Myth….myth…..there’s a bug in my soup – and it looks like a BEATLE! It took me a long time to understand / appreciate the concept of myth. I’m not the biggest fan of Yoko Ono, but I have to give her credit for helping me understand this idea. Many years ago I read a quote attributed to Yoko in which she described the Beatles as a myth – quite an astute observation, in fact. As a young person that idea baffled me because I thought myths had to be imaginary and the Beatles were a real group of people, of course. What I understand better now, and what I think Yoko was getting at, is how popular figures – be they politicians, musicians, sports figures - can capture the imaginations of masses of people. Imaginations with the ability to conjure up stories sometimes based in truth, sometimes not, which can inspire others to action. Sometimes positive action, sometimes not. In terms of popular culture, the Beatles managed to enter into that MYTH territory. To illustrate the Beatles-effect from an unusual perspective, consider checking out this documentary “How the Beatles Rocked the Kremlin”:
The book I read that Yoko quote in is this one: Beatles Forever by Nicholas Schaffner.
A real classic tome for Beatles freaks. This could be found pretty easily into the mid-1980s. One of the best things about it was the extensive discography. I knew about the differences between American and English pressings, but I had no idea how many different countries released their own versions of albums. One of my favorites was the infamous “Beatles in Italy” – what looked like a “live” album, but ended up being merely a collection of studio cuts designed specifically for the Italian market! Well into the 1980s, one could find plenty of these import LPs in record stores. It was good to have a resource that could clue you in on what these things were – and I’m glad I nabbed a few back in those days.
What especially held my fascination with that discography was the inclusion of the letters “OOP” next to certain entries. The letters standing for “Out Of Print”, in other words NOT AVAILABLE. Beatles records? Not available? Sure enough – there were indeed some titles that you just couldn’t find easily – at least not in MY neck of the woods. Some of those were understandable – like the naked John and Yoko album “Two Virgins”. But those OOP records became a challenge for me to find. When I started getting my hands on them over time I could see why they’d gone out of print. Experimental stuff like the John and Yoko records……….but one of those OOP deals became a favorite: George Harrison’s Wonderwall Music.
This was George Harrison’s first solo album, but he barely plays any instruments on it himself and there’s not a lot of vocalizing on it because it was movie soundtrack music. I have never seen the film, but I hear it’s bad (I just wonder if it’s one of those “so bad it’s good” kinda deals…..). Just as well for me since I’ve found the music on this record to be so fun and interesting I’ve had years to imagine what kind of movie theses little compositions could possibly go with. Considering the diversity of motifs, styles and vibes to be experienced on this album – it must be a pretty wacky film indeed! There’s a good amount of Indian music here. Some really beautifully recorded stuff. Some western sounding business……generic cowboy music………some psychedelic sound-collage stuff……..and one genuine rockin’ track featuring Eric Clapton (kinda short and sweet though……) called SKI-ING. The whole record is just one crazy grab-bag of tracks.
I found an imported copy of this LP many years ago and I must have played it a lot since it’s got some extra pops and clicks here and there (and I usually take really good care of my stuff!). It was issued on CD around the early 90s with a lot of the Apple catalog (Wonderwall Music has the distinction of being the first long-playing Apple Records release – well prior to the White Album in fact!). I wish I’d grabbed a copy then, because would you believe – OOP! Buggers!! So, I’m sorry to say – the only way to get to hear this record is to either seek out an expensive used copy, borrow one from a friend or wait until the Harrison Estate gets in gear and re-releases it. Personally, I’d love a Deluxe Edition – with the original MONO mix (I haven’t seen or heard this yet!) and maybe a nice 5.1 surround edition for kicks!
So here’s my plea to Olivia and Dhani Harrison: RE-RELEASE WONDERWALL PLEASE!!!! Cut and paste this message and send lots of emails to the George Harrison website. It’s a CRIME that this cool album is MIA. With any luck, we could see a new version of this – and when you get your copy, here’s my recommendation: go to the local convenience store and pick up a roll of these to munch on while you listen:
It's been awhile since I've watched this great documentary about one of my all-time favorite musical personalities : Ronnie Lane! I was very fortunate to have older musical cousins who took me to my first real rock concert when I was 13 years old. It just so happened to be the Ronnie Lane ARMS benefit concert at Madison Square Garden on December 8, 1983. The show featured a who's who of rock royalty (Clapton, Beck, Page, Charlie Watts, Bill Wyman, Joe Cocker, Paul Rogers.........) all pitching in to do benefit shows for their pal Ronnie Lane who'd come down with MS - Multiple Sclerosis. Ronnie never really became famous in his own right in the United States - most folks knew him as the bass player in the Small Faces (and later just THE Faces). Lots of folks knew his one major hit song of the 60s though - "Itchycoo Park" (by the Small Faces). I honestly had very little idea of who he was when I went to the show, but it was heartening to watch rock's greatest stars rally behind their stricken friend for whom there was a tangible love that was obvious even from my seat far behind the stage.
Since that time, I have become a stone Ronnie Lane fan. One of my favorite LPs of all time is the one Ronnie did with Pete Townshend, "Rough Mix". In my opinion, it's one of the best things Townshend ever did - and I think Ronnie's material one-ups Pete's! That would be a brilliant pub-argument someday! This great documentary is on youtube in six parts - I don't know if it really captures the total awesomeness of Ronnie Lane (I think hearing the music helps complete the picture), but there are some pretty hilarious moments here (as well as a few tugs on the ol' heart-strings). Ronnie Lane strikes me as the kind of guy you'd see sitting in the local bar or the local supermarket, yet had the ability to cast a magical musical spell that could just leave you slack-jawed and scratching your head about the meaning of life............well worth the time spent - have a look..........
Well, there's always ONE straggler isn't there? How could I forget this great grey splatter-wax LP? Hard to tell just from the picture, but here is an original issue of Kate Bush's excellent 1985 release "Hounds of Love". What a fantastic record - highly recommended. This title has recently been re-released on splatter wax vinyl by Audio Fidelity records - a specialty label responsible for quite a few excellent reissues of classic albums. If I didn't already have an original I would have jumped on that reissue, not that I haven't thought about it. Heh heh! But I'm pretty sure this was the only color vinyl LP I had left to uncover from the stacks. Any new additions will be featured in future posts.
January also marks a one year anniversary for this blog. I hope folks who have stopped by to read my silly rants have been entertained at least and, if you've been inspired to check out some music that has been enjoyable for you as a result of an entry here - well, that's pretty cool. I am honored that anyone would take the time to stop in - and particularly those who contributed to segments and/or comments! I will do what I can in the upcoming year to make this place worth the bother of clicking into!
My first post of the new year at the classical spot will reveal my "new" revelation about music listening habits - some of which will also be included on this site! To be truthful, its probably not THAT exciting, but it kinda is for me. Let's put it this way - I'm making a New Year's Resolution to test the boundaries of my own curmudgeonly (is that a real word?) attitudes towards new music technology and the results have been positive so far.
But enough about me - I sincerely hope everybody out there had an excellent Holiday Season. Thanks for stopping by and don't forget to take care of your ears - they need food too. Keep 'em fed and watered and they'll take care of you.
Years ago, when I was in high school, I used to love hanging out at the library in my school since they had a super cool book in the stacks. It was called “Making Music” and it was edited by Beatles producer George Martin. Here’s a picture:
Nowadays it would be a great description of how things used to work. For me at the time it was a window into better understanding how the music I loved came into being. Fact was, since the book was in the reference section of the library they wouldn’t lend it out so I HAD to read it in the library. Anyone who really knows me won’t be too surprised by this admission of supergeek behavior. It would be a few years before I got anywhere near a real recording studio, but the credits on the albums I listened to had me wondering what the roles of the various people were – engineer, producer…..what did it all mean? More fascinating information came in the form of The Beatles Recording Sessions book which appeared in my freshman year of college (and, yeah, I spent plenty of time sitting in my dorm reading that thing too!).
Both of those books helped me to understand a little better what a Producer does, so I started paying more attention to how records sounded and who was listed as the producer in the credits. It was especially interesting to me when a particular group changed producers – more often than not, the same group of musicians could sound really different when working with a new producer at the helm. Ever hear any of Aretha Franklin’s sides when she was recording for Columbia in the early 60s? Pretty flat-sounding stuff. She wouldn’t really become ARETHA FRANKLIN until she jumped ship to Atlantic Records with Jerry Wexler and Tom Dowd at the helm. The Atlantic team really knew what to do with her – how to present her best artistically and commercially.
I had originally wanted to write an entry extolling the virtues of the great record producer of the 60s and 70s, Jimmy Miller. I was listening to a record he produced that was knocking me out yet again, but I realized his name probably just didn’t mean much anymore to the general public today – certainly not helped by the fact that he passed away awhile ago. Also not helped by the fact that his last significant productions happened back in the 1970s. But what glorious productions they were! When The Rolling Stones reissued “Exile on Main Street” last year to general fanfare, hoopla and media bombardment I kept thinking about the contributions Jimmy Miller made even beyond the control booth. How many people know that it was Miller, not Charlie Watts, who played the drums on “Tumbling Dice”? Yeah? Yeah! Actually – Exile was near the end of the golden era for Mr. Jimmy (immortalized in the Stones’ “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” – yeah? YEAH!). The main thing I wanted to mention in a public place was how, in my view, Jimmy Miller damn near SINGLEHANDEDLY saved the Rolling Stones from passing into 60s Pop has-beens when he produced the 45 single of “Jumping Jack Flash” for them in 1968. No way in hell the Glimmer Twins had that up their sleeves – it was a pure Jimmy Miller deal from soup to nuts. Anyway – if you want to know more about this Jimmy Miller guy, check out this link: http://www.furious.com/perfect/jimmymiller.html
Really – a hell of a producer in his heyday. One of those rare guys who – if you see the name listed on the back of a record jacket, it is probably worth checking out the music even if you’d never heard of the group before. But the idea of “heyday” – this word seemed to naturally spring to mind when reflecting on the role and/or shelf-life of the average music/record producer figure. Maybe a quick refresher course on what a Record Producer is/does would be a good idea…………….
In the golden age of recorded music, studios were places where the machines lived. Tape machines, consoles, microphones, various compressors and other outboard equipment. These tools were usually only manipulated by a person known as “The Engineer”. The engineer’s job was to capture the sounds made by the musicians on magnetic tape. The Producer, on the other hand, would determine the quality of the sounds, the music being recorded and how all of that would be presented to the record company for whom they worked. However involved in the finished product the singer/artist was depended upon all sorts of variables – relationship to the producer, technical ability – but it was rare for the artist to be calling the shots in the studio. Sometimes producers could be obnoxious autocrats. But, in the end, they were the ones responsible for the finished musical product.
Also – the best producers could coax more exciting performances out of the artists they worked with. The word “catalyst” could be used here. And, of course, each producer had the potential to have a unique sound – one that made their productions stand out (and hopefully in a good way). The penultimate example of this might be Phil Spector. For him, the recording studio itself was an instrument of expression. And his records don’t sound like anyone else’s.
However, Phil Spector had his “heyday”. From the early 60s to the early 70s. Times change, technology changes. Where Phil was cutting edge in the early 60s – his sound became yesterday’s news by the mid-70s. Some producers can ride the waves of technological change better than others. Some leave a greater personal imprint in the music they oversee than others. In the case of Jimmy Miller – the sound of his productions was less distinctive. His influence was more on performance and overall presentation of the material. Some folks call this the “transparent” approach.
One thing’s for sure though – producing records can be a lot of work and a lot of pressure. I don’t know if there are any bootleg recordings that highlight Jimmy Miller at work in the studio – I certainly never heard any myself. But there ARE plenty of legitimate (and otherwise) recordings of Brian Wilson at work in the studio in the 1960s. Pet Sounds sessions. Good Vibrations sessions. And now – The Smile Sessions. The story goes that Brian Wilson became so overburdened by the pressures of this ambitious project that it caused him to abandon the whole approach to his craft that he spent years building up. And quite an abrupt and jarring change in style it was, too. The material that was to make up Smile – after many months of recording – ended up in a remade rush-job of two weeks spent recording at his home studio. The public was expecting the sophistication of Good Vibrations on a whole LP record. What they got was a cartoon-like version that sounded like an amateur home recording (which is EXACTLY what it was).
Since my last posting on Smile vs. Smiley Smile I have since taken delivery of the new Smile Sessions boxset. While I haven’t plowed through everything there, I have come away with a new understanding of the music and the complex story of its creation. I have to agree with Beach Boy Bruce Johnson who, in the liner notes, relates that Smile – had it been finished – would have been more suited to release as a Brian Wilson solo outing perhaps on the classical branch of Capitol Records. But the problem with that was Brian’s instrument at the time was the very commercial Beach Boys. I think maybe Smile, had it seen release in 1967, would have been tamed of some of its wilder moments, but still would have had plenty of advance-guard sensibility to up the ante on what a pop group could do in a recording studio. The story of why Smile was abandoned as a project is understandable. Lawsuits with Capitol, ambitiousness of the project outstripping the available technology – it all makes sense.
What didn’t make sense was Brian Wilson’s choice to walk away from a signature production style for his group. A few other factors to consider…….
A. In 1967 – pop groups who didn’t play the instruments on their own records were under heavy criticism. It wasn't acceptable to merely sing on your records (as the Beach Boys had done for many years by that point). That was the domain of The Monkees – who, no matter how enjoyable they were, were essentially a pre-packaged entity. The Monkees did not have the same street-cred as the Jefferson Airplane, dig?
B. The Beatles – who had also become ambitious in the recording studio – had stopped performing live. The Beach Boys couldn’t walk away from touring even if they wanted to and needed to have new material that they could perform live if need be. Those Smile arrangements would have been hell on them in a concert hall.
C. The above realization necessitated the move to a more band-friendly production style. Unfortunately, it bore only a casual resemblance to what Beach Boys records of the past sounded like.
D. The possible inspiration of an unlikely source: Jan and Dean’s predicament courtesy of Jan Berry’s accident in April 1966 which left Dean in control of keeping their “group” name alive……how he tried to do this was…..
……….to record an album’s worth of material in his primitive home studio which he eventually released as a “Jan and Dean” record on his own private label – a charming, lo-fi masterpiece called “Save for a Rainy Day”.
It still sounds a lot like a Jan and Dean record of the era even though it had no input from Jan Berry who was in a coma the whole time. No lie – it sounds a lot like a poor man’s “Pet Sounds”, but despite the cheapnis factor it’s a really enjoyable little record! It really had no right to be as good as it is, but any fan of the Beach Boys needs to hear this. Sundazed put a reissue out in the 1990s. Highly recommended. Alright, here's a sample:
Could it be that Brian Wilson, who upon hearing this “Jan and Dean” record, figured “if Dean Torrence can do this in his garage – why can’t I?” Hey – it’s conjecture, but go ahead and track down “Save for a Rainy Day” and compare to what Brian Wilson was doing with Pet Sounds – Smile and (ultimately) Smiley Smile. The “heyday” of the old Beach Boys sound was ready to pass on. Consider this though…………..
If 1967 represented a total confusion for the Beach Boys – we could argue that the official release of the July ’67 Heroes and Villains 45 was the point at which Smile became a lost cause – by the summer of 1968 the new Beach Boys single was “Do it Again”. And, in fact – that record had a pretty new and updated sound for the group. But, of course it was a new era for rock music. One that had moved on from the surf and car image the Beach Boys rode to success. These days “Do it Again” has a reputation as a classic Beach Boys song, but upon its release there must have been an anticipation for a return to better times that, at least in the USA, just didn’t happen until the release of the classic material on the now-famous Endless Summer compilation in 1974. The Beach Boys never stopped trying to record new material after that, but their bread and butter remained as a celebration of those golden days under the tight direction of Brian Wilson.
I really wonder if any of this will matter worth a toss as technology continues to change the creation and consumption of music in modern times. Well, kids – there once was such a person as a Record Producer……………
This is, unfortunately, NOT in my collection (yet). A legitimate 60s-era Japanese RCA Jefferson Airplane compilation LP on super-psychedelic colored vinyl. Wild, eh?
Moby Grape 45!
I have a whole series of Beatles 45s on different colors - a few samples here - too lazy to picture them all! Nothing too outrageous, but nice!
Forgot I had this Rolling Stones red vinyl 45!
Another Beatles 45 from the same series.....
13th Floor Elevators 1st LP reissue of dubious extraction. This is nicer to look at than to hear. Better to track down the Sundazed mono reissue LP for best sound from this classic!
What is it with RED vinyl? This is a Canadian-only issue of "Who Are You". This sounds pretty good, actually!
Supposedly, The Pineapples were a great band live. Never saw them though I still may get the chance as they're still making music. The tunes on this 45 are a good example of pre-Nirvana alternative rock - NYC style! This was their only release on Kokopop (a subsidiary of the famous NYC-based label Shimmy Disc).
This was a recent score. A colored-vinyl 45 exclusive of Mojo Magazine in celebration of the release of The Beach Boys Smile Sessions. Only found in the magazine - really sweet, actually!
I sure like this purple vinyl ELO 45! Sweet Talkin' Woman on side A - Fire on High on side B. Way cool!!
As a way to make this blog more personal I decided to change the blog banner image to a picture of my own turntable and nifty color vinyl LP (okay, so the one that I'd had up I nicked off the internet - I'll fess up). I'm not the greatest photographer in the world, but I like what I did enough to use it here. This got me to thinking about all the neat color vinyl LPs I have in my collection - actually not that many and, more often than not, pretty common! Color vinyl is fun and seems to be making a comeback with vinyl in general. There's lots of old reissues and brand new releases that feature exciting colors these days. Here are a few from my archives..................enjoy!
This Grand Funk record looks kinda yellow here, but it's almost gold colored in reality. Too bad my copy is kinda trashed, but it still looks nice!!
New-ish Meat Puppets release. Great album too. Can't go too far wrong with anything by the Meat Puppets.
Rykodisc put out a series of vinyl LPs on clear vinyl. This looked best when I held it to the light. This particular record was the first official Hendrix BBC sessions release (before it reverted to the Experience Hendrix estate).
The above three records are original issue Flaming Lips LPs in their color incarnations. Silly me - I should have kept collecting this band on vinyl. Their more recent releases are pretty collectable. I have no idea if these are as collectable - fun to look at though!
This was the last new Elvis Presley LP released right at the time of his death. Believe it or not - the really rare issue of this record is, in fact, the BLACK vinyl issue. Blue is common. Still - nice to look at!
Some Rolling Stones records. The top two are 12" singles. The one directly above is a Japanese reissue of "Out of Our Heads" - US version. Too bad it sounds awful (mint record - bad mastering!).
Some relatively common Beatles color vinyl albums.
Rhino reissue of Nazz Nazz. Now, the original CSG Records issue was also put out on red vinyl - that would be a cool score! Maybe someday............
Sundazed reissue of the great (Jan) and (mostly) Dean cult-classic "Save for a Rainy Day". Really beautiful looking records! Interesting music too - I'll have to do an entry on this record sometime soon since it has an interesting history!
I must have been about 13 years old. I'd been playing drums since I was about 8 or 9 (can't remember). My Grandmother gave me this Dave Brubeck record. I didn't really appreciate it at first. In fact, it wasn't until a few years later when I saw Dave Brubeck on TV - it was a concert from the 80's on PBS - not the classic quartet, but still Dave kicking ass regardless. That was when I "got it". Watching the interplay between the musicians, the skill and exciting spontaneous nature of the music-making - THEN I went back to this record.
Funny - this was not a "proper" release from the heyday of the classic Columbia-era quartet, but a compilation album with some live tracks in place of the more popular studio versions of songs. The unifying theme to the record (released in 1972 as a double LP) was to focus on tracks featuring odd time-signatures. "Take Five" was perhaps the most famous example of Brubeck stretching beyond the usual pulse of 4 or 3 (the composition's title referring to the meter of 5/4 the song moves in). But "Take Five" was merely the tip of the iceberg - how about tunes in 7/8, 9/8, 10/4? How can those odd meters possibly even swing? Well, the whole group does indeed swing, but special mention must go to the great drummer Joe Morello. Just even thinking about Joe Morello's superb style of playing makes me smile.
Adventures in Time, being a double record, had a great inside panel of liner notes with the right time signatures listed by each song. In one case, a nifty suggestion was added next to "Blue Rondo a-la Turk" in 9/8 - how to count this? Try one-two/one-two/one-two/one-two-three. It follows the melody perfectly. This blew my mind! Really helped me to understand how to approach unusual time signatures as I imagine it did for a lot of people, actually.
I know most folks reference the studio versions of "Take Five" and "Blue Rondo a-la Turk", but on this album live performances are used (no credits about when or where these took place). For me, these are the definitive versions - the studio cuts sound TAME in comparison. The versions on this record are rollicking and extended with all sorts of great interplay - and much quicker tempos! This collection has never been issued on CD (as far as I know) - maybe the live cuts have been added to CD reissues? I wouldn't know - sorry to admit I don't own much Dave Brubeck on CD. In fact, I really need to add more titles to my shamefully small collection - at some point I will profile another Dave Brubeck Quartet favorite - "Jazz Impressions of Japan".
For now, though - this album is still the tops for me. I even like the quasi-psychedelic cover art. In fact, here's the back cover:
Man, I could keep going off on how much I dig Dave Brubeck, Joe Morello, Paul Desmond and Eugene Wright - but do yourself a favor and check some of the great vibrations these guys put down for us all!
