The Electric Flag (An American Music Band) A Long Time Comin' 1968

Michael Bloomfield was an enormously talented blues and rock guitar player. He first came to notice on the first two Paul Butterfield Blues Band albums in1965-66, Bob Dylan's Highway 61 Revisited 1965, and frequent session work. In early 1967, he formed The Electric Flag in San Francisco with an outstanding line-up of musicians. Harvey Brooks on bass and Buddy Miles drums and vocals held down the rhythm, Nick Gravenites on guitar and vocals, Barry Goldberg on keys, and a smoking hot horn section with Marcus Doubleday on trumpet, Peter Strazza on tenor sax, Stemsy Hunter on alto sax, and Herbie Rich on baritone sax. 

Bloomfield and Goldberg saw the group as one which would feature an amalgamation of American music styles of soul, blues, rock and R&B, and on their audacious debut, they achieved that goal. 

The set kicks off with Howlin' Wolf's Killing Floor, with Nick Gravenites' smooth vocal, hot guitar from Bloomfield and killer horn charts. Ron Polte wrote three songs for the record, and Groovin' Is Easy is all smooth soul, hippie vibe, and hot horns. Over-Lovin' You from Bloomfield and Goldberg is an uptempo soul that gets a really fine Buddy Miles vocal and horns, horns, horns. She Should Have Just from Polte's pen again is more terrific R&B that sounds like a future Tower Of Power hit. Side one ends with Wine, sung by Bloomfield (or Herbie Rich?) is fast blues with a very cool jazzy outro.

The second side is almost as good. Buddy Miles rips another tasty vocal on Texas, as Bloomfield solos throughout the entire song. Barry Goldberg wrote Sittin' In Circles, with it's complex arrangement and another melodious Gravenites vocal. You Don't Realize is a great Bloomfield blues ballad that has everything except the guitar solo it practically begs for, and it's still solid. Another Country, again from Polte's pen, starts as a mid-tempo rocker with classic sixties paranoia/escapist lyrics, slides into a too long music concrete collage, followed by a jazzy section featuring piano, and finally returns to the first verse and chorus with up-tempo guitar and horn charts. It's an impressive piece, but at nine minutes it's just a tad too long. The record ends with a 53-second East Rider with Bloomfield teasing us with some nice licks.

Another Country is a good song, and was ahead of the curve with the music concrete section, but it is a thing of it's time, and you might need to be high. The rest of the record is near perfect.

Bloomfield and Goldberg would leave the band before their second record, and Buddy Miles, Herbie Rich and Nick Gravenites tried to produce a follow-up, and almost got there with An American Music Band, also in1968. It's OK, but doesn't have the magic or the songs of A Long Time Comin'. Miles and Gravenites were not the songwriters that Bloomfield, Goldberg and Polte were. Two from that follow-up, Bobby Hebb's Sunny, and Mystery from Miles's pen, both have strong vocals from Miles and were added to the 2003 CD reissue of Long Time Comin' along with two obscurities, one with some hot Bloomfield guitar. 

There were plenty of horns on soul records of the time. But this one in 1968 was before Chicago, Sons of Champlin, and Tower of Power. It isn't just the horns that make this record so special. Great songs, singing, guitar, the blues/rock/soul blend, and an all-star band make this a lost classic of the first order.

Lucinda Williams Lucinda Williams Sings The Beatles From Abbey Road 2024

Lucinda has been darn busy since recovering from her 2020 stroke. During 2021/2022 she released six Lu's Jukebox recordings of cover sets featuring an individual artist or a thematic thread. All six were recorded live in studio during Covid days. I discussed them all here. Then last year she came out with Stories from a Rock n Roll Heart, a solid outing that compared favorably with her recent work.

And now comes Lu's Jukebox In Studio Concert Series Vol. 7. Covering the Beatles is pretty ballsy, but hey, she did a good job on the Rolling Stones on Vol. 6. This time, and for the first time in the Lu's Jukebox series, she has her core touring band with her, and they are smoking hot. David Sutton bass and Butch Norton drums are as good as any rhythm section. The guitars of Doug Pettibone and Marc Ford are tremendous. Richard Causon organ and Siobhan Kennedy background vocals make generous and talented contributions. 

Not everything works, but most of it does. Song selection is mostly good but a few don't seem to be right for Lucinda. Don't Let Me Down opens the record, and why not - it's perfect for her. With hot organ and guitars, it's a great version. Next, I'm Looking Through You starts with just guitar and vocals, and then Bam!, it rocks out. Nice quick tempo, and more of Causon's fine B3 work. Can't Buy Me Love seems an odd choice, but an interesting guitar break and good backup vocals from Pettibone and Kennedy help a bunch. A better fit, Rain is a pretty straight cover, but it misses the studio effects of the original. Then the guitar monster of While My Guitar Gently Weeps comes, and Lu and the boys tear it up. The guitar interplay is great, Pettibone and Ford rock it hard. The dirge-like Let It Be follows, and it's a pretty straight cover that's almost saved by the guitars. 

Side two kicks off with Yer Blues, another great fit for Lucinda's voice and attitude, with lots of reverb on her vocal, and it is big stomping blues. I've Got A Feeling holds true to the original, and the guitars and organ stand out again. After that I'm So Tired should be the perfect fit, and it is. Something is taken a little fast, and it's good, but it could be anybody's version. There's a million versions of this lovely Harrison song, but none better the original. Lucinda does a melancholy take on With A Little Help From My Friends, and surprisingly it works. Big hot arena guitar rock doesn't hurt. To close the record, they do The Long and Winding Road, a little fast again, and while the band is super, Lucinda's vocal seems almost perfunctory, which is odd.

Twelve songs, three that are a bit weak or odd choices, five that are must-hear excellent, and none of it at all bad. I can't say enough about Pettibone and Ford, they are consistently great. Butch Norton is also stellar all the time. Not surprisingly, Lennon's songs work better for Lucinda than Paul's, but the odd or less ideal choices are all Paul songs. The more times I listen to it, the better it gets. For a Beatles cover record from an artist that would never be the first person you'd think would cover Beatles songs and do it well, she and the band pull it off. A late arrival for the best of 2024.

The Best of 2024

I really shouldn't call it the "Best of". Maybe "My Favorites of 2024" would be better. I've looked at the lists on most of the major music publications, and there's a lot that I haven't heard. I actually got through Charli XCX's Brat, and Beyonce's Cowboy Carter (Beyonce was mildly entertaining). I couldn't make it through Sabrina Carpenter's Short n' Sweet. Hey, I don't really like music that is manufactured rather than performed, so there's that. I did appreciate a few songs from contemporary popular artists on a stroll through The Best Songs of 2024 from a mainstream publication, but not enough to run out and buy or bookmark anything. So, here's the one's I liked a lot this year:

The Lemon Twigs A Dream Is All We Know

New York's finest power-poppers come through in spades. Beatles, Beach Boys, Byrds, Raspberries, they do it all and make it sound fresh and new.

Fantastic Cat Now That's What I Call Fantastic Cat

An indie rock "super group" of singer songwriter multi-instrumentalists makes a rollicking fun record with a positive attitude. Only slightly more rocking than power-pop, think Rockpile, Cheap Trick and a touch of Americana.

The Weeklings Raspberry Park

This one forms a great power-pop triumvirate with the two previous. Weeklings have made their mark as a Beatles cover band, and a really good one. The originals are all solid pop/rock. Super covers of She's Leaving Home and I've Just Seen A Face, and a mash-up of Satisfaction and Mr. Soul that is brilliant.

Nick Lowe Indoor Safari

Not really a new record, but a collection of singles and EPs from the last ten years or so, all done with Los Straightjackets. It's nice to have it all in one place, and they have really become a great band together. The excellent Trombone and Don't Be Nice To Me are standouts, but it's all solid Nick Lowe after ten years since his last LP. 

Bill Charlap Trio And Then Again

Just one great jazz trio doing standards. But with Charlap and his talented sidemen, it is inventive and spontaneous jazz with what Downbeat magazine calls "seamless interaction and extrasensory communication". Great jazz.

Jenny Scheinman All Species Parade

Scheinman has been making interestingly unique jazz for quite a while, and almost all of it is easy to approach and yet challenging in it's own way. Featuring a cast of greats that Scheinmen has worked with before, everything comes out very fine. The sound of a mature artist with ideas to spare.

The Palomar Trio The Song In Our Soul

Hearkening back to the early swing jazz of the 1920s and 1930s, and featuring songs from that era, this record is just a joy. Tap your foot, sway in your chair, and smile, smile smile. 

Louis Cole nothing

Jazz fusion/pop/funk/ electronic/orchestral music. When have you heard that combination before? Louis Cole teams up with the Metropole Orkest jazz orchestra to produce a great record that is a genre to itself.

Continental Drifters White Noise & Lightening: The Best of Continental Drifters

A "best of" from a band that last recorded in 2001. I really loved everything they did (all four records). One of my favorite neglected bands of all time.

Shelby Lynn Consequences of the Crown

We've been waiting for twenty years for I Am Shelby Lynn #2. This isn't quite that, but it is closer than she's ever come, and one heck of a great record. 

St. Vincent All Born Screaming

Another solid outing from Ms. Clark, with great songs, killer vocals, and scary aggression. What can't this woman do with a guitar? 

Vampire Weekend Only God Was Above Us

The smartest indie rock band around gives us a great one, the best since Contra. If you were a little disappointed with Father of the Bride, they are back in spades.

Willis, Carper, Leigh Wonder Women of Country

A six-song EP that lives up to the title. Everything's good, and there's two new ones from Kelly Willis' pen. Carper and Leigh hold up their end of the bargain just fine.

Lance Cowen So Far, So Good

A respected Nashville publicist makes his first record in his sixties. A little bit like a new Guy Clark album sometimes, and of course that is high praise. He can sound a bit like John Denver, and he can get a little twee, but there are lots of great songs and beautifully recorded acoustic instrumentation.

Wings Band On The Run (Underdubbed Mixes)

Often considered McCartney's best Wings/solo effort, it sounds even better stripped of the orchestration. The live-in-the-studio One Hand Clapping from the same time period is big fun too.

John Leventhal Rumble Strip

After producing a gazillion great records, Leventhal steps out on his own. Gentle, lovely, mostly instrumental acoustic gems with two vocals by wife Rosanne Cash. Relax and listen to some darn good music. 

Mark Knopfler One Deep River

Craftsmanship. Since 1996, Knopfler has made one subtly great record after another. Yes, he's a wonderful guitarist, but he's also an equally gifted songwriter, and his singing has a heartfelt and well-worn comfort to it. You can get just over Dire Straits by now. 

Zappadan 2024

It's Zappadan again. The celebration of the life and art of the iconoclast Frank Zappa.

There's Zappadan on Facebook, Instagram, X, Reddit, and of course in the blogosphere.

Zappadan can be found around the blogosphere at Mad Blog Media, Arts Meme, And Now It's All This, eVille Times, You Call That News?, Cirdec Songs, Ketchup Is A Vegetable, We're Only In It For The Music, and archival posts at Fried Green al-Qaedas, Mark Hoback's blog. Mark was there at the beginning, along with Blue Gal when Zappadan was birthed.

I've written extensively for the celebration in the past. It's all right here. There's even a few Zappa posts in addition to Zappadan content, and that stuff is included here.

You can listen to my personal favorite Zappa record at YouTube.

Continental Drifters

One of my favorite nineties bands has been busy with the back catalog lately, and it's great news for fans. The band made four studio records between 1994 and 2001. The eponymous debut 1994, Vermillion 1998, Better Day 2001, and the German market release Listen, Listen 2001, a tribute to Richard Thompson and Sandy Denny. In 2003, they released Nineteen Ninety-Three, recorded in the title year before Vickie Peterson and Susan Cowsill joined. 

In 2015 came Drifted: In The Beginning and Beyond, a two CD set that re-released the Nineteen Ninety-Three material, the entirety of Listen, Listen (both of which were out of print), and a slew of demos, rarities, live tracks, and one-offs done for tribute records. The earliest recordings (1993) are good but are not quite as exciting as their main releases. The Listen, Listen material is essential listening. The rest of the various material is solid and nice to have collected. The set is a must for fans of this excellent band. 

Continental Drifters Live at the 2023 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival 2023 documents a recent reunion set that samples most of the catalog and the band sounds great. The recording is good, but maybe not great, probably from the soundboard. They're having lots of fun and it is a hot set.

And now in 2024 comes White Noise & Lightening The Best of the Continental Drifters. It's a well-curated single CD (or vinyl LP) that shows off most of their ample talents and top notch songcraft. In the annals of wonderful bands woefully neglected, Continental Drifters are near the top of the list. If you've never heard them, the recent Best Of is the place to start. If you loved the band and didn't catch the Drifted release, it is well worth your time and money.

Spinning Vinyl

This is the special Saturday night after-dinner nightcap version of Spinning Vinyl. After an outstanding Italian dinner, we returned home for a nightcap and a card game and some music, all featuring pianists. 

First up was side two of Diana Krall's From This Moment On 2006. There isn't anything earth-shattering about this particular Diana Krall Record, but it is a solid outing of standards featuring the Clayton/Hamilton Jazz Orchestra and Krall's lovely voice and fine piano. It is a swell selection of songs performed flawlessly and arranged beautifully. Day In Day Out, Come Dance With Me, and Little Girl Blue stood out, but the whole side is just about perfect.

Next was Allen Toussaint's swan song American Tunes 2106, side one, featuring Toussaint's Delores' Boyfriend, Fats Waller's Viper's Drag, Professor Longhair's Mardi Gras In New Orleans, and Billy Strayhorn's Lotus Blossom, and everything works.The record is a mix of Toussaint solo piano recordings from 2013 and what would have been a new studio record that was unfinished before he died in 2015. The 2015 recordings are done with a stellar cast including Bill Frisell, Jay Belerose, Greg Leisz, Charles Lloyd, David Piltch, Adam Levy, and Van Dyke Parks. It is a wonderful Toussaint record, almost as good as his high water mark The Bright Mississippi 2009.

My wife and I are both huge fans of Ahmad Jamal. We both saw him live many moons ago and then had a chance to see him together in Seattle in 2006. I love his work from the fifties and sixties as much as any jazz pianist, and he continued to make great music in his rhythmically inventive style until 2019, just four years before his death at age 93. Saturday Morning 2013 is merely another of his great late career masterpieces. We listened to side one, with the title track and Back To The Future (both by Jamal) as well as I'll Always Be With You, the 1945 Perry Como hit.

Lastly we heard Ellis Marsalis' For All We Know 2020, side two. This recording is just outstanding, and Marsalis plays with his son Jason on vibes, who gets to shine frequently. The record, on the audiophile vinyl-only Newvelle records, has amazing sound, with both piano and vibraphone beautifully captured. Marsalis is a wonderfully fluid player, song selection is lovely, and we get to hear Marsalis' relaxed style one more time just months before his passing.

The one thing all these records have in common (other than piano) is great sound. Tommy LiPuma always made Krall's records sound great, as did Joe Henry on Toussaint's last three albums. Saturday Morning was recorded in France by some talented engineers using state of the art equipment, and everything on Newvelle Records is lovingly produced with attention to sonic detail. That doesn't matter if the music isn't up to the same high bar, but all of these performances are truly special.

Elton John in the 2000s

Elton John has had a long and successful career, especially considering the quality of his output throughout the eighties and nineties. He has toured frequently and puts on a good show, usually heavy on his seventies hits.

Between Elton John 1970 and Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy 1975, Elton made nine records that were either darn good or great. Then, around 1975-1976, quality dropped off. Rock of the Westies was pretty bad, and Blue Moves could have been a decent single disc, but didn't impress as a double album. I liked it, but even I have had to reexamine my opinion, and it isn't the last great one I once thought it was. But I still love side three.

Between A Single Man 1978 and The Big Picture 1997, Elton made fourteen unsatisfying records. There were almost always one or two keepers, but as albums, it was a very rough period, and it lasted 20 years. A few of them showed potential, and several were just awful.

Then in 2001 came Songs From The West Coast. A stellar return to form, and sounding similar to his seventies greats, it contained a whole bunch of great songs in I Want Love, This Train Don't Stop Here Anymore, Original Sin, Dark Diamond, Birds, Love Her Like Me, and Ballad of the Boy in the Red Shoes. You could listen to the whole thing.

Peachtree Road 2004 came very close to matching Songs From The West Coast, with Weight of the World, Answer In The Sky, All That I'm Allowed, and Turn The Lights Out When You Leave.

The sequel to Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy, The Captain and the Kid 2006 kept the quality high, and remarkably almost matched the original in it's ability to write Bernie Taupin's and Elton John's musical biography.

2010 saw the release of The Union with Leon Russell. The two record set, unfortunately produced by T-Bone Burnett, was light on great songs, and had a thick, overly layered, sound that didn't help. Like so many other two-record affairs, it would have been a really fine single disc.

The Diving Board 2013 saw T-Bone Burnett return to the producer's chair, but instead of the big production and millions of players on The Union, most of the record is recorded by piano, bass and drums trio, with occasional additional keyboards. A Town Called Jubilee, Mexican Vacation, The Ballad of Blind Tom, and Can't Stay Alone Tonight were all good, and so was most of the rest.

Finally, in 2016, Elton gave us Wonderful Crazy Night. Strong songs include In The Name of You, Tambourine, Blue Wonderful, Looking Up, and the title track. T-Bone Burnett stays out of the way for a record featuring the touring band and a bunch of good songs. Again, you can listen to the whole thing without needing to fast forward. Pretty amazing after making records for something like fifty years.

I'll skip the Pnau remix album Good Morning to the Night 2012 (it's remixes, and it sold well), the duets record The Lockdown Sessions 2021 (has anyone made a great duets record?) and Regimental Sgt. Zippo 2021 (recorded in 1967 before even Empty Sky, and never released, for good reason).

Given the dearth of good records for some twenty years, Elton John has made a miraculous recovery in this century. If you liked his early work and wrote him off somewhere in the eighties, you should give him another shot. The last twenty years have been darn good for Elton John, and his fans.