The Sunday Six

After skipping last Sunday due to a short hiatus, I’m thrilled to be back with The Sunday Six and hope you’ll join me for another trip with the music time machine. As always, our journey will include six stops in different decades. Let’s do it!

Weather Report/Cannon Ball

Easing us into today’s trip are jazz fusion dynamos Weather Report, a band I’ve really come to dig. Austrian keyboarder Joe Zawinul, who is regarded as one of the creators of jazz fusion, co-founded Weather Report in 1970 with saxophone maestro Wayne Shorter. Cannon Ball, a Zawinul composition, appeared on the group’s sixth studio album Black Market, released in March 1976. This was their first album to feature the amazing Jaco Pastorius who played electric fretless bass on two tracks, one of which was Cannon Ball. Other Weather Report members on this particular tune included Narada Michael Walden (drums) and Alex Acuña (congas, percussion). The group’s most successful album Heavy Weather was still one year away. They would record seven more records thereafter before disbanding in 1986.

Buddy Holly/Peggy Sue

Our next stop takes us back to February 1958 and one of my all-time favorite early rock & roll tunes: Peggy Sue by Buddy Holly. During his short seven-year career, this bespectacled young man from Lubbock, Tx. wrote and performed amazing songs, creating a legacy that lasts to this day. Holly also was one of the early adopters of the Fender Stratocaster. His 1957 appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show with his band The Crickets helped popularize the legendary electric guitar. Peggy Sue, co-written by Crickets drummer Jerry Allison and producer Norman Petty, appeared on what technically was Holly’s first eponymous solo album. For contractual reasons, his previous record, The “Chirping” Crickets, was credited to The Crickets, though the same band played on both releases. Holly may not have had Elvis Presley looks, but this man was a true rock & roll star!

Katrina and the Waves/Cry to Me

Time to slow things down by traveling to March 1985 and a great tune by Katrina and the Waves. Initially called The Waves, the British-American band is best known for their 1985 hit Walking On Sunshine, which interestingly went unnoticed when they first recorded it for their December 1983 debut. But things changed dramatically with a re-recorded version that became the lead single of the band’s eponymous third studio album from March 1985. That record also included Cry to Me. Like Walking On Sunshine, it was penned by Kimberley Rew, the group’s lead guitarist and backing vocalist. Katrina and the Waves would make, well, waves one more time in May 1997 when they won the Eurovision Song Contest with Love Shine a Light. But they were not able to follow up that success with another hit. Lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Katrina Leskanich left in 1998 after several disagreements with her bandmates, leading to the group’s dissolution in 1999.

Umbilicus/Hello Future

Let’s return to the present and a furious rock & roll tune by Umbilicus – ‘who?’ you may wonder. I had the same reaction until I came across Hello Future the other day and was immediately hooked! According to this post and interview on Maximum Volume Music, Umbilicus came together in the summer of 2020. Drummer Paul Mazurkiewicz noted their love of rock and roll from the late 60’s, 70’s and early 80’s, citing Grand Funk, Bad Company and Steppenwolf among his influences, along with lesser-known bands like Sir Lord Baltimore and Lucifer’s Friend. Umbilicus also include Taylor Nordberg (guitar), Vernon Blake (bass) and Brian Stephenson (vocals). Hello Future, credited to all four members of the band, is from their debut album Path of 1000 Suns, which came out in September 2022. Damn!

The Band/The Weight

No Sunday Six can exclude the ’60s, so we shall set our time machine to July 1968 and a timeless classic by The Band: The Weight, off their debut studio album Music from Big Pink. Officially, the Canadian-American group was formed the previous year in Toronto, Canada, but its origins go back to 1957 when it was called The Hawks and backing Toronto-based rockabilly singer Ronnie Hawkins. From 1965 to 1967, the group was Bob Dylan’s touring band and also recorded various sessions with the maestro. By the time of Music from Big Pink, The Band featured Robbie Robertson (guitar, vocals), Garth Hudson (organ, piano, clavinet, saxophone), Richard Manuel (piano, organ, vocals), Rick Danko (bass, fiddle, vocals) and Levon Helm (drums, tambourine, vocals) – the line-up that would stay in place until they first broke up in 1978. The Weight, written by Robertson, also became a single in August 1968, backed by the 1967 Dylan song I Shall Be Released.

Delbert McClinton/Everytime I Roll the Dice

And once again another music trip is coming to an end. For our final stop, we go to April 1992 and Never Been Rocked Enough, a studio album by Delbert McClinton. Shout-out to Cincinnati Babyhead who digs and effectively introduced me to the roots artist from Texas. BTW, Clinton hails from the same town as Buddy Holly. Blending country, blues, soul and rock & roll, McClinton has been active since 1957. Long before recording as a singer, he became an accomplished harmonica player. McClinton was prominently featured on Hey! Baby, a 1962 no. 1 hit for fellow Texan Bruce Channel. It took him until the mid-’70s to establish himself as a solo artist. In 1980, his rendition of Jerry Lynn Williams’ Giving It Up for Your Love reached no. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100, his only top 10 hit. Here’s Everytime I Roll the Dice, the excellent opener of the above-mentioned 1992 album, co-written by Max Barnes and Troy Seals.

Last but not least, here’s a Spotify playlist of the above tracks. Hope there’s something you like!

Sources: Wikipedia; Maximum Volume Music; YouTube; Spotify

The Sunday Six

I can’t believe it’s Sunday again and (in the U.S.) Thanksgiving is just around the corner. Before we know it, Christmas will be upon us, and another year will be over. Okay, before all of that happens, let’s explore the amazing world of music with a little trip, zig-zagging the past six decades or so, six tracks at a time. Are you in?

Freddie Hubbard/Little Sunflower

Perhaps the only thing that has become a fixture of the Sunday Six is to start our trip with jazz. For some reason, jazz and Sunday mornings are a perfect fit. Today, my proposition is American jazz trumpeter Freddie Hubbard who was active between 1958 and 2008, playing bebop, hard bop and post-bop styles. He started playing the mellophone (a brass instrument similar to the trumpet) and the trumpet in his high school band in Indianapolis. After moving to New York in 1958, the then-20-year-old began playing with some of the best jazz players of the era, including Philly Joe Jones, Sonny Rollins, Slide Hampton, Eric Dolphy and J. J. Johnson. Following the June 1960 release of his first record as a leader, Open Sesame, Hubbard was invited to play on Ornette Coleman’s sixth album Free Jazz. As is quite common in jazz, Hubbard also served as a sideman for many other jazz greats, such as Oliver Nelson, Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter. Little Sunflower is a Hubbard composition from his album Backlash, released in May 1967. He was backed by James Spaulding (flute, alto saxophone), Albert Dailey (piano), Bob Cunningham (bass), Otis Ray Appleton (drums) and Ray Barretto (percussion). Smooth and groovy stuff – feel free to move and snip along!

Cry Of Love/Peace Pipe

Let’s jump to the ’90s and American rock band Cry Of Love. Formed in Raleigh, N.C. in 1989 by Audley Freed (guitar), Pee Wee Watson (vocals, guitar), Robert Kearns (bass, vocals) and Jason Patterson, they released their debut album Brother in May 1993. Following a 17-month supporting tour, Kelly Holland who had become the group’s frontman in 1991 quit. Cry Of Love replaced him with Robert Mason, vocalist of hard rock band Lynch Mob, and in 1997 put out one more album, Diamonds & Debris, before calling it quits. Peace Pipe, co-written by Freed and Holland, is a tune from the above-mentioned Brother. It became their biggest hit, topping Billboard’s Mainstream Rock chart in 1993 – cool rocker that reminds me a bit of Bad Company.

Manfred Mann’s Earth Band/Davy’s On the Road Again

Time to pay a visit to the ’70s and Manfred Mann’s Earth Band. Formed in 1971, the group is the third act by Mann who started in the ’60s with self-titled band Manfred Mann before forming the short-lived jazz fusion-inspired outfit Manfred Mann Chapter Three in 1969. Davy’s On the Road Again, from the Earth Band’s eighth studio album Watch released in February 1978, brought Manfred Mann on my radar screen. I loved that tune from the get-go and got the record on vinyl at the time, a copy I own to this day. It’s a bit worn but still plays! Manfred Mann’s Earth Band became best known with renditions of songs, especially by Bruce Springsteen (Blinded by the Light, Spirit in the Night) and Bob Dylan (Mighty Quinn). Davy’s On the Road Again was no exception. The tune was co-written by Robbie Robertson of The Band and the group’s producer John Simon. Simon first released it on his fourth solo album John Simon’s Album, which appeared in 1971. Until I did research for this post, I had no idea about this! While I like the original as well, Manfred Mann’s Earth Band really kicked it up, especially in the album live version. There’s also a shortened single edit I’m not fond of.

Sheryl Crow/Summer Day

I could easily continue visiting great tunes that came out in the last century, especially in the ’60s and ’70s, but let’s not forget the current millennium. The year is 2010. The month is July. That’s when Sheryl Crow released her eighth studio album 100 Miles From Memphis. Since she emerged in August 1993 with her great debut Tuesday Night Music Club, I’ve enjoyed listening to her music. Sadly, we likely won’t be seeing another full-length studio album from her. When Crow released her most recent one Threads in August 2019, she said it was her final such effort, citing changing music trends where listeners create their own playlists and no longer pay much attention to albums. I certainly can’t deny I like playlists myself! Anyway, the vintage R&B and Memphis soul-flavored 100 Miles from Memphis marked a departure from Crow’s country and pop rock past. Let’s listen to Summer Day, a great tune penned by Crow together with co-producers Doyle Bramhall II and Justin Stanley. It also was released separately as the album’s first single, climbing to no. 3 on the U.S. Billboard chart Adult Album Alternative. I don’t know about you, but with freezing temperatures in my neck of the woods, a tune titled Summer Day sounds like an attractive proposition!

Bangles/In a Different Light

Our next stop are the ’80s, a decade in music I really loved at the time as a teenager growing up in Germany. While nowadays from a strictly musical perspective I can no longer say this as a general statement, I will always have a soft spot for the ’80s and memories associated with many of the songs. One of the bands I dug big time and still enjoy to this day are the Bangles, except for certain completely overexposed tunes. In 1986, the largely female pop rock group from Los Angeles released their hugely successful sophomore album Different Light. Among others, it climbed to no. 2 in the U.S. and Australia, no. 3 in the UK, no. 4 in New Zealand and no. 8 in Canada. It spawned five charting singles, including two of their best-known tunes Manic Monday and Walk Like an Egyptian. Here’s one of the songs that did not become a single, In a Different Light, co-written by the band’s vocalists and guitarists Susanna Hoffs and Vicki Peterson.

Janis Joplin/Try (Just a Little Bit Harder)

And once again, this brings us to the final stop of yet another music mini-excursion. For this one, we shall go back to September 1969 and Janis Joplin’s first album as a solo artist, I Got Dem Ol’ Kozmic Blues Again Mama! Sadly, it was the only solo effort that appeared during her life, which was cut short in October 1970 due to a heroin overdose. It made Joplin a member of the creepy 27 Club, which among others also includes Brian Jones, Jimi Hendrix and Jim Morrison, who all died at age 27 between 1969 and 1971. Joplin first rose to fame in 1967 with her appearance at the Monterey International Pop Festival where she fronted Big Brother and the Holding Company, a then-little-known psychedelic rock band from San Francisco. After releasing two albums with the group, Joplin departed to launch a solo career with her own backing bands, Kozmic Blues Band, followed by Full Tilt Boogie Band. Joplin’s second, final and by far most successful solo album Pearl appeared three months after her death. Here’s Try (Just a Little Bit Harder) from her solo debut. Co-written by Jerry Ragovoy and Chip Taylor, the great tune is a fantastic showcase of Joplin’s one-of-a-kind vocals and seemingly boundless energy.

Last but not least, here’s a Spotify playlist featuring the above tunes. Hope there’s something you dig.

Sources: Wikipedia; YouTube; Spotify

If I Could Only Take One

Time again to make the tough choice to pick only one tune by a select artist or band I would take to a desert island. Hopefully, this will never happen, as it’s pretty much mission impossible. We’re up to the letter “b”, so choices include The Beatles, Badfinger, Bad Company, Chuck Berry, James Brown, David Bowie and The Byrds, to name some. I decided to go with Barclay James Harvest.

‘Who the hell is that?’ some of you may wonder, and why didn’t he take his favorite band of all time, The Beatles? Well, let me remind you one criterion for this feature is to pick an artist or band I haven’t covered yet or only a few times – call it a little twist to the exercise! This post is the first about Barclay James Harvest (BJH), a British group I was very much into during my teenage years, growing up in Germany. If I recall it correctly, they were pretty popular there at the time.

BJH (from left): Stuart “Woolly” Wolstenholme, John Lees, Mel Pritchard and Les Holroyd

BJH were formed in September 1966 by John Lees (guitar, vocals), Stuart “Woolly” Wolstenholme (keyboards, vocals), Les Holroyd (bass, vocals) and Mel Pritchard (drums, percussion). Their eponymous debut album appeared in 1970. Various configurations of the group have since released close to 20 additional studio albums, as well as numerous live and compilation records.

BJH are oftentimes classified as prog-rock and art rock. This sounds pretty accurate to me, especially for their earlier albums. I think one can also add symphonic rock, folk rock and pop rock. Currently, there are two touring versions of the group, John Lees’ Barclay James Harvest and Barclay James Harvest featuring Les Holroyd, which are each led by an original member. In case you’re interested to learn more, you can visit their respective websites here and here.

This finally brings me to the song I decided to pick: Mocking Bird, a tune that appeared on BJH’s sophomore album Once Again from February 1971. Written by John Lees, the symphonic rock tune is very reminiscent of The Moody Blues.

Six years after Once Again had appeared, Lees wrote a song titled Poor Man’s Moody Blues. But what could be viewed as an acknowledgment that the group was influenced by the Moodys apparently was an angry reaction to a journalist who had called BJH “a poor man’s Moody Blues.” The tune deliberately sounded very similar to Nights in White Satin.

Understandably, Justin Hayward, who wrote the renowned Moody Blues song, was less than pleased. Had this happened in the U.S., I think it’s safe to assume there would have been a big lawsuit. Years later, Hayward received an apology from Les Holroyd when they met each other.

Sources: Wikipedia; John Lees’ Barclay James Harvest website; Barclay James Harvest featuring Les Holroyd website; YouTube

For the One-Thousand’s Time on This Channel

The time has come for a bit of self-promotion, something I usually shy away from. While it’s not my personality to highlight my accomplishments, I felt the 1000th post on Christian’s Music Musings warrants an exception.

When I started the blog on June 25, 2016, I really had no idea whether I would stick with it. To me, looking back at my early posts feels funny and at times a bit embarrassing. Like with many other things I guess there’s a learning curve for blogging. I want to believe my writing and the look and feel of the blog have improved over time.

While at the end of the day my main goal is to have fun with this blog, I can’t deny receiving recognition feels reassuring. The stats WordPress provides draw a picture I find encouraging. I realize compared to other fellow bloggers my total numbers remain moderate, but thus far, the long-term trends look promising. Annual traffic of both total views and visitors has grown nicely over the past five years.

Annual number views and visitors

The picture is pretty similar for the numbers of “Likes” and “Comments.” The latter in particular is what I find most gratifying. I’d like to take this opportunity again to thank everybody who took the time to read and provide feedback. I enjoy exchanging facts and views, and hope you guys keep the comments coming!

Annual number of comments

My best-performing post to date is this piece from January 2018 about Bad Company’s 2016 album Live At Red Rocks. It has been seen more than 2,000 times and continues to get views – sometimes in what looks like random surges. While I’m not complaining and still stand behind the post, frankly, I don’t find anything special about it. I can safely say I invested significantly more time and effort in other posts.

Finally, since Christian’s Music Musings is a blog about a topic that has been a key hobby and passion for most of my life, this post would be incomplete without at least one song, don’t you agree? I figured the occasion calls for an upbeat tune that has the number 1,000 in the title: Land of 1000 Dances. I guess this is where my nerdy side emerged! 🙂

Written by American R&B singer and songwriter Chris Kenner, Land of 1000 Dances was first recorded and released by him in 1962. Wikipedia notes the song mentions the Pony, the Chicken, the Mashed Potatoe, the Alligator and 996 other dances. Just kidding, it’s actually 16 dances altogether – still pretty impressive!

The original has a slower tempo than the best-known version of the tune by Wilson Pickett I heard first and came to love many years ago. Recorded at the storied FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, Ala., Pickett’s rendition first appeared as a single in July 1966. It was also included on his third studio album The Exciting Wilson Pickett from August of the same year. What a killer version!

And since three make a charm, let’s throw in another cover by the ultimate party group, The J. Geils Band. You just know when Peter Wolf and his bandmates take on a tune like Land of 1000 Dances it’s gotta be good! A live recording of their cover was included on the compilation Flashback: The Best of the J. Geils Band, which came out in March 1985. Here’s the official clip. It’s a perfect live song and The J. Geils Band are the perfect group to deliver it!

Sources: Wikipedia; YouTube

The Year that was 2020 – Part 2 of 2

This is second and last installment of my two-part year in review. In case you missed part 1, you can read it here.

Celebrating new music one song at a time…

With more than 150 songs highlighted since the launch of the Best of What’s New feature, I find it impossible to call out the best tunes. As I wrote in the inaugural March 21 post, While I don’t see myself starting to write about electronic dance music or Neue Deutsche Haerte a la Rammstein, I’m hoping to keep these posts a bit eclectic. I realize the characterization “best” is pretty subjective. If a song speaks to me, it’s fair game. I should perhaps have added that I don’t need to like other tunes by an artist to include them. It’s literally about the specific song.

Best of What’s New installments have featured tunes ranging from prominent artists like Sheryl Crow, The Rolling Stones and Tom Petty to lesser known acts like rock bands Brother Man and Mondo Silicone and Austin, Texas-based band leader Joe Sparacino, aka. Dr. Joe. Frequently, these posts triggered new album reviews, e.g., LeRoux (One of Those Days), Mick Hayes (My Claim to Fame) and Niedeckens BAP (Alles Fliesst). Following are four songs I discovered in the context of Best of What’s New.

Dr. Joe: Believer

From Dr. Joe’s website: Based in Austin TX but raised on a farm outside Salina, Kansas, band leader Joe Sparacino spent his early childhood learning piano from a southern gospel choir matron and listening to his family’s old vinyl collection of Ray Charles, Leon Russell and James Booker. Released on April 10, Believer was Dr. Joe’s then-latest single and it’s cooking!

The Reverberations: Under Your Spell

The Reverberations are a five-piece band from Portland, Ore. Their Bandcamp profile characterizes their music as “’60s influenced psychedelic jangle.” I’d call it psychedelic garage rock. Under Your Spell, the B-side to their single Palm Reader released May 28, features some cool Byrds-ey guitars and nice keyboard work. Did I mention it’s also got a quite catchy melody? And check out the lovely psychedelic cover art – super cool all around! For more on this great band, you can read my review of their February 2019 album Changes, their most recent full-fledged studio release.

Kat Riggins: No Sale

Kat Riggins is a blues artist hailing from Miami. According to her website, She travels the world with the sole mission of keeping the blues alive and thriving through her Blues Revival Movement. She has been vocally compared to Koko Taylor, Etta James and Tina Turner to name a few. The nice blues rocker No Sale, which has a bit of a ZZ Top vibe, is from Riggins’ fourth album Cry Out released on August 14. That woman’s got it!

Greta Van Fleet: Age of Machine

Age of Machine is the second single from Greta Van Fleet’s next album The Battle at Garden’s Gate, which is scheduled for April 16, 2021. I think this kickass rocker provides more evidence the young band has evolved their style, moving away from their initial Led Zeppelin-influenced sound. Looking forward to the album!

Live music in the year of the pandemic…

Except for two tribute band concerts in January, pretty measly for the ‘King of the Tribute Band,’ I didn’t go to any live gigs this year. Shows for which I had tickets, including The Temptations and The Four Tops, Ringo Starr and His All Starr Band, and Steely Dan with special guest Steve Winwood, were rescheduled until April, June and July 2021, respectively. Perhaps with the exception of the last concert, I hope all other shows will be rescheduled a second time and moved back to the second half of the year. For somebody who loves live music and over the past 4-5 years has gotten into the habit of seeing an average 20-30 shows per year (counting lower cost tribute band and free summer type concerts), seizing live concerts it’s a bitter but necessary pill to swallow until this lethal pandemic is behind us.

I ended up watching two live concerts via Internet stream: Southern Avenue at Instrumenthead Live Studio in Nashville, Tenn. last week, and Mike Campbell’s band The Dirty Knobs at the Troubador in Los Angeles in late November. It was fun and also a nice opportunity to support music via voluntary donations in lieu of buying official tickets, but no virtual experience can replace the real deal.

Some final musings…

While my primary motivation for the blog has always been the joy I get from writing about a topic I love, i.e., music, it’s nice to see continued growth in visitor traffic, followers and feedback. Just like in 2019, the most popular post remained my January 2018 piece about Bad Company’s live CD/DVD collection from their May 15, 2016 show at Red Rocks Amphitheatre; personally, I find the post average at best. By comparison, my July 12, 2020 post about the mellotron, which I’m proud of, received less than one percent of traffic than the Bad Company post. Perhaps, it was too geeky! 🙂 It’s funny how these things sometimes go.

I’d like to thank all visitors of the blog. If you’re here for the first time, you’re welcome back anytime. If you’re a regular, I hope you keep coming back. I also enjoy receiving comments, including different opinions. All I ever ask is to keep things civil.

Last but not least, I’d like to leave you with a great song by Southern Avenue they also played during the above noted virtual concert. I feel it’s a great message, especially during these crazy times: Don’t Give Up, from their eponymous debut album released in February 2017. Since I couldn’t capture footage from the above gig, here’s an alternative I can offer: a clip I recorded during a show at The Wonder Bar, a small venue in Asbury Park, N.J. in July 2019.

Sources: Christian’s Music Music Musings; YouTube

The Venues: Red Rocks Amphitheatre

In January 2018, I did a post about Bad Company’s album Live at Red Rocks. It keeps getting views, with the most recent occurring just a few days ago. This gave me the idea to write about what must be one of the most magnificent outdoor performance venues. Plus, my last post in the venues category dates back to August 2019 – another good reason to look at one of the places where the ultimate thrill in music takes place: The live experience!

Red Rocks Amphitheatre has a long history, something I had not been aware of and frankly had not thought about. How long? It somewhat depends where you start. Construction of the facility near Morison, Col., 10 miles west of Denver, began in 1936, though the first concerts there were produced by John Brisben Walker as early as 1906. Brisben, a magazine publisher and automobile entrepreneur, had the vision to leverage the site’s natural acoustics for entertainment purposes.

The next important milestone in the venue’s history occurred in 1927, when manager of Denver parks John Cranmer convinced the city to acquire the area of Red Rocks from Brisben. The price? $54,133, which is the equivalent of approximately $797,920 today – quite a bargain, if you ask me! Denver architect Burnham Hoyt was brought in to design the facility. After a five-year construction, Red Rocks Amphitheatre opened to the public in 1941.

What’s truly amazing to me is the age of the rock formations. It took the natural amphitheater more than 200 million years to form. There are traces dating back to the Jurassic period 160 million years ago, including dinosaur tracks and fossil fragments. In one of the less glorious aspects in Red Rocks’ history, the area around it was inhabited for hundreds of years by the native American Ute tribe, until they were displaced in the 19th century, according to this collection of facts about the venue, published by the Denver Post in June 2016.

Now let’s get to the fun part: Music performances at Red Rocks. And as you might imagine, there have been many. The challenge, however, is to find live footage from there, capturing artists I truly dig, especially old gigs from the ’60s and ’70s, such as Jimi Hendrix in September 1968 or Jethro Tull in June 1971. The latter unfortunately led to a confrontation between non-paying fans who had arrived to the sold-out show without tickets and the police. It resulted in a five-year ban of rock concerts at the venue.

The first show I’d like to highlight dates back to August 26, 1964, when The Beatles played Red Rocks as part of their U.S. tour that year. While according to The Beatles Bible, only 7,000 of the 9,000 tickets were sold, making it the sole show of the tour that wasn’t sold out, the Fab Four still set a box office record for the facility, marking the earliest notable rock & roll performance there. Here’s some historical footage I found, which includes concert snippets. It’s impossible to verify whether were actually captured at Red Rocks. In any case, it’s a nice illustration of the insanity of Beatlemania.

For the next gig, I’m jumping ahead 19 years. On June 5, 1983, U2 recorded their concert film U2 Live at Red Rocks: Under a Blood Red Sky, which also yielded their live album Under a Blood Red Sky released in November of the same year. The following clip captures the first 15 minutes of the film directed by Gavin Taylor. U2 almost looked like high school pals, but they sure as heck didn’t sound like a high school band. The energy they brought is just infectious. Appropriately, the boys from Dublin kicked it off with Out of Control, a tune from their October 1980 album Boy. It was a rain-soaked evening! This was followed by two other tracks from Boys: Twilight and An Cat Dubh.

While I couldn’t find a clip of the above noted Jethro Tull gig from 1971, here some footage from a show they played at Red Rocks on August 12, 2008: Aqualung, the title track of the band’s fourth studio album from March 1971. It was the only song on that album that wasn’t solely written by Ian Anderson. His first wife, English photographer, actress, playwright and life coach Jennie Anderson (born Franks), is listed as a co-writer.

The last clip I’d like to include captures one of my all-time favorite rock artists John Fogerty who played Red Rocks last year as part of his My 50 Year Trip tour, which is still ongoing though currently on hold because of you know what! Here’s Fortunate Son, a tune a wrote for Willy and the Poor Boys, the fourth studio album by Creedence Clearwater Revival released in November 1969. I can tell you one thing: I consider myself as fortunate to have seen the man in May 2018. He continues to kick ass!

Obviously, Red Rocks Amphitheatre is currently closed, and their website lists the many shows from April through October that have been cancelled or postponed/ rescheduled due to COVID-19. While this sucks for live music lovers like myself and creates a lot of pain for artists, the venue and all the connected vendors, it’s the right thing to do. Catching the bloody virus spreads many hospitalizations and lots of death, as this country has painfully witnessed over the past few months.

I’d like to wrap up this post on a more cheerful note with some additional Red Rocks facts noted in the above Denver Post article, which was updated in November 2018.

Red Rocks has seen nearly 2,700 shows through the end of 2016.

While the above Beatles gig may have marked “the earliest notable rock performance,” it was Ricky Nelson who played the venue’s first ever rock show in 1959.

The band that has performed at Red Rocks the most is Widespread Panic.

Huey Lewis and the News are the band with the record for most consecutive shows in a row, with four gigs performed from August 9-12, 1985.

Electrical transformers were moved outside the venue, after Neil Young noticed they were causing feedback on his tube amps.

While Red Rocks has been successful in attracting big names, one of the biggest has yet to book the venue despite constant rumors they are going to do so: The Rolling Stones.

Sources: Wikipedia; Denver Post; The Beatles Bible; Red Rocks Park and Amphitheatre website; YouTube

No Meteor Shower Over Central N.J. Sunday Night But Stars Were Still Aligned

As noted in a previous post, seeing Ann Wilson, Jeff Beck and Paul Rodgers as part of their Stars Align Tour at PNC Bank Arts Center in Holmdel, N.J., was a spontaneous decision, based on promising reviews and YouTube clips. Another reason was my previous disappointment that Bad Company wasn’t among the special guests during  Lynyrd Skynyrd’s farewell concert there in June. While Sunday night’s event wasn’t the best show I’ve ever seen, I came away a happy camper after three and a half hours of solid rock at a very reasonable cost.

As anticipated, Ann Wilson opened the night; what I didn’t expect was that she started at 7:00 p.m. on the dot, literally as printed on the ticket. I had just taken my seat – good thing I had decided against food and drink, which are completed overpriced to begin with. I can’t recall a rock & roll show I’ve been to that got underway on time!

Except for Heart’s Barracuda, Wilson presented covers, mostly from her upcoming solo album that is set to arrive September 14. Called Immortal, it honors artists who have passed away, such as David Bowie, Tom Petty and Glenn Frey.

Here’s Barracuda, one of Heart’s best known songs credited to Ann Wilson and other members of the band, including her sister and lead guitarist Nancy Wilson, guitarist Roger Fisher and drummer Michael Derosier. The tune was the lead single from Heart’s second studio album Little Queen that appeared in May 1977.

Wilson opened and closed her set with tunes by The Who, The Real Me and Won’t Get Fooled Again, respectively. Below is a clip of the latter. Written by Pete Townshend, the song is the closer of Who’s Next, the band’s fifth studio album from August 1971. It also was released separately as the record’s lead single in June that year.

Next up was Jeff Beck, which came a bit as a surprise to me. Since I think it’s fair to say he’s the heavy weight among the three, I thought he’d close out the night. This was my second time seeing Beck, so I knew that much of his set would be instrumental. While his guitar-playing and sound are mind-blowing, I generally prefer his songs with vocals, especially with Rod Stewart on Beck-Ola. I realize true Beck fans may not be with me here.

Having said the above, the first tune I’d like to highlight here is an instrumental, a smoking hot cover of You Know You Know. Originally, the John McLaughlin tune appeared on The Inner Mounting Flame, the 1971 debut album by jazz-rock fusion band Mahavishnu Orchestra. Part of the reason I chose this track is the cool extended solo by ace bassist Rhonda Smith. When I saw Beck for the first time in July 2016, his backing band also included a killer female bassist: Tal Wilkenfeld. Speaking of Beck’s excellent band, the other members were cellist Vanessa Freebairn-Smith, drummer Vinnie Colaiuta and vocalist Jimmy Hall. Since I missed recording it myself, I’m relying on a clip from another recent gig.

Among the songs featuring Hall on vocals was the Jimi Hendrix tune Little Wing. It was included on the second studio album by The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Axis: Bold As Love, which came out in December 1967. While Hall is a solid vocalist, I felt by comparison he wasn’t as top-notch as the other members of the band.

The second to last song of the regular set was a great cover of Superstition, one of my favorite Stevie Wonder tunes. Wonder included it on his 15th studio album Talking Book from October 1972. It also was released separately as the lead single that appeared a few days prior to the album.

After a two-song encore by Beck, it was on to Paul Rodgers. Of the three artists I’m most familiar with his music, so it’s perhaps not a big surprise that he was the most accessible performer to me. Except for two covers, Rodgers’ set was evenly divided between Bad Company and Free songs. I thought he was in great shape, as was his backing band featuring Pete Bullick (guitar), Ian Rowley (bass), Rich Newman (drums) and Gerard Louis (keyboards).

The first tune I’d like to call out is Feel Like Makin’ Love. Co-written by Rodgers and Bad Company guitarist and co-founder Mick Ralphs, the song appeared on the band’s second studio album Straight Shooter from April 1975. It was also released separately as the record’s second single in November that year.

One the Free tunes Rodgers played was Mr. Big. Credited to all members of the band that in addition to Rodgers included Andy Fraser, Paul Kossoff and Simon Kirke, the song appeared on their third studio album Fire And Water. Among others, Rowley shines with a solo, the second extended bass solo for the night.

The last song of Rodgers’ regular set was another Bad Company classic, Rock & Roll Fantasy. Penned by him, the tune was included on the band’s fifth studio album Desolation Angels, which came out in March 1979. It also became the record’s lead single and the band’s best-selling single in the U.S. About 1:40 minutes into the song, somebody wearing a hat and playing a tambourine walked on stage, who turned out to be Steven Van Zandt. As if to prove it, he briefly took off his hat to reveal his signature bandana.

Rodgers saved Free’s signature tune All Right Now until the very end of the night as his second encore. Co-written by him and Fraser, the song was also included on the Fire And Water album and became Free’s most successful single.

Last night, The Stars Align Tour played Jones Beach Theatre in Wantagh on New York’s Long Island. The remaining four dates are Nashville, Tenn. (Aug 17), Charlotte, N.C. (Aug 19), West Palm Beach, Fla. (Aug 25) and Tampa, Fla. (Aug 26).

Sources: Wikipedia, Setlist.fm, Paul Rodgers website, YouTube

‘Stars Align’ Is Bold Tour Title, But Ann Wilson, Paul Rodgers And Jeff Beck Look Like They Can Live Up To It

One could be forgiven to a bit cynical about the concept: Take three artists who had their prime years in the ’70s, throw ’em together and boldly call it the Stars Align Tour. Admittedly, I couldn’t entirely escape this notion when I saw that Ann Wilson, Paul Rodgers and Jeff Beck announced their tour, which kicked off on July 18 in West Valley City, Utah. Then I read some reviews and watched some clips on YouTube – well, let’s just say I wasn’t turned off by what I saw and just got a ticket for August 12 at my go-to concert venue PNC Bank Arts Center in Holmdel, N.J., and for very reasonable money I should add.

I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised in the first place. After all, the success or failure of the three-in-one concept crucially depends on the featured artists. At 74, Beck seems to continue to defy age, not only with his looks but much more importantly with his guitar-playing. Okay, you might say, compared to 82-year-old Buddy Guy, Beck’s still an adolescent. But let’s not kid ourselves, rock & roll is a brutal business. On top, I can’t imagine Beck lived a particularly healthy life style. Speaking of Guy and Beck, I saw these two guitar dynamos in a double-header in July 2016 at the above venue, and it was a terrific show, so my expectations for the upcoming gig are high – now you better bring it, Beck! 🙂

As for Rodgers, I had actually hoped he and Bad Company would be part of the June 22 Lynyrd Skynyrd farewell show I caught at – yes, you guessed it correctly – PNC. Given how many freaking shows I’ve seen there, perhaps I should apply for an honorary membership! 🙂 Leading up to the Skynyrd gig, I had read somewhere that Bad Company would be among the special guests that night. So I was full of anticipation and quite disappointed when it turned out they weren’t part of the lineup. I suppose that was another good reason to get a ticket for the Stars Align Tour. Looking at setlists from recent gigs, Rodgers is playing a nice mix of Bad Company and Free stuff. And his rock pipes still seem to be working nicely!

And then there’s Wilson. While I don’t want to pretend I’m a Heart expert, based on their music I know, I’m well aware of Wilson’s vocal capabilities. Barracuda is a nice showcase of what she can do. As an aside, Ann’s older sister Nancy Wilson is a kick-ass guitarist, but she’s not part of the tour. Interestingly, as reported by Ultimate Classic Rock and other media outlets, Ann’s set only includes one Heart tune, the aforementioned Barracuda. The remainder are all covers, and there’s some great stuff there, such as The Who’s The Real Me, The Black Crows’ She Talks To Angels and the Eagles’ Life In The Fast Lane.

Okay, time for a few clips. Here’s Wilson’s rendition of Life In The Fast Lane. She took some creative liberties with the tune, which was co-written by Joe Walsh, Glenn Frey and Don Henley and appeared on the Eagles’ Hotel California album from December 1976. It’s quite different from the original, but I think it’s a cool take.

As noted above, Rodgers’ set nicely draws from Bad Company and Free. Here’s the latter band’s signature tune All Right Now. Penned by Rodgers with Free bassist Andy Fraser, the song is from their third studio album Fire And Water, released in June 1970. It also appeared separately as a single. It’s one of these timeless straight rockers with a cool guitar riff that still sound great to this day!

Last but not least, here’s a cool clip of Beck performing one of the few originals from his set, Brush With The Blues, which he co-wrote with Tony Hymas. The tune appeared on his seventh studio album Who Else! from March 1999.

Wilson, Rodgers and Beck are playing Boston tonight. Next they are taking the Stars Align Tour to Camden, N.J. (Aug 4), Cincinnati (Aug 8) and Indianapolis (Aug 10). The tour will wrap up in Tampa, Fla. on Aug 26.

Sources: Wikipedia, “Stars Align Tour” announcement; Ultimate Classic Rock; YouTube

Clips & Pix: Bad Company/Bad Company

Earlier this week, I got an email from Live Nation Concerts. Thinking it was just advertising about upcoming shows, I was about to delete it, when I decided to take a peek. The listings included a June 22 Lynyrd Skynyrd show at PNC Bank Arts Center in Holmdel, N.J., which is part of their farewell tour and for which I got a ticket a couple of months ago. It also revealed that Bad Company is slated to be among the special guests for that date. Like Skynyrd, I dig and haven’t seen the English rockers yet, so that’s pretty exciting!

The above clip is from Live At Red Rocks, a 2016 CD/DVD capturing a May 2016 show at the breathtaking Red Rocks Amphitheatre close to Denver, one of the dates during the band’s U.S. tour that year. Co-written by lead vocalist Paul Rodgers and drummer Simon Kirke, Bad Company is the title track of the band’s eponymous debut album, which was released in June 1974. It also appeared separately as the record’s third single the same year.

In addition to Rodgers and Kirke, Bad Company’s current line-up includes Howard Leese (guitar) and Todd Ronning (bass). While co-founding member and guitarist and keyboarder Mick Ralphs is also still listed as a member on the band’s Facebook page, he suffered a stroke in 2016 and hasn’t performed since.

Sources: Wikipedia, Bad Company Facebook Page, YouTube

Bad Company Live At Red Rocks

Paul Rodgers is one of my favorite male rock vocalists. So I was intrigued when a live album from Bad Company popped up under “New Releases” in my Apple Music last week. It turns out that while Live At Red Rocks appeared on iTunes and I assume other online/streaming platforms on January 12, it first went on sale exclusively at Wal-Mart last September.

According to Ultimate Classic Rock, the CD/DVD set captures a May 15 show during the band’s 2016 U.S. tour with Joe Walsh at the breathtaking Red Rocks Amphitheatre close to Denver. A concert review in the Denver Post noted that Walsh opened the night backed by a 10-piece band, telling the audience, “We’ll get you sweaty and Bad Company will finish you off.” This must have been one hell of a show at one of the most stunning performance venues!

Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Morrison, Col.

Rochester, N.Y. classic rock radio station WCMF 96.5 FM noted that while co-founder and ex-Mott The Hoople guitarist Mick Ralphs is credited on the recording, he was no longer part of the band’s lineup due to health issues. Rich Robinson of The Black Crows stood in for him. Also on guitar was touring musician Howard Leese, formerly with Heart, who has played with the Paul Rodgers Band and Bad Company since 2008. According to Wikipedia, the band’s current lineup also includes Simon Kirke (drums), another co-founding member who played with Rodgers in Free; and Todd Ronning (bass).

Time to get to some music. Feel Like Makin’ Love is one of Bad Company’s best known songs. Co-written by Rodgers and Ralphs, the tune is included on the band’s second studio album Straight Shooter, which appeared in April 1975. It was also released separately as a single in August that year. Here’s a fairly decent video clip.

Burnin’ Sky is the title track from the band’s fourth studio record from March 1977. It was written by Rodgers and also came out separately as the album’s second single.

Seagull is one of the acoustic tracks of the set. Another Rodgers/Ralphs co-write, it is the closer to Bad Company’s eponymous studio album, which appeared in June 1974. During this live performance, Kirke joined Rodgers, Leese and Robinson on acoustic guitar and threw in a nice solo. Here’s a great video clip.

Here’s Movin’ On, a tune written by Ralphs and first released as a single in 1972 by a band called Hackensack. Bad Company subsequently included it on their first album. They also released it as the record’s second single.

The last track I’d like to highlight is Bad Company, the title track of the band’s eponymous debut record. Co-written by Rodgers and Kirke, the song also became the album’s third single. Here’s a great video clip.

Rodgers’ website currently lists four dates for 2018. One solo show is coming up this Saturday, January 20 in Bensalem, Pa. The remaining dates are Bad Company gigs: two in Florida in mid-February, and one in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic at the end of April. The last show sounds like an attractive proposition to me, especially with an outside temperature of 19F as I’m writing this!

Sources: Ultimate Classic Rock; Denver Post; WCMF 96.5 FM; Paul Rodgers website; Wikipedia; YouTube