Neverending Randomplay #351-#360

Neverending Randomplay is a feature in which I let my J-River Media Center choose what we get listen to. My collection currently stands at 23,652 titles. The lion's share are rock of all genres, with a mix of pop, blues, country, pre-rock, jazz, reggae, soul, electronic, avant-garde, hip-hop, rap, bluegrass, trance, Afrobeat, J-Pop, trip-hop, lounge, worldbeat, commercial jingles, etc. filling it out. I don't influence the track selection in any way; whatever comes up, comes up. Rated 1-5 stars.351. Benny Goodman: King Porter Stomp *****Along with Glenn Miller and Artie Shaw, Benny Goodman was one of the titans of swing, which was what a lot of young hepcats listened to, danced to, and made out to back in the prewar era. A revamped Jelly Roll Morton tune, "King Porter Stomp" is one of Goodman's best numbers, recorded in 1935, just as Goodman was entering his 1935-1939 peak. Indeed, the clarinet-playing Goodman is often credited as the inventor of swing as it came to be known, stemming from a 1935 performance at the Palomar Ballroom near Los Angeles where the crowd went wild after Goodman had been met with lukewarm enthusiasm on the east coast. "King Porter Stomp" captures succinctly the jauntiness of the era, and you'd be making a mistake if you assumed there was anything square about it. While the whole orchestra shines, special credit goes to drummer extrordinaire Gene Krupa, who gives the song its extra punch. Swing eventually fell out of favor during World War II, to be replaced by bebop jazz, Chicago blues, and eventually rock 'n' roll as the favored youth music in the nation. Goodman disbanded his orchestra in 1944, but remained active as a musician, arranger, and radio host, and even toured the U.S.S.R. in 1962. He died in 1986.352. Paul McCartney: Motor of Love ***Flowers In The Dirt was McCartney's attempt to get himself out of the rut he spent most of the 1980's in. His stock had never fallen as far as it had by 1989; he endured a lot of spite following John Lennon's death in 1980, broke up Wings in 1981, saw his hits dry up by mid-decade, released an embarrassment of a movie in 1984, Give My Regards To Broad Street, and was largely silent in the late 80's. Perhaps signalling his desire to be taken seriously again, Flowers In The Dirt, from 1989, was his first album not to feature his photograph on the cover. More substantially, Elvis Costello was brought in to co-write a handful of songs, McCartney's first heavyweight musical collaborator in songwriting since the sainted Lennon. The result was a semi-success; Flowers In the Dirt was the first McCartney album to have substance since the 1970's, and sold fairly well. A supporting world tour, his first since 1976, was a huge success. "Motor of Love" isn't one of the McCartney/McManus collaborations, but it's an interesting tune nonetheless; a somewhat crackpot devotional from a secular Brit, it certainly isn't authentic, but does demonstrate McCartney's knack for tackling any idiom and making it his own. The drawbacks are what keeps the album from being truly fulfilling; cheesy 1980's synths and drum machines that haven't aged well. In the end, it was a step in the right direction, but only a step; McCartney wouldn't see his image rehabilitated until the late 90's, and even now he still gets dissed pretty often. Fans will like this, though.353. Arctic Monkeys: From the Ritz to The Rubble ****Arctic Monkeys, formed in Sheffield, U.K., envision themselves as a cross between the Clash and the Jam, with some Britpop conventions thrown in. This alone should inspire suspicion, but I am here to report that on "From the Ritz to The Rubble", I'm buying what they're selling. Punky on the surface, it also boasts the dense layered guitars of post alt-rock, and they're edgy enough to provide nourishment. The song is aggressively uptempo, but more metallic than traditional punk; Alex Turner's snotty rapidfire vocals exude attitude without coming across as a pose, rare enough these days to be noteworthy. The song is the penultimate one on Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not, their 2006 debut, which broke sales records when it was released in January. Not since Oasis has there been so much hype for a band across the Atlantic, and as with Oasis, it might be too much for any one band to live up to. But I'll gladly play this again, no problem. All I can say is, thank God for the guitars, and hope they don't fall prey to the almost inevitable sophomore swoon.354. Mantovani Orchestra: Vaya Con Dios ***For those who wonder what the Moody Blues really aspired to, it was something like this. Annunzio Paolo Mantovani was a conductor, composer, violinist, and pianist, and crafted lush sounding easy listening albums with string orchestras. "Vaya Con Dios" perhaps best known for the Les Paul/Mary Ford rendition, is typical of his material; he relied more on TV and movie themes than on original compostions. How is it? Well lush, pretty, and melodic. Perfect for dozing off to, and there's the rub. When music becomes this innocuous, it ceases to stir any passions whatsoever, and becomes part of the wallpaper. There's certainly nothing to complain about, Mantovani is certainly a competent arranger; he may well be the best easy listening arranger in history. But some things shouldn't be too easy. Not sure of the date for this one; I'd guess it's from 1953 or shortly after. Those who like vintage lounge music for the camp value might find this to their liking; those who like lounge music without irony will find this much too tame. Recommended to Justin Hayward and John Lodge.355. Devo: Space Junk *****Devo (short for 'De-evolution') was frequently derided as a one-joke band back in their heyday, and while that charge may be true, time has been kind to these Kent State art-rockers in disguise. In retrospect, their 1978 debut Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo! is as much a piece of new wave history as the Talking Heads' early albums, and the Brian Eno production makes the comparison less ridiculous than it may seem on the surface. Indeed, the chiming guitars are very Heads-like, and Mark Mothersbaugh's vocals, full of goofy, hiccupy accents wrapped around a humanist message is very much in the style of David Byrne, for whom Eno produced More Songs About Buildings and Food the same year. In fact, nearly all of Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo! sounds less disposable now than it did when it was new, and would probably appeal to the power-pop fans who were afraid to try it back in the day. It's art-rock all right, but at a brisk 2:13, it won't wear out its welcome, and the playing is punchy. Accused by an out-of-it Rolling Stone of being Fascists, Devo's campy conformity to their baked philosophy was ultimately a humanistic message at heart.356. Sandie Shaw: Message Understood ***Chris Andrews, Sandie Shaw's chief songwriter, penned this charming little pop ditty, which sounds like Burt Bacharach writing for Mary Wells. It's innocuous in the way that only 60's British girl-pop could be, but therein lies its subtle charms, along with a brassy horn section that dates this recording to 1966. Along with Dusty Springfield and Lulu, Sandie Shaw was one of the bigger names of U.K. girl pop of the 60's, although she never reached the heights in the U.S. the others did, and saw her career dry up first. That said, she had enough catchy pop hits written by good songwriters and arranged by big names to make her worth exploring once you've run out of British Invasion groups to explore. A little on the sweet side, which means you've got to have a thing for 60's pop not to gag. Shaw later recorded in more of a cabaret sort of vein not unlike Mary Hopkin, and a minor personal scandal scuttled her squeaky-clean image, leading to her retirement in 1970; she re-emerged in the 1980's when the Smiths' Morrissey revealed himself to be a fan; she cut a single with the Smiths backing in 1986; she also worked with the Jesus and Mary Chain, of all people.357. Concrete Blonde: Make Me Cry *****This was a bit of a surprise when it came on today. Concrete Blonde were part of the mid-80's L.A. post-punk circuit where they shared gigs with X, the Go-Go's, and Wall of Voodoo. Their 1987 debut album Concrete Blonde, featured the anthem "Still in Hollywood", a tough-as-nails statement of purpose. "Make Me Cry", from the same album, sounds almost like the Cowboy Junkies; a tender, melodic, acoustic alt-country number featuring an unusually winsome and bittersweet vocal and harmony from Johnette Napolitano. While Napolitano sometimes came across as a more Goth Chrissie Hynde, here she's convincingly country, even if I don't quite buy the twang in her voice; the song's windswept ambiance compliments the vocals nicely. The band, also led by guitarist Jim Mankey, originally was called Dream 6, but a suggestion from I.R.S. labelmate Michael Stipe resulted in a name-change just prior to this album's release. 358. The Boo Radleys: Lazy Day ****The Boo Radleys never quite settled on a musical identity, which has hurt them in the long run in the legacy sweepstakes. As labelmates with My Bloody Valentine at the shoegaze-oriented Creation records, they shared with them their love of noise; fuzz, pedals, studio trickery, introverted vocals were part of their bag, and all make their appearance here. However, they clearly didn't want the shoegaze pigeonhole to apply to them; they had ambition. So unlike their fellow shoegazers, they favored linear, uptempo, jangle-pop derived tunes, as opposed to swirling, shimmery, noisefests. "Lazy Day" hurries right along, hanging its hook on its forward moving guitars; while there's plenty of white noise and static to keep a shoegaze fan feeling at home, there's anough of a tune here to please, say, an R.E.M. or dB's fan as well. "Lazy Day" is from Everything's Alright Forever, the band's 1992 debut album, and first release for Creation. The band's peak was in 1994-1995 when they released two excellent albums, Giant Steps and Wake Up Boo!, the latter reaching top-10 in the U.K. American audiences could never really figure them out, however, and by 1996 they had been dropped from their U.S. label, which eventually led to their 1998 breakup. Now mostly forgotten, they actually were one of the key early 90's bands; a missing link between shoegaze, roots rock, and Britpop.359. The Police: Walking In Your Footprints ***Synchronicity, the 1983 album that was the fifth and final from the U.K. trio the Police, was at once their most ambitious recording and also their least cohesive. As was part of general Police policy since 1980's Zenyatta Mondatta, all of the world is fair game for the plundering of musical cues, and "Walking In Your Footsteps" is based almost entirely around a polyrhythm that undoubtedly had its genesis in some uncredited African tribe. Stewart Copeland's drums, therefore, are the star of the show here, although Andy Summers manages to coax some remarkable jungle bird cries from his guitar. Sting is the weak link here; he sounds disinterested, and the lyrics, an ode to dinosaurs, is pretty silly. These days, it's kind of hard to justify listening to stuff like this, with so much authentic worldbeat available, but the Police were one of the great synthesists of their age, and thus at no time does this not sound like the Police. The album was a mega #1, and nearly all of it turns up on the radio to this day. One of the few songs that seldom does is "Walking In Your Footprints", which ultimately works better in the context of the album, where its cornier aspects benefit from similar company.360. Bonnie Raitt: Women Be Wise ****Bonnie Raitt's biggest commercial triumphs came so late in her career (1989) that it's sometimes easy to forget how far she goes back. "Women Be Wise" is from her 1971 debut, Bonnie Raitt, which cast her as more of a blues singer than anything else. "Woman Be Wise" sounds something like Geoff and Maria Muldaur's blues excursions of the same era, although Raitt is a far more commanding singer than Muldaur ever was. The song is piano-based in a New Orleans sort of vein, but with a hint of laid-back California tucked away in there. Credited to John Beach/Sippie Wallace (Beach is the pianist), the song itself is homey and warm, although not especially memorable on its own merits; what stands out is Raitt's vocal, which could have established her as a bona-fide blues singer, had than been the direction she had chosen. Instead, she pursued an eclectic path, which has turned into one of the longest careers by a woman in any genre of music. Listen to Concrete Blonde: Make Me Cry (1987)Back | Next       Find 18 million rare CDs and out-of-print LPs at MusicStack

Posted on: 29 May 2006 | 4:51 am

Weekend Reissue Roundup #42: 05/28/2006

      Artist: Album (label, release date) 1-5 starsIron Butterfly: In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida (JVC Japan, May 23, 2006) ***Harry Nilsson: Everybody's Talkin': The Very Best of Harry Nilsson (RCA, May 23, 2006) ****Uriah Heep: Look At Yourself (Universal Special Products, May 23, 2006) ***J. Geils Band: Freeze Frame (Beat Goes On, May 23, 2006) ***Iron Butterfly: In-A-Gadda-Da-VidaIt's pretty hard to take this album seriously in 2006, especially since it was ridiculed at the time it was released. However, it became the biggest selling record in Atco's history in 1968, a year before Led Zeppelin's debut would eclipse the record. Most rock fans are familiar with the title cut, a 17-minute relic of 60's indulgence, complete with heavy gothic organ, drum solos, a rudimentary bass riff that seemingly never ends coupled with flash proto-metal guitar, and Doug Ingle's deep baritone mumble for a lead vocal. The song was a hit in an abridged 3-minute edit, and the album peaked at #4 on the charts. "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" (legend says it was to be called "In The Garden of Eden" until Ingle kept blowing the lyrics) is what it will always be; a snapshot of the moment when flower-power psychedelia began its mutation into the very first heavy metal ever. Since it took up all of side two back when albums had "sides", the rest of the disc is comprised of only 5 numbers with quaint titles like "Flowers and Beads" and "My Mirage". How much you need to hear them depends on how deeply into 1960's archaeology you want to go. I can tell you that "Most Anything You Want" is the best track, a kind of Association-meets-"Touch Me"-era Doors with plenty of fuzz guitar and organ. "Termination" is the closest to proto-metal they get besides the title track, and even there they sound pretty lightweight. Ingle and drummer Ron Bushy are the only holdovers from the band's 1968 debut, Heavy; the newcomers were 18-year old Erik Braunn, who supplies the fuzzy, heavy guitars and Lee Dorman, responsible for that famous bassline. The San Diego-based Iron Butterfly never repeated their success; their 1969 followup Ball, while more ambitious, faded after going gold, and by 1971 they were finished. A brief revival in 1975 yielded two failed (but interesting) albums, and the surviving members of the band have reunited several times since. In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida belongs in the rock historian's collection, but casual listeners probably only need the title track, if that.Harry Nilsson: Everybody's Talkin': The Very Best of Harry NilssonIf ever there was a man who threw away his talent, it was Harry Nilsson. Once upon a time, Nilsson was a smooth voiced crooner who had a way with melody and a very crackpot sense of arrangement and production, that often relied on lush orchestrations bent in the service of bizarre pop ditties unlike anyone else's. During his peak, from the late 60's through the early 70's, he was responsible for a number of charming, goofball songs (which he wrote or covered) as well as some in a more traditional vein; among his hits were Fred Neil's "Everybody's Talkin'", Badfinger's "Without You", and originals like "Coconut", "I Guess The Lord Must Be In New York City", "One", "Spaceman", "Without Her", and "Me and My Arrow". The Beatles became fans early in his career when they heard his layered, scrambled, diced and spliced medley of Beatles songs "You Can't Do That" from 1968. In 1974, he became drinking buddies with John Lennon during Lennon's famous "lost weekend" and essentially ruined his silky voice; the pair recorded Pussy Cats at this time, and Nilsson sounded ravaged. He never was the same again; although he fulfilled his contract with RCA by putting out a string of offbeat, strange albums in the 1970's that almost nobody bought, by 1979 he had stopped recording, and pretty much did nothing but laze around until his death from a heart attack in 1993. A Coca Cola ad in 2005 used "Coconut" and alerted a new generation to his offbeat charm; now RCA is giving his back catalog a new push, re-releasing his best-selling albums and offering this 14-song sampler. A sampler is all it is; the aforementioned songs are all on it (except "You can't Do That"), and a few others including the single version of "Jump Into The Fire" an uncharacteristic hard rock song that is much better in its manic, full-length album version. Nothing from Pussy Cats or later are here, nor his pre-"Everybody's Talkin'" material. But if you like "Coconut", and what to see what else the man had to offer, this is as good a jumping in place as any. Those who already have these tunes are urged to explore Pandemonium Shadow Show, Nilsson Sings Newman, Nilsson Schmilsson, Son of Schmilsson, The Point, and maybe even the standards album A Little Touch of Schmilsson in the Night, for a better picture.Uriah Heep: Look At YourselfUriah Heep never gets any respect. Critical disdain greeted their 1970 debut, and followed them every inch of the way. Yet, they've survived, multiple lineup changes notwithstanding, and continue to tour and release albums to the present day. Look At Yourself, their third album, was their big 1971 commercial breakthrough, earning them their first chart appearance in U.S. (#93), and sold well in Europe. It still doesn't get much respect, although time has been kind to it, and it stands up reasonably well to its competition of the time, which included discs by Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, and Deep Purple. Of the three, it is Deep Purple Uriah Heep most resembled, thanks to Ken Hensley's busy Hammond organ, David Byron's histrionic wails, and Mick Box's crunchy, meaty guitar. The centerpiece is "July Morning" a 10-minute early metal classic that hangs on a circular organ riff and plows forward with the certainty of an 18-wheeler before alternating between soft and hard, building to a prog-rock crescendo. The title track is an uptempo rocker also propelled by organ and featuring one of Byron's best vocals. Elsewhere, "Wanna Be Free" showcases Box's guitar, "Tears In My Eyes" is a delicate progressive track that recalls Yes to a vague degree, "Love Machine" gallops along on 8 cylinders, and the other tunes hold their own. Look At Yourself is Uriah Heep just as their sound was gelling; an improvement over the ponderous prog-rock of Salisbury from 1970, but not quite the semi-masterpiece their fourth album Demons and Wizards would be. Fans of early heavy metal should enjoy this album; particularly Deep Purple, Queen, and Judas Priest fans. Non-fans will probably be put off by the falsetto backing vocals and plodding rhythms. I fall somewhere in-between, but found it worthwhile in the end.J. Geils Band: Freeze FrameWhat happened to these guys? After spending the 1970's in relative obscurity, this Boston band broke through big-time with Freeze Frame, a 1981 album that peaked at #1 and spawned 3 hits, "Centerfold", "Angel in Blue", and "Freeze-Frame". All were catchy tunes, and the album itself was quite good, one of the better releases of 1981, which was one of the worst years ever for major-label rock. The band had changed their sound considerably over the years; renowned for their stage show, the band had specialized in a sweaty, gritty r&b at the outset. By the time of Freeze Frame, most of the r&b was gone, although not entirely, and the band had discovered a magic way with a hook. Freeze Frame was actually a continuation of the change in direction signalled by the 1980 hit "Love Stinks", and the band seemed poised to become one of the biggest of the 1980's until in-fighting between singer/songwriter Peter Wolf and keyboardist/songwriting partner Seth Justman came to a head; the pair split at the height of their success, and while Wolf managed a successful solo debut in 1984, the J. Geils Band's next album tanked, and the group split up for good. So Freeze Frame now has some of the patina many early 80's new wave/power pop bands have; a slightly disposable feel, despite the hooks. Aside from the hits, there are some interesting moments here, including the cacophonous "Rage in the Cage" and the almost punky sounding "Piss on the Wall"; all of it well played and fairly easy to digest. However, the band's failure to capitalize on this success makes this album sound like more of a dead end than it needed to.Also out this week: Five post-peak 1980's albums (Girls to Chat & Boys to Bounce, In The Mood for Something Rude, Rock 'n' Roll Outlaws, Tight Shoes, Zig-Zag Walk) from second tier hard-rockers Foghat on Wounded Bird; The Best of Divine, yes Divine from all those John Waters flicks, on Delta Blue, Put A Little Love In Your Heart a 1969 album by British pop singer Jackie DeShannon, on RPM UK; Paul Carrak's post-Squeeze 1982 solo album Suburban Voodoo on Acadia; Sammy Hagar's post-Van Halen 1997 solo disc, Marching to Mars on Geffen Gold Line; Bill Haley's Jukebox a good 1961 album on Collectibles; This Land Is Your Land, a Woodie Guthrie compilation spanning 1940-1947 on Living Era; Ultravox, the 1977 sophomore album by synth-punk pioneers Ultravox on Universal International; and a good new Neil Diamond compilation of his early years, Forever Neil Diamond, on Shout! Factory.Watch Iron Butterfly: In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida [American Bandstand, 1968]       Find 18 million rare CDs and out-of-print LPs at MusicStack

Posted on: 28 May 2006 | 12:27 pm

Neverending Randomplay #341-#350

Neverending Randomplay is a feature in which I let my J-River Media Center choose what we get listen to. My collection currently stands at 23,323 titles. The lion's share are rock of all genres, with a mix of pop, blues, country, pre-rock, jazz, reggae, soul, electronic, avant-garde, hip-hop, rap, bluegrass, trance, Afrobeat, J-Pop, trip-hop, lounge, worldbeat, commercial jingles, etc. filling it out. I don't influence the track selection in any way; whatever comes up, comes up. Rated 1-5 stars.341. The Shins: Young Pilgrims *****This is damn near irresistable, as is most of the Shins' 2003 sophomore album, Chutes Too Narrow. James Mercer's expressive vocal rests upon a sparse but tuneful acoustic and muted electric bed; the lyrics are harrowing, with a refrain that ends "I know there is this side of me that wants to grab the yoke from the pilot and just fly the whole mess into the sea". Think of that, in this post-9/11 world. But no negative fest, this song is an incredibly complex ball of mixed emotion; scared, brave, desperate, heroic, self-aware, offhand, well-thought, articulate, nihilistic, sad, resolute, melodic, eerie, pretty. This is the second time I've heard it, and both times it got me to drop everything and turn up the volume. Wound up playing it 6 times today. So call me late to the party, but dig those Shins. The band itself originated in Albuquerque, N.M. in 1997, while Mercer was in a band called Flake (later Flake Music), which had been around since 1992 and had toured with sadcore Modest Mouse. The Shins were formed by singer/guitarist Mercer and Flake Music's keyboardist Marty Crandall and drummer Jesse Sandoval, with Dave Hernandez and Ron Skrasek from Albuquerque punk group Scared of Chaka, the latter two returned to their mothership shortly after. Now stars of the lo-fi indie sadcore scene, sharing gigs with Preston School of Industry and Red House Painters, they've convinced me they're one of the most interesting bands of the 00's so far. "Saint Simon" is another great track from the same album.342. Frank Sinatra/Nancy Sinatra: Something Stupid ***Okay, I'll 'fess up and say I've always liked Nancy Sinatra more than I should. Not so far as to ever have bought an album by her, but that's what things like iTunes are for. And I certainly can't deny old Frank his props; Songs For Swinging Lovers still works as intended, I've discovered. And I'm a forgiver of 60's schmaltz like nobody else. So why have I never taken a shine to this? Partly because of its relatively atonal melody. Partly because Frank sounds bored and out of it, and Nancy sounds, well, bored and out of it. Partly because I hate duets by family members. The song itself, released in 1967 as a single, went to #1, and appeared on the 1967 album Frank Sinatra and the World We Knew, which was mostly a singles collection. The album is interesting because it represents the most "rock" of Sinatra's career; Sinatra was always vocal about his disdain for rock music, even when he covered the Beatles and Simon & Garfunkel. On some cuts, there are actually 1967 vintage fuzz guitars; some of the cuts feature the production team and musicians usually present on Nancy's recordings of the era. "Somethin' Stupid", written by C. Carson Parks, however, bears none of that, and is one of the less interesting numbers on the album. 343. Pink Floyd: Comfortably Numb [live] ***Pulse, the 1995 live album famous for coming with a red LED embedded in the spine that blinked until it burned out, was part of the post-Roger Waters Pink Floyd's campaign to cement their claim on the band's legacy. "Comfortably Numb" needs no introduction; it was one of the cornerstones of The Wall, from 1979, Waters' next-to-last album with the band. Pulse's main draw was the uninterrupted performance of Dark Side of the Moon, which sounds fine except that Waters is missing, and he's missed. Without Water's somewhat crackpot sounding verses, which alternated with Gilmour's choruses, "Comfortably Numb" has one of the edges that made it interesting sanded away. Another problem is that Pink Floyd has long depended on a raft of hidden-in-the-shadows supporting musicians, leaving doubt as to how much of the actual band is playing, and stripping it of any of the character it had in the Ummagumma days, let alone the colorful Syd Barrett era, before Gilmour was even in the band. Pulse takes no chances, recreates the studio recordings almost to the very note, and lacks a lot of the character that made Waters an essential ingredient. So while there's nothing wrong with this, it isn't very right, either. Stick with the original.344. Bob Dylan: To Ramona [live] ****In the wake of Woodstock, there was a rash of enormous rock festivals attended by audiences numbering sometimes in the hundreds of thousands. Some, like Altamont, were utter disasters. Others, like the Celebration at Big Sur, the Dutch Stamping Grounds festival, the Watkins Glen Festival, were mostly unmarred by trouble, and had good performances. One of the best, in terms of lineup and general organization was the August 26th - 30th, 1970 Isle of Wight Festival. Names assembled included the Doors, the Who, ELP, Jimi Hendrix, Jethro Tull, the Moody Blues, Donovan, Miles Davis, Free, Leonard Cohen, Joni Mitchell (who was absent from Woodstock despite penning its theme song), Ten Years After, and Kris Kristofferson, among others. Plus a then-rare appearance by reclusive Bob Dylan. A documentary film and CD have been released, called Message to Love, on which Dylan is represented by "Desolation Row". "To Ramona" was originally on his fourth and final purely acoustic album, Another Side of Bob Dylan (1964). By 1970, Dylan was going through a strange time; he had become largely media-shy and wasn't performing much; he also released his famously worst album, Self Portrait the same year. Thus, his performance at Isle of Wight is not one of his better ones; he seemed ill at ease and tense. However, "To Ramona", which here is a very good quality audience recording on the easily found Bob Dylan at the Isle of Wight bootleg, is fairly touching and sweet. Sung in a toned-down version of his Nashville Skyline croon, which actually trembles at one point, and all alone with an acoustic guitar, it captures Dylan sounding a little more naked and vulnerable than we're used to hearing him. Not sure if a legal version of this exists, but it's easily found on filesharing networks.345. Billy Joel: Famous Last Words ***"Famous Last Words" in many respects are the last words from singer/songwriter Billy Joel; the closing track of the last pop album his has thusfar produced, River of Dreams from 1993. As such, it almost explicity announces his quasi-retirement from pop music. The album peaked at #1, his first #1 album since Glass Houses in 1980, so his absence from recording seemed puzzling in the 90's; while he's kept busy with tours with Elton John, a Broadway show, and some exercises in classical composition, there've been no more pop songs from this once fairly prolific songwriter. River of Dreams did not fare well with the critics at the time, and it is arguably the weakest album of a career that never garnered much critical respect. However, "Famous Last Words" actually has some of the easy-going tunefulness that made his late 70's albums so hummable; it's a better track than most of his late 80's work. That said, it's still Joel singing about Joel, so there's nothing here compelling enough to make one seek out the song again. But it's inoffensive when it turns up in randomplay.346. Hot Tuna: I See The Light ****Hot Tuna, the acoustic/electric folk/blues combo of ex-Jefferson Airplane members Jorma Kaukonen and Jack Casady, originally disbanded in 1978. Kaukonen spent the next few years working on solo albums, which were good, but minor efforts. Casady briefly joined a punk group, of all things, called SVT, which released a good EP and a so-so album in the early 80's. By the mid 80's, the duo must have come to the conclusion that they were worth more together than separately, and regrouped; Kaukonen keeps a solo career going on on the side, and Casady splits his time with the reformed Jefferson Starship. Their first studio album in 14 years, Pair A Dice Found appeared in 1990 to mixed reviews; in 1992 and 1993 a pair of live albums followed on Relix records, Live at Sweetwater I & II. The Sweetwater stuff, recorded in a small club, is pretty good, sounding very much like the Hot Tuna debut album from 1970, except with more originals. "I See The Light" is one of the originals, written by Kaukonen (new member Michael Falzerano co-wrote a few tracks as well), and features Kaukonen's always-tasteful country blues picking and Casady's rumbling bass. Former Jefferson Starship keyboardist/bassist Pete Sears contributes some spur of the moment improvised piano. Important, relevant music this isn't, but it's hard to quibble with the fine playing, and Kaukonen's nasal voice is in unusually good form. Fans will find both Sweetwater discs to be key additions to a Hot Tuna collection, while novices might want to check out some of the 70's stuff first. 347. Grateful Dead: Saint of Circumstance [live] ***"Saint of Circumstance" is a Weir-Barlow number from what is usually considered the Grateful Dead's weakest album, Go To Heaven, from 1980. Some Deadheads dislike the previous studio album Shakedown Street even more, but the difference between the two is significant; keyboardist Keith Godchaux had been killed in a car accident in the interim, and wife/vocalist Donna Godchaux had departed as well. Their replacement was keyboardist Brent Mydland, who had been in a band called Silver in the 70's. When Mydland joined the band, he was immediately given a co-starring role despite his essentially minor-league status, and the band's sound changed considerably. Mydland's vocals were high pitched to the point of almost being falsetto, and his style of keyboard playing was devoid of much of the blues Godchaux (and Pigpen, back in the glory days) had brought to the instrument. So while this sounds like the Grateful Dead, it's an inferior version, one not just in transition but also lost in the disco/new wave era. This live version appeared on re-issues of Go To Heaven and doesn't rescue the original tune; Weir's vocals fly off their mark early on, and he stuggles to get them back on track. Mydland's backing stands out like a sore thumb, both in terms of vocals and somewhat cheesy-sounding synth, which marred a lot of Dead tunes in the 80's. The only real hero is Jerry Garcia, whose guitar soars, although even he doesn't quite approach the visionary heights the band once flew. It isn't terrible, but it isn't very good either. Mydand improved over the years, but died in 1991, the third Grateful Dead keyboardist to reach an untimely end. 348. Johnny Cash: Hurt *****"Hurt" comes from the 2002 Rick Rubin-produced American IV: The Man Comes Around, the final disc of Cash's career, and his fourth for Rubin's American records. The song is a Nine Inch Nails track, from The Downward Spiral, and despite its unlikely choice as a cover, Cash makes it his own. While Trent Reznor was all about shock in the 90's, nothing he pulled off is quite as shocking as Cash's death rattle of an old man's voice intoning "I hurt myself today/To see if I still feel/I focus on the pain/The only thing that's real" It's one thing for a nihilistic twentysomething to sing these lyrics, and another for a God-fearing outlaw like Cash. Rubin's production builds things to a dizzying crescendo interrupted by spare, close-miked lulls. Cash's enunciation is chilling, and the wintery vibe makes this quite possibly the most compelling rock song ever recorded by someone over 70. Cash, whose legend spanned nearly 50 years, died a year later, in 2003. With "Hurt" he went out a winner.349. Death In Vegas: Hands Around My Throat *****Death in Vegas is the conceptual big beat electronica outfit headed by U.K. disc jockey Richard Fearless. Noteworthy about Death in Vegas is their reliance on rock beats and aggressive guitars and keyboards; unlike many of their electronica peers, most of Death in Vegas' recordings could be called "rock" without inspiring snickers. Death In Vegas also employs a lot of guest vocalists on their albums; Iggy Pop, Liam Gallagher, Paul Weller, Hope Sandoval, and others have taken turns at the mike. "Hands Around My Throat" is from the 2002 album Scorpio Rising, and is one of the best cuts on a somewhat unfairly maligned album. Nicola Kuperus (from Adult) handles vocals, and gives a sinister, scary performance, while the song itself is hung on a hypnotic synth loop, with an almost early 80's new wave beat (think Missing Persons, Blondie, Berlin) beneath some angular hard rock guitar. The beat is propulsive, the guitars have meat, the electronica flourishes serve an admirably supporting role instead of taking over, and the whole package is a pretty solid cut. As is customary in the fast-changing trendy world of electronica, Death in Vegas are already yeaterday's news, although they've continued releasing albums worth hearing, most recently Fabriclive.23 in 2005.350. Pere Ubu: Vacuum In My Head ****"Vacuum In My Head" is a weird cut from a mixed album that happened to appear during this legendary band's least interesting period, the mid-90's. Ray Gun Suitcase marked a return to indie label recording for these Ohio art-punk veterans. In some ways, Pere Ubu were a band that seemed cutout for the alternative rock era; with their groundbreaking albums of the 70's mostly unheard by the great unwashed masses, and a faithful cult, they always seemed one album away from finally getting their props. It didn't happen; Ray Gun Suitcase, from 1995, returned the band to the darker, more psychotic sounds they explored in their heyday ("Vacuum In My Head" is like a more introspective and damaged "30 Seconds Over Tokyo"), after flirting with melodicism for a few years. Diehard fans will welcome this return to basics; the minimalist guitar and strange noises still sound like only Pere Ubu can do them, and David Thomas' tortured spitting of the lyrics -which are demented- are about as far from singing as you can get. So at the time, it seemed like a return to form, at least the form that is Pere Ubu, although it turned out to be another false hope among many. So far, the last word from the band has been St. Arkansas, from 2002. That one seemed like it might be a breakthrough too; it wasn't.Listen to the Shins: Young Pilgrims (2003)Back | Next       Find 18 million rare CDs and out-of-print LPs at MusicStack

Posted on: 21 May 2006 | 2:29 pm

Sunday Morning Playlist: Tribute to Los Angeles; The Top 25 L.A. Tunes

Some cities inspire songs. New York City has always been lyric material. Boston, Detroit, Dallas, New Orleans, San Francisco, Memphis, Chicago; they've all inspired a lot of music in many different genres of music.None, however, seem to capture the imagination of songwriters like Los Angeles. Perhaps it's because so many aspiring songwriters spend time in L.A. Maybe it's because of the city itself; a city of contradictions, as city that's both very self-reflective and in love with its own artifice.Today, Freeway Jam does something a little different. Rather than explore another musical genre, we'll go on a little social anthropology excursion, and see what clues about the City of Angels we can divine from the last fifty years of popular music.25 great songs about Los Angeles (there are many more) include:1. X: Los AngelesX were integral to the L.A. punk scene in the early 80's. Their 1980 debut, Los Angeles, was produced by Ray Manzerak of the Doors in a sort of generational torch passing. However, aside from a cover of "Soul Kitchen" on the debut, there wasn't much in their music that resembled the Doors beyond a palpable sense of chaos and dread. Song titles like "Johnny Hit and Run Pauline" and "The Phone's Off The Hook, But You're Not" pretty much tell the story of the band's early outlook, which was nihilistic and somewhat disturbed. Over the years, they'd add more psychobilly and roots rock influence to their music, but on "Los Angeles" they are a full tilt punk band, whose dual vocals from Exene Cervenka and John Doe gave them a sonic texture more resonant than many of their competitors. "Los Angeles" is portrait of the city as frightening place, where people are driven mad and the days turn to nights, they change in an instant...2. Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band: Hollywood NightsThis was Seger's message to the faithful back home in Michigan. Sure, he may have gone Hollywood, but he was still a simple old midwestern boy at heart. The 1980 album Stranger In Town marked the end of his mega-platinum peak, although he'd ride momentum through the first half of the 1980's to notch a few more hits before the fade set in. Like spiritual cousin Bruce Springsteen, Seger took a lot of flack for abandoning his root constituency by moving west, although one can hardly blame him. "Hollywood Nights" paints L.A. (or L.A. women) as corrupter of innocents who are razzledazzled by the view of the lights from the hills. It's cliched as a B-actress' memoirs, but Seger manages to convey enough working-class sweat to make the tale believable. Still a radio staple to this day.3. Arlo Guthrie: Coming Into Los AngelesArlo Guthrie, son of Woodie, sang "Coming Into Los Angeles" at Woodstock, and enjoyed a few years of modest sales and even a couple of hits in the late 60's-early 70's. "Coming Into Los Angeles" portrays Los Angeles as destination point for smuggled drugs; his almost naive "Don't touch my bags if you please, mister customs man" portrays a world no longer existent in the post 9-11 age; who is going to smuggle in a couple of keys (with which he rhymes 'Angeles') in their carry on these days? Still, Los Angeles continues to love its drugs, and they've got to be coming from somewhere. So while "Coming Into Los Angeles" may be hippie relic, its sentiments still are serviceable today. A studio version of the song appears on Guthrie's 1969 album Running Down The Road, but it's the Woodstock version he's most well-known for.4. The Doors: L.A. WomanFor many, the Doors were the quintessential Los Angeles band, formed in Venice, full of theater, cinematic songs, melodrama, booze and drugs, and a muddleheaded peace ethic. Long after the band was derided by the rock intelligentsia as "overrated" at best, and ridiculous at worst, Los Angeles has always had a special place in its heart for them. So it makes sense that in 1971, the band would dedicate an album to the city that embraced them. The title cut, "L.A. Woman" captures all anyone needs to know about the Doors in 2071; except for the bass player they hired especially for the sessions, all the typical Doors moves are present; long keyboard parts, convoluted poetry, a wildeyed earnest romanticism coupled with a vaguely sleazy worldview, and a hummability despite itself. The album continued a comeback of sorts that had begun with Morrison Motel in 1970, but Morrison wouldn't live to see his love letter to Los Angeles become a perennial; L.A. Woman was completed weeks before his death. Morrison's message: cops in cars, topless bars, never saw a woman so alone...5. Mamas and the Papas: 12:30 (Young Girls Are Coming To The Canyon)The Mamas and Papas, transplanted from the East Coast, had already established their West Coast credentials with "California Dreamin'", which mentions L.A., their first hit. However, their biggest L.A. specific hit was "12:30 (Young Girls are Coming to the Canyon)" a 1967 Summer of Love hit that took the dreamin' into actual migration; it's a lush harmony number that conjures up images of flower girls all looking like Michelle Phillips, traipsing through Topanga with love in their hearts and smiles on their faces in contrast to "dark and dirty" New York City, which gets dissed big time by these DC-area folkies. Californians who complain about the massive youth influx in the 60's, which helped ruin L.A. and S.F. when they were overrun, can lay a lot of blame at the Mamas and Papas' doorstep; they romanticized L.A. in "Calfirnia Dreamin'" and "12:30", and John Phillips wrote "San Francisco (Be Sure To Wear Flowers In Your Hair)" which misled thousands of naive kids. That said, "12:30" is still an awfully pretty track, a distorted snapshot of one summer in L.A. history that will never be repeated.6. Red Hot Chili Peppers: Under The BridgeLos Angeles was in a bad way in 1992. It had become one of the most violent cities in the nation, with drive-by shootings running amok, racial tensions that erupted in the Rodney King riots, a deterioration of city services. "Under the Bridge", a memoir of Anthony Keidis' heroin days was almost touching at the time in the love it expressed for the city, which was as humiliated and degraded as any junkie. It paints a portrait of the city as omnipresent companion, who sees good deeds and by implication, bad ones too. Even the most alienated find some comfort in the existence of the city, and see it on their own terms, as it witnesses the life each carves out without judgment. You're on your own here, but you're never alone even when you're alone. As a veteran junkie journeyman band, little known outside of L.A. until "Under the Bridge" broke them in a huge way, these sentiments, which are not unlike Jim Morrison's romanticism of "L.A. Woman" in some respects, come easily and honestly. They'd revisit L.A. as theme many times, including on their 1999 album Californication.7. Randy Newman: I Love L.A.Can't leave this off the list. A wiseguy take on L.A. from wiseguy singer/songwriter Newman, who used to make the "artist most likely to get punched in the nose" lists regularly in the late 70's and early 80's. Smug, rich, with lots of movie connections, Newman is a particularly Angeleno sort of wiseguy, and Angelenos still generally love him for it, even if his shtick has long ago stopped charming people east of the 110 Freeway. "I Love L.A." appeared on his 1982 album Trouble in Paradise and remained the city anthem through the 1980's, especially during 1984, when L.A. hosted the Summer Olympics. "I Love L.A." cranks up the smugness to cartoon levels and takes the requisite swipe at New York and Chicago as it draws a picture of street after street under gloriously sunny skies, "Looks like another perfect day; I love L.A.", while noting the beauty of L.A. women as well as the bum on his knees. Smug sure; but despite its overboard irony, it actually does a good job of taking a thumbnail sketch of 1980's Los Angeles.8. Sheryl Crow: All I Wanna DoSheryl Crow's woozy 1993 debut smash "All I Wanna Do" did a good job of capturing the hungover, morning-after L.A. of the post-riot 90's; while on the surface it appears to be a party song, and it is, it is an oddly non-joyous sounding one. Instead, it's jaded and cooler-than-thou. Yet it also conveys a rally-the-troops sense of let's shake off this malaise, which was an appreciated enough sentiment in 1993 that the song became something of a rallying cry despite (or because of) its laid-back, still-drinking-at-sunrise sentiment. Crow herself was already a veteran of the L.A. music scene by the time she got to record her debut; this adds a patina of believability to the song. She never did really revisit the oddball viewpoint she expressed on this song; her later work has been much more conventional. But this remains an L.A. favorite to this day.9. Guns 'n' Roses: Paradise CityI could just as easily mention the notorious "One In A Million" here, which is as much about L.A. as the Michael Douglas flick Falling Down, expressing the same xenophobic pre-riot mindset: can't these lousy foreigners go back to Africa, or Mexico, or China, or wherever they come from? In truth, "One In A Million" as abhorrent is it is, is probably a more accurate portrayal of L.A. than "Paradise City", which could only have been written by the biggest hair band on Sunset Strip. Essentially the message here is: I love the babes in L.A., can't wait to get off the road, where the babes aren't as hot. Guns 'n' Roses, of course, never capitalized on what seemed certain to become an enormous level of stardom; after more than a decade of inaction interrupted only by fuck-ups, Chinese Democracy has yet to see the light of day. Posers since day one, G 'n' R will always be remembered for their Sunset Strip heroics in the 1980's, but Angelenos seemed to have moved on.10. U2: Desire (Hollywood Remix)U2 debuted "Where the Streets Have No Name" by playing on a downtown L.A. rooftop without a permit and were busted just like the Beatles were when they tried it in London. The band had spent the better part of the year touring America, developing a romantic fondness for and sociologist's curiosity about the desert ("Joshua Tree") and points west. For their next album, Rattle and Hum from 1988, "Desire" was chosen as a single, and a special "Hollywood Remix" accompanied it. A relic of L.A.'s violent late 80's, it opens with the sound of either a car alarm or a siren, followed by news reports of a Hollywood shooting, and sounds of gunfire, and a sampled snippet labeling it "Voodoo Economics", a buzzword from the '88 election. While the song in its original form doesn't mention L.A. specifically, its themes of drugs, guns, and reckless ambition resonated perfectly with the then-current metropolitan milieu. Hollywood now has undergone a remarkable and successful facelift and gentrification; the shoot 'em up Hollywood of 1988 that this single reflects is largely swept clean.11. 10,000 Maniacs: City of AngelsEarnest and concerned 80's college radio favorites 10,000 Maniacs confront the obvious contradictions between the "Paradise" image so often invoked (see Guns 'n' Roses, the Eagles, Randy Newman) and the largest homeless population in the United States, largely centered around 6th Street (where Axl growled at the foreigners in "One In A Million, and Randy Newman loved in "I Love L.A.") The song is a lush romantic waltz with lilting chorus and delicate touches throughout as befits a city of angels, while Natalie Merchant supplies one of her loveliest vocals; the lyrics, a little on the goody-goody side and offering nothing but a tsk tsk about the situation, basically say "Hey I expected paradise, and all I got were these homeless, what's up with that?" As it wasn't a single, it never really makes lists such as this one, but it makes a valid point about 1987 Los Angeles that still hasn't been fixed nearly 20 years later.12. Frank Sinatra: L.A. Is My Lady"L.A. Is My Lady" was Sinatra's attempt to cash in on Olympic fever in 1984, and perhaps come up with a classic along the lines of "New York, New York". Sinatra was 69 at the time, and sounds decrepit; it and the album that shares its title would be the last serious recordings of his career. The results aren't pretty; Quincy Jones' vaguely discofied synthetic-jazz production job doesn't suit Sinatra at all, and despite a nice showbizzy finale, Sinatra's vocal just doesn't muster enough energy to make it a worthwhile anthem. The single tanked, and aside from Duets I & II in 1990, Sinatra was done. Its sentiments are nice though; it's another personalization of the city itself (see L.A. Woman, Under the Bridge) but from the viewpoint of a lifelong winner. That view: L.A. never lets me down; no other place like it.13. Missing Persons: Walking In L.A.While Missing Persons ("Words", "Destination Unknown"), an early 80's new wave unit with a decidedly space-age campiness to it, aren't well remembered by the world at large, "Walking in L.A." will always be on the L.A. song pantheon. Things have changed a lot since 1983, when this song peaked at #70 nationally. Now L.A. has a new (small, inadequate) subway system, and has become a much denser city, so you do see people walking in places they didn't walk 23 years ago. But for the most part, the song still holds true; while the verses that end "nobody walks in L.A." aren't entirely true anymore, the last verse that says "only a nobody walks in L.A." is probably still accurate. The song also namedrops a couple of local landmarks, which no longer exist. One thing that always set L.A. apart from other major urban areas was its long blocks of deserted sidewalks and slow, dense traffic. The sidewalks see a little action now, but the traffic is slower and denser.14. Tom Petty: Free Fallin'And let us not forget the frequently forgotten San Fernando Valley, the butt of many a joke south of the Hollywood Hills, mile after mile of stripmalls and surburban tract housing; often ridiculed as the most boring place on earth. While most of the Valley is part of the city of Los Angeles (having lost a referendum to leave the city in 2002), it might as well be on Mars; in 1989, when "Free Fallin'" was released, it was still a mostly working-to-middle class suburb that was remarkably self contained, in much the same way Long Island is to New York City. Petty's take is a little goofy in places "the bad boys are standing in the shadows, and the good girls are home with broken hearts", but he does a good job of morphing the notions of "free and free falling". The ultimate message? "I'm kind of a jerk for leaving that nice girl from Reseda"15. Patti Smith: Redondo BeachRedondo Beach is one of the more sleazier beach areas in the South Bay area, or at least it was in 1975, when New York-based Smith included this odd little reggae on her debut album, Horses. A tale of either murder or suicide, with a protagonist who is or isn't a lesbian, "Redondo Beach" doesn't capture much about the place itself except in the most nebulous sense; it has always been a place with its fair share of loser and drifter types, and occasionally has had to sensational murder. It gets the nod simply because so few New Yorkers bother to acknowledge L.A. beyond stereotypes, let alone bother to learn the names of its outlying communities. Plus a reggae by a New Yorker about Redondo ought to appeal to the typically eclectic Los Angeleno's palette.16. Frank Zappa: Valley GirlBack to the Valley again, this time for the song that put the Valley on the map, so to speak, Frank Zappa's 1981 hit "Valley Girl". While Zappa and his band provide some meaty guitar and laconic vocals, the star of the show is really Zappa's 13-year old daughter, Valley native Moon Unit, who essentially goes through a rundown of idiomatic Valley English as a primer of sorts for the nation at large. "Gag me with a spoon" has been part of the lexicon ever since. Plus we get "totally bitchin'", "Barf me out", "like, oh my god" and much much more. The song is mainly Moon's monologue, with Frank supplying angular guitar and general noise. It was requested constantly in L.A. when it was new; whether or not you need to hear it now depends on whether you're from the Valley and/or you are a Zappa fan. 17. The Eagles: The Last Resort"Hotel California" from the same album would have been a more obvious choice, but I've always been more partial to the stately weeper "The Last Resort" which closes the Hotel California album, from 1976. In many respects, Hotel California is a concept album about L.A., or at least a thematically unified album with L.A. as its focus; "New Kid In Town" and "Life In The Fast Lane" are L.A.-centric sentiments, even if not explicitly about the city. "The Last Resort" mourns the loss of the mythical El Dorado-esque Los Angeles, offering up the poignant adage "Call some place paradise, you can kiss it goodbye". The essential message is "too many people are coming here, and it's starting to suck". Thirty years later, you still hear the same refrain, although most of the newcomers aren't suckered into believing they're coming to paradise anymore.18. The Kinks: Celluloid HeroesFrom the Kinks' early 70's show-biz phase, when their albums were mini-operas, "Celluloid Heroes" is an admirably self contained ode to Hollyood legends long passed, as seen as stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The song itself is a soft ballad, full of wistfulness and nostalgia, with a particularly mellow lead guitar solo; the lyrics name drop everyone from Rudoph Valentino to Bela Lugosi to Betty Grable. It's a lovely song, with one of Ray Davies' most tender vocals; and it is a fittingly kitschy tribute to a kitschy landmark. Sentimental as a black and white movie, but that's the point. It's also one of the Kinks' best cuts from their largely disparaged 70's output. The studio version contains an extra verse left out on the version that appears on the 1980 live album One For The Road, which more people are familiar with.19. Tupac Shakur: To Live and Die in L.A.This opens with what sounds like a snippet of a radio program that pokes a dangerous stick in the direction of the East and West rivalry, which indirectly cost TuPac his life. It'd be easy to accuse TuPac of fatalism if he hadn't ultimately met his fatal end; as such "To Live and Die In L.A." is like a 4-minute synopsis for Boyz N The Hood. Yet it isn't fatalistic, despite its acknowledgement of the dangers of L.A. ghetto existence; it offers an olive branch to the Mexicans, and like "Under The Bridge" or "L.A. Woman" it's a love letter to the city more than anything else, ironic given the circumstances of TuPac's short existence. The song itself is from The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory rush released as a cash-in a mere 8 weeks after TuPac's shooting death in Las Vegas. Credited to Makaveli, instead of TuPac, it gave rise to the legend that TuPac wasn't dead, just hiding out. 20. Grateful Dead: West L.A. Fadeaway"West L.A. Fadeaway" appeared on the Dead's 1987 commercial breakthrough In The Dark, the biggest album of their long career. The song is a sinister one, suggesting drug intrigue, organized crime, and violence; it's about hiding out, which is another of L.A.'s traditional pastimes, used by crooks on the lam and losers on the down-low ever since the city began attracting citizens willing to leave it all behind at the turn of the 20th century. Like most of the In The Dark album, which was written over the space of nearly 7 years, the song's lyrical detail is a little richer than usual for a Dead tune, which makes it one of the better latter-day numbers. It also earns extra points for working in the slang term "copacetic", a word I've never encountered east of the Sierra Nevadas.21. Lightning Hopkins: Los Angeles BluesThis opens with a spoken dedication to Los Angeles, before launching into a very slow, piano-based blues. The song appeared on the unfortunately named 1969 album California Mudslide (And Earthquake) In it, Hopkins thinks of relocating, just like the Eagles feared: "People all told me if you go to Los Angeles, Lightnin', you makin' a sad mistake, but I holler 'hello Los Angeles', I believe I'll be on my way". Like with so many other songs, Hopkins here identifies Los Angeles as "a friend"; two other songs on the album also specifically mention L.A. Hopkins was 57 when he recorded this, and although it is past his peak, he's in excellent form, with a stong unwavering voice and he gets in a great piano solo. Blues was largely a Chicago, Southern, and East Coast phenomenon; Los Angeles never had an indigenous blues scene to compete with the others. Still, as long as the city has been here, there has always been blues to sing. Hopkins, like so many others, here sings of Los Angeles as a place to escape his blues.22. Distillers: City of AngelsThe Distillers may have had an Australian member and one from Detroit when they formed in 1998, but they've been based largely in L.A. and recorded for Epitaph records. "City of Angels" is from their third album, Sing Sing Death House, from 2003. One of the few punk bands of the early 00's to actually sound convincingly "punk", their take on L.A. is suitably raucous and damaged in an X sort of way, perhaps crossed with Courtney Love. "City of Angels" has a great anthemic quality to it, and the band plays in a revved-up fashion without sacrificing an inherent tunefulness to their narrow range of chords. Like many before them, they celebrate the very irony of the city itself; it's both celebratory and condemning at the same time, which is like many Los Angles songs. The Distillers haven't followed up this album, and their lineup has had some key changes made. But even if they never follow it up, "City of Angels" makes a worthy addition to the L.A. canon.23. Wang Chung: To Live and Die In L.A.Wang Chung were the moderately popular U.K. synth-pop band that gave the world two moderately good synth-pop hits in the mid 1980's, "Dance Hall Days" and "Everybody Have Fun Tonight". Their third biggest hit was "To Live and Die In L.A.", which was written on commission for William Friedkin's 1985 film of the same title, a seedy cop story set in the City of Angels. For a couple of Brits, they do a good job of capturing the city milieu; the synthetic rhythm suggests a freeway in motion, the lyrics paint a suitably alienated and jaundiced view of life, colored by the disillusion that often sets in among those who come here for the thrills. Wang Chung were a better band than they're often given credit for; "To Live and Die In L.A." is arguably their deepest and best single.24. Elliott Smith: Angeles"Angeles" is from Smith's 1997 album Either/Or, which stands as the best of his short career; the song was also featured in the movie Good Will Hunting. A nice acoustic-based number, it displays all the offhanded charm that made Smith seem to be destined for greatness in the late 90's, before his untimely death. Introspective and eerie, with a little electronic ambiance added for color, it comes across as almost a prayer and promise to the city itself; one could even be convinced "Angeles" refers to a woman and not the city, were Smith not a native Angleno himself. It's confused, but touching which pretty much sums up Smith himself. There is no shortage of sad, confused persons like Smith in the city.25. Shawn Mullins: LullabyAtlanta-borm Mullins had been trying to break into music ever since he released a cassette in 1989 while a member of the Army Airborne Infantry Division; it took until 1997, when he finally had a hit with "Lullaby" before he finally made it. "Lullaby", from the album Soul's Core, is a slow singer/songwriter number dressed up with late 90's electronica touches; it namedrops Fairfax Avenue, the Hollywood Hills, and a few dead celebrities while offering reassurance to yet another lonely denizen of the city of heartbreak. The moral? Money isn't everything, and there are devils in this angel town. "Lullaby" may remain Mullins' definitive statement; he has yet to crack the Hot 100 again.Watch X: Los Angeles (circa 1990?)Listen to Missing Persons: Walking In L.A. (1982)       Find 18 million rare CDs and out-of-print LPs at MusicStack

Posted on: 23 April 2006 | 7:20 am

Weekend Reissue Roundup #41: 04/22/2006

      Artist: Album (label, release date) 1-5 starsMugison: Little Trip (Ipecac, April 18, 2006) ****Memphis Slim: I Am The Blues (Passport Audio, April 18, 2006) *****Rita Lee: Bossa 'n' Beatles (Ghordo Music, April 18, 2006) ****Anaal Nakrakh: When Fire Rains Down from the Sky, Mankind Will Reap as It Has Sown (Earache, April 18, 2006) ***Mugison: Little Trip In the wake of Bjork, Goldfrapp, Sigur Ros and other Icelandic electronica acts, the record biz is dusting off some of the second tier of recent electronica albums from the volcanic island nation of 280,000. Given that the entire population of the country is only two thirds that of Fresno, CA, one has to start wondering just how deep the trough can run. Mugison, a former sailor from the northwestern corner of the island, almost a stone's throw from the north pole, has released three albums over the last few years, and appeared at Scotland's Triptych festival in 2004, which gained him international interest. He tours with all of his equipment in a single suitcase; he and his family hand-stitched the elaborate packaging for 10,000 copies of his 2003 debut, Lonely Mountain. Little Trip, the soundtrack to Baltasar Kormakur's 2005 of the same name, has been given a new push in 2006 by Ipecac, and offers a handy jumping-in point. So, is this another boldly innovative Icelander who will teach the continentals a thing or two about the possibilities in music? Well not really, but he keeps some conventions in circulation, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. Half of this album is ambient balladry, featuring romantic vocals (sung in English most of the time) like on the fairly irrestistable "Little Trip to Heaven", which boasts a tranquil almost Pacific Island affected slide guitar, and gentle brushes on the drums. Elsewhere, like on "Alone In The Office" we get a somnambular chillout groove with muted horns that sounds a lot more like conventional British electronica. Still other pieces, mostly on fragments under 2 minutes, we have abrasive white-noise constructs as on "Mugicone, Part 2", where the disc really does sound like movie music. Those expecting something to grab them by the lapels will greet this with a big yawn. However, it's certainly inoffensive, and if nothing here is really new, it reshuffles them into a likeable sleepy-time collage. Memphis Slim: I Am The BluesMemphis Slim (born John "Peter" Chatman 1915-1988) was a piano player extraordinaire on the Memphis circuit following World War II, where he largely inherited the crown of Big Bill Broonzy as Memphis' most respected ivory tinkler. His rich, earthy, always in-control voice was commanding, and he was a gifted songwriter as well, penning classics that were covered by Lowell Fulson, Joe Williams, and B.B. King among others. I Am The Blues is a budget-priced 14-song compilation, originally released on Prestige Elite in 2002, that collects most of his best-known sides that he recorded for Chicago's United Records in the early 1950's. On all of these cuts, which range from slow to midtempo, Memphis Slim displays a warmth and ambiance that displays an urban sophistication rarely heard outside of Chicago, yet nothing comes across as forced or self-conscious. Instead the good times roll by with numbers like "Ballin' The Jack", "I Am The Blues", "Sassy Mae", "Ramble This Highway"; all should be accessible to blues novices and favorites of electric blues aficionados. Liner notes are virtually non-existent, but the price is right; a good, concise introduction.Rita Lee: Bossa 'n' BeatlesRita Lee had been a member of Brazil's most influential rock group; the seminal Os Mutantes in the late 1960's. Bossa 'n' Beatles is her idiosyncratic 2002 take on the Beatles, with the bossa nova rhythms the title promises, but with a refreshingly iconoclastic art-pop sensibility that makes this more than yet another vanity collection of Beatle covers. The opener, "A Hard Days Night" is given a colorful funk-rock treatment that only hints at bossa-nova in its beats; "All My Loving" is more in the traditional vein of Astrud Gilberto. "If I Fell", on the other hand, is given a more modern bossa treatment. "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds", which is based on on electronically treated piano and features blurry whooshes and sound effects is at once sensual and experimental; "If I Fell" and "In My Life" appear in both English versions and Portuguese versions. There's no shortage of Beatle tribute albums, and most are pretty ho-hum; this one actually merits more than one spin. While the song selection, which also includes "Michelle", "She Loves You", "I Want To Hold Your Hand", "With A Little Help From My Friends" and "Here, There, And Everywhere" is not the most inspired or eclectic selection of possible songs to cover, Lee manages to infuse enough distinct character into each to get these old workhorses to reveal something new about themselves. Not for everybody, but for those who consider the "Girl From Ipenema" a guilty pleasure will enjoy this stuff.Anaal Nakrakh: When Fire Rains Down from the Sky, Mankind Will Reap as It Has SownAn English duo of vocalist V.I.T.R.I.O.L. (Dave Hunt, ex-Mistress, ex-Benediction) and Irrumator (Mick Kenney, owner of Nekrodeath studios and former member of Aborym, Frost, Mistress) Anaal Nakrakh's stated purpose is to provide the soundtrack to the apocalypse. Formed in 1999, the band adapts Norwegain-style death metal for the English speaking masses, and pretty much delivers the goods. How much you need these goods depends on your tolerance level for demonic roars over hyperspeed metal; with me, I like it in small doses. So When Fire Rains Down from the Sky, Mankind Will Reap as It Has Sown, originally released in 2003, a six-song EP, is good enough for me. "Never Fucking Again" is a great song to play when you're careening through the hills on a two lane at midnight at excessive speeds. In fact, so are "Cataclysm Nihilism", "Genesis of the Antichrist", and the title cut, the best things here. Lyrically, I assume the titles tell the story; very little of V.I.T.R.I.O.L.'s roar is intelligible. But give the machine-gun drummer here some due; and the guitar riffs pound like oppression itself. Can't say I'll play this very often, and I imagine the apocalypse sounding more like Jessica Simpson, truth be told, but as far as death metal goes, I got the thrills I bargained for. The reissue pads things out with three more songs; damned if I can tell the difference between them.Also out this week: A serviceable 2002 hits-oriented single disc best-of, Ultimate Dolly Parton on Sony International; post-rock experimental Chicago band The Race's 2002 album The Perfect Gift on Flameshovel; some 4-disc boxed collections of old albums by America, Argent, Rosemary Clooney, Vic Damone, The Four Lads, The Modernaires, and Jerry Vale, all called Collectables Classics on Collectables; Den of Thieves by the Trews, a 2002 Jack Douglas production that flopped, on Red Ink; Collection: 2006 Edition by Kiwi new-wavers Split Enz on EMI; the U.K. versions of Aftermath, Between The Buttons and Out of Our Heads by the Rolling Stones on Universal Japan; and Constant Pressure, by electronica act Beat Pharmacy, on Wave.       Find 18 million rare CDs and out-of-print LPs at MusicStack

Posted on: 23 April 2006 | 12:49 am

Short Bits 3: Pere Ubu, Dub Housing

For a long time, I always thought the world at large would catch up with Pere Ubu, and the band would at last take its rightful place among the most interesting, intelligent, and innovative bands of the late 20th century. When "Waiting For Mary" (from Cloudland)managed some scant airplay and the video turned up in light rotation on MTV in 1989 I thought the time might have arrived for this criminally neglected band.Nearly three decades have passed since the release of Dub Housing in 1978, which is certainly the most accessible album from their classic period, and arguably the best. The brief commercial flirtation of 1989 never did translate into sales or long-term notoriety, and it seems unlikely they'll ever turn up at a Rock n Roll Hall of Fame induction, although if the Hall were really about rock, that's precisely where they ought to be. They're from the same hometown, after all.No, like so many other good bands with brilliant albums, Pere Ubu and Dub Housing are likely to continue receding into history, known only to record/CD/mp3 junkies, students of the punk/new wave era, and aging clubgoers. And sometime, say in another 50 years or so, they'll be as lost and forgotten as A-ha.Which is a crying shame; during their peak, which ran roughly from 1976-1982, there was absolutely nobody working the same side of the street as them; their sophomore album, Dub Housing, remains an excellent avenue by which to discover them.Dub Housing often gets lumped in with the punk albums of the era, but it definitely isn't punk, which suggests abrasive two chord songs and hardcore politics. It has also been called "new wave" which is also wrong, conjuring up the synth-pop of the Cars or something. It probably could be called art-rock, although that gives the wrong impression too; there's nothing here that remotely sounds like Yes or King Crimson.What Dub Housing is is the sound of decline and decay, represented musically as only a band from the heart of the rustbelt (1970's Cleveland) could hear it. But no, it isn't industrial music either; it's something eternally different.The album opens with "Navvy", which is built on taut, spare guitar, bass, and drums instumentation while lead singer David Thomas wails "I've got these arms and legs that flip flop flip flop" which is repeated until it is finally answered with "That sounds swell!" and the song detours into a sax dominated lull; in some ways the entire Pere Ubu philosophy can be summed up in this track. Unlike punk and industrial bands, Pere Ubu's music retained an oddly touching humanism. While they certainly played up the ironies and ridiculous contradictions of the human experience, they also retained an odd bemusement about their own existence.If you're willing to let Thomas' yelps and shrieks work they way they're supposed to, and listen closely to the remarkable instrumental play, "Navvy" ought to grab you; from there, there isn't a wasted cut.So songs like "Caligari's Mirror" and "Drinking Wine Spodyody" follow their own strange internal logic; the former is a woozy, drunken, delirious track with a joyous chorus dedicated to boozing sailors; the latter is strung on a tight bass and weird asymmetrical guitar, with almost random sounding keyboard chords and one of Thomas' best ever-vocals; it seems to be a song of romantic rejection taken into the realm of psychodrama; as music it is propulsive despite all the loose limbs jutting out at all angles. Thomas' vocal, which almost crosses the line into sobbing while still retaining its dignity, is remarkable. "Thriller!" suggests the industrial backdrop that is ever present with this band; heavy echo, distorted guitar, ghostly sound effects of moans, screams, wails, PA announcements, a bent rhythm. "On The Surface" built around an almost Farfisa-sounding keyboard riff is almost danceable. "I Will Wait" is the closest to a conventional rocker, featuring angular guitar, but even there they stack the deck with bizarre tempo shifts and outre lyrics. Codex, the closer, is a creepy song of longing embedded into another industrial soundscape; "I think about you all the time" never sounded creepier.Equal to Thomas' vocals are the band, which on this album included Tom Herman on guitar and Allen Ravenstine on keyboards; the albums on which the three appear together are Ubu's best. Bassist Tim Wright and drummer Scott Krauss make one of rock's more peculiar rhythm sections; at no time do they merely keep the beat; seldom did a Pere Ubu song end on the same beat it came in on.I discovered this album several years late myself, at about 2AM on a particularly lonely night, and was completely mesmerized by it, touching off a frantic month of catching up with the rest of the band's output. I'd hazard to say that the right newcomers will be spellbound even today; not only did nobody do what Ubu did in their heyday, nobody has attempted it ever since.Pere Ubu followed up Dub Housing with New Picnic Time in 1979, but personnel changes began to erode the band and its vision, and by 1982 the band seemed adrift and broke up. They reformed in 1988 with most of the classic lineup aboard, and since then have released a dozen albums. None of their later albums approach their first three in vision or consistency, but all but the most perfunctory offer enough thrills to keep them interesting. If you never got around to Dub Housing, give it a spin. The mountain of Pere Ubu albums makes an initial exploration seem daunting, but once you let Dub Housing express its vision, everything else starts to make a lot more sense.Listen to Pere Ubu: Drinking Wine Spodyody (1978)       Find 18 million rare CDs and out-of-print LPs at MusicStack

Posted on: 19 April 2006 | 7:45 am

Weekend Reissue Roundup #40: 04/15/2006

      Artist: Album (label, release date) 1-5 starsAvail: Dixie (Jade Tree, April 11, 2006) ****Queen: Stone Cold Classics (Hollywood; April 11, 2006) ***Sun Ra: Concert For Comet Kohoutek (Esp Disk, Ltd. April 11, 2006) ****Maroon 5: Songs About Jane [Bonus Tracks] (BMG International, April 11, 2006) **Avail: DixieAvail, from Richmond VA, is a DC-scene hardcore act formed in 1988, when the most interesting punk in America was coming from that region. They toiled in relative obscurity for years on Lookout Records, and later on Fat Wreck Chords, releasing eight albums over the years, half of them live. Dixie, their sophomore release from 1994, is generally considered their best. It, 4AM Friday, and Over The James have been re-issued on Jade Tree in order to capitalize on a 2006 tour with the Pink Razors and The Draft. As with all 90's punk, studio albums seldom capture a band accurately; Avail's loyal fans have always claimed they are a band to see live. Still, this is pretty good stuff. "On The Nod" begins with hardcore drumming from Erik Larson, some guitar from Joe Banks that hints at a few classic rock cues while rmaining propulsive and forward leaning. Tim Barry's vocal is nuanced and has a formidable howl to it. Gwomper works the bass. As the tunes roar past, 12 songs in about half an hour, culminating with a version of John Mellencamp's "Pink Houses", there's little variation on this essential approach, but the forward momentum is palpable; it'd make a good soundtrack to a skateboard flick, or something. Not much in the way of politics; most of it is dropout loserism, as befits punk in the alt-rock era. But tracks like "25 Years", which starts off slow, has a convincing angst, and "Clone" is a good anti-social rant. "Pink Houses" itself makes a good closer. Queen: Stone Cold ClassicsQueen, as everyone knows, is the British hard rock/pomp rock band; known for Freddy Mercury's operatic histrionics and Brian May's colorful guitar playing. Infamous for love-them-or-hate them hits like "Bohemian Rhapsody" and "We Are The Champions", the band was both loved and reviled in its day, an assessment that remains largely unchanged now. For sure, nobody ever expected Queen to revive itself after Mercury died in 1991; Queen without Mercury fronting it would be like well, maybe Bad Company without Paul Rodgers fronting it. That Rodgers, known for his macho cock rock strutting with Free and Bad Company ultimately joined Queen, isn't really a big surprise; fading rockstars need fresh paychecks too. On paper, it almost makes sense; they were contemporaries, if Rodgers wasn't very glammy he worked with musicians who were. So this disc makes a case for why it should work; underneath all the opera and double entendres and dance moves and concepts and silliness Queen always was a good hard rock band. Stone Cold Classics re-imagines Queen's history as if they were only a slightly fruitier version of Bad Company; what's included are the more hard rock leaning guitar-driven nuggets of the 70's in lieu of their more dance-oriented 80's material. So we get 12 hits; most perennials like "Fat Bottomed Girls", "Another One Bites The Dust", "Tie Your Mother Down", "We Will Rock You" and the like, plus two Paul Rodgers-led live cuts: "All Right Now", his biggest hit with Free, and "Ready For Love" an early Bad Company hit. Neither have improved on the originals; Rodgers' voice isn't what it used to be, and Brian May is no Mick Ralphs, which is probably the point. So they sound tacked on and vestigal. What's missing is Rodgers doing a Queen song, which would have demonstrated the validity of the concept a whole lot better. So if you want the more rock oriented Queen hits in one place, here they are. The add-ons make a stronger case that Queen has replaced Bad Company than Rodgers has replaced Mercury, however. And both bands have seen far better days, as Stone Cold Classics inadvertantly reminds us.Sun Ra: Concert For Comet KohoutekSun Ra albums are always an uncertain combination of extraterrestrial genius and down-to-earth put-on. Concert for the Comet Kohoutek, recorded in 1973, a little after the Arkestra's peak, offers up an ample sampling of both; from the goofy burlesque of "Astro Black" to the mindwarping tribal rhythms, harsh electronics, and insane improv of "Unknown Kohoutek", there's no telling what lies around each corner. When the music is on, it's transcendent. When it gets bogged down in its profundo pronouncements, it flags. "Discipline" both lives up to and makes a mockery of its title, whereas "Space Is The Place" makes Sun Ra's interplanetary free-jazz seem like the place to be. There are much better Sun Ra albums than this one, but for the already initiated, this is worth picking up. If you're new to Sun Ra, imagine a cross between Ornette Coleman, Martin Denny, and Funkadelic. And then forget it; that doesn't even begin to capture it.Maroon 5: Songs About Jane [Bonus Tracks]Never let it be said that I live in the past; I'm as curious about the zeitgeist as anyone, and when the mood strikes, I'll check out whatever was The Next Big Thing, albeit a year or two late. So when Maroon 5's Grammy winning Songs About Jane (originally released in 2002) got its re-release this week, with bonus cuts, I figured I'd settle in and see what all the fuss was about. Maroon 5 is the grown-up version of the late 90's band Kara's Flowers, formed by a quartet of junior high school friends led by Adam Levine. Maroon 5 is the same quartet plus a fifth member; guitarist James Valentine, who joined them in 1999. By 2005 they were big enough to open for the Rolling Stones, although apart from two live albums, they still haven't followed up this one. So how is it? Well, the angular guitar and hip-hop sensibility on "Harder to Breathe" starts things off agreeably, even if the melody seems received and the vocals are a bit overwrought. By the time of the second song however, "This Love", I already get the feeling I'm listening to a teen band in disguise; "Shiver" almost screams N*Sync or Backstreet Boys. The album works best when it gets off its urban beats; the slower, melodic ballad "She Will Be Loved" sounds closer to Dave Matthews, "Secret" has a nice minor key lilt, but is done in by its silly lyrics. Ultimately, Songs About Jane is a triumph of style over substance; well-produced and well sung, it offers little in the way of originality or meaning. I haven't checked, but I could see this as being a popular record among American Idol fans. For diehard rockers, there isn't much here. And the bonus tracks? Two additional versions of "This Love" (one live), a live "Harder to Breathe", and a tune called "Rag Doll", which isn't Aerosmith's. Or even the Four Seasons'.Also out this week: Three classics from art-punk legends Wire, Pink Flag, 154, and Chairs Missing on Pink Flag; Talk Memphis a minor 1981 offering by singer/songwriter Jesse Winchester on Wounded Bird; Essential Judas Priest on Sony; four albums by minor league 70's arena act Fandango on Wounded Bird; Donkeys by 70's mod-revivalists The Donkeys on Antenna Farm; My Way: Very Best of Paul Anka on BMG Germany, and Sacrifist by Praxis, an abrasive avant-metal project featuring Bill Laswell and Buckethead on Subharmonic.       Find 18 million rare CDs and out-of-print LPs at MusicStack

Posted on: 16 April 2006 | 12:34 pm

Short Bits 2: Charles Manson and the Beach Boys

From the mailbox:"Did Charles Manson really write a song for the Beach Boys?"Answer: It wasn't written for the Beach Boys, but "Never Learn Not To Love" (on the Beach Boys' 20/20 album) was indeed written by Charles Manson, and for a brief time in 1968, about a year before the Tate-LaBianca murders, Manson and Beach Boys drummer Dennis Wilson were acquaintances.While the passage of time has diminished the irony, the juxtaposition of the Beach Boys, America's cleancut "fun" band and Charles Manson, the symbolic epitome of evil and the dark side, was a particularly jarring one.Charles Manson was released from prison in 1967 after spending more than half of his life locked up in various institutions for a variety of schemes, from juvenile delinquency to fraud to car theft to pimping.In prison, Manson wasn't ignorant of music; he befriended Alvin "Old Creepy" Karpis of the Ma Barker gang, who taught him guitar. Another inmate, Phil Kaufman, gave him a contact name of someone at Universal Studios in Hollywood; years later, Kaufman would make news for hijacking the body of Gram Parsons and cremating it in the Joshua Tree desert. Manson developed something of an obsession with the Beatles, claiming he could come on twice as big, if given the chance, Karpis once noted.The world Manson entered was one that didn't exist when he was incarcerated; like many hardened criminals in 1967, Manson made a beeline for San Francisco, where the Summer of Love was in full blossom, offering the hype of LSD and free love and rock stardom to anybody with long hair. It was in and around San Francisco in late 1967 where Manson met and befriended his first "followers"; he came across as a wizened guru at a time when there were several gurus on every block.Eventually, Manson relocated to Los Angeles and began following up on the music leads he had acquired. He networked himself relentlessly, making contacts at parties and clubs, trying to make things happen. His efforts were successful; he met Dennis Wilson, who gave him studio time in Brian Wilson's studio. Neil Young encountered him, and recalled "He had this kind of music that nobody else was doing. I thought he really had something crazy, something great. He was like a living poet." John Phillips of the Mamas and Papas was less impressed; when urged by hippie friends to record Manson, Phillips quipped "I'd just shudder every time. I'd say no, I think I'll pass." Nothing came of the studio recordings; Manson was uncomfortable and irritable in the studio, and refused the sound engineers' requests to record his tracks solo, and overdub his "family" rather than bringing them all into the studio at once. One of the songs Manson would play was called "Cease to Exist"; Dennis Wilson dug it enough that he convinced the Beach Boys to record it. Manson's original lyrics are:Pretty girl, pretty, pretty girlCease to ExistJust come and say you love meGive up your worldC'mon you can seeI'm your kind, I'm your kindYou can seeWalk on, walk onI love you pretty girlMy life is yours andYou can have my worldNever had a lessonI ever learnedBut I know we all get our turnI love youSubmission is a giftGo on, give it to your brotherLove and understanding is for one anotherI'm your kind, I'm your kindI'm your mindI'm your brotherI never had a lesson I ever learnedBut I know we all get our turnAnd I love youNever learned not to love youI never learnedWhile it is typical of a 1968-era "love your brother" style lyric, it also contains hints of some of Manson's brainwash raps; submission is a gift, cease to exist (give up your ego), I'm your mind. The Beach Boys' version changed the key phrase to "cease to resist", but otherwise left the lyrics and melody essentially unchanged. Dennis Wilson sings lead vocal, a rarity, and the Beach Boys supply their famous group harmonies and dense production. There's an ominous intensity to the recording; even divorced from Manson, it conveys a vaguely sinister edge, with its tribal rhythm and hypnotic chants.The song was originally released as the B-side to the 45 "Bluebirds Over The Mountain" on Capitol records in November 1968.In the summer of 1968, Manson had been crashing at Dennis Wilson's mansion all the time; Wilson tolerated it at first because Manson always had plenty of girls and drugs with him. However, over time, Manson and his entourage had pretty much run Wilson out of his own house as well as given him the clap and given away all his stuff; perhaps in an effort to get Manson out of his life, he put him in touch with Terry Melcher, producer of the Byrds, who had worked with the Beach Boys on Pet Sounds and with John Phillips as an organizer of the Monterey Pop Festival.By this time, Manson and his freak-followers were already embarked on the prolonged paranoid acid-and-the-Bible freakout scene that ultimately led them to the "Helter Skelter" murders; having relocated to the more rural Spahn Movie Ranch, near Chatsworth on the edge of L.A. In early 1969, several months before the murders, Melcher sent some sound engineers out to record Manson in his element; solo with acoustic guitar at his commune with his hippie chicks as backup singers. Film was also shot for a documentary on the free loving Mansonites, but subsequent events changed the tenor of the film.Manson's songs were duly recorded, but at the end of the day, Melcher remained unimpressed; Manson's growing reputation as unpredictable and scary may well have turned him off as well. The tapes and film sat in the can until after the murders; both were released in 1970 while Manson was on trial; the album as LIE on ESP records, and the film as Manson. A version of "Cease to Exist" appears on LIE."Never Learn Not To Love" doesn't bear Manson's name as a songwriting credit; instead credit is given to Dennis Wilson. Manson, who owed Wilson money for trashing his house, was given a small cash payment in exchange for the credit.The song itself remains one of those interesting little nuggets of rock lore; a point where several disparate worlds converged in one place and mayhem ensued. The only clue to what was to come was an obscure B-side by a fading harmony group with an ominous lilt.Listen to the Beach Boys: Never Learn Not To Love (1968)Listen to Charles Manson: Cease To Exist (1969)Watch the Beach Boys: Never Learn Not To Love (1968)       Find 18 million rare CDs and out-of-print LPs at MusicStack

Posted on: 13 April 2006 | 6:57 am

(Dont!) Steal This Video

Just thought I'd pass on a tip to fellow music maniacs...No, I haven't gone "on sabbatical" again. I just spent a week obsessing on the mountains of great video clips at YouTube.com. Many of you are familiar with that site, but if you aren't, check it out. Everything from Elvis on the Ed Sullivan show, to the Jefferson Airplane at Woodstock to Soft Machine on Beat Club to KISS on Midnight Special to REM on the Letterman show to the Verve on Top Of The Pops; a real treasure trove of stuff.Those who know the site already may be unaware that it is possible to download YouTube videos; all you need to do is use this site (Credit to Bedazzled! for this tip). Plug the url of the video you want into the box, and click the download button and it's yours (make sure you add .flv to the file name when you save it). The videos are in Flash format, so if you'd like to burn a DVD to watch it on your television, you'll need to convert your files to .avi, .mpeg, .mov or another format; here's a good freeware video converter. Expect a tiny loss in quality when you convert, although you won't notice it unless you're looking for it. Here's a tip: save time by converting a batch of videos all at one time, not one by one.Obviously, not I nor you nor the person who uploaded the video own the various copyrights or broadcast rights to the songs or performances, so do what you want at your own risk. For the time being, there hasn't been too much of a backlash against YouTube.com; as of March 31, 2006 they have been assuaging studio fears by limiting clips to 10 minutes.Which is more than enough time for a flash video nugget like Patti Smith Group on Saturday Night Live, 1975. I'll dedicate this clip to Jen, the most intense Patti Smith fan I know...UPDATE: Bummer! Vid got pulled by YouTube, "copyright infringement". Guess they must've not liked my post...? I'll get it back up another way, if I get the chance......of course, the irony is, I got it from YouTube...UPDATE #2: Okay, here's the same clip someone else uploaded to YouTube, except this has Italian subtitles and doesn't identify itself as from SNL: Watch: Patti Smith Group: Gloria [live on "Italian" TV] (1975)Note: Barring disaster, Weekly Reissue Roundup and Sunday Morning Playlist will be back this weekend, here and at Blogcritics.org. More "Short Bits" and other stuff this week, too. So long as I can peel myself away from YouTube...

Posted on: 12 April 2006 | 4:28 am

Lists: Musical Guests on Saturday Night Live 1975-2006

Saturday Night Live has long been an institution on late night TV, and their roster of musical guests who have performed live on the show reads like a who's who list of rock/pop history. Collect 'em all!I thought it might be handy to compile a list of all the music performers who have appeared on the show since its inception, in a single post. So here they are:10/11/75: Billy Preston, Janis Ian10/18/75: Randy Newman, Phoebe Snow11/08/75: Esther Phillips11/15/75: ABBA, Loudon Wainwright III12/13/75: Gil Scott-Heron 12/20/75: Martha Reeves, The Stylistics01/10/76: Anne Murray01/17/76: Bill Withers, Toni Basil, The Blues Brothers01/24/76: Neil Sedaka01/31/76: Jimmy Cliff02/14/76: Al Jarreau02/21/76: Desi Arnaz, Jr.02/28/76: Leon Redbone, The Singing Idlers03/13/76: Betty Carter04/17/76: Patti Smith04/24/76: Phoebe Snow, John Sebastian05/08/76: Carly Simon05/15/76: Leon Russell05/22/76: Gordon Lightfoot05/29/76: Leon Redbone07/24/76: Preservation Hall Jazz Band07/31/76: Kris Kristofferson, Rita Coolidge 09/18/76: James Taylor09/25/76: Boz Scaggs10/02/76: Joe Cocker, Stuff10/16/76: John Prine10/23/76: Kinky Friedman10/30/76: The Band11/13/76: Ry Cooder11/20/76: Paul Simon, George Harrison11/27/76: Brian Wilson12/11/76: Frank Zappa01/15/77: George Benson01/22/77: Chuck Berry01/29/77: Leo Sayer, Donny Harper Singers02/26/77: The Kinks03/12/77: Richard Baskin03/19/77: Levon Helm, Dr. John, The Meters03/26/77: Santana04/09/77: Tom Waits, Brick04/16/77: Kate & Anna McGarrigle, Roslyn Kind04/23/77: Alan Price, Neil Innes05/14/77: Joan Armatrading05/21/77: Jennifer Warnes, Kenny Vance09/24/77: Jackson Browne09/08/77: Taj Mahal10/15/77: Libby Titus10/29/77: Paul Simon11/12/77: Ray Charles11/19/77: Leon Redbone12/10/77: Willie Nelson12/17/77: Elvis Costello01/21/78: Randy Newman, Dirt Band01/28/78: Bonnie Raitt02/18/78: Billy Joel02/25/78: Ashford & Simpson03/11/78: Stephen Bishop03/18/78: Eddie Money03/25/78: Meat Loaf04/08/78: Eugene Record04/15/78: Keith Jarrett, Gravity04/22/78: The Blues Brothers05/13/78: Jimmy Buffett, Gary Tigerman05/20/78: Sun Ra10/07/78: The Rolling Stones10/14/78: Devo10/21/78: Frank Zappa11/04/78: Van Morrison11/11/78: The Grateful Dead11/18/78: The Blues Brothers12/09/78: Kate Bush12/16/78: Peter Tosh01/27/79: The Doobie Brothers02/10/79: Talking Heads02/17/79: Judy Collins02/24/79: Delbert McClinton03/10/79: Eubie Blake & Gregory Hines03/17/79: The Chieftains04/07/79: Rickie Lee Jones04/14/79: Ornette Coleman05/12/79: James Taylor05/19/79: Linda Ronstadt & Phoebe Snow05/26/79: Bette Midler10/13/79: Blondie10/20/79: Bob Dylan11/03/79: Chicago11/10/79: Tom Petty11/17/79: The Roches12/08/79: Randy Newman12/15/79: David Bowie12/22/79: Desmond Child & Rouge01/26/80: The B-52's02/09/80: Marianne Faithfull02/16/80: Gary Numan02/23/80: Sam & Dave03/08/80: The J. Geils Band03/15/80: James Taylor & Paul Simon, David Sanborn04/05/80: The Grateful Dead04/12/80: Anne Murray04/19/80: The Specials05/10/80: Amazing Rhythm Aces, Bruce Cockburn05/17/80: 3-D, Paul & Linda McCartney05/24/80: Andrew Gold, Andrae Crouch & Voices of Unity11/15/80: Kid Creole & The Coconuts11/22/80: Captain Beefheart & The Magic Band12/06/80: Aretha Franklin, Keith Sykes12/13/80: James Brown, Ellen Shipley12/20/80: The cast of The Pirates of Penzance01/10/81: Jack Bruce & Friends01/17/81: Cheap Trick, Stanley Clarke Trio01/24/81: Joe 'King' Carrasco & The Crown, 14 Karat Soul02/07/81: Jimmy Cliff02/14/81: Funky 4 + 1 More02/21/81: Todd Rundgren, Prince03/07/81: Delbert McClinton04/11/81: Jr. Walker & The All-Stars10/03/81: Rod Stewart10/10/81: The Kinks10/17/81: Miles Davis10/31/81: Fear11/07/81: Rick James & The Stone City Band11/14/81: The Go-Go's, Billy Joel12/05/81: Meat Loaf & The Neverland Express12/12/81: The Spinners, Yale Whiffenpoofs01/23/82: The Allman Brothers Band01/30/82: Jennifer Holliday02/06/82: Lindsey Buckingham02/20/82: Luther Vandross02/27/82: Hall & Oates03/20/82: Mink DeVille03/27/82: Rickie Lee Jones04/10/82: John Cougar04/17/82: Johnny Cash, Elton John04/24/82: Charlie Daniels Band05/15/82: Sparks05/22/82: Olivia Newton-John09/25/82: Queen10/02/82: George Thorogood & The Destroyers10/09/82: The Clash10/23/82: Men at Work10/30/82: Joe Jackson11/13/82: Kenny Loggins11/20/82: Squeeze12/04/82: Laura Branigan 12/11/82: Lionel Ritchie01/29/83: The Bus Boys02/05/83: Joe Cocker02/19/83: Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers02/26/83: Randy Newman 03/12/83: Leon Redbone03/19/83: Duran Duran04/09/83: Musical Youth04/16/83: Michael McDonald 05/07/83: Stevie Wonder05/14/83: Kevin Rowland & Dexy's Midnight Runners10/08/83: John Cougar10/15/83: Eddy Grant10/22/83: Men at Work11/05/83: Stray Cats11/12/83: Mick Fleetwood's Zoo & Lindsey Buckingham11/19/83: Loverboy12/03/83: Big Country 12/10/83: Stevie Nicks01/14/84: Huey Lewis & The News01/21/84: The Motels01/28/84: Billy Idol02/11/84: Adam Ant02/18/84: The Fixx02/25/84: Kool & The Gang03/17/84: Al Jarreau04/07/84: Deniece Williams04/14/84: Madness05/05/84: Spinal Tap05/12/84: The Cars10/06/84: Thompson Twins10/13/84: Peter Wolf10/20/84: Andrae Crouch, Wintley Phipps11/03/84: Chaka Khan, The Folksmen11/10/84: Frankie Goes to Hollywood11/17/84: The Kinks12/01/84: Billy Squier12/08/84: Ringo Starr, Herbie Hancock12/15/84: Robert Plant & The Honeydrippers01/12/85: John Waite01/19/85: Billy Ocean02/02/85: Tina Turner02/09/85: Bryan Adams02/16/85: Power Station 03/30/85: The Commodores04/06/85: Santana04/13/85: Greg Kihn11/09/85: Simple Minds11/16/85: Sheila E.11/23/85: Queen Ida & The Bon Temps Zydeco Band12/07/85: Mr. Mister12/14/85: Sade12/21/85: Dream Academy, The Cult01/18/86: The Replacements01/25/86: Al Green02/08/86: The Nelsons02/15/86: Stevie Ray & Jimmie Vaughn02/22/86: The Neville Brothers03/15/86: Roseanne Cash03/22/86: Philip Glass04/12/86: Joe Jackson04/19/86: Laurie Anderson05/10/86: Paul Simon, Ladysmith Black Mambazo05/17/86: Level 42, E.G. Daily05/24/86: George Clinton & Parliament-Funkadelic10/11/86: Buster Poindexter 10/18/86: Run DMC11/08/86: Ric Ocasek11/15/86: Lou Reed11/22/86: Paul Simon12/06/86: Randy Newman12/13/86: The Pretenders 12/20/86: Lone Justice01/24/87: Debbie Harry01/31/87: Bruce Hornsby & The Range 02/14/87: Paul Young02/21/87: Willie Nelson02/28/87: Robert Cray Band03/21/87: Percy Sledge03/28/87: Wynton Marsalis 04/11/87: Anita Baker04/18/87: Timbuk 305/09/87: Suzanne Vega05/16/87: Los Lobos05/23/87: Roy Orbison10/17/87: Steve Martin / Sting10/24/87: L.L. Cool J, Michael Penn & The Pull10/31/87: The Cars11/14/87: Simply Red11/21/87: Cher12/05/87: Bryan Ferry12/12/87: Buster Poindexter, David Gilmour 12/19/87: Paul Simon, Linda Ronstadt01/23/88: James Taylor01/30/88: Robbie Robertson02/13/88: Terence Trent D'Arby02/20/88: Randy Travis02/27/88: 10,000 Maniacs10/08/88: Keith Richards10/15/88: The Sugarcubes10/22/88: Randy Newman & Mark Knopfler11/05/88: Edie Brickell & New Bohemians11/12/88: Johnny Clegg & Savuka11/19/88: Tracy Chapman12/03/88: The Bangles12/10/88: Bobby McFerrin12/17/88: Little Feat01/21/89: Anita Baker01/28/89: John Hiatt02/11/89: Luther Vandross02/18/89: Cowboy Junkies02/25/89: Gipsy Kings03/25/89: Elvis Costello04/01/89: Living Colour04/15/89: Dolly Parton04/22/89: John Mellencamp05/13/89: Fine Young Cannibals05/20/89: Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers09/24/89: 15th Anniversary Special09/30/89: Neil Young10/07/89: Rickie Lee Jones10/21/89: Billy Joel10/28/89: Don Henley11/11/89: Eurythmics11/18/89: David Byrne12/02/89: k.d. lang & The Reclines12/09/89: Linda Ronstadt & Aaron Neville12/16/89: Tracy Chapman01/13/90: Harry Connick, Jr.01/20/90: Bonnie Raitt02/10/90: Tevin Campbell & Kool Moe Dee & Big Daddy Kane02/17/90: Aerosmith02/24/90: Technotronic03/17/90: The Pogues03/24/90: Eric Clapton04/14/90: The Smithereens04/21/90: The B-52's05/12/90: Julee Cruise, Spanic Boys05/19/90: The Notting Hillbillies09/29/90: Sinead O'Connor10/06/90: Hothouse Flowers10/20/90: The Time10/27/90: Mariah Carey11/10/90: World Party11/17/90: Paul Simon12/01/90: Faith No More12/08/90: Edie Brickell & New Bohemians12/15/90: The Neville Brothers01/12/91: Vanilla Ice01/19/91: Sting02/09/91: INXS02/16/91: Deee-Lite with Bootsy Collins & The Rubber Band02/23/91: Whitney Houston03/16/91: Black Crowes03/23/91: Fishbone04/13/91: R.E.M.04/20/91: Michael Bolton05/11/91: Chris Isaak05/18/91: Elvis Costello09/28/91: Public Enemy10/05/91: Color Me Badd10/12/91: Tom Petty10/26/91: Bonnie Raitt11/02/91: Skid Row11/16/91: Mariah Carey 11/23/91: Tin Machine12/07/91: Hammer12/14/91: James Taylor01/11/92: Nirvana01/18/92: Robbie Robertson & Bruce Hornsby02/08/92: C+C Music Factory02/15/92: Teenage Fanclub02/22/92: Red Hot Chili Peppers03/14/92: Garth Brooks03/21/92: En Vogue04/11/92: Pearl Jam04/18/92: Annie Lennox 05/09/92: Bruce Springsteen 05/16/92: Vanessa Williams09/26/92: Bobby Brown10/03/92: Sinead O'Connor10/10/92: Spin Doctors10/24/92: Arrested Development10/31/92: 10,000 Maniacs11/14/92: Morrissey11/21/92: Sade12/05/92: Neil Young12/12/92: Black Crowes01/09/93: Bon Jovi01/16/93: Madonna02/06/93: Mick Jagger02/13/93: Paul McCartney02/20/93: Sting03/13/93: Mary J. Blige03/20/93: Soul Asylum04/10/93: Peter Gabriel 04/17/93: Lenny Kravitz 05/08/93: Midnight Oil 05/15/93: Willie Nelson & Paul Simon09/25/93: Nirvana10/02/93: Cypress Hill 10/09/93: Aerosmith10/23/93: Billy Joel10/30/93: Smashing Pumpkins11/13/93: James Taylor 11/20/93: Stone Temple Pilots 12/04/93: Paul Westerberg12/11/93: Tony! Toni! Tone!01/08/94: Blind Melon01/15/94: Counting Crows02/05/94: Salt-N-Pepa02/12/94: UB4002/19/94: Crash Test Dummies03/12/94: Aretha Franklin 03/19/94: Snoop Doggy Dogg04/09/94: Dwight Yoakam04/16/94: Pearl Jam05/07/94: The Pretenders 05/14/94: Janet Jackson 09/24/94: Eric Clapton10/01/94: Bonnie Raitt10/15/94: Seal10/22/94: Edie Brickell & Paul Simon11/12/94: R.E.M.11/19/94: Tom Petty12/03/94: Green Day12/10/94: Beastie Boys12/17/94: Hole01/14/95: Luscious Jackson 01/21/95: Live02/11/95: Des'ree02/18/95: Bon Jovi02/25/95: The Cranberries03/18/95: Annie Lennox03/25/95: The Tragically Hip 04/08/95: Dionne Farris04/15/95: Dave Matthews Band05/06/95: TLC05/13/95: Rod Stewart09/30/95: Blues Traveler 10/07/95: Lisa Loeb & Nine Stories10/21/95: Natalie Merchant10/28/95: Alanis Morissette 11/11/95: The Smashing Pumpkins11/18/95: Rancid12/02/95: Foo Fighters 12/09/95: Silverchair12/16/95: Bush01/13/96: Joan Osborne 01/20/96: Tori Amos02/10/96: Coolio02/17/96: Tupac Shakur02/24/96: Sting03/16/96: Everclear03/23/96: Gin Blossoms04/13/96: Rage Against The Machine04/20/96: Dave Matthews Band 05/11/96: The Cure 05/18/96: Soundgarden09/28/96: Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers10/05/96: Sheryl Crow10/19/96: New Edition10/26/96: Dr. Dre11/02/96: The Wallflowers11/16/96: Fiona Apple11/23/96: Bush12/07/96: No Doubt12/14/96: Whitney Houston 01/11/97: Beck01/18/97: Snoop Doggy Dogg02/08/97: David Bowie02/15/97: Live02/22/97: Tina Turner03/15/97: Veruca Salt03/22/97: Aerosmith04/12/97: Spice Girls04/19/97: Rollins Band05/10/97: Jewel05/17/97: En Vogue09/27/97: Jamiroquai10/04/97: Oasis10/18/97: Bjork10/25/97: The Mighty Mighty Bosstones11/08/97: Jane's Addiction11/15/97: Mariah Carey11/22/97: Sarah McLachlan12/06/97: Metallica12/13/97: Hanson01/10/98: Ben Folds Five01/17/98: Portishead02/07/98: Paula Cole02/14/98: Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott02/28/98: Garth Brooks03/07/98: Natalie Imbruglia03/14/98: Backstreet Boys04/04/98: Third Eye Blind04/11/98: All Saints05/02/98: Natalie Merchant05/09/98: Puff Daddy & Jimmy Page09/26/98: The Smashing Pumpkins10/03/98: Sheryl Crow10/17/98: Elliott Smith10/24/98: Alanis Morissette11/07/98: Eagle-Eye Cherry11/14/98: Jewel11/21/98: Beastie Boys12/05/98: Lauryn Hill12/12/98: Luciano Pavarotti & Vanessa Williams01/09/99: Beck01/16/99: Everlast02/06/99: Barenaked Ladies02/13/99: Busta Rhymes with The Roots02/20/99: Lucinda Williams03/13/99: The Corrs03/20/99: Garbage04/10/99: Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers05/08/99: Ricky Martin05/15/99: Backstreet Boys10/02/99: David Bowie10/16/99: Marc Anthony10/23/99: Dr. Dre11/06/99: Foo Fighters11/13/99: Chris Gaines11/20/99: Sting12/04/99: Beck12/11/99: R.E.M.01/08/00: Blink-18201/15/00: Macy Gray02/05/00: Jennifer Lopez02/12/00: DMX02/19/00: Fiona Apple03/11/00: N*Sync03/18/00: AC/DC04/08/00: Christina Aguilera04/15/00: Eve05/06/00: Neil Young05/13/00: Britney Spears05/20/00: Kid Rock10/07/00: Eminem10/14/00: Radiohead10/21/00: The Wallflowers11/04/00: Paul Simon11/11/00: Ricky Martin11/18/00: David Gray12/09/00: U212/16/00: Jay-Z01/13/01: Nelly Furtado 01/20/01: Lenny Kravitz02/10/01: Jennifer Lopez02/17/01: Shaggy02/14/01: Dave Matthews Band 03/10/01: Don Henley03/17/01: Aerosmith04/07/01: Coldplay04/14/01: Eve05/05/01: Destiny's Child05/12/01: Bon Jovi05/19/01: Weezer09/29/01: Alicia Keys10/06/01: Sum 4110/13/01: Macy Gray11/03/01: Ja Rule11/10/01: Ryan Adams11/17/01: Creed12/01/01: Shakira, Bubba Sparxxx12/08/01: Mick Jagger12/15/01: No Doubt01/12/02: Pink01/19/02: The Strokes02/02/02: Britney Spears03/02/02: Outkast03/09/02: India.Arie03/16/02: Kylie Minogue04/06/02: Jimmy Eat World04/13/02: Andrew W.K.04/20/02: P.O.D.05/11/02: Eminem05/18/02: Moby10/05/02: Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band10/12/02: Faith Hill10/19/02: White Stripes11/02/02: Jay-Z11/09/02: Eve11/16/02: Nelly12/07/02: Norah Jones12/13/02: Phish01/11/03: Avril Lavigne01/18/03: The Donnas02/08/03: Dixie Chicks02/15/03: Beck02/22/03: Foo Fighters03/08/03: Ms. Dynamite03/15/03: Christina Aguilera04/05/03: Good Charlotte04/12/03: Zwan05/03/03: 50 Cent05/10/03: Sean Paul, Wayne Wonder05/17/03: Beyonce 10/04/03: John Mayer10/11/03: Justin Timberlake10/18/03: Britney Spears11/01/03: Outkast11/08/03: Dave Matthews11/15/03: Missy Elliot12/06/03: Pink12/13/03: Jet01/10/04: Black-Eyed Peas01/17/04: G-Unit02/07/04: Clay Aiken02/14/04: Kelis02/21/04: Maroon 503/06/04: Norah Jones03/13/04: N.E.R.D.04/03/04: Toots & The Maytals04/10/04: Janet Jackson05/01/04: Usher05/08/04: Avril Lavigne05/15/04: J-Kwon10/02/04: Nelly10/09/04: Queen Latifah10/23/04: Ashlee Simpson10/30/04: Eminem11/13/04: Modest Mouse11/20/04: U212/11/04: Scissor Sisters12/18/04: Destiny's Child01/15/05: The Killers01/22/05: Ludacris featuring Sum-4102/05/05: Keane02/12/05: Kelly Clarkson02/19/05: 50 Cent03/05/05: Jack Johnson03/12/05: Gwen Stefani04/09/05: Green Day04/16/05: Beck05/07/05: System of a Down05/14/05: Queens of the Stone Age05/21/05: Coldplay10/01/05: Kanye West10/08/05: Ashlee Simpson10/22/05: Franz Ferdinand10/29/05: Sheryl Crow11/12/05: Foo Fighters11/19/05: Korn12/03/05: James Blunt12/10/05: Shakira12/17/05: Neil Young01/14/06: Death Cab For Cutie01/21/06: The Strokes02/04/06: Prince03/04/06: Fall Out Boy03/11/06: Arctic MonkeysSource: SNL TranscriptsWatch Smashing Pumpkins: Bullet With Butterfly Wings [Live, SNL] (Nov. 11, 1995)       Find 18 million rare CDs and out-of-print LPs at MusicStack

Posted on: 5 April 2006 | 8:56 am

Short Bits 1: Al Stewart, Love Chronicles

Short Bits is a new regular irregular feature that is what the name implies: shorter than my features. Short Bits has yet to evolve into whatever it'll ultimately be, but is intended to focus on a single specific album, artist, song, or tidbit of rock history that hasn't yet been covered in a feature, with an eye towards the more obscure. It covers any genre, any era, 1940's to 2000's.Short Bits 1Al Stewart: Love ChroniclesWhen Al Stewart is remembered, which is seldomly, it is usually for a pair of late 70's soft rock hits, "Year of the Cat" and "Time Passages". Both went top-10 in America, and for a very brief moment in history Stewart flirted with international stardom. Alas for him, his emergence was a little too late; the end of the 1970's were a harsh time for singer/songwriters with folkie roots, and his career stalled. His last top-40 single, "Midnight Rocks" was released in 1980, and while Stewart has continued to release albums ever since, none have left much of an impact.Few people reading this are likely to be inspired to seek out anything beyond his two biggest hits (top-40 completists may want "Midnight Rocks" and "Song on the Radio" as well), but Stewart actually has one of the more unusual and compelling releases of the late 1960's, his 1969 sophomore album, Love Chronicles.The Glasgow-born Stewart's Love Chronicles, released on Epic, is best known for co-starring Jimmy Page; on it, Page explores some of the same eerie folk textures he'd realize more fully on Led Zeppelin III the following year. What many listeners may not realize is that Richard Thompson, Simon Nicol, Ashley Hutchings and Martin Lamble (better known as most of Fairport Convention) play the primary supporting roles on the album. Due to record label contracts, they appear under pseudonyms.It also earns a footnote in rock history as the first major-label release to include the word "fuck" ("fucking", actually), in the title track, a strangely compelling 18-minute folk-rock memoir of Stewart's previous love affairs. Due to this inclusion, which Stewart refused to change, the album's release was delayed for nearly 15 months, during which time Martin Lamble died in an auto accident.Despite Page and Fairport Convention's presence, and that infamous title track, Love Chronicles never made much of an impact in the U.S. (where it was released in 1970), and was soon out of print and remains to this day a difficult album to find in the shops, although it has appeared occasionally on CD in the years since.Why should anyone care? Because Love Chronicles, which Melody Maker dubbed "Folk Album of the Year" for 1969, is still a startlingly good listen, even more so on the strength of the other five songs on it. "In Brooklyn", the leadoff cut, is a ragged, loose-limbed, jangly electric number with pretty outre lyrics: "I know I'm back in the city/You can tell by the smell of the hamburger stand in the rain". "Old Compton Street Blues" is an acoustic based tune with some crisp lead guitar from Page and a bluesy chord progression even as it stays rooted in folk-rock. "The Ballad of Mary Foster" is a ballad in the traditional sense; a story song that moves briskly over an acoustic guitar and light percussion base that sounds like Led Zep III as sung by Donovan. "Life and Life Only" is perhaps the hardest hitting thing here; another acoustic/electric folk ballad character sketch with an ominous descending progression and crying lead guitar. "You Should Have Listened to Al" is the most uptempo song, a catchy, self-depreciating breakup song with a hooky chorus and chiming folk rock guitar."Love Chronicles" itself is worth the price of admission. It opens with heroic-sounding acoustic strumming and Stewart's narrative, and is punctuated with distorted and echoed guitar licks from Page. Stewart's chronicle could certainly be called indulgent, but there's a certain naivete and honesty in what amounts to a long shaggy dog tale. Stewart has an amusing eye for detail; after losing his virginity, he notes "I missed the bus and walked 12 miles home and it really didn't seem far". Despite the F-word, the tone is gentle and confidential; while the song certainly wanders over 18 minutes as it undergoes changes in motif, tempo, and mood, it never loses sight of its goal, and the overall effect is quite charming without being cloying. And if the mind wanders from the tale, there's plenty of tasty guitar to focus on.Lyrically, almost everything here is a richly detailed portrait piece of the sort few musicians do anymore. While Love Chronicles will probably never be included in anyone's "Best of the 60's" list, it would be a shame to let it vanish into history entirely. Fairport Convention fans will immediately appreciate the vaguely Celtic vibe to this British Isles folk rock, and anyone who likes Jimmy Page's acoustic work should give this a spin as well.Sorry, no Amazon link. Apparently, it's as out of print as you can get.Listen to Al Stewart: Life and Life Only (1969)Find 18 million rare CDs and out-of-print LPs at MusicStack

Posted on: 5 April 2006 | 8:13 am

Neverending Randomplay #331-#340

Neverending Randomplay is a feature in which I let my J-River Media Center choose what we get listen to. My collection currently stands at 20,595 titles. The lion's share are rock of all genres, with a mix of pop, blues, country, pre-rock, jazz, reggae, soul, electronic, avant-garde, hip-hop, rap, bluegrass, trance, Afrobeat, J-Pop, trip-hop, lounge, worldbeat, commercial jingles, etc. filling it out. I don't influence the track selection in any way; whatever comes up, comes up. Rated 1-5 stars.331. Rickie Lee Jones: Sunshine Superman ****This appeared in the mid-90's FOX-TV teen drama Party of Five, a program I am pleased to report I have never seen. Released in 1996 it bears much in common with Jones' other mid-90's work. Here, she gives the Donovan standard a slinky, jazzbo sensibility that gives the song a sexiness its author probably didn't have in mind. The arrangement is so loose that it almost comes off its axis, but Jones' voice is in fine form, and the woozy organ and fiddle combined with a crisp slide guitar and taut fretless bass take enough chances to keep things interesting. Jones' career never really recovered commercially from a slump that began with her sophomore album, and she's made a practice of not repeating herself whenever possible, which frustrates all but her most diehard fans. Still, the bulk of her 90's work, including "Sunshine Superman" actually delivers on the promise her 1979 self-titled debut held; for singer/songwriters you could do a lot worse, and while her interpretations of others' material is hit-and-miss, this one is a good one. If you don't want the show soundtrack, the song also appears on the 2005 Duchess of Coolsville anthology.332. Deep Purple: And The Address ****This is the album opener from Deep Purple's 1968 debut, Shades of Deep Purple. An instrumental number, it was perhaps an odd way to introduce the band, but it does establish their post-psychedelic hard rock/heavy metal credentials pretty well. Jon Lord's organ histrionics are the prime attraction, although drummer Ian Paice and bassist Nick Simper gallop along briskly. Ritchie Blackmore's guitar sticks mainly to the thematic riff and fills, although he gets a fluid solo in that establishes him as somewhat more swinging than Tony Iommi and somewhat more bluesy than Jimmy Page, although he had the overall impact of neither at this early stage in the game. It's dated, all right. But there's also a kind of naive charm about it. Shades of Deep Purple was something of a false start for the band, despite spawning the hit single "Hush"; for the next three albums the band would experiment with progressive rock and even record with a classical orchestra before finding their real groove on Deep Purple In Rock in 1970.333. Brian Eno: Baby's On Fire ****This begins Baby's on fire/Better throw her in the water/Look at her laughing/Like a heifer to a slaughter. Eno, of course, isn't known as a lyricist; it's his electonically treated guitars and keyboard textures that are the real draw, and he comes through here. "Baby's on Fire" is from his 1974 solo debut Here Come The Warm Jets, recorded right after his exit from Roxy Music. The song is comprised of an insistent polyrhythm that blends a rapid hi-hat with a slower bass drum, and hangs a simple two chord melody on it. The bulk of the song is three minutes of surrealistic guitarwork from Robert Fripp (King Crimson) and Paul Rudolph which has been heavily filtered and distorted. That's where all the fun is, although getting back to those lyrics, they actually work better than they may look on paper; they get stranger and stranger from that opening. The overall effect is claustrophobic and hypnotic; most of the album, which still sounds pretty experimental even now, is of similar high caliber.334. 13th Floor Elevators: Thru The Rhythm ***One of the less memorable cuts from one of the more memorable psychedelic outfits of the 1960's. "Thru the Rhythm" is a Seeds-like heavily echoed psychedelic blues punctuated by Roky Erickson's high pitched screams and Stacy Sutherland's rudimentary lead guitar. The band's famous electric jug, played by Tommy Hall, is barely audible among the reverb, but it's in there too. Erickson's lyrics are alternately mumbled and wailed, and it's hard to get a good read on what, if anything, he's trying to say. However, that's one of the charms of psychedelic 60's albums; they never made much sense. Taken from the band's 1966 debut, The Psychedelic Sounds of the 13th Floor Elevators, it doesn't capture the band in its legendary lysergic abandon, but its vaguely snarling tone gives it some grit. Worth a listen, but the album has many better moments. Erickson was destined to become one of rock's most famous acid casualties, spending time in mental institutions, and re-emerging as something of a semi-functional savant/relic in the 1970's.335. Asia: After The War **Cheesy is the word that comes to mind. Not that I have anything against dinosaur rock, bombast, pseudo-classical flourishes, and overearnest lyrics. But for that, I stick with the originals: Emerson, Lake, and Palmer to be precise. Asia was like a streamlined ELP; still pompous, but minus the lumpen assymetrical instrumentation; on this the vocals are as smooth as Velveeta, and the synthesizers are tacky in the way only mid-80's synthesizers were tacky. It opens with an enormous synth build-up, full of grandeur and rapid-fire drumming (from ELP's Carl Palmer), and goes nowhere fast, as unmemorable when it ends as a radio ad. Astra was Asia's third album (borrowing a page from America, who titled their albums inexplicably with words beginning with "H", Asia's albums always started with "A") and it tanked big-time, peaking at #67, and resulting in a breakup. By the time of Astra, guitarist Steve Howe had already left, returning to Yes, although the band hadn't been much better with him. Geoff Downes (The Buggles) and John Wetton (Family, King Crimson, Uriah Heep) are almost cynical in their musical conservatism here, and frankly, where's my old Brain Salad Surgery album? Downes and Palmer regrouped in 1992 for Aqua.336. Charlie Patton: Prayer of Death (Part 1) ****If one wants to trace rock's development, one would have to look towards postwar Chicago blues as an obvious influence, and going backwards in time one would travel in reverse direction from the sharecropper migratory route taken by so many after WWII, eventually landing in the Mississippi Delta. There, you could arguably begin with Charlie Patton, a star as early as 1930, one of the first bluesmen to achieve widespread popularity. His heyday was short; he died in 1934. "Prayer of Death" is a traditional number; Patton usually wrote his own material. Still he makes it his own with his trademark singing style, which included half-spoken asides that made his songs sound like dialogs. Patton was famous for being a loud singer, although the somber nature of this song keeps him reverent. His playing is sweet; and augmented by rhythmic thumps. He played the slide by laying the guitar flat in his lap and using whatever was handy, most often a penknife, for fretting. His original material conveys more of his essential character, but this is a gorgeous piece of work too. Like all of his material, the original tapes were long lost, so this was mastered off a 78RPM record, resulting in lost fidelity. But it's worth sitting through the crackles and pops; Patton is one bluesman whose style becomes instantly recognizable once you've heard it a few times. And he predates Robert Johnson.337. Chilliwack: Lonesome Mary ****Vancouver's Chilliwack never really hit big in the States, although they managed two top 40 hits in 1982-3. Lonesome Mary was the lead-off cut on their 1971 self-titled sophomore album and isn't half bad, kind of a cross between West Coast pop and simulated Southern roots-rock. Singer/guitarist Bill Henderson's vocals sound like Neil Young doing a Bob Weir song, while his guitar has a little Randy Bachman fluidity in it and chimes and rings. It's a bit ragged, which lends to its charm, and keeps an agreeably brisk tempo. In later years, the band pursued a slicker, more pop-oriented sound which netted them their minor hits, but this is a lot better than their later material.338. The Staple Singers: Respect Yourself *****Dating all the way back to 1951, the Staple Singers, in one form or another, were around for almost 50 years, one of the longest-lived groups of any genre. Generally known as probably the best gospel group of all time, they also performed a lot of secular material as well, and racked up an impressive string of hits throughout the 1970's. "Respect Yourself", recorded for Stax in 1970, was one of their biggest. Far from sounding like a standard gospel group, they come across like Sly and the Family Stone delivering an empowering secular message with a side order of funk. The Gospel sound is still there in the family chorus, but the heavy bass, keyboards and drums give it a real danceability. The stars of the show are family patriarch Roebuck "Pops" Staples, who delivers the first verse, and the arresting vocals of daughter Mavis Staples, who takes the second verse. Muscle Shoals handles the horns, and the production is by Stax master Al Bell. The best song on today's Randomplay; an anthem during the early 70's Black Power era, it carries as valid a message today as it did when it was new. Pops Staples passed away in 2000 at the age of 85.339. 10cc: Dreadlock Holiday ***"Dreadlock Holiday" was the last real hit (#1 in the U.K., #44 in the U.S.) from the tongue-in-cheek art-pop duo of Graham Gouldman and Eric Stewart, better known as 10cc. Taken from the 1978 album Bloody Tourists, it boasts a convincing faux-reggae beat and over-the-top accents to the vocals. It can be taken as either a loving tribute to the then-current U.K. reggae craze, or as a smug colonial British insult; the former is probably the intent, but there's a definite taste of the latter in the cautionary tale of a white man lost in Jamaica. As such, it gets docked a star for its xenophobic aspirations, but keeps the other three for a swell production job and an unthreatening good-naturedness to the jokes. 10cc is a tough band to get into; as dabblers in a wide range of styles, some of them crackpot, you have to be in for the long haul or not in it at all. Or, you can do what I do and make do with their singles; "The Things We Do For Love" was the biggest (and most conventional). They ran out of steam not long afterward; Stewart, who had once been in Wayne Fontana and the Mindbenders, took Denny Laine's place as Paul McCartney's helpmate in the 1980's, while Gouldman (who had produced The Yardbirds, Hollies, and Jeff Beck in the 60's) worked with the Ramones.340. Def Leppard: Photograph ****You can't scream 1980's much louder than Def Leppard, the British hair metal gods. "Photograph" probably needs no introduction to anyone reading this; you couldn't escape it on mainstream radio in 1983, and it's still a perennial. What can be said about it? It's big dumb fun, essentially. Air-pumped vocal harmonies, plenty of guitar, metal-lite drums, hooks big enough to snag Moby Dick. "Photograph" provided the band with the major breakthrough they needed in the U.S.; it drove Pyromania to the top of the charts (#2, actually), where it continued to spawn hits all year. Drummer Rick Allen had an arm amputated following a car accident on New Year's Eve 1985 which briefly clouded the band's future, but he adapted by learning to play a custom adapted drumkit; the band's next two albums, Hysteria (1987) and Adrenalize (1992) both reached #1. In retrospect, Def Leppard proved fairly influential; it'd be hard to imagine the late 80's crop of lite-metal bands being as big as it was without Leppard blazing the trail. Listen to The Staple Singers: Respect Yourself (1970)Back | Next       Find 18 million rare CDs and out-of-print LPs at MusicStack

Posted on: 2 April 2006 | 5:41 am

Lists: Real Names

Robert ZimmermanFor the curious, here's a list of many rock/pop/r&b performers' real names. It's not entirely inclusive; but reasonably comprehensive. Compiled from several sources.A Aaliyah - Aaliyah Dana Haughton Tori Amos - Myra Ellen Amos Adam Ant - Stuart Leslie Goddard Ashanti - Ashanti Shaquoya "Shani Bani" Douglas Frankie Avalon - Francis Thomas Avallone --------------------------------------------------------------------------------B Babyface - Kenny Edmonds Erykah Badu - Erica Wright Ginger Baker - Peter Baker Captain Beefheart - Don Van Vliet Harry Belafonte - Harold George Belafonte Pat Benatar - Patricia Andrejewski Brook Benton - Benjamin Franklin Pierre Beyonce - Beyonce Giselle Knowles Bjork - Bjork Gudmundsdottir Michael Bolton - Michael Bolotin The Big Bopper - Jiles Perry Richardson Gary U.S. Bonds - Gary Anderson Jon Bon Jovi - John Francis Bongiovi Jr. Bono (U2) - Paul David Hewson Sonny Bono - Salvatore Philip Bono Pat Boone - Charles Eugene Boone David Bowie - David Robert Hayward Stenton Jones Bobby Brown - Robert Barisford Brown Jackson Browne - Clyde Jackson Browne Buckethead - Brian Carroll --------------------------------------------------------------------------------C Vitamin C - Colleen Fitzpatrick J. J. Cale - John W. Cale Randy California (Spirit) - Randy Craig Wolfe Freddy Cannon - Frederick Anthony Picariello Tony Carey - Anthony Lawrence Carey 50 Cent - Curtis Jackson Gene Chandler - Eugene Dixon Ray Charles - Ray Charles Robinson Chubby Checker - Ernest Evans Cher - Cherilyn Sarkisian La Piere Lou Christie - Lugee Alfredo Giovanni Sacco Eric Clapton - Eric Patrick Clapp Patsy Cline - Virginia Patterson Hensley Clown (Slipknot) - Michael Shawn Crahan Joe Cocker - John Robert Cocker Nat King Cole - Nathaniel Adams Coles Common - Lonnie Rashid Lynn Jr. Perry Como - Pierino Roland Como Ry Cooder - Ryland Peter Cooder Sam Cooke - Sam Cook Coolio - Artis Ivey Jr. Alice Cooper - Vincent Damon Furnier Dave "Baby" Cortez - David Clowney Elvis Costello - Declan Patrick McManus John Cougar - John Mellencamp Ice Cube - Oshea Jackson --------------------------------------------------------------------------------D Jim Dandy - James Mangrum Bobby Darin - Walden Waldo Robert Cassotto Dimebag Darrell - Darrell Abbott Mac Davis - Morris Davis Taylor Dayne - Leslie Wonderman Jimmy Dean - Jimmy Dean John Decon (Queen) - John Richard Deacon Joey Dee - Joseph DiNicola Kiki Dee - Pauline Mathews John Denver - John Henry Deutschendorf Rick Derringer - Richard Zehringer Neil Diamond - Neil Leslie Diamond Bo Diddley - Elias Bates (name upon adoption: Elias McDaniel) Dido - Florian Cloud de Bounevialle Armstrong Snoop Dogg - Cordazer Calvin Broadus Mickey Dolenz - George Michael Braddock Fats Domino - Antoine Domino Donovan - Donovan Phillip Leitch Dr. Dre - Andre Young Bob Dylan - Robert Alan Zimmerman --------------------------------------------------------------------------------E Easy E - Eric Wright Sheila E. - Sheila Escovedo Sheena Easton - Sheena Shirley Orr The Edge (U2) - David Howell Evans Missy Elliot - Melissa Elliott Eminem - Marshal Bruce Mathers III Enya - Eithne Ni Braona David Essex - David Albert Cook Gloria Estefan - Gloria Maria Fajardo Don Everly - Isaac Donald Everly --------------------------------------------------------------------------------F 50 Cent - Curtis Jackson Tal Farlow - Talmage Holt Farlow Freddie Fender - Baldemar G. Huerta Fieldy (Korn) - Reginald Arvizu Dani Filth (Cradle of Filth) - Daniel Lloyd Davey Ace Frehley - Paul Daniel Frehley --------------------------------------------------------------------------------G Kenny G - Kenneth Gorelick Crystal Gayle - Brenda Gail Webb Gatzimos Bobbie Gentry - Roberta Streeter J. Geils - Jerome Geils Boy George - George Alan O'Dowd Lesley Gore - Lesley Goldstein Dobie Gray - Leonard Victor Ainsworth Macy Gray - Natalie Renee McIntyre --------------------------------------------------------------------------------H MC Hammer - Stanley Kirk Burrel Head (Korn) - Brian Welch Jimi Hendrix - James Marshall Hendrix Buddy Holly - Charles Hardin Holley Engelbert Humperdinck - Arnold George Dorsey --------------------------------------------------------------------------------I Janis Ian - Janis Eddy Fink Vanilla Ice - Robert Van Winkle Julio Iglesias - Julio Iglesias de la Cueva Billy Idol - William Michael Albert Broad India.Aire - India Aire Simpson --------------------------------------------------------------------------------J Wolfman Jack - Robert Weston Smith Tito Jackson - Toriano Adaryll Jackson Mick Jagger - Michael Phillip Jagger Rick James - James Johnson Jazzy Jeff - Jeffrey Townes Joan Jett - Joan Larkin Jewel - Jewel Kilcher Billy Joel - William Joseph Martin Joel Tom Jones - Thomas Jones Woodward Elton John - Reginald Kenneth Dwight --------------------------------------------------------------------------------K K.C. (of The Sunshine Band) - Harry Wayne Casey R Kelly - Robert Kelly Alicia Keys - Alicia Augello Cook Chaka Khan - Carole Yvette Marie Stevens B.B. King - Riley B. King k.d. lang - katherine dawn lang --------------------------------------------------------------------------------L LL Cool J - James Todd Smith Patti LaBelle - Patricia Louise Holt K.D. Lang - Kathryn Dawn Lang Cyndi Lauper - Cynthia Ann Stephanie Lauper Queen Latifah - Dana Owens Brenda Lee - Brenda Mae Tarpley Julian Lennon - John Charles Julian Lennon Huey Lewis - Hugh Anthony Cregg Liberace - Wladziu Lee Valentino Lil Bow Wow - Shad Anthony Moss Lil Kim - Kimberly Jones Little Anthony - Anthony Gourdine Little Eva - Eva Narcissus Boyd Little Richard - Richard Wayne Penniman Lobo - Kent Lavoie Courtney Love - Love Michelle Harrison Ludacris - Christopher Bridges Lulu - Marie Lawrie --------------------------------------------------------------------------------M Mama Cass Elliot - Ellen Naomi Cohen Spanky MacFarlane - Elaine MacFarlane Lonnie Mack - Lonnie McIntosh Madonna - Madonna Louise Veronica Ciccone Taj Mahal - Henry St.Clair Fredricks Barry Manilow - Barry Allen Pincus Yngwie Malmsteen - Lars Johann Yngwie Lannerback Manfred Mann - Manfred Lubowitz Marilyn Manson - Brian Warner Little Peggy March - Margaret Battavio Dean Martin - Dino Paul Crocetti Ricky Martin - Enrique Jose Martin Morales Brian May (Queen) - Brian Harold May Paul McCartney - James Paul McCartney Meat Loaf - Marvin Lee Aday Melanie - Melanie Safka Freddie Mercury - Farrokh Bulsara George Micheal - Yorgos Panayiotou Mitch Miller - Mitchell William Joni Mitchell - Roberta Joan Anderson Moby - Richard Melville Hall Van Morrison - George Ivan Morrison Munky (Korn) - James Shaffer Anne Murray - Morna Anne Murray Mystikal - Micheal Tyler --------------------------------------------------------------------------------N Rick Nelson - Eric Hilliard Nelson Nelly - Carnell Haynes, Jr. Randy Newman - Gary Newman Juice Newton - Judy Kay Newton Stevie Nicks - Stephanie Nicks Nilsson - Harry Edward Nilsson III Notorious B.I.G. - Christopher Wallace Gary Numan - Gary Anthony James Webb Laura Nyro - Laura Nigro --------------------------------------------------------------------------------O Ric Ocasek - Richard Otcasek Billy Ocean - Leslie Sebastian Charles Tony Orlando - Michael Anthony Orlando Cassivitis Oliver - William Oliver Swofford Benjamin Orr - Benjamin Orzechowski Gilbert O'Sullivan - Raymond Edward O'Sullivan Johnny Otis - John Veliotes Ozzy Osbourne - John Michael Osbourne --------------------------------------------------------------------------------P Patti Page - Clara Ann Fowler Robert Palmer - Alan Robert Palmer Gram Parsons - Cecil Ingram Connor Paul and Paula - Ray Hildebrand and Jill Jackson Les Paul - Lester Polfus Johnny Paycheck - Don Lytle Pink - Alecia Moore Iggy Pop - James Jewell Osterberg, Jr. Cozy Powell - Colin Flooks Maxi Priest - Max Elliot P. J. Proby - James Marcus Smith Prince - Prince Rogers Nelson Puff Daddy - Sean John Combs --------------------------------------------------------------------------------Q Stacy Q. - Stacy Swain Question Mark - Rudy Martinez --------------------------------------------------------------------------------R Dee Dee Ramone (Ramones) - Douglas Colvin Joey Ramone (Ramones) - Jeffery Hyman Johnny Ramone (Ramones) - John Cummings Boots Randolph - Homer Louis Randolph Jerry Reed - Jerry Hubbard Lou Reed - Louis Firbank Paul Revere - Paul Revere Busta Rhymes - Trevor Tahiem Smith Buddy Rich - Bernard Rich Cliff Richard - Harry Webb Johnny Rivers - John Ramistella Smokey Robinson - William Robinson Henry Rollins - Henry Garfield Dianna Ross - Diane Emestine Ross Johnny Rotten - John Lydon Axl Rose (Guns & Roses) - William Bruce Rose Leon Russell - Claude Russell Bridges Bobby Rydell - Louis Ridarelli Mitch Ryder - William Levise Jr. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------S Sade - Helen Folasade Adu Sam the Sham - Domingo Samudio Leo Sayer - Gerald Hugh Sayer Boz Scaggs - William Royce Scaggs Seal - Henry Olusegun Olumide Samuel Selena - Selena Quintanilla-Perez Shaggy - Orville Richard Burrell Shagrath (Dimmu Borgir) - Stian Thoresen Del Shannon - Charles Westover Gene Simmons (Kiss) - Chaim Witz Sisqo (Dru Hill) - Mark Andrews Slash (Guns & Roses) - Saul Hudson Grace Slick (Jefferson Airplane) - Grace Wing Guitar Slim - Eddie Jones Phoebe Snow - Phoebe Laub Ronnie Spector - Veronica Bennett Dusty Springfield - Mary O'Brien Ringo Starr - Richard Starkey Cat Stevens - Steve Georgiou Ray Stevens - Harold Ray Ragsdale Rod Stewart - Roderick David Stewart Sting - Gordon Matthew Sumner Sly Stone - Sylvester Stewart Levi Stubbs - Levi Stubbles Donna Summer - LaDonna Andrea Gaines --------------------------------------------------------------------------------T Booker T - Booker T. Jones Ice T - Tracy Marrow Taco - Taco Ockerse Roger Taylor (Queen) - Roger Meddows-Taylor Joe Tex - Joseph Arrington Jr. B.J. Thomas - Billy Joe Thomas Tiny Tim - Herbert Buckingham Khaury Tiffany - Tiffany Darwish Peter Tork (Monkees) - Peter Halston Thorkelson Peter Tosh - Winston Hubert Macintosh Randy Travis - Randy Bruce Traywick Tina Turner - Annie Mae Bullock Shania Twain - Eileen Regina Edwards Conway Twitty - Harold Lloyd Jenkins Bonnie Tyler - Gaynor Hopkins Steven Tyler - Steven Talarico --------------------------------------------------------------------------------U Midge Ure - James Ure --------------------------------------------------------------------------------V Ritchie Valens - Richard Stephen Valenzuela Frankie Valli - Frank Castelluccio Eddie Vedder (Pearl Jam) - Edward Louis Severson Bobby Vee - Robert Velline Billy Vera - Billy McCord Jr. Sid Vicious - John Simon Ritchie Gene Vincent - Vincent Craddock Vinnie Vincent (Kiss) - Vincent Cusano --------------------------------------------------------------------------------W Jerry Jeff Walker - Paul Crosby Junior Walker - Autry DeWalt Walker Jr. Dionne Warwick - Marie Dionne Warwick Muddy Waters - McKinley Morganfield Roger Waters - George Waters Fee Waybill (Tubes) - John Waldo Bob Weir (Greatful Dead) - Robert Hall Leslie West (Mountain) - Leslie Westein Kim Wilde - Kim Smith Hank Williams - Hiram Williams Paul Williams - Billy Paul Johnny Winter - John Dawson Winter Peter Wolf (J. Geils Band) - Peter Blankfield Stevie Wonder - Steveland Morris Betty Wright - Bessie Regina Norris Bill Wyman (Rolling Stones) - William Perks --------------------------------------------------------------------------------Y Weird Al Yankovic - Alfred Matthew Yankovic Yellowman - Winston Foster       Find 18 million rare CDs and out-of-print LPs at MusicStack

Posted on: 1 April 2006 | 8:06 pm

Weekend Reissue Roundup #39 04/01/2006

      Artist: Album (label, release date) 1-5 starsMott the Hoople: The Hoople (BMG International, March 28, 2006) ****Pete Townshend: Empty Glass (Revisited, March 28, 2006) ****LaVern Baker: Jim Dandy (Collectables, March 28, 2006) ****Dave Mason: Alone Together (Universal Japan, April 4, 2006) ****Mott the Hoople: The HoopleThis 1974 release marked a turning point for the influential glam-rock/hard rock Mott the Hoople, and unfortunately it was a turn towards decline and dissolution. Not that there's anything really wrong with The Hoople; while it was a comedown from the 1973 Mott, which was their most realized album, and the 1972 All The Young Dudes, which was their most commercially successful, it still holds together fairly well as an album, and includes such undeniable classics as "Roll Away The Stone" and "Crash Street Kidds". However, guitarist Mick Ralphs had left the band prior to the recording sessions to join Bad Company, and his absence is felt. Ian Hunter dominates this album to a degree that had been previously impossible, and frankly he didn't have enough solid material to stretch over the whole album. New guitarist Ariel Bender brought an agreeable glam-rock trashiness to the band, but had none of Ralphs' swaggering hard-rock chops that he had brought to earlier classics like "Ready For Love". Still, there's plenty here to enjoy, like the meaty faux-50's spectacle of "The Golden Age of Rock 'n' Roll", bassist Overend Watts' crunching "Born Late '58", and Hunter's delicate Dylanesque "Trudi's Song". A lot of the filler really sounds like filler, although "Through The Looking Glass" has an agreeable soft-to-grand buildup. Tacked on at the end are three singles from the Ariel Bender era, the best of which is the strangely Spector-esque "Foxy Foxy". Mott the Hoople is a band that is not best experienced via compilations, so newcomers might want to try All The Young Dudes and Mott first (or the earlier Mad Shadows or Brain Capers, recorded before David Bowie helped reinvent their sound). But if you've got those, The Hoople is worth adding to the collection. Following the release of The Hoople, Hunter brought Mick Ronson into the band to play guitar, and the two of them departed shortly after to work on Hunter's 1975 solo debut. Mott the Hoople lurched on for two more albums without Hunter: Drive On in 1975 and Shouting and Pointing in 1976; both are justifiably forgotten.Pete Townshend: Empty GlassFew fans realized it in 1980, but Pete Townshend's solo album, Empty Glass, marked both a particularly desperate moment in the man's life, and also arguably marked the end of Townshend's career as "vital" rock star, a tag he was bestowed with in the late 70's. It was the first new material to appear from a Who member in the wake of Keith Moon's death, and was recorded while Townshend himself was struggling with alcohol and cocaine issues. It isn't a Who record; while half of the songs could conceivably been sung by Roger Daltrey, half were particularly personal songs that benefit from Townshend's thin, homely voice. The album contained two excellent singles; the homoerotic "Rough Boys", one of Townshend's best ever uptempo guitar riff rockers, and the more reflective keyboard-based "Let My Love Open The Door", which sounded very much like what the next Who album, Face Dances, would sound like. "Gonna Get Ya" is a primo piece of strutting hard rock combined with art-rock flourishes; "A Little Is Enough" opens with one of the most lovely synthesizer intros ever laid to wax and benefits from a touchingly humble vocal. The rest of it is pretty good; even the minor songs on the album have hooks and stand out in their own way. There is no more personal Townshend album, with or without the band. Unfortunately, the next two Who albums were greeted as disappointments, and Townshend's solo career has been a wildly erratic one with more downs than ups, and ever-dwindling sales. So in retrospect, Empty Glass really was a milestone in Townshend's career; one he's never really been able to match ever since. Recommended to all Who fans; however the album is a lot less "vital" than it seemed at the time.LaVern Baker: Jim DandyIf the name "Jim Dandy" rings a bell, it may be as the name of the lead singer of 70's southern rock band Black Oak Arkansas, who had a minor hit with their version of LaVern Baker's "Jim Dandy". Baker was an integral figure in the early days of rock 'n' roll; her red hot mama voice ignited a bunch of great singles, all recorded in a jump blues/r&b style. This quicky 10-cut compilation on Collectables, which clocks in at well under half an hour, is probably as good a quick introduction to Baker as any other. "Jim Dandy" is here in all its smoking rhythmic glory, and the other nuggets here are worth the low price of admission. Everything here is from her mid-late 1950's peak at Atlantic records; good ones include the novelty "Tweedle Dee", a fine showcase for her voice, the slow and romantic torch blues "I Cried A Tear", and the slinky "Play It Fair". "Jim Dandy" gets a reprise in "Jim Dandy Got Married". "Tomorrow Night" has a sleepy late night vibe. Most of these songs made the top 10 on the Black Charts, although her pop success was limited to three top-20 singles. Baker was a regular on the Ed Sullivan show in the 50's, and later traveled to Vietnam to entertain troops in the 1960's. She died in 1997.Dave Mason: Alone TogetherAt the time of the 1970 release of his solo debut, Dave Mason was one of the most prominent names in rock. As a key member of Traffic, and Delaney and Bonnie, he rubbed shoulders with some heavy hitters, from Eric Clapton to George Harrison to Joe Cocker to Steve Winwood. Alone Together has no shortage of all-star guests; Delaney and Bonnie are on it, as are John Barbata, Leon Russell, Rita Coolidge, Carl Radle, Jim Keltner, Jim Capaldi, and other familiar faces from the Delaney and Bonnie/Leon Russell/Joe Cocker axis. In many respects it sounds like an early 70's Eric Clapton record, except with more Traffic-style jamming. While Mason's voice isn't the greatest, it's no worse than Clapton's and he is capable of a little soulfulness. The songwriting ranges from good to very good, and there's no question the assemblage of talent can play their instruments. So why has this album, which peaked at #22 and received generally good reviews, fallen off the radar, just as Mason's career did long ago? Hard to say; Mason plays a mean guitar and the familiar "Only You Know and I Know" isn't even the best thing here. The Capaldi-Mason "Look at You, Look At Me" is a fiery closer, and most of what comes between is varied and rich. Perhaps the problem is the lack of a distinctive character; it sounds like it could have been made by any of the Delaney and Bonnie extended family with the same amalgamation of superstars. Mason's subsequent solo work in the 1970's sold fewer copies each time out; by 1980 his career had dried up, except for a beer ad and a short stint in Fleetwood Mac in the 90's. Still, it's a fine album for what it is, and they don't make 'em like this anymore. Also out this week: Pete Townshend's spotty-but-good 1977 album with Ronnie Lane of the Faces, Rough Mix, and his odds-and-sods collection of demoes, Scoop, on Revisited; the career-spanning Essential Roy Orbison which suffers from the inclusion of a couple of inferior takes but is still worthwhile, on Sony; Earth Wind and Fire's mediocre 1993 offering Millennium, on Collectables; and a trio of ABBA albums, ABBA (1975), Arrival (1977), and The Album (1978), as a three-fer called Chronicles on Polydor.       Find 18 million rare CDs and out-of-print LPs at MusicStack

Posted on: 1 April 2006 | 3:24 pm

Neverending Randomplay #321-#330

Neverending Randomplay is a feature in which I let my J-River Media Center choose what we get listen to. My collection currently stands at 18,914 titles. The lion's share are rock of all genres, with a mix of pop, blues, country, pre-rock, jazz, reggae, soul, electronic, avant-garde, hip-hop, rap, bluegrass, trance, Afrobeat, J-Pop, trip-hop, lounge, worldbeat, commercial jingles, etc. filling it out. I don't influence the track selection in any way; whatever comes up, comes up. Rated 1-5 stars.321. Silver Apples: Fractal Flow *****One of the strangest acts in rock history, Silver Apples (along with the United States of America, and Fifty Foot Hose) were one of the very first bands to fully embrace electronica. A duo consisting of drummer Danny Taylor and vocalist Simeon, they employed two instruments; Taylor's drums and Simeon's homemade invention, also called a "simeon", which was a contraption that included nine oscillators that were played by hands, elbows and knees. The bass oscillators were operated by foot. The pair released two albums for Kapp, Silver Apples and Contact, in 1968 and 1969 that were utterly incongruous-for-the-times collections of sleek, spacey, electronic weirdness full of whirrs and bleeps, that almost nobody bought. Both albums became prized trophies for obscurro collectors, and undeniably had an influence on some of the more outre electronica and space rock pioneers of the early 90's (Spacemen 3 and Laika come to mind). Silver Apples, who seemingly disappeared off the face of the earth returned in 1996 and released three more albums. Simeon was gravely injured in an automobile accident in 1998, breaking his neck and Taylor died in 2005. What they've left behind is a wholly original body of work that is a much easier listen than one may expect. "Fractal Flow" is one of their most obscure, appearing as a single in 1996 and not appearing on any album. Taylor is absent, replaced by Xian Hawkins (Taylor would return in 1998), but he's hardly missed here. A lo-fi recording to be sure, but Simeon's simeon is in fine form, the drumming is crisp, and the lyrics either intensely intellectual or utter nonsense depending on your mood. While it's hard to find in stores, it appears on file sharing networks a lot.322. Eric Clapton: Let It Rain [live] ****Eric Clapton's career has never really been in too much trouble, although there was a point in the early 70's where he appeared hellbent to join his buddies in what Courtney Love famously called "that stupid club" of deceased rock stars. His heroin addiction, which pretty much precluded his recording between The Concert For Bangla Desh in 1971 and Eric Clapton's Rainbow Concert in January 1973, was by all accounts a heavy, debilitating one. Pete Townshend deserves credit for helping Clapton back from the shadows by organizing the Rainbow Concerts, an all-star extravaganza that played three shows with a lineup that included Clapton and Townshend, plus A-listers Ron Wood, Steve Winwood, Jim Capaldi, Rick Grech, and Rebop. The shows were a success, and Clapton began the long road to recovery (unfortunately, once he got off heroin he developed a serious alcohol problem, but Townshend may have had a hand in saving his life); in 1974 he had pulled it together enough to finally get a new studio album out (his fist since 1970). The original album of the Rainbow Concert was a skimpy 6-song affair; in 1995 a full-length 14 song album was issued, which included "Let It Rain", originally from his first solo album. It's a good version, if overlong at 7:46; if Clapton isn't quite up to his own standards, he's still better than most. The percussion interlude never quite gels, and the vocals aren't quite in tune, but for the most part this rocks very well. 323. The Beach Boys: Barbara Ann ****"Barbara Ann" has, over the years, become one of the Beach Boys' better known recordings, although it was recorded in an offhand manner for the simulated live-in-a-beach-house Beach Boys' Party in 1965. It was originally a top-20 hit for the Regents in 1961, who have what is arguably the superior version. Beach Boys Party was a quickie knock off album (the Boys' 11th in just over three years) thrown together in time for Christmas at the nagging of Capitol records. Except for the bass, the instrumentation is acoustic, consisting of guitars, tambourine, handclaps, and an ashtray used as a drum. The vocals sound very polished and were most likely done in a studio, but they contain some offhand remarks and laughs to make it sound like it was recorded at a party. In truth, this bears none of the sophistication of the groups regular studio creations, but it is offhandedly charming in its own way. The rest of the album, which consists of cover versions, is of a similar sound, and isn't very consistent listening, although it too has its charms. "Barbara Ann" made it to #2 in 1966.324. Jefferson Starship: Tumblin' ****"Tumblin'" is an album cut from what was considered a major comeback album at the time, Red Octopus in 1975. Red Octopus was the first Jefferson Starship album to feature the full participation of Jefferson Airplane's three principle singer/songwriters, Paul Kantner, Grace Slick, and the newly rejoined Airplane founder Marty Balin. Indeed, it was the best album from any of them since the Airplane's last masterpiece, Volunteers, in 1969. While the Airplane's old reckless experimentalism had been replaced by a slicker, more conventional sound that spanned from hard rock to adult contomeporary, the quality of the songwriting was at a peak it would never again come close to attaining; in some respects this was the last hurrah. It reached #1 on the charts, a feat the Airplane never managed, and spawned a monster hit with the middle-of-the-road "Miracles", a Balin song. "Tumblin'" is another silky, seductive Balin adult contemporary number, but it has character. Grace Slick's backing vocals are unusually winsome, and Balin conveys some real soul. It's not a classic, but it is a pretty good overlooked song from the album. If you like "Miracles", this one is better. If you hate "Miracles", you'll hate this one less.325. Joni Mitchell: Both Sides Now *****This well-known chestnut, a huge hit for Judy Collins at the time, closed Clouds (1969), Mitchell's second album and the first in her string of classics that ended after Miles of Aisles in 1975. Like the rest of the album, it's recorded solo, with Mitchell accompanying herself on acoustic guitar. Mitchell, who wrote the tune, does a far better version than Collins did; where Collins' version had a slick pop production, Mitchell's is more ragged. This helps bring out the regret and disappointment inherent in its loss-of-naivete lyric, while avoiding the sentimentality Collins' version is awash in. Mitchell's playing is surprisingly original, and her voice is just coming into its own here. The album peaked at #31, a giant leap from the #189 her 1968 debut registered; by the mid 70's she was a regular top-10 fixture, but her willfully uncommercial albums after that saw less and less chart action. She says Dreamland, from 2004, is her final album.326. Tortoise: Ry Cooder *****Tortoise was part of Chicago's post-rock movement, centered around the Thrill Jockey label. Like many of the Thrill Jockey bands, Tortoise is almost impossible to comfortably pigeonhole. On one hand, they are supurb musicians, capable of playing a cool jazz and improvisation with an unconventional lineup that included two vibraphone players. On the other hand, they were an electronica band, who willfully experimented in the studio with a variety of unusual approaches to sonics and texture. "Ry Cooder" is from their 1994 debut Tortoise, and is a drums, bass, guitar, and vibraphone workout that is wholly organic, and worthy of its namesake. It has a lumbering forward momentum, like a train going uphill, and its richly textured guitar sound almost oxidized; the overall effect is a weird vacuum tube ambiance. Their later albums veered from the electronica side of the spectrum to the cool jazz one, with mixed results, but they've always been worth a listen.327. Primal Scream: Loaded *****"Loaded", and the album it comes from, Screamadelica (1991), were club hits in America, but for the most part Primal Scream has been overlooked in this country. A pity, because Primal Scream was one of the very best British bands of the 1990's, and still do fresh, innovative work. The band had evolved from a goth noise band in much the same way My Bloody Valentine evolved, but unlike MBV, Primal Scream never turned to shoegaze. Instead, "Loaded" is a mix of electronica, house, and a Rolling Stones vibe, thanks to its slowed-down "Sympathy For The Devil" rhythm. Supposedly, it's a remix of a 1989 Primal Scream song, "I'm Losing More Than I'll Ever Have", but little of the original remains beyond the bassline and some piano. There are no lyrics; just fragments of movie samples (Peter Fonda in The Wild Angels among them), a wholly synthetic horn section, and a fat, danceable groove. It was sneakily subversive at the time, and has dated very well.328. Hoodoo Gurus: Poison Pen ****From Australia, the Hoodoo Gurus were an 80's band that specialized in a cross between roots rock, jangle pop, garage rock, and 60's psychedelia. In the right hands, that's a surefire mix, and Hoodoo Gurus did it better than most. "Poison Pen" is from their 1985 masterpeice Mars Needs Guitars! and benefits from a Standells/Chocolate Watchband style stomping hard rock, complete withbluesy harmonica and great snotty vocal from Dave Faukner. And this is one of the album cuts, not even one of the better known ones. Unfortunately, this album marked the band's high point; it was a college radio hit and the band toured with the Bangles, seemingly ready for a real breakthough. Blow Your Cool in 1987 failed to find an audience however, and lineup changes sapped the band. They kept going until 1998 until breaking up, and most of their stuff is good, if not transcendant. In 2004, the band reunited for Mach Schau. 329. Eels: The Other Shoe *****Eels is mainly just E (Mark Oliver Everett) and hired hands. They've been around since 1996, although it wasn't until 2005 that they began to find an audience beyond a handful of college kids. Blinking Lights and Other Revelations was one of the best releases of the year; a double album with 33 tracks, yet a surprisingly consistent one. "The Other Shoe" demonstrates what's so interesting about them (him). A lo-fi sensibility, but a melodicism that growns into a tremendous wall of sound on the barest of bones; it takes on the feel of an epic before it's over. E's gravelly voice sings, yells, and whoops with abandon; the lyrics are manic depressive, but with an almost joyful perversity to them. At 2:32, it doesn't overstay its welcome. Much of the album is like this; ragged guitar textures, bells and percussion, personal lyrics and raw vocals. Once written off as a hack when he signed with Dreamworks, he's gotten interesting again since being dropped.330. Miles Davis: Solea *****And then there's this gorgeous piece of music that makes all the others seem almost amateur in comparison. "Solea" is from Sketches of Spain from 1959, one of Davis' most realized albums. Based on an Andalusian folk song about a woman who encounters the procession taking Christ to Calvary, it is Davis at his most lyrical. He enters with a muted, forlorn trumpet and is joined by a flamenco-styled backing with orchestra, which despite its overt Spanish flavor is jazz nonetheless. Through it all, Davis' trumpet goes through a range of melancholy, at times defiant sounding, other times almost defeated. It's the kind of music that is so remarkably evocative, not a single word is needed to tell a whole story. Newcomers who fear jazz and are bewildered by Davis' many albums can start right here; I never met a person who wasn't profoundly touched by this piece. This was recorded almost a decade prior to Davis' rock experiments; his position in jazz at this point was as towering (and controversial) as Jimi Hendrix was to rock.Listen to Miles Davis: Solea (1959)Back | Next       Find 18 million rare CDs and out-of-print LPs at MusicStack

Posted on: 22 February 2006 | 8:18 am

Weekly Reissue Roundup #38 02/18/2006

      Artist, Album (release date, label) 1-5 starsSneaker Pimps: Becoming X (EMI, February 15, 2006) *****Deep Purple: Collection (BMG International, February 8, 2006) ***Mountain: Twin Peaks (Repertoire, February 8, 2006) **** Greg Lake: From The Beginning: Retrospective(Sanctuary, February 15, 2006) ****Sneaker Pimps: Becoming XTrip hop's peak era was short-lived, and people are divided as to exactly when that era was. There are those who claim popularity ruined the form; others never even heard it until Portishead made it popular in 1994. Sneaker Pimps were a logical extension forward from Portishead and Massive Attack; the Reading based trio specialized in the same languid swaying and swinging chillout rhythms and soulful sexy vocals Portishead made so palatable on Dummy, but with a greater guitar presence and expanded textural vocabulary. The drums kick, the atmospheric are trancey and silky, Kelli Dayton's vocals a deliliciosly slinky, and the menu is varied and engaging. The most well-known cut on the album is the sensual soulfunk single "6 Underground" which is perfection; a post ecstasy rapture that combines the chill of the melody with the edge of electronica swirlies and disembodied, echoed samples. Their first single, "Tesko Suicide" is all edge, with angular punky phrasing and eerie theremin-like keyboard; Chris Corner's guitar is abrasive and raw. The rest of Becoming X could be said to fall between those two brackets in atmosphere, although the textures are all over the place. "No Place Like Home" uses heavy metal guitar to drive home its chorus, while the rest of it is a chaotic jungle groove. "Spin Spin Sugar" is a torch song on the rings of Saturn. "Wasted Early Sunday Morning" has a dobro supplying its essential lick; drums and bass are front and center; Dalton's echoed vocal bounces off the beat. "How Do" is stunning; an old celtic folk song sung by Britt Ekland in a memorable scene in The Wicker Man, its given a multi-tracked fiddle sample as a base, and an airy vocal. Those who find electronica off putting, or who prefer organic instrumentation will find enough warmth to the instrumentation to keep them happy. The melodies are here, the beats, the soul, and the playing. Good, tough, smart lyrics, too. Deep Purple: CollectionI've always been fascinated by cheap-o compilations. They seem so depressing; little or no artwork, incomplete hits, haphazardly chosen filler. I always wondered what's the use of them? Are they for motorists sick of what's in their CD player? Are they intended as samplers to lure buyers into seeking out the albums? Are they purely cynical rip-offs? I've come to the conclusion that they are all three. So what to say about a 9-cut CD with the unimaginitive title of Collection, which contains "Smoke on the Water" plus 8 scattershot album cuts that jump all over the place? Well, "Living Wreck" is still a good blues metal tune, "Never Before" is still a good heavy metal tune, "Mandrake Root" is still a good psychedelic metal number; "Lady Double Dealer" and "Comin' Home" are still the peaks of David Coverdale's career. What are they all doing here together? Doing an okay hit-or-miss approach to representing the band. Does anyone need this? Not while the original albums are still in print.Mountain: Twin PeaksMountain was producer Felix Pappalardi's project after the breakup of Cream. he and guitarist Leslie West met when Pappaladi was hired to produce West's first solo album after leaving the popular-on-Long-Island-Vagrants. Pappalardi played bass, and Corky Laing replaced N.D. Smart on drums after the band's live performance, which was at Woodstock. As a power trio (sometimes augmented by keyboards), they naturally were compared to Cream, with whom they shared little in common beyond Pappalardi and volume. West was an excellent guitarist; they band could play, in a boogie hard rock style that produced their biggest hits. They were legends live, both for the energy of their performances, and the length of their songs; these guys could really stretch 'em out. So "Nantucket Sleighride" is a robust 32 minute heavy metal workout, and while it's worth sticking with, more than half an hour is an awful long time to keep an ear glued to something. The rest of the program on Twin Peaks, originally a double album when it was first released in 1974 (and recorded in osaka the year before), stays more in the 5-minute range, and there's plenty of classic hard rock here. The biggest problem lies in the vocal and lyric department, neither of which transcend workmanlike, and sometimes fall short of it. "Mississippi Queen" is here too, as are seven other hard rock crunchers. "Blood of the Sun" is my favorite; at 3:04, it delivers its punch with efficiency. "Silver Paper" has the best guitar and bass, and a nice strutting rhythm. The rest are for power trio/classic metal fans only.Greg Lake: From The Beginning: RetrospectiveIf you are a Greg lake fan enough to consider buying this, you are probably already an ELP or King Crimson fan. And if that is the case, then you probably have most of this stuff already. However, it is fairly tidy to have the work Lake did with both bands all in one package; it presents an alternate picture of the evolution of those bands. In some ways, this distorts Lake's own importance; while whe sang for both he was the leader of neither. However, he did write most of the songs, and Lake the songwriter actually looks a lot better here than he does on the original albums. The solo stuff also benefits; surrounded by better company they sound like more than budget-conscious guitar/prog rock. None of this will change anyone's mind, if they are predisposed towards disliking anyone involved in any of these outfits. But those diehards who really can't justify cash outlay for the solo stuff are steered here. A couple of live and unreleased cuts sweeten the package, although none are essential.Also available this week: Somewhere Out There a 1989 album by Deodato, best known for his disco version of "Also Sprach Zarathustra" which isn't on this one, on Collectables; Raga Electric and Back Porch Hillbilly Blues Vol. 1 by avant garde experimentalist Henry Flynt on Locust; Tales of the Psychic Wars by Blue Oyster Cult, a collection of 1981 and 1983 concerts, on Dynamic Italy; The M's a 2004 album by indie rock newbies The M's on Brilliante; and Greatest Hits by Cletic/pop band Clannad.       Find 18 million rare CDs and out-of-print LPs at MusicStack

Posted on: 17 February 2006 | 7:23 am

Weekly Reissue Roundup #37: 02/04/06

      Artist: Album (label, release date) 1-5 starsBig Star: Third (Rykodisc, January 31, 2006) *****Badfinger: Day After Day Live (Rykodisc, January 31, 2006) ***Justin Hayward: Classic Blue (CMC International, January 31, 2006) **Sam & Dave: Soul Men (Collectables, January 31, 2006) ****Big Star: ThirdOne of the most legendary unreleased/grey-market albums of all time, until it was given a proper resequencing and release on Rykodisc in 1992, Big Star's third album (also known as "Sister Lovers") is given re-release with a new cover. Big Star, from Memphis, is best known as Alex Chilton's vehicle, Chilton being the enigmatic and maverick singer/guitarist/songwriter who first gained fame as a teenager with a rich soul voice in the Box Tops. When the Box Tops ran out of steam, Chilton returned home for Memphis, where childhood friend Chris Bell invited him to join his new band. Re-named Big Star, the band never found its audience. They recorded for the small label Ardent, a subsidiary of Memphis soul label Stax, and their music, which was a tuneful, almost naive power-pop before the term had been coined, was distinctly out of step with the product Ardent dealt in. Bell left the group after the first album tanked, despite excellent reviews, and bassist Andy Hummell left after the second. When Third was being recorded by Chilton and remaining co-member Jody Stephens (drums), Ardent was collapsing amidst a bankrupcy and Chilton knew that the record was an exercise in futility, destined never to see the light of day. So he went about maiming the songs, each and every one, sabotaging them with purposely non-commerical production techniques like using a deflated basketball for a drum, and playing havoc with the stereo separation. The songs, which are mostly in a somewhat British pop style, are insular, paranoid, edgy, and manic depressive. The overall result is a brilliant power pop album for the suicidal. Whether this is something you need, is a matter of choice. But the tortured vocals on "Kangaroo", the heartbreaking singalong "O Dana", a weird cover of the Velvet Underground's "Femme Fatale", the resigned "Thank You Friends", and Stephens' wistful "For You" are worth the price of admission, for power pop fans and the truly depressed. Following this album, Chilton embarked on a bizarre solo career with some good, quirky ups and a lot of downs; Bell died in an accident in 1978.Badfinger: Day After Day LiveThis is a very controversial release among Badfinger fans, one that led to a court battle between singer/guitarist Joey Molland and drummer Mike Gibbins (and the estates of Pete Ham and Tom Evans). The story goes that in 1974, when Warner Brothers yanked the excellent Wish You Were Here after two weeks in the stores because of financial irregularities (that ultimately left the band bankrupt, and indirectly led to Pete Ham's suicide), Molland quit the band in disgust. As he departed, he took a tape of this concert, which was recorded at the Cleveland Agora in January 1974. Molland sat on the tapes until 1990, when he produced this album for Rykodisc. The controversy comes in with Molland's production job. Molland's vocals and guitar are re-recorded, and Molland's songs are all front-loaded on the album. This makes Molland's contributions sound more important than they were within the context of the original band. Worse, he covered up most of Mike Gibbins' drums with a drum machine, that sounds tacky and out of place on the early 70's recording. Gibbins claimed it was done without his knowledge, and won a mixed-verdict, that allowed the record to remain in stores, but required Molland to pay more for the rights. Contrary to popular belief though, the album isn't worthless. While the drum machine is a nuisance, and Molland would have helped himself by keeping his songs mixed in with Ham/Evans' songs, there are 10 great songs here, some in considerably looser, more rocking versions than their studio counterparts, and Molland probably did improve what always was a very murky recording on bootleg. Molland's "Give It Up", a worldweary ballad-cum-heavy rocker is the best of his songs, while Pet Ham/Tom Evans' "Name Of The Game", "Timeless", and "Blind Owl" all sound good here. A very misleading and incomplete portrait of the band, but certainly listenable for fans. Those wanting a better live album are steered towards the excellent Live At The BBC, but this one has its uses, too.Justin Hayward: Classic BlueThis 1994 solo album by Moody Blues guitarist Justin Hayward is one of those albums you really don't need, and probably shouldn't have, unless you really have mush for a heart. 13 rock classics are given orchestral treatment with Hayward supplying vocals, and the overall effect is easy listening that would make an elevator blush. The songs aren't especially interesting ones; familiar chestnuts like "God Only Knows", "Stairway To Heaven", "Vincent", "A Whiter Shade Of Pale", and "Scarborough Fair", among others are here. The London Philharmonic does what it does, which is to infuse these songs with a lot of sleepy strings and horns, while Hayward croons on top. There's nothing really "rock" about this album (which arguably can be said about the Moody Blues), the songs stay so close to the originals that there aren't any surprises, and Hayward never had a particularly compelling or memorable voice. In short, this is simply a career move that tried to cash in on the then-current craze for orchestral albums. Those looking to build a collection of really pretentious, silly versions of "MacArthur Park" will need this, though. If you have to have orchestras, stick with Days of Future Passed.Sam & Dave: Soul MenSam & Dave had a lot of hard luck, and it has cost them in the posterity sweepstakes; seldom does anyone hear more than "Soul Man" on the radio anymore, which is a pity, because these guys practically defined Memphis soul in the late 1960's, and their records are full of grit and character. Their records were distributed for Stax, which overtook Motown as the most innovative soul label in the late 1960's, and they benefited themselves of all the perks that went with it: Isaac Hayes and David Porter-penned tunes, Booker T. & The MG's as backing. "Soul Men", released in 1967, was probably their best album, among several good ones (Collectables is re-releasing 3 others simultaneously). "Soul Man" is here, and is the lone hit, but the other stuff is remarkably strong: "Hold It Baby", "Rich Kind of Poverty", and "Just Keep Holding On" all all top drawer and could have been hits on their own. Sam and Dave's music had a great swagger to it; it implied as much raunch as it delivered, and Isaac Hayes' production is stripped raw, and kept organic. The horns are great; the duo is at their peak. Unfortunately, Sam and dave hit a major bump in the road the following year when Atlantic records (to whom they were signed) ended its distribution deal with Stax. The pair were unable to work with the Stax producers, songwriters, and backing musicians, and their albums suffered. The John Belushi/Dan Aykroyd movie The Blues Brothers put their name in lights again in 1980, but their career failed to re-ignite and they split in 1981. Dave Prater died in 1988, a year after he was busted for selling crack. The duo was inducted into the Rock 'n' Roll hall of Fame in 1992.       Find 18 million rare CDs and out-of-print LPs at MusicStack

Posted on: 5 February 2006 | 7:51 am

Neverending Randomplay #311-#320

Neverending Randomplay is a feature in which I let my J-River Media Center choose what we get listen to. My collection currently stands at 18,403 titles. The lion's share are rock of all genres, with a mix of pop, blues, country, pre-rock, jazz, reggae, soul, electronic, avant-garde, hip-hop, rap, bluegrass, trance, Afrobeat, J-Pop, trip-hop, lounge, worldbeat, commercial jingles, etc. filling it out. I don't influence the track selection in any way; whatever comes up, comes up. Rated 1-5 stars.311. Badfinger: Name Of the Game *****This is a heartbreakingly lovely song, one of the the most fully realized of the band's career, from Straight Up, which was recorded in 1971. Badfinger was the doomed power-pop forebears who worked in the shadow of the Beatles at Apple records. Straight Up was a difficult album for the band. An early version of the album, produced by Geoff Emerick, was rejected. George Harrison took over production, and sat in on slide guitar. Midway through the sessions he was called away to organize The Concert For Bangla Desh, and Todd Rundgren produced the rest of the album. The Harrison-produced numbers, which include "Name of the Game", are in a very similar production style to the Phil Spector/George Harrison production on Harrison's own All Things Must Pass, from 1970. So the Harrison-produced "Name of the Game" is a lot weightier sounding than the horn-dominated pop version Emerick came up with. Far from power pop, it's a slow tempo number with piano, acoustic guitar, a chiming lead, metronome time-keeping on drums that all build into an enormous, multi-tracked chorus. The plaintive vocal from Pete Ham are literate and depressive; given the band's subsequent tragic end, the lyrics gain an additional layer of resonance. Beatle fans, power pop fans, and a lot of other people ought to give Straight Up a listen; it has the Emerick produced versions added as bonuses.312. Portishead: Sour Times *****Trip-Hop popularizers Portishead's 1994 debut, Dummy, is one of the most realized albums of the genre, full of fine tracks like "Sour Times". This is a slinky, sultry number with a pronounced bass and cool jazz ambience; the lead guitar plays slowed down and stripped surf-like riffs, while another supllies an abrasive jangle. Beth Gibbon's torch-like delivery, which is given is stark and cutting; when she sings "Nobody loves me, it's true/Not like you do" it sounds sacrilegeous and shocking. It also plays like the soundtrack to a very noir-ish movie set in a smoky bar. Formed in Bristol by Geoff Barrow in 1991, who learned his tricks from Tricky during a stint as tape operator for trip hop pioneers Massive Attack. Dummy was the first trip-hop album to gain widespread acceptance on both sides of the Atlantic, as well as in Europe and Japan. Alas, they only cut three albums; Portishead in 1997, and PNYC, a live album, in 1998.313. Jefferson Starship: Jane ****Jefferson Airplane co-founder Paul Kantner had a problem. He had just fired ex-girlfriend Grace Slick, who had developed a nasty problem with alcohol. Jefferson Airplane founder Marty Balin had quit at the end of the 1978 tour. Drummer John Barbata, who had been with the band since the Airplane's last tour in 1972, was in a car accident that left him unable to drum. Kantner himself was a weak singer; not often able to carry a song by himself, let alone an album. Yet, the previous Jefferson Starship album had gone platinum and spawned four singles. So he did what anyone would do. He hired a singer and drummer: Mickey Thomas (ex-Elvin Bishop group) and Aynsley Dunbar (ex-lots of groups). A decision was made to up the beef in the songs, the band had been called "pop" for years. The resulting album, Freedom At Point Zero (1979) was an ultra-slick slice of corporate hard rock, with virtually any traces of the Airplane (from which only Kantner remained) erased. As such, a lot of Airplane fans hated it, although in some respects it is a better corporate hard rock album than it had any business being. The hit was "Jane", all swirling keyboards, crunchy air-pumped guitar, cocksure vocals, and showoffy interstellar lead guitar. It's somewhere between Foreigner and Journey, and as such, it's a perfectly acceptable radio hit. But it won't make you see visions or start a revolution.314. Prince Far I: Armageddon *****Prince Far I (Michael James Williams, 1944-1983) is a name mostly known to reggae/dub aficionados, but he defies classification as either. A character on an island of characters, he had worked as a DJ for years, supplementing his income as a bouncer. When his boss at the club had a singer miss a 1970 session he was recording, he asked the bouncer to supply the vocals, which was Prince Far I's first single, released under the name King Cry Cry. "Armageddon" is from his peak, closing the 1978 album Message From The King. It very aptly captures his very unique musical vision. It's dub with an almost preacher-and-congregation call-and-response interspersed with sung bits and DJ tricks. It's slow, buzzed, eerie, and stoned. Message From The King is a great album; most of it was combined with the excellent Livity album on a 1990 collection called Black Man Land, which might be the best place to start exploring. Unfortunately, Prince Far I's distinctive vision was abruptly cut short when he was killed during a robbery at his home in 1983.315. Nat King Cole: The Very Thought Of You *****These days, when people conjur up the image of Nat King Cole (Nathaniel Adams Coles), they tend to lump him in with the likes of Perry Como, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and other crooners of the era. However, this neglects to consider the very different musical tradition Cole came from; before he reached pop stardom, he had been a jazz pianist in a trio, not a holdover from the swing era like the others. This made him subject of great controversy among jazz fans of his day; on one hand, he was seen as a traitor to jazz, abandoning it for pop just as it seemed at its death throes. On the other hand, he was an African American who enjoyed very mainstream success among white audiences as well during the segregated era. That put him in a heroic league with Jackie Robinson in some respects, but also angered persons on both sides of the racial divide. History has removed much of these controversies from the public imagination, for better or worse, and so now there's only the music. Obviously, Nat King Cole isn't "rock", although it's hard to imagine a Sam Cooke without Nat King Cole's breaking of the racial barrier in pop. But it's hard to deny that "The Very Thought of You" (1958) is a gorgeous romantic ballad. If Gordon Jenkins' strings overwhelm the gentle piano, acoustic bass, and drum accompaniment, let them. I can't see how this could come on at midnight in the company of the one you love and not induce a little slow dancing...316. Led Zeppelin: Dazed and Confused [live] ****"Dazed and Confused" is the bluesy heavy metal guitar-and-vocal showcase that earned Led Zeppelin its name on its 1969 debut. The original version is what Led Zeppelin was all about at the end of the sixties; Jimmy Page's stolen blues riffs turned into post-psychedelic explosions of sonics, and Robert Plant's shrieks and wails that play off,echo, and galvanize around the guitar. John Paul Jones' distinctive descending bassline (one of the easiest to play, for beginners) and John Bonham's primitive pounding hold down the bottom end while Page and Plant zoom all over the place. This version, however, may be too much of a good thing. Recorded in 1973, and released on the 1976 film soundtrack to The Song Remains The Same, a legendary midnight movie, it goes on for over 26 minutes, challenging even the most devoted Led Zeppelin fanatic. Still, there are plenty of nice bits, like the raga-rock noodling, the guitar-and-drum interplay section, Jones breaks free of his bassline and jams, Plant does things mere mortals can't. But around the 8 minute mark, my mind starts to wander, and while it wanders back again several times, it never quite stays there. If anyone wants to know why punk rock started, this is a good place to start. But hell, it is Led Zeppelin. Docked a star for taking a few dead end streets.317. The Cramps: Twist And Shout ****This "Twist and Shout" is not the same one by the Isley Brothers and popularized by the Beatles. Instead it is a good slab of psychobilly from the vintage era; this first appeared on a 2003 Empire two-fer that repackaged Off the Bone and Songs the Lord Taught Us, both from 1980, and tossed in some bonus cuts, including "Twist and Shout". Songs the Lord Taught Us is one of the key releases of the first psychobilly era, originally released on seminal 80's label I.R.S. Producing was enigmatic figure of rock legend Alex Chilton (ex-Box Tops, ex-Big Star) who is perfectly attuned to the sound fits the Cramps best: echo and not much else. Bassist Lux Interior sounds like the B-52's Fred Schneider half of the time, and wildman Gun Club frontman James Pierce the other half. Poison Ivy's guitar is full of Duane Eddy style twang, Nick Knox gives the drums a real beating. While fans of the Meteors really bristle when one suggests The Cramps invented psychobilly, they certainly were among the most important first-wave American psychobilly acts of the day, right next to Gun Club and X. "Twist and Shout" is maybe not quite as good as anything on the original Songs the Lord Taught Us, but it won't disappoint fans.318. Swervedriver: A Change Is Gonna Come *****As their name might suggest, Swervedriver, from London, had a fascination with cars in may of their songs, borrowing some Americanisms for their shoegaze sound. best known in the U.S. for touring with Soundgarden in 1991, they differed from many of the other shoegaze bands of the era in that they had a much more aggressive, forward leaning sound; there was less navel gazing and more propulsion. "A Change Is Gonna Come" isn't one of their car songs, but it sounds great in one. The principal auteurs are vocalists/guitarists Adam Franklin and Jimmy Hartridge; part of what gives them their strength is the dual leadership; many other shoegaze bands quickly became studio projects of a single obsessive. It's hard to say best what I like about "A Change Is Gonna Come" which appeared on their 1993 masterpiece Mezcal Head, their best moment. It might be the buzzed vocals, or the rich guitar texture that crackles and crunches and rings in your ears. It might be the sinister lyrics, or the underlying tunefulness. Mezcal Head almost didn't happen; the band lost their drummer and bassist following the Soundgarden tour and their more conventional swirly-shoegaze Never Lose That Feeling EP. The band's swansong was 99th Dream, from 1998; Adam Franklin continued with a new band, Toshack Highway and released two albums, the most recent in 2003.319. Solomon Burke: Sit This One Out ****Solomon Burke is one of those names that might ring a vague bell, but doesn't conjur up memories of his hits. The primary reason for this is he never really had a pop hit; "Tonight's The Night" a #28 in 1965 was his best showing on the pop charts. he was never king of the Black/r&b/soul charts either, although he had a #1 and a pair of #2's in the 1960's. Beyond that, history has largely passed him by, although Burke, who turns 66 this year, is still active. In the 60's he was another of the Atlantic soul artists, produced by Jerry Wexler, and certainly would appeal to anyone exploring 60's soul. His talent remains fairly intact today; "Sit This One Out" is from Don't Give Up on Me, a 2002 album produced by singer/songwriter Joe Henry, who manages a contemporary feel while still recalling the 60's soul tradition. Burke's deep voice is expressive and earthy; his delivery is more gospel than soul here but with a great organ accompaniment from Rudy Copeland, who plays organ at the church where Burke, now a minister, preaches. Songwriters contributing to this excellent album were Van Morrison (whom this Rick Purnell song recalls strongly), Bob Dylan, Tom Waits, Elvis Costello, Brian Wilson, and Nick Lowe, all of whom contributed new material. 320. Bad Religion: Better Off Dead ****The problem with punk is that there's no future in it, unless Green Day has found a new formula. Bad Religion were one of the key greater-L.A. punk band of the early to mid 1980's, in league with X, The Descendents, Black Flag, The Adolescents, and the Circle Jerks, among many others. Like many of those bands, Bad Religion always had an unstable lineup, although during most of its admirably long peak, guitarist Brett Gurewitz and vocalist Greg Graffin comprised the core. From their 1982 debut through their seventh album, recipe For Hate (1993), they remained with indie label epitaph and managed a mix of street cred, critical respect, and a reputation for a good show. "Better Off Dead" is from their 1994 major label debut, Stranger Than Fiction, from 1994. And as with so many others, the change didn't do them any good. The edges are sanded, there's more of an "alternative rock" sound than punk at this stage, and while "Better Off Dead" is an engaging juggernaut, it can't hold a candle to their late 80's output. After five major label releases, they returned to Epitaph, where they sounded positively retro, as if it were still 1988. Which makes them sound better than on most of the major label releases, but it no longer sounds very relevant. Their fans will find much more to like about "Better Off Dead" and other material of the era; it's certainly okay. But it's also a little humdrum, and humdrum punk is hardly a thing at all.Listen to Badfinger: Name of the Game (1971)Back | Next       Find 18 million rare CDs and out-of-print LPs at MusicStack

Posted on: 2 February 2006 | 10:48 am

Weekend Reissue Roundup #36 01/21/06

      Artist: Album (label, release date) 1-5 starsAerosmith: Big Ones (Universal International, January 17, 2006) ****Sheryl Crow: Best Of Sheryl Crow (Universal International, January 17, 2006) ***Bad Company: Bad Company (Audio Fidelity, January 17, 2006) ****Lobo: Me and You and A Dog Named Boo & Other Hits (Collectables, January 17, 2006) **Aerosmith: Big OnesAerosmith has defied an awful lot of odds over the years. There were Stephen Tyler and Joe Perry's famous drug addictions, which had gotten so bad in the early 80's the band was essentially blacklisted by record companies, after numerous blown gigs, ruined sessions, and a nasty Tyler/Perry split. When Geffen signed them in 1984, they were signing a had-been 70's hard rock/arena rock band when hard rock and arena rock were very much out of style. No Aerosmith album had reached the top-10 except Rocks, in 1976. Critically, they were second string; a mix of the Rolling Stones and the New York Dolls, they were considered derivative and dull. In short, nobody should have predicted the career renaissance the band had in store when it released Done With Mirrors in 1984. When Big Ones was released in 1994, the band was bigger than it had ever been before; Get A Grip was their first #1 album, and hits like "Rag Doll", "Love In An Elevator", "Janie's Got A Gun", and "Livin' On The Edge" are just a few of the songs they found massive, inescapable airplay with. The band continues to sell records in droves; three of four regular albums since Big Ones has made the top-5; their 2001 Superbowl appearance confirmed their overlord status. So how good is Big Ones? It's good; the hits have some grit and attitude even if both are simulated, the riffs are plentiful, and you can sing along with everything here. It makes a good companion piece to Greatest Hits, which covered their first Columbia era. But it's not great; as much as I admire their comeback and appreciate their keeping rock 'n' roll an entertainment for the masses, it's all pretty slick. Still, there are worse crimes than slickness. Since this was originally issued in 1994, it's missing all of their subsequent, and slicker hits, recorded for Columbia again. A pricier but much better Aerosmith compilation is the career-spanning O, Yeah! Ultimate Aerosmith Hits from 2002, which covers all of their Columbia/Geffen hits.Sheryl Crow: Very Best Of Sheryl CrowThe Very Best of Sheryl Crow was originally released in 2003, and was the first real career anthology of Crow's work. As a former backing singer for Michael Jackson, Crow, as has been mentioned often, was a music veteran by the time she released her debut, Tuesday Night Music Club in 1993. On that debut, she established herself in the tradition of singer/songwriter; subsequent releases have attempted to find an uneasy balance between the classic rock-retro "If It Makes You Happy" and "My Favorite Mistake" and the more adult alternative sound of "Every Day Is A Winding Road" and "Soak Up The Sun". The rap against her has always been a lack of originality, and the cliched song titles support this theory: "A Change Would Do You Good", "There Goes The Neighborhood", "Light In Your Eyes" are hardly original turns of phrase, and her musical ideas have always been more recycled than innovative. She also never revisited the quirky personality hinted at in her woozy ode to L.A. "All I Wanna Do", her debut single. Which leaves one with a certain sense of blah as the radio hits and misses troop by; it's a good thing her arena rock version of Cat Stevens' eminently hummable "The First Cut Is The Deepest" was tacked on to the end of this, because "I Shall Believe" would have been a real snoozer to go out on. There's nothing really bad here except the woefully self-pitying country duet "Picture", which can be blamed on Kid Rock. As a collection, this'll do; everything you really need is here (some non-album film tracks are missing, the best being "Sweet Child O' Mine"), and some of her ballads like "Home" are pretty enough. Whether or not you lsten to it depends on how hard up you are for classic rock/alternative adult music. There are other alternatives out there.Bad Company: Bad CompanyBad Company was one of the quintessential arena rock acts of the 1970's, full of strutting cock rock, outlaw themes, guitar flash, and the vocals of Paul Rodgers, who used to fall near the top of the list on "best male vocalist" polls of the day. As megaplatinum titans, they didn't quite have the personality other huge acts of the day did. They weren't mythological lords of paganism, like Led Zeppelin, for whose Swan Song label they recorded. They weren't vaguely fruity and arty like Queen. They weren't piledriving speed demons like Deep Purple, not dungeons and dragons like Uriah Heep. Their debut album didn't feature their mugs, their self titled anthem "Bad Company" didn't do much to establish an identity beyond a vaguely outsider one. Yet, in retrospect, this lack of frills and pomp makes their music a lot more enduring in the long run. Bad Company is a fine debut, recorded in 1974 by the supergroup of Rodgers and drummer Simon Kirke (both ex-Free), bassist Boz Burrell from King Crimson, and guitarist Mick Ralphs from Mott The Hoople, who brought "Ready For Love" with him from his old band. "Ready For Love" oudoes the Mott original, "Can't Get Enough" and "Bad Company" remain excellent no-frills hard rock radio staples. As for the rest, it's better than typical hard rock filler. "The Way I Choose" has a nice bluesy slant to it, "Rock Steady" is a strong guitar-riff-and-cowbell driven number that could have been a hit, "Don't Let Me Down" is a slow piano-based bluesy wailer with a nice gospel-chick backing chorus and sax-and-power-chord middle eight. Bad Company's next album, Straight Shooter, would prove a bigger hit. But their debut is rich with little nuggets, and is arguably the better disc.Lobo: Me and You and A Dog Named Boo & Other HitsHere's a 70's relic you never hear about anymore. Florida-born Lobo (Roland Kent LaVoie) used to perform in a group called the Rumors in the early 60's, which also included Gram Parsons among its members. In 1964, he made his recording debut with The Sugar Beats, where he met long-time collaborator Phil Gernhard, who produced all the hits on this album. Lobo's solo career began in earnest in 1971 with Introducing Lobo! which earned him a top-5 hit with "Me and You and a Dog Named Boo", a pop confection only slightly more rocking than the Archies, but catchy nonetheless. He had three other #1 adult contemporary hits: the weepy "I'd Love You To Love Me", a #2 pop hit from 1973, "Don't Expect Me To Be Your Friend", and "Where Were You When I Was Falling In Love" (which isn't included here). By 1979, he had run out of gas, and after an attempt to launch his own label failed, he retired in 1985. He still has a following in Taiwan, of all places, and has released material for that market in recent years. Musically, he's somewhere between Cat Stevens and Bobby Goldsboro; his music is lightweight in the special way only early 70's AM radio was. Most of the ten cuts here saw some chart action, but only "I'd Love You To Love Me" and "Me And You and A Dog Named Boo" are likely ever to get another play in this house. But if you're some kind of AM radio completist, here's a nice, concise little package.       Find 18 million rare CDs and out-of-print LPs at MusicStack

Posted on: 21 January 2006 | 9:21 am

Neverending Randomplay #301-#310

Neverending Randomplay is a feature in which I let my J-River Media Center choose what we get listen to. My collection currently stands at 18,396 titles. The lion's share are rock of all genres, with a mix of pop, blues, country, pre-rock, jazz, reggae, soul, electronic, avant-garde, hip-hop, rap, bluegrass, trance, Afrobeat, J-Pop, trip-hop, lounge, worldbeat, commercial jingles, etc. filling it out. I don't influence the track selection in any way; whatever comes up, comes up. Rated 1-5 stars.301. Paul McCartney: Don't Let The Sun Catch You Crying ***This is the closing number from Tripping the Live Fantastic, McCartney's chronicle of his 1989 world tour, his first since 1976. Written by Joe Greene, the song is best known for Gerry and The Pacemakers' hit version from 1964. McCartney does a far more soulful version than his Liverpool rivals mustered; there's actually a little weight to the arrangement, a little hint of a bluesy gospel sound to his vocals. It's still a lightweight pop number to be sure; McCartney is still McCartney, and while he is considerably more soulful than Gerry and the boys, he's still ex-Beatle Paul, playing up the charm to a stadium crowd. However, Robbie McIntosh supplies some fine bluesy guitar licks, Linda McCartney had improved at the keyboards since the early 70's, and the horn section lends some color. In some respects, it is an interesting track; rather than a another note-for-note version of an old Beatles or Wings song (which the album is full of), it's a title that McCartney hadn't waxed before. Whether you like it or not depends on your feelings about McCartney; fans will be impressed, non-fans will ask you to put something else on.302. Vanilla Fudge: She's Not There ****Vanilla Fudge is one of the more colorful relics of the 1960's. A hardcore psychedelic band, they were among the bands that helped provide the missing link between psychedelia and heavy metal. Consisting of organist Mark Stein, bassist Tim Boger, drummer Carmine Appice, and guitarist Vince Martell, the Long Island NY band specialized in enormous, slowed down, psyched-up quasi-improvasitory versions of contemporary hits, sprinkled with originals. Best known for their gigantic fudged up version of "You Keep Me Hanging On", they lend similar treatment to the Zombies' "She's Not There". It's a good song choice; the presence of Rod Argent's organ on the original make it the perfect foil for Vanilla Fudge's considerable excesses. It comes from their 1967 self-titled debut, which remains their best album. Stein's organwork is the real draw, but Martell gets into some raga-rock, and all four members bring something to the table. The band disbanded in 1970; Bogert and Apiice formed the heavy metal band Cactus, and later worked with Jeff Beck in Beck, Bogert & Appice.303. Fairport Convention: Tale In A Hard Time *****Fairport Convention's second album, What We Did on Our Holidays, which was released in 1969 and includes "Tale In A Hard Time", is where the band's sound really cohered into something unique and interesting. It's the closest they ever came to folk-rock in the rock sense, and the addition of Sandy Denny to the lineup lends a winsomeness and depth to the backing vocals that give "Tale In A Hard Time" an elegiac beauty that haunts after it ends. The real star on this cut however is Richard Thompson, whose strange lead guitar is neither folk nor psychedelic; the lyrics are full of weighty conumdrums, the vocal harmonies shine, and the song has genuine forward momentum. The band, which has continued with various lineups into the 00's (without Thompson, or the late Denny), never quite made another album like What We Did on Our Holidays; their sound came to incorporate much more British Isles folk and less rock. "Tale In A Hard Time" is a perfect balance of the two; an almost flawless number.304. The White Stripes: The Hardest Button to Button *****You'd have to live on another planet (or at least in another country) not to have heard of Michigan natives The White Stripes. The hype around them is immense, and daunting; their image is weird and impenetrable. Their minimalist hard rock, consisting of Jack White's guitar and Meg White's drums, doesn't leave a lot of room for a song. Yet, they are also one of the only consistent major rock acts of the 2000's. "The Hardest Button to Button" is evidence why; a cross between glam rock and metal in its riffs, complete with absurdist lyrics delivered in White's thin, whiney, but ultimately winning vocal. The real meat is on the guitar, which galvanizes and crunches and awakens the nervous system in ways it hasn't been awakened since the grunge era. Meg pounds away in accompaniment; there is no bass. How can two people make such a dense, complete sound? Hard to say. However, it goes a long way towards supporting the hype. From Elephant, recorded in England and released in 2003.305. Simple Minds: Love Song ****Simple Minds were a much better band than people usually remember them to have been. Part of the discrepency is the enormity of their biggest hit, "Don't You Forget About Me" from The Breakfast Club, which typecast them as a synth-based quasi-New Romantic group, which actually was pretty far off the mark. In fact, the band didn't write that hit, nor did they particularly like it themselves. "Love Song", from the band's fourth album Sons and Fascination, released in 1981, is closer to their essential sound. Written by Jim Kerr, is feature prominent synth, but isn't synth-pop; it's a fairly sweaty rocker, with good playing from the band, and excellent Kerr vocals; producer Steve Hillage (ex-Gong) accentuates the drums and bass, and envelops the band in an echoey gauze. The lyrics are good too; the "Love Song" in the title is an ambivalent love song to America: "America's a boyfriend, flesh of heart, heart of steel" . Much of Simple Minds' best work, which stretched into the mid-80's is in a similar vein; well worth exploring even if you hated The Breakfast Club.306. Elton John: Texan Love Song ***"Texan Love Song" is a rustic little number from Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player, which was released in 1973 between John's twin triumphs Honky Chateau and Goodbye Yellow Brick Road. Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player wasn't nearly as good as either, although it isn't a bad album; the filler is on par with this tune, which features John accompanied mainly by acoustic guitar and later accordian. It's another one of Bernie Taupin's pseudo-Western numbers, displaying both humor and naivete; John's western drawl is fairly over the top and borders on silly; the ki-yi-yippie-ai-ai cowcall of a chorus crossed that border into silliness. But John's unflagging good nature saves the day, and the song's simulated off-handedness ultimately is winning. To a point.307. Olivia Tremor Control: I Can Smell The Leaves ****A conceptual band from the Elephant 6 collective of arty lo-fi bands, Olivia Tremor Control released three albums in the late 1990's. Their best by far was their first, Music from the Unrealized Film Script, Dusk at Cubist Castle (1996), which includes "I Can Smell The Leave" Lo-fi art-rock is a pretty apt term to describe this; the recording sounds like it was made on a 4-track, the vocals harmonize with dissonant, contrary melodies, organs noodle in and out, and the whole arrangement is pretty busy. There's a wistfullness to the overall sound, but there's also a lot going on underneath. At 1:50, it's merely a transitional fragment of a song; one of 27 cuts on the album, and as a stand-alone it isn't much. However, the whole album is worth a listen; it recalls the Beatles' White Album in places, if the Beatles had been lo-fi American semi-amateurs with Beach Boys vocals. Which is a compliment, even if it doesn't sound like one. The band went on haitus following the 2000 compilation Singles and Beyond. Six years later, it appears the hiatus is permanent.308. Jackson Browne: Hold On Hold Out ***Jackson Browne, once upon a time, had been one of the biggest names in rock, a bigger star than Bruce Springsteen for awhile. His best work remains his 1970's output, which was essentially California singer/songwriter pop rock, but with more of a rock sound than most of his competitors, thanks especially to multi-instrumentalist collaborator David Lindley (ex-Kaleidoscope), and on Hold Out, familiar L.A. sessionmen Danny Kortchmar, Russ Kunkel, Rick Marotta, and Joe Lala. Hold Out marked the pinnacle of Browne's career, powered by the hit single "Boulevard", it became his only #1 album. It also is a pretty weak album; songs like "Disco Apocalypse" were just plain stupid, and his more revealing, "sensitive" numbers like "Call It A Loan" revealed a disingenuous fool underneath. "Hold On Hold Out" is the grand finale, and it works up a head of steam, but never comes close to his earlier, similar numbers like "Running On Empty". Browne had a few more sporadic hits afterwards, but never regained his momentum; his last top-10 album was Lawyers In Love in 1983. His reputation as a "sensitive" performer took a hit after a particularly messy breakup with girlfriend Daryl Hannah in 1989.309. After the Fall: Mirror Mirror ***"Mirror Mirror" is from After The Fall, the band's 2004 debut, which also appeared on Always Forever Now, released for the U.S. market in 2005. From Australia, the band works in a by-now-standard indie mode, mixing punk, pop, and indie conventions into a pretty good, if unexceptional single "Mirror Mirror". The guitar crunch isn't anything new, but it isn't bad, and coupled with the jaunty rhythm and energetic vocals and some minimal studio trickery, it comes across as a softer focus Strokes crossed with Incubus. Not especially memorable, but nothing really wrong with it; I'd need to hear another tune from these guys before I can really offer any useful thoughts. 310. The Searchers: Where Have You Been? ***The Searchers, from Liverpool, were one of the Beatles' chief competitors in the salad days before either had hit big. The Beatles obviously eclipsed the Searchers shortly thereafter, but The Searchers managed a successful career that lasted into the 1980's (and versions of the Searchers pop up today). In America, they were also-rans; despite charting 13 singles from 1964-1971, they never made the top-10. "Needles and Pins", from 1964, was their biggest hit; "Where Have You Been" is a fairly similar work from It's the Searchers, also released in 1964. Mild mannered, tuneful, sounding like Paul McCartney singing with Paul Mccartney, it is a slightly better-than-average British Invasion love ballad. For Beatlemaniacs who have run out of Beatles product to purchase, the Searchers are a reasonable facsimilie, although they never were very convincing rockers. "Where Have You Been?" does recall the era and sound nicely, though.Back | Next       Find 18 million rare CDs and out-of-print LPs at MusicStack

Posted on: 16 January 2006 | 7:43 am

Weekend Reissue Roundup #35: 01/14/06

      Artist: album (label, release date) 1-5 starsEmerson, Lake, and Palmer: Works, Vol. 1 (JVC Japan, January 10, 2006) ***Marillion: Script For A Jester's Tear (Toshiba EMI, January 10, 2006) ****Slowdive: Pygmalion (Castle Music UK, January 10, 2006) ****Atomic Rooster: Made In England (Sony Japan, January 10, 2006) ****Emerson, Lake, and Palmer: Works, Vol. 1 Pity the unsuspecting modern listener who wanders into Works, Vol. 1 unwittingly. As one of the most muddled, bombastic, scattershot albums from this muddled, bombastic, scattershot band, one of the quintessential dinosaurs of the progressive rock era, it's a far cry from easy listening. Works Vol. 1 is notorious within the band's catalog as well. Released in March, 1977 as a double album, it marked the trio on the verge of breakup. When the record company nixed the idea of each member recording a solo album, a compromise was reached; 3 of the 4 sides were solo sides, one per member. The fourth side was a band collaboration. So, we get Keith Emerson's "Piano Concerto No. 1", a lengthy grad-student-esque piece that recycles some classical conventions without ever really gelling into something memorable. Greg Lake's five numbers are florid art-rock, intermittently sprinkled with interesting textures and art-rock flourishes, but done in by Lake's earnest vocals and fairly silly lyrics. Of these, the Lake-Sinfield "C'est la Vie" is the best; sounding like the Moody Blues on thorazine; "Lend Your Love To Me" is a romantic epic laden under ambitious strings. Carl Palmer's numbers come closest to rock, thanks mainly to Joe Walsh's guitar; "New Orleans" ambles along with a Walsh guitar, saxophone, and some pretty good drumming from Palmer, although it doesn't suggest New orleans itself except abstractly. The only real fun on the album however, is the lone classic: a no holds barred overindulgence of Aaron Copland's "Fanfare For The Common Man" which is one of the perfect distillations of this band's essence; at 9:38, it is neither succinct or to the point. But as an uptempo rocker with abrasive synth and gigantic tympani, it's also as close to a toe-tapper as the album gets. Works, Vol. 1 ultimately proved to be the beginning of the end; peaking at #12, it represented a slippage from prior releases that became serious when Works, Vol. 2 appeared later in the year. Love Beach, from 1978, marked the end of an era; savaged by critics, and a poor seller, it was the last ELP album to crack the top-100, with the exception of Black Moon in 1992.Marillion: Script For A Jester's Tear Formed in 1979, Marillion was a progressive rock band formed at the end of the progressive rock era. As such, it should have been doomed from birth; on the heels of the collapse of Yes, ELP, and other titans of the era, progressive rock had fallen as far from style as a genre can be by the early 80's. Marillion avoided extinction by leaning on the guitars and synthesizers in a more streamlined, metallic fashion; as a result, they truly did sound of the 1980's, instead of a warmed over 70's dinosaur. Script For A Jester's Tear was their 1983 debut, theatrical, complex, and ambitious. While the vocals by Fish (Derek Dick) are over the top, they're knowingly so, which alleviates them of a lot of unintended humor. Guitarist Steve Rothery is the biggest hero, his unconventional leads help propel the title track into epic proportions and helps keep Fish in check at his more reckless moments. "Garden Party", on the other hand, is a lower key slow number built around an echoed Brian Jelliman synthesizer that noodles along for nearly four minutes before switching into an uptempo rocker; Jelliman recalls Rick Wakeman during the crescendo at the end. "Forgotten Sons" is the best moment; part aggressive rocker, part sound collage, it works up a heady atmosphere and leaves room for the musicians to stretch out. For art-rock starved music fans in the 80's, Marillian was a godsend, and Script For A Jester's Tear established the basic template from which they'd draw for decades. While it peaked at a weak #175, subsequent albums did better. Is it essential listening? Their cult will tell you it is; more discriminating music fans may have difficulty adjusting to Fish's histrionic vocals and the very 1980's sounding production. But for prog-rock veterans who never got around to checking out Marillion, this isn't a bad place to start.Slowdive: Pygmalion Slowdive's 1992 classic, Souvlaki, remains one of the high points of the shoegaze movement. Textured, varied, gorgeous, and elegiac, it captured all of what was good about shoegaze; the abstract textures, the warped song structure, the layered sound. By 1995, shoegaze was history; nearly all of the original shoegaze bands had broken up or radically altered their sound. Pygmalion, Slowdive's final effort, is the sound of a shoegaze band trying to find a way out of the corner they had painted themselves in. Neil Halstead took complete control of the band for Pygmalion; so much so that bassist Nick Chaplin and guitarist Christian Savill split during the sessions. Rachel Goswell contributes lyrics and vocals, and new drummer Ian McCutcheon joins the band, but it's mostly Halstead's show. It isn't shoegaze; if anything, it's akin to Brian Eno's ambient music. Most of it is hushed, muted, built on eerie synth structures, with ghostly echoed vocals, and instrumentation buried so deeply in the mix and played so understatedly, you barely realize it's there. Attacked by fans and Creation records honcho Alan McGee (who dropped them within weeks) as a sleep inducer, it really is a lot better than that. What it really represents is an odd netherworld where Slowdive was making its transformation to new incarnation Mojave 3, which featured Halstead, Goswell, and McCutcheon in the service of lonesome Cowboy Junkies style material. On Pygmalion, the Mojave 3 textures are here; only the songs are missing. As ambient music, it's very good if somewhat repetitive; "Trellisaze" is almost ominous in its cloudy amorphous structure; "Blue Skied an' Clear" is fully formed dream pop with some good Halstead vocals, "Crazy For You" borders on sound collage, and hits some interesting dissonance along its way to hypnotic oblivion. Pygmalion, perhaps unintentionally, embodies Brian Eno's theory of ambient music as music that never dominates, but rewards closer listening. Shoegaze fans might not love it, but dream pop fans might like this very much.Atomic Rooster: Made In England Atomic Rooster was a U.K. progressive rock act that made its debut in 1970 with a lineup of Vincent Crane (ex-Crazy World of Arthur Brown) on organ, Nick Graham on bass, and Carl Palmer on drums. Following the debut, Palmer joined ELP, and Graham quit, leaving Crane to reassemble the band. A second lineup lasted into 1972 and fell apart; Crane once again reassembled the band from scratch with singer Chris Farlowe (who had a few U.K. hits in the 60's, notably the Stones' "Out Of Time") , guitarist Steve Bolton, bassist Bill Smith, and drummer Rick Parnell. Made In England, from 1972, was the first album from the third Atomic Rooster lineup, and is arguably the best disc of their career. It's a surprising record; unlike their progressive peers of the day, Atomic Rooster actually manages an offhand funkiness on Made In England. "Little Bit Of Inner Air" is atmospheric and slinky, with its multiple percussion and crying guitar; in some ways it sounds a lot like vintage Spirit. "All In Satan's Name" is another good one, with a boogie rhythm, upfront guitars, and howling vocal that lend it an almost Southern rock touch, although the psychedelic keyboard workout is pure U.K. progressive rock, recalling Deep Purple. "Space Cowboy" arrives by transponder and takes its title literally, but therein lies its fun. Made In England is just as silly as any other prog-rock album you can name, but it rocks a lot more than many albums from the era do, which goes a long way towards making it a worthwhile listen today. Crane would continue to lead version of the group into the 1980's. He later joined Dexy's Midnight Runners after their breakthrough, but when they failed to follow up their success, his career stalled. He committed suicide in 1989.Also out this week: Three from David Bowie (Stage, David Live, Platinum Collection) on Virgin; Love Songs by late r&b diva Phyllis Hyman on Arista; Between the Bridges by 90's Canadian power-pop kings Sloan; It's Not What You Think It Is!?!! by electronica outfit Tek 9; and Strangers In The Night by 70's metal unit UFO.Freeway Jam is still catching up from its slack period; another update is planned for tonight. Disregard the dates; they reflect when the article was supposed to go up...       Find 18 million rare CDs and out-of-print LPs at MusicStack

Posted on: 13 January 2006 | 9:25 am

Neverending Randomplay #291-#300

Neverending Randomplay is a feature in which I let my J-River Media Center choose what we get listen to. My collection currently stands at 18,135 titles. The lion's share are rock of all genres, with a mix of pop, blues, country, pre-rock, jazz, reggae, soul, electronic, avant-garde, hip-hop, rap, bluegrass, trance, Afrobeat, J-Pop, trip-hop, lounge, worldbeat, commercial jingles, etc. filling it out. I don't influence the track selection in any way; whatever comes up, comes up. Rated 1-5 stars.291. Sheryl Crow: I Shall Believe ***"I Shall Believe" is the closing track from Crow's 1993 debut, Saturday Night Music Club. It's a slow, dirge-like number that has Crow's overdubbed and double tracked voice harmonizing with itself; the instrumentation is muted and dominated by keyboards, the overall atmosphere is not dissimilar to a Daniel Lanois-produced U2 cut. Taken on its own, it really isn't much; the lyrics don't stick with you, the melody is barely hummable, and Crow's vocals are the best thing about it, even though they aren't nearly as memorable as her vocals on "All I Wanna Do" "Strong Enough" or "Leaving Las Vegas", the albums strongest cuts. Crow's career has been slowly but steadily running low on gas over the last few years; part of it may have to do with her chosen genre. Part of what made her successful in the 90's was a general adherence to classic rock forumla; few things have gone more out of style in the 00's than classic rock. As an album closer, "I Shall Believe" is underwhelming, although its sleepy vibe does give it a 'party's over' feel; if you're a fan, you probably like this more than I do, but if you're not, you aren't missing anything much with this one.292. New Riders of the Purple Sage: Dead Flowers ****"Dead Flowers" should be well known to rock fans in its original version; it's a Jagger/Richard song from Sticky Fingers, one of several from that album that mined a Gram Parsons-influenced country rock (Parsons was palling around with Keith Richard in those days). New Riders of the Purple Sage was an offshoot of the Grateful Dead, a country-rock outfit originally set up for Garcia, Lesh, and Hart to play Workingman's Dead-style material between Grateful Dead albums. As the years passed, the Grateful Dead's participation became minimal, and NRPS carried on without them, with a lineup of guitarist/singer John Dawson, former Jefferson Airplane drummer Spencer Dryden, Dave Torbert on bass, and Dave Nelson on guitar, mandolin, and vocals. They reached an early 70's peak with Powerglide and The Adventures of Panama Red, and were popular among young dopeheads throughout most of the decade. "Dead Flowers" appeared on the 1976 album New Riders, which marked their departure from Columbia for MCA. Torbert had left the band in 1975 and was replaced by ex-Byrd Skip Battin, so the album was something of a fresh start. As a song, "Dead Flowers" is perfect material for the band, with its decadent country vibe and drug references; the only real drawback is that Dawson is a far cry from Mick Jagger in the vocal department. The song does get a great pedal steel and lead guitar though, and as mid-70's country rock, it's much better than the Eagles. However, commercially, the band's move to MCA was a bust; New Riders peaked at #145, their last chart showing ever.293. The Charlatans UK: Weirdo ****I never really understood why Charlatans UK never found a bigger audience in the U.S., other than bands with "UK" tacked onto their name (in this case, to differentiate the band from the Haight Ashbury Charlatans of the 60's) never seem to find audiences here. Here's what's good about "Weirdo" from Between 10th and 11th, released in 1992: the late Rob Collins' heavy Deep Purple inspired organ, Martin Blunt's propulsive bass, Tim Burgess' close miked vocals, and John Baker's tremeloed guitar. The resulting cut is softcore Madchester, with the dance beats minimalized but not absent, and the psychedelic quotient cranked up a notch. While this puts them in similar territory as the shorter-lived but superior Happy Mondays, the organ fills keep the song fresh and original, making it one of the best U.K. singles of 1992. Unfortunately, the album tanked in the US, peaking at #173, after the 1990 release Some Friendly had made it to #73 in 1990. The band endures to this day (minus organ wizard Collins, who died in 1996), but has never hit Stateside again.294. Billy Joel: Honesty **Billy Joel, when taken at the face value of his 70's and 80's hits, was quite obviously one of the most successful solo acts of his day. He had a knack for melody, worked with good musicians and producers, and certainly has some enduring hits, "Honesty" among them. That said, he was also something of a misogynistic simpleton lyrically, capable of utterly unselfconsciously bad and meaningless wordsmithing. In this sense, he falls far short of a Lennon or Dylan, as much as Joel would like to be considered their equal in stature. "Honesty" is case in point: Honesty is such a lonely word... What does it mean? "Honesty" has no synonyms? "Honesty" seldom appears in sentences? "Honesty" gets a page to itself in the dictionary? The answer comes in the couplet: Everyone is so untrue-- so the song isn't about "Honesty" the word, it's about how nobody is honest save for good ole reliable Billy Joel. This kind of self-pity worked in the 70's, at least among the soft rock crowd, but it sounds pretty mushy and lame now. "Honesty" didn't quite set the charts on fire even in its day, ultimately topping out at #24 in 1979. It was the second single from 52nd Street, a retread of his more successful (and better) The Stranger, from 1977. These days, Joel claims to have given up pop music altogether; his last pop album was the dreary River of Dreams, from 1993.295. Black Sabbath: A Natural Acrobat ****Here is heavy metal monolith Black Sabbath at its most progressive sounding, from the 1974 album Sabbath Bloody Sabbath. By 1974, heavy metal was already showing signs of losing its grip on the charts in the US, an erosion that would continue unabated until the early 1980's. Guitarist Tony Iommi was keen on arting up Sabbath's sound, putting them more in league with a band like Yes; Ozzy Osbourne was against the idea, preferring to keep the metal simple. On Sabbath Bloody Sabbath, Iommi got his wish; ex-Yes keyboardist Rick Wakeman was enlisted, orchestras were brought in, production trickery was employed promiscuously. The resulting album proved conclusively that Black Sabbath didn't have anything resembling the chops of Yes, and the band returned to a more stripped down, almost garagey sound for Sabotage in 1975. "A Natural Acrobat", despite what sound like congas deep in the mix, and some electronic monkeying with Osbourne's vocal, is one of the most straightforward pieces of metal on the album; Wakeman isn't on it, and Iommi's vaguely funkified guitar vies with a good tormented Ozzy vocal to deliver a solid metal classic. In retrospect, some of the art-rock touches on Sabbath Bloody Sabbath weren't bad; had the band a clue as to how to apply them in the service of an evolution of sound, they might have come up with better albums in the late 70's. Sabbath Bloody Sabbath remains the road not taken, and "A Natural Acrobat" the best thing on it.296. Mojave 3: Love Songs on the Radio ****Late 90's sadcore group Mojave 3 was actually a spinoff of the shoegaze band Slowdive, featuring Neil Halstead, Rachel Goswell, and Ian McCutcheon. Originally, the trio were working on demoes for a new Slowdive album in 1994 when Creation records unceremoniously dropped them from the label. They approached dream-pop label 4AD with the demoes, and were rechristened Mojave 3, to reflect their change in sound. "Love Songs On The Radio", from the 1994 Mojave 3 debut, Ask Me Tomorrow, bears nary a trace of shoegaze whatsoever. Instead it is a sleepy, lonesome, sad sounding desert ballad with country/western touches and plenty of atmospheric, echoey slide guitar, and Goswell's winsome vocals. Fans of Mazzy Star or the Cowboy Junkies would dig this right away. The band released four albums, the most recent in 2003; on each, they move farther way from their roots. Guitarist Simon Rowe of space rock/shoegaze pioneers Chapterhouse and Alan Forrester on keyboards flesh out the sound on later albums.297. Skinny Puppy: Death ***From the gentle pastoral drowsiness of Mojave 3, we lurch into the abrasive, torturously aggressive hostility of Canadian industrial rock pioneers Skinny Puppy, an effect akin to falling asleep at the wheel and getting broadsided by a truck. Which is okay by me, nothing like a little adrenaline to wake me up. Unfortunately, the Skinny Puppy on "Death" isn't quite the Skinny Puppy who bridged the gap between Throbbing Gristle and NIN. From The Process, released in 1996 and their last album, the lineup was in great turmoil; Nivek Ogre quit during the sessions and Dwayne Goettel died from a heroin overdose; leader cEvin Key was recovering from an injury he suffered on a movie set. Four producers were hired and fired, and the album was three years in the making. For all of this, "Death" isn't as bad as it might have been, and in its mixing and production it is fairly inspired. But it doesn't deliver the shocks the early band did, and the many disparate sonic touches, fairly tasty on their own, never quite come together as a whole.298. Big Head Todd and the Monsters: Bittersweet ****Somewhere between roots rock and jam band lies Big Head Todd and the Monsters, a trio from Colorado. "Bittersweet", from the 1991 debut Midnight Radio, is a pretty song, with nice slide guitar and lead from Todd Park Mohr; his vocals are a mix of Mark Knopfler, Colin Hay, and Dave Matthews (who had not yet emerged nationally). The song has a brisker tempo than anything the aforementioned trio of singers is usually associated with, giving Big Head Todd and the Monsters an agreeable toe-tap worthiness; the solo is an unexpectedly jangly one, and it hits some good resonance. It took some time for the band to break, but "Bittersweet" eventually found college airplay in 1993. The band's commercial peak was in 1994, the year jam band rock was becoming the next big thing, when Stratagem reached #30; they've been around ever since, but their sales have withered to almost nothing.299. George Thorogood: Move It On Over ****You either like George Thorogood or you don't. Perhaps only Weird Al Yankovic has found a norrower niche to call home and make a living at it. Thorogood is a one note performer; you get Chicago blues based rock 'n' roll, with pleanty of loud raucous guitar, and slide. As a white boy playing material BB King, Bo Diddley, Willie Dixon, Chuck Berry, Muddy Waters, and others had done to perfection years ago, Thorogood is excellent at what he does; the man can sure play guitar, and his vocals, while never his strong suit, are usually serviceable. So "Move It On Over" is typical Thorogood; a Hank Williams number raunched up with guitar slashes and plenty of energy. Hank WIlliams' original is still better, but this will still get the joint jumping. It appeared on CD for the first time in 1992 for the The Baddest of George Thorogood and the Destroyers anthology.300. Tanya Tucker: Don't Go Out With Him ***Tanya Tucker has been an off-and-on country fixture since hitting the charts in 1972, at the age of 13. By 1990 and Tennessee Woman, she was a veteran, and sounds like one here. Her voice has attained some gravel, and the arrangement is purely by-the-numbers contemporary country. On this cover of Foster & Lloyd's "Don't Go Out", she trades vocals with T. Graham Brown in a kind of dialog; while both singers gravelly voices lend the song a little soul, the production is so slick it flattens it completely. Tucker has done better material, although she never really attained first-tier status in country; her attempt to break into rock in 1978 with T.N.T. didn't really work out either. For fans only.Listen to New Riders of the Purple Sage: Dead Flowers (1976)Back | Next       Find 18 million rare CDs and out-of-print LPs at MusicStack

Posted on: 7 January 2006 | 8:18 am

Playlist: Rock 'n' Roll of the 1950's (Part 1: The Basics)

I know what you're thinking. The 1950's: who cares? The moldiest oldies of all, stuff even grandparents don't listen to anymore, music made largely by people who died long ago. Why bother with it?Most people acknowledge the importance of the 1950's rock 'n' roll artists. Most will concede that everything that has come since, from the Beatles to Led Zeppelin to the Replacements to Nirvana to New Pornographers somehow traces its roots, in circuitous ways or direct ones, back to the initial roster of names who combined blues, country, and r&b in the 1950's. But precious few actually play a Chuck Berry or Everly Brothers album anymore.A pity; not only were these recordings pretty amazing when they came out, essentially changing the face of American popular culture forever more, but they still sound great today, conjuring up an era that was partly space-age, partly Cold War paranoid, fairly segregated, partly prosperous, retrospectively kitschy, and subtly confident. A time capsule of a time and place now greatly changed.This is a two-part series; part one is an introduction, part two will look at the more undersung heroes of the 1950's.Some important/influential rock 'n' roll songs/artists of the 1950's were:1. Elvis Presley: Heartbreak HotelElvis Presley, who would have turned 71 this month had he lived, is arguably the single most important performer in rock history. He is also one of the biggest cultural icons the U.S. has ever produced, and as such, Presley's musical contributions are often overshadowed by his legend. Which is a pity; despite an uneven career that saw him go from rock pioneer to formulaic movie hack to popmeister to rock star again to the bloated caricature he ultimately became in his final years, he amassed a body of work that rivals anyone's and pretty much created the template for rock stardom. "Heartbreak Hotel" was Presley's first single for RCA records, released in March, 1956. Written by Tommy Durden and Mae Boren Axton, it was based upon a newspaper article Durden had seen that quoted a suicide note that included the line "I walk a lonely street". On it, Presley establishes the sound that would sustain him until he was drafted into the army; his expressive, dramatic croon, Scotty Moore's ringing guitar, Floyd Cramer's tinkling ivories, the distinctive walking bass. The song has blues progressions, but a country execution. "Heartbreak Hotel" peaked at #1, shifting Presley's career into high gear right from the outset. Presley placed 163 singles on the charts between 1956 and his death in 1977, a pace nobody is likely to ever replicate.2. Gene Vincent: Be Bop A LulaGene Vincent's "Be Bop A Lula" sounds not dissimilar to an Elvis Presley number, especially on the heels of "Heartbreak Hotel". His Blue Caps provided him with an instrumental assault similar to Presley's Jordanaires, highlighted by the stellar guitar of Cliff Gallup. Vincent's own croon bore a remarkable similarity to Presley's, and RCA rival Capital records promoted Vincent as a Presley rival. "Be Bop A Lula" went top-10 in 1956, and helped establish Vincent as one of the premiere rockabilly performers in the land. Unfortunately, Vincent was unable to keep up the career momentum Presley had. He charted a total of six singles, the last in 1958. In 1960, while on tour in England, Vincent's tourmate Eddie Cochran was killed in an auto accident, which had an effect on Vincent; his music grew tame and punchless. By 1963, Capitol had dropped him. His last moment as a footnote to rock history came in 1969 when he played at John Lennon's Live Peace in Toronto festival. In 1971, he died, after long running health problems coupled with excessive drinking finally did him in.3. Bo Diddley: Bo DiddleyDiddley only charted 11 singles in his lifetime, but his legend looms large; his songs have been covered hundreds of times; the Rolling Stones and Grateful Dead (among dozens of bands) borrowed some of his sound in creating their own; even Buddy Holly used his beat on occasion. His patented beat, instantly recognizable when it starts up, is as much a part of the musical lexicon as a Chuck Berry guitar riff. Diddley studied classical violin until a fateful day when he heard John Lee Hooker's primitive boogie blues for the first time; he then switched to r&b, developing his "freight train sound" with the help of maraca player and bandmate Jerome Green. Labelmate at Chess with rival Berry, Diddley's first single, "Bo Diddley"/"I'm A Man" remains one of the greatest ever released; "Bo Diddley" boasted a tribal-sounding polyrhythmic beat and nicely raunchy lyrics; it is one of the most covered songs of all time. Diddley's own guitar playing, with its odd phase shifting sound, is some of the best laid to wax in the 1950's. By 1962, his hits had dried up, but he remained an important live performer; in 1979, he toured with The Clash.4. Larry Williams: Bony MaronieNew Orleans native Larry Williams recorded for Specialty records, and got his big break when Little Richard decided to give up rock 'n' roll in 1957 for the ministry. Williams' first single, "Just Because" was recorded with Richard's backing band, and set the pace for Williams' subsequent output, which was brash and rocking in a style not dissimilar to Richard's. "Bony Maronie", featuring Williams' rowdy vocals and a great sax solo, peaked at #14 in 1957; while not his biggest hit, it remains his best known. Williams actually recorded many titles that are well known today, largely thanks to John Lennon, who recorded "Slow Down", "Bad Boy", and "Dizzy Miss Lizzy" with the Beatles, and "Just Because" and "Bony Maronie" solo; the Rolling Stones recorded "She Said Yeah". In 1959, Williams was busted for selling narcotics, which got him kicked off his label; he became a journeyman, recording for a variety of labels in the 1960's, but never regained his early momentum. In 1980, Williams was found dead with a gunshot wound to the head; his death was ruled a suicide, although speculation that it had been a homicide over a bad drug deal persists to this day.5. The Everly Brothers: Bye Bye LoveIt may be hard for a young person to work up much enthusiasm for the Everly Brothers these days. Unlike the 1950's rockers, The Everlys weren't known for muscle; their music in the 1950's consisted of polite 2-part harmony songs that were extremely melodic, plus a handful of lightweight rockers. That said, their influence is immense, having informed the Beatles, Simon and Garfunkel, and a myriad of country rock artists of the 1960's and 1970's. Don and Phil Everly recorded for Cadence records, after an early attempt at a country career failed on Columbia. "Bye Bye Love" from 1957 was their first hit. On it, the brothers harmonize over a Bo Diddley beat played on acoustic guitars, with an electric lead and other rock instrumentation included more for texture than propulsion. This set off an impressive string of hits, most of which are still familiar, that lasted through 1962, making them one of the few 50's acts to survive into the 60's. After their chart success had dimmed, they continued to make interesting records; their 1968 Roots LP was one of the key early country-rock releases in history. They had an acrimonious split in 1973, but resumed recording together in 1983, and had a minor hit with "On The Wings Of A Nightingale", written for them by Paul McCartney, in 1984.6. Jerry Lee Lewis: Great Balls of FireJerry Lee Lewis, "The Killer", pretty much is the original wildman of rock 'n' roll, a flamboyant piano pounder with a lust for life, getting into remarkable amounts of trouble every inch of the way, Lewis has somehow managed to survive to old age, turning 70 this year. Whereas Elvis Presley went out of his way to be personable and polite in his interviews in an effort to win over those offended by his hip gyrations, Lewis really didn't give a damn what people thought of him, and came across as a genuine threat; a long haired Southerner whose songs dripped with sexual imagery delivered with a reckless abandon that remains some of the grittiest, rawest rock 'n' roll ever recorded. He joined Presley, Johnny Cash, and Carl Perkins at Sam Phillips' Sun Records in 1956, already twice-divorced at the age of 21. "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On" was his raunchy debut from 1957; the leer in his voice is palpable even 50 years later. His next big hit was the intense "Great Balls of Fire" in 1958, which featured only Lewis' barrelhouse piano with bass and drums and an even wilder vocal; despite its spare instrumentation, it is one of the most powerful rock 'n' roll songs of the 1950's. Lewis' stardom was derailed by his own recklessness; just as he seemed poised to steal away Elvis' mantle, he married his 13-year-old cousin, which essentially got him blackballed from airplay. He made a comeback in the late 60's, and had repeated success on the country charts through the 1970's; he also continued to get into all kinds of trouble with booze, women, the I.R.S., and drugs. His career dried up again in the early 1980's, although he has occasionally reappeared since then.7. Bill Haley: Shake, Rattle, and RollBill Haley is another performer who is often underestimated 50 years later; remembered best for his 1954 classic "Rock Around The Clock", the first rock 'n' roll single to reach #1 (in 1955), and "See You Later Alligator", which remains a catchphrase to this day, he was a truly important figure, bridging a stripped down swing with rockabilly, creating a very unique sound that still carries a lot of punch today. Many of his lesser known hits are of a similar caliber or even superior to his biggest; "Shake Rattle and Roll", from 1954, predates the Billboard charts and was a standout in a career that had begun with a version of Jackie Brenston and the Delta Cats' proto-rock "Rocket 88" in 1951. "Shake Rattle and Roll", a standard covered by everyone from Count Basie to Big Joe Turner, has a swing rhythm, a great shouting chorus, a dirty-sounding sax solo, and some slashing guitar. Elvis Presley and Jerry Lee Lewis subsequently covered it. Haley, unfortunately, was a good deal older than his competitors; he turned 30 while "Rock around the Clock" was on the charts, and by the late 1950's he was already seen as a throwback to an earlier era. He continued to perform and record through the 60's, and was always a fascinating, intelligent interview, but never regained his stature; trouble with the I.R.S. sapped a lot out of him, too. In 1974, the success of the TV show Happy Days returned "Rock Around The Clock" to the charts, but Haley retired in 1975, spending his last few years battling severe psychological problems; he died in 1981.8. Chuck Berry: MaybellineElvis' only real rival for most important rock 'n' roll performer of the 1950's is Chuck Berry, and in many respects Berry is even more key. Unlike Presley, Berry was a gifted songwriter, and as a guitarist he virtually invented the language of rock guitar still in common currency today. Keith Richards owes everything to Chuck Berry. Berry, from East St. Louis, had begun his career as something of a novelty act; he played the blues (although he never was truly a bluesman; r&b was his strong suit), but he'd throw in rockabilly rhythms and sing in a goofy, hiccupy style as a spoof of the white performers across the river. This evolved into more elaborate crowd-pleasing moves like his famed duckwalk. Unwittingly at the time, Berry's marriage of r&b, blues, and rockabilly was the magic formula that created rock 'n' roll. "Maybelline", a #5 hit in 1955, put Berry in the spotlight nearly a year before Elvis hit the big time with "Heartbreak Hotel". Disarmingly simple, "Maybelline" benefits from Berry's rapidfire delivery of the lyrics, its distorted guitar, and its galloping rhythm. Berry was unstoppable through 1959, when he was imprisoned on dubious charges with racial overtones. While he enjoyed a renaissance in the 1960's, after the British Invasion bands championed him, and managed a token hit in 1972 with "My Ding A Ling", he never really was the same again. Still, he performed live well into his 70's; his enduring legacy seems assured.9. Jackie Brenston & His Delta Cats: Rocket 88Brenston is a name not too many people know, beyond musicologists. However, "Rocket 88", from 1951, is frequently cited as the very first true rock 'n' roll record ever. Featuring a lineup that included Chuck Berry's hometown rival Ike Turner (who wrote the song, even though Brenston wound up with the credit) on piano, which he pounds, the single was recorded at Sam Phillips' Sun Studios and Phillips' own production decision is what transforms the song from a jump blues number to rock 'n' roll. Guitarist Willie Kizart's amp fell off the roof of a car, smashing the speaker cone; when plugged in, it made the guitar sound like a saxophone. Phillips decided to use the amp, and Kizart's distorted guitar became a rhythm track. The song was actually recorded by Ike Turner's Kings of Rhythm, with saxophonist Brenston supplying vocals; however, when Phillips shipped the record off to Chess, who released it, the credit had changed to Jackie Brenston & His Delta Cats, with Brenston instead of Turner listed as songwriter. While "Rocket 88" was a smash, Brenston never was able to keep any momentum going. By 1962 he had retired and was driving a truck for a living; he died in 1979. Ike Turner, despite this considerable setback, enjoyed major success with wife Tina in the 60's and 70's before fading into obscurity himself.10. The Crickets: Not Fade AwayLike the Everly Brothers, Buddy Holly is an instantly familiar name who few listen to these days; even at his peak, his popularity never came close to his subsequent influence on some of the biggest names in rock history. His recording career is confusing; his first hit, "That'll Be The Day" on Coral records, from 1957, didn't bear his name, credited instead to the Crickets. This was part of an elaborate ruse to keep Decca records in the dark, as Decca had dropped him the previous year, and contractually prevented him from re-recording anything he had recorded for them, including the unreleased "That'll Be The Day". When Decca discovered who the singer was, they agreed to cancel the contract, and Coral executives managed to land Holly two contracts, one with Coral as a member of the Crickets, and one solo with Brunswick records. In this sense, Holly had two musical identities, as group member and solo performer. There's not a whole lot of difference in the music or musician lineups between the two careers, although the solo stuff tended to be slightly more pop oriented than the group material. Holly had all the makings of a long-term career when his plane crashed in 1959, claiming his life along with Richie Valens ("La Bamba") and The Big Bopper ("Chantilly Lace")11. Roy Orbison: Only The Lonely (Know How I Feel)Roy Orbison was one of the last major stars to emerge from the 1950's. Orbison mixed a basic rockabilly sensibility with his remarkable, melodramatic, operatic, quavery voice, which resembled nobody else's (Chris Isaak made a career out of a similar sound in the 80's-90's). Orbison originally recorded at Sun, along with Presley, Cash, Perkins, and Lewis, and had a minor hit "Oooby Dooby" in 1956; however, it was his only charting single until 1960. A fairly fuitless stint at RCA failed to ignite his career, and it wasn't until "Only The Lonely (Know How I Feel)" was released on Monument that he finally attained stardom. "Only The Lonely (Know How I Feel)" set the template from which he would draw for most of his career; largely a brooding, lonesome ballad with a softcore rockabilly underpinning, it peaked at #2, and was the first of 15 top-40 singles for Orbison from 1960-1965. Orbison managed to land a spot on a U.K. tour supporting the Beatles in 1963, and seemed poised to be the only major performer from the 1950's besides Presley to maintain a successful career into the mid-60's. However, an ill-advised switch to MGM wound up backfiring badly; MGM failed to give him the sympathetic production Monument had provided, and the hits dried up in 1966. Orbison enjoyed a brief comeback in the 1980's as member of the Traveling Wilburys supergroup, and a Jeff-Lynne produced solo album included his 1989 comeback/swansong hit "You Got It"; unfortunately, Orbison didn't get to see it make the top-10; he died in 1988.12. Duane Eddy: Rebel RouserThe word "twang" to describe a guitar sound is pretty much synonymous with Duane Eddy, whose instrumental rockers earned him 26 charting singles from 1958-1963. Eddy was a softer-core version of Link Wray, whose guitar instrumentals took on far greater menace than Eddy's mix of Chet Atkins and country/western. However, he was immensely more popular than Wray, and his albums were among the first rock albums (besides Presley's) to sell well enough to crack the top-10. Eddy's career owes a lot to Phoenix-based disc jockey Lee Hazlewood (later known for his work with Nancy Sinatra), who became his producer and encouraged him to make use of the lower strings on the guitar and play up that twang. "Rebel Rouser" is a remarkable piece of playing and production; one of the earliest production masterpieces of the rock era. Eddy gives the low strings a real workout, ratcheting up the key every 12 bars, which is run through a dense echo; the band jumps in robustly, and the song gathers momentum. Production-wise, a restless sax was overdubbed, as were war whoops by the Sharps, a black vocal group. "Rebel Rouser" reached #6 in 1958, his biggest hit. Eddy's subsequent hits were mostly in a similar vein, and when the British Invasion landed, he was out of fashion. He's kept working, and had a minor comeback in the mid-1980's. The Shadows owe a considerable debt to him, as does George Harrison.13. Link Wray: RumbleLink Wray's chief competitor as instrumental guitar hero was the maverick guitarist Link Wray, whose "Rumble" became the theme song for juvenile delinquents around the country in 1958, so much so that it was banned from radio airplay in many markets as a potential incitement to violence, despite the fact that it's a vocal-less guitar-bass-and-drums track. To be sure, the menace of this cut is palpable; Wray's distorted guitar scrapes through speakers he had intentionally punched holes in, for pure raunch factor. Rather than keeping a fast rhythm, like Duane Eddy, his guitar is slow and deliberate, dragging out chords. It is the very birth of the power chord itself; the primary guitar trick in heavy metal. Leather-clad, wearing shades, Wray himself looked like a menace, and was resistant to record company efforts to clean him up. This ultimately got him dropped from several labels, although he enjoyed success into the 60's releasing records on his own independent label. After a brief semi-retirement, Wray re-emerged in the early 1970's a rockabilly/roots-rock performer, still with the dark menace, and toured with Robert Gordon. "Rumble" remains one of the essential tracks in rock history. Wray died in 2005.14. Little Richard: Tutti FruttiLittle Richard (Richard Wayne Penniman), with his enormous pompadour, his raucous New Orleans style R&B, and his screaming vocals was one of the most distinctive stars of the 1950's, and ranks up there with Chuck Berry and Elvis Presley as one of rock's original architects. "Tutti Frutti", from 1956, was as original and exciting as anything from his competitors; a stomping, fast tempo rocker with Richard's trademark "whoo" (mimicked repeatedly by Paul McCartney) and vibrant piano accompanied by a hard rocking rhythm section and sax, it established Richard as a star right out of the gate. However, as was the custom of the day, a white artist was enlisted to cover the song to make it safe for teens, and Pat Boone's sanitized version outdid Richard's on the charts. Nonetheless, there was no question in any real rock 'n' roller's mind who had the best version, and Richard had some big smashes, "Long Tall Sally", "Rip It Up", "Ready Teddy", "Slippin' And Slidin"; song for song, he can hold his own with Berry himself. There's no telling how far he could have climbed if he hadn't abruptly retired in 1957 to pursue a career as a minister. He's fallen off the wagon a few times since; in the 60's and 70's he cut some good rock singles, although none sold well. He's also recorded gospel. Now 70, according to most bios, he seldom (but occasionally) makes public appearances.15. Ricky Nelson: Be Bop BabyRicky Nelson was a strange anomaly in rock history. As a kid who grew up on TV, in The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriett, he developed into the biggest teen idol in the land, more popular than Elvis in some quarters. When he took up a music career in 1957, after hearing the rock 'n' roll explosion of 1956, he was assured of wide exposure, and got it; he repeatedly reached the top-10 into the 1960's. Unlike rival teen idol Pat Boone, Nelson actually could rock; he wasn't a crooner. For his records, he hired guitarists James Burton and Joe Maphis, who supplied real rockabilly grit, and Nelson was committed. So while many of his hits lean towards syrupy teen idol pop, many of them are also very good rockabilly-pop numbers; what they lack in raunch, they make up for in playing and execution. Nelson's vocals avoided Boone's cloying croon, and borrowed hints from Carl Perkins and Elvis Presley. "Be Bop Baby" was his first hit, from 1957, and established his essential approach; if not the greatest rock 'n' roll ever, it is still pretty good, and essential for rockabilly musicologists (an admittedly small demographic). Following the cancellation of The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriett in 1966, Nelson was a has-been, and knew it; he used his washed-up status as a theme for his major 1972 comeback single "Garden Party". His career extended into the 1980's, and is an uneven body of country music; he died in a plane crash in 1985.16: Johnny Cash: I Walk The LineJohnny Cash, whose career spanned into the 2000's, ultimately proved himself to be the longest lasting of all the 1950's rockers, managing a top-40 on the Modern Rock charts with "Hurt" in 2003, just prior to his death. Cash began playing guitar while in the Air Force in 1954, and recorded his first sides at Sun records, "I Walk The Line" was his first #1, a massive hit spending six weeks in the top slot. A slow rocker with a twang to the guitar, and Cash's rich, deep, resolute vocals, it remains a fairly familiar song today; his other early Sun sides are in a similar vein. In 1958, he switched to Columbia records, which saw his sound drift from his early Sun sound to a more conventional country. However, Cash was never conventional; his willingness to cover such artists as Bob Dylan in the 60's was rare in country music. Marrying June Carter of the Carter Family also moved him to explore Appalachian music. He never really was a "rock" performer again until Rick Rubin engineered his comeback in 1994, although on the strength of his early Sun singles alone, he earns his place among rock 'n' roll heroes of the 1950's.17. Lloyd Price: Lawdy Miss Clawdy"Lawdy Miss Clawdy" is another rock 'n' roll classic from the pre-Elvis era; recorded in 1952, was an enormous r&b hit, and on musical terms it comes awfully close to rock 'n' roll. It's a slow-tempo New Orleans r&b number with Price's bluesy wail, a great sax break, tinkling ivories, and a rhythm section that works up a good head. It was a great start to a career, and four more hits followed. Then, Price was abruptly drafted and shipped off to the Korean War. When he left the military, the musical climate had changed, and Price left his early New Orleans sound in pursuit of a more rock 'n' roll/r&b sound, utilizing horn sections and guitars. This second phase of his career was more successful than the first, yielding enduring hits like "Just Because" and "Stagger Lee"18. Carl Perkins: Blue Suede ShoesRounding out the remarkable talent roster at Sun records, which included Presley, Lewis, Cash, and Orbison, was Carl Perkins, considered the first great popularizer of rockabilly. The son of sharecroppers, Perkins landed at Sun in 1954, and had a huge hit in 1956 with the instantly familiar "Blue Suede Shoes", which has become an institution itself. On its release, Perkins was the biggest rock star in the land; this moment alone in the spotlight lasted weeks until Elvis Presley appeared on the Dorsey Brothers Stage Show. He subsequently was overshadowed by Presley, and his work overshadowed by "Blue suede Shoes", but he nontheless recorded some of the best songs of the era, including "Matchbox", "Honey Don't", "Everybody's Tryin' To Be My Baby", and "Your True Love", among others. Perkins left Sun for Columbia when Johnny Cash did, but his career fizzled there. He had a few comeback attempts of varying success over the years, but never regained his glory; he died in 1998.19. Eddie Cochran: Twenty Flight RockWho knows where Eddie Cochran would have gone, had he not been killed in a car crash in 1960. He occupied a very interesting niche between Carl Perkins and Link Wray; he played a rockabilly with a fat, power-chord laden, distorted guitar sound that he had all to himself. "Twenty Flight Rock" is all that and more, and has a very special place in rock history: it was the song Paul McCartney played for John Lennon in 1957 to convince him to let him join the Quarrymen, forever altering the face of rock music. Cochran's "Summertime Blues" is his signature song, one of the songs pointing towards heavy metal in the distant future. "C'Mon Everybody" was his other greatest hit, and gave him a top-10 in England in 1959. 20. Fats Domino: Ain't That A ShameYet another New Orleans R&B performer who left an indelible mark on rock history, Fats Domino (Antoine Domino Jr.) specialized in a pounding piano-heavy r&b with some blues overtones, and jaunty rhythms that propelled his music into rock 'n' roll territory. The best selling black performer of the 1950's, his career is also the oldest, his first release was "The Fat Man" in 1949. "Ain't That A Shame", from 1955, is a stately rocker and standard now, featuring a rollicking rhythm, and Domino's distinct vocals. Other huge hits followed, including "Blueberry Hill" and "I'm Walking,", all on the cusp of r&b and rock. By 1963, he was pretty much out of fashion, and a change of labels to ABC, which also lured Ray Charles from Atlantic, didn't restore his fortunes. Still, remained a popular live act for decades since, a fixture in New Orleans, until he briefly went missing (and was rescued) during hurricane Katrina.Listen to Bill Haley and His Comets: Shake Rattle & Roll (1953)Freeway Jam was on 3-week vacation; me be catching up now...       Find 18 million rare CDs and out-of-print LPs at MusicStack

Posted on: 5 January 2006 | 1:03 pm

Weekend Reissue Roundup #34 12/31/05

      Artist: Album (label, release date) 1-5 starsThe Association: Windy & Other Hits (Collectables, December 27, 2005) **Ambrosia: How Much I Feel and Other Hits (Collectables, December 27, 2005) **The Spinners: I'll Be Around & Other Hits (Collectables, December 27, 2005) ***Average White Band: Pick Up the Pieces (Collectables, December 27, 2005) ***The lack of Weekend Reissue Roundups this month haven't been due to laziness; there have been far fewer reissues this month than usual, including this week. However, the sometimes-good, sometimes-lousy reissue label Collectables have dusted off four 10-song budget-priced Rhino Flashback titles this week; while none are satisfactory compilations, they may come in handy for those filling gaps in their collections. The caveats are described below.The Association: Windy & Other HitsThis Association compilation is a perfect example of what's wrong with these releases. While it does have the #1 1967 hit "Windy", it manages to leave out "Never My Love" (the second most played song on the radio in history), a #2 hit from 1967 and perhaps their most sublime moment of pop brilliance. Also absent is the familiar lush pop standard "Cherish", which reached #1 in 1966. Not here too, is their psychedelic stab at acid rock, "Six Man Band" which charted in 1969. That's their three best songs missing; the best of the lot here is "Windy", "Everything That Touches You", a 1969 top-10 that sounds like a re-write of "Cherish", and the band's 1966 debut hit "Along Comes Mary". The Association weren't a heavy 60's band; their sound had more in common with the Four Freshman than Jefferson Airplane. But they did play at the Monterey Pop Festival, and managed to chart albums until 1972. Formed in Los Angeles in 1964 as a 13-member group called the Men, they originally pursued a folk-rock sound, but by the time of their debut they had been trimmed to a six-member group and pretty much gone strictly pop. Their best hits, especially "Never My Love", are pretty good, and their occasional forays into rock weren't embarrassments. Most noteworthy was the lush production, done by Curt Boettcher. The Association's Greatest Hits on Warners is still the best introduction.Ambrosia: How Much I Feel and Other HitsJust like the other discs in the series, this doesn't even pretend to be inclusive. Most people know Los Angeles-based Ambrosia through the mellow pseudo-soul pop/rock of "How Much I Feel", easily their best hit, one of the better FM pop hits of 1978. Prior to 1978, Ambrosia was more of a progressive rock band, mixing orchestral sounds with pop, as on their earlier chart hits "Holdin' on to Yesterday" and "Nice, Nice, Very Nice", as well as their version of the Beatles' "Magical Mystery Tour" none of which are included here. Which would be OK, we can start from 1978 with the pop stuff and not miss much. But "Biggest Part of Me", a #3 hit from 1978 isn't here either. The bland "You're The Only Woman" is here, as is "I Just Can't Let Go", and that covers the "Other Hits" in the title. The rest are album cuts mainly from their two biggest albums Life After L.A. from 1978 and One Eighty from 1980, and sound like weak Hall and Oates cuts. Try the much better Anthology on Warners.The Spinners: I'll Be Around & Other HitsA good Spinners anthology is a good thing to have; the Spinners were very arguably the best early 70's Philly soul group (transplanted from Detroit) in a crowded field of good groups; their hits from their 1971-1976 peak are quite memorable; "Could It Be I'm Falling In Love", "They Just Can't Stop It (Games People Play)", and "Then Came You" are great songs that dressed up the wasteland of AM radio in their day, and still sound great now; sweet, sexy, and soulful. And yes, you guessed it, none of these seminal hits are included on this disc. What is here? The hits "I'll Be Around", "The Rubberband Man", "Ghetto Child", "I'm Coming Home", "One of A Kind (love Affair)" and five ringers; needless to say nothing from their earlier (and spottier) years at Motown in the 1960's is included. A little better than the Ambrosia and Association discs, but the album to buy here is The Best of The Spinners, on Atlantic.Average White Band: Pick Up the PiecesThis band always had a very truthful name. A white funk/r&b band, specializing in instrumentals, they had an enormous #1 hit in 1975 with "Pick Up the Pieces", a funky little number that turns up in movies and commercials every day. It's probably their best hit, although their second best and second biggest hit, "Cut The Cake", is missing. "School Boy Crush", "Queen of My Soul", and "If I Ever Lose This Heaven" make it in, fortunately, making this an almost okay collection of the band's hits. Which raises the question: why leave out "Cut The Cake?" What was Rhino thinking when they compiled these? It's true they're budget releases, but who would want any of these releases? The record to buy here is Pickin' Up the Pieces: The Best of Average White Band (1974-1980), on Rhino.Also out this week: three albums from obscure 70's prog-rock group Jak the Lad, Its Jak (sic), Old Straight Track, and Rough Diamonds on EMI; Miles Davis' Cellar Door Sessions 1970, on Sony, and Marc Almond and the Willing Sinners' Mother Fist and Her Five Daughters, on Some Bizarre.       Find 18 million rare CDs and out-of-print LPs at MusicStack

Posted on: 31 December 2005 | 1:31 am

Gary Glitter Faces 12 Years On Sex Charge

Former glam rock superstar Gary Glitter will be tried in Vietnam for commiting obscene acts upon children, dodging the more serious charge of child rape, which carries a potential penalty of death by firing squad, The Globe and Mail and Ireland Online are reporting this week. The trial is scheduled for February.Child abuse and child pornography have been a recurring issue with the 61 year old Glitter (Paul Francis Gadd); in 1999, he was sentenced to four months imprisonment (and served two) for possessing over 4000 hardcore pornographic images of children as young as two on his computer.Glitter's biggest hit should be instantly familiar to anyone reading this; the tribal-sounding stompfest "Rock & Roll, Pt. 2", co-written with producer Mike Leander, is played at nearly every sporting event in the country, is featured in nearly any movie that has a sports scene, and is played by every marching band in any stadium.While his popularity in America was limited to two top-40 singles in 1972 (including "Rock & Roll, Pt. 2"), and his best selling album, Glitter (1972) peaked at #186, he remained popular and fairly beloved in England until his crimes were revealed.Since then, there have been few who have fallen so far so fast; while details of Glitter's past six years have been sketchy at best, what is known is pretty disgraceful; herein lays the story of ultimate rock star narcissism, taken to a tawdry, ugly, dead end.His downfall began in 1997, when he took his computer to a Bristol computer shop for repairs. On it, a technician found images of hardcore child pornography and called police; the police characterized the photographs as "hard-core, sick and degrading" involving children as young as two being sexually abused, tortured, bound, gagged and blindfolded. In 1999 he was sentenced to four months in Horfield Prison, Bristol, and was released after two months.After his release, his whereabouts have raised red flags. He moved to Cuba briefly in 2000, but when the British press became aware of his location, he relocated to Cambodia.In 2003 he was deported from Cambodia after allegations of child abuse cropped up there.Glitter was arrested on Saturday, Nov. 17, 2005 as he tried to leave Vietnam for Bangkok from Tan Son Hnat airport in Ho Chi Minh City. The incident for which he was arrested involved sexual relations with a 12-year-old girl and a 15-year-old girl at his home. Although the younger girl has admitted Glitter paid her the equivalent of $9.50 for sex, she is below the age of legal consent. In all, six females in Vietnam between the ages of 11 and 23 have admitted to having sex with Glitter, according to Associated Press. More serious capital charges were dropped after Glitter paid $2,000 each to the families of two Vietnamese girls, ages 11 and 12, who had accused him of coercing them into sex, the Bangkok Times reports.While the charges carry a 12 year sentence, under Vietnamese law, criminals can be kept indefinitely until the local commune of authority is willing to let them back into society. Vietnamese prisons are known for their harsh, unsanitary conditions, manual labor, and compulsary and frequent repenting for one's crimes, often in writing.Even if Glitter is found not guilty, he can still be proseuted in the U.K., where he is on the sex offenders register, under the 1996 Sex Offenses Act, which prohibits British citizens from engaging in "sex tourism".Glitter, despite having paid the families of two girls, denies any wrongdoing. According to Associated Press, Glitter maintains that when the girls came to his house, "he put them in the guest room. But in the middle of the night, they said they were very afraid of ghosts and they cannot sleep. So they came to his room and slept there," according to Glitter's Vietnam-based attorney, Le Thankh Kinh. At another time, when Glitter had told them emphatically that they could not enter his bed, "the girls explained to him that in Vietnamese families, the father, the mother and the children sleep in one bed," the attorney said. Glitter joins Eric Franklin Rosser, former keyboard player for John Mellencamp, on the rock 'n' roll sexual predators list. Rosser, who was profiled on America's Most Wanted, was arrested in Thailand in 2001 by FBI agents.       Find 18 million rare CDs and out-of-print LPs at MusicStack

Posted on: 29 December 2005 | 10:47 pm