Month: March 2017

Phil Cordell – Red Lady

After a few unsuccessful stints with groups in his native London, Phil Cordell began recording material on his own, starting with this infectious psych jam released as a single in 1969. As with most of his recordings, he recorded all the instruments and vocals for Red Lady himself. In addition to releasing one full length album under his given name, he also released albums under the names Dan the Banjo Man and Springwater throughout the 1970s. He scored a minor hit in Germany and Switzerland with I Will Return from his Springwater release and then topped the charts again in Germany as Dan the Banjo Man with a song also titled Dan the Banjo Man. All of that is precursor to the creation of the video below, which remains one of the most beautiful and bizarre things I’ve seen on the internet for a while:

Sandy Bull – No Deposit-No Return Blues

Sandy Bull emerged from the acoustic folk and fingerpicking revival of the 1960s, and while his first release, a collaboration with Billy Higgins entitled Fantasias for Guitar and Banjo, hinted at his later experimentation, 1969’s E Pluribus Unum showcases his innovative blend of fingerpicking techniques and electric experimentation. He was a master of many string instruments including the banjo, pedal steel, and the oud, which he’s holding shown in the album cover for E Pluribus Unum.

Another remarkable thing to keep in mind listening to No Deposit-No Return Blues is that Bull is playing every instrument on the record, including percussion. Not only did he make use of overdubbing in the studio, but he also performed with pre-recorded tracks when playing live, as demonstrated by the live record Still Valentines Day, 1969 put out by Water in 2006. While the oud is featured on No Deposit-No Return Blues, to get a better idea of what it sounds like I’d suggest giving a listen to this improvisation from that live record.

Vanguard has released a number of compilations of Bull’s work from the 1960s, including improvised material, classical pieces by Bach, and more blues-oriented stuff like this track. One of my favorite labels, Drag City, put out a live album by Bull which also credits the Ace Tone Rhythm Machine, thought to be the first commercially-sold drum machine. To hear Bull perform live with his oud and this early drum machine check out this track from the Drag City album. In 2010 his daughter KC released a documentary about her father also called No Deposit No Return Blues that I couldn’t find a full version of online but which I would definitely want to see.