Tosh's Favorite Vinyl Albums in the Year 2019

Tosh’s Top Vinyl:

Sparks - “Gratuitous Sax & Seseless Violins”  (BMG) 2019 reissue

Mortimer - “Mortimer”  (Philips) 1968

Kenny Graham and his Satellites - “Moondog and Suncat (Trunk Records) 2010 reissue

Twice as Much - “Own Up” (Outline Records) 1982 reissue

Mark Hollis - “Mark Hollis” (Universal) 2011, Reissue

The Graham Bond Organization - “The Sound of 65” b/w “There’s A Bond Between Us” (Edsel Records) Reissue, 1988

Extended Organ - “Vibe” (Important Records) 2019

Henry Cowell - “The Piano Music of Henry Cowell” (Folkways Records) 1963

Talk Talk - “Spirit of Eden” (Parlophone) Reissue, 2012

Manfred Mann - “Soul of Mann (Instrumentals) - (Umbrella) 2018

David Bowie - “Mercury Demos” (Parlophone) 2019

The Soft Machine “Jet-Propelled Photographs” (Replay) Reissue, 2018

Daevid Allen - “Banana Moon” (Get Back) Reissue, 1999

Giles, Giles and Fripp - “The Cheerful Insanity of Giles, Giles and Fripp” (Cherry Red)

 Reissue, 2013

Lesley Gore - “Boys, Boys, Boys” (Mercury) 1964

Annette Peacock - “I’m The One” (Future Days Recordings) Reissue, 2016

Jean-Pierre Melville - “Bandes Originales 1956-1963” (Jeanne Dielman) 2018

Matthew Edwards and The Unfortunates - “The Birmingham Poets” (December Square) 2019

Kenny Graham and his Satellites: "Moondog and Suncat Suites" Vinyl, Albums, LP, Reissue, 1957/2010 (Trunk Records)

How can one avoid the great compositions by Moondog, as done by British sax player Kenny Graham with the top English Jazz musicians, and then top it off, Joe Meek was the engineer for these recording sessions. Moondog, a 20-century genius composer, an eccentric figure in Manhattan during the 1950s and 1960s, and even was a roommate of Philip Glass. Graham must be one of the few who went out of his way to record Moondog's compositions. The album is a delight, but if you are a Moondog fanatic, you may find these recordings not as wonderful as the original versions done by Moondog. Still, Kenny Graham brings these works into a very 'British' cool manner that I find intriguing. The playing and arrangements are top-notch. The second-side is all Kenny Graham compositions that are influenced by Moondog. More exotic, popish, and it does have that mid-century design of sound polish. I have two other Kenny Graham albums, and they are different in style and temperament. I suspect the more one gets into Kenny Graham, the more gems one would find. But it seems he only has a handful of recordings. There must be more out there in the world? 

Creedence Clearwater Revival - "Cosmo's Factory" Vinyl, LP, Album, 1970 (Fantasy)

As of three-years ago, if you told me that I would even have a copy of any Creedence Clearwater Revival album in my home, I would laugh at your face. A band I neither liked or admired, but just accepted that they were on the FM/AM radio and that is how the world was at the time. Like King Crimson, I have become more open-minded about bands that I never can imagine I would have in my collection. "Cosmos Factory" is essential to me due to two songs on it. "Ramble Tamble" and their 11-minute take on Marvin Gaye's "I Heard it Through the Grapevine." Both songs are on a genius level, not due to the songwriting, but the arrangements done by the band or John Fogerty. And Fogerty does get the credit, but I suspect that the group is very much part of the sound as well. 

"Ramble Tamble" (hearing or reading the title reminds me of Russ Tamblyn, but that's another narrative) is a groover of a song. Still, it has a great, almost psychedelic guitar that is half that, and surf. It's a fantastic track. The other song of interest, "I Heard It Through the Grapevine," has a bit of dark history for me. I remember camping on the beach for a week, and it was with Russ Tamblyn and his wife at the time. The dark part was not the company, but the beach itself. I was freezing in the nighttime air, and the one moment of happiness that night was my AM transistor radio. Some station was playing the entire length of "I Heard It Through the Grapevine," and it was scary and intriguing at the time. I never felt so alone at 3 in the morning, and hearing this odd and strange recording. Listening to it to now brings back the memory of that beach trip, but also it's a beautifully arranged version of the song. Never have two electric guitars, bass and drums sounded so seductive. 

The Jimi Hendrix Experience: "Are You Experienced?" Vinyl, LP, Album, Mono, Reissue, Japan, 1980 (Polydor)

When I was 12-years old I went to London.  I remember many things on that specific trip, but one of the pleasant memories is discovering The Jimi Hendrix Experience at Robert Fraser's flat in 1967.  He had a copy of this, and I went back to Los Angeles, I immediately found the American version of this classic debut album.  It took me 50 years to realize that the UK and U.S. had a different song order and songs.  Still, when I bought a used Mono version at Tower Records in Shinjuku, I was delighted. First of all, I never heard this album in Mono before, and it's an amazing punch to the stomach and head.  We know how great Hendrix was, but The Experience was an incredible band.  Mitch Mitchell's (is that is the real name?  If not, what a great name) jazz-style drumming was a perfect flow for Hendrix's guitar and Noel Redding's bass playing.  I also love the British cover than the American one.  To me, it is such an iconic image.  

Lucien Goethals - "Lucien Goethals" Vinyl, LP, Compilation, Remastered, 2014 (Cacophonic)

Lucien Goethals (1931-2006) is a composer who had a focus on electronic music.  Or with 'real' instruments such as bass clarinet, which is the focus on side one of this album.  "Difonium" is an 18-minute composition with Harry Sparnaay on bass clarinet, with Goethals's electronic sounds. This 1974 composition is a moody interplay with the wind instrument andmagnétaphone. I think of Edgard Varése's music when listening to this piece.  Not only due to its compositional techniques but for it's the sense of purity in sound and vision. 

Side Two starts off with "Cellotape," and I have to say I love the mixture of electronics and real instrumentation such as piano and violin.   I admire electronic music as it stands by itself, but the tension of having real instruments brings the music a specific type of intensity.  Sometimes this music is instruments treated through an electronic medium (besides the recording studio of course), but here it's on equal ground with Goethals's eternal sounds.  The Piano goes through cluster-sounds, strumming of the piano keys as well as played on the keyboard.  "Studie VII B" is pure electronic composition, and I find it lacking in that it does need the presence of a real instrument in its mix. 

Sparks - "Gratuitous Sax & Senseless Violins" Yellow Vinyl, Remastered, Reissued, 2xCD, 2019/1994 (BMG)

It's no secret that I'm a Sparks' fanatic. My love for this crazed duo is as immense as the oceans and deep into the distant stars. For me, there is no such thing as a bad Sparks' album, but "Gratuitous Sax & Senseless Violins" is one of my faves among their recorded masterpieces. There is not another haunting song as "Let's Go Surfing," or "When Do I Sing My Way." Sparks made masterpieces in the 1970s and 1980s but disappeared amid the later 80s, and returned to magnificence with the above album. 

Hardcore electro-pop, this is music made by two men, and it's a tight album with no wasted space. It's a specific and focused set of songs that focuses on some aspects of pop culture, as seen through the Mael brothers. "Gone with the Wind," Sinatra's and Sid's "My Way," Charlie Parker, The BBC, Liberace, and Hong Kong filmmaker (who is on the album as well) Tsui Hark all share space in this work. They bounce off each other, and in some sense, there is communication or sharing between these iconic figures/institutions. 

CD-1 is a compilation of remixes from "Gratuitous Sax & Senseless Violins." What stands out is Bernard Butler's mix of ("When I Kiss You) I Hear Charlie Parker." He adds guitar textures that give the song a different feel than the standard version. Also of great interest is their version of "Little Drummer Boy," and a great unknown Sparks song, "She's An Anchorman." What makes this reissue a must for the fan is CD-2, which is unreleased (until now) great unknown Sparks songs, which I presume was recorded around the same time as "Gratuitous Sax." 17 songs here and not one is a dud. Also noted are the songs sung by Christi Haydon. She was their live drummer in the 1990s, and it seems at one point and time, was set-up to sing the songs of Sparks. Similar to Serge Gainsbourg working with Jane Birkin/Brigitte Bardot or Lee Hazelwood's work with Nancy Sinatra. All great, especially "Katharine Hepburn," which is an unknown Sparks masterpiece song and her excellent version of The Who's (John Entwistle) "Boris the Spider." Superb packaging and music. A must for Sparks' fans, but also proof of their greatness. 

Big Star - "Radio City" Vinyl, LP, Album, Reissue, 1974/2011 (Ardent Records)

I haven't heard this album in a long time, and just tonight, I found a vinyl copy, so I thought, "OK." What's incredible is discovering how much I still love this album. The performance by Big Star on "Radio City" is energetic, powerful, and layered with guitars that pulls the listener into a concept of imagery that comes with their music. It's perfection as practiced by Jody Stephens, Andy Hummel, and of course, Alex Chilton. 

The DNA of their sound, at least for this album, is The Beatles "For Sale" or at the very least, "Revolver." But it's work that doesn't imitate the fab four sound, but more used as a platform for Alex and company to build their music on. At the time, there were a lot of power-pop bands and artists. A lot of them were good, including Cheap Trick. But I find Big Star very much on the spiritual side of the music than getting the right guitar sound, or the perfect melody arrangement. There is magic in these recordings and songs.  I think a lot has to do with the "It" quality of Alex and the band. John Fry, their engineer, really caught the essence of the sound in the studio. For some odd reason listening to this album on vinyl, it really grabbed me by the heart and head. 

The essence of Alex Chilton is here, and there is something reckless, sexy. Yet, in firm control of the material, that is his personality. I don't think there is such a thing as a 'bad' Alex performance or even album. One can like something more than the other, but his genius is to give every song he sang a distinctive quality that can only be Alex. Like hearing Bowie, or Billie Holiday, who' put a stamp on their songs cannot be imitated, Alex is in the same league as those singers. There are those who sound like students when they do this sort of music. Still, Big Star owns their material in such a manner that it is characteristic of their genius. And then there are the Bill Eggleston photos. That's brilliant, as well. 

Philip Glass - "Mishima" Vinyl, LP, OST, 1985 (Nonesuch)

One can argue that there are better Philip Glass albums out there, but I'm very fond of his soundtrack to the film "Mishima" directed by Paul Schrader. I think "Einstein on the Beach" is one of the great pieces in classical 20th-century music, but Glass can do different types of music. "Mishima" is full of beautiful melodies, and the way he builds up the tempo as if adding one pick-up stick on to another, you're waiting for it to collapse. Alas, that doesn't happen. 

The film itself is one of my favorites as well. Ever since I was a teenager, I had a fascination with Yukio Mishima, not only for his writing but for his crazed life as well. On the surface, his whole lifestyle devoted to a mixture of literature, politics, gay life, and his need to be a performer — one thing for sure he didn't hold anything back. The film captures his character, but it is also the best work on a writer creating his (or her) world. Most movies about writers are dull. Still, Mishima is unique because, due to family overtures, Schrader had to rely on Mishima's writings, and that made this film a stronger piece of art.  The Glass compositions add a sense of melancholy as well as grandness. There is even a surf guitar part in the score that is a mystery to me — one of the unusual aspects in a Glass composition ever. There are classic OST albums that stay with me beyond the film. "A Clockwork Orange, "8 1/2," and "Mishima" is right up there with my other faves. 

The Candy Rock Generation - "Super Rock" 3xVinyl, LP, U.S., 1969 (Columbia Music Treasures)

Truly one of the greatest of the great 'greatest' hits packages of its time (1969).  Where else can one get "I Started a Joke," "Both Sides Now," "On the Road," as well as "Midnight Confessions."  If you bought the singles, it would cost you a mint, but I actually paid under $3 for the whole 3-album package.  Of course, these are not the original artists, but a group of anonymous musicians who probably watched the clock on the studio wall, as they as much as possible, follow the arrangements to the original recordings. 

The Candy Rock Generation may be the greatest rock band ever, and truly their album "Super Rock" is properly named.   From The Beatles to the Doors to Iron Butterfly and beyond, in a way it is the defining package of 1960s music.  That it came out at the end of the era, perhaps this is the ultimate portrait of that time.  A knock-off version of brilliant records is taste, but this is more of a science than anything else.  Or, even a group of Madison Avenue Mad Men who somehow got the keys to a recording studio.   

Henry Cowell - "The Piano Music of Henry Cowell" Vinyl, LP, Album, 1963 (Folkways Records)

Henry Cowell is an amazing composer and a brilliant pianist.  Famous for his cluster notes, and stroking the piano strings, he's to me the melodic John Cage.  "The Piano Music of Henry Cowell" is the perfect introduction to his music and aesthetic.   Oddly enough, "Aeolian Harp and Sinister Resonance" melody sound similar to The Yardbirds' "Still I'm Sad."  The closest composer I can compare him to is Erik Satie.  Both write strong melodies, but there is a genius aspect of what they both do.  Cowell is more upbeat and mixes the ugliness of cluster with the harp-like strokes of the piano wires and the beautiful melodies.   Throughout the album, Cowell announces each title of his composition as if he was lecturing in a classroom.  There is also a talk by the composer at the end of the album. Essential! 

Rain Tree Crow - "Rain Tree Crow" Vinyl, LP, Album, Reissue, 1991/2019 (Virgin)

Rain Tree Crow is the band Japan, with all four original members (David Sylvian, Mick Karn, Steve Jansen, & Richard Barbieri). This album is a reunion after Japan broke up. Why they didn't keep the name, Japan, is a mystery to me. When the record was released in 1991, it didn't make significant noise in the music press nor anywhere else for that matter, which is a shame, because this is a beautiful record.

The first cut "Big Wheels in Shanty Town" is very similar sounding to the David Byrne/Brian Eno's album, in that it has a groove that's "World" music like, but then David Sylvian's croon makes it their music. Sylvian and company, which I suspect were under the influence of Can while making this album, is a series of improvisions done in the studio. What was perhaps a 'jam' album becomes tight compositions. The appeal of Rain Tree Crow is that what they do is not original, but that they can take the concept or riff and make it their own.

Their sound (as in Japan as well) is very distinctive of their collaborations. Barbieri has that unique ambient electronic sound that gives the material a foundation. Then you add Karn's distinctive brass arrangements and fretless bass, with the creative percussion by Jansen. Then Sylvian adds effects, and importantly, his Bryan Ferry-like croon. What once was an inspiration, now is very much part of the Sylvian aesthetic. The great song is "Blackwater," which is a stunning ballad. It builds to a certain level and then floats like a cloud seen from a distance. The album, in whole, works in that fashion.  

Manfred Mann - "Radio Days Vol. 1: Live At The BBC 64-66" 2XVinyl, LP, Compilation (Creature Music)

A fascinating compilation of the band, Manfred Mann, from the years 1964 to 1966.  These are the years that featured the amazing Paul Jones on vocals and some compositions. What I find interesting about Manfred Mann is that they are basically jazz and blues musicians who also did pop.  Yet, there is no tension between the music categories with this band.  Perhaps because they could always expose their roots as well as recording the perfect pop hit, such as "Pretty Flamingo." 

The BBC recordings are all live, and it shows how the band expanded within the two years of their existence with Jones.   Everything from "Parchman Farm" (Paul going solo here) to an amazing jazz arrangement of The Yardbirds' "Still I'm Sad."  There is also a series of interviews with the band that are amusing but also compared to other bands of that era, Manfred Mann is solidly grounded in their roots.  Pop, jazz, and the occasional Dylan song all seems natural in the band's hands. 

The Byrds - "The Columbia Singles '65-'67" 2xVinyl, Compilation, Mono, 2002 (Columbia/Sundazed Music)

As a kid (around 10-years old) I had the first Byrds album with "Mr. Tambourine Man" which was a huge radio hit in the Los Angeles area.   I liked it, but I never loved the record or song. Still, the presence of the 12-string lead guitar and the perfect harmonies of the band was and still is appealing to my ears.  I never took to the band full-on, and I think it's due to my prejudice against David Crosby.  I never liked his hair or his fashion sense.  Even to this day, I have a problem with him on the cover of this compilation.  His cape really bugs me.  The others in the band had a nice style, but Crosby seems to have the annoying talent of standing out.  In a sense like Brian Jones, but David is not Brian.  I tried to like him, and his songs.  And at times, I can bear his work, but his strength is within the Byrds format.   When he's singing vocals with Gene Clark or Jim (Roger) McGuinn it is really something of great beauty.  When he sings with Stills and Nash, I find his vocals really irritating.   Like a shadow-boxer, I come in and out of The Byrds world but never fall into the thought of their greatness.  Until hearing this compilation. 

This is a collection of singles from 1965 to 1967, all Mono.  In that singular format (both single and mono) is where their great strength lies.  I'm not a tech-head in the sense I can tell a difference between album cut and these recordings, but they all sound puncher and oddly enough more texture in sound.  Both A and B sides are here, and it tells a tale of the band at its best.  After Crosby and Gene Clark left the band, I stopped listening to them. I know there are fans of the later recordings, but at this time, I haven't investigated those albums/songs.   What I like about these recordings is the harshness of McGuinn's guitar against the sweet vocals that bring up the tension.  Noise/sweetness for me is a perfect cocktail, and the early Byrds captures that sense of fragile beauty very well.  Also, the excellent presence of Gene Clark, who is really the 'star' of the band, is quite magnificent in those years.   A superb collection and I think this would be the perfect introduction to The Byrds.  More so than their individual albums. 

Ennio Morricone "Veruschka" Album, OST, 2 x Vinyl (Dagored)

The ultimate Italian/Euro swinging set of melodies by Ennio Morricone, which is the soundtrack to the 1971 documentary "Veruschka - Poesia Di Una Donna." Veruschka was the first supermodel, and here, the music matches her beauty. The film is forgotten (unless your Tarantino) but the music is iconic and beautiful in that it conveys a textural Brazilian motif, yet, clearly Italian. The album features the breathy vocals of Edda Dell'Orso, who is the ultimate singer for Morricone. She comes off as Yma Sumac but even in a more mysterious landscape. This is a double-album vinyl set, and it is the first to be the complete soundtrack to the film. A must for the exotica fan, as well as anyone who appreciates the genius of Ennio Morricone.

Talk Talk - "Spirit of Eden" Vinyl, LP, Album, Reissue, 1988/2012

My favorite music these days are the ones that I missed when they were initially released. Talk Talk is such a band that I ignored for decades, even though I did see them at the Reseda Country Club in the early 1980s when their first big hit "Talk Talk" (not to be confused with the band's name) hit the KROQ airwaves. They had no lasting impression on me whatsoever. Still, as the years go on, people have told me that this band is excellent. "Spirit of Eden" is a unique album and a perfect one at that.

It's natural to compare something you haven't heard, with other artists. Listening to "Spirit of Eden," it reminds me a bit of early David Sylvian, with a touch of classic "John Barleycorn Must Die" Traffic, and then a presence of Miles Davis "Silent Way." Of course, that is just the entrance to the world of Talk Talk. For a band that started with a very 80s production style, ends with all acoustic or un-machine-like instrumentation, such as Double Bass (the great Danny Thompson), Guitarrón, Oboe, violin (Nigel Kennedy), and various horns. Mark Hollis is the figurehead and is very much in the style of a minimalist, who makes maximum music. One never knows what's around the corner, because something unusual and adventuresome comes out of nowhere. In that sense, there is the late Scott Walker approach to arrangements.

The sound is dense, murky, and then almost silence. For, however, many minutes this album is, it doesn't allow the listener to remove themselves from the speakers. "Inheritance" has a classical oboe and strings interlude that comes in like a wave hitting the beach. There are sonic surprises that are borderline ambient, but the mixing is brilliant. Not an album to categorize but to accept on its worth by the superb sounds and touches of melody that is haunting. The silence is just as important as the instrumentation. It should be its instrumental credit: silence — a beautiful piece of delicate work.

Various - "L'Italia E Nel Mondo" 2 x Vinyl, Compilation, Deluxe Gatefold Sleeve (Modern Silence)

The Futurist mastered various forms of the visual medium of sculptures, painting, drawing, as well as photography, film, writing and of course, and not least, music. I have always been a fan of Luigi Russolo's Art of Noise pieces such as "ll Risveglio di una Citta." Russolo made these beautiful works of sculptures that are also noise machines in the year 1912 or so. These early recordings are the foundation of experimental music. It fits in the world equally with John Cage's more noisy compositions as well as the Los Angeles Free Music Society (LAFMS). So, this alone is worth getting the album. The other pieces of interest are Filippo Tommaso Marinetti's selection of him reciting his very verbal poetry. What is disappointing about this package is that Discogs list the tracks, and they are wrong. If you go to the Forced Exposure website, you will get the proper artists. I would have preferred the Discogs listing than the record I have now. What's missing is Luigi Grandi and others. The correct list of artists is Antonio Russolo, Rodolfo De Angelis, Alexandr Mossolov Eiar Orchestra Victor De Sabata, Arthur Honegger, Dixon Cowell, Julius Ehrlich, Paul Whiteman, Walter Ruttmann, and George Antheil. As well as Marinetti and Luigi Russolo. 

All of the above are great, but The Italian Futurists influence most of these artists, but not part of the Italian art/political group. Whatever happened to the original (if even that is so) list of artists is a mystery.  The original listing of tracks would have offered a more accurate representation of Futurist music. Although technically the label Modern Silence is a bootleg company that focuses on the avant-garde, it is still an excellent record label with fantastic packaging. For instance, "L'Italia E Nel Mondo" album design is an Italian wrapped newspaper full of text from the Futurists.  The album is a limited edition, and still, a great purchase. 

Buffalo Springfield - "Buffalo Springfield" Vinyl, Mono, Album, 1967 (ATCO Records)

Buffalo Springfield had so many pluses that it eventually erased what's good about the band and left the drab, which turned into disappointment. The solid songs mostly by Steve Stills and Neil Young, as well as Richie Furay's contributions,  is almost too good. Their first album "Buffalo Springfield" is my favorite among the three releases. For one, here they were focused and produced by one team: Brian Stone and Charles Greene. Those two worked with Sonny & Cher, as well as other acts on the label ATCO. I also believed they were the managers of Springfield as well. Still, the consistency is important, but on the negative side, their production is wimpy. I suspect Buffalo Springfield on the stage were guitar lunatics, and due to the egos of Stills and Young, probably a battle of the bands, even though they were in the same group. That's the problem with their next two releases where the sense of a band falling apart, and becoming various solo recordings, made the music limp. There are highlights throughout their existence, but I have always had the feeling that they could have been better in the recording studio. It's a shame that Jack Nitzsche didn't produce or arrange all the songs. He would have been a perfect producer for this band.

Having Richie Furay singing most of the material was a good idea at the time. His voice is heavenly clear, and although Stills and Young do have a 'sound' in their distinctive vocals, they come nowhere to the technical excellence of Furay's approach to the vocal. Again, I find the recording of this album very thin, and the production doesn't serve the masterful playing of the band. I feel that they are too contained in the format that's the studio.  For 50 something years, this album has been in and out of my record collection. I finally found a vintage mono edition, and still, not satisfied with the sound. Almost there, and you can even taste it, but still a distance. 

V.A. - "A New Sound From The Japanese Bach Scene" Vinyl, LP, Album, 1969 (RCA)

Exotica? As one approaches this album, one would think that's the destination.  But alas, it's more in the tradition of the jazz Bach hybrid recordings by The Swingle Singers and French Jazz pianist Jacques Loussier.  It's Bach most excellent melodies but arranged for two Kotos and a Shakuhachi, plus a stand-up bass, drums and jazz guitar. Norio Maeda arranges the album, and it's very much in the mood of the classic Jazz/Classical overtures of the 1950s. But there is nothing kitsch about the arrangements or the music on this album.

I have this fascination with arrangments of music, that I know, but presented in a new light. When you hear this one doesn't think 'ah, the Japanese take on Western music.'  More of a playful approach that is very organic and presented in a very straight forward manner. There are even some bosa-nova beats here and there — a cool album.

Manfred Mann - "Soul of Mann (Instrumentals)" Vinyl, LP, Compilation, Reissue (Umbrella)

This past year I have been going through an ongoing appreciation for the band Manfred Mann.  Both Paul Jones and Mike D'Abo years.  During the Paul Jones era and in between the two lead singers, the band recorded a series of instrumentals as b-sides and album cuts.  What I find fascinating about the group is that they are jazz players playing pop as well as blues or rhythm n' blues, but I get their very essence is jazz.   Manfred Mann recorded pop music, but it is the tension between the commercial music and their jazz leanings, which gives them an intensity.

"Soul of Mann" is a fantastic compilation of their instrumentals, which are mostly based on pop songs.  Done with excellent jazz arrangements, as well as some originals and their take on jazz artists/composers as Milt Jackson and Nat Adderley.   The album is very "Mod" orientated, and the cool here is essential.   The album fits very much into Milt Jackson world as well as the Mod planet of The Who, The Small Faces, and Graham Bond Organization.  

David Bowie ' "Spying Through A Keyhole" 4 × Vinyl, 7", Mono, 2019 (Parlophone)

A good season for the Bowie lunatic.  Parlophone and the Bowie estate has been releasing a series of demos, that is from the late 1960s.  All are fascinating.   "Spying Through A Keyhole" is part of a two-volume boxset of 7" singles.  Elaborate packaging, perhaps a tad too much of a design project, still the music inside is way more than worthwhile.   This boxset is four 7" singles (9 tracks), and it's total Kenneth Pitt era Bowie.  Before he went Anthony Newley, he had a folk fixation that eventually turned into British Music Hall aesthetic, but at this time, and demo quality, a quiet look into the Bowie psyche.  The famous song here is "Space Oddity," and we get two versions, one just an excerpt, and the other is a more full arranged with the assistance of guitar and voice John "Hutch Hutchinson.   Who I think plays a bigger part in the other Bowie 'demos,' but more of that in another blog post.

The obscure songs here are "Mother Grey," "Love All Around," and "Angel Angel Grubby Face."  Not as great as the other undiscovered Bowie material, but still interesting to hear how strong his sense of aesthetic and vision was at the time.  The other obscure number, and it's excellent is "Goodbye Threepenny Joe."   A great melody, lyric, and I don't know why he didn't re-do this song on a future release.  For me, this is the tune that is worth the whole package.  If you are a Bowie lunatic, you must have this package, but there are better demo albums out there by David, and I will be writing about them shortly.

V.A. - "The Freakbeat Scene" 2 x Vinyl, LP, Compilation, 2019 (Decca)

I'm a firm believer in book publishers as well as record labels.  If the label has some history or vision, I will buy that record.  Decca, which is enormous, always been of some interest to me.  Especially anything released in the 1960s and British.   Decca this year and the previous 12 months have been releasing these compilations focusing on the Mod and Psychedelic British 45 rpm singles, that if one tries to trace down would be very expensive and time-consuming.  So, the Decca compilations are very good and overall excellent for the pocketbook.  "The Freakbeat Scene is 25 songs by various bands, that mostly failed in getting that hit.  This is a collection of songs that didn't even get close to getting airplay in the UK, or on the charts.

Still, genius is in the details, and there is a lot of brilliant series of moments on this double-album.  Some are so-so, but that only adds to the excitement when you hear an incredible song.  Freakbeat by definition is the crazy part of The Who when their guitar goes all feedback, Keith Moon is slashing at the drum cymbals, and distorted bass.  On the other hand, The Who is not on this compilation, but we do have The Small Faces, who are always magnificent.  Beyond that, everyone here is very obscure.   Which is not to say that their recording deserves a wider (and wilder) audience, but fate is sometimes someone asleep at the wheel or the entrance to success.

The genius track here is by a band called The Fairytale, and it's "Run & Hide."  A very ugly song lyric about a girl who is 'bad' and the male singer sounds psychotic, still a remarkable record.  I have their other three songs in other collections and formats since they only released two 45 rpm singles.  Then they disappeared.   In fact, most of the bands here disappeared, but there were some successes in later life, for instance, Chris Squire and Peter Banks who were members of Yes, but here they're The Syn.  And although there is no clue to the future sound of Yes, still an excellent record. Even a young Marc Bolan has a song here, but one would not recognize the Bolan vocal, until the chorus where you can hear that vibrato in his voice.

The mystery track here is by Shel Naylor, which one suspects is Dave Davies of the Kinks, with Jimmy Page on guitar.  Naylor himself is a phantom.  In fact, this album is full of ghosts and spirits.  "Come on Back" by Paul & Ritchie & The Cryin' Shames is a Joe Meek production.  So that's always good.   It's excellent that Decca, such a mega-label, still had the nerve to release somewhat weird records.

King Crimson - "THRAK" CD, Album, 1995 (Virgin)

I have entered into the forbidden.  For the past year or so, I  have been listening to King Crimson, a band that I once avoided due that I couldn't stand the word "Prog."   Prejudice is an ugly thing to have in one's life, but in my fashion, I slowly started listening to the first five King Crimson albums and realized that I enjoy the music due to the intensity of the band's playing, but also their compositional streak.  In a way, it reminds me of Duke Ellington, not in style, but the fact that Robert Fripp has firm control of the band, but yet allows each musician to participate in the overall sound of the project on hand. "THRAK" is the only album I have that features guitarist and lyricist Adrian Belew in the King Crimson line up.

"THRAK" is a right name for this album, because that is what it sounds like.  It's a tense, textural record with incredible percussion flourishes, but also the intensity of the guitars riffing against each other, but with the overall approach of Fripp's soundscaping, that in a sense is the foundation of this work.   Of the King Crimson albums I own and listened to, "THRAK" is by far the heaviest due to the force of the instrumentals and some of the vocal works.  As usual, I think the weak link to King Crimson is the lyrics.  Whatever it is by Belew or others, it seems to be second thought compared to the sound of the music.   

Moreover, it's the sound of the recording and arrangements that give it a full sonic plate.   The beauty of Fripp and company is that they do look back, but always go forward.  The unique line up of a double trio or having two percussionists (Pat Mastelotto & Bill Bruford), two bassists (Tony Levin & Trey Gunn), two guitarists (Fripp & Belew), is that it's not a mess, but again, like an Ellington big band, it fits the entire motif of the big sound. 

Luigi Nono/Mauizio Pollini - "sofferte onde serene..." Vinyl, LP, Album, Germany, 1979 (Deutsche Grammophon)

My knowledge on the Italian composer Luigi Nono is limited, and I have only this album "sofferte onde serene..." and a compilation with Berio and Maderna.   I have an interest with composers of the 20th-century who used magnetic tape as part of the ensemble, and Nono is no stranger to the tape machine.  Here Nono has the noted pianist Maurizio Pollini play along with magnetic tape that is haunting and very mood sturring.  It's music to wait for an upcoming storm.  And that storm is "a floresta èjovem e cheja de vida."   A composition with magnetic tape as well as clarinet played by William O. Smith, who was an original member of Ennio Morricone's (and others) Gruppo di Improvvisazione Nuova Consonanza.  

a floresta èjovem e cheja de vida" is very much rooted in the Vietnam War, and Nono was very much against that war.   The texts in this piece are from various sources and mostly from the Left.  A haunting work as well as the first piece on this album. 

Robert Wyatt - "Comicopera" Vinyl, LP, Album, 2 x Vinyl, one etched with poem, 2007 (Domino)

Robert Wyatt is one of those artists that you either love obsessively, or you don't know him or his music.  I think it is impossible for someone to hear him, and go 'not interested.'  His melodies are seductive, and the voice is hairy, yet romantic when he's crooning, and he mostly sings as if he is Chet Baker, and there are a thousand women in the waiting room, just waiting for him.   "Comicopera" although there are other releases where he collaborated with another artist, or compilation/re-issue came out, and I believe this was his last solo album.  He reportedly retired, and if that's true, this 2007 album is a brilliant goodbye.  Or perhaps just a pause before something else happens.  Still, a remarkable record that is very open.  His masterpiece "Rock Bottom" I find very close off to the world.  This is Wyatt getting involved with lots of musicians such as Paul Weller, Phil Manzanera, Eno, and others.  There are traces of late Beach Boys in the mix as well as Charlie Haden's Freedom Orchestra.  Just a beautiful mixture that does its job.  A haunted cocktail of a drink that sticks to your system.  

Matthew Edwards and The Unfortunates - "The Birmingham Poets" Vinyl, LP, Album, 2019 (December Square)

Matthew Edwards has the knack of writing very literate and smart pop songs.  If I'm drawing a map of similar taste artists, it would include Vic Godard, Lloyd Cole, David Bowie (his later album "Hours" comes to mind), and Mickie Most-era Donovan, with a touch of Jacques Brel. Shamefully tuneful, but with a bite that stings.  "The Birmingham Poets" is an album short in length, but also I tend to play the record over again once I heard it for the first time.  Matthew and his band The Unfortunates do beautiful arrangements that are chamber pop like in one moment, but it also has a strong cinematic or visual sense as well. 

"California, Can You Wait?" is a song that drills into your sub-consciousness due to its catchy melody and chorus.  Yearning for and wanting something so special that is so close, but one can't touch it. Birmingham England is very much the location or the emotional home and Edwards' words reflect an observation that is both slightly nostalgic, but also biting.   There is a Nöel Coward sensibility in that he can convey the everyday of life as something special in its small moments. 

"Birmingham Poets" is an album that sticks to you, as Lou Reed/Mo Tucker once sang, like glue.  No need to remove the record, because, by desire, you will play it again and again. 

The Kinks - "A Strange Effect" Vinyl, 7", 45 RPM, Unofficial Release, 2004 (Zönophone)

From around 1963 to 1973, Ray Davies never wrote a bad song or performance.  His genius at being consistently great in writing a song is a remarkable feat.   Which I know sounds overwhelming the man and his material, but for me, it is like I have a bullseye drawn on my heart, and Ray's music always hits that bullseye.  I pretty much have all the official Kinks releases of that decade or 10-years of music making, but recently at Disk Union in Tokyo, I purchased a bootleg E.P. just due that I love the song "A Strange Effect" which the only version I know of, is the Dave Barry recording.   These four songs on the E.P., are all studio recordings, and I suspect they were demos, that somehow never made it onto a Kinks album at that time for whatever mysterious reasons.  Finding these songs is like finding a new item in the ice cream department of your local grocery.  A unique flavor, but something favorite of yours as well. 

"A Strange Effect" is very typical Kinks, yet at the time it sounds a new direction for the artist and band.   It is not one of his observation songs, but a tune that is direct as "You Really Got Me," but done in a manner that is complex and many layers of feeling.  It has a hypnotic melody with an exquisite Ray vocal that sounds slippery, even drunk, yet his intelligence comes through in such a way that gives this song notice.   The other remarkable song on this E.P. is "I Go To Sleep," which is a beautiful ballad.  I have heard the version by The Pretenders, Cher, and Peggy Lee, all remarkable, but Ray's/Kinks version is of great delicate beauty.   I can imagine the classic era of Sandie Shaw covering this song due to her ability to sing intricate melodies, which seems simple but ain't. 

"Tell Me Now, So I'll Know" and "A Little Bit of Sunlight" are the other two songs (four altogether) and they too are missing Kinks gems that need to be in the spotlight.  A remarkable object of deep affection.  

Alain Goraguer - "J'irai Cracher sur vos Tombes" OST, Vinyl, 7" 45 rpm EP, 1959 (Philips)

I have a bit of history with Alain Goraguer, in the sense that I published with my press TamTam Books, J'irai cracher sur vos Tombes (I Spit on Your Graves) by Boris Vian.  Vian had a love and hated relationship with this book due that he got into much trouble with the law on this title, as well as loathing the film version of his novel.  Also, the fact that he died during the screening of this film, sort of makes this a cursed book/film.  Still, and even Vian agreed, Alain Goraguer is a fantastic musician and composer.  

I had the music as a download for years but had a hard time finding the original edition of this classic.  Until I found a copy at HMV in Shinjuku Tokyo.   In pretty great condition, and with a price of around $30, I purchased this piece of history.   The EP is approximately 10 minutes long, with six pieces, but an essential work by Goraguer.   

His most famous work in the English speaking world is his electronic soundtrack to the animated film "La Planète Sauvage," but sadly it ends there with most listeners of that work.  Goraguer is a jazz pianist who also played and arranged the early Serge Gainsbourg records of the 50s,  as well as working with  YéYé teenage acts of the 1960s.  Throughout that decade up to the 80s, he worked on with other French artists and wrote and performed various soundtracks, including adult films.  Whenever I see his name on the record label, either as artist, arranger, or his orchestra, I pick it up and never am I disappointed with the music or recording. 

Goraguer also wrote songs with Boris Vian, and it is probably due to this relationship that he composed the score to "I Spit on Your Graves."   A haunting melody, it is a perfect film writing score that shows all of Goraguer's strength as a composer and artist. 

Twinkle - "Golden Lights" Vinyl, LP, Compilation, 1996, UK (RPM Records)

Twinkle is the ultimate 1960s British teenager, who is also a songwriter and pop singer.  Born wealthy, and had a sister who wrote for the British music fan magazines of that time, knew and went out with a lot of rock n' roll people.  Never released an album, but a series of 45 rpm singles, Twinkle's music is remarkable.  An excellent lyricist, one of her great songs is "Golden Lights," which is a fantastic groupie-like view of a loved one whose name is in the neon lights of a theater. It's visual power, and beautiful melody is pop-divine. 

"Terry" is about a boy who dies on a motorcycle.  It is just as great as any The Shangri-Las' recording, and the difference is that it's quiet in a British manner compared to the Shadow Morton world of East Coast cinematic sounds. There is even a version of Serge Gainsbourg/France Gall's "A Lonely Singing Doll."  This 17-song compilation doesn't have a weak link. 

If a comparison is to be made, I think of Gillian Hills, who also wrote her songs, as well as being an iconic figure both in the UK as well as in France.  A remarkable collection of pop music.  

Gong - "Camembert Electrique" Vinyl, LP, Album, France, 1971 (BYG Records/Acteul)

My old friend Gary introduced me to this band around 1972, and I couldn't get my head around it.  Just too hippy, crazy, too foreign, and in other words, too odd.  Still, on the same day, he also played me early Kevin Ayers, and that too was a challenging listening experience for me.  Decades later, either out of boredom, my jet-lag sensibility, I purchased this album at Rockaway Records in Silver Lake.  Now, as I listen to Gong's "Camembert Electrique" I think it's a masterpiece.

Daevid Allen started the group (if memory serves me correctly, I was put off by the spelling of his first name as well as disliking the album) and somehow ended up in France.  A band, a cult - I'm not sure.  There is for sure a thought that they live on a planet called 'Gong,' but a world that had instruments, that's certain.   Still, the music is brilliant.  Hypnotic, melodic, and in places, reminds me of David Bowie of the Ziggy period.  There is also touches of The Soft Machine, which should be no surprise because Allen was a founding member of that band.

The other voice beside Daevid is Gilli Smith, who has a sinister whisper and adds a certain intensity to the mix.   For a bunch of French/British/Aussie Hippies, they are very tight and focused.  It's psychedelic for sure but has a robust rock approach to their overall sound. This is my first entrance into the rabbit hole that's Gong.

Haruomi Hosono & Tadanori Yokoo - "Cochin Moon" Vinyl, LP, Album, Reissue, 1978/2018 (Light in the Attic)

In the same manner, as the importance of someone like Brian Eno, Van Dyke Parks, and Martin Denny are to the English speaking world, concerning exposing various 'foreign cultures,' the same can be said for Japan's Haruomi Hosono. He's like a combination of all three above.   Also a pioneer in the electronic music pop world as well. Once was (or is?) a member of The Yellow Magic Orchestra (YMO), who are considered to be in a certain sense The Kraftwerk of Japan. Nevertheless, Hosono is a unique figure in Japanese contemporary music. He is very much a music historian, as well as an artist who can blend various styles that become a Hosono stance.

"Cochin Moon" is an album he made with artist/illustrator Tadanori Yokoo, and it's an exotica electro-impressionistic tour of India. It's like Kraftwerk's "Autobahn," but on a culture that is foreign to both Hosono and Yokoo. The thing with Hosono he is also knowledgeable about Japanese music and its culture. It lurks around whenever he makes music, and there is a cultural 'pun' at work when he approaches music from the West, knowing quite well it's 'exotica' to him. That's one of the beautiful things about his entire catalog that it's an artist's approach at looking at the world around him - in images, imagination, in other words, an illusion.

Yokoo is the executive producer, and I suspect that it was his idea to do this album based on a trip to India that they took in the mid-1970s. Still, beyond that, it's all Hosono. Both got physically ill in India, which influences this album. The last track is "Madam Consul General of Madras," which, as legend has it, served Hosono and Yokoo some Japanese food, and therefore they were healed from what was illing them.  There are touches of Indian music on the album, but it's electronic that flows consistently — an iconic electro album.

Lesley Gore - "I'll Cry If I Want To" Vinyl, LP, Album, Mono, 1963 (Mercury)

Lesley Gore is a unique artist in her time and place.  For one, she had a clear plan artistically, and she thought (or her producer Quincy Jones) of the album as a mood piece, or carry a theme.  Here on this album is the subject matter of tears.  A teenager's tears are the most bittersweet of them all. She is billed on the album cover as "The amazing 17-year-old," and clearly, this is the case. 

There is a defiance in Gore's approach to pop that she has the right to feel blue or to express her feelings fully.  There is an intelligence at work here, and I don't think it was manufactured by her manager, record producer or even adults in the room.  The power of her vocal delivery and the choices of songs on this album makes it a fantastic work.  "It's My Party" is a teenager's lament of existence, yet, her tone is strong that she will not accept this insult any longer.  On the other hand, she is a teenager, and Gore knows that's her natural state of mind and body.   The articulation of her stance is genius-like, in that she even made an answer song or a continuation of the "It's My Party" narration to "Judy's Turn To Cry."  

Claus Ogerman's arrangements are sophisticated, yet in tuned to the teenage market at the time. The whole package is one of intelligence, passion, vision, and Gore's ability to express the everyday angst of a teenager facing a harsh world.  Lesley I feel is very underrated talent. 

Giles, Giles and Fripp - "The Cheerful Insanity of Giles, Giles and Fripp" Vinyl, LP, Album, Reissue, 1968/2013 (Cherry Red Records)

My strange obsession this year (so far) is my appreciation for King Crimson.  The love of this band came out of the blue, and I suspect that I was just bored as well.   I bought the first five albums by King Crimson, and although some I like more than others, it is an exciting era of music making by Robert Fripp and company.  I have always heard of Fripp's first recording but thought it might be a tad weird for my taste.  Alas, I was wrong, and again, it took me decades to finally own and listen to this album.  I have heard about it since the early 1970s.  

Peter Giles and his brother Michael, along with Robert Fripp were a trio band but sounded nothing like a power trio.   What they were was jazzy, British music hall, and in certain degrees baroque pop. They are supported by strings as well as keyboards by Nicky Hopkins and organist Mike Hill.  Giles, Giles, & Fripp were also tuneful songwriters, and even at this moment, I have some of their melodies going through my head.   The album also has running humorous narratives that are very twee, kind of funny, and reminds me a bit of The Small Faces' side two of Odgens' Nut Gone Flake."  

Listening to the album, one does not think the next project would be "In The Court of The Crimson King."  It is similar to listening to Bowie's early recordings that lead up to Ziggy and noticing the huge leaps of musical changes.  However, on the surface, it seems Fripp and company made a huge giant step into another world with King Crimson.  Although I do admire and like Crimson, I think I prefer Giles, Giles, & Fripp.  Fripp's guitar playing is exceptional throughout the album, and all three songwriters in the group have a similar aesthetic that they share.  A good balance.  For those who like the slightly obscure sounds coming out of music in 1968 will like this, as well as fans of The Kinks "Village Green," and the eccentric aspects of the Bonzo Dog Band.  

British Electric Foundation - "Music of Quality & Distinction, Volume 1" Vinyl, LP, 1982 (Virgin)

In the late 70s and early 80s, there was this procedure where bands like Public Image LTD and Heaven 17's British Electric Foundation (B.E.F.) were into the corporate identity.  Not only a group but also a company.  I imagine in those days that there were no band meetings, but instead, and in its place, a board meeting took place.   I'm a massive fan of Heaven 17's first album "Penthouse and Pavement," which at its heart is a synth-pop soul sound, but also mixing in real instruments as well. When Ian Craig Marsh and Martyn Ware left Human League to form Heaven 17/B.E.F., it was an ambitious move on their part.  Through Virgin Records, they clearly wanted to have their separate identity as a production house, songwriting group, as well as having a radical approach to corporation life, which I suspect was in itself a critique of that world. 

With that in mind, and also playing the game of marketing an image/music for the consumer, B.E.F. put together "Music of Quality & Distinction, Volume 1" which is a collection of 1960's Motown soul music with 70's Glam era rock.   Each song had a guest singer, and it was usually an iconic figure in the music world.  You have Tina Turner covering the Temptations' "Ball of Confusion," Sandie Shaw doing "Anyone Had a Heart," and Gary Glitter doing a pretty great glam version of Elvis' "Suspicious Minds."  The brilliant aspect of this project is having singers who were fading out in the mainstream music world at the time, and giving them a decent song, as well as a commentary on their era of music making.   The great Paul Jones of Manfred Mann fame does a remarkable version of Northern Soul "There's a Ghost in My House." 

In 1982, the pop singers on the album that were happening at the moment like the excellent Billy MacKenzie (Associates), Heaven 17's Glenn Gregory, and TV announcer Paula Yates (tragic life that one) making mostly classic music from the 60s.  Gregory does the Jimmy Webb song "Witchita Lineman" as well as Lou Reed's "Perfect Day," which is from the 70s.  Ware and Marsh attempt to freeze an era through music, but the brilliant part is their choice of artists doing the material, yet working in the B.E.F. mode of production and vision. 

For me, MacKenzie never fails.  His version of Bowie's "The Secret Life of Arabia" and Roy Orbison's "It's Over" are magnificent due to Billy's voice and approach to these songs.  Having the Shadows' Hank Marvin on the Orbison song is a nice touch as well.  Again, it's the mixture of electronics with real instrumentation, as well as choosing the right iconic singer doing the material makes this album a real joy. 

Paul Jones - "Sings Songs From The Film 'Privilege'" Vinyl, 45 rpm, 7", EP, UK, 1967 (His Master's Voice)

One of my favorite music that came out of 1967 for new pop was "Paul Jones Sings Songs From the Film 'Privilege.'"  My dad took me to see this film I have to presume sometime in 1968, and it played in a small 'art' movie theater in a building on the Sunset Strip.  One had to know about this theater because there was no advertisement or even acknowledgment that this place existed outside of the theater space.  Overall the film is not that hot, but I was glued to the screen due to Paul Jones performance, both acting and singing, and of course the beauty of Jean Shrimpton.  The story takes place in England when the church decided to match-up with the pop world, circa Paul Jones.  A new form of Fascism takes place where the teenager is influenced by the combination of the Church and pop music.   The film opens up with a great performance by Paul Jones, doing "Free Me," which has a haunted organ and strings arrangement.   A few years later, Alice Cooper would use theatrics that is very similar to the performance in "Privilege." 

Beyond that this EP has four songs, including my beloved "Free Me" as well as the theme "Privilege" and 'I've Been a Bad, Bad Boy, and I think the other song "(My Poor Heart is Surely) Breaking" is not in the film, but alas, memory plays tricks.  Nevertheless, one can get the full original soundtrack album with no problem, and I see it often online or sold in used record stores around Los Angeles and Tokyo.  Still, I prefer the format of the 7" 45 rpm EP, because of the focus on the four songs, which overall is pretty magnificent.  

Paul Jones is known to be the lead vocalist for Manfred Mann in the early and mid-1960s, but he took a strange solo career that was equally pop and his natural love for rhythm n' blues.  A great voice, and presence, I feel Jones is overlooked these days, and he is a great vocalist.   The solo career is spotty, but his work with the band Manfred Mann is brilliant.  And his other highlight is "Privilege." 

Talk Talk - "Laughing Stock" Vinyl, LP, Album, Reissue, 2016/1991 (Polydor)

Friends of mine who have taste always recommended Talk Talk to me.  For years I have avoided hearing their music, not due to being put-off by the band, but just totally absorb into the music of my choice at the time.  It wasn't until Mark Hollis passed away this past month that I decided to make the leap and I purchased "Laughing Stock," which is I think was the last Talk Talk album.  

I was first introduced to Talk Talk in Reseda California when I worked at Licorice Pizza.  We got free tickets to see Talk Talk at a nightclub in the San Fernando Valley.  At the time, they had a hit song "Talk Talk" which I thought was strange that it was the name of the band as well.  At the time, it bothered me that they both had a song and a band name that was the same.  In my psyche, I felt that this wasn't right.  I have a faint memory of seeing them, and I think it was Holley singing lead, and then there was a bass player, keyboard, and drums.  Very minimal in that fashion.  They didn't leave a strong impression on me at the time.  What impressed me later is that they abandoned the new wave world into the moody jazz planet. Or I was told that by numerous acquaintances.

I like "Laughing Stock." I like it a lot.  My first impression is always to make a comparison of what you hear, and try to match it with another artist. In this case, it reminds me of a bit of  Steve Winwood / Traffic meeting David Sylvian solo recordings.  Talk Talk is more abstract than those two. It's hard to define their sound, which is dreamy and also free of electronics but use the recording studio in a manner that is like an additional musician in the band.  Which sounds like Eno, but Talk Talk work on a different type of canvas than Brian Eno.   

Six songs but it are easy to drift from one track to the next.  The appearance of the songs seems laid back, but there is actually bits of noise or extreme electric guitar sounds which for sure, does not make this music ambient by any means.  There's an electric Miles Davis vibe attached to the aural landscape as well.  The beauty of the music is that it's not easy to put into words, but as music, as one listens to it, the album makes excellent sense.