Ann and Nancy Wilson rock back to the glory days of Heart
Heart was long ago reduced to Ann and Nancy Wilson and support staff; fans that latched onto the band in its first-flush of mid-70s fame may never have made the turn that left Roger Fisher, Steve Fossen and Michael Derosier behind. But new listeners climbed on board for the band’s mid-80s renaissance, and together with a helping of longtime fans, the band sustained into the ‘90s. The sisters worked on side and solo projects, but recaptured the rock ‘n’ roll heart of Heart with 2004’s Jupiter’s Darling. Six years later, with Ann Wilson’s 2007 solo debut in the rear view mirror, the duo is back with Ben Mink in tow as co-producer and co-instrumentalist.
Together with a rhythm section of Ben Smith (drums) and Ric Markmann (bass), Heart is more of a concept of the Wilson sister’s musicality than an on-going concern as a working band. Despite that, the productions sound surprisingly fluid and whole. The songs reach back to the band’s 1970s folk-influenced rock glories, skipping past the sounds of their MTV years. Ann Wilson doesn’t hit the spine-tingling high notes of her younger years, but she’s a cannier singer these days, able to find drama within her limitations and deploying the grit in her voice to convey emotion and passion. Nancy Wilson is still charming as vocalist, singing sweetly on the country-tinged “Hey You.â€
The Wilson’s lay down the line on “WTF†with hard-charging guitars and a lyric full of angry recriminations. Ann Wilson’s “what’s the matter with you?†is all the more powerful for its near under-the-breath delivery, and the thick middle part is an interesting layer cake of muddily echoed vocals and sharp, insistent rhythm. The album plays up its dynamic range, slamming rock tunes into the gentle abyss of string-lined blues, building the urgency and tension of songs as they lead to dissipated resolutions. Memories of the Wilson’s childhood Seattle are heard in “Queen City,†and though the album isn’t themed on Autumnal years (Ann turned 60 this year, Nancy 56), nostalgia informs optimistic forward plans as much as it contemplates earlier lessons.
A Joan Jett hagiography masquerading as a Runaways biopic
Perhaps its simply ironic justice that a group so thoroughly abused by their managers, the press and each other would, in the ostensible retelling of their story, be so thoroughly abused by their filmmaker and two of their members. The most obvious clue to the on-going animosity between the band members is that bassist Jackie Fox is spitefully renamed in film as the fictional “Robin.†This follows latter-day bassist Victory Tischler Blue being denied the use of original Runaways studio recordings for her documentary Edgeplay: A Film About the Runaways. Add to that the near complete absence of dialog for guitarist Lita Ford and drummer Sandy West in this “biopic,†and you have a film that posits the Runaways as a springboard for Joan Jett’s solo stardom. Even vocalist Cherie Currie, upon whose biography this script is ostensibly based, has her story short-changed in the telling.
The screenplay, credited to first-time feature director Floria Sigismondi, is a mess. The motivations and timeline are muddled, and the band’s story isn’t given any context. Was the band famous or only infamous? What led up to Cherie quitting the band? What happened to Lita and Sandy after The Runaways (or, for that matter, during their time in the Runaways)? The action and plot points often feel made up, rather than based on actual people and events. Worse, the characters’ unending moroseness suggests there wasn’t a moment of joy in the Runaways’ career, and it remains unclear why any of the girls stayed involved in the band. The pacing is tortoise-like and the film’s modern style fails to capture the mood of the times. The dialog and direction often reduce the ‘70s rock milieu to trite shorthand and communicate little feel for the period. The fictional Foxes, in which Currie was featured alongside Jodie Foster in 1980, is a better window into the hard partying hopelessness of late-70s Los Angeles.
Were the script and direction the only weak link, the film’s leads might still have been entertaining, but they’re out of their depth. Kristen Stewart shows little conviction as the firebrand Joan Jett. Dakota Fanning is no better, showing little charisma, sex appeal or rebel spirit, and often looks scared of her role rather than scared within it as an acted emotion. The real-life Currie is compelling and authoritative in the DVD’s making-of documentary, showing Fanning’s characterization to be docile and lost in comparison. The film would have been better cast without movie stars, so as to allow the actual band members’ characters to take center stage. Michael Shannon provides a bravura performance as Kim Fowley, but Sigismondi gives him only one note to play, and his character quickly dissolves into repetition. The script fails to provide any of the characters dramatic arcs – no one is transformed, and when Currie declares that she wants her life back, the viewer is left to wonder why she wants to return to a life that was portrayed as being terrible to begin with.
The historical liberties and omissions are numerous, including the fictionalized introduction of Currie’s infamous corset on the band’s 1977 tour of Japan. Currie’s been widely quoted as having purchased the item in Los Angeles and she can seen wearing it in a 1976 promotional video of “Cherry Bomb.â€Â More damaging to the film’s credibility, the transformational sexual assault that Currie details in her autobiography is barely alluded to. Jackie Fox’s departure is necessarily skipped, since the bassist was skipped altogether as a character in the film, and the film’s end skips past the Runaways initial post-group activities, including Currie’s solo album, her album (and hit single) with sister Marie, Joan Jett’s trip to the UK, her work with Sex Pistols Paul Cook and Steve Jones, the recording of her 1980 eponymous debut, and Lita Ford’s emergence as a metal guitar goddess. Instead, the film rushes to Jett’s canonization as a solo superstar.
Prog-rock and boogie from the arena heartland of America
The Legacy division of Sony continues to explore new ways to keep the CD relevant. Their Playlist series was the first out of the gate with eco-friendly packaging that used 100% recycled cardboard, no plastic, and on-disc PDFs in place of paper booklets. Their new Setlist series follows the same path of a single disc that provides an aficionado’s snapshot of an artist’s catalog. In this case the anthologies turn from the studio to the stage, pulling together tracks from an artist’s live repertoire, generally all previously released, but in a few cases adding previously unreleased items. As with the Playlist collections, the Setlist discs aren’t greatest hits packages; instead, they forgo some obvious catalog highlights to give listeners a chance to hear great, lesser-known songs from the artist’s stage act.
Kansas was among the most commercially successful prog-rock bands of their time. Their intricate arrangements, complex time signatures and instrumental chops echoed the works of EL&P, King Crimson, Golden Earring (check out the bass line and drums on their cover of J.J. Cale’s “Bringing it Backâ€) and the whole of the UK Canterbury scene, but the muscle of their Midwest rock looked equally to the jams of the Allman Brothers. The combination of brains, boogie and relentless touring propelled them to stardom on album rock radio stations and made them a tremendous arena draw. The ten tracks collected here are drawn primarily from the band’s peak years of 1975-1978, and all but two (a 1980 performance of “Dust in the Wind†and a 1982 performance of “Play the Game Tonightâ€) are previously released.
The Legacy division of Sony continues to explore new ways to keep the CD relevant. Their Playlist series was the first out of the gate with eco-friendly packaging that used 100% recycled cardboard, no plastic, and on-disc PDFs in place of paper booklets. Their new Setlist series follows the same path of a single disc that provides an aficionado’s snapshot of an artist’s catalog. In this case the anthologies turn from the studio to the stage, pulling together tracks from an artist’s live repertoire, generally all previously released, but in a few cases adding previously unreleased items. As with the Playlist collections, the Setlist discs aren’t greatest hits packages; instead, they forgo some obvious catalog highlights to give listeners a chance to hear great, lesser-known songs from the artist’s stage act.
REO Speedwagon’s entry in this series is really geared to fans, rather than as an overview of the band’s live recordings. Half the tracks (2, 5, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14) are previously unreleased performances stretching from 1980 through 1987, and though the band’s two chart toppers (“Keep on Loving You†and “Can’t Fight This Feelingâ€) are included, the song list relies more on fan and concert favorites, such as “Like You Do,†“Keep Pushin’†and “Golden Country,†that weren’t released as singles. The band’s signature, “Ridin’ the Storm Out,†is offered here in an excellent previously unissued 1981 performance recorded at Denver’s McNichols Arena. The seven previously issued tracks are drawn from the band’s 1976 U.S. tour (3, 4, 7, 13) as documented on Live: You Get What You Play For, and mid-80s to early-90s performances (1, 9, 11) drawn from The Second Decade Of Rock And Roll 1981 To 1991.
Long-lost stereo LP from obscure Florida ‘60s rock/folk-rock band
The Clefs of Lavender Hill are an obscure mid-60s Florida four-piece built around the brother and sister guitar/vocal team of Travis and Coventry Fairchild (born Joseph and Lorraine Ximenes) and the rhythm section of Bill (bass) and Fred (drums) Moss. The B-side of their first single, “Stop! Get a Ticket,†has long been a favorite of the garage-folk crowd, having appeared on the box set reissue of Nuggets, as well as Rock Artifacts 3. Little was known about the band, though singles collectors managed to document four singles released on Date records between 1965 and 1967. Rumors persisted about a full album that had been shelved after recording in 1966, and now forty-four years later, Wounded Bird has unearthed the eleven album tracks in terrific full-fidelity stereo, as well as a non-LP single and two additional mixes (one stereo, one mono) of “Stop! Get a Ticket.†Whew!
The band’s rock ‘n’ roll roots were stoked by the British Invasion, evident not only in covers of the Beatles (“It Won’t Be Longâ€), Rolling Stones (“Play With Fireâ€), Donovan (“Sunshine Supermanâ€), but also in the Zombies-styled original “One More Time.†The group conjured a folk-rock sound on “You Don’t Notice†and “First Tell Me Why†that nodded to the harmonies of San Francisco’s Autumn Records and Jefferson Airplane. The Fairchild’s originals are excellent, and their dramatic take on “Play with Fire,†with Coventry Fairchild singing lead, is even more seething than the Stones’ original; their cover of “New Orleans†amplifies the party vibe of Gary U.S. Bonds’ hit with dynamic bass and drums and a hot guitar substituting for the original’s sax.
The Legacy division of Sony continues to explore new ways to keep the CD relevant. Their Playlist series was the first out of the gate with eco-friendly packaging that used 100% recycled cardboard, no plastic, and on-disc PDFs in place of paper booklets. Their new Setlist series follows the same path of a single disc that provides an aficionado’s snapshot of an artist’s catalog. In this case the anthologies turn from the studio to the stage, pulling together tracks from an artist’s live repertoire, generally all previously released, but in a few cases adding previously unreleased items. As with the Playlist collections, the Setlist discs aren’t greatest hits packages; instead, they forgo some obvious catalog highlights to give listeners a chance to hear great, lesser-known songs from the artist’s stage act.
While Ted Nugent’s conservative politics, pro-hunting agenda (including the canned hunts he leads on his fenced-in hunting ranch) and associations with the Tea Party and Glenn Beck have alienated him from parts of the rock ‘n’ roll crowd, the power and volume of his mid-70s live shows still command respect. His dates with the classic line-up of Derek St. Holmes (guitar), Rob Grange (bass) and Clifford Davies (drums) were documented on 1978’s Double Live Gonzo!, and the next edition of his band produced Live at Hammersmith ’79. Additional live albums followed (including Intensities in 10 Cities), as did live bonus cuts on reissues of Free for All and Cat Scratch Fever. All ten tracks here are taken from these existing releases, no previously unreleased material is included.
The heart of this set is seven tracks recorded in 1977-78 with the seminal band line-up. These are the hard rock, ear-bleeding guitar hero sounds that form the core of Nugent’s legend as a live performer. Of course, anyone who actually saw Nugent live during this era – a time before most realized that wearing ear protection at concerts was a good idea – may need to turn it up a little for full effect. At least you won’t have to suffer through Nugent leaving his guitar feeding back at top volume while he waits to be called back for an encore. The song list includes the concert opener “Just What the Doctor Ordered†and soon-to-be fan favorites “Cat Scratch Fever†and “Wang Dang Sweet Poontang†recorded on the Cat Scratch Fever album tour. Nugent even reaches back to the Amboy Dukes’ debut single for the collection’s closing cover of “Baby, Please Don’t Go.â€
The Legacy division of Sony continues to explore new ways to keep the CD relevant. Their Playlist series was the first out of the gate with eco-friendly packaging that used 100% recycled cardboard, no plastic, and on-disc PDFs in place of paper booklets. Their new Setlist series follows the same path of a single disc that provides an aficionado’s snapshot of an artist’s catalog. In this case the anthologies turn from the studio to the stage, pulling together tracks from an artist’s live repertoire, generally all previously released, but in a few cases adding previously unreleased items. As with the Playlist collections, the Setlist discs aren’t greatest hits packages; instead, they forgo some obvious catalog highlights to give listeners a chance to hear great, lesser-known songs from the band’s stage act.
Cheap Trick’s volume of Setlist features eleven tracks drawn primarily from the late ‘70s, including a generous helping borrowed from Sex America Cheap Trick and At Budokan. Filling out the set are tracks from Found all the Parts, the extended reissue of Dream Police, and 2000’s Authorized Greatest Hits. Everything here has been issued before, but pulling together tracks from 1977 through 1979, plus a pair from 1988, gives a fuller sense of Cheap Trick as a live act than their breakthrough Budokan album. In particular, the lengthy opening cover (from a 1977 show at Los Angeles’ Whiskey a Go Go) of Dylan’s “Mrs. Henry†provides a terrific view of the band’s Who-like power and abandon, with excellent drumming from Bun E. Carlos and blazing guitar and bass from Rick Nielsen and Tom Petersson. Cheap Trick may have earned a reputation as one of power pop’s greatest exponents, but they could be downright heavy when they wanted to.
Garage, pop, folk and blues-rock seeds of Grand Funk Railroad
Cameo Records, and its subsidiary Parkway label, were Philadelphia powerhouses from the mid-50s through the mid-60s. They scored with rockabilly, doo-wop and a string of vocal hits by Bobby Rydell. They had chart-topping success with Chubby Checker, alongside hits by other Philly acts that included the Dovells, Orlons and Dee Dee Sharp. By the mid-60s the labels were reaching further outside their neighborhood, releasing early singles by Michigan-based artists Bob Seger (including 1967’s “Heavy Musicâ€), ? and the Mysterians (including the hit “96 Tearsâ€), and a pair of albums on the Lucky 13 label by Terry Knight and the Pack. The latter group would subsequently seed Grand Funk Railroad (with Knight moved from the lead singer slot to management and production), turning the Pack’s albums into collector items.
Cameo-Parkway was shuttered in 1967 and the catalog sold to Allen Klein, who reissued very little of the vault material. The Cameo Parkway 1957-1967 box set and a series of artist Best Ofs broke the digial embargo in 2005, and six more releases this year (including original album two-fers by Chubby Checker, Bobby Rydell and the Orlons) further detail the labels’ riches. Terry Knight and the Pack’s self-titled debut was released in 1966 (reproduced here in mono) and highlighted by fuzz-guitar and organ that favored the garage-rock and neo-psych sounds of the time. They faithfully covered the Yardbirds’ “You’re a Better Man Than I,†turned Sonny Bono’s “Where Do You Go†into a dramatic P.F. Sloan-styled folk-rocker, and had a minor chart hit with Ben E. King’s “I (Who Have Nothing).â€
Knight’s background as a DJ gave him an encyclopedic feel for sounds of the times, writing originals that borrow from Dylan (“Numbersâ€), electric jugbands (“What’s On Your Mindâ€), folk-rock (“Lovin’ Kindâ€), chamber pop (“That Shut-Inâ€), blues rock (“Got Loveâ€) and psych (“Sleep Talkin’†and the terrific, Love-styled “I’ve Been Toldâ€). His vocals fair better on the bluesier garage numbers than the ballads (a cover of “Lady Jane†barely echoes the mood of the original), but his band, featuring Don Brewer on drums and Bobby Caldwell on organ (and later Mark Farner on guitar) is stellar throughout. 1967’s sophomore outing, Reflections (mastered here in stereo), sports a bit more muscle and a bit less garage whine. As on the debut, Knight fares better with the bluesier tunes, such as the original “Love, Love, Love, Love, Love,†a song recorded by the Music Explosion with the same backing track!
A cover of “One Monkey Don’t Stop the Show†shows Knight had neither the style of Joe Tex nor the speed rapping grooves of Peter Wolf, borrowing instead Eric Burdon’s approach from the Animals’ version without really adding anything new. His cover of Sloan and Barri’s “This Precious Time†similarly reuses the folk-rock template the Los Angeles songwriters had laid out for the Grass Roots. The album’s ballads are generally forgettable and the lite-psych breaks taken amid the country twang “Got to Find My Baby†no longer seem like such a good idea. Side two opens with the Brill Building styled yearning of “The Train,†but devolves into Dylan parody, faux psych and sing-song novelty.
’60s garage rockers meet twenty-first century Finns
