First of all, Yankees suck. I just thought I’d start by issuing that statement.
I don’t remember who turned me on to Eric Dolphy, but I swear to God, once I remember who it was I’m going to owe my life to that person. Out To Lunch almost instantly became my favorite jazz record ever. Even though I — like my idol Mark Prindle — know nothing about jazz, at the very least I know what I like…and I love this album. Purchasing one of the original Blue Note copies of this LP remains one of the most exciting moments I’ve experienced as a record collector. If you need any more evidence to support my adoration for this record, the opening of the title-track is my cellphone ring.
Since I know nothing about the intricacies of jazz, I’ll let Trevor MacLaren at All About Jazz describe it. He writes, “For those of [you] who have not been knocked down at the knees while Dolphy blows from the speakers, I’ll testify. Before his untimely demise from diabetes in 1964 at the age of thirty-six, Eric was responsible for some of the finest, most original and eclectic material to be etched into the body of jazz. Starting out in classical flute under the tutelage of Elise Moennig, Dolphy began using the bass clarinet as a tool of improvisation. He then proceeded to work with Chico Hamilton, gaining some popularity that spanned a prolific output for Prestige in 1960-61. Out to Lunch is one of the finest records of its kind. It is easily at the caliber of A Love Supreme [John Coltrane] and The Shape of Jazz to Come [Ornette Coleman]. That may seem a mighty bold statement. Well, dear readers, I mean every word. Out to Lunch flows soft and serene, then edgy and forthright. The magic is the way Dolphy leads his band. A touch of ease drops over the soundscape of the tracks before the trademark blast of jagged rips and chops run to the edge off a cliff and dangle with sounds that shake jazz’s boundaries. Dolphy shows himself as solid bandleader and arranger who opens up plenty of room of for his players. Much in the ideology of his fellow avant garde players, the solos exude experiment. Yet Dolphy’s control is masterful and no matter how far out he gets, you can feel his passion and know his path has been well articulated. A great example of the record’s contrast in sound is “Something Sweet, Something Tender,†which lays out a smooth layer of vibes by Bobby Hutcherson before Dolphy launches into his atonal attack. His work is not altogether estranged from the music that came before. If nothing else his style builds on the work of bebop masters. But for this time around Dolphy walks away from those conventions and gives the experimental a huge to canvas for his textures. This record is where Dolphy starts blazing into the territory of Cecil Taylor. Unlike Taylor, Eric tried for natural or possibly ‘nature’ sounds which included imitating bird and others gathered from nature. Though not for the faint of heart, this is a certain bible for the avant garde players to come such as Anthony Braxton, Albert Aylers and John Zorn. Although the Prestige recordings spark a point that critics often argue, Dolphy was a freer player than Coltrane but held more to tradition than Coleman. Is this true? Out to Lunch shows Dolphy more apt for sonic annihilation than keeping in tradition, but the playing is in many ways a freer flight than what Coltrane was doing at the same period. None the less Dolphy shows his passion and unique style that would influence future players still to this day.”
Eric Dolphy
Out To Lunch
MediaFire Download Link
Track Listing:
01. Hat And Beard
02. Something Sweet, Something Tender
03. Gazzelloni
04. Out To Lunch
05. Straight Up And Down
“Eric Dolphy’s second album as a leader was recorded in 1960, while he was still playing with Charlie Mingus, and just before his association with Ornette Coleman on the legendary Free Jazz sessions. Much was made at the time of Dolphy’s similarity to Ornette, but whereas Coleman’s interest was in throwing out the rulebook and dispensing with chordal progressions, Dolphy’s playing was still very much derived from bebop, though his distinctive approach pushed that envelope pretty hard. On this session, he teamed up with drummer Roy Haynes, bassist George Duvivier and cellist Ron Carter. Carter’s cello lends the proceedings an intimate chamber jazz feel, and his arco double stops bridge the gap between chordal and melody instrument. The leader shows his prowess on clarinets and flute as well as alto and his choice of weapon unsurprisingly determines the character of each piece, though not in predictable ways; his flute solos (particularly on Randy Weston’s ballad “Sketch of Melba”) are every bit as muscular and colourful as those played on the other horns. The opening title track features tight ensemble work from Carter and Dolphy, leading into a typically pyrotechnic alto excursion from the leader. Here he settles on a series of phrases that are all slight variations on each other, like a Philip Glass arrangement of a Charlie Parker solo. The other alto feature is “Feathers”, a mournful ballad which comes on like a cross between one of Mingus’s ballads and a Coleman dirge. Carter’s pizzicato chording shadows Dolphys’ statement of the melody before the leader lets rip with a solo crammed with trills, soulful cries and mercurial bop runs. Mingus’s “Eclipse” is in similar mode; Carter’s mournfully sour cello meshes with the leaders clarinet and Duvivier’s bowed bass, ending up with a wonderfully atmospheric coda. Haynes manages to propel without overpowering; on “17 West” he manages to power proceedings with just brushes and snare, erupting into a brief solo before the unexpected long fadeout. Throughout, the instrumental combinations throw up beautiful clashes and consonances; much like Henry Threadgill’s work with cellos, tubas and so on. Theres a sense of a proper Third Stream being mined here, and it says much for Dolphy’s vision that such combinations are still the stuff of surprise 40 odd years later. While Out There is neither the compositional masterwork of Out to Lunch or the improvisational firestorm of the Five Spot sessions with Booker Little of the following year, its nevertheless a worthy record of one of the most innovative jazz musicians ever to have walked the planet.” – Peter Marsh, BBC.
Eric Dolphy
Out There
MediaFire Download Link
Track Listing:
01. Out There
02. Serene
03. The Baron
04. Eclipse
05. 17 West
06. Sketch Of Melba
07. Feathers
Let’s move from Jazz to rock, shall we? And not just any rock, I mean fucking incredible Marxist boogie rock! If you don’t know of the group Third World War, then you are missing out on two of my favorite rock records of all time. If you’ve been reading this website from the start, you’ve probably seen me reference Third World War countless times, and I’ve offered a great many of the band’s songs for download. Here’s your opportunity to download both of the band’s full-length LPs. If you can find them on vinyl, you should consider yourself lucky. I’ve only seen the first one (twice, one of which I bought relatively cheap). I pray for the day when I can officially own what I believe is the best-titled record of all time: Third World War II. Ugh. I fucking love these guys.
“Third World War were an odd band, even in the post-psychedelic era. Their subject matter was peppered with radical communist/revolutionary rhetoric, often couched in English working class realism. If the song title “I’d Rather Cut Cane (for Castro)” isn’t evidence enough, the opening lines of “Hammersmith Guerrillas” is : “I’ve got just the thing for you / It’s a real cop beater / a sawed-off twelve-gauge / five shot repeater … ” and later in the song, in a lyric that is technically Treason, we are encouraged to “take up arms against the Crown.” This passage was excised from a CD reissue of their second album, the heroically-titled Third World War II, so I recommend all Third World War listening be done from their two Track Records LPs [although the second LP was issued on Track, the first LP was actually issued on Fly/Polydor]. The sound of the music is a strained bluesy hard rock, with acoustic folk flourishes. Re-reading that sentence, I realize how uninviting a description it is, but I think Third World War were a great band. Their album artwork is eerily prescient of the other great English radical group, the Crass records crowd from the 1980s. Their second album cover may as well have been on a Rudimentary Peni record. They Rocked hard, in an English boogie way, not miles from bands like the Count Bishops or Dr. Feelgood, but with a more sinister edge and a vocal delivery that was both stoic and committed.” – Steve Albini
As for me, I think the first record is a masterpiece from start to finish. The pinnacle, the two-part “Stardom Road” on the first (self-titled) LP is a remarkable departure from the band’s conventional hard-rocking sound, and they pull off the minor-key folk dirge with great aplomb. Do yourself a favor and download both of these albums. I have no doubts you will be thanking me very, very soon. Also, they were perhaps the ugliest band that has ever existed.
Third World War
Third World War
MediaFire Download Link
Track Listing:
01. Ascension Day
02. MI5’s Alive
03. Teddy Teeth Goes Sailing
04. Working Class Man
05. Shepards Bush Cowboy
06. Stardom Road Part I
07. Stardom Road Part II
08. Get Out Of Bed You Dirty Red
09. Preaching Violence
Third World War
Third World War II
MediaFire Download Link
Track Listing:
01. Yobo
02. Urban Rock
03. Coshing Old Lady Blues
04. Rat Crawl
05. I’d Rather Cut Cane For Castro
06. Factory Canteen News
07. Hammersmith Guerilla
