June 29, 2009
This week we're celebrating the musical legacy of Michael Jackson.
Despite all the (appropriate) attention given to the passing of Michael Jackson, the first five years of his career with the Jackson 5 have been reduced to a half dozen hits. Never mind that the group released 12 albums with over 200 songs among them. Yet they don't get anywhere near the attention that any of the classic rock acts of the early '70s receive. And because of that, lesser charting singles like "Maybe Tomorrow," along with unjustly ignored album cuts and B-sides, such as "Who's Lovin' You" and "I'll Bet You" -- both mentioned on this week's edition -- are relegated to the obscurity of "collectors-only" status.
This reductive approach ignores a real period of growth for the band that preceded their move from Motown to Columbia Records (under the "more mature" moniker of the Jacksons) to escape the unjust categorization of teen pop. As a result most would-be fans miss out on this period, which included successful experimentation with musicals ("Corner Of The Sky"), gospel ("Hallelujah Day" ), and disco ("Dancing Machine").
Also lost in all of this week's events are the crucial contributions of Jermaine Jackson. Try thinking of "I'll Be There" having anywhere near its dramatic effect without his brief lead vocal parts contrasting with Michael's -- lending more adult quality to their first change-of-direction A-side. Don't forget his lead vocals grace two of their best non-hits -- "I Found That Girl" (The B-side of "The Love You Save") and their last real hit under the Jackson 5 name, "I Am Love." And that's just the beginning.
June 23, 2009
This week, we're listening in on music from Street Sweeper Social Club, Rage Against The Machine, The Nightwatchman, Phoenix, Art Blakey, and the 21st anniversary of Luaka Bop.
We casually offer up a brief a mention of the MC5 as influential in our Rage Against The Machine section. When it came to finding the intersection of musical and political aggresion nobody did it like the MC5-in fact nobody did it before the MC5. Along with other class of 67/68 graduates the Velvet Underground and fellow Detroit-ers The Stooges they practically wrote the template for the punk movement that would flower 10 years later. Rejecting the peace and love ethos of the hippie-era the MC5 opted for a different credo-one that can't be uttered in polite company. Their all too brief career produced three albums each markedly different from each other. Their first, Kick Out the Jams. was recorded live (for fear of not capturing the energy of their performance in the studio) soon after they were conceived as the musical spokespersons for the activist and agitators Jon Sinclair's White Panther Party. Their next Back In The USA produced by a pre-Springsteen John Landau marked a radical departure in to what can best be described as power-pop-metal with catchy numbers like "Shakin' Street" and "High School' mixed with the more ideological "The American Ruse" and "The Human Being Lawnmower". Their last,High Times, found them mixing more complex strong structures and musical textures (including a horn section on some tracks). A best of, The Big Bang, has key tracks from all three albums and a few choice pre-'Jams' era singles.
June 16, 2009
This week, we're listening in on music from three generations of Hank Williamses, Mos Def, Poison, and four decades of Auto-Tune and vocoder.
In our all too brief description of Vernon Reid's black rock coalition and his band Living Colour we mentioned Sly Stone, Jimi Hendrix, and Buddy Miles. One could argue that they formed the first black rock coalition save for one fact:they weren't trying to make a statement. They just were passionate and talented about making rock-something the Woodstock-era and the emergence rock as an art form helped make possible. This was,of course, ten years after folks like Chuck Berry, Little Richard and Bo Didley played key roles in inventing the whole thing in the first place.
In to the middle of that short-lived renaissance stepped Arthur Lee and his band Love. Known by many for being the band that the Doors opened for during their Sunset Strip days, Love were like the Velvet Underground of the West Coast with hippie imagery and a sunnier disposition substituted for the darker alleyway/urbanscapes of Reed and company. Their first two albums were a mix of great 60's garage rock (including a punk-like cover of Bacharach/David's "My Little Red Book") and Arthur's more melodic ethereal creations. Their third album Forever Changes is now mentioned in the same breath as the Zombies Odyssey and Oracle and The Beach Boys Pet Sounds in the 'boy did we get it wrong the first time' critical and cult fan re-appreaction derby- for good reason. It's rare that we'd tell you start anywhere else but the Basics of an Essential (and you won't go wrong making that move with our Love Essentials)but if you've been singing the praises of the new hippie movement (Animal Collective, Grizzly Bear) or just want to have your mind blown by period-appropriate music, Forever Changes is just waiting for you.
June 9, 2009
This week, we're listening in on music from Elvis Costello, the Vive Latino concert, Grizzly Bear, and Dionne Warwick.
If we're going to talk about Elvis Costello and Burt Bacharach in one episode there's no way you're getting out of here without us raving about their 1998 collaboration Painted From Memory. The project originated when Elvis and Burt collaborated on "God Give Me Strength" (the album's centerpiece) for the period film Grace Of My Heart. This led to a full album's worth of collaborations-a song cycle about lost love with music by Elvis and Burt with lyrics from Elvis. Ignored at the time by those who were expecting EC to get back to his 'classic sound'(whatever that meant in 1996), Painted From Memory is now gaining traction as an adult pop classic in the vein (and dare I say approaching the quality) of Frank Sinatra's In The Wee Small Hours. The album has a few songs that hearken back to the Bacharch/David sound of the late sixties records he wrote and produced for Dionne Warwick ("Tears At The Birthday Party" and especially "Toledo") but it's core lies in more dark and despairing songs especially "In The Darkest Place," "What's Her Name Today" and "I Still Have That Other Girl."
June 2, 2009
This week, we're listening in on music from Journey, The-Dream, Sly & The Family Stone, Dwight Yoakam, and Buck Owens.
If you follow this blog you know we're always playing a game of bait and switch-the bait being artists we feature on the podcast and the switch is another artist related to those same artists-that we're just dying to have you discover. This week we're using our segment on Dwight Yokum and our mention of his cover of "Long White Cadillac" to steer you to the original version and to discovering the Blasters. The Blasters were, for all intensive purposes, were the first roots rock band of the post-punk era. Four guys out of Downey made their way to the nascent LA Punk making the world safe for rockabilly, country, blues early R&B and practically every other form of American Music (also the title of one of their best songs which also serves as their musical mission statement). Fronted by the brothers Alvin-Phil with a booming voice that reminds one of Little Willie John singing through Charlie Rich's vocal chords and Dave- guitarist/songwriter who played a key role in crafting songs that Hank Williams, John Fogerty and most of the Sun Records roster would be proud to call their own. Their "Long White Cadillac" is performed at a more breakneck pace-sounding more desperate in assuming the first person voice of Hank Williams on his death bed(or death car seat in this case). Other must-hears include"Marie, Marie," the best Chuck Berry song he never wrote, and "I'm Shakin" their cover of a Little Willie John song surpassing the original. If you're a fan of Credence Clearwater Revival and non-boring alt country you might be missing out on your next favorite discovery.
