on one pint but ended up having three since I ended up enjoying it so much. This is described as an English IPA and poured a golden, orange. Dense creamy, head which layered upwards above the rim of the glass. Retention was strong, and the head was still around well after I started drinking. Strong grapefruit aroma. Lots of small sparkling bubbles. Great medium bodied mouthfeel. This beer is great! For me this is what I want when I am drinking an IPA. It has some nice bitter qualities but not so much so that it turns into an Imperial/ Double IPA. Also, the ABV is just enough that it won't knock you on your ass and you can sit back and enjoy a few of these.This beer is definitely a beer I would go back to if I find it on tap or in a store.



On the turntable is This Girls In Love With You- Aretha Franklin- Recorded at Criteria Studios, Miami- 1970- Its hard sometimes getting past preconceived notions regarding artist you don't grow up with. The Aretha Franklin I grew up knowing was far different from the Aretha Franklin of the 60's and 70's. Just the other day I saw her in a Snickers candy bar commercial!? I a few years back, maybe in the late 90's, I saw her sharing the stage with far less interesting characters like Mariah Carey and Christina Aguliera. I realize this a way to market her to a younger audience but in my opinion she shouldn't even be on the same stage as them. Aretha Franklin when she was a young woman was the real deal, a contemporary of Sam Cooke and an extremely expressive artist the like of which we don't see to much these days. I bought this record on the strength of Dark End of the Street, a favorite of mine. It is a nice version of the song but didn't have quite the power of the original or other versions I have heard. However I was very impressed with her version of Son of A Preacher Man which blows the doors off the more commonly known Janis Joplin rendition. Let It Be by The Beatles is also included and her version is probably the best version I have heard besides the original and it brings out religious undertones that wouldn't make this song seem out of place in church. The Weight by The Band is also here and is reminiscent of the Staple Singers version preformed in the studio for the film the Last Waltz. A familiar sounding slide guitar sets the stage in the first few bars of the song and is most likely being delivered by Duane Allman who is listed as on of the session musicians. This is a really cool record, unfortunately my copy is very scratched and the audio suffers a bit as a result but not enough to detract from the overall experience of these songs.

11/11/10

beeradvocate.com- B+

Watkins OSB Old Style Bitter- New Beer Distributors, Chrystie Street New York, NY-16.9 oz. bottle into Pub Glass- 4.5% ABV- From the U.K. I have always wanted to drink a Bitter style beer, but I have never been to England and going into a bar in NYC and asking for "pint of bitter" would make me look like a jackass. But I found this at downtown shop and thought I would give it a try even though the style is probably best experienced from a cask, in an English pub. Poured light brown with an orange hue, quite cloudy. Nice head which did not retain very long. Little to no lacing. Malty, possibly fruity aroma. Raisins, apples? Minimal carbonation, kind of reminds me of the barley wine i had a few months ago. In my opinion this has some wheat beer qualities, it definitely does not taste like a pilsner or a traditional ale but maybe somewhere in between. Definitely bitter in a way I am not used to. I actually like this quite a bit and could see myself putting a few of these away. Would love to try it on draft since this has probably been in the bottle for sometime, but actually still tastes fairly fresh based on my limited experience with the style.

On the turntable is The Crossing- Big Country. Recorded in 1983 presumably in Scotland where the band originates. I bought this 6 or 7 years ago at a record sale in Tribeca put on by an organization who is in the process of developing a collection of every recorded piece of music ever. The groups name escapes me now but on the board sits Lou Reed, Keith Richards, etc. They have a sale just about every December to get rid of whatever they don't need which they receive through donations. Its a pretty good sale for "staple" records but I have never found anything to unique but definitely filled some holes in my own collection. I bought this album as merely a fan of the song "In A Big Country." Often times I will buy a record based on its cover and often times the music is not nearly as good as the cover. In this case the music is far superior to the cover. To my eyes this cover resembles some cheap 12' inch dance single and does not indicate in any way the quality material which is on this album.. I knew nothing of their other material and I was happy to learn that this album is great front to back with no filler that I can hear. I spent the day out at the beach (Veterans Day, I had a holiday) with a few friends and my godson. There is nothing like being at the beach in the fall and as much as i like going to the beach in the summer being at the beach in the fall is something I really enjoy and don't get to do often enough. For some reason it makes me feel very alive. This album is atmospheric and gives one the sense of standing on a bluff overlooking the ocean. Subliminally maybe its the video for In A Big Country that does this. It features sense of the band on 3 wheeler's driving along the Scottish coastline. But I have only the seen the video a handful of times and I don't think its really that. Its the music itself which has a vast sense of space and the chiming guitars. I read the guitar player used various effects and an e-bow to create the chimey, bagpipe style guitar lines which serve these songs quite well. Stuart Adamson also had a wonderful voice, a bit raspy, and projected with great emotion. Its unfortunate that he committed suicide in 2001. Its also unfortunate that among all of the 80's bands that get mentioned these days and their influence on so many new bands that Big Country is hardly ever mentioned. Based on this LP alone they deserve to mentioned with the same reverence as say Echo and the Bunnymen who in alot ways share similar qualities as Big Country.

Geary's Autumn Ale- Greenpoint, Brooklyn- 32 oz- Poured in to Pub Glass- 5.8% ABV- Described as an English Brown Ale out of Geary's Brewery in Maine pours a deep brown reddish, translucent color. Thick foamy, yellowish head which receded quickly and left little lacing. Rich malty smell with maybe some molasses or spices associated with fall (nutmeg, brown sugar, etc.) Nice body, medium to light, and not very carbonated. I have not had to many brown, English ales but this is what I expect from them. A little to malty for my taste, maple syrupy elements? A slight funky aftertaste if you dwell on it but overall a good beer and definitely as advertised. A good beer for a night like tonight, cool early November. Tastes very fresh, since I bought today

On the turntable is In Concert- Derrick and the Dominos Recorded in October 1970 at The Fillmore East, NYC. From the looks of this record sleeve it appears it spent sometime in the cut-out bin but for the $1.00 it cost me it was worth it. Did Derrick get his groove back with the Dominos? Most would say yes. Following his success with Cream and arguably the first supergroup Blind Faith it has been written that Clapton was burnt out by both superstardom and the direction his music was moving in. Which explains why the next band he fronted was recorded in under an alias. But lets be real no alias was going to be able to keep Clapton out of the public eye in the early seventies. My relationship with Eric Clapton has been a mixed one. Growing up I had Cream tapes I was quite fond of but I didn't really listen to much more of his catalog. Tales of Brave Ullyesess and White Room among others were favorites of mine as a 15 year old. After college I discovered Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs and his album with John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers, which I loved. My issue with Clapton is I always found his guitar playing to be a bit clinical for me following the "Layla" period. Now that said, I wish I had a fragment of his talent, but, as an artist I don't think he was ever able to get past his own god given talent on the guitar and the success and devotion he experienced at such an early age. At the same time I think Clapton realized this and did his best to seek out soulful players who could both elevate his playing and reign in the cult of his followers. He was also desperately seeking a "salt" of the earth vibe for his music. I don't know if Clapton feels like he ever met his musical match but I have read that he felt Duane Allman was the closest he got to a musical soul brother. The album I'm listening to is definitely a testament to Claptons' ability to swing and give us a good measure grittieness. Backed by Bobby Whitlock and Carl Radle of Delaney and Bonnie's backing band, who brought Clapton out on road with there Bonnie Delaney and Friends Tour. On the drumstool for the Fillmore dates and in the Dominos was Jim Gordon a member of the often incestuous lot of Los Angeles session players who graced hundreds of records from the sixties and seventies and who has been mentioned in other posts on this blog. Jim Gordon is a one of a kind of drummer we most likely won't see the likes of again. Just head on over to wikipedia if you want to learn more. The fact that he played the piano interlude on the classic "Layla" track, suffered from schizophrenia and ultimately was charged with the murder of his mother only adds chilling depth to what was already a unique place in musical culture. This album is tight musically from the get go. It has been re-released in CD form as Derrick and The Dominos Live at The Fillmore but the original Double LP was augmented by other tracks recorded at the Fillmore dates and some of the original tracks on the LP were left by the wayside. One thing that stands out for me on this album is Clapton's magnificent guitar tone and some nice passages where he tastefully employed a Wah-Wah pedal. If they could bottle that tone in a pedal and market it I would probably buy it. From the gatefold sleeve it looks like he was using his 1956 Fender Stratocaster "Brownie". Whatever he was playing and/or playing through that tone is wonderful.

A good pumpkin ale and the story of the "Golden Guitar"

10/29/10

beeradvocate.com rating- n/a

St. Ambroise Great Pumpkin Ale- New Beer Distributors, Chrystie Street New York, NY-12 oz. bottle into Pub Glass- 5% ABV. A nice cool, autumn Friday and my third pumpkin brew. It was a bit warm this week but fall weather returned today finally. I feel cheated when fall days are too warm. There was no rating for this beer on beeradvocate.com. Its from a brewery in Montreal, Canada. Nice brown color with hints of red. Nice and fluffy, one and half finger head. Not much retention or lacing going on. This beer has a nice pumpkiny smell and not as cloying as the Southern Tier which bordered on potpourri. Mild pumpkin aroma and spices like cinnamon and nutmeg. Medium bodied mouth feel, smooth. Carbonation is pretty light, just a bit of fizz, which is nice because it lets the taste profile come up front. This beer is real good. I have to say its probably my favorite of the pumpkin beers I have tried which is ironic since I have tasted two of the highest rated pumpkin beers out there (Southern Tier and Dogfish). I could actually see myself sitting back and drinking a couple of these fairly easily which I can't say I would like to do with the others! Just enough flavor to remind you this is a pumpkin beer but not so much it makes you feel like you are drinking a "flavored" beer. Cheers to the St. Ambroise Great Pumpkin Ale, well done.

I have been asked by friends what I like about old country music. I often have a hard time telling them exactly what it is that attracted me to this music in the first place. I didn’t grow up in the south; I’ve lived in NY my whole life. I grew up listening to classic rock, alternative, metal and rap. I don’t even know anyone who likes this style of music. And yet I am compelled to seek out this music more so now than ever before. My original introduction to “country music was Johnny Cash particularly A Boy Named Sue and Sunday Morning Coming Down. Following that introduction I read about the guitar player Chet Atkins in a guitar magazine. Thus the two components of country music which most appeal to me, the instrumentation and the storytelling, were discovered and I have been looking for different records and artist ever since. An additional element of country records which appealed to me was that being in NYC most people aren’t looking for them so when I came across them they were fairly if not completely cheap. Fundamentally, like soul/R&B records from the 50’s and 60’s, country records of the 50’s and 60’s were consistent in both production and style. In a sense if you liked one record by one artist you would like another artist who may be unknown to you but was on a particular record label or came from a geographically similar area. Much like hip hop producers who look record labels and at the back of album covers and become familiar with certain session musicians the same can be done with country records from the 50’s and 60’s. This helped me when I started buying country records because, beyond reading magazines or books, I had no one to advise me on which artists to buy and/or what to look for as far as labels are concerned.

This brings us to this week’s record The Greatest Hits of – Bill Anderson aka Whispering Bill Anderson. This LP was released in 1967 and is a compilation of his Decca Recordings dating back to 1962. A very popular singer and songwriter from the 60’s through the 70’s who is known for his intimate, smooth vocal style and his knack for spoken-word, “story” songs. Mr. Anderson was also an excellent songwriter represented on this LP with Bright Lights and Country Music, Three A.M and I Love You Drops. Golden Guitar is a great example of why I have gravitated towards country music. I found this record at the WFMU record fair last weekend. It was a fairly productive fair for me. I went in looking for country records because my regular spots have not had too much lately and I have been buying mostly “rock” records lately. After making a round or to through the fair doing surveillance I was not finding a whole lot that met my buying criteria. Originally I ignored a couple of tables, by the WFMU organizers, of dollar records of which I assumed would be filled with Barbara Streisand and Woody Herman. I decide to take a look and I actually found quite a few pretty good country records. Nothing on my small list of wants but all stuff I didn’t have and actually a few records which are probably worth at least more than the dollar I spent on them.

Finally I chose this record to list to for one reason a song called “Golden Guitar” when I saw this name on the back of the album I figured it would a sappy little number or possibly a little instrumental ditty. I was wrong! I was listening to this record the other night when I finally got some time to review and listen to some of my finds and the last song on Side B of this record was “Golden Guitar” at first I didn’t take too much notice because I was cleaning up the living room while I listening but the line “I could tell you quite a story friend if you'd care to buy me a drink” caught my attention. I sat down and moved the needle back to the beginning of the groove. What followed was a story of a guitar hung above a bar “neck was set with diamonds “and “six keys of solid gold” and the man who asked for the drink told him he would tell him the story of the guitar if he bought him a drink. In short the guitar player returned from the Great War blinded and his friends bought him a guitar. He mastered the guitar and finally was invited to play the Grand Old Opry. The storyteller volunteers to drive him from Shreveport to Nashville but on the way the car gets hit by the train and the guitar man goes to the hospital. The Doctor tells him “you're lucky son it was just your arm it could have been your life” but the storyteller tells us “but he died that night life just demanded more than he could give.” The last verse tells of the guitar man playing in heaven and that the owner of the guitar was in actuality the storyteller’s son!!! I was genuinely surprised by this song and the clever turns the narrative took. Also the delivery in the spoken word style Mr. Anderson was known for was really well suited and heightened the songs dramatic effect which might have been lost if it was sung in a traditional style. “Golden Guitars” is a great example of the creativity often ignored in country music and a story which will inspire me to seek out more songs which are unknown to me but flesh out a new perspective.

*Footnote*- the writer of this “Golden Guitar” was not Bill Anderson. This song according to lpdiscography.com, a great country record discography and resource, the song was penned by Curtis Leach and Betty Gary. I could not find any information on Betty Gary but Curtiss Leach sounded like an interesting character. Please visit http://www.hillbilly-music.com for more information on Mr. Leach who died as a result of a knife wound on December 14, 1965 in Mesquite, Texas.

Oh, so I drank one, it became four And when I fell on the floor, I drank more...

10/21/10

beeradvocate.com rating- A-

Stone Brewery Smoked Porter-Community Beverage, Queens, NY- 22 OZ. bomber into Pub Glass- 5.9% ABV- Dark, dark brown but not quite black. Head was 2 fingers with strong retention with a deep butterscotch color. Pretty thick lacing. I smell roasted coffee in this porter. The body was lighter bodied than I expected but definitely more of a medium bodied mouthfeel. And this was fairly strongly carbonated which I also did not expect. This tastes pretty good. I would more describe it as roasted than smoked but maybe as it warms I will get more smokiness present. Not very strong on the alcohol and I don't detect any real heat. I could easily put this bomber back unlike last weeks bomber which was way more challenging.

On the turntable is "Strangeways, Here We Come"- The Smiths- Recorded in Wool Hall Studios in Bath England and released in 1987. I am not a Smiths expert but I do consider myself a fan. I came late to The Smiths. Growing up I was certainly exposed to them but they were a bit over my head. I was reintroduced tot hem by a friend when I was about 26 and I certainly appreciated them more. What I needed to do was get past my own preconceptions and bias towards what I believed to be "mopey" music. Despite the dour image The Smiths may or may not espouse alot of their music is quite energetic though not what I would define as heavy. This is their only LP I own. All the rest of their albums I have on CD. Around 2000-2001 it seemed like a lot of young bands started citing The Smiths as one of their primary influences and these days Morrissey is basically considered a saint. That is all well and good but I find it hard to believe all these people were such Smiths fanatics back in the day, it seems like a bit of revisionist history on the part of some people but that is just my opinion. This album is certainly not their best but much like the Final Cut, discussed in a previous post, this album doesn't get much mention when discussing there catalog. I bought it around the time I started listening to The Smiths only cause I found it for cheap in comparison to their other LP's which I had on CD anyway. Not much more can be said about the wit and lyricism of Morrissey. He belongs to a rarefied group (Dylan, Brian Wilson, Van Morrison, etc.) whose lyrics can be analyzed and interpreted in volumes of books without exhausting the subject. What truly hooked me on this band was Johnny Marr. When I first listened to The Smiths in high school his style was a bit lost on me but once I started to play guitar in college my opinion of what makes a good guitar player drastically changed. This change allowed me to appreciate Mr. Marr in a new light.Johnny Marr in the last decade has gotten some much deserved recognition for his immense talent. I actually got to see him play live with Johnny Marr and The Healer's (I also saw Morrissey solo) which was a bit of a disappointment except for his version of "A Light That Never Goes Out." From what I have read he was the primary musical arranger for the group and needs to be mentioned in the same breath as K. Richards and Jimmy Page, to name a few, in his ability to fuse together guitar parts. He had a knack for weaving together voicing's, arpeggios and instrumentation into a definitive style which complimented both the complexity of Morrissey's lyrics and the versatility of his vocal range. The rhythm section of The Smiths also is often neglected. Andy Rourke is a wonderful and melodic bass player with a definite sense of funk necessary for any good bass player. Mike Joyce the subject of much of Morrissey's wrath is a good drummer at the very least and compliments the band well in my opinion. The songs on this album are a bit of a departure from their earlier material and seem to have more of a brooding, atmospheric quality and certainly less direct, The second side of this LP is certainly not as strong as the first but it still remains an enjoyable listen throughout and is notable for me as one of my first forays into the W. 57th Street Holiday Inn Record Fair.

10/15/10

beeradvocate.com rating- A

Bear Republic Hop Rod Rye Specialty Ale- Community Beverage, Queens, NY- 22 OZ. bomber into Pub Glass- 8% ABV- Described on beeradvocate.com as an American IPA. I have been wanting to try a rye beer, a beer brewed partially with rye grains, and this bomber was only $5 which seemed like a good deal. Poured a dark brown with a nice finger and a half of head which dissipated at a moderate speed. The bottle said it is a an unfiltered ale, but it is to dark to see any sediment at this point, but maybe towards the end of the bottle I will be able to see some. Not so much lacing here as a thin film left over almost the whole glass as the head receded. I am currently getting over a head cold so my nose is a bit handicapped at the moment but I definitely get a fair amount of rye in the aroma as well as a considerable hoppy character which I didn't expect but should have since the name indicates "hop rod". Medium bodied mouth feel, with a silky texture which is not overly carbonated. The taste is pretty complex. Definite bitterness and some roastieness. I taste a bit of "burn" and don't know if this is the alcohol seeping through or the rye character. This is an interesting beer but I don't know if I would buy it again. I think I need to have a "clearer" head to truly enjoy this beer, right now I am a bit overwhelmed by the bitterness and the sticky, resiny quality its leaving on my lips. However... I certainly will finish it.

On the turntable is I Walk The Line- The Carter Family- Recorded for Harmony Records a subsidiary of Columbia records presumably in Nashville, Tennessee in the late 1960's or early 1970's but no information is provided on the LP jacket. A pretty cool version of These Boots Are Made For Walkin' appears on the record so I am guessing it was released in the same time period. I suppose this title is a bit of a misnomer because the album is actually by Mother Maybelle Carter and her daughters Helen, June and Anita Carter. The original Carter Family was made up of A.P., Maybelle and Sarah Carter, the popularly recognized first family of American Folk music. When that group stopped performing together Mother Maybelle started performing with her three daughters and continued to perform together at various times into the 1970's. I believe this is the first female(s) record I have put on the site and this is a good one. It's a straightforward record with simple production and arrangements, but, there is beauty in its simplicity. When I first picked up this record I expected the record to be a product of the times. In that sense I expected some electric instruments, maybe strings and possibly even some keyboards. Alot of traditional artists of that era started experimenting with their sound and augmenting it with production techniques of the day (60's). This is not the case with this record. With the exception of maybe an electric bass or guitar here and there this is a stripped down affair which really lets the listener experience the pure unadulterated harmonies of four powerful singers. There voices capture both femininity and a soulful, woodsy quality. Pretty much all the songs here are worth repeated listens but some standouts are That'll Be The Day, While The World Goes Whizzin' By, Less of Me and the aforementioned These Boots Are Made For Walkin.

10/7/10

Beeradvocate.com Rating- A-

Southern Tier Pumking Ale- Community Beverage, Queens, NY- 22 oz. bomber into Pub Glass- 9.0% ABV- I have been waiting to try this beer for awhile! From what I have heard this one of the best pumpkin beers around, so here goes. Poured thick with a two finger head, slightly orange foam with nice retention. This beer smells like pumpkin pie crust to me. Its really powerful on the nose. Strong vanilla, graham crackery smell. Nice slightly hazy light orange color. Not as much lacing as I expected. Real nice medium bodied mouth feel with subtle carbonation. I have heard this beer is like drinking "pumpkin pie". I wouldn't go that far. But of the three I have tasted I would say this has the most "pumpkin taste". Though its still not overly pumpkiny, I taste more of the spices associated with pumpkin pie than actual pumpkin and that is probably because it has such a powerful aroma. Definitely nutmeg, cloves and vanilla qualities in this beer. I would probably drink this beer again and would like to try it on draft. I would like a thicker body on this one more closer to a stout and I would think this was real good and actually like drinking pumpkin pie. Additionally I do get bit of the alcohols presence but it kind of works with this beer, a nice warming affect.

On the turntable The Final Cut- Pink Floyd- Recorded in a number of studios in England in the 2nd half of 1982. I am showing my roots with this album. Its fall and one of my oldest friends is getting married tomorrow and its making me feel a bit nostalgic so one of my favorite Pink Floyd albums seemed like a good choice. I am not sure why but when the leaves start to turn and the air gets crisp my friends and I refer to it as "Alice In Chains" weather. Now this is not an AIC record but Pink Floyd in someway are in the same vein as AIC. Fall is my favorite time of year and it is a great time of year to get a little old school with music. This was an album that was listened to by me countless times but I lost track of over the years. About four years ago I finally got it again on vinyl. Pink Floyd was a very important group to me growing up and this album in particular has a warm place in my heart. It may sound cheesy but just by listening to it I am transported to emotions I was having when I was 15 and 16. I have had conversations with some of my friends who are big Floyd fans and we all agree that owning this album is an indicator of whether you like Pink Floyd or love them. Its definitely an under appreciated Floyd album and is rarely mentioned in magazines with the reverence of their other albums. This could just be bias because it has been described as Roger Waters first "solo" album and original keyboardist Richard Wright was fired shortly before they started putting it together. For me this album lyrically is some of Mr. Waters best work even though,again, many consider this album to be cast-off's from The Wall sessions. The album, which is dedicated to Waters father Eric Fletcher Waters who died in World War II, is filled with similar imagery that is found on The Wall (fascism, war, broken families and lovers) and on some songs equals if not betters The Wall Lyrics:

From a The Final Cut:

Through the fish-eyed lens of tear stained eyes
I can barely define the shape of this moment in time
And far from flying high in clear blue skies
I’m sprialling down to the hole in the ground where I hide.
If you negotiate the minefield in the drive
And beat the dogs and cheat the cold electronic eyes
And if you make it past the shotgun in the hall,
Dial the combination, open the priesthole
And if I’m in I’ll tell you what’s behind the wall.
There’s a kid who had a big hallucination
Making love to girls in magazines.
He wonders if you’re sleeping with your new found faith.
Could anybody love him
Or is it just a crazy dream?

From Paranoid Eyes:

You put on our brave face and slip over the road for a jar.
Fixing your grin as you casually lean on the bar,
Laughing too loud at the rest of the world
With the boys in the crowd
You hide, hide, hide,
Behind petrified eyes.

You believed in their stories of fame, fortune and glory.
Now you’re lost in a haze of alcohol soft middle age
The pie in the sky turned out to be miles too high.
And you hide, hide, hide,
Behind brown and mild eyes.
“Oi!”

Its hard for me to look at these songs individually but I wanted to give an example of some of the lyrics. Of course taken out of context these lyrics can be misinterpreted but taken as a whole they reveal a sharp analysis of the effects of war on both the participants and the ones left at home. Unlike today when people are guilty jumping from song to song, like myself sometimes, this was an album that I always listened to this album from back to front. All the songs together were a means to an end and listening to them separately did not and doesn't do justice to it as a whole.

9/30/10

Sixpoint Pumpkin Brewster Ale- Brouweji Lane- Greenpoint, Brooklyn- 32 oz- Poured in to Pub Glass- 5.5% ABV- My second pumpkin beer comes from the Sixpoint Brewery in Brooklyn. Copper colored fairly clear. About a half a finger of head, ever so slightly orange in color. Not much retention or lacing. Hints of cinnamon and nutmeg in the aroma but not alot. No pumpkin that I smell. Medium bodied mouth feel with light to medium carbonation. The taste, disappointingly, does not have much pumpkin in it or any of the spices I get from the aroma. The taste kind of has a "bready" quality if that makes any sense. This is the second Sixpoint beer I have had in growler form and I was't a big fan of the other. I believe it was the Lager or Pilsener and it wasn't bad but it just didn't distinguish itself in any way. This seems to be the same case with this beer, its not bad, but doesn't really strike me as a very "pumpkiny" beer whci is what I was expecting.

On the turntable is Bill Holman's Great Big Band- Bill Holman- Recorded for Capitol Records presumably at their Los Angeles based studio in the late to 50's and early 60's but the record doesn't indicate either the location or the date. For me the world of records can be a challenging one when it comes to genres. For me, I honestly like a little bit of everything. Lately my focus has been country and 70’s rock n roll. But whatever I am looking for there is always something I find that I wasn’t looking for. As a result there some inconsistencies in my collection and it tends to jump from place to place. It also makes it kind of difficult to decide on what to listen to because I often have competing desires from one minute to the next. Luckily for records there are no real complications or consequences from choosing one style over another from one day to the next. I bring this up because tonight’s record is a brassy, big band affair from the 1950’s. Based on my previous choices it would probably be hard to assume I would enjoy this type of music, but I do. Records in this style were popular in the 1950’s up until about the mid 1960’s. Some are from long forgotten arrangers and some are by more well known like Paul Ruggolo. I bought this record for $2 on a whim but was not familiar with Mr. Holman's work. After reading up on him I learned that he made a name for himself as a member and arranger for Stan Kenton's Big Band. According to the liner notes written by Leonard Feather, in an easy to understand and humble manner, Holman played and wrote for other west coast players of the time (50's and 60's) including Gerry Mulligan, Shelly Manne, Shorty Rogers, etc. This album includes both originals and standards and is made up of a 17 piece band but the only players names I recognized were Conte Candoli on trumpet and Mel Lewis on drums. I am not a jazz scholar nor am I music major but I can tell you from experience that these “brass” records are great. Jimi Hendrix would often reference colors when speaking about music and I think these jazz based orchestra records really do have “color”. I can’t dissect or analyze these songs critically through musical notation but luckily you don't need to in order to hear the movement and color in the music. The arrangements, instrumentation and tones can be subtle or provide a surging momentum. An ebb and flow of rhythms engage the listener and make it an enjoyable listen. Some standout tracks form me are Shadrach with its bold opening, Stereoso which has a bluesy, plodding quality which wouldn't sound out of place in an old cartoon and The Gentleman Is A Dope with another great intro with a pulsing 007 Theme feel.

And The Beer I Had For Breakfast....

9/23/10

Dogfish Head Punkin Ale- New Beer Distributors, Chrystie Street New York, NY-12 oz. bottle into 10 oz Brandy Snifter- 7 % ABV- Another first this week...pumpkin ale. I've never had a pumpkin ale and have always been a bit skeptical of this seasonal brew but I finally decided to try one. I have another one to try in the coming weeks but I'm gonna try and wait till October. Orange copper in color. About 3/4 inch of head with very strong retention. Not much in the way of lacing. As the label implies the nose on this beer smells of cinnamon, nutmeg and maybe some brown sugar but the aromas aren't as powerful as I expected. The mouthfeel is medium bodied with nice light fizzy carbonation. I thought this ale would have a heavier body but it does have a hint of creamieness which is nice. Suprisingly this does not have an overpowering pumpkin taste. I was imagining it was gonna be like drinking a pumpkin milkshake but really it tastes more like an ale with some "complexities". I like this but I was hoping for more of a pumpkin taste to it. It would definitely be interesting off a tap and maybe better but this is a pretty fresh bottle so its taste should ring fairly true. That said I wish I had another bottle of this I would like to try another bottle served slightly warmer.

On the turntable is Border Lord- Kris Kristofferson- The third solo album for Kris Kristofferson recorded for Monument records in 1972. There are a number of studio musicians on this album but the only one I recognize is Pete Drake on Steel Guitar. I put this record on because I was speaking to a friend at work who recently saw him in a movie and remarked that he was "hot" even thought he is much older. I asked her if she liked his music and she didn't know that he was a musician/ songwriter. I told her his most famous song was "Me and Bobby McGee", she was shocked. U.S. Army helicopter pilot, Rhodes Scholar, songwriter, etc. This guy has done alot in his life. He is also the star of two of my favorite movies of the 1970's Cisco Pike and Alice Doesn't Live Hear Anymore. The following 4 lines from his song Sunday Morning Coming Down are some of my favorite song lyrics ever written:

Well I woke up Sunday morning,
With no way to hold my head that didn't hurt.
And the beer I had for breakfast wasn't bad,
So I had one more for dessert.

He was and is a hardcore ramblin' guy and there is an indefinable autonomy present in his songs. Are guys cut from the same cloth as this guy anymore? This record makes me wish I was around and on some type of road trip through the American southwest when these songs may have been played on the radio. Suffice to say I had this LP out and decided to put it on. I'm not sure if this is my favorite record of his but its a very good one. I don't really know what my favorite song on this album is but the Burden of Freedom is definitely up there and so is When She's Wrong. Really though there are no stinkers here. As far as the music goes it rides that fine line between genres. It incorporates country, gospel, blues and rock n' roll into something which rises above definition. For me there are alot of qualities I look for in songs on this album in general and these feelings are the emotions that Mr. Kristofferson excels at describing: frustration, inner turmoil, contradictions and redemption to name a few. Human imperfections and their spiritual ramifications.