Newcomer Justin Haigh open his new album with a terrific single, “All My Best Friends.†His original tune pulls together classic country word play (“all my best friends are behind barsâ€), a clever roll of call brands and throwback twang that’s heavy on the fiddle and steel. His spirit friends visit a second time for the mid-tempo two-step blues, “Jack Daniels on Ice,†a song that finds Haigh sitting out a chilly situation at home in the welcoming confines of his local bar. Raised on a South Dakota ranch, Haigh was steeped in Merle, Waylon, Lefty and Hank from a young age, and after a restless adolescence he resettled in Texas. Haigh’s working class roots are proudly declared and staunchly defended in the album’s title track, and nods to Waylon Jennings with some terrific guitar figures.
Second helping of string-band reworkings of Moody Blues tunes
Nearly seven years ago, amid a flurry of bluegrass tributes to pop music, mandolinist David Harvey created a surprisingly irony-free tribute to the Moody Blues. With talent that included Sam Bush, Larry Cordle, Stuart Duncan, and Alison Krauss, the high quality of the performances was a given, but the ways in which Harvey and his troupe transformed symphonic prog-rock into acoustic string band arrangements was nearly alchemical. The second volume of this project returns Harvey to the producer’s seat alongside several players from the first outing and an all-star lineup of vocalists that includes Vince Gill, Tim O’Brien, Peter Rowan, Ricky Skaggs and the Moody Blues’ Justin Hayward, John Lodge, and Graeme Edge.
With most of the band’s hits covered on volume one, this second helping digs deeper into the album sides. The set’s most recognizable tune is 1968’s “Tuesday Afternoon,†sung by John Cowan, with tight harmonies from Jon Ranall and Jan Harvey, and Harvey’s mandolin-related instruments providing filigree in place of Mike Pinder’s original mellotron. There are a few more mid-charting U.S. singles (“The Story in Your Eyes,†“I Know You’re Out There,†“Say it with Loveâ€), but some of the collection’s best numbers include the album track “Dawn is a Feeling†from Days of Future Passed, the UK hit single “Voices in the Sky†(given a charming lead vocal by Havey’s then eight-year-old daughter, Emma), and odds ‘n’ sods, such as the non-LP “Highway.†Jon Randall provides a particularly fetching vocal on the latter, supported by a choir and rolling banjo from Alison Brown.
OST two-fer featuring tunes from Sloan, Barri and Gouldman
With oldies radio having reduced Herman’s Hermits catalog to only a couple of their hit singles, many listeners may be unaware of the group’s immense mid-60s popularity. The Hermits were the top-selling British group in 1965, besting even the Beatles, spurred manic responses from female fans, and starred in two feature-length films. ABKCO’s two-fer pulls together the soundtracks from both 1966’s Hold On! And 1968’s Mrs. Brown, You’ve Got a Lovely Daughter. To be fair to the Fab Four, neither of the Hermits’ films holds a creative candle to A Hard Day’s Night (or even Help, really), and while the soundtracks haven’t the brilliance of Lennon, McCartney and Harrison, they do combine charming hit singles, interesting explorations of folk-rock, good album tracks, and yes, some filler.
Hold On spun off two hit singles, the music-hall styled “Leaning on the Lamp Post†and the folk-rock “A Must to Avoid.†The latter is one of four titles penned by ace Los Angeles writers P.F. Sloan and Steve Barri. The Hermits’ original version of Sloan & Barri’s “Where Were You When I Needed You†hasn’t the venom of the Grass Roots’ subsequent hit, but Peter Noone’s double tracked vocal is a nice touch, and the band cuts an interesting groove that marries British Invasion beat music and West Coast folk-rock. The title track quickly reveals Sloan’s fascination with Dylan, and the tambourine, hand-claps and waltz-time of “All the Things I Do for You Baby†suggest the Sunset Strip sound of the Leaves and Byrds.
The remainder of Hold On includes the novelty “The George and Dragon†and a generous helping of tunes written by soundtrack specialists Fred Karger, Ben Weisman and Sid Wayne. Wayne and Weisman wrote several of the more passable songs for Elvis Presley’s films, and here they work up the foot-stomping “Got a Feeling,†Zombies-styled “Wild Love,†and, for film co-star Shelley Fabares, the mid-tempo ballad “Make Me Happy.†Mickey Most’s productions, heard here in true stereo, hold up well, sounding punchier and more nuanced than one might have heard through an AM radio in 1966. The entire album clocks in at just over twenty-two minutes, and so it pairs nicely with the Hermits’ second soundtrack.
The Hermits scored their second feature film two years later, but by this time the music scene had moved on from cute mod style to hippie couture, and the band’s commercial fortunes had waned. The soundtrack’s single, “The Most Beautiful Thing in My Life,†managed a measly #131 in the U.S. and didn’t chart at all in the UK. Still, the album contained several interesting songs from ace pop songwriter (and then soon-to-be 10cc founder) Graham Gouldman, including the Hollies-influenced “It’s Nice to be Out in the Morning.†Filling out the track list were the band’s 1965 title hit (reproduced here in mono) and their last top-five, 1967’s “There’s a Kind of Hush.â€
It was Frank’s world, and we were lucky to live in it
Sinatra’s 1961 debut for his own record label, Reprise, is the product of a man who was on top of the world, with records, films, concerts and a fraternal social life each running flat out. It wasn’t, however, the sort of artistic reinvention he created on his late ‘50s albums for Capitol, nor the middle-aged discoveries he’d make on September of My Years or with Antonio Carlos Jobim. Still, Sinatra was in the pocket, and the self-confident swagger of his performances made up for the lack of a new artistic leap. Together with arranger Johnny Mandel, Sinatra pushed hard on the swing side of these tunes, eschewing balladry, and spurring his band of West Coast musicians to some sizzling performances. Mandel gained the arranger’s slot when Sinatra’s previous partners, Nelson Riddle and Billy May, were found to be exclusively contracted to Capitol. Mandel brought both jazz and film scoring experience, along with connections to some of Los Angeles’ finest players.
A couple of months after Alex Chilton’s passing in May, 2010, the latter-day lineup of Big Star (Jody Stephens, Jon Auer and Ken Stringfellow), along with a number of special guests, played a tribute concert at Memphis’ Levitt Shell. Though the entire concert was recorded, clearing the performance and song rights for release has proven too difficult to undertake all at once. Instead, Stephens, along with mastering engineer Larry Nix and Big Star’s engineer, John Fry, have released an initial EP of John Davis’ three performances: “In The Street,” “Don’t Lie To Me” and “When My Baby’s Beside Me.” Fortunately, the sound is terrific; unfortunately, it’s only being released on 7″ vinyl at this point. You can pick it up from Ardent Music, and hear a sample of the music on the video, below.
Third and final comeback album from early-60s Northeast rockers
