Roxy Music – Christian's Music Musings

The Sunday Six

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!

Sources: Wikipedia; YouTube; Spotify

The Sunday Six

Celebrating music with six random tracks at a time

Happy Sunday and welcome to another installment of my weekly time travel into the wonderful world of music. As always, we will visit six tunes from six different decades in different flavors. Let’s fasten our seat belts and off we go!

Ahmad Jamal Trio/Beat Out One

Our first stop is the year 1956 and some groovy piano jazz by the Ahmad Jamal Trio. According to his website, Jamal was born in July 1930 in Pittsburgh, Pa. and already began playing the piano at the age of 3. By the age of 10, Jamal was composing, orchestrating and performing works by Franz Liszt, exploring the music of Duke Ellington, Art Tatum, Nat Cole, Erroll Garner and a host of music notables... At 17, he left home at the request of the George Hudson Orchestra and began touring the country...He formed his own group in 1951 and with the help of John Hammond started his recording career with Okeh Records. This brings me to Count ‘Em 88, an album Jamal recorded with Israel Crosby (bass) and Walter Perkins (drums) in 1956 and released the same year as Ahmad Jamal Trio. Jamal who is still alive at age 92 continued to frequently tour and record well into his ’80s. Let’s listen to his composition Beat Out One, off Count ‘Em 88. And, yes, feel free to snip along!

Pretenders/Brass in Pocket

Let’s move on to 1979 and the eponymous debut album by Pretenders. Interestingly, Nick Lowe produced the English-American rock band’s first single Stop Your Sobbing but felt they were going nowhere, so didn’t continue with them – boy was he wrong! Chris Thomas, who had worked with the likes of The Beatles, Procol Harum, Pink Floyd, Badfinger and Roxy Music before, took over and the rest is history. Pretenders charged out of the gate strongly, with the album topping the UK charts, and climbing to no. 2, no. 2, no. 5, no. 6 and no. 9 in New Zealand, Sweden, Canada, Australia and the U.S., respectively. Brass in Pocket, written by co-founders Chrissie Hynde and James Honeyman-Scott, became the record’s third single in November 1979 and their most successful song overall, including their only no. 1 hit in the UK. While Pretenders have had many line-up changes over the years, they are still going strong, with Hynde and drummer Martin Chambers remaining as original members. Their most recent album Hate for Sale from July 2020, which I reviewed here, sounds mighty.

Quasi/It’s Hard to Turn Me On

If you happened to read my most recent Best of What’s New installment, the name Quasi should ring a bell. Or perhaps you knew this American indie rock band from Portland, Ore. all along. They were founded in 1993 by former husband and wife Sam Coomes (vocals, guitar, keyboards, bass) and Janet Weiss (vocals, drums). This next tune takes us to April 1998 and Quasi’s third studio album Featuring “Birds”. At that time, they were still a duo, at least in the studio, playing all instruments except for one track. Quasi’s music frequently features flavors of the ’60s. After expanding into a trio from 2007 to 2011, they’ve been back to being a duo since Mole City, their second most recent album. Here’s It’s Hard to Turn Me On, penned by Coomes. I just find their retro and at times slightly weird sound pretty charming!

Barbara Blue/The Shoals (feat. Davor Hačić)

Next, we return to the present and the Shoals – that would be Muscle Shoals, Ala, baby! You may have heard of FAME Studios where artists like Etta James, Aretha Franklin, Wilson Pickett, Duane Allman and Gregg Allman recorded. The session musicians who worked at FAME became known as the Muscle Shoals Horns and the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section, aka the Swampers – famously referenced in Lynyrd Skynyrd’s classic Sweet Home Alabama. In other words, Muscle Shoals is holy ground in music. As such, when coming across a song titled The Shoals the other day, I paid attention immediately. It turned out to be a track on the new album From the Shoals by Barbara Blue. The Memphis-based blues and soul vocalist, who apparently is known as the “reigning queen of Beale Street,” has been active since 1977. The album, her 13th independent release, came out two weeks ago on January 27. It was recorded at the NuttHouse Recording Studio in Sheffield, Ala., about 3 miles away from FAME. Here’s the great funky and soulful opener The Shoals, co-written by Blue and her Croatian songwriting partner Davor Hačić. Love this! Based on what else I’ve heard thus far, the album sounds sweet as well.

The Smiths/This Charming Man

Time to pay a visit to the ’80s, specifically, October 1983. That’s when English indie rock and jangle pop band The Smiths, who had come together the previous year in Manchester, released their second single This Charming Man. And charming it was indeed. Co-written by guitarist Johnny Marr and vocalist Morrissey, the tune was the band’s first to make the mainstream UK Singles Chart, where it peaked at no. 25. It also became the first of the group’s multiple singles to top the UK Independent Singles Chart. Notably, in 1992, five years after The Smiths had broken up, the single was reissued and got to no. 8 on the UK Singles Chart. While I find the ego clashes between Marr and Morrissey that led to The Smiths’ breakup and subsequent litigation over royalties brought by former members Andy Rourke and Mike Joyce less than charming, I love the tune’s jangly guitar sound.

The Yardbirds/Heart Full of Soul

Our final destination on today’s time travel is June 1965. Did you really think I’d skip the ’60s? No way! On June 4 of that year, The Yardbirds released their single Heart Full of Soul in the UK. Written by Graham Gouldman who in 1972 would become a co-founder of 10cc, Heart Full of Soul was The Yardbirds’ first single after Jeff Beck had replaced Eric Clapton as lead guitarist. The tune appeared three months after For Your Love, which had also been penned by Gouldman. Heart Full of Soul climbed to no. 2 in the UK, a notch higher than For Your Love, which had reached no. 3 there. In the U.S., where Heart Full of Soul was released on July 2, 1965, the picture was reversed. For Your Love reached no. 6, while Heart Full of Soul climbed to no. 9. Notably, The Yardbirds initially recorded Heart Full of Soul with an Indian sitar player but didn’t like the outcome. According to Beck, he couldn’t get the 4/4 time signature right, so Beck ended up emulating the sitar on his guitar, using a fuzz box.

Last but not least, here’s a Spotify playlist of the above tunes. As always, I hope there’s something you dig.

Sources: Wikipedia; Ahmad Jamal website; YouTube; Spotify

If I Could Only Take One

My desert island song by Roxy Music

I can’t believe it’s Wednesday again and we’re almost in July! This would be the perfect time for a summer vacation, and a beautiful tropical island sounds like an attractive proposition. But wait, before I can leave on yet another imaginary trip to some remote island in the sun, once again, I have to pick one song to take with me.

In case you’re a first-time visitor, there are a few rules that limit my options, which make the exercise both challenging and interesting at the same time. My pick cannot be a tune by a music act I’ve frequently written about. Ideally, it should be a band or artist I haven’t covered yet. It can only be one track, not an entire album. And picks must be in alphabetical order.

This week I’m up to “r.” Bands and artists (last names) starting with that letter include Radiohead, Bonnie Raitt, Ramones, R.E.M., Red Hot Chili Peppers, Otis Redding, Lou Reed, Keith Richards, The Rolling Stones, Linda Ronstadt and Roxy Music, among others.

Based on the above criteria, Bonnie Raitt, The Rolling Stones and Linda Ronstadt were immediately excluded from further consideration. For some of the other artists, sadly, I had to search my own blog to refresh my memory to what extent I had covered them before. At the end, it came down to picking Radiohead or Roxy Music, and I decided to go with the latter and More Than This.

More Than This, written by Bryan Ferry, first appeared in April 1982 as the lead single of Roxy Music’s eighth and final studio album Avalon, released the following month. It’s just a gorgeous pop tune I’ve loved from the very first moment I heard the band playing it on the radio at the time it came out.

More Than This was popular, reaching no. 6 in each the UK and Australia, but it wasn’t the group’s biggest hit. The latter was their great cover of John Lennon’s Jealous Guy, which they recorded and released as a non-album single in February 1981 to honor the ex-Beatle who had been senselessly killed by a deranged individual in New York in December 1980.

Art and pop rock group Roxy Music were founded by Ferry, the band’s lead vocalist and main songwriter, and bassist Graham Simpson in England in 1970. While they have been on and off ever since, their active recording period spanned 1972 to 1982. During these 10 years, Roxy Music released eight studio albums, three of which topped the UK charts: Stranded (1973), Flesh and Blood (1980) and the above-noted Avalon.

In 1982, at the height of their commercial success, Ferry who at that time was the only original member together with Andy Mackay (saxophone, oboe, keyboards, backing vocals), decided to dissolve Roxy Music and focus on his solo career, which he had launched in parallel to the group in 1973.

Roxy Music have since reunited several times for tours and are currently gearing up to be on the road again starting in September to celebrate their 50th anniversary. In addition to co-founders Ferry and Mackay, this includes Phil Manzanera (guitar) and Paul Thompson (drums), who were all part of the group’s lineup that recorded Roxy Music’s 1972 eponymous debut album. The schedule of the five-week tour, which includes dates in Canada, the U.S. and the UK, is here.

Following are a few additional tidbits on More Than This from Songfacts:

Written by lead singer Bryan Ferry, this song is about a love affair that fell apart. Asked in 2014 by Entertainment Weekly why the song endures, Ferry replied, “For some reason, there’s something in the combination of the melody and the lyric that works for people.”

…In America, this song got some traction when it featured in Sofia Coppola’s 2003 film Lost In Translation in a scene where Bill Murray sings it in a Tokyo karaoke bar. When the song was first released, however, it had little impact on the charts, bubbling under at just #102 on the Hot 100. Many college radio stations played the song, but commercial stations stayed away for the most part.

Roxy Music occupied just a small niche in America, where they hit the Top 40 just once (“Love Is the Drug” – #30 in 1975), but they were far more successful in the UK.

…Ferry told The Mail on Sunday June 28, 2009 about the Avalon album: “I started writing the songs while on the west coast of Ireland, and I like to think that some of the dark melancholy of the album comes from that place.”

10,000 Maniacs covered this in 1997 on their album Love Among The Ruins. Mary Ramsey sang lead, as original Maniacs lead singer Natalie Merchant had just left the band to go solo.

Sources: Wikipedia; Roxy Music website; Songfacts; YouTube

The Sunday Six

Celebrating music with six random tracks at a time

Welcome to the first Sunday Six of May 2022! It’s been a bit on the chilly side in my neck of the woods. But the weather in the New Jersey-New York-Connecticut tri-state area can change rapidly, and before we know it, we may have summer-like temperatures. One thing is for sure: Spring has definitely arrived! Now that we’ve got the weather covered, let’s get to a new set of six songs to celebrate music of the past and the present.

Joel Ross/Wail

I’d like to start today’s musical journey in the year 2022 with jazz by 26-year-old New York composer Joel Ross. A bio on the website of the renowned Blue Note Records jazz label calls him “the most thrilling new vibraphonist in America.” Here’s a bit more: The Chicago-born, Brooklyn-based player and composer has a way of being everywhere interesting at once: from deeply innovative albums (Makaya McCraven’s Universal Beings and Deciphering the Message, Walter Smith III & Matthew Stevens’ In Common) to reliably revolutionary combos (Marquis Hill’s Blacktet, Peter Evans’ Being & Becoming) to his own acclaimed Blue Note albums: KingMaker, Who Are You?, and The Parable of the Poet. This brings me to Wail, a track off Ross’s latest Blue Note album released April 15. “Almost every take is a first take, since our years improvising together have shaped these compositions into something with more meaning than we ever could know,” he told Apple Music. Oftentimes, free-form jazz isn’t my cup of tea, but I do like this music!

Ace/How Long

Our next stop is the ’70s and a tune by British pop-rock band Ace I’ve always loved: How Long. I was reminded of the catchy song when I heard it on the radio the other day. How Long was written by the group’s frontman and keyboarder Paul Carrack. It was Ace’s debut single and appeared on their first album Five-A-Side, released in January 1974. How Long became their biggest hit, climbing to no. 3 in the U.S. and Canada, and reaching no. 20 in the UK. I think it’s the only tune I know from Ace, who were active from 1972 until 1977. Following their breakup, Carrack became a member of various prominent bands, including Roxy Music, Squeeze and Mike + The Mechanics. In 1980, Carrack also launched a solo career, which continues to this day.

Willie Nelson/Night Life

If you saw my latest Best of What’s New installment, you probably noticed it included new music by Willie Nelson who just turned 88 years and remains a viable artist. This reminded me of a tune I had earmarked for The Sunday Six a few months ago after my streaming service provider had served it up as a listening suggestion. Night Life, co-written by Nelson, Paul Buskirk and Walt Breeland, was first released as a single in 1960. Wikipedia notes the following interesting anecdote: Due to financial issues, Nelson sold the song to guitar instructor Paul Buskirk for $150. The recording of the song was rejected by Pappy Daily, owner of Nelson’s label, D Records. Daily believed that the song was not country. Encouraged by the amount of money he received for the song, Nelson decided to master it at another studio. To avoid legal actions, it was recorded as “Nite Life” under the artist name of “Paul Buskirk and the Little Men featuring Hugh Nelson.” In 1963 Bellaire Records reissued the single under the original title of “Night Life,” recrediting it to “Willie Nelson.” While it may not be among Nelson’s most popular songs, to me Night Life feels like a timeless classic.

John Lennon/Watching the Wheels

Next, we go to November 1980 and Watching the Wheels, one of my favorite John Lennon tunes from his solo career. It first appeared on Double Fantasy from November 1980, which sadly turned out to be Lennon’s last album released during his lifetime. Only three weeks after the release, he was murdered by a deranged individual in front of The Dakota, the New York City building in which he was living with Yoko Ono and their then-six-year-old son Sean. Watching the Wheels also appeared separately as the album’s third single in March 1981. Unlike the two preceding singles Woman and (Just Like) Starting Over, which reached no. 2 and no. 1, respectively, in the U.S. on the Billboard Hot 100, Watching the Wheels “only” climbed to no. 10. Interestingly, in the UK where the first two singles topped the charts, the song stalled at no. 30.

Oasis/Wonderwall

Okay, time for a stop-over in the ’90s and Wonderwall, a massive hit by English pop-rock band Oasis. Written by the group’s co-founder Noel Gallagher, the tune appeared on their sophomore album (What’s the Story) Morning Glory?, released in October 1995. The record became even more successful than the band’s strong debut Definitely Maybe that had appeared in August 1994. Wonderwall also was one of six singles Morning Glory spawned. It surged to no. 2 in the UK on the Official Singles Chart and also did well elsewhere: No. 1 in Australia; no. 2 in Ireland; no. 5 in Canada; and no. 8 in the U.S. and The Netherlands, among others. During their active period between 1991 and 2009, Oasis sold over 70 million records worldwide and were one of the most successful acts in the UK.

The Crazy World of Arthur Brown/Fire

And once again, it’s time to wrap up another Sunday Six, and I give you the god of hellfire! The Crazy World of Arthur Brown are an English psychedelic rock band formed in 1967 by vocalist Arthur Brown. The group’s initial run spanned three years and their only hit Fire, co-written by Brown, the band’s keyboarder Vincent Crane, as well as Mike Finesilver and Peter Ker. Appearing on the group’s eponymous debut album from June 1968 and separately as a single, Fire topped the charts in the UK and Canada, climbed to no. 2 in the U.S., and reached no. 3 in each Belgium, Switzerland and Germany. It also charted in the top 10 in The Netherlands (no. 4) and Austria (no. 7). After this phenomenal start and sharing bills with the likes of The Who, The Doors and Small Faces, the group ran out of, well, fire and disbanded in June 1969. They reformed in 2000 with a different line-up and Brown as the only original member, and apparently remain active to this day. Bown has also issued various solo releases and has a new album scheduled for June 24. In case you’re curious how he sounds these days at age 79, the first track is already out.

Last but not least, here’s a Spotify playlist with all the above goodies.

Sources: Wikipedia; Blue Note Records website; Apple Music; YouTube; Spotify

The Sunday Six

Celebrating music with six random songs at a time

Welcome to another installment of The Sunday Six. To those who follow my blog I no longer need to explain the idea behind the weekly recurring feature. For first time visitors, basically, these posts celebrate music in many different flavors from different periods of time, spanning the past 60 to 70 years or so. Ready?

Fleetwood Mac/Albatross

Let’s start off our little musical excursion with one of the most beautiful guitar-driven instrumentals I know: Albatross by Fleetwood Mac. This track goes all the way back to the Mac’s beginning when they were a blues rock band led by amazing British guitarist, vocalist and co-founder Peter Green who also wrote Albatross. At the time this dreamy track was released as a non-album single in November 1968, Fleetwood Mac also featured co-founders Jeremy Spencer (guitar, backing vocals), Mick Fleetwood (drums) and John McVie (bass), as well as Danny Kirwan (guitar, vocals) who had just joined two months earlier. In fact, it was Kirwan who helped Green complete Albatross, which was recorded without Spencer. The tune was subsequently included on the U.S. and British compilation albums English Rose (January 1969) and The Pious Bird of Good Omen (August 1969), respectively. Green’s guitar tone is just unbelievable.

Supertramp/Take the Long Way Home

The other day, I found myself listening to Breakfast in America, the sixth studio album by English prog-rock-turned-pop band Supertramp. I got it on vinyl shortly after its release in March 1979 and own that copy to this day. While I played the record over and over again at the time, it’s still in fairly good shape. It also turns out I continue to enjoy the songs – something I certainly cannot say for a good deal of other music I listened to back then as a 13-year-old in Germany. Breakfast in America, which spawned various hit singles, was hugely popular in Germany where it topped the charts, just like in many other countries in Europe and beyond. Take the Long Way Home remains one of my favorite tracks from the album. Written by the band’s co-frontman and principal songwriter Roger Hodgson, the tune also became the record’s fourth single in October 1979. BTW, you also gotta love the cover art, which won the 1980 Grammy Award for Best Recording Package.

John Prine/Angel From Montgomery

I still know very little about John Prine, who is widely viewed as one of the most influential singer-songwriters of his generation. But I’ve finally started listening to his music. According to Wikipedia, Prine has been called the “Mark Twain of songwriting.” The likes of Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash and Roger Waters have called out Prine. He mentored younger artists, such as Jason Isbell, Amanda Shires, Brandi Carlile and Margo Price. In fact, I first listened to at least one John Prine song a long time before I even knew his name: Bonnie Raitt’s great cover of Angel From Montgomery, which she recorded for her fourth studio album Streetlights that appeared in September 1974. Here’s the original from John Prine’s eponymous debut album released in 1971. I’m starting to like it as much as Raitt’s rendition.

Peter Frampton/Avalon

If you read my Best of What’s New installment from a week ago, you probably recall it featured a great instrumental cover of George Harrison’s Isn’t It a Pity from Peter Frampton’s new album Peter Frampton Forgets the Words. Since my recent “discovery” of the all-instrumental record, I’ve enjoyed listening to it. Here’s another beautiful track that’s perfect for a Sunday morning: Avalon, the title song of the eighth and final studio album by English outfit Roxy Music, released in May 1982. Written by frontman Bryan Ferry, the tune also became the album’s second single in June 1982. I was a bit surprised to see it “only” reached no. 13 in England, while it didn’t chart at all in the U.S. – unlike the record that topped the charts in the UK and climbed to no. 53 in the U.S. and became Roxy Music’s best-selling album. In 1983, Ferry dissolved the band to focus on his solo career. In 2001, Roxy Music reformed for a 30th anniversary tour and was active on and off until they disbanded for good in 2011. Check out this great clip of Frampton and his band. Not only does he sound great, but you can clearly see how he and his fellow musicians enjoyed recording the tune. I don’t think you can fake this!

Traffic/Dear Mr. Fantasy

Time for some more ’60s music, don’t you agree? While I hate traffic when I’m in my car, I love it when it refers to the British rock band. Undoubtedly, much of my affection has to do with Steve Winwood, one of my long-time favorite artists. I get excited to this day when I hear the man sing and play his growling Hammond B-3. But amid all my love for Winwood, let’s not ignore excellent fellow musicians Jim Capaldi (drums, vocals), Dave Mason (guitar, bass, multiple other instruments, vocals) and Chris Wood (flute, saxophone, Hammond, percussion, vocals), who founded Traffic with Winwood in April 1967. It’s quite amazing that at that time, 18-year-old Winwood already had had a successful four-year career under his belly with The Spencer Davis Group. Dear Mr. Fantasy, co-written by Capaldi, Winwood and Wood, is from Traffic’s debut album Mr. Fantasy released in December 1967. When I saw Winwood live in March 2018, he played guitar on that tune, demonstrating his impressive fretboard chops.

Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band/Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out

For the last tune in this Sunday Six installment, let’s have a true rock and soul party. In this context, I can’t think of anything better than this live clip of Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band, captured in June 2000 at New York City’s Madison Square Garden at the end of the band’s triumphant 1999-2000 reunion tour. In this 19-minute-plus version of Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out, the Boss is literally taking his audience to rock & soul church. Yes, it’s long and perhaps somewhat over the top, but I believe Springsteen was authentic when at some point he noted, “I’m not bull-shittin’ back here.” Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out, written by Springsteen and first appearing on his legendary breakthrough album Born to Run from August 1975, tells the story about the band’s formation. Watching this amazing footage, I get a bit emotional when seeing the big man Clarence Clemons and Danny Federici, who sadly passed away in 2011 and 2008, respectively. Though at the end of the day, it’s a beautiful celebration of their lives. If you haven’t seen this, I encourage you to watch it. And even if it’s not your first time, it’s worthwhile watching again. Live music doesn’t get much better!

Sources: Wikipedia; YouTube

Shine On, John Lennon

I much prefer to write about birthdays of my favorite artists than days when they passed away, especially when the circumstances were as tragic as in the case of John Lennon. Exactly 40 years ago, on December 8, 1980, Lennon was shot to death by a disturbed individual in the archway of The Dakota, his residence in New York City, after he returned with Yoko Ono from a recording session.

I’m not going to recount the details, which have been told many times. Instead, I’d like to focus on what remains: John’s great music. Following is a collection of some of his songs from his solo career. I took this from a previous post.

Cold Turkey (Single 1969)

Cold Turkey was Lennon’s second solo single released in October 1969. Written by him and credited to the Plastic Ono Band, the tune was recorded right in the wake of their appearance at the Toronto Rock & Roll Festival, where it had been performed in public for the first time. In fact, the song had been so new that Lennon hadn’t memorized the lyrics yet, so Ono held up the words on a cheat sheet! Unlike Live Peace Toronto 1969, Ringo Starr played the drums on the studio recording. In addition, Ono’s wailing sounds were absent – frankly, something I don’t miss in particular.

Instant Karma! (Single 1970)

Instant Karma! was the third Lennon tune that appeared as a non-album single credited to the Plastic Ono Band. Peaking at no. 3 and no. 5 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and UK Single Charts, respectively, it became the first solo single by a former Beatles member to sell one million copies in America. In addition to Lennon, Ono, Voorman and White, it featured George Harrison (guitar, piano, backing vocals), Billy Preston (Hammond organ, backing vocals) and Mal Evans (chimes, handclaps, backing vocals).

Mother (John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band 1970)

Mother is the opener of Lennon’s first solo album John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band, which came out in December 1970. The painful cry to his parents, who abandoned him as a child, is one of the most powerful tunes he wrote. The relative sparse instrumentation of just piano, drums and bass, combined with Lennon’s screaming voice, still gives me goose bumps every time I listen to the song.

Jealous Guy (Imagine 1971)

Jealous Guy first appeared on Lennon’s second studio album Imagine released in September 1971 in the U.S. While that record is best known for its beautiful and timeless title track, which became the top-selling single of his solo career, to me Jealous Guy is an equal. Interestingly, it didn’t come out as a single until November 1985, four and a half years after Roxy Music had scored a no. 1 hit with their great cover.

New York City (Some Time In New York City 1972)

To me, Lennon was one of the greatest rock & roll singers. I just love this original tune from Some Time In New York City, his third solo album from June 1972, credited to John & Yoko, Plastic Ono Band and American rock band Elephant’s Memory, best known for backing Lennon and Ono in the early ’70s. The autobiographic track is both an anthem to the city, which had become Lennon’s and Ono’s home in September 1971, and a middle finger to the Nixon Administration. Concerned about their political activism, President Nixon was looking for ways to kick Lennon and Ono out of the country. Instead, he turned out to be a crook and was forced to resign. Maybe another Lennon would come in handy these days!

Mind Games (Mind Games 1973)

Mind Games is the title track and lead single of Lennon’s fourth solo album from October 1973. According to Wikipedia, he started work on the song in 1969, which originally was titled Make Love, Not War. Lennon finished the tune after he had read the 1972 book Mind Games: The Guide To Inner Space by Robert Masters and Jean Houston. The track was recorded around the time Lennon separated from Ono and with her encouragement had an 18-month relationship with May Pang. Let’s just leave it at that!

Whatever Gets You Thru The Night (Walls And Bridges 1974)

Bring It On Home To Me/Send Me Some Lovin’ (Rock ‘N’ Roll 1975)

As previously noted, I’ve always thought Lennon was great at singing rock & roll. He also loved the genre, and this record is an homage. The medley of Sam Cooke’s Bring It On Home To Me and Send Me Some Lovin’, co-written by John Marascalso and Leo Price for Little Richard, is one of my favorites on the album. Rock ‘N’ Roll was Lennon’s last studio release prior to his five-year family hiatus, following his reunification with Ono and the birth of their son Sean.

Watching The Wheels (Double Fantasy 1980)

Watching The Wheels is from Double Fantasy, which came out in November 1980 – the first studio album after Lennon had reemerged from secluded family life. Credited to him and Ono, it is sadly the last release that appeared during his life time. The tune also became the record’s third single in March 1981, following Lennon’s death in New York City on December 8, 1980. While the song couldn’t match the chart success of the album’s first two singles (Just Like) Starting Over and Woman, I like it just as much.

Borrowed Time (Milk And Honey 1984)

I’ve always dug the cool groove Borrowed Time Lennon’s last studio album Milk And Honey that appeared postmortem in January 1984. According to Wikipedia, the song was inspired by a frightening sailing trip through rough seas from Newport, R.I. to Bermuda in 1980. After pretty much everybody else on board had become incapacitated due to sea sickness, Lennon who wasn’t impacted ended up taking the yacht’s wheel for many hours by himself. It’s crazy if you think about it – the man survived what clearly were much lower odds than being shot to death by some nutcase!

Sources: Wikipedia; YouTube

Happy Birthday, John Lennon

Today, John Lennon, one of my all-time favorite artists, would have turned 80 years old. He was born John Winston Lennon on October 9, 1940 in Liverpool, England. The former Beatles member’s life was tragically cut short on December 8, 1980 when he was shot to death by Mark David Chapman. A mentally unstable Beatles fan, Chapman had turned against Lennon over his lifestyle and public statements, including his comment during a March 1966 interview that the Fab Four were more popular than Jesus. Lennon was only 40 years old.

Instead of writing yet another biographical post, I’d like to celebrate the occasion with Lennon’s music by reposting a playlist I originally published in January 2018. It’s focused on his solo career.

My Playlist: John Lennon

I’m introducing a new feature to the blog with the ingenious name “My Playlist.” Why? Coz I write the bloody blog, so I can!😀

On a more serious note, there are many different ways how to enjoy music. Apart from listening to entire albums, I like creating playlists for my favorite artists. Oftentimes, they include tracks from multiple records and span their entire recording career. Typically, it’s a combination of popular tunes and deeper cuts. That’s really the basic idea behind what I envisage is going to become a recurrent feature.

First up: John Lennon, one of my biggest music heroes!

Following his marriage to Yoko Ono in March 1969, Lennon quietly left The Beatles in September. Around the same time, he and Ono were contacted by the promoters of the Toronto Rock & Roll Festival, and hastily put together a band to perform there. The result was the first incarnation of the Plastic Ono Band, which in addition to Lennon (lead vocals, rhythm guitar) and Ono (vocals) included Eric Clapton (lead guitar, backing vocals), Klaus Voorman (bass) and Alan White (drums). Their performance at the festival was captured on the album Live Peace Toronto 1969, which appeared in December 1969.

After the official breakup of The Beatles in April 1970, Lennon recorded his first solo album John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band and released it in December that year. Until his death in December 1980, six other solo records followed: Imagine (1971), Some Time In New York City (1972), Mind Games (1973), Walls And Bridges (1974), Rock ‘N’ Roll (1975) and Double Fantasy (1980). Milk And Honey (1984) was recorded during the final months of his life and appeared postmortem. Let’s get to some music!

Cold Turkey (Single 1969)

Instant Karma! (Single 1970)

Mother (John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band 1970)

Jealous Guy (Imagine 1971)

New York City (Some Time In New York City 1972)

Mind Games (Mind Games 1973)

Whatever Gets You Thru The Night (Walls And Bridges 1974)

Included on Lennon’s fifth solo album Wall And Bridges from September 1974, Whatever Gets You Thru The Night also was the record’s first single. It became his first no. 1 single on the Billboard Hot 100, a chart success that was only achieved one more time with (Just Like) Starting Over from the Double Fantasy album in the wake of his death. The above clip shows Lennon joining Elton John live at New York’s Madison Square Garden in November 1974, his last major concert appearance. While the quality of the video is poor, not including it would have been a great miss. John also played piano and provided harmony vocals on the studio version.

Bring It On Home To Me/Send Me Some Lovin’ (Rock ‘N’ Roll 1975)

Watching The Wheels (Double Fantasy 1980)

Borrowed Time (Milk And Honey 1984)

Sources: Wikipedia, YouTube

Debate Over Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Selection Process Likely To Continue With 2019 Inductees

Radiohead, Janet Jackson, Stevie Nicks, Def Leppard, The Cure, Roxy Music and The Zombies make up class of 2019

By now it’s an all too familiar annual ritual in the music world, at least in America. On Thursday, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame revealed its new inductees. The 2019 class includes Radiohead, Janet Jackson, Stevie Nicks, Def Leppard, The Cure, Roxy Music and The Zombies. While a good deal of music fans stopped paying attention long ago, others still care about the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Admittedly, I’m a bit of a music nerd, so I count myself as being part of the latter group.

I’ve no doubt that among those who follow the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame the debate about the selection process and who should be in is going to continue. While I don’t want to be overly judgmental and I’m luckily not a music critic and don’t aspire to become one, I have to say I’m a bit surprised about some of the inductees. Of course, I can’t claim this would be the first time.

Let’s start with Radiohead. In June 2017, guitarist Ed O’Brien told Rolling Stone, “I don’t want to be rude about the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame because for a lot of people it means something, but culturally I don’t understand it. I think it might be a quintessential American thing. Brits are not very good at slapping ourselves on the back…It just feels non-authentic to us.” Most of the band’s other members expressed reservations as well. That’s totally fine with me. What I don’t get is why the Rock Hall has inducted them anyway. Presumably, they won’t show for the induction ceremony, and I just feel sorry for their fans – unless of course they don’t care either!

Janet Jackson. I hate to say this, but the thought her selection at least in part reflects political correctness can’t escape my mind. Don’t get me wrong, it’s dreadful that the Rock Hall mostly remains a white boys club, and there’s no question women are underrepresented, especially women of color. But should Janet Jackson really have been the choice here? How about Ella Fitzgerald? Sure, you can say as a jazz singer, she wouldn’t be a perfect fit for an institution that has ‘rock and roll’ in its name. But they inducted Nina Simone last year. Or how about Mavis Staples, an amazing African American female artist? Yes, she’s already in the Rock Hall as part of The Staple Singers, who were inducted in 1999. Still, there are numerous examples of artists who have been inducted more than once – as part of a band and solo. Just look at 2019 inductee Stevie Nicks!

I never paid much attention to The Cure. Boys Don’t Cry was kind of nice at the time but completely over-exposed. Ironically, it might actually make me cry if I have to listen to the song one more time! Def Leppard, who won the fan ballot and got in the first time they had become eligible, may also trigger some debate. A British band that became hugely popular in the ’80s by mixing hard rock with pop elements, Leppard were oftentimes dismissed by the critics. In this context, I think The New York Times rightly called them the equivalent to Bon Jovi, who were inducted last year. While I wouldn’t have considered them, I don’t have any particular problem with Leppard or Bon Jovi for that matter – in fact, I generally like the latter.

I’m happy about Stevie Nicks, a great singer-songwriter who like Leppard made it in the first she had become eligible. Additionally, I’ve always liked Time Of The Season and She’s Not There, so I find it nice to see The Zombies among the 2019 inductees. I also generally like Roxy Music, though I have to add I don’t know them particularly well beyond their big hits.

This year, the induction festivities will happen at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. on March 29. HBO and SiriusXM will broadcast an edited version of the event sometime thereafter. Last year, the broadcast happened in early May.

What do you think about the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the 2019 inductees? Feel free to leave comments. My only request is let’s keep any discussion civil, please.

Sources: Rock and Roll Hall of Fame website, Rolling Stone, New York Times