Our nation, not yet a nation. The Spanish conquistadors followed every river hoping it was a passage to the exotic treasures of Asia. Pirates sweeping through the West Indies recompensing themselves for hard-fought travels. England was looking to establish trade and a colony on the shores of this distant discovery that was quickly being carved up like a side of beef. How many would it feed? How much would it cost, in both investment and human lives.
Sir Francis Drake sailed around the globe and earned the blessing of the Queen to settle Virginia. However, this task would not be as easy or even as well-organized as one of the many military campaigns also underway. The Elizabethian Era in this new land would begin on Roanoke (present-day North Carolina) with 100 settlers who would desert the Lane colony spurred on by a battle with the natives over a missing silver cup. The colony would be lost. The next expedition would return to find CROATOAN carved into a wall and no sign of life.Whether the mistakes of the first missions were choice (so many gentlemen, so few men with necessary skill) or location, exploration must continue whether the territory is hostile or not.
John Smith was born in England. A sailor at sixteen, following his father's death, Smith fought in wars as a soldier in Europe. Venturing into North Africa, Smith was captured and imprisoned in Turkey. Fortunately, he broke out and found his way back to London. King James wished to colonize Virginia and Smith's tenure on the pinnace in 1607 got off to a terrible start. Charged with mutiny by Captain Christopher Newport, Smith was under arrest and scheduled to be put to death when they landed in the Canary Islands.
Instead, they landed at Port Henry where The Virginia Company named him as a chosen leader of the Jamestown colony. A government was selected and jealousy ate away at their goodwill toward each other just like the worms that devoured the wheat and barley set aside as foodstuffs for the one hundred settlers. Over the summer, that number dropped to 38. Presidents were deposed, or just perished. Powhatan and the native tribes that had lived on the land for generations could only watch as the settlers lived in temporary housing and abject misery.
Martin was named President and his first order was to turn management over to Smith. Following Smith's example, promises were kept, pallisadoes with thatched roofs were constructed, and the possibility to trade with natives opened up. Smith and a couple of settlers took off up the inlet to look for more supplies and perhaps better land. They found the Powhatans and their vast supply of corn. Rather than steal it all, Smith befriended and negotiated with them. Loading their canoe to return to the settlement, the Powhatans even "brought him venison, turkies, wild fowl, bread, and what they had, singing and dancing in a sign of friendship till they departed." On the next trip down the Chickahamine, Smith saw his two travellers slain and was taken prisoner. Over the next seven weeks, Smith managed to befriend them and be freed.
Back at Jamestown just in time for the "arrival of the first supply," not only were the settlers treated to fresh goods from the homeland but the Powhatans also came bearing gifts for their new friend, John Smith. When Smith and Captain Newport travelled the Powhatan village to meet their esteemed leader, Newport's slick attempt at trading baubles with the warrior/leader was not well received. It was only Smith's honesty and affinity for Powhatan and his people that saved them. Upon returning to the settlement, fire broke out engorging every palisadoe including the one where they had just finished loading in their new supplies.
Over the next 14 weeks, they ate what they could from the ships before they set their course for England. Then, the chilly winds of winter began their daily singing. Forced to, in Smith's words "obay such vile commanders," they had to buy the supplies they needed from the ships at nearly 15 times its normal cost. With that Smith's worst fear was realized, "all men were made their slaves in hope of recompense; there was no talke, no hope, no work, but dig gold." The winter was spent struggling to live in the ashes of their former homes, mindlessly digging away and loading their ships with iron pyrite - the dreaded "Fool's Gold."
Those who survived were joined in 1608 by seventy new brave residents. No longer just gentlemen (although their numbers stayed high,)"The Phoenix" brought European workers with real crafting skills - ironically, no food. So Smith sailed his canoe down to Powhatan to make arrangements only to discover that both the settlers and the natives were planning on killing him. So Smith left Jamestown to explore further into Chesapeake Bay, where the settlers that followed elected him President.
By 1609 in Jamestown, homes were consistently being built and land was finally being cleared. When they reported having no food, Smith returned to show them how to fish and prepare shellfish. However, they returned with no food. Smith was so frustrated by their non-action, he ordered them to trade their arms and tools with the Powhatans for a supply of fruit. By mid-1909, settlers were arriving and continued to be incensed by The Virginia Company sending ships with people and no food.
With a cask of gunpowder on his hip, Smith set out on his canoe one ordinary day in September. The powder exploded and burned his hip and leg so severely that he was forced to sail back to England - never to return. Virginia continued to grow as a colony despite deathly winters and a general lack of supplies. Surviving the desperate "Starving Time" and its terrifying stories, their luck changed when John Rolfe picked up some seeds when the supply ship was stranded in Bermuda. After planting them, 1614 saw the Jamestown colony handed its first true cash crop - tobacco.
NEW MUSIC THIS WEEK
KESHA - (PERIOD.) [PINK LP/CCD](KESHA Records)
After a lengthy battle with her former producer, and freed from her former label, KESHA's July 4th makes her the exemplar of freedom. Beyond "TiK ToK" and "Right Round," "Period" wants to turn itself loose on wailing Pop ("YIPPEE-KI-YAY.,") ElectroPop ("BOY CRAZY.,") and even hi-octane EDM ("JOYRIDE.') Along the way, "(PERIOD.)" even manages to dip into Country, power ballads, and...Polka.
RIVAL CONSOLES - Landscape From Memory [CLEAR 2LP/CD](Erased Tapes/Redeye)
For 15 years, Ryan Lee West has been scoring soundtracks and games as well as making some intriguing glitch-y beat-driven ambient music. Like the first strains of underground "Blue Room" style ambient that sprung from the Electronic boom of the Nineties, "Catherine" works because it ardently refuses to give you any hint of form. Over its beat-filled undercurrents, West gets mileage out of synth swells (rare to hear today) and washes of melody. As a result, this purposeful avoidance of sending you over the top allows the tracks to wash over you like waves. "Coda" barely has a melody. However, West's skittering beats are the hint of a sequencer roll in the background are all you need to be entranced.
BILLY MORRISON/OZZY OSBOURNE - Gods Of Rock N Roll [GOLD 12"](The Label Group/ThinkIndie)
With Ozzy Osbourne taking the stage for the final time this weekend at his and Black Sabbath's old stomping ground of Birmingham, England, journeyman guitarist Billy Morrison wrote, played, and arranged the last two recorded songs of Ozzy's amazing career. The majestic "Gods of Rock N Roll" was captured for this special single with the 61-piece Budapest Orchestra and a soaring guitar solo by Steve Stevens.
REISSUE BONANZA
THE DOORS - The Doors/Strange Days/Waiting For The Sun/The Soft Parade/Morrison Hotel-Hard Rock Cafe/L.A. Woman [HiFi LP](Rhino)
After years of live/demo-filled reissues, the central catalog of The Doors finally is available on high-quality vinyl straight from the masters. The trip from Jim Morrison sleeping on a roof in Venice Beach to becoming the conflicted but spotlight-starved star is a wild ride. In hindsight, The Doors were one of the first democratic writing bands with all members absorbing writing credits. While this egalitarianism was welcomed (especially in the Los Angeles/Laurel Canyon music scene taking root around them,) its largest feature was smartly avoiding the injection of too much commercialism in their music. 1967's "The Doors" was their template, to borrow from Morrison, "a dusky jewel" that dragged Jazz improvisation (the seven minutes of "Light My Fire",) Classical structure (a still astonishing cover of Brecht/Weill's "Alabama Song (Whisky Bar)"), and Blues belting (Willie Dixon's "Back Door Man" hints at the genesis of their later years) into Rock N'Roll. Recorded during the Summer of Love, Fall 1967's "Strange Days" introduces Psychedelia ("People Are Strange") and Morrison's poetry eschewing covers. The final album derived from Morrison's original pre-Doors lyrical book of verse 1968's "Waiting For The Sun" is a classic for its study of extremes (the Hippie bliss of "Hello, I Love You" contrasted with the tough antiwar "Five to One" closes the album with Morrison's chilling lyric "No one here gets out alive.")
Fame does weird things to bands. The Doors first response was to broaden their sound (the horns and strings on "Touch Me") on 1969's "The Soft Parade" - where each member suddenly received songwriting credits. Then pull the lens out for a bold, bluesy ("Roadhouse Blues") shot of L'America (and the band) torn asunder entering the Seventies on 1970's "Morrison Hotel/Hard Rock Cafe." Before pulling themselves back together as collaborators on their most straightforward Rock-based album yet showing maturity ("Love Her Madly,') a newfound jam-founded mysticism ("Riders on the Storm,") and abrupt but effective cynicism. "L.A. Woman" as an album and a song saw Morrison purposefully say goodbye to his "city of night" and unknowingly to the world he wanted to venture into.
GILES, GILES, AND FRIPP - The Cheerful Insanity of Giles, Giles, and Fripp/Selections From The Bronesbury Tapes [LP] (Panegyric)
On the less successful, more experimental end of Sixties Psychedelic/Prog Pop, the trio of Robert Fripp, Michael Giles, and Peter Giles created some beguiling new music from the Prog label Deram. Between 1967 and early 1969, the three let their influences fly freely. Michael Giles' Jazz-influenced drumming made certain that songs could go anywhere. Add to that the mysterious Mellotron and fantastic fretwork of Fripp and you have a very British trippy album that you could still enjoy with a cuppa tea. Humorous and highly esoteric, "Cheerful Insanity" reportedly sold just 500 copies after its release, ensuring that the second record of more Art Rock (where they were joined by Ian McDonald and his girlfriend, former Fairport Convention vocalist Judy Dyble) would never see the light of day. Peter Giles departed and Michael Giles, Fripp, and McDonald turned their attention to a more serious and technical new project, King Crimson. Neither album is available via streaming.
TIM BUCKLEY - Happy Sad [LP](Elektra/Rhino)
As the most commercially successful album of the truncated career of Tim Buckley, 1969's "Happy Sad" captures the artist at the crossroads. His 1966 debut and its followup "Goodbye and Hello" start from the remnants of Sixties Folk ("I Can't See You") and ends with exploration beyond those boundaries. By 1969, the two forces pulling Buckley are merging into a mellow/melancholic Jazz/Folk. With David Friedman's vibraphone as his divining rod (think bassist Richard Davis on Van Morrison's 1968 "Astral Weeks,") Buckley journeys into the loneliness of writing. Buoyed by John Miller's double bass and the gentle wash of ocean waves (to cover up a buzz in the recording process,) "Love From Room 109 at the Islander (On Pacific Coast Highway)" runs through the gamut of emotions in its multiple changes. For all the beauty Buckley was able to summon ("Gypsy Woman,") his Billie Holiday-like sorrow makes a song like "Dream Letter" to his wife Mary and son Jeff ("Does he ever ask about me?') subject to the gravity of the latter word of the title.
Various Artists - FEELIN' ALRIGHT: MOD JAZZ, FUNKY PROG, AND HEAVY JAZZ 1967-1972 [3CD](Strawberry UK)
It's easy to take for granted the wash of synthesizers and various shades of emotion beds of keyboards can create today. In the Sixties, the Hammond Organ was the dominant force behind Rock, Soul, and Prog artists. Keith Emerson could spin it on its corners, or Jon Lord could conjure massive solos that almost matched the fire of Ritchie Blackmore's guitar. This three-and-a-half hour set is nearly everything you need to summon the magic of the B3. Deep Purple, Brian Auger, Spencer Davis and Traffic (with Steve Winwood, ) or the great Ian McLagan all hammer out muscular accompaniment ("Song of A Baker,") and blinding solos (Verden Allen rockin' out on Mott The Hoople's cover of "You Really Got Me" -- R.I.P. Mick Ralphs.) Along the way, 'Feelin' Alright" spills into wild horn-laden jungle groove (Savoy Brown's "Waiting In The Bamboo Groove,") the first Prog-Funk and a progenitor to BritPop's detached vocals ("One Way Glass" by Manfred Mann Chapter Three with drummer Mike Hugg upfront,) and "Tomorrow's People" by ex-King Crimsoners McDonald & Giles whose drum loop was made famous by the Beastie Boys, among others.
ANITA BAKER - Rapture [LP](Elektra/Rhino)
The Eighties were a golden age for female R&B singers. Capitalizing on the success of Disco divas, Soul-filling singers, and other wailing women, Anita Baker emerged from the Seventies funk of Chapter 8 to soar to solo heights. Baker was the surprise success of Otis Smith's Beverly Glen label (temporary home to Johnnie Taylor, and Bobby Womack.) Elektra picked her up after a Top 5 single 'Angel" and survived a two-year protracted court battle to release her from their contract. The gamble paid off handsomely as Baker's jazz-based singing proved create hits on R&B radio ("Caught Up In The Rapture," "Same Ole Love (365 Days a Year," and "No One In The World") and Pop as well (the cross-format smash "Sweet Love.") By the time "Rapture" finally cooled down over a year later it went triple Platinum and sold three million copies.
GROVER WASHINGTON, JR. - Winelight [LP](Elektra/Rhino)
Saxophonist Grover Washington, Jr. started his career with Creed Taylor's Seventies Funk/Soul Jazz label Kudu. Immediately, Washington showed prowess as crossing over between the lighter side of Jazz and the more lucrative genre of Soul. Playing with some of the greatest musicians of all time (Richard Tee, Bob James, Bernard Purdie, Ron Carter, and Billy Cobham,) Washington carved out a place on coalescing Soul radio stations for Quiet Storm (to be known in the future as Smooth Jazz.) Surprisingly, 1975's "Mister Magic" avoided the hits of the day and became his first Top 10 album. Success changed his direction and made the music lighter and pushing in the direction of having hit. At the precise moment, Jazz purists were criticizing his for welcoming guest vocalists, Mister Magic pulled Bill Withers and "Just the Two of Us" out of his hat. "Winelight" was a Top 5 album in 1981 going Double Platinum and propelling the Jazz saxophonist to even more R&B chart singles and success in the Eighties.
JAMES MASON - Rhythm of Life [TAN LP](Chiaroscuro/ThinkIndie)
Best known as the muscular strumming on Roy Ayers' "Runnin' Away," guitarist James Mason made a Funk-based R&B record in 1977. While it skipped over the Disco craze, "Sweet Power of Your Embrace" could have easily slipped into a dancefloor mix and kept them moving. With help from drummer Narada Michael Walden, Mason finds a fascinating midpoint between his serpentine guitar lines and some Herbie Hancock-style Synth-based grooves. Clarice Taylor's vocals are a step ahead of Patrice Rushen's jazzy warbling. With horns and pounding bass lines, "Rhythm of Life" should have been in the mix of Jazz/Funk records that were crossing over into Soul in the sweltering summer of '77
Mik Davis is the record store manager at T-Bones Records & Cafe in Hattiesburg.
