mystery date

Mystery Date Revealed: Robbie Robertson (or Was It Bob Dylan) Discovery Hirth Martinez!

Feb 112011

Will Your Mystery Date Be a Dream or a Dud?

Considering that I’ve been a fan of The Band since my uncle turned me onto them when I was a little boy, I was surprised to learn during our Artists Who Have Dabbled in Production for Other Artists thread that Robbie Robertson produced the debut album by someone named Hirth Martinez. I’ve tracked down a lot of Band-related albums, including that Neil Diamond exercise in pomposity, Beautiful Noise, but I’d never heard of this Martinez cat. Thanks to Townsman BigSteve, I’m now enjoying Martinez’ first two albums, the 1975 Robertson-produced Hirth From Earth and Big Bright Street, a 1977 album produced by Band engineer/arranger John Simon.

I’m still trying to get my head around who Martinez is. What little information I find on him on the Web starts with split reports of him having been “discovered” by either Robertson or Bob Dylan. Most likely he existed before either of those well-know musicians threw their support behind him, but you know how this stuff goes. As I told BigSteve after my initial spins of these albums, I thought his music sounded like “Van Dyke Parks if he didn’t suck, or Ry Cooder if he had half a voice.” I later saw that Parks had played on at least one of his albums.

As I said in the Mystery Date piece, the song I chose, “Be Everything” was not as characteristic of most of the songs on Hirth From Earth. I simply liked it and thought it had its own ephemeral feel. However, the album does have an unusual span of influences. Producer Robertson and engineer/arranger Simon are strongly in evidence here, on “Comin’ Round the Moon.” Garth Hudson also plays on these albums along with a cast of top-flight session players.

[audio:https://www.rocktownhall.com/blogs/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/05_Comin_Round_the_Moon.mp3|titles=Hirth Martinez, “Comin’ Round the Moon”]

Across the two albums BigSteve turned me onto, Martinez has about as many short songs as Guided By Voices. From second album, here’s one that’s caught my ear, “Cold and Silver Moment”…after the jump! Continue reading »

Mystery Date

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Feb 102011

Today’s Mystery Date was suggested by a Townsman who may or may not choose to help me coax your opinions on this song. Thanks to our Mystery Shadchen!

Let’s review the ground rules here. The Mystery Date song is not necessarily something I believe to be good. So feel free to rip it or praise it. Rather the song is something of interest due to the artist, influences, time period… Your job is to decipher as much as you can about the artist without research. Who do you think it is? Or, Who do you think it sounds like? When do you think it was recorded? Etc…

If you know who it is, don’t spoil it for the rest. Anyone who knows it can play the “mockcarr option.” (And I’ve got a hunch that some of you know this one.) This option is for those of you who just can’t hold your tongue and must let everyone know just how in-the-know you are by calling it. So if you know who it is and want everyone else to know that you know, email Mr. Moderator at mrmoderator [at] rocktownhall [dot] com. If correct we will post how brilliant you are in the Comments section.

The real test of strength though is to guess as close as possible without knowing. Ready, steady, go!

[audio:https://www.rocktownhall.com/blogs/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Mystery-Date-021011.mp3|titles=Mystery Date 021011]

Mystery Date Revealed: South Africa’s The Flames (Prior to Their Washing Ashore With The Beach Boys)

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Jan 252011

Will Your Mystery Date Be a Dream or a Dud?

Our most recent Mystery Date, a cover of the Small Faces-P.P. Arnold showstopper “(If You Think You’re) Groovy,” was performed by The Flames, the South African group featuring future Beach Boys Blondie Chaplin and Ricky Fataar. Some of you may also know Fataar from his work as Stig O’Hara, the “George Harrison” character in The Rutles. He’s also produced and played on records by the likes of Bonnie Raitt and the Crowded House crew. As a Townsman speculated, the band most likely includes musicians of Indian descent.

Here’s their 1968 version of the Jerry Butler classic, “For Your Precious Love.”

[audio:https://www.rocktownhall.com/blogs/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/the-flames-for-your-precious-love.mp3|titles=The Flames, For Your Precious Love”]

Beginning in 1970 the band would record as The Flame, to avoid confusion with James Brown’s band, when they joined the Beach Boys’ Brother label. A piece on their Carl Wilson-produced debut can be found here. Following are Chaplin and Fataar with “Carl & The Passions.” Continue reading »

Mystery Date

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Jan 242011

Today’s Mystery Date was suggested by a Townsman who may or may not choose to help me coax your opinions on this song. Thanks to our Mystery Shadchen!

The real test of strength though is to guess as close as possible without knowing. Ready, steady, go!

[audio:https://www.rocktownhall.com/blogs/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/MysteryDate012411.mp3|titles=MysteryDate012411]

Mystery Date Revealed: Static Taxi, Featuring Deposed Replacements’ Guitarist Bob Stinson!

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Jan 062011

Will Your Mystery Date Be a Dream or a Dud?

Yep, Bob Stinson actually lent his bizarre, energetic, sloppy, interestingly failed hard rock chops to another band following The Replacements. Static Taxi, a local Minneapolis band led by Ray Reigsted, recorded 2 albums’ worth of material in the late 1980s-very early 1990, prior to Stinson’s death in 1995. I forgot Stinson lived that long! The title of the Mystery Date song was “FAFA.” Here’s a more tuneful one, “Max Factor,” also from the band’s second posthumous album, Closer 2 Normal. In some ways, I can better enjoy Stinson’s playing in this band. There’s less for him to step over; more for him to “make interesting.”

[audio:https://www.rocktownhall.com/blogs/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/Static-Taxi_01_Max-Factor.mp3|titles=Static Taxi, “Max Factor”]

Mystery Date

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Jan 062011

The real test of strength though is to guess as close as possible without knowing. Ready, steady, go!

[audio:https://www.rocktownhall.com/blogs/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/Mystery-Date-010711.mp3|titles=Mystery Date 010711]

Mystery Date Revealed: Japan’s Flower Travellin’ Band

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Dec 302010

Will Your Mystery Date Be a Dream or a Dud?

Thanks to Townspeople who played along with, in my opinion, the biggest dud of a Mystery Date to date, and thanks to Townsman dbuskirk for the album, which I believe he thought sounded like a trial run for Boston. But as someone pointed out, Flower Travellin’ Band‘s “Slowly But Surely” at least unintentionally delivered David St. Hubbins-worthy chuckles. This song was from 1973’s double-live set, Make Up. Don’t worry, as with all Revealed posts we’ll leave you with at least one more track.

The band, first known as Flowers, was founded in the late-’60s by Yuya Uchida, who by this time had become friends with John Lennon after touring with The Beatles in 1966. Inspired by the likes of Cream, Jimi Hendrix, and Jefferson Airplane, the band’s first album was, in fact, nothing but covers of their newfound-favorite psych-blues-rock bands. The album cover, as I learned while composing this piece, would have qualified for an old Last Man Standing/giveaway competition.

Buns!

The Make Up tour, you will be interested to know, what recorded on a tour that, originally, was supposed to have featured the band opening for The Rolling Stones. The Stones had to cancel, however, because Mick Jagger was facing a drug bust. Lucky Mick! There are some other odd facts to be found about the band, including mid-’70s work with Frank Zappa, one guy doing a 1980 album with The Wailers, a 2007 reunion and 2008 reunion album, and a planned 2010 tour, which was canceled when one of the members died.

I know you want to hear more from this album. Why not a long track that showcases all the band’s musical strengths and emotional range?

Flower Travellin’ Band, “Look at My Window”

[audio:https://www.rocktownhall.com/blogs/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/Look-at-My-Window.mp3|titles=Flower Travellin’ Band, “Look at My Window”]

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