Wilson, Dennis - 1977 - Pacific Ocean Blue

Though the roots of this 1977 album go back to the early '70s, Dennis Wilson's one issued solo project, Pacific Ocean Blue, is certainly a product of its time, both musically and texturally. The set's 12 songs reveal a songwriter who was looking to stretch out on his own and engage a vision of music that stood far outside what the Beach Boys were capable of handling or executing. Wilson himself panned the album, claiming it had no substance, and looked forward to the release of Bamboo, a record that remained unfinished and unreleased at the time of his death. (Brother Brian, however, loved the album and celebrated it with his usual childlike intensity.) Pacific Ocean Blue is a moody view of the SoCal landscape, and of Wilson's own interior life -- or his struggle to have one. From the environmental lament, "River Song," that opens the disc, we can hear a new kind of West Coast music emerging. It's not steeped in the weighty philosophical and political concerns that other Angelenos such as Jackson Browne were penning. Instead, it's a wispy rock tune revolving around a beautiful piano figure, shuffling guitars, and lyrics that take a personal concern for the state of the nature crumbling around it. "Dreamer" is a classic piece of '70s rock as it wound itself around the emerging R&B of the time, with interlaced horn lines, synths, and funky basslines cutting through the bridge and into the final verses; all steeped in a gorgeous, lush groove that even at this relaxed tempo won't quit. Mostly, however, Pacific Ocean Blue is a diary. Given that it was recorded over nearly seven years, the songs reflect the snapshot quality of Wilson's life in the studio: what he was capable of, what he learned, and how he stretched himself. Take, for example, the tender stoner balladry of "Thoughts of You" and "Time;" with their languid, echoing piano hovering in the mix with a shadow presence as Wilson sings with a longing that is true, yet muted by his seeming resignation to things being a total loss. The latter track also features a moody trumpet solo reminiscent of Chet Baker and transforms itself into a horn-driven anthem by its nadir. This album is a classic, blissed-out, coked-up slice of '70s rock and pop that is as essential as Fleetwood Mac's Rumours. [There is a bootleg version of Pacific Ocean Blue that contains -- besides a master that is every bit as good as the released version -- five bonus tracks (mostly backing vocal tracks) that may not be everybody's cup of tea, but fanatics will absolutely have to have them.]

		1		River Song	Wilson, Wilson
		2		What's Wrong	D. Wilson
		3		Moonshine	D. Wilson
		4		Friday Night	D. Wilson
		5		Dreamer	D. Wilson
		6		Thoughts of You	D. Wilson
		7		Time	D. Wilson
		8		You and I	D. Wilson
		9		Pacific Ocean Blues	D. Wilson
		10		Farewell My Friend	D. Wilson
		11		Rainbows	D. Wilson
		12		End of the Show	D. Wilson

¡Aquí!

Magma - 1977 - Attahk

After Üdü Wüdü, Magma disbanded for a time, only to reconvene a year later under a slightly different direction than before. While drummer Christian Vander had maintained general leadership of the band since the early '70s, this new phase of Magma could almost be considered a Vander solo project. His interest in funk, R&B, gospel, and pop would come to the fore, and similar to many of his prog rock and jazz fusion peers, he would mold the band's sound into something with crossover appeal. The music on this album is brighter than the previous album, emphasizing rhythm, lead vocals, and bright, fusion-informed basslines rather than murky group vocals or extended zeuhl suites. Fans of the earlier material tend to criticize this album for its lack of a "traditional" zeuhl sound in favor of a funk/fusion/zeuhl hybrid. While it is markedly different than the preceding albums, it is one of the most exciting and certainly one of the most accessible. "The Last Seven Minutes" is burning zeuhl-funk, with some of Vander's most explosive drumming on record. Although they weren't singing about interplanetary war anymore (but were singing in "Kobaian"), the bandmembers never lost their intensity. This is getting closer to hard-edged fusion à la groups such as Mahavishnu Orchestra and Return to Forever, but nothing that features Vander's idiosyncratic wail is going to sound derivative. Similarly, "Dondaï" might be a pleasant, unaffecting funk ballad from anyone else, but from Magma it sounds at once magical and silly. In truth, this is calm by Magma's standards, and for a while the group actually seemed willing to present relatively straightforward music.

		1		The Last Seven Minutes: 1970-77, Phase 1 [1970-71, Phase I]	Vander	7:34
		2		Spiritual (Negro Song) [Negro Song]	Vander	3:16
		3		Rind (Eastern Song) [Eastern Song]	Vander	3:05
		4		Lirïïk Necronomicus Kanht (In Which Our Heroes Ürgon and Gorgo Meet) [In Which Our Heroes Ourgon & Gorgo Meet]	Vander	5:06
		5		Maahnt (The Wizard's Fight Versus the Devil)	Vander	5:29
		6		Dondaï (To an Eternal Love) [To an Eternal Love]	Vander	8:01
		7		Nono (1978, Phase II) [1978, Phase II]	Vander	6:22

¡Aquí!

Judas Priest - 1977 - 0716-Live In New York

Clash - 1977 - The Clash (US & UK Version)

The Clash's self-titled U.K. debut sees the band in its most primal, punk form. Despite Mickey Foote's low-key, lo-fi production, Strummer, Jones, Simonon, and Chimes mesh and unite with a snarling ferocity and energy. Raw, bouncy edginess pours out of each song, with new hooks popping out at odd angles by the second. The band isn't satisfied lingering in any one genre. "Remote Control" mixes Kinks-style fractured pop with pace changes lifted straight from Chuck Berry. "Cheat" sounds like the Ramones' "Gimme Gimme Shock Treatment" given a rockabilly makeover. "Police & Thieves" is a massively catchy take on the Junior Murvin/Lee "Scratch" Perry song and an early signpost for the future dub/rock fusions to come on Sandinista! "White Riot" and "I'm So Bored With the U.S.A." reflect the somewhat youthful, early quasi-political leanings of the band. Though they would come across as slightly amateurish years later, it's hard to deny their punchy charm. The U.S. edition of The Clash, released in 1979, removed "Cheat," the funky singalong "Protex Blue," the dark and revealing paranoia of "Deny," and the short but utterly delightful "48 Hours." In their place were the more polished and thus somewhat jarring U.K. singles/B-sides "Complete Control," "(White Man) In Hammersmith Palais," "Clash City Rockers," "I Fought the Law," and "Jail-Guitar Doors." The U.S. edition might have the original beat in shine and catchiness, but it's a distillation of the band's original ferocity, and some might say an unwelcome tinkering with history. In a way, the U.S. edition served as an extremely early best-of. Purists will most likely swear on the sonic cohesion of this U.K. edition. Columbia remastered the album and restored its original artwork in 1999, making it a bare-bones but perfect throwback and the easiest way to turn back the clock and discover the Clash at their origins.

		1		Janie Jones	Jones, Strummer	2:08
		2		Remote Control	Jones, Strummer	3:03
		3		I'm So Bored With the U.S.A.	Jones, Strummer	2:24
		4		White Riot	Jones, Strummer	1:56
		5		Hate & War	Jones, Strummer	2:06
		6		What's My Name	Jones, Levene, Strummer	1:41
		7		Deny	Jones, Strummer	3:06
		8		London's Burning	Jones, Strummer	2:12
		9		Career Opportunities	Jones, Strummer	1:54
		10		Cheat	Jones, Strummer	2:06
		11		Protex Blue	Jones, Strummer	1:47
		12		Police & Thieves	Murvin, Perry	6:03
		13		48 Hours	Jones, Strummer	1:36
		14		Garageland	Jones, Strummer	3:13

¡Aquí!