Desolation Row

Being Good Isn't Always Easy...

2008-01-27T18:02:00.000-06:00

BEING GOOD ISN’T ALWAYS EASY…

Shelby Lynne channels the ghost of Dusty Springfield and exorcises some of her own along the way.

"JUST A LITTLE LOVIN'"

Cover, or tribute albums by their nature are a dicey proposition. On one hand you have an act trying to introduce one of their influences to their own audience whether they requested it or not. On the other hand you have a label telling you that an album of all Beatle or Dylan covers has never failed to sell this many copies. That number incidentally includes Sebastian Cabot and his album of semi-spoken word Dylan covers. (Trust me, you don’t want to search this one out.) Then, you have the vanity type tributes where an artist is so established, or so far down the food chain, that they can cover whoever they want for any reason they deem suitable. This particular album falls somewhere in between the latter. Lynne has sold her share of albums, but in recent years has slid down to more of a critics favorite than a force to be reckoned with. With little to lose artists have a way of delivering their most essential recordings. That is certainly the case here.

Without hearing a note of this album I was certain that she had recorded one of her best albums. The songbook of Dusty Springfield is vast and jumps many genres, but at its core is blue eyed soul at its finest. When I checked the song list and discovered that she chose not to cover “Wishin’ And Hopin’,” “Son Of A Preacher Man,” or “Stay Awhile” among others I knew she was a true fan that wanted to share what Dusty has meant to her instead of what an album of Dusty’s songs could do for her. As a result Lynne has done some of her best work yet.

At this point we should just drop the phrase cover and think tribute instead, because that is really what this is. There is no doubt that Dusty has had a profound effect on Lynne’s music and this album of soulful, almost gothic, interpretations is a rare album in these cookie cutter times for music. Her take on the iconic “The Look Of Love” is just one of the clues that lets you know that soul is not so much a sound as it is truly a feeling that is better shared. The only thing that worried me was seeing the Phil Ramone was the producer. I have no gripe with him at all and his work with Simon & Garfunkel, and even Billy Joel if laudable. I was more worried that the project would be weighted down with too much over production. My worries were unfounded, if anything the album is understated in the best of ways. Looks like a labor of love on everyone’s part here.

These songs of Dusty’s span about seven or eight years and the originals were presented as pop, soul, rock, ballads and even Phil Spector like anthems. What Lynne has done here is take them all to a laid back, stripped down soulful place that makes them all seem as though they were from the same session. That’s not as easy as it sounds, and this album will soon find a place with your late night, or Sunday morning listening pile.

When she does take Dusty head on with covers of “You Don’t Have To Say You Love Me” and “Anyone Who Had A Heart” she again finds that sweet spot that is best reserved for impossible to convey moments. Listening to this cut I was reminded of Patricia Neal’s wordless longing while washing the dishes in the movie “Hud.”

Now, I would be remiss if I didn’t point out a flaw, that while unforgivable, doesn’t sink the album. She has chosen to cover Dusty, covering Tony Joe White’s “Willie And Laura Mae Jones.” When I first saw this in the track listing my head began to spin at the possibilities. The delivered version here is a disappointment on several levels. For those not familiar with the song or the several other covers it may float by on the strength of its ambiance in regard to this project. However, for those of us who first heard this song in the late sixties and were shaken by the racial and political implications this is a major letdown. She decides to drop a verse in the middle and then inexplicably allows the song to fade part way during the final verse which is essentially the point of the entire song. I keep hoping the label will contact me and say there was an error during the mastering phase of the album. This performance of this song just makes no sense.

All of that said, one of the many things that makes this album so compelling is that cover albums, once a rare addition to an artists catalog, have become a burden. Thanks to the industry exploiting anything that was once unique and making it mainstream, even filler they (cover albums) now almost have a squirm factor attached to them. (You can also include “unplugged” and “duet” albums in this category at this point) Lynne could have coasted here and still come away with a fine recording, but instead of walking a familiar path, she instead steps out for stroll on the ledge. She has nothing to fear though, she can take that walk with all the confidence of someone with wings.

There's a MONSTER on the loose...

2007-09-19T21:20:00.000-05:00

A plague like presence invades my fair city...

Our vice president slithered into town earlier this week. It was a fundraiser for some local clone or clown, or someone of his own ilk. It doesn’t matter. With his vice presidency in its last throes everyone is just going through the motions until this administration crawls off into the sunset. I’m sure there will be no shortage of rocks for them to sample before picking their new home. Too bad there won’t be a shortage of air awaiting them too. But I digress…

Anyway back on topic, if that news wasn’t depressing enough this song came out of my radio during my drive home that evening. It’s nearly forty years old, but sounds like it’s summing up the last few years. You don’t necessarily conjure up visions of Steppenwolf when it comes to prophetic or profound lyrics, but who could argue with the results. It‘s a history lesson that was well documented, but never learned and now thanks to those in power is in full repeat mode. Don’t skim these lyrics, take a minute and go through them line by line. I swear they weren’t written yesterday.

I won’t flatter the vice president (the phrase takes on a whole new meaning with him doesn’t it?) with a mug shot. Instead, here’s a nice poster featuring our musical guest of the evening in their prime.

MONSTER

(Steppenwolf)

Once the religious, the hunted and weary
Chasing the promise of freedom and hope
Came to this country to build a new vision
Far from the reaches of kingdom and pope
Like good Christians, some would burn the witches
Later some got slaves to gather riches

But from near and far to seek America
They came by thousands to court the wild
But she just patiently smiled and bore a child
To be their spirit and guiding light

Then once the ties with the crown had been broken
Westward in saddle and wagon it went
And 'til the railroad linked ocean to ocean
Many the lives which had come to an end
While we bullied, stole and bought our homeland
We began the slaughter of the red man

But still from near and far to seek America
They came by thousands to court the wild
And she just patiently smiled and bore a child
To be their spirit and guiding light

The blue and grey they stomped it
They kicked it just like a dog
And when the war over
They stuffed it just like a hog

And though the past has it's share of injustice
Kind was the spirit in many a way
But it's protectors and friends have been sleeping
Now it's a monster and will not obey

The spirit was freedom and justice
And it's keepers seem "friendly" and kind
It's leaders were supposed to serve the country
But now they were paying no mind
'Cause the people got fat and grew lazy
now their vote is like a meaningless joke

You know they talk about law, about order
But it's all just an echo of what they've been told
Yeah, there's a monster on the loose
It's got our heads into a noose
And it just sits there watchin'

Our cities have turned into jungles
And corruption is stranglin' the land
The police force is watching the people
And the people just can't understand
We don't know how to mind our own business
'Cause the whole worlds got to be just like us

Now we are fighting a war over there
No matter who's the winner
We can't pay the cost
'Cause there's a monster on the loose
It's got our heads into a noose
And it just sits there watching

America where are you now?
Don't you care about your sons and daughters?
Don't you know we need you now
We can't fight alone against the monster.

All Summer Long...

2007-09-01T22:05:00.000-05:00

Frank takes a walk on the beach, gets his heart broken and tells us all about it .

It’s late summer 1966 and there’s a new record out about a summer romance that only lasts until the leaves start to fall surfacing on radio. Standard fare for sure, the scenario has played itself out many times in music and movies. It’s even part of the public domain as far as life experiences go. We’ve all had our variation on the theme.

Standard fare except the song is by Frank Sinatra sporting an arrangement by Nelson Riddle and a lyric from Johnny Mercer. This trio had worked magic several time before in the fifties. Times were different now and the stakes went beyond mere sales. This was more about still being relevant than top of the pops. They were all more than up to the task with “Summer Wind.”

Time may wait for no one, but in the case of Frank it didn’t matter because he always operated on his own sense of it. Releasing the song in September after summers end dropped any notion of it joining the ranks of typical summer songs. This one was now headed for early autumn, late night, melancholy as only he could deliver. From there it headed straight to aural immortality.

The summer wind, came blowin' in - from across the sea
It lingered there, to touch your hair - and walk with me
All summer long, we sang a song - and then we strolled that golden sand
Two sweethearts, and the summer wind.

The steely organ sets the mood of the song from the first few notes. It doesn’t mimic the sound of the wind or do anything fancy. Instead it’s used to jar the memory of the singer and let him tell his tale. He doesn’t slip into self pity or point the blame anywhere in particular. He only points out that it left with the wind as swiftly as it came. We all know that even a few months with just the right person can equate to a lifetime of memories when the poet in us punches the clock. This song understands that aspect of human nature perfectly. No hard facts are dredged up, we get only the skeletal outline of the relationship. Her hair and strolling on the beach are enough clues for us to fill in the blanks.

During that first verse the vocal has just a bit of restraint, as though he’s telling us more than he wants to talk about. We prod him though to tell us as much as he’s comfortable revealing. By the time the second verse comes into view he’s opening up a bit more, but not without reminding us that it was something from his past and not part of his present.

Like painted kites, those days and nights - they went flyin' by
The world was new, beneath a blue - umbrella sky
Then softer than, a piper man - one day it called to you
I lost you, I lost you to the summer wind.

In as few lines as possible we get a glimpse at that cherished summer. For a moment you can almost hear the waves hitting the shore as they claim their tracks. It ends so fast that we’re left to wonder how big the hurt that lingers really is. We have no indication as to what happened, we get only abstract clues masked in tight rhymes and matter of fact summations. Mercer was always economical with his lyrics and never wasted words if the singer could carry the sentiment. In Sinatra he had his singer. With just a simple vocal inflection Frank could save any writer a couple of lines here and there while devastating the listener.

The autumn wind, and the winter winds - they have come and gone
And still the days, those lonely days - they go on and on
And guess who sighs his lullabies - through nights that never end
My fickle friend, the summer wind.

At this point he’s grown tired of reliving the experience and wants to bring it to a close. The autumn and winter winds are dispensed with in a sing line. By the next line he’s back to that place where he’s been stuck since summers cruel end. In this instance the wind is like the sea that never returns what she takes. You can float on both the sea and the wind for a time. In this case though only for the passing of summer and nothing more.

When you examine Sinatra and his “love” songs there’s a pretty good chance that you don’t want to be the protagonist in very many of them. In his long career he suffered more through song than just about anyone. We all have our own ways of getting over a relationship. Frank’s way of getting over the hurt was motioning the bartender to pull something down from the top shelf, a rocks glass and fixing on that girl with the black party dress drinking alone across the room.

Can't Help Falling In Love

2007-07-31T18:20:00.000-05:00

A way too long review of the Elvis album "On Stage." Honestly, you could listen to it in less time than it will take to read this. Enjoy anyway!

Visit any music store (if there are any) and check out the Elvis section and you will likely be overwhelmed by your options. Depending on your level of fandom you should be able to satisfy your particular needs. However, if your interest lies in a live performance then it gets a bit dicey. You see one that has all of his best known songs and think it must be the best one. But then here’s another one with a lot of those songs and some others. And here’s yet another one…you get the picture.

Other than this 1970 disc, “On Stage,” every other live set in the rack showcases him at his best and worst all on the same disc. (This was originally titled: “On Stage, February 1970,” but shortened for the expanded CD issue) This one shows him at his best and doesn’t slip into to parody which is always lurking in the next groove with his live recordings. Many have made their living impersonating him over the decades, and he was no exception during his final years on the road. He just made a better living at it than the others.

Looking back it’s hard to believe this one even got released. It’s the lone raw example what he was capable of in a sea of “here we go again” fodder. This would be the only live recording not to lean on his past glories. Instead, in its own way it was celebrating his recent glory and resurrection. Just like anyone currently on the charts he’d had several hits in recent years and was enjoying the accomplishment.

Instead of giving the people what they thought they wanted he gave them what they needed. He reminded them that at thirty five he still had no equal as a singer. His re-emergence as a more soulful vocalist starting in 1968 was now in full stride. At the same time he was trying to balance that with learning to become a performer in an era far removed from the fifties. Taking a big show on the road and trying to be all things to all people would prove to be an exhausting task. It was good to be king, but still hard work. The single name of Elvis on the marquee and the ticket stub meant that all eyes and ears were on him no matter how many people he could fit on stage with him.

Although he didn‘t know it at the time, he was laying the template for the single artist arena shows that would follow. Audience members like Neil Diamond, Wayne Newton, and Barry Manilow among others were taking notes between ovations. Only Diamond would achieve the level of accolades Presley had as a live act. Newton and Manilow would achieve riches preaching to their respective choirs though. Elvis was able to showcase the spoils of rock and roll history with his live show. Neil was able to showcase an immense catalog of original populist music. Wayne and Barry could only disguise weak voices on shopworn tunes that found a home in the pre-soccer mom era. Let’s call them soap opera moms for the sake of argument.

If he were still here today (Sorry folks, I’m one of the nutcases who think he died in 1977) I would think that Elvis would cop to the fact that he owed more than just a tossed scarf to Tom Jones when it came to his seventies live shows. Jones was already incorporating a lot of what Elvis would use to remake himself for his new role as a road warrior. I would also guess that Tom enjoyed seeing what Elvis could do as much as the rest of us. He‘s just that kind of guy.

This post is starting to drag, so let’s go to the tape as they say….

Standouts are many and with the expanded version we get even more to enjoy. His take on Del Shannon’s “Runaway” is one of the best covers of his career. He easily summons the emotional turmoil of the original but his vocal lends a bit more melancholy than Shannon’s. The call and response of the backup singers is mined to perfection. It’s about as fine a two minutes and eighteen seconds as he ever committed to vinyl. Then, several tracks later we get a rare live version of “Kentucky Rain,” which is just an update of “Runaway” if you think about it, that will have you reaching for an umbrella. It’s pretty close to the recorded version, but again, he injects it with enough passion to have us out looking for her too by songs end. I should mention that James Burton carries the day with his guitar on both of these “Have You Seen Me?” pleas.

What should have been an eye roller actually turns out to be one of the best vocal performances of his career with “The Wonder Of You.” I could probably write a whole post (don’t tempt me) on his approach to this song. Saddled with a lyric that Hallmark would likely reject, but redeemed by a rolling melody that he effortlessly rides without looking down we’re reminded that sometimes a singers job is to actually sing a song. He knows exactly when to zig and zag on this one. No doubt a lot of rehearsal went into pulling this one off live and they knew they were recording this show so it probably benefits from that knowledge. This one pops up on oldies radio now and then, try to hear it with different ears and catch the nuance of his vocal and the power of the melody. Listen when he sings the line “I guess I’ll never know the reason why you love me as you do.” At that moment he’s still that kid from the streets of Memphis filled with an ache to sing for anyone who’ll listen. A careful listen to the lyrics and one could argue that the song is really a simple Valentine to all of his fans.

Hard rockin’ but loose takes on “See See Rider,” “Proud Mary,” and “Long Tall Sally” let us know that Sun may be out of business, but rock never went out of style. MOR staples “Release Me” and “Let It Be Me” have been done by everyone so it’s no surprise that he wanted to put his stamp on them too. And stamp he does. These live versions bring the intended urgency to the more staid versions already out there. If the originals were a guilty pleasure before, his recording them gives you a legitimate reason to like them.

Rushed versions of “Sweet Caroline” and “Suspicious Minds” make you wonder what might have been, but they’re not toss offs either. He was clearly moved by the sentiment of “Sweet Caroline” and not ready to cease basking in the glow of “Suspicious Minds.“ Faithful and impassioned offerings of “Don’t Cry Daddy” and “In The Ghetto” prove that he could still be moved by a lyric just like the rest of us. A wild and rocking version of “I Can’t Stop Loving You” owes more to Springsteen’s “Seeger Sessions” than to Ray Charles‘ “Modern Sounds In Country And Western.” The band is hitting it hard on all fronts and he works overtime to be heard above them. This is easily the best take by him on this one. A couple of times he tries to ground it a bit, but finally succumbs to the band and tears down the house right along with them.

Lastly this would be where he would debut the soon to be live staple “Polk Salad Annie.” It wouldn’t be long before he would just end up riffing on this one and try to milk the drama from it with scripted interplay from the band. On this night though he sticks to the script and pulls it right out from under Tony Joe White’s truck bed. It starts out down in Louisiana fighting off alligators to eat some polk salad, but by the time he gets done with it it’s up river in Memphis and sitting next to some ribs. There’s no way White wasn’t thinking of Elvis when he was writing this song.

As you can see from the top of this post, this was also one of the best album covers he ever had in his lifetime. This would be one of the rare times that a candid, unguarded photo of him would be used for an album cover. It’s absolutely a stunning photo. I wish I could credit the photographer, but I can’t find any info on the shot. Juxtapose this photo with the one on his debut album and you get a sense of how far he had traveled. Gone was the teenaged rocker with a beat up guitar. He was now the king of the whole wide world. The clothes he now wore were that of royalty. One thing is present on both covers though, he’s deep into the song he’s singing and his eyes are closed on both covers. The guitar has been replaced by a microphone and the jewelry he’s wearing didn’t come from a Memphis pawn shop.

Clearly the times were changing around him. In the next few years they would begin to swirl to the point that it was two completely different people on those album covers. He knew it better than anyone. For the rest of us it’s pretty much been one long case of denial.

What A Dream I Had Last Night...

2007-07-27T18:16:00.000-05:00

A quick review of Art Garfunkel in Kansas City, July 26, 2007

(A recent photo lifted from the Rolling Stone website due to the no camera's enforcement here)

The thrill of seeing live music has been on the wane with me for many years. Probably too many shows when I was younger and too much to do now to allocate the necessary effort they require. That said, I still know when something comes along with just me in mind and will still go that extra mile. Catching Art Garfunkel last evening at the Folly Theater was one of those times. This was the latest, and best, in the Cyprus Avenue at the Folly Theater series. Topping this one should be their new mission statement as far as I’m concerned.

To me this was an event of the highest order come to our fair city. Legends come and go and on this evening one dropped by to serenade us. Just knowing the artist, the song catalog and the venue assured everyone there of a special evening. It was like knowing who was gonna win before the game starts, the only thing left to determine was the margin.

As a pure vocalist he has had few peers in his lifetime. And at sixty five his voice may have lost some edge if hitting the highest of notes is the assignment. The assignment though is to move the listener and he’s still able to do that in ways I wasn‘t prepared for. His voice now sports a richness honed over decades of singing and his phrasing takes its place among any of the great pop singers. His latest recording of standards proves that he’s never lost his love for the “song.” He may have been fortunate enough to sing the songs of Paul Simon for the past forty plus years, but he knows he’s in an ocean, not a backyard pool when it comes to lending his voice out. For fans like me it’s a joy to hear him tackle anything.

I won’t go song for song or debate this or that, the Kansas City Star did a fine job of covering the nuts and bolts of the show. For my money it’s the way he presented himself and the music that elevated the evening. Working with just a four piece group and sticking to basic, only slightly textured arrangements, he managed to make the theater resemble a large recording studio. His praise of the theater and the crowd was off the cuff and never once did you feel he was having any less an enjoyable time than the audience. Apparently this was the first night of a short tour and he admitted to some nervousness. I suspect he’s a perfectionist when it comes to his music. And why shouldn’t he be, he’s offering quite a canon of American Popular Music.

Opening with Paul Simon’s solo era composition of “American Tune” was an inspired choice on several levels. First it let us know that a lot of thought went into his set list. Second, that he’s still very much connected to the ideals of the sixties and other peoples dreams not just his own. Taking a thirty five year old song, that hasn’t aged a day when you examine the lyrics, sent out a powerful statement. The evening of course wasn’t all heavy handed and there were more than enough light hearted moments to go around.

Including his own version of “The Boxer” was for me, the ticket price, parking and a cocktail (plus tip) all rolled into one. The song stands for me as one of the greatest of the twentieth century. (This link will take you to an earlier blog entry I did going on and on about it) Many others have covered the song, but I’ve never heard anyone other than him and Simon do it justice. It’s just too personal a song and others just can’t seem to get inside of it. But, if I could sing I’m sure I’d take a swing at it too.

Other special moments included his take on “Kathy’s Song” and “For Emily, Whenever I May Find Her.” Two songs that showcase the pure poet in Paul Simon. Either song could stand alone as a written poem without the music. Both performances bordered on a cappella and he had the crowd hanging on every word. And speaking of the crowd, they couldn’t have been better. There was silence while he was singing and silence while he was talking and enough applause to fill a much bigger hall. I may have to get out for a few more of these concerts.

I went there thinking an evening like this would make me feel young again by seeing someone from my musical youth. It didn’t. What it did make me feel was glad to be the age I am so that I could remember what it was like hearing all of those songs for the first time. (That was worth price of my wife’s ticket) To be a kid again and hear the DJ say that at the top of the hour he would play new music from Simon & Garfunkel, “a song about going to the Zoo.” Collecting all of their singles with the picture sleeves, then buying the album later, or seeing “The Graduate” and hearing their music used to such perfection up there on the screen. Youth isn’t wasted on the young, you just have to be older to enjoy it.

The Beatles, Bob Dylan and the Rolling Stones are no doubt the gateway through which the music of the sixties is filtered for the most part. No real argument here, but I would hate to think what my music collection would have been like without Paul and Art. Here’s wishing Art a successful rest of the tour and a nod to Paul, whenever we may find him.

Dusty Old Fairgrounds....

2007-07-02T18:13:00.000-05:00

A rambling (but mostly sober) meditation on the Fourth of July, Carnivals, the Circus, Annette, Fairyland Park, Bruce Springsteen, photography, patriotic songs and The Twilight Zone.

For no particular reason that I’m aware of I’ve never been to the circus. It wasn’t planned that way, it’s just never happened. Carnivals, and old school theme parks along with county fairs are another story though. To those I am the moth to their flame. Other than the clowns that have fallen out of favor over the years, (thanks no doubt to the likes of John Wayne Gacey and Shakes) the circus seems to be a fun time for family and friends. An assault on the senses for kids from one to ninety two.

A roadside carnival or fairground midway on the other hand seem to house a darker more sinister side of life. Maybe it’s the location of the park or the transient nature of the carnival that saps the colors from them and makes it all seem like something in sepia and covered in a “don’t touch that” patina from another time and place. (HBO’s “Carnivale” did nothing to restore them to family fare.) No doubt the steady parade of slice and dice movies over the years have given carnivals a less than warm and fuzzy vibe to overcome.

I try to not miss any carnivals that come to my area these days. I never set foot on a single ride, but I never arrive without my camera either. I’m there to capture what it is that makes them so seductive to me. Things have changed since I was a youth of course. The calliope has been replaced with whatever radio station plays the loudest music and most of the carnival workers today seem to have a an affordable dental plan. Insurance on the other hand has made bumper cars something you have to convince young people ever existed while the “Tunnel Of Love,” the “Freak Show” and “House Of Horrors” are now mostly seen in movies just before the acute loss of some slow moving teenager’s blood.

I tripped once getting off of the Octopus, other than that no lingering scars. Looking back I’ve fared much better in the big scheme of things than Martin Sloan (Gig Young) did in the Twilight Zone episode “Walking Distance.” But, I digress as I think back to those summer days and nights of colored lights, barkers, lead milk bottles, dull tipped darts, stuffed giraffes, holding on tight and foods no parent would let their kid look at today.

If you are from this area and grew up during the dying days of Fairyland Park in the sixties and seventies then you know what it is that I’m eluding to here. No movie set or memory can eclipse the actual experience of wondering those grounds as a youth. Nothing is left today but some photos, ride tickets, faded postcards and fading memories. (This link will take you to a page of photos shot by local photographer Chris Thomas who chronicled it in the days before it took its final breath.) If I could go back in time just once it would be to stand on those grounds again. I wish I could tell you why, but I have no idea. Maybe I think I’ll run into Gig Young or Rod Serling and we‘ll snap a few pictures in front of the Tilt-A-Whirl.

Somewhere along the way these permanent and mobile theme parks became associated with the Fourth of July. Off the top of my head I would guess Disney had something to do with it. I’m sure it didn’t start there but until he gave it his endorsement it probably wasn’t the tie-in it is today. Some people knock Disney, I don’t know, if it has to do with Annette then it’s fine with me.

This fourth of July will also provide no shortage of songs about the holiday for us to endure, if not occasionally sing along with. Most of them overwrought and devoid of any real meaning in today’s world. We will hear countless butchering’s of the national anthem or “America” and in the end be reminded of what a treasure Ray Charles was. Lee Greenwood will be dusted off while “Boy” George W. will take up valuable air, and airtime, telling us how great we all are on this particular day. Flags of all sizes and “These Colors Don’t Run” bumper stickers will outsell iPods for a day or two and then it will be business as usual again for us working stiffs.

For me though when it comes to accompanying soundtracks, the holiday always recalls Bruce Springsteen’s masterpiece “4th Of July, Asbury Park (Sandy).” Using a boardwalk carnival as its backdrop and metaphor, this song never fails to conjure up a steamy summer night of salty sea air blowing down a dilapidated stretch of beach on that vaunted Jersey shore. Two luckless lovers ponder their fate in a world that uses concrete instead of sand for its foundation. Time is passing them by and at their young age they feel life is like one of those rides that just keeps spinning faster and faster. They passed on the chance to grow up the first couple of times the ride stopped for them. Now they feel like it just won’t slow down long enough for them to jump on.

This song and its sentiment would eventually give birth to the album “Born To Run.” Most of the themes of that album are on display here in and behind the lyrics of this song. After that album it would be a mixed bag but nothing can erase the first time I heard that song. I’ll catch up with it sometime over the holiday and all will be as it should in my corner of the world. Maybe while watching a Ferris Wheel against the night sky.

To bring this ramble to its eventual close I guess this is what America means to me. (If you’re still reading, this link will take you to my photo blog entry of a roadside carnival from 2006 that I shot)

Have a safe holiday everyone.

On The Run InThe 1970's

2007-06-12T19:10:00.000-05:00

Neil Young takes on the seventies and wins hands down

Every musical artist who has survived long enough to have a “career” can expect that career to be broken down, analyzed, dissected and so on. It comes with the territory. One of the things that most often occurs is that the artist is assigned and “era” that more than likely refers to their best work. Sinatra of course had the fifties, the Beatles, Stones and Dylan all had the sixties. You get the picture.

My vote for the seventies goes to Neil Young. (Due to the numerous live recordings, and the fact that a whole band was contributing, I give Young the nod over the Grateful Dead for this accomplishment.) I can think of no other artist who produced so much first rate material for the duration of the decade. Lots of acts turned in memorable and historic recordings during the seventies. None did it year in and year out for ten years though. Even the best would stumble occasionally. Young never stepped off the beam though. As others would slip he just kept passing them with one impressive album after another.

Most artists have that one album that you just can’t love like you do all the others, not Young in the seventies. I can’t swear to it, but I can’t think of another major act who released more studio music in that time either. He was simply at his peak and followed his muse wherever it took him. Where he led, I followed like a puppy.

He had plenty of commercial success during that period too, but he never rested on it or tried to repeat himself. He was a rock act, a country act, a folk act, hard rock, soft rock, a live act, part of a group off and on and more. He never stood still. He released eleven solo albums and was a part of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young for “Déjà Vu” and “Four Way Street” during that stretch. I have no doubt the man needed a maid as busy as he was.

Music has always had prolific artists, but we’re focusing on consistency not quantity here. Some would say that Ryan Adams would be the modern day equivalent, but that’s wishful thinking. Young released thoughtful, concise recordings that inspired his generation. Adams vomits up demos, unstructured songs devoid of melodies and meandering musings that serve no purpose but to keep his name in magazines like “Paste” and “No Depression.” But I digress, I come here to praise Neil Young not bury Ryan Adams. (I’ll save that for a future post)

Here’s a list of each album Young released during the 1970’s. Let me know if any other artist can match this output. Note that this list doesn’t include “Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere” which came out in 1969. Also not included are the soundtrack “Journey Through The Past” and the first real box set if you think about it, the three album set “Decade.”

1970 - After The Goldrush
1972 - Harvest
1973 - Time Fades Away (Live)
1974 - On The Beach
1975 - Tonight’s The Night
1975 - Zuma
1976 - Long May You Run (W/ Stephen Stills)
1977 - American Stars ‘N Bars
1978 - Comes A Time
1979 - Rust Never Sleeps
1979 - Live Rust

Most acts would be glad to call that output a career and be proud. For Young it’s just one of the five different decades he’s released music in. The extraordinary music from Young didn’t end in the seventies by any means. He just hasn’t strung ten straight years together of essential recordings like those again. Stay tuned though, if anyone could do it a second time it would be him.

London Calling

2007-06-09T13:37:00.000-05:00

RED BUTTON - SHE'S ABOUT TO CROSS MY MIND

Other than “can we settle that bar tab now” the question I’m most often asked is “what have you been listening to?” Usually my answer is along the lines of “the same stuff I’ve been listening to for the past forty years.” I don’t soak up much of the new music these days. My listening tends to be from the sixties and seventies when like my parents would say “it was just better then.”

I’m not sure it was better then, it’s probably no different, I just happen to like it more. Give me a reissue on disc of some album I had as a youth and I’ll take it over anything scaling the charts today. You don’t have to have kids to sound like a parent. Then, just when I was getting nice and comfortable in middle age out of nowhere a new album comes along that was recorded in the past year that happens to be the best thing I’ve heard in years. Now here’s the catch: it sounds like it was recorded forty years ago. Hey, it’s still progress no matter how you look at it. It's a mid sixties Byrds meets Beatles and share some studio time affair.

The Red Button aren’t exactly a band, it’s more of a studio project. It’s the brainchild of Seth Swirsky and Mike Ruekberg. For lack of a better term they are behind the scenes songwriters for various acts and have had some major success in their time. Apparently their love of mid sixties, swinging London gave them the idea to create their own album for that scene. “She’s About To Cross My Mind” is that album. (And who better to create the perfect British pop album than a couple of guys from the states.) The fact that it’s a little too late to catch that wave didn’t derail them. Good thing. This album could have easily topped the charts back then. Sadly, it has no such chance now. If it means anything to them, it’s currently topping my personal chart.

So, if you remember a time when things were just as complicated in the world as they are today, but could have cared less if you had some cool new records then this one’s for you. Eleven songs, just over a half of an hour long, and from another century this album will get you through today’s headlines like nothing else.

If you want to hear some complete tracks drop by my cyber store and find it on the jukebox there. (Running a search on them you will find that I also have it for sale.) If you still need a final push you can check out their site and hear samples of each track. While you’re there click on the videos link for even more fun. It’s fab and gear to say the least.

Another Sleepy, Dusty Delta Day

2007-06-03T10:12:00.001-05:00

An ode to Bobbie Gentry's "Ode To Billy Joe"

I’ve read a couple of books on songwriting over the years and they all agree on getting the who, what, where and when covered as quickly as possible if you want to produce a compelling song. This song (along with Harry Chapin’s “Taxi”) gets that out of the way about as fast as any I’ve heard. Gentry spins a swirling gothic tale from the deep South that tells quite a story, but never lets us feel we’ve gotten the whole picture no matter how many characters and locales are introduced.

Time certainly falls through the hourglass for most characters in the song, but for the narrator that hourglass drips like quicksand. Life changes for everyone in very noticeable ways. For her though it now moves in a sort of slow, cruel cycle that returns her to the days surrounding the tragedy only to watch helplessly as Billy Joe jumps off the bridge continuously. Even if she closes her eyes he’s still in freefall. After all this time he still dies daily on radios throughout the world.

Wading through the verses the first thing you notice is that their dinner conversations were geographically and subject wise miles from the Cleaver household. Other than her appetite no one seems concerned with the narrator and the effect the news is having on her. The old man gets in his digs (and seconds) and lets it stand for gospel, the brother recalls some schoolboy prank while the mother brings it full circle by trying to speak well of the recently departed. Like any mother she withholds the news until everyone has wiped their feet. Incredibly no one even asks if anyone else has any thoughts as to why he took his leap to immortality. One small step for man, one giant leap for the music industry.

Speaking of the music industry, to fully understand the impact this song had on the world you have to consider the times when this song appeared. To say that it came out in late summer of 1967 is to only provide technical information. To be more precise it was the “summer of love.” (Or for me, a summer like any other on my street.)

In the real world though there was free love, the sex was clean and the air was dirty. “Sgt. Pepper’s…” was on every turntable, and reel to reel around the world. A war was raging, we hadn’t yet set foot on the moon, but it was inevitable. Headshops calling themselves “boutiques” were springing up on every corner. Everywhere there was hair and beads. Incense was wafting through the air. Drugs were the new alcohol. You needed to use both sides of a score card just to keep track of the changes and happenings in society. Then out of the ether comes a song by some Southern gal with an acoustic guitar about a teenage suicide involving a bridge that nobody could spell.

The song stormed up the charts and sat in the top spot like the old man on the mountain for a month. Everyone was talking about it. Everyone had their own forensic evidence as to what really happened and why. Again everyone focused on everybody but our heartbroken narrator.

The thing that makes “Ode To Billy Joe” a classic is the same thing that makes the film “Pulp Fiction” a classic. (I bet you never thought you’d see that song and movie in the same sentence) Think about it though: over the course of roughly four minutes we find out everything there is to know about this family and their eventual fates. However, we never find out why Billy took the plunge or what him and the girl were throwing off the bridge. (Forget the movie version of the song) In “Pulp Fiction” after close to three hours we have been taken on a dizzying ride that covers everything under the sun except resolving the actual impetus for the events of the film. We never learn what it was in the briefcase stolen from Marsalis Wallace. In both cases we hardly care, the ride and aftermath are really the story. Details only get in the way. Our guesses are as good as anyone’s. Call it what you will, the bottom line is it made us think.

The song eventually left the charts but it’s never left our conscious. It’s become a part of musical history and in a sense our own history. I would venture to say that you wouldn’t be able to use a single line from it in a trivia contest to stump someone. There isn’t a single throwaway line in the bunch, we know them all by heart at this point. It was one of those songs that told us life was complicated if we didn‘t already know it.

Today is the fortieth anniversary of Billy Joe’s historic jump. This blog entry though isn’t for him or his demons. It’s for the girl left behind who I bet hasn’t aged a day anytime this song echoes through the delta. Instead of offering you the lyrics or a video I’ll let you go out and find the song on your own and spend some quality time with it.

Top 50 Favorite Albums: Part #1

2007-06-02T13:06:00.000-05:00

If you scroll back through the posts to #10 in this series you’ll see my criteria and purpose for this series of posts. If you’re having trouble sleeping you can check out all fifty albums and my reviews/defense of them as you move through the posts. It’s been hard work, but it was fun to listen to these again and reacquaint myself with them all these years later. After the first ten or so the numbers might change a bit, but the same albums would still be in the mix.

1. Slim Slo Slider - Johnny Rivers

Sorry to disappoint here if you were expecting an album you’ve heard of. I take the word favorite in its most literal sense in this case. For over thirty years this album has been my constant companion. I’ve never grown tired of it and when it finally surfaced on CD the love affair started all over again. I think I can safely say I’ve probably played this one more than anything else.

The time was 1970 and Rivers was still moving in a spiritual direction. Unlike many artists who choose this path he took a more subtle approach and found it in the works of others. Nothing overt here at all, but the theme is there if you look. Rivers had made his career covering the works of others and showcasing both known and unknown writing talent. For this one he went to album tracks from some of his favorite writers and pooled them all for his best recording.

With a voice like his nearly any song is your oyster. He’s one of the greatest of the blue eyed soul singers and on this collection he merged it with the sounds that were coming out of the West Coast country rock scene. It’s an organic sound that contains no flash, just a singer at the top of his game. Using the best studio musicians in L.A. and covering the works of Van Morrison, Tony Joe White, John Fogerty, Gram Parsons, and others he makes it all sound like they were destined to be heard together.

There's no deep message floating above or below this album. It is simply a pleasant listening experience that I turn to more than any other in my collection. It's all you could want in an album.

When this finally arrived on CD it was from a European label that paired it with his follow up album “Homegrown” where he continued the same concept. It comes close to this one, but not quite its equal. If you’re ambitious though one could easily cull the best tracks from both into a classic mix-disc.

2. Blood On The Tracks - Bob Dylan

I could write for days about this album, but what would be the point? This is the most universally lauded album of his endless career. It means so many different things to so many different people we should all just spin it and enjoy it in our own way.

Feel free to talk among yourselves.

3. Astral Weeks - Van Morrison

This album is proof of my mortality. When it comes to this album I’m no different than anyone else. I’m a slave to its sway just like anyone else. I can still remember that long ago late evening listening to my clock radio when I first heard the song “Madame George” and being just as seduced as the characters in the song. (Suddenly my 45 of “Brown Eyed Girl” seemed quaint and possibly by some other artist with the same name.)

Other than a few Leonard Cohen songs nothing beats this one when it’s too late and you’ve maybe drank too much. Where a song like this comes from I can‘t say. The imagery and the swirl of the instruments for nine minutes is like very few things I’ve ever heard. Nearly forty years later I still feel the same each time I hear it. You can say goodbye to Madame George all you want, but he’ll never truly be gone.

The rest of the album of course is just as strong and singling one track out is tantamount to picking your favorite child. The leap from this recording and “Blowin’ Your Mind” that proceeded it is the Grand Canyon and then some. Even an early version of “Madame George” doesn’t tip you off to what’s coming next.

At the time (1968) this album was just too much for the masses and it never registered with the buying public. It failed to even make Billboard’s Top 200 when it was released. Reviewers and FM jocks kept it alive though and over time it has found a home on nearly every “Best Of” list of albums that you can name. If you find one that doesn’t include it move along and forget anything else listed.

4. The Wild, The Innocent… - Bruce Springsteen

Hearing this album for the first time was a revelation for me musically. It was at that point when I knew I was going to judge the music I liked differently. I was in the midst of shaking off Deep Purple, I’d already dumped Sabbath and was tiring of Zeppelin. I guess in hindsight it seemed like a regular guy got to make an album the way he wanted to. I’m not sure looking over these tracks today that the label had any hopes of anything but FM play for this one. The funkiness and length of the songs made it a sure bet that AM wasn’t chomping at their heels for focus tracks.

I actually heard this one before his debut “Greetings From Asbury Park.” I’ve grown to appreciate it over the years without ever completely embracing it. I often wonder what he thought of the final product too. These two albums were released only eight months apart in 1973. A trend he would never revisit. I’ve always felt that this album was really him and that the other one was him exorcising his Dylan influence. (Bruce, call me we’ll hash this out.)

I don’t think I’ve ever heard this album referred to as a concept album in the traditional sense. To me though it is one of the better ones. The entire set plays like some Jersey version of “West Side Story.” Not to wax to poetic here but Berstein and Sondheim surely must have heard some of this over the years and noticed the influence. The nearly twenty five minute, three song second side of the original album is a prefect example of the magic of vinyl. This would be the least self conscious he would ever get with his music. Probably because at this point he was making it for himself as much as anyone.

If one song is truly worth the price of an entire album then you need only to check out the second song on side one. “4th Of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)” is a song that I will never tire of. Set against the backdrop of a boardwalk carnival, serving the role of metaphor, this song set the stage for both the song and the album “Born To Run.” The nuance of the vocal and the sweep of the lyrics sound like a short story come to life with the narrator finally putting into words what he can no longer hold inside.

Before we go here, let me also mention that I think this is one of his best recordings when it comes to just plain singing. He showed a soulful side and never once drops into the growl that he would debut on “Born To Run.” This album sounds like it was as much fun to make as it is to listen to.

5. Never A Dull Moment - Rod Stewart

This selection is truly just keeping this spot warm for Stewart’s early solo material. At any given moment his debut, “Gasoline Alley,” and “Every Picture Tells A Story” could be in this slot. Those albums are almost interchangeable in their energy and importance to my musical upbringing. They all contain the perfect mix of covers, originals, sloppy, but effective instrumentation and vocals. What’s not to like?

This one gets the nod because I could hardly sleep in the days leading up to its release. Then, I could hardly sleep for weeks afterwards although I should have been fatigued from turning it over so many times. I even sprung for the eight track because it contained an extra cut. It was his cover of the country standard “What’s Made Milwaukee Famous.” Why it was left off the album is a mystery to me. The album isn’t very long and it wouldn’t have been out of place as far as I’m concerned.

The cracks would begin to show a bit after this album before the damn finally burst. However, between his early solo albums and the Faces albums coming out around them it’s a pretty decent stack of wax by any measure. Who could blame him for grabbing the ring when it came around? A hot British actress for a main squeeze, a different girl in every other town, untold riches, vacations on the Riviera, luxury autos, yeah we’d all turn the other way to keep our street cred, right? Let’s be real, he’d put in his time during the sixties and deserved some of the spoils of the seventies. No hard feelings here, just a big thanks for those early recordings.

Top 50 Favorite Albums: Part 2

2007-06-01T17:53:00.001-05:00

All but there...

6. Let It Bleed - Rolling Stones

Everything good or bad eventually comes to an end. (Yes, even the current administration will eventually become part of our dark history) This album was essentially the last album of the sixties. Released in late November it arrived like and early Christmas present for a dying child. In this case the doomed child was the sixties. In that ten year stretch of time that poor kid had been turned inside out , kicked in the teeth, blown apart, shot down and set on fire countless times. However, it would prove to be an extremely resilient decade and as it rose from the ashes you could almost hear the opening licks of “Gimme Shelter” seeping through the smoke.

Rock had arrived in the fifties like some bastard stepchild. By the end of the sixties bands like this served notice that it was here to stay, no matter who were the parents. They would never look back, they would solider on and carry the torch for the next few decades. Sometimes higher than others. Their break with the past started with “Beggars Banquet” and it’s blues infused, hard acoustic sound. Mick and Keith had dropped all pretense of thinly veiled tales of drugs, women and booze at this point. With this album all vices were front and center. If radio found something that didn‘t address it too directly it was fine with them. They just weren‘t going to make any more concessions.

Not that either band cared, but this was also the turning point where they and the Beatles decided to sever the cord once and for all see what they were capable of by looking straight ahead instead of over their shoulders. Clearly, they were their own band at this point. And with that realization, they became everyone’s band.

There is no real traditional ebb and flow to this album other than the closer of “You Can’t Always Get What You Want.” There is nowhere else on the album you could have placed this one. Each song is almost a jolt from the one before it. They were writing great stuff in several styles at this point. It’s more an audio diary of how they spent 1969 than anything. At this point Brian Jones had one foot out the door, and would have both in the grave by the time of the albums release. Mick Taylor was just coming through the door. It (the album) all but served as the exit music for the sixties. Fading in the opener of “Gimme Shelter” was a good idea. That song really has no beginning or end, we simply get a slice of the vibe and ride it out with them for a few minutes.

There’s nothing resembling a hit single here, these are truly album tracks that vary in length and style. Album oriented rock had already been established, but this is a pretty good example of what its true definition is.

7. The Beatles (White Album) - Beatles

I guess it’s my turn to take on this gargantuan album that just seems to get whiter and longer with each passing year. Although they would suck it up and actually return to being a group for “Abbey Road” on this one they all got a chance to try out their solo careers with the others as their backing band. Like anything intended for the masses, results may vary depending on how adventurous you were then and now. Me, I’ve always been drawn to it like a puzzle that you just can’t resist trying to assemble every now and then. At just under ninety four minutes it’s a lot to digest in one sitting. The first side is easily my favorite. The others don’t have the flow, but they yield some real gems just the same. No need to bore you with them here, you know them by heart.

I’ve always thought that they missed a great opportunity to establish a new format for vinyl with this one: that of the three sided album. This one has just a bit too much indulgence here and there and could have been trimmed. (Since there’s no doubt that Paul and Ringo read this blog I’ll not mention how I would have edited it down.) The three sided album would eventually surface, but was relegated to novelty status since Johny Winter wasn’t in their league when he released “Second Winter.” Had the Beatles done it first it would have no doubt become the new standard. A standard that many double albums over the ensuing decades should have heeded.

Bottom line is that this is the Beatles trying to come to terms with everything going on in their lives in late sixties London. The hoards of screaming women and been whittled down to wives and kids now. They had to get up and go to work just like everyone else. Beatlemania was a couple of years and a couple of lifetimes away at this point. To these ears they carried the weight pretty well all things considered.

8. Grievous Angel - Gram Parsons

You all know the story of Parsons and his too short life. You may even have all of his recordings. The only thing left to figure out is how someone so young could make such a fully realized album with no clunkers in a genre that belied his lifestyle to such a large extent. I have no answer or clever twists to follow the question. His body of work is worthy of all the accolades still being presented though. It simply holds up better than many others who took similar paths when trying to merge country and rock.

I know a lot of people hate them, but this is probably where the Eagles got their early sound as much as anywhere. I have to think they were hip to Parsons and his earlier material. There’s nothing raw or sloppy about Parsons’ approach to music. He was just as in love with the country music that was coming out of Nashville as anyone. His problem was he could write and find better material. He also had an angelic voice that could show emotion and not fall into parody like so many others. To bring this full circle, he simply loved country music, he just felt there was another way to sing and play it. No arguments here.

The title track alone is reason enough to include the album on this list. He didn’t stop there though, using Elvis Presley’s band and Emmylou Harris they took us down those twenty thousand roads on a thrill ride I‘ve never gotten over. Since this one came out years before bloated CD’s and shuffle options this one was carefully sequenced. It opens with the title track, kicks off the second side with a irresistible fake live recording, throws in some covers and closes with a hopeful country prayer. In its own way it serves as an audio epitaph. He would be dead before this one even reached the pressing plant. Thankfully music is something that never dies.

9. Who’s Next - Who

I’ll keep this one short and sweet. There’s not much I can add to this albums history. This was simply the right album at the right time for this band. They would never top this one for a complete work as far as I’m concerned. Townshend was one of the more prolific of the rock writers of his era. He had large ambitions, but at this heart he was a rocker just like the rest of them. This is also perhaps their most varied album. The sequencing is perfect from start to finish.

By the time of this release the group had already hit all of the checkpoints for a classic sixties British band. They had an initial hit right out of the box, had a non instrument playing lead singer, gave props to U.S. R & B acts, lived hard, looked scruffy, delivered an incendiary live recording and recorded a double album. The only thing missing that everyone else had done was they needed the obligatory seven minute or longer FM staple to reach the summit. With “Won’t Get Fooled Again” they scaled the mountain and planted the flag.

Unlike a lot of music in my collection this one sounds better and better with the passing years. I don’t play it every week or day like I once did, but I play it start to finish whenever I do.

10. Bookends - Simon & Garfunkel

Over the course of a lean five album career this duo left us with as many signature songs as anyone with twice as many offerings. Speaking of lean, running just over twenty nine minutes they manage to offer a mini opera about life in our fair land and four top forty singles including the iconic “Mrs. Robinson.” Not a bad half hour at the studio if you ask me. Much like the Beatles “Magical Mystery Tour” the first side was new and unheard material, while the second side gathered up their recent singles. In their capable hands it all comes off seamless and as long as we’re using words that end in “less” let’s throw in timeless.

When this came out in 1968 they were among the elite groups that had their material equally embraced by AM and FM radio. If you had a transistor taped to you handlebars you got “A Hazy Shade Of Winter.” If your dad had some nice hi-fi gear in the family room you got “America.” “America,” now there’s a song that could nearly define the sixties that we knew. We’ve aged quite a bit, but it’s never lost its edge or its meaning no matter how many years you pile on top of it. Wish I could say the same.

Although he’s won every award there is other than world’s tallest man I still think Simon’s contributions to music are underrated. If you look over just the hits you’ll find one of American music’s most creative and inventive composers. I say inventive because of his never mentioned prowess on the guitar. His intros alone are some of the most memorable the airwaves have ever broadcast. When was the last time one of their songs came on the radio and you couldn’t place it until you heard the lyrics? The complex fingering intro of “Mrs. Robinson” tips you off that the title character is a complicated person. The poignant resignation in the strumming on “Homeward Bound,” the calming notes of “Bridge Over Troubled Water” or the melancholy of “Still Crazy After All These Years.” You get the idea. These are complete songs, not poetry set to music like other writers sometimes rely on.

All of their albums have their shining moments and “Bridge…” is one that could have had this slot. The thing that holds that one back for me is the production is a bit over the top and the inclusion of “Bye, Bye Love” recorded live just doesn’t feel right. It should have been a B-Side instead. That said I never program around the track either. For such a classic album it just lacks a flow that should be there. “Bookends” has no such problem. My only gripe is the short running time, I just don’t want it to end.

Top 50 Favorite Albums: Part 3

2007-05-28T13:50:00.000-05:00

Just about there...

11. Northern Lights, Southern Cross - Band

At this point on the list when you see a single album from a group it’s pretty much just holding the spot for their collected works. For most of the artists now it’s almost impossible to narrow it down to a single album. For the purpose of this exercise I’ll just pick one that stands out more often than not and let it go at that.

Also, as I look at the remaining titles I should point out that everything from about fifteen to number one have topped this list at some point in my life. So don’t take the remaining rankings as gospel, take them as guidelines. As for this album I’ve already discussed it inside a previous post and you can follow this link to my thoughts on it.

12. London Calling - Clash

This album closed out the seventies in grand fashion. I personally never cared for their first two albums. I know many others who swear by them, but they still don’t connect with me even after all these years. This one however endures and is probably the hardest rocking thing you’ll find around my disc player these days.

Nothing from the first two albums prepared me for this one. Punk was about dead at this point. The initial burst was flaming out and the groups were faced with the same things as groups in other genres: they had to continue to make new music. Most of the bands were running on fumes and trying to keep it alive anyway they could. This band decided to re-invent themselves as a more broad based band and began to explore other styles of music. Their marriage of rock and reggae is hinted at here and would burst into full bloom on their next album “Sandinista.” They also tackled rockabilly, R&B, some soul, ska and just plain old roots based rock.

With Guy Stevens producing they offered up one of the few double albums that you wouldn’t want to have one less song on. They hit the ground running on the opening cut and never let up. It’s not a concept album or broken down by sides, they simply careen all over the road on their way to musical history. The best way I know to get back in touch with your inner rocker.

13. Tumbleweed Connection - Elton John

Lyricist Bernie Taupin has never hidden the fact that this album was inspired by the music that The Band was making at the time. If you were into music at that time and interested in it at its most organic then you too would have been inspired by what The Band was doing. What Taupin and John did that was so magical though is that they just let it serve as their inspiration and didn’t try to replicate the sound of The Band. They instead had their own unique spin on what Americana meant to them and came up with a flawless album.

This is one of those albums where I could make a case for every single song, but I won’t because anyone reading this is probably in step with this one. Thirty some years later this one still unfolds like a dusty collection of short stories that you’d find in an old shop. Songs of place and home told in an uncluttered fashion that makes them powerful still today. I often wonder how many successful songwriters wish they would have written “Country Comforts.” Remembrance of years gone by has rarely been stated so eloquently in song.

Like any great album you can start with the cover and the original packaging and almost sense the type of songs waiting inside. Even the color tinting and the texturing of the paper has an old west look and feel to it. They knew that had created something special.

14. From Elvis In Memphis - Elvis Presley

For an artist with so many recordings it’s amazing how few really complete albums Presley released. When you take away the soundtracks, live albums, holiday music, and gospel sides all you’re really left with are his first couple of long players. This 1969 album is one of the few exceptions. Over the course of his career he had sung gospel, rock, country, ditties for soundtracks and MOR covers, so it was a bit of a surprise when he emerged from American studios under the guidance of Chips Moman as a blue eyed soul singer.

This was no lark, he nearly reinvented the genre with these recordings. If you live long enough (and I hope you all do) you will hear just about everything you can imagine said about him. One thing you’ll never hear though is someone saying they don’t like his voice. If there’s a male singer anywhere out there who wouldn’t trade their voice for his don’t trust them on anything.

These Memphis sessions had yielded a parcel of new singles that the public was gladly devouring and at thirty four he was on a roll. There are several disc collections that collect all of the songs from these sessions, but back in the day this album was all there was. Combining country and soul covers Moman and Presley found a groove that must be heard to be believed. This album doesn’t have one track that you would program around today, or a side that you would have played less than the other back in 1969.

Using the risky strategy of mainly recording songs that were identified with other artists Presley all of a sudden had some well known acts see their signature tunes all but taken away from them. Check out his take on “Gentle On My Mind” and you’ll see how glad Glen Campbell must have been to see him cover so many others. He takes a fine country tune and gives it a Southern spin and delivers one of his best vocals. His live (in the studio), with false starts, cover of the Eddy Arnold standard “I’ll Hold You In My Heart” may be his finest and most raw vocal though. Unadorned by strings or any real production he takes the song from a crooning lament to the depths of the blues. I can’t help but feel this is a demo that they couldn’t improve on and just let it be. A gutsy call considering how he had been handled over the years. Nearly every song here has it’s own unique story.

The one nod to the past was that RCA was still not including most of his singles on albums. You had to make separate purchases to keep pace. Thinking back if this album would have included “Suspicious Minds” and “Kentucky Rain” it might have never left the charts. They almost did us a favor by not including them. We wouldn’t have been able to handle it. I know at thirteen I couldn’t have. Over the next few years he would continue to release worthwhile material, but this album will settle any arguments as to whether he still had it or not.

15. Romeo’s Escape - Dave Alvin

For a few years after its release this was my top album. As a die hard Blasters fan this was one of the most anticipated albums in years for me. It had even more raw energy than the Blasters albums. Dave was the songwriter and guitarist of the band. His brother Phil has an amazing voice. What Dave lacked in polish he made up for with emotion.

For this album he even went back and gave us his take on some of the Blasters material. I’ll take his versions over the ones by the band for the reasons mentioned in the previous paragraph. This album also debuted his first (of many) non Blasters classics, “4th Of July.” In that single song he offers everything that was great about the roots rock sound that was beginning to gain favor.

Unlike a lot of artists who debut with an album this strong this was not the end of the creative road for him. It was more of a warning shot to everyone else that there was a new kid on the block and he was going to be a permanent resident for many more years.

Top 50 Favorite Albums : Part 4

2007-05-24T12:05:00.000-05:00

Getting closer....

16. McCartney (Solo Debut) - Paul McCartney

I once read where this album was recorded in his living room. It sounds like it, and I don’t mean that in a derogatory way at all. I absolutely love the ambiance of this recording. Free from all of the studio innovations and surrounding musicians, one of the iconic musicians and composers of the twentieth century found solace between the telly and fireplace in his own home.

More than any other member of the Beatles Paul had tipped his hat on the final group recordings as to what lay ahead for him, and later Wings. A quick listen to the “White Album” (we’ll get to it later) reveals Paul stripping it all away and relying on his acoustic guitar and piano for his current recordings. Any bootleg connoisseur knows that he had tested some of this material with the Beatles and revisited it here in its more intimate form.

One, including me, could argue that had he included the single “Another Day, ” saved “Blackbird” and dumped some of the instrumental forays he would have come up with an unimpeachable classic. I think he came close enough to include it on this list. And, if it matters, this album has one of the best covers I have ever seen. As an amateur photographer and album cover junkie I have seen few that come close to this one. The values and placement of the three colors of black, white and red are stunning. Nice job Linda.

17. Kristofferson (Debut) - Kris Kristofferson

This album should probably be ranked higher, but the clock is ticking and it’s hard to shuffle things around again. When this album came out he was thirty three years old and another struggling songwriter in Nashville with rugged good looks, a smoke stained voice and a guitar case full of songs. A quick couple of years later this album was a 401K in waiting for Nashville acts looking for job security.

Perhaps his greatest accomplishment was waking country music from its decade long slumber of precision production, mannered instrumentalists and pitch perfect vocals. The “outlaw” movement was born in the grooves of this album. Country was relocated from its comfortable suburban setting and returned to the open road, by the hour motels and dive bars where it came from. The songs on this album contain no heroes or role models to cling to. These characters are dusty, windblown, burned out, looking for a place to crash and spend any available cash on booze and cigarettes. They clearly have “nothing’ left to lose.” Cash only, no checks or PayPal please.

There’s much to single out here, but “Sunday Morning Coming Down” is my universal choice. It’s more than the musings of some stoned drifter. This song is profound on several levels. Over the course of the song he touches nearly every theme that comes to mind when stepping outside on any Sunday morning and staring at the sun in any town where you suddenly realize you’re on your own. Over the past thirty plus years hundreds of artists have tried to re-write this song and have never come close. There was no precedent for this song in 1969 and any attempt since then or now comes of as just that.

I would venture to say that Hank Williams, Roger Miller, Kristofferson and later Willie Nelson have contributed to more changes in country music than just about anyone. I’m not saying they are better artists than everyone else, but what they brought to the table changed the music and helped shape its future like few others

18. Lucky Town - Bruce Springsteen

After the over the top success of “Born In The USA” and the modest acceptance of “Tunnel Of Love” Columbia somehow convinced Bruce to resort to a cheap gimmick for his next studio releases. This album along with “Human Touch” were both released on the same day in 1992. The similarity ends there. The two albums couldn’t be more different. The most glaring difference is one is great and the other is all but forgettable.

For the first time in years Springsteen forgot about where he was in the world and instead longed for the times when the next meal was going to come wrapped in wax paper and paid for with change. Free of all the trappings of his fame he simply went in the studio and made a straight ahead rock album. In an age of CD’s this one even felt like an album. Running about forty minutes and having what appears to be an intended sequencing this one borders on classic.

As with many great albums this one ended up on the scrap heap and can be bought for about the price of a happy meal on Amazon. The frat boys and hangers on who propelled him to the top had no time for more poignant subject matter. Tales of love and redemption in the arms of others had far less appeal than thinly veiled metaphors for them. No problem, Bruce was happy and so was I that he got back to where it all felt right for him again. When these two releases came out I was in the retail music business. When my customers asked me which one to buy my reply was to buy two of this one and share it. The advice still holds today.

19. For Everyman - Jackson Browne

We’ve all heard of the “sophomore slump” in sports and of course music. We seldom hear about the “sophomore success.” On this second album from Browne he simply hits it out of the park and then some. Everything attempted or hinted at on his compelling debut is fleshed out here into one of the best albums ever from a singer songwriter.

The thing that drives this one is his wide eyed vision and perception. At the age of twenty five he came up with an age appropriate album that didn’t preach or pretend any profound observations. Instead he chose the road less traveled and turned to the rest of us and said “here’s what’s happening to me, what’s everyone else thinking.” The brilliance of the writing is how it asks so many questions without pretending to know any definitive answers.

As ridiculous as this sounds, next time you hear “Take It Easy” from either him or the Eagles take the time to absorb the lyrics. I know we’ve all been on autopilot with this one for decades, but give it a chance. It’s “Me And Bobby McGee” from a different angle. There’s no sad ending, but more a celebration of love, life and its possibilities. He also included his version of the oft recorded “These Days” and reminds us all how powerful a song about thoughts can be. By the time of the album ending title track comes along we’ve come full circle and are ready for the world.

He would go on to have some serious commercial successes and even pen some more classic songs. He would never, to my tastes, come up with another complete album like this one though. Politics and the realities of the world we all live in took their toll over the years. If I could offer him any advice at this point it would be from his own song: “Lighten up while you still can.”

20. Down & Dirty - Bobby Bare

If you know me at all, even a little bit, then you know of my admiration of Bobby Bare. Like many of the sixties country acts who recorded for RCA he as was part of the assembly line that Chet Atkins and the powers that be were churning out. Unlike a lot of those acts Bare had a voice that was suited for more than AM country radio. He didn’t write his own material, instead he interpreted the songs of others.

The thing about those “others” was that they were Tom T. Hall, Kris Kristofferson and most notably Shel Silverstein more often than not. Those guys were all great writers who wrote songs that everyone wanted to record. The key word here though is vocalist. Bare has one of those conversational voices that is capable of either singing or speaking the lyrics. A friend I used to work with referred to him as the best friend a song ever had. I couldn’t agree more. You would have to hear him to fully understand what it is he does. He takes a lyric and doesn’t so much sing it as he caresses it. If you’ve heard him then you know what I mean. If not, pick up something and give it a listen. You could start with this one if you’re adventurous enough.

This live recording from 1979 features him in his element in a small room with an enthusiastic crowd along for the ride. The twist with this album is that all of the selections had not been recorded by him previously. A risky approach but in his capable hands it all seems natural as can be. My guess is that this was an in the studio live recording with an invited crowd. That said it sounds anything but canned. Artists considering recording a live album would do well to check this one out to see how a master works the room.

Top 50 Favorite Albums: Part 5

2007-05-17T18:01:00.000-05:00

Half way there...

21. (Untitled) (Un-issued) [Two Disc Reissue] - Byrds

Until this came out as a two CD set this one would not have made this list. The live set was just too forced for my tastes at the time and the studio tracks showed a band going a different direction. On this reissue you get the original album as a single disc (which is still pretty cool), the second disc is all unreleased studio and live performances that make this one a keeper.

The group was of course a far cry from the original band at this point. For the previous few years this had been essentially Roger McGuinn and friends. Their base was now somewhere in Nashville and not the studios of L.A.. All of these additional cuts are simply wonderful and beg the question of what was going on with the initial issue of this set. Perceived commerce no doubt. If you prefer your Byrds with a more country slant and a sound that veers closer to Little Feat than Poco grab this one.

22. Let It Be (Either version) - Beatles

Put me in the minority of those who don’t particularly care for all that Spector did as a producer. This one has always worked for me in much the same way his singles with Lennon seemed to bring out the best in both of them. In reality I’m not sure he did all that much here based on outtakes and alternates of the songs. To fully understand the greatness of this album you have to do a bit of homework.

As someone who has chased down and listened to countless hours of bootlegs and watched endless DVD’s of these sessions I feel I can comment on this one. The first thing that you learn from those hundreds of hours and miles of tapes is this forty some minute disc is really all the usable material there is. However, to me it’s one of their best efforts, flaws and all. Even before Paul decided that it needed to be peeled away this one was already pretty bare. The addition of Billy Preston was a stroke of genius and his organ carries the day on several songs.

If it had been up to me here’s what I would have done with this redux: I would have used most of the new mixes that Paul did and also added “Don’t Let Me Down” to the set list. I then would have left intact the dialog and the original running order. Then as a bonus I would have included a second disc with the entire “rooftop concert” as a real coda to an incredible decade. For a band that started their career essentially in a basement it seemed fitting that it would conclude on a rooftop.

23. Pet Sounds - Beach Boys

This album shows up on nearly any list of favorites, long or short. It’s almost an obligatory inclusion. But, to be honest there is a reason for that, the album still sounds great and innovative and no one it seems is immune to its charms. Unlike a lot of forty year old albums this one still has many layers to peel away (mono or stereo) with each new listen.

In time I would spend years listening to their early seventies trilogy of “Sunflower,” “Holland” and “Surf’s Up” and marvel at the depth of their talents during changing times. Although it sounds silly after all these years, I still think this group is underrated in many ways. They have become such a part of the “fabric” that their initial and subsequent impact has been softened with time. I include this one because I’ve never taken it out of the “rotation” and like “Sgt. Pepper’s…” it works as a complete suite when you’ve got the time. Song for song it’s a pile of singles that you don‘t have to get up and keep flipping. It’s also one of the few albums that has perfect sequencing.

To focus on one track, the song that still haunts me all these years later is “Caroline No.” The opening verse is one of my favorite’s ever in a song. In that short verse lyricist Tony Asher captures that moment when summer ends and you return to school and learn that the girl you left in May is another person. More than her hair has changed, but it starts there.

It’s that frozen moment you step on the bus and glance down the isle and there she is all of a sudden, or maybe you get to homeroom and spot her walking in with her new look and new friends. You have lost some ground since the last time you saw her. You’re still playing sandlot ball and she’s wearing makeup and hose. It‘s one of those moments that unfolds in slow motion like the dream where you can‘t quite dial a phone or react fast enough to impending doom. Quicksand has replaced solid ground and your arms weigh a hundred pounds. You’ll spend the rest of your life searching for that elusive moment that slipped away. You’ll never regain it no matter how hard you try. We’ve all been there.

“Where did your long hair go
Where is the girl I used to know
How could you lose that happy glow
Oh, Caroline no”

24. Get Yer Ya Ya’s Out - Rolling Stones

I know this isn’t really one complete show per say, but it has that vibe. For me this was the first time I’d heard a live album that actually made me think there had been a real concert somewhere. Some of the faux-live junk that came out in the sixties like The Kinks “Live At Kelvin Hall” and even the Stones’ “Got Live If You Want It” were simply awful. As big a fan as I was I knew when my lunch money was funding a label obligation and little else. Well, maybe I knew.

This one has the loose swagger of a band that is in total control of the moment and lets the crowd climb on for the ride. I’m probably wrong, but this was the first time I can remember a concert album not being a “greatest hits” done live. They didn’t know it at the time, but they were on the verge of putting a stake in the sixties while taking a leering, often salacious gaze at the upcoming decade. No doubt they were setting their sights on claiming it without having to worry about the Beatles ever again. Satisfaction was just a moonlight mile down the road.

25. Hidden Things - Paul Kelly

This wasn’t an intended album, but more a collection of stray songs from 1986 through 1991, save for two selections . If you’ve never heard Kelly then you’ve really missed an essential artist who is capable of some of the most memorable music that you’re likely to hear. Unique is an overused word and I’m as guilty as anyone of throwing it around. However, it’s the best way to describe him that I can think of. As a songwriter he manages to cut through all of the clichés and get to the point. It isn’t always the most flattering portrait that he paints but it’s honest in a way that most music seldom approaches.

The reason I’m including a collection on this list is because somehow this eighteen song set has an ebb and flow that most albums don’t offer. The first thought after hearing this is to wonder how songs like this didn’t make it on other albums. Then when your curiosity gets the best of you and you check out some of his other work you begin to understand just how talented he is. If you want to get in on the action with this guy then searching out this import is a great way start.

Top 50 Favorite Albums: Part 6

2007-05-07T21:05:00.000-05:00

Moving right along....

26. September Of My Years - Frank Sinatra

In an earlier post I went on and on about how great this album was. I re-read the post and still feel the same way, so here’s a link to it that will let you know how I feel about this one. September Of My Years previous post

27. Lone Justice (Debut) - Lone Justice

Tell me an album is great before I hear it or before it’s even released and you’re going to have a harder sell. Be a label promotion man calling me and telling me how something is going to change the way I look at music and you’re flirting with the hold button. I had heard so much about this album before its release that I was almost burned out on it before I heard a note.

Then one day a copy arrives in the mail and lo and behold everything was suddenly different. It was actually better than I was led to believe. Like the beast from the wild this band was led by a child. A precocious songwriter and fireball singer that rocked my world. She had so much energy that I thought she was going to explode before she could finish a song. Like Neko Case she could control her voice and wrote songs that she could wrap it around. I’m not sure anyone could really cover one of these songs and do it any justice (pun intended).

To my way of thinking this was really the start of the alt-country movement. This band had ignored any perceived boundaries and just made a record that they liked. It would serve as the template for a whole genre. Forget the Uncle Tupelo and Whiskeytown posing, this band was following their muse and not stopping to label anything.

The band and Maria McKee would of course issue other recordings and some of them are excellent, but this being the first lands it here. I could make the argument that if their second album would have come out first it would have had a similar effect on me. You can pick this one up just about anywhere for under ten bucks. It’s a better deal than a few gallons of gas or a couple of lattes for my money.

28. All The Young Dudes - Mott The Hoople

By now everyone knows the story behind this album and how David Bowie rescued them from their musical malaise. It’s one of the stories that make rock and roll what it is. This was one of the most important albums of my high school years. I may have failed here and there, but this one never failed me. On album, 8-Track, cassette, countless bootlegs and two concerts. I never really let go of it, and when it was re-released a while back with bonus tracks I bit again just to see who had aged better me or it. It hasn‘t aged a day. Wish I could say the same.

It all came rushing back and made me long for the day when bands stuck together through thick and thin and felt it was all worth it for the glory of the music. They played and lived rock and roll. The mix of originals and covers are seamless in their hands. They are all given the “Mott treatment.” Ian Hunter was one of the last of the true front men in a rock band. Like Mick he had his Keith in Mick Ralphs and later Ariel Bender. He had the voice, the hair, the shades and most of the girls too I would think. One of the few albums I still play loud.

29. Rum, Sodomy & The Lash - Pogues

When this Elvis Costello produced album came out I wasn’t as sick of him as I am now. Then he was merely annoying, now I run, not walk from anything with his name near it. Enough about him though, we’re not here to bury him but to praise Shane and his drinking buddies.

Ireland has produced a slew of engaging rock and punk groups. Most of them treaded lightly around their deeper roots and offered a more urban sound and left the traditional stuff to the evening pub crowd. Those that might end the evening with a pint and a clumsy jig stumbling out the door. This band has been and really only can be compared with The Clash as far as their approach to their music. Mixing tried and true traditional tunes and covers with newly written songs this album sprang fully blown from the pubs and alleys of Ireland. They attack the music with an energy you can’t fake. They like the old songs, they just like them better the way they do them. Me too.

Led by legendary boozer and dentist’s nightmare Shane MacGowan they cut a path that went from the Irish pubs, through England and eventually to America. This album has it all and just gets better with the passage of time. Due in large part to the fact that it has a timeless quality that was present the first time I heard it. The loose almost sloppy approach gives the album a vibrancy that makes you think you’re in one of those pubs and those kids just won’t get off the stage. A couple of songs in and you hope they stay up there all night.

They are fine songwriters and have penned some classics, but on this album their own songs are upstaged by two covers for the ages. Their take on “Dirty Old Town” allows you to feel the grime, smells and soot to the extent you’ll want to shower afterwards. Like he does on the other standout cover “And The Band Played Waltzing Matilda,” MacGowan shows that behind the façade of a drunk and rowdy punk he knows when to give a song its due. The closer of Eric Bogle’s “…Matilda” is one of those heartbreaking songs about the human costs of war that you’ll never shake once you hear it. And believe me you’ll try. Sapped of all his swagger and drunken revelry he sings this one as though he’s walking alone across the fresh battlefield leaving footprints of blood with each step and verse.

This would not be their last great album, but it remains my favorite over twenty years later.

30. The Blasters - The Blasters

There was very little in my musical past that prepared me for this album. This was probably a case of timing at its best. Being an Elvis fan I was always interested in rockabilly along with the blues, country and rock marriage of late fifties and early sixties music. I guess like others I was held in the sway of those scratchy film clips of the fifties kids rocking and rolling at some sock hop or VFW hall dance. At the heart of it all was a driving beat that the band seemed to enjoy as much as the audience.

Working the same venues as X and some of the other eighties punk bands the Blasters instead gave the audience a blast of retro done modern day. Like their song said this was American music and it was the sum of nearly everything that came before. To me they were the final great rock band. Others since have made fine music, but this band was the real deal. The impersonated no one because they were just who they were. They didn’t change to suit the younger punks and rockers, they let the crowd come to them. It’s some of the least self conscious rock that has ever been produced. One look at the cover and you know what’s going on inside the jacket.

This album goes wire to wire without tripping and essentially introduced Dave Alvin as a songwriter that we were going to hear plenty from over the years. It also introduced his brother Phil who has one of those unique voices that seems to bend but never break. He gave voice to the incredible songs that Dave was delivering. One listen to “Marie, Marie” and you’d think it’s Memphis in the fifties at some back woods roadhouse that time just forgot. It’s a shot of pure adrenaline that would fill a dance floor in any era. The first time I heard it I was sure they had dug up some obscure track while visiting Sun Studios. When I checked the record and saw that Dave had written it I hopped on board for the whole ride.

For me this was one of the few times that a group actually captured what made Chuck Berry so innovative. Like him they were churning out literate content that rock and roll had very little of in the fifties and even less by the early eighties. The songs were actually short stories disguised as, well, songs. Unfortunately over the years I think we’ve become numb to Berry’s contributions due to repeated listening on oldies radio and fledgling bar bands. Next time one of his songs comes on follow the lyrics and catch the couplets and metering that he employs. Then think of some of the other songs that were popular in the fifties. See how their lyrics compare and don’t forget that Berry was writing all of his. It’s apparent to me that Dave picked up on what Berry was doing from the very beginning. Speaking of picking things up, you should pick up this album.

Top 50 Favorite Albums: Part 7

2007-04-28T20:28:00.000-05:00

Our Journey to # 1 continues...

31. Copperhead Road - Steve Earle

For better or worse, I’ve spent nearly all of my life listening to, selling, talking and writing about music. I wouldn’t have it any other way. When Earle finally arrived on the scene with his debut “Guitar Town” I would have sworn he would never top it or come close again. I felt I’d found my “new country” album. Then one day a few years later this one arrived in the mail and it was apparent everything I knew was wrong. With this 1988 album Earle turned it up a notch and turned his back on anything going on in Nashville then or now.

The title track alone blows away any number of complete albums that I’ve heard. Re-recording “The Devil’s Right Hand” was one of the best ideas he’s ever had. Using the Pogues on “Johnny Come Lately” took that song to places it would have never found. “Nothing Like A Child” came out of nowhere but found a home on any mix-tape or disc of Christmas music I’ve ever assembled. His songwriting didn’t peak on this album, but it served notice that he could write in several genres and make you think he was the one to beat.

On “Guitar Town” he was a slightly unwashed singer songwriter trying to catch a wave in the country field. On this one he was a full blown tattooed biker with white trash roots that he not only embraced, but championed.

32. The Last Puff - Spooky Tooth

By the time of this 1970 album the original band was long gone and it was pretty much down to Mike Harrison and members of Joe Cocker’s Grease Band making up the group. While never achieving the commercial recognition of the likes of Jagger, Plant or Burdon, Harrison was easily one of the best of the sixties British blues-rock vocalists. As a band they were “also rans” to the masses, but to their loyal fans they were one of the best of the late sixties British bands. Put me down for the latter.

Relying on mostly covers, the band turned in one of their best efforts even if it wasn’t the band we had come to know. Opening with what has to be one of the most daring Beatles covers ever with their take on “I Am The Walrus” this album serves notice that they weren’t going to go quietly. They take the all but novelty tune and turn it into a galvanizing dirge that plays more like a time shifting nightmare than a sing-a-long. When I first heard this cover I thought it was cool, at this point in time it borders on genius.

Along the way they also cover Joe Cocker, David Ackles and Elton John. For the Elton cover they choose “Son Of Your Father” and while not straying from the original manage to grab some of it for their own. Then to bring it full circle, piano man Chris Stainton closes it out with a melancholy instrumental that gave the album its title. You could almost title this one “No Two Alike” and be spot on with the designation. Unlike a lot of albums from 1970 this one sounds almost contemporary. Strange, but true.

33. Laid Back - Gregg Allman

I used to work at a record store that was open on Sunday’s. The first couple of years I would open with the same person week in and week out. With no real dialog we would always stick the 8-track tape of this album in the player week in and week out. It just seemed the thing to do. All these years later it still gets a Sunday off to a proper start.

Everybody has their own blue eyed soul album to tout so I guess this is mine. From the song selection to the “laid back” performances this one is easy on the ears and shows Allman in a comfortable groove. He would never get within a mile of a Southbound freight train of matching this one in his solo career again. That’s fine, it doesn’t diminish the impact of this one a bit.

34. Soundtrack - The Harder They Come

Before soundtracks became nothing more than label samplers and boomer versions of a K-Tel compilation they were a valuable asset to a film. I would guess that soundtracks were fairly reliable up until “The Big Chill.” After that they became little more than a land grab for publishers and another tool for labels to get you to pay full price for one new song by a hot artist. Strange when you think of the rich history of soundtrack music and all of the cases where they were essentially another character in the film. “Psycho,” “The Godfather,” “Ryan’s Daughter,” “Once Upon A time In The West,” “Dr. Zhivago” and countless others come to mind.

This one introduced the world to joys of reggae music like nothing before it or since really. It’s been updated and expanded a couple of times and now serves as the “go to” reggae disc for those who want to dip their toes in the water. Jimmy Cliff in addition to being the star of the movie is also the star of the album. Every selection is solid and their placement in the film borders on perfection. The footage of Toots and the Maytals in the studio recording “Sweet And Dandy” should be required viewing. Poke around and you’ll find it on YouTube. I would never, ever say that you should only own one reggae disc. It’s some of the finest music on this planet, but if you want to get started on the right foot this is the place to hop on board.

35. Alone Together - Dave Mason

Straying into George Harrison territory here Mason was also a frustrated second banana in a popular British group. If anyone ever had any doubts as to what he was capable of they found out pretty quick with this multi-colored piece of vinyl. This is one of those albums that has only high points, there’s nothing to program around here. Mason revealed himself as a the consummate team player and assembled an all star group to back him. He would never come close to putting a complete record together again. But, so what, great albums aren’t a dime a dozen. It’s better to have one great one in a long career than a lot of average ones as far as I’m concerned.

Top 50 Favorite Albums: Part 8

2007-04-13T19:22:00.000-05:00

Moving right along we continue our push to the top.

36. Chicken Skin Music - Ry Cooder

Cooder has pretty much been all things to all people musically over his long and eclectic career. I’ve been along for the ride nearly every step of the way and he’s provided untold hours of listening pleasure with his varied musical explorations. To narrow it down to one selection was difficult, but this album that was divided into two parts, one Tex-Mex and the other Hawaiian gets the nod. Both sides are first rate and the backing and performances are among the best he’s ever been associated with. You could hardly go wrong with any of his seventies output, but this or “Into The Purple Valley” is probably the best place to start.

37. Songs For Beginners - Graham Nash

I bought this one out of habit when it was released. I was buying anything and everything from CSN&Y (except for “C”) back in the day. Little did I know this one would mate with my turntable for days at a time. A recent listen to clear if for inclusion on this list confirmed that it is still one of my favorite albums. It exudes a calm ambiance while slipping in some pointed messages along the way. The politics add nothing to its longevity, but the craftsmanship and performances still bring a smile. Like George Harrison his voice is not strong, but makes for nice harmonies and shines on these self-penned selections.

38. Everly Brothers - Born Yesterday

This 1986 set was their second venture after reuniting in the eighties. While “EB84” is a fine album, this one edges it out at my house. All but the title track are well chosen covers. However, the title track is one of the best songs the duo ever wrote or recorded. If a song is capable of floating through the air then this cautionary tale is one of them. During the course of the album they don’t stray too far from what they had always done best. They mixed some up tempo songs around several gorgeous ballads into a seamless presentation. Their cover of Larry Raspberry’s “Always Drive A Cadillac” borders on perfection. One listen to this track and you won’t be able to get it out of your head at your next class reunion.

39. Kindness OF The World - Joe Henry

For this 1993 album Henry flirted with a country sound and came up with his best album ever to my ears. The strength of the material here is staggering. Nothing really misses, and most soar. Including a cover of Tom T. Hall’s melancholy “I Flew Over Our House Last Night” was nothing short of brilliant. A review I read when this was first released pointed out how his vocal approach was one of the best things about this recording. I couldn’t agree more, he stays just a step behind the beat and never quite lands on it. It’s a tricky tact, but he makes it work and draws you into each song. He’s made other worthy albums, but this one just gets better with each listen.

40. All Things Must Pass - George Harrison

I couldn’t begin to count how many times I’ve played the first two albums in this box set over the years. As for the third album of jams I am more certain: only twice. Since the box was priced as a two album set and the third album was essentially a bonus I’ve decided that I will include it on this list and not let the third album weigh the other twos merits down. In its own way if you think about it, it was the precursor to CD sets that offer a bonus disc.

Although I think Phil Spector is generally over praised this is one project where he deserves a lot of credit. George took a risk for his first full blown solo effort enlisting him but it worked. They came up with not so much a wall of sound, but more a hedge that allowed them both to show their best stuff. Essential songs abound on this one and they have aged well over the years. Each Beatle took a swing at writing a song about the Beatle experience over the years, some covert and some overt, all suffered for one reason or another. Harrison however offers up a majestic meditation with “Isn’t It A Pity.” While the other Beatles came up with something timely, he offered something timeless.

Top 50 Favorite Albums: Part 9

2007-04-10T19:17:00.000-05:00

Continuing our climb up the ladder to number one here's another installment.

41. Crosby, Stills & Nash - Crosby, Stills & Nash

No one could blame Stephen Stills for claiming this album for his own. Other than a few writing credits and a couple of lead vocals from the others this is his show. And what a show it is. He plays nearly everything and his production touches are everywhere. This band was the American equivalent to Blind Faith. As it turned out their egos were easier to bruise and their vision much broader. A recent listen revealed how the album sounds less dated now than it did a few years after its release.

This type of breezy, almost innocent, mix of harmony and solid songwriting is sorely lacking these days. Some of the arrangements are complex, but are at the same time exhilarating. Stills may be bloated now and his voice shot beyond recognition but this album, and his first solo recording are a different story from a different time and place. Nash contributes some fine vocals and gentle songs full of the wonder lust of his relocation to the states. Crosby is the dead weight he’s always been and contributes the only real low points. The cover photo from Henry Diltz and textured paper on the original cover fit’s the mood of a Saturday spent listening to good music around the house.

42. Furnace Room Lullaby - Neko Case

This album from 2000 will be one of only a couple that came out after the Carter administration on this list. It’s about the only album in the past twenty years that has caused me to get up in the morning and push play before I have my coffee. As pathetic as that sounds I’m at peace with the routine. Case has the rare gift of having an incredible voice and knowing what to do with it. Most vocalists who are blessed with wonderful vocal chords squander their gifts on junk. Barbra, Whitney anyone? Case writes her own songs and tapers them around her voice which she wisely uses as the instrument it is.

She’s made several albums containing many essential songs, this one however is the complete package. Her voice floats through, above and around the songs like some ethereal dream. With the repeat button it’s one of the few dreams we can revisit when ever the mood strikes.

43. Welcome To The Canteen - Traffic

This album is little more than a legitimate bootleg. However, like any great bootleg once you settle into the ambiance you feel like you’re being let in on a secret. For this set current, former and future members of the band reunited for a benefit concert. The return of Dave Mason and the presence of three drummers make this a crowded field but it works for me.

Mason offers up a couple of songs from his then recent solo album “Alone Together” in a semi-acoustic setting. If you like percussion and slightly too loud acoustic guitars this one yields many rewards. The late Chris Wood also shines on flute. A way too long version of “Gimme Some Lovin’” lets the album slip away on a less than stellar note, but the previous selections rescue it and let it grab a spot in my top fifty.

44. Borboletta - Santana

Over the course of hundreds of lineups and probably a thousand or so discs this one still stands out over thirty years after its release. Working with one their most percussive lineups and with guests like Airto they fashioned one of their most ambitious works of the seventies. Carlos is everywhere, but more importantly he’s also in the mix as the vocalists and other musicians are allowed to take center stage.

The critics were cold to this one and it went nowhere on the charts, but for me it endures. Leon Patillo is a soulful vocalist and the addition of Airto and Flora Purim hold up for me. Check out the track “Practice What You Preach” for some swirling sonics and dazzling guitar licks.

45. Rockin’ - Guess Who

Like many other sixties acts that achieved fame on AM radio and the singles charts this bands albums tend to get dismissed. I can’t speak for all of the other bands, but this one consistently offered up first rate albums that happened to contain hit singles. This was their best though. Opening with their ode to aging high schoolers “Heart Broken Bopper” this album revisits their youth more than anything else. That song alone is enough to land the entire album on this list.

The band is relaxed and the selections range from all out rock to country covers and even a faux fifties jukebox medley. It’s a fairly ambitious outing that features some inspired writing and performances. More than a guilty pleasure, this one is a lost treasure.

Top 50 Favorite Albums: Part 10

2007-04-09T17:53:00.000-05:00

Over the course of ten posts here I will reveal and discuss / defend my fifty favorite albums from over the course of my fifty one years taking up space on this planet. A newsgroup I’m in requested that everyone compile a list to see what music has been the core soundtrack of our lives thus far. An near impossible, but irresistible task for sure. We had one month to compile it. It took me about that long and on any given day I could shuffle the bottom forty and add or subtract any number of albums. However, all in all these fifty albums have served and important function for various reasons. They have been there at various stops along the way and made the bad times a bit better and the good times something that replays itself anytime one them is within the range of my failing ears.

I would never argue that these are the best albums ever recorded. My criteria in approaching this list was to simply list the albums that I’m pretty sure I’ve played the most. It’s the only way I know of to be honest and not influenced by others and the consensus of any number of other lists you see published here and there. The only other important factor that I used as a measuring stick was if I had replaced the title on compact disc or simply let the vinyl itself be the last stop. Applying that logic allowed a more accurate picture emerge.

Many acts that I have numerous, if not every recording by and consider among my favorite artists did not make the list such as The Doors, Neil Young, Leonard Cohen, John Lennon, Willie Nelson, Marc Bolan, The Bee Gees, Paul Simon, Mark-Almond Band, Waylon Jennings, Jefferson Airplane, The Kinks, Eric Burdon, and Johnny Cash to name just a few. The only explanation I can offer is that over time I’ve tended to immerse myself in the whole of their work and let the recordings meld into a massive sonic library. It’s more a reflection on my inability to focus on a singular album at this point than their ability to offer timeless material.

On a related note I chose to limit the number of entries by artists like the Beatles, Beach Boys, Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Van Morrison and others. Without imposing some restraint on that front I would have used up my allotted spots without showcasing single albums that mean as much if not more than some of their secondary works. Hopefully if you’re still reading this you’ve grasped that fifty is not a very big number when you’re undertaking a task like this.

I’ll offer up five titles at a time in reverse order to make it easier on you and me both. Feel free to jump in with any comments. Enjoy!

46. Live Shots - Joe Ely

There is no shortage of rock acts that have been defined by a live recording somewhere along the way. For Lubbock country rocker Ely this would be his entry in the field. He was on tour with The Clash and the energy they were projecting on stage must have worn off on him. He never played harder or sang with more conviction than on these selections. If an album ever carried a “wish I could have been there vibe” this one does from first note to last. It achieves that rare feat of offering live versions that all but buries their studio counterparts.

47. What’s Goin’ On - Marvin Gaye

It’s as though every single, album, Ed Sullivan appearance and live show from the Apollo by the Motown acts of the sixties happened just so this album could eventually exist. While most of Motown’s musical contribution remains locked in that decade this one hasn’t aged a day. It’s almost beyond our grasp more than three decades later. The opening montage and the sax intro seem as though in those few bars they are calling a meeting to order. It wants us to know that the sixties are over and we’re moving into new territory, but we need to get focused. This song along with Stevie Wonder’s “Living For The City” accomplish in a combined twelve minutes or so, what most rap records never come close to articulating.

In a broad sense this album was the death of Motown as envisioned by Berry Gordy. His machine finally threw a rod. Now with Marvin and Stevie free of the assembly line they showed us the reality of what it was to be black in a changing world with a frankness that was foreign to my radio. They articulated an experience that existed beyond the dance floor and would take their music to new heights. Sly’s coming out at Woodstock no doubt helped pave their way, but Marvin had just as much on his mind as any politician who professed to speak for everyone. The shame of the whole thing isn’t so much that he’s no longer around, it’s that after all this time we still hardly have a clue about what’s going on.

48. Uncle Charlie & His Dog Teddy - Nitty Gritty Dirt Band

Most would point to “Sweetheart Of The Rodeo” as the “go to” country rock album. No real argument here, I just prefer this one for it’s kinetic style and sequencing. It jumps around but somehow comes through as a complete work that I wouldn‘t change a thing about. They really found themselves with this recording and would use the template to great effect for several years. To my ears this one never sounds dated. Seeing them live several times during this era brings back fond memories.

49. Howlin’ Wind - Graham Parker

Sometimes a record just comes out of nowhere and you’re suddenly left to wonder what life would have been like if you had missed it. This is one of those albums that hooked me on the first listen. All these years later I still know the words to every song. He would go on to make a few more great albums that could have easily filled this slot, but I’m sticking with the one that got the ball rolling.

50. Benefit - Jethro Tull

Stardom beyond their wildest dreams was just around the corner for this band. This was really the last time they would show up in the studio with a set of random songs and see what they could do with them. There’s not a bad song in the bunch and several represent the best of what they were capable of. After this one it would be a decade long game of trying to top themselves and getting more and more self conscious with each release. Finally they would settle in to a major live attraction and really only record albums to prevent them being perceived as an oldies act. The US and UK version varied by a single song with the US one winning out in my opinion.

COVER ME (PART 1)

2007-03-11T13:53:00.000-05:00

Until Chuck Berry, and later Bob Dylan, came along nearly every song anyone sang was a cover of someone else’s hard work. Before then most pop and jazz artists covered what the top writers of the day were happily turning out. Tin Pan Alley eventually gave way to the Brill Building where writing teams were as popular with the industry as those who gave the songs voice. By the early sixties the Broadway musical was in decline as a quick fix for songs to fill out an album. Some acts had even began slipping some of their own material in the sessions. Only Elvis would continue to mine the songs of others exclusively for the rest of his career.

After Dylan though the pressure was on to show that you could write your own songs and possibly change the world with them. A “moon in June” was OK for some, but it was now time to find words that rhymed with war and peace. Now that most of the great songs have been written (my opinion) there is a wealth of songs out there for anyone with a nice voice and a contract to cover.

After the “Unplugged“ craze ran its course the industry looked for a new stop gap measure to make sure their top acts didn’t have to come up with something original that the public might not like (read: buy). So the next trend was simply have your acts do an entire album of covers and call it a tribute to an era, songwriter, way of life, etc.. The trend has spawned some wonderful albums and even some sales juggernauts. And of course the occasional ones that seem to have no other purpose than to keep Dr. Demento on the air another week.

The real purpose of this blog entry is not to praise or disparage existing recordings. That’s too easy. The aim here is to offer up some suggestions to artists that are missing the boat on a song that they should cover. Discussions like this are more suited to a barstool or halftime at a game, but when you have your own blog what better way to be heard above the crowd?

So below is my list of songs that these artists should head into the studio right now and record. These pairings are so perfect that any producer reading this needs to get on the phone now and start booking time.

Cover These Songs Now

Blasters - Don’t Let Go (Roy Hamilton)

This one I just don’t understand, this bands entire sound and approach to music is based on this song yet they have not recorded it. They have re-written it any number of times, but it’s time for Phil to step up to the mic and say “Here’s a song by Roy Hamilton…count it off Dave!”

Art Garfunkel- Rain On The Roof (Lovin’ Spoonful)

Art was born to sing a lot of songs and he’s sung a good many of them. This one seems to have eluded him though. This gentle ode to love and rain screams Manhattan, Saturday afternoon, and coffee in the Village with friends later. Art, call me so we can get started on your next album.

George Jones - Worn Out Suits, With Brand New Pockets (Dave Edmunds)

Jones has been around so long that the garbage he’s recorded over the years is nearly equal to the classics. Never one to shy a way from a novelty tune Jones seems to have turned his back on this clever ode to poverty that Edmunds wrote, arranged and performed as though he were the illegitimate Welsh offspring of Jones. George however was too busy with his white lightning to notice.

Raul Malo - The Sun Ain’t Gonna Shine Anymore (Walker Brothers)

When you have a voice like Malo’s it’s inevitable that you will sing all kinds of songs from different eras. He’s been all over the board and hit more than he’s missed. How though could he and his handlers have missed this over the top suicide note of a pop classic? This song hung around just waiting for Malo to come along and claim it. He’s yet to cash in his ticket to riches with this one.

Raul Malo - Runaway (Del Shannon)

Malo hits this list for the second time with this glaring oversight. It’s tough to sound more desperate than Del on this one, but Malo is up to the task. Elvis tackled it live with the help of James Burton so it can be done.

Paul McCartney - Mine For Me (Paul McCartney)

Yeah, I know this is a bit of a stretch since Paul wrote this one. The fact is he wrote it for Rod Stewart who nails it on his otherwise spotty “Smiler“ album. The reason it makes this list though is because Rod covers it exactly the way Paul should have recorded it around the time of “Red Rose Speedway.” It’s not too late for Paul to cover himself with this one. As a matter of fact he should come out with an album of his songs that he’s written for others over the years. It would certainly be as, if not more, interesting than his current output.

Aaron Neville - Unchained Melody (Everybody and their brother)

Aaron is another act who has recorded a pile of junk to go along side his seminal recordings over the years. Why this song has not come to the top of the stack is beyond me. If I didn’t know better I would have thought that it was written especially for him. This borders on criminal.

Rolling Stones - Little Red Riding Hood (Sam The Sham)

If you can’t beat them join them. If there was anyone other than Sir Mick that Sam was channeling on this one please tell me who it was. I’m not calling for a studio cover here, what I’m suggesting is a live version that lets Mick vamp his way through the whole thing and the rest of the gang carry the groove behind him. How hard could that be? I nominate this instead of resurrecting “Saint Of Me” or something else on their next “final” tour.

Dwight Yoakam - Ravishing Ruby (Tom T. Hall)

Dwight has of course graced us with many covers over the years. For the most part he’s done quite well with his choices. This Tom T. Hall song though is still waiting for its Bakersfield treatment. The horns and the tempo of the tune are perfectly suited for his voice and style.

Posthumous Covers

Johnny Cash - Dust Of The Chase (Ray Wylie Hubbard)

During his renaissance with Rick Rubin Cash recorded many songs in many genres. A lot of them throwaways and beneath him. That said, when they hit on the right song it was pure magic. If I could have pitched two songs to them one would have been this one (and the one below) from Hubbard. It would have been the perfect way for Cash to go out. The lyrics and the tune speak to the best of what Cash was capable of. One listen and you’d swear Cash had written it decades before.

Johnny Cash - Lord Of The Trains (Tom Russell)

This would have been the spot on final train song for Cash to record. Had it surfaced on one of his “American Recordings” it would have had the same impact as “Hurt” did. I would bet that Johnny crossed Tom’s mind a few times while writing this one. This is a real shame, no other way to put it. I'd give anything just here Johnny belt out the line "I am still the Lord of the trains."

Elvis Presley - San Francisco Mabel Joy (Mickey Newbury)

If this would have been included on one of Elvis’s late sixties recordings from American Studios it would have caused time to stand still. Instead, he chose to cover “Hey Jude.” This Newbury song is one of his best and the version by Waylon Jennings a few years later comes close to evoking the sentiment that I think Presley could have brought to this one.

That’s all for this round. Look for future posts on this subject down the line.

TWILIGHT ON THE FROZEN LAKE...

2007-01-14T18:15:00.000-06:00

BOB DYLAN & THE BAND PLANET WAVES

In a previous post I commented on how some music is better suited for certain seasons. The subject of that post was the Fall. When it comes to Winter nothing beats this album for me. You almost need insulated gloves to handle it.

With the release of Pink Floyd’s “Dark Side Of The Moon” in May of 1973 the sixties officially came to an end. It was now part of history and all of the music, books, films and sporting events were forever book marked in that decade. As one of the driving forces behind the music of those ten years Dylan now turned his attention to the things that were right in front of him. Gone was the “thin wild mercury music” and “magic swirlin” ship(s).” They had been replaced with a wife, kids and grocery shopping.

Those themes were not new, he had explored them on “New Morning” with mixed results. That album featured domestic bliss emanating from the music room of his home as much as anything. The arrangements and songs were gentle, slight and not always fleshed out. For this January 1974 album though he called on old friends, now known as The Band, to take a swing at these recent songs that he’d been working on.

The result was one of his most anticipated, reviled, under praised, and misunderstood albums. Critics tried hard to like it, but in the end just couldn’t wrap their arms around it. In retrospect it seems they just couldn’t let him age. The ragged edges and seemingly improvised arrangements rival the best Stones outtakes. This album has a beauty all its own and mines the depths of Winter melancholy as well as anything you’ll hear. You can almost feel the temperature drop each time a new song starts.

With an album of Winter songs recorded in November, written and performed by someone living in Woodstock and backed by a Canadian group they naturally headed to L.A. to record. Recorded over three days in November of 1973 they prove that if it feels right then you should just let it stand. They did. Their decision to not go back and tweak it or redo some of the songs made for a timeless statement, warts and all. The next time someone would use this approach and make it work as well was John Hiatt on “Bring The Family.” Less can be so much more in the right hands. Hiatt made the mistake of trying to duplicate the magic and broke the spell with “Little Village.” Dylan never looked back.

Opening with the crackling, smell the wood burning, “On A Night Like This” the theme of the album is firmly established. This ode to a night at home is about as romantic as it gets. Love is the central theme of this album. Love of wife, love of kids, love of where you come from, love of those left behind and more. Unlike “New Morning” the songs here were much more crisp and with a capable group behind him the songs have a lived in, rustic feel. Any video from these recordings would have had woods, deserted farm houses, abandoned streets and so on as the backdrop. The Band meanwhile were doing a test run on the sound they would perfect on “Northern Lights, Southern Cross” the next year. (See below)

Of course the track “Forever Young” has emerged as the classic track from this one. No argument here. Bubbling under are several other unknown outside of the Dylan circle classics like “Something There Is About You,” “Hazel,” You Angel You,” “Going, Going, Gone,” “Never Say Goodbye“ and of course “On A Night Like This.” Hardcore sixties fans struggled to understand that Dylan could be tamed by domestic life. Not unlike Lennon revealed on “Double Fantasy” a few years later. The only misstep for me is the inclusion of a second take of “Forever Young” instead of using the outtake of “Nobody ‘Cept You” which would have fit much better.

No doubt hard line fans struggled with the lines “You’re beautiful beyond words, you’re beautiful to me” from “Never Say Goodbye.” However, being the good guy he is he throws them a bone a couple of lines later with , “My dreams are made of iron and steel, with a big bouquet of roses hanging down, from the heaven’s to the ground.”

Old timers were rewarded with the track “Tough Mama.” It is easily the hidden gem on this album. It’s a grinding, loping tune that sounds like a “Basement Tapes” leftover. It rolls along with some great, if nonsensical lyrics that will put a smile on your face. “Sister’s on the highway with that steel driving crew, Papa‘s in the big house, his working days are through“ anybody? The abrupt ending takes you back to the unfinished tracks we used to find on those vinyl bootlegs we cherished so much.

There are countless lines and images that let the listener know that the setting of these songs is “a deep and dark December.” He invokes the names of childhood friends, locations, his grandmother, the loves of his life, his children and thoughts of cold nights from his youth. While the album seems firmly rooted, underneath it all was a restless spirit that recalled other times and apparently a yearning to hit the road again for the first time in years. He would take The Band with him and try to recapture those halcyon days of the sixties when they all traveled together like a band of gypsies.

Almost a year to the day of the release of this album “Blood On The Tracks” came out and this album would be nearly forgotten. It’s main claim to fame that it was his only studio album not recorded for the Columbia label. He of course returned to Columbia and they would eventually claim ownership of this recording as though it had always been there.

Play “Blood On The Tracks” every chance you get, it’s one of the best albums ever recorded by anyone. But late at night when the windows are iced over, and you know you’re not going to leave the house for the rest of the evening slip this one in the player. Throw another log on the fire and listen to it hiss. Because as the song says, “it sure feels right on a night like this.”

THE BAND - NORTHERN LIGHTS, SOUTHERN CROSS

As long as we’re snowed in for the evening we may as well give this one a spin. For me this is the companion to “Planet Waves.” Dylan doesn’t make an appearance, but his image is visible in the smoke of the driftwood.

Starting with the release date of November 1975 and the cover photo you know Winter has them in its grip. The sonic textures that they debuted on “Planet Waves” were now the perfected ambiance of their own new recording. The songs, all eight of them, can stand alone as classics and near classics anyway you view them. Each one offers something that can be described as essential listening for a variety of reasons.

In addition to the songs, the three singers never sounded better. They eased their voices into the tunes in such a seamless way that others need not attempt to cover any of the songs down the road. Danko stops the show with “It Makes No Difference” and keeps you on the edge of disbelief as the song unfolds over its six minutes plus running time. (While we're on that song notice how the song's structure and Robbie's licks resemble "Going, Going, Gone.") Levon churns out “Ophelia” as though it was a leftover from “Planet Waves.” It recaptures the sound perfectly and until you check the credits you’d swear Dylan wrote it. Manuel graces everything his voice chooses to caress and delivers some of his most poignant vocals ever. The purity of his voice becomes more amazing the more the years pile up.

Sadly, this was pretty much the end of the road for this group. Magic almost always ends with something disappearing no matter how long it lasts. One of the nice things about music is that it is preserved for all time. The music on this album can carry the weight of the word timeless about as easily as anything you’ll ever hear.

Don't forget your coat on when you go out for more wood.

EVERYWHERE A SIGN...

2007-01-06T16:56:00.000-06:00

One of the reasons I always try and have a camera within reach. You never know when you'll stumble onto a scene right out of a song.

"I saw a werewolf with a Chinese menu in his hand,
Walking through the streets of Soho in the rain.
He was looking for the place called Lee Ho Fook's,
Going to get a big dish of beef chow mein."
(Zevon)

" And you think you found the bag
You're getting weaker and your knees begin to sag
In the corner playing dominoes in drag
The one and only Madame George...."
(Morrison)

...ANOTHER YEAR OVER

2007-01-01T16:30:00.000-06:00

THE BEST (?) OF 2006

Time to honor those recordings that made owning a disc player worthwhile this year. Not the best year by any means, but there were some highlights that should last longer than it takes to listen to them. Other than the first album, the rest are in alphabetical order because they rise and fall from week to week on the chart in my head. The Hubbard album belongs at the top of the heap though.

My criteria here is very simple, I played these the most. I get hundreds of discs in the mail each month (trust me it’s not as cool as it sounds) but when it’s all said and done these were the ones that were most often found on the floor board of my car.

Alas, you won’t find any new cutting edge type music here. Or even ten albums for that matter. However, if you’re middle aged and couldn’t be more out of the loop you may find some of these enjoyable. The fact that I’m only older than a couple of the acts on this list and that half of the albums are cover albums speaks volumes I suppose. Maybe this year I’ll get out of the house more.

RAY WYLIE HUBBARD - SNAKE FARM

Unlike a lot of artists Hubbard gets better with each release. This one continues the trend and ups the ante. Working in the alt-country / outlaw genre he has consistently forged his own path and sought his own form of salvation at the expense of commercial success. In a field plagued with the likes of Ryan Adams, Jeff Tweedy and their ilk he’s been a rock. He has much in common with Leonard Cohen and his life long spiritual journey. Unlike Cohen though he is more musically ambitious. Not a knock on Cohen just the difference in their approach.

This eleven song album is a dizzying cycle that allows us to glimpse the life of a gypsy musician traveling the back roads of our memory that John Hartford wrote so eloquently about. He’s the dust covered mortal soul that walks into the eternal fire with a bible in his hand. Moments later he emerges from the flames covered in ashes with a rifle in the other hand. To hell and back for him is a trip for a pack of smokes and more ammo.

He’s Dylan’s “Man In The Long Black Coat” in the flesh. Dancehalls, saloons, one room churches with a missing bell, the back alleys of a ghost town and the seashores of Old Mexico are where you‘ll find him wandering. Fortunately we can experience all of this from our living room or car by popping in the disc. No unbearable heat or pesky ashes to contend with.

Working with producer Gurf Morlix he has taken his percussive (think early Chris Whitley here) Texas rock and blues sound to a new level. Great albums go nowhere though without great songs and he’s come down from the mountain with a worn bedroll full of them. All but the final track “Resurrection” are originals. Today’s hack country artists at best can only manage to warble a bumper sticker worthy refrain over some half asleep musicians from area code 615. When Hubbard tells us that “the way of the fallen is hard” or “I’m getting desperate, I’m about to derail” he’s got our attention for as long as he wants to talk. He’s not repeating someone’s story, he’s telling his own.

In addition to Morlix’s touch I must mention the contribution of drummer and percussionist Rick Richards. Like Keith Moon did for the Who Richards carries the tunes and never becomes a sideman in the mix. He shakes, rattles and rolls his way through the songs as Hubbard uses him punctuate his tales.

Like any enduring album that lasts and becomes something special it doesn’t reveal itself all at once. This one takes a few listens. You can handle it. The songs are rooted in Texas blues with a slightly modern twist. Some are sung and some are spoken as though he is telling you a story, some sound as though he’s trying to repeat a dream before it’s gone. Once you get into his groove though you’ll find the repeat button on your player that you didn’t know was there.

“And they found him in the desert picking flowers for the muse
Sometimes he’s the fire, sometimes he’s the fuse.
He’s loading up his saddlebags out on the edge of wonder,
One is filled with music, the other’s filled with thunder.
He was long gone,
He was gone before they rolled away the stone.”

SOUND FILES HERE

BEATLES - LOVE

Like any Beatles fan I approached this with both anticipation and dread. My fears were unfounded and these re-imagined versions serve to reinforce what enduring music this band made. In the hands of the new keeper of the flame Giles Martin, the remixes and “mash ups” reveal new layers of this familiar canon.

I’m not the type to sit in my living room in darkness surrounded by speakers with 5.1 this and 6.1 that in play so I may be missing even more nuances. I will say however that to me this is the perfect disc for the car. In that enclosed environment with a mere four speakers the music comes to life and make dodging SUV drivers with embedded cell phones easier.

Perhaps the most startling revelation here is that it reminds us of a time when songs actually had melodies with real singers. Not some burnout who didn’t get enough love as a kid droning over a din of computer programs set on repeat.

KASEY CHAMBERS - CARNIVAL

This is not her best album, but she’s growing as an artist and this new direction suits her well. She’s dialed down the wounded lover cry in her voice for a bit more authority and it really works well on these tunes. The songs are strong and reveal a singer who is growing by leaps and bounds.

She may lose a few fans with this one, but if an artist is going to keep moving it becomes inevitable that all won’t make the journey. In her defense, on her previous recordings she explored the alt-country genre about as much as she could. Careful listens to those earlier albums will show that this direction has been hinted at numerous times. Don’t fence her in, take the trip with her.

SOUND FILES HERE

BOB DYLAN - MODERN TIMES

Everything you’ve read about this album is true. All of the accolades and all of the criticisms are valid. If more artists were like him and had no sense of time and space then maybe they too could come up with meaningful albums at this point in their careers. This is one of those rare recordings that yields a different favorite with nearly every listen.

Like Neil Diamond’s “12 Songs” from last year Dylan’s in a melancholy mood and very much aware that years have passed liked hours on his shift. Incredible single verses have given way to great couplets. No doubt a nod to our sound bite society. Each song is full of observations that we certainly would have missed if it were not for his ability to make them rhyme. The stuff that makes little or no sense are among the highlights. The closer “Ain’t Talking” essentially edits down the mess that was “Highlands” and makes a better case for that late afternoon stroll through his life and times as he tries to get to heaven before they close the door.

The above two paragraphs are just a new way of really saying that anything he comes up with is better than most of what we’ll ever hear. The sooner you admit it the sooner you can start enjoying this latest offering.

SOUND FILES HERE

WILLIE NELSON - YOU DON’T KNOW ME: THE SONGS OF CINDY WALKER

New recordings by Nelson are like the seasons, there’s always one a few pages down on the calendar. And just like those seasons I look forward to each recording. This album turned out to be more of a gentle breeze that carried through several seasons. Easily one of his best in years. Working from a set list by the late Walker he had little chance to fail. What he chose to do instead of a standard reading of these chestnuts was to get inside of them. His love of music is no secret, but these songs apparently are special to him.

He finds just the right arrangement for each one and records them with little or no thought to modern production flourishes. The lyrics and melodies are already so strong that he simply gives them an honest rendition that comes off timeless instead of timely. That is never an easy assignment when covering a single artist.

She’s got lots more songs and I’m more than ready for another volume anytime Willie is.

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN - WE SHALL OVERCOME: THE SEEGER SESSIONS

With this listing I’m including both versions of the album and all of the live shows, bootlegs, camera phone recordings and videos related to it. Bruce may have let a portion of his frat boy fan base down with this one, but he came full circle as an artist to these weary ears.

Like Willie Nelson’s “Stardust” album decades ago he has preserved a part of musical history that will take these songs to future generations. Even if in a hundred years some are known as a “Springsteen song.”

Like some of the other iconic artists that still record, the success of the recording hinges on whether or not they sound the least bit inspired. I can answer in the affirmative on this one. At times he sounds like his whole career has been leading up to this recording. This is his least self conscious recording since his “lost” classic “Lucky Town.” I’m sure he was aware that this wasn’t exactly what everyone has been clamoring for from him.

If you bought this out of habit and played it for a couple of weeks and thought it was cool then pull it out again and give it a really close listen. These are the songs that this country was built on and they still resonate today.

SOUND FILES HERE

MATTHEW SWEET & SUSANNA HOFFS - UNDER THE COVERS: VOl. 1

Cover albums at one time were unique and heartfelt (David Bowie’s “Pin Ups” and John Lennon’s “Rock And Roll”) and offered the listener valuable insight into the music that shaped certain musicians. Later, like the “unplugged” phenomenon they simply became a stop gap measure that artists resorted to instead of issuing new music. Too bad since it is such a great listening experience when it works. For these two it’s probably a great way to reintroduce themselves.

This album works like few others before it. The reason is simple and provides a lesson for artists contemplating projects like this. These two simply love the songs and have given no thought as to whether anyone will buy this in mass quantities. Everything works and it leaves the listener wanting them to record at least ten more volumes.

If you missed this album then you missed one of the years best musical moments.

SOUND FILES HERE

THE NIGHT IS BITTER...

2006-12-30T19:57:00.000-06:00

In my never ending quest to write about album covers I love and Frank Sinatra I offer this new “two for one” post.

The album is “She Shot Me Down” featuring the striking cover photo by Ed Thrasher. This photo finds our favorite saloon singer, and patron, taking stock of his life at age 65. That imaginary retirement age that claimed an earlier generation. Frank commands his usual spot at the bar. As is the case no one else takes their spot until he’s taken his. You don’t know if he’s drinking a double, a triple or the bartender just pored until he got the nod. When he lights up a smoke no one is thinking about ordinances or second hand smoke. He’s got a story to tell, if not a torch to be drowned. His eyes appear to be closed.

Sometimes they call them beer joints, sometimes a lounge or even the “hotel bar.” Names make no difference because whenever he’s at a bar it’s still a saloon and it’s New Jersey back in the day. He can recall long nights, decades ago when critics said he would fade before the next baseball season started. He can still hear the whispers when he closes those blue eyes. A couple of drinks, a few unfiltered Camels and they float away with the smoke. Billie Holiday singing “These Foolish Things” on the jukebox, a girl crying in the booth by the door and the sound of dice hitting the baseboard in the back room make him think he’s home again. The old gang won’t be there tonight though, but somewhere along the way he’ll have one for them. And then one for the road.

The time is now 1981 and he was just a year removed from recording his final signature song “New York, New York.” It would be the final shot as a chart artist in these rapidly changing times. (He would of course continue to find success right up to the end with his misguided “Duets” albums. The ones where he offers other performers the chance to have their name and voice next to his on something people would pay money for. The commerce end of the deal went off without a hitch, the musical history part didn’t pay as well though.)

Anyway, back to the scene at hand. This album of booze soaked melancholy was released in a year that found Christopher Cross, Air Supply, Sheena Easton, Rick Springfield and Hall & Oates polluting the airwaves of pop music. It was enough to drive anyone to drink and smoke. He had seen the best of music come and go. He had bested all of his generation, withstood rock and roll, made it through the sixties and even found some peace of mind in the seventies. The punk movement and the current wave of pop acts though were too much to overcome even if he wanted to. Most were passé before they released their first recordings. Music was moving into a “flavor of the month” mentality, no one was thinking career, just hits and little else.

It had been nearly ten years since his original retirement that he grew bored with after a few hundred rounds of golf. He was a singer, and singers don’t retire. They cut back, choose their songs a bit more carefully and try not to do any damage to any legacy they have acquired.

Gordon Jenkins was back on board as arranger for this last round and they picked up like only a moment or two had passed. (Don Costa, who also produces, and Nelson Riddle contribute one track each to round it out) The centerpiece of the album is the title track. A pop hit for Cher written by husband at the time Sonny Bono. It’s a strange metaphoric tale that incredibly carried no real weight in her poppy rendition. In the hands of a master singer it speaks volumes in its slight verses and eerie chorus. Jenkins does his part and gives Frank a musical bed to float this jaded tale on. Daughter Nancy had also recorded a version of this one and possibly offered the old man the direction to take this tune. With this version you really have to credit Sonny for writing such a compelling song that took fifteen or so years to be fully appreciated.

Other tracks include and update of “Thanks For The Memories” that rescues it from novelty, a recent Sonheim tune and finishes with a stunning medley of “The Gal That Got Away / It Never Entered My Mind” arranged by Nelson Riddle and harkening back to another time and place like only he can.

At a lean nine tracks and thirty seven minutes this one merits some careful and poignant listening that gets better with each spin. The songs are all told from the vantage point of the guy a couple of stools down who’s dispensing wisdom to those crowded at the bar. By the end of the evening, and the album he’s talking to only the bartender and himself.

“…bang bang, that awful sound…”

GHOSTS OF CHRISTMAS PAST

2006-12-19T18:44:00.000-06:00

THE MEETING

After so long an absence
At last we meet again:
Does the meeting give us pleasure,
Or does it give us pain?

The tree of life has been shaken,
And but few of us linger now,
Like the Prophet's two or three berries
In the top of the uppermost bough.

We cordially greet each other
In the old, familiar tone;
And we think, though we do not say it,
How old and gray he is grown!

We speak of a Merry Christmas
And many a Happy New Year
But each in his heart is thinking
Of those that are not here.

We speak of friends and their fortunes,
And of what they did and said,
Till the dead alone seem living,
And the living alone seem dead.

And at last we hardly distinguish
Between the ghosts and the guests;
And a mist and shadow of sadness
Steals over our merriest jests.

(Henry Wodsworth Longfellow)

WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO YOU AND I?

2006-12-05T20:23:00.000-06:00

A friend sent me a YouTube link the other day that ended up making my day. It’s some musician friends sharing a club stage together. Not unique, but still exciting when it works. One had become famous and ascended to the mountain top of popularity while trying to hang on to as much of himself as possible. He was trying to stay grounded even if his fans insisted he was more than a guy with a guitar.

Another had reached the top of the pop world but lacked the automatic credibility of the others. One has been a behind the scenes mover and shaker that carved his own niche in the musical landscape. The man behind the man.

Johnny, tonight's main act had gotten his shot at the big time by virtue of being a boyhood friend who also played music. They had all shared beers, sweat, girls, cars and cool nights on the boardwalk together in another lifetime. They were all in the music business, but not flying at the same altitude by any means. They were all making great music in their own way, but the public was only buying one in large quantities. He was the boss, the others were middle management at best.

One could wrongly assume that the boss was trying to help out his friends who hadn’t made it as far. I think more to the point, the boss missed those cool nights and those sweaty seaside bars more than he ever could have imagined. As he steps on the stage in front of a stunned crowd they think there is no better place on earth right now. The boss is thinking about how lucky his friend is and then proceeds to turn back the clock for at least the length of a single song.

This link will take you to that stage and that night.

WRITTEN IN MY SOUL, FROM ME TO YOU

2006-11-23T20:39:00.000-06:00

Woody Guthrie was too far gone to be the mentor that Dylan may have envisioned during his trek to New York. In the absence of that Dylan allowed Guthrie’s music to help shape his early works for another generation, even though Dylan may have preferred to appeal to a previous generation with those first recordings.

In any student-mentor relationship there comes a point where the education ceases and you take what you’ve learned and it becomes a part of what you are. In some cases, it becomes apparent that the student has surpassed the mentor or at the very least equaled him. You learn something and take it to new places driven by your own will and no one else’s. It’s not conceit, it’s just that evolutionary process at work. The lesson has only been worthwhile when you acknowledge that you had help finding the path that told you which fork in the road was yours.

The point at which I think Dylan, in his own way, finally paid his final debt to Guthrie was in the song “George Jackson.” The single he issued in two versions to protest the killing of the black, prison activist in 1971. Guthrie had romanticized the exploits of the depression era outlaw Pretty Boy Floyd in verse. In his song Guthrie gave Floyd the type of stature that Jesse James had received in song decades before. It’s a fine line trying to convince people that a murderer is a modern day Robin Hood. “Pretty Boy Floyd” and “Jesse James” while not exactly historical documents still make for great songs that have certainly endured.

Dylan was not thinking campfire sing-a-long with his song “George Jackson.” Someone contemporary and all too real was dead. The anger and the delivery of the song were in stark contrast to what he had been recording the past few albums. And in this instant Dylan and Guthrie converge and part ways at the same time. The twain had finally met, and if from this point on Dylan had no direction home, then so be it.

Consider the words of the mentor from “Pretty Boy Floyd.”

“Yes, as through this world I've wandered
I've seen lots of funny men;
Some will rob you with a six-gun,
And some with a fountain pen.”

About as profound as any of his seminal lyrics. Now watch how Dylan acknowledges the debt he owes Guthrie by saying essentially the same thing while staying true to his own character.

“Sometimes I think this whole world
Is one big prison yard.
Some of us are prisoners
The rest of us are guards.”

The torch is passed in the span of a single verse and the circle stays unbroken yet again.

THE MOST WONDERFUL TIME OF THE YEAR

2006-11-23T10:31:00.000-06:00

Bing, and even a little bit of Elvis were guests in our house when it came to holiday (can I say that?) music. Those were singles though, when it came to long players there was only one that I recall. That would be this Andy Williams album from 1963, sporting the moral majority approved title “Christmas Album.” His music was a favorite in our house and his television show was only missed if the power lines had been sabotaged by errant branches or a luckless squirrel.

What’s not to like? He was young, handsome, gentle voiced, good teeth, smiled when he had his picture taken (“wider than a mile“ no doubt), had manners and loved by my mother and her friends who discussed such things. Bing, was a bit too old for them even though he was their age. Elvis, they liked to look at, but he had too much hair. Frank and Dean drank too much and “ran around.“ (Incase I forgot to mention, celebrities were expected to follow the rules of the house also) Oddly enough, I swear we had every Nat Cole album except his Christmas one. Andy was non threatening and more likely to help them with groceries and bring in more firewood without being told.

In 1963 at the tender age of seven it was a real treat to have the handful of Christmas songs that I knew all on one album. The fact that they were all by the same artist was beside the point. I knew what my school choir was capable of with this music and they were no Andy Williams. He could sing, we couldn’t even face the same way. The reality that so many other artists also recorded this type of music was totally lost on me. Everything was at that age.

He’s recorded many other holiday albums over the years, but they don’t deliver the spirit of those early Christmas’s like this one. I have the CD of it somewhere, but I mostly rely on radio around the holidays to find the songs for me. Hearing one from that album out of the blue while running an errand or on the way home is enough to make the lines at the mall seem shorter. If I’m passing a Christmas tree lot at the same time it can transform the whole day. If I’m drinking when I hear it (not while driving of course) then I’m seven again and the Zenith console in the living room by the tree is spreading good cheer once again.

I’ve had a love affair with Christmas music ever since I was aware of it, no doubt this album played a pivotal role. Red Rider BB guns come and go, but music endures and rolls back the time like almost nothing else.

Andy turns seventy-eight this December. I hope all of his days have been merry and bright.

MR. MOJO RISIN'

2006-11-18T15:42:00.000-06:00

Though the Beatles and Stones were benchmarks of my generation I probably spent more time listening to the Doors in the late sixties and early seventies than just about any other band. Morrison was of course a big part of that. I pretty much knew at the time he was over the top and a bit out of control, but it didn’t stop me. His voice and the blues based drive of their music appealed to me for some reason. For a West coast based group they seemed to reject the San Francisco sound, and they certainly didn’t offer up the sunshine pop of some of the other bands.

They definitely had their own sound and followed a different muse. And like all great sixties bands there were able to dominate the singles charts and the FM airwaves with no obvious conflict. Easier said than done these days. I of course grasped none of this when I was young, I just thought they were cool and bought everything in sight with their name on it.

I’m such a fan that a couple of years ago while in L.A., with the help of a friend I searched out and found the actual Morrison Hotel in a part of L.A. better suited for a “very special episode” of “Cops.“ Still, standing in front of that window I found a closure that rivaled finding the actual grave of Eleanor Rigby while in Liverpool. As I stood on the sidewalk where photographer Henry Diltz stood to take the cover photo I imagined an L.A. that could only exist in the song “L.A. Woman.” We had just driven down the Sunset Strip and the surreal Technicolor images of sixties file footage were swirling around my head. The warm nights, Venice Beach, the vendors, street musicians, the roar of the ocean, “the cops in cars, the topless bars” etc..

Getting back to my impressionable youth, in the beginning tracks like “The End” and “When The Music’s Over” were among my favorites. Their shear length allowed me to get lost in that “Roman wilderness of pain.” I was one of those children who were insane. If only for around eleven or twelve minutes. It beat going to “Indian Lake” for me. Today, I can do without those tracks and instead focus on the ones that got by me the first time. With each new listen albums that I thought I could recite offer surprises that escaped me the first couple of hundred listens.

The new box set “Perceptions” arrived with the “Bed, Bath And Beyond” coupons in the mail last week allowing me the opportunity to revisit their catalog as a whole, and subsequently my youth. Unlike the various other collections on the market this one went below the surface in ways that us Doors fanatics have been clamoring for. For the first time we get bonus tracks, some surround sound, and a DVD with each disc that contains performance footage and 5.1 mixes of the albums. Some this may have been out before, but I had never caught up with them. Either way I know where I can find them now.

I’m not sure if “this is the end” of what can be done with their catalog or not, but this is the most complete representation of it on the market bar none. The box itself is a bit on the clunky side, but the discs are individually broken out and don’t need the box for shelf storage. The sound is first rate and the extras are truly engaging. Each disc comes in a multi-panel digi-pak with accurate replica labels on the discs and booklets with tons of unseen photos, text and lyrics. Just about everything sounds better than you remember it.

The best bonus material is on the “Morrison Hotel” disc. You get an array of takes of them working out “Roadhouse Blues.” At the time it wasn’t the seminal track that hindsight has allowed it to become. Today you could almost make a case for it being a “signature tune” despite all of the other contenders. It gets my vote because of its glimpse into what was the core of their sound: riffing blues and cult of personality jive.

Those wanting to hear a seventeen minute studio version of the “Celebration Of The Lizard” will find it on “Waiting For The Sun.” Those who don’t want to hear it will find a few other things to index. Listening to “The Soft Parade” re-ignites the argument of them using strings and horns strings so prominently. I have no real gripe with it since the songs they use them on are pretty strong and don’t overreach. A stripped down version of this would seem like a logical future release. If you index around “Light My Fire” and “The End” from the first album you will find some real gems that get overlooked because of the focus on those radio staples. Their take on “Back Door Man” leaves you thinking that the song had always been there hanging around until Jim got around to claiming it. “Alabama Song” gave a hint of Morrison’s future disguised as modern day cabaret.

As the years have hissed by my window the album “L.A. Woman” and more specifically that song have come to symbolize the band for me. The decadence, excess and the soaring performance must take its place beside other classics that grapple with the disillusionment of what life offers jaded musicians. “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” and “Hotel California” are other clear examples of artists taking stock of the world they‘ve created. On a more aural note this song was the precursor to “Radar Love.” Meant for a convertible and to test your speakers. It pulsates with the rhythm of the steel belts hitting the asphalt.

If you’re never going to make another album in your life then this album was about as good away to go out as any. Despite being bloated and beyond repair Morrison seizes the day and never coasts for a single track. By the time you’re half way through “Riders On The Storm” you know the inevitable conclusion, this really is the end. We truly would never look into his eyes again. It leaves you a bit sad, but with a great album to go back to thirty five years on.

As a youth I was completely focused on Morrison and the weird, snaking organ riffs of Manzarek. Upon further review, it becomes apparent that Krieger was the centerpiece of the band. His licks and lines were what was driving the sound from those West L.A. studios to our speakers. He gets next to no credit when compared to Richards, Page and some of the other riff masters of the era, but I have no idea where these songs would be without him. Like them he was also positioned behind an iconic front man that the spotlight always seemed glued to.

For those who score at home some other fun facts to know and tell abound. By the time of “L.A. Woman” they were featuring a new logo replacing their standard one. “Morrison Hotel” was the first album to completely abandon it. All other albums except these two feature it somewhere on the cover. The cover of the “Strange Days” also features the cover of the first album. This is the only cover not to actually feature a group photo. The song “Waiting For The Sun” only appears on the “Morrison Hotel” album. The band never had a proper bass player as a member. Manzarek would play bass on the keyboard for live shows. After the debut album each group member and supporting players were always listed on the back cover.

For a bit of fun you can click on this link to YouTube and see a young Jim in a college recruiting film. He was still in Florida attending school. Within seven years the Doors will have come and gone and he would be dead. But only for a short while.

“Well, I woke up this morning’
I got myself a beer,
The future’s uncertain
And the end is always near.”

YOUR TIME HAS COME TO SHINE

2006-11-13T18:32:00.000-06:00

BREAKAWAY

ART GARFUNKEL

In an earlier post I pointed out my fascination with the album cover of Herb Alpert’s “What Now My Love.” This album from 1975, a decade later, shares a similar approach. And to take this a step further, two years later Leonard Cohen would almost note for note recreate this cover for his “Death Of A Ladies Man.” The big difference being that this would be the pinnacle of Garfunkel’s solo career. For Cohen it would be a side road on his lifelong journey towards his version of salvation.

I’m not sure where the tradition of this type of pose originated, but it is compelling as a photograph and very effective as an album cover. The women on these covers seem to be vying for the musician’s attention. In the case of Art and Herb the men are being told something that they’re apparently willing to listen to, but not ready to respond to. Their facial expressions are nearly identical.

No doubt the setting for this one is a late dinner with drinks at some New York restaurant. Maybe it’s the after party for the completion of the album. Art knows that he has finally shaken the “and” Garfunkel tag and come up with one of pop music’s classic albums. During his years with Simon the song was always the focus, from here on out it would be Art’s voice. The public had yet to hear anything from the album, but he knew he was on the verge. It felt good to know what others would soon discover. It was a time for celebration. It was time to unwind with friends. It was a time of innocence.

The table is littered with the spoils of a long and smoky evening. It’s anyone’s guess how many times the ashtray has been emptied. An empty cocktail tumbler sits before him. There’s no telling if it’s his first or last of the night. Both women seem to have some claim to his attention, if not his affection. Tonight everything is up for grabs. The one on the right is reportedly his late girlfriend and actress Laurie Bird. (You may know her as “the girl” in the film “Two Lane Blacktop.”)

He looks straight ahead into the camera, or maybe the night, giving no notice to anything else in the frame. The look, like Alpert’s, is a bit weary and unreadable, but he’s not giving in either. With his choirboy looks and angelic voice he was as much an icon of the sixties as anyone sporting long hair and bell bottoms. The cowboy shirt is perhaps the centerpiece of the photo. It nods to his youth, but the setting is anything but broomstick cowboy and those ladies aren’t damsel’s in distress. The fifties and sixties took his youth but not his looks. For him his boyish looks and charm were still very much a part of his currency. But now it was the seventies with everyone on their own and he had to make his own way like the rest. He could still play the game and pretend.

The typewriter font replicated across the top is perfect for those thumbing through albums in a bin and completes a perfect cover. The title is there and draws you in as though you’re descending on the scene. You’ve stumbled on a “setting.” It’s as though you’re only invited because you came in for a nightcap or to shake off the rain.

Under the guidance of Richard Perry he was finally able to take his voice to places that he would have never imagined. He was thirty four years old and his voice was as beautiful as ever. Every song ever written was now available to him. He and Perry came up with an unimpeachable set list that has stood the test of time. The album contains no missteps and the only regrets are the dozens of songs your mind can conjure up that would have been perfect in this setting.

Photographer Norman Seeff has done countless album covers over the years. His work can be found in just about any stack of vinyl you choose to browse. This one ranks with his best work because it shows an artist in a backdrop that is real to his life, but not necessarily ours. We don’t begrudge Art his place though because he earned it one verse at a time.

“I’m sailing right behind…”

LET 'EM IN

2006-10-31T20:40:00.000-06:00

This is an ode to those acts who, like me, can only visit the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with a paid admission. I’ve been in the music collecting and selling business nearly my entire life and have no idea why the following cannot get elected while other lesser acts enjoy the spoils of having it on their resume. When I see acts like Billy Joel, Elvis Costello, the Police, Aerosmith or the Pretenders in there it just seems ridiculous. Ask yourself: what in music would be different if those acts had never come along? Answer: nothing. A few record labels would have a few less dollars, but nothing else would have changed.

All that said, let me be the first to say that the place, like a lot of these shrines created just for revenue, has little credibility with me. But, people love awards and they love to keep score, so if that‘s the case then these acts deserved to be included. This is by no means a complete list, their ( the “hall”) sins go way beyond these six. These six inductions though would at least let the hall voters glimpse the road to credibility on the horizon.

After reading this list how many of these acts would you have sworn were already in the hall? Think about it.

MARC BOLAN / T. REX The hall preaches influence and if that is the case then here’s a guy who single handedly triggered a second British Invasion. With his infectious riffs, androgynous look and radio ready anthems he paved the way for many others and eventually even the punk scene. I was there and believe me it was the first time since the Beatles that something that big had happened in the music industry. The impact was not quite as great here in the states, but there was no escaping that something exciting this way came.

NEIL DIAMOND The only thing I can surmise is that the voters are penalizing him for some of his late seventies and entire eighties and beyond output. That makes no sense when very few could touch his sixties and early seventies catalog. That and the fact that last year with his Rick Rubin produced “12 Songs” he showed that there was still some fresh ink left in his songwriters pen. That album, and his mid-seventies watershed “Beautiful Noise” should have been enough to wipe away some of the lazy years.

THE HOLLIES If just chart action and longevity were the tenets for induction then this band would have certainly been in line ahead of many others. Percy Sledge anyone? I’m not sure how oldies radio would sound without some of their numerous hits. This band belongs there as much as any other British Invasion band. Unlike many other groups personnel changes seemed to re-energize them and take them to new places with their music. And don’t be suckered into the argument that they were just a singles band. They recorded some classic albums and had several excellent UK only releases in the seventies that never made it to these shores. There’s got to be more to this story than we’re getting.

THE MONKEES Don’t get all excited here. This band’s music has endured while many others came and went. Their influence reaches beyond their “barrel full” of hits. Their television show let our parents come to understand that the musicians who played and sang rock weren’t bad kids at all. They were mostly just kids with musical instruments instead of basketballs and ball gloves. They turned the tide in my house. The musical segments ushered in once and for all the marriage of music and film to the masses. And on a final note here if I’m in a rock band and have a nice voice during the sixties, trust me it’s ok if most of my records are written by Boyce & Hart, Neil Diamond, Goffin & King, etc.. And anytime the best session guys in the country want to play on them and have Jeff Berry produce it‘s fine by me too. Wake up people.

MOODY BLUES I’ll admit, I’m not their biggest fan these days, but fair is fair. In an era of hit singles and self indulgent junk (Yes, ELP, etc.) this band quietly turned out some of the most fully realized albums of their generation. From “Days Of Future Passed” through “”Seventh Sojourn” they consistently crafted ethereal, melancholy and melodic works that don’t sound nearly as dated today as things from just say ten years ago. They spawned very few imitators owing to their unique sound. Like the Beatles and Who before them, and the Electric Light Orchestra later, they were able to pull stand alone gems from concept recordings for singles. They weren’t into padding their albums with long meandering tracks. Isn’t life strange indeed?

LEON RUSSELL If congress truly wants to launch a meaningful investigation then they can report back to me how this guy is still on the outside looking in. Even the large space this blog affords me doesn’t have room to mention all the reasons for this guy being inducted. This borders on criminal. I have never heard a single disparaging word about him and he’s had as many “hits” as some others currently receiving mail at the hall. Throw in songwriting, producing, session work and you have a true renaissance man. His omission leaves an ozone layer type hole that must be repaired before I visit.

AUTUMN LEAVES

2006-10-26T20:55:00.000-05:00

When this time of year arrives and the leaves start to fall it means that the end of the year is just around the corner. Go down to the end of that corner and turn left on Christmas Tree Lane, and like the Twilight Zone, it‘s straight up ahead. (Insert weird music here)

Instead of focusing on the holiday tunes that will dominate the airwaves for the next couple of months my thoughts instead turn to Autumn. It’s an overlooked season if there ever was one. It plays host to an unofficial holiday with Halloween, and a legal one with Thanksgiving.

Very few songs deal directly with the season, but that doesn’t mean there’s not music that was made for it. Face it, some songs, movies and activities just go better with those swirling leaves and hollow pumpkins than others. After Labor Day those Beach Boys albums must be relegated to the back of the stack until spring. You get the idea.

Below is a short list of some music that goes better with the shorter days. It’s just a random list, by no means complete. I’m just going with the ones that come back like the leaves from year to year. Also, these are the ones that I listen to late in the evening, not during the day while chopping wood or cleaning gutters.

Leonard Cohen - Anything from his first few albums on Columbia will do the trick here. His voice enters the room like the ghost of Autumn past and lingers like the smell of smoke from a neighbor’s burning leaves. When he speaks time doesn’t so much stand still, as it seems irrelevant. He wears his heart on his sleeve, but knows the attraction that can be to women. His unconditional love of them is both his endearing strength and eternal weakness.

Bob Dylan - “Blood On The Tracks” This one takes the prize. You only need a chilly autumn night that lets your frozen breath announce your arrival at a local pub to set the mood for these tales. You slip off your jacket and nod to a few of the regulars that make eye contact. “Poor Side Of Town” drifts from the jukebox. She’s gone and as far as you’re concerned your whole life hinged on what was and wasn’t said in the heat of that one moment. That moment was some time ago. “Beauty walks a razor’s edge” indeed. If she ever returns that night will be a line of demarcation for both of you. Right now though you’re alone and the well drink special and the off work cashier drinking alone in the tattered corner booth look like the best bet. Tomorrow, it will be two more bad decisions made in the heat of the moment.

Billie Holiday - Everyone has their favorite sides from her numerous sessions. For me though nothing beats her end of the line sessions for Verve Records in the fifties. Every song and take feels like it is her last performance. When you hear what she could bring to a song and then think about some of today’s singers and what they bring it’s really sad. She gave her life to sing these songs. If pain were measured in quarter notes then she would be a symphony. A sad, but sweet one.

Van Morrison - “Astral Weeks” No one had ever made an album like this before. Since then almost everyone has tried to make it. They never come close. It is without a doubt one of the most timeless pieces of music ever conceived. Where these songs came from is anyone’s guess and I’m sure we’d be wrong. Only Dylan could understand where music like this begins. There is very little that’s conventional about the songs or the instrumentation, but they come together like a dream that you drift in and out of over the course of an autumn night. I can still conjure up the night I was listening to the radio and heard “Madame George” for the first time. I bought the album the next day. I’d give anything to relive that experience again.

Simon & Garfunkel - A no brainer if there ever was one. Pretty much anything of theirs conjures up scenes of steam from manhole covers, fireplaces, staring from frosting windows, drinking wine alone, brisk Sunday walks downtown and hot chocolate from street venders. If you need to narrow it down to one album go for “Parsley, Sage, Rosemary And Thyme.” It works the upper side of Manhattan like a veteran cabbie. We have very little in common with these people and their tangled lives, but at the core they are all looking for love just like the rest of us.

Frank Sinatra - Most of his Capitol sides and some of the mid-sixties Reprise recordings will yield a seasoned oak woodpile of essential songs. You’ll need to wait until really late in the evening to play these though. They work best in the dead of the night when it’s all been decided and the bottle in your hand is half full. The ones on the counter are empty though.

Happy raking!

IT POURED SWEET AND CLEAR

2006-10-18T22:04:00.000-05:00

The title, "September Of My Years," and the song selection pretty much tells the story here. The cover drawing shows Frank gazing, arms folded looking to the side, if not over his shoulder. The heat was on him in musical terms, but you still had to come across cool no matter the temperature. He’s dressed for dinner and the cuff links let you know that he didn’t just grab something out of the closet. Folding money says he won’t be gassing up and driving his own car either. But dinner is only the appetizer for this evening. It’s a special event, tonight is a milestone that he wants to tackle head on. He wants to get there first. This day won’t end until the wee small hours of the next one.

It was 1965, Frank was hitting fifty and wanted an album of songs to reflect if not celebrate it. Some of the songs were newly written for the project, others had been around a bit. He chose them all like he was filling out an all star ballot. There would be no DH, everyone had to pull their load. He was no stranger to the concept album. He essentially invented it in the fifties with his Capitol recordings. These songs had autumn, melancholy, scotch, Camel cigarettes and sadness soaking each groove of the vinyl. What words didn’t say Gordon Jenkins did with his remarkable arrangements. Often using only a single instrument to mimic the passing of years or watching a lover disappear in one song only to re-emerge in another. Nelson Riddle gets most of the ink, but Jenkins was no less a master.

Staring down fifty and still the Chairman of the board. Half a century in the books. The bottle was still half full, plus it came off of the top shelf at Jilly’s. So far it had been his century as much as anyone’s. Forty years ago fifty was a lot older than it is now. He had lived a large and full life up to that point. His musical contributions weren’t done yet. However they would be less innovative in a market that had seen it all. He would be on the charts several more times with some sizable hits, but he would be there alone. There would be no Dean, Bing, Judy or Sammy a few rungs above or below him to make it all look like they still had the world on a string. The others had become performers, no longer artists, content to take a victory lap for an era that had shrunk to the stages of Vegas and television. They belonged to another generation in the public’s mind. Frank had spawned his own generation and wanted a piece of the current one. He felt he still had some very good years left.

Dean would resurface from time to time and even boast a successful television show. There he was content to impersonate the public’s perception of himself for one hour a week. Nice work if you can get it indeed. In death Dean would acquire all that Frank had in life. Dean never seemed to mind. Not when there were young girls outside of the dressing room, old whiskey on the makeup table and a private tee time waiting outside the limo. Dean preferred things that could be handled. Frank preferred to do the handing out. Dean was willing to look the other way and move on. Frank was willing to let a few bad years dominate his life to the point that he wouldn’t be happy until every slight was squared to his satisfaction. In each other they saw how they each could have turned out. Frank got his rewards here on earth, while Dean got his in heaven. That’s life.

At this point Frank was still an artist searching for meaningful material to plug the dam that rock and roll had breached. He couldn’t do it alone anymore, so he had to be content with pleasing his audience first and then hope that the kids found something they could connect with. An album of middle aged songs about a guy taking stock of his life wouldn’t do the trick this time. But it was something Frank had to do, he needed a dividing line. This nostalgic glance over his shoulder would scratch that itch until the real thing came along.

Classic versions of songs abound here. “September Song” stands with anyone’s version and fits this album without becoming a cliché. “Hello Young Lovers” tells the tale of I know what it’s like to be young and in love, but you don’t know what it’s like to be older and heartbroken on this night. It’s the sage advice that those in love never hear when it’s being said to their faces. Of course the title track gets the evening off to a stirring start like that first drink. The one that makes you think they are all going to go down this easy.

The centerpiece of the album is his rendition of “It Was A Very Good Year.” It showcases his vocal ability as well as anything from his Capitol era. The phrasing used to introduce each age as though he is repeating the question and then losing himself in his remembrances borders on perfection. He treats the song as though it were a chance to validate his world. When the decadence of his lifestyle confronts him by age thirty five it’s as though the song has now become a cautionary parable. By the time he reaches the last verse though his voice is commanding and the tinges of regret each verse brought are cast aside while he finishes the last sips of a vanished youth. That glass is empty, but the bottle, like the night, is still within reach.

“But now the days are short, I’m in the autumn of the year,
And I think of my life as vintage wine, from fine old kegs,
From the brim to the dregs, it poured sweet and clear,
It was a very good year.”
(Drake)

THE MOON IS A HARSH MISTRESS

2006-10-08T20:43:00.000-05:00

Three great albums you’ve probably never heard

All three albums under this topic are by female artists. I didn’t plan it this way, but there is probably something at work here. I’m guessing that it has to do with emotions. Guys seem more concerned about getting a riff out there than expressing some deeply felt emotion. These gals view the world as a bigger place and want their feelings known. Set to these tunes and rhymes, I’m all ears when it comes to these albums.

JANN BROWNE - MISSED ME BY A MILE

This was Browne’s fourth, and most recent solo album. Recorded in 2001 she decided to shake loose of expectations and go her own way with this one. She had made other solo albums that were pleasant and her stint with Asleep At The Wheel took her to places she might never have been invited. But something was in the air when it came time for this one. Perhaps inspired by what Rosanne Cash, Lucinda Williams other female artists were producing she took the reins and didn’t stray from the path so much as forge her own.

If a single song is worth whatever someone is charging for the entire disc then the title track here is one of them. The perception and skill to which she spins the yarn of a former lover and what exactly separates them borders on jaw dropping. This is a five minute life lesson that you can have for the price a disc instead of expensive counseling. The gritty delivery also lets you know that the message is one that she’s been contemplating.

Putting this disc out on her own with no major label backing doomed this one as far as substantial sales. But, if you measure success by satisfaction with the finished product then this one is headed for the hall of fame.

LOEY NELSON - VENUS KISSED THE MOON

In a perfect world (the one where Scarlett Johansson greets me at the door with a cocktail as I arrive home from work) this 1989 album would have done for Nelson what Sheryl Crow’s and Norah Jones’ debuts did for them. Instead of having her floors reinforced to hold all of her Grammy’s Nelson gets to watch the market value of this out print disc hover in the one cent range on Amazon. Ain’t life grand. Crow and Jones continue to make interesting music and may even have another classic in them. Nelson has never made another recording that I’m aware of.

She was just a bit early for the alt-country, hard folk scene that rages today. And way too early for no frills, genre hopping debuts for female singer songwriters. I would venture a guess that if this album were to come out today it would find an audience. The strange thing to me is how much was behind this recording for it to fail so spectacularly. It was on Warner Brothers Records, not exactly new to the business. Produced by David Kershenbaum and featuring such session luminaries as Russ Kunkel, Leland Sklar, and Dan Dugmore. These hired guns had been around the block a time or two. What’s not to like? I’m guessing that it all boils down to airplay. If they don’t hear it, they don’t buy it. It appears that no programmer thought enough of this recording to let the public hear it.

Her originals showed lots of promise and her cover choices were inspired. There is only one straight cover on the disc, the others are parts of other songs that she weaves in and out of the mix. It’s a novel concept that works really well. For those who collect cover versions you can’t do much better than her aching rendition of “To Sir With Love.” From what I’ve been able to gather over the years the album demos were financed by a fan from her home area of Milwaukee. Just speculating here, but the song could have been a thank you to him. If not, it’s a nice story and an essential cover of the song.

In a world where a cup of coffee can set you back five bucks, you couldn’t do much better than this one cent disc. Plus it gets better each time it pours out of your speakers.

WIGGINS SISTERS - MINNESOTA

They could have titled this one “No Two Alike” and no one would have argued. On their second disc they explore every style of music that you can imagine and come up with something totally original. Working with producer Lloyd Maines this 2000 album is about as close to perfection as you will hear. The sisters in question here Mizzy and Casey have a that special connection that only musical siblings seem to possess.

They penned most of the songs and throw themselves headfirst into the two covers. The songs cover divorce, garage sales, open mic night in a New Jersey bar, class reunions, religious relatives, the decline of the Western civilization and some lost keys. This one has it all. What it has more than anything though is heart. This duo knows just what they are trying to achieve in each song. While lost keys dominate one song, the loss of innocence as seen through a class reunion in the title track will leave you surveying your own landscape by the last chorus. They don’t simply sing the songs, they inhabit them.

They keep promising to release a follow up disc but as of this writing it hasn’t happened. This is one of those discs that leaves you wanting more when it ends. Lots more. I’m still waiting but passing the time with this one is about as good as it gets.

ALL THINGS MUST PASS: NOTABLE DEBUTS

2006-10-04T21:55:00.000-05:00

In the spirit of George Harrison who wrote the book on this subject, I offer great debut albums by artists who had previously been part of a group. This will be an occasional series highlighting notable solo recordings. (Listed alphabetically)

PETER CASE - PETER CASE

Produced by T-Bone Burnett, who helped bring Case’s acoustic pop vision to fruition this one just gets better with age. I know there are unused selections and alternate versions from these sessions. This would be a great candidate for expanded treatment. Other than an ill advised cover of the Pogues’ “A Pair Of Brown Eyes” you couldn’t ask for a better initial offering. Unlike some others on this list he would go on to record other worthy material. (1986)

BRYAN FERRY - THESE FOOLISH THINGS

The title track alone is enough to land it on this list. Ferry decided to tackle all covers his first time out of the Roxy Music backyard. He bent the songs to his style rather than the other way around. The first time you hear it you’ll find it tough sledding. A couple of more listens and you’ll taking down-hills you never dreamed of trying. He would re-visit this theme a few more times, and while rewarding for the most part they lack the surprise element of this one. And did I mention that title track? It has been done dozens of ways in its long history, but never in a waltz tempo and never with a vocal cadence like this one. (1973)

CYNDI LAUPER - SHE’S SO UNUSUAL

She jumps styles on nearly every cut and conquers them all. One of the very few times that synth-pop worked for nearly an entire album. The songs that didn’t need it though like “Time After Time” soared on their own merits. It even moved Miles Davis to record a near note for note cover of it. In a rare turn her follow up album “True Colors” is almost as good, and that is unusual. (1984)

DAVE MASON - ALONE TOGETHER

Total perfection from first note to last. Everything thought about or attempted works flawlessly on this first offering. The all star backing by Leon Russell and his assembled guests proved to be just what these songs needed. Hearing any of these songs today is still capable of taking you back to this place in time. Some songs have an almost carnival swirl to them. He would never come close again. (1970)

GRAHAM NASH - SONGS FOR BEGINNERS

He had been a member of two very successful groups from two different countries. He had contributed signature songs to each of their catalogs. Like George Harrison he has a thin, but expressive voice. This album has worn well over the years, the sequencing is pleasant and the songs showcase a singer songwriter at the top of his game. You won’t find enough decent songs on all of the rest of his solo albums combined to top this one. (1971)

I MISS MY BABY

2006-10-03T08:24:00.000-05:00

A newsgroup that I’m in recently posed this question: What song would you use to illustrate what rock and roll is to someone who had never heard it or had no idea what it was? Great question with no wrong answers probably. My only criteria is that the song has to encompass the spirit and passion of rock and roll more than a 4/4 beat that you can dance to.

Well, today my answer is Bobby Fuller's version of "I Fought The Law." I know for a lot of people rock and roll only flows from Liverpool by way of Memphis and the airwaves of Cleveland, but I say it's everywhere. For me nothing compares to the time I was ten years old and saw my first live band at a roller rink. I've never recovered and I kept going back for the next few years each Saturday night that I could swing it. The Beatles only came to town once, but these bands playing their songs note for note were always around. To be honest, they were probably playing them better than the original bands after a while.

To bring this back around to Bobby Fuller, I love the photos and recordings of him and his band playing those West Coast clubs in the early and mid-sixties. The ones with the low stage, thick velvet curtain back drop and some radio station's call letters hung above the band. The clubs were just large lounges trying to cash in on all of this “long hair music the kids were going for.” The shows look like a scene from any number of Elvis movies. The guys all look like the early Beach Boys and the girls look like Nancy Sinatra. It’s every parents current nightmare, the kids feel a freedom they could have only dreamed of a few years earlier.

It’s California, the summer of 1966, the hottest day of July. Just look at him, he's young, he’s smiling, he owns a Corvette, he’s good looking and has a guitar in his hand. He’s every American kid that ever got a guitar for Christmas. He’ll be dead tomorrow, but the night is young, was made for lovers and has a thousand eyes. Between songs the girls all run over to him. He signs some 45’s for them. He spikes his coke, steps out back for a cigarette with the drummer, shares a joke with a DJ, and checks out some of the cars the kids have driven to the show. Twenty minutes later he's back up on that stage covering the Beatles or more Buddy Holly before closing with their "hit." The kids file out into the warm night air. Some still dancing. With their tops down they can smell the salted sea breeze as they drive home.

Seeing real, non cover bands in person was years away for me so these local fraternity / cover bands / no-hit wonders were what I grew up on. That will always be rock and roll to me. Even today I would have to say that they tried harder than some of the groups I’ve paid good money to see over the years.

Again, I'm drifting. This song has it all: a guy, a girl, a crime committed to keep the girl and a moral to please the parents. It has a great rolling fade in and the lyrics are married to the melody perfectly. It was an obscure Buddy Holly album cut written by Sonny Curtis. Until Fuller discovered it only Holly collectors knew it existed. Thanks to him it’s still one of the best reasons to own a radio forty years on. Each time I hear it I have to turn it up. It flies by like it's moving from one radio to another. I hope mine’s next.

THEY TOLD ME YOU MISSED SCHOOL TODAY

2006-10-01T21:20:00.000-05:00

ROD STEWART - The Mercury Years Covers

This is my list of his ten best “covers” from his solo stint on the Mercury label. He would go on to record countless covers over the years, but none approach the sincerity and vocal delivery you’ll find on these early selections. I was there when each one came out and these have stood the test of time and ended up on countless mix tapes and discs of my own. All were recorded between 1969 and 1974. Over thirty years ago, or a lifetime ago depending on your perspective. All are presented in alphabetical order to keep it simple. And remember, I said my favorites, not necessarily the best.

Country Comforts
(Elton John-Bernie Taupin)

This recording proceeded Sir Elton’s into the marketplace by a few months. Rod adds and "s" to "comfort" that Elton doesn't use. He also drops the final verse, and there is an obvious lyric change in nearly every line for some reason. None of them change what‘s happening, but are evident nonetheless. This autumnal tale is offered in a affecting reading that can be found in most of his early ballad covers. He tackles this narrative of a young man fondly returning to the farm of his youth through new eyes like he means it. (Gasoline Alley)

Dirty Old Town
(Ewan MacColl)

This one has been done many times and will be done many more times. What drives this one is the restrained reading and his behind the music styled vocals. The music track nearly dominates the mix, but when Rod ventures out from behind the speakers he commands attention. No doubt Rod grew up hearing this song as a folk ballad. This sentiment of getting out of the town you grew up in has played itself out in countless songs over the centuries. This is easily one of the best. I would bet anything that John D. Loudermilk‘s “Tobacco Road” was based on him hearing this song at some point. (The Rod Stewart Album)

Handbags & Gladrags

(Mike D’Abo)

D’Abo was the vocalist for the late sixties incarnation of Manfred Mann when he wrote this. (He was also the co-writer of the Foundations international hit “Build Me Up Buttercup” ) Stewart, I’m guessing heard this from the Chris Farlowe recording a year or so earlier. This is one of Stewart’s most enduring vocals. Only his Dylan covers carry more weight. The vocal is so fragile at times that you wonder whether he’s up to finishing the song. For added effect D’Abo sits in on piano and nearly steals the show with his economical accompaniment. Gotta give drummer Mickey Waller some on this one too. (The Rod Stewart Album)

It’s All Over Now
(Bobby & Shirley Womack)

Although it didn’t feature all of them, this was the first indication of what the Faces would sound like with Rod and Ron at the helm. It offers the booze soaked delivery that would be their trademark and the loose performance of the group behind him sounds like they‘ll keep playing until someone says “that‘s enough.“ This was a time when artists were still free to make records that they liked also. No focus groups telling them to shorten it or to tune some of those instruments, etc.. (Gasoline Alley)

Mama, You’ve Been On My Mind

(Bob Dylan)

During his Mercury years nothing brought out the best in Roderick David Stewart like a Dylan cover. This take on an unreleased song is covered about as well as any Dylan song there is. He never rests or coasts on the lyric and sings every word to proper effect. The heartbreaking lyric tinged with a sliver of acceptance is one of Dylan’s best. Knowing a great song when he heard one he immediately re-wrote it as “You Wear It Well” for side two of the album. The use of violin and pedal steel serve to illustrate the importance the entire band placed on this recording. They nailed it. Any number of covers over the years have put more money in Dylan’s pocket, I doubt very many put as big a smile on his face. (Never A Dull Moment)

Mine For Me
(Paul & Linda McCartney)

Written especially for Rod by Paul, and apparently Linda, this cover offers one of Paul’s better “giveaways.” It fits what Rod was capable of doing vocally and represents an adult sentiment instead of the leering, wink-wink fodder from some of his own material. (Not that there’s anything wrong with that) He uses his voice as an extra instrument on this one. It works. (Smiler)

My Way Of Giving
(Steve Marriott & Ronnie Lane)

This was a good idea whoever’s idea it was. Covering a song from the Small Faces with Rod standing in for Marriott works quite well. The chorus really jumps out and you may find yourself singing along during the initial listen. I wonder if Rod ever thinks back to how easy it once was when you just had fun with the music and didn’t rely on watered down material and lame producers. (Gasoline Alley)

Only A Hobo

(Bob Dylan)

Even Dylan couldn’t have imagined the vocal possibilities of this song. This is Rod at his acoustic, poignant and understated best. The tragic lyric is brought to life in vivid detail. On paper this one reads like a short story that Steinbeck might have written. In the hands of Rod it becomes an indictment on a side of life that we hope we only encounter in songs and movies. The character in the song is a direct descendent of any number of nameless drifters from the songs of Jimmie Rodgers. (Gasoline Alley)

Seems Like A Long Time
(Ted Anderson)

Although I know the writer of this song I’ve never asked him how Rod got a hold of it. All I can figure is that he may have heard the Brewer & Shipley version, or maybe a publishing demo from Ted’s publisher. At the time the song had the Vietnam war as its default backdrop. Listening to it today you can imagine what is going through my mind. Rod takes the bare, but powerful lyric and gives the listener plenty to think about while listening and afterwards. If you find yourself repeating the chorus the next time you read the paper or watch the news you’re not alone. (Every Picture Tells A Story)

Street Fighting Man
(Mick Jagger-Keith Richards)

Give Rod props for taking this iconic song on so close to the Stones original. He even had the nerve to open his first solo album with it. That choice announced to the music loving public that he would make his mark by interpreting the works of others and supplement the albums with his own songs that he felt could stand along side them. As is the case with some of the others on this list his band really helps him realize his vision. At their best the recordings sound as though they were a group assembled in the alley behind your flat to perform for anyone passing by. That is a compliment because making it sound spontaneous is never easy. The charging acoustic guitars and uneven mix only add to the charm of the finished product. (The Rod Stewart Album)

YOUNG MAN WITH A HORN

2006-09-27T21:55:00.000-05:00

Back when album covers were closer in size to small windows instead of a coaster you could be enthralled, even seduced by them. Anyone with a sizable collection has purchased one or more albums because of its cover. Don’t say you haven’t. No doubt you even positioned one or more in the front of a stack as a statement, if only to upset your parents. Today you have to scrounge around on the floorboard of your car just to retrieve one. That’s if you purchased it instead of downloading it, or simply burning someone else’s copy.

Anyway back to the post at hand, while moving some things this evening I came across this album. I have never gotten rid of it because of the striking impact the cover carries for me. I think it’s one of the best album covers ever for several reasons. It works on many levels as a sign of its time. It perfectly conveys the sounds inside the cover, as a photo it is flawless, the design work by Peter Whorf Graphics respects both the artist and the intended audience. Compared to most covers today I consider this one art.

The year is 1966 and jazz instruments have given way to guitars as the way to grab a girls attention. The trumpet was on life support as a hip instrument despite the best efforts of Herb Alpert and Chet Baker at this point. (Miles Davis on the other hand made the trumpet seem more like weapon than an aphrodisiac) Chet and Herb could have made the didgeridoo look hip. Chet of course is the go to guy as the epitome of cool among musicians alive or dead. If the photo happens to be black and white then we‘re talking near freezing. Herb gets overlooked because of his pop leanings and long life I think. Herb projects a less threatening cool.

“What Now My Love” was released in May of 1966 and would top the Billborad charts for nine weeks. Other chart toppers that year included “Rubber Soul,” “Revolver,” “The Monkees,” and “Ballad Of The Green Beret.” Times were changing, but not nearly as fast or as radically as history would have us believe. At least in terms of popular music.

This cover is also that rare instance where a second photo from a previous cover session is used. The photo is an outtake from the photo sessions for the “South Of The Border” album. Why I’m not sure. On that cover he and the girl seem to be sharing a laugh. On this one he’s distracted, deep in thought as she tries to get his attention. She seems to be failing. Maybe he’s thinking about the Beatles or maybe Dylan. The summer of love is still a year a way, but he’s now thirty and these new groups are young and have guitars that drive the younger generation wild. His band offers individually powered brass, these other bands are powered by electricity.

The nameless girl doesn’t understand what it’s like to be hot one day and cool in a bad way on another day. Her biggest problem is that he’s prettier than her. His casual caballero clothes exude a style and grace comparable to the music he plays. He holds the trumpet like the true mistress that it is. Women will come and go, the horn will be there at the end of each day and night and will ultimately define his very existence on this earth. She will ultimately find another musician.

LAYING OUT MY WINTER CLOTHES

2006-09-24T17:27:00.000-05:00

THE BOXER
(Paul Simon)

Some songs set a mood like few others can. This song always makes me rush to a window checking for snow flurries or at the very least steam rising from a manhole. The opening guitar run feels like a fall breeze turning quickly to a winter chill. The kind where despite what the weatherman says you’re underdressed. The saga of a poor kid on the streets of New York “runnin’ scared” and concerned about the winters there comes through loud and clear. (To my thinking this is probably another chapter in the story of Lincoln Duncan)

The song has haunted me since the first time that I heard it. Not in a Stephen King kind of way, but more like Hemmingway and a snifter of cognac at closing time kind of way. It was such an adult sentiment coming out of my transistor, and later the attached speakers of my first GE Veg-O-Matic stereo with the rusty nail stylus. I was becoming aware of the adult world through the eyes of an unknown, never was, boxer. As an adult it even inspired a photography project where I tried to find the essence of what it must have been like to be “the boxer.”

The most alarming thing about this song is that I don’t think we get a definitive version on the released single or studio album cut. This is a case of a song itself transcending its accepted version. Don’t get me wrong, the studio version of this is quite striking for many reasons including those already cited, and I always reach for the volume knob when it arrives from the satellite. One of those striking reasons isn’t the near over the top production however. It starts out perfect but keeps building when it should have stayed in the ring. By the end when the tale takes its most poignant turn it borders on throwing in the towel. The short piccolo flute coda at the end pretty much redeems it though. I blame the production and the extended ending on “Hey Jude,” and “Atlantis.” There seemed to be a bit of that song structure going around at the end of the sixties for some reason. The difference here is that those songs can’t stand on their lyrics alone, they are merely a dimension of the “record” while “The Boxer” strays into timeless territory by virtue of the lyrics alone.

All that aside, there have been several live versions (legit and boot) that I think take the song to where Simon originally envisioned it. For reasons unknown, to me anyway, there is an extra verse that comes and goes depending on the evening as far as I can tell. I think it works fine in the song and more for the fact that I wish the song would never end, so anything extra is welcome to these ears.

From the outtakes that I have heard of various Simon recordings over the years I would venture a guess that there’s an un-dubbed demo in a vault somewhere that would knock us out.

“Now the years are rollin’ by me, they are rocking evenly,
I’m older than I once was, younger than I’ll be, that’s not unusual.
No it isn’t strange, after changes upon changes,
We are more or less the same.”

LET THE AIRWAVES FLOW

2006-09-22T21:55:00.000-05:00

My ten favorite Rolling Stones songs, in alphabetical order. (This week anyway) At any given moment they are given too much, and too little credit for their accomplishments. Say or think what you will, I just couldn’t imagine what my music collection would look like without their music. This is my desert island disc with a few bonus tracks.

Crazy Mama From their most underrated album (Black And Blue) comes this strolling rocker that soars in it’s few live renditions. It’s a throwback to another era for a band that was aging and surrounded by new groups who sought to take them down regardless of their stature. This rocker kept the newer acts at bay for a few more years.

Gimme Shelter If I had ranked these songs this one would be number one with a bullet the size of a mortar shell. This song deserves a book not a blog entry. It is so ominous that it has to fade in just to keep from paralyzing us before the vocals start. The apocalyptic lyrics are sung as though a match is being struck at the start of every line. By the time Merry Clayton appears to fulfill Jagger’s most perverse fantasies even he’s weakened by her power. In her vocal turn she wipes away nearly every female vocal of the sixties and reduces the future female vocalists of the seventies to consider a new career. The guitar riff carries with it the weight of every lick that Chuck Berry ever collected a royalty on and weathers a storm of feedback that still rages somewhere in the ether. Their first album of the decade opened with Buddy Holly’s riffing promise that their love would Not Fade Away. Their final album of the decade opened with them content to just stay dry.

I’m Free This one proved that when they wanted to just be one of the many “British Invasion” acts who could come up with catchy pop they were equal to the task. A song that could have only come out in 1965.

Play With Fire There was a time when they were too scruffy and unkempt to attract the kind of women that could elevate their status and position. Once they achieved that lofty stature they never forgot the sting of rejection and consigned themselves to a life of punishing those that now professed undying love.

Ruby Tuesday The Beatles had a way of taking a song like this and making it something ethereal and breezy. For the Stones that was never an option. They had cast their lot with those who lived a smaller more paranoiac existence. Even when they tried to be tender and get close to someone it came off sinister and with a hardly concealed motive. Closing the song with the line “still I’m gonna miss you” lets you know that they don’t clean up behind themselves very well.

Stray Cat Blues (Live) A nice slinky studio version surfaced on Beggars Banquet that unfolded as a cautionary tale for parents of young girls everywhere. However by the time it appeared on Get Yer Ya’s Ya’s Out it had been transformed into a strutting, salacious tale as told by the Midnight Rambler.

Sway Why rehearse when a first run through sounds like perfection? The first time I heard this I thought it was going to fall out my speakers. Probably their least self conscious track ever. Credit Mick Taylor and the session guys for getting them to go with the flow and just “let it loose.”

Time Waits For No One One of the few times that Jagger let his guard down and faced his own mortality. He was still young in mere mortal years, but aging rapidly as a relevant rocker trying to move his band from one decade to the next. He succeeded, but was showing the strains of being at the wheel for over ten years with a hundred more to go.

Torn And Frayed Ian Stewart’s piano drives this tale of another wasted soul who lost his way in the world of rock and roll. To this band though it’s just another loose end that they don’t have time to go back for. But it gave them a nice song by the time the ashes were spread.

You Can't Always Get What You Want Forget the orchestral intro from the album version and flip over your single of Honky Tonk Women for this version that starts with Al Kooper on the flugelhorn. His mournful notes slowly raise the curtain on yet another swirling, drug fueled, dirge of a daydream about trying to ignore the world around you while heading to the next score. A perfect way to let the sixties die its inevitable death while looking the other way.

BONUS TRACKS

Harlem Shuffle An odd choice for sure, but something about the way they approached this cover at this point in their career draws me in. They were at a crossroads and nearly adrift despite a fat new contract that left them no doubt satisfied, but seeing nothing but distant shores in a changing musical sea. This attempt to re-connect with a groove that had inspired them years before revealed that they could hear the whispers and knew that there was more on the line than their signatures.

Moonlight Mile What better way to close out Sticky Fingers than this song. On this track they acknowledge the fact that the decadence and drugs of the sixties were now a part of their lives. In some circles they would be forever defined by these vices. For the rest of us they would be judged by what they came out of the studio with, not what they took in with them.

Street Fighting Man In America we dance in the streets, in England they have to clear a path first before any dancing takes place. A snapshot of how the youth in another country view their dwindling options. Too acoustic to be hard rock, too hard driving to be acoustic. It meets us in the middle.

RAMBLIN' BOY

2006-09-22T06:09:00.000-05:00

I’m not sure whether a song can truly change the world or not. As noble as that sounds it‘s just too much of a stretch for me. A song can however change an entire day when heard at the appropriate time. Yesterday morning it was raining and I was running behind. When I tapped the on button of my car radio just such a thing happened. The first song I heard was Tom Paxton’s “I Can’t Help But Wonder Where I’m Bound.” He’s written a lot of memorable songs in a long career, but the melancholy of that one fit the morning like few others could have. (Several Leonard Cohen songs are capable of the same magic)

That song along, with “Ramblin’ Boy” and “The Last Thing On My Mind” form a triumvirate of songs that you’d swear were handed down mountain ballads from before there were even trains. No one could have possibly taken a guitar and a sheet of paper to the park and come home with one of them. The timeless quality of those songs never ceases to amaze me when I hear one of them. All are available by him and countless others. Seeking out any version of these songs will at the very least change your day.

“May all your ramblin’ bring you joy…”

YOU MAKE ME FEEL SO YOUNG

2006-09-21T22:09:00.000-05:00

Kansas City’s Drum Room at the President Hotel is a throwback to an era that no longer exists. For most of us it mainly existed in films and album covers featuring Frank, Dean, Nat and others engaged in being cooler than anyone we would ever know personally.
The renovated Drum Room on the bottom floor of the hotel offers an abundance of the elegance that once graced the interior walls. Walls that echoed with the sounds of the afore mentioned acts and other jazz greats that worked the circuit in the forties and fifties when Kansas City was known for more than an also ran football team and baseball team that is better at hitting the skids than a curveball.

It was an era where acts played rooms this size regularly and could look everyone in place square in the eye while performing “My Funny Valentine” or maybe “You Go To My Head.” There was no one by the door selling shirts and mugs with their picture on them. Just outside the door was someone who would park your car for you and open the door for the dame on your arm.

I took the misses there for our anniversary and we had a wonderful dinner and split a martini that resembled an elevated candy dish. As Raymond Chandler might say “the drink packed more of a punch than Lamotta in his prime.“ The music didn’t come within a light year of the ghosts that hovered in the air. The “jazz stylings” of Max Groove saw to that. Aimless faux fusion jazz misses wildly on the hip scale at this blog.

The tab eclipsed my last couple of cable bills, but it was worth every penny. We left with a great photo and a sense of a time before the internet and the hurry up and wait times we live in. We now know that there was once a time where you could live in the moment and savor it because you couldn’t go home and hit rewind. You could only wait until the next time you could get out for another round.

LONESOME, ON'RY AND MEAN

2006-09-21T21:37:00.000-05:00

Waylon firing up a smoke on the cover of this 1968 album is kind of cool. He wasn’t the acknowledged outlaw that he would later become. He was more or less a “greaser” country act that had made some nice singles and was getting more and more popular. I didn’t start smoking because of Waylon, but he certainly looked like his own man smoking his freshly rolled coffin nail. As Lou Reed once said “those were different times.”

What’s not so cool is his family allowing the use of this photo of a later, more mature Waylon holding a cigarette like he was selling dish soap on the cover of his new box set "Nashville Rebel." Cigarettes didn’t kill him in 2002, but they didn’t add any years to one of the most storied careers in country music. As a fan for over thirty years of the man and his music, I have seen hundreds of worthy photos that would serve as a better reminder of the man and the music contained on this set. The music inside is first rate, the cover is ill advised to say the least. As Bob Dylan would say "Things Have Changed."

WORDS OF LOVE

2006-09-21T19:13:00.000-05:00

MISSION STATEMENT

This blog, not to be confused with every other blog, will be used primarily to offer my rants, raves, suggestions, reviews, sometimes useful information, photography (I have a separate blog that is completely photography based) and anything else that comes to mind. My main job is online music sales after a lifetime of retail music sales.

Most of my entries, regardless how informative or lame, will be music or media based since that’s about all I have time for. If you learn something that you didn’t know that will be a plus. If you get angry about something that I post or think that bloggers should be locked up you will most likely be making my day. Feel free to drop me an email with any love letters, correspondence and advice of your own if you don’t want to comment on the blog directly.

One last thing. I will be using lyric quotes in most, if not all posts. All are used without permission to save time. If you happen to be the legal copyright owner of any of them and feel that my use of them on a blog emanating from somewhere in Kansas will cause you irreparable harm, public scorn and ultimately take food from your children’s mouth please contact me and I will remove them. Keep in mind however, that I have spent over forty years of my life buying, selling and promoting your music throughout the world with only a weekly salary to show for it. Again, just something to keep in mind.