Time to drop some of the green stuff on some vinyl
Saturday is Record Store Day and there is no better way to celebrate than to head to your favorite record outlet and drop some of the green stuff on some vinyl. As is customary since the start of Record Store Day in the aughts, there are countless exclusive releases coming out just for the event. You can check out the many titles at www.recordstoreday.com/ SpecialReleases. Which of those releases your record store will be carrying varies. Some stores to check out in Rhode Island are In Your Ear in Warren, Looney Tunes in Wakefield, Newbury Comics in both Warwick and Providence, Armageddon Shop and Olympic Records in Providence, Doomed Records in Cranston, and Vinyl Guru in Newport. A couple of those Record Store Day exclusive albums are in the Ear Bliss spotlight this week. The cosmic jazz sounds of the late Sun Ra and his Arkestra can be found on the collection Pink Elephants on Parade
which of course, will be released on pink vinyl! It gathers never-before-released live recordings from the Sun Ra archives. Joining it this week is an album of long-lost recordings from The Amboy Dukes which are arguably best known as the starting point in the musical career of Ted Nugent. Journey to the Center of the Mind
is a psychedelic explosion of early sounds from the band cut to hookah glass blue vinyl and including a free pack of rolling papers. Now that is packaging! We also take a brief look at a couple of special RSD releases from the Kingston, MA-based Liberation Hall reissue label. Let’s take a look.
Sun Ra
Pink Elephants on Parade
Modern Harmonic/Sundazed Records
The Amboy Dukes Journey to the Center of the Mind
Modern Harmonic/ Sundazed Records
One could say the music of the late Sun Ra and his multi-tentacled Arkestra is like no other. That quality is certainly on display on the newly released Pink Elephants on Parade from the Modern Harmonic imprint of Sundazed Records. Call it jazz, but Sun Ra took the tenets of jazz and spread them far and wide. Afrofuturist jazz is how it has been described with Ra being one of the pioneers of the form. Available as a special Record Store Day release on pink vinyl, the album finds Sun Ra and his Arkestra tackling of all things, the Disney catalogue of songs, in their own inimitable way. To say it is a fun listen is putting it lightly as the ensemble brings a flair and joy to such classic songs as “Someday My Prince Will Come” and “Whistle While You Work” from the motion picture Snow White to “Zip-A-DeeDoo-Dah” from the film Song of the South and a highly celebratory version of “Let’s Go Fly a Kite.” Seven tracks in all (and all extended versions) and performed in a style that no ensemble could ever match, the songs, all previously unheard and discovered in the Sun Ra archives, come from a variety of live performances by the group. Put simply, it is guaranteed to put a smile on your face!
From Afrofuturist jazz to psychedelic hard rock of the late 1960s, there is the Detroit-based sounds of The Amboy Dukes as found on Sundazed Records’ second special Record Store Day release, Journey to the Center of the Mind, pressed on hookah glass-colored vinyl and including a package of rolling papers! You’ll be happy to have those papers once you lay ears on the trippy sounds of this rock classic. Originally released in 1968 for the jazz-oriented Mainstream record label, it was the band’s second record, as well as its highest charting album during its eight-year recording run. It yielded the classic hit song “Journey to the Center of the Mind” which reached the Top 20 on the Billboard singles chart. Best known as the starting point for one Ted Nugent who figures prominently on the album for his lead guitar work offering hint of what would come later in his solo career, Journey to the Center of the Mind is way more than the Nuge, presenting a collective who helped lay the foundation for hard rock. Visit www.sundazed.com.
Gene Clark
The Lost Studio Sessions 1964-82
Liberation Hall Records Flying Burrito Brothers
Live in Amsterdam 1972
Liberation Hall Records
The Kingston, Massachusetts-based Liberation Hall “heritage” record label aims to please the palate of yesteryear country rock lovers with two new Record Store Day special collections of music, one from the late founding member of The Byrds, Gene Clark, and the Flying Burrito Brothers. Each is available on both vinyl and CD. From Clark comes the collection The Lost Studio Sessions 1964-82. It brings together a mix of unreleased and very folky 1964 studio sessions from Clark’s pre-Byrds days along with various studio recordings from the late ‘60s to early ‘70s. Also included are tracks from the Nyteflyght sessions from
Clarnk 1982 which reunited with ex-Byrds Chris Hillman and Michael Clarke. On the Flying Burrito Brothers front comes Live in Amsterdam 1972. This version of the Burritos hardly resembled the original band founded by Gram Parsons and Chris Hillman. Leading the group at this point was soon-to-be Firefall founder Rick Roberts who quickly slapped together a band he needed to fulfill a string of European concert dates of which the Amsterdam concert is captured on this collection. Yet, what a band it was. It included the likes of fiddle legend Byron Berline, bassist Roger Bush, banjoist/guitarist Alan Munde and guitarist Kenny Wertz all of whom played in bluegrass band The Country Gazette, along with pedal steel player Don Beck (Dillard & Clark) and drummer Eric Dalton (Southwind) delivering a performance equal parts bluegrass and country rock. Visit www.liberationhall.com.
LIVE SHOTS:
It’s the usual busy scene on the live music front here in the Ocean State and beyond over the next weekand-change and here’s some shows and events worth checking out. Beginning as usual in South County, the
Greenwich Odeum in East Greenwich hosts acclaimed Americana ensemble and Rhythm & Roots festival favorites Dustbowl Revival on Friday night. Children’s music queen Laurie Berkner is at the Odeum on Saturday for two matinee shows at 11 am and 3 pm.
Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes come to the Odeum on April 26. Courthouse Center for the Arts in West Kingston continues to roll out the tribute nights.
Jovi tribute Raise Your Hands performs on Friday evening and Tom Petty tribute Won’t Back Down is there on Saturday night.
Robert Black brings his Elvis tribute to the Courthouse next Thursday for a special matinee show at 1:30 pm. Coming April 26 is the Billy Joel and Elton John tribute River of Dreams and
Aztec Two-Step 2.0 returns on April 27. Pump House Music Works (164 Kingstown Road) in Peace Dale presents the touring folk duo The Honey Dewdrops on Friday evening. Saturday evening beginning at 7 pm is a special fundraiser show for the South Kingstown Animal Shelter has by Dan Moretti. The Tish Adams Quartet is there on Sunday evening for a 7 pm performance. Coming on April 19 is touring group The Honey Dewdrops. Monday nights at the Pump House are the
Uke jam and Tuesday evening is the weekly acoustic jam. Wednesdays are an acoustic lounge and open mic hosted by Matt Fraza. The Ocean Mist in Matunuck
hosts the Rob Davis Band on Saturday night and Sunday Funday features The Senders from 4-7 pm. Coming Aril 27 is The Ravers. Also, don’t forget every Thursday at The Mist is house band The Ocean Mistics and friends from 6-9 pm. Narragansett Café in Jamestown hosts Atticus & Company on Friday night and Blockhead on Saturday night. Ed Peabody & The Big Blue Thang finish up the weekend with a Sunday afternoon show at 4 pm. The Wood River Inn in Wyoming presents the bluegrass sounds of Poor Man’s Gibson from 5-8 pm on Sunday. At the Knickerbocker Music Center in Westerly (35 Railroad Ave), the soulful sounds of singer Kat Wright will fill the room on Friday evening.
The Knickerbocker AllStars are in the house for your listening and dancing pleasure on Saturday evening before Shane Patrick closes the weekend with a free show in the tap room on Sunday at 8 pm. The United Theatre in downtown Westerly features Talking Heads tribute Start Making Sense and Ocean Avenue Stompers on Saturday night. The Wood Brothers return on May 10. To our North, Chan’s Restaurant in Woonsocket features
Confounded Bridge on Friday night and the legendary Coco Montoya on Saturday night. Next up at the Stadium Theatre in Woonsocket is the Foreigner/Journey tribute Foreigner’s Journey on Saturday evening. The big band sounds of the ‘30s, ‘40s and ‘50s will fill the Stadium on Sunday afternoon courtesy of the group Saturday Night Jukebox starting at 2 pm. The Blackstone River Theatre in Cumberland presents the legendary Cajun artist and two-time Grammy winner BeauSoleil avec Michael Doucet on Saturday evening at 8 pm. Premier Celtic harp player Patrick Ball brings his songs and stories to the Blackstone on Sunday evening for a 7 pm performance. In Pawtucket, The Met Café hosts the Hayley Jane Band with Lee Ross opening on Friday night. The Music of The Dead, Dylan and Neil Young will fill the Met on Sunday afternoon when Bob’s Heart of Gold Band play a 4 pm show. Coming to The Strand in Providence on May 4 is Lyle Lovett and Lisa Loeb: In Conversation and Song. The Columbus Theatre in Providence presents the experimentalist sounds of L’Rain on May 5. Askew on Chesnutt Street in Providence hosts a doubleheader with Muddy Ruckus and Fancy Trash on Friday night. It’s a multiband bill on Sunday evening at Askew with Silver Rein, Hemlok, EpressO, and Molly O’Leary. The Newport Live music series celebrated the 30th anniversary of South African Independence with award-winning South African jazz artist
Mandla Mlangeni in performance at the Newport Art Museum in Newport on Saturday evening at 7:30 pm. Finally, the Narrows Center for the Arts in Fall River presents Martin Sexton on Friday night. It’s a Boston R&R legends night on Saturday evening with Nervous Eaters and Robin Lane. German guitarist
Uli Jon Roth of Scorpions fame brings his Interstellar Sky Guitar Tour to the Narrows next Thursday night.
Dan Ferguson is a freelance music writer and host of The Boudin Barndance, broadcasting Thursday evenings from 6 – 9 pm on WRIU-FM 90.3 and streaming at WRIU on all major platforms.