The 2013 Advent-ure #3

I have found myself listening to more and more jazz and jazz-fusion in recent months. I have blown hot on jazz more than once before in my life, so my desire for it may wane again but right now I can’t see that happening this time.

This renewed interest has been partly fuelled by some great albums picked up in charity shops and car boots this year. Here’s a case in point.

Caldera were a short lived group, active in the latter half of the Seventies, recording four albums.

The album I picked up earlier this year, “blind”, was their third “Time And Chance”. Their sound certainly carries influences from Return To Forever and Weather Report (who also found their way into my collection this year), with a strong Latin edge. Also, one track on this album – “Shanti” - could very easily have appeared on an Earth, Wind & Fire album, but that is no surprise really as Larry Dunn was involved in it. It was probably meant as the commercial “in” to the album. I’m going to go with a track that represents the latin tinged jazzier feel that is most prevalent on the album, the appropriately named “Mosaico”. 

I have noticed that the track times on the label do not match in any instance with those on the cover (the sort of minutiae that only a true vinyl addict would notice, I guess!) , all I can say is this one is 7 minutes long or thereabouts and is worth every minute.

Caldera – Mosaico  1978

        

The Annual Advent-ure

It’s December already! Here we go then. This is the third year I have been doing this so I guess it can be called a tradition now. A post a day from now until Christmas. This year every record posted will be something I have acquired this year, mostly at car boot sales or charity shops. In truth, the majority of records I pick up in such places don’t fall into the soul/funk/jazz/reggae category, but many are worth sharing, so this year I am going to alternate the daily posts between Feel It and my, to date, very occasional other blog The Hi-Fi Cabinet Of Curiosities. So you will find the usual brew here and “everything/anything else” in the Cabinet.

First up is Jess(i)e Anderson on his True Love Express. This one was actually a mailbox find.  Chess and Cadet 45s can suffer more than most from poor pressings but this one is a really good quality one, and nice and thick vinyl too.

I can find no really concrete information on Jess(i)e other than he started singing in a group called Willie Wright & His Sparklers – great name.

Chicago again! File under stone groove.

All aboard the Feel It Advent-ure.

Jessie Anderson – True Love Express  1966

(PS: sorry about the fuzzy picture).

    

A rarity in more ways than one

This one arrived at chez Feel It last week in the same package as last week's offering. This is the B-side. I had bought it for the A-side so turning it over and playing this was a big bonus. A lovely slice of late Sixties Chicago (although actually I suppose it hasn't strictly got the classic Chicago sound), it was the Bamboo label's debut release, and being a solid green label I think makes it a regional first issue. 

As far as I can ascertain this was Sylvia Thomas' only appearance on wax. A pity.

You can listen to a very well executed extended edit of the A-side over on YouTube. (The track on the 45 only runs to about 3:30). 

As for "At Last" it's not on YouTube - which makes it something of a rarity in more ways than one!

Sylvia Thomas - At Last 1968  



  

See what I go through to bring you these sounds?

This 45 represents a third of the contents of a little package that dropped through the letterbox today and made its way onto my turntable in double quick time. Too quick in fact. I hadn’t noticed the record was covered in a sort of vaguely sticky film (for want of a better description). The record wasn’t playing well at all. The subsequent record didn’t play well either. I whipped the stylus off and put it under the magnifying glass. Where was the stylus? Encased in that great wadge of gunk (I hoped). After a careful bit of stroking with a small paintbrush the gunk was removed and the stylus was revealed again. Out with the magic fluid and Jeannie was given a good clean and polish. Back to the turntable, stylus returned to the cartridge, “needle to the record” and ..… no sound coming out of one channel. Putting the stylus back on had disturbed the cartridge connections (which have been giving me a bit of trouble lately). Some fiddling and prodding ensued and finally I managed to play this 45 with no distortion, and out of both channels.

I understand there may be easier ways to listen to music nowadays!

I can find virtually no information on Jeannie Piersol . She had two releases on Cadet Concept, a sister label to Cadet which featured Rock and 'more adventurous' music, (and Rotary Connection).  I have only just realised it was also the US label home of Status Quo in the late Sixties – Pictures Of Matchstick Men was the second release on the label, Rotary Connection having the first (of course).

The writing credit on this track is Darby Slick. Darby’s sister was Grace Slick. Darby and Grace were both founding members of the San Fransisco based rock band The Great! Society!! in the mid Sixties and it seems that Jean Piersol was also a vocalist with that band for a short period in 1965. That’s as much as I have been able to find out.    

Time to push the furniture to the edges of the room again.

Jeannie Piersol – Your Sweet Inner Self  1968/9

Tapping My Feet #17 - Let The Music Play

This one has been inspired a bit of Friday night "Yeah Baby" action over at DavyH's blogcave. 

I had to interrupt the playing of my latest charity shop purchase to record this one. What is my latest purchase I don't hear you ask? I'll tell you anyway - it's Pinky & Perky's rare album (at least it has virtually no presence on the internet) "Pinky & Perky's Melodymaster", and very enjoyable it is too (surprisingly!).    

Anyway, back to Charles Earland with a jazz-funk classic. You will need to push the kitchen table to one side for this one. (The B-side of this I had completely forgotten -i.e. when I played new back in '78 it didn't have that, then essential, jazz-funk vibe - but is very good in a totally different way and I must post it here soon).

Charles Earland - Let The Music Play 1978

Hot toddy

Uh-oh.  I feel a cold coming on. Time for the honey and lemon, and the whisky of course. 

Or I could just play this (again), it has the same soothing effect.

I was very happy to receive this via the letter box recently.

Everything you could want to know about the wonderful Willie West can be found here.

Willie West – Keep You Mine 1966

Slept on too long

I heard a Candido track on the radio last night. I thought - I’ve got this.

It was easy to find because I knew it was filed away under C in my Expedit full of my “original collection” from back in the day. I’ve slept on this one for far too long. I seem to remember Jingo was the track that made me buy this album, but all four tracks on the LP are joyous, percussion driven, dance floor movers. The lyrics may be basic but that is not the point of such records, there is more than enough going on in the mix to mean you don’t need to be in the vicinity of a dance floor to enjoy them. Also, although all the tracks are long – it was recorded in the middle of the disco age after all – they don’t feel over long as so much of the disco output did.

By the looks of my LP I didn’t play it nearly as much as I should have done back in ’79. My gain now though, the LP is in mint condition and sounds great.

Thousand Finger Man is the track that I heard last night. Candido Camero originally recorded this in 1970. I haven’t heard the original version but expect it is very different from this 1979 version which, I think now, sounds way ahead of its time.  

Candido has a recording career stretching back to the 50s. He was 58 when he recorded this track. He is still alive, and turned 92 last month.

That’s what congas and bongos can do for you!

Candido – Thousand Finger Man 1979