Record Lection #42 Thin Lizzy “Johnny The Fox” The individualism of Phil Lynott is almost overwhelming to me. He was a black, Irish, bass playing, lead singing, motorcycling rock ‘n roller who was sensitive enough to harness his incredibly complex and cinematic emotions and craft them into song-stories. His wordplay, rich visuals, and blue collar language should have him included in the pantheon of great poets and writers from the northern UK. Not only was he blessed with this artistic verbal acumen, he also happened to be surrounded by an incredibly strong rock band that showcased a soaring twin guitar attack. These abundant resources came together best on their 6th album which most consider to be their masterpiece, which they named “Jailbreak” Their follow up is my favorite one by them however, with the title track specifically being a great mix of a nice warm 70’s breakbeat with a Harley-Davidson badditude. Like the Ramones a bit later, Thin Lizzy were able to mix 50’s rebel culture with more edgy and modern sensibilities. Johnny The Fox is no doubt at least a little autobiographical and with this song Phil has inserted himself into great lineage of Rock N Roll Johnnies (B.Goode, Thunders, etc.) As a black punk he is easily enthroned on my musical Mt. Rushmore and a constant source of awe and inspiration. As a musician and songwriter I can only hope to achieve his perfect blend of coolness and candor. That may never be possible but I feel very lucky to have Phil Lynotts music in my life.
Twitter:@hornetleg
#recordlections
Record Lection #41 Ozzy Osbourne “Blizzard Of Ozz” When Black Sabbath decided to 86 their flaming mess of a lead singer, I bet they thought that he would crawl quietly into the gutter and die in a drug addled heap. Unfortunately for them, he had an incredibly tenacious manager/wife who paired her star client with arguably the best heavy metal guitarist who ever lived. Now By no means is solo Ozzy better or more important than Sabbath, but this debut and Diary of a Madman come dangerously close and actually made Ozzy more famous! The real workhorse here is Ex-Quiet Riot guitarist Randy Rhoads who proceeds to destroy your skull throughout the LP with epic face melters (Crazy Train) baroque level introspections (Dee) and psychedelic mind grinds (Suicide Solution). Listening to this today takes me back to my prepubescence, trying desperately to hang out with camel smoking ape drapes in run down apartment complexes baking in the summer sun. All of their girlfriends seemed to have Anthrax shirts and they were constantly working on cars that seemed to run only sometimes. This cassette was always playing in one of those cars.
Twitter:@hornetleg
Record Lections Podcast!! I love music!
Record Lection #40- Horace Andy “Mr.Bassie” If you peruse through the enormous cache of classic King Tubby dubs from the 70’s, you will find that Horace Andy is the beautiful voicing ripping and twisting through the reverb tank. One of the greatest artists (in my opinion) of the 70s reggae scene, Horace finally got his due props in the new century when Massive Attack “discovered” him and reignited his career. I am a huge fan of Dub music, and one of my favorite things is try and find the original vocal version. It’s like those hard fades and edits were like little secrets that needed to be unlocked. Through trial and adventure my focus started turning to the great vocalists Rockers era reggae music. Horace Andy became an idol of mine soon there after, A lot of those familiar rhythms I loved finally got the full vocal disclosure on this collection and his most famous album “Skylarking” for Studio One. Both records are stuffed with classic after classic!! This one is my favorite however, with my highlight being a very ominous and foreboding version of “Ain’t No Sunshine” by Bill Withers. Chills For Rills….#recordlections Twitter:@hornetleg
Record Lection #39 V/A-“Blow-Up” Soundtrack. This is one of those occasions where a visually stunning film is accompanied by an equally refined soundtrack. Herbie Hancock, who is best known for his futurist explorations like “Rock-It”, is firmly grounded in his 60’s boogaloo/modal jazz period (both styles are hamfistingly edited together in the films theme) playing organic piano sounds as only a master can. Interrupting this jazzy afternoon however is two OK songs by the psychedelic group Tomorrow and the entire collections crowning jewel, The Yardbirds spirited version of “Train Kept A Rollin’”. Their performance of it in the film is quite possibly the best part of the film, and it is DEFINITELY the best thing The Yardbirds ever recorded (and I love me some Yardbirds) Check the scene if ya wanna know what I mean. Also, the intro to “Bring down the birds” by the Herb man is the bassline for “Groove Is In The Heart”!! I think that is definitely worth a listen, don’t you?!
Twitter:@hornetleg
Record Lection #38-Large Professor “The LP” Me and my friend Mike were OBSESSED with the album Midnight Marauders by A Tribe Called Quest. So much so that we would try to decipher hidden meanings in lyrics, find the origins of the samples, and search for material by peripheral Native Tongue posse members. Large Professor had this amazing verse (8 million stories/in the city it’s a pity…) that immediately had us sprung. In one line he refers to himself as “The Extra P” so of course we go to the record store and purchase a cassette we see by an artist called Extra Prolific. SO not the same dude! (For many reasons) Anyways, what we didn’t know at the time was that the original release got shelved, sadly only existing on bootleg versions until the early 2000’s. Being a great lost treasure from Hip Hops golden era made it definitely worth the wait however. His work with his previous group Main Source gave him enough prestige to warrant his own solo venture, and he totally delivered. His work may be a tad dated in today’s world but his mastery of samples and drum sounds garners elite status.
Twitter:@hornetleg
Record Lection #37 Otis Rush “The Classic Recordings”-Otis Rush was an amazing second tier Chicago blues man who unfortunately is probably remembered best (or not) for writing the song “I Can’t Quit You Babe”, which was covered by Led Zeppelin on their first record. This is my favorite collection by him and it focuses on his output on the local Cobra label. He was one of the original left handed guitar virtuosos and is horribly underrated in the blues pantheon, however his unique vocal stylings are a nice temper between Howlin’ Wolfs reckless growl and the urban dark chocolate ooze that was sung by the great Muddy Waters. In my musical journey, Rush emerged as a troubadour that was willing to deviate from the iron clad Chicago blues style, swinging (literally) between Cab Calloway type histrionics on one song and heart destroying lyrical execution on another. I should also mention that his guitar playing is some of the emotional licks put on wax. I would tell you to ask Jimi Hendrix (Otis was one of his faves) but well, you know.
twitter:@hornetleg
Record Lection #36-Digable Planets “Blowout Comb” Absolutely one of the best albums ever made. Digables took Tribe Called Quests genius marriage of jazz and hip hop and raised it to another level, while infusing a more political and historical edge. A hugely underrated classic…http://snd.sc/109sacq
