felser

Loved him in the day, but the only thing he's done the past 25 years that fully works for me is the reunion with the original group. And this sure ain't that. But 'Caravanserai' will always be a desert Island disc for me.

Musically, actually liked the gris gris stuff best, but realize I'm best off not thinking too much about what it all means. Basically tuned out very soon after the "Right Place, Wrong Time" period. RIP. I do highly recommend this, seven remastered albums, everything up through 1974's Desitively Bonnaroo, available for about $30 on ebay and amazon.

Quite an interesting album, stays true to both Adams and ECM, a good trick. Not a half-bad rhythm section, and Kenny Wheeler on board. Not otherwise familiar with Sauer, but he acquits himself just fine.

Start with 'Asha' and then 'Treasures'. That will give you the prime work. And hope for 'Tori'.

Ah, the good old days. Four noteworthy acts on one bill, and the ticket was probably $5 or less. Quicksilver Messenger Service in their pre-Dino Valente mighty prime, Van freaking Morrison around the time of 'Astral Weeks', Blue Cheer blowing the roof off in their "Summertime Blues" commercial prime (they did more varied and interesting music a few albums later), and Clear Light, a very good, very interesting L.A. group with the eerie but thought-provoking "Mr. Blue". Sigh. Also a very cool poster!

So what did you end up getting her for her birthday?

And 'Elegia' comes out next month. Now we just need 'Tori', hoping maybe they'll do that one in September. 'Treasures' is a wonderful album, especially the awesome "Griot", where Cecil McBee is amazing.

The Mingus group with Pullen, Adams, Richmond, and Jack Walrath was outstanding. Walrath's contributions were substantial and underrated. He is quite a fascinating musician.

Yes, same music: Track Listings Disc: 1 1. Devil Blues 2. Free Cell Block F Tis Nazi U S 3. Sue's Changes Disc: 2 1. Goodbye Pork Pie Hat 2. Take The "A" Train

Jewel case

2CD set readily available on Eagle Rock (also on DVD).

Amen. I don't really care what they call it. ABBA and Tupac Shakur and Solomon Burke, etc. aren't rock & roll, and they aren't rock.

Not my point. This is the organization that at one point had Kiss, the Beastie Boys, and ABBA in, and Steve Miller Band, Yes, and the Moody Blues out. And sign me up for a visit to the Psychedelic Rock hall of fame, where I can go get blissfully lost in adolescent memories of the Ultimate Spinach, Strawberry Alarm Clock, Electric Prunes, 13th Floor Elevators, etc.

And that organization is a joke by any name.

No greater proof than this drop off the cliff: 1969 1971, 1972

Absolutely agree with that in terms of AM radio in that period, continuing until the new wave/early MTV era. The good stuff was predominantly the R&B/Soul/(shudder) Disco. I'm sure we have very different opinions on some of the FM progressive rock from the period. I love, for instance, "Mother Russia" or "Ashes are Burning" by Renaissance, but realize it's not for everyone in our neighborhood here. And I freely acknowledge there was a lot of bad progressive rock then. Fleetwood Mac 'Rumours' is great, but it was understood even then that it was head, shoulders, chest, and stomach above the competition.

Alternate argument is that "Rock" signified the additional seriousness of the music introduced by Dylan, et al. Some groups continued to make Rock 'n' Roll, but something like Sgt. Pepper's is rock, and is clearly not Rock 'n' Roll. I'll take "Chuck Berry's Golden Decade" over Sgt. Pepper's in a heartbeat, but that's a different conversation. And if you listen to the lyrics to Led Zeppelin's "Rock and Roll" (which I love), it is clearly about music that group was NOT performing: It's been a long time since I rock and rolled It's been a long time since I did the Stroll Oh let me get it back let me get it back Let me get it back baby where I come from Yes and no, but you can certainly claim diminishing returns from that point on. Then there's this monstrosity, recorded in 1971. Words that want to be serious (which makes it "rock"), written by 19 year old Dewey Bunnell, but they are so bad in some ways that they seem like a satire of the whole sensitivity movement of the time (which makes them 1960's Mothers of Invention), they are good/bad but not evil (for anyone familiar with that reference) and yet it's got this great tune that overcomes the words and makes the whole thing totally irresistible (which makes it "rock n roll"). And it is on Warner Bros. and goes to #1 in early 1972. I've long dreamed of doing a poetry reading of it. On the first part of the journey I was looking at all the life There were plants and birds and rocks and things There was sand and hills and rings The first thing I met was a fly with a buzz And the sky with no clouds The heat was hot and the ground was dry But the air was full of sound I've been through the desert on a horse with no name It felt good to be out of the rain In the desert you can remember your name 'Cause there ain't no one for to give you no pain La, la After two days in the desert sun My skin began to turn red After three days in the desert fun I was looking at a river bed And the story it told of a river that flowed Made me sad to think it was dead You see I've been through the desert on a horse with no name It felt good to be out of the rain In the desert you can remember your name 'Cause there ain't no one for to give you no pain La, la After nine days I let the horse run free 'Cause the desert had turned to sea There were plants and birds and rocks and things there was sand and hills and rings The ocean is a desert with it's life underground And a perfect disguise above Under the cities lies a heart made of ground But the humans will give no love You see I've been through the desert on a horse with no name It felt good to be out of the rain In the desert you can remember your name 'Cause there ain't no one for to give you no pain La, la

Allen, serious question. What makes 1970 the cut off? I can actually make an argument for 1972 being the cutoff, but not 1970.

Call me crazy, but...

I saw that book in a Barnes & Noble some months ago, gave it a lookover, and rejected it. The book seemed sort of creepy to me. 1971 was a very good year for rock music, but so was 1972 and 1970, and 1964-1969. The year rock really exploded was 1965. 1971's prime movement was "singer-songwriter", and that really was in swing from 1970 with "Sweet Baby James" and "If You Could Read My Mind". "Tapestry" is undoubtedly a great album, as are the others mentioned in the previous post, plus the magnficent "Allman Brothers Live at the Fillmore West" and Rod Stewart's great "Every Picture Tells a Story" but similar highlights can be found from any of the other years back then. 1971 was a very good year for AM Top 40 music also, but I doubt that factors into the author's thesis.

I believe I probably own #2, falls into that maddening "used to know it" category!

And was Joe Dukes still on the scene in the late 70's? Don't see evidence he recorded after about 1970.

If I had to select one title, it would be the Belgrave. Be sure you have the Doug & Jean Carn albums (start with 'Infant Eyes') and some of the others on Black Jazz before shelling out for these titles. Also, some of the Strata East titles would take precedence.