The Dillards Tribute to the American Duck Poppy 1973

The Dillards Tribute to the American Duck Poppy 1973 CAT# PP-LA175-F

Looking at the back of this LP, the first thing you'll notice is that there is really only one Dilllard in the Dillards on this LP. However, Independence, Missouri native, Dean Webb was still going strong with the band.

It's not a very strong LP, but, it's not terrible. The band was continuing to try come up with a nice mixture of pop/rock and bluegrass, like a more homespun version of the country-rock genre. They win some, they lose some, but their harmonies remained great.

In addition to the band minus a Dillard, there are quite a few guest spots throughout the album, most noticeably, John Hartford on fiddle. Outside of some decent players, the band goes down some odd paths here in there, the experimentation can be interesting.

Music is Music (ignore the incorrect album cover)

The Ozark Mountain Daredevils Self-Titled A&M 1973

The Ozark Mountain Daredevils Self-Titled A&M 1973 CAT# 0598

There's like a kajillion guys in this band, enough to keep them going long after this debut in some form or another. Pretty sure you can still see them play around town every month.

The group was formed in Springfield, MO, thus the band name, Ozark Mountain Dare Devil. Their Kansas City connection lies in their management, Good Karma Productions, the same that managed Brewer & Shipley, Danny Cox, and a few other locals. Further, they were discovered by Brewer & Shipely while playing the Cowtown Ballroom in KC. So there KC roots are legit.

The music is pretty Springfield, though. It's not bluegrass or hillbilly, but it uses the mountain influences. You'd probably be better off buying a Dillards LP if you want the real stuff. But, the Daredevils blended some old-time sounds into a modern pop format. Their sound played to everyone, they could open for anyone with their brand of stoner-country. Also, worth pointing out, this LP did have the minor-hit, "If You Wanna Get to Heaven," which is a pretty solid good-ol' boy tune.

Black Sky
Daredevils-LIVE. Look at these fuckin' hipsters

Excelsior Spring Highschool Boys & Girls Concert Choir 1972-1973 Audio House

Excelsior Spring Highschool Boys & Girls Concert Choir 1972-1973 Audio House CAT# AHSPLS 17172

Another record that really never needed to exist.  This is a live recording of the 1972-73 Excelsior Springs Boys & Girls Highschool chorus.

The recording is pretty faint, when the kids solo, it's almost impossible to hear over the top of the sole piano providing backdrop.  The girls do not one, but two Carol King Melodies for some reason.  There's also the absolutely necessary rendition of "Aquarius".  There's a boy's version of Gilbert O'Sullivan's "Alone Again," which if you've ever heard is pretty depressing and an odd choice.  There's also a cover of the Beatles, "Blackbird," and the Carpenters "Superstar" is pretty enjoyable, but overall, pretty lame.  To it's benefit, it doesn't have any overtly Christian songs.

However despite all the middle of road-ness, the first song on the flip side is an original tune by a girl named, Cheryl Gruey.  Her song is called "Let's Rebuild that Bridge" and the subject matter is about a break up and trying to get back together (typical immature nonsense), but her plaintive vocals and sparse electric guitar (that's it, just her voice and guitar) make up for the rambling that's going on in the lyrics.  It's a bit of a loner folk gem and proves my theory that all these strange chorus and band albums have something to offer.

Charlie Parker The Greatest Jazz Concert Ever Prestige 1973

Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Bud Powell, Charles Mingus, Max Roach The Greatest Jazz Concert Ever Prestige 1973 CAT #24024

2 years away from his death in 1955, Charlie Parker was invited to play in Toronto, Canada, with 4 other giants of Bebop.  Apparently, some well to do's in Canada decided they wanted an event, brainstormed and decided they'd invite the biggest innovators in bebop to come perform.  By this time, bebop wasn't the radical confusing scene Parker had started.  It was generally accepted as jazz (not "China Music" like Louis Armstrong once dubbed it), the innovations provided by Parker and Gillespie were now commonplace.

Surprisingly, they showed up to play.  Legends say Bud Powell was drunk from the onset, Gillespie was busy leaving the stage to check on a boxing match, and Parker was playing on a cheap alto sax with plastic parts.  It represents the last time Gillespie and Parker would collaborate on an album and finds Parker in good form despite being only two years away from heroin ending his life (he didn't die of an overdose, he died because he was an addict) and playing a cheap sax.  This has been released many times and under different names.  The first being Mingus' own Debut label entitled Jazz At Massey Hall.  This Prestige edition differs in that it contains the trio of just Mingus, Powell, & Roach (supposedly from a different night and also rumored to also have Art Tatum behind the keys rather than Powell).  But, those dudes aren't KC so don't have to spend much time arguing that.

The thing that this LP really showcases is the influence Parker had.  Kansas City, KS born, Kansas City, MO raised, the guy reinvented jazz.  There's pre-Bop and post-Bop, and Charlie Parker is Bebop.  The quintet he is a part of is his and legendary; he's the ringleader.  He's the one that showed them the way.  Even Gillespie, who was far more advanced in theory than anyone, wouldn't have found his true calling had he never heard Parker explode on a saxophone.  Throughout the album, Parker and Gillespie are stride for stride and he explodes on "Salt Peanuts" and "Wee".  He also finds his moments on the ballad "All The Things You Are."

And, I worried about this LP.  I mean, after all, it was two years before his death, could he be all that good at this point?  Of course, it's easy to forget, Parker died at age 36, he was 34 at the time of the recording and still cutting some of his best sides.

Wee

Joe Walsh The Smoker You Drink, The Player You Get Dunhill/ABC 1973

Joe Walsh The Smoker You Drink, The Player You Get Dunhill/ABC 1973 CAT# DSX-50140

This is the second "Barnstorm" album from Wichita-Born Joe Walsh.  When Walsh left the James Gang, he formed a band called Barnstorm.  ABC put out the albums as solo LPS by Joe Walsh.  For the most part, it's Joe Walsh's thing, but the tunes are credited to Barnstorm Music and the Joe Vitale and Kenny Passarelli were members of a band with Joe Walsh at this time, not just his backing band.

The first song on the LP, "Rocky Mountain Way," is a monster.  It's a defining hard-rock song of the 1970's.  From there though, the album gets a bit soft.  Walsh explores soft rock and even Jazz inflicted tunes like the instrumental, "Midnight Moodies."  Despite solid songs like "Bookends", "Dreams," and "Days Gone By," they pale in comparison to "Rocky Mountain Way."

The album does have nice melodies, lots of cool instruments, good arrangements, all that stuff.  But, I could listen to Fleetwood Mac if I wanted clever soft rock, it's better.  It does have Joe Walsh's guitar, though.  He's good at that and probably the most famous Kansas born guitarist, ever?  I don't think there are too many that did as much with the instrument and established themselves as a player as much as he did.

Richard Pryor Introduces "Rocky Mountain Way"