The Middle 8

2011 In Review: 5 Album Letdowns

noreply@blogger.com (rcb) — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 02:01:00 +0000

Not saying any of these are bad albums, because they're not. But it's pretty much impossible to avoid standing a new album up against the previous one that you absolutely loved (or against a larger body of work). And in the ruthless world of "what should I listen to right now?" these never got out of the shadows of that or other patently unfair and/or shallow comparisons below.

Elbow / Build A Rocket, Boys!
Previous disc was in the top tier of favorites from the last decade. This set is not as consistent. Its 8-minute opener does join "Art Of Almost" in making 2011 a good year for long openers, but other tracks wear out their welcome in much less time. One of the better tracks is "Jesus Is A Rochdale Girl", although my notes read, "Leave it to Elbow to work a duvet into the lyrics."
PICK 3: "The Birds", "Lippy Kids", "Jesus Is A Rochdale Girl"

Radiohead / The King Of Limbs
My review opened with "Welcome to a good minor Radiohead record." Turns out there was no "other record" to follow it, after all. Modest ambition, modest accomplishment. Personally, this has still never been the answer to "Some Radiohead would be good right now, but which album?" I'm not sure any other disc of theirs has managed that for this long.

Robbie Roberston / How To Become Clairvoyant
His first solo disc in forever. Unfortunately, once you get past the genuine appreciation that Robbie Robertson put out his first solo disc in forever, the quality doesn't compare favorably to either his older solo work or the Paul Simon album that came out at the same time.

Death Cab For Cutie / Codes And Keys
We've already pretty much covered this.

Gomez / Whatever's On Your Mind
First problem was the title, which as usual was reported well before any music was heard. Whatever's On Your Mind? It made a bland first impression. Then later, the actual album cover: The band name in white, dropping into a vat of milk, or cement, or papier mache, or some other slightly more grayish white substance. It only reinforced every negative perception of washed-out, uninspired content that had formed around the title. Finally, the music, which did in fact seem to lack some inspiration, some spark, especially compared to the sleeper front-to-back favorite that the previous A New Tide had been. Was my perception overly tainted by all this, or by later reading that the guys had basically recorded the entire thing without ever being in the same recording studio? You be the judge. I love the band; I've bought my ticket to their next show in town. But this just fell flat.

Revisited: Sting / Bring On The Night

noreply@blogger.com (rcb) — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 03:43:00 +0000

"Now when I had mastered the language of this water and had come to know every trifling feature that bordered the great river as familiarly as I knew the letters of the alphabet, I had made a valuable acquisition. But I had lost something, too. I had lost something which could never be restored to me while I lived. All the grace, the beauty, the poetry had gone out of the majestic river!"

- Mark Twain, Life On The Mississippi

Seventeen years old, checking out record stores as a matter of course, but not yet regularly aware of what records were coming out when: that's one of the sweet spots in the life of a music fan. It's a sweet spot that follows you around, so I was squarely in it enjoyed it even when Hunter and his mom were kind enough to take me along for a campus visit to Chapel Hill at the start of our senior year. They were also nice enough to indulge me with a stop into some tiny, narrow record store as we strolled down Franklin Street on a warm fall night in 1986.

And that is where this sweet spot preserved the element of surprise upon seeing a live double album by Sting, and so soon after his solo debut. It was a little thrill made larger through mystery, a stunned and giddy WTF in the era before WTF. I got my copy and waited to get home, where I could drop the needle on a souvenir from the only Sting tour I wouldn't see in person for the next thirteen years.

Cut to last night, and "Bring On The Night > When The World Is Running Down, You Make The Best Of What's Still Around" comes up on shuffle. The late, great Kenny Kirkland starts tearing up his solo. Of course, I've played, listened to, and written about a lot of music in the 25 years since the first time I heard Kirkland's playing through the turntable and speakers in my bedroom upon arrival back in Richmond. It isn't a surprise anymore, but just as Twain remembers a certain sunset from years earlier in the essay above, I can still connect to the wonder of that first listen. I never became proficient at jazz, which helps in this case. I've accumulated enough aptitude to appreciate Kirkland's dexterity and skills, but still little enough so that even now I can't fully understand what he was thinking in parts of it as I listen, the shapes or fragments of logic forming in his head an instant before transmitting to his fingers. The experience of listening to those runs remains akin to comprehending the meaning of a poem written and read to you in a language you don't speak. Magic.

And that's when the mini-epiphany hit me, a corollary of sorts to Twain's lament: We get the most pleasure from what we only partially understand.

Time (well, along with the internet) also lent me additional perspective in appreciating Bring On The Night as a career move, both in terms of artistic choice and sheer physical and creative accomplishment. Look at this sequence of events.

- March 4, 1984 - The Police play the final concert of a three-leg, 107-show world tour in support of Synchronicity.
- Summer '84 - Sting has begun writing material for his first solo disc.
- January '85 - He recruits a band full of jazz musicians.
- March '85 - Early that month, the band goes to Barbados to record the album. They finish in seven weeks.
- June 1, 1985 - Dream Of The Blue Turtles hits the shelves.

So less than fifteen months after ending a three-legged tour as the frontman for arguably the biggest band in the world, Sting has left the band, written an album of usable (to put it lightly) material, formed a band from scratch (made of players from a different genre), recorded an album with the new band, and made a documentary about the process leading up to the group's first shows together.

Oh, yeah: he also CHANGED INSTRUMENTS. Handed the bass to Daryl Jones and played rhythm guitar in a band for the first time in his professional life.

It's worth observing a couple of decisions that went into the tour set and the album tracklist. Unlike McCartney after the Beatles broke up, he did not run away from his body of work with the previous band. Just under half of the average night's setlist came from the Police catalog. However, the main set's Police material was short on hits. Instead, he rescued and/or revamped songs with the end result that more than a few Police fans would not have known they weren't new songs altogether. I'd call them improved in all cases, from the now uptempo "Shadows In The Rain" opener to two highlights of the show in "I Burn For You" (originally a contribution to the Brimstone & Treacle soundtrack) and "Low Life" (born as b-side to "Spirits In The Material World").

"Driven To Tears" and "Demolition Man" gave the main set some adrenaline while also playing into the social consciousness of much of the new record. Later on the in tour, the "Tea In The Sahara > Walking On The Moon" duo entered the set. Only in the encore did he allow for some pure "give the people what they want" fun -- "Roxanne", "Every Breath You Take", "Message In A Bottle" -- but even then, the warhorses had the advantage of interpretation by a fresh lineup.

In fact, my main criticism of the live document would be that in leaving so much popular material off the album, Sting created a slightly skewed picture of what this tour was. Not that I can exactly argue with the Blue Turtles b-side "Another Day" getting a deserved high-profile re-airing, or the inclusion of the reconstituted Police songs. But ignoring the above trio of Police classics left off (we'll chalk that up to forging a new chapter of his career), isn't it discretion run amok to leave "If You Love Somebody, Set Them Free" off this album?

Yet in the end, what did make the cut overcame the omission of the hit single (and the fades between tracks, poor production form for any live album). It's even a double album that escapes the common (and often correct) "should've been a single" critique. Say what you might about Sting, but if you spend a few centuries taking 10,000 frontmen/songwriters for the biggest bands in the world at their given moments in time, you won't find another one who introduces that degree of change and invites that level of scrutiny into their next move.

Maybe that Twain passage is better applied to Sting circa 1984 than to me. As the singer said back then, after so many years in (and writing for) a trio, there are no surprises. As a byproduct first of interest and then talent, Sting (like Twain) had gotten to know the river too well. Not that Twain didn't do OK for himself in his second profession, of course. However, Sting deserves all the credit he gets (and some he doesn't) for navigating his own situation by daring to get off the boat and go find another river.

"I Burn For You"

(How much of a badass is Omar Hakim?)

Get up, try and understand. Raise your hand!

noreply@blogger.com (prs) — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 23:51:00 +0000

The twin gods of commerce and memory are conspiring to commemorate albums both significant to me (Achtung Baby) and not significant (uh, Nevermind), but this fall is the 20th anniversary of an event even more important to me and the other, more-frequent, author of this here blogthing. Sometime in the fall of 1991, Robert and I went into the basement of 5917 Blackhorse Lane and listened to a CD.

So what, you're probably saying. I bet this happened a million times, right? Right, but it only happened for this particular CD once and the chain of events that have occurred directly as a result of that fall evening is one of the longest and shiniest of my life.

The CD in question is disc one of Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band's Live 1975-85 box set, and I literally have not been the same ever since I heard it that night. Of course, I'd heard Bruce before that night, and even waited out all night long in 1986 in the parking lot of Tyson's Corner Mall in a futile attempt to buy tickets for one of those huge stadium shows during the Born in the USA tour, but my fandom was casual at best. I had not yet been converted.

I can tell you from direct experience that if you're looking for a conversion experience, you could not do much better for Holy Shit moment than a fall evening in a basement in Roanoke, Virginia, and a disc that starts with a piano/vocal version of Thunder Road and ends with Bruce Springsteen telling you not to wait on what you want, what you need and to open up your windows and wake the neighbors.

(Alright, it technically ends with Two Hearts, but go with me here...)

I haven't had many experiences in my life that I would classify as spiritual, but that night was certainly one of them. For the rest of the next year, both Robert and I busily pursued Complete Catalog Consumption, one of the most pleasurable aspects of musical obsession. Robert started out with more records than I had, but we both had the whole set by spring, and we had untold conversations with ourselves and others that consisted of little else than re-purposed lyrics. We made mix tapes, not only to woo women, but to woo ourselves. We annoyed family and friends with all the fervor of the recently converted. We became friends beyond friendship.

And that what it's all about (in this case, "it's" will refer to Bruce Springsteen's music and ethos, which is roughly equivalent to all the positive vibrations that humans are capable of, which is not any kind of overstatement). There's a tour next year, and I hope we can take in a show together. How many more there will be is a sad mystery, but we know that we can't take them for granted. We have to take them as they come.

Buon anniversario, mio caro amico. Due cuori sono meglio di uno.

Monday Morning Quarterback: Beatles For Sale

noreply@blogger.com (rcb) — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 14:00:00 +0000

I should've been doing other work, or at least figuring out an approach for end-of-year posts here, but instead, I watched some football and listened to Beatles For Sale. Well, not exactly Beatles For Sale ... the version fans would've bought if I'd been in charge and if the Fab Four had not had to deal with the whole "you need to record and release singles, and none of that is allowed on the album" mentality.

This is one of the nerdy projects that came with the '09 remasters -- making your alternate versions, with all the recordings from those sessions eligible (e.g., "Penny Lane" and "Strawberry Fields Forever" can be on Sgt. Pepper's). At ten songs, my version runs a slim 24+ minutes, but I dare you to say it ran short on musical goodness. All tracks from the stereo album unless otherwise noted. There's really only one way this album should have started ...

1) I Feel Fine (Past Masters, Vol. 1)
2) No Reply
3) I'll Follow The Sun
4) She's A Woman (Mono Masters, Vol. 1)
5) Eight Days A Week
6) Honey Don't
7) Every Little Thing
8) I'm A Loser
9) Baby's In Black
10) Rock & Roll Music

Whenever I talk about Beatles For Sale and this piece of their career, I have to mention how much these recordings are marked and improved by George Martin's piano (see "No Reply"). So there, now it's mentioned.

Also, have you listened to "Eight Days A Week" lately? Perhaps with headphones? Listening to all the choices in that arrangement, it's obvious that despite all the advances in technology, not a whole lot has changed in the world of what makes a great pop single. What a great track. (I know they were thinking mono back then, but I'll take the stereo in part because it's easier to isolate and enjoy some of those choices. Dig those handclaps on the right.)

You Can't Break 'Em: Springsteen GPS For 2012 Points To E Street

noreply@blogger.com (rcb) — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 02:10:00 +0000

One argument you see a lot after someone in a band leaves -- or worse, dies -- is what should happen to the band. I've seen people express surprise or disapproval that the remaining members would continue, or continue with a certain swiftness. As if their primary purpose is to protect and enhance fans' favorite/preferred version of the band, the one they fell in love with.

But the fact is, these are human beings, living their own life as well as providing some soundtrack for yours. It's human instinct to gather after a loss. Music can help healing like little else. So when a true band suffers a loss, actually about the most sensible thing you can expect a bunch of musicians to do is get back in a room together and do what they do. Doing it for some other people doesn't hurt, either. (New album next year, Europe tour in late spring/summer. History suggests U.S. dates after that, or some select U.S. dates before Europe, with a "proper" tour after.

Given the theme of community in Bruce Springsteen's work over the last thirty years, I would not guarantee that another E Street record was at the top of the list (as opposed to, say, a solo project) before Clarence's death (maybe it was, I don't know). But given what this year has held, I'm not surprised that he took another look at his notebooks and picked up that phone.

You sit and wonder just who's gonna stop the rain
Who'll ease the sadness, who's gonna quiet the pain
It's a long dark highway and a thin white line
Connecting baby, your heart to mine
We're runnin' now but darlin' we will stand in time
To face the ties that bind
The ties that bind
Now you can't break the ties that bind

Dancing With Mr. G: Rolling Stones Release Brussels '73 On Google Music

noreply@blogger.com (rcb) — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 02:22:00 +0000

(Note: I was wrong. Not free. It's $4.99. The new DMB release from this summer *is* free. But not the Stones. I guess in retrospect "free" and "Mick Jagger" go together even less than I surmised. Sorry for the error.)

In the annals of classic Rolling Stones boots, two shows from '73 tend to dominate discussion of that era, and one of those is Brussels Affair. As mentioned on Keef's site, if you're the type who would sign up for a Google account and download their music manager just to get a cheap, official, professional mix of that show, then you're in luck. That's exactly the offer on the table from Google Music and the firm of Jagger, Richards, Watts & Associates.

Richards' website says there will be more shows forthcoming. In fact, let's hand it to Keith ...

As you'd expect, while the bootleg was known for its relative sound quality, the professional mix just blows it away. I've never been a big fan of Get Your Ya-Ya's Out, and the Stones have released their share of dubious live albums in the intervening years. But this? With Mick Taylor and the horn section and Billy Preston on the organ (particularly more audible than on the boot)? It's a gas, gas, gas.

The Rolling Stones
Brussels Affair (Live 1973)

brown sugar / gimme shelter / happy / tumbling dice / starfucker / dancing with mr. d / heartbreaker / angie / you can't always get what you want / midnight rambler / honky tonk women / all down the line / rip this joint / jumping jack flash / street fighting man

Quick news: Sting 25 For The iPad

noreply@blogger.com (rcb) — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 22:46:00 +0000

I'm just getting into this Sting 25 For The iPad app, but I can already tell you it is a terrific deal for the price, because it's free. It's big, not much under 500 MB, but on flip side, there's the one obvious draw I've seen: a few professional full-song videos of performances from his 60th birthday "party" at the Beacon Theater. Specifically:

- "I Hung My Head" by Bruce Springsteen (including original E Streeter and later Sting sideman David Sancious on keyboards)
- "King Of Pain" by Lady Gaga
- "Fragile" by Stevie Wonder
- "Wrapped Around Your Finger" by Rufus Wainwright
- "Consider Me Gone" by Herbie Hancock & Branford Marsalis

I can't guarantee it's all great, but it is at least taking a serious shot at embracing the capabilities of the iPad from what I've seen so far. Some video and/or audio clips from each album (both from the time and some modern-day reflections), and a ton of photos/captions from over the years, etc.

The Washington Post reports this app cost over $1 million to make. Sting is quoted as saying it's free because he wasn't sure what to charge for it (picking up a little sponsorship from Chevrolet and American Express probably helped preserve some uncertainty). In any event, welcome to the awkward adolescence of financial models for complex iPad apps from rock stars; enjoy its short-lived fan benefits. I passed on the actual box set because there wasn't much new there for me. But here, I'm watching Rufus Wainwright (with Sting on bass) right at home belting out lines about Charybdis and alabaster and whatnot, and my recommendation echoes Ferris Bueller: "If you have the means, I highly recommend picking one up."

Review: Death Cab For Cutie / Codes & Keys

noreply@blogger.com (rcb) — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 16:11:00 +0000

This album came out in what, late spring? After Plans (along with Gimme Fiction) started to change my view of modern rock in 2005 and Narrow Stairs followed as a worthy complement, this year's Codes & Keys struck me as a serious step backward. I listened to it two or three times and moved on.

Now, it's time for end-of-year reviews. Could it really have been so bad? Well, not exactly. But it is the most confusing (and possibly confused) record I heard this year.

When the pulsing but light electronic bed of rhythm and ambiance sets up under (and then over) a minimalist guitar in the opening "Home Is A Fire", I like it. Sounds good in general. The neat, quick ending that decays away? Also a plus. Could my dismissal have been as simple as the difference between approaching the first listen while thinking "I hope they've made another good one," versus "I'm probably not going to like this very much"?

Sadly, no. It turns out Codes & Keys does, in fact, deeply mislead the listener and kneecap itself by taking two of the three weakest recordings on the album and making them half of the first four tracks.

The title song, with its kick drum thud and a pounding saloon upright, has no exceptional quality. But that's better than "Some Boys", where "some boys" are doing this, that, and the other, but that's OK because "some boys don't know how to love." And it gets worse: "Some boys are filling the hole" while "some boys are sleeping alone." Srsly? Lonely teenage boys, as I recall, don't delude themselves with that kind of rationale, and they also write better poetry than that (and to be clear, they don't write good poetry). Also, *that* is the pivotal third song on a DCFC record? Dumbfounded.

Things never get that bad again. A couple of other songs ("Doors Unlocked And Open", "Unobstructed Views") hint at a decent departure of an album that could've been good, say, for listening while driving alone on the Autobahn on a cloudy day. But an actual guitar riff(!) pops up on "You Are A Tourist", and most of the second half is a demonstrably more energetic, better constructed, more interesting (and interested) batch of music.

I have to mention the last two tracks. "St. Peter's Cathedral" gets extra fruit cup for echoing two sentiments I share: the title building is awe-inspiring, and when you die, you die. I admire any band who takes pains to make either of those points clear. Do both, and you're doing something that qualifies as art, if not necessarily great art. Depending on how you care to look at it, DCFC either had the grace or lacked the chutzpah to end the record on that note, instead capping with an antidote in "Stay Young, Go Dancing". A six-string acoustic makes a cameo to inject some warmth, alongside some strings and a refrain of "life is sweet ..."

In the end, Codes & Keys sounds like two different thoughts about how it should be made, each denied full authority and forced to share a small office together. Both have their imperfections, but the decision to display the worst so prominently is perplexing. The Autobahn record had potential. The more traditional record was off to a decent start, too. In an age where a running order has gone from a set-in-stone mandate to a mere suggestion -- if you even fetched the whole album in the first place -- maybe Codes & Keys requires only a little trimming, a little denial, and a little sequencing to finally become the two decent EP's it wants to be.

Review: Tom Waits / Bad As Me

noreply@blogger.com (rcb) — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 18:40:00 +0000

In case you're in a hurry: this is a great Tom Waits album. To give the rest of you some context, I'm not a diehard -- of his "classic" catalog, I only ever bought Nighthawks At The Diner, which was entertaining but not exactly five-star material for my personal taste. However, after taking most of the '90s off, Waits got my full attention at the end of the century with Mule Variations. That debut of what's been a fruitful relationship with the ANTI- label contained several strong tracks -- including "Get Behind The Mule" and later, "Take It With Me", which is, in fact, one of not very many no-questions five-star songs on my iPod. It's one of those songs where you listen to it, it breaks your heart, and then you thank it for the privilege.

Twelve years later, following a live album that I reluctantly passed on because his voice just sounded godawful (yes, even by Tom Waits standards), out comes Bad As Me. The samples sounded encouraging, and I got the deluxe version. Yes, 16 songs is a lot of Tom Waits at once, and that concerned me, but there was no way I was passing up a Waits composition called "After You Die".

Bad As Me finds Waits riding comfortably in any of his usual gears -- Waits The Howler, Waits The Philosopher, Waits The Crooner, plus assorted other characters. Tremolo-trimmed nervous energy, sweet waltzes, a frantic two-step, even a little Tex-Mex balladry with some Real Book old-school chord changes ... it's all here. Beyond Waits, the credit for this kind of sonic toolbox goes to the personnel. Marc Ribot is back with his guitar, all angles and feel at the same time. Los Lobos' David Hidalgo is a welcome name on most of these tracks, even pulling out the violin on one. Augie Myers (lately of Bob Dylan's recent output) contributes some piano and stabbing organ, while Charlie Musselwhite's harmonica dirties things up just so.

Bass? Yeah, Flea and Les Claypool chip in there.

Lyrically, there's a lot of moving, leaving, and lament of insufficient character in the first half (of course, in some songs, his character may BE the one with insufficient character, but that only supports his point, doesn't it?). For the amount of stylistic diversity, there's more thematic continuity than you might expect, and that plus fairly lean running times helps Bad As Me feel like an album instead of a bunch of songs that share a disc.

Of course, this universe isn't especially sunny, but it's rendered so well in terms of observation ("Why does a wedding ring have a heart of stone?") and its part-antiquated, part-industrial sound that it's, well, better. And one odd thing about Waits is that when he sounds his most unhinged vocally, there's a decent chance he's the most focused lyrically, as in "Hell Broke Luce":

Nimrod Bodfish, have you any wool
Get me another body bag the body bag’s full
My face was scorched, scorched
I miss my home I miss my porch, porch
Left, right, left ...

Other times, he gets into list mode and just starts letting fly with the little detailed images. That's entertaining enough on one level, really, but the coherence of the overall effect is what rookies can only (and should) aspire to. I probably wouldn't be here to enjoy the rants, though, if he couldn't deliver the occasional set piece designed for emotional impact. One PR item for Bad As Me is Keith Richards' appearance on a song called "Satisfied", replete with references to "Mr. Jagger and Mr. Richards". But the real treat of Keef's visit is the next song, "Last Leaf", where he shares vocals as well as guitar duty.

I’m the last leaf on the tree
The autumn took the rest
But they won’t take me
I’m the last leaf on the tree

You can see why Richards was amenable to participating. If Tom's voice is a dealbreaker for you, I get it. But if it's not, and you're a casual Waits fan or more, then you should participate, too.

Tom Waits / "Last Leaf"

noreply@blogger.com (rcb) — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 16:52:00 +0000

A metaphor that's been waiting around forever. And Tom Waits. And Keith Richards.

Coming attractions: DMB / Live In Atlantic City

noreply@blogger.com (rcb) — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 01:49:00 +0000

This is fairly promising. If there's a semi-consistent criticism of DMB retail live releases, it's that marketing seems to push special venues up the list over criteria like performance. Not that there've been many of what I'd call subpar releases, but now and then, you can't help but get the feeling that the process didn't involve putting every show from the tour on equal footing and then listening for the best performance.

So it's with a little irony that fans are getting what seems like a safer bet in the form of a show from Atlantic City. Pre-order is up for this souvenir from the third night at the band's temporary boardwalk empire (discs expected to ship on December 9). In addition to boasting one of the overall rarest setlists of the year, it features what I'd call a pretty huge first half. And to go with that disc's six "old" classics, a Ferris wheel concept returns to the cover art, echoing the Under The Table And Dreaming cover (or for you geekier fans, the "Typical Situation" promo).

Disc two looks fine, too, rolling out an Aerosmith cover to keep the more common Sly Stone and Dylan covers company. But for my taste, the first half is where the action is, including my favorite opener and then the now-stretched-out arrangement of "Lying In The Hands Of God".

(As usual, buyers can choose from CD, FLAC, or mp3. The CD pre-order types will be rewarded with a five-song bonus disc including songs from the other two nights in AC, the highlight on paper being "Squirm".)

Dave Matthews Band
Live In Atlantic City
d1: seek up / warehouse / what would you say / kill the king / granny / lying in the hands of god / digging a ditch / one sweet world / tripping billies
d2: dive in / raven / so much to say / sweet emotion / too much / all along the watchtower / some devil / halloween / ants marching / thank you (falettin me be mice elf again)

preorder bonus disc: squirm / you might die trying / satellite / corn bread / spaceman

Review: Grateful Dead / Road Trips Vol. 4, No. 5 (Boston 6/9/76)

noreply@blogger.com (rcb) — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 02:35:00 +0000

The Boston 6/9/76 show shouldn't be anyone's first show, and it won't be anyone's favorite. But like November '73, June '74, or May '77, June '76 ranks as one of the most reliable months in the band's three-decade career. The Dead traded some abandon for steady execution in their first post-hiatus tour -- throw a dart at the gigography and you just can't hit a bad performance -- and although this approach would grow into a full-blown powerhouse of sound and performance one year later, 1976 still offers its share of modest but particular charms.

The negatives for this show? It falls on a night the skips a couple of setlist favorites in the rotation that year: no "Playing In The Band", and no combo involving "Help On The Way > Slipknot!" One of the relatively "new" songs, "Cassidy" was a good song from the start but had yet to acquire the first-set mini-jam that would raise its profile later. Plus, the set closed with "Around And Around", a permanent entry in my tracks-to-skip list. No offense, Mr. Berry.

On the good side, '76 deserves its rep for good first sets. Between the essentially error-free performances and the fantastic sound of this release, makers of live Dead samplers for their friends could turn to this set for versions of the even newer "The Music Never Stopped" and "Crazy Fingers". The latter sounds especially good, exquisitely unhurried but never plodding, with that hint of Jamaica from the drummers and a Spanishesque jam at the end.

The main attraction, however, still waits on disc two. The "St. Stephen > Eyes Of The World > "Let It Grow" three-pack lives up to billing, with a several-minute intro to "Eyes" and a "Let It Grow" with a bpm just enough beyond the norm to make it more engrossing than some of the plenty good '74 versions. "St. Stephen" sounds as if it fades in at the very beginning, which is extremely odd, but whatever. The first chunk of its middle jam is probably my favorite musical space of the night. The disc also features the fresh "Lazy Lightning > Supplication" pairing that brings the kind of fully formed jam we missed in "Cassidy".

While the third disc is low on highlights and gets weighted down by a preponderance of slower bonus tracks from 6/12, it gets buoyed at the end with a "Sugar Magnolia > U.S. Blues > Sunshine Daydream". While the year gets criticized by some for over-careful playing, there's no denying '76 featured a sense of adventure in mixing and matching segues/songs that would not be seen again on that level.

Phil really shines in this beautiful recording, and the night's other key player (no pun intended) is Keith. Godchaux is nimble throughout, with little fills and runs that would become much less frequent even a year later. He is fully engaged in this slightly undersized venue, and it makes a world of difference, whether lifting up first-set material like "They Love Each Other" or pulling up to the sadly underused electric piano and engaging in a three-headed "Eyes" outro with Phil and Jerry.

So is this release better than Dick's Picks 20, taken from two shows later in the year? Close call. Probably so, pound for pound. Will the upcoming Dave's Picks series serve up a better show with its first '76 selection? Probably again, but who knows if it will, or when that will be. In the meantime, for an often overlooked year, 1976 has done OK in terms of official releases. Upon further review, DP33 is the cream of the crop so far. Cow Palace 12/31/76 has its moments (and possibly higher highs) scattered across the three discs, with this set being more consistently enjoyable. Beyond DP33, you can likely go by which songs you like best and come out in good shape.

Grateful Dead
June 9, 1976 @ Boston Music Hall
d1: cold rain and snow / cassidy / scarlet begonias / the music never stopped / crazy fingers / big river / they love each othe r/ looks like rain / ship of fools / promised land (end of set)
d2: st. stephen > eyes of the world > let it grow / brown-eyed women / lazy lightning > supplication / high time / samson & delilah / it must have been the roses
d3: dancing in the street > wharf rat > around and around // franklin's tower (only standalone franklin's encore) /// (bonus tracks from 6/12) mission in the rain / the wheel / comes a time / sugar magnolia > u.s. blues > sunshine daydream

U2 / Achtung Baby (Super Deluxe "B-sides & Bonus Tracks" Disc)

noreply@blogger.com (rcb) — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 01:10:00 +0000

Real-time review of Disc 5 of the Super Deluxe version of the Achtung, Baby reissue (related: the review of the Kindergarten disc). Ready ... set ...

LADY WITH THE SPINNING HEAD
This is not a random choice for the opening track. As Edge has noted, this song is a seed song, a patriarch of sorts, for what would become Achtung Baby. "Zoo Station", "Ultraviolet", and "The Fly" all have their origins in this b-side to the "One" single. So it's a kind of Frankenstein in reverse, but it has at least three good instrumental and vocal hooks.

Over at Naive Harmonies, they dig the extended remix (which would claim its own B-side three months later). I don't blame 'em.

BLOW YOUR HOUSE DOWN
For those who knew the rough figure-it-out-as-we-go-along recordings from the Achtung session boots, this was a must-have for the reissue tracklist. Riding the propulsion of fat bursts of guitar, it was for many of us the best shot (as far as we knew) of a Great Lost Track from these sessions. It falls short of that lofty ambition, thanks to a two-part bridge that derails just enough of the first half's more primitive energy to knock it down a notch.

SALOME
However, this "Even Better Than The Real Thing" b-side ranks near the top of the era's b-sides, with Adam's bass riff, a well-constructed melody, and an ever-interesting blend of guitar and little production weirdnesses on top (including a few handclaps). Its guitar solo is also much better than on the previous track. If you or a loved one like Achtung, Baby but for whatever reason weren't buying singles back then, this is the kind of reason to jump in now.

EVEN BETTER THAN THE REAL THING (SINGLE VERSION)
Gotta admit, not a ton of difference to these ears between this single version and the album version (identical lengths, by the way). Not like "Please" a few years later, where they would really put some effort into making a better track.

SATELLITE OF LOVE
Another "One" b-side. A good arrangement and performance, more enjoyable if you are a big Lou Reed fan, but it doesn't approach the greatness of, say, "Dancing Barefoot" in the band's cover b-side canon.

WHO'S GONNA RIDE YOUR WILD HORSES (TEMPLE BAR REMIX)
More an "alternate mix" in spirit than a remix -- this isn't trying to draw you onto the dance floor. This b-side probably the remix that makes the best case for being a reasonable replacement on the album. Another fine version of some grand, sweeping U2.

HEAVEN AND HELL
Another title recognized from the old pre-release bootlegs. A midtempo 3/4 featuring a descending bass line and a prominent organ part, its bridge is shorter and with a better solo than its previously unreleased predecessor on the disc. Bono has a finished lyric with more than its share of details, but you could understand if they figured it just didn't sound like the album they were making. A couple of awkward moments in the instrumental performance demonstrate that this didn't get pursued but so far in the sessions, but Edge was kind enough to put some stylistically appropriate riffs and fills in here, and it is cut down from a more meandering exploratory version on the boot.

OH BERLIN
Now here's one that wasn't even on the Hansa boots. It's a postcard from Bono to the city where they got both lost and found making this album. Spoken verses and a sung chorus give it something different, but this is squarely in b-side territory (an assessment cemented by Bono's extended Rilke quote. It may be good literature, but in a rock setting it sounds not unlike wanking). A certain college in Ohio should totally rework the lyrics into some sort of avant-garde fight song, since the chorus sounds exactly like, "Oberlin ... Oberlin ..."

NEAR THE ISLAND (INSTRUMENTAL)
About 2:45 of relaxing piano/guitar interlude. Could be Eno and Edge. Could be Edge and Edge. If it were fleshed out, it'd sound like a close cousin to "Bass Trap". Nice.

DOWN ALL THE DAYS
An odd juxtaposition in retrospect -- the music that would come to be known as "Numb" behind a spiritually based vocal from Bono. Maybe they decided the chasm between the sound of Edge's guitar here and the lyric vibe was just too great. Maybe if they had instead pulled in the organ from "Heaven & Hell" .... As it stands, the most impressive part is, as alluded to on one or two tracks in the Kindergarten post, how willing the band was to do a total 180 regarding what to put on top of this music.

PAINT IT BLACK / FORTUNATE SON
Pairing these "Who's Gonna Ride ..." b-sides together since the review is the same: Exceptional, concise, tough covers. Strong choices and strong performances, totally finished and produced. And they -- especially the John Fogerty's -- haven't lost all of their relevance, either.

ALEX DESCENDS INTO HELL FOR A BOTTLE OF MILK / KOROVA
Although it may be their last, "Spiderman" was not Bono and Edge's first foray into musical theater. They wrote some music for a Royal Shakespeare Company interpretation of A Clockwork Orange. I don't think it went over terrifically, but then again, it didn't become a synonym for theatric disaster, either. Anyway, this was a disappointing b-side to "The Fly" at the time. Now, it's an enjoyable enough atmospheric curio from the time.

WHERE DID IT ALL GO WRONG?
The companion to "Salome" and the two previous covers, in terms of catchy songs that are produced more like A-sides than the B-sides they were (this backed "Even Better Than The Real Thing"). The guitar breakdown, the handclaps, the guitar riff, the other guitar riff, the backup vocal hooks ... I mean, the song just wants to grab you by the collar and not let go for three minutes. It wouldn't've worked at all on Achtung, Baby, but they were right to not give up on this one.

EVERYBODY LOVES A WINNER
Another midtempo 3/4 like "Heaven & Hell", this cover makes for the better finished product. Bono leans on a soul-singer approach here, moving between R&B falsetto and a very broad chest voice that almost doesn't sound like him. The voice you eventually hear that definitely isn't him is, in fact, Maria McKee. Still sounds like a b-side in the traditional sense, but it's good enough as a sort of modern third cousin to "Nobody Knows You When You're Down And Out" to survive the iPod cut. McKee's collaborator Bruce Brody also contributes some nice organ.

EVEN BETTER THAN THE REAL THING (FISH OUT OF WATER REMIX)
We wrap up the disc with a previously unheard remix. The guitars-as-car-alarms in the intro (not unlike "Zoo Station") I could do without. But things get tougher, leaner once the verse comes in. This is not an extended mix at over 4:00 and it's still anchored by guitars, but a few handfuls of electronic flourishes and other mix maneuvers put this squarely into the "good alternate version" category.

(In fact, it's probably the strongest track among the non b-sides here, although it's cheating a little, being an actual song from the album.)

Real-time review: U2 / Achtung, Baby (Disc 6: Kindergarten - Alternative Achtung Baby)

noreply@blogger.com (rcb) — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 02:07:00 +0000

Achtung, y'all! In what may be some extended coverage of the reissue of U2's Achtung, Baby, let's start with the one audio disc in the Super Deluxe set that is 100% totally unheard by fans until now. This "Kindergarten" disc features the same songs in order, but in different, earlier, and/or somehow unfinished form. These generally don't qualify as "demos" -- more like songs caught in various stages of undress. In some cases, they're entirely dressed but would have a change of heart about what to wear.

Anyway, what you get in this post are first-glance impressions -- notes on what's different from the album versions, and a little analysis along the way. If you're ready for what's next, then attempt to start your Trabant and turn up the stereo ...

Baby "Zoo Station"
Almost a minute longer, this version has probably the biggest time difference from its official counterpart, mostly due to a longer intro. A less distorted vocal actually helps with some lyrics -- some are done, but Bono has yet to arrive at "Zoo station" for a title hook. Although this track is a little less produced, the fundamental leap from The Joshua Tree had been made. Some pleasantly woozy stereo guitars at the end.

Baby "Even Better Than The Real Thing"
Again, the whole sound is less processed/effected, so many of the parts are unmistakable but the feel is like a little peek behind the production wall to see what was actually coming out of instruments during tracking. This lyric is complete but still a work in progress, with a double-tracked (not unison) verse. I really like the prominence of the acoustic guitar at times in this version, sitting within the rest of the electronic noise. Edge had the full solo figured out by this point.

Baby "One"
Strummed acoustic instead of that lithe electric part to open, that's a big change. The sound is more of two disparate sounds -- the straight acoustic with a drum part just funky enough to create a juxtaposition with the six-string. Some synth/strings are there but further back. Bono has the lyric, and the vocal sounds very close to the finished (it may even be the finished). The original's classic Edge electric figure from the last minute is here, too.

Baby "Until The End Of The World"
Keeping with the theme, you can discern a little more space between the main rhythm guitar and another acoustic track that I (again) think is terrific as some contrast in this environment. The rhythm track, guitar solo, and the lyric/vocal all sound finished as they are. Bono goes for a higher register in the bridge instead of dropping down. Congas hard left would be brought closer to the center of the mix in the end.

Baby "Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses"
Different intro! The melody has some similarities to the final product but definitely isn't identical, while the lyric has a little structure in common but is basically a fully different lyric in the first couple of verses. Edge sounds good but hadn't quite arrived at the riff for the chorus. Another case where the chords and rhythm track sounds pretty much done, but various parts of the vocal, guitar, and production are still evolving.

This is the best example yet of why U2 often manages to be greater than the sum of their individual musical parts, and it echoes a quote from Brian Eno in Daniel Lanois' documentary Here Is What Is: "how beautiful things can grow out of shit." (Eno is making a larger point, and you should watch the clip above if you haven't seen it.) Not that this track is shit by any means. It's further along than that. But anyone who's heard the Hansa bootlegs knows just how un-platinum-selling they can sound while they are working out very rough ideas in the studio. A lot of great art, and definitely anything they do to compete for that term, is never born complete right out of the womb. This sounds like a snapshot of the song fairly far along in that process -- good enough to make for good music but illustrating that, at least in this case, they did not stop at pretty good, even if that means totally reworking the lyric and continuing to look for that better guitar part.

Baby "So Cruel"
About twenty seconds longer than the original. Some final parts here but with more on the way. Bono has a full working lyric (except for the great bridge, which he has none of yet), but most of the verses would not stay. That said, the vocal is no guide vocal, it's sufficiently committed. The alternate vocal and a couple of more easily isolated rhythm guitar parts make this interesting as an alternate version. Ah, look at that, he has the last verse, one of the album's thematic lynchpins, intact. Nice. Also, there's an extra repeating riff Edge uses toward the end that would not make the final mix, for one last twist.

Baby "The Fly"
Sounds like a longer intro, but nothing worth mentioning. The arrangment and key musical parts are in place. The falsetto countervocal and guitar solo, both finished. Bass and drums, also done. I'm starting to wonder how long Larry and other drummers spend in the studio waiting for the other members to subsequently get their act together. Or perhaps, what Larry goes and does while his mates are figuring out their parts. Main difference, other than some remaining texture/production, is a few phrases that would be polished and the absence of the outro rant.

Baby "Mysterious Ways"
A rough gang vocal in the chorus is not as ear-grabbing as the album version. Bono had not truly found the falsetto spirit he would embrace for the final mix. As with "The Fly", The Fly as a character hadn't quite fully inhabited him yet and you can hear that here. A whole lot of finished parts present, but ultimately the in-progress vocal probably makes this one of the lesser Baby tracks, especially considering all the remixes one can choose for an alternate "Mysterious Ways" listening experience.

Baby "Trying To Throw Your Arms Around The World"Now *this* is an alternate version! Two strummy acoustic guitars and a keyboard that sounds a little like a tiny Farfisa. A few in-key but more organic backing vocal tracks. A kick drum with a steady four to each measure. This sounds like something that came out of Ireland, like a bunch of guys in a room (and I mean that in the best possible way). A generally complete lyric but not quite finished, and a good but working vocal track. This has always been my least favorite track on the album, but with the final version's production pretty much completely absent and replaced with an almost folk/stomp pub-like arrangement, this version is a lot of fun. A very welcome surprise.

Baby "Ultra Violet (Light My Way)"
And we are back to the conventional Achtung universe. Different Edge work on the intro. Love that lonnnnnnnng sustained primary guitar part, and it's easier to focus on at this stage, since it's the core of the mix with several other parts yet to catch up. Unlike the middle of the disc, the falsetto and indeed the vocal in general are ready to roll. The twist here is that the lyrics that would eventually start the song are tucked back in the bridge. Nice change-up for the ear that has heard this a thousand times.

Baby "Acrobat"
Final tracks largely intact here. Like "So Cruel", the lyric would undergo further revisions and resequencing, but the vibe is settled and he's just sculpting at this point. One piece yet unwritten is the bridge, but the rest, including blistering guitar, is in place.

Baby "Love Is Blindness"
The arrangement is more haunted and slowly strolling -- the relationship's funeral march? -- than the insistent album version, but there is some brief but pleasantly nasty intro guitar in a couple of spots. Bono had certain key phrases in these complete verses but there would be many changes. He had nothing at this point for the bridges.

This is a case where they had a clear vision of what they wanted to accomplish with the song, but they made a smart artistic decision, backed up, and improved the arrangement to convey the same thing (and conclude the record) in a much more effective way. A final homage to the band's ability to reach beyond its grasp largely through an innate sense of perseverance.

(Where their better judgment led them:)

Next up, the "B-Sides & Bonus Tracks" disc.

Nick Lowe & Wilco / "Cruel To Be Kind" (video)

noreply@blogger.com (rcb) — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 16:16:00 +0000

Of all the minutes and all the seconds spent by all the people in the world in 2011, some of the very, very best ones got shared over the weekend in London. Warm up with "The Late Greats" if you want, or go straight to around 3:30 for the main event.

Aside from the fun of the fact that the performance exists in general, there are two facial expressions I'm compelled to point out. First, Lowe's smile right after the first chorus, either at the fun he's having or possibly at the scruffy harmonies that had just been served up by Tweedy/Stirratt, or both.

And then Tweedy smiling at Stirratt, at what I can only imagine was a tiny instant of concern that Lowe decided to take the turnaround twice, followed by the little nod of relief that we are safely into the second verse and hell, yeah we are playing one of the greatest pop songs of ALL TIME with Nick Friggin' Lowe.

The Dozen: Favorite U2 b-sides, Part 2 (videos)

noreply@blogger.com (rcb) — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 16:00:00 +0000

(If you missed the first/bottom six in this dozen, here you go.)

6) Treasure (What Ever Happened To Pete The Chop?) - The band recorded this catchy, if typically raw/semi-unfinished, song around the time of Boy, but it would not reach the racks until someone took mercy on it and gave it an official life as the b-side to "New Year's Day". What it lacks in polish it makes up for in charm.

5) Hallelujah, Here She Comes - Another quality leftover from Rattle & Hum, this one stands out for the falsetto and harmonies, but mostly for that extra texture provided by the inimitable late Billy Preston on organ. Originally on the "Desire" single.

4) North And South Of The River - The second-youngest track here. POP did represent a minor revival in b-side fortunes. By that time, you'd often get double UK singles with different tracklistings. One of the "Staring At The Sun" singles takes the prize for best single of that era, containing both the aforementioned "Staring At The Sun" remix (not a huge remix fan here, but it kicks ass) and this evocative song about the troubles back home.

3) Spanish Eyes - The other Joshua Tree b-side written for Bono's wife, Ali. I can't say this is the most finished piece on the list. It isn't. But May 1987 was a pretty momentous time. The Joshua Tree (and the "With Or Without You" single") had come out in March, and things promptly began to take off for the band. Two months later, my favorite band was entering the stratosphere for a ride experienced by a very few bands who spend some time as The Biggest Band In The World. Also, I was in that once-in-a-lifetime space called "spring of senior year in high school" where, all in all, things were pretty good and/but there was a lot unknown waiting out there on the horizon.

So Keith and I promptly pulled the "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" 12" single out of its jacket and wondered what was coming as the Edge's little guitar figure crept up in the speakers. Then with a crack of Larry's snare, we're all in and receiving instructions: "Way hey hey, baby hang on ..." It just felt right, even if it was the kind of b-side you couldn't argue deserved inclusion on the real album. The song is both a little off the cuff and worn on the sleeve, big on the romance and the rock and roll, a little scruffy. It sounded good at 17, it sounded good loud in the car, and thus as you may have already deduced, it sounded fucking perfect at 17 loud in the car.

2) Slow Dancing - "Treasure" wasn't the only song on this list to collect some dust on the shelf before making its way to stores. Back in the bootleg-buying days, I broke my own soundboards-only rule to pick up a boot of the Osaka show from the Lovetown tour, where reports had it Bono and the Edge had debuted a new song, just on guitar and vocals. It was rough sound but a beauty nonetheless.

That was 1989-1990. I waited to see it on Achtung Baby. Nope. Each Achtung Baby single would come out, and I would figure surely this would be the one with "Slow Dancing" on the back. Nope. Finally, it appeared in the Zooropa era thanks to the "Stay (Faraway, So Close") single. By then, they had pitched it to Sinatra (no luck), and they would later record a version with Willie Nelson, but this is the go-to version. Sparse, barely produced but deftly so, the song and arrangement feature Edge's backup part, more than one classically Bono line ("She left with my conscience, I don't want it back / It just gets in the way,"), and the ending that just hangs there. Like "She's A Mystery To Me", written around the same time for Roy Orbison's "comeback" album, this has the feel of a song out of time, in the best possible sense.

1) Love Comes Tumbling - Call this a b-side from "The Unforgettable Fire" import single or a track on the Wide Awake In America EP, whatever. Again, part of the soundtrack of high school and an inordinate amount of driving on the highways of Virginia. And most importantly, it's a mainstay of a couple of guys spending some late nights spinning U2 vinyl from this era and wondering when it might all fall into place. This was a key part of my introduction to the Lanois/Eno effect on U2 and the universe at large, and my sonic preferences would never be the same.

Unlike "Spanish Eyes", I most certainly could make the argument that "Love Comes Tumbling" deserves a spot on its related album, with its gorgeous nocturnal sound and a somewhat inarticulate speech of the heart that was typical of the era for both the singer and more than a couple adolescents. Despite the focus of the video below, "Love Comes Tumbling" is also a standout moment for the lowest-profile member of the band. Even if (or especially if) you know this song, spend a few minutes hanging over there with Adam Clayton and his bass on the verses and instrumental spaces on either side of the chorus. Brilliant shifts between pinning down the groove and elevating for just a couple of bars.

Aimee Mann on the brain

noreply@blogger.com (rcb) — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 00:55:00 +0000

(Great necklace.)

That's right, Aimee Mann, talking about the brain.

Where? It's an interview at Middle Mojo, and sure, they talk about some other entertaining stuff along the way, too. But the main subject is creativity, in general and in Aimee Mann, and in Aimee Mann's brain.

In addition to interesting reading, this interview was my introduction to that website, which bears the tagline, What happens when creative people get older and older people get creative. Actually, it wasn't until I was a bit older that I realized that sports for kids is really a lesson in perseverance. I mean, these days, we might stew over something that happens for days or weeks or half a lifetime. Or we might basically work on one task for six weeks.

But that hidden beauty of sports is that ten minutes of playing anything involves a large jumble of little failures and successes, but only because you don't let a little failure totally derail you on account of the clock is still ticking or the ball is in play or, in Aimee's case, there's still that other person in the ring with designs on punching you in the brain. It forces you to stay in the moment. Who knew?

You make a mistake, you’ve got to move on. It’s hard, but comedy helped with that and boxing helped me with that because that’s part of what you learn in boxing. You take a punch and you cannot get thrown off your game. You can’t get mad, you can’t get obsessed, you have your strategy, you’ve just got to keep going.

So that paragraph alone sells me on looking into the website further. I was already sold on Aimee Mann. I'll even set aside, as someone who has worked on publications called The Mojo Sloth and The Middle 8, the odd sensation of reading that website's name. Anyway, by now you probably have enough information to decide if you'd enjoy the interview or the site or both or neither.

I'll leave you with this.

So we said we’d write and record a personalized song for somebody. And this person bid a lot of money. And then it did so well our friend was like, “Come on, do another one.” So then we had two songs to write and we still – well, we finished one of them. We do have to do the second one. There was a little fighting.

OK, and this, which she is fairly proud of, and who can blame her.

Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band / "New York City Serenade"

noreply@blogger.com (rcb) — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 18:56:00 +0000

Shuffle came through with a perfect pick on a cloudy afternoon. The last song of the album on a rare 2009 start-to-finish performance of The Wild, The Innocent, And The E Street Shuffle at Madison Square Garden. Walk tall, or baby, don't walk at all ...

Kirsten Dunst stands in for R.E.M.'s "We All Go Back To Where We Belong"

noreply@blogger.com (rcb) — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 18:16:00 +0000

An indirect homage to the band's longevity, perhaps, since the actress was born between recording sessions for Chronic Town.

The Dozen: Favorite U2 b-sides, Part 1 (videos)

noreply@blogger.com (rcb) — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 00:08:00 +0000

The imminent Achtung Baby reissue onslaught puts me in the mood to reflect upon the deep well of U2 b-sides (and the fortune I paid for them via numerous 12" and import CD singles). The Achtung era was not bad for b-sides, really, but it's a tribute to their '80s and '90s output that not a single AB b-side makes this list. Three or four would be on the next dozen ("Salome" for sure, and probably the cover of "Fortunate Son" if for no other reason than to recognize Bono handing the song off to himself with "Take it away, Bono," before the harmonica break).

But I digress. For purposes of this list, only b-sides are eligible. Soundtrack and side project tracks are off-limits. So are remix b-sides, a couple of which would probably land on this list (e.g., "Staring At The Sun [Monster Truck remix]", but that hardly seems fair. And now, remembering that most of these are fan-made videos, the favorites are ...

12) Everlasting Love - From the "All I Want Is You" single, where it was paired with another classic oldie ("Unchained Melody"). I like the urgency of the acoustic section before the others arrive.

11) Sweetest Thing - This blog's preference is for the original b-side, not the actual single that was constructed upon the b-side's foundation and sweetened (no pun intended) for release a decade later. It's arguably sweet enough as a b-side you wrote because you forgot your wife's birthday. From the "Where The Streets Have No Name" single.

10) A Room At The Heartbreak Hotel - A b-side from the "Angel Of Harlem" single, here's another track with some Memphis/Elvis dust on it -- a "mystery train" in the lyric to go with the title reference. But unlike the A-side, this music has no stylistic homage and simply sounds like U2. From a slow burn to a build through the two-chord verse, it moves to a prime bit of vocal soaring and a nice bass figure in the chorus. (The full version isn't on YouTube; we'll suffer with the edit.)

9) Fast Cars - Quantity and quality of true b-sides slipped in the new millennium, but this one is just loose and fun enough to stick, with its patter vocal and acoustic guitars. Reported to be the last track of the How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb sessions, it surfaced on some versions of the "All Because Of You" single.

8) Dancing Barefoot - From the "When Love Comes To Town" single, a cover of the Patti Smith song. Not much to add here. They pretty much nail it.

7) Bass Trap - Oh, Unforgettable Fire era, how do I love thee? One of the ways is for recording and releasing this kind of track, ambient when I barely knew what it was (but knew it struck a chord). The version on the "b-sides" companion disc to their first hits set was an edit, which in this case is really not acceptable. Full version below, originally on the import The Unforgettable Fire EP/single.

Next up, the top half-dozen, starting with the oldest song on the list, a real treasure from some early sessions.

Archive: Mayflies USA / The Pity List

noreply@blogger.com (rcb) — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 13:30:00 +0000

Power pop is less about innovation than a belief that you can express some universal emotions in a glorious noise just by mastering some basics, no matter who or where you are, or even what year it is. It’s about setting catchy paeans at the altar of guitars and drums, and worshipping in unassuming garages or unfinished basements. This Chapel Hill quartet are some exceptional disciples, and The Pity List serves as a stereo tour of the following power pop commandments.

Thou shalt seek a Big Guitar Sound. Mayflies USA observes Rule #1 with taste. The opening “Florida To The Radio” nimbly weaves at least three or four layers of guitars into even the quietest passages to great effect, like so much major-key baklava.

Leave the politics to folk singers and Tom Morello. Your concern is The Girl, not The Man. This keeps things timeless. You may occasionally sing about something else, like struggling musicianship, but only if it’s brilliant (“another Monday, dragging trash behind the restaurant / punishment for knowing what you want”).

Thou shall not worry about syncopation. It just gets in the way of the guitar solo. If you follow the other rules, you can succeed even with a steady stream of eighth notes deliberate enough to choke a song in other genres.

Thou shalt not overproduce … Chris Stamey, a Southern pop godfather, helped here. He knows the charm of leaving in someone yelling out a chord change, or the mystical power of adding a new guitar part in the third verse.

… except when it comes to harmony vocals. If they remind you of Pet Sounds, that’s good. Pretty harmonies are power pop’s equivalent of an ever-faithful dog. Their unwavering sweetness, supporting even the saddest lyric, subliminally preaches that even if you got dumped, it’s OK. And even if it is, in fact, not OK, it’ll be OK later. Sort of like the blues, except completely different.

The Mayflies observe these and other rules about real melodies, tambourines and keyboards, and song lengths in making at least two classics (“Getting To The End Of You”, “The End Of The Line”) that would make Matthew Sweet, Weezer, or any earlier purveyor proud. The rest of us should just be glad someone’s keeping the faith so well.

(This is another review from a batch of recently unearthed articles that I wrote for the Music Monitor in 2000-2001.)

Archive: Joan Osborne / Righteous Love

noreply@blogger.com (rcb) — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 13:30:00 +0000

“Can you see me rising since your disappearance? / Safe to say that I’ve regained myself.”

As far as most people know, these are the first words to come out of Joan Osborne’s mouth in five years. You’d think that anyone breaking through (with 1995’s Relish) at 33 wouldn’t want to endure her own “disappearance” for that long, and you’d be right. However, putting a followup together proved difficult, and eventually she even got dropped by her label. The silver lining: paying for the sessions with her own savings, Osborne emerged with a disc made on her own terms, reflecting her tastes, strengths, weaknesses, and record collection.

Even before Osborne sings that first question, the first 30 seconds of “Running Out Of Time” say a lot about where her head has been. The intro reflects her growing familiarity with middle Eastern scales and sounds, her preference for a no-frills but quite tight backing band, and a soft spot for the wah-wah rhythm guitar sound made famous in 1970s soul music and/or the theme from Starsky & Hutch.

The title track follows, culled straight from the heart of every girl-group record Phil Spector ever produced. The nostalgic sound is only trumped only by the way Osborne’s vocal slowly but steadily climbs up the syllabic stairs of “I’ve never been so sure of …”, packing every ounce of drama into the moment before the chorus’ release.

Eastern inflections plus 1970s instruments and Spectorish production? Yup, that spells “George Harrison” to me, too. “Grand Illusion”, with its lyric Hindu primer on reality, and “Poison Apples” confirm that Osborne owns a copy of All Things Must Pass, too. The latter borrows the introspective trill of a guitar riff from “Isn’t It A Pity”, but while Osborne obviously admires, she doesn’t mimic. Thanks perhaps in part to her studying with the late Nusrat Ali Fateh Kahn, the material allows her powerful voice to carry the songs in a way Harrison’s never could.

Elsewhere, the cynicism of “Safety In Numbers” (with its ultra-nasal vocal approach) is out of place in a record about passion and strength, but covers of Gary Wright’s funky “Love Is Alive” and Dylan’s tender “Make You Feel My Love” are well done if not necessarily pioneering.

Wearing such influences on her sleeve, Osborne steers each song toward either soul or the soul. Back on the opening track, she announces, “I’m sending you a message through the night sky / you’ll get it in a while.” It’s not without a couple of lulls, but Righteous Love does come off as a record of supreme conviction by a woman with a message. Not only does Osborne hope you’ll get what she’s selling, she hopes you’ll get what she’s saying, and she’s already put her money where her mouth is to do it.

(This is another review from a batch of recently unearthed articles that I wrote for the Music Monitor in 2000-2001.)
The Gary Wright cover:

Cowboy Junkies get down and dirty for the record

noreply@blogger.com (rcb) — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 19:48:00 +0000

The penultimate installment of the Cowboy Junkies' interesting themed-album Nomad series is out today, titled Sing In My Meadow. The 320kbps mp3's are a ridiculously cheap $2.99, but there are many formats and combos to choose from. Here's how they described this volume in advance on the website:

Sing In My Meadow (volume 3): This is going to be an album of Acid Blues. Songs of sex and violence. It will center around all that irritating psychedelic interplay that the band creates during our more adventurous meanderings on stage…featuring lots of sonic-dilly-dallying between Mike and Jeff Bird. It will be loud and noisy and full of electricity.

My probably still-favorite Cowboy Junkies moment was also noisy and full of electricity -- the live version of "Sweet Jane" that starts out all quiet and mellow like people were expecting, before busting out the full rock-solo vibe to kick into the next gear. Of course, that was on a promo CD that long ago left my collection, but you should totally hear it. Somehow. I don't think it's on YouTube. Let's look, shall we?

Nope. Settle for this recording from a show in New Jersey. It may be in the spirit of the new album, filtered through a dozen dirty coffee filters, four quarts of worn-out motor oil, and the imagination of a local hero.

UPDATE! The band now sells digital downloads of that aforementioned version of "Sweet Jane" and the rest of the Live! EP it appeared on (including a typically hits-you-right-there cover of "Hot Burrito #1"). Go to their catalog page and scroll down most of the way until you get to the Live! EP (1992). You can listen to full versions if you'd like. My day is made. Thank you, Junkies.

Glen Campbell / Walls

noreply@blogger.com (rcb) — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 15:44:00 +0000

If you can't have Lindsey Buckingham doing his best Beach Boys imitation, like Tom Petty enjoyed on one of his original versions of "Walls", then do what Glen did and go big with the strings.

(Sure, I guess we could do a random Glen Campbell post without posting a Jimmy Webb cover or a classic radio hit ... but why?)

Wilco's "Tiny Desk" NPR set

noreply@blogger.com (rcb) — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 16:51:00 +0000

Don't see a way to get you a screen shot thanks to Blogger's YouTube-centric video setup, so you'll just have to go over to NPR's page to watch the 20-minute mini-set.

Other than a nice job of sound/dynamics/mixing for this unusual environment, it's also pretty cool that they chose to go full-band for this. Enjoy the lunchtime concert, and pass the mustard.

(Click the title of this post, and you'll actually see the live link in the text. Links don't show up in this homepage summary, sorry.)