I love orchestral music.
Love "Forever Changes" is a pretty obvious one
Nick Garrie "The Nightmare of J.B. Stanislas" -baroque pop/folk and really fucking great
Aquarious Records Wrote:
Another day, another rare sixties pop-psych reissue with quite a bit of collector cachet... that is also pretty darn great! First time on cd for this Eddie Vartan-produced 1969 LP, wonderfully dreamy and baroque and folky and orchestrated. Lots of languid, lazy-day la, la, la's here!
Talented, curly-haired singer-songwriter Nick Garrie was youthful, peripatetic, and quite cosmopolitan (you can tell from his lyrics, referencing all corners of Europe). He had a Scottish mother, a Russian father, and was raised in both France and England, calling Paris his home at the time this record came out. Though nowadays it gets compared to the work of Nick Drake, Billy Nichols, Peter Sarstedt, Bill Fay, and others of note, due to music biz circumstances beyond Nick's control, it immediately sank into obscurity upon initial release. But now thanks to Rev-ola it's been reissued, complete with extensive liner notes, track-by-track commentary by Nick himself, and seven bonus tracks including his fantastic and even harder to find than the LP 1968 single "Queen Of Spades" b/w "Close Your Eyes" (the B-side of which you may have already heard on the Nightmares at Toby's Shop compilation we listed last year). Great stuff for fans of UK popsike like Kaleidoscope.
The Lost Generation "Young, Tough and Terrible" - orchestral soul
Dusty Groove Wrote:
Fantastic group soul from Chicago -- and the hardest to find of the two albums by The Lost Generation! The record is a killer batch of spacey soul cuts, with very dope arrangements by Tom Washington, Eugene Record, and Cliff Davis. The title cut's a monster, and a very fitting follow-up to their earlier "Sly, Slick, & Wicked" track -- and the album features 2 versions (vocal and instrumental) of a cut called "This Is The Lost Generation", a very righteous soul groove with a heavy production tip. Other titles include "Sure Is Funky", "Thin Line Between Love & Hate", and "Tired Of Being Alone". CD also features the bonus track "Talking The Teenage Language
Isaac Hayes "Hot Buttered Soul"
Dusty Groove Wrote:
Amazing stuff from Isaac Hayes! Although Ike had first appeared on LP with the album "Introducing", this was the first record to really expose his true soul genius -- and it was also the first release on Ike's successful sub-label at Stax, Enterprise Records. The record shows that for all the years Ike was working away on other folks' songs for Stax, he was carefully cooking up his own style of soul that would forever change the way we think about the music. Back in 1969, the album must have blown more than a few minds for its incredibly baroque approach to soul music -- taking common elements like strings, piano, and funky rhythms, and stretching them out into long waves of sound that cycle over and over, working a sly subtle magic along with Ike's super-sexy vocals, and his monologue-heavy approach to popular tunes. The album features incredible remakes of pop hits "Walk On By" and "By The Time I Get To Phoenix" -- both of which run for over 10 minutes, and which completely transform the songs into something way more than simple radio fodder. Also features the psychedelic soul masterpiece "Hyperbolicsyllabicsesquedalymistic", which has this crazy funky piano, and a messed-up sound that would make even George Clinton weep!
Billy Nicholls "Would You Believe?"
Dusty Groove Wrote:
An incredible album of lost 60s pop -- and the lasting legacy of Billy Nicholls! The record's one of the more baroque affairs to come out of the UK scene in the 60s -- and bears many traces of the California sunniness of similar work by Brian Wilson, Van Dyke Parks, Curt Boettcher, and others. The overall style, though, also has some of the darker traces of the British sound at the time -- slightly psyche, mixed in with the baroque, in a manner that reminds us a bit of Left Banke, or some of the more complicated work of the Kinks. And if you think we're throwing around references here a bit too much, you should hear the record -- which was unfortunately poorly handled at the time of release, and never attained much success -- but which over time has attained a canonical status in 60s pop! Titles include "It Brings Me Down", "Daytime Girl", "Portobello Road", "Life Is Short", "Feeling Easy", "Come Again", and "Would You Believe
Food "Forever is A Dream"
DustyGroove Wrote:
A beautifully baroque bit of psychedelia from the late 60s -- the only album recorded by the group Food, a sad and somber batch of tunes that really stands out from the pack! The core quintet is augmented on the set by some larger arrangements that mix in strings and horns -- really opening up the sound into territory that's somewhere in the neighborhood of groups like Gandalf and The Left Banke. The set was recorded in Chicago at the mostly-soul Ter Mar Studios, done with a wonderful juxtaposition of styles that we never would have expected -- and which gives the record a depth that's kept it pretty darn fresh over the years! Titles include "Naive Prayers", "No", "Lady Miss Ann", "Leaves", "Marbled Wings", "Inside The Mirror", and "Forever Is A Dream".
Terry Callier "I Just Can't Help Myself"
DustyGroove Wrote:
One of the best albums that Terry Callier ever recorded -- and a masterpiece of the baroque soul crossover style that was going down at the Chess/Cadet label at the time! Terry's own folksy singing and playing would be more than enough to make this record great -- but it's given an amazing edge by Richard Evans and Charles Stepney, who create these floating pillows of sound and washes of jazzy colors that fit Terry's moods perfectly, and really expand the emotional intensity of the songs. At the time of this release, the Chess empire was falling apart -- but the forces that be put a great last push into the record, and Terry's backed by superb work from Chicago studio giants like Phil Upchurch, Don Myrick, Art Hoyle, Bobby Christian, Cleveland Eaton, Louis Satterfield, and Evans and Stepney themselves! Every track is a wonder, and titles include "Alley-Wind Song" , "Can't Catch the Trane", "Bowlin' Green", and "Until Tomorrow".
And pretty much any early 70's "Blue Brazil" performers especially Marcos Valle. His early 70's albums are so great, especially "Garra"
one last one, Judee Sill "Heart Food"
here's
AMG's review
