WHAT FRANK IS LISTENING TO

MICKEY NEWBURY – Looks Like Rain – (Mercury) – 1969

Posted on September 11, 2016 by Franko

Check out my other comments for details and background on Mickey Newbury.

You will need something on background because Mickey isn't a household name even though he was extremely influential as a songwriter.

He wrote songs that were covered by Elvis Presley, Ray Charles, Kenny Rogers, Andy Williams (!), Johnny Cash, Scott Walker, Ray Charles, Joan Baez, Dolly Parton, Tammy Wynette, The Box Tops, Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy, Nick Cave and others. He has been recorded over 1300 times by more than 1000 performers

Musicians know and love him.

The proof is in the covers. But, what is less discernable but is still there amongst the songwriter musicians is when they take his approach to a song when they write.

Newbury writes lyrics that are incredibly personal. His songs are about loss, love and life stripped bare of bravado. The songs are confessional, naked and sincere. Musically, he always seems to be trying to make sure the music reflects the lyrical content in both rhythm and structure. He is not adverse to using studio tricks or sound affects in his music if that will help create the desired mood in the lyrics.

Newbury wasn't the first person to write personal songs in country. Hank Williams made a career of it in the late 40s and early 50s. Newbury wasn't even the only one doing in the late 1960s, Kris Kristofferson, John Hartford, Buck Owens, and others were doing the same.

Newbury was, perhaps, the most fragile and wounded of the new writers but he was also, perhaps, the least wedded to country sounds even though he embraced his country music history.

He brought post Dylan folky ruminations and a gentle pop sensibility to his country music..

For the purpose of this comment I will refer to something I have said in an earlier comment on this blog:

"It is Newbury's subtlety and thoughtfulness (sic) that put him at the forefront of "progressive country". "Progressive Country" roots lie in traditional country, roots music, folk, Americana, regional rock n roll and was largely comprised of younger country songwriters writing country music with naked honesty, which is no mean feet as country music generally is "nakedly honest" (think Hank Williams, Patsy Cline). What they did do was write incredibly personal songs much like their "singer-songwriter" relatives in the pop field with an ear to the past. The other thing they did was sing their own material regardless of the quality of the voice. Consequently, they have put out many albums and are well respected but their songs are often associated with other singers. Think Townes Van Zandt, Danny O'Keefe, Kris Kristofferson, Willie Nelson, Terry Allen, John Hartford, Billy Joe Shaver, Butch Hancock, Gene Clark, Tom T. Hall, John Prine, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Guy Clark, Dennis Linde, etc. Some of those artists moved into the more up-tempo "outlaw country" whilst the rest continued on and eventually became the spiritual cornerstones of "alt country" in the 80s and 90s".

I don't move away from that but the more Mickey Newbury I listen to the more Newbury impresses me with his instinctual knowledge of American music. He is Americana, country, singer songwriter, folk, progressive country, old timey, pop and even rock at times. There are hints of all that in his style of music.

This was his second album.

Mickey found success in the late 60s as a songwriter. He was among the hottest new songwriters in Nashville at the time with many writing credits (and hits) to his name. He signed to RCA and recorded (and released) an album he was dissatisfied with ("Harlequin Melodies" (1968) ). The record label had their eyes on commerciality and produced the record accordingly. That album is undervalued – it may not have sounded like what he wanted in his mind but it was still beautiful. Mickey negotiated his way out of his contract with RCA, and signed with Mercury Records on the condition that he got total artistic control. For his second album, this album, he left the mainstream Nashville recording establishment and went to the tiny Cinderella Sound studio in a Nashville garage.

And, there , he was allowed to put down the sound in his head. It may not have been Nashville country commercial but you can hear in Mickey's music The Beach Boys (apparently Mickey admired "Pet Sounds"), Simon and Garfunkel, Scott Walker and others.

The 60s was a time of change both musically and socially. The late 60s seemed to be at crisis point, between incredible achievement and age old strife. Man was landing on the moon, people were marching in Chicago, the Vietnam was ongoing, environmental degradation was becoming obvious.

Society was changing and there was new openness of expression in talking about feelings, politics, society.

Mickey was less interested in the big picture than how people communicate with each other in those changing times. In true country fashion though he had his eye on the past. These people and where they come from form a line where their problems are much the same as the problems of those than preceded them.

Thanks to changing times he was, however, able to discuss those problems in a different way to those musicians before him.

This album is a concept album not in a narrative way but by virtue all the songs are similar in tone. A country concept album, think about it. They were miles ahead of where mainstream country is now.

Admittedly, the album is also of its time. There are psych asides (well, it was 1969) and sound effects that would fit on an easy listening album (rain, wind, train whistles, ghosts)

But, the album is visionary. The listener is drawn into the narrators world. One of uncertainty, a dreamlike hallucinatory emotional landscape where heartbreak, loneliness, madness and despair exist all to the sound of wind chimes and rain.

It's as if you are sitting in a s mall country bar, after hours, on a dark, rainy night and listening to the musician unwinding and playing to himself on the stage.

He was backed on these records by Area Code 615, a group that included the cream of Nashville studio musicians—Charlie McCoy, Jerry Kennedy, Wayne Moss, Kenneth Buttrey, and Farrell Morris — much the same crew who had just backed Bob Dylan on his albums Blonde on Blonde (1966), John Wesley Harding (1967) and Nashville Skyline (1969).

Needless to say songs that evoke moods, stretched to lengths that weren't radio-friendly, are a hard sell. Mercury didn't like or didn't understand what they heard, but they released it Whether the record was pushed or not I don't know but there was little in the way of sales. But there was enough there for Newbury to keep recording and he was picked up by a label known for it adventurousness, Elektra.

Jerry Kennedy and Bob Beckham produced though clearly with Mickey had a hand in there. In any event Kennedy worked with a lot of Nashville renegades and is happy to let them express.

This is not country as you know it but is country and it is a highpoint of country singer songwriter

The liner notes by Kris Kristofferson.

Tracks (best in italics)

Side One

Write A Song A Song / Angeline – a beautiful song. Like a country version of "Whiter Shade of Pale"
She Even Woke Me Up To Say Goodbye – The song had been recorded by Jerry lee Lewis in 1969 (#2 Country US) . Jerry Lee nails this and probably does it better though Newbury's woman saying "goodbye" has a different vibe and, probably, different reasons for going. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/She_Even_Woke_Me_Up_to_Say_Goodbye
I Don't Think Much About Her No More – Almost otherworldly with its heavenly chorus and asides.
T. Total Tommy – a great song. Bouncy on the surface with some undeniably catchy lyrics. Too low key to be a hit but ….

T Total Tommy took a toke of tea

Black cats backin' up a big oak tree

Tick tocks tickin' out a tune on time

Last words lookin' for a line to rhyme

Saw fishs swimmin' in the sea-saw-sea

But me well I'm only lookin'

Side Two

33rd Of August / When The Baby In My Lady Gets The Blues – A nine minute song medley. The first part is a narrative disguising the fact that it has something to do with the life of Jesus whilst the second part becomes a slow trad gospel love song. The song messes with your head a little but the mood, and melody is irresistible.

But now I put my dangerous feelings under lock and chain

Guess I killed my violent nature with a smile

Though the demons danced and sung their songs within my fevered brain

Not all my God-like thoughts Lord were defiled

Its the thirty-third of August and I'm finally touchin' down

Eight days from Sunday find me Saturday bound

San Francisco Mable Joy – a young Georgia farm boy goes to the big city, gets lost and finds comfort in the arms of a prostitute. It ends with loss and one of life's cruel jokes. Magnificent and reminiscent of much Kris Kristofferson and Townes Van Zandt. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Francisco_Mabel_Joy
Looks Like Baby's Gone – a low key type blues type with some nice gentle sitar and a "Sunday Mornin Comin Down" feel.

And …

Wonderful, magnificent …. I'm keeping it.

Chart Action

Nothing no where.

Sounds

Write A Song A Song / Angeline

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-jW-bgGPfWU

She Even Woke Me Up To Say Goodbye

Live

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UM2PKcLSaYA

I Don't Think Much About Her No More

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=psxytXGaLNo

T. Total Tommy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lWg4boYuql4

33rd Of August / When The Baby In My Lady Gets The Blues

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=213l8-qm7Z8

San Francisco Mable Joy

mp3 attached

Looks Like Baby's Gone

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yc3JGMlhh94

Others

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RiTjElq5Xjs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HK89Wcanbfk

Review

http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/15473-an-american-trilogy/

http://tapeop.com/interviews/83/remastering-and-recreating-mickey-newburys-looks-rain/

http://therisingstorm.net/mickey-newbury-looks-like-rain/

http://www.allmusic.com/album/it-looks-like-rain-mw0000859579

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Looks_Like_Rain

http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?name=Mickey+Newbury

Bio

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mickey_Newbury

http://www.allmusic.com/artist/mickey-newbury-mn0000525789

http://www.soundonsound.com/people/wayne-moss-cinderella-sound-nashville

Website

http://www.mickeynewbury.com/

Trivia

Personnel: Charlie McCoy – harmonica, guitar, bass pedals / Wayne Moss – guitar / Jerry Kennedy – guitar, sitar / Farrell Morris – percussion / Mickey Newbury – vocals, guitar
Rain & train sound effects courtesy of Mystic Moods Orchestra (from the LP: One Stormy Night").
This album is the start of a lose trilogy. Mickey followed this "Frisco Mabel Joy" (1970). The cycle of Cinderella Sound albums ended in 1973 with "Heaven Help The Child". Mickey himself thought of these albums as one piece in concept, theme, music and lyric (though similar elements traverse all his albums). Apparently he said, "“[They] all tie together in my head,” … “Some of the songs refer to the same situation, just looking at it from a four-year difference in time.”
Mickey would help Townes Van Zandt and other songwriters get started in Nashville, he was Townes' "manager" for a while.

Posted in Alt Country, Americana, Country | Tagged 1969 | 2 Comments

JOHN DENVER – Take Me to Tomorrow – (RCA) – 1970

Posted on September 4, 2016 by Franko

It’s hard to explain how popular John Denver was in the 70s, so just accept that he was.

He was everywhere … in the charts, on television, in films and on constant tour around the world.

He is, generally, assumed to be a country act because of the country themes in many of his songs. He didn't, however, fit into the traditional country boxes or even the new country that opened up in the 60s or 70s. Country bravado and strut is not to be found his music. His country is not of the open plains, the honky tonks or of lying women, cheating men or excessive whiskey and gin. It is the of the high mountains, clean air and thoughtful quiet contemplation.

Accordingly, he brought a folk sensibility and folk sensitivity to country which means it is barely what we assume country is, but it still is.

There are elements of country pop, singer-songwriter, and folk in his music, all done to an open gentle semi acoustic sound. If his music doesn't always sound authentically country it does always sound genuinely rustic, albeit quite smooth. It isn’t always evident in the music but it is evident in the lyrics and narratives that Denver was entranced with the American landscape, its native peoples, the flora, fauna of the land and the societal values of a time past.

That is what makes him country.

And, if you don’t accept that opinion, then you can accept the fact that country audiences accepted him.

Wikipedia … "Henry John Deutschendorf, Jr., was born in Roswell, New Mexico, to Lt. Col. Henry John Deutschendorf, Sr., an Air Force officer (who set three speed records in the B-58 Hustler bomber and earned a place in the Air Force Hall of Fame) and Erma Louise Swope. Henry Sr. was of German ancestry, and met and married his "Oklahoma Sweetheart". Denver's Irish Catholic and German maternal grandmother was the one who imbued Denver with his love of music. In his autobiography, Take Me Home, Denver described his life as the eldest son of a family shaped by a stern father who could not show his love for his children. He is also the nephew of singer Dave Deutschendorf of The New Christy Minstrels … At the age of 11, Denver received an acoustic guitar from his grandmother. He learned to play well enough to perform at local clubs by the time he was in college. He adopted the surname "Denver" after the capital of his favorite state, Colorado. He decided to change his name when Randy Sparks, founder of The New Christy Minstrels, suggested that "Deutschendorf" wouldn't fit comfortably on a marquee. Denver studied Architecture at Texas Tech University in Lubbock and sang in a folk-music group called "The Alpine Trio" while pursuing architectural studies. He was also a member of Delta Tau Delta Fraternity. Denver dropped out of the Texas Tech School of Engineering in 1963,[10] and moved to Los Angeles, where he sang in folk clubs. In 1965, Denver joined the The Mitchell Trio, replacing founder Chad Mitchell, which later became "Denver, Boise, and Johnson" (John Denver, David Boise, and Michael Johnson)… In 1969, Denver abandoned the band life to pursue a solo career and released his first album for RCA Records: Rhymes & Reasons … "

His fourth album “Poems, Prayers, and Promises” (1971), was a breakthrough for him in the US, thanks in part to the single "Take Me Home, Country Roads", which went to number 2 on the Billboard charts.

After that he followed themes and a style which varied only a little, till the end of his career.

When you are onto something why change?

He recorded nearly 300 songs, of which 200 of them he wrote. His career spanned four decades and his music appeared on a variety of charts, including Country and Western, the Billboard Hot 100, and Adult Contemporary. In the US he had 14 gold and eight platinum albums. He was loved around the world for his music and its message.

Allmusic, "One of the most popular recording artists of the 1970s, country-folk singer/songwriter John Denver's gentle, environmentally conscious music established him among the most beloved entertainers of his era; wholesome and clean-cut, his appeal extended to fans of all ages and backgrounds, and led to parallel careers as both an actor and a humanitarian".

There is something to be admired about this but it doesn't make country, alt country or neo-country heroes.

Gram Parsons, Johnny Cash, Townes Van Zandt and their crossover music with it's pain, despair and ambiguity makes for credible country counter-culture heroes.

But what he lacks in street cred (or is that trail cred?) he makes up with sensitivity, sincerity and a niceness that are wrapped up in an easy sing-a-long-a-bility of his tunes. He has something to say but he doesn't want to offend, he isn't strident or in your face despite the unequivocal nature of some his messages. He wants you to remember a tune and he had the folkies ability to turn words into moods.

Denver's sincerity doesn't extend to analysing his own personal demons in song, well, not directly or in any confessional manner. He had personal demons, but his image was quite separate. And when his image was tarnished, later in his life, by his drinking and associated allegations it seemed that much worse because it wasn’t expected of him.

Of course the truth is everyone has demons and those bits of darkness are hinted at in his earlier solo music.

This solo album (his second major release but third album release) is from Denver's transitional period between folkie and country. He was experimenting with the singer-songwriter style (as were a lot of ex folkies) as well as with rock sounds.

There are moments of darkness here (some which may put off traditional Denver fans) but it works and, importantly, it was a transition from folk that he needed to do. There are originals with bite as well as some well chosen covers which are darker still. But, there also hints of the pretty folk country music and open handed sincerity which would become his forte.

His voice is perhaps a little too sweet for this material (though it would serve his later material perfectly). In singer-songwriter folk we want out vocalists to be a little gruff, a little hoarse, a little lived in and a little raggedy around the edges. We want them world weary. And that's what we got with most. But, Denver has one of the purest voices in music with a natural vibrato and quality that, once heard, is remembered.

So, it is not surprising that his voice and music launched a thousand buskers

I haven't listened to every John Denver album but Denver's earlier solo and Chad Mitchell Trio work needs to be rediscovered or at least heard again. It may not be “up there” with his best but it is certainly worth a look and more interesting than when his work tapered off in the 80s and 90s.

Tracks (best in italics)

Side One

Take Me to Tomorrow -a big rock beat (with keyboards up front) on this one with all the familiar late 60s themes …"do you care", "are you happy with your life"
Isabel – More like the John Denver we know though not as effortless as his later stuff.
Follow Me – More Denver we are familiar with though overproduced and with his voice slightly uncertain but haunting.
Forest Lawn – (Tom Paxton) – from Tom Paxton's seventh album, despite the album title, "Tom Paxton 6" (1970) (there was live album in there also). A satirical song on the funeral industry is quite funny and very in the style of the folkie.
Aspenglow – Aspen and glow …very John Denver
Amsterdam – (Jacques Brel, Mort Shuman, Eric Blau) – One of Jacques Brel’s most well known songs originally sung in his French in 1964. There have been a number of English translations. John singing about Dutch prostitutes is odd but he does a good job of it even if his voice isnt gruff or dramatic enough. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amsterdam_(Jacques_Brel_song)

Side Two

Anthem-Revelation – an up-tempo pop rock song with a religious evangelical vibe.
Sticky Summer Weather – a strange one. Echoes of numerous later Denver songs though with a touch of Phil Ochs about it.
Carolina in My Mind – (James Taylor) – James Taylor's well known song from his self titled debut LP (1968). Denver has pitched this wrong. This would be perfect for his impassioned delivery, instead he gives it too much bounce. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carolina_in_My_Mind
Jimmy Newman – (Tom Paxton) – another track from Tom Paxton's album, "Tom Paxton 6". This is cynical and strident and quite good.
Molly – (Biff Rose) – written by Biff from his LP, "The Thorn In Mrs. Rose's Side " (1968). This is very Biff Rose (with a hint of David Ackles), like a song from a musical stage show. Catchy but very quirky.

And …

Patchy but more good than not … I'm keeping it (perhaps)

Chart Action

Singles

Album

1970 #197

England

nothing

Sounds

Take Me to Tomorrow

mp3 attached

Isabel

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fvqzh14dG0

Follow Me

Live

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gcu8XgWePMM

Forest Lawn

Live

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5S8Q2M4CBVU

Aspenglow

Live

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EkHurhdlMvY

Amsterdam

Live

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nd_kR7XzlkY

Anthem-Revelation

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y93h1ZnJSGI

Sticky Summer Weather

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VeSSZM5i9gk

Carolina in My Mind

Live with Tom Jones

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYryU5b_10k

Jimmy Newman

Live

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FXVbjpCYRCQ

Molly

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9INm_dCIWnU

Others

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZIHeoLjFaA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RzcoOGsXm80

with Mama Cass

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NKdknYaSHgE

Review

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Take_Me_to_Tomorrow

http://www.allmusic.com/album/take-me-to-tomorrow-mw0000370955

Bio

http://www.allmusic.com/artist/john-denver-mn0000811622/biography

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Denver

Website

http://johndenver.com/

Trivia

John Denver the activist, on wikipedia: "Denver became outspoken in politics in the mid-1970s. He expressed his ecologic interests in the epic 1975 song "Calypso," which is an ode to the exploration ship and team of environmental activist Jacques Cousteau. In 1976, he campaigned for Jimmy Carter, who became a close friend and ally. Denver was a supporter of the Democratic Party and of a number of charitable causes for the environmental movement, the homeless, the poor, the hungry, and the African AIDS crisis. He founded the charitable Windstar Foundation in 1976, to promote sustainable living. His dismay at the Chernobyl disaster led to precedent-setting concerts in parts of communist Asia and Europe … During the 1980s, Denver was critical of the Reagan administration, but he remained active in his campaign against hunger, for which Reagan awarded Denver the Presidential World Without Hunger Award in 1985. Denver's criticism of the conservative politics of the 1980s was expressed in his autobiographical folk-rock ballad "Let Us Begin (What Are We Making Weapons For)." Denver was also critical of the Republican-dominated Congress and American Conservatism of the 1990s[citation needed]. He denounced the National Rifle Association (NRA) as a corrupt political machine that could buy off politicians[citation needed], and in an open letter to the media, he wrote that he opposed oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Denver had battled to expand the refuge in the 1980s, and he praised President Bill Clinton for his opposition to the proposed drilling. The letter, which he wrote in the midst of the 1996 presidential election, was one of the last he ever wrote. Denver was also on the Board of Governors of the National Space Society for many years"
Denver's second wife, Cassandra Delaney was born in Brisbane and is the younger sister of 70s TV celebrity Delvene Delaney

Posted in Country, Singer Songwriter | Tagged 1970 | 2 Comments

DAVID CASSIDY – Dreams are Nuthin’ More then Wishes – (Bell) – 1973

Posted on August 28, 2016 by Franko

David Cassidy was on a roll in 1973.

He was the teen idol. It is hard to explain how popular he was but think of the lunacy about One Direction or Justin Bieber at there most popular and Cassidy was bigger.

The Partridge Family TV show was still rating high on US TV (though they didn't make the Top 30 in 1973) and there albums were selling well (for those not in the know he was one of The Partridge Family, a musical family, on TV and the lead vocalist on record … see my other comments for biographical detail on Cassidy)

The Partridge Family had released eight albums between their first in 1970 and last in 1973. In the US, where they were more popular, one album had gone to #1, three others were Top 10, and another was Top 40. In the UK they had managed one Top 20 and one Top 40.

As a solo act he found more fame in the UK. His first solo album "Cherish" (1972) had gone to US #15 and UK #2 and his second "Rock Me Baby" (1972) went to US #41 whilst in the UK it was #2, Germany #9.

I'm not sure why. Perhaps the Partridge Family wasn't aired on UK TV till later which may explain why there wasn't any momentum behind The Partridge Family albums but there was over the later released solo albums.

Either way this was David's third album.

And, this was the first real David Cassidy recording as he started exploring himself as a vocalist and moving away from the Partridge Family sound.

Cassidy has written and co-written songs but his real forte is as an interpreter of songs.

Cassidy, here, doesn't sound like the Cassidy from the Partridge Albums of the same year (Crossword Puzzle and Bulletin Board) and he is willing to take chances and bare intimate emotions through the music. This is his first singer-songwriter album despite the fact he didn't write most of the tunes.

He wrote only two songs here and admits on the album's liner notes that one of them was primarily someone's else's song. But, if you know this blog you will know that I don't care if someone writes their songs or not as long as they can interpret a song and make it their own or at least give it a different life.

And Cassidy could do that.

His great talent was singing. He may not be technically perfect but he is good enough and he is smart enough to look for the meaning in a song and interpret them through his experiences. Yes, yes it sounds like a wank but it's true. All great interpreters from Sinatra to Presley do it … though I'm not putting Cassidy in with Sinatra or Elvis.

And, importantly, he is smart. There is a lot going on in the music which, he as a big star, could have nixed. Given that, I assume he knew what he was looking for, and he wasn't happy with just a bunch of covers .. and he was just 23 years old.

And for someone you expected big production and up-tempo songs from this is restrained and (more) low key. There is very little electric guitar but lots of piano, congas and vibes. The album is dominated by Michael Omartian's piano though stellar musicians surround him: Ron Tutt, Milt Holland, Emory Gordy, Al Casey, Larry Knetchel, James Burton, John Guerin, Kim Carnes, Michael McDonald, Victor Feldman and many more.

Tracks (best in italics)

Side One

Intro – (Michael H. McDonald) – It seems this is the same Michael McDonald that sang backup on several Steely Dan albums in the mid-'70s, joined The Doobie Brothers in 1977 and went solo in 1982. This is as the title suggests an "intro" and sets the mood.
Daydream – (John Sebastian) – A #2US, #2 UK for the Lovin Spoonful in 1966. A great version of a great song
Sing Me – (Tony Romeo) – Romeo was a regular songwriter fro both The Partridge Family and Cassidy. Cassidy says on the liner notes that this is the most personal song ever written for him and it has a quasi gospel feel.
Bali Ha'i – (Oscar Hammerstein II, Richard Rodgers) – a show tune from the 1949 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical South Pacific. The songs has been done a lot but the big hits were all from 1949. Perry Como (#5US), Bing Crosby (#12US), Peggy Lee (#13US) and Frank Sinatra (#18). Haunting and well sung. A beautiful song and one you could see early 70s Beach Boys doing. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bali_Ha%27i#cite_note-1
Mae – (Gary Montgomery) – Montgomery was a songwriter who had been in the late 60s group Colours. Smouldering, gentle sexuality
Fever – (Eddie Cooley, John Davenport) – Little Willie John's song from 1956 (#24 US, #1 R&N US) though Peggy Lee's version from 1958 (#8 US, #5UK) (with reworked lyrics by Lee herself) is, perhaps, more famous. Elvis Presley released a near identical version to Lee's for his 1960 album, "Elvis is Back". There have been many other versions. Cassidy refers to Peggy Lee's version in the liner notes. Respectable. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fever_(Little_Willie_John_song)
Summer Days – (Tony Romeo) – a remake of a Partridge Family song and a hoot.

Side Two

The Puppy Song – (Harry Nillson) – A Harry Nilsson song that appeared on his album "Harry" (1969). Nilsson's version is typically quirky. This is less so but only just. The title of the album comes from this song. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Puppy_Song
Daydreamer – (Terry Dempsey) – An original. Pure pop and very straight but incredibly catchy. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daydreamer_(David_Cassidy_song)
Some Old Woman- (Shel Silverstein, Bob Gibson) – written by folkie Gibson and country writer (and Dr Hook regular writer) Silverstein this song was originally released on Gibson's 1964 album' "Where I'm Bound". Well sung by Cassidy in an old timey way, err, updated.
Can't Go Home Again – (Dave Ellingson, David Cassidy, Kim Carnes) – a mid-tempo ballad that is laid back but quite dark.
Preyin' on My Mind – (Dave Ellingson, David Cassidy, Kim Carnes) – another catchy one.
Hold on Me – (Michael H. McDonald) – a fitting close. Quite personal and perhaps a comment on fame.

And …

Perfect for parties … I'm keeping it.

Chart Action

Singles

—

Album

—

England

Singles

1973 Daydreamer #1

Album

1973 #1

also:

1973: "Daydreamer" – Germany #27, Australia #10

Sounds

Daydream

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZBBMTrjSig

Bali Ha'i

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FtApiCz_GFw

Mae

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhx07_mPiz8

The Puppy Song

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ey0YqqAbC6A

Daydreamer

Live

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BLEvHoGkSJw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AIs4lvrvCJI

mp3 attached

Some Old Woman

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rXvgUyccWQY

Can't Go Home Again

mp3 attached

Others

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5EqEYCEUAEM

with Glen Campbell (and Little Richard, Jerry Reed and Dom DeLuise !)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0QciIPZra2k

Review

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dreams_Are_Nuthin%27_More_Than_Wishes

http://nobilliards.blogspot.com.au/2011/09/david-cassidy-dreams-are-nuthin-more.html

Bio

http://www.allmusic.com/artist/david-cassidy-p5925

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Cassidy

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Partridge_Family

Website

http://www.davidcassidy.com/

http://davidcassidyfansite.com/HomePage.html

http://daydreamingdavid.blogspot.com.au/

http://www.cmongethappy.com/home.htm

Trivia

The cover insert painting is Bruno Piglhein's 1925 painting "Pals".

Posted in Pop Rock, Rock & Pop | Tagged 1973 | Leave a comment

MELANIE – Sunset And Other Beginnings – (Neighborhood) – 1975

Posted on August 21, 2016 by Franko

Ahhh, more Melanie.

This album gets panned a lot.

Not that I pay too much notice of what others say because every halfwit has an opinion. Err, yes I do have enough insight to see I'm knocking myself but do you pay any attention to what I say? … (rhetorical question).

The thing I like about Melanie, apart from her voice, is that she is quite versatile and adventurous musically. And that is at odds with the usual descriptions of her in the all the usual music mags, books and forums.

But, you can only pick that up (naturally enough) after listening to a lot of Melanie. The albums should not be listened to in isolation otherwise they seem to be just random aberrations. When they are listened to en masse you see a musical persona appearing beyond the hippie chick with a guitar.

Melanie is quite the musicologist. She can write a very good tune but she also loves a cover. Here, she tackles things she, no doubt, heard as a kid in the 50s, and as a teen in the 60s. And, these two eras she would come back to on other albums. I don't think she is haphazard in her choice of covers or even that they were suggested to her. It seems to me that she has an emotional connection with the songs and something that comes from her youth.

Now, I suppose many singers do this (cover the songs they loved as kids) but Melanie, in a sliding career circa 1975, has to be quite determined to record Broadway standards and 60s girl group songs.

And that is admirable but more admirable is the fact that her versions are not faithful reconstructions of the earlier songs. They have the sprit but not the sound. Some songs you don't even realise what they are until you are half way through them. If you are going to cover it, put a personal stamp on it. Melanie does.

Of course she has surrounded the covers with her own tunes and they are always interesting as Melanie tended to wear her heart on her sleeve and her songs reflected her life at the time.

Melanie and her husband and producer, Peter Schekeryk had, around the time of this album, relocated their family from New Jersey to Tennessee, and, apparently, she felt reinvigorated by her new surroundings. Perhaps that is refected in the albums title.

In any event Melanie does not do a stylistic flip flop. The record may have been recorded in Nashville with country instruments and strings (at times) but it has a New York sensibility and a California feel.

And this is the beauty of Melanie. Within her parameters and her musical world she created interesting and personal music. But, poor sales, and an image of the perennial flower child means her music was overlooked by the mainstream, and then dismissed as the years past (the hard core Melanie fans know otherwise) The joy, now, though, for budding music archaeologists is that there are many Melanie albums waiting to be discovered.

Sunset and Other Beginnings would be Melanie’s final album on Neighborhood Records, which she and Schekeryk started in 1971, and closed down in 1975..

All songs written by Melanie Safka, except where noted.

Tracks (best in italics)

Side One

Perceive It – a perfect start and the type of song Melanie does in her sleep. But it works.
Almost Like Being in Love – (Lerner / Loewe) – from the 1947 Broadway musical (and 1954 film) "Brigadoon" this has been updated to a soft rock sound with jazzy asides. As bad as that sounds it works quite well. In 1978, pop country and folk singer Michael Johnson gave the song another makeover that seemingly owes a debt to Melanie’s interpretation (right down to the prominent saxophone) and earned a US #32 hit with it. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Almost_Like_Being_in_Love
Loving My Children – more Melanie in her normal style and obviously speaking about something on her mind.
You Can't Hurry Love – (Holland/Dozier/Holland) / Mama Said – (Dixon/Denson) – a nifty medley. The former is the #1 1966 song originally recorded by The Supremes. Melanie does a folk pop version and it works. You can't sing along to it like you can with the original but it is pleasant on the ears. Mama Said was a US #4 for The Shirelles in 1961. This is also given the "modern" treatment and the two songs are meshed pleasantly. Excellent. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/You_Can%27t_Hurry_Love https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mama_Said_(The_Shirelles_song)
People Are Just Getting Ready – a dramatic song.
Ol' Man River – (Hammerstein II / Kern) – whoa. She turns this on it's head. The drama and sweat is gone and instead we have a bouncing pop country folk tune. I like it. The original is from the 1927 Broadway musical "Show Boat" (and the 1929, 1936 and 1951 film versions, as well as the Show Boat sequence from film, "Till the Clouds Roll By" (1945)) and then subsequently done by everyone including Paul Robeson, Frank Sinatra, Sam Cooke, Sammy Davis, Jr., Al Jolson, Screaming Jay Hawkins, Cilla Black, Ray Charles, Cher, Jim Croce, The Beach Boys, Chet Atkins and Jerry Reed. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ol%27_Man_River

Side Two

Got My Mojo Working – (Foster) – a 50s R&B song written by Foster but popularised by Muddy Waters in 1957. Conway Twitty (1964), Manfred Mann (1964), The Paul Butterfield Blues Band (1965), The Electric Prunes (1967), Canned Heat (1969), Elvis Presley (1970), J. J. Cale (1972), B. B. King (1977) and others. This version is quite funky and in the country-ish guitar breaks (not the pace) it sounds a little like Elvis' version. Perhaps it's a weird song for a chick to sing. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Got_My_Mojo_Working
Where's the Band – hmmmm, not too bad.
Dream Seller – (Clements) – written by Rod Clements of British folk rock band Lindisfarne who recorded this in 1971 as " Meet Me on the Corner". This one work perfectly for Melanie.
What Do I Keep? – another good Melanie tune with a discussion on yesterdays, todays and tomorrows.
Sandman – the couplet "Go away from my window / Go away from my door" has been used in other songs. It works here
The Sun and the Moon – old school Melanie and a great tune with heavy folkie overtones.
Afraid of the Dark – a nice spare arrangement which sounds like something from a Stephen Sondheim written musical..

And …

More than meets the eye … I'm keeping it.

Chart Action

Nothing.

Sounds

Perceive It

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wx5wM6QgZMs

Almost Like Being in Love

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VwIntWThxxg

You Can't Hurry Love / Mama Said

mp3 attached

People Are Just Getting Ready

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLWgku7pbbQ

What Do I Keep? –

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XMRzgdke1sg

Sandman

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VwIntWThxxg

The Sun and the Moon

mp3 attached

Others

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlp3wmE4bbI

Review

http://www.allmusic.com/album/sunset-other-beginnings-mw0000855759

https://dkandroughmix-forgottensongs.blogspot.com.au/2011/09/melanie-sunset-and-other-beginnings.html

http://theseconddisc.com/2015/11/04/brand-new-melanie-morello-label-reissues-four-of-melanies-rare-albums-on-cd/

Bio

http://www.allmusic.com/artist/melanie-mn0000409670

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melanie_Safka

Website

http://www.melaniesafka.com/home.cfm

http://freespace.virgin.net/robert_ian.smith/Melanie.htm

http://www.melanie-music.org/

http://melaniemusicsociety.tripod.com/

http://melaniesafkarecordings.uk/home.htm

Trivia

—

Posted in Folk Rock, Singer Songwriter | Tagged 1975 | Leave a comment

JOHN HIATT – Riding With The King – (Geffen) – 1983

Posted on August 14, 2016 by Franko

Who is John Hiatt?

It's a question that has been raised many times, sometimes unfairly, by others.

I have asked it, in a round about way, myself (see my other comment), but cut him slack because he deserves it.

Hiatt has critical status as a songwriter’s songwriter. Okay, that doesn't count for much but he has been playing guitar since he was 11, was a professional songwriter at 18, had his first hit ("Sure As I'm Sittin' Here" a #16 (US) for Three Dog Night) at 22, and has released 21 (mostly) critically acclaimed albums over 40 years. He has been covered by dozens of artists, including Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Iggy Pop, Willie Nelson, Eric Clapton, The Searchers, Delbert McClinton, Willy DeVille, Ry Cooder, Linda Ronstadt, Bonnie Raitt, B.B. King, Joe Bonamassa, Joan Baez, Paula Abdul, Buddy Guy, the Desert Rose Band, Jimmy Buffett, Mandy Moore, Emmylou Harris, Rodney Crowell, Dave Edmunds, Nick Lowe, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Rosanne Cash, Suzy Bogguss, Jewel, Aaron Neville, Jeff Healey, Keith Urban, Joe Cocker, Chaka Khan, Paulini and others.

But, despite that, and many good songs, the question "Who is John Hiatt?" is a valid one.

John Hiatt has had a long, schizophrenic career as, variously, a singer-songwriter, a new waver, an AOR dinosaur, a roots rocker, a country rocker, and an adult-contemporary singer.

And this album does not help. Prior to this album, and subsequently, Hiatt would change styles every couple of albums or so but here he changes styles during the course of the album and it seems to be intentional.

Side One was produced by Ron Nagel and Scott Mathews (both of the Durocs), with Hiatt singing and playing guitar and Mathews handling everything else whilst Side Two produced by Hiatt's friend, Nick Lowe (who played on it also) with a band assembled from Lowe's touring unit (which included Paul Carrack, ex-Rumour guitarist Martin Belmont, Bobby Irwin). Hiatt and Lowe would work often and even formed a band "Little Village" in the early 90s.

Hiatt is now 63 and he was 31 when this album was recorded and the album has many fine songs but suffers from the musical schizophrenia. Side One is (mainly) new wave spit and bile though surrounded in big 80s production (clearly a grab for commercial success … akin to the Cars or Huey Lewis). Side Two is more rootsy (even swampy) with a 50s retro vibe and more relaxed. The songs, generally, are sharp, cynical and filled with detail though ultimately there is something lacking and not just because of the schizophrenic sides. Hiatt's voice is passable but not spectacular and his emotions are occasionally restrained which is not a good thing because they sometimes feel like a "front" which is something you see in many English rockers where technique replaces emotion.

There have been many comparisons between Hiatt and Anglo rockers Graham Parker and, especially, Elvis Costello, which are apt. Hiatt's career at one time was not dissimilar to Costello's and one could say, though people rarely do, "Who is Elvis Costello"?

This is an aside, but, Costello doesn't seem to be tainted with the same brush as Hiatt when it comes to his musical pond lily skipping. Maybe it's because he is English and the American Anglophiles always admire what they perceive to be an intellectual musician (yeh, whatever) testing his talents over a number of styles. And, when it comes to intellectual rock musicians (and this is an aside within an aside) they are, predominantly, English. It's as if they have adopted that stereotype whereas the Americans have been stereotyped as visceral. That is rubbish but I note that (mainly), on stage, the English are certainly (inertly) intellectual and the Americans are (spectacularly) visceral. I suspect though, that in Costello's genre skipping we can accept it because, deep down, we know he isn't American so he can jump from one American musical idiom to another without local cynicism.

The answer to the question "Who is John Hiatt?" should be "Whoever he wants to be" and if that contains some of the reasons for his lack of major success then that is entirely a matter for him.

For us, there are enough joys, but we have to look a little harder.

Check out my other comment for biographical details.

Tracks (best in italics)

Side One

I Don't Even Try – this one spits a little though the keyboards are too tinkly.
Death by Misadventure – (Hiatt, John Hadley) – co-written with Hadley a professional songwriter.
Girl on a String – not dissimilar to a Nick Lowe song (despite) the fact that he produces the other side. A good song only let down by the keyboards, again.
Lovers Will – a mid tempo ballad.
She Loves the Jerk – a folky rock number that again sounds like a Nick Lowe number and could have used Nick Lowe on backing.
Say It with Flowers – more spit with some great lyrics ("You believe nearly everything you hear/That kind of faith is gonna only bring tears") but the backing music is distinctly fisher price.

Side Two

Riding with the King – The song came about when (side one) producer Scott Mathews recounted to Hiatt a strange and abstract dream he had of flying on an airplane with Elvis Presley, apparently. A mainstream swampy ("mainstream swampy" – sic) number which has a nice little groove going on it.
You May Already Be a Winner – another Lowe/Costello sounding number and a winner (sic).
Love Like Blood – more faux swamp. Pleasant but unmemorable.
The Love that Harms – a jaunt which is a toe tapper.
Book Lovers – (Isabella Wood, Hiatt) – Wood was Hiatt's wife (she died in 1985 at age 30). Nice and quite bouncy.
Falling Up – a Bo Diddley beat rip off on this great retro rootsy hoot.

And …

Unsure, it is quite good (despite its faults) … I may keep it, I may not.

Chart Action

Nothing, nowhere

Sounds

Side One

I Don't Even Try

Live

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDEr8d60Snw

Death by Misadventure

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_DOBpsddII

Girl on a String

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFIjmgJowlE

Lovers Will

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUJgWrSNcH8

She Loves the Jerk

Video clip

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gLLmC4mH2i8

Live

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYoKpCas0IY

Say It with Flowers

Live

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gszqsJTwLK0

Riding with the King

Live

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9u79B5TrG4Y

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGt0uAC9FIE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RI7fe90-1iw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rD4HeC6UaLI

mp3 attached

You May Already Be a Winner

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TIGSpavdQzQ

Love Like Blood

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VcQ4T8FpKWQ

The Love that Harms

mp3 attached

Book Lovers

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ArotWKR0nFg

Falling Up

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYEXz4KDJxA

Others

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7UrueP3aM40

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58hHVlZCfvM

Review

http://www.allmusic.com/album/riding-with-the-king-mw0000026429

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riding_with_the_King

http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?name=John+Hiatt

Bio

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Hiatt

http://www.allmusic.com/artist/john-hiatt-mn0000812046

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ron_Nagle

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scott_Mathews

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Lowe

Website

http://www.johnhiatt.com/

http://ronnaglemusic.com/site/music-videos/durocs-it-hurts-to-be-in-love/

http://www.scottmathews.com/

http://nicklowe.com/

Trivia

The title song was later covered (with reworked lyrics by Hiatt) by B.B. King and Eric Clapton on their album of the same name from 2000.

Posted in Roots Rock, Singer Songwriter | Tagged 1983 | Leave a comment

FELIX CAVALIERE – Felix Cavaliere – (Bearsville) – 1974

Posted on August 7, 2016 by Franko

I've nattered on about Cavaliere solo and with his time in the Young Rascals on other posts so check them out for biographical detail and bits and pieces of errr, whatever.

This, here, naturally enough, given the self title, is Cavaliere's first solo album after The Young Rascals (or the Rascals as they were then known) folded.

In some ways it is a calculated affair. Cavaliere doesn't stray far from the blue eyed rock and soul (and pop rock Latin, and lite jazz influences) that made him a great vocalist with The Rascals. Likewise, on board is Todd Rundgren, 26 year old wizz kid producer to co-produce with Cavaliere, and surrounding them, amongst others, are Todd Rundgren himself on guitar and well known sessionists Elliot Randall and John Hall also on guitar, Gualberto Garcia Perez on flamenco guitar, Hank Devito on pedal steel guitar, Jack Scarangella and Kevin Ellman on drums and Cissy Houston on backing vocals.

But, calculated or not, this may not be a bad thing. Cavaliere is playing to his strengths. All the songs are written by him with Carman Moore who was the "musical consultant" (my italics) and sting arranger. Moore was (is) a classically trained Afro-American composer who clearly has an influence on the sound on this album. There are a lot of things going on, all sorts of instruments, horns, strings, synths and non-standard percussion.

It is of its time though and its time isn't bad but there is a touch of dull soft rock creeping in, and a slickness and pop sheen which is at odds with some of the "street" sentiments in the music (Rundgren's influence I suspect).

It all looked good on paper, and musically, The Rascals had been heading this way, but in hindsight Cavaliere would have been better returning to his rock and soul roots, stripping down and belting out. A cult was developing for rock and rollers which Cavaliere could easily have slipped into. I'm not sure if it would have helped his fortunes but it would have made his recorded works if he had recorded in that style more popular today (perhaps).

But, like The Rascals declining fortunes this album did nothing. Cavaliere was still a major player but marginalised by new trends that had come or by the lack of a hit.

Tracks (best in italics)

Side One

A High Price to Pay – this is light and bouncy and the influence of Moore ic slear with wood winds and what not making this stand out a little moore (sic) than it would otherwise
I Am a Gambler – a would be tough song which does quite work a "street" song but is quite pleasant as a pop song.
I've Got a Solution – Faux country corn, like a theme song to a B action film written by Jim Croce that is quite a lot of fun in a dumb way.
Everlasting Love – not the Robert Knight / U2 song.
Summer in El Barrio – A Latin flavour with a hint of the street. Springsteen was tapping into this a lot better with a direct approach whereas this has leaning to Santana. Still, it's very good.
Long Times Gone – a semi-dramatic piece with quasi rock Broadway overtones.

Side Two

Future Train – A good sentiment and a touch of the O'Jays at their softest. It is very slick and the synth sounds very weird in these surrounds, kind of Fischer Price..
Mountain Man – a funky tune which depite the tile doesnt have any country overtones.
Funky Friday – quite errr, funky. And Cavaliere manages to sound quite black like some sort of Stevie Wonder.
It's Been a Long Time – a Latin influenced pop and soul tune which is a stand out. It's fluff but there is a lot going on which makes it enjoyable.
I am Free – a psychedelic freakout which has Rundgren written all over it. It doesn't fit in and it is totally over the top and at six plus minutes perhaps a little too long but at least it's not boring. In fact it grows on you.

And …

Very patchy but … I'm keeping it.

Chart Action

Nothing nowhere

Sounds

Full album

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_HOGgf5MTnU

Summer in El Barrio

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJ44ME-ubxs

It's Been a Long Long Time

mp3 attached

I am Free

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gC4gTWqc8sI

Others

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fIDPD3rbIrI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Bj9R_SOsco

Review

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Felix_Cavaliere_(album)

http://theseconddisc.com/2012/02/29/good-lovin-felix-cavaliere-teams-with-todd-rundgren-laura-nyro-leslie-west-dino-danelli-on-bearsville-reissue/

http://www.allmusic.com/album/felix-cavaliere-mw0000761887

Bio

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Felix_Cavaliere

http://www.allmusic.com/artist/felix-cavaliere-mn0000169201/biography

http://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-rascals-mn0000493122/biography

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rascals

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Todd_Rundgren

Website

http://www.felixcavalieremusic.com/

http://www.carmanmoore.com/

Trivia

Moore also worked on Cavaliere's next album, "Destiny" (1974).
Fabulous Rhinestones drummer Jack Scarangella who plays session here would join Cavalierie (and future Ace Frehley Kiss replacement) Vinnie Vincent's (aka Vinnie Cusano) in the band Treasure which release one self titled album in 1977.

Posted in Pop Rock, Rock & Pop, Soft Rock | Tagged 1974 | Leave a comment

EMITT RHODES – Farewell to Paradise – (Dunhill) – 1973

Posted on July 31, 2016 by Franko

I have commented on Rhodes' other albums on this blog. There you will also find biographical detail on him.

He, like Nick Drake, has come to venerated after the fact. A cult hero for music hipsters to rally around. Unlike Drake, though, Rhodes lived to see the adulation (no matter how small) and even released a new album, "Rainbow Ends", earlier this year (2016).

Rhodes, when discussed in the press (an, errr here) will always have Paul McCartney mentioned somewhere in the discussion. It is clear that Rhodes was influenced by McCartney but to forever refer to him as some sort McCartney remora is unfair. Rhodes had progressed musically and was commencing, with this album, to break free of the McCartney descriptions. Apart from utilising other instruments he is aware of what is happening around him musically. His song writing has moved into singer songwriter territory (though not exclusively) and there are some funky tunes, jazzy touches and a bit of everything else to go along with the pop orchestrations.

That doesn't mean this album is better than his earlier ones, just that Rhodes was exploring other territory.

But, it ended here. This was to be his last album for 43 years. As the armchair critics love to point out, even the album's title, "Farewell to paradise" is sort of prophetic.

Rhodes had had enough of the music industry and his personal life was unravelling. He called it quits.

Whether he had that state of mind at the time of writing or recording this album I do not know but there are enough signposts here to suggest that he wasn't the happiest camper though he wasn't morose either. In fact there is more than a little optimism (albeit melancholic optimism) on this album which people seem to ignore, probably because it doesn't fit in well with their already preconceived review.

Then again, the US in 1973 wasn't all fun and games with it's increase in urban violence, urban degradation, hurricanes, airplane crashes, the Watergate scandal, increased militancy of the American Indian Movement who occupy Wounded Knee, and its ongoing Vietnam War, which will end shortly though not before resumed bombing of Hanoi and Haiphong. Farewell to Paradise could be an observation on the external world not just the personal or internal one.

Oh, and "the whole album was written, arranged, produced, recorded, engineered and all instruments performed by Emitt Rhodes" at his home.

Of course, that wouldn't mean shit if the music wasn't good, but it is.

Now, if only Val Stöecklein would be rediscovered.

How do I start a (music) cult?

Tracks (best in italics)

Side One

Warm Self Sacrifice – Rhodes may have been exploring music beyond McCartney but here is doing a McCartney impersonation.
See No Evil – a gentle mid tempo ballad that sounds like what McCartney would have if he had moved into soft rock. OK, I' have to stop with the McCartney observations.
Drawn to You – a gentle funky workout and very engaging.
Blue Horizon – A beautiful faux country number with a touch of John Denver.
Shoot the Moon – very funky by Rhodes standards.
Only Lovers Decide – a beautiful ballad as good as anything else from the era.

Side Two

Trust Once More – another ballad and another winner.
Nights Are Lonely – a rock track. It doesn't "rock out" but it does have a rock groove. Quite unusual for Rhodes.
Bad Man – this one is all over the place, part McCartney (I tried not to use him), part Nilsson, part 70s era Tim Buckley.
In Desperate Need – another funky workout which is entertaining.
Those That Die – (from Tame the Lion) – a short rumination on war.
Farewell to Paradise – Here Rhodes is moving in on Jimmy Buffett Florida keys territory. The song is gentle and quite relaxing, though never as laid back as anything Buffet would do.

And …

Not as good as his first two albums but there are tracks of individual brilliance and it is still better than a lot of other music from 1973. … I'm keeping it.

Chart Action

Nothing nowhere.

Sounds

Warm Self Sacrifice

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-mLR8SqV_Q

See No Evil

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i9dg6yiWZac

Blue Horizon

mp3 attached

In Desperate Need

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TBMeZ7P5_0M

Farewell to Paradise

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TORBKHsPQU8

Others

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b7vn_TTrJM4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwklFEv0Z68

Review

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farewell_to_Paradise

http://www.allmusic.com/album/farewell-to-paradise-mw0000539046

http://secretvault.blogspot.com.au/2007/10/emitt-rhodes-farewell-to-paradise-this.html

Bio

http://www.allmusic.com/artist/emitt-rhodes-p20157/biography

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emitt_Rhodes

http://www.uncut.co.uk/reviews/album/emitt-rhodes-rainbow-ends

Website

http://www.emittrhodesmusic.net/

Trivia

Pop wunderkind Curt Boettcher was the mixdown engineer

Posted in Baroque Pop, Singer Songwriter | Tagged 1973 | Leave a comment

(PAUL REVERE & THE) RAIDERS – Country Wine – (Columbia) – 1972

Posted on July 24, 2016 by Franko

This is the last album of the original Paul Revere and the Raiders despite just being called "Raiders", a name they had used over their preceding two albums, Collage (1970) and Indian Reservation (1971). Importantly, both Paul Revere (the keyboardist) and Mark Lindsay (the vocalist) are still here with several long time Raiders members.

At the time despite the success of the single "Indian Reservation" (#1, 1971 US) their fortunes were dwindling, or so the usually told narrative goes.

Sure there hits weren't as frequent as they had been but they were hardly washed up and this certainly wasn't meant to be their last album as there were subsequent singles and songs recorded for a follow up album (that never came) before the band called it quits in 1976.

The Raiders always had their ear to the ground when it came to trends in music and perhaps have been criticised a little for that, though no one seems to complain about The Rolling Stones doing it (R&B, psych country, country gospel, R&B, rock n roll and even disco) or The Beatles (country, Americana, and big pop).

So this album is very 1972 with country influences, gospel influences, rock n roll, and big soulful adult pop – all popular musical styles of the day

The Raiders were certainly open to and incorporated these influences but those influences had all been explored before and are part of their musical make-up. Country soul and gospel had been referenced before especially in "Goin’ To Memphis" (1967), adult pop In their last preceding three or so albums (and on Mark Lindsay's solo albums of the time), rock n roll from their earliest days.

The trouble is, at least to the greater public, the albums come out a little schizophrenic, incorporating all the influences across songs rather looking for one dominant style to effect the whole album. You can point to the Stones country rock album, R&B album psych album, disco-ish album but with the Raiders it's not that clear cut as each album (especially, and mainly, their later ones) has songs that bounce from genre to genre.

The album comes across almost as a collection of singles and there is nothing wrong with that apart from the fact that their (former) audience had now grown up and become more album oriented.

Clearly this was a conscious decision on the part of the Raiders (and something they had always done to varying degrees) but, with hindsight, it perhaps would have been better to focus.

These all sound like negatives and they are but only to the extent of why (perhaps) The Raiders later albums are not as well known as they should be.

Whether this album is a deliberately varied approach, or simply directionless doesn't matter because, musically, there is gold scattered across the album.

The back cover of the album shows the band comprising Mark Lindsay (lead vocals), Paul Revere (keyboards), Keith Allison (bass and guitar, who had replaced Phil Volk), Freddy Weller (guitar, who had replaced Jim Valley) and Mike "Smitty" Smith (drums, who had already been a member in the 1960s, left and then returned and replaced Joe Correro Jr. in 1970).

The band play well … no one could ever say the Raiders can't play. And that is impressive given the different styles present on this album.

I note it's another one of those albums where they put all the fast songs on one side (side one here) and the slow ones on the other side.

All the songs are written by the band or (seem to be) written for the band by professional songwriters. Lindsay produced.

Tracks (best in italics)

Side One

Country Wine – (E. Villareal, W. Watkins) – written for the band. Big up-tempo pop with a country flavour, like a more mainstream Delaney & Bonnie. Perfect for television talk show guest spots. It is undeniably catchy though.
Powder Blue Mercedes Queen – (Mark Lindsay) – Bad Company, free and Mountain are channelled here for this heavier rocker in the "Mississippi Queen" style.
Hungry For Some Lovin' – (Robert Siller) – This is a good soulful number in "Aint No Mountain High Enough" style.
Baby Make Up Your Mind – (John P'Andrea, John Porter) – big soulful pop with some funky asides
Take A Stand – (Mark Lindsay, Keith Allison) – thematically very much of it's time, "everybody's got to take a stand". This has a great groove going with nods to War.

Side Two

Where Are Your Children – (Leslie Ward Chandler) – Big, straight adult and family pop with a touch of Las Vegas. Lindsay loved this stuff (as his solo albums suggest) and he can sure sing it. This is mush but irresistible.
Ballad Of The Unloved – (P. Weiss, S. English) – pure big pop … and quite mushy as the title would suggest, but quite good.
American Family – (Alan Earle O'Pay) – more big pop with a depressing and, perhaps, a non commercial theme though there is optimism in there … "The American Family is dying, the American marriage is through, though that doesn't mean it's true". I don't know if there is a misprint and the writer is meant to be Alan O'Day but in any event it sounds very much something written by Jimmy Curtiss. Very catchy though.
Golden Girls Sometimes – (M. Lindsay, K. Allison) – country folk pop and quite beguiling.
Farewell To A Golden Girl – (Mark Lindsay) – a gentle instrumental (with a spoken bridge) that closes nicely though it sounds like something from the late 1960s.

And …

A solid album by a band I love … I'm keeping it.

Chart Action

Singles

1972 Powder Blue Mercedes Queen The Billboard Hot 100 #54

1972 Country Wine The Billboard Hot 100 #51

Album

—

England

nothing

Sounds

Country Wine

Live

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0hTT_TJwQg&list=PL72FA488638464D5E

mp3

Powder Blue Mercedes Queen

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uvk9FPhQDLE

Hungry For Some Lovin'

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMv9aoXuDsc

Baby Make Up Your Mind

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qnk_unTIgHs

Take A Stand

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Bej6h7REGw

Where Are Your Children

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fRq2KhB8ueI

American Family

mp3

Golden Girls Sometimes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wv-3wPwrpa4

Others

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xmv6lPfnocs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ioufyn6j3cU

Review

http://www.allmusic.com/album/country-wine-plus-mw0001879169

http://rockasteria.blogspot.com.au/2014/05/raiders-country-wineplus-1971-74-us.html

Bio

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Revere_%26_the_Raiders

http://www.musoscribe.com/features/paul_revere_and_the_raiders.shtml

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Lindsay

http://www.allmusic.com/artist/freddy-weller-p21369/biography

Website

http://www.paulrevereandtheraiders.com/

http://www.marklindsay.com/

Trivia

—

RIP: Alan Vega

Posted in Adult Pop, Country Soul | Tagged 1972 | Leave a comment

HORALD GRIFFITHS – Good Ol’ Boy – (Atlantic) – 1972

Posted on July 17, 2016 by Franko

Not "Harold" but "Horald".

I spent some time googling before I noticed my error.

The correct "Horald" did not provide that much more information, in fact he is often listed as “Harold”

I even picked myself up and went and consulted my music library. Horald Griffiths does not appear anywhere.

This is unusual as he was signed to a major label, but stranger things have happened.

His history prior to the album is murky …

All I have, and then it took some time is that he provided music and lyrics and appeared in Doug Dyer's off Broadway play "Blood" in 1971.

"Blood" was an anti-war piece about a Vietnam veteran's homecoming done as an updated version of the Greek trilogy "The Oresteia" by Aeschylus. It seems to be yet another spin off and attempt at gaining the audience of "Hair".

The label saw something in him and were taking a chance.

It failed.

This was his only album.

It seems, though, that subsequent to this he gigged. He played, and may have been a regular, at Caffè Lena, the small bohemian coffeehouse run by Lena Spencer in Saratoga Springs, upstate New York, from 1960 until her death in 1989. (apparently it was the oldest continuously running coffeehouse in the country … and is still going).

So much music comes with preconceived notice.

This doesn’t.

Well, apart from the sleeve, the rustic New York come country Americana sleeve sucked me in.

This is of its time. Country folk (Americana) though with a lot of quirk. The genre hadn’t been established clearly yet so there was a lot of experimentation, or fumbling in the dark, going on. And this is endearing. There is folk, folk-psych, rustic country, rockabilly, singer songwriter.

It is not dissimilar to Bob Dylan (naturally enough) and Arlo Guthrie with more rock n roll references and Griffiths has a good expressive voice on both the straight forward and personal songs.

The playing is superb with Griffiths on acoustic guitar, David Spinozza (session guitarist who had just come of working on Paul McCartney's Ram album during 1971), Bill Salter (Pete Seeger, Miriam Makeba, Harry Belafonte), Ron Carter (jazz bassist and former member of Miles Davis Quintet), Ray Lucas (backed Aretha Franklin, Otis Redding, The Supremes), Ralph McDonald (songwriter and sessionman who has backed Harry Belafonte, David Bowie and others). Producer Joel Dorn was an American jazz and R&B music producer who worked at Atlantic exclusively in the early 70s which explains while all the session men with the exception of Spinozza, are Afro-American jazz men.

All songs are by Griffiths unless noted otherwise.

Tracks (best in italics)

Side One

Broken-Down Horse Thief – a great start and very Dylan and not surprisingly Arlo Guthrie in fact it predates similar Arlo a little.
White Flag – some great playing going on here which sounds quite simple. The song is quite subservient, a flag to wave on the fourth of July with no stars or bars, it's just "plain old white".
Frozen Corn – singer songwriter rumination which is quite stark.
I Found Out Where They Chased Them Indians To – another winner with some sharp observations.
Give Back The Song – a weird one which sounds like it is a sung soliloquy from some sort of Broadway show
Final Score After Two Overtimes – (Patrick Fox) – a fight between "black" and "white" is another catchy tune with more Arlo influences.

Side Two

Watching Pigeons Chasing Shadows On The Ground – like a cross between Tom Lehrer and John Sebastian. Quite enjoyable, very enjoyable.
One Way Street – nice
Kansas City Star – (Roger Miller) – Roger Miller's humorous song fits in well with Griffiths who is similar. The song is short though.
Love Buzz – very catchy
Prisoner Of War – a dramatic, dark turn.
Another Dream – a solemn ballad with psych overtones you would expect to hear in 1968.
Gravity Of The Times – (Patrick Fox & Horald Elman Griffiths) – dramatic and so so.
Carter Cat Blues – and for something totally different a rockabilly type song which is very catchy and a lot of fun but absolutely different to the rest of the album.

And …

A incredibly overlooked release (from a major label) … not perfect but really, really good … I'm keeping it.

Chart Action

Nothing, nowhere.

Sounds

Broken-Down Horse Thief

mp3 attached

Prisoner Of War

mp3 attached

Others

—

Review

—

Bio

—

Website

—

Trivia

Griffiths may have been from Utah originally. There is another Horald Elman Griffiths who passed away in 2007 and who was born in 1921 which would fit the age of a father. The obituary makes specific reference to a Horald Elman Jr who has already passed. Is this the one in the same I have no idea. http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/OBITUARIES/2008-06/1212479802
US records indicate there was a Horald Griffiths born 10 February 1947 (in Nevada perhaps) who died May 1977.
Session men: Vocals, Guitar – Horald Griffiths / Drums – Ray Lucas / Electric Bass – Ron Carter, Bill Salter / Guitar – David Spinozza / Percussion – Ralph McDonald.

MORE details, scans etc on Horald Griffths (see comments below for explanations)

Posted in Americana, Folk, Singer Songwriter | Tagged 1972 | 6 Comments

DR HOOK – A Little Bit More – (Capitol) – 1976

Posted on July 10, 2016 by Franko

Can you ever have enough Dr Hook?

Don't answer that.

Check my other comments for bio and detail. I have commented on earlier albums than this and later ones but this album is pivotal in some ways as it really broke them in the UK. They had some single chart success earlier but this album went Top 10 and also placed two singles in the Top 10.

And, it was not surprising. Since signing with Capitol on the 1975s "Bankrupt" album Dr Hook had lost their full name "Doctor Hook and the Medicine Show" and had moved further into ballads and soft rock. Any traces of country humour, beer and pot party songs or quirky observations were subdued to make Dr Hook as sweet as possible despite all the hair, moustaches and beards.

Apparently this album was originally intended to be a solo album by co-singer Dennis Loccoriere, but ended up being a Dr Hook album. Loccoriere sang lead on most tracks, but Ray Sawyer (the eye patched one) didn't miss out either. Most of the tracks were written by their regular writer Shel Silverstein also. So, apart from the gloss Dr Hook fans may not have noticed a big difference in the band's sound even though founding guitarist George Cummins had left in 1975.

I lean to the earlier Dr Hook but for fans of soft rock or softer country rock this album is perfect.

Produced and directed by Ron Haffkine apart from "What About You" which was produced by Ron Haffkine & Waylon Jennings.

Tracks (best in italics)

Side One

More Like The Movies – (S. Silverstein) – as sickly sweet as a bloke can get which is a result of the production as the lyrics and melody are pure country lament. Having said that, when ithits it's emotional high it is quite catchy.
A Little Bit More – (B. Gosh) – It was written and originally performed by Bobby Gosh and released on his 1973 album "Sitting in the Quiet". This, again, is sickly sweet but you can see why it was a hit. A couple of wines and you will be singing along. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Little_Bit_More
The Radio – (D. Locorriere, S. Silverstein) – hmmm
Up On The Mountain – (J. Comanor, S. Silverstein) – old school Dr Hook doing their country funk
If Not You – (D. Locorriere) – whoa, very, very sticky

Side Two

Jungle To The Zoo – (S. Silverstein) – okay. A statement the music industry? Marriage? Life? Or, all of the preceding? Dr Hooks country funk at work again..
Bad Eye Bill – (H. Smith) – this seems to have been written for Dr Hook.
What About You – (J. Anglin, J. Wright) – Johnnie Wright (1914–2011) and Jack Anglin (1916–1963) were American country duo Johnnie & Jack. They released this track as a single in 1949 but it was compiled into the album "Hits By Johnnie & Jack" in 1959. Mushy here but a traditional country lament.
I Need The High – (D. Locorriere, R. Sawyer) – a love song – the double meaning would, no doubt, have amused Dr Hook.
A Couple More Years – (D. Locorriere, S. Silverstein) – whoa, very sweet