Bob Dylan Shadow Kingdom 2023

This new Bob Dylan record is an odd entry in the catalog, and a good one in most ways. The studio recording was used as the soundtrack to the "concert" film Shadow Kingdom: The Early Songs of Bob Dylan by Alma Har'el. It was recorded in early 2021 with a drummer-less band featuring Don Was, T-Bone Burnett, Greg Leisz, Jeff Taylor, Doug Lacy, and Tim Pierce.The arrangements are acoustic, the songs are from Dylan's catalog, originally released between 1965 and 1989, with one new instrumental, the lovely Sierra's Theme that closes the album. 

The arrangements are all very different from their original versions, most of them strikingly so. Some of the songs fare better in these new arrangements than others, but the approach is admirable and certainly more interesting than a simple re-recording of past material. The arrangements are generally sparse, and feature accordion on almost all tracks. Dylan plays harmonica quite a bit, and the band is loose and casual sounding. Nothing is "thrown off", but some of it is meant to sound that way. Dylan's singing is quietly up front and very expressive, especially since he doesn't have to sing "over" the music. 

The set opens with When I Paint My Masterpiece, and it takes a while to realize it's the same song. That happens quite a few times on the earliest work such as Most Likely You Go Your Way (And I Go Mine), Queen Jane Approximately, Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues, and Pledging My Time. There are versions of To Be Alone With You (Nashville Skyline), What Was It You Wanted (Oh Mercy), The Wicked Messenger and I'll Be Your Baby Tonight (John Wesley Harding), and an especially poignant Forever Young, one of several standouts.

Compared to most legacy artists, Dylan continues to find new approaches while refusing to do the same thing. During the eighties and most of the nineties, that produced mostly disappointing results, while more recently it has produced some great records. I don't know if this is essential Dylan, but if you think any of his work in the last twenty years is essential, then you should at least hear this one.

The Rolling Stones

I'm not fanatic about the Stones, but I'm a fan, and I've been surprised by their longevity and the quality of much of their work, even after 1971. 

The Stones got started with a bang. Their early records were all worth hearing. The debut, England's Newest Hit Makers 1964, is an amazing first effort. The covers of American R&B are all solid, and there's even an early Jagger/Richards classic in Tell Me. Now! 1965 is the debut's equal with more great R&B covers, and Jagger/Richards' Heart of Stone and Off The Hook are solid. More great covers and even stronger Jagger/Richards efforts fill Out Of Our Heads 1965, with Satisfaction, The Last Time, Play With Fire and The Spider and the Fly showing off their quickly developing writing prowess. December's Children 1965 is a collection of songs not previously released in the US with a few US singles. No new recording sessions were done for the record,  It is another fine blend of covers and originals (half of the songs). Get Off My Cloud, As Tears Go By, and I'm Free are standout originals, and although it was cobbled together for the US market, it is another worthy outing from the early Stones.

The Stones were treated similarly to the Beatles in that their US and UK records were not the same, even though many were released with the same title. The first five UK releases were turned into seven albums in the US, with the addition of singles and UK EPs. 

Next up was Aftermath 1966, the first Rolling Stones release with only Jagger/Richards originals. It is highly regarded as a classic, and I'm not one to argue, but the US release is front-loaded with many of the best songs, kicking off with Paint It Black, Stupid Girl, Lady Jane, and Under My Thumb. Their songwriting is strong and the performances are excellent, with Brian Jones becoming more a multi-instrumentalist than merely a guitarist, and adding color and variety in the process. 1967 saw the release of Between The Buttons, another all-originals set, and while not quite as fine as Aftermath, it's very close, and more varied in both writing and performance. Brian Jones plays no less than twelve instruments in addition to guitar, and Jagger/Richards produce a varied set of strong tunes. While it is ostensibly a compilation, Flowers 1967, released in the US only, had three songs that had never been released, and two others had only appeared as singles in the US market. Although derided as a promotional ploy for the US market, it has plenty of good songs, and a few that were only available on this release at the time. 

December 1967 brought Their Satanic Majesties Request, the first Rolling Stones record that received mixed-to-poor reviews. The record was their first self-produced effort, their only psychedelic release, as far from rhythm and blues as they would ever stray, and mostly a mess. She's A Rainbow and 2000 Light Years From Home save it from the junk bin, but it is their only early stinker.

Beggar's Banquet 1968 began the run of their four finest records, all produced by Jimmy Miller, and released between 1967 and 1972. A grand mix of rockers and blues, it is a classic from start to finish. With Sympathy For The Devil, Street Fighting Man, and Salt Of The Earth showing their mature songwriting and arranging, and the funky blues of Stray Cat Blues, it is just a fine record. It is also the first time that they adopt a country sound for some songs, a trend that will continue throughout this classic period and beyond.

Let It Bleed 1969 continues in a similar vein to Beggar's Banquet. Rockers, country and blues all show up in spades, and it is another Stones classic. The record has a darkness to both the music and lyrical themes that sets it apart from anything they did before it. Gimme Shelter, Let It Bleed, Live With Me, Midnight Rambler, and You Can't Always Get What You Want all rock hard, and Love In Vain and Country Honk show off their country blues to fine effect. Another one that rewards listening all the way through, just like it was 1969 again.

That brings us to Sticky Fingers 1971. With the full integration of Mick Taylor's guitar, and a near-perfect set of songs, it is the Stones' finest hour. Brown Sugar, Can't You Hear Me Knocking, Wild Horses, Bitch, You Gotta Move, and Dead Flowers are all stand-outs, and there isn't a song, or even a note, out of place. They have done much good work since this one, but they've never bettered it.

At this point I should mention Singles Collection: The London Years 1989, a compilation on 3 CDs or 4 LPs that contains all the singles and B sides from 1963 to 1971. There are a ton of Stones compilations, and  a few really good ones, but this one is just the bomb. Quite a few lesser known B sides, and a great overview of the most interesting period for the band.

Which brings us to Exile On Main Street 1972. It is a shambles, and it is great. It is the most Kieth Richards of any Stones record. A friend recently derided Kieth's technique as primitive and sloppy (I know, shocking, right?). But that's at least partly true, and this record is the proof. And it is also a really fun sort of Mott The Hoople kind of mess. I love it, then I'm less crazy about it, but it is a singular record in the Stones catalog, and maybe anyone else's. Recommended tracks: Side 1, Side 2, Side 4, and more than half of Side 3.

I'm not so aligned with the more recent positive reassessments of Goat's Head Soup 1973. It was always a disappointment, and maybe the bar was too high after the four beforehand. It has good songs- Angie, Heartbreaker, Star Star- but the lesser songs sound like a band running on fumes and bubbles. 

It's Only Rock and Roll 1974 was a mixed bag, but the high points got higher than Goat's Head Soup. Ain't Too Proud To Beg, Time Waits For No One, and the title track stand up to their best work. But this is going to be the way ahead for most Stones records to come. A few solid singles destined for the next compilation (they released more compilation albums than studio records), and a lot of mediocre other stuff.

I'll just shorten things up here and say that description applies to all of the following: Black And Blue 1976, Emotional Rescue 1980, Tatoo You 1981, Undercover 1983, Dirty Work 1986, Voodoo Lounge 1994, Bridges To Babylon 1997, and A Bigger Bang 2005. If your favorite is in there, that's fine, they all have a few tasty morsels, but limited moments of high quality rock and roll.

So what were the standouts since 1972? Some Girls 1978 qualifies as a really good one. When The Whip Comes Down, Beast Of Burden, Shattered, Miss You and the title track are hot, and they sound rowdy and young and full of themselves, which has always worked for the Stones. Steel Wheels 1989 was a solid return to form after a pretty awful decade. Even if the singles didn't outshine their past, the record as a whole held up quite well. And the featured ballads, Almost Hear You Sigh and Slipping Away, are both classics. Stripped 1995 is shockingly good at this point in their career. I'm not spending time with their plethora of mostly dull live records, but Stripped, billed as live, has only 6 live tracks recorded in small venues, and 8 "live in the studio" tracks. Jagger sounds particularly inspired, and the acoustic guitars and mix of songs are a blast.

I don't quite know what to say about Blue & Lonesome 2016. It's all old blues songs rendered with respect and reverence. It's OK. Maybe you loved the early sixties R&B material and hear a resemblance. But it is not R&B, it's straight blues, and it just never grabbed me. While Kieth Richards and Ronnie Wood are good guitarists, they are not really blues players. Your mileage may vary.

There are a lot of compilations covering various periods, and most are pretty good. GRRR! 2012 is the most complete career overview, and does a good job if you want the hits and a few other standouts. It came in 2, 3, and 4 disc versions, with 2 missing too much, 4 a bit of overload, and 3 just right, Goldilocks.

Allen Toussaint The Allen Toussaint Collection 1991

Allen Toussaint is an interesting artist, producer, and songwriter whose work helped to define New Orleans modern-day funky soul. As a producer, arranger, pianist and songwriter, he contributed to the work of Lee Dorsey, Ernie K Doe, Erma Thomas, Art and Aaron Neville, The Meters, Etta James, Robert Palmer, The Wild Tchoupitoulas, Patti LaBelle, Dr. John, The Band, Elvis Costello, Paul McCartney, Eric Clapton, Cyndi Lauper, and more.

He had a late career renaissance with The River In Reverse 2006 (with Elvis Costello), The Bright Mississippi 2009, Songbook 2013 and American Tunes 2016 (released posthumously).

This collection is a best-of from his four seventies records that tried to turn him into a solo star- From A Whisper To A Scream 1971, Life, Love and Faith 1972, Southern Nights 1975, and Motion 1978. The compilation pulls the stronger material from each record, and is a fine set of Toussaint's New Orleans soul-funk-pop. From A Whisper to a Scream and Night People (both covered by Robert Palmer), On Your Way Down (covered by Little Feat), What Do You Want The Girl To Do (Bonnie Raitt), and Southern Nights (Glen Campbell) all sound as good here as their more famous covers. 

The rest of the songs are equal to the more famous ones, with What Is Success, Soul Sister, Motion and Happiness showing off Toussaint's sly funk-soul to good effect, and several fine examples of Toussaint's way with a ballad. Drawing 3-6 songs from each album makes for a very strong collection, without a weak song in the set.

Originally released on CD in 1991, it saw its way to vinyl in 2017 as a three-sided LP. Although Toussaint generally preferred his work behind the scenes, he was a fine performer, and returned to touring outside of New Orleans (post-Katrina) in his later years. I had the extreme pleasure of seeing him live in Cleveland in 2014 with The Preservation Hall Jazz Band just a year before he died while on tour in Spain, and he put on a fabulous show.

You can't go wrong with this collection. I'm sure it leaves out quite a few other good songs, but the ones that made the cut are all top notch.

Perfect (or near perfect) again

I've approached this topic several times before here and here and here and here. It is a fun thing to consider, but also clearly a matter of taste, and so not everyone will agree. I won't be listing any Genesis or Yes albums, or anything by the Jam or Pink Floyd, even though I know people who would certainly have those bands' records on a list like this. This time I'll stick closer to the "classics" perhaps than my previous posts.

Obviously, I find Rubber Soul to fit the description, but with one caveat. I think the original American release is perfect, but I don't feel quite the same about the UK version, which became the standard once the Beatles were on CD. Of course now the American releases can be had on CD (individually since 2014, or in a 2006 box set).

Elvis Costello and the Attractions This Year's Model and Imperial Bedroom. For This Year's Model, I prefer the UK release because it included I Don't Want To Go To Chelsea, maybe the best song on the record, and not included on the original American release. Imperial Bedroom is the last great record with the Attractions, and the most Beatles-like record in Costello's catalog.

The Who Who's Next. Almost as interesting a story as the record itself. In the wake of Pete Townsend's overblown expectations and failed completion of his Lifehouse project, the best of that project and a few others were recorded for the Who's finest moment. A classic radio staple, it got played to death and still somehow sounds great today. One of many fantastic Glyn Johns produced records.

The Clash London Calling. They hit it out of the park. Nothing else compares to it. Not as punk as their earlier records, and not as indulgent (or in the case of Combat Rock, lame) as what came after it.

Moby Grape Moby Grape. A fabulous debut that the band could never again match. They had some great songs, but never again a great LP.

Bob Dylan Blond On Blond. It's hard to digest in one sitting, but any side is enjoyable on its own. There are of course other Dylan records to consider (Bringing It All Back Home, John Wesley Harding, Blood On The Tracks, Time Out Of Mind, "Love And Theft"), but Blond On Blond is the one that almost no one will disagree with as a perfect (or near perfect) outing.

David Bowie Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars. Again, every song a winner. Would we even have a glam rock category without this record? It also makes a case for Mick Ronson being one of the most underrated guitarists in rock.

Rolling Stones Sticky Fingers. This one is about the songs. The record contains the most consistently strong list of Jagger-Richards compositions of any Stones album. The pinnacle of their amazing 1968-1972 run of four great ones.

Kelly Willis What I Deserve. Perfect country record. Easy and Translated From Love come in awfully close. Willis has a great voice, writes great songs (many with husband Bruce Robison), and lays off the "modern" country sound that emulates 80's arena rock to stick to a more traditional mainstream.

Allen Toussaint The Bright Mississippi. Just right New Orleans jazz, and Toussaint's late career masterpiece.  Not "challenging" jazz, but melodic and skillful. As near perfect as music gets these days, and timeless.

Irma Thomas Love Is The Foundation. Another New Orleans classic, Thomas has made a lot of fine music in her career. This one was recorded and released by Newvelle Records, a pricey niche vinyl-only label that produces (mostly) jazz records. Again, a late career masterwork.

I don't discuss jazz here as often as I listen to it, but here's three slices of jazz perfection: Nat King Cole After Midnight, Bill Evans Sunday At The Village Vanguard (both classics from the golden age of jazz in the 50s and 60s) and Stacey Kent Breakfast On The Morning Tram, a more recent choice, but no less compelling.

Involuntary Musical Imagery (Earworms)

Like many others, I am prone to getting a song stuck in my head. All day long I'll be humming, whistling, or singing the same tune, unable to escape the melody. I'm not usually too bothered by this, but sometimes they get stuck for just too darn long. I can usually remedy the problem by listening to the song, and then listening to something else. I do occasionally get a new song stuck, but mostly these songs come from my formative years, songs I've known and loved for decades. In fact, these are all from the sixties. Here's my top five most likely to be earworms for me:

5. Suspicious Minds- Elvis Presley  Elvis's last number one, and one of his best.

So if an old friend I know
Stops by to say hello
Would I still see suspicion in your eyes?
Here we go again
Asking where I've been
You can't see the tears I'm crying

We can't go on together
With suspicious minds
And we can't build our dreams
On suspicious minds

 

4. The Poor Side Of Town- Johnny Rivers   One of a very small number of songs Rivers actually wrote, and another number one hit.

 

How can you tell me
How much you miss me
When the last time I saw you
You wouldn't even kiss me

That rich guy you've been seein'
Must have put you down
So welcome back baby
To the poor side of town

 

Do-doo-doo-wah, shoo-be-doo-be

3. It's A Beautiful Day Today- Moby Grape.  A lovely ballad with great guitar parts.

Dawn to dawn a lifetime
The birds sing and day's begun
The heavens shine from dawn to dusk
With golden rays of sun

People on their way
Beginning a brand new day
I love hearing people say
It's a beautiful day today

2. Chapel Of Love- The Dixie Cups  Just a perfect melody, and the Dixie
Cups make it into one of the great girl group singles, and again, a number one hit.

Bells will ring, sun will shine, whoa
I'll be his and he'll be mine
We'll love until the end of time
And we'll never be lonely anymore

Because we're goin' to the chapel
And we're gonna get married
Goin' to the chapel
And we're gonna get married
Gee, I really love you
And we're gonna get married
Goin' to the chapel of love

1. Expressway To Your Heart- The Soul Survivors   This one gets stuck in 

my head all the time. The opening bass and drums intro always starts the earworm, and it's always hard to get out of my head. Usually, its an all day affair.

I was wrong, baby, it took too long
I got caught in the rush hour

Fellas started to shower
You with love and affection

Now you won't  look in my direction

On the expressway to your heart
The expressway, not the best way
At five o'clock it's much too crowded
Much too crowded, so crowded
Oh, too crowded

Dave Edmunds Get It 1977

So Dave Edmunds recorded a classic in 1977. It is almost a Rockpile record, but without Billy Bremner.

Get It is essentially perfect. Edmunds made several others that came close, but this is the bomb.

What makes it so great? Well, Edmunds is an excellent guitarist, a fine singer with just a touch of nasal twang in his voice, and a lover of, and skilled practitioner of, all things rockabilly and/or early rock and roll. And he writes songs almost as good as the tasty covers he chooses.

And what a list of great covers: Bob Seger's rocking Get Out Of Denver, Graham Parker's rockabilly Back To School Days, Rogers and Hart's tender Where And When, Jim Ford's Ju Ju Man, Bob Kelly's Get It, Otis Blackwell's great Let's Talk About Us, Hank William's Hey Good Lookin', and Arthur Crudup's My Baby Left Me. I mean the man has studied the classics of early rock and roll, country and rockabilly, and his choices are hard to criticize. 

Add to that Nick Lowe's wonderful I Knew The Bride (the fast version) and What Did I Do Last Night? as well as Edmunds own Worn Out Suits, Brand New Pockets, and two co-writes with Lowe, Little Darlin' and Here Comes The Weekend.

Only two songs are more than three minutes long. There isn't a wasted note. Edmund's voice is a perfect vehicle for these mostly rockabilly gems. His twangy guitar is always spot on. Lowe contributes bass and Terry Williams drums, thus the "almost Rockpile" reference.

The whole record is on YouTube, if you're so inclined. The two before this one, Rockpile 1972 (with his only hit single, from 1970, I Hear You Knocking), and Subtle As A Flying Mallet 1975, cover similar terrain, and are also well worth your time.

Van Morrison Moving On Skiffle 2023

Van Morrison's new record is both a welcome return to form, and a bit of a disappointment. 

The disappointment, at least for me, is that it is a skiffle record. Skiffle is a distillation of simple blues, country, and gospel traditional music played on acoustic, often homemade instruments, and wildly popular for a relatively brief period in the UK of the 1950s, Morrison's childhood.

But that's about the only thing wrong with it. Morrison adds piano, organ, drums, as well as harmonica and sax to the simple acoustic guitar and washboard percussion of the classic skiffle sound. This certainly fattens up these simple tunes, and makes the form at least somewhat more interesting. Morrison did a live record with Lonnie Donegan back in 2000 that stuck to the skiffle tradition, and this is way better than that one.

And Van Morrison is obviously delighted by these tunes, and he sings the heck out of them. His voice and it's application have lost nothing, and at 77, he can sing as well as ever, which is pretty remarkable. 

It is notable that since these are all covers, this also means that the political tirades of his last two records are absent from this outing, and that makes it a welcome respite.

The band cooks, but only so much, because this isn't rock and roll, it's skiffle, and the form is by it's nature pretty limited. The arrangements and the band improve on skiffle, even while the simplicity remains intact, so it remains a skiffle record, even with the updates to the style. And Van sounds happy singing these tunes from his childhood, and he sings them as well as we could expect. His voice sounds great.

Is it a welcome break from his last two? You bet it is. Is it essential Van Morrison? Not even close, but it is good, especially given the limitations of the style.