Being Good Isn't Always Easy...

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...

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...

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

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...

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....

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.