1967's Sessions was an interesting record for Fred Neil, coming after his critically lauded self-titled album. It featured the same sounds and textures, his rich baritone voice riding on waves of jangling, buzzing guitars and other stringed instruments. However whilst Fred Neil for the most part consisted of concise songs, Sessions featured only seven tracks, many of them very long, with more focus on grooves and jams than the songs themselves. Detractors of the album would call it unfocused and rambling. Those in favour would still call it inspired. The musicians around Neil (guitarists Bruce Langhorn, Cyrus Faryar and Pete Childs, and standup bassist James E. Bond Jr) are given plenty of room to explore and improvise, their approach at times bordering on jazz. Neil's lyrics themelves almost seem improvised at certain points, and at times break into echoes of his past as a folk singer (in particular there are certain lines of the traditonal "In The Pines" which pop up). The overall mood of the album is more sparse and darker than its predecessor, and could be called it's experimental, uncommercial counterpart.It includes one surprising cover, a moody rendition of Percy Mayfield's classic blues ballad "Please Send Me Someone To Love".
Fred Neil (1966) <|> Other Side OF This Life (1971)
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This is a great blog! Thanks for the music as well as the education!
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