The Sunday Six

I hope everybody is enjoying their Sunday and, if you reside in the U.S., that it’s been a nice extended four-day Thanksgiving Holiday weekend. I may have returned from a two-week family vacation in Europe only a few days ago, but great music never prevents me from embarking on another trip. Hope you come along for the ride!

Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio/Concussion

Our first stop today only takes us back a few years to March 2018 and groovy Hammond-driven jazz by Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio. Founded in 2015, the trio includes self-taught Hammond B-3 organist Delvon Lamarr, guitarist Jimmy James and drummer Dan Weiss. Their website puts it best: DLO3’s “feelgood music” includes a big helping of the 1960s organ jazz stylings of Jimmy Smith and Baby Face Willette; a pinch of the snappy soul strut of Booker T. & The M.G.’s and The Meters; and sprinkles Motown, Stax Records, blues, and cosmic Jimi Hendrix-style guitar. From DLO3’s debut album Close But No Cigar, here’s Concussion. I surely hope no musicians got hurt during the recording of this fabulous track!

Katrina and the Waves/Red Wine and Whisky

Now that you’re hopefully in the groove, let’s continue this party by getting some booze brought to us by Katrina and the Waves – of course, consume responsibly! Initially called The Waves, this British-American band seemingly emerged out of nowhere in the mid-’80s with their huge hit Walking On Sunshine. Notably, the song only got noticed when it was re-recorded for the group’s eponymous third studio album that appeared in March 1985. But there was more to the picture. One of my other favorite tracks off that same album is the opener Red Wine and Whisky. Unfortunately, the band couldn’t repeat their mid-’80s success and eventually broke up in 1999.

Tommy James & The Shondells/I Think We’re Alone Now

Time to pay a visit to the ’60s. That said, our next stop was inspired by another song that became popular again in the ’80s when it was covered by then-15-year-old American pop singer Tiffany for her August 1987 debut album: I Think We’re Alone Now. Written by Ritchie Cordell, the song was first recorded by Tommy James & the Shondells as the title track of their third studio album released in February 1967. It became one of the U.S. group’s biggest hits, climbing to no. 4 on the U.S. pop chart – a real ear worm!

Johnny Cash/I’ve Been Everywhere

This next pick takes us to November 1996 and the great Johnny Cash who I trust needs no introduction. It’s from an album titled Unchained, aka. American II: Unchained. The second of six albums released by American Recordings, which were all produced by Rick Rubin, fell into a late-career resurgence for The Man in Black. Penned by Australian country singer Geoff Mack in 1959, I’ve Been Everywhere was first popularized in 1962 by another artist from down under, Lucky Starr. If I recall it correctly, I initially heard Cash’s rendition during a U.S. TV commercial in the ’90s and loved it right away!

Gene Vincent/Bluejean Bop

I don’t know about you, but Johnny Cash put me in the mood for some classic ’50s rockabilly. To satisfy my craving, let’s go to August 1956 and Bluejean Bop!, the debut album by Gene Vincent, billed to Gene Vincent and His Blue Caps. Here’s the opener and title track, co-written by the rockabilly pioneer and Hal Levy. Sadly, Vincent’s chart career was brief, especially in his home country the U.S. where it lasted less than two years. His life was cut short at age 36 in 1971 when he passed away from a combination of a ruptured ulcer, internal hemorrhage and heart failure.

Manassas/It Doesn’t Matter

Once again, the time has come to wrap up another Sunday Six. Our final destination today is April 1972, which saw the release of the eponymous debut album by Manassas. Formed by Stephen Stills, the short-lived American rock supergroup also featured Chris Hillman (The Byrds), Al Perkins (The Flying Burrito Brothers), Paul Harris (John Sebastian), as well as Calvin “Fuzzy” Samuel, Dallas Taylor and Joe Lala (each Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young). Here’s It Doesn’t Matter, co-written by Stills, Hillman and Rick Roberts, and a listening suggestion by my dear longtime German music buddy Gerd.

Of course, this post wouldn’t be complete without a Spotify playlist featuring all of the above goodies. Hope you enjoyed the trip and will be back for more!

Sources: Wikipedia; YouTube; Spotify

Yearend Musings Part 2

For the last time this year, I’d like to wish everybody a happy Saturday. I’m back from my short Christmas hiatus with the second installment of my two-part year-end review of new music released in 2022. Part 1 focused on new songs. In this post, I’m taking a look back at my six favorite albums of the year.

Altogether, I reviewed approximately 20 albums that were released over the course of the past 12 months. This count doesn’t include reissues like Neil Young’s nice Harvest 50th Anniversary Edition or other new releases of old music, such as Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers’ Live at the Fillmore (1997), an excellent box set I can highly recommend checking out. Mirroring the approach I took for 2022 new songs, I’m doing this in chronological order.

Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio/Cold As Weiss

Kicking off this year-end revue with an all-instrumental album may seem to come a bit out of left field, given I’m a huge fan of vocals, but Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio and their groovy Hammond-driven jazz was love at first sight. Plus, if you’re a more frequent visitor of my blog, you’ve undoubtedly noticed that instrumental music no longer is a rarity on these pages. Cold As Weiss, released on February 11, is the third studio album by this great trio, who apart from Delvon Lamarr (Hammond organ) features Jimmy Jones (guitar) and Dan Weiss (drums). Aka. DLO3, the trio has been around since May 2015 and describes their music as a “soul-jazz concoction”, blending 1960s organ jazz stylings of Jimmy Smith and Baby Face Willette; a pinch of the snappy soul strut of Booker T. & The M.G.’s and The Meters; and sprinkling Motown, Stax Records, blues, and cosmic Jimi Hendrix-style guitar. Let’s listen to Get Da Steppin’. My full review of this fun album is here.

Here’s a Spotify link to the entire album:

Goodbye June/See Where the Night Goes

Classic rock may no longer be in the mainstream, but it sure ain’t dead. Just ask Goodbye June from Memphis, Tenn., who have been helping carry the torch since 2005. The band is a family affair, comprised of cousins Landon Milbourn (lead vocals), Brandon Qualkenbush (rhythm guitar, bass, backing vocals) and Tyler Baker (lead guitar). On February 18, their fourth studio album See Where the Night Goes came out. The group’s sound, which is reminiscent of AC/DC, is a great listening experience. Check out the neat opener Step Aside below and my full review of the album here. Goodbye June truly rock!

Spotify album link:

Bonnie Raitt/Just Like That…

Frequent visitors of the blog and folks who know my music taste otherwise probably won’t be surprised to see Bonnie Raitt in this year-end post. I think her 21st studio album Just Like That…, which appeared on April 21, may well be her best to date in a now 51-year-and-counting recording career. If I would have to name my 2022 album of the year, Raitt’s first new release in more than six years would be it! Since this amazing lady first entered my radar screen with the outstanding Nick of Time in 1989, I’ve really come to dig her smooth slide-guitar playing, her voice and, of course, the songs most of which are renditions of tunes written by other artists. Here’s the Stonesy Livin’ For the Ones, a tune for which Raitt wrote the lyrics to music from longtime guitarist George Marinelli. Here is my full review of the album, a true gem that is a must-listen-to for Bonnie Raitt fans.

Spotify album link:

Jane Lee Hooker/Rollin’

Shortly on the heels of Bonnie Raitt, Jane Lee Hooker released their third studio album Rollin’ on April 29. I first experienced the great New York-based blues rock-oriented band during a free summer-in-the-park concert on the Jersey shore in August 2017 when they still were an all-female group and was immediately impressed by their infectious energy. All members remain, except for original drummer Melissa “Cool Whip” Houston who departed in 2020 and has been replaced by ‘Lightnin’ Ron Salvo. Earlier this year, I saw Jane Lee Hooker during a release party in New York City for the new album and can confirm the band’s only gent is a great fit. Rollin’ offers their familiar hard-charging electric guitar-driven blues rock, as well as some new elements, including acoustic blues and vibes of soul. A great illustration of the band’s more refined sound is the beautiful soul-oriented rock ballad Drive. My review of the full album is here.

Spotify album link:

Tedeschi Trucks Band/I’m the Moon

I’m the Moon, a four-album series, is the most ambitious studio project to date by Tedeschi Trucks Band and probably of 2022 overall. Each of the four installments, released individually between June and August, had a 30-minute-plus companion film. The entire project, which features 24 songs, became available as one collection on September 9. I’m the Moon was inspired by a 12th-century Persian poem – intriguingly the very same poem that also inspired one of the greatest blues rock albums of all time: Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs, by Derek and the Dominos. You can read my two-part review of this impressive project here and here. Following I’d like to highlight Hear My Dear, the lead track of the first album. This gem was written by the group’s co-leaders and wife and husband Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks, along with the band’s keyboarder Gabe Dixon who is also one of their vocalists.

Spotify album link:

Buddy Guy/The Blues Don’t Lie

I’d like to wrap up this post with one of my absolute blues guitar heroes, Buddy Guy, who at 86 years young can still rock with the ferocity of Jimi Hendrix. On September 30, Guy released his 19th studio album The Blues Don’t Lie. The date coincided with the 65th anniversary of the legendary guitarist’s arrival in Chicago from Louisiana. Once again produced by longtime collaborator Tom Hambridge who also plays drums, the album features guest appearances by Mavis Staples, James Taylor, Elvis Costello, Jason Isbell and Bobby Rush. Most importantly, The Blues Don’t Lie truly fires on all cylinders. You can find my full review here. Perhaps the song that best sums up Buddy Guy is the opener I Let My Guitar Do the Talking, a cowrite by Guy and Hambridge. Damn, check this out!

Spotify album link:

Last but not least, I’d like to thank my fellow bloggers and other visitors for reading my blog and taking the time to comment, and would like to wish all of you a Happy, Safe and Healthy New Year! And let’s keep on bloggin’ in the free world in 2023!

Sources: Wikipedia; YouTube; Spotify

Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio Deliver Seductive Grooves on New Album

While I’ve started to feature more instrumental music on the blog – a big step for a guy who can keep raving about vocals and harmony singing for hours – the picture is very different when it comes to album reviews. In fact, Cold As Weiss by Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio is my first review of a new all-instrumental album, and I couldn’t be happier with my pick!

If you’re a frequent visitor of the blog, you may have seen a few previous posts that included this cool trio from Seattle, most recently here earlier this month. In fact, that Sunday Six installment included Don’t Worry ‘Bout What I Do, a track from the new album, which had been released as an upfront single. Cold As Weiss appeared in its entirety on Friday, February 11, and it’s a true beauty!

In case you didn’t catch any of the previous posts, let me start with some background on the group. Once again, I’m borrowing from their website, which has a great bio: Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio—or as it is sometimes referred to, DLO3—specialize in the lost art of “feel good music.” The ingredients of this intoxicating cocktail include a big helping of the 1960s organ jazz stylings of Jimmy Smith and Baby Face Willette; a pinch of the snappy soul strut of Booker T. & The M.G.’s and The Meters; and sprinkles Motown, Stax Records, blues, and cosmic Jimi Hendrix-style guitar. It’s a soul-jazz concoction that goes straight to your heart and head makes your body break out in a sweat…

Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio (from left): Delvon Lamarr, Dan Weiss & Jimmy James

The band features organist Delvon Lamarr, a self-taught virtuosic musician, with perfect pitch who taught himself jazz and has effortlessly been able to play a multitude of instruments. On guitar is the dynamo Jimmy James who eases through Steve Cropper-style chanking guitar, volcanic acid-rock freak-out lead playing, and slinky Grant Green-style jazz. From Reno, Nevada is drummer Dan Weiss (also of the powerhouse soul and funk collective The Sextones). Dan’s smoldering pocket-groove drumming locks in the trio’s explosive chemistry.

DLO3 have been around since May 2015. Their initial line-up included Lamarr, Colin Higgins (guitar) and David McGraw (drums). By the time the trio’s debut album Close but No Cigar came out in March 2018, Higgins had been replaced by James on guitar. DLO3 had a few drummers over the years. The current one, Dan Weiss, joined last year after their sophomore studio album I Told You So had been recorded. Apparently, his arrival is reflected in the record’s title, as I’ve read in a few reviews. Let’s play some music!

Here’s the opener Pull Your Pants Up. The track pretty much sets the tone for the rest of the album. For the most part, Lamarr and James take turns in leading the melody and providing fill-ins, while Weiss is keeping the beat. Since DLO3 don’t have a bassist, Lamarr is covering that part as well, using his Hammond B-3’s bass pedals.

Since I previously covered Don’t Worry ‘Bout What I Do, I’m skipping it here and going right to Big TT’s Blues. Clocking in at 6:31 minutes, it’s the longest track on the album. It also trades some funkiness for more of a straight blues feel. While all of the music on the album is jam-based, fortunately, DLO3 never go overboard with egomaniacal solos.

With Get Da Steppin’ it’s back to a more funky groove. I love the Hammond bass pedals and the drum part in this one. Sure, there’s not a huge variety in these funky grooves. But given the awesome sound and feel, this doesn’t really bother me.

And check out this beauty titled Uncertainty! A little softer than some of the other tracks with some cool breaks. And, boy, that Hammond just sounds mighty sweet, especially when the tone starts vibrating. I just don’t get tired of it – jeez, I guess I’m starting to sound like I’m raving about multipart harmony singing!

Let’s do one more: This Is Who I Is, the excellent closer. I love the guitar wah-wah action on this track, which gives it a bit of a Hendrix flavor – very cool!

Like its predecessor I Told You So, Cold As Weiss was recorded at Blue Mallard Studio in Seattle and produced by Jason Gray.

Based on reviews I’ve seen, Cold As Weiss has been well received. “As good as last year’s I Told You So was, this is an even stronger response to their already highly raised bar,” wrote Glide Magazine. “It’s another home run for Lamarr’s trio who hasn’t made a misstep yet,” opined American Songwriter. And here’s some of what AllMusic had to say: “The choruses are delivered in joyously emphatic unison. If there is a complaint about Cold as Weiss, it’s that at 40 minutes, it’s a tad short, because no one wants this dance party to end. (If you do, please check your pulse, you may have expired.)”

Sources: Wikipedia; Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio website; Discogs; Glide Magazine; American Songwriter; AllMusic, YouTube; Spotify

The Sunday Six

It’s Sunday morning, at least in my neck of the woods in lovely central New Jersey where you can always run into a confused deer and spot the occasional fox. Or watch the squirrels chasing after one another. And did I mention Bruce Springsteen, Southside Johnny and that other guy many of you aren’t fond of (though 100 million fans can’t be wrong!) are Jersey boys, as is Walter Trout (at least originally)? Okay, this is starting to sound like a silly ad for the Garden State, so let’s move on to the business of the day: Six tunes of music of the past and the present.

Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio/Don’t Worry ‘Bout What I Do

Speaking of the present, let’s start today’s musical journey with some groovy organ jazz by Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio, an act I’ve previously featured. Founded in 2015, the trio includes self-taught Hammond B-3 organist Delvon Lamarr, guitarist Jimmy James and drummer Dan Weiss. From their website: Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio—or as it is sometimes referred to, DLO3—specialize in the lost art of “feel good music.” The ingredients of this intoxicating cocktail include a big helping of the 1960s organ jazz stylings of Jimmy Smith and Baby Face Willette; a pinch of the snappy soul strut of Booker T. & The M.G.’s and The Meters; and sprinkles Motown, Stax Records, blues, and cosmic Jimi Hendrix-style guitar. It’s a soul-jazz concoction that goes straight to your heart and head makes your body break out in a sweat – in other words, it’s some pretty cool shit! Don’t Worry ‘Bout What I Do is an upfront single that was released on January 6, 2022, from DLO3’s upcoming fourth studio album Cold As Weiss scheduled for February 11 – my kind of music!

The Fabulous Thunderbirds/Wrap It Up

Let’s keep groovin’ and movin’ and slightly pick up the speed. This next tune takes us back to 1986 and a tasty tune by The Fabulous Thunderbirds: Wrap It Up. Isaac Hayes and David Porter wrote that song for Stax soul duo Sam & Dave who included it on their fourth studio record I Thank You from 1968. The Thunderbirds did a beautiful job with it, recording it for Tuff Enuff, their fifth studio album that appeared in January 1986. If I see this correctly, it became one of the Texas blues rock-oriented band’s most successful singles, reaching no. 50 in the U.S. on the Billboard Hot 100. The Fabulous Thunderbirds, who were founded in 1974, remain active. Their current line-up includes original member Kim Wilson (vocals, harmonica), along with Johnny Moeller (guitar), Kevin Anker (keyboards), Steve Gomes (bass) and Nico Leophonte (drums).

The Merry-Go-Round/Live

Time for a dose of ’60s psychedelic rock. Frankly, I don’t recall how The Merry-Go-Round ended up on my list of earmarked tunes for a Sunday Six installment. I can confirm I wasn’t flying eight miles high on some controlled substance! I suspect it must have been a listening suggestion by my streaming music provider. Anyway, The Merry-Go-Round were a short-lived American band from Los Angeles formed in the summer of 1966 by singer-songwriter Emitt Rhodes, along with his friends Gary Kato (lead guitar), Bill Rinehart (bass) and Joel Larson (drums). Inspired by contemporaries like The Beatles, The Byrds and The Left Banke, The Merry-Go-Round only released one eponymous album in November 1967. It barely made the Billboard 200, reaching no. 190. After various subsequent non-charting singles and an attempt to record a sophomore record, the group disbanded in 1969. Here’s Live, their first and most successful single from 1967, which peaked at no. 63 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song also was the opener of the album. Nice tune!

Fastball/The Way

Probably, this has happened to you as well. Suddenly out of nowhere, you recall a great tune you hadn’t heard in years. That’s exactly what prompted this next pick by Fastball and their January 1998 hit The Way. It probably saved the American alternative rock band’s career after their first single and debut album had gone nowhere. Fueled by The Way and a second tune, Out of My Head, Fastball’s sophomore album All the Pain Money Can Buy went Plantium within six months of its March 1998 release. It also yielded two Grammy and one MTV award nomination. Written by group member Tony Scalzo (vocals, bass, keyboards, guitar), The Way was inspired by a story he had read about an elderly Texas couple who had gone missing and eventually were found dead in their car hundreds of miles away from their original destination. The song’s great cinematic story-telling would make a good episode for The Twilight Zone. Fastball are still around in their original line-up, which in addition to Scalzi includes Miles Zuniga (vocals, guitar) and Joey Shuffield (drums, percussion). Sadly, as is all too common in the tough music business, the band never managed to come anywhere close to replicating the success of their second album. And, based on sampling songs from some of their other records, it wasn’t because of lack of decent music!

Johnny Cash/Give My Love to Rose

Initially, I had planned to feature Johnny Cash’s incredible rendition of John Lennon’s In My Life, one of my all-time favorite Beatles songs from their second 1965 album Rubber Soul. Then I started listening from the beginning of American IV: The Man Comes Around, Cash’s studio record from November 2002, the last released during his lifetime. It was also the fourth in his “American” series, which were produced by Rick Rubin and marked a late-stage career resurgence for “The Man in Black.” When I got to Give My Love to Rose, I simply couldn’t resist picking this powerful tune over In My Life, as much as I love the latter. Written by Cash, the song has incredible story-telling, and it’s a tearjerker. Originally, he had composed and recorded the tune with the Tennessee Two at Sun Records in 1957. It first appeared that same year as the B-side of the single Home of the Blues. Cash’s sparse and vulnerable rendition on American IV won him a Grammy in 2003, just days before his 71st birthday. Cash passed away in September of the same year.

Led Zeppelin/Custard Pie

After this powerful tearjerker, I’d like to finish this post on a kickass ’70s rock note. On we go to Physical Graffiti, Led Zeppelin’s sixth double-LP studio release from February 1975. It combined eight new songs and some previously unreleased tracks the group had recorded during the sessions for the Led Zeppelin III, Led Zeppelin IV and Houses of the Holy albums. Here’s the opener Custard Pie, one of the new tunes, credited to Jimmy Page and Robert Plant. Songfacts notes the song is based on various American blues recordings, including Blind Boy Fuller’s 1939 “I Want Some Of Your Pie” and Brown McGhee’s 1947 “Custard Pie Blues.“ An influence on this song is “Drop Down Mama,” a 1935 blues song by Sleepy John Estes with Hammie Nixon…[It also] includes a snippet from “Shake ’em On Down” by the blues musician Bukka White. In typical Zep fashion, you wouldn’t know any of this from looking at the credits, and I’m making this remark as a huge Led Zeppelin fan. I just wish they would have given credit to the artists whose work they apparently borrowed. It wouldn’t have diminished this great rocker by one iota, at least not in my eyes. The cool clavinet was played by John Paul Jones, while Plant provided some neat harmonica action. As usual, John Bonham’s drumming is outstanding. Dynamite tune all around!

Not to forget, here’s a Spotify playlist of the above picks:

Sources: Wikipedia; Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio website; Songfacts; YouTube; Spotify