Accomplished L.A. songsmith rocks soulful original pop
Bleu (nee William James McAuley) is a Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter whose biggest commercial successes have come from album tracks placed with Disney stars Selena Gomez (“I Won’t Apologizeâ€) and the Jonas Brothers(“That’s Just the Way We Rollâ€), singer/One Tree Hill television star Kate Voegele (“Say Anythingâ€), and indie-rock and pop acts Boys Like Girls, Jon McLaughlin and Ace Enders. It’s a resume that prepares listeners for the craft he puts into the details of his songs, but not the soulfulness he puts into his own projects.
Bleu’s come a long way from the major label machinations that surrounded his 2003 debut, Redhead, retaining the sound quality afforded a major label artist while shucking off the lyrical and stylistic limitations necessary to market a commercial, mainstream property. His new songs are more personal, and heavily laced with adult thoughts of mortality that wouldn’t click with the tweener set. Of course, Bleu still writes great pop melodies, as he does for the stream-of-consciousness verses of “Singin’ in Tongues,†the celebratory funeral party of “Dead in the Morning,†and the ex-pat’s ecstatic anthem “B.O.S.T.O.N.,†but they’re in service of lyrics and emotions that make a lasting impression.
Terrific 1971 country-rock obscurity with Gary Stewart
Record thrifters know the thrill of discovering a previously unknown recording that’s both a missing piece of history and worthwhile spin on its musical merits. Crate diggers and vault anthropologists continue to make incredible discoveries, and such is this obscure 1971 album. Pressed by the band in an edition of 500, it was sold at shows in upper Michigan and quickly disappeared into the collections of band members, families, friends and fans. Its claims to fame are several: it’s an early example of country, rock and soul fusion, it was recorded in the famed Bradley’s Barn studio in Nashville, and it marks the recorded debut of then-future country star Gary Stewart.
The group was named for its leader, Riley Watkins, and started out as a late-50s instrumental band backing first generation rockers who toured through Michigan. They relocated to Florida in 1963 to play the beach circuit, and there met the Kentucky-born Stewart. Stewart sat in and eventually joined the band (then called the Imps) for six months of shows in the wintery North. By decade’s end Watkins had formed a new trio with bassist Jim Noveskey and drummer Jim Snead, while Stewart had signed on as a songwriter in Nashville. One of the perks of Stewart’s songwriting gig was a sideline as an engineering assistant for Bradley’s Barn. Thus the connection was made, as Stewart invited Watkins to record tracks at the Barn. Stewart may have thought this an opportunity to put a band behind his songwriting demos, but Watkins jumped on the opportunity to record many of his originals.
Over the course of a year Watkins’ trio would race to Nashville to record their original songs, along with demos of tunes written by Stewart and his partner Bill Eldridge. As in the Florida days, Stewart sat in with the band, adding lead and rhythm guitar and harmonica, and singing lead on a couple of tunes. The band played emotional country rock that mixed elements heard in the Band, Poco, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Moby Grape and the Allman Brothers, as well as the southern soul sounds of Tony Joe White and Joe South. The band distinguished their sound with powerful guitar, bass and drums and strong multipart vocals. Watkins and Stewart sing a duet on the title track, and the harmonies on “Love, Love You Lady†suggest CS&N. Stewart steps to the front for the Creedence-styled “Drinkin’ Them Squeezins,†and the gospel sound and brotherhood-themed lyrics of “Listen to My Song†bring to mind Joe South’s “Walk a Mile in My Shoes.â€
Raul Malo revisits his country, rock and Latin roots
After spending the better part of the last decade edging away from the sounds of the Mavericks, Malo began to find his way back from cover songs and supper club countrypolitan with last year’s genre-bending Lucky One. Here he takes an even more personal step, producing himself in a home studio and finishing off the tracks in Ray Benson’s Austin-based Bismeaux Studios. Malo reconnects with the upbeat Tex-Mex (or really, Cuban-Country) and gripping balladry that made his earlier work so arresting; the relaxed tempos and too-neat productions that failed to spark After Hours are counted off here with verve, and the arrangements are given soulful edges that match Malo’s deeply emotional vocals.
The balance weighs making music from the heart over production perfection, as evident on a cover of Rodney Crowell’s “’Til I Gain Control Again.†Sung in a complete take, Malo aptly describes the recording as “not perfect, but the emotion is there.†If it’s not technically perfect, Malo’s probably the only one who could point out the problems, and singing with the dynamism Waylon Jennings brought to his earlier cover, it’s hard to imagine the words being put across any better. Just as effective is the Spanish-language “Sombras,†with Malo pledging no less than his life to prove his love, and the drowsy “Matter Much to You†builds tension by hesitating to make the operatic Roy Orbison leap you might expect.
Cuban roots open the album with a lonely trumpet that beckons a bullfighter into the ring, but before the toreador appears, Malo’s organ and guitar add surf twang and spaghetti western mystery. Augie Meyers’ classic Vox Continental appears on several tracks, adding the texture and tone of the Sir Douglas Quintet and Texas Tornados; the latter guest on “Superstar,†with Michael Guerra’s accordion casting a truly incredible spell. The rock ‘n’ soul of “Living For Today†suggests Delaney and Bonnie, but with the seeds sewn in the Nixon era watered by decades of American imperialism the lyrics have sprouted into mortal fatalism and the politically charged feeling that “we tried givin’ peace a chance / the only thing that’s wrong with that / we been at war since I was born.â€
Stellar box set of four documentaries and a bonus disc
Reelin’ in the Years’ five-DVD set includes excellent documentaries on Dusty Springfield, Gerry and the Pacemakers, Herman’s Hermits and the Small Faces, which are also available individually. Each film is packed with full-length performances (some live, some lip-synched for TV) and interview footage with the principles and other key personnel. Though all four documentaries are worth seeing, the chapters on the Small Faces and Herman’s Hermits are particularly fine. In both of these episodes the filmmakers were able to get hold of a deeper vein of period material, and with the Small Faces relatively unknown in the U.S. and the Hermits known only as non-threatening hit makers, the stories behind the music are particularly interesting.
Sizzling performance clips perk up documentary of soulful ‘60s songbird
One Upon a Time: 1964-1969 is one of four documentaries released as part of a five-DVD British Invasion box set by Reelin’ in the Years Productions. Of the four artists profiles (which also include Gerry and the Pacemakers, the Small Faces and Herman’s Hermits), Dusty Springfield made perhaps the largest artistic impact on America. Herman’s Hermits had more hits, and the Small Faces were a bigger influence on the mod movement in the UK, but Springfield’s key works, “I Only Want to Be With You,†Bacharach & David’s “Wishin’ and Hopin’,†“You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me,†and especially “Son of a Preacher Man†harbored a soulfulness that none of her UK peers could match. She exuded class in her demure, self-contained dance moves, elegant frilled blouses and long skirts.
As with many pop stars of the era, Springfield’s television appearances mixed lip-synching and live performances. Unlike most others, though, her lip-synching was truly expressive. While others simply mimed their vocals, Springfield acted them out with her movements, doing with her body and face what she’d already done with her voice in the studio. Better yet, she was a great live singer, as evidenced by a terrific 1965 performance of “All Cried Out†on the Ed Sullivan show and 1966 NME poll winner’s performances of “In the Middle of Nowhere†and “You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me.†She exhorts the crowd while singing covers of Betty Everett’s “I Can’t Hear You†and Otis Redding’s “Shake,†and without a monitor speaker in sight, delivers pitch-perfect vocals.
Springfield had greater chart success in the UK than the US, but even songs that failed to conquer the states, such as “Some of Your Lovin’†and Bacharach and David’s “I Just Don’t Know What To Do With Myself,†were strong enough to lodge in the ears of American fans. Even her lower-charting US hits, such as “Stay Awhile†(perfectly covered in 1978 by Rachel Sweet) remain familiar. In 1968 Springfield took her singing to a new level with the sessions that resulted in the album Dusty in Memphis and the single “Son of a Preacher Man.†Amid players and producers whose music had provided the template for her own recordings, she sang with a reserve that spoke to her underlying strength rather than the explicit power she could unleash. Her gospel phrasings and confessional tone gave the hit an intimacy with which listeners connected on a deep, emotional level. Amazingly, the single only reached #10 and became her last hit until a 1987 teaming with the Pet Shop Boys on “What Have I Done to Deserve This?â€
Kevin “Shinyribs†Russell has taken a break from his front-line duties with the Gourds to record his second solo album. The voice and obtuse lyrics will be familiar to fans, but the sound isn’t as driving or rough as the Gourds’ records, sitting instead in a deep country-soul groove that sports unusual production touches around the edges. The second-line rhythms that pop-up with the Gourds are still here, but relaxed from a march to a stroll, and electric piano is dominant on many tracks. Russell sings with the sort of choked vocals made famous by Boz Scaggs, and though this music is lighter with its blues, the vibe may remind you (those few of you who are remindable) of ‘70s concert stalwarts the Climax Blues Band.
Superb rock, country, folk and soul from San Francisco
