It is fairly commonplace in pop music today for stars to appear on each other’s recordings. An example of this, as I wrote about in a recent post, is for a DJ like Kygo, to put out a song featuring another pop star like Selena Gomez. Back in the 70s this was going on but it was mostly under the radar. We also didn’t have access to the Internet to get all the details about specific recordings. All we had were liner notes from the LPs, which were sometimes less than revealing about these kinds of details. Here’s a list of some of my favorite celebrity guest vocalists on some famous, and not so famous, recordings.

“You’re So Vain” Carly Simon (Mick Jagger) – Sure, everyone knows this now but back in the day Jagger’s backup vocal was uncredited and you had to be listening closely to pick him out (though his “Don’t you, don’t you, don’t you” is pretty clearly Mick) . What a great idea – pair the all American pop star with the bad boy rocker singing harmony. This also added to the mystery of the rogue male in the song that was the subject of so much speculation.

“Heart of Gold”, Neil Young (Linda Ronstadt) – This was Young’s biggest hit but the liner notes to the “Harvest” album were pretty much non-existent. Again you had to be listening close to the soaring harmony during the song’s coda to recognize Ronstadt (who was still a few years away from her breakout album “Heart Like A Wheel”). Neil ran into her in Nashville in 1971 during the recording of some of the Harvest’s tracks. She, and James Taylor (also playing banjo for the first time), also sang on the album’s other hit, “Old Man”.

“The Water is Wide”, Karla Bonoff (James Taylor and J.D. Souther) – Ok, this one’s a little obscure but it has some interesting linkages and the harmonies are gorgeous. This is off of Bonoff’s second record “Restless Nights”.  J.D. Souther wasn’t much of a surprise. Being part of the SoCal “Mellow Mafia” he was always singing on his friends’ albums. But here also we have our old friend James Taylor pitching in again. It’s his harmony that is most recognizable in the third verse (“She’s loaded deep…”). This collaboration would turn up again on Taylor’s duet with Souther on their 1981 hit song “Her Town Too”.

“I Really Don’t Know Anymore”, Christopher Cross (Michael McDonald). This song is off Cross’s debut album. Some of the more interesting guest vocals come not necessarily on the hits but on the album cuts. This is another example. McDonald, who was then in the Doobie Brothers, is all over this album but this song is my favorite. I was a bit of a junkie for anything Michael McDonald around this time.

“I Will Not Go Quietly ”, Don Henley  (Axyl Rose) – Gotta love this combo. Henley was hitting his stride in his post-Eagles career and Rose was at the height of his powers with Guns N’ Roses. You have to wonder how these two got together. Nevertheless there is Rose in all his screaming glory rising above the mix of this album cut off of “The End of the Innocence”. This is not your “Best of My Love” type of Henley track.

“Between a Laugh and a Tear”,  John Mellencamp (Rickie Lee Jones) – This is a “non-single album track” off of Mellencamp’s 1985 album “Scarecrow”. Another less than obvious pairing with Jones’ backup vocal sneaking up on you as the track unfolds. Her vocal perfectly reflects the despair of the lyrics (“I know there’s a balance I see it when I swing past…”).  This is such a great song. It astounds me it didn’t get more play.

“The Insider”, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers (Stevie Nicks) – This song, from TP’s 1981 “Hard Promises” album, was the lesser known of his two collaborations with Nicks that year. The other song was the hit “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around” from her debut solo album “Bella Donna”. The “Insider” is a deep cut gem that is more of a slow burn with Nick’s harmony growing more urgent as the song progresses. It’s a dark song but one of my favorites.

ARTS ROUNDUP

There is only one thing to report this time. We finally went to see “Hamilton”. I have to say that it is hands down the best musical theatre experience I have ever had. Believe the hype. It is incredible and Lin-Manuel Miranda is a genius. It is a bit pricey, even by current Broadway standards, but so worth it.

There was an article in the Wall Street Journal a few weeks back about a podcast called “Your Favorite Band Sucks”. The premise is they take apart all the popular bands, especially the classis rockers, as posers and untalented hacks. I listened to one the other day about Led Zeppelin. It was kind of snarky and got tiresome about ten minutes into the fifty-minute segment. They went on and on about drummer John Bonham’s squeaky kick drum pedal. I thought a better podcast (or post) would be to call out bands that have lost key members but continue to soldier on under the same moniker. Warning the following may not please some of my readers but I offer these opinions in a respectful way.

Some bands have made the right decision when faced with the loss of a key member of the band. The Rolling Stones lost Brian Jones early but there was still Mick and Keith and Charlie (and many good albums to come). That said I couldn’t see them carrying on without one of them. Led Zeppelin is still the gold standard for doing the right thing when they lost a key member, in this case drummer John Bonham. They immediately folded the tent. They could have easily subbed in another drummer and milked the Zep brand forever. Good for them. Looking to the future it is hard to imagine a band like U2 continuing should they lose one of their members.

Here are the bands that have gotten into that gray area where they should consider packing it in or at least changing their name (see my suggestions).

The Who – They could’ve packed it in after drummer Keith Moondied in the 70’s (a la Led Zeppelin). Their sound was never the same without Moon’s frantic beat (No offense to the very able Kenny Joneswho replaced Moon). Then Bassist John “the Ox” Entwistle died in 2002 and the band, now down to two original members, carried on. In some ways this is defensible seeing that the principal singer (Roger Daltrey) and guitarist/songwriter (Pete Townsend) are still in the band. Possible name change: “Who’s Left”

The Grateful Dead – Jerry Garcia died in 1995 and the Grateful Dead, now in its latest incarnation as The Dead, rolls on (even after their two-city farewell tour in 2015). I have to give them a bit of a pass because they have stopped using the Grateful Dead name. They have come up with a similar solution to the problem of losing the heart and soul of the band: bring on an ever-changing cast of characters to sing and play his parts.[1]  Currently this is John Mayer, who is a great guitarist and singer, but is not Jerry. Bassist Phil Leshhas all but checked out so it’s really just Bob Weir and drummers … Still for my money going to see Dark Star Orchestra (the very high end Grateful Dead cover band) is the better option for reliving the GD experience. Possible name change: “Still Dead”.

Fleetwood Mac-This is a new twist. Lindsay Buckingham, lead guitarist, writer and singer of some of the band’s biggest hits decides he doesn’t want to tour this year. The band promptly fires him. Then they scoop up Mike Campbell (the late Tom Petty’s lead guitarist) and Neil Finn (ex Crowded House) to fill in for Buckingham. Another two for one replacement like the Eagles (see below). Who wants to see Fleetwood Mac without Lindsay Buckingham?[2] This is actually not the first time something like this has happened to this 1975 incarnation of Fleetwood Mac. Buckingham left the band in the late eighties and the band replaced him with the guitarists Billy Burnette and Rick Vito. This version of the band had a successful tour, concert video and studio album before dissolving in 1991. Christine McVie (vocal and keyboards) was also out of the band for years  (1998 to 2014) because of a fear of flying. Recently they recently recorded an album without Stevie Nicks but it was not released as a Fleetwood Mac album. Again you can give Fleetwood Mac some slack because they have always been a bit of a musical collective. Also since Buckingham and Stevie Nicks joined the band turmoil and lineup changes have become part of the Fleetwood Mac DNA.  Possible name change: “Fleetwood Mac: Friends and Enemies Tour”

Then we have the Eagles. The Eagles were very important to me in my high school and college years. The songs, the harmonies, the cool…  The band went through a number of personnel changes throughout their time (starting in 1976 when Bernie Leadon left and Joe Walsh was added) but Don Henley and Glenn Frey were always the unchanging core. When Frey died in 2016 everyone assumed that was it for the Eagles. Even their longtime collaborator J.D. Souther said as much right after Frey’s death. But no, we now have Vince Gill and Frey’s son Deacon Frey singing Glenn Frey’s songs. Really? What drove this decision? I’m sure they sound great but when does it stop being the Eagles and some sort of hybrid tribute band? Possible name change: “Eagles Karaoke”

I admit that I am totally out of step with the times. These bands are still hugely popular and sell out arenas. Still they are not the bands that I remember and loved.

ARTS ROUNDUP

Listening– Ethan Iverson and Mark Turner, “Temporary Kings”. This is a jazz record from Iverson (piano) and Turner (saxophone). I read about them in a review in the Wall Street Journal. Apparently it is the sub-genre known as “chamber jazz”. The duo have been recording together since the 1990’s.  Tasty stuff.

Watching– “Manifest” (NBC). A group of people get on a flight from the Caribbean and when they land it is five years later. How did this happen? Where has the plane been for five years? Why is no one on the plane any older? This is the premise for this new series. Think “Lost” crossed with “This Is Us”.  The acting is a little weak but they’re good at keeping you hanging into the next episode.

Reading–  “Last Good Kiss”by James Crumley– This is another recommendation from the mystery writer George Pelecanos.  This is the second book I’ve read and I’m starting to think George and I have different tastes in mysteries. This series features the hard-drinking, hard-living private investigator C.W Sughrue.  The ex-wife of a famous writer has hired Sughrue to find her ex-husband who is on a multi-state barhopping bender. He finally tracks him down in a Sonoma dive. The story then pivots to the owner of the bar hiring Sughrue to track down her daughter who went missing in high school twenty years ago. Twists and turns, and lots of drinking, follow. It’s a fast read but ultimately didn’t make me want to check out the next book in the series.

[1]They even recruited the singer/guitarist who played Jerry Garcia in Dark Star Orchestra (Grateful Dead cover band). Fake Jerry to play fake Jerry!

[2]As I write this I realize that the thing that would definitely break up the band would be if Stevie Nicks left.  She is the most popular member of the band. Nicks has also had a much more successful solo career than the very talented Lindsay Buckingham.

What do I know about new music? Sure, I root out new music on Spotify but all I’m really doing is finding new bands playing music in the style of the bands I loved in my youth. When I was growing up my parents listened to Sinatra and they couldn’t stand the music I listened to like the Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin. What is the real new music? Music I wouldn’t necessarily understand or like? What is the “Sticky Fingers”or “Born To Run” of today? To get to the bottom of this I decided to turn to the younger generation to find out more about the music, bands and artists they’re listening to.

The Interview

Chris Caruso: What type of music are you currently listening to?

Millennium: I would break it down into a few categories: traditional pop, electronic and rap/hip-hop.

CC: Ok, let’s take them one at a time. Traditional pop?

M: This would include acts like Justin Bieber, Beyonce, Selena Gomez and Ariana Grande.

CC: Electronic?

M: Electronic is dominated by the DJ’s like Kygo, The Chainsmokersand Marshmello. That said, there’s a fair amount of collaboration between the DJ’s and some of the traditional pop artists.

CC: Rap and hip-hop?

M: It’s a long list. Top artists are Drake, Cardi B, Weeknd, Kendrick Lamar, Migos, Lil Pump and Khalid (who also crosses over into pop and R&B).

CC: Who are your favorite bands/artists?

M: Some of the artists already mentioned. There are also some in the rock/folk/pop hybrid bands like Lumineers and Mumford and Sons. Also bands like Imagine Dragons. Bruno Mars is still pretty big. There is also John Mayer and the Zac Brown Band. Maroon 5 is still putting out cutting edge stuff. Then there are new artists like Vance Joy who is more in the pop genre.

CC: Country?

M:  Sure, there are artists like Chris Stapleton, Darius Ruckerand Chris Chesney.

CC: That’s a broad range of genres.

M: That’s how we roll.

CC: How do you find out about new music?

M: Mostly from Spotify and the radio.

CC: How do you listen to music? Stream (e.g., Spotify), Internet (e.g., YouTube), CD, vinyl?

M: Mostly streaming on services like Spotify, Apple and Tidal. I also listen to YouTube and their Vevo videos.

CC: What type of devices do you use to listen to music: iPhone, laptop, car radio/stereo, home stereo?

M: Just my iPhone with headphones, a small but powerful Blue Tooth speaker (great at the beach) or via Blue Tooth in my car.

CC: When and where do you usually listen to music?

M: Generally all during my day. Commuting to and from work. At work. In the evenings while preparing dinner.  Also at social events.

CC: It sounds like your music is integrated into your life i.e., there isn’t a specific time and place where you usually listen to your music.

M: That’s right. My music is pretty much always with me.

CC: Thanks for your time and for giving me some perspective on your music.

M: My pleasure. By the way what’s the round spinning thing on the table over there?

ARTS ROUNDUP

Listening: Tom Petty, “An American Treasure”– This four-disc box set spans all of Petty’s career. It is made up of mostly album cuts, rarities and live cuts. The 60-song list has some really cool stuff. Definitely on the buy list.

Watching: “Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan”on Amazon. I just started watching this series starring John Krasicki as the desk-bound CIA analyst Jack Ryan. Jack soon finds himself out in the field after convincing his boss (Wendell Pierce from “The Wire”) that there is major terrorist plot unfolding in Syria.

Reading: “McNally’s Gamble” by Lawrence Sanders – This is the last book in the Archie McNally series that Sanders wrote in the 1990’s. Archie works for his father’s law firm and is responsible for “discreet” inquiries. This involves situations involving the firm’s clients that need to be handled outside of the public realm (at least in the beginning). This series is as much about Archie, the flamboyant, sharp dressing man about town who still live upstairs in his parents’ Palm Beach mansion, as it is his case de jeur. This one involves a client potentially get swindled by a questionable local financial advisor. I own the entire series. It’s always good fun catching up with Archie.

I was listening to Marshall Tucker’s first album a few weeks back. It was released in 1973 and was in many ways the typical first album from a band or artist. There were a few really great songs (the opening one-two punch of “Take The Highway” and  “Can’t You See”) with the rest of the album fair to good. The first album as a base to build upon for the next album and hopefully a career. Occasionally an artists’ first offerings arrive fully formed with strong songs from start to finish. Often this becomes a very high bar that is difficult to clear on subsequent albums. Like someone once said, you spend your whole life writing your first album and you get six months for the second one. Here are the perfect first albums in my collection.

Warren Zevon, “Warren Zevon”  – I can’t listen to this album without it taking me back to my dorm room in the spring of 1977. Warm April day when I put this record on my turntable for the first time. What came out of the speakers was not what I expected. Zevon’s voice was low and unremarkable but the songs, oh the songs. A 70’s L.A. song cycle that will never be equaled. I played this record to death. Zevon’s songs run the gamut from psycho self-reflection (“Poor Poor Pitiful Me”) to the political (“Mohammed’s Radio”) to heartbreaking (“The French Inhaler” and “Hasten Down The Wind”). Though he is better known for his second album with the hit “Werewolves of London” I think this one if his best[1].

Rickie Lee Jones,“Rickie Lee Jones”– What a great album from the summer of 1979. The hit single “Chuck E’s In Love” could have been the typical one hit wonder but instead was an introduction to an album of incredible songs. Tunes like “Coolsville”, “Weasel and the White Boy’s Cool” and the breathtaking “Last Chance Texaco” were amazing for any record let alone a debut. The follow up “Pirates” started off very strong (“Living It Up” and “We Belong Together”) and was critically acclaimed but Jones went her own way from there down a less commercial path. Maybe that first album was one of those kismet moments when art hits a commercial vein.

Counting Crows, “August and Everything After”– You know you have a great album on your hands when the last song (“Murder of One”[2]) is one of the best. This 1993 album features a well-meshed ensemble sound (that was initially compared to The Band) and the distinctive vocals of Adam Duritz. Aside from the aforementioned closer there are songs like the hit “Mr. Jones”, “Round Here” and “The Rain King”.  The second album “Recovering the Satellites” was half as strong but had the great song “The Long December”.

Gin Blossoms, “New Miserable Experience”– I put this album on when I’m driving and can’t decide what I want to listen to. The big hit was “Hey Jealousy” but this is really a drop the needle anywhere kind of album with songs like “Mrs. Rita”, “29” and “Pieces of the Night”. The death of Doug Hopkins, who wrote most of the songs on this album, soon after the album broke, made if very hard for the Blossoms to keep the pace going forward. Somewhat of a shorting star moment but what a moment it was.

Pete Yorn, “musicforthemorningafter” – As I have mentioned before, this album was the soundtrack of my summer in 2001. From the opening strains of “Life On A Chain” to the closing hidden track (something done in the CD age) the album is fourteen songs of bliss (e.g., “Closet”, “On Your Side” and “For Nancy”). This album was so perfect that I dreaded the follow up album. That record, ”Day I Forgot”, again started with two strong songs and then faded into an uneven set. Pete is still putting out records that have some great songs on them but this first one is the standard by which all that followed has been measured.

ARTS ROUNDUP

Reading– “The Other Woman”, Daniel Silva– I just finished this latest book from Silva. His long running character, Israeli spymaster and assassin Gabriel Allon, is now the head of the country’s intelligence agency the Mossad. This is a story about uncovering a mole in the highest levels of another major country’s intelligence organization. Allon works with his allies in Britain’s MI6 to uncover the traitor.  Silva delivers again. If you like spy novels pick this one up.

Listening– Grateful Dead, “Barton Hall”– I recently listened again to this show that was recorded at Cornell University on May 5, 1977. It is considered by the Dead cognoscenti to be the band’s best show. I’ve never thought so. The set list is nothing special and the performances don’t stand out (to me). Jerry Garcia’s solos though are unusually tight and inspired which might be the root of the reverence for this show. I actually prefer the show from the following night in Buffalo that start with an extended performance of “Help On The Way/Slipknot/Franklin’s Tower”.

Watching – “Lynyrd Skynyrd: If I Leave Here Tomorrow” is a documentary  about the band that is currently airing on Showtime.  It’s always interesting to me to follow the evolution of a successful band. Even thought the band’s story is pretty well known there is always something new to learn. In this case I didn’t know that Al Kooper from Blood Sweat and Tears produced their early hit albums (he’s interviewed in the film).  Skynyrd was at the top of their game when the 1977 plane crash killed lead singer Ronnie Van Zandt along with guitarist Steve Gaines and his sister, and back up singer, Cassie Gaines.

Post Script – In my post a few weeks back about great “Train Songs” I missed a few obvious candidates like “Casey Jones” by the Grateful Dead and “Driver 8” by REM.

[1]Werewolves was recorded for the first album but did not make the final cut.

[2]I only recently got the title of this song. A grouping of crows is a murder.

The train has been prominently featured in many popular songs. Used as a metaphor to create imagery of love lost, found and requited. Here’s my top five[1]:

“Mystery Train”, The Band – I prefer the live version of this cover from the “Last Waltz” that features a stinging vocal from Levon Helm with guest Paul Butterfield (backing vocal and harmonica).

“Two Trains”, Little Feat – Here we have the train as metaphor for two people who keep missing each other on separate “tracks”. From the classic “Dixie Chicken” album, this polyrhythmic workout features Lowell George’s soulful vocal and slinky slide guitar. The live version from Boston 1975, with Richie Hayword’s incredible drum fills, is worth seeking out.

“Love In Vain”, The Rolling Stones – I prefer the live version on “Get Your Ya Ya’s Out”. This Robert Johnson tune gets the full Stones blues treatment from Jagger’s molasses drawl (“I followed her to the station…”) to Mick Taylor’s grinding slide guitar that sounds like the steel wheels on the tracks. Vivid imagery that puts you at that station watching your baby pull away.

“It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry”, Bob Dylan – Longest train song title goes to… Bob Dylan. “Well I ride on a mailtrain baby, can’t buy a thrill…” Listen to the version on the 1970 “The Concert For Bangladesh” (Dylan’s whole set is killer).

“Last Train To Clarksville”, The Monkees – Was there ever a better guilty pleasure than the Monkees? Hilarious 60’s TV show that was way ahead of its time by closing each show with a music video. And the music was great including this “train” song. Thanks to my lovely wife for suggesting it.

ARTS ROUNDUP

Watching– “West Wing”(Season 2) – I couldn’t decide what to watch one night so I decided to start watching the second season of this landmark show from the late 90’s. In my mind it really is one of the top ensemble shows of the modern TV era. Featuring the machine gun dialogue of Aaron Sorkin and a superb cast that seems to be in constant motion.

Listening– “Shake Your Money Maker”, Black Crowes – Whenever I find myself doing a lot of driving I delve into my iTunes library. I recently gave this band’s 1990 debut record a listen. The Crowes really hit the ground running with standout tunes like “Jealous”, “Sister Luck” and the dark “Talks To Angels”.  Chris Robinson has one of the great voices in rock.

Reading– “Pale Gray For Guilt”, John D. MacDonald– My summer re-reading goes on with one of my favorites from the Travis McGee series. After big developers have put the squeeze on one of Travis’s close friends he and his economist friend Meyer team up to make them pay. It’s a dark, complex tale of revenge.

[1]Honorable mention goes to “Train Kept A Rollin’” by Aerosmith and “Midnight Train to Georgia” by Gladys Night and the Pips.

For your consideration we have the cover song. Most bands start out leaning on covers as they learn to craft their own material (e.g., The Beatles, The Rolling Stones). Then when they become successful, some of these artists decide to cover a well-known song by another songwriter. Sometimes these covers became the quintessential version of the song. These artists make the song their own. Sometimes there are successful bands whose recordings and live performances are a mix of original and cover songs (e.g., The Bryds). Then there are singers, who are not songwriters, that make their careers as interpreters of others songs (e.g., Joe Cocker). Again, sometimes these interpretations became the more popular versions of the song .

In putting together this list of the best cover songs there were a couple of ground rules. First the original had to be written and recorded by the original artist i.e., not written for the covering artist. Also the original artist had to be successful or well-known in their own right e.g., Bob Dylan.

Here’s my list of cover songs that I think were better than the singer-songwriters’ original recording:

“All Along The Watchtower”, Jimi Hendrix (Bob Dylan) – Hendrix took this song to a place even Dylan couldn’t have imagined. The menace of his vocal and guitar playing is almost palpable. You can feel the wind in the final verse.

“Lose Again”, Linda Ronstadt (Karla Bonoff) – This cover is all the evidence you need that Ronstadt was the greatest female singer of the modern rock age.Bonoff’s recording is a solo piano performance of almost whispered desperation. In Rondstadt’s hands the song, backed by her crack band, becomes a wailing kiss-off to the lover that has done her wrong. (The last “I would leave today” blows me away every time).

“Ol’ 55″, Eagles (Tom Waits) – This song is on the Eagles 1974 “On The Border” album. Though hueing close to Waits’ version, the song gets the full Eagles treatment (e.g., soaring harmonies). Glenn Frey and Don Henley share the lead vocal, an effective device that they used sparingly through their career. [1]The Eagles version really captures the wistfulness of driving home at dawn after being up all night with your lover.

“Statesboro Blues”, The Allman Brothers Band(Blind Willie McTell) – This one’s a bit of a reach because most people have probably never heard the McTell version of the song. Of all the blues songs the band covered the Allmans owned this one. The song opens their iconic “At Fillmore East” album. Their version was actually based on another cover version by Taj Mahal, It is said that Duane Allman learned to play slide guitar because of this song. The opening slide riff still takes me back to when I first heard it on a cassette in high school.

“With a Little Help From My Friends”,  Joe Cocker (The Beatles) – It is probably a matter of taste whether Cocker’s take is better than the Beatles’ version on Sgt. Pepper. Like Hendrix and his version of “All Along The Watchtower, Cocker transforms this song, this time from a light pop tune to a rhythm and blues anthem. Not a songwriter, Cocker made a career out of interpreting other artists’ work (similar to Linda Ronstadt). This was also the theme song to the TV show “The Wonder Years”.

“Mr. Tambourine Man”, The Byrds (Bob Dylan) – The Byrds recorded many of Dylan’s songs during their career but this is easily the best known of those covers. The Byrds took Dylan’s solo acoustic version and made it all ringing guitars (Roger McGuinn’s trademark 12-string Rickenbacker) and stacked harmonies.

“Jersey Girl”, Bruce Springsteen (Tom Waits) – Another Waits’ song that Springsteen starting covering during his 1981 tour for The River. It was released as a B-Side to the 1984 single “Cover Me” and on the “Live/1975-1985 album. Being from New Jersey many of Bruce’s fans probably thought the song was written by him and not some guy from California (Waits).

ARTS ROUNDUP

Reading – “A Conspiracy of The Tall Men” by Noah Hawley. Hawley’s last book, “Before The Fall”, was one of the best book’s I had read in years. The follow up features Linus Owen, a professor in conspiracy theory at a San Francisco college. The book starts out with Linus being informed that his wife, who was visiting her mother in Chicago, has been killed in a plane crash on a flight from New York City to Rio De Janiero while traveling with another man. Suddenly Linus has his own conspiracy to unravel with the help of his close friends. The suspense and paranoia build as Linus gets closer to the truth. Just a notch below “Before The Fall” but still a page-turner and a worthy follow up. Hawley is the real deal.

Watching – “Wonder Wheel” is the 2017 movie from Woody Allenstarring Kate Winslet, Justin Timberlake, James Belushiand Juno Temple. The movie takes place in 1950’s Coney Island and concerns Ginnie (Winslet) who is married to the carnival operator Humpty (Belushi). Ginnie, a one-time actress, is having a summer affair with Mickey (Timberlake), one of the lifeguards. Humpty’s estranged daughter Carolina (Temple) shows up (on the run from her mob husband) and throws everyone for a spin. Very Woody. Not one of his best but the great cast make its worthwhile.

Listening – “Craig Fuller and Eric Kaz”. I recently revisited this 1979 album from singer-songwriters Fuller (one of the founding members of Pure Prairie League) and Kaz. This was Columbia Records attempt to break the duo who had recorded an earlier album as “American Flier”[2] Columbia spared no expense assembling a heavyweight producer and the top LA session players. Alas stardom was not to be but this record has some terrific songs nonetheless. Among them are “Feel That Way Again”, “Annabella” and my favorite, the closer, “Restless Sea”. Fuller has one of the great voices in rock. It’s available on Spotifyor you can borrow my vinyl copy.

[1]I think the only other times they shared the lead vocal was on “Doolin Dalton” (1973’s “Desperado”) and  “After The Thrill Is Gone” (1975’s “One Of These Nights).

[2]Featuring a terrific version of Kaz’s “Love Has No Pride” sung by Fuller. Linda Ronstadt also recorded a killer version of the song.

Rock music in the eighties generally gets a bad rap. It was a mixed bag of superstars, fading stars and small critically acclaimed bands[1]. There was something for everybody.

Going into the eighties we needed new bands. The rock elite of the late sixties and seventies were breaking up or running on empty. The Rolling Stones were sputtering. Mick seemed to be tiring of the band and wanted to launch a solo career (Keith’s 1987 solo album was better). Led Zeppelin broke up after drummer John Bonham’s death. The Who, who also lost their drummer, soldiered on playing their past hits. Pink Floyd and The Police bowed out in an orderly fashion while still near the top.

The New Superstars

Bruce Springsteen, who broke out in 1975 with “Born To Run“, kicked off the eighties with the double album “The River”.  He then appeared to be going down the 70’s Neil Young rabbit hole with the 1982’s “Nebraska“, a home recording of dark acoustic songs. What we didn’t know was that while he was recording “Nebraska” he was also in the studio with the E Street Band crafting what would become “Born In The USA”. Filled with stadium ready rockers, the 1984 album catapulted Bruce into the rock star stratosphere. The image of cut-off jean jacket, headband-wearing Bruce was strewn across the media.  “Born In The USA” became the album bought by people who hadn’t ever bought a Bruce Springsteen album, before or since.  It was a Boss for the masses.

U2 emerged in the eighties to rival Bruce’s stadium level stardom.  From the humble beginnings of “Boy” in 1980 the band wound its way through the anthems of “War” (e.g., “Sunday Bloody Sunday”) to the masterpiece of “The Joshua Tree” (1987) that cemented their place in rock’s upper echelon. As much brand as band, with Bono as their front man/global diplomat, the band continues to fill stadiums worldwide. (The band is unique in that it still has its original lineup and is putting out relevant new material almost forty years later.)

Grinding away just below the level of superstardom were the likes of Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers who spent the eighties building on the lead of their 1979 breakout “Damn The Torpedoes”. There was also Dire Straits who broke into the stadium crowd with 1985’s “Brothers In Arms”.

The Alternatives

College towns were churning out hot new bands in the eighties none was hotter than Athens, Georgia (home of the University of Georgia).  Among the notables coming out of Athens were the B-52’s, The DB’s, Pylon and of course REM.  REM toured 300 days a year behind their EP “Chronic Town” and the critically acclaimed “Murmur”. The band hit their stride in the mid-eighties “Lifes Rich Pageant” and “Document” before jumping from independent label IRS to major label Warner Brothers in the late eighties. Some of the early fans of the band weren’t thrilled with the jump to WB.

Minneapolis was another eighties launching pad for new bands. Home of the mega-star Prince, this half of the twin cities also spawned such alt-rock favorites as Soul Asylum, The Replacements and Husker Du. The Replacements, as reckless as they were talented, couldn’t find the balance of critical and commercial success and eventually faded away after their mid-eighties peaks of “Tim” and “Pleased To Meet Me”.  The same fate awaited the white noise and harmony of Husker Du, though co-founder Bob Mould went on to a successful solo career.

Metal Round

For those that like it heavy, there was Metallica and Guns N’ Roses[2].  Metallica weighed in with a number of impressive metal offerings including “…And Justice For All” in 1988. They would continue their reign for many years. GnR didn’t last anywhere near as long but 1987’s “Appetite for Destruction” was the hard rock shot heard round the world. Lead singer Axel Rose drove the rest of the band away after the Appetite follow up. It would be twenty-five years before we would hear from them again.

Out Of The Nest

Struggling with their 70’s superstardom, The Eagles and Fleetwood Mac either broke up (Eagles) or went on hiatus (Fleetwood Mac). Out of the wreckage Stevie Nicks and Don Henley launched solo careers.  Nicks’ “Bella Donna” immediately established her as a solo star in her own right and she continues to balance it with her role in Fleetwood Mac. Henley released some strong albums and hits in the eighties but would be drawn back to an Eagles re-boot in the nineties.

Back From The Dead

Paul Simon reestablished himself by introducing world music to his signature sound with 1986’s “Graceland” .  Back from the wilderness after a decade-long genre-hopping journey, Neil Young closed out the decade in 1989 with “Freedom” adding “Rocking In The Free World” to his list of iconic songs.

ARTS ROUNDUP

Listening – Carl Broemel, “4^thof July”. Broemel played guitar in My Morning Jacket before striking out on his own.  This is the title song from his most recent album. Taking its time to unfold over ten languorous minutes it is filled with understated guitars and beautiful vocals.

Watching – “Draft Day“.  I watched this on a plane recently. It stars Kevin Costner, Jennifer Garner and Dennis Leary. Costner play the General Manager of the Cleveland Browns trying to turn the franchise around. The film takes place during the day of the NFL draft. I like Costner and I enjoyed this movie.

Reading – “Bury The Lead” by David Rosenfelt .  This is the third in the mystery series featuring the lawyer Andy Carpenter. This series is light but the stories always have twists and turns. This time Andy gets involved representing a newspaper reporter who is getting calls from a serial killer who is on a spree. Andy and his gang are good company as they unravel the case.

[1]There were also Michael Jackson and Madonna in the pop category.

[2]See my 2014 post ‘One Brief Screaming Moment: Guns N’ Roses Reconsidered”

We’ve all heard the story. Bob Dylan hits the stage at 1965 Newport folk festival, plugs in his Stratocaster and leads his backing band through a short, deafening ramshackle set. The folk music intelligentsia that had crowned him king was aghast. The following year on his tour of Europe the near riotous crowds shouted “Judas” during the electric sets. Decades earlier in 1913 in Paris young composer Igor Stravinsky provoked a similar response from his audience at the debut of his work “The Rite of Spring” (“Le Sacre du Printemps”).

Stravinsky’s previous two works for the ballet company (Firebird and Petrushka) had been well received. This was his third and the reception was to be quite different. Like Dylan in 1965, Parisian audiences had not ever heard anything like “The Rite of Spring”.

The work’s premiere was on the evening of May 29, 1913 before a packed house at the newly constructed Theatre des Champs-Elysees. Things got out of hand quickly. The music was cacophonous and the dancing “lurching and stomping”. The liner notes from my copy of the piece recount the impressions of the famous conductor Pierre Monteux:

“The audience remained quiet for the first two minutes. Then came boos and catcalls from the gallery, soon after from the lower floors. Neighbors began to hit each other over the head with fists, canes or whatever came to hand. Soon this anger was concentrated on the dancers, and then, more particularly, against the orchestra, the direct perpetrator of the musical crime.”

The piece is pretty rocking for orchestral music. It was probably the heavy staccato rhythms that follow the introduction to the “Adoration of Spring” that got the crowd going (more Metallica than “Swan Lake”). By all accounts it was a raucous affair, spurred on by the two competing factions in French society, the wealthy traditionalists and the artistic bohemian fringe, both in attendance that night. The next day the performance was ravaged in the press. Much later “The Rite of Spring” would be become one of the most recorded orchestral works of all time. Not something anyone would have predicted on the morning of May 30, 1913.

There are subtle differences between these two very similar stories. Dylan was intending to poke the folkies in the eye. He was never one of them and was moving on. We wouldn’t be seeing Bob on those PBS folk revival shows with Peter, Paul and Mary and The Weavers.

Stravinsky was also just writing what he wanted to write.  However it not apparent that he was intentionally trying to tweak the French audiences with his departure from the norms of orchestral ballet works of the time. In the end though, as Emerson so aptly put it, “For your non-conformity society whips you with its displeasure.” In Stravinsky’s case, literally.

ARTS ROUNDUP

Listening – “Live Bullet”, Bob Seger and The Silver Bullet Band. Two of the biggest live albums in the mid-seventies was “Frampton Comes Alive” and this one. Both collected the best of some mostly ignored studio albums into very successful live records. The difference is that Frampton’s turned out to be his career peak while “Live Bullet” was Seger’s launching pad to breaking out as a major artist. All of his great pre-“Night Moves” songs are here: “Beautiful Loser”, “Ramblin’ Gamblin’ Man” and “Turn The Page”. Still one of his best.

Reading – “The Golden Compass” by Philip Pullman. I was listening to a podcast by Gretchen Rubin (“The Happiness Project”) and she was enthusiastic about the author and this book. It is technically a young adult book, probably not something I would seek out on my own, but I thought I would give it a try. It is a fantasy story set in England about a young girl Lyra who joins a band of locals for a trek to the far north in search of disappearing children. Her “alethiometer”, a rare truth-telling device she has been given, guides them on their quest.  Along the way there are witches and armored clad bears to assist, along with the aurora borealis and its parallel worlds.

Watching – Bobby Kennedy For President (Netflix). This is a four-part series following Kennedy’s career in the 1960’s. The series starts with Bobby running his JFK’s 1960 presidential campaign. Through the subsequent episodes we follow him through his time as attorney general, dealing with JFK’s assassination and his own ill-fated 1968 campaign for president. Whether you agree with the politics there is no denying that the sixties was a time unto itself in the history of our country and the Kennedy’s were in middle of it all.

Long songs have always fascinated me. In putting together my list of my top five favorite long songs I first had to observe a few ground rules. The songs must be at least ten minutes in length. Only rock songs, no jazz and classical. They must be studio recordings (no live guitar histrionics e.g., Mountain’s 32-minute version of “Nantucket Sleigh Ride”[1]). All prog-rock (Yes, Jethro Tull et al) are excluded from consideration as there were years where none of their songs were less than ten minutes. So, in no particular order, here’s the list:

“Telegraph Road”, Dire Straits – From the outstanding follow up to their breakout record “Making Movies” came “Love Over Gold”, which kicks off with this fourteen minute epic.  It is an elaborately structured piece with the main theme being revisited and expanded upon. The song’s subject spins out a tale covering decades about the unintended consequences and personal impact of industrial development. I also hear the influence of Bruce Springsteen (e.g., “The River”) in the narrative sprawl of the lyrics.

“Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Parts I-V), Pink Floyd– This song opens “Wish You Were Here” their follow up to Dark Side of the Moon.  I admit I’m skirting dangerously close to prog-rock with this one. Dedicated to their fallen leader, Syd Barrett, Diamond is a mostly instrumental composition that slowly builds adding instrumentation until the vocals finally appear at the 8:52 mark. Then a closing sax solo takes things out. The song actually continues on side two with twelve more minutes (Parts VI-IX). I’m an outlier in that “Wish You Were Here” has always been my favorite Pink Floyd record. David Gilmore’s four-note guitar figure in the early part of the song is one of the more memorable guitar phrases of all time.

“Achilles Last Stand”, Led Zeppelin – From the 1977 album “Presence”, this is one of three songs the band recorded that clock in at over ten minutes (The other two are “In My Time of Dying” and “Carouselambra”). Most people bought Presence to get at this opening tune. A guitar-layering extravaganza it plays out like an extended offshoot of “The Song Remains The Same” combined with the mysticism of “Kashmir”.  Robert Plant wails mythical lyrics above the din of Jimmy Page’s guitar orchestra. The late John Bonham contributes machine gun drum fills throughout. Similar to “Telegraph Road”, “Achilles” introduces a main theme that morphs through the many sections of the song. It’s more about the mosaic of sound than guitar heroics.

“Cowgirl In The Sand”, Neil Young and Crazy Horse. This one comes from Neil’s second solo album, “Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere”.  Pretty adventurous for your second record to go long with extended guitar solos (twice actually, as “Down By The River” clocks in at almost ten minutes). It’s all jam-tastic stuff and the introduction of “electric” Neil Young, the primitive guitar hero.

“High Falls”, The Allman Brothers Band– The sleeper pick comes from the otherwise unremarkable 1975 album “Win, Lose or Draw”. By this time the band was running on fumes. Every Allman’s record since their second album “Ildewild South” featured a Dickie Betts instrumental (“In Memory of Elizabeth Reed” being the first). Though not as well known as the ones that preceded it “High Falls” is hypnotic and as one reviewer noted, it feels like four minutes instead of fourteen. The Allmans were always adept at mixing blues and jazz especially in their extended workouts. “High Falls” is more Miles Davis than what would become known as Southern Rock.

ARTS ROUNDUP

Watching – Season two of “Bosch”(Amazon). This series is based on the Michael Connelly books about Los Angeles homicide detective Harry Bosch. It stars Titus Welliver as Hieronymus “Harry” Bosch. Welliver captures the spirit, and driven grumpiness, of Harry. Which is about as well as you could expect when adapting such a longstanding character from novel to the screen. The second season concerns the murder of a Los Angeles pornographer with suspected mob connections.

Reading – “Tango Down” by Chris Knopf is the eighth entry in the Sam Acquino series. I love these books and this is one of my go-to series. Sam lives in the Hamptons doing carpentry work as a subcontractor after flaming out of the corporate world. Smart and tough, Sam and his supporting cast get embroiled in solving local murders that could only pop up this regularly in fiction but it’s fun. This time it’s the murder of the owner of a home being built that Sam is subcontracting on. One of Sam’s coworkers, an illegal from Colombia, is the prime suspect. It’s another solid entry in the series and it’s good to catch up with Sam and his friends.  If you are new to this series start at the beginning with “The Last Refuge”.

Listening – Mountain,“Climbing”.  Speaking of Mountain again, I recently revisited the first album from this band that was built around guitarist Leslie Westby bassist/producer Felix Pappalardi back in 1970. This is one of those “if you own a record by Mountain” this is the one. “Mississippi Queen”, sung by West, was the big hit. His guitar tone predated players like Slash. My favorites were “Theme From An Imaginary Western” and “For Yasgur’s Farm” both sung by Pappalardi. They were a band of their time but stalled out after the “Climbing” follow up, “Nantucket Sleigh Ride”. It was basically two and done but good stuff while it lasted.

[1]This version of the song is from the 1974 album “Twin Peaks”, which I owned on 8-track. What was I thinking? I listened to it again recently on Spotify and it wasn’t all that bad.

When I was in high school I bought an album called “Eric Clapton’s Rainbow Concert”. It was recorded in 1973 at the Rainbow Theatre in London with an all-star band of rock luminaries[1] to celebrate Clapton emergence from two years of seclusion (and well know heroin addiction). The album had six songs on it, three on each side. I didn’t think much about it at the time but this was obviously an excerpt from a much longer show. A number of years later I was in a record store and I saw the album in the CD racks. It had a different colored cover and now had 14 songs, documenting the entire show.

Welcome to the world of the classic rock album re-issue. With the advent of the CD and expanded capacity for music (up to 80 minutes vs. 45 minutes of an LP) came the re-issue of classic albums with additional studio or live tracks. Most of them have also been “re-mastered” though I have to admit after forty plus years of listening to recorded and live music, sometimes at high volume, I’m not sure I can tell the difference.[2]

The most popular format is the “Deluxe Edition” (with it’s white banner across the bottom of the CD case) and many of the classic rockers have taken to recycling their classics with additional material[3]. For hardcore fans of these artists nothing could be better. The price for this luxury was repurchasing albums you already had to get access to the additional tracks. Some albums go through multiple re-issues[4]. The first time around they would add songs to flesh out a live album and then follow it a few years later with recordings of complete sets from multiple shows that made up the original album. The Allman Brothers did this with their classic “At Fillmore East”. First we got “At Fillmore East (Deluxe Edition)” that contained some new songs but mostly just collected already released live material from multiple albums (e.g., Eat A Peach). Then we got “The 1971 Fillmore East Recordings” that documented five complete shows over six CDs. With this type of re-issue (also done by artists like The Band, Yes and Joe Cocker) you get multiple versions of the same songs being performed each night. This type of thing is definitely for the hardest of hard-core fans. Some artists have not gotten into the Deluxe Issue game. Personally I would love to see Jackson Browne’s “Running On Empty” album re-issued with the other songs recorded during that tour, maybe even a complete show from that tour. [5]

An offshoot of the Deluxe Edition model is the release of never before heard concerts. Sometimes these can be quite special. The Allman Brothers (again) started releasing live albums from the archive of taped shows on their “Hittin’ The Note” series. One of these recordings is from Stony Brook University on Long Island in September 1971, less than a month before the death of Duane Allman, and features a rare live recording of “Blue Sky”. Some of these shows have been available as bootlegs but the official releases are generally of higher quality.

Some artists have taken this to another level, formalizing the process by issuing unreleased material on a regular basis. In this category we have artists like The Grateful Dead, Bob Dylan and Neil Young.

The Grateful Dead is one of rock’s legendary live bands and has been releasing concert recordings under the “Dick’s Picks” series since 1993. This series topped out at 36 releases and has been followed by the “Road Trip” and “Dave’s Picks” series of archival concert material. If you want it all there is the app “Relisten” that has every Grateful Dead show (and multiple versions for most of them) totaling 12,293 recordings.

Bob Dylan started issuing previously unreleased live and studio material in 1991 with “The Bootleg Series”. Dylan toggles back and forth in time alternating between, and sometimes combining, studio and live recordings. These are all multiple CD sets some documenting a career period in exhaustive detail (“The Cutting Edge” that covers the unreleased material from arguably Dylan’s most creative period in 1965-66 when he released “Bringing It All Back Home”, “Highway 61 Revisited” and “Blonde on Blonde”, had one CD of just multiple takes of “Like A Rolling Stone”.) My favorites are the “Live 1966 The Royal Albert Hall Concert” (the crowd’s reaction during the electric series borders on riotous) and the “Live 1975: The Rolling Thunder Review”. Just like Dylan’s never ending tour The Bootleg Series just keeps on going kicking out more material from the archives.

Speaking of archives, this brings us to Neil Young. Young has gone down multiple paths for issuing unreleased music since his 2009 “Neil Young Archives I: 1963 – 1972.” The main problems with this first release were you paid for a lot of already released studio tracks and then there was the interminable wait for Archives II. While his fans waited Neil started putting out unreleased live material under the Neil Young Archives Performance Series. This series brought us some interesting things like a live Blue Notes show from 1988. Then late last year the wait for Archives II morphed into “neilyoungarchives.com” a web site that has all Young’s recorded music and placeholders (on the site’s Timeline feature) for pending unreleased recordings. It pretty elaborate and included two options for sound quality (Young’s relentless pursuit of an acceptable medium to deliver high quality audio was much of the reason for the Archives II delay).

We are living in the golden age for consumers of recorded music. There is so much music and so many ways to experience it from streaming to vinyl records. And those of us who came of age listening to the iconic bands of sixties and seventies have this seemingly endless flow of archival material. Rock on.

ARTS ROUNDUP

Watching – “Sneaky Pete” (Amazon). It took me a while to try this show, which just released its second season. The show is the creations of David Shore and Brian Cranston. Marius (Giovanni Ribisi) has just been released from jail and is on the run from a New York City gangster to whom he owes money. Desperate he takes the identity of his cellmate Pete Murphy and presents himself to his grandparents in Connecticut who haven’t seen the real Pete in 20 year. Marius’s old and new lives collide in what is a very clever and engaging series. The cast is also well stocked with actors from The Americans and The Wire as well as un-credited appearance by Cranston as the very spooky gangster Vince.

Listening – The Weather Station is not really a band, just a moniker for Canadian singer/songwriter Tamara Lindeman. An early/mid seventies Joni Mitchell vibe.

[1] That included Pete Townshend, Steve Winwood and Ronnie Wood.

[2] Some re-issues that are just re-mastered versions of the original album strikes me as a rip off.

[3] Elvis Costello was among the first to do this, re-issuing his early albums with extra CD’s of unreleased studio and live material. The amount of new material was significant and made it worth buying the original albums again.

[4] After buying the same album multiple times you start feel a little less guilty about Spotify and YouTube.

[5] There was a “deluxe” re-issue in 2005 with two extra songs and a re-mastered DVD disc.