Nathan Davis- The 6th Sense in the 11th House Life is a wonderfully strange thing sometimes, small worlds and hidden treasures in plain sight: I had been hunting for copy of Nathan Davis’ The 6th Sense in the 11thHouse, released in 1972. The record, if not rare, doesn’t seem to be all that common or well-known in the audiophile community. There was a promo copy on Discogs for stupid money, and I kept my eye out.  One night, sleepless, I hit e-Bay to set up a search/alert for the record when up popped a “New Listing” for a sealed promo copy for very reasonable... Read More

Black Cat Bones-Barbed Wire Sandwich   An important album by a short-lived band known for the association of various members with a number of other early heavy rock and blues rock bands, among them, Leaf Hound, Atomic Rooster, Cactus, Foghat and Free. Kossoff and Simon Kirke, of Free, left the band before this–– the band’s sole release––was recorded but a number of the tracks have same raw swagger and unpolished sound as Tons of Sobs, Free’s first album (and, to me, Free’s best). Admittedly, there’s no Paul Rodgers here. But what is here is very, very good at times if... Read More

Air-Air    This is a stunning record. Composed and performed by a band with a long working relationship with Herbie Mann (who produced the album), its vocal parts shine with soulful beauty thanks to Googie Coppola, the professional moniker of Carol Brooks, whose writing, performance and voice are central to the magic of this album. The rest of the band—Tom Coppola (Googie’s partner), John Siegler and Mark Rosengarden achieve something remarkable—a jazz album that has soul but is not trapped by either genre; there is an ethereal quality to this record that is both uplifting and... Read More

Atomic Rooster- Death Walks Behind You Two pressings: US and UK   An interesting heavy rock record by an oft-overlooked band, this album—which was probably their best and most commercially successful– has gotten some play here lately. I decided to buy both early US and UK pressings—the price difference can be considerable for those of us in the States—to see how they compared. The UK clearly wins on artwork, with its disturbing William Blake image (above).   The band grew out of The Crazy World of Arthur Brown—a strange piece of wackiness that resulted in a radio... Read More

The National Reserve- Motel La Grange   You can listen to Sean Walsh and The National Reserve’s Motel La Grange and be reminded of so many different strands of music from the past without being quite able to put your finger on what memories are being tickled. There are elements of the old Bob Seger in the vocal parts, of The Band in their roots Americana vibe, of Little Feat in sheer funk but it’s nowise derivative of any of these; it stands on its own, even if it does bring back memories of something else.   If I were a musician, I’d hate to be compared to someone else, even if... Read More

  Josefus-Dead Man & SXSW   Before we get to Josefus, and their classic, Dead Man, a precursor album of hard rock that was seemingly lost except to an informed group of fans and enthusiasts, I have a story to tell. As full time resident of Austin, I am now entitled to complain about SXSW.The first few years we were living here during the winter-spring season (and returning to New York for the remainder of the year), we’d “do” SX—take in some shows, go to a few panel discussions and just walk the scene. I’m told, like everything else here, that it was “way better”... Read More