He'Brew Hop Manna IPA- Whole Foods Houston St., NYC- 22 oz. Bottle into Pub Glass6.8% ABV
Head- 1 1/2 finger head. Light bone color.
Color- Amber, transparent
Mouthfeel- Medium to heavy bodied and carbonation
Aroma- Piney, resiny hops
Taste/ Overall- This is my first He'Brew Beer and its quite good. Its brewed by the Schmaltz Brewing Company in San Francisco and they also brew Coney Island Brews which is funny because I always felt like they had similar packaging but I didn't know they were brewed by the same company until today. This is my first IPA in a few weeks and is a nice change of pace from the dark brews I have been trying lately. I think I am an IPA and Pilsner man at heart.
On the turntable is Mr. Guitar- Billy Strange- released on Sunset Records, no date available probably mid-60's- I was informed this week via some internet posting that Billy Strange, guitarist and all around musical jobber, passed away at the age of 81. Ironically I just happen to be reading the recently published book The Wrecking Crew- The Inside The Best Kept Secret In Rock N’ Roll . The book is a good and is offering some new insights on what I have already read about these musicians. I am about halfway through the book and my one criticism would be that it was definitely written for an audience who probably had little knowledge of the “wrecking crew” outside of the music and takes more of a “novelistic” approach to telling the story. I would have preferred an oral history or at least a book focused more on detailed, oriented accounts of day to day session work.
Prior to the book I was familiar with Strange’s role in popular music courtesy of the Beach Boys Pet Sounds Box Set and the accompanying booklets. It is kind of sad that a guy like this is virtually unknown. He is certainly not the first musician to pass away to relatively little fanfare but his music is probably far more recognizable than most. It is actually hard to feature one of his songs because there are so many to choose from. Just take a look at his wikipedia page.
I got this record in a thrift shop a couple of years ago and at the time I did not know who Billy Strange was but the cover looked cool and I have always been of these 60’s style instrumental albums especially ones which featured guitar. That is actually how I discovered other guitar instrumental music of the same era by the likes of Chet Atkins and Duane Eddy. This is not a groundbreaking album in comparison to some of his more notable studio work performed by Strange but it does have a vibe that would probably warrant some type of Sundazed Records reissue or a Twofer cd package with one of his other solo LP’s. This LP is also a reminder of simpler times when guitar guys could go POP. Included here as an MP3 is the Henry Mancini-Johnny Mercer penned song Charade.
Lauging Dog The Dogfather Russian Imperial Stout- Received as part of a gift basket- Belgian Beer Glass - 11% ABV
Head- Huge 3 finger head. Foamy yet thick and stuck around for a few minutes.
Color- Black with tints of reddish brown in the light. You can also see faint carbonation near the top.
Mouthfeel- Medium bodied and carbonation
Aroma- Very bready. I don't know how else to describe the smell. A bit of funk, not what I was expecting, roasted malts
Taste/ Overall- This is a big big stout. Suprisingly smooth and the alcohol is well masked at 11%. I am actually drinking this a bit to fast for that ABV. Nice mouthfeel. The only thing turning me off this beer is the bready, funk in the aroma. I don't know what it is but I don't really care for it. I am wondering if this is a bad bottle. I don't think so because the beer doesn't taste like it went bad. Not sure really, just an odd aroma. Good imperial stout and I am generally not a fan off stouts like this.
On the turntable is Live At The Music Hall- The Mighty Clouds - Recorded for Peacock Records- No other info available- So this record comes from approximately a crate and a half of records I have which I am really not sure what to do with. I have slowly been reviewing these records. Genre wise its a mixed bag but largely composed of classical, spoken word, contemporary classical (avant-garde) and easy listening. In addition to the many musical phases I have gone through I have always picked up these genres for cheap when I can but a lot of them don’t get more than a listen or two. So I am currently in the process of thinning the herd (my overall LP collection) largely due to space limitations. In the process I want to strengthen and refine my collection. This means:
Adding some staples and completing specific band catalogs. Sell or give away records I no longer listen to and don’t foresee listening to in the future Purging records which no longer meet my condition standards. I used to grade my records fairly easily but I want to get stricter on what I accept condition wise moving forward.
This record is from the aforementioned crate and will remain in my collection after I pulled it out earlier this week and gave it a good spin. The Might Clouds are a gospel group circa what many describe as the golden age of gospel groups from the mid Twentieth Century. This record is a bit of an anomaly in my collection. In all honesty I wish I had more than the handful of gospel records I have because I actually really like the few that I do have. I just don’t come across them very often and when I do the price is too much for me. I am not an overly religious person and my Catholic roots are often betrayed by my emotional restraint but religious music of this caliber is hard to deny. It engages the listener in a way which could make the most ardent disbeliever enthusiastic about both worship and God.
The Mighty Clouds are actually kind of special to me in that I saw them perform around 2004 or 2005 at the Grassroots Music Festival in Trumansburg, NY. Of all the bands I saw when I frequented this particular festival over the course of 3 or 4 summers these guys really standout and that is saying something because I saw a couple of dozen bands. They had an electrifying early afternoon set but we were out there boogying and drinking Heineken Keg Cans despite the extreme heat and the lack of secular themes found in their music. This album has similarities to another live gospel album I love from that era, Sam Cooke Live at The Harlem Square and both albums share an exuberance and grit lacking in alot of live recordings. The arrangements, instrumentation and delivery of the songs here have more in common with a soul/ r&b LP than with a":religous" record. I included the closing medley here as an MP3. It is made up of the songs Family Circle, None But The Righteous and I'll Go. The tune "Family Circle" bares more than a little resemblance to the song Will The Circle Be Unbroken by The Carter Family
Full Sail Black Lager- Received as part of a gift basket- Belgian Beer Glass - 5.4% ABV
Head- 2 finger foamy head
Color- Not pitch black, but more of a dark dark brown
Mouthfeel- Light bodied with depth, prickly carbonation
Aroma- I expected a real stout aroma but it only had light hints of those rich, roasted malts
Taste/ Overall- This is a real easy drinking beer and definitely has the mouth feel of a lager but with hints of a stout that the dark appearance would imply. I am enjoying this beer and is an interesting twist on the lager style.
On the turntable is Northern Windows- Hampton Hawes- recorded and released in 1974 for Fantasy Records.- I am not gonna say a whole lot about this record. I have the afternoon off and was hoping to do a quick post while having a beer and working on another record related project since the last few weeks have been spotty. This a nice record and Hampton Hawes is a criminally under appreciated jazz piano player in my opinion. I think I have 4 of his albums and this one is of note because of the inclusion of Wrecking Crew bassist Carol Kaye and the producing, arranging and conducting duties are filled by David Axelrod. This record ran me $15 which is towards the higher end of what I like to spend but its a great, warm record with rich bass lines and mix of electric keys and acoustic pianos runs. Hope you enjoy the above track Web.
Delirium Tremens Noel- Received as part of a gift basket- Belgian Beer Glass - 10.0% ABV
Head- Huge off white, bone colored head- no lacing
Color- Reddish copper color
Mouthfeel- Pleasant, medium body with active carbonation
Aroma- Not a whole lot other than roasted malts.
Taste/ Overall- The taste of this reminds me of dark cherries and other dark fruits. It has some of the stickiness I associate with this type of big beer but it isn't to unpleasant. For a 10% ABV I feel like the booze is well hidden and this is actually a nice beer to sip on. I don't see myself buying this again because I am not really a fan of the style but it is a very enjoyable ale and well executed.
On the turntable is Deja Vu- CSNY- Released in 1970 on Atlantic Records- I have been reading the book Fire and Rain: The Beatles, Simon and Garfunkel, James Taylor and CSNY and the Lost Story of 1970. Its a really good book and tells the story of these artists and their respective releases from 1970 and how their stories related to the culture at large in 1970. Unfortunately I was not even born yet so I didn't experience the year myself but I have always been fascinated with this time period.
Of all of these bands I am most interested most in CSNY. I know most people would prefer the Beatles but for me I think I actually listen more to CSNY and their various off-shoots more than any other of the bands mentioned. The one biography I have read about CSNY does not go as in depth as I would like but I would recommend David Crosby's autobiography Long Time Gone which is excellent though at times hard to read based on his graphic description of his descent into freebase cocaine. I just got the Deja Vu record recently. Its a clean copy and I got it for a buck. I have seen this record many times but never got around to buying it. It was an essential addition to my CSNY & Family collection. Is this album a masterpiece? I am not sure but it was an album that defined the era and changed a lot about the music industry itself. I was familiar with most of the songs on this album but Country Girl is still fairly new to me and a wonderful song that I had not been exposed to and more in the vein of the expansive tracks he was producing with Jack Nitszche on his first solo LP. I didn't post anything from this album this time around because these songs are readily available to anyone who wants them.
Oskar Blues Smidy Stout- Brouweji Lane- Colorado- 32oz. Growler into Belgian Beer Glass - N/A ABV
Head- About a 2 finger of head, lacey, not dense and receded quikly. Color had purple highlights
Color- Black, hints of reddish purple.
Mouthfeel- Light bodied, medium to heavy carbonation
Aroma- Not a whole lot other than roasted malts.
Taste/ Overall- Suprisingly...kind of disappointing. This was from a a tap but almost tastes like it came from a bottle. Not that it tastes flat, which it doesn't, but it lacks the body I expect from a tap drawn stout. Aditionaly the flavor profile is lackluster, not a whole lot going on in the sense of savoring different flavors. Not a bad beer but not one I would seek out again.
On the turntable is Sunday's Child- John Martyn- Recorded for Island Records in 1974- This was chosen tonight as an exercise in shopping in ones own collection. After buying music for as long as I have, inevitably, one is gonna acquire albums that don't receive as much attention as they deserve. This means you can in a sense "shop" in ones own collection and find an album which is essentially "new" and needs to be properly listened to again. This is the case with this album which I broke out earlier this week after a couple of years of being stowed away.I got this album about four years ago when I lived around the corner from a record store. Dangerous thing... living around the corner from a record store... but also a fun experience. I could literally gather change from my seat cushions walk downstairs around the corner and buy a record for $2 and go home with some new music to listen to. It also encouraged stockpiling albums which isn't always a good thing.
This is one of John Martyn's albums that doesn't seem to get the same respect as his more experimental albums like Solid Air and Bless The Weather. It's unfortunate because this album probably deserves a bit more respect and I happen to enjoy it. It doesn't hurt that this LP is generally considerably less expensive than the albums mentioned above if your lucky enough to come across original copies! Its closer structurally to a traditional singer/songwriter's style but it also offers some ethereal, woozy songs that are easy to get lost in. He reminds me of Bert Jancsh with a stronger voice and more restrained guitar picking. His songs bear some resemblance to the hypnotic qualities so often found in Van Morrison's music. This album includes some nice use of a wah-wah pedal in places and tasteful, spare keyboard work provided by Martyn himself. Also of note is the rhythmic bass playing of Danny Thompson. Included above is an MP3 of the traditional tune Spencer The Rover which may be in some way related to the other traditional ballad The Irish Rover.
Full Sail LTD. 03 Pilsner- Brouweji Lane- Greenpoint Brooklyn, NY- 32oz. Growler into Pub Glass- 5..5% ABV (damn!)
Head- Nice head, creamy but dissipated prettty quickly
Color- Pale gold, straw
Mouthfeel- Light but with presence
Aroma- Lemony, light hops maybe some grass
Taste/ Overall- This is a a really clean crisp beer with a bit more complexity than an average pilsner. Its got some life to it but is very drinkable. I will easily put this growler away. More appropriate for a spring or summer day in my opinion.
On the turntable is Rock Of Ages- The Band- Recorded at the old Academy on 14th Street in Manhattan over the "eclipse of new years 1971-72". This record stands as the 2nd most important live record produced by The Band. I never got to see The Band preform but I did get to see the Levon Helm Band play in Central Park in the summer of 2010. I chose this LP to listen to tonight for two reasons. First I haven’t listened to it in at least 4 years. I am reacquainting myself with a lot of records that had been boxed up and I am now working my way through like they are new records to me. Second I am reading The Band’s biography Across The Great Divide by Barney Hoskyns. It’s a good read so far and I am about 2/3 of the way through. The Band's music is is unlike any other bands music. They were innovators who incorporated traditional strains of American folk music into modern compositions and simplified the recording by circumventing the traditional studio environment and creating their own recording environment which now is common place. There story and impact on popular culture and music resonates to this day.
The Band ushered in a new era of music which at least temporarily grounded egos and made artists like The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and Eric Clapton reassess their own careers and musical directions. Clapton needed to be talked down from a ledge (figurtively, not literally)after hearing Music From Big Pink and the original Basement Tape bootlegs. He was disillusioned with the direction of his own band, Cream, at that time. I just finished up reading about the recording of this LP and it gave me some well needed perspective on the origin of this record. I bought this double LP at one of the first WFMU record fairs I went to. My only previous experience with The Band before buying this LP was through the film The Last Waltz. It’s funny that my first exposure to The Band was through their final “OFFICIAL” performance. It also happened to be the first time I saw Neil Young, Muddy Waters, Van Morrison and Joni Mitchell perform. They all turned out to be all artists whose catalogs I would later become extremely familiar with but at the time of watching the film had only been aware of their hits.
It’s a mystery to me why I chose this LP to buy first. This was before I had my own computer to do research so I didn’t really know exactly where to start with the Band’s catalog and did not really know anyone who could lead me in a particular direction. I was aware of Music From Big Pink and still wonder why I didn’t start there because it probably would have made more sense. I am actually embarrassed to admit that I don’t own Music From Big Pink something I plan on remedying in the near future. The truth of the matter is I stumbled on to this record and bought it blind (in the sense that this was my first exposure to the band other than the hits I knew from the radio and from the movie The Last Waltz). The cover art for this LP is terrible and I can't pinpoint what would attract me to it but luckily the music was as magnetic as it was timeless. In the book Across the Great Divide Hoskyns points out this LP was released at the same time as some other popular double live LP's but to my knowledge this album in particular is rarely mentioned in discussions of great live albums of the 70's. I wonder why?
Both The Last Waltz and this LP are augmented by a horn section. The horn section for me is most effective for me during the song The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down. The performance of this song during The Last Waltz really defined why people regard this movie as one of the best music films of all time. I hate to use this superlative but it is a truly “electrifying” , especially Levon Helm’s vocal underpinned by the brass section, which left me speechless. I had never heard this song before and it was great to re-experience it on the Rock of Ages LP. The funny thing is when I finally heard the original version from The Band’s self titled LP I was actually taken back a bit because it didn’t have quite the dramatic affect as the live versions.
Goose Island Bourbon County Stout 2011- TriBoro Beverage- Astoria, Queens- 12 oz. bottle into Belgian Beer Glass- 14.5% ABV (damn!)
Head- About half a finger of head which receded almost immediately. The head while there was brown with pinkish, purple hues. Absolutely zero lacing
Color- Black, motor oil black
Mouthfeel- Medium bodied, with medium active carbonation. Nice, not exactly creamy but a velvety texture which is quite nice.
Aroma- Definitely can smell sweet bourbon. Vanilla but predominately bourbon. As it has warmed up a bit it has really gotten a boozy aroma to it.
Taste/ Overall- This is my last review of the year and somehow I ended up doing the same amount of reviews as last year which is a bit disappointing. But in the big picture I am happy I continued doing reviews and hope to continue to do so in 2012. Hopefully I can continue to both improve my writing and refine my ideas about both music and beer. For my last post of 2011 I have something special to drink and something I have waited a long time to try. Goose Island Bourbon County Stout! This is a pretty hard beer to come by around these parts but I managed to get it this year with the help of my friend and co-worker. This stout has a really nice mouth feel a bit thinner maybe than an average stout but still nice. Its pretty saturated in bourbon. There is no real way around it. It dominates both the taste and aroma. This is not a bad thing. I wanted to taste bourbon in this stout and I would have been disappointed if I didn't. There is a sweetness which I would like dialed back a bit but I suppose that is from the bourbon casks. I couldn't drink more than one or two in a sitting but one or two would be perfect. I think this would be great to age for a couple of months, as suggested on the label, to tone down some of the boozy edges. Looking forward to having this beer again some time.
I don't do end of the year lists like a lot of people/blogs largely because I buy so few current records. Actually I can't think of any records I bought this year that was actually released this year. Its unfortunate but around 2005 or 2006 I really sort of stopped pursuing new releases for a number of reasons. Here is a brief list why:
Finances and time. I can only dedicate a specific amount of money and time on purchasing music. I have to choose carefully and there are still thousands of records from the past I want to focus my energy on.
I would never illegally download an album by a new artist. I may download an album I used to have and lost, an album out of print or download an album by an artist who is dead. I'm not gonna take an album from a working group for free.
Too many bands. There is no filter anymore and there are to many bands to sift through. Radio and MTV had there drawbacks but they did serve a purpose by allowing cream rise to the top.
Music blogs and youtube channels still are not selective enough and there opinions are skewed for a variety of reasons.
There hasn't been anything that really captured my imagination. I sample music on blogs, youtube and read about new groups in magazines but nothing has really warranted a financial commitment on my end.
I do think there are a lot of creative bands out there now but nothing I really feel connected to musically or socially.
It wasn't always like this and I always enjoyed being up on current releases but in my early 30's I kind of pulled back from trying to keep pace with new bands and releases. I kind of mourn the disconnect between me and the larger record buying culture. I have learned though it is just a fact of life and the result of my current taste. I do have another theory on why I pulled back. In my opinion once you hit your 30's and you are not involved in the music industry, in some financial capacity, I think there is less incentive for you to actively pursue new bands. For example when an established artist like David Bowie endorses a young band ____________. I am always wary of this. I get a sense this is done more out of a sense of maintaining credibility with a younger audience than Mr. Bowie's actual opinion of this band and their success. For me there is far less interest in bands who are coming up, who are younger than me, and I find its harder for them to win my respect, not that my respect really matters to them. Its a pretty jaded opinion but its true for me. Forming this opinion also forces you to accept you are getting older and you may no longer be the key demographic bands are seeking to connect with. I never imagined feeling this way just like I never thought I would tire of some bands I used to like (who will remain nameless) but who I no longer care to listen to. I always thought I would be above such biases but I'm not. I do not have to impress anyone with my taste in current bands and culturally for me the bands that matter and the ones I truly get enjoyment from listening to are ones whose histories have largely been written.
On the turntable is By All Means- Alphonse Mouzon. Released in 1981 on Pausa Records licensed by MPS (Magic Purple Sunshine) Records. I chose this record as a tribute to the end of 2011. Since I don't do any type of best of list for the year I chose this record because it is symbolic for me for the year 2011. I bought this at a yard sale in Queens this summer. It was in some guys backyard and I wish I had taken a picture of the sale but I didn't. I picked up some real nice stuff there for cheap, including some Harry Nilson records I had been searching for, and this is a record I took a chance on. I'm not sure why I bought this LP because I wasn't really sure who Alphonse Mouzon was but I just a had a feeling about this record. I later learned the Beastie Boys sampled one of Mouzon's tunes for the intro drumbreak to "Shake Your Rump".It was the first record I put on when I got home and after a few spins I was really hooked on the mix of fusion and R&B. The sidemen are a who's who of jazz and fusion including Freddie Hubbard, Herbie Hancock and Lee Ritenour among others.
This record really shifted my record buying patterns in a big way for the 2nd half of this year. Another record that did that for me was the Genesis Live album I bought at a flea market in Brooklyn over the summer. Before these records I was really still buying country records and west coast cool jazz primarily. This has been a really positive move for me . I kind of burned out a bit on buying country LP's over the last 3 or 4 years and fusion and hard rock/prog records are giving me a new direction to move in and one that is pretty far removed from the rootsier stuff I have favored over the last couple of years. This is one of the reasons why I have such a scattered collection of LP's. My focus I have realized is never completely consistent. I'll buy 5 jazz records but with those five I'll have a metal and a classical LP. Or I will buy 2 country, 1 soul and 4 blues rock records. So I end up with a collection which is kind of a mixed bag of stuff but for the forseable furure I will probably be focusing on 70's jazz/fusion and seeing where it takes me.
This is my beer and record blog. For most of my drinking life I have stuck to Bud, Miller and whatever was on tap and available. Still do, mostly. However, I decided I wanted to try some new beers and keep track of what I have tried/liked. I also decided to list what record I was listening to while I was drinking my beer. Thursday night is my preferred time to have a brew and listen to some music. So I hope you enjoy and share your opinion's, thanks!
