Mining the Audio Motherlode, Volume 124

 

Give the Drummer Some's
Favorite Downloads from the MP3 Blogosphere

After you devour this week's smorgesbord of sound, take a few minutes to scroll back through the first six months of Motherlodes and make note of your favorites albums offered thus far. Either email me your picks or just share them in the comments below, but do let me know what you liked best. I'll compile reader selections with a list of my own in next week's mid-year Top Ten. In the mean time, happy Motherloding.

 

 

 

 Five more faves...

 

Gordon Alexander  ~  "Gordon's Buster"
(Blog: Hippy Djkit)
From the album: Windy Wednesday (mp3)

Featuring: "A Bunch of Us Were Sitting Around a Candle in San Francisco Getting Stoned and I Hope You're There Next Time."
"Gordon Alexander offered songs that reflected the beatific side of the hippie experience on Gordon's Buster, yet in a mild, faintly sunshine-pop influenced style that steered it well clear of the weirdest things coming out of California at the time. There's a sense of the playful psych/pop of, say, Sagittarius or Chris Lucey/Bobby Jameson, yet Alexander seems earthier and a little more connected to some genuinely stoned whimsy. Gratuitous washes of echo and distorted guitar come into the mix at times, yet sometimes it sounds like he's trying to do a psychedelic take on Glen Campbell. In all it's an eclectic period curiosity with some interesting baroque touches."  (Description by Richie Unterberger, at All Music)

 

Peg Leg Sam  ~  "Medicine Show Man"
(Blog: MilChapitas)

Must Watch: Born for Hard Luck (1976)
"With a sobriquet straight out of the pages of a pirate novel Peg Leg Sam promises much in the way of flamboyant musical knavery. His sole entry for the Trix label makes good on the pledge. Sam’s songbook transcends the blues’ porous boundaries and overlaps with old-timey country and folk repertoires. All were learned on his peregrinations through the States and even overseas to Cuba, Jamaica and the Bahamas. Friendship with songster Pink Anderson led a lengthy career in the medicine shows. As such, the disc’s title isn’t some flippant marketing ploy. Substantial technique informs his extempore harmonica style and he accomplishes some amazing feats, but it’s all in deference to the various moods that strike him.  (Description by Derek, at Bagatellen)

 

Buddy Rich & Alla Rakha  ~  "Rich à la Rakha"
(Blog: Dr. Schluss' Garage of Psychedelic Obscurities)
From the album: Khanda Kafi (mp3)

Slap Dash
"For those of us living in the West, jazz drumming legend Buddy Rich is the marquee name here, although it's not particularly representative of what you're going to get with this recording. Neither is the trendy, '68 vintage psychedelic exploitation lettering gracing the cover. No, this is in fact a collaboration with the sterling Indian percussionist Alla Rakha, and it's his musical DNA that is most apparent here. Fortunately, the end result is a quite good album of classically-minded Indian music with a few jazz flourishes (although for the most part it seems that Mr. Rich is joining in with hand percussion or just a tom drum)."  (Description by Dr. Schluss , at Dr. Schluss' Garage Of Psychedelic Obscurities )

 

 

Bariş Manço  ~  29 Singles
(Blog: Turkish Psychedelic Music)

We'll Always Have Bariş
"Along with Erkin, Baris Manco is one of the earliest stars of Turkish rock'n roll whose first public -success dates back to late 50's.  He won scholarship in Belgium Royal Academy in 1963 and went to Belgium to study graphics and art. By the time he was there he was always busy with music and put out records in both Belgium and in Turkey (to where he returned for four or five months every year. Influenced by the rapid cultural movements occuring at the time in Europe, he realised his own country could be the cultural link between East and West, a link avidly sought by many open-minded Western European thoughts. After his collaborations with Les Mistigris and Kaygisizlar, Manço went on to form another band under his name which compromised of multi-national musicians. Best remembered for their fantastic live bluesy underground music."  (Description by Gökhan Aya & Jay Dobis, reprinted at Progressive.Homestead.com)

Air  ~  "Open Air Suit"
(Blog: música en espiral)
From the album: Card Two: The Jick or Mandrill's Cosmic Ass (mp3)

Air Is Human
"The compositions on this LP are by [Henry] Threadgill, but all three instruments participate as equals in the improvisations. Of particular interest are the complex, fluid rhythms that the group develops, with Threadgill and [Fred] Hopkins sensitively responding to each other from moment to moment to develop the core rhythm, and [Steve] McCall syncopating off of that—or so it seems to me. The effect is kaleidoscopic. Threadgill plays a different instrument on each track—alto, tenor, and baritone saxophone, and flute." (Description by ?, at Kickass Torrents ) 

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Comments

[Louisville Dan]

"Born for Hard Luck" is a MUST watch for sure. Thanks for the head's up on that one.

[Max]

Wow. Once again you link to another blog's repost of my original post. I believe this is the third time you've done it. A major reason why I have trouble getting motivated to find, record, and post records anymore is because no one bothers to recognize the effort. http://playitagainmax.blogspot.com/2007/04/gordon-alexander-gordons-buster-1968.html

[Tony]

Wow you found some records that are different. I will have to give your show a listen. Always willing to try something new. Cheers