**Rock and Roll Reminiscing - KKKK**

Tour2ma

Rock and Roll Reminiscing

23 March 2003 --- Letter Of The Week is “K”

For what this is about and some guidelines please click on the following link:

http://clubpolk.polkaudio.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=7234

Yes, it’s a long post, but please read, if you participate.

This week we are only discussing artists whose last name, and groups whose name begin with the letter “K”.

Note: The word “The” doesn’t count, so for example “The Allman Brothers Band” belongs in the "A's" discussion and not in the “T’s” (guideline #5).

When possible, please supply complete title, format, company, year and catalog number when posting recordings.

And so our 26-week odyssey continues…

Hope you come along for the ride…

avelanchefan

I am going with Kings X. A very good Texas trio that has a sound of its own. The band consists of Doug Pinnick - Vocals, Bass, Ty Tabor - Vocals, Guitar, and Jerry Gaskill - Vocals, Drums.

They have ten albums out since 1988. They first hit the big time with their sophmore release of Gretchen Goes to Nebraska, and the song Out of My Head.

My personal favorite album is Faith, Hope, Love. Just a jammed packed album that has some hard hitting riffs from beginning to end. It's Love, and We are Finding Who We Are stand out on this album.

Another good album is the self titled Kings X. The Wolrld Around Me, Prisoner, and Black Flag are all very good songs on this album.

So there we go. I just hope no one mentions Kajagoogoo.;)

F1nut

KING CRIMSON - IN THE COURT OF THE CRIMSON KING
1969 Pony Canyon PCCY-01421 30th Anniversary Gold CD

Robert Fripp and company at their finest. It starts off with the loud and wild, 21st Century Schizod Man and then turns into a smooth (Pink Floyd type) series of pleasing tunes. This was their first release and was followed by many more, but none ever really came close to this masterpiece. This 30th edition was remastered by Fripp and is excellent, I only hope it gets released on SACD.




THE KINKS - LIVE, THE ROAD
1987 MCA Records MCAD-42107 CD

If you really want to know what The Kinks were about, then this is the CD to buy. Part of the British invasion, but overshadowed by The Rolling Stones and The Beatles. None the less, they rocked and were at their best live. My personal favorites on this release are, "Living On A Thin Line" and "Lost And Found." Parts of this CD were recorded at Merriweather Post Pavilion, Columbia, MD (land of nympho's, drug addicts and leftist idiots....planned communities....pfft!), of which I was in attendance. If you listen real hard you can hear me clapping. Highly recommended.

shack

Many don't classify him as R&R but IMHO the boundries don't apply here because of his influence on many of the R&R legends.

B. B. King There are two albums that I think merit attention and both are from the early days of his very long career. In the studio B. B. was a "Master" but on the stage he was a "Grand Master" when he was on. Two live albums that everyone should give a listen to are:

Live At The Regal - 1965 - This may be the best B. B. King album you can buy and gives you a real insight into how good a performer he can be. The crowd gets into this album and he seems to feed off of it. I have the remastered CD and can highly recommend it. The CD starts off with "Everyday I Have the Blues" and just goes from there..good from start to finish.

Live In Cook County Jail - 1971 - I"m not sure that this is his 2nd best album. In many ways it may be equal to Live At The Regal. There are duplicate tracks on the two..."Everyday I Have the Blues", "Worry, Worry" and "How Blue Can You Get" and while they are the same there is a different feel about them. An argument could be made that you only need one or the other but the live version of "The Thrill Is Gone" on this album is alone worth the price.

A studio album to check out is Completely Well - 1969 - It starts of with a very nice cut of "So Excited" and has some good stuff in between and finished with two strong tracks...a 10 min. "You're So Mean" and "The Thrill Gone". This last track may have been the song that got B.B. the radio air time that got him into the mainstream.

B. B. King can still play and sing but his catalog in the last twenty years does not match the excellence of the 60's and 70's.

shack

Kansas - I haven't listened to anything by this band in a long time but I have two albums on vinyl that stick in my memory. They are very much in the Yes style as I recall.

Leftoverture -1976 - "Carry On Wayward Son" was the best track on this progressive rock album.

Point Of Know Return - 1977 - The title track "Point Of Know Return" and "Dust In The Wind" are the notables from this album.

Like I said, It has been a long time since I hve listened to this group and don't know how they will hold up today. I liked their stuff but a lot has changed since then. I need to get a new cartridge and stylus for the TT and give them another listen.

Tour2ma

Good start here for a relatively thin letter in my collection, but…

Carol King
Tapestry – Vinyl (1971 reissue on Ode – PE 34946; original Legacy/ Epic)
No need to write much here (damn it…); just look at this line-up…
1. I Feel the Earth Move (King) - 2:58
2. So Far Away (King) - 3:55
3. It's Too Late (King/Stern) - 3:53
4. Home Again (King) - 2:29
5. Beautiful (King) - 3:08
6. Way over Yonder (King) - 4:44
7. You've Got a Friend (King) - 5:09
8. Where You Lead (King/Stern) - 3:20
9. Will You Love Me Tomorrow (Goffin/King) - 4:12
10. Smackwater Jack (Goffin/King) - 3:41
11. Tapestry (King) - 3:13
12. (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman
Carol is another “songwriter is finally convinced to record” story and this was her second, and far and away here best, of a dozen or so releases. I resisted this album for a long time, because I did not, and still don’t, like “Earth Moves”, but thank goodness I got past that. This is a milestone album and is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

Then there’s…
The Kings
… are Here – Vinyl (1980 Elektra/ Asylum – 6E-274)
This is a guilty pleasure of mine that was not a bargain bin find. It’s fun stuff from a pseudo-new wave band.

The hook was two tracks named “This Beat Goes On” and “Switchin’ to Glide” that meld into a sort of medley and got some FM air play in their entirety. Damn near wore these tracks out. The rest is not all that bad per my vague recollections.

This album actually gets 4-stars on AMG. Here’s part of the review that’s there:

AMG REVIEW: "Hey Judy, get Trudy." So begins one of the greatest two-fers in pop history. "This Beat Goes On/Switching to Glide" may not be as famous as double-A "We Will Rock You/We Are the Champions," or even "Feeling That Way/Anytime," but it's an exquisitely enjoyable double-shot. On "Switching to Glide," a buoyant blast of bouncing Question Mark & the Mysterians' keyboard pushes power chords, power chords, and more power chords. Well, this beat remains throughout, as the Ontario Kings surf the new wave with grace and poise, gliding in under the auspice of production legend Bob Ezrin. That grand opening has been pumped up and transferred to disc, but the rest of this gem was almost lost forever in the wax museum (now on CD as the Kings Are Here and More).— Doug Stone

Tour2ma

Two more just after midnight listings:
The Knack
Get the Knack – Vinyl (1979 Capitol – SO-11948)
OK, so they were another in a string of groups that were part of the hunt for the ”next” Beatles. At least they were better than Howard “Saturday Live” Cosell’s Bay City Rollers.

In addition to their signature tune, “My Sharona”, this album has a couple more tracks that were pretty damn good, “(She’s So ) Selfish” and “That’s What The Little Girls Do”. Plus most of others were more than listenable. And Hell, they only fell about 20 albums shy of the Beatles catalog…

John Klemmer
Touch – C-90 (1975 MCA)
Arabesque – Vinyl (1978 ABC – AA-1068)
Solo Saxophone II - Life – Vinyl (1981 Elektra/ Asylum – 5E-566)
A college roomie put me onto Klemmer after graduation. Mellow, almost spacey sax centered tunes is the best way to describe his music. It’s fairly soft stuff he put out in the middle of a decent jazz career, more or less ear candy. But I find it more “ear-palatable” than that Kenny G guy. Sorry, but KG just nauseates me...

Klemmer might be considered “New Wave” today, but I don’t think that category existed back in the mid-70’s.

shack

OK - I'll admit it...I bought and still own 2 K.C. And The Sunshine Band albums on vinyl...and you know what...I still like them. These are the the only disco albums I have ever purchased but IMO they are much better that the average disco crap of the era. Pretty well written and performed. These guys could actually play instruments. More like "White Boy Funk" for the "Disco Crowd".

KC and The Sunshine Band - 1975 - "That's The Way (I Like It)", "Get Down Tonight" and "Boogie Shoes" are the stars on side 1.

KC and The Sunshine Band - Part 3 - 1976 - "(Shake, Shake, Shake) Shake Your Booty" on side 1 and side 2 has " Let's Go Party", "I'm Your Boogie Man" and "Keep It Comin' Love".

Well...you can laugh...but I think I'll get the old TT cranked up find the wife and "Bump" to K.C. And The Sunshine Band and "That's The Way (I Like It)". As a plus it will embarrass the s**t out of our daughters - well worth the effort.

Tour2ma

Well shack, since you gave the go ahead...
Actually, if i were there, I'd do the same thing...

shack

Tour2ma - King of the SMILEYS

Tour2ma

A dubious title to be sure...

mhw58

I'll second F1nut's choice of King Crimson. I bought
the gold version of 'In the Court of the Crimson King'
and it is fantastic. If you have SDA's, it's a must own.
Fantastic playing and production.
I'll add Diana Krall. She is a great piano player with
a terrific voice and she's good looking to boot. I love
her Live dvd and all of her cd's are very well produced
and also sound great on SDA's.
Mark Knopler is best known for his work in Dire Straits
but he's done some great soundtrack cd's and also
did a cd with Chet Atkins that has some great guitar
playing on it.
Nobody's mentioned Kiss and while I'm not a big fan of
Kiss, they had some good songs.
Mike

joe6pak

shack.

K.C. and The Sunshine Band! Wow!! I can't wait for your review of Kool and The Gang.

joe

shack

joe...be my guest...I'll leave Kool for you. Besides I'm working to finish my review of Killah Priest.

joe6pak

shack.

No. No. You go ahead with Kool & The Gang. I don't know much about them. I'm going to be busy listening to some Kingston Trio or Kris Kristofferson so I won't have time to write reviews.

joe.

abmarsh

I was a sophomore in high school when Kiss' first album came out. I remember staying up half the night just to see them play two songs on "In Concert". The first five studio albums are my favorites: Kiss, Hotter than Hell, Dressed to Kill, Destroyer, and Rock n' Roll Over (Calling Dr. Love is one of Rock music's great love songs!). Kiss Alive was a huge seller in the late 70s.

danger boy

Originally posted by Tour2ma
Good start here for a relatively thin letter in my collection, but…

Carol King
Tapestry – Vinyl (1971 reissue on Ode – PE 34946; original Legacy/ Epic)
No need to write much here (damn it…); just look at this line-up…
1. I Feel the Earth Move (King) - 2:58
2. So Far Away (King) - 3:55
3. It's Too Late (King/Stern) - 3:53
4. Home Again (King) - 2:29
5. Beautiful (King) - 3:08
6. Way over Yonder (King) - 4:44
7. You've Got a Friend (King) - 5:09
8. Where You Lead (King/Stern) - 3:20
9. Will You Love Me Tomorrow (Goffin/King) - 4:12
10. Smackwater Jack (Goffin/King) - 3:41
11. Tapestry (King) - 3:13
12. (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman
Carol is another “songwriter is finally convinced to record” story and this was her second, and far and away here best, of a dozen or so releases. I resisted this album for a long time, because I did not, and still don’t, like “Earth Moves”, but thank goodness I got past that. This is a milestone album and is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

Then there’s…
The Kings
… are Here – Vinyl (1980 Elektra/ Asylum – 6E-274)
This is a guilty pleasure of mine that was not a bargain bin find. It’s fun stuff from a pseudo-new wave band.

The hook was two tracks named “This Beat Goes On” and “Switchin’ to Glide” that meld into a sort of medley and got some FM air play in their entirety. Damn near wore these tracks out. The rest is not all that bad per my vague recollections.

This album actually gets 4-stars on AMG. Here’s part of the review that’s there:

tour,

glad you mentioned Tapestry. truely one of the best albums ever made. period. Yet it may not be rock or roll is does stand the test of time. I wonder where in the Billboard rankings of all time albums.. where Tapestry ranks for all time sales?

Al