Jean Michel Jarre - La Cage (1976)

Jean-Michel Jarre was born in Lyon on 24 August 1948, and is the son of composer Maurice Jarre. When he was five his parents separated and his father moved to the United States, leaving him with his mother, and he didn't see his father again until he was 18. His musical education was fraught, and he struggled with classical piano studies, although he later changed teachers and worked on his scales. As a young man Jarre earned money by selling his paintings, exhibiting some of his works at the Lyon Gallery, and also by playing in a band called Mystère IV. In 1967 he played guitar in a band called The Dustbins, who appear in the film 'Des garçons et des filles', and he mixed instruments including the electric guitar and the flute with tape effects and other sounds. More experimentation was followed in 1968, when he began to use tape loops, radios and other electronic devices, and in 1969 he joined the Groupe de Recherches Musicales, founded and led by Pierre Schaeffer, inventor of musique concrete. Around this time he was introduced to the Moog modular synthesizer and spent time working at the studio of influential German composer Karlheinz Stockhausen in Cologne. In the kitchen of his apartment in Rue de la Trémoille, Jarre set up a small makeshift recording studio. linking his EMS VCS 3 and EMS Synthi AKS synthesisers to Revox tape machines, and for a 1969 exposition at the Maison de la Culture in Reims, Jarre wrote the five-minute song 'Happiness Is A Sad Song', after which he composed and recorded his first single 'La Cage'/'Erosmachine', a mixture of harmony, tape effects and synthesisers, which was released in 1971. That same year he was commissioned by choreographer Norbert Schmucki to perform a ballet called 'AOR' (in Hebrew "The Light'), and he also composed background music for ballet, theatre, television programs, department stores, and advertising jingles for Pepsi-Cola, Nestlé and RTL. 

He also formed The Popcorn Orchestra to record a cover version of Gershon Kingsley's Moog instrumental 'Popcorn', although Hot Butter had the international hit with it the following year. From 1972 to 1975 he wrote music and lyrics for artists like Françoise Hardy, Gérard Lenorman, Christophe and Patrick Juvet, and he also appeared on Samuel Hobo's 1972 single 'Freedom Day' and Triangle's 'Recreation' the same year. In 1973 he released his first solo album, 'Deserted Palace', as well as composing the soundtrack for 'Les Granges Brûlées', and he also composed the song 'Zig Zag Dance', which he seemed so determined to have a hit with that he released it nearly half a dozen times, either under pseudonyms such as Jo Sherman, The Electric Choo Choo Band and The Superfly, or playing on recordings of it by artists Foggy Joe and Tony Lopez. 1974 saw another mystery band appear, but once again 1906 was just Jarre with another single, 'Cartolina', while his next few appearances on record were collaborations with stage illusionist Dominique Webb, Gerard Lenorman, Blue Vamp and Bill And Buster. In 1976 he recorded and released his low-budget solo album 'Oxygène', recorded at his home studio with analogue synthesizers like the EMS VCS 3 and the EMS Synthi AKS, and taped on a Scully 8-track recorder. It was initially turned down by several record companies, until Jarre decided to meet with Francis Dreyfus, the head of the Disques Motors label, to see if he could release the album, and it was accepted. The first pressing of 50,000 copies was promoted through hi-fi shops, clubs and discos, and by April 1977 it had sold 70,000 copies in France. It was to be his breakthrough record, launching him to international stardom, and so he no longer needed to pretend to be one-man bands or work with other artists. This collection of his early work shows the effort that he put in to get to that point in his career, and there are glimpses of what was to come in some of these pieces, so enjoy these early efforts from Jean Michel Jarre, and so you don't get completely fed up with 'Zig Zag' I've only included two versions of it.  

Track listing

01 Happiness Is A Sad Song (for the Maison de la Culture exposition 1969)

02 La Cage (single 1971)

03 Erosmachine (b-side of 'La Cage')
04 Pop Corn (single as The Pop Corn Orchestra 1971)
05 Black Bird (b-side of 'Pop Corn' as The Pop Corn Orchestra)
06 Freedom Day (single with Samuel Hobo 1972)
07 Recreation (single with Triangle 1972)
08 Le Matin Du Premier Jour (b-side of 'Recreation' with Triangle)
09 Zig-Zag Dance (single as Jo Sherman, with Christopher Laird 1973)
10 Ping-Pong Song (b-side of 'Zig-Zag Dance' as Jo Sherman 1973)
11 Zig-Zag (Instrumental) (single as Electric Choo Choo Band 1973)
12 Cartolina (single as 1906 1974)
13 Helza (b-side of 'Cartolina' as 1906)
14 Hypnose (single with Dominique Webb 1974)
15 La Belle Et La Bete (single with Gerard Lenorman 1975)
16 Jolly Dolly (single with Blue Vamp 1976)
17 Lady (single with Bill And Buster 1976)

Adrian Belew - ...and on guitar (1993)

Robert Steven (Adrian) Belew was born on 23 December 1949 in Covington, Kentucky, and in his early teens he played drums with the Ludlow High School marching band, and later with the high-school covers band The Denems. Inspired by Jimi Hendrix, he took up guitar when he was bedridden for several months with mononucleosis, and at age 17 he was further inspired by a club performance of blues-rock musician Lonnie Mack, who became a lifelong personal friend. He wasn't inclined to study music formally, but taught himself by listening to records, and rapidly became a high-school guitar hero. While maturing as a player and mastering various playing styles, he became increasingly preoccupied with ways to avoid sounding like everybody else, and eventually found his own sound and style by learning how to make his guitar mimic sound effects such as car horns, animal noises, or industrial sounds and then applying those sounds to relatively standard songs. In the mid-1970's, having formally changed his first name to his preferred choice of Adrian, Belew moved to Nashville, Tennessee, to pursue a full-time career as a professional musician, and by 1977 he was playing with the regionally-popular cover band Sweetheart. While playing at a Sweetheart gig at Fanny's Bar in Nashville, he was discovered by Frank Zappa, who had been tipped off regarding the band's talents by his chauffeur. Zappa approached Belew and discussed auditioning him for an upcoming tour, although Belew did not receive an official invitation to audition for nearly a year. During this time Sweetheart split up, and so once the formal invitation came, he flew out to Los Angeles and found himself auditioning alongside more formally trained musicians, and following a more intimate second audition Zappa was impressed enough to hire Belew on a handshake deal for a year. 

He toured with the Zappa band and appeared on Zappa's 1979 album 'Sheik Yerbouti', most notably performing a Bob Dylan impersonation on the song 'Flakes', and he also appeared in Zappa's 1979 concert film 'Baby Snakes'. Although he was mostly credited as rhythm guitarist, he also played lead, melody, or noise lines, as well as singing lead on two songs. After seeing Belew at a Zappa concert in Cologne, Brian Eno recommended that David Bowie offer to hire him once the Zappa tour was finished. Belew accepted the offer, and he played on Bowie's Isolar II Tour in 1978, as well as contributing to his next studio album, 'Lodger'. In 1980 Belew formed a new band, GaGa, for which he served as the singer, guitarist, drummer, and primary songwriter, and on one of his frequent visits to New York City, he became friends with the up-and-coming band Talking Heads, who invited him to join them onstage for performances of their signature song 'Psycho Killer', where he impressed them with his wild and unorthodox guitar soloing. It was also around this time that he met Robert Fripp at a Steve Reich concert, and in July of that year GaGa was invited to open several New York-area concerts for Fripp's band the League Of Gentlemen. Following his working with Brian Eno on Bowie's 'Lodger' album, he was invited to add guitar solos to several tracks on Eno's next production job, Talking Heads' 'Remain In Light' album, and his involvement with them extended to playing on the band's spin-off projects, such as Tom Tom Club, and David Byrne's and Jerry Harrison's solo albums. Unfortunately, Belew's experience with Tom Tom Club was less harmonious than his previous work with Talking Heads, and their recording engineer, Steven Stanley, was vocal about his dislike of distorted guitar, and erased the majority of Belew's solos during the mixing sessions. By now Belew's rising profile had gained him a solo record contract with Island Records, and in the down time at the Tom Tom Club sessions, members of GaGa joined him at Compass Point and backed him on a set of parallel recordings which would result in Belew's first solo album, 1982's 'Lone Rhino'. The album provided a home for various GaGa songs and blended various elements of Belew's work over the past decade, including snappy and noisy Zappa/Byrne-influenced songs, dabblings in world music, opportunities for animal/mechanical sounds on guitar, and sonic experiments reminiscent of Jimi Hendrix. 

In 1981 Belew was invited to join Robert Fripp's new band Discipline, with Bill Bruford and Tony Levin, and during initial touring the members discussed the possibility of renaming themselves King Crimson. This had not been the original intention for the band, but all members generally agreed that this would be both appropriate and useful, and so his time with King Crimson began in 1981 and he stayed with them until 2009, one of the longest tenures in the band by anyone other than founder Robert Fripp. As part of the agreement to his joining, he insisted that he would be allowed time to continue and develop his new solo career, to which Fripp agreed. The renamed band released the well-received 'Discipline' album in 1981, followed by the equally fine 'Beat' in 1982, and 'Three Of A Perfect Pair' in 1984. Following King Crimson's breakup and hiatus in 1984, Belew formed the pop band The Bears with fellow guitarist and singer Rob Fetters, drummer Chris Arduser, and bass guitarist Bob Nyswonger, releasing two albums on I.R.S. Records subsidiary Primitive Man Recording Company, with 1987's 'The Bears' and 1988's 'Rise And Shine'. After three years of constant recording, promotion, and touring, the band broke up in 1989 following the collapse of PMRC, although Belew has continued to tour and record, either solo or with new bands that he had formed. He was at his most busy as a session player during the 80's, and during this period he contributed to Ryuichi Sakamoto's 'Left-handed Dream', Joan Armatrading's 'The Key', Peter Wolf's 'Lights Out' and Jean Michel Jarre's 'Zoolook', as well as playing on Cyndi Lauper's 'True Colors' and Paul Simon's 'Graceland'. This collection of his session work includes songs from all those albums, plus many more tracks, and on every one you can hear his inimitable guitar tones, adding something a little bit special to the songs. 

Track listing

Disc One

01 Red Money (from 'Lodger' by David Bowie 1979)
02 Jones Crusher (from 'Sheik Yerbouti' by Frank Zappa 1979)
03 The Great Curve (from 'Remain In Light' by Talking Heads 1980)
04 Eggs In A Briar Patch (from 'The Catherine Wheel' by David Byrne 1981)
05 Things Fall Apart (from 'The Red And The Black' by Jerry Harrison 1981)  
06 The Twilight Clone (from 'Magic Windows' by Herbie Hancock 1981)  
07 L'Elphant (from 'Tom Tom Club' by Tom Tom Club 1981)
08 Relache (from 'Left-Handed Dream' by Ryuichi Sakamoto 1981) 

Disc Two

01 Sweet Little Woman (from 'Sheffield Steel' by Joe Cocker 1982)
02 (I Love It When You) Call Me Names (from 'The Key' by Joan Armatrading 1983)
03 Blah Blah Cafe (from 'Zoolook' by Jean Michel Jarre 1984)
04 Billy Bigtime (from 'Lights Out' by Peter Wolf 1984)
05 Sharkey's Day (from 'Mister Heartbreak' by Laurie Anderson 1984)
06 What's Going On (from 'True Colors' by Cyndi Lauper 1986)
07 Boy In The Bubble (from 'Graceland' by Paul Simon 1986)
08 God Shuffled His Feet (from 'God Shuffled His Feet' by Crash Test Dummies 1993)

Hank Marvin - ...and on guitar (2007)

Brian Robson Rankin, known professionally as Hank B Harvin, was born on 28 October 1941 in Newcastle upon Tyne, and as a child he played banjo and piano, but after hearing Buddy Holly he decided to learn the guitar, and also adopted Holly style dark-rimmed glasses. He chose his stage name while launching his career, being an amalgamation of his childhood nickname Hank, which he used to differentiate himself from friends also named Brian, and the first name of Marvin Rainwater, the country and rockabilly singer. When he was 16 Marvin and his Rutherford Grammar School friend, Bruce Welch, met Johnny Foster, who was Cliff Richard's manager, and who was looking for a guitarist for Richard's UK tour. He was considering Tony Sheridan, but instead he offered Marvin the position, which he accepted on condition that Welch could join as well, and so both became members of The Drifters, as Richard's group was then known. To avoid confusion with the American vocal group of the same name, The Drifters changed theirs to The Shadows, and both with and without Richard they ruled the UK charts throughout the 60's. In 1970, Marvin and Welch formed Marvin, Welch & Farrar with John Farrar, being a vocal-harmony trio which failed to appeal to either Shadows or contemporary music fans. After Welch left they then became 'Marvin & Farrar' for a vocal album in 1973 and they then reverted to the Shadows in late 1973 for the superlative instrumental 'Rockin' With Curly Leads' album. During the 60's Marvin wrote a number of songs, including 'Driftin'', 'Geronimo', and 'Spider Juice' for the Shadows, and 'The Day I Met Marie' for Richard, and this carried on after he left the band, writing and playing on 'Work's Nice – If You Can Get It' by Spaghetti Junction in 1972. In 1976 he was asked by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice to add his distinctive guitar to their 'Evita' album, and that seems to have given him a taste for guest spots, appearing on albums by Tracey Ullman, Roger Daltry, Wings, Dennis Waterman and Leo Sayer over the next few years. He co-wrote Olivia Newton-John's 1977 hit 'Sam' with John Farrar and Don Black, and produced albums for the British showman Des O'Connor, while in 1988 he collaborated with French keyboardist and composer Jean Michel Jarre on the track 'London Kid', and he is the only artist to appear on two volumes of the 'Guitar Speak' series. In 2005 he was immortalised on Richard Hawley's 'I'm Absolutely Hank Marvin', on which he also played, as his name has become the rhyming slang for "starving" (Marvin-starvin'), but obviously it will be as one of the best UK guitarist of all time, and a major influence on a host of young musicians of the 60's and 70's, that he will primarily be remembered. 

Track listing

01 Work's Nice – If You Can Get It (single by Spaghetti Junction 1972)
02 Buenos Aires (from 'Evita' 1976)
03 Another Whiskey Sour (from 'Waterman' by Dennis Waterman 1977) 
04 Parade (from 'One Of One Boys' by Roger Daltry 1977)
05 So Glad to See You Here (from 'Back To The Egg' by Wings 1979)
06 You Broke My Heart in 17 Places (from 'You Broke My Heart In 17 Places' by 

                                                                                                                Tracey Ullman 1983)
07 Don't Wait Until Tomorrow (from 'Have You Ever Been In Love' by Leo Sayer 1983)
08 Teardrops (single by Shakin' Stevens 1984)
09 London Kid (from 'Revolutions' by Jean Michel Jarre 1988) 
10 Captain Zlogg (from 'Guitar Speak' by Various Artists 1988)
11 All Alone With Friends (from 'Guitar Speak II' by Various Artists 1990)
12 You're My World (single by Jane McDonald 1998)
13 I'm Absolutely Hank Marvin (b-side of 'Coles Corner' by Richard Hawley 2005)
14 My Cup Of Tea (from 'Fingerprints' by Peter Frampton 2007)

Jean Michel Jarre - Music For Supermarkets (1983)

This really is an album that I wish existed, as once it did, and now it doesn't. I'm sure most people know the story of this recording, but for those who don't I'll recap. Jean Michel Jarre had received massive acclaim in 1976 and 1978 for his 'Oxygene' and 'Equinox' albums and after the follow-up 'The Magnetic Fields' album and a live recording from a concert in China, he was at the height of his success. Some artist friends of his were putting together an exhibition, where items from an ordinary shop would be shown in a different light and then auctioned off, and they needed some music for the exhibition, which Jarre agreed to compose for them. Somewhere along the line, he realised that he too could participate in the exhibition if he released an album of the music in a single copy, which could be auctioned off like the other pieces. Francis Dreyfus, president of Jarre's record company, agreed to do this - a lone voice amongst the horrified protests of the rest of the company - and Jarre announced the auction. Immediately there was a clamour from the press and public to hear at least some of the music before it was sold, and so Jarre agreed to play the album once on the radio before the master plates were destroyed, but he chose to play it on an AM radio station, which is why all bootleg copies are such poor quality, and when the DJ announced side one of the album Jarre played side two(!) - it's never been decided it this was a deliberate joke or not. The album was sold for $9,000.00 in 1983, and has never been heard properly since, although a couple of pieces have turned up on subsequent albums in a reworked form.

Track listing

01 Music For Supermarkets 1
02 Music For Supermarkets 2
03 Music For Supermarkets 3
04 Music For Supermarkets 4
05 Music For Supermarkets 5
06 Music For Supermarkets 6
07 Music For Supermarkets 7
08 Music For Supermarkets 8

Now for the surprise.......this isn't the badly recorded AM broadcast of the album, but a note-for-note remake by Nordlead313 which was posted online some time ago, and which I've only just discovered. It's highly regarded by fan blogs as the closest to the original 'Music For Supermarkets' that's yet been attempted, and at last we can hear in pristine quality what that successful buyer hears when he plays it (as if!). 

If you do want to hear the original broadcast to compare it then that's posted as well. Someone's done a good job in trying to clean it up, but it's still not that great.

....and when Discogs lists this as a limited edition, for once they are telling the literal truth.