Surf Rock – Christian's Music Musings

The Sunday Six

Celebrating music with six random tracks at a time

Welcome to another installment of The Sunday Six! Hope you join me on my first musical excursion in September 2022.

Delicate Steve/Looking Glass

Usually, I like to kick off this recurring feature with jazz, which for some reason seems to be a natural fit for a Sunday, especially during the morning. But it’s also good to shake up things every now and then. So here’s my first proposition for today: Delicate Steve, the stage name of American multi-instrumentalist Steve Marion, who has been active since 2010. His sound has blended elements of progressive rock, folksy twang, African rhythms, surf rock and 1970s pop. Marion is a sought after artist, having collaborated with the likes of The Black Keys, Paul Simon and Tame Impala. Looking Glass is a great-sounding track from Marion’s latest album After Hours released July 8. According to his website, it was “written and recorded on a 1966 Fender Stratocaster that reignited his love for the instrument.”

The Kinks/Living On a Thin Line

After a cool guitar instrumental, the next stop on our trip are the ’80s. If you’re well familiar with my music taste, you may be a bit surprised I picked a tune by The Kinks. After all, I’ve said more than once that while they are among my favorite British bands, I particularly dig their ’60s output. That’s still the case, but there are exceptions. One is Living On a Thin Line. Written by Dave Davies, the tune is from The Kinks’ 21st studio album Word of Mouth, which appeared in November 1984. Man, I love it! Are we going to see a reunion of The Kinks? “We’ve been talking about it,” Ray Davies told The Washington Post in January 2021. “I mean there’s a lot of material and, you know, it could still happen.” Now, you really got me!

Bob Dylan/Rainy Day Women #12 & 35

How do you move from ’80s Kinks to ’60s Bob Dylan? To borrow from a famous ad for sneakers, ‘just do it!’ The year is 1966. In May of that year, Dylan released his seventh studio album Blonde on Blonde, which I think is fair to say is widely considered to be among his best records. His accolades include the induction into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999 and a no. 38 ranking in the most recent 2020 update of Rolling Stone’s list of 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. Here’s the terrific opener Rainy Day Women #12 & 35. I just love the sound of the raucous brass band, which is a perfect match to the line, Everybody must get stoned!

Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris & Linda Ronstadt/After the Gold Rush

Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris and Linda Ronstadt are three artists I’ve really come to appreciate over the past five years or so. Bringing big acts together for an album doesn’t guarantee a successful outcome, but I feel in this case it worked – for the second time! The case is Trio II, the second collaboration album by these dynamite ladies, which came out in February 1999. While the songs had been recorded in 1994, seven years after the appearance of Trio, it actually took 12 years for these renditions to be released. Why? Label disputes and conflicting schedules. Whatever the reason, this record was worth the wait. Here’s one of my all-time favorites: After the Gold Rush, a tune written by Neil Young who first recorded it as the title track of his third studio album from September 1970. The angelic harmony singing gives me goosebumps every time I listen to the tune. This is so beautiful that it can make me well up!

The Doors/Roadhouse Blues

Okay, it’s time to shake off the goosebumps and kick it up a few notches with a great blues rocker by The Doors. Roadhouse Blues, written by Jim Morrison with the music credited to the band, is the opener of their fifth studio album Morrison Hotel released in February 1970. In case you’d like to read more about the record, fellow blogger Music Enthusiast recently covered it. Songfacts notes, When Jim Morrison got drunk, he liked to sing blues numbers at The Doors jam sessions. This [is] one of the songs he came up with at one of those inebriated sessions. Interestingly, Road House Blues also appeared separately as the B-side to the album’s only single You Make Me Real. Don’t get me wrong: I dig you You Make Me Real. I just find it surprising Road House Blues was a B-side. In my humble opinion, it would have deserved release as its own A-side single. Ladies and gentlemen, from Los Angeles, California, The Doors!

Roger Daltrey/As Long As I Have You

Once again, the time has come to wrap up another Sunday musical excursion. For this last tune, we return to the current century and Roger Daltrey. I trust the longtime lead vocalist of The Who needs no further introduction. What perhaps you may be less aware of is Daltrey’s tenth solo album As Long As I Have You, which came out in June 2018. The soulful record was Daltrey’s first solo effort in 26 years. In September 2015, Daltrey was diagnosed with viral meningitis during The Who Hits 50! North American tour, forcing the band to reschedule the remaining dates until 2016. This almost led Daltrey to scrap his solo album, for which he already had eight tracks. When his longtime partner in crime Pete Townshend heard the songs, he encouraged Daltrey to finish the project. Townshend also offered to play guitar on it. For more information, you can check my review I published at the time. I’ll leave you with the title track, a cover of a tune first released by American soul singer Garnet Mimms in 1964. It was co-written by Bob Elgin and Jerry Ragovoy. Check out Daltrey’s killer voice!

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

Sources: Wikipedia; Delicate Steve website; The Washington Post; Songfacts; YouTube; Spotify

The Sunday Six

Celebrating music with six random tracks at a time

Welcome to another installment of The Sunday Six. After a two-week hiatus, it’s nice to get back into the blogging groove again. At the same time, taking a break wasn’t a bad thing, especially in this case where I used some of the time for a long-sought vacation in Germany to see some family and friends again. Following is a small collage of photos from my visit.

From top left clockwise: Karlsruhe Palace; village of Buschhoven, in which I grew up; Frankfurt/Main; and Königstein, a health spa in the Taunus region close to Frankfurt

Time to get to some music. Three of the picks are inspired by my recent visit to Germany.

Sonny Rollins/In a Sentimental Mood

Our journey today starts with beautiful music by American tenor saxophone great Sonny Rollins, who is widely recognized as one of the most important and influential jazz musicians. Over an incredible 70-year-plus career, Rollins has recorded more than 60 albums as a leader and appeared on many additional records as a sideman. He has played with the likes of Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, Thelonious Monk, Max Roach and Modern Jazz Quartet. In a Sentimental Mood, composed by Duke Ellington, Manny Kurtz and Irving Mills, is among Rollins’ earliest recordings as a leader. It appeared on a 1956 compilation album, Sonny Rollins with the Modern Jazz Quartet. On this particular tune, he was backed by John Lewis (piano), Milt Jackson (vibraphone), Percy Heath (bass) and Kenny Clarke (drums). My kind of music to ease into a Sunday morning.

Wolf Maahn/Irgendwo in Deutschland

Next, we jump to 1984 and the first German-language song featured in The Sunday Six: Irgendwo in Deutschland (somewhere in Germany), the title track of the third studio album by German rock artist Wolf Maahn. The singer-songwriter, actor and producer, who was born in Berlin in 1955 and grew up in Munich, initially started his music career in 1976 as a founding member of the Food Band. Mixing soul, jazz, pop and rock, this group sang in English. Wolf Maahn’s “German language music career” kicked off in the early ’80s with the studio album Deserteure. He gained broad national popularity in the mid ’80s, starting with the Irgendwo in Deutschland album. I listened to that song in my rental car on the day I arrived in Germany. That’s when I decided I would feature it in a Sunday Six.

Arthur Conley/Sweet Soul Music

I’m in the mood for some soul and the other day I remembered a tune I’ve always loved, loved: Sweet Soul Music, a big U.S. hit for Arthur Conley in 1967, climbing to no. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100. In the UK, it peaked at no. 7 on the Official Singles Chart. The song, which also became the title track of an album Conley released the same year, was co-written by him and Otis Redding – and Sam Cooke. It’s a version of Cooke’s Yeah Man, a tune that appeared on Cooke’s first posthumous studio album Shake from January 1965. Initially, they didn’t give him any credit. Cooke’s estate eventually sued Conley and Redding and received songwriting credit and a settlement.

Del Amitri/Always the Last to Know

During my visit to Germany, I met my former bandmate and longtime music buddy who always gives me great trip listening tips. The next two picks are inspired by him. First, he reminded me of Scottish alternative rock band Del Amitri, who were formed in Glasgow in 1980. During their initial run until 2002, they released six studio albums and two compilations. Since the band reemerged from hiatus in 2013, it looks like they have mainly been a touring act. Only one live record, one compilation and one studio album have since appeared. Always the Last to Know takes us back to their third studio album Change Everything released in June 1992. Written by Justin Currie (vocals, guitar, piano), who remains with Del Amitri to this day, the tune also became the album’s lead single in April 1992 – a nice melodic pop rock tune!

The Sadies/Stop and Start

This next pick is from the new album by Canadian band The Sadies, Colder Streams, released on July 22. From their AllMusic bio: One of the most accomplished bands to emerge from the North American indie and roots rock scene, the Sadies are an eclectic group founded by brothers Dallas Good and Travis Good, who crafted a distinctive sound, absorbing influences from traditional country, surf music, and garage rock, and blending them into something unique with their estimable instrumental skills. The band’s best work emphasized mood as much as melody, and they were open to collaboration with artists they respected, cutting albums with Neko Case, John Doe, Gord Downie, and Andre Williams. Here’s Stop and Start, credited to all four members of the band at the time of the recording. Sadly, Dallas Good died unexpectedly on February 17, 2022, at the age of 48 from a recently detected heart condition.

The Knack/My Sharona

And once again, we’ve reached the final stop of yet another Sunday Six. Let’s wrap up with a fun tune by Los Angeles power pop band The Knack: My Sharona, their first single that became an international sensation, topping the charts in the U.S., Canada and Australia, peaking at no. 3 in New Zealand and reaching the top 10 in the UK, Switzerland, Spain and Italy. The song’s huge popularity also propelled the band’s debut album Get the Knack to no. 1 in the U.S., Canada and Australia – a level of success the band never managed to replicate. After their third album, they split for the first time in mid-1982. The Knack had a few reunions thereafter until their permanent end in February 2010, following the death of the band’s lead vocalist and guitarist Doug Fieger from cancer at the age of 57.

Here’s a playlist of the above tunes. Hope there’s something there you like.

Sources: Wikipedia; YouTube; Spotify

Best of What’s New

A selection of newly released music that caught my attention

All tunes appear on albums that were released yesterday (May 13).

The Black Keys/Good Love

My first pick this week is new music by The Black Keys. While I had been aware of their name, I only started paying attention a year ago when the rock duo of high school friends Dan Auerbach (vocals, guitar) and Patrick Carney (drums) released their then-latest album Delta Kream. Now, they are back with Dropout Boogie, their 11th studio release. When they started work on the album in the summer of 2021, Auerbach and Carney first envisaged recording it as a duo but subsequently decided to collaborate with other artists. One includes Billy Gibbons, a longtime friend of the duo from Akron, Ohio. Here’s Good Love, co-written by Auerbach, Carney and Gibbons and featuring the ZZ Top guitarist. Like on predecessor Delta Kream, I dig the rawness of The Black Keys’ sound. Gibbons is a great match!

49 Winchester/All I Need

49 Winchester are a Russell County, Va.-based group who on their website describe their music as “tear-in-your-beer alt-country, sticky barroom floor rock-n-roll, and high-octane Appalachian folk.” Following is a bit more from their website: Formed eight years ago on Winchester Street in the small mountain town of Castlewood, Virginia (population: 2,045), the band started as a rag tag bunch of neighborhood teenagers who just wanted to get together for the sake of playing together. Aside from Gibson [Isaac Gibson, singer/guitarist – CMM], there’s also his childhood friend, bassist Chase Chafin, alongside other Castlewood cronies — guitarist Bus Shelton, and Noah Patrick on pedal steel. Here’s All I Need, a track from the group’s fourth and latest studio album Fortune Favors The Bold. The country rocker, credited to Blaine Gibson, reminds me a bit of Lynyrd Skynyrd. Good stuff!

State Champs/Here to Stay

Next up are Albany, N.Y.-based pop-punk band State Champs, who according to Apple Music are known for their vocal harmonies and layered guitar riffs. Here’s more from their Apple Music profile: The group’s first album, 2013’s The Finer Things, reached No. 2 on Billboard’s Heatseekers Albums chart. They won two Alternative Press Music Awards, including Best Breakthrough Band in 2016 and Music Video of the Year in 2017, for “Losing Myself.” Both 2015’s Around the World and Back and 2018’s Living Proof include two songs cowritten with All Time Low’s Alex Gaskarth. “Time Machine,” from 2018’s Living Proof, featured a guest vocal appearance from blink-182’s Mark Hoppus. This brings me to the group’s new album Kings of the New Age and the opener Here to Stay. Much of contemporary pop isn’t my cup of tea, but in this case, the combination with rock works for me.

Say Sue Me/Still Here

I’m pleased to wrap up this week’s music revue with indie rock from South Korea, Say Sue Me, the first time I feature a band from that country. From their website: Cited as one of 2018’s ‘break-out bands‘, Say Sue Me are a Surf Rock inspired indie band from Busan, South Korea. Members consist of Byungkyu Kim on lead guitar, Sumi Choi on vocals and rhythm guitar, Jaeyoung Kim on Bass and Sungwan Lim on Drums. Releasing their first album “We’ve Sobered Up” in 2014, and EP “Big Summer Night” in 2015, on Korean label Electric Muse, UK label Damnably Records released a self-titled compilation that paired their first record and EP in 2017, marking the band’s first release outside of Korea, which served as their introduction to International audiences. Fast forward five years to The Last Thing Left, which appears to be their third full-length album. Here’s Still Here written by Choi, a tune with a pleasant laidback sound. Also, check out her vocals – cool!

Last but not least, here’s a Spotify playlist featuring all of the above tracks and a few others.

Sources: Wikipedia; 49 Winchester website; Apple Music; Say Sue Me website; YouTube; Spotify

Planes, Trains and Automobiles – Part III

A three-part mini series of songs related to the three transportation modes

This is the third and final part of this mini-series featuring songs related to planes, trains and automobiles. Parts I and II focused on planes and trains. This leaves automobiles.

In case you missed the two previous installments, the theme of the mini series was inspired by the 1987 American comedy picture Planes, Trains and Automobiles. The film is about a marketing executive (Steve Martin) and a sweet but annoying traveling sales guy (John Candy) ending up together as they are trying to get from New York home to Chicago for Thanksgiving. Their plane’s diversion to Wichita due to bad weather in Chicago starts a three-day odyssey and one misadventure after the other, while the two, seemingly incompatible men use different modes of transportation to get to their destination.

Chuck Berry/Maybellene

I couldn’t think of a better way to start this final installment of the mini-series than with a car chase told by Chuck Berry in a classic rock & roll tune. Credited to him, Russ Fratto and Alan Freed, and partially adapted from a Western swing fiddle tune titled Ida Red, the song tells the tale of a guy in a V8 Ford, chasing after his unfaithful girlfriend Maybellene who is driving a Cadillac Coupe de Ville. Initially released as a single in July 1955, Maybellene became Berry’s first hit, reaching no. 1 on Billboard’s Rhythm & Blues chart and no. 5 on the mainstream Hot 100 chart. The tune is an early example of Berry’s gift to write lyrics that appealed to both young African American and young white people. Maybellene also became part of the soundtrack of the motion picture Rock, Rock, Rock! from December 1956, and was included on Berry’s third studio album Chuck Berry Is on Top. The latter might as well have been titled “The Greatest Hits of Classic Rock & Roll.”

The Beach Boys/409

The Beach Boys released various car-related tunes in the ’60s. I guess hot rods and surfing made for good friends. Here’s one of my favorites: 409. Songfacts notes 409 refers to a Chevrolet Bel Air 409 sport coupé, a 360-horsepower beast that with some tuning could be boosted to more than 400 horsepower. If you’re into cars, you can view some images here. Co-written by Brian Wilson, Mike Love and Gary Usher, the tune first appeared in June 1962 as the B-side to the band’s second single Surfin’ Safari. It was also included on two studio albums: Surfin’ Safari, The Beach Boys’ debut record from October 1962, and Little Deuce Coupe, their fourth studio release that came out in October 1963 and featured car songs. Giddy up, giddy up 409!

Wilson Pickett/Mustang Sally

The first time I heard Mustang Sally and fell in love with the tune was in the 1991 music comedy picture The Commitments, which not only is hilarious but also features outstanding Stax style soul – a film I can highly recommend. Originally, the song was written and first recorded by Mack Rice in 1965. But it wasn’t until the following year when Wilson Pickett released a cover that popularized the song, taking it to no. 6 and no. 23 on the U.S. Billboard R&B and Hot 100 charts, respectively. The tune was also included on Pickett’s 1967 studio album The Wicked Pickett.

Golden Earring/Radar Love

When it comes to ’70s car songs, the ones that always come to my mind first are Deep Purple’s Highway Star and Golden Earring’s Radar Love. I decided to go with the Dutch rock band, which included the tune on their ninth studio album Moontan from July 1973. Co-written by their guitarist and lead vocalist George Kooymans and Barry Hay, respectively, Radar Love became Golden Earring’s most successful song. It hit no. 1 in the Netherlands, reached the top 10 in the UK and various other European countries, and climbed to no. 13 in the U.S. If you’re stickler, the one thing that isn’t clear is whether the driver in the song is in a car or in a truck. For the purposes of this post, let’s assume it’s the former. And since I’m not fooling around with any single edits, here’s the 6:26-minute LP version. It’s a hell of a rock tune that deserves to be heard in its full length.

Bruce Springsteen/Ramrod

Let finish with The Boss and what I feel is more of a deep cut from The River, especially when considering this album also includes tunes like The Ties That Bind, Sherry Darling, Independence Day, Hungry Heart and, of course, the title track. This doesn’t change the fact that Ramrod is a great song. There’s a reason why it has remained a staple during Bruce Springsteen concerts. Springsteen originally wrote and recorded Ramrod for Darkness on the Edge of Town but didn’t use it until The River album, which was released in October 1980. I dig the tune’s 60s garage rock vibe. Let’s go ramroddin’!

Sources: Wikipedia; Songfacts; YouTube

On This Day in Rock & Roll History: January 20

January 20 presented various memorable moments in music history, from surf rock to The Fab Four to Dylan to an all-star concert to celebrate the first official Martin Luther King Day. Let’s get to it!

1962: Dick Dale (born Richard Anthony Monsour) and The Del-Tones entered the Billboard Hot 100 with the instrumental Let’s Go Trippin‘ at no. 60, marking the first surf rock song to chart. While Dale became known as The King of the Surf Guitar, he never reached the success and popularity of fellow surf rockers like Jan & Dean and The Beach Boys. In addition to being a surf music pioneer, Dale was also instrumental in advancing guitar amplifier technology. Working with guitar manufacturer Fender, he helped develop customized amplifiers, including the first 100-watt amp. Dale who was of Lebanese descent incorporated Middle Eastern music scales in his playing and experimented with reverb, which both became key elements of his surf rock sound. He also had an unusual technique, playing a left-handed guitar upside down, i.e., without restringing the instrument.

1964: Meet the Beatles, The Beatles’ second U.S. album and the first on Capitol Records was released. While the cover cheerfully stated, “The First Album by England’s Phenomenal Pop Combo,” the record actually was the second U.S. release. Ten days prior to its appearance, Vee-Jay Records issued the Fab Four’s actual U.S. debut Introducing… The Beatles. Originally, that album had been scheduled for July 1963. Still, Meet the Beatles beat Introducing…The Beatles in the charts, entering the Billboard 200 one week prior to the latter and peaking at no. 1, denying the top spot to Vee-Jay’s release that got stuck at no. 2. While the cover of Meet the Beatles looked almost identical to the UK album With the Beatles, the song line-up on each record was different. Here’s I Saw Her Standing There, a tune that in the UK already had appeared on The Beatles’ debut Please Please Me and therefore was not on With the Beatles.

1968: John Fred & and his Playboy Band topped the Billboard Hot 100 with Judy in Disguise (With Glasses). Co-written by John Fred Gourrier and Andrew Bernard, the song was the only hit for the U.S. band. The title was a play on Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds by The Beatles. Apparently, when he first heard the Beatles tune, Gourrier understood the words as Lucy in disguise with diamonds. Ironically, Judy in Disguise knocked Beatles song Hello, Goodbye out of the Billboard Hot 100 top position. The tune also became a no. 1 hit in Australia, Germany, South Africa and Switzerland, and climbed to no. 3 in Canada, Ireland and the UK. Well, John Fred & and his Playboy Band may have hit it big time only once, but at least they made it count!

1975: Bob Dylan released his 15th studio album Blood on the Tracks. After receiving mixed reviews initially, the album has since been acclaimed as one of Dylan’s greatest. Isn’t it funny how music critics oftentimes change their minds? Apparently, people were faster to embrace the record. By March 1, 1975, Blood on the Tracks stood at no. 1 on the Billboard 200. The album also topped the charts in Canada and New Zealand and climbed to no. 3 in the UK. In 2003, it was ranked at no. 16 on Rolling Stone’s list of the 500 Greatest Albums of all Time. Here’s Shelter From the Storm.

1986: Stevie Wonder commemorated the first official celebration of Martin Luther King Day with a star-studded concert in Washington, D.C. For many years, Wonder had supported the idea for the national holiday, which first had been proposed in the wake of Dr. King’s assassination in 1968. But sadly it took Congress many years to embrace the idea. During the Carter administration, a bill to establish Martin Luther King Day was narrowly defeated in the House of Representatives. This prompted Wonder to write the song Happy Birthday and release it as a single in September 1980. After Congress received petitions in excess of six million signatures, the Senate and the House passed legislation, which was signed by President Regan in November 1983. The first official observance of Martin Luther King Day took three more years. Here’s a clip of the above concert’s finale, featuring Diana Ross and Wonder, along with many other artists.

Sources: Wikipedia; This Day in Music; Songfacts History Calendar; YouTube

Great Songs For the Road

Some of my favorite tunes when driving the car

One thing on my bucket list is to drive across the U.S. from the East Coast to the West Coast and back. I know this sounds very cliche, but if possible, I’d do the trip in a cool car, such as a ’68 Mustang GT Fastback, aka the “Bullit” Mustang from the legendary 1968 motion picture with Steve McQueen. Of course, I’d behave myself and wouldn’t get into a chase with a Dodge Charger!:-)

If I ever get to do the trip – with or without the Mustang – of course, I’m going to need plenty of rock & roll – coz drivin’ ain’t even half the fun without music! Following are some of the tunes I’d make sure to have for the trip.

Route 66/Chuck Berry (New Juke Box Hits, 1961)