Playlist for Friday 15/09/2006 - 22h00 to
01h00
What a better way to kick off than with one of
the finest jazz/rock outfit's of all time?
01. If - Fibonacci's Number, from "If 3", in 1971.
Formed in the UK in the late 60's by guitarist
Terry Smith and sax/flute player Dick Morrissey, If were very popular in the US
and in Germany, but they were strangely largely ignored in their home country.
Other than Smith and Morrissey, the band also featured Dave Quincy on alto sax,
Dennis Elliot on drums, John Mealing on keyboards, Jim Richardson on bass and
John (J.W)Hodkinson on vocals. If were masters at improvisation, and this
non-vocal track was a fine example of just how good this band were. The band
went through numerous line-up changes towards the mid 70's, with Morrissey the
only remaining original member. Dennis Elliot became a founding member of
Foreigner, J.W Hodkinson had a short stint with Darryl Way's Wolf, amongst
others. Dick Morrissey formed The Morrissey Mullen Band with guitarist Jim
Mullen, and Terry Smith and Dave Quincy formed the underrated Zzebra, with
Loughty Amao from Osibisa. Terry Smith's rare and elusive solo album, "Fall
Out", originally released in 1969, has recently been released on
CD.
If were one of the best, if not THE best, of
the UK brass/jazz rock outfits, and they could quite easily give any of the US
(or any other) heavyweights a run for their money.
02. Emergency - Smilin', from "No Compromise", in 1974, their final
album.
Although classified as a Kraut Rock band, the
origins of this Munich based jazz/rock band stem from Prague, Czechoslovakia.
Sax player/flautist Hannes Berka moved to the US in the mid 60's, where he
discovered brass rock, after seeing bands such as Blood, Sweat & Tears and
Chicago (Transit Authority). Wanting to form his own similar band, he moved back
to Europe, where he met up with some fellow Czechs who were touring with a
production of "Hair". Relocating to Munich, he formed Emergency, with drummer
Udo Lindenberg being the only German in the band, and they released their debut
album on CBS Records in February 1971. They released one further album for CBS
the following year before signing to the famous Brain Record label, for whom
they released two great albums, but they disappeared without trace in the mid
70's.
Interview with Malcolm Ross, bass
guitarist for South African jazz/fusion outfit, Gordon's
Suitcase.
This Pretoria based outfit were formed towards the end of 2003. The
original members were Jako Loots on drums, Malcolm Ross on bass, Rainier
Prins (recently replaced by Peter Angelopoulos) and Illimar Neitz on guitar. The
band play an eclectic and diverse mix of varying styles of music, from rock to
jazz, although jazz is certainly their main influence, and they appeal to a wide
variety of different age groups, cultures and musical tastes.
They recently released their debut album, "Good Girls Like Good Music" through Wolmer Records. The
album features 13 full length, mostly original tracks as well as appearances
by some well known guest artists such as Piet Botha and Greg Georgiades. Ernest
Royeppen (son of the cousin of our very own Rosemary Royeppen!), is featured on
trumpet.
The band have been receiving rave reviews from many quarters.
They're currently at Roka Lounge (old Color Bar, 44 Stanley Avenue,
Milpark), every second Tuesday (next gig being on Tuesday 03 October). Check
them out!
Tracks featured from "Good Girls Like Good
Music":
03). Indevelopment
04). KKN(i)K Fees
05). Open Range Super Hero.
06. Climax Blues Band - Fool For The Bright Lights, from "Blues
From The Attic", in 1994
Climax Blues Band were formed in Stafford in
England in the late sixties, at the tail of the British blues boom, initially as
the Climax Chicago Blues Band, by Colin Cooper on sax and vocals, Arthur Wood
and Richard Jones on keyboards, George Newsome on drums, Peter Haycock on vocals
and guitar and Derek Holt on bass. They released their self-titled album in
1969. The band later changed their name to Climax Chicago and then the Climax
Blues Band. During their fairly successful career, they had a number of hits,
notably "Couldn't Get It Right", which was quite big for them in the US as well
as in the UK. By the time this live album came around, only Colin Cooper
remained from the original line-up. A track from this album also appears on the
very first Dinosaur Days compilation. Interestingly, Derek Holt, who is the
landlord of a venue called The Grapes, in Stafford, showcases some seriously
good young musical talent at the venue on Sunday nights. Called "Derek Holt's
Jam Nights", a few of these nights have been captured on
CD.
07. Cate Brothers Band - Time Is a Thief, from "Cate Brothers Band
Live", in 1999.
This US soul/rock duo of brothers Ernie
(keyboards & vocals) and Earl (guitar & vocals) Cate, specialized in
southern soul music and they enjoyed brief popularity in the late 70's, notably
with their biggest hit, "Union Man''. They released their debut album in 1975,
utilizing the services of seasoned musicians such as Nigel Olsson, Levon Helm,
Steve Cropper, Timothy B Schmidt and Donald "Duck" Dunn. They went on to record
a further three albums before folding in the late 70's, with the brothers later
emerging in a reformation of the Band, with Levon Helm. The Cate Brothers
reformed in the 90's, and they've since worked with blues greats such as Jimmy
Thackery and Coco Montoya. They've released a number of studio albums, as well
as this great live album, which was recorded in the US in October 1998. Their
2004 release, "Play By The Rules", is particularly good.
08. Average White Band - TLC, from "Person To Person", in
1977
This Scottish soul/funk outfit were formed in
the early 70's, evolving out of several Scottish beat groups. The initial
line-up featured Mike Rosen (guitar & trumpet - later replaced by Hamish
Stuart), Alan Gorrie (bass & vocals), Onnie McIntyre (guitar), Robbie
McIntosh (drums), and two ex-members of Scottish prog/brass rock outfit Mogul
Thrash, Malcolm Duncan and Roger Ball, both on sax. Signed to MCA Records, their
debut album, "Show Your Hand", released in 1973, showed much promise, but it
went largely unnoticed. The band's fortunes changed when they moved to Atlantic
Records the following year, and the band went on to score with a number of major
hits, namely "Cut The Cake" and " Pick Up The Pieces". Tragedy struck in
September 1974 when Robbie McIntosh died after an accidental heroin overdose.
Steve Ferrone, previously with Bloodstone, was his replacement. The band later
worked and had some success with vocalist Ben E. King, although the
various members pursued individual projects during the 80's when the AWB were
put on ice. They reformed in the late 80's and released a couple of great
albums.
09. Teaze - Touch The Wind, from "One Night Stands", in
1979
Teaze were a brilliant Canadian melodic hard
rock outfit whose career unfortunately seemed eternally blighted by ill-fortune
and bad career moves. Largely ignored in the US, they were pretty popular in
Japan, where they toured and were captured live on their "Tour Of Japan" album
in 1978. Their first two albums were prime examples of riff-filled, high grade
rock, but it was the featured album that found them at their best. They released
a total of five albums and split in the early 80's.
10. Fandango - Thief In The Night, from ''One Night Stand", in
1978.
Not to be confused with the UK band of the same
name that was formed by ex-Deep Purple and Warhorse bassist, Nick Simper, this
Fandango was a US melodic rock outfit, formed by vocalist Joe Lynn Turner. They
released four albums and folded in the early 80's. Joe Lynn Turner later joined
Rainbow, Yngwie Malmsteen's Rising Force and Deep Purple, amongst others. He's
also released a number of solo albums and is still very active in the hard rock
world today.
11. Wrabit - Just Go Away, from "Wrabit" (also released as "Wrough
And Wready"), in 1981
Another great melodic/hard rock outfit from
Canada. Their albums were filled with lots of fantastic harmonies and guitar
work. All three of their albums, released on MCA Records, are worth checking
out. Guitarists John Albani and David Aplin, and bassist Chris Brockway, later
joined Lee Aaron's band.
12. Chilliwack - Lookin' For A Place, from ''Lights From The
Valley", in 1978
Staying with the Canadian
bands, Chilliwack were one of the first to receive recognition outside their
native country. Formed in the early 70's, their musical style ranged from
pop/rock to country to progressive to hard rock, with the line-up of Bill
Henderson (vocals/guitar), Glen Miller (bass/vocals) and Ross Turney (drums)
staying fairly constant for much of the band's career. Their earlier
albums endeared them to quite a wide audience and they started making waves in
the US in the early 80's, when bassist Ab Bryant and drummer
Brian "Too Loud" (as he later became
known!) Macleod joined the band. Henderson and Macleod later formed Headpins
with the delectable Darby Mills, and this signaled the end of Chilliwack. Brian
Macleod sadly died a while back.
13. Spy - Crimson Queen, from "Spy", in 1980
A once-off gem of melodic hard rock. This US
band had the potential to be massive. Blatantly influenced by Kansas and Styx,
the vocal harmonies and musicianship in this band were superb. Guitarist David
Nelson (also a founding member of New Riders Of The Purple Sage), had replaced
Roy Albrighton in Nektar and he appeared on their "Magic Is a Child" album in
1977. Spy unfortunately faded into obscurity, leaving an album that was highly
regarded by rock aficionados the world over. Kerrang magazine once voted Spy's
sole album as one of their top AOR albums of all time.
14. Starcastle - Evening Wind, from ''Citadel", in
1977
Generally felt to be the US's answer to Yes,
Starcastle were formed in the early 70's by guitarist/vocalist Steve Hagler,
bass player Gary Strater and keyboard player Herb Schildt, with vocalist Terry
Luttrell joining from REO Speedwagon. Steve Tassler was on drums and Matt
Stewart was on guitar. They released their debut album on Epic Records in 1975
and comparisons with Yes were fairly obvious from day one. Having said that,
they were technically excellent, although they failed to make any lasting
impression and they split in the late 70's, having recorded four albums. They
reformed in the 90's.
A Tribute to Jimi Hendrix
Born Johnny Allen Hendrix on November 27th, 1942, in Seattle in the
US, he was raised by his working-class father following the departure of his
part-Cherokee Indian mother. After mastering the harmonica and the ukulele, he
taught himself to play a cheap five dollar acoustic guitar. Although
left-handed, he re-strung the right-handed guitar, playing it upside-down, a
strategy he would always employ.
One of his first bands was a Top 40 band called The Rocking Kings,
in 1959. He then enlisted in the US army, but was discharged after injuring his
ankle and back in a parachuting accident. Forming a new blues band called The
King Kasuals with fellow soldier, bassist Billy Cox, they gigged around Memphis
for a while before Hendrix spent the next few years as a backing guitarist for
various acts, including The Isley Brothers. Later, taking the stage name of
Maurice James, he joined Little Richard's band, but was fired for his
attention-stealing guitar work! He then featured in a band led by Curtis Knight
and he formed Jimmy James and The Blue Flames.
Signed to a management contract by former Animals' bassist, Chas
Chandler, Hendrix was taken to London where he teamed up with bass player Noel
Redding and drummer Mitch Mitchell. The Jimi Hendrix Experience was born. The
band were an immediate success, scoring with a number of major hits all over the
world. Moving forward, when the Experience broke up, Hendrix joined forces with
his ex-soldier/bandmate Billy Cox, together with drummer Buddy Miles, and formed
Band Of Gypsys.
Hendrix's guitar skills are legendary. He has influenced countless
guitarists for many years. The 25th of September was the 36th anniversary of his
death, which was caused by a drug overdose.
As a small tribute to the great man, the following two tracks were
featured:
15. The Jimi Hendrix Expereience - Voodoo Chile (Slight Return),
from "Electric Ladyland", in 1968
Featuring Stevie Winwood on organ, together
with Mitch Mitchell and (the now late) Noel Redding. This was one of Hendrix's
biggest hits and is probably his best known track. Mitch Mitchell would later go
on to feature with Ramatam and others, and Noel Redding with Fat Mattress, Road
and others (he passed away a few years ago).
16. Band Of Gypsys - Message To Love, from "Band Of Gypsies", in
1970.
Featuring Billy Cox on bass and Buddy Miles on
drums, this album was recorded live on New Year's Eve, 1969-1970, at The
Fillmore East in New York. Billy Cox went on to feature with the likes of JJ
Cale, Lee Clayton and others. Buddy Miles had been with The Electric Flag, and
he would go on to work as a soloist, and with the likes of Santana and
others.
17. Captain Beyond - Be As You Were, from a four track, untitled
EP, recorded in 2000.
Regular listeners of The RockIt Scientist may
have a slight idea that I tend to rate this band a tad highly. So highly, in
fact, that their debut album is my all-time favorite recording. When Captain
Beyond were formed way back in the early 70's and they released their awesome
debut album, rock music, for me, at any rate, had come of age. Bobby Caldwell
(drums) had worked with Johnny Winter, Larry (Rhino) Reinhardt (guitar) and Lee
Dorman (bass) had come from Iron Butterfly and Rod Evans (vocals) was a founding
member of Deep Purple. If there ever was an example of what a brilliant heavy
rock record is, Captain Beyond's debut is it. Words are superfluous - just do
yourself a favor and get it. The band's second album, "Sufficiently Breathless",
although not as heavy and riffy as the debut, was also excellent. Marty
Rodriguez had replaced Armageddon-bound Bobby Caldwell, Guille Garcia had joined
on percussion, and the album also featured both Paul Hornsby and Reese Wynans on
keyboards.
The band then unfortunately
folded in the mid 70's.
Caldwell then returned to the fold and joined
up once again with Rhino and Dorman. They recruited vocalist Willy Daffern (now
known as Willy Dee), previously with Truk and The Hunger, and they released the
awesome "Dawn Explosion" album in 1977. What a come-back it was! Almost on a par
with the debut, Rhino's guitar was as biting and precise as ever, and Caldwell
and Dorman showed why they were regarded as one of the best rhythm sections
around at the time. Willy Dee was a revelation: a very powerful singer, he
suited the band perfectly. Unfortunately, though, the band folded once again,
leaving their many fans lamenting the demise of one of the best rock bands in
the world.
Fast forward to the late 90's, Ryno (as he was
now known) and Caldwell reformed the band, to the delight of many fans (and
other bands, by the looks of it. A fantastic tribute to Captain Beyond, with
contributions by many well known, and not-so-well-known bands, was released
around five years ago). Joining Caldwell and Ryno, were Jimi Interval on vocals,
Dan Frye on keyboards and Jeff Artabasy on bass. This is the line-up that
features on the four track EP (which was obtained from the Captain Beyond fan
club, together with a previously unreleased live album and a few T-shirts!). All
four tracks are prime Captain Beyond, with Jimi Interval a more than adequate
substitute for both Willy Dee and Rod Evans.
And that's where the Captain Beyond story seems
to have ended again. They played a number of live gigs (one of which was
recorded on video), but no new album has surfaced yet.
In the meantime, Willy Dee has kept himself
busy: he featured with Gary Moore in G Force and he worked with German jazz
keyboard player Joachim Kuhn. He also featured with two great hard rock bands,
Pipedream and ZoomlenZ, the latter being featured on tonight's show. He's still
a fantastic vocalist, and it's great that he's still going
strong.
18. ZoomlenZ - Carolina. Actual date and album title not know (this
was from a fellow Captain Beyond fan in the US who sent me a cassette of
ZoomlenZ and Piedream tracks!)
Featuring Willy Dee on vocals, Jeff Horton on
guitars, Terry Fletcher on bass and Tom Moller on drums. Fantastic stuff from
Willy Dee - in the best Captain Beyond style! Pity it's not easy to find a
(known) official album from this band.
19. Armageddon - Last Stand Before, from "Armageddon", in
1975
This supergroup has been well covered elsewhere
in The RockIt Scientist website, so I won't go into their history again
here. The band featured Martin Pugh from Steamhammer on guitars, Bobby Caldwell
from Captain Beyond on drums, Louis Cennamo from Renaissance on bass and Keith
Relf from The Yardbirds on vocals and harmonica. If you're familiar with
Steamhammer's work, circa their "Speech" album, you'll recognize some of the
songs and riffs in Armageddon, albeit with a far heavier and more beefy
sound.
20. Electric Light Orchestra - Ma-Ma-Ma Belle, from "On The Third
Day", in 1973
ELO, as they were affectionately known, were originally
formed in England in 1970 by drummer Bev Bevan, bassist Richard Tandy, guitarist
Jeff Lynne (also previously in The Nightriders and Idle Race) and
vocalist/cellist Roy Wood, all of whom had previously been The Move. Recruiting
keyboard/French horn player Bill Hunt, violinist Wilf Gibson (later replaced by
Mik Kaminski), cellists Andy Craig and Hugh McDowell (replaced by Mike Edwards,
Colin Walker and Melvyn Gale), they recorded their debut album in 1971. Starting
out as an experiment that was financed by The Move's managed, Don Arden, ELO
became a very successful and highly entertaining band, scoring with many hits
later on in their career. The featured track reached number 22 on the UK
charts.
21. Esperanto - Last Tango, from "Last Tango", their third
and final album, in 1975
Formed in England as the Esperanto Rock
Orchestra in the early 70's, they were a complex 11 piece multi-national
progressive outfit, with the members coming from countries such as Belgium,
Spain, England and Australia. Their music was awash with violins and celli,
surrounded by a seriously tight rhythm section and powerful female vocals,
courtesy of Kim Moore and Brigette Du Toit. A tad frenetic at times, their
music nonetheless had some very interesting moments, a case in point being their
great version of "Eleanor Rigby" on the featured album. Vocalist Glen Shorrock
later became a founding member of Australia's Little River
Band.
22. Caravan - Clear Blue Sky, from "The Album", in
1980.
I have to admit that I'm not a great fan
of Reggae music, but this track, which is totally out of character for Caravan,
who are better known for their elaborate progressive rock pieces, is absolutely
superb. The band, who were comprised of Pye Hastings on guitar & vocals, Dek
Messecar on bass & vocals, Geoff Richardson, who wrote the track, on guitar,
viola, flute & vocals, Dave Sinclair on keyboards and Richard Coughlan on
drums, hadn't released a new studio album since 1977's "Better By Far", and this
little-known album really was a great effort, re-establishing the band as one of
England's premier progressive outfits. For the record, Caravan are still around
today, and are still touring and recording. Their latest official studio album,
''The Unauthorized Breakfast Item", released a few years ago, confirms their
status as one of the true greats of the genre.
23. Scott Finch & Blues O' Delics - Scott's Boogie, from "Live
Groove!", in 2001
US blues/rock guitarist is not that well known
amongst guitar aficionados, which is a great pity, because this guy positively
cooks! He first started recording in the late sixties, and it would appear that
his first band was called White Lie. This band released an album called "True
Confessions". He then formed Gypsy (not the same Gypsy that was featured on The
RockIt Scientist a few weeks ago) and this band released a few cassettes and an
album in the late 80's. Other bands Scott Finch has appeared with include Bones
of Contention, The Waltzing Tunas and Bluehand. He's a seriously talented
guitarist that deserves worldwide acclaim.
24. Michael Schenker Group - Into The Arena, from ''Unforgiven
World Tour Live", in 1999.
Even though the album is a Michael Schenker
album, the emphasis here is not necessarily on the brilliant German guitarist
who has had a very successful career, either as a soloist or with the likes of
The Scorpions, UFO, and many others, but on the two members that make up his
rhythm section. Drummer Shane Gaalaas and bassist Barry Sparks are well known to
RockIt Scientist listeners. They've featured with Sign Of 4, as soloists and,
most importantly, with Jeff Kollman in Cosmosquad. If there was a "World
Cup" squad of musicians, or of my personal ideal band, these two would feature
in it, without a doubt. You just HAVE to hear how good these two are, and how
well they work together, on this Michael Schenker-penned track that first
appeared on his debut solo album, way back in 1980. Individually, Gaalaas and
Sparks are brilliant, but together, they're untouchable.
25. Niacin - Klaghorn, from "Niacin Live! - Blood, Sweat &
Beers", in 1997
Here's another band of virtuoso musicians who
make playing their respective instruments look like a walk in the park. John
Novello (Hammond B3), Dennis Chambers (drums - Barbara Dennerlein and others)
and Billy Sheehan (bass - ex-Mr. Big), formed this keyboard and bass dominated
jazz/rock outfit around ten years ago. They've released six albums to date, and
are very popular in Japan, where their live DVD was recorded a while
back.
If you're a fan of the Hammond B3, powerhouse
drumming and bone-jarring bass, played by some of the world's finest, you need
to acquaint yourself with Niacin. The featured album was recorded in Jakarta,
Indonesia and Tokyo during their first tour during October
1996.
Remember to tune in
to The RockIt Scientist, every Friday night,
between 10pm and 01am,
on 1485 Radio Today, also
on DSTV Audio Channel 70.
