The legendary Django Reinhardt appears on an AVID release for the second time, here featuring his electric period. Focusing on his music after 1947 when he returned from the USA having played with Duke Ellington, we also include a valuable recording made at the RDF radio studios possibly for a film soundtrack and skillfully re-mastered by AVID's own sound engineers. Django's music in the 1950's underwent many changes as witnessed among these tracks. We travel through small group swing to bebop influenced modern harmonic and rhythmically conceptual pieces, urgent, wild and frantic as detected in his amazing guitar playing!This appearance of this album is long overdue. It represents, to my knowledge, the first recording devoted to a comprehensive look at Django's work on electric guitar. It should be no surprise that Django Reinhardt brings the same combination of technical skill and artistic exploration to the electric guitar that he brought to his acoustic guitar work...
The cuts are all from the late-40's and early-50's after the break-up of the original and justly celebrated "Quintet of the Hot Club of France" featuring Django and the great Stephane Grapelly on violin, and after returning from his only American tour, with the Duke Elliington Orchestra.
When most people think of Django Reinhardt at his best, they think of the period between 1935 until the outbreak of war in 1939, which permanently broke up the original Quintet. Stephane Grappelli, who was gay, understandably fled soon-to-be occupied France to wait out the war in Great Britain, while Reinhardt chose to stay with his gypsy compatriots in the wagon camps on the outskirts of Paris. During the war Django, despite the round-up of gypsies throughout occupied France, continued to enjoy the adulation of the many Parisian jazz fans (along with more than a few Nazi soldiers) who flocked to hear him in dark, cramped "bal musette" nightclubs and large auditoriums alike.
The occupation of France by the Nazis paradoxically opened up new avenues of artistic expression for the musician whose fellow "Romanies" were being rounded up and sent to concentration camps in Poland and Germany. Without the confining structure of the Quintet, and the familiar interplay between Django and Stephane, Reinhardt was free to explore other styles and instruments. It was during this time that he took a serious interest in what was then an exotic instrument - the "electric" guitar.
Although hollow-bodied acoustic guitars with electric pickups had already been used by musicians such as Freddie Green with the Count Basie Orchestra, these musicians played the instrument much as they would have an acoustic guitar. They simply took advantage of the increased volume of sound to finally make themselves heard over the trumpets and saxophones. Only Charlie Christian had consistently explored the many possibilities that an electrified guitar offered in the few short years he had played with the Benny Goodman Band before his death at age 23 in the early 1940s.
"The Electric Years" offers a comprehensive look at the new direction of sound and form that Reinhardt developed after World War II. These selections dispel the notion that without the classic Quintet Django's playing suffered a general decline and lack of focus. Listening to the elegiac improvisations on tunes such as "September Song" and "Crepuscule," with their drawn out notes and tender shifts in tempo and volume, one can hear Reinhardt exploring the possibilities afforded by electrification. He succeeds in bringing a fresh and beautiful new sound to jazz.
It is not the music of the old Quintette, with Django's amazing single string arpeggio runs and startlingly assured staccato improvisations. Although he can still play with the same prewar speed, the ability to draw out the notes and play audibly even in the softest of passages produces solos of tremendous beauty and variety.
If you haven't heard Django Reinhardt on electric guitar, you have missed a part what made him so special. Get this one while it's in print and available. When it goes out of print who knows how long it will be before we see such an album again.
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1. Blues For Ike 2. September Song 3. Night And Day 4. Insensiblement 5. Manoir de Mes Reves 6. Nuages 7. Brazil 8. I'm Confessin' 9. Double Whisky 10. Dream of You 11. Impromptu 12. Vamp 13. Keep Cool 14. Fleche D'Or 15. Troublant Bolero 16. Nuits de Saint Germain-des-Pres 17. Crazy Rhythm 18. Anouman 19. Fine and Dandy 20. D.R. Blues 21. Symphonie 22. Improvisation Sur La Danse Norvegienne 23. St Louis Blues 24. Douce Ambiance 25. Melodie Au Crepuscule 26. I Can't Give You Anything But Love
This music is dedicated to the tradition of Johnny Diego's Rock 'n' Roll Free Sunday!
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...or probably no longer exists, because these two kiwis have moved to Berlin. Are they still there? No idea. At least made two albums there. Here, too, minor unusual things. - Gaius
...The Gibson guitar company introduced the first electric guitar in the 1930s, and the advent of amplification meant the blues could preach louder and longer, which allowed a country acoustic music to transform itself into its own kind of powerfully rhythmic pop music. Taken as a whole, this ambitious Bear Family series traces and surveys that transformation, beginning with jazz-inspired jump blues tracks and following through to the juncture of blues and rock, blues and funk, and beyond, on into the 21st century. This particular volume covers 1960 to 1969, a time when blues and rock & roll really started to join hands, and it features classic tracks like Buddy Guy's "First Time I Met the Blues," Jimmy Reed's "Big Boss Man," Albert King's "Crosscut Saw," and B.B. King's "Rock Me Baby," but it also collects lesser-known gems like Frank Frost's "Jelly Roll King" and Junior Parker's "Driving Wheel," then slides into blues and rock hybrids like the Animals' "House of the Rising Sun," Canned Heat's Henry Thomas-inspired "On the Road Again," and Janis Joplin's "Ball and Chain," before closing things out with Willie Dixon’s "I Ain't Superstitious" done by the Jeff Beck Group. Bear Family Records is known for its quality releases, and this volume is no exception. When the full 12 discs are taken together, with nearly 300 tracks, it makes for a fascinating survey of the blues in all of its electric configurations.(Steve Leggett, Allmusic)
Although not issued until 1987, The Milkshakes' Revenge! (or "The Legendary Missing 9th Album") was the next to be recorded. Rather low-key and well-mannered, its greatest notoriety is as the debut release on Billy Childish's Hangman Records & Books label.
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...Still, because of their heavy reliance on electronics -- a sound atypical of the dominant New Zealand aesthetic -- the Headless Chickens initially found little mainstream acceptance. That changed with the release of 1991's Body Blow, the first record to feature new vocalist Fiona McDonald; the single "Cruise Control," which marked a new, slicker direction for the group's sound, reached the Top Ten -- only the second Flying Nun release to earn such a distinction. The follow-up singles, "Donde Esta La Pollo" and "Juice," were also successful. Health problems forced Nevison temporarily out of the group in 1993, and after a 1994 European tour, both McDonald and Lawry exited as well; when Fell announced his own departure in early 1995, the group's continued existence appeared grim, but in 1997, they returned with Greedy. - Artist Biography by Jason Ankeny
...The Gibson guitar company introduced the first electric guitar in the 1930s, and the advent of amplification meant the blues could preach louder and longer, which allowed a country acoustic music to transform itself into its own kind of powerfully rhythmic pop music. Taken as a whole, this ambitious Bear Family series traces and surveys that transformation, beginning with jazz-inspired jump blues tracks and following through to the juncture of blues and rock, blues and funk, and beyond, on into the 21st century. This particular volume covers 1960 to 1969, a time when blues and rock & roll really started to join hands, and it features classic tracks like Buddy Guy's "First Time I Met the Blues," Jimmy Reed's "Big Boss Man," Albert King's "Crosscut Saw," and B.B. King's "Rock Me Baby," but it also collects lesser-known gems like Frank Frost's "Jelly Roll King" and Junior Parker's "Driving Wheel," then slides into blues and rock hybrids like the Animals' "House of the Rising Sun," Canned Heat's Henry Thomas-inspired "On the Road Again," and Janis Joplin's "Ball and Chain," before closing things out with Willie Dixon’s "I Ain't Superstitious" done by the Jeff Beck Group. Bear Family Records is known for its quality releases, and this volume is no exception. When the full 12 discs are taken together, with nearly 300 tracks, it makes for a fascinating survey of the blues in all of its electric configurations.(Steve Leggett, Allmusic)
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Anyone familiar with Billy Childish's work expects a certain amount of willful sloppiness when they put on one of his records, but this collection of early demos and live tapes from the Milkshakes, the combo where he first solidified the sound that would make his name, sounds crude even by his lo-fi standards. The 11 demos that open The 107 Tapes (named for the house in Chatham where the group rehearsed) predate the first Milkshakes album by close to a year, and this is the group at ground zero; the fascination with classic British beat music, the stripped-down attack, and Childish's raw enthusiasm and power as both a guitarist and vocalist were all in place, but Childish appeared to be several leagues ahead of his bandmates in both skill and charisma at this point, which makes for a distressingly ordinary rhythm section, and Martin Waller's sax is too far up in the mix for its own good (though the one-mike production style suggests they couldn't have fixed it if they wanted to). And while the songs are pretty good for the most part, Childish would be turning out better material within a few years. The rest of the disc is taken from two gigs the Milkshakes played in Germany in April 1983; by this point the band sounded a great deal stronger and more confident, and this documents them doing that they did best. The live Milkshakes rock solidly on a set of originals and early rock covers, and the audio, if not exceptional, is better than on the demos, but the audience doesn't seem very enthusiastic, and Childish and his bandmates enjoy throwing uncharitable insults at them in the grand tradition of John Lennon at the Star Club. Serious Billy Childish fans will enjoy this for the live material, but The 107 Tapes is best suited for completists rather than casual admirers, and no one needs to hear the demos more than once. - AllMusic Review by Mark Deming
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…Originally dubbed the International Headless Chickens, the trio -- onetime Children's Hour members Chris Matthews and Johnny Pierce, along with drummer Michael Lawry -- re-formed on a permanent basis in 1986, and soon made their recorded debut with a track on the student radio compilation Outnumbered by Sheep. A self-titled EP followed later that year, and the group began a tour in support of Nico. Tragedy soon struck, however, when bassist Pierce committed suicide in August 1986. The Headless Chickens soldiered on, enlisting another Children's Hour alum, Grant Fell, as Pierce's replacement; with the addition of former Bird Nest Roys member Rupert Taylor, they became a quartet… to be continued - Artist Biography by Jason Ankeny
...The Gibson guitar company introduced the first electric guitar in the 1930s, and the advent of amplification meant the blues could preach louder and longer, which allowed a country acoustic music to transform itself into its own kind of powerfully rhythmic pop music. Taken as a whole, this ambitious Bear Family series traces and surveys that transformation, beginning with jazz-inspired jump blues tracks and following through to the juncture of blues and rock, blues and funk, and beyond, on into the 21st century. This particular volume covers 1960 to 1969, a time when blues and rock & roll really started to join hands, and it features classic tracks like Buddy Guy's "First Time I Met the Blues," Jimmy Reed's "Big Boss Man," Albert King's "Crosscut Saw," and B.B. King's "Rock Me Baby," but it also collects lesser-known gems like Frank Frost's "Jelly Roll King" and Junior Parker's "Driving Wheel," then slides into blues and rock hybrids like the Animals' "House of the Rising Sun," Canned Heat's Henry Thomas-inspired "On the Road Again," and Janis Joplin's "Ball and Chain," before closing things out with Willie Dixon’s "I Ain't Superstitious" done by the Jeff Beck Group. Bear Family Records is known for its quality releases, and this volume is no exception. When the full 12 discs are taken together, with nearly 300 tracks, it makes for a fascinating survey of the blues in all of its electric configurations.(Steve Leggett, Allmusic)
The cuts are all from the late-40's and early-50's after the break-up of the original and justly celebrated "Quintet of the Hot Club of France" featuring Django and the great Stephane Grapelly on violin, and after returning from his only American tour, with the Duke Elliington Orchestra.
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