The Sunday Six

After skipping last Sunday due to a short hiatus, I’m thrilled to be back with The Sunday Six and hope you’ll join me for another trip with the music time machine. As always, our journey will include six stops in different decades. Let’s do it!

Weather Report/Cannon Ball

Easing us into today’s trip are jazz fusion dynamos Weather Report, a band I’ve really come to dig. Austrian keyboarder Joe Zawinul, who is regarded as one of the creators of jazz fusion, co-founded Weather Report in 1970 with saxophone maestro Wayne Shorter. Cannon Ball, a Zawinul composition, appeared on the group’s sixth studio album Black Market, released in March 1976. This was their first album to feature the amazing Jaco Pastorius who played electric fretless bass on two tracks, one of which was Cannon Ball. Other Weather Report members on this particular tune included Narada Michael Walden (drums) and Alex Acuña (congas, percussion). The group’s most successful album Heavy Weather was still one year away. They would record seven more records thereafter before disbanding in 1986.

Buddy Holly/Peggy Sue

Our next stop takes us back to February 1958 and one of my all-time favorite early rock & roll tunes: Peggy Sue by Buddy Holly. During his short seven-year career, this bespectacled young man from Lubbock, Tx. wrote and performed amazing songs, creating a legacy that lasts to this day. Holly also was one of the early adopters of the Fender Stratocaster. His 1957 appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show with his band The Crickets helped popularize the legendary electric guitar. Peggy Sue, co-written by Crickets drummer Jerry Allison and producer Norman Petty, appeared on what technically was Holly’s first eponymous solo album. For contractual reasons, his previous record, The “Chirping” Crickets, was credited to The Crickets, though the same band played on both releases. Holly may not have had Elvis Presley looks, but this man was a true rock & roll star!

Katrina and the Waves/Cry to Me

Time to slow things down by traveling to March 1985 and a great tune by Katrina and the Waves. Initially called The Waves, the British-American band is best known for their 1985 hit Walking On Sunshine, which interestingly went unnoticed when they first recorded it for their December 1983 debut. But things changed dramatically with a re-recorded version that became the lead single of the band’s eponymous third studio album from March 1985. That record also included Cry to Me. Like Walking On Sunshine, it was penned by Kimberley Rew, the group’s lead guitarist and backing vocalist. Katrina and the Waves would make, well, waves one more time in May 1997 when they won the Eurovision Song Contest with Love Shine a Light. But they were not able to follow up that success with another hit. Lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Katrina Leskanich left in 1998 after several disagreements with her bandmates, leading to the group’s dissolution in 1999.

Umbilicus/Hello Future

Let’s return to the present and a furious rock & roll tune by Umbilicus – ‘who?’ you may wonder. I had the same reaction until I came across Hello Future the other day and was immediately hooked! According to this post and interview on Maximum Volume Music, Umbilicus came together in the summer of 2020. Drummer Paul Mazurkiewicz noted their love of rock and roll from the late 60’s, 70’s and early 80’s, citing Grand Funk, Bad Company and Steppenwolf among his influences, along with lesser-known bands like Sir Lord Baltimore and Lucifer’s Friend. Umbilicus also include Taylor Nordberg (guitar), Vernon Blake (bass) and Brian Stephenson (vocals). Hello Future, credited to all four members of the band, is from their debut album Path of 1000 Suns, which came out in September 2022. Damn!

The Band/The Weight

No Sunday Six can exclude the ’60s, so we shall set our time machine to July 1968 and a timeless classic by The Band: The Weight, off their debut studio album Music from Big Pink. Officially, the Canadian-American group was formed the previous year in Toronto, Canada, but its origins go back to 1957 when it was called The Hawks and backing Toronto-based rockabilly singer Ronnie Hawkins. From 1965 to 1967, the group was Bob Dylan’s touring band and also recorded various sessions with the maestro. By the time of Music from Big Pink, The Band featured Robbie Robertson (guitar, vocals), Garth Hudson (organ, piano, clavinet, saxophone), Richard Manuel (piano, organ, vocals), Rick Danko (bass, fiddle, vocals) and Levon Helm (drums, tambourine, vocals) – the line-up that would stay in place until they first broke up in 1978. The Weight, written by Robertson, also became a single in August 1968, backed by the 1967 Dylan song I Shall Be Released.

Delbert McClinton/Everytime I Roll the Dice

And once again another music trip is coming to an end. For our final stop, we go to April 1992 and Never Been Rocked Enough, a studio album by Delbert McClinton. Shout-out to Cincinnati Babyhead who digs and effectively introduced me to the roots artist from Texas. BTW, Clinton hails from the same town as Buddy Holly. Blending country, blues, soul and rock & roll, McClinton has been active since 1957. Long before recording as a singer, he became an accomplished harmonica player. McClinton was prominently featured on Hey! Baby, a 1962 no. 1 hit for fellow Texan Bruce Channel. It took him until the mid-’70s to establish himself as a solo artist. In 1980, his rendition of Jerry Lynn Williams’ Giving It Up for Your Love reached no. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100, his only top 10 hit. Here’s Everytime I Roll the Dice, the excellent opener of the above-mentioned 1992 album, co-written by Max Barnes and Troy Seals.

Last but not least, here’s a Spotify playlist of the above tracks. Hope there’s something you like!

Sources: Wikipedia; Maximum Volume Music; YouTube; Spotify

The Sunday Six

Happy Sunday and welcome to another excursion into the beautiful world of music. For most folks in the U.S., daylight savings began last night, so just in case, don’t forget to adjust your clocks. Should you feel a bit tired since you lost one hour of sleep, music is a great remedy. All aboard the time machine and let’s go back, Jack, do it again!

Wayne Shorter/Footprints

Today, our journey begins in October 1967 to commemorate the great Wayne Shorter who sadly passed away on March 2 at the age of 89. Frankly, had it not been for fellow blogger Music Enthusiast and his related tribute, I guess I would have missed it! Unlike Jeff Beck or Lynyrd Skynyrd co-founder Gary Rossington, who we lost on March 5, it seems Shorter’s death didn’t get comparable media attention. While Wayne Shorter wasn’t a guitarist, the jazz saxophonist and composer was a true rock star in my book. In addition to being a sideman playing with Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers and Miles Davis’ Second Great Quintet, Shorter started his recording career as a bandleader in 1959 with Introducing Wayne Shorter – the first of more than 20 additional albums he released in that role. In 1970, Shorter became a co-founder of Weather Report, co-leading the jazz fusion band with Austrian keyboarder Joe Zawinul until their breakup in 1986. After leaving Weather Report, Shorter continued to record and perform until his retirement in 2018 after a nearly 70-year career! Let’s celebrate this great musician with one of his best-known compositions that has become a jazz standard: Footprints, which first appeared on Shorter’s 10th solo album Adam’s Apple released in October 1967. He was backed by Herbie Hancock (piano), Reggie Workman (bass) and Joe Chambers (drums).

Dirty Honey/California Dreamin’

I realize smooth saxophone jazz may not be the best remedy to wake up if you’re really tired. Let’s travel to the current century and kick up the speed a few notches with music by one of the most exciting contemporary rock bands I know: Dirty Honey. Founded in 2017, this Los Angeles-based group reminds me of bands like Aerosmith, Led Zeppelin and The Black Crowes. Dirty Honey are Marc Labelle (vocals), John Notto (guitar), Justin Smolian (bass) and Corey Coverstone (drums). To date, they have released a self-titled EP (2019) and debut album (2021), as well as a bunch of singles. Here’s California Dreamin’, the kickass opener of their full-length debut, which came out in April 2021. Or are we actually listening to a moniker of The Black Crowes when they were at their peak? Damn, feel free to play along with air or real guitar!

Sting/All This Time

Okay, time for a little breather with Sting and All This Time. This beautiful tune, off the ex-Police frontman’s third full-length solo album The Soul Cages, takes us to January 1991. The Soul Cages is a concept album revolving around the 1987 death of Sting’s father, which led the English artist to develop writer’s block. The scary episode lasted several years, explaining the relatively long 4-year gap to its predecessor …Nothing Like the Sun. Soul Cages also was Sting’s first solo album to feature guitarist Dominic Miller who would become a longtime collaborator appearing on most of Sting’s albums thereafter, including his most recent The Bridge from November 2021. Like all except two tracks on The Soul Cages, All This Time was solely written by Sting.

Danny & The Juniors/At The Hop

Let’s put on our classic rock & roll dancin’ shoes and pay a visit to the year 1957. That’s when American doo-wop and rock & roll vocal group Danny & The Juniors scored their biggest hit single At The Hop. The group from Philadelphia was formed in 1955 and originally included Danny Rapp, Dave White, Frank Maffei and Joe Terranova. At The Hop was co-written by Artie Singer, John Medora and White. The seductive honky tonk piano-driven tune became the group’s only no. 1 single in the U.S., topping both the mainstream pop and R&B charts. Danny & The Juniors may have had only one hit but they certainly made it count. White and Terranova passed away in March 2019 and April 2019 and the ages of 79 and 78, respectively. Let’s join in the dance sensations that are sweepin’ the nation at the hop – ’50s rock & roll doesn’t get much better!

Tracy Chapman/Talkin’ Bout a Revolution

We’re four tunes into our current journey and haven’t featured the ’80s yet. My proposition this week is Tracy Chapman and one of her best-known songs from her eponymous debut album that came out in 1988. I still remember when the folk singer-songwriter seemingly out of nowhere burst on the scene in April that year with Fast Car, the album’s first single, and became an overnight sensation. Talkin’ Bout a Revolution, the record’s opener, was the second single released in July 1988. While it didn’t match the chart success of Fast Car, the tune was just as ubiquitous on the radio back in Germany. I dug Chapman’s music so much that I bought a songbook of the album for acoustic guitar. Given her relatively deep vocals, I was able to reasonably sing her tunes. While Chapman has not been active for many years, she has not officially retired from music. I believe her most recent “public appearance” was the night before the November 2020 U.S. Presidential elections on Late Night with Seth Myers with a clip of her performing Talkin’ ‘about a Revolution, asking Americans to vote. Man, this tune still gives me chills – so good!

Lynyrd Skynyrd/Free Bird

Once again, it’s time to wrap up another music time travel. And what could possibly be a better final stop than Free Bird, the epic Lynyrd Skynyrd track that closed out their debut album (Pronounced ‘Lĕh-‘nérd ‘Skin-‘nérd), released in August 1973. Co-written by the southern rock icon co-founders Allen Collins (guitar) and frontman Ronnie Van Zant (lead vocals), the 9-minute-plus gem features the late Gary Rossington on rhythm and slide guitars. Rossington also was among the band’s co-founding members. He cheated death twice. In 1976, he was in a car accident, hitting an oak tree while under the influence of alcohol and other drugs. Luckily, nobody else got hurt in that accident. Rossington also survived the horrific plane crash on October 1977, which took the lives of Ronnie Van Zant, Skynyrd guitarist Steve Gaines, backing vocalist and Steve’s sister Cassie Gaines, as well as three others. Rossington played with the band’s current touring version until his death and was their only remaining original member.

Here’s a Spotify playlist of all the above goodies. As always, I hope there’s something you dig!

Sources: Wikipedia; YouTube; Spotify

Musings of the Past

Time for another installment of this infrequent feature, in which I republish select content that first appeared in the earlier stage of the blog when I had fewer followers. The following post about my favorite saxophone players originally appeared in November 2017. I’ve slightly edited it and also added a Spotify playlist at the end.

In Appreciation Of The Saxophonist

A list of some of my favorite saxophone players and solos

Music instruments have always fascinated me. I also have a deep appreciation for musicians who master their gear. Oftentimes, I wish I would have learned more than just the guitar and the bass. For regular readers of the blog or those who know me otherwise, none of this should come as a big surprise. I’ve written a bunch of posts on some of the gear I admire, from guitars like the Fender Stratocaster, Gibson Les Paul and Rickenbacker 360/12, to keyboards like the  Hammond B3, as well as some of my favorite drummers and bassists. One of the coolest instruments I haven’t touched yet is the saxophone.

Let me address the big caveat to this post right away: Since I know next to nothing about jazz, I’m focusing on genres that are in my wheelhouse: rock, blues and pop. While many of the saxophonists I highlight come from the jazz world, it’s still safe to assume I’m missing some outstanding players. On the other hand, where would I even start, if I broadened the scope to jazz? With that being out of the way, following is a list of some of favorite saxophonists and sax solos.

Update: Since subsequently I’ve started to explore the jazz world, mostly in my Sunday Six feature, I’m going to add some tracks in the Spotify playlist featuring some additional outstanding jazz saxophonists.

Raphael Ravenscroft

I imagine just like most readers, I had never heard of this British saxophonist until I realized he was associated with a ’70s pop song featuring one of the most epic sax solos: Baker Street by Gerry Rafferty. The breathtaking performance put Ravenscroft on the map. He went on to work with other top artists like Marvin Gaye (In Our Lifetime, 1981), Robert Plant (Pictures At Eleven, 1982) and Pink Floyd (The Final Cut, 1983). Ravenscroft died from a suspected heart attack in October 2014 at the age of 60. According to a BBC News story, he didn’t think highly of the solo that made him famous, saying, “I’m irritated because it’s out of tune…Yeah it’s flat. By enough of a degree that it irritates me at best.” The same article also noted that Ravenscroft “was reportedly paid only £27 for the session with a cheque that bounced while the song is said to have earned Rafferty £80,000 a year in royalties.” Wow!

Wayne Shorter

The American jazz saxophonist and composer, who started his career in the late ’50s, played in Miles Davis’ Second Great Quintet in the 1960s and co-founded the jazz fusion band Weather Report in 1971. Shorter has recorded over 20 albums as a bandleader and played as a sideman on countless other jazz records. He also contributed to artists outside the jazz realm, including Joni Mitchell, Don Henley and Steely Dan. For the latter, he performed a beautiful extended tenor sax solo for Aja, the title track of their 1977 gem.

Clarence Clemons

The American saxophonist, musician and actor was best known for his longtime association with Bruce Springsteen. From 1972 to his death in June 2011 at age 69, Clemons was a member of the E Street Band, where he played the tenor saxophone. He also released several solo albums and played with other artists, including Aretha Franklin, Twisted Sister, Grateful Dead and  Ringo Starr and His All-Star Band. But it was undoubtedly the E Street Band where he left his biggest mark, providing great sax parts for Springsteen gems like Thunder Road, The Promised Land and The Ties That Bind. One of my favorite Clemons moments is his solo on Bobby Jean from the Born In The U.S.A. album. What could capture “The Big Man” better than a live performance? This clip is from a 1985 concert in Paris, France.

Curtis Amy

The American West Coast jazz musician was primarily known for his work as a tenor and soprano saxophonist. Among others, Amy served as the musical director of Ray Charles’ orchestra for three years in the mid-60s. He also led his own bands and recorded under his own name. Outside the jazz arena, he worked as a session musician for artists like The Doors (Touch Me, The Soft Parade, 1969), Marvin Gaye, Smokey Robinson and Carole King (Tapestry, 1971). One of the tunes on King’s masterpiece is the ballad Way Over Yonder, which features one of the most beautiful sax solos in pop I know of.

Dick Parry

The English saxophonist, who started his professional career in 1964, has worked as a session musician with many artists. A friend of David Gilmour, Parry is best known for his work with Pink Floyd, appearing on their albums The Dark Side Of The Moon (1973), Wish You Were Here (1975), The Division Bell (1994) and Pulse (1995). He also worked with Procol Harum  guitarist Mick Grabham (Mick The Lad, 1972), John Entwistle (Mad Dog, 1975) and Rory Gallagher (Jinx, 1982), among others. One of Parry’s signature sax solos for Pink Floyd appeared on Money. Here’s a great clip recorded during the band’s 1994 Division Bell tour.

Ronnie Ross

Albert Ronald “Ronnie” Ross was a British jazz baritone saxophonist. He started his professional career in the 1950s with the tenor saxophone, playing with jazz musicians Tony Kinsey, Ted Heath and Don Rendell. It was during his tenure with the latter that he switched to the baritone sax. Outside his jazz engagements during the 60s, Ross gave saxophone lessons to a young dude called David Bowie and played tenor sax on Savoy Truffle, a track from The Beatles’ White Album. In the 70s, his most memorable non-jazz appearance was his baritone sax solo at the end of the Lou Reed song Walk On The Wild Side. I actually always thought the solo on that tune from Reed’s 1972 record  Transformer was played by Bowie. Instead, he co-produced the track and album with Mick Ronson. According to Wikipedia, Bowie also played acoustic guitar on the recording.

Walter Parazaider

The American saxophonist was a founding member of Chicago and played with the band for 51 years until earlier this year (2017) when he officially retired due to a heart condition. In addition to the saxophone, Parazider also mastered the flute, clarinet, piccolo and oboe. Here is a clip of Saturday In The Park and 25 Or 6 To 4 from Chicago’s great 2016 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction performance, which features Parazaider on saxophone.

Alto Reed

Thomas Neal Cartmell, known as Alto Reed, is an American saxophonist who was a member of The Silver Bullet Band since it was founded by Bob Seger in the mid-70s. He toured with Seger and the band for 40-plus years, starting with Live Bullet in 1976. Reed has also performed with many other bands and musicians like Foghat, Grand Funk Railroad, Little Feat, The Blues Brothers  and George Thorogood. Among his signature performances for Seger are the saxophone solo in Old Time Rock And Roll and the introduction to Turn the Page. Here’s a great live clip of Turn the Page from 2014.

Junior Walker

Autry DeWalt Mixon Jr., known by his stage name Junior Walker or Jr. Walker, was an American singer and saxophonist whose 40-year career started in the mid-1950s with his own band called the Jumping Jacks. In 1964, Jr. Walker & The All Stars were signed by Motown. They became one of the company’s signature acts, scoring hits with songs like Shotgun, (I’m a) Roadrunner, Shake And Fingerpop and remakes of Motown tunes Come See About Me and How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You). While Walker continued to record with the band and solo during the ’70s and into the early ’80s, one of his most memorable performances resulted from his guest performance on Foreigner’s 1981 album 4. His saxophone solo on Urgent is one of the most blistering in pop rock. Walker died from cancer in November 1995 at the age of 64.

Bobby Keys

No list of saxophonists who have played with rock and blues artists would be complete without Bobby Keys. From the mid-1950s until his death in December 2014, this American saxophonist appeared on hundreds of recordings as a member of horn sections and was a touring musician. He worked with some of the biggest names, such as The Rolling Stones, Lynyrd Skynyrd, George Harrison, John Lennon, Eric Clapton and Joe Cocker. Some of these artists’ songs that featured Keys include Don’t Ask Me No Questions (Lynyrd Skynyrd,  Second Helping, 1974), Whatever Gets You Thru The Night (John Lennon, Walls And Bridges, 1974) and Slunky (Eric Clapton, Eric Clapton, 1970). But he is best remembered for his sax part on Brown Sugar from the Stones’ 1971 studio album Sticky Fingers.

– End –

The original post, which was published on November 11, 2017, ended here. Here’s the previously mentioned Spotify list featuring all of the above and some additional saxophone greats.

Sources: Wikipedia; BBC; YouTube; Spotify

Caravanserai Is Another ’70s Gem Hitting the Big 50

Today, on October 11, 1972, Santana released their fourth studio album Caravanserai. While it’s a gem and did pretty well at the time, looking at it from today’s perspective, one has to say Carlos Santana made a gutsy decision to abandon a Latin rock formula that had generated three high-selling and high-charting albums and various hit singles, such as Evil Ways, Black Magic Woman, Oye Cómo Va and Everybody’s Everything. Most of all, it was bloody good music! But many great artists don’t rest on their laurels.

According to an AllMusic review of the album, Carlos Santana was “obviously very hip to jazz fusion”. It’s also fair to say that with Miles Davis’ Bitches Brew and bands like Mahavishnu Orchestra and Weather Report, jazz fusion had emerged as a new music genre that was getting some attention. But Columbia Records president Clive Davis wasn’t convinced. Reportedly, he called Caravanserai “career suicide” after his first listening to the album, which is largely instrumental and blends jazz, rock and Latin. An October 2018 post on The Music Aficionado blog does a terrific job telling the story behind Caravanserai in great detail. This post informs part of my review.

Apparently, Santana drummer and jazz lover Michael Shrieve who also co-produced Caravanserai had a major influence on Carlos Santana. He introduced him to artists like Miles Davis and John Coltrane. Shrieve and Santana were also inspired by other artists like Pharoah Sanders, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Alice Coltrane and Weather Report. The Music Aficionado quotes Carlos: “We were looking for our identities in the same places with a spirit of exploration and the courage to try something new, even if it didn’t make sense or we weren’t supposed to do it. Caravanserai was the album we weren’t supposed to do.”

Another important influence that helped shape the sound of Caravanserai were changes in the Santana band. By the time they went into the studio to start work on the album, Michael Carabello (percussion) and David Brown (bass) had been replaced by James Mingo Lewis and Dough Rauch, respectively. Gregg Rolie (organ, piano, vocals) and Neal Schon (guitar) were on the album, but by the end of the recording sessions, they also had left. Subsequently, together with members of Steve Miller Band and Frumious Bandersnatch, Rolie and Schon co-founded backing band Golden Gate Rhythm Section, the group that became Journey.

I’d say let’s take a look at some tunes. One of my favorite tracks on Side one is Look Up (To See What’s Coming Down), co-written by Rauch, Rolie and Santana. To me, the standout here is Dough Rauch’s funky bass playing. Carlos Santana: “You can hear what he brought to All the Love of the Universe and Look Up (to See What’s Coming Down) – when we heard those tracks, we realized how much we needed Dougie”. The Music Aficionado also quotes Shrieve saying Rauch was one of the first bassists “to play with the thumb and popping technique that was later made famous by Larry Graham [Sly and the Family Stone – CMM] and Stanley Clarke [Return to Forever – CMM].”

Another gem on Side A I’d like to highlight is Song of the Wind. The beautiful instrumental, credited to Rolie, Santana and Schon, for the most part, is a guitar duet between Santana and Schon where they each trade beautiful melodic solos. Citing Santana’s memoir, The Music Aficionado quotes him on Rolie’s contribution: “To this day I listen to Song of the Wind and break down inside hearing Gregg’s playing on that one – no solo, just a simple supportive organ part that is not flashy or anything but supremely important to that song.”

Closing out Side one is the great All the Love of the Universe. Co-written by Santana and Schon, it’s one of the album’s three tracks with vocals. Vocals are provided by Santana, Mingo Lewis and Rico Reyes. The song is another showcase of Rauch’s outstanding bass playing.

On to Side two and Stone Flower. The tune was written as an instrumental by Brazilian composer Antônio Carlos Jobim. Santana added lyrics written by Shrieve who provided vocals together with Carlos. The Music Aficionado also rightfully calls out the contributions of Tom Rutley (acoustic bass) and Wendy Haas (electric piano).

The last tune I’d like to highlight is the closer Every Step of the Way. Clocking in at just over 9 minutes, the instrumental is the longest track on Caravanserai. According to The Music Aficionado, it’s Carlos Santana’s favorite tune on the album. Quoting Carlos from his biography The Universal Tone: “For two reasons my favorite song on Caravanserai is Every Step of the Way – first because it sounds like what we really loved back then: Herbie Hancock’s Crossings [Hancock’s 10th album released in May 1972 – CMM]. The song also reminds me of Shrieve because he wrote it and because of how we played together.”

Here’s a Spotify link to the album:

Caravanserai performed surprisingly well. In the U.S., it climbed to no. 8 on the Billboard 200. In the UK, it reached no. 6, notably matching its predecessor Santana III. Caravanserai did best in The Netherlands where it peaked at no. 3. Elsewhere, it climbed no. 10 in Norway and no. 16 in Australia. In addition, the album also became a solid seller, reaching Platinum certification in the U.S. and Gold in each Canada and France. Caravanserai was also voted no. 609 in the third edition of Colin Larkin’s All Time Top 1000 Albums, published in 2000.

Long before I heard this album for the first time, I had listened to and really come to dig Santana’s first three records. Undoubtedly, Caravanserai is very different from the classic Santana sound. As such, the album was an acquired taste, which got better every time I listened to it. If you are where I was initially, I’d say give it a few more spins. You might come to love it as well!

Sources: Wikipedia; AllMusic; The Music Aficionado blog; YouTube; Spotify

If I Could Only Take One

It’s Wednesday, which means it’s time again to pick a song to take on an imaginary trip to a desert island. If you’re a frequent flyer on this blog, chances are you’ve seen previous installments of this recurring feature. For first-time travelers, the idea is to pick one tune only, not an album, I would take to an island in the sun. There are a few additional rules to guide my selections.

The song must be by an artist or band I’ve only rarely covered or not written about at all. Selections are in alphabetical order, meaning the band’s or artist’s name (last name) must start with a specific letter. This week, I’m up to “w.”

Options that came to mind include The Wallflowers, The Walker Brothers, The Waterboys, Weather Report, The White Stripes, The Who, Steve Winwood, Stevie Wonder and World Party, among others. And my pick is Wet Wet Wet and the Scottish soft rock band’s cover of Love Is All Around.

Love Is All Around was written by Reg Presley, lead vocalist of The Troggs. It also was the British garage rock band, who first released the song as a single in October 1967, giving them a no. 5 hit on the British charts. Fast-forward 27 years to May 1994, when Wet Wet Wet released their rendition of the song and took it to no. 1 on the UK Singles Chart, a position it held for 15 consecutive weeks. The tune was part of the soundtrack of the popular 1994 British romantic comedy Four Weddings and a Funeral.

Wet Wet Wet were formed in 1982 as Vortex Motion at a local high school in Clydebank, Scotland. The original line-up of the group, which initially mostly played covers of The Clash and Magazine, featured Mark McLachlan (vocals), Lindsey McCauley (guitar), Neil Mitchell (keyboards), Graeme Clark (bass) and Tommy Cunningham (drums). By the time Graeme Duffin replaced McCauley as guitarist in 1983, the band had already changed their name to Wet Wet Wet.

In March 1987, their debut single Wishing I Was Lucky came out, reaching an impressive no. 6 on the British Singles Chart. The tune was also included on Wet Wet Wet’s debut album Popped In Souled Out released in September of the same year. Three additional studio albums followed before the group started to unravel in 1997.

Wet Wet Wet reformed in 2004 and recorded Timeless, their sixth studio album that appeared in November 2007. Fourteen years later, in November 2021, the group’s seventh and most recent album The Journey was released. Earlier this year, Cunningham and keyboarder Niel Mitchell departed, leaving the band with Clark and lead vocalist Kevin Simm as their only current members.

Following is some additional background on Love Is All Around from Songfacts:

Troggs lead singer Reg Presley wrote this in about 10 minutes. He was inspired by the Joy Strings Salvation Army band he’d seen on TV. The song is a gentle folk ballad and a far cry from The Troggs previous hit “Wild Thing.”…

…The UK record for longest stay at #1 is held by Bryan Adams’ “(Everything I Do) I Do It For You).” Wet Wet Wet’s record company tried to tie this record by announcing they were pulling the single after 16 weeks, hoping people would rush out to buy it. The plan failed and Whigfield knocked them out of #1 with “Saturday Night.” Wet Wet Wet claimed they asked their record company to pull the song because they were sick of it. Their version does hold the record for most weeks at #1 for a UK based act. In the US it reached #41.

When this was revived by Wet Wet Wet, Reg Presley got massive royalties as the songwriter. He denoted the proceeds to crop circle research.

R.E.M. did a cover of this as well, which they played on an episode of MTV Unplugged. The video for this can be found on their VHS/DVD This Film Is On, featuring all the videos for the songs off their 1991 album Out Of Time.

Sources: Wikipedia; Songfacts; YouTube

The Sunday Six

After a busy week with two back-to-back “big ticket” concerts, I’m ready to take a short break from live shows and celebrate the beauty of music from home with another Sunday Six. Hope you’ll join me on my trip to visit six tunes of the past and the present.

Weather Report/Forlorn

Let’s get underway gently with some jazz fusion by Weather Report. Forlorn is a smooth track from their ninth studio album Night Passage, which came out in November 1980. The piece was composed by Austrian jazz keyboarder Joe Zawinul, who is regarded as one of the creators of jazz fusion. Zawinul co-founded Weather Report in 1970 with saxophone maestro Wayne Shorter. By the time Night Passage was released, the group also featured the amazing Jaco Pastorius (fretless bass), Robert Thomas Jr. (percussion) and Peter Erskine (drums). Weather Report would record six more albums before they disbanded in early 1986 after Shorter had left to focus on solo projects.

The Guess Who/Hand Me Down World

While I’ve only heard a handful of songs by The Guess Who, I know one thing for sure: I love this next tune! The Canadian rock band’s origins go back to 1958 when Winnipeg singer and guitarist Chad Allan formed a local group called Allan and the Silvertones. In January 1965, the band, then called Chad Allan & The Expressions, released their debut album Shakin’ All Over. The group’s cover of the Johnny Kidd & the Pirates song also became their fourth single. The band’s American label Quality Records thought it would be clever to disguise the group’s name by crediting the tune to Guess Who? Not only did the publicity stunt work but it also gave birth to the band’s new name. Hand Me Down World, written by lead guitarist Kurt Winter, is from The Guess Who’s seventh studio album Share the Land, released in October 1970. It also became one of their hit singles, reaching no. 10 in Canada and no. 17 in the U.S. A version of The Guess Who is still around and currently touring the U.S.

Tal Bachman/She’s So High

Let’s stay in Canada for this next pick from April 1999. There’s also another connection to the previous tune. Tal Bachman is the son of guess who? Yep, Randy Bachman, who in turn was a co-founder of The Guess Who and, of course, Bachman–Turner Overdrive. When I heard She’s So High in 1999, I loved it right away and got Tal Bachman’s eponymous debut album on CD. It’s pretty good power pop, and I’m a bit surprised Bachman junior only issued one additional studio album, Staring Down the Sun, in July 2004. Man, with this jangly guitar sound and the catchy melody, I still love this song as much as I did back in 1999. Beware, it might get stuck in your brain!

The Kinks/Till the End of the Day

After some catchy power pop music, I think it’s time for some ’60s rock, don’t you agree? I’ve said it before. The Kinks are among my favorite British rock bands, together with The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and The Who. Till the End of the Day, written by the great Ray Davies, first came out as a single in November 1965. Subsequently, it was also included on the band’s third studio album The Kink Kontroversy, which appeared a week after the single – clever and quite appropriate title. If you’d like to know why I’d encourage you to read this post by fellow blogger Dave from A Sound Day, who just discussed The Kinks’ volatile behavior the other day. Till the End of the Day became their sixth top ten single in the UK (no. 8). It was most successful in The Netherlands where it peaked at no. 6. Elsewhere, it charted in Germany (no. 19), Canada (no. 34), Australia (no. 63) and the U.S. (no. 50). Baby, I feel good!

Band of Horses/The Funeral

If I recall it correctly, it was on Eclectic Music Lover’s blog where I first learned about Band of Horses. In fact, his most recent Weekly Top 30s installment features Warning Signs, a tune by the indie rock band from Seattle, off their current album Things Are Great. Band of Horses have been around since 2004 and released six studio albums to date. The Funeral, despite its grim title, is a great tune from their March 2006 studio debut Everything All the Time. The music is credited to the entire group, with lyrics written by singer-songwriter Ben Bridwell who has been the band’s sole constant member throughout numerous lineup changes. The Funeral also became Band of Horses’ debut single – check out that great sound!

Rival Sons/Pressure & Time

And once again it’s time to wrap up another Sunday Six. Let’s make it count with a kickass rocker by Rival Sons: Pressure & Time. The band from Long Beach, Calif. was founded in 2009 and still includes three original members: Jay Buchanan (lead vocals, harmonica, rhythm guitar), Scott Holiday (guitar, backing vocals) and Mike Miley (drums, backing vocals). Dave Beste (bass, backing vocals) who has been with the group since 2013 completes the current lineup. Pressure & Time, credited to the entire band, is the title track of the group’s sophomore album. Released in June 2011, it was their first to make the charts, climbing to no. 19 in the U.S. on Billboard’s Top Heatseekers. Wikipedia notes that while Rival Sons oftentimes are compared to ’70s rock, they have cited Prince, D’Angelo, The Roots, Muddy Waters and Howlin’ Wolf as influences. Whatever the case may be, when listening to Pressure & Time, I can hear some Zep in here, and that makes me really happy!

Last but not least here’s a Spotify playlist featuring the above tunes.

Sources: Wikipedia; YouTube; Spotify

The Sunday Six

It’s Sunday, which means the time has come again for going on another excursion to celebrate the beauty of music in different shapes from different decades, six tunes at a time. This latest installment of The Sunday Six touches the ’60s, ’70s, ’80s and the present, and includes jazz fusion, British invasion, Motown soul, alt. country and rock. Ready? Let’s do it!

Wayne Shorter/Beauty and the Beast

Kicking us off today is some beautiful saxophone-driven jazz fusion by Wayne Shorter, a co-founding member of Weather Report, which I featured in a recent Sunday Six installment. By the time he cofounded the jazz fusion band, Shorter already had enjoyed a 10-year-plus career that included playing with Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers and Miles Davis’ Second Great Quintet. In addition to being a sideman, Shorter started his recording career as a bandleader in 1959 with Introducing Wayne Shorter – the first of more than 20 additional albums he has made in that role. One of these albums, his 15th, appeared in January 1975: Native Dancer, a collaboration with Brazilian jazz musician Milton Nascimento. Here’s a track from that record titled Beauty and the Beast. Composed by Shorter, the instrumental combines saxophone with some funky elements – very cool!

The Dave Clack Five/Glad All Over

Let’s jump back to November 1963 and a song by The Dave Clark Five I’ve loved from the very first time I heard it on the radio back in Germany during my early teenage years: Glad All Over. Co-written by DC5 drummer Dave Clark who also was the band’s producer, and lead vocalist and keyboarder Mike Smith, the tune first appeared as a single in the UK, followed by the U.S. in December of the same year. It also was the title track of the DC5’s U.S. debut album that appeared in March 1964. In January 1964, Glad All Over became the band’s first massive hit in the UK, knocking The Beatles’ I Want to Hold Your Hand off the no. 1 spot on the singles chart. In the U.S., the tune climbed to no. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100. This is a hell of a catchy song with a driving drum beat and great vocals – frankly worthy of displacing a Beatles song, and I say this as a huge fan of the Fab Four.

Martha and the Vandellas/Dancing in the Street

I guess Glad All Over has put me in some sort of a party mood, so let’s throw in another great party song: Dancing in the Street by Motown vocal group Martha and the Vandellas, which were formed in Detroit in 1957. Co-written by Marvin Gaye, William “Mickey” Stevenson and Ivy Joe Hunter, the tune first appeared in July 1964 and became the group’s highest charting single on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, peaking at no. 2. Dancing in the Street, one of Motown’s signature songs, also did well in the UK where it reached no. 4 on the singles chart. Subsequently, the song was included on the group’s third studio album Dance Party from April 1965. Martha and the Vandellas disbanded in December 1972. After leaving Motown, Martha Reeves started a solo career but wasn’t able to replicate the success she had enjoyed with the group during the ’60s. Reeves who in July turned 80 apparently is still active.

The J. Geils Band/Looking for a Love

Well, now that I mentioned the word ‘party,’ let’s keep it going by turning to a group that has been called rock & roll’s ultimate party band: The J. Geils Band. The group, which was formed in 1967 in Worcester, Mass., originally included J. Geils (lead guitar), Peter Wolf (lead vocals, percussion), Danny Klein (bass), Stephen Jo Bladd (drums, percussion, backing vocals), Magic Dick (harmonica, saxophone, trumpet) and Seth Justman (keyboards, backing vocals). That line-up lasted for a remarkable 15 years until Wolf’s departure in 1983. After the rest of the group called it quits in 1985, The J. Geils Band had various reunion appearances and tours with different formations until 2015. Following his departure from the band, Wolf launched a solo career, released various albums and remains pretty active as a touring artist to this day. Here’s a great track off the band’s sophomore album The Morning After from October 1972: Looking for a Love, a cover of a song co-written by J.W. Alexander and Zelda Samuels, and first released by The Valentinos in March 1962. The J. Geils Band also put this tune out as a single in November 1971. It climbed to no. 39 on the Billboard Hot 100, giving them their first charting song in the U.S. It would take 10 more years before they scored a no. 1 with the more commercial Centerfold.

The Jayhawks/Five Cups of Coffee

I first covered The Jayhawks in August 2020 when I included a tune from their then-new album XOXO in a Best of What’s New post. I quickly came to dig this American alt. country and country rock band, and have since featured two of their other songs in previous Sunday Six installments this February and July. Initially formed in Minneapolis in 1985, The Jayhawks originally featured Mark Olson (acoustic guitar, vocals), Gary Louris (electric guitar, vocals), Marc Perlman (bass) and Norm Rogers  (drums). By the time their sophomore album Blue Earth appeared in 1989, Thad Spencer had replaced Rogers on drums. After five additional albums and further line-up changes, The Jayhawks went on hiatus in 2004, before reemerging with a new formation in 2019. Louris and Pearlman are the only remaining original members. Five Cups of Coffee is a great tune from the above mentioned Blue Earth album. It was co-written by Olson and Louris. The band’s great guitar sound and beautiful harmony singing are right up my alley!

Dirty Honey/Gypsy

For the sixth and final tune this week, let’s step on the gas with a great rocker by Dirty Honey. I first became aware of this rock band from Los Angeles in April this year when they released their self-titled first full-length album. At the time, I included one of the tracks in a Best of What’s New installment. Apple Music has compared Dirty Honey’s sound to the likes of Aerosmith, Led Zeppelin and The Black Crowes. The band’s members include Marc Labelle (vocals), John Notto (guitar), Justin Smolian (bass) and Corey Coverstone (drums). I was drawn to Dirty Honey right away and covered them again in a Sunday Six post in May. Here’s yet another track from the above mentioned album: Gypsy. Labelle’s vocals very much remind me of Steven Tyler. Great to hear a young band other than Greta Van Fleet embrace a classic rock-oriented sound!

Sources: Wikipedia; YouTube

The Sunday Six

Welcome to Sunday and another installment of The Sunday Six, a journey celebrating music six random tunes at a time. If you’re impacted by tropical storm Henri, I hope you are safe. My area of Central New Jersey has been under a tropical storm warning since Friday afternoon, but other than rain, so far, so good -knock on wood!

Weather Report/A Remark You Made

The fact I’m kicking off this post with jazz fusion group Weather Report has nothing to do with the storm but instead can be attributed to coincidence. A few days ago, my streaming music provider served up A Remark You Made as a listening suggestion. While jazz fusion remains a largely unknown genre to me, this track blew me away immediately. Appearing on Weather Report’s eighth studio album Heavy Weather from March 1977, the tune undoubtedly has to be one of the most beautiful instrumentals I’ve heard in a long time. Written by Austrian jazz keyboarder and Weather Report co-founder Joe Zawinul, the track also features Wayne Shorter (tenor saxophone), Jaco Pastorious (fretless bass) and Alex Acuña (drums). What matters more to me than all these big names is the incredible music, especially Pastorious who literally makes his fretless bass sing – check out that amazing tone! As a huge saxophone fan, I’m also drawn to Shorter’s tenor sax playing – just incredibly beautiful and a perfect match to the singing fretless bass! I realize this very accessible jazz fusion isn’t typical for the genre. Perhaps not surprisingly, Heavy Weather became Weather Report’s highest charting album on the U.S. mainstream chart Billboard 200 where it peaked at no. 30. It also was one of the group’s two records to top Billboard’s jazz albums chart.

Joe Jackson/Geraldine and John

Let’s stay in the ’70s and move to October 1979. Joe Jackson’s sophomore album I’m the Man brought the versatile British artist on my radar screen in 1980, when I received it on vinyl as a present for my 14th birthday – still have that copy. The album is probably best known for its singles I’m the Man, It’s Different for Girls and Kinda Cute, while the song I picked, Geraldine and John, is more of a deeper but nevertheless great cut. And it’s another bassist who absolutely shines on that tune, in my view: Graham Maby. He still plays with Jackson to this day. Rounding up Jackson’s backing band were guitarist Gary Sanford and drummer David Houghton. Jackson worked with them on his first three albums that are among my favorites by the man. Check out Maby’s great melodic bassline on Geraldine and John!

The Beatles/Something

Speaking of great basslines, here’s yet another master bassist who conveniently also played in my favorite band of all time. Not only is Something from the Abbey Road album among the absolute gems written by George Harrison, but I think it’s also The Beatles tune with the best bassline Paul McCartney has ever come up with. In addition to Harrison (vocals, lead guitar) and McCartney (bass, backing vocals), the tune featured John Lennon (piano), Ringo Starr (drums) and Billy Preston (Hammond). BTW, Something is also a good example of Ringo’s creative drumming. The Beatles Bible notes the song was recorded and mixed during six sessions between April 16 and August 15, 1969. At this late stage of The Beatles when they took full advantage of the studio, McCartney oftentimes recorded his bass as one of the last instruments. That way he could hear all other instrumental tracks and come up with complementary basslines. In this case, the outcome was truly magnificent!

Sheryl Crow/If It Makes You Happy

Okay, time to get off my little bass obsession – something I admittedly can get excited about as a former bassist! On to Sheryl Crow, an artist I have dug since her debut album Tuesday Night Music Club from 1993. Oh, did I mention she also plays bass in addition to guitar and piano? 🙂 Perhaps my favorite tune by Crow is If It Makes You Happy from her eponymous sophomore album that came out in September 1996. She co-wrote the nice rocker with Jeff Trott who became a longtime collaborator and appeared on almost every Sheryl Crow album thereafter. In August 2019, Crow released what she said would be her final full-length album, Threads, citing changed music consumption habits where most listeners make their own playlists with cherry-picked songs rather than listening to entire albums. I previously reviewed it here. Well, the good news is Crow’s statement at the time apparently didn’t include live albums. On August 13, she released Live From The Ryman & More, a great looking 27-track career spanning set I’ve yet to check out. Meanwhile, here’s the excellent If It Makes You Happy. Yep, it surely does!

Neil Young/Hangin’ On a Limb

Next I like to come back to Hangin’ On a Limb, a Neil Young tune I first had planned to include in the August 1 Sunday Six installment. But inspired by a tornado warning that had been issued for my area of central New Jersey a few days earlier, I decided to go with Like a Hurricane instead. BTW, earlier this week, we had another tornado warning and as noted above, there is a tropical storm warning in effect for my area. You can’t make this stuff up – climate change is real, whether the naysayers like it or not! Anyway, Hangin’ On a Limb is a beautiful tune featuring Linda Ronstadt on backing vocals. It’s from Young’s 17th studio album Freedom that appeared in October 1989 and is best known for the epic Rockin’ in the Free World.

Pretenders/Buzz

And this brings me again to the final tune. Wrapping it up is Buzz, a great track from Hate for Sale, the 11th and most recent album by Pretenders released in July 2020. Time has been kind to Chrissie Hynde’s voice that sounds just as compelling as back in 1980, the year the band’s eponymous debut album came out. There’s another commonality: Original drummer Martin Chambers who had returned after eight years. Apart from Hynde (rhythm guitar, lead vocals, harmonica) and Chambers, Pretenders’ current line-up also includes James Walbourne (lead guitar, backing vocals), Eric Heywood (pedal steel guitar, backing vocals) Carwyn Ellis (keyboards) and Nick Wilkinson (bass). Hate for Sale is pretty solid. In case you’re curious, check out my previous review here. Like all other songs on the album, Buzz was co-written by Hynde and Walbourne.

Sources: Wikipedia; The Beatles Bible; YouTube