Look at Me Look at You

Look at Me Look at You

Well it's a hard way down to the time I raised my hand And I swore I'd gladly die for my God and Uncle Sam There was so much I didn't know and what I knew I didn't understand Look at me, look at me, where have I gone? Where have I gone? It's a bittersweet way to my debut as a man I defied the Lord and Ford in that eucalyptus stand I wasn't even sure I loved her, we were friends in the high school band And look at me, look at me, where have I gone? Where have I gone? Look at me in the mirror of the way I look at you In the mirror of my words you'll find my fantasies are true Remnants of a childhood dream, a nightmare or two Look at me, I look at you It's a hazy way to the time I finally saw And it all came crashing in on me, my God and my law And now I wonder as I look around if I'll make it through at all Look at me, look at me, where have I gone? Where have I gone? And now I lie awake and sometimes I find them lost As I rummage through my what's and if's, my profits and my costs It's not the bridges burned that bother me but the ones that I never crossed Look at me, look at me, where have I gone? Where have I gone? Look at me in the mirror of the way I look at you

Whoa, in the mirror of my words you'll find my fantasies are true Oh, remnants ofa childhood dream, a nightmare or two

Look at me, I look at you Oh, look at me, I look at you Oh, look at me, I look at you Oh, look at me, I look at you [written by Terry Kirkman]

Look at Me Look at You was performed by The Association from their 1969 album with no title. Some people call it the Stone Henge album because of the cover art - a pastiche to look like the Stone Henge.  The words "The Association" are the pillars sitting on top of the world.  It's lacking in originality in my opinion.  Not sure why the band never put out a title on this album even though it's their fifth released one.  The sleeve art that came with my copy is even less creative.  Cutouts of famous performers during the 1960s.  I can identify some: Peter, Paul and Mary, Don Rickles, and the Everly Brothers.   

I bought this album by mistake.  I was expecting the songs would include their famous hits "Windy", "Cherish", "Never My Love" and "Along Comes Mary".  Instead the songs on the album are eclectic.  Very different style from the one I was expecting.  I admit that I didn't like this album at all. But I kept playing it.  I was thinking that I would find a gem among the rough stones.  Must have been it.  The song Look at Me Look at You grew on me.  As I started listening to the words, I began to identify with the singer. The story is trite.  But I think it resonates the attitude and the sentiments of the youth growing up in the 60s.  Perhaps that is still true today.  The words testify to it:

And now I lie awake and sometimes I find them lost As I rummage through my what's and if's, my profits and my costs It's not the bridges burned that bother me but the ones that I never crossed...

I now love this song.  

All images in the video are my own.  Hope you enjoy.

Night Shift Blues (Edmond Hall's Blue Note Jazzmen)

Night Shift Blues (Edmond Hall)

The album is Jazz Classics Original Blue Note Jazz, Volume 1 featuring Edmond Hall on side 1 and Art Hodes on side 2. Side 1 recorded in November 29, 1943, side 2 recorded in June 1, 1944. Published in 1952 and 1962. It's amazing that copies of this album are still out there. My copy is falling apart.

Night Shift Blues is my favorite on side 1. The raw guitar cuts through the band remarkably. You can actually hear it at the beginning of the song. Followed by the trumpet. I think it is a trombone doing the counter point. Then comes in Edmond Hall on the clarinet. He is building it up. Just how blues should be played. Slow cooking. Then everyone seems to join in. Doing their own thing. Yet in one accord. This piece scores high on my jazz blues list.

About Edmond Hall (May 15, 1901 – February 11, 1967): American jazz clarinetist and bandleader. Edmond was first taught guitar by his uncle Edmond. When Hall picked up the clarinet, "he could play it within a week. He started Monday and played it Saturday," his brother Herb recalled in an interview with Manfred Selchow, who wrote a biography of Hall titled Profoundly Blue (1988). I do not own the copyright to the music, the recording and the photos. (Video Artwork was appropriated from WBS Media and Imdb ). This video is posted for educational use under Section 17 U.S. Code § 107. Limitations on exclusive rights: Fair use. Hope you enjoy. Other songs performed by Edmond Hall on the album Jazz Classics Original Blue Note Jazz, Volume 1: Royal Garden Blues High Society Blues at Blue Note

Delius Viloin and Piano Sonata No 2

 

Delius Violin and Piano Sonata No 2

The blog Observations has mostly been about photography, but that was never the intent.  As the name implies, it's about my observations on life and stuff.  It's just that photography has been a big part of my journey and thus have taken a huge part of the materials I've posted.  In the coming posts, I plan to write more about arts and music - both my passion and important parts of my life.

Lately I have been buying and listening to music on vinyl records.  Last Christmas Kamilah gave us some vinyl records so that started our journey to the world of  vinyl records.  Since then I have accumulated as much as 150 used records, maybe more.  I'm pretty crazy I know.  But I only buy used ones and have been fortunate to find this store in Massachusetts that sells pristine records online.  I have also traded some of my CDs and DVDs to make space for my vinyl collection.

The Three Sonatas album by Frederick Delius is one of the first records I bought when I started getting into vinyl records. I've never heard of Delius before. I'm pretty impressed with the songs on the album. I'm sharing Sonata No 2 as I think it's worth listening to. The pops and crackles from the vinyl are added features so please don't take them as a distraction. Think of the pops and crackles as ambers flying up in the air from a small camp fire. Delius in my mind must have been high on absinthe or acid when he wrote this song. The music is psychedelic. The violin intertwines with the piano - streaming down to produce textures that are ineffably sublime. I hope you will enjoy the music as much as I did. 

The music is also posted in youtube if you care to visit me there.  

Frederick Delius Violin and Piano Concerto Sonata 2 (1924) Wanda Wilkomirska - Violin David Garvey - Piano From the album Delius Three Sonatas for Violin & Piano (1974, Connoisseur Society, Inc. NY) Obviously I do not own the copyright to the music, the recording and the photos. (Video Artwork was appropriated from the original album. ) This video is posted for educational use under Section 17 U.S. Code § 107. Limitations on exclusive rights: Fair use.

Still Life with the Morning Glory Organic Only Vegan Society Small Group

 

Still Life with the Morning Glory Organic Only Vegan Society Small Group.  Non-GMO certification awaiting approval.   

I think I will be more active in posting on this blog again.  I realize that I should not let the deprecate pandemic situation restrict my life style, and so I'm moving on.  For those who are still concerned about the infectious Covid 19 virus, I can assure them that I am currently wearing a mask as prophylactic while I'm typing this post.  An incredulous assurance if you can believe that.  

The image displays our first grape tomato produce.  The blueberries were added as props - store bought from our local grocery that specialized in organically grown vegetable.  I do think that the term organic is a misnomer as mostly everything on earth contains some carbon and therefore is technically organic.  Although I suppose one can plant vegetable solely in water, so that can be considered inorganic as water does not contain carbon if I remember correctly in my chemistry class.  I digress.  

The image is not real.  I mean the composition has been photoshopped.  The image of the green background was taken on one of excursions to Seneca in New York.  It's actually a pond.  I think the green is made up of algae.  The cup of tomatoes and blueberries was photographed at our kitchen.  The solar flare is courtesy of Adobe.   Everything was captured with the iPhone camera.  Post production completed in the comfort of our Texan home.

Hope you enjoy.

Charles Magnante - Espana Waltz (B. B. Monterde)

Charles Magnante - Espana Waltz (B. B. Monterde)

On this video, Charles Magnante (accordion) plays Espana Waltz (B. B. Monterde). From the album Spanish Spectacular (Grand Awards Records).

The song on this post starts with the accordion playing a classical Spanish riff that reminds me of Malagena. Only that it is distorted. That leads me to believe Magnante was the pioneer in heavy hard rock music. Hendrix must have been taking notes.

Espana Waltz means Spanish Waltz. It has its roots in English Country Dancing. By the 1820s the waltz had been thoroughly hybridized into country set dancing. According to Leilani Howard, Sacramento Ballroom Society, the Spanish Waltz ironically has nothing to do with Spain. As dance crazes spread across Europe and shortly thereafter America, music was written for them with gusto and diversity in all the countries a dance moved through [http://oslhp.net/2009/node/359].

The album Spanish Spectacular was a runtfrom the selection of used vinyl records that we were going through at our local record store. At first glance without hearing the music, I was not impressed by the artwork, which I thought was dated. And the recording was monoaural. There was not much redeeming value to the album but nonetheless we bought it just for fun. Turned out to be a gem.

Charles Magnante (December 7, 1905 – December 30, 1986) was an American piano-accordionist, arranger, composer, author and educator. His artistry helped raise the image of the accordion from an instrument considered suitable only for folk music to an instrument accepted in many music genres. (excerpt from Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Magnante) Bernardino Bautista Monterde (1880-1959) was a Spanish composer. Credits Accordion - Charles Magnante Featuring - Allen Hanlon, Bob Haggart, Dick Hyman, George Barnes, Terry Snyder, Tony Gottuso, Willie Rodriguez Orchestra - Charles Magnante And His Orchestra Record Album Artwork - Tracy Sugarman Owned or licensed by EMI Music Publishing, UMPG Publishing, Sony TV Publishing. Obviously I do not own the copyright to the music, the recording and the photos. (Video Artwork was appropriated from the original album. ) This video is posted for educational use under Section 17 U.S. Code § 107. Limitations on exclusive rights: Fair use.

Emil Sauer plays Liszt Piano Concerto No 2 in A Major

 

Emil Sauer plays Liszt Piano Concerto No 2 in A Major

Emil von Sauer plays F. Liszt Piano Concerto No. 2 in A Major. Felix von Weingartner conducting the Paris Conservatoire Orchestra. Recorded in December 1938. That's right, not a typo - 1938! An EMI Recording.

Not exactly sure where we found this album. Might have been from a local thrift shop or the local record store. Cost me about $2. The surface of the record is immaculate. No visible scratches. The back of the album cover has an inscription indicating the duration of the song on each side of the record. I'm guessing this must have been previously owned by a classical music connoisseur of some sort. Or maybe it was used in record broadcast - hence the duration of the songs. The quality of the recording reveals its age. Not exactly high fidelity. But that is to be expected. There are discernible pops and crackles but for me that just add to the experience of listening to an old recording. Obviously I do not own the copyright to the music, the recording and the photos. (Video Artwork was appropriated from the original album. ) This video is posted for educational use under Section 17 U.S. Code § 107. Limitations on exclusive rights: Fair use. This video is posted for educational use under Section 17 U.S. Code § 107. Limitations on exclusive rights: Fair use.

Jacques Offenbach - The Tales of Hoffmann [Act 1 and Act 2 part 1]

 

Jacques Offenbach - The Tales of Hoffmann [Act 1 and Act 2 part 1]

Another gem we acquired while going through used vinyl records at our local record store.  The album was accompanied by a Libretto printed in 1957.  Didn't know anything about Offenbach but we thought this would be a fun album to listen to.  I am not a big fan of Opera but after listening to the record several times I realized the story is entertainingly funny.  Cheap entertain if you ask me - $2.  

The setting is in Germany.  Likely in the late 1800s.  It starts with students - presumably inebriated - singing rather boisterously about the power of wine and beer to bring joy and long life to mankind.  That in itself should give a hint where this is going.  Hoffmann, the German romantic poet, tells the story of three great loves of his life. All three were unhappy, and all three were destroyed by Hoffman's evil genius. The evil influence works through certain tricks of magic, and the whole atmosphere of the opera is highly imaginative and fantastic.

The opera is in three acts with a prologue and an epilogue.  This post is the first installment, which consists of Act 1 and a part of Act 2.  I plan to post three more installments - so if you enjoy this one as much as I did be expecting for the remainder of the music.

The account of Jacques Offenbach arriving in America to write this opera is in my opinion another story worthy of posting. I may write something about this in the future but for now I will devote more priority to the opera. Hope you will enjoy as much as I did.

Jacques Offenbach's The Tales of Hoffmann [Le Contes D'Hoffmann] The Metropolitan Opera Record Club (1957) Performed by The Metropolitan Chorus and Orchestra Libretto by Jules Barbier Sung in English to a Text by John Gutman Olympia - Laurel Hurley Giuletta - Rosalind Elias Antonia - Lucine Amara Nicklausse - Helen Vanni The voice of Antonia's mother - Sandra Warfield Hoffmann - John Crain Coppelius, Dappertutto, Dr Miracle - Martial Singher Crespel - Norman Scott Cochenille, Pittichinaccio - Charles Anthony Spalanzani - Paul Franke Schlemil - Clifford Harvuot Conductor - Jean Morel Prologue: Luther's tavern in Nuremberg, next door to the opera house where the reigning diva Stella is now singing in a performance of Don Giovanni. Act 1: Spalanzani's study, opening at the back of the gallery whose doors are closed by tapestry portieres. Act 2: Venice. A palace on the Grand Canal. Giuletta is entertaining guests, Hoffmann, Nicklausse and Pittichinaccio among them. Obviously I do not own the copyright to the music, the recording and the photos. (Video Artwork was appropriated from the original album. ) This video is posted for educational use under Section 17 U.S. Code § 107. Limitations on exclusive rights: Fair use.

Fiesta Comida

 

Buen apetito!

Charles Magnante - La Comparsa (Ernesto Lecuena)

The album Spanish Spectacular was a runt from the selection of used vinyl records that we were going through at our local record store. At first glance without hearing the music, I was not impressed by the artwork, which I thought was dated. And the recording was monoaural. There was not much redeeming value to the album but nonetheless we bought it just for fun. Turned out to be a gem. The song on this post is La Comparsa. A comparsa is a group of singers, musicians and dancers that take part in carnivals and other festivities in Spain and Latin America. Charles Magnante (accordion) plays La Comparsa (composed by Ernesto Lecuena). From the album Spanish Spectacular (Grand Awards Records ). Charles Magnante (December 7, 1905 – December 30, 1986) was an American piano-accordionist, arranger, composer, author and educator. His artistry helped raise the image of the accordion from an instrument considered suitable only for folk music to an instrument accepted in many music genres. (excerpt from Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Magnante) Ernesto Lecuona y Casado (August 7, 1896 - November 29, 1963) was a Cuban composer and pianist of worldwide fame. He composed over six hundred pieces, mostly in the Cuban vein, and was a pianist of exceptional skill. (excerpt from Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernesto_Lecuona) Credits Accordion - Charles Magnante Featuring - Allen Hanlon, Bob Haggart, Dick Hyman, George Barnes, Terry Snyder, Tony Gottuso, Willie Rodriguez Orchestra - Charles Magnante And His Orchestra Record Album Artwork - Tracy Sugarman Owned or licensed by EMI Music Publishing, UMPG Publishing and Sony ATV Publishing Obviously I do not own the copyright to the music, the recording and the photos. (Video Artwork was appropriated from the original album. ) This video is posted for educational use under Section 17 U.S. Code § 107. Limitations on exclusive rights: Fair use.

Chilling with Dill

It's our first Dill harvest.  Or so I remember.  Maybe it's the second.  My mind slips from me at times. Chilling out and listening to Howard McGhee.  Vinyl Record Album.  Yes vinyl.  It has to be.  It's the only way to appreciate bebop, or swing or neo-bebop. Don't want to hear those modern jazz.  Not right now.  Don't dig fusion either.  I'm old school.  Yeah. What does the album have to do with the Dill?  Nothing really.  But can you dig it?