Takeshi Terauchi: Eleki Bushi 1966-1974 (2023)

Here’s the connective tissue as to how I stumbled upon Takseshi Terauchi, the premier guitarist of late 60s Japan, a purveyor of the surf sound made popular by The Ventures, who (if you believe the liner notes) were a bigger influence in post-war Japan than The Beatles. I was home on the couch, depressed and anxious, and I got an email announcing a repress of Terauchi’s first album with his backing band The Blue Jeans. Seeking to fill a gaping hole via media consumption I spent about 15 minutes checking out his music and instead settled on Eleki Bushi (1966-1974), an admittedly fantastic retrospective of the man’s style and technicality. Shockingly, I’m still massively depressed and anxious, but now I have some cool Japanese surf rock to serve as background music.

Is that glass half full?

ChrisJuly 21, 2025Leave a comment

The Moody Blues: Days Of Future Passed (1967)

Let’s continue the trend with incredible album covers. I must have stared into David Anstey’s gorgeous collage of colors for hours as a child; Days of Future Passed was one of the few albums in my parent’s collection that was my mothers (the other was eponymous debut from Christopher Cross). But despite owning it I never actively played the music of The Moody Blues. I must have heard “Knights In White Satin” as a kid, probably on television and eschewed it for tunes that rocked harder. Once again proving you’re never too old, my fascination with progressive rock began leading me down peripheral branches, and that led to the particular chamber pop of the group, so here we are. Long story short: it was worth the rambling sojourn.

ChrisJune 26, 2025Leave a comment

Vinyl

The Damnation of Adam Blessing (1969)

Sometimes there is no explanation for why one band rockets into stardom and one band just…simmers. Certainly listening to the self-titled debut from The Damnation of Adam Blessing (or Damnation, if you’re streaming services) you’d be hard pressed to find any fault: killer lead vocals, solid grooving rhythm section and plenty of fun guitar work shaped around covers and originals. Is it just case of so much music exploding at the time for every one big band grabbing the spotlight a dozen others get lost in the dark? are lost in the shuffle? I don’t know, and while I admit to getting blinded by terms like “underground” or “cult” when it comes to the rock of the late 60s and early 70s there’s a lot in The Damnation of Adam Blessing that convinces me these guys were huge in another reality.

ChrisMay 5, 2025May 5, 2025Leave a comment

CD, Vinyl

Johnny Cash: At Folsom Prison (1968)

“Hello, I’m Johnny Cash.” I don’t know if there’s a more iconic opening to a live album, or a more iconic performance than At Folsom Prison, the first live album by the Man in Black himself, Johnny Cash. He was my gateway into country music, like I’m sure he was for millions more, and even folks who completely disavow the genre admit to a grudging respect to the man. Listening to this album you can understand why: few artists could spin a story like Cash could, and few could engage an audience so completely. Similar to yesterday’s review of Curtis/Live! the immersion when I lay back with this on the stereo is deep and dense.

ChrisApril 1, 2025April 5, 20251 Comment

Vinyl

Grateful Dead: Live/Dead (1969)

From chaos to order. Its starts with the different instruments, tuning and finding there feet in a large, sonic space. But eventually the disparate sounds come together, and it’s anchored by the bass. Soon the individual components become the whole that is Grateful Dead, and as “Dark Star” kicks off Side A of the band’s classic first (of literally hundreds) live release in earnest we realize just how essential (I was going to say instrumental but that’s a pun too far) the late, great Phil Lesh was to the band’s sound. Live/Dead is so many things, and for me it’s still the definitive live document of the band, and the album I turn to not only when I need some Grateful Dead in my ears, but when I need to drift off and calm my mind as well.

ChrisNovember 1, 20241 Comment

Vinyl

Coven: Witchcraft Destroys Minds and Reaps Souls (1969)

Day 13 of the #mayvinylchanllenge asks for an album evoking the supernatural and the spooky. I’m sure I could have dug through a ton of metal albums that would conceivably fit the bill, but I wanted something that really evoked the spirit of the ask, and there’s no better album in my collection than the “mighty” Coven, whose 1969 album Witchcraft Destroys Minds and Reaps Souls desperately tries to be sinister and mysterious, but can’t help but be slightly silly, very charming, and a lot of fun to boot.

ChrisMay 13, 2022Leave a comment

Consuming the Tangible

We are what we consume

Tag: 1960s

Takeshi Terauchi: Eleki Bushi 1966-1974 (2023)

The Moody Blues: Days Of Future Passed (1967)

The Damnation of Adam Blessing (1969)

Johnny Cash: At Folsom Prison (1968)

Grateful Dead: Live/Dead (1969)

Coven: Witchcraft Destroys Minds and Reaps Souls (1969)