Sunday, December 26, 2010

Juan Torres - Organo Melodico de Juan Torres



Somewhere between a Mexican baseball game and a seaside lounge Juan Torres holds his eternal residency entertaining lovers and loners with his witty arrangements of classic Mexican standards on his eerily romantic melodic organ. Under the musical microscope, este vato is holding a revolution on Latin American music traditions of the time with his stylized versions of rancheras, boleros, and swanky swingin' 6/8 numbers.


Saturday, December 11, 2010

Bee Gees - Odessa (1969)



                                        Gorgeous music. An essential album.

Years ago before the first human beings uttered the word "disco," the Bee Gees we're just another one of those bands from across the pond riding the wave of psychedelia caused by the gravitational pull of The Beatles' "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band." Although these salad days were quite prolific and fruitful, their glacial ascension to the top of the pops would be stunted by one of their more ambitious undertakings. 

"Chamber Pop." "Baroque Pop." Whatever cool phrase you think is witty to describe stuff like this is all acceptable but not limited to as well. This one also comes in a strong second as one of the first ventures into country-rock/alt-country right behind The Byrds' "Sweetheart of the  Rodeo," released just barely a year before in 1968, and obviously being way ahead of its time, the album didnt really have the coveted "hit" that all the labels were searching for in those times and thus, another masterpiece fell through the cracks. 

Now, we fast forward almost 40 years later to the time when labels are unearthing buried musical history, Odessa receives the reissue-deluxe edition-extras-bells and whistles treatment. Four disc's consisting of a stereo mix, a mono mix, demos, alternate mixes and outakes. If you're nerdy enough to even want to own all this music, grab your wallet and click here or just take this one disc of the mono mixes below.