Image via WikipediaI received a wonderful CD/DVD to review recently. I have to admit, I am not a huge fan of Rod Stewart's but while listening to the first disc I was reminded how much I like his early music:
Maggie May, Mandolin Wind, Every Picture tells a Story, Stay With Me, You Wear it Well
All great songs that I think are his finest.
Disc two only held one that I actually like:
Forever Young
The set also comes with a DVD that contains some of his music videos from the good old MTV days. If you like Rod, I highly recommend it!
Image via WikipediaHow many of you remember "Alice's Restaurant"?
I heard it on my drive home tonight and was taken immediately to my grandmother's living room sometime in the 70's where I heard it first on my TRANSISTOR RADIO.
Does your local radion station play it annually around Thanksgiving?
The song lasts 18 minutes and 34 seconds, occupying the entire A-side of Guthrie's 1967 debut record album, also titled Alice's Restaurant (Warner Reprise Records). It is notable as a satirical, first-person account of 1960s counterculture, in addition to being a hit song in its own right. The final part of the song is an encouragement for the listeners to sing along, to resist the draft, and to end war.
December 8, 1943, Jim Morrison was born. This year would have been his 65th birthday.
December 8, 1980, John Lennon died. This year marks the 28th anniversary of his tragic murder.
UPDATE!
THANK YOU ROCK AND ROLL HISTORY!
He pointed out that I left Darrel Abbott: off this list, he deserves special recognition too and died in a tragic shooting while on stage on 12/8/04:
Darrel "Dimebag" Abbott, 8/20/66 – 12/8/04. Born in Arlington, Texas Darrel was best known as the lead guitar player for heavy metal band Pantera. He was shot and killed onstage while performing with. He was 38.
on December 8th I will share two memories about Jim and John.
My top 20 greatest (i.e. FAVORITE) singers and (where they fall on Rolling Stone's List)
1. Jim Morrison (47) 2. Jeff Buckley (39) 3. Bono (32) 4. Marvin Gaye (6) 5. Michael Hutchence 6. Cat Stevens 7. Johnny Reznik 8. Bruce (36) 9. David Bowie (23) 10. Annie Lennox (93) 11. Daryl Hall 12. Billie Joe Armstrong 13. Janis Joplin (28) 14. Prince (30) 15. Ann Wilson 16. Kurt Cobain (45) 17. Paul Rogers (61) 18. Donavan 19. Robert Plant (15) 20. Roger Daltry (61)
Genesis had come out with a 3 volume set of their "extra tracks" that were recorded between 1970 - 1975. I received a sample CD to review and would like to give it away to the first person who wants it (just leave a comment). In addition to that I have a copy of a "Abacab" to give away as well. I'd be happy to send both to the same person (that will save me postage!) or to two separate people.
I am not a huge Genesis fan so it was hard for me to find much to say about this CD. But alas! Paste Magazine has an entertaining review so I will share that with you:
Genesis 1970 - 1975
By
Andy Whitman
So this is it, the Mother of All Prog Box Sets, the one that will send the snarling punks scurrying to buy mellotrons and shimmering wizard robes. The bare details: 7 remastered CDs, 6 DVDs, and a book. Skipping the forgettable Genesis debut album From Genesis to Revelation, this box chronicles the Peter Gabriel years, and the Peter Gabriel albums: Trespass, Nursery Cryme, Foxtrot, Selling England by the Pound, and the 2-disc The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, and adds a seventh disc of previously unreleased rarities and outtakes. It presents five video hours of the band in 2007 Boring Old Fart Mode, sitting around the studio and chewing the fat about the grand, weird days. And it features more than three fabulous hours of concert footage from the early ‘70s, the days when Gabriel wore winged bat headgear, was frequently engulfed in a wart-covered amorphous blob costume, and could occasionally be found on stage with mixed fruit on his head. The fact that these comic and nightmare visions could be seen on The Midnight Special, an early ‘70s music revue that usually featured the likes of Helen Reddy and Tony Orlando and Dawn, is all the more delightful.
Bruce Springsteen's new album "Working on a Dream" has been set for a January 27 release on Columbia Records. "Working on a Dream" was recorded with the E Street Band and features twelve new Springsteen compositions plus two bonus tracks. It is the fourth collaboration between Springsteen and Brendan O'Brien, who produced and mixed the album.
"Working on a Dream" Song Titles:
1. Outlaw Pete
2. My Lucky Day
3. Working on a Dream
4. Queen of the Supermarket
5. What Love Can Do
6. This Life
7. Good Eye
8. Tomorrow Never Knows
9. Life Itself
10. Kingdom of Days
11. Surprise, Surprise
12. The Last Carnival
Bonus tracks:
The Wrestler
A Night with the Jersey Devil
Bruce Springsteen said, "Towards the end of recording 'Magic,' excited by the return to pop production sounds, I continued writing. When my friend producer Brendan O'Brien heard the new songs, he said, 'Let's keep going.' Over the course of the next year, that's just what we did, recording with the E Street Band during the breaks on last year's tour. I hope 'Working on a Dream' has caught the energy of the band fresh off the road from some of the most exciting shows we've ever done. All the songs were written quickly, we usually used one of our first few takes, and we all had a blast making this one from beginning to end."
"Working on a Dream" is Bruce Springsteen's twenty-fourth album and was recorded and mixed at Southern Tracks in Atlanta, GA with additional recording in New York City, Los Angeles, and New Jersey.
Paul McCartney has confirmed that there actually is an unheard 14 minute track of their music and he is hoping to release it so we can hear it! Details here.
(Thanks to my friend, Jim, who pointed this out to me....and Jim, thanks for last night it was fun)
As I type this I am listening to Cy Crunin of The Fixx being interviewed on The Ripple Effect show. He is a fascinating person! So far the conversation has touched on politics, goats, bongs, farming, bed and breakfasts, cancer, mountain climbing, and much more. I highly recommend it just to get to know this guy. He's so down to earth, intelligent and compassionate...not to mention having an excellent voice.
Here is a quote from Cy regarding the election of Barak Obama:
"A huge sigh of relief went right across the planet its as if the eye that;s looking is seeing, the ear is hearing... an important shift... all players the are now present... the biggest state of the US has changed - the state of mind"
I am very upset, I just heard it on the radio while on my lunch break and the only details I have is that he was found in a hotel room in Portland, Oregon and died of natural causes. Mitch, for those of you unfamiliar with him, was the drummer for Jimi Hendrix and is usually listed near the top of most "best drummers of all time" lists.
He was 61 years old.
He is on tour right now for the "Experiencing Hendrix" tour, I had tickets for that on November 2 but due to family issues was unable to go.
SAD news :(
I will update this as more news becomes available and add Mitch to the bottom of my list no "Gone But Not Forgotten".
"The best music you're not listening to. Reviews of lost classics and obscure titles. Unheralded bands and songwriters. New bands deserving of greater attention. It's all here, on the Ripple Effect. www.ripplemusic.blogspot.com" This episode promises to be a scorcher as we're welcoming a very special guest to take control of things during the second hour. His name is Cy Curnin and he sings for The Fixx (ever hear of them?) The first hour will feature the typical frivolity from Racer X and Pope John the Enforcer, so tune in early and stay 'til the end.
Ok, just reviewed this 2 disc DVD and have lots to say about it. First off, as you know I typically give away the CDs and DVDs that are so kindly provided to me be various media companies - but I am KEEPING THIS ONE!
The footage of this concert, The Who at Kilburn: 1977, has been stashed away in the vaults for thirty years but was re-mastered incredibly well. You can find a few clips on You Tube from this performance, but the quality is poor. On the second disc in this set is unseen footage from a performance at the London Coliseum (an opera house) from 1969! Unfortunately the quality of that one was filmed differently and could not be remastered but its still easy to watch because the quality of the performances by Roger, Pete, John and Keith make up for it.
As with all live performances things don't always go perfect. There are a few mishaps and some interesting bantering with the audience. At one point when Roger notoriously flings his mic out over the audience and pulls it back to catch it - he misses, but he doesn't miss a beat in continuing to dance and find another mic :)
Its almost painful to watch the footage of Keith knowing it was his last live performance with them. His boyish face grinning as he pounds out each song. Of course Pete does all his typical Townsend theatrics (and falls once on disc 2), his guitar talent and style is the main focus of many of the songs. And John, a superb bassist, adds his calm charm and deep voice to make them the perfectly well rounded rock band. GREAT STUFF! All the hits you would want plus several surprises.
If you watch them back to back you can see how the band has perfected and polished their act over ten years, although they certainly weren't lacking anything in '69. They were so young - all around 25, and were already a huge success.
For me this DVD has a special significance. I've only seen The Who one time. It was in 1976, a year before this was filmed and the last year Keith played with with the band before his tragic death.
My memory of this day is so clear, I can still see what I was wearing, I can see my boyfriend Scott's red hair and his puka shell necklace. I can feel his hand holding mine so tight as we stood in line for hours, people pushing and shoving (later that same tour several people would die from being crushed in the crowd). I was so scared standing in that line that I told Scott I didn't even want to get on the field so we sat in the stadium seating on Pete's side of the stage with a great view.
The concert was being held at the Angel's Stadium in Anaheim. It was general admission so people had waited overnight in line hoping to rush to the front of the field and get close to the stage. I have searched the Internet for info on this concert but can't find a thing! I know the concert took place, I was there! It had to be the summer of '76 because I was 16 and that's the summer I dated Scott. I did find one photo labeled "The Who at Sunset in Anaheim".
I don't recall any opening act - but there must have been one right? All I know is we sat for literally HOURS waiting and waiting for the show to start. Now, being an outside show we didn't have the usual hints that the band was going to take stage. There was no dimming of the lights for that "THEY'RE ON STAGE" moment.
But there we were, in our seats, the sun starting to set, an orange glow about the sky and seemingly out of nowhere...
the sound of a pianoplaying the opening of Baba O'Riley it went on for what seems like ten minutes, no one on stage,until... suddenly, in a burst of sound and energy, there they were! and Roger BELTs out in his perfect vocals:
Out here in the fields I fight for my meals I get my back into my living. I don't need to fight To prove I'm right I don't need to be forgiven...
I'll tell you, it was one of the BEST moments in my long history of attending rock concerts. If you watch this video, you will get a glimpse of what it was like (Roger is also damn good on the harp!) It was great. We had no idea, of course, that it would be one of Keith's last shows.
All this to say: IF YOU ARE A FAN OF THE WHO YOU WILL NEED TO SEE THIS DVD!
Image via WikipediaI'll start this review of his new release with the same one as the previous one about Warren Zevon: What comes to mind for you when you hear the name Boz Scaggs? I immediately think of "Silk Degrees" and am transported back in time to driving through Laguna Beach in a convertable Mustang with my girlfriends singing along.
I still listen to that CD now and then and love it. His later music did not appeal to me as much but I love his NEW RELEASE which is the second volume of his best songs:
If I could only use one word to describe this new album I'd choose: SEXY. This is music I'd put on for a romantic evening with my lover, sipping some wine, slow dancing and ... enjoying each other's company. He has an incredible voice.
The multi-dimensional singer, whose 1976 album Silk Degrees was one of the landmark pop titles of the decade, began working on Speak Low several years ago. He’d settled on most of the material, and had developed a rough notion of the sound in his head. “I had a few distinct elements I wanted to hear paired with my voice,” Scaggs recalls, “but I needed an arranger who could bring those textures to life.” He remembers wondering whether he’d ever realize the sound he’d imagined. And then he experienced what he describes as a remarkable coincidence. “It was raining, cold out. I walked by the Blue Note and heard music coming out of the club. It was vibes, string trio, a couple of horns – this was the sound I’d been hearing in my head, exactly. Turned out to be Gil Goldstein and a nonet. After the set Gil and I started talking, and it was just a really nice meeting. When we got together around a piano, that was it. We knew.”
Since I have no lover to give it to, I am sending it to my friend Michael so he can play it for his wife :)
Image via WikipediaWhat's the first thing that comes to mind when you hear his name?
For me, I have a vague feeling that he wrote some good music but I'm not exactly sure what. And then I think of Werewolf of London. Well, I'm here to tell you there was much, much more to Warren than that.
I received an advance copy of the upcoming release of "Warren Zevon" which came with a well written biography of his life. After reading that the songs on the CD came alive for me. Here is a brief summary:
Warren Zevon moved to Spain in the summer of 1975, dropping out of the music business after nearly a decade. During his self-imposed exile, he performed regularly at the Dubliner, a colorful bar owned by a former mercenary who helped Zevon pen the classic "Roland The Headless Thompson Gunner." Zevon's luck changed when his friend Jackson Browne contacted him about a recording deal. He signed with Asylum Records in 1975 and began recording his major-label debut, WARREN ZEVON. Today, many consider his self-titled album a high water mark not only for Zevon, but for the decade as well.
The songs are personal and the music is good. He's a good storyteller and I found myself wishing I would have paid more attention to him back then. I recommend it. I am giving away my copy to the first person who requests it. Leave me a comment and be sure I have your email address :)
AVAILABLE NOVEMBER 11!
WARREN ZEVON (COLLECTOR'S EDITION)
Track Listing
Disc 1
1."Frank And Jesse James"
2."Mama Couldn't Be Persuaded"
3."Backs Turned Looking Down The Path"
4."Hasten Down The Wind"
5."Poor Pitiful Me"
6."The French Inhaler"
7."Mohammed's Radio"
8."I'll Sleep When I'm Dead"
9."Carmelita"
10."Join Me In L.A."
11."Desperados Under The Eaves"
Disc 2 (Previously Unissued)
1."Frank And Jesse James" (Solo Piano Demo)
2."The French Inhaler" (Solo Piano Demo)
3."Hasten Down The Wind" (Band Demo)
4."Carmelita" (1974 Demo)
5."Mohammed's Radio" (Solo Piano Demo)
6."Backs Turned Looking Down The Path" (Take 1 - 1/28/76)
7."Join Me In L.A." (Take 2 - 11/20/75)
8."Poor Pitiful Me" (Alternate Version)
9."Frank And Jesse James" (Alternate Version)
10."Mohammed's Radio" (Take 2 - 11/6/75)
11."The French Inhaler" (Take 1 - 1/13/76)
12."Carmelita" (Alternate Version)
13."Desperados Under The Eaves" (Take 2 - 1/13/76)
14."Mama Couldn't Be Persuaded" (Live WMMS 10/13/76)
Ok, once again I did something stupid....I meant to put WORD VERIFICATION on but I put COMMENT MODERATION ON instead and just now realized it.
I thought no one read here anymore, I was happy to see over 20 comments waiting for me.
Please forgive my faux pas - I seriously have had a lot of heavy stuff going on in my life including issues with my son and the loss of a close friend to suicide.
I have not been myself lately at all (just ask my boss, I've also screwed up at work)
THANK YOU FOR YOUR COMMENTS! On top of everything else I was feeling kinda bummed that no body read here anymore!
I a so out of touch lately I just now heard about this! Apparently Steve is rehearsing with J, J and J to possibly replace Robert for the tour! Rumor has it that its a ploy to piss Robert off enough to get him to change his mind.
Personally, I would love to see Steven with them vs an unkown, at least there would be a sense of familiarity. I've always kinda liked his voice....but he'd have to ditch the scarves.
~~~~~
Flashback to my childhood bedroom walls (what can I say, I dug dudes that were kinda flamboyant, semi-fem and skinny) I had posters of these three for years....
Guess who recorded "12 short rock songs" and will be going on a "short tour through the US and Europe"
JUST GUESS! I'll give you a hint: I don't get this excited very often.
RIGHT!
I am beside myself....do you know what this means, people!?!?! I will see Bruce and U2 in the same year. 2009 will go down in my rock and roll history!
This is video is too fun! See how many people you can recognize here. I'll name the obvious ones: Billy Joel, Mick Jagger, Ringo Starr, George Harrison and Bruce (who forgets the lines to the song - lol). It was 1988 and these boys looked YOUNG. I guess we all looked pretty dang young 20 years ago no matter old we are today!
I don't know what the occasion of this video is, anyone know?
...but do to a recent hailstorm of spam, I had to turn it on. I am going about the task of deleting it all and will hopefully be able to turn moderation off in a few days.
In the meantime...
What are you listening to latley?
I've been really into Cat Stevens and Supertramp. Not sure why.
Image via WikipediaI received a wonderful CD/DVD to review recently. I have to admit, I am not a huge fan of Rod Stewart's but while listening to the first disc I was reminded how much I like his early music:![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_uvGaMseySPDDMTbzFlZhSE7h0k2VBnKgOiqd_ZeejgFOBCxqCTehlDvdbiJ5NQmnacRy0LNRaZnHM6CO4Q7MlGhR3dVVvqn_6qYTZVaO7w_K5qT5pHH6Ur6Tw7egSAM36opoF75EqoujhIA_38TS-Z=s0-d)
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