Fasten Yer Earholes

PATTY WATERS - Sings (1966)

This place needs an estrogen injection-- not sure why I've neglected the bearers of mammalian protuberances, but I will attempt to remedy the situation here and now, without resorting to Lilith Fair-style lameness (hahaha, like that'd ever happen). Anyway, here's what you need to know about the lovely & talented Ms. Waters:

1. She was recommended to ESP-Disk by none other than Albert Ayler after catching her performance at some long-forgotten club in Greenwich Village.

2. She only recorded this 1966 LP, and one other for ESP-Disk ("College Tour"), before seemingly falling offa the face of the Earth. This changed in 2005 when she re-emerged with a live album called "Happiness is a Thing Called Joe."

3. She has the voice of a Goddess.

Very seldom has an album cover belied the sounds contained within as does the tranquil image of Patty that adorns this LP-- at least if yer talkin' 'bout Side 2 (see kiddies, we useta have this thing called "vinyl" you hadda flip over that was split into halves we called "sides."). The first handfulla tracks are basic torch songs complete with woozy tempos and Waters' husky, sultry voice. The kinda stuff Lady Day Herself'd be proud of-- I even tend to slow my Maker's Mark guzzlin' to a savorin' sip (no pinky sticking out though). By all accounts a seemingly shy, unassuming lady, it's almost as though Patty was was embarrassed of her gorgeous croon... at times it is little more than a whisper-- like she wanted to disappear into the sparse instrumentation. Beautiful stuff no question, light another cigarette, watch the smoke curl in the air blahblahblah. Then you get to "Black is the Color of My True Love's Hair"...

Let's try this scenario: you're stretched out on a hammock in some isolated little paradise, feeling the balmy air caressing yer wage slavery-ravaged carcass. Relaxation has enveloped ya so completely, yer eyelids begin fluttering... you're entering the throes of REM sleep. As a a contented sigh escapes yer lips, you feel the thrust of an icepick into yer rectal cavity-- turns out some deranged, droolin' psychopath has been lying in wait underneath, wanting to catch ya at yer most vulnerable. Yes, "Black Is the Color" is THAT jarring.

The only way to describe the anguished shrieks, improvised mantras and overall descent into madness that Waters tears from her guts is courageous. All boundaries are not only crushed, but spat and pissed upon. There is little to no semblance of meter, key or "proper" phrasing. Simply "Black Blllaaack Blackkkk BLLLAACCCKKKK!!!" bent to her will, and unlike many practitioners of vocal acrobatics, this is no ego-driven attempt to impress with her range. It is more like an exorcism-- a purging of the demons I can only begin to speculate existed in the mind of the-then 19 year-old Iowa native. I'll give the last word to one of her more prominent followers:

"People ask me (about) my influences, I would have to say Patty Waters. They say other people and I say, Nahh, Patty Waters, listen to Patty Waters. I listened to her twice. That's all it took for some grain of inextricable influence." -- Diamanda Galás

Look in comments.


HIGH RISE - Live (1993)


Ever wonder what it sounds like when icebergs collide? Me neither, but it seemed like a cool thing to type-- regardless, I'm gonna take a wild stab that it'd be almost as deafening as Munehiro Nirita's guitar. He is the foremost torchbearer of the pulverizing, sheets of feedback-squall-laden axe-slinging as pioneered by Les Rallizes Denudes' Mizutani Takashi. Sure, Asahito Nanjo's (also of Mainliner) bass and Yuro Ujiie's drumming are impressive and cataclysmic 'n' all that, but it's Nirita's unglued six-string antics that leave my mouth agape time and again. And what better way to experience his inventive wailing than in a warts-n-all live setting?

Answer: None.

Truth is, as great as this Japanese Power Trio's studio concoctions are, they don't hold a bottle of Sake to this live document. With infinite space to improvise, unshackled from the cold, clinical atmosphere of the world of knobs and dials (except the ones that go to 11), their sound grows from being merely mammoth to monolithic. By far the ultimate way to experience this incredible band.

Look in comments-- and how about making like Munehiro's geetar and leaving some feedback!