Steve Holtje: November 12, 2006

New releases and this week’s birthdays

1. The In-Kraut, Vol. 2 (Marina)

   The second dose of “Hip Shaking Grooves Made in Germany 1967-1974” is as much kitschy fun as the first volume, including a big band version of Deep Purple’s “Black Night,” the amazingly campy “Wildkatze,” and a German version of Jorge Ben’s “Mas Que Nada.” All but the most informed music mavens will recognize none of the acts involved (though some of the borrowed riffs will sound familiar!). However, the booklet notes reveal that Paul Nero is actually saxophonist Klaus Doldinger, and you can also hear what Can were up to before they were Can, on a 1968 single as The Inner Space.

2. The Evens – Get Evens (Dischord)
   Ian MacKaye (Fugazi, Minor Threat) and Amy Farina (Warmers) have done it again; their second album is even better than last year’s eponymous debut. Sure, it’s quieter than Fugazi, but no less intense. MacKaye’s fierce strumming and Farina’s pointed drumming achieve considerable momentum, and the lyrics show no mercy in lambasting our government’s brutal combination of self-interest and incompetence.
3. White Magic – Dat Rosa Mel Apibus (Drag City)

   Freak-folk continues to flourish in Brooklyn, as shown on the second album by this shifting ensemble led by Mira Billotte (Quix*o*tic). One of the aspects that sets White Magic apart from others on the scene is the frequency with which piano dominates the songs; another is Billotte’s agile voice. The elements of the songs are simple, but their combinations are highly distinctive and original. All are originals except the traditional song “Katie Cruel,” perhaps proof of a Karen Dalton influence that seems audible on several tracks. In general, though, not quite like anything you’ve ever heard before.

4. Svarte Greiner – Knive (Type)

   Svarte Greiner is Erik K. Skodvin (half of Deaf Center). On this disc, traditional instruments are played (abused?) in untraditional ways that produced tortured sounds. The sonic mayhem utilizes space as much as anything, which makes it easy to concentrate on the fine details of the timbres as the creaks and plinks and groans – and sometimes quietly chiming guitar or droning organ – are strung out to produce delicate sonic sculptures, with occasional vocals deployed (abstractly at first, but giving the short “Ullsokk” a medieval tone and the closing “Final Sleep” a mournful Balkan air) and regular rhythms occurring only rarely. Despite the clarity of the sound, the fuzziness of some of the timbres combines with the psychological impact of uncertainty and the frequent lack of harmony to produce a shadowy overall mood that’s subtly fascinating.

5. 11/12

   Bukka White – 1906
   His name wasn’t really Bukka, it’s just that the white guys who recorded him didn’t understand “Booker” through his accent. But they understood that he was one of the greatest blues singers and guitarists around. Among his other talents were baseball (he played in the Negro Leagues) and boxing. He made his most famous recording in 1937 after jumping bail on an assault charge. He was recaptured and sent to the infamous Parchman Farm for three years, during which time his “Shake ‘em on Down” became a big hit. Decades later, Bob Dylan covered White’s “Fixin’ to Die Blues” on his debut and White was tracked down by John Fahey and Ed Denson. He came out of retirement and immediately resumed recording; he continued creating fine new material well into the 1970s.

   Neil Young – 1945
   Needs no introduction.

   Buck Dharma (Donald Roeser) – 1947
   Blue Oyster Cult’s guitarist, sole composer of “Don’t Fear the Reaper” and “Godzilla,” and co-writer of many other classics.

   Errol Brown – 1948
   The lead singer of Hot Chocolate, and responsible for such classics as “Brother Louie,” “You Sexy Thing,” “Heaven Is in the Backseat of My Cadillac,” and “Every 1’s a Winner.” One of the great voices of ‘70s soul.

6. 11/14

   Joseph “Run” Simmons – 1964
   The first three Run-DMC albums remain classics that sound as fresh as when they were first released.

7. 11/15

   Clyde McPhatter – 1932
   McPhatter was one of the greatest tenors in pop music history, the lead vocalist in the original lineups of both the Dominoes and then the Drifters; singer on the latter’s hits “Money Honey,” “Such a Night,” and “Honey Love.” Then he went solo and crossed over from the R&B charts to pop, most notably on “A Lover’s Question.”

   Little Willie John (Davenport) – 1937
   This soul pioneer has been unfairly forgotten. “Fever” (which he co-wrote) was a bigger hit for Peggy Lee (because of radio play on stations that wouldn’t go near raw R&B). James Brown revered him so much that he made a tribute album in 1968, the year Little Willie John died. Get The Very Best of Little Willie John on Collectables, a 25-song compilation of his King sides, including such great tracks as “Leave My Kitten Alone” (yes, covered by the Beatles), “All Around the World,” “Sleep,” and “Suffering with the Blues.”

8. 11/16

   Hubert Sumlin – 1931
   Yup, one of the great blues guitarists turns 75. Two decades in Howlin’ Wolf’s band and some fine solo albums have guaranteed his spot in the blues pantheon.

9. 11/17

   Gene Clark – 1944
   On the Byrds’ first two albums, Clark was the group’s main songwriter; he’s responsible for “Feel a Whole Lot Better,” “Set You Free This Time,” and “The World Turns All Around Her.” Going solo, he went wholeheartedly country-rock (before the Byrds did, first with the Gosdin Brothers and then with Doug Dillard in Dillard and Clark before operating under just his own name. There were also reunions with the Byrds and various permutations of their members.

   Roswell Rudd – 1935
   After years of jazz trombonists playing the instrument as sterilely as possible, Rudd was a wild throwback who in the 1960s melded early jazz and free jazz in a brash style that took full advantage of the trombone’s natural capabilities. Whether playing with Steve Lacy (in a band that played only Thelonious Monk tunes), in Bill Dixon’s pioneering group with Archie Shepp, the New York Art Quartet, or Charlie Haden’s Liberation Music Orchestra, Rudd was always a standout player. After something of a hiatus for two decades, starting in the ‘90s he made a comeback and re-established himself as the genre’s best trombonist.

10. 11/18

    Don Cherry – 1936
    Playing trumpet in Ornette Coleman’s groundbreaking quartet, Cherry changed jazz forever. For awhile, his work in the many decades afterwards was underrated, but in recent years the immense value of his superlative Blue Note albums Complete Communion, Symphony for Improvisors, Where Is Brooklyn?, and fine efforts on ECM and A&M (notably the criminally out-of-print Brown Rice).

    Graham Parker – 1950
    The angry young man may be turning 56, but he’s still full of piss and vinegar – and of songs bursting with biting wit. My favorite remains 1979’s Squeezing Out Sparks, even moreso since on CD it added the promo that included concert versions of all its songs, plus the single “Mercury Poisoning.”