Playboy Night Calls American Style (2002)

Bill Barron - A Swedish-American Venture (2002) {Dragon Records DRCD343 rec 1966-1984}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 464 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 175 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 28 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1966-84, 2002 Dragon Records | DRCD343
Jazz / Hard Bop / Post-Bop / Saxophone

Two decades' worth of music from the mighty Bill Barron – all of it great, no matter what the vintage, and recorded by Swedish Radio in a variety of different formats! Some sides are straight, others are quite experimental – and Barron's given plenty of freedom to try out new ideas here, possibly even more than on some of his studio sets from the time. Settings include a large group from 1966, a 1966 quartet with Jan Wallgren on piano and Rupert Clemendore on drums, and quartets with Lars Sjosten on piano, from the years 1966, 1979, and 1984 – including one date that also features Barron on melodica! The recording quality is great throughout, and the 75 minute package is a real testament to Bill's continuously creative energy over the years – far past the initial moments of brilliance shown by some of his 60s contemporaries.

Having made several changes in their business and musical efforts in 1972, Grand Funk Railroad made even more extensive ones in 1973, beginning with their name, which was officially truncated to "Grand Funk." And keyboardist Craig Frost, credited as a sideman on Phoenix, the previous album, was now a full-fledged bandmember, filling out the musical arrangements. The most notable change, however, came with the hiring of Todd Rundgren to produce the band's eighth album. Rundgren, a pop/rock artist in his own right, was also known for his producing abilities, and he gave Grand Funk exactly what they were looking for: We're an American Band sounded nothing like its muddy, plodding predecessors.

American Gypsy introduces itself with about 15 seconds of rumbling instrumental noise, the equivalent of an outsider orchestra tuning, before the opening blues figure of "Oh Berta, Berta" falls down from Tony Furtado's guitar. In those early moments, a new direction is named for Furtado, a bluegrass virtuoso and genre-bending master whose 1997 release, Roll My Blues Away, introduced his perfection of the slide guitar and move away from traditional roots-style composition.