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  | BLOOD, SWEAT & TEARS ~ WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO BLOOD, SWEAT & TEARS?
OMNIVORE 518 (Barcode: 810075112894) ~ USA ~ Brass Rock
Recorded: 1970 Released: 2023
This is an absolutely sensational live archive album by the iconic American Brass Rock / Jazz-Rock Fusion ensemble Blood, Sweat & TearsFind albums by this artist, recorded in June / July 1970 during their Eastern European tour behind the Iron Curtain, organized and sponsored by the State Department, which included shows in Zagreb, Yugoslavia / Bucharest, Romania and Warsaw, Poland. The shows were filmed and recorded for a documentary, and remained lost for over fifty years, finally to be re-discovered and now released This CD is the soundtrack of the documentary. The album presents ten tracks, most of which were recorded during the final concert in Warsaw. The material originates mostly from the second, eponymous BS&T album from 1968 and the debut album “Child Is Father To The ManFind albums with this title” from 1967.
The lineup includes vocalist David Clayton-ThomasFind albums by this artist, trumpeters Lew SoloffFind albums by this artist and Chuck WinfieldFind albums by this artist, trombonist Jerry HymanFind albums by this artist, saxophonist Fred LipsiusFind albums by this artist, keyboardist / trombonist Dick HalliganFind albums by this artist, guitarist Steve KatzFind albums by this artist, bassist Jim FielderFind albums by this artist and drummer Bobby ColombyFind albums by this artist.
The sound quality and the music are absolutely stellar and every second of this album is absolutely sensational. The strength of the material, the arrangements and the virtuosic performances are some of the best musical moments ever caught on tape. Despite the fact that this music was recorded fifty-three years ago, it easily swipes away almost anything recorded since, and remains completely unique. This version of BS&T was a one-time collection of completely compatible musicians, which together were able to produce an incredibly intelligent, sophisticated and everlasting music.
Overall, as far as archival albums are concerned, this is probably the best one in a decade, if not two. They don’t make music like this today or even anything remotely close to it, and listening to this album proves how deeply in trouble we are today with today’s music and Culture in general. I can’t imagine any serious music lover not having this Masterpiece in their collection, can you?
| | Updated: 11/05/2023Posted: 11/05/2023 | CD 1 Digipak Remastered Recommend To A Friend |
  | FRANK ZAPPA ~ ABSOLUTELY FREE
ZAPPA 3835 (Barcode: 824302383520) ~ USA ~ Avant-Garde Rock
Recorded: 1966 Released: 2012
This is a reissue / remaster of the 2nd album by iconic American guitarist / composer / bandleader / visionary Frank ZappaFind albums by this artist and his group The Mothers Of InventionFind albums by this artist, originally released in 1967. The album presents fifteen original songs, all by Zappa, two of which are bonus tracks not present on the original album and taken from a single also released at the time.
For this album The Mothers were expanded to an octet and included, in addition to Zappa who played guitar and sung, vocalist Ray CollinsFind albums by this artist, guitarist Jim FielderFind albums by this artist (uncredited as he left the band before the album was released), keyboardist Don PrestonFind albums by this artist, woodwinds player Bunk GardnerFind albums by this artist, bassist Roy EstradaFind albums by this artist and drummers Jimmy Carl BlackFind albums by this artist and Billy MundiFind albums by this artist. Ten other musicians took part in the recording adding string and brass section arrangements and other contributions.
In order to fully understand the significance of this album, one would have to take a time travel trip back fifty-five years and compare the Pop / Rock albums that were released in 1967, for example “Sgt. Pepper`s Lonely Hearts Club BandFind albums with this title” by The BeatlesFind albums by this artist, “Between The ButtonsFind albums with this title” by The Rolling StonesFind albums by this artist or “Smiley SmileFind albums with this title” by the Beach BoysFind albums by this artist, and see that already on his sophomore album Zappa was light-years ahead of the time, writing a brilliant pastiche about the music business and American politics, which was not only hilarious but more importantly shockingly perceptive, whereas his contemporaries (with a few exceptions) were still writing love songs.
Zappa shows on this album that he is able to write Pop songs in any style he wants, with results as god or better than anybody else at the time. His guitar playing and the elaborate arrangements he wrote for the songs are equal to none and he appears as the first “total musician” on the Pop / Rock scene, a status he was able to hold till the day he died. From day one his extravagant personality and brilliant intelligence marked him as an outsider, a fate shared by most geniuses.
Zappa, who followed the Jazz scene closely, was of course aware of the Free Jazz scene reaching its peak at this time, and he prophetically tried to move the conceptual musical freedom also into Rock, to which the title of this album obviously hints.
Overall, although over fifty-five years passed since this music was recorded, this album remains an absolute Classic in every respect, which stands proudly as an icon of superb music, which still shines brighter than almost anything else recorded since. Zappa’s genius, not only as a musician, but also as a visionary and a brilliant observer of the human condition and American folly and deceit, remain completely relevant and are even more actual today than ever.
Side Note
Frank Zappa created a vast recorded legacy during his lifetime, which is continuously being expanded using music recorded and stored in his extensive vault. The albums officially released and approved by Zappa are numbered sequentially in the "Official Release" series, from #001 to the last release so far #126. The albums between #001 to #062 were released during Zappa's lifetime and all the others were released posthumously. There are countless unofficial / bootleg releases on the market as well.
Zappa's catalogue was remastered for CD release twice: in 1995 for the RykodiscFind albums on this label releases and again in 2012 for the ZappaFind albums on this label Records / UniversalFind albums on this label releases. The Zappa / Universal program includes 60 releases, which cover the entire catalog released during his lifetime (62 releases, except #013 "200 Motels" and the three Box Sets #043, #046 and #049 called "The Old Masters vol.I / II / III"), and 6 posthumous releases (#064, #065, #067, #068, #093 and #094), which were also included.
| | Updated: 22/09/2022Posted: 25/03/2022 | CD 1 Remastered Recommend To A Friend |
  | FRANK ZAPPA ~ MOTHERMANIA
ZAPPA 3840 (Barcode: 824302384022) ~ USA ~ Avant-Garde Rock
Recorded: 1966 - 1968 Released: 2012
This is a reissue / remaster of the 7th album by iconic American guitarist / composer / bandleader / visionary Frank ZappaFind albums by this artist and his group The Mothers Of InventionFind albums by this artist, originally released in 1969. The album presents eleven original songs, all by Zappa, all of which we released on the first three albums by Zappa and the Mothers, “Freak Out!Find albums with this title”, “Absolutely FreeFind albums with this title” and “We`re Only In It For The MoneyFind albums with this title”, being a sort of “best of” compilation, but since the concept of “best of” was an anathema to Zappa, he used this opportunity to offer unique and different mixes and edits of these songs, which resulted in an entirely new album, which became anything but redundant, like in the case of most “best of” albums.
The Mothers, who recorded these three albums included, in addition to Zappa who played guitar and sung, vocalist Ray CollinsFind albums by this artist, guitarists Jim FielderFind albums by this artist and Eliot IngberFind albums by this artist, keyboardist Don PrestonFind albums by this artist, woodwinds players Bunk GardnerFind albums by this artist, Ian UnderwoodFind albums by this artist and Jim SherwoodFind albums by this artist, bassist Roy EstradaFind albums by this artist and drummers Jimmy Carl BlackFind albums by this artist and Billy MundiFind albums by this artist. Many other musicians took part in the recording of these three albums adding string and brass section arrangements and other contributions.
Zappa shows on these albums that he is able to write Pop songs in any style he wants, with results as god or better than anybody else at the time. His guitar playing and the elaborate arrangements he wrote for the songs are equal to none and he appears as the first “total musician” on the Pop / Rock scene, a status he was able to hold till the day he died. From day one his extravagant personality and brilliant intelligence marked him as an outsider, a fate shared by most geniuses.
Overall, although over fifty years passed since this music was recorded, this album remains an absolute Classic in every respect, which stands proudly as an icon of superb music, which still shines brighter than almost anything else recorded since. Zappa’s genius, not only as a musician, but also as a visionary and a brilliant observer of the human condition and American folly and deceit, remain completely relevant and are even more actual today than ever.
Side Note
Frank Zappa created a vast recorded legacy during his lifetime, which is continuously being expanded using music recorded and stored in his extensive vault. The albums officially released and approved by Zappa are numbered sequentially in the "Official Release" series, from #001 to the last release so far #126. The albums between #001 to #062 were released during Zappa's lifetime and all the others were released posthumously. There are countless unofficial / bootleg releases on the market as well.
Zappa's catalogue was remastered for CD release twice: in 1995 for the RykodiscFind albums on this label releases and again in 2012 for the ZappaFind albums on this label Records / UniversalFind albums on this label releases. The Zappa / Universal program includes 60 releases, which cover the entire catalog released during his lifetime (62 releases, except #013 "200 Motels" and the three Box Sets #043, #046 and #049 called "The Old Masters vol.I / II / III"), and 6 posthumous releases (#064, #065, #067, #068, #093 and #094), which were also included.
| | Updated: 22/09/2022Posted: 30/03/2022 | CD 1 Remastered Recommend To A Friend |
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