Chicken Noodles II by Buckethead and Travis Dickerson
If you thought you didn’t get enough with their first offering of melody jam from their album “Chicken Noodles”, Buckethead and his friend Travis Dickerson offer you more of the jam in a sequel titled “Chicken Noodles II”. This time they have a longer album with more songs than the first.
A review of the songs:
1. The chicken or the egg - Sounds bluesy; nice intro jam
2. Ovum Prophecy - Good song, reminding you of chicken noodles 1; faster one but shorter.
3. Concentric Motion - Long song. Starts lovely and melodious and towards the end comes with and nice string arrangements (programmed into the Rhodes?). Sounds Mark Knopflerish but this one is from Buckethead. The soulful playing starts well then gets into a fast pace and then sounds like shredding but just when you think it is going out of control or boring both the instrumentalists come back to end beautifully.
4. Oyster Crackers - Rockier riffs, bluesy notes, long song but doesn’t get boring and you can just let it play.
5. Heat and Save - A song with guitar chords at the beginning and towards the end of the song. Good small song you wonder why it wasn’t accompanied by vocals but the instruments sing instead.
6. Let it cool - Keyboard doubles as bass - Lovely Mark Knopflerish and bluesy sounding guitar for this blues instrumental.
7. Chicken Nostrils - More chords played in this song than single notes but song has an intriguing feel, at 3.45 more single notes are played.
In its heydays the album reached no.5 on the American Billboard Album charts but even that rank doesn’t make Al Stewart a household name as other albums that reached the same or lower status on the popular albums chart. It may have gathered interest in the 70’s but today this album is almost forgottten. Who wants to remember an album that went to no.5 on the U.S charts in 1977?
Engineered by Alan Parsons and recorded at Abbey Studios, 1976 this was Al Stewart’s finest and most popular work. Though considered a folk artiste I would like to put this album under the “Pop” category as it appeals to more that category or the pop-rock category.
Al Stewart is known fo his mellifluous voice, poetry like lyrics (which can be a pain after a while), using numerous and varied musical talent on his albums. Jimmy Page played on one of his earlier albums. Other greats with whom he had collaborated are Rick Wakeman, Peter White and Richard Thompson.
Al Stewart’s lyrics are often related to historical and cultural events and people.
All said, if there is one album of Al Stewart that you should be listening to, it must this one, “Year of the Cat“.
A review of the songs:
1. Lord Grenville - Beautiful opener for the album. Such soft singing is rare these days. Lovely string arrangements laced with melancholy. Lovely ending with melancholious guitar licks and the strings in the background.
2. On the border - One of Al Stewarts most popular songs. Good keyboards almost replace the strings as background music. Nice acoustic guitar too. Tamil movie music listeners may recall Shankar-Ganesh the popular music duo of yesteryears who had a knack of lifting popular tunes. Their song “Unakkaga engum intha pithanamma” a hit in the early 80’s was based on this song of Al Stewart. And writing about lifting tunes their “Devi Koondhalo Brindavanam…” from Hermans Hermit’s “Happy Together”. Even “Meghame” their evergreen hit for singer Vani Jayaram was tune for tune copy of Jagjit Singh’s popular song “Tum Nahin”.
Here is a video of Al Stewart and his boys playing “On the border”. Check out Peter White’s solo on the classical guitar and his shirt on stage. Really sweet.
3. Midas Shadow - A slower song with soft and lovely singing with a lovely keyboard solo.
4. Sand in Your shoes - Happier songs, starts rhymey but still makes for a lovely listen. An O.K guitar solo but well played accordion in the background.
5. If it doesn’t come naturallly, leave it - Faster paced song than the two previous songs. Good song. Lots of piano work on this one and a decent guitar solo.
6. Flying Sorcery - Good song. I love the harmonica on this one and it has a lovely guitar solo too.
7. Broadway Hotel - Violin on this one with a lovely solo at the end.
8. One Stage Before - Lovely guitar solo on this one and I like the bass on this one.
9. Year of the cat - Longer song, 6 min plus, co-written by the late Peter Wood this song reached No.8 on the US Billboard chart making it Al Stewart’s most successful single. Is also the longest song on the album with piano, acoustic guitar, background strings, lead gtr; keys and saxophone solo’s makes it a befitting final and title song to end the album.
Here’s Al Stewart on the “Old Grey Whistle Test” performing “Year of the Cat” with his talented friends.
The personnel on the album - Al Stewart (vocals, keyboards); Tim Renwick, Peter White (guitar); Graham Smith (harmonica); Phil Kenzie (alto saxophone); Peter Wood, Don Lobster (keyboards); George Ford (bass); Stuart Elliot (drums, percussion); Marion Driscoll (triangle); David Pack, Tony Rivers, John Perry (background vocals).
Al Stewart can get stale over repeated albums but certainly he is no one-hit wonder.
In all my music listening life I have been overwhelmed by a couple of bands and the moments when I discovered them. These were: listening to Wishbone Ash the first time, rediscovering the original progressive side of pre-Phil Collins-fronted Genesis, rediscovering Pre-Breakfast in America Supertramp and off late Canterbury based progressive rock band Camel.
What a joy and an honour to be writing about such a great band fronted and still lead by the talented Andrew Latimer, one of the original founders of Camel. It is interesting to note that the band, Peter Bardens’ On changed their name to Camel after a gig supporting the big band, the inspiration behind great-anonymous-albums.com, Wishbone Ash.
It’s a shame that such a great band must only be listened to by Camel’s cult following. Such a big shining star in the world of Progressive Rock Camel certainly needs more air play, listening and viewing. I have also become such an ardent fan of Andrew Latimer and I think he is one of the few guitarists out there who can reproduce the same guitar time and again on stage, that you heard inside the studio on the CD. I have watched him perform live on videos on YouTube and it is unbelievable how he can come up with such performances. His hallmark is his beautiful melancholy sound and his ear for melody and great tunes even shows up in the fast paced songs. The other musicians support him well on this album; Peter Bardens on keyboards, Doug Fergusson on bass and Andy Ward on drums.
Released in 1975, The Snow Goose was Camel’s third album. Mostly instrumental this is one of those beautiful prog-rock albums that you can take on the road or listen in private and will never wear you down. And unlike most prog-rock albums most of the songs are small but knitted together. The longest (just a couple of them) are only just a little over 5 min long and one over 4 min. After using “novel” based concepts in their breakthrough album “Mirage”, Camel decided to go with Doug Fergusson’s suggestion of “The Snow Goose” by author Paul Gallico. Earlier they had contemplated on Herman Hesse’s Siddhartha and Steppenwolf. When Paul Gallico who detested smoking decided to take the band to court (Camel is also the name of the popular cigarette) the band avoided legal action by adding the words “Music inspired by” before the title of the album “The Snow Goose”.
This album also showcased Andrew Latimer’s flute abilities that he did for the first time on the previous album “Mirage” and he doesn’t disappoint. This is not the energetic and distorted sounds like Ian Anderson’s flute of Jethro Tull but melodious as flutes normally sound.
Here’s a review of the songs.
The Great Marsh introduces the album with the sounds of geese in a marsh. Gradually Peter’s chords on the keys take over. Female vocals and Andrew’s guitar can also be heard. Bass and drums join in for a lovely small introductory tune.
Rhayader introduces Latimer on flute with Peter on Piano and with other musicians break into a lovely instrumental with solos on the flute by Andrew and later Peter on the keyboards and finally Latimer concludes with the flute tunes once again.
Rhayader goes to Town starts with a bang. Latimer switches to the Fender Strat and the band delivers a lovely instrumental with Latimer doing a delightful solo on his guitar engaging the tremolo. Peter, Doug and Andy Ward provide all the necessary support.
Sanctuary - Lovely little guitar instrumental from Andrew Latimer.
Fritha - Lovely little guitar instrumental from Peter on the keyboards, Andrew on guitar and Doug on Bass.
The Snow Goose is a beautiful instrumental (befitting the title song) from the four musicians and I have listened to it infinite times already. Andrew’s Les Paul is soulful and beautiful.
Friendship - A nice digression using wind instruments. Except for the keyboard played by Peter the rest (trumpet, horn etc) are played by guest musicians. (This can be seen in the video, link below.)
Migration - With drum roll on the snare this song features non lyric-vocals from the musicians. Check out the lovely bass notes from Doug.
Rhayader alone - Soft keys and lovely guitar, Peter and Andrew perform a beautiful little tune befitting the lonliness of Rhayader in the song.
Flight of the Snow Goose - Starts with silence, Peter Bardens’ keyboards then sets in and the musicians burst into a happy tune.
Preparation - Andrew uses his flute again starting softly then vocals are heard with the music in the background become a repetitive loop giving it the real prog-rock feel. Some other sounds can also be heard. Song kept reminding me of the start of Wishbone Ash’s “Pilgrim”, as though preparing for something exciting.
Dunkirk - The rythmic sound on the keys, bass and drums does make you inquisitive but the monotonous tunes that start go on for about three minutes but after that Andrew Latimer delivers a searing hot solo on his guitar.
Epitaph - We hear a similar loop that we did before in “Preperation” and it goes on to fade.
Fritha Alone - Beautiful piano tune from Peter Bardens.
La Princesse Purdue - Starts from silence and gradually violin strings break the silence and the band goes into a tune and then pausing for Peter Bardens to do his bit on his keys and later to continue the earlier tune again with background score. Once again Peter goes into solo mode on his keys and almost coming to a stop. Andrew now takes over with his melancholy tune on his guitar signalling a “Goodbye” with Peter mixing tunes from “The Snow Goose” instrumental. The Bass from Doug is almost identical to what he played on The Snow Goose. You could say this was a different version of The Snow Goose instrumental.
The Great Marsh - As conclusion a visit is paid to the marsh and sounds of the geese is once again heard. Peter Concludes with the same keyboard sounds that he used to start the album.
The YouTube link to the live performance of “The Snow Goose”, “Friendship” and “Rhyader goes to town” on the Old Grey Whistle Test recorded way back in May 9, (also my birthday anniversary), 1975, displays Camel’s fantastic live playing. Watch a shy Andrew and his friends play great tunes from The Snow Goose.
The album’s success also led to a prestigious sell out concert at the Royal Albert Hall, London, with the London Symphony Orchestra in the same year of the album’s release. In 1981 The Snow Goose reached Silver status but I really wonder if many good music listeners have listened to this lovely album.
A very different prog-rock album from one my all time favourite prog rock sounds, the Canterbury sound. You won’t regret it.
Buy Camel’s The Snow Goose from Amazon.com. The 2002 remaster even has additional bonus covers and unreleased versions of the songs on the album.
You can find all Camel related information on their official site www.camelproductions.com. Anderw Latimer is just recovering from a stem cell transplant operation to help him fight his blood disorder. Susan Hoover, Andrew’s wife reports regularly on his condition on the bands newsletter, also found on the same site under the link News. Also find all merchandise and recordings (Audio and Video) of Camel on the site www.camelproductions-store.com if you cannot get them on Amazon.
Colours of India is a fusion album that can rival some of the best fusion albums from India in the recent past. It was also my first review on my other music blog madrasbee where I review and write about music from the Indian sub-continent. If you thought Illayaraja’s “How to Name it” (1986), another very unpopular fusion album even among staunch Illayaraja fans, or “Conversations” from the late 80’s, the fusion album from L.Subramaniam and Stefan Grapelli were some of the finest fusion albums involving musicians in South India in the recent past, here’s an album that lives up to the reputation of a great fusion album. When it was launched I was sure it was going to be well received and certainly one that was going to be talked about for some time. However even the freshness or the recent release in 2003 doesn’t seem to be fetching the album its due credit and so it is here on great-anonymous-albums.com.
The notes on the website indicates that this is a live album. However that is apparent only on one song.
Brothers Ganesh and Kumaresh have been playing the violin since the age of 7 and 5 respectively. Sons of reputed musician Rajagopalan the early grooming helped them give over a 100 concerts by the time they were into their teens. Ganesh even starred in a K Balachander’s Tamil film in his later years.
The tunes on this album will please, elevate and soothe your mind.
Here’s a review of the songs starting with the best of the album.
1. “Taj Mahal” must be the first song you should be listening to. A beautiful instrumental befitting the monument. India has gifted the ultimate monument of love - the Taj Mahal - to the world. The composition ‘Tai Mahal,’ is set to the raga “Nalinakanti” is a tribute to the monument for which John Keats wrote “A thing of beauty is a joy forever”.
2. “Utsav”. Wait till you hear the vocals on “Utsav” based on the raga “Shuddha Dhanyasi”. You won’t believe that even vocals can get you on a natural high when Ganesh starts his singing. These two songs alone are worth the price of the CD. Ganesh-Kumaresh and company are going to be remembered for a long time for these two songs.
3. “Gambhira” is a lovely intro to what’s in store on the CD. The musicianship here is top notch. Arun is tight and fantastic on his drum set here. Some of this rolls and fills are a beauty to listen to, fast, furious and perfect.
‘Gambhira,’ is set to the raga “Gambhira Nattai” and according to the website composed as a tribute to that majesty of India.
4. Chanchal is a lovely jam in typical carnatic style showcasing the talents of the musicians without sacrificing composition. Starting as an ensemble and finishing off with solos from the percussionists this is a superb composition. ‘Chanchal’ in raga “Ranjani” is the one where the audience can be heard. A longer song but worth the listen to the amazing talents of the musicians. Arun’s drum solo is the last and what a treat it is.
5. “Ahimsa” is a delightful soft Hindi devotional song sung by Ganesh on non-violence that also calls and refers other religions.
6. “Colours of India” is the only spoilt song on this album. A long and out-of-place composition reflecting various music styles from around the country it fails to match the creativity and of the stellar compositions “Taj Mahal” and “Utsav”.
The musician who grabbed most of my attention was of course Arun Kumar. He made the drums sing and talk. There was so much meaning to the fast and furious playing.
Beg, borrow, steal, or buy this album. If you don’t have this album I suggest you make a bee line to your nearest music store and get it without fail. You could listen to complete samples on musicindiaonline.com.
The Artistes on the album: Ganesh-Violin and Vocals, Kumaresh-Violin, Keith Peters -Bass Guitar, Satish Kumar-Mridangum, Kanjira, Konaakol, Deena-Keyboard, Giridhar Udupa-Ghatam, Konnakol, Arun Kumar-Drums,Percussion and Moharsingh
I have had the privilege of watching them in two fusion concerts in Chennai and they hardly fail to disappoint. Ganesh and Kumaresh have gone to release two more fusion albums. Watch out for the reviews.
Chicken Noodles is a much newer album and my prediction is that it is already anonymous or is going to be forgotten soon but in my opinion this is a landmark album. I haven’t heard of an entire album full of Jam as this. Miles Davis’s “Bitches Brew” was a double album of jam but it featured many artistes. However in this album you are only going to hear two instruments, the guitar and the keyboard. The musicians of the album are the highly versatile and immensely gifted guitarist Buckethead whose Monsters and Robots album I reviewed earlier on great-anonymous-albums.com. The other person and worthy of every mention is Buckethead’s associate on the Fender Rhodes, Travis Dickerson. I have listened to the duo on the Population Overdrive album and was very impressed with the keyboard skills of Travis but this albums takes their association to another level.
Running into a little over 50 min this album is enjoyable whether listened to with full attention or while doing other tasks. The album has only 4 instrumentals and they are: 1) Enter Tomorrow (13:07), 2) Loss From a Distance (18:01) 3) Sorrow of Discord (11:28) 4) and False Directions (8:24). Each one is sublime and beautiful in melody in its own way and is sure to transport you to another world of listening enjoyment.
As of today one one review of it exists on Amazon.com and I am not sure how many more will appear but do take a listen to this unusual but superb album from one of today’s finest guitarists.
I have also included it under Acoustic and Instrumental category though I would normally include Buckethead under Heavy Metal.
