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).

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.

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.

Listen To The Dolphin's

Everbody's Talkin'- Fred Neil MP3


Green Rocky Road- Fred Neil MP3
4/28/11

beeradvocate.com- B+

Bluepoint Hoptical Illusion IPA-Key Food, Forest Hills Queens-12oz bottle into Pub Glass- 6.8% ABV- This is an interesting beer for me. A few years ago before I really tried many different beers I bought a six pack of this. I had been drinking Bluepoint Toasted Lager for a few months at a happy hour I used to frequent in Brooklyn which had $3 pints of it as a special. I like the Toasted Lager and I saw this in a bodega and thought I would try it. When I got it home and tasted I was pretty shocked I had never tasted a beer so bitter. It was very suprising and I actually didn't like it that much and did not return to it till today. Although I didn't like the beer I was intrigued by how different it was and in some I think it was partly responsible for me getting at least a bit interested in expanding my tastes a bit. That said this beer poured a deep gold with hints of tangerine. About a fingers worth of head which receded fairly rapidly. Some foamy blotches left on the glass but not much true lacing going on. Translucent with a heavy flurry of bubbles racing to the top of the glass. Strong citrus aroma but not overpowering. Nice body creamy but a bit towards the light side and very carbonated. This beer is not as strong as I remembered it but it certainly has a nice "hop" presence. This is actually quite an easy drinking beer suprisingly especially compared to the last time I drank it about 4 years ago. Maybe a bit more balance would be nice, a bit more maltieness would make this perfect. I could see myself drinking this again when I am in the mood for a beer with a bit of character but not one that is gonna knock me out. Well done. I think the beeradvocate.com rating of B+ is right on their mark.

On the turntable is Everybody's Talkin' (Theme From "Midnight Cowboy")- Fred Neil- a late 60's Capitol Records reissue of Fred Neil by Fred Neil recorded
in 1966. I was inspired to play this LP because I just finished a book called Positively 4th Street which documented the early 1960's folk scene in NYC through the early careers of Bob Dylan, Richard Farina and Joan and Mimi Baez. Fred Neil was mentioned in the book a couple of times and it prompted me to pull out this LP I had not listened to for a few years.

Although a mentor to many aspiring singers like David Crosby Mr. Neil was never a widely known singer-songwriter in popular culture but his legacy was sealed by authoring the song Everybody's Talking, successfully covered by Harry Nilsson for the movie Midnight Cowboy which has now become a fascinating sonic touchstone for the late 60's and early 70's. Aided by its prominent inclusion in the Midnight Cowboy soundtrack it has become a ubiquitous and archetypal song which has resonated with successive generations and one I personally associate with that era even though I wasn't born until 1974. Everybody's Talkin' incorporates those distinguished, searching qualities so well illustrated in other songs of that time like Wichita Lineman, God Only Knows and Sunday Morning Coming Down. A bit of achy loneliness, alienation and hope for the future.

After doing a bit of research on the internet I realized to some disappointment Mr. Neil's catalog is not very deep: 4 LP's and some unreleased work and compilation albums. At the dawn of the 1970's Mr. Neil largely retired from the music game, probably aided from residuals provided by Everybody's Talking, and became a precursor to the modern day environmentalist taking up the protection of Dolphins long before it was an attractive social cause. This LP has some really nice moments outside of its tile track. With subtle electric folk arrangements and a deep, baritone vocal delivery Mr. Neil incorporates a variation on the traditional "Cocaine Blues" in Sweet Cocaine and possibly inspires Jerry Garcia in someway with a song reminiscent of Garcia's "Sugaree" with I've Got a Secret (Didn't We Shake Sugaree). Above I included MP3's of Everybody's Talking, in its stripped down original incarnation, along with my other favorite from this LP the lilting, woozy Green Rocky Road.

Unknown Master of Many

5 String Blues- Roy Buchanan MP3

She Once Lived Here- Roy Buchanan MP3
4/20/11

beeradvocate.com- A-

Victory Hop Devil IPA- Community Beverage, Queens, NY- 12 oz. bottle into Brandy Snifter- 6.7% ABV- Poured a reddish brown which was a bit surprising to me. I guess I expected a lighter colored ale. About 1 1/2 fingers worth of head that was fairly dense. Medium to light amount of lacing. Real nice creamy mouthfeel. I stress the mouth is real nice on this, some of the stouts I have experienced were not nearly as creamy as this. Very hoppy ale, but not as distinctively cirtusy as I have come to expect from a lot of IPA's. And the citrus I do smell in there may lean more towards oranges than the typical grapefruit. Maltier than a lot of IPA''s I've had. This is a real bitter beer and the bitterness really leaves my tongue and lips buzzing. Maybe this is a "hop bomb" that "crushes the palate" I have read about. Strange sensation. Chewy. Good brew, don't know if I would get it again but I did buy a si pack of this time around, which is a bit unorthodox, because I tend to buy bombers or growlers for blogging purposes.


Hunkered down for some woodshedding...

On the turntable is Second Album- Roy Buchanan- Inspired by a really good blog post found at theadioslounge.blogspot about Roy Buchanan I pulled this LP out. The post include some wonderful footage from a documentary done for PBS in the 70's called The Worlds Greatest Unknown Guitarist. The clip included him playing with Merle Haggard and The Strangers. Awesome. According to wikipedia this was his best selling LP. Born in Arkansas he cut his teeth playing in R&B groups in the early sixties honing his skills with guys like Ronnie Hawkins and mentoring a young Robbie Robertson of the band. Buchanan's gritty economical style is certainly evident in Robertson's technique. Buchanan was a master of the Fender Telecaster and incorporated peerless "volume swells" and squelchy pull-off's in his playing of which both are apparent on the track "5 String Blues" included above. Incorporating the style of the Delta, Chicago and Bakersfield into his playing, a master of many genres, but unfortunately is largely unknown theses days outside the guitar geek community.Members of the backing band are mentioned on the back cover but none of the names ring a bell to me. Unfortunately the band on this record lacks some grit in my opinion and the album suffers a bit as a result. However that does not diminish the finely crafted playing of Mr. Buchanan and is still an enjoyable listen. If only he had recorded in Muscle Shoals...that would have been one sweet album.

A Post Inspired By Eddie Trunk

Slipping Away- Black Sabbath MP3
4/10/11

beeradvocate.com- A-

Stone Ruination IPA- Community Beverage, Queens, NY- 22 oz. bomber into Pub Glass. Brandy Snifter- 7.7% ABV. Today I have a Double IPA by Stone Brewery. Straw colored in appearance with bits of orange. Pretty clear in appearance with a steady stream of small bubbles. The head was about 1 1/2 fingers thick. Lacing was moderate on the glass. The aroma was a pure American IPA, though not overpowering,.bitter, citrusy hops. Medium bodied, silky mouth feel with small sparkling carbonation. This is defined as a Double IPA but it doesn't overpower. Well balanced but some bitterness lingers. This reminds my of Victory Hop Wallop but a bit more bitter. This is a good IPA and I wouldn't mind having it on draft. At 7.7 ABV its a nice beer to have a couple of without feeling the affects of the booze to quickly but still has a bit of bite.

On the turntable is Mob Rules- Black Sabbath- Recorded at the Record Plant, Los Angeles for Electra/ Asylum Records in 1981. This post is inspired by my trip to Huntington, Long Island, my hometown, to meet my friend and attend a book signing by DJ and Heavy Metal/ Hard Rock expert Eddie Trunk. I have listened to Eddie Trunk on the radio, on and off, for years and since his first season of That Metal Show on VH1 Classics, which coincidentally, coincided with me getting cable for the first time in many years.

I don't have a whole lot of heavy metal on vinyl. I don't come across it much as other genres but I actually believe it is one of the genres that truly benefits from the sound quality delivered by CD. The clarity and precision of a cd mirrors the inherent qualities present in heavy metal all to well. As a result most of the heavy metal I have is on CD. However when I come across some metal on vinyl, for the right price, I will buy it. I started dipping into the Ronnie James Dio era of Black Sabbath back when for their reunion tour around 2006. It was serious fodder for the guitar magazines at the time and I soaked it up. I grew up with Ozzy era Black Sabbath but I have come to really enjoy the Dio era of the band a lot and in someways it has a more focused approach. Tony Iomni's guitar playing really evolved at this time and his solos became even more aggressive and Dio's vocals, which certainly have more range than Ozzy's, breathed new life into the band. One thing stood out to me on this album were the drums. I am not a drum guy and usually they are the last thing I remember about an song but for some reason they stood out to me on this LP. Today after doing a bit of research on wikipedia I learned that the drummer was not the original Black Sabbath drummer, Bill Ward, but a guy named Vinnie Appice. There is not much filler on this LP and wasn't sure which song I wanted to include as an MP3 so I decided on Slipping Away. A catchy track, with a cool chorus, and whose main guitar riff is a bit reminiscent of Led Zeppelins Custard Pie. My favorite part of this track is the dueling Guitar and Bass solos at approximately 2:09. Geezer Butler, on Bass, is one of my favorite bassists and has an melodic approach on the bass and whose hard grooves often drive many of Black Sabbath songs as much as Iomni's guitar.



One thing that struck me as I was riding home on the LIRR, from the book signing, leafing through the Eddie Trunk book was his commitment to a specific genre of music. He made note that he listens to other types of music, being a radio guy, but he is clearly committed to heavy metal/ hard rock and has a knowledge of those genres which is clearly unmatched. In some ways I am really envious of this unwavering interest in particular bands or genres. I have always found it difficult to commit my interests to one type of music. I have never felt complete allegiance with one particular musical scene. Sometimes I think I spread myself to thin, bouncing from one tradition to the next without fully exploring every music al detail. There are common denominators reflected in most of the artists I like:

1. Well crafted songs, with somewhat definitive themes (lyrically or musically)
2. Strong musical hooks and/or chops
3. Acknowledgement of the past and its influence on the artist
4. Focused improvisation.
5. A deep catalog (i.e. Miles Davis, Bob Dylan, Frank Zappa, etc.) preferably with lots of live material available in bootleg form. There is nothing better than finding an artist with a deep catalog that you can get lost in for while, leave it, come back, and then get lost again. This example is a stretch and by no means a requirement for me but its nice if you can find it. I have also listen to an artist with only one recorded song which has its on intrinsic benefits.

But to be honest I am just following my on interests form one day to the next. One day it will be Blind Willie McTell and then the next week will by Ennio Morricone with bits of The Pretenders and Deep Purple mixed in. There isn't a whole lot of rhyme or reason to it. It got me to thinking about other writers/ historians who have raised the bar in their commitment to exposing and analyzing the music of specific artist and or genres:

Phill Schapp- Charlie Parker and all things Jazz
Barney Hoskyns- Los Angeles bands from the 60's and 70's
Greail Marcus- Van Morrison and Bob Dylan
Ben Watson- Frank Zappa
Peter Guarlnick- Southern R&B/ Rockabilly/ Roots Music

etc., etc., etc...

Frank Zappa once said writing about music is like "dancing about architecture" which is most likely aimed at music critics in general. I have to agree that writing about music is often times kind of silly but I wouldn't have experienced a lot of music without being exposed to it through writers and historians in some way. Lets face it there are not a lot of avenues for being exposed to music through traditional avenues anymore, especially, old music.

Drinking Black Coffee and Smoking Cigarettes All Night...

Never Get Out Of These Blues Alive- John Lee Hooker with Van Morrison MP3


T.B. Sheets- John Lee Hooker MP3

4/1/11

beeradvocate rating- B-

Hens Tooth English Ale- Whole Foods Houston St., NYC- 16.9 oz. Bottle into Pub Glass- 6.5% ABV- Another bottle conditioned ale, this one from a brewery in Suffolk, England. After referring to beeradvocate.com before opening this beer I was suprised to learn it had a pretty low rating which was a bit disappointing but hopefully won't make me biased. It poured a translucent, caramel color with a big fat, frothy two finger head. As I poured the head started to level off upwards, sitting well above the rim. It receded at a medium pace and little lacing was left on the glass but some foamy blotches were left behind. Not much aroma to this beer. Some malts and mild dark fruits mixed with a bit of hops but nothing truly distinctive. Light, and fairly watery body which is highly carbonated. This is a pretty bitter beer, not much sweetness going on that I generally associate with some English Ales. I had high hopes for this beer but its pretty unremarkable. As you can see in the picture I posted this bottle had quite a lot of yeast sediment in it and I thought that was a good sign. But this beer is far from complex and I can see why it received a fairly low rating. I want to find something good to say about the beer but there is not much to say. It is pretty drinkable in a sense but it also has a vaguely astringent quality to it. I did like the bottle, label and name of this beer but other than that I don't think I would by this beer again.


Bottle held to light illuminating yeast sediment in bottom of bottle

On the turntable is Never Get Out Of These Blues Again- John Lee Hooker- Recorded in September 1971 at the world class Wally Heider Studios in San Francisco, California for ABC Records. I once heard an interesting thing on an WFMU broadcast. A DJ whose name escapes me at the moment noted that if you come across an unknown record with the band standing in front of their tour bus you should buy it. An interesting motivation to buy a record, right? Well I have tested this theory and it actually is not bad advice. This record doesn't have the band in front of their tour bus but it does have them riding in a bus provided by the Los Angeles Rapid Transit according to the liner notes. This is a pretty sweet record. Despite all of this I would have bought this record regardless of the theory.

I had never seen or heard of this record when I came across it. I was in one of those rare record stores for me where I actually befriended, in a way, one of the proprietors. Unfortunately the store is no more. But when I went in that day he recommended I check a shelf of new records which would be of interest to me. They had yet to be properly sorted and this is where I found this LP. I bought based on the price and the cover alone but when I got it home I realized there was an added bonus... Van Morrison sings a duo on the song Never Get Out Of The Blues Alive! Not only that but Mr. Hooker covers Morrison's truly bluesy song, in both theme and structure, T.B. Sheets. In this treatment dramatic violin lines, which augment gritty organ and guitar accompaniment,lend dramatic crescendo's to an already melancholy, moody piece. This was at the beginning of my Van Morrison fixation and it only intensified it. Beyond the inclusion of Van Morrison on this LP there are top notch session players who include but are not limited to Elvin Bishop on Slide Guitar, Mel Brown on Guitar/Bass and presumably Hooker's kin Robert Hooker on Organ and Fender Rhodes. Bubbling Fender Bass and Wah-Wah guitars give this LP a funky edge I have not come across on any of Mr. Hookers other records.

On a side note the two tunes I posted from this record I remind me of two things:

1. Voodoo Chile on Electric Ladyland by Jimi Hendrix.

2. A great early 80's bootleg I was listening to yesterday called Sweet Home Chicago by The Rolling Stones with Muddy Waters. Muddy and Mick's vocal interplay is very reminiscent of John Lee Hooker's and Van The Man's. There is an energy and joy there shared between the master and the student that escapes literary description. Particularly well illustrated for me on the Stone's boot with Mannish Boy and Champagne & Refer.