John Gregory : Six Million Dollar Man

The problem with John Gregory, aside from his having two first names, is that there are a lot of them out there. There are all sorts of John Gregorys and a bunch of them are musicians. But the John Gregory I'm talking about is the British composer and arranger from the 60's and 70's who also recorded albums under the pseudonym "Chaquito". And man, could this guy arrange the heck out of a tune.

Like most 70's cop and action TV themes, Oliver Nelson's theme for The Six Million Dollar Man is a tiny little gem of orchestral funk.  It's great listening in its own right (especially if the six million dollar sound effects are included). John takes this already fabulous tune and cranks the knob to eleven to create a rip-roaring brass-fueled musical adventure.

It starts with these crazy horn runs that swing back and forth between the speakers. Then the backbeat starts and the horns go to work on the main theme, but the flutes and other winds are still flurrying around the stereo spectrum. This little, almost disconcerting motif continues throughout the entire tune. Somewhere in the middle the band drops out and we get a nice drum and bongo solo. Then the band jumps back in and hits the theme again with even more gusto than before, if such a thing is possible.

It's a whirlwind of a piece and if you're lucky you can find it on John's 1976 release on Pye Records, The Detectives, which is, as it sounds, an entire record of funkified brass-driven detective themes. Yes, this album is awesome, and you should own it. I don't actually have the vinyl, but I do have Six Million Dollar TV Themes which is a compilation that includes this album, plus other cop show themes from other albums, almost all of which are just as awesome. Definitely worth grabbing.

[You can listen to John Gregory's "Six Million Dollar Man" by navigating to the post "Song090" and clicking or right-clicking on the title or the link.]

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Back Door : Catcote

I first heard of Back Door while researching a sample from a Beastie Boys record. They had a song called "Stand Together" on their 1992 LP, Check Your Head, that sampled a Back Door track called "Slivadiv". If you know the song you'd instantly recognize the crazed honking sax riff they borrowed.

Anyway, we tracked the record down in the hallowed annals of WRUW and gave it a listen. I thought it interesting, but not spectacular. Years later, I ran across it on some sort of P2P network and pulled it down because I wanted to hear the sample in context again.  But I listened to the whole album a couple of times and it grew on me.

Back Door is a bass-drums-sax trio that plays music along the lines of progressive rock or jazz-rock fusion like Mahavishnu Orchestra or Return to Forever.  This particular song starts off with a bang, rocking hard from the get-go, hammering a staccato jazz riff a couple of times to make sure you really get it.  Then they toss in a quick variation or two and head right into the solo.  I love when the sax player first takes a breath and someone in the background yells "Yeah!"  They're absolutely right.  The sax wails through the solo over a furiously funky backbeat and the band finishes off by beating on the riff one more time.  This whirlwind of a song is a concise chunk of rock that never lets up on the energy.  It reminds me a little of the highly engineered rock of the Ruins.

"Catcote" is from Back Door's self-titled debut from 1973.  The whole album is great, especially if you like jazz-rock fusion.  The band was notable for using the bass as a lead instrument along with sax and for being one of the first groups to use chords on the bass.  The songs range from soft ballads to full-on riff-rockers like this one, but they're all pretty good.

[You can listen to Back Door's "Catcote" by navigating to the post "Song078" and clicking or right-clicking on the title or the link.]

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John Martyn : I'd Rather Be the Devil (Live)

This is another psychedelic folk number, like Jake Holmes, Tim Buckley or American Gypsy.  John Martyn was a British singer who was a pioneer in the folk-rock and blues-rock traditions developing across the pond in the late 60's.  Apparently he was pretty good friends with Nick Drake, another psychedelic folker who you might see pop up in these pages in the next year.

John began working with a jazz bassist for this album, which might explain it's general funkiness and meandering song structures.  They vary in energy from the nice light straight-up folk of "May You Never" to the harder blues edge of Skip James' "I'd Rather Be the Devil" which is the star of the album.  I've selected the live version because it's a little edgier than the album version, but they're both excellent.

The song kicks of with some acoustic guitar played through an echo pedal, which sounds distinctly similar to "On the Run" by Pink Floyd.  Then the bongos kick in and the song launches itself, buoyed by near constant tom work.  It lurches forward from verse to verse, full of tension that rarely, if ever, dissipates at all through the song.  You do get the feeling that the devil is really riding out after him.  John has a unique way of singing, a slurry, sibilant, almost falsetto (see: Nick Drake), that further pushes the song into psychedelic territory.

You can find this live version of "I'd Rather Be the Devil" on the re-release of his seminal 1973 release, Solid Air.  It's a fantastic album, great listening for a dark, rainy night.

[You can listen to John Martyn's "I'd Rather Be the Devil (Live)" by navigating to the post "Song077" and clicking or right-clicking on the title or the link.]

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The Nite-Liters : Serenade for Jive Turkey

Just in time for Thanksgiving! "Serenade for Jive Turkey" is a raving full-band funk stomper with a bit of a prog bent. It starts with a scream and barrels along from there with a solid funk groove. Then around chorus-time, it breaks into an angular riff that's hammered out by the horns and some wordless vocals. Then, in a master stroke, it ends with a killer drum fill and two (just two, no more, no less) claps. Bang, bang! All done!

A sure-fire upbeat mood-alterer. Be sure you play this one while you're stuffing that bird, if you get my drift.

I don't know much about The Nite-Liters themselves. I'm pretty sure I picked this one up from the excellent Funky16Corners website, but it can also be found on their recently re-released 1973 album "A-NAL-Y-SIS".

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