Turntable Tales

After 50 years, Clapton is still god…

Posted on March 23, 2013 by John

Eric Clapton‘s 50th anniversary tour came through Dallas, Texas March 19th at the American Airlines Center. This tour is not getting the publicity of The Rolling Stones 50th anniversary tour, and it seems typical of Clapton to not toot his own horn like Mick and Keith do. Although it is not getting the attention of the media like The Stones tour, it is an equally important milestone in Rock n Roll history. On a beautiful spring evening in Dallas, the 67 year old guitar god proved that he is every bit the musician he has ever been.

Musician is a title that is earned and I don’t use lightly. Eric Clapton is a virtuoso musician of the highest level. In his understated, “Slow Hand” way he took us on a kaleidoscopic tour of his rich musical legacy. And what a tour it is…

I scored my tickets from a good friend I work out with. He called late Monday afternoon with the good news. Making it to a concert on a Tuesday night can be a little challenging and unfortunately we were late for the opening act The Wallflowers. This is Bob Dylan‘s son, Jakob Dylan‘s band. We sat down in our seats just in time to hear their best know song “One Headlight” . They sounded great, but we only heard their last four songs. It was a pleasant surprise to see that the arena was completely full for The Wallflowers. Apparently, most of the fans that attended the show had no problem being on time for the 7:30PM start time. This is the first concert I’ve been to in years where so many fans turned out for the opening act. Very impressive, and a great indication of the popularity of this great band.

After a brief intermission, Eric quietly strolled onto the stage with his incredible band: Doyle Bramhall II (guitar), Steve Jordan (drums), Chris Stainton (piano and keyboards), and Willie Weeks (bass), along with the amazing Paul Carrack (organ and keyboards), Greg Leisz (pedal steel guitar), and Michelle John and Sharon White (backing vocalists). Instead of kicking off the show with a bang, Eric started out the concert with two acoustic dominated songs: “Hello Old Friend” (A greeting to the crowd) and “My Father’s Eyes”. Both songs featured great pedal steel solos by Greg Leisz. After the first two songs, Clapton greeted the crowd by talking about how much he loved Dallas and that he considered it a second home. He then kicked it up a notch as the band launched in to “Tell The Truth” from his great Album Layla. This song featured outstanding solos from all three guitarists. Doyle Bramhall was amazing as he played his guitar Hendrix style (he plays left handed, with a right handed guitar that is turned upside down, so the bass strings are on the bottom and the treble strings are on the top). Up next was a song from Clapton’s new album “Old Sock” called Gotta Get Over. This song stood up well against all the other well known hits that Clapton played. A powerful cover of the Albert Collins song Black Cat Bone featured amazing guitar work by Clapton and Bramhall. Clapton then went back to his Derek and the Dominos days and performed Got to Get Better in a Little While. This song was smoking hot! It was a huge bonus that Clapton was touring with Paul Carrack. Paul is a living legend in England. He is sadly, only moderately well known in the U.S.A. Paul took the first of three turns at lead vocal with “Tempted” from his days with Squeeze. This magnificent song was magnificently sung by one of the best “Blue Eyed Soul” singers on the planet. It is also very appropriate that Eric Clapton occasionally played the roll of ”side man” to another singer/song writer. It hearkened back to the days when he toured with Delaney and Bonnie. He had several times in his 50 year career that he just wanted to be the guitar player in the band. Next Clapton played the first song from his days with Cream as the band almost blew the roof off the arena with an extended version of Badge. This song brought the crowd to it’s feet for the first time in the show.

Clapton took a chair next and did an “unplugged” set that included Driftin’ Blues, (Written by Johnny Moore’s Three Blazers) a uptempo reggae version of Tears in Heaven that was only marginally effective, a great version of Lay Down Sally, Wonderful Tonight, and Layla.

Paul Carrack then returned to sing his great hit from his days with Ace: How Long (Has this been goin’ on?). Clapton turned in one of his best solos of the night during this song.

Then the concert went to a whole different level and I had one of the concert experiences that stay with you for a very long time… Clapton walked up to the microphone and said “Now, it’s Robert Johnson time!” I’m sure there were many in the arena that missed the significance of that moment, but it was not lost on me. Without Robert Johnson there would be no Rock-n-Roll. Few people know that 13 of his known recordings were made on the third floor of 508 Park Ave. in Dallas. Eric Clapton has been personally involved in saving and protecting this important historical property. Clapton and his band tore through Stones in My Passway, Love in Vain, Crossroads, and a powerful cover of Little Queen of Spades. This was what you paid to see. Powerful, raw blues guitar by the greatest living blues player on the planet. The last song before the encores was J.J. Cale’s song Cocaine.

The band return for two encores, Sunshine of Your Love, which was amazing, and Paul Carrack sent us all home with a rousing cover of the Joe Cocker song “High Time We Went”.

This tour is coming to an arena near you. I think it’s high time you went…

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Posted in Life Events, Live Performance Reviews, Rock Music | Tagged American Airlines Arena, Dallas Texas, Eric Clapton, Live performances | 1 Comment

Guitar Legend Alvin Lee: Dead at age 68…

Posted on March 16, 2013 by John

I hate to write another homage to another dead musician, but Alvin Lee, the legendary Blues Guitar player and founder of the band Ten Years After, died last week due to complications from a routine surgery. I have to write about him. He was too great to let this moment pass.

These things run in threes. There are those that call this anomaly a “Trifecta” . Somewhere in heaven there is a rehearsal studio and Alvin Lee, Van Cliburn, and Reg Presley are all jamming together.

Alvin Lee was an extremely underrated Guitar player. He rose to prominence in 1969 when Ten Years After was featured in the documentary film “Woodstock” His incendiary 11 minute jam on “I’m Goin’ Home” brought the house down. I never get tired of hearing it.

Ten Years After had 12 albums in the Billboard top 200. Although they only had one top forty hit, “I’d Love To Change The World” from their great album A Space in Time. I have always loved this album and since it contains Alvin Lee’s biggest hit, I thought I would post this album to my blog and share it with anyone who hasn’t heard it before. It’s a great one to own on vinyl. It sounds great, it’s kind of psychedelic, and it’s just great music.

Here is “A Space in Time” in it’s entirety. All of the songs on this album were written by Alvin Lee except “Uncle Jam” that was co-written by the entire band.

Side 1

One of These Days

The music fades in and the Blues begin. Great harmonica on this song in addition to Alvin Lee’s great blues guitar work

Here They Come Spacey is all you can call this tune. I can hear the “space in time…”

I’d Love to Change The World The year is 1971. The Vietnam War is raging. There is enormous disenchantment with the way the world is heading. The feelings are global. Protest songs are everywhere. That’s one reason I love this song. Everyone else was trying to claim they had all the answers. Alvin Lee had the courage to say “I don’t know what to do…so I’ll leave it up to you…”

The technique of using electric and acoustic guitars in this song and the previous song shows the influence of Led Zeppelin. But still there is a lot of originality here. This song is the only Alvin Lee composition to make it into the top forty. It was #40 in 1971.

Over the Hill-Baby Won’t You Let Me Rock N Roll You

These last two songs merge into each other. This song sounds so much like a lot of rock music that is coming out of Indie bands. What’s old is new again… Then side one ends with a classic rocker.

Side 2

Once There Was a Time

I love this acoustic blues intro of this song. It sounds ancient, like it came from one of the original Mississippi Delta Blues players.

Let The Sky Fall

This song has a typical R&B bass line and yet it is not typical in any other way. It also continues the “Spacey” sound of the record. There is a great “Trippy” guitar solo from Alvin in the middle of the song.

Hard Monkeys

This song also got some good airplay. It is a song about drug addiction.

I’ve Been There Too

This song has a great sound and when Alvin Lee sings “I’ve been there too…” I believe him. The power chord chorus is great, as well. This song also gives you insight into how great a guitar player Alvin Lee was.

Uncle Jam

The intro is almost jazz. This is exactly what the title implies…A Jam. There is some really great piano playing on this cut.

So Alvin has left us, like Van Cliburn, and Reg Presley. He leaves behind his wife and daughter. My deepest sympathy for your loss. The sudden nature of his death could not have been easy. His music lives on and his memory should be preserved.

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Posted in Life Events, LP Records, Rock Music | Tagged A Space in Time, Alvin Lee, I'd Love To Change The World, Led Zeppelin, Ten Years After, Woodstock | 1 Comment

Van Cliburn’s legacy will be that of a musical ambassador…

Posted on March 2, 2013 by John

I was saddened to learn of the passing away of Van Cliburn this week. If it were not for him, I may have never taken up playing the piano. His victory at the 1958 Tchaikovsky International Piano Competition launched him into “Rock Star” status immediately. He is still the only “Classical” musician who has ever had a New York City ticker tape parade. The album you see above was the first classical LP to ever go platinum. So if you own a copy, especially an early copy like my copy, you own a historically important LP, even if it is not a rare LP.

He was born in 1934 in Shreveport, Louisiana, but moved to Kilgore, Texas in 1941. His dad was in the Oil & Gas business and his mother was a piano teacher. My Dad and I knew a very talented pianist in Dallas named Newel Oller. He grew up in Kilgore with Van Cliburn. His claim to fame was that he finish second in every piano contest he entered because Van always finished first. My Piano teacher and her son were close friends of Van and his mother. I never met him, however, I did see him perform live twice. Both times he played the Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No 1 with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra.

Van lived in Texas so long that we claimed him as a native. At the age of 13 he debuted with the Houston Symphony Orchestra. In 1954 he graduated from High School and enrolled at The Julliard School in New York City. In 1954 he won the Levintritt Award which included a debut with the New York Philharmonic. Then in 1958 (the year I was born) he made history.

It is impossible to communicate exactly how stunning his victory in Moscow was. It was like “The Miracle on Ice” in the 1980 Olympics, when the USA defeated the Soviet Union in hockey. No American had even come close to winning a major international piano competition. The United States was considered a backwater of classical music talent. All the great musicians were born in and trained in Europe. This was at the height of the cold war. The cold war was so cold that the jury had to get Nikita Khrushchev’s direct permission to award the prize to Van Cliburn. He was easily the crowds favorite. After he performed his concerto he received an 8 minute standing ovation. What set him apart was his more deliberate pace that he took with the music. In that time people had fallen in love with technical excellence and there was a lot of fast and loud playing. Van took the time to make music.

He returned to America in triumph. He appeared on the cover of “Time” magazine. I love this quote from the Time magazine article describing him as ”The first man in history to be a Horowitz, Liberace, and Elvis Presley all rolled into one.”

In 1962 fans of Van Cliburn in Fort Worth, Texas organized “The Van Cliburn International Piano Competition“. There is now an Amateur Piano Competition in addition to the main competition. I entered the amateur competition a few years ago, but was not accepted. I need to hire a teacher again and practice more. The Van Cliburn competition has done much for international good will. It’s value cannot be overstated. This May will mark the 14th quadrennial competition. The Cliburn is one of the premiere competitions in the world.

Van Cliburn put classical piano playing on the map in the United States. He caused numerous people to take up the challenge of playing the Piano. His victory and fame caused my mother and father to encourage me to take up the hobby. I never dreamed where it would ultimately lead me.

So my condolences to Van Cliburn’s friends and relatives, as well as music lovers everywhere. The great ambassador of music has left us, but his music and his legacy will never fade.

Here it is in its entirety. One of the most famous classical LP’s of all time. The first classical LP to go platinum. Van Cliburn, Kirill Kondrashin (Who was the conductor in Moscow during the competition) and The RCA Symphony Orchestra.

First Movement

Second Movement

Third Movement

The performance still resonates today and has inspired countless people to take up playing the piano, including yours truly…

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Posted in Classical Music, Life Events, LP Records | Tagged Tchaikovsky International Piano Competition, Van Cliburn, Van Cliburn International Piano competition | 4 Comments

Reg Presley passed away today at age 71

Posted on February 5, 2013 by John

Reg Presley, who was the lead singer of The Troggs, passed away today from lung cancer at the age of 71. His publisher Keith Altham stated “My dear old pal Reg Presley died today, one very real person in a sometimes very unreal world.” What a nice thing to say about someone. He must have been a good “Chap”. Altham stated that Presley died at home surrounded by his friends and family.

Wild Thing is one of the seminal songs of “garage rock”. It has to be up there with “Louie, Louie” as far as the history of rock n roll is concerned. It was covered, famously at the Monterrey Pop Festival by Jimi Hendrix. Wild thing was also covered by Bruce Springsteen. The Troggs never quit touring even though there star faded in the 70′s. They experienced a revival in the 90′s when REM covered their other hit song “Love is All Around”. So rest in peace Reg and thank you for your contribution to “Three Cords and the truth…”

In his honor Click here: Wild Thing by The Troggs

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Posted in Life Events, Rock Music | Tagged Bruce Springsteen, garage rock, Jimi Hendrix, Keith Altham, Louie Louie, Love is All Around", Monterrey Pop Festival, Reg Presley, REM, The Troggs, Wild Thing | Leave a comment

Buckingham Nicks LP to be released on CD? Maybe…

Posted on January 27, 2013 by John

Album cover for Buckingham Nicks

Gate-fold showing Lyrics and album credits for Buckingham Nicks

: Label for side one of Buckingham Nicks

Copyright 1973. Album was re-issued in 1975, but this is a first pressing.

This is one of the best known of all unknown record albums! This is the album Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks made right before they joined Fleetwood Mac. This album is responsible for them becoming members of “the Mighty Mac”. That story will be part of this blog too. One other side note on the record: In the credits they misspelled Stevie’s name. It’s spelled Stevi…

Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham made this record after breaking up their current band Fritz. It was a tough decision for them because they had become so close to their fellow band members. Tension had built up in the band because Stevie Nicks was getting more and more of the attention at their live shows. By the way, Fritz must have been a pretty good band. They opened shows for Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Credence Clearwater Revival, and even Santana. But Polydor records was calling and they had to grab the brass ring while they could. They had no idea how the course of their lives had just changed. They thought they’d make this record, do a tour (possibly using some of the members of Fritz) and then pick up where they had left off. And that is what very likely should have happened.

Stevie and Lindsey were romantically involved at this time. They were also dirt poor. The two of them were waiting tables and getting any side gig they could during the recording of this record. Money got so tight that at one point the producer, Keith Olsen, had to let them move in with him. Then something amazing happened.

Fleetwood Mac was in the midst of another major personnel change. Bob Welch and another band member had left the band leaving Mic and John and Christine McVie. Mic Fleetwood flew to California in search of a studio to record their next album and one or two new band members. He walked into Sound City Studio where Stevie and Lindsey were recording their new album. The first song he heard was Frozen Love. This song features the great guitar work of Lindsey Buckingham. The song is over seven minutes long and a tour de force rock song. Mic immediately asked Lindsey to join the band. Fleetwood was very disappointed to learn that it was a package deal. Lindsey said it was both of them or none of them. The negotiations went on for some time but in the end Lindsey won out and the rest is history.

Then there is the album cover. Stevie and Lindsey both topless. Stevie hates this album cover. When the photo shoot was coming up she took her last $100 and went out and bought a very cool blouse that she thought the photographer would love. He took several photos of them and then suggested the topless picture. After a tremendous amount of persuading she agreed to do it. She still thought they would end up using a photo of her in her blouse. So another reason to find and buy this record is you get a topless picture of Stevie Nicks. She never did anything close to this ever again…

And now here in all it’s naked glory is Buckingham Nicks…

Side 1

Crying In The Night

This song was written by Stevie Nicks. Tell me this doesn’t sound like Fleetwood Mac. This song could have been on any of the records they made with Lindsey and Stevie. This is just a great song! How did this not become a hit? The one thing we know is that Polydor really screwed up on the promotion of this great record.

Stephanie

One of two great instrumentals featuring Lindsey Buckingham’s awesome finger picking style of guitar playing. It goes without saying that Lindsey also wrote the song.

Without A Leg To Stand On

Once again this song (written by Lindsey Buckingham) sounds like it belongs on a Fleetwood Mac album. If you heard this song on the radio you would say “Hey that’s a new song from Fleetwood Mac!” It kind of has an “Empire State” feel to it from the “Mirage” album.

Crystal

This song was written by Stevie Nicks. This song actually did end up on the first Fleetwood Mac album they made. Great harmonies in the chorus. It’s just a beautiful song.

Long Distance Winner

This is one of my favorite songs on the album. It’s a great song to close side one and really makes you want to turn the record over and hear side two. This art of arranging the order of songs has largely disappeared in the age of digital music. It was crucial during the age of vinyl…Lindsey’s guitar playing is fantastic! By the way, the other musicians are studs too. The session musicians featured Jim Keltner on drums, Jerry Scheff on bass, and the amazing Waddy Watchtel on guitar. The lead guitar work by Lindsey is exactly the same great driving guitar sound that made so many hits for Fleetwood Mac. The song was written by Stevie Nicks

Side 2

Don’t Let me Down Again

This song could be the root inspiration for the opening song on Rumors: Second Hand News. I think the similarities are stunning! This song is so good that it could have been substituted for Second Hand News and Rumors would have been just as great an album as it is today.

Django

This is the other instrumental on the album. It is written by John Lewis. John Lewis was the pianist for The Modern Jazz Quartet. The music is a tribute to the great Brazilian Jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt. Many guitarist will tell you that Django was the greatest guitarist who ever lived. He had two paralyzed fingers and played all of his guitar solo’s with two fingers. You can imagine why Lindsey might want to put a tune on the album like this. This is beautiful guitar playing by Lindsey Buckingham.

Races Are Run

This song was written by Stevie Nicks and it is absolutely beautiful. I love the way Lindsey slides down the neck of the guitar to get the song going. The harmonies in the chorus are awesome. This could have easily been on any Fleetwood Mac album. The acoustic guitar solo in the middle of the song is sublime. The song fades out leaving you wishing that this song was longer.

Lola

This song was written by Lindsey Buckingham. When the song starts it almost can fool you into thinking that “The Chain” is being played. It has that banjo sound to the guitar. This is the weakest song on the album, but it’s still a good song. It certainly can’t be lumped into the category of “filler”.

Frozen Love

This song was written by Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham. If you liked the Buckingham Nicks Line up of Fleetwood Mac, then you can thank this song for all the hits that followed. This is the song that Mic Fleetwood heard that caused the merger of the two bands. This song is a powerful coda to the album. It makes you wonder what would have happened if they had stayed on their own instead of joining Fleetwood Mac. You can hear the root of everything that Fleetwood Mac went on to become in this last 7 minutes of great rock music. The song starts out quietly and builds and builds… I really enjoy the duel lead guitar sound in this song. Stevie’s voice is powerful and emotional.

So this year is the 40th anniversary of Buckingham Nicks. Fleetwood Mac is out on tour again (minus Christie McVie this time…) and it seems that every time they put out a new record or go on tour the subject of this record comes up. Stevie and Lindsey both said in interviews in December of 2012 that they would like to see a 40th anniversary edition of the album released. They have both said they would write new songs for it. They both said there are outtakes that could be included. We have heard it all before. The time has come. The time is now. And Lindsey and Stevie… If you do reissue this LP on CD please be sure to also put it out on vinyl…

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Posted in LP Records, Rock Music | Tagged Bob Welch, Christine McVie, Django, Fleetwood Mac, Fritz, Jerry Scheff, Jim Keltner, John Lewis, John McVie, Keith Olsen, Lindsey Buckingham, Mic Fleetwood, Modern Jazz Quartet, Sound City Studio, Stevie Nicks, Waddy Watchtel | 3 Comments

Transferring vinyl is a major drag on the economy?

Posted on January 26, 2013 by John

My turntable in the middle of a vinyl transfer

This is going to be one of my shortest blogs ever. Today, in the Wall street Journal, in the review section, on page C-11 there is an article called “Lack of Sleep costs Billions. How about Cats?” The article list the top ten things that put a drag on the economy. Number 4 on the list is “transferring vinyl to manageable mp 3 formats.” The author claims that this activity in costing the economy about $11.7 billion per year! I assume it is calculating the time it takes as well as it’s impact on the sale of music in other formats. She lays the blame squarely on the “Baby-boomers” She mocks us for taking our classic rock so “seriously”. If it is a crime, then let me be guilty… As a matter of fact, I plan to do some vinyl transferring today!

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Posted in Life Events, LP Records | Tagged The Wallstreet Journel | 2 Comments

“Live” All Star album is a Masterpiece…

Posted on December 27, 2012 by John

: Album Cover for Milestone Jazz Stars In Concert

: Gatefold of Milestone Jazz Stars In Concert

: Back Cover of Milestone Jazz Stars In Concert

: Record label showing the Milestone Logo.

This is the last blog in my series on live albums. MILESTONE JAZZSTARS IN CONCERT is a fantastic “Live” LP featuring three jazz giants: McCoy Tyner, Sonny Rollins, and Ron Carter. They were accompanied on drums by a much younger Al Foster.

This 2 record set documents the 20 concert tour of the “Jazzstars” in the fall of 1978. McCoy Tyner (Piano), Sonny Rollins (Saxophone), and Ron Carter (Acoustic Bass) each had very different but potentially complementary styles. They were fascinated by the musical challenge of working together. The only reason it was able to be done, however, is because at the time they all recorded on Milestone Records.

The Album features solo’s by Tyner, Rollins, and Carter, as well as songs performed by duet, trio, and with the entire quartet.

I bought this LP at a garage sale. I had never heard it before nor did I know anything about this album. I think I paid 10 cents for it. I was blown away by the music as well as the sound quality of this record. Let’s give it a listen…

Side 1

The Cutting Edge

This song was written by Sonny Rollins and it is performed by the entire quartet. The announcer is Quincy McCoy, who also helped with staging and lighting. This song is a tour-de-force of powerful Jazz. You think the opening riffs of Rollins are amazing and then Tyner takes over! Then Ron Carter lays a spell on everyone with his bass solo. This acoustic jazz with the force of fusion jazz. Rollins returns for an even more inventive solo, never losing any of the rhythmic power of the music.

Alone Together

This song was written by Howard Deitz and Arthur Schwartz. It was first introduced in a Broadway play called Flying Colors. The first jazz recording of this song was by Artie Shaw in 1939. It went on to become a Jazz Standard. This cut is a duet between Tyner and Carter. Tyner’s playing virtuosity defined! The bass at the end by Carter is mesmerizing. I love the word play of the title. They are alone, but they are also together. What a great name for a duet.

Side 2

Continuum

Saxophone solo written and performed by Sonny Rollins. This is a truly historic document of a genius at work. This solo is stunning! Rollins improvises for over 5 minutes and never bores you or becomes repetitive. This melody literally is a continuum. Live in front of an audience he puts to shame every musician who ever tried to improvise a solo. Everyone from the Grateful Dead to Coltrane must stand in awe of the genius of the man.

Nubia

This song was written by McCoy Tyner. It appeared on his album Together, which was recorded and released the same year. Together was also produced by Orrin Keepnews. This is an emotional composition that features the entire quartet. Return to Forever would have been proud to have written this one. Tyner takes us on a 15 minute musical journey that out Chicks – Chick Corea.

Side 3

N.O. Blues

This song was written by Ron Carter and features the entire quartet. Ron Cater has played with everyone from Bill Evans to A Tribe called Quest. He may be the most recorded acoustic bass player in history. This is an awesome jazz-blues number. About half way through Cater gets his turn to solo and displays the talents that he is so revered for: creativity, soul, and technique all in one. I love the slide at the end of his solo that leads back into the main theme.

Willow Weep For Me

Side three of the album is the Ron Cater Side. He wrote N.O. Blues and then he solos on this song written by Ann Ronell. This is a brilliant choice for a bass solo. Once again improvisational skills are at the genius level.

Side 4

In A Sentimental Mood

This is the Duke Ellington classic that is performed by Rollins and Tyner. I think The Duke would have loved this arrangement of his classic tune.

A Little Pianissimo

Written by and performed solo by McCoy Tyner. Tyner is again using word play in the title of his song.Pianissimo hints at a combination of the words Piano and Solo yet it’s meaning is quite. Translated literally, the title would mean “a little quiet”. This composition is anything but small and quiet. It does have the “little pianissimo ” main theme. You can sense the spell he put the crowd under because of the slight moment of silence before the applause.

Don’t Stop The Carnival

This song is a traditional tune arranged by Sonny Rollins. The song is performed by the trio of Rollins, Carter, and Foster. It has that great Brazilian beat. It takes me straight to the streets of Rio… You can hear the crowd at several points in the recording and it sounds like a party’s goin’ on… The Milestone Jazzstars leave them dancing in the aisles.

So where did they go from this tour in 1977? Since 1996 Al Foster has been touring with his own band. Ron Carter became a great music educator. He recently retired from City College in New York where he was a Distinguished Professor of Music. He currently sits on the board of the Harlem Jazz Music Center. McCoy Tyner is still going strong. He has a new album out called “Guitars”. It features Derek Trucks, Bella Fleck, Bill Frisell, John Scofiled, and Marc Ribot. In addition the core band that plays with all of these great guitar players is Jack DeJohnnette, and of course Ron Cater! Last, but not least is Sonny Rollins. He went on just a few years later to record some memorable Sax solos on the 1981 Rolling Stones LP – Tattoo You. Including the great one at the end of the song Waiting on a Friend. Sonny Rollins has just announced that he, like McCoy Tyner, will tour in 2013. He just tweeted that details will follow after January 1st. What a world, what a world…

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Posted in Jazz Music, LP Records | Tagged Acoustic Jazz, Al Foster, Ann Ronell, Artie Shaw, Bella Fleck, Bill Frisell, Derek Trucks, Duke Ellington, fusion jazz, Jack De Johnnette, John Scofiled, Marc Ribot, McCoy Tyner, Milestone Jazzstars, Milestone Records, Orrin Keepnews, Ron Carter, Sonny Rollins | Leave a comment

“Time Fades Away”, but this album won’t…

Posted on November 18, 2012 by John

This is the very first “Live” LP Neil Young ever released. The album captures Neil Young on his first major solo tour after he released his best selling LP of his long and illustrious career, “Harvest.” Although this album was widely praised and sold over 1 million copies, Neil Young has refused to re-release it. There are still no plans to release this LP on CD or any other format. There are several reason that Neil has persistently resisted the pressure from his fans to release this LP again. We will get into that later.

I side with his fans. I LOVE THIS RECORD! I love it for many reasons. First of all, I bought this record in 1973 when it first came out, and I couldn’t quit listening to it. The music is fantastic! I had become a fan of Neil Young from the moment I first heard him on “Four Way Street,” the Live album from 1971 by Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young. I went on to purchase “Everybody Knows This is Nowhere,” the first album Neil made with Crazy Horse. And then I bought “Harvest” the week it came out. I am still a huge fan of Neil Young and I own almost everything the guy has ever recorded. I am also a proud owner of his Blu Ray collection “Neil Young Archives Vol. 1.”

I loved the album cover. I’d love to know who the guy is in the front row throwing up the “Peace Sign.” He must have been the envy of all his friends!

I love the parts on the album where Neil would talk to the audience. It reminded me of all of those moments on “Four Way Street” where they would talk to the audience. “TFA” seemed to echo “FWS” in many other ways. Just like CSN&Y did on their 1971 tour, Neil opened his 1973 shows with an Acoustic set (“Wooden Music”) and then an electric set. I always thought that was cool format for a live show. It seemed to me to be one of the foreshadowing ideas that led to “MTV Unplugged.”

I love the mood of the album. This record has a melancholy that is unmistakable. It truly captures a moment in time. This is reason enough for Neil to reissue this somber masterpiece. It is also the reason he won’t reissue the album…

His friend and fellow member of Crazy Horse, Danny Whitten; was supposed to tour with Neil. Unfortunately, Danny had developed a terrible heroin addiction. Whitten started to get clean so he would be able to tour, but replaced his heroin addiction with pain pills and alcohol. Whitten could not function well enough to get through rehearsals Neil had to fire his friend. Neil met with Danny privately and told him things were not going to work out for the tour, he gave him $50 bucks and a plane ticket back to L.A. Neil never saw him alive again. Danny died the next day of a heroin overdose. Neil blamed himself for Danny’s death. Now he had to go out on tour and play 65 shows in 90 days.

His back up band was “The Stray Gators.” This was the same band he had recorded Harvest with. The fans came out in force to hear all the new hit songs from Harvest, but instead they were greeted by a large number of new songs. These songs were not in the vain of the country-folk sound of many of the songs on Harvest. These songs had a hard edge to them that was closer to the music Neil produced when he was performing with Crazy Horse. The Stray Gators were also uncomfortable with these heavy edgy tunes.

The Stray Gators were basically an “All-star” Nashville band with egos to match. There was a lot of in-fighting among the band members as well as excessive drinking, etc… There are several stories floating around about band members showing up so messed up they didn’t even know what instrument they were playing during the sound-check The first Drummer Kenneth Buttrey quit two-thirds of the way through the tour. He was replaced by Johnny Barbata. Johnny played with CSN&Y on the Four Way Street Tour. He was also their drummer at Woodstock.

Another problem with reissuing the LP as a CD is the manner in which it was recorded. Neil Young wanted to use the very first “digital mixing” soundboard. It was called a “CompuMix.” Later it became known as the “CompuShit” because it was unreliable. The live recordings went straight from the soundboard to the CompuMix. As a result, there are no two track masters of these recordings. This complicates any reissue. Also, the CompuMix made the recording murkier. I think this adds to not subtracts from the awesomeness of this LP.

Very few of these songs have been released in any other format. What you are about to hear is quite rare. These were all new songs being played live. The only exception is “Love in Mind”. It was recorded on the 1971 tour. The same tour that resulted in the live recording on Harvest of “The Needle and the Damage Done.” (Neil’s song about Danny Whitten.)

According to Wikipedia Neil Young has made two main comments about this album. I quote: ”It was recorded on my biggest tour ever, 65 shows in 90 days. Money hassles among everyone concerned ruined this tour and record for me but I released it anyway so you folks could see what could happen if you lose it for a while. I was becoming more interested in an audio verite approach than satisfying the public demands for a repetition of Harvest. ”

Also: ”Time Fades Away was the worst record I ever made – but as a documentary of what was happening to me, it was a great record. I was onstage and I was playing all these songs that nobody had heard before, recording them, and I didn’t have the right band. It was just an uncomfortable tour. I felt like a product, and I had this band of all-star musicians that couldn’t even look at each other.”

His comment about not having the right band may be a reference to Crazy Horse.

So give it a listen and tell me what you think:

Side 1:

Time Fades Away

This song was recorded in The Myrid, Oklahoma city on March 1, 1973. From the very beginning we are in darkness. “Fourteen junkie too weak to work. One sells Diamonds for what they’re worth. Down on pain street, disappointment lurks. Son don’t be home too late!” Danny Whitten is in his mind from the beginning. Also, this cut establishes the Hard edged audio verite sound more closely associated with the sound of Crazy Horse.

Journey Through The Past

This song was recorded in Public Hall, Cleveland, Ohio on February 11, 1973. Neil tells the crowd: “This is a song without a home.” Simple and beautiful…

Yonder Stands The Sinner

After the quiet beauty of Journey Through The Past, we return to the hard edged country STOMP! Right before the song starts you hear David Crosby say: “This will be kind of experimental…” Then you hear someone else in the band say: “This is gonna be GOOD, man!” He turns out to be right… This song was recorded at the Seattle Center Coliseum on March 17, 1973.

L.A.

This song was recorded at the Same show in Oklahoma City that the same show that the title cut came from. I can’t help but think that this song is about Danny Whitten. It makes the refrain of the song so sad…“Don’t you wish that you could be here too?

Love In Mind

This song is the only song on the record that was not recorded on the 1973 tour. This song was recorded at Royce Hall at UCLA on January 30, 1971. This is the same night that “The Needle and the Damage Done” was recorded. “The Needle…” ended up on Harvest and Love in Mind ended up on this album.

Side 2

Don’t Be Denied

Side 2 starts with a very emotional rendering of a micro-Biography of Neil’s life. This song was recorded at Memorial Auditorium in Phoenix, Arizona on March 28, 1973. Neil could not be denied. This is just emotion laid bare for all to see. WOW…

The Bridge

This song was recorded in Sacramento, California on April 1, 1973. Yet another very personal song. For a number of years now Neil Young has held a charity fundraising concert for The Bridge School.

The Bridge School is a non-profit organization whose mission is to ensure that individuals with severe speech and physical impairments achieve full participation in their communities through the use of augmentative & alternative means of communication (AAC) and assistive technology (AT) applications and through the development, implementation and dissemination of innovative life-long educational strategies.

Neil has two children with these types of disabilities. Neil is still building his “bridge”. ”It may take a lot of time…”

Last Dance

This song was recorded on March 29, 1973 in the Sports Arena in San Diego, Ca. Neil growls: “It’s the last dance!” This song captures a mood all of us have felt from one time to another…The grind of working for a living. Is this how he felt on the tour? I love the grind of the song. I love the harmonies provided by David Crosby and Graham Nash. The coda makes the song:

“You wake up in the morning and the sun’s coming up. It’s been up for hours, and hours and hours, and hours, and hours and hours. And you light up the stove and the coffee cup is hot and the orange juice is cold, cold, cold…Monday morning. Wake up, Wake up, Wake up. It’s time to go, time to go to work!! You can live your own life. Making it happen. Workin’ on your time. Laid back and laughing. Oh,no…Oh, no…”

Then at the end he repeats over and over “No, no, no..” and then… “Negative, Negative!!”

Then it’s over… Graham Nash yells “Last Dance!!!” and it was…

So where do we go from hear? Neil says in the next volume of the Archives he will not include any songs from this LP. He said he will include cuts from the earlier part of the tour that included drummer Kenneth Buttrey. Maybe the karma is just too bad for him to bear? Who knows, but Neil has got to stop saying “NO, NO, NO…” This is a powerful rock n roll statement that deserves to shine again.

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Posted in LP Records, Rock Music | Tagged Ben Keith, Crazy Horse, Crosby Stils Nash and Young, Danny Whitten, David Crosby, Elliot Mazer, Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere, Four Way Street, Graham Nash, Jack Nitzsche, Johnny Barbata, Neil Young, Neil Young Archives Vol. 1, The Stray Gators, Tim Drummond, Time Fades Away | 2 Comments

Steal Your Face is a Steal of an LP…

Posted on November 4, 2012 by John

Steal Your Face is a live LP from the Grateful Dead. The album was recorded during their 1974 “Farewell Tour”, but it was not released until 1976. This album is widely regarded as the worst live recording that the Dead ever released. It was released under duress because the band had to fulfill a contractual obligation with the record company, and the band wasn’t working at the time, so there wasn’t much choice.

As I stated earlier, the LP was recorded in 1974 during a four night stand at the Winterland in San Francisco, CA. It is a kind of “Greatest Hits” live. This tour was supposed to be the last tour ever. After all, the band had been on the road since they formed in 1965! It’s hilarious that they continued on as a band for years and years after this tour was completed. In spite of the overwhelming opinion of “Dead-heads” everywhere that the LP is not up to par, this LP has continued to be highly collectible. The main reason is the awesome cover art: the so called “Stealie” or “Steal Your Face” Logo. This logo is one of the most famous of all Rock-n-Roll art; not to mention some of the most famous Grateful Dead art. The Grateful Dead have a lot of art that is identified with the band. This logo was designed by Owsley Stanley and rendered by Bob Thomas. The skull with a lightning bolt going through it is an overt reference to L.S.D. as well as other drug use by the band and its fans. Not long after this LP came out you could buy this symbol on everything from T-Shirts to Blotter Paper. It captures everything about the Grateful Dead experience within its grinning skull!

The album title that also ended up naming the logo is taken from a song called “He’s Gone”. The lyrics are “Like I told you, what I said, steal your face right off your head”…The song was performed frequently on the tour and every night of the 4 night stand at the Wintergarden, but was not included on the album for some reason.

The main criticism of the album is twofold. First many fans feel that there are much better live recordings of every song on this record. Second that there are no “deep cuts” as well as none of the long jam sessions that made the band so famous. Both points are legitimate, however; I feel that it still does not diminish the performances on this record. I found the LP highly entertaining and I found several of the songs quite emotionally charged in view of the fact that the band thought they were about to call it quits. I think that the slower, mellower songs on the LP are especially effective. I have included the entire two record set for your personal consideration. I love the album! But let me know what you think…

Side 1

The Promised Land

The LP opens with a straight ahead R&B cover of a Chuck Berry song. The band is tight, together and rockin’! What’s not to like?

Cold Rain & Snow

This song really features the slow grove jam sound that I associate so strongly with the Grateful Dead. There would be no “Jam Band’s” if it wasn’t for the Grateful Dead. They were the father to many children… This is a traditional folk song that was arranged by the Grateful Dead.

Around and Around

The Dead cover another Chuck Berry Classic. Admittedly, not the greatest cover ever, but it is still very hard not to tap your foot to the beat; if you know what I mean…

Stella Blue

This is the first original song on the album, and it’s a great one. This song was co-written by Robert Hunter and Jerry Garcia. Richard and Jerry were the principle song writers of the Grateful Dead. Richard wrote the lyrics and Jerry wrote the music. Robert Hunter was often referred to as “the non-performing” member of the Grateful Dead. In spite of all the songs he wrote with Jerry Garcia and all the concert halls he went to with the band, he never once appeared on stage as a performer. When the band was inducted into the Rock n Roll hall of fame, Robert was also inducted as a band member. He is the only “non-performer” ever inducted into the Hall of Fame. This is a great “trippy” cut that is tinted at the edges in mellow but deep emotion. This is a beautiful performance.

Side 2

Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodeloo

This song is also an original written by Robert Hunter and Jerry Garcia. It has all the characteristics of an old folk song. Don’t you love the title. This song just has a happy go lucky feel to it that makes me smile.

Ship Of Fools

In the previous song Jerry Garcia sings the lyrics “When your ship comes in…” and then the next song is “Ship of Fools”. This is also an original song written by Robert Hunter and Jerry Garcia. It’s a great slow blues song. It almost has the feel of a spiritual. “Ship of Fools on a cruel sea. Ship of fools, sail away from me…”

Beat It On Down The Line

This song was written by Jesse Fuller. Jesse became famous by performing as a “One Man Band” in the San Francisco bay area. He is best know for a song called “San Francisco Bay Blues”. The Dead also covered other songs by Fuller. This is just a great straight ahead rock song.

Side 3

Big River

So far on the album they have covered Chuck Berry and Jesse Fuller. Why not cover Johnny Cash? The Grateful Dead were such an amazing conglomeration of Rock, Jazz, Country, Folk, and Psychedelia! This is a perfect example of them working their craft.

Black-Throated Wind

This song was written by Bob Weir and John Barlow. Bob was, of course, one of the founding members of the Grateful Dead and John Barlow was a poet, essayist, rancher and political activist; who became friends with the Grateful Dead. Very cool stuff, don’t you think?

U.S. Blues

This song was written by Hunter and Garcia. A song written from the viewpoint of Uncle Sam.

El Paso

Once you’ve covered Johnny Cash you kind of have to cover Marty Robbins, don’t you? This is a great version of a very well known song. Enjoy…

Side 4

Sugaree

Once again an original song by Hunter and Garcia. I just really love this song. It just has such a nice way of mellowly rocking along. The lyrics are great too. “Please forget you know my name, my daring Sugaree…” Beautiful subtle guitar work from Jerry Garcia too.

It Must Have Been The Roses

This song was written by Robert Hunter. The lyrics are beautiful. So is the performance. Great music, passionately performed. Again I ask: What’s not to like??

Casey Jones

The album closes with one of their best know songs. This was also written by Hunter and Garcia.. Okay, so it’s not the best “live” version of Casey Jones. So what? It is the Grateful Dead at their peak. They are not tired of playing their hits and the perform this song with energy and imagination. It think it’s a great version of this song.

Well there you have it. Steal Your Facein its entity. If you see it buy. Maybe even steal it! But don’t pass it over just because you heard it wsn’t that great. Sure it’s collectible just for the cover, but don’t overlook the contents. This album can be expensive. I’ve seen it on the internet from $25 – $85 or more. If the jacket is in good condition it could cost a pretty penny. All the more reason to enjoy the contents as well as the cover. Personally, I think this album is a Steal. Or should I say Stealie???

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Posted in LP Records, Rock Music, Uncategorized | Tagged "Jam Band", "Stealie", Bob Weir, Chuck Berry, Jerry Garcia, Jesse Fuller, John Barlow, Johnny Cash, Marty Robbins., One Man Band, Richard Hunter, San Francisco Bay Blues, Steal Your Face, The Grateful Dead, Uncle Sam | Leave a comment

Up next, A series of blogs about Live LP’s…

Posted on October 28, 2012 by John

My next project is to write a series of blogs about 3 very different, but highly collectible “Live” LP’s. The first blog will be about the worst live album from one of the most famous live bands. I am referring to “Steal Your Face” by the Grateful Dead. This LP is widely considered to be the worst live recording of the Dead. The LP is still highly collectible, however; because of the album cover. Exterior condition is almost more important to the value of the LP than the interior condition of the actual vinyl. Here’s what the cover looks like:

This is the first appearance of the famous Grateful Dead logo. I think the album is better than advertised.

Next up will be a “Live” LP from an artist who is also known for his high quality “Live” performances. This record is a fantastic “Live” LP, but the artist has attempted to suppress it in spite of attempts by his fans to force him to re-release it. The LP I am referring to is: Time Fades Away by Neil Young. When the LP came out it got great reviews and sold over 1,000,000 copies. It was his first “Live” LP. It was never released on CD and Neil doesn’t even plan to include it in the next volume of his Archives. He has his reasons and we will discuss them in the blog at that time…

Here’s the album cover:

Last but not least is a “Live” LP from three Jazz giants: McCoy Tyner, Ron Carter, and Sonny Rollins. This is a truly great ”Live” LP, and yet; I had never heard of this album before. I bought this LP by chance when I bought over 500 LP’s for $50 at a garage sale. I never knew the three of them had toured together and recorded a “Live” LP! This is music making at a very high level. It’s a mystery to me that this LP is not more well known. The LP is called “Milestone Jazzstars: Ron Carter, Sonny Rollins, McCoy Tyner – In Concert”

Here’s the Album Cover:

All three of these LP’s are collectible in their own right. Each is collectible for a different reason. I’m lucky to have all three. Each LP has a fascinating story behind it too. We will delve into each one. First up: The worst “Live” LP from one of the most famous “Live” bands in Rock-n-Roll history. The Grateful Dead – “Steal Your Face”…

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Posted in Jazz Music, LP Records, Rock Music | Tagged Grateful Dead, Live Recordings, McCoy Tyner, Milestone Jazzstars, Neil Young, Ron Carter, Sonny Rollins, Steal Your Face, Time Fades Away, Vinyl | 2 Comments

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“Live” All Star album is a Masterpiece…

“Time Fades Away”, but this album won’t…

Steal Your Face is a Steal of an LP…

Up next, A series of blogs about Live LP’s…

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