Cher - Dark Lady (1974)

“Dark Lady” by Cher (1974)

Release Date: May 1974
Produced by Snuff Garrett
Chart Positions: #69 (US), #33 (Canada), #86 (Australia)
Certifications: N/A

Singles: “Dark Lady” #1 (US, Canada, Sweden), #4 (France, South Africa), #10 (Norway), #15 (Netherlands), #17 (Australia, Holland), #22 (Belgium), #36 (UK)
“Train Of Thought” #27 (US), #10 (France), #18 (Canada), #84 (Australia)
“I Saw A Man And He Danced With His Wife” #42 (US), #31 (Canada)
“Rescue Me” #82 (Canada)

“Dark Lady” is Cher’s eleventh studio album and her fifth (and final) for MCA Records (the first two were on Kapp-MCA). Released the year following “Half Breed”, “Dark Lady” is very similar, like an extension of that album with an inclusion of a rock edge and a dark edge that did not exist on “Half Breed.” The album was produced by Snuff Garrett. He produced four albums for Cher in the 1970s and also produced a few Sonny & Cher albums as well as Bobby Vee, Gary Lewis and the Playboys. One of the biggest hits he produced is Vickie Lawrence’s “The Night The Lights Went Out in Georgia.”

“Dark Lady” by Cher (Click Here)

After the success of “Half-Breed,” Cher once again chose Snuff Garrett and Al Capps to produce “Dark Lady, her final album for MCA. During that same year, she divorced Sonny Bono, this ended their professional musical ties and television show for a while. Due to the success of previous albums produced by Garrett, “Dark Lady” followed the same narrative ballad style.

"Dark Lady", the album's first single release, reached #1 in the US, Canada and Sweden. The song became Cher's third solo U.S. #1 hit on March 23, 1974, and her last until "Believe" twenty-five years later. It also reached #3 on the US Adult Contemporary chart. "Dark Lady" also charted at #36 in the UK, #4 in France and South Africa, #10 in Norway and the Top 40 in many countries around the world. "Dark Lady" was written and composed by The Ventures' keyboard player, Johnny Durrill. He recalled: "I spent a week in Snuff Garrett's office playing him songs, and Cher ended up recording “Carousel Man.” Later, when I was on tour in Japan with the Ventures, I was writing an interesting song. I telegraphed the unfinished lyrics to Garrett. He said to 'make sure the b#!ch kills him.' Hence, in the song both the lover and fortune teller were killed." Thus, "Dark Lady" may with some accuracy be described as a murder ballad, even though the narrator of its lyrics essentially commits a crime of passion. The "Dark Lady" of the song's title is a gypsy fortune teller in New Orleans with a history of disdain for men (the narrator of the song describes seeing scratches on the inside of the teller's limousine from her previous conquests). The narrator follows the fortune teller's limousine to her lair and pays money for a fortune; as a result of the fortune, she learns that her lover has been unfaithful to her with, "someone else who is very close to you". Advised to leave the fortune teller's shop, never to return, and to forget she has ever seen the fortune teller's face, the narrator returns home in a state of shock, unable to sleep, and then realizes to her horror that she had once smelled, in her own room, the very perfume the fortune teller had been wearing. Sneaking back to the fortune teller's shop with a gun, she catches her lover and the fortune teller "laughing and kissing", and shoots them both to death.

"Dark Lady"

The album’s opening track "Train of Thought," written by Alan O’Day (“Undercover Angel,” Helen Reddy’s “Angie Baby”), was the second single release. Though it was a sizeable hit through various parts of the world it was not quite the hit as “Dark Lady,” the album’s first single. The song is a raw and fast-moving rock track that reached #27 in the US and #9 on the US Adult Contemporary chart.

The third single chart was yet another story song of broken love to make a new love connection. “I Saw A Man and He Danced With His Wife,” a big band styled ballad touches on an emotion Cher was living after her recent divorce from her long-time husband Sonny Bono. The song was even less successful as a single than “Train Of Thought,” just missing the US top 40 making it to #42 and #31 in Canada.

A cover of Fontella Bass’ 1965 #1 hit “Rescue Me,” was a hint at what was ahead for Cher in the late 80s and early 90s.  The song contains a timeless vocal and musical arrangement that has aged very well. In the US the song was released as a promotional single and as a single throughout Europe but it did not chart. It did chart at #86 in Canada.

Bob Stone, who wrote her first success of the 1970s, “Gypsys, Tramps and Thieves,” wrote the albums closing track “Apples Don’t Fall Far From The Tree.” “What’ll I Do” is a cover of the theme song from the 1974 film “The Great Gatsby.” “Miss Subway of 1952” is a tribute to Bette Midler as she sings the lyric, “To my idol the divine.”

Cher (1974)

Link to “Dark Lady” (Click Here)

CHER

War - The World Is A Ghetto (1972)

“The World Is A Ghetto” by War (1972)

Release Date: November 1972
Produced by Jerry Goldstein, Lonnie Jordan, Howard E. Scott
Chart Positions: #1 (US)
Certifications: Gold (US)
Singles: “The Cisco Kind” (#2 US), (#1 Canada), (#4 Netherlands), (#10 France), (#22 Holland)
“The World Is A Ghetto” (#7 US)

(70’s Music: Album by Album highly recommends this album for any music lover + this is a must buy)

The band's commercial high point - it topped the charts and quickly went gold. It brilliantly blends rebellious 60s experimentation with starry-eyed 70s hedonism, delivering all of their signature motifs: superbly lyrical Lee Oskar solos, inclusive group harmonies, taut Latin rhythms, wah-wah'ed guitar, and smoky jazz saxophone, all of it packaged as hard-driving funk and R&B with heavy hints of jazz. Rolling Stone Magazine music critic described the album as the black “Dark Side of the Moon.”

“The World Of A Ghetto” by War (Click Here)

War has progressed far and fast since they split from Eric Burdon to develop fully as a band on their own merit. They continued and developed a full, luscious sound that's engagingly funk-filled. Their previous album, All Day Music saw the evolvement of this distinctly urban sound to a point just short of proficiency -- War could talk but hadn't yet mastered the language. With The World Is a Ghetto, they edge even closer to total mastery of their music as they attempt to use it to communicate the essence of ghetto life.

Their emphasis was to rely less on lyrical content, allowing space to develop the relaxed instrumental groove that became widely respected. In addition, their timing was perfect, as a host of African American stars such as Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye and Curtis Mayfield were experimenting and developing their own sounds and messages, all with increasing critical and commercial success. War’s style developed beyond soul, to loosely fuse progressive rock, jazz, R&B and a splash of calypso.

“The World Is A Ghetto” was War’s third studio album (fifth if you include the albums they did with Burdon). It has been certified Gold by the RIAA and topped the charts in the US. The album had been re-evaluated by music critics in 2012 when the 40th Anniversary Edition was released. The echoing verdict is that the album has held up extremely well through the decades and remained relevant to the social issues of the current day. With “The World Is A Ghetto” War created a visionary work of music.

The album opens with "The Cisco Kid," a song just teeming with imagery about Cisco and obese buddy Pancho. Sittin' down by the Rio Grande, drinkin' wine and "eatin' salted peanuts from the can" C.K. and Pancho are no more than a fantasy in the minds of the ghetto youth singing their praises, but an important fantasy because it allows them hope, heroes, and a temporary respite from the harsh realities of ghetto existence. “The Cisco Kid” was the second single release from the album and shot straight to the top of the charts. War guitarist Howard Scott came up with the idea for this song. Drummer Harold Brown commented, "Howard has always been a major contributor. He was in Compton, he had this apartment. I visited Howard there and he was sitting on his amp. He said, 'Harold, I got this idea. Cisco kid was a friend of mine.' That idea came about because there were no ethnic heroes at that time. Mainly, we were seeing people like Hopalong Cassidy, Gene Autry, Roy Rogers. There wasn't really anybody to relate to except Cisco Kid. He was like the total different kind of person. We wanted to give kids, people, another alternative besides the ones that were right in our face, obvious heroes. And it worked out really good, because it had the right kind of hook, it was a fun song. People at that time didn't want to be hearing about wars or anything, they just wanted fun music." “The Cisco Kid” struck a chord with the African American community but the song went well beyond striking a chord with the youth of the US. “The Cisco Kid” represented a yearning of escaping from what had become viewed as acceptable by the norms of society. The song quickly rose to #2 on the US charts for 2 weeks as well as #1 in Canada and the Top 10 in a few countries across Europe. The song received a Gold record certification from the RIAA.

The first single release was the titled track, “The World Is A Ghetto,” the song was an instant hit making it to #7 on the US chart. The song was their first post Eric Burdon top ten hit leading to another five top tens. "The World Is a Ghetto" was written by Papa Dee Allen (percussion), Harold Brown (drums), Morris "B.B." Dickerson (bass), and Leroy "Lonnie" Jordan (keyboards): together with Howard Scott (guitar), Charles Miller (sax/flute) and Lee Oskar (harmonica), they formed the band War. The song was released as a single—it entered the Billboard Top 40 the week of December 30, 1972 and stayed for 9 weeks, peaking at #7 the week of February 10, 1973. "The World Is a Ghetto" was also the name of the album—the only one they ever released that topped the pop charts, it sold over three million copies—on which the song (over 10 minutes long) was placed. The song was edited down to 3:59 for the single release. The title track is simply the most successful use of the "Groovin'" motif since the Rascals tantalized urban America with the prototype. A study in casual, laid-back musical discipline, it soothes savage passions, lulling them to sleep to be awakened only by the stark, sudden refrain, "the world is a ghetto". Charles Miller's sax solo is magnificent, as definitive a statement of emotion as can be imagined.—Gordon Fletcher, Rolling Stone, 3/1/73
The title track was a triumphant blend of great exchanges and unison vocals, plus concise and spirited musical contributions all around.—Ron Wynn, The All-Music Guide to Rock, 1995
"Walkin' down the street, smoggy-eyed / Looking at the sky, starry-eyed / Searchin' for the place, weary-eyed / Crying in the night, teary-eyed / Don't you know that it's true / That for me and for you / The world is a ghetto / Don't you know that it's true / That for me and for you / The world is a ghetto / Wonder when I'll find paradise / Somewhere there's a home sweet and nice / Wonder if I'll find happiness / Never give it up now I guess / Don't you know that it's true / That for me and for you / The world is a ghetto / Don't you know that it's true / That for me and for you / The world is a ghetto /—long instrumental break—/ There's no need to search anywhere / Happiness is here, have your share / If you know you're loved, be secure / Paradise is love to be sure / Don't you know that it's true / That for me and for you / The world is a ghetto / Don't you know that it's true / That for me and for you / The world is a ghetto / Don't you know that it's true / That for me and for you / The world is a ghetto / Don't you know that it's true / That for me and for you / The world is a ghetto"

"The World Is A Ghetto"

The album is one highlight after another. There’s not one track that misses or slows the album down. "Where Was You At," which follows, is a true delight, a soulful get-down cut from the Isley Brothers mold. The kinda funk you need to get off on the good foot! These two cuts are truly Watts and Harlem unleashed -- ghetto life at its most brazen.

"City, Country, City" is a tour de force energizer in which each band member gets the chance to show off his ability. Through a series of solos ahead of varying rhythmic percussion accompaniment, War attempts to convey the hustle and bustle of a ghetto day, sandwiched between the comparative calm of morning and night. "City, Country, City" pointed toward dance music's future with a travelogue of deep beats, each melodic theme more euphoric than the next.

"Four Cornered Room" is a Temptationesque choral ballad that introduces a darker element to War's music, one that would culminate with the title track. A slow, languid gospel/blues/jazz pattern carries the rhythm and tempo and conveys a sense of dark foreboding. A near instrumental, the vocals are only a chant in the first half of the song, eventually building to a chant of the title chorus. Soon after this, a spoken word recitation takes over, delivering a message of despair and urban dread. The street politics that the band often sang about come to a great climax here, mirroring the dark emotions of the early '70s. “Four Cornered Room” was used as the b-side to the single release of “The World Is A ghetto.” (Note this is my favorite song from the album).

Closing the album, after two downcast but brilliant songs that reflected the urban dread at the time, the rhythmic "Beetles in the Bog" is a life-affirming, almost joyous African-styled chant. Over a funk base, the group's vocal camaraderie is in full swing here, creating a feeling that is hopeful and empowering. As in many of War's songs, the percussion section almost acts as a melodic instrument, and this was one of the things that set the band aside from many of their contemporaries.

War (1972)

Link to “The World Of A Ghetto” by War

WAR

Rod Stewart - A Night On The Town (1976)

“A Night On The Town” by Rod Stewart (1976)

Release Date: June 18, 1976
Produced by Tom Dowd
Genres: Rock, Pop, Classic Rock, Adult Contemporary
Chart Positions: #1 (UK, Australia, Canada, Norway, New Zealand, Sweden), #2 (US), #5 (Netherlands), #23 (Japan), #29 (Germany)
Certifications: 6xPlatinum (Australia), 2xPlatinum (US, Canada), Platinum (UK)

Singles: “Tonight’s The Night” (#1 US, Canada), #2 (Brazil, Ireland, New Zealand), #3 (Australia), #4 (France), #5 (Netherlands), (UK), #6 (Norway), #7 (Sweden, Holland), #13 (Belgium), #26 (Germany), #2 (US Adult Contemporary)
“The Killing Of Georgie” ##2 (UK), #7 (Canada), #9 (France), #24 (Holland), #25 (Netherlands), #30 (US), #36 (Germany), #38 (Australia)
“The First Cut Is The Deepest” #1 (UK, Germany, Netherlands), #4 (Ireland), #5 (New Zealand), #10 (France), #21 (US), #3 (US Adult Contemporary)
Singles Certifications: "Tonight's The Night" Gold (US, Canada), "The First Cut Is The Deepest" Silver (UK)

A Night on the Town is Rod Stewart's seventh album, released in 1976. The cover art is based on Pierre-Auguste Renoir's painting Bal du moulin de la Galette, with Stewart inserted in the centre in period costume. Stewart performed "Big Bayou" regularly with The Faces during their final US tour the previous year, although the version found on "A Night On The Town" was based on the one Ronnie Wood released on his 1975 solo album, Now Look.

“A Night On The Town" by Rod Stewart (Click Here) 

“A Night On The Town” was a star-studded event with guest players such as Eagles band-member Joe Walsh on guitar, David Lindley (“Mercury Blues”) on guitar, legendary record producer and songwriter David Foster (known for his 1985 hit “Love Theme from St. Elmos Fire) playing keyboards, R&B and Blues musician Booker T. Jones on keyboards, Tower of Power on horns and Arif Mardin composing the strings arrangement. Producer Tom Dowd produced many other popular acts of the time including Kenny Loggins, Chicago, Eric Clapton, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Meatloaf, J. Geils Band, Diana Ross, Willie Nelson, The Eagles as well as many jazz greats such as Charles Mingus, Herbie Mann, Ornette Coleman, Thelonius Monk, John Coltrane, Charlie Parker and a host of others.

The first single release “Tonight’s The Night (Gonna Be Alright)” shot up the charts instantly and was a huge hit throughout the world. This was his comeback hit in the US. His previous Top 15 US hit was 1972’s “You Wear It Well.” The song was 1977’s #1 song in the US and Canada.

According to Dan Peek of America, Stewart's inspiration for "Tonight's the Night" was America's Top 30 hit "Today's the Day": Peek recalls that one evening when he and his guest Rod Stewart were playing together in Peek's home recording studio: "I played 'Today's the Day', the song I had been working on. Rod said that he liked it and that it gave him an idea for a song. Of course after his recording of 'Tonight's the Night' came out I laughed when I remembered what he'd said. I'm sure I probably smacked my forehead and said: 'Why didn't I think of that?'"

The song features a French spoken part from Britt Ekland who was Stewart's girlfriend at the time. Some listeners have interpreted the song as an incestuous pedophile's successful seduction of his daughter. Stewart's persona explicitly refers to his partner as his "virgin child," and among her French comments at the end, she asks, "What is Mama going to say?" The song was partially banned in some parts of the UK because of its suggestive lyrics. Later the ban was dropped due to public demand.

“The Killing of Georgie” was the album’s second single release. This was a personal song to Rod. The song tells the story of a gay man who was killed in New York City. A two-part song, Part I was the more popular hit and was blended into the more melancholy and sombre Part II. The song's lyrics tell the tale of a friend of the narrator's, a gay man, the eponymous Georgie. The song follows Georgie through his life. When Georgie reveals his sexuality to his parents his father asks, "How can my son not be straight, after all I've said and done for him?" Georgie, cast out by his parents, leaves home and heads for New York City where he becomes successful and popular in Manhattan's upper class, "the toast of the Great White Way". The narrator visits him in Summer 1975, when Georgie tells him he's in love; the narrator is pleased for him. Georgie attends the opening night of a Broadway musical, but has no interest in lingering afterward so he leaves "before the final curtain call" and heads crosstown. He is attacked near East 53rd Street by a New Jersey gang of thieves that was waiting in a car on a "darkened side street" and one thief inadvertently kills him. The narrator remembers Georgie's advice on living life to the full while young, before it ends. The song ends with the narrator begging Georgie to stay.
The year of Georgie's death is given as 1975 purely for the purposes of the song's rhyme. The murder of the individual on which the song is based occurred in 1974.

"The Killing of Georgie"

In the May 1995 issue of Mojo, Stewart explained: "That was a true story about a gay friend of The Faces. He was especially close to me and Mac. But he was knifed or shot, I can't remember which. That was a song I wrote totally on me own over the chord of open E." The switchblade knife in the song's lyrics implies that Georgie was stabbed to death.

When he was asked about writing a song with a gay theme, Stewart said, "It's probably because I was surrounded by gay people at that stage. I had a gay PR man, a gay manager. Everyone around me was gay. I don't know whether that prompted me into it or not. I think it was a brave step, but it wasn't a risk. You can't write a song like that unless you've experienced it. But it was a subject that no one had approached before. And I think it still stands up today."

The third and final single from “A Night On The Town,” “The First Cut Is The Deepest” was released in the UK as a double a-side coupled with “I Don’t Want To Talk About It.” In the US the song was released with “Balltrap” as its b-side. “The First Cut Is The Deepest” was written by Cat Stevens and was first recorded by P.P. Arnold in May 1967. P.P. Arnold did a good amount of recording with Small Faces in 1967 and also recorded a duet with Rod Stewart the same year. Stevens released his version a few months later on his album “New Masters.”

Album highlight “Pink Flamingo” was recorded in 1966 by Manfred Mann and was a #1 hit in the UK and Top 30 hit in the US for them.

Written by Rod Stewart, “Fool For You” takes him back to his early 70s days with a sound similar to “Maggie Mae” and “You Wear It Well.” "Fool for You" is a melodic and heart-breaking tale of a man realizing he's involved with a woman who lives in a world in which he will never belong. He feels his out of his league and can never make her happy so he's breaking off the relationship (by letter, of course) with great sadness as he is still very much in love.(He's even leaving her his records!

Rod Stewart 1976

Link to “A Night On The Town”: (Click Here)

ROD STEWART

Judy Collins - True Stories and Other Dreams (1973)

“True Stories and Other Dreams” by Judy Collins (1973)

Release Date: January 1973
Produced by Mark Abramson and Judy Collins
Chart Positions: #27 (US)
Certifications: N/A
Singles: “Cook With Honey” (US #32), “Secret Gardens” (US #122)

“True Stories and Other Dreams” was Judy Collins’ ninth studio album. For the first half-dozen albums of her career, Judy Collins sang only traditional folk tunes and material by other songwriters. Even when she began to write songs in the late 1960s, her compositions were outnumbered by tunes from other sources on the records she issued during the next five years or so. The 1973 LP True Stories and Other Dreams, however, marked the first album on which her own songs comprised the majority of the material. As usual, though, the record also featured astutely selected tunes from a variety of other contemporary singer-songwriters, some of who had also been recording since the early days of the folk revival, and some of who were newcomers to the music scene.

“True Stories and Other Dreams” by Judy Collins (Click Here)

True Stories and Other Dreams also marked the first occasion on which she received a producer's credit, shared with Mark Abramson, who'd produced her recordings since the mid-1960s. As Judy elaborates, however, throughout their association, "we produced together, truly. I would never have denied him his production credit. But it was also my choices, my thinking, my determination, and then Mark backing me up, helping me get what I wanted to get done. And we knew all these wonderful people, of course." On True Stories and Other Dreams, that support cast included her longtime friend Eric Weissberg on acoustic guitar, banjo, and upright bass; Bill Keith, whose pedal steel lent an occasional country flavor; and even Latin jazzman Ray Barretto on congos and bongos.

The songs on the album showcased Judy’s varied musical interests. The single “Cook With Honey” was alight flavored pop song that reached #32 on the US singles chart. The protest song, “The Hostage” brought us back to Judy’s folk roots. “Secret Gardens,” the second single from the album is a beautiful orchestral ballad about her family. The song bubbled under the US singles chart making it to #122. Opening with Judy’s tender keyboard playing, the wistful “Holly Ann” is about Judy’s sister. Of course there are the fantastic story songs like “Fisherman Song,” where Judy excels. Judy recalls, "I took a little time off in 1972 and went out to Long Island just to do some songwriting," remembers Judy today. "At that point, I wrote 'Fishermen Song.' I was on the beach there and these fishermen sing; they bring in the fish, and they would hand me a fresh bluefish or something for me to cook. So 'Fishermen Song' is really about that experience of watching them fish."

"Song For Martin"

“Song For Martin” is a poignant album highlight about Martin Hoffman, a school teacher, who composed the music for a poem written by Woody Guthrie titled “Deportee.” Hoffman and Judy became friends in the 1960s. Collins remembers, "He was the first person I ever heard sing 'This Land Is Your Land,' up at Lookout Mountain in Colorado," says Judy. "He was a wonderful man, just a sweet man." Hoffman committed suicide prior to the recording of “True Stories and Other Dreams.”

The album closes with the dramatic politically charged “Che.” In an entirely different vein, the seven-and-a-half-minute "Ché"–inspired, of course, by the famous revolutionary Ché Guevara – is one of the most ambitious compositions Collins ever put on disc. She'd been thinking about "the people who betrayed him, and how they might feel, because they were probably Catholics, they were probably poor, they were probably peasants in South America," she reflects. "And I thought, I want to see if I can paint that picture of him. Because all these people get told by leaders what they should do, and how they should live, and it must get to be a burden."

Judy Collins (1973)

Link to “True Stories and Other Dreams” (Click Here)

JUDY COLLINS

Ornette Coleman - Science Fiction (1972)

“Science Fiction” by Ornette Coleman (1972)

Release Date: February 1972
Produced by James Jordan
Chart Positions: N/A
Certifications: N/A
Singles: N/A

Ornette Coleman's first album for Columbia followed a stint on Blue Note that found the saxophonist in something of a holding pattern. Science Fiction was his creative rebirth, a stunningly inventive and appropriately alien-sounding blast of manic energy. Coleman pulls out all the stops, working with a variety of different lineups and cramming the record full of fresh ideas and memorable themes. Bassist Charlie Haden and drummers Billy Higgins and/or Ed Blackwell are absolutely indispensable to the overall effect, playing with a frightening, whirlwind intensity throughout.

"Science Fiction" is a free jazz classic.

“Science Fiction” by Ornette Coleman (Click Here)

In some respects, this is one of the last original statements of the musical approach Ornette had taken starting in the late 1950s.  Many of these songs open with a “head” with two performers playing a composed line in dissonant unison.  Then the songs open up with the performers playing in less coordinated ways.  But that approach only accounts for a portion of the album, mostly in the middle part.

The opener “What Reason Could I Give?” is something different from the traditional Coleman song structure.  Instead of a more structured head that gives way to less structured collective improvisation, the entire song is organized around unison playing.  Every one of the performers, with some slight exception for the two drummers who must accept the more limited tonal palettes of drum kits in exchange for unobtrusively skittering rhythmic attacks, seems to be guided by a close and commonly structured composition that tries to balance the tone, volume and overall intensity of performance.  A singer (Asha Puthli) provides an inherent focal point because of the lyrics, though really they are not “in front” of the other performers in any real way.  This type of song structure seems like a more fully realized version of things Ornette had hinted at in the late 1960s, when he started working with Dewey Redman, but never really mastered.  This song is fluid, engaging…convincing.  And the balance never falters.

The catchiest numbers -- including two songs with Indian vocalist Asha Puthli, which sound like pop hits from an alternate universe -- have spacy, long-toned melodies that are knocked out of orbit by the rhythm section's churning chaos, which often creates a totally different pulse. Two tracks reunite Coleman's classic quartet of Haden, Higgins, and Don Cherry; "Street Woman" just wails, and "Civilization Day" is a furious, mind-blowing up-tempo burner. With “Civilization Day,” Ornette is back to a kind of bop group combo formation that opens the song with a form of unison playing that leaves specific spaces in place.  After the initial statement of the songs theme, the drums drop out, and then solos are traded.  The bass (Charlie Haden) is very insistent throughout.  It provides the strong urging of a regular beat that undercuts what would otherwise be an oppressive intensity from the wailing of the wind instruments.  The next song “Street Woman” sort of combines the approaches of the first two.  The bass takes more liberal departures from a steady beat, both in a rubbery statement in the head (plus a similar closing to the song), and in a prominent mid-song solo. "Law Years" and "The Jungle Is a Skyscraper" feature a quintet with Haden, Blackwell, tenorist Dewey Redman, and trumpeter Bobby Bradford; both have racing, stop-start themes, and "Jungle"'s solos have some downright weird groaning effects. "Rock the Clock" foreshadows Coleman's '70s preoccupations, with Redman playing the musette (an Arabic double-reed instrument) and Haden amplifying his bass through a wah-wah pedal to produce sheets of distorted growls. “Rock the Clock” again opens right into a bunch of skronking from the wind instruments, but with Ornette on violin playing scratchy, abrasive and high-pitched bowed sounds, then an electric bass gives the song a touch of the sound of the jazz-rock fusion movement — very funky.  Between the bass and the violin, two extremes sit together, taking opposite approaches (pulsed beats on bass, extended tones on violin)  yet kind of create a meaning through their juxtaposition.  This proves to be a great performance of a song that would become standard in the Coleman repertoire. The title track is a free septet blowout overlaid with David Henderson's echoed poetry recitations, plus snippets of a crying baby; it could sound awkward today, but in context it's perfectly suited to the high-octane craziness all around it.

"Street Woman"

An open secret to Ornette’s music is the way he integrates composition and improvisation.  Performers are not simply cut loose to play whatever they want.  Ornette was a composer above all.  Yet his way of composing presented the opportunity for his compositions to seem to dissolve away amid the improvisation.  Paradoxically, the only way the improvisation can structure itself to overcome the compositional elements is through the compositions themselves. Science Fiction is a meeting ground between Coleman's past and future; it combines the fire and edge of his Atlantic years with strong hints of the electrified, globally conscious experiments that were soon to come. And, it's overflowing with brilliance.

Ornette Coleman (1972)

Link to “Science Fiction” (Click Here)

ORNETTE COLEMAN

The Who - Who's Next (1971)

“Who’s Next” (album) by The Who (1971)

Release Date: August 14, 1971
Produced by The Who
Associate Producer: Glyn Johns
Chart Positions: #4 (US), #1 (UK), #2 (Finland, Netherlands, France), #3 (Australia, Denmark), #5 (Canada), #6 (Norway), #14 (Ireland), #18 (Germany), #100 (Italy)
Certifications: 3xPlatinum (US), Gold (UK, Italy)

Singles: “Won’t Get Fooled Again” (#15 US, #9 UK, France, #1 Singapore, #2 Malaysia, #3 Poland, #5 Israel, #6 Portugal, #7 Canada, #8, Netherlands, #11 Holland, #14 Australia, #27 Germany and Denmark)
"Behind Blue Eyes” (#1 France, #34 US and Holland)
“Baba O’Reilly” (#11 Netherlands, #13 Holland, #26 Belgium, #80 Australia, #200 France)

Who's Next is the fifth studio album by English rock band The Who. It developed from the aborted Lifehouse project, a multi-media rock opera written by the group's Pete Townshend as a follow-up to the band's 1969 album Tommy. The project was cancelled due to its complexity and conflicts with Kit Lambert, the band's manager, but Townshend was persuaded to record the songs as a straightforward studio album. The album was a major hit around the world and spawned three hit singles.

“Who’s Next” by The Who (Click Here)

The Who recorded Who's Next with assistance from recording engineer Glyn Johns. After producing the song "Won't Get Fooled Again" in the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio, they relocated to Olympic Studios to record and mix most of the album's remaining songs. They made prominent use of the synthesizer on the album, particularly on "Won't Get Fooled Again" and "Baba O'Riley", which were both released as singles. The cover photo was shot by Ethan Russell and made reference to the monolith in the 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey, as it featured group members having urinated against a concrete piling protruding from a slag heap.

Who's Next was an immediate success when it was released on August 14, 1971. It has since been viewed by critics as the Who's best record and one of the greatest albums of all time.

In 1970 The Who set out to record their science fiction rock opera “Lifehouse.” After a series of concerts to promote their upcoming “Lifehouse” project Pete Townshend became disillusioned with it and the group dropped the project and rapidly began work on their next album “Who’s Next.” Several of the tracks on “Who’s Next” were birthed from ideas from the “Lifehouse” project.

The first single “Won’t Get Fooled Again” was released on June 25, 1971 a month and a half before the album and was an immediate smash hit reaching the Top 10 all around the world. The album version runs 8:30. The single was shortened to 3:35 so radio stations would play it. The song, which closes the album “Who’s Next,” was written by Pete Townshend as a closing number of the Lifehouse project, the lyrics are a critique of revolution and power. To symbolize the spiritual connection he had found in music via the works of Meher Baba and Inayat Khan, he programmed a blend of human traits into a synthesizer and used it as a back track throughout the song. Townshend interviewed several people with general practitioner-style questions, and captured their heartbeat, brainwaves and astrological charts, converting the result into a series of audio pulses. The Who first recorded the song in New York in March 1971, but re-recorded it at Stargroves (Home of Mick Jagger and a recording venue for Rolling Stones and other rock artists) the next month using the synthesizer track from Townshend's original demo. Roger Daltrey's scream is considered one of the best on any rock song. It was quite a convincing wail - so convincing that the rest of the band, lunching nearby, thought Daltrey was brawling with the engineer. Townshend described the song as one "that screams defiance at those who feel any cause is better than no cause.”

The second single, “Behind Blue Eyes,” was originally set to be the album’s first single release, but the group decided to release “Won’t Get Fooled Again” as they felt that song better represented the band’s overall mood at the time. The song is another that was written by Pete Townshend for his Lifehouse project. "Behind Blue Eyes" originated after a Who concert in Denver on June 9th, 1970. Following the performance, Townshend became tempted by a female groupie, but he instead went back to his room alone, possibly as a result of the teachings of his spiritual leader, Meher Baba. Upon reaching his room, he began writing a prayer, the first words being "When my fist clenches, crack it open..." These words later appeared as lyrics in the "climactic rocking section" of "Behind Blue Eyes." The version of "Behind Blue Eyes" on the original Who's Next album was the second version the band recorded; the first was recorded at the Record Plant in New York on 18 March 1971 and features Al Kooper on Hammond organ.

"Behind Blue Eyes"

“Baba O’Riley” (aka “Teenage Wasteland”) was the third and last single from “Who’s Next,” like the other singles from the album, was written by Pete Townshend for his “Lifehouse” project. Roger Daltrey sings most of the song, with Pete Townshend singing the middle eight: "Don't cry/don't raise your eye/it's only teenage wasteland". The song's title is a combination of the names of two of Townshend's philosophical and musical influences, Meher Baba and Terry Riley. Townshend stated in an interview that "'Baba O'Riley' is about the absolute desolation of teenagers at Woodstock, where the patrons were smacked out on acid and 20 people had brain damage. The irony was that some listeners took the song to be a teenage celebration: 'Teenage Wasteland, yes! We're all wasted!'" The song is often mistakenly called "Teenage Wasteland", after the phrase repeated in the song. "Teenage Wasteland" was in fact a working title for the song in its early incarnations as part of the Lifehouse project, but eventually became the title for a different but related song by Townshend, which is slower and features more lyrics.[6] A demo of "Teenage Wasteland" is featured on Lifehouse Chronicles, a six disc set of music related to the Lifehouse project, and on several Townshend compilations and videos.

Other album highlights include the song “Bargain” a love song in which the subject of love is not defined. Townshend has stated the song was influenced by Indian mystic Meher Baba and that the subject of the song is God. Another highlight is “Going Mobile” a song that many felt was strong enough to be released as a single. The song was originally written for Townshend's abandoned Lifehouse project, with lyrics celebrating the joy of having a mobile home and being able to travel the open road. The Who's lead singer Roger Daltrey did not take part in the recording of the song, leaving the rest of the band to record it as a power trio; Townshend handles the lead vocals, guitars, and synthesizers, with John Entwistle on bass and Keith Moon on drums.

"Baba O'Reilly" was used as the TV Theme song for the series "CSI: NY" from 2004 - 2013. "Won't Get Fooled Again" was the TV theme for "CSI Miami."

Link to “Who’s Next” (Click Here)

THE WHO 

Donna Summer - Once Upon A Time (1977)

“Once Upon A Time” (album) by Donna Summer (1977)

Release Date: October 31, 1977
Produced by Girogio Moroder and Pete Bellotte
Chart Positions: #26 (US), #24 UK, #9 Norway, #10 Spain, #27 Canada, #31 Japan, #44 Australia
Certifications: Gold (US, UK, Canada)

Singles: “I Love You”(#37 US, #10 UK and Norway, #6 Netherlands, #16 Italy, #21 Spain, #27 Canada, #47 Australia)
“Fairy Tale High” (N/A)
“Once Upon A Time” (#14 Italy)
“Rumour Has It” (#53 US, #19 UK, #21 Denmark and Germany, #20 Netherlands, #64 Canada)

Once Upon a Time is Donna Summer’s sixth studio album and is the album released just before her pinnacle with “Bad Girls.” It was released on October 31, 1977, and peaked at #26 on the US Billboard 200, #13 US R&B chart and #24 on the UK Albums Chart. The entire album charted as one entry at #1 on the US Hot Dance/Disco chart. Once Upon a Time includes the singles "I Love You", "Fairy Tale High", "Once Upon a Time" and "Rumour Has It".

“Once Upon A Time” by Donna Summer (Click Here)

The concept album was Summer's first double album, telling a modern-day Cinderella-themed story through means of disco music. The album's story concept was conceived by Joyce Bogart, Susan Munao and Donna Summer based on an idea by Al Bogatz. The songs were written in collaboration between Summer, Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte. The album was recorded at Musicland Studios, Munich. Arrangements were handled by Bob Esty while electronic arrangements were the work of Moroder. The artwork was designed by Stephen Lumel and Gribbitt! with photography by Francesco Scavullo.

Summer's previous two records were musical concept albums: 1976's Four Seasons of Love told the story of a love affair by relating it to the four seasons, while 1977's I Remember Yesterday presented a musical catalogue of musical styles and lyrical themes from the past, present and an imagined future “I Feel Love” was the imagined future). Once Upon A Time is another concept album—the first "disco opera" per Robert Christgau *—developed by Joyce Bogart, Susan Munao and Donna Summer as a modern-day Cinderella narrative.

Throughout the album and as described in the liner notes storyline, the songs tell the story of a young woman who lives in a fantasy world of make-believe in which she is seemingly trapped, but thanks to her belief in her dreams she embarks on an adventure that ends with the man she loves entering her life. The "rags to riches" story is brought into the modern day via the use of the electronic disco sound. * Robert Christgau is a music critic that has covered music for Esquire, Cream, Playboy, Billboard, Rolling Stone Magazine, NPR and other popular music and entertainment periodicals.

The excellent use of strings brings a lush quality to both the disco numbers ("Faster And Faster To Nowhere") and the ballads ("Happily Ever After"). With this album Summer, Moroder and Bellotte focused on writing full flshed out songs as opposed to minimal lyrics of the previous albums each song tells a complete story. That’s not to say the previous albums were not good – they were great it’s just with this album the songwriting, most precisely the lyrics improved tenfold.

"I Love You"

The first single release “I Love You” became Donna Summer’s third US top 40 hit reaching #37 on the US singles chart. The song was a big hit in Europe making it into the Top 10 in the UK, Norway and Netherlands. “I Love You” is a dreamy disco song that brings about a wonderfully optimistic feel as you listen to it. The second single “Fairy Tale High” came and went pretty quick. It received airplay in dance clubs across the US but did not make it on to the charts. “Once Upon A Time,” the album’s third single also did not chart but received extensive dance club play. The fiurth and final single “Rumour Has It” is a cult classic that became one of the album favorites and was one of the most played songs in the night clubs from the album. “Rumour Has It” charted at #53 in the US and made it into the Top 20 in the UK and Netherlands. Album highlight “Working The Midnight Shift” is a song that many fans feel was a missed opportunity for single release. The song received major club play, was a working-class anthem predating "She Works Hard For The Money,” “Midnight Shift” told the story of a waitress who worked the late shift but still made it out to see her friends before the clubs closed. The song sports a dark disco flavor that was very popular in the underground discos and in the later 70s worked it’s way into the mainstream discos.

Donna Summer 1977

Donna Summer 1977

Link to “Once Upon A Time” (Click Here)

DONNA SUMMER