FREDI D´ALFREDO - Aromas De Hachís (2013)

Un dos clásicos da tempada, polo menos na miña casa, é este tema incluido na última maqueta deste músico valenciano, o mesmo que se agachaba tras o nome de Los Safaris. Hai outra versión do tema con máis instrumentación pero prefiro esta.

MIKE McGEAR - McGear (WB 1974)

"Rainbow lady"

"McGear", publicado en setembro de 1974, foi o segundo álbum en solitario de Mike, que desta volta contou coa colaboración case total do seu irmán Paul McCartney que ademáis da produción tamén proporcionou o acompañamento musical dos Wings, ou sexa Linda, Denny Laine e o guitarrista recén chegado Jimmy McCulloch. Como os Wings non tiñan un batería estable nesa época, recurriron a Gerry Conway da banda de Cat Stevens. Paul co-escribiu todas as cancións do álbum, coa excepción de "Sea Breezes", escrita por Bryan Ferry.

MICHAEL McGEAR Woman (Island, 1972)

"Bored As Butterscotch"

Mike McGear (o irmán de Paul McCartney) foi membro dos Scaffold, aquel trío no que tamén estaban Roger McGough e John Gorman e que durante uns anos coa súa súa mestura de comedia, poesía e música incluso acadaron certa notoriedade con temas frikis como "LilyThe Pink" ou "Thank U Very Much". Está ben lembrar tamén o Lp que editou en compaña de McGough, "McGough and McGear" en 1968 e que incluía "So Much", unha canción que me gusta especialmente. "Woman" foi o seu primeiro traballo en solitario e nel conta de novo con McGough nas letras agás a colaboración co seu irmán Paul co que compón a medias a deliciosa "Bored As Butterscotch" aínda que nos créditos aparece asinada por McGear e amigo. O resto do disco ten os seus momentos como "Roamin A Road", "Witness" ou o rock de "Uptown Downtown" que xa fora gravada por Scaffold

Notas interiores:

"i asked zoot money, andy roberts, dave richards, gerry conway, norman yardley and john megginson to leave their homes to stay at mine in liverpool and with very little time or money de my first solo album: being mad they agreed. a year, lots of time, lots of money, and lots of friends later it was done. not knowing how to sing i chose the north to tear my guts out, and drove to stockport.s.r.s. studios where pete tattershall recorded all the basic tracks. zoot on one grand (and leky) piano, john on the other, andy on kriwaczek (pronounced krivocheck) acoustic and lead gtr, dave on bass gt.. norm gob iron, jerry drums, and i was khown to pick up my maracas. the next few months were covered in 'roof over your head' work, during which roger mcgough (the good poet) and i polished off the words. and i phoned people who would make the album nicer. on to e.m.i, abbey rd. studios where with the help of tony clarke we added final vocals, tim and the centipede string section/tony coe, chris pyne, cecil moss, mike rosen. molly duncan roger ball and other brass friends-paul korda, alan gorrie, steve gould (heavenly soulchoir) ginger johnsons african drums brian augers lovely organ, and special appearance of roger bunn on spaceship "mindblow". john meg may i add had the cheek to arrange the brass and strings. then endless hours of mixing with tony, me, and meg, and finally tony common came up to take some wet wirral photos, then down to finish the artwork. The end result is the plastic disc under this cardboard and a year out of my life. i (what they laughingly call) produced it. i've also treated my voice like an instrument (particularly on things like jolly good show) and naturally instruments blend, together at times. so there follows a list of printed songs to catch the words that float away."

OBIE CLAYTON - Obie Clayton (DJM Records, 1975)

Si os gustó "Searching for Sugar Man" no dejéis de leer "Who does Obie Clayton think he is?" de Claes Johansen.

BARBARA MAURITZ - Music Box (Columbia, 1972)

"Say That You Love Me"

Una petición de Liliána Nagny que quiere escuchar este disco y además nos informa de la muerte de la cantante. El siguiente texto está extraído de la hoja de promo que acompañaba al Lp.

Barbara Mauritz is all too familiar with the dangers of stereotyping. Like Janis Joplin, she migrated from Texas to San Francisco at the height of the Bay area rock boom; as a result, she has been inaccurately cast in a Joplinesque bag by a number of cliche-bound observers. In her original San Francisco band, Lamb, she was constdntly experimenting with voried musical styles, but a sizeable portion of the Bay area musical audience always thought of Lamb in its original incarnation as a classicaIly-oriented folk group. 

With the release of this, her first Columbia album, which was recorded in New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles,Barbara has proved that she is not one to be confined to a particular musical category. Or as she explains, "The important thmg is to record the best possible music, regardless of style."

The accompanying musicians are well equipped to handle this diversity of musical styles. Her producer, Tommy Kaye, has produced artists as disparate as Loudon Wainwright and The Shirelles, and has several gold records to his credit. Her arranger, musical leader, and keyboard man, Tom Salisbury, has played in country-westetrn, swing, and jazz bands, and has often worked with Van Morrison. 

"The "Music Box" theme is more than just a title, because this album has something for everyone. In the opening song, "Sit Yourself Down", Barbara's vocal control is immediately noticeable, as she brings new life to a great song. Also worth attention is Chris Michie's soaring guitar riff. "Drop Down Daddy" comes out as it implies-dropped down and funky. Dr. John's "He Knows What To Do For Me" is presented with a big band/bar type aura. The thing to listen for here, other than Barbara's soothing vocal, is Richard Davis' sliding, standup bass. "All The Love Of My Life is a Lnk Wray tune that highlights Barbara's country background. The interesting thing about "I'm Bound To Be", other than the fact that Barbara co-wrote it is that it was done live in the studio with virtually no overdubbing. 

Side two opens with Van Morrison's "I Will Be There", which is another big band number. Curiously enough, Tom Salisbury arranged both Barbara's and Van's versions. "Around And Around" is handled every bit as tough as a Chuck Berry classic should be. "Winter In The Valley" was written by Barbara in the winter of 71-72 and it features a very intricate 5-part string arrangement, that  was done by just two players. Next, upon the advice of Tommy Kaye, Barbara does one of the first and finest lnterpretations of Loudon Wainwright's "Say That You Love Me". The most lavishly produced track is "The Whale", which features approximately 30 people recorded live in our San Francisco studio. This wlll probably remain an unheard of feat for quite some time. "Music Box", the last tune on the album, is another Mauritz original. It's a beautifully simplistic tune that not only changes the musical mood, but also ties the entire concept of the package together.

While you're getting into the album, Barbara is taking care of a few otber projects. For instance, she and Earl Scruggs are doing the soundtrack for the Robert Radnitz/Mattel (the people who did "Sounder") production of "Where The' Lilies Bloom". She and her band are also preparing to tour; hopefully, at which point, you'll get to see her work-out in person. By the way, Barbara is a full-time mother, which should give you a clue as to how Joshua got his picture on the insert.  

DAVID COPPERFIELD - Summer Days / Me And My Leslie (EMI 1973)

Gran instrumental compuesto por el arreglista francés Bernard Liami. Del protagonista del disco, David Copperfield, no sé absolutamente nada. Lo compré por el título de la cara B "Yo y mi Leslie", esperando que tuviera algo que ver con el famoso amplificador giratorio Leslie. Un acierto

JUNIOR - Perdóname / The Snake (RCA 1973)

Outro que se foi estes días foi Junior Morales. A súa carreira en solitario non pasa do discreto pero malia iso sempre aparece algo, como esta fantástica cara B que imos adicar ao noso querido Bernardo e a seu blog Mi Tocadiscos Dual, todos tivemos un.

ALFONSO SAINZ - Quédate / I Got A Feeling (Philips, 1977)

Onte morría Alfonso Sáinz así que aquí vai esta pequena lembraza cun  tema que ten pouco que ver coa súa faceta máis coñecida como membro dos Pekenikes.

JAKE Y THE FAMILY JEWELS - Jake Y The Family Jewels (Polydor, 1971)

"It Came Without Warning"

Allan “Jake” Jacobs foi membro dos Magicians, grupo neoiorquino que gravou aquela peza titulada “Invitation To Cry” compilada por Lenny Kaye en "Nuggets: Original Artyfacts From The First Psychedelic Era" no ano 1972. Despois dos Magicians, Jacobs xuntouse con Andrea “Bunky” Skinner ao que coñecía do circuito folk dos primeiros sesentas no Greenwich Village e chegaron a ser Bunky & Jake, deixando dous discos gravados no 1967-68: "Bunky & Jake" e "L.A.M.F.". No ano 70 Jacobs con Mike Rosa e Jerry Burnham formaron Jake And The Family Jewels. Este é o primeiro e tamén o máis interesante dos dous discos que gravaron, movéndose dentro do que se deu en chamar "good-time music". Hai opinions que din que teñen un toque a NRBQ, quizáis nalgún tema como "It Came Without Warning" pero a min me lembran a aquelas producións de Erik Jacobsen para Lovin´ Spoonful ou Sopwith Camel e por momentos ao que facía Dan Hicks cos seus Hot Licks en temas como "I Remember Cissy's Baby". Moi entretido.

WHITE CHOCOLATE - Getting Ready To Rock & Roll - Let´s Get Funked (RCA, 1974)

WHITE CHOCOLATE está compuesto por tres jóvenes, cuyas raíces musicales nacen del rock de los años 60. En 1967, cuando aún eran unos adolescentes, comenzaron a tocar juntos. Conforme fueron creciendo, tomaron diversos caminos, para reunirse de nuevo, hace dos años, con su actual nombre musical. Integran el trío, Charlie Karp (primera guitarra y cantante), David Hull (bajo) y Jimmy Maher (batería). Todos ellos tienen, pese a su juventud una larga experiencia, e incluso han llegado a tocar junto al gigante Buddy Miles. Componen sus canciones y crean su propio sonido, con el que se han ganado sitio preferente en las listas norteamericanas. Los dos temas que este single recoge, dan la medida de su calidad y su valía.