The Doors - London Fog, May 1966

Rating: 3/5

Review:
Fine performances but poor sound and overpriced

I can't quite agree with the rave reviews of this box.  It's good to have this early Doors material available, but the quality of the recording isn't all that good and marketing a short recording of this quality as a high-priced box-set looks to me like pretty cynical exploitation of genuine fans.

The performances are, of course, terrific.  Morrison gives his usual electrifying, menacing vocal delivery and the band are tight and inventive so you really wish you could have been there.  It's a straight, unedited recording of the gig with tune-ups and general hubbub - and applause which makes you realise that it was a very small audience in a bar. 

All that is OK if not ideal (personally, I don't need lengthy pauses and tuning sounds) but the sound quality is a problem.  The overall quality is lo-fi; the instrumental sound could be a lot worse, but the vocals are a bit fuzzy and muffled and the balance is poor – and pretty terrible at times.  The drums are so inappropriately dominant that it sounds as though the mic was in the middle of the drumkit while Morrison was outside the room trying to make himself heard through the door.  As a listening experience it's a struggle for me and not one I want to repeat regularly.

Fans like me who still have and play our original LPs bought in the late 60s and early 70s will almost certainly want this for interest – which is exactly what Rhino are counting on.  Frankly, I think this is a bit of a rip-off and it's not something I'll play very often…but, hell - it's The Doors from 1966 and there's no way I wouldn't have it in my collection.  As an album, though, I'd say it was one for pretty hard-core fans only.

Let's Go Down And Blow Our Minds

Rating: 4/5

Review:
A very good collection

This is a very good collection of often pretty obscure British psychedelia from 1967.  I was around then, but I didn't know most of what is on this 3-CD compilation; I'm glad to make their acquaintance now.

What you get is 80 tracks, all with that distinctive '67 psychedelia sound.  Some are brilliant (like Elmer Gantry's Flames, for example), most are good, with the very occasional turkey – and there is absolutely no excuse for the song by the QPR Supporters, in my view.  :o)  Some, possibly most, of your personal preferences will probably be different from mine, but anyone with any interest in this period will find a wealth of stuff here to enjoy.  The selection is varied and knowledgeable, and the sound quality reflects the originals pretty closely, I think; there seems to be little or no remastering, which is the way I like it.  At under twenty quid for three CDs, it's good value, too.  Recommended.

Bob Harris Country: Sessions 2016

Rating: 4/5

Review:
A fine collection

This is a fine compilation of sessions recorded for the Bob Harris Country programme. 

A look at the tracklist tells you most of what you need to know: it's a sequence of top-notch musicians playing live with largely acoustic, stripped back versions of fine songs.  There are (to me) familiar tracks in brilliant live versions by people like Jason Isbell, Kacey Musgraves and Brandy Clark and also some wonderful discoveries like the superb Girl In A Country Song by Maddie and Tae (an interesting juxtaposition with the following Dwight Yoakam track, by the way).  Some songs here don't do much for me – but that's a matter of taste rather than quality and in any collection of 30-odd songs by different artists I'd expect to like some and be less keen on others, and overall this is a classy collection.

So - a very good, well recorded selection which shows the sheer quality of musicianship around at the moment in a way that only live performances really can.  Warmly recommended.

Ian Whitcomb - The Golden Age of Tin Pan Alley

Rating: 4/5

Review:
An enjoyable collection

I stumbled across Ian Whitcomb's excellent book After The Ball in a second-hand bookshop sometime in the late 70s, I think.  It's a terrific history of popular music from about 1880 to the 1970s – including the era covered here.  It sparked an interest in me, which is why I tried this set. 

In this double CD, Whitcomb has collected and performed a good variety of songs from the Tin Pan Alley era, roughly 1910 to the outbreak of the Second World War.  They're a real mixture from schmaltzy love songs to jokey novelty numbers; not all are great but there's some very good stuff here and the whole is very enjoyable.  I have appended a track list to this review.

Whitcomb's performances, in his trademark falsetto, are pretty good, although I find too many at a time a bit samey.  However, picking a few to play is always a pleasure, and there's a treasure trove of interesting and enjoyable music here.  I can recommend this to anyone with an interest in music of this period, or just with an interest in the history of popular music.

Disc One

1.	At the Ball, That's All
2.	They Didn't Believe Me
3.	I'm Crying Just For You
4.	Kismet - An Arabian Song and Fox Trot
5.	If I Could Be With You (One Hour To-Night)
6.	Oh! I Wish I Was Tarzan
7.	You Went Away Too Far
8.	Who's Sorry Now
9.	The Charleston
10.	Dance and Grow Thin
11.	Wonderful One
12.	I Was a Fool
13.	Me-ow
14.	Every Now and Then
15.	Da, Da, Da, My Darling
16.	Just the Same
17.	Sweet Cider Time When You Were Mine
18.	Play a Simple Melody
19.	Everywhere You Go
20.	My Cutie's Due (At Two-to-Two Today)
21.	My Sweetie
22.	Old New England Moon
23.	The Flower Garden Ball
24.	Honey Bunch
25.	Who Wants a Bad Little Boy?
26.	Chong (He Come From Hong Kong)
27.	The Honeysuckle and the Bee
Disc Two
1.	Mandy, How Do You Do?
2.	Robinson Crusoe's Isle
3.	My Wife Is Dancing Mad
4.	What Do You Want to Make Those Eyes at Me For?
5.	That Twentieth Century Rag
6.	I Didn't Raise My Boy to Be a Soldier
7.	When Alexander Takes His Ragtime Band to France
8.	When the Bees Make Honey (Down in Sunny Alabam')
9.	A Precious Little Thing Called Love
10.	She Lives Down in Our Alley
11.	Emma Louise
12.	For Me and My Gal
13.	Rosy Cheeks
14.	I'm Sorry I Made You Cry
15.	It's All Over Now
16.	Dream Train
17.	Mandy
18.	Till We Meet Again
19.	A Little Street Where Old Friends Meet
20.	A Cottage for Sale
21.	Twelve O'Clock at Night
22.	Girl of My Dreams
23.	I'll Take Care of Your Cares
24.	The House of Dreams

Doc Watson - The Vanguard Years

Rating: 5/5

Review:
A brilliant box

This is a simply brilliant compilation of some of Doc Watson's great recordings from 1963-1971. 

The music and playing doesn't need much comment from me; Watson was a magnificent guitarist and musician and his virtuosity in many places is just breathtaking.  It's not just virtuosity for its own sake, though; he really gives every song meaning life with his guitar work and the effect is just great from start to finish.

The sound is generally very good.  Some of the older recordings do show their age slightly, but the playing is so good, who cares?  This is a great box, showcasing a genuinely great guitarist; it's an absolute pleasure throughout and very, very warmly recommended.

Linda Draper - Modern Day Decay

Rating: 3/5

Review:
Disappointing

I'm afraid I didn’t think this was a very good album.  Linda Draper has a nice voice and has assembled a decent band, but the material really doesn't add up to all that much.  The melodies and harmony are all pretty forgettable and there is some terribly clunky lyric writing in places; the scansion is especially poor with syllables often stretched implausibly.

I am sorry to be critical: it's not an actively bad album, but there are so many really good singer songwriters making excellent music at the moment and this simply doesn't compare for quality.  I can't really recommend it.

Neil Young - Peace Trail

Rating: 3/5

Review:
Mixed, but some decent stuff

My reaction to this album is similar to that of several other reviewers: it's not as bad as some recent stuff by Neil Young.  After the dreadful Monsanto Years and the painful A Letter Home, I realise that's not saying a lot, but some of this is actually pretty decent.

Neil has obviously had some rough ideas, gone into the studio with a few people and rattled off these tracks; the result is a slightly shambolic album with the sense of a couple of good songs trying to be heard.  The title track, for example, is rather a touching song with a decent tune and good lyrics which Neil actually sings in tune almost all the way through (something of a rarity these days).  One or two others qualify for a similar description, and you can't doubt the overall message which has been coming from him loud and clear for some time now.  Even in the better songs, though, some of the lyrics are really pretty ordinary and downright clunky in places.  There is also some dross, frankly.  I know Neil Just bangs out stuff and doesn't care much whether it works or not because he's already on to something else, but the long-suffering listener has to endure it and Texas Rangers and a couple of others really are tests of our endurance.

It's not a good sign when my main response is relief that an album isn't as terrible as I'd feared, but there's enough here to warrant three stars and to suggest that decades-long Neil Young fans like me might want to give it a try.  Treat it with caution (and I suspect you'll find yourself being selective about what you play subsequently) but I can give this a qualified and tentative recommendation.