Category Archives: Video

George Thorogood: The First Two Albums

1977 debut beats the blues

George Thorogood unleashed his Delaware-born and Boston-bred blues just in time to catch a transition in FM radio. Pressured by the growth of AOR stations, and striving to maintain currency with younger audiences, freeform stations were both tightening their playlists and stretching beyond their heritage artists. Thorogood’s tradition-laden blues (eight of this debut album’s ten cuts are covers) was an easy bridge from alternative FM’s roots, and the ferocity with which he and his band (not accidentally christened “The Destroyers”) played was fresh, powerful and a surprisingly good fit with the punk rock and new wave that were just starting to pick up commercial notice. The eight-minute “One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer” quickly became a bathroom-break staple on both commercial and college stations, and covers of Earl Hooker, Elmore James, Robert Johnson and Bo Diddley sent DJs to the stacks for some history lessons. Thirty-six years after its initial issue, the album hasn’t lost a bit of its drawing power, and the steady, unrelenting drive of “Ride on Josephine” will still make your feet move. Rounder’s 2013 reissue is a straight-up reproduction of the album’s original ten tracks, with a four-page booklet that includes a double-panel gatefold photograph and back-panel credits.

Confident and swaggering second album

Thorogood’s debut had been a turntable hit on freeform FM and college radio stations, fitting well with both those station’s heritage artists and the punk rock acts that were just starting to gain commercial traction. Thorogood’s no-holds-barred approach had roots in both blues and early rock, and though he was clearly a practiced player, there was a rawness (even a purposeful lack of finesse) that mated well to the rejection of studio-bound prog rock and overblown stadium prattle. His second album doubled down on the swagger of his debut, with a tour de force cover of “Who Do You Love?” whose howling vocal and rumbling rhythm figuratively and literally amplify the essence of Bo Diddley’s classic. The set’s opening take on “Move it on Over” likewise finds a second gear for Hank Williams’ first country hit. As with his debut, Thorogood leans on material from Elmore James, Chuck Berry, Willie Dixon, Brownie McGee and others, wearing his influences on the album sleeve and leading fans to look back in awe. Rounder’s 2013 reissue is a straight-up reproduction of the album’s original ten tracks, with an eight-page booklet that includes the label’s original liner notes. [Â©2013 Hyperbolium]

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Left Arm Tan: Alticana

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Strikingly tuneful Americana from talented Fort Worth quartet

Austin gets the press, but Fort Worth, quietly living in the glitzy shadow of Dallas high-rises, is the quirky sibling who’s cowtown heritage provides a unique sensibility without an overweening claim to hipness. So too for this Fort Worth quartet, whose second full album of Americana is as deeply appealing as it is unassuming. Left Arm Tan (the name is an overt reference to Wilco’s “Monday,” but more easily ascribed to the road-trip worthiness of their music) released their first album, Jim, in 2010, and a follow-up EP, Thurm, in 2012, picking up college, alternative and European airplay despite limited touring. In their late-30s and early-40s, the members of LAT have been through the grinding miles of year-round club-gigs, and chosen instead to settle into full-time day jobs that provide time to write and record, and play shows within a day or two’s reach.

Their careers leave them time to focus intently on songwriting and studio craft, the latter complemented on this outing by producer Salim Nourallah. The band’s country-rock foundation hasn’t changed from their self-produced releases, but Norallah’s touch (or simply their growing comfort in the studio) lets the new songs breathe more deeply. Where their earlier performances could feel rushed, as if the songs had been learned in front of uncertain bar patrons, their new studio work has the confidence of a band that knows they can hold your attention. The album opens with a typically catchy hook, “The radio’s selling tales of our unrest,” and as the societal observations turn into personal declarations the music escalates in parallel from guitar-and-voice to rock ‘n’ roll as the singer admits his real reasons for writing. You’ll find yourself humming along within the first minute, and singing the refrain the second time around.

Vocalist Troy Austin and guitarist Daniel Hines write lyrics that thread a line between personal moments, broader observations and images that complement both the internal thoughts and the external connections. There’s a twangy, almost mystical romanticism to several songs, suggesting Chris Isaak on “Black Dress,” and shading darker on “Headlights.” The latter opens with the striking lyric, “I dug a well in the pit of my heart and I named it after you,” and though the well eventually runs dry, the song turns melancholy rather than bitter. There’s a bevy of songs about longing for, budding, bending and broken relationships, each with a memorable setting and many highlighted by pithy observations and striking images. This is an accomplished album from a band whose considerable raw talent has found refined expression in the hands of an outside producer. [Â©2013 Hyperbolium]

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Don Rich: That Fiddlin’ Man

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The Buckaroos’ main man steps to the front with his fiddle

Though it was Buck Owens’ name that appeared on the marquee, he’d have been the first to say that the marquees would have been a lot smaller without his right-hand man Don Rich leading the Buckaroos. Rich was an ace guitarist, harmony singer, songwriter and fiddler, and just as responsible for creating the Bakersfield Sound as Owens, Haggard or Wynn Stewart. Though he’s best known for his stinging Telecaster, he joined Buck Owens as a fiddler, and can be heard threading his strings around Owens’ vocals as early as 1961’s “Excuse Me (I Think I’ve Got a Heartache).” He’d pick up the lion’s share of the Buckaroos’ guitar work a couple of years later, but he never gave up the fiddle.

Rich cut albums backing Owens, with the Buckaroos and as a soloist, but this 1971 title is the only one to be released under his own name during his lifetime (a second album was posthumously released earlier this year as Don Rich Sings George Jones). The ten tracks were culled from previously released Owens and Buckaroos albums ranging from 1963’s On the Bandstand to 1970’s Boot Hill. The picks were surprisingly old-fashioned, with little of the kick that the Buckaroos brought to country music. Omnivore’s first-ever CD reissue adds ten more tracks drawn from similiar sources, but the selections highlight more of the Buckaroos’ instrumental sting. Rich’s fiddle is featured on each track, and his melodic lines are often drawn upon by the steel, dobro and guitar for their own spotlights.

Rich shows his fiddling prowess across a wide range of material and settings, with an especially evocative lead on the ballad “Faded Love” and a mid-tempo take on “Greensleeves” that may be the only version that invites you to two-step. Of the album’s original ten titles, Rich is especially fetching on the Louisiana-rooted numbers “Louisiana Waltz,” “Down on the Bayou” and “Cajun Fiddle.” Drawn from the Buckaroos’ most fertile period, these tracks find Rich backed by lineups that include Tom Brumley, Doyle Holly, Willie Cantu, Earle Poole Ball, Buddy Emmons, Doyle Curtsinger and Jerry Wiggins. Rich may be best remembered for his guitar and voice, but his fiddle was an important part of the Buckaroos’ sound, and here it’s given its just due. [Â©2013 Hyperbolium]Â Â

The Buckaroos: Play Buck & Merle

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Instrumental versions of Buck Owens’ and Merle Haggard’s hits

Ominvore’s two-fer combines two instrumental albums that bookmarked the Buckaroos’ solo recording career. The Buck Owens Songbook was originally issued in 1965, and features a dozen twangy Bakersfield-sound instrumental covers of songs written by (or in the case of “Act Naturally,” closely associated with) Buck Owens. This classic lineup of the Buckaroos included Don Rich, Tom Brumley, Willie Cantu, Doyle Holly (playing guitar instead of bass) and Bob Morris (playing bass), and their guitar-led arrangements are tight and clean. But without Owens out front pulling them along, the playing remains a bit sedate, perhaps – as the original liner notes and included lyrics sheet suggest – for singing along. It’s a nice curio, but no substitute for either the original hits or some of the Buckaroos more adventurous instrumentals.

The Songs of Merle Haggard is a different beast altogether. Originally released in 1971, only Don Rich remained from the previous Buckaroos lineup, joined by Jim Shaw, Doyle Curtsinger, Ronnie Jackson and Jerry Wiggins. By this point, both Owens and his band had expanded their sound beyond the original Bakersfield sting, and while the underpinnings retain some of the shuffle and twang, they’re fleshed out with organ and breathy male chorus vocals. It’s as if someone decided to do a soft-country knockoff of the Bakersfield sound, but it works surprisingly well, particularly if you’re partial to the sunshine production sounds of the early ’70s. It’s a step removed from the Buckaroos primary invention, but it’s a still a hoot and a half. [Â©2013 Hyperbolium]

Paul Allen and the Underthinkers: Everywhere at Once

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The musical soul of Microsoft’s co-founder

Paul Allen is (and will forever be) known as the co-founder of Microsoft and a generous philanthropist. But it’s a fair bet that if he could trade in that notoriety (though perhaps not the riches) for fame as a guitarist, he’d have to think it over. Allen’s been an ardent music fan and regular player since he was a teenager, and his philanthropy has included several music-related projects, including Seattle’s EMP Museum. So though he’s never made a career in music, his connections are deeper and more long-standing than that of a dilettante. Allen’s connections have provided opportunities to play with many of his heroes and develop the relationships upon which this album of blues-, country-, soul- and funk-flavored rock was built. In addition to Allen’s own guitar, he’s joined by Los Lobos’ David Hidalgo and Derek Trucks, and fronted by Ann Wilson, Ivan Neville, Chrissie Hynde, Joe Walsh and others. The songs are originals, written by Allen with a variety of partners, and though not blazing any new trails, they provide enough meat for his assembled friends to create something tuneful and heartfelt. This album is the product of a true music nerd – one who’s listened intently, played on the sidelines for decades, and given the chance to lead the band, shows real talent for making music. [Â©2013 Hyperbolium]

Raw Spitt: Raw Spitt

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Socially-charged soul from the Swamp Dogg stable

“Raw Spitt” was the alter ego laid on Charlie Whitehead by his friend and mentor Jerry Williams, Jr. The latter had recently renamed himself “Swamp Dogg,” and was beginning to build a stable of artists. Williams and Whitehead had met in New York, and they developed a rich musical relationship that included both songwriting and original performances, with Williams producing Whitehead for this 1970 release on the Canyon label. Whitehead would release later material under his own name, but it’s the socially-charged songs of this rare full-length debut that minted the singer’s reputation with soul fans.

Written primarily by Williams and Troy Davis, the album is apiece with Swamp Dogg’s own debut, Total Destruction to Your Mind, and this reissue includes a version of Total Destruction‘s “Synthetic World” among the five bonus tracks. Aside from a few pop and soul covers (“Put a Little Love in Your Heart,” “This Old Town” and “Hey Jude”), the album is populated with outspoken songs of social malfunction – rough childhoods and racially proscribed adulthoods – and anthems of unyielding will and self-empowerment. As on Total Destruction, the surface-level absurdity found in some of the song titles and lyric hooks quickly gives way to deeper messages; Williams was a man with much to say, and having found a forum, he was going to say it with little indirection.

Whitehead proved a superb front man for these songs, with a voice that was deeper than Williams’ own, with a ragged, soulful edge that suggested Otis Redding. Williams’ funky, soulful productions were well-served by Capricorn’s studio in Macon and a backing band that included James Carr, Johnny Sandlin, Robert “Pop” Popwell and Paul Hornsby. Long out of print, the album’s ten tracks previously appeared on the import Charlie Whitehead Anthology. Alive’s reissue restores the original album artwork, and includes two bonus tracks (“Synthetic World” and “Hey Jude”) that didn’t appear on the earlier compilation. This is a great find for those few who knew of Raw Spitt, those tracking down Williams’ work as a producer, and anyone seeking new veins of fine ’70s soul. [Â©2013 Hyperbolium]

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The Good Intentions: Travelling Companion

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Liverpool folk trio with country backings in Los Angeles

This Liverpool, UK folk trio’s third album is given an extra helping of twang by Los Angeles producer Rick Shea and a lineup of backing musicians that includes Greg Leisz and a pair of fiddlers. The trio’s vocals suggest both the ’60s folk of Peter, Paul & Mary and the West Coast country-rock of Gram Parsons, and singer-guitarist Peter Davies‘ original songs (and a cover of A.P. Carter’s “Gold Watch and Chain”) show the band’s view of folk-to-country as a continuum that stretches naturally from Bristol to Nashville to California. Though he invokes nostalgic icons like railroads and Hank Williams, his songs are rooted in timeless themes of faded love, injustice and mortality. He writes in the simple poetics that is often heard in folk music; his images and situations strike an immediate resonance, but his details linger and grow. The group’s harmonies add color, and the production’s country elements link these songs to a time before folk and country were so commercially separate.Â It’s no longer a surprise when Americana sounds arrive from other continents, but having them return from the birthplace of Merseybeat is a trip. [Â©2013 Hyperbolium]

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Various Artist: The South Side of Soul Street: The Minaret Soul Singles 1967-1976

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Killer soul from should-be-legendary Florida studio and label

Stax, American Sound, FAME, Hi and Muscle Shoals Sound are all rightly famous studios, as are the artists who recorded there and the records they produced. But Valparaiso, Florida’s Playground Recording Studio and its associated Minaret label should be just as famous. From 1967 through the mid-70s, producer Finley Duncan waxed a series of soul singles that are as good as they are rare and highly prized by collectors. Incredibly, much like Leiber & Stoller’s Daisy/Tiger labels, Minaret’s soul sides failed to make even a faint mark on the charts. But the lack of commercial impact wasn’t due to a lack of goods: Minaret had records that were the equal of Stax, Atlantic or Hi, including B-sides that were as good (or in some cases even better) than their plug sides. How these records have remained unknown to all but the most dedicated crate-diggers is a mystery.

Minaret’s artists won’t roll off the average listenerâ€™s tongue, but even a cursory spin of these archival treasures will alert your ears to something big that was missed the first time around. Otis Redding, meet Big John Hamilton; Wilson Pickett, say hello to Genie Brooks; and if you’re one of the arranger-songwriters who brought life to Stax, you should probably get to know club member R.J. Benninghoff. Minaret’s house band was even more obscure than the studio’s performers (if that’s really possible), but – amazingly – the musical equal of the bands found at FAME and Stax. Bill Dahl’s detailed liner notes provides some detail on the players and their backgrounds, but it’s so completely revelatory as to almost feel like a hoax; as if someone wrote fictional histories for a make believe Pebbles volume of soul.

A rundown of the set’s best sides would list just about every track in the 2-CD collection. Though not every song, vocal or instrumental performance is equally strong, there’s something in each and every recording that’s worth hearing. Special mention must go to the B-sides, which include both vocal tracks and instrumentals; there were much more than throwaways meant to goose airplay of the A-sides. Omnivore’s forty-track set collects both sides of twenty singles, all but three mastered from the original analog tapes. “Juanita,” “I’ll Love Only You” and “Don’t Worry About Me” were mastered from original 45s, and sound fine. The twenty-page booklet includes liners, photos, label reproductions and discographical information. This is easily the year’s greatest surprise so far, and leading the race for the best reissue. [Â©2013 Hyperbolium]

The Deadly Gentlemen: Roll Me, Tumble Me

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Acoustic string band that goes beyond Bluegrass convention

This Boston-based quintet sports a traditional string band lineup of guitar, banjo, fiddle, mandolin and bass, and though that adds up to the acoustics of a bluegrass band, their original material is something distinct from that of the typical festival players. The differences likely stem from the varied background of the band members: fiddler Mike Barnett, bassist Sam Grisman (son of mandolinist David) and mandolinist Dominick Leslie had traditional childhood immersions in acoustic music, while banjoist Greg Liszt had a dual life as a picker (with the Crooked Still) and a scientist (including a Ph.D. in molecular biology from MIT), and guitarist Stash Wyslouch followed a route through rock and heavy metal before settling into country and bluegrass.

The band’s moved closer to traditional song structures over their five years and three records, but the remnants of earlier experiments are still to be heard. Their harmonies, for example, range from traditional high-low bluegrass singing to unison passages they’ve characterized as “gang vocals.” There’s also a helping of country that suggests harmony acts like Alabama and the Statler Brothers. There’s a hopefulness to their tone, even when singing lyrics of failed love, buoyed by rolling banjo, sawed fiddle and fluttering lines of mandolin. The tempos leave little time for dwelling on failure; “Bored of the Raging” emerges from a crawl to a run, and “A Faded Star” waves off inevitability in favor of the changeable present moment.

In contrast, the passing years of “Now is Not the Time” and stagnant living of “Working” seem to spark genuine worries (though the latter does manage a rare use of the word “wankfest” in a song lyric). The band’s hopefulness is also interrupted by the dichotomies of “Beautiful’s the Body” and “It’ll End Too Soon,” each serving up conflicting impulses and no clear answers. Greg Liszt’s songwriting straddles portrait and poetry, drawing characters and situations that layer abstraction on concrete foundations. His optimistic joys and thoughtful concerns give the album a believable outline whose emotional details are inked in by the band’s talented and soulful musicianship. [Â©2013 Hyperbolium]

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Elvis Presley: At Stax

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Elvis at Stax in 1973 – masters and outtakes

Starting with his ’68 Comeback Special, a reawakened Elvis conjured a remarkable late-career hot-streak that included 1969’s From Elvis in Memphis, the revitalized Vegas stage shows documented on That’s the Way It Is and On Stage, and a return to his country, blues, gospel and rockabilly roots on 1971’s Elvis Country. In January of 1973, Elvis stormed the airwaves with Aloha from Hawaii via Satellite, and soon after signed a new seven-year contract with RCA. In July and December of that year he booked himself into the legendary Stax studio on McLemore Avenue, adding to a string of Memphis studios that had been good luck charms: Elvis had launched his career at Sun, and revived his sense of self at Chip Moman’s American Sound in 1969.

The July sessions produced ten masters, eight of which were released on 1973’s Raised on Rock, and two held back for 1974’s Good Times. Four were also issued as singles, with “Raised on Rock” climbing to #41 on the Hot 100, Tony Joe White’s “I’ve Got a Thing About You Baby” peaking at #4 country, and “Take Good Care of Her” making the Top 40 AC. All ten of the masters were solid, though by no means extraordinary. Elvis was in good voice, but neither the material nor the band assembled from road regulars and Memphis guests sparked anything really deep. Elvis connected well with bluesier material like “Just a Little Bit” and Leiber & Stoller’s “If You Don’t Come Back,” and gospel-tinged backing vocals add weight to a few ballads, but the sessions never lift off in the way of his earlier work at American Sound. Two tracks – “Girl of Mine” and “Sweet Angeline” – swapped in players from the Stax house band, including the MG’s rhythm section of Donald “Duck” Dunn and Al Jackson, but you’d barely know it from the final outcome.

The December sessions were a great deal more productive, both in final output – 18 finished masters – and in musical vitality. The results were split across 1974’s Good Times and 1975’s Promised Land, further dissipating the sessions’ unity and squandering the marketing value of “Elvis at Stax.” But even with the inept marketing, the sessions turned out three Top 20 hits on each of the pop and country charts, and a country chart topping album in Promised Land. Elvis sounds much more deeply engaged than he had in July, and the material and arrangements are a great deal stronger. Highlights include a fiery take on Chuck Berry’s “Promised Land,” the strings, horns and deep bass of “If You Talk in Your Sleep,” the gospel-funk “I Got a Feelin’ in My Body,” Jerry Reed’s revival-charged “Talk About the Good Times,” and feeling covers of “Good Time Charlie’s Got the Blues” and “You Asked Me To.” Two ballads, “It’s Midnight” and “Loving Arms,” feature deeply touching, standout vocal performances.

Beyond the twenty eight masters, this 3-CD set includes a generous helping of alternate takes and one unfinished track. All of this material has been released before, but scattered across a number of posthumous collections and expanded reissues. Augmented with bits of studio chatter, the outtakes give a more organic view of Elvis’ presence at Stax than did the dispersed master takes. What you’ll hear is an artist who’s really committed to most of the material, and though the master takes were chosen for their commercial viability, the alternates are filled with vitality. Unlike the many soundtrack sessions through which Elvis often sleepwalked, and despite the Stax sessions being the product of a contractual obligation, Elvis was ready to make great music of his own volition. Freed from the confines of Hill & Range’s catalog, Elvis drew from both longtime suppliers and contemporary songwriters, recording songs with which he felt a personal resonance.

That personal resonance also applied to the assembled players, who were drawn from Elvis’ road band and key Memphis and Muscle Shoals players such as guitarist Reggie Young and bassist Norman Putnam. But the results weren’t as deeply impacted by Southern soul as were the earlier sessions at American Sound; Stax, it turned out, was more of a conveniently located venue than a sound with which Elvis wanted to engage. The label’s legendary musicians were barely involved in the July sessions, and not at all in December. By the time the later dates came around, even the Stax recording equipment had been swapped out in favor of RCA’s mobile unit, leaving the converted movie theater studio as Stax’s only real participation. Still, Elvis was home in Memphis, riding the crest of a remarkable career resurgence, and mostly (modulo the Colonel’s lingering machinations) in control.

The 3-CD set is delivered in an 8×8 box that includes a deluxe 42-page booklet stuffed with photos, ephemera and notes by Roger Semon and Robert Gordon. The discs are screened with images of tape reels, and slid into the pockets of a tri-fold cardboard insert, from which fans will likely want to relocate them to jewel cases or other appropriate storage. Collectors who already own Rhythm and Country and the FTD reissue of Raised on Rock, Good Times and Promised Land will have most of the tracks in this set, though having them all together in one (affordable!) place produces a uniquely coherent view of the sessions. One thing that becomes clear is that Elvis had a great album in him, but a contract that demanded two albums and multiple singles per year dug deeper than the sessions could support. What’s great here is really great, and what’s good is still passable. Though he’d record more in 1975-76, these Stax sessions are the last major sessions in his remarkable comeback. [Â©2013 Hyperbolium]