Freewheelin’ = 50 Years Old

Man! It’s hard to believe that The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan is officially a 50 year old record as of today – 5/28/13. That’s half a century! The world sure has changed in those years – the music biz as well. All the hopes and fears and paranoia-trips found on those grooves……..sound today like, as in the words of the great Robert Calvert song – “Only the dead dreams of the Cold War kid……….”

But – Bob Dylan. Really? AS IF somebody else needs to spew forth more blather about Bob Dylan, right? Now, I have just about every legitimate Dylan record ever released, saw him a couple of times in concert and I really enjoy what he’s done over the many stages of his career. But I am no AJ Weberman. If I saw Bob walking down the street I’d leave him alone. I mean, unless he stopped me to ask what time it was or something. I’m not into any star trip crap. The guy’s had enough accolades from everybody under the sun – he’s just another person to me. But I like his work. And I like how he’s handled his professional career. Aside from his influence on music, I’d have to say that is one of his great contributions to modern civilization.

What am I talking about here….? Dylan gave a pretty good example of what a real human being does through life if they’re in it for the long haul. His first records are tentative…….his approach to his art changes from acoustic to electric……he hits a peak and strikes a chord in the mid-60s then retreats. Have you seen the No Direction Home film? Right at the end of that where Dylan is babbling like a strung out idiot in Italy at the end of his European ’66 tour….there……THERE is the reason. If that doesn’t look like a guy having a nervous breakdown on camera I’d have to say that was the best acting job I’ve seen Dylan or anyone else perform in the last 100 years of cinema. Watch that guy in the clip closely.

Now, find some pictures of Dylan in the late 60s. Short hair. Domestic-looking. Swamped with kids and his young wife. Put on a little weight. Looks like some young professional who likes to spend his spare time reading the Wall Street Journal, doing the New York Times crossword everyday and singing in the church choir on Sunday religiously. WHAT HAPPENED to this guy??? Real easy answer – he stopped living the hype and started living for his family. He says as much in his Chronicles Vol. 1 book. In recent years he has also owned up to making bad records on purpose to shake his image of a counterculture icon. Certainly his post-Blonde on Blonde output reflects a desire to break with pop culture……..the spare folk sound on John Wesley Harding, the overt country twang of Nashville Skyline and the bizarre crooning of Self Portrait. Not that he stopped writing hit songs (Quinn the Eskimo), he just stopped being a popular performer.

For a time, anyway. Starting round about 1990 or so, The Bobness commenced the Never Ending Tour as a way of life that’s pretty much kept on trucking in one form or another ever since. And he’s been putting out great records again. And radio shows (none of which I’ve heard, sad to say) for satellite radio. And a book too. And movies about him and not about him. Bob isn’t taking the easy road. Seems to me the only artist who is out-doing Bob in the ubiquitous-ness sweepstakes is Neil Young and I’ve long given up on trying to keep up with HIM. And, for that matter, I’ve missed a few Bob releases here and there (the Christmas Album, some Bootleg Series releases and even the new Tempest album).

    Aw, but so what? Well, amidst all the swirling Dylan hoopla I have a real simple recommendation for you. It’s called BOB DYLAN’S GREATEST HITS. Yeah, the single-LP release from 1967 put out when Bob was supposed to be recovering from his motorcycle accident somewhere between Woodstock and Middletown, New York. Vinyl copies had a cool poster included, even well into the 1970s (musta printed a crap-load of those things…..). Quite an iconic image indeed. One I became familiar with as a child since my older cousins proudly displayed their copy on the wall of their shared bedroom where we all used to gather to spin records during family visits.

But my recommendation is not just any common release. Before you dismiss this great LP as being obsolete, grab a limited-edition gold compact disc from Audio Fidelity. Mastering engineer genius Steve Hoffman has created the ultimate version by using many first-generation masters of these songs. The result showcases Dylan’s vocals – you could swear he’s in the room right in front of you. Spooky-realistic! Hoffman’s version is definitive – period.

My first copy of this album was a used LP I bought from a flea market – without even the outer cover! But it was not my first Dylan experience. That honor goes to Side Five of The Concert for Bangladesh – I had saved up to buy that classic 3 LP set when I was 12 years old. That was the first time I really heard Dylan and it made an impression. So I found a loose copy of the Greatest Hits album at a flea market for a quarter not long after. Listening to the gold CD tonight it brought me back to listening to my old beat up LP which had a quick skip during the intro to “Rainy Day Women” leading off the record.  Any time I hear this song I expect to hear the skip just as I’d heard it on my crappy old LP – isn’t it amazing how first impressions, especially childhood first impressions, can stay with us many years down the line?

 Listening to the tracks included on Greatest Hits as they flowed from one to the next -  I found myself especially impressed with the song “Positively 4th Street”. This song does away with the standard verse-verse-chorus-bridge-chorus-verse and out formula. In fact, there’s no chorus at all. And none of the verses rhyme. But the melody is the glue and it’s rather strong stuff at that! A good example of how Dylan balanced the challenging nature of the lyrics with a catchy, feel-good backing music track. This song is one among a handful of Dylan songs that break from the standard lyric mold he used most frequently and to perhaps greatest success with “Blowin’ in the Wind”: verse after verse followed by the title as the couplet ending each verse – like this:

How many roads must a man walk down
Before you call him a man?
Yes, ’n’ how many seas must a white dove sail
Before she sleeps in the sand?
Yes, ’n’ how many times must the cannonballs fly
Before they’re forever banned?
The answer, my friend, is blowin’ in the wind
The answer is blowin’ in the wind

Read more: http://www.bobdylan.com/us/songs/blowin-wind#ixzz2Ud4394RV

My cousin Jimmy hipped me to the Secret Bob Dylan lyric progression formula many years ago and now I’m passing it onto you. Anyway, “Positively 4th Street” doesn’t fit this mold – you can play the Bob Dylan game of discovering which tunes feature the formula and which deviate. That’s if you can stand to listen to Bob Dylan at all.

I’m sure some of my close comrades are aghast at my admission to being a Dylan fan. I’m just as surprised these days myself. I’m not really much of a lyric guy and I prefer people who can really sing, generally. Yet, Dylan did keep his music within the basic parameters of American roots-based stuff and some of his imagery in the lyrics is funny and interesting. Plus he did manage to put into song the kind of sentiments that many people may have thought or felt, but never would sing about in a public way before. Even so – when it comes right down to it, you either like him or hate him.

Well, even if you don’t like Bob’s music, you have to admit he had a funny way with words – like in this very revealing clip:

Anyway – Dylan managed to catapult himself into that MYTH territory pretty early on in his career. Through bad and good albums, with years of inspiration and lack of it, if you could hang your hat on the Dylan myth – even just a piece of it – he’s given his audience a lot to think about with some pretty good background music along the way.

Along with the aforementioned Greatest Hits, I’d have to give a big thumbs up to the Basement Tapes album (with the Band) along with his more recent “Love and Theft” as really essential Bob (and including, of course, “The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan”).

For worst Bob album – I won’t even vote the obvious “Self Portrait” for this category. I’m picking the ’75 quasi-comeback-attempt album “Desire”. Critics love this album – I can’t stand it. Sloppy, plodding music with a severely under-rehearsed band (they’d finally catch their groove on the Rolling Thunder Tour the same year – better to seek out live stuff from this edition of the Dylan band).

Sorry - I really hate this Dylan record. Sucks big time!

 For the “it has no right to be as good as it is” category – “Street Legal”. Seriously. It’s Bob full of piss and vinegar and weird abstract angst venting spleen about some unknown……whateverthehellyankedhiscrankthatyear. Bob is really at his finest when he’s insulting somebody who’s done him wrong in the most oblique ways that not even the target of his rage has a clue what he’s singing about. “Street Legal” definitely hits that mark, intentional or not.

Don’t forget to burn your bird, return your dog and clip your cigarette……….and keep it rolling, Bob.

Canadian Roundup Part Three - The Guess Who, Lenny Breau and THE BAND!

I decided to round off my spotlight on Great Canadians by reflecting on two groups and one significant musician from the Great White North – all of whom are linked, however circuitously. Thanks must go to my good friend Ken for the suggestion and loan of his rare CD of The Guess Who – Let’s Go. This is an awesome release from Randy Bachman’s archives. Let’s Go was, in fact, the title of a television program the Canadian Broadcasting Company produced to showcase musical talent – mainly of the popular variety – specifically in and around Winnepeg in the late 60s. Other regions had their own shows, but this one featured The Guess Who as the official house band. What the BBC radio shows did for The Beatles’ career in the UK, the CBC television network would do for The Guess Who – provide priceless national exposure.

The collection is fascinating since the group performs cover versions of current hits – as The Beatles did on their BBC shows. Some covers work better than others – their take on “Along Comes Mary” is pretty rockin’ while their version of “Hey Jude”, however ambitious, sounds unconvincing. But it sure is wild to hear them covering Cream’s “White Room” (they don’t exactly manage to pull off the 7/4 introduction, but it still rocks!). Where the group really shines is with their original material. In the liner notes, it is mentioned how the TV show’s producer encouraged the group to develop their own songs – probably the best advice and encouragement they ever got! The disc contains some of their later hits (“These Eyes”) in embryonic form. Aside from spotlighting the great guitar work of Bachman, the other pleasant surprise is how Burton Cummings navigates his way through all kinds of different vocal styles and delivers the goods!

Although I’d heard The Guess Who’s hits for years, it was only recently that I heard the full “American Woman” album – in this case a quadraphonic 8-track tape. The whole record is solid overall, showing that the group could offer more beyond the hit single. In fact, quite a few of their many albums saw release as quadraphonic records or tapes. Considering how much I enjoyed American Woman, I’m definitely on the lookout for more from The Guess Who – especially QUAD versions!

Randy Bachman eventually left The Guess Who to form Bachman Turner Overdrive. Considering how he was gifted with two hit-making groups one right after the other, he is one lucky dude for sure! In recent years, he’s been digging in his archives to release material not just from The Guess Who, but even from a guy he grew up with who later became a major jazz guitar figure of the 20th Century – Lenny Breau……….

I would never have heard of Lenny Breau if it weren’t for my friendship with Murali Coryell. We went to college together and had a nice little rocking teenage combo for a few years. Murali loved Lenny Breau and he passed that onto me though a great CD – “Five O’clock Bells”. Lenny Breau was a child prodigy and developed a technique where he could sound like two guitar players at once. I’m still on the lookout for more of his music, but “Five O’Clock Bells” is a whole lot of magical vibrations to deal with. Here’s a link to a cool interview with Randy Bachman who tells what it was like to grow up being friends with Lenny Breau:

http://www.canada.com/saskatoonstarphoenix/news/story.html?id=1b983f04-7b39-4eaf-97e8-bbda96f9719b&k=7991

Now, I don’t know all of Breau’s story, but there is mystery surrounding his death in the mid-80s. Somehow related to not having totally conquered his demons. Dang shame. A bunch of years back I was driving along down a local highway and was picking up a jazz program on a nearby college radio station. There was some pretty tasty electric guitar stuff on, with a basic yet swinging backing from bass and drums. After several cuts went by, the DJ got on the air to announce the artists. He announced the guitar player as Lenny Breau – wow….nice! Seems this was an early recording that had just been released after being pulled out of an obscure archive. But when the drummer and bass player were announced I nearly drove off the road…………….Levon Helm and Rick Danko? Say WHAT!?

Now, I’m talkin’ straight ahead jazz. Nothing fancy, but absolutely in the pocket and in the style. I thought the DJ made a mistake until I looked it up – indeed the release is called “The Hallmark Sessions” and features what was then the rhythm section of Ronnie Hawkins’ Hawks – later to become THE BAND. Seems that Levon and Rick were known to Lenny and he asked them to back him up on his first professional recording. Here’s what the CD cover looks like:

This, of course, leads to the next collection of great Canadians – The Band! Now, to be fair – most of The Band was from Canada with the exception of Levon who hailed from Arkansas and wound up in the Great White North courtesy of his then-boss Ronnie Hawkins. I have to admit it took me a little while to fully appreciate The Band. I’d had a copy of The Last Waltz since I was a teenager, but not any of the classic albums. I kept reading about how influential “Music From Big Pink” was and borrowed a copy from a friend just to hear it. At first it sounded to me like a bunch of woozy, bearded mountain men yodelling out of tune about God-knows-what to God-knows-who.

Then, years later I chanced upon an original US Capitol pressing – with the rainbow colorband Capitol label – at a flea market. It was in nice shape and for three bucks – well, why not? Took it home, started playing it and gradually I started growing a beard. I started taking long, meaningful walks in the woods. Communing with nature – listening to the leaves turn brown and orange and gold. I woke up in an abandoned blueberry patch with the sun in my eyes and the cool autumn breeze in my hair. I built my own log cabin in the middle of the Catskills, sowed my seeds and harvested my crops and lived to be 97.5 years old – spending my last days reminiscing about the minstrel shows that used to come through town and pitch a big tent on the outskirts where the moonshiners would rustle up some fun with the locals throwing dice and roasting chestnuts and pork and beans over the campfire using a crimped cup tin can for coffee and………and………

…..excuse me! “Big Pink” isn’t an album. It’s an echo of a long-lost time with flying saucers in the foreground. It’s the sound of Robbie the Robot bashing on a ukulele and Grandpa Jones playing his spoons on the head of a nuclear missile. Really, “Big Pink” is all about context. In the context of the times – 1968 – there was no popular music quite like it. Rootsy Americana-esque with a slight futuristic twinkle in its eye. Full of mystery and weirdness – legends and folktales told by Neil Armstrong’s drinking buddies.

My vinyl copy is an early pressing and has all the funk you can expect to find on a Capitol LP of the era – muffled, EQ-mud and all. When I eventually got my hands on the MFSL gold disc, I swore up and down it was a remix since it sounded so different. But, no – I reckon the MFSL is just a cleaner mastering (which one sounds like the master tape is up for grabs – couldn’t tell you). Happy to have it, but it sure is different from the LP – depending on my mood it could be one or the other.

No entry on The Band would be complete without mention of THE BAND (aka “The Brown Album”). This was their second, and arguably, best album. If “Big Pink” was the mystery disc of 1968, THE BAND was the mystery revealed with still enough of the magical haze lingering to evoke other realities and dimensions, yet in an oddly commercially appealing wrapper. Great music – classic stuff – harvest time in full combine mode. This album really deserves its own entry. I have three copies of this.

An original US pressing (green Captiol target label) mastered by Bob Ludwig (note the “RL” in the deadwax). This is not in the best of shape – and not exactly a wonderful pressing despite the “RL” – the mastering is top notch, the pressing quality typical of that good old late 60s / early 70s Capitol re-ground vinyl.

Thank goodness Audio Fidelity put out a nice gold CD – mastered from the original master tapes – that sounds AWESOME. It might be getting a bit pricey now, but still well worth the bucks if you love this record.

The third copy I have was an expensive UK vinyl reissue from 1997 or so – cut from a tape a few generations away from the master and not bad, but no better than the above two. Served me well until the gold CD came out.

Now, there are other Band LPs – some high points here and there. Yet they never returned to the glory of those first two albums. The best place to find out why is covered in Levon Helm’s great book “This Wheel’s On Fire”. It’s a great read – full of funny and heartbreaking stories. I’m sorry I never got to see Levon – never bumped into him either. I did meet Rick Danko once, but maybe that story is best for another time. How these Canadian guys became superstars is quite an amazing tale. Other famous Canadians would follow, but for me – Neil, Joni, Randy, Lenny and the Band crew are the real deal. O – Canada! Thanks for the vibrations!

Joni Mitchell

Nope - sorry! That's not Taylor Swift. This is a great picture of the original acoustic-wielding blonde Joni Mitchell. Taylor Swift could do well to consider what musical genius is really all about and spend some time with the great body of work Joni has left for us to hear!

I don’t know what prompted this. I was thinking the other day about how Joni Mitchell re-connected with her daughter, whom she gave up for adoption before her career took off in the late 60s. This was in 1997 or so – quite awhile ago now. I think I was looking for some clips of Joni on youtube from recent times. She is always interesting to listen to – musically or philosophically. Now, I don’t have all of her stuff. But I have a good chunk of it. Some of her more recent efforts have slipped by me – although I did manage to keep up in the 90s (the 80s were a bit tough to get into – I’ll probably rediscover that stuff eventually). Then I stumbled upon some footage of Joni re-uniting with her daughter. Gadzooks – talk about a transformation. In some of those clips it’s obvious how literally overjoyed Joni Mitchell is. Heartwarming indeed.

Contrast with another clip of Joni Mitchell performing in what looks to me like the Bitter End club in New York City. The video claims the date to be about 1967 and I have a hunch that’s correct (witness the Blues Project bass drum head on the kit behind her). The song she is singing would not be released commercially until her fourth LP – Blue – in 1971. Yet, the song – Little Green – was complete in this early clip which predates her signing with Reprise Records (her first LP came out in ’68 I believe).

What I never knew about this song is that it is a direct telling of Joni’s decision to give up her daughter for adoption – which only happened two years before this performance (possibly less). Holy Christalmighty I cannot imagine what’s going on inside her mind during this performance. Her fateful decision was a carefully guarded secret for most of her adult life. Very few, if ANY, people knew just how personal this song was until the 1990s. In an age where everything hits the internet as soon as it happens these days – it’s amazing how long some secrets could be protected by even the most public figures.

Joni Mitchell is a great singer, songwriter and indeed – guitar player! She’s got a great technique – one of the most interesting right-hand techniques I’ve ever seen. Take a look at this clip of her in 1979 – the song is “Amelia” from the Shadows and Light tour with the great jazzbos (Jaco, etc…..) backing her up. Yet this is a solo performance. She’s got those long fingernails and uses them nimbly on that big box electric. Besides technique – I saw the Shadows and Light film a bunch of years back when I bought it on DVD. When the video got to this song – which I hadn’t been familiar with at the time – it stopped me cold. It’s the emotional high point of the film. I was going through a particularly rough point in my life and, although the lyrics to the song are oblique – the emotional theme is clearly all about DEVASTATING LOSS. Joni Mitchell has a bunch of those kinds of songs in her catalog – of course it’s well known now where that emotion springs from……….

Funny though. I’d been a Joni Mitchell fan since I first heard “Big Yellow Taxi” on the radio – her version (no snazzy cover versions existed in those days). It was such a catchy song – I was real buzzed to find it on the “Ladies of the Canyon” album. I got that along with her first record – “Song to a Seagull”. Over the years I kept adding LPs. I think I picked up the “Blue” album because Big Al Anderson from NRBQ name-checked it as a favorite record of his (I’m NOT making this up – seriously! I read this once!). Pretty early on I also picked up a lesser-known LP – “For the Roses”. I have to admit – it’s not one of my favorite Joni LPs, but it does have some nice moments on it. “For the Roses” was her first LP on Asylum Records, but it had the misfortune of being the LP released between “Blue” – her last for Reprise for quite a while – and the classic “Court and Spark”. But there was a fairly provocative picture of Joni on the inside flap of the “For the Roses” album……………..

Basically – she’s nude with her back to the camera and her front facing the crashing waves of the ocean. Very picturesque, back to nature and peace-n-love – not meant to be anything more than what it is. Now, this is where my story gets a little awkward. Having observed womens’ bodies over the course of my time on the planet – mostly clothed, but still – it really appeared to me that what I was looking at ………… look, when women have children their bodies can change and it can be obvious if one is inclined to notice. Not that this is at all bad – certainly not. But I couldn’t help thinking – there’s something to the way she looks here. Yet I hadn’t read up to that point anything about Joni Mitchell having children. I really thought this all through long before the story came out about her daughter. Seriously!

Well, I’d have to admit there certainly was / is something about Joni Mitchell’s looks I appreciated – she’s certainly distinctive, but I like her! Yeah! In fact – I had a girlfriend years ago who was a dead-ringer for Joni Mitchell (and an exceptionally great gal too – fond memories). In fact, she reminded me a LOT of Joni Mitchell – independent spirit and all. Uncanny, in fact.

I hate to admit this – I don’t yet have her 2007 release – “Shine”. I really must amend this situation. I’d been keeping up with Joni pretty decently through her “Taming the Tiger” album in 1998. After that there seemed to be these endless “Greatest Hits” packages – she effectively retired from the music biz until “Shine” appeared. I was especially smitten with her 1991 LP “Night Ride Home”. Great record that was! And phooey on all those knuckleheads who want to criticize the change to her voice in recent years – I think it’s still beautiful, even though its different – dark and dusky. I can dig it. I also terribly regret not seeing her perform in 1994 at the old Woodstock site in Bethel, NY. That summer there was a concert held called “A Day in the Garden” and Joni performed – an increasingly rare event in those days and – sad to say – a nigh impossibility now. Dangit. I knew I should have gone.

Since then – there have been tributes – Herbie Hancock had a Grammy-winning CD out with Joni’s music on it a few years back. Well deserved. She was a pioneering spirit – and a real advocate for authentic American music (American as in all of the Americas, really). Like I said……I don’t know what brought all this on. I really just admire her talent and spirit – her ability to turn heartache into art – and the magic of time to heal old wounds. She’s got quite a life story there. Lets hope some exceptional writer does her story justice in a nice biography some day. Until then – STILL LISTENING!

Neil Young's Ditch Trilogy and the return of The Rascals

You know, I was a kid in the 70s. For the most part I have to admit to having had a pretty happy childhood overall. Some weirdness here and there, some typical growing up stuff, some a-typical growing up stuff – par for the course I’d reckon. I’ll say this though- what a weird decade to have been born into. America in the 70s was a mixture of real gut-churning frustrations (Watergate?) countered with plucky American-style resolve (1976 – the Bicentennial year optimism). One of my early childhood memories is being in New York City on the Fourth of July watching fireworks on the Bicentennial – the sheer masses of people out on a warm summer night, the blinding flashes of fireworks, the noise, the smoke from the charges seemingly going off all around me. It was surreal and exhilarating. I loved the celebratory mood of the summer of 1976. I can close my eyes and recall the sights, sounds, smells……….

Yet, my 70s childhood would not be complete without connections to the burgeoning mass culture created by television. The constant parade of characters, images, rhetoric and general surrealism dished out by television formed the sonic and visual backdrop to lots of formative experiences for me, as I’m sure it did for many in my age group. For example, when I was growing up, my folks reminded me of Archie and Edith Bunker (okay so my mother also had a Brooklyn accent – that certainly sped the comparison along for me). This two-dimensional view would eventually give way to a more realistic and three-dimensional complexity when I discovered, “Hey – they’re just human after all!” many years later. Yet I was inevitably part of the TV generation – television characters provided interesting foils to measure my real-world characters against. To this day my father still reminds me of Captain Kirk on the original Star Trek – loyal, dependable and heroic with a touch of wackiness just to keep everyone a little off kilter. I have no idea how the older generations processed the world around them growing up, but TV was this constant window to a decidedly bizarro version of the so-called “real world”.  Or so it seemed to my young, impressionable mind.

What does any of this have to do with Neil Young? Maybe nothing directly. Except maybe to illustrate why the 70s strike me as an odd decade to grow up in. Though, I suppose life always has its ups and downs with the 70s being no exception, but I think Neil had a good finger on the pulse of the times in which he lived. And the ups and downs of the 70s certainly provided a rich backdrop for some of his most enduring art. I can’t say if the ebb and flow of optimism and pessimism motivated his art, but there is a fascinating synergy between the times and the tunes.

Neil Young also managed to carve out for himself a unique position in rock music culture – the loner as the popular hero. He blazed a path to popularity in the early 70s with the “Harvest” album only to run the gravy train of success right into the ditch – on purpose – just to show everybody they had him all wrong- especially if they thought the guy with the shaky voice who sang “Heart of Gold” was the same guy who sang “A Horse With No Name”. The demythologizing process began about as quickly as the myth-building process had begun. The tour to support the “Harvest” album quickly devolved into a disillusioned mess, brilliantly documented on the Time Fades Away album (brilliant yes, but it still must be a sore memory for Neil since he has yet to sanction it’s re-issue on CD). This record is known as the first album in what fans have come to label Neil’s 70s triptych of misery: The Ditch Trilogy. Time Fades Away clearly shows the loner hero unraveling onstage in front of uncomprehending fans. There’s still some good music on that record so hopefully Neil will make peace with it someday to bless its re-release. For the moment, Time Fades Away is a missing piece of the official Neil Young story – or at least a shadowy piece.

The second album in the revered Ditch Trilogy to see its way to the marketplace was On The Beach. It too was MIA on compact disc until about 2003. While Time Fades Away is raw in a shocking way, On the Beach is raw in a charming way. This album is probably my favorite Neil Young platter of all time. It sounds like Neil coming to grips with the debacle of his popular appeal, but it’s a chillout session in more ways than one. Although it was the next LP release after Time Fades Away, it’s recording was preceded by another project that Neil had spent a lot of time on – including a pretty theatrical series of live shows developing a bunch of songs he recorded and shelved just before starting sessions for On the Beach. Neil wasn’t sure if he ought to release the project and was prodded into it by several interested parties including producer David Briggs and Rick Danko of The Band. So, slightly out of order, the third part of the “ditch trilogy” came out in 1975 – almost two years after its completion. Although the chronology was skewed, Tonight’s the Night represented the sonic BOTTOM of the ditch with nowhere to go but up. I really wonder if Neil considered how the mood in the country was poised to improve with the impending Bicentennial in ’76 and figured he’d better toss his most tortured creation out on the scene before people got too happy to really relate to it…….

Why tortured? Tonight’s the Night was Neil Young’s answer to the deaths of two close associates – his bandmate in Crazy Horse Danny Whitten and roadie Bruce Berry – both OD’s from heroin abuse. Danny Whitten was the great second guitar foil for Neil in Crazy Horse. Bruce Berry was, among other things, the brother to legendary (and tragic) Jan Berry from Jan and Dean fame. Both deaths hit Neil Young hard and Tonight’s the Night became what one critic described as the “Irish Wake”. Perhaps not a very politically correct statement, but emphasis on tossing back a few in honor of the departed took on a near-obsessive aesthetic for Tonight’s the Night. This record must stand alone as the first – if not ONLY – major release by a major artist who is audibly PICKLED IN ALCOHOL for at least 85% of the proceedings. Neil Young is not buzzed or high on this record – he is without question BLIND DRUNK and sounds it. Yet, somehow – the character he morphs into for this project manages to deliver such a powerful performance of the material it would be hard to imagine hearing him try to sing it sober. The whole album is a ragged, slovenly, smelly mess. People are bumping into microphones – nobody cares. Neil can’t even be bothered with writing his own melody for one of the songs, for crying out loud – so he steals one from the Rolling Stones and admits it right in the lyrics of the song! Agonizingly pathetic and wallowing in pain, pity and pathos. Tonight’s the Night is the work of a wounded animal whimpering in its lair and refusing to come out because it doesn’t trust the outside world right now. Or ever. Did I mention this album is DARK?

In fact, it is literally BLACK – even the record label. The original album cover material was this thick, dark blotter paper -  prone to crumbling – like my copy that I found used at a yard sale for 50 cents a bunch of years ago. This was the last of the ditch trilogy albums I heard and, to tell the truth, I was not enamored with this record on first listen. I was in a pretty happy place in my life, in spite of suffering some tough losses that I was only beginning to process properly. I lost two close family members under pretty harrowing circumstances within a year of each other. Luckily my support system (family / friends) had been pulling me through (and they still are). Maybe I just didn’t want to look into the deep, dark pool Neil Young was showing me at that point.

Then about a week ago – it hit me. I started playing Tonight’s the Night a few times a night. Once wouldn’t cut it. I could feel the sorrow, the frustration, the angst and bitterness of the unfairness of death upon the unsuspecting. The suffering of those left behind in the wake of terrible loss. But I also heard the humor – am I twisted to find myself laughing out loud as Neil Young admits he’s unable to get the keys in his ignition (probably saved his life and others’ too that he couldn’t!)? Tonight’s the Night is dark AND funny. And full of good advice – please take my advice, please take my advice – open up the tired eyes……….open up the tired eyes. Like a mantra. Like a drunken person saying the same thing over and over in some vain attempt to emphasize a point already made. Just so you KNOW what they mean. Do you know what I mean? Tonight’s the Night is that drunken idiot friend you know who got plastered with you because they didn’t want to see you doing that alone and they’re leaning on your shoulder and being smelly and way too close for comfort, but you know their heart is in the right place ‘cause they’re telling you – get it together. Yep – life sure isn’t fair. It can be downright sucky. But it’s better to have some kind of faith for a better day because a better day just might come along when you least expect it and, quite frankly, wouldn’t it be nicer if you were there to greet it and claim it as your reward for toughing out the bad times?

You don’t have to take my advice. Or Neil’s. Yet, it might be worth putting a copy of Tonight’s the Night in your collection for safe keeping. Could come in handy. For those times when you’re drunken idiot friend isn’t around to give you beer-aroma advice to keep fighting the good fight and to hell with THOSE A-HOLES. Yeah. We know who THEY are. Yeah. Only your true friends will tell ya’ when you’re just pissing in the wind. Just like the old guy at the farmer’s market in Neil’s song on side two of On the Beach.


Neil would emerge from the fog on the next album – ZUMA. Tellingly, that album cover is all white with a black ink illustration on it – the opposite of its predecessor. There’s a renewed sense of being happy to have survived the bad times to witness a new day on that album. Now, not everybody likes Neil Young and that’s normal. But those that don’t are kinda missing out on some useful art – good for what ails ya’. Anyway, life can toss some wicked curveballs and most folks can relate to that no matter what their status might be. Sometimes its just days, sometimes weeks – heaven help us when its months and years. Nobody escapes having their mettle tested. But there are things worth having some faith for……….

About a month ago I got the chance to see a dream happen for real. I went to see The (not so young, but authentic) RASCALS in a wonderful reunion show at the Capitol Theater in Port Chester, New York. When it comes to The Rascals, I am a frothing-at-the-mouth obnoxious BELIEVER of the worst kind. To me, The Rascals represent HOPE MUSIC. I grew up hearing their songs on the radio as a kid – it was just a part of the sounds still echoing through the 70s from the 60s. Plus – they were from my neck of the woods – maybe Little Steven likes to say they were from New Joisey, but I know Felix was from New York and they’re just as much of a NEW YAWK band to me. When I bought The Rascals Greatest Hits as a teenager – hearing that music was like going home  - it made me feel good! I obsessed over tracking down all the records – mono & stereo LPs, 45s and even some 8-tracks. And don’t even get me started on Dino Danelli. What a MONSTER drummer, man. I still don’t really understand why these guys did not achieve the same heights of fame as the Beatles, etc…..

To me – The Rascals are music I can hear anytime and if I’m feeling down – they pull me through. Now, when I learned about all the funky vibes between band members over the years since their breakup it broke my heart to consider that   A)  these guys were so awesome at one time     B) they’re all still alive and healthy   and  (worst of all)    C)  there was so much bad blood, you can pretty much cross them off the “reunion” list for good. Then…..a miracle. Heard through the net that a one-off reunion show was being broadcast live on the Sirius radio thingy from a club in New York. A benefit concert. Gadzooks! I hadn’t been so excited to listen to a radio broadcast in SO LOOONG! I even taped it on cassette (just like the old days). As great as they were, I understood this was a special event and not likely to turn into something else…………even interviews with the band members were tentative at best and evasive (as usual) at worst. Then…………

Two years later – the announcement comes: THE REUNION SHOWS at the Capitol Theater – December 2012. OHMYFRIGGINGODDDDD! I am so happy I lived long enough to see that day – actually I ended up going twice. If I had the scratch I would have gone every night. These guys represented everything I ever respected about music and they got me through many, many hard times. Little Steven put together an amazing show for the group and the fans. I hope they keep it going as long as they can (next scheduled performances during Memorial Day weekend in sunny Florida).  But even if they fizzle out (and I hope they don’t), I was given a great gift to see a living, musical miracle happen right in front of my very eyes and ears. And I got the T-Shirt to prove it. Heh!

Music can be powerful. Sometimes the sad songs hit the spot – other times those positive vibrations are the best medicine. I still have some musical dreams – and other dreams – I’d love to see happen. I have seen some very unlikely musical miracles come to pass so far on my earthly journey and I’m keeping my eye on the horizon to spot more. If you’ve taken this journey with me so far……thanks for sticking around! I’ll keep reporting the good stuff from the crow’s nest up here. Steady as she goes………………..and a very Happy New Year!

The Ronnie Lane ARMS Benefit Concert - 12/8/83

Concert of the Year indeed. Though, by the time these shows were happening 1983 was just about a done deal. The Ronnie Lane ARMS Benefit concert at Madison Square Garden in New York was the first real big concert I ever went to. I was 13. My cousins took me and it was a thrill to say the least. I owe my parents a big thanks for this too since I was running a terrible fever that day - over 100 to be sure. In spite of being sick as a dog they let me go anyway. I was dressed for cold December weather, but it was HOT inside the Garden! I was sweating so profusely that by the time the show was over, my fever broke and, since it was a Thursday night - I went to school the next day - a real rock and roll cure! Heh heh! I regret not getting one of the concert programs so I made sure I got the Rolling Stone issue with the "cast" on the front cover.

I didn't really have a clear idea who Ronnie Lane was at the time. His last high profile appearances in the United States were with the Faces, but he'd quit them back in '74 or so. While trying to crank up a respectable British-based solo career Ronnie came down with MS. By the late 70s, he was nearly broke and in pretty dire circumstances. The first benefit shows happened in England, but I certainly didn't know much about it. It was supposed to be a one-off at the Royal Albert Hall. Eventually a radio show of this event made the rounds on the King Biscuit Flower Hour (which I dutifully taped off the air). The idea to take the act to the states (New York and LA) sprung from how much fun it was for all involved - as well as Ronnie's need.

Supposedly, the money generated by the shows got screwed up in legalities. A bit of a shame, but it is worth noting that Ronnie Lane managed to live and thrive for many years afterward despite the debilitating nature of his disease. As it happens, the December 8th show was also the three year anniversary of the murder of John Lennon. If you watch the video of the show below and advance to about 53 minutes in, you can catch Jeff Beck's dedication of "People Get Ready" to Lennon. It was a pretty cool moment. Beck would later record this song on his next album with Rod Stewart on vocals. This didn't get released until 1985 but I was glad he decided to put it out since the memory of hearing it live was a strong one.

Beck wasn't the only guy to find a little inspiration from these shows. The December 8th show also marked the return, however tentative, of Jimmy Page to the American stage. I recall his appearance being highly anticipated and ultimately somewhat tempered by a loose-ish performance. Having Paul Rogers with him was a big help. I reckon Page thought the same since they would go on to form The Firm the following year.

Speaking of The Firm - although the song "Radioactive" was not the strongest thing in the world, it was still cool to see Page together with Paul Rogers doing something new. Many year later, I couldn't help notice how The Firm's drummer Chris Slade cut a striking resemblance to Spirit drummer Ed Cassidy in the cranial department - bald drummer! My suspicion was re-confirmed when I replayed the first track of The Firm's debut album - "Closer". Listen here:

Did you hear that distinctive guitar riff? Have a listen to where they got it from.........a 1968 Spirit track called "Poor Richard" from their Family That Plays Together album:

In any case, The Ronnie Lane Benefit was a great concert. Here's my ticket stub:

And now with the magic of youtube - we can see and hear most of that very show:

Enjoy!

Remember the RECORD SHOW?

I did something I haven’t done in a long time……went to a genuine RECORD SHOW this weekend. I had been hoping to get down to the great WFMU record fair this year, but Hurricane Sandy put the kabosh on that. Last time I went to the FMU show must have been a good 8 or 9 years ago. And it was sensory overload! Lots of dealers – tons of stuff to look through. Picking and choosing what to buy amidst all that great stuff can be a challenge on a limited budget. These days its getting a little easier since I’m slowly running out of room in the man cave area for extra platters!

Anyway, I had been to this particular record show many times over the past, I’d say 20 years or so. It’s pretty much the only one I know of that still happens monthly – the second Saturday of every month in Wayne, New Jersey. In recent years with the introduction of the MP3, I noticed a drop in dealers and buyers at this monthly show. Well, this past Saturday restored my faith in vinyl – the November record show in Wayne was EXCELLENT! Lots of dealers, tons of stuff to look through and (best of all) very reasonable prices even on some pretty collectable items! I had such a great time I vowed to start going more often (and with more money to spend – the dealers really had some great records out there!). Here’s the link to the website with all the info (plus a coupon for $1 off admission):

http://www.showsandexpos.com/rswayne.htm

What was also surprising was the variety in the ages of the dealers – some younger dudes are starting to fill in the ranks along with the old guard. I really enjoyed listening in on conversations among dealers and the collectors. It was heartwarming to see and hear some genuine passion and knowledge from some of the younger folks there. Some of whom missed even the tail end of the great record shows of yore………

So what did I buy? Well, I saw a lot of stuff I would have liked to buy. Usually with these events I get so distracted it’s hard to focus. Yet I end up with a similar strategy – look for some cheap stuff to fill out gaps in the collection (missing pieces of an artist’s catalog), keep an eye out for super crazy deals and take at least ONE CHANCE on something I’ve never seen or heard before (as long as it fits the budget and looks interesting). To satisfy the last concern I picked up this thing:

The name of the group (and album) is GAS MASK (as if you couldn’t tell from the image on the cover). Aside from the unusual name and cover photo on the front, two other things about this record piqued my interest:   A)  production credited to TEO MACERO    and  B) independent record release – TONSIL RECORDS?  Together with the really wacky cover image (not totally unlike the front cover of Trout Mask Replica) those were the big selling points – that and the $5 price tag. No matter what the music itself sounded like, the package was impressive enough to warrant taking a chance on. So…………what does this record sound like?

Oddly enough – a whole lot like Blood, Sweat and Tears! Even the lead vocalist cops a pretty good vocal vibe like David Clayton Thomas. Overall, the music is pretty commercial and enjoyable! Having a little clout behind the project like Teo Macero doesn’t hurt yet I had to wonder – if the music was more commercial than radical, why the freaky album cover? I happened to find the picture pretty funny, but it’s actually kinda creepy! Could very easily induce nightmares in small children (or flower children – heh heh). Don’t think there was ever a Gas Mask II album which is too bad since the band was pretty good.

As far as late 60s / early 70s horn bands go, Gas Mask played it kinda safe. Much safer than Chicago or even a lesser-known outfit called “IF”. My good friend Craig told me about IF a long time ago and I picked up their first album – a good cross between a horn and prog-rock band. Very enjoyable extended songs – good arrangements – good vocals and musical chops too. So far I only have the first two IF albums, but they’re all fair game…. Interestingly I didn’t see any IF records at the show………

Actually before getting to the show I hit up a Salvation Army I knew was on the way. I’ve had some good luck there too over the years and I chanced on a few good platters there too. As it happens, I got to indulge in what some folks call the “guilty pleasure” – I picked up the entire Pat Benatar catalog on LP for under $1 per record – all in mint shape (some LPs still in the shrink with promo stickers too)! In fact, there were MULTIPLE COPIES of every friggin’ album of hers there. If someone wanted to do a Pat Benatar LP mastering shootout (different pressings, stampers, etc…..) they could have had a field day. I settled for what looked to me like the cleanest copy available.

Now, I’m not some Pat Benatar freak or something, but I will admit to enjoying her hit songs when they were on the radio. I certainly wouldn’t change the station if her tunes came on. She put out some great material in the early 80s! Plus she’s yet another great Polish gal from Greenpoint…….

Being at a record show for the first time in a long time I couldn’t help notice some buyer behaviors you’ll only see at these events. First of all there is ALWAYS a few guys roaming around with portable, battery-powered record players with a set of headphones hooked up to listen to records (mostly 45s) before buying them! I had one of those things as a kid. It was a Panasonic – pretty cool stuff! I used to play my Beatles and Kiss records on that thing. I remember going with my father to the store to get it when we lived in Woodhaven, Queens. The guy at the shop said I could pick out a free record to go with the player (it was for my birthday – thanks Dad!). Somehow my eye caught the Candymen LP and that’s what I brought home. Somehow I lost that album along the way and eventually got a replacement at…….a local RECORD SHOW!

Anyway – another buyer behavior I noticed was dudes walking around with little record bags for the loot they scored. I realized that was a good idea since carrying purchases under my arm around the showroom floor was kinda awkward after awhile. As luck would have it, I chanced upon a nice solution to that problem at a local thrift store today. Behold, the vintage Record Carrier:

I actually got a second, smaller one too that’s got a dark grey-speckled covering on it – not as nifty as this one, but still useful! Let’s see who’s popping out of there now……..

It’s the Big Bopper! Well, I’ve had that record for awhile and it’s a surprisingly modern reissue. But the cover art is intact from the late 50s and it looks like it belongs in the retro record box (dig that crazy inside paper pattern!). Well, who woulda thunk that even Colonel Sanders might get his own record out on the market. He doesn’t sing on this (all instrumental), but I guess it was Kentucky Fried approved!

Seriously, the world of vinyl records can be a lot of fun – even on the cheap! If anybody is lookin’ for a great record show to see where all the great vinyl has been hiding – check out the monthly show in Wayne, NJ. You might just see me lugging that crazy record box around and haggling with the dealers – great fun!!

What do ZZ Top’s Tres Hombres, Led Zeppelin III and an obscure group called CARGOE have in common?

…….I’ll cut to the chase: engineer Terry Manning and Ardent Studios in Memphis, Tennessee. Now, to be fair, only parts of Led Zeppelin III were recorded at Ardent – the other parts were cut with Andy Johns at (I’m guessing) Olympic in London. Although most folks already know the Zep and ZZ Top albums, most have never heard the CARGOE album. I stumbled upon Cargoe in a thrift store dollar bin this summer and it’s been in heavy rotation ever since! I bought it since I liked the cover and knew their record label – the Ardent imprint distributed through Stax – was the same label Alex Chilton’s Big Star was on in the early 70s. So I figured, “this could be good.” And I was right!

Cargoe sounds like a great hybrid of Badfinger and early, Bob Welch-era Fleetwood Mac! Fabulous harmonies, solid and creative playing, top-notch songs and really, really excellent production. CARGOE is a winner on so many levels. One of the few credits on the back cover lists Terry Manning as producer. Googling his name turned up the fact that he has since worked on a good amount of popular music over the years, but somehow, until the Cargoe album, I never noticed his name before. He tends to name-check Cargoe as the best record he ever worked on that almost nobody’s ever heard! Seems that Ardent was poised to follow parent-company Stax into Chapter 11 not long after Cargoe’s release. With the whole company being sold off to Fantasy Records, the master tapes for Cargoe went with the sale, the band long since broken up and a re-release never to be (the tapes are still locked in the Fantasy vault to this very day). The only way to hear the record is to find an old one – which I did against pretty stiff odds I reckon. There aren’t a whole lot of copies listed on ebay either. Honestly, if anybody wants to hear this record – send me a message through the blog and I’ll see what I can do. This album really deserves to be heard and re-discovered. I bet Terry Manning would agree!

So I’ve become a pretty big Cargoe fan in the meantime while tucking Terry Manning’s name in the back of my mind………

Just yesterday I really wanted to hear ZZ Top’s Tres Hombres album for some reason.  I became a bigger fan of this record after hearing the Quadraphonic mix – talk about INTENSE! But I opted for my old London Records LP. Spinning the platter on the upstairs system after work I glanced at the credits on the back cover (as I’m likely to do) and lo! Recorded at Ardent Studios by Terry Manning. 1973. One year after the Cargoe album. Wow! I sure like hearing the old ZZ Top stuff in its original form. I think re-releases of the old ZZ Top catalog on CD features some re-recorded and certainly re-mixed elements – to make it sound more modern! Phooey on that nasty practice! And that’s coming from someone who likes the modern ZZ Top stuff too! Why can’t these bands leave their old catalog well enough alone? Does everything have to sound like a big, compressed, distorted mess in the name of progress? One earful of the quad mix would put an end to any critics of this great record and whether or not it ought to be “modernized”. I like my ZZ Top funky and greasy like the food pictured on the inside cover:

So that was yesterday. Today, I’m home from work and thinking to myself, “Today reminded me of Led Zeppelin III. I want to hear that record.” Instead of pulling my well-worn LP copy off the shelf, I picked up my original CD issue instead. I was wondering if this was one of the original batch mastered to CD by the great mastering engineer Barry Diament (which it was) and right above Barry’s mastering credit – fercryinoutloud……Terry Manning at Ardent Studios? People, you can’t make this stuff up. What are the odds of me picking two random albums one day after the other, both having been recorded by this Terry Manning guy? I guess the same kind of odds as me finding the Cargoe album in the first place. (Why can’t I have this kind of luck with something more lucrative like…….lottery tickets? Would that be asking too much?)

I was already thinking about writing a little deal on Led Zeppelin III before  I noticed the Terry Manning connection. Zep III is one of my favorite Zeppelin albums if only because it wasn’t played to death on classic rock radio (Immigrant Song notwithstanding). The esoteric nature of the material on Zeppelin III was such a stylistic curveball compared to the blues-rock fixation on the first two records. Goodness knows why the band took such an unusual path so early in their rise to fame – quite a gutsy move, especially by today’s standards. I know when I got my LP copy as a young lad (with the cool picture wheel built into the front album cover – what a great concept!) – I didn’t know what to think of it at first.

The whole record struck me as whacked-out as the cover art. Everything is a little off-kilter and not what you’d expect with maybe the one exception being “Since I’ve Been Loving You”. That’s the one link to the early sound of the first two albums. The polar opposite would have to be “Hats Off to (Roy) Harper”. I can appreciate “Harper” these days, but it sure threw me for a loop when I was younger. Roy Harper himself is a pretty accomplished guitarist and has the unlikely distinction of being mistaken for Roger Waters – Harper supplied the lead vocal on Pink Floyd’s “Have a Cigar” from Wish You Were Here. Most casual rock fans probably never knew the difference (I certainly didn’t for many years myself!).

As for Terry Manning, he’s still around and has worked with everybody from Bobby Fuller (when he was alive, of course) to Shania Twain. Here’s a wiki-link for Manning:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terry_Manning

Just goes to show, if you think you already know everything there is to know about the golden era of rock music, there's most likely a story you just haven't discovered yet. Cheers to Terry Manning for all the great work he's done over the years. Certainly one of the less-heralded "behind the scenes" guys I've encountered, yet so many people have heard his work on many classic recordings. As always......... Happy Listening!