Amy Winehouse`s ‘Back To Black’ Is At the Top of My Playlist!
I`m one of those millions of people who purchased Amy Winehouse`s Back to Black on itunes on Saturday. This is the day she died, but the album came out nearly 5 years ago. In fact, this is the first time I`ve ever even heard her 
music. Amy was so maligned in the press all the time, that I just assumed her music was no good. Boy, was I wrong! *(Nice piece in The Rolling Stone!)
Back to Black is a masterpiece, an instant classic, that will be just as listenable twenty years from now as it is today. It sounds like it was recorded in the 1960s, on Stax Records or something like that. It seems as if the producer, Mark Ronson, was shooting for this type of response. And now I find out that Amy wrote all her own songs. This just makes me respect her all the more.
Her tragic death on Saturday, while widely predicted, is no less shocking. I`m left with a bunch of great songs to listen to, which have barely just been heard. I`m left feeling stupid, embarrassed – feel like I`ve been betrayed by the media, who really only escalated her untimely death. Amy messed up because she thought she knew the media expected her to mess up. It`s a vicious circle, where the vulnerability of a talented artist is undermined by the media wolves who love to see an artist suffer.
How Does The Doors` Debut Record Translate To Us Today?
Why do The Doors still speak to us today? Why do their songs ring true to us today? The first record, The Doors, was
released on January 4, 1967. The recording took place the previous August (8/24-8/31/1966) at Sunset Sound Recorders, Hollywood, Ca. Paul Rothchild was the producer and Bruce Botnick was the engineer. The label was Electra and a four-track machine was employed to record 11 well-rehearsed songs.
Apparently, The Doors had worked out all the kinks on these 11, when playing at the Whiskey-A-Go-Go. I can only imagine the excitement of these early sets at this Sunset Boulevard legend of a club! I picked up this debut record on itunes the other day, after recalling the scene in Apocalypse Now that features The End. By the way, for just $8 you can get an in tact version of the record, the way it was originally released, just a bit slower.
Well, I`ve failed to answer my initial question. I`m thinking on it still. I like this piece in Slant Magazine, which was written (by Sal Cinquemonti) for the 40th anniversary release of The Doors in 2007. Sal touches on what I would consider to be a vital reason for the durability of both the band and their songs. One thing is for sure, it`s a damn tight band.
Sal mentions the tension, the undercurrent of surging thought (which may be a result of changes going on in the 1960s), bubbling up to the surface, even on the debut! But why do so many film students ultimately end up in Rock? That`s the real question, Horatio.
Is ‘The Soft Parade’ The Doors Worse Album?
The Soft Parade was released in June of 1969. I picked it up on itunes yesterday. I never owned it back in the day. I`m rebuilding my Doors collection from the ground up, and only need the first one (with Light My Fire) and
Waiting For the Sun to complete my collection. I will link for you an original review of The Soft Parade, that appeared in The Rolling Stone, written by Alec Dubro and having a publication date of 8/23/1969.
Soft Parade is The Doors Black Sheep record, and gets the most scathing reviews from the critics, if not the fans. I wonder if we`re still in the same place, in terms of assessing it`s significance (or lack of it) in either The Doors career or even the very history of Rock `N` Roll? One thing I`ll have to note, The Doors invested a lot of time and effort in the record. They spent 11 months recording it (from July 1968-May 1969) at Electra Sound Recorders in Los Angeles, CA.
Brass and strings was a no no in rock at that time. But it was okay for Blood, Sweat and Tears and Chicago Transit Authority (I may be setting a little discussion here about whether brass and strings has a place in rock.) SP sounds good to me today. I love Touch Me, penned by Robby Krieger, the guitar player. I`m not having issues with Soft Parade, for now. Shaman`s Blues, interesting. Runnin` Blue, very inventive! Let`s give it a fresh look, what say you?
The Grand Wazoo – “And Who Were Those Poots In the Back Seat of Calvin`s Car?”
A few impressions here. One, you can get Frank Zappa classic titles at Waterloo Records here in Austin for just $6.99. These CD issues are on Rykodisc, and it looks like they were issued in 1995. Surprising these old prints are still around!I am happy to get hold of these Zappa records, since they`re not available on itunes. I have Absolutely Free, We`re
Only In It For the Money, and The Grand Wazoo. I`m giving The Grand Wazoo a writhing once over this morning.
Was just checkin` out the horrible assault on Frank in London (December of 1971), where some lunatic pushed him off the stage, and Frank sustained some serious injuries and was laid up for some time. It was during this period of convalescence that The Grand Wazoo was put together. It came out in December of 1972, and was a surprise to Zappa fans in the (Freak) community. It was like a classical symphony of Stravinsky or something?
Never realized what a big part Zappa played in this Rock/Jazz fusion thing we often hear so much about. While that`s certainly true, I`m hearing some classical in there too. Lots of horns, vibes, percussion and guitars all battling it out for space. Be sure to read the linernotes carefully, where Frank explains this huge epic musical battle between Cletus` bunch and Mediocrates of Pedestrian. The battle is nicely depicted on the cover, an illustration by Cal Schenkel.
I`m linking for you the Wikipedia entry for Frank Zappa. I only hope Frank will not get too mad about this mishap.
Classic Albums: Frank Zappa – Apostrophe/Over-Nite Sensation
You can`t find any of Frank Zappa`s classic albums on itunes. Some kind of contract agreements must be up? I don`t know…I will have to research this. However, you can find (on itunes) a documentary produced by Eagle Rock
Entertainment and released on DVD on May 1, 2007. It`s title is: Classic Albums: Frank Zappa – Apostrophe/Over-Nite Sensation. These were Frank`s most popular records and were released in 1973 and 1974.
I believe I saw Frank Zappa at the Armadillo World Headquarters for this period of Apostrophe and Over-Nite Sensation. I`m going to have to look that up too. Just saw some footage of Frank doing Montana, and I could swear it`s at the Armadillo. All that`s been documented but I`ll need to do some digging to verify. Good to see Ruth Underwood again after many years.
I remember all the songs still, but it`s been many years. Excerpts of Cosmik Debris and St. Alfonzo`s Pancake Breakfast stand out (at this moment). The first part of the documentary covers his early career, including Freak Out. One scene has the riots in America, cities burning against Trouble Every Day playing in the background. There`s the Varese influence, Stravinsky, Johnny Guitar, doo-wap…writing dots on paper! How was Frank able to do all of this music writing? “Oh I went to the library.”
Elton John`s ‘Tumbleweed Connection’ Is A Classic Most Have Forgotten By Now
Tumbleweed Connection is Elton John`s 3rd album. This is my favorite one; not that I`ve heard all 30 of his
albums, because I haven`t. I must say, though, I`m most fond of his early period. On Sunday I picked up an Elton John`s Greatest Hits CD at Cheapos for just $6. It has Your Song, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, and Rocket Man (I can connect better with this song than any others of Elton.)
This morning I picked up Tumbleweed Connection on itunes after abandoning the idea of getting the new Lady Gaga, Born This Way, which is officially released today. I`ll let it ferment a little, to make sure it turns out to be a vintage grape. The 3rd album of Elton John was much more pressing for me. It was released on October 30, 1970 and it seems to provide a special bridge to my past.
It`s concept album with songs about the American West. This is the only time Bernie Taupin and Elton John would ever undergo such a bold and abstract project such as Tumbleweed Connection. And if the songs were not that great, we could forget about it. But they arn`t. It`s a good idea to listen to the record continuously. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts. It`s been more than 20 years since I`ve heard Tumbleweed Connection, and it still holds up (in my opinion).
“I Am My Hair” – Lady Gaga`s New Single ‘Hair,’ Familiar Theme
I`m okay with Lady Gaga`s new single, Hair. The full album, Born This Way, will be out on Tuesday. Okay, I`ve heard Monday as the release day also. Hair is Gaga`s take (as I see it) on “Rapunzel, Rapunzel, Let down your hair!” In other words, your hair is an extension of your personality or your spirit. That idea has been around for a while,
but I`m cool with it. Didn`t Bill Shakespeare come up with it? I still listen to and love the late 1960s musical, Hair.
You`re going to have to check out Jon Pareles (The New York Times) really huge piece on Lady Gaga, published just yesterday. Lots of insight into the creative process employed by Ms. Gaga to produce this new record, that`s likely to blow the charts out to sea and off the map. The Lady`s a zany girl, and Jon Pareles gets underneath some of this unfathomable gumption packaged in this Italian Wanderlust of a Diva Pop Queen.
Much of the record was actually created while she was on tour. Apparently, she has a studio set up in her tour bus, so that whenever an idea comes to her princess-ness, she can lay it down before the muse vanishes. I do that myself sometimes, with a digital portable Dictaphone gadget I have, The only problem is, I`ve misplaced it! Therefore, brilliant new songs are lost for all time, drifting out into open air and forgotten for eternity. Boo, Huh Huh….
M-Bone (Montae Talbert) from Cali Swag District Shot In LA Drive-By!
Stories posted on rapper M-Bone`s drive-by shooting in LA have been sketchy so far. The most detailed story I
could find was one posted by the Boston Herald (M-Bone partied in Hub during final days). Montae Talbert was in Boston over the weekend playing with his group, Cali Swag District. This explains why a Boston newspaper is getting the scoop.
Another amazing thing about this article, is that it analyzes who may be the suspect who drove beside M-Bone`s vehicle and shot two rounds into his head. The vehicle he was in belongs to a woman he was seeing. Apparently a man who lived in the same building as this woman who M-Bone was seeing, was concerned (possibly jealous) about the rapper`s developing relationship with her.
New information comes from TMZ. The fact that the gunman did a U-turn and went back by the vehicle to see if he hit his mark, tells you volumes. I watched the video Teach Me How To Dougie for the first time this morning. A bit crude, but I know this type of rap song strikes a nerve in these rap/hip-hop circles. Unfortunately, street violence seems to be part of the lore and appeal of this particular genre. This is the real deal!
Austin Record Convention Delivers the Goods-The Doors` Morrison Hotel
A few weeks back I got to experience the Austin Record Convention. I haven`t seen that much vintage vinyl in a very long time. Come to think of, I don`t believe I`ve ever seen that much vintage vinyl. I walked away with a quite a
few gems, some of which I`ve had a long-term craving for. May have something to do with connecting back up with my teenage years. One LP I picked up was Cat Steven`s Tea For the Tillerman. A few pops, but not too shabby of a copy.
What I`m trying to get out in my own tortoise-shell, snail-like manner, is that I purchased a vinyl copy of Morrison Hotel. It`s in mint condition too. Been wanting it for a long time, but not in a CD format or in a digital format. The Doors` Morrison Hotel was released in February of 1970, and is considered by many critics to be their very best album. I truly love it, but it`s just different. *(an afterthought is it`s a nice balance of hard and soft songs.)
Part of it smoking` blues/rock and part of it is poetic/mystical, the best of both worlds. I looked back at some of the original reviews of the record, where I could find them still preserved on the internet. Lester Bangs has one archived on Rolling Stone that`s particularly clever, although I don`t really agree with all of it. I`d say that some of the mystical/psychedelic stuff was original and different from earlier efforts. An example would be Queen of the Highway. Come to think of it, maybe no writer has written a proper review of Morrison Hotel yet?
Mumford and Sons` ‘Sigh No More’ Number One on Itunes Alternative Charts!
Mumford & Sons` Sigh No More is the number one album over on itunes Alternative Music category. It`s been out already for a year and half, so that bodes well for it, in terms of staying power. This is my first listen this morning,
and it`s quite a surprise. Don`t get to hear much banjo. Like the way they emphasize dynamics too. Every song seems to build up and spring forth. That holds true for Lion Man, which I just heard.
Reading over some reviews, most of which are quite good. Pop Matters gave it a great review, but said it sounded like American Music. It sounds mostly English to me. The Guardian, however, found it a little “too polite.” When I first heard them, I thought of The Pogues. But The Guardian is right, too soft to be like The Pogues. Closer to Simon and Garfunkel, actually.
The Cave is Mumford & Sons` most popular song. I see why. It`s kind of like a nursery rhyme, that builds to a crescendo. Irresistible limerick about coming out of a cave and into the light of understanding. What`s this about a noose around your neck? Whoever it is in that cave is obviously a false siren of the past. The self-righteous angle here is the hook on this one. Must be a story from true life behind these intriguing lyrics?