Look to the Left, silly goose

Herbie H.

Fat Mama
Herbie Hancock
Fat Albert Rotunda
Warner Bros. : 1969
[Listen] [Buy]

Home is Where the Hatred Is
Esther Phillips
From a Whisper to a Scream
Kudu : 1971
[Listen] [Buy]

Nature Springs
The Good, The Bad and The Queen
The Good, The Bad and The Queen
EMI/Parlophone : 2007
[Listen] [Buy]

An Oak Tree
Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly
The Chronicles of a Bohemian Teenager
WEA International : 2006
[Listen] [Buy]

In the true spirit of this music shack, four tracks, two old, two new. Worlds colliding yet again. It just seems more fun this way. When I was younger, making absurd volumes of mix tapes for anyone and everyone, the major complaint was their schizophrenic track listings. It's something I could never get around - from one song to the next, the progression was all over the place. Hard rock segues harshly into intergalactic funk. Heart-tugging jazz evolves into the newest Sonic Youth noise. And so it went.

I guess that's because unless I am in specific circumstances [aka writing], that's how I like to listen to music. Give me some of everything, and all at once. I like the buffet, I like pick n' mix candy, I like those skee-ball games on the boardwalk where you win tickets, and then spend them on as many small items as possible. I enjoy combo platters that fuck with your pallet.

This site is no different. I like to constantly keep changing, and with posts like this, where there is no discernible theme or message, I succeed. So what do we have?

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Herbie Hancock needs no introduction. The king of the keys. Hands-down. Recorded in 1969, it comes off Hancock's first album after he left Blue Note Records and signed with Warner Brothers, and is full of his signature R&B/jazz style. Heavy horn arrangement, driving rhythm, lots of action and energy.

Listen to it on this headphones to catch all the layers.

It began the sea change for Hancock; after recording some of the most influential jazz of the '60s [Maiden Voyage in 1965, Empyrean Isles in 1964] with Blue Note, '69 saw the beginning of his electric phase, exploring the blend of electronic instruments with those traditionally associated with jazz. In my opinion, it began the trend of perhaps his best work -- Mwandishi, his group the Headhunters, through to the release of Secrets in 1976, and it's an excellent opening flourish to this quartet of tracks.

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Up next, Esther Phillips. This has been in rotation for a long fucking time, so of course I was happy to see that it made the cut for Oliver Wang's forthcoming Soul Sides Volume 2: The Covers, because it is a supremely goddamn good song [Buy Volume 1 too, because he is excellent at what he does]. It's a superb cover of the already-great Gil Scott-Heron track [yep, posted some of him a couple of weeks ago], and it gives the music a completely different spin.

From the LP that deserved the Grammy in 1972 [she lost to Aretha Franklin, who presented her with the award anyway], her version retains the moodiness of the original but gives it the silk-covered treatment. Phillips' voice soars above the smoky horns, and her voice infuses the lyrics with fresh meaning, having been a heroin junky herself. Instead of a cautionary tale about a separate character, it becomes a personal declaration of sorrow, guilt, and atonement.

Her voice is a pleasure to listen to, distinctive in every way. This song is absolute gold.

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Now on to the present day. I've always been a fan of Damon Albarn, because the man knows how to make music. Forgive his transgressions and fall-out with Graham Coxon that led to the end of Blur [I mean, come on, they might get back together!], and focus instead on this gorgeous album that comes kitted with the all-star band. I've posted about them before, so I'll cut the preamble there, but honestly, having listened to this LP endlessly since I was given a copy, this is undoubtedly going to end up on my best-of lists at the end of the year.

Dreamy, ethereal music, with lyrics that rival Thom Yorke for obtuse imagery. It sounds like the music that plays in your mind when you're asleep; you're not sure where you are, things look unfamiliar and yet the people look like old friends, and while you drift, there are voices and sounds in the distance.

You will love this as much as I do. Surely. Naturally I fear that this beautiful track ends up in a car commercial, but what can you do?

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Finally, more British poppish rock in the form of Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly. It's the shot of adrenaline after the Albarn-induced lullabye. More cymbals, anyone? All joking aside, it's a solid album, although I'm still getting into it.

The brainchild of Sam Duckworth, a half-Burmese half-Vietnamese man who grew up in Southend-on-Sea, it's uplifting indie music. I hear it referred to as "emo", and if that becomes the general consensus, I might shed a tear. His influences include Billy Bragg and Blur [who knew? The connections always reveal themselves], and his music expresses that well. This track will bounce you around the room for two-and-a-half minutes, like a ferret on a sugar rush. Can't think of much more to say, other than you won't be disappointed.

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And so my time in the playground for today comes to an end. Must get out of this sandbox and hurry home for lunch. Tomorrow, however, comes the slow-roasted short ribs to today's fast-food offering.

Silent K's been musing on the Day of Love as it creeps up on us tomorrow, and the results are shocking. "There'll be something for everyone", he promises, although I bet he doesn't have a perfect track for that late-night, coke-fuelled S&M session I'm planning. [I kid, I kid] However, if he does, it wouldn't surprise me.

So do whatever you need to do to get ready; extra sheets for the bed, a gallon of body chocolate, a magnum of champagne, towels, oysters, and that adult videotape you can only get halfway through each time.

It will not disappoint.