Yahowa 13 - 1974 - Savage Sons Of Yahowa

Father Yod/Yahowa's strange journey continued to take unpredictable twists on Yahowa 13's second album. Like Father Yod & the Spirit of '76's All or Nothing at All, this was so sonically unrelated to any of their prior recordings that it sounded like the work of an entirely different group of musicians. Unlike All or Nothing at All, it was also a change for the better. Not entirely accidentally, Father Yod himself does not appear on the album, ceding control of the music to Sunflower Aquarian, Djin Aquarian, Rhythm Aquarian, and Octavious Aquarian. It is obvious that one or more of these guys must have been huge Neil Young & Crazy Horse fans, as about half the songs are rougher approximations of his hard rock sound circa the early 1970s. And while those cuts are derivative, they're not half bad either. The vocals on "Edge of a Dream" are an especially spooky Neil Young soundalike, and "Red River Valley" has a nice hard rock spin on the kinds of melodies Neil used on compositions like "Old Man." "Making a Dollar" is rustic hard country-rock Crazy Horse with a touch of Harrisonesque Beatles. A few of the cuts eschew the overt Young influence for eccentric, roots-flavored hard rock. The vocals on these are so much throatier and blacker -- in the mode of a grainier Dr. John or War -- that it doesn't seem they could possibly be the work of the same singer. (The credits, as usual for Yahowa, don't shed any definite light on the situation.) This is the first Yod/Yahowa disc that can be accepted as a legitimate rock record on its own terms, rather than as a novelty of sorts. Were it done by some other obscure band on an independent label, one wouldn't think to make the connection between the music and the sort of eccentric mysticism that Yod and his followers practiced. The album has been reissued as one disc of the 13-CD God and Hair: Yahowha Collection box set.

1. Edge of a Dream (2:11)
2. Fire in the Sky (5:07)
3. Just Sitting Here (4:01)
4. A Thousand Sighs (7:30)
5. Red River Valley (4:48)
6. Man the Messiah (4:57)
7. Making a Dollar (5:34)
8. I Thought I Am (4:40)
9. Oh Ya Ho Wa (2:01)

¡Aquí!

Van Morrison - 1974 - It's Too Late To Stop Now (2CD)

While Van Morrison is, to be kind, an erratic and temperamental live performer, he's in stellar form throughout the double album It's Too Late to Stop Now, a superb concert set that neatly summarizes his career from his days with Them (represented by scorching renditions of "Gloria" and "Here Comes the Night") through 1973's Hard Nose the Highway ("Warm Love," "Wild Children"). In addition to the hits, including "Caravan," "Domino," and "Into the Mystic" (the final line of which gives the album its title), Morrison even pulls out a handful of R&B chestnuts ("Bring It on Home to Me," "Ain't Nothin' You Can Do") before capping off the collection with a show-stopping rendition of Astral Weeks' "Cyprus Avenue." An engaging, warm portrait of the man at the peak of his powers.

		1		Ain't Nothin' You Can Do	Malone, Scott	3:44
		2		Warm Love	Morrison	3:04
		3		Into the Mystic	Morrison	4:33
		4		These Dreams of You	Morrison	3:37
		5		I Believe to My Soul	Charles	4:09
		6		I've Been Working	Morrison	3:56
		7		Help Me	Dixon, Williamson	3:25
		8		Wild Children	Morrison	5:04
		9		Domino	Morrison	4:48
		10		I Just Want to Make Love to You	Dixon	5:16
		11		Bring It on Home to Me	Cooke	4:42
		12		Saint Dominic's Preview	Morrison	6:18
		13		Take Your Hands Out of My Pocket	Williamson	4:04
		14		Listen to the Lion	Morrison	8:43
		15		Here Comes the Night	Berns	3:14
		16		Gloria	Morrison	4:16
		17		Caravan	Morrison	9:20
		18		Cyprus Avenue	Morrison	10:20

¡Aquí!

Kinks - 1967 - Something Else By The Kinks

Face to Face was a remarkable record, but its follow-up, Something Else, expands its accomplishments, offering 13 classic British pop songs. As Ray Davies' songwriting becomes more refined, he becomes more nostalgic and sentimental, retreating from the psychedelic and mod posturings that had dominated the rock world. Indeed, Something Else sounds like nothing else from 1967. The Kinks never rock very hard on the album, preferring acoustic ballads, music hall numbers, and tempered R&B to full-out guitar attacks. Part of the album's power lies in its calm music, since it provides an elegant support for Davies' character portraits and vignettes. From the martial stomp of "David Watts" to the lovely, shimmering "Waterloo Sunset," there's not a weak song on the record, and several -- such as the allegorical "Two Sisters," the Noël Coward-esque "End of the Season," the rolling "Lazy Old Sun," and the wry "Situation Vacant" -- are stunners. And just as impressive is the emergence of Dave Davies as a songwriter. His Dylanesque "Death of a Clown" and bluesy rocker "Love Me Till the Sun Shines" hold their own against Ray's masterpieces, and help make Something Else the endlessly fascinating album that it is.

		1		David Watts	Davies	2:40
		2		Death of a Clown	Davies, Davies	3:15
		3		Two Sisters	Davies	2:03
		4		No Return	Davies	2:03
		5		Harry Rag	Davies	2:19
		6		Tin Soldier Man	Davies	2:53
		7		Situation Vacant	Davies	2:43
		8		Love Me Till the Sun Shines	Davies	3:23
		9		Lazy Old Sun	Davies	2:49
		10		Afternoon Tea	Davies	3:25
		11		Funny Face	Davies	2:29
		12		End of the Season	Davies, Davies	3:00
		13		Waterloo Sunset	Davies	3:16

¡Aquí!