Headphone Commute

Wouldn't you know? My reference to the KLF was spot on, but not in a direct way. Taken from the beginning of the title track, KLF sampled the intro and used it in their track "What Time is Love?" But that's not the only reason to celebrate this live album from this American rock band. I'm on my third listen of their debut, recorded live at Detroit's Grande Ballroom and totally loving it. This is a raw, hard, and powerful proto-punk, serving as yet another example of a live recording which rises above a studio session. The singers are all yelling at the top of their lungs, often in hoarse voices and out of tune, but I don't care - the energy of the slamming drums, the grungy bass and the wailing lead is what makes this album! This must be heard loud, preferably on vintage wooden cabinets, because the point is not the hifi master, but the noisy, distorted, and muddy wall of sound that hits you in the face on every single track! The album peaked at number 30 on the Billboard 200 chart, but not without some controversy - the title track featured "obscenity" and was pulled from the shelves of Hudson's department stores, which essentially got the band to give back the finger, and subsequently got them dropped from Elektra. So as some bands would stand still and jam for hours to a stoned out crowd, MC5 would explode on the stage and kick out those jams! Excellent!

In December of 2017 I decided to listen to all the albums listed in "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die" book, playing them chronologically and taking notes on every single one. I've been going steady at a rate of one album a week. Some people will immediately run up the maths and say, "Will you ever finish at that rate?" to which I answer, "Well, I'm not planning on dying anytime soon." Up until this point I've been lucky enough to play most [if not all] albums from the list from a combination of Tidal and Spotify [in that order], and then purchase the ones I really liked [on vinyl]. But this 1969 release, titled "Cloud Nine", is the first album I was unable to find on any streaming services. Given the fact that it was on the Motown's Gordy sublabel, and that it was by The Temptations, I did not hesitate in going out and purchasing the record before even hearing it. And, of course, I've got no regrets! This is a fiery, energetic, psychedelic soul, predating The Jacksons 5 debut by only 10 months. The A side of the record consists of only three tracks, with the last one, "Run Away Child, Running Wild" jamming out for over nine minutes with instrumentaiton by The Funk Brothers. Side B returns to the classic sound of Motown, with Barret Strong and Norman Whitfield back at the studio, but it is the first three pieces which turn up the heat on all the funk! I'm kind of suprised that this is the first Motown record on the list. I only wish I could have witnessed The Temptations live. I guess I can always turn to YouTube for a bit of history.

Well, here's a very much different take on soul than the Motown sound, fusing a little of rock and funk into a psychedelic cocktail to be consumed before the Woodstock festival. And, if I may comment, the content seems very applicable to the current events, specifically the Black Lives Matter movement. "At a time when the civil rights coalition was breaking apart, when flower power was mutating into armed struggle, the Family Stone clung desperately to the belief that 'You Can Make It If You Try' and had the gall to deliver the decade's most powerful message of unity as a singsong nursery rhyme." Of course, it's not all nursery rhymes, as the title of the second track on the album suggests. "Sing a Simple Song" is very much on par with the output by Diana Ross & the Supremes, The Temptations and of course, The Jacksons 5, all of whom recorded this very same piece. "Everyday People" is of course the most recognizable single on here, which became the number one hit in the US before the album's release. The sound of Stand! is provacotive, a little bit radical, and very much funky, and I find myself raising the volume just a little with every single track. I think that I'm just about ready to watch the Woodstock documentary. Looks like I can buy it on Amazon. I feel like we need another Woodstock right about now. Oh, and by the way, Sly Stone is still very much alive, and celebrated his 77th birthday on March 15th.

Tim Buckley is back with his third album for Elektra. We last heard from him in 1967 with a set of politically inspired folk tunes which I somewhat enjoyed. "Happy Sad" is a more exciting offering, as is immediately showcased by its opening tune, titled "Strange Feelin'" which directly references Miles Davis' "All Blues" piece with jazzy overtones over the folksy melody taken directly from Davis. This album is essentially folk-jazz executed on a 12-string guitar, a double bass, some keyboards, and plenty of percussion with congas, marimba and vibraphone. Here's an example of a release in which exceeding experimentation alienates some of his original fanbase of Buckley's "mainstream appeal" and, in contrast, attracts my thirsty ears. I've played the album numerous times through, and by the second rotation started nodding along to "Love from Room 109" and the 13-minute jam of "Gypsy Woman". This is indeed a slightly melancholy, intimate, and bittersweet music, like the piece "Dream Letter" which is an apology to his ex-wife with lyrics reflecting on the lack of interaction with his newborn son.