Paul McCartney - McCartney - Review

Songs: The Lovely Linda, That Would Be Something, Valentine Day, Every Night, Hot as Sun/Glasses, Junk, Man We Was Lonely, Oo You, Momma Miss America, Teddy Boy, Singalong Junk, Maybe I’m Amazed, Kreen-Akrore.

Comments:

On his first solo album, recorded at his London home studio, Paul sings, plays all the instruments and took care of the production, only assisted from time to time by the Lovely Linda with some harmony vocals. 

Rumor has it that there was simply not enough time to record in a professional studio as Paul wanted to be the first Ex-Beatle to release a solo album. One could also argue that Paul, like John, wanted to take a break from the rich Abbey Road and Let It Be production style and return to a more basic, almost home made concept. 

I’m sure Paul was a bit frustrated as well when the Beatles broke up. But, unlike John, he doesn’t seem to need a scream therapy to get even with things. He sounds very relaxed and down to earth on the album, not driven by commercial pressure but simply trying out some musical ideas.

Those ideas seldom mature into full songs. When they do, they are great. The best of them all is the well known rocker Maybe I’m Amazed, a song that should have done credit to the Let It Be album. But Every Night, That Would be Something and Junk are little jewels as well with simple but beautiful melodies.

Mostly however the songs are fragments of ideas, often instrumentals. That does not make them all bad, mind you. Henry Mancini would have been proud to have written Singalong Junk as the main theme for a romantic movie. And Valentine Day holds his own easily. Only the overlong Momma Miss America and the drum experiment Kreen Akrore are below par.

There are two catchy songs Hot as Sun/Glasses and Man We Was Lonely that could have been big hits if they would have been recorded by a pop group like New Seekers or Brotherhood of Man. It’s a pity that Man He Was Lonely has a Country & Western/Drinking Song Chorus because I love the verses and Paul’s guitar on the song.

Besides Maybe I’m Amazed there’s one other rocker on the album that could have been part of the Let It Be sessions. It’s called Oo You and it reminds me of Get Back.

Paul’s music on McCartney sounds just as honest to me as John’s statements on his debut album. They are just two very different kind of guys. The only thing they seem to share is musical talent and even there they are completely different. That makes the Beatles music as good as it is. It’s also the reason why a lot of their solo work is less stunning. Without Paul, John gets too serious. And without John, Paul gets to cheesy. Not so on this, his first solo album. Despite the raw home made character or maybe thanks to that, McCartney is a great listen that does not get boring easily

Rating: ******** (8 out of 10)

Black = Good Songs

Green = Great Songs

Red = Could Be Better

Although some of the songs are below par on an individual basis, they do not break the flow of the album. 

Who should buy this Record: This is Essential Paul McCartney. Highly recommended.

Macallan 10 Years Sherry Oak Review

Country: Scotland

Brand: Macallan Sherry Oak

Type: Single Malt Whisky

Region: Speyside

Age:  10 Years 

Alcohol: 40%

Date: 29/04/2012

Colour: Pale Gold/Sauternes

Nose: Light. First impressions are Toffee, Malt, Oak and some Sherry. Buttered Toast with Orange - or Apricot Marmalade. Apple Pie with Cinnamon. Very light Peat.

Taste: Sherry is a bit more present now. Toffee, Baked Apple. Nuts and Butter. Very light Spices.

Finish: Middle Long. Sweet at first with Sherry, Honey, Toffee, Sultanas and Cinnamon but dry towards the end with Oak, Malt and hints of Ginger.

I added a few drops of water and you get more Apple Pie and some Floral Notes on the Nose. On the Palate this Malt becomes slightly bitter and the Finish does not benefit as well. Better drink this Macallan straight although you can experiment with a few drops while Nosing.

Rating: 84 

Nose: 21 - Taste: 21 – Finish: 21 – Overall: 21

General Remarks: This Single Malt matures exclusively in Sherry Oak Casks from Jerez in Spain. The Macallan Distillery was one of the pioneers in Sherry Cask Single Malts.

Drinking Experience Straight: Good

Conclusion: I’d heard a lot of good things about this Single Malt. It was supposed to be the Single Malt against which all others would be measured. I don’t agree with that. I find this Single Malt to be too dominated by Toffee /Caramel. I would have expected more influence of the Oloroso Casks but apparently getting good Sherry Casks is difficult and/or expensive these days. This Macallan could also do with a bit more of the Floral Tones that very good Speysiders offer. It’s certainly an enjoyable Single Malt but it does not deserve its fame. Maybe it was great once but today I would qualify it as merely good.

Jan van den Ende                                                           April 2012

Pink Floyd - Ummagumma - Review

Studio Album: Sysyphus Part I – Part II – Part III – Part IV, Grantchester Meadows, Several Species of Small Furry Animals 

 Gathered Together in a Cave and Grooving with a Pict, The Narrow Way Part I – Part II – Part III, The Grand Vizier´s Garden Party Part I (Entrance) – Part II (Entertainment) – Part III (Exit).

  

Live Album: Astronomy Domine, Careful with that Axe  Eugene, Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun, A Saucerful of Secrets.

Type of Music: Psychedelic Avant Garde Folk-Rock   

Comments:

I – Studio Album.

Ummagumma (Slang for Sex) is probably the weirdest Album in the Pink Floyd Collection. The Studio Album is basically a collection of sounds and sound effects where each member of the band is getting the chance to “ shine” and experiment. Why the guys wanted to make an album like this? They were probably trying to figure out which way to go after Syd's departure from the band. Let's see if we all can come up with new musical ideas. We can then hand pick the best ideas and use them as a basis for our future musical direction as a band. Could be. Or maybe they were just a gang of ego trippers at the time who wanted to experiment with progressive Avant Garde Music and Studio Effects. It certainly became an experimental Album. If you compare it to More, it contains less actual music than that Sound-Track. In my opinion, most of the music on Ummagumma is interesting to hear for a couple of times but you won't spin this CD every week. It also sounds a bit dated when you listen to it now. But that does not mean it's a bad album. There are enough interesting musical ideas to be found.

The first suite is called Sysyphus and was written by Richard Wright. It´s  avant garde music and reminds me of a classical piano piece recorded in the Jungle. It's about a figure from the Greek mythology that has to push a rock up a hill in Hades, the Underworld. When he finally manages to get to the top, the rock rolls back again and a new effort starts. The music of course is trying to accompany this effort. Richard was obviously influenced by Arab music at this point in time, as first noticed in Set the Control for the Heart of the Sun.

David Gilmour wrote The Narrow Way, basically a guitar piece, sometimes nice and calm, sometimes quite distorted and ending with a vocal part. David plays all the instruments and takes care of the vocals. This is a strong song and it could have easily fitted on the  soundtrack More.

Nick Mason is responsible for The Grand Vizier´s Garden Party a percussion solo with electronic side effects. It' s interesting sometimes but boring in other instants. The flute , played by his wife at the time, is rather nice.

Between Sysyphus and The Narrow Way we get two surprises. The first is a gentle folk song called Grantchester Meadows, written by Roger Waters. The perfect song to wake you up on a beautiful morning in spring. It is an ode to the British country side and is filled with sound effects. It could have been a song written by Simon & Garfunkel. It might be a bit overlong but it's very relaxing. The second one,called Small Furry Animals etc, is not really a song but it's extremely funny and well-made. Sometimes it sounds like a speech by Mussolini, held in a cave for an assembled multitude of rats and bats.

In summary, this is not Pink Floyd for the casual listener. It certainly is not the place to start your Pink Floyd collection. But if you are a true fan there is enough to discover on this Studio Album.

Rating: ******* (7 out of 10)

Black = Good Songs

Green = Great Songs

Red = Could Be Better

II- Live Album.

Now this is a different story altogether! Only four songs on this Live Album but they are cooking! Three of them we already know from The Piper at the Gates of Dawn and A Saucerful of Secrets. The fourth song, an instrumental, reminds Eugene to be Careful with that Axe. It is a perfect Pink Floyd song that has everything that made this band great.  The other three songs are longer, faster and more exciting than the studio versions. The Sound Quality is excellent, even more so after having being Re-Mastered. In short, a great Live Album that justifies buying the Ummagumma set.    

Rating: ********* (9 out of 10)

Black = Good Songs

Green = Great Songs

Red = Could Be Better

Given the differences between the Studio - and the Live Album I have rated both records separately.

Who should buy this Record:  The Studio Album is for Fans Only. The Live Album however is Essential Pink Floyd and one of the best Classic Rock Live Albums around. Look for a Special offer of the Remastered Double Set.

Yes - Fragile - Review

Songs: Roundabout, Cans and Brahms, We Have Heaven, South Side Of The Sky, Five Per Cent For Nothing, Long Distance Runaround, The Fish (Shindleria Praematurus), Mood For A Day, Heart Of The Sunrise. 

Type of Music: Prog/Rock

Comments:

This was the 4th Yes Album and the first one with Keyboard Player Rick Wakeman who thoroughly enhanced the sound of the band. Without any doubt this is one of the best and most successful prog-rock albums in history. And you know why? I’ll tell you. Firstly because it’s one of the few prog-rock albums that’s not only progressive but also accessible. Just a bunch of excellent songs packed in art-rock arrangements. And secondly because Yes scored a big hit single with Roundabout, something very rare indeed in the Prog-Rock world. But the public loved the short version, went on to buy the album, adored the original version and liked the rest of the album as well. It went Gold in the USA. 

Is it the perfect album then? Well, No. The reason is that five from the nine songs on Fragile actually aren’t songs but rather short musical impressions. Each member of the band contributes with one such an impression, naturally focused on the instrument the particular band member is playing.

Thus Rick Wakeman does Brahms. Jon Anderson showcases his voice on the Chant We Have Heaven. Bill Bruford gives us a very short percussion based theme while Chris Squire provides a bass riff that’s called The Fish. Finally, Steve Howe’s Mood For A Day is a very gentle Spanish influenced acoustic guitar tune.

And while none of them is actually bad, I could have easily lived without them with the possible exception of Cans and Brahms and Mood for a Day. 

Still they only serve as a link between the four real songs on Fragile. Of course everybody is familiar with Roundabout. To me this is the perfect rock song. I simply enjoy it every time I hear it, no matter how many times it is played on Classic Rock Radio Stations. The interplay between bass and drums is just great. The song ranks number 2 in my Classic Rock Top 1000.

The same magic of bass and vocals can be heard on Long Distance Runaround. And the melody is real strong as well!

The album closer Heart of the Sunrise is eleven minutes long but it’s worth every second of it. I’m sure you recognise the Sharp…….Distance part of the chorus if you hear it. The last of the great four is South Side of the Sky. It’s faster and a bit more furious. Like Emerson Lake & Palmer on the Rocks!

The Album was Re-Mastered in 1995 and the sound quality is great!

But do I really need to make propaganda for this album? You already own it don’t you? What? You don’t? Shame on You!

Rating: ********* (9 out of 10)

Black = Good Songs

Green = Great Songs

Red = Could Be Better

Who should buy this Record: Everyone! This is Essential Yes and one of the great Prog-Rock Albums of all times.

Logan De Luxe 12 Years Review

Country: Scotland

Brand: Logan De Luxe

Bottled by White Horse Distillers, Glasgow

Type: Blended Whisky

Age: 12 Years

Alcohol: 40%

Colour:  Golden

Nose: Grains, Biscuit, Caramel, Malt, Oak, Sharp Alcohol, Light Peat and hints of Leather. The Alcohol makes it difficult to determine the individual flavors. I find a bit of Honey and a sweet Floral tone in the back of the glass but they are being dominated. The Nose is certainly not unpleasant but I was expecting juicy sweet Fruit – and Honey tones that the Speyside Malts normally present. I also can’t detect the Smoke from the Lagavulin.

Taste: Sweet Grain, Caramel, Sugar, Light Spice. Not too much going on here but highly drinkable.

Finish: Sweet with a bit of Pepper, Licorice and Green Apples.

When adding three drops of water you get more floral tones on the Nose. On the Palate I couldn’t find a lot of changes, The Finish gets a bit sweeter. You can experiment with a few drops to see what’s best for you.

Rating: 82 

Nose: 20.5 – Taste: 21.5 – Finish: 19.5 – Overall: 20.5

General Remarks: White Horse Distillers is owned by the Diageo Group. On Diageo’s Web-Site however I couldn’t find a thing about Logan. So I wouldn’t be surprised if this Blend were to be discontinued. The Blend was first introduced by Sir Peter Mackie who also created the White Horse Blend. It was named after James Logan, a one time Scotch Whisky blender. Logan is blended using the Single Malts Lagavulin (Islay), Glen Elgin and Craigellachie (Speyside)

Drinking Experience Neat: Good

Drinking Experience on the Rocks: Good

Conclusion: 

Lately I have been complaining a lot about the fact that, in general, the lower end Blended Scotch Whiskies are boring and without any challenge. Today I won’t do that. And not because of the fact that the Logan represents a lot of challenges because it doesn’t. It lacks Fruit and Honey and Smoke despite the Single Malts that form its heart. Grain and Caramel rule here. But despite all this I still enjoyed Logan while it’s completely and utterly drinkable. And that at a reasonable price. Let’s hope that Diageo maintains the Logan 12 in its product range but to be honest I fear for the worst. The old-fashioned bottle and presentation are likely to be swallowed by the new JW Range. Sad but probably true!

Jan van den Ende                                                                      April 21,  2012