Showing posts with label donald fagen. Show all posts
Showing posts with label donald fagen. Show all posts

Sunday 3 November 2019

Log #162 - The Veedon Fleece Brothers Undress

Eddy Bamyasi

Some treats this week. We spin Beck's latest (although a new album Hyperspace is out later this month) and also The Felice Brothers' latest. Top of the magazine we have two classic albums in the smooth jazz rock form of Steely Dan and Donald Fagen (one half of Steely Dan of course and Donald's first appearance solo at the blog). Centre midfield is taken up by one of Van Morrison's greatest albums and the revolutionary samplefest debut from DJ Shadow.

Steely Dan Aja
Donald Fagen The Nightfly
Van Morrison Veedon Fleece
DJ Shadow Endtroducing
The Felice Brothers Undress
Beck Colors

Compiled almost entirely from samples DJ Shadow's groundbreaking Endtroducing received critical acclaim on its release in 1996. No doubt a technical achievement the fear might be that the means trumps the end, but actually the album is very cohesive and contains excellent tracks of down tempo trip hop.

A full list of samples used track by track is shown at this website -  http://www.musicismysanctuary.com/dj-shadows-endtroducing-sample-list

Of most interest to me the list includes artists Pink Floyd, Tangerine Dream and Nirvana, not that you'd be able to tell.

Veedon Fleece is a truly beautiful album. Somewhat over(dj)shadowed by the greatness of its surroundings. Released in 1974 Veedon Fleece was possibly Van Morrison's last great album (for a while at least) following in the footsteps of a run of classics like Moondance, Astral Weeks of course, and St. Dominic's Preview, plus the live double Too Late To Stop Now which came out earlier the same year. It would be another three years before the underwhelming A Period Of Transition would demonstrate a change in style.

Live, human, and dynamic. Richly atmospheric loose-limbed arrangements that parallel ‘Van the Man’s’ tenderly gentle and wildly explosive deliveries. 
Griffin Anthony


Veedon though is slow and easy with Van at his most soulful - I don't think I've heard his voice pitched so high on any other album, possibly channelling his Al Green or Marvin Gaye. Where Astral Weeks is stringy and Moondance is brassy, this one is pianoey.

Some artists sing about individual personal feelings, some are more outward looking and will comment on the state of the world and politics for instance. Then you get the uniqueness of an artist like Dylan who tells long dense stories littered with proper nouns (for better or worse Ian Felice is similar). But I don't think I know of an artist whose songs recall such a sense of place. 

Often this is implicit, 


but sometimes explicit 








as in Streets Of Arklow. Arklow is a town on the east coast of Ireland Morrison visited in 1973 (he was living in the US at the time):

And as we walked
Through the streets of Arklow
In a drenching beauty
Rolling back 'til the day
And I saw your eyes
They was shining, sparkling crystal clear
And our souls were clean
And the grass did grow

I'm also intrigued what Linden Arden Stole The Highlights means:

Linden Arden stole the highlights
With one hand tied behind his back
Loved the morning sun, and whiskey
Ran like water in his veins
Loved to go to church on Sunday
Even though he was a drinking man
When the boys came to San Francisco
They were looking for his life

Morrison described this made up character as "an image of an Irish American living in San Francisco - it's really a hard man type of thing".

I still don't understand how he stole "highlights".

Reviewing Van's discography I'm frankly shocked to realise there are 2 albums up to Veedon Fleece that I don't think I've actually heard in their entirety. They being Hard Nose The Highway and His Band And The Street Choir. I don't know how this has happened and I  promise to rectify immediately Ed. with a visit to ebay. Sure I'd find these for £3 or so at World of Books or Music Magpie.

Undress is the latest album from The Felice Brothers. The band, being generally media darlings, usually get great reviews for both their studio work and their live shows, and this is no exception. However on initial listens I have to admit I was slightly disappointed. Of the dozen tracks there are 4 or 5 that are up to the Brothers' usual high standards, which ain't bad by anyone's measure, but also two or three that are on the weak side. The balance are literally middle of the road.

The lyrics, mostly from Ian Felice who is often compared to Dylan, are important in the Felice Brothers' songs, and many reviews highlight a shift from introspection to a more outward looking view on the state of our political world such as in the sing-a-long Special Announcement:

I can promise more berries
On Blueberry Hill
I can promise you this
Charlie Parker on the ten dollar bill
I'll gather up all the cash
Toss it to the birds
Burn down the Stock Exchange
The Federal Reserve (It's going down)
I'm saving up my money
To be president

and the title track:

Smell the chrysanthemums
Republicans and Democrats
Undress
Even the evangelicals
Yeah, you
Lighten up, undress
Shake the maracas
Everyone's nude on Family Feud
Undress
Under the mushroom cloud
The Pentagon
Undress
Lady Liberty
Crimes against humanity
Undress
Caesars of Wall Street
Brooklyn Bridge
Undress
Comanche and Iroquois
Exploitation, genocide
Undress
Bank of America
Kellyanne
Undress
Read me the Riot Act
Vice President and President
French Kiss

Many of the songs on the new album are motivated by a shift from private to public concerns. It isn’t hard to find worthwhile things to write about these days, there are a lot of storms blooming on the horizon and a lot of chaos that permeates our lives.  The hard part is finding simple and direct ways to address them.
Ian Felice

However, like Dylan, it's the odd genius line of juxtaposition that delights in Felice's lyrics, like exchanging pleasantries under pleasant trees.



Despite my lukewarm feelings about the album the Felices, to be fair, are a band who have rarely stood still, each release pushing new boundaries which can confuse their fans at first. Here original brothers Ian and Felice are joined by new bassist Jesske Hume and drummer Will Lawrence (third brother Simone left in 2009 - his subsequent output as The Duke and The King and as a solo artist are due an examination at a later date). They've also lost long term fiddle player Greg Farley which goes some way to explaining how this record has taken a step away from their popular ramshackle brand of rootsy americana (never more ramshackle as on the previous release Life In The Dark) into a more polished mainstream rock sound.  

The Brothers are touring the UK in January and I also see The Black Deer Festival have pulled off a blinder for next summer:


Powered by Blogger.

Leading Artists (by appearance)

neil young (26) van morrison (22) john martyn (18) tangerine dream (18) felice brothers (16) pink floyd (14) led zeppelin (13) black sabbath (12) brian eno (12) whitest boy alive (12) bonnie prince billy (11) can (11) david sylvian (11) radiohead (11) talk talk (11) beatles (10) cluster (10) cocteau twins (10) laura marling (10) nick cave (10) afro celts (9) beck (9) bob dylan (9) fennesz (9) genesis (9) iron and wine (8) loscil (8) midlake (8) paolo nutini (8) tom waits (8) autechre (7) foals (7) nucleus (7) richard hawley (7) stars of the lid (7) camel (6) david bowie (6) dj vadim (6) efterklang (6) elo (6) fairport convention (6) harmonia (6) holger czukay (6) kings of convenience (6) low (6) luke vibert (6) matthew e white (6) miles davis (6) sahb (6) the doobie brothers (6) tord gustavsen (6) war on drugs (6) william basinski (6) arovane (5) bear's den (5) black keys (5) boards of canada (5) bob marley (5) calexico (5) edgar froese (5) father john misty (5) hawkwind (5) jan jelinek (5) king crimson (5) mouse on mars (5) nils frahm (5) public service broadcasting (5) robert plant (5) sigur ros (5) takemitsu (5) arbouretum (4) badly drawn boy (4) budgie (4) carly simon (4) carole king (4) decemberists (4) emeralds (4) four tet (4) handsome family (4) hidden orchestra (4) jethro tull (4) jj cale (4) john legend (4) klaus schulze (4) kruder and dorfmeister (4) manuel gottsching (4) opeth (4) penguin cafe orchestra (4) ravi shankar (4) soft hair (4) steely dan (4) the unthanks (4) tim hecker (4) trees (4) ulrich schnauss (4) KLF (3) alan parsons project (3) alex harvey (3) alison krauss (3) alva noto (3) barclay james harvest (3) bon iver (3) bonobo (3) caitlin canty (3) caribou (3) chicago (3) coldplay (3) curtis mayfield (3) david crosby (3) deep purple (3) depeche mode (3) eilen jewell (3) enid (3) fleetwood mac (3) floating points (3) free (3) gorillaz (3) gram parsons (3) grateful dead (3) grobschnitt (3) incredible string band (3) james morrison (3) jill scott (3) john grant (3) john surman (3) keith jarrett (3) kraftwerk (3) lal waterson (3) last shadow puppets (3) lift to experience (3) lynyrd skynyrd (3) mahavishnu orchestra (3) manitoba (3) mike oldfield (3) mike waterson (3) monolake (3) neu! (3) palace brothers (3) philip glass (3) popol vuh (3) quantic (3) rodriguez (3) rokia traore (3) rolling stones (3) rory gallagher (3) roxy music (3) rush (3) simon and garfunkel (3) sly and the family stone (3) steve hillage (3) suede (3) sufjan stevens (3) the comet is coming (3) tim buckley (3) wagon christ (3) wilco (3) 4hero (2) abc (2) ac/dc (2) al stewart (2) amon duul II (2) aphex twin (2) arctic monkeys (2) baka beyond (2) band of horses (2) belle and sebastian (2) blue oyster cult (2) blue states (2) bonzo dog band (2) boris salchow (2) burial (2) cardigans (2) carlos barbosa-lima (2) charles mingus (2) chemical brothers (2) chris rea (2) cinematic orchestra (2) compilations (2) crosby stills nash (2) david darling (2) death in vegas (2) debussy (2) dj shadow (2) doors (2) earl sweatshirt (2) eloy (2) emilie simon (2) erik satie (2) farben (2) festivals (2) fleet foxes (2) francois and the atlas mountains (2) fripp and eno (2) gas (2) gong (2) granados (2) green on red (2) griffin anthony (2) jazzland (2) jean sibelius (2) jeff buckley (2) john coltrane (2) johnny flynn (2) josh t pearson (2) julian cope (2) kamasi washington (2) kanye west (2) kate bush (2) ketil bjornstad (2) la dusseldorf (2) lambchop (2) larkin poe (2) little feat (2) ludovico einaudi (2) magma (2) marianne faithfull (2) marvin gaye (2) mike lazarev (2) money mark (2) morton feldman (2) nektar (2) nightmares on wax (2) ninja (2) nirvana (2) nitin sawhney (2) peace (2) porya hatami (2) prefuse 73 (2) prem joshua (2) randy newman (2) robert fripp (2) ryan adams (2) scorpions (2) scott and maria (2) scott matthews (2) servants of science (2) soft machine (2) steve miller (2) susumu yokota (2) talvin singh (2) the who (2) thievery corporation (2) traffic (2) truckstop honeymoon (2) ufo (2) up bustle and out (2) weather report (2) wiley (2) willard grant conspiracy (2) wishbone ash (2) wyclef jean (2) yes (2) abba (1) acid mothers temple and the cosmic inferno (1) aimee mann (1) air (1) alabama 3 (1) alice coltrane (1) amadou and mariam (1) andy shauf (1) anthony hamilton (1) april wine (1) arcade fire (1) ashra (1) asia (1) badger (1) barber (1) beach boys (1) bee gees (1) beirut (1) bert jansch (1) beuno vista social club (1) bill laswell (1) biosphere (1) bjork (1) blow monkeys (1) bob geldof (1) bob holroyd (1) bob seger (1) bombay bicycle club (1) boubacar traore (1) broken social scene (1) bruce springsteen (1) bruch (1) byline (1) captain beefheart (1) cardi b (1) cast (1) cat stevens (1) catfish and the bottlemen (1) charles and eddie (1) chopin (1) chris child (1) christine and the queens (1) chuck prophet (1) climax blues band (1) cosmic jokers (1) crowded house (1) d'angelo (1) daft punk (1) david goodrich (1) davy graham (1) dexy's midnight runners (1) dolly collins (1) donald fagen (1) dreadzone (1) dub pistols (1) eagles (1) echo and the bunnymen (1) eden espinosa (1) eels (1) elbow (1) electric ape (1) emerson lake and palmer (1) erlend oye (1) erukah badu (1) essays (1) euphony in electronics (1) faust (1) feist (1) flaming lips (1) future days (1) gamma (1) gang of four (1) gentle giant (1) goat roper rodeo band (1) godspeed you black emperor (1) gorecki (1) groove armada (1) grover washington jr. (1) gun (1) guru guru (1) hatfield and the north (1) hats off gentlemen it's adequate (1) heron (1) hiss golden messenger (1) hozier (1) human league (1) idles (1) india arie (1) iron and wire (1) isaac hayes (1) james brown (1) james joys (1) jamie t (1) janelle monae (1) jayhawks (1) jean-michel jarre (1) jerry paper (1) jim croce (1) jimi hendrix (1) jjcale (1) john cale (1) john mclaughlin (1) jon hassell (1) jurassic 5 (1) kacey musgraves (1) keith berry (1) kid loco (1) king tubby (1) king's consort (1) kings of leon (1) kirk degiorgio (1) kodomo (1) lenny kravitz (1) lighthouse (1) love supreme (1) luc vanlaere (1) lumineers (1) mark pritchard (1) mark ronson (1) me'shell ndegeocello (1) messiaen (1) metallica (1) micah frank (1) michael hedges (1) michael jackson (1) mike west (1) mitski (1) modest mouse (1) moody blues (1) morte macabre (1) motorhead (1) national health (1) nick drake (1) nusrat fateh ali khan (1) oasis (1) omd (1) orb (1) orquesta reve (1) other lives (1) oval (1) paco pena (1) paladin (1) panda bear (1) pat metheny (1) paulo nutini (1) pentangle (1) pierre bensusan (1) portishead (1) proprio (1) protoje (1) purcell (1) pussy riot (1) queen (1) rainbow (1) ramsay midwood (1) rautavaara (1) rem (1) rhythm kings (1) richard strauss (1) robyn (1) roni size (1) ryuichi sakamoto (1) sada sat kaur (1) saga (1) sam jordan (1) sammy hagar (1) santana (1) scaramanga silk (1) shakti (1) shirley collins (1) shostakovich (1) snafu (1) snatam kaur (1) sparks (1) st germain (1) stanford (1) steeleye span (1) stereolab (1) steve reich (1) styx (1) supertramp (1) susumo yokota (1) t bone walker (1) terry riley (1) the band (1) the clash (1) the jayhawks (1) the streets (1) the wreks (1) tricky (1) tycho (1) uriah heep (1) velvet underground (1) venetian snares (1) vladislav delay (1) whiskeytown (1) whitesnake (1) william ackerman (1) yngwie j malmsteen (1) zhou yu (1) μ-Ziq (1)