Rodriguez - Coming from Reality (1971)

Coming from Reality is the 1971 second and till this point last album by Detroit singer-songwriter Rodriguez. Rodriguez and his music came to wider public prominence with the 2012 academy award winning documentary “Searching for Sugar Man”, with his career having largely been till that point an underground word of mouth sort of affair, at least in Anglo-Saxon countries. The story of Rodriguez career is fascinating to say the least and the documentary film does a good job in bringing it to light for a wider audience, which is why I will not touch on it here and instead will focus on the music and what is a truly great second album. An album which often gets overlooked in favour of its more well-known predecessor Cold Fact.

Coming from Reality was in some ways a transformational album for Rodriguez after his lo-fi acoustic folk debut. Here he placed more attention on the production of the tracks going for a slicker sound, while the songs themselves also have more of an electric feel, although his standard acoustic folk style is still prominent across the album. This might have been down to a desire from his record label to make a more commercially sounding album, as well as the presence during the recordings of acclaimed British guitarist Chris Spedding who helps out on electric guitar and production. Musically, Rodriguez also branches out more into other styles on this album, with spoken word, garage, funk, R&B, jazz, Latin and classical all appearing in various forms and guises across the album, making this set of tracks a highly eclectic take on the singer-songwriter/folk style which Rodriguez successfully went for on his debut. Lyrically, the songs themselves continue to focus largely on social themes, something which was ever-present on Cold Fact, with their social imagery and anti-establishment inklings settling in the mind of the listener right from the get go. Lines such as “I’ve played faggot bars, hooker bars, motorcycle funerals” are hard for the listener to ignore as they are so vivid and hard hitting, especially when they take the form of a spoken word track, in this instance “A Disgusting Song”. Through his words, Rodriguez is masterful in capturing the essence and mood of his own experiences living in Detroit, a city which was then experiencing the beginnings of its now well publicised collapse and downward spiral.

In terms of what songs standout, well there are many and it is impossible to narrow the list down as there is hardly a dud on here. “Climb Up on My Music” is a brilliant opener and sets the tone for the rest of the record. Here you are immediately alerted to some of the changes from the first record, especially this tracks electric feel and Santana-like sound with its shuffling guitar, electric piano and subtle jazz influences. “I Think of You” is a beautiful folk ballad that features some delicate acoustic finger-picking in the mould of Jose Feliciano and a very soulful vocal. “To Whom It May Concern” is another stunning track that opens with a great piano refrain before transforming into a kind of LA singer-songwriter jam. I am sure if Rodriguez had been involved in that scene he would have taken it by storm. “Halfway Up the Stairs” like many of the tracks on this album employs electric piano and also strings, with Rodriguez paying more attention in trying to achieve more of a pop sound, something he manages with great success. Finally, we are fortunate that the re-release of this album contains three outstanding bonus tracks which should have made the final cut for the original album given their quality. The first of these is the fantastic “Street Boy”, a sing-a-long sort of affair which also features a well-constructed acoustic solo. Aside from his vocals and lyrics, Rodriguez guitar playing is an album highlight and probably doesn’t get the attention it deserves especially given the quality of the little solos he puts in like the one on this track. This bonus track is accompanied by the road tripping “Can’t Get Away”, and finally the acoustic summer track “I’ll Slip Away”.

Although Rodriguez debut album was fantastic, and in most people’s eyes represents the true essence of his song writing and music, I feel that Coming from Reality trumps that album. Musically the songs on here are more melodic with a stronger focus on the production of the songs and how they are presented to the listener, something I believe improves the material. Rodriguez still retains the level of song-writing of his debut and the folk sound he is known for is still there in spades. However the thing I love about this album is how he branches out further musically, especially in his exploration of other styles and sounds that all in all come together so well on here. This album is an early-70s classic and I guess symbolises what might have been had Rodriguez continued to record. My parting message is a request for those of you who haven’t seen the film “Searching for Sugar Man” about this man’s musical journey to see it. As apart from the brilliant music on display here, this man’s story is truly one of the more fascinating stories in the history of twentieth century music.

A

- Sam 

The Beatles - Revolution in the Head: The Beatles Records and the Sixties 3rd edition (2007)

In terms of popular music literature, I would hazard a guess that The Beatles have probably had more written on them than any other musician, despite the fact that most of that literature is sub-standard, lacking in quality and even in some cases factual information. This is definitely not the case with Ian McDonald’s book Revolution in the Head: The Beatles Records and the Sixties, which to my eyes is the most complete analysis of The Beatles and their music I have ever read.

Ian McDonald was a British music critic and author whom sadly passed away in 2003. But he has left a brilliantly researched and well written sociological and musicological Beatles bible. “Revolution in the Head” details every song the band recorded together in chronological order from 1961 to the reunion session sin 1995, describing in detail the music itself, the context behind it, the lyrics, and for some individual songs a complete backstory contextualising that song with the personal life of the writer and the cultural context of the time. Each entry is also accompanied by a list of the musicians who played on each song and how they contributed musically to that track, which in itself offers a very good insight into the way the band operated in the studio and also how multi-skilled they were at moving between different instruments. McDonald’s analysis and opinion of each song is very forthright and this book is certainly no Beatles love-in by any means, thank god, as often Beatles literature is reduced to nothing but praise for their achievements without considering their lesser moments both musically and personally. His musicological and sociological commentary is highly critical and he is not afraid to come out strongly against the songs themselves, the cultural climate of the 60s and even the band members and their personal misgivings while in the band. This makes “Revolution in the Head a refreshingly interesting, informative and un-biased read.

Aside from the main body of the book which contains the analysis of the music, the book also begins with an interesting essay titled “Fabled Foursome, Disappearing Decade”, an essay where McDonald offers an analysis of the major social and cultural changes of the 60s and the decade’s legacy thereafter in the 1970s and 80s. Here McDonald’s argument is that the Beatles represented a meeting point of three cultural trends which were crucial to the 1960s period, materialistic individualism, the radicalism of the new left, and the psychedelic pacifism of the hippy movement. McDonald then reaches the conclusion that the 60s as a whole had little in the way of a long-lasting influence on mainstream society, something which you can kind of see when you look at what followed during the me-decades of the 70s and 80s.

In conclusion, McDonald does a good job in placing the Beatles and their music within the context of the time, giving the songs some cultural and social meaning, especially their later more experimental work. I am also glad he avoided going down the line of attempting to interpret hidden meaning behind their lyrics and investigate potential hidden messages as many have made a life-time obsession out of, as this would only have served to distract from what is a very detailed and thoroughly researched analysis. If ever there was a book which highlighted how this band’s journey was a long and winding road both musically in terms of style and culturally it is this one. McDonald gives the Beatles story an honest and rigorous assessment, with no pre-conceived fandom encroaching on the story and the overall content. A must read for any music fan and also those interested in musicology and 60s-70s sociology. 

A+

- Sam 

Jack White - Lazaretto (2014)

Jack White has had a very diverse music career and is what I would describe as being a bit of a musical chameleon of sorts. He had great success with the White Stripes, whilst also intermittently moving between off-shoot projects such as the Raconteurs and the Dead Weather. The beauty of following Jack White is that you don’t really know what he is thinking and where he will go next musically, making his career an intriguing follow as much as anything. With this in mind he has now moved on to a solo career, releasing his debut solo album in 2012 Blunderbuss which was a solid first up effort that encompassed many different styles. It is now 2014 and again White has another album out, his second solo offering Lazaretto and although there are some good tracks on here, the results end up being a little bid underwhelming.

White again mixes up the sounds on this album, with blues rock, garage, alternative and country all making appearances in various guises. White has been known to speak of his song-writing methods and how he never has a pre-set plan of making an album but simply records what he feels like at the time, and this is perhaps why his first two solo records sound so diverse musically and do not follow any set patterns. Lazaretto starts up with a storming track the bluesy rocker “Three Women” which on first listening perhaps could be deemed one of his best. It certainly gets the album off to a positive start with its sizzling organ and playfulness lyrically and musically. The title track “Lazaretto” follows next and is a typical White garage rocker that congers up early White Stripes with its heavy guitar riffing and pounding drums. It is nice enough as a track, but falls a bit flat as it doesn’t really explore any new musical ground and ends up being a bit pedestrian. On “Temporary Ground” White goes all country/singer-songwriter as he often has a tendency to do, and is accompanied on vocals by one of the members of his all-female backing band, with a bit of fiddle thrown in for good measure, while “Would You Fight for My Love” is a mysterious almost dark track with a bit of a psychedelic rock feel to it in what is one of the stronger tracks on the record. The first half of the album then ends with an instrumental “High Ball Stepper” which does nothing for me, and “Just One Drink” which has a country-blues vibe to it with a good sing-along line about drinking, what could be better.

The second half of the album begins with “Alone in My House” which brings out Whites softer country side again while also showcasing some thunderous piano playing, a strong feature of the album. White sounds good when he dives into the country-folk area and I am still waiting for the day the record a full country/Americana album. However, it is at this point where the record begins to flounder a bit, starting with “Entitlement” a country ballad which although sweet is a bit predictable. This is followed by “That Black Bat Licorice” which returns to the heavy guitars of the title track, but with less success in what is quite a high intensity number that moves in all sorts of directions. The album finally comes to an end with “I think I Found the Culprit” a filler type track that sees White moving in an alt-country direction this time and “Want and Able”, yet another country ballad with the ingenious lyric (insert sarcasm) “who is the who telling who what to do”. By this point I am afraid it sounds like White is running out of ideas both lyrically and musically, with this track sounding a bit like a good warm up studio track but nothing more.

So in conclusion, I would say that Lazaretto is an album with flashes of brilliance and small moments that make you sit up and take notice, but these are few and far between, with side one being the best half of the album before it eventually falls away. At this point I am still waiting for Jack White to deliver an entire album of good material, or should I say a complete musical statement that measures up to his reputation as a twenty-first century rock master, something he has so far failed to do on his first two solo outings. 

C+

- Sam 

Isaac Hayes - Black Moses (1971)

Black Moses was the fifth studio album by American soul artist Isaac Hayes. Released in 1971, this double album of mainly covers came on the back of Hayes highly successful soundtrack to the film Shaft and with its release helped to establish Hayes at the forefront of 70s progressive soul.

The first thing I notice about this album is its title Black Moses, which to me sounds like the name of a Kanye West album, while the album sleeve itself is quite cleverly designed folding out into a cross shape of Hayes himself dressed in robes wearing aviators. Hayes was clearly trying to make a bold artistic statement with the title and cover, but would the music match up with the illustrative intentions of the album. Well the answer to that is a definite yes, with Black Moses possessing some of the most elaborate and sophisticated soul music ever committed to record. The style of this album is what is known by many as symphonic soul, or progressive soul which became quite popular in the mid-70s with artists such as Hayes himself and Curtis Mayfield. This style of soul is heavily produced with layers and layers of sound placing a strong emphasis on instrumentation. The music on here is incredibly slick thanks to some highly skilled session players and does well to show off Hayes ability as a producer and arranger within the soul and R&B styles. In fact, one could be forgiven for thinking that this is what a soul record would sound like if composed by Bach of Beethoven. Hayes made a name for himself at Stax records in the 50s and 60s, playing on more Stax recordings than anyone else and he brings this experience to the fore on the album, with songs often stretched out to the 7-9 minute mark to allow for Hayes to explore and experiment with different sounds and song structures in what are well developed R&B jams and soul ballads. Hayes even goes as far as to experiment with spoken word in what appears to be early attempts at rapping.

There are fourteen tracks on Black Moses and it comes in at a staggering 93 minutes, meaning I could go on writing for ever if I was to chronicle each track, so I will just mention a few standouts for me from across the album. Most of the songs are covers, but have been arranged in such a way that the listener has a tough time recognising the original from Hayes version, such is the distinct way that Hayes has arranged the tracks to make them truly his own. The album kicks off with smooth versions of the Jackson 5 hit “Never Can Say Goodbye” and The Carpenters “They Long to Be Close to You” both of which are remarkably different from the more recognisable hit versions. “Part Time Love” is a funk epic coming in at around eight minutes, while “Going in Circles” is a symphonic soul track which encapsulates well the overall sound of the album. Other tracks worth a mention include “Never Gonna Give You Up” which the Black Keys covered on their 2010 album “Brothers”, “Good Love” which is a more up-tempo track, a rare thing amongst all the ballads and progressive symphonies on this album, and finally “Need to Belong to Someone”, a gospel infused track where Hayes plays up to the Moses idea, preaching from the river as it were.

In conclusion, Black Moses really is a symphony of soul and represented a major artistic statement by Hayes. It probably reprsented the zenith of his career and helped to preserve his place as a soul great amongst contemporaries such as Gaye, Wonder and Mayfield. There are a few criticisms I have of the album, notably around its length with many of the songs being a wee bit too long for idle listeners, maybe some thoughtful editing couldn’t have gone a miss, while at times the album can get dangerously close to becoming quite soppy, especially during some of the ballads. However, this is ok when you consider the ambitious nature of this album and the personality of the man on the cover, a man who was as big as the music he produced. 

B+

- Sam