...Like Dancing About Architecture

The Fame Studios Story 1961-1973 2011

2012-02-14T18:34:00.000-08:00

I'm a terrible sucker for the soul box set/compilation. I've reviewed quite a few in the past here and here.

So now this one comes along, and you know it's a great story. The Fame studio in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, was one of the preeminent purveyors of that funky, gritty soul style our U.K. friends like to call Southern soul, or deep soul, in sharp contrast to the slicker, smoother sounds coming from up north in Motown and Philadelphia.

Rick Hall is the man. He made the sound his signature, he hired fabulously talented house bands that provided the rhythm for most of the featured artists. He also regularly used some of the best writers available, with George Jackson, Dan Penn and Spooner Oldham among them.

Add the singers- Arthur Alexander, James and Bobby Purify, Arthur Conley, Clarence Carter, Wilson Pickett, Candi Staton, Mitty Collier, Otis Reddding- and you've got the recipe for a hit-making palace. A funky-looking cinder-block palace with all the exterior appeal of the warehouse the building had been before Hall turned it into a studio. All of those great singers are featured here, but so are many lesser-known artists that give no less riveting performances.

It's three CDs with a built-in booklet that includes an excellent history of Hall and his studio, an in-depth discussion of the signature sound of that studio, and a track-by-track narrative that is the rival of any product in the box set category. It's what I've come to expect from the Kent label, an English reissue company committed to unearthing everything soul and every sub-genre of soul possible. These guys released an entire CD of Vietnamese soul (no, I don't have that one). They released the four volumes of Dave Godin's Deep Soul Treasures Taken From The Vaults, the most remarkable treasure trove of lost soul classics you (or I) can imagine.

They did a stellar job putting this one together. There are a few familiar songs, but this isn't a product meant to provide you with a greatest hits/chart-toppers sort of package. Rather it does its intended job of showcasing the sound of one of America's most famous studios in fine fashion. And the studio is worthy of this deep investigation, because it, and Hall, leave their mark on every song. There are also several interesting never-before released selections (Otis Redding accompanying himself on guitar on a demo of You Left The Water Running, anyone?), and a few surprises as well. The third CD features a few non-soul acts that came to benefit from the sound of the place. This may upset a few purists, but they need to lighten up.

If you still enjoy buying music that comes with well-thought out packaging and supporting material, here you go. If you just love deep, Southern soul and want to discover a few new artists or songs in the genre, here you go. If you need research material to write a thesis for a music appreciation class with an open-minded professor, here you go.

The Band 1968-1998

2012-02-07T19:06:00.000-08:00

It's a bit of a surprise that I haven't yet dedicated an entry to The Band. I've mentioned them a few times, but I've done pretty big career overviews of Robert Palmer, The Sons Of Champlin, Van Morrison and The Beatles. It seems like I should have gotten to The Band.

Let's make sure we understand each other. This will not be an unbiased review of the artists' output. I loved their first four records. At the time they were released, I would have been less your friend if you dissed them (although we didn't say "dissed" back then).

I'm not sure what to say about Music From Big Pink 1968. It is everything anyone you read says it is. There's a million reviews and old print articles archived. This record is the meaning of the musical term (coined thirty years later) Americana. It is country, R&B, blues, New Orleans funeral march, bluegrass, and Buddy Holley rock 'n' roll wrapped up in a blue plate special for your ears. The stoming piano-driven rock of To Kingdom Come, the funky country stomp of Calidonia Mission, the ensemble lead vocals of We Can Talk, the lead guitar and pulsing R&B of This Wheels On Fire, not to mention The Weight ("take a load off, Fanny") and Garth Hudson's amazing organ opening to the rocking ode to frontal anatomy that is Chest Fever. The record never stops.

From there came The Band 1969, with Up On Cripple Creek, Across The Great Divide, The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down, Rocking Chair, The Unfaithful Servant, and King Harvest (Has Surely Come). And every other song on the record. If you haven't heard this record, you can't really fully understand American rock and roll. Don't buy that crap? Go listen to it.

Their third, a disappointment to some, and even I must admit that side two is what really makes it, is still the group living up to their potential, and a fine record. Stage Fright 1970 side one feels like treading water, and Todd Rundgren's slightly sterile engineering doesn't help. Strawberry Wine and Time To Kill sound great today, and the recording is especially good on Levon Helm's drum kit. Side two is just a classic. The final three tracks, Daniel And The Sacred Harp, Stage Fright, and The Rumor are well worth the price of the record or CD. The Rumor is just beautiful.

1971's Cahoots found the band stretching out, and not everything worked. But enough of it did, and Life Is A Carnival, 4% Pantomime (with Van Morrison), and Where Do We Go From Here? were particular highlights. The River Hymn is another classic.

If there is a hallmark to this group, it is their organic sound. Levon Helm's drums always sound just a little like sticks on cardboard, Richard Manual's piano sounds like a small upright in someone's parlor, the reedy twang of Robbie Robertson's Fender Telecaster, always without effects, the high lonesome tenor of spot-on bassman and vocalist extraordinaire Rick Danko, and the deeply American sound of Garth Hudson's Hammond B3 organ.

In 1972, The Band made Rock Of Ages, one of the best live double-LP packages you can find anywhere. Adding horns arranged by Allen Toussaint, the live performance is exquisite. The 2-CD reissue contains the entire concert, including Bob Dylan's four-song set with the group.

After those first four studio recordings, things get dicey. 1973's Moondog Matinee finds The Band biding time with covers of oldies rock and roll from the (mostly) fifties. It's fine, but dispensable. Their last two, Northern Lights, Southern Cross 1975 (with at least a few good ones-Acadian Driftwood and It Makes No Difference) and Islands 1977 were mostly unnecessary. But those first four, and especially the first three, remain classics today, and you can hear today how different they were from their contemporaries.

1978 saw The Last Waltz, the soundtrack of the movie by the same name, that documented their star-studded farewell concert. It has it's moments.

The group resumed in 1983 without founder-songwriter Robbie Robertson, and I've heard at least some of the three records they released. It's sadly not the same. All of the members have made solo recordings, and of those, Helm's have been the most successful. Robertson seems content to confound his listeners at every turn, and hell if he's ever going to do anything that sounds like the band that made him famous.

Own the first three. If you're too young, think of it as a music history lesson.

Christmas 1969

2012-02-01T19:03:00.000-08:00

My oldest brother recently started reading this blog, and it reminded me of an ages old Christmas musical moment. I have two siblings, both older brothers. My middle brother (for lack of a better term) is 2 years older than me, and my oldest brother is 6 plus years my senior. In 1969, my oldest brother left college to play bass guitar in a famous one-hit wonder rock band, and he was touring and did not get home for the holiday.

But he sent presents home. He sent me and my middle brother one gift- a package that contained exactly seven record albums for us to share/divide. Now if you know anything about sibling rivalry, you'll understand how twisted this move was. Seven is a hard number to divide two ways, and sharing things is not the strong suit of adolescent brothers (we did date the same girl once, but not at the same time). I honestly don't remember the outcome, and I know we didn't really fight about it, but it was a dilemma on which we no doubt spent hours and hours of deliberation. We were, after all, 14 and 16 years old, so what else did we have to do? I know that I ended up with the Band and The Sons Of Champlin records eventually. They're in the living room now.

Do I remember all seven of the titles? No, I do not, but I sure wish I did. This blog post would be way better if I remembered them all. I do absolutely remember four of them, and they were Music From Big Pink 1968 by The Band, Cream's Wheels Of Fire 1968, the first Dr. John "The Night Tripper" album, Gris-Gris 1968, and The Sons Of Champlin Loosen Up Naturally 1969. I think two of the other three were Procol Harum 1967, and Mother Earth, with Tracy Nelson singing her signature "Down So Low", on Living With The Animals 1968, but I really can't be sure.

Two of those records, Music From Big Pink and Loosen Up Naturally were the opening salvos from bands I would follow for the rest of their careers. The Band is one of my all-time favorites, and The Sons come pretty close. The Gris-Gris album was and is a trip to the (swampy New Orleans) beach . Let's just say it is not the Dr. John of Right Place, Right Time fame. This is much darker terrain. And what can I say about Wheels Of Fire? Not a great Cream record. Either that, or their best. It's definitely eclectic, and you don't get many times to use that oft-overused term accurately these days.

I was already way into music, but it was one hot bundle o' wax. I certainly don't remember any of the other presents I got that year.

Sanford-Townsend Band Smoke From A Distant Fire 1976

2012-01-30T19:01:00.000-08:00

This record was first released as The Sanford-Townsend Band and later re-released as Smoke From A Distant Fire by Sanford and Townsend when that title song hit the Top 40. While it is quintessentially a 70s record, it is also a hook-filled dancing dream, and finely crafted product that fits perfectly between Hall and Oates and Loggins and Messina. No irony there.

Smoke From A Distant Fire is pure classic white soul with an ever-so-slightly country feel. Along with Smoke..., the record boasts Shake It To The Right (funky in a very friendly way), Oriental Gate (an effective slow-building Southern rock ballad), Squire James (Burn Down The Mission by Elton John, in a good way), Lou (a lovely ballad), and In For The Night (southern funk with another marvelous vocal). I'm not sure if its Johnny Townsend or Ed Sanford with the Daryl Hall tenor, but they're impressive pipes either way.

There are some weaker moments, and the whole thing has that super-clean, note-perfect gloss that feels almost just a little too right. But give in to your inner pop voice: this is well-written, intricately arranged, beautifully sung, perfectly played pop-rock. Guilty pleasure? Absolutely. Too slick? Certainly a possibility.

Spinning Vinyl

2012-01-24T18:25:00.000-08:00

It's been a little while since I last took up the occasional Spinning Vinyl series. The other night I got to fire up some records, and I had a fine time. Maybe these will stir a memory or make you curious. I started the night clearly inspired, as I slapped I'm Bad, I'm Nationwide by ZZ Top from Deguello 1979 on the turntable. A great song, one of my favorites from ZZ Top. Next up was John Mayer with Something's Missing from Heavier Things 2003, another very different take on the blues. Then I had one of those ideas, and it was on to Cat Food by King Crimson from In The Wake Of Poseidon 1970. Feeling a little random play about things, I skipped ahead to You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb from Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga 2007 and The Mystery Zone from Transference 2010, both by Spoon.They are a very talented bunch.

Life On The Moon and To The Stars from We Will Become Like Birds 2005 by Erin McKeown followed, and there's another just fabulous record, McKeown firing all all cylinders, and a finely crafted rock production to boot. Another quick left turn brought Turn My Life Down From Volunteers 1969 by Jefferson Airplane. I was never a big Airplane fan, but Turn My Life Down struck a chord with me, and it has remained with me every since. Next up I took a break from jumping up and down and listened to all of Side One of Shame Shame by Dr. Dog: Stranger, Shadow People, Station, Unbearable Why, and Where'd All The Time Go? I remain enthralled with this record, and they have a new one due out soon.

From Side Four of The Beatles White Album 1968 I spun Savoy Truffle and Cry Baby Cry. Then it was Brian Auger and Julie Tippetts Encore from 1978, a very cool record that reunited one of the most creative jazz-rock duos ever, whose mid-sixties work was just crazy, and well ahead of its time. Git Up, a cover of Steve Winwood's Freedom Highway, and Auger's Future Pilot all sounded good, and Julie's voice is a thrill. From there it was on to The Who, My Generation and The Kids Are Alright from My Generation 1965, The Moody Blues Go Now from Go Now The Moody Blues #1 1965, Allen Toussaint's Yes We Can from Holy Cow! The Best Of Lee Dorsey 1985, and Burning Spear's Live Good from Marcus Garvey 1975 (classic reggae-where'd that come from?)

Do Nothing Till You Hear From Me Boz Scaggs from Speak Low 2008 is a lovely reading of the classic by Boz, who has lost nothing as he has mellowed. Soul Kiss from Joe Jackson's Big World 1986 (one of Jackson's better outings by my take). As the night drew to a close, I dug a deep groove with the extended version of Funky Drummer, from James Brown's In The Jungle Groove 1986 (but recorded with the great Clyde Stubblefield in 1970). And finally, I listened to Alcohol and Complicated Life from Muswell Hillbillies by The Kinks 1971. "Gotta stand a face it, life is so complicated". Seems like anybody could write it, but Ray Davies is the one who made it work. Ray Davies was really writing back then. Between 1968-1971 he could do no wrong.

So that's how I spent my evening a few days ago. No rhyme no reason, just my mind on random play and a big stack of records.

Keb Mo The Reflection 2011

2012-01-19T18:30:00.000-08:00

Keb Mo has made some good ones over the years. His 1994 debut modernized acoustic blues just enough to made it a hit, but still keep it real. Slow Down 1998 and Keep It Simple 2004 were both good examples of laid-back electric blues grooves coupled with Mo's simple and heartfelt vocals. There have been some questionable moves, notably Peace...Back By Popular Demand, also 2004, where Mo covers mostly sixties hippy movement classics.

This new one is really a nicely made record, well-recorded, with a crack ace band, but the whole thing comes off like "smooth blues", as in "smooth jazz". Mr. Moore has always been laid-back, but previously that meant he brought to mind those fine Clapton albums from the late seventies that sound so great even today. This one is more like a smooth jazz record than anything else, and I'm a tad surprised by this much pablum from Mo. Sure, you knew he could go there if he wanted, but you didn't really expect him to do it.

Now if smooth blues sounds like a good idea to you, I think you're in for a treat. There are several good tunes here, Mo's voice is in fine form, and Whole Enchilada, Inside out, All The Way, and the India.Arie duet Crush On You are all standouts, with funky slap-bass, horn charts and hooky choruses keeping things interesting. My Baby's Tellin' Lies and Just Lookin' feature funky rhythms and good lead guitar from Mo.

The record has several lyrical low points, including the overly-sentimental We Don't Need It and Something Within. And there are some pretty boring tracks musically as well. My Shadow is reminiscent of Gaucho-era Steely Dan, and not in a good way. The title track is quite the least interesting of all, a too-mellow pop ballad without drama or a hook. A cover of the Eagles One Of These Nights does not work at all, unless you're grocery shopping at the time you hear it.

My first couple of times through it, I enjoyed the record, but I wasn't really paying that much attention. If you don't have Keb Mo 1994 or Slow Down 1998, buy those. If you enjoy smooth jazz artists and want to dip your little toe into a mildly bluesy sound, this new one is for you.

Shopping Trip

2012-01-12T19:01:00.000-08:00

I had the good fortune of visiting the Bay Area recently, as I have frequently for several years. I went back to my very favorite haunt, the Amoeba store on Haight St. I'm not sure when I'll get back, so I gave myself permission to buy whatever struck my fancy. I stayed in the vinyl sections of the store, because to add CDs would make the visit take all day.

It turned out to be an interesting and varied motherlode of fine tunes. I've already discussed the Live Mott The Hoople, but I also picked up three 12-inch EPs by XTC, The Mayor Of Simpleton, Five Senses (both including swell tracks not on any LP), and Love On A Farmboy's Wages, which includes live versions of Burning With Optimism''s Flame and English Roundabout that are marvelous.

I grabbed an older M. Ward record, End Of Amnesia 2001, a reissue of Superchunck's 1994 outing Foolish, Matthew Sweet's most recent, Modern Art 2011, and Dave Alvin and the Guilty Women 2009, which also features the lovely voice of Christy McWilson throughout.

And then there's the Proclaimer's classic Sunshine On Leith 1988, which I already owned on CD, but the vinyl was pristine, and I really love this record. I suppose 2001's Persevere is still my personal favorite, but Sunshine On Leith is darn close.

I've made my way through all these new records once (I did spend more time with the Mott), and hopefully I'll have more to say about some of them down the road. It's all been good, but I haven't been keeping track. Lazy listening, I do love that.

By the way, that list of Popular Posts over there on the right lists the more frequently hit posts during the last thirty days. Frank Zappa's Chunga's Revenge has gotten more traffic than almost anything I've ever posted. Go figure.

Mott The Hoople Live 1974

2012-01-10T18:52:00.000-08:00

One of the more terribly under-appreciated bands of their time, Mott The Hoople was almost completely ignored in the U.S., except for Bowie's All The Young Dudes, which became their biggest hit. Their bigger-than-life glam rock style may have been a bit much, but they produced a string of excellent releases from 1971-1974, starting with Brain Capers 1971, an almost great record spoiled by a murky recording that sinks the songs in an audio quagmire. Then came All The Young Dudes 1972 and Mott 1973, both indispensable (Mott is my pick for the one record you should own if you only own one. It's their finest hour). The Hoople 1974 was less successful, but still had a few great songs.

And then Live, also from 1974, was released just before the departure of Ian Hunter. The band made a few more without Mr. Hunter, but they are...well, they're without Ian Hunter, and Mott without Hunter is, well, it's just not Mott The Hoople.

And so this live document, their swan song, fittingly, is just like a live version of their studio recordings- it's not perfect, it's flawed, it's a little ragged, not all the songs are equally good, but... it's Mott. Nobody does this shtick better than these guys. Big ballads, hard-rocking tales of being a rock star, aggressive, crunchy, power-rock glam. And Ian Hunter's vocals, all cock-strut attitude and panache.

All The Way From Memphis kicks things off, and it's a fine live rendition of one of the very best rock road songs ever written.

    I got to Oreoles, ya know, it took a month
    And there was my guitar, electric junk
    Some spade said "rock and rollers, they're all the same-
    Man, that's your instrument", I felt so ashamed

    Now it's a mighty long way down rock and roll
    Through the Bradford cities and the Oreoles
    An' you look like a star but you're still on the dole
     All the way from Memphis

Sucker follows, and outshines the studio version by kicking things up several notches. All The Young Dudes is grand, and the perennial live favorite Walking With A Mountain rocks hard. Side two opens with Sweet Angeline, a magnificent song sounding way better than the studio version, and also benefiting from a hot live band firing on all cylinders. The record closes with an 11-minute medley that includes One Of The Boys, Rock 'N' Roll Queen, Violence, and a bit of the Beatles' Get Back.

It's a shambles. And it's shamboliffic.

Bill Frisell All We Are Saying... 2011

2011-12-19T18:42:00.000-08:00

Still looking for a last minute present for the music lover in your life? Good thing you stopped by.

Bill Frisell is a remarkable guitarist, and he approaches the instrument, and music in general, in novel and interesting ways. He releases records at a remarkable pace. Since 1983, he's released 30 records under his own name, and at least another 35 with Paul Motain and Joe Lovano, Joe Zorn, and Zorn's band Naked City. And then there's the 15 or so other one-off collaborations, and at least 80 other records where he has made guest appearances. The guy stays busy. If you don't know his name, you can't possibly be interested in jazz unless all you listen to are old vinyl records your dad left you (not that there's anything wrong with that). But he also plays country and bluegrass inflected jazz, and some of his records are easy and simple (in a complex way) while others are more challenging. And some of them are aggressively avant-garde.

This one is nearly perfect. An examination of the John Lennon songbook, it is way way way better than almost any tribute record you can imagine (it feels like I must be forgetting some other one this good). Longtime collaborators Greg Leisz (steel guitar), Jenny Scheinman (violin), Tony Scherr (bass) and Kenny Wollesen (drums) work with Frisell like five people with one brain. One very complex, integrated, high-operating musical brain. They don't let these melodies stray very far, so if you like John Lennon's songs, this could probably be the first jazz record you ever buy, and you'd still love it.

I certainly don't know everything about Frisell's work, but I've liked most of the ones I've heard, and I especially liked Good Dog, Happy Man from 1999. This reminds me of that record. A mellow, laid back approach to almost everything, the record delights at first and just gets better and deeper with additional listening. When they start to jam (and they never rock real hard), they can develop an amazing groove without breaking a sweat.

Every track works. Highlights abound. The opening Across The Universe invites you gently into Frisell's world. A languid You've Got To Hide Your Love Away features Liesz to lovely effect, while Scheinman lights up In My Life. But more than any one of these musicians' efforts, it is the interplay between them that comes so naturally to them, that diverse single-mindedness, that will leave you slowly, quietly staggered.

It's a quiet, relaxed, monumental record. A glowing tribute to melodies you know so well already. They aren't so much dissected, as gently pulled apart so you can take a look inside, so you can feel how someone else feels these songs, someone who cares about them.

Frank Zappa Chunga's Revenge 1970

2011-12-18T18:52:00.000-08:00

Well, Zappadan continues, and so we continue to celebrate all things Zappa. This one is harder to celebrate than most of Zappa's work, though it has its moments. Most of side one is pretty good.

Transylvania Boogie kicks things off with one of those crazy Zappa time signatures. The song is essentially a guitar solo, and a pretty good one at that. Road Ladies follows, and it is cool to hear Frank playing guitar in a basic blues structure, and Aynsley Dunbar's drums are a standout. Twenty Small Cigars is an almost jazz composition, and Zappa plays this mellow guitar lead that is another unusual setting for him, so that's fun to hear. The live The Nancy And Mary Music is an extended jam that includes at least two drum solos, some good guitar, and a minute of dueling pianos from Ian Underwood and George Duke that is pretty exciting, but it doesn't live up to Frank's usual quality standard.

Side two is what makes this a disappointing Zappa record. Tell Me You Love Me is standard issue stuff, and nothing saves it. Would You Go All The Way, Rudy Wants To Buy Yez A Drink, and Sharleena all make you wonder what Frank saw in Flo and Eddie, and all three are some of Frank's least interesting songs. Chunga's Revenge is an instrumental jam with a irritating sax played through a wah wah pedal, and Frank's guitar is less than stellar. The song is too long for the one idea it contains.

When you make as many records as Zappa did, there's bound to be some that just don't stand up next to the best ones. This is one of those. I don't mean to pick on Zappa during the holiday, so just think of it as a public service.

The Who Quadrophenia 1973

2011-12-08T15:16:00.000-08:00

Usually when I write about a record from 1973, I bought it in 1973. So this is a little different, and it feels weird. I heard this record once in 1973, and frankly, coming on the heels of Who's Next, I was unimpressed. I've been familiar with the classic rock radio cuts, Real Me, 5:15, and Love, Reign O'er Me, and I always liked them.

So recently, an expanded deluxe remastered 4-CD Quadrophenia was released, and there's been plenty of press for the record. I was talking to my friend Bob, and he starts raving about the record, saying it's the Who's best album. I respect Bob's opinion, and although our tastes are pretty different, there are some areas where our musical interests overlap (Zappa, XTC, Elvis Costello, The Proclaimers).

But don't think for a minute I was going to buy some new-fangled 4-CD extravaganza with a boatload of useless extra tracks that should have never seen the light of day. No, I went to GEMM.com and picked up a used vinyl copy for a very reasonable price. It got here a few days ago.

It turns out I was wrong in 1973, and Quadrophenia is darn good. The aforementioned radio-friendly tracks are still solid, but many of the album tracks are equally excellent. The title track, Cut My Hair, The Punk Meets The Godfather, I'm One, Is It In My Head, I've Had Enough, Sea And Sand, Drowned, and Doctor Jimmy are all killer, and any of them could have coexisted nicely on Who's Next. There's a few weaker cuts, but not many, and only Bell Boy, with Moon's exaggerated Cockney vocal, is unnecessary.

Speaking of Moon, like all great Who records, and perhaps as much as any of them, Kieth Moon sounds like the best rock and roll drummer ever on this record. With all of Townsend's self-aggrandizing, sometimes you forget how important Moon was to this band.

I'm not so sure I'm ready to give up my opinion of Who's Next as their finest hour, especially since I've always felt that it was, track by track, near perfect. But Quadrophenia certainly surpasses Tommy, if not in story, definitely in song quality. And the recording sounds more like Who's Next, with the power and dynamics that Tommy lacked.

The record can probably never be for me what it may have been if I'd bought it in '73. There's something about those records you loved and listened to in your teens and twenties that feels burned into your musical DNA. But there's no denying that The Who's best work includes 1969's Tommy, 1970's Live At Leeds, 1971's Who's Next, and 1973's Quadrophenia. You might want to hear the earlier stuff, but anything after 1973 should be approached with reduced expectations.

Thanks for the head's up, Bob.

Zappadan 2011 Orchestral Music

2011-12-06T18:15:00.000-08:00

Over at Ketchup Is A Vegetable, Brady Bonk is listening to The Yellow Shark. This is real commitment, people, this needs to be taken very seriously. And the posts are great. After my last post regarding the LSO recordings, perhaps a brief history of Zappa's orchestral music deserves mention.

I suppose the first foray is 1967's Lumpy Gravy, almost completely instrumental, and featuring a full orchestra. The great music is interspersed with inane raps and bits of conversation, but the big inventions are there. Oh No, King Kong, Envelopes and several others are fine, but it is a hard listen today. Frank was really pushing it, and he wasn't quite fully developed, but you've gotta admire the cajones it took to release it in 1967.

Next up would be Uncle Meat 1969, which introduces us to Uncle Meat, Dog Breath, and King Kong, and their variations, all performed by rock band, but later exposed as works intended for orchestra. The Royal Philharmonic played on 200 Motels 1971, and while some of the music is OK (the 11-minute Strictly Genteel stands out), much of the record is unlistenable in an annoying way unlike almost any other Zappa work. The Tuna Fish suite and the Overture both show Zappa developing his classical style, and signal the rich work that is to come. 1972's magnum opus, The Grand Wazoo, should count, but that is really a record made for a big band (the jazz kind), not a big orchestra.

But in 1979, Orchestral Favorites was released, and it's a beauty. Featuring Strictly Genteel, Pedro's Dowery, Duke Of Prunes and Bogus Pomp, and recorded live with full orchestra, it's killer stuff. It all was intended for Lather, and was reissued on the 3 CD Lather set in 1996. Much of the material ended up on the LSO recordings as well.

The first LSO recording was released in 1983, and shortly on it's heals was Boulez Conducts Zappa: The Perfect Stranger 1984, with many a homage to Varese, whom Boulez also promoted as a unique 20th century composer. It's a pretty fine record, and certainly challenging enough. If you're ready for Frank's modern classical music, here you go. Boulez is a great conductor, but he seems to take some of the crazy out of Zappa's work. LSO Volume 2 Came out in 1987.

Which brings us to The Yellow Shark 1993, a magnificent recording, made just before Zappa's death, and performed exquisitely by the Ensemble Moderne. Including a few new compositions, it was the last release during Zappa's lifetime. If following Brady's blog this Zappadan doesn't make you run out and buy the record, it's a real shame. Unless you don't like it. Zappa made enough fine, almost regular rock records, plenty of jazz-rock, and tons of wacky rock-jazz hybrids (with a pinch of doo-wop) to please anyone, but these orchestral works may very well be the ones Zappa himself most wanted you to hear.

Zappadan 2011 London Symphony Orchestra Vol. 1 1983 and Vol. 2 1987

2011-12-04T06:44:00.000-08:00

Welcome to Zappadan. From Dec 4 to Dec 21, we celebrate the life and work of a great modern composer, and one heck of an axe ripper as well. I thought I'd kick off the proceedings by reviewing some of Frank's least familiar work. There is no guitar on these records, and of course, no singing either. Both were recorded in 1983 with Kent Nagano conducting. Zappa is the orchestra's harshest critic, complaining about the performance quality in his own liner notes. But there is some fine music to be had here.

Sad Jane is a moody, Varese-like, highly percussive piece scattered with easy to hear, frequent Zappa motifs, such as discordant strings (often portrayed vocally on his rock records) and quick, jarring percussion-driven tempo changes. It's very entertaining. Pedro's Dowry features horns and strings in a spastic battle, again with much percussion (Frank loved vibes). Tensely disjointed, almost arhythmic at times, it's challenging. Near the end is a percussion-driven section that benefits greatly from a remarkable violin solo. Side one ends with Envelopes, which starts softer than most of Frank's work, and is lovely, and then breaks into a strange fairy march section that reminds me of a cartoon chase scene soundtrack.

Side two of the original Vol. 1 is Mo 'N Herb's vacation, which, at 27 minutes, is a lot of weirdness, even for the devoted. There's probably something important going on that I can't understand. It just never seems to get off the ground, or make a coherent statement. Your results may vary.

Vol. 2 opens with Bogus Pomp, another full-scale piece at 24 minutes, but this time things are more cohesive. Zappa describes the piece as a parody of movie music cliches and mannerisms, and it's fun to hear Zappa's take on that idea. Using traditional symphonic elements of build tension, relax tension, build tension patterns, Zappa has fun with the theme and lets the listener have a good time, too. Bob In Dacron follows, and begins with what Zappa calls a "musical description of patterns which do not blend", and yet it still works surprisingly well. The second section returns to the repeated build/relax tension pattern, and is symphonic in structure while both rhythmically and melodically challenging. It's real good. Strictly Genteel ends the record, and has been a very good finale structure since it's use as such in 200 Motels, and the big orchestra does a fine job, even if Frank is pissed at the trumpet section.

Both records are available on a more recent 2-CD package, with a different running order, as Bob In Dacron and Sad Jane were designed as two parts of one piece.

I've mentioned Zappa several times before here at this blog, so if you want more Zappa, try these: Z A P P A ' (Yes, it's an apostrophe, i.e. the crux of the biscuit).

The Subdudes 1989-2008

2011-12-01T19:11:00.000-08:00

I haven't said enough about the Subdudes. First, you've got to love the name Subdudes. You almost know New Orleans is involved. And the band's blend of roots Americana, soul, R&B, gospel and rock, with a pinch of New Orleans second line rhythm, is as appealing as it is unique. And they've made the most of it.

Singer, songwriter, guitarist Tommy Malone dominates the group, but he needs them, as his solo work has proved.

The records are splendid. If you haven't heard them, you should. Their sound is a delicious gumbo. Malone is a smokin' hot guitarist and excellent vocalist. Magnie plays accordion and keys and harmonizes with Malone in a special way, and Magnie's finely crafted songs relieve Malone of all of the songwriting and lead vocal duties. Steve Amadee plays an over-sized tambourine to remarkable effect, turning the simple instrument into an earthy drum kit, and a integral signature of the band's intricate, rootsy sound.

Where to start? Their debut, The Subdudes 1989, is as good a place as any, and one of their best. Light In You Eyes, Tell Me What's Wrong, Need Somebody, Got You On His Mind, One Time, and their fine cover of the New Orleans staple Big Chief are all standouts. It's an excellent record. The follow-up 1991's Lucky, is less fine, but has it's moments (Someday, Somehow, and Bye, Bye). Annunciation 1994 is a strong return to form, and You'll Be Satisfied and Late At Night are both priceless slices of funky Southern roots rock. Primitive Streak 1996 was not their best, but still All The Time In The World and Sarita are as good as their best work. 1997's Live At Last, closed the book on their first stint with a fine live document of a great live band, and it's a solid live hits sort of gig. The band had split prior to the record's release.

But come 2002, the original principles regroup. And the next thing you know, Miracle Mule 2004 is released, and it happens to rival the first one. Inspired with the band's revival, and perhaps benefiting from a long spell of writing, the band produces it's second classic. If Wishing Made It So, Sound Of Her Voice, Maybe You Think and the title track are all as good as they get, and the whole record holds up. Behind The Levee 2006 comes darn close to doing it again, and includes one fine gotta-dance-right-now single in Papa Dukie And The Mud People (Love Is A Beautiful Thing), sort of a rootsy New Orleans version of John Mellencamp's Cherry Bomb. 2007's Street Symphony was a bit of a let-down, and consequently I haven't heard Flower Petals 2009.

Try the first one, The Subdudes 1989, Miracle Mule 2004, or Annunciation 1994, and you can't go wrong. Rootsy Americana, phat New Orleans funkiness, smart songwriting, great spare arrangements and top notch vocals. They are a great band to see live if you get the chance.

Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings Soul Time! 2011 Brendan Benson Upstairs At United 2011

2011-11-30T18:35:00.000-08:00

For the last four years the third Saturday in April has been Record Store Day. Record companies big and small release new music, and they also release some limited edition products aimed at the "collector" market. This year the Record Store Day folks decided to have another Record Store Day on Black Friday, and for the first time in what feels like forever I went shopping the day after Thanksgiving. I went specifically to purchase the new Sharon Jones record, which her web site had announced for release on Record Store Day. The guys at the store had to dig into a shipping box to produce the LP. They didn't think they had it. Record stores never change.

The new Sharon Jones is killer. The sales pitch calls it the funkier side of Sharon Jones, and the liner notes say the songs are live show staples that never made it to a record. I'd have to say that they nailed it. Jones and the Dap Kings have long emulated the best of James Brown, but their sound is more sixties Brown sounding, in a good way of course. This new one digs deep groves more like Brown's remarkable seventies output. Genuine Parts 1 an 2 is seven minutes of if you ain't dancin', you dead. He Said I Can, I'm Not Going To Cry, and When I Come Home keep the funky soul driving right at you.

You've got to love What If We All Stopped Paying Taxes, and they make a pretty good lyrical point. Settling In and Without A Trace are deep soul highlights, and the remarkable Christmas funk of Ain't No Chimneys In The Projects is spectacular, and previously existed only in 45 rpm, 7 inch format. Everything they've done has been great, and they just keep getting better at it. I really didn't think they could outdo I Learned The Hard Way, but they've at least matched it right here.

The only thing that Sharon Jones and Brendan Benson have in common is that I bought them both on Record Store Day. While at the store, I looked through the special Record Store Day limited edition vinyl releases, and I was tempted by some overpriced Janis Joplin and Bob Dylan 7 inch "box sets" of four singles in a set. The Dylan stuff was original sixties mono mixes, and the Janis had some "rare" versions. Snap out of it!

But there was this 12 inch 45 rpm four-song Brendan Benson Upstairs At United, recorded live to tape and pressed on black plastic. Benson sings and plays guitar, and is ably assisted on drums (Nicole Childrey), bass (Young Hines) and keyboards (Andrew Higley). As you wouldn't expect from a songwriter of Benson's talent, they do four cover songs: David Bowie's Candidate, Dave Davies' Strangers, Elvis Costello's Beyond Belief, and Randy Newman's Love Story. Strangers and Beyond Belief are top notch, and Benson delivers them reverently. The all-analog direct to tape sound is very immediate. It sounds like you're in the room with the band. Lovely really.

If I'd known that shopping on Black Friday was this much fun, I would have done it long ago.

Lou Ann Barton Read My Lips 1989

2011-11-27T19:33:00.000-08:00

Blues and R&B, belted out with conviction through a powerhouse, smokey, scratchy Texas drawl with a heavy dose of Southern-style smoldering heat. Lou Ann sang with Stevie Ray Vaughn early on and did a great record in 1990 with Marcia Ball and Angela Strehli called Dreams Come True.

This was Lou Ann Barton's shining moment. Backed by an all-pro band featuring George Rains, Kim Wilson, Jimmie Vaughn and others, it is a remarkably clean recording of a set of Blues and R&B classics. Her versions of You'll Lose A Good Thing, Sexy Ways, It's Raining, Sugar Coated Love and Let's Have A Party are all stellar. Everything on the record works. Lou Ann can sing the daylights out of these tunes, and she inhabits every single one like the pro she is. She's made a few others, but this is her claim to fame. A talented singer has a magical moment when everything works. Nothing fancy, just perfect blues, and a fine list of songs.

It's party time in Texas and you'll only need one CD.

Be Bop Deluxe Modern Music 1976

2011-11-19T13:22:00.000-08:00

Be Bop Deluxe was one of those bands that never quite got off the ground commercially, even though they made some very interesting music. Singer-writer-guitarist Bill Nelson blended his impressive guitar playing into a sound that was equal parts glam, progressive rock, and quirky pop. Nelson's frequent lyrical forays into science fiction territory were sometimes fun, occasionally pretentious. Releasing six records between 1974-1978, their two 1976 albums, Sunburst Finish and Modern Music, were both excellent.

Orphans Of Babylon kicks off side one in fine style, and Kiss Of Light and Bring Back The Spark are both strong. Kiss Of Light should have been the hit follow-up to their most successful single, Ships In The Night, but it didn't dent the charts. Even their most commercial moments contain a certain lyrical awkwardness that Nelson never seems to escape.

Side two starts with the Modern Music suite/medley, and it is twelve minutes of near-perfect Be Bop Deluxe. The suite contains all of their best elements, from the romance of Modern Music, to the catchy pop of Dancing In The Moonlight, and on to the instrumental fireworks of Dance Of The Uncle Sam Humanoids. Forbidden Lovers follows and features their more prog side, and contains enough ideas for three songs in most bands' hands. It is a fine example of Nelson's weakness for cramming too many ideas into one song, and his inability, sometimes, to weave those ideas together comfortably. A common problem for prog bands in general, with Yes, ELP, and Genesis all displaying this same dilemma.

The best of the songs are terrific, and the band have a truly unique sound. Nelson's guitar is always a stand-out, but Andrew Clark's keyboards and Simon Fox's drumming are also very important to the band's tight, quirky arrangements. This record's immediate predecessor, Sunburst Finish, is equally good, contains their biggest hit, the reggae-flavored Ships In The Night, and comes with a cover that includes a naked woman holding a flaming guitar. How could you go wrong?

Jeff Tweedy covers the Black Eyed Peas 2011

2011-11-14T15:33:00.000-08:00

Jeff Tweedy does I Got A Feeling. Too hilarious.

Led Zeppelin 1969-1982

2011-11-10T19:23:00.000-08:00

Led Zeppelin had a magnificent genre-defining career in heavy metal. And they did it better than anyone else, unless you discredit their love of English country folk. Lovers of their work fall into two distinct camps- those who favor the first two records, and those who favor the fourth and fifth.

The first two (1969) featured the heavy blues-rock that would be the claim to fame of the band, and much of this music is excellent, if today a bit dated. Classics like Good Times, Bad Times, Whole Lotta Love, You Shook Me, Ramble On, I Can't Quit You, and Living Loving Maid, all are stellar, and deeply rooted in the blues.

The fourth (1971), the ultimate classic rock standard, blended the blues with something else, and Black Dog, Rock And Roll, Going To California, Misty Mountain Hop, and When The Levee Breaks all rock hard with amazing hooks. And Stairway To Heaven. The follow-up, Houses Of The Holy 1973, brought more of the same with The Song Remains The Same, Dancing Days, and The Ocean, plus reggae with D'yer Mak'er. Huge.

And every bit the classic of the fourth's mammoth success.

Anybody who stuck around for Physical Graffiti 1975 was in for a troubled ride. Great tracks like Houses Of The Holy, Trampled Under Foot and Kashmir shared time with too much lesser material.

After that, Presence 1976 and In Through The Out Door 1979 held their charms for the devoted, and at least one or two great songs each. Coda 1982, a piece-meal effort at best, let them leave without regret, if nothing else.

More recently, their work has been remixed to very good effect, and the Mothership 2007 collection is worth the trouble. The four-LP vinyl set is the bomb, but the CD sounds great, too. It is pretty remarkable how well their work holds up.

Bob Dylan New Morning 1970

2011-11-08T18:59:00.000-08:00

I suppose I could write about Blonde On Blonde, but what is there left to say? I like much of Dylan's work, but between 1967's John Wesley Harding and 1975's Blood On The Tracks, both classics, things were mostly disappointing. Except for New Morning. I rank it much higher than many would put it in Dylan's cannon, and you should hear it again.

If Not For You is a celebratory love song with a nicely simple arrangement. Day Of The Locusts features soulful singing from Dylan, and Al Kooper's organ "high whine and trill". On Time Passes Slowly, Dylan's deceptively simple piano and languid vocal are paired to the fine dueling lead guitars of David Bromberg and Buzzy Feiten(?). The funky beat and scratchy guitar figure of Went To See The Gypsy are genius, and the line "He did in Las Vegas, and he can do it here" is irresistible. The frolic of Winterlude follows, and the tongue-in-cheek traditionalism is fun. The jazzy blues of If Dogs Run Free ends the first side with Kooper's fine piano and Maeretha Sweart's scat vocal.

The back side is solid, too. New Morning celebrates life and love with a great lead break, a hooky chorus, and sweet organ throughout. The yearning for simpler times, and Dylan's own simple, Randy Newman-esque piano make the difference on Sign On The Window. One More Weekend is a classic Dylan country blues that sounds like a Blonde On Blonde outtake (a good one). The soulful ballad that is The Man In Me is marvelous "happy" Dylan. Three Angels is a bit of a jolt in an otherwise fun record. But it's solemn, surreal, and when the choir kicks in... Father Of Night ends the record on a simple, deep note, with all the faces of God called upon in prayer.

It's monumental. In a simple, easy, organic way. That's Dylan for you.

Guy Clark's website videos

2011-11-01T18:22:00.000-07:00

Over at Guy Clark's website, you can listen to almost all of his music streaming. You can buy it, too, which I highly recommend. You can't go wrong. I discussed one of his recent records here.

You can also enjoy great performances of a couple of Clark's fine tunes. At the video section of Clark's website, there's three live performances that are wonderful. The second video is one of Clark's finest moments ever in a songwriting and performing career of unusual breadth and depth. The Randall Knife, a heartfelt son-to-father tribute, is far and away the best song on it's theme ever, and if it isn't true, you'd never guess from hearing Clark's touching delivery. Man this guy can sing. There's also a fine reading of The Guitar, another of Clark's fine songs, and one with a great punch line. Check it out here.

The Jayhawks Mockingbird Time 2011

2011-10-27T19:23:00.000-07:00

A new Jayhawks record is always welcome, and this time it is the first Jayhawks record featuring both Gary Louris and Mark Olson since 1995's Tomorrow The Green Grass. That's a long time. They also co-wrote all the songs, as they did with the aforementioned Tomorrow... as well as the brilliant major-label debut Hollywood Town Hall, from 1992.

In the interim, Louris, bass player Marc Perlman, drummer Tim O'Reagan and keyboard player par excellence Karen Grotberg made Sound Of Lies 1997, Smile 2000 (Grotberg left after Smile), and Rainy Day Music 2003. All three of those records had things to recommend them, but the magic sparked by the writing, guitar interplay, and vocal harmonies of Louris and Olsen together on the first two is special.

So is this the new Tomorrow The Green Grass or Hollywood Town Hall? The short answer is "no". But it consistently features those remarkable harmonies, and the high points are very much worth hearing, and hearken back to those first two classics from this fine line-up.

Hide Your Colors opens the record with a classic Americana rock ballad, with great harmonies, and their signature minor-key sadness. Closer To Your Side features Grotberg's regal piano and an interestingly awkward lyric that somehow works.The slow, dark ballad Tiny Arrows follows and features a wonderful band arrangement, great guitar-piano interplay, and those otherworldly harmonies. She Walks In So Many Ways is a jangle-pop gem, and the clear choice for lead-off single. Like they're a pop band. The straight ahead rocker High Water Blues becomes a different song in the acoustic guitar middle jam section, and them bursts back into the hook-laden chorus to finish a great song. The title track is another big ballad in the Americana style they practically invented. One part The Band, one part the country-flavored Van Morrison (or maybe Poco), one part Crosby, Stills and Nash, a dash of folk.

Then begins a stretch of the record that just does not hold up against the rest. Stand Out In The Rain is an overly familiar melody that is barely saved by the instrumental break. The unconventional structure and almost Zappa-like changes of Cinnamon Love don't work. The melody and the lyric of Guilder Annie are both weak, and Black-Eyed Susan is another weak melody, that at least features good band interplay and a nice string quartet arrangement. The last great one on the record, sweet romantic ballad Pouring Rain At Dawn is a gentle roller that makes the most of acoustic guitar and stellar harmonies. Hey Mr. Man ends the record, and it's a bluesy riff-rocker with strange slower sections that make little sense in the context of the song's structure. Or I don't get it.

The first six and Pouring Rain At Dawn. That's seven you really should like, and five others that you might like better than me. The Jayhawks are back. This line-up is the best version of this band, at least based on past product, and this record does not disappoint much. The unique harmonies of Olsen and Louris are very good to hear again. Their writing, when it works (more often than not), is top quality. The record sounds great. I don't think their songwriting is quite at the consistent level it was sixteen years ago, but maybe I'm over-romanticizing the early records.

If you're a Jayhawks fan, I suspect you already own it. It's worth taking a chance on. If you've never heard the Jayhawks, I highly recommend Hollywood Town Hall. Then either Tomorrow's The Green Grass or Rainy Day Music. Then this one. It's in good company.

The Animals Retrospective 2004

2011-10-25T18:12:00.000-07:00

The Animals were one of those "other" British Invasion bands, not the Beatles, not the Stones. There was a ton of great music made by the Kinks, the Dave Clark Five, the Searchers, and many other great bands out of the UK. And the Animals, who, like the Stones, took a more blues-inspired approach than some of the others.

Although this compilation is ostensibly by the Animals, it includes the Eric Burden and War classic Spill The Wine, which certainly sweetens the pot. The early hits are here, and House Of The Rising Sun, Boom Boom, Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood, We Gotta Get Out Of This Place and Don't Bring Me Down are all great to hear again. The young Eric Burden was one scary dude, angry and full of piss and vinegar. And a big testosterone-fueled baritone. Nobody would let their daughter leave the house with this guy. Watch some of the early YouTube videos. They are bad boys with a capitol B.

Even the later singles like When I Was Young, San Franciscan Nights, Monterey and Sky Pilot sound great, not just because of the performances, but also because the CD is very nicely recorded. These songs never sounded this good. Analog to digital transfers done at Abbey Road, mastered by Bob Ludwig, the sound is sharp and crisp without an overly hard edge.

There's twenty-two songs, so you get some of the less successful singles, and a fair amount of the later work that was performed by only Burden from the original band, even if the records were still being sold as Eric Burden and the Animals. The original band with Chas Chandler, Alan Price and Hilton Valentine from 1962-1966 was a remarkable outfit, but Burden still had some good work in him, and it's not like the bands he assembled weren't professionals. But they weren't the Animals either.

They have almost as many compilations out there as they had originals albums. This one is certainly one of the better.

Los Straightjackets The Velvet Touch Of... 1999

2011-10-24T19:51:00.000-07:00

Los Straightjackets do surf guitar instrumental music updated (slightly) to a modern rock sound. Their records are remarkably well recorded, the songs are quite good, and the band is super-tight.

The sound of the Fender guitar needs no further advertisement, but if it did, any Los Straightjackets CDs would do just fine.

This, their third, is an excellent example of their skills, and it includes the amazing cover of My Heart Will Go On. You gotta hear it to believe it. The originals are every bit as good.

They've made ten-twelve other CDs since this one, and I've heard some of them. Avoid anything with singers, the band just doesn't need them. The live Damas Y Caballeros! from 2001 is also excellent, and they are a smokin' hot live band, crazy Mexican wrestler masks and everything.

The Velvet Underground 1967-1970

2011-10-18T19:23:00.000-07:00

What can you say about the Velvet Underground? A remarkable band for their time, groundbreaking on several levels, and rather frustrating as well. Their four studio records were all completely different from each other, and also from almost anything being done at the time of their release, with the exception of Loaded 1970, which was noteworthy for its Classic Rock sound, itself a departure for such a cutting edge band.

The first album, The Velvet Underground And Nico, done with Nico singing vocals on half the tracks, was insanely eclectic, wildly experimental (both Lou Reed and John Cale were firing on all cylinders), and mind-blowing in 1967.

From Waiting For The Man, a tale of drug addiction, to the drone of Venus In Furs, to the chamber-folk of All Tomorrow's Parties, through the closing cacophony of Heroin, to the soft pop-folk of Sunday Morning and I'll Be Your Mirror. Head-spinning, and even if it's a difficult listen today, it is still quite an achievement.

To be followed by White Light/White Heat in 1968. Aggressive, noisy, distorted, dangerous and loud, it is easy to understand why it is considered an early punk/metal blueprint. It is also easy to understand why it didn't sell any better than the first one. If you can get through it, the 17-minute Sister Ray is a trip.

The Velvet Underground 1969 took an about face, and became the equivalent of their "unplugged" record. A quiet storm of a record, it stands today as their finest hour. Doug Yule replaced John Cale, and the result is a much more accessible record, while no less boundary-pushing in its own right.

The gorgeous ballads Candy Says, Jesus, and Pale Blue Eyes, the rollicking What Goes On and Beginning To See The Light, the rocking magnificence of I'm Set Free, all simply constructed of feeling, rhythm, and nuance. It's a classic, and the most listenable today. This one is the blueprint for chill-out.

1970 saw Loaded, their most commercially successful record, released a few months after Reed quit, but not before he made one of the best, and most commercial, records of his career. Side one with Who Loves The Sun, Sweet Jane, Rock And Roll, Cool It Down, and New Age is all but perfect. Side two doesn't live up to the first side, but Head Held High and Oh! Sweet Nothing come through.

The first two are remarkable documents of an exciting time in New York and in music history, but they're not that easy to listen to today. They are both important to rock's later developments, and as such, are years ahead of their time. The fourth is a fine record, with Sweet Jane and Rock And Roll easily worth the price of admission. 1969's The Velvet Underground is a remarkable record, even today, after 42 years. Reed finds a niche he never returned to even though it is some of his finest work. I suggest serving with a glass of dry red wine. Candles would be nice.

The Elvin Bishop Band Rock My Soul 1972

2011-10-11T18:34:00.000-07:00

The Elvin Bishop Band Rock My Soul is an old gem from 1972. I probably have an irrational love of the record, but it is not without its merits. If you want an organically recorded, all-analog experience focused on swinging rock/R&B from the early seventies (this is really good stuff) it is peerless, and the vinyl sounds particularly good. I used the title cut as one of the tracks I auditioned speakers with when I bought my current speakers.

Rock My Soul kicks things off in fine style. The sound of the bass guitar on this track is classic, right there between Motown and Muscle Shoals. Not much deep bass, but the bass that is there is remarkably melodic with well-defined tone and pitch. The horn charts test a system's dynamics, and the organ near the end of the song will bring out the worst in a harsh speaker if it has any sibilance. And the song happens to be a gas, too.

Holler And Shout follows, and again we have a fine R&B/Rock classic full of organ and horns and featuring a smokin' hot sax solo. Let It Shine features Jo Baker, who takes lead vocal on almost half of the songs on the record, and it's a smoldering, sexy soul ballad done up right. Don't Mind If I Do is some of Bishop's aw-shucks good-time humor. A little goes a long way. Jo Baker returns to burn down Rock Bottom, an R&B rocker from Baker's pen. Last Mile is a slow instrumental featuring Bishop's slide guitar.

On side two the quality slides slightly, but it still rewards repeated listening. Have A Good Time is a better example of Bishop's good-time, laid back slacker vibe. Wings Of A Bird is Baker's big showcase, and she more than lives up to it. A slinky soul, slow-building ballad with a tasty Bishop guitar lead makes it a keeper for sure. Old Man Trouble finds Jo back at the microphone for a stomping soul-blues that reminds of the present-day Dap Kings, funky middle section and sax break included. Out Behind The Barn is saved by the New Orleans-styled horn charts, and the live instrumental Stomp is a hot guitar jam.

It might not make everybody's list, but it makes mine. Beautifully recorded, not quite musically perfect, it has it's weaker moments. But not enough weak moments to overshadow the transcendent moments in the title track, Holler And Shout, Let It Shine, Rock Bottom, Wings Of A Bird, and Old Man Trouble.

Some people wonder why this record is getting expensive on the used market, but not me. Elvin Bishop made some other good ones, but none that quite hit home like this one.

Ahmad Jamal Trio At The Pershing But Not For Me 1958

2011-10-05T17:57:00.000-07:00

It's 1958. You're sitting in a nice cocktail lounge, and Ahmad Jamal, Israel Crosby (bass), and Vernell Fournier (drums) are playing wonderfully melodic, endlessly rhythmic jazz. I don't know that much about jazz, but I know what I like. And I know why this was a number one selling jazz record that stayed on the charts for 107 weeks. It's just lovely music. You can let it play in the background or you can listen to every note. None are wasted, none are wrong.

Jamal went on to a long, productive, and influential career. In fact, another great jazz recommendation that's easier to find is Jamal's It's Magic, from 2008. At age 81, he's still gigging. If you can get a chance to see him, don't miss it. I've seen him live twice, and he's wonderful.

Wilco Kicking Television Live In Chicago 2005

2011-10-04T18:27:00.000-07:00

Recorded in front of a home town audience, with a relatively new line-up, Kicking Television is a stellar document of a great live band firing on all cylinders. The recent additions of Nels Cline and Pat Sansone, on guitar noise and keyboards respectively, added greatly to the sound the band was developing.

They were then, as they are now, a remarkable live band. These guys really work together. The song list on this 2-CD affair is heavy on their current release (at the time), A Ghost Is Born 2004, but there's room for songs from almost their entire career up to this point, and the band isn't the same line-up that made A Ghost Is Born.

I can't describe it, not really. In fact, I've probably avoided reviewing any Wilco records for the shear lack of being able to describe the band. The band is this strange hybrid of musical styles, all of them seemingly American, including the musical equivalent of abstract impressionism, country, folk, rock, free jazz, noise and civil disobedience. Jeff Tweedy drives the band as singer and songwriter, and he brings a unique talent and approach to both roles. He's a melodic writer and a languid singer that sounds like he's equally bored and brokenhearted. His vision for the band seems to change quite a bit, and this line-up, which is still together six years later, is a real ensemble, in that all the players contribute, and they are a particularly skilled bunch. That the studio albums this line-up has made (Sky Blue Sky and Wilco (The Album)) are arguably slightly less interesting than earlier records is probably on Tweedy's shoulders. There's a brand new one out I haven't heard yet. I'll have to report on that soon.

This CD takes many of the best of Tweedy's songs from the 1996-2004 canon, and updates them with this remarkable band that was just getting started. They clearly enjoyed the interplay they were experiencing with each other. They're hot as hell.

Two Years

2011-09-27T19:39:00.000-07:00

While I'm not into the whole meta-cognitive "lets blog about blogging" concept, I just can't resist at this, the two year anniversary of this blog. There have been 155 entries made, almost exactly 1.5 per week. Here's the breakdown:
3 reviews of live shows
5 editions of Spinning Vinyl
3 mentions of stereo equipment
10 artist career overviews, or features regarding box sets of music
5 entries devoted to Frank Zappa, often written during the December celebration of Zappadan
111 individual records or CDs reviewed. The release dates and the number of recordings from each year/period of those reccords/CDs is:

1957- 1
1961-1967- 4
1969- 6
1970-1975- 12
1976-1980- 2
1981-1985- 5
1986-1990- 11
1991-1995- 6
1996-2000- 8
2001-2005- 12
2006-2008- 11
2009- 17
2010- 14
2011- 7

17 other various entries that don't fit the above categories
and a couple I must not have counted, because those numbers don't quite add up.

The most frequently viewed entries ever are an odd mix of Dusty Springfield, Boz Scaggs, Christian Cuff, Richie Havens, and Elton John and Leon Russel. The reasons for these being the top five are different for each of the five. Respectively, one because there's just a ton of interest, one because no one else blogs about him much, especially his older stuff, one because he's an interesting young artist that very few others have reviewed, one because it's so obscure and out there, and one because I spelled a name wrong, so I got hits because other people searched the same wrong spelling. My apologies to Mr. Russell. I couldn't figure out why I was getting so many hits on that entry for weeks. Ha!

Statistically, the blog sees about 100 visitors per week, but most of them click away before they read anything when they realize that I neither sell or give away anything. Depending which counter system I trust (neither of them), there's between 1-5 people or 20 or so per day that actually read something. I'm pretty sure it's closer to the low end, but who knows.

Of course the blog has an obscure web address and title, neither of which help identify its content, so if you've been here before, welcome back. Thanks for coming by.

Sloan The Double Cross 2011

2011-09-24T13:19:00.000-07:00

I've always liked this fine Canadian band of pop-rockers. Over the years they've added some punk-lite sounds to their repertoire of power-pop gems and Beatles-inspired rock and roll. I've been disappointed by a few of their records, but several are excellent. I'm especially fond of Navy Blues 1998, Never Hear The End Of It 2006, and the near perfect Beatles-esque Between The Bridges 1999. Their live 4 Nights At The Palais Royale, also from 1999, is also good.

Blessed with multiple songwriters and singers, the band has kept things interesting over the years by advancing their sound in a number of directions, and creating records that don't all sound the same. For instance, Never Hear The End Of It (two CDs in Canada, one in America) featured 30 songs over its 72 minutes, and the quality of those songs is stunning, given the number of them.

This new one is a pretty fine effort. The record opens with Follow The Leader, an intriguing psych-rock stomper that has an almost Spoon-like sound, at least until the pristine harmonies come into play. The Answer Is You is a blend of Raspberries and ELO in the verses, with a more aggressive chorus. She's Slowing Down Again is a mid-tempo rocker that hearkens back to the power-pop of Navy Blues. Green Gardens, Cold Montreal is a McCartney-esque acoustic ballad that ends side one of the vinyl version.

It's Plain To See is a hard punk-like rocker that has some killer guitar. More excellent mid-tempo numbers with great arrangements include Your Daddy Will Do and the piano-led Beverly Terrace. The big surprise of the record is Traces, a bluesy rocker that digs a deep groove that sounds like a very good Dylan tune, with a big swinging chorus and a clean, open sound that is like nothing they've done before, and really special. Laying So Low closes the record on a sad acoustic note that includes some swell guitar-electric piano interplay and a big, harmony-filled chorus.

There are a few that just don't have the melody or hooks of their best material, but most of what is here is darn fine Sloan. If you've never heard them, Between The Bridges is my recommended place to start. This new one is well worth hearing, and is certainly a good enough introduction that you just might want to hear some more.

Marshall Crenshaw with The Bottle Rockets, Beachland Ballroom, Cleveland, September 21, 2011

2011-09-22T19:16:00.000-07:00

I saw Crenshaw at the Beechland. It was a good show. I've seen Marshall Crenshaw a number of times before, and he always puts on a good live show.

The Bottle Rockets opened with an acoustic set that was great fun, even without their lead guitarist, who was apparently on paternity leave (rock and roll has really changed). They were rootsy, organic, songs were good, and the sound was great. The audience was absolutely reverent- you could hear a pin drop during the quiet songs. The between song chatter was funny and self-deprecating, and several of the songs were quite funny, most notably 1000 Dollar Car. The sad Smokin' 100s Alone was great. You could tell they were missing a lead guitarist, but it didn't matter much at all.

The Bottle Rockets then came back as Crenshaw's band for the main event. and it was excellent. It turns out that Brain Henneman, when he's not singing, is a pretty hot guitarist. Crenshaw did a lot of his first record (the show was billed as a 30 year celebration), including There She Goes Again, Someday, Someway, Cynical Girl, Mary Anne, and a particularly kick-ass Rockin' Around In N.Y.C. Other highlights included his version of Richard Thompson's Valerie, his Don Dixon co-write Calling Out For Love (At Crying Time), and two Buddy Holley covers. Crenshaw's voice was in fine form, and he is still hitting the high notes.

The Rockets were reasonably tight, but it also had a loose, spontaneous feel at times, maybe because Henneman was taking over leads for the missing John Horton. Special merit award to Keith Voegele, whose bass, and especially his harmony vocals, were the spice in the mix all night. Crenshaw took a few tasty leads, and it would have been fine if he played more. Leave them wanting more.

The sound was the usual thick muddy mess that seems to be the staple of live rock and roll. Too much bass drum, not enough lead guitar (especially Crenshaw's, and on this night at least, he was the hotter guitarist), and too much total volume. You know it's what you're going to get, but it still sounds like crap.

Joan Jett Fit To Be Tied: Great Hits by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts 1997

2011-09-15T19:20:00.000-07:00

I've always had a soft spot for Joan Jett. Not a great voice, but it's hard not to notice how much she gives a damn. Simple rock 'n' roll. Why use four chords when three will do? And Joan's out there, shouting away with an invigorating insistence.

The Blackhearts are solid. Think AC/DC, but not quite that riff-heavy. Just a good hard rock band.

Joan always had an ear for songs. The covers she chooses, and invariably executes perfectly, are a big part of Joan's draw. Her versions of Jonathan Richmonds' Roadrunner, Sly Stone's Everyday People, Tommy James' Crimson And Clover, and especially the Mary Tyler Moore show theme Love Is All Around are all killer renditions.

Her own classics are here, too. Bad Reputation, I Love Rock N Roll, Cherry Bomb, Little Liar, Do You Want To Touch Me? (Oh Yeah), and the Springsteen penned Light Of Day, all rock hard and fast with zero subtlety. There's never any problem understanding what Joan means.

For a CD, I like the song selection here more than the recent 2010 Greatest Hits. Even though that one has more songs, it omits the essential Roadrunner, and Little Liar, which was a hit, and should be on any Jett hits package. This one from '97 is available cheap, even new.

Fountains Of Wayne Sky Full Of Holes 2011

2011-09-11T18:11:00.000-07:00

Fountains Of Wayne are a particularly smart pop band, with brilliant lyrics that celebrate mundane everyday times in the modern age. At times both acute and hilarious, they dissect the ordinary with scalpel-like precision. Musically, their influences are too many and too varied to detail. While they are derivative for sure, they combine Beatles, Cheap Trick, and ELO, as well as more modern popsters such as Tommy Keane, Sloan, Marshall Crenshaw and Brenden Benson (all inspired by the same pop Fountains Of Wayne are emulating), into a unique blend almost all their own.

This CD might not please all fans, as there are more mid-tempo numbers, and less fast power-pop, than on their 2003 classic Welcome Interstate Managers. But just because a band is branching out a little is no reason to turn your back. Quite the opposite, really. They may be maturing, but they're still having fun doing it. And the songwriting is as good as anything out there when they are firing on all cylinders, which is most of the time.

If you need rockers, the suburban ennui of The Summer Place, the island vacation of A Dip In The Ocean, and the dumb fun of Radio Bar are here for you, rocking fast and smart hook-filled power-pop. There's also a few country tinged numbers in Workingman's Hands and the Irish ballad Firelight Waltz (which could have been a great lost Waterboys song).

Richie And Ruben is a great slacker-makes-bad lyric that they write so well (think Bright Future In Sales). Someone's Gonna Break You Heart follows a commuter's depressed daydream with a big chorus and chiming guitar. A lovely lead guitar break saves the gloomy Acela. There's a deft lyrical twist to Action Hero. A Road Song is a soft-rock song for the girl at home with another particularly smart lyric. And finally, there's Hate To See You Like This, perhaps the most sadly accurate description of living with someone deep in the throes of depression you'll ever hear. In a big lovely pop ballad.

There are a few lesser moments (Cold Comfort Flowers, the closing Cemetery Guns), and even I'd like a few more fast ones, but there really is not much to gripe about here. Great lyrics, strong melodies, hook-filled choruses, interesting arrangements with enough creativity to keep things from getting dull, and Chris Collingwood's post-punk vocals that a) you can always understand, and b) slide between deeply personal and downright snarky with ease. The band members are all highly skilled, with Jody Porter's guitar a consistent standout.

There are not many power-pop bands that remain as interesting and intelligent (even when they're being stupid) as these guys. You don't have to think, but if you want to, you can.

Elvis Costello and the Attractions Imperial Bedroom 1982

2011-09-07T18:45:00.000-07:00

Everyone by now knows of the greatness of the first three Elvis Costello records. Or doesn't care. The fact is rarely challenged, and for good reason. From 1977-1979 My Aim Is True, This Year's Model, and Armed Forces represented some fine songcraft, a strong motivating force for each record, and a display of unbridled rock sensibility. They were great records led by an artist hitting an early pinnacle. The first one was made by Costello with the SoCal country-rock band Clover, the next two were with the inimitable Attractions.

But Elvis didn't really slow down much after that, either. 1980's Get Happy and 1981's Trust and the countrified Almost Blue hold up well, even next to the first three.

And in 1982 Elvis and the Attractions made what is arguably their last great record, Imperial Bedroom. At least that would be my argument.

The record is rich with Costello's overly-wordy lyrics, displaying remarkable depth and insight into human relationships, especially the dysfunctional ones. The record explores love from so many angles and in just as many forms. It is Costello's best "theme" record, with complex melodies, great lyrics, and the Attractions firing on all cylinders. Rife with big, technicolor arrangements, and some of Costello's most intimate vocal delivery. The recording makes the band bigger than life, Beatles' recording engineer Geoff Emerick producing,and giving the record an Abbey Road-like sheen. It's a lovely, lush and immediate sound.

Beyond Belief, Tears Before Bedtime, Man Out Of Time, Human Hands, Boy With A Problem, and You Little Fool are all classics (I could have just listed all the songs). But it's not a record that you play for the songs. The songs, in this case, are for the record. Sit down and listen to side one, and the only thing to do after that is listen to side two. This record is way too good for random play. It cries out for you to listen and enjoy from front to back.

If you haven't heard it in a while, put it on. If you haven't heard it, you should. You'll be richly rewarded. One of rock's finest talents doing one killer record.

Steve Cropper Deadicated- A Salute To The 5 Royales 2011

2011-09-01T15:10:00.000-07:00

I've discussed with misgivings the Dreaded Tribute Album before. It is usually a disappointing mix of artists and styles and recording venues that combine to form a bit of a mish-mash that has a few great moments between mostly lackluster performances by artists often mismatched with material that doesn't suit them.

Well, as tribute records go, there is a new gold standard. The bar has been set, and it is very high indeed. And it should come as no surprise that the man making the best tribute record ever is Steve Cropper. Guitarist extraordinaire Cropper should need no introduction, but just in case, here goes. Guitarist for Booker T. and the M.G.s, both on their funky records and as the house band behind many if not most of the great soul records released on the Stax and Volt labels in the sixties. On many of those sessions, he was also a songwriter and/or producer. Guitarist for the Blues Brothers, who of course mostly lived off the Memphis and Muscle Shoals soul that Cropper help define. And really, that's just the beginning. He went on to produce many artists and recorded a number of solo albums.

This record is so good I don't know where to begin. Cropper admired Lowman Pauling, the guitarist of the 5 Royales, and was influenced early by Pauling's guitar playing. The 5 Royales recorded between 1950-1957, and it could be argued that they were combining R&B, Doo-Wop and Gospel into the precursor of soul music every bit as much as Ray Charles, who usually gets the credit. And it turns out that Pauling was also a fantastic songwriter.

But all that won't make for a great record either. First, the songs are great. Second, the band is Cropper, Muscle Shoals veteran David Hood on bass, the incomparable Spooner Oldham on piano, Steve Ferrone and Steve Jordan on drums, and producer Jon Tiven and The Daptone's Neal Sugerman on sax. And they are tight. Third, about half the vocal performances were actually recorded live with the band because all the guests contacted were falling all over themselves to participate in any project in which Cropper was involved. Fourth, the guest stars are really stars in their own right, no second-stringers hired to flesh out the record. Vocalists are B.B. King, Shemika Copeland, Sharon Jones, John Popper, Bettye LaVette, Steve Winwood, Delbert McClinton, Lucinda Williams, Dylan Leblanc, Dan Penn, and Buddy Miller. Miller and May also add even more killer guitar to Cropper's remarkable chops. Fifth, every performance is stellar. Band, arrangement, vocal- everything clicks. Sixth, and this one should have come first really, Steve Cropper plays the heck out of everything, in the most unassuming way possible. This guy is so good, and always has been, that it takes a while to realize just how magnificently he plays. He is a guitarist who has always served the song first and foremost, and never his ego.

Lucinda Williams doing Dedicated To The One I Love (it's too cool), Sharon Jones's Messin' Up, Buddy Miller's The Slummer The Slum, and Dan Penn's lovely reading of Someone Made You For Me are all great vocal performances backed by that stellar band, all recorded in Dan Penn's studio. The instrumental Think (yes, the song James Brown covered famously) shows off Cropper's skills both as guitarist and arranger/band leader. The rest of the songs? There isn't a single weak performance.

The recording is clean and neat, just like those Stax records of yore, but with modern production values. If you have any interest in Cropper's playing, or you just want to hear a killer record for a change, look no further. Five stars. This is not product. This is music lovingly prepared by talent of the highest caliber.

Maceo Parker Roots & Grooves 2008

2011-08-25T19:08:00.000-07:00

While we're in a funky mood- no better time for Maceo's remarkable 2-CD 2008 set.

Maceo Parker is the most famous of James Brown's soloists, and is one seriously funky dude. His work with Brown is rightfully heralded, but he's made plenty of great music since his days with the Godfather of Soul. From 1975-1985 he played with George Clinton's Parliament and on Bootsy Collins' solo records, and he's made some fifteen solo records since 1970. He's played on many records as a guest, and was featured on several of Prince's records in the last ten years (some of which are a lot better than you'd think).

But the title being discussed here is a monumental recording. Two CDs. Live in Europe with the WDR Big Band, a 20-piece ensemble with impressive skills of their own. The first CD is a Tribute To Ray Charles and the second is dubbed Back To Funk. The Ray Charles tribute disc is a thrill. Maceo sings most of the songs, and his singing is perfect for these tunes, and even sounds a bit like Ray himself. The arrangements and the work of both the star and his noble backing band- no, his fellow stars, the WDR Big Band- it all adds up to fun and beauty. Maceo even does a memorable Georgia On My Mind.

Then on the Back To Funk CD, the gang takes on a number of Maceo originals mostly originally recorded by Parliament or Bootsy, and as one song title states, this is Advanced Funk. A 17-minute Pass The Peas, with no less than six solos by horns, keys, guitar and drums, rounds out the set in fine style. When you're ready for an especially deep groove, look no further. Parker's solos on the entie CD are breathtaking. He is a soulful sax stylist of unparalleled expressiveness.

The recording is luminous. On a good stereo, you can experience new things with this CD. Clarity without edginess. Details abound. Rhythm and pacing that will keep you moving at all times. You can almost see where each player/section is on the stage.

The work of the WDR Big Band cannot be underestimated. And Maceo is thrilled to be in such company, and as such, rises to the occasion. Maceo's no spring chicken. This might be the best recording he ever makes. It definately in the running for the best he's made so far. Seriously. Landmark stuff.

Ernie Isley High Wire 1990

2011-08-23T17:56:00.000-07:00

Ernie Isley, a talented young Jimi Hendrix disciple, was the hot guitarist on all those excellent Isley Brothers seventies records (Who's That Lady, Live It Up!, etc.). He continued to record with the Isleys into the eigthies, and later with Isley/Jasper/Isley, and then again with Ronald Isley in the ninties. In 1990, he made this, his only solo effort. I don't think that many people heard it.

The record kicks off with Song For The Muses, a wailing funk guitar workout. Then the title track is one of those slinky sneaky funk jams that the Isleys were still capable of in the eighties. Later, Ernie shreds his axe on She Takes Me Up, which also has a classic funk bass line. Back To Square One rocks hard, and again features Isley's guitar in an impressive display.

Not everything works perfectly. There's a couple of sappy love songs. But most of what's here holds up darn well. Ernie's voice isn't Ronald's, far from it, but he's a passable singer at least, and occasionally gets soulful. But what you're here for is funk-rock of the highest order, and there are some choice slabs of guitar-heavy funk, and some gloriously deep grooves, that, if you like that kind of thing, are well worth your time. There's at least three that will make it to any great party playlist.

Get down. The only question left to answer now is if badself is one word or two (bad self).

Little Richard The Rill Thing 1970

2011-08-16T18:58:00.000-07:00

Little Richard had one strange career. His earliest work was some of the rockingest music of the fifties, equally as seminal and important as Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis or Buddy Holley. Any of his hits collections from the fifties is worth owning. He went back and forth between spiritual and rock music several times over the years, so there were many come-backs, and most of them didn't go that well. This one was something else.

A deep soul R&B Muscle Shoals sound pervades the record. The stomping Freedom Blues kicks things off in fine R&B style, and Richard is screaming at the top of his game to a great hook. It was Little Richard's first single to break into the top 50 in over ten years. Greenwood, Mississippi follows, and it is Creedence-sounding swamp rock done right. Two-Time Loser is built on a great guitar riff, with another stellar vocal. Dew Drop Inn sounds like it could have been recorded in his fifties heyday, with a hot sax break and wild piano. Somebody Saw You digs a deep groove, and Richard keeps the thing on fire with his singing. Spreadin' Natta, What's The Matter? ends the first side with another fine vocal over a rocking guitar figure, and another deep groove, almost James Brown-like.

And there's another side. The title cut is a 10-minute instrumental funk groove that cooks pretty well and stays mostly interesting in a Sly Stone way. It either gets you dancing or it's too long, but as ten minute funk tunes go, it's solid. Lovesick Blues is a Hank Williams country blues that Richard does with grace, but it doesn't really work for him that well. The album ends with Richard getting completely funky all over Lennon and McCartney's I Saw Her Standing There, with great horn charts and another vocal highlight. A surprisingly good cover of a song that never had much soul before this version.

Recorded in Muscle Shoals, the sound is magnificent in an old-school way. Twang on the guitar helps it cut through the mix. Snap on the drums does the same. The bass has that thick yet somehow tight sound that the best sixties southern soul shared. The horns sound great, too. And Little Richards sings like a man possessed, right out front in the mix.

I am certainly not all that familiar with Little Richard's output, but I am sure this is one of his better ones after his early work. And it seems to me that The Rill Thing could be a rare and unusual find for a soul, R&B, or funk lover that's never heard it.

April Smith and the Great Picture Show Songs For A Sinking Ship 2010

2011-08-09T18:42:00.000-07:00

I had the good pleasure of seeing April Smith and band live a few weeks ago in Elyria. They put on a fun show. This, her debut release, is much better put together than you might guess going in. The arrangements keep things interesting, and April, her voice, her lyrics, her tunes- all are operating at a very high level.

The sound is cabaret-styled much of the time, but she does it superbly. Her songs range from sweet ballads to pounding rockers. The writing is good, and the arrangements make the most of every song. Drummer Elliot Jacobson and guitarist Marty O'Kane are particularly key to the sound, and the band is tight.

April Smith has a big voice. A little coquettish when she's not belting it out, it's crystal clear and powerful. Not a subtle instrument, but it sure works for her songs, which seem to have a unique style that nobody else is doing right now. Nellie McKay is about the only comparison I can think of, and that's only a reference here and there. Some of the songs have a show tune quality, some a little old-time sounding, maybe a touch of ragtime or 40's big band (without the big band, but there is a bit of trumpet on a few). And all dressed up as hook-heavy pop.

The record opens with the 1-2 punch of the quick pop-rock of Movie Loves A Screen followed by Terrible Things, with its cabaret/march verses and big hooky rock chorus. Other highlights include Colors (stomping pop-rock with a crazy and fun "crowd" chorus), The One That Got Away (big rocker backed by a carnival organ sound), Beloved (ballad with string quartet adding depth), Wow And Flutter (quick tempo cabaret style again) and Stop Wondering (cute kiss-off song with a fun lyrical twist).

Occasionally, with so many songs having a punch line, the lyrical comedy can get old. But these are fun songs, not novelty songs. April can write a good lyrical twist and turn, and it does keep things entertaining. Her more somber moments (Beloved, What'll I Do) are strong numbers, and balance the frivolity.

Go see her live if she comes your way. She did a spectacular cover of You Don't Own Me the night I saw her. Until then, this CD might be just what you need.

Spinning Vinyl

2011-08-01T19:39:00.000-07:00

We've been here before. And here. And here. And here.

So this time no explanation, yes there was a theme, it wasn't always followed.
All vinyl, all in the last few hours, in this actual order:
Levon Helm: Rag Mama Rag and Time Out For The Blues, from Ramble At The Ryman, 2011
Grateful Dead: Mama Tried, from Grateful Dead, 1971
Eric Clapton: May You Never, Wonderful Tonight, and Lay Down Sally, from Slowhand, 1977
Nick Lowe: True Love Travels On A Gravel Road, from The Impossible Bird, 1994
John Hiatt: Drive South, from Slow Turning, 1988
Neil Young And Crazy Horse: Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere, from At The Fillmore 1970, 2006
Spoon: You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb and Rhythm & Soul, from Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga, 2007
Drive By Truckers: The Southern Thing, The Three Great Alabama Icons, and Wallace, from Southern Rock Opera, 2003
Fleetwood Mac: Lay It All Down, from Future Games, 1971
Van Morrison: Bulbs, from Veedon Fleece, 1974
Jim O Rourke: All Downhill from Here, from Insignificance, 2001
Wilco: Impossible Germany, from Sky Blue Sky, 2007
Gary Louris: True Blue, from Vagabonds, 2008
Rolling Stones: Wild Horses and I Can Hear You Knockin', from Sticky Fingers, 1971
Burning Spear: Live Good, from Marcus Garvey, 1975

That was fun.

Gon Out
Bakson
Bisy
Backson
CJ

Joss Stone LP1 2011

2011-07-27T18:12:00.000-07:00

Let's start with the scorecard. Ten songs, four very good or excellent. That's not a very good percentage. In fact, based on that standard, this is the weakest Joss Stone record yet.

Who can we blame? Two people mostly, Ms. Stone herself and producer, songwriter, guitarist David A. Stewart of Eurythmics fame. Stewart is not the first name I'd come up with as a producer of a soul record, and if Stone isn't going to sing soul, what's the point? This is also the first Joss Stone record where she is co-songwriter on all tracks, and frankly, she could use more help than she gets from Stewart and a scant few others.

Betty Wright did a fine job on the first two, and Nas and Raphael Saadiq (and several others) helped assemble the next two, which updated her old school soul with more contemporary fare. But David A. Stewart is just not the guy for this job, and this is the fist Joss Stone record that can't really be defined as soul. Recorded in Nashville. Nashville?

Newborn starts things off on a high note, and it's a good rock/soul ballad with a dynamic arrangement and one of Stone's better lyrics. Karma keeps the quality high, with a strong, angry Martina McBride lyric. It's not really a soul song though, and almost sounds like Pat Benatar. It has a Stevie Wonder funk-lite piano line as it's only concession to soul. Don't Start Lying To Me Now is a funky rocker with a strong lyric, great vocals (and background vocals), and that spit-the-words-out angry thing Stone does especially well. Somehow is a funky, slinky soul groove with a hooky chorus that Stone sings the crap out of. That's the four good ones.

Last One To Know is another rock ballad that sounds like a Melissa Etheridge song and goes on for too long. Drive All Night is an OK slow burner with deliberately sparse instrumentation that just doesn't do anything interesting. Cry Myself To Sleep is a mellow folk-rock thing that Cat Stevens might have done. Landlord is an acoustic guitar/vocal tune that is a failed attempt to pull off a Janis Joplin vibe. The lyric sounds forced. Boat Yard is a mid-tempo rocker that could have been filler on a Tom Petty record. And Take Good Care is an acoustic guitar-led folk song that sounds like the winner of a high school songwriting contest.

Ms. Stone has been screaming for her independence for years now. Her third record was called Introducing... and now her fifth is titled LP1. She didn't want those record company guys pushing her around. Turns out she was wrong. For a singer with such a soulful delivery, this rock product is way off the mark.

The four good ones are really good.

Suede (The London Suede) Coming Up 1988

2011-07-27T14:08:00.000-07:00

This record always struck a chord with me. Trash, Filmstar, Lazy, Beautiful Ones, The Chemistry Between Us, all of them are perfect David Bowie's Ziggy Stardust crossed with Mott The Hoople's Mott album. Pretty cool stuff really, and even the ballads (By The Sea, Saturday Night) are strong.

There are a few lesser moments, but how many great songs can anybody come up with? And even the lesser songs hold up. It is a CD you can listen to without having to fast forward or skip ahead (does anyone still do this, other than me?).

The singer, Brett Anderson, is completely affected in that cool, detached way, and the band plays tight, straight ahead glam rock old school. The record was a smash hit in the UK, making it to #1 on the album charts, and generating no less than five top-10 singles. It's that good.

Anyway, I still like it. If you've never heard it and you don't hate glam-rock, it's worth your time.

Cool Off

2011-07-25T17:54:00.000-07:00

Taking the Kelly challenge (see comments on the last post), since it's HOT, maybe we should try to chill a little.

Cool It Down- The Velvet Underground
Cool- West Side Story Soundtrack
Cool Operator- Sade
Cool Water- Joni Mitchell
Coolin' In Cali- 7A3
Cool Love- Wanda Jackson
Cool Turkey- James Booker
Cool Jerk- The Capitols
Cool Me Out- Lamont Dozier
Cool World- American Men

Midwest girl may still be too hot extra cut:

Cool Off- Detroit Executives

Special thanks to the new GEMM.com site search tool for helping me track down some obscurities!

Very Hot Hotness

2011-07-21T14:42:00.000-07:00

It is (at least) 95 degrees in Kleaveburg today.
I know it's hotter elsewhere, but here in the frozen north, it's smokin' hot for us.

Some Like It Hot- Power Station
Hot Fun In The Summertime- Sky And The Family Stone
Hot In The City- Billy Idol
Hot Summer Day- It's A Beautiful Day
Hot Hot Hot- Buster Poindexter
Hot For Teacher- Van Halen
Hot Smoke and Sassafras- The Bubble Puppy
Hot Plate Heaven At The Green Hotel- Frank Zappa
Hot 'lanta- The Allman Brothers
Hot Blood- Lucinda Williams
Too Darn Hot- Stacey Kent

Lucinda Williams Live at Nautica Stage Cleveland July 17, 2011

2011-07-17T19:09:00.000-07:00

A hot steamy night in Cleveland. With the Cuyahoga river behind her Lucinda gave a pretty fine performance.

The show started fairly slowly, with Lucinda and band playing some fine versions of slower material with nice feeling and solid jams. In fact I thought this was the best part of the show, the band interplay and the slow grind of many of these songs, and Lucinda's most poignant vocals. They started cooking a little harder near the end, but if you don't like her languid stuff you're going to want for more.

The set was rich in great songwriting, of course, with Blue, Drunken Angel, Joy, 2 Cool 2 Be 4-Gotten, World Without Tears (slow and smoking hot!), Honey Bee (hard rocking near the show's end), and Essence, which she did twice. The first time through, her voice cracked into a cough, and the band jammed out the song to it's end. Near the end of the show Lucinda called for a second take, and they burned the house down with Essence's slow smolder.

The new record was represented by Buttercup, Born To Be Loved, and Blessed, and all three were excellent. She went back to her early work for a hard-rockin' version of Changed The Locks, and it was nice to have a little angry Lucinda in the mix. I think she did Fruits Of My Labor. They did a knock-out version of Steven Still's For What It's Worth during the encore. Everything was really quite fine, with Lucinda's singing a highlight throughout.

The bass of David Sutton and drums of Butch Norton were tight and both players were locked in. Norton was outstanding. Val McCallum's guitar was mostly perfect, but he seemed to lose his way a few times.

Amos Lee opened the show, and brought a skilled band with him to flesh out his laid-back material. I'm not familiar with his work or material, but he and the band were up to the task. They were enjoyable.

Lucinda's putting on a fine show, and the tour is coming to your town. Go. Listen. Enjoy.

Jonatha Brooke Steady Pull 2001

2011-07-11T18:55:00.000-07:00

Jonatha Brooke has had an interesting career in pop-folk-rock-singer-songwriter territory, and while never quite breaking huge, she's continued to make good records and perform fine shows. She started off in a band called The Story with fellow singer Jenifer Kimball, and that band made pretty good folk-pop. I always thought Angel In The House, their 1993 swansong, was a good record, with some outstanding songs. But Brooke has matured in both writing and singing, and has made some recent records that defy categories and are delightful. My favorite is Steady Pull.

This record rocks. If you want to hear a typically more mild-mannered artist cranked up to rocking, here you go. Bob Clearmoutain (Bryan Adams, Rolling Stones, Hall & Oates) produced, and the band is a highly skilled set of studio pros (and maybe some of Brooke's touring band). And that does not mean that they sound like Toto. They cook. The songs are killer, and mostly a little less dark than some of her records. It's like Jonatha Brooke on beach steroids. I often think of Aimee Mann as too laid back, but not on I'm With Stupid, she rocked that one. This is Jonatha Brooke's I'm With Stupid.

There's so many good songs- Linger, Red Dress, How Deep Is Your Love?, Room In My Heart, New Dress, Steady Pull- really, almost everything, that there's no reason to go over the details. If you like Jonatha Brooke, and you haven't heard this, you must hear it. If you've never heard of Jonatha Brooke, this is a great place to start. If you like smart female singer-songwriters with a tough edge and a feminine core, you can't go wrong.

The Pointer Sisters The Pointer Sisters 1973

2011-07-07T06:58:00.000-07:00

There's a reason why this is one of my favorite records, and it isn't just the performance, although that is particularly hard to fault. It was 1973. I was still (just) a teenager, and music was all about meaning and message. And everything was important. And along comes this record, all Delta bijoux Southern-fried funky sass and swing revival.

Sung by four angelic voices, written and arranged with great care by talented artists and producers, and sounding not quite like anything I'd ever heard. And I daresay like nothing I've heard since.

Allan Tousaint's Yes We Can Can kicks things off in high fashion with it's upbeat message, and it is a keeper, with the sneaky vocal arrangement it is easily my favorite version of the song, among several great ones. Cloudburst is a fast and furious romp of a song, and Jada is a sweet homage to motherhood. Both sound like they're from the forties. River Boulevard is a stompin' rocker with a funky bass line that cooks. Old Songs longs for the day and the songs that recall those special memories, and does so to a memorable vocal arrangement. On side two, That's How I Feel and Willie Dixon's Wang Dang Doodle are both long funky workouts that dig a deep groove. Between them, Sugar, Pains And Tears, and Naked Foot continue the Andrews Sisters on steroids and whiskey vocal stylings that pervade the record.

And it is those vocals, the close harmonies of sisters, real sisters, not just sistas, that makes this record so good. But it's more than that, too. Because the Pointer Sisters kept making records, and for a while they tried to make this one again, and they never could. (Or maybe they foolishly tried not to make this one again.) The material is strong, and the production is excellent, the band is hot and tight, and the funk is real. Check it out. This is not that terrible disco group that came later, this is The Pointer Sisters.

The Friends Of Distinction Grazin' 1969

2011-07-05T17:05:00.000-07:00

The Friends Of Distinction were an interesting act, and this, their first LP release, is a great find in a used record shop. The late sixties-early seventies were an oft-overlooked, highly fertile time for soul music. Motown was struggling to remain relevant in a flower-power world (and doing a fine job, at least in retrospect), Philly soul sounds were being birthed, and soul-pop still could find room on the radio dial.

The four vocalists of the group were Floyd Butler, Harry Elston, Jessica Cleaves, and Barbara Love, so it is hard not to draw the Fifth Dimension comparisons, and this record holds up just fine compared to that fabled group.

The record opens with the classic Grazing In The Grass, which takes the Hugh Masekela trumpet song to new heights with a snappy lyric and a faster, Stone Soul Picnic feel. It's an amazing single, and garnered them their greatest chart success. 1970's Love Or Let Me Be Lonely was as close as they ever got again to that level on the charts. I've Never Found A Girl is a smooth soul tune with the pop-soul sound of the Fifth Dimension. I Really Hope You Do has a soul-jazz mellow vibe. Sweet Young Thing Like You has a Motown feel, like a Smokey Robinson or Temptations song, and a good one. Side one ends on Going In Circles, the second single, a top twenty performer, which brings a smooth Al Green-style understated vocal on the verses mixed with big Temptations harmonies on the chorus. The song builds slowly until it develops into a huge soul treat.

Side two holds up pretty darn well, too. The cover of Eli's Coming is a little too fast, but the big production number is a showcase for some fine female vocal gymnastics. Help Yourself sounds like the Fifth Dimension again, with too many tempo changes, but a tricky vocal arrangement that saves it. A cover of the Lennon-McCartney And I Love Him features a female lead that sounds like Marilyn McCoo and includes a Philly soul sound and a different approach to this oft-covered tune- and it works. Lonesome Mood is a Cole Porter tune that the group performs with a big band arrangement and a jazz vocal style reminiscent of Manhattan Transfer (on their good days). It's jazzy and special. Only Baby I Could Be So Good At Loving You (Broadway anyone?) and Peaceful (smooth pop hippy vibe) disappoint.

I haven't heard their other records, except for the 1973 Greatest Hits, and it is killer. The group hung on until 1975, but no singles or albums charted after 1971. I love the soul that was being made in the early seventies, and much of it sneaked by unnoticed the first time. The vinyl isn't expensive used, but it is a value purchase.

Lady Gaga Born This Way 2011

2011-06-29T15:27:00.000-07:00

Those of you who read this blog regularly (and I just know there's 4 or 5 of you) probably have a sense of my musical taste. And it had to come as a surprise (disappointment?) when I reviewed the first set from Gaga back here.

Oh well. It is my wife's fault. But as with most of her ideas, my initial trepidation was later reversed by my own enjoyment. Of half the record anyway.

This new one is OK, but not quite as interesting as the first. There's 17 songs here, so that's a lot of space to fill up with ideas, and there are clearly less than 17 ideas. So some of it is obvious filler. Also, the novelty of the "New Madonna" thing is wearing off.

The thing that hurts it the most is the writing. Almost all of the song are written by Gaga with Paul Blair and/or Fernando Garibay (way too many). Redone returns for a few, but only Hair represents the same quality he brought to the first record. There were more writers involved in the first one, so there was more variety. But there's still some good stuff here.

The highlights include the title cut, a blatant rewrite of Madonna's Express Yourself with a little Vogue in the middle eight, and Hair, a great teen girl anthem with the line "I'm as free as my hair. I am my hair" sung with the conviction only a fifteen year old girl could bring to those words. Bad Kids is another teen anthem, but it's also pretty good. Fashion Of His Love is a Big Rock Anthem done, again, a la Madonna, with different Madonna riffs borrowed throughout.

Highway Unicorn (Road To Love) is a mix of Gaga, Bon Jovi and Madonna all wrapped up in another Big Song. You And I changes things up from the rock anthems to a big country ballad. It sounds like one of those barely country things Keith Urban or Shania Twain does. The Edge Of Glory returns to arena rock, with a giant chorus that sounds like a Journey song (with a sax solo by Clarence Clemons!).

So there's seven that I like. Not a great return on your investment, really. There's at least five more that are interesting (Marry The Night- standard disco, but good, the quasi-Latin Americano, Scheibe, a darn good faux-Kraut-rock disco tune, Bloody Mary-nicely developed melody, but sounds plastic, and Queen, a pretty good pop tune). Five others could have been left off the record.

If there's four or five from the first album that I'll like hearing five years from now, there's probably only a couple on this one that are that good. I should also mention the sound. It's overcompressed. Not as bad as a few I've heard, but bad enough. And there are no sounds on this record that could ever be called organic. This is polished product, not made for anything except dancing. But you can enjoy it that way.

Leven Helm Ramble At The Ryman 2011

2011-06-26T16:05:00.000-07:00

Levon Helm has a new record out, and it is cause for celebration. Recorded live at the Grand Old Opry's Ryman Auditorium with the crack Levon Helm Band augmented by an All-Star lineup of guests, it's rich with fine performances. Larry Campbell has been with Levon for several years, and his guitar playing, writing and arranging are excellent. Little Sammy Davis sings his ragged blues on quite a few songs, and his harmonica lights up several. The horn section is talented and the horn charts are especially good, veering between New Orleans and Muscle Shoals, and adding depth, soul and interest along the way. Amy Helm and Teresa Williams sing like angels. And Levon sounds great.

The record, a 2-LP set, opens with Ophelia, a staple in Helm's live shows, and an oft-overlooked Band gem. It rocks, and the horns shine. Chuck Berry's Back To Memphis follows, and keeps the energy up high, the band cooking with gas and Helm having a fine time. Fannie Mae and Baby Scratch My Back follow, both featuring Little Sammy Davis's vocal and harmonica, and really the whole band. Guitar, horn, harmonica and piano solos - everybody gets a feature.

The high wail of The Band's Evangeline, with Sheryl Crow helping out Amy and Teresa's vocals is good, although I'm not quite as fond of Helm's more authentic Appalachian moments, and this is one of several on the record. Crow sticks around for the Carter family's No Depression In Heaven, and it's OK. Then it's Buddy Miller singing his own Wide River To Cross, and Miller is very very good, and the songs benefits from lovely harmonies on the chorus. Deep Elem Blues features the band again to excellent effect, with guitar, piano and sax solos, and a rolling shuffle of good old-timey fun.

Anna Lee begins side three, and it's more of Helm's country traditionalism, but a sparse arrangement and heavenly harmonies are ethereal. A fine rendition of Rag Mama Rag follows, and then Amy takes the lead on Time Out For The Blues, a rollicking blues stomp featuring the band again, and they're smokin'. The side ends with A Train Robbery, the last of Levon's lonesome country blues before the excitement of side four rips the roof off.

Side four is The Shape I'm In (sung by Davis), Chest Fever (with Campbell's guitar playing the organ parts), and The Weight (with John Hiatt trading verses with Levon). All three are great Band songs that are done to perfection with both reverence and updated arrangements, and crazy good ensemble playing.

Levon's on a roll of late, and this is one of his best ever.

Jimi Hendrix Live At Woodstock 1999

2011-06-21T18:44:00.000-07:00

I've been tempted by this record many times. Historical Document, yeah yeah, blah blah, etc. But I knew the story of Hendrix's little-rehearsed band and even though this was finally the (almost) entire set, I just never went for it. So the other day I'm at the library, and I stumble onto the 2 CD set.

I cannot begin to tell you how happy I am that I did not spend a dime of my hard-earned money on this really bad Hendrix live recording. Don't get me wrong, there's plenty of Hendrix I love. The three studio records released during his brief life are near perfect, each in a different way. But I've never been a big fan of posthumous records culled from recordings that were not worthy the first time around.

And nobody would have released this material if Hendrix were a seventy year old geezer rocker today. He wouldn't have allowed it, unless he'd become a washed-up old has-been pushing "The Golden Sixties" three-CD set on late night TV. Which somehow seems hard to fathom.

First, the recording sucks. You can only really hear Hendrix, Billy Cox on bass, and the inimitable Mitch Mitchell on drums. The two percussionists and rhythm guitar are all but inaudible. Given the reputation of this short-lived experimental line-up, that may not be the worst thing about the record, but we'll never know, because you can't hear them. It's a sound board recording, and as such, not the worst, but that's only really good enough to be released when the performance is transcendent. A few Grateful Dead performance records come to mind. Not so much this debacle.

What you can hear is plenty bad enough. Billy Cox hasn't become familiar enough with these songs to sound like the solid foundational player he would become on Band Of Gypsies. Mitch Mitchell shines brightest, but only because I love his wild way with the kit. Hendrix himself seems mortified, uncharacteristically apologizing throughout the set. And although there are moments of greatness, it sounds like Hendrix is just way to stoned to play at the top of his game. And did I mention that the band were ill-rehearsed? This sounds like three guys flailing at instruments, maybe not even aware of each other most of the time.

The highlights, you ask? A crazy Spanish Castle Magic is worth hearing. The version of Fire is good (of course there are many better), and the first half of Voodoo Child (Slight Return) is some killer Hendrix guitar, and it sounds like the band at least remembers how that one goes. The Star Spangled Banner is, well, it's of it's time, and you've heard it before.

The Sly and the Family Stone Woodstock Experience 2009 is the record to buy if you want to hear a great set at Woodstock. Hendrix was in a purple haze.

Dan Hicks and the Hot Licks Beatin' The Heat 2000

2011-06-14T17:55:00.000-07:00

Back in 2000, Dan Hicks did an amazing thing when he released this record. It was the perfect come-back, except Hicks had never come the first time. Dan Hicks had some fleeting success in the early seventies, but even his most die hard fans would have to concede that this is his best record. Ever. So not so much a comeback, as a career highlight and defining moment.

The songs are terrific, and Hicks' easy, laid-back, suave and debonair, and hilarious, delivery is perfect. The record opens with My Cello, a uniquely twisted ode to that fine instrument, and a sneaky shuffle of a love song. I Don't Want Love follows, and it's an hilarious song about "if love makes you not want food, I don't want love". It's great. No foolin'. That's followed by an excellent updating of the classic Hot Licks oldie I Scare Myself. The title tune is a pop gem that swings a duet with Bette Midler. He Don't Care is an outrageously funny ode to the wacky tobacky.

And the hits keep on coming. Humming To Myself, Chattanooga Shoe-Shine Boy, I've Got A Capo On My Brain, and Don't Stop The Meter, Mack are all right there in the quality department. And Hick's version of Tom Wait's The Piano Has Been Drinking (Not Me) is priceless.

The blend of blues, ragtime, vaudeville, folk, swing, and pop is eclectic. It's also all-over-the-map and a bit coy at the same time. But the songs are very good. The production is the best he's ever had. And Hicks himself is both a new man and the same old guy he'd always been. It's fun, and you can dance to some of it. You'll laugh, and you won't have to cry. It is far and away the funniest pop record in the last decade.

Glyn Johns

2011-06-07T18:34:00.000-07:00

Glyn Johns is a recording engineer, producer, and mixing engineer on scores of records, and they all sound very good. The music may not always be there, but when it is, and the chemistry is working between Johns and the artist, great things happen.

His early work was engineering several Rolling Stones records in the sixties, but by the early seventies he was producing while continuing his engineering work.

He produced some of the finest recorded rock music ever. In 1971 alone he produced The Faces A Nod Is As Good As A Wink... To A Blind Horse, The Who's Who's Next, and Boz Scagg's Boz Scaggs and Band. That was a good year. All three of those records are sonically flawless, and they are also perfect performances by bands at the peak of their power.

He went on to produce and engineer the first Eagles records, and I know, they're pretty dated now, but they sound great! He produced many of Joan Armatrading's overlooked gems, a few of Clapton's late seventies records (which are quite fine in retrospect), some excellent John Hiatt eighties outings, and The Subdudes' fine Annunciation. The list goes on and on. His list of engineering credits is even longer than that of his production work. As recently as the late nineties, he remained current and vital, producing Joe Satriani and Belly. He's also engineered and produced many excellent box sets and Best Of's.

He had an excellent ear, and he recorded rock music as well as anyone. He seems to have retired about 13 years ago, and should be in his early seventies by now. The picture above is from 2007. Let's hope this entry finds him well. A gentleman and a skilled artisan. A producer with impeccable taste and enormous talent.

Audio-Technica ATH-ANC7 Active Noise-Cancelling Headphones

2011-06-05T18:10:00.000-07:00

I recently returned from a wonderful 12-day trip to Alaska. It was magnificent. Mountains, wildlife,
and more wildlife. And there was very good food, and very good beer.
Everything in Alaska is very far apart. And Alaska itself is far far away. So there are long times spent in transit, often in noisy vehicles such as jets, buses and trains (which, in Alaska, is a nice way to get around).

Which brings me to the headphones. I don't know if they are the best noise-cancelling headphones made, but they work great, and they sound very good. In fact they have a very musical sound that rivals my headphones at home. The iPod drives them plenty loud, and of course the beauty of the noise-cancelling technology is that you don't have to turn them way up to drown out the din of a jet engine. The jet engine noise is reduced to a point where you can listen to music at reasonable levels. This is a very big blessing.

They work with the movies on the plane, too.

They even work with no music on. I keep them on when I'm just reading on the plane. You can hear conversation that is directed towards you, but people don't know that, which prevents them from striking up a conversation. This can be an invaluable asset on a long plane ride. Nice to meet you, I'm putting my headphones on now.

Dusty Springfield Dusty In Memphis 1969 and various compilations

2011-05-17T17:12:00.001-07:00

Much has been written about Dusty In Memphis, and if any record ever deserved the press, this one does. It makes everyone's list of best albums, and for good reason. First, the songwriting is impeccable, with Randy Newman, Mann and Weil, Goffin and King, Bacharach and David all contributing. Next, the recording is beautiful, with Dusty riding over a perfect soul-pop backdrop. Dusty didn't so much adjust to Memphis, as Memphis adjusted to her. Perfectly. Third, well, Dusty sings her heart out. You should own this record. If I have to tell you that, where have you been? Available in all your premium formats, and worth every penny.

But Dusty Springfield had quite a long and hit-filled career before this classic arrived, and continued to make some good music into the eighties at least. There are numerous compilations available, and they are tempting. But which one? Well, looking things over, the best of the single-disc jobs would be probably be Silver Collection, a reasonably-priced import release. But who really wants a single disc by Dusty? For the 2-disc set there's Gold, also an import at an unusually good price. The American released Gold, with a different cover (Dusty on a blue background), has many fewer songs and costs more.

A more microcosmic look can be had with the Complete A And B Sides 1963-1970. It's another 2 disc set, but focuses on her post-Springfields sixties hit-making period, and the B sides hold a few treasures. Many are unavailable anywhere else (other than the original U.K. released 45s)

For those of you willing to make a commitment, there's The Dusty Springfield Anthology, a three-disc set that includes just about all the important material. I'm repeatedly surprised at how often I can listen to at least the first or second discs clear through. The last disc gets a little shaky, and there were some bumpy times for Dusty in the eighties, but there's also a few pearls. This compilation really lets you experience everything she did, even some of the less successful, but no less sublime, moments.

I can't end without mentioning one other single disc. And that would be Cameo, from 1973. An overlooked gem, this is an excellent record, not unlike Gladys Knight's work around the same time. Not perfect, but perhaps Dusty's last great record in it's whole. Usually pretty easy to find in used vinyl. Side one is perfection.

So there you go. My advice is the whole enchilada: Dusty In Memphis and The Dusty Springfield Anthology. Yes, the Anthology has six songs from Memphis, but the other five, well, the record just doesn't work without them.

Michael Landau, Robben Ford, Jimmy Haslip, Gary Novak Renegade Creation 2010

2011-05-16T15:11:00.000-07:00

Here's an idea. Take two particularly hot jazz/blues session guitarists, add a talented bass player/ producer and an incendiary drummer, and make a blues-rock record.

Landau and Ford are both best known for blues work, but both have done session work in a variety of settings. Haslip is a member of the fusion group Yellowjackets, and has done production and bass work for multiple artists. Novak is a highly respected drummer who has worked mostly in jazz, but he also toured with Alanis Morissette.

Landau and Ford write the songs, and they are certainly capable writers, although the lyrical content is occasionally weak. You don't care. You're here for blues-rock guitars. And this group brings that in spades. What's Up is a funky, stomping rocker, and God And Rock 'N Roll, The Darkness, the title track, Who Do You Think You Are, Where The Wind Blows, and Brothers all follow suit, rocking hard and featuring crazy great drumming and wildly hot and creative guitar solos. Destiny Over Me and Peace both slow the pace, but they are also excellent.

The vocals are good. I prefer Landau as a singer, but that's just me. Ford's thin voice has never excited me much. But again, this record is about guitars, guitars, guitars. If you need a dose of some hot guitar, take this CD and call me in the morning.

The Damnwells No One Listens To The Band Anymore 2010

2011-05-10T18:23:00.000-07:00

I've been enamored of the band Del Amitri for a long time now. One of the best straight up rock and roll bands of the nineties, with big, tasteful guitars, hook-filled choruses, minor-key angst, and strong lyrical content. Their Some Other Sucker's Parade remains a high-water mark for the band.

So now here's this fairly young band from Brooklyn making a big rock record full of emotional statements tied to big melodic rock. There's moments of U2, Tom Petty, and Mellencamp, but it is Del Amitri's best work that most comes to mind. The songs' minor keys, tales of heartache, and Alex Dezen's voice all sound like Justin Currie of Del Amitri.

From the title track's hook-filled Petty/Mellencamp hybrid, to Let's Be Civilized's cooking harmonica break, to the acoustic ballad turned stomping rocker of The Monster, to the big building ballad The Same Way that ends the record, almost everything is top notch. There are a few acoustic ballads (good ones), but mostly the record rocks pretty steady. The guitars are especially excellent and provide texture and depth to the arrangements. Mid-tempo rockers benefit from hooks and creative guitar fills just as much as the faster songs, and the lyrics are not stupid, and are frequently original.

Need another rock band in your life? Wish Del Amitri were still around? Either way, the Damnwells have you covered.

Jackson Browne Hold Out 1980

2011-05-04T18:59:00.000-07:00

It occurred to me recently that I write almost entirely about records I like. Well, I am writing mostly about records I own. And if I really don't like them, eventually I sell them or otherwise dispose of them.

But there's always a few in the stacks that even I wonder why I keep. Which brings us to Jackson Browne's Hold Out. Browne has made a few of my favorites (his eponymous debut, Late for the Sky, I'm Alive), but this one is everything wrong about the eighties.

You know you're in trouble when any record opens with a song titled Disco Apocalypse, and it's at least as bad as it sounds. That Girl Could Sing is almost good enough, but it has the same keyboard-driven sheen that hurts the rest of this unusually disastrous LP. Hold On Hold Out may be the worst song he ever wrote, but several others on this record might also qualify. The lyrical awkwardness Browne displays on this record is shocking after his first five records, which all contained great songs.

The attempt to make Browne sound contemporary in the eighties couldn't be wronger. Keyboards abound and the inorganic feel of this music serves Browne particularly badly. But mostly it is the songs. Awkward lyrics hung on melodies that lack, well, melody. About the only thing that might be worse than this would be the rest of Browne's eighties output, his politically charged (but melodically challenged) Lawyers In Love 1983, Lives In The Balance 1986, and World In Motion 1989.

But this one deserves it's place as one terrible Jackson Browne record. The irony is that this was Browne's only record to chart at #1, but that is only because it followed The Pretender 1976 and Running On Empty 1977.

Thankfully Browne recovered in 1993 when he released I'm Alive, an emotional record on the heels of his much-publicized ugly break-up with Daryl Hannah, and a return to form. He came through again in 2002 with The Naked Ride Home, and his recent Solo Acoustic series isn't bad either. All of his first five records are excellent.

Bruce Hornsby Hot House 1995 and Spirit Trail 1998

2011-05-02T18:35:00.000-07:00

Bruce Hornsby made three records with The Range in the eighties, and they were certainly well-crafted, well-received product made for fans of post-Police Sting. They were good records with interesting pop ideas, but Hornsby had more to offer.

He began his solo career in earnest in the nineties while also playing piano fairly regularly with the Grateful Dead. Hot House, his second release under his own name, is an excellent rocking piano record. Spider Fingers kicks things off with a driving rhythm, rocking piano and a hot drum line. Just a taste of bluegrass colors White Wheeled Limousine, another driving beat pushing the song forward. The Tango King stomps with a Band-like organ figure and organic feel. Big Rumble, Country Doctor, Hot House Ball and Cruise Control are all up-tempo rockers that add various textures to the record, with big horn arrangements, talented guest stars, and Hornsby's easy and talented singing. John Molo's drumming is a consistent high point.

The slower songs are just as good, with the single Walk In The Sun, the jazzy The Changes, and melancholic The Longest Night all adding great songs to the mix. But this baby rocks better than almost any other piano-led record. There's enough fast songs to take it on a road trip. In a perfect world there would have been five hit singles.

Three years later, the follow-up, Spirit Trail, a sprawling 2-CD affair, proved that Hornsby knew another way to make a great record. A mix of great songs similar to those on Hot House, plus solo piano compositions, longer jam-band styled pieces, Range-like earnest ballads, and that singular approach to Americana that fuses Grateful Dead, The Band and Dr. John.

It's got everything he has to offer, and almost every song is a keeper. From the opening rocker King Of The Hill to his reimaging of China Cat Sunflower to the solo piano Song D, it all works.

These two mid-nineties records really capture a man at the top of his game. If you're looking for the best from a beguiling if somewhat inconsistent artist, it's right here.

Richie Havens Richard P. Havens,1983 1969

2011-04-28T18:10:00.000-07:00

I was never a huge fan of Richie Havens, but this record stuck in my craw. I purchased it in 1969 or shortly thereafter, and I loved it because it was so different that it made me cool.

Then I got tired of it, and retired the pretense that made me love it in the first place. And I sold it off.

Twenty years later I'm in a used record store and they have a pristine copy. How else could this end?

That was almost ten years ago, and I've revisited the record many times. I don't usually make it through the entire double LP, but there's always some tracks that are uniquely Havens in a good way.

Four Beatles covers, one Dylan, one Donovan, one Cohen, and still, the two best songs- Stop Pulling And Pushing Me and Indian Rope Man- are Havens originals. Pretty impressive. His covers are fairly straight versions of the songs, but always go somewhere new. Sometimes to alarming effect, sometimes to the sublime.

This music is very much of it's time, and Haven's voice goes from interestingly captivating to annoying pretty fast. But Haven's guitar tunings are different, and his rhythmic sense is almost jazz-like. And it's folk music. As folk music, it was pushing the boundaries, and that can only be a good thing for folk music any time.

A remarkable artifact of the sixties, and at least half the songs are good. The original Verve vinyl is a sonic delight, and the record sold fairly well, so there are usually used copies around to be snapped up. A risky purchase perhaps, but sometimes therein lies a unique reward.

Melody Gardot My One And Only Thrill 2009

2011-04-26T17:14:00.001-07:00

You haven't heard this? Well, it's time to rectify that.

Melody Gardot is a perfect cross between Diana Krall and Norah Jones. How could you not like that? O.K., there a bunch of ways to not like it. Maybe you're mostly into Urban Contemporary. Nothing wrong with that. This might not be your thing.

But if you're into Jones and love Krall, you're going to like this. It's not all about execution (but the talent here is remarkable), it's how it feels. Soulfull, rhythmic, jazzy, lusty, smoky, and both deep and easy to listen to. Yipes.

Like Jones, the songs are Gardot compositions, and the mere fact that she can both write this stuff and sing it this well is exceptional. If you liked that Robin Stine record I recommended, this is significantly better. The songs have luscious string arrangements, the players are skilled, the recording is meritorious. Sometimes you think of Joni Mitchell in a jazzy mood, sometimes Nat Cole, other times Gardot is uniquely her our creation.

It has languid moments. But mostly it's just plain killer mellow jazz female vocal with ace accompaniment. If you like that sort of thing, this works. In spades.

The Rubinoos The Rubinoos 1977

2011-04-19T17:52:00.000-07:00

Perfect pop music. One part Raspberries, one part Beach Boys, one part Beau Brummels, and a dash of The Monkeys. Songwriting. Check. Singer. Check. Guitarist. Check. Tight band and pitch perfect harmonies. Check check.

Impossible to describe, but even the sad songs (and they are few) sound happy. The band is a quality four-piece that could play anything, but choose this cross between hard power pop and bubblegum. Jon Rubin's clear, high voice is ridiculous, like a much stronger young Brian Wilson.

While power pop often hearkens back to British roots, there are nothing except All-American influences on display here. California sunshine, top down cruising music, first love. A fine cover of Tommy James' I Think We're Alone Now. And the rest of the songs, all original, are even better.

The follow-up, Back To The Drawing Board 1979, is every bit as good.

Swan Dive Swan Dive 2000

2011-04-17T17:11:00.000-07:00

I've always been a sucker for great pop. Bacharach, David and Warwick are the kind of pop I'm talking about. Dusty Springfield. Jackie DeShannon. This band, from Nashville, are rock author, songwriter and musician Bill DeMain and singer Molly Felder, and they recall all of those references and more.

The record is almost the same as the Japan-only Circle from 1998, with a few changes, including a fine Heart Of Glass, with Felder getting as much out of the song as Debbie Harry's original.

There's catchy beats, swinging rhythms, cool harmonies, excellent production and arrangements, Felder's outstanding singing, and DeMain's incredible songs, that are at once derivative and uniquely his own. They sound like the spirit of those fine pop acts of the sixties and early seventies have come back to life, but in something new and contemporary.

What more could you need? The ballads are soft and evocative. The rockers/swingers are too much fun, Circle and Moodswinging leading the pack. DeMain is both pop/rock historian and reconstructionist. Felder has a beautiful voice, and she can sing with it, feel with it.

It's a bright sunny day on a little silver disc, it's magic.

Christy McWilson The Lucky One 2000

2011-04-10T17:45:00.000-07:00

Christy McWilson's The Lucky One is a remarkably solid country-rock record that sounds (in a good way) like the best of Emmylou Harris' and Linda Rondstadt's better moments from the seventies. Only better.

What makes it better is the rocking production of Dave Alvin of Blasters fame, and the exceptional band that Alvin put together for the session, including Peter Buck, Rob Glaub, Don Heffington, and Greg Leisz. McWilson has a beautiful, strong voice and she is a fine songwriter. The songs could have sounded like typical quality country music (obviously not the stuff on "country" radio), but instead, they rock hard with Alvin's production and relatively quick tempos. Which is even more appropriate given the generally sad nature of McWilson's lyrics. Let these songs be presented in slow, delicate arrangements and you've got a recipe for disaster of the boring kind.

But no boredom here. A crack ace band, a producer with a punkabilly background, and great songs sung with taste, verve and feeling. The rockers- Little Red Hen, Someday, The Weight Of The World, Cryin' Out Loud - are all big fun, and rock hard. The more country material- The Lucky One, Wishin', Apple Doll, Fly Away- all benefit from playing, singing and arranging at very high quality levels, and tempos that while slower, aren't particularly slow. Her cover of Brian Wilson's 'Til I Die is sumptuous, rich and luxurious. If you're going to slow down for something, 'Til I Die is perfect.

If you'd like to hear a country singer in a slightly different (and significantly better) setting than most of what passes for country music these days, here's a delightful option.

Lee Michaels 1969

2011-04-06T19:07:00.000-07:00

OK, there is no reason to bring up this album, or the wacky history of Michaels' career, but my iPod, just a little while ago, played his remarkable version of Stormy Monday from this 1969 jewel of a record, while in the midst of one of those amazing iPod shuffle moments. The crazy twenty-minute Tell Me How Do You Feel medley that is the first side of the record is manna from hippie heaven. Who Could Want More and Heighty Hi are pretty good, too.

Michaels was quite a character. A footnote in rock history today, he tried to sabotage his own career on several occasions, and he in fact succeeded. Hardly the first, but Michaels did it in style. After two mostly neglected baroque-rock records in 1968, Michaels took to the Hammond B3, and with drummer "Frosty" Smith-Frost, recorded this amazing record live in the studio. And they did this record live every night. I was fifteen when I saw them open for Jethro Tull, doing most of this record. That's probably why I love it more than you might.

After this effort, Michaels came back with Barrel in 1970, and played more piano than organ. As a snapshot into 1970 it's pretty good, and it has a great cover of Moby Grape's Murder In My Heart For The Judge. Michaels fifth record, Fifth, brought his greatest chart success with Do You Know What I Mean, a top ten single. Lee Michaels, Barrel, and Fifth 1971 are all worth hearing. But especially Lee Michaels.

From 1972 it was crash and burn time for Michaels. 1972 saw Space And First Takes, a terrible record on which Michaels played guitar. Huh? Guitar? And he's only a passing guitarist. 1973's Live tried to repeat the third record's formula with limited success. Switching to Columbia in 1973 he released Nice Day For Something. I can't remember much about it. At one time I owned all three of these 72-73 records, and they have all been removed from the stacks many moons ago. He made a couple more in the mid seventies before disappearing altogether.

But for two years between 1969 and 1971, he made some pretty good records, and one wild organ rock classic. He also had a fine voice with an incredible high register. I can't really recommend these records to you, because maybe you had to be there. But if you'd like to try something different, even if it's a little dated, there is treasure buried here.

Spinning Vinyl

2011-04-02T11:22:00.000-07:00

If you've read this blog before, you know I like vinyl. It's not just that it sounds warmer and more rhythmic than CD, it's also that the records I love from the sixties and seventies, some of my favorite stuff, is on vinyl in my collection. Last night I got home early from work and my wife called to say she would be late. Opportunity knocks. Turn it up.

I started with Springsteen's The River 1980, side two, with Hungry Heart, Out In The Street, Crush On You, You Can Look (But You Better Not Touch), I Wanna Marry You, and The River. Talk about your classic album side. Like most two-LP affairs, The River is a sprawling effort, but side two is perfect. From there I pulled out The Best Of The J. Geils Band 1979 for Southside Shuffle and Give It To Me. Hey, it was Friday- need I say more? This also explains Mountain's Mississippi Queen from their 1970 debut Climbing!

I slowed things down for a steamy blues (Go-Go Boots) and a country weeper (Dancin' Ricky) from The Drive-By Truckers latest Go-Go Boots 2011. While doing the southern thing, I played One Way Out from The Allman Brothers Eat A Peach 1972. One of their hottest moments, even with so many to choose from.

How I then chose The Electric Flag An American Music Band 1968 is a mystery, but Hey Little Girl with Nick Gravenites' great vocal, and Buddy Miles' Mystery were both fun to hear, if just a bit dated. Quickly back to Friday night territory, I played Funk 49 by the James Gang from The Best Of The James Gang 1973. Joe Walsh is a spectacular guitarist. Period. Midnight Man from the same record was fun, as I hadn't heard it in a while.

Australia from The Kinks Arthur 1969 has always been a favorite. Another great guitar song. Dave Davies' lead/jam on the song's four-minute "fade" is wonderful, and an unusual extended form for the Kinks. This lead into Bob Weir's Ace 1972, and I listened to the hilarious Mexicali Blues, the rocking (especially for the Dead) One More Saturday Night, and the gorgeous ballad Cassidy. This record qualifies for top five Grateful Dead studio records easily in my book.

I haven't listened to Santana in a while, so I listened to Samba Pa Ti, Hope You're Feeling Better, and El Nicoya from Abraxas 1970. I could have chosen better Santana material, frankly, and by then my wife was due home, so I switched gears to Norah Jones for side one of The Fall 2009. This record keeps growing on me. It's mellow, but it pulsates. And her singing and writing and the arrangements are all strong.

Then I stumbled upon George Harrison's swansong Brainwashed 2002, and I listened to Between The Devil And The Deep Blue Sea, Rocking Chair In Hawaii, and Brainwashed. Like all of Harrison's records, it's not perfect, but there are some fine moments.

As we sat down to dinner my wife asked me to play that record I had on the other night, so I dropped the needle on John Hiatt's 1987 gem Bring The Family. There are not many records that come this close to perfect. We listened to the whole record. Bring The Family has it all- Hiatt's best collection of songs ever (and he's done much outstanding songwriting), his consistently great singing, the most amazing "back-up band" ever (Jim Keltner, Ry Cooder, and Nick Lowe!), and an outstanding, clean recording with weight and depth.

Dinner was delicious. But that's for some other blog.

Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes Pills And Ammo 2010

2011-03-27T16:52:00.000-07:00

Southside Johnny might not be the first name you'd come up with in 2011, and who could blame you. But the new release from this blues-rock and R&B stalwart is quite good.

Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes released three classic records between 1976 and 1978. I Don't Want To Go Home 1976, This Time It's For Real 1977, and especially Hearts Of Stone 1978 were all fine examples of rocking blues and soul done right. All three also benefited from Steve Van Zant's writing, guitar and production, and the occasional Springsteen writing credit. In the eighties Southside (or his producers) lost the way and made some pretty regrettable records. But in 1991 Van Zant returned to make Better Days, and although it didn't return Southside all the way to his former glory, it's another good one. The record company went bust while he was touring the record. Bad luck. During the last decade Southside Johnny has self-released a number of live Jukes records (I haven't heard them) as well as some good studio material, Into The Harbour 2005 is very good, and features Jeff Kazee on keyboards and songwriting, who also collaborates on the new one. From 2001, Messin' With The Blues is excellent, with Johnny blowing a lot of harp, and covering an especially well-chosen set of blues chestnuts. It's outstanding, and the best thing he's done since those first three.

Much of the classic Jukes sound is intact on this new one, and Southside's collaborator, Jeff Kazee, provides solid songwriting, keyboards, and production. Bobby Bandiera and Andy York provide rocking guitars, and the big horn sound of the Jukes is in place. Eddie Manion and La Bamba are still doing it on baritone sax and trombone, and the horns are as tight as ever.

Southside Johnny's voice is a little more ragged, but he's still a soulfull singer, and with good material he can always hold up his end of the bargain.

Bluesy rockers Harder Than It Looks and Cross That Line kick things off with high energy. The stomping blues of Woke Up This Morning follows, and it benefits from some killer harmonica from Johnny and a hot lead guitar. Lead Me On is a classic Southside ballad, with big emotions pouring out of Johnny's vocal. Strange Strange Feeling is a dangerous sounding blues that gets another fine vocal. Umbrella In My Drink finds it's way down to New Orleans with a guest vocal duet with Gary US Bonds. A Place Where I Can't Be Found is another good blues highlighting the horn section. Most of the rest is good, too, with rockers Keep On Moving and One More Night To Rock leading the pack.

The band is in fine form, the songs are good, and Johnny's pouring it all out. If you ever liked this band, they're still alive and kicking.

Art Dudley and Vinyl

2011-03-23T17:55:00.000-07:00

This month marked the publication of the 100th "Listening" column by Art Dudley in Stereophile magazine. I guess I've read them all, as I first started reading his work in his own Listener magazine before it's too-soon demise, and his subsequent hiring by Stereophile.

He's a really funny writer, and he takes a unique and irreverent approach to reviewing audio equipment. In his own words, in a response to a letter to the editor in the April 2011 issue, Dudley says that he has suggested "time and time again, that each record lover should strive for a playback system that presents music in a manner that he or she considers beautiful- not by distorting music, but by emphasizing those performance parameters that are of greatest importance to him or her, and gleefully ignoring those parameters that are not, regardless of who propounds them. I do that in full expectation of the gurus' outrage and the yipping of their lapdogs, and I seldom have to wait long for either."

He's willing to like an amplifier that romances music, and speakers that are not necessarily the most accurate. And other times he's fallen all over for solid state done well. He's an open-minded lover of music. While he's been writing he's owned equipment that was particularly "fringe" material, and at other times he's had fairly conventional gear. But even more than his excellent, analytical reviews of equipment, it's the stories he tells along the way, and more than a few all-out rants. He doesn't suffer fools well. You can read much of his work for Stereophile on their website. One my my very favorite writers in any genre.

So happy 100th Listening column, Art. Keep it going.

Also in this month's Listening column, Art shares his recent gargantuan disappointment with the process of buying vinyl records from Amazon.com. I haven't had an experience quite so profound as his, but I too have been unimpressed with their shipping and handling of vinyl. I too would recommend Elusivedisc.com and Musicdirect.com, and I'd add Acousticsounds.com as well to the list of quality new vinyl retailers. For used vinyl look no further than Gemm.com, a site that brings a searchable database of hundreds of sellers large and small to the used vinyl market. Stick to the 4 and 5 star sellers, and you'll rarely be disappointed. I got one badly scratched record from someone once, but it was an unusually cheap copy of a usually expensive rarity, and it's condition was not dishonestly represented.

If you happen to be near Pittsburgh, Jerry's Records is a huge place, chock full of very cool finds. And Amoeba on Haight Street in San Francisco is worth a visit if you are into vinyl and happen to be in the neighborhood. In fact that's a store that is worth going out of your way to get to. They also stock a good selection of shiny silver discs.

Freddie King Let's Hide Away and Dance Away 1961

2011-03-19T09:31:00.000-07:00

One of the most revered blues guitarists ever.

His 1961 all-instrumental record for King pressed on new vinyl by Sundazed is a beautiful thing. Twelve blues instrumentals, including his signature tune Hide Away, all Freddie King originals, and every one cooks. Basic, straight ahead blues with King's inimitable guitar and a solid band behind him.

Thirty-two minutes of pure blues perfection.

Matthew Sweet Girlfriend 1991

2011-03-16T18:17:00.000-07:00

I've mentioned this classic before, and it truly deserves the descriptor. Produced with an in-your-face sound by Fred Maher, covered completely with the loud, edgy guitar of Robert Quine, and filled with the stellar efforts of a songwriter coming into his own in a very big way.

If you haven't heard it, you should. You owe it to yourself. Sweet's high whine might detract a few listeners, and Quine's guitar can be too loud for some, but hey, do you like rock 'n' roll or not? It's the farthest pop-rock record from a Bread album you can find on the planet. And that can only be good.

Divine Intervention, I've Been Waiting, Girlfriend, and Looking At The Sun form a high-energy foursome that kicks the record off in fine style. Then it's Sweet's love paean to Ms. Ryder, Winona, with Greg Liesz's pedal steel creating a beautiful country ballad. Evangeline, Day For Night, and I Thought I Knew You continue the barrage of perfect rockers. You Don't Love Me is a sweet ballad, and I Wanted To Tell You is pure jangle-pop glory. Don't Go and Does She Talk rock like crazy, and most of the rest is pretty darn good, too. Hard-rockin' power-pop does not get any better.

Sweet has made some other darn fine records, 1995's 100% Fun is very good, and his relatively more recent Kama Ga Suki from 2003 and 2004's Living Things are both solid outings that rival Girlfriend, at least half the songs anyway, and as such are easy to recommend. I'm listening to Sick Of Myself from 100% Fun right now. It's great.

Girlfriend has it all. A stone classic. Crank it up, very loud. Friday is almost here now.

Lucinda Williams Blessed 2011

2011-03-15T17:19:00.001-07:00

A new Lucinda Williams record is always welcome news around my place. This one qualifies, no suspense necessary. Is it Car Wheels On A Gravel Road? No, and nothing else is either. Not by Lucinda, not by anybody. If that's your yardstick, nothing will measure up.

Lucinda Williams is first a lyricist (and the lyrical content of this record is exemplary- as good as it gets), second a singer (and the close-miked, up front sound of her ragged rasp is perfect), and third a songwriter (and mostly this is a solid effort, although additional melody or at least pace could have helped a few songs).

The production by Don Was, Eric Lijestrand, and Thomas Overby, is ideally suited to Lucinda. Lots of atmosphere, beautiful, slowly emerging arrangements, and that up-front-in-the-mix vocal work to wonderful effect. The band is way beyond highly skilled. The bass and drums of David Sutton and Butch Norton lay down a solid foundation on which the twin lead guitars of Greg Leisz and Val McCallum bounce and spin and rock and generally do all the things that two great guitarist can do when they seem to be playing with one highly developed brain. Add to that Rami Jaffe's organ, piano, and accordion flourishes that are spot on every time, and you've got one smoking hot ensemble.

Buttercup is a bitter rocker, a story of a bad man who hardly deserves to find a mate. Lucinda sneers "Good luck finding your buttercup" in the chorus, and it's easy to hear where she's coming from. I Don't Know How You're Living is one of those deeply emotional lyrics that Lucinda does better than anyone. Raw. Pure. Beautiful and pained. Copenhagen is a lonely, airy ballad of loss that benefits from the phenomenal band.

Born To Be Loved is a slow, repetitive trance of a song that sounds like a lyric that Lucinda has been trying to write for years. The loud angry rocker Seeing Black is another strong lyric strapped to a typical Williams melody that is saved by the big southern rock twin-guitar lead break. It's also one of only two real rocking songs on the record, and that's an important point. Track five of twelve and the energy never gets this high again. It's not a bad thing, but it might have helped to have one more upbeat tune to keep things moving. It's a minor gripe.

Soldier's Song is a heavy anti-war song of the most personal kind. A lyrical tour-de-force, alternating lines between a soldier's actions and those of his "baby" at home to an Essence-like trance, the song is intensely moving. On the heels of that, Blessed weaves slow gospel blues with another exceptional lyric, and two-guitar interplay rocks out the ending. Sweet Love follows, and it's a great lyric hung on a slow balled that deserved a better melody and a quicker pace. Another melodic underachiever, Ugly Truth, follows, and it's an OK country tune, and again a strong lyric. Convince Me is a slowing building rocker, and a lovely plea for security. Elvis Costello guests on guitar to unusually good effect, and Jaffe's organ is killer.

Awakening is another slow start that develops into a scronky twin guitar cooker. It's again a little weak in the melody department and is barely saved by the fine band's embellishments. Killer lyric, though. The record ends with Kiss Like Your Kiss, a slow, sad, painful wisp of a song that could have been another Passionate Kisses with a different, more up-tempo arrangement.

When I first heard it, I felt that Essence lacked energy, and yet I find myself more captivated by that 2001 classic every time I hear it today ten years later. This one might be alot like that. There is so much fine, really incredible lyrical depth here, the band are amazingly talented, and William's expressive voice is in fine form. There may be too many slower songs, but they're very fine slow songs.

When Williams sings "Please, please, please, convince me", you can hear her need, and that's the raw, unprotected power you can't find many places these days.

T-Bone Burnett Trap Door 1982 and The DoDeans Love & Hope & Sex & Dreams 1986

2011-02-25T15:10:00.000-08:00

I said some not nice things a while back about T-Bone Burnett's recent work producing Elton John and Leon Russell. But it hasn't always been that way.

Burnett got famous with the O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack, although he had much fine production work prior to that with Los Lobos, Elvis Costello, Bruce Cockburn, Marshall Crenshaw, Roy Orbison, and Sam Phillips.

And the first BoDeans album Love & Hope & Sex & Dreams in 1986. The roots rock sound they birthed in Wisconsin was matched perfectly to Burnett's sympathetic production, and a classic was born. Kurt Neumann and Sammy Llanas wrote great songs, the band is hot, and the production is perfect. Llanas' voice is something you either love or hate, but you can only know thatfrom hearing it. Anyway, fine work from T-Bone Burnett in the producer's chair.

T-Bone's very own Trap Door 1982 is a perfect pop record. A six-song EP, I Wish You Could Have Seen Her Dance got the airplay, but Hold On Tight, Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend, and Trap Door are all killer.

Songs, singing, arrangements, band, recording, everything is just right. It doesn't sound like anything else he ever did, which is very good news. His other solo records were eighties New Wave, or twitchy experimentation, or challengingly aggressive, or avant-garde, or country. All over the map, sometimes on the same record.

This one is just a pop-rock gem. Two guitars, bass and drums done to perfection with toe-tapping rhythms, excellent lyrics, great hooks. It's simple and perfect (and meaty) like a great steak.

Aretha Franklin I Never Loved A Man The Way I Love You 1967

2011-02-25T14:18:00.000-08:00

Everything has already been written about this amazing record. If you own it, you need to get it out and listen to it again. I did just that last night. I pulled out my 2001 vinyl reissue and let Aretha sing.

After six years at Columbia, trying her, mostly without success, on jazz, pop and cabaret material, Aretha arrived at Atlantic records, and Jerry Wexler knew just how to let Aretha be Aretha, through gospel-infused, Ray Charles rave-up, down South soul music. Aretha and Wexler picked the songs, Aretha plays piano on all the tracks, and the Muscle Shoals rhythm section cooks behind her. The recording is excellent, the sound perfect.

Respect, Drown In My Own Tears, I Never Loved A Man (The Way I Love You), Soul Serenade, Don't Let Me Lose This Dream, Dr. Feelgood, Good Times, Do Right Woman-Do Right Man, and A Change Is Gonna Come, they're all solid gold deep soul. The two I didn't list aren't filler- they're only half a notch below these classics.

The record has made every top soul albums list ever compiled. If you fancy yourself a soul music fan, if you have even a passing interest in soul music, you must own this music. There are no acceptable excuses. Aretha made quite a few good records, but this one will light up your life every time you listen. If you're not feelin' it, you dead.

Tim Easton Porcupine 2009

2011-02-25T13:50:00.000-08:00

Tim Easton is one of the many indie singer-songwriter rockers around these days, and he's a pretty interesting talent. This one is his latest, and there's much to like about it.

Easton sings, writes, plays guitar and piano, and is joined by a talented band of Matt Surgeson on bass, Sam Brown on drums, and Kenny Vaughn on guitar. Brad Jones produced and added guitar and keyboards, and several other guests add vocals, violin, guitar, and lap steel.

The songs are particularly well arranged, and this is definitely a key ingredient to making this record as good as it is. I suppose that credit goes to Easton and Jones, and maybe the band some too.

Highlights include Burgundy Red, a big reverb-drenched bluesy rocker. Broke My Heart, a nice mid-tempo pop tune that sounds like a cross between Tom Petty and Nick Lowe, and Porcupine, a driving swamp rock thing lead by a fine acoustic guitar figure. The Dylan/Los Lobos hybrid Stormy rocks hard, as does the machine gun rock of Get What I Got. Northbound is a good Creedence-styled twangy blues. Of the ballads and slower songs, Long Cold Night In Bed is the best lyrically and musically.

There are a few lesser and cliched lyrical moments, and Easton's voice is not a big strong instrument, but I'm nit-picking now. Mostly this is another fine outing from a skilled tunesmith. And there's quite a bit of excellent guitar built into the especially well-crafted arrangements. Check it out.

Death of the Music Industry?

2011-02-19T12:08:00.001-08:00

I don't know if it is really death, but certainly serious atrophy. I'm not all that sad to see sales back to 1993 levels, nor would I call that a death knell, but it is bad news for record moguls. If the CD trend continues and digital sales only grow at the present rate, it could be back to pre-85 sales levels in no time, and this is not a good thing.

The record companies, at least the major players, probably deserve their fate, if for no other reason than for being greedy bastards who have made a series of remarkably stupid moves (SACD vs DVD-A anyone?). Anticipate the future? These guys can barely respond to it.

But when most of the loss in sales is due to illegal file sharing (and don't kid yourself, it is), the artists who make the music also get robbed. Corporations may not get my sympathy, but singers and songwriters and players of instruments deserve a better fate. Yes, new music delivery systems are coming into being, and some people are accepting those new retail outlets and purchasing digital downloads, while others are buying CDs and vinyl on the internet. But compared to CD sales in the 90s, sales are gone. There may come a new paradigm, but it should protect the product from theft, somehow. Probably not any of the ways that that have been tried, but somehow.

Is music gone? No. Are young people listening to music? Yes. Do they buy it? No, at least not many from what I can tell. And I suppose there are plenty of older music fans that have gotten on board as well. Why pay for a product that you can get for free? Because there is an artist you are stealing from. If you were stealing a painting, or a piece of stained glass, or a sculpture, you'd have to pick it up and run, and hide it somewhere, and find someone you could sell it to. But music, you can put it on the internet for anyone to take, and you can go there and take all you want. And nobody gets paid.

I don't like the big record companies, but I'm an ardent fan of artists. The changes we are seeing are bad for artists that make music. The artist's situation isn't just different, it is worse. And eventually it will mean that there will be less high-quality product on the market, because you can't make a living making a product that most consumers steal. So who's going to be attracted to that life?

David Wilcox Home Again 1991

2011-02-16T18:15:00.000-08:00

David Wilcox is a folky singer-songwriter with a nice voice and a gift for both metaphor and simile (I better cover all the bases), plus he's an excellent guitar player. I own and like several of his records, but this is the one.

This is the real deal heart-on-the-sleeve, confessional, romantic, yearning, deeply emotional singer-songwriter stuff here. In the liner notes, Wilcox himself says "...most of these songs are about facing the stuff that follows me when I run." He's not kidding.

Immaculately produced by Ben Wisch and staffed by impressive guest stars and an all-star cast of studio go-to guys, the CD sounds terrific. And the arrangements are stellar.

All it takes now is songs to hang all that good stuff on. Songs that will stand up and make the most of all that talent. There really aren't any lame songs on this record. There are highlights for sure, but the record is listenable from end to end, and that alone is a rarity.

Burgundy Heart-Shaped Medallion hangs a beautiful love song on a Bach guitar piece just to kick things off. Farther To Fall, the sneakily dirty-sexy Wildberry Pie, Distant Water, the hilarious over-the-hill tale of Top Of The Roller Coaster, the painfully confessional Covert War- all great songs. But some of the best are yet to come near the end of the CD. Last Chance Waltz is a sweet young 28 year old with a problem at his 10-year high school reunion. She's Just Dancing is an up-tempo beauty of a writing job, and a lovely lyric, right there with Joni Mitchell or Jackson Browne or Guy Clark. And then Chet Baker's Swan song, complete with Randy Brecker on flugelhorn, is a gorgeous homage to Baker, and another exceptional lyric.

All this can be too much delicate folk for some folks, and you know who you are. But when you want the soundtrack for your occasional angst, there's nothing like this stuff. And of modern purveyors of the genre, Wilcox is a rare talent. He's made a bunch of good records, and this one is the most consistently excellent.

Much of David Wilcox's music can be heard at his web site, including several of the songs from this fine CD.

Spinning Vinyl

2011-02-12T09:52:00.000-08:00

A few days ago I got some quality time with the stereo. It was only two hours on a weeknight, but it turned into a fine session of turntable love.

Side one of Free The Bees 2004 got things started. The Bees are a highly engaging psych-funk-rock outfit from England that have made some great records, and this one is particularly strong. The new one is good, too. The psychedelic opener These Are The Ghosts is a killer tune, and Wash In The Rain and No Atmosphere are both excellent.

Next up was the last side of the four-LP The Rolling Stones Singles Collection The London Years 1989. This is a very fun set that includes many rarely-heard B-sides. I listened to Brown Sugar, Wild Horses, Don't Know Why I Love You (a Stevie Wonder cover!), Try A Little Harder, Out Of Time (Jagger's 1966 version recorded by a non-Stones band), and Jiving Sister Fanny. Those last four are all rare singles and B-sides and fine performances. This box set is full of surprises like that and the vinyl sounds good, even if it was cut from digitally remastered recordings.

I had to get my fix of Kiln House, Fleetwood Mac's 1970 masterwork and Cristine McVie's debut with the group. Hi Ho Silver and the magnificent Jewel-Eyed Judy lit up the speakers with classic rock glory.

Speaking of classic records, Greg Allman's Laid Back from 1973 is near perfect. My drummer friend Todd mentioned it to me a few years ago, and I picked up a used copy. Allman's version of Jackson Browne's These Days is a terrific rendition of a fine song.

I'm soaking up the seventies by now, so why not Joni Mitchell's Miles Of Aisles, her 1974 live outing with The L.A. Express. Side four, with Carey, The Last Time I Saw Richard, Jericho, and Love Or Money is as good as Joni gets. The L.A. Express really found a sweet spot between Joni's early folk-pop and her later jazz leanings. They compliment her well throughout the entire record.

Back to the future, I grabbed Spoon's Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga from 2007. I go back and forth on this band sometimes, but the trifecta of You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb, Don't You Evah, and the amazing Rhythm And Soul had me rockin' in that strange place this band inhabits.

The stereo was up pretty loud by now, and the attitude of Spoon made me long for some more concentrated sneer. I knew I couldn't go wrong with side four of The Clash's London Calling 1979. Lover's Rock, Four Horsemen, I'm Not Down, Revolution Rock, and Train In Vain. What an amazing album side. Hard core punks probably prefer earlier Clash, but it's hard to deny the the sheer perfection of London Calling, with so many classic tunes and a band clearly at the top of their game.

Time to wind down, and what better way to get back to earth than with The Band. I pulled out 1970's Stage Fright and listened to Stage Fright and The Rumor. I've always loved both of these songs, especially the moralistic tale of The Rumor, a simple reminder of the lasting damage done to reputation by oft-told lies.

Just another night of music on black plastic. For more of the occasional Spinning Vinyl series, try here or here.

Robin Stine Daydream 2005

2011-02-09T17:55:00.000-08:00

So maybe you're like me and you like the easy jazz and jazz-pop stylings of Diana Krall, Norah Jones, Madeline Peyroux, Eva Cassidy, Karrin Allyson and Stacey Kent. If that's the case, and you'd like to listen to more of the same with quality original songwriting, then you should just buy this CD. It's that simple.

Robin Stine writes songs that sound familiar. Blues and jazz that avoid cliche and yet still sound like old classics. She has a nice voice, not particularly powerful, but well-controlled and easy on the ears without sounding coquettish. And delightfully emotive.

The supporting cast is stellar. Warren Bernhardt on piano, Gary Burke on drums, and Steve Bernstein on trumpet all make very important contributions to the music here. Steven Calandra's bass, Matt Rhody's violin, and Steve Cardenas's and Mark Bingham's guitars round out the crack band. Mark Bingham also produces, and does a fine job. The sound of the CD is very good, the recording done right.

It's mellow and bluesy. It sounds like a Madeline Peyroux CD with the angst and pretense removed, crossed with an old Nat King Cole Trio record.

Wow. That sounds like high praise. And I can stand by that. She deserves your ear.

Steely Dan Countdown To Ectasy 1973

2011-02-02T13:48:00.000-08:00

I liked all of the first four Steely Dan records, but this one especially. The twin guitars of Denny Dias and Skunk Baxter, the added color of Victor Feldman's vibes and percussion, and of course the smart songs from Becker and Fagan, it all adds up to a classic.

Bodhisattva, a mostly instrumental driving rocker kicks things off, and the twin guitars are in fine form. Razor Boy is reminiscent of the first record with it's soft pop-rock, and Baxter adds a nice pedal steel to the mix. The Boston Rag is a slow-to-mid-tempo rocker with an tasty guitar lead. Side one ends with Your Gold Teeth, a quick-paced, jazzy tune with a Fagan piano break and a catchy chorus.

Side two opens with both of the singles from the album. Show Biz Kids condemns LA excess with a funky/twangy guitar figure and the hypnotically repeated "Goin' to Las Vegas, Goin' to lost wages" vocal background over a cool lyric. An excellent chicken-pickin' guitar lead from Dias is perfectly in synch with the jittery feel of the song. My Old School is a classic, with another fine lead guitar, and a great lyric that always reminds me of that girl that was just too good for me. A sad country ballad of too brief love, Pearl Of The Quarter features Baxter's pedal steel guitar. The record ends with King Of The World, a fine band effort, with wah-wah rhythm guitar and driving drums that push the song forward. Piano, synth, and guitar leads all add tasty color.

You can really hear the fine live band they had become by this time. They would stop touring a year later, and they would never again be the band that they really were on this record. After this it is Becker and Fagan and hired studio hands. They made some more great records, but never another quite like this.

Lyle Lovett and John Hiatt Akron Civic Theatre 2011

2011-01-30T18:06:00.000-08:00

I haven't seen much live music lately, so this show last night in the beautifully restored Akron Civic Theater was a treat. Just Lyle and John with acoustic guitars playing the wonderful songs they've written. Both were in fine voice, and the song selection and laid back approach was a delightful way to see a couple of the finest singer-songwriters of our day perform.

Several years ago these two played a similar gig in Cleveland with Joe Ely and Guy Clark, but this was a better performance. With the four of them, there was less focus to the evening, and it felt like you just got a sampler. With only Hiatt and Lovett, you got two, two, two shows in one.

Last night Hiatt kicked things off with his Drive South, and then the two alternated songs throughout the evening. Lovett sang a little on a few of Hiatt's songs. Hiatt sang and played some lead guitar on several of Lovett's songs. Highlights included several of Hiatt's better-known songs, including Thing Called Love, Crossing Muddy Waters, Perfectly Good Guitar, Slow Turing and Memphis In The Meantime. Lovett played old favorites If I Had A Boat, She's No Lady, Don't Touch My Hat and Fiona. But some of the lesser-known and more somber tunes were some of the hardest-hitting, like Lovett's She's Already Made Up Her Mind and Natural Forces, or Hiatt's Have A Little Faith In Me.

Lovett is hilarious with his deadpan humor, and Hiatt is the easygoing straight man. All that's good fun, but when either of them start to sing, the song and the performance becomes everything. I can't think of a better way to spend a little over two hours.

Nick Lowe Pinker And Prouder Than Previous 1988

2011-01-28T12:16:00.000-08:00

Nick Lowe's Pinker And Prouder Than Previous is one of his best, and frequently overlooked, efforts.

Recorded in several different studios during '86 and '87, the record none the less has a cohesive feel, and Lowe's songwriting is consistently strong. There's always a few just average songs on his records, but this one doesn't have many.

(You're My) Wildest Dream is a fine country-rocker. Crying In My Sleep is a particularly creepy lyric about dreaming of causing your lover pain that Lowe turns into a psychotic country weeper. It's great. I Got The Love is a classic Lowe love song with a sparse arrangement that features Paul Carrack's organ. The reggae-country ballad Cry It Out is fine writing and performance. Dave Edmunds stops by to produce the rockabilly twang of Lover's Jamboree, and comes up with the classic Rockpile sound that both Edmunds and Lowe used throughout the late seventies and early eighties.

Lowe also chooses some fine covers for this outing. John Hiatt's Love Gets Strange is a rocker with a particularly deft lyric. Black Lincoln Continental is a driving rocker from Graham Parker's pen. Big Big Love is rolling country pop-rock that Lowe makes his own, at least until k.d. lang got her hands on it.

Pull it back out of the stacks. It deserves more attention than it ever received. The CD is more expensive than the vinyl on the used market, so if you've got a 'table, spin away

Van Morrison

2011-01-17T09:22:00.000-08:00

Van Morrison is one of the artists I followed faithfully (buying everything he released as soon as it came out) over a long period of time. There are a select few such artists that get this treatment: Beatles, NRBQ, Robert Palmer, Boz Scaggs, Sons of Champlin, and a few others. More recently I've followed Gomez, Semisonic, Subdudes, Nick Lowe, and Matthew Sweet with almost as much dedication. Of course sometimes the quality of product changes dramatically and the artist no longer gets this level of treatment. This happened with Bob Dylan, Elton John, Elvis Costello and countless others.

The earliest Van Morrison records were the two records he released with Them, a blues-based rock band in the mid-sixties that sounded very much like early Animals. I've heard most of this material, but I don't own it. The first Van Morrison solo record was Blowin' Your Mind! in 1967. It included the hit Brown-Eyed Girl, but Morrison has always claimed that the songs were never intended for an album, and judging from the quality, it is hard to argue. This material has been reissued many times under several names, often including additional material that is at least as bad as the original release.

The first "real" solo outing then, Astral Weeks 1968, was a tour de force. Somehow, and the story is covered pretty well over at Wikipedia, Van was put in the studio with several jazz session men, and produced an album of acoustic folk-jazz that stands as a unique statement to this day. The delicate, improvised backing to Van's ethereal lyrics and melodies makes for a record of startling intimacy. Not a big seller, it received critical acclaim, and has taken on well-deserved mythic status over the years. All the songs are good, especially Astral Weeks, Beside You, Cyprus Avenue, The Way Young Lovers Do, and Madame George.

Next up was 1970 breakthrough Moondance. A mellow, slightly jazzy pop-rock record that made Morrison famous and garnered plenty of FM radio play, the record is a classic by anyone's definition. Infusing the folk-jazz of Astral Weeks with strong melodic songs and an R&B overtone, side one is perfection with And It Stoned Me, Moondance, Crazy Love, Caravan, and Into the Mystic.

1970 also saw His Band And The Street Choir hit the charts in November. The record featured Van's love of R&B, with simple blues and rhythm numbers featuring more simple lyrics than many expected of Van. While sometimes seen as a lesser work compared to Moondance, it has held up remarkably well over the years. The inclusion of Van's highest charting single, Domino, helped sell the record, but I've Been Working, Call Me Up in Dreamland, Blue Money, Gypsy Queen, If I Ever Needed Someone, and Street Choir are all standouts. A personal favorite.

Tupelo Honey 1971 featured a more country sound than Van had exhibited before, and is another strong record, with singles Wild Night and Tupelo Honey leading the way. The country thing would remain an anomaly for Van until the early 2000s.

1972 brought Saint Dominic's Preview, a record that still holds up today, and features examples of almost every style Morrison has worked in. The R&B of Jackie Wilson Said and the title track, the countrified soul of Redwood Tree, and the extended jam/vocal catharsis of Listen To The Lion. The lengthy workouts on Listen To The Lion and Independence Day hint at what will come in his 80s work as well as hearken back to Astral Weeks in their improvisation.

1973's Hard Nose The Highway isn't his best from this period, but the title track, Snow in San Anselmo, Warm Love, and the surprising cover of Bein' Green are all good.

In early 1974, the 2-LP live It's Too Late To Stop Now showed what Morrison and band were capable of on stage, and it deserves a place on a short list of the best live records. A set list including highlights from his recent output plus soul and R&B covers, a crack band finely honed, a small string section, and Van singing his heart out, it all comes together. It is also recorded with particular skill, and is extra special on a good stereo system.

Veedon Fleece 1974 was Morrison's next, and probably falls somewhere between Hard Nose The Highway and Saint Dominic's Preview in overall quality. The highlights include Bulbs, Cul De Sac, Linden Arden Stole the Highlights, and You Don't Pull No Punches, But You Don't Push the River. The mellow tone of the record, inspired by the Irish countryside, foretells Morrison's focus on the spiritual/natural/seeking themes that will feature in his work in the 80s.

After an unusually long hiatus from recording, Morrison returned with Period Of Transition in 1977. An apparent return to the R&B of His Band And The Street Choir, the record was widely panned, and mostly deserved the press it received. Flamingos Fly is pretty good, but most of the record seems thrown off, and it is definitely one of his weakest outings. It is one of the only times that Morrison seems quite this disinterested.

1978's Wavelength was a partial return to form of sorts, but claimed a new sound for Morrison, a more pop sounding recording featuring guitar and synthesizer high in the mix. The songs are generally good, and the record sold well on the strength of the title track single as well as Kingdom Hall, Checkin' It Out, Natalia and the extended jams of Santa Fe/Beautiful Obsession and Take It Where You Find It.

Into The Music 1979 was hailed as Morrison's best songwriting since Moondance, and it is a remarkably consistent record. The best of the record, Bright Side of the Road, Full Force Gale, You Make Me Feel So Free, and And the Healing Has Begun is testament to Morrison's skill as both writer and singer.

The 80s were a difficult time for Morrison fans, as he made a string of spiritual/seeker records that featured ultra-mellow tone poems without much of the old R&B kick that signals his best work. Long slow songs celebrating nature, countryside, poetry, love and spiritual yearning, these records just never really got it done. Common One 1980, Beautiful Vision 1982, Inarticulate Speech of the Heart 1983, Live at the Grand Opera House Belfast 1984, A Sense of Wonder 1985, No Guru, No Method, No Teacher 1986, Poetic Champions Compose 1987, Irish Heartbeat (with The Chieftains) 1988, Avalon Sunset 1989, Enlightenment 1990 and Hymns To The Silence 1991 all suffered from the same problem, that being a lack of energy. There are some fine vocal performances, and some excellent instrumental performances, but songwriting is too much the same. There are a few treasures buried here (Summertime In England, Cleaning Windows, Ivory Tower, Whenever God Shines His Light, Have I Told You Lately, Real Real Gone), but you gotta dig. The quality seems to rise near the end of the eighties, and Avalon Sunset and Hymns To The Silence are pretty good with a few more quality mid- and up-tempo songs.

Enter the 90s and it's a mixed bag of disappointing records alongside some real beauties. 1993's Too Long In Exile was well-received in the press, and it is a very strong set. A scatter-shot sort of record that takes in all styles from guest blues great John Lee Hooker on Gloria, to Yeats poetry adapted for music, and all the usual Morrison styles in between. It has it's mellow moments, but it is more balanced than his records had been in more than a decade. Darn fine, really.

In 1994 Van released A Night In San Francisco. A 2 CD affair including versions of many of his songs from the eighties mixed with blues covers and a few older songs, everything gets transformed into an R&B dream. Heading a fantastic band, and turning his entire sleepy 80s catalog into James Brown styled soul-jazz workouts with soul-shoutin' vocals and crazy medleys, it is a great record. An essential record.

If you'd never owned a Van Morrison record, and you bought 1995's Days Like This, you might think it was pretty good. But it's not. The title track isn't bad, and neither are a few others, but there is some bottom barrel stuff on this record. With Van, the songs and the lyrics need to be there. Here you get a good melody with banal lyrics, or you get decent lyrics hung on some overused cliche of a tune from years ago. There's a few too many of Van's whiny "I hate the music business" songs, too. You've been warned.

Then a sharp return to form with How Long Has This Been Going On? 1996. Starring Georgie Fame on organ and Pee Wee Ellis on sax , the record was recorded live sans audience at Ronnie Scott's Club in London. The live performance and the room's ambiance make for a great sounding record, and Van sings his heart out on mostly covers of jazz and blues standards. Van's take on That's Life is a gas, and the extended Moondance is excellent. Not a perfect record, but a fine performance by Van the singer and a tight band.

1996 also saw the arrival of Tell Me Something: The Songs of Mose Allison, credited to Van Morrison, Georgie Fame, Mose Allison and Ben Sidran. A swell idea, and Allison's songs deserve the tribute, but they also deserve better than this. Reportedly recorded in a single day, that would certainly explain the slap-dash feel of the record. It coulda been a contender... but it's not.

1997's The Healing Game was, at least for me, an astonishing return to form, and the best studio work he'd done in a very long time. Rough God Goes Riding, This Weight, Waiting Game, Burning Ground, It Once Was My Life, Sometimes We Cry, and The Healing Game all rate with Van's best songs, even if the lyrics are a little odd on a few. More than Too Long In Exile, this one feels like a record- complete with a crack band, good songs, great soulful singing from Van- and a cohesive sound. You've got to go back twenty years to hear one this good.

The Philosopher's Stone 1998 was a 2-CD collection of previously unreleased tracks and alternative versions that plays about as well as most of those things do, and that is not that well. You only need it if you're obsessed, and even then most of it is superfluous.

1999 saw Back On Top, a remarkably egotistical record title, even for Morrison, and not at all a self-fulfilling pronouncement. It has some good semi-rockers (Back On Top, Precious Time), and some fine mellow moments (When The Leaves Come Tumbling Down, Golden Autumn Day), but it's not The Healing Game. It's a pretty good one though.

2000 was an odd year, with a fun record of basic rockers and a super-terrible skiffle outing. The Skiffle Sessions-Live In Belfast 1998 is among the least interesting Van Morrison records ever. Skiffle being essentially the English folk music with a shuffle beat that was popular in the late 50s- early 60s in the UK, this record draws all the interest of a Kingston Trio reunion. Wake me up when it's over. But the same year brought the Van Morrison/Linda Gail Lewis duet record You Win Again, a delightfully simple rock and roll record that was made with Lewis's band backing. For anyone to duet with Morrison is a difficult task, but Linda Gail (Jerry Lee's little sister) rises to the task. This one sounds like Van singing along with a seasoned bar band, and that works just fine. Let's Talk About Us, You Win Again, Think Twice Before You Go, Shot of Rhythm and Blues, Cadillac and Baby (You've Got What It Takes) all stand out in a solid if somewhat basic 50s rock and roll record. Van and Linda Gail sound like they're having fun, and their vocals work well together, even if I can't quite tell you why.

Down The Road was released in 2002, and it's an unusually strong collection of songs, and a solid record with good playing. Like The Healing Game, the record has a cohesive sound, although the production and recording, not to mention the band itself, are very different from that record. Some of the songs have a country feel not unlike Van's approach on Tupelo Honey, while other songs plow the blues and R&B furrows. Highlights include Down the Road, Meet Me in the Indian Summer, Talk Is Cheap, The Beauty of the Days Gone By, Evening Shadows and Fast Train.

What's Wrong With This Picture? 2003 was a pretty good record, and was nominated for a Grammy in the Contemporary Blues Album category. Those Grammy dudes I just don't get sometimes. I'm not sure it's a blues album per se, but it's pretty good product again. Evening In June is almost worth buying the record for, but there are quite a few good songs and Van is in good voice for the most.

2005 saw Magic Time, and he scores again. At this point nobody really expects Van to make a great record, and maybe this isn't Moondance or Astral Weeks, but it's so much better than you'd expect at this point in his career. Stranded is a classic. Celtic New Year, I'm Confessin', Just Like Greta and Carry On Regardless are strong contenders.

Pay The Devil 2006 is Morrison's real country record. Twelve covers of classic country tunes and three Morrison originals. Stellar cast of musicians. I'll be brief here. It shouldn't work, and guess what, it doesn't. And he's really not a country singer, he's an R&B singer. Duh. Oddly enough, the tour to support that generally awful record produced a good live album, the 2-CD Live at Austin City Limits Festival 2006, which was sold exclusively at the now defunct official Van Morrison web site. It's a fine career overview, taking in highlights from almost all eras. The band is hot, and Van is in fine form. Go figure.

2008 brought Keep It Simple, and this time the title prophecy holds up, and Van delivers his third or fourth killer record in ten years. It's a straightforward blues/folk/soul record, and I could mention some songs, but it is another high water mark for the man.

Which brings us to Astral Weeks Live at the Hollywood Bowl 2009. Full circle. This recent re-recording of Astral Weeks is quite an event among Van Morrison fans, and received a fair amount of press upon release. It may be too much for casual listeners, but if you've been listening to Astral Weeks for the last 40 years, it is irresistible. And lovely, really, in that Van does not cover his early album, but reimagines it, with the songs performed in a new order and with new arrangement twists.

There have of course been several best-of collections. For the casual fan, the first Best Of Van Morrison 1990 is a good single CD choice. Best Of Volume Two 1993 is a different beast, drawn mostly from his eighties albums. It plays better than any of those single albums did, but it is not the hits collection that the original Best Of is. Best Of Volume Three 2007 is a 2 CD affair with one-off guest spots and sountrack songs mixed with some live material and a few good ones that didn't make the first two. It's good.

Recently (2007) Van Morrison at the Movies - Soundtrack Hits was released, and it's all over the map, but contains a few versions available nowhere else, and Still on Top - The Greatest Hits, which was released in 1, 2 and 3 CD versions, with most of the songs remastered. Sometimes remastering is a good thing. I haven't heard it, but the song selection is good.

Much of Morrison's output is available in new vinyl, including several of the more resent issues. Check your retailer.

Essentials: Astral Weeks, Moondance, His Band And The Street Choir, It's Too Late To Stop Now, A Night In San Fransisco

Good Ones: St. Dominic's Preview, Veedon Fleece, Into The Music, Avalon Sunset, Too Long In Exile, How Long Has This Been Going On?, The Healing Game, You Win Again, Magic Time, Keep It Simple, Astral Weeks Live at the Hollywood Bowl

Avoid like the plague: Blowin' Your Mind, A Period Of Transition, The Skiffle Sessions, Pay The Devil

The Bees Every Step's A Yes 2010

2011-01-16T11:13:00.001-08:00

Difficult to describe, primarily because they are delightfully all over the musical map, this fine young band of Englishmen from Isle of Wright have made an excellent new record.

This is the second of their four records I've bought, and I'm very happy they've come through again. Free The Bees from 2004 was a rare and unique find, full of funky surprises and great songs. I was almost afraid to give them another try.

The album opens with I Really Need Love, a rollicking folk-rocker that is perfect English summertime. Winter Rose is a dark dub of a song that feels like a cross between The Bee Gees circa Odessa and The Specials Ghost Town. Silver Line and No More Excuses dig into the psychedelic-folk groove that the band is most famous for, but the band really is a lot better than that category description might lead you to believe. Change Can Happen takes a Velvet Underground line for a roll in the proverbial English countryside hay, and comes out like a sad calliope melody. Several mellower tunes round out the record, but the quality of the songs, the singing, and the playing are exceptional always. The record closes with Gaia, an instrumental that rocks with abandon, and sounds like a Mariachi band on steroids.

The whole psychedelic label they get in the press bothers me. It is descriptive of their sound (sometimes), but it is also wrong, especially since there are a plethora of musical influences going on here from reggae, funk, soul, psych, 60s garage and 70s country rock. The calmer moments remind me of Lambchop at their best, and the more upbeat songs are uniquely The Bees, even when they sound eerily familiar.

It doesn't sound like everything else. And it's good.

NRBQ

2011-01-09T12:31:00.000-08:00

NRBQ were a great band. Not a good one that just never hit, but a truly great act. You had to see them live. But even if you never did see their fabulously crazy live show, there is much to enjoy in their records.

The original quintet version of the group made two records. The line-up of Terry Adams- piano, clavinet, organ, vocals, Joey Spampinato- bass, vocals, Frank Gadler- lead vocals, Steve Furgeson- guitar, vocals, and Tom Staley- drums was an exceptionally talented bunch. Steve Furgeson was a particularly hot guitarist. The country/rockabilly/rock 'n' roll/experimental stew they purveyed on NRBQ and Boppin' The Blues (with Carl Perkins), both from 1969, showed a love of diverse songs in the chosen covers, as well as some very sturdy songwriting from the band itself.

In 1972, Scraps featured a slightly more pop-like sound. It had the feel of a transition record, and it certainly was just that. Al Anderson had replaced Steve Furgeson, but Gadler was still on board. Plenty of really good songs with Howard Johnson's Got His Ho-Jo Workin', Magnet, New Tune, and Get A Grip. Also in '72, Workshop was released. Frank Gadler is gone, but Tom Staley is still there on the skins for the last time. It is a lost gem, and one of the more consistent records in their catalog. RC Cola And A Moon Pie, Blues Stay Away From Me, Deaf, Dumb And Blind, and Hearts Of Stone all rock. Joey's Mona and I Got A Little Secret are perfect examples of that Paul McCartney/Jonathan Richmond hybrid that he will do so well for years to come.

Between 1972 and 1974, Staley left the band, to be replaced by Tom Ardolino on drums. This quartet version of the band (Adams, Spampinato, Anderson, Ardolino) lasted twenty years, a durable outfit by any standards, but especially when there's not a single chart hit the whole time. And no reason, except that maybe Terry Adams is too crazy for fame. But really - rock 'n' roll magic with fun lyrics, great vocals, three songwriters, killer (and concise) lead guitar breaks, the best rock 'n' roll keyboards ever (Adams' clavinet), and a solid rhythm section in Spampinato and Ardolino. No one knows why it never happened. But It never did.

There is a lot of material released between 1977 and 1994 by this band, and I'll try to let you know which of these babies to scoop up from the used record bins. The band returned to recording in 1977 with All Hopped Up, and it's a good but not great record. Rocket In My Pocket, Cecelia, and Still In School are some of the strongest songs.

1978's At Yankee Stadium was one of the better studio records they made, and the beginning of a run of four fantastic records. At Yankee Stadium (I Want You Bad, The Same Old Thing, It Comes To Me Naturally, Ridin' In My Car), Kick Me Hard 1979 (Wacky Tobacky, It Was A Accident, Hot Biscuits And Sweet Marie, Don't You Know), Tiddlywinks 1980 (Feel You Around Me, Me And The Boys, That I Get Back Home, Roll Call, Definition Of Love), and Grooves In Orbit 1983 (Rain At The Drive-In, 12 Bar Blues, A Girl Like That, Get Rhythm) all contained classics, and there is very little filler. This run was their finest period. All four of the records above are essential. Especially Tiddlywinks. That's right, it is especially essential.

Next up was Tapdancin' Bats in 1983, a record that you either love or hate. Big Goodbyes, Trouble At The Henhouse, and Pretty Thing are strong, but the record suffers from a little too much experimentation (or screwing around) and not enough songwriting. 1987's God Bless Us All is a good live record, with Crazy As A Fox and Sittin' In The Park highlights. Diggin Uncle Q 1988 was a good but unfocused live album, and Wild Weekend 1989 was a good but unfocused studio album. Al Anderson's swan song with the band was Message For The Mess Age 1994, and it was their best effort since Grooves In Orbit. Over Your Head, Ramona, Advice For Teenagers and A Better Word For Love were all fine songs.

In 1994 Anderson left and was replaced by Joey's younger brother Johnny Spaminato on guitar and vocals. They were still fun to see live, but it was never quite the same without Al. 2002's NRBQ was surprisingly good, with Blame It On The World, Sail On Sail On, and Careful What You Ask For leading the way. 2001's Atsa My Band was another pretty good record. 2004's Dummy was the last studio recording, and it has a few keepers. But really it was never quite the same after Al Anderson left. His amazing guitar was, oddly enough, missed the least. His quality songwriting couldn't be replaced, and Johnny wasn't the nuanced singer that Al was, either.

Several other early live and unreleased compilations appeared on the scene since 2004, and fans will suck up anything. The Ludlow Garage 1970 2006 CD is worth a listen, but not essential.

The first two, NRBQ and Boppin' The Blues are killer. Scraps and Workshop are gems. At Yankee Stadium, Kick Me Hard, Tiddlywinks, and Grooves In Orbit strongly argue against the "great live band couldn't do it in the studio" crap that some say plagued the band. Message For The Mess Age was their last noble attempt, but it isn't Workshop or Tiddlywinks.

The 2 CD Peek-A-Boo: Best Of NRBQ from 1990 is a good sampler. The 1985 compilation Uncommon Denominators is also well worth grabbing up, and spans all except the first two records.

Guy Clark Somedays The Song Writes You 2009

2011-01-03T12:29:00.000-08:00

Guy Clark made another fine record. Yes, his voice is getting a bit ragged from time to time, but he's still one of the best songwriters in the game.

Somedays You Write The Song, Hemingway's Whiskey, Wrong Side Of The Tracks, and Maybe I Can Paint Over That are all classics from Clark's pen, and he does a wonderful rendition of Towne's Van Zandt's If I Needed You.

There are a few lesser songs, but overall it's quality music. Clark sings from deep in his heart, as he always has. The recording of the acoustic instruments is pristine, and Clark's and Verlon Thompson's guitars ring like you're in the room with them.

Any of Clark's records since 1992's Boats To Build are easy to recommend. This one can join that rich body of work.

Cassandra Wilson Silver Pony 2010

2010-12-27T07:46:00.000-08:00

A new Cassandra Wilson release is always exciting news. Wilson has been recording since 1985 and has made some of the finest modern jazz records you can find. She got her start with the M-Base collective in New York, an avant-garde jazz-funk group that featured saxophonist Steve Coleman, among others. She has a deep, throaty voice that is both sultry and expressive. Her phrasing and control are stellar. She writes some great tunes, and her covers are always unique and thoughtful, often surprising reinterpretations.

In 1988, Wilson veered off the avant-garde road to make Blue Skies, a collection of jazz standards with Wilson backed by an exceptional piano trio of Mulgrew Miller on piano, Lonnie Plaxico on bass and Terri Lyne Carrington on drums. It is quite possibly the best modern female jazz singer standards record you can find anywhere.

From there, Wilson made a few more records with M-Base and other influences and plenty of jazz credibility. She found her groove with Blue Light 'Till Dawn in 1993, the record that would define her future approach to music. A mixture of Wilson originals, eclectic pop, blues, and jazz covers with sparse, percussion-heavy, interesting arrangements that made everything she touched sound new and unique.

She's repeated that formula successfully several times with New Moon Daughter 1995, Belly Of The Sun 2002, and Glamoured 2003. Her Traveling Miles from 1999 applies much the same methodology to a Miles Davis tribute, covering songs that Miles recorded as well as originals inspired by Miles. 2008's Loverly returned to the jazz standard songbook, but with the guitar and percussion based instrumentation that is her forte. The only bump in the road was the T-Bone Burnett-produced Thunderbird 2006, which just doesn't have the spark of her other records, possibly because the all-star band is not the talented group of improvisers and like-minded jazz musicians that Wilson herself assembles for her own productions and tours.

Which brings us to Silver Pony. A mixture of mostly live and a few studio recordings, it is one of her finest efforts yet. The record features several long live takes that dig deep into the southern heat that inspired the record. Highlights include the guitar-driven blues of Saddle Up My Pony, Beneath A Silver Moon, with its Ravi Coltrane sax lead, the sultry take on Stevie Wonder's If It's Magic, the funky Forty Days And Forty Nights, and a glorious reading of McCartney's Blackbird. But I could just as easily same something wonderful about every track.

The band of Marvin Sewell (guitar), Reginald Veal (bass), Herlin Riley (drums), Jonathan Batiste (piano), and Lekan Babalola (percussion) get the chance to jam, and are never short of amazing. This is a mature singer with a crack ace band, stretching out beyond the pop styling that has both made her famous and been fodder for her detractors.

It is a fine record indeed. Very highly recommended.

James Brown In The Jungle Groove 1986

2010-12-21T18:14:00.000-08:00

These tracks were originally recorded between 1969 and 1971, and the versions here were not all previously available on LP, although most were available on 45s. So the extended jams are here, ready for your ass-shakin' delight on whatever dance floor you can assemble.

It's all funk. Bootsy Collins on bass and Clyde Stubblefield on drums and everybody else is on the good foot, my man. Give It Up Or Turnit Loose, Talkin' Loud And Sayin' Nothing, The Funky Drummer, Get Up, Get Into It And Get Involved, and Soul Power. If these titles mean nothing to you, I'm sorry.

The extended version every time, so the groove is very deep. If you can't stand the funk, stay out of the kitchen. It's cookin' in here.

Marti Jones

2010-12-12T18:49:00.000-08:00

Marti Jones has an exceptional alto voice that rivals Linda Ronstadt's, but with a more organic feel. Her songwriting with husband Don Dixon is quality stuff, and the song selection of covers is first-rate. Dixon's production is perfect every time. Her interpretations of other songwriters material are spot-on every time.

Marti's first recording was a six-song EP by the pop-rock band Color Me Gone in 1984. The heartfelt pop vocals that would become her trademark are already on display, but the band never took off.

Marti's first solo record was produced by Don Dixon, as were all of her subsequent records. They married not long after the record was made. Unsophisticated Time 1985 is a fine start. Walk Away, Follow You All Over The World, Hiding The Boy, The Element Within Her are all standouts. The record has a slightly more folk feel than later releases, but it's all here, even on the debut. The voice, the songs, the arrangements.

A&M and Dixon pulled out all the stops for Match Game in 1986. A big-budget recording with great players and guest stars, songs from Dwight Twilly, Elvis Costello, David Bowie and Paul Rogers along with Dixon's finest, but nothing detracts from Marti. Her voice is clear and beautiful, and Inside These Arms, We're Doing Alright, Just A Memory, Soul Love and Be Myself Again are all top notch. I love the big rock sound of the record- it's the only time they did one like this, and it's a fine setting for her voice.

Next it was 1988's Used Guitars. Dixon and Jones' Tourist Town starts things off swinging. John Hiatt's The Real One rocks like Rondstadt never could, while Graham Parker's You Can't Take Love For Granted gets a highly percussive arrangement from Dixon that's fun and just right. Jackie DeShannon's Each Time and Hiatt's If I Can Love Somebody are both terrific readings of fine songs. That this record didn't turn her into a star is almost impossible to believe. A similar blend of folk, rock and pop tunesmith worked great for Shawn Colvin and Mary Chapin Carpenter.

In 1990 it was off to RCA for Any Kind Of Lie, another fine outing, this time featuring the songs Dixon and Jones were writing together. The core band of Jamie Hoover (guitar), Dixon (bass and lots of stuff), Jones (guitar), Jim Brock (percussion extraordinaire), and Denny Fongheiser (drums) show off great Dixon-Jones songs Living Inside The Wind, Any Kind Of Lie, My Tears Are Poison, Read My Heart and Is This The Game? Again, there just seemed to be no market for the kind of intelligent pop-rock craft on display, but I'll be darned if I could tell you why. The bizarre hair and make-up of the cover (aimed squarely at the burgeoning Adult Contemporary market) may have frightened off any fan that had seen the wonderfully unassuming Marti live.

After that one also did not bring stardom, Marti decided to take a few years off and have a baby. She returned in 1996 with My Long-Haired Life, a reference to her shorter, motherly locks of the previous few years. It's another fabulous record. Focusing on a generous selection of covers, her brilliant interpretations of Nick Lowe's I Love The Sound Of Breaking Glass, Squeeze's Black Coffee In Bed, Aimee Mann's Put Me On Top, and Elvis Costello's Sleep Of The Just are all super. Her own It's Not What I Want and several other by Marti and Don are just as good.

Also in 1996, Live At Spirit Square was released. This might be my favorite live record ever. Recorded in 1990 in Charlotte to a Dixon home-town crowd, the song selection is an impeccable greatest hits plus best songs from her catalog, even while it features Any Kind Of Lie, the new release of the time. The sound is excellent. The band of Jones on acoustic guitar, Dixon on bass and vocals, Jamie Hoover on lead guitar and vocals (one of the best, and most fun to watch, guitarists on the planet), Jim Brock on percussion, and Tom Wilhelm on drums is the tightest band ever. Really. Ever. The different texture of each song is voiced in the arrangements and playing in a way that is remarkable. You really should hear it if you have any interest in a fine female voice and great songwriting in combination.

In 2002 came My Tidy Doily Dream. Another fine record, this one features new songs by Dixon and Jones with several guest writing partners. Compared to the her previous work, this one is pretty mellow, but not the worse for it. You just need to adjust to a more delicate sound, sort of like recent Kim Richey or Aimee Mann records. Always, Innocent Kiss, Slave, and So Lonesome I Could Fly are standouts. There are a few too many slow ballads among the rest of the songs for it to be my favorite, but when I'm in the mood for introspection...

In 2008 Don and Marti released Lucky Stars: Lullabies For Old Souls as a download only under both of their names. A mixture of some nice new songs and quite a few instrumental themes, it works as the piece of art-folk it is. Gentile folk songs inspired by love and family, it's a bit twee occasionally, but it also includes some fine moments in Lucky Stars, When I Saw You, and Watching Closely.

I've seen Marti and Don many times live in Cleveland (they live in Marti's NE Ohio hometown), usually with Hoover and Brock rounding out the band, and they are always excellent live. Marti has apparently retired to paint, but if they ever come around, you'll have a good time and see a fine show. You can't go wrong with Used Guitars, Any Kind Of Lie, My Long-Haired Life or Live At Spirit Square. Pick one up- you're in for a treat.

Zappadan 2010 again

2010-12-10T06:17:00.000-08:00

Well, I made it happen, and I'm pleased with the results. In my last post, I discussed the difficulties I was having preparing a new Zappa mix as a companion piece to this one I discussed last year. After angsting over the song list and running order, I think I have produced a worthy second collection.

Inspired by Conceptual Continuity, and featuring songs from several records which did not appear on the first compilation, I winnowed the list down to a reasonable mix of instrumental and vocal performances for my very own listening pleasure.

Here's the CD I just finished making. It goes like this:

1. Be In My Video Them Or Us 1984

2. Hungry Freaks, Daddy Freak Out! 1966

3. Little House I Used To Live In Fillmore East, June 1971 1971

4. One-Shot Deal Waka/Jawaka1972

5. Stink Foot Apostrophe(‘) 1974

6. Zoot Allures Zoot Allures 1976

7. Joe’s Garage Joe’s Garage1979

8. Tinseltown Rebellion Does Humor Belong In Music? 1986

9. What’s New In Baltimore? Does Humor Belong In Music? 1986

10. Holiday In Berlin, Full Blown Burnt Weenie Sandwich 1970

11. Lemme Take You To The Beach Studio Tan 1978

12. What’s The Ugliest Part Of Your Body? We’re Only In It For The Money 1968

13. Take Your Clothes Off When You Dance We’re Only In It For The Money 1968

14. The Grand Wazoo The Grand Wazoo 1972

15. G-Spot Tornado The Yellow Shark 1993

16. Montana Overnite Sensation 1973

We've got some early social satire (some of Frank's best lyric writing), some moments of strangeness (Holiday In Berlin, Little House), some serious music (Grand Wazoo, G-Spot Tornado), and plenty of good dirty fun. What's New In Baltimore? contains one of Zappa's most melodically conventional (and super hot) guitar leads , and One Shot Deal features a section that can almost be called country music.

Put your own playlist together of your favorites. Load them onto the digital media player of your choice, or just slap the records onto a turntable and spin, baby spin. Turn your friends on to Frank's music.

Have a happy Zappadan any way you wanna.

Zappadan 2010

2010-11-30T19:07:00.000-08:00

After last year's festival of Zappadan, I got real serious about Frank for a while, and it was winter, so I cruised on and off through everything Zappa I own, writing down songs of interest for a new compilation, planning on making a follow-up to the Zappa mix I discussed here last year. It took awhile, but I did it in stages.

I've only got four days left as I write this, so I probably won't complete the mix in time for the beginning of the festival, but maybe before it ends. The problem is that after listening to something like thirty-seven Zappa LPs and CDs, writing down song titles and running times, I had about 345 minutes of music. After several sessions of editing, I'm still only down to 210 minutes, which can be done on 3 CDs, but I really wanted to do something a bit more more concise, and sane, than that. Something that someone other than me would perhaps also enjoy.

I've also recently been reading Zappa: A Biography by Barry Miles. I've read the criticisms of the book, and they may be well founded, as I'm hardly a reader of biographies in general. But the factual basics of his life's chronology seem pretty well detailed, and as a fan that didn't know that much about the man, I'm finding it interesting. He was a different sort.

And so, to kick off the festivities of Zappadan, I give you my Top Five Favorite (not Best, not Most Important) Zappa Records in no particular order:
Weasels Ripped My Flesh 1970
The Grand Wazoo 1972
Apostrophe(') 1974
The Best Band You Never Heard In Your Life 1991
One Size Fits All 1975

Classics '69-'71

2010-11-28T14:55:00.000-08:00

Back in the glorious cassette days when the only portable device was a cassette tape player, the Mix Tape was a thing of romance, style and pre-programmed party soundtracks. I made many a mix tape for various friends and lovers, and when the cassette's days were numbered, I bought a Marantz CD recorder that alloys me all the same freedom of mixing from CDs and LPs and, well, cassettes.

And so I continue the mix tape tradition of the cassette era into the CD era. One of my all-time favorite mix tapes of my own was a two-tape issue called Classics '69-'71. I recorded it from vinyl to two 90-minute cassettes. A few years ago I re-made the mix on three CDs, adding another 45 minutes or so of additional songs.

The music all comes from 1967- 1973, but most is from the title years, and I liked the way it sounded, even if it wasn't completely accurate. Here's the three CDs:
Disc One:

1. Australia The Kinks

2. You’re So Rude The Faces

3. Turn My Life Down Jefferson Airplane

4. Son Of Your Father Elton John

5. Going Mobile The Who

6. No Matter What Badfinger

7. Keep On Growing Derek and the Dominos

8. Just A Season The Byrds

9. Station Man Fleetwood Mac

10. We Were Always Sweethearts Boz Scaggs

11. Delta Lady Joe Cocker

12. Trust Me Janis Joplin

13. Sugar Magnolia The Greatful Dead

14. Savoy Truffle The Beatles

15. Only You Know And I Know Dave Mason

16. Done Somebody Wrong The Allman Brothers

17. Cinnamon Girl Neil Young

18. Can’t You Hear Me Knockin’ The Rolling Stones

Disc Two:

1. Sweet Jane The Velvet Underground

2. Caledonia Mission The Band

3. Superlungs My Supergirl Donovan

4. Bold As Love The Jimi Hendrix Experience

5. Don’t Wait Too Long New York Rock Ensemble

6. Jewel Eyed Judy Fleetwood Mac

7. Holler And Shout The Elvin Bishop Group

8. Stay With Me The Faces

9. Flames Of Love Boz Scaggs

10. Come On (Part 1) The Jimi Hendrix Experience

11. Law And Order New York Rock Ensemble

12. Feeling Alright Joe Cocker

13. Bitch The Rolling Stones

14. Me And My Uncle The Grateful Dead

15. We Can Talk The Band

16. What Goes On The Velvet Underground

17. People Got To Be Free The Rascals

18. Boppin’ The Blues Carl Perkins And NRBQ

19. Why Does Love Got To Be So Sad Derek And The Dominos

20. Try (Just A Little Bit Harder) Janis Joplin

21. Amoreena Elton John

Disc Three:

1. Revolution The Beatles

2. Evil Ways Santana

3. Domino Van Morrison

4. I Can’t Take It Badfinger

5. Black Dog Led Zeppelin

6. Everyday People Sly And The Family Stone

7. Baba O’Riley The Who

8. Apeman The Kinks

9. Trudi Donovan

10. I’m So Glad Cream

11. Can’t Be So Bad Moby Grape

12. Do You Know What I Mean Lee Michaels

13. Green Eyed Lady Sugarloaf

14. What Is Life George Harrison

15. Mississippi Queen Mountain

16. China Grove The Doobie Brothers

17. Honky Tonk Woman The Rolling Stones

18. My Old School Steely Dan

19. Over-Lovin’ You The Electric Flag

20. Caravan Van Morrison

21. Take Me To The Pilot Elton John

So that's my classic rock station there, and many of my earliest favorites. I suppose I could turn it into a playlist on the iPod these days. If you want a soundtrack for my life in my teens, and a fine mix for the car, there you go.

The Frank And Joe Show "33 1/3" 2004

2010-11-21T18:06:00.000-08:00

Frank Vignola is a lightning-fast jazz guitarist and Joe Ascione is his talented percussionist partner. Bass, Piano, Trumpet and Violin round out the band on some of the tracks, and Dr. John, Jane Monheit and Janis Siegel guest on one song each.

The recording is very detailed and dynamic. Turn it up. You'll hear more. The sound of the acoustic guitar is particularly well captured. With the right toys, it's like they are in your living room.

Lovely instrumental versions of Begin The Beguine, Tico Tico, Paper Moon, Alone Again Naturally, and Stardust are easy-to-like highlights. Novelties like Spiderman, Mozart Jam, and a blazing Flight Of The Bumblebee do more to show how fast and clean Vignola can play than much else. They're good, if you like that sort of thing.

Janis Siegel's take on Don't Fence Me In is very fine, with Siegel harmonizing with herself to beautiful effect.

But the raison d'etre for this record is the Jane Monheit sung Besame Mucho. The guitar, and Joe's percussion, surround Ms. Monheit's glorious, tension-filled vocal, a mystery of restraint and simmering lust. The recording is one of the finest female vocal presentations available, which makes this an excellent piece of music to evaluate a playback system. Or you can just enjoy a perfect reading of a fine song.

Pretty good record from a musician that sounds his best when he stops trying to show off his talent and just digs in and gets emotive. And it happens fairly often. One song that is too good to miss if you love the female voice.

Feagal Sharkey Feargal Sharkey 1985, Wish 1988

2010-11-17T18:03:00.000-08:00

Feargal Sharkey is an interesting guy. As lead singer of the Undertones for five years, Sharkey led one of the most agitated bands in all of punk. And they could get on your nerves. Mostly in a good way, but not always. They were a punk band through, and they weren't as pop as many other punk bands.

So, in 1985, when Sharkey released this solo debut, produced by chart hit-maker, Eurythmics Dave Stewart, it was hard to believe it was the same guy who had screamed his way into our hearts. The unusually high and clear voice is the same, but here it is leading a full-blown 80s Big Rock Record. Stewart not only produces, but plays guitar and co-writes several songs. Micheal Kamen (a big soundtrack guy, and ex of New York Rock Ensemble) arranged the strings, and there is a strong crew of studio experts and guests on hand. It's well played.

The songs are up and down. Highlights include A Good Heart, a jittery 80s synth hit that was a UK #1, You Little Thief, a Benmont Tench-penned stomper, Ashes To Diamonds, a U2-styled rocker with a huge stadium vocal, Made To Measure and Don't Leave It To Nature. The rest of the material is either lesser songs or just too much 80s bombast, like Someone To Somebody, which sounds way too much like a future Celine Dion song.

The good songs are quite good. There's not quite enough of them for a whole album, but that doesn't mean you should never hear it. Serious Undertones fans must have been flabbergasted.

An even more remarkable and seemingly crazy pairing was the 1988 follow-up, Wish. Produced by Southern California's own Danny Kortchmar, and staffed by members of Toto, along with Waddy Wachtel and Steve Jordan, it delivers the punk king to LA to make a Jackson Browne/Warren Zevon/Toto hybrid that works a lot better than it should. It's still got that 80s sheen to it, but not as much as Stewart's debut production job. There's almost an organic sound to it. Almost.

Side One, with Cold, Cold Streets, More Love, Full Confession, Please Don't Believe In Me, and Out Of My System is a perfect album side. Side Two has at least three more good ones. Find a used copy of either one, but especially Wish. Kortchmar does a great production job, and almost all the material is excellent. Sharkey's high voice is remarkable. You don't hear many singers like him.

Spinning Vinyl

2010-11-11T19:14:00.000-08:00

Another not so quiet evening at home. Let's see what's in the racks.

I got home early and fired things up with The Marshall Tucker Band's debut from 1973, side one: Take The Highway, Can't You See, and Losing You. You might remember Can't You See. It's a fine Southern rock record, with soul and gospel touches on top of that Skynyrd thang.

Next up- Lucinda Williams, side three of World Without Tears 2003, including the magnificent title track. "If we lived in a world without tears, How would bruises find the face to lie upon... How would broken find the bone".

Elvis Costello and the Attractions Get Happy! 1980. An oft overlooked gem, side one includes I Can't Stand Up For Falling Down, Black And White World, Motel Matches, Human Touch, and Beaten To The Punch, some monster Elvis, and Steve Nieve's organ is always perfect.

The Heptones Night Food 1976. I haven't listened to much Reggae in a while, but this was always one of my favorite Reggae records. Side one includes Country Boy, the overly-menacing I've Got The Handle, Book Of Rules and Mama Say. Reggae got soul even more than Toots himself.

Side four of The Very Best Of Diana Krall, with Let's Face The Music And Dance, and The Heart Of Saturday Night, and Fly Me To The Moon. I know, you either love her or hate her. I love her. And her piano kicks it, too. Amazing recent vinyl release- as good as they get.

Beatles For Sale, 1964, No Reply, I'm A Loser, Baby's In Black, Rock And Roll Music, I'll Follow The Sun. In that order. Big fun, and amazing stuff. The record just before Rubber Soul. It's even better than you remember.

All of the sudden I had to hear Cat Food, from King Crimson's In The Wake Of Poseiden 1970. Cat Food is the bomb. All jerky guitar and crazy talk. Cat Food again!

That inspired XTC's Egyptian Solution (Homo Safari Series No. 3) from the Senses Working Overtime 12" Single/EP. A remarkably funky slice of XTC, they do a sort-of Tom-Tom Club crossed with Can that digs a deep groove. An unusual XTC song, and well worth hearing.

Why not Spoon's The Beast And The Dragon, Adored from Gimmie Fiction 2005. Then Give Up The Funk (Tear The Roof Off The Sucker) by Parliament from The Mothership Connection LP 1975. While we're getting funky, Prince's When You Were Mine and Head from 1980's Dirty Mind. When you were mine is a classic rocker from Prince, and Head, well it's a funky workout about exactly what you think it's about.

Finally the evening winds down with Lay It All Down and Show Me A Smile from Fleetwood Mac's 1973 outing Future Games. Lay It All Down is a bluesy workout with a dynamite dual-guitar jam, and Show Me A Smile is the template for better Christine McVie love songs to come, but the elements are all here. Future Games is really something to hear if you haven't.

Shelby Lynne I Am Shelby Lynne 1999

2010-11-09T15:35:00.000-08:00

Shelby Lynne released five country records prior to this, and there is some good material on them. She has a good voice, and does that vulnerable thing especially well. But it never quite took.

This is a perfect pop record. Produced by Bill Bottrell, most songs co-written by Lynne and Bottrell, and lovingly engineered by Mark Cross, the record sounds fabulous.

Shelby was out to recreate her sound and image. The combination of Lynne's new found southern pop-rock-soul identity, Bottrell's production and arrangement flourishes, and an absolutely dynamic recording with depth and punch to spare add up to a winning formula. Now all we need are some songs.

And the songs deliver in spades. Your Lies starts things off in bombast mode, as dramatic as any tale of heartbreak you'll ever hear. Crank this one up, and test you're ability to withstand big pop music. It's classic. A Southern soul blend with sultry Philly soul slides through Leavin', Thought It Would Be Easier, Where I'm From, and Black Light Blue. Life Is Bad and Why Can't You Be are both quality mid-tempo, Sheryl Crow-styled rockers. Gotta Get Back swings like some unholy cross between Aretha and Sade with a little Dusty on the side. Even the softer moments of Lookin' Up (a 3 am blues) and Dreamsome hold up because of the interesting arrangements, both instrumental and vocal.

Great lyrics bathed in Southern themes and heartbreak. Sultry vocals with immaculate harmonies. Big, gorgeous production with just the right touches. Beautiful sound engineering, dynamic, crisp and clean, worthy of a high-quality music system.

Lynne has made at least one particularly good record since, her Dusty Springfield tribute Just A Little Lovin' 2008. But there's also been several self-produced disappointments, Love, Shelby 2001 and Suit Yourself 2005.

Nothing she did before or after can touch this magnificent record, and there are not many modern, intelligent pop records that can even come close. The sound of everything coming together.

Dr. Dog Shame, Shame 2010

2010-11-03T18:03:00.000-07:00

There is a place somewhere smack in the middle of a continuum that starts at Spoon and ends at Marshall Crenshaw, passing through the Beatles, Mott The Hoople and the Hollies along the way. That place is this Dr. Dog record.

At times it's the great guitarist. Then some other time a great piano line. Quite a few times when you notice the perfect bass line. Solid drumming, especially when it almost falls apart, but not really. Interesting lyrics. Strong melodies and hook-filled choruses. Remarkably perfect harmonies abound.

There are psychedelic touches, some that echo Magical Mystery Tour-era Beatles, or Odessa by the Bee Gees, but they never overwhelm the underlying tune-smithery at work. These are well-written, particularly well arranged and produced songs that display excellent structure and maintain a very high level of melodic quality. It's smart stuff. You can listen to it and not be doing anything else (this is an interesting idea, no?) And it is fun, too.

Today's thinking and dancing man's pop-rock. Hey, XTC are gone, but these crazy dudes from Philly might just have some of those same twitchy guitar figures and funky backbeats. The record makes me keep thinking of Spoon, except I don't have to work so hard to enjoy it. And it is more pop. And that's good.

I could give you the play-by-play, but there are too many highlights, and I'd end up repeating superlatives. I put a big plus sign in front of eight of the eleven songs, and I had positive notes about the other three.

Very highly recommended. Available on vinyl if you're so inclined.

Elton John / Leon Russel The Union 2010

2010-10-28T18:11:00.000-07:00

I've been waiting patiently for this release for several months now. Three reasons: Elton John has been making some great records in the last ten years, his best since the seventies; Leon Russell made some great records a long time ago, and the two of them together sounded like an interesting idea; It was to be released on vinyl, and even though that shouldn't matter, it does.

Elton's liner notes tell a sweet story of how the record came to be, and I'm glad for Leon that Elton's a generous soul, because I suspect this record will change Leon's tax bracket this year.

There are, though, several less than perfect aspects to the record. T-bone Burnett produces, and while Burnett has a way with country/acoustic/roots music recordings, he's definitely not the guy for this job. A steadier pop hand would have worked better. And the sound is often muddy. When there are multiple players and singers, the sound is dark and distant, like Phil Spector from down the hall. Being able to hear both pianos in interplay is only really possible on a few tracks.

But the even greater weakness is the material. Of course, it's a two LP set, with 16 songs in this CD age, and it would have been better as a ten-song affair. That would have made this a much better product right there. Much of what could be omitted are the John/Taupin compositions, because they sound like outtakes from his last three records.

But it is not without its charms.

The opener is Russell's If It Wasn't For Bad. A good start to the record, Leon's voice sounds good, and his piano fills are superb. Eight Hundred Dollar Shoes follows, a slow John/Taupin ballad that features a nice piano duet and a strong lyric from Taupin. Hey Ahab, another John/Taupin write, is a fair mid-tempo rocker that goes on a little too long, although Leon's piano almost saves the day. Gone To Shiloh is a John/Taupin number that hearkens back to Tumbleweed Connection and that record's focus on Civil War America. Neil Young guests, and sings some fine harmonies with Leon.

Hearts Have Turned To Stone, a Russell composition, is a good mid-tempo rocker. Jimmie Rodger's Dream is a rolling country cowboy song, something Elton and Bernie have done a lot before. It's OK. There's No Tomorrow is a co-write between Elton and Leon with a mediocre lyric, that is just plain too slow. The guitar work by Marc Ribot and Robert Randolph just barely keeps it breathing. Monkey Suit is one of those Crocodile Rock/ Saturday Night's Alright bluesy rockers that Elton and Bernie do so well, and it's a keeper. Leon is relegated to back-up vocals, and the pianos are too deep in the mix, but it is still good.

Best Part Of The Day has an honest duet vocal that works, and the lyric is worth hearing, but it is a very very familiar Elton John melody barely reworked. A Dream Come True, written by Elton and Leon, is a rollicking, fast-paced rag, with a sentimental lyric that is a tribute to Elton from Leon. Wonderful pianos on this one also. I Should Have Sent Roses is a Russel/Taupin composed gem. Leon sings his heart out, and benefits from a fine Taupin lyric. When Love Is Dying is another overly familiar John/Taupin melody hung on a big, slow ballad that's just OK.

My Kind Of Hell, another John/Taupin authorship, is a second-rate Taupin lyric attached to a Honky Cat remake that's not bad. Mandalay Again (John/Taupin) is a boring march that is just not up to snuff. Never Too Old (To Hold Somebody) is another painfully slow, dull melody, but there is a tasty vocal arrangement with choir. And finally, Leon comes through at the end with his own In The Hands Of Angels, a beautiful song with just piano, organ, bass and choir, Leon again pays tribute to Elton, and T-bone Burnett. The sparse arrangement is like nothing else on the record, and thank goodness! Everything else sounds too much the same. And that is T-bone Burnett's job.

There are great moments from both Elton and Leon. There are some weaker songs courtesy of Elton mostly. Some of the highs are very much worth hearing. By my count seven excellent tracks, five others that are good, and four that should have never been released.

I'm a little disappointed. It's worth hearing, and you might like it more than I did. Take it out of the library.

Frank Sinatra Sinatra And Sextet Live In Paris 1962

2010-10-24T19:15:00.000-07:00

Well, I've been on a bit of a spree lately. And this lovely two slabs of plastic is pretty fine.

Newly remastered and pressed, this '62 recording is far from perfect, but it comes close on several tracks. Sinatra is in fine voice, and the sextet is polished and able. But the band is recorded too low in the mix most of the time, and Sinatra's voice is too forward. But if it is Sinatra's voice you're after, it is here in spades.

Day In - Day Out, I've Got You Under My Skin, I Get A Kick Out Of You, My Funny Valentine, In The Still Of The Night, and They Can't Take That Away From Me are all stellar performances from the Voice. A quiet duet between Sinatra and guitarist Al Viola on Night And Day is excellent. Nancy (With The Laughing Eyes) and the closer, Come Fly With Me, are also standouts.

The trouble is that's less than half of what's here, and much of the rest sounds like Sinatra and band are sleepwalking through the repertoire. Maybe I shouldn't be that harsh on the band. It's a strong group, but the arrangements were written for orchestra, so the saxophone and vibes are trying hard to mimic a string section, and it doesn't work that well. Then there is the unfortunate mix, which does not let you hear the band until Sinatra is way too loud.

I enjoyed the record. Sinatra has it all going on in '62, and the record has been lovingly restored and pressed by Mobile Fidelity. It's a darn good live Sinatra record, but it could have been a great record. The (mostly) lazy performances and the unfortunate mix keep this from being everything it could be. Pretty good for fanatics, but most of us will be better off with other Sinatra recordings.

Tom Caufield Long Distance Calling 1987

2010-10-19T18:10:00.000-07:00

Tom Caufield's debut is one of those perfect records. To me. You might like it, too. You'll have to shop used, but it is available.

The record opens with Recovery Room, all spit and pop. "Get me out of the recovery room, 'cause other girls are looking good again". All this to a Tom Petty-like hook-filled chorus. My Discovery is a jangle-pop gem, and again the great chorus. Long Distance Calling is a classic rocker, and Caufield's lyrics are perfect pop, full of teen angst and metaphor.

After the three song opening barrage, Long After Summer sounds just like the summer memories it should. Precious Town rocks fast and furious, with a horn section adding to the mostly guitar, bass, drums, and keys of the rest of the record. We See As One and Another Time, Another Place keep the quality of the rockers high, while I should Work For This and For Her Intimate Self are particularly fine ballads.

The consistency of songwriting, the frequency and quality of the memorable choruses and catchy hooks, the lyrical turns of phrase, and Caufield's above average voice. It's killer stuff.

What sounds like it? Nothing really, but Del Amitri, Tom Petty (early), Bill Lloyd, and the Hang-Ups come close. This is a rock and roll record that could have, and should have, had at least four hit singles, and there's nothing wrong with listening to the whole thing. Great for a road trip, too.