Soup Is On The Menu

Feeling a bit nostalgic tonight, I decided to go with Blind Melon's 1995 release Soup which was released two months before lead singer Shannon Hoon's untimely death. I acquired this album through a trade with a fellow collector who desired the Nick Drake US release I had posted about in 2009. Soup is one of my all time top ten albums, so acquiring this on vinyl, while coming at the price of surrendering the Drake album, was an easy trade at the time. Especially considering this copy was sealed at the time of the trade.


Blind Melon is most famous for 'No Rain'  which at the time was the track that kicked that album into  quadruple platinum status. Until that video was released, the album had been barely moving any units. Riding the high of their debut album they went to New Orleans to record their follow up. With the release of Soup, the band music and lyrics took a darker turn in its subject matter. Songs about suicide, a serial killer named Ed Gein (who also inspired a Slayer track, Dead Skin Mask) and a mother who drover her car off a cliff with her children still aboard are laced throughout the album along side of tracks that cover the upcoming birth of Shannon Hoon's daughter, a bar brawl and bad breath. And one even sounds to me like it's about his Grandmother (Vernie).

As you make your way through the album, you quickly get a sense of the bands influences and roots in the blues. And from the initial brass-laden intro that leads into Galaxie, you even get a taste of New Orleans. With a recipe containing these ingredients, this Soup was sure to be a success.

Some personal favorites off of the album include, Vernie, Walk, Car Seat (God's Presents) and Skinned. Throughout the album Hoon's lyrics really carry the flow of the song. You can see the band is really at it's prime both musically and lyrically. Brad Smith's bass, coupled with school buddy Roger Stevens (who learned to play guitar from Smith) R.E.M. influenced guitar style, the band, in my opinion, peaks with St. Andrews Fall. Hoon's ability to grab a hold of you and create imagery in your mind is a gift reserved for the upper echelon of vocalist in music. His opening line of Big stretch/ not much sleep/ I got a couple palm trees on each side of my cheek/And it's a bright blue Saturday/And the rummage sellin the rubbish to me, sets the tone of the song. About the midway point of the song is when the 20 story fall occurs and the music takes you down 20 stories with it, culminating with a the song rebuilding and leading to a section in which special guest Miles Tackett plays a beautiful cello under Hoon's vocals that leave you feeling like your dreaming.

Another song worth mention is Mouthful of Cavities which has Jena Kraus performing backing vocals has great dynamics from beginning to the end. The two talented vocalist really blend well as they play off of each other throughout.

All in all,this album really showcases the talented musicians in Blind Melon. Although the album was not a commercial success, the album has a formidable number of supported wich have only added to the legacy of what Blind Melon leaves behind. They have subsequently released an album with a new lead singer and they continue to work with him, but Shannon Hoon's shoes are quite large to fill. I personally hope that Record Store Day requests Blind Melon to dig into their vaults and release some vinyl next year.

Hope you enjoyed this - here are some videos of the aforementioned tracks.

"I can't tell you, how many ways that I've sat

and viewed my life today, but I can tell you

I don't think that I can find an easier way

So if I see you walking hand in hand in hand

with a three armed man, you know I'll understand"

RSD Complaint

At the previously mentioned Record Stores request, I have pulled my post. RSD is investigating. I will accept whatever Record Store Day comes to determine. My point has been made and the record store has lost a customer.


Thirty-3 1/3rd

Never Too Late for Van

I consider myself a pretty big Van Morrison fan. I've collected his albums over the years, picking up his early CD's here and there and all the while enjoying the ride. I have his first 8 or 9 albums which I love and a few of his newer ones of which I am not a huge fan. But one album that never made the transition to CD (until last year) was his live concert titled "It's Too Late to Stop Now", which was released in 1974. Before I knew this was released on CD,  a fellow record collector from the RCG who goes by weletthegoldfishgo offered to sell me a copy of this album on vinyl. I accepted that offer and was blown away with what I had just purchased. From the first note to the last, Van takes his performances to a level I had not heard before in any studio recordings.

From the opening notes of "Ain't Nothin' You Can Do" to the last words in the 10 minute plus version of "Cypress Avenue", Van strives and hits his stride in the various recorded performances. The songs were taken from several shows of that tour, including Los Angeles, Santa Monica and London. One interesting note about this album was that there were no overdubs or corrections to any of the music.A rarity in live recordings. What you hear is what was played. The only song absent from the masters is "Moondance" due to one note wrongly played during the performance.

 

Some outstanding performances of some of his classics including "Warm Love", "Caravan" and "Into the Mystic" are present as well as my favorite track on the album "I Believe to My Soul" which was originally written and recorded by Mr. Ray Charles.Amazing job on his version of that song as well.

Side one

1. "Ain't Nothin' You Can Do" 
2. "Warm Love"
3. "Into the Mystic" 
4. "These Dreams of You"
5. "I Believe to My Soul" (Mr. Ray Charles)

Side two

1. "I've Been Working"
2. "Help Me" 
3. "Wild Children" 
4. "Domino" 
5. "I Just Want to Make Love to You"

Side three

1. "Bring It On Home To Me"
2. "Saint Dominic's Preview"
3. "Take Your Hands Out of My Pocket"
4. "Listen to the Lion" – 8:43

Side four

1. "Here Comes the Night" 
2. "Gloria" – 4:16
3. "Caravan" – 9:20
4. "Cyprus Avenue" – 10:20

Van seems to control what video footage is released, and I do not believe, but will need to confirm, available video footage of this particular show, so instead, I'll share some of my favorite performances.

Here is Van with The Band during The Last Waltz perfomance which included many stars accompanying The Band.

Another great song, originally recorded on Saint Dominic's Preview, "The Way That Young Lover's Do"

And, finally, since I could not find Van's version of "I Believe to My Soul", here is Mr. Charles performing.

Thanks for checking out Vital Vinyl this week. Hope you enjoy.

The Coral

This week, I'd like to introduce a band from the UK that got their start in 1996 near Liverpool, England as young teenagers. The Coral are front man James Skelly (also on guitar) , Ian Skelly on drums, Nick Power on organ , Lee Southall on rhythm guitar and  Paul Duffy on bass. They are typically described as a psychedelic folk rock with a 60's feel to them mixed with a pop/rock vibe as well. The have had much success in England since their self titled debut release in 2002 which reached #5 on the charts in the UK followed by a number one album the following year.


I'd love to score a nice copy of their debut album on vinyl. I see a copy on one of the marketplace websites ,but the fun is in the hunt for records isn't it? Finding records you didn't think you were looking for is always nice, but when you've been looking high and low and you find a nice copy of an album on your want list, you can scratch one off for the good guys.

 James Skelly of The Coral

Fast Forward through 3 Top Five albums and in the summer of 2005 the band split after guitarist Bill Ryder-Jones left the band to take care of some personal issues. 2007 brought the return of The Coral with a release titled Roots and Echoes. which produced the huge hit, "Who's Gonna Find Me?". In 2008 The Coral released a greatest hits/compilation album fittingly titled, The Coral - Singles Collection. It was released as a 3 LP set on Deltasonic Records and reached #13 in the UK.

I really dig these guys ;  great story-tellers, great harmonies and a great throwback sound that is refreshing in a day of bland popular music.The first clip is the song that got me hooked on them for the first time, Dreaming of You.

Next is probably my favorite song from The Coral , In The Rain. This one is a rocker as well.






And finally, another great track and amazing live version of Shadows Fall, which first appeared on their first EP which was released in 2001.




Hope you enjoy these guys. If not, maybe you'll like next week. Have an opinion on The Coral, drop me a message.

The Apocalypse Inside of an Orange

Strange title, I know. Just as intriguing, too. Don't you think? When purchasing this album, although I thought I knew what I was getting, I certainly had no idea what would come of Omar Rodriguez-Lopez's latest (at the time) release.

It was first released on clear vinyl in November of 2007, between Mars Volta's Amputecture (2006) and The Bedlam in Goliath (2008). The band he assembled is the original Omar Rodriguez-Lopez Quintet including Omar's younger brother, Marcel, who also is a multi-instrument talent himself.In typical fashion Omar released this album in between The Mars Volta recordings, but certainly did not leave anything on the table when putting this together. Two of the tracks are alternate versions of songs previously released on his self-titled, debut album.

The album has a few stand out tracks, in particular, the title track and Coma Pony. The alternate takes of Jacob van Lennepkade and Vondelpark bij Nacht (appears as title track on this album) are excellent displays of Omar's ability (and strong desire) to keep things changing and moving in a new direction. Spared from the Insult List heads off into the Latin Jazz genre with a heavy dose of his signature guitar sound, which at times sounds nothing like a guitar. Fuerza de Liberacion is a bit of a strange song. Not sure who is performing the spoken word through a voice digitizer, but it adds to the insanity of the whole song. And Omar has always pushed the limits with the music, certainly following through on this one.

Here is the first track - Melting Chariots






Finally wrapping the the album up with the 8th track, here is Coma Pony. About as bluesy as Omar can get. Easily my favorite track after the title track itself. This one rings in at around 6 1/2 minutes, about half as long as The Apocalypse Inside of an Orange.





I like introducing people to different types of music. Some you may know, some you might not. Hope you enjoy these.

Nick Drake

This time around, I'm going to review one of my favorite summer crate finds. Nick Drake's only U.S. release, it's a compilation released by Island Records in 1972 named after the singer/songwriter himself. The album included three songs from Five Leaves Left and 5 from Bryter Layter.

Drake was born in Burma in 1948 and two years later his parents took Nick and moved back to England. When he was 18 or so , he started a band that called themselves, The Perfumed Gardeners.He signed with Island records in 1968 at the age of 20 and released Fives Leaves Left in 1969, Bryter Layter in 1970 and Pink Moon in 1972. None of the first two records sold more than 5000 copies.

 

Gatefold picture from Nick Drake

 

After suffering from depression and insomnia for years, he went back home to his parents after the release of Pink Moon. On November 24th, 1974, Nick overdoesd on amitriptyline, which had been prescribed to him as an antidepressant. Since his death in November of 1974, Drake's popularity has increased.Generation after generation are discovering Nick's work and are seeing how wonderfully talented he was. He was quite proficient with many instruments,but is mostly remembered playing guitar when performing. Although he died at 26 , he left behind a wonderful catalog of music, some of which I'd like to share.

Here is the track listing for Nick Drake

Side one:

1. Cello Song
2. Poor Boy
3. At The Chime Of A City Clock
4. Northern Sky

Side Two:

1. River Man
2. Three Hours
3. One Of These Things First
4. Fly

Originally released on Fives Leaves Left - here is "Cello Song"





Here is a beautiful video containing many pictures of Nick at various stages and places of his life.



And, finally another beautiful video to accompany a wonderful track titled "River Man"





Thanks for checking me out this week. Stop by next week for a new review.

John Fahey-Peter Lang-Leo Kottke

Today, I'd like to review one of my favorite albums first released on Takoma records in 1974. There is no official title other than what you see on the cover, the three guitarist's names.

John Fahey is one of my all time favorite guitarist's and his name is only recently becoming more recognizable as more people find his work and really begin to understand how good he really does play the steel string guitar. Unfortunately, this is all happening posthumously, as John passed away in February of 2001 after releasing 47 albums.

Not only was John a wonderful guitar player and songwriter, but he also was a writer, completing 3 books - How Bluegrass Music Destroyed My Life : stories in 2000, Charley Patton 1970 and Vampire Vultures in 2003

Getting back to this particular album, which was released by Takoma records in hopes of getting Fahey and Lang more exposure, John's tracks are mostly re-recordings of songs he previously released on other albums. Takoma records really was using this as a PR vehicle but what they didn't realize is how wonderful it would turn out to sound 35 years later.

Side one

Leo Kottke:

1. Cripple Creek
2. Ice Miner
3. Red and White
4. Anyway

Peter Lang:

5. St. Charles shuffle
6. When Kings Come Home

Side two

1. As I Lay Sleeping
2. Thoth Song

John Fahey:

3. On the Sunny Side of the Ocean
4. Sun flower River Blues
5. Revolt of the Dyke Brigade
6. In Christ There is no East or West

Here is some footage of John playing a version of On the Sunny Side of the Ocean. Wonderful song - amazing guitar work.




Peter performing a version of When King's Come Home in 2007




And finally, a beautiful piece by Leo Kottke - Ice Miner. This video has some great photos to go along with the music as well.



Thanks for checking me out. Feedback would be greatly appreciated. Even some requests if you have any - I'd love to know what your listening to in your free time.