STEVE MARRIOTT

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

His voice was deeply soulful, with just the right amount of grit. The peaks in the career of this consummate showman straddled the late sixties into the early seventies. He was more than ten feet tall in terms of the work that he turned out with Small Faces and Humble Pie. Robert Plant and Rod Stewart would likely concede that his singing style had a great impact on both of them.

Steve Marriott packed quite a bit of living into his 44 years, though his time in the limelight was little more than an afterthought by the early 80s. Bad deals and substance abuse proved to be his undoing. It is not a happy epilogue to tag onto the career of someone who was so very gifted.

If you are already a fan, I'm preaching to the choir.

For the uninitiated, check this out. You'll soon be adding another touch of brilliance to your music collection.







If you can get your hands on the Small Faces "Ogdens' Nut Gone Flake" disc and Humble Pie's "Live at the Filmore East" set you'll be off to a fantastic start.

Derek and the Dominos

Dan here again. I was looking back in the archives of Layla's blog and found that she really has never written about the album that her namesake or her blog badge comes from. I will now try to enlighten you with my knowledge and research. The album cover really is a beautiful piece of art.

The album "Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs" by Derek and the Dominos (1970) has arguably been considered Eric Claptons greatest musical achievement. A return to the Crossroads blues roots Eric so longed for. The bands name was chosen specifically because he wanted to hide from his celebrity status. He just wanted to create music without all the hype that constantly surrounded him. Remember he was considered God by some at the time. What a tough name to live up to.

This endeavor came shortly after his stint with Delaney and Bonnie and Friends. Former bandmates Bobby Whitlock, Carl Radle and Jim Gordon joined him in the band. Eric was the main song writer, but it really was a group effort with Bobby Whitlock providing help on many of the songs and arrangements. Most of the material on this album was written for Pattie Boyd, George Harrison's wife, who Eric desperately wanted to make his own. The relationship was not officially to be for another 4 years though. A few cover songs were also included. Incidently, a cover of Jimi Hendrix's "Little Wing" was also included in memoriam of Jimi who had died a week after its recording.

Another contributor to the band was none other than Duane Allman who was scouted by Eric after hearing The Allman Brothers were playing nearby. It is said that Duane froze when Eric showed up at the concert. After the show they hung out all night long trading licks and swapping guitars. Eric would later say that Duane "was the musical brother he never had, but wished he did."

Derek and the Dominos only produced this one, four sided, studio recording and then also a live recording "In Concert" (1973). Later in the 90's they remastered the Layla studio recordings for its 20th anniversary and also produced a live concert album from their concerts at The Fillmore East in the 70's.

The most famous song, of course, is Layla, with Duane stepping up big time with his slide guitar. Drummer Jim Gordon's piano solo (Jim was working on a solo album when Eric heard him playing the now famous piano interlude and insisted they include it) rounded out the package and the rest as they say is history. When you really listen to the intensity of those Eric lyrics and the beautiful instruments, you can almost feel the desire he must have had for Pattie. What a love story they had!

The album was originally a flop out of the gate, but when the song Layla was released as a single in 1972, it took off and became a smash hit. Clapton acoustically reworked the song in 1992, which became another smash hit for him. I personally enjoy the acoustic version better than the original, but of course we do miss Duane's slide. I am including that version now. I hope you enjoy!


eric clapton - layla - live



mouse MySpace Video

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Classic rock girl intro

Hi, guys! Classic rock girl here.
Sorry for having two posts in one day, but these guys sneak in before me! ;) Probably because the past couple days have been snow days for me so I've been sleeping in. Anyway, my post today is just a little intro.

I’m really honored that Layla asked me, along with some other awesome bloggers, to contribute to her blog. I know we're all going to have lots of fun!

I was a little apprehensive about hopping onto the blog train when I first started thinking about expressing my love for classic rock with other people. One day, I happened to Google “classic rock blogs” and Layla’s was the first to pop up.
I started reading hers and after a couple of weeks, I knew that I wanted to do something similar.


The reason I wanted to start blogging in the first place was so I could connect with other people who had the same passion about rock and roll music as me.


Given my age (I’m only nineteen!), all my friends aren’t exactly saving up money to catch the next Allman Brothers’ show or jumping at the chance to browse a local record store looking for some '60s and '70s vinyl.

So anyway, it’s been really great to be here and read all of your thoughts, watch the videos all you guys post, etc. It kind of makes me feel a little less gypped. I was definitely born in the wrong decade.


Anyway, that's just a little intro post for those who don't know my blog.
Hope everybody has a great weekend!

New Aussie Band - Expatriate

Just heard about this band and took advantage of the free download, I like it:

"Australian 4 piece rock outfit, Expatriate. After a European arena tour supporting Placebo earlier this year, the band are set to release their magnificent debut album ‘In The Midst Of This’ on 1^st March 2010. We have permission from the band’s label to offer their first single, Blackbird, as a free download so please feel free to post this on your site for readers if you like what you hear.

You can download the single ‘Blackbird’ here http://www.sendspace.com/file/j9y70k which is also out on March 1^st."

Expatriate myspace page

p.s.  of course I do have a fondness for cute Aussie boys, but seriously, the music is good.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Doors: Morrison Hotel

Well, Dan here again trying this blogging thing. I hope you have checked out the video above as it is probably one of my favorite songs from one of my favorite albums, Morrison Hotel (1970). As you may know, there was an earlier album of the same name, Waiting For The Sun (1968) as this song.

Morrison Hotel was a return to their original blues roots as they went back to the basics after the critical disaster of the Soft Parade (1969). It was well received by critics and fans alike. The album cover was photographed at the actual Morrison Hotel in Los Angeles. They were denied permission by the owners to stage the photo shoot so they went back later and just took the photos with no one knowing. Not sure how they were allowed to publish it, but there it is.

The album kicks off with "Roadhouse Blues" with G. Puglese (aka John Sebastion of the Lovin Spoonful) on Harmonica. A good rockin tune that gets your feet tapping and just makes you want to get up in the morning and drink a beer.

Next up is my favorite "Waiting For the Sun" which was actually started back in 1968 during the recording of the Waiting For the Sun album. It must not have made the cut back then. The next cut is "You Make Me Real" which starts off with that old time piano sound, then Robbies guitar kicks in and Jim growls thru the rest of this great song.

Next up is "Peace Frog/Blue Sunday". A great pair to listen to together and brings up Jim's childhood memories of death on the highway. I love John's drums here and thruout this album as they were always what they needed. The second half is a very soft Jim song. Very heartfelt and was most likely being sung to his girl, Pamela. Side one closes out with "Ship of Fools". A real seaworthy song that I could imagine being sung on the deck of the old tall ship.

Side two opens with "Land Ho!" and Robbies guitar settin the pace, a continuation of the shipping theme. Next comes "The Spy" with Rays piano leading the way while Jim sang of his voyeuristic ESP talents. "Queen of the Highway" is a road trip love story. Next up is "Indian Summer" which the backing track was actually started way back in 1966 during the recording of their debut album The Doors. Jim's obssession with Indians and the Shaman Healer was an inspiration to many of his songs. Rounding out the album is "Maggie M'Gill". A bluesy rocker that just solidifies the overall quality of this album.

When and if you ever get the chance to spin it, stick it in the player, download it or whatever you have to do, listen to it from start to finish, preferably loud.




~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

JEFF LANG

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Many thanks to Barbara for allowing my humble two cents in this space.

Sean here.

Variety is truly the spice of life.

Please turn your attention to the many gifts of Australian musician Jeff Lang. If you haven't been initiated, here he is, covering Richard Thompson's "1952 Vincent Black Lightning".



Jeff is one of those rare souls whose talent is matched by his humility. Last summer, I attended one of his performances at Bluesfest in Ottawa (Canada).

Audience reaction?

Reverence.

Flawless finger-picking at the speed of a dentist drill, incomprehensible acoustic slide playing and a sharp wit brighten his compositions. Coming out of a tradition that blends Australian roots music with folk, blues and rock, he delivers something that you don't happen upon every day.

If you get the opportunity to see the man work up close, don't pass it up.

I'll leave you with another taste and hope to drop back here soon with more surprises.

Hows the Water???

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Well, here I am.

My name is Dan and I am one of the new bloggerers sitting in for my friend Layla. Bloggerers? Is that a word?

Oh well, I would like to thank her for giving me this opportunity. I don't know if anything I have to say is worthy of your valuable time, but I am going to give it a shot.

For my first classic rock blog-shot, I would like to offer up some of my favorite classic rock blog-shot sites. I continually find things I have not seen of nor oftentimes heard of in a long time. Also, little bits of rock and roll info that bring back memories of days gone by. Remember back in the day? Riding in the car with the 8 track stereo turned to volume level 10?

My first choice when I log on (besides Laylas blog) is always Seano at Circle of Fits. He has the most enjoyable way with words and rocks on big time whenever he gets the chance. Sometimes I know not of what he speaks, but he always speaks it well. He also has an adorable little child, with which he thinks the world of, I am sure.

Second on my list is Pod. Sean's creative writing and cool analytical interpretations of many of the old classic rock albums have me hooked. He has a way of looking at the old albums, that is right on, that is for sure!

I could not go any further without including my statehood pal from Milwaukee, The Rock and Roll Guru. Give him a listen and learn from his rock and roll dictionary and learn his rock and roll philosophy. I met him last year at Milwaukees Summerfest and was blown over when he walked up with his young daughters in tow, they enjoying every bit of the music we all love.

The last site I recommend tonight is the Rock and Roll Today site. He has a new timely video each day as he surfs the internet for significant events in rock and roll history of each day. He is like clockwork in his new postings and they always bring back memories or even evoke new ones.

These bloggers never fail to give me some enjoyment no matter how the day went. As you can see from the picture above, I am a huge Doors fan. I wish I could show you a video of Waiting For The Sun today, which you would think was from the album of the same name, but I am having some technical difficulties. It actually is from Morrison Hotel, which I highly recommend. I think The Doors purposely delayed this song so as to screw with us all. Hope you enjoy my entry into this other world and I look forward to giving you a bit of enjoyment also.

Breathing New Life Into an Old Blog

I am very excited to announce that Layla's Classic Rock is adding some other Bloggers to write here!

So, be looking forward to posts from these awesome rockers:

Sean Coleman of Pod
Alexa of Classic Rock for the Soul
and
Dan (who doesn't have a blog so this is all new for him!)

There are a few others that may be popping up soon.  So be sure to check here and see who's talking about what!


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

lyrics in my mind....

Crawl into my ambulance, your pulse is getting weak
reveal yourself all now to me girl while you've got the strength to speak
Cause they're waiting for you at Bellevue with their oxygen masks
But I could give it all to you now if only you could ask.
And don't call for your surgeon even he says it's too late
It's not your lungs this time, it's your heart that holds your fate

and

'Cause I've broken all your windows and I've rammed through all your doors
And who am I to ask you to lick my sores
And you should know that's true
I came for you, for you, I came for you, but you did not need my urgency

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ah, those were the days...

I know many of us still have our vinyls!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Elvis Costello and Bruce Springsteen - Tomorrow Night!

Sundance Channel Presents:
Spectacle: Elvis Costello with...
Wednesdays at 10:00pm EST

"Spectacle: Elvis Costello with Bruce Springsteen Part I"
Premieres Wednesday, January 20, 2010

In part one of a two-part episode, "Spectacle" host Elvis Costello welcomes Bruce Springsteen. Grammy Award-winning artist, widely known for his brand of heartland rock that includes intense ballads and rousing anthems filled with deeply emotional stories. Springsteen, with guitar in-hand, opens up about his pre-E Street Band bands and early inspirations. In addition to talking about his music, he performs it too. Springsteen performs "The River" and American Skin," while E Street Band members Nils Lofgren and Roy Bittan join him in "Wild Billy's Circus Story."

Catch the second part of this episode next week Wednesday, January 27th.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In Memory Of Martin Luther King, Jr.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"New" Jimi Hendrix

I'm a bit behind in blogging here so you've probably all heard this already, but in case not:

"Valleys of Neptune," a 40-year-old Hendrix song that was recorded during the legend’s final studio sessions, will appear on an upcoming compilation sharing the same name that hits shelves March 9th, reports Rolling Stone.

The song was never commercially released, but it did appear on the 1990 four-disc set "Lifelines: The Jimi Hendrix Story." It will be released as a single on Feb. 2nd.

from NY Daily News

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Two British Birthday Boys

January 8

January 9

Guess which one is older?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

One of my favorite bloggers is Dr. Deb.  She's a psychologist that specializes in trauma and depression.  I learn a lot from her blog but she's not all serious business over there, she's often very fun. 

Something else about Deb:  she rocks.  She has great taste in music.

Today there's a post on her blog that I stole this idea from.  You changed ONE letter of a movie title to create a different spin on it.  Of course I am using songs.  Its' suppose to be good for our minds, but its also fun!

I know you people will come up with tons more to add to this short  list I started:


Same Old Bong and Dance
Comfortably Dumb
You Ain't Been Nothing Yet
The Long and Winding Toad
Don't Fear the Beaper
Must Like a Woman
Grave Strangers
Madlands
California Tan
Strange Crew
High N Fry
Hell Bottom Blues
Love Her Badly
Crocodile Sock
Honey Bush
Bugar Magnolia
Panic Depression
Your Lime is Gonna Come (kinda goes with The Lemon Song)
A Beautiful Gay


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Interview with Ian Anderson

Songfacts recently interviewed Ian Anderson, I was just going to skim it but was intrigued by him and read the whole article. Here it is if you're interested (he's a rather unique fellow in many ways....)




Jethro Tull frontman Ian Anderson isn't your typical Rock Star. He's never done drugs and has no use for the trappings of fame. So what does he have in common with the boys from Led Zeppelin? More than you might think.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Happy Birthday to Syd Barrett...Gone But Not Forgotten

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

KLOS's "Top Ten Party Songs"

I was in the car for an hour or so and happened to catch KLOS's "Top Ten Party Songs".  What do you think of their list?  I'd switch it up a bit.  Will share mine in red:



10) Paradise City, Guns & Roses
9)  Roadhouse Blues, The Doors
8)  I Want to be Sedated, The Ramones
7)  Sweet Emotion, Aerosmith
6)  Crazy Train, Ozzy
5)  Rock and Roll, Led Zeppelin
4) Rock and Roll all Night, KISS
3) You Shook Me All Night Long, AC/DC
2)  Just What I Needed, The Cars
1) Baba O'Riley, The Who



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Listen to Lars - you do NOT want Tinnitus!

"Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich recently told CNN that his lack of ear protection during most of the 35 years he's been playing rock music has been the cause of his hearing loss and developing tinnitus. At first it was barely perceptible but during a concert tour in 1988 the ringing in his ears continued while he slept. "I try to point out to younger kids... once your hearing is gone, it's gone, and there's no real remedy."

I have tinnitus and its the most annoying, frustrating condition you can imagine.  For me the ringing is high pitched and constant, but I have good and bad days - the bad days its so loud I want to scream.  Sometimes I do.



There is NO CURE for it.  There are tons of people trying to sell cures, but trust me on this - I have been on a tinnuts forum for years and every one of those "cures" has been tried and failed.  If there ever is a cure millions of people will be lined up, willing to pay anything to get the noise to STOP.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~