Record Reviews
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  | AL KOOPER / SHUGGIE OTIS ~ KOOPER SESSION
ACADIA 8135 (Barcode: 805772813526) ~ USA ~ Blues
Recorded: 1969 Released: 2007
This is the last album in the series of recordings made in the late 1960s by keyboardist / producer Al KooperFind albums by this artist with some of the greatest guitar players (mostly Blues oriented) like Mike BloomfieldFind albums by this artist, Stephen StillsFind albums by this artist, Carlos SantanaFind albums by this artist and Johnny WinterFind albums by this artist under the umbrella of the "Super SessionFind albums with this title" format, which allowed for a loosely defined jam session environment with a lot of on-the-spot improvised music to be recorded. This album features the talents of the Blues guitar prodigy Shuggie OtisFind albums by this artist, who was barely 15 years old at the time of this recording (son of Blues legend Johnny OtisFind albums by this artist). As usual for these sessions, Kooper assembled a rhythm session of seasoned studio musicians to accompany him and Otis. The session was divided into two parts, with one LP side containing more structured songs and the other lengthy jams, which allow Otis to play his heart out and display his guitar artistry at full. In retrospect this music lost nothing of its freshness and power, hitting the right notes time and again and for electric Blues fans this is still some of the best stuff ever recorded. Kooper´s magic touch just couldn´t go wrong and he kept the Blues flame burning. This is a great piece of music history and a much appreciated reissue of an album, which was lost for many years in the vaults.
| | | CD 1 Remastered Recommend To A Friend |
  | SHUGGIE OTIS ~ SHUGGIE`S BOOGIE
EPIC 57903 ~ USA ~ Blues
Shuggie Otis was just 15 years old when he was discovered by Al Kooper, who recorded an album with him as part of the `Supper Session` series. The child prodigy blew evrybody`s mind by playing some of the hottest blues licks ever heard and performing with self-assurance, potency and maturity worthy of a blues veteran. This album includes a selection of the best tracks taken from his 4 albums and it smokes all the way!
| | | CD 1 Recommend To A Friend |
  | FRANK ZAPPA ~ HOT RATS
ZAPPA 3841 (Barcode: 824302384121) ~ USA ~ Jazz-Rock Fusion
Recorded: 1969 Released: 1969
This is a reissue / remaster of the 8th album by iconic American guitarist / composer / bandleader / visionary Frank ZappaFind albums by this artist, released originally in 1969. The music was recorded in the studio during several weeks in 1969 and utilized a Sisyphean multi-tracking and overdubbing process, which can be studied in detail when listening to the 6CD Box Set “The Hot Rats SessionsFind albums with this title” released in 2019. The album presents six tracks, five of which are instrumentals, all composed by Zappa.
The lineup, in addition to Zappa on guitar, includes violinists Don Sugarcane HarrisFind albums by this artist and Jean-Luc PontyFind albums by this artist, multi-instrumentalist Ian UnderwoodFind albums by this artist, vocalist Captain BeefheartFind albums by this artist (on one track), bassists Max BennettFind albums by this artist and Shuggie OtisFind albums by this artist, drummers John GuerinFind albums by this artist and Paul HumphreyFind albums by this artist and many other musicians adding minor contributions.
The album presents a brilliantly innovative Jazz-Rock Fusion, intricate and complex and yet beautifully melodic, which became one of Zappa’s main musical avenues in years to come. It also presents some of his most recognizable compositions, which became trademarks during his concerts. In retrospect, if Zappa had recorded nothing else beyond this album, his musical Genius would have been already recognized in full, but of course this was just a beginning in many respects. The album became in time one of the most iconic recordings in American music.
Overall, although this music is now over fifty years old, it sounds as fresh as it did when first heard and lost absolutely nothing of its power and everlasting beauty. 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.
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: 20/02/2022 | CD 1 Remastered Recommend To A Friend |
  | FRANK ZAPPA ~ THE HOT RATS SESSIONS
ZAPPA 20032 (Barcode: 824302003220) ~ USA ~ Jazz-Rock Fusion
Recorded: 1969 Released: 2019
This is an archival reissue of the sessions by iconic American guitarist / composer / bandleader / visionary Frank ZappaFind albums by this artist, recorded in July 1969, which finally resulted in Zappa’s legendary debut solo album “Hot RatsFind albums with this title”. This lavishly packaged Box Set celebrates the 50th Anniversary of these recordings and includes no less than six CDs of music, the first four recorded during the a.m. sessions and two additional CDs of vault materials, related to the “Hot Rats” album. Most of the sessions material, which was later (in August 1969) overdubbed and mixed down, was finally released on the “Hot Rats” album, but some tracks, or fragments of thereof, were released on later Zappa albums. These sessions in their original raw form are all previously unreleased. All the music was composed by Zappa.
The group of musicians taking part in the recording of these sessions consists of violinist Don Sugarcane HarrisFind albums by this artist, pianist Ian UnderwoodFind albums by this artist, bassist Max BennettFind albums by this artist, drummer John GuerinFind albums by this artist, keyboardist Don PrestonFind albums by this artist, father Johnny OtisFind albums by this artist on piano and son Shuggie OtisFind albums by this artist on bass and others, since Zappa used many different musicians during these sessions.
The material in this Box Set is a superb historic document, which shows how the recording process developed, stage after stage (or take after take), emphasizing the complexity of the project and Zappa’s role as the great constructor, who has the final result already in his head, before it was even started. But to be perfectly honest I am not sure that an average listener, regardless how much he appreciates the music, will have the patience and stamina needed to listen to the entire material attentively and comprehend the unfolding process, which can be quite mundane. Of course for people interesting in the recording process and the creation of the building blocks of an album in the studio, this material is absolutely sensational.
The music, as I have already stated repeatedly, is beyond categorization, being first and foremost the idiosyncratic creation of Zappa’s musical Genius. Obviously at the time Zappa was discovering the Jazz elements in his music, creating his very own Jazz-Rock Fusion, but the claim that he “invented” the idiom is simply not true historically, as musicians across the pond were already playing Jazz-Rock Fusion several years earlier. But music is not a horse race, so who cares who was first. It is worth to remember that 1969 was an incredibly pivotal year in music history, not only for Zappa of course, but the entire music scene in the US and Europe was exploding with unchallenged productivity. Of course every new piece of reissued vault material by Zappa expands the portrait of one of the paramount musical Geniuses of the 20th Century.
Overall, this is perhaps not an absolute must have album for all Zappaoids, but it definitely is a superb and highly detailed document of the way Zappa created his masterpieces, and of course a testimony to his musical out of the box thinking and creativity.
| | Updated: 24/09/2021Posted: 24/09/2021 | CD 6 Mini-Sleeve Box Set Recommend To A Friend |
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