Joined up

In 1967 and 1968, Ice were a much-touted but slightly mysterious recording band, constantly on the radio (including the famous John Peel Show with Jimi Hendrix and Traffic) but seldom seen on television and never live. 'Walk On The Water' was the controversial track (disguised as 'Walk Under Water' for radio purposes) that was intended to be their second single and was eventually sidelined in favour of 'Ice Man'. Record Collector lists their two singles 'Anniversary (Of Love)' from 1967 and 'Ice Man' from 1968 in their Rare Record Guide and apart from the singles and their 'B' sides all of the tracks featured on this CD have never before been released. Lynton Naiff, Grant Serpell, Mo Foster and Linda Hoyle all later joined up as Affinity but that as they say is another story. This CD represents the group's entire recorded output of the cult 60’s rock group Ice.

Stand Up was the first album where Anderson controlled the music and lyrics, resulting in a group of diverse songs that ranged from the swirling blues of “A New Day Yesterday” and the mandolin-fueled rave-up of “Fat Man,” to the group’s spirited re-working of Johann Sebastian Bach’s “Bouree in E Minor.” In a recent interview, Anderson picked Stand Up as his favorite Jethro Tull album, “because that was my first album of first really original music. It has a special place in my heart.” The first disc features Steven Wilson’s new stereo mixes of the original album, along with a number of rare recordings, including an unreleased version of “Bouree.” Other highlights include four songs recorded at the BBC, plus stereo single mixes for “Living In The Past” and “Driving Song”…

It’s hard to believe this album wasn’t made a long time ago, actually, since blues pianist Pinetop Perkins and drummer and harmonica player Willie "Big Eyes" Smith have worked together frequently in the past 40 some years. Perkins replaced the legendary pianist Otis Spann in Muddy Waters' band in 1969 when Smith was the drummer in the ensemble, and later Perkins and Smith formed the Legendary Blues Band in the 1980s. Perkins was 96 years old when the sessions for Joined at the Hip were recorded, but one wouldn’t know it, and Smith, now out from behind the drum kit (his son, Kenny Smith, plays drums here), concentrates on his harp blowing and handles most of the vocals. The result is a solid Chicago blues record, one that feels like it could have been tracked anytime in the past four decades…

Jane's Addiction were one of the most hotly pursued rock bands when they gained notice in Los Angeles in the mid-'80s, with record companies at their feet. Flamboyant frontman Perry Farrell, formerly of the band Psi Com, had an undeniable charisma and an interest in provocative art (he designed the band's album covers), and Jane's Addiction played a hybrid of rock music: metal with strains of punk, folk, and jazz. The quartet, comprised of Farrell, bassist Eric Avery, drummer Stephen Perkins, and guitarist Dave Navarro, had already released its debut album as well, in the form of a live recording from the Roxy in Hollywood. Finally, Warner Bros. won the bidding war and released Nothing's Shocking in 1988. The band's abrasive sound and aggressive attitude (typified by the nude sculpture on the cover) led to some resistance, but Jane's Addiction began to break through to an audience – the album spent 35 weeks on the charts.

Between When Planets Explode and Joined Ends, Oliver Johnson's first and second Dorian Concept albums, the Viennese musician and producer released a few singles and EPs. Among them were the brilliantly nutty "Trilingual Dance Sexperience" and relatively restrained four-track EP Her Tears Taste Like Pears, his first work for Ninja Tune. Johnson also performed around the world, including a stretch as a keyboardist for Flying Lotus' live show. He retreated from the stage, swapped out the microKORG with which he'd been closely associated, and eventually developed new material with use of other analog synthesizers and an electric Wurlitzer piano. Less jumbled and jagged than his debut, Joined Ends is filled with spiraling melodies and softer beats that place him a lot closer to Lone than to Hudson Mohawke…

Swedish trombonist Eje Thelin and French tenor saxophonist Barney Wilen were two of the top European jazz musicians for several decades before their deaths in the 1990s. They first joined forces briefly in Thelin's quartet in 1963. Based in bop and earlier forms of jazz, Thelin and Wilen were open to freer improvising and music from other countries. In 1966 they joined forces, and two sessions are included on the 1966 With Barney Wilen CD. The first one features a quintet with pianist Lars Sjösten, bassist Erik Lundborg, and drummer Rune Carlsson that is joined by eight brass, bass clarinet, and flute for four inventive Thelin originals. While those performances are excellent, it is the other five numbers (which include second versions of a pair of Thelin's tunes plus "It Could Happen to You" and "Dear Old Stockholm") that are of greatest interest.