domingo, 21 de junio de 2009

Jess & James - Jess & James


Jess & James (Jess & James) LP Belter 22.434 - 1969

Antonio y Fernando Lameirinhas (alias Tony & Wando Lam) son dos hermanos portugueses de Oporto que, de jóvenes y junto con su familia, emigraron a Bélgica en 1959. Ya en 1964 formaban The Modes, con quienes publican algún single. Tras una estancia en Inglaterra, donde tocaron con varios grupos de beat (entre ellos, probablemente, Screaming Lord Sutch), regresan a Bélgica en 1967 y forman una potente banda multinacional, The J.J. Band, con quienes pronto son la sensación de media Europa con arrasadores directos e irresistibles singles de rock-soul-pop.

Después de un primer LP, "Move", las clásicas diferencias de orientación musical provocan la separación de la banda, que sigue por su cuenta sin Jess & James. Tony y Wando entran entonces en contacto con un músico americano de jazz que andaba por Europa, Scott Bradford, que sería fundamental en el resto de la carrera de Jess & James, aportando ideas y parte de sus músicos. Scott publicaba en 1969 un LP instrumental de clara orientación jazz-prog para el sello americano Probe.

Un segundo LP, "Revolution, Evolution, Change", aún manteniendo una aproximación general de rock-soul, muestra ya alguna nuevas inquietudes sonoras que cristalizarían en el bizarro disco que ahora nos ocupa.

Estaba claro que los hermanos Lam estaban atravesando una época de pruebas musicales a granel. Casi al mismo tiempo, y con prácticamente la misma formación, la banda grabó un sorprendente disco instrumental experimental, mezclando el sonido swinging London y el euro jazz con ruiditos de incipiente sintetizador y otros ingrediente varios. Este LP se editó bajo el nombre de The Free Pop Electronic Concept.

Era casi el fin del proyecto Jess & James. En 1972, y tras un último single acreditado esta vez a Jess, Denis & James, Tony y Wando se trasladan a España. Ya habían estado aquí varias veces antes con su banda, pero ahora se unirían durante un tiempo a Los Canarios. Finalizada esta aventura se instalan en Holanda, en donde tienen bastante éxito con su nuevo grupo Sail-Joia, que les ocupa hasta finales de la década. Mucho después, en 1994, Wando reanuda su carrera musical, grabando algunos discos intermitentemente hasta la actualidad, pero ya como Fernando Lameirinhas, su nombre real.


Titulado simplemente "Jess & James", este tercer y último LP es realmente una bestia sonora, un disco prácticamente imposible de clasificar y de difícil etiqueta. Prog-soul hecho por portugueses en Bélgica !?

Grabado sin sección de viento como los anteriores, únicamente por el cuarteto de Tony, Wando, Scott Bradford y Stu Martin (bajo, guitarra, teclas y batería respectivamente), es un disco que mezcla sin pudor el emergente movimiento progresivo con el soul (sobre todo en la desgarrada forma de cantar de Wando), con algunos toques de jazz y rock de montaña con guitarras imposibles y swinging hammond. Un disco irrepetible que dejó un tanto descolocados a los fans más normalitos del grupo. En consecuencia vendió muy poco, constituyendose casi de inmediato en una auténtica rareza del euro-rock.

Las dos canciones "suaves" del disco, "Perdition Again" y "A Passing Car" son realmente estremecedoras y amplias. La que abre el disco, "Straight Man", es una anfetosa anticipación progresiva multicolor. En "Mrs. Davis" se dan la mano guapamente la edad de piedra y la era espacial. Caverna de neón con neuroguitarra y ritmo tribal. Ahí está también esa versión marciana de "She's A Woman". En fin... Un disco para aventureros, no apto para todos los públicos.

Hay que comentar obligatoriamente que la portada no hace justicia al disco en absoluto. Sobre todo en la edición española, que es la que tenemos aqui. Puro estilo Belter y utilizando una foto cutre un poco antigua. Al menos en la edición original belga se ven los cuatro del grupo...aunque tampoco es ninguna maravilla. "Mrs. Davis" y "A Passing Car" se editaron en single. Es todo un shock pensar que alguien en Palette, el sello discográfico, pudiera llegar a pensar que "Mrs. Davis", puro rock pétreo y underground, podría ser pinchada en la radio, siquiera una sola vez. Que tiempos.


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Antonio and Fernando Lameirinhas (aka Tony & Wando Lam) are two portuguese brothers from Porto that, when teenagers and with their family, migrated to Belgium in 1959. Already in 1964 they formed The Modes and released some single. After a spell in England, where they played with a few beat bands (Screaming Lord Sutch probably one of them), they went back to Belgium and in 1967 made a multinational group, The J.J. Band, and soon found themselves being the sensation in half Europe with their demolishing live shows and irresistible rock-soul-pop singles.

After their first LP, "Move", the classic musical orientation differences forced the band to split from the two brothers, and followed their way without Jess & James. Tony and Wando contacted then with an american jazz musician that was wandering around Europe, Scott Bradford, who would be a fundamental force for the rest of their career, adding his own ideas and part of his musicians. Scott himself released in 1969 an instrumental LP with an open jazz-prog orientation for the american label Probe.

A second LP, "Revolution, Evolution, Change", still keeping an overall rock-soul approach, was already showing some new sonic concerns which crystalized in the bizarre record we're having here now.

It seems a quite clear thing that the Lam brothers were full hands undergoing musical testings around this time. Almost at the same time, and with practically the very same line-up, tha band recorded a surprising instrumental experimental album, mixing swinging London sounds, euro jazz and other assorted ingredients with early synthesizer noises. This LP was released under the name of The Free Pop Electronic Concept.

It was almost the end of the Jess & James project. In 1972, and after a last single credited this time to Jess, Denis & James, Tony and Wando moved to Spain. They had already been here a few times in the past with their group, but now they would join for some time famous spanish band Los Canarios. After this adventure was over they moved to Holland, where they would find quite a success with their new group Sail-Joia, which kept them busy until the end of the 70s. Quite a long time later, in 1994, Wando re-started is musical career, recording sporadically and up until right now some solo albums, but now as Fernando Lameirinhas, his real name.


Titled simply "Jess & James", this third and last LP is really a sonic beast, an album almost impossible to classify and a quite hard one to put a tag on. Prog-soul made in Belgium by some portuguese !?

Unlike the former two albums, recorded without any horn in sight, and only by the quartet of Tony, Wando, Scott Bradford and Stu Martin (bass, guitar, keyboards and drums respectively), it's a record that unashamedly mixes the emerging prog movement with soul (specially in the torn and broken voice of Wando), with some touches of jazz, mountain rock and impossible guitars with swinging hammond. An album almost impossible to repeat which left astonished most common fans of the band and sold very few copies, making it almost immediately a real euro-rock rarity.

The two "smooth" songs in the album, "Perdition Again" and "A Passing Car", are really thrilling and "wide". "Straight Man", opening the LP, is a speedy and multicolour prog anticipation. In "Mrs. Davis", stone age and distant future go hand in hand. Neon cavern with neuroguitar and tribal rhythm. Here's also that martian cover of "She's A Woman". Well... A record for adventurers, not suited for all audiences.

We have to compulsorily comment that the cover absolutely doesn't make any justice to the album. Specially in this spanish release we're having here. With that pure "Belter" style and using a quite pedestrian and a bit old photo. At least, on the original belgian edition you can see all four members of the band... though it isn't any wonder either. "Mrs. Davis" and "A Passing Car" were released also as a single. It's really shocking to think that someone at Palette, the record label, could end up thinking that "Mrs. Davis", pure stoney underground rock, could be played in the radio even once. Such times.


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Link Eliminado

El propósito de este blog es divulgar y hacer accesibles algunos discos interesantes que no han sido nunca reeditados, y/o son muy difíciles de encontrar. No queremos interferir con la industria discográfica, especialmente con los pequeños sellos que se encargan de reeditar este tipo de grabaciones.
Supongo que a todo el mundo le gusta que le paguen por su trabajo y dedicación. A ellos también.

Por ello, hemos eliminado el link de descarga de este LP, que ya está disponible en las tiendas especializadas, también necesitadas de tu colaboración para que toda la gente que depende de la música pueda seguir viviendo con dignidad.



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Deleted link

The purpose of this blog is to spread and make available some interesting records which have never been re-released, and are quite difficult to find. We don't want to interfere with the music industry, specially with those small labels who are taking care of re-releasing this kind of recordings.
I suppose everybody likes to be paid for their work and dedication. They too.

Therefore, we have removed the download link of this LP, which is already available in specialized shops. They also need your collaboration, so that all the people who are depending on music may keep on living with some dignity.



martes, 2 de junio de 2009

Jerry Corbitt - Corbitt


Jerry Corbitt (Corbitt) LP Polydor 24 4003 - 1969

Originalmente un cantante de folk de Georgia, Jerry Corbitt emigró a mediados de los 60 hacia el norte, en donde se unió a Jesse Colin Young para formar The Youngbloods.

En 1968 los deja durante la grabación del tercer disco del grupo para iniciar sus aventuras en solitario. Una de ellas fué producir el primer LP de los legendarios Mad River. El batería del grupo, Greg Dewey, se apuntaría muy poco después al primer disco en solitario de Jerry, que no tardó en grabarse, y que es el que aquí tenemos.

Producido por su amigo Charlie Daniels, quien ya se había ocupado anteriormente de The Youngbloods, es un disco un tanto bizarro. Toca varios géneros sin adentrarse claramente en ninguno. Potente rock con efluvios de costa oeste en "Let The Music Come Inside", "Delight In Your Love" y "Banned In Boston", con unas multicolores guitarras cortantes a cargo, en su mayoría, de Rick Turner (guitarrista de la ilustre banda psicodélica Autosalvage).

Un toque desgarrado y más dramático en "Out Of The Question" (con el moog del experimentalista Bernie Krause) o en "The Kahuna Song" que cierra el disco. En "I Love You All", extraída como single, nos las vemos con una especie mutante de rock soul sureño con sección de viento incluída. "The Rain Song" ya había sido publicada por The Youngbloods en su tercero, "Elephant Mountain", aunque aqui aparece en una versión mucho más ácida. Y también hay algunos ejercicios de country folk clásico. Clásico, si no fuera por la nota dominante en el disco: esa desgarradora voz, demasiado quebrada, aguardentosa y urgente para ser country.

En fin, un disco que, si hubiera sido editado por un anónimo grupo de algún lugar perdido, en una edición privada y con un extraño sello, a buen seguro traería de calle a los coleccionistas de medio mundo y parte del otro, y se pagarían fortunas por él. Pero se trataba de un artista relativamente conocido en su día, grabando en New York y editando en una multinacional. Así pues, el album no encontró su público, y Jerry Corbitt nunca haría otro disco igual, adentrandose en territorios mucho más convencionales para su segundo LP en 1970.

A partir de ahi, fué espaciando sus propias grabaciones y dedicandose a producir y tocar con otra gente (Don McLean, Janis Ian, Country Joe McDonald, Buffy St. Marie...) y a trabajar para algunas películas y anuncios. El año pasado, Jerry Corbitt publicó en su propio sello, Desert Wind, un nuevo disco, "Along For The Ride". Aunque, me temo que poco tiene que ver con este estrafalario artefacto, producto de aquellos benditos excesos de juventud. Qué dificil es envejecer decentemente.



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Originally a folk singer from Georgia, Jerry Corbitt migrated north in the mid 60s and joined Jesse Colin Young to form The Youngbloods.

In 1968, and during the recordings of their third album, he left the band to start his solo adventures. One of them was producing the first LP of the legendary Mad River. The drummer of this band, Greg Dewey, would soon be enlisted for Jerry's first solo album, which would be recorded a bit later, and which is the one we're having here now.

Produced by his friend Charlie Daniels, who had already been in charge of The Youngbloods, it's a rather bizarre album. It gets close to several different genres without clearly staying very long in any of them. Powerful rock with some west coast flavour in "Let The Music Come Inside", "Delight In Your Love" and "Banned In Boston", with some hard edged and colourful guitars, mostly played by Rick Turner (main axeman of distinguished psychedelic band Autosalvage).
A broken and more dramatic touch in "Out Of The Question" (with the moog of experimentalist Bernie Krause) or in "The Kahuna Song" which is closing the LP. In "I Love You All", lifted as a single, we're finding some kind of mutant southern rock soul including horns. "The Rain Song" had already been released by The Youngbloods in their third, "Elephant Mountain", though here's in a quite more acid version. And there's also some classic country folk exercises. Classic, if it wasn't for the dominant fact of the whole record: that tearing voice, too broken, harsh and urgent for being country.

Well, a record that, if it had been released by some anonymous band from a lost place, in a private pressing with some strange label, quite surelly would be driving mad collectors from half of the world and part of the other half, and big money would be paid for it. But it was by a rather popular artist in his time, recording in New York and releasing through a big multinational company. So, the album didn't find in fact its audience, and Jerry Corbitt would never make such a record again, entering safer and more conventional territories for his second LP in 1970.

From there on, he slowed down his own recordings and got into producing and playing for other people (Don McLean, Janis Ian, Country Joe McDonald, Buffy St. Marie...) and also working for some movies and adverts. Last year, Jerry Corbitt released a new album, "Along For The Ride", on his own label, Desert Wind. Though I'm afraid it has very little in common with this eccentric artifact we have here, surelly a product of those blessed youth excesses. How difficult it is to get old in a decent way.




http://rapidshare.com/files/240182065/Jerry_Corbitt__Corbitt__1969.rar




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