The Sunday Six

Welcome to the first Sunday of September 2023. I can’t believe it’s Labor Day weekend here in the U.S. Officially, this means the last weekend of summer, though we actually have another three weeks before fall starts on September 23, at least astronomically speaking. But guess what, none of it matters when traveling with the magical music time machine, allowing us to visit any season of any year. Hope you join me on the upcoming trip, which starts right now!

Lee Morgan/I Remember Clifford

For our first stop, let’s set the time controls to 1957. The previous year, jazz trumpeter and composer Lee Morgan started recording as an 18-year-old with his solo debut Lee Morgan Indeed! After playing in Dizzy Gillespie’s Big Band from 1956 until 1958, he joined Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers and was featured on numerous of their albums between 1957 and 1966. Morgan’s prolific recording career came to an abrupt end in February 1972 at the age of 33, when his common-law wife Helen Moore shot him during an altercation at a jazz club in New York City where Morgan was performing with his band. I Remember Clifford, composed by tenor saxophonist Benny Golson, is a track from Lee Morgan Vol. 3, his third album released on the Blue Note label in 1957. Golson was also one of five musicians who backed Morgan on the recording.

The Police/Synchronicity II

After a mellow start, let’s kick up the speed with The Police and Synchronicity II, a great song from their fifth and final studio release Synchronicity that came out in June 1993. It is considered a defining album of The Second British Invasion of synth pop and new wave. By the time the supporting tour had finished in March 1984, frontman Sting already had decided to go it alone. While the band was on an official hiatus he started work on his solo debut The Dream of the Blue Turtles, which appeared in June 1985. An attempt by The Police to record another album in July 1986 quickly came to an end after Stewart Copeland broke his collarbone in a fall from a horse and wasn’t able to play the drums. The Police officially disbanded shortly thereafter.

Nina Simone/Backlash Blues

Our next stop takes us to 1967 and Nina Simone. The music of the singer, songwriter, pianist and civil rights activist featured multiple styles, including classical, folk, gospel, jazz, R&B, pop and blues. The latter brings me to Backlash Blues, off Nina Simone Sings the Blues, the second of three albums Simone released in 1967. She wrote the song together with poet, social activist, novelist, playwright and columnist Langston Hughes, who is one of the earliest innovators of the literary art form jazz poetry. The neat guitar work was provided by jazz and R&B guitarist Eric Gale.

Stevie Wonder/Living For the City

Now, I’m delighted to take you to one of my long-time favorite artists, Stevie Wonder, and Innervisions. Released in August 1973, it was the third of five studio albums that fall into his so-called classic period. This time span from 1972 until 1976 is widely regarded as Wonder’s strongest artistic period. One of the songs that have always stood out to me on Innervisions is Living For the City, a tale of racial discrimination and a young African American man whose dream of the big city ends with a 10-year prison sentence.

Cracker/Nostalgia

The time has come to pay a visit to the ’90s and music from the sophomore album by alternative rock band Cracker – but first shoutout to fellow blogger Dave from A Sound Day who recently featured that album, Kerosene Hat, which appeared in August 1993. I instantly dug it! Cracker were formed three years earlier by lead vocalist David Lowery after the disbanding of his previous group Camper Van Beethoven, along with his childhood friend and guitarist Johnny Hickman. Both still are with the current line-up of Cracker who remain active as a touring act. Off Kerosene Hat, here’s Nostalgia co-written by Lowery, Hickman and Davey Faragher, the group’s bassist at the time.

Magnolia Boulevard/Smooth Sailin’

For our sixth and final stop, let’s return to the present, sort of. In August 2020, Magnolia Boulevard, a five-piece group from Lexington, K.Y. blending blues, funk, jam and rock & roll, released their debut EP New Illusion. They were formed in 2017 and cite The Allman Brothers Band and Tedeschi Trucks Band as inspirations on the Bandcamp page. Here’s the excellent Smooth Sailin‘. Vocalist Maggie Noelle reminds me of Bonnie Raitt, while the song’s groove has a bit of a Santana vibe.

Of course, this post wouldn’t be complete without a Spotify playlist featuring all of the above tracks. Hope there’s something that tickles your fancy!

Sources: Wikipedia; Magnolia Boulevard Bandcamp page; YouTube; Spotify

Cordovas Demonstrate Staying Power on New Album

When first listening to Fallen Angels of Rock ‘n’ Roll, I had a good feeling Cordovas would deliver another compelling album. The Rose of Aces, which dropped last Friday (August 11), once again features the kind of warm-sounding Americana and roots rock that together with their multi-part harmony singing made me embrace the East Nashville, Tenn. band in 2018 when I saw them during a free outdoor summer concert in New Jersey.

Before getting to some music, I’d like to provide a bit of background on the group. Cordovas were founded in 2011 by songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Joe Firstman after he had put out a series of solo projects and served as bandleader from 2005 to 2009 on NBC’s former late-night TV show Last Call with Carson Daly. Following their self-released 2011 eponymous debut and various line-up changes, Cordovas signed with ATO Records, entering their next stage.

The group’s August 2018 label debut That Santa Fe Channel, which I reviewed here, was followed by Destiny Hotel in October 2020. The Rose of Aces marks their third release with ATO Records and their fourth studio album overall. In addition to Firstman (vocals, bass, acoustic guitar, Fender Rhodes, piano, synthesizer, Wurlitzer), Cordovas’ second core member is Lucca Soria (acoustic and electric guitar, bass, vocals) who Firstman on their website calls “the one soldier that understands what I’m doing best.”

Current press photo of Cordovas: Joe Firstman (fourth from left), Lucca Soria (second from left) and “co-conspirators”

Otherwise, Cordovas are in a state of constant flow, relying on various co-conspirators gathering in their twin outposts — a farm in Nashville, and a hideout in the artist community of the Baja California town Todos Santos — to jam out ideas. According to this review in Glide Magazine, The Rose of Aces was produced by Cory Hanson, frontman of L.A. rock band Wand. Time to take a closer look at the goodies!

Since I already covered the aforementioned Fallen Angels of Rock ‘n’ Roll in my most recent New Music Musings installment, I’m skipping the standout opener and lead single here and go right to What Is Wrong? Credited to Firstman and Sorie, the tune is a sunburnt twilight sigh of a song, notes the group’s website, originating with some ideas of Soria’s that the band then toyed with, adding some lyrics (“Are you ready?/ If you’re free enough to do it on your own”) that Firstman worked on with his girlfriend. The song well represents the mellow, laid-back feel that is present throughout most of the album.

High Roller, penned by Firstman and country songwriter Mark Cline Bates, tells the story of the narrator and his compatriot Stanley having a chaotic bender at a casino. In an interview with Holler Country, Firstman explained the song is about his spending spree in Las Vegas after Atlantic had signed him as a solo artist early in his career. Check out that mighty sweet pedal steel guitar! High Roller first appeared on July 11 as the album’s second upfront single.

Deep River, co-written by Firstman and Bates as well, is another tune that spoke to me right away. A song that starts with the lines Red tractor and a green pasture/Silver pickup knobs on my blonde Telecaster was bound to get my attention! I can hear a bit of Tom Petty in here. During the above Holler Country interview Firstman acknowledged the tune is about learning and growing from past indiscretions.

On Love Is All It Takes, the speed and intensity pick up, providing a welcome contrast. Solely written by Firstman, this track has a southern rock feel reminiscent of The Allman Brothers Band, one of the influences Cordovas have acknowledged, along with The Grateful Dead and The Band.

The last tune I’d like to call out is the beautiful closer Somos Iguales featuring Marisol Hernandez, aka. La Marisoul, lead vocalist in Los Angeles-based Mexican-American band La Santa Cecilia. Hernandez was also one of the co-writers, together with Firstman, Adrian “Ace” Campos and Jimmy Messner. I like the song’s simple yet powerful message about human equality. BTW, nopales, the pads of the prickly pear cactus, are a staple in Mexican dishes.

If you like what you’ve heard, I’d encourage you to check out the full album. With a total playtime of less than 35 minutes, no daunting time commitment is required. I think including another more rock-oriented tune among the 12 tracks could have added a bit more variety. It’s a minor wrinkle in an otherwise solid album that has a timeless feel.

Sources: Wikipedia; Cordovas website; Glide Magazine; Holler Country; YouTube; Spotify

New Music Musings

It’s Saturday and I’d like to welcome you to another installment of my weekly new music revue. This time I ended up picking six tracks, which are all included on albums that dropped yesterday (August 11).

Les Imprimés/You

Les Imprimés is the moniker of Norwegian artist Morten Martens. According to his Bandcamp page, he keeps a low profile while making his heartfelt, highly infectious, and unique music. Martens explains it’s “soul music, but I don’t exactly have the soul voice,” adding, “But I do it my own way, in a way that’s mine.” While Martens has been making records for decades as a hired gun, R​êverie is his solo debut. Here’s the beautiful You, which blends elements of ’60s and ’70s soul and doo-wop.

Bonnie “Prince” Billie/Crazy Blue Bells

Joseph Will Oldham is an American singer-songwriter and actor who since 1998 has released music as Bonnie “Prince” Billie. His music has been compared to Americana, folk, roots, country, punk and indie rock. Off his latest album Keeping Secrets Will Destroy You, here’s Crazy Blue Bell penned by Oldham. The tune first appeared as a single on July 10.

Cordovas/Fallen Angels of Rock ‘n’ Roll

Cordovas are an Americana and country rock band from East Nashville, Tenn. They were formed in 2011 by singer-songwriter, bassist and vocalist Joe Firstman after a six-year stint as bandleader for former NBC late-night show Last Call with Carson Daly. Cordovas who have named The Allman Brothers Band, Grateful Dead and The Band as influences are now out with their fourth studio album The Rose of Aces. Here’s the fantastic opener Fallen Angels of Rock ‘n’ Roll co-written by Firstman and Cory Hanson, frontman of Los Angeles rock band Wand.

Andy Frasco & The U.N./Iowa Moon

Andy Frasco & The U.N. are a Los Angeles band blending soul, blues, jazz and rock into an upbeat sound. Led by lead vocalist and keyboarder Andy Frasco, they were formed in 2007 and have released six studio albums to date. Their latest is titled L’Optimist. I like that title! And here’s a tune to match it, Iowa Moon, co-written by Frasco, Kenny Carkeet, Steve Poltz and Paul McDonald.

Caskets/Better Way Out

Originally formed as Captives in 2018, Caskets are a band from Leeds, England. AllMusic describes their sound as melodic and synth-heavy, combining elements of post-hardcore and emo with a poppy edge. From their sophomore album Reflections, here’s Better Way Out. The tune is credited to band members Matthew Edward Flood (vocals), Craig Robinson (guitar), Benjamin Wilson (guitar), Christopher Mcintosh (bass) and James Lazenby (drums), as well as Phillip Strand and producer Dan Weller.

Hurry/Something More

Rounding out this week’s New Music Musings are Hurry. Their Spotify profile notes this Philadelphia-based group fuses the melancholic jangle and tunefulness of classic power pop with a fuzzy, ’90s-inspired indie rock aesthetic. Hurry grew out of a solo project by Matthew Scottoline, former bassist of Philly Emo and indie rock band Everyone Everywhere. From their sixth and latest studio album Don’t Look Back, let’s listen to the pleasant Something More, penned by Scottoline.

Sources: Wikipedia; Les Imprimés Bandcamp page; Bonnie “Prince” Willie Drag City artist page; Cordovas website; Andy Frasco & The U.N. website; Caskets website; AllMusic; Hurry Bandcamp page; YouTube; Spotify

Duane Betts Impresses on First Full-Length Album

Last Friday, Duane Betts released the first full-length studio album under his name. For a music artist who has been active for approximately 25 years, it’s been a long time coming, but the wait turned out to be very worthwhile. Wild & Precious Life puts Betts on the map as a solo artist.

When your father is Dickey Betts, guitarist and co-founder of The Allman Brothers Band, I guess the desire for music is in your genes. Duane recently told American Songwriter that after he had started learning the drums as a 5 or 6-year-old before switching to guitar around the age of 13, he never considered doing anything else but music. Evidently, nobody objected, so he stuck with it.

Credit: Dylan Jon Wade Cox

In 1994 as a 16-year-old, Betts joined the Allmans for a couple of gigs onstage. Four years later, he became a member of roots rock group Backbone69 and recorded their eponymous debut album with them the following year. After the band’s breakup in 2001, Betts co-founded rock group Whitestarr, together with his former Backbone59 bandmate Alex Orbison, the son of Roy Orbison.

In 2005, Betts’ father asked him to join Great Southern, the group Dickey had formed after his contentious departure from the Allmans in 2000. In 2015, Duane Betts became a touring member of folk-rock band Dawes. In April 2018, he released his first solo effort, an EP titled Sketches of American Music. Toward the end of the same year, he formed The Allman Betts Band, together with Devon Allman, a son of Gregg Allman. They released two albums in 2019 and 2020, respectively, and currently appear to be on hiatus.

Noting his EP, Betts explained to American Songwriter he wanted to put out a full-length album but the time needed to be right. He began writing songs for what would become Sketches of American Music during the pandemic in the summer of 2020. More songs followed in the beginning of 2022. In March of the same year, the recording sessions began at Swamp Raga Studio in Jacksonville, Fla., owned by Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks.

To make the album, Betts put together what he calls on his website “his dream team of musicians”: Allman Betts Band members Johnny Stachela (guitar), Berry Duane Oakley (bass) and John Ginty (keyboards), as well as Tyler Greenwell, one of the drummers in Tedeschi Trucks Band. There were also a few guests: Marcus King (guitar), singer-songwriter Nicki Bluhm and Derek Trucks (guitar).

Let’s check out some music! Here’s the magnificent opener Evergreen, which was co-written by Betts and Devon Allman. All it took for me to know I would dig this tune were the first few bars and that beautiful harmony guitar action. The jam-like instrumental part starting at around 2 minutes into the song is really sweet. And just after you could really picture the Allmans playing this song, Betts surprises you with some trumpet at around 3:43 minutes, which according to this Glide Magazine review was played by John Reid.

Waiting On a Song is another tune that grabbed my attention right away. Solely written by Betts, it first appeared on April 19 as the lead single, coinciding with the announcement of the album. An article in Garden & Sun, to which Betts’ website links, calls it “a breezy summer jam with an earworm melody and a guitar solo with more sizzle than steaks searing in a cast-iron skillet” – jeez, I never could have come up with that clever second half of the sentence!

Colors Fade features the aforementioned Nicki Bluhm on harmony vocals. The song was co-written by Betts, Johnny Stachela and Stoll Vaughan. And, yes, there’s more of that beautiful guitar harmony playing and some slide guitar action. Gorgeous tune!

Did I mention Derek Trucks? Check out Stare at the Sun, another single that was released ahead of the album on May 23rd. American Blues Scene reported the title of the song, which Betts co-wrote with Vaughan, came from something Trucks told Betts about his father’s guitar-playing: “He’s a player that’s not afraid to stare directly at the sun.” Apart from the great guitar interaction between Betts and Trucks, I love the keyboards in this tune.

Frankly, I could go on and on here. Another excellent track I included in my latest new music post is Cold Dark World, which features guitarist Marcus King. Let’s end it with an instrumental titled Under the Bali Moon. The track is credited to Betts and drummer Tyler Greenwell.

Wild & Precious Life was recorded to two-inch analog tape during a series of live-in-studio sessions at Swamp Raga Studio. Betts served as executive producer. Bobby Tis handled engineering duties, while mixing was done by seven-time Grammy winner Jim Scott who in addition to Tedeschi Trucks Band previously worked with the likes of Tom Petty, Wilco, The Rolling Stones and Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Summing up the album, Betts stated on his website, “This is a record that guitar players will love, but at its core, it’s really a song record. It’s an album about who I am, where I come from, and what I believe in.” Here’s a Spotify link to the entire opus:

Sources: Wikipedia; Duane Betts website; American Songwriter; Glide Magazine; Garden & Sun; American Blues Scene; YouTube; Spotify

Best of What’s New

It’s Saturday morning, at least in my neck of the woods, and I hope your weekend is off to a great start. This is also the time when I take a fresh look at newly released music. All featured tunes are included on albums and one EP, which came out yesterday (July 14).

Alaska Reid/French Fries

Alaska Reid (born Sophia Alaska Reid) is a singer-songwriter from Montana, who has been active since 2015. AllMusic describes her music as moody indie pop, blending “classic alternative influences with a contemporary sensibility.” At age 14, Reid started writing music and gigging at Sunset Strip venues in Los Angeles where she spent her high school years. Later in her teenage years, she formed and fronted the band Alyeska, who released their debut EP Crush in April 2017. In December 202o, Reid came with her solo debut album Big Bunny. From her sophomore release Disenchanter, here’s French Fries, co-written by Reid and Max Hershenow.

Blondes/Does It Rain On You?

Blondes are an indie pop-rock band from Liverpool, England I first featured in a November 2021 Best of What’s New installment. They were formed by freshmen at Nottingham University in late 2017. In 2020, they released their debut single Coming of Age, which went viral on TikTok. This led to a deal with C3 Records, which issued their debut EP Out In the Neighborhood in November 2021. Blondes are now out with their second EP, In Separation. One of the tracks is called Does It Rain On You? Pretty bouncy and catchy tune!

Duane Betts/Cold Dark World (feat. Marcus King)

Guitarist and singer-songwriter Duane Betts first entered my radar screen in September 2020 in connection with Bless Your Heart, the sophomore album by The Allman Betts Band, a group he co-founded in November 2018 with Devon Allman, a son of Gregg Allman. The son of Dickey Betts who like Gregg was an original member of The Allman Brothers Band, has now released his full-length debut solo album Wild & Precious Life. According to his website, it was recorded live-in-studio at Swamp Raga Studio in Jacksonville, Fla. owned by Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks. Here’s the sweet Cold Dark World featuring blues-rock guitar ace Marcus King. While I previously read Betts doesn’t want to be a copy of the Allmans, he also isn’t denying their influence, which I think can clearly be heard in this tune. In my book, this is by no means a bad thing!

Temple of Angels/Lost in Darkness

My last pick in this new music revue are Temple of Angels. According to their Bandcamp page, they were formed in Austin, Texas in 2017. Their founders Avery Burton (guitar, vocals), Patrick Todd (drums, vocals) and Cole Tucker (guitar) had all played in various hardcore and punk bands around town for years, but were keen to explore the dreamier, moodier music they enjoyed as well. After recording a few demos, they recruited Bre Morell (vocals) as their lead vocalist. Following an eponymous 2017 EP, the 2018 EP Foiled and a couple of singles, they have now released their first full-length album Endless Pursuit. Let’s check out Lost in Darkness. I dig their dreamy sound!

Of course, this post wouldn’t be complete without a Spotify playlist.

Sources: Wikipedia; AllMusic; Duane Betts website; Temple of Angels Bandcamp page; YouTube; Spotify

Catching Up: Devon Allman & Donavon Frankenreiter and Amanda Shires & Bobbie Nelson

Happy Monday and once again, it’s time to catch on new music that didn’t make my most recent regular weekly feature. Today, I’m thrilled to present what I feel are two true gems! Both are collaborations and appeared on Friday, June 23.

Devon Allman & Donavon Frankenreiter – Rollers

My first pick is Rollers, a new EP by Devon Allman and Donavon Frankenreiter. American guitarist, vocalist, keyboardist, songwriter and record producer Devon Allman, who I previously featured here and here, has been active for more than 20 years. And, to address the big elephant in the room, yes, he’s related to a famous Allman: Devon is the son of Gregg Allman and his first wife Shelley Kay Jefts. After they divorced in 1972 when Devon was still an infant, he grew up with his mom. Fortunately, Devon reconnected and bonded with Gregg as a teenager and occasionally appeared as a guest musician for his dad and The Allman Brothers Band.

But while Devon acknowledges The Allman Brothers and his dad as being among his musical heroes, he has charted his own course. He founded/co-founded various blues rock, southern rock and Americana-oriented bands, including Honeytribe, Royal Southern Brotherhood and The Allman Betts Band featuring songwriter and guitarist Duane Betts, son of guitarist and Allman co-founding member Dickey Betts. Between these different bands and his solo efforts, Devon Allman has released 11 albums to date.

Donavon Frankenreiter has had an impressive career as well. He started out as a professional surfer before getting into music. After recording two albums with his jam band Sunchild in the ’90s, he launched a solo career starting with a self-titled album in May 2004. To date, he has released five additional studio and two compilation albums.

This finally brings me to the collaborative EP Rollers. Here’s the cool country-flavored opener Calling All You Riders. This sounds mighty sweet!

Other songs on the six-track EP I’d like to call out are the groovy See It All and the neat blues rocker Where Ya Gonna Run To?. Here’s a Spotify link to the entire EP:

BTW, on August 5, Allman and Frankenreiter will embark on a tour, including 50 shows in 50 U.S. states in less than 50 days. According to their website, if they succeed, they will break the current world record of 50 shows in 50 U.S. states in 50 days. I’m not really sure why anyone would do such gruesome touring in the first place. That said, you can find more info about their ambitious plans on their above website.

Amanda Shires & Bobbie Nelson – Loving You

Amanda Shires is an American singer-songwriter and fiddle player who has released seven solo albums since her 2005 debut Being Brave. Fans of Jason Isbell will likely be aware of Shires who has been married to him since February 2013. She frequently recorded and toured with Isbell’s band The 400 Unit until the birth of her and Isbell’s first child in September 2015. In 2019, she co-founded country music supergroup The Highwomen, together with Brandi Carlile and Maren Morris. Shires continues to collaborate with Isbell and can be heard on his latest album with The 400 Unit, Weathervanes, which I reviewed here.

The late Bobbie Nelson was an American pianist and vocalist, the elder sister of Willie Nelson and a member of his band Willie Nelson and Family. Bobbie started her career in 1953 when she met and subsequently married Bud Fletcher and became a member of Bud Fletcher and the Texans. Notably, Fletcher didn’t have instrumental abilities and, as such, his role was limited to directing the group. The band broke up in 1955 after Bobbie and Bud had divorced. At some point, Nelson began working for the Hammond Organ Company. In 1973, she joined Willie’s band and started touring with them. Bobbie Nelson passed away at age 91 in March 2022. This brings me to Loving You, her final album recorded together with Shires, a covers compilation.

All of the renditions on Loving You are incredibly beautiful, so it’s hard to pick just one. Among my early favorites is Summertime, the timeless classic composed by George Gershwin in 1935 for the opera Porgy and Bess that was first performed in Boston on September 30, 1935, before moving to New York’s Broadway. The lyrics were written by DuBose Heyward, who authored the novel Porgy on which the opera was based, and Ira Gershwin. Here, Bobbie Nelson and Amanda Shires are joined by Willie Nelson. This is just priceless!

As previously noted, I find each track on this album is a gem, so it’s impossible to call out specific tunes. But to give you a sense, check out Always On My Mind, Dream a Little Dream of Me, Loving You and Over the Rainbow. Warning: If you’re prone to becoming emotional over music, which I am, the sheer beauty of these tunes may make you well up.

Here’s a Spotify link to the entire album:

Sources: Wikipedia; Devon Allman & Donavon Frankenreiter website; YouTube; Spotify

Musings of the Past

This installment of my recurring feature, in which I republish and sometimes update select content from the earlier days of the blog, was inspired by a recent post by Dave from A Sound Day about the ingenious Les Paul. The guitarist, songwriter and inventor is most famous for partnering with Gibson guitars and inventing the Gibson Les Paul, one of the most iconic electric guitars.

This post first appeared in July 2017 and has been slightly edited to better fit the current style of the blog.

The Hardware: Gibson Les Paul

Just like the Fender Stratocaster, Gibson’s Les Paul is one of the defining electric guitars

As Jim, who writes the excellent Music Enthusiast blog, pointed out a couple of weeks ago after I had published my post about the Fender Stratocaster, I could just as well have called the Gibson Les Paul the model that embodies the electric guitar. I couldn’t agree more; in fact, I had planned all along to do a post on the Les Paul as well, so let’s get to it!

Obviously, the legendary guitar is closely associated with American guitarist, songwriter and inventor Les Paul. The origins of the electric guitar that would bear his name date back to 1940 when Paul built the so-called “Log” at the Epiphone guitar factory. The crude instrument, which consisted of a 4″ × 4″ chunk of pine wood with strings and a pickup, was one of the first solid-body electric guitars. To improve the look, Paul took the wings of an Epiphone archtop body and added them to the pine body.

When Paul offered his idea to the Gibson Guitar Corporation in 1941, they initially turned him down. That changed when rival Fender started marketing their  Esquire model in 1950, a solid-body electric guitar that later turned into the Broadcaster and eventually the Telecaster.

After Gibson Guitar president Ted McCarty realized the enthusiasm about the Esquire and the Broadcaster, he asked Paul to become a consultant to the company. In 1951, Paul, McCarty and his team started developing a solid-body. While apparently there are differing recollections who contributed what, the result was the first Gibson Les Paul, introduced in 1952. Paul used it for the first time in public in June that year during a live performance at the Paramount Theatre in New York.

The initial Les Paul featured a mahogany body and neck, two P-90 single coil pickups and a one-piece, trapeze-style bridge/tailpiece with strings fitted under a steel stop-bar. In 1953, a second Les Paul model called the Les Paul Custom was introduced. A more important development happened in 1957, when Gibson introduced humbucker pickups on the Les Pauls. According to Wikipedia, a humbucker is a double-coil pick-up to cancel out the interference picked up by single-coil pickups, i.e., bucking the hum.

While the Les Paul models were formidable instruments, they were pretty heavy, which is why initially they weren’t widely embraced by guitarists. As a result, in 1961, Gibson introduced the Gibson SG, a lighter solid-body guitar that became the company’s best-selling model of all time. The company also stopped producing the traditional Les Paul.

Initially, Gibson launched the SG as the new Gibson Les Paul. But since the model had been developed without Paul’s knowledge and he was unhappy with the design, he requested that his name be removed from the headstock. Gibson agreed and Paul remained as a consultant with the company. Personally, I’ve always found the SG is a really cool-looking guitar.

Ironically, a few years after production had been discontinued, Les Paul models started to become en vogue when guitarists like Keith Richards and Eric Clapton discovered and began using them. Other guitarists followed, such as Mike Bloomfield from the Paul Butterfield Blues Band and the Grateful Dead’s Jerry Garcia. Again reacting to popularity trends, Gibson reintroduced the Les Paul single cutaway guitar in July 1968. While there have been some tweaks over the years, the model remains in production to this day.

As indicated above, many guitarists have used Les Pauls. Following is a list of some of them.

Duane Allman

The legendary session musician and lead guitarist of The Allman Brothers Band has used various Les Paul models. Here’s a great clip of the band’s epic live performance of Whipping Post at the Fillmore East in 1970. I believe Allman was playing a 1957 Les Paul Goldtop.

Eric Clapton

While Clapton is better known for Fender Stratocaster guitars, he has also used Gibson models, including a 1960 sunburst Les Paul and a 1957 goldtop Les Paul Custom. In 2010, Gibson announced the Clapton 1960 Les Paul Standard signature model, also known as the “Beano Burst.” Here’s a clip of Clapton playing his 1960 Les Paul.

Jimmy Page

Page has used various Les Paul models, including from 1959 and 1973. He also owned a modified 1960 Les Paul Custom “Black Beauty,” which was stolen in 1970 and has never been found. Gibson has produced three Jimmy Page signature models. In this clip from Led Zeppelin’s live performance of We’re Gonna Groove at London’s Royal Albert Hall in 1970, Page can be seen using a Les Paul.

Slash

Slash has used many different Les Paul models including his own custom shop Les Paul. Altogether, he has collaborated with Gibson on eight signature models. Here’s a clip of a 1988 Guns N’ Roses’ live performance of Sweet Child O’ Mine, featuring Slash on a Les Paul.

Joe Perry

The Aerosmith lead guitarist has used many Gibson guitar models, including various Les Pauls. Gibson has released two Joe Perry signature Les Pauls, the first in 1996, the second in 2004. The latter is known as the Boneyard Les Paul. In the following clip of a live performance of Toys In the Attic, Perry is playing the Boneyard.

Gary Moore

Moore played a Les Paul Standard. There were also two Gibson Gary Moore signature Les Pauls. Here’s the blues rocker and his Les Paul in action live with Walking By Myself.

Pete Townshend

Among other Gibson models, The Who guitarist used various customized Les Pauls from 1973 to 1979. In 2005, Gibson introduced three Townshend signature Les Paul Deluxe guitars, based on his heavily customized “#1” Wine Red 1976 Les Paul Deluxe, “#3” Gold top 1976, and “#9” Cherry Sunburst 1976. Here is a great clip of a 1978 live performance of Won’t Get Fooled Again, which became the closing scene of The Kids Are Alright rockumentary, in which Townshend plays one of his customized Les Pauls. Sadly, one of the most iconic moments in rock also captured the last performance of Keith Moon, who died in September that year.

Of course, this post would not be complete without a clip of the maestro himself, Les Paul. Not only does it show Paul perform one of his biggest hit singles, How High the Moon (1951), but he also demonstrates one of his inventions called Les Paulverizer – priceless! According to Wikipedia, the little device attached to his guitar allowed Paul to access pre-recorded layers of songs during live performance, so he could replicate his recorded sound on stage.

– END –

Originally, this post was published on July 22, 2017 as part of The Hardware, an irregular feature about well-known music gear. Since the most recent installment, about the Mellotron, dates back to July 2020, I guess by now, the series effectively could be called discontinued. That said, I don’t want to entirely rule out another installment, time permitting to put together these very research-intense posts.

Sources:  Wikipedia; Premier Guitar; YouTube

The Sunday Six

Are you ready to escape your surroundings for a little while and embark on another imaginary trip into the magical world of music? If yes, you’ve come to the right place; if not, I hope you’ll stick around anyway! It’s amazing what music can do, especially on a rainy weekend like in my neck of the woods of central New Jersey, USA. Without any further ado, let’s start up the music time machine!

Lars Gullin/Fedja

Our first stop leads us back to the year 1956 and some beautiful jazz by Swedish saxophonist Lars Gullin. He started out on the accordion and switched to the clarinet at age 13 before first embracing the alto saxophone. After moving to Stockholm in 1947, Gullin became a professional pianist, aiming to pursue a classical career. But in 1949 an unexpected tenure as the baritone saxophonist in Seymour Österwall’s band changed Gullin’s trajectory yet again, and this time he stuck with jazz. In the early ’50s, he was a member of Arne Domnérus’ septet and also started working with visiting American jazz musicians like James Moody, Zoot Sims, Clifford Brown and Lee Konitz. In 1953, Gullin formed his own short-lived group. In October 1955, he teamed up with Chet Baker for a European tour, which tragically involved the heroin-induced death of the group’s pianist Dick Twardzik. Sadly, Gullin developed his own addiction to narcotics, which eventually took his life in May 1976 at the age of 48. Here’s Fedja, a Gullin composition off his 1956 album Baritone Sax.

Marshall Crenshaw/Cynical Girl

Let’s next set our time machine to April 1982 and a neat artist I’ve started to explore recently, thanks to fellow blogger Rich who pens the great KamerTunesBlog where he featured Marshall Crenshaw and his 1983 sophomore album Field Day the other day. I instantly loved the American singer-songwriter’s catchy power pop and promptly covered Someday, Someway, a tune off his eponymous debut, which appeared in April 1982. It was a close decision between that tune and Cynical Girl, another song from that album I love. According to Wikipedia, the tune is a satire on the “mass culture” Crenshaw disliked, not about a specific girl.

Little Eva/The Loco-Motion

Time to go a little loco with one of my favorite early ’60s tunes: The Loco-Motion by Little Eva. It was one of the many great tunes by songwriting powerhouse Carole King and her husband and lyricist Gerry Goffin, who during the ’60s penned an impressive amount of hits for the likes of The Shirelles, Bobby Vee, The Chiffons, The Drifters, Herman’s Hermits, The Monkees and even The Animals. And, of course, Eva Narcissus Boyd, aka. Little Eva, the babysitter for King and Goffin, who became an overnight sensation with The Loco-Motion. Her debut single, released in June 1962, topped the U.S. pop and R&B charts and hit no. 2 in the UK. Initially, Goffin-King had written the tune for R&B singer Dee Dee Sharp but he turned it down, making Little Eva one of the most famous babysitters in pop history. What a timeless classic!

The Allman Brothers Band/It Ain’t Over Yet

This next pick is a bit out of left field. When you think of The Allman Brothers Band, tunes like Whipping Post, Melissa, Ramblin’ Man and the bouncy instrumental Jessica come to mind. It Ain’t Over Yet? Possibly not so much. I coincidentally came across that track a while ago and dug it from the get-go, so I earmarked for a Sunday Six. Co-written by Doug Crider and by the Brothers’ second keyboarder Johnny Neel, It Ain’t Over Yet became the closer of the group’s ninth studio album Seven Turns, released in July 1990 – their first after their second breakup in 1982. It Ain’t Over Yet, an appropriate title, also appeared separately as the album’s third single. Allen Woody’s slap bass playing gives the tune a bit of a funky vibe. Perhaps more familiar is the neat guitar work by Dickey Betts and Warren Haynes, and of course the vocals by the one and only Gregg Allman. Hope you dig that song as much as I’ve come to!

Alejandro Escovedo/The Crossing

Let’s go back to the current century and set our time machine to September 2018. I don’t recall how I came across that next tune and suspect it may have been served up as a listening suggestion by my streaming music provider. It’s another song that’s been on my list of earmarked tracks for a Sunday Six. Alejandro Escovedo, the son of a Mexican immigrant to Texas and a Texas native and, according to his website, one of 12 children, is an eclectic rock musician and singer-songwriter who has been recording and touring since the late ’70s. He played in various bands, such as punk groups The Nuns and Judy Nylon’s band, as well as country rock formation Rank and File, before releasing his 1992 solo debut Gravity, an alternative country and heartland rock-oriented outing. Fast-forward 26 years and The Crossing, the title cut of his 2018 studio album. You can find more about Escovedo’s story on his aforementioned website. For now, let’s listen to this excellent and haunting tune!

Sly And The Family Stone/Family Affair

And once again, it’s time to wrap up another trip. Our final destination takes us back to November 1971 and There’s a Riot Goin’ On, the fifth studio album by psychedelic funk and soul powerhouse Sly And The Family Stone. Mirroring other African American artists at the time like Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder and Curtis Mayfield, the record marked a departure from the group’s previous more upbeat songs by embracing sentiments like apathy, pessimism and disillusionment. The lead single Family Affair, which like all other tunes was written by frontman Sylvester Stewart (Sly Stone), became the group’s third and final no. 1 hit in the U.S. on both the Billboard Hot 100 and Best Selling Soul Singles (today known as Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs) charts. It also was their most successful international song, charting in Belgium, Germany, The Netherlands and the UK.

As usual, I’m leaving you with a Spotify playlist featuring the above tunes. Hope there’s something you dig!

Sources: Wikipedia; Alejandro Escovedo website; YouTube; Spotify

A Really Big Show

Fellow music blogger Dave from A Sound Day has a great recurring feature, Turntable Talk, for which he invites other bloggers to contribute their thoughts about a given topic. Following is my recent contribution to the latest installment, which he called A Really Big Show. In Dave’s words: We’ve asked our guests if they had a time machine, and could go back and see one concert what would it be? It could be a show from before they were born, one they missed or one they actually attended and would like to relive. Big festival, small club show, you name it.

This post originally appeared on February 12. It has been slightly edited and reformatted. I also embedded some photos and clips and added a Spotify album link.

Thanks, Dave, for having me back on Turntable Talk with another interesting topic and for continuing to host the fun series.

A really big show. This took me a little while to figure out. My thought process started with what you could call the obvious, i.e., picking a famous music event or concert like Woodstock (August 1969), Atlanta International Pop Festival (July 1969 and July 1970), The Beatles at Shea Stadium (August 1965) or The Concert for Bangladesh (August 1971). Next, I reflected on shows captured on some of my favorite live albums, such as The Allman Brothers’ At Fillmore East (March 1971), The Beatles at the Hollywood Bowl (August 1964 and August 1965) or The Rolling Stones’ Get Yer Ya-Ya’s Out! (November 1969).

While all the above became part of music history and had very intriguing aspects, the reality is I’ve only read about these concerts. And, yep, I’ve seen great documentaries about Woodstock, The Beatles at Shea Stadium and The Concert for Bangladesh. When it comes to Woodstock in particular, I highly doubt I would have enjoyed the chaotic sanitary and other conditions on the ground. Amid all the hysterically screaming fans, I also wonder how much of the music I would have been able to hear at the above Beatles shows. But, most importantly, I came to the conclusion that my “really big show” had to be a concert I actually visited – coz how else could you really know!

Over the past 40 years, I’ve been fortunate to have seen many great concerts. While I remember most of the bands and artists, I don’t want to pretend I recall all the details. Limiting myself to concerts I can reasonably well remember significantly narrowed the choices. Essentially, it came down to three concerts I experienced back in Germany during the ‘80s: Paul Simon, Grugahalle, Essen, February 7, 1987 (Graceland Tour); Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, Waldstadion, Frankfurt, July 12, 1988 (Tunnel of Love Express Tour); and Paul McCartney, October 16 or 17, 1989, Westfalenhalle, Dortmund (The Paul McCartney World Tour 1989-1990).

If you’ve read my blog or know my music taste otherwise, undoubtedly, you already know where this is going to. If it’s not a concert by The Beatles, my all-time favorite band, the next best would be a show by an ex-Beatle. So, yes, Sir Paul is my pick!

Paul McCartney and his backing band (from left): Paul “Wix” Wickens, Chris Whitten, Linda McCartney, Paul McCartney, Robbie McIntosh and Hamish Stuart

Needless to point out that back in 1989, I was thrilled to get to see one of my biggest music heroes! Thinking about it while I’m writing this post makes me excited and want to jump into a time machine!

A few months prior to the gig, I had bought Macca’s then-new album Flowers in the Dirt and dug it right way, especially the Beatle-esque lead single My Brave Face. This sounded so much better than any track on predecessor Press to Play!

At the time, I also already owned Wings Over America on vinyl, a live album capturing the American leg of the 1975-1976 Wings Over the World Tour. While Paul had a different backing band for his 1989-1990 world tour, the album still gave me an idea how he might sound live in 1989. Remember, there was no YouTube back then, so I couldn’t search for any clips of live footage – hard to imagine from today’s perspective!

Paul McCartney with Robbie McIntosh

So what do I remember from the actual show? To begin with, I was amazed without any maybe how fantastic Paul (lead vocals, electric and acoustic guitar, bass, keyboards) sounded. So did his backing band: Linda McCartney (backing vocals, keyboards, percussion), Hamish Stuart (backing vocals, acoustic and electric guitars, bass), Robbie McIntosh (backing vocals, electric guitar), Paul “Wix” Wickens (backing vocals, keyboards) and Chris Whitten (drums, percussion). To be clear, I’m relying on Wikipedia here! In addition to Macca, I only specifically remember Linda, Robbie and Hamish who btw was an original member of Average White Band.

I also recall that looking around the concert hall, I thought much of the audience was “older”, i.e., about the same age as Paul was at the time, which would actually mean 47! I was 23 years then, so, yes, late ‘40s definitely felt “older.”😊 Something else I still can see before my eyes were moments when things got emotional and women would start to well up. That was when Paul sang tunes like Let It Be, Hey Jude and Yesterday. Hey, I can get emotional now just recalling this!

From the 1989/90 World Tour program

Speaking of music, the show spanned a nice range of songs, including tunes from Flowers in the Dirt and other McCartney solo albums, Wings and plenty, plenty of Beatles songs – YES! I had been full of anticipation regarding the latter, and Paul and the band didn’t disappoint – man, did they sound great!

Bless Setlist.fm where I found the entire song line-up. The only thing I honestly couldn’t reconstruct is which of the two concerts they played in Dortmund I saw, Monday, October 16 or Tuesday, October 17, 1989.

Here’s the setlist for October 17, which is identical to the October 16 date:

Regular Set
• Figure of Eight
• Jet (Wings)
• Rough Ride
• Got to Get You Into My Life (Beatles)
• Band on the Run (Wings)
• Ebony and Ivory
• We Got Married
• Maybe I’m Amazed
• The Long and Winding Road (Beatles)
• The Fool on the Hill (Beatles)
• Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (Beatles)
• Good Day Sunshine (Beatles)
• Can’t Buy Me Love (Beatles)
• Put It There (with “Hello, Goodbye” outro snippet)
• Things We Said Today (Beatles)
• Eleanor Rigby (Beatles)
• This One
• My Brave Face
• Back in the U.S.S.R. (Beatles)
• I Saw Her Standing There (Beatles)
• Twenty Flight Rock (Eddie Cochran cover)
• Coming Up
• Let It Be (Beatles)
• Ain’t That a Shame (Fats Domino cover)
• Live and Let Die (Wings)
• Hey Jude (Beatles)

Encore:
• Yesterday (Beatles)
• Get Back (Beatles)
• Golden Slumbers (Beatles)
• Carry That Weight (Beatles)
• The End (Beatles)

Isn’t this one hell of a song line-up? The good news is footage from Paul’s 1989-1990 world tour was captured on Tripping the Live Fantastic, a nice live album released in November 1990. According to Wikipedia, it was his first official solo live album and first release of concert material since the above-mentioned Wings Over America.

I’ve since seen Paul two more times in the U.S.: July 2016 (Hersheypark Stadium, Hershey, Pa.) and June 2022 (MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, N.J.). In case you’re curious, I previously posted about these gigs here and here. While both concerts were great, it’s that first show back in 1989, which will always have a special place in my heart.

– End –

My contributed post ended here. Following are some clips of tunes from the setlist of “my” show, using clips of corresponding tracks from Tripping the Live Fantastic. I’m also including a Spotify link to the entire album.

Band on the Run (Wings)

Maybe I’m Amazed

Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (Beatles)

Things We Said Today (Beatles)

My Brave Face

I Saw Her Standing There (Beatles)

Spotify link to Tripping the Live Fantastic:

Sources: Wikipedia; Setlist.fm; YouTube; Spotify

Up-And-Comer Myron Elkins Shines On Debut Album

Welcome to my second full-album review of 2023. Not only is it music by another contemporary artist, but it’s also brand new – a promising start of the year, which makes me very happy!

When I first came across Myron Elkins last Friday while doing research for my most recent Best of What’s New installment, I simply couldn’t believe I was listening to a 21-year-old artist. Based on his sound and especially his gritty vocals, you could picture this young singer-songwriter from Otsego, Mich. jam with the likes of The Allman Brothers Band, ZZ Top and Tom Petty back in the ’70s!

Photo: Jimmy Fontaine via Sacks & Co

Before getting to some music from Elkins’ debut album Factories, Farms & Amphetamines, released on January 13, I’d like to touch on his background story. According to his website, while being exposed to music as a kid, taught by his grandfather how to play guitar and starting to write his own songs at 14 or 15, Elkins did not set out to become a professional singer-songwriter. Instead, after high school graduation, the then-17-year-old became a welder in a local factory. Then his trajectory changed.

Three years ago, a relative signed Elkins up for a local battle of the bands competition, even though his music performance experience had been limited to the church and a few gigs at local bars. Elkins also had no band at the time, so he quickly gathered three cousins and a friend to join him. They had three weeks to rehearse. While Elkins’ band “only” came in second, the experience started to change his path.

Photo: Anna Sink

For the next three years, Elkins and his band members continued to practice nearly every day while working regular jobs. Recording in a studio was a big step forward for the nascent group, according to his website. Luckily, Elkins and his band were already fans of [producer] Dave Cobb’s live-band production style before signing with Elektra/Low Country Sound, and so they relished the chance to record with him at his studio, Nashville RCA Studio A. Cobb has worked with the likes of Chris Stapleton, Brandi Carlile, John Prine,  Sturgill Simpson, Jason Isbell, The Highwomen and Rival Sons.

Time for some music. Here’s the album’s opener Sugartooth. To me, it sounds a bit like Tom Petty channeling Chuck Berry’s Memphis Tennessee. Check this out!

Since I highlighted the album’s title track in my aforementioned Best of What’s New installment, I’m skipping it here to go right to Hands To Myself. The groovy and soulful tune addresses the touchy subject of domestic use…You can hope you can pray that maybe someday/Someone will love someone will help and put you on some kind of shelf/Oh I swear ill never learn to keep my hands to myself…“I’m writing about where I come from,” Elkins explains on his website. “Things I’ve seen and things I’ve heard. I had only been out of Michigan one time—to Graceland—before I started the band, so that little part of Michigan is all I really knew when writing this album.”

Wrong Side Of The River has a country rock flavor. Elkins’ website notes the tune encourages embracing where you’re from, because a supportive home life can make all the difference even if you’re not living on the so-called right side of town.

On Nashville Money, a nice bluesy rocker, Elkins muses about life as a professional music artist…With that Nashville money/gonna take care of my hopes and dreams/With that Nashville money/Gonna make a big star out of me…

Let’s take a look at one more tune: Machine, a funky rock tune with a cool bass line.

As briefly noted above, Factories, Farms & Amphetamines was recorded live in studio at the storied RCA Studio A in Nashville. In early 2016, Dave Cobb took over the historic landmark for his Low Country Sound record label imprint. Apart from Chris Stapleton and Jason Isbell, some of the other artists who worked there include The Beach Boys, Joe Cocker, Waylon Jennings, B.B. King, Loretta Lynn, The Monkees, Dolly Parton, Leon Russell and George Strait.

In addition to Elkins (guitar, vocals), the album also features the members of his touring band: Caleb Stamphler (guitar), Avery Whitaker (guitar), Nathan Johnson (bass) and Jake Bartlett (drums). Here’s a Spotify link to the entire album:

Reflecting on working with producer Dave Cobb, Elkins states on his website: “I came in with probably 30 songs that we had widdled down from 50-60. Dave would just sit down with us and say ‘ok, let’s hear what you got.’ He knew pretty quickly which ones he wanted to dive into, and from there, it was just kind of a Dave Cobb crash course. We’d only been in the studio one time before that, so there might have been a thing or two that we needed to learn.”

Encouraged by the experience, apparently, Elkins is already looking forward to recording more music. “Now when I’m writing songs, I have all these Dave-isms in my head—like, ‘Oh, yeah, there we go. All right, throw this here.’”, he notes. “Before we recorded Factories, Farms & Amphetamines, I thought maybe you had to be a superhero to make a record. Next time, it’s going be a little easier.”

Elkins is off to a great start as a recording artist, and he’s only 21 years old. I think we can look forward to more great music from this talented young artist.

Sources: Wikipedia; Myron Elkins website; YouTube; Spotify