Monthly Archives: December 2011
Wild Flag on Letterman
Wild Flag made their network television debut on Late Night with Letterman with a run through their song Romance. Their debut album was a blast of fresh sounds and is on my best of 2011 list (that you will see next week).
Vinyl: Blaze Foley – Clay Pigeons
Do you know of Blaze Foley? I would venture to guess most people have never hear of this name or the man’s talents. Blaze was a songwriter that mostly wondered in and out of the Austin outlaw country scene in the eighties. He was a character even in that scene of characters. He would wear duct tape on his clothes and boots because it looked pretty. He was notorious for his drinking and drugging…even roommate Townes Van Zandt asked him to move out because of his habits. But he was a talented man that would have his songs covered by Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, John Prine and Lyle Lovett. Sadly, his life was cut short in 1989 when he was shot defending a friend in a family argument. He was later immortalized in song by Lucinda Williams with Drunken Angel from her Grammy Award winning album Car Wheels on a Gravel Road.
Secret Seven Records has just released a collection of Blaze’s songs on vinyl for the first time. It is limited to 500 copies and contains some of his best known songs, has great liner notes by Sybil Rosen and a beautiful cover photo of Blaze by C. P. Vaughan. Nice sound to the disc and class artwork makes for a nice addition to the collection. Head over to Secret Seven Records and order a copy or to read more about it.
There is also a documentary on Blaze that is making its way around the film festivals called Duct Tape Messiah. I have not seen it yet, but I am looking forward to the day I can.
Song for the Rough Week Ahead…
As we spend this week hustling to and fro gathering our consumer goods (honking our horns at all the people in our way, only to end up waiting in an agonizingly slow moving line to hand over our cash for a gift to give away so we can express our love to a friend or family member we have trouble relating to or hardly know) one must realize that the end is always waiting in the shadows to steal us away from this mortal coil. Make and keep friends and laugh with them, hug your kids, be kind and do no harm…the end will be here before any of us are ready.
Take the late great Warren Zevon and this prophetic song of his…
The Little Things…
Ian MacKaye and Henry Rollins in their teens
Ian MacKaye with Minor Threat
Henry Rollins with Black Flag
Ian MacKaye and Henry Rollins - 2011
“Enjoy the little things in life, for one day you’ll look back and realize they were big things.”
― Kurt Vonnegut
Review: The Rolling Stones – Some Girls, Live in Texas 1978
In 1978 The Rollings Stones were considered the old farts of rock and roll. They had been around for fifteen years and that seemed to be close to forever in rock and roll years. The upstart punks were labeling them dinosaurs and calling for them to get out of the way. The Stones themselves were limping along having released three sub-par albums in a row (Goat’s Head Soup, It’s Only Rock and Roll and Black and Blue), they were dealing with addiction and Keith Richards’ arrest in Toronto, being charged initially with heroin trafficking…it was not a bright time in Rolling Stones history.
Keith (sorta) cleaned up, Mick had his head and ears tuned to the New York club scene and the entire band felt they had something to prove. They recorded and released an album full of some of their best latter day songs. An album that was solid from the opening disco groove of Miss You, the faux country of Faraway Eyes, the pseudo punk of Respectable…in my opinion the last great album from the band.
The band hit the road to promote the album with a stripped down stage show. From all accounts it was a very much a hit or miss affair, one night they would be the best band in the world and the next they would struggle through the changes in songs they had played for years. Luckily the night that is represented on the new DVD/Blu-ray release “Some Girls – Live in Texas 1978” they were very much on and functioning as a band.
First on all, the sound on this disc is very crisp and clear…Bob Clearmountian did a great job on the remastering. Second of all, the visual look of this rock and roll artifact is very good. It was shot on film with a nice warm look. Nice lingering shots of the band and just enough of the audience members to keep you aware of the fashion of the times. Mick Jagger works hard as the front man. It is very interesting to see him work the minimal stage. There are no long runways for him to work the crowd during his non-singing times, no inflatable dog or penis, no fireworks and minimal lights…but Mick shows he does not need to rely on all the props. He does play up the punk fashion of the times with a destroy/swastika t-shirt. And the band plays like a group, this is a band with a chip on it’s shoulder. They might not out ‘punk’ the punks but they damn sure show that they are not dinosaurs. Keith and Ron Wood actually play interlocking guitars instead of the mugging and posing that they have been doing on every tour since this one. But the true star is Charlie Watts and his drumming.
This video is a joy to watch. Listening to the band playing with a passion that had been missing in action, watching Mick work hard to keep the energy of the crowd up, seeing the Texas crowd from 1978. This one is a winner and I would highly recommend it to even the casual Stones fan.
On a personal note…in 1978 I was living in Texas, going to High School and I liked the Stones. When the Some Girls album came out I thought it was the best thing ever and I played it all the time. I wore my one Rolling Stones t-shirt at least once a week to school and played the album every chance I got. While proselytizing the Stones I was asked plenty of times if Mick Jagger was gay. I would laugh and say no way. I think even my closest friends got a little tired of my Stones passion. Then it was announce that the Rolling Stones were going to be musical guests on Saturday Night Live and I told all my friends to watch it…and it was a horrible appearance. They didn’t play well and Mick flubbed some lyrics. And then Mick went off and licked Ron Wood on the face…’put his tongue all over that man’s face’ as my father said. I felt he did it as a ploy to take some attention off the poor way they were performing, but judging by my friends at school they didn’t see it that way. That performance is included as an extra on this disc…so I can relive those good times.
Song For the Rough Week Ahead…
Thirst is not the answer, oceans come and go
I loved her seven seas worth, Lord I loved her so
But she let me down so easy, one slow drop at a time
I would’ve killed myself but it made no sense
Committing suicide in self defense
But I lost everything I brought her
When she said babe, you’re just a wave, you’re not the water
– Jimmie Dale Gilmore “Just a Wave, Not the Water”
Smile – The Beach Boys
A quick bit of history (in case you are not familiar with this story) before I give you my thoughts on this release. The Beach Boys started work on the Smile album in 1966 after the release of their sublime Pet Sounds album. Brian Wilson’s original concept for the album was “a teenage symphony to God” in three parts. You can say Brian was getting a little ‘out there’. He had these huge ideas, but was severely limited by the recording technology of the time. As studio time racked up and Brian frustrations appeared there was dissent within the group over the direction the album was taking. This lead Brian to feel even more pressure. Paranoia and increasing drug use started to creep into his life which eventually lead to years of depression. Brain and the group abandoned the project and let bits and pieces come out over the years on compilations and rarity discs. The album became one of the most bootlegged in history. At one time I owned three different versions of varying quality.
Then in 2011 (the time of the mammoth collector box sets) Brian and the Beach Boys have released their version for the first time. Recorded approximately 45 years ago…before The Beatles put out Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band…before even 24 track overdubbing…before digital editing…before computers and pro-tools. It is about time that this amazing work finally sees the light of day. It is simply a masterpiece of the times. From the glorious opening of Our Prayer (I wish to start and end my waking day with this song) to the soaring voices of Good Vibrations at the end, you will be taken on a trip through Brian Wilson’s psychedelic-surf-ragtime musical stew. You will smile.
This thing is produced beautifully. This was made in the times of the super producers George Martin, Barry Gordy and Phil Spector. Brian Wilson proves he belongs on that list of the great sculptures of sound. The layering of the voices and instruments while keeping the separation clear and balanced on the equipment available to him at the time is nothing short of amazing.
Is there a connected story that thread this group of songs together? I have read that the story was about a journey starting in Plymouth Rock and traveling west to conclude in Hawaii. I don’t hear it, but that does not matter. Just put this on whatever music playing device you use and let the music envelop you. Let the parts that are silly be silly, let the soaring voices lift you above your day to day trials and be amazed that this could have been released in 1967.
You don’t need to bother with the massive five disc collector box, unless you are a Beach Boy completionist, the two CD version is all you need. Or, even better, the two disc vinyl version if you still believe in the power of records. But if you are a fan of music at all this needs to be in your collection.
Five Out of Five Stars
Review: Frank Zappa – Carnegie Hall
I finally listened to the new archival release from the Zappa Family Trust, Carnegie Hall 1971, released on their own Vaulternative Records label. Vaulternative exists to see the release of the unreleased studio and live concert recordings left in the music vaults of the late Frank Zappa. It has presented several sets of music in the past with mixed results. The label is run by Frank’s wife Gail and their children…Dweezl, Moon Unit, Ahmet Emuukha Rodan and Diva Thin Muffin Pigeen…with help and input from Joe Travers, the so-called ‘vaultmeister’. Gail seems to be highly protective of her late husbands work. Currently they forgo distribution with any major record labels and they have not released Frank’s rather large back catalog to any of the digital release services like iTunes or Amazon…and you won’t find his albums on Spotify. You won’t find this release in your local record store, you have to order direct from their website.
This release consists of four compact discs with two complete Frank Zappa concerts from 1971 and an opening set by the very much not Zappa related acapella do-wop group The Persuasions. Why are the Persuasions included in this release? For one, they had the extra space on the four CDs that would have been left unused. And for another, it gives the listener time to let their ears adjust to the less than stellar sound quality. I had read prior to receiving the set that this was professionally recorded and considered for release at one time, so I was expecting more than what amounts to the sound quality of an average bootleg with audio taken for the house mixing board. Which was a big letdown for me.
But you can get over the super hollow sound of Frank’s microphone and the over-driven vocals from Flo and Eddie as the concert progresses. And yes, this is the Flo and Eddie (of The Turtles, Happy Together fame) era of the Mothers. This version of the band has been documented in the past with the releases Just Another Band From LA, Filmore East 1971 and Playground Psychotics (which started out as a bootleg). You should know this is my least favorite of Zappa’s bands. But, of course, I knew that going in.
The band is in fine form, but Flo and Eddie’s vocal input (even on the instrumentals) really bug me after a while. Sometimes it works (Peaches En Regalia) but mostly it makes for a annoying mess. The center pieces of the concerts are the two big numbers King Kong and Billy the Mountain, both songs give the band room for solos. King Kong works well as an extended work out, but Billy the Mountain is bogged down with the ‘comedy’ of the story leaving only one section of the song for the band to stretch out. I listened to all 47 minutes of that song and I will be hard pressed to think that I will ever do it again.
On the plus side…Call Any Vegetable, Dog Breath, the before mentioned King Kong, and the Divan Suite are true highlights. But for 42 dollars I was expecting just a little better experience. Sound quality and Flo and Eddie leave me wishing the Zappa Family Trust would explore other ways to distribute the vault releases…42 dollars for a glorified bootleg is no way to build or keep die-hard fans. I consider myself to be a fan of Zappa’s music…maybe not as rabid as some, but I do have all the official releases and most of the archival stuff…and while not disappointed to add this to the collection, I do feel a little ripped off.
Two Stars Out of Five
Santa Sangre Redux 