Paul M. Vanhoutte Edhf 2002

"The road was our school. It gave us a sense of survival; it taught us everything we know and out of respect, we don't want to drive it into the ground…or maybe it's just superstition but the road has taken a lot of the great ones. It's a goddam impossible way of life" - Robbie Robertson, from the movie The Last Waltz, quoted in the box set…

The recordings on this LP were originally supposed to be released by the Mode label in the late '50s but the company went defunct before it could come out. Released for the first time by V.S.O.P. in 1986, these 16 selections (all recorded the same day) feature five different pianists (Carl Perkins, Jimmy Rowles, Paul Smith, Gerald Wiggins and Lou Levy) in fine form on three or four songs apiece. It is interesting to compare the players' similar but individual styles and to see how they adapt their bop-based approaches to the demands of playing solo.

Enthusiasts who have fantasized about experiencing the Doors in a loose and unstructured environment get an hour-and-a-half dose of that reality in this two-disc set available through the band's own Bright Midnight Records. Although the music commences in a rather noncommittal fashion, there are a few moments of undiluted inspiration…

Paul Termos - Paul Termos (2003) {Composers' Voice Portrait CV123}
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© 2003 Composers' Voice Portrait / Donemus | CV123
Classical / Contemporary Classical / Chamber Music

Paul Termos was born in Hilversum, Netherlands,1952. He studied composition with Ton de Leeuw at the Amsterdam Sweelinck Conservatory, in the early seventies. In the same period Termos got involved in improvised music with his guitar- and clarinet playing, but changes this instruments a few years later for the alto-saxophone.

Edwyn Collins sounds more relaxed and assured than ever on Doctor Syntax, his fifth solo album. Responsible for virtually every single sound on the album, other than some treatments and programming from Sebastian Lewsley and drums by Paul Cook, Collins focuses all of his energy into crafting fascinating postmodern tunes. Though there's a lo-fi feel to the beats and samples and only a modest amount of texture added to the guitars, it's a remarkably lush and layered-sounding album. Indeed, it even brings to mind the quasi-medieval rumblings of Momus and the mystical frivolity of Baby Bird, without those artists' trademark lunacy. Themes of Beatles adulation, condemned ex-lovers, and introspective questioning fit nicely with Collins' moody, quirky vibes. Gone is the rage and noise of I'm Not Following You, and in its place is a focus on sometimes gentle melodies and emotions. "Splitting Up" might be the most beautiful song Collins has ever recorded, as tender guitars paint tone poems over beckonings of "I'm feeling down/I'm splitting up"; just when the song appears to be over, three minutes of even more personal soul-revelations drive it into the stratosphere.

Dutch reissue label Disky's Golden Greats series of triple CDs of the works of major pop singers takes advantage of the European copyright law that releases recordings more than 50 years old into the public domain. When it comes to people like Billie Holiday and Judy Garland, that puts a substantial number of the artists' recordings at the label's disposal for no charge. Dean Martin is another story. Something of a late bloomer, he didn't start to take off as a recording artist until 1953, when "That's Amore" became his first gold record. But given that this album was released in 2002, that and Martin's later hits were off-limits to Disky.