In the Wee Wee Hours: Your choice of late-night listening

Back at the squat I was briefly in during the early '70s, the guys in the other room used to play this album a lot while enjoying a spliff at the end of the day. Jon Mark and Johnny Almond were John Mayall sidekicks before forming the duo (actually a quartet) Mark-Almond. This is the nebulous closer to their highly recommended first album:



en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark-Almond

Doc, that sounds suspiciously like an out-of-body experience.   

Your last remark brings me to the question of what are the most appropriate BB albums to play late at night. For me their most "nocturnal" album is Smiley Smile. Maybe it's the bedroom-studio ambience of so many of its tracks that does it. Oddly, Surfin' U.S.A. also sounds nocturnal to me in parts (difficult to say why).

This is one (or rather two) I used to play regularly at the end of the day for a while. In 1981 the Estonian band Elektra released this 45 of two great favourites of mine in their native tongue, at a time when their country was part of the U.S.S.R. I visited the Baltic states three years ago, which adds to the appeal of this infectious double-sider:

 

Tracklist:
A: "Keegi" (You Might Need Somebody--Randy Crawford)
B: "Meid Kaasa Muusika Viib" (Jump To The Beat--Stacy Lattisaw)

Personnel:
Bass – Meelis Punder
Drums – Jaan Karp
Flute – Tauno Saviauk
Guitar – Agu Tammeorg
Keyboards – Aarne Saluveer
Vocals – Kadri Hunt, Kersti Raik, Signe Tükk, Tiina Kalle

Recorded at Eesti Raadio studio, Tallinn, October 1981

It took me a while to get into Joni Mitchell's album Mingus (I'm no jazz buff) but once I was there, it struck me as being a great late-night listen. "God Must Be A Boogie Man" is the first Joni track on this all-star album (see link), which also includes snippets from Charles Mingus's private life.         



en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mingus_(Joni_Mitchell_album)

Hi, re. I know how Beach Boys focused everyone is, so it's always gratifying to see visitors to this "non-BB" section of the forum.

Here is the Chuck Berry song that gave this thread its title:



en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wee_Wee_Hours

To say nothing of "My Ding-A-Ling". That said, I'll give Chuck the benefit of the doubt this time.


I'm familiar with the live Zappa version, just before he introduces "Mr. Sting". Whoa, even as a non-jazz buff I see there's a stellar lineup at play here. 

The blues and soul band I played keys in until a few years back had "Stolen Moments" in its repertoire for a while. Most of the musicians in the band had a jazz background. I just piled up fourths at appropriate moments (sort of a poor man's McCoy Tyner) and hoped for the best!

This thread makes a very handy place to post this trio of tracks I heard on a BBC Radio 3 Sunday morning feature called "Sounds of the Earth". Last week's instalment was based around a nocturnal field recording made somewhere in the UK of Tawny Owls and what sounded like a Nightjar. The three accompanying tracks are chosen each week to complement the location in question (which can be anywhere in the world) and the mood of the nature recording, generally but not always submitted by listeners.The thing is, there seems to be nowhere online to discover the names of the tracks so you need to have pen and paper to hand when these are announced at the end of the feature. This time, all three were memorable and worth linking here: 

First up was "Les hiboux" (The owls), #9 of Douze mélodies by the French composer Déodat de Séverac, a new name to me, in this version by Mary Bevan (soprano) and Joseph Middleton (piano):



Next, after some hooting and squawking, was "Last Night The Moon Came", here performed live by its composer Jon Hassell (trumpet, keyboard), Eivind Aarset (electric guitar, bass), Jan Bang (sampler) and Kheir-Eddine M'Kachiche, who provides some fascinating violin textures:



The last of the three was an a cappella choral version of Laura Mvula's "Sing To The Moon", performed by The Chapel Choir of Pembroke College, Cambridge (director Anna Lapwood):



These plus the weekly hard-boiled egg made for a memorable start to my Sunday morning!

Another aspect of music connected to the wee hours of the night concerns songs about not being able to sleep!

The example that first came to mind (maybe because it was the first song I heard on the subject) was Bobby Lewis's 1961 Stateside mega-hit "Tossin' And Turnin'", with an intriguing solo that my spies managed to notice (before the information was blocked out by some shit about privacy) was achieved by a tenor sax, now credited to King Curtis, in unison with a saxophone mouthpiece alone, which I can only assume he played at the same time. Pretty unique, I'd say.   

   

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tossin%27_and_Turnin%27

This is the track I've been playing the most in recent days as the wee wee hours kick in (interspersed with Sean Lock videos). The ridiculously talented ensemble performing this 1973 live version of "Dupree's Paradise" is in fact the core lineup on the Mothers' album Overnite Sensation released that same year. Digging solos by Jean-Luc Ponty, Bruce Fowler and FZ. I could have done with a bit more of Ruth Underwood's percussion but one can't have everything in this world. That's George Duke smiling up a storm on keyboards, Ian Underwood on flute, Ralph Humphrey on drums and the super-suave Tom Fowler on bass:

Listening to this album one night last week on Spotify (which I have on my phone since recently), I recalled that my first three hearings (in 1973 and 1974) all took place after dark. This must be what has coloured my image of the music, which I feel is profoundly nocturnal. Even the source of light on the cover looks like something straight out of a Max Ernst nocturnal landscape.

Side one is one prolonged wash of ecstasy, culminating in the stunning "All The Love Of The Universe". In fact, I've tended to play that side only. This time I revisited the album from start to finish and side two didn't disappoint. "Stone Flower" is a gem and the album closer, "Every Step Of The Way", adds an orchestra to carry the listener to increasingly distant shores:



en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caravanserai_(album)

cacc, your wonderful description knocks spots off mine! I do so agree about the rhythm section. The hand percussion alone on this album is to die for -- to say nothing of the late Doug Rauch's bass work. That's what originally blew my mind about "ATLOTU" -- those bass lines!  But it's everything really -- it all comes together in a way Carlos and the lads never achieved before and would never achieve again (my opinion only).

It may be nocturnal but it is also one of the most colourful albums I know. It's good to know I'm not its only fan!    


 

Happy to oblige, cacc. You bought it? I do like that! I recall first hearing these wondrous sounds drifting in from the other room in the early hours along with the strong smell of dope.  It's the perfect album to fall asleep to.

The opening track makes a wonderful piece for solo piano. I can imagine the entire album is a percussionist's dream to play along with!

And, of course, there are those loving souls who watch over the sleeping.

The S.O.S. Band's "Even When You Sleep" (1986) features the glorious voice of Mary Davis (one of my favourite singers) and the stunning production work of Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis:



en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sands_of_Time_(S.O.S._Band_album)