Hop Sun Part Deux

Desafanido- Laurindo Almeida MP3


Satin Doll- Laurindo Almeida MP3

8/12/11

beeradvocate.com rating- beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/3818/17497

Southern Tier Hop Sun Summer Wheat Beer- Superior Market, Sunnyside, Queens, NY- 12 oz. bomber into Belgian Beer Glass- 7.0% ABV

Head- A fibger's worth of head which receded quickly; no lacing

Color- Darker in color than last years beer with more of an orange tint. (view 2010 version in post below.)

Mouthfeel- Light bodied. Medium active carbonation

Aroma- Lemon. Hops.

Tatse/ Overall- I had this beer last summer and spoke about it an earlier blog:

thursdaynightrecordsandbeer.blogspot.com/2010/09/9610-southern-tier-hop-sun-summer-wheat.html

I enjoyed it then and decided to try it again. It is very much as I remember it though with a bit more of a "wheaty" quality than last years. For a wheat beer it has a nice hop presence and a pleasant bitterness. This is a crisp refreshing beer and would be highly recommended for a summers day.

On the turntable is I Left My Heart In San Francisco- Laurindo Almeida- This LP, based on my research, was originally issued as "Acapulco 22" on Capitol Records in 1963. This version was released by Pickwick Records based out of Long Island City, NY about 5 or 6 miles west of where I live and was licensed from its original incarnation from Capitol. I got this LP earlier this summer in Philadelphia. It was reasonably priced and I had been looking for something by this guitarist for a while so I picked it up. I really like the cover art and its overall “60’s” design elements. The LP was manufactured in Hauppauge, NY out In Suffolk County. It’s funny to think of a record pressing plant out there but I guess at the time, back in the days of Grumman, it wasn’t uncommon to have a manufacturing plant out on Long Island. Pickwick Records largely did budget priced LP’s and soundalike records. This LP was probably marketed as a budget LP but the vinyl itself feels pretty high quality especially compared with a lot of the flimsy feeling “budget” lp’s in my collection or even later day records, from the mid seventies onwards, distributed by major labels like Warner Bros.

Mr. Almeida was a Brazilian born guitarist who was brought to the U.S. by Stan Kenton to play with his band. Mr. Almeida went on to have a successful recording career as a leader through much of the 60's and 70's. This is an “electronically enhanced” stereo LP which according to my friend was when they took a recording originally recorded in mono and “spruced” it up with reverb, etc. to create an artificial “stereo” effect. In this case I don’t think it really detracts from the album but this would certainly sound good in Mono. I really like the organ on these tracks and, for me, it really lends itself to what are otherwise fairly straight forward bossa-nova arrangements. Included above are the songs "Satin Doll" and "Desafinado".

Living In Darkness To Hide Our Wrong

To Love Somebody- James Carr MP3


Life Turned Her That Way- James Carr MP3


Everybody Needs Somebody- James Carr MP3

8/11/11

http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/1853/9365

Sly Fox Route 113 IPA- Key Food, Forest Hills Queens, NY- 22 oz. bomber into 12oz. Brandy Snifter- 7.0% ABV

Head- About a fingers worth of head. Heavy lacing.

Color- Rusty orange

Mouthfeel- Medium bodied, with some creamieness. Medium active carbonation

Aroma- Tangerine, lemon. Yeast...?

Taste/ Overall- This beer was brewed in Pennslyvania. Big citurs smell, grapefruit and maybe even caramel in the aroma..There is a distinct sweetness in the smell and a bit in the taste which is not quite to my liking.. But there is also a creamy texture I don't normally find in alot of IPA's which is a nice feature. I detch a hint of boozieness to this ale but just a bit. Not a bad beer, pretty good in fact, though I would like to see the sweetness drawn back but that is also what sets it apart from other IPA's I have had.

On the turntable is At The Dark End Of The Street- James Carr- Compiled by Upside Records in 1987- Mr. Carr came of age during the golden age of southern soul music and whose music was crafted by the guiding hands of musicians and producers working out of Muscle Shoals, Alabama and Memphis, Tennessee. Carr never experienced widespread success like some of his contemporaries and is now largely overlooked outside the community of fans interested in 1960’s era southern soul music. For those interested his fairly brief career is analyzed and described by Barney Hoyskns in the undervalued and overlooked book amazon.com/Say-Time-Brokenhearted-Barney-Hoskyns/dp/074754137X. This book, published in 1998, describes the incestuous relationship between American soul, blues and country music and the unique mixing of white and black cultures which helped produce these musical folk forms.

I was first introduced to the song At the Dark End of the Street on a CD compilation included with an issue of Mojo Magazine from around 2003. It was performed by the Flying Burrito Brothers and it was my first introduction to both the song and the band. I became enamored by the formers ability to incorporate soul songs into their country-rock arrangements and have them sound original and completely at home within a genre which seemed on the surface so at odds with what 60’s soul music was identified with. Little did I know the synergy between these genres can be traced back to many sources and one of the first I recognized is the collaboration between two of the masters of blues/jazz and country music on the tune Blue Yodel #9: Louis Armstrong and Jimmie Rodgers.



Session information and musicians

This is a compilation of Carr’s work in both Memphis and Muscle Shoals from the late sixties when the largest percentage of his output was recorded. The album opens with the classic At the Dark End of the Street. After I heard the FBB version of the song it was still a few years before I started to learn about the origins of what could possibly be argued as one of the Top 10 soul songs of all time and at the very least my favorite. I was surprised to learn the original version of the song was written by two white musicians/producers named Chips Moman and Dan Penn, recorded by a group of southern white musicians and preformed by an African-American singer named James Carr. This LP includes Carr’s version of To Love Somebody which was originally written by Barry and Robin Gibb of the Bee Gees and later preformed, again, by the Flying Burrito Brothers. The 2nd track I posted above is the Harlan Howard (a prolific country music writer during its unofficial golden age) penned Life Turned Her That Way. Again this track illustrates the mighty crossover appeal of the country/soul genres and the similarity of themes explored in both. Lastly I included the compilations closing track Everybody Needs Somebody which I feel is most notable for its jaunty organ/clavinet riff reminiscent of Garth Hudson’s playing style from The Band who were in their own way musically informed by the music emerging from Muscle Shoals and Memphis.

Let Your Prog Light Shine

Watchers Of The Sky- Genesis MP3

7/28/11

beeradvocate.com rating A-

Pretty Things Jack D'or Farmhouse Ale/ Saison- Brouweji Lane- Community Beverage, Queens, NY- 22 oz. bomber into 12oz. Brandy Snifter- 6.4% ABV

Head- Little to speak of maybe a half a finger which reced quickly. No lacing

Color- Cloudy, golden straw

Mouthfeel- Medium to light bodied. Small consistent prickly carbonation

Aroma- Tangerine, lemon. Banana? Yeast...?

Taste/ Overall- This beer was brewed in Massachusetts and is described as an Belgian inspired American Farmhouse Ale. Made with Belgian yeast strains and American Hops.This is my second Farmhouse Ale and is pretty refreshing. Not a bad summer style beer. I can definitely taste the hops in this and their is a pleasant, dry bitterness to it. A smooth drinker in my opinion and the 6.4 ABV is well hidden but could probably catch up to you.

On the turntable is Genesis Live- Genesis- Recorded in February 1973 at The De Monfort Hall, Leichester and The Free Trade Hall, Manchester. Issued as a stop/gap between albums by their record label and was issued as a single LP instead of the more popular 70's double live LP released by so many artists at the time. It would have been nice to have double live LP's growing up in the early 90's by some of my favorite artists but the only one I can remember is the live Guns n' Roses double album from the Use Your Illusion era. I guess the record companies unfortunately backed off this format as a form of promotion. I found this earlier this summer at a flea market in Brooklyn. I am not an expert on Genesis and really the only album I am particularly familiar with prior to Peter Gabriel’s departure is The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway. But in the back of my mind I have been hoping to listen to more of their early 70’s work and this seemed like a good opportunity to expand my Genesis palette.

I was taken with the cover and Mr. Gabriel’s outfit looks like something Lady Gaga might wear today. Early Genesis in my mind is a bit like early Rush and to a lesser extent Pink Floyd but Floyd had a few years on these two groups. Both bands had trimmed the fat and streamlined their songwriting by the early 1980’s. Especially Genesis who has come to define a certain strain of 80’s pop. Prior to the 1980’s though their albums were often dense, thematic affairs which were not always easy to follow. I for one have had a hard time following the lyrical narratives on some of these records and my mind tends to focus more on the musical accompaniment to the lyrical themes.

I heard this album described in a review as “prog-grunge” and in all honesty that description is not completely off, though, I still don’t remember to many “grunge” groups with 8, 9 and 10 minute songs. Nor did many grunge albums feature keyboards heavily....I wonder why not. The live sound of this band has a grittiness I do not associate with their studio albums and without the polish of the studio this album borders on a proto-metal feel in spots. Popular opinion often describes progressive rock from the 1970’s as overly technical but this album remains musically satisfying without oversaturation. I really took a liking to the bass playing on this album and recognized Michael Rutherford’s bass playing talents in a way I had not in the past. I have posted the first track of this LP Watchers Of The Sky which immediately draws you into this album.

An American IPA In Denmark

Meant For You- The Beach Boys MP3



Friends- The Beach Boys MP3



Passing By- The Beach Boys MP3


7/20/11

beeradvocate.com- B+

Mikkeller Citra Single Hop IPA- Brouweji Lane- Greenpoint, Brooklyn- 32 oz- Poured in to Belgium Beer Glass- 6.8% ABV

Head- Frothy, 2 finger head. Hung around quite a bit with some thick lacing

Color-Dark orange, a bit cloudy

Mouthfeel- Medium but actually more towards the light side. Carbonated but not extremely active

Aroma- Hoppy, sticky citrus

Tatse/ Overall- This beer was brewed in Denmark and was brewed with a single hop, Citra, and is described as an American IPA. I don't know to much about this Hop or its components . This is my first foreign brewed American style IPA. The aroma has all the hallmarks of an American IPA but the taste is kind of different and not what I was expecting. This is a pretty smooth drinker with a bitter sweetness to it if that is possible. It also has a dryness to the finish I don't usually experience with IPA's from here. This is a pretty drinkable brew with some depth to it that I like. The only drawback is it was $14 for a 32oz. Growler which is more than what I like to spend but I initially saw the wrong price so I just went with it. It was nice to try a Denmark American style IPA and would be open to it in the future for the right price but I don't forsee seeing it to often.

On the turntable is Friends- The Beacdh Boys- Recorded largely in Brian wilson's home studio in 1968. I have been slacking on the posts lately but I had some issues with my MP3 posts and I switched to a DivShare music player so hopefully that alleviates my playback issues.

Music wise it has been a lot of fusion and prog rock as of late. Not wide spread fusion and prog but, more specifically, Billy Cobham and Genesis. But I have also been in a Beach Boys state of mind as well. Maybe it has something to do with the oppressive summer heat as of late. I have had quite a few Beach Boys phases over the years dating back to the late 80’s when I had a cassette of their greatest hits which I listened to on my walkman when I was mowing lawns in the summer. My second period of Beach Boys came when I first heard Pet Sounds around 1999. We were having some beers at my friends apartment in Brooklyn and he played it for me. I had heard it mentioned by Paul McCartney saying it had inspired The Beatles Sgt. Pepper LP and honestly at the time I didn’t really understand the context of the statement. It took me a few years of listening and learning before I truly understood how these influences were expressed and how the careers of the Beatles and the Beach Boys intersected. I became a fan of Pet Sounds that night and I soon purchased the CD at the old HMV on E. 86TH St. in Manhattan.

A couple more years down the road I bought the LP Sunflower by the Beach Boys and soon realized they had some great music following what many deem their greatest achievement, Pet Sounds. Their post Pet Sounds catalog has been long neglected, except for true fans, and only now is being positively reassessed. This purchase inspired me to seek out most of their pre and post Pet Sounds albums and at current count I have 11 or 12 of their LP’s. Most of them are reissues from the 1970’s and 1980’s but I have a couple of originals. I am surprised I have so many, I didn’t set out to have all of them but most of them were surprisingly inexpensive. I may have more Beach Boys LP’s than I have of any other one group/artist which is strange because I certainly like a lot of other groups more.

The Friends LP escaped me for awhile and was the one I was most interested in since B. Wilson has said in interviews it is one of his favorites. I still look in the Beach Boys bin to see if I can find another pressing and I have yet to find one. I really enjoy this LP and my main complaint with it is its brevity. It clocks in somewhere around 35 minutes and one or two songs are kind of weak in my opinion, Transcendental Meditation and Anna Lee, The Healer. There is a relaxed, contemplative feel on this LP and is composed around themes like the environment, home and a sense of spirituality. And what this LP lacks is made up for with imaginative instrumentation reminiscent of exotica albums, Dennis Wilson’s first contributions as a songwriter and some really sweet organ tones. MP3’s include above are “Meant For You”, which leads of the album, is a transcendent piece which mixes vocals, piano and possibly organ and clocks in at 38 seconds (again, too brief) and leads into the cornerstone of the LP “Friends”. These are followed by “Passing By” one of a handful of instrumental pieces, with some wordless vocals, in the Beach Boys catalog could have been a toss off from the Pet Sounds sessions and adds a nice, whirling resolution to the first side of this LP.

There will probably be more Beach Boys sessions in the future...

Gotta Love Triple LP's And Cans of Beer

Home To You- Earth Opera MP3


Rama Mama- The Rainbow Band mp3

7/7/11

http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/10607/22193- A-

Sixpoint Sweet Action Ale- Quick Mart- Rego Park, Queens- 1 16 oz. Can- Poured into Pub glass- 5.2% ABV

Head- Nice creamy, 2 finger head. Didn't hang around to long, though, and, no lacing.

Color-Light brown, dark orange

Mouthfeel- Medium bodied, creamy. Very nice, what an ale should taste like in my opinion.

Aroma- Fruity, maybe peaches and malts. Not to hoppy.

Taste/ Overall- Wow, this came out of a can. I am impressed. Nice local offering from the Sixpoint Brewery in Brooklyn. I have never had this before nor any of the other beers from Sixpoint but I am intrigued by this. Well down offering, especially since it is from a can.

On the turntable is Garden of Delights- Various Artists- Elektra Records compilation. Early 70's? 3 LP set in a slip case. I had read an article about Jac Holzman the founder of Elektra records and started looking around for an Elektra Records compilation and I came across this on a website. This was actually an Ebay purchase. I usually don't tend to buy much on Ebay (less than 5% of my records are from Ebay) and try to find it on my own but there are times where I breakdown. No one else ended up bidding on it opened at $4.99 and I bought it for $5 plus $4 shipping and handling. Not a bad value for a 3 LP set.



The collection is really good, better than I expected, and has opened me up to a bunch of artists I had never heard of. The majority of the tracks seem to be from the late 60's and early 70's aschewing the earlier output of the label which from what I have read and heard is decidedly more "folky". One of the interesting things about Jac Holman was his affinity for music outside the mainstream or at least on the cusp of. He actually made quite a bit of money making "sound affects" records and their success funded the early stages of the label and allowed him to take risks other labels were not willing to take. Love, Judy Collins, The Doors and The Stooges were all Elektra bands! But there seems to be hundreds of others and I have chosen to share with you two of those bands from this compilation. The first is Home To You by Earth Opera. A Boston based band led by David Grishman and Peter Rowan who both went on to fame at different times playing bluegrass with both Clarence White and Jerry Garcia. According to the liner notes this group initially had a garage rock/psychedelic bent but this track from there 2nd LP has a definite country-rock bent leaning towards the direction Rowan and Grishman would take their careers in the future. The second track is Rama Mama by The Rainbow Band. I chose this tune for two reasons. One is that it is a great example of a strain psychedelic folk popularized in the 60's which has a not so vague eastern spiritual quality to it. The second reason is that this husband and wife band were originally from Syosset, NY not to far from where I grew up! After some research I learned that there one Electra LP, which seems fairly rare, fetches some big dollars on the resale market. It's hard to believe some folks from Syosset came up with this ditty.The liner notes stated they "live and work in Topanga Canyon where they are inspired by God and the California sunshine." Amen, enjoy.

The James Gang Rides Again

Love the cover!






6/23/11

beeradvocate.com- B

Brooklyn Summer Ale- Quick Mart- Rego Park, Queens-12 oz. Bottle poured into Belgian glass- 5% ABV- I have actually had this beer quite a few times but never really sat down and thought about it to much until now. Poured with about a fingers worth of head which dissipated pretty quickly. No lacing really left on the glass. golden colored and fairly clear. A bit sweet smelling, kinda floral and a bit of lemon zest maybe. Very active carbonation, much more than I remembered. The carbonation actually reminds me of Miller High Life. A light medium mouth feel. In the taste there is a bit of bitterness and a bit of lemon. Not a whole lot of complexity here but what it lacks in complexity it certainly makes up for in drinkability. This is one easy drinking beer. Almost to easy, its been about 6 or seven minutes since I opened it and its almost gone. A good summer beer for sure if you are looking for something a little out of the ordinary but a step above Bud or Miller.

On the turntable is Rides Again- James Gang- Recorded at the Record Plant East & West and released in 1970- Over the past couple of weeks I have been listening to a lot of Jazz and I felt like some good old classic rock and the James Gang certainly fills that bill. This is a solid rock album and in general in my opinion the James Gang is often overlooked in a lot magazines and music shows in general. I have the same opinion about the band Mountain. Both bands were American power trios and both had, at the worst 2nd tier guitar gods in Joe Walsh and Leslie West, and both bands had an aggressive sound which has been appropriated by many bands that have come in their wake. Another similarity between these two guitarists is they both have a history of entertaining appearances on the Howard Stern. Leslie West in particular is a good friend of the Stern show and recently had one of his legs amputated due complications related to Diabetes.

This album is primarily known for the classic rock staples Funk #49, Tend My Garden and The Bomber. An interesting track here is Ashes The Rain and I which was produced by Jack Nitszche who was both a protege of Phil Spector and a member of the original incarnation of Neil Young's backing band, Crazy Horse. I chose to post two lesser known tracks here and both are kind of on the mellower side. First is the funky, guitar-delayed riff driven Asshtonpark and second is the country rock inspired number There I Go Again aided and abetted by the band Poco's pedal steel guitar man Rusty Young.

They Don't Want Me Anymore- Okie Jones MP3


God Help Us Understand- Okie Jones MP3

6/18/11

beeradvocate.com- B+

Victory Summer Love Blonde Ale- Brouweji Lane- Greenpoint, Brooklyn- 32 oz. Growler- Poured in to Brandy Snifter Glass- 5.2% ABV- Brewed in Pennsylvania- Golden, straw colored. A bit darker than a Budweiser. I actually had a glass of this the other day and resealed the growler. The beer kept well but the head was not as impressive as the initial pour. The first days pour yielded about a two finger fluffy head which receded quickly. This time it barely had half a fingers worth of head. Little to no lacing on the glass. Lively small carbonation. This beer has a floral, slightly sweet aroma which is not overly hoppy. Mouth feel is definitely light bodied. The taste is truly refreshing and crisp and feels more like a pilsner to me than what I would typically consider an ale. Not super complex but has a subtle hop bitterness and absolutely no clingy aftertaste. I could definitely see myself drinking this again and it probably be just as good straight out of a bottle than it would be in a glass or from a tap.

My first 45 post is on the turntable, Okie Jones- They Don't Want Me Anymore b/w God Help Us Understand- Recorded in Nashville, Tenn. I am not a big 45 record buyer but on occasion I will leaf through some if I come across them in a thrift shop which is where I found this record. I was inspired to listen to this record after reading a blog post on http://somelocalloser.blogspot.com/2011/06/allen-potter.html which featured another Sur-Speed Records 45.





I don't know to much about Sur-Speed Records or Okie Jones but there is a bit of info on his discography at Hillbilly-Researcher.com for those interested. This 45 is, I am assuming pretty rare. What is even rarer is where I found it in a Long Island thrift store where really it had no place being. I wish I had the opportunity to find more records like this but being in New York certainly prevents me from coming across many old hillbilly records. This is a really weird little record and Okie Jones singing style has an almost preacher like quality similar to recordings by Porter Wagoner. Side 1 is They Don't Want Me Anymore written by H.R. Jonas which is a conversation between a bartender and a broken down customer who feels neglected by his family. Okie Jones wrote the flipside, God Help Us Understand, and is definitely not a politically correct track. This is the story of a man conflicted about his Christian upbringing and the way the world and himself treats African Americans. Both these tracks have minimal instrumental backing. Steel guitar, bass and guitar gently play in the background lending themselves softly to the voice on these tracks which is clearly the focal point.