Monthly Archives: December 2012

In Memoriam: 2012

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January
Tom Ardolino, drummer and vocalist (NRBQ)
Dave Alexander, blues singer and pianist
Jimmy Castor, funk saxophonist and bandleader
Johnny Otis, R&B drummer, singer-songwriter and bandleader
Larry Butler, record producer and songwriter
Etta James, R&B, blues, jazz, soul and gospel vocalist

February
Don Cornelius, television host and producer
Al Delory, record producer and arranger
Joe Moretti, rock ‘n’ roll guitarist (Johnny Kidd & The Pirates)
Whitney Houston, vocalist
Dory Previn, vocalist and songwriter
Michael Davis, rock bassist (MC5)
Mike Melvoin, jazz pianist, composer and arranger
Billy Strange, guitarist, songwriter and arranger
Davy Jones, vocalist and actor

March
Ronnie Montrose, rock guitarist
Robert B. Sherman, songwriter
Peter Bergman, comedian
Tom Lodge, radio DJ
Earl Scruggs, banjo player and bluegrass pioneer

April
Andrew Love, saxophonist (The Memphis Horns)
Levon Helm, drummer and vocalist
Chris Ethridge, bassist (Flying Burrito Brothers)
Pete Fornatale, radio DJ
Dick Clark, television personality
Jim Marshall, guitar amplification pioneer

May
Charles Pitts, soul, R&B and funk guitarist (Isaac Hayes band)
Adam Yauch, rapper and hip-hop musician
Everett Lilly, bluegrass musician (Lilly Brothers)
Donald “Duck” Dunn, bassist (Booker T & The MGs)
Doug Dillard, bluegrass musician (The Dillards)
Donna Summer, vocalist and queen of disco
Robin Gibb, vocalist and songwriter
Doc Watson, guitarist, vocalist and songwriter

June
Herb Reed, vocalist (The Platters)
Bob Welch, guitarist, vocalist and songwriter
Don Grady, actor and drummer

July
Andy Griffith, actor, producer, comedian, writer and vocalist
Bob Babbitt, bassist (The Funk Brothers)
Kitty Wells, vocalist
Tony Martin, vocalist and actor

August
Jimmy Jones, vocalist
Marvin Hamlisch, composer and arranger
Carl Davis, record producer
Scott McKenzie, vocalist and songwriter

September
Hal David, lyricist
Joe South, vocalist, guitarist and songwriter
Dorothy McGuire, vocalist (The McGuire Sisters)
Andy Williams, vocalist and entertainer
R.B. Greaves, soul vocalist

October
Bill Dees, songwriter (“Oh Pretty Woman”)

November
Martin Fay, fiddler (The Chieftans)
Peter Bennett, music promoter (The Beatles)
Earl “Speedo” Carroll, vocalist (The Cadillacs)
Mickey “Guitar” Baker, guitarist and songwriter

December
Dave Brubek, jazz pianist
Ravi Shankar, sitarist
Jimmy McCacklin, pianist, vocalist and songwriter
Ray Collins, vocalist (Mothers of Invention)
Fontella Bass, vocalist
Mike Auldridge, dobro player and vocalist (The Seldom Scene)

Caroline Herring: Camilla

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CarolineHerring_CamillaPlaintive mix of country, folk and blues

As fine as was 2009’s Golden Apples of the Sun, Herring’s latest release is even more completely her own. In addition to writing ten of the album’s songs, she’s reanimated the eleventh, “Flee as a Bird,” from a mid-nineteenth century hymn book. Her music is given added muscle by producer Erick Jaskowiak and a backing band (including guitar, pedal steel, fiddle, banjo, bass and drums) that leans more to country than folk. Her vibrato, reminiscent of Buffy St. Marie and Joan Baez, remains a plaintive instrument whose tone is as telling as its words. Her songs are literate and historical, telling of injustice, greed, and inextinguishable hope that intertwines the struggles and accomplishments that have threaded through country, folk and blues. Her stories highlight moments of redemption, triumph and peace against a backdrop of turmoil and grief, but tears – whether of anguish or relief – are never far away. Herring welcomes Claire Holly, Katherine Roberts and Jackie Oates as harmony vocalists, and an a cappella turn with Mary Chapin Carpenter and Aoife O’Donovan on “Traveling Shoes” is especially fine. Herring’s fans will enjoy this next chapter, and those new to her work will be quickly motivated to explore the back catalog. [©2012 Hyperbolium]

Caroline Herring’s Home Page

Martina McBride: The Essential Martina McBride

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MartinaMcBride_TheEssentialNineteen years as a country hit maker, minus a handful of hits

Martina McBride’s first two-disc collection (complementing earlier single-disc anthologies, Greatest Hits, Playlist and Hits and More) covers a lot of ground: nineteen years of recording, nine studio albums, twenty-nine Top 40 country hits (including five chart-toppers), nineteen crossover Top-100 pop hits, and numerous duets and tribute appearances. But even with such impressive statistics, there’s essential material missing, including ten charting sides, six of which were Top 40s and one (“There You Are” from 2000’s Emotion) was Top 10. Her climb to stardom is abbreviated by the omission of singles from her early albums, particularly three sides from Wild Angels (“Phones Are Ringin’ All Over Town,” “Swingin’ Doors” and “Cry on the Shoulder of the Road”) that propelled McBride and Nashville into a much wider circle of fans. That said, what’s here paints a fair picture of how easily her music straddled tradition, modernity and pop.

Like others of her mid-90s class (which also included Trisha Yearwood, Faith Hill and Patty Loveless), McBride benefited from both a canny producer (Paul Worley, in her case) and a renaissance of quality Nashville songwriting. Early on she sang hits penned by Kostas (“Life #9”), Gretchen Peters (“My Baby Loves Me”), Matraca Berg (“Wild Angels” and “Still Holding On”), Paul Kennerley (“Heart Trouble”) and Pat Bunch (“Safe in the Arms of Love”), threading a theme of empowerment through hits and album tracks like “Independence Day,” “A Broken Wing” and “This One’s for the Girls.” As Nashville crossed into the mainstream, so did some of McBride’s material and chart success; in addition to solo hits she found resonance with Jim Brickman (“Valentine”), Bob Seger (“Chances Are”) and Alan Jackson (“Louisiana Woman, Mississippi Man”). McBride’s stage singing (heard here in “Over the Rainbow,” drawn from 2003’s Martina) shows that her power, accuracy and emotion aren’t tied to the studio.

The set’s shortcomings could be pinned on the two-disc format and a desire to please both new fans and collectors. The former get an overview of McBride’s career and an invitation to delve into individual albums. The latter get duets collected from albums by Clint Black (“Nothin’ But the Taillights”), Jimmy Buffet (“License to Chill”) and Raul Malo (“You’re Only Lonely”), tracks scavenged from tributes, soundtracks and the Hallmark Valentine’s Day EP My Heart, and four songs introduced on 2001’s Greatest Hits. The result balances McBride’s chart highlights and catalog rarities, but a third disc (which Legacy has added in their 2.0 re-releases of Essential titles) could have picked up all the missing hits. This is a good starting point for those who’ve yet to enjoy Martina McBride’s brand of tradition-laced modern country, and a nice collection of non-LP tracks for those who are already fans. [©2012 Hyperbolium]

Martina McBride’s Home Page

Various Artists: Surf-Age Nuggets

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Various_SurfAgeNuggetsMonster wave of obscure ‘60s surf gems

It’s no accident that this deluxe 4-CD set uses the word “Nuggets” in its title; this is an apt reference to Lenny Kaye’s landmark 1972 compilation of psychedelic and garage rock. An even better touchstone, however, is Bomp’s follow-on series of Pebbles releases, which dug deeper into the world of one-off local and indie releases. In that sense, Surf-Age Nuggets is the Pebbles (with a touch of Las Vegas Grind) to earlier anthologies of major label releases, hit singles and nationally-known acts. Producer James Austin (who previously helmed Rhino’s Cowabunga! The Surf Box), focuses here on the impossibly rare and ephemeral: obscure singles that barely managed local distribution, with just a hint of rarities from a couple of well-known names. The result is a magnificent musical essay on the scene that flourished in the wake of surf music’s brief rise to commercial popularity.

Dozens of earlier collections have explored this DIY wave, but never in the luxuriousness of this set. Not only are the discs stuffed with 104 tracks (including a sprinkle of period radio spots and a 16-minute bonus montage hidden at the end of disc four), but the collection is housed in a wide 11 x 6 hardcover with a 60-page book of liner, song and band notes, full-color photographs and reproductions of picture sleeves, posters, period ads, comics and other ephemera. Although the material was sourced primarily from early ‘60s vinyl, unlike the first-state (that is, pops-and-clicks intact) condition of many collections of vintage singles, mastering engineer Jerry Peterson worked some very special voodoo in cleaning up the digital transcriptions. The complete lack of surface noise is a bit eerie, but the results remain largely true to the powerhouse mono vibe of a vintage 45.

The selections are guitar-centric, beat-driven and up-tempo; a formula whose thousands of variations have yet to get old. This is the sound of four guys getting together in a garage, working up covers and a couple of originals, scoring a gig and getting a crack at recording. Being true to the period, what’s here isn’t all strictly surf music; there’s plenty of reverb-drenched Dick Dale-styled staccato picking, but instrumental rock was a bigger lineup into which musicians crowded from every state. California surf bands provided inspiration, but the twang of guitar slingers like Duane Eddy, Link Wray and Lonnie Mack also held sway. Most of these acts had brief careers, but this collection is more than a set of surf songs; it’s a soundtrack to an era in which surf culture captured the national attention, even among those who didn’t surf or listen to surf music. This is a document of a time when radios had only an AM band, and teen culture was on the rise. Paddle, turtle, hangout and catch this tasty wave! [©2012 Hyperbolium]

Jack Kerouac with Al Cohn and Zoot Sims: Blues and Haikus

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Period performances of Jack Kerouac with Al Cohn and Zoot Sims

Although Jack Kerouac was the “voice of his (beat) generation,” it was his his writing – rather than his speaking – voice that’s well-known. His three albums of spoken word poetry and prose, two from 1959 and one from 1960, received little circulation or critical notice upon their initial issue, and have only been spottily reissued ever since. Rhino’s 1990 box set The Jack Kerouac Collection included all three albums, as does the recent The Complete Collection, and individual album reissues have been available as imports. Rock Beat now adds domestic reissues of Kerouac’s first two albums (originally released on the indie Hanover-Signature label), Poetry for the Beat Generation and Blues and Haikus.

Where Poetry for the Beat Generation was an impromptu session with Steve Allen tinkling piano melodies behind Kerouac’s recitations, Blues and Haikus is more of a conversation between Kerouac and his accompanists, Al Cohn and Zoot Sims. Rather than reciting across background music, Kerouac trades riffs with Cohn and Sims, each responding to the tone, rhythm and content of the other. Even Cohn’s piano sounds more responsive to Kerouac than did Allen’s improvised backings. Kerouac sounds more comfortable in this environment; as Gilbert Millstein’s original liner note suggest, this second effort is less tentative and more authoritative than Kerouac’s previous recorded outing. Kerouac even feels free enough to warble part of “Hard Hearted Old Farmer,” and his expressiveness transcends his limitations as a singer.

This is more polished effort than was Poetry for the Beat Generation, and in that sense, it’s also more performed than simply exhaled. Each is worth hearing, particularly if you’re a fan of Kerouac’s writing, but this one is the more musical experience, and one that you’re more likely to return to. Like its predecessor, this album drew little attention or sales upon its original release, and became a collector’s item over the years. But with Kerouac’s legacy having only grown over the decades, it’s available once again to fans. RockBeat’s reissue augments the album’s original four tracks with two lengthy bonuses from the original sessions, and includes the original liner notes by New York Times reviewer (and early Kerouac proponent) Gilbert Millstein. If you’ve enjoyed reading Kerouac’s writing, you’ll be further enlightened by the voice and rhythm he gives to these readings. [©2012 Hyperbolium]

Jack Kerouac and Steve Allen: Poetry for the Beat Generation

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Period performances of Jack Kerouac reciting poems to the piano of Steve Allen

Although Jack Kerouac was the “voice of his (beat) generation,” it was his writing – rather than his speaking – voice that became well-known. His three albums of spoken word poetry and prose, two from 1959 and one from 1960, received little circulation or critical notice upon their initial issue, and have only been spottily reissued ever since. Rhino’s 1990 box set The Jack Kerouac Collection included all three albums, as does the recent The Complete Collection, and individual album reissues have been available off and on as imports. Rock Beat now adds domestic reissues of Kerouac’s first two albums (originally released on the indie Hanover-Signature label), Poetry for the Beat Generation and Blues and Haikus.

Poetry for the Beat Generation teams Kerouac with jazz pianist (and television personality) Steve Allen for fourteen poems, several of which were unpublished at the time. The album was inspired by an impromptu pairing of Kerouac and Allen atNew York’s Village Vanguard, and the subsequent single-take studio session lasted only an hour. Allen’s improvised backings are lyrical and nearly sentimental in their melodiousness, more background late-night tinkling than challenging bop. Kerouac’s recitations roam more freely, powered by the strength of his rhythmically riffed words. His poems are percussive stories that break through any regulation of punctuation, paragraph or stanza, and his New England-accented voice is animated and rye.

Originally recorded for Dot, the album was dropped by label-head Randy Wood, reportedly due to concerns about the edginess of the content. But having your counter-culture expression suppressed in the 1950s wasn’t exactly news, and the album quickly found distribution through an independent label. Yet even with Kerouac’s literary fame in full flower (he’d published On the Road in 1957 and The Subterraneans and The Dharma Bums in 1958), his debut album was little known, and for many years, a rarity. RockBeat’s reissue includes the album’s original fourteen tracks and liner notes by New York Times reviewer (and early Kerouac proponent) Gilbert Millstein. If you’ve enjoyed reading Kerouac’s writing, you’ll be further enlightened by the voice and rhythm he gives to these readings. [©2012 Hyperbolium]

Queued Up: Queued Up

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Tuneful power-pop from Portland

Some sounds never go out of style – like melodic rock made from two guitars, bass and drums. Hailing from the Northwest, this Portland quartet is reminiscent of the pre-grunge bands that filled the taverns of Seattle in the early ‘80s, as well as critical darlings like Richard X. Heyman, the Real Kids and Dictators, and international acts like the Lemonheads and Squeeze (who’s “Misadventure” they cover here). They are also the rare band whose name starts with ‘Q’ and whose bassist is the lead singer! They’ve got the harmonies, guitar riffs and punchy rhythm section down, and though the lyrics are sometimes hard to pick out, the melodies are filled with agreeable hooks. Their debut EP is available for free on their Bandcamp page, and well worth your downloading time. [©2012 Hyperbolium]

Queued Up’s Home Page

Johnny Cash: The Complete Columbia Album Collection

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A whole lot of Johnny Cash on Columbia

After three years on Sun, Johnny Cash moved to Columbia, where a nearly 30-year run produced an unparalleled catalog of recordings. Many of Cash’s singles and albums have been reissued, but a surprising number have not, or not in the U.S. The Complete Columbia Album Collection features 59 albums on 63 CDs, including 35 albums (19 in mono) seeing their first CD release in the U.S.  In addition to Cash’s studio albums, the set includes eight live titles, including a 1978 show in Prague making its first appearance on a domestic release. Also included are soundtracks from I Walk the Line and Little Fauss and Big Halsy, the bible chronicles The Holy Land and The Gospel Road, two albums with the Highwaymen, and children’s and Christmas releases. Rounding out Cash’s Columbia albums are two CDs of non-LP singles and a new compilation of Sun-era tracks. The box is a monument to one of music’s most towering figures and a tribute to the wide swath he cut through American culture. [©2012 Hyperbolium]

Johnny Cash’s Home Page

Glen Campbell and Jimmy Webb: In Session

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1988 live pairing of singer and songwriter

Recorded in 1988, this CD/DVD set brings together the singer-and-songwriter pair who broke through in 1967 with “By the Time I Get to Phoenix.” The duo would score several more hit singles, including the multi-chart topping “Wichita Lineman” and “Galveston,” along with lower charting singles “Where’s the Playground Susie” and “Honey Come Back.” Each partner had tremendous success on their own, but the combination of Webb’s emotionally evocative lyrics and Campbell’s country-tinged pop vocals created something unique. Though they continued to work together off and on, including a full-length 1974 album Reunion: The Songs of Jimmy Webb, their collaborations never again struck the chart gold of their late ‘60s run.

Campbell and Webb continued to perform together at select events over the years, but commercially released recordings of their pairings are few. This set, recorded for the Canadian television show In Session, is released here for the first time. The duo reprises their biggest hits, and adds other songs from both their collaborative catalog and Webb’s own rich collection of compositions.Campbell remains deeply engaged with the hits, taking “Galveston” at a slow, mournful pace, and adding thoughtful touches to “Wichita Lineman,” including a fetching acoustic guitar solo; he also rescues “MacArthur Park” from the drama laid into Richard Harris’ original hit, singing the song lyrically rather than performing it as a dramatic script.

The arrangements are relatively simple, with Campbell on guitar facing Webb on piano, and backing of bass, drums and synthesized strings that leaves the focus on the vocals and the songs. The duo’s personal and musical chemistry is evident in the between-song banter and the knowing looks they exchange. The DVD opens at the end of “By the Time I Get to Phoenix,” and unfortunately, that fragment is all you get. Webb is also included in interview segments inserted between (and, distractingly at times, overlapping and during) songs. The segments are banded as separate tracks on the DVD, but not on the CD, where they distract from the set’s flow. This is a nice artifact of Campbell and Webb’s 45-year partnership and friendship, and the musical fruit they’ve nurtured. [©2012 Hyperbolium]

Glen Campbell’s Home Page
Jimmy Webb’s Home Page

Various Artists: Dallas – The Music Story

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1985 spin-off album from the classic nighttime TV soap

The nighttime soap opera Dallas dates to an era before music coordinators ruled television soundtracks and used the network exposure to turn obscure indie bands into well-known music stars. Instead, a program’s soundtrack was the province of a composer (in the case of Dallas, it was Jerrold Immel) and spin-off albums were novelty byproducts of the show’s fame, often populated by the show’s cast (Donny Most, anyone?). The latter is the ticket on this 1985 release, featuring music purpose-written to the show’s themes, and starring cast members (Steve Kanaly, Howard Keel and Jenilee Harrison) alongside then-contemporary country stars Karen Brooks, Crystal Gayle, Gary Morris and Johnny Lee. With the show starting its slide down the ratings ladder, this could have been a quickie knock-off, but the productions are solid, and the songwriting is good.

The opening track offers a disco march arrangement of the show’s famous theme, and the cast tunes include Lorne Greene-like spoken efforts from Kanaly and Keel, and an unsteadily warbled double-tracked melody fromHarrison. Much better are the country stars, recorded inNashvilleby Scott Hendricks, produced by Jim Ed Norman and Barry Beckett, and featuring A-list studio players Eddie Bayers, John Hobbs, Paul Worley, Billy Joe Walker and others. Though the songs are linked to the show with subtitles like “Jock and Miss Ellie’s Song,” the lyrics aren’t specific, and play as smooth country. It’s a tribute to these vocalists that their vocals warm the chilly, synth-and-glycerin-guitar mid-80s production sound.

The album spun off the Gayle-Morris duet “Makin’ Up for Lost Time (The Dallas Lovers Song),” which topped the country chart in early 1986, and Johnny Lee’s “The Loneliness in Lucy’s Eyes” rumbled around at the bottom of the Top 100. Several other tracks seem chart-worthy, including Karen Brooks’ Linda Ronstadt-styled “I Wanna Reach Out and Touch You,” the twang, piano and vocal harmony of The Forrester Sisters’ “A Few Good Men,” and even Morris’ solo closer “If I Knew Then What I Know Now.” This is a great deal better than one might expect from a nighttime soap spin-off, serving as both a nice artifact of the show’s popularity, and a decent collection of mid-80s mainstream country. [©2012 Hyperbolium]

MP3 | A Few Good Men
The Ultimate Dallas Website