This DVD comes from a well known bootlegger who inserted his name and e-mail address on the screen for the duration of the whole DVD. The bootlegger distributed a previously unknown P-Funk DVD from a 1978 show in Passaic, New Jersey and once again the material on this DVD hasn't been around most collectors until now. That said, this review is not meant to encourage bootlegging, but simply to comment on a newly unearthed vintage P-Funk performance. The only easily available footage of the late 1979 Uncle Jam tour was a half hour of mediocre (for a boot, no less) quality video which was ostensibly from Houston. I haven't double checked, but I am quite sure the previously available video was in fact from Washington D.C. because the familiar looking portions on this new DVD like "Sadie" resemble the half hour that has been floating around for years. The band repeatedly refer to "D.C." and "Chocolate City", before the source changes to a completely different performance which is definitely from Houston. The segment that die-hard fans already had is now twice as long; there is almost an hour from this performance, which has its lulls ("Sadie", "Uncle Jam") but also features some stellar moments like "Red Hot Mama" and a terrific Bernie Worrell solo before a hot version of "Maggott Brain" which fades out while the DVD cuts to the Houston concert from the Uncle Jam tour.
The Houston portion of this DVD kicks off with a twenty-three minute blow-out of "Knee Deep" before the band launches into comparatively short versions of "One Nation Under A Groove" and "Flashlight". Maceo Parker leads the Horny Horns through some blazing jams in both the Houston and D.C. clips. The "Mothership Connection" encore is pretty hot, and the Houston show ends. The house lights are turned on and we see the audience leaving before a montage of stills from the performance are displayed while the studio recording of "Freak of the Week" plays. The Houston segment is about 45 minutes long.
Gary Shider and Philippe Wynne lead the band through most of these performances. George Clinton is on stage as the Washington D.C. gig cuts in during "Night of the Thumpasaurus People", wearing his blond wig. This is about all we see of him in this DVD. Once he leaves the stage, though, the band takes direction from Gary or Philippe. Of course Gary was a veteren of Parliament-Funkadelic by the end of the seventies, but Philippe Wynne seemed to have been a sudden and awkward fit. He didn't tour with the band again. Presumably, the ex-Spinner's solo album produced by George helped land him a spot on the Uncle Jam tour, but his Spinners stage attire (a dark suit) looks as odd on a P-Funk stage as "Sadie" sounds when played by the band that just finished a searing blow-out of "Red Hot Mama".
The DVD starts off with some amusing promo-spots for Uncle Jam related product; albums from Parliament, the Sweat Band and the afore-mentioned Philippe Wynne l.p "Wynne Jamming", which are interspersed with a funny clip of Wynne, Bootsy Collins, George Clinton and Maceo Parker being interviewed at a hotel in Houston on the Uncle Jam tour. The band clowns around in the hallway while a rather energetic and fast talking George Clinton tells the interviewer he's not really Uncle Jam at all, but rather Sir Nose. A telling moment, indeed.
As far as the quality, this DVD is for serious fans only. Regardless of what one thinks of the Uncle Jam tour, there are better quality videos of P-Funk in action.
For some reason, Houston and Washington D.C. are a great couple of cities when it comes to finding unreleased videos and DVDs. Performances of Prince, Kiss, the Who and P-Funk going back to 1975 have been floating around collectors' circles for years, while there are also a number of videos of P-Funk from the Washington D.C. area recorded over the years. It seems the DVDs and videos of these shows were taken from whatever would have been shown on a large screen inside the venue. Such is the case with many well known videos of 1970's concerts, like a Springsteen show on his birthday in 1978 when he marvels at the size of the screen in the Capital Theatre in Passaic, New Jersey. While collectors routinely refer to these as 'pro-shot' performances, there doesn't seem to be any consensus as to how these documents started making the rounds. Of course, nobody is complaining either. Sonically, the DVD is a pleasure over all, but the sound levels fluctuate noticeably between the left and right channels. The image is decent, but pretty dark, with the clarity level comparable to previously circulating VHS tapes of this footage. In fact, the DVD even has the same diagonal lines streaming off at the top of the screen as my old video tape copy, which could probably have been cropped out, but the guy who compiled this was too busy making sure his name and contact information was on-screen to try improving the image of these performances. The Houston footage looks a little more grainy than the Washington D.C. portion, and the image is a bit shaky sometimes, especially if anyone on stage is moving quickly. It's still watchable for a boot, and certain to be a welcome addition to any die-hard fan's P-Funk collection. This performance has been uploaded for free on-line more than once, so it should be easy enough to find without having to pay for a copy.
Sunday, January 14, 2007
Vinyl Review; Bronx River Parkway- "La Valla" -7" single
This is one promising slice of wax, apparently taken from a forthcoming album from this Brooklyn-based eight piece Latin band. Bronx River Parkway have captured that classic seventies/ Fania record label sound in a way that too few Latin artists seem to care to re-visit. The group has been together for about six years, but so far they have only released a few singles. New York City based Truth and Soul Records have put this record out and will presumably release the full length debut from Bronx River Parkway in the near future. As of January 14 (yesterday) the full record had not come out yet.
The A-side "La Valla" was recorded in early 2006 in Puerto Rico, and features Jose Parla singing in front of some deep Latin grooves. It's a little harder than the B-side, which sounds like it could have come from on of those Fania All Stars live albums. The casual flow of the music and lyrics should make this one a warm weather favourite. Tito Cruz sings on this one, called "Nora Se Ve". This single has whet my appetite for a full album from these guys, and one must give credit to Truth and Soul Records for doing their part to keep current funk and other organic party sounds alive for current users.
The A-side "La Valla" was recorded in early 2006 in Puerto Rico, and features Jose Parla singing in front of some deep Latin grooves. It's a little harder than the B-side, which sounds like it could have come from on of those Fania All Stars live albums. The casual flow of the music and lyrics should make this one a warm weather favourite. Tito Cruz sings on this one, called "Nora Se Ve". This single has whet my appetite for a full album from these guys, and one must give credit to Truth and Soul Records for doing their part to keep current funk and other organic party sounds alive for current users.
C.D. Review; Bosporus Bridges; Turkish Jazz Funk 1968-78
Bosporus Bridges; Turkish Jazz Funk (1968-'78) (TWIMO 001)
I have read more than one person suggest this album might be a bootleg. The cover art certainly looks like a boot, but this is a well compiled collection. The record sides split the funkier cuts from the more jazz oriented tracks. Lasarus and Roskow have done a commendable job of collecting some serious rarities and adding information that plenty of collections do not bother providing. Of course, at a shade over forty minutes, the album could have fit an extra track or two, but the material on here is strong, and "Bosporous Bridges" doesn't overlap with existing collections. This one came out in early 2006, following on the release of a few exciting compilations of Turkish recordings like the "Hava Narghile" set, featuring a decidedly West-meets-the-Mid-East hybrid sound.
The opening cut by Emin Findikoglu is a flute-led slow cooker of an instrumental which wouldn't sound out of place on a Bluenote compilation. The next few cuts get funkier, until the sixth tune which is devastating, with it's unrelenting bass line and some sirens thrown in to boot. Surprisingly, this piece of music, ("Bermuda Seytan Ucgeni"), performed by the Aksu Orkestrasi comes from a Turkish television special on the Bermuda Triangle, and it is the thickest slice of funk on "Bosporous Bridges". It is followed by a track by one Ferdi Ozbegen which starts with a psychedelic moment that sounds like the beginning of the Temptations' "Cloud Nine" before the Turkish singing starts.
Other songs like Erkin Koray's "Karli Daglar" feature that soaring, Middle Eastern singing style, which serves to remind the listener this music is from Turkey, after all. Unlike many Latin and Brazillian compilations feature songs in English mixed liberally with those in Spanish or Portuguese, but I have yet to hear a Turkish compilation featuring any songs in English.
The jazz-oriented B-side of this album has some rather ordinary sounding tunes like Erol Pekcan's "Senlik", along with spacier efforts like the Okay Temiz track "Denizalti Ruzgarlari" which sounds like something Jean-Jacques Perry might have recorded. Overall, this is a great record, but it might have worked even better if Lasarus and Roskow split their funk and jazz picks over two whole albums, instead of encompassing such a wide array of music on one record. It is still well recommended to those with a musical sense of adventure.
I have read more than one person suggest this album might be a bootleg. The cover art certainly looks like a boot, but this is a well compiled collection. The record sides split the funkier cuts from the more jazz oriented tracks. Lasarus and Roskow have done a commendable job of collecting some serious rarities and adding information that plenty of collections do not bother providing. Of course, at a shade over forty minutes, the album could have fit an extra track or two, but the material on here is strong, and "Bosporous Bridges" doesn't overlap with existing collections. This one came out in early 2006, following on the release of a few exciting compilations of Turkish recordings like the "Hava Narghile" set, featuring a decidedly West-meets-the-Mid-East hybrid sound.
The opening cut by Emin Findikoglu is a flute-led slow cooker of an instrumental which wouldn't sound out of place on a Bluenote compilation. The next few cuts get funkier, until the sixth tune which is devastating, with it's unrelenting bass line and some sirens thrown in to boot. Surprisingly, this piece of music, ("Bermuda Seytan Ucgeni"), performed by the Aksu Orkestrasi comes from a Turkish television special on the Bermuda Triangle, and it is the thickest slice of funk on "Bosporous Bridges". It is followed by a track by one Ferdi Ozbegen which starts with a psychedelic moment that sounds like the beginning of the Temptations' "Cloud Nine" before the Turkish singing starts.
Other songs like Erkin Koray's "Karli Daglar" feature that soaring, Middle Eastern singing style, which serves to remind the listener this music is from Turkey, after all. Unlike many Latin and Brazillian compilations feature songs in English mixed liberally with those in Spanish or Portuguese, but I have yet to hear a Turkish compilation featuring any songs in English.
The jazz-oriented B-side of this album has some rather ordinary sounding tunes like Erol Pekcan's "Senlik", along with spacier efforts like the Okay Temiz track "Denizalti Ruzgarlari" which sounds like something Jean-Jacques Perry might have recorded. Overall, this is a great record, but it might have worked even better if Lasarus and Roskow split their funk and jazz picks over two whole albums, instead of encompassing such a wide array of music on one record. It is still well recommended to those with a musical sense of adventure.
2006 Reviews- Last Call, Part 1
I want to collect and post a few reviews of various discs released in 2006 while the year is still sort of fresh. Some of these c.d.'s are well known among music nerds, but most of them cover sounds only ever heard off the beaten path.
I also want to mention we should be in for some good times in the world of vintage soul re-releases. I believe Concord, having taken over Fantasy Records (including Fantasy's most soulful asset, the Stax back catalogue), is planning to reissue quite a few lost gems.
The releases being reviewed here are in no particular order, and I hope they bring something new to the attention of discerning listeners! Once again, I might as well point out my role in the music business is purely altruistic; I host a radio show on the non-proffit, left end of the f.m. dial, but I do not receive anything from record companies.
I also want to mention we should be in for some good times in the world of vintage soul re-releases. I believe Concord, having taken over Fantasy Records (including Fantasy's most soulful asset, the Stax back catalogue), is planning to reissue quite a few lost gems.
The releases being reviewed here are in no particular order, and I hope they bring something new to the attention of discerning listeners! Once again, I might as well point out my role in the music business is purely altruistic; I host a radio show on the non-proffit, left end of the f.m. dial, but I do not receive anything from record companies.
Wednesday, December 20, 2006
White Cowbell Oklahoma at Lee's Palace, Saturday December 15/06
Toronto Chainsaw Massacre
In what might be a new seasonal tradition, White Cowbell Oklahoma played a Christmas show at Lee's Palace last Saturday. They were sharing the bill with Montreal prog-punk veterans Grim Skunk who haven't been seen on a Toronto stage in years.
Last year's Christmas 'Cowbell show at the El Mocambo featured plenty of the same stage act complete with Santa's giant juice-shooting prosthetic ahem, appendage, but a few repeated gags can be forgiven at a festive gig like this. Besides, this year they were joined by Grim Skunk who played to a good sized crowd given they went on stage by around ten p.m.
By the time White Cowbell Oklahoma hit the stage with a typically grandiose entrance, Lee's was packed. Five guys flailing away at various guitars and bass guitars led the group through a rousing opening song about getting high. By the end of the song, there were about a dozen people up on stage, including a judge and a couple of strippers prancing around the band. The judge was to preside over a trial between good (White Cowbell Oklahoma who love broads, booze and boogie) and evil (Satan representing the music business). The strippers were doing their thing. Although the simulated-lesbian-dominatrix-stripper schtick is a well worn cliche, the crowd loved it, and the White Cowbell Cowgirls (Cowbelles?) were happy to oblige. Much of the band's success derives from their visually charged stage act, which is at least amusing to even jaded members of the audience. They have Chainsaw Charlie sawing cowbells on stage with sparks flying everywhere, and a supporting cast of characters from Santa to a snowman, to the afore-mentioned judge and Satan himself to round out the band's already hefty stage presence.
White Cowbell use a lot of imagery associated with poor white American Southerners to present a raucus take of a religious revival meeting held in a strip club. They have southern-sounding pseudomnyms, they do interviews "in character" and dress like redneck extras from some lost Dukes of Hazard episode. While they are an obvious spoof of Southern Rock in the spirit of Spinal Tap, one wonders if the joke is on the audience- at least those who bought their trucker hats and bowling shirts at Urban Outfitters. White Cowbell Oklahoma is an odd but enjoyable mix of parody and sincere appreciation of seventies Southern and British rock.
They play better than spoof acts normally do, but their songs rarely stick out amongst each other. They all borrow liberally from the same early seventies English and American hard rock, with that Southern accent. Their flashier tunes, the ones where they can line up the various guitar players like Hollis on double-neck, the Sergeant, Clem (the band's main interviewee if not its leader) and the ebulliant Arland Stillwell III, all wailing at once, worked really well on stage. Anything less excessive would have sounded like a house band in some biker bar scene in a movie. While I haven't heard their c.d. "Casa Diablo", listening to White Cowbell Oklahoma without watching their stage antics wouldn't be the same. Luckily, they have a d.v.d. available, too.
Every few songs, the mock trial of the band versus the devil resumed, with the rightly dishonourable Judge interrupting the assorted guests running and gyrating around the stage and amplifiers. The band would start vamping on the introduction to Deep Purple's "Highway Star" (led by keyboard player Jesse, complete with what looked like Deep Purple keyboardist Jon Lord's floppy hat) until the trial recessed- they never did play the whole song, but we would hear more Deep Purple yet. The band wrapped up their set with their catchiest song, the charmingly meat-headed "Put The South In Your Mouth". Of course, the packed house demanded more, and the band was ready to oblige. They called members of Grim Skunk on stage to join them for an encore of "Space Trucking". Of course, nobody could surpass Deep Purple in over-doing this song. Anyone who has heard Purple on a twenty-five minute blow-out of their stage finale "Space Trucking" knows it ranks with "Dazed and Confused" for the most over-blown cock rock classic on any live album. White Cowbell Oklahoma's take of this seventies staple was spare by comparison, but still well worth the effort. Most of the audience left the show happy as soon as the song was over and the house lights came on. Surprisingly, after about fifteen minutes, the 'Cowbell returned for one last encore which caught the remaining crowd off-guard.
White Cowbell Oklahoma put on an entertaining concert, regardless of whether they are joking around or taking themselves seriously. Although their stage act is as important as the music itself, White Cowbell Oklahoma are not to be confused with some Weird Al Yankovic take on southern rock. The clearly appreciate the genre's music and they are eager to laugh at its excesses. The parody would wear thin very quickly if they were simply joking around and weren't playing well; imagine watching Sha Na Na playing a ninety minute set. White Cowbell Oklahoma seem to be courting true fans of southern rock as well as the trendier 'Everything Should Be An Ironic Joke' crowd. Holding on to both groups should be a challenge. In the mean time, they put on one hell of a show, that, ahem, most anybody can sure 'nuff enjoy.
In what might be a new seasonal tradition, White Cowbell Oklahoma played a Christmas show at Lee's Palace last Saturday. They were sharing the bill with Montreal prog-punk veterans Grim Skunk who haven't been seen on a Toronto stage in years.
Last year's Christmas 'Cowbell show at the El Mocambo featured plenty of the same stage act complete with Santa's giant juice-shooting prosthetic ahem, appendage, but a few repeated gags can be forgiven at a festive gig like this. Besides, this year they were joined by Grim Skunk who played to a good sized crowd given they went on stage by around ten p.m.
By the time White Cowbell Oklahoma hit the stage with a typically grandiose entrance, Lee's was packed. Five guys flailing away at various guitars and bass guitars led the group through a rousing opening song about getting high. By the end of the song, there were about a dozen people up on stage, including a judge and a couple of strippers prancing around the band. The judge was to preside over a trial between good (White Cowbell Oklahoma who love broads, booze and boogie) and evil (Satan representing the music business). The strippers were doing their thing. Although the simulated-lesbian-dominatrix-stripper schtick is a well worn cliche, the crowd loved it, and the White Cowbell Cowgirls (Cowbelles?) were happy to oblige. Much of the band's success derives from their visually charged stage act, which is at least amusing to even jaded members of the audience. They have Chainsaw Charlie sawing cowbells on stage with sparks flying everywhere, and a supporting cast of characters from Santa to a snowman, to the afore-mentioned judge and Satan himself to round out the band's already hefty stage presence.
White Cowbell use a lot of imagery associated with poor white American Southerners to present a raucus take of a religious revival meeting held in a strip club. They have southern-sounding pseudomnyms, they do interviews "in character" and dress like redneck extras from some lost Dukes of Hazard episode. While they are an obvious spoof of Southern Rock in the spirit of Spinal Tap, one wonders if the joke is on the audience- at least those who bought their trucker hats and bowling shirts at Urban Outfitters. White Cowbell Oklahoma is an odd but enjoyable mix of parody and sincere appreciation of seventies Southern and British rock.
They play better than spoof acts normally do, but their songs rarely stick out amongst each other. They all borrow liberally from the same early seventies English and American hard rock, with that Southern accent. Their flashier tunes, the ones where they can line up the various guitar players like Hollis on double-neck, the Sergeant, Clem (the band's main interviewee if not its leader) and the ebulliant Arland Stillwell III, all wailing at once, worked really well on stage. Anything less excessive would have sounded like a house band in some biker bar scene in a movie. While I haven't heard their c.d. "Casa Diablo", listening to White Cowbell Oklahoma without watching their stage antics wouldn't be the same. Luckily, they have a d.v.d. available, too.
Every few songs, the mock trial of the band versus the devil resumed, with the rightly dishonourable Judge interrupting the assorted guests running and gyrating around the stage and amplifiers. The band would start vamping on the introduction to Deep Purple's "Highway Star" (led by keyboard player Jesse, complete with what looked like Deep Purple keyboardist Jon Lord's floppy hat) until the trial recessed- they never did play the whole song, but we would hear more Deep Purple yet. The band wrapped up their set with their catchiest song, the charmingly meat-headed "Put The South In Your Mouth". Of course, the packed house demanded more, and the band was ready to oblige. They called members of Grim Skunk on stage to join them for an encore of "Space Trucking". Of course, nobody could surpass Deep Purple in over-doing this song. Anyone who has heard Purple on a twenty-five minute blow-out of their stage finale "Space Trucking" knows it ranks with "Dazed and Confused" for the most over-blown cock rock classic on any live album. White Cowbell Oklahoma's take of this seventies staple was spare by comparison, but still well worth the effort. Most of the audience left the show happy as soon as the song was over and the house lights came on. Surprisingly, after about fifteen minutes, the 'Cowbell returned for one last encore which caught the remaining crowd off-guard.
White Cowbell Oklahoma put on an entertaining concert, regardless of whether they are joking around or taking themselves seriously. Although their stage act is as important as the music itself, White Cowbell Oklahoma are not to be confused with some Weird Al Yankovic take on southern rock. The clearly appreciate the genre's music and they are eager to laugh at its excesses. The parody would wear thin very quickly if they were simply joking around and weren't playing well; imagine watching Sha Na Na playing a ninety minute set. White Cowbell Oklahoma seem to be courting true fans of southern rock as well as the trendier 'Everything Should Be An Ironic Joke' crowd. Holding on to both groups should be a challenge. In the mean time, they put on one hell of a show, that, ahem, most anybody can sure 'nuff enjoy.
Trouble Every Day
Of course, the title is a nod to Frank Zappa, but this is not a post about music. Unfortunately, I have been confounded by the 'Word for Blogger' software which I have installed in two computers, only to experience the same 401 error that won't let me upload text from my hard drive. Hence, this post will ignore the notion that blog entries about stalled blogs are a poor substitute for interesting writing and discussion, and I will take the time to kick start this blog before Christmas, as it were. Until I work out my Word for Blogger difficulties (as well as new, greater problems with my main computer), I will only be able to write material within the Blogger template.
Word documents awaiting their premiere here are mostly reviews I have written over the last while. The semi-recent ones include November 2006 appearances by Bettye Lavette, Prince Buster with Willi Williams and a bunch of other people at the Phoenix, and some recent music news. The idea is to cover many under-appreciated artists whose music finds its way into my hands, or whose performances I am able to see.
Word documents awaiting their premiere here are mostly reviews I have written over the last while. The semi-recent ones include November 2006 appearances by Bettye Lavette, Prince Buster with Willi Williams and a bunch of other people at the Phoenix, and some recent music news. The idea is to cover many under-appreciated artists whose music finds its way into my hands, or whose performances I am able to see.
Sunday, December 10, 2006
Now Getting It Ready...
This title borrows from a movie in which Peter Sellers is "getting it ready"... basically, my computer is keeps crashing and I have been busy with various other endeavours. In the mean time, I would like to post concert reviews I have written over the last while. I have covered dozens of concerts by artists who are hardly suffering from over-exposure, and I hope having reviews available here might force some direction and progress on this blog. I know I mentioned non-musical interests in my introduction, but I think I want to focus this blog on music matters; reviews and articles, which I hope will ultimately generate enough interest among fellow music nerds that we can learn a thing or three from each other.
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