MAHO'S CORNER

Jordan Brothers > Steve Jordan

2012-02-20T17:45:00.001-08:00

Thanks to my old friend, business associate and musical mentor Michael Hubbel, I discovered the recordings of the Jordan Brothers* and more famously Steve (Esteban) Jordan. Jordan himself is a legend in the Southwest, having played accordion (and guitar) with his brothers as teenagers, with Latin percussionist Willie Bobo's group in New York's jazz scene, a few Hollywood films (one via Cheech Marin, the other via David Byrne) in the 80's, performed frequently without much acclaim until his death in 2010. Here's a live performance of Jordan breaking apart Gershwin's "Summertime" in Texas late in his career.

*Not to be confused with pop-oriented Jordan Brothers from Pennsylvania (who recorded several regional hits in the 50's and 60's).

His conjunto roots are present in all of his music, but he is truly was a pioneer of a style of accordion-playing that was hard to categorize. Some music critics referred to him as the "Jimi Hendrix of the accordion" or more accurately "Ornette Coleman of the Accordion". Check out the Many Sounds of Steve Jordan on Arhoolie Records, and several reviews of the album. Esteban hailed from Texas originally, worked for years playing music in Arizona and California, often to small audiences who appreciated his diverse musical palette (conjunto, rock, jazz, salsa, R&B, Tex-Mex and zydeco). Los Lobos lead vocalist David Hidalgo called Jordan the best accordionist in the world, and to many Texas listeners he is known simply as "the accordion wizard." Texas Polka Band, Brave Combo also cites his influence on their music and played a part in expanding his audience base in the 1980's. For a snapshot of this artists at the end of his long musical career and life while stationed in San Antonio, Texas; check out this NPR interview "The Corrido of The World's Best Accordionist" a year before his death (June 2, 2009). He's also covered in the Spring 2009 issue of No Depression Magazine where the accordion is given a spotlight under "Instruments of Change".

It (Ain't No Big Thing)
Take a step back in time with the Jordan Brothers to their 1965 single release "It (Ain't No Big Thing)" recorded live at ID Club in Phoenix, Arizona. My pal Mike Hubbel, who is fine guitarist in his own right was sitting in with the band on guitar for this live date. He played with the Jordan Brothers and several other bands in the 60's before he eventually settled in San Francisco Bay Area (where I met him in 1971). Mike was quick to point out that Steve was the star of the band but played guitar (not accordion) on this track as he had done with Willie Bobo's Latin jazz combo in New York. The original id Club (ID Records) 45-single art is shown on the left.

I like the sound of this track because you can hear the convergence of Latin, Rock, R&B and Soul influences and despite the audio shortcomings from the club recording, it still sounds awfully good. The track is still getting nods from the Southwestern music community with comments coming from Austin, Texas to Los Angeles, California. The 1965 recording was even listed recently (Feb 14, 2012) on Phoenix New Times' Happy Birthday Arizona: 100 Songs that Define Arizona, Pt. 1, a different release of the same song is provided in the link.

The flip side of the 1965 single was "La Bamba", here's a link to the audio track. Jordan also covered The Supreme's "You Keep Me Hanging On" a la Vanilla Fudge through his conjunto filter and the Coasters' "Yakety-Yak". He wrote a successful shuffle titled "Squeeze Box Man" and Latin tune "Canto El Pueblo" among others earlier in his career.

Steve (Estaban) Jordan Selected discography
El Corrido de Johnny El Pachuco, RyN, 1971; reissued as Las Coronelas, 1985.
That's My Boy, Omega, 1977.
The Many Sounds of Steve Jordan, Arhoolie, 1985.
The Return of El Parche, Rounder, 1986.
El Huracán, Rounder, 1987.
Turn Me Loose, Hacienda, 1988.
20 Golden Hits, Hacienda, 1992.
Steve Jordan, Falcon.

Wilco does Mondavi

2012-02-20T16:35:00.001-08:00

Here's a live show entry from the comments section on
NoDepression Blog Wilco Feb 5, 2012
it took awhile to get around to writing anything about this incredible live show from Feb. 1st, Mondavi Center, Davis, California

I attended the Wilco show at the Mondavi Center at UCDavis. I wasn't a big Wilco junkie before the show or had swallowed the Kool-aid that others seem to have about Jeff Tweedy and company but I was familiar with all of the recordings and was prepared for a memorable concert. The latest Wilco album The Whole Love was the freshest piece of original music I've heard in some time.

Now that I've seen the band live and in a venue that seemed to feature the best possible acoustics (even Tweedy mentioned the higher quality of the audio) I'm now a Wilco convert. It should be noted that the seating and venue afforded a much more sedate setting than Wilco is accustomed to performing in-- this tour seems to be mostly mid-sized classic venues that seat roughly 3,000 people which seems to be perfect for their sonic explorations as well. One that was clear early on, the band shows their best chops in a live setting and with the looks of their recent schedule, the road-worthy setlist which is both expansive and interchangeable has no weak spots.

The band's opener grabbed my attention and didn't let go until the final encore ended. My partner (Lulu) hadn't even heard a Wilco song prior to the show, and she was also transfixed by the performance. We were seated as far away from the stage as you can get at the Mondavi Center, but if you know anything about the construction of this joint, the sound is just as good for us as it was for some dudes sitting in row three.

Guitar whiz Nels Cline is truly a unique musician with just the right amount of showmanship not to upstage the gifted band leader and songwriter Tweedy but that evening every member of the band contributed at an very high level. The drummer Glenn Kotche who often can go unnoticed despite his abilities (with so much else going on around him) was especially good that evening.

A trio of songs from Whole Love opening the show "One Sunday Morning" "Art of Almost" and "I Might" followed by "I Am Trying to Break Your Heart" set the stage for me and everything that followed that evening. About mid-concert, Tweedy finally broke his silence and got into a conversation with the audience and eventually with several people seated close to the stage. The show ended after a powerful 5-song encore that included a brilliant run through "Standing O" and closed with the frenetic "I'm A Wheel".
I'm guessing if Wilco returns to this area again, it will be Davis, California, and I'll be there.

Here's another local entry (review) of the show from Sacramento Press. Photos from Rik Keller.

Eagles' At The Limit Already

2011-12-03T19:16:00.000-08:00

Reprinted by permission from Newsreview.com (11/24/11)

BOOK REVIEW
Eagles - Taking It To The Limit
Ben Fong-Torres

By Mark Hanzlik

By now the phrase “to the limit” has reached an inevitable limit of its own when it comes to describing one of the greatest ’70s rock ’n’ roll bands, the Eagles.

This book, Eagles: Taking It to the Limit (not to be confused with Marc Eliot’s 1998 To The Limit: The Untold Story of the Eagles) arrives fully loaded with photos and “40 years of music, parties, breakups, lawsuits and redemption.” It was penned by Ben Fong-Torres, a celebrated Rolling Stone writer who got as close to the band as anyone could at that time. The Eagles snubbed the press nearly from

the start and continued the freeze on critics throughout their musical ascension.

Somehow the 40-year anniversary and overly detailed recollections of a famous Eagles vs. Rolling Stone magazine softball game in 1978 made Fong-Torres believe there was a market for another Eagles release. If you’re a fan, that’s probably enough.

Banner Mountain Boys Kick Into Fifth Gear

2011-11-06T14:52:00.000-08:00

If traditional bluegrass is your thing, you’re in for treat with Fifth Gear, a first class album by Nevada County’s own Banner Mountain Boys. I received a freshly pressed release a month ago, gave it a few turns on one of my iThingys and then set it aside. For some reason, I was drawn back to the Fifth Gear, and the collection kept working it’s way back into my playlist.

I became a fan of bluegrass music many years ago when I first saw a dozen giants of this genre perform at The Golden State Country Bluegrass Festival in San Rafael. A short time later I had the pleasure of seeing Placer County’s homeboys, South Loomis Quickstep, a legendary band equally steeped in country, folk and bluegrass music. I even published a few reviews of the group at the time.
There's an earlier post on Maho's Corner that covers some of that band's story.

Fast forward nearly 40 years, and I find myself spinning the Fifth Gear disk which highlights among others, singer-guitarist Taylor Carey, a founding member of the aforementioned Quickstep pickers. I actually discovered this connection a few years ago when I saw the Banner Mountain Boys at Fran's Cafe on Del Paso Boulevard in Sacramento.

Fifth Gear opens with a mournful take on Hobo Jack Adkins “Another Night” with Ron Gaynor leading on high end while Carey and Rob Shotwell provide the bottom, blending into sorrowful harmonic mixture. The boys trade vocals throughout the album, backing each other with equal expertise on an assortment of mostly traditional tunes with a several original compositions added into the 14-song mix. Instrumentally, Gaynor is on resonator guitar, Carey flatpicks, Shotwell sports a banjo and his wife Cecilia Shotwell fills out the quartet nicely on bass fiddle.

On “See You Later, ‘Bye” an original by Shotwell, he leads the way on vocals and banjo with Carey and Gaynor harmonizing and taking instrumental breaks on guitar and resonator guitar, respectively. They pick up the pace on “Born With a Hammer in My Hand” an opportunity for Carey to vocalize. The traditional tune “Bury Me Beneath the Willow” also contains Carey's unaffected vocals, in another classic tale of woe. Gordon Lightfoot’s “Redwood Hill” takes on a different shade with bluegrass backing and Shotwell providing the solid vocal turn.

“Child of Nature” a locally-grown tune by Jack Traylor (Steelwind) is a given a proper tribute by Carey, and is truly one of the great songs in this set. Another original, “Stowaway” is faithful storytelling by Gaynor who pilots a lyrical poignant journey with his own banjo and vocals. “Fifth Gear on a Harley” is the only instrumental in the set. Written by Shotwell, this more joyful song gives each of the players a chance to show off their considerable skills on their own strings.

Carey tosses into the mix one more painful song of sorrow “I Still Miss Someone” a Johnny Cash tune, wringing out the last bit of emotion before the band breaks into the final song on the record “Who Needs You?” a lively take on the Lonesome River Band’s tune. Yes, by now I knew I had arrived at my own bluegrass nirvana.

Check out a few tracks from Fifth Gear at SunSoundStudios.

Dan Hicks & His Hot Licks

2011-09-29T08:17:00.000-07:00

You've heard the expression 'going full circle' or returning the place where it all began, or something to that effect. Last weekend, we caught the current incarnation of Dan Hicks & His Hot Licks @ Harlow's in mid-town Sacramento, the first time Hicks has been in Midtown that I can recall. His performances in this area have been infrequent, though he appeared at The Palms in Winters, California in recent years.

The Harlow's crowd was to be schooled by Dan Hicks and the Hot Licks at the 'Kollege of Musical Knowledge', the latest in a series of Dan Hicks-created musical productions. This one tipped the hat to Count Basie, Bob Dylan, Richard Rodgers, Tom Waits, Paul Simon and himself.

The poster shown on the left is from the Harlow's show. Perfessor Hicks truly put on a education that evening, high points included Simon' "Love's Me Like a Rock" and his own composition "I Feel Like Singing". Hicks has often played without a drummer in his bands, and sometimes sans violin, an instrument which had been a staple in his lineup for so long. I was anticipating a disappointing version of the classic "I Scare Myself" but flute/keyboard player Louis Aissen did not let us down with highly inspired flute accompaniment. Other notable tunes included the Lickettes singing on "I'm An Old Cowhand", Hicks tackling "Ornithology/How High The Moon" and the encore "Four or Five Times".

The nearly 70-year-old band leader shimmied off the stage to the instrumental outro his band provided while the crowd politely applauded the completion of Hicks' musical coursework. Hicks, his droll sense of humor, stage timing, and lighting wit were still very much in place and he and his band provided a enjoyable, though sometimes musically challenging evening of music.

Talented players:
Dan Hicks – Vocal, Guitar

Darla – Vocals, Kazoo, Percussion

Roberta Donnay – Vocals, Kazoo, Percussion

Louis Aissen – flute/piano

Paul Robinson - guitar

Paul Smith – bass

Musical Curriculum

BLUES

Gotta Right to Sing the Blues (Harold Arlen/Ted Koehler)
JUG BAND

Beedle-Um Bum (Jim Kweskin Jug Band-1963)
SWING

Shiny Stockings (Count Basie)
COUNTRY

I’m An Old Cowhand (Johnny Mercer) Bing Crosby-1936

MISC.

Smoke That Cigarette (Merle Travis)

Piano Has Been Drinkin' (Tom Waits)
BE BOP

Ornithology (words by Jon Hendricks, music by Charlie Parker)

How High The Moon (Les Paul & Mary Ford)
ROCK

Subterranean Homesick Blues (Dylan)
FOLK-SWING

I Scare Myself (Hicks)
I Feel Like Singin’ (Hicks)
Loves Me Like a Rock (Paul Simon)
ENCORE

Four or Five Times (Bob Wills)

College of Marin - 1972
Dan Hicks was way ahead of his time, creating his own version of folk-swing, or whatever you call it. He introduced a lineup that was unique, sans drummer and mind-bending lead guitar riffs when every other band was obligated to produce this requisite sound. His idea of string instrument accompaniment created something completely different for our young ears and minds to enjoy. I missed the earliest incarnations of his bands in the late 60's, but I did see one of the classic Hicks' lineups in early 1972 and it was a finger-popping, toe-tapping affair.

At my FIRST LIVE MUSIC CONCERT on Feb 26, 1972 at College of Marin in Kentfield, my older brother (who had attended his share of Fillmore shows) insisted I see this Dan Hicks & His Hot Licks act. It didn't take much arm-bending to get me to tag along but it would be another 12 months until I became a full-time student on the College of Marin campus, so the music wasn't the only thing that was new to me. The band topped a two-act show which also featured a guitar & flute duo named Curly & Mark. The only song I recall from that group was Mose Allison's "If You Live" which was one of my favorites. I think there was also a film but that I don't remember much about it.

I had been listening curiously to Hicks' first two albums, Original Recordings and Where's the Money? and was familiar enough with the material and the nuanced delivery of Mr. Hicks & Co. by time the lights went down for their opening song "I Feel Like Singing".

It's been nearly 40 years, but I remember the high spots were the sulky Hot Licks harmonizing sweetly with Hicks' trademark vocals on "Canned Music", "Where's the Money", and of course Sid Page's violin solos, particularly on "I Scare Myself". The band at that time included Hicks, Page, Maryann Price, Noami Eisenberg, Jamie Leopold and John Girton (who had just been added.) Leopold sometimes went by the stage name of Cedric Sanchez or something similar which was how he was introduced. Apparently, this classic lineup lasted only until Summer of 1973 when Hicks tired of touring and decided to call it quits for a few years. He played infrequently for a number of years, sometimes billing himself as Lonesome Dan Hicks, and even worked on a film project in the later half of that decade.

Partial Set List from February 26, 1972

College of Marin Theatre, Kentfield, California

I Feel Like Singing
News From Up The Street
By Hook or By Crook
Where's the Money
Coast to Coast
I Scare Myself
Milk-Shakin' Mama
Canned Music

Dan Hicks - 1967

Santa Barbara - 1976
I saw Dan Hicks again five years later (November 1976) at the Arlington Theater in Santa Barbara.

He was solo that evening with a tape-player as his backing band, called the show "Dan Hicks & His Invisible Band (Ginger Baker-drums, Mort Sahl-piano). “All the way from Mill Valley, California-- Hicks stumbles on stage in dark glasses, decorated with Palm Trees. He drinks constantly during the show, performs all of the voices, instruments, walks off to a small ovation at the end of the short set." My notes from 1976.
One of his reasons for playing alone for a few years, "I just can't stand anyone for more than 10 minutes."

Hicks' performance was disappointing in comparison to his earlier fully-loaded revue but even alone he had such stage presence. You couldn't ignore the deep well of musical talent he possessed even with pre-recorded accompaniment.
Also on the actual billing that evening, Maria Muldaur with her Sweet Harmony Revue and John Mayall (who also had a stripped-down lineup). Maria also hooked up with one of the Lickettes, Maryannn Price, and Ellen Kearney in a group called the Bezbo Sisters.

Set List from November 13, 1976
Arlington Theatre, Santa Barbara, California

Yodel Song (C&W tune)

I Got Mine

Hummin’ to Myself

Dizzy Dogs

Sweet Lorraine

How Can I Miss You When You Won’t Go Away

Jeeper’s Creepers

Crazy ‘Cause He Is,

There were numerous stories about Dan Hicks' drinking escapades and his onstage behavior, even some from his early days in Marin after The Charlatans but in any event, he was always able to wow a crowd once he hit the stage. MaryAnn Price says in a 1976 interview that Dan freaked out regularly while on the road and took the responsibility of the leadership of the band too seriously. They were just starting to pop, getting big-time appearances on television and more nationwide exposure through touring. This and other stories of the band in the early 70's were from a cover story about the Girtones: Maryann Price and John Girton in Mike Farrace's short-lived regional music magazine, Rock'N'Roll News.

Mill Valley - 1977
I caught Dan Hicks & The Hot Licks in full reunion mode the following year (September 1977) at The Old Mill Tavern in Mill Valley, California where he brought together his classic lineup again for a one-night only, very special appearance. Rob Wasserman who had been performing with the Girtones was the bass player that evening along with Hicks, Price, Eisenberg, Page, and Girton. Having just relocated back to Marin County after three years in Sacramento, I was just in the right place at the right time, and the joint was only 20 minutes from my Novato homestead.

Dan Hicks & Hot Licks - 1971

First set from that evening, September 26, 1977
Old Mill Tavern, Mill Valley, California

Milk Shakin’ Mama

Canned Music

I Feel Like Singing

News From Up The Street

Where’s the Money?

You Got To Believe

Payday Blues

Cowboy’s Dream

There was a second set but that data was lost somewhere over the years, or maybe I was there and had too much fun to remember.

Anyhow, it was a long spell between 1977 and 2011, but worth the wait.

Joy Kills Sorrow > Lake Street Dive

2011-09-06T21:59:00.000-07:00

Here's two fresh bands from the East Coast that performed together briefly last month in California for the first time. The common thread between the two groups is bassist Bridget Kearney and their booking agent, MONGREL MUSIC. I had been listening to Joy Kills Sorrow for a year or so but had only recently discovered Lake Street Dive earlier this year, so I was excited to see them both perform on the same stage at The Palms Playhouse in Winters on August 25. The bands played to a pretty small but highly devoted following that evening. I thought it was worth sharing some of the experience.

Lake Street Dive, a quartet currently residing in Brooklyn mixes pop and jazz among other things. The group is composed of drummer Mike Calabrese, vocalist Rachael Price, trumpeter/guitarist Mike Olson and Kearney. Watching them live, you'll hear get a combination of cover tunes and originals, all delivered by Price in an inspired vocal performance.

Their third album Lake Street Dive is not quite as stripped down as their live quartet performances but the studio music has their musical stamp. Here's Lake Street Dive performing "Don't Make Me Hold Your Hand" from 2010. Check out there web site for more information and upcoming performance calendar and a new live release from the Lizard Lounge.

Here's a 2009 photo of the group from The Boston Phoenix below.

Joy Kills Sorrow is Boston-based band well-covered in strings (mandolin, banjo, guitar, bass) with a remarkable singer Emma Beaton. JKS is an acoustic band but they are far from any given category. Their music has both a old-timey, bluegrass sound and a more contemporary folk, pop & jazz sound. Members include guitarist Matthew Arcara, mandolinist Jacob Jolliff, banjo specialist Wesley Corbett, Beaton and bassist Kearney.

Their 2009 album release Darkness Sure Becomes This City is a strong collection of original music, one that has a had plenty of play on my iPod for the past year and they've just released a new record This Unknown Science Check out a lively performance of "One More Night" from earlier this year.

Paul Desmond

2011-06-04T19:20:00.000-07:00

To me Paul Desmond was the alto sax player who seemed to epitomize coolness more than any other jazz musician. Maybe Art Pepper has a faithful following, and there was also time when alto players like Richie Cole caught my attention, but Desmond was really the one for me. Admittedly, Charlie Parker was really the genius on this instrument but I can only take his tremendous saxophone runs in small doses.

Stan Getz achieved similar status as a tenor saxophonist, owning one of the most beautiful tones ever "The Sound" but other than his bossa nova breakout popularity in the early 60's, he never grabbed my attention in quite the same way as Desmond.

DRY MARTINI
They say Desmond's tone was like a "dry martini”. I’m not entirely a mixed drink expert but, I can see the metaphorical reference has stood the test of time in some fashion.

Desmond is best know for his years with Dave Brubeck Quartet (most of the 1950’s and 60’s) and the signature tune “Take Five” which he wrote for the group and recording in 1959 on their masterpiece Time Out. Brubeck is covered elsewhere in this blog, but for now it’s all Desmond. Here's a link to a live recording of "Take Five" from Jazz Casual (live studio performances presented by jazz columnist Ralph Gleason on public television in San Francisco in the 60's).

Disclosure: Having been an amateur clarinetist for a few years, I bought a used alto saxophone in 1978 and tried desperately to emulate his smooth tone (and sounds from other sax players as well). I never got to second base, so, I gave up after a few years. I still have the alto packed away somewhere. I'm not sure where the beard and funky hat and sweater came from but they must have been part of the package.

TAKE FIVE
Desmond’s popular ascension came from his Brubeck Quartet years, buoyed by the aforementioned 1959 release of "Take Five" which became the best-selling jazz hit single of all time. Both Brubeck and Desmond had their own sound that had little to do with their predecessors, they were both pioneers in many ways of a new cool sound on the West Coast and were both from Northern California. Besides the groundbreaking Time Out, my favorite Brubeck Quartet recording was the sequel, Time Further Out. "It’s a Raggy Waltz" and "Unsquare Dance" were the strongest tracks where Brubeck, Desmond and company were pushed even further into odd time signatures.

TAKE TEN
The impetus for this entry was Desmond’s solo recording of his follow-up to "Take Five" appropriately titled "Take Ten" which he first recorded in 1963 on a release of the same name. While this tune itself holds up well in any incarnation, I favored a later studio version from his 1973 Skylark release.

The first recording of "Take Ten" in 1963 featured sometime collaborator, guitarist Jim Hall playing off Desmond's sweet tones. Upon first hearing "Take Ten" you'll immediately pick up the similarities between the original 5/4 metered tune and the newer 10/8 tune. I like the originality in the Desmond/Hall session and the Middle-Eastern feel Desmond adds to the middle section of the song. Desmond recorded a number of critically-acclaimed, well crafted albums during this middle period of the 60's often teaming up with another soloist like Hall. Those early RCA Bluebird recordings are worth checking out, conveniently re-packaged as 2 separate CD's by Collectables Jazz Classics (Two of Mind & Glad to Be Unhappy, Desmond Blue & Take Ten).

Ten years later, Desmond had moved over to CTI records, where a number of traditional jazz players were being re-constituted into a new sound which was sometimes homogenous and critics often referred to as mediocre. In my opinion, the Skylark session resulted in more than a few agreeable takes. Though some of the material was simply adaptations of popular tunes of the day like Paul Simon's "Was A Sunny Day" and more traditional works, the performances on nearly all of the tracks were above the mark. Skylark was not particularly loved by the critics at the time but the addition of Hungarian guitarist Gabor Szabo as the primary soloist besides Desmond adds not only to the aforementioned "Take Ten" workout but other songs, most notably "Romance de Amor".

Szabo's 6-string ingredient in this mix was what Desmond needed on this date to create a greater sense of intensity to the music which as I mentioned earlier could tend to sound a bit ho-hum at the hands of Creed Taylor. None of Desmond's other recordings during this period had the same spark and were as beautifully crafted.

Szabo on solo electric guitar is not the only inspired player on the session which called for strong performances from all. The rhythm section is led by bassist Ron Carter and the highly inventive drummer Jack DeJohnette with Gene Bertoncini on rhythm guitar, Ralph MacDonald on percussion and CTI stalwart Bob James on keyboard. Don Sebesky arranged a few tunes and provided the orchestration for "Music For A While".

Listen here to the album and decide for yourself.

SKYLARK
Paul Desmond
Recorded Nov 27-28 and Dec 4, 1973

1. Take Ten (Paul Desmond) - 6:04
2. Romance De Amor (trad.) - 9:37
3. Was A Sunny Day (Paul Simon) - 4:41
4. Music For A While (Henry Purcell) - 6:43
5. Skylark (H. Carmichael/J. Mercer) - 5:15
6. Indian Summer (V. Herbert) - 3:48
7. Music For A While (alt take) - 5:53
8. Skylark (alt take) - 5:37
9. Indian Summer (alt take) - 5:28

Personnel:
Paul Desmond (alto sax)
Bob James (electric piano)
Gabor Szabo, Gene Bertoncini (guitar)
Ron Carter (bass)
Jack DeJohnette (drums)
Don Sebesky (arranger)

HAIR

2011-05-22T18:57:00.000-07:00

HAIR remains one of my Broadway Musical favorites and the movie adaptation is on my top 10 movie list. So, this entry was a no-brainer. Still, I get jokes about Hair, having not much hair on my head at all.

The first big-time musical I remember seeing was Carousel (starring John Raitt at Circle Star Theater in 1970) and one year later in the April 1971 at ACT Theater in San Francisco came the genre-bending Broadway musical HAIR.    So, now that makes it about 40 years or so.   At this point I remember little about the play other than controversial stage nudity which seemed to be pretty tame in the performance I viewed and the memorable song cycle that I continued to hear for the next three decades. The play clearly set the idea of a rock musical in motion, though it seemed like there weren't any others that quite made the splash that Hair did in the late 60's and early 70's.   It wasn't until the last decade with Rent and Spring Awakening that you're seeing rock musicals as successful Broadway plays.   Hair never seems to go away on stage anyway... you can catch the current version of the musical this summer.

About a decade or so later, a friend and colleague at Ross Stores (Brian Rose) turned me on to the film version HAIR, directed by Milos Forman (1979).   Brian was a student of Manhattan's Cooper Union, East-coast transplant who loved the San Francisco scene in the early 80's, and more importantly a film fanatic who introduced me to a long list of bizarre, yet well-made (not so successful) films, one of those included HAIR.

Milos Forman directed One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Ragtime, Amadeus, People vs. Larry Flynt and Man on the Moon.    HAIR followed his Academy Award winning Cuckoo's Nest and preceded another Academy Award favorite, Ragtime.

There were a number of changes made to the original play in order for it to make it work on the big screen, some of which did not go down well with the original writers James Rado and Gerome Ragni.   Generally, I liked the film so much I didn't real care whether the "hippie" characters were depicted negatively or not which was the contention of the original authors.   The film version was really about the music, the choreography, camera shots and the acting, not the characters.

There's several scenes that stand out, but the one that has always been a show-stopper occurs midway through the film where Hud's fiance (Cheryl Barnes) sings to Hud-Lafayette (Dorsey Wright).   The song, "Easy To Be Hard" written by Galt MacDermot, James Rado and Gerome Ragni. The entire scene is available here, and higher quality video download of the musical selection only.

Another one of the my favorite songs in the movie "White Boys" arrives in the centerpiece of the film too. One of the well-known stars in this musical romp is Nell Carter. Here's a link to the full scene as well and a video download of the music only.

Hair (the film)
Soundtrack Recording (1979)
All lyrics written by Gerome Ragni, Jim Rado, all music composed by Galt MacDermot.

Disc One
1. "Aquarius" (Ren Woods) 4:47
2. "Sodomy" 1:30
3. "Donna/Hashish" 4:19
4. "Colored Spade" 1:34
5. "Manchester" (John Savage) 1:58
6. "Abie Baby/Fourscore" (Nell Carter) 2:43
7. "I'm Black/Ain't Got No" 2:24
8. "Air"   1:27
9. "Party Music" 3:26
10. "My Conviction" 1:46
11. "I Got Life" (Treat Williams) 2:16
12. "Frank Mills"   2:39
13. "Hair"   2:43
14. "L.B.J."   1:09
15. "Electric Blues/Old Fashioned Melody"   3:50
16. "Hare Krishna"   3:20

Disc Two
1. "Where Do I Go?" 2:50
2. "Black Boys"   1:12
3. "White Boys" (Nell Carter) 2:36
4. "Walking In Space (My Body)" 6:12
5. "Easy To Be Hard" (Cheryl Barnes) 3:39
6. "Three-Five-Zero-Zero"   3:49
7. "Good Morning Starshine" (Beverly D'Angelo) 2:24
8. "What A Piece Of Work Is Man"   1:39
9. "Somebody To Love"   4:10
10. "Don't Put It Down"   2:25
11. "The Flesh Failures/Let The Sunshine In"   6:06

The entire cast is superb, including the leads Treat Williams, John Savage, and Beverly D'Angelo. Mostly, I admire Forman for taking a sharp turn after the heavy drama of his first major American film success with One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.    Interestingly, he followed HAIR with another film with music as a central character, Amadeus though in a much different style and storyline.   I highly recommend the film version of HAIR if you haven't already seen it.   Better yet, check out the play if you get to New York soon.

Trey Anastasio

2011-05-07T22:49:00.000-07:00

This entry isn't reflective of my devotion to the band Phish, or to their multi-talented chief singer/songwriter, Trey Anastasio. I've never really been a huge fan of Phish music though I've listened to my fair share of their live performances and a handful of studio recordings, but for some reason I've followed the solo careers of individual band members more closely than the collective though most of those emerged toward the end of the band's long tenure.

I'll use this space to highlight one of my favorite recordings by Anastasio but first a little background. Although he had recorded a few solo numbers previously, Anastasio's solo career effectively began after in the Spring of 2002 when released his self-titled album debut Trey Anastasio for Elektra Records. It's a wonderful record, a strong collection of pop music written intentionally by Anastasio and his assembled band to provide him with a leadership role. He followed with another release in 2003 titled Plasma, a live double-disc album capturing his solo group performances from the previous year. It's a little more adventurous because of the live nature of the recording but still as tightly crafted as the studio album which preceded it. Seis de Mayo was an album of all-instrumental tracks Anastasio released in 2004 recorded with a variety of ensembles large and small.

Anastasio moved to Columbia Records for his 2005 studio release Shine. The songs are consistently strong and concise. The album followed the disbandment of Phish in 2004 which informs us that it's another departure from Phish music with catchier, pop-sounding songs. Bar 17, Anastasio's 2006 release was another step in the along the same lines (accessible and upbeat) though the music is a little more varied and quite ambitious in length. All five of these aforementioned solo releases by Anastasio are worthy and very listenable, and I would place them ahead of most of the Phish music of the last decade or so. I continue to listen to them every now and then... but the one that caught my fancy the most is Horseshoe Curve.

Horseshoe Curve seems to have come about as a result of Anastasio's inactivity during a court-ordered yearlong drug rehab program in 2007. This collection of tracks from earlier in the decade is a treasure-trove of instrumental adventure by Anastasio, a heavy quartet of horns, and additional percussionists rounding out a killer rhythm section. The results are a slinky-brew of Latin salsa, R&B, Afro-beats and funk. No vocals, just a deadly dose of jazz-funk. If you're not into jazz at all, or horns, it may not be as much to your liking, or if you're expecting long Phish-jams, that too really doesn't materialize on this record.

The album opens with "Sidewalks of San Francisco", an upbeat, rhythmic, organ-centered performance which sets the stage for the rest of the collection.

The second track "Olivia" opens up things a bit as the horns and rhythm section begin a back and forth exchange that ends only shortly after it begins. "Burlap Sack & Pumps" gives two drummers a showcase and a workout. Here's a link to a different recording of this same track from the EP Lucius Beebe.

Two tracks in the center of the album, "The 5th Round" and "Horseshoe Curve" are both from a live performance in Pittsburgh, but you really don't notice the difference here except the energy level of the entire band is upped a notch and Anastasio's lead guitar burns a little hotter.

"Noodle Rave" is more than a little noodling, though hard to categorize what kind of jazz direction this tune represents over the course of 5 minutes, very interesting. Of the 8 tracks found on Horseshoe Curve, my personal favorite is "Tube Top Tony", a catchy reggae-sounding tune with a nasty backbeat and comforting pace, not unlike Booker T & The MG's smooth grooves.

The album ends on a different note with a jazzy tune "Porters Pyramids" that brings together various influences found in the post-bop or cool jazz of the West Coast in the 50's. Strongly recommended.

Trey Anastasio

The Horseshoe Curve

Rubber Jungle

June 24, 2007

1 Sidewalks Of San Francisco

2 Olivia

3 Burlap Sack And Pumps

4 The 5th Round

5 The Horseshoe Curve

6 Noodle Rave

7 Tube Top Tony

8 Porters Pyramids

Personnel:

Trey Anastasio Arranger, Composer, Guitar

Peter Apfelbaum Sax (Baritone), Sax (Tenor)

Cyro Baptista Arranger, Composer, Percussion

Dave Grippo Sax (Alto), Sax (Baritone)

Jennifer Hartswick Trumpet

Kevin Hoffman Arranger, Composer

Russ Lawton Arranger, Composer, Drums

Tony Markellis Arranger, Bass, Composer

Andy Moroz Trombone

Ray Paczkowski Keyboards

Anastasio returned in 2008 with another live album release, Original Boardwalk Style, and also released a ground-breaking vocal, guitar and orchestra album titled Time Turns Elastic. In 2010, Anastasio released another live album, TAB at the Tab using his 2009 four-piece band.

Dream Brother Buckley

2011-03-10T20:20:00.000-08:00

The two Buckley's were on my radar long before I cracked open the David Browne's 2001 biography Dream Brother: The Lives and Music of Jeff and Tim Buckley. It's a slightly spooky dual biography of Jeff Buckley, a flame that burned briefly in the 90's, and his father Tim Buckley who had an equally prominent yet short-lived musical career from 1965-75. There are parallels between the two musicians, not quite as eerie as the Lincoln-Kennedy comparisons but enough to make one think twice. The author captures appropriately the essence of both musicians in their own time and how each made their mark on the popular musical landscape. I highly recommend the book.

TIM BUCKLEY

Much has been released since the elder Buckley's early death in 1975 and I've had time to re-visit his recordings, performances and literature of his life and legacy. For me my love affair with his music began in early 1971 when I first discovered Tim Buckley by stumbling quite accidentally across his recordings from a middle period of his recording career (somewhat obscure but critically acclaimed albums Starsailor and Blue Afternoon had been released a year or so earlier on Frank Zappa's start-up record label Straight) and another non-commercial record Lorca. Even though I didn't take to the music straight-away, I thought the trio of strange recordings were interesting and certainly a welcome departure from most of what I was listening to at the time. An acquaintance I met while fitting him nicely into a new pair of new bell-bottom trousers at Ross Stores (Novato, California) where I worked at the time, turned me on to Tim Buckley and as it turned a whole bunch of other strange music. He had a serious thing for Zappa, Beefheart, The GTO's, Lenny Bruce and Wildman Fischer (artists on Zappa's Straight or Bizarre Record labels) and a host of other crazed musicians (The Fugs, Bonzo Dog Band, etc.) So I got the whole nine yards of bizarre-ness in nearly one sitting. Tim sounded pretty conventional next to the rest of that bunch.

Following Tim's initial studio recordings which were much more accessible, these three off-the-wall records could start a conversation and end one all in the same breath. If you think Blue Afternoon is a bit out of the mainstream, try listening to the first side of Lorca which is for the most part avante-garde at its best. By this time, Tim's vocal gymnastics which he briefly flirted with earlier have come to the forefront of his performance both in the studio and live. The interesting thing about Tim that I discovered later was his insatiable desire to keep changing musical direction and quest to move into somewhat uncharted territory, not unlike Miles Davis. Whenever he released a new album or made a repeat performance it was never like the previous one. Tim was heading into fairly non-commercial territory during this period which must have confused his fans but it didn't seem to matter. A later release of a live 1969 recording Live at The Troubadour 1969 is worth checking out. Tim clearly stretches out here artistically and you can hear what audiences at the time were hearing in terms of his departure from previous styles.

Starsailor is my favorite of this trio though Buckley sounds like he's writhing in pain as he vocally executes nine original tracks including his own take on the French tune "Moulin Rouge." Here's a live rendition of "Song to the Siren" from The Monkees TV show circa 1968-69, and another "I Woke Up" from The Show. You can see and hear his Starsailor band in this performance. To me, the Starsailor album reflects the Zappa/Straight records arrangement much more than the earlier Blue Afternoon, including adding Mother of Invention alum Bunk Gardner on reeds which might have been the final blow to many of the hard-core folk enthusiasts. I liked it, and so did Tim. He considered Starsailor his greatest achievement.

I began to dig a little deeper into Tim's catalog at the time (1968) and quickly found his first jazz-folk sounding recording Happy Sad his third album. This underrated record represented Tim's first departure from his strictly folk-based music and the result was a perfect pairing of light jazz and folk. It seemed like he had something new to say and didn't hesitate to put it out there for the audience. He was just 21 years old, and had already shifted his musical platform several times by this superb third album. Happy Sad was by far my personal favorite through all of his recording catalog, and in many ways despite it's revolutionary departure from his previous recordings, an entirely accessible work. It's a stripped-down acoustic affair with minimal accompaniment to six original Buckley compositions, and if you were to hear the arrangements and sound from a distance you'd swear you were listening to one of Fred Neil's albums from the same period. The jazz-influenced tunes are all delivered in mesmerizing extended form (with the exception of "Sing A Song for You" at the close of the record.) "Strange Feelin'" and "Buzzin' Fly" introduce listeners to Tim's mesmerizing trip balanced by the extended centerpiece "Love from Room 109 at the Islander". The tune "Gypsy Woman" was the first song that grabbed me when I heard the album back in 1971 but after numerous plays (and 40+ years) it doesn't hold up as well as the others. Listen here to a few preview tracks from Happy Sad and decide for yourself.

Note: A later release (1990) of a live Buckley performance from this period, Dream Letter: Live in London 1968 is a very good record of his performing abilities during this time.   It captures him at a pivotal point in his career when he's leaving behind a lot of the folk trappings of his early music and exploring newer compositions that can be found on Happy Sad (just released) and a few future songs which were introduced for the first time. The best thing about this live recording is the sheer energy and vocal range that Tim displays.

His two earliest recordings Goodbye & Hello a very strong and popular release of that period (1967) and his eponymous debut Tim Buckley a year earlier were the next discoveries on my list.    From Goodbye & Hello one track, "Once I Was" still gives me chills when I hear the melancholy refrain in the song.   Although I liked Goodbye & Hello much more than his first foray into straight-ahead folk-rock, even Goodbye & Hello sounds a bit heavy-handed, especially the lyrics.   It was a different time and place, so one can excuse the heavy-handed sentiment in "No Man Can Find the War" and the title track both co-written with Buckley's lyricist Larry Beckett.    Goodbye & Hello was his highest charting release of his entire career, peaking at 171 of the Billboard Top 200. Listening today, the strongest tracks on the album remain "Once I Was", "I Never Asked to Be Your Mountain" and "Pleasant Street".   The musicianship on this second album was very strong as Buckley shifted to 12-string acoustic guitar and Lee Underwood, a very gifted musician on lead guitar, and Carter C.C. Collins on congas making his first appearance with Buckley.

On his first release Tim Buckley, "I Can't See You" and "Song for Jainie" are the tracks that stand out the most on a tremendous debut album that received the psychedelic-folk production touches of the Elektra production team.   Note: His backing band in this first studio recording included a number of studio musicians plus Underwood, a guitarist and close friend who would stay with Tim through all of his recording and performing career.   Listening to Tim's first recording makes me wonder at the age of the singer/songwriter (just 19 at the time) and what potential he had before him in his musical career.

A short time later (1972), Bizarre Records released a new Tim Buckley album, Greetings from LA which was very greasy affair, an abrupt departure from the avante-garde music he explored near the end of the decade.   I'll have to admit, it was a welcome change, as a listener you could enjoy the same incredible vocal chops but they were processed now through a different soundscape, a funky honky tonk sound not unlike the Stones music of a few years earlier.   Many critics derided Tim, claiming he was a sell-out but I disagree.   To me, it was just an example of the artist moving in another musical direction whether that was further into straight-ahead jazz, R&B instead of a lighter singer-songwriter mode (which was all-the-range in LA at the time with the likes of Joni Mitchell, James Taylor, Carole King, Jackson Brown coming out of The Troubadour.) There's some stories about Tim's unique performances at The Troubadour, often attended by the music industries royalty. I like most of the songs on Greetings from L.A. including the three opening tracks on side one, "Move with Me", "Get On Top" and "Sweet Surrender" which grab you immediately with the new groove-heavy sound that features swirling organ, honking sax and backing vocalists.   The deal-closer for most listeners was Tim's provocative, scat-like vocal improvisations.

Tim's last two album releases unfortunately did not measure up to any of his earlier catalog. I purchased both albums when they hit the market but hardly listened to these records with the same passion that I had previously reserved for Buckley's folk-rock-jazz and funk excursions.   On 1973's Sefronia, a so-called white funk next step from Greetings from L.A., Tim's voice is starting to show some wear and there just isn't as much going on vocally.   Two strong cover tunes, Fred Neil's "Dolphins" and Tom Waits "Martha" are attractive additions simply because of the strong songwriting but otherwise most of the remaining material is just so-so. He closes out the album with an unusual cover choice with "Sally, Go 'Round the Roses" which has its moments but doesn't quite redeem the 33 minutes that precedes it.

There's not much to say about his last release, Look at the Fool in 1974.   It's Tim Buckley but it isn't the same with his vocals worn so thin and material so shoddy. There are moments when you get the feeling the band, the arrangements and the production are going somewhere that Tim can't seem to reach or fit into comfortably. There's a live recording from that period (November 27, 1973) titled Honeyman: Recorded Live 1973 where Tim performs songs from various periods of his career quite adequately, it's worth a listen.    Also, here's short video performance from The Old Grey Whistle Test in May 1974 where he returned to an old favorite "Dolphin's". There are also brief moments of vocal inspiration from him that remind you of what he was capable of in performance but has for one reason or another left behind. It must have been difficult for him to witness the backlash against his gifted musicianship and vocals at this stage in his career and for his long-time musical partner Underwood who had been at his side for ten years.

There are a number of live recordings and compilations of Tim Buckley's recorded career.   One I believe is the best collection is Morning Glory: The Tim Buckley Anthology, a 2001 Rhino/Elektra release that features 33 tracks from all periods of his career.

For a video compilation, I highly recommend My Fleeting House, a DVD-Video collection of a number of live appearances and performances from 1967-1974. The video also includes interviews with songwriting partner Larry Beckett, guitarist Lee Underwood and Dream Brother author David Browne (all of which are helpful in pulling together all of the elements of Tim's musical career.)

Tim Buckley's life came to an abrupt end in 1975 when he died of a heroin overdose just after completing a tour. He was 28 years old.

JEFF BUCKLEY

Discovering the music of Jeff Buckley was an entirely different experience for me in the mid 1990's when I first heard his one and only studio release during his lifetime, Grace.   That debut album even today (16 years later) resonates as powerfully as it did the first time I heard it.

Approaching Jeff's music didn't happen without the usual reservations one has about the offspring of great musical talent.   I wasn't that shocked to hear the similarities in their voices but it was a pleasant surprise to see the musical path that Jeff took which was similar to his father's one in that his musical journey was without compare with any other artist during his lifetime. Jeff was adventurous and creative in his recording and performing much like his father, following his own muse and not succumbing to the hit-making stardom path.

What I liked most about Grace when I first heard still rings true today. Right away the vocals take control of the songs and despite the powerful arrangements and all ten songs are strong compositions in their own right but the ones that stand out the most are "The Last Goodbye", "So Real" and the title track. Also, the most-often played track is Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" which has a life of its own, and certainly did as a single release. The often-covered gospel-styled song showcases Jeff's amazing falsetto, as do all of the album tracks but in this one is something special. "Hallelujah" creeps along in a mournful, stately pace while Jeff bounces off the highs and lows with his incredible voice control and range.   Here's a live version of song (just in case you can't stomach the official music video mixed with the album track.)

The story behind the recording of "Hallelujah" is interesting now that it's been so heavily covered by so many recording artists. By 1991, John Cale was the only artist who had tackled Cohen's 1984 song release, so when Jeff Buckley entered Bearsville Studios in Woodstock, NY to record Grace, he used Cale's version as his roadmap for interpreting the song. The song didn't really take off until much later but eventually gained a lot of airplay and sold well. The track won accolades from numerous musicians and publications as one Jeff's best and also as one of "Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All-Time" (number 259 on the list).

It's still amazing to think that Grace was Jeff's initial recording session. This one-of-a-kind record was more than a promising debut for an artist who had so much potential ahead of him but was unfortunately only to live for another three years.

I didn't give much thought to Jeff's career until a short time later, I read about his tragic drowning accident in Memphis on May 29, 1997. There wasn't a lot of his music on the market at that time, maybe a few bootlegs and his first commercial release an EP recorded live at Sin-e' which was later released with additional live tracks filling out a 2-CD release of 18 songs. I had heard these recordings of Jeff playing solo on electric guitar in this tiny coffeehouse in the East Village (New York City) where he apparently had been living at the time. Although they're not up the quality and full-band sound that he achieved on Grace, those initial live performances were what made the critics, other musicians and artists take notice of his talent.

The Live at Sin-e' double-cd release has a half-dozen originals by Jeff, and the remainder of the music made up of a variety of covers from numerous artists including several songs from Bob Dylan and Van Morrison.

The covers aren't necessarily as strong as his original compositions in this live format but you'll still find some interesting interpretations of tracks like "Strange Fruit", "Just Like A Woman", "Drown in My Own Tears", "Sweet Thing" and a scatty version of "The Way Young Lovers Do" and well-read version of French tune made famous by Edith Piaf "Je N'en Connais Pas La Fin" . The five or six songs that ended up on Grace are heard in an earlier, almost audition-like form. Obviously he passed the audition. This album is worthy but not as interesting as some of his later live recordings with a live band in tow.

Sketches for My Sweetheart The Drunk was the album that Jeff was working on when he died. He had been recording some tracks with his band in 1996 with Tom Verlaine as producer which he had apparently shelved and was recording some new material on his own in early 1997 in Memphis that he was hoping to share with his bandmates. The finished record, released in 1998, a year after his death certainly has its moments but it doesn't seem to offer the same level of excitement and bombastic delivery he had set for himself on Grace.

It is a stripped down affair compared to Grace, recorded meticulously and as I suspect, rather slowly. The music isn't as jazzy or folky as the earlier recording and the production allows for a edgier, alternative sound that indicates a slightly different direction that Jeff was possibly heading at the time of his death. Some of the stronger tracks include "Everybody Here Wants You", "Nightmares by the Sea", and "New Year's Prayer". There's even an old Genesis gem "Back in N.Y.C." that really didn't need to see release here. Unfortunately, by enlarging the amount of music that's included on this release, the material tends to not have much focus. Jeff rejected the initial tracks he recorded with Verlaine, so it makes you wonder if there is some editing that needed to be done here. I think if Jeff had been around to package and promote the album, and perform live, his legacy would have been promoted further. Without his strong live presence, one could imagine what might have been.

There are number of other album and video releases of Jeff Buckley that emerged after Sketches for My Sweetheart the Drunk, including several live releases documenting his tours between 1994-1996, most notably Mystery White Boy and Live at L'Olympia.

Jeff Buckley's life came to an abrupt end in 1997 when he was recording his sophomore album effort. He was 30 years old. Just like his father, he was young and gifted, and had a remarkable amount of musicianship to share with us in just a short amount of time. It's ironic that Tim Buckley left behind such a large amount of studio work and so little live music while Jeff's catalogue represents more music captured live, and so little studio work.

Joe Henry-Civilians

2011-02-20T22:10:00.000-08:00

In my opinion, Joe Henry's Civilians was one of the best albums released in 2007.

It's hard to describe Joe Henry's musical style, you have to experience it for yourself by just letting yourself get lost in his imagery and storytelling. His voice and choices for instrumentation, backup and arrangements are equally compelling. Henry's truly a gifted songwriter which is evident on the two releases prior to Civilians; Scar (2001) a surprising recording with guest Ornette Coleman, Tiny Voices (2003), another daring departure, and certainly on his latest album Blood from Stars (2009) a wonderful collection of jazzy-blues and rock. Even his earlier recordings from the 80's and 90's which contained more elements of country rock, influences of Gram Parsons and such are worth a listen. But Henry evolved in the 90's as he listened more to jazz, Tom Waits and Leonard Cohen and his musical output over the last 10 years has taken a musical turn toward an idiom that is not as easy to categorize. Here's a live recording with Henry's late 90's song "Trampoline."

The musicians on Civilians are a familiar bunch, most had also participated in Loudon Wainwright's Strange Weirdos album and the movie Knocked Up. Guitarist Bill Frisell is on hand for this session along with band members David Piltch, Greg Leisz and Jay Bellerose. All of the songs on Civilians are strong on their own, but "Civil War", "Parker's Mood", "Our Song", "Shut Me Up" and the title track are killer tunes.

The song that hooked me early and keeps me coming back for more of Joe Henry's music is "Our Song" a oddly political song with many familiar people and places including the Say Hey Kid, Willie Mays. It's truly a masterpiece and one of the best contemporary songs written. Here's a few lyric lines from the song that may give you a taste of the message he's delivering:

Though it started badly and it's ending wrong

This was my country

This frightful and this angry land

But it's my right if the worst of it might

Still make me a better man...
You must hear it within the context of the entire song.

Civilians (2007)
Anti-
Tracks

1. Civilians (4:36)

2. Parker's Mood (4:16)

3. Civil War (4:42)

4. Time Is a Lion (3:54)

5. You Can't Fail Me Now (4:13)

6. Scare Me to Death (4:54)

7. Our Song (6:19)

8. Wave (4:30)

9. Love Is Enough (4:49)

10. I Will Write My Book (4:11)

11. Shut Me Up (6:16)

12. God Only Knows (5:02)

Musicians:

JH – acoustic guitar, handclaps, knee slaps and corduroy

Bill Frisell – electric and acoustic guitar

Greg Leisz – acoustic guitar, mandolin, Weissenborn and lap steel

Patrick Warren – piano, Chamberlin, pump organ and…more

David Piltch – upright and electric bass

Jay Bellerose – drums and percussion

Loudon Wainwright the 3rd – backing vocals

Special Guests:

Van Dyke Parks – piano ("Civil War" and "I Will Write My Book")

Chris Hickey – additional backing vocals ("Civilians" and

"Time Is A Lion")

The Section Quartet ("Our Song"):

Eric Gorfain – first violin

Daphne Chen – 2nd violin

Leah Katz – viola

Richard Dodd – cello

You can purchase Civilians here.

You can also hear Joe Henry's latest music "Blood From the Stars" and read more about where he's performing on his web site at www.joehenrylovesyoumadly.com

SNL Entry #1 - Hartman Nails Sinatra

2011-01-14T19:59:00.000-08:00

Here's a short entry, one of my favorite SNL cast members who often flew below the radar as he played numerous supporting characters in a variety of sketches - Phil Hartman. The versatile comedian impersonated many well-known people, most notably Bill Clinton, but the one that seems to provide the most lasting impression and still kicks up plenty of chuckles is the Frank Sinatra one.

The SNL sketch, The Sinatra Group from 16th Season, Episode 11 (January 19, 1991) is in my opinion one of just a few defining moments for SNL. Jan Hooks plays Sinead O'Connor, Chris Rock in an early appearance plays Luther Campbell, Mike Myers and Victoria Jackson play Steve Lawrence & Eydie Gorme. Sting was guest on the show and nailed the role of Billy Idol perfectly but Hartman was the show--a very well-written piece of comedy for the time.

A friend asked me upon seeing this sketch, "was Sinatra really like that?" After recently reading Dean Martin's bio, Dino: Living High in the Dirty Business of Dreams by Nick Tosches, I would suggest the writers of the sketch were not too far off, not stretching the Sinatra character very far to get hilarious laughs from the live audience in NY. The Dean Martin portrait was written just a few years before his death in 1996---totally captures what Dino was really about and holds back very little.

Hartman won an Emmy Award for his work on SNL in 1989, and continued to hold the show together until his departure in 1994. You may also remember his voice on the Simpsons, as a few recurring background characters (Troy McClure is the one that comes to mind) and after SNL came a role on NBC's NewsRadio show.

He was murdered by his wife in 1998.

Jackie Greene

2010-12-30T21:58:00.000-08:00

Prior to a half dozen years ago, only those in the Sacramento area had really heard of this young musician and he certainly had been a well-kept secret weapon for Dig Music, the local record label that first signed and promoted him. It wasn't hard to see Jackie Greene finally make a break for San Francisco and the national music scene in 2004, he was more than ready. His last three album releases since departing Sacramento have been well-crafted, well-written records, giving Jackie a wider audience, though Americana/roots rock-based mostly, it is nice to know that listeners outside NorCal are now listening to his compelling story-lines and musical journey. Much has been written about Jackie, his partnership with Tim Bluhm (Mother Hips), a stint with remaining parts of The Dead, various soundtrack contributions, the stellar albums, and of course his own stage performances. There's plenty of those out there to be viewed, you can find many via You Tube and other web sources (check out New Speedway Boogie from 2009).

I'm taking a few liberties again, going back a few years here. My long-time creative associate and fellow-music lover, Mark Halverson was assigned to cover Jackie Greene's Monterey Jazz Festival debut in 2004 by the Sacramento News & Review. Even though I didn't own a professional camera and retained only rudimentary photo skills, I received the nod from Halverson to take a ride to Monterey on a cool, rainy day September day to document his interview and the performance by the 23-year-old Greene.

That News & Review published interview from October 2004 by Halverson with some grainy black & white photos submitted by myself serves as a record of that time and place for the young artist. A few years later, Halverson also sat down in San Francisco for another interview with Jackie which was published SacTown Magazine, a lot had changed in 3 years. Unfortunately, I wasn't along for the ride with that one.

Back at Monterey, Halverson captured our 2-day run of Festival grounds pretty well within the Greene piece which he took great care in not being too much of a JG-booster, an easy trap to fall into at the time. In addition to the young troubadour's two inspired performances (one on a smaller stage where I captured a load of photos, and another on the Main Stage that I missed because I had left THE camera in our Santa Cruz hostel). I'm disclosing that fuck-up only because it's likely Halverson might reveal that hilarious miscue on this blog anyway--better to fess up ahead. Charlie Musselwhite, Don Byron, Charlie Hunter, The Brazilian Girls, Buddy Guy and Bobby McFerrin were just a few of the acts we caught up close and personal that weekend in Monterey, but Jackie was by far the most exciting and besides being an up-and-coming talent, he already had musical chops that belied his age.

I had first seen Jackie perform a few years earlier in various local venues in Sacramento. But in 2004, he seemed to pop up everywhere. Mostly, I remember his performance at the local Sammies where he opened the show with his Dylan-inspired "Down In The Valley of Woe" and went on to win a number of awards. There was clearly many great local musicians on stage that evening, but he was in a class by himself. Jackie's third album, Sweet Somewhere Bound had just been released. Up to that point most of us were only familiar with Jackie's first two albums Gone Wanderin' and Rusty Nails, and some live local recordings with Sal Valentino. Even in 2004, his voice on that recording had a sound that evoked many more years of living than he had under his belt.

Here's a photo I shot of Jackie at The Summer Sammies Series at Cesar Chavez Park in Downtown Sacramento about the same time, Summer 2004. I think he's wearing a White Castle T-shirt and though not shown he was performing with his bassist and drummer as well.

Though a few years later, here's a clip of Jackie performing "Gone Wonderin'" a tune from his first record. This live video was captured at the Santa Cruz Blues Festival in 2009.

In 2010, I received a promotional copy of Jackie's newest release, Till The Light Comes which I had intended to write a short review for the News & Review but never got around it. I didn't quite know how to describe the record at first. I was initially put-off by the over-production and the more pop-oriented sound, but after a few more turns on my iPod I was right back where I was in 2004 enjoying the song-craft of young Mr. Greene. I was hearing the same wonderful fresh, musical approach that seemed to resonate for me then, yet somehow the net has been widened.

Finally, here's one of Jackie's newer video releases of "Medicine" a tune from Till The Light Comes. Also, here's an even newer post one of my favorite sites, Wolfgang's Vault shown on the left. There's three solo acoustic performances (Gone Wanderin', I Don't Live In A Dream, Shaky Ground) and a short interview from January 8, 2011 when Jackie visited stopped by Wolfgang's Vault.

The Jazz Messenger - KERS-FM

2010-12-18T16:37:00.000-08:00

Here's another backward glance toward my salad days in college while attending Sac State (that's what we called California State University Sacramento back in the day, maybe some still do).

Beginning in the Spring and through the summer and into the Fall semester in 1975, I worked the broadcast boards at KERS-FM, using several on-air names. One name that seemed to garner the most attention at the time (and some warm phone calls that I was often surprised to receive) was The Jazz Messenger, a late night jazz show that took the airwaves at midnight at 90.7 FM on the dial.

My late night jazz show was part of a wild-card group of KERS broadcasters joined together under the moniker the Black Community Programming Department. The Sacramento region was fairly devoid of any regular jazz programming and with the power boosted well over 5,000 watts, programming could be heard throughout Sacramento proper.

The programming mix that included so much free-form music, particularly jazz, soul and R&B music was not to be a long-term thing for Sacramento. The University's interest in the station was more pointed toward creating a marketing tool that would bring wealthy and corporate benefactors in the community into a backing role for a new public broadcasting station. The music was toned down and eventually KERS was re-tooled entirely a few years later to what is now Capital Public Radio.

I did get my licks in while I was there. After the "Black Music Marathon" in 1975, I used the airwaves and my position as an editor at the State Hornet to both attack and defend the Black Music Marathon which seems rather implausible now. During the Black Music Marathon, I invited friends and family from the SF Bay Area to help broadcast my time slot. Honestly, because of all the fun we were having and such, all I can remember from that experience was-- playing Ramsey Lewis' Sun Goddess album, the stuff was hot! There must have been some Herbie Hancock too, here's a later performance of Chameleon- live (1988).

Later that semester, using protest anthem "Compared To What" in the background along with Les McCann's "The Price You Gotta Pay To Be Free" and Leon Russell's "Tryin' to Stay Alive", I delivered angry editorial targeted at ASI President, John Giannoni who was playing power games with the campus media. It all seems pretty trivial now but at the time, but Les McCann's energized vocal protestations seemed in sync with mine. Here's that 2-minute on-air editorial, the only remaining recording from my 15 months of broadcasting glory, it's a little short on production value and delivery but the youthful energy isn't lacking.

Here's a video link to that incredible performance by Les McCann, Eddie Harris and Benny Bailey at Montreux Jazz Festival in 1969- damn those Europeans know good music. Swiss Movement is still considered to be one of the best live jazz albums ever recorded and for the time even more so. The song written by Gene McDaniel fit perfectly with the anti-war protests that were going on in 1969.

My regular "outro" for the Jazz Messenger show was Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers "Blue Monk" from an album recorded in 1957 that included the the author of the tune, the inimitable Thelonious Monk on piano. Monk is one of my favorite jazz musicians, a one-of-a-kind.   I guess the song was a fitting finale each evening for a show with the same name.

Another high point during my KERS stay was hanging with my friend John James who provided much of the eclectic programming mix that the Sacramento market was also desperately missing in the 70's.   Among other things, we shared a love of Captain Beefheart, Firesign Theatre, The Doors, Jefferson Airplane and National Lampoon. Elsewhere in this blog you'll find a recording of Lampoon writer Chris Miller's CSUS visit in which I'm certain John passed to me somewhere along the way.

Stay tuned for part two of this series. My daytime KERS show included a complete left-turn from The Jazz Messenger, as I spun disks by bluegrass bands like Old & In The Way, popular R&B groups and progressive rock bands from England.

Here's one last remnant from KERS-FM mid-70's news room, Mark Halverson broadcasting the news (SLA trial, Squeaky Fromme, and LA Rams v. Philadelphia Eagles) in Spring 1975 .     Again, shortcomings on the production and delivery but crazy to hear 3 minutes of the news of the day within the context of the world we live in now.

The Roots

2010-12-05T10:45:00.000-08:00

Hip hop band The Roots has received a lot of exposure over the last few years (they weren't exactly invisible throughout the last two decades, check out their extensive bio here) but for the last two years television-viewing audiences could catch them every night on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon as the house band.

I recently saw The Roots backing Bruce Springsteen on a inspired version of "Because The Night" and a few months earlier they ran through virtual rap history lesson by way of a medley of rap songs featuring Jimmy Fallon and Justin Timberlake. But for me, it was a combination of things that made me love this band.

#1- Philadelphia, their hometown

#2- Collaborations with such a wide range of artists (John Legend, Dave Matthews Band, Jazz vibist Roy Ayers, and Jon Stewart/Stephen Colbert- Rally to "whatever"

#3- Phrenology, the album that introduced me to the Band nearly 10 years ago

#4- Jazzy instrumental base that seemed to exude more musicality than a lot of other hip hop bands

#5- Eclectic musical projects (each album seems so different than the last--maybe due to personnel changes too) and secret tracks on their releases
#6- The Seed from Phrenology

#7- Drummer, Questlove (Ahmir Thompson), founding member, he's my favorite

The Roots currently

Black Thought (MC)

Questlove (drums)

Kamal Gray (keyboard)

Frank Knuckles (percussion)

Cap'n Kirk (guitar)

Tuba Gooding Jr Bryson (sousaphone)

Owen Biddle (bass)

While Phrenology remains one of my favorite records, Rising Down, a release from 2008 is another that ranks highly in my estimate. The album is brimming with politically charged songs, an unsettling look at the world they live in. This record followed two other equally strong releases, The Tipping Point (where the band was accused of selling out) Game Theory (another example of their tightly wound musical brand). None of these albums are sleepy, they are aggressive without compromise but also in my opinion intelligent and thoughtful.

The Roots

Rising Down

Def Jam 2008

1. The Pow Wow
2. Rising Down (Feat. Mos Def, Styles P)
3. Get Busy (Feat. Peedi Peedi, Dice Raw)
4. @15
5. 75 Bars (Black's Reconstruction)
6. Becoming Unwritten
7. Criminal (Feat. Truck North, Saigon)
8. I Will Not Appologize (Feat. Dice Raw, Porn)
9. I Can't Help It (Feat. Malik B., Porn, Merecedes Martinez, Dice Raw)
10. Singing Man (Feat. Truck North, Dice Raw, Porn)
11. Unwritten (Feat. Mercedes Martinez)
12. Lost Desire (Feat. Malik B., Talib Kweli)
13. The Show (Feat. Common, Dice Raw)
14. Rising Up (Feat. Wale, Chrisette Michele)
15. Birthday Girl (Feat. Patrick Stump)
16. The Grand Return (Feat. Dice Raw, Wahud Ahmad)
17. Secret Track

You can purchase The Roots album Rising Down here.
Preview the title track Rising Down here via an earlier posted link.

Holiday Blues

2010-11-28T15:43:00.000-08:00

It's that time of year when daylight is scarce and time seems to be running as dry as my skin in the winter. We celebrated my birthday today which culminated a week-long bundle of fun and frivolity with family and friends. The holiday lights are up and we're just days away from the final month of 2010.

The old KFRC-AM radio posting took so much time, I decided to take a break. See you in December bloggers!

KFRC-AM, 21 Golden Rocks

2010-11-07T08:27:00.000-08:00

Growing up in the Bay Area, we listened mostly to KFRC-AM, a long-time San Francisco station that changed to top 40 rock'n'roll music format in early 1966 (original station is now defunct). KFRC was where I first heard AM radio-friendly versions of The Animals "House of the Rising Sun" and The Doors "Light My Fire".

More progressive radio programming was on the horizon- it would be a few years before the short-lived Tom Donahue-led KMPX-FM (1967) and then KSAN-FM (1968) became THE famed FM rock station that we all gravitated to. But if you were a teenager and wanted to hear pop music via the airwaves around this time, KFRC-The Big 610 was the place to tune in. Another AM station we listened to was KDIA-AM, an R&B format broadcast from Oakland where I remember hearing Sly & The Family Stone for the first time. Both of these AM stations KFRC & KDIA continued successfully into the 70's and 80's and eventually changed formats and/or ownership. One of the biggest AM radio personalities, Dr. Don Rose arrived via KFRC during this time.

More about the early KSAN-FM experience in a later blog (shout out to my friend Rick Gardner who was on staff in those days). My brother Matt blazed the trail for me, once the FM-radio experience came into my view, I was hooked.

Back to 1966-
I'm not sure how or where we purchased this album, but sometime between December 1966 and January 1967 (when I turned 13 years old), my brother and I came into possession of this commercial relic, 21 Golden Rocks. It was a promotional record release by KFRC, sub-titled Volume 1. I don't think there was a Volume 2.

I thought it was worth posting mostly because the album doesn't exist anymore (try searching for it on the web and you'll see). The record was such an odd collection of tunes that it struck me as a bizarre time capsule and not a clever compilation put together later by record executives or music critics (i.e. Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic Era, and other compilations).

Other collections from this era (1965-1966) may have contained more original or ground-breaking music, or were more pop-oriented but this 21-track collection must have pulled together by someone in the promo department at KFRC who owed some favors to a few record labels and artists' managers. Some of the selections seem to represent the music scene well while others were throw-away tunes, or weak efforts even by standards during the time. Listening to the tracks now makes a few seem more interesting but in retrospect there are some songs beg the question "what were they thinking?"

KFRC_The Big 610
21 Golden Rocks, Volume 1
January 1967
Take 6 Records

1. Hello Hello - Sopwith Camel
2. Psychotic Reaction - The Count Five
3. The Duck - Jackie Lee
4. Little Girl - Syndicate of Sound
5. Dirty Water - The Standells
6. Little Latin Lupe Lu - The Righteous Brothers
7. Laugh Laugh - Beau Brummels
8. Hey Joe - The Leaves
9. Baby Scratch My Back - Slim Harpo
10. Pushin' Too Hard - The Seeds
11. Good Lovin' - The Young Rascals
12. You Turn Me On - Ian Whitcomb
13. Sweet Talkin' Guy - The Chiffons
14. Along Comes Mary - The Association
15. Baby, Do The Philly Dog - The Olympics
16. Hang On Sloopy - The McCoys
17. Hello Stranger - Barbara Lewis
18. My Little Red Book - Love
19. Solitary Man - Neil Diamond
20. 5 O'Clock World - The Vogues
21. Gloria - Them

Here's my take on the 21 Golden Rocks from KFRC and how the songs break down (though not in any particular order.)

Most of the selections are from the 1965-1966 period when the songs were first released except two tracks come from a few years earlier.

The Righteous Brothers inspired performance of their own "Little Latin Lupe Lu" was a hit for them in 1963, and then charted later by The Kingsmen and Mitch Ryder & The Detroit Wheels. I like the original version here with Bill Medley's own voice-- agree with Jack Black in film High Fidelity where he defended this version on his mix tape over Mitch Ryder "bullshit" version.

Barbara Lewis' "Hello Stranger" is one of my favorites on this collection, partly because she is joined by the famous R&B singers The Dells as backup singers but mostly because it's an original composition. The Chess Studio recording also features signature organ riffs by John Young which make the pop tune sound funkier. "Hello Stranger" reached #3 on the Billboard Charts and also #1 on the R&B Charts in 1963.

Here's a quartet of garage rock tunes that can also be found on the aforementioned Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic Era.

The Count Five was a San Jose high school/student band that reached #5 on the Pop Charts in 1966 with their hit "Psychotic Reaction". The lyrics were interesting and probably helped group this song in with a lot of other early psychedelic tunes of the time . The instrumentation borrows heavily from the Yardbirds which isn't a surprise- most high school bands were drafting off Stones, Beatles, Animals, Yardbirds, etc. This was a one-shot deal for The Count Five.

"Dirty Water" was one of my favorite songs in 1966. I remember singing along with this classic and liking the harmonica break and the simple guitar lines. The Standells went on to record a total of five long-playing albums before breaking up. They were not from Boston but The Standells made the most of "Dirty Water" (reached #11 on Billboard Charts).

The Leaves charted "Hey Joe" in 1965 (the song had been recorded by numerous other artists before and after-- including Tim Rose and Jimi Hendrix) reaching #31 on the Billboard Charts. The song itself is often listed as 'traditional' as there's several disputes over who wrote the classic. I like the quick tempo of this version. The Leaves recorded only two albums and then were reduced to mulch.

The Seeds (led by Sky Saxon) released "Pushin' Too Hard" in 1965 and the song remained on the charts off and on for nearly two years and for good reason, it was a great song for the time. Saxon was writing about his girlfriend but there's deeper meaning to the song which you can feel in the vocal delivery. I like the mix of guitar and electric piano and the accented guitar breaks. The Seeds dissolved at end of the 60's and even tried to come back many years later but never regained the edge they had-- Sky Saxon died in 2009.

There's a few additional R&B tunes in the collection.

Jackie Lee, an R&B legend from an earlier era charted the Pop Charts at #14 in January 1966 with his dance-tune "The Duck". I'm not sure about this song, it's got a lot of soul but doesn't seem like anything special when matched with the more ground-breaking R&B tunes of the same time.

"Baby, Do The Philly Dog" must not have had the same impact in San Francisco that it did in Philadelphia but it made the list anyway. The Olympics were a doo-wop group that been recording R&B songs since the late 50's when they added this dance number to their arsenal in early 1965. One singer Charles Fizer was shot and killed during the Watts Riot in 1965.

Slim Harpo's "Baby Scratch My Back" is a wonderful tune. I liked it back then and I still like it now. This single was Slim Harpo's only number one on R&B charts but the song also crossed over to Top 40 in November 1966 and was Harpo's most successful record in his career. Sweet harmonica. I've used Slim's line with my partner many times.

There's a few losers in the collection.

Here's the biggest dud in the collection, not sure how it even got on there but Ian Whitcomb's "You Turn Me On" couldn't have been one of his more notable recordings in 1965. I didn't like it at the time and still don't now.

The Syndicate of Sound was another San Jose-based band that hit big on the pop charts briefly. Their simple tune, "Little Girl" broke through the clutter but the band disbanded after a few more singles in a few years and that was it. The song never quite caught my attention but it must have excited a few others, it ultimately reached #8 on the charts in June 1966. Another one-hit wonder.

"5 O'Clock World" was supposed to be a nod of some sort to the working world which I guess in 1966 worked for Pittsburgh-based band The Vogues. The two minute finger-snapper "5 O'Clock World" sounds a bit like something from earlier in the decade, but I liked the vocal arrangement and the slightly unusual instrumentation.

Sopwith Camel's only hit "Hello Hello" sounded too vaudevillian for my taste but it was a catchy little tune. I liked the Lovin' Spoonful much more, you can hear similarities between the two groups in this song. "Hello Hello" reached #26 on the Pop Charts by February, 1967 and the band broke up not too long after -- not being able to match their one-hit wonderfulness. My parent's liked the song.

"Sweet Talking Guy" was a minor hit by The Chiffons in 1966, a girl group known more widely for their first single "He's So Fine" and second hit, the Goffin-King penned song "One Fine Day". George Harrison ran into a little legal trouble over his similar-sounding hit "My Sweet Lord" which the Chiffons eventually recorded themselves in 1975. Another group recorded a few hits under the name The Chiffons, but they weren't the original Bronx-based Chiffons! "Sweet Talkin' Guy" was too sweet for my taste but I can see why it sold records.

The McCoys (led by 17-year-old Rick Derringer) scored a number one hit in October 1965 with this garage band classic "Hang On Sloopy" which was also covered by a number of other bands (Ventures, Kingsmen) during this time. It was adopted by the State of Ohio and Ohio State University as its official song. As far as I'm concerned, a little bit of the song goes a long way and once it became number one you couldn't escape it. However, Derringer did have an interesting career which included stints with Edgar Winter.

These selections are worthy ones.

The Association was a pop band from California who first tasted success when their single "Along Comes Mary" reached #7 on the Pop Charts in 1966. This led to the release of their first album, And Then...Along Comes the Association which also included their next big hit "Cherish". "Along Comes Mary" seemed to have more edge than other Association songs and there was a lot more going on that we hadn't heard before (flute solo, mumbling REM-like lyrics, and possibly a reference to Marijuana.) Here's a live (no lip-sync) performance of "Along Comes Mary" from The Smothers Brothers Hour in 1967.

"Good Lovin'" was the number one hit single on April 30, 1966 for the Young Rascals, who became the Rascals, and then eventually just keyboardist Felix Cavaliere. The song jumps right out at you with its quick tempo and call and response vocals from Cavaliere and band. It's a song that's been often-covered (most famously and for the longest time by The Grateful Dead.) This song was just different enough than the rest of the Rascals repertoire which was comprised of what we called blue-eyed soul tunes at the time. Here's a teaser clip from Ed Sullivan, March 20, 1966.

"My Little Red Book" is one of those kind of songs that grabs you and holds you for a time. I knew there was something different about the song, and the band Love when I first heard this in 1966. Love was a LA-based quintet (led by the enigmatic Arthur Lee) who burst on the scene with eponymous debut album that was reported to have influenced early Pink Floyd. The band would release two remarkable long-players the following year, Da Capo and Forever Changes. The song "My Little Red Book" was penned by Burt Bacharach and Hal David.

Neil Diamond has always been one of my guilty pleasures off and on beginning with this minor hit in 1966. "Solitary Man" was typical of Diamond's earlier compositions which often were introspective and filled with melancholy but all delivered beautifully with all the harmonic resonance he could muster. Even though Diamond had already penned a number of songs for others working at the Brill Building in NY, this marked the beginning of a career that was as far from one-hit wonder as you can get (ND is one of the biggest selling American musicians of all time). "Solitary Man" was included on his first album release The Feel of Neil Diamond in 1966 and released again on his second album Just For You which contained eight hit singles (including another of my favorites "I'm A Believer"). Chris Isaak's cover of "Solitary Man" on his 1993 album San Francisco Days is one of few covers by other major artists. Diamond just released an album of covers himself, here's a recent NPR interview.

The Beau Brummels were favorites of the early San Francisco pop music scene and one of mine as well. "Laugh Laugh" a composition by guitarist Ron Elliott reached #15 on the Billboard Charts in February 1965. The early Beau Brummels recordings were produced by Sylvester Stewart (Sly Stone) who helped guide the talented musical quartet through their paces at Golden State Recorders in SF (I've been to this recording studio, years later). The song itself is a marvelous mix of strong harmonies and creative instrumental backing. Lead singer Sal Valentino who is based here in Sacramento, re-recorded the song on his latest solo album Every Now and Then.

The last track on the collection "Gloria" from the Irish band Them, led by Van Morrison is as good as it gets on 21 Golden Rocks . When Them crossed the Atlantic to bring their brand of rock, R&B and early punk stylings to the U.S., the level of musicianship that Morrison brought to his music was evident early on. This record which arrived in November 1964 was actually the "B" side of "Baby Please Don't Go" but the public seemed to go for "Gloria". I liked "Here Comes the Night" and "Mystic Eyes" much better but "Gloria" still stands as the entry point for Van the Man into this country.

I'll rip a version of the original vinyl sometime- the record is in perfect condition but in the meantime, I've included the complete collection here from various digital versions of the original songs. The only glitch MP3 is "Baby, Do The Philly Dog" otherwise the rest of the tracks are mostly in listenable condition. Enjoy the trip back in time.

Keith Richards and Eudora Welty

2010-10-30T13:50:00.000-07:00

This unlikely pairing caught my eye this week when I came across two different stories about Keith Richards. The first was about Richards' new memoir Life being released with Johnny Depp narrating the audio version, and another one well off the national media radar concerned the unusual correspondence between Richards and famous Mississippi author Eudora Welty.

The memoir Life must be as raw as Richards himself, he's known for bracingly honest recounts of his life in bits and pieces over the years. To still be alive and able to bend a guitar string and soldier on in his own original fashion, makes you wonder what keeps him going, or in terms of this accounting, what kept him going for the past 50 years in the business. You can listen to 5 minutes of the eBook free at Audible.com. Just hearing Johnny Depp doing Keith Richards alone is worth the listen.

I remember reading Bill Wyman's personal account of his experiences with the Rolling Stones titled Stone Alone in 1991 when I was on vacation in New York. I had trouble putting down the book based on just those first half-dozen or so dizzying years of Stones-mania. But because Wyman's diary only covered the antics of the Stones through 1969 and it seemed to be mostly about Wyman's sexual conquests on the road, I felt there was much of the Stones history left to be explored. Richards recollections of the last 50 years or so seems not only more definitive but also from a truly honest and creative albeit self-centered viewpoint. There's also a 44-minute interview with Richards on NPR's Fresh Air this week.

The Lost letters between Keith Richards and Eudora Welty makes for some interesting discussion. Welty, a native of Jackson, Mississippi died in 2001. She was known for her novels and short stories about the American South and her most recognized work The Optimist's Daughter won the Pulitzer Prize in 1973.

Apparently, Welty caught Richard's eye some time in the 70's after reading her short story, "Powerhouse" an inspired fictional story that emerged after she attended a Fats Waller concert. In a series of letters between the two you can see a connection of creative spirits despite the age, cultural and geographic differences. I discovered the letters when I read Jim Dees, Exile in Belhaven piece from his weekly column "Lies and Other Truths" from the local Oxford, MS weekly newspaper Oxford Town published October 28, 2010.

You can read the complete story here Oxford Town PDF download or click on the Exile in Belhaven image below.

Excerpt from Exile in Belhaven,

Welty tells Richards of seeing a video of a Stones concert on PBS and being amazed at "all the energy and the costumes". “You all dress better than women, especially that Mike Jagger. He dances like those jiggly dolls the beggars use at the state fair to gather a crowd.”

The author then reminisced about an evangelist she saw in Jackson in the 1920s, Gypsy Smith, who aroused a Stones-like fervor in his audience.“ Gypsy Smith was a real gypsy; in this may have lain part of his magnetism. He was so persuasive he saved all of the well-known businessman on Capitol Street.” Richards writes back that all his heroes have “been Negroes and mostly from your state, Muddy, Wolf, B.B., Hooker …”

Richards writes that his “spiritual blackness” is now in his blood. “You know blood, luv? My blood? The blood I’ve supposedly had transfused in secret hospital somewhere? Got the heart of a Catholic school girl or something, right?

My daughter, Theodora, saw the band for the first time when she was four and ya know what her only comment was? ‘Daddy I want to be a black girl.’ I said, “Don’t we all sugar?”

Welty’s reply: “I’d be green or polka-dot if it would help my arthritis."

Lulu's Petals

2010-10-18T22:02:00.000-07:00

"Lulu's Petals" is just a clever ruse to get viewers to check this posting out. It has nothing to do with the Frank Capra classic "It's a Wonderful Life" nor does it have anything to do with flowers.

"Self Portrait"

(Click on any image for full size view)

Lulu is my life-long partner's nickname, she likes to fly below the radar, so I'll keep her identity on the down-low. Here is a mini-showing of some of Lulu's artwork. She no longer spends her time creating her own artwork regularly but now teaches high school art students and helps them find their inner creative being. You'd have to ask her why she prefers one over the other but I'm guessing she's gotten plenty of satisfaction out of both experiences. Lulu still gets to be creative in the lesson plans and curriculum that she plans every year for another crop of students.

"The Very Last Supper"

The two lithographs above ("Self Portrait" and "The Very Last Supper") were created sometime in early 1980's in San Francisco. Lulu had moved to San Francisco in 1979 after fleeing New York and heading West to discover herself. Her story of the early days in SF as she worked a lot of different jobs and scuffled around the Bay Area a bit before finding herself are legendary. Eventually she found her way and things settled down a bit. But shortly after we got together, I changed jobs and moved to Southern California. Then within a year, we were married and had a child on the way. Changes came quickly to our lives.

"Somebody Smells Familiar"

"Mark's Final Moments in SF"

This artwork above called "Somebody Smells Familiar" is one of my favorites. Lulu created this original piece when I first met her in San Francisco before we got together. She was creating LITHOGRAPHS mostly, many of those shown here are representative of those works.

One exception, the comic strip titled "Mark's Final Moments in San Francisco" is something Lulu created before I moved to Southern California in Fall 1986 as we spent our final 24 hours in the fog of the Outer Richmond District in S.F. I love the written coda "When I returned home things seemed the same... Janet was listening to Xmas Music (Sept) and eating cold mashed potatoes out of a plastic bag. Kaoro was in her room...smoking. Mike was at the door, the minister was on the phone but... I felt changed, because of thoughts of Mark. "

"Edge of the Forest"

"Peace Tree"

Here's some additional litho artwork from this period. "Edge of the Forest" is something Lulu created also using colored pencils I believe. After we moved in together in San Francisco, she made several prints and this piece became a holiday card too.

Another one titled "Peace Tree" which Lulu created in 1988 while she was pregnant with our first child, I'm not sure if this had any political connotations but those are doves I believe.

"Heart Paper"

In the early 1990's Lulu experimented with paper-making and created a number of pieces, one is shown above, called "Heart Paper". After 2000, she created this art box for our children, "Mother's Art" (below). Lulu had always been into photography and she had a very good eye for capturing a good photograph. Some of her photos are included below in the box.

Here's one of my favorite photos from her camera of our son when he was about 3-4 years old.

Andrew Bird

2010-10-14T22:59:00.000-07:00

Andrew Bird is the kind of musician that comes along rarely. He seems to have absorbed numerous musical genres including early jazz, swing, calypso, and English & Scottish folk music. As a result, his own music which is mostly performed by himself on a variety of instruments takes on a rather ambitious scope, sometimes the songs are sprawling tracks that combine every string instrument Bird has mastered. Oh yes, and he's a helluva whistler.

I've experienced nearly all of Bird's releases beginning with Thrills (1998) though I believe he may have earlier recordings. These early records were experimental mixtures of a variety of styles and introduced Andrew Bird and his group Bowl of Fire to the general public. As a solo artist, he recorded a few more records; Mysterious Production of Eggs (2005) and Armchair Apocrypha (2007) both signaled a move toward indie-folk and though stripped down affairs compared to his earlier records, they were more accessible. Here's a video record of Andrew Bird and band performing on Late Night with Conan O'Brien show on June 14, 2007.

The record that I liked the best to date is Bird's 2009 release, Noble Beast, an album that continues to intrigue me and more fully realized sound, albeit more commercial recording. All the tracks are interesting but the opening song, "Oh No" and "Fitz and the Dizzyspells" are my favorites. I like this record because it incorporates all of the influences mentioned earlier but introduces audiences to Andrew Bird in a more straight-ahead fashion.

Here's another video of Andrew live this time on The Late Show with David Letterman on January 28, 2009

Andrew Bird
Noble Beast (2009)

1. Oh No 4:20
2. Masterswarm 6:35
3. Fitz and the Dizzyspells 3:36
4. Effigy 5:06
5. Tenuousness 3:51
6. Nomenclature 2:54
7. Ouo 0:20
8. Not a Robot, but a Ghost(Bird, Martin Dosh)5:37
9. Unfolding Fans(Bird, Jeremy Ylvisaker) 0:57
10. Anonanimal 4:47
11. Natural Disaster 4:18
12. The Privateers 3:24
13. Souverian 7:18
14. On Ho! 1:08
All songs written and composed by Andrew Bird, except where noted

You can purchase any/all of Andrew Bird's recordings here.

John Lennon RIP - 1940 - 1980

2010-10-14T17:51:00.000-07:00

John Lennon's birthday was celebrated this past weekend, so in addition to listening to a lot of Beatles and solo recordings by Lennon, I found this interview from 1980 that I had recorded from a live broadcast at the time. There's so much floating around the internet from Lennon & Yoko Ono's own mouths, it hardly seems new, but much of it is interesting to hear relative to what has occurred since. NPR provided a glimpse into Lennon's life in 1980 via a special All We Are Saying: Three Weeks With John Lennon.

Here's a live audio recording with John Lennon & Yoko Ono from early December 1980, prior to his assassination in NYC. I'm not certain which interview this was taken from since they agreed to a number of interviews during this time but I do know that this recording came from Dave Sholan broadcast live on KFRC-AM in San Francisco. Some of the interview sources may be any of these; Jonathan Cott, Rolling Stone spoke with the couple on December 5, 1980; and BBC reporer Andy Peebles also interviewed them on Dec 6 -8, 1980. This is not the Playboy interview from September 1980.

The 80 minute interview spans a number of subjects. John & Yoko talk about their new album "Double Fantasy" and reflect on his early career & Beatles. As always, they tell the story of their first meeting and also their changing roles in the 1970's. It's interesting to hear them talk about politics and music of the day, and also philosophy and what may lay head in the future for them.

Brian Auger' Oblivion Express

2010-10-08T22:44:00.000-07:00

I saw Brian Auger's Oblivion Express perform live for the first time in March 1974 at the Orphanage in San Francisco and caught him again in 2008 with his current lineup at the Torch Club in Sacramento. B.A. hasn't dropped a single lick in his ability to totally dominate the Hammond B3 organ and captivate an audience as well. Here's a clip from Live at the Baked Potato recorded a few years earlier in 2005 featuring his family (daughter Savannah on vocals, son Karma on drums) on the song "Truth" a composition of his from the early 70's.

I've also been collecting Brian's recordings for nearly 40 years, so it's understandable that I've come to enjoy his earliest recordings from the 60's and 70's as well. The very first record I purchased of Auger's was Closer To It which upon release (early 1973) became a classic. Many of the tracks on this record were stalwarts of future live performances and his multi-talented keyboard and vocal attack on the "Compared to What" a Les McCann and Eddie Harris song from a few years earlier was the clincher for me. There isn't a weak track on the record. The opener "Whenever You're Ready" is a very memorable tune.

CLOSER TO IT - 1973
Oblivion Express
Brian Auger - Keyboards
Jack Mills - Guitar
Barry Dean - Bass
Godfrey Maclean - Drums
Lennox Langton - Congas

1. Whenever You're Ready
2. Happiness Is Just Around the Bend
3. Light of the Earth
4. "Compared to What"
5. Inner City Blues
6. Voices Of Other Times

Earlier in his career, Brian recorded another Eddie Harris song, "Listen Here" on his Brian Auger & the Trinity Album Befour in 1970. That extraordinary album was just the right mixture of jazz, rock, soul and even classical with tunes Herbie Hancock's "Maiden Voyage", a Winwood/Capaldi composition "No Time to Live" and Auger's own rocking "Just You, Just Me". Listen to Auger and band tear it up on "Listen Here". With a strong backing group behind Auger, that album remains one of my favorites.

BEFOUR - 1970
Brian Auger Trinity
Brian Auger - Keyboards
Gary Boyle - Guitar
Dave Ambrose - Bass
Clive Thacker - Drums

1. I wanna Take you Higher
2. Pavane
3. No Time To Live
4. Maiden Voyage
5. Listen Here
6. Adagio Per Archi E Organo
7. Just You Just Me
8. Rain Forest Talking
9. Pavane (demo version)

You can't enjoy Brian Auger's early recordings without discovering the vocal talents of Julie Driscoll who with her own distinct phrasing grabs you immediately. Driscoll's vocal interpretations of covers and originals on these recordings complement Auger's keyboards well. The songs from these early days are like British rave-ups of classic jazz or soul tunes of the day, some hit the mark better than others but through all of these recordings there's a sense of moving toward something new which in this case might mean psychedelia, blues or blue-eyed soul. Auger and company even tackle The Band/Dylan classic "This Wheel's on Fire". The earliest album release is titled Open, pairing Auger and Driscoll in 1967, all killer tracks, but Season of the Witch the closer on the album is the the one that stands out today. Here's a video of Brian and Julie performing "Break it Up" from the late 60's which by today's standards looks rather campy. If that isn't enough for you check out "Save Me" live from early 1969.

Sometime after discovering most of Auger's recordings with The Trinity and Oblivion Express, I found a reunion recording of Julie Tippetts (Driscoll) and Brian Auger named appropriately Encore. While the performances are nothing but stellar (especially Driscoll and Auger who play off each other as they had done a decade earlier) the choice of music provides them with the platform to show off their jazz chops as well as other musical genres where they're able to interpret the songs with a certain emotion and authenticity. The album is bookended with two Al Jarreau tunes, "Spirit" and "Lock All The Gates" and they even tackle Pop Staples' gospel classic "Freedom Highway". For my money, the previously recorded "No Time To Live", Jack Bruce's "Rope Ladder to the Moon" and Animals classic "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" stand out the most. This recording is definitely worth a listen.

Brian Auger & Julie Tippetts
Encore - 1978 

Brian Auger - Keyboards 
Julie Driscoll-Tippets - Vocals 
Dave Crigger - Drums 
Dave McDaniels - Bass 
George Doering - Guitar 
Waters Sisters - Background Vocals

1. Spirit 
2. Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood 
3. Git Up 
4. Freedom Highway 
5. Future Pilot 
6. Rope Ladder To The Moon 
7. No Time To Live 
8. Nothing Will Be As It Was 
9. Lock All The Gates

You can purchase any of Brian Auger's recordings via his web site.

Lynda Barry

2010-09-17T19:16:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite American cartoonists is Lynda Barry. Her work can easily be categorized as non-conformist, she's quite original and writes from a point of view that is seldom heard.

You may know her from her weekly comic strip titled Ernie Pook's Comic. http://www.marlysmagazine.com/
I met Lynda in 1993 while she was speaking to our alternative weekly newspaper group in Austin, Texas. She was very funny, but down-to-earth and red hair for days. I saw a few times after that on late night television but mostly just followed Ernie Pook's Comic strips in Alternative Weeklies and eventually purchased a few of her books.

You can also recordings of Lynda Barry performing her classic stories, like "The Lesbo Story," and my favorite "I Remember Mike." She reads, she sings, and plays accordion. Released by Gang of Seven in 1993. The CD is not easy to find.

Here's some more examples of her work.

You can connect to Lynda here
http://www.myspace.com/writingtheunthinkable

Click on these images to view them larger.

News for 2011: D&Q Announces plans for the complete Lynda Barry to released in Fall.

Chris Gaffney - Man of Somebody's Dreams

2010-09-11T10:23:00.000-07:00

Here's a Yep Roc Records release Man of Somebody's Dreams from 2009 that brings together many of the late Chris Gaffney's friends and colleagues in a remarkable tribute collection. The tunes all originate from Chris' songbook spanning at least three decades across numerous locales in the Southwest where he spent much of his musical lifetime. Dave Alvin produced the tribute to Gaffney, a longtime friend and band mate who claims Gaffney struggled in obscurity for no reason, seemingly to never get the breaks, recognition or money he deserved. Gaffney played with his own band The Cold Hard Facts, Dave Alvin's Guilty Men, and his last band The Hacienda Brothers.
Chris Gaffney 1950-2008.

This collection highlights musicians from various musical genres, but the feel of the record lovingly shows Gaffney's own eclectic mix of Mexican music to country, R&B to rock and roll. The collection opens with Joe Ely's take on "Lift Your Leg" and closes with Gaffney himself on one of his last recordings "Guitars of My Best Friends".

My favorites include "Man of Somebody's Dreams" by Los Lobos and "Tire of Being Me" by Dave Gonzales. But there isn't a weak track amongst the group, and not a dry eye on many of them. He's been described as "a quintessential Southern California bar musician" but to me he's been many other things, one certainly mapped out rather well on this collection- a songwriter with a lot of honesty. Check it out for yourself at Yep Roc.

I was lucky enough to see Chris Gaffney a number of times while performing in Dave Alvin's Guilty Men at the Palms Playhouse in Winters.

Pink Martini

2010-09-10T22:29:00.000-07:00

I had an opportunity to see Pink Martini live at Mondavi Center - Jackson Hall Theatre last week (July 5, 2011). Longtime lead singer, China Forbes was absent due to throat surgery for an extended period of time, and the replacement vocalist, Storm Large was not in full voice too (recently returned from tour in Australia). Check out her 8 Miles Wide video. The Pink Martini show was excellent despite the vocal shortcomings of the ladies, the horns, strings and percussion carried the evening.

I first heard this 12-piece band from Portland about 4-5 years ago, but Pink Martini has been around a lot longer (since 1994-95). Their appearance on The David Letterman Show where they played their fan favorite "Hey Eugene" caught my eye as well. I didn't know what to make of the band. Pink Martini seemed to have a lot of different sounds and musical director Thomas Lauderdale seemed to have a lot of tricks up his sleeve which is another reason why I liked their music. I've heard all four of their studio albums plus their live album from 2009, and there's not a bad record in the bunch. Their latest release Splendor in The Grass features 13 songs (nine originals + four covers) with songs in English, Neapolitan, Italian, French and Spanish. You can hear some tracks here and purchase it online here.

My personal favorite remains their 2007 release, Hey Eugene which featured a number of styles including Hollywood melodies, a French cabaret number, my favorite latin-meets-Russian music "Dosvedanya Mio Bombino", a Japanese-language track, a Carmen Miranda song, and the lead singer China Forbe-penned single release "Hey Eugene." There are a number of uploaded videos floating around with Pink Martini performing "Hey Eugene" though the quality isn't quite like seeing the group live yourself. To close out the album, Forbes and guest vocalist Jimmy Scott (a jazz legend himself) appear on "Tea for Two". Check it out!

Hey Eugene!
Released in 2007 
Heinz Records

1. Everywhere 
2. Tempo Perdido 
3. Mar Desconcido 
4. Taya Tan
5. City of Night 
6. Ojala 7. Bukra Wba’do
8. Cante E Dance 
9. Hey Eugene 
10. Syracuse 
11. Dosvedanya Mio Bombino
12. Tea For Two

Chris Miller Raps on National Lampoon

2010-09-09T19:56:00.000-07:00

Here's a real discovery from the taped archives at CSUS from the Spring of 1975. As a contributing editor for National Lampoon in the 1970's, Chris Miller was touring college campuses across the country. Chris had quite a run with the Lampoon, having started in 1971 following a stint with Al Goldstein's Screw Magazine, he wrote for the magazine off and on throughout the 70's. During this time, Chris began a series of stories based on his fraternity days which later found their way into what you saw on the screen in Lampoon's first and most successful movie, Animal House.

I'll have to admit I bought and read a number of issues between 1973-1976, some hit the mark, some not quite as sharp, but it was interesting to see these young writers and their cutting edge material surface in other media over the next dozen or so years.

The appearance on the Sacramento campus was taped by my friends in the broadcast department, possibly KERS-FM the campus radio station where I worked at the time. I doubt it was aired in it's entirety because of the content.

Note: Click on these covers to view full size quality. Also these audio recordings may be X-rated but there's nothing here that couldn't be found in the pages of National Lampoon.

Chris Miller's appearance in Sacramento was covered in CSUS State Hornet publication here January 28, 1975. This tour celebrated the fifth anniversary of National Lampoon.

Chris Miller
National Lampoon Rap
California State University,
Sacramento
Spring 1975
Audio Recording

1. "How the King Courted His Carrot" 15:24
2. National Lampoon History 11:46
a. Harvard Lampoon
b. Porno Issue
c. Is Noting Sacred
d. Radio Show/Album/Book
e. High School Yearbook
3. National Lampoon Lawsuits 5:10
4. Paul Krassner - The Realist 4:34
5. Audience Question & Answer 10:23
a. "I Remember Mama"
b. Comic Section
c. Truth or fiction?
d. Future of Satire - SNL
e. Prison Farm Blues
f. Lemmings
g. Death Issue/PetHouse
h. Foto Funnies
6. "Conversation Piece" 13:38
Here's a clipping from the campus publication from SF State featuring Chris Miller's appearance on Feb. 7, 1975.

Listen to Chris Miller talk about National Lampoon back in the day.

all's not quiet on the alternative front

2010-09-09T19:16:00.000-07:00

This compilation CD was a lot of fun to produce back in 2003 when we gathered tracks from 18 unique local bands and artists from Rochester, NY to Eureka, CA. My business partner and I carefully chose local music for this collection to represent the fresh and independent music across the country in alternative weekly newspaper markets.

Since that time, some of these artists have grown, a few have become more widely known, and some have disappeared. A few of the bands that have stayed with me over the years; Heiruspecs (Twin Cities, MN), Satin Love Orchestra (Eugene, OR), Patty Hurst Shifter (Raleigh/Durham, NC), and The Campbell Brothers (Rochester, NY). We also received entries from The Paper Hearts (Fayetteville, AR), The Junior Panthers (San Francisco, CA), The Side Room (Las Vegas, NV), The Peelers (Chicago, IL), Five Star Iris (Chattanooga, TN), Potluck (Eureka, CA), Three Fantastic (Conroe, TX), Kevin Griffith (Boston, MA), Pompei (Richmond, VA), and The Orange Peels (Palo Alto, CA).

Three bands are also featured elsewhere on Maho's Corner; Joy and The Boy (Madison, WI), Lemon Juice Quartet (New York, NY), Two and A Half White Guys (Provo, UT).

All's Not Quiet On The Alternative Front
Various Artists
May 2003
Compiled, designed and produced by HanzMediaInc.

1. Five Star Iris - World Needs Now
2. Priests - Little Girl
3. Heiruspecs - And
4. Kevin Griffin - Red Skies
5. The Junior Panthers - California
6. Three Fantastic - Ruby I Hate You
7. Joy and The Boy - I'm Not Shy
8. The Peelers - The Motion
9. Lemon Juice Quartet - Em
10. The Paper Hearts - Flipside
11. Pompeii - Sane
12. The Orange Peels - Circling The Sun
13. Satin Love Orchestra - Growin' Me A Moustache
14. The Side Room - Cocktail
15. Potluck - Where We Live
16. Two and A Half White Guys - Gone Are The Days
17. Patty Hurst Shifter - The Fast and Fevered Fall
18. The Campbell Brothers - I've Got A Feeling

Listen to the compilation CD here.

Onion Front Page News

2010-09-06T12:33:00.000-07:00

I like reading The Onion because they never seem to run out of material. Whether it's current events on the web site or newspaper, or special editions like the one I'm highlighting here, humor from the Onion always seem to hit my funny bone.

In 2000, they published Our Dumb Century, a 100-year recap of our Country's front page news, done in Onion-style journalism.

They also published Our Dumb World, together you can read about this idiotic country and every other one around the world as well. Both are available in paperback.

I particularly liked the July 4, 1937 Onion headline from the Our Dumb World book, "Amelia Earhart Missing: Famed Aviatrix 'Probably Just Shopping,' Search Teams Say."

Two of my favorites are shown here, April 1927 (Lindbergh, Babe Ruth, Gandhi, etc.) and January 1993 (President Clinton, Tipper Gore, Seattle, etc.)

Click on these small images to view the larger full size Onion Front Pages.

All That Jazz!

2010-09-05T20:23:00.000-07:00

Here's another of my cinematic favorites, Bob Fosse's 1979 musical film All That Jazz. Fosse had directed Cabaret (1972) and Lenny, the 1974 film about the life of comic Lenny Bruce.

The film is a semi-autobiographical fantasy about Fosse himself, following a tragic trajectory toward a final death in the film. It stars the late Roy Scheider who is clearly ready for something besides chasing sharks at this stage in his career, and great supporting women including Jessica Lange, Leland Palmer and Ann Reinking, a latter two get to show off quite a bit of their stage talents.

The film was released in the U.S. around the Christmas holiday in 1979 and was nominated for nine academy awards (best picture, director and actor). Ralph Burns won for original song score, his music makes the film so much better too. All That Jazz reminded me of Fellini's 8 1/2 with all the crazy, fantasy sequences and the fact that it's somewhat autobiographical like Fellini's film. The ending sequence features the song "Bye Bye Love" where the complete cast contributes song or dance. You can view the last portion of that sequence full size video here.

All That Jazz
Released: December 20, 1979
Run time: 123 minutes
20th Century Fox/Columbia Pictures
Director, Writer - Bob Fosse
Producer, Writer - Robert Alan Arthur
Cinematography - Giuseppe Rotunno
Editor - Alan Heim

Cast
Roy Scheider
Jessica Lange
Leland Palmer
Ann Reinking
Cliff Gorman
Ben Vereen
Erzebet Foldi
Michael Tolan
Max Wright
William LeMassena
Deborah Geffner
John Lithgow

Boz Scaggs @ Paramount Theatre

2010-09-05T14:02:00.000-07:00

This really can't be counted as one-off performance for Boz Scaggs because he did repeat this performance a few times after this one on March 10, 1974. In fact, Boz put on several more high brow orchestra shows on New Year's Eve, but this was the first.
I was fortunate to be in the audience that evening at Paramount Theatre in Oakland, California, it was actually the end of a 3-day run staged by Bill Graham Presents where they recorded the performance for posterity. Also, I had set my recorder at home to catch the Record Factory produced concert that was broadcast live that evening via KSAN-FM.

Boz Scaggs performances at the Paramount were truly special events and the musicianship was a major part of the success. Boz had a number of musicians who had played with him in his road band in the past (Joachim Young on keyboards and horn men Mel Martin & Pat O'Hara) and one in particular who Boz would highlight for the next few years (Les Dudek on slide guitar). Also on hand for this set were two remarkable percussionists, Boz' drummer Rick Schlosser, and guest Coke Escovedo, and the late Chris Michie, a Marin County guitarist.

The material Boz covered in early March 1974 was during a transitional period in his career when he was releasing his fifth solo album Slow Dancer, a Johnny Bristol-produced soul turn for the 29-year-old singer-songwriter.

The first eight tracks are from the first half of the show (prior to intermission) where Boz highlighted some of his earlier material including four songs ("Near You", "Painted Bells", "Moments" and "Downright Women" from his classic album 1971 release Moments.
He also performed an inspired rendition of "Running Blue" and "Monkey Time" from his third release Boz Scaggs & Band, and one track from My Time, the lively album opener "Dinah Flo". One song, "Just Don't Want to Be Lonely" has never seen the light of day except on this recording, written by Ronnie Dyson, apparently a track that did not make it on Slow Dancer.

The second half of the show was devoted entirely to Slow Dancer material, Boz performed nine tracks from the 10-track release (five of those are captured here) including "You Make It So Hard", "There Is Someone Else", "Pain of Love" and "Hercules". This was a classic unveiling of an album of the time, and a nod toward catchier, hit-oriented songs. Boz was still a year or two away from Silk Degrees material, so there weren't any other surprises that evening other than the encore which featured his old band mate Steve Miller on guitar (that's right, there were five guitarists at once blasting away on the final encore song in what was billed as a black-tie affair).

Both encore songs were from Boz' first album release Boz Scaggs from 1969 which had featured Duane Allman on slide guitar (now Dudek filled that role). Boz opened the encore section with one of his truly soulful compositions, "I'll Be Long Gone" (a song also featured on The Last Days of Fillmore film and one of my all-time favorites). On "I'm Easy" Dudek and Scaggs played well while Miller flailed away in an attempt to catch up with all the other musician's who had been playing off each other all evening.

Looking back, the experience was as memorable as concerts go, with or without the Miller-fueled star-studded finale. Boz had done something that few other rock, blues or soul musicians had attempted at the time.

You can purchase a cleaner digital version of the concert (plus the four tracks missing from my recording of the event) via Wolfgang's Vault. The audio quality is exceptional on this recording. Here's my homegrown tape-quality version from KSAN-FM in its entirety including the broadcaster's chit-chat and all (details shown below) Boz Scaggs @ Paramount.

Boz Scaggs & Orchestra
Live at Paramount Theatre, Oakland
March 10, 1974

Songs captured live
1. Near You
2. Just Don’t Want to Be Lonely
3. Running Blue
4. Painted Bells
5. Moments
6. Monkey Time
7. Downright Women
8. Dinah Flo
9. You Make It So Hard
10. There Is Someone Else
11. Pain of Love
12. Hercules
13. Slow Dancer
14. Announcements / Encore
15. I’ll Be Long Gone
16. I’m Easy (w/ Steve Miller)

Band & Orchestra
Boz Scaggs - vocals, guitar
 Les Dudek - guitar, vocals 
Coke Escovedo - percussion 
Chris Michie - guitar
 Gene Santini - bass 
Rick Schlosser - drums
 Joachim Young - keyboards
 Mark Jordan - keyboards, guitar
 Mel Martin - horns Pat O'Hara - horns
 Tom Slope - horns 
Julia Tillman - backing vocals 
Caronline Willis - backing vocals
 Merna Matthews - backing vocals 
Orchestra conducted by Fred Merge

Jewell in the Crown

2010-09-04T22:00:00.000-07:00

Eilen Jewell is one of those rare artists who's able to capture at a young age the influences of great artists that came before her which in this case is Bessie Smith, Billie Holiday and even Bob Dylan and Howlin' Wolf. Based in Boston, Jewell just released a tribute to Loretta Lynn titled Butcher Holler. This record, her fifth official release shows yet another influence, maybe a little more country than her previous releases which were more folk-pop in a very retro fashion. You can purchase her newest album on Amazon.com.

I first heard Jewell on her last album, Sea of Tears (2009) which is still getting a lot of play on my iPod. The record is really a 60's roots rock collection with blues and soul elements, most of the material was written by Jewell herself save perhaps a few gems including a Loretta Lynn original. Her own songs are dark stories, filled with melancholy and moodiness.
Sea of Tears is available here.

Eilen Jewell - Sea of Tears
Signature Sounds Recordings (2009)

Tracks
1. Rain Roll In
2. Sweet Rose
3. Shakin' All Over
4. Sea of Tears
5. Fading Memory
6. Nowhere in No Time
7. I'm Gonna Dress in Black
8. One of Those Days
9. Final Hour
10. The Darkest Day
11. Everywhere I go
12. Codeine Arms

Album Personnel
Eilen Jewell - vocals, acoustic guitar, organ
Jason Beek - drums, percussion, vocals
Jerry Miller - six and twelve-string guitars, acoustic guitar, non-pedal steel
John Sciascia - upright bass, six-string electric bass

Full disclosure: My friends at Mongrel Music book all of Jewell's appearances.

Suite-Sounding Duke!

2010-08-28T12:15:00.000-07:00

I'll never forget the first time I heard The Nutcracker by Tchaikovsky when I was a child, my mother played the Nutcracker Suite over and over for us. A short time later, while staying with my grandparents for the summer in Des Moines, Iowa, my grandmother bought me my first long-playing record album, Edvard Grieg's Peer Gynt Suite. Listen to Morning Mood here.

I still have the original record album ($.99 at Younkers) see above.

The two of these early memories are forever linked with another later memory when I was attending college in Sacramento and I heard Duke Ellington's distinctive turn on these same classical tunes. I had an opportunity to see Ellington and Band live at the Veterans Memorial Building in San Rafael a few years before he died. It was about that time I developed a love of big band jazz, particularly the style that Ellington, Basie, Benny Carter and others had delivered to audiences from Sweden to Japan. I don't have the original album any longer, but the Columbia release that combined Tchaikovsky & Grieg in into one helluva record album was part of my collection for nearly 30 years. Here's the original cover art.

Ellington made these recordings around the same time (1960) I was turned onto Tchaikovsky & Grieg and classical music for the first time. Ellington's take on these classics was very true to the originals which were still very popular. But for me, though I had a soft spot for these compositions, the real deal-breaker was the horn section and in particular Jimmy Hamilton's clarinet which I couldn't get enough of from these recordings. Listening the Ellington's band carefully work their way through these selections showed both their respect for the composer yet adding their own innovative touches.

Some critics have written these recordings off as novelty, one-off Hollywood studio dates for Ellington & Band, but I continue to enjoy them 40+ years later. Columbia remastered and re-released this package of all three suites in 1990, Duke Ellington - Three Suites.

Yes, these can be thrown into the Holiday Album category where a lot of crappy holiday songs are re-worked by even shittier recording artists. But this is simply not the case here with Ellington & Orchestra interpret well-known suites by prominent 19th Century European composers and he even adds an original suite of his own, Suite Thursday, a tribute to author John Steinbeck.

Listen for yourself and decide, but I think these were more than a day at factory for Ellington and his bandmates.
Duke Ellington - Three Suites

Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker Suite
1. Overture
2. Toot Toot Tootie Toot (Dance of the Mirlitons, or Reed-Pipes)
3. Peanut Brittle Brigade (March)
4. Sugar Rum Cherry (Dance of the Sugar-Plum Fairy)
5. Entr'acte
6. The Volga Vouty (Russian Dance)
7. Chinoiserie (Chinese Dance)
8. Danse of the Floreadores (Waltz of the Flowers)
9. Arabesque Cookie (Arabian Dance)
Grieg: Peer Gynt Suites Nos 1 and 2
10. Morning Mood
11. In the Hall of the Mountain King
12. Solvejg's Song
13. Ase's Death
14. Anitra's Dance
Ellington-Strayhorn: Suite Thursday
15. Misfit Blues
16. Schwiphti
17. Zweet Zurzday
18. Lay-By

Ellington Band Credits
Paul Horn (Saxophone)
Paul Gonsalves (Saxophone)
Johnny Hodges (Saxophone)
Ray Nance(Trumpet)
Aaron Bell (Bass)
Lawrence Brown (Trombone)
Willie Cook (Trumpet)
Matthew Gee (Trombone)
Booty Wood(Trombone)
Russell Procope (Saxophone)
Britt Woodman (Trombone)
Harry Carney (Saxophone),
Duke Ellington (Piano)
Jimmy Hamilton (Clarinet, Saxophone)
Juan Tizol (Trombone)
Sam Woodyard (Drums)
Andres Meringuito (Trumpet)
Lawrence D. Brown (Trombone)
Eddie Mullins (Trumpet)

Joy and the Boy

2010-08-09T21:29:00.000-07:00

Here's an interesting pop duo we discovered in 2003 when we put together our local music compilation CD. Joy and the Boy is a vehicle for musician/producer Leo Sidran and singer/songwriter Joy Dragland who began playing together in Madison, Wisconsin a few years prior to our introduction.

Leo is the son of jazz musician and producer Ben Sidran who many first remember from early Steve Miller Band records and a long repertoire of his own solo recordings mostly in the jazz idiom. Check Leo's site where you can hear some of his latest solo projects: www.leosidran.com

Joy also has a varied musical inheritance that includes country and gospel music. Check out her website to hear some of her latest solo album. http://joydragland.com

Joy and the Boy's music is folky pop with electronic production from Sidran, creating a moody atmospheric sound that is varied and diverse. The songwriting is shared by both artists but Dragland is primary voice here. On their web site you can read about the latest news and release of Joy and The Boy on CD Baby.

Cosmic Pop
"An oasis of sinfully beautiful pop music, mixed with R&B, Lounge & Folk" Freundin Magazine, Germany

Here's a taste from the album we sampled in 2003 which was later re-released by Nardis Music. Paradise

Joy and the Boy - Paradise
GoJazz (2001)

1. I'm Not Shy 3:45
2. Hide My Love 3:12
3. Paradise 5:21
4. Untitled #2 0:55
5. Waterfall 3:18
6. Let's Get It On 4:21
7. Love's Mystery 3:37
8. Million Miles 3:56
9. Quicker Than Light 4:38
10. Tiptoe 3:12
11. Waiting 9:43

Personnel:
Joy Dragland- vocals, acoustic guitar
Leo Sidran - Guitars, Keyboards, bass, drums, synthesizer, programming, background vocals
Al Falaschi- vocals,
Louka Patenaude - rhodes & effects, slide guitar, electric guitar
Ben Sidran - organ
Moses Patrau-congas
Mark Anderson- conga loop
Victor Coulon- tambourine
Todd Hill- Acoustic bass
Jamie Ryan- drums

Two and a Half White Guys

2010-07-23T20:16:00.000-07:00

What can you say about a band that the name itself hasn't already conjured up enough of an image? Seriously, Two and a Half White Guys is a ground-breaking outfit from Utah that we discovered about seven years ago when we produced our AWN Compilation CD. Their first full-length album of the same name Two and a Half White Guys was released independently in 2002, a kind of ska recording that astonishes listeners upon first listen. It's hard to categorize, a reggae vibe for sure, some Caribbean beats, but some form of rock and jazz, the kind of music that won't let you stay seated long. Nate Robinson is the captain of this ship and his influence is felt throughout their recordings and live performances. I strongly recommend their newest release Gringo from last year.

You can find the album Two and a Half White Guys along with their other releases, Leather Jackets and Moustache Wax (2004), and two earlier releases on their web site http://twoandahalfwhiteguys.com. Also, check out their Facebook page

Two and a Half White Guys (2002)

1-El Baile Del Sluggo Loco 3:01
2-Shot Down 3:52
3-William 4:05
4-Bruce’s Joint (Part 1) 0:51
5-Gone Are the Days 4:55
6-Dancin’ Strumental Too 3:59
7-Can You Feel That (feat. Chris Murray) 3:18
8-Carpool to Washington 2:16
9-What Profiteth a Man 5:04
10-Bruce’s Joint (Part 2) 0:51
11-(Your Mom Called) 3:43
12-This is the Last Time 6:08
13-Feel the Reggae 3:54
14-The Thing 3:57
15-Bruce’s Joint 1:25
16-Untitled Song 10:04

Nathan Robinson: vocals, guitar
Dan Nelson: bass guitar
Marko Fagg: drums
Curt Gordon: lead guitar
Sluggo: trumpet

Rob Ringger: electric piano
Marc Nuttal: saxophone

Here's a taste of the 2002 release for you to decide for yourself... Two and a Half White Guys

Johnny Hammond Smith

2010-07-08T21:44:00.000-07:00

Johnny "Hammond" Smith was one of my early jazz favorites when I first discovered KUDU/CTI records in early 70's. Some of these classic Fender Rhodes organ sessions were the best CTI could offer at the time. The bluesy, groove-oriented covers with few originals, mostly around a Hammond's keyboard helped define the sound of this label which many jazz purists often turned their nose up at. For my money, I could get as much enjoyment from a Cecil Taylor record as I could from one of these CTI dates.

This release Breakout was the very first for Creed Taylor on his Kudu label which featured a all-star lineup of the day, Billy Cobham, Eric Gale, Airto, Hank Crawford and Grover Washington. The strongest tunes on the date are still "It's Too Late" (the Carole King classic), Workin' On A Groovy Thing" (Neil Sedaka) and Hammond's own "Breakout" that drips with funk. "It's Too Late" features a killer guitar break by Gale and the tune is arranged very nicely by Grover Washington.

It remains one of my all-time favorite jazz-funk recordings and it was certainly one of the best recordings of its kind.

This is a very greasy record, with echoes of James Brown, Jack McDuff, Gene Ammons, and much of the classic 50's and 60's jazz organ combos.
Johnny Smith (as he was known before he officially changed his performing name to Johnny Hammond) recorded from 1950's through to 2003, so there's a large catalog of his work to listen to. Clearly, this record and a few other records recorded during this same period with nearly the same lineup are the best from this smoking hot organist.

Johnny Hammond
Breakout
Kudu-1971

1. It's Too Late 10:50
2. Workin' On A Groovy Thing 6:35
3. Never Can Say Goodbye 5:35
4. Blues Selah 6:40
5. Breakout 4:45
6. It's Too Late (live) 16:19

Personnel:
Johnny Hammond - Fender Rhodes Organ
Danny Moore - Trumpet
Grover Washington - Tenor Sax, Arranger (except track 6)
Hank Crawford - Alto Sax
Eric Gale - Guitar (except track 6)
Johnny Williams - Electric bass
Billy Cobham - Drums
Airto Moreira - Percussion
Stanley Turrentine - Tenor Sax (track 6)
George Benson - Guitar (track 6)

From my collection, here's a rip from a long out-of-print CD reissue of Breakout which includes a 16-minute live version of "It's Too Late" as a bonus track. Johnny Hammond - Breakout

Gahan Wilson

2010-07-05T17:29:00.000-07:00

Gahan Wilson, a cartoonist and illustrator from 1950's - 1990's always had a playfully grotesque style, and he used contemporary settings and messages to present his dark humor.

His cartoons and prose fiction appeared regularly in Playboy, Collier's Weekly, The New Yorker, and The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction. His comic strip Nuts, which appeared in National Lampoon in the 70's, was a reaction to the Peanuts comic strip. Check out his web site here Gahanwilson.com

Here's two of my favorite GW cartoons, one (shown above) is cartoon within itself and the other (below) is a political statement which he occasionally injected into his art. Click on the art to see a larger, higher resolution view.

Lemon Juice Quartet

2010-07-05T13:28:00.001-07:00

I discovered the Lemon Juice Quartet in 2003 when we produced our first and only CD Compilation of local musicians from across the country for AWN (Alternative Weekly Network). On that collection, we highlighted one track "Em" from the NY-based quartet's 2001 studio album Republic. The album that followed in 2002, Peasant Songs showed LJQ putting their avant-garde jazz-rock spin on European classical music of Bela Bartok and Erik Satie.

The quartet is made up of four Jewish musicians: Avishai Cohen, trumpet; Eyal Maoz, guitar; Shanir Ezra Blumenkranz, bass; and Deven Zubek, drums. In my opinion, they're all killer musicians with great musical sensibilities which no doubt has some basis in the fact they've played together since the early 1990's. Their music is not as accessible or easily categorized, but one can see elements of Jewish and Eastern European music particularly in the area of jazz and folk genres. But this music is more experimental than just a fusion of genres, they show influences from Miles Davis to Ornette Coleman. I know it's not for everyone, but I liked the originality of the group and especially the guitar player Eyal Maoz.

Republic
2001
Chant Records   
Musicians:
Eyal Maoz (guitar)
Avishai Cohen (trumpet)
Shanir Ezra Blumenfranz (bass)
Kevin Zubek (drums)

Tracks:
Roost
No Wave
All Together Now
Change
Cream
Qua
Nos
King
Pountry
Drinx
Em

Peasant Songs
Bear Dance (10 Easy Pieces No. 10)
Trumpets of the Rosicrucian Order
Hungarian Peasant Songs No. 1, 2 & 8
Hungarian Peasant Song No. 12
Hungarian Peasant Song No. 3
Sports and Leisure
Trumpets of the Rosicrucian Order (Part II)
On a Lantern
Gnossienne No. 1 (Dance of Hidden Knowledge)
Dried Embryos
Hungarian Peasant Song No. 6

Personnel:
Eyal Maoz - guitar Shanir Blumenkranz- bass Avishai Cohen- trumpet  Kevin Zubek - drums
Recording Date December 19-21, 2001
Engineer Martin Bisi, Jon Gordon
Release Date (Piadrum - 0201) May, 14 2002

Here's a little taste from both of these CD Releases: LJQ
To purchase Peasant Songs from Amazon click here

Mountain Stage Live

2010-07-04T17:54:00.000-07:00

This collection of music which I acquired in 1994 played an important part of expanding my range of musical taste and though I was familiar with a few of the artists contained in this grouping, I went on to follow each and every one of them over the remainder of the decade.

Mountain Stage is a weekly two-hour live performance radio program broadcast by West Virginia Public Radio. Known for its diversity collecting live performances of blues, alternative, folk, rock, and world beat music, Mountain Stage 5 was part of a series of CD releases that were pulled from shows during the same period--the one I'm sharing here was released by Blue Plate Music in 1993.

At the time, I was only familiar with Los Lobos, but the rest of the artists weren't on my radar quite yet. Since there is only one song from each artist, it's hard to get a full picture of each musician but I was curious enough to discover a lot more great studio work from Widespread Panic, They Might Be Giants and the Subdudes. Since I didn't hear the shows live, this is a great sampling for the casual listener.

My favorite tracks are still They Might Be Giants - "Particle Man" and Steve Forbert- "Responsibility" with Los Lobos and Pere Ubu close behind. Listen for yourself here. Mountain Stage Volume Five

The Best of Mountain Stage, Volume Five
Tracks
Angels – Peter Holsapple/Chris Stamey 3:48
Early Summer Rain - Kevin Welch 4:28
Walkin' for Your Love - Widespread Panic 4:42
Particle Man - They Might Be Giants 1:55
Peace - Los Lobos 6:12
Love's Recovery - Indigo Girls 5:01
Responsiblity - Steve Forbert 3:23
Goodnite Irene - Pere Ubu 4:08
Any Cure - The Subdudes 4:02
Rockin' The Res - John Trudell 4:18

Brian Cutler/South Loomis Quickstep

2010-06-30T21:29:00.001-07:00

This is a timely post. I was just wondering if my old college roommate Brian Cutler had finally recorded and released any new music since his last 10 years ago.

Election Day 1980- Brian, Gary & myself (CSUS roommates in 1975-76).

Now for the present, I've discovered Brian has released some new music and one can purchase the new CD Night Crossing via his web site at BC & Sam.

As he says on the web site, this is the debut album of the combined talents of Samantha Thoe-Schechter and Brian Cutler. Samantha provides the vocal interpretations of Brian's songs, multi-instrumentalist Brian produced the music and from what I've heard so far the results are worthy of a full listen. You can sample their new release at BC & Sam.

BC & Sam-Night Crossing
Flora and Fauna Music, 2010
Samantha Thoe-Schechter: vocals
Brian Cutler: guitar, vocals
Album Tracks
1-Mississippi Mudbone
2-Little Did She Know
3-I Know There's a Hand on the Other Side
4-Never Really Gone
5-Night Crossing
6-All Good Thigs
7-Last Train
8-Hear the Wind Blow
9-Brownsville Boys
10-Look Back and Wave

Since I started this blog to provide access to more obscure or out-of-print recordings, I've included two tracks from Brian's 1999 recording, Wax Moons and Satin Roses, an album that was a result of many of years of stored-up material. Even though it's more than 10 years old, I still listen to the Portland-produced CD and admire his musical chops and songwriting talent. The tracks highlighted here are the opening tune on the album, "Holiday from Heaven" a upbeat shuffle, and an folk version of War's "The World Is A Ghetto". The album is difficult to find, but if you really want to sample or purchase the CD, you can start by contacting Brian at his web site listed above. Listen to Wax Moons and Satin Roses tracks

Brian Cutler- Wax Moons & Satin Roses
Wrought Iron, December 1999

1 Holiday from Heaven (4:28)
2 Heart That's Gone Blind (3:24)
3 Buffalo (3:21)
4 I Didn't Know (3:19)
5 Widowmaker Moon (2:54)
6 The Road Ahead (4:01)
7 Big Touch (4:02)
8 The World Is a Ghetto (4:42)
9 Let It Go (4:04)
10 You Were Lost (3:28)
11 The Soul of California (3:37)

Musicians:
Brian Cutler (Mandolin, Accordion, Vocals, Producer, Fretless Bass, Horn Arrangements, Wurlitzer, Baritone guitar)
Nicole Campbell (Vocals-Background, Producer)
Ray Harris (Organ, Accordion),
Richard Moore (Drums),
Skip Parente (Violin, Viola)
Curtis Bieker (Trombone),
Skip VonKuske (Cello)
Tracy Grammer (Violin)
Ted Hille (Alto sax)

Prior to leaving California and heading to the Pacific Northwest, Brian played and recorded three albums with Sacramento area bluegrass favorite, South Loomis Quickstep, a band he joined in 1976. I saw this band so many times between San Francisco and Sacramento in the late 70's that at one point I knew their set list better than some of the band members. I had the first two SLQ album releases which were both excellent recordings, guest musicians included Mark O'Connor, Tiny Moore and Darol Anger. The first release in 1979 included a cover the Dead song "Friend of the Devil", David Grisman's "Opus 57" and Peter Rowan's "Midnight Moonlight". The details for the original recordings are also shown below. You can find a superb single disk re-issue of all three of their albums on founder/bassist Rob Bonner's site www.unclerob.com

South Loomis Quickstep
Grass Mountain, 1979

1 Bitter Creek (Leadon)
2 Carolina In The Pines (Murphy)
3 Opus 57 (Grisman)
4 I Keep Finding My Way Now And Then (Briston)
5 Friend Of The Devil (Hunter / Garcia / Dawson)
6 I'll Fix That Flat Tire, Merle (Gravenites)
7 Baby Blue (Dylan)
8 Sin City (Parsons / Hillman)
9 Freeborn Man (Allison / Lindsay)
10 What Am I Doin' Hangin' Round? (Michael Murphy)
11 Tumbling Tumbleweeds (Dolan)
12 Midnight Moonlight (Rowan)

Musicians:
Brian Cutler - Guitar, Vocal  
Rob Bonner - Bass, Vocal  
Ted Smith - Mandolin, Fiddle, Vocal
Allen Hendricks - Banjo  
Mark O'Connor - Fiddle
Tiny Moore-Fiddle

South Loomis Quickstep- Satin Rose
Grass Mountain, 1981
Recorded at Copperwood Studios, Carmichael, CA  October 1978 to September 1980

Side One
Introduction
Satin Rose
Easy To Get Back Into Loving You Again
One Of Those Days
Child Of Nature
Everybodys' Got To Lose Sometime
The Big Rock Candy Mountains
Side Two
New Hampshire Lady
Julie
Only A Song (On The Radio)
Pieces Of Me
Me and Jack Daniels
Make Me Late Again

Musicians:
Brian Cutler - Guitar, Vocal  
Rob Bonner - Bass, Vocal  
Ted Smith - Mandolin, Tenor Guitar, Vocal
Allen Hendricks - Banjo  
Bill Edwards - Pedal Steel  
Roy Cutler - Drums  
Mark O'Connor - Strings  
Darol Anger - Strings

Here's a sample of SLQ ripped from the original first two vinyl releases

Lights Out: San Francisco

2010-06-28T22:41:00.000-07:00

Here's a rarity, 1972 Blue Thumb Records compilation where some of the best funk, blues and soul San Francisco-based recording artists are brought together around pioneer disk jockey Abe "Voco" Keshishian. Voco produced the double disk vinyl release Lights Out San Francisco featuring John Lee Hooker, Clifford Coulter, Tower of Power, Lydia Pense, Sylvester & The Hot Band, and Dan Hicks & His Hot Licks to name a few. While these recordings may not be the high point for many of these artists, the setting and the fact that the recordings themselves were played so rarely over the years gives them greater historical cred in terms of obscure San Francisco 60's and 70's music. Also, many of these artists or bands were at their creative peak or greatest period of success (Tower of Power's Bump City had just been released, Dan Hicks & His Hot Licks also featured their classic lineup, Cold Blood's Lydia Pense was a sparkplug performer, The Pointer Sisters back Sylvester who became a much larger artist in the years that followed this compilation). The musical collection was an experience itself, and not unlike Voco's radio show on KSAN-FM, "Lights Out San Francisco."

Various Artists- Lights Out: San Francisco (Voco Presents The Soul Of The Bay Area) - 1972 - Blue Thumb Records
Tracks
1. Lights Out - John Lee Hooker
2. Voco - Clifford Coulter
3. Mahdi (the Expected One) - Tower of Power
4. Cleo's Back - Tower of Power
5. Love's to Do It - Tower of Power
6. Dead - Tower of Power featuring Lydia Pense
7. Hey, That's No Way to Say Goodbye - Sylvester & The Hot Band
8. Why Was I Born? - Sylvester & The Hot Band + Pointer Sisters
9. Dina - Fadil Shahin & The Casbah Band
10. 20/20 Vision - Dan Hicks & His Hot Licks

Listen to Lights Out San Francisco

O Lucky Man!

2010-06-28T20:57:00.000-07:00

I'm a sucker for British New Wave Films of the late 60's, early 70's, and the cast members of many of those films were similar, so it was an easy habit to get behind. Director Lindsay Anderson along with Tony Richardson helped reshape British cinema during this period, concentrating on more topical themes and commenting on social conventions of the day which made these films seem a lot less stuffy and in some cases surreal. Since I was also a big fan of The Animals and particularly the music of Alan Price, O Lucky Man! ranks high on my personal list of favorites as Price himself composed and performs the music for the film.

Granted, today it seems more of a cult film, or a historical oddity with acting turns from veteran Ralph Richardson, and very young Helen Mirren.

The star, Malcom McDowell made this film not long after his acclaimed role in Stanley Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange. This was the second film that would pair McDowell with director Anderson, and he plays the same character as he did in If... (1968), Mick Travis. There are also some similarities between this film released in 1973 and the American film The World According to Garp (1982), another of my favorites.

Here's a very short clip from the end of the film where the entire cast creates adds a little hoi polloi during Price's performance of the title track. Download clip from O Lucky Man!

Alan Price recorded another full-length album shortly after the O Lucky Man! film project, titled Between Today and Yesterday which by itself was a notch above a lot of the self-indulgent "concept" records that were being released in England during this period. As always, Price draws heavily on the English music hall tradition and produces simple, restrained tunes (averaging about 4 minutes each) much like his American counterpart at the time, Randy Newman. Each of the songs sounds unique and slightly off-center which holds up well over time. Listen to Between Today and Yesterday

Alan Price & The Electric Blues Company
"Between Today and Yesterday"
1974, Warner Bros.

Tracks
1 Left Over People 3:01
2 Away, Away 2:57
3 Between Today and Yesterday e 4:31
4 In Times Like These 2:42
5 Under the Sun 4:41
6 Jarrow Song 5:47
7 City Lights 4:39
8 Look at My Face 2:49
9 Angel Eyes 3:13
10 You're Telling Me 5:42
11 Dream of Delight 3:37
12 Between Today and Yesterday 4:24
All tracks by Price
-----
Colin Green Bass, Guitar
Dave Markee Bass, Guitar (Bass)
Alan Price Organ, Piano, Keyboards, Vocals
Clive Thacker Drums
Derek Wadsworth Orchestration

Also be sure to check out a more recent recording from Alan Price & The Electric Blues Company, A Gigster's Life For Me

Rahsaan Roland Kirk

2010-06-27T15:25:00.000-07:00

Kirkatron is not one of Rahsaan's better album releases. In fact, it is one of his last for Warner Brothers, released among a quartet of albums shortly before, during and after a stroke that pretty much finished off his career and life at the relatively young age of 41. I believe many of the tracks are out-of-print, so there are some rarities that make it worthy of collection.

The album was comprised of leftovers from earlier sessions plus three songs taken from Montreux Jazz Festival appearance. The tracks that are hard-to-find and also some of my favorites on this disk include "Serenade to a Cuckoo", his cover of "This Masquerade", Stanley Turrentine's "Sugar", "The Christmas Song" and "Bright Moments". You won't hear as much of his regular arsenal of instruments which often include clarinet, stritch, siren, whistles, manzello, and flute (sometimes played simultaneously). It's mostly saxophone here.

Album Tracks
1. Serenade To A Cuckoo (Kirk) 3:40
2. This Masquerade (Russell) 5:31
3. Sugar (Turrentine) 3:27
4. Steppin’ Into Beauty (Kirk) 6:42
5. Christmas Song (Torme/Wells) 3:34
6. Bagpipe (Kirk) 2:38
7. Bright Moments (Kirk) 4:14
8. Lyriconon (Kirk) 4:10
9. Night in Tunisia (Gillespie/Paparelli) 4:59
10. J. Griff’s Blues (public domain) 7:41

Kirkatron Personnel

Milton Suggs: bass
Hilton Ruiz: keyboards
Stephen Turre: trombone
Rahsaan Roland Kirk: Tenor saxophone, flute, manzello
Tony Waters: percussion
Walter Perkins: drums
Sonny Brown: drums
Mattathias Pearson: bass
Todd Barkin: percussion
James Madison: drums
Richard Tee: keyboards
Cornell Dupree: guitar
William S. Fischer: ARP String ensemble
Ruddley Thibodeaux: tambourine
Gordon Edwards: bass
Jerry Griffin: drums
Billy Butler: guitar
Trudy Pitts: organ
Alfred Brown: viola
Selwart Clarke: viola
Bill Carney: drums
Romeo Penque: reeds
Charles Persip: drums
Charles Buster Williams: bass
Howard Johnson: tuba

Kirk's 1976 album ripped from the original vinyl release Kirkatron
Kirk's classic 1967 track from Atlantic Album Inflated Tear

From Jazz Icons Series: Rahsaan Roland Kirk presents three astounding concerts by this musical superhero playing his entire instrumental clusterf*ck of saxophone, flute, manzello, stritch, clarinet, siren and whistles- oftentimes simultaneously! Kirk is backed by extraordinary side musicians including legendary bassist Niels-Henning Orsted Pedersen, drummers Alex Riel and Daniel Humair, and long-time pianist Ron Burton who keep the fire and swing burning throughout Rahsaan's blazing workouts. The collection also includes two different renditions of "Three For The Festival," arguably Kirk's most spectacular performance piece, showcasing Rahsaan as a thunderous acrobatic player whose multiple horn work was all jazz and no gimmick.

View the short video promo from Jazz Icons Series here

American Us - Los Moscosos

2010-06-23T20:40:00.000-07:00

Here's another slightly obscure band, Los Moscosos. Born of San Francisco's Mission District, Los Moscosos comes from a tradition that brought us Santana, Malo, Azteca, and War. Like their predecessors, Los Moscosos crossed cultural borders as well as musical ones, and has lyrics worth listening too. The album that caught my attention was American Us released in 2004 by Six Degrees. It's still on my iPod today after five years.

I haven't heard their album released before American Us, but this record is filled with surprises including doo-wop style vocals in the reggae-driven tune "Hey Mama" and Steely Dan -sounding "Volvieron". Two standouts for me are "Bacalao" with English-language rap, and "I'm Your Puppet" a 60's hit turned into low-rider anthem in the 70's.

You can check out their recordings and purchase the Six Degrees Records at Los Moscosos

Listen to the band here and you'll hear what I'm talking about... American Us

Story of My Life - Pere Ubu

2010-06-22T22:30:00.000-07:00

Here's an experimental rock band from Cleveland that I was turned on to back in 1978 while working briefly at Rasputin Records in Berkeley. The stoned freak at Rasputin's who flipped for their first album "The Modern Dance" may have dropped out of sight, but the band soldiered on for the past 30+ years. I re-discovered this fun little album by Pere Ubu in 1994 titled "The Story of My Life", a solid effort but unjustly neglected at the time. The record had been out of print for many years, though I read that it had been re-released a few years ago. If you're not accustomed to lead singer David Thomas caterwauling vocal style, you're in for something different. For more background on the band check out this Trouser Press page http://www.trouserpress.com/entry.php?a=pere_ubu

Album Tracks 
"Louisiana Train Wreck" – 3:20
"Fedora Satellite II" – 3:26
"Heartbreak Garage" – 3:52
"Postcard" – 2:49
"Kathleen" – 4:24
"Honey Moon" – 2:54
"Sleep Walk" – 4:23
"The Story Of My Life" – 4:06
"Last Will & Testament" – 3:48

Personnel:
David Thomas: vocals, melodeon, guitar on "Postcard"
Jim Jones: guitar, Hammond B3, backing vox, keyboard
Tony Maimone: bass, EML synthesizer
Scott Krauss: drums, percussion, keyboard, shortwave
Al Clay: vox calliope, digital keyboard, backing vocals, guitar on "Postcard"

You can purchase the release on Amazon at Story of My Life

Here's a preview of the album for those who prefer to listen and decide for themselves Story of My Life

Tales From The Crypt

2010-06-21T21:54:00.000-07:00

Here's a 25-minute episode of Tales From the Crypt, a series that featured a host of Hollywood Stars (some burning bright and others fading from the scene). This one, "Cold War" (1996) starring Ewan McGregor and Jane Horrocks has as many thumbs up as thumbs down. It's got my vote with enough creepy story elements (plus zombies and vampires) to keep viewers wincing every so often. The "Cold War" story was originally published in William M. Gaines comic magazine "Tales From the Crypt" in 1954. Wiki Tales

HBO brought the series life from 1989 - 1996, so this episode was in the last season. HBO had big-time producers on board for the series; Richard Donner, David Giler, Walter Hill, Joel Silver, and Robert Zemeckis and the theme music was written by Danny Elfman.

Thieves & lovers, Ford (McGregor) and Cammy (Horrocks) looked as though they were having fun and spoofing horror films from a very different perspective. The story line doesn't hold up well, but it doesn't seem to matter as the cast takes viewers through a few twists and turns and a lot of flat-out silliness. It's not for everyone, in fact some cannot stand the irritating bimbo-like Cammy character's voice, or McGregor's annoying attempt to be cool. I liked it.
View the episode here and make up your own mind.

It's edited slightly down to 199MB movie file (640x480) running about 20 minutes total time Cold War

Sally Cruikshank

2010-06-21T20:30:00.000-07:00

Late last year, 25 movies and videos were added to the list to be preserved in the National Film Registry. There's now a total of 525 films in the registry including some of those recent additions: Dog Day Afternoon (1975), Jezebel (1938), The Muppet Movie (1979), Thriller (1983) and one of my all-time cartoon favorites, "Quasi At The Quackadero" (1975) from the imaginative Sally Cruikshank.

"Quasi at the Quackadero", a throwback animal cartoon style features a cast of odd creatures visiting a psychedelic amusement park in a wild and strange tale. Cruikshank later created animation sequences for "Sesame Street", the film "Ruthless People" (1986) and "Cartoon Land" sequence in "Twilight Zone: The Movie" (1983) film, another truly strange exchange of visual ideas.

A precursor to the film, Sally created the characters Quasi & Anita in her first panel of the only comic strip she every published in 1975.

"Quasi" was a frequent favorite at Midnight Movies across the country, which is where I saw it first. Eventually I met Cruickshank at a special showing of her films (which included "Make Me Psychic") in downtown Petaluma in 1981 where she autographed the poster (below) "To Mark - Quack Quack - Sally Cruickshank". I still have the poster framed on my wall, though the colors are not as vibrant nearly 30 years later.

You can purchase DVD's of these films or read more from Sally at www.funonmars.com

Link Davis Jr. (and Sr.)

2010-06-20T22:21:00.000-07:00

Here's two hard-to-find recordings that are connected by genetics.
The first is a solo album from Link Davis Jr., CAJUNVILLE from 1981 and another obscure find, a 1962 recording from his father Link Davis Sr., titled CAJUN CRAWDADDY.

Port Arthur born Link Davis Jr., a multi-instrumentalist worked in a multitude of musical styles from the 1970's thru the 1990's. He played with Asleep At The Wheel from 1975-1980, and also worked with Doug Sahm, Tracy Nelson, Dr. John and a later incarnation of the 13th Floor Elevators. Thanks to my friends Craig Luckin and Chris Faville (who were managing Link at the time) I was able to hang with Asleep At The Wheel during the Northern California leg of their 1980 tour. Ray Benson might have been a personality that was impossible to forget but Link was the utility player that covered all the bases in that band; stepping forward on a variety of instruments onstage that included accordion, fiddle, saxophone and vocals.

Born in 1914 in Wills Point, Van Zandt County, TX near Dallas, Link Davis Sr. was also a natural musican. He recorded throughout the 1930's - 1960's, sometimes under different names and incarnations, and was a well-traveled session man too, playing saxophone, fiddle, and vocals to a wide variety of styles. He wrote and recorded "Big Mamou" first. Link Sr. died in 1972 at age 57. Here's a bio for Link Sr. via YouTube.

CAJUNVILLE was ripped from the original vinyl recording, but unfortunately CAJUN CRAWADDY was captured from a second-generation source, cassette tape. You can still find most of these tracks on various CD releases for both Davis' on the web. But if you'd like a little taste of some of best original music from The Gulf, sample some tunes from father & son.
Link Davis Jr.
Link Davis Sr.

Link Davis Jr.
Cajunville
DTI Records, 1981

Allons Au Lafaette
Madame Sostane
Les Flammes D'enfer
Tais Passe Devant Ta Porte
Cajunville two step
Toutt Les Soir
Un Autre tee bout
Faire La Boogie Woogie
La Valse De Bayou Tech
La Port Derriere
Mardi Gras
Big Mamou
La Valsede Grand Kaplan
Jole Blon

Personnel:
Link Davis Jr. – Vocals, Cajun accordion, sax, fiddle, producer
Carl Brouse – acoustic guitar, vocals
Amos Garrett – acoustic guitar, electric guitar
Bobby Black – steel guitar
Michele Vin – bass guitar
Rickee Richard – drums
Craig Luckin, Derek Tracy – producers
Karl Derfler – engineer

Link Davis Sr.
Cajun Crawdaddy
1962-Mercury Records

Pretty Little Dedon
Big Mamou
Strollin’
Big Houston
Hobo Blues
Doctor Knows His Business
Katalin
Going to Lafayette
Cajun Honey
I Played that Song for You
My Confessions
Rice & Gravy Fever
Joe Blon
Sugar Bee

Chinga Chavin's Country Porn

2010-06-19T18:31:00.000-07:00

I apologize in advance to anyone who is offended by these recordings and also for the inferior quality of the rip (from cassette). Chinga (Prig) Chavin and Country Porn appeared on the scene in 1975 in Northern California and eventually the band evolved as Chinga cleaned up his act and tried a more mainstream approach. Bass player Bob Hermann and his wife were friends of mine in Marin County at around that time, where I saw the band perform live a number of times. Here's seven tunes from their 1976 Country Records Release (a total of 10 tunes were included on the original album which was recorded in Nashville Quadrophonic Studios with a dozen session players augmenting the band). For a nostalgic prurient experience check out a Chinga's original dittys from this recording.

Chinga Chavin's Country Porn

Tracks
1-Talkin' Matamoros Piece O' Ass Blues
2-Asshole From El Paso (aka A Soul From El Paso)
3-Cum Stains on the Pillow
4-Head Boogie
5-Sit, Sit, Sit (On My Face)
6-Dry Humpig in the Back of a Fifty-Five Ford
7-Cum Unto Jesus

Band photo by Dave Patrick (1976)

Country Porn, An Unnatural Act (band personnel shortly after these recordings)
Chinga Chavin- lead vocals
"Beaver" Bob Hermann- bass
Forrest "Blue" Berry (aka Silverbullet)- guitar, vocals
Jellyroll Baker- rhythm guitar, vocals
Mad Dog Morley- drums, vocals

Amos Garrett

2010-06-09T22:04:00.001-07:00

I'm so glad Amos Garrett is still recording (after nearly 50 years in the business) and this latest release from 2008 was a perfect vehicle for his baritone voice and fluid guitar lines. On the release "Get Way Back - A Tribute to Percy Mayfield" Amos performs 11 Mayfield songs, blues and soul in his own witty and charming fashion. Available on Stony Plain records.

Amos Garrett-Get Way Back (2009)
Album Tracks
My Jug and I
Pretty Eyed Baby
Stranger in my Hometown
Never Say Naw
The Country
To Claim It's Love
River's Invitation
Fading Love
Get Way Back
Ha Ha in the Daytime
Lost Mind

Available on Amazon Get Way Back

Preview my two favorite tracks from the album here,
My Jug & I, and River's Invitation

I saw Amos perform a number of times in the late 1970's and early 80's, backing various artists. He is always a treat to hear in any setting. At one time, I had three albums from this period that I loved, Geoff Muldaur & Amos Garrett (1978), Amos Behavin' (1982), and The Return of the Formerly Brothers (1989) which included Doug Sahm and Gene Taylor.

Amos Garrett-Amos Behavin' (1982)
1.I Can't Quit You
2.Baton Rouge
3.Some Cats Know
4.Stella Ain't Got No Brains
5.New Orleans
6.Little Sister
7.Ha Ha In The Daytime
8.Cardiac Arrest
9.Love Song Of The Nile
10.Imojochu

Personnel:
Amos Garrett (vocals, guitar);
Colin Linden (guitar);
David Burgin (harmonica);
Michael Fonfara (organ);
Peter Appleyard (vibraphone);
Bohdan Hluszko (drums, percussion),
Mitchell Lewis, Colleen Peterson, Bill Garrett, Nancy Simmonds (vocals)

Here's a rip of the Amos Behavin' album (not sure if it came from vinyl, cassette or CD originally). Killer tracks include "Some Cats Know" and "Cardiac Arrest"Amos Behavin'

Anthraxman

2010-06-09T21:08:00.000-07:00

Here's an unusual recording from Guy Ridley at the height of the anthrax scare in this country. Anthraxman was his answer to George Harrison's 1966 classic from Revolver. Recorded in November 2001 in San Francisco (he now resides in Eugene, OR) this unreleased gem clocks in at only 2:08 minutes. Dr. Demento liked it but claimed there was "no way" he could put it on the air. Guy then sent it on to Howard Stern where he received no response.

Guy has recorded recorded a large amount of original music since 1975 including two commercially released albums, "It's Bluer Than You Think" as Under Melissa Blue in San Francisco in 1997 and "Burning My Cashmere" (shown here) in 2004. Here's my short review of the release published in Eugene Weekly Burning My Cashmere track "Takin' a Vacation". He's also been known to cover a number of songs by Dylan, the Beatles and others but in his own inimitable fashion.

If you enjoy Anthraxman, be sure to check Guy's other recordings at cdbaby.com
Listen to this single track here
Anthraxman

Weightlessness

2010-06-08T22:57:00.001-07:00

Here's a very short film posted on YouTube in 2006 starring Mark Halverson, our cameraman Tim Engle and myself. You can watch the full color version (1:04 min) Light On His Feet on Vimeo here. Also, catch the black & white version (1:46 min) Light On His Feet on YouTube here.

Light on His Feet
Filmed on location in Sacramento & Fair Oaks, California
November 26, 2005
Written & Directed by Mark Halverson
Edited by Mark Hanzlik
Camera by Tim Engle

Bonedaddy Checks In

2010-06-08T22:50:00.000-07:00

June 8, 2010
I've started this blog site a number of times in the past but now it's time to pull the string on this spinning top and get rolling. More details about the site to come.