Music: Jazz
Dafos
Mickey Hart, Airto, Flora Purim
RykoDisc B000008GEY (1989)
Jazz percussion. Originally on a 45rpm 12". The CD came out later with a long bonus track. It's all good stuff, beautifuly recorded. To get just the workout: Make sure the neighbours are out. Then play track 5 "Psychopomp" to get your amplifier properly warmed up, in preparation for the notorious track 7 "Gates of Dafos". Notorious? Half way through, the entire Grateful Dead "Beast" drum scaffolding ('drum kit' doesn't quite do it somehow) is lifted and then dropped onto the stage. This gets the dust out of your woofers, in readiness for the long track 8 "Passage": Adjust the opening sounds of the forest to a nice sensible level, and then see if you can get to the end with out leaping for the volume control. If your system is on form, this is a dramatic and compelling piece of music. If it isn't, it somehow contrives to feel sleepy and lack-lustre, never quite trying hard enough. Loud and deep, but lacking urge and punch. A good test, and great fun too.
I'm unsure about the status of this CD - I think it has been discontinued. But there seem to be loads of copies on the interweb, so no apologies for listing it here. PB
