*Santana - Festival. 1977 Columbia (LP). Thrift shop find (Aug). A surprisingly elusive album in the wilderness. I owned this album back in college, but unlike Amigos (which I featured on UMR), decided to sell it in the mid 90s. Even when I bought the box set of Japanese mini-LP's (one of the treasures of my CD collection), the albums skipped from Borboletta to Inner Secrets. About a year ago I had a chance to revisit Moonflower to great results. Would I have a similar experience here? And the answer is a resounding yes. While it doesn't have a jaw dropper like 'Europa' (what does?), Festival is more consistent. The first three tracks are Santana at his absolute best, mixing in his purposely naïve view of the world with molten licks. And so it goes, with his usual mix of ethnic and harder rocking tracks. He pretty much let go of the funk that permeated Amigos. There are two tracks that are too Vegas-y for me 'Give Me Love' and 'The River', which still leaves 36 minutes of great music. Easy keeper and glad to have it back. Always liked the cover as well.
Manfred Mann's Earth Band - The Roaring Silence. 198? Warner Bros (LP). Found this two years ago at a garage sale (2019), before I was detailing these kind of discoveries. Once I made the decision to keep it, I knew this day would be coming. I just didn't know when. These were exactly the type of LPs I didn't keep 25+ years ago. But I had made some room in the collection for additions, and this was "good enough". Now it's at the bottom of the ranking. But should it be? This is a really odd album. First released in 1976 (the one I found is a tan label, so it's likely to be from the 80s), I remember hearing 'Blinded by the Light' back then, and thinking it was a really cool track. I still do - such a bizarre song to begin with considering its swirling organ and synthesizers, and crazy vocals. I've not heard Bruce Springsteen's debut album, but Mann mined it for two megahits - the other being 'Spirit of the Night' which was appended to later editions of this album (like mine). But what of the rest? 'Singing the Dolphin' (a song by Mike Heron) seems to be Mann trying to channel Camel, and failing miserably. What a dull song. Contrarily, 'Waiter, There's a Yawn in My Ear' is a killer instrumental prog track, something I would have been happy to get a whole album of. Side 2 is more mixed, but still brings the goods like 'The Road to Babylon' and 'Questions'. A very good album but ultimately I decided to let it go. (Aug)
Ambrosia - Life Beyond LA. 1978 Warner Bros (LP). Another one of those anomalies in the RT collection (Jul). Ambrosia are practically the definition of what we now call Yacht Rock. A sophisticated style of pop designed for the wealthy in-crowd. No sweat and dirt allowed here. Ambrosia's background is one of a prog band, so they do bring the instrumentation and production qualities with them - along with a middling set of FM/AM radio tunes. The big hit here is 'How Much I Feel', which you will instantly recognize once you hear it. It has creepy machismo lyrics into the bargain. I don't feel like typing them out, but find the last stanzas... Good for what it is, but this was too deep in the catalog for me.
Charlie - Lines. 1978 Janus (LP). Thrift shop find (Jul), different one than the other two. I've been looking for some Charlie in the thrift bins since I started this. Mainly the 70s variety. When I do find them, they are trashed, so it was nice to see a minty copy last week. Charlie were one of the early bands I was first exposed to when listening to FM radio in the mid to late 70s as a preteen. I remember some of their music having cool riffs, though obviously not enough to pursue buying a full LP. Whatever the case, this album is devoid of anything hard rocking. This is pure unadulterated FM soft pop rock. AOR at its most obvious and pandering. A couple of decent cuts for sure, but I was disappointed. I recall none of this. I'll try their first two albums as well (when I find them), curious what I had heard from my youth. I do like the model on the cover, though. This gal, whoever she is, represented the sexy female ideal of the late 70s.
Rolling Stones - Black and Blue. 1976 Rolling Stones (LP). Thrift shop find, different than the below (Jul). Not a big fan of the Stones as it is, but I figured something from this period would have no chance. Boy was I right. This was worse than I expected, and that was a very low bar. Talk about a "throw in" album. Contractual obligation and all that. I guess the guitar audition aspect is its only redeeming factor.
Rolling Stones - Goats Head Soup. 1973 Rolling Stones (LP). With the above (Jul). Earlier recording and a little bit better than the above. Still there's nothing here that I would want to return to. Side 1 is average and Side 2 is disappointing. The big hit here is the ballad 'Angie', a song I could go a lifetime without hearing again. Nice gatefold with the stock card insert. It'll sell.
Slade - Nobody's Fool. 1976 Warner Bros (LP). With the Stones albums above (Jul). Slade are one of those bands that I've heard all of my life but never actually heard, if that makes sense. Meaning, I know some of their songs, but never bothered to hear a full album. Quiet Riot may have had something to do with that... Were Slade just a hard rock band, this would have been more enjoyable. For that style they are reasonably accomplished. But they were a glam band in the end, and they mix in other genres (like 50s rock n roll). They have their audience, and they play to it. That audience does not include me. Average on the whole.
The Who - Who Are You. 1978 MCA (Canada) (LP). From an estate sale (Jul). It's been forever and a day since I heard Who Are You. I'm thinking 40+ years ago. Inexplicably I still appended a rating of "good" on it (I do not usually rate albums that I haven't heard since college or before). Well, it was a pretty accurate assessment, though I'd say I was being a bit generous. I hear this album as average at best, typical of the UK mega stadium bands of their era. The title track being the most recognizable song, and frankly, the best of them.
***The following were all from the same thrift shop find (Jul)
Duane Allman - An Anthology. 1972 Capricorn (2xLP). This is a very nice package with a large booklet dedicated to the memory of Duane Allman, who had passed away in a motorcycle crash only a few months prior. It's a unique compilation in that it features Allman playing on other artist's releases - not just his own. In reality, this could have been called A Blues Anthology, as the majority of the songs (including The Allman Brothers) are in that vein. Obviously that was Allman's comfort zone as well. As such, it veers away from my own interest in Allman's work. But I'm glad I had a chance to check it out.
Fleetwood Mac - Kiln House. 1970 Reprise (LP). Finally, a new-to-me Fleetwood Mac album. But unfortunately I'm already pining for Stevie Nicks and crew. Wow - I really don't like this album. It has more in common with Bill Haley than it does anything from the 60s and 70s. Which is fine if you enjoy that sort of thing, but I don't. Kirwan doesn't get a chance to shine much here, though the one saving grace is his composition 'Tell Me All the Things You Do', the album's easy highlight. Where is Bob Welch when you need him? Great cover belies its musical content.
Van Morrison - Moondance. 198? Warner Bros. (1970) (LP). 80s reissue (has the bar code) of Van Morrison's 3rd album from 1970. The only track I recognized was the title song, which I've always enjoyed. Has an odd lounge angle I find appealing. The rest? I just don't get it. But I don't get Bob Dylan either. I find his voice somewhat irritating and the music dull. This is considered one of his landmark works, so clearly it is I who remains in the dark. Others in my shoes would no doubt call it overrated or hyped, but that's awfully self-absorbed. No it's not overrated. It's that I disagree with the popular opinion on this title (and artist likely).
Electric Light Orchestra - Out of the Blue. 1977 Jet / United Artists (2xLP). Out of the Blue was yet another mega seller when I was first getting into FM radio in 1977. I didn't think much of it back then... and I still don't. A sprawling double LP that sounds like a mutant baby of Queen and Supertramp, with the Beatles somewhere in the DNA hierarchy. This weird strain of late 70s British AOR music that inexplicably was more popular here than in their homeland. A couple of good songs, but this one isn't for me. I'll hear every ELO as they come to me, but so far I'm not finding myself enjoying any of them.
Dire Straits - Brothers in Arms. 1985 Warner Bros (LP). Their most famous album, Brothers in Arms is actually Dire Straits' 5th release. I've never really understood the appeal of this group, though one could state they were the antithesis of the outrageous New Wave and Hair Metal bands that were proliferating at the time. How 'bout some good old fashioned unassuming rock? It's certainly inoffensive enough with no real highs to call out. A Dave Matthews Band of their day. Kind of blows by without notice, though of course I recognize all the megahits here that have been inculcated into our collective brains.
***end of sale
* - Keeping for the collection
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