THIS WEEK ON THE PROGRAM…
Having successfully climbed the Rope Ladder to the Moon, Chaz Charles and the Voluptuary of Sonic Discernment, Dr. Glund, return to The Grass Is Greener for something that sounds suspiciously respectable…
“Bolero.”
Maurice Ravel had an idea.
Start quietly.
Repeat the theme.
Keep building.
Keep building.
Keep building.
Then Colosseum got hold of it.
TRACK UNDER THE MICROSCOPE
Bolero — Colosseum
The familiar Bolero framework is there—but in the hands of Colosseum it swings, growls, expands and eventually becomes something considerably less polite.
The Doctor and Chaz dig into the band's treatment and discover exactly why this seemingly unlikely piece belongs in the Colosseum universe.
The rhythm keeps pushing forward.
The dynamics keep building.
The band keeps adding muscle.
And Clem Clempson apparently hears Ravel and thinks:
Needs more guitar.
But then comes the larger question…
What happens when everybody else gets hold of Bolero?
TRACKS LISTENED TO / DIGRESSION ZONE
(BOLERO APPARENTLY BELONGS TO EVERYBODY)
Jeff Beck — “Beck’s Bolero”
→ One of the great early monuments to psychedelic electric guitar.
→ Huge tone. Huge space.
→ Backwards sounds hiding in the mono mix.
→ And further evidence that Jeff Beck was already communicating with another planet.
SRC
→ Detroit psychedelia enters the examination room.
→ “In the Hall of the Mountain King” gives way to Bolero.
→ MC5 and Stooges territory lurks nearby.
→ And the influence of Beck becomes difficult to ignore.
The Move
→ The future ELO family tree makes an appearance.
→ Their Bolero contribution lasts approximately long enough to confirm that it exists.
→ Possibly the shortest musical selection ever played on the program.
Jimi Hendrix / Buddy Miles
→ A mysterious recording supposedly connected to Bolero.
→ Jimi noodles.
→ Jimi explores.
→ Jimi wanders off toward the horizon.
→ Nobody particularly wants to stop him.
Because even Hendrix noodling is still Hendrix.
Benny Goodman
→ Bolero goes big band.
→ Proof that rock musicians were hardly the first people to look at Ravel’s repeating rhythmic machine and think:
We could do something with that.
And suddenly the episode becomes less about one Colosseum track and more about the strange gravitational pull of a composition musicians have been bending, stretching and rebuilding for generations.
HIGHLIGHTS YOU DID NOT ASK FOR BUT ARE GETTING ANYWAY
Maurice Ravel imagined sitting in the audience wondering what the hell Colosseum has done to his composition.
Jeff Beck’s guitar tone receives the expected level of worship.
The Doctor produces SRC from the Detroit psychedelic archives.
Edvard Grieg briefly enters the proceedings through “In the Hall of the Mountain King.”
Jimi Hendrix takes an extended scenic route through the fretboard.
The practical difficulties of keeping eight, nine or twelve musicians together on a tour bus without a toilet are considered.
And the central musicological question of the episode is finally resolved:
It’s all about the booty, baby.
YOUR PRESCRIPTION
Administer one dose of Colosseum — “Bolero.”
Then compare liberally with:
Jeff Beck.
SRC.
The Move.
Jimi Hendrix.
Benny Goodman.
Recommended conditions:
A proper stereo.
Enough volume to appreciate the crescendo.
A willingness to hear the same basic musical idea mutate repeatedly.
And absolutely no expectation that anyone involved will play it the way Maurice Ravel intended.
Possible side effects include:
Searching for increasingly obscure versions of Bolero.
Unexpected appreciation for Detroit psychedelia.
Digging through Hendrix bootlegs.
Attempting to determine exactly how many musicians can fit aboard a bus before civilization collapses.
And discovering that a piece written by a French composer in the 1920s can somehow lead directly to Jeff Beck, Colosseum, Jimi Hendrix and Benny Goodman.
The Doctor’s verdict?
Every version examined somehow manages to pass the Glundian tests.
The Blade of Judgment remains sheathed.
Ravel survives.
Barely.
Here’s to ya, Clay Cole.
Let’s go grab a visky...or not??
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