The Mandrake Memorial -"The Mandrake Memorial" Vinyl, LP, Album, Stereo, 1968 (Poppy)

For the past month or so, I have been reading the publication "Flashback" which comes out of the UK, and it's a magazine totally devoted to bands that fell through the cracks in the years 1968 through 1975.  Total music nerd material, and in one of the issues there is a 30-page article on a group called The Mandrake Memorial.   Failure has always been an attraction to me, especially when it comes to artists/bands that almost make it, yet fail.   I found a copy of their first album "The Mandrake Memorial" online and purchased it.  A gem of an album.

The music reminds me of Jack Bruce's work in Cream, with the vocals, but with the added touch of The Doors here and there.  A sitar comes in once in awhile in the mix, and of course, the album yells out 'it's 1968.'  One of the unique sounds that come out of The Mandrake Memorial is their keyboards.  Ofen a harpsichord, but their keyboardist, Michael Kac, was in electronics, and re-wired the instruments, in a manner of Brian Eno.  Their harpsichord sound is loud and aggressive, not played in a 'baroque' manner at all.  

The album is co-produced by Tony Bongiovi, and I gather this is his first production on an album.  He later produced Talking Heads and The Ramones.   The composition of all ten songs are by the band, and they have a dreamy approach, but the lyrics are very much of that era.  Still, I really like this record. 

Cream - "Goodbye" Vinyl, LP, Album, 1969 (ATCO Records)

Cream at its most magnificent and at its worse.  To get to the bad part of Cream, for me, it's their live recordings.  All on side one, "I'm So Glad" "Sitting on Top of The World" and "Politician."  Three fantastic songs, but overplayed and way too long.  When I hear recordings of Cream playing live, it seems like it's a miracle that they know when or how to end the song.  On the flip side, their studio recordings are tight, well-arranged, and always a trace of exotic touches, such as Jack Bruce's cello playing - and then there is his magnificent voice.  "Doing That Scrapyard Thing" is a brilliant Bruce and Peter Brown song.  A magnificent pop record.  The other surprise is Ginger Baker's song contributions.  "What A Bringdown" is also a snappy and great pop tune.  Clapton with the assistance of the mysterious George Harrison comes up with "Badge," of the better Eric songs. Still, it doesn't compare to the Bruce and Ginger contribution.  Eric is a technically great guitarist, but I always felt he was the one that could leave the band, and they can find someone better.  If they had Chris Spedding - now that would make the Cream engine go-go.   The studio sides also had the talent of  Felix Pappalardi, who had the light touch, but with the arrangements that were usually fantastic. 

Cream - "Wheels of Fire - In the Studio" Vinyl, LP, Album, UK, 1968 (Polydor)

I recently purchased this copy of Cream's "Wheels of Fire" because it's my dream version of the album.  No live album came with it, this edition is just the studio recordings.   I loathe Cream live.  On the other hand, I adore their adventuresome studio sides.  For one, the magnificent "White Room" which is one of the great songs to come out of 1968.   I'm a huge fan of Jack Bruce's voice and songwriting talents at this time of his career, and his work with lyricist Pete Brown, as well as the tension between him and Ginger Baker, made Cream a fascinating band.  The only weak link is Eric Clapton, who greatly contribute his guitar work in the mix, but I never felt he was up there with Ginger and Jack.  

Of the three main Cream albums, Clapton is almost an invisible presence on the studio side of the double package.  He didn't write any of the songs, and if memory serves me correctly, nor did he sing lead on any of these songs.  Guitar yes, but what comes to mind when listening to the record is Baker's drum patterns, which to me is always like the waves hitting the coastline, but there is a natural rhythm, but always with a twist.   He also contributes three songs as a songwriter, co-written with Mike Taylor, who was a Soho London Jazzier, who tragically drowned in the River Thames in 1969.  The rest is Jack Bruce/Pete Brown, with two covers. 

The original songs on "Wheels of Fire" are superb. Bruce and Brown couldn't go wrong with respect to their material.  They are almost chamber pieces with Bruce doing a lot of overdubs or with the assistance of the producer Felix Pappalardi, who added Violas, for instance on "White Room."  The surprising aspect is the strength of the Baker/Taylor material, which is a tragedy that they didn't produce more songs.  Cream only lasted for two years.  They were the first super-groups, to become even more super, with the formation of Blind Faith.  Still, I marvel at their sense of adventure, mostly due to the Bruce/Baker team-up. 

Manfred Mann - "The Very Best of Manfred Mann 1963-1966" Vinyl, LP, Compilation, 1984 (Music For Pleasure/EMI)

As of now, one of the most underrated bands of the British Invasion is Manfred Mann.  They had hits in the United States (Do-Wah-Diddy-Diddy) but made a more significant presence in the U.K. and Europe during the years 1963 to 1966.  The original line-up of Manfred Mann was great, due to certain aspects of the band.  For one, the musicianship is top-notch, and besides being blues-based, they also had a strong jazz orientation to Manfred Mann's (the individual) skills with the keyboard, specifically the organ. Mike Hugg, their drummer, is very jazz orientated in his playing, and there is a lightness in this touch on the percussion instruments that make their sound unique at the time.  The other source of their greatness is their frontman and vocalist Paul Jones.  He's exceptional.  Jones could sing the blues (in a British manner) but also a superb pop ballad vocalist as well as a good songwriter.  The fact for a brief second he was the lead singer of The Rolling Stones, is no joke.  Still, the strength of all musicians is that they are schooled in the roots of modern blues and jazz, but was a pop band as well. 

If one takes the long approach, there are three chapters in the Manfred Mann's (the band) narrative.  The Paul Jones era then came a different singer and writer Mike D'Abo (who sort of looked like Paul Jones, but more pop orientated), and then Manfred Mann Chapter 3, which turned into Manfred Mann's Earth Band.  All bands including Mike Hugg, their drummer, and a songwriter as well. 

This album focuses on the Paul Jones era, and there are many delights on this greatest hits collection.  Of course, the fantastic "Do-Wah-Diddy-Diddy" which is so thrilling and happy sounding, that its simplicity is almost zen-like happiness wrapped in a song. "Pretty Flamingo" is the other classic pop single by the Manns, and that I believe features the talents of Jack Bruce on bass.  The other element that is part of the puzzle of this band is Mann's instrumentals, which their very first single "Why Should We Not" is very noir sounding, and there is that Manfred Mann's world perhaps in Soho London.  I can easily imagine Francis Bacon hearing this song on some jukebox in a Soho bar sometime in the early 1960s.   

Manfred Mann did a lot of covers, but one thing that they had a strong focus on is Bob Dylan. I think Manfred Mann shared the same song publisher, so he was able to hear Dylan demos or music sheets before anyone else, and therefore I think they were one of the great interpreters of Dylan's music at the time.  Paul Jones to me was the perfect singer for Dylan's early material.   And if not mistaken, Dylan was a fan of the band.  Nevertheless, this is a super enjoyable collection. 

Cream - "Fresh Cream" Vinyl, LP, Album, Reissue, 1966/2008 (Vinyl Lovers)

The greatest contribution Eric Clapton made to Cream, is not his guitar work, but vocally backing up the magnificent Jack Bruce.  Clapton's voice comes almost as an inner-thought to Bruce's narration or words.   in an odd way, Cream was a band that had two separate identities or approaches.  One is live on stage, and number 2, is the studio.  Ginger Baker, Bruce, and Clapton made magnificent music in the studio, their live performances is another matter altogether.  There is confusion instead of clarity in Cream.  For one they are for sure a blues-based band, but what makes their work interesting is the experimental side or their occasional approach to pop.  Their blues material is OK, but it's the pop side that I find interesting and that's mostly due to Bruce's (and Pete Brown the lyricist) approach to the song.   "Fresh Cream" is their first album, which has many charms, but for me, it's all Jack Bruce. 

The other star in the trio is Ginger Baker.  He plays drums with character and personality.  In no fashion is his work session-like.   Heavy on the cymbals, but with a jazz feeling, him and Bruce are unique rhythm section that sounds different, but in theory close to the Entwistle and Moon combo in The Who.   The outstanding song here is Bruce's "Dreaming" which is a beautiful ballad, with Clapton's voice following Bruce, like chasing a faint dream.  It's the song that made me re-buy this album.  That song, plus "The Coffee Song," "I Feel Free," and the magnificent "Wrapping Paper" are almost forgotten works of songwriting craft and vision. 

Cream is important, I think due to their approach of being a trio power band, but again, it's the soft moments that I think are their strength.  As Cream went on (not that long, I think the band lasted just a bit over two years), it's Bruce being the multi-instrumentalist, with Clapton backing him in a conservative manner musically speaking.   Also, another trio was making the rounds around the same time as Cream, which was The Jimi Hendrix Experience, where I think making comparisons between the guitarists, made Clapton re-think his career.   Still, Clapton served Cream well.  Jack Bruce/Ginger Baker was the entrance and Clapton closed doors. 

Lou Reed - "Berlin" Vinyl, LP, Album, Reissue, 2008/1973 (RCA)

Lou Reed's "Berlin" has some of his greatest songs, but as a narrative concept album, it's weak.  Side one is perfect, but the other side's pace is slow, almost an after-thought than anything else.   The beauty of Lou Reed is that he was very much of an artist who wanted to do something new on the next record.  The previous album "Transformer" is a masterpiece, and I think the last of his work that had traces of his years in The Velvet Underground.  "Berlin" is very much 1973 Lou, and what's interesting is that at the time of this recording of the album, he never been to Berlin.  So it's an artist's projection of a city and culture that he only got through second-hand channels. 

Berlin has always been a mythological metropolis to me. I went there in the 1980s when the wall was still up.  I liked the city, but I was disappointed that Sally Bowles wasn't around nor Bertolt Brecht. In other words, I totally had a "Berlin" in my head that no longer exists.   And on top of that, Berlin reminded me in parts, of Los Angeles, my hometown.   So when "Berlin" came out, I totally saw this project as a documentary or something Lou had experienced first-hand.  Then again, the role of the artist is always to do illusionary magic, and the album is very much an illusion as well in parts, a magnificent pop album.  

Besides the iconic Lou Reed vocals and lyrics, the album features the aggressive bass playing of Jack Bruce.  "Berlin" is one of my favorite 'bass' albums.   It's always thrilling to hear Bruce's work, and I think on this album he did a magnificent job.   Like Jah Wobble or Mick Karn, Bruce was a very strong bassist, who was equally unique in his playing or sound.   The other great thing about the album is the overall production by Bob Ezrin.   Overproduced and making the music sound like a huge production with full orchestra, powerful drumming (Procol Harum's B.J. Wilson and Aynsley Dunbar), plus the twin guitars of Steve Hunter and Dick Wagner, this was a group of musicians who played huge on the aural soundtrack.   In a certain style, "Berlin" has an operatic quality of being bigger than life, and that's a plus for this album. 

In theory, it would have been great if the album was just an EP of the first six songs.   Side two is just over emotional and almost a bad taste Christmas card.  Still, it's an important Lou Reed album, in the context with the rest of his recordings. 

Jack Bruce - Songs for a Tailor" CD, Album, Reissue, 2003/1969 (Polydor)

Jack Bruce was my guy in Cream.  I never was a fan of Eric Clapton, even though as a teenager I fell for his "importance" due to my friends at the time.   Except for "Badge" and a few others, the Jack-Cream songs were it.  And as much as possible I tried to stay as far away from the Cream live recordings.  I hated them in 1968, and I still dislike them.  But Jack Bruce/Cream/Peter Brown part of Cream, almost perfect.   In 1969, I did buy the Jack Bruce song because I knew it had to be good.  And good it is, if not fantastic.  

Since Bruce is a bass player, the bass is way up high or part of the overall mix on this album, and I love that.  His playing embraces and holds the song as a frame, with the melody and the other stuff inside the frame.  An underrated songwriter, and the fact that he had an open mind with respect to different types of music - such as jazz and the experimental side of pop music making or unique collaborations.  Clapton never went there, and Ginger Baker, God bless him, also was an adventurer at heart.  Another artist that comes to mind is Mick Karn, who was the bass player for the band Japan. There is that jazzy, strong bass holding the material together.  Karn's first solo album is emotionally direct as well as his bass playing.  Perhaps a strange connection, but listening to the Bruce album, it brings memories of Karn as well. 

"Songs for a Tailor" is for me the next step after the studio side of Cream's "Wheels of Fire."  "Rope Ladder to the Moon" could have been part of the "Wheels of Fire" album.  It's cello/bass, and dynamic acoustic guitar playing (by Bruce) is dreamy but rhythmic.  One has to give notice to the poetic lyrics by Peter Brown, and it's interesting that Bruce worked with such a literary bent, then say "I love you do you love me" rhyme/sentiment.   Still, there is an emotional pull in their songs.  Brown's lyrics are baroque and visual, and Bruce treats them not only as a personal statement but also 'performs' these songs though his singing.   I can imagine Bruce being in a musical. 

The beauty of "Songs for a Tailor" is Bruce expanding his canvas or landscape and filling it with a strong essence of wonderful songs, but again, his voice and bass playing is essential here.  It's obvious to me that he needed to get out of the Cream framework because I think it became too confining.   It's a great album to revisit time-to-time.  "Songs For a Tailor" still sounds strong and mighty.