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The Underrated Album: “Odessey and Oracle”

6 Jul

If you live in the Northeast, the scorching grip of summer most certainly was felt today as temperatures hit 103 in New York. And, trust me, it took one minute outside before sweat started developing on every crevice of your body. It was a broiler, but, hey at least its summer. Summer does mean something besides hot weather. New categories. I can hear the applause. Last summer, when the Music Court was still in its nascent stages, we premiered the 60’s bands section. This summer, I’d like to focus on underappreciated albums.

I feel that every music fan who respects the art of albums has at least one unknown album that he/she likes that many others have never heard of. I have around 90 of them. Okay, that was a completely random number, but, I do enjoy many albums that I feel to be very underrated. This gave me an idea. How about a category that profiles one underrated album a week? So, today the Music Court is pleased to welcome “The Underrated Album” to our humble blog home. And, to kick it all off, The Zombies’ Odessey and Oracle.

When Odessey and Oracle was released in April of 1968, The Zombies had already disbanded. During the recording sessions that led to the 12-track LP of original Rod Argent and Chris White tunes, including the unmistakable “Time of the Season,” tempers flared over various elements of the recording. This included “Time of the Season,” where Argent insisted that vocalist Colin Blunstone sung the song a certain way. Thankfully, after he told Argent to sing the song himself, Blunstone agreed to put his mark on rock history (well, he did not know this at the time). Blunstone and Argent got back together in 2001 and still tour today.

So, the break-up of the band most definitely attributed to the little success of the album after it was released. There would be no live performances of the album until Argent and Blunstone got back together 33 years later. Also, it did not help that the album went almost unreleased in the United States, where a lot of the music market resided, by CBS boss Clive Davis. It took the urging of staff producer Al Kooper, best known for organizing the band Blood Sweat & Tears, to get the album onto the U.S CBS/Columbia records label. Kooper loved the album and believed it had three hit singles. He was certainly right about one particular single.

Another reason for why the album did not hit immediate success was because of the competition of the times. Here is a short list of some albums released in 1968.

Beggars Banquet (#57 in Rolling Stone Magazine’s top 500 albums of all time) by The Rolling Stones, White Album (#10) by the Beatles, Cheap Thrills (#338) by Big Brother and the Holding Company, Creedence Clearwater Revival’s debut eponymous album, Electric Ladyland (#54) by The Jimi Hendrix Experience.

1968 is commonly depicted as one of the greatest years for album releases in music history. There was an embarrassment of riches and it is quite possible that Odessey and Oracle was simply lost in success of other albums.

But, recently the album has made a resurgence. It currently ranks 80th on the Rolling Stones list and it appears on numerous lists of greatest albums of the rock era. The genius of the album lies in its diversity, psychedelic sound and well…you know:

Fun Fact: The famous misspelling of odyssey was a mistake by the designer of the LP cover.

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Born in the Internet

5 Jul

Hello everyone. Sorry for the late posting today, but this is the first opportunity I have had to sit down at a computer and write about music. Speaking of computers, the artist formerly known as Prince, shunned the complex interweb, with its fancy links and its crazy Itunes.

“All these computers and digital gadgets are no good,” said Prince. “They just fill your head with numbers, and that can’t be good for you.”

Uh…do you think somebody should tell him that the people making sure that he makes money (i.e. accountants, managers), well, their heads are always filled with numbers and they are probably keeping track of everything on the…internet. Prince, buddy, listen. You are an extraordinarily talented musician, but, the world wide web is not going anywhere. Those who refuse to change with the time often are left in the dust.

Prince goes on to compare the internet to a fad, like “MTV” or Pogs, exclaiming that, “the internet is over,” which sounds more like an apocalyptic message than a musician’s proclamation. Prince here are some lyrics that you may want to study, “Come mothers and fathers, Throughout the land, And don’t criticize, What you can’t understand.”

UPDATE (7/12)

Prince may disregard that the internet is here to stay, but, his listeners certainly disagree. Prince, who agreed to give out his album for free with British newspapers, may be feeling the effects of people receiving the CD and selling it online for 13 euros. Hundreds of copies of the CD have gone on sale on several websites, leading one music fan (me) to laugh hysterically. Oops!

The internet?

Are any of you feeling a hangover from your fourth of July weekend. No, not that kind of hangover; more like a, “I don’t want the barbecues, national pride, days off from work, and did I mention barbecues to ever stop. Well, to keep you in that American mood for just a little while longer here is America’s very own Bruce Springsteen with an acoustic version of “Born in the USA.”

Yes, lyrically, the song deals with the effects of the Vietnam war on Americans and is widely misinterpreted as a patriotic anthem, but, freedom of speech is as American as you can get.

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Happy Birthday Freedom

4 Jul

234 years ago the United States adopted a document declaring its independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain. One year later, Philadelphia celebrated the anniversary of this declared freedom, an…Independence Day celebration, with an official dinner for congress, gun salutes, speeches, and fireworks. That’s right. The fireworks show may not have been an elaborate combination of complex display pyrotechnics linked with a synchronized audio track, but, Americans were still celebrating freedom by blowing colorful stuff up in the sky. Yes, the fourth was celebrated just one year after its actual inception and now, as we gather with family for our own congressional dinner and amateur fireworks display it is a good time for us all to reflect on our American pride. Proud to be an American…where have I heard that before.

Oh Yeah:

Do you want to know more about this fourth of July hit. Check out Chris Gay’s post on the Rocks Off blog from the Houston Press:

http://blogs.houstonpress.com/rocks/2010/07/ten_fun_facts_about_god_bless.php

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An Acoustic “Telephone”

1 Jul

Dual Posting Time. A court link and an artist profile; a double dip for the ages. And, boy, do I have a cool link for you all tonight.

There are a select few acoustic guitar masters and Igor Presnyakov is certainly one of them. The Russian born guitarist/composer has been playing the guitar for around 35 years – according to his website – and that has given him a diverse range of guitar experience. He also plays a Russian 7-string guitar, a type of guitar that was popularized in the 19th century. He is one of the few to play it on a professional level.

The invention of the “Russian Guitar” is attributed to Andrei Sychra. It was popularized in the early 19th century and actually remained the popular standard until a strong interest in underground music (including that of Western music like The Beatles) brought the 6-string guitar prominence.

Anyway, back to the 7-string guitar playing of Igor Presnyakov. Here is Presnyakov playing his acoustic version of Lady GaGa’s “Telephone.” Yes, this is very real and very cool.

Like what you hear: http://igorpresnyakov.blogspot.com/

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Foul Deeds never seemed so pure

30 Jun

Pegi Young, the wife of folk troubadour Neil, is not just a female backup singer for her husband any longer. Instead, her new album, Foul Deeds, paired with her self-titled debut in 2007, proves that she is far more than a one-trick-pony; more like a true Crazy Horse.

Young is the classic example of a late-blooming artist, releasing her first album in her 50’s. But, don’t let age fool you. In response to her age Young says, “I’m 57, so I’m never gonna be the next big thing, but I’m cool with that. If I was younger, I might be more focused on the commerce part of it. But I’m not a 20-year-old trying to make a living, so I don’t have to conform to some record company’s idea of whatever they’re looking for that week. In that way, I guess I can be truly independent and focus on the creative part. I have no idea where it will go from here, but I’m having fun and I feel really, really good about what I’ve done so far.”

While Young was too shy to do anything past amateur recording when she was younger, she began pursuing music only 10 years ago after her kids were grown. As a back-up singer for her husband, she was exposed more to music and was able begin recording her own songs.

As Young says in her quotation above, she does not need to conform to any record company’s idea and therefore can be independent. This is certainly reflected in her music. Her maturity inspired by life experiences is highlighted in her lyric and song. It is as if she just simply skipped the “growing up” portion that most musicians need to go through, and went straight into clean, fulfilling performances. Young knows who she is and it shows. I have so much respect for musicians who let everything out in their craft.

“Foul Deeds seemed like a good album title, because this record definitely has its share of dark themes… divorce, debauchery, disillusionment and despair,” Pegi Young says of her second album and first for Vapor Records. “But I’m not trying to be a bummer. I’m just trying to tell some stories and make music that I can get behind.”

And, isn’t this a breath of fresh air. Young tells it straight. So many musicians today put on a musical façade, refusing to reveal themselves. Young, while she may have been shy when she was younger, is recording music that she, “can get behind.” Music that she knows is real.

Foul Deeds is full of creative originals and fantastic covers. Her originals represent her grasp on heavy emotional issues and mastery over the folk style.

Young also concentrated on the flow of the album, a concept that is commonly forgotten about today. “I’m still a big believer in the old idea of a record being a complete experience,” Young asserts. “So it matters to me that the songs have thematic relevance, and that somehow it tells some kind of story. Maybe people don’t really listen to records as a whole anymore, and you can work on the sequencing till the cows come home but they’ll still put it on shuffle and it doesn’t matter. But it matters to me, and this group of songs just seem to make sense together.”

Info:
www.pegiyoung.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/pages/Pegi-Young/133463653345541

Buy the album: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003JH0L9G/ref=s9_simh_gw_p15_i1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=043NYMRAXTV0W6ER84QP&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=470938631&pf_rd_i=507846

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