I only just heard about the death of one of comedy's greatest figures - the incomparable Sid Caesar.
Sid's life and career spanned ten decades - as a comic actor and performer, on stage, screen and, famously, on television. Less well known, however, was his musical prowess - as a saxophone player - for musicians and bandleaders as forward thinking and as indomitable as Art Mooney and Benny Goodman.
It's the small screen however, that has the most to be thankful to Sid. His imperious 1950's shows signalled in a new era in comedy writinginitiating the careers of Neil Simon, Mel Brooks, Woody Allen...the list does go on and on.
Unfortunately for us, human beings don't last for ever. We are all extraordinarily lucky to have basked in Sid's talent, his appreciation of it in others and his overwhelming generosity of spirit in developing these then new custodians of comedy.
I usually wait
until mid-December before beginning posting poorly constructed opinions
and biased reviews of the year's best records, movies, books etc. This
allows me sufficient opportunity to arrogate obscure albums,
independently released movies and stand-up comedy 'discoveries,'
reviewed by other people, as my own.
Completely my own.
Absolutely me.
- Here's a record by someone I like -
Following on from the splendidly splendid 2012 release 'Gigantic Vol 1,' Jamil 'Small Professor' Marshall finds himself collaborating with Detroit's Byron 'Guilty' Simpson - Stones Throw Records' alumnus and J Dilla favourite (the reader of this blog will be familiar with how much we love and adore STR and its roster...) Although not as on fire as the former record it's a sweet release reminiscent of the earlier sonic finery of MF Doom, King Geedorah and Madvillain (war and peace be eternally upon them.)
Kanye West.
DJ Rashad's phenomenally phenomenal 'Double Cup' signals a new high for both the Hyperdub record label and for the still pretty new electronic sub-genre of footwork. It's an old fashioned record in a way but it has power, precision and a panther-like poise which marks it out as one of the records of the year. I don't want this whole piece to focus either entirely or exclusively on Electronica or Hip-Hop but, in truth, as in 2012, they have been the dominant, the speediest and the most evocative genres of 2013.
Of course, we don't like genres so fuck that shit.
More past and future noiseniks?, more new/reissued records by these c****: Julia Holter, Tim Hecker, Big Inner, William Onyeabor, Omar Souleyman, Drexciya (again), David Bowie, Josephine Foster, Felix Kubin (and Karl Bartos!) Parquet Courts, King Khan and the Shrines, Daughn Gibson, Elvis Presley, Sonny Smith.
'Live at the Witch Trials,' was reissued...(we know...)
Although not covering any new ground Savages' 'Silence Yourself,' was that increasingly rare thing - a bloody good pop record with tunes. Haim, Bleached and Iceage - remember them from their marvellous 2010 release, 'New Brigade' (copyright 'Down with the kids' kids) delivered an excess of really nice and good but both lacked crucial hormones when it mattered. Savages, by contrast, had the bat, the ball and the court all to themselves.
'Disco-vered' by Brain Eno busking in a New York park in 1979, Edward Larry Gordon is still an unknown. You hear so much of what he was doing in so much of what so many others are striving to do today - the new Boards of Canada/Oneohtrix Point Never albums are basically homages to the L. The collected 'Celestial Music 1978-2011' is a monumental work full of beautiful, timeless vistas of sound. It is hugely influential and hugely important - a catalysing force for so much of what we know today as electronica or electronic music. Available from All Saints Records. Ask Santa for one.
More records: the mighty Dot Wiggin Band, Yo La Tengo, Amor de Dias, Deafheaven, Fat White Family, Glenn Jones, Happy Jawbone Family Band, Locust, reissues from The Mountain Goats, Sid Hemphill, Goodiepal, Karen Dalton, the entire output of the Light in the Attic label, Bear Family's incredible 'Street Corner Symphonies - A History of Doo Wop, Wolf Eyes, Henry Flynt, Jack White's increasingly increasing Revenant label, Warp's BOC vinyl represses....
And, finally, more speaking, we will always be more speaking, about the maverick, the madness, the fragile and the strong, the sometimes silliness, the never, never, never boring or dull, the one, the only, Kanye West - the overarching genius of our time delivers the album of the year easy-queasy-peasy. Forget all about Tyler and Lamar and all the best of the rest and the rest. KW is the realest of deals, super arrogant, super talented, flawed tae fuck and (f)lawless. He's our flavour of the year. What beautiful music he mistakes.
For many Elvis fans, the 1973 June and December Stax Sessions represent a high watermark in his illustrious recording career. The set contains myriad versions of all six of the singles the label issued from 1973-1975: and there's not anything approaching a dud amongst them.
Personal favourites include his marvellous rendition of Chuck Berry's 'Promised land,' a stalwart of his live shows at the time, and 'There's a Honky Tonk Angel (who will take me back in,) co-written by countrypolitin troubadour Troy Seals and covered by the likes of Mr Conway Twitty as well as the Elv.
The recordings exude a passion and intensity that was missing from much of Elvis's output of the time - even the country, and countrified versions of many of the songs are electrifying: you can tell that Elvis, freed from the considerable shackles of an increasingly constricting and hierarchical RCA label, and his ensemble cast of musicians, flown in for the sessions, were enjoying every God damn minute of every God damn minute.....
What, more than anything, that emerges from these fun packed, gloriously musical sessions, is a totally fearless Elvis - more than ever before willing to embrace different musics and musical idioms with a ferocity that both the 1968 performances and the American Sound Studio Sessions a year later alluded to, an Elvis Presley, shorn of the malign influences that deadlocked and stifled his talent for nigh on ten years, reborn.
