Howling At The Moon - The Punk Panther's Album Reviews

As opposed to many jazzers, who were saxophonists or trumpeters, Charles Mingus was a bassman. And what a bassman too. His style is beautifully warm and melodic. As a lover of bass I find myself lapping this up.  The album is an inventive, varied one and has a certain unique quality to it.  Better Git It In Your Soul  is a superbly bassy piece of instrumental improvisation as everyone seems to have free rein, encouraged by occasional shouts from the musicians. The gospelly handclap-saxophone bit is excellent.  This is really incredible stuff for 1959, musically, and in terms of sound quality. The stereo sound is fantastic, just compare it with rock 'n' roll from the same period. Check out those drum too on the wonderful solo just before five minutes in. Those seventies rockers must have used this as a starting point.  The tempo drops on the moving and most atmospheric  Goodbye Pork Pie Hat . I love late night, smoky jazz sounds like this with the bass throbbing slowly as the sa

As with all my jazz reviews, I have to state firmly at the outset that I am certainly no jazz expert. I have several albums and every now and again I have a jazz session. When I do, I really enjoy it. The sound quality is invariably mind-boggling in its quality. Just listen to the clarity and stereo separation on this 1963 recording. Compare that to rock-pop recordings from the same era. The difference is seismic.   Dexter Gordon was a master tenor saxophonist. The tenor was to this sort of lively, "bop" jazz what the electric guitar was to rock. Allied with piano, stand up bass and solid cymbal-brush work on the drums you have the classic jazz line up for this particular genre.  This album found Gordon living in Paris and his foursome included two other US expatriates - Bud Powell on piano, Kenny "Klook" Clarke on drums and Frenchman Pierre Michelot on bass.  The album was very evocative of  sixties   Paris  in its carefree, lively and ebullient "bop", pa

On all these mono/stereo remasters, I prefer the stereo versions, they give a new vibrancy to material that was admittedly originally intended for mono. I feel the stereo mixes highlight just how good musically these two/three minute surf and car songs were.  Brian Wilson’s songwriting was really coming on here. For such a young man to come up with songs as beautiful and concise as  Surfer Girl  and  In My Room  is quite astounding. They are works of pop perfection.  Surfer Moon  is nice too. The upbeat stuff -  Hawaii ,  Catch A Wave  and  Little Deuce Coupe  - are just plain enjoyable. I would rather listen to this than Smiley Smile any day. Yes, really. The sound quality is, as on all these releases, excellent. A revelation, in fact, considering this music was originally recorded in 1963.

Forget all those drug-addled witterings about vegetables and wind chimes, there is still a lot to be enjoyed about The Beach Boys' early "surf and cars" albums.  Stick this on during a hot summer afternoon and tell me that your spirits weren't lifted. Yes, this is no work of "genius" but in a way, maybe it is. Sometimes, you can't beat a collection of two minute great pop songs. Just look at the early Beatles' albums and their popularity. Furthermore, these "mono/stereo" remastered releases are excellent. I am a stereo man myself, although I recognise these songs were originally presented to the world in mono.  Surfin' USA  is a stonewall delight, of course, but I have developed a weakness for the "surf instrumentals"  Misirlou  and  Stoked , and  Farmer's Daughter  is much better than some often say it is. The rest of the tracks are not really worthy of any deep analysis, they just come at you, one after the other, like a

This was  Martha Reeves & The Vandellas ' debut album, and, while it suffers a little from being a typical early/mid sixties Motown album, i.e. a vehicle for a couple of great hit singles filled out with cover versions of popular songs from the time, this is not a bad offering. The sound quality is good too, stereo as well.  The opener,  (Love Is Like A) Heat Wave ,  is a copper-bottomed Motown gem from the opening drum beat through its joyous horns and beat to its great vocals from Martha and the girls. That saxophone backing too. Awesome - 24-carat Motown gold here. The Vandellas moved to top spot at Motown with this wonderful, uptempo stomper that has ridden the decades and remains popular. It rocks, it thumps, the voices wail, the sax blares. Perfect. The Jam covered it on their 1979 Setting Sons. Paul Weller was a big Motown fan, having also had The Jam cover The Supremes' Back In My Arms Again.   The ballad  Hey There Lonely Boy  was a hit in 1974 in the UK for  Eddie

   "I asked them what they had which we could record quickly, and the answer was their stage act" - George Martin   This was it, then, The Beatles' very first album,  and, while very much of its time, there is still some superb stuff on it.  There are five cover versions alongside the eight Lennon-McCartney originals but that was pretty par for the course in 1963. What was not par for the course, however, were self-penned songs. Only The Beatles were writing their own songs. No other artists or groups did it, certainly not in the UK and only Bob Dylan did it in the US. It immediately set them apart from pop music conventions. A few self-composed songs might not sound much now but considered in context it was actually hugely ground-breaking, especially for ones so young as well.  Last night I said these words to my girl....        From Paul McCartney's opening "1-2-3-4, what an opening to a career  I Saw Her Standing There   was, with its rocking McCartney vocal a

  "Still, the heart of With The Beatles lies not in the covers, but the originals" - Stephen Thomas Erlewine - AllMusic Six cover versions in its fourteen tracks,   this is an album of covers and short love songs, but its cultural effect was far greater than the sum of its parts.   For me, like the later  Beatles For Sale  it seems very much a  Lennon  album. He dominates the whole thing, let's be honest, as he did much of The Beatles' early output. He was the band leader, of that there was no doubt. His voice and lyrics are what one remembers mainly after a dose of this album. McCartney is notable for his lack of presence, indeed Harrison takes centre stage just as much, it seems. Anyway, she's got the devil in her heart.... The first two songs are classic Lennon early sixties rockers -  It Won't Be Long   is excellent with "yeah yeahs" similar to the as-yet unreleased She Loves You.  John Lennon said of it - "It was only after a critic for The

  "How many years can some people exist before they're allowed to be free..."   After a debut album that included only two original compositions,  Bob Dylan effectively launched his singer-songwriter career from here.  He still used traditional folk melodies but now he added his own unbelievably mature, prophetic and wise beyond his years lyrics. The cultural impact of this album simply cannot be overstated.  Some of the songs on here became synonymous with the early sixties, the burgeoning folk scene, particularly in New York's Greenwich Village, and with an increased need in the young and intelligent to protest.  The songs embraced the   Civil Rights movement, political corruption and the omnipresent early sixties paranoia about impending nuclear war.  He also had love songs on here, but they were not "moon in June"/"baby I love you" odes - they were often cynical, bitter and accusatory, something that continued for a fair few years.  As fetching

  "Well, you know - it seems to be what the people like to hear" - Bob Dylan This is by far my favourite of Bob Dylan's folk "protest" albums.  It is a spectacular masterpiece of the genre, written and delivered by a young man of barely twenty-two.  Personally, I find the songs more melodic and less starkly bleak than those of the previous album's,  The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan . The subject matter is pretty much the same - impending nuclear war, the Civil Rights movement, racism, oppression, social deprivation, poverty, religious hypocrisy, political corruption and wealth and, of course, the generation gap, as expressed in the magnificent, epoch-defining title track.  So, come gather 'round people... . The Times They Are A Changin'  is, frankly, a strong contender for being the greatest popular song ever written, albeit a protest one. It means something to every young generation as they collectively rail, passionately, but often naively, against t

This is a bit of a little-known jazz album from 1963. Criss was a tenor saxophonist of the "be-bop" and "hard-bop" style, originally and cut this album in Paris in 1963. As I state in all my jazz reviews, I am certainly no jazz expert, but I know what I like, as they say.  This is an instrumental album packed full of lively, rollicking stand-up bass, excellent, crystal clear percussion, rocking keyboard and, of course, Crisss's tenor sax. Hammond organ features considerably too, giving many of the tracks a late-night, smoky, soulful patina, as indeed does some wonderful jazz guitar in places.  Apparently, Criss committed suicide in 1977. It is always such a shame to read things like that.  The saxophone on this album is truly excellent in the laid-back, late night way that jazz like this had and, as seems to always be the case, the sound quality is absolutely superb. Wonderful stereo and definition. A highly recommended, relatively, unknown gem.  If you want a b

Another jazzman who wasn't a brass player was guitarist Kenny Burrell, whose best-known work is a lovely, light and melodic offering. It is a sleepy, generally laid-back album in comparison with the upbeat jazz of many of the others I have been discussing elsewhere.  Chitlins Con Carne  is infectiously rhythmic, featuring some killer saxophone, muscular drums and one of those intoxicating grooves.  Mule  sees Burrell really introduce that slow, trademark guitar sound as does the equally relaxing vibe of  Soul Lament . Listen to that guitar and pick up what will have influenced The Style Council on The Paris Match.  The title track,  Midnight Blue , is actually a faster number, full to the brim with catchy little guitars breaks and an irresistible groove. It is as perfect a piece of gently but enthusiastically sensual instrumental pleasure as you could hope for. That's a mouthful of a sentence, isn't it? I'm sure you know what Im trying to say - that the track is spot on

This was Solomon Burke's third album, released in 1963 on the Atlantic label and is an appealing collection of chunky, brassy soul and early sixties Elvis-influenced ballads. The thing that impresses me on the latest release of it is the superbly remastered sound, which is deep, warm and beautifully bassy, giving a real punch to the songs. Burke's voice is soulfully gritty throughout, whatever type of song he is dealing with, sort of like the sweetness of Sam Cooke mixed with the earthiness of Wilson Pickett. If You Need Me was a Wilson Pickett song made famous by being covered by The Rolling Stones. It is slow, dignified, bassy and bluesy and is a wonderful example of early sixties Atlantic soul. The same applies to the churchy Booker T-style organ and cymbals-powered beauty of the lovely Words. The progression from church-inspired singing into soul is clear on tracks like this. Dr. Feelgood fans will be familiar with the rocking energy of Stupidity, of course. You know, for y

Rufus Thomas was already forty-seven years old when this, his debut album, was released on the Stax label in 1963. It is a really good short serving of brass-powered soul that has a wonderful sound quality, considering its age. Thomas's vocals are gruffly uplifting and his musicians are outstanding - horns, saxophones, bass, drums and backing vocalist all giving it everything. This album would have been hugely influential on all those British blues boom bands. It still sounds great today. Thomas, of course, went on to have a big hit with Do The Funky Chicken. The Dog is a bubbling, brassy groove loaded with funky horns and a surprisingly clear, warm sound for 1964. Some howling dog noises are in there too. Another dance craze-inspired song is up next in the lively "yeah-yeah" sound of Mashed Potatoes. The vocals are only interjectory, it is all about the pumping brass-driven sound. Ooh-Poo-Pah-Doo is a grooving, chugging, call-and-response piece of bluesy brassy soul. You