ALAN HOLDSWORTH - "Secrets" (1989)

 

I never thought doing this blog would be like walking through a graveyard, but sometimes, that's how it feels. Take Alan Holdsworth for instance. I was a big fan of his back in the 80's, but with all the music in the world, I haven't kept up with a lot of artists, so it was disappointing when I started writing this to find out that Alan Holdsworth had passed away nine years ago.

You know, it just ain't fair!

This record called "Secrets" came out in 1989, and here's just a very short cut that shows just how unique Alan's playing was.

I'm not sure he ever got as much credit as he deserved! 

Cheers!! 

ALAN HOLDSWORTH - "City Nights" 

DAVE AND ANSEL COLLINS - "Double Barrel" (1971)

 

"Double Barrel" is right, a hot naked gal inside an aged rum barrel of a loaded pistol, I think I see what's going on here. It's only taken me 55 years to figure it out!!

Dave and Ansel Collins recorded this fantastic album in 1971, and here's just one example of  how damn good they were!

Soulful and sweet, it's hard to beat music like this, because you can't!

DAVE AND ANSEL COLLINS - "That Girl" 

THE GENTRYS - "Keep On Dancing" (1965)

 

The Gentrys were from Memphis, Tennessee, and they had this number four hit in 1965 titled "Keep On Dancing," Their lead singer, Jimmy Hart did not sing this song, but instead it was sung by the guitarist Larry Raspberry.

"Keep On Dancing" was the height of their career, but Jimmy Hart did go on to be a very prominent figure in WWF wrestling as the manager known as "The Mouth Of The South." 

One very interesting fact about "Keep On Dancing,," and I'm sure Jimmy Hart learned a lot from this, the song is really only a little over one minute long. There's a fade a little past the middle, and then a drum roll, and that one minute starts over.

What fantastic marketing, and 'Poetry in Motion" indeed.

THE GENTRYS - "Keep On Dancing" 

WHAT DO YOU MEAN "TROMBONES ARE AS COOL AS GUITARS!?

 

Rich here. From the time I was 8 or 9, I wanted to play guitar. At first, it was because I wanted to be like Gene Autry or Roy Rogers -- a guitar-playing singing cowboy. And then when I saw my uncle Wes on TV dressed in a cowboy outfit, playing his guitar and singing western songs, that made him cool in my book. 

 

And, of course, once the Beatles came along, my guitar-desire only deepened.

 

But if you had told me I should take up trombone, or that trombones could rival a guitar, I would have laughed in your face. I mean, which guys in the band get all the girls? Not one of the horn players! (Unless you're genuinely cool like Miles Davis.)

 

But then I stumbled on to the Maniacal 4 a few months ago, who turned one of my big "guilty pleasures" of the Seventies, "Carry On Wayward Son" by Kansas into a Trombone tour de force. 

 

No, the Maniacal Four aren't sex symbols by any means, but, man, they smoke!

MANIACAL 4 - "Carry On Wayward Son"

THE PSYCHEDELIC ALIENS - "Biofonyobi Wo Atale" (1970)

 

This funky Record by The Psychedelic Aliens was released in 1970. The band was from Ghana, and were active from 1969 to 1971. They also released two singles in 1971 as The Magic Aliens.

These guys were great, and they definitely deserved a larger audience!

It's even worth sitting through stupid YouTube commercials to be able to hear something as cool as

 THE PSYCHEDELIC ALIENS - "Biofonyobi Wo Atale" 

GREG GARING - "Alone" (1997)

 

Here's a concept for you, play a cool funky guitar groove, get Mike Watt, the bass player of The Minutemen to lay down some bottom, the phenomenal Andy Kravitz to play drums, and sing a sweet song over the top of it.

It works me, and it sure works for Greg Garing. 

His CD titled "Alone" came out in 1997, and this was the lead off song!

GREG GARING - "My Love Is Real" 

THREE SIDES OF DAVID BOWIE!!!

 

I'm a big fan, but some of David Bowie's early songs were not that great, and in 1967, he came out with this single. 

The music is good, but this song grates on me like nails on a chalkboard. You'd think after Alvin and the Chipmunks I'd be used to it, but no. 

DAVID BOWIE - "The Laughing Gnome" 

 

Ten years later, the polar opposite is a song from David's 1977 album titled "Low," which is a really beautiful instrumental.

I never get tired of this song!

We were lucky enough to see him 'live' and this was the opening song! 

DAVID BOWIE - "A New Career In A New Town" 

 

I was going to end it there, when I remembered this version of "Hallo Space Boy" David and the band performed on the "Later with Jules Holland" TV show in 1995.

This is one of the most gorgeous pieces of chaos I've ever heard in my life.

The drummer Zachary Alford is killing it, while Carlos Alomar shreds, Gail Ann Dorsey holds down the bottom for 5 1/2 minutes of controlled madness, and somehow David Bowie manages to sing on top of it all.

DAVID BOWIE - "Hallo Space Boy"