A Debut Recording by DouBt

Some reviews nearly write themselves, usually because the music is on a wave-length that for me is almost intuitive and second nature. The debut recording by DouBt, Never Pet A Burning Dog (MoonJune) I find to be of that sort.

DouBt makes its way imaginatively between the cleavage of the progressive rock and the fusion realms. It is rooted partly in Canterbury school sounds, but equally in the general aesthetic found in the outer rock and fusion realms of the peak late psychedelic period. It builds upon such foundations to create a music that does not sound dated, nostalgic or overtly derivative.

The band's background helps explain why that is so. The core group is the trio of Alex Maguire on keys, an important member of Hatfield and the North; Michel Delville on guitar, lately of Wrong Object and Elton Dean; drummer Tony Bianco, who has been with Dave Liebman among others. They are joined by another Canterbury artist, guest musician Richard Sinclair, on vocals and bass for a number of tracks.

The music has good compositional ideas (band originals and one nicely rearranged Terje Rypdal piece), a few evocative vocals and excellently driving, outside instrumental prowess. This is a group sound but both Macguire and Delville get a chance to expound some of their considerable improvisational abilities. Bianco can skitter freely or dig deep for a rock groove. Sinclair's bass goes well with it all on the numbers where he appears.

What's most important about this recording to me is the fact that the music takes a stylistic point of view that doesn't shy away from blazingly heated, trailblazing butt-kicking. It excels in putting across a modern post-before kind of music that combines electrical power with instrumental subtlety. It not only promises much for the band's future, it already delivers the first instalment of what it does promise. An excellent album on all levels.

Holy Modal Rounders' Unreleased Live Set, 1965

Originally posted on August 22, 2008

Maybe one of the most difficult musical tasks is to make a virtue of really “bad” vocals. A point is reached where such performances have a character that transcends ordinary notions of vocal correctness. The Holy Modal Rounders were masters of the art, perhaps no more so than on the previously unreleased recording Live in 65 (ESP).

For this gig it is Stampfel and Weber alone on acoustic guitar, banjo and fiddle. Here they concentrate on the old string band tunes they had mastered in their own way. There are also a few of the inimitable originals they were more likely to produce in a studio setting back then. It all works quite well. So much so that one wishes there were more sessions like it. A thoroughly entertaining set!

Sonic Youth, Sonic Nurse, Sonic Sonority

Originally posted on August 21, 2008

Sonic Youth have been around so long that the “Youth” part of their name may be a misnomer. Yet they continue to produce music worthy of hearing. Sonic Nurse (Geffen) from 2004 is a case in point. Like Pink Floyd in their prime but in a totally different aural universe, they come up with seemingly simple guitar chord sequences that do not sound at all cliché.

There’s a noise element, they thrive on longer cuts and the vocals are distinctive. I read a pan on this album a while ago. What was the point? Either you like them or you don’t. They keep the candle burning in an otherwise dark area of the music. Sonic Nurse wears well, like a broken-in pair of jeans. It takes a few listens to get on their wavelength, then all is well, at least for me.

Don Cherry Live During A Peak Period, Montmartre

Originally posted on August 20, 2008

When the late trumpet player, avant jazz leader and conceptualist Don Cherry brought his current quintet into the famed European Jazz club Café Montmartre in 1966, he was in many ways at the peak of his powers. Leaving his mentor Ornette Coleman towards the beginning of the decade, he co-lead a number of groups.

By ’66 he had established a definitive group identity with an international coterie of avant players of the first rank. Notably on board were tenorist Gato Barbieri and vibesman Karl Berger, both unique voices and masters of inventive improvisation. A radio broadcast captured the band in great form on Live at Club Montmartre (ESP). The entire set of tapes eventually surfaced in three separate volumes and have now been reissued. Today we look at Volume Two.

The sound is good, the players energized. This is avant music with a large component of sheer JOY. Great compositions, a few oddities (like a version of “Taste of Honey”), and the kind of inspired moments you can get at a live club date—it’s all there. Very good music indeed!

Early Fleetwood Mac Live

Originally posted on August 19, 2008

Fleetwood Mac. They are a household word (or, actually two words). Perhaps no band except the Stones has had such a long and varied history, from a heavily musically endowed blues band to rock titans.

There is a CD lurking around, cheap if you can find it, that documents the original band rather well. Fleetwood Mac Live—Early Recordings (MBH) does not list the personnel, date or location of the recording on the disk, and the sound quality is not first rate, but it shows off the early incarnation at their raw best. This is electric blues at the core, and what sounds like Peter Green is doing some great lead work. It is nice to hear and time has been kind to this lineup. Nothing sounds dated.

Mahogany Frog Does Not Sound Wooden

Originally posted on August 18, 2008

The Canadian prog rock unit Mahogany Frog pushes forward in their 5th release DO 5 (MoonJune). Carrying a lineup of two guitars, bass, drums and the addition of two trumpets, with the former musicians doubling on keys, they rock out on nine selections that show a compositional and instrumental edginess that is obviously the product of plenty of woodshedding and thought.

There are ample musical reasons to place the unit at the forefront of bands that do not play a diluted form of jazz-fusion, but rather continue to build on the prog rock legacy. DO 5 should be heard by anyone with more than a passing fancy for what can be done today.

The Complete ESP Pearls Before Swine

Originally posted on August 15, 2008

One of the better bands of the mid-sixties in the nascent realm of folk-rock was Pearls Before Swine. They were an early and solid manifestation of bands that survived (or didn’t) through an underground following, never really breaking into the mainstream. Listening today to their two albums for ESP, re-released on a single CD as The Complete ESP Recordings, one regrets the neglect they have suffered over the years.

These disks are filled with intelligent, memorable songs, performed with sincerity and some of the spirited panache of the era. I would place both albums at the top of forgotten rock masterpieces of that period.