I’ve glistened to this album (it’s like normal listening, only better) several times a day since discovering it. And when I bought the CD, probably about a week ago now, the Amazon purchase came with a free download/stream option.
But there’s a sense of satisfaction, for me at any rate, in owning a hard copy of the music I love. For one thing there’s all the packaging, and artwork, and sometimes liner notes. Anyway, it’s off to bed(fordshire) with a decent pair of headphones to bathe in the rainbow…
Many (most/all?) of the images from Ul de Rico’s book are used on this spread!There’s something a touch psychedelic in all this.For me this is unquestionably the most beautiful artwork. Sublime!And that’s the lot… pretty amazing!
As you can see, having the physical object to enjoy, as well as the sounds – these latter being the main attraction, naturally – is quite something.
More musical fabulousness from Japan’s Masayoshi Takanaka. Track one, Oh Tengo Suerte, is also the first track on All Of Me. A number I love so much I want to get both of those albums!
A little later…
Well… Holy guacamole! Just listened to the entire album, in one pass. And my goodness, it’s amazing! First off the range is very wide. It’s all tinged with a ‘70s fusion vibe. And being predominantly instrumental, there’s a definite jazz aspect.
But it’s also all over the map in many ways. Perhaps the single best example of this is the pretty bonkers final piece, which starts and finishes with layered vocal harmonies and barely audible acoustic guitar, before barreling off into a Japanese prog-fusion wonderland both very like some kind of CTI thing, but also unlike anything else.
The musicianship is absolutely stunning. Unsurprisingly Takanaka is the star, on prominent display here. But, everything, the percussion, the drumming, the keys (other stuff: vocals, strings, horn solos, whatever), and very notably the bass, are all stunning.
Sometimes a single track is so good it’ll make a whole album essential for me, and this is a case in point. The opening number on this 1979 compilation, Oh Tengo Suerte, is just sooo awesomely good, I simply must either track this album down on in some form, or find whatever album the track itself comes from. It’s my idea of musical perfection.
Some time later…
Ok, so having listened to more Takanaka, I’ve discovered Oh Tengo Suerte is the opening number on Takanaka’s 1976 solo debut recording, Seychelles. Which, it transpires, is an absolutely superb album. Def’ one for the collection!
Partly recorded in Brazil, Takanaka’s fourth album has lots of names I don’t recognise, and a few I do: Abe Laboriel, James Gadson, Jeff Porcaro, Greg Phillinganes and Paulinho da Costa amongst others.
Not listened to this one much yet. Just had a quick skip through to get a flavour. Very Brasilian… but I’ll return to it properly in few coarse!
A beautiful cover that really does convey the magic within.
I’ve always loved discovering new music. New to me, that is. I don’t care how old it is. And often I find I like older stuff better than contemporary stuff anyway.
Well, today is a blessed day, that way, as I’ve just stumbled upon the amazing 1981 album Rainbow Goblins, by Japanese guitarist Masayoshi Takanaka.
Masayoshi Takanaka, a new hero of mine!
I only found out about it today. And after listening to a few tracks on YouTube, I decided I had to buy the CD. I’ve ordered a copy via Amazon, and it was a bit pricey for a skint skinflint like me, (Jap import, over £20!). But it’s totally stolen my heart.
The vid’ that took me over the Rainbow.
Indeed, from the little else of Takanaka’s stuff I’ve heard since discovering this, I think I’ll be buying more of his music. But I’ll get to that later. For now I just want to testify to how much I dig this incredible album.
Apparently the album is a concept double album – very prog! – based upon a Children’s’s story, about seven ‘rainbow goblins’. The story, by an Italian (poss a Count!?), Ul de Rico, is where the cover art comes from. I’ve ordered a copy of that as well!
Katsu ‘Katz’ Hoshi.
I have to give an honourable mention to arranger Katsu Hoshi, for the strings, and – presumably? – the incredible orchestral Prologue, which sets up this dreamy album perfectly. Is the album credit, in the name ‘Katz’ Hoshi, a sly reference to Steely Dan’s Gary Katz, perhaps?
There’s even an English language spoken narration, by a chap called Roy Garner. For a Brit it’s particularly nice to hear an English narration from beyond these shores that isn’t an American or transatlantic accent. I feel right at home in rainbow goblin land!
This is my kind of place!
The music has a childish and delightfully goofy innocence at times. But as it’s all played by top notch sessionistas and jazz fusion musos, it also has a beautiful late 1970s – think Creed Taylor’s CTI, but filtered through a Japanese Teletubbies filter! – sophistication.
Man, I totally dig it! The music itself runs an appropriately broad and colourful gamut, from the orchestral opening, to the twinkling ambience of Rising Arch, or the hard jazz funk of Seven Goblins or Plumed Bird to the rockier edge of Thunderstorm, or the totally out there fusion of tracks like Rainbow Paradise, which morphs through several genres, and yet defies any single categorisation, this album is quite a trip!
Regarding the last category – ‘all over the map’ – after the nutty ‘goberins, goberins, goberins, goberins…’ vocal intro of Seven Goblins, The Sunset Valley is almost like the kind of music and melodies you might imagine hearing piped into a Japanese shopping mall in the ‘80s! Elsewhere there’s a bit of reggae (Just Chuckle), some Latin vibes… and the whole lot is sprinkled with disco fairy dust, from occasional grooves to the vocoder’d vocals.
As I’ve remarked already… simply astonishing!
Some of Takanaka’s ‘70s recordings feature US players, like Abe Laboriel, Harvey Mason and even the Tower of Power horns. But this amazing album is, I believe, an entirely Japanese affair. And these Kitty cats sure can play!
What a truly sublime and astonishing recording. I’ve definitely found a new love. Oh, and the album artwork is perfect! And how cute is that Kitty record label logo!? I can see that I need to dive deep down the J-Jazz-Fusion wormhole!
An Insatiable High, 1977
FURTHER EXPLORATIONS!?
Takanaka produced a ‘prequel’ White Goblin album, many years later. Might that be any good? I have no idea! But having listened to some stuff from his earlier albums, I’m pretty sure that I’ll really dig them, so his Seychelles, Brazilian Skies, and the sublimely titled AnInsatiable High all beckon, as does his 1979 compilation album All Of Me.
Takanaka’s 1976 debut, Seychelles.All Of Me, 1979.
‘Alcohol is God’s apology for making us self-aware’
I was wondering whether to bother with this or not. I’d enjoyed May’s Our Man In Japan, so I figured, why ever not? And I’m glad I did. It’s great!
May’s quest for La Dolce Vida looks to be going pretty well.
May looks fantastic! Has he lost a bit of weight? His current hair and beard combo is looking better than usual, with a touch of Lord Percy, aka Robert Plant. And he seems happy in himself. All this may sound a bit Hello! magazine. But I think it helps explain May’s enduring (poss’ even expanding?) appeal.
Tragically, watching this only accentuates how bone-crunchingly stupid Brexit is. It’s now much harder for ordinary folk like us to visit places such as those James enthusiastically explores. God how I hate Tories and their hordes of zombie enablers.
Over the last day or three I found myself having to repair the door to one of our sheds. This door – a Freecycle freebie of many moons past – was old and knackered when we got it. And it’s subsequently fallen apart a couple of times.
About four or five days ago, whilst putting stuff in said shed, this same door totally fell apart on me… again! Wish I’d have gotten pics! It was really something.
So I removed it, with a view to repairing or replacing it. I prob’ oughta just replace it. But lack of funds means fixing is the more immediate viable option.
Fixing the door… again!
Last time I fixed it simply by gluing the old joints back together, using clamps and straps, in the hope it’d all bind up ok. And it did, for a year or more.
But lately it’s been falling apart for what is poss’ the third time. And this time the original joints are all snapped off. So when fixing it on this occasion, I’ve added wooden patches, glued ‘n’ screwed, for belt ‘n’ braces double-action protection!
Sadly the door has gone pretty severely askew, and sagged, such that even after re-assembly and patching up, it’s not the greatest fit for the doorway of this shed. I had to both raise the hinges a wee bit, and cut into the lower door frame.
Various patches hold it all together.
And there are still ruddy great gaps, one (triangular!), at the top, and the other, running all the way down the right side on the door frame, fairly parallel. I’ll be adding timber to address both!
But yesterday I simply re-hung the door. Ha… simply!? I had to cut, chisel and saw away some of the basal frame, to allow the door to swing in and out! And I had to move it all up about 15mm as well, and re-drill and re-mount the hinges.
Cutting off a little excess frame.
The door is so skewed it’s almost unreal! I had tried to address this when I first attempted to ‘fix’ this door, ages ago. But it seems that’s a losing battle, so I eventually just went with it as it ‘wanted’ to be.
Once re-hung, I moved the latch. I have plans to add wood to the top gap, and down the entire right side of the door frame, to finish this job. Oh, and prob a new cost of paint.
Replaced and working, albeit rather wonky!
The job that occupied me most after the shed door was putting up four shelving brackets. I got these quite some time back, off the Amazon Vine program. They are black, metal, simple L-shapes, with pairs of small curled hooks at the base.
The biggest arse-ache when mounting brackets to walls is always drilling the holes and achieving decent fixtures. It seems the only really simple material would be wood. But 99% of the time one has to contend with either plasterboard (aka dry-wall) or plaster, bricks, etc.
First shelf up, brackets for second at the ready.
On this occasion it was the latter. Plaster over bricks. Necessitating the use of my Hitachi hammer-drill with masonry drill bits. The biggest issue with this scenario is the drill bit wandering, and/or the holes winding up too large.
I’ve taken to remedying this by filling the drilled holes with Polyfilla, pushing wall-plugs in, and letting that go off for about 24 hours. I did the drilling and filling yesterday. So today I’ll be mounting the brackets and screwing them in. I do hope this works!?
Second set of brackets in place.
The lower of the two shelves is cut, notched, and sanded down now. And already sat in its allotted position. I used an old shelf I got via Freecycle years ago. I wish I’d have kept more of these shelves. I chopped a couple up for kindling/firewood!
I was attempting to shape some boards for the second shelf, yesterday. But the timber is so warped, cupped, twisted, etc, I’m not sure if it’s too much to remedy? Still, the work gave me a chance to use my planes, esp’ my Paul Seller’s style scrub plane. And it was a bit of a work-out. Prob’ good exercise!?
I discovered Theo via Vulfpeck, as I’m sure most folk do. His singing, drumming, guitar playing, and other sundry stuff, in that context, are all great. No, make that, superb.
But then I discovered his solo stuff. I’m trying to recall what it was I first heard in that line? Pop Song, perhaps? And from there I just kept digging. And, holy shit… it’s all solid gold!
A fabulous cover, and a truly great album.
I bought Modern Johnny Sings a few months ago, whilst riding a euphoric wave of Katzmania. And it’s stupidly good. But live? Theo and his seriously talented crew take it all to a whole other set of levels. It’s truly astonishing.
For an ageing somewhat jaded ornery duffer like me, having my faith in humanity restored by the righteous soul of these cats is a real tonic.
And to top it all off, the aesthetics are aligned perfectly to my, er… (adopts Alan Partridge voice) I want to say chakras!? … but I don’t go for that nonsense! What I mean to say is Theo is looking super-fly, and the whole package – from fonts to colour schemes (never mind the sounds!) – everything is just TOTALLY AWESOME!!!
Being heartily sick of feeling sick – bloated, lethargic, windy, etc. (and that’s in addition to other stuff!) – after about a week of hemming and hawing, I’ve decided to actually try the FODMAP diet.
I’ve done other exclusion diets in the past, to little or no noticeable effect. And that’s partly why I’ve so long resisted trying this one. Plus FODMAP looks harder than any of the others I’ve tried, and prohibits (at least initially*) lots of stuff I love!
But I need to do something! And FODMAP has been recommended to me before. Plus it’s alleged to be beneficial for people with my congregation of symptoms.
I had been tasked with cooking an old faithful favourite, spaghetti carbonara, tonight. But that’s full of prohibited stuff: pasta, onions, cream… (at least the way we make it!). Bummer!
So instead I’ve grilled some salmon, boiled some ‘taters, and steamed a bit of kale and spinach. No butter or mayo for me, sadly. Just salt, pepper and a squeeze of lemon juice.
Luckily this proves to be both healthy and tasty, albeit that the potatoes really could’ve done with butter or mayo! Mind, I could’ve ‘drizzled’ some olive oil over them? Next time!
* I believe you cut all the ‘bad stuff’ out, carry on for a bit to see if it’s working, and then selectively reintroduce stuff to see what causes adverse reactions. So potentially some of the verboten stuff will turn out to be ok.
I was saying on here, very recently, that in some fundamental way this blog is a kind of modern ‘cyber-journal’. A record of some of things I’ve done or am doing. And very much a way to remind myself that I exist at all!
One of the main ways of doing this we have in our contemporary society is ‘I spend, therefore I am.’ And now, with social media such a large and powerful force, I ‘tweet’ (or whatever), therefore I am. It’s a continual performance. Surely this is a form of unbridled narcissism?
Anyway, leaving such worrying thoughts aside momentarily… it’s Thursday. Thursday is a non-school/non-teaching day. Such days are usually spent on a variety of things: from pure rest (for reasons I go into elsewhere on this blog I’m often utterly exhausted), to working on home/DIY stuff, or my teaching prep and admin, etc.
Earlier today I revisited a drum score – Led Zep’s ‘Good Times Bad Times’ – because whilst teaching from it yesterday I was reminded that it has a number of errors of interpretation in it. I corrected as many of them as I felt able to without spending all day on it, and then emailed the revised score to the pupil who I’m working on it with.
That’s all to the good. And it enabled me to tick off two items on todays ‘to do list’. But that list is pretty massive. I feel little crushed by the oppressive weight of obligations. This feeling isn’t helped by physical issues: I have various headaches, my eyes are streaming, and I have post-nasal drip! Such stuff very rapidly begins to feel like it a form of chronic attritional torture!
It’s hard to be dynamic, energised, pro-active, and all that, when you feel crushed by mountains of stuff to do, and beset by physical issues that drain you of energy and vitality.
As many will know from bitter personal experience, years of anti-NHS Toryism (some of it implemented by the Labour govt’s of Blair/Brown, to their everlasting shame), are slowly but inexorably grinding the NHS to dust. Trying to see one’s GP, where I am, has become an Orwellian dystopian nightmare. And people are literally dying as a result.
I mention this because the anger that this generates is one source of harness-able energy that could motivate me to more action. But before I go down a ranting rabbit hole, back – in proper ‘age of me’ blogging style – to more personal matters!
Numerous visits to the local GP surgery – at 90% of which I see a nurse or ‘clinical practitioner’ (what is that?) – have failed to clearly unpick my numerous ongoing issues. One line of inquiry is to treat me for hay-fever. I’m taking the meds. No signs of improvement yet.
So, having got up pretty late, about 10am, after a very good nights sleep (first time in three or four nights), I did the work on the drum score in Sibelius. Then I took a break for lunch. Made myself a three egg omelette, with onion, mushrooms and cheese, with a weak coffee to wash it all down.
I’m still cogitating over whether I ought to try this FODMAP diet experiment. I think I ought to. But I’m not sure I have the discipline (or even the funds to buy the required alternative groceries!?). But my constant bloatedness and wind argues that I really really should make the effort. I’m 50, fer chrissakes, and still don’t know my body/health like I ought to!
Some other symptoms of less than ideal health are my profuse sweating, IBS style bowel movements, and – especially noticeable overnight – continually dry mouth. Reading about this stuff online, along with stuff I’ve gleaned from the treatment of my psoriasis and arthritis, suggests high blood pressure.
So once again improving diet and increasing exercise are indicated. The only real exercise I get at present is the home/DIY stuff I do. Such, for example, as the earth moving I’ve been doing recently in preparing a base for the shed Ken gave us.
I’ll take a break from this post now, to go back to some of that work!
