Question:
What do you get if you take a little more than a pinch of free jazz saxophone, a whole bucketload of experimental early 70′s free rock, and erm…dark-brown-eyed soul, chuck in some Jethro Tull style prog flute; and to top it all off, rope in a cheesy crooning lounge singer to wail over the top?
Answer:
“Love Will Make A Better You” by one-off session group Love Live Life + 1. Made and released in 1971, the band was put together by super-producer Orita Ikuzo mainly in order to feature guitarist extraordinaire Mizutani Kimio and featuring Japan’s answer to Tom Jones, Fuse Akira (one time husband of English actress Olivia Hussey trivia fans!) on vocals. With so many disparate elements the album could have been either a triumph or a disaster, and for me too the jury was out for the first couple of listens, but I soon came to dig not only the audacity of kicking off with a side-long meltdown of experimental-free-jazz-saxophone-guitar-rock that walks the line somewhere between Ornette Coleman,70′s rock and (according to Julian Cope) Sly Stone, before moving on to shorter and sweeter chaotic-soul-jazz-rock stompers, but also the quality of the playing and the fact that it still sounds fresh and relevant today despite some obvious dated reference points.
See what you think by listening below or ripping from Dropbox if it sounds like a keeper!
It’s an interesting concept, though for my tastes it doesn’t really come off. I find the vocals detract a bit really, though I also have the same problem with Can, so that’s just a personal thing. Musically the players are maybe a notch below some of their US contemporaries. The sax/horn segments don’t really seem to gel with the wiggy rockness of it, either. Still, well worth a post and a listen, thanks.
Have you heard Tony Williams’ Lifetime, one of the first jazz-rock bands? If not, here’s a sample from their first album, Emergency.
I like the incessant synth burble.
Which I have now realised was from another webpage I had open…um, I think I just remixed the tune by mistake….bother.
Someone (SatanKidneyPie?) posted an accidental ‘remix’ of a Mogwai track on here a year or so ago – intended to be played at 33rpm, but sounding marvellously mental at 45.
As for this… Thanks, but I think I’m going to make a quiet retreat back into my comfort zone…
That reminds me of the time I raved on about a radical Fela Kuti track I’d just heard, only to realise I’d opened it successively in two separate music players and was hearing it duplicated with about a 10 second delay… (Roforofo fight, I can recommend listening to it either way)
I appear to have read this blog at the wrong speed, never mind, now here’s some Gutbucket in session…..
thanks for listening and thanks for the critical appraisal Nilpferd, this kind of sound is pretty new to me, so it’s hard for me to compare. I enjoyed the Tony Williams clip too, cheers.
donds for multiple browser remixes, I do it a lot!
Bit dog breakfasty for me. Interesting choice though. Perhaps I need to try the Raveman Remix?
Thanks for listening all….as I said, the jury was out for me and i’m still not 100% convinced it works…..but just thought i’d throw it out there…..