Happy Friday and welcome to another installment of this series featuring six songs from a specific year. In case you’re new to it, Chris & Max Pick… is the continuation of a recurring feature fellow blogger Max from PowerPop initiated in June 2023, which included the years 1955 through 1995. I’m aiming to cover each of the remaining years until 2024. Max generously agreed to support the effort by supplying one song for each post. Following are our combined picks for 1998.
Dixie Chicks/Wide Open Spaces
Kicking things off are Texas pop-flavored country and bluegrass trio Dixie Chicks, who since June 2020 have been known as The Chicks. They were formed in Dallas in 1989 and since 1995 have included co-founders Emily Strayer (harmony and backing vocals, banjo, dobro, guitar) and Martie Maguire (harmony and backing vocals, fiddle, mandolin), as well as Natalie Maines (lead vocals, guitar, Omnichord). Wide Open Spaces, penned by singer-songwriter Susan Gibson, is the title track of their fourth studio album, which appeared in January 1998. It marked their major label debut, commercial breakthrough and the first release with Maines.
Bonnie Raitt/Lover’s Will
Bonnie Raitt is one of my longtime favorite music artists and slide guitarists who incorporates blues, rock, folk and country. In April 1998, she released her 13th studio album Fundamental. To me, the standout track is Lover’s Will, written by the great John Hiatt. He had first recorded the song for his 1983 album Riding with the King. Hiatt also penned what became Raitt’s biggest U.S. hit on Billboard’sMainstream Rock chart in 1989: Thing Called Love, which reached no. 11. Hiatt had previously included it on his May 1987 studio album Bring the Family.
Lenny Kravitz/Fly Away
Lenny Kravitz first entered my radar screen in the early ’90s with his great April 1991 sophomore album Mama Said. I’ve since listened to the American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist on and off. Fly Away, written by Kravitz, is a track from his fifth full-length album 5, released in May 1998. The catchy rocker also became the fourth single and one of Kravitz’s bigger hits, especially in the UK where it topped the charts, his only no. 1 there to date.
Lucinda Williams/Right In Time
This brings me to another artist who I’ve come to love over the past few years, especially after having seen her open for Bonnie Raitt in Philly in June 2022: Lucinda Williams. The roots-oriented singer-songwriter’s 45-year-plus career almost got derailed in November 2020 when she suffered a stroke. Thanks to rehab she recovered and start touring and recording again, though she hasn’t been able to resume playing guitar. Right In Time, written by Williams, is from Car Wheels on a Gravel Road and also became the first single of her acclaimed fifth studio album from June 1998.
Barenaked Ladies/It’s All Been Done
This next pick takes us to Canada and Barenaked Ladies, who combine an eclectic mix of folk and pop rock with humorous lyrics. Founded in Toronto in 1988, they developed a following in their home country in the early ’90s before breaking through in the U.S. with their July 1998 fourth full-length album Stunt. It entered the Billboard 200 at no. 3 and became their bestseller. The album also reached no. 20 in each the UK and New Zealand. Off Stunt, here’s It’s All Been Done, penned by then-band member Steven Page – catchy and quirky!
Fatboy Slim/Right Here, Right Now
Since I mentioned Max in the intro, you may have wondered what happened to his pick. The wait is over: Right Here, Right Now by Fatboy Slim, a song I had not seen coming. Fatboy Slim is a stage name of English musician, DJ and record producer Norman Cook who helped popularize the so-called big beat genre in the ’90s. Big beat (yes, I had to look it up in Wikipedia!) is “an electronic music genre that usually uses heavy breakbeats and synthesizer-generated loops and patterns – common to acid house/techno.” Right Here, Right Now, off Fatboy Slim’s October 1998 sophomore album You’ve Come a Long Way, Baby, became one of his biggest hits. It was particularly successful in the UK where it surged to no. 2.
This post first appeared recently as a contribution on A Sound Day, a great blog by Dave. It has been slightly edited and reformatted to fit the style of this blog. Thanks again, Dave!
I can’t believe Turntable Talk 24 is upon us and Dave keeps coming up with great topics. This time, he asked us to share our thoughts about a great female artist we dig. There are so many to pick from: Aretha Franklin, Tina Turner, Carole King, Stevie Nicks, Lucinda Williams and Sheryl Crow are some that come to my mind. And yet I knew immediately who I wanted to write about, and it was none of the aforementioned amazing ladies. If you looked at the featured image, you already likely know who I decided to pick: Bonnie Raitt.
Once again, it was my dear longtime German music buddy Gerd who first brought this incredible slide guitarist and performer on my radar screen. It must have been around March 1989 when Raitt’s 10th studio album Nick of Time came out. Among others, it features her rendition of John Hiatt’sThing Called Love, which you’ve probably heard, even if you don’t follow her.
Let me give you a bit of background on Raitt, who was born Bonnie Lynn Raitt on November 8, 1949 in Burbank, Calif. She grew up in a musical family. Her dad was John Raitt, an actor and acclaimed Broadway singer. Bonnie’s mom, Marjorie Haydock, was a pianist and John’s first wife. According to her online bio, Raitt was raised in LA “in a climate of respect for the arts, Quaker traditions, and a commitment to social activism,” all important influences that shaped her future life.
Raitt got into the guitar at the age of eight, after receiving a Stella as a Christmas present. According to an APstory in a local paper, she taught the instrument herself by listening to blues records – yet another example of a self-taught musician who turned out to be exceptional! In the late ’60s, Raitt moved to Cambridge, Mass. and started studying Social Relations and African Studies at Harvard/Radcliffe.
She also began her lifetime involvement as a political activist. “I couldn’t wait to get back to where there were folkies and the antiwar and civil rights movements,” she notes in her online bio. “There were so many great music and political scenes going on in the late ’60s in Cambridge.”
Three years after entering college, Raitt decided to drop out to pursue music full-time. She already had become a frequent performer on the local coffeehouse scene, exploring slide guitar blues and other styles. Soon thereafter, she opened shows for surviving blues legends, such as Fred McDowell, Sippie Wallace, Son House, Muddy Waters and John Lee Hooker. Word spread about her great talent, which led to her first record contract with Warner Bros.
Since her 1971 eponymous debut, Raitt has released 17 additional studio albums, as well as three compilations and three live albums. Over her now 50-year-plus career, she has received 15 Grammy Awards. Raitt was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000 and is also listed at no. 54 and no. 187 on Rolling Stone’s 2023 lists of 250 Greatest Guitarists of All Time and 200 Greatest Singers of All Time, respectively.
Like many artists, Raitt’s life wasn’t all easy peasy. She struggled with alcohol and drug abuse but became sober in 1987. “I thought I had to live that partying lifestyle in order to be authentic, but in fact if you keep it up too long, all you’re going to be is sloppy or dead,” Raitt toldParade magazine in April 2012, adding, “I was one of the lucky ones.”
Now on to the real fun part – some music!
From Raitt’s above mentioned self-titled debut album, here’s Mighty Tight Woman, written and recorded by blues singer, pianist and songwriter Sippie Wallace in 1929.
One of my all-time favorites by Raitt is her rendition of Angel From Montgomery, a country tune penned and first recorded by John Prine. She included it on her fourth studio album Streetlights that came out in September 1974.
This next track takes us to the ‘80s and a groovy track titled Can’t Get Enough. Co-written by Raitt and keyboarder Walt Richmond, it appears on Raitt’s 1982 record Green Light.
I simply cannot skip the aforementioned Nick of Time. As much as I love Thing Called Love, I’ve decided to highlight Love Letter. That song was written by another Bonnie, American singer-songwriter, musician and record producer Bonnie Hayes.
I just love this lady and could go on and on. I’d like to give a nod to Raitt’s catalog from the current century. In February 2016, she released her 17th studio album Dig In Deep. I saw her for the first time during the tour that supported this album. Here’s the great Gypsy In Me, a song penned by Gordon Kennedy and Wayne Kirkpatrick.
Last but not least here’s the cool Stonesy Livin’ for the Ones, co-written by Raitt and George Marinelli, longtime guitarist from her backing band. This track is from Raitt’s most recent album Just Like That…, which appeared in April 2022. I would go as far as calling it her best to date.
The algorithms my streaming music providers use to serve me listening suggestions have greatly improved. Until four or five years ago, I used to make fun of them thinking, ‘gee, how do they come up with their recommendations?’ Now I have to say they evidently have a pretty darn good idea about my music taste.
Welcome to the age of A.I.! If you use Google, which of course also already leverages A.I., to search for the key trends in music projected for 2024, you quickly get to the emergence of new technologies, including A.I.-assisted music production!
While I have decidedly mixed feelings about A.I. and feel there needs to be some level of regulation to limit misuse, in entertainment and beyond, the reality is the genie is out of the bottle. As such, I might as well enjoy A.I. when it does something good, such as separating tracks of old recordings to enable sound-enhanced remixes and, of course, spitting out playlists, based on my historical listening patterns.
This brings me to the subject of this post – a playlist that was recently offered to me by one of my streaming music providers. Overall, they hit the nail on the head about 95% of the time! Here are clips of four of the picks I dig, followed by a Spotify link to the entire playlist. Hope there’s something you like as well!
Steely Dan/Kid Charlemagne – The Royal Scam (March 1976)
Yes/Beyond and Before – Yes (July 1969)
Traveling Wilburys/Inside Out – Traveling Wilburys Vol. 3 (October 1990)
Bonnie Raitt/Give It Up Or Let Me Go – Give It Up (September 1972)
Happy Saturday and welcome to my new music review! In the middle of December, it’s not surprising that new releases are largely limited to “old music” being offered as reissues and special editions. Since this weekly feature is focused on new music, I decided to use the three remaining posts for this year to take a look back at new music I reviewed in 2023.
Between my Saturday posts and album reviews, there was a lot new music I featured. While I oftentimes note the charts on this blog (typically when it comes to ’60s and ’70s music), in general, you won’t find Taylor Swift, Drake, Rihanna or other music artists who are frequently on the Billboard Hot 100 nowadays – not because there’s anything wrong with their music, but because it’s simply not what I like to listen to.
If you’ve visited my new music reviews before, you probably know I tend to look at contemporary music through the lens of my preferences, which are largely shaped by the ’60s and ’70s. While that frame of reference weeds out a good deal of new music, it leaves a remarkable amount to discover, if you’re willing to look beyond the mainstream charts!
Here’s how I intend to tackle this look-back on 2023. The first two posts revisit specific songs I enjoyed. Each post highlights six of them, which are also included in a Spotify playlist, along with other picks. Between the two posts, the playlists include 46 tracks, and I could have added more songs – not too shabby! The third and final installment will focus on my favorite new albums of 2023, which I’m still figuring out as I’m writing this.
Here’s part 1 covering new songs that came out in the first half of the year.
The Bad Ends/Mile Marker 29
My first pick are The Bad Ends, an alternative rock band from Athens, Ga. Their website notes the group catalyzed when Mike Mantione (vocals, guitar), who gained initial prominence as frontman of popular Athens band Five Eight in the ’90s, had a chance encounter with Bill Berry (drums, guitar, electric sitar), former drummer of R.E.M. The band also features Christian Lopez (guitars, mandolin, banjo), Geoff Melkonian (keyboards, piano, guitars, vocals) and Dave Domizi (bass, vocals). Mantione and Domizi had been friends since 1991, while Melkonian produced one of Five Eight’s previous albums. The Bad Ends “quietly recorded, produced, and mastered what would become The Power and The Glory“, their great debut album. Here’s the opener Mile Marker 29 – not a bad end at all! And, yep, they definitely can’t deny their hometown!
Joe Louis Walker/Is It a Matter of Time?
Guitarist and singer-songwriter Joe Louis Walker has earned most recognition with blues but isn’t a one-trick pony. According to his bio, the Blues Hall of Fame inductee and six-time Blues Music Award winner has recorded with Ike Turner, Bonnie Raitt, Taj Mahal, and Steve Cropper, opened for Muddy Waters and Thelonious Monk, hung out with Jimi Hendrix, Freddie King, Mississippi Fred McDowell, and was a close friend and roommate of Mike Bloomfield. Walker’s 1986 debut album Cold Is the Night on HighTone announced his arrival in stunning fashion...A brilliantly lyrical guitarist, soulful singer, and prolific songwriter, Walker has toured extensively throughout his career, performing at some of the world’s most renowned music festivals, such as Glastonbury and Montreux, as well as on national television. From his latest album Weight of the World here’s Is It a Matter of Time? penned by Walker – the soulful vibe is totally up my alley!
The Nude Party/Word Gets Around
The Nude Party are a band from North Carolina I first featured in January 2022 with their eponymous debut from July 2018. They were formed in 2012 when freshman students at Appalachian State University in Boone, N.C. decided to start a band. Their members are Patton Magee (lead vocals, guitar, harmonica), Shaun Couture (guitar, vocals), Don Merrill (piano, vocals), Alexander Castillo (bass, vocals), Austin Brose (percussion, vocals) and Connor Mikita (drums). At the end of their freshman year, they all moved together to a house outside of town and learned how to play their instruments. It still almost sounds a bit like a fairytale! What’s very real is Word Gets Around, a cool-sounding rocker with a ’60s vibe, off their third and latest studio album Rides On, credited to the entire band!
Billy Tibbals/Hollywood Baby
This brings me to Billy Tibbals, a Los Angeles-based alternative rock artist. From his Bandcampbio: Moving from London to Hollywood back in 2014, Billy Tibbals quickly found a love for the city and its esoteric, debauched history. Combining this with his childhood obsession with British rock and roll, surrealist literature, and musicals from the 1940’s, Billy’s music presents a unique and fantastical view of the world around us. As a part of the exciting new wave of rock and roll music emerging from Los Angeles, Billy hopes to inspire the youth to get off their phones and come join in with the fun. Tibbals’ latest inspiration is his debut EP Stay Teenage. Here’s the excellent opener Hollywood Baby, which like all other tracks on the EP was solely written by him.
Marty Stuart & His Fabulous Superlatives/Sitting Alone
American country and bluegrass singer Marty Stuart has been active since the late 1960s. Initially working as a touring musician with Lester Flatt and Johnny Cash, Stuart launched his recording career in 1978 with Marty (With A Little Help From My Friends). He has since released 18 additional albums, including his latest, Altitude, appearing as Marty Stuart & His Fabulous Superlatives. Let’s check out Sitting Alone, penned by Stuart, which reminds me a bit of a Tom Petty – love that jangly guitar sound!
Foo Fighters/The Teacher
Wrapping up this post are Foo Fighters with a haunting song from But Here We Are. It’s their first new album since the untimely death of drummer Taylor Hawkins in Bogotá, Columbia in March 2022 at the age of 50 during the band’s tour in South America. A brutally honest and emotionally raw response to everything Foo Fighters endured over the last year, But Here We Are is a testament to the healing powers of music, friendship and family, the band said when announcing the album. The statement added the 10 tracks run the emotional gamut from rage and sorrow to serenity and acceptance, and myriad points in between. Here’s The Teacher, a dark-sounding 10-minute track credited to the entire band – quite an epic song!
Here’s the aforementioned Spotify playlist featuring the above and 18 additional songs from the first half of 2023. Look for Part 2, which is scheduled for next Saturday, December 23.
Sources: Wikipedia; The Bad Ends website; Joe Louis Walker website; Billy Tibbals Bandcamp page; Foo Fighters website; YouTube; Spotify
Celebrating music with six random tracks at a time
Hope everyone is spending a nice weekend. For those of us living in the U.S.A., it may be a long one with Indigenous Peoples’ Day coming up on Monday. Regardless of your geographic location, I hope you’ll join me on other imaginary journey with the magical music time machine. All aboard!
Andreas Vollenweider/Belladonna
Our first stop today is the tiny town of Thalwil, Switzerland, the birth place of Swiss electroacoustic harpist Andreas Vollenweider. In an October 1984 concert preview, The New York Times characterized his music as “swirling atmospheric …, which evokes nature, magic and fairy tales.” His work is generally categorized as new age. Whatever you call it, I enjoy the music I’ve heard. Belladonna is a composition from Vollenweider’s second studio album Caverna Magica. Check the neat transformation from a slow mellow tune into a more up-tempo Latin style track with backing vocals by Swiss singer-songwriter Corin Curschellas. It ain’t jazz, but I think it’s just as worthy to kick off a Sunday Six!
Buddy Holly/Everyday
While the ’50s are a frequent destination on these weekly excursions, for the most part the stops are jazz-related. Today, I propose an alternative that takes us to February 1958 and Buddy Holly’s eponymous album. Like on November 1957’s The “Chirping” Crickets, the Texan singer-songwriter and ’50s rock & roll pioneer was backed by his band The Crickets. But if I recall it correctly, for label contractual reasons, his self-titled album couldn’t officially appear under the name of The Crickets. Here’s the beautiful Everyday, penned by Holly and co-producer Norman Petty. I was pleased to see it’s Holly’s most streamed song on Spotify with 100.2 million streams, though had you asked me, I would have guessed it was Peggy Sue, which is second at 62.3 million streams. Not only did both of these gems appear on the same album, but they also were released on the same single, with Everyday being the B-side.
Diamond Dogs/Wring It Out
If you happened to read my weekly new music post from last Saturday, the name Diamonds Dogs may ring a bell. And nope, I’m not talking about the David Bowie song, though I dig that one as well. While Diamond Dogs were formed in the late ’90s, you could be forgiven if you thought the Swedish rock band were a ’70s act. I’ll give you Wring It Out, off their brand new album About the Hardest Nut to Crack, which came out on September 29. This is smoking hot rock & roll, baby, which you could easily picture on a Faces album!
John Hiatt/Your Love Is My Rest
If you’ve followed my blog for some time or are aware of my music taste otherwise, you know how much I’ve come to dig John Hiatt. While his songs have been covered by the likes of Bob Dylan, Bonnie Raitt, Joe Cocker, Joan Baez and Delbert McClinton, to name a few, and some of these covers became hits, mainstream chart success largely escaped Hiatt. Your Love Is My Rest is from Hiatt’s October 1995 studio album Walk On. It peaked at no. 48 on the Billboard 200, making it one of his highest charting albums on the U.S. pop chart. Hiatt has done much better on Billboard’sIndependent Albums, where since 2000 all of his charting albums reached the top 20.
Ultimate Spinach/Jazz Thing
Today’s trip may skip a jazz stop, but that doesn’t mean we couldn’t visit a song with a jazzy groove, which its title acknowledges. Ultimate Spinach were a short-lived American psychedelic rock band from Boston, Mass. That said, during their two-year run from 1967-1969, three albums appeared under their name, though by the time production of their final studio release Ultimate Spinach III began, technically, the group had already broken up. If all of this feels to you like a listening tip from my longtime German music friend Gerd, you’re spot on! Here’s that Jazz Thing, a cool track off the group’s sophomore release Behold & See, which came out in August 1968. Like all other songs on the album, it was written by the band’s lead vocalist Ian Bruce-Douglas who also played multiple instruments.
Uriah Heep/Bird of Prey
And once again it’s time for our final stop. I hope you’re still with me and, if yes, I won’t lose you with this pick. Coz let’s face it, English rock band Uriah Heep can sound slightly weird and certainly aren’t for everybody. I still remember when in ca. 1980 I got their second album Salisbury on vinyl, my six-year-older sister who accompanied me to the record store felt embarrassed! Yes, David Byron’s falsetto vocals could reach astronomic highs, but it didn’t take long for me not only to tolerate but even like them outright! Nuff talk, let’s kick some ass with Salisbury’s opener Bird of Prey. Credited to Byron and his bandmates Mick Box (lead guitar), Ken Hensley (keyboards and multiple other instruments, backing vocals) and Paul Newton (bass, backing vocals), the song initially appeared in December 1970 as the B-side to Uriah Heep’s European debut single Gypsy. It also was included on the U.S. version of their debut album …Very ‘Eavy …Very ‘Umble, which came out in August 1970. The band re-recorded Bird of Prey for Salisbury, released in January 1971. Perhaps that’s more than you wanted to know, so let’s just play the bloody song!
Ghosh, that was weird but dang it, Bird of Prey rocks! 🙂
Last but not least, here’s a Spotify playlist of the above goodies. See ya later, aligator!
Sources: Wikipedia; The New York Times; YouTube; Spotify
Celebrating music with six random tracks at a time
Welcome to the first Sunday of September 2023. I can’t believe it’s Labor Day weekend here in the U.S. Officially, this means the last weekend of summer, though we actually have another three weeks before fall starts on September 23, at least astronomically speaking. But guess what, none of it matters when traveling with the magical music time machine, allowing us to visit any season of any year. Hope you join me on the upcoming trip, which starts right now!
Lee Morgan/I Remember Clifford
For our first stop, let’s set the time controls to 1957. The previous year, jazz trumpeter and composer Lee Morgan started recording as an 18-year-old with his solo debut Lee Morgan Indeed! After playing in Dizzy Gillespie’s Big Band from 1956 until 1958, he joined Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers and was featured on numerous of their albums between 1957 and 1966. Morgan’s prolific recording career came to an abrupt end in February 1972 at the age of 33, when his common-law wife Helen Moore shot him during an altercation at a jazz club in New York City where Morgan was performing with his band. I Remember Clifford, composed by tenor saxophonist Benny Golson, is a track from Lee Morgan Vol. 3, his third album released on the Blue Note label in 1957. Golson was also one of five musicians who backed Morgan on the recording.
The Police/Synchronicity II
After a mellow start, let’s kick up the speed with The Police and Synchronicity II, a great song from their fifth and final studio release Synchronicity that came out in June 1993. It is considered a defining album of The Second British Invasion of synth pop and new wave. By the time the supporting tour had finished in March 1984, frontman Sting already had decided to go it alone. While the band was on an official hiatus he started work on his solo debut The Dream of the Blue Turtles, which appeared in June 1985. An attempt by The Police to record another album in July 1986 quickly came to an end after Stewart Copeland broke his collarbone in a fall from a horse and wasn’t able to play the drums. The Police officially disbanded shortly thereafter.
Nina Simone/Backlash Blues
Our next stop takes us to 1967 and Nina Simone. The music of the singer, songwriter, pianist and civil rights activist featured multiple styles, including classical, folk, gospel, jazz, R&B, pop and blues. The latter brings me to Backlash Blues, off Nina Simone Sings the Blues, the second of three albums Simone released in 1967. She wrote the song together with poet, social activist, novelist, playwright and columnist Langston Hughes, who is one of the earliest innovators of the literary art form jazz poetry. The neat guitar work was provided by jazz and R&B guitarist Eric Gale.
Stevie Wonder/Living For the City
Now, I’m delighted to take you to one of my long-time favorite artists, Stevie Wonder, and Innervisions. Released in August 1973, it was the third of five studio albums that fall into his so-called classic period. This time span from 1972 until 1976 is widely regarded as Wonder’s strongest artistic period. One of the songs that have always stood out to me on Innervisions is Living For the City, a tale of racial discrimination and a young African American man whose dream of the big city ends with a 10-year prison sentence.
Cracker/Nostalgia
The time has come to pay a visit to the ’90s and music from the sophomore album by alternative rock band Cracker – but first shoutout to fellow blogger Dave from A Sound Day who recently featured that album, Kerosene Hat, which appeared in August 1993. I instantly dug it! Cracker were formed three years earlier by lead vocalist David Lowery after the disbanding of his previous group Camper Van Beethoven, along with his childhood friend and guitarist Johnny Hickman. Both still are with the current line-up of Cracker who remain active as a touring act. Off Kerosene Hat, here’s Nostalgia co-written by Lowery, Hickman and Davey Faragher, the group’s bassist at the time.
Magnolia Boulevard/Smooth Sailin’
For our sixth and final stop, let’s return to the present, sort of. In August 2020, Magnolia Boulevard, a five-piece group from Lexington, K.Y. blending blues, funk, jam and rock & roll, released their debut EP New Illusion. They were formed in 2017 and cite The Allman Brothers Band and Tedeschi Trucks Band as inspirations on the Bandcamppage. Here’s the excellent Smooth Sailin‘. Vocalist Maggie Noelle reminds me of Bonnie Raitt, while the song’s groove has a bit of a Santana vibe.
Of course, this post wouldn’t be complete without a Spotify playlist featuring all of the above tracks. Hope there’s something that tickles your fancy!
Celebrating music with six random tracks at a time
It’s Sunday and I hope you’re in the mood to accompany me on another trip through space and time to explore the miraculous world of music. The magical time machine is all set to go, so hop on board and fasten your seatbelt.
Charles Mingus/Dizzy Moods
For our first stop today, I’ve set the time controls to November 1957. That’s when American upright jazz bassist, composer and bandleader Charles Mingus came out with Mingus Three. Unlike the title may suggest, this wasn’t his third album but rather a reflection of the trio format, a less common setting for Mingus who most often recorded and played with large ensembles. Dizzy Moods is one of his three original compositions on Mingus Three. He was backed by pianist Hampton Hawes and drummer Dannie Richmond. This is groovy stuff, so feel free to snip along!
Creamery Station/Crazy Night
From the past, we shall return to right back to the present and a cool six-piece group from Connecticut. Creamery Station, who have been around for four years, blend jam, blues, rock and bluegrass into what their website confidently guarantees is “a thrilling live experience you won’t be able to get enough of.” To my ears, they also sound pretty good on what is their third and latest album, Story to Tell, released on June 23. Here’s Crazy Night, a fun blues rock tune I previously considered for my weekly new music review – not really sure why it didn’t make the post at the time!
Art/Supernatural Fairy Tales
I hope you’re not afraid of things that you don’t understand. Our next stop takes us back to November 1967 and Supernatural Fairy Tales, the title cut of the only album by Art. Initially, the British band was known as The V.I.P.’s who had formed in 1963 out of an earlier group called The Ramrods. Seemingly, change was the main constant of the group. Art shortly dissolved after the album’s release, and their four members – Mike Harrison (vocals, piano), Luther Grosvenor (guitars, vocals), Greg Ridley (bass) and Mike Kellie (drums) – teamed up with American keyboarder and vocalist Gary Wright, best known for his mid-’70s hits Dream Weaver and Love Is Alive, to form rock band Spooky Tooth.
Steve Conn/River of Madness
Next, let’s pay a visit to the small central Louisiana city of Pineville, the home of Steve Conn, who his website notes has played piano, organ or accordion with the likes of Bonnie Raitt, Kris Kristofferson, Sonny Landreth and Albert King, among many others. He also writes his own music and to date has released five albums. His first, River of Madness, appeared in October 1995. Here’s the soulful title track featuring Landreth on slide guitar. Conn’s music sounds as rich and tasty as a Louisiana gumbo!
Climax Blues Band/Couldn’t It Right
Time for a stop-over in the ’70s with a groovy tune by Climax Blues Band I was reminded of the other day when I heard it on the radio. When the English blues rock band, which had come together in 1967, presented their nineth album Gold Plated to their record label RCA in 1976, they were told it lacked a hit, so they should try and write one. They did. Ironically titled Couldn’t Get It Right, it would become their biggest hit, climbing all the way to no. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100. Outside the U.S. it reached no. 8 and no. 10 on the mainstream charts in Canada and the UK, respectively – another great groovy tune!
Pete Townshend/White City Fighting
Our upcoming sixth stop means we need to wrap up another music time travel journey. To do that let’s go to November 1985 and the fourth solo studio album by Pete Townshend. It’s probably my favorite by the British rock artist who of course is best known as co-founder, leader, guitarist, second lead vocalist and principal songwriter of The Who. Off White City: A Novel, here’s the de facto title track, White City Fighting. It was penned by another famous guitarist, David Gilmour, of Pink Floyd fame, and originally intended for his second solo album About Face. At the time, he asked Townshend to write the lyrics. But he couldn’t relate to the words and ended up giving the song to Townshend who turn invited Gilmour to play guitar on it. It all worked out nicely!
Well, folks, that’s it for today, except of course for a Spotify playlist of the above tracks. As always, I hope there’s something there you dig and that you’ll be back for more. So long!
Sources: Wikipedia; Creamery Station website; Steve Conn website; YouTube; Spotify
Backed by high-caliber All-Star Band, Singer-Songwriter shared stories and beloved tunes
When I saw a few months ago that James Taylor is touring, the decision to look for a ticket didn’t take long. One of my biggest regrets is having missed his 2010 Troubadour Reunion Tour with Carole King. While King would have been the bigger draw, I’ve always liked Taylor and had never seen him. Finally, last Saturday evening, it was showtime, at the TD Pallivion of The Mann Center for the Performing Arts in Philadelphia, Pa. Taylor and his amazing band did not disappoint!
Not only have I admired Taylor for many years as a great acoustic guitarist but also as a singer-songwriter with a distinct smooth baritone that instantly puts me at ease – even if he sings about a less-than-cheerful topic like in Fire and Rain, a song I absolutely love.
TD Pavillion. According to The Mann Center for the Performing Arts, James Taylor is the artist who has most often performed at the Mann since the venue was built in 1976 as the summer home for the Philadelphia Orchestra.
Taylor, who in March turned 75, has enjoyed an impressive 55-year-plus run. Among others, this includes more than 100 million albums sold, multiple Grammy Awards, as well as inductions into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Songwriters Hall of Fame.
Taylor’s current tour is billed as An Evening with James Taylor & His All-Star Band – makes me wonder whether that band name may have come with a little inspiration from a friend! Speaking of with a little help from his friends, in 1968, Taylor became the first non-British act signed to Apple Records, which of course is the label founded by The Beatles that same year. It all happened after Paul McCartney and George Harrison listened to a demo tape Taylor had given to Peter Asher.
James Taylor’s All-Star Band (left to right, starting with upper row: Kate Markowitz (vocals), Dorian Holley (vocals), Henry Taylor (vocals, guitar), Andrea Zonn (vocals, fiddle), Larry Goldings (piano), Walt Fowler (keyboards, horns), Lou Marini (horns), Michael Landau (guitar), Jimmy Johnson (bass), Michito Sanchez (percussion) and Steve Gadd (drums)
Coming back to Taylor’s All-Star Band, the name wasn’t hyperbole, as his website reveals. The first musician who jumped out was legendary drummer Steve Gadd. The other members are certainly no slouches either: Michael Landau (guitar), Larry Goldings (piano), Walt Fowler (keyboards, horns), Lou Marini (horns), Michito Sanchez (percussion), Jimmy Johnson (bass), Andrea Zonn (vocals, fiddle), as well as vocalists Kate Markowitz, Dorian Holley and Taylor’s son Henry Taylor (also guitar). This is one killer band!
In addition to performing many beloved songs, Taylor also proved to be an engaging storyteller with a great sense of self-deprecating humor. After the first tune of the evening, Something In the Way She Moves, which was mostly delivered in the form of a video montage, Taylor recalled the above beginning of his recording career, jokingly adding, “George liked the song so much that he wrote it as his own song.” Beatles fans know it was a reference to Harrison’s Something, which starts with the words, Something in the way she moves.
Sometimes, Taylor’s anecdotes behind his songs felt a bit like standup comedy, especially the story about Mona, a pig he once owned as a pet. It certainly was hilarious and also involved some acting when Taylor pulled out a large handkerchief to bemoan the accidental death of Mona, who had grown from a little piggie into a 290-pound specimen. That said, he probably could have shortened it a little! 🙂
With 20 studio albums released to date, Taylor had plenty of material to choose from and he did. For his original songs, he mostly drew from his 1968 eponymous debut album and his ’70s catalog, including Sweet Baby James (1970), Mud Slide Slim and the Blue Horizon (1971), Gorilla (1975), In the Pocket (1976) and JT (1977). He also briefly acknowledged the ’80s, ’90s and 2000s with picks from That’s Why I’m Here (1985), New Moonshine (1991) and October Road (2002). Taylor rounded out the evening with four covers. Time for some music!
Let’s kick things off with Copperline, a tune from Taylor’s 13th studio album New Moon Shine, which came out in September 1991. He announced it as a song about his home state of North Carolina, adding, “but it’s probably not the one you’re thinking of.” He proceeded by holding up big signs of his two setlists, cheerfully pointing to the song that may have been in the minds of many folks in the audience.
Sweet Baby James is the title track of Taylor’s sophomore and breakthrough album released in February 1970. Like its predecessor and the next three albums, it was produced by Peter Asher. Unlike his debut, it appeared on Warner Bros, Taylor’s new label until the mid-’70s. Sweet Baby James is about the son of Taylor’s older brother Alex, who named the child after him.
And then it was time for some smoldering blues, a genre Taylor isn’t commonly associated with. But he actually wrote a blues tune for the Sweet Baby James album. Taylor felt there were too many pretentious white blues bands, so he decided to mock them with Steamroller Blues. This may be a parody tune and at times Taylor clearly treated it as such, but watch his band turn up the heat in this one, especially Lou Marini on trumpet, Walt Fowler on the mighty Hammond and Michael Landau on lead guitar.
After a 20-minute intermission, which Taylor insisted they really didn’t need since they would just stand right behind the stage and count down the time, it was on to the second set. As a huge Carole King fan, it’s a no-brainer I must cover You’ve Got a Friend, off Tapestry, her timeless gem from February 1971. Taylor recalled how King and he played the song together for the first time at The Troubador in Los Angeles before it had come out. He added it blew him away and he decided then and there to record it himself. And that he did and put on his third studio album Mud Slide Slim and the Blue Horizon, which came out two months after Tapestry.
Next up is a tune I sadly missed capturing, but fortunately Kelly K did, at Taylor’s May 31 gig at Santa Barbara Bowl – thanks, Kelly! To me, Raised Up Family, a tune Taylor included on his 15th studio album October Road, released in August 2002, was a musical highlight of the second set and in fact the entire evening. It nicely showcases the chops of Taylor’s backing vocalist and his amazing band.
Another must-cover is my all-time favorite song by James Taylor: Fire and Rain, off Sweet Baby James. This tune still gives me chills every time I hear it. Do I need to say more? I don’t think so!
Yet another highlight, especially from a vocal perspective, was Shower the People, the opening track of In the Pocket. Taylor’s seventh studio album was the first relying on a producer other than Peter Asher, in this case, Russ Titelman and Lenny Waronker, and his last before signing with Columbia. The performance showcased the impressive vocal chops of Dorian Holley.
And then it was time for the encore, which included three tunes. I decided to leave you with the last, You Can Close Your Eyes, another tune from Mud Slide Slim and the Blue Horizon. This performance featured Taylor and his son, Henry Taylor, both on vocals and guitar.
Following is the entire line-up of the songs Taylor performed in Philadelphia. Based on Setlist.fm, it has stayed unchanged up to this point in his tour.
Set 1 • Something in the Way She Moves • Rainy Day Man • Copperline • Everybody Has the Blues • Mona • Some Days You Gotta Dance (The Chicks cover) • Sweet Baby James • Country Road • Steamroller Blues • Mexico • Up On the Roof (Carole King cover)
Set 2 • Secret o’ Life • You Make It Easy • You’ve Got a Friend (Carole King cover) • Carolina in My Mind • Raised Up Family • Fire and Rain • Shower the People • Your Smiling Face
Encore • Summertime Blues (Eddie Cochran cover) • Shed a Little Light • You Can Close Your Eyes
As I think you can see from the clips, the audience clearly loved James Taylor. So did I and I’m glad I finally got to see him! This wasn’t my first visit to the Mann, a great open-air venue where I previously sawBonnie Raitt with opening act Lucinda Williams, as well as John Mellencamp with Emmylou Harris and Carlene Carter (see here). Despite some logistical challenges with parking and getting into the venue, which I had not encountered in the past, it likely wasn’t my last visit.
Evidently, Taylor enjoys the Mann as well. In fact, last Saturday marked his 21st concert there. According to the Mann, this makes him the artist who has most often performed at the venue since it was opened in 1976 as the summer home for Philadelphia’s symphony orchestra.
If you like Taylor and can make it to one of his shows during the remainder of the tour, I don’t think you’ll be disappointed. Some of the gigs for which tickets still appear to be available include Huntsville, Ala. (Aug 22); Cincinnati, Ohio (Aug 24); Mt. Pleasant, Mich. (Aug 26); Bridgeport, Conn. (Aug 29); and Boston, Mass. ( Aug 31 and Sep 1). The two immediately upcoming shows in Lenox, Mass. (Jul 3 & 4) are sold out. Taylor is currently scheduled to be on the road until Sep 10. The full schedule is here.
Sources: Wikipedia; James Taylor website; Setlist.fm; YouTube
Last week brought a lot of neat new music. Here are two great albums I didn’t include in my Saturday feature. Both were released on June 16.
Bettye LaVette – LaVette!
Soul vocalist Bettye LaVette first entered my radar screen in 2018 when I included her in a post about great female blues singers. I immediately liked how she makes songs she covers truly her own. While LaVette already recorded her first single as a 16-year-old in 1962, it took her more than 40 years until 2005 and the album I’ve Got My Own Hell to Raise to gain the broad recognition she deserved. Her latest album is titled LaVette! and it’s a true gem by an incredible vocalist.
All of the album’s 11 tracks were written by Randall Bramblett, some together with his longtime songwriting partner Davis Causey. Apart from having released albums under his name since 1975, Bramblett has worked with the likes of Gregg Allman, Bonnie Raitt, Robbie Robertson, Elvin Bishop and Steve Winwood. Guitarist Davis Causey over a 60-year career has accumulated impressive credits as well, which among others include Marvin Gaye, Jackie Wilson, Bonnie Raitt, Gregg Allman and Derek Trucks. Here’s Don’t Get Me Started, penned by Bramblett who also first recorded it for his 2020 album Pine Needle Fire. LaVette’s great rendition features Winwood on keyboards!
Since I listened to Son Volt’s album Electro Melodier when it came out in July 2021, I’ve dug the alternative country and Americana rock band. They were formed by singer-songwriter and guitarist Jay Farrar in 1994 after the breakup of alternative country group Uncle Tupelo, who Farrar had co-founded with Jeff Tweedy in 1987. Tweedy subsequently formed Wilco.
Son Volt’s new album Day of the Doug is a tribute to the late Doug Sahm, a singer-songwriter who according to Wikipedia is “regarded as one of the main figures of Tex-Mex music, and as an important performer of Texan music”. Sahm gained initial prominence with country and roots rock band Sir Douglas Quintet. After they disbanded in 1973, he launched a solo career and also played in Tejano supergroup Texas Tornados. Sahm died from a heart attack in November 1999 at the age of 58.
Off Day of the Doug, here’s the great Sometimes You’ve Got to Stop Chasing Rainbows. Written by Sahm in 1973, the tune also appeared on May 10 as the lead single of Son Volt’s album.
While I’m not familiar with Sahm’s original music, I like the renditions Son Volt included on their album. Float Away, Yesterday Got in the Way, Dynamite Woman, Juan Mendoza and Segiun are some I’d like to call out. These covers actually make me curious to check out Sahm’s catalog. Here’s a Spotify link to the album.
Celebrating music with six random tracks at a time
Happy Sunday! Once again another weekend seems to be flying by but, of course, we cannot let this happen without visiting six tracks from six different decades with the magical music time machine. Hope you’ll join me for the ride!
Elliot Lawrence and his Orchestra/Alto Lament
For the start of today’s journey, let’s set our time machine to 1958. That’s when American jazz pianist and bandleader Elliot Lawrence recorded Alto Lament, a smooth track by Anthony Louis Scarmolin, an Italian-American composer, pianist and conductor. Based on what I could find, it appears the track was first included on an EP titled Definitely Lawrence! and released in 1959. Lawrence’s long career started in the 1940s. After recording and touring with his own band, he gave up jazz in the early 1960s and began composing and arranging for television, film and stage. Among others, he wrote the score for the great 1971 neo-noir action thriller The French Connection starring Gene Hackman, Roy Scheider and Fernando Rey.
Oasis/All Around the World
After this relaxed start of our trip, let’s kick it up a notch with a song that couldn’t be more appropriate when traveling across different countries: All Around the World, a catchy tune by UK pop rockers Oasis. By the time they released their third album Be Here Now in August 1997, they already had established themselves as one of Britain’s most popular ’90s bands, only three years after emerging from obscurity with their debut Definitely Maybe. Like all other songs on Be Here Now, All Around the World was penned by the band’s lead guitarist and principal songwriter Noel Gallagher.
Tedeschi Trucks Band/Somehow
For this next pick, we shall travel back to the present. When listening to Somehow by Tedeschi Trucks Band, somehow, I keep thinking of Bonnie Raitt, one of my all-time favorite artists. Both Susan Tedeschi’s vocals and the music would make this track a perfect fit for Raitt. Written by the group’s member Gabe Dixon (keyboards, guitar, vocals) and songwriter Tia Sellers, Somehow is from their most recent studio album I’m the Moon, which came out in September 2022. Rightfully, Tedeschi Trucks Band called their fifth album the “most ambitious studio project” of their career to date. It was released in several installments, which I covered here and here at the time – terrific album!
The Kinks/Waterloo Sunset
Time to pay a visit to the ’60s. Let’s hop across the pond to London. The year is 1967 and it’s the month of September. That’s when British rock band The Kinks came out with their fifth UK studio album, Something Else by the Kinks. And indeed, that release was something else! In no small part, that’s because of the incredible lead single Waterloo Sunset, which appeared in May of the same year. Written by Ray Davies, the tale about a solitary narrator reflecting on two lovers, the river Thames and Waterloo Station is an absolute gem in the band’s catalog, at least in my book!
Roxy Music/Jealous Guy
When I first heard Jealous Guy by Roxy Music on the radio in Germany in 1981, I immediately loved it. In my youthful innocence, initially, I thought the song was the English art rock band’s own tune, not realizing they had recorded it as a beautiful tribute single to John Lennon in the wake of his senseless murder in December 1980. At the time, I already owned Lennon’s great 1975 compilation Shaved Fish, but it didn’t include Jealous Guy – definitely a miss! Originally, Lennon had recorded the ballad for his September 1971 sophomore solo album Imagine. Eventually, I borrowed a copy of that album and taped it on music cassette. Nowadays, I dig both versions equally.
James Gang/Walk Away
When you hang out with good friends, time flies – I can’t believe we’re reaching the final stop of another music time travel trip! Let’s end it with a kickass rocker by American rock band James Gang: Walk Away. Written by the great Joe Walsh, who had joined the group in early 1968, Walk Away was the opener of James Gang’s third studio album Thirds, released in April 1971. It would be Walsh’s final studio project with the band. After his departure in December 1971, he formed Barnstorm. Eventually, he was invited to join the Eagles in 1975 and continues to perform with them to this day.
As usual, the final thing I leave you with is a Spotify playlist featuring all of the above tracks. Hope there’s something you dig and you’ll be back for more!
Christian's Music Musings 