Interestingly, it is the more reflective pieces that work best, quietly addressing the gods in the hope they may be pacified rather than upset. ![]() What results is certainly atmospheric, the subtle shakuhachi five-hole flute from Japan on A Song For Raijin and the bowed sarangi from India on A Song For Armazi particularly effective. These three instruments are part of a 15-strong ensemble that Micus deploys I have identified their national or regional origins in the discography for your education.Īs ever, Micus plays every instrument heard on this set, overdubbing and layering their sounds. On this album it is paired with the Siberian ki un ki, a two-meter-long stalk through which the musician inhales rather than blows., and the Japanese nakhan or short, side-blown flute. This long trumpet is normally used to play just the low drone notes heard behind the most significant and profound Buddhist ceremonies, but here Micus uses it to produce agile horn calls that form the centrepiece of the album, playing the opening, centre and closing pieces like a repeated pattern in a mandala. It is usually only taught to monks, making Micus possibly the first non-Tibetan to learn and play this extraordinary horn. But his original inspiration was not a god but an instrument, the dung chen trumpet, used in Tibetan monastic ceremonies, that he discovered during his travels in the region. Track listing Īll lead vocals by Billy Gibbons, except where noted.Stephan Micus’s 25th solo album for ECM is a tribute and an offering to nine thunder gods from around the world. The double entendres on "Tube Snake Boogie" and "Pearl Necklace" are barely disguised, while much of the record plays as flat-out goofy party rock. For us, there was no turning back." Gibbons would later cite seeing a Devo soundcheck in Houston as inspiring the synthesizer line on "Groovy Little Hippie Pad." However, Blayney described in his book how Hudson had composed and performed the synthesizer parts at the band's studio in Texas, a tape of which was taken to Memphis to be mixed into the final version of the song, without being credited. Right at the very opening, there it is – the heavy sound of a synthesizer. One of our favorite tracks was "Groovy Little Hippie Pad". ![]() Manufacturers were looking for ways to stimulate sales, and these instruments started appearing on the market. But we followed suit, and the synthesizers started to show up on record. had no fear and was eager to experiment in ways that would frighten most bands. He brought some elements to the forefront that helped reshape what ZZ Top were doing, starting in the studio and eventually to the live stage. He was a gifted songwriter and had production skills that were leading the pack at times. On June 3, 2013, Gibbons told Joe Bosso of that the album was "a really interesting turning point", explaining that the band had "befriended somebody who would become an influential associate, a guy named Linden Hudson. ![]() In 1987, most of the band's back catalog received a controversial "digitally enhanced" remix treatment for CD release however, El Loco did not receive this remix treatment and the original mix of the album has been available on CD since 1987. Hudson did not receive credit for engineering the tracks on "Groovy Little Hippie Pad" which were used on the final album mix. The biographer David Blayney explains in his book Sharp Dressed Men that the recording engineer Linden Hudson was involved as a pre-producer on this album. El Loco is the seventh studio album by the American rock band ZZ Top, released in 1981.Įl Loco was produced by Bill Ham and recorded and originally mixed by Terry Manning.
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