J. Geils Band - Flamethrower

Boston - Smokin'

George:  Type O Negative  “Summer Breeze/Set Me On Fire”  We carried these guys on the buses, all were tall, and the lead singer was 6’8”!  I never did see them or hear the band, however.  This is great, this Seals and Crofts song, done agonizingly slow!  I think I would have enjoyed their show, since they obviously had a sense of humour about themselves.  The pace picks up as it rolls along into their original tune.  Organ and vocal washes swirling about, creating a summery feel, to me, only maybe summer on LSD, lol.  Lots of wah wah guitars, create a total sonic wall.  Really intriguing sound.  The song fades out, like you’re leaving the room and walking away from the band, then abruptly ends.  Electric Six “Danger!  High Voltage”  Worgly guitars and drums start this one.  This is also very amusing, with a warbly voiced male and a female joining in.  Makes me think of an old late night comedy show (SNL?  Another?)  where a guy in a pencil-thin moustache, sitting by a fireplace,  would tell kids to make sure their parents were gone and then would read them questionable stories.  Quite the sendup here, kept me laughing.  Banco de Gaia “Burn the Witch”  Here we have electronic music and creative percussion.  The piece builds slowly and changes in feel a bit partway in.  A spoken part of with people discussing the history of burning witches.  Such an odd historic thing, to my mind, that whole chapter of humanity.  Harry Nilsson “Jump into the Fire”  This is much more straightforward, I remember this one from the time, not from “Goodfellas.”  Got a lot of airplay in LA in it’s time.  A talented guy, this one is kind of a shuffle with lots of echo on his voice. 

JD:  Sebastian Cortell/Eric Serra “Heat”  Reggae beat piece here, reggae certainly always sounds warm.  Organ sweeps from time to time, percussion and bar chords on guitar, bass comes up a bit more to the fore about halfway in, then towards the end, guitar gets shimmery for a bit before a fade.  This one a little too same-y for me.  J. Geils Band “Flamethrower”  I certainly remember the band, don’t remember this song.  Wonky guitars and keys begin with horns at a steady disco-y beat.  Boston “Smokin’”  Very much remember Boston, here with their signature kind of sound, straight-ahead rock, well done, with vocal harmonies and continuous movement.

A Crimson Mellotron:  Billy Joel “We Didn’t Start the Fire”  I remember this huge smash hit very well, what I call a “list,” song.  Of course, expertly played.  The Prodigy “Firestarter”  This one has much more appeal for me, also unknown to me.  Percussion is very complex and listenable.  Kind of electronic-y repetitiveness, with a rap over it.  Audioslave “Original Fire”  Great pipes on Chris Cornell, of course.  Rock song stylistically and in it’s construction, with driving band behind those vocals.  Wah wah wonky lead guitar near the end.  Toyah & Fripp Cover of “Firestarter”  Listened out of curiousity, as I am a fan of Fripp since the first KC release.  This is more fun for me that the original, with the visuals and Fripp’s “Hey, hey, heys.”  

suitkees: Caetano Veloso & Lila Downs “Burn It Blue”  Now this is right up my alley.  Mexican feel and a haunting vocal, with strings behind the expertly played guitar.  Pretty, pretty harmonies.  It just gets better and better as it continues, some light orchestration begins a soft ascent as they sing of a bird’s flying free.  Lila’s voice near the end also soars and then the two singers entertwine and it drops back to scant orchestration and vocal.  Stunning.  This will surely be a serious consideration for me.  Noir Désir “Le grand incendie”  Begins with muddy repeating cello or bass?  A spoken-ish French vocal, then guitars get all elephantine and serpentine, also, I think, harmonica, something we haven’t heard a lot of in these polls.  This is really sonically interesting, in a psychedelic way, I think if it had a more melodic “singer,” it would fight with your first suggestion in my estimation. 

Raff:  Judas Priest “Rapid Fire”  Here we go to the hard rock for sparks and flames.  Straight ahead with driving beat, cutting pyrotechnic guitars and harsh vocals.  Lots of electricity.  Riot “Fire Down Under”  More hard hard rock, similar sound to JP, but with a little more musicality in the singer’s voice.  These two are not really a genre I’m fond of, but they do have their place in the world of rock.  The Cult “Fire Woman”  NOW you’re talking to me.  Love Ian Astbury’s voice (not to mention he’s a joy to watch) and this is a great, well-crafted hit rock tune.  He definitely had that Morrison-esque charisma going on.  Glad you included it for those who may have missed this wonderful outfit.  This is just more refined than the other two, if you’re wondering why I like it, and not so much the others, despite the fact that they all have that rock energy thing going on.  Would certainly vote for it if it were the first time I’d heard it.  Note to newcomers, that is not requisite, it’s just how I and a few others approach the selection process.  Manuel de Falla “Ritual Fire Dance”  This is quite lovely, I like the way the presence of flames are shown by the way the music swells and fades, like flickering light.  It comes to a rousing conclusion by the end.

Nick:  Five the Hierophant “Fire From Frozen Cloud”  Love the Tarot reference and am intrigued by the title.  Let’s see how this goes.  Ominous beginning with oboe?  Or clarinet or the like?  Anyway, not surprised I like the sound so far.  Then it gets VERY heavy with full electric band kicking in, I like the horn or keys things they have going on, it’s vaguely Middle Eastern, which blends well with hard rock, to my ear.  Ah, now it’s clearly a sax.  Not crazy about the vocals, but sonically the music is very much of interest, gets very heavy-psych ala Sabbath near the end, with sax wailing away.   

Lewian:  Marc-Andre Hamelin “Feu d'artifice by Claude Debussy”  & Igor Stravinsky, same title, different piece.  You pick two of my favourite classical composers here, so familiar with the pieces.  That being said, this made a nice interlude for me to listen to, anyway, as they are both quite wonderful.  Both of these certainly bring fireworks to mind, in very different ways.  I would much rather, any time, to hear these pieces of music than the sound of real fireworks, lol.  I had toyed with the idea of something from Stravinsky’s “Firebird,” as it’s one of my favourite folkloric tales.

Hiram:  Mana Mana “Totuus Palaa” Sustained guitar, then very heavy drums, makes me think very heavy psych.  Can’t tell what he’s singing about, but I’ll go with your translated title.  Could be song of the day, here in the US.  ZZ Top “Master of Sparks”  Now this I am very familiar with (a surprise fave band of my husband), and funny I mentioned them earlier.  This is typical ZZ Top fare, they are perfect at what they do.  Meat Puppets “Lake of Fire”  Fairly heavy here, also and a bit alt/punkish, perhaps.  Vocalist has a quavery voice, mostly in one tone, actually kinda reminds me of Ray Davies (who uses a bit more range).  Sometimes the guitar has elements of heavy psych.  Scooter “Fire”  Driving and thrashy high-energy, also toys with disco and rap.  Someone give these guys some speed!  😉 

Tancos:  Scriabin: "Flammes sombres"  Solo piano avant garde-ish piece (and I want that pianists’s dress.  I looked up the composer, who had synesthesia, apparently….so you are not far off with “psychedelia,” as a descriptive!  Ended a bit abruptly, but it was quite varied and not at all what I expected from your intro.  Another by Scribin, Vladimir Horowitz plays “Vers la flamme” Begins very quietly and ominously.  There are some frilly flourishes from time to time.  This is very haunting and beautiful so far (halfway).  The intensity v e r y gradually builds and flourishes become more frequent as the sound seems to suggest flames beginning to gain in size and strength.   A nice roaring end comes to pass.  Sister Irene O’ Connor “Fire”  Haunting voice, which becomes a bit elfin with dancing electronic keyboards.  Hard to describe this in any way but whimsical and with a feeling of elemental enchantment, perhaps these are little fire elves.  Which is pretty amusing, as it’s a Catholic nun, who might not approve of little fiery sprites. 

Logan:  Mandy More “If Not By Fire”  Here is a piece, much more in your face than the one we just left, offered up by Tancos.  Sort of a hippie-ish sounding singer/songwriter woman with a very angular, nasal  sort of quality to her voice.  Some electronics are going on here, the song is a bit of a march in feel, as well, the production is a bit muddy, but I think it’s intentional here.  The keyboards sound a bit like jaw harp through an effect.  Mandingo “Black Fire”  Quiet finger-pats on a drum and the sound of a guerro-like instrument, joined quickly by bass.  Flutes (or on keys, a flutes effect) come along, with a definitely African sort of sound and bird whistles join in with wah wah Shaft-style guitar.  I could see this being a tv show soundtrack from the time, perhaps a companion to “Daktari,” which I brought very early to these polls.  Horn section and gong from side to side in separation cuts into the song and an even more jungle-esque feel with wailing organ and lots and lots of percussion, plus horn section, a really groovy bit here.  They couldn’t resist using that gong one last time.  Franco Micalizzi “Fire in the Garage”  This is obviously a soundtrack, from the poster on the video.  Ominous, hope the place doesn’t blow!  The piece becomes a bit edgy and atonal, with flutes, soft percussion, and orchestra reaching a slow fever crescendo and a sudden end.  Harumi “Fire By The River”  Pretty shimmery organ opens this up, percussion joins quite quickly, then Japanes-y guitar, very western-sounding female vocalist.  This sounds much like studio production of the sort used with Tim Buckley’s “Goodbye and Hello,” era.  Farfisa and vibes intertwine with his (corrected, I misidentified it as, "her") light vocal.  Very early 70’s ish sound to it, which is certainly not a negative, to me.  This is the most fetching one you’ve brought this time.