Music Review #24:

Phish

The Siket Disc

1999

Elektra Records

The Siket Disc is the one and only instrumental album recorded by the American band Phish. It was released via mail order to Phish fans in 1999, but wasn't in stores until 2000. The album is a very quaint little piece of obscure music, and features some pretty good material.

As aforementioned, the album consists of only instrumentals, so Anastasio's vocals are not involved in any way. However, this does lend a pro to the album where it allows him to show off his guitar skills with more prowess. The styles of the tracks revolve mostly around lounge music, with some hints of progressive rock; the entire album is extremely laid-back, and does not over-exert itself to a great extent. The album opens up with 'My Left Toe', which recycles a continuous two notes which makes for a very irritating melody and an unpleasant experience for me. However, it does lead into possibly my favorite track on the album, 'My Name is Slick'. This song subtly combines funk and lounge-jazz which makes it very fun to come back to when you're working or just want to relax. The first side ends with 'What's The Use', a Floydian-inspired epic which use blunt, 60's psychedelic humdrum with deep and echoing guitar chords to make for an interesting space rock tune. 'Quadrophonic Toppling' and 'Albert' are both short but sweet guitar/bass led songs. The former features a very hypnotic bass line by Mike Gordon, even with it featuring only a few different notes. 'The Happy Whip and Dung Song' is perhaps the most vibrant the album gets, featuring the slow muddle seen on 'What's the Use' but more chaotic guitar playing.

This album was slightly hard to critique, due to it being so minimalist in nature. A factor that has made it not too popular, but in my opinion adds very well to a certain aesthetic that it gives off. It is indeed very different from other Phish albums, but for a hard to explain reason it is one of my favorites. Mostly I believe it is from the slow and very simple style that has the instruments being lightly played instead of extremely intricately, and still being able to be fun and enthralling. I would suggest that you listen to it before you obtain it, because it is really a "different-cup-of-tea" kind of experience.  

2016 - The Frying Pan & Thatcher 

Have a nice day.

Music Review #23:

October
October
1979
{Unknown}







Late 70's jazz with mid-60's flair.

October's a band that aren't well known at all, only releasing two albums in the span of two years. They use a fairly standard jazz fusion sound with dollops of experimentation. Something that I noticed was a hint of Krautrock, mainly like Neu! or Can in their earliest incarnation. Pat Carson has a style extremely similar Jaki Liebezeit, especially on the track 'Mainspring'. At times the instruments fumble and start to trip over each-other in a haphazardly sort of way, causing for awkward segues that sometimes don't even come, causing for a song that is mainly flat and uninteresting. The production as well is rather...bad. When there are vocals they are incoherent and practically not there, and some of the background instruments can get lost in the hubbub. This little gem however is a pretty interesting look at the jazz fusion genre when it was on the cusp of a new decade, and I would suggest forthright.

2015 - The Frying Pan & Thatcher 

Originally written for Prog Archives on 12/13/2015.

Visit the site at www.progarchives.com

Music Review #22:

The Moody Blues
Seventh Sojourn
1972
Threshold Records

The Moody Blues had steadily edged their way into the 70's, having formed eight years prior. Seventh Sojourn, ironically enough the band's eighth album, was the last before a short hiatus the 'Blues took before re-emerging in 1977. Touted in their early days as a skillful art-rock band, Seventh Sojourn is an album that encompasses the classical influence from their earlier days, as well as more of a Simon-Garfunkelian style. Many of the songs on the album are in the vein of dreary-orchestral rock songs, with Hayward singing his breathy vocals with echoing melodies accompanying him.

Seventh Sojourn is very heavy on boisterous, climactic pieces, and from start to finish is a ride for the senses. From 'Lost In A Lost World', the choral-rock piece with lovely violin work as well as the bass riffs by Ledge, to the fast paced break-neck closer 'I'm Just A Singer (In A Rock And Roll Band)' that evens ends with clapping as if this album was just a giant spectacle with the world as it's audience. The only problem the album suffers is this level of symphonic power does sort of lose it's edge while going through a full listen. Don't get the wrong impression though, because such an experience is still highly recommended in the long-run. If you are a fan of the band or just that more loosely-interpreted side of prog, then this album is for you. One of the best albums I've heard in a while.

2016 - The Frying Pan & Thatcher 

Originally written for Prog Archives on 4/30/2016.

Visit the site at www.progarchives.com

5 Deep Cuts of the Week (3/26/16)

1. PINK FLOYD - THE GOLD IT'S IN THE...

Obscured by Clouds (1972)
This is one of my all-time favorite Pink Floyd song from the bands soundtrack for the French film La Valee (Obscured by Clouds) in 1972. Has a great, boisterous sound to it, and features some classic yet comfortable classic rock riffs. 

2. SUPERTRAMP - WAITING SO LONG

...Famous Last Words (1982)

This six-and-a-half minute long piece by Supertramp features some of what the band is best at- ambiance, pop inflections, interesting compositions, and again a fantastic atmosphere.

3. PHISH - PRINCE CASPIAN

Billy Breathes (1996)
A very subtle closer to my favorite Phish album, the song has some great vocals by various members of the band, a consistent and enthusiastic melody, and just about everything else good about a Phish song.

4. KRAFTWERK - KOMETENMELODIE 2

Kraftwerk - Autobahn (1974)
One of the more palletable songs on the Autobahn album, Kometenmelodie 2 fixes all of the weakness of Kometenmelodie 1 into a cheap-thrilling, yet very enjoyable bouncy electronic tune.

5. OYSTERHEAD - PSEUDO SUICIDE

Oysterhead - The Grand Pecking Order (2001)
A song from an album that features members of Phish, Primus, and The Police rocking at their very hardest, Pseudo Suicide crams grungy edge and abstract song writing into a blissful cacophony of chaotic jamming.

Music Review #21:

The Dave Brubeck Quartet
Time Out
1959
Columbia Records







The devil's jazz.

Why such a name? Well originally when Dave Brubeck was going to release this little album Columbia was against it. The album was quite experimental for the time, featuring some wacky time signatures that weren't exactly common such as 5/4 or 6/4. It was released nonetheless to some criticism of Brubeck's work and accusations that he had tampered with the jazz scene. Looking back though it is one of the best jazz albums ever recorded.
Though it features a small tracklist, Time Out takes advantage of it's mere seven tracks to dole out some of NYC's coolest jazz of the fifties. The album was recorded in the time considered to be the "classic quartet lineup" which lasted from 1958-1968 and features Joe Morello's aforementioned abstract time signatures. Brubeck himself does a good job at the piano as usual, but Desmond and Wright are the main reason that the music is as relaxed as it is. Perhaps the wildest the album gets is on 'Take Five', where the music really starts breaking the mold with one of my favorite songs played in minor ever. Unsurprisingly, the song became somewhat of a landmark on late fifties jazz. 
In conclusion, Time Out is a legendary album that anyone calling themselves music aficionados should buy and cherish forever.

2016 - The Frying Pan & Thatcher 

Have a nice day.

Music Review #20:

Hatchet
Fear Beyond Lunacy
2015
The End Records

Many times I've thought it would be a good idea to have a separate genre for metal albums with invasive political themes. The big four have been making songs about the topic since their inception and have been inspiring metal bands to do the same for decades. But eventually there will be a band that reaches the same quality as the pioneers. With 2006's Hatchet, it seems it is time the student becomes the master, and creates perhaps the greatest metal album of 2015. Musically, Hatchet's influence is obviously from 2000's Anvil, with heavy focus on drums and a consistent riff pattern hellbent on belting out music as fast as possible is clear on many tracks. Yet there are many times where the music slows down with either more traditional metal or inclusion of symphonic elements. The opening to the album, 'Where Time Cannot Exist' is a prominent example of echoing melodies that clash with one each-other (perfectly complemented by the fantastic production quality). To be frank, most of the best parts of the album are these such parts and they really bring color to the thrash genre. Vocalist Julz Ramos is a very talented man who would've fit in perfectly with the likes of Steve Kudlow, Dave Mustaine, and Bruce Dickinson. Same goes mostly for the overall playing skill and song composition as a whole. Like the cherry on the proverbial sundae, the wonderful 80's style cover and creative name tops off this entire masterpiece of modern metal. Rock is dead? Get the hell out of here.

I beg you, reader, to listen to this album and give it more attention. It is wonderful, underrated, and deserves more praise.

© 2016- The Frying Pan & Thatcher 

Originally written for Metal Music Archives on 3/18/2016.

Visit the site at www.metalmusicarchives.com

Music Review #19:

Oysterhead
The Grand Pecking Order
2001
Elektra/Asylum









A line that I like very much from Oysterhead is from the title track of their album: "When all else has been done and said / along comes Mr. Oysterhead." I feel like this line really speaks to what Oysterhead really achieves here. It is quite different because of the very wide variety of musicians that perform.

The album in question is none other than The Grand Pecking Order, the only album by the super-group Oysterhead, from 2001. It's an interesting experience to hear hear Les Claypool sing with lyrics that belong in a Phish song (a band who is fantastic at creating inane lyrics), and that alone would be enough strangeness if it weren't for the fact that Les inputted alot as well. In all parts the album is surreal, funky, humorous, and everything in between. There's a healthy amount of tracks so a thorough experience is guaranteed. I'll quit my short-lived and tired ramblings now so you can go check these guys out. To think of it, that's a perfect analogy for the music, except these are much more structured then a blabbering sleep deprivated moron such as myself.

© 2015 - The Frying Pan & Thatcher 

Originally written for Metal Music Archives on 10/3/2015.

Visit the site at www.metalmusicarchives.com