since 2004
From Clem Snide’s 2005 album End of Love comes this great tune, “Jews For Jesus Blues.” It’s coming up on Christmas 2015 and this would seem to coincide in some way with the holiday, but that’s not my intention. It’s simply a great tune: witty lyrics from Eef Barzelay, and a beautifull arranged country/folk tune that I can’t stop coming back to again and again.
Take it, Clem Snide…
And Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and Festivus for the rest of us!
Another cool new tune courtesy of The Loft on Sirius-XM. Another song that connected right away, made my ears perk up and take notice. There’s a pretty clear parallel to Freddie Mercury and Queen.. and that… is a good thing. There’s also great sax, background singers, and a soulful undertone.
Christopher the Conquered is Christopher Ford from Des Moines, Iowa. This song is the title track from his new album coming in February 2016, which you can pre-order right here on his site.
It was a pleasant surprise when I scanned through the new album releases last week to find a brand new one from John Grant. 2013’s Pale Green Ghosts
So in listening to his new release, Grey Tickles, Black Pressure, John delivers another album full of his unique twists and turns, electro-sounds, and, shall we say, wholly unique lyrics. Have you ever heard anything near the line:
“And let’s be clear, Joan Baez makes GG Allin look like Charlene Tilton.” ?
Many of you may be familiar with all three personalities listed off in that lyric. But I couldn’t place GG Allin. 40’s movie star? Uhh. No. Not even close. And let me just warn you. If you also don’t know who GG Allin is, think twice before Googling him. And for God’s sake – don’t enter a GG Allin Youtube rabbit hole. You will be sick to your stomach (I was). I’ll say no more.
The line comes from “Snug Slacks”, which veers into Zappa-esque territory with a cool electrofunk twist. Another favorite is “Black Blizzard,” which confirms John’s appreciation for Gary Numan with those synth riffs.
I’m only a few listens in to this record, but suffice it to say it’s a fun, fresh trip worthy of many spins.. Do check it out.
Grey Tickles, Black Pressure
John’s got some select US dates starting up in a couple of days…
“JM” by Strand of Oaks was written for the late Jason Molina, whom Timothy Showalter – the lifeblood behind Oaks – cites as his biggest influence. I know next to nothing of Molina, and granted, that’s probably a musical fault of mine. But man, does “JM” hit just the right chords with me. The obvious parallel for me, and probably many others, is Neil Young’s “Cortez the Killer” and Neil’s other tunes featuring those signature Crazy Horse extended and power drenched guitar solos.
If anyone has recommendations on where to start with Molina, let me know.
“JM” comes from Heal
I’m always game for a 10-minute folk tale about wanderlust.. mentions of banjos, chickens, trains, hatchets, black hearts, hotel wives, coffins on the rails.. Yeah, there’s definitely a dark undertone to “The Trip,” from the brand new Dave Rawlings Machine record, Nashville Obsolete. I have deep respect for artists like Dave Rawlings and his partner in tunes, Gillian Welch, in that they’ll include a song like “The Trip” – shirking any expectations, and laying down a ten minute track, with verse upon verse of evocative lyrics interspersed with fiddle and acoustic guitar solos. So many good lines: “so what’s a bullet or two between friends”; “hotel lives and hotel wives, they come and go with the sheets”; “there’s no one waiting for them, there’s no judgment down the line”…
And the recurring refrain with Dave & Gillian’s beautiful and comforting harmonies: “So take a trip wherever your conscience has to roam / It’s much too hard to try to leave the lyin’ at home”
A five star tune and a great album overall. Check out Nashville Obsolete
The song isn’t on YouTube yet, but here’s “The Trip” on Apple Music, and here’s the embed from Spotify:
Songs in my head, songs in my head. Always a song in my head. Sometimes it’s an evil infestation – take the song “Cheerleader” for example – where I’m just screwed, especially if it’s the middle of the night and I’m lying in bed. But other times, and most often in my case, it’s a quality tune that I’ve had in regular rotation.
Latest case in point: Little Feat’s “Willin’,” which I just can’t get out of my head lately. Such a great singalong chorus:
I’ve been from Tucson to Tucumcari
Tehachapi to Tonapah
Driven every kind of rig that’s ever been made
Driven the back roads so I wouldn’t get weighed
And if you give me, weed, whites, and wine
And you show me a sign
I’ll be willin’, to be movin’
The simplicity of “Alice….Dallas Alice…”; The imagery it conjures up with its tale of driving the open roads, being “kicked by the wind, robbed by the sleet,” and smuggling “smokes and folks from Mexico.”
“Willin'” was written by Lowell George while he was a member of Frank Zappa’s Mothers of Invention in the late 60’s. When Lowell went off with Bill Payne and Richie Hayward to form Little Feat, Zappa was instrumental in matching the new band up with Warner Brothers.
“Willin'” has the distinction of showing up not only on Little’s Feat’s 1971 debut album
The debut version has Lowell singing the verses (vs. the spoken style), and features Ry Cooder on slide guitar:
Any way you cut it, “Willin'” is one of Lowell George’s masterpieces, and ushered in a flood of funky, soulful, and quintessentially American rock n’ roll music with Little Feat’s 70’s output. The Lowell George Little Feat era sadly ended with Lowell’s untimely death in 1979 at the age of only 34 (a heart attack likely brought on by obesity, drugs and the wear of an unhealthy touring lifestyle).
The music, however, lives on. Treat yourself why don’t you and jump into a Little Feat rabbit hole? Immerse yourself for a while in the LF groove. Start with this great live version from 1977’s Rockpalast..
Yesterday was a looooong Labor Day on the road driving back from good old Telluride, Colorado. We spent a good chunk of the day listening exclusively to SiriusXM’s The Loft channel – the most eclectic and “up my alley” station they offer. Lots of great tunes powered my drive – a lot of them new to me: songs by the likes of James McMurtry, Ula Dara, One Eskimo, and Banditos.
But this new Rickie Lee Jones cut hit me the hardest. Her new album, The Other Side of Desire, came out just a couple months ago. It was produced by John Porter, and Mark Howard, who, combined, have a résume a mile long, including Roxy Music, the Smiths, Ryan Adams, BB King, John Mayall, Elvis Costello, Bob Dylan, U2, Lucinda Williams – you get the idea.
“Haunted” is buried deep in the album, track 8 of 11. Listen to how it kicks in: first drums & guitar, then vocal, then bass, then keyboards.. As always, it’s Rickie Lee’s voice that helps make the tune – meandering, sweet and unique. The second half of the tune turns downright dark and, well, haunting – with Rickie Lee moaning admonitions about L-O-V-E among the ominous atmosphere of the track.
You better be careful
Or all the bluebirds will stop flying
You better be careful
Or all the stars will stop flying
You better be careful
Or all your dreams just stop dying
You better be careful
Or all your heart will stop stinging
Great tune! Check out The Other Side of Desire on Amazon.
New Los Lobos!
September 25th will bring us Gates Of Gold, the first new Los Lobos studio album since 2010’s Tin Can Trust. On Monday, the boys debuted the opening track “Made To Break Your Heart” on Billboard.com. It’s a gritty, crunchy rock number with Cezar Rojas and David Hidalgo harmonizing on vocals. And wait until the Hidalgo guitar solo explosion at 3:57. Wowee..
New Los Lobos music is always welcome in my world. You can pre-order Gates Of Gold here on Amazon
After reading a review of L.A. saxophonist Kamasi Washington’s recent Woodstock, NY gig, I was inspired to track down his latest album, The Epic. I obviously don’t have my finger on the pulse of the jazz world. If I did, I would have known that The Epic has taken the genre by storm this year.
Listening to The Epic for the first time – even as a casual appreciator of jazz – was like stepping into another dimension of colors and sounds. Seventeen songs span almost three hours. It feels like you’re traveling through everything that is good about the past, present and future of Music.
Kamasi’s sax, two drummers, two keyboard players, two bass players, a trumpet, a trombone and the occasional vocalists stretch out into mind-bending moments of improvisation, soul, bop, afro-latin jazz, and beyond. What a trip!
Check out The Epic on Amazon or Apple Music.
Excuse me while I become spontaneously obsessed with the music of Robert Palmer. I’d never forayed much into his back catalog. I knew all the songs everyone knows: “Bad Case of Loving You (Doctor, Doctor),” “I Didn’t Mean To Turn You On,” “Simply Irresistible,” and of course “Addicted To Love.” I’m well familiar with his Power Station days with Roger and Andy Taylor of Duran Duran and Tony Thompson of Chic. I knew about his covers of Allen Toussaint’s “Sneaking Sally Though the Alley” and Little Feat’s “Sailing Shoes” from his ’74 debut album. But I’d never spent any time sitting down and listening to his albums.
Well, that all changed last week when I was surfing through the archives of Rolling Stone magazine (if you’re a subscriber, definitely check it out). I was leafing through September 25th, 1975 article about his then-upcoming second album, Pressure Drop. It mentioned how half was recorded in Baltimore with Little Feat as the backing band, and the other half in Los Angeles with a couple of Little Feat members and a Motown session legend on bass, “Funk Brother” James Jamerson.
Then I started clicking around his discography during those early years, and I noticed the names of some of his collaborators: names like Lowell George, Allen Toussaint, the Meters (his backing band on his debut album), Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry, Gary Numan, Andy Fraser (of Free), and Chris Frantz (Talking Heads).
So as I’ve sat and listened to these first several Palmer albums, I’ve been floored by the soulful, laid back, funky R&B vibe that permeates them. Of course, with Lowell George as produce of the first record, and Little Feat backing him on Pressure Drop, some tunes are right out of the classic Little Feat playbook (“Here With You Tonight,” for one). But there’s elements of reggae, rock, soul – a nice healthy mixture of different styles.
Palmer broke out commercially in 1979 with “Bad Case of Loving You (Doctor, Doctor), ” from his 5th album Secrets. But it’s those first four albums I’ve been spending time with over the last week. Here are some of my favorites from his first funky four:
“Sailin’ Shoes”, “Hey Julia,” “Sneakin’ Sally through the Alley” (Album 1: Sneakin’ Sally Through The Alley – 1974)
The first three tunes from Palmer’s debut album work together as a trilogy – the groove seamlessly flowing from one song to the next. As brilliant of an opening trio as it is for Palmer, it really speaks to the genius of the Meters, who were at the top of their game at this point. With Art Neville on keys, George Porter, Jr. on bass, Leo Nocentelli on guitar, and Joseph Modeliste on drums, the funk smokes through this first nine plus minutes of Robert Palmer’s solo career.
“Fine Time” (Album 2: Pressure Drop
Palmer really lets it rip with his vocals, soulfully shrieking into the higher registers. He gets raw with it while Little Feat lays down one of their signature grooves.
“Man Smart (Woman Smarter)” (Album 3: Some People Can Do What They Like
Palmer didn’t shy away from covering tunes (his breakout hit “Bad Case of Loving You (Doctor, Doctor)” was a cover, after all), and his third record brought about a great cover of “Man Smart (Woman Smarter)”, which has been performed by the likes of Harry Belafonte and the Grateful Dead (a live staple of theirs from 1981 onward, and how I first heard the tune). Once again, there’s a Little Feat connection, with the melodic flourishes of piano man Bill Payne on full display.
“Every Kinda People” (Album 4: Double Fun– 1978)
Palmer self-produced his fourth record, which kicks off with “Every Kinda People,” written by Free’s Andy Fraser. It’s got a “What’s Going On?”-era Marvin Gaye vibe to it – smooth and easygoing, a steel drum accentuating the chorus.
Unity, harmony, love for one another… It seems like such a simple concept to most of us, doesn’t it?
So I’m off to listen to more of these new/old treats. That’s the wonder of music – there’s always new avenues to explore, new and old, wherever you turn. We lost Robert Palmer all the way back in 2003, but his music lives on.
.