Random Record Revisited 2.24.22

Starless And Bible Black – King Crimson [1974]

I was discussing the recent purchase of the turntable with my friend Mike who informed me that another friend of his had just purchased an Audio Technica turntable as well and was looking forward to some Roxy Music reissues arriving which lead to discussing other remastered editions which lead me to recall the King Crimson reissues I had purchased several years back. “One of those would be a good one to revisit with the new turntable.” Temporarily blanking to Larks Tongue In Aspic I said Red or Starless and Bible Black. Mike almost immediately chose S&BB.

Much like Neil Young, Robert Fripp declines to follow [I would say even damns] expectations and follows the muse wherever she leads. Having parted company with the Islands band and lyricist Peter Sinfield at the end of 1972 because he felt that they did not suit the new material he was writing, Fripp assembled a new band featuring ex-Yes drummer Bill Bruford, ex-Family bassist / vocalist John Wetton and multi-instrumentalist David Cross. [Bruford who had lobbied once before to join Crimson was reportedly told by Robert Fripp “Yes, I think you’re ready now.”]  1973’s Larks Tongue In Aspic took a shocking step in sound away from “progressive” [flutes, Mellotrons, 20 minute suites] to a harder edged rock and fusion sound. 1974’s S&BB continues on that route which will culminate with Red later in ’74.

Desperately short of new material for the album the band took the route used by the Grateful Dead and Frank Zappa – they added the new material into their live sets and recorded them then touched up as necessary in the studio.  One of the shows recorded in Amsterdam was later fully mixed and released in 1997 as The Night Watch.

Side one is a set of shorter pieces. It kicks off with the punchier and in your face [some might say harsh] sound of The Great Deceiver that marks what this era of King Crimson would sound like. Sharp eared music fans will notice the tones and sounds that would color David Bowie’s Heroes in a few years. Lament starts in a very pleasant manner that could almost be considered pop but then breaks into a great lurching beast with stops and starts and time shifts that certainly would not have made it on pop radio. But his does not mean that the band entirely abandoned their earlier style. The Night Watch, Trio and The Mincer would have fit comfortably on In the Court Of the Crimson King or In the Wake Of Poseidon. with Wetton very pleasingly filling the large vocal shoes of Greg Lake. [He also plays some very good bass on side 2. R.I.P. Mr. Wetton.]

Side 2 is two longer instrumental songs. The eponymous title track clocking in at just over 9 minutes and Fracture a shade over 11. Some people might cringe at the thought of two instrumental tracks that length but Crimson unlike the Dead rarely wanders even in improvisation. Starless and Bible Black is pretty tame and subdued most of the time. Fracture on the other hand is incredibly sharp and a great showcase for why Bruford was indeed ready to be admitted into the fold.

Truth be told I thought I liked both Red and Larks Tongue in Aspic much better than this record but I now find that I will have to revisit both of those records in the near future to see if that remains the case.

 Random Album Review 2.22.22 

Lucifer’s Friend [1970]

Where does one come across a band called Lucifer’s Friend? Why does one buy it? I came across this in a shop where my prog and psychedelic loving friend John works. Having tired myself of the same old same old [your Sabbaths, Zeppelins, Stones and Airplanes] I spent some time exploring the works of Deep Purple. According to the notes for Purple’s In Rock [or was it Fireball?] anniversary, the Heep and Purple has shared some rehearsal space in 1970, so I had asked about Uriah Heep. John said he was the right man to ask and led me to them.  Not having a good clean copy of The Magician’s Birthday, I wound up with Demons and Wizards.  Soon after I went back to the shop and John has the debut from Germany’s Lucifer’s Friend spinning.

Despite the evil name, the tunes stamped into the wax bear much more in common with Uriah Heep than Black Sabbath or even Deep Purple. To clarify that last bit: Any band that riffs and uses a Hammond organ is going to draw comparisons to Purple. However, the level of musicianship in Purple with Lord, Paice, Blackmore and Glover puts them two heads, shoulders and most of a torso above any other band employing this sound. But it would be very interesting to try and put a timeline together of LF, Purple and Heep to see who came out first and influenced the other. Or to talk to the principles and see where they all copped the idea for this sound. Listener reviews on Rate Your Music suggest Vanilla Fudge would figure prominently. [I checked, it does, at least for Uriah Heep’s Ken Hensley.]

As for the music, Heep is a close cousin. Maybe the early Rod Evans era of Deep Purple, Shades Of…, Book Of the Taliesyn. The band is also incredibly tight much more like Black Sabbath in that one regard. Guitarist Peter Hesslein rarely goes off on Blackmore-ish tangents and runs but matches and compliments what Peter Hecht is laying down on the organ. [Although he plays some tasty licks on Everybody’s Clown.] Vocalist John Lawton on the other hand lays down the blueprint for Rob Halford, Bruce Dickinson and other metal screamers to come. Or matches up with Ian Gillan, although Gillan has much more power in his voice.]  Bassist Deiter Horns and drummer Joachim Rietenbach hold the whole thing down a whole lot like Vanilla Fudge’s Tim Bogert and Carmine Appice. The Fudge Connection can be heard very clearly on the final song, the eponymous Lucifer’s Friend. The lead track Ride the Sky features a bombastic blast the either inspired or quotes Led Zeppelin’s Immigrant Song. [Indeed, the riding main riff here is one that Iron Maiden might have borrowed.] Keep Goin’ has a nice heavy Sabbathy feel, maybe with a touch of Jethro Tull’s influence.

This is a good album and one that is great for revisiting. And if you like Uriah Heep or Deep Purple and have a curiosity for some similar bands, then I would recommend this.

Ride  the Sky on Beat Club:  Lucifer's Friend - Ride The Sky (1971) - YouTube

Having purchased my first brand new out of the box turntable since 1985 I am playing some old favorites...

Random Platter Review 2.18  - Modern Times – Jefferson Starship [1981]

Jefferson Starship had proved themselves ready to step past the shadows of their former singers Marty Balin and Grace Slick and leap boldly into the 80s with the arrival of singer Mickey Thomas [and well-traveled drummer Aynsley Dunbar] on 1979’s Freedom At Point Zero. That streamlined and airworthy Starship continued that ascent with 1981’s Modern Times.

Modern Times continues to flex [power pop / hard rock] muscles that appeared on Point Zero. The band sounds like a lot of other bands out there in 1981. Except that they don’t. Very few bands paid attention to vocal harmonies like this band, one of the few carryovers from the Jefferson Airplane era, to which Paul Kantner was now the last remaining link. Having been restored [by default] as the undisputed leader of Jefferson Starship on Point Zero, Kantner falls back to a secondary role. Modern Times marks the emergence of the writing tandem of the multi-talented Pete Sears and his wife [and lyricist] Jeannette. They would contribute about one third of the band’s songs on the last three Jefferson Starship records. The second single Stranger [a Sears / Sears composition] also brought Grace Slick back into the band. Slick’s only [co-] lead vocal was with Thomas on Stranger, but she added backing vocals on several other songs. She would return to prominence with 82’s Wind Of Change. The ever electrifying Craig Chaquico contributes some [more] amazing lead guitar work, particularly on the side one closing Save Your Love. Mickey Thomas’ vocals soar over the whole thing in ways Marty Balin could never dream of. [But why would he? Marty has his own style. And he would have a couple of top 40 singles himself in 1981.]

The songs – well, the songs are good and mostly memorable. In addition to Stanger, Chaquico and Tom Borsdorf’s Find Your Way Back received some airplay and landed in the top 30. Save Your Love has been noted and Kantner’s Angel [Wild Eyes] is pretty good. The closer Stairway to Cleveland [We Do What We Want] is famously and literally Kantner’s “fuck you” to Roling Stone magazine. Mary and Free may be stock hard rock that could have been done by Heart and Alien might be an over-reach. But if nothing else, nowhere are there 10,000 uses of the word ‘baby’ which make 1975’s top 5 hit Miracles so hard to listen to now.

Modern Times is a good 80s record. [It’s also the last focused and coherent record the band would release in the 80s.] I have no problem saying that it’s at least as good as Foreigner 4 or Billy Squier’s Don’t Say No. and better than what some contemporaries like Steve Miller, Santana or Neil Young and Crazy Horse were putting out. I’d put it on before other 1981 releases like For Those About To Rock or Abacab.