I rarely read a post on someone's blog and then immediately post the same thing here. But our pal Steve over at Power Pop shared something today that has really grabbed hold of my head and heart. As Steve put it, "I didn't see this coming down Broadway." Yeah man, neither did I.
This is a new song from Amy Grant, written by Nashville's Sandra Emory Lawrence and released on January 6th. It is stunningly beautiful musically and lyrically, well, you'll figure out why it made my heart hurt.
If I Knew Then What I Know Now- Charlie Rich
I Believe- Robert Plant
Somebody Saved Me- Pete Townshend
Love Has Found Me- The Galaxies
Let The Music Play- Rick Derringer
Pa' Huele- Eddie Palmieri
There's A Ghost In My House- R. Dean Taylor
A few quick notes:
Charlie Rich is doing James Hunter 50 years before James Hunter on this track.
Rick Derringer is doing Todd Rundgren and Utopia two years before actually making an album with Todd Rundgren and Utopia.
This Eddie Palmieri cut is super groovy, especially his twisted quote of "Mary Had A Little Lamb."
Enjoy it all below.
Hot off the presses, here are the first two tracks from the forthcoming Black Crowes record, "A Pound Of Feathers" due in March.
If memory serves, we've got some readers who are fans and some who are not. I'm a fan and I dig both tracks. Plus, I am thrilled a new record is coming so soon after "Happiness Bastards," which was a fantastic return to form.
I knew the single, of course. We all know it. But I had never heard the entire record before yesterday. 1968's "Everlasting Love Affair" by The Love Affair is great fun, It's mostly covers, but all of them are convincing, even if the band can't decide who they want to be. Sometimes it's the Small Faces. Sometimes it's Deep Purple. Sometimes it's The Action. But it all works.
They cover Joe South's "Hush," or actually, they cover Deep Purple's cover of Joe South's "Hush," as well as a few other songs you probably think you don't need to hear covered anymore, like "Tobacco Road" or "Handbags & Gladrags." Except, there is something going on here and it's hard to nail down. But it's really good.
Steve Ellis's vocals are exceptional. The arrangements veer from a Tamla/Motown type pop to a psychedelic, occasionally mod feel. The version of "Tobacco Road" takes its time and that's fine with me. It gives you time to bask in its heaviosity.
I mean, rather than just continuing to toss off names and silly descriptions, listen to some of these tracks. Maybe you'll hear what I hear.
Kenny Buttrey is the subject of Chapter 6 in John Lingan's book, "Backbeats." As you may or may not know, Buttrey had been playing sessions in Nashville since he was in grade school, prompting John Sebastian to write the lines, "Nashville cats, been playing since they're babies, Nashville cats, get work before they're two." Along with Charlie McCoy, he appeared on Dylan's "Blonde On Blonde" and "John Wesley Harding," not to mention countless others records in your collection.
This chapter led me to "Harpoon Man," a 1968 single from Charlie McCoy's album, "The World Of Charlie McCoy," featuring Buttrey on drums, which then led me to "Turn On Your Love Light" from the same record.
The album is an average garage rock, occasionally psychedelic collection of covers of the hits of the day. The arrangements are mostly standard, but the playing is above standard on most of it, and both McCoy and Buttrey stand out, especially on these two tracks.
I am just about halfway through John Lingan's book "Backbeats: A History Of Rock and Roll In Fifteen Drummers." Each chapter is devoted to one drummer and Lingan's arguments for each. I've been enjoying it. I loved what he had to say about Hal Blaine and Al Jackson Jr., but was absolutely flummoxed about how much he got wrong in the chapter about Ringo Starr. It was infuriating, actually. When I say wrong, I mean, literally wrong. It's as if Lingan, a drummer himself, only just heard of The Beatles and Ringo a week before writing the chapter.
For starters, "How Do You Do It" was not written by "the group's masterminds, Lennon & McCartney."
"You Really Got A Hold On Me" is not from the film "A Hard Day's Night."
How about this?
Ringo "began emphasizing his drums on 'Beatles For Sale,' especially on the proto-Velvet Underground 'What You're Doing.'"
"Proto-Velvet Undergound?"
More stuff that's wrong:
"What
Goes On," was not on "Rubber Soul" and it was not "performed live, years
earlier in the 'She Loves You' era."
("She Loves You" is an era?)
"What Goes On" was never performed live. Not once. This
is all in the first seven pages of the chapter. I mean, jeebus, how hard
is it to look this shit up?
On page 65 he says "I'm Only Sleeping" has a "plodding, chunka-chunka beat." On page 66 he says "'I'm Only Sleeping' has a lethargic, loping swing." You can see both paragraphs at the same time, if you cross your eyes a bit. Make up your mind.
And my favorite:
"And then there is the towering b-side from that era, 'Hey Jude.'"
"Hey Jude!"
Towering b-side? Was that phrase burning a hole in Lingan's brain?
"I've got to use 'towering b-side. Anywhere!"
At least my book is intentionally funny.
The next chapter on Charlie Watts isn't much better, but he did get back on track for the Kenny Buttrey chapter and I'll have something to say about that tomorrow.
But first, I'm going to watch Irwin Allen's classic disaster film, "The Towering B-Side," starring John Lemon, Paul McCaffrey, George Harrassment and Richard Slackey, with Mal Evans as "The Mayor."
