John Martyn

Artist: John Martyn

LP: Inside Out

Song: "Fine Lines"

[ listen ]

Song: "Ways To Cry"

[ listen ]

 

One of my favorite things is visiting the record store to go digging through the LP bins in hopes of discovering something amazing that I never knew about before. But recently I realized that I can now do that at home for free! This morning I dug out this lovely and amazing 1973 LP by John Martyn. I had no idea what it sounded like, so I put it on and was thrilled—again—to have discovered it! Ahh, the joys of getting older, with the memory slipping slowly away. 

 

Martyn died in January of 2009 at age 60. You can find his New York Times obituary here, in which it's stated that Martyn, "inspired in part by the slow-burning, mystical jazz of the American saxophonist Pharoah Sanders, ...devolved a keen sense of texture and atmospherics, transforming ballads into sensuous rhapsodies."

 

[ John Martyn: September 11, 1948 — January 29, 2009 ]

Pesnyary feat. Vladimir Mulyavin

Artist: Pesnyary Vocal-Instrumental Ensemble feat. Vladimir Mulyavin

LP: Songs
Song: "I Mowed Down a Stable"
[ listen ]
Song: "Ow, Early For Ivan"

[ listen ]

This early '70s Russian psychedelic folk-rock album by Pensyary, a famous vocal-instrumental ensemble led by musical virtuoso Vladimir Mulyavin, is something I picked up at Daybreak Records earlier today. Born in Sverdlovsk (now called Yekaterinburg) in 1941, Vladimir learned to play the guitar when he was 12 years old. He formed Pensyary in 1968, and they became one of the first successful and officially recognized rocks bands in Russia. They were also one of the first groups of Russian rockers to tour the USA, hitting the road in the American South with The New Christy Minstrels in 1976.

I realize "I Mowed Down a Stable" and "Ow, Early For Ivan" are likely only approximations of the titles of the two tracks posted above, but it's the best I could do with the Google Translate app on my phone. In fact, I translated the entire set of LP liner notes and have included those below. 

(Does anybody know how to fix the glitch in Blogger where the font size keeps decreasing each time you paste the same text over and over? It was creating a cascading disco effect beneath the photo of the commemorative statue of Vladimir Mulyavin that was erected in his home town of Yekaterinburg. The Russians also put Mulyavin on a postage stamp back in 2009.)

Pesnyary is young. Officially its birthday 
can be considered September 1, 1969.

Pesnyary have their own clearly expressed creative direction. 
The basis of the concert program "Pesnyaro" is the Belarusian folk 
songs. Without losing the original charm, these songs are interpreted 
differently by the "Pesnyarov" interpretation of "Songs."

"Songs" sound differently. With a very careful attitude to the 
original in the arrangements of the ensemble, the rhythm of today 
is felt pulsating, dynamic. Along with electric instruments, artists boldly 
introduce genuine folk instruments—the lyre and daughter. This gives the 
ensemble sound interesting, unexpected colors. "Pesnyary" is the constant 
creative search. This relentless two-year search led the ensemble to well-
deserved, serious success: In October 1970 Pesnyary became laureates of 
the 4th All-Union Competition of Variety Artists. The head of Pesnyarov, 
Vladimir Mulyavin, is a brilliant virtuoso musician, with a very peculiar 
musical handwriting, whose original, original arrangements 
largely determine the direction of the ensemble. 

Seven musicians united around him: Valery Mulyavin (rhythm guitar, trumpet), 
Leonid Tyshko (bass guitar), Vladislav Misevich (saxophone, flute), Valery 
Yashkin (organ, lyre), Valentin Badyarov (violin), Alexander Demeshko 
(drums), Leonid Bortkevich (soloist of the ensemble).

All members of the ensemble are instrumentalists and vocalists, each of 
them contributes to the creation of concert programs. And most importantly, 
they are all undividedly devoted to their favorite work—the 
popularization of beautiful Belarusian songs.

  [ Statue of Vladimir Mulyavin in Yekaterinburg, Russia ] 

[ Vladimir Mulyavin: January 12, 1941 — January 26, 2003 ]

Pearls Before Swine

Artist: Pearls Before Swine

LP: These Things Too

Song: "When I Was a Child"
[ listen ]

There's a magical record store in downtown Utica! It's called Off-Center Records, and once you step inside, all you have to do is imagine a record you want and then it suddenly appears before you. Unfortunately, the bargain prices I kept picturing on them never seemed to materialize. I guess you can't have everything. But seriously, this store has an incredible amount of gold in its bins. There's a rusty old spiral staircase that delivers shoppers either down to the basement room full of vinyl jazz, or up a level to...I think it was country and soundtracks filed away upstairs. The rock and soul/R&B LPs are stashed at the back of the excitingly-cluttered main level of the store. Most of the albums are in the $18-$30 range, which is pretty much out of my budget if I plan to buy more than just a single record. I'm not one of Seattle's new billionaires. I work in social services, for crying out loud. Still, I did manage to find a pair of lovely and alluring Pearls Before Swine LPs for just $12 and $15—"These Things Too" from 1969 was the pricier of the two. 

Off-Center Records has also got boxes upon boxes of 7" singles—and they recently separated out all the ones with picture sleeves! I was on my hands and knees lugging one box after another out from under some wooden shelving. When I first arrived, there was just one hour remaining before closing time, so I only made it to letter 'M' in the picture sleeve 45s when I had to up and leave. I hadn't planned to spend the night in Utica, but you can bet I wasn't leaving town until I'd gotten all the way through letter 'Z.' After enjoying a delicious dinner at the cozy Tramontane Cafe, taking in a Ryan Quinn show at the gorgeous Stanley Theater, and getting a restful night's sleep at the charming Pine Crest Motel, I was back at Off-Center Records the following day to pick up right where I'd left off.

I was super excited to find a picture sleeve (without a record inside) of Doris Day's "Pillow Talk," but it was $25—for just the sleeve! Even I, one of the biggest Doris Day fans still alive on planet Earth, could not bring myself to pay that crazy amount for an empty Doris Day picture sleeve. Not even "Pillow Talk." And I ask you: Who else in the world is going to get down on all fours in downtown Utica to go digging through those boxes of 45s and happen upon that "Pillow Talk" picture sleeve, and then be both wacky and starstruck enough to pay $25 for it? I guarantee you that empty sleeve will remain stashed away in that 'D' box of 45s until the end of time—or at least until the end of the record store. Unfortunately, because of the "Pillow" case and similar $$$ wonders tucked away in the darkest of its corners, I have to give Off-Center Records "Record Museum" status for most of what they've got there. 

Still, in the museum gift shop I did find a 7" by The Cure that I'd somehow never picked up in the '80s, I found a European import copy of the "Xanadu" 45 with a picture sleeve (as far as I can tell, "Xanadu" is the only single from the film's soundtrack that was released without a picture sleeve in the USA...just don't ask how much I paid for it), and the number of singles I dug outta' that place to help complete my collection of Prince 45s is simply astounding. If I ever win the lottery, I'll be headed back to downtown Utica, pronto.

[ Pearls Before Swine ]

[ Off-Center Records — Outside ]

[ Off-Center Records — Inside ]

[ Off-Center Records — The Spiral Staircase ]

 [ Off-Center Records — Utica, NY ]

Stephen Whynott

Artist: Stephen Whynott

LP: From Philly to Tablas

Song: "What Have You Seen" 
[ listen ]

There's a lot I'm thankful for this year, including living in a state that's governed by someone who understands the meaning of 'land of the free and the home of the brave,' and not in one of the states being run by a cowardly idiot. I'm also thankful to be able to pull beautiful music out of my record collection that I don't even recognize. Here's something I found in my bins this morning; it's a lovely listen for first thing on a sunny-but-chilly holiday morning. 

There isn't much to be found about Stephen Whynott on the internet (which might be why he's considered one of the unsung heroes of the late '70s music scene), but I did discover that he now resides in Washington state up near Bellingham and that he once even lived right here in Seattle! The following biographical outline is copied from his Facebook page, and below that there are some notes and a photo from the back of his 1977 "From Philly to Tablas" LP. Happy Thanksgiving!

Stephen's career in the musical world has been filled with diverse extremes. He's been named one of the unsung heroes of 1978 by Modern Recording Magazine (along with Bruce Cockburn and Dave Brubeck), and been told how he and his band, "Calico," recorded one of the best unrecognized LPs of the early 1970s. Stephen began his solo career when Gunther Wiel at Intermedia Sound in Boston heard Steve playing some of his original songs and offered the use of the recording studio for as long as needed. The result was "From Philly To Tablas." The recording of that album and those songs sent Stephen on a quest to realize where his true calling would be. City life was rapidly losing its appeal, even though his gigs had introduced him to such notables as Fleetwood Mac, B.B. King, Aerosmith, etc. 

He decided to go across the country to Seattle, where he was signed to a record contract with "Music Is Medicine," the sister company of First American Records, which led to the creation, recording and distribution of his follow-up LP, "Geography." After leaving Boston for Seattle, Stephen's music gradually developed into beautiful instrumental stories about how much his life had changed from the whirlwind craziness of rock & roll, playing with his band "Calico" as the opening act for Tim Hardin, Al Cooper, The J. Giles Band, The Hampton Grease Band (along with other members of Frank Zappa's band "Mothers Of Invention"), Van Morrison, and many others. His recording career had included sessions with oboist Michael Kaman, members of Moby Grape, Tim Moore, Cleve Pozar, mellotron/pianist Dan Frye, bassist/recording engineer/producer Zed Mclarnon (worked with "The Paul Winter Concert"), recording engineer/producer Adrian Barber (recorded "Cream"), and Michael Leary (recorded Harry Nillson, Jonathan Edwards, Quicksilver Messenger Service, Loudon Wainwright, The Steve Miller Band, and Jefferson Airplane). 

But now he was truly a solo act; living in a new land, with new faces and new ideas. Nature became his companion of choice, and his music began to reflect the depth of that decision. The beautiful instrumental CDs "Apology to the Animals" and "Lost Land" are the culmination of all that Stephen has experienced during his travels through this unrelentingly exquisite and painfully humorous journey called life.  

[ Stephen Whynott ]

McKendree Spring

Artist: McKendree Spring

LP: McKendree Spring

Song: "Morning Glory" 
[ listen ]

Song: "If the Sun Should Rise" 
[ listen ]

I just got back from the Williams Family Campout! We gathered at the lush and lovely Coho Campground (Loop B) by Wynoochee Lake in the Olympic National Forest. We had lots of good wholesome family fun. It rained about half the time, but we're the ones who decided to camp in a rain forest, so what did we expect?

Four days with no shower (not even a sponge bath) wasn't enough to keep me from making a public appearance in Olympia when I re-entered society on my way home, whereupon I raided Rainy Day Records and picked up all sorts of cool stuff. I wasn't there for just one hour and I wasn't there for two. Not even three. Not four. Anyway, this 1969 debut LP by McKendree Spring was one of the things I found; according to the price tag it had been languishing in their bins since March of 2013. All the tracks are keepers, but I was especially eager to hear their cover of Tim Buckley's "Morning Glory," which was immediately a teenage-new-waver-Alex favorite when I first heard it on This Mortal Coil's "Filigree & Shadow" LP back in 1986. You can read a bit about McKendree Spring here, and go here to visit their website, where you can get a copy of "Recording No. 9," their first new studio recording in over 30 years!