Log #203 - The Rise And Fall Of Rainbow

 

This is the first appearance for Rainbow in the blog. Rainbow were of course a rock band spring off from the Deep Purple family, led by Ritchie Blackmore. Their most famous and go to album for teenage metal fans was Rainbow Rising (with its brilliant painted cover and gatefold sleeve - reproduced at the top of the post) which is represented well in the first half of this The Best Of compilation. 

I had n't really appreciated how bombastic the music was, especially with Ronnie James Dio's singing. Stargazer is classic Rainbow and classic heavy rock often (at the time) near the top of best songs ever lists, up there with Stairway To Heaven and Freebird. Its most obvious bedfellow for me, though, with its slow build and slight ethnic atmosphere, is Led Zeppelin's Kashmir. All those bands were making music like this in the mid '70s.

Later in the '80s they went more mainstream with shorter rock numbers and even had a few single hits with tracks like All Night Long and I Surrender. Although not as epic as their older songs this move didn't represent a complete sellout to synthesizers and '80s production values although I do remember fans were unimpressed with new singer Graham Bonnet's haircut which was very non heavy metal.

The songs of the period aren't that remarkable but do retain a decent heavy rock edge. Various reformed versions of the band are still going generally under Blackmore's leadership but the original band disbanded in 1984.

In a similar vein we revisit more heavy rock with Led Zeppelin and The Scorpions (what a brilliant lead guitarist Uli Jon Roth was - he should be at least as famous as Jimmy Page).

However Klaus Schulze's gurgling worldy flavoured Picture Music is much more my thing these days.  

Led Zeppelin - Physical Grafitti (cd 2)

Midlake - The Courage Of Others

John Legend - Get Lifted

Rainbow - The Best Of
Klaus Schulze - Picture Music

Scorpions - Tokyo Tapes

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Log #157 - Another Indie Folk Rock Band - Eddy Hears The Decemberists For The First Time

Two exciting new entries this week in The Decemberists and The Felice Brothers, plus a return to two artists I tend to group together for some reason although their albums are not necessarily similar: Scott Matthews and James Morrison. Bringing up the rear we take a listen to John Legend's debut album and revisit a perennial favourite - Gram Parson's two on one solo collection GP/Grievous Angel.

The Decemberists Picaresque

 Scott Matthews Passing Stranger

Gram Parsons GP/Grievous Angel
John Legend Get Lifted

James Morrison Undisclosed

Felice Brothers Yonder Is The Clock

Very grateful for the introduction to the The Decemberists. A friend told me they were his favourite band. I asked which album was the best to get (there are 8) and he said "all of them". I don't get all of anybody these days (once in the past I would collect everything by one artist but nowadays, like reading books, there is only so much time so I try and limit myself to the best). 

Anyway after a little bit of perfunctory investigation I decided to go for the band's third album Picaresque and what a stonker it is - packed to the hilt with dramatic songs of cow punk and indie folk - a mash of Fairport Convention, The Waterboys, Belle and Sebastian, REM, Tom Waits, The Tiger Lillies and The Felice Brothers.

Hear The Decemberists at their most theatrical here:

I won't be getting all 8 but can see me investing in at least half of them.

It's a short leap from The Decemberists to the fantastic Felice Brothers. There are many similarities - lyrical story based songs, fiddles and accordions, ramshackle arrangements, and a charismatic front man with a voice of gravel. If I was pushed to highlight a difference I'd say The Felice Brothers are more roughly hewn diamonds.

Yonder Is The Clock (already their 6th as early as 2009) is another excellent album from the Felice Brothers' catalogue. There are plenty of down tempo ballads on this album but the brothers never fail to serve up a crowd pleasing stomp or two. Run Chicken Run fulfilling that role here:

Chickens get no life after death! Who knew?

Gram Parsons' two solo albums of melodic love songs and ballads are conveniently collected on this 2-CD set. Parsons almost invented country rock and the genre is amply demonstrated throughout these 20 tracks which maintain a remarkable standard throughout. For CD collectors this edition is essential for any rock fan, along with Capt. Beefheart's Spotlight Kid/Clear Spot 2-CD edition.

Great singers both, James Morrison and Scott Matthews. The former a bit more souly and the latter more rocky. Two excellent albums that I return to fairly frequently.

Lastly this week comes John Legend's 2004 debut album Get Lifted. As explained in Log #155 I was alerted to Legend through a track in the Tarrantino film Django Unchained, and purchased this record and the follow up Once Again. The latter record grew on me. This one not so much to date. It has a more gospel leaning. Neither records quite reach the peaks of the Django track Who Did That To You?

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