Midnight On The Stormy Deep… By And For Doc Watson

I absolutely love this title… When looking through the volumes and volumes of Doc Watson records and recordings this is one of my favorite songs and collections, and it instantly grabbed me… It is a great place to start… and has some nice live recordings as well.

Doc Watson – Midnight On The Stormy Deep

Ahhh, American music.  It is so rich.  It has deep tradition and roots, and has birthed some of the most enduring genres… blues, jazz and Rock n’ Roll.

On May 29, 2012 the world of music lost a legend and a true ambassador.

The following is from Wikipedia…

Arthel Lane “Doc” Watson ”was an American guitarist, songwriter and singer of bluegrass, folk,country, blues and gospel music. Watson won seven Grammy awards as well as a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. Watson’s flatpicking skills and knowledge of traditional American music are highly regarded. He performed with his son Merle for over 15 years until Merle’s death in 1985, in an accident on the family farm.”

I have really loved going back and listening, as it has been a while since I have really sat down with his music.  It is so simple, but so deep and pure… and when you hear his playing… not that simple at all.

Despite a life filled with tragedy, he always had a sense of humor.  I can totally hear Arlo Guthrie doing “Alice’s Restaurant Massacree” when I hear “Doc’s Tune”.

Wikipedia talks about the beginnings…

“Watson was born in Deep Gap, North Carolina. According to Watson on his three-CD biographical recording Legacy, he got the nickname “Doc” during a live radio broadcast when the announcer remarked that his given name Arthel was odd and he needed an easy nickname. A fan in the crowd shouted “Call him Doc!” presumably in reference to the literary character Sherlock Holmes’s sidekick Doctor Watson. The name had stuck ever since.

An eye infection caused Doc Watson to lose his vision before his first birthday. Despite this, he was taught by his parents to work hard and care for himself. He attended North Carolina’s school for the visually impaired, The Governor Morehead School, in Raleigh, North Carolina.

In a 1989 radio interview with host Terry Gross on the Fresh Air show of National Public Radio (NPR), Watson explains how he got his first guitar. His father told him that if he and his brother (David Watson) chopped down all the small, dead, chestnut trees along the edge of their field, he could sell the wood to the tannery and make money. The brothers did the work and Watson bought a $10 Stella guitar from Sears Roebuck while his brother bought a new suit.  Later in that same interview, Watson explained that his first high quality guitar was a Martin Guitar D-18.

Watson’s earliest influences were the roots of country, including the Carter Family and Jimmy Rodgers. The first song he learned to play on the guitar was “When Roses Bloom in Dixieland”, first recorded by the Carter Family in 1930. Watson stated in an interview with American Songwriter that, “Jimmy Rodgers was the first man that I started to claim as my favorite.”  Watson proved to be a natural musical talent and within months was performing on local street corners playing songs from the Delmore Brothers, Louvin Brothers, and Monroe Brothers alongside his brother Linny. By the time Watson reached adulthood, he had become a proficient acoustic and electric guitar player.”

Music has been hit hard as of late, so we really must take stock in what we have and celebrate it every day.  Let us never forget all who have come before… the ground they have laid, the gin joints and road houses they have played, the path they have made and all the love and music they gave.  Amen.

Plant A Garden And Get Ready For Stephen Duffy And Lilac Time To Really Grow On You

I love riding on a train of thought.  It can be so pure sometimes, and lead you in wonderful directions.

In fact, when I was a kid I was obsessed with trains.  I loved every thing about them, especially the old classics.  That was a time, huh?  I still dream of having a huge basement and a model train set up… That’s a long way off… Maybe too long.  But a kid can dream.  So can an adult.  Don’t let anyone tell you differently.

So Duran Duran leads us directly into this band… Maybe I knew that Stephen Duffy was in Duran Duran, but for some really odd reason, I think it was a revelation to me yesterday.  Then again, my memory is so bad lately.  Seriously… like so bad that I want to get a brain scan… and I do not say that lightly.  People will say things to me and I have no recollection of what they are talking about.

Now I am sure the amount of stress I carry around does not help, so I think I will try fish oil and meditation for a while… and I do have Dr. Amen’s book…

AllMusic says this… “Stephen Duffy could have been the Pete Best of the ’80s. Just as  Best was no longer a member of the Beatles when the Fab Four became household names, Duffy departed from Duran Duran before that group exploded on MTV.”

The Lilac Time – Compendium (The Fontana Trinity)

The band formed in 1988 and did not last long, breaking up in 1991, but they made some stellar pop… and a reformation and comeback album in 1999 called Looking For A Day In The Night is considered a pop masterpiece.  While I decided to put on this two-disc, monster collection with 45 tracks (I figured folks could listen on Spotify), here is what AllMusic says about their debut and career…

“The Lilac Time’s self-titled debut is the start of a perfect career. Right off the bat, Stephen Duffy and company mix poetry, pop melodies, and folk instrumentation to create songs of endless charm, mesmerizing passion, and tantalizing atmosphere. Accordions, acoustic guitars, woodwinds, exotic percussion, and Duffy’s pensive voice all work toward an uplifting sadness rarely heard this side of Nick Drake.”

“Drawing favorable and justified comparisons to both the Smiths and Drake is quite an achievement in itself. That The Lilac Time would continue to reach such lofty heights is a testament to the songwriting prowess and subtle musical mastery of Duffy and his band of folk popsters. This fascinating debut is certainly a mini-masterpiece, and it’s the first step in a remarkable career that would bear additional masterpieces over multiple decades to follow.”

This band came to me from my buddy Rob and is in that vein of British Power Pop, which is never a bad thing… at least to me.  It also means, quite simply, that you will hear influences from The Beatles and later bands like The Smiths.  Songs like “Fields” and “The Lost Girl In The Midnight Sun” will have you hearing George Harrison in particular.

“Love Becomes A Savage” brings in a taste of Nick Drake… and “Black Velvet” and “Return To Yesterday” have classic, troubadour elements… lush and lovely.

This is a lot of music to go through, but I really think you will enjoy it immensely… and maybe even remember a few tunes from your college radio days.

A Sad, Sunny Day… Comfort Music With A Decade Of Duran Duran

It’s 80 degrees in the LA area and not a cloud in the sky… It should be the perfect day.  So why isn’t it?

Between Good Morning America and the news on AOL, I feel like crawling into a hole…Earthquake in Italy, Etan Patz, Syria executing children… EXECUTING CHILDREN!  Murder, kidnapping, Iran having enough plutonium and know how to make 5 bombs, hunger in North Korea… the list goes on.

Yes, I know that the news must report these things and they feel like they must sensationalize them… Although to be honest, these don’t need much sensationalized.  They are pretty horrific with the facts and just the facts, M’am.

You almost have to put blinders on sometimes… Or else you really would not want to get out of bed or out of the protective, soothing waters of your shower…

So what do you do?  You focus on the things you have control over… yourself and your family and friends.  You be the best whatever it is you can be and above all, you be the best human being you can be.

So there it is… You control what you have control over.  You release what you don’t and you breathe into it all… and you listen to some music that will change your mood.

Duran Duran – Decade

So for a brief moment I turned my radio dial off of 100.3 The Sound and KCRW (or KCSN on the weekends…) to find myself on Jack FM… It’s like junk food… Every once in a while you just need a taste.

And there it was… “Rio” by Duran Duran… Ahhh… At that moment I knew what I needed today.

This is a band who lived on FM radio and MTV.  At least my FM radio and my MTV!  When their songs come on the radio or the stereo of a store or mall I have to watch myself… It can be embarrassing to see me start to sing or dance… especially dance.

I am waiting for the new show Dancing With The Not Yet Stars… I do need some help in that regard!

But I do have to say… the music always puts a smile on my face… and I can SO see their videos play in my mind.

My favorite song by far is “Save A Prayer” and “View To A Kill”… Hey, I’m a sucker for all things Bond!  “Rio” and “Hungry Like The Wolf” top my list, too!

AllMusic gives us this history of the band:  ”Inspired by David Bowie and Roxy Music, as well as post-punk and disco, schoolmates Nick Rhodes (keyboards) and John Taylor (guitar) formed Duran Duran in 1978 with their friends Simon Colley (bass, clarinet) and Stephen Duffy (vocals). Taking their name from a character in Roger Vadim’s psychedelic sci-fi film Barbarella, the group began playing gigs in the Birmingham club Barbarella, supported by a drum machine. Within a year, Duffy and Colley both left the group – Duffy would later form the Lilac Time – and were replaced by former TV Eye vocalist Andy Wickett and drummer Roger Taylor. After recording a demo, John Taylor switched to bass and guitarist John Curtis joined the band, only to leave within a matter of months. The group placed an ad in Melody Maker, which drew the attention of Andy Taylor, who became their guitarist. However, Duran Duran were still having trouble finding a vocalist. Following Wickett’s departure in 1979, a pair of singers passed through the group before Simon LeBon, a former member of the punk band Dog Days and a drama student at Birmingham University, joined in early 1980.”

So three things…

First, if you do not know Lilac Time, run as fas as you can… Their music is stunning and amongst my absolute favorite.

Second… I did not know until this moment that it was the same Stephen Duffy… As much as I know about music, I can be so dumb sometimes… Duh!!!

Third, none of the Taylors are related.  FYI… Fun little fact…

Sadly Duran Duran would not last past the ’80s… at least as big as they were.  Yet other albums would follow, and they did have a monster hit with “Ordinary World” in 1993.  Last year’s effort produced by Mark Ronson, All You Need Is Now, did garner good reviews but it is often impossible to regain that height… although I do give them kudos for keeping it going.  As long as it is about the music, that is a good thing!

So as I look down and see my beautiful, sweet dog lying at my feet I know that life is not so bad… but as soon as I leave this page, that only moments before was blank… I know my screen will be filled with horrific images from around the world… and the tears will well up in my eyes and deep in my soul… and I’ll ask myself “how did I get here.”

In the meantime, let’s focus on the music and let that soothe our news weary souls.

In Memory Of All Who Protect Us – A Hunk, A Hunk Of Elvis Presley

Look, here’s the thing… no one is pro-war… Well… no one except Dick Cheney and the companies who make billions off weaponry.

Not one of us like to see soldiers killed or wounded, but there are a few things to keep in mind:

1)  Being pro-military does NOT make you pro-war.  It means you support the men and women of the armed forces for protecting us and this great nation of ours.  They more than deserve our respect and honor, and this MUST mean while they are in action, and AFTER they come home.  Too many are forgotten about and left to their own demons and this is wrong.  We put them there and we simply must take care of them when they return.  They do a job most of us cower from.

2)  We MUST acknowledge that there is a very real enemy out there… Not something imagined and made up for the sake of a rallying cry or an excuse to send troops into action in order to deflect the other issues debilitating the country… Hatred and bigotry and ignorance are running rampant, and allowing young men and women to strap themselves with belts and underwear made of explosives for the sole purpose of killing us.  Fanaticism is real.  It must be dealt with swiftly… and if you think it is a problem “over there” you are wrong.  It starts over there, it is trained over there, for the sole purpose of bringing it over HERE… and adding terror and fear to our daily repertoire.  If you want to understand what daily fear is… check out Israel, who thwarts at least one attack daily… DAILY!

This country is knocking itself down on its own… We are becoming obese and a lot less educated.  Our life expectancy is decreasing instead of increasing.  We are destroying the environment and its natural resources.  This also must stop.  Seriously.  We need to rediscover what makes this country so great… We need to come together as a people and realize that IS our responsibility to take care of each other… It is our responsibility to heal the world… NOT RULE IT… HEAL IT!

Freedom is an amazing thing.  It must be respected and honored and cherished.  So on this Memorial Day let us remember that… Let us remember those who have come before us and served and worked so hard to make this a true United States of America.

For all of them and all of you…

Elvis Presley - The Essential Elvis Presley

I wanted to come up with something quintessentially American… It was a challenge… Willie Nelson and Johnny Cash immediately jumped to mind… and then Elvis Presley.

They all have elements of Americana… in their music and in their lives.  Triumphs and tragedies… the American dream, and the American nightmare.  Riches and vices… happiness and heartbreak.  There are many artists that signify what this country is about… many bands associated with this country…

I thought of Bruce and the iconic album cover for Born In The USA… but I already did that album… and Elvis just felt right.

So here is a lovely 40-song, 2-disc collection that says it all.  For a man who served in the Army and a man who gave us so much… For a man who had so much and lost so much…

Enjoy your Memorial Day, but take a moment to remember how and why we got here.  Don’t live in the Heartbreak Hotel… but every once in a while peek your head in and let it humble you and give you strength and above all… lots of love!

Sunday, Sunday, Sunday… Great Music For A Long Weekend – Brinsley Schwarz Surrender To The Rhythm

I remember walking into Amoeba Records one day and hearing “(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love And Understanding” over the store stereo, but it was not the Elvis Costello version I knew so well.  It was a great, almost ’60s sounding take, and I would learn later that THIS was the original.  I was smitten.

I went up to the front desk and I saw this CD in the stand that said “Now Playing”.  So in keeping with country/folk rock, which seems to be a theme in the last few days, I give you a phenomenal band and collection!!!

Brinsley Schwarz – Surrender To The Rhythm

This is a greatest hits collection and one of those delightful, make the weekend better kind of records.

You will hear the great country rock bands like Crosby, Stills & Nash and Gram Parsons in “Country Girl” and Van Morrison in tracks like “Surrender To The Rhythm”.  Both so delicious.

I had never heard this term until I heard this band, but if this is “pub rock” pour me another!

AllMusic says “Pub rock, the English roots rock movement of the early ’70s, would never have earned a cult following if it wasn’t for Brinsley Schwarz. Initially, Brinsley Schwarz was a rambling, neo-psychedelic folk-rock band that borrowed heavily from Crosby, Stills & Nash and the Grateful Dead. Following a disastrous publicity stunt to promote its debut album, the band went into seclusion outside of London and developed a laid-back, rootsy sound inspired by Eggs Over Easy, an American band that had been playing a mixture of originals and covers in English pubs. Following their conversion to pub rock, the Brinsleys ditched their pretensions of stardom and became a down to earth, self-effacing rock & roll band. Between 1971 and 1974, Brinsley Schwarz toured England innumerable times, playing pubs across the country. Along the way, they established a circuit for similar bands like Dr. Feelgood and Ducks Deluxe to follow. Though the group was nominally guitarist Brinsley Schwarz’s band, bassist/lead vocalist Nick Lowe provided the bulk of the group’s songs. Lowe developed a distinctive songwriting voice — conversational, melodic, offbeat, and funny — and the band was infused with his skewed sense of humor. Despite strong reviews and a dedicated fan base, the Brinsleys never managed to escape cult status, yet they influenced a legion of other artists, creating an underground, back-to-basics movement that laid the foundation for punk rock.”

And yes, they are talking about THAT Nick Lowe!!!  As for ”(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love And Understanding”… Nick Lowe wrote that tune… Elvis just happened to sing the most known version of it, but now you can hear the original take.

I guarantee you will like this one all the way through… It is 20 tracks of great music…

So in honor of the long weekend and all who have sacrificed so much for all of us, here is a nice long set of “pub rock.”  Drink it all in!

Soaring Oh So High With The Eagles

No, not literally… Not even metaphorically.  Well, I guess metaphorically since I am not actually up in the air flying, nor high on any substance other than what my ears are breathing in.

Yes, I can breathe through my ears.  Today, I am breathing music… Specifically the Eagles.

I just looked through my Eagles stash and realized that none of my CDs are of the remastered persuasion.  That sucks.  I mean I have had them for years so I suppose I was not expecting it… but it would have been nice.  According to some of the reviews on-line, the remastering is amazing.  The same cannot be said of some of the Stones remasters, which I guess have issues… Then again, there ALWAYS seem to be issues with remasters… People are so amazingly opinionated about it and if you read reviews you get the full gamut of emotions and critiques, good and bad and definitely in the middle.

I wish I was more of an audiophile, including having my old stereo equipment back.  I think I have a pretty good ear… and I still have some good pieces in my parents’ basement… but the irony of listening to iTunes through an iPod and not on a kick ass stereo with an equalizer is that you lose the highs and the lows… The files are very compressed and take away a lot of things a good ear can hear.

I am all for artists making money.  They certainly deserve it.  And I know technology changes quickly.  But it does make me crazy to buy a CD or DVD and then months later have a “reissue” or “remaster” come out… and then months after that have another new version with bonus tracks and unreleased goodies.

To their credit, The Eagles have not done this so far.  It looks like one set of remasters and that is it.  So for all of those who call them money-grubbing sell outs, you can kiss my —!

Every time I write about this band I always have to address the rift they seem to cause… Either folks love them, like me… or they hate them… and when I say hate, I actually mean HATE!  What gives people?

This is a band who honors those who came before them… The Byrds, The Flying Burrito Brothers, Gram Parsons, et. al… and honor country and rock and the singer-songwriter tradition.

Eagles – Eagles

I guess they are not, technically THE Eagles… just Eagles… Get it?  Got it?  Good.

The original four were bassist Randy Meisner, multi-instrumentalist Bernie Leadon, Detroit boy Glenn Frey and Texan Don Henley.  Of course all four sang, and lush and rich vocal and harmonies would become their signature.

This was their debut and it came out in 1972.

AllMusic describes the way they came together… “Frey and Henley were hired to play in Linda Ronstadt’s backup band. Meisner and Leadon also played backup for Ronstadt during her summer tour, though the four only did one gig together: a July show at Disneyland. They did, however, all appear on Ronstadt’s next album, Linda Ronstadt.  In September 1971, Frey, Henley, Leadon, and Meisner signed with manager David Geffen, agreeing to record for his soon-to-be-launched label, Asylum Records; soon after, they adopted the name the Eagles. In February 1972, they flew to England and spent two weeks recording their debut album, Eagles, with producer Glyn Johns. It was released in June, reaching the Top 20 and going gold in a little over a year and a half on the strength of two Top Ten hits — “Take It Easy” and “Witchy Woman” — and one Top 20 hit, “Peaceful Easy Feeling.”

We all know who would take over the band… and other members would come and go, sometimes in rather harsh fashion like the bitter break with Don Felder… But the core duo of Don and Glenn, along with Joe Walsh and Timothy B. Schmit have stuck it out for quite a while.

Their music has always meant a lot to me… My second concert ever was at Giants Stadium in 1980 with The Little River Band, Heart and The Eagles… What a day and what a show that was.  Many years later, out in LA, I got to meet Don Henley and wound up having a long, wonderful conversation with him about education… Amazing man.

This is one of those bands who has just stuck with me and given me a lot of listening pleasure… And this style of music… country/folk/singer-songwriter rock… makes up a lot of what I listen to… from the classic makers like this band and Jackson Browne to alt. country bands and artists like Wilco, Ryan Adams and Dawes.

I can also tell you I tried to learn almost all of these songs on the guitar… Did not get too far, which explains my lack of a career as a rock star… but I did all right… Sigh…

So go and enjoy your long weekend… fly high and stay thirsty, my friends.

Much More Than Somebody That I Used To Know… Gotye Is Making Mirrors Shine!

It’s funny… I was intending on doing this as my first re-visit… You know, listening to an album and then coming back to it months or even a year later and seeing how and if it still grabs me… But somehow I missed doing this one in the first place.  I know I have spoken about Gotye, so how did that happen???

I know… nice.  I am so behind the times doing this record now, but it is what it is… and it is what grabbed my fancy today.  You thought I was going to say bum, didn’t you.  You crazy people!

So… my introduction to Gotye was through my brother and the Walk Off The Earth video.  This was infectious and incredibly viral.  It now has over 111 million hits… Holy s–t!  He had not heard of Goy tee… that is how we were pronouncing it… and so began the journey to find the original.  The live version at KCRW is my favorite, hands down… even better than the one on the album here.

Now I have heard it pronounced “Go Tee Ay” and thought that was correct, but I believe I read an interview with him where he said it was “Gore Tee Ay.”  Regardless, it is a made up stage name for Wally de Backer.

AllMusic says he was “born in Belgium and raised in Melbourne, de Backer began making music in his bedroom as a teen, and for several years fronted the rock band Downstares. After the group dissolved, he gravitated toward cut-and-paste electronic music, and in 2003 issued the first Gotye album, Boardface… In 2011 Gotye released Making Mirrors, featuring a duet with vocalist Kimbra, “Somebody That I Used to Know.” The song became a global hit in 2012, charting in Billboard’s Hot 100 and Rock Songs charts.”

To say the least… this song is phenomenal.  It sticks in your brain and does not leave for weeks… and yes, I love Kimbra… LOVE her.

Gotye – Making Mirrors

This album is way much more than one song and a great listen all the way through.

I especially love ”Eyes Wide Open” and it’s Peter Gabriel feel… and “I Feel Better”, which reminds me of some early Chicago.

AllMusic says the record “reveals a love of the ’80s pop scene, which extends far beyond the usual influences of the current nu-synth brigade. The hugely experimental follow-up to 2006′s Like Drawing Blood doesn’t discriminate against other decades, as evident on the impossibly uplifting ’60s retro soul of “I Feel Better,” the ’70s West Coast harmonies of the ethereal lullaby-like closer “Bronte,” the ’90s Beck-esque scuzzy garage rock of “Easy Way Out,” and the 2000s hushed, claustrophobic dubstep of “Don’t Worry, We’ll Be Watching You.” But seemingly unaffected by the constant comparisons with the likes of Sting and Peter Gabriel, it’s the era of early new wave, dub, and worldbeat which defines its 12 tracks. “

All eyes were on him at Coachella this year, to see if he was a one-song pony, but by all accounts and from everything I read, his sets delivered on all levels and people were blown away…

KROQ raves here… and so does the LA Times Music Blog.

So if you missed this record… or blew it off because “Somebody” was just too omnipresent… check it out now… and explore his other stuff.  This is a great artist and one to watch… and listen to!!!

Back And Forth In Time And Then Hopefully Back On Track… A Quest For The Beatles At The Hollywood Bowl

Today is one of those days…

You know the ones, where you start reminiscing… Start thinking about what you could have or should have done… Think about times wasted… And also good times… times fulfilled.

You have literally turned around and 20 years have gotten behind you… Yes, I think Pink Floyd says 10… but you know what I mean.  It is sad and frustrating… There is a hell of a lot more you should have accomplished in 20 years.  A hell of a lot more.  But perhaps it is also the swift kick in the ass you need.

So what can I do today to change things?  What can I do today to catch up?  What can I do today to get back on the path and move forward?

I think about these professional athletes who work their whole lives to earn that super contract… They work hard, they bust their ass, and as soon as they get the numbers they want… Boom!  They get lazy, as if the goal was just to get to the big money.

Big money does not suck, do not get me wrong.  We all know that money makes the world go ’round… and gets us around the world.  It’s probably too late to be a Zuckerberg, but that’s all right… I just need to figure out a way to be the best Goldsmith I can be…

What the hell does that have to do with music?  Well, it has to do with writing and creating… and being the best artist I can be… Whether I am actually creating something new and original or writing about someone else’s creation.

Life must be lived with passion… to its fullest… So why not start today.

The first records I owned were “acquired” from my parents… An odd range of music that would forever affect my all-genre tastes… They were the Original Cast Recording of Hair, an Andy Williams Christmas Album… A Frank Sinatra and a Nat King Cole.  Next time I am in Jersey I will have to remind myself of which ones.

The first rock records I ever bought or got as gifts were The Beatles At The Hollywood Bowl, Fleetwood Mac Tusk, Steve Miller Band’s Greatest Hits and Book of Dreams.  I also recall Cheap Trick’s Live at Budokan. Strangely, or not… the first CD I ever bought was Paul McCartney’s Give My Regards To Broad Street… an odd choice given his other records, but there it is… I cannot go back in time.

So what grabbed me today?  What was the record that would put me back on the proverbial track?

Well, first off, before I forget… check out NoiseTrade.  Today’s selection is great… You download free music and then can tip the artist whatever you want… If you like Fleet Foxes and Mumford & Sons, you should sig this, too!  FREE music from Bison… download it here: http://noisetrade.com/bison

But here is the record that put me back in the plus column…

The Beatles – The Beatles At The Hollywood Bowl

Yes, this was my first… and you NEVER forget your first.  I so adored the cover with a picture of the iconic Hollywood Bowl… I did not even know what it really was back then… and who would have thought that I would actually live in LA and go to the Bowl on a somewhat regular basis!  And those tickets on the cover… How I longed to hold them in my hand and actually be at a show… Sigh… Those would be worth a fortune today…

Now do not kill me on this one… You cannot get this record on CD… YET!  It was made available on vinyl (yes it is out of print) and has not been released on CD… at least here…

That is ALSO WHY IT IS MY PICK… It puts us all on a quest… To track down the record (Mine is in New Jersey)… or make EMI put it out on CD…

Apparently the album as released was a hodge-podge, compiled from three different nights… the cover implies two.  This comes from a guy named Craig on Amazon…

“GO FOR THE 2-CD “THE COMPLETE HOLLYWOOD BOWL CONCERTS 1964-1965″! February 27, 2010

Originally released on the Repro-Man label in 1997, this collection contains all the songs from the August 23, 1964 concert and the August 29 and 30 shows from 1965. Tracks from all three concerts were cobbled together on Capitol’s vinyl release “Live at the Hollywood Bowl.” The set concludes with an interview with John & Ringo (8-23-1964) and a Press Conference (8-29-1965).”

This record gave me immense joy as a young lad from Liverpool… I mean Glen Rock, NJ… To hear the screams… the excitement… the passion of the fans… and of course that divine music.  Oh, how I longed to have gone to a Beatles show… Still do.  I often wish I was old enough at the time… heck, even born… to have really taken in that music as it was happening.  This was not just a concert, but a life-changing event!  This was THE BEATLES!

Let’s recapture that joy!!!  Good hunting, Will… or whatever your name is!

Getting Over The Hump With My Lucky Chickenfoot

The holiday weekend is coming up… The Kings are in the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time since 1993… all amazing things… but it’s Wednesday, so you may still need a little push… a little nudge to get you over the hump.

I am here to help.

Everyone likes to hump differently… It’s what makes the world exciting and people different.  Some folks like to ease into things, have it nice and gentle… Others, they just like to rock it.  Me, I go with whatever hits me… whatever is my fancy on any given day… and today, I am in the mood to rock… and rock hard.

Chickenfoot – Chickenfoot

My buddy Brad invited me to go see them in a few weeks, so I figured I needed a refresher… I’ll start with their debut, which came out in 2009.  Their second album, Chickenfoot III came out last September.

Are they a supergroup?  Yeah, they kind of are… you got Sammy Hagar shredding the vocals), Michael Anthony on bass and backups… and I have to say he is noticably missing on any Van Halen stuff without him… insane guitarist Joe Satriani and Chad Smith on drums… He of the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, Red Hot Chili Peppers… Who are also on tour, so how is he doing both???

Here is the answer… he’s not.  The amazing Kenny Aronoff is the current touring drummer for Chickenfoot.

As far as Hagar goes, there are Van Halen purists who only love the David Lee Roth years and records, some who prefer the Hagar years and some who dig both.  I definitely lean more to DLR, as that is who really defined VH for me… but I do like a lot of the stuff they did with Sammy.  Plus, it seems hard to dislike Sammy.  His music and attitude are just fun… and he makes tequila, so how bad a guy can he be?

That is how I define this band.  They are shot of tequila.  It might make you shake and shiver, but it is good going down and usually leads to fun!

Here is what Wikipedia says about the name:

“While the band’s name and logo reference a disparaging term used to describe the peace symbol, the “footprint of the chicken”, bassist Michael Anthony asserts that the name originated from initial jam sessions between Hagar, Smith and himself: “there are three talons on a chicken’s foot and there [were] three of us.”  Later Anthony stated: “it was just supposed to be a bullshit name that we’d used for a while, and then [when] the rumors spread about the band, everybody used that name so we thought, ‘fuck it, let’s call it Chickenfoot’ – it all comes down to the music anyway.”

AllMusic says:  ”This eagerness is evident on the band’s eponymous 2009 debut, which should come as no surprise seeing that Sammy Hagar has never seen a party he couldn’t rock…”  They continue to say, somewhat ironically, that the band is “working far too hard to have a good time.”

“Satch always seems to want to burst out but can’t help leaning on precision, a problem that’s the polar opposite to Hagar’s let-it-all-hang-out philosophy, and this dichotomy is mirrored in the rhythm section, where Anthony’s chugging bass doesn’t quite fill the gaps Smith leaves. All this means is that Chickenfoot’s big picture is roughly in place but the pieces don’t quite fit…”

I’ll let you know about the fun on June 10… In the meantime, I am enjoying the record and rocking it out on a Wednesday.

New Music Tuesday: Alabama Shakes “What’s Old Is New” Right From The Tree

Well… I missed New Music Monday to honor Robin Gibb… so we’re doing New Music Tuesday… You gotta problem with that?

This is a band that my brother Dan pointed out a while back and one I had been sneaking listens to wherever I could.  They were dropping tracks here and there, including “Hold On”, the first single and track #1 from their full length debut.  I also picked up “Heavy Chevy” from signing up on their mailing list.  It is listed as a “Bonus Track” on the iTunes download… “Album Only”, of course.

Alabama Shakes – Boys & Girls

Man, do I love that retro sound.  There are probably a hundred bands this reminds me of… and I’m sure all of them were influences.  Yes, one cannot ignore the infatuation with Janis Joplin, but if she pulls it off… and Brittany Howard really does, then so what.

As far as contemporaries go, the great Sharon Jones & Dap Kings was the first thing that jumped at me.  Black Keys followed up pretty quickly after that.  Both great bands.  I really need to see Black Keys live!!!

Look, if you are going to sound like music from the ’60s and ’70s then people are going to make comparisons and accuse you of being a rip off artist… Most of those people are stupid.

You take your influences… you pay homage and you make your own sound.  That is what this band does splendidly.

AllMusic brings Jack White, Drive-By Truckers and the Black Keys into the conversation and they are absolutely right on.  Plus, they say what I just said a lot better… “Their roots are just that — roots, not anchors, allowing the group to grow, often in unexpected and quietly thrilling ways.”

Hallelujah!

AllMusic raves:  ”Instead of playing like refractions from a hall of mirrors, Alabama Shakes’ 2012 debut Boys & Girls emphasizes how American roots music is now grounded in the ’60s notion of blues & soul, all filtered through the prism of ’70s classic rock. And it’s not just that Heath Fogg tears great, gnarled riffs out of his guitar while the rhythm section of Zac Cockrell and Steve Johnson hit the downbeat with a brutal force — lead singer Brittany Howard phrases like a rock singer, playing up vocal affections with glee, ratcheting up the drama by laying hard into her elongated phrases.”

“… much of Boys & Girls is anchored in a Southern soul groove spliced from Stax and Muscle Shoals, the guitars of Fogg and Howard full and bold in their cleanly chopped rhythms, echoing the work of Steve Cropper and Jimmy Johnson.”

Here is what I will do when I am considering buying a record… well… downloading something…

First, I’ll listen to it and form my own opinions.  To me music is like wine… it does not matter what anyone else thinks or writes… Either I like it or  don’t… Who cares… And who cares how much it costs.  There are as many spectacular $25 bottles of wine as there are $500… Well…

Second, I do like to read reviews.  You’ll find those writers and magazines who have similar tastes and that is a good litmus test for a lot of things… Hell, there is just so much out there, sometimes you need a filter to save you time and a whole lot of money… but listening with your own ears, heart and mind must be the main ingredient.

I also read the peer reviews, especially on iTunes or Amazon.  I’ll look at the five stars… and then the one star… and then a few in the middle… They can be funny and scathing and just plain off their rockers… But I have also gotten some great suggestions for other artists this way… The ‘ol “well, if you like this, you’re gonna really love blah, blah, blah…”

Some of the one star reviews for this are just ignorant…  What can you do.  The review I like the most is my own… and that is this…

This record KICKS ASS!