The DOORS – WEIRD SCENES INSIDE THE GOLD MINE – Elektra 8E-6001 Jan. 1972
From 1967 to 1970 The Doors provided a vitally important service – their music and lyrics soothed the savage beast while it reflected the primal empowered feelings emerging in the Youth and the Counter-Culture.
Rockin’ Psychonauts needed music to equal their “status” so the Rock Gods manifested The Doors; Jim Morrison vocals, lyrics, Robbie Kreiger guitar, John Densmore drums, and Ray Manzarek key-boards; the Mystical Hard Rock Psychedelic Blues Band. Despite Morrison’s antics The Doors always seemed like the least pretentious as their music had a deeper serious emotional edge that opened minds and lifted souls. The Doors were unique, dark, mysterious, and one of a kind.
Break On Through 2:25 Strange Days 3:05 Shaman’s Blues 4:45 Love Street 3:06 Peace Frog/ Blue Sunday 5:00 The Wasp (Texas Radio & The Big Beat) 4:12 End Of The Night 2:49 Love Her Madly 3:18 Spanish Caravan 2:58 Ship Of Fools 3:06 The Spy 4:15 The End 11:35 Take It As It Comes 2:13 Running Blue 2:27 L.A. Woman 7:49 Five To One 4:22 Who Scared You 3:51 (You Need Meat) Don’t Go No Further 3:37 Riders On The Storm 7:14 Maggie McGill 4:25 Horse Latitudes 1:30 When The Music’s Over 11:00. Truly Astonishing Tracks.
Jim Morrison POPCULTICONS series 3 – 2021
NEIL YOUNG – HARVEST – Reprise 2032 – Feb. 1, 1972
Canadian Neil Young harvested the heart of gold with the best-selling album of 1972 in the U.S.: Out on the Weekend 4:35
Harvest 3:11 A Man Needs a Maid 4:05 Heart of Gold 3:07 Are You Ready for the Country? 3:33 Old Man 3:24 There’s a World 2:59 Alabama 4:02 The Needle and the Damage Done (recorded in concert January 30, 1971) 2:03 Words (Between the Lines of Age) 6:40. The usual suspects joined in the recordings.
MANFRED MANN’S EARTH BAND – Polydor PD 5015 – February 18, 1972
Manfred Mann’s Earth Band were inventive, consistently great, and released exceptionally infectious Rock albums with meaning, power, and conceptually relevant themes. Mention Manfred Mann today and the only remembrance is their classic ’60s hit, Doo-Wah-Diddy, and a decade later Blinded by the Light. Starting with their first album they showed a unique talent for infusing energy and fun into Rock jams and chose to cover select, obscure, Dylan, Dr. John, and later Springsteen songs.
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When Manfred Mann adopted the Earth Band moniker, something happened; it was as though they became a singular source of music that they owned. All of the elements were there; great lyrics, great compositions and jams, major enthusiasm in their instrumentation, and great vocals; they had major hooks and dynamic passages and even concept albums. But whatever kept them from the major appreciation they deserved is not only unfair but it has deprived Rock Fans of a major chunk of Rock History.
Messin’ (1973) – Solar Fire (1973) – The Good Earth (1974) – Nightingales & Bombers
(1975) The Roaring Silence (1976)
All seriously really great albums!
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THE ROLLING STONES – EXILE ON MAIN ST.
COC 2-2900 – May 12, 1972
L.A. rockers barely had time to absorb this double LP before the June 09, 1972 “Exile” party, er, uh, concert at the Hollywood Palladium. 00individual was there, detailed on page 40. This double album has gone down as the last great Stones album from the classic era of ‘68’s Beggar’s Banquet, ‘69’s Let It Bleed, and ‘71’s Sticky Fingers. With ‘72’s Exile, the Stones returned to that place just down the road apiece, back to the gritty, raunchy, bluesy rock ‘n’ roll basics. Amen.
CLOCKWORK ORANGE SOUNDTRACK WALTER CARLOS
– WB 2573 – 1972
“Clockwork Orange” is a February 2, 1972 dystopian crime film adapted, produced, and directed by Stanley Kubrick, based on Anthony Burgess‘s 1962 novel A Clockwork Orange with the film soundtrack by Walter/ Wendy Carlos.
“Clockwork Orange” employs disturbing, violent images to comment on psychiatry, juvenile delinquency, youth gangs, and other social, political, and economical subjects in a dystopian near-future Britain. Four and a half decades later ACOhas arrived on the streets of Britain and in cities all over the world – only without the cool music, directorial creativity, eyelash-pleasing cinematography, and cod-pieces. Unfortunately, present day is far more insidious. Anthony Burgess’ book and Stanley Kubrick’s film are eerily prescient today. Only the trials and tribulations of the anti-hero Alex; performed to perfection by the legendary Malcolm McDowell, and his Droogs as they go out for a night about town after a taste of Synthemesc for a little bit of the old ultra-violence, and in out, seems playful compared to current history.
In 1968 Walter Carlos released the groundbreaking and genre-creating album in synthesizer and Moog classical electronica, “Switched On Bach”. Four years later the ACO soundtrack by Wendy Carlos (then Walter Carlos) was a huge hit with the Counter-Culture, as was the movie, and the soundtrack music not only based the film in an alternate reality with the “new” synthesizer sound, but was a thematic extension of Alex’s (and the viewer’s) psychological conditioning. During the height of Drug experiments of the early-to-mid-’70s
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Heads, Rockers, Creatives, Film Nuts, Classical Music Fiends, and the Avant Garde were prime for anything, the weirder, the better. Synthesizers were beginning to become very popular and with the Electronic Wizardry of Wendy Carlos, Isao Tomita, Evangelos Papathanassiou (Vangelis), and Edgar Froese of Tangerine Dream, the beginning of a new era in music began in earnest. Wendy Carlos’ experimental ambient double album, “Sonic Seasonings” also released in ’72, devoted the four sides to the four seasons.
Clockwork Orange – 1. Title Music from A Clockwork Orange 2:21 2. The Thieving Magpie (Abridged) Gioachino Rossini 5:57 3. Theme from A Clockwork Orange (Beethoviana) 1:14 4. 9th Symphony 2nd Movement (Abr.) Ludwig Van Beethoven 3:48 5. A Clockwork Orange March (9th Symph. 4th Mov’t Abr.) Beethoven 7:00 6. William Tell Overture (Abr.) Rossini 1:17 7. Pomp & Circumstance March No. I Edward Elgar 4:28 8. Pomp & Circumstance March No. IV (Abr.) Elgar 1:33 9. Timesteps 4:13 10. Overture to the Sun 1:40 11. I Want to Marry a Light-house Keeper 1:00 12. William Tell Overture (Abr.) Rossini 2:58 13. Suicide Scherzo (9th Symph. 2nd Mov’t (Abr.) Beethoven 3:07 14. 9th Symph. 4th Mov’t (Abr.) Beethoven (Karajan, 1963) 1:34 15. Singin’ in the Rain Gene Kelly 2:36.
Clockwork Orange and Ziggy Stardust – The music and film had a cultural impact to the point that David Bowie adopted the film’s aura with lyrics on his “Aladdin Sane” album’s Suffragette City track with, “Hey Droogie don’t crash here, . . .” and used the Pomp and Circumstance from the soundtrack to open his 1975 Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars Farewell Tour Concert – 00individual speaks Tribal Truth, he was there; Hollywood PalladiumMarch 12, 1973. (pages 45-47)
Stanley Kubrick – A Rock Star in his field, Stanley Kubrick filmed ACO with equal bravado and operatic depiction of violence that was the perfect ambient portrayal of drug-fueled degeneracy in a sardonic near-future music-filled horror show environment. Kubrick knew how to create worlds filled with awe and mystery, sex and violence, beauty and beasts – one of the top historic auteurs of the film industry.
Stanley Kubrick vs Pink Floyd – Stanley Kubrick asked Pink Floyd bassist Roger Waters if he could use elements of the Atom Heart Mother suite in CO. Waters refused when he found that Kubrick wanted the freedom to cut up the piece to fit the film. Sometime later, Waters asked Kubrick if he could use sounds from 2001: A Space Odyssey; Kubrick duly refused. The “Atom Heart Mother” album can be seen during the film’s scene in the record store on the top shelf in the back. The soundtrack to “2001: A Space Odyssey” is in the front bin, bottom center.
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conditioning.
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PINK FLOYD – OBSCURED BY CLOUDS (LA VALLEE) SOUNDTRACK
Harvest ST 11078 – 6/2/72 –
“La Vallee” screened at Grauman’s Chinese, Hollywood, Filmex ’72.
Easily one of thee best gem-filled albums by Pink Floyd! There was a period when they were composing music for soundtracks: “More” 1969, “Zabriskie Point” 1970, and “La Vallee” 1972; which has a conceptual soundtrack feel, but also strong stand-alone tracks. The “Original Motion Picture Soundtrack from the film More” as it was labeled on the U.S. releases, had mostly very short songs but all were intriguing, and The Nile Song was a rockin’ pre-Heavy Metal Punk standout. So when released it was acquired immediately and in the import virgin vinyl mode.
00individual liked Floyd and this album so much that he went to “Filmex”, the Sundance Film Festival of its day, to see the movie, “La Vallee”, just to hear Pink Floyd’s terrific “Obscured By Clouds” soundtrack music amplified at the Grauman’s Chinese Theater on Hollywood Boulevard! Even though the soundtrack album was not represented in its entirety he still gave a standing ovation when PF’s credits hit the screen!
“La Vallee” was a gorgeous, Bohemian-style trippy movie about a group of free-spirited Hippies, (and one hot Bulle Ogier), who go in search of an unexplored area of Papua New Guinea that is only represented on maps as “obscured by clouds”. They believe that it is a paradise and travel by plane (the opening shot of the film above the clouds with Floyd’s title track roaring along is nothing less than goose-bumps!), then by Land Rover, then by horseback, then ultimately on foot to get to “the Valley”.
Each track is just amazing, a real touchstone of Pink Floyd’s development – nearly all compositions from all their future albums can be traced back to this album. It’s no wonder that within many Floyd concerts throughout their history they have decided to perform songs from this soundtrack as they are easily some of the best songs of their career.
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SPOILER: The end of the movie has them reach their destination and as they all climb up to the top of a hill the camera turns and faces them as they look down at their found “Paradise”. The audience however, never get to see what they see or what they experience past that point – but that’s fine, because in the end it’s always about the journey, not the destination.
Obscured by Clouds Waters Gilmour 3:05 When You’re In Waters Gilmour Wright Mason 2:23 Burning Bridges Wright Waters 3:24 The Gold It’s In The … Waters Gilmour 3:03 Wot’s… Uh The Deal Waters Gilmour 5:05 Mudmen Wright Gilmour 4:17 Childhood’s End Gilmour 4:30 Free Four Waters 4:11 Stay Wright Waters 4:02 Absolutely Curtains Waters Gilmour Wright Mason 5:51 Movie-sounds Wright Mapuga Tribe Inst’l & chant.
APHRODITE’S CHILD – “666” Vertigo VEL 2-500 – June 1972
Aphrodite’s Child founder and eventual Academy Award Winner, Vangelis Papathanassiou became one of 00individual’s all-time favorite artists. He owns import virgin vinyl releases of nearly all of Vangelis’ albums and this Vertigo label concept double album, “666” was his first encounter with this Greek Rocker.
With the bold graphic cover art, 666 was an eye-catcher with the biblical/satanic numerals “666”. Others can sort out the biblical aspects – but for Rockers they were just well known apocalyptic themes used as a basis for Vangelis and company to fully cut loose with some major creative Rock!
Aphrodite’s Child had an invigorating sense of adventure with soulful unique lead vocals by
Demis Roussos, infectious beats, Hard Rock to Soft Ballads, soaring guitar and even a sexual climax. Whether intended or not, “camp” track title announcements were a minor objection compared to the truly incredible Rock on display. Styles and moods and genuine emotional upheavals flow throughout these two chunks of righteous rockin’ vinyl!
Aphrodite’s Child: Vangelis – keyboards and all compositions, Demis Roussos – bass and vocals, Loukas Sideras – drums and vocals, and Anargyros “Silver” Koulouris – guitar.
Side 1: 1. The System 2. Babylon 3. Loud, Loud, Loud 4. The Four Horse-men 5. The Lamb 6. The Seventh Seal. Side 2: 1. Aegean Sea 2. Seven Bowls 3. The Wakening Beast 4. Lament 5. The Marching Beast 6. The Battle of the Locusts 7. Do It 8. Tribulation 9. The Beast 10. Ofis Side 3: 1. Seven Trumpets 2. Altamont 3. The Wedding of the Lamb
4.The Capture of the Beast 5. Infinity 6. Hic Et Nunc. Side 4: 1. All The Seats Were Occupied 2. Break.
Released a year before Pink Floyd’s DSOTM and eighteen months before The Who’s Quadrophenia; 666 was a premiere of the Concept Album Era and excellent Progressive Rock.
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