A "stream of consciousness" observation on music and how we relate to it. How we purchase, listen to and enjoy music is changing. What does it mean to be a music fan in a world where every song, performance and video is literally at your fingertips? I hope to be a guide to this new world of musical experience. Featuring tunes and comments about artists, old and new in nearly every genre.
On Christmas Day 2009, Vic Chesnutt passed away in an Athens, Georgia hospital, the result of a deliberate overdose of muscle relaxants a week earlier. Chesnutt was a songwriter of disarming bluntness and sincerity, who had spent his entire life confined to a wheelchair after a car accident. He had recorded over 15 albums and had worked with artists as diverse as Michael Stipe, Bill Frisell and the indie punk band Fugazi. In his 2009 song, "Flirted With You All My Life" he chillingly sang of death and suicide, from the point of view of one who had been driven to attempt suicide several times before. He finally gained his release from chronic pain, depression and debt caused by his medical problems. (Getting up on soapbox-Many artists, musicians, writers, painters etc end up crushed by crippling debt when they encounter even the simplest of medical problems involving treatment by doctors and hospitals. Something that doesn't happen in Canada, the UK, and most of the developed world-getting down off soapbox).
Digging me some Vic I though I would post up a couple of tunes that I love. Should have done this back around Christmas time on the anniversary of his death. Better late than never. Vic is missed.
Here is the aforementioned song about suicide:
In this musical memory from Conan O'Brien's old show, Vic positively swings as he is backed up by the "alt-country" band Lambchop on "Until The Led."
I threw up another cool song on Spotify called "2nd Floor" from one of Vic's earlier albums.
Just sitting at home, working away on the computer on one or another legal case, digging some Vic Chesnutt. Hope you check out his work!
Traffic is probably one of the most under-rated bands ever. Formed originally in 67, it's core members were Steve Winwood, Jim Capaldi, Chris Wood, and in-out-briefly back in-out Dave Mason. Great players. 3 vocalists and songwriters of varying power and ability. Had Mason not left when he did, taking his tunes with him, Traffic might have shone brighter then they ultimately did. They started off as a tight little pop rock band, and evolved into something a little more "free-flowing" and "jazzy." Both groups, and it really is two different sounding groups, have their merits, though the original incarnation is my general preference. While both bands were good, the later band's material is a little more uneven. The edition of the band that is enshrined in the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame is the first, with the four members named above.
In 1970, the band split with Winwood joining Eric Clapton in Blind Faith. This was an unhappy experience that did not last long. Winwood contributed "Can't Find My Way Home to the project as well as lending his lead vocals to Clapton's "Presence of the Lord." Not the last time Steve would record material with a theme of "spiritual yearning" central to it's message! ("Higher Love" and "Low Spark of High Heeled Boys" being two later examples.
Blind Faith having ended, Winwood started to record a solo album. He ended up working with ex-songwriting partner, Jim Capaldi. When Chris Wood started to help out, Winwood decided to call it a proper Traffic album and thus "John Barleycorn Must Die" was born (that was fun to write!).
"Every Mother's Son" was a Winwood-Capaldi tune that featured only those two musicians on the original album version. Its lyrics feature a literal plea to God from a man weary from travelling life's road. It fit comfortably alongside other tunes Winwood has recorded in that it is about Big Things. Winwood has come a long way from the simple love songs of the Spencer Davis Group days for which he was the teen-aged lead singer. It was also a concert staple that they could stretch out a little bit on, with the bigger band that Traffic would become acquitting themselves quite well. The "Barleycorn" album, probably the best of the post-Blind Faith albums found them poised with one foot in the past and one in their future. In my opinion, while Traffic's two best albums were the original two, "Dear Mr. Fantasy" and "Traffic," the "Barleycorn" album is right up there with them. The albums, including the reunion album in 1994 are generally not as good as the album that proceeded it. Capaldi, Mason and Winwood have had solo careers of varying success. Capaldi passed away in 2005 as they were planning another reunion.
Picked up tickets on Saturday for my son's 14th birthday for Springsteen at the Palace. Main Floor General Admission. Like most of my ideas, it could turn out to be the best idea I have ever had or the worst. I will report back after the show. We will be accompanied by Super Accountant Dave Guest, who will be seeing his 20th Springsteen show and is a veteran of these main floor general admission deals. Dave will be guide and guru and placeholder when we use the bathroom. Admittedly I did many back in the day but I have become quite the softy. I have come to enjoy the luxury of sitting in a good seat off to the side and having a great view to the energy and fun of dancing for two hours in front of a Marshall stack. I think it will be cool for Luke to get to have this experience. I am gonna load up his Ipod mix with a bunch of Bruce so he can prepare for the show. Here's a little taste of a live "Thunder Road" from 1976.
This will be my 4th Springsteen Show which includes the Born In The USA tour the week I took the Michigan Bar Exam back in 1984. That was at Joe Louis I believe. Pretty incredible show. Saw a mid 90's show at the Palace. Took my wife who is not that much into Bruce and her attitude kind of showed. So it dampened my enthusiasm for the show too. (Love you honey, but I'm not doing THAT again!). Maybe the most incredible show was the Concert to Defeat George Bush (spoiler alert-George Bush was re-elected) back in 2004 at Cobo. Bought tickets the day the show was announced. My seats were so close and so good AND off to the side and comfy that we could not believe it. We sat two rows in front of then Attorney General Kelly and then Governor Granholm so you know they were comped with decent ducats. The bill included Springsteen, REM, John Fogerty and Bright Eyes. The then-controversial Dixie Chick showed up to sing along on the encore which was Patti Smith's "People Got The Power." Great bill! Great energy! Great show! Here's a sample from a show later on that tour!
"Stop Draggin' My Heart Around" was a tune written by Tom Petty and guitarist Mike Campbell for the 1981 Petty LP "Hard Promises." They recorded a demo version which featured the complete instrumental track and Petty's vocals. However, his producer thought the song worked better from a "feminine" point of view so it was kicked over to Fleetwood Mac thrush Stevie Nicks. She replaced Petty's lead vocal with her own, and then had him duet with her throughout the song. The song was a hit, reaching number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Petty's version with his vocal alone is available on the excellent four disc "Playback" collection. TP is still doing fine work and his underrated Heartbreaker's band might be the finest, bar none. (I'm including the E Street Band and I am serious about the fine work the Heartbreakers always turn in). I have put up both versions so that you can see the evolution of this fine ballad.
Maybe the coolest guitar jam from what is probably the greatest Jimi Hendrix Experience album "Electric Ladyland," "Burning of the Midnight Lamp" was released in August of 1967 as a mono single in England. It charted at number 18. It was re-released in stereo on the "Electric Ladyland" album. It was Hendrix first recorded US of "wah wah" pedal, a sound that he became associated with. He also plays keyboards on the track. Whitney's mother, Cissy Houston provided backup vocals, as did the "Sweet Inspirations" notable for their years of work with Elvis. The song starts off slowly as a ballad, and builds to a crescendo, ala the Beatles "A Day In The Life." A track very much ahead of it's time.
I wanted to include her a very cool cover version by the Chicago band Rotary Connection. A band that sprang from the fertile brain of Marshall Chess, son of Chess Records' founder Leonard Chess. In the wake of the big success of Sly and the Family Stone, a multi-racial rock band fronted by Minnie Riperton, a receptionist for Chess who had a multi-octave voice, was a savvy idea indeed.
Rotary Connection could be a challenging listen, not particularly radio friendly, given to long versions of songs associated with "psychedelic" artists like Cream and Hendrix. They recorded about 5-6 albums before breaking up. There records are out-of-print for the most part, and when re-released tend to play up the Riperton angle due to her later solo success (remember "Loving You"...is easy cause you're beautiful). Rotary Connection sounded nothing like the radio-friendly pop soul Riperton hit the charts with in the 70's. In fact, on much of their material, she is nothing like a traditional "lead" vocalist.
I have a copy of their first, probably best album which I downloaded from a "grey" market site. It has covers of "Ruby Tuesday" and "Lady Jane" by the Stones and "Like A Rolling Stone" by Bobby Dylan. Their version of "Burning of the Midnight Lamp" which is cool and different from Jimi's is on their 4th album "Songs." I have thrown it up the Chadwick's Listening Room playlist on Spotify if you want to give it a lesson. Couldn't find a youtube version to post here.
Minnie Riperton, who was the mother of Saturday Night Live, "Bridesmaids," and "Up All Night" star Maya Rudolph (I did NOT know that) died of Breast Cancer at the age of 32 in 1979.
Jimmy Webb is arguably on the shortlist for greatest living American songwriter. He is a member of the Songwriter's Hall of Fame. He won the Grammy for 1967's Song of the Year ("Up, Up and Away" which, IMHO, would not have been my choice in that watershed year, but still a fine pop tune). Wikipedia lists at least 18 collections of Jimmy Webb songs. That is, where one or more artists have recorded an entire album of Jimmy Webb songs. And that is the rub with Jimmy Webb. He considers himself as much a performer as a songwriter. He has released a dozen albums of his own material since 1968. He continues to perform live, peppering his shows with stories of how he wrote his trademark tunes. His versatility has extended to musical theater, film and tv scores, even commercial jingles. The one achievement he has not notched is a hit single or album in his own right. However, I come to praise Jimmy Webb, not damn him. He is probably most associated with Glen Campbell, but Art Garfunkel is nearly as well known as a Jimmy Webb interpreter. And our Song of the Day is a lesser known but beautiful love song called "All My Love's Laughter" which Garfunkel recorded on his 1978 "Watermark" release and Webb recorded it on his 1971 "And So: On" album.
I have put both up her for a "compare and contrast" but, either way, it's a great song!
I'm going to go here with the Peter Allen version of this tune made most famous by Olivia Newton John. Peter Allen was an Australian entertainer, songwriter, cabaret and concert performer as well as a "gay icon." In fact, he achieved the ultimate status a gay icon can achieve when he married Liza Minneli (cf David Gest). Peter Allen's stage persona was over the top and campy, the most outrageous this side of Bette Midler. He was most well known for his frenetic "I Go To Rio" (you know it..... "When my baby smiles at me I go to Rio...De Janiero"). The thing was, when Peter played it "straight" so to speak, he was just as likely to craft a heartbreaking ballad. His albums were full of 'em. Most of these tunes were better know as hits for other, ala Ms. Newton-John. Another was "I'd Rather Leave While I'm In Love" which Melissa Manchester covered and had a hit with.
But Peter sang them best. When he sang these tunes he cut out the bullshit and hit the emotional bullseye!
The best version of this tune that I could find on the Youtubes is the one he did for the Australian version of "This Is Your Life" and it is a snippet only. However, if you surf over to "Chadwick's Listening Room" on the Spotify you can hear the original.
When I am on vacation, I always try and visit a record store. Yes, I know I'm strange. I love bookstores too. But record stores are harder to find these days, what with the closing of great stores at the rate of about one a week. The folks at Shoutem have developed the GPS based Vinyl District Record Store Locator. It's an app that you download to your smart phone. Click on the locator and it tells you where the nearest record store is, as well as the directions to get there. It even has Yelp reviews of the store. I downloaded it to my phone, gave it a spin. It works great! Can't wait to use it on my next road trip!
My good friend, Jim Haadsma, reminded me of three great tunes this morning that reference rain, directly or indirectly. I've been up since 530am listening to the rain drumming on the roof. Here are the three Jim referenced plus a couple more.
Sam Cooke would have been 80 years old yesterday. Born Sam Cook in Clarksdale, Mississippi, that small town so central to many of the events that altered the course of music history, he started out as a gospel singer. He came to fame as the lead singer of the Soul Stirrers who, along with the Five Blind Boys of Alabama, were the biggest gospel groups of their day.
In 1956, he crossed over to pop and RnB releasing "You Send Me," the first in a string of 29 top 40 hits on the Billboard Hot 100, with many more on the RnB charts. "You Send Me" was a smash, and maybe his biggest hit. It pigeonholed Sam at first, as an African American singer whose appeal was mainly to white audiences. Sam appeared in many of the top white nightclubs of the day, such as New York's Copacabana as most of the so-called "Negro" or "Race Music" acts of the time were relegated to the "Chitlin" circuit of nightclubs. Sam's appeal, as time went on, grew in the African American community while he lost little of his appeal to whites.
His music became less Pop and more RnB as Sam became aware of the nascent civil rights movement. In 1963 and 1964 he released his greatest albums, "Night Beat" and "Ain't That Good News." From the latter came the song, "A Change Is Gonna Come" which only hit #31 on the Billboard Charts with only a #9 placement on the RnB Charts. At the time, it was a minor hit, but perhaps a precursor for what was yet to come. The song was an early protest tune and has grown in stature since it's release. It is #12 on the Rolling Stone Top 500 Songs of All Time.
Sam was tragically gunned down in a still mysterious incident at the Hacienda Motel in Los Angeles on December 11, 1964 at the age of 33. At the time of his death, Sam was arguably the biggest African American Star in show business. A talent clearly taken from us as he was starting to produce his greatest work.
Shout out to music fan Dermott Carr for reminding me of the birthday of this legend.
Harper's Bizarre came out of the Southern California southland purveying a brand of breezy, airy pop music referred to under different names. "Sunshine Music,""Sunshine Pop" or "Baroque and Roll" whatever the name, it was catchy and lighter than most of the 60's music on the charts. They were led by future Doobie Brothers producer and music man, Ted Templeman. They recorded lotsa covers and were linked with songwriters such as Van Dyke Parks, Randy Newman, Harry Nilsson and Paul Simon. There version of "Feeling Groovy" was the one that charted.
They also became known for covering musty old standards like Cole Porters "Anything Goes" and Glenn Miller's "Chatanooga Choo Choo" charting, tongue pressed firmly in cheek, with versions of these tunes.
They seem a good choice for a cloudy, cold, mid-winter's day. "Come To The Sunshine" was written by the afore-mentioned Mr. Park's and this performance is from the Mike Douglas Show.
Etta James just passed at the age of 73. Her body failed her though I am sure her soul and spirit were unbroken. I blogged about her end approaching a couple of weeks ago. Cold snowy, late dusk January afternoons make me melancholy I guess. Got some Otis vinyl jumping on the turntable! Don't know if there is a heaven but maybe he and Etta can sing a duet. I won't post "At Last" because I did that one two or so weeks ago. Here is something a little less played that finds Etta in fine voice, as always...
Went to my daughter Sara's last Daddy-Daughter dance last night. She moves on to Royal Oak Middle School in the fall. From now on, they will all be "scumbag-Daughter" Dances but I'm a Dad. I'm allowed to hate the boys my daughter will end up going out with. Anyway, I digress. Mixed in with the stream of Taylor Swift, Miley Cyrus, the dread Bieber (makes Taylor Swift sound like the Stones in comparison) the DJ played one classic oldie. One tune that Daddy's and Daughter's agreed was great, danced to, in fact the dance floor was packed for this one. And that tune was.......
By the way, if you miss it at the beginning of this clip, this is a scene from the Temptations mini-series which gets rerun over and over on VH1 and BET. It was actually pretty cool. They are all gone now. All the Temps but Otis Williams and Dennis Edwards, at least out of the classic voices. Oh sure, Otis is out there somewhere with 4 younger men, entertaining America but it's not the same.......
Wow! This is really a great song which I hadn't heard in years. Bonnie Raitt recorded it on her "Home Plate" album which was one of her Warner Brothers releases. Recorded in 1975 but not a big seller. Only an album track on one of Bonnie's albums before she struck gold at Capital Records. The song was written by Kin Vassy who was a member of the folk group "The Back Porch Majority" and also a member of "Kenny Rogers and the First Edition."
If you have ever been in love and gone through a painful breakup, in other words, if you're human, this song will speak to you. And Bonnie's intense performance is perfect. On the original vinyl, which I still own, it closed out side one. It's buried in the middle of the cd, but I think her performance is a stunner. She did a lot of fine music in the Warner years. With Bonnie due to release her first album in 7 years, it's good to look back at some of the fine work she has done in the past!
It's no secret to my friends that I am an unabashed, progressive liberal. I don't spend much time discussing politics on this blog. Basically I want my conservative friends, of which I have many, to feel welcome. But I felt the need to comment when Bruce Springsteen puts out a political statement as his new single. "We Take Care Of Our Own" is an upbeat "Spectorian" production, with lyrics that seem to support the 99 percent and the Occupy Wall Street movement. (Spoiler alert-I'm a support too!) The sound of the record suggests that Bruce has been listening to current artists such as the Arcade Fire. The lyrics, however, are pure angry protest, and a throwback to the incisive imagery of the "Born In The USA" album. Can't wait too see if any current political figures pick up on and misinterpret the lyrics of this tune during the 2012 campaign!
I applaud Bruce's intent in picking this song to signal the release of his newest album, "Wrecking Ball." The song is catchy and deserves to be played on a good stereo system, not just on whatever cheapy speakers you might have hanging off your monitor. Would love to hear this on vinyl!
Good on ya, Bruce!
I have reprinted the lyrics below!
I've been knockin' on the door, there's ... of throne
I've been lookin' for the map that leads me home
I've been stumblin' on good hearts turned to stone
Those good intentions have gone dry as bone
We take care of our own
We take care of our own
Wherever this flag's flown
We take care of our own
From Chicago to New Orleans
From the muscle to the bone
From the shotgun shack to the superdome
We needed help but the cavalry stayed home,
There ain't no-one hearing the bugle blown
We take care of our own
We take care of our own
Wherever this flag's flown
We take care of our own
Where's the eyes, the eyes with the will to see
Find More lyrics at www.sweetslyrics.com
Where's the hearts, they run over with mercy
Where's the love that has not forsaken me
Where's the work that set my hands, my soul free
Where's the spirit to reign, reign over me
Where's the promise, from sea to shining sea
Where's the promise, from sea to shining sea
Wherever this flag is flown
Wherever this flag is flown
Wherever this flag is flown
We take care of our own
We take care of our own
Wherever this flag's flown
We take care of our own
We take care of our own
We take care of our own
Wherever this flag's flown
We take care of our own
Before Phil and Don Everly, harmonies in pop music were the province of "silky smooth" pop groups like the Skyliters and the Platters, or tougher RnB styled groups like the Robins and the Drifters. Usually in these songs, the vocals were mixed way up front. The records themselves would not have sounded much different had they been recorded "accapella." These groups were the stylistic ancestors of groups like the Temptations, Delfonics and yes, even the Stylistics.
The Everly's took the country styled harmonies of straight country and western groups like the Louvin Brothers and stuck them atop a rock and roll backbeat. Great hot backing tracks played by Nashville's best musicians with older, dark haired Don always taking the lead vocal. Younger, sandy haired Phil sang a harmony part stacked on top of Don's. It was a formula that strongly influenced the Beatles, especially on their early records. (Think "She Loves You" or "I Want To Hold Your Hand"). The Beatles may not have existed without the Everlys. At the very least, they would have sounded much different.
"Love Hurts" is a song written by Boudleaux Bryant as an album track, recorded in late 1960 after Don and Phil jumped the Cadence ship for the greener fields of Warner Brothers after being offered a million dollar contract. Later redone by Nazareth for a mid 70s hit single, in my opinion the Everly version is definitive.
The Boomtown Rats were an Irish Punk Rock band who had huge success in the UK, but were almost unknown here. Kicking off this survey is the tune "Shes So Modern" from the Rats second album "A Tonic For The Troops." Big hit in the UK, did nothing here. A pattern that the Rats were all too familiar with. This high energy slab of vinyl was fairly typical of their sound circa 78.
Led by lead singer Bob Geldof, the bands one moment on the US charts was the intense ballad "I Don't Like Monday" about San Diego playground shooter Brenda Spencer who uttered the phrase when asked why she shot into a school playground killing two adults and injuring 8 children.
The song struggled to reach number 73 in the US charts while being a worldwide smash in all English speaking countries around the world.
Allegedly part of the reason the song didn't chart very highly was radio stations refusal to play it after on-tour visits from Geldof and the Rats who evinced a surly, dismissive attitude toward their playlists, jingles, patters, neckties, etc. It's a great tune!
The one that started it all, and was pretty much unheard in America was their first hit, the Springsteenish "Rat Trap" which I first heard while working at Full Moon Records in Pontiac. Loved it at first listen, played it to death. Still holds up in my opinion, and fresh due to it's not being overplayed on radio over here.
Bob Geldof soon became more well known for his charitable efforts as he was the driving force behind the Live Aid concerts and efforts to raise funds for the starving people in Africa. Twice nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize and given an "honorary" knighthood, (because he was born in Ireland), Bob doesn't record with the same frequency as in the Rats days. The band split in 86 and has never really reformed, aside from some one offs that did not have all the members.
But if you are interested in listening to some "fresh" punk rock and you have worn out your Clash and Jam records, give the Rats a try!
Saw a commercial this morning for the musical "Million Dollar Quartet." The musical commemorates the meeting of Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins and Jerry Lee Lewis at Sun Studios on December 4, 1956. The four men loosely jammed around Jerry Lee's piano though Cash's voice is not heard on any of the tracks that the UK Charly label put out on some archival releases. The session is mostly Elvis, Carl and Jerry Lee singing the southern country gospel they grew up on, singing barbershop/gospel harmonies of the type typified by The Jordanaires and JD Sumner and the Stamps, the male gospel singers most known for backing up Elvis. It was the only time that the four men were together in one recording studio.
The "jam session" became legendary until the tapes were tracked down and released and, well, turned out to be something less than the legend. I am not sure from the commercial I observed with the backup dancers and singers that the historical accuracy of the original meeting will be scrupulously observed. But the show is playing the Fisher Theater from January 24, 2012 through February 5, 2012. Tickets are available through BoxOffice.com. Here's a little clip from the 2010 Tony's for a taste of what the show will entail.
By way of contrast, today's song of the day is a tune Elvis performed in the film "GI Blues" which was released as a single in 1960 in the UK were it spent six weeks in the number one slot. It was released here in 1964 as a B-side to "Blue Christmas." A guy named Joe Dowell covered the tune, as often happened in those days to Elvis tunes not released as singles (cd "Suspicion" and "Girl Of My Best Friend") and it went to number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1961. "Wooden Heart" is an example of the kind of novelty tunes that Elvis would record throughout his movie career, a scant four years and a million miles away from "Heartbreak Hotel."
Cat Power is the "nom de plume" of one Chan Marshall. Actress, model, songwriter and recording artists, Ms. Marshall stylishly wears many hats. I got a chance to see her live on July 1, 2006 at the Taste of Detroit, the music festival/restaurant extravaganza in the shadow of the Fisher Building down in the New Center. I was there for a day of music culminating in a show by the great Ray Davies. "Cat Power," a name she got from one of her first bands had a small, but energetic and loud following.
I was told by fellow concert attendees that Cat Power has a reputation for not putting on the best live show. I thought she was fantastic though. This was a song that I don't believe she did, going back to her first album, "Dear Sir." "The Sleepwalker," like many of Chan's tunes is a cover, written back in the 80s by Chris Matthews.
Steve Shelley of the great "guitar-noise" band Sonic Youth is featured on this track. It has a nice moody, spare feel to it. And it is our Song of the Day!
Apparently Eddie Van Halen and David Lee Roth have buried the hatchet (again) hopefully not in the skulls of either the guitar god or flamboyant frontman. Can they recapture a slice of the success they had in the 80s? If history is any guide, probably not. The world and the music business is a much different place. Even if the record doesn't sell, and what sells besides Adele, the planned tour should do brisk business. Me, I didn't like the tune at first but after repeated listens, I like it more and more!
The Four Tops storied career dates back to 1956 where the lineup that would stay together for over 40 years met as high school students. Originally signed to Chicago's Chess Records under the name "The Four Aims" the foursome's earliest sides were smooth and jazzy, not the gutsy soul and r'n'b that brought them their greatest fame.
That fame, occurred, of course on our own Motown Records. We are not concerned about the Motown catalog in this installment. Today's song of the day was recorded after Levi Stubbs and Co. decamped to the supposedly greener pastures of ABC-Dunhill. The first single recorded for the new label was the Lambert-Potter tune "Keeper of the Castle." Adopting the persona of a gruff, man's man, the song had an anti-feminist message which was carried further on the later "Ain't No Woman (Like The One I Got) which placed Levi firmly in control of "his woman." "Keeper" sports a gutsy vocal (hey It's Levi! What do you expect?) And cool early 70's "wah wah" guitars. It hit number 10 on Billboard Pop and number 7 RnB.
The ABC-Dunhill contract would not be the last the group signed, returning once again to Motown and having chart records until the 80's. Sole surviving member Duke Fakir carries on the legacy with 3 younger, newer Tops and is probably somewhere on the road tonight, singing for his supper!
George Harrison, famously, scored his first A-side with the "Something" 45 fronting "Come Together." But he is back to his customary B-side status as the flip of "The Long and Winding Road" which was the last "new" 45 released (or scheduled for release) while the Beatles were still an entity. As such, it was a million seller and a number one hit!
One can debate whether the Beatles were better off waxing Harrison's "All Things Must Pass" or "Not Guilty" or any of the other demos sitting in the can. I don't know if they would have fit better on the misbegotten "Let It Be" album then this seeming trifle. Certainly, they might have been better choices than "I Me Mine" or the execrable "Dig It."
Anyway, I have always enjoyed this snappy little tune that shows the lighter side of the Beatles. That's John Lennon playing a lap steel guitar with a shotgun shell for a slide. George's spoken asides "Go Johnny Go" and the like are a throwback to the early Beatles rockabilly sides. ("Rock on George one time for me!).
I did see George play this in a lackluster version at his 1974 show at the Olympia, I believe the evening show of December 4, 1974. I have never listened or downloaded the bootleg of this show(not that I would DO such a thing) but I recall him croaking his way through it. Bummer! Here's to you George, where ever you are!
As a teenager, I was an obnoxious, smart alecky (smart assed?) know-it-all, totally full of myself. As I got older I started to gain the wisdom to realize all of the things I did not know. Hopefully I have become more humble and more willing to admit error.
One of the things I was wrong about was ABBA. The invocation of their name back in the 70's caused me to mutter darkly and say things like, "yeah Dancing Queen was a hit, but most of that crap didn't catch on here." A couple of things turned me around in retrospect. A couple of their songs became hits and I really started to look forward to hearing them on the radio (notably "Take A Chance On Me" which I found unbelievably catchy and tuneful). The other influence was recording artists such as Berkley's Marshall Crenshaw who recorded a version of "Knowing Me Knowing You" and vouched for the quality of their catalog. Hmmm....ABBA can't be all bad if Marshall like's 'em.
So I abandoned my Rock n Roll prejudices, picked up some collections and gave them a listen. What I found was...well, they were alright. More than alright. Their singles are for the most part, "hooktastic" and stick in your heads like good Pop music does. Their albums can be a challenging listen in the way that sitting down to eat the giant cotton candy that the cotton candy dude at Comerica Park sells to my kids can be challenging. It can be sugary sweet and the English lyrics, weirdly accented in places because they were singing the songs phonetically, can be off-putting. But I think you can put their singles, and more than a smattering of album tracks up their with anything the decade or even, the century produced. It's pop music, but "State of the Art Top Notch Pop Music" and worthy of a listen.
Here ABBA performs a ballad from their 76 Arrival album, the one with "Dancing Queen," "Money, Money, Money" and the great "Knowing Me Knowing You." The song is "My Love My Life" and it is obscure but again, great melody, great production and a fantastic vocal by Agnetha Faltskog. You remember the big solo hit by one of ABBA's singer's "Something's Going On" produced by Phil Collins. Well, Agnetha was the other one, the one who did not have a big solo hit.
It's probably true that the ABBA stuff sounds best in the midst of a mix of other artists, because you don't overdose on what can tend to sugary sweetness. But, like a lump of sugar or a piece of hard candy, it can be a sweet treat indeed!
Felt like listening to a sad, melancholy tune after hearing of the death of NRBQ's Tom Ardolino. This one always puts me in a melancholy, reflective mood. Big Star, led by true American eccentric Alec Chilton, like NRBQ, was another great American cult band, beloved by it's fans but unknown to the masses. Chilton, who sang lead on "The Letter" by the Boxtops at the age of sixteen, passed away a couple of years back way before his time. He left an unforgettable body of work and this is one of my favorites.
A deep cut on song of the day. Minneapolis band Semisonic (remember "Closing Time) had their roots in an earlier combo called "Trip Shakespeare." The band who was on A&M in the mid 90s released several albums of tuneful rock to very little attention. While jumping around on the Spotify I came across this track that caught my ear. From their initial 1990 release "Across The Universe" perhaps the most well known, but still (unjustifiably) obscure song by Trip Shakespeare.
I awoke today to the news that the former drummer for the rock band NRBQ had passed away after a recent illness. Tommy Ardolino was much beloved by NRBQ's small, but intense fanbase. Whether slamming out a backbeat on a Q classic like "I Want You Bad" or "Me And The Boys" or taking a lead vocal on an acoustic version of "Sukiyaki" Tommy clearly loved every moment of his time in the band. Sadly, Tommy was unable to continue on with NRBQ when leader Terry Adams announced that he was revitalizing the NRBQ brand by putting together a new version of the classic American combo. Perhaps a foreshadowing of the health problems that led to Tommy's recent hospitalization. Tommy will be missed!
Here is Tommy doing what he does best, backing up his beloved friends Terry Adams, Joey Spampinato and Johnny Spaminato on the Conan O'Brien show with "Over Your Head" from "Message For The Mess Age."
In 1978 I was spending my days getting an undergrad education at Oakland University and spending my afternoon's and night's working at Full Moon Records. Full Moon was a Michigan only record chain with stores at the time in Pontiac, Port Huron, Rochester and Traverse City. Based on it's Facebook page, Full Moon appears to be fondly remembered. Those were the days when my life was much like John Cusack's in "High Fidelity." I picked up a vinyl habit that continues to this day. Met some good friends who I have mostly lost track of.
Punk rock had started in the US with the New York Dolls, Ramones and the Stooges, had crossed the ocean and came back at us as the Sex Pistols and The Clash. I was still "back at home with my Beatles and my Stones" but I was slowly getting into the newer music, due to the more adventurous tastes of my co-workers. Talking Heads was very strange to me at first. I didn't get Television or some of the other CBGB bands. The exception was Blondie who I got right away. The album that hooked me was "Parallel Lines" which had tunes like "One Way Or Another" and "Hanging On The Telephone." Their sound carried echoes of the 60s "girl group" style which I loved. I slowly got into the other acts but the big early favorite was Blondie. I even got to see them, around that time, topping the bill with Dave Edmunds and Nick Lowe's "Rockpile." Unfortunately, in my opinion, they fared poorly following the high energy Rockpile and I didn't stay for the whole set. Debbie Harry, in concert, had an icy unapproachability which did not go down well in comparison to Rockpile's "we're all mates at the pub" rockin' approach.
The tune that really caught my ear on "Parallel Lines" was "Fade Away and Radiate" which was a big moody ballad carried by Harry's sultry vocal and the humming synth lines of Chris Stein. The production of this song had a very spare feel. As Blondie became huge, taking over the world with the number one "Call Me" this was not a sound that they would return to. "Parallel Lines" to me, is their peak!
Back before the Who became a "hard" rock (though still melodic) band, around the time of "Tommy", when albums became concept albums and singles became what non-serious AM radio bands released, the Who were definitely a singles band. They took pride in their singles, and released a string of sublime classics aimed at the singles buyer. "My Generation, "The Kids Are Alright," "Substitute" right through the top ten "I Can See For Miles." For many Who fans, myself included, this was the most beloved period of the band.. Like many bands in the pre-"Rubber Soul/Pet Sounds" era albums were still packed with "filler" which surrounded their latest 45s. This all changed for the Who with the great "Who Sell Out" release, their last album before Tommy and an early peak for the band.
Perhaps the poppiest and most radio friendly of the Who's singles was "Happy Jack" a Townsend tune from December 1966. It reached number 3 in the British charts and number 24 in the good ol' USA making it their first top 40 release here. It combined Beach Boys type harmonies with the mod rhythms and Keith Moon driven energy of great Who tunes from this era.
Some wikitrivia about Happy Jack:
This song features Roger Daltrey on lead vocals with John Entwistle singing the first verse (it's one of the only songs composed by Pete Townshend to feature John Entwistle on lead vocals). At the tail end of "Happy Jack", Townshend can be heard shouting "I saw you!", and it is said that he was noticing drummer Keith Moon trying to join in surreptitiously to add his voice to the recording, something the rest of the band disliked.
According to some sources, Townshend reported the song is about a man who slept on the beach near where Townshend vacationed as a child. Children on the beach would laugh at the man and once buried him in the sand. However, the man never seemed to mind and only smiled in response.
Damn! Just wrote a long appreciation on Townes Van Zandt and the song of the day, which is "Lungs" from his 1969 self-titled album. Then, a wrong key struck on the typewriter, and off it goes somewhere in the ether. Grrrrrr! Don't feel like re-writing it.
But Townes was a remarkable songwriter. And a great influence on many who achieved more success than he did, sometimes with songs Townes wrote.
In April 1996 he played the old Ark in Ann Arbor. I have clipped out the review from the No Depression website archives by that fine musician (and Facebook friend) Will Stewart. The only detail I will add is that Guy Clark greeted the audience before his set with "Townes dark enough for you?"
But he was, and is, a fascinating character, and it is worth surfing over to his wikipedia entry to read about him. And if you have a chance, get over to Spotify or whatever music server you use, You Tube, Rhapsody etc and check out some Townes. A great influence on country and folk of the last 50 years. And check out today's song of the day!
Townes died in 1997, on New Years Day. Forty-four years to the day Hank Williams died. Townes died of withdrawal and detoxification from long term alcoholism at the age of 52.
Here's Will Stewarts fine piece on Townes and Guy Clark's show from 15 years ago:
Guy Clark • Townes Van Zandt
The Ark (Ann Arbor, MI), April 14, 1996
By Will Stewart
“I think I’m going stark, raving mad,” announced Townes Van Zandt by way of opening his portion of a double bill with old friend Guy Clark at Ann Arbor’s venerable folk music club.
“For real.”
Anyone familiar with Van Zandt knows the demons that have haunted him for decades are never far from the surface — particularly when he’s onstage. But his 45-minute set before a sold-out audience was an unmitigated disaster, even by his standards. Watching this show was like seeing someone have a complete mental breakdown. Like a train wreck, it was tragic yet impossible to look away. Shaky to the point of teetering on his stool, Van Zandt started his set with “Loretta”, which was rendered incomprehensible by Van Zandt’s mixed-up verses and forgotten lines.
The set really disintegrated during abortive versions of the Stones’ “Dead Flowers”; “Katie Belle Blue”, an original tune for his young daughter; and Lightinin’ Hopkins’ “My Starter Won’t Start”. By the time he got to “Pancho and Lefty” midway through the set, Van Zandt was so lost that the song crumbled into fragmented verses that caused it to lose all its impact. Two-thirds of the way through, he quit playing the guitar and tried to recite the rest of the song before wiping tears from his eyes at its conclusion.
A spoken-word reading of a song-in-progress, “Sanitarium Blues,” offered some insights into Van Zandt’s mental state. The song tells a harrowing tale of commitment to a mental hospital and was meant to be funny, he said. It wasn’t. It was tragic, as was Van Zandt, who appeared to be plagued more by melancholy than by drink.
Van Zandt had to stop “The Ballad of Ira Hayes” mid-song in a failed effort to collect himself after yet another botched verse. Surprisingly, he pulled himself together enough to conclude his set — after he’d already unplugged his guitar — with a stunning version of “Marie”, the stark tale of a homeless couple that perhaps added more clues to Townes’ emotional state. The set ended with Van Zandt sitting on the edge of the stage, head in hands, sobbing.
Guy Clark, flanked by his son, Travis, on acoustic six-string bass, lightened the mood considerably with a 75-minute set that was highlighted by the playful, harmonic interplay between father and son. The set kicked off with “Baton Rouge” before threading through a sampling of Clark’s 20-year recording career. Standout moments included “Homegrown Tomatoes”, “Desperados Waiting for a Train”, and “Baby Took A Limo To Memphis”, as well as standbys such as “Let Him Roll”, “L.A. Freeway” and “Coat from the Cold”.
Unfortunately, all of Clark’s upbeat banter and first-rate musicianship wasn’t enough to lift the collective vibe of despair that Van Zandt left behind onstage only an hour before.
Badfinger was a classic Powerpop band, whose career was sadly truncated by the early deaths (suicide by hanging) of main songwriters Pete Ham and Tom Evans. Badfinger was left in the hands of lead guitarist Joey Molland who leads some form of Badfinger today (remaining surviving member Mike Gibbins who I was personally acquainted with died early of a heart attack about 5 years ago). Like Bob Dylan, "Joey Molland's Badfinger" tours pretty constantly, usually the summer package oldie circuit being the place to find them. Badfinger's legacy has not been necessarily well served by Joey who has cluttered the CD bins with questionable re-recordings of classic Badfinger hits.
Badfinger had a truly star-crossed career full of missed opportunities and mismanagement (one former manager, Stan Polley, stole a million dollars from the band, causing Warner Bros records, who required the funds to be kept in escrow, to pull all current Badfinger product from the shelves.) Their classic albums, "Magic Christian Music," "Straight Up" and "Ass" on the Apple label were unavailable in any format for years.
Yet the tunes still live on! And "Suitcase" from the "Straight Up" album was one of Joey's best, a standout track on there most popular and strongest release. A record that didn't have a bad cut.
Not the Dierks Bentley song! A tune from the second album by Canada's Barenaked Ladies, written by Ed Robertson, BNL lead singer, for his wife. I'm a fan of the Barenaked Ladies going back to the first one, "Gordon" which had the "Brian Wilson," "Be My Yoko Ono" and "If I Had A Million Dollars" tracks. Past their commercial peak now but still an enjoyable live experience.
Had a hectic holiday weekend with a party at the Irishman's house, in the midst of watching a little football and spending some time with the kids before they head back to school. Not a lot of time for posting or social network related activities. Also, computer time was taken up with copying a lot of my sister-in-laws cds to Itunes in preparation for filling up the Ipod Shuffle my kids gave her for Christmas. I tend to forget sometimes that, though this technology has become second nature to me, a lot of folks feel overwhelmed when dealing with it for the first time.
Anyway, a couple of things I heard this weekend caught my ear. This is a track by Leona Lewis from her 2008 best selling number one album "Spirit" which was huge for the former British "X-Factor" winner. This track was a cover of an Avril Lavigne song. Not normally something I would listen to but this caught my ear!
The Kingston Trio are just about forgotten today. They were the early 60's version of the "Commercial Face of Folk" before Peter, Paul and Mary filled that role. At least until Dylan came along and kinda rendered the whole commercial folk scene irrelevant. Still, they sold a lot of records, appealing mostly to college age kids who had fallen in love with rock'n'roll in the late 50's but thought the current commercial hits too juvenile. The Kingston Trio where the gentler, friendlier side of Folk Music. They didn't protest march. They weren't anti-war(there wasn't really a war to be "anti" of, except in the universal sense). They were about classic traditional tunes, pleasant melodies, well-crafted harmonies and energetic live performances filled with good humor.
Formed by Dave Guard, Bob Shane and Nick Reynolds, the Trio sold millions of records, scarcely noticing the replacement of musical leader Guard with John Stewart (writer and singer of "Gold" and the original "Daydream Believer"). They had a long career, with some form of the Trio continuing to this Day.
The tune chosen here was not one of their hits but a track from their successful 1963 album "New Frontier" which, of course, firmly fixes this tune, "Some Fool Made A Soldier Out Of Me." A good example of the Trio's blend of folk earnestness and good humor and our closing song of the day for 2012!
