The Sunday Six

Welcome to another Sunday Six, my weekly recurring feature, in which I explore music from different genres over the past 60-70 years. As always, I do this in a time-travel fashion, six tunes at a time. Hope you’ll join me for the ride. Let’s go!

Lonnie Smith/Twenty-Five Miles

Our journey today starts in 1970 with some groovy jazz by Hammond B3 maestro Lonnie Smith. Given how much I dig the sound of this organ, perhaps it’s not a huge surprise I featured Smith before. He first came to prominence in the mid-’60s as a member of George Benson’s quartet. After recording two albums with the jazz guitarist, Smith launched a solo career in 1967 with his delicious debut album Finger Lickin’ Good Soul Organ. At some point during the ’70s, he decided to wear a traditional Sikh turban and become Dr. Lonnie Smith, though he neither converted to Sikhism nor obtained an academic doctor title. After a 50-year-plus recording career, Smith sadly passed away in September 2021 at the age of 79. Twenty-Five Miles, penned by him, appeared on his 1970 solo album Drives when he was still known as Lonnie Smith. He was backed by Dave Hubbard (tenor saxophone), Ronnie Cuber (baritone saxophone), Larry McGee (guitar) and Joe Dukes (drums). That track gets me in the mood for more music!

John Lennon/Nobody Told Me

Earlier this week (December 8) marked the sad 42nd anniversary of John Lennon’s senseless murder in New York City – really hard to believe it’s been 42 years! Rather than picking Imagine, the seasonal Happy Xmas (War Is Over) or another perhaps more obvious tune, I decided to go with Nobody Told Me, a track that appeared on the posthumous album Milk and Honey released in January 1984. Assembled by Yoko Ono and Geffen, it includes new music Lennon had recorded in the last months of his life during and following the Double Fantasy sessions. Originally, he had written Nobody Told Me for Ringo Starr to include on his 1981 album Come and Smell the Roses, but due to John’s death, Ringo decided against recording it. Nobody Told Me, a song I dug from the very first moment I heard it, also became the first single from Milk and Honey and a top 10 hit in various countries, including the U.S. (no. 5), Canada (no. 4), the UK and Australia (no. 6 in each), as well as Norway (no. 7). Here’s a cool video!

The Easybeats/Friday On My Mind

Our next stop is May 1967, which saw the release of Good Friday, the fourth studio album by The Easybeats and their first after the Australian band had relocated to London and had signed an international recording deal with United Artists Records. In North America, a slightly different version appeared in the same month under the title Friday On My Mind. The Easybeats had been founded in Sydney in late 1964 by Stevie Wright (lead vocals), Harry Vanda (lead guitar), George Young (rhythm guitar), Dick Diamonde (bass) and Gordon “Snowy” Fleet (drums). Notably, they each came from families that had emigrated from Europe to Australia: Wright and Fleet from England, Vanda and Diamonde from The Netherlands, and Young from Scotland. During their six-year run, The Easybeats scored 15 top 10 hits in Australia, including one of my all-time favorite ’60s tunes, Friday On My Mind. Co-written by Young and Vanda, their biggest hit topped the charts in Australia, reached no. 2 in New Zealand, and climbed to no. 6, no. 13 and no. 16 in the UK, Canada and the U.S., respectively. The band’s popularity waned thereafter, and they broke up in October 1969. Man, what a great tune!

Kenny Wayne Shepherd/Baby Got Gone

Let’s jump to the current century and some great blues rock by Kenny Wayne Shepherd. The Louisiana guitarist first entered my radar screen about five years ago. Shepherd who is completely self-taught started his recording career in 1995 at the age of 18. Since his debut album Ledbetter Heights, which came out in September that year, he has released nine additional studio albums and two live records, and established himself as an influential force in the contemporary blues realm. Baby Got Gone is from Shepherd’s August 2017 album Lay It Down. I haven’t listened to Shepherd in a while. This great tune makes me want to hear more!

Gene Vincent/Be-Bop-a-Lula

This next tune takes us back to 1956 and one of the pioneers of rockabilly and rock & roll: Gene Vincent. In June of that year, Vincent released his debut single Woman Love backed by what became his biggest U.S. hit: Be-Bop-a-Lula, credited to him and his manager Bill “Sheriff Tex” Davis. According to Vincent (born Vincent Eugene Craddock) and his label Capitol Records, he wrote the tune in 1955 while recuperating from a motorcycle accident at the US Naval Hospital in Portsmouth, Va., inspired by the newspaper cartoon strip Little Lulu. That story was disputed by Dickie Harrell, the drummer in Vincent’s backing band The Blue Caps, who told Mojo in 2000 the tune had been penned by Donald Graves, and that Vincent and Davis subsequently purchased it from Graves for $25. Yet another version is that Vincent and Graves wrote it together. Whatever the truth is, there can be no doubt Be-Bop-a-Lula is a ’50s gem. The fact that it sounded very much like a Sun Records production probably wasn’t a coincidence. Capitol Records had eagerly sought an artist similar to Elvis Presley. Unlike Elvis, Vincent’s chart career in the U.S. only lasted until 1957. In the UK, he had a total of eight top 40 hits between 1956 and 1961. Vincent’s life was cut short in October 1971 when he passed away at the age of 36 from a combination of a ruptured ulcer, internal hemorrhage and heart failure – yikes!

The Wallflowers/Sugarfoot

Once again it’s time to wrap up another music journey. For this final pick, we jump to August 1992 and the eponymous debut album by The Wallflowers. Initially formed as The Apples in 1989 by Jakob Dylan and his childhood friend and guitarist Tobi Miller, the group changed their name to The Wallflowers in 1991. After six studio albums including the hugely successful sophomore release Bringing Down the Horse (May 1996), Dylan turned The Wallflowers into a project in 2013, relying on hired musicians for his recurring tours. The most recent Wallflowers album Exit Wounds from July 2021, the first in nine years, in many ways feels like it could have been the follow-on to Bringing Down the Horse. I reviewed it here at the time. Going back to the debut, the album missed the charts. In my view, it certainly wasn’t because it lacked decent music. Here’s Sugarfoot, which like all other tracks except for one was written by Dylan.

This post wouldn’t be complete without a Spotify playlist of the above tunes.

Sources: Wikipedia; YouTube; Spotify

The Year That Was – Part 2 of 2

This is the second installment of my 2-part review of 2021. Here I’m going to focus on songs released over the past 12 months, which I like in particular. The picks are based on my Best of What’s New weekly recurring feature. Part 1, which you can read here, highlighted my six favorite albums that came out over the past year.

Altogether, Best of What’s New featured more than 200 songs that were released in 2021. From there I narrowed things down to 4o tunes, which are included in the playlist at the end of this post. Following I’d like to highlight 10 out of these 40 songs. It wasn’t easy to pick those 10 tunes. In my view, that’s a good sign since it means there were many great choices.

Aaron Frazer/If I Got It (Your Love Brought It)

Kicking things off is If I Got It (Your Love Brought It), a terrific soul tune by Aaron Frazer, a Brooklyn, New York-based singer-songwriter. The song, co-written by Frazer, Dan Auerbach and David Ferguson, is off Frazer’s debut album Introducing…, which appeared on January 8 and was produced by Auerbach. Check out that neat falsetto, which is reminiscent of Curtis Mayfield – so good!

Gretchen Parlato/É Preciso Perdoar

Next, let’s turn to contemporary jazz by California native Gretchen Parlato. É Preciso Perdoar is the beautiful opener of her fifth studio album Flor (Portuguese for flower) that appeared on March 5. The tune is credited to Brazilian composers Alcyvando Luz and Carlos Coqueijo, as well as Parlato – just beautiful and so relaxing!

Dirty Honey/California Dreamin’

Dirty Honey are a great rock band from Los Angeles that was founded in 2017. I love their classic rock sound that has traces of Aerosmith, Led Zeppelin and The Black Crowes. California Dreamin’, credited to the entire band, is from Dirty Honey’s eponymous first full-length album released April 23.

Lord Huron/Mine Forever

Indie folk-rock band Lord Huron are one of the most seductive contemporary groups I can think of. Their moody sound of layered voices, jangly guitars and expanded reverb is pretty cool – very cinematic! Frankly, their latest record Long Lost, which came out on May 21, easily could have been in part 1 of this year-in-review feature. Here’s my favorite tune off that record, Mine Forever, penned by guitarist and vocalist Ben Schneider who founded Lord Huron in 2010.

Jane Lee Hooker/Drive

While I’ve started to pay much closer attention to new music, I only follow very few contemporary acts. One is Jane Lee Hooker, formed in 2013 in New York as an all-female blues rock band. Drive is more of a rock ballad with a nice soulful vibe. Released as a single on May 28, the tune will be on the band’s next album Rollin’ that is scheduled for January 2022. Definitely looking forward to that one!

The Wallflowers/Roots and Wings

On July 9, The Wallflowers released Exit Wounds, their first new album in nine years. With its warm melodic roots rock, the record sounds like it could be a follow-on to Bringing Down the Horse from May 1996, the sophomore album by Jacob Dylan’s band that brought them commercial success and two Grammy awards. Here’s one of my favorite tracks off the new album: Roots and Wings.

Son Volt/The Globe

While alternative country and Americana rock band Son Volt have been around since 1994, I had not heard of them until August of this year after the release of their ninth and latest album Electro Melodier on July 30. Check out The Globe written by the band’s founder, singer-songwriter and guitarist Jay Farrar. It’s got a bit of a Springsteen vibe, and there’s also a brief homage to The Who. Check out the Moog line at around 2:15 minutes… Love that tune!

Maggie Rose/What Are We Fighting For

Maggie Rose, born Margaret Rose Durante, is a Nashville-based country and rock singer-songwriter, who released her debut single under her maiden name in 2009, a cover of Kings of Leon’s Use Somebody. In the spring of 2013, when her first full-length album appeared, she already had adopted the Maggie Rose moniker. What Are We Fighting For is the opener of her latest album Have a Seat that came out on August 20. The great soulful tune was written by Rose, together with her longtime collaborators, guitarist Alex Haddad and Larry Florman  (background vocals, percussion).

Joey Landreth/Two Trains

While he shares a famous last name and also is a slide guitarist, Canadian artist Joey Landreth isn’t related to Sonny Landreth. But he sure as heck is talented and has a great sound! Check out Two Trains, the catchy funky closer from his third and most recent album All That You Dream, which appeared on November 26.

Blue Rodeo/When You Were Wild

When You Were Wild is a great tune by Blue Rodeo, a Canadian country rock band founded in 1984 in Toronto. I first came across the group in February of this year. This tune, co-written by founders Jim Cuddy (vocals, guitar) and Greg Keelor (vocals, guitar), is from their 15th studio album Many a Mile released on December 3. I love that beautiful warm sound!

That’s it for the 10 tracks I wanted to call out. There are many more great tunes in the below playlist. Hope you will check them out!

Finally, to those celebrating, I wish you a merry Christmas and please be safe!

Sources: Wikipedia; YouTube

Jakob Dylan’s Wallflowers Are Back And In Full Blossom

I completely missed the release of Exit Wounds, the new album by Jakob Dylan’s band project The Wallflowers, even though I had heard of it back in May. I also don’t recall seeing it in Apple Music’s new releases on July 9 when it appeared – very strange! Well, I’m glad I finally came across it over the weekend.

The first new Wallflowers album in nine years features melodic roots rock and a warm sound. In many ways, Exit Wounds feels like it could have been the follow on to Bringing Down the Horse from May 1996, the sophomore album by Dylan’s band that brought commercial success and two Grammy awards. The one big difference is there are no obvious hits like One Headlight and my favorite, 6th Avenue Heartache. Still, after having listened to the 10 tracks a few times, I find this new album pretty enjoyable.

Produced by Butch Walker, who has worked with Avril Lavigne, Taylor Swift, Green Day and many other artists over the past 20-plus years, Exit Wounds is only the seventh studio album by The Wallflowers in three decades. Initially formed as The Apples in 1989 by Dylan and his childhood friend and guitarist Tobi Miller, the band changed their name to The Wallflowers in 1991. After six studio albums and a series of line-up changes, Dylan turned The Wallflowers into a project in 2013, relying on hired musicians for his recurring tours.

Why did it take nine years since Glad All Over from October 2012 to make a new Wallflowers album? “When you get started, you feel you’re going to lose traction and it will all slip away if you don’t keep maintaining it,” Dylan told Spin during a recent interview conducted as part of a major feature story. “That phase passes at some point, and then you have a career, and you can make records when you’re inspired.”

As the Spin story rightfully adds, there was also the 2018 documentary Echo in the Canyon, for which Dylan was the executive producer and interviewed artists like Roger McGuinn, Brian Wilson, Stephen Stills, David Crosby and Tom Petty – apparently, a close to four-year engagement from start to finish! Last but not least, Dylan had actually written the songs for Exit Wounds prior to the pandemic and wrapped up the recording more than a year ago, but decided to hold the album’s release.

Time for some music. Here’s the opener Maybe Your Heart’s Not in It No More, a nice mellow tune and one of three tracks featuring singer-songwriter Shelby Lynne on backing vocals. I think her and Dylan’s voices blend beautifully. The reflective and downcast lyrics represent most of the album. “We all have exit wounds as much as ever,” Dylan explained to Spin. “Whether we’re going to a better place or making a lateral move, we can’t get there from here without them.”

Roots and Wings is among my early favorites. The tune was also released separately as the album’s lead single on April 9, peaking at no. 6 on Billboard’s Triple A Airplay, aka Adult Alternative Airplay – frankly, a chart I had not been aware of. Who can keep track of Billboard’s seemingly ever-expanding charts. A review by Riff Magazine calls the sound “Springsteen-esque” and notes the harmony vocals were provided by Butch Walker. Which ever way you want to characterize it, the song is one of two tracks I find most memorable.

Darlin’ Hold On is another mellow tune that features Shelby Lynne sharing vocal duties with Dylan. In this case, beyond backing vocals, she also gets to sing a verse by herself. Quite pleasant.

And since I really dig how Dylan’s and Lynne’s vocals blend, here’s the third track featuring her on backing vocals: I’ll Let You Down (But Will Not Give You Up).

Let’s do one more: Who’s That Man Walking ‘Round My Garden, my favorite tune on the album at this time. Dylan explained to Spin the rocker is an homage to Tom Petty. Evidently, the two of them had bonded. The above noted conversation for the Echo in the Canyon documentary was Petty’s last on-camera interview prior to his death. “‘Who’s That Man’ is a straight-up tribute to Tom Petty, his music, and his style, and I hope he notices somewhere. I can’t say enough about his positivity and encouragement. It was very moving to have him pass, and it affected me greatly, so there are moments of not just influence, but a tip of my hat in appreciation that I hope he’ll hear.”

While I’m not sure I would have picked up on the Tom Petty influence, I kind of wish Dylan had included one or two additional more up-tempo rockers on the album. Most of the remaining tracks fall on the mellow side. After a while, this can get a bit repetitive.

A few words about the other musicians on Exit Wounds, based on the Spin story: Apart from backing vocals, Walker contributed guitar, keyboard and percussion. Additional musicians included Aaron Embry (keyboards), Val McCallum (guitar), Whynot Jansveld (bass, mastering) and Mark Stepro who played drums on all but one track that featured Brian Griffin.

Except for McCallum, which Spin noted played on The Wallflowers’ fourth album Red Letter Days from November 2002, Dylan put together an entire new band to record Exit Wounds. Given that, it’s kind of remarkable how much it resembles The Wallflowers in the ’90s. “It was important for me to make a pure Wallflowers record,” Dylan emphasized during his interview with Spin. Making it clear he’s always been in charge, he added, “I started this band. This is my band. It doesn’t matter who is or who isn’t around anymore.”

The Wallflowers will do a U.S. tour starting next month. The 20-date engagement will kick off in New Braunfels, Texas (San Antonio area) on August 18 and wrap up in Nashville on November 20. Starting in May 2022, The Wallflowers are also scheduled to tour the U.S. and Canada for three months, together with Matchbox Twenty. The current schedules for both tours are here.

Sources: Wikipedia; Spin; Riff Magazine; Jambase; YouTube

The Sunday Six

Welcome to another Sunday Six. In case you’re a first time visitor of the blog, this recurring feature celebrates the beauty of music six random tunes at a time, meaning songs from different genres and different decades. Pretty much anything goes in the same post. A jazz instrumental from the ’50s could be followed by a ’70s hard rock tune. A blues track from the ’60s could appear together with a pop song from the ’80s. My only condition is I have to like the tracks and how they work together. With that being said, let’s get to it!

John Barry & Orchestra/James Bond Theme

“Bond, James Bond.” These words started to fascinate me when I was a young teenager back in Germany. I still like the James Bond movies, as ridiculously unrealistic as they are. Especially the older pictures with Sean Connery and Roger Moore are classics in my book. Of course, part of every Bond picture is the soundtrack, including the James Bond Theme, which has been featured in every 007 film since the first one, Dr. No, from 1962. The signature theme was written by English singer and film composer Monty Norman and arranged by John Barry, a composer and conductor of film music. Barry also wrote the scores for 11 Bond pictures between 1963 and 1987. I always loved the track’s distinct guitar part played by English session guitarist Vic Flick, using a Clifford Essex Paragon De Luxe electric/acoustic vintage guitar from 1939.

Al Jarreau/Take Five

I know of no other artist who had such an amazing ability to use his voice as an instrument like Al Jarreau. Perhaps the most compelling example is his rendition of jazz standard Take Five, which was included on a May 1977 live album titled Look to the Rainbow. I’ve always loved the original written by Paul Desmond and first recorded by the Dave Brubeck Quartet for the album Time Out from December 1959. But Al Jarreau took the track to a different level. I guess many folks at the time agreed. Look to the Rainbow became Jarreau’s breakthrough in Europe and the U.S. It won the 1978 Grammy Award for Best Vocal Jazz Performance. If you haven’t heard this, check it out. If you already know Jarreau’s rendition, listen to it again anyway! 🙂

Joe Jackson/Down to London

Let’s jump to the late ’80s with a great tune by Joe Jackson. The British singer-songwriter first entered my radar screen in 1980, when I received his excellent sophomore studio album I’m the Man for my 14th birthday. I still own that vinyl copy. I’ve since listened on and off to Jackson, a versatile artist who has played many genres over the decades, including punk, new wave, pop, rock, jazz and Latin. He’s also fun live. I saw him in May 2019 at a mid-size theater in New Jersey. You can read about it here and watch some clips I took. Down to London is one of my favorite tracks from Blaze of Glory, Jackson’s 10th studio album that came out in April 1989. Like all other tunes on the record, he wrote the song.

The Wallflowers/6th Avenue Heartache

Next we’re on to the ’90s. I guess, I’m going chronologically this time. When The Wallflowers released their sophomore album Bringing Down the Horse in May 1996, they were still a standing roots rock-oriented band. Their origins date back to 1989 when Jakob Dylan (lead vocals, guitar, piano) and his childhood friend Tobi Miller (lead guitar) began forming a band called The Apples. Jakob is a son of Bob Dylan and his first wife Sara Dylan (nee Noznisky). After Barrie Maguire (bass), Peter Yanowitz (drums) and Rami Yafee (keyboards) had joined the group, they changed their name to The Wallflowers. The band signed with Virgin Records in 1991 and released their eponymous debut album in August 1992. Five additional studio albums appeared thereafter until 2012. Since 2013, Dylan has been the only remaining original member, relying on touring musicians for shows. A new album titled Exit Wounds is slated for July 9, the first to appear under The Wallflowers name in nine years. Apparently, it will be supported by a tour. For now, here’s 6th Avenue Heartache, written by Dylan, one of the band’s best known tunes and certainly one of my favorites.

Alicia Keys/Fallin’

Alicia Keys is an interesting artist in my book. While much of her music falls outside my core wheelhouse, I still like her. Undoubtedly, Keys’ amazing voice has a lot to do with it, but it’s also her stage presence. There’s just something about Keys that draws me in. It’s like she’s radiating – I can’t quite explain it. Anway, Fallin’ is a breathtaking tune from Keys’ debut album Songs in A Minor, which came out in June 2001. The record had a long history, which I hadn’t known until I read about it in Wikipedia. Keys, a classically trained pianist, already began writing songs for the record as a 14-year-old in 1995. She recorded the album in 1998 for Columbia Records, but the label rejected it. Eventually, it appeared in June 2001 on J Records, a new label that had been formed by Clive Davis who had sensed Keys’ talent and bought her contract from Columbia. His instincts turned out to be right. Songs in A Minor topped the Billboard 200 and won five Grammy Awards in 2002. As of 2015, the album had sold 7.5 million copies in the U.S. and more than 12 million worldwide. Fallin’ was solely written by Keys. That tune still gives me goosebumps.

Dirty Honey/Tied Up

I guess this already brings me to the last track of this Sunday Six installment. It’s time for some kickass rock and one of my new “discoveries,” Dirty Honey. I first featured this great rock band from Los Angeles a week ago in this Best of What’s New installment. The band, which has been around since 2017, features Marc Labelle (vocals), John Notto (guitar), Justin Smolian (bass) and Corey Coverstone (drums). Their classic rock-oriented sound is reminiscent of groups like Led Zeppelin, Aerosmith and The Black Crowes. Here’s Tied Up, credited to the entire band, from their eponymous studio debut album released on April 23. This is a fun tune that nicely rocks!

Sources: Wikipedia; YouTube