Month: June 2023

LP Lookback: Recollections of The Police’s Magnum Opus ‘Synchronicity’ As It Turns 40

~ Kenneth Corsini ~ 12 Comments

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My mind was wandering the other day. And as it it’s prone to do these days, my brain had ventured back to the semi-distant past. I was thinking of my Playlist based on the songs of 1983. Well, to be more accurate, I was thinking back mulling over events that occurred 40 years ago and happened to also think about my playlist. All my memories have a soundtrack. I quickly pulled up that playlist and as I shuffled through those tracks from ’83, I couldn’t help but think about some of the great albums from that year that are turning 40 this year. It dawned on me that the Police, a band I have never posted about here on B&V for reasons unclear, released their masterwork Synchronicity that unhinged summer. The album was released on June 17, 1983… so literally forty years this month. It was of course, preceded on May 20th that year by it’s first single, the iconic track “Every Breath You Take,” which was naturally included on our 1983 playlist.

It would be difficult to overstate how huge Synchronicity was back in 1983-1984. The album spawned four hit singles: the aforementioned “Every Breath You Take,” “Synchronicity II,” “Wrapped Around Your Finger” and finally “The King Of Pain.” I think they may have also released “Synchronicity I” as a single in Japan. That’s half the album. It probably helped that the mid-80s were the apex of MTV. It may come as a surprise to some readers but MTV used to actually play videos all day, like a video radio station. Sting’s photogenic face was a perfect fit for the new medium of shooting videos, in a way that say, Bob Dylan’s face wasn’t. I think it’s safe to say that Synchronicity propelled the Police to the top of the rock n roll hill. Although, in retrospect it’s easy to see that everything they had done before had been to lay the groundwork for conquering the world.

While we all love to define and categorize music by decade – the 70s or the 80s – The Police were one of those bands whose career straddled two decades. Their debut album Outlandos D’Amour dropped in 1978 and by 1984 they were basically done. There are a lot of bands whose decade I’d define as 75 to 85: the original line-up in Van Halen and the Cars just to name a couple. I can remember hearing “Roxanne” from the debut, it was on the radio all the time. There was a guy in my study hall who used to loudly sing it with the perfect Sting falsetto impersonation… it was like Eddie Murphy in 48 Hours, only slightly more exaggerated… “Rooooooxanne…” The Police’s debut is a great one – and you know we love our debut LPs around here – although I didn’t know many people who owned it. Yes, my brother who is younger actually had Outlandos D’Amour, and I can remember listening in his room but it didn’t move me to buy it. I was always a late bloomer compared to my brother.

When the Police put out their second album, Regatta De Blanc, it was so quick I thought the songs “Walking On The Moon,” and “Message In A Bottle” were on the debut. It was only 11 months between those first two Police records. As so many bands do, the Police struggled to come up with enough material to fill up the “difficult” second album so drummer Stewart Copeland and guitarist Andy Summers actually have a few writing credits, certainly more than any other Police album. Singer/bassist Sting was the main writer in that band. If I’m being honest, there was an acoustic version of “Message In A Bottle” that Sting recorded at The Secret Policeman’s Ball that got a ton of airplay in KC, and it’s the version I was sort of drawn to.

It was the third album – as so many times it’s the third time that’s the charm – that broke the Police big. Zenyatta Mondatta and it’s first single, “De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da” were huge hits. About that time I went to my brother’s room to listen only to discover that he had all three of the then extant Police albums…naturally I brought a cassette along to “selectively” tape certain songs by them. I think I had Zenyatta on one side and a hodge podge of tracks on side 2. I loved (and still love) “Don’t Stand So Close To Me.” For some reason I couldn’t bring myself to buy Police albums. I was a teenager in late junior high and early high school and I didn’t want to be caught dead buying something that didn’t… “rawk.” I was buying albums from Zeppelin, Ozzy, Sabbath and Van Halen. The Police were little more mellow. They had ballads. And they were reggae influenced. I’m not sure I even knew what reggae was until I was in my late 20s which is crazy considering how many great rock bands have dabbled in playing reggae tunes, not least of which was the Stones. 

The juggernaut that was Sting and the Police continued to build momentum. Ghost In The Machine was the Police’s biggest album yet upon it’s release in 1981. Each album – even the second one – did better than the preceding record. Ghost spawned four singles: “Invisible Sun” (which was actually the first single in a lot of places), “Everything She Does Is Magic” the first single in the UK and US, “Spirits In The Material World,” and finally “Secret Journey.” I remember hearing Ghost In The Machine – once again courtesy of my brother – and thinking they’d really gotten slick. Gone were the heavy reggae tunes – which I respected since the Police were a bottom heavy band, all bass and drums – and even the faux punk was history. This was an album of synthesizer and strings and even shockingly on “Every Thing She Does,” a piano. I was still resisting the Police but secretly my best friend Doug went to see the Police on this tour… with some chick from the mall that he was keeping a secret. He’s always said it was an amazing show. Alas, I never got to see the Police live.

Ghost In The Machine was the last Police LP released while I was in high school. By ’83 I had suffered through the tragic freshman year. Mine was a cliche as you can get. I had struggled in school… there is some thought in retrospect that I was a bit immature in those days… and well, these days too. I had adopted every bad early college cliche: long distance relationship, switching colleges a couple times, breaking up, too much booze, car crash… you name it. And so as I was driving home for the summer in late May of ’83, I heard a song that would completely change my perspective on the Police. A simple snare drum and guitar figure… I could barely keep the car on the road the first time I heard “Every Breath You Take.” That song hit me like a ton of bricks… it shifted the universal axis inside my head. Having gone through what I just went through – I knew this was not a love song. It was dark song of obsession and pain, two emotions I was sadly newly acquainted with. I remember standing around a pool table in a bar talking to this guy I used to know and saying, “Have you heard this new Police track, it’s the best song they’ve ever done.” Apparently I wasn’t alone in that opinion. The video, again iconic, was next level. Kudos for shooting it in black and white.

I went out the next day and purchased the album. Everything they’d been building toward, in terms of song-craft and melodies was fully realized on Synchronicity. It remained in high rotation on my stereo the entire summer.

Much can be said about this album being a tale of two sides. I’ll admit, side 2 is the stronger side and has most of the hits. But I actually like side one. I thought, while a bit pretentious, “Synchronicity I” and it’s sister “Synchronicity II” were great songs. At least they rocked which the Police rarely allowed themselves to do. I thought “Walking In Your Footsteps” was a great, old style Police track with a great message. Yes, it was tad lightweight. Same story with “Oh My God.” Hell, I even liked the Stewart Copeland written trifle “Miss Gradenko.” At least they’d stripped away a lot of the synths and strings. the problem with side 1 is, simply put, “Mother.” It’s an awful song. I’d go so far as to say it’s an awful parody of a parody song. It should have never been included. I get they wanted to include an Andy Summers penned tune, but “Mother” mars the entire album. Although I did put it on my Mother’s Day playlist… Summers co-wrote the great track “Murder By Numbers,” which ended up the B-side of “Every Breath You Take,” (and on our favorite b-sides list), and on the cassette version of the album and it would have been a much better inclusion than “Mother.”

The album made the Police, arguably, the biggest band in the world. Although come 1984, I think Van Halen might have something to say about that… Unfortunately during the making of Synchronicity the tensions ran so high the band could barely record together. They were physically all in different rooms while they played the songs in the studio. Some might consider this album Sting’s first solo album were it not for the two weaker songs penned by the other guys. And as so often happens a band reaches the apex of their career and end up breaking up. Sting went solo and while they tried to get back together, it just didn’t work. Sting went all “light-jazz” and the other guys were left to pursue whatever it was they pursued?

I remember seeing video of some festival the summer of 1984 where the Police, at the end of their set, passed their instruments to the members of U2 and walked off stage. Only Sting and Bono could have come up with such a pretentious gesture. Jeez, the egos. They considered it a “passing of the torch.” I don’t know about that ridiculousness, but it was a good symbol of the fact the Police were largely done.

As for me, that summer I ended up buying all the back LPs by the Police I’d missed over the years. That and I drank a whole lot of rum and had a magnificent tan. I’m not sure I had a steady job that summer break… I think I just did odd jobs which left more time for “recovery partying.” Oh and god did I party! My parents avoided me. But listening to Synchronicity that summer certainly got me through a tough time. I lived to fight another day… music can always elevate you past whatever you’re going through. Hearing “Every Breath You Take” made me realize that someone else, somewhere, had felt what I was feeling. And that alone, was helpful.

Over the years Sting did some solo stuff I liked, including his last LP (The Bridge) that I felt was his best in years, but he never hit the heights of Synchronicity again. I’d liked to have seen where the Police would have gone after this album but it really is the sound of a band reaching it’s apex while breaking up at the same time. There was nowhere for this band to go after this.

I’d recommend putting this one on loud somewhere out by the pool… with something cold, maybe a Pilsner Urquell… And for our U.S. readers, enjoy the upcoming 4th of July weekend… put on our 4th of July playlist and don’t blow any fingers off with firecrackers or burn yourself on sparklers… Enjoy!

Cheers!

Review: Alt/Hard Rockers Queens Of The Stone Age Return After Six Years With ‘In Times New Roman’

~ Kenneth Corsini ~ 2 Comments

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Last Friday the Queens of the Stone Age – Josh Homme (guitars/keyboards/vocals), Troy Van Leeuwen (guitars/keyboards), Dean Fertita (guitars/keyboards), Michael Schuman (bass) and Jon Theodore (drums) – returned after six years with their new album In Times New Roman. I’ve always been more of a Helvetica man myself, but I do love this hard rocking album.

I’ve always thought of the Queens as more of a collective of musicians built around leader Josh Homme than a traditional band. I think that’s a mistake on my part. The current line up, listed above, has been in place for over 15 years (save for drummer Jon Theodore but he’s been around for a decade) which is pretty stable. I think I felt that collective vibe about the Queens because vocalist Mark Lanegan (Screaming Trees) and drummer, original Foo Dave Grohl (yes, I know he does more than drum) have done stints in the band. And in my defense there was quite a few line up changes in the early days.

I’ve made no secret I was late getting on the QOTSA bandwagon. I I was driving around in my car in 2013 when a local radio station went old school and played …Like Clockwork in it’s entirety. I loved that album. It came on the heels of a near death health situation for Homme and that music is dripping in an existential murk that I could not resist. I was also equally taken with Homme’s work on Iggy Pop’s Post Pop Depression as producer and guitarist. Naturally when Villains came out, I was a huge fan. That album was a pure rock n roll groove… it was almost dance-able… if you’re into that sort of thing. I’m a confirmed wallflower, so no thanks to the dancing. Naturally, since the Queens of the Stone Age have been around for a while, their old school fans who’d been on the bandwagon longer than I were dismayed by the new-ish musical directions Homme took the band on those latter two LPs.

After …Like Clockwork and Villains I went back and picked up 2002’s Songs For the Deaf, another great album. Usually, at that point, three LPs in and digging what I’d heard, I’d have gone “whole hog” on their back catalog and devoured the other four of their first five albums. For some reason I didn’t do that. While I absorbed this LP to prepare my comments I went back and listened to that back catalog. Let me say, their debut LP is fabulous – but I’ve always loved debut albums – as is Lullabies To Paralyze. Don’t skip Rated R either, it’s a great second album, defying the “sophomore slump” that so often hits a band.

Having gone back and listened to the early stuff, I have to say In Times New Roman feels like a return to that heavy, alternative riff rock of say, Lullabies to Paralyze. Josh Homme has been through a lot in the last six years – a very public, messy divorce; a battle with cancer; legal issues stemming from kicking a camera into a camera woman’s face), and perhaps retrenching to their older, heavier sound was a way to center himself. Gone is the aforementioned murk of …Like Clockwork or the dance-able grooves of Villains. This album just plain rocks. That’s not to say it’s monochromatic in any sense of the word. Over great squalling guitars the vocals just soar. Also I love Josh’s word play: obscene scenery becomes “Obscenery,” motion sickness turns into “Emotional Sickness,” carnivore becomes “Carnavoyuer.” You can’t say Josh doesn’t have a sense of humor. One of his nicknames was “Ginger Elvis” after all…

There is a lot to love on this album. Especially if you like rock n roll and guitar. The riffs on this album feel heavier than the previous two albums, if that’s possible? The lyrics while not specific sound focused on the end of his relationship with his wife… and it was a bad ending. Although the singing on the record conjures more resolve than anger. Every listen to this album seemed to open up something new for me. I’ll admit, while the first single, “Emotional Sickness” didn’t grab me as hard as the first single from Villains, “The Way You Used To Do,” it is a great song and a fitting first single. It’s got a riff that reminds me of the White Stripes for some reason. Over a ferocious riff, Josh sings “Baby Don’t care for me, I had to let her go, oh…” I feel that in my bones, man.

There are two tracks that I believe rank amongst QOTSA’s best music. “Time And Place” may be my favorite. That song just grabs me by the lapels. Its got a nimble riff and great groove. Who doesn’t love a lyric like “I realize you’re like a bummed cigarette, suicide in slow motion…” Having bummed a cigarette or two in the 90s, I can relate. I can listen to this song alone on repeat and I’d say it’s worth the price of admission here. The other song I’d rank amongst their “best ever” would be “Carnavoyuer.” It’s almost Bowie-esque and has the most exquisite tortured guitar. The harmonies on the chorus will also draw you in.

There’s so much great, straight-up rock on this album. “Obscenery” is the first track and a great opener… tribal drums and guitar. “Made To Parade” which seems to be a jab at those who climbed the corporate ladder is a solid rocker and a favorite… perhaps for personal reasons. “Paper Machete,” whose title I misread as “Paper Mache” for the first few listens, has a driving riff and will get you out of your chair headed for your “air-guitar.” “Negative Space” is another great tune with a slower more grinding riff. “What The Peephole Say” is a twitchy, paranoid rocker. The albums ends with the epic, 9-minute plus “Straight Jacket Fitting,” with an acoustic guitar coda that is a fitting ending.

If you’re worried about rock n roll – especially on the heavier, harder end of the rock n roll pool – have no fear. Josh Homme and the lads in QOTSA are here to rock your world, hard, on In Times New Roman. This is an album best listened to at top volume and when was the last time you heard something like that?

Cheers!

Review: John Mellencamp, The Politically Charged ‘Orpheus Descending,’ His Best LP Since…

~ Kenneth Corsini ~ 2 Comments
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“If there’s a will, there’s always a fucking way…” – John Mellencamp, “Orpheus Descending”

I was stunned a few weeks ago to see that John Mellencamp had released two new songs, “Hey God” and “The Eyes Of Portland,” and had an album coming out this month. Both new songs are really superb protest songs but that’s not what surprised me. It’s only been a year since Mellencamp’s last album Strictly A One-Eyed Jack. Like most artists these days, Mellencamp typically takes more time between albums. Prior to last year’s album it had been five years since his previous album, 2017’s Sad Clowns And Hillbillies. I liked both those albums, especially Strictly A One-Eyed Jack, which featured a great duet with Bruce Springsteen, “Wasted Days.” One year between albums is a pretty quick turnaround these days. And I have to admit, right out of the chute, nothing prepared me for the stunning beauty and emotional power of the songs that make up Orpheus Descending.

To put it simply, Orpheus Descending is the best album Mellencamp has put out since… pick your last favorite Mellencamp LP… 1998’s mid-career, eponymous titled album (John Mellencamp, not to be confused with 1979’s John Cougar)? John Mellencamp, like all mid-career eponymous titled LPs, was huge creative statement. Although I might argue that Orpheus Descending is Mellencamp’s strongest album since 2007’s Freedom’s Road. Named after a play written by Tennesee Williams, this album finds Mellencamp in the same cranky mood he’s been in since… well, Scarecrow? He’s always had a political streak, well since the aforementioned Scarecrow, but I’m not sure he’s ever been this “plain spoken.” Beyond the political, there are some of Mellencamp’s most poignant, personal songs here as well. Of course, all of these songs feel personal. That’s the key with really strong songwriting, making the universal struggle feel personal. In these fucked up, crazy times I was wondering if anybody was going to step up and drop some great protest music… it turns out it’s not Harry Styles… its John Mellencamp. Over the last 40 years 1.3 TRILLION dollars have shifted from the lower 80% (middle and working class folks) to the upper 1%. We’re back to the Gilded Age where a handful of billionaires playing at astronaut are hording money while the rest of us are left to all live in the same tenement… Sorry, I digress…this isn’t a political blog…

I’ll also readily admit that Mellencamp’s voice has faced the ravages of cigarettes and time… or perhaps better said, the ravages of too many cigarettes over too long a time. When I played “Hey God” for the Rock Chick she said, “Great song but his voice sounds like shit.” I laugh now that I said his voice sounded craggy on Sad Clowns And Hillbillies. It’s only gotten “craggier” (if that’s a word?). Me, I like a good weathered voice. I just raved about Dylan’s singing on his new album Shadow Kingdom. That should tell you where I stand on vocals. I just want to feel some emotion from the singer… not everybody has to sound like Steve Perry singing “Faithfully.” I will say this, “Hey God” may be the best protest song since Stephen Stills wrote “For What It’s Worth,” recently covered by Stevie Nicks. There is definitely a man with a gun over there… run for cover.

Mellencamp has been pretty clear that he’s not out here trying to write hits anymore and this album, due to it’s overt politics – he sings about guns, homelessness and poverty – probably isn’t aimed at the charts, but damn if the music isn’t fantastic. This is not a slog to listen to by any stretch of the imagination. It’s back to that rootsy Lonesome Juiblee sound that he’s favored on most his albums since Freedom’s Road. One might think of this album as the “Lonesomer Jubilee.” The key to this album musically is the return of a former band member. If asked, I’d have guessed drummer Kenny Aronoff had returned. I always loved his drumming with Mellencamp. But no, it’s Lisa Germano on violin that unlocks the real beauty of this music. Her violin is all over this album and it is to Mellencamp’s music what Clarence Clemons’ sax was to Springsteen’s… the physical embodiment of whatever emotion the singer is trying to convey. She brings a soulfulness to these songs. 

The album starts with a trio of great political broadsides. I’ve written about “Hey God,” and “The Eyes of Portland” (about mass shootings and homelessness respectively) already. I won’t say more here. The third of the opening tracks, “The So Called Free,” a mid-tempo affair filled with a bunch of slide guitar. I like the last line, “I recognize the danger Of all these false prophecies, Just leaning on a cane on the corner In the land of the so-called free…” It’s political but there’s a personal undercurrent about a relationship gone bad?

The most personal track on here follows, “The Kindness Of Lovers.” While he sings about two kinds of lovers, there is certainly very little kindness in this song. Perhaps the relationship that had gone bad hinted at in “The So Called Free” is the topic here. This song is dripping in regret. It has the most desolate lyric I’ve read in a long time, “I wish I had more time, aw, I’d just waste it…” “Amen” is a stylistic left turn and I love it. It’s got a jaunty piano and propulsive drums, it’s almost jazz. The narrator outlines our current terrible situation in the world and all he can compel himself to say is… “Amen.”

My favorite track here is the title track. It’s probably no coincidence it’s the most raucous track here. It starts with strong drums and guitar. It’s an absolute call to action. It’s a rocking ray of hope in the despair. ” Darkness has found us, with blood up to our knees, I don’t care what they say, If there’s a will, there’s got to be a way.” Germano’s violin makes the song sound almost exotic. It’s a striking tune.

The next two tracks are more personal to my ear. “Understated Reverence” is another beautiful piano ballad. He name checks Bukka White, blues master, in the track. A prayer for deliverance. Lisa Germano’s violin floats around the piano notes like a butterfly. The next track also feels personal to me, “One More Trick.” It could be used to describe my career… perhaps that’s what Mellencamp is talking about when he sings, “So they finally got that noose around my neck…I got one more trick up my sleeve.” I like the acoustic slide guitar on that one. “Lightning and Luck” is another “Lord, help us track.” “Perfect World” is a great “broken-up” song. “I’d never let you slip through my fingers in a perfect world.” I think we’ve all been there. “Backbone” is another song where our narrator is hoping for the strength – the backbone – to get through this difficult world we’ve created.

This is just great, rootsy rock n roll with some of the most meaningful lyrics I’ve heard Mellencamp commit to tape. Often when I hear lyrics with serious intent I say, you wouldn’t play this at a party… frankly I might play this album turned up loud with a tumbler of sour mash in my hand while I say things like Barry Fitzgerald in A Quiet Man, “I’m headed to the tavern to talk a little treason.” This is the kind of great, late period album that B&V was founded to extol. I can’t recommend this album highly enough.

Remember, when things look dark, “if there’s a will, there’s got to be a fucking way…” The change you seek starts with you. 

Cheers!

Playlist: In Honor of Summer, We Celebrate Our Love Of… Cars

~ Kenneth Corsini ~ 22 Comments
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*Photograph of this “classic” AMC Hornet, while not my dad’s car, is eerily similar…although dad never would have sprung for the “fancy” two-tone white/orange interior

While summer doesn’t officially start until June 21st, it’s in full swing here at B&V. I’ve already broken out the Summer Playlist while I struggle to baste my body in the sun. When summer hits I can’t help but get nostalgic about those old family summer vacations. Ah, memories. I even posted a Virtual Vacation Playlist during those dark summer days during COVID. Whenever I fly these days, and it’s rare, I see all these families traveling with so much luggage it looks like they’re using the airline to help them move instead of merely going on a beach vacation. When I was, as Tom Petty used to sing, “a boy in short pants,” my dad would load the family and all our luggage up in the car and off we’d go. With me and my brother in the backseat (Dad: “Don’t make me come back there…”), dad with his farmer’s tan in the front with mom, we were the Road Kings…although talk about close quarters…”he’s on my side again…” We’d usually drive to Silver Dollar City for summer “vacay,” but we were known to drive farther. We did Colorado once, which ended an historic bar fight in the back seat between my brother and I… no surprise, my fault. And in 1976 we actually drove from the middle of the country to Cape Cod so we could walk Boston’s Freedom Trail. Grandma and Grandpa went with us so we had two cars and I remember communicating via toy walkie-talkies… the struggle was real.

Of course the importance of the car, especially in America is so much larger than just vacations. My father was never what I would call a car aficionado. When I was a little kid he bought a used, dark green, nondescript Ford that would continuously and randomly breakdown. He went from that to a Chrysler K-Car. The K-Car had all the charisma of a Soviet-era, Eastern Bloc automobile. It was the most hideous car in a long line of hideous cars my father owned. Of course my mom had the nice car in the family, an Oldsmobile 88. It had crushed velvet, bench seats. When I started dating I learned to love that car…ahem. In my mind, my father’s worst car was an orange AMC Hornet (pictured above). It didn’t have power-steering and was a manual “three on the tree.” Try being a high school “dude” driving with your arm around your girl in that thing… actually I would work the clutch and she’d shift the gears. But at 120 lbs soaking wet, I more wrestled that power-steering-less car than drove it. It did have the advantage of being a little hatchback… the back seat folded down and it was basically a bed on wheels. In high school we’d drive up and down a street called Metcalf, from the McDonalds on the north end to the Hardees on the south end, “Drinking beer in the soft summer rain…”

I make fun of my dad but my car history is not much better. The Rock Chick is the “car guy” in my family. She says I treat my car like it’s a golf cart. My first car, which I didn’t own, I just had access to, was yes, the famous orange AMC Hornet. In case you’re wondering, the American Motor Company is now defunct. That car was a disaster but I didn’t care, that Hornet represnted FREEDOM… to go where I wanted, when I wanted. The first car I owned was a Camaro LT. It was about six years old when we bought it – my folks helped me. It was the color of wet mud. I called it the “Dirt Mobile,” because, gads my wife is right… I’ve always treated my cars like golf carts… and it was always dirty. I’ve always felt bad about the Dirt Mobile. The people we bought it from loved that car. They took photos of me driving away in it. I had wrecked it within 2 months. I tore up a lot of highway in that thing… My next car was purchased during my Arkansas exile. It was another Chevy, only less cool and I really did basically live in that car. I can remember so many late nights driving either to or from Arkansas, always headed away from something, chasing something in the night. Those were tough days.

If I’m being honest, all these thoughts about cars were really inspired, big surprise, by a car song. I heard the song “She Loves My Automobile,” a ZZ Top deep track I’ve always loved and it got me thinking about “Car Songs.” Not songs about the road (I did a road playlist which I think needs a new version), or driving per se (though its hard to separate the driver and the car), but songs about cars – whether it’s a specific Cadillac, Chevrolet or hell, a taxi, I wanted songs about cars. What I love about car songs it they really encapsulate everything the car symbolizes: freedom, escape, sex, even the journey through life. Or if you’re Paul Simon, I guess “cars are (just) cars.” Ike built the interstate highways and a generation of Kerouac inspired teens hit the road in kinds of different cars, buses and trucks. I left off motorcycles, they’re a vehicle all to themselves. I’ve always fell on that restless side of society. One eye on the road but one eye always on the horizon.

I have attempted to include all my favorite car songs below. I did include a few songs about trucks as I know there are a lot of pickup enthusiasts out there. I have a few songs about buses, because not everyone can afford a car. I also have songs about limos because some folks don’t have to ride the bus… And while most of these tracks are pretty upbeat, I did include a few ballads and sad songs… because not every car story is a happy one. I think I captured all aspects of what the car symbolizes from escape and or freedom on down… While I know a lot of people really like having an expensive “flashy” car, I tend to agree with George Harrison, “it depends on what you value.”

The BourbonAndVinyl.net favorite songs about Cars…with my pithy comments below. It can be found on Spotify. Play these songs in order or random. Or create your own…(Any song with an (*) is not on the Spotify list, ie Neil Young). Hopefully we’ve found a new song you haven’t heard or put an old track you haven’t heard in a while back in your head. I dedicate it to all of you folks out there, driving up and down dark, two-lane highways in the wee small hours…

  1. ZZ Top, “She Loves My Automobile” – I love this song. “She don’t care if I’m stoned or sloppy drunk, she’s got the keys and there’s a spare wheel in the trunk…” The Rock Chick’s theme?
  2. Wilson Pickett, “Mustang Sally” – I indulged myself on the first track, so I had to hit you with the greatest car song ever recorded for the second…
  3. The Rolling Stones, “Brand New Car” – Who doesn’t love that new car smell?
  4. Steve Miller Band, “Mercury Blues” – My junior high football coach drove a Mercury. I was in it when I heard the news Elvis Presley died…
  5. The Doors, “Cars Hiss By My Window” – The Doors were one of the greatest blues bands ever… cars rushing by do sound a little like the waves on a beach…
  6. U2, “Fast Cars” – One of my favorite tracks from the How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb sessions that inexplicably was left as bonus track.
  7. War, “Low Rider” – I used to hang in this park where on late Saturday afternoons a low rider car club would pull up to have a cookout. Amazing rides…
  8. Foreigner, “Rev On The Red Line” – Ah, the timeless old attraction of drag racing…
  9. ZZ Top, “I’m Bad, I’m Nationwide” – Our hero describes three different rides (cold blue steel, Cadillac, V-8 Ford). Whether he’s got a “blues man in the back and a beautician at the wheel,” or “a fine fox in front with three more in the back,” I wanna get in this man’s car.
  10. Neil Young & Crazy Horse, “Chevrolet”* – An epic Crazy Horse jam about a Chevy from their latest New World Record.
  11. Rush, “Red Barchetta” -My hand to God, I always thought a Barchetta was an actual car.
  12. Van Halen, “Panama” – It took years before I realized Roth was talking about a car.
  13. Bob Dylan, “From A Buick 6” – Our narrator has a “junk yard angel” whose always bound to “put a blanket on (his) bed…”
  14. The Beatles, “Drive My Car” – Where our narrator is recruited to be a driver by a young lady, who is going to be a star, just ask her… but alas she doesn’t have a car.
  15. Tom Waits, “Ol’ 55” – Waits captures that early morning feeling when you have to crawl out of bed and drive home… the longing of missing your baby after having to hit the road.
  16. Tracy Chapman, “Fast Car” – This great song is the ultimate example of the car as a symbol of escape… in this case, an escape from an extraordinarly difficult life.
  17. David Bowie, “She’ll Drive The Big Car” – Escape again as the theme in this great Bowie deep track… I prefer when the Rock Chick drives… I get to work the radio.
  18. Elvis Presley, “Long Black Limousine” – The King describing a local hero returning in a long black limo, which sadly is a hearse. He could have been describing his own end…chilling if you think about it.
  19. Chuck Berry, “No Particular Place To Go” – Chuck takes his baby out for a drive…with no destination in mind…if you believe him… ah, parking!
  20. The Beach Boys, “Little Deuce Coupe” – I despise the Beach Boys, but this song had to be here.
  21. Neil Young & The Bluenotes, “Coupe De Ville”* – Great bluesy track about a luxury vehicle. Sometimes all we’ve got left is our car.
  22. Paul Simon, “Cars Are Cars” – While there is a ton of symbolism in the songs on this list, not so much with Paul.
  23. The Rolling Stone, “Black Limousine” – Great Stones deep track.
  24. The White Stripes, “The Big Three Killed My Baby” – Somehow GM, Ford and Chrysler conspired to kill this poor guy’s squeeze.
  25. Jim Croce, “Rapid Roy (That Stock Car Boy)” – I’m more of an F1 man myself. This one is for my folks. They drove us all over hell and back, it’s the least I can do to include Croce.
  26. Bob Seger, “Makin’ Thunderbirds” – We used to be the car makers for the world.
  27. The Who, “Magic Bus” – Our hero dreams of buying the bus he takes everyday to see his baby. Clearly an entreprenuer in the making.
  28. David Crosby, “Drive My Car” – One of my favorite solo tracks from Croz, who we sadly lost this year.
  29. Janis Joplin, “Mercedes Benz” – Janis asking her deity for a little help with the wheels.
  30. Jeff Beck, “Hot Rod Honeymoon” – From Beck’s later solo stuff. RIP Jeff.
  31. Tom Petty, “Turn This Car Around” – Many a night I felt this way…many times in my life I felt this way too.
  32. Dishwalla, “Counting Blue Cars” – Weird song maybe only I like. I do like blue but I’ve never counted cars.
  33. INXS, “On A Bus” – Early INXS that sounds almost Prince like.
  34. Paul McCartney, “The Back Seat Of My Car” – Typical of McCartney, taking a simple song about parking with his girl and blowing it up like it’s Wagner.
  35. Grateful Dead, “Truckin'” – For you trucking enthusiasts out there. I love the line, “I’d like to get some sleep before I travel, but if you’ve got a warrant I guess you’re gonna come in…”
  36. Foghat, “Terraplane Blues” – Foghat covering the great Robert Johnson.
  37. Led Zeppelin, “Trampled Under Foot” – You don’t often hear the lyric, “Trouble free transmission…”
  38. U2, “Daddy’s Gonna Pay For Your Crashed Car” – Having wrecked my car in college, I can testify that “daddy” did not pay for it.
  39. Mike Ness, “I’m In Love With My Car” – Social D’s front man stepping out for a little solo “joyride.”
  40. The Firm, “Cadillac” – Big ponderous music about a luxury car from Jimmy Page and Paul Rodgers’ 80s supergroup, The Firm.
  41. Pearl Jam, “Gone” – Pearl Jam are starting to amass quite a few car songs…This one alwyas hits me. “When gas in the tank feels like money in the bank…” This takes me back to my early days.
  42. T. Rex, “Jeepster” – I had a buddy who had a jeep. We’d ride around in it and drink beer and listen to Pink Floyd’s Animals.
  43. Queen, “I’m In Love With My Car” – Can’t say I ever loooved a car I’ve had…but then I’ve never had a Maserati.
  44. Gary Numan, “Cars” – My brother had this album…
  45. Bruce Springsteen, “Pink Cadillac” – Springsteen singing about a car painted my least favorite color, but at least he brought the Big Man, Clarence Clemons along for a massive sax solo.
  46. Prince, “Little Red Corvette” – His greatest song? From the amazing 1999.
  47. Big Star, “Back Of My Car” – What is going on in the back of all these cars? I was late to the Big Star band wagon…
  48. David Bowie, “Always Crashing In The Same Car” – A song about Bowie’s career that could be coincidentally about my career.
  49. Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, “Mary’s New Car” – Great Petty deep track. “And we wanna go where she goes…”
  50. Bruce Springsteen, “Racing In The Streets” – On the surface a very sad ballad, but if you listen, you can hear the redemption.
  51. Johnny Cash, “One Piece At A Time” – I know, I know, it’s a novelty song, but it’s the Man In Black.
  52. Commander Cody & His Lost Planet Airmen, “Hot Rod Lincoln” – Plenty of Cadillacs, finally a Lincoln. Grandpa had a Lincoln Town Car.
  53. The Clash, “Brand New Cadillac” – I love how unhinged the Clash sound on this song.
  54. Neil Young, “Sedan Delivery”* – Sounds like a good job…
  55. Rod Stewart (With Elton John), “Let Me Be Your Car” – Rod with Elton on piano doing an Elton/Bernie Taupin original.
  56. John Fogerty, “Hot Rod Heart” – One of all the supermarket race car drivers out there.
  57. Chuck Berry, “Maybellene” – Chuck drag racing with is girlfriend…
  58. ZZ Top, “Chevrolet” – Chevy’s are so popular with these musicians.
  59. The Kinks, “Gallon Of Gas” – Great blues rock tune about having a great car but not being able to fill the gas tank…
  60. Gene Clark, “Roadmaster” – Who amongst us can remember the mighty Buick Roadmaster?
  61. The Donnas, “Take Me To The Backseat” – I love these rockin’ chicks!
  62. Bruce Springsteen, “Cadillac Ranch” – Another Bruce tune, another Cadillac. This is a real place in like, Texas?
  63. The Who, “Going Mobile” – One for my buddy Doug who now owns an RV…which was not on my bingo card.
  64. Wings, “Helen Wheels” – McCartney getting nostalgic for those early Wings days in the tour van.
  65. Stephen Stills, “Black Queen” – “This is a song about a car.”
  66. John Hiatt, “Tennessee Plates” – I had a manager at a restaurant I worked at who was arrested on the day shift for driving with stolen plates…Ah, summer jobs.
  67. Stills-Young Band, “Long May You Run”* – Neil’s great ode to his favorite car.
  68. George Harrison, “It’s What You Value” – George had a drummer who passed up salary on a tour in exchange for Harrison’s Rolls.

That’s our list of favorites but if you have a good song about a car – not the road, a car – drop it in the comments and I’ll add it in if it’s a fit! Hopefully this playlist will get you a little farther on down the road wherever you’ve pointed your car to go.

Cheers and remember folks, “Don’t drive angry.”

Review: Bob Dylan, ‘Shadow Kingdom’ – A Surprising, Great Listen! What’s Old Is New Again

~ Kenneth Corsini ~ 6 Comments
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Bob Dylan, like every other artist in the world, wasn’t able to tour for a few years because of the COVID epidemic. I’m sure this hit Dylan extra hard since he’s been on what they call the “Never Ending Tour” for years now. The guy is a road warrior. Anyway, he had to hit pause on that in 2020-2021. In lieu of touring, many artists took to the inter-web and did streaming stuff. Dylan was no exception and July 18th of 2021 he premiered what I thought was a concert event, Shadow Kingdom: The Early Songs Of Bob Dylan. Contrary to what the Rock Chick thinks, we’re not made of money so I did not pay the fee to watch the thing and I remained under the impression it was a live event until only recently. Apparently, it was a film. Dylan brought in a director and actors to pretend to play the songs and filmed it. It was set in a basement bar, or so I hear. I heard good things about the film and still look forward to actually seeing it sometime… Now, two years down the road, Dylan has released “the soundtrack” featuring the tracks from the movie and it’s simply entitled, Shadow Kingdom.

The crux of the movie, and the recording that now accompanies it, was Dylan revisiting tracks from early in his career. While this isn’t a live recording, the album does feature new re-recorded versions of songs from through out Dylan’s career. Sadly, he didn’t include anything from his sensational latest LP, Rough And Rowdy Ways… I guess it would have been hard to include the almost 17 minute “Murder Most Foul,” but a man can wish, can’t he? He did have a great backing band on these tracks: legend T-Bone Burnett, much sought after session guys Greg Leisz and Tim Pierce, Steve Bartek and Ira Ingber all on guitar. Jeff Taylor and Doug lacy play the accordion which is quite prominent on these recordings. I heard a joke once, that the definition of a gentleman is a man who knows how to play the accordion but chooses not to… Have no fear the accordion works here… Producer Don Was plays upright bass and John Avila plays the electric bass. Surprisingly, Dylan does not use a drummer on these tracks. It’s not unheard of, Lou Reed didn’t use a drummer on his life LP Animal Serenade, but it was a surprise.

I have to admit, I didn’t have the highest expectations around these recordings. When I first approached this album I still thought it might be live. The last time I saw Dylan it was terrible. I couldn’t hear the vocal, it was way down in the mix. I couldn’t recognize many of the songs he played and I consider myself a Dylan-ophile. Frankly, opener Merle Haggard blew him off the stage. Dylan’s set list that night could best be described as “obscure.” That’s not the case with the song selection here. There are some of his most iconic songs: “Tombstone Blues,” “Queen Jane Approximately,” “Forever Young,” and “It’s All Over Now Baby Blue” to name but a few. I was immediately drawn in. But what I didn’t expect was some of his better known, deeper tracks. I was thrilled to see “When I Paint My Masterpiece” as the opener. He also does the track “Watching The River Flown,” which originally could only be found on his first Greatest Hits LP. I was delighted to see “What Was It You Wanted” from 1989’s Oh Mercy!, the youngest track here. Suffice it to say, this is a great group of songs.

Once I started listening to these recordings, I was frankly, blown away. Perhaps it was the blessing of having low expectations. Dylan’s voice sounds better than it has in years. He sings with great emotion and nuance, on every song. Yes, his voice is weathered and fried from too many KOOL menthols, but he sounds great here. And lets be honest, if you’re complaining about Dylan’s voice you’re probably on the wrong train. The vibe of the music is that of a bluesy late night, after-hours bar where you’d have to have a password or know somebody to get in. The band sounds so great I don’t miss a drummer. As I mentioned the accordion is prevalent and it gives the songs, to my ear, a bit of a Southwest, Tex-Mex, down by the border flavor.

There are so many highlights. I love the opener, “When I Paint My Masterpiece.” It’s a great tune and it’s done very well here. “Mostly Likely You’ll Go Your Way And I’ll Go Mine” feels propulsive to the point you don’t miss the drums… almost, anyway. “Queen Jane Approximately” is dripping with longing. “I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight” almost sounds rockabilly. These are great re-imaginings of these songs. I will admit, I always thought in “Tombstone Blues,” the lyric was “daddy’s in the alley looking for food,” and apparently Dylan has changed it to “looking for the fuse,” which makes it more menacing.

I love that he pulls out “What Was It You Wanted,” a great meditation on fame. The version of “Forever Young” here is one of the most beautiful I’ve heard. “Pledging My Time” is the bluesiest tune here and it’s wonderful. I was also delighted to see Dylan do “Wicked Messenger” which has been covered by both the Faces and Black Keys. This rendition of “Watching The River Flow” delivers the original’s rollicking fun in all it’s glory. There’s a new song, an instrumental, that I actually really enjoyed, “Sierra’s Theme.” It’s a hypnotic little number.

This album was just such a treat to listen to. I went in with low expectations and the band and Dylan’s singing just swept me away. Naturally, I’m a huge Dylan fan so I love all of the original versions of these songs but these re-imaginings are well worth your time. Dylan continues to excite and amaze some 60 years into the gig. This album is more than just a COVID-era artifact.

“Someday everything is gonna sound like a rhapsody, when I paint my masterpiece…” Cheers!

 

Urban Legend: Phil Collins Witnessed A Death & Put It To Music, “In The Air Tonight,” With A KC Twist!

~ Kenneth Corsini ~ 14 Comments

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What a couple of weeks it’s been since I took a short break from B&V. We sadly lost Tina Turner and John Mellencamp released two great protest songs… but then I’ve always loved Protest Songs. Here at B&V the wife has gone on the lamb with her daughter for a “girl’s weekend.” Or as I like to refer to it, Thelma & Louise Ride Again. In the old days, when the Rock Chick left me all alone, she would typically return to find me buried under empty bourbon bottles, my face smeared with peanut butter, watching old concert videos and quite possibly weeping. This trip, she left me a list of things I had to do in her stead while she was gone. Who knew plants needed watering? The cat needs to be fed… can’t he forage? Truthfully, I never realized how busy the Rock Chick was around here…perhaps she’s due a raise? Instead of partying like I just got out of jail this weekend, I’m just busy filling in for her. I will say, she at least left some food in the house this time… Anyway, I may sneak off to the Used Record Store tomorrow… fingers crossed.

As I was standing in my front yard watering plants in my bathrobe the other morning, I had my trusty ear buds in and was shuffling through a vast variety of tunes. I heard the classic 80s track by Phil Collins, “In The Air Tonight.” It’s got perhaps the greatest entry of the drums on a song this side of “Stairway To Heaven.” I have to say it stirred up quite a few memories for me. I can remember back in the old days, when I was a working stiff mowing lawns as my summer job and riding around in my cohort Brewster’s car cranking that tune. He had a powder blue Grand Prix (I think, the Rock Chick is the “car guy” in this family) with a white leather(?) roof. Brewster had commandeered the car from his parents and as he was a very enterprising young man, he earned the bread to install one of the best car stereos I’ve ever heard… Of course that memory may be fueled by beer and Mickey’s Big Mouths. I can remember driving from house to house on the lawn mowing gig, windows down and hearing those drums kick in… it was like being resuscitated with a defibrillator. We all loved “In The Air Tonight.” It wasn’t until years later when I was perhaps in college that I began to hear the story that there was some sinister shit behind that song…

Perhaps some context is in order. Phil Collins joined Genesis in the late 60s as the drummer. Genesis was famously fronted by costume-wearing lead singer Peter Gabriel. Now in those days, from the late 60s to the mid 70s, Genesis was a prog band. Worse yet they were an art rock band. Hence, Gabriel’s reverse Mohawk hair cut – bald in the middle, hair on the sides. At one point he performed concerts dressed as…a flower. They beat you up for that now in Florida… I think they were popular in the U.K., but not so much in America. I mean, I never heard anybody humming “The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway” in the halls of my junior high. Despite this lack of commercial success, when Gabriel split everyone predicted dire things for the rest of the guys in Genesis. Many of the rock intelligentsia believed Collins, Steve Hackett (guitar), Mike Rutherford (bass) and Tony Banks (keyboards) would end up like the guys in the Police, not named Sting.

Genesis searched for a lead singer but realized they had the guy they needed sitting behind them on the drums. Phil Collins became the drummer-slash-lead singer (drummer/lead singer). After two really solid LPs, guitarist Steve Hackett departed for a solo career. Later he formed a band with Yes guitarist Steve Howe named subtly, GTR. At that point, Genesis, reduced to just Collins/Rutherford/Banks, recorded the album …And Then There Were Three, a perfect title. They even had a hit in “Follow You Follow Me.” They’d been working their ass off for years and it started to pay off. They were determined to head out on the road and chase the success that had eluded them. At that very point Collins’ wife decides he’s been gone too much and splits to Canada. Actually she gave him a choice – Genesis or your family. He went on tour.

Stunned and depressed by his divorce Collins began to write very personal, intimate songs. Some were used by the band, like “Misunderstanding,” but some didn’t make the Genesis cut. As a form of, I don’t know, therapy, he began recording the songs himself. He had the music for “In The Air Tonight” but didn’t have lyrics so he did what so many great rock songwriters do, he improvised and just sang the first things that popped into his head. He was hurt and depressed and angry… so the lyrics sort of reflect that vibe. I never gave it much thought, I just liked the song.

A few years after that summer of mowing lawns and cranking “In The Air Tonight,” I began to hear those aforementioned sinister stories. Collins sings, among other things, “if you told me you were drowning, I would not lend a hand.” He also sings, “I was there and I saw what you did, I saw it with my own two eyes. So you can wipe off that grin, I know where you’ve been, It’s all been a pack of lies…” The story began to circulate – nay, the urban legend began to circulate – that Collins had witnessed a murder. Apparently some person out there had drowned a person, or had failed to help a person who was drowning. Collins, too far away to help the victim, watched helplessly from afar. But, apparently Collins knew the negligent person and sent him concert tickets. And the guy came to the show and Collins was supposed to have confronted him from the stage and then launched into the song. Very dramatic stuff, indeed. It sounds like an episode of Law and Order, torn from the headlines! I certainly hope the authorities were notified and were standing by… sigh.

On it’s face this story is preposterous. Collins has completely denied all of this, publicly. Why wouldn’t Collins have called the cops when it happened? Why send the guy concert tickets, that seems like a bit of a reward? I mean, Collins was big, so was Genesis. What would the point be? And yet, the rumor persists…

Now, if you lived in Kansas City, the story was slightly different. I had the original vinyl album of Face Value. I think I sold it at the Used Record Store when the Collins backlash hit in the 90s. If you’re as big as Phil was, backlash is bound to happen. Anyway, on the original vinyl album, amongst the liner notes was the instruction: Send all fan mail to… an address in Overland Park, Kansas which is a suburb of Kansas City. The urban legend about “In The Air Tonight” morphed in KC, there was a local twist. Collins didn’t confront the guy at a concert. No, no, Phil was just allegedly sending all his fan mail to the guy who drowned someone, like you do when you’ve witnessed a murder. The culprit supposedly knew Phil witnessed the murder and sending his fan mail to his address, now in KC, was Phil’s way of letting him know he knew? I guess?

Utterly preposterous, right? Perhaps, in the cold light of day, I could see how that would all be crazy. However, that didn’t stop me and one of my friends, Steve – half the people I knew in high school were named Steve, which may be proof I grew up in the suburbs – from getting in the car to go find the culprit’s house. This was before GPS and Google maps. We just had to figure it out using street numbers and addresses. We grabbed some beer and set off to… I don’t know, find the killer?

After meandering around the southern part of our neighborhood… if we’d gone any farther south we’d have been in farmland… the city really has grown a lot since then… we realized that the address was in an office park known as Corporate Woods. We had the temerity to enter the building and on the register of businesses, we realized it was a PR firm. How an Overland Park, Kansas based PR firm was hooked up with British drummer/lead singer Phil Collins is an almost more sinister mystery than the drowning stuff… but I digress. I couldn’t have felt stupider at the time… and truth be told, I feel kind of stupid even now.

So take it from me folks, there is no killer hiding in Corporate Woods being hectored by Phil Collins. I know this from my own arch investigative efforts… this case… is closed. Keith Morrison has nothing on me…

Cheers to all of you internet sleuths out there!