Air Supply...their second Eponymous album, but their eighth overall...

Air Supply...OK, this album cover and photo thereof, is really more about my Photoshop skills.  I took two separate photos, one each of the front and back covers and using Photoshop, I merged the images into one photo.  Then I cropped that image.  You get the idea.  This album is called Air Supply, it is the eighth studio and second eponymous album by Australian soft rock band Air Supply, released in 1985.  It has the same name as the band itself, that is referred to as "eponymous."  But I thought a band can only name an album the same as the band's name just once - usually it would be the band's debut album.  Any who...The album was a step down in the band's sales, reaching gold certification and #26 in the US charts.  The single "Just As I Am" was their last major entry on the charts, reaching #19 on theBillboard Hot 100, while their interpretation of the Jennifer Rush song "The Power of Love" became a minor hit, reaching #68.

Miles Davis - Tutu...

Miles Davis - Tutu...I finally own a Miles Davis album.  Not that I will play it, it's more for saying I have it, than for actually playing it.  Like some clothes I still own.  My god, is there a more haunting album cover?  His stare on the right (front cover) follows you.  I can't think of any words other than cosmic messenger of genius to describe this guy.  I probably don't care all that much for his music, but I totally GET that it remains groundbreaking and influential today.  This is a good post for a dreary Friday I suppose. Cover photos by the great Irving Penn.  George Duke plays on this album, name for Desmond Tutu, as does the great Brazilian percussionist, Paulinho da Costa.  It was produced by Marcus Miller, and although I can't find it in the liner notes, but I am guessing it was recorded at Columbia 30th Street Studio, aka - The Church, where Miles made many other records.

Jim Marshall - The Father of Loud; Marshall Amps - Celebrating 50 Years of the Marshall Sound...

Jim Marshall - the Father of Loud.  James Charles "Jim" Marshall, OBE, born July 29, 1923 - ), in London), is THEE pioneer of guitar amplification, and ergo, rock concert-level music we dig.  The photo above was taken and cropped by your faithful blogger.  You will recognize it from the front of the made in japan Deep Purple album.  I am using  it because it has that looming and ominous Marshall stack visible.  Thanks to Bruce in my LinkedIn vinyl record collectors group, he's ID'ed the band members in the photo, L to R as: Jon Lord – organ, Roger Glover – bass, Ian Gillan - vocals (& congas apparently), Ian Paice – drums, and Ritchie Blackmore – on geetar.  From sources available on the Internet..."Jim's company, Marshall Amplification, continues to produce amplifiers having an iconic status in the rock world.  Jim Marshall was born in Acton, West London, to a family which included boxers and music hall artists.  He started off as a singer, and then, due to the shortage of available civilian musicians during WWII, he doubled as a drummer.  In his day job as electrical engineer he built a portable amplification system so his light, crooning vocals could be heard over his drums.  "I was making 10 shillings a night and because it was wartime, we didn't have any petrol for cars, so I would ride my bicycle with a trailer behind it to carry my drum kit and the PA cabinets, which I had made!  I then left the orchestra to be with a 7 piece band and in 1942 the drummer leader was called into the forces and I took over on drums."  In order to become more proficient on the drums and to better emulate his idol, Gene Krupa, from 1946-48 Marshall took weekly lessons from Max Abrams.  In 1949 Jim started teaching other drummers, including Mitch Mitchell (The Jimi Hendrix Experience), Micky Burt (Chas and Dave), Mickey Waller (Little Richard) and Micky Underwood (Ritchie Blackmore).  "I used to teach about 65 pupils a week and what with playing as well, I was earning in the early 1950s somewhere in the region of £5,000 a year, which was how I first saved money to go into business."   After a successful career as a drummer and teacher of drum technique, Jim Marshall went into business in 1962, starting a small shop in Hanwell, London, selling drums, cymbals and drum-related accessories; he also gave drum lessons.  According to Jim, Ritchie Blackmore, Pete Townshend and other guitarists often came into the shop and asked why Marshall was not selling or producing guitar equipment.  Marshall Ltd. later expanded and started selling guitars and amplifiers, the most notable of which at the time were the Fender amplifiers imported from America.  These were very popular with guitarists and bass players, but were very expensive.  He thought he could produce a cheaper alternative to American-made guitar amplifiers, but he had limited experience as an electrical engineer.  He enlisted the help of his shop repairman Ken Bran and an EMI technician named Dudley Craven, and between them they decided they most liked the sound of the 4x10" Fender Bassman.  They made several prototypes using the Fender Bassman amp as a model.  The sixth prototype produced, in Jim's words, the "Marshall Sound."  The first few production units almost copied the Bassman circuit, with American military surplus 5881 power valves, a relative of the 6L6. Speakers were then rarely able to handle more than 15 watts, which meant that an amplifier approaching 50 watts had to use four speakers.  For their Bassman, Fender used four Jensen speakers in the same cabinet as the amplifier, but Marshall chose to separate the amplifier from the speakers, and placed four 12-inch Celestion speakers in a separate closed-back cabinet instead of the four 10-inch Jensens in an open-back combo.  Other crucial differences fro Marshall were the use of higher-gain ECC83 valves throughout the preamp, and the introduction of a capacitor/resistor filter after the volume control.  These circuit changes gave the amp more gain so that it broke into overdrive sooner on the volume control than the Bassman, and boosted the treble frequencies. This new amplifier, tentatively called the "Mark II", was eventually named the "JTM 45," after Jim and his son Terry Marshall and the max. wattage of the amplifier."

Buddy Rich - the Roar of '74...

Buddy Rich - the Roar of '74...this record is HC, as the say in the French bike race.  That abbreviation stands for Hors catégorie, a French term to designate something (usually a climb) that is "beyond categorization." This record and especially the awesome front and back covers are just that - HC.  The Roar of '74 is a 1973 studio album by the Buddy Rich big band, released on the Groove Merchant Records label in the USA. The album was released in the UK in 1974 on the Mooncrest label by B & C Records.  There are tons of jazz (likely) greats who play on this record - in his Big Band, the only one I recognize is the great bass player, Tony Levin.

Pure Prairie League: A must-play song on Every Jukebox...

Pure Prairie League.  The photo here of these two record albums, clipped together, is the new background of my Facebook page.  If (when?) I ever own a bar, it will have an old jukebox, not a digital one, and it will have a select few songs on it, permanently.  I may swap in and out a few current songs and others depending on season or mood, but it will ALWAYS have these on it:  PPL's Falling in and out of Love/Amie.  David Allen Coe's You Never Even Called me By My Name.  The Foundations' Build me up, Buttercup.  Zeppelin's Heartbreaker/Livin Lovin Maid.  He Stopped Loving Her Today.  Dreams, by Van Halen.  Talk to you Later, by the Tubes.  And Mel McDaniels' Baby's Got Her Blue Jeans On.  On the Dark Side, by John Cafferty & the Beaver Brown Band.  Girl Can't Help It, Journey.  And my personal theme song: Jerry Doucette's Mama Let Him Play.  Will add others as they occur to me...

Neil Young tribute - by special request

One of my long-ago and dear pals from way back in grade school, Sara, is a Neil Young fan, so I told her I would post photos here of some of my Neil Young albums.  Another pal of mine, Michael, who works down the hall from me, is also a huge Neil Young fan.  I have been after Michael for a while to write a Guest Post for me here on Neil Young, since he is such an expert and has seen Neil in concert a few dozen times.  The albums shown here are: On the Beach (above), After the Gold Rush, (below), and Everybody Know this is Nowhere (bottom).

John Denver's DLA - a great Double Live Album

This is John Denver's DLA...the great Hal Blaine plays on this great Double Live Album.  An Evening With John Denver is a live album of music performed by American singer-songwriter John Denver. It was recorded at the Universal Amphitheatre in Los Angeles, California in August and September 1974. He is backed by an orchestra conducted by Lee Holdridge.   More on Hal Blaine, who is still alive.  Hal Blaine (born Harold Simon Belsky, born 5 February 1929, Holyoke, Massachusetts) is an American drummer and session musician.  He is most known for his work with the Wrecking Crew in California. Blaine played on numerous hits by popular groups, including Elvis Presley, John Denver, the Ronettes, Simon & Garfunkel, the Carpenters, the Beach Boys, Nancy Sinatra, and the 5th Dimension. Blaine is a member of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.