Let's listen again

So, lately, I have been trying to listen to a lot of music - so what else is new? Over Xmas / New Year's I found a CD of "Deviants #3" - so last weekend, I played the entire recorded output of The Deviants for the first time in a few years ("Disposable", "Ptoof!" and "#3"). "Disposable" sounded OK, some of the songs are good - but the musicianship seemed "almost amateur" - the profanity seemed almost...apologetic? My favorite cut this time around was the "Birds and Wires" spoken word track - nice, I'll have to drop it in to a "Mix" for someone, and see if it gets recognized! I am most familiar with "Ptoof!" - "Nothing Man" is very cool, and they manage to sound sincere when they swear and hurl non-P.C. language. 1970's "Deviants #3" sounds much more musically accomplished - great songs, writing etc. Wish I hadn't sold my original LP of it some years ago, now I only have this Japanese CD of it to comfort me. Playing The Deviants for the first time in years - wow. I should recommend them to my friend Karl - he also dug The Fugs!

I also found a CD of "Camembert Electrique" by Gong. Boy, haven't played Gong in quite a while - thus far, I have listened to "Magic Brother - Mystic Sister" and "Banana Moon" (technically a Daevid Allen solo album, but I have always thought of it as the 2nd Gong album). Because of the nature of the recordings (and their age), neither of these CD's sound 'stellar' - "Magic Brother" was supposedly recorded on the audio track of 16 or 35mm film (?!), so there sounds like drop-out on the cymbals in a few places - and the damned CD boasts "Digitally Re-Mastered"! Well, if it's a CD, yes - it technically IS digitally mastered / re-mastered. At least this version (from '04?) doesn't sound as bad as the CD from the 80's, which was definitely taken from an LP - and you know how crap the Byg pressings were! Still, I like some of the songs very much here; Allen sounds great - and I could largely do without Gilly Smythe's "space whispers" - she speaks more than sings..."Banana Moon" still chugs along as it has customarily done so for 35+ years - only chink in the armor is the big long piece in the middle of what used to be 'side two' - "Stoned Innocent Frankenstein and His Adventures In The Land of Flip" (or thereabouts) - what was Mr. Allen thinking? (I know, I know...not much), but it sure sounds like "psychedelic padding" to me, folks! Can't fault "All I Want Is Out Of Here" and "It's The Time of Your Life" at all - and I am always amused by the cut that pokes fun at Kevin Ayers ("You're just a rose coloured spade" etc.) - and "Camembert Electrique" sounds fine thus far - haven't got all the way through it as yet. I wish they reproduced the blue booklet, but...it's a cheezy Charly / Snapper CD. I think I will wait and tackle the (proper) "Gong Trilogy" another time (i.e. the next 3 albums); I really love "Angel's Egg".

So, here I am in 2007, re-listening to some early 70's hippie music - for a fresh perspective.

What are you listening to?

- Ron