OOP Vinyl Curiosities: Kittyhawk - Kittyhawk (1980) - Unique jazz/rock band

OOP Vinyl Curiosities: 

Kittyhawk - Kittyhawk (1980)

(Released on EMI America)

Unique Jazz/Rock band featuring great compositions played on the Chapman Stick

MP3 @ 320 kbps

Today I have a real forgotten gem of an album, utterly fantastic, but apparently left to gather dust on the shelf. As I was looking for the next album to feature as part of this OOP (Out of Print) Vinyl Curiosities series and was finding that alot of the ones I was thinking about have been recently re-issued or re-released, I ran across this one, and was absolutely shocked that this stunning album was never re-issued or released on CD. I loved this album when it came out way back in the day, and still love it today. What we have here is the band Kittyhawk, and their self-titled debut album from 1980. Kittyhawk played what might be categorized as light jazz, smooth jazz, jazz/rock, fusion or whatever, a very melodic jazz style that focuses more on composition than improvisation. One of the features of the band was that it consisted of two musicians that primarily played the Chapman Stick. Now, the Chapman Stick is an electric string instrument, related to a guitar, but decidedly different, as it consists of 10 strings on a fretboard, 5 bass strings and 5 melody strings, and is played by tapping the strings rather than strumming or picking. It was developed by Emmett Chapman and first became publicly available in 1974. It has a unique sound, somewhere between that of a guitar and a piano, and because of its unique design, is played with both hands, playing both bass and chords or melody at the same time. Kittyhawk was formed after a couple of Chapman Stick players, Daniel Bortz and Paul Edwards, met at the L.A. home of Emmett Chapman in 1977, and got together to start jamming. They began playing as a duet around SoCal clubs, and wanted to further explore and expand their songs in a full band. So, they recruited drummer Michael Jochum and saxophonist Richard Elliot to join them and fill out their sound and unique style. Their first album, Kittyhawk (1980), was mostly instrumental (with one vocal track and additional wordless vocals from Edwards), featured a breezy jazz/rock style, strong compositions, melodies and arrangements, and the unique combination of Chapman Stick and Sax on all songs. But the Stick was not used as a gimmick or novelty, just an extremely versatile instrument well-integrated into the songs. I don't remember how I first heard about the band, but I got their album and just loved it, certainly one of the best releases of the year, and still a classic album. I just have to say that this is a truly great album that deserves to be heard, and not forgotten as some relic of history. If you are at all interested in a melodic jazz-rock style, you will enjoy this album. It is just a joy to listen to from beginning to end. For comparison, it is in a somewhat similar vein to some of Pat Metheny's stuff, particularly the Pat Metheny Group albums from the 70's and 80's. Kittyhawk released two subsequent albums, Race for the Oasis (1981) and Fanfare (1984), which are also quite good (but not as good as the debut). They received some notoriety and acclaim in the day, and there was a Public Television music special titled 'First Flight' that featured a concert performance by Kittyhawk (and some videos from it are available on Youtube to see what they looked and sounded like in concert). But then, that was it, and Kittyhawk subsequently faded into oblivion. Richard Elliot went on to play with the Tower of Power Horns before starting a successful solo career, releasing over 20 albums (many on his own label). Michael Jochum went on to do session work for film and TV, as well as stints with Jackson Browne, Boy Meets Girl, Korn, and Jonathan Davis. Bortz and Edwards went their own ways and continued playing the Stick and other touch style instruments. As for other contemporary musicians that use the Chapman Stick, probably the most famous is Tony Levin, who has played the Stick throughout the years with Peter Gabriel, King Crimson, and Liquid Tension Experiment. Levin even has his own band that features multiple Chapman Sticks, called The Stickmen. But again, the strength of this Kittyhawk album is in the compositions, arrangements, and performance, with all four members contributing and featured prominently throughout, and which is only enhanced by the unique sound of the Chapman Stick. Be sure to check this one out.               

This needle-drop recording was made directly from my 40-yr old vinyl copy of the album (EMI America ‎– SW-17029) using Audacity. Thus may contain various vinyl clicks and pops.  

Tracklist:
1. Islands 4:47
2. Never Once 4:03
3. Chinese Firedrill 4:14
4. Once Upon A Time 6:33
5. Big City 6:00
6. Wooed But Not Wed 6:35
7. Piper's Romp 3:36
8. Aerial View 5:11

Musicians:
Daniel Bortz - Chapman Stick, Guitar, Guitar [Fretless], Cello
Paul Edwards - Chapman Stick, Vocals
Michael Jochum - Drums, Percussion
Richard Elliot - Lyricon, Saxophone

Kittyhawk - Kittyhawk_1980_vinylrec.rar

Note: There was another band, an indie pop-rock band from Chicago, active around 2011-2016, that also had the name Kittyhawk (and has a Wikipedia page), but this is not THAT Kittyhawk. This is the 1980's jazz-rock band Kittyhawk.
 

New Album Capsule Reviews - Early 2022 (Elvis Costello, Jethro Tull, Big Big Train, Jonas Lindberg)

New Album Capsule Reviews

OK, here’s a new feature for the site – capsule album reviews, where I will provide brief reviews of some recently released albums of interest. This is something I’ll try to do every few months or so as needed to cover relevant albums. So, first up are some notable albums from the first couple months of 2022. As always, these are just my own opinions, and since these are relatively new albums, are mostly based on relatively few listens (but at least 3 times per album).

Elvis Costello & The Imposters – The Boy Named If (2022)

Elvis is back with another new album, something like his 32^nd, and although I am an Elvis fan from his earliest days on, I have to admit that I haven’t really paid much attention to his last several albums. Sure, I listened to them when they first came out, but overall, his more recent output just hasn’t resonated enough to stick with me or go back for repeated listens. But that is not the case with this latest album, which is a real keeper. In fact, this is probably his best album in about the last 20 years. First off, it sounds great, and benefits greatly from a very dynamic Imposters band and wonderful arrangements (Pete Thomas’ drums are prominent here, backed by Davey Faragher’s bass, and Steve Nieve’s eclectic keyboards, and Elvis’ otherworldly guitar sounds) showing an energy, vitality, and presence not matched in decades. Elvis has generated a diverse collection of great songs here, from driving rockers to stirring ballads to quirky eccentricities. Elvis has pulled out the Wayback machine for this one, producing songs with the style and arrangements reminiscent of albums from the ‘70’s and ‘80’s, and throughout his illustrious career, such as Armed Forces, Trust, Imperial Bedroom, Spike, and Brutal Youth. Elvis’s voice even sounds younger and more fluid here than on other recent albums. If you have ever been an Elvis fan at all, you must check out this album, as it is great, and could possibly rank among his top ten very best (but needs more time to resonate).  

Best tracks: ‘Farewell OK’, ‘What if I Can’t Give You Anything But Love’, ‘Paint the Red Rose Blue’, ‘My Most Beautiful Mistake’, ‘The Man You Love to Hate’, ‘Mr. Crescent’. Weakest track: ‘Mistook Me for a Friend’.  Rating: 4 stars (for now, but could move up to 4.5 with repeated listens, it’s that good).

Jethro Tull – The Zealot Gene (2022)

Ian Anderson is back with a new incarnation of Jethro Tull, and the first new Tull album in nearly 20 years. And Ian harkens back to sounds and styles reminiscent of some of their earlier albums. Overall, it’s great to hear Ian’s flute as a major component as well as some of Tull’s characteristic styles and strong songwriting throughout.  Although it is clear that Ian’s voice is not what it used to be, his talk-singing style works well enough here. Where the album falls flat, unfortunately, is with the backing band, which is just completely generic and lackluster. The album does seem to really be an Ian Anderson solo album, as the backing band contribute virtually nothing here (and the backing arrangements are also frustratingly repetitive), and weaken what could have been several very strong tracks. It just doesn’t sound like a band at all, just Ian with some generic backing musicians. Certainly not like Jethro Tull of the glory days, where stellar guitar work from Martin Barre, bassist Jeffrey Hammond, John Evans keyboards, and the dynamic drumming of Barriemore Barlow provided scintillating contributions to the Tull sound. I can understand why they wanted to call this a Jethro Tull album, due to the stylistic aspects being very much in line with what we know as Jethro Tull, but realistically, this is still an Ian Anderson solo album. Here, the musicians other than Anderson just don’t provide any spark at all. For this reason, the more acoustic tracks work the best here, highlighting Ian’s acoustic guitar, flute, harmonica, mandolin, vocals, and lyrics. Still, there are some very good tracks here, and the album is definitely worth checking out, just be aware that it is not classic Tull. 

Best Tracks: ‘Mrs. Tibbets’, ‘Sad City Sisters’, ‘Where Did Saturday Go?’, ‘Three Love Three’. Weakest tracks: ‘Mine is the Mountain’, ‘The Zealot Gene’. Rating: 3 stars.

Big Big Train – Welcome to the Planet (2022)

Big Big Train’s follow-up to their stellar 2021 album, Common Ground, is Welcome to the Planet, which continues their run of wonderful albums, with another collection of great songs. Although it can’t quite match the heights of the previous album (which was my pick for best album of 2021), it is still a great album. The band continues growing and developing during a period of transition and changeover in personnel, exploring and moving in some new directions, and getting contributions from various band members. Both of the songs written by drummer Nick D’Virgiolio (‘Connection Plan’ and the dynamic instrumental ‘Bats in the Belfry’) are excellent and quite different from previous Big Big Train songs (including an extended drum solo). The first half of the album shines the brightest, with ‘Connection Plan’, the grand and sumptuous ‘Lanterna’, the sparse and beautiful ballad ‘Capitoline Venus’ (featuring perhaps the best vocal performance from David Longdon), and the atmospheric instrumental ‘A Room with No Ceiling’. The conclusion of the album is weakened a bit by the final two songs, as ‘Oak and Stone’ languishes some with an odd unsettled melody, and the final title track may be the strangest in the band’s history, starting with disturbing lyrics and then perhaps the least inviting ‘Welcome’ ever with beautiful harmonies but a dark and twisted melody. Then, towards the end of the song it transitions into a New Orleans-style Dixieland jam before ending with the opening disturbing mood and lyrics. Certainly an intriguing track from newcomer pianist Carly Bryant, but ends the album with more of a WTF? than the grandness of previous releases. Despite that questionable ending, still a great album overall. However, it is also bittersweet hearing the wonderful vocals of David Longdon on this album. Great that we get these new songs from him, after his tragic death late last year, but sad that we will not hear his voice or his other contributions on future albums.

Best Tracks: ‘Connection Plan’, ‘Lanterna’, ‘Capitoline Venus’, ‘A Room with No Ceiling’,’ Bats in the Belfry’. Weakest track: ‘Oak and Stone’. Rating: 4 stars.

Jonas Lindberg and the Other Side – Miles From Nowhere (2022)

Jonas Lindberg & The Other Side are a Swedish progressive rock band, and Miles From Nowhere is their 2^nd full-length album. I was not aware of this band until a couple months ago when a couple of pre-album singles were released promoting the band and new album, and they sounded really good. When I first heard the full album, I thought, yes, this is very good. They have a delightful mix of catchy pop melodies and vocal harmonies interspersed with extended progressive passages and intriguing instrumental sections. Jonas plays many of the instruments himself, from bass, guitar, keyboards, and vocals, but with able assistance from the rest of the band, especially the impeccable lead and backing vocals shared by Jonas Sundqvist and Jenny Storm. The expansive album provides over 75 minutes of music, with several extended length tracks, capped off with the epic multi-part album-closing title track (over 25 min. long). Upon repeated listenings of the album, I loved it more and more, and upgraded my ranking from very good to great! The band’s influences are clear and present throughout, emulating the style and structure of music provided by Neal Morse and his various bands (Spock’s Beard, Transatlantic, Neal Morse Band) and The Flower Kings, among others, and the only criticism I might have is that it may stay a bit too close to those influences, but with music this good it’s hard to complain, and it is done with such great style, finesse, and originality that the music itself it transcends those comparisons (Neal himself would be proud to have created such a great album). So, if you are at all a fan of the kind of music played by Neal Morse and his various projects, or just strong melodic progressive rock, you should really like this album. And this is certainly an up and coming band to keep an eye out for what they do next.

Best Tracks: 'Miles From Nowhere', 'Summer Queen', 'Astral Journey', 'Why I’m Here'. Weak tracks: None. Rating: 4 stars (upgraded from 3.5 after repeated listenings).   

So, overall, a great set of albums to start the year. Although it is early, most of these (Elvis Costello, Big Big Train, and Jonas Lindberg) will undoubtedly at least be in consideration for end of year honors and best of lists. And there are more big name releases that have already come out this month (such as the new albums from The Flower Kings and Marillion) that I need more time to get to know, as well as others known and unknown that are on the way that I will include in the next roundup soon. Until then, stay tuned for more music and commentary right here. So, what did you think about these albums, or perhaps some other recent albums of interest you may be listening to these days?

BB’s Rating scale:

1 star – Terrible, torturous to have to listen to

1.5 stars - Poor, not worth your time

2 stars – Fair, maybe a couple half-way decent songs, but sub-par overall

2.5 stars – Average, OK, meh, not bad but not that good either

3 stars – Good, solid album, several good songs, but not spectacular. Certainly worthy, but may not be something you come back to very often

3.5 stars – Very good album. Some stellar tracks, very enjoyable overall

4 stars – Great album, filled with great songs, one that you will want to come back to over and over again

4.5 stars – Excellent album, beyond great, superb in every way, just short of a masterpiece 

5 stars – A Masterpiece, among the greatest albums of its type, and has stood the test of time

 

Procol Harum - 1973-09-21 - Hollywood Bowl, Hollywood, CA (w/Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra)

Procol Harum

1973-09-21
Hollywood Bowl, Hollywood, CA
with The Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra
Pre-FM soundboard recording, excellent quality
Available in both Lossless (FLAC) and Mp3 (320 kbps) versions

Here's more from Gary Brooker and Procol Harum! The combination of Procol Harum with a live Symphony Orchestra was an inspired move, and following the success of their live album, Procol Harum Live: In Concert with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra (1972), which lead to the new Orchestral version of 'Conquistador' becoming one of their biggest hits, the band continued to do various concerts in conjunction with Symphony Orchestras, to great acclaim. The Orchestral arrangements was a perfect fit with Procol Harum, it emphasized their classical leanings, and brought a new vitality and power to many of their songs. Their next album, Grand Hotel (1973) continued with this classical rock theme and was another powerhouse album. They continued with additional strong albums, with Exotic Birds and Fruit (1974), Procol's Ninth (1975), and Something Magic (1977), but saw declining sales and public interest by the late '70's, and broke up in 1978. They then later reformed with Gary Brooker, Robin Trower, Matthew Fisher, and Keith Reid in 1991, and released The Prodigal Stranger (1991), as well as touring in the early'90's. Another version of the band emerged in the early 2000's, with Brooker, Fisher, Geoff Whitehorn (guitar), Matt Pegg (bass). and Mark Brzezicki (drums), which toured and also released a new album, The Wells's on Fire (2003). But Fisher left in 2005, leaving Brooker as the only remaining original member. Brooker and the band continued to perform occasionally throughout the coming years, and released their last album of original material, their 13th, Novum, in 2017. That same year, Brooker was seriously hurt falling from the stage at a concert. But Brooker and the band toured again in 2018 and 2019. Gary Brooker died on February 19, 2022 of cancer-related illness at the age of 76. 

I have here a show from back in 1973, with the Los Angeles Symphony Orchestra, on the heels of their breakthrough live album. This is an excellent Pre-FM recording, featuring the Orchestral arrangements and new songs from their recently released Grand Hotel album. A Great show.

     

Tracklist:

01) Broken Barricades (2:53)

02) A Christmas Camel (6:03)

03) Toujours l'Amour (3:42)

04) Grand Hotel (6:44)

05) Fires (Which Burnt Brightly) (6:19)

06) A Salty Dog (5:24)

07) Conquistador (4:13)

08) Grand Finale (part-five of In Held 'Twas in I) (3:46)

09) TV Ceasar > (5:13)

10) Rule Britannia (1:16)

Gary Brooker - Piano, vocal
Alan Cartwright - Bass
Chris Copping - Organ
Mick Grabham - Guitar
B.J. Wilson - Drums
with the Los Angeles Symphony Orchestra (Conductor: Isaiah Jackson)
and Roger Wagner Chorale (Director: Roger Wagner)

mp3 - Procol Harum_1973-09-21_Hollywood Bowl_mp3.rar

FLAC- Procol Harum_1973-09-21_Hollywood Bowl_FLAC.rar