Hank Crawford - Mr. Blues; on Atlantic Records

This is Hank Crawford - Mr. Blues.  His full name is Bennie Ross "Hank" Crawford, Jr. (Born 1934 – 2009), he was an influential American R&B, hard bop, jazz-funk, soul jazz alto saxophonist, arranger, and songwriter.  Hand Crawford was musical director for Ray Charles, before he embarked on a solo career, during which time he released many well-regarded albums for jazz record labels CTI Records and then on to Milestone Records.  This is a mono recording, as we can see from that classic Atlantic logo in powder blue - Mono 1470, to be exact.  On the inside cover, I read this nugget: Recording Engineers: Tom Dowd & Phil Iehle.  Supervision: Nesuhi Ertegun and Arif Mardin.  Hank played on Eric Clapton's Journeyman in 1989.  I wish the liner notes noted which studio this record was made in.  Since it was Dowd and Nesuhi, in 1967 - likely it was at their second one, located at 1841 Broadway, at 60th Street.

Marvin Gaye - Let's Get it On

Let's Get It On was the twelfth studio album by American soul musician Marvin Gaye.  It was released on August 28, 1973, on Tamla Records, which I believe is a Motown imprint.  The version I bought, shown above, is in very bad condition, but still - since it's one of the most significant records ever made, I acquired it.  Recording sessions for the album took place during June 1970 to July 1973 at Hitsville U.S.A., (the nickname given to Motown's first headquarters, at 2648 West Grand Boulevard in Detroit, Michigan,), at Golden World Studio in Detroit, and at Hitsville West in Los Angeles.  Gaye's first venture into the funk genre and romance-themed music, Let's Get It On captures a blend of soul, doo-wop, and balladry.  This record is universally acclaimed for its sexually suggestive lyrics, and was cited by one writer as "one of the most sexually charged albums ever recorded."  Following the breakthrough success of his socially conscious, anti-war album What's Going On (1971), this album establish Marvin Gaye as an icon and furthered his mainstream appeal.  It spawned three singles, "Let's Get It On", "Come Get to This", and "You Sure Love to Ball," each attaining Billboard chart success.  Of course Let's Get It On became the most commercially successful album of Gaye's recording career, until Sexual Healing came out later on, and it further expanded his creative control during his tenure with Motown.  This album is regarded by many music writers and critics as a landmark recording in soul music.  It furthered funk music's popularity during the 1970s, and its smooth soul sound marked a change for his record label's previous success with the "Motown Sound" formula.  In 2003, the album was ranked number 165 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.  Welton (sic) Felder [as spelled on the jacket] and one of the greatest bassists ever James Jamerson both play on this historic record.

Spyro Gyra - their first Double Live Album: Access All Areas

Spyro Gyra - their DLA.  Access All Areas.  I collect DLA's - from any era and genre.  Here's another, from a band I used to listen to in college, when we thought we were cool. Spyro Gyra - who know - they were from Buffalo, NY.   They've put out over 25 albums, with 10 million total copies sold.  "They count themselves as among the most prolific as well as commercially successful groups of this genre.  Among their most successful hit singles are "Shaker Song" and "Morning Dance," which received significant play on popular music radio stations, and are still frequently heard nearly 30 years later on jazz and easy listening stations.  Their music, which has been influential in the development of smooth jazz and is s staple on the numerous smooth jazz radio stations nationwide, combines jazz with elements of R&B, funk and pop music. Generally considered to be more "jazz" than "smooth", Spyro Gyra has been praised for their skilled instrumentalists and for their live performances, which average about 100 per year.  With the exception of alto saxophonist, songwriter and founding bandleader Jay Beckenstein and keyboardist Tom Schuman, the personnel has changed some over time, as well as between the studio and the live stage.  Now, guitarist Julio Fernandez is also in his third decade with the band.  The band's latest album A Foreign Affair, released on September 13, 2011 to generally great reviews, is a "throwback" to the early Spyro Gyra releases with global music content and the occasional use of guest vocalists."

More on the famous "Marshall Stack," and Jim Marshall, the Godfather of Loud

I have been scouring my records to find ones with images of Marshall Amps.  Here's one.  I cropped this photo of the inner fold of Paul McCartney's Wings Over America.  Linda McCartney was cropped out of the photo - she us off to the right.  That was not intentional, but I wanted to feature the Marshall Amps.  It looks like this was done in water color, and the colours really look great here, and on the inner album cover foldout.  You can faintly make out some Marshall amps in the background.  I was looking up some other stuff about the famous names in music equipment (Fender, Gibson, Gretsch, etc.) and was a bit startled to learn that Jim Marshall of the Marshall Amplifier company is still alive. Not only that, but his company is 50 years old this year, in 2012.  

    "The classic Marshall Stack, just like I saw on stage behind Peter Frampton a few weeks ago, is one of the defining images of loud rock music. A full stack consists of one head containing the actual amplifier, on top of two stacked 4x12s, which are loudspeaker cabinets each containing four 12 inch loudspeakers arranged in a square layout.  The top cabinet has the top two loudspeakers angled slightly upwards, giving the Marshall stack a distinctive appearance.  When a single cabinet is used, the complete unit is called a half stack."

Johnny Guitar Watson - A Real Mother For Ya...He Invented Rap, perhaps...

What a great album cover.  This is Exhibit A for why I do what I do here.  The bonus is - it's also some pretty cool music and I get to learn things.  Like that Johnny Guitar Watson invented rap music, or at least was the first to speak rhyming words over a bed of music.  This is A Real Mother For Ya, by Johnny "Guitar" Watson (1935 – 1996), he was an American blues and funk guitarist and singer.  "A flamboyant showman and guitar picker in the style of T-Bone Walker, Watson recorded throughout the 1950s and 1960s with some success.  His raunchy reinvention in the 1970s with disco and funk overtones, saw Watson have hits with "Ain't That a Bitch", "I Need It" and "Superman Lover."  His successful recording career spanned forty years, with his biggest hit being the 1977 "A Real Mother For Ya."  And - he may have invented rap.  In a 1994 interview with David Ritz for liner notes to The Funk Anthology, Watson was asked if his 1980 song "Telephone Bill" was a document-able precursor to what would become rap music.  "Anticipated,?" Watson replied. "I damn well invented it!  And I wasn't the only one. Talking rhyming lyrics to a groove is something you'd hear in the clubs everywhere from Macon to Memphis.  Man, talking has always been the name of the game.  When I sing, I'm talking in melody.  When I play, I'm talking with my guitar. I may be talking trash, baby, but I'm talking," JGW.

The Secret Policeman's (other) Ball...

The Secret Policeman's Other Ball was the fourth of the benefit shows staged by the British Section of Amnesty International to raise funds for its research and campaign work in the human rights field.  It was the second of many shows to bear the celebrated Secret Policeman's title that became the iconic series known informally as The Secret Policeman's Balls.  The show took place at the Drury Lane theatre in London on Wednesday 9 September 1981. It was a successor to the 1979 show The Secret Policeman's Ball.   The show was directed by Monty Python alumnus John Cleese and produced by Martin Lewis & Peter Walker (Amnesty's fundraising officer).  The show yielded two separate movies (one version for the UK, directed by Julien Temple, and a quite different version for the US) and two record albums (one each of comedy and music performances - above).  The show was very influential in galvanizing rock musicians to become involved in the human rights issue and in other political and social causes in subsequent decades.  Musicians who performed at the show who subsequently became activists in various fields include Sting, Bob Geldof, Eric Clapton, Phil Collins and Midge Ure.

Ronnie Montrose (November 29, 1947 – March 3, 2012)

I read some of Ronnie Montrose in Sammy Hagar's autobiography last summer.  I had heard there was to soon be a Montrose reunion concert or maybe even a tour.  Very sad, what a shame.

General Douglas MacArthur's Farewell Speech, Given to the Corps of Cadets, West Point May 12, 1962

"Yours is the profession of arms, the will to win, the sure knowledge that in war there is no substitute for victory, that if you lose, the Nation will be destroyed, that the very obsession of your public service must be Duty, Honor, Country.  Others will debate the controversial issues, national and international, which divide men's minds. But serene, calm, aloof, you stand as the Nation's war guardians, as its lifeguards from the raging tides of international conflict, as its gladiators in the arena of battle.  For a century and a half you have defended, guarded and protected its hallowed traditions of liberty and freedom, of right and justice. Let civilian voices argue the merits or demerits of our processes of government. Whether our strength is being sapped by deficit financing indulged in too long, by federal paternalism grown too mighty, by power groups grown too arrogant, by politics grown too corrupt, by crime grown too rampant, by morals grown too low, by taxes grown too high, by extremists grown too violent; whether our personal liberties are as firm and complete as they should be.  These great national problems are not for your professional participation or military solution. Your guidepost stands out like a tenfold beacon in the night:  Duty, Honor, Country."   Given to the Corps of Cadets at West Point, May 12, 1962.