Egg - The Civil Surface. 2004 Virgin (CD) (1974). Collection revisit (Dec). About 20 years ago I wrote: "Recorded four years after The Polite Force, but not really sounding all that different or "modern". The wind quartet being the unusual twist here. When Egg are on, they create some of the most engaging music ever. Like most Egg albums, tends to lose momentum at the end. Seems like Supersister proved you could do the fuzz organ, fuzz bass, drums bit for a whole album and not be boring." This last Egg album has never been an A-lister for me. I sold off my original LP in the middle 90s, and it wasn't until another ten years later that it reentered the collection via this Japanese CD. A1, A3, and B2 are your highlights, but they never go to the next level, more or less regurgitating snippets of the past. And the wind quartet is dull honestly. As genius as Dave Stewart most certainly was, this album seems more like a contract obligation work. Stewart was to regain his mojo soon after with Hatfield and The North.
Frank Zappa / The Mothers - The Grand Wazoo. 1995 Rykodisc (CD) (1972). Collection revisit (Dec). Zappa is the ultimate example of an artist who refused to be pigeonholed. As such, most folks have their favorites by him, or at least those albums they consider worthy of repeated listens. I know there exists fanatics out there who say Zappa could do no wrong, quite possibly because he was so eclectic. For me, Hot Rats is his grand achievement, and then I have a few I really enjoy, and the rest I can live without. The Grand Wazoo is the only one currently in my collection that I wasn't so sure about. And, of course, the album is about as consistent as his career. The lengthy title track is an odd kind of big band orchestra hybrid. Thinking Third Stream here, but more towards the rock side than jazz. This is followed (at least on CD) by a couple of Zappa's typical insouciant numbers, with much silliness interjected into the serious compositions. Honestly I think he just woke up every morning to be a contrarian and to shock people. And he was clear headed about that too (read his book). 'Eat That Question' is my kind of Zappa, and my kind of early 70s jazz rock. He wasn't a pioneer in this field, but it was unusual for a "pop" artist to take on this field of music at the time. Carlos Santana did similar, but with a different focus. Closer 'Blessed Relief" pulls out the gentle melodies of the Hot Rats era but with an almost smooth jazz approach. I think if The Grand Wazoo was an early high school or college discovery for me, I'd be pretty zombie-eyed about the contents. But I was in my late 30s by the time I got around to first hearing it, and already well established mentally, personally, and spiritually. So it's just another album to me. And not a very consistent one. I can let it go. No memories here.
*TEE - Total Edge Effect. 2022 Pretentious Dinosaur. For their prior album Tales of Eternal Entities. I said: "TEE return with their distinctly mid to late 70s warm European progressive rock sound. Flute, guitar, and analog sounding synth lines dominate the melodies, while the rhythm section mixes things up often to keep the music from becoming static. As in the past, you'll hear traces of Asia Minor, Solaris, Gotic, and perhaps more pointedly than ever, the godfather of such a sound: Camel." No changes here. If there's a sound that I instantly enjoy it's the kind TEE peddle. I probably need to stop buying more product, as I have more than enough, but these kind of albums never disappoint. Intriguing Japanese mini-LP type release, but done by French TV's own Pretentious Dinosaur label. (Dec)
Jethro Tull - Heavy Horses. 1978 Chrysalis (LP). Pulled out of a local store's dollar bin (Dec). The last of the 70s Tull albums for me to hear. Oh wait, I still need to hear War Child. In any case, Heavy Horses sounds every bit like the meeting place between Songs From the Wood and Stormwatch. More rocking than the former and less commercial than the latter. Not very exciting for me though.
* - Keeping for the collection
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