Pumpkinman’s "Rock and Roll" thread.

CHAD RECALLS:

Well, here we go . . . all aboard the psychedelic merry-go-round.

Jeremy and I were both fed up with being told what to do and what to record so we struck out on our own. Fortunately for us, Gary Usher was a sympathetic producer and happily came along for the ride. (Although at $285.00 per hour, it was going to be an expensive ride!)

When I finally listened to this record, light years later, I have to admit to the strong desire to edit out some of the extravagances and indulgences of side two! But apart from that, I think that the album came closer to a cohesiveness which had eluded us for so long. Jeremy's songwriting was an important part of all this, and the album certainly displays a promising synergy between Jeremy's songs and my arranging. In retrospect, I had a lot to learn; there's some rather over-the-top bits here and there!

A classic example of over-the-top would have to be my sitar solo, stuck in the middle of "Rest in Peace" for no apparent reason! I was a student at Ravi Shankar's school of Indian music, as was Eric Clapton also. Eric was quoted later as saying that if he practiced non-stop for the rest of his life, he'd never be able to master the sitar. He was right of course. None of us could. We all gave it up eventually.

Sitar playing aside, I have one particularly good memory associated with "Rest in Peace". We were playing the Melodyland Theater in Anaheim, California and Buffalo Springfield were opening for us. We did R. I. P. for the sound check and I noticed a lanky figure in a fringed buckskin jacket standing at the back of the hall. After the song was done, he ambled up to me and said, "Good song, man". It was Neil Young and he made my day.

pumpkinman · « **Reply #831 on:** 18 Jul 2013, 04:23 pm »

CHAD RECALLS:

This album was to be our swansong, although we didn't know it at the time. (Or did we? Jeremy was hell bent on an acting career, so all the signs were there.) This LP marked the end of Jeremy's lyric writing as well. On occasion, after a bottle of wine (or maybe two), I have been known to theorize that his lyrics were largely autobiographical and that after some kind of catharsis, he walked away from the experience and never returned. (Like Brian Wilson burning his master tapes.)

Jeremy's song, "The Ark" will always be my favorite. I'm proud of that one and I think he should be too. (If anyone doesn't know what it's all about, leave a message on the bulletin board and I'll explain.)

"Sunstroke" was a reunion with Keith Noble, with whom I had written "Summer Song" along with his writing partner, Clive Metcalfe. (Splendid fellows - I miss them sometimes.) So there we were, two limeys baking in the California sun. I think we captured the feeling quite nicely, don't you?

"Sidewalk Requiem" marked a low point for me and thousands of others. I had been working in Robert Kennedy's presidential campaign and the events that transpired at the Ambassador hotel were a crushing defeat for all of us. Perhaps it's appropriate to reveal a historical footnote here. The day after the assassination, I and several people who were working in the campaign, received a picture postcard from Hong Kong with the cryptic message, "The same goes for you". This was mailed before the assassination and the writer obviously knew what was about to happen. Needless to say, that was my first and last brush with American politics.

I'll end on a brighter note. I recorded "Pantheistic Study" alone in the studio with my firstborn son sleeping in a basket at my feet. Perhaps he absorbed the music somehow, because James Patrick Stuart grew up to be a superb musician. He came to me at age eighteen and said, "I hope you won't be disappointed, Pop, but I've decided against music as a career." I replied to the effect that I was quite relieved, actually. There was a pregnant pause and then he said, "I've decided to be an actor!"

decal · « **Reply #832 on:** 18 Jul 2013, 05:58 pm »

Dickey Betts Band "Pattern Disruptive"

SteveFord · « **Reply #833 on:** 18 Jul 2013, 06:29 pm »

I've been on a Pink Floyd tear of late.

Devil Doc · « **Reply #834 on:** 18 Jul 2013, 09:18 pm »

LP #3
Contrary to what some reviewers will have you believe, there are no bad Dylan albums. They're like sex. Some are just better than others.

Doc

Devil Doc · « **Reply #835 on:** 18 Jul 2013, 10:02 pm »

A little crispy in spots, but still in good shape considering I bought it '68.

Doc

pumpkinman · « **Reply #836 on:** 18 Jul 2013, 10:13 pm »

Quote from: Devil Doc on 18 Jul 2013, 10:02 pm

A little crispy in spots, but still in good shape considering I bought it '68.

Doc

I'm a real big Canned Heat fan Doc which one should I play?? I believe I have most of their LPs.

Devil Doc · « **Reply #837 on:** 18 Jul 2013, 10:22 pm »

Living the Blues, I just love Parthenogenesis.

Doc

pumpkinman · « **Reply #838 on:** 18 Jul 2013, 10:31 pm »

Pony Blues   3:47
My Mystake   3:21
Sandy's Blues   6:45
Going Up The Country   2:51
Walking By Myself   2:28
Boogie Music   3:18
One Kind Favor   4:44
Parthenogenesis   19:54
Refried Boogie (Part I)   20:10
Refried Boogie (Part II)

Bob "The Bear" Hite and Alan "Blind Owl" Wilson

pumpkinman · « **Reply #839 on:** 18 Jul 2013, 11:06 pm »

This is the only Canned Heat album that I don't have a decent original pressing of
and believe me I've searched