[Rick and Roll]

airing Sunday, February 24 from 8-11 PM EST and Monday, February 25 from 1-4 PM EST

This week focuses on three artists...

Gong - Shamal (1975)

Wingful Of Eyes
Chandra
Bambooji
Cat In Clark's Shoes
Mandrake
Shamal

This is the transition record from Daevid Allen's Gong to Pierre Moerlen's Gong. For anyone who does not have this (especially the younger proggers), this is a classic. It has some nice hippie songs (Wingful and the title track), some clever jazz (Bambooji and Cat, penned by woodwind extraodinaire Didier Malherbe) and Pierre's solid Mandrake. I especially like Chandra (from keyboardist Patrick Lemoine), a perfect song. This is the last Pierre record with vocals (later Steve Winwood sung on "Aeroplane" and others on "Jin-go-lo-ba") but it's rare - Mike Howlett does a fine job on the vocals, and the lovely Mirelle Bauer on percussion rounds out the group.

Bruce Hornsby - songs from his first six records

The River Runs Low - from "The Way It Is" (1986)
Look Out Any Window, The Road Not Taken - from "Scenes From the Southside" (1988)
Fire On The Cross - from "A Night On The Town" (1990)

These three records were put out with an excellent backing band (The Range). The Range included the John Molo on drums, George Marinelli on guitar, and Ambrosia's Joe Puerta on bass. The songs are more standard, not as prog as the "solo" records to come. Always a highlight is Hornsby's Keith Jarrett-like playing.

Harbor Lights, Talk of the Town, China Doll, Pastures of Pleanty - from "Harbor Lights" (1993)

This is one of the best discs I have ever heard. Hornsby's guest musicians are just right for each song (Molo stays on drums and Jimmy Haslip is on bass). Pat Metheny is all over the record, and his chromatic lead on the title track is stunning. Branford Marsalis and Phil Collins (on bongos!) make Talk of the Town a propulsive tune (and Hornsby's dancing piano melody doesn't hurt). China Doll uses Metheny again to perfection - along with the low-end piano, this makes for one of his best pieces. And Pastures of Plenty has Jerry Garcia in one of his best performances. The liner notes for each song tell a lot about how the songs were constructed.

Spider Fingers, White Wheeled Limousine, Country Doctor - from "Hot House" (1995)

This one drifts into more jazz, sort of coming back to his early work while retaining the more complicated arrangements from the last record (Haslip and Molo return). Bela Fleck goes to town on Limo and Metheny is on Doctor for the leads. Spider Fingers features Hornsby on ridiculously difficult piano runs.

Resting Place, Sad Moon, Sneaking Up On Boo Radley, Variantions on Swan Song and Song D - from "Spitit Trail" (1998)

The last Hornsby disc I own, this double release concentrates more on the piano. Sad Moon is a fantastic piece in its makeup. Probably his most complete record.

Tangle Edge - Tarka (1997)

About 2/3 (40 minutes) of the CD:

Stygian Walls
Yatantah - Part I
Yatantah - Part II
Yatantah - Part III
Canopeus
Cinta
Spirea
Durra Durra
Verbina

I bought this from the Philadelphia Record Exchange a long time ago and rarely bring it out. Tangle Edge is from Norway, and the music has the feel of the country. They employ no keyboards except for the occasional Moog. It's a rustic, raw sound that can jam on occasion (sometimes a bit too much). They do fill in the spaces with some interesting sounds.

Next week Wojtek will be hijackjing the show for the Best of 2007 show. See you in two weeks!