Vinyl

Vinyl is a strange word to look at, but it is a beautiful thing to listen to. It smells like a warm Nintendo, it feels like a groovy seashell, and it sounds like a hot cop of tea for the inner ear. In our modern days of compact discs, mini-discs, mp3s, and I-pods vinyl records still stand out as the purest form of mass marketed music media. None of these other new age music distribution formats have the pure and recognizable stimulus of vinyl. Having said all of this, here are two vinyl treasures that I recently had the pleasure of purchasing.


Bob Dylan – “New Morning”

As I was flipping through the D section I came upon this album that contains only a large black and white picture of Bob Dylan on the front cover. Dylan’s face is wooly with whiskers and he is giving the camera (and presumably the purchaser of the album) a coy smirk, almost saying, “I know this is a great record, but you won’t like it or understand it.” Released in 1970, “New Morning” definitely did not have the same impact on society and the music industry as “Blonde on Blonde” or “The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan”, but it does contain some amazing music that sounds very similar to the albums that Mr. Dylan has recently produced in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s. If Not For You is the opening cut on “New Morning” and it sets a very country blues tone for the entire record. Al Kooper provides sweeping organ work while David Bromberg provides some amazing lines on his Dobro guitar. A very Kerouac-esque song entitled Time Passes Slowly is perhaps the lyrical highpoint of side one. Dylan belts out the lyrics while pounding upon the piano and Kooper and Bromberg play twisting and intermingling guitar lines in the background. “Time passes slowly and then fades away.” Went to See the Gypsy follows and is a storytelling force. Dylan squeezes his lyrical patterns to fit the atmospheric sounds created by Kooper’s organ and Bromberg’s choppy guitar work. This is a classic Dylan song that reflects not only upon his experience, but also upon the blind optimistic nature of his generation. Winterlude is an old time ballad that sounds very appropriate for the era when cowboys ruled the west. The last song on side one, If Dogs Run Free, is a deeply philosophical, while at the same time comical, jazz number that questions the freedom of man in a complex modern world. Maeretha Stewart provides some fantastic scat as background to Dylan’s talking vocals. This contrast between singers is very dynamic and provides a very interesting vocal flow to the song. The standout song on side two is The Man in Me. This song has recently become famous because of the movie “The Big Lebowski.” The song has a dream like quality and a melody that can stick in the front of your mind for days, if not months. It is a song that must be listened to repeatedly, because not only does it contain a very melodic theme, but it also contains lyrics that create a chivalrous character that “is willing to do nearly any task and as for compensation there is little he will ask.” The Man in Me is a fantastic Dylan song and the musical high point of the album.


Leo Kottke – “Mudlark”

Flipping through the K section at the record store I came upon an album that had a cover very similar to Dylan’s “New Morning.” The cover of Leo Kottke’s “Mudlark” contains a large grainy and shadowy picture of the artist, looking very contempt and happy. If Dylan’s photo was saying, “you won’t understand my album”, Kottke’s photo was saying, “I dare you to buy this album and not like it.” Recorded and released in 1971 “Mudlark” was Kottke’s third album and his first to contain backing musicians. Leo Kottke is an instrumental guitarist tour de force. He is a brilliant musician that can easily master the complexity of Bach on a twelve-string guitar. Side one of “Mudlark” begins with Cripple Creek and June Bug which are both happy sounding instrumentals that make the body want to dance a jig and possibly blow a few notes on a old milk jug. The two songs are very bouncy and contain excellent bass work from Wayne Moss and Larry Taylor respectively. The first side continues with the classical composition, The Ice Miner. On this instrumental Kottke takes a different approach from the upbeat rhythms of Cripple Creek and June Bug. On The Ice Miner Kottke is by himself with no backing musicians, playing only a six-string guitar with the virtuosity of a concert pianist. It is absolutely amazing that he is able to play so many flowing notes and melodic lines all by himself. Bumblebee follows The Ice Miner and once again it takes Kottke in another musical direction. Bumblebee is an upbeat folk song in which Kottke provides some great vocals while playing his twelve-string guitar. The unexpected highpoint of “Mudlark” comes in the form of Monkey Lust, which is Kottke’s attempt at a “highbrow” rock and roll song. Kottke’s bottleneck National steel guitar and Larry Taylor’s bass create notes that climb and descend up and down intermingled scales to produce an overwhelming amount of music for the mind to process. While all of these guitar and bass notes are swirling around during the song a man, or superhero, credited only as the Juke Box Phantom sings and screams out the songs lyrics. Monkey Lust is like nothing else on “Mudlark”, but it somehow fits onto the album. Each song on side one differs from the previous, but Monkey Lust differs from any song I have ever heard, and it makes me wish that Kottke and the Juke Box Phantom would have created an entire album of wild “monkey lust.” Side two begins with another upbeat and happy sounding instrumental entitled Poor Boy. This good time song paints a beautiful image in my head of a train rolling through Kansas on a warm sunny day in 1922. The folky happiness in Poor Boy is captivating and inspirational. The album continues with the appropriately titled Lullaby. Kottke sings with an almost mournful tone in his voice while telling his story about Lady Margaret’s death. Larry Taylor on bass and Paul Legos on drums provide a great rhythm to Kottke’s vocals and bluesy steel guitar. Machine #2 is next and it provides another intense instrumental interlude to the album. Kottke’s twelve-string guitar work on this song is brilliant and flawless. Hear the Wind Howl follows this impressive instrumental and it does not disappoint. Kottke produces his best vocals and lyrics during this song. Once again Kottke’s twelve-string reigns supreme, but without his melancholy vocals the song would not be as dramatic or emotional. Kottke is truly a masterful musician and one only needs to listen to his arrangement of Bach’s Bourree to completely understand this. Even if you do not listen to or enjoy classical music, there is no way for anyone not to think this composition to be beautiful and true music. Kottke is an astounding guitarist that many people have never heard of. He has been making albums for over thirty years and he is still touring today, and he is probably the greatest twelve-string guitarist I have ever heard.