Inspired by Rust Phimister's excellent review, I dug out Yoko Ono's awesomely out there and way ahead of its time 'Plastic Ono Band' album, and was wowed, jarred and fascinated by it more than ever before. Far from easy listening it may be, but Yoko shakes you into submission on this record. And what a band she has in Lennon, Starr and Voormann: Lennon himself revealing a highly distinctive guitar style atop a rhythm section so tight it's healed up. 'Metal Box' sounds like parody next to this;
King Crimson 'Earthbound' - another of Rust's bang-on reviews led me to this low-fi gem. Rust rightly makes much issue of the primitive sound, but that's the whole point of 'Earthbound' for me, and why it stands out over so many bright, shiny and bland live recordings of the period. There are a couple of tracks here that leave rock completely behind for jazz - 'Peoria', the central section of an otherwise incendiary 'Schizoid Man', and 'Earthbound' being more akin to the Average White Band than anything remotely Crimsonesque - but when they rock, as in the sadly brief 'Sailor's Tale' and the 15 minute 'Groon', they pin you to the wall, and any reservations about sound quality are forgotten;
Wishbone Ash 'Number The Brave' - forgotten Ash gem from the short-lived line up featuring John Wetton on bass. The title track is a classic;
Tyrannosaurus Rex 'Unicorn' - Bolan's finest hour: an album dripping with simple charm and joy, not to mention some delightful tunes. This has floated my boat since late childhood and is one of those "can't live without" records;
George Harrison 'Living In The Material World' - the mood is reflective and morose in places, but the compositional skills are high. 'That Is All' might just be my favourite ever Harrisong;
Jean Jacques Burnel 'Euroman Cometh' - strange, largely self-performed solo release from Stranglers bassist, sounding like little else from his usual band, or anyone else for that matter;
Jazz spins: Dave Brubeck Quartet 'Jazz Impressions Of USA' and 'Time Changes'; Charlie Parker 'Live At Massey Hall'; Miles Davis 'In Berlin', Maynard Ferguson 'Alive And Well In London' and Mal Waldron 'Free At Last'
Classical spins: Mahler 1 (two versions: Concertgebouw/Haitink and BRSO/Kubelik); Mahler 9 (Chicago SO/Solti); Strauss Metamophosen (VPO/Karajan - superb pioneering recording from 1946); Beethoven 4 (Furtwaengler's long unavailable 1950 studio recording, now out on Naxos) and Beethoven 9 (Karajan's 1962 BPO recording). All good stuff.
Have a good week, everybody.
Dave
