ATOMIC ROOSTER (ABO#421)

ATOMIC ROOSTER
WALKS BEHIND YOU
(1970-1989)

Here's another band whose reputation couldn't get further from its name. Of course, Atomic Rooster is well known by many music addicts mostly because first drummer Carl Palmer had joined ELP quickly after, mostly because Vincent Crane was a member of the famous Crazy World of Arthur Brown. Sadly their music had not the same popularity. One thing that's wrong with the band is that mostly every media consider them as a prog band, because of ELP, because of Arthur Brown (who's not more prog either), and maybe because of the hammond organ. To me Atomic Rooster is definitely a hard rock band, whose music can be easily compared with another hammonded hard rock band : Deep Purple. Discography is short. Only 5 albums were recorde between 1970 and 1973 and a new Atomic Rooster with only Vincent Crane as original member reunited for 2 more LPs in the early 80s. Only the last album, Headline News, is not included here because of the very low quality of the sound and often the music but a late 80s re-recording of 1970 song Tomorrow Night is available here. Vincent Crane sadly died in 1989 bringing his band with him for good.

Extracts :


Death Walks Behind You
(from Death Walks Behind You, 1970)


A Spoonful Of Bromide [Helps The Pulse Rate Go Down]
(from In Hearing Of Atomic Rooster, 1971)

My Atomic Rooster TOP :
1. Death Walks Behind You (1970)
2. Atomic Roooster (1970)
3. In Hearing Of Atomic Rooster (1971)
4. Made In England (1972)
5. Atomic Rooster (1980)
6. Nice 'n Greasy (1973)
7. Headline News (1983)

CLIMAX BLUES BAND (ABO#422)

CLIMAX BLUES BAND
STANDING BY A RIVER
(1969-2003)

How funny things are. When I came to Baistophe there was plenty of great bands to compile. Some had already been done, some other are still not. Climax Blues Band was certainly one of those I really wanted to make for the simple reason that I only owned one album of theirs : FM-LIVE, a great live album that invited me to discover more from that forgotten band. For reasons completely unknown by anybody (especially me), I have never done such an exploration. So you may understand how happy I found myself to receive a mail from new part-time contributor GARY who was sending me this compilation. As it is becoming an habit (you may think it's a good one, or not) this is a 2CD compilation which second one can be considered like a bonus CD. The firt one is a simple CD compilation exploring the almost complete CBB discography. Not exactly complete because the very first album and the very last one is not included in it. I think that the very first CBB album is not particularily as enjoyable as the other, but I think that I will give it a listen to make my own opinion. The last one is more understandably put aside : this is an exclusively tribute to Willy Dixon. Some classical blues that does not really fit with the rockier songs they used to record. In the contrary, Rich Man is unarguably the best represented.
As I said earlier, the second CD can be considered like a bonus one. It's indeed a live CD consisting of only bootleg tracks. The sound is good from the beginning to the end at the exception of one track where there's a bit of saturation. Well, it's good first attempt from Gary on our dear blog.

I simply hope he won't damn me for having made my own artwork. His was good anyway but in a too low resolution. I couldn't find his pix on higher resolution so I made my own one, respecting the title he had chosen for this Baistophe...

Extracts :

Rich Man
(from Rich Man, 1972)


Couldn't Get It Right
(from Gold Plated, 1976)

STAN KENTON (ABO#423)

STAN KENTON

ARTISTRY IN RHYTHM

(1940-1960)

An off-the-wall choice today. I had it at hand, and decided that it didn't cost anyone to share it. To enjoy this collection, you'll have to have some appreciation of postwar Big Band music or Exotica.
As you begin to explore Jazz, you'll see Stan Kenton's name mentioned often. He is a controversial figure, recognized as a flawed genius by many. This baistoiphe covers roughly 1940-1960. Dates are hard to determine, as most pre-Sixties jazz albums are compiled from 78s and 10" EPs and released on budget labels with no annotation. Be forewarned that this baistophe bounces around stylistically. It opens with a big band sound, but the next tune could be the theme of a '60s action show. Another would be a fitting score for the denouement of a James Bond film; where they confront the villain in his hollow volcano. You may recognize snippets of cartoon music; both Raymond Scott and Carl Stalling borrowed ideas from The Kenton Orchestra. The collection wasn't originally constructed for public consumption, so I won't feel badly if you take cuts from both CDs to make one that suits you.
Kenton's 'Innovations in Modern Music Orchestra' was known less for their music than their sound. While everyone else had a dance band, he had an orchestra. If he were to start today, he would definitely be into heavy metal. He liked everything big and dramatic with unusual time signatures. His progressive musical ideas emphasized power and had more to do with 20th Century orchestral music than jazz. Today, it just sounds like swing music and it's hard to judge how radical some of Kenton's ideas were. It's like a 15 year old trying to figure out what was so different about Nirvana.
He had hired top-flight musicians and vocalists but this was not enough to win the respect of jazz aficionados. The music often veered off into ponderous and overly commercial territory. But he depended on his chart hits to finance his more experimental works. By the mid-Fifties, he was drifting toward more conventional big band arrangements. By 1960, jazz was becoming irrelevant, and Kenton, having been irrelevant to jazz, was just a musician on the margins of popular music. His best musicians had moved on, and he filled their positions with young and inexpensive talent. He tried to reinvent the band by emphasizing a big brass section, but it mostly sounded the same except for more horns.

-BURNS-

Goodbye

Jebediah speaking,

I love the concept Baistophe came up with and gave my best to satisfy those who visit and comment on our work. Alas, it seems I cannot find the time to do quality compilations anymore...
I really wish some new people could continue the work we've started... so long ago and I wish I could do it, I just can't... It must be time to call it quits.

So, this is goodbye and I know GEMY has a few projects up his sleeve before retiring from Baistophe too. Which means that Baitophe is destined to disappear if nobody takes over.

Feel free to mail us if you wish to join the team.

ALMOST FAMOUS (FSS#002)

VARIOUS ARTISTS
ALMOST FAMOUS

Second of the Full Soundtrack Series, this one deals with Almost Famous O.S.T. Like Dazed & Confused (FSS#001) the story takes place in the seventies and the sountrack is majoritary contemporary to the story at the exception of Pete Droge (?) and Stillwater. This latter band (that is not to be mistaken with the 70's southern rock band) is the one founded for the film and have recorded a 5 tracks EP to be included in the film. Those 5 tracks are available here alongside songs that illustrated the story (Deep Purple, Elton John, ...) or that are part of the story (The Who, Allman Brothers Band, Black Sabbath, ...). Only one track is not exactly part of the film : Chicago's Colour My World (part of Ballet For A Girl In Buchannon) is just sung by some characters in the film.
The soundtrack is quite amazing and deserved to be compiled here in its entirety. This compilation is in fact the second one I did after Magma's one (ABO#002). I just had to make the artwork.
Fortunately, only one song (Paranoid from Black Sabbath) is common with the previous FSS.

Extracts :

Sparks [The Who]
(from Tommy, 1969)
Taken apart from the Tommy album, Sparks reveals its high psychedelism and, in the film, this goes pretty higher.

^

Dear Jill [Blodwyn Pig]
(from Ahead Rings Out, 1969)
It's quite a justice to find this really good band founded by ex Jethro Tull Mick Abrahams. Their to small discography couldn't have justified a Blodwyn Pig BAISTOPHE so, happy to this band on the blog anyway



Wishing Well [Free]
(from Heartbreaker, 1973)
Another band we would have liked to Baistophe but to my point of view I think it will be hard to do especially without considering Paul Kossoff and his Back Street Crawlers too. This song proves that we have not unfairly forgotten this band. (by the way, if one of you feels strong enough to work on this/those talented band/s, he will be welcome)