Alice Cooper Still Shocking

Alice Cooper is one of these guys who have been around forever, 50-plus years to be more exact, yet other than a few hits like I’m Eighteen, No More Mr. Nice Guy, Poison and of course School’s Out, I really don’t know his music. But since I’m going to see Deep Purple together with Cooper at the end of August, his new album caught my attention when I spotted it coincidentally earlier today under new releases in Apple Music.

While I’ve always liked the aforementioned tunes, I’ve never further explored Cooper’s music. That being said, every time I encounter him, there is something I find intriguing – I can’t quite explain what it is. It’s not the guillotines, electric chairs, fake blood and other weird objects he uses during his live performances. That’s simply all part of his shock rock style, a genre he pretty much invented – BTW, kudos to any artist who creates their signature style!

So is his new album, which was released today, going to make me a fan? I’m not sure. After having listened through the 12 studio tracks a few times, what I can say with confidence is most of the music rocks nicely, but there’s no School’s Out material – except for the six additional live versions of old Cooper tunes, which include School’s Out, as well as No More Mr. Nice Guy.

A few things are remarkable about Paranormal. To start with, it is Cooper’s 27th studio release, if you include the first seven albums that were recorded when Alice Cooper still was known as a band rather than a single artist. Speaking of that band, two of the songs on the album feature four of the original members: Cooper (vocals, then known by his real name Vincent Damien Furnier), Michael Bruce (rhythm guitar), Dennis Dunaway (bass) and Neal Smith (drums). Additional guests include Deep Purple’s Roger Glover, ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons and U2’s Larry Mullen.

In a Billboard story, Cooper explained his initial intention had been to make “another Alice Cooper album,” but the outcome was a concept. “Lyrically every single character has some sort of abnormal, paranormal problem going on and I didn’t have a name for the album, so Paranormal ended up sounding like the thing that cemented this all together,” Cooper noted. “It wasn’t paranormal on a level of ghosts or UFOs or Bigfoot; It was just paranormal on the fact (the characters) were next to normal. It certainly wasn’t normal.”

Paranormal opens with the title song, which features Roger Glover. The above Billboard story also includes a video breaking down the record. Commenting on the title track, he noted he wanted the album to have at least one “Cooperesque” song: “It’s a love song about a guy who’s on the other side. He’s dead and he comes to visit the girl, but there is that curtain between them where he can’t really touch her. She knows he’s there…It’s a creepy song, and we made it a little over the top…” I suppose you could say that – but what else would you expect?

Fallen In Love is a rock & roll tune with a nice ZZ Top vibe. Cooper explained for that reason he wanted to have Billy Gibbons – makes sense. It’s safe to assume this turned the rocker more into a ZZ Top-like tune. The song’s riff and solo definitely sound like classic Gibbons.

Holy Water is an unusual song for Cooper, which combines rock with a soul-like horn section. Apparently, when it initially was presented to him, he immediately liked the tune but didn’t feel the lyrics were something he’d ever sing. So he changed the words. Holy Water was also turned from what he called a rap tune into a rock song. The result is a song with a nice groove.

The Sound of A is the first tune that Cooper ever wrote back in 1967. At the time, his band was still called The Spiders. Dunaway, the bassist, had brought it in. “It was the most psychedelic song, because during the recording, everybody just went off on these guitar parts and things, and it just swirled,” Cooper noted. “It ended up being one of the most interesting songs on the album…totally forgot that I wrote it.”

Paranormal was produced by Bob Ezrin, who first worked with the Alice Cooper band in 1971, producing their third studio album Love It to Death. It included I’m Eighteen, the band’s first hit peaking at no. 21 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. Since then, Ezrin produced 13 additional Cooper records, including the new album. Ezrin has also worked with other top-notch artists, such as Lou Reed, Pink Floyd, Deep Purple and Peter Gabriel. In fact, he produced Deep Purple’s last album Infinite.

As noted above, in addition to the studio songs, Paranormal features six live tracks. They were captured last May during a show in Columbus, Ohio. Here’s a clip of my favorite one, the epic School’s Out.

Sources: Wikipedia, Billboard, YouTube

 

Gregg Allman One Last Time

Two months after Gregg Allman’s death from lung cancer at the age of 69, Rounder Records announced his eighth and final studio album Southern Blood will be released on September 8. Recorded at Fame Studios in Muscle Shoals, Ala. last year, the record includes one original song and nine covers of tunes from various artists, including Bob Dylan, Willie Dixon and Jackson Browne.

On his final album Allman collaborated with his long-time manager Michael Lehman and producer Don Was, who mostly recently produced The Rolling Stones’ 2016 blues album Blue & Lonesome and has served as producer for many other artists like Van Morrison, John Mayer, Bonnie Raitt and Bob Seger. According a Rolling Stone story, Allman initially had planned to write more songs for the record, but it soon became apparent that between touring and his worsening health issues this wasn’t feasible.

“So we came up with the idea of picking a great selection of songs that had deep meaning for Gregg,” Lehman told Rolling Stone. “The order of the songs tells Gregg’s story. When Gregg picked them, he knew where he was in his life’s journey. He was already further along with the progression of his disease.” Added Was: “It was kind of unspoken, but it was really clear we were preparing a final statement, in many ways…It was so fuckin’ heavy, man. We weren’t going to a picnic.”

The original tune on the album is called My Only True Friend. It was co-written by Allman and Scott Sharrad, who had been the lead guitarist and the musical director of the Gregg Allman Band since 2008. NPR exclusively premiered the song on Wednesday.

Fame Studios had special meaning to Allman. “A constant discussion during all of my nearly 15 years working with Gregg was his desire to return to Muscle Shoals,” Lehman explained. “He always would talk about how he needed to get back to Fame Studios to bring him full circle.”

“Muscle Shoals is hallowed musical ground,” Was further pointed out. “Fame was the place where Gregg’s brother Duane first started making waves in the music world and where the earliest seeds of The Allman Brothers Band were sown in a back room during their first, seminal rehearsals. Duane’s presence is still ubiquitous in that building. Recording there was Gregg’s way of making his spirit a part of this album, in the same way that his spirit continued to be part of Gregg’s life.”

Following is the album’s track listing:

1. My Only True Friend (Gregg Allman-Scott Sharrard)

2. Once I Was (Tim Buckley-Larry Beckett)

3. Going Going Gone (Bob Dylan)

4. Black Muddy River (Jerome J. Garcia-Robert C. Hunter)

5. I Love the Life I Live (Willie Dixon)

6. Willin’ (Lowell George)

7. Blind Bats and Swamp Rats (Jack Avery)

8. Out of Left Field (Dewey Lindon Oldham Jr.-Dan Penn)

9. Love Like Kerosene (Scott Sharrard)

10. Song for Adam featuring Jackson Browne (Jackson Browne)

Southern Blood, Allman’s first all-new recording since the excellent Low Country Blues from 2011, will be available in different configurations, including a standard CD, a deluxe CD with two extra tracks and a bonus DVD, and a limited edition first-run LP featuring hardwood colored heavyweight vinyl and an exclusive lithograph. It is available for pre-order on Amazon and in Allman’s online store.

The deluxe edition includes a documentary about the making of the album. It’s titled, Back to the Swamp: The Making of Southern Blood. Here’s a trailer.

Sources: Wikipedia, Rounder Record press release, Rolling Stone, NPR, YouTube

Louisiana Guitarist Shows Blues Rock Is Alive

A few weeks ago, I read for the first time about Kenny Wayne Shepherd’s upcoming new studio album. It brought a big smile on my face. Ironically, this happened in the wake of a Washington Post story with the clever title Why My Guitar Gently Weeps with a cheerful subhead The slow, secret death of the six-string electric. And why you should care. Care I do. And there is perhaps nothing that gets me more excited than a bit of defiance!

Shepherd, a 40-year-old guitarist from Shreveport, La., is one of several young artists who are keeping blues rock alive. Three other musicians I can think of in this context are Texans Gary Clark Jr. (33), from Austin, and Casey James (35), from Fort Worth, as well as Joe Bonamassa, a 40-year-old hailing from New Hartford, N.Y. James just came out with his latest record Strip It Down, which I previously reviewed here.

Of course, I’m not suggesting all it takes to reverse declining electric guitar sales is a bunch of young blues rockers – BTW, “young artist” in my book means up to 40 years. But I hope, perhaps naively, the more cool guitar dudes are out there, the more young kids will realize there are cool things beyond video consoles and games. And, last time I checked, you can still impress a lady with playing the guitar – just saying! 🙂

Back to Shepherd who started teaching himself how to play the guitar at age seven after he had been blown away by seeing Stevie Ray Vaughan. In 1990, the then-13-year-old already recorded his fist demo tapes. His studio debut, Ledbetter Heights, followed in September 1995. Shepherd’s upcoming album, Lay It On Down, will be his eighth studio release. It’s scheduled to come out Friday, August 4.

Shepherd discussed his new album during a recent interview with Billboard. “I wanted to grab from several different genres,” he noted. According to the publication, the music ranges from hard rockers (Baby Got Gone), soul-flavored tunes (Diamonds & Gold), blues songs (Down For Love and The Ride Of Your Life) to country-influenced ballads (Hard Lesson Learned, Louisiana Rain and the title track).

“The goal was to make a contemporary sounding record,” Shepherd noted, “something that was new and fresh and obviously doesn’t sound like many of my other records. The last record I did (2014’s Goin’ Home) was traditional blues, so on this one I needed to do some different things, and I think we did.” From what I can tell at this time, he succeeded.

Four of the album’s 10 tracks are already available in iTunes/Apple Music and I imagine other platforms. The record vigorously opens with Baby Got Gone, a tune I instantly liked after listening to just the opening bars. Here’s a nice clip of the official video.

Next up: Diamonds & Gold. The track has a kick-ass horn section that gives it a nice soul groove. I’m also turned on by Shepherd’s use of the wah-wah pedal – yep, that antique electric guitar effect that became famous in the late 60s when Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton and other guitarists widely embraced it. My kind of music!

Nothing But the Night takes things down by a tiny notch. The mid-tempo rocker has a good groove and a catchy chorus. Listen for yourself!

The final song I can call out is the title track, a beautiful mid-tempo ballad. It’s one of the above mentioned country-influenced and stripped back tunes. Shepherd co-wrote it with blues rock singer-songwriter, guitarist and producer Mark Selby and Tia Sillers, a Nashville songwriter. Sillers is probably best known for co-writing I Hope You Dance, a no. 1 country hit for Lee Ann Womack in 2000 – one of the most beautiful inspirational tunes I know.

Commenting on the song during the above Billboard interview, Shepherd said, “This one is very complex…It’s got a very significant lyric to it. It’s personal. It’s about someone I know very well; It’s about a girl who has bought into the idea she’s not good enough, and that’s not the truth. Everyone else sees the beauty in her except her, so the guy in the song’s trying to say, ‘I wish you could see what I see.’ The message in the song is, like, ‘Believe in yourself. Don’t buy into the voices in your head that want to drag you down.’ I think that speaks to a lot of people in the world, too, not just who I’m singing the song about.”

Produced by Marshall Altman, Lay It On Down was recorded at Blade Studios in Shreveport. Altman also produced Shepherd’s previous studio album Goin’ Home, which appeared in May 2014. Despite what Shepherd called the experimentation, he believes folks who have come to like him because of his blues rock sound are going to embrace the new record. “That’s the foundation of what I do. You hear that in all my music, and in all of the tracks on the record,” he told Billboard. “Drawing from these different genres and various musical influences, it enables me to take that blues foundation and put it in different directions and try different things with it, step outside the box a little bit.”

Well said! I can’t wait until the entire album will become available.

Sources: Wikipedia, Washington Post, Billboard, YouTube

On This Day In Rock & Roll History: July 22

1967: The Pink Floyd, as they called themselves then, played The Beach Ballroom in Aberdeen, Scotland. At the time, the band was still led by Syd Barrett (lead guitar, vocals). The other members included Roger Waters (bass, vocals), Richard Wright (keyboards) and Nick Mason (drums). Famous for its dance floors, The Beach Ballroom also attracted other famous acts, such as The Beatles, Cream and The Who. While I was able to confirm the date of the performance, I could not find the set list. But given the concert happened only a few months after the band had recorded their studio debut The Piper At the Gates of the Dawn, it’s safe to assume tunes like Astronomy Domine, Interstellar Overdrive, Bike and Arnold Lane were part of the set. Here is a clip of Astronomy Domine, apparently captured in May 1967 on the BBC’s broadcast Look of the Week – the closest I could find.

1969: During a studio session for The Beatles’ Abbey Road, John Lennon recorded his lead vocals for Come Together. Paul McCartney did an overdub of the electric piano. Electric guitar and maracas were also overdubbed. In addition, McCartney made his next to last attempt to record the lead vocals for Oh! Darling. The final take was captured during the next day’s session, the culmination of a week-long effort. McCartney wanted his voice to sound as if he had performed the song on stage all week.

1973: David Bowie released Life On Mars as a single, backed by The Man Who Sold the World. Both tunes were written by Bowie. Life On Mars initially appeared on his fourth studio album Honky Dory, which was released in Dec 1971. The Man Who Sold the World was the title song of Bowie’s third studio release in November 1970. Life On Mars became one of his biggest hits, climbing to no. 3 on the U.K. Singles Chart and charting for 13 weeks. It was one of many songs that reflected Bowie’s fascination with space. Examples of other space tunes he wrote include Space Oddity, Moonage Daydream, Starman, Hallo Spaceboy and Dancing Out In Space.

1977: My Aim Is True, the debut album from English singer-songwriter Elvis Costello, was released in the U.K. According to the liner notes, “My Aim Is True was recorded at Pathway Studios, Islington in a total of Twenty four hours studio time and at a cost of 2000 pounds. As I still had my “day-job” these sessions had to take place on “sick days” and holidays during late 1976 and early 1977. The musicians were members of the Marin county band Clover, who could not be credited at the time due to contractual reasons.” My Aim Is True was the first of five Costello albums in a row that were produced by Nick Lowe. The record received many accolades. In 1997, Rolling Stone named it as one of the best albums of the year and in 2004 also ranked it at no. 168 in its 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time list. Pitchfork ranked Costello’s debut at no. 37 of the Top 100 Albums of the 1970s. In 2007, the album was also inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. Here’s a clip of the record’s fourth single Watching the Detectives.

Sources: This Day in Music.com; Setlist.fm; Wikipedia; Billboard; http://www.elviscostello.info: My Aim Is True (1993) Liner Notes; Rolling Stone; Pitchfork; YouTube

The Hardware: Gibson Les Paul

As Jim, who writes the excellent Music Enthusiast blog, pointed out a couple of weeks ago after I had published my post about the Fender Stratocaster, I could just as well have called the Gibson Les Paul the model that embodies the electric guitar. I couldn’t agree more; in fact, I had planned all along to do a post on the Les Paul as well, so let’s get to it!

Obviously, the legendary guitar is closely associated with American guitarist, songwriter and inventor Les Paul. The origins of the electric guitar that would bear his name date back to 1940 when Paul built the so-called “Log” at the Epiphone guitar factory. The crude instrument, which consisted of a 4″ × 4″ chunk of pine wood with strings and a pickup, was one of the first solid-body electric guitars. To improve the look, Paul took the wings of an Epiphone archtop body and added them to the pine body.

When Paul offered his idea to the Gibson Guitar Corporation in 1941, they initially turned him down. That changed when rival Fender started marketing their Esquire model in 1950, a solid-body electric guitar that later turned into the Broadcaster and eventually the Telecaster.

After Gibson Guitar president Ted McCarty realized the enthusiasm about the Esquire and the Broadcaster, he asked Paul to become a consultant to the company. In 1951, Paul, McCarty and his team started developing a solid-body. While apparently there are differing recollections who contributed what, the result was the first Gibson Les Paul, introduced in 1952. Paul used it for the first time in public in June that year during a live performance at the Paramount Theatre in New York.

The initial Les Paul featured a mahogany body and neck, two P-90 single coil pickups and a one-piece, trapeze-style bridge/tailpiece with strings fitted under a steel stop-bar. In 1953, a second Les Paul model called the Les Paul Custom was introduced. A more important development happened in 1957, when Gibson introduced humbucker pickups on the Les Pauls. According to Wikipedia, a humbucker is a double-coil pick-up to cancel out the interference picked up by single-coil pickups, i.e., bucking the hum.

While the Les Paul models were formidable instruments, they were pretty heavy, which is why initially they weren’t widely embraced by guitarists. As a result, in 1961, Gibson introduced the Gibson SG, a lighter solid-body guitar that became the company’s best-selling model of all time. The company also stopped producing the traditional Les Paul.

Initially, Gibson launched the SG as the new Gibson Les Paul. But since the model had been developed without Paul’s knowledge and he was unhappy with the design, he requested that his name be removed from the headstock. Gibson agreed and Paul remained as a consultant with the company. Personally, I’ve always found the SG is a really cool looking guitar.

Ironically, a few years after production had been discontinued, Les Paul models started to become en vogue when guitarists like Keith Richards and Eric Clapton discovered and began using them. Other guitarists followed, such as Mike Bloomfield from the Paul Butterfield Blues Band and the Grateful Dead’s Jerry Garcia. Again reacting to popularity trends, Gibson reintroduced the Les Paul single cutaway guitar in July 1968. While there have been some tweaks over the years, the model remains in production to this day.

As indicated above, many guitarists have used Les Pauls. Following is a list of some of them.

Duane Allman

The legendary session musician and lead guitarist of the Allman Brothers Band has used various Les Paul models. Here’s a great clip of the band’s epic live performance of Whipping Post at the Fillmore East in 1970. I believe Allman was playing a 1957 Les Paul Goldtop.

Eric Clapton

While Clapton is better known for Fender Stratocaster guitars, he has also used Gibson models, including a 1960 sunburst Les Paul and a 1957 goldtop Les Paul Custom. In 2010, Gibson announced the Clapton 1960 Les Paul Standard signature model, also known as the “Beano Burst.” Here’s a clip of Clapton playing his 1960 Les Paul.

Jimmy Page

Page has used various Les Paul models, including from 1959 and 1973. He also owned a modified 1960 Les Paul Custom “Black Beauty,” which was stolen in 1970 and has never been found. Gibson has produced three Jimmy Page signature models. In this clip from Led Zeppelin’s live performance of We’re Gonna Groove at London’s Royal Albert Hall in 1970, Page can be seen using a Les Paul.

Slash

Slash has used many different Les Paul models including his own custom shop Les Paul. Altogether, he has collaborated with Gibson on eight signature models. Here’s a clip of a 1988 Guns N’ Roses’ live performance of Sweet Child O’ Mine, featuring Slash on a Les Paul.

Joe Perry

The Aerosmith lead guitarist has used many Gibson guitar models, including various Les Pauls. Gibson has released two Joe Perry signature Les Pauls, the first in 1996, the second in 2004. The latter is known as the Boneyard Les Paul. In the following clip of a live performance of Toys In the Attic, Perry is playing the Boneyard.

Gary Moore

Moore played a Les Paul Standard. There were also two Gibson Gary Moore signature Les Pauls. Here’s the blues rocker and his Les Paul in action live with Walking By Myself.

Pete Townshend

Among other Gibson models, The Who guitarist used various customized Les Pauls from 1973 to 1979. In 2005, Gibson introduced three Townshend signature Les Paul Deluxe guitars, based on his heavily customized “#1” Wine Red 1976 Les Paul Deluxe, “#3” Gold top 1976, and “#9” Cherry Sunburst 1976. Here is a great clip of a 1978 live performance of Won’t Get Fooled Again, which became the closing scene of The Kids Are Alright rockumentary, in which Townshend plays one of his customized Les Pauls. Sadly, one of the most iconic moments in rock also captured the last performance of Keith Moon, who died in September that year.

Of course, this post would not be complete without a clip of the maestro himself, Les Paul. Not only does it show Paul perform one of his biggest hit singles, How High the Moon (1951), but he also demonstrates one of his inventions called Les Paulverizer. According to Wikipedia, the little device attached to his guitar allowed Paul to access pre-recorded layers of songs during live performance, so he could replicate his recorded sound on stage.

Sources: Wikipedia; Premier Guitar; YouTube

In Appreciation of the Bass Player

Oftentimes, when people think about rock bands, the bass player is not the member that comes to mind first. Especially, for guitar-oriented rock, it’s usually the singer and especially the lead guitarist who get most if not all of the attention – after all, the lead guitarist is the guy who gets to play the cool solos. But while typically being less in the limelight, the bass player actually is an essential part of any rock band!

As a former hobby bass player, I’m of course completely unbiased here. But let’s face it, what would music be without a great groove? And that’s exactly where the bass player comes in, together with the drummer. These two guys form the core rhythm section of any rock band, and they better are on the same page!

Okay, so after having reiterated the importance of the bass player, now on to the fun part: yet another list, specifically of great bass players. There are actually many who come to mind. Undoubtedly, I don’t know all of them – not even close! But with a little help from Bass Player Magazine, the task becomes less daunting. So let’s get to it, in no particular order:

Paul McCartney

Of course, I have to start with somebody who is associated with The Beatles – I just can’t help it! McCartney is not a technical virtuoso, which I recall he has admitted himself in interviews. The thing that’s great about McCartney is not technique, but his beautiful melodic style. As The Beatles became more sophisticated in using recording technology in the studio, McCartney oftentimes recorded the bass part as one of the last tracks of the song. That way, he could hear the other instrumental parts and truly add to the music with a nice bass melody. While Rubber Soul only represents The Beatles’ early transition to more advanced studio work, McCartney’s bass part on Drive My Car is among my favorites.

John Entwistle

In some regards, John Entwistle to me falls on the other end of the spectrum when compared to McCartney. While according to Bass Player Magazine’s list of The 100 Greatest Bass Players of All Time, Entwistle did not consider himself to be a “proper” bass player, his virtuosity was off the charts – and he played all his crazy parts in such a cool and relaxed manner! I was fortunate enough to witness this myself during a great show of The Who at New York’s Madison Square Garden in 2000, less than two years prior to Entwistle’s untimely death at age 57 in a Las Vegas hotel room. Perhaps, the ultimate Entwistle part is his epic solo in My Generation.

Roger Glover

Together with drummer Ian Paice, Roger Glover forms the kick-ass rhythm section of Deep Purple. My favorite Glover part is the terrific bass solo in Pictures of Home, one of the great tunes on Machine Head; if I would have to choose one 70s hard rock album, I think it would be this record. Undoubtedly, there were other important bands, such as Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, but to me it’s still Deep Purple. I’m actually going to see them for the first time ever at the end of August. Three of the legendary Mark IV members, Paice, Glover and singer Ian Gillan, are still part of the mix! Glover’s solo, BTW, starts at 3:40 minutes.

Graham Maby

Graham Maby is best known for his association with Joe Jackson with whom he has worked since Jackson’s 1979 studio debut Look Sharp! One of my favorite Maby moments is his bass part on Geraldine and John, from I’m the Man, Jackson’s best album in my opinion. It’s another great example of melodic bass playing, though Maby also plays hard-pumping, punk rock-oriented bass parts on that album. I just dig the man’s sound!

Tal Wilkenfeld

This 30-year-old lady from down under simply is an amazing overachiever. Tal Wilkenfeld has worked with the likes of Jeff Beck, Prince, Chick Corea and Herbie Hancock – oh, and this band called The Allman Brothers. In addition, this Australian dynamo is a singer, songwriter and guitarist who fronts her own band. Is there anything she can’t do? While in 2008 Wilkenfeld was voted The Year’s Most Exciting New Player in a poll of readers of Bass Player and was also recognized by the publication in 2013 with the Young Gun Award, surprisingly, she’s not on their 100 Greatest Bass Player list – definitely an oversight! Just watch this amazing clip of Wilkenfeld with Beck and you know why. BTW, she was 20 years at the time!

Sting

Apart from being a songwriter and talented acoustic guitarist, Sting is also a great bassist. Bass Player credits him for bringing reggae influences into rock when he was still with The Police, citing tunes like Roxanne and Can’t Stand Losing You. One of my favorite Sting bass parts from his time with The Police is in Spirits In the Material World, from the band’s fourth studio album Ghost in the Machine, released in 1981.

Pino Palladino

To me, this exceptional session bassist will always remain synonymous with the fretless bass. And perhaps no other tune captures this better than Paul Young’s cover of the beautiful Marvin Gaye tune Wherever I Lay My Hat (That’s My Home) – ah, the 80s are coming back to me! For the record, at the time, I owned a fretless in addition to a regular bass, but whatever I tried, I just could never create that distinct fretless sound – not even close!

Jack Bruce

Jack Bruce is considered to be one of the greatest rock bassists. When he passed away in October 2014 at the age of 71, there were countless tributes from fellow music artists. According to Rolling Stone, former Cream band mate Eric Clapton said, “he was a great musician and composer, and a tremendous inspiration to me.” The same story also recalled Pink Floyd’s Roger Waters saying in his 100 Greatest Artists tribute to Cream that Bruce was “probably the most musically gifted bass player who’s ever been.” While Bruce had a serious career prior to and post Cream, he will probably always best be remembered as the singer and bassist of the rock supergroup power trio, who also co-wrote some of their best known songs like I Feel Free, Sunshine of Your Love and White Room. Here’s a nice clip of Sunshine of Your Love from Cream’s 2005 reunion show at the Royal Albert Hall in London.

Geddy Lee

Just like Cream, Canadian rock legends Rush are a power trio. And just like Jack Bruce was, Geddy Lee is Rush’s singer and bassist. In addition to a remarkable vocal range, Lee oftentimes uses his bass as a lead instrument. His signature style is characterized by high treble sound and furiously hard playing of the strings. Bass Player also notes his “multi-tasking chops: His ability to trigger samples, play keys, step on bass pedals, and sing vocal parts in odd time signatures while nailing Rush’s complex yet catchy bass lines…” Here’s a nice illustration of Lee’s playing – a live performance of the instrumental Leave That Thing Alone, which first appeared on Rush’s 1993 studio album Counterparts.

Stephen Oliver Jones

Who? Stephen Oliver Jones (Ojay) currently does not play in any famous band, but maybe he should. Also known as the Jimi Hendrix of the bass, he used to be a professional musician. Now it appears he’s a street musician and a YouTube sensation. During a 2015 interview with the Draper on Film blog, Jones explained he is self-taught and used to play in a rap rock band called Dust Junkys from Manchester, England. The following YouTube clip, which has more than 1.6 million views, showcases Jones’ incredible talent. When I first saw it on Facebook, I was blown away. And since this hasn’t changed, it was an easy decision to include Ojay in this list. He is going full-blown Hendrix at 2:48 minutes – unreal!

Sources: Bass Player Magazine: The 100 Greatest Bass Players of All Time (Feb 2017); Wikipedia, Rolling Stone, Draper on Film, YouTube

Clips & Pix: The Doobie Brothers/ China Grove

Nice clip of The Doobie Brothers playing China Grove at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles on Saturday as part of their show at The Classic West. China Grove was included on 1973’s The Captain and Me, the band’s third studio album, and was also released as the record’s second single. The tune was written by Tom Johnston (guitar, vocals), one of the band’s remaining original members; the other one is Patrick Simmons (guitar, vocals). Since last year, the Doobie Brothers have been a six-piece band.

Sources: Wikipedia, Setlist.fm, YouTube

Clips & Pix: Fleetwood Mac/Don’t Stop

Cool clip of Fleetwood Mac performing Don’t Stop at The Classic West at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles on Sunday night. It was the encore of their gig at the festival. Written by Christine McVie, the song first appeared on Rumours, their 11th and most successful studio album that appeared in February 1977. It was also released separately as the record’s third single in April that year.

Sources: Wikipedia, Setlist.fm, YouTube

When Live Performances Become the Ultimate Listening Experience

To me there is nothing that beats the experience of listening to music live. But there are only so many shows one can go to. Plus, at least in my case, some of my favorite artists are no longer around or bands have changed their line-ups to the point where they no longer have much to do with the act I initially came to like.

Fortunately, many music artists have recorded live albums. While a live record can never replace attending an actual show, if well produced, it can at least convey an idea of how it must have felt being there. Obviously, some live albums are better and more authentic than others. Following is a list of songs from some of my favorite live records.

Things We Said Today/The Beatles (The Beatles at the Hollywood Bowl, 1977/1964 & 1965)

Sunny Afternoon/The Kinks (Live at Kelvin Hall, 1967)

Jumpin’ Jack Flash/The Rolling Stones (Get Yer Ya-Ya’s Out!, 1970)

First I Look At the Purse/The J. Geils Band (“Live” Full House, 1972)

Rock And Roll All Nite/Kiss (Alive!, 1975)

Turn the Page/Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band (Live Bullet, 1976)

I Want You to Want Me/Cheap Trick (Cheap Trick At Budokan, 1978)

Rock You Like a Hurricane/Scorpions (World Wide Live, 1985)

Nutbush City Limits/Tina Turner (Tina Live In Europe, 1988)

Pride (In the Name of Love)/U2 (Rattle And Hum, 1988)

Sources: Wikipedia, YouTube

The Eagles Rise Again At Classic West

Following Glenn Frey’s untimely death in January 2016 at the age of 67, the future of The Eagles looked uncertain. After all, Frey led the Southern California band together with Don Henley and co-wrote most of their songs with him. So it was a fair question to ask whether anyone could step into his shoes. Last night, fans got some answers during The Eagles’ first regular live concert after Frey’s death, conducted at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles at part of 2music festival.

Of course, to close observers it wasn’t much of a surprise. At the end of May, the Los Angeles Times had reported Deacon Frey, Glenn’s 24-year-old son, and country artist Vince Gill, one of Frey’s close friends, would join The Eagles to share responsibilities for replacing Frey.

“Bringing Deacon in was my idea,” Henley told the Times. “I think of the guild system, which in both Eastern and Western cultures is a centuries-old tradition of the father passing down the trade to his son, and to me, that makes perfect moral and ethical sense. The primary thing is I think Glenn would be good with it — with both of these guys. I think he’d go, ‘That’s the perfect way to do this.’”

Deacon added he grew up singing his father’s songs. “The first songs I learned on guitar were ‘Take It Easy’ and ‘Peaceful Easy Feeling.’ He was always very supportive and very encouraging of my music and my love for music.”

During the same interview, a beaming Gill commented, “In my mind, I always thought I’d have made a good Eagle…but in a million years, I never would have seen this coming. It’s pretty surreal. I turned 60 recently, and to get to be a part of this amazing legacy of songs, that’s the greatest part of all this for me.”

While Deacon’s and Gill’s participation in last night’s show had been announced, the appearance of another music artist was a surprise. Bob Seger, a long-time friend of Frey and a collaborator, joined the band to sing Heartache Tonight. The song choice was not a coincidence – Seger had co-written the tune with Henley, Frey and J.D. Souther and provided (non-credited) background vocals on the recording.

Following are a few clips showing Deacon Frey and Vince Gill with the band. The footage is taken from other shows.

Tequila Sunrise featuring Vince Gill

Peaceful Easy Feeling featuring Deacon Frey

Heartache Tonight featuring Bob Seger

And then there is of course the ultimate signature Eagles tune, Hotel California, which was the first encore.

While media coverage of last night’s show has been favorable, I’ve no doubt critical voices will emerge, questioning the motives behind the revival of The Eagles. After all, in the wake of Frey’s death, Henley himself had said during various interviews he thought this was the end of the band. Sure, one could take a cynical view and argue this would also mean the end of lucrative concert tours and merchandise, so it’s ultimately a money grab. I do see it a bit differently.

While I’m not naive and realize financial incentives are likely part of the equation here, especially in today’s music business where records no longer sell the way they used to, I also think it’s important to acknowledge The Eagles did not only consist of Henley and Frey. Let’s not forgot about Joe Walsh and Timothy B. Schmit. If one member of a four-piece band is no longer around, this should not automatically seal the fate of the band.

Just like I thought it was perfectly fine for Pink Floyd to continue after they had parted ways with Roger Waters, I feel it’s okay for The Eagles to go on without Glenn Frey. Sure, he’ll be dearly missed and it’s big shoes to fill, especially for Deacon. But while the 24-year-old essentially still is an unproven music artist, he deserves a lot of credit for what must have been a high-pressure performance last night. Gill is the complete opposite. He’s had a 30-year-plus career with 19 studio albums and multiple Country Music Association and Grammy Awards – more than any other country male artist.

It remains to be seen whether Deacon Fry and Vince Gill will become permanent replacements for Glenn. For now, The Eagles are soaring again, which most fans will appreciate.

Sources: Wikipedia, Los Angeles Times, Rolling Stone, Setlist.fm, YouTube