In the Listening Room August 2024

Thinking Outside the Box Set

The magic of summer lingers…

Thank you for being patient, as it’s been longer than usual since my last post. I feel badly about that and will try to be more timely. But I won’t write a throwaway Substack post just to check it off a list—it’s not a good use of my time and it’s disrespectful of your time. And since you’re here and I’m here, doesn’t this make it OUR TIME?

I’ve been in liner notes research mode for a number of upcoming releases. I’m excited to say a lot more soon! I may be in deep communion with music I’m listening to for liner notes purposes, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t a lot of other listening going on. Here’s what’s been in rotation over the last few weeks that you may want to hear:

Joni Mitchell The Asylum Albums: 1976–1980

I worked at a second-hand record store during college. The cash was welcome, but let’s face facts—it was getting first crack at incoming collections, which was the REAL value proposition. One day, a collector who was moving overseas unloaded several boxes of mint-condition Japanese pressings. I scored a few favorites immediately, including CSNY 4 Way Street, The Beatles Abbey Road, and Joni Mitchell’s Shadows and Light. Those records and several other UK and Japanese pressings disappeared during a move some years ago. So I’m SO stoked to have a vinyl copy of Shadows and Light back in my life, as part of The Asylum Albums: 1976–1980. This terrific box also contains Joni’s jazz-inflected work, from the essential Hejira (which I’ll issue to everyone by executive order if elected President) to the boundary-breaking Don Juan’s Reckless Daughter and Mingus. The artwork (Joni’s) is as mesmerizing as the music, and the essay from Joni’s friend (and longtime fan) Meryl Streep is excellent. Bernie Grundman KILLED IT with this new cut—this record sounds SPECTACULAR. Jaco Pastorius’s bass dances with a rich, muscular tone, and Pat Metheny’s guitar offers a counterpoint with an ethereal athleticism. You can hear Metheny struggling to contain his enthusiasm. He sounds eager to take flight and see where this band might go, but he also understands the assignment, choosing to make the most of every solo without acting out and turning his instincts into grandstanding. Still, he and bandmates Michael Brecker, Lyle Mays, Don Alias, and Jaco aren’t from the school of playing things the same way twice.

When I first posted my thoughts on this record to Instagram, I remarked that if I ever finish my Jazz and Coffee time machine, my first stop will be ANOTHER date on this Joni tour to hear what I *HAVE* to believe would be a different approach to the material. Well, as if someone at Rhino or Joni herself heard me, just the other day there was an announcement of the latest in Joni’s archive series, which will be released in October. Archives, Vol. 4: The Asylum Years 1976–1980 have ~five hours of previously unreleased live material (including another date from that 1979 tour!) and two hours of studio outtakes and other rarities that will have me drooling in anticipation for weeks. I’m also relieved that I won’t need to worry about generating 1.21 gigawatts of power for time travel anytime soon.

These lyrics from “Coyote” never fail to wow me—Joni is an insightful judge of character.

Coyote's in the coffee shop
He's staring a hole in his scrambled eggs
He picks up my scent on his fingers
While he's watching the waitresses' legs

Erich Kleinschuster 6tet: ORF Recordings 1968–71

This trio of archival sessions from UK independent label Wallenbink has been in steady rotation since topping my favorites of 2022 list. The performances, sound, and packaging are top-shelf across all three—I honestly can’t even pick a favorite. Several aspects contribute to why it all comes together so well, starting with bandleader/trombonist Erich Kleinschuster. He runs a tight ship, as no matter which visiting musician is passing through, his sextet has the nuances of the compositions dialed in perfectly. Those visitors include Joe Henderson, Art Farmer, Slide Hampton, Carmell Jones, Clifford Jordan, Charles Tolliver, and Dusko Goykovich.

Kleinschuster’s six are all excellent players: Robert Politzer-trumpet, Palle Mikkelborg-trumpet (one session), Hans Salomon-tenor/alto saxophone, Fritz Pauer or Rudi Wilfer-piano/Fender Rhodes, Jimmy Woode, Rudolf Hansen, or Peter Marshall-bass, and Erich Bachträgl or Fritz Ozmec-drums, percussion. The sessions themselves occurred at ORF Studio Wien in Vienna. Each session is superbly recorded by seasoned pros and, for the most part, is previously unreleased. The albums are also excellently done from a packaging and pressing standpoint. From the Wallenbink label website:

• Cut at Abbey Road Studios by Grammy-award-winning engineer Sean Magee

• All analog AAA mastering transferred from the original ORF 15IPS studio mastertapes

• Limited edition of 1,000 copies worldwide

• Heavyweight ‘tip-on’ gatefold cover

• 180-gram audiophile-quality double LP

• Gatefold cover artwork features previously unpublished session photos

• Pressed by The Vinyl Factory (formerly EMI)

Individual highlights include:

• The Slide Hampton sessions from 1968 (which occupy two of the four sides). Hampton adds another big trombone voice to a sextet that’s already got one. It’s not a one-dimensional Battle of the ‘Bones, though. Kleinschuster and Hampton give a lot of room for their bandmates to have a voice at the table (there are many spiffy solos), and the material is varied and holds your attention.

• Carmell Jones’s tone and delivery on “J-Dance.” Damn.

• Trumpeter Palle Mikkelborg and Art Farmer are killing it on “Red Jeans.” And Jimmy Woode goading them on is the icing on the cake.

• Joe Henderson's sides are like the “greatest hits” of his Blue Note era, performed by a knockout sextet. Trumpeter Dusko Goykovich isn’t a household name, but his playing will knock you flat and his compositions are superb.

• All of the Paper Man tracks by Charles Tolliver were played in the July ‘68 and Jan/Feb ‘69 sessions.

• Clifford Jordan on “Vienna.” Thank you, sir, may I have another?

I don’t know anyone who has acquired these and not been completely over-the-moon about them. Again, these are limited to 1,000 copies worldwide. Don’t cry tears of remorse into your pillow of regrets.

Jethro Tull Bursting Out: The Inflated Edition

Jethro Tull continues their excellent “bookset” reissue packages with an expanded and remastered edition of their 1978 live set, Bursting Out. The double live album was a rite of passage for many rock bands in the 1970s. Some were incredibly successful—there was a time one could almost believe that Frampton Comes Alive or Kiss Alive II was simply issued to every preteen on their 12th birthday. But beyond the mainstream smash live album hits, live albums were largely fan-oriented.

I’m not complaining (or shouting at clouds), just reporting when I say that live albums today don’t carry the same gravitas. Between live streaming, the Nugs.net business model, and impressive amateur endeavors, official live records just sort of show up nowadays. But back-in-the-day, if you were a Led Zeppelin fan, you knew every second of The Song Remains the Same. The Allman Brothers At the Fillmore East is legendary—easily the best thing the band put to tape. And if you were a Jethro Tull fan, you had a copy of Bursting Out on your shelf.

The appeal is likely to remain selective—major Tull fans need the Inflated Edition, casuals should consider it, and other opinions will vary. Some of the details about this package will mean more to the trainspotter crowd—this release restores the track order to how the concert was originally played, for instance, rather than how it was originally released. The package also restores material omitted from various reissues over the years due to time or formatting constraints, throws in a few additional live and soundcheck tracks, and adds audio and video from Tull’s 1978 Madison Square Garden gig. All of the audio has been given new stereo and 5.1 surround mixes by Steven Wilson, and there’s a 96-page book with more details about Tull at the top of their touring game than you could ever want. A long time ago, I worked with a guy named Jack who was a very good drummer, and his hero was Jethro Tull’s Barrimore Barlow. Jack talked about this record so much I finally bought it just to shut him up. As it turns out, Jack was right about Barri—the man is a monster player, and he’s also the biggest beneficiary of this new expanded (Inflated) edition.

As I said in a previous post, Teams Tull and Parlaphone/Rhino set a very high bar with this series. Superb curation. This live set is a great reminder of how formidable they were at their 70s peak. I never caught them back in those day, but they were still mighty entertaining up through the 80s. Here’s me and Ian Anderson backstage at the New Haven Coliseum many tours ago.

Jethro Tull’s Ian Anderson (center), Doane Perry (baseball cap, back row), several random colleagues, and Syd (stylin’ in army field jacket and Tales From Topographic Oceans shirt)

Billy Strings Live Vol. 1

Is Billy Strings a bluegrass artist with significant psychedelic/jam/exploratory proclivities? Or is he a “jamband” artist whose bluegrass passion, knowledge, and repertoire seem boundless? You may as well get into it about whether a hot dog is or isn’t a sandwich—each side can present cogent arguments, and regardless of who makes the better point, everybody’s a winner. Billy Strings is a phenomenon any way you look at him. His guitar chops are extraordinary, with vocal skills to match, showcasing influences including Tony Rice, Jerry Garcia, and Tool. Yeah, that Tool.

His original material draws liberally from his love of traditional bluegrass, though lyrically, his subject matter breaks many stereotypes. Strings laments the perils of modern political times, substance abuse, and the inescapable ravages of time—not exactly the soundtrack to Deliverance. This new live LP showcases both, kicking off with “Dust in a Baggie,” a concert sing-a-long favorite about the pitfalls of mandatory sentencing laws (“twenty long years for some dust in a baggie”) that’ll go down a storm with bluegrass lovers. That’s followed by my personal favorite Billy Strings original, “Away From the Mire.” There are two elements that make this tune a thrill. It’s a brilliant vehicle for improvisation, giving Strings a chance to muck around with a pedalboard filled with guitar effects and take the entire band down some deep psychedelic wormholes. Lyrically, the interpretations run deep, as the song easily becomes a relatable narrative without coming off as unnecessarily vague or trite. It’s a song with personal roots that Strings describes in this video introducing its debut performance on Austin City Limits, though over time its meaning seems to have transcended its roots. As Strings has spoken openly and bravely about his struggles with mental health, “Away From the Mire” has taken on a life of its own within the fanbase. Last month at the show we attended in Bridgeport, CT I witnessed HUNDREDS of fans—from teens to septuagenarians—singing along with “Away From the Mire,” and you could see from their faces that the song hit everyone uniquely and profoundly.

My sole criticism about Live Vol. 1 is that it’s impossible to fully capture the depth and breadth of the show experience with a double album. But between this record and what you’ll find on YouTube and Nugs.net, it’s the closest you’ll get. I also enjoy the deep well of cover tunes they bust out, which aren’t represented in this collection, so I’ve created my own. Here’s Billy Strings Syd’s Picks Vol. 1, most of which you’ll find on Nugs or YouTube. It’s mostly originals and leans heavily on cover tunes that I’m fond of, but he has a deep bench of covered artists I didn’t include, such as Alice in Chains, Cher, Mother Love Bone, The Monkees, and Jimmy Cliff.

Long Forgotten Dream (Cleveland, 6/13/23 original)

Help On The Way (Louisville 5/23/21 Grateful Dead cover)

Tangled Up In Blue (Louisville 5/23/21 Bob Dylan cover)

Slipknot! (Louisville 5/23/21 Grateful Dead cover)

All Fall Down (Louisville, 5/23/21, John Hartford cover)

Franklin's Tower (Louisville 5/23/21 Grateful Dead cover)

Show Me The Door (Cleveland, 6/13/23 original)

The Battle Of Evermore (Asheville 10/31/22 Led Zeppelin cover)

Love And Regret (Cincinnati 3/17/23 original)

Meet Me at the Creek (Winston-Salem, 3/4/23 original)

Pyramid Country (Winston-Salem, 3/4/23 original)

Must Be Seven (Winston-Salem, 3/4/23 original)

Meet Me at the Creek (Winston-Salem, 3/4/23 original)

Bird Song (Louisville 5/23/21 Grateful Dead cover)

Four Sticks (Red Rocks 5/12/23 Led Zeppelin cover)

To Lay Me Down (Port Chester 2/23/21 Grateful Dead cover)

Away From The Mire (Renewal Fest 9/25/21, Syd’s favorite Billy Strings original composition)

Thick As A Brick (Camp Greensky, 6/6/19, Jethro Tull cover)

Midnight Rider (New Orleans 5/1/19 Allman Brothers cover)

While I'm Waiting Here (Cleveland, 6/13/23 original)

He's Gone (Port Chester 2/21/21 Grateful Dead cover)

Proud Mary (Port Chester 2/21/21 Creedence Clearwater Revival cover)

Watch It Fall (Richmond 11/16/22 original)

Brokedown Palace (Port Chester 2/24/21 Grateful Dead cover)

My Alice (Red Rocks, 5/12/23 original)

Willin' (Cary 6/24/22 Little Feat cover)

Turmoil and Tinfoil (Southhaven 4/13/23 original)

I've Been All Around This World (Port Chester 2/20/21 trad./Grateful Dead)

Mr. Charlie (Port Chester 2/20/21 Grateful Dead cover)

Leaders (Port Chester 2/20/21 original)

Black Clouds (Louisville 5/22/21 String Cheese Incident cover)

Summertime (Nashville, 2/25/23, George Gershwin)

Dire Wolf (Port Chester 2/23/21 Grateful Dead cover)

China Doll (Port Chester 2/23/21 Grateful Dead cover)

Dark Hollow (Port Chester 2/23/21 Grateful Dead cover)

Cassidy (Port Chester 2/23/21 Grateful Dead cover)

Psycho (Cincinnati, 3/16/23, Eddie Noack cover)

Nights In White Satin (Asheville 10/30/22 Moody Blues cover)

Wild Horses (Asheville 10/29/22 Rolling Stones cover)

Ramble On (Asheville 10/31/22 Led Zeppelin cover)

Rocky Racoon (Manchester, UK, 12/8/22 Beatles cover)

Running on Empty (Atlantic City, 2/16/23, Jackson Browne cover)

The Wizard (Asheville 10/31/22 Black Sabbath cover)

War Pigs (Asheville 10/31/22 Black Sabbath cover)

Fearless (Athens, 3/7/23, Pink Floyd cover)

There’s been a lot of jazz on the platter too, and I’ve made some long overdue tweaks to the digital rig—another missive coming soon!