Carly Simon - Boys in the Trees

Carly Simon - Boys in the Trees.  The list of musicians and player who do NOT play on this record would be shorter than the one that shows who does play on it.  I swear, everyone but Franz Liszt and John Bonham are on this record.  It's a nice album cover and suits her and the music.  This record was produced by - Arif Mardin.  Here is more on him.  It is my hunch that he was good friends with - or at least had to know - Ahmet Ertegun.  He is from Istanbul, born March 15, 1932 – New York, June 25, 2006, was a Turkish-American music producer, who worked with hundreds of artists across many different styles of music, including jazz, rock, soul, disco, and country. He worked at Atlantic Records for over 30 years, as both an assistant, producer, arranger, studio manager, and vice president, before moving to EMI and serving as vice president and general manager of Manhattan Records.  Mardin's collaborations include working with Queen, The Bee Gees, Anita Baker, Aretha Franklin, Bette Midler, Laura Branigan, Chaka Khan, Scritti Politti, Phil Collins, Daniel Rodriguez, Norah Jones, Richard Marx, Culture Club and Jewel. Mardin was awarded 11 Grammy Awards.

Toto - A Super Group - or a mushy confederacy of top session players?

Toto - were they a Super Group?  I think so.  Toto is/was an assemblage of top career sidemen and session men into a stand alone group, of which Rolling Stone magazine commented that that attempt was an abject failure.  I think history shows not.  This is the first of their 12 albums, that ran from this one - out in 1978, that ran all the way to 2006.  This, their eponymous debut album has a breakout smash on it, called Hold the Line.  I was sampling songs onYouTube by someone who's channel is Slayd5K.  His channel is all vinyl.  The song I stumbled upon is call Georgy Porgy.  "Hold the Line" spent six weeks in the Top 10, and reached number 14 in the UK as well.  Although not initially very well received by critics, the band quickly gained a following, and the album gained a reputation for its characteristic sound, mixing soft pop with both synth and hard rock elements. The band would venture deeper into hard rock territory on their next album.  Toto's main members are/were:  Toto is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1977.  The group currently consists of Joseph Williams (lead vocals), David Paich (keyboards), Steve Porcaro (keyboards), Steve Lukather (guitars, vocals), Mike Porcaro (bass), and Simon Phillips (drums).  Their style to me is sort of west coast version of Hall & Oats.  Buttery smooth, some tight fills, slick production, and very inside the box.  But - catchy and listenable songs.  Perhaps soft rock is a bad or inaccurate label.  David Paich and Jeff Porcaro had played on some albums together and decided to form a band. David Hungate, Steve Lukather, Steve Porcaro and Bobby Kimball were recruited to join.  Then in 1992, Simon Phillips was asked to fill in for Jeff Porcaro after Porcaro died during rehearsals for the upcoming tour to promote Toto`s Kingdom of Desire album. Steve Lukather stated that he would only go on tour so shortly after Porcaro died if Toto could get Simon to play the tour, so he was the first and only drummer that the band contacted to replace Porcaro. After the 1992/93 tour Simon was asked to join Toto as a permanent member.

Hey - it's not all about LP's here: Two Awesome 45's - Jigsaw and U.S.A. Records

These are from my crate of 2 or 3 thousand 45's.  I rarely take them out.  Sad to say, but my 45's are in disarray.   Just heaved into a storage tub, and roughly categorized in ziploc bags.  Shameful, I know!  Last summer I scored a box of approx. 150 for ten bucks at a garage sale.  I had no idea Sky High by Jigsaw was such an awesome song.  The other 45 (in the photo, on right) is important based on the label - U.S.A. Records.  Greg Kot, the rock music critic in the Tribune, last year  reviewed a 2-DC compilation called “2131 South Michigan Avenue: '60s Garage & Psychedelia from U.S.A. and Destination Records.”  Kot wrote – “the compilation highlights the ‘60s Golden Age of Midwestern garage-rock, when bands such as the Buckinghams, the Cryan’ Shames, and the Flock scored national hits. Housed in a dingy recording studio at 2131 South Michigan Avenue across the street from Chess Records in Chicago, the U.S.A. label and its Destination offshoot signed those marquee names and dozens more who never were heard from again, some with good reason.  But there are more than enough shots of one-hit-wonder creativity amid these 40 tracks to justify the release, in particular the thrift-store psychedelia of Park Avenue Playground’s “The Trip,” the Near North Side sneer of the teenage Foggy Notions, the rooster-in-a-henhouse strut of the Lost Agency’s “One Girl Man,” and Oscar Hamod & the Majestics boasting, “I’m the soul finger, bay-beee!” over a nasty fuzz-tone guitar.” Thanks Greg!

Flock of Seagulls

Flock of Seagulls.  This is actually their 2nd album - from 1982.  From 1981 to 1985 they put out 5 records - one each year.  But this is the only one I own, thank goodness.  It really is a good representation of that era and the post-punk movement, which I never bought into.  And I just think this song - is getting closer to becoming my favorite song of the that era (the early to mid-eighties); it is call Space Age Love Song.  Give it a listen.  It's a catchy tune that holds up well.  FOS had bigger hits like I Ran (So Far Away) and then they flamed out a bit.  Didn't they all?  I read that back in 2003, the original line-up (brother Mike and Ali Score, Paul Reynolds and Frank Maudsley) reunited for a one-off performance on the VH1 series called Bands Reunited. And later in 2004, FOS reformed and played a small number of live shows in the States, but broke up (again) immediately afterward.

Davadip Carlos Santana - Well, Alright!

While rearranging my album bins recently (to make room for more!) the two crates that hold all my S's popped up in a new location.  And that letter group starts off with Santana up front - for good reason.  On the left is the back cover of his record, Festival.  And on the right side is the back cover of his eponymously titled debut, and debut album.  That one has the song that put him on that map - it is called Soul Sacrifice.  I have read many sources and books on Woodstock - and have viewed the concert film dozens of time.  On that authority, and prevailing wisdom, Santana's performance of Soul Sacrifice - at that moment of the entire the 3.5 days of the Woodstock festival, was the event's pinnacle.  The recorded sound quality, the cooperating weather, the camera angles, the band being so into the moment - it must have been pure magic.  Go back and listen to that.  Carlos also does a killer cover of a cover.  Many acts (Blind Faith, Dave Mason) have done Buddy Holly's Well Alright, from his album Inner Secrets.  I think Santana's is the best of the lot.  And as for late-seventies "rockin' out," as we used to say - try the tune called All I Ever Wanted off the album called Marathon - click on this post's tile to see and hear it.