Traffic - The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys (1971 uk mix of rock, folk, jazz, r&b and progressive - 2002 remaster edition - MP3 320K and FLAC)

Traffic's The Low Spark Of High Heeled Boys is often praised as their best effort, and it might just be. This album is no doubt an exercise in everything that that the jazzier side of progressive rock does best.



Intricate arrangements with soft deliveries mixed and heavier tunes that let the audience rock out are all represented on this output, and the band could not have done any of the above better than they did with this release.



While the focus on the album may well be directed to the 11-minute title cut, all of the other songs on the album certainly deserve their praise. Since the album is one of the most thought out in all of prog history in terms of placement of songs (or so it seems) the album flows incredibly well.



Things get off to a mellow start from the first calming chords or Hidden Treasure, which also features some impressive vocal work. The middle of the album is represented by some of the heavier cuts, such as the rock ' rolling, Rock & Roll Stew, which sports some great soloing, and in its full version (a 6-minute cut is added to some remasters of the album), some very good instrumental noodling coming into the ending segment.



Really, the album plays out like a well-formulated chart, peaking in the middle in terms of heaviness and easing off at the start and finish.



Some of the most memorable songs are the slower ones, especially the ones that cap off the album. Many A Mile To Freedom is a somber and reflective piece that can really capture a mood if you let it.



Easygoing yet demanding, this is one of the best songs on the album. Of course, Rainmaker also deserves some due credit, the incredibly emotional coda highlighted by wonderful vocals and some very thoughtful playing makes this song worth waiting for when the end rolls around.



And now we get to the feature piece. The undeniable standout on this album has to be the excellent title track, The Low Spark Of High Heeled Boys. Soft and fast pieces blend together wonderfully, and the band's style of jazz and rock really gets to shine here as they seem to have hit a vein with it.



If you've ever enjoyed jazzy music with a plethora of instruments which shifts its tempo in many places and some amazing vocals then this is the tune for you.



This album comes in contact with a lot of other genres, so eclectic is a very true placement for it. With moments of symphonic grandeur, canturburian groove, hard rock riffs and jazz rock fusion soloing this album is sure to please many, and even amaze some.



A true masterpiece in ever sense of the word, Traffic's The Low Spark Of High Heeled Boys receives an easy 5 stars out of 5. Extremely recommended (by King By-Tor).











Track List:

01.Hidden Treasure (4:16)

02.The Low Spark Of High-Heeled Boys (12:10)

03.Rock & Roll Stew (4:29)

04.Many A Mile To Freedom (7:12)

05.Light Up Or Leave Me Alone (4:53)

06.Rainmaker (7:39)



Bonus track:

07.Rock And Roll Stew (single version) (6:07)





Traffic:

*Steve Winwood: vocals, guitar, piano, organ

*Jim Capaldi: vocals, percussion

*Rick Grech: violin, bass

*Chris Wood: flute, saxophone

*Jim Gordon: drums

*Reebop Kwaku Baah: percussion





[ Thank you LEANDRO for sending this post ]

Click here

The Good Rats - Ratcity In Blue (1976 us mix of hard rock, jazz and pop - MP3 320K and Wave audio format)

Throughout the 70s some of America’s greatest bands could be seen dragging their wares through the local bar circuit. Many of these bands gained deserved success, due to the resulting air-tight musicianship. And some, of course, did not.

Maybe it was the non-commerciality of the facial hair, or the inclusion of sub-jazz workouts in the middle of perfect pop, but Long Island’s The Good Rats never saw the shiny side of the business, and continued to trudge a thankless track in the mire of obscurity.

Although a crowd favourite on the well-trodden boards of New York and New Jersey, word about this stunningly inventive and awesomely talented band never quite made a buzz outside of the West Coast. Which is a sad loss to the rest of the world when taking in the quality of The Good Rats recorded output in 70’s.

Gravel-piped Peppi Marchello, some ten years after first putting the band together, finally settled upon the classic line-up of Peppi, brother Mickey, John (the cat) Gatto, Joe Franco and Lenny Kotke which, between 1974 and 1979, put out four inspirational studio albums (‘Tasty’, ‘Ratcity In Blue’, From Rats To Riches’ and ‘Birth Comes To Us All’) that seamlessly blended hard rock, jazz, pop and vaudeville/classic songwriting with an edgy streak of menace unlike anything that came before or since.

And amongst these four delicious chunks of sonic whimsy, ‘Ratcity In Blue’ stands out at the defining moment in this band’s criminally unappreciated career.

Owing as much to the grand musical approach of Queen as the pop/rock chops of Cheap Trick, The Good Rats cut an intimidating figure. As fully at home with the jazz swing, largely-instrumental-with-barbershop – interlude title track ‘Ratcity In Blue’ as they were with the Bacharach/Gershwin stylings of lost in New York lament ‘Advertisement In The Voice’.

The frantic frission of Joe Franco (drums) and Lenny Kotke (bass) melds the strength on which The Good Rats’ foundation is effortlessly built, with guitar mastermind John (the cat) Gatto’s incredibly in-depth solo work perfectly complimented by the capable second lead guitar work of Mickey Marchello.

The icing on this multi-layered cake is the vocal delivery. Intelligent, thought-provoking lyrics are given lush treatment in the form of breathtaking harmony work to rival that of Mercury & co. In fact ‘Yellow Flower’ and ‘Almost Anything Goes’ wouldn’t sound unwelcome on ‘Night At The Opera’.

Elsewhere, however, the Rats get to flex a little more hard rock muscle on the likes of ‘Does It Make You Feel Good?’, ‘Tough Guys’ and ‘Hour Glass’. And yet it is the superlative ‘Board Walk Slasher’ that steals the show in this instance.

Built around on a story about a local serial killer, the song illustrates the sheer injustice of this band’s paltry achievements in an industry where the far, far less talented have garnered more reward.

‘Boardwalk Slasher’ is nothing short of amazing. Gorgeous duelling guitar work nestles alongside foreboding lyrics wrapped in timeless melody complimented with sublime harmony work. It really doesn’t get much better than this.

Ratcity In Blue is that rare breed of animal one should stand in silent awe of so as not to disrupt the magical, otherworldly scene it instills in our heart. We are in the presence of sheer class here, ladies and gentlemen.

Peppi would continue using the band name with various different players from 80s onward, as he had in the 60s, but no collection of players matched the quality of this line-up.

Proof that chemistry involves much more than simply the sum of a few parts. While The Good Rats of the 70s made contemporary music revelatory, they also managed celebrate world class musicianship with tongue-in-grizzled-cheek and a sense of devil-may-care experimentalism, free of cliche and self importance.

The world will never again see bands of this ilk, but future generations can still return to revel in its mastery.

Common men making distinctly uncommon music? Fewer things could be more beautiful.

Come back next week for more selections from Ginger’s record collection (by Terrybezer from classicrockmagazine.com).

Ratcity In Blue:



Track List:
01.Does It Make You Feel Good (3:29)
02.Boardwalk Slasher (3:53)
03.Ratcity In Blue (4:53)
04.Almost Anything Goes (2:33)
05.The Room (4:00)
06.Writing The Pages (3:00)
07.Reason To Kill (4:56)
08.Advertisement In The Voice (3:20)
09.Yellow Flower (2:38)
10.Tough Guys (2:33)
11.Hour Glass (3:09)
12.Mean Mother (2:34)


[ Thank you LARRY for sending this post ]
CODE: 51771

Al Kooper - Easy Does It (1970 us, psychedelic, blues, folk rock, 2008 remaster - MP3 320k and FLAC)

This is the third solo effort from rock & roll wunderkind Al Kooper. Originally issued as a two-LP set, Easy Does It (1970) is a diverse album that reveals the layer upon layer of musicality that has become synonymous with the artist. He draws deeply upon his skills as a multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and equally engaging arranger.

The extended run-time of the double album format likewise allows Kooper to thoroughly exhibit his wide-ranging and virtually mythical adaptability as an artist whose sheer talent defies the boundaries of genre or style. The set kicks off with the youthfully optimistic rocker "Brand New Day." This is the first of two tracks Kooper used in his score for Hal Ashby's directorial cinematic debut, The Landlord, a highly affable counterculture classic starring Beau Bridges.

The haunting "The Landlord Love Theme" is also included, and is poignantly dovetailed with one of the disc's profoundly affective epics. "Buckskin Boy" is an uptempo rocker that lyrically offers a brutally honest assessment of the Native American situation, which was quickly becoming a national plague upon the social conscience of the country in the early '70s. The song is replete with Kooper's dynamic chord changes and trademark phrasing. The "morning after" fallout from a particularly potent experience with LSD is credited as the inspiration behind "Sad, Sad Sunshine."

The cut features some heavily Eastern-influenced lead sitar work reminiscent of the sounds of Donovan circa Hurdy Gurdy Man (1968) and the burgeoning Canterbury-based progressive folk movement of the late '60s and early '70s. There is a decidedly Yankee contrast on the country-rocker "I Bought You the Shoes (You're Walking Away In)" as well as the cover of John Loudermilk's "A Rose and a Baby Ruth." Other well-placed cover tunes include a classy, soulfully subdued reading of Ray Charles "I Got a Woman'" as well as the spacy and well-jammed-out version of "Baby Please Don't Go."

Throughout the 12-plus minute side there are definite recollections of the extended instrumental interaction that defined Kooper's former band, the Blues Project, as well as some of the inspirational improvisation heard on the original Super Session (1968). This performance alone is more than worth the time and effort of seeking out Easy Does It.
by Lindsay Planer


Tracks
1. Brand New Day (Al Kooper) - 5:10
2. Piano Solo Introduction to I Got a Woman - 2:00
3. I Got a Woman (Ray Charles, Renald Richard) - 4:30
4. Country Road (James Taylor) - 4:22
5. I Bought You The Shoes (You're Walking Away In) (Bob Brass, Irwin Levine, Kooper) - 1:57
6. Introduction - 0:50
7. Easy Does It (Kooper) - 5:25
8. Buckskin Boy (Kooper, Charlie Calello) - 3:10
9. Love Theme from The Landlord (Kooper) - 3:12
10.Sad, Sad Sunshine (Kooper) - 5:04
11.Let the Duchess No (John Gregory, Jim Roberts) - 3:17
12.She Gets Me Where I Live (Kooper, Calello) - 3:34
13.A Rose and a Baby Ruth (J.D. Loudermilk) - 3:29
14.Baby, Please Don't Go (Big Joe Williams) - 12:26
15.God Sheds His Grace on Thee (Kooper, Calello) - 3:27

Musicians
*Rick Marotta - Drums, Vocals (Background)
*Wayne Moss - Guitar
*Joe Osborne - Bass
*Earl Palmer - Drums, Guitar (Steel)
*Alexis Rodgers - Guitar, Drums
*Al Rogers - Drums
*Stuart Scharf - Guitar
*Tommy Tedesco - Guitar
*Stu Woods - Bass, Vocals (Background)
*Charlie McCoy - Bass, Harmonica
*John Miller - Bass
*Joe Jr. Corero - Drums
*Stu Scharff - Guitar
*Lyle Ritz - Bass
*Keith Allison - Guitar
*Pete Drake - Pedal Steel, Guitar (Steel)
*John Miller - Bass
*Freddy Weller - Guitar
*The Blossoms - Vocals, Background Music
*Louie Shelton - Guitar
*Peter Ivers - Harp
*Kenneth A. Buttrey - Drums
*Charlie Daniels - Bass, Guitar
*Bobby Colomby - Conga, Drums, Vocals
*Tom Cosgrove - Guitar, Guitar (Electric)
*George Devens - Percussion
*Milt Holland - Percussion, Tabla
*Larry Knechtel - Piano, Keyboards
*David Bromberg - Guitar, Guitar (Steel), Pedal Steel
*Al Kooper - Organ, Guitar, Keyboards, Vocals, Electronic Effects, Ondioline, Vibraphone, Vocals (Background), Sitar, Guitar (Electric), Piano
*Joe Beck - Guitar
*Fred Lipsius - Saxophone, Soloist

Other releases by Al Kooper, posted on PHROCKBlog
1968/1969 - I Stand Alone/You Never Know Who Your Friends Are...Plus
1968 - Child Is Father to the Man with Blood, Sweat & Tears
1968 - Super Sessions with Mike Bloomfield and Steve Stills
1968 - Fillmore East The Lost Concert Tapes 12/12/1968 with Mike Bloomfiled

[ Rip and Scans by MARIOS ]
originally published in PHROCK at Saturday, May 23, 2009
CODE: 51420