BLOGGERHYTHMS

Michael Bublé - To Be Loved (2013)

2013-05-13T13:18:00.001-04:00

Working with Bob Rock, his new producer, may have inspired Michael Bublé (not that he's ever sounded as if he's needed inspiration) because on To Be Loved the singer soars through fourteen new songs as if he's never had this much fun in his life.

Bublé's public persona is that he's too nice of a guy to have traveled with the original Rat Pack but, as usual, musically he would fit right in with his updated, 21st century, version of the old gang's act. The Pack's leader, (Frank Sinatra, of course) would wholeheartedly approve of Bublé's swaggering version of "You Make Me Feel So Young" that opens the album as well as his duet with Reese Witherspoon on "Something Stupid." "Young at Heart" also rivals Old Blue Eyes' more famous arrangement.

Among the older offerings is one of the first country songs to crossover onto the pop charts. "Have I Told You Lately That I Love You" (not the Van Morrison - Rod Stewart song) was a hit for a husband and wife team, Lulu Belle and Scotty, way back in 1945. Buble's new version almost sounds, but not quite, as if The Jordinaires are backing him up.

Other gems include a Latin-flavored interpretation of Jimmy Van Heusen and Sammy Cahn's "Come Dance With Me" and The Puppini Sisters harmonize superbly on "Nevertheless (I'm In Love With You)."

More recent fare includes Smokey Robinson's "Who's Lovin' You," a very nice cover of an old Bee Gees' chestnut, "To Love Somebody," and Randy Newman's "You've Got A Friend In Me."

The most soulful track the classy star ever laid down, the title song, was originally put on vinyl by Jackie Wilson a long time ago.

The CD has four co-written originals, the most ever to appear on a Bublé disc. On their joint effort, "After All," The Canadian duets with his fellow countryman, Bryan Adams. It's the most rocking number he ever released. The new single, "It's A Beautiful Day," at times reminds the listener of his recent classic "Haven't Met You Yet."

Overall, this exuberant and eclectic album is quite possibly the singer's best release to date (I think I may have said that about his last one). For his fans it's a must listen.

Forgotten Music Thursday: The Chieftains - Long Black Veil (1995)

2013-04-25T06:27:00.000-04:00

The Chieftains attempted to widen their audience with the release of Long Black Veil in 1995.

This very cool CD featured many classic rock and pop musicians (all except for Ry Cooder come from the British Isles) singing lead vocals on mostly traditional songs. The arrangements makes you feel as if the guest stars lived with these folk songs on a daily basis because, to their credit, the Chieftains don't try to sound like a modern rock band. They play these songs with their traditional Irish folk instruments using their own natural style and special gifts.

The Rolling Stones assist on "The Rocky Road to Dublin" while Mick Jagger alone tackles the title track. Mark Knopfler lends both his singing and producing skills to "The Lily of the West" while Welshman Tom Jones' version of "Tennessee Waltz" is so heartfelt that you momentarily forget his Vegas lounge-lizard image. (There's obviously a lot more to Jones than what meets the eye.) Sting and Sinead O'Connor are also among the participants on a set that tries to cross over into pop-rock without really doing so.

The only track I could live without is Marianne Faithfull's lead vocal on "Love Is Teasin'" and that is because the years have not been very kind to her voice. Other than that misstep Long Black Veil offers us some excellent music. It's also an important album to the traditional Irish folk world because it opened up the genre to a whole new audience that would have normally ignored this stellar Irish band.

Boz Scaggs - Memphis (2013)

2013-04-18T07:43:00.001-04:00

Some artists never lose their god-given gifts and those whose talents include a deeply embedded soul tradition seldom lose theirs if they continue to make music from the heart. Such is the case with William Royce "Boz" Scaggs who proves on his new CD, Memphis, that his music is as fresh and vital as it's ever been.

Scaggs' new musical love letter to the Tennessee town's grand musical tradition includes a host of ten well chosen classic soul covers sandwiched in between two new originals that open and close the set.

While the veteran's own tunes on Memphis are nice enough the San Francisco native uses the album to prove without a doubt that he is one of the great interpreters of other people's work. In fact one might even say this is a more satisfying effort than his slightly slick, more mainstream, 1976 classic, Silk Degrees.

What's interesting about Memphis is that it's both smooth and gritty at the same time. Scaggs is one of the few artists who can create a strong groove without raising the volume or speeding up the music's pace to overly energetic levels. Both his voice and band contribute greatly to the relaxed but bluesy vibe.

On Scaggs' own "Gone Baby Gone" and Al Green's "So Good To Be Here" he channels the latter so well that if you're only listening to the music as background you may actually believe it's the old reverend himself. Later Scaggs' demonstrates that his earthier, full-bodied, baritone is more versatile than Green's on Tony Joe White's "Rainy Night in Georgia."

Willie DeVille's "Mixed Up Shook Up Girl" has a lively percussion based arrangement and there is a really nice version of Moon Martin's "Cadillac Walk."

Keb Mo' adds some hot dobro to "Dry Spell" and bluesman Jimmy Reed's "You Got Me Cryin" could find a home on a juke box in any seedy, back roads, greasy spoon. At the same time the singer's usual smoothness prevents either from getting so down and dirty that they would turn away a listener looking for something more glossy.

The traditional "Corrina Corrina" features Spooner Oldham with some very cool organ work and The Moments' oldie, "Love on a Two-Way Street," is ultra-classy in Scaggs' hands. An unusual choice, Steely Dan's "Pearl of the Quarter," is another highlight.

The primary band behind the star includes producer Steve Jordan on drums with Ray Parker Jr. on guitars and Willie Weeks on bass. Scaggs contributes both electric and acoustic guitars.

Memphis is an album Scaggs should be proud of.

Dropping The Big One

2013-04-11T22:27:00.001-04:00

Even though I grew up with the generation that let their "freak flag fly" (thank you for that, David Crosby) the musicians of that era seldom used language that was considered inappropriate in polite society on their recordings.

Steppenwolf's "The Pusher" used a word similar to "darn" along with the deity's name and John Lennon used the English language's most infamous four letter word on "Working Class Hero" from his LP, Plastic Ono Band. Nils Lofgren employed the same word in "I Had Too Much" from Grin's first album. Billy Joel dropped it in one of his attempts to win over critics on "Laura" from The Nylon Curtain. There may have been a couple more examples but not many.

Call me old, stodgy, out of touch, narrow-minded, or whatever insult suits you, but the current generation of musicians seems to have no qualms about using this word that begins with the sixth letter of the alphabet quite routinely in their songs. It doesn't bother me to hear Tony Soprano utter it on TV, or Joe Pesci being his usual foul-mouthed self in a movie, or when I'm hanging with a bunch of male friends, but somehow it irritates me no end when musicians use it in their songs.

Perhaps I feel this way because one of the major criteria music lovers use to judge the worthiness of a composer's output is their lyrical content. To prove my point, except for a few guitar heroes, who are the most revered rock musicians? They're usually the ones who are known for having something to say in their songs. You know their names: Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Joni Mitchell, Paul Simon, and Jackson Browne just to name a few. More recently, bands like Mumford & Sons and Dawes can be included in that group.

The difference between the heritage rockers and these new kids on the block is that the former were consistently writing relevant, meaningful, and poetic words without resorting to the basest forms of the English language. The latter? Not so much.

Unfortunately, Mumford couldn't resist swearing on "Little Lion Man," the hot band's big song from their first album. They used the word so frequently that I almost wrote the band off before I discovered how good they actually are.

The thing that set me off today is Dawes, the Southern California quartet heavily influenced by Browne and other similar West Coast folk-rockers, who, in 2011, issued one of the better rock albums of the first half of the decade, Nothing is Wrong. The song that closed their fantastic CD, "A Little Bit of Everything," is one of the most moving and literate rock songs a band has issued in many years. You may have heard it, "Time Spent in Los Angeles," and "Fire Away" on radio stations that play modern rock.

I was really looking forward to Dawes' latest, Stories Don't End, released this past Tuesday. As I was listening to it online while preparing to make the big purchase, I sampled all of the album's tracks. Unfortunately, on "Hey Lover" they dropped the big bomb that was almost immediately followed by another crudity. In my humble opinion, lead singer and lyricist, Taylor Goldsmith, is too good of a writer to fall into this trap of low standards.

It's possible the old guard popsters weren't really classier. Maybe they held their tongues in the studio because the only outlet for the public to embrace their work was on FCC controlled conventional radio. Today, the existence of satellite radio, cable, and the Internet, none of which are regulated as heavily as the AM and FM radio bands, means the artists no longer have to hold back.

Note to Dawes: Because you were not careful with your words I now have to watch who's around when I play your new album and I'm already disappointed with it even though I haven't heard a complete song yet. In the end I'm sure I'll like Stories Don't End very much, and I'll say so here, but I don't think I'll ever get over my initial disappointment.

The Bucket List: Yes - Close to the Edge (1972)

2013-04-08T07:50:00.001-04:00

Jon Anderson's mystical lyrics aside, Close to the Edge (#4 UK and #3 in the USA) ranks with The Yes Album as one of the enduring prog-rock quintet's two very best works. It's a masterpiece from start to finish.

Everyone in the band was in top form on the more than eighteen minute long title track. Anderson's tenor vocals were brilliant even if the meaning of his lyrics remained indecipherable. The songwriter's voice never quite reached those soaring, spectacular heights again. The interplay between Chris Squire's bass, which is front and center, Bill Bruford's drums, and Steve Howe's guitar is astounding, but the star of the show was the phenomenal keyboard genius, Rick Wakeman. His perfect, hard rocking solo three quarters of the way through the track is clean, unpretentious, and menacing all at the same time and it came not long after the virtuoso gave us some majestic church organ sounds that grew out of the quiet mid-section of the piece.

Side two began with "And You and I." The duet between Howe's airy (for a Yes song anyway) acoustic, 12-string guitar featuring Wakeman playing some very melodic Moog over top of it during the song's first minute and a half (before Anderson's vocals begin) help to make it possibly the most gorgeous Yes song ever. The work here from the band's two newest members is one of their outstanding instrumental moments.

The song's mid-section, "Eclipse," was released as a single in America and only went to #42 on the Billboard Hot 100. Perhaps that's because Yes never learned that 45 RPM versions of their seemingly never ending, sidelong epics were always lacking emotion when truncated for top 40 radio. They always sounded edited.

At 8:55, "Siberian Khatru" is the shortest of the three tracks on the LP and is the weak sister of the set despite it being the most straightforward song. If the album's closing epic was showcased on another album it would be one of the better songs on it. However, since it had the bad luck of landing here it often gets short shrift. Howe is the obvious star. He played some of the most inventive, original stuff ever to grace a prog-rock song.

Close to the Edge is indeed overblown and despite its intricacies and artiness it's a loud, rocking disc. It's not only one of the greatest albums of the 70s it's one of the best rock LPs of all time. If you're a prog lover Close to the Edge offers everything that endears you to the sub-genre. Unfortunately, if you're not a fan you can also use this record as proof of rock's early 70s excesses.

Bruford left after the album was completed and was replaced by Alan White on the accompanying tour. Wakeman followed suit after the subsequent release, Tales of Topographic Oceans. The band's constant revolving door of personnel and changing public tastes would take its toll, and while Yes still had some great moments after Edge, they were never as consistent again.

Doug Cowen & The Basics - Tommy's Place (2013)

2013-04-04T06:00:00.000-04:00

Front cover of CD

On their fourth release, Tommy's Place, Doug Cowen & The Basics have shunned their own songwriting and recorded an album full of songs by a musician they admire, the late Tommy Thompson. Thompson, who was apparently a revered local legend in South Bend, Indiana came awfully close to hitting the big time but never quite made it. (Having never heard him play I'll just have to take Cowen's word for it).

The rocker, who was a close friend of The Basics' leader and briefly a member of the trio, died way too young of a heart attack at age 49.

It may seem odd to you that a band hardly anyone has heard play outside of their hometown recorded a tribute to someone who only earned a bit more traction than The Basics have because, on the surface, the album's initial appeal to someone who lives, say, in British Columbia, would be zero. However, I've been impressed with this throwback garage band for a decade now and regardless of the circumstances surrounding the CD's creation good rock 'n roll is universal.

Listen to the ten cover songs guitarist and lead singer Cowen, bassist Charlie Neises, and drummer Ben Hahaj have recorded for this set without the quaint, provincial notion that it's just some local bar band playing the music of some other local bar band and you'll come away quite impressed.

With influences everywhere from the British Invasion to The Smithereens and Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers the group's latest CD rocks from start to finish. There are no real ballads. Even the quieter songs have an edge to them.

Inside front cover

The package's cover art is appealing too. The inside, front cover shows The Basics sitting around a bar with Thompson tending to their needs reminiscent of Edward Hooper's 1942 painting, "Nighthawks." Because of how Thompson's life and career ended so suddenly and tragically a more relevant work and title may actually be Gottfried Helnwein's "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" his satire of Hooper's painting.

Tommy's Place is available on both mp3 and CD from Amazon and you can visit the band on ReverbNation.

Here's the official Basics video for "Cinderella", one of the songs on the CD.

Finally, you can listen to a whole bunch of tracks from all four of the band's releases on the music player below.

Forgotten Music Thursday: Jonathan Edwards - Jonathan Edwards (1971)

2013-03-28T06:10:00.000-04:00

To most people guitarist and singer-songwriter Jonathan Edwards is a genuine one hit wonder. His first single, "Sunshine," an exuberant, acoustic tune, the kind that actually made the charts back in the era of peace and love, went to number four in the fall of 1971.

After leaving a blues band in 1969 to play acoustic folk music as a solo act, Edwards recorded his only well known song, one of many popular tunes during the Viet Nam War era that gauged the temper of the times perfectly. The hit was a last minute addition to his eponymous, debut album, a very fine twelve song set of mostly original material. "Sunshine" is usually recognized by the lines "He can’t even run his own life/I’ll be damned if he'll run mine."

The LP's opener, "Everybody Knows Her," a track just as uplifting as the single, also received some substantial airplay on FM radio and was definitely one of the LP's better offerings.

Two songs came from the pen of a former bandmate, Malcolm McKinney. The first one, "Don't Cry Blue" is an upbeat love song. Another highlight is McKinney's beautiful "Sometimes" (often titled "Sometimes in the Morning" elsewhere). The live version of this song from Edwards' performance at Puerto Rico's Mar y Sol Pop Festival from 1972 (click here to listen to it) and featuring one of his sidemen, bassist Stuart Schulman, on violin is truly outstanding.

Many believed that Edwards would become a star but unfortunately it was not to be. His followup album, Honky Tonk Stardust Cowboy, was also highly regarded but didn't sell nearly as well its predecessor and his third long player, Have a Good Time for Me, was uneven at best.

Eventually, Edwards faded into oblivion and gave up music for farming. However, once the art form invades your soul it can never fully leave so after the singer-songwriter's friend, Emmylou Harris, asked him to sing backup on one of her albums he revitalized his career.

The little remembered folkie continues to record albums and tour today to small but approving audiences.

Listen to "Sunshine."

Do Old Guys Still Rule?

2013-03-25T16:28:00.001-04:00

Yesterday, while perusing the best seller albums chart published weekly in Philadelphia's Sunday Inquirer I noticed that David Bowie's The Next Day, his first new album of original music in a decade, debuted at number one. The top ten albums also included recent releases by Eric Clapton, whose Old Sock landed at number five, and a man who passed away over forty years ago, Jimi Hendrix. The Seattle legend's new CD, People, Hell & Angels, placed just a couple of notches below Clapton's.

Even though I'm not a Bowie fan I smiled, and for a fleeting second I thought, "WOW! The old classic rockers can still bring it." When I regained consciousness I quickly realized that the reason these guys are still selling complete albums well enough to make the top ten is because the young people of the digital age, who I almost gave a lot of credit to for listening to the old stuff, aren't buying full albums anymore. They've moved on to either buying individual tracks or somehow getting their music for free. So, while the veterans can still put on a very good showing, it's virtually only the baby boomers who are sending these guys back into the top of the pops.

Many of us who grew up on vinyl can't seem to break away from the thought of buying a complete album online, even if we have the opportunity to buy only individual tracks. Therefore, except in very rare cases (The Beatles' "Revolution #9" and Chicago Transit Authority's "Free Form Guitar" for instance) I always download an entire CD or a new mp3 purchase, even the songs I don't much care for. It just doesn't feel like I'm taking in the fully intended musical experience if I don't have the whole thing.

It's good that the three stars are still releasing viable music that their fans want to hear and my congratulations go out to Bowie, Clapton, and the late Hendrix. However, I must learn to keep their twenty-first century chart successes in perspective.

Hacienda Brothers - What's Wrong With Right (2006)

2013-03-18T07:02:00.000-04:00

I wish I had heard of the alternative, country-rock band Hacienda Brothers before last week because they're already gone. The short-lived group broke up when lead singer Chris Gaffney died of liver cancer in 2008. Gaffney's death meant the quintet had only a three year recording career. Between 2005 and 2008 they delivered three studio CDs and a limited edition live disc.

Based out of Tucson, Arizona, Gaffney and lead guitar player Dave Gonzalez formed a talented outfit that combined their country roots with some top notch R&B to create what they called "Western soul." They were once described as the best of their genre since The Flying Burrito Brothers.

Gaffney's voice was definitely soulful and he could have been an R&B singer if he had chosen that direction. By the time he and Gonzalez worked together the former had already earned a reputation as a fine songwriter who toured with The Blasters' Dave Alvin. He also led an outfit called The Cold Hard Facts.

Gonzalez, another songwriter who sang lead on a few Hacienda Brothers tunes when Gaffney did not, was previously best known for playing with the roots-rock band, The Paladins.

Gonzalez and Gaffney's supporting cast included bassist Hank Maninger and an excellent steel guitar player in David Berzansky. Dale Daniel rounded out the lineup on drums.

Hacienda Brothers' eponymous debut arrived in 2005 and was followed with What's Wrong With Right the following year. Both CDs were produced by Dan Penn, the highly regarded songwriter and producer who has written many hit records and worked with Alex Chilton and The Box Tops on "The Letter" way back in 1967.

On What's Wrong the group's Western soul label is right on target. Gaffney's lead vocal on The Box Tops' oldie "Cry Like A Baby" (written by Penn and Spooner Oldham) is absolutely perfect.

The Intruders' "Cowboys to Girls," another 60s hit written by Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff, is a second unblemished fusion of urban, Philly Soul with the Mojave Desert. It has more soul than twang until Berzansky unleashes a very tasteful steel guitar solo.

Another Penn–Oldham collaboration that was turned into a minor hit by Percy Sledge, "It Tears Me Up," is on the set list too.

Most of the rest of the thirteen songs are band originals with only a little less soul and a touch more country but fans of both genres should still find something interesting in all of it.

After this fine disc Hacienda Brothers released a live CD and their final studio effort, Arizona Motel, in 2008 that did not hit the streets until after Gaffney's unfortunate passing.

Buy What's Wrong With Right from Amazon.

An Appreciation of George Harrison's 22 Beatles' Songs, Part 2

2013-03-11T16:34:00.000-04:00

To celebrate George Harrison's 70th birthday here is part two of Bloggerhythms' analysis of the twenty-two songs he wrote, recorded, and released for The Beatles. You can read part one here.

"While My Guitar Gently Weeps" - The Beatles (1968)
One of the Beatles' five all-time greatest efforts and another of Harrison's philosophical works. This one is based on the Eastern belief that nothing is random and everything that happens is related to everything else. George plays acoustic guitar and Paul McCartney added piano and organ. It's famous for Eric Clapton's sensational electric lead guitar solo.

"Piggies" - The Beatles (1968)
This short, social commentary ditty sounds cute enough to have dripped from the pen of McCartney but its totally counter-culture lyrics prove otherwise. Often thought to be about the Royal Family it's really a slam on the U. K.'s class structure and corporate greed. John Lennon was responsible for the pig grunts. George got his point across but considering he was one of four millionaires who spent most of the next couple of years fighting with his other three bandmates over a whole bunch of business matters (ie: money) the lyrics lost some of their clout.

"Savoy Truffle" - The Beatles (1968)
Is there anything better than a song about desserts? The lighter side of George finally broke through. The song was inspired by Eric Clapton's addiction to chocolate. Musically, the highlight is the six man saxophone section consisting of three tenors and a trio of one of my favorite instruments, the baritone sax.

"Long, Long, Long" - The Beatles (1968)
What is this song other than a definite step backward? The tune should have been called "Boring, Boring, Boring." The arrangement is soooooo slow, extremely low-key, and George's vocal is so subdued that the lyrics are almost inaudible. Only Ringo Starr's drum fills offer any kind of respite from the monotony and it’s not because he’s doing anything outstanding. His work is the only thing you can actually hear on the whole track.

"Only A Northern Song" & "It's All Too Much" – Yellow Submarine (1969)
Both tunes were cut from the same cloth and were recorded during the Sgt. Pepper era. George Martin said that the first one wasn't good enough for inclusion on Pepper and the latter was kept off of Magical Mystery Tour. Both suffer from the same psychedelic excesses as "Blue Jay Way" (see part one).

"Something" – Abbey Road (1969)
It took until the final year of The Beatles for George to claim an "A" side of a single but when he finally did he gave us one of the classic ballads of all time. The song is not just a favorite of Beatles fans. This opening salvo to one of the group's greatest albums is also one of the most covered love songs in history and deservedly so.

"Here Comes The Sun" - Abbey Road (1969)
Supposedly written in Eric Clapton's garden after the Beatle went there to escape all of the business hassles at Apple. It's loved almost as much as "Something," maybe even more. Another tune in which the sunny side of Harrison took over. The lyrics are not profound, just some English pleasantries with a great, intoxicating melody. Why could George get away recording this kind of fluff and not McCartney? If the latter had written this piece it probably would have been reviled.

"Old Brown Shoe" – B-side to "The Ballad of John & Yoko" (1969)
By this time Harrison stopped experimenting with Indian instruments entirely and his music became less serious, freer, less experimental, yet often still unique. This rollicking love song is an example of the "new" George. It rocks, rolls, and is quite a fun listen. Great arrangement!

"I, Me, Mine" - Let It Be (1970)
Using Hindu philosophy for a song one last time with his iconic band George probably believed this tune would be taken more seriously than it was. However, the arrangement and production make it sound like nothing more than pleasant filler that distracts the listener from the lyrics. Ringo Starr described it as a heavy waltz.

"For You Blue" – Let It Be (1970)
Once again, the composer and his Liverpool buddies showed off their versatility. While the last Harrison track on the last Beatles album is in the same spirit as "Old Brown Shoe" it sounds nothing like that earlier tune. It's a happy blues (that's not an oxymoron) featuring John Lennon playing some amazing lap steel.

An Appreciation of George Harrison's 22 Beatles' Songs, Part 1

2013-03-06T07:57:00.000-05:00

George during his Beatlemania days

In 2006 Bloggerhythms posted a tribute to George Harrison, one of only two non-original articles ever to appear on this site. The essay was a good synopsis of the guitarist's role with The Beatles that was originally written back in 2001 for the Philadelphia Inquirer and reprinted here with the author’s permission. While the article was an overall discussion about Harrison being one of rock’s most celebrated second or third bananas it never discussed his songs in any depth.

To make up for that oversight, and to celebrate what would have been the mystical Beatle's 70th birthday about two weeks ago, it's time to discuss the twenty-two songs he wrote and released for The Beatles while the band was together. We’ll cover the first eleven songs today.

"Don't Bother Me" – With The Beatles (1963)
This is the first song George ever wrote by himself and he attempted it while sick in bed for no other reason than to see if he could write one. It's a fast paced tune that is typical of most early Beatles' songs in many ways but the guitar sounds are deeper and heavier than usual for the period. It's not a bad beginning. George would soon do a lot worse before he became the great musician he was.

"I Need You" – Help! (1965)
This minor tune was supposedly about Patti Boyd. It's one of the first songs in which George employed special effects on a guitar, this time using a device called a volume pedal. Appearing on the band's transitional album it sounded like nothing else they recorded before. It’s a fairly ordinary piece of work that stands out only because of the unusual sound emanating from the writer’s axe.

"You Like Me Too Much" – Help! (1965)
WOOF! Lyrically, this song proved that George still couldn't be taken seriously as a composer. One of the reasons Help! doesn't quite make the list of The Beatles' greatest albums is because George spilled this sour glass of milk all over Abbey Road studios. The song is even more appalling because Harrison wasn't fooling around. He really believed it was worthy of a place on the album. It's surprising that George Martin didn't put the kibosh on this one. Fortunately, it wouldn't take this fledgling songwriter much longer to improve by leaps and bounds. Things would really change for him on the group's next LP.

"If I Needed Someone" – Rubber Soul (1965)
George's songwriting muse benefited greatly by working daily with John Lennon and Paul McCartney but he was also quickly absorbing influences from outside the band. He freely admitted this song was based on The Byrds' "The Bells of Rhymney" and it shows. His twelve string playing is the highlight of the best song he wrote to date.

"Think for Yourself" – Rubber Soul (1965)
This is another track that indicated George was improving as a songwriter but the highlight is undoubtedly McCartney's overdubbed fuzz bass which was one of two bass lines used on it. It's the most intelligent song Harrison ever wrote before Hinduism became a major fabric in his life. He proved he could be a deep thinker. One of his more rewarding early songs.

"Taxman" – Revolver (1966)
The Beatles' very first political protest song was a dandy. It's clever, sarcastic, and at times even nasty. Lennon claimed he helped George with the lyrics and the whole group is cooking in full rock mode. Very raucous for 1966 with a great electric lead solo by McCartney. One of the very best songs the band ever put on vinyl.

"Love You To" – Revolver (1966)
George's first, full foray into Indian music with the composer playing sitar. A second sitar, tabla, and tambura were all supplied by outside Indian musicians. The only other Beatle to appear here is Ringo Starr who added some tambourine so it's virtually a Harrison solo track. Unlike his future ventures into Indian music this song still rocked because of the bass and electric fuzz guitar he added to the arrangement.

"I Want To Tell You" – Revolver (1966)
This song is about the difficulties of communicating your thoughts. It's not standard Beatles fare up to this point in time, but production-wise it's the closest The Fabs came on Revolver to sounding like the young power poppers of two years earlier. With exuberant harmonies from Lennon and McCartney and a great backing track Harrison proved he was learning the art of songwriting well. All three of his Revolver compositions were the equal of those offered up by his two more accomplished bandmates.

"Within You Without You" – Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967)
There are no other Beatles on this track except for Harrison. His sitar is accompanied by several classical Indian musicians and a string section put together by George Martin. The quiet Beatle's interest in Hinduism and Eastern philosophy was in full flower here. It's an eerie sounding experiment and the lyrics are deep, deep, deep. A lot of fans hate this song. I don’t.

"Blue Jay Way" – Magical Mystery Tour (1967)
Named after a street in Los Angeles where George was temporarily living. Blue Jay Way is about the guitarist waiting for Derek Taylor, The Beatles' Press Officer, to arrive there in the fog. It's listenable, but a disappointing followup to his work from the previous three albums. The dirge just drones on and on, is too psychedelic for its own good and too tied to its era, so it sounds dated today.

"The Inner Light" - B-Side to "Lady Madonna" (1968)
This is another track featuring only Harrison and some Indian musicians. Lennon and McCartney only assist by adding backing vocals. Not even the composer plays on the song. It's another piece influenced by Eastern philosophy and religion, this time from a book called Taoist Tao Te Ching. It was the last time he dove deeply into Asian cultures while still with The Beatles. The song is interesting and educational but not something one would want to listen to on a regular basis. Fortunately, the shy one would up lighten up for much of the rest of his Beatles career and not take himself, or the world, so seriously. Frankly, it was time for a change that soon resulted in his best work with the quartet.

Forgotten Music Thursday: Daryl Hall & John Oates - Do It For Love (2003)

2013-02-28T07:09:00.000-05:00

After a seven year hiatus Daryl Hall & John Oates returned with a new CD in 1997, Marigold Sky. Because many critics and fans who heard it appreciated only parts of the uneven effort the album turned into a non-event.

Ten years ago this month, and more than thirty years after their debut album appeared, the best-selling veterans tried again and this time, they gave the world a big surprise by releasing one of the best albums of their career, Do It For Love.

Time away from one's day job often revitalizes people and it can be the same with artists. Do It for Love is a truly inspired set of songs with great lead vocals (once again, mostly from Hall) and excellent, instantly recognizable, blue-eyed soul harmonies from both. Just as importantly, the two Philadelphians moved away from (but not entirely) their glossy 1980s production values. The vocals are more upfront and center than they were during their heyday of making corporate, new wave, pseudo-soul, and while this CD doesn't sound at all like the outstanding Abandoned Luncheonette it's the closest they have come to their roots since the 70s.

Easy to absorb melodies abound. Hall's "Man on a Mission," "Forever for You," and "Getaway Car" are highlights and a very nice cover of New Radicals' "Someday We'll Know" (with Todd Rundgren) rivals the original.

Oates' closing tune, "Love in a Dangerous Time" proves that while he isn't a composer who offers up a catchy chorus or two as easily as his more prolific mate can, the guitarist's more album-oriented fare is just as worthy (for further proof listen to his last two solo CDs).

There are no weak songs anywhere on this fourteen track return to form.
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In a related topic, 2013 is the fortieth anniversary of the release of Abandoned Luncheonette. To celebrate the event the local newspaper, The Reporter, recently published a story about the real diner, the song that inspired the original LP's cover, and how the rusty old shell became a local landmark. You'll also learn about Sara Allen and how she became the inspiration for two Hall and Oates' songs: their first top ten hit and "Las Vegas Turnaround" an Oates number from the same album.

Nine Times Blue - Falling Slowly (2012)

2013-02-21T16:21:00.000-05:00

Power Pop, so named by Pete Townsend, has always been one of rock's most loved sub-genres and for good reason. With its emphasis on song structure, melody, strong lead vocals, and heavy guitar riffs that don't meander into long solos it's music that is readily accessible.

Power Pop was part of the makeup of everyone from the early Beatles, The Kinks, The Who (pre-Tommy), The Raspberries, Nick Lowe, Squeeze, The Posies, Marshall Crenshaw, and a host of others. More recent acts such as Fountains of Wayne and Del Amitri have also become important representatives of the style. Now we can add to the list, Nine Times Blue, a mighty fine new quartet named after an old Michael Nesmith song.

The Atlanta outfit's debut CD, Falling Slowly, could easily have been a hit if it had been released in an era when groups like this one received regular radio airplay.

The disc is loaded with ten original songs that check in at a concise thirty-eight minutes. The band sounds a lot like Arizona's Gin Blossoms (especially on the loud, barn-burning title track) with a little Smithereens thrown in for good measure (catch the heavy bass intro to "Million Miles" as an example of the latter).

Nine Times Blue's chief songwriter and lead vocalist, Kirk Waldrop, is obviously the man in charge and he should make no apologies for being the leader. He handles all of the challenges required of him as easily as any veteran who has ever rocked.

Falling Slowly is not pretentious, nor deep, but it's music isn't trite either. It's also one of the best albums I've heard from a fledgling outfit in a long, long time.

You can read more on Nine Times Blue's official website and buy the CD at Amazon.

The Bucket List: Rick Wakeman - The Six Wives of Henry VIII (1973)

2013-02-17T07:01:00.000-05:00

In the early 70s most rock musicians who became deities were guitarists who earned a living within the blues and hard rock idioms. Keyboard players seldom captured the hearts and minds of music fans in the same way the most famous axemen did. One of only a handful of men who pounded the 88s and achieved the exalted status of gods like Eric Clapton, Keith Richards, and Jimi Hendrix was the extraordinary Rick Wakeman.

In his brief time with Yes Wakeman immediately become a star but he quickly looked beyond the constraints of being a sideman. This led to his first solo LP, The Six Wives of Henry VIII, in early 1973.

Wakeman wrote the following in the album's liner notes, "The album is based around my interpretations of the musical characteristics of the wives of Henry VIII. Although the style may not always be in keeping with their individual history, it is my personal conception of their characters in relation to keyboard instruments." Those of you who are not well educated about Henry's mostly unlucky queens should just take his word for it and simply enjoy the music on a more superficial level. Fortunately, that is an easy thing to do.

The six instrumentals are complex arrangements that sound like true hybrids of rock and classical music but minus vocals the album is arguably the most accessible prog-rock set of music ever released. Much of the genre's overreach was due to its often bombastic, indecipherable lyrics but that is not a concern here.

Wakeman's mellotron, Moog, grand piano, and Hammond C-3 organ are everywhere. Dave Cousins, his former bandmate in The Strawbs, played some electric banjo and he received great assists from fellow Yes men Bill Bruford, Alan White, and Steve Howe. Chris Squire lent a hand on "Catherine of Aragon."

The album reached #30 on Billboard's Hot 100 and two years later it was certified gold.

While Wakeman frequently played some of the tracks from the album in concert he performed the entire set live for the first time in 2009 at Hampton Court Palace to celebrate the 500th anniversary of Henry's coronation. This performance, with an orchestra and choir, included some previously unreleased material that didn't fit on the original studio release. You can purchase it on Amazon in all audio and video formats.

R I P: Paul Tannner (1917 - 2013)

2013-02-11T16:53:00.000-05:00

Until Paul Tanner (1917 – 2013) passed into the great recording studio in the sky earlier this month most people, including me, had never heard of him. Yet he's quite an interesting fellow who played on some of pop music's greatest recordings as part of a long and diverse career in the business.

It's hard to believe that there was still someone alive who played in the Glenn Miller Orchestra. The trombonist was the last surviving member of Miller's famous big band. He played with them from 1938 until 1942 on almost all of the bandleader's hits including "In the Mood," "A String of Pearls," "Chattanooga Choo Choo," and "Pennsylvania 6-5000."

What makes Tanner fascinating is the fact he was also the man who played on one of rock's most famous songs in 1966. He was responsible for the electro-theremin on The Beach Boys' "Good Vibrations."

After Tanner left the Army Air Force at the conclusion of World War Two he landed in California to work for ABC-TV, playing live for many of the shows on the new television network. Since the job occasionally required him to play some novelty instruments he became familiar with the theremin, a weird instrument invented by Russian Leon Theremin in 1920 that was often used to create sound effects.

According to The New York Times the theremin consisted "of two audio oscillators and an amplifier inside a wooden or metal housing, was played by waving one's hands in proximity to – but not touching – two antennas, one controlling volume and the other controlling pitch."

One day in the studio Tanner witnessed a musician struggling to master the theremin and this gave him an idea. He contacted a friend with electronics experience and together they invented the electro-theremin. This new, modern version of the device used controls that the musician would actually touch to produce the same sounds as Theremin's original invention.

Eventually Brian Wilson, who was always looking for weird percussion and unusual sounds for his records, got in touch with Tanner and the rest is history. The coda and fade Tanner contributed to "Good Vibrations" became one of the most instantly recognizable passages in popular music. The former swing musician also played the instrument on The Beach Boys' "I Just Wasn't Made For These Times" from Pet Sounds and on the single and title track to their Wild Honey LP.

Tanner earned three degrees from UCLA, including a doctorate, where he also taught music for twenty-three years.

Once, during an interview, Tanner told this funny anecdote about his time teaching at the university. Again from The Times: "The question I remember best was asked in class one day. One kid said, 'Professor Tanner, did they have groupies in the swing era?' I said, 'Yes, your Mama.'"

Tanner also wrote several books about jazz including a text book and he also composed several works for the trombone.
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Much of the information in this post came from Wikipedia, The San Diego Union-Tribune, and The New York Times. Only the last one was quoted directly.

Tipsy in Chelsea - Tipsy in Chelsea (2012)

2013-02-07T06:10:00.000-05:00

Dean Falcone and Trish Thompson, the two guiding lights of Tipsy in Chelsea, were put in touch with each other because of a less than happy circumstance: the death of a mutual friend. While chatting on the phone together they coincidentally discovered that by some odd quirk of fate they were both going to be in New York City for the same Cheap Trick concert. This led to a meeting over drinks in Manhattan's Chelsea district before the show.

During the soon to be bandmates' first meeting they realized they had a lot in common musically and, even though Thompson hails from Atlanta, GA and Falcone from New Haven, CT, their desire to write songs and work together trumped the limitations of the many miles between them. The result is Tipsy in Chelsea's first CD, an eponymous, independently produced disc by Falcone who co-wrote seven of the nine tracks with Thompson.

Tipsy in Chelsea have old musical souls and they share a love of 60s and 70s soft rock and power pop. Their arrangements incorporate everything from Burt Bacharach to Chicago (they frequently make full use of a horn section). While their influences are obvious they add a modern, glossy sheen that contrasts with the earthier, leaner productions of the classic artists they admire.

Highlights include a very nice cover of The 5th Dimension's 1972 ballad "(Last Night) I Didn't Get to Sleep at All." Jon Auer, co-founder of The Posies and one of the great purveyors of modern power pop, sings backup and mixed both the oldie and the twosome's new "This Real Love." Two other originals, "Absolutely Involuntary" and "Wouldn't Mind the Wait" are tuneful standouts.

Lyrically, the songs are not heavy (they're all about relationships) but they're not maudlin either.

Thompson is a fine singer and Falcone plays guitar along with a whole host of keyboards.

Overall, Tipsy in Chelsea's debut is satisfying mainstream fare that should appeal to all ages, even a rocker like me.

Visit TIC's website and buy their music from Amazon on mp3 or CD.

Forgotten Music Thursday: Poco - Rose of Cimarron (1976)

2013-01-31T06:12:00.000-05:00

None of the five members of Poco were commercially successful when Richie Furay exited the band in 1973 and without their acknowledged leader no one expected anything to change. In fact, at that point it wouldn't have been surprising if the band simply dissolved. They didn't, and when one of their many different lineups finally charted two big hit singles, "Crazy Love" and "Heart Of The Night," from their 1978 album, Legend, most of the world was surprised to learn the long player became a certified gold record.

Poco's 1976 album, Rose of Cimarron (#89 on Billboard's Hot 100), featured the remaining quartet of Rusty Young, Paul Cotton, Timothy B. Schmit, and George Grantham. Their streak of commercial disappointments remained in tact but fortunately, with Furay gone, everyone except drummer Grantham, proved they could write. When you add in the band's always pleasant vocals and their excellent musicianship (supplemented this time around by several studio musicians led by Al Garth) Poco gave the world as fine an album as they ever made.

The record had noticeable differences when compared to Poco's earlier work. For the most part Rose shunned almost all of the country-rock and bluegrass colorings that the Furay version of the outfit was known for as they opted for lighter soft-rock productions instead. Only "Company's Coming/Slowpoke" that closed side one ventured into their classic, familiar terrain.

The highlight is the absolutely marvelous opening track (#94 on the Billboard Hot 100) that gave the album its name. With composer Young's lyrics, gorgeous melody, and pedal steel, and shared lead vocals by Cotton and Schmit, the almost seven minute number became one of the outstanding creations of the band's career.

The song is based on a real historical figure, Rose Dunn, a young, nineteenth century woman raised in Oklahoma who fell in love with an outlaw named George "Bittercreek" Newcomb. Dunn was never really a criminal but she was always kind to Newcomb and his gang so in return they idolized her. Eventually, Dunn's two brothers, both U. S. marshalls, collected a bounty by killing Newcomb in front of their house when he came to visit Rose.

Dunn later married and lived out her life as a solid, law-abiding citizen. Although her exact age was unknown she lived into her 70s and passed away in the early 1950s.

Rose of Cimarron is considered a minor work in the legendary band's catalog. It's quite pleasant without being substantial yet it opened with a truly memorable moment that is an important part of Poco's legacy.

Listen to "Rose of Cimarron" HERE.

Jimmy Lafave - Depending On The Distance (2012)

2013-01-24T06:15:00.000-05:00

Jimmy Lafave is constantly referred to as one of the very best unknown singer-songwriters in the music business. With a stellar twenty year career based out of Austin, TX you would think that an artist with his talent would be more well known. Sadly, he still languishes in near obscurity outside of Texas and his native state of Oklahoma.

It took Lafave five years to follow up his 2007 CD, Cimarron Manifesto, an outstanding set of thoughtful songs that prove his reputation is well deserved. It's an album with all killer and no filler so you need to own the entire album, not just individual tracks. In one of the more lengthy articles in the All Music Guide you'll find some of the most glowing praise I've ever read in a music review.

The trouble with making an album as outstanding as Cimarron is that it's almost impossible to follow it up and such is the case with Lafave's tenth album, Depending on the Distance.

Lafave's ego is not so large that he fills his albums with only his compositions. That's good because he's always had impeccable taste in cover versions and reinterpreting other people's songs. This time around five of the thirteen entries come from the hearts and minds of others. He turns John Waite's pop hit, "Missing You," inside out. He still gives it an uptempo treatment but without all of the melodrama of the original.

Then, there is a remake of Bruce Springsteen's more recent "Land of Hope and Dreams." While not quite as effective as The Boss's version Lafave proves that he and New Jersey's most famous son are kindred spirits. While one is a folky and the other a rocker they come from the same place emotionally and intellectually. Both have done tributes to famous folk musicians: Springsteen a CD full of Pete Seeger songs and Lafave a national tour dedicated to Woody Guthrie.

Lafave is known as a master interpreter of Bob Dylan and here he devotes three tracks to his idol: "Red River Shore," "I'll Remember You," and "Tomorrow is a Long Time." The first two are so good they actually make you forget the bard's originals. Lafave's less than overpowering voice is always pleasant and his gravelly, emotional delivery is actually more appropriate for this material than Dylan's is. The Texan winds up owning both of these songs.

Lafave's originals are always good too but if there is a complaint this time around it's that the album is too top-heavy with ballads. He could have easily turned on the afterburners just a bit more without alienating his loyal following. He's done that effectively in the past. The disc could definitely use a couple more boogie numbers such as "Red Dirt Night." "Talk to Me" and the gospel tinged "Bring Back the Trains" also have an uptempo sound but these soft rockers are not quite enough to get a groove flowing.

If you're a Lafave fan this CD should still be added to your collection. However, this time the covers are better than his own songs.

See Jimmy Lafave's website for more details.

The Beatles - Let It Be...Naked (2003)

2013-01-18T08:39:00.000-05:00

This appropriately titled reissued edition of Let It Be released in 2003 is something that was talked about and wished for by Beatlemaniacs for decades, ever since the Beatles' internal squabbles allowed Phil Spector to muck up the original album in 1970.

By the time the quartet was done with the recording sessions that accompanied the film the four bandmates were sick of the music and each other so the quite eccentric and infamous producer was brought in to try and salvage something good from the whole, tense affair. As John Lennon so famously said after he heard Spector's completed work, "..... he made something of it. When I heard it, I didn't puke."

For those who don't know, Let It Be...Naked is a remixed and revised version of The Beatles' last official album. It will always be considered a minor part of their catalog but this updated CD, minus the the overly flamboyant clothes Spector used to gussy it up, is a better work of art.

The impetus behind this release was to fulfill the goal The Beatles originally intended while making the album: just the four of them playing in the studio while going back to their roots to make bare bones rock with little or no overdubs. It would be the anti-Sgt. Pepper.

Even before you listen to a single note you will see many differences between the two discs just by glancing at Naked's new cover. First, you'll notice the completely changed track sequencing. Also, two worthless song snippets, "Maggie Mae" and "Dig It" were removed from the new version in favor of the quite good "Don't Let Me Down," a song that was part of the recording sessions for both the album and film but left off the final product. Originally, the song had only been released as the flip side of "Get Back."

Then there is the actual music. All of the little extraneous conversations and side comments were removed from the intros and endings of the songs, a welcome change that made the 1970 album feel too much like rehearsals and unfinished tracks.

All of Spector's pretentious orchestrations and/or girl choirs were removed from "Across the Universe," "I, Me Mine," "Let It Be," and most notoriously, "The Long and Winding Road." The only non-Beatle who appeared on any of the tracks was keyboard player Billy Preston whose excellent and unique work provided some much needed spark to the proceedings.

Every song was edited or remixed in some fashion. Some minor overdubbing was used. Examples include "Winding Road" which added electric piano and guitar that weren't on Spector's version. The new "For You Blue" added some acoustic guitar. For "Get Back" The Beatles used the 45 RPM version but without its famous coda.

Also included in the package was a bonus disc with almost twenty-two minutes of dialogue and musical excerpts recorded during the 1969 filming. These boring outtakes are a once and done listening experience.

A Fond Tribute to the CD

2013-01-13T12:09:00.000-05:00

While the CD is not yet dead, or even on life support, it is definitely in intensive care. Over the last decade it's dominance as a musical format has declined to the point of no return so it’s time for a tribute to those shiny, little discs.

I was one person who immediately loved the CD when it arrived on the scene in 1982. I thought I had died and gone to stereo heaven because I always obsessed over the annoying scratches, clicks, and pops that records accumulated over time and I still don’t hear the "warmth" many of the vinyl lovers insist that they do.

As soon as I put my first CD in the little sliding drawer I appreciated its extra playing time (most double LPs could fit on a single disc) and the expanded sonic field. The increased clarity was apparent to me immediately on most percussion and acoustic instruments. Female vocals sounded far superior than they ever did before.

For the first time I started a small classical music collection, in part because the quiet passages many of the pieces contained could be heard without those extraneous noises, turntable hum, or damage done by the tone arm's stylus.

Another impressive thing about the new technology was the massive reissue campaign it spawned. Tons of out of print LPs were re-released as the record companies' archives opened wide. The extensive liner notes that accompanied many of them and the multitude of box sets that became quite popular at the same time were very educational.

You could easily play CDs in your car. All you needed to do was simply slide them into the slot on your dashboard. There was no need to worry about cassette tapes getting tangled in your player. As a bonus you could leave them in a hot car because they wouldn't warp or melt like vinyl did.

I became a fan of multi-disc players and in 1994 my wife bought me a Phillips five-disc carousel player for Christmas to replace my original single disc player. To this day, even though it's starting to show some signs of aging, I still use it on a regular basis, especially in December when during our annual Christmas Eve party I carefully program an eclectic mix of holiday music that plays the entire evening. It will definitely be a sad day when this loyal machine finally joins that great, eternal scrap heap in the sky.

Admittedly, the CD wasn't perfect. The record companies saw to that. The frequent hidden songs were always annoying, especially when they weren't given their own separate tracks. Too often the last song would end but the track wouldn't. Then, after perhaps as much as three minutes of stone cold silence the extra tune, whose title was rarely provided, would suddenly and, without warning, start playing.

Just as stupid were the blank tracks separating the last song from the rest of the disc. One example is the debut release from The Dave Matthews Band, Under the Table and Dreaming. After the eleventh song ended there were twenty-two blank tracks, each just a few seconds long, before the whole CD closed with the last tune, an instrumental named after its track number, "#34."

Another negative side effect encouraged by the CD was that artists often fell too much in love with its additional playing time. They frequently stopped editing themselves. There usually was a reason that the songs they left off of their old LPs didn't make the cut. Instead of choosing the best ten or twelve performances from the sessions for their new album your favorite band could now release fifteen or sixteen songs. Too many times these extras diluted the album, deceiving the consumer into thinking there was less good stuff on it than there really was. It's possible that this was a contributing factor to the demise of the CD. Listeners often believed they were laying out too much cash for mediocre music but the longer discs were almost always sold at the same price as the shorter ones so you were actually getting more songs for your money. However, I think the majority of listeners thought otherwise and this could explain the popularity of buying individual songs today. Music lovers no longer have to pay full price to get the three or four songs they enjoy.

Like almost everyone else who loves music I wholeheartedly embraced iTunes and I currently have over 7,500 songs on my 160 G ipod classic that holds 40,000. Most of the music from my CD collection is being transferred to iTunes and a growing percentage of my purchases are mp3s. I love my ipod, and the convenience it provides, but I worry about losing the whole digital collection should something happen to my computer. I'm still looking for a good, cost effective way to back everything up. I always burn my new purchases to CD to make sure the music is never lost and also because I don’t feel as if I own it if I can't hold a physical copy in my hands.

As wonderful as my ipod is I'm still going to miss the CD.

The 2012 Year End Review

2013-01-07T21:01:00.000-05:00

A little late, here are Bloggerhythms' picks for the best releases of 2012.

1 – The Avett Brothers – The Carpenter
The country-rocking outfit from North Carolina does it again with their second terrific album in a row. The banjo driven "Live and Die" couldn't be more catchy if it tried and you really need to listen to the great power-pop treat, "I Never Knew You." Most of the album is country music with a rock attitude. Great arrangements, songs, and vocals are everywhere. Rick Rubin has really turned the brothers into stars. Details here.

2 – Brandi Carlile – Bear Creek
Carlile's always mature song-writing blooms into full adulthood on this, her fourth, full length, studio album. Reflecting on her childhood and sometimes demonstrating a spiritual side she never displayed before the young singer-songwriter and her ever-present cohorts, the Hanseroth twins, gave us a top notch set of inward looking, philosophical songs. The ballads are sweeter than ever and the rockers are punchier than in the past. Read more here.

3 - The Beach Boys – That's Why God Made the Radio
Who would have believed that Brian Wilson would still generate magic with his old band one last time? He, originals Mike Love and Alan Jardine, along with David Marks, and long time member Bruce Johnston, prove they can still compete with the best harmonizers the world has ever heard. Best of all, Wilson closed the album out with a wonderful suite of tunes that take us back to the days of Pet Sounds and Sunflower. For a lengthy discussion of this very nice epilogue to the California group's very long and storied career read the full review.

4 - Charlie Phillips – What It Is
Charlie Phillips is strictly a local musician who works out of the Philadelphia suburbs but he deserves a much wider audience. The folk-rocker writes great songs, interacts well with his band, and has a small but devoted following. The singer-songwriters of the 70s form the bedrock for all of his music. He's also a lover of rock's supreme royalty, those loveable guys from Liverpool, England. The opening track, "Grace of God," is outstanding. Here's the complete, original review.

5 - JD McPherson – Signs & Signifiers
McPherson is a 50s throwback who has famously said he doesn't like any music after 1957. He might be a little closed-minded but that didn't stop him from using all of the best ingredients from many of rock's early forefathers like Chuck Berry, Eddie Cochran, Little Richard, and Larry Williams and mix them into a big stew with outstanding results. The Oklahoman might be fixed in his ways but if he is going to do only one thing he may as well do it right. Here, on his debut disc, he most certainly does. See more on this fine album.
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HONORABLE MENTIONS (in no particular order)

Mumford & Sons – Babel (Aggressive British folk-rock)
Bruce Springsteen – Wrecking Ball (The Boss still has the goods)
Bonnie Raitt – Slipstream (Her best album in a long, long, time)
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2012’S BEST NEW FIND FROM THE ARCHIVES

Every once in awhile music fans are fortunate enough to stumble upon an old record that they didn't know existed and in 2012 I happily visited a very small, local, used record store while the owner happened to be playing an old Peter Green LP from 1979. Impressed, I quickly added the record to my collection. The long-troubled Fleetwood Mac founder really showed us what he was capable of on this fine album, In the Skies.

Various Artists - Holidays Rule (2012)

2012-12-20T06:00:00.000-05:00

Holidays Rule is this year's Christmas compilation from Hear Music and, as usual, it's available at both Starbuck's and at Amazon. It's also one of the finer seasonal collections the mega-huge coffee empire has ever released and the seventeen song CD may just be their most eclectic ever.

With just a couple of major exceptions Holidays Rule is loaded with a boatload of current pop and rock stars, many who arrived on the scene just in the last couple of years.

Among the old timers and veterans are Irma Thomas and The Preservation Hall Jazz Band. Their "May Everyday Be Christmas" features a more modern arrangement than the famous New Orleans outfit is normally known for. Rufus Wainright and guest Sharon Van Etten acquit themselves well with a slightly new slant on the overplayed, "Baby, It's Cold Outside." Southwestern rockers Calexico check in with "Green Grows the Holly" while folk-rocker Andrew Bird's "Auld Lang Syne" is enhanced by his dignified fiddle work.

I've never liked Paul McCartney's "Wonderful Christmastime" at all (It always felt like he wrote it in the shower in his spare time) but The Shins completely remodel the ex-Beatle's tune with needed improvements that make it far more enjoyable. Speaking of the knighted one, his contribution to the affair is a laid back version of "Nat King Cole's "The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)." Here, the famous Englishman continues in the direction he took earlier this year with his Kisses on the Bottom CD. He sings over top of Diana Krall's very cool piano playing and John Pizzarelli's jazz guitar. The spare arrangement is part jazz, part lounge music, and very satisfying.

Among the newer artists are current Grammy nominee, fun., who open the disc with an offbeat, techno, and slightly eerie take of Leroy Anderson's "Sleigh Ride." The Civil Wars stay true to themselves with a bare bones reading of "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day." Heartless Bastards ("Blue Christmas"), The Head and The Heart ("What Are You Doing New Year's Eve"), and Fruit Bats ("It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas") all turn in worthy performances.

Chris Thile, former mandolin player for Nickel Creek, formed the Punch Brothers after his old band broke up and his new crew conjured up a very nicely rendered version of the only religious song on the album, "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel."

Every track was recorded especially for Starbucks and the CD was produced by Chris Funk of The Decemberists with Sara Matarazzo of Search Party Music. McCartney's production company, MPL, was on board as executive producer.

As with most compilations not everything operates on the same level. However, the unevenness that is almost always apparent on these types of releases is never as overt on Holidays Rule as it is on many other various artists sets and everyone involved gets extra credit for trying something different.

Yogi Yorgesson - I Yust Go Nuts at Christmas (1949)

2012-12-14T13:44:00.002-05:00

Singer-comedian Yogi Yorgesson's real name was Harry Stewart (1908 – 1956). Yorgesson was simply a persona the latter used to release over forty songs for Capitol Records beginning in 1949.

Stewart was originally a radio announcer in the late 1920s in Tacoma, Washington where he invented an act featuring Yorgesson in the mid-30s. Stewart later took his shtick to night clubs where the Swedish character evolved over the years. Finally, in 1948, Stewart became a singer, recording two songs under the Yorgesson name. When the sides proved successful Capitol Records picked up his contract and the following year they released "I Yust Go Nuts at Christmas" with "Yingle Bells" as the B side. The novelty record became a big seasonal hit. Billed as Yogi Yorgesson with the Johnny Duffy Trio, the 78 RPM record sold over one million copies nationally and became a certified gold disc.

Eventually the song was forgotten until Dr. Demento regularly featured it on his syndicated radio show in the 1970s. Since then, it has achieved status as a real Christmas cult classic.

Almost everyone who hears Yorgesson's most famous song will tell you it's hysterical. His Swedish accent is obviously fake but good enough for listeners to get the joke. Both the song and the arrangement, with its cheesy organ lead, sound quite dated today but that is part of its charm. Lyrically, "Yust Go Nuts" is as current now as it was back in '49. The singer spins a yarn about how a blockheaded husband buys a carpet sweeper for his wife instead of a nightgown as a present because he doesn't know her size. The second half of the song tells the tale of relatives who really can't stand each other gathering together only once a year at Christmas and trying unsuccessfully to co-exist on the big day.

In addition to Yorgesson, Stewart included other fake ethnic characters in his repertoire, most notably Harry Kari of Japan and a German named Klaus Hammerschmidt.

Stewart's career ended in 1956 when he was killed in a car accident.

John Lennon & Yoko Ono - Happy Christmas (War is Over) Official Video

2012-12-08T15:31:00.000-05:00

It's almost trite to post a tribute to John Lennon on the anniversary of his death so, even though I consider myself to be one of the world's biggest fans of The Beatles, I've never participated in the ritual. However, this year I've decided to make the first Christmas music post a very simple statement. It's his famous Christmas song's official video.

It's true that Lennon was a contradiction. Here was a man with a mile wide violent streak who did so much to promote world peace and, outside of his great music, that's what he'll always be remembered for.

Happy Christmas John!

The Bucket List: Stevie Wonder - Songs In the Key of Life (1976)

2012-12-06T06:20:00.000-05:00

Let's get right to the point. Stevie Wonder's Songs in the Key of Life is one of the greatest albums of all time. It's also his magnum opus, filling two whole LPs and a four song EP with twenty-one songs in all.

Although Wonder finished off his outstanding decade with the very good Hotter than July in 1980 he came close to emptying his aresnal with Songs. Just like other artists who issued huge multi-album sets Motown's resident genius threw every single one of his musical ideas and influences into the stew. The result was one of the very few releases of its kind that doesn't waste any space. Not even The Beatles double album of 1968, as diverse and wonderful as it was, could make that claim.

No matter what subject or genre Songs tackled it overflowed with excellence. Wonder's topics ranged from love and social commentary to God and spirituality. They included the pure pop of "Isn't She Lovely" (a love song to his new baby daughter), to the hybrid, jazz-rock of "Sir Duke" (a tribute to one of Wonder's idols, Duke Ellington), and a nostalgic tale of the star's childhood ("I Wish"). There's more: the earthy and unique "As" as well as moving ballads such as "Love's in Need of Love Today" and "If it's Magic." He also touched on racial issues with "Black Man" and "Village Ghetto Land." "Contusion" is a jazz-fusion instrumental.

One of the reasons Songs in the Key of Life is an uncommonly excellent record, especially when compared to Wonder's subsequent releases, is because he still employed a band in the studio to flesh out his ideas. It wouldn't be long until he took the easy way out by becoming too attached to the synthesizer. Unfortunately that allowed him too many opportunities to produce almost everything himself without input from a supporting team.

Wonder’s talents are so immense that he has always transcended the R& B world. He has been embraced by folkies, jazz musicians, and pop fans alike. He's always been one of the few black artists to receive routine airplay on album oriented rock radio stations. Songs in the Key of Life is one of the reasons why.