In celebration of establishing an outpost on this side of the pond in Washington, DC, the iconic London-based Fire Records is putting on a few shows this weekend. Showcases featuring Bardo Pond, Surf City and Snowblink on Friday at Danger Danger Gallery in Philadelphia and Saturday at NYC’s Mercury Lounge.
Then Sunday brings Bardo Pond and Surf City to our beloved Black Cat in Washington DC. These are not to be missed! With that in mind, we invited some of our favorite Fire artists to take up residency here all week and talk about their favorite records on vinyl. Enjoy!
Giant Sand/Howe Gelb
Howe Gelb and Giant Sand have quickly become an integral part of the Fire family. It’s not surprising, as once you invite Howe in to your heart, he has a way of staying a good long while. The man often referred to as the “godfather of alt-country” is so much more than that. When you are done splitting hairs and genres, he sits before you as a master songwriter – through and through. One might be tempted to follow that statement with an “end of story.” But with Howe, the story always seems to have one last twist and turn, never truly coming to a conclusion or even bothering for a weary rest.
That has never been more evident than this year, as Fire unleashed his latest record with his compatriots in Giant Sand, “Blurry Blue Mountain,” to justified acclaim, while beginning a reissue campaign marking 25 years of the band with 25 records. Half way through the campaign, it has been an incredible journey already! When you hear Howe describe that “Giant Sand is a mood,” it all starts to make sense here.
As we already warned you, Howe Gelb is not a man to sit idle. Thus, this spring we see the release of his brilliant merging of sand-blasted singing and authentic spanish flamenco gypsies, “Alegrias.” Wonderfully mixed by John Parish in Bristol, it is a thing of sun streaked beauty.
One thing that is always evident is that Howe loves music. If ever it was in someone’s very soul, Howe Gelb is one of those men. Who better to start us off with their favorite record on vinyl? Here goes! (Of course, he can’t truly pick just one…)
Selection: (A) The Thelonious Monk Orchestra “Live at Town Hall” (B) Thelonious Monk “Evidence”
Record (A), released in 1959, is the fodder that should fill the funeral proceedings whence I be laid to rest, please and thank you. There is such a vital warmth and brilliance to this recording. The performance, outstanding. Like the humidity in the room seeps out from the speakers now when you spin it. It has the lush chemistry of a band that had been hold up rehearsing together for quite some time.
(The most curious element is the mysteriously edited version of “Thelonious”, a teaser that clocks in just shy of a minute.)
Upon further investigation, was able to discover that the infamous photographer W. Eugene Smith had set up a kind of open door policy to his new digs on 6th Ave. in Manhattan after he left his family back in New Jersey. In the late 50s, newly separated from his wife and children, he moved into a drafty loft there and began to wire it for recording. Jazz musicians would come to hang out after their gigs and jam until dawn. Smith always rolled tape.
Apparently Hal Overton set up camp there to work out the arrangements for Monk’s “Live at Town Hall” performance weeks in advance and that too was captured by Smith. Miles of tape then were labeled and stashed in boxes for years to come. After his death, these boxes found their way back to Smith’s estranged wife’s basement, but after a cellar flood there, were then shipped off to more suitable storage.
The final resting place of these tapes, as well as the thousands of negatives from the photography Smith shot during his ‘Jazz Loft’ years, were stored right here in Tucson at the University of Arizona since 1978.
Giant Sand | Fields Of Green
It should also be noted that another record, entitled “Evidence” and released in 1983, was a collection of unissued material that included the full version of “Thelonious” from that night in town hall complete with some liner note clues as to why it was originally shortened. Apparently there was something in the recording or piano solo that bothered monk.
But listening to it now, after being found and rescued from the vaults, grants a very interesting look into the mind of the man. Searching for clues as to what might have disturbed him about the track, now fills the listener with delight in playing that game of sonic hide and seek. The full piece sounds fantastic.
