Andrew White Quartet, "Live" (side C)

I first discovered Andrew White as a member of the Julius Hemphill Sextet, a group that preserves the late saxist's repertoire.  While Hemphill was an obvious influence on White's work, the closer analog for this album is definitely Sam Rivers.  Like Rivers, White falls somewhere in the middle of the avant—traditional continuum.  The rhythm section here often swings, and the structures involve development based on a head.  The musicianship, especially White's saxophone playing, varies wildly, from somewhat traditional to strident free-blowing.  Perhaps because he resides in D.C. and seems to purposely keep a low-profile, White seems comfortable defying any divisions or expectations.  The album design of "Live" is simple with a lot of white space (and a surprising calligraphy-like font choice), and the recording is a competent, if obviously low-budget, live recording from 1970.

Art Ensemble of Chicago, Certain Blacks (side A)

Certain Blacks originally dates from 1970, though my domestic copy came out in 1976.  The strangest thing about it might be the presence of drummer William A. Howell.  There is surprisingly little information about him on the Internet, and this appears to be his only collaboration with the Art Ensemble.  His drumming here is the most fluid and traditionally jazz-y of any Art Ensemble album, and it gives a strong sense of flow to the whole album.  The shorter pieces on side B are partly shaped around this flow, where the long "Do What They Wanna" on side A both follows and violates it at the same time.  "Do What They Wanna" resembles Ornette's Friends and Neighbors, which was also from 1970, with ensemble shouting alternating with heavy instrumental sections.  Guest contributors Chicago Beau and Julio Finn are often maligned, but their personalities are in the background here here, perhaps only prominent on the blues interpretation at the end.  The black and white cover of my copy looks worse than the original full-color packaging but better than the strangely modern CD cover.

The Temptations, Sky's the Limit (side A)

1971's Sky's the Limit is best remembered for containing Eddie Kendricks's magical falsetto on "Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me)".  While it was still part of the Motown assembly-line process, it's a remarkably distinctive record.  Barrett Strong's songwriting is impressively diverse, ranging from ballads to surprisingly heavy rock, and even the one reused Motown hit ("Smiling Faces Sometimes" is usually associated with the Undisputed Truth) works well in an extended 12-minute arrangement.  Norman Whitfield's production is interesting, combining some synthetic string and wind sounds that feel ahead of their time for 1971 with aggressive use of tape delay that seems like it should be on an early Funkadelic album.  The cover looks great, and like the synthetic sounds, foreshadows trends in soul from the mid-70s.

Kieran Hebden and Steve Reid, The Exchange Session vol. 2 (side C)

2006's The Exchange Session vol. 2 is a surprisingly impressive collaboration between these two disparate figures.  Reid is known as a jazz drummer who made several notable records as a leader in the 70s, while Hebden of course works under the name Four Tet.  The resulting album sounds unlike either of their work.  The electronics feel a bit more foreground in the tracks, both because they evolve over a wider palette and because the drums rely heavily on room mics and have less prominent attack as a result.  Everything sounds great and manages to sit really well together.  The electronics don't feel forced and don't hint at Hebden's dance background, and he and Reid follow each other seamlessly, in a distinctive and original style.  The design of the packaging is tasteful, with glossy inner sleeves, but the cover image with layered semi-transparent photos does not make much sense to me.

Etron Fou Leloublan, Les Sillons de la Terre (side A)

On 1983's Les Sillons de la Terre, Etron Fou focus on very busy and intricate interplay.  There are still song structures and melodic vocals, but these have a lower priority than the dense and constantly moving arrangements.  Despite the overly sterile sound, where the bass and saxophone particularly lack impact, the music moves nicely, as long as the tempos remain fast.  The few points where they slow down to a ballad-like pace, the frenetic energy is lost and the music definitely suffers.  The simple front cover image with the wolves is great, but the back cover design seems hastily assembled.

Spooky Tooth/Pierre Henry, Ceremony (side A)

The inspiration for this odd pairing is unclear.  Spooky Tooth played somewhat aggressive rock with a bit of a space-y feel, but were certainly less "out" than Hawkwind or the Pink Fairies.  Pierre Henry, of course, was best known for his idea of musique concrète.  While their parts play at the same time on 1970's Ceremony, there is little sense of collaboration.  Spooky Tooth's songs and playing are competent and tasteful but undistinguished here.  Henry's sounds often sit over top of the mixes, with technical clarity and detail, and also with a palette that draws attention to itself.  The extreme cover images don't relate to either Henry's abstraction or Spooky Tooth's hard rock.  The concept of a collaboration between these elements seems like a great idea, but the results are more weird than special.  Also notable is that Gary Wright from Spooky Tooth went on to have a huge hit with "Dream Weaver".

Comsat Angels, Waiting for a Miracle (side A)

1980's Waiting for a Miracle feels like a perfect encapsulation of production techniques that felt modern at that time.  Everything sits in a neatly-controlled place, using a combination of gates and compression to create space, along with drastic panning of guitars and keyboards.  Vocals sound thin and rest far out in front.  Drastic reverbs occasionally stretch these carefully positioned elements.  The song structures lend themselves to these austere arrangements, and the lyrics also match nicely.  The very tight and consistent rhythm section leaves room for the guitars and keyboards to be more textural and free.  The simple cover images look great and fit appropriately.