Mr. Neil Young and his horse friends at the very peak of their shambolic grandeur. We credit and/or blame the Bolivian marching power that was all the rage at the time if you were a certain class of rock star or movie director (or the kind of person that hung with them) way back when in that cultural depression between the death of the Elvis and the Sex Pistols and whatever the hell happened next. Some have argued nothing — the world ended and it’s all been a feedback loop every since.
From the album Uncle Meat, wherein Mr. Frank Zappa and his Mothers of Invention mostly reject any notion of pursuing a consistent, definable direction, but settle instead for pretty much everything in all directions. And almost no one complained, except a few assholes in the back, but they all quit the freak scene soon anyway, and became Eagles fans.
As the album cover put it, “Never retract, never retreat, get the thing done and let them howl.” Such is Tao. As for Sons of Freedom, we’re still waiting for their proper reckoning as one of the great ROCK bands of the 1980s, particularly on that first album.
It’s 1970 and the band known as Yes haven’t really figured out who they are yet, being still a couple of instrumental wizards short of achieving true escape velocity. Which doesn’t mean this re-imagining of an obscure Richie Havens song isn’t a pile of fun, all jazz riffs, stolen TV cowboy themes, and whatever else could be made to fit.
“Hunters + Collectors being band named after a song by Can but, truth be told, that connection did more to twig me to the enduring riches of Can than the other way around. Which isn’t to cast aspersions at Hunters + Collectors, particularly their first album, which managed to sound simultaneously Euro-cool and deeply, mysteriously, uniquely Australian – all those vast open spaces and way too many weird animals that can kill you.” (Philip Random)
A non-hit from a 1976 album that was thick with hits, Tightrope nevertheless has everything that was ever truly great about the Electric Light Orchestra – big screen dynamics, big melody, big fun all around. It even rocks once they finally get to that part.
Randophonic 