alternative rock

Review: Billy Idol Revisits His Landmark LP, 1983’s – ‘Rebel Yell – Expanded Edition’

~ kcorsini ~ 3 Comments

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Lately, I’ve been rather focused on the year 1984, having just done my playlist based on tracks from that big year in music, but with Billy Idol releasing Rebel Yell – Expanded Edition, I find myself turning back to 1983… which I thought I was done thinking about after last year’s Playlist: 1983. I’ve been looking forward to Rebel Yell – Expanded Edition since Billy released an outtake from those sessions, the Rose Royce cover “Love Don’t Live Here Anymore.” As I thought about Rebel Yell, I couldn’t help but come to the realization we’ve become pretty big Billy Idol fans around here at B&V over the last decade or so… we’ve seen him twice in concert in both Kansas City and Las Vegas and really enjoyed some of his more recent EPs like The Cage.

Of course, it wasn’t always this way – it took me a while to get into Billy Idol. His debut solo album came out the summer of 1982 and frankly, I didn’t discover Billy until I went to college that fall when I started seeing him on MTV. Billy had come out of the punk rock scene having been in Generation X and still looked the part – buzz cut, bleached blond hair, snarling lip, leather clothes. It may come as a surprise but for Midwest kids who grew up in the suburbs, we didn’t get a lot of exposure to punk. The only punk rock I ever heard was when 60 Minutes did a piece on punk in England in the late 70s… my father was so terrified at the prospect of punk “rubbing off” on me and my brother he threw himself on the television like it was a hand grenade… you’d have thought of a nude lady had popped up on the screen. When I got to college in Manhattan, Kansas the radio was abysmal – no rock n roll, just pop and country – and so my only exposure to Idol was on MTV. Rather than listen to the music and realize that “White Wedding,” “Hot In The City,” or “Dancing With Myself” (which wasn’t on the original album) were great rock n roll songs, we were all just hung up on that punk look. The skinny guy punching his fist in the air was too much for our suburban mind to wrap around… He rocked but he just didn’t have the long hair and spandex we were used to like say, David Lee Roth.

However, when his second album came out in 1983, the landmark Rebel Yell, even those put off by his appearance in the videos – and this may be the only case of a video hurting an artist with his rightful fan base – began to come around. I remember hearing the title track in the car, away from the video, and thinking, “Damn, that’s a great song.” I found out shortly after that from our new roommate Walt (name changed to protect the guilty), that Idol’s guitar player was named Steve Stevens – perhaps one of rock’s greatest underrated players. When “Eyes Without A Face” came out as a single, I began singing at inappropriate moments, at the top of my lungs, “Steal a car, go to Las Vegas, Ooh, gigolo pool…” prompting one of my bosses at the time to ask, “Steal a car? Vegas? What the fuck are you on?”

It was indeed our intrepid roommate Walt who finally turned me fully on to Idol. He sat me down and played “Blue Highway,” and something just clicked. I’d been so locked in musical spelunking from the 60s and 70s, I was blocking out music from “now.” I immediately taped Walt’s copy of the album from his cassette to a blank cassette. Years later I picked the album up on CD… and even later, just recently, on vinyl. It is an absolute masterpiece, there is not a bad song on the album.

The anthem of a title track is a heart thumper. The aforementioned “Eyes Without A Face” is the ultimate “not love” song. “Flesh For Fantasy” just shimmered out of the speakers. Idol came with that punk rock attitude, but he combined New Wave synths – and there are a ton of synths on this record – with Steve Stevens hard rock/classic rock guitar and found gold. Even the deep tracks like “Blue Highway” or “Do Not Stand In The Shadows” or “Crank Call” are just fantastic rock songs. The only track that isn’t a complete 10/10 might be “The Dead Next Door,” the atmospheric closer.

This Expanded Edition provides us with a bonus disc that has mostly demo’s of the songs on the album. There’s the aforementioned Rose Royce cover, “Love Don’t Live Here Anymore” that’s just dynamite. I guess Madonna covered the song in 1984, which I didn’t know about… clearly I’m not a big Madge fan. There was some question as to why Idol didn’t include his version on Rebel Yell, but when you’ve got nine “cooking” originals, who needs a cover? Of equal interest to me was another outtake, an Idol/Stevens original “Best Way Out Of Here.” It’s another great song… a little funky in parts, but I could have seen it replacing “The Dead Next Door” as a closing track. There’s another track, “Motorbikin’ – Session Take” – which brings to mind the Montrose song “Bad Motor Scooter” – that reads as a “live in the studio” track. I wish they’d spent a little more time developing that little rocker, I kind of liked it.

Alas, most of the rest of the bonus material are demos. I’d have loved a live concert from this era. The demos may be of interest to some folks, and there are some interesting moments, but I doubt folks are going to want to pour over Billy Idol’s creative process the way Dylanologists pour over Dylan’s early versions of songs. The exception might be the two demos of “Flesh For Fantasy.” The demo version here is a fast, sped up track. It only shares the title/chorus with the version we all know and love from the album. Then there’s a version from a “session take” which shows they’d started to go from the faster version to the slinky version and back again… Again, some of the early demo versions have different lyrics, but I was impressed at how many of the demos represent a close-to-final vision for the songs. Idol and Stevens were certainly on a roll!

Regardless of having only a handful of gems on the bonus material – and they are gems – if you’ve never bought Rebel Yell this is a nice way to pick it up. After the two main outtakes – “Love Don’t Live Here” and “Best Way Out” – the rest of this is nice to have, not need to have. But Rebel Yell remains a spectacular album and those two tracks are ones fans will certainly want. The source album is so brilliant, I have to recommend this package – on CD so it’s affordable – to any Billy Idol fan. This album plays so well it’s like a greatest hits record. Turn this one up loud and pump your fist in the air, baby!

Cheers!

Review: Pearl Jam’s 12th Studio LP, ‘Dark Matter’ – A Triumph!

~ kcorsini ~ 5 Comments

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While I was in the midst of mourning the loss of former Allman Brothers’ guitarist/singer/songwriter Dickey Betts, who passed Friday – which required me to listen to the entire early Allman Brothers’ catalog over the weekend including “Mountain Jam” – Pearl Jam released their 12th album Dark Matter. My apologies for the delayed reaction to this new Pearl Jam, but everyone mourns in their own way. I hate to be one of those guys who say, “This is Pearl Jam’s best record since…” but this is Pearl Jam’s best record… well, in a long time. It’s only been four years since their last LP, the uneven Gigaton, which of late is rather quick for Pearl Jam. They’d gone 7 years between Lightning Bolt and Gigaton prior to that. That seven year gap didn’t see Pearl Jam disappear. They toured almost every summer. It began to feel like Pearl Jam was treating the studio pretty casually… like they were old buddies from high school who got together every summer for a “guy’s trip.” Only in this case the “guy’s trip” was a world tour.

I began to wonder if they even cared about making studio albums any more which is unfair. Any of us who were fans of their early work – Ten, Vs, or Vitalogy – tend to have very high expectations of any new Pearl Jam release, not dissimilar to the expectations that surround any new U2 release. It’s just that Pearl Jam’s early stuff was so earnest and it touched an emotional chord in so many of us and I think we all long for a similar dopamine hit like we got from those early records. Those expectations were probably a drag for the band. But as everyone knows, Pearl Jam started to change their music – perhaps like a lot of bands it was to shun the fame and attention they’d garnered – and their albums sold less and less. For me, Riot Act was the album where Pearl Jam almost lost me. It may have been “the record they always wanted to make,” but man, it was a grim affair. Although, like every Pearl Jam record there were a few stone cold classic tracks.

It seemed like they’d really re-dedicated themselves on the self titled 2006 LP, Pearl Jam. A lot of bands try to make a major statement with a mid career eponymous album but that record didn’t really take off and was seemingly overshadowed by the Chili Pepper’s Stadium Arcadium at the time. They continued putting out really strong albums every 3 or 4 years since then – Backspacer (2009) and Lightning Bolt (2013) – and I really liked those records. But I don’t know if the sales or the attention were what they expected. So they did what a lot of bands did, they went on tour a bunch and kind of ignored the studio work. Gigaton dropped right before COVID hit so I feel a bit like that was a “lost album” of sorts. I still like “Superblood Wolfmoon.” But I have to admit, I’ve liked all of those Pearl Jam records since Pearl Jam, so it’s hard for me to pin down the “best Pearl Jam album since…” conversation. Pick your last favorite Pearl Jam LP and use that one in that sentence.

Dark Matter is simply put, the best Pearl Jam album I’ve heard in ages. Song by song, it’s their most consistent, strong album in perhaps decades. They just seemed so focused on this record. And while there haven’t been a lot of changes in approach, everything seems to be taken up a notch. Much of this may be because of the presence of producer Andrew Watt who worked with Vedder on Earthling. He’s also worked with Ozzy (Ordinary Man and Patient No. 9), Iggy Pop (Every Loser) and the Stones (Hackney Diamonds). Some of the ol’ audiophiles complain that Watt-produced albums sound “brickwalled” (highly compressed to sound louder), but I’m a huge fan of Watt’s. He seems to pull the best out of the artists he works with by getting them to do what they do best, to “be themselves.” The record was recorded quickly over a three week span, where as the band says, “Watt kicked our ass.” I love Pearl Jam, but if there was ever a band who needed an ass kicking in the studio…

Pearl Jam remains Eddie Vedder (vocals/guitar), Stone Gossard (guitar), Mike McCready (lead guitar), Jeff Ament (bass) and former Soundgarden member Matt Cameron (drums). Watt also added some guitar and keyboards. The band also brought former Chili Pepper Josh Klinghoffer who has been touring with them – and who was in Vedder’s backing band on his tour for Earthlings – into the studio to play some keyboards and guitar.

With that same personnel, the band sounds like Pearl Jam, but as I said, it’s all taken up a notch. The first thing I noticed was Vedder’s vocals. On their most recent albums, I’ve liked the ballads and slower tracks better because Vedder – who has one of the best and most emotionally expressive baritones in all of rock – actually sings on those songs. On the recent rockers, which often sound very punk influenced (“Mind Your Manners” for example), Vedder almost barks the lyrics, like he’s mad at us for listening. Not so on Dark Matter. From the title track to the ballads, Vedder is emotively singing and that is a very good thing for a Pearl Jam record. And might I say, Watt seems to have just completely unleashed Mike McCready’s lead guitar. I just love it every time he solo’s on this record. With those two stepping up, it makes this a great record, but Gossard/Ament/Cameron lock in the riffs and grooves and create a great foundation for each song.

There’s so much to like here. I loved the title track, “Dark Matter,” but have already posted on that one, I’ll add no more here… While I had to listen to “Scared Of Fear” twice before it clicked, it’s a great Pearl Jam rock song. McCready just shreds. I love the riff and the bouncy nature of the song… “We all like control, I surrender to you, dear,” Oh, yes. “React And Respond” is another tough rocker that may require a little more time to grow on me. I like Ament’s bass on that one. It’s a twitchy, punk thing. “Running” is a meet-me-at-the-finish-line, full tilt rocker. But again, here Vedder sings vs barks and I like it. It’s a heavy track. “Got To Give” competes with “Dark Matter” for my favorite rocker. It starts with some lovely acoustic guitar and then Cameron comes hammering in on the drums (in a good way). It’s an uplifting track and I believe will be sung along to in many a stadium near you this summer.

“Wreckage,” a track I saw someone compare to Tom Petty which I don’t hear, is another personal favorite. It’s a midtempo ear worm that I can’t stop listening to. “Won’t Tell” is another gorgeous tune. I’m calling it midtempo but it’s got a nice riff and beat. I love Eddie’s vocal here, but I’m starting to gush… “Waiting For Stevie” is epic rock at it’s best. It’s a track that must be listened to loud… not to improve it, I just like it loud. “You can be loved by everyone, And not feel, not feel love.” A lot of these lyrics seem to center around loss of some kind – loss of a relationship or the loss of American democracy, it’s hard to tell.

I will admit there are no ballads that hit me as hard as say, “Sirens” or “Yellow Moon” (the Rock Chick’s favorite) that were on Lightning Bolt. But the ballads here are all still great tunes. “Upper Hand” is the first one coming roughly in the middle of the album. It’s probably my favorite of the slower tracks. “Something Special” is another great one. “Setting Sun” ends the album on an atmospheric, acoustic note. They’re all three really good ballads but for the first time in quite a few Pearl Jam albums, my favorite songs are the rockers not the ballads.

Pearl Jam remains one of the greatest American bands ever. It’s nice to see them dig a little deeper, try a little harder, and come up with such a stunning late career album (or it maybe mid-career, one never knows about longevity). A good friend of ours procured a couple of tickets to see these guys on their upcoming tour and the Rock Chick and I couldn’t be more thrilled. It’ll be great to see our good friend and the lads in Pearl Jam as well… they feel like old friends too at this point. In the interim, I’ll just continue to keep Dark Matter on high rotation.

Play this one – one of the best albums of the year so far – up loud. Cheers!

Playlist: We Look Back 40 Years To The Epic, Blockbuster Year, Rock N Roll In… 1984

~ kcorsini ~ 11 Comments

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We’re fond of constructing playlists here at B&V and have been publishing them pretty much since we started this blog. It wasn’t until three years ago that we did our first playlist built from rock n roll tied to a specific year, in that case it was 1971. What a landmark year for music that was! It was so much fun, the next year we did a playlist of rock n roll from 1972. And after that we’ve had this rolling 50 year-lookback playlist we do to kick off every year. It was when I was doing my 1972 and later my 1973 playlist that I realized looking back 40 years to the 80s would be fun too and ended up doing playlists for 1982 and 1983. I guess I need to circle back and do 1981 at some point, since I didn’t do it the year I did 1971, but I digress. We did 1974 to kick off this year and now seems as good a time as any to look back only 40 years to 1984.

Ah, 1984… It wasn’t the dystopian nightmare of George Orwell’s novel but it was a pretty uptight time. I was in college and was surrounded by some of the most uptight young adults in the history of college. Don’t get me wrong, I met a lot of kindred spirits in those days: Drew, RK, Walt, the accountant, and Stormin’ to name a few who I actually still mention in these pages. While 1984 the actual year looked nothing like 1984 the novel, the Reagan administration was doing everything they could to bring it about. It seems we’ve saved the mass surveillance, permanent warfare, “cult of personality” and doublepeak (and alternative facts) for today’s world. I seem to remember the women had extremely tall hair and wore leg warmers. But then again so did a lot of the rock stars. “Greed is good” was a mantra. There was the L.A. Olympics, sadly boycotted by the Russians. I knew a guy who participated in those Olympics… he introduced me to Belinda Carlisle once after a Go-Go’s concert, but I’ve already told that story. Sadly nothing in that meeting happened that could have made a VH1 Behind The Music episode.

Despite all that grim stuff, we still managed to have a really good time. The movies were exceptional that year. The original Ghostbusters remains one of my all-time favorite movies. Beverly Hills Cop was another great comedy with Eddie Murphy, perhaps his best flick. I also dug the latest installment of the Indiana Jones franchise. I seem to remember watching a lot of Miami Vice and Magnum PI on television. I think the 49ers started their NFL dynasty around that time, but I don’t like the 49ers so I don’t know. But the thing that really got us through 1984 was the rock n roll. What a year that was! It was no 1971, but man it was pretty epic.

When I think about the 80s, and ’84 in particular the first thing I think is: synthesizers. In the 70s bands like Rush, Queen and Van Halen eschewed synths as an evil to be avoided. But by the mid-80s it had invaded the sound of every major band: Rush, Queen, Springsteen even used them, famously Van Halen, and a litany of synth-based pop bands. Along with the all conquering synth the second thing I remember about 1984 is the sound of the acoustic guitar virtually disappeared. It was odd. The main thing about 1984 was the large number of blockbuster records we got that year: 1984, Born In The U.S.A., Purple Rain, Heartbeat City, Learning To Crawl. It seems like every rock group who released an album that year released a huge selling album that spawned multiple hit singles. Granted the production values of the time immediately tie these albums to that particular era, but oh well, I still dig the music.

I also remember a proliferation of the types of music we listened to. Alternative rock was being born on college radio. Hip Hop was beginning to get noticed, even amongst the uptight folks I described earlier. Hair Metal had begun to raise it’s highly coiffed head. Synth pop/synth rock bands began to proliferate. Classic rock still existed but it had begun to change. As mentioned the synth popped up on every classic rock artist’s record. Most of those big 70s bands had split up and the 80s saw either the dawn of a solo career (Roger Waters, Steve Perry) or the continuation of a solo career (David Gilmour, Glenn Frey, Don Henley, John Lennon, Paul McCartney). Let’s admit it, MTV and the visual images the acts chose had a huge influence on what we heard and absorbed. I could sit drunk in front of MTV and watch for hours, mindlessly. Now I’m more likely to see a music video on the Weather Channel than on MTV.

I’ll be the first to admit to you, I was not cool enough to actually have been listening to some of these bands – especially the synth pop or the alternative rock bands – in 1984. Some of these bands took years for me to discover. I was too busy listening to music from the 70s to pick up on the then-current music of the 80s. I’m lucky the Rock Chick was a huge fan of a lot of this music and turned me on to much of it. She lead me to the Cult, Psychedelic Furs, and Echo & The Bunnyman. Some times it matters when you hear a song if you’re going to be a fan… sometimes you have to be ready to hear it. I was not ready for a lot of this in 1984… immature ears. Well, if I’m being honest, my immaturity went way beyond my ears but again, I digress.

With all these great albums and songs from 1984 to choose from, I used my usual tactic. I picked only songs from albums that were released in 1984. I chose only 1 song per album (you may like a different song from the album, which is cool). This is a rock n roll blog so I didn’t put much pop on here – there’s no Madonna or Wham!… although admittedly I like “Careless Whisper.” Kenny Loggins had his big hit “Footloose” but I like ’70s Loggins, not ’80s Loggins… and it’s a song about dancing. I don’t dance. I tried to capture the melange of different styles and moods from ’84 which means I can go from Sade to Metallica. You can listen straight through or you can shuffle. If you hear something you don’t like, skip it… if you hear something you like, turn it up. As always, I put these playlists together to remind you of a song you haven’t heard in a long time or better yet, to turn you on to something you’ve never heard before. Hence, all the different styles of music in one playlist. Below, you’ll see my pithy insights on each track… Enjoy!

  1. Van Halen, “1984” – Well, where else was I going to start? A keyboard instrumental entitled “1984” from an album entitled 1984 that introduced Eddie Van Halen‘s new fascination with keyboards and kicked off the year 1984. I do consider this to be merely the intro to “Jump,” so you’re getting two Van Halen tracks for the price of one.
  2. Van Halen, “Jump” – Such an iconic song all these years later (same for the video). I guess Eddie figured if he can fuel a Michael Jackson song (“Beat It”) to the top of the charts with one of his guitar solos, he could put out a synth heavy track and do the same for his own band.
  3. Bruce Springsteen, “Born In The U.S.A.” – This title track is my favorite song on the album. I can remember where I was when I first heard this album. The story of an anguished Vietnam vet, back in America trying to pull his life together.
  4. Queen, “Hammer To Fall” – Queen pulling out all the stops on this “balls-to-the-walls” rocker. Great guitar from Brian May. This was a comeback of sorts for the band everywhere in the world except maybe… the U.S.A.
  5. Sammy Hagar, “I Can’t Drive 55” – Sammy expressing the collective American highway angst when the speed limits were only 55 mph. Bill Clinton lifted that restriction during his first administration.
  6. Pretenders, “Middle Of The Road” – Chrissie Hynde singing, “I’m not the cat I used to be, I’ve gotta kid I’m 33, baby,” is what I live for. The Pretenders had been through a lot since their sophomore album… they’d lost two members and Hynde had her first kid. We were just glad they were back.
  7. David Bowie, “Blue Jean” – From the much maligned album, Tonight. I still love this track. I think there were 3 separate videos for this song. I considered “Loving The Alien” from this one too, another exceptional song on a so-so album.
  8. The Cars, “You Might Think” – We just posted about the epic record this song was from, Heartbeat City. I could have chosen almost any song on the album but went with this, the first single.
  9. Prince, “When Doves Cry” – From Prince’s masterpiece, Purple Rain. I considered “Let’s Go Crazy” or “Purple Rain” but there’s something about this song that pulls me in, 40 years later.
  10. Bon Jovi, “Runaway” – From their debut. I’m not a huge Bon Jovi fan, but I love this song. When that falsetto comes in at the end… crank that up and hit the gas pedal.
  11. Whitesnake, “Slide It In” – My all time favorite Whitesnake tune. I was playing this song, while doing “research” for this playlist and the Rock Chick wandered by the door and I heard her say, “Ooooh, that’s a great song.” Indeed.
  12. John Lennon, “Nobody Told Me” – From John’s first posthumous release. It was bittersweet hearing it – I dug the song, but it made me miss John Lennon… still do.
  13. General Public, “Tenderness” – Having just seen Dave Wakeling play this song when the English Beat opened for Adam Ant last month, I had to include it. Great, great song! (Great show too).
  14. Christine McVie, “Got A Hold On Me” – Probably her biggest solo hit. I remember the video, which made fun of making videos which was a thing back in ’84. Sad to think we just lost Christine McVie.
  15. Ratt, “Round And Round” – As I mentioned, Hair Metal had started to rear it’s heavily coiffed head by the mid 80s… This was a worthy example of the genre from Ratt’s debut.
  16. Dio, “The Last In Line” – I love Dio’s work in Rainbow, Sabbath and solo… but this is my all time favorite song of his. The video, where a kid gets in the elevator and it freefalls into Hell…and Ronnie has to descend down from a rooftop in New York to save him. Oh, Hell yes! That’s money.
  17. Scorpions, “Rock You Like A Hurricane” – Love At First Sting was the second Scorpion’s album I bought on vinyl (the first was Animal Magnetism). I’d recorded Blackout on cassette… I love this album. The Scorpions put out Rock Believer a while back and it took me back to those glory days.
  18. Talk Talk, “It’s My Life” – Always liked this song… No Doubt did a great cover version of it.
  19. Thompson Twins, “Hold Me Now” – I know nothing about the Twins of Thompson, but everyone I knew dug this song.
  20. The Smiths, “What Difference Does It Make” – From their debut, seemingly answering the question, “Were they always sad?”
  21. Missing Persons, “Surrender Your Heart” – A track I’d completely forgotten about. I quickly added it to my Valentine’s Playlist, Songs About Hearts.
  22. Wang Chung, “Dance Hall Days” – A track the Rock Chick introduced me. “To Live And Die In L.A.” is still my favorite of theirs, but this is a great song.
  23. April Wine, “This Could Be The Right One” – A dying gasp from April Wine… at least for radio play in K.C.
  24. David Gilmour, “Blue Light” – One of two competing albums from former Pink Floyd members on this list.
  25. Joe Jackson, “You Can’t Get What You Want (Till You Know What You Want)” – Joe Jackson in full jazzbo mode!
  26. The Go-Gos, “Head Over Heels” – I met Belinda Carlisle on the tour for this album in ’84. I wish I’d known more about how hard she partied before meeting her… that meeting could have gone a lot differently.
  27. INXS, “Original Sin” – I never get tired of hearing INXS.
  28. Run-D.M.C., “It’s Like That” – I’m on record as not being a huge Hip Hop fan, but this song did catch my attention way back when. A dude down the hall was a fan. Great stuff from these O.G.’s of Hip Hop.
  29. The Icicle Works, “Whisper To A Scream” – Another great song it took years for me to discover.
  30. R.E.M., (Don’t Go Back To) Rockville” – Reckoning, their second album, was the first one I bought.
  31. Rush, “Red Sector A” – Grace Under Pressure is probably the last Rush album I absolutely loved. This track, which was inspired by Geddy Lee’s family’s experience during the Holocaust, is stunning.
  32. Lee “Scratch” Perry, “Heads Of Government” – It’s always important to have a reggae legend on your playlist. Here he’s spouting truth to, well, the heads of government.
  33. Roger Waters, “5:06AM (Every Strangers Eyes) – From his odd first solo album which details a man’s midlife crisis through an early morning dream cycle. After complaining about Gilmour and guitarists in general he goes out and recruits Eric Clapton to play on The Pros And Cons of Hitchhiking. My buddy Drew bought the album the day it came out and thus has the original album cover where the hitchhiker in question is naked and not obscured. Good for Drew!
  34. Echo & The Bunnymen, “The Killing Moon” – A great tune I included on my Playlist: Songs About The Moon.
  35. Lou Reed, “I Love You, Suzanne” – From Lou Reed’s most accessible album, New Sensations. Lou just sounds happy on this record.
  36. Steve Perry, “Oh, Sherrie” – It’s hard to explain how much we all loved Steve Perry back in the day. I owned this record on vinyl.
  37. Twisted Sister, “We’re Not Gonna Take It” – A nice rallying cry of a song. I saw Dee Snider live in a city park in Winter Park a few years ago.
  38. Stevie Ray Vaughan, “Cold Shot” – From the epic Couldn’t Stand The Weather. I could have gone with the title track, but I’ve always loved this bluesy, post-breakup tune.
  39. Tina Turner, “What’s Love Got To Do With It” – I’m on record as being a bigger fan of Tina’s earlier rock n roll work, but now that we’ve lost her, I’m all in on this song.
  40. Jefferson Starship, “No Way Out” – Another 60s iconic band with an album out in ’84. I bought this record on the strength of this song about a cheating boyfriend and his forgiving girlfriend.
  41. Bruce Cockburn, “If I Had A Rocket Launcher” – A favorite track of my buddy Arkansas Joel. Oh, if I only did have a rocket launcher…
  42. Hagar, Schon, Aaronson, Shrieve, “Whiter Shade Of Pale” – Sammy Hagar and Journey’s Neil Schon form a supergroup (with Schon’s former Santana bandmate Shrieve on drums) and record a Procol Harum song. I do think Annie Lennox’s cover is better but this isn’t a bad track.
  43. Siouxsie & The Banshees, “Swimming Horses” – I feel like I should have been a bigger Siouxsie fan back in the 80s.
  44. John Waite, “Missing You” – My brother bought this song on a 45 for me. It was a song that used to mean something to me in a galaxy far away. It was nice of him to notice how much I liked the song.
  45. Elton John, “Who Wears These Shoes” – I didn’t remember this song until I pulled up the Breaking Hearts track list. I like this one so much more than say, “Sad Songs” from this album.
  46. Rod Stewart, “Infatuation” – At the time, this was his first collaboration with Jeff Beck, who played guitar on the song, in years… it led to Rod singing on Beck’s next album on “People Get Ready.” I wish these guys could have done something else before Jeff Beck’s demise last year.
  47. Elvis Costello & the Attractions, “Only Flame In Town” – Yet another great song from Costello.
  48. Glenn Frey, “Smuggler’s Blues” – A track that help land Frey a role on Miami Vice as, I believe, a drug smuggler. In terms of ex-Eagles I’ve always been more of a Henley guy – or if I’m being completely honest, more of a Joe Walsh guy – but I like this song.
  49. The Time, “Jungle Love” – I was already a fan of Prince’s when I saw the Purple Rain movie (friends had turned me onto 1999), but I left the theater a fan of the Time.
  50. Sade, “Smooth Operator” – Sadly, in ’84 I was far from being a smooth operator. I’m still not a smooth operator but I love this song. A beautiful woman with a beautiful voice singing a beautiful song.
  51. The Psychedelic Furs, “Heaven” – Another great alt rock song that I didn’t hear until well after ’84. There was so much great music out in the mid 80s that I could have discovered if I’d just paused my intense listening of the Faces and Zeppelin.
  52. Lindsey Buckingham, “Go Insane” – I had a roommate named Walt (name changed to protect the guilty) who loved solo Buckingham. He was ahead of his time. I remember him playing this cassette in the room. I must admit, at the time, I didn’t need to “go insane,” I already was.
  53. Billy Squier, “Rock Me Tonite” – I defy you to find anybody who lived through the 80s who didn’t like Squier.
  54. Red Hot Chili Peppers, “Police Helicopter” – I read in Scar Tissue, Anthony Kiedis’ autobiography, that the producer of their debut album labeled this song as “shit.” I’ve always loved it. But then, I used to date women from the sketchy part of town… saw too many police helicopters hovering over the neighborhood… but those records are sealed.
  55. Scandal, “The Warrior” – Scandal opened up for Elton John, the one time I saw him, in 1982. I was never a huge fan, but if Eddie Van Halen considered hiring Patty Smyth to replace Roth, she must have something.
  56. Stevie Wonder, “I Just Called To Say I Love You” – I was told this was the Motown Legend’s biggest hit and that stunned me.
  57. A Flock Of Seagulls, “The More You Live, The More You Love” – Another song I’d completely forgotten about but rediscovered during my “research.”
  58. Hanoi Rocks, “Up Around The Bend” – A Hair Metal band covers a Creedence Clearwater Revival song and scores their biggest hit only to lose their drummer, Razzle – killed by Vince Neil in a drunk driving accident – all in the same year. Is there anything more ’84 Hair Metal than that?
  59. Judas Priest, “Freewheel Burning” – Wonderful, punishing metal.
  60. Metallica, “Ride The Lightning” – The title track from my favorite Metallica album. They are one of the few bands to overcome the sophomore slump and put out an even better second album.
  61. Iron Maiden, “2 Minutes To Midnight” – I forget how melodic Iron Maiden is. This is a great track, even if I don’t have a clue what they’re singing about.
  62. The Cult, “Spiritwalker” – Another debut from a band I love. Dreamtime. And for all of you out there, he’s singing “wind walker” not “weed wacker” towards the end of the song.
  63. Kiss, “Heaven’s On Fire” – I was never a member of the Kiss Army but they always had a handful of decent tunes. Their 80s stuff was pretty paint-by-numbers Hair Metal…melodic but rocking stuff.
  64. Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, “Cherry Bomb” – Where Joan goes back to visit the first big hit from her first band, the Runaways, “Cherry Bomb.” It was originally sung by Cherie Currie but I dig Joan’s turn on lead vocal here.
  65. Depeche Mode, “People Are People” – I love Depeche. Last year’s Momento Mori had to grow on me, but it was a great record.
  66. Midnight Oil, “Minutes To Midnight” – A band my buddy Doug always liked.
  67. Ramones, “Howlin’ At The Moon (Sha-La-La) – I didn’t realize the Ramones were still alive and kicking in ’84. I thought they’d gone their separate ways by then.
  68. U2, “The Unforgettable Fire” – I could have gone with “Pride (In The Name Of Love),” the big hit from this album, but I went with the title track. I’ve always loved this slinky song and the cool video. I once won a bet with Arkansas Joel (a huge U2 fan at the time) who was insisting there was no title track from The Unforgettable Fire.
  69. The Replacements, “I Will Dare” – Hats off to any band who had the balls to name an album Let It Be.
  70. Talking Heads, “Psycho Killer – Live” – I typically skip live albums for these playlists, but I’ve come to realize that’s a mistake. Stop Making Sense is one of the greatest live albums of all time so I had to include a song. I consider this the definitive version of “Psycho Killer.”
  71. Julian Lennon, “Too Late For Goodbyes” – I think this is a first that I have song by both father and son on a playlist. I hated the video for this but I dug the song.
  72. Paul McCartney, “No More Lonely Nights” – Great song, with David Gilmour on lead guitar, from an ill-advised movie and soundtrack.
  73. Autograph, “Turn Up The Radio” – I think these guys recorded a local versions of this song for every market. In Kansas City, I recall hearing the singer at some point sing, “KY102” which was the local rock station at the time. Although my memory can sometimes be fuzzy…
  74. Deep Purple, “Perfect Strangers” – As I said recently when writing about Machine Head, it may be their masterpiece, but for those of us of a certain age, Perfect Strangers was “our” Deep Purple album. This is not only one of my favorite Deep Purple songs, it’s one of my favorite songs.
  75. Philip Bailey (with Phil Collins), “Easy Lover” – I tried to veer away from “pop” songs but this great song from Earth Wind & Fire singer Philip Bailey with Phil Collins on drums/vocals was so popular, it was hard to not hear it. I kinda dug it.
  76. Bryan Adams, “One Night Love Affair” – I’m on record as not being a huge Bryan Adams fan, but I’ve always had a soft spot for this one. The story of two people who end up in a one night stand but just might have been looking for something more substantial. Much more interesting than the usual one night stand songs.
  77. Eurythmics, “Sexcrime (Nineteen Eighty-Four)” – From a soundtrack for a movie adaptation of Orwell’s dystopian novel 1984. A novel that perhaps has more relevance today than ever. This song was actually banned and very hard to find for a long time. Big Brother is out there.
  78. The Honeydrippers, “Rockin’ At Midnight” – Robert Plant’s side project where he played old rock songs. “Sea Of Love” was the big hit, but I always dug this one. Jeff Beck plays guitar on this song! I think Elvis did it back in the day.
  79. Don Henley, “Boys Of Summer” – Henley’s masterpiece song, co-written with Heartbreaker Mike Campbell. The video “made southern California look like the south of France.” I always liked the lyric, “I saw a Dead Head sticker on a Cadillac, a little voice inside my head said “Don’t look back, you can never look back.” A lot to love in this song.
  80. The Kinks, “Do It Again” – The Kinks are just always kick ass. I feel like they deserve even more respect than they already get. This is just a great rock song.
  81. Triumph, “Follow Your Heart” – One of the last songs from Triumph that I remember hearing get radio airplay. Such a great Canadian power trio.

I’m not going to lie to you, my first attempt on this playlist had 120 songs. So there are a lot of songs from a lot of albums that I left “on the cutting room floor,” as the saying goes. There’s only so much typing one man can do in one sitting. If there’s an album you’re fond of from 1984 with a great song you think would be a nice addition to this playlist, drop it in the comments and I’ll add it. I like to think of these playlists as “our playlists” not “my playlists.” I will warn you, I do my homework and will have to verify the record is actually from 1984. Other than that rule, I welcome all suggestions. I do hope I bring a song back to your ears that you haven’t heard in a while and it stirs up a fond memory of those halcyon days… or better yet, you discover a song you haven’t heard before and it causes you to do a little musical spelunking and you seek out that album… You never know where you’re going to find a gem!

Enjoy this one, Cheers!

Review: Black Keys, ‘Ohio Players’ – Slightly Flawed Albeit Fun & Fabulous Album

~ kcorsini ~ 3 Comments

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Last Friday the Black Keys released their twelfth studio album, Ohio Players. Clearly the title is a tip of the hat to 70s soul masters The Ohio Players who hailed from Dayton, Ohio. The Keys – Patrick Carney (drums/percussion) and Dan Auerbach (guitars/vocals/keys) – are originally from Akron, Ohio. But the album title clearly cuts deeper than mere geography. This is an album that sees the Keys putting some groove into the tunes. And God knows, the Ohio Players were all about groove! “Love Rollercoaster,” anyone? And if I may digress, as a former league bowler as a kid, I love the cover art.

The Black Keys have been putting out consistently great records for so long – and so often by today’s standards, roughly every 2 years – that it’s easy to miss how far they’ve come from those early, raw, garage rock/blues punk days. As I think I’ve shared in the past, I got on the Keys bandwagon on the Rubber Factory album, which was their third album – and as I’ve stated before the third album can be very critical in a band’s career. It was the early 2000’s and I was really into the White Stripes and so it was only natural I’d get into the Black Keys. Although for some reason, after a few listens, I put the album back into our enormous pile of CDs at the time and didn’t return. I wandered into the music room some time later to find the Rock Chick jamming on Rubber Factory. “These guys are kick ass!” she exclaimed… Perhaps this band merited further study…and before I knew it, we had purchased their debut album, The Big Come Up.

I really dug that blues punk, raw rocking sound of the Keys early days, especially that debut. After 2008’s Attack & Release the Rock Chick and I have been all over every album the Keys have put out, save Turn Blue, which I couldn’t connect to. With each successive album, the Keys have developed their sound. They maintain that great, guitar/drums rock base, but have expanded to include additional musicians – bass players, keyboards, back up singers. And I’ve embraced every step they’ve made. But as I listened to Ohio Players, it suddenly dawned on me how far they’ve come since “Do The Rump.” Some of that musical expansion of their sound probably comes from the heavy collaborations on this album with Beck – who was co-wrote 7 tracks and sings backing vocals on a number of songs (and co-lead on one) – and with Noel Gallagher who co-wrote three songs. This album is produced by a gentleman named Dan The Automator, who I’ll admit I haven’t heard of before.

The album is 14 tracks long, but only clocks in at 44 minutes. Many of the tracks glide by on a smooth groove and before you know it, the album is over. I think the collaboration between the Black Keys and Beck is one made in rock n roll heaven. There is a ton I like here on Ohio Players. First and foremost I love the lead single “Beautiful People (Stay High).” I reviewed it when it came out, so I won’t go into too much detail other than to say that song is nothing short of an epic party anthem! That’s a track, co-written by Beck where the collab just works.

And don’t get me wrong, there are songs that are classic Black Keys, thick, fuzzy riffing guitar and insistent drumming. “Only Love Matters,” co-written by Gallagher, is one such great track. “Please Me (Till I’m Satisfied)” is where Auerbach’s guitar really kicks in. It’s a stand out track. In fact, the latter third of the LP reads like a slightly smoother early Black Keys album. All the back end stuff is great – “Live Till I Die” may be my favorite track. “Read Em And Weep” has a noir-ish, James Bond (or maybe Dick Dale) kind of guitar thing that I really like. “Fever Tree,” another Beck co-write is trademark Keys but with a Beck feel. “Every Time You Leave,” co-written by producer Greg Kurstin (who recently produced the Liam Gallagher/John Squire album) ends the album on a bright rocking note.

However, as I said earlier, there are a lot of Beck styled groove tunes here. The album starts with “This Is Nowhere,” with a heavy bass and a smooth groove. It’s a great song, although I’m not sure it’s what I’d have led off with. It leads to “Don’t Let Me Go” which is downright soulful. Auerbach employs a nice falsetto vocal on that one along with a cascading guitar figure. “On The Game,” co-written by Gallagher, has echos of Oasis but maintains the Keys sound. I was kind of hoping we’d see some guitar pyrotechnics and dueling between Auerbach and Gallagher, but alas it didn’t happen. Noel mostly provides backing vocals.  “You’ll Pay” might be my favorite of the Gallagher collaborations. It’s got falsetto vocals and a funky groove. And who doesn’t love a good “you done me wrong but you’re gonna pay” kinda song.

The Keys pull out a cover song, written by singer William Bell and none other than Booker T. Jones (of Booker T & the MGs), “I Forgot To Be Your Lover” and it’s sensational. I’m always a sucker for a soulful ballad. Sadly, for me there are two missteps to my ears here. “Paper Crown” starts off promising and features Beck singing lead. But at the end they have Juicy J come in and rap. I’m probably showing my rock n roll bias, but I just couldn’t connect with the song. The same story goes for “Candy & Her Friends” which features Lil Noid who raps at the end of the song. Again, it just felt jarring and out of place on a Black Keys album. The Stones had some rapping way back on “Anybody Seen My Baby?” and I liked it… it worked better than this for me. At least “Paper Crown” had that Beck feel and it made more sense to me… I’d have preferred an epic guitar solo.

Again, this is another great album from the Keys. There were a couple of tracks I didn’t connect to, but overall the Keys are so consistently great that the rest of the record overcomes it. I know there are songs on this album that I’ll be coming back to for a long time. I recommend this album highly – as usual played at high volume – but you might end up skipping a couple of the tracks along the way. Overall, this album is gonna get a lot of airplay down here in the B&V labs! And remember, “all those beautiful people stay high,” so try to stay up and good out there.

Cheers!

Artists Who – Surprisingly – Never Put Out A Double-Album?

~ kcorsini ~ 6 Comments

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Despite having a hectic week this week, I found my mind wandering to, what else, rock n roll. For reasons only clear to a neurologist, which I don’t have, I started thinking about all the great double studio albums put out over the years. I’ve done a post on what I think the best old school, double albums are, years ago. I read recently that the first rock n roll double album was Bob Dylan’s Blonde On Blonde, followed only a week later by The Mother’s of Invention’s Freak Out!. Dylan and Zappa are pretty important artists which likely explains why so many other great artists followed their example and put out great double albums over the years.

Now, it’s probably important that I define the whole double album thing. I am not talking about live albums. For the most part, the great live albums over the years were double albums. I’m not counting Live And Dangerous or any other album recorded live, even if they may have been heavily overdubbed in the studio (talking to you Kiss). I’m also not counting what I call “Hybrid Albums” – part live, part studio. I’ve already posted on the best “Hybrid Albums,” again, years ago. When I’m talking about a Hybrid double album I’m thinking of, for example, U2’s Rattle And Hum or the Allman Brothers’ Eat A Peach. Those are great albums and have great studio tunes on them, but they also have quite a bit of live stuff as well. When I say double album, I’m talking about LPs like the one’s I mentioned above by Dylan and Zappa, old school, albums recorded in the studio that cover two vinyl discs. Two “Long Players” in one album sleeve if you will. And, as a bonus, those double albums usually had a gatefold album cover where my friends could clean their pot.

The CD era only confused the whole concept of the double album. Vinyl albums could contain roughly 40 to 45 minutes of music. That’s why cassette tapes were mainly 45 minutes per side, for all of you mix tape folks out there that remember… Anyway, CDs could hold up to, I believe 80 minutes of music. In the 90s when CDs became the predominant format for music, albums just got longer and longer. The 8-song album sort of faded away…which coincidentally led to artists releasing “bonus tracks” on re-releases of older, pre-CD albums. When vinyl made a comeback many of those albums put out on CD were too long for a single vinyl album so they’ve been put out as double albums. For example, I still consider Blood Sugar Sex Magik a single record even though on vinyl it’s a double album. On the other hand I did include a few albums from the CD era on my list of great double albums because they were double CDs: Stadium Arcadium or Use Your Illusions just seemed to belong on the list.

Admittedly, there is nothing more divisive than the double album. There’s an old canard amongst critics that hiding within every double album is a great single album. I will say, when it comes to the Clash’s triple album Sandanista!, they might be right. Record companies used to hate it when artists turned in a double album. They were too expensive, fans didn’t buy as many because of the high price tag etc. Fans sometime complained that some double albums contained too much “filler.” On the other hand, like pizza, when a double album is done right it can be sublime.

I always used to think that in order to be truly defined as one of the “greats” you had to have either a great live album or a great double album. I’m not as religious about that any more. However, so many of the “great” (and important) rock n roll artists have put out stunning double albums: The Beatles, Stones, Stevie Wonder, Dylan, Zappa, Marvin Gaye, just to name a few. Prince, Elton John, and The Who all released two double albums…although admittedly Elton’s Blue Moves is an acquired taste.

As my mind wandered to the subject of double albums this week, I realized there are some really great artists – yes, truly “great” ones – that didn’t put out a double album and the more I thought about it, I was frankly kind of surprised. There are some artists whose ethos probably tended to keep them from the epic double album. Iggy Pop was punk, and that genre didn’t lend itself to grandiose statements…unless you were the Clash who dubbed themselves “the only band who matters.” Aerosmith’s music was short blasts of bluesy hard rock. Again, not a double album staple, although Zeppelin’s Physical Graffiti might argue against me here. I also took into account an artists’ demons when I was thinking about this. Both Zevon and Nilsson had addictions that likely prevented them from focusing long enough to get a double album together.

Eventually, after a lot of mulling, I came up with a list of artists whose lack of a double album is surprising if not perplexing. As I scan the list I realize that in many cases these are singer/songwriter types. I guess I sort of think of them as being more prolific. There are also bands on this list that had more than one writer in the band. I feel like those guys are naturals for the double album that somehow never got made. Without further adieu, here is my list:

  • David Bowie – How did Bowie not get a double LP together. Admittedly there was a period of heavy cocaine abuse, but the 70s were such a fertile period for him. I could have seen Diamond Dogs having been stretched out to a double album, but maybe he didn’t have the material? During his Berlin period he did give quite a few songs co-written with Iggy Pop to Iggy. What could have been…
  • Neil Young – Speaking of prolific. How did Neil never deliver a double LP. In the Archives II box there’s a disc entitled Dume. It’s basically what Zuma would have been had it been a double album. I have to admit, it’s sensational. It’s the disc in that box set I go back to most. Neil has released it stand alone as part of his Archives series and it’s worth a spin!
  • Stevie Nicks – In Fleetwood Mac, they had three songwriters (Nicks, Lindsey Buckingham, and Christine McVie) which led Nicks to have a massive surplus of songs. I’m surprised she didn’t do a George Harrison, once freed from the confines of the band, and go double album.
  • Tom Petty – Ok, I know I’m cheating here. Wildflowers was originally intended to be a double album but the record company insisted Tom edit it down to a single album. It’s a classic either way, but I wish that great left over stuff had been released in the 90s.
  • Bob Seger – I saw Seger interviewed by like, Matt Lauer or some morning guy, and he was talking about a new album (I forget which), and Bob said, “Oh, we’ve always got way too many songs. On this record we had 80 songs to choose from.” Now, who knows if he was exaggerating but that sounds like double album territory to me. His longtime manager Punch probably veto’d it… much like re-releasing a lot of Seger’s early music.
  • Bob Marley – I think Bob recorded both Exodus and Kaya at the same time so we know he was prolific enough to put out a double album. He also had a back catalog of pre-Catch A Fire songs he could have filled out a double album with…
  • Paul McCartney – The man is a workaholic, how did he not put out a double album in the 70s? Especially the back half of the decade? Harrison put out a triple album, the fact that Paul didn’t ever have an inkling for a double album is perplexing.
  • CSNY – With four singer/songwriters these guys seem like a band who could easily have filled two discs. Of course Young only provided 2 or 3 songs to CSNY in their heyday. He was one toe in, always holding stuff back for his solo career. Maybe the other guys did a little of that too. Listening to the deluxe version of Deja Vu, that one would have been a helluva double album.
  • Queen – A band as epically flamboyant as Queen, also with four guys who contributed tunes, should have gone big for the double LP.
  • Creedence Clearwater Revival – John Fogerty wrote so many great songs for CCR. Every few months another great album came out. I’d have liked to see these guys push themselves for a double disc. Maybe the constant touring got in the way.
  • Elvis Costello – One of the greatest songwriters ever. He had such a purple patch in the late 70s/early 80s… I’m no expert on Costello, maybe he put out a late period double album, but I don’t think so. Could have been something epic.
  • Jackson Browne – He was already an established songwriter before his first album came out. Many of the songs he’d written for others like “Take It Easy,” and “These Days” he recorded himself for his second album. Maybe if he’d pushed himself he could have turned For Everyman into a double album.
  • Steely Dan – These guys were such perfectionists in the studio, maybe that prevented them from driving on to the double album. But they were so great, it seems like they could have pulled it off. Imagine if Aja was a double disc?
  • U2 – These guys have such huge egos, how did they not do a double album back in the day?
  • Rush – Speaking of epic, these guys have long songs divided up with Roman numerals. The “2112 Suite” spreads out over an entire album side. How did they not keep going for the double album?
  • Lou Reed – Lou had such an ability to tell stories, many from the seamy underbelly of life. He had such a flare for the dramatic, a double album seems like a fit for him. He did struggle with demons.
  • Pearl Jam – Hailed as “neo-classicists” rockers when they came along, it seems like a double album would have been right up their alley.
  • Billy Joel – I know Billy quit songwriting for like 30 years until his recent single “Turn The Lights Back On” came out but he used to be quite prolific. And I always thought he was a great songwriter. If Springsteen could do a double album, why not Billy?
  • Grateful Dead – This is another band with multiple guys contributing tunes. Robert Hunter was also contributing. With all that jamming, you’d think they’d have put out a double album. Maybe they did and I just don’t know it, I’m far from a Deadhead expert.
  • John Mellencamp – Mellencamp, like Seger or Petty mentioned before, is a guy who, as his music became more topical and political strikes me as someone who could have pulled off the scope of a double album.

Those are the artists who came to mind to me as great ones whose absence of a double album seems startling. If there’s an artist you think would have put out a great double album but didn’t – drop it in the comments. Maybe I’m a musical obsessive, but I considered this a fun exercise on my end, maybe you will too? I like to mull these things over with a tumbler of dark and murky fluids… maybe you will too?

Cheers!

Playlist: In Honor Of April Fool’s Day, Our Favorite Songs About…. Fools

~ kcorsini ~ 8 Comments

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“No sooner had I hit the streets when I met the fools that a young fool meets” – Jackson Browne, “Daddy’s Tune”

I realize April Fool’s Day, despite being “celebrated” almost everywhere, is not a real holiday. Much like Valentine’s Day, which I’ve always described as a “Hallmark Holiday,” invented by greeting card companies to boost sales, April Fool’s is an odd, made-up holiday. That made-up nature won’t stop people from perpetrating hoaxes and pranks on people around the world and then yelling, “April Fools” or “April 1st” or whatever your culture yells when they catch someone falling for the annual ruse. I don’t know who invented April Fool’s or when it started, but I read somewhere (probably Wikipedia) that it dates back to Geoffrey Chaucer’s time and the Cantebury Tales. That’s probably apocryphal.

Regardless, when I was in high school and maybe even college, I used to call my dad at work and tell him some outrageous lie every April Fool’s Day. I’d tell him I was suspended from school or worse, expelled. Or I might tell him I was arrested for some nefarious offense against the community. I also remember that I stopped doing that – because it infuriated him, he was a busy guy – and he was just too quick to believe I had fucked up and done something stupid. He’d overreact and I’d meekly say, “Uh, dad, April Fools…” I think it left us both feeling kind of awkward. Pretty soon he caught on and just said, “Yeah, right,” and promptly hung up on me which was actually comforting after those first few years.

I guess I’d rather be a fool than an idiot. An idiot, according to Webster, is “a person of low intelligence.” A fool, on the other hand, again according to Webster, is “a person who acts unwisely or imprudently; a silly person.” As a verb it means “to trick or deceive a person.” It sounds like being an idiot is a permanent malady while merely being a fool is a temporary condition typically based on being deceived or tricked, ala April Fool’s Day. I’d rather be silly than stupid. In Dostoevsky’s novel The Idiot, the title character (i.e. the Idiot) is merely a man with a clean heart and a kindly nature who is driven back into an asylum by the perfidious and evil nature of his fellow man.

While April Fool’s is a bit of a silly holiday, for some reason the idea of a playlist got stuck in my head. It was last year actually, but it wasn’t until the holiday passed that the idea of songs about “fools” popped into my head. The playlist has been hanging around the outer limits of my consciousness for about a year so I figured it was about time to just publish this thing and cleanse my mind. There are so many songs about fools…

As I’ve learned from listening to these songs, there is a lot in the universe we can be fooled by. Perhaps its politics (“American Idiot” or “Won’t Get Fooled Again”), maybe you’re a fool for urban living (“Fool For The City”), or maybe you’re a fool when it comes to directions (“Fool In The Rain”). By far most of the songs about being a fool are related to yes, love. When else are we such fools as people than when we’re in love… especially in the beginning. Our vulnerability leaves us open to deception. I once went to SantaCaliGon Days, an arts and crafts fair, because a woman asked me too… and as you can probably tell, we’re not artsy-craftsy here at B&V (it was an awful day). I once attended a woman’s family reunion and I don’t attend my own family’s reunions. I was single for a long time so my situation is probably more of a “fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me” kind of thing. Of course it’s probably no coincidence that April Fools is so close to Valentine’s Day…Spring has sprung and people’s fancy turns to a new love…but I digress.  But luckily for me, being fooled is a temporary condition. A few shots of bourbon and the feeling goes away. In my opinion, the worst thing you can do is fool yourself… self-deception is almost always dangerous.

Without further adieu, here is our playlist for April Fool’s Day, Songs about Fools. As usual you can find us on the dreaded Spotify. You can play it straight through or on shuffle, it’s dealer’s choice. If there’s a song you don’t like, skip it. If there’s a “fools” song we missed, let us know in the comments and we may add it to the list. While as usual we’re all over the place stylistically, our goal is to just introduce you to a song you may not have heard or at the very least put a song you haven’t heard in a while back in your ear. Pour a tumbler of the good stuff and turn it up loud…

  1. Aretha Franklin, “Chain Of Fools” – I had to start with the Queen of Soul. I wonder how many women from my past count me amongst the “ch-ch-chain, chain of fools” they’ve dated… sigh.
  2. Foghat, “Fool For The City” – A friend of mine is moving to some small town in Wyoming or Idaho, I forget which. He told me I should do the same… I said, “Uh, man, I love the smell of smog in the morning… it smells like victory.” I can remember standing on the curb in “downtown” Ft. Smith, Arkansas early one morning watching all the traffic pour in from Sallisaw and eastern Oklahoma while my co workers laughed about me missing the city.
  3. Black Crowes, “Only A Fool” – “Only a fool would let you go, only a fool and I should know.” Oh, how I could relate to those lyrics in the old days. I love the new LP, Happiness Bastards.
  4. Green Day, “American Idiot” – Still hard to believe how relevant this song is today. Green Day’s latest, Saviors, is a real return to form, by the way.
  5. Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, “Fooled Again (I Don’t Like It)” – Well, who would like to be fooled… again. But then again, like I said earlier, “Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me.”
  6. Led Zeppelin, “Fool In The Rain” – From an LP maybe only I like, In Through The Out Door. A song in which our hero fears his love has forsaken him, in the rain no less, only to find he’s waiting for her on the wrong block. One of the few songs in the Zeppelin catalog that shows a sense of humor.
  7. Steve Perry, “Foolish Heart” – From the erstwhile lead singer of Journey’s first solo LP. Laugh at this song’s inclusion, but everyone I knew liked this album.
  8. The Beatles, “The Fool On The Hill” – From their psychedelic period. “They can see that he’s just a fool…”
  9. Def Leppard, “Foolin'” – Def Leppard is a band I always dug and they should be on more of my playlists. Always dug this one.
  10. The Who, “Won’t Get Fooled Again” – Fascism rose in the 1930’s out of the crippling world wide Great Depression. Let’s hope Western Civilization doesn’t get fooled again in November.
  11. John Mellencamp, “American Fool” – “Some people say I’m obnoxious and lazy…” Perhaps…
  12. ZZ Top, “A Fool For Your Stockings” – Well, if you’ve gotta be a fool…
  13. Muddy Waters, “Still A Fool” – Muddy bringing it home. I hope I’m not still a fool but I’d wager the Rock Chick would side against me on that.
  14. Bob Dylan, “Idiot Wind” – Dylan’s most gripping, painful song. The disintegration of a relationship or a marriage is a brutal thing in this cold world. “We’re idiots babe, it’s a wonder we can even feed ourselves.”
  15. Grateful Dead, “Foolish Heart” – Great deep track from the Dead.
  16. Ray Charles, “A Fool For You” – The music of Ray Charles should be required learning in every high school in the world.
  17. Robert Plant, “Ship Of Fools” – The first of a number of songs about sailing ships full of fools. A fleet of fools perhaps? Always loved this track from Plant.
  18. The Rolling Stones, “Fool To Cry” – An all time favorite Stones’ tune of mine. Years ago, before the Rock Chick, I dated a woman, “and she live in the poor part of town…” And come to think of it, she did say, “Tell me all your troubles…”
  19. Dave Matthews Band, “Fool To Think” – From the DMB’s glory days.
  20. Doobie Brothers, “What A Fool Believes” – Co-written by Michael McDonald and Kenny Loggins. You couldn’t escape this track when I was in junior high. It may be yacht rock, but it’s good yacht rock.
  21. Southside Johnny And the Asbury Jukes, “I Played The Fool” – How many times, when we’re being a fool, do we consciously know we are being a fool? That sentence reads like Marcus Aurelius, with my apologies.
  22. Bob Seger, “Ship Of Fools” – This boat Seger is on may be the worst one in the fleet. Great tune though.
  23. Whitesnake, “Fool For Your Lovin'” – Whitesnake making a rare appearance on B&V! There comes a time when you can’t be a fool anymore. It’s a liberating realization. Bring on Tawny Kitaen.
  24. Frank Zappa, “Dancin’ Fool” – Also included on our Playlist Songs About Dancing For Wallflowers, I’ve known some fools for the dance… When it comes to dancing for me though, “the beat goes on and I’m totally wrong.”
  25. Rod Stewart, “Foolish Behavior” – Having watched the ID Channel with the Rock Chick enough, lyrics like “Why I wanna kill my wife? I have this urge to take her life,” this really is foolish behavior. Might I suggest counseling.
  26. Elvis Costello & The Attractions, “You Little Fool” – Great tune from one of the world’s greatest songwriters. Just who is the fool in this song?
  27. Joe Jackson, “Fools In Love” – I should have included this in my original Playlist: Rockers Doing Reggae. “Fools in love, are there any other kind of lovers?” So true, Joe, so true.
  28. Randy Newman, “You Can’t Fool The Fat Man” – I know two things listening to this song. Life is hard and you really can’t fool the Fat Man.
  29. The Rolling Stones, “Just Your Fool” – Fabulous tune from the Stones’ blues covers record Blue And Lonesome.
  30. Foreigner, “Fool For You Anyway” – This just sounds like an awful situation. I should know, I went through it once upon a time. “Oh to be young and feel loves keen sting.”
  31. Rival Sons, “Play The Fool” – Better to play the fool than to actually be the fool.
  32. Steely Dan, “Only A Fool Would Say That” – Steely Dan sounding almost calypso under the usual cryptic lyrics.
  33. Elvis Presley, “(Now And Then There’s) A Fool Such As I” – Even a King can be a Fool. Love is tough, baby.
  34. Jack Johnson, “Fortunate Fool” – Isn’t this an oxymoron?
  35. Ronnie Wood, “If You Gotta Make A Fool Of Somebody” – From Wood’s first solo album… with Rod Stewart on harmony vocal this sounds more like a Faces outtake than a Ronnie solo song. Oh, what could have been if the Faces could have held it together. Bonnie Raitt covered this song very ably on an early LP, but I went with the original.
  36. Alice Cooper, “Hey Stoopid” – Ok, its not nice to call somebody stupid… but this song has Slash on guitar and Ozzy on backing vocals. How could I resist?
  37. Rod Stewart, “Fool For You” – From Rod’s Tom Dowd-produced, more soulful period. It’s a lovely ballad. If I was dating Britt Ekland back then I’d probably a little googly eyed too but then I was in junior high.
  38. Eagles, “Certain Kind Of Fool” – The late Randy Meisner wrote this song (with Henley and Frey) and takes the lead vocal.
  39. Steely Dan, “Dirty Work” – Another track from their superb debut album, Can’t Buy A Thrill. “I’m a fool to do your dirty work…” Indeed you are.
  40. Prince, “There’s Something I Like About Being Your Fool” – Sure, it’s fun for a while… A superb outtake from Sign O The Times.
  41. Gene Clark, “Life’s Greatest Fool” – From the forgotten gem, No Other. Former Byrd Gene Clark couldn’t get a break commercially but man, did he write some great tunes. He was able to effortlessly accomplish the rock/country hybrid that Gram Parsons tried so desperately to create.
  42. Styx, “Fooling Yourself (The Angry Young Man)” – The worst person to lie to is yourself. I used to tell an ex of mine, “You can lie to yourself babe, but don’t lie to me.” Styx were from Chicago, but I would have sworn they were from London when I was in high school.
  43. Van Halen, “Fools” – Heavy riff here. “Fools, who makes the rules?” For a guy in his 20s singer David Lee Roth sure could write from the perspective of a high school kid. I love the bluesy intro… god we miss Eddie Van Halen.
  44. Cinderella, “Nobody’s Fool” – These guys are one of my favorite hair metal bands. The Rock Chick turned me back onto them when we met, but I’d always liked them. They had just a touch of blues in their sound, which obviously, I’m a sucker for.
  45. Social Distortion, “King Of Fools” – I told an old boss one time that I was surrounded by morons on my new team. He said, “Yes you are. Just don’t become their king.” Wisdom or snark?
  46. Triumph, “Fool For Your Love” – From the fabulous album, Allied Forces. I needed some more riffs on this list.
  47. Bonnie Raitt, “Fool’s Game” – For some reason this track has always sounded like New Orleans to me. It might be the piano.
  48. Little Feat, “Fool Yourself” – Little Feat had such a distinctive sound back in the day. I just love the vibe they put out.
  49. Eddie Money, “Maybe I’m A Fool” – From Money’s sophomore album – the difficult sophomore album – Life For The Taking. Money was exhausted from constant touring, so it’s hard to blame him for this foray into disco. Many rock bands had disco tracks…
  50. Pretenders, “You Can’t Hurt A Fool” – Um, I’m proof you can… From the great Hate For Sale.
  51. Jackson Browne, “The Pretender” – “I’m gonna be a happy idiot and struggle for the legal tender.” Perhaps slightly out of the purview of this list, but I felt it fit…
  52. Grateful Dead, “Ship Of Fools” – At least if you were stuck on this boat, you’d have the Dead to hang out and party with. From the album From The Mars Hotel.
  53. The Doors, “Ship Of Fools” – Coincidentally, like the last tune this one’s from an album named after a hotel, in this case, Morrison Hotel. Probably on the same street.
  54. Doobie Brothers, “How Do Those Fools Survive” – Another song about fools from Minute By Minute.
  55. Rockpile, “Fool Too Long” – Any amount of time spent as a fool is too long.
  56. Elvis Presley, “Can’t Help Falling In Love” – I love to sing this song in the shower… “Wise men say, only fools rush in, Oh but I, I can’t help falling in love with you.” Damn, the King was on fire on this song.
  57. Aretha Franklin, “Running Out Of Fools” – A younger Aretha finds herself on the opposite end of the fool equation on this one… What a voice!
  58. James Taylor, “I Was A Fool To Care” – I love J.T.’s early stuff. While you may be a fool for caring, it is a sign you’re human.
  59. Pete Townshend, Ronnie Lane, “April Fool” – Sometimes I put songs on these lists only for me. Ex-Faces member Ronnie Lane with the Who’s Pete Townshend on a beautiful song that for me commemorates April Fool’s Day.

That’s our list. Did I miss any good ones? Let me know in the comments section. Whatever you’re doing or wherever you are, I hope nobody’s foolin’ you? And if you are under some delusion, hopefully now that spring has sprung, your mind will clear and you’ll come out of it. As Cher’s character in the movie Moonstruck exclaimed, “Snap out of it…” If you’re the victim of an April Fool’s joke, take it in good stride. Some day we’ll look back on this and laugh…

Cheers to all my fellow fools out there…

Concert Review: Adam Ant (With Special Guest The English Beat), Kansas City’s Uptown Theater 3/22/2024

~ kcorsini ~ 24 Comments

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*Photo of Adam Ant taken by the Rock Chick

You know that feeling when you wake up after a great concert. You might have a slight hangover, you’ve been up way past your bed time but you feel great. It’s like you’ve just had this wonderful communal, quasi religious experience. Music is running through your head and you’re smiling a lot. That’s how I feel today. And I have to admit, my first thought of the day was, “Well, I certainly didn’t expect that…”

It was the Rock Chick who discovered that Adam Ant was going to be in KC at the venerable Uptown Theater (where I saw the Cult in ’22) last night. She’s always been a fan and wanted to go. When I saw the English Beat was opening, I thought, “Hell, yes, I’m in.” Buy the ticket, see the show – that’s my motto. And since I just discovered Billy Idol’s new song, “Love Don’t Live Here” from the Rebel Yell sessions, I’m in an 80s mood these days.

I’ll be the first to admit, I don’t have a long history with Adam Ant. I’m like most people, I remember seeing him dressed like a pirate (or whatever that costume was?) in the “Goody Two Shoes” video. I always liked that song and the chorus, “Don’t drink, don’t smoke, what do you do?” Who doesn’t love a good innuendo? And let’s face it, we all have a vice or two, hidden or not. Adam had his face painted in the video and it wasn’t screaming loud rock guitars or blues in the least so I just kind of noted it and moved back to my latest Van Halen record.

Over the years as my musical tastes have expanded I became more aware of some of Adam Ant’s music. “Stand And Deliver,” which is running through my head today, popped out at me. No Doubt actually covered that song when I saw them a few years back. “Strip” was good. One of his latter day tunes, “Wonderful” is one the Rock Chick turned me onto and I love that song. I assumed we were in for an evening of new wave, post-punk pop. Nothing could have prepared me for the guitar/drums assault I just witnessed last night…What a show!

I would be remiss if I didn’t pause, and give a shout out to all those folks who showed up last night dressed as pirates. Not a lot of you did, but for those who did, take this as a tip of my tri-corner hat. There was one guy I walked into the venue behind who was dressed in shiny patent leather from head to toe. I’m not sure what his expectations for the evening were, but they were certainly different than mine. I can’t imagine what that guy spends on talcum powder… Cheers, leather-clad stranger! I’d never seen so much velvet. The couple sitting next to us – the dude had on a blue velvet jacket and the lady had a blue fuzzy fur coat on – left right after the English Beat played…I couldn’t help but think, what fun! And what a devoted fan base! How have I been missing out on this.

The English Beat came out right after 8pm and opened the show. Again, the only tracks I knew were “Tenderness” and “Save It For Later.” I must confess I always dug Pete Townshend’s live cover of that latter track from Deep End as much as the original. I dug the almost-an-hour long set they played, heavy on reggae beats. They tended to stretch out the tunes quite a bit which became vexing. And they had an MC, Ranking Jr, who kept trying to hype up Dave Wakeling. I get it, he’s an “O.G.” Sigh.

As they set up the gear for Adam Ant’s band, I realized they had not one but two full drum sets. I haven’t seen a band with two full on drummers since the Allman Brothers rumbled through town back in the days before the Rock Chick. And I saw the Dead once, who always had two drummers…but I digress. They also had free-standing, big drums set up on both sides of the drummers. Beyond the two drum sets, there were just four microphones set up at the front of the stage… there was nary a keyboard in sight. I was thinking, well, two guitars and a bass and then Adam’s microphone? This thing might rock a little harder than I realized.

A little after 9:30pm the band rolled out on stage: the two drummers who came out first, Jola (who was a dead ringer for Amy Winehouse with her beehive wig) and alas, I didn’t catch the second drummer’s name; the guitarists came out next, A.P. Leach and lead guitarist Will Crewdson; and finally bassist Joe Holweger. They were all followed by Adam himself, clad in a black double button shirt and leather pants with knee high boots, spare bandana flowing from his back pocket like a tail. He wore a big cowboy hat over a bandana. The dude is 69 years old and looks trim and fit. I must say, he danced around the stage like a man half his age.

They opened up with “Antmusic” with the guitar players beating along to the drummers on the big spare drums. It was so… tribal. I can’t say enough good stuff about the drummers – they propelled me into next month. Crewdson, on the lead guitar started shredding! That guy was awesome. After “Antmusic” they played another song I’m familiar with “Vive Le Rock” and man, we were off and running. Crewdson was stage right, bent over and attacking the guitar. Adam was dancing to the music like he was connected to the drums through some magic wiring. Adam wasn’t terribly talkative but he did thank the crowd after almost every tune. And believe me, this was an almost sold out, 1700-seat arena where the crowd was what I’d describe as adoring. That always makes for a good show, when the crowd is into it.

There’s no other way to describe last night’s show other than a full-on guitar and drums onslaught. I could feel the music in my clothes. It RAWKED! I was surprised. This was more full on punk than post punk. During “Friend Or Foe” Ant appeared to be beating along to the drums on his body. “Prince Charming,” which elicited a huge reaction from the crowd saw Ant getting the crowd to join in a big sing-along. It was a cool moment between singer and audience. “Cartrouble” melted my face off as did “Killer In The Home.” He lost me a little during “Kings Of The Wild Frontier,” probably because I wasn’t terribly familiar with that one.

The latter half of the set was all the hits the casual fan like me would know. “Puss In Boots,” “Desperate But Not Serious,” and “Strip” were all great. That led up to perhaps my favorite performance of the night, “Wonderful.” Such a great song. The main set ended on a spirited, drum-filled version of “Stand And Deliver” and it was another great moment.

The encore was short and sweet and a bit confusing. The first song was the big hit, “Goody Two Shoes,” and it had the crowd into it. They’d been spirited all night in their pirate costumes but “Goody Two Shoes” set them off. But then Adam strapped on his electric guitar – which he’d done intermittently during the evening – and they went into “Physical (You’re So)” which can only be described as a heavy-metal dirge. It kinda took the life out of the crowd. Were I Adam Ant, I might flip the running order of those two encore songs. End on a high note. The crowd just kinda stood there, mouth agape during the guitar onslaught.

And with that Adam and his band left the stage. I was drained but in a good way. These guys put on a good ol’ fashion, ass kickin’, rock n roll show. This band takes no prisoners…much like pirates. If I had any complaint on the night, I would have liked Ant’s vocals to be boosted just slightly in the mix, nothing drastic, but I’m splitting hairs. Say what you want about some of these older bands, these guys can play. If you’re out there in a city where Ant is playing, I can’t recommend this show strongly enough. I tend to focus on those big tours – the Stones, Pearl Jam – but it’s these smaller shows where rock n roll is surviving… Me, I’m gonna spend the day “pretending that you’re Al Green, Al Green.”

Cheers!

p.s. Buy the ticket, see the show.

Billy Idol – Previously Unreleased “Love Don’t Live Here Anymore” From Upcoming ‘Rebel Yell – Extended Edition’

~ kcorsini ~ 4 Comments

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I was looking at social media yesterday and I saw Billy Idol reference that he was releasing Rebel Yell – Extended Edition. I love that iconic 1983 album which I believe I may have mentioned when I reviewed the Idol concert I saw in Vegas last October. I was about to continue scrolling through when I saw that he’d released an outtake – a track recorded during the sessions for Rebel Yell, but not released at the time – called “Love Don’t Live Here Anymore.” It’s apparently a cover song, written and done originally by Rose Royce the group that was best known for their hit “Car Wash.”

None of that should have been a big surprise, but I realized almost immediately, the song came out on March 8th. How’d I miss this? In my defense, I’ve spent my month of March immersed in great vault releases from The Who (Live At Shea Stadium 1982), The Rolling Stones (Live At The Wiltern) and Alice Cooper (Billion Dollar Babies – 50th Anniversary) not to mention great, brand new releases from Liam Gallagher & John Squire and the Black Crowes. With all that great music cascading around me, I guess I can be forgiven for not catching this Idol track… I do so try to stay on top of new music from the artists I like.

I didn’t know what to expect from an outtake from Rebel Yell. Outtakes can be a mixed bag. In this case, it would be hard for me to overstate how blown away I was when I heard “Love Don’t Live Here Anymore.” I can’t believe it’s taken 40 years for Idol to release this in some format. I keep asking myself, why would he leave this off Rebel Yell? Maybe because it was cover song and musicians are always more prone to put their own songs on the record vs a cover song… there’s the publishing money to consider. Not to mention, Rebel Yell is stacked with great songs. Also, this is, on it’s face, a ballad or at least “ballad-esque,” and Idol already had a semi-ballad on the album with the iconic “Eyes Without A Face.” Either way, this is a remarkable song. I was reminded of Petty who left “You Saw Me Coming” off of Wildflowers…such a phenomenal song left in the can for decades…

As I mentioned, this is a ballad but there’s nothing mellow about it. It starts with muted synth then that Idol sound kicks in, light percussion, slightly menacing. The song just moves… Then Idol comes in… “You abandoned me, love don’t live here any more, oh no, just a vacancy, love don’t live here anymore.” Idol sings the song with such anguish. It grips my heart when I listen to this. In ’83, this song would have simply devastated me. The drums beat like a metallic heart… There’s something about the vocal, the gravelly nature of it, that makes me think Idol might have recorded the vocal more recently, but I’m just speculating. At one point in the song, Idol begins to repeat the word “anymore” and it’s so pained it sounds like he’s saying “animal,” which for some reason makes the feeling more palpable to me. Steve Stevens, as usual, lays down not one but two great guitar solos. The first is just a tease. His guitar solo at the end ranks with some of the best he’s played. The guitar just brings out the emotion in the song that much more for me. Here’s the track:

This track, for me, ranks up with his recent song, “Bitter Taste” as one of the best Idol has done. It’s that f’ing good. The Rock Chick was leaving the house and I came staggering out of my office after hearing the song for the first time and said, “Uh, you’re going to need to listen to this Billy Idol immediately in your car…” I wasn’t sure what she’d think… she is the Rock Chick after all… but when she returned she said, “That’s an amazing song.” We ran an errand last night to buy lotto tickets – hey, I’m human – and I can tell she digs it because she pulled it up in the car to listen with me. It’s that amazing of a song.

Rebel Yell – Extended Edition comes out in April and you can bet, B&V will have it’s ear to the stereo on this one… It looks like the bonus material is mostly demos but there is another outtake, “Best Way Out Of Here,” written by Idol & Stevens… I can’t wait to hear that one. Until then, crank this one up LOUD.

I hadn’t intended to post anything more this week until the weekend. I’m seeing Adam Ant (with special guests the English Beat, no less) on Friday and I figured I’d wait and post about that, but this song was just too good to wait.

Cheers!

Review: ‘Liam Gallagher & John Squire’ – Manchester Rock Stars United For Superb Rock N Roll – Come For The Vocals, Stay For The Guitar

~ kcorsini ~ 6 Comments

Liam_Gallagher_and_John_Squire_-_Liam_Gallagher_&_John_Squire

An album I didn’t even know was coming at the beginning of the year – Liam Gallagher John Squire – came out last Friday and I am delighted. I won’t lie, after the sensational first single came out, “Just Another Rainbow,” I had to go back and do a little research on guitarist extraordinaire John Squire but since I’ve done that, this pairing makes complete sense to me. Manchester Rock Stars United…indeed.

Liam Gallagher, the erstwhile lead singer of Oasis and Beady Eye, likely needs no introduction to rock n roll fans. And frankly, he’s no stranger to B&V. Since Oasis split up and then Beady Eye imploded Liam launched a solo career that started as B&V was getting off the ground. After the disappointment that was Beady Eye’s second album we just loved Liam’s first two LPs, As You Were (2017) and Why Me? Why Not? (2019). Heck, we even dug his Unplugged album. But after a very promising first single, the Dave Grohl cowritten “Everything’s Electric,” Liam disappointed us a bit with C’mon You Know (2022). At first I was surprised Liam teamed up with John Squire but knowing what a huge influence the Stone Roses were on Manchester’s music scene – both Liam and Noel have said their first concert was the Stone Roses – this tracks for me. Liam got to make a rock n roll album with a hero! Good for him.

John Squire, who’s blistering guitar is all over this album, may not be as well known to rock n roll fans on this side of the pond, as they say. The Stone Roses released their influential debut, self-titled album in 1989 establishing them as the front runner in the “Madchester” music scene. In many ways the Brit-pop sound of Oasis can be directly drawn from the Stone Roses’ sound. The Stone Roses took years to put out a second album due to legal issues and inter-band squabbles and faded away. Apparently Squire, after playing a festival where Liam was playing, sent Liam a few demos. Liam liked them, laid down some vocal tracks and the rest, as they say is history. It makes sense that Liam – who used to be in a band where the guitar player wrote most the songs – would team with a guitar player who had written 10 songs and needed a singer. It’s a yen and yang thing.

I went back, as “research” for this post, and listened to that Stone Roses debut LP. While Squire’s guitar was impressive, it evoked more psychedelia and perhaps the Byrds than it did Hendrix. There were a couple of songs on that album that hinted at a Hendrix-y bent from Squire, “Waterfall” and “Made Of Stone” but nothing that prepared me for the guitar extravaganza that is this album. This record has all of that trippy psychedelic vibe but with much stronger guitar solo’ing from Squire. And in these days, we always welcome more lead guitar here at B&V. This may be the best thing Liam Gallagher has done in his solo career since As You Were. It’s that good.

The album starts with a stomping rocker, “Raise Your Hand.” It’s a call to arms kind of track. “If you’re running out of time, if you’re not sure which way to go, if the pieces don’t seem to fit, if nothing ever goes the way you plan, raise your hand!” It’s uplifting and a great invitation to rock. Squire gives us a great guitar workout on the fade out. Liam may not have written any of these songs but they sound like he did. The band just locks in – Squire on guitar, Liam singing with session drummer Joey Waronker and producer Greg Kurstin on bass and keyboards. “Mars To Liverpool” was the second single released from the album and rides a great Squire riff. “Jesus Christ, about last night, I can only apologize.” Oh my, how many times have I said something like that? Squire has a way of torturing his guitar just to the point of distortion and then pulls back. I just love what he does with the guitar on this album.

“One Day At A Time” incorporates some acoustic guitar that’s a nice change of pace. The blend of acoustic and electric guitar is such a classic sound, just ask Zeppelin (not that anything about this is Zeppelin-esque). I do love the line, “You should have fucked me when you had the chance,” naturally… I am who I am. The guitar solo is exceptional. “I’m A Wheel” is the biggest surprise here. It’s a flat out electric blues tune. Blues? In 2024? This track is a direct nod to Hendrix. It feels like you just wandered into the Kingston Mines in 1968…exquisite guitar. I mean, I’m on record as loving blues rock/blues, but this is a great track. I’ve already posted on “Just Another Rainbow,” but I will add that along with “Everything’s Electric” it ranks among Liam’s finest moments.

“Love You Forever” continues that Hendrix’y vibe. It almost evokes a more laid back “Foxey Lady.” This song rocks yet retains that trippy vibe that pervades the album. Squire is taking no prisoners. I have seen some complaints that the guitar tone is “monochromatic.” The way this guy shreds, none of that bothers me. “Make It Up As You Go Along” is another acoustic strummer, change of pace. “Thank you for your thoughts and prayers and fuck you too” is a line that I can’t believe wasn’t written by Liam Gallagher. It sums up how I feel about a lot of things… Using the acoustic strumming as a base Squire continues his electric guitar onslaught with a great little noodling undercurrent that burst through like sunshine through a cloud.

“You’re Not The Only One” has a great rollicking piano that for some reason evokes Chuck Berry’s pianist, boogie woogie pianist extraordinaire, Johnnie Johnson. Good ol’ time rock n roll… rolling piano, crunchy guitar. “I’m So Bored” continues the guitar crunch… I love it’s just guitar/vocals/bass/guitar. This track could be the next single, although it may rock too hard for a single? It certainly captures my current mood…It may be the hardest rocker here. “Mother Nature’s Song” is as close as we come to a ballad on the album. It’s another track that utilizes a lovely acoustic guitar. It’s very Beatle-y. I love Liam’s vocal on this track. “Listen to Mother Nature’s song, the melodies are beautiful,” indeed.

If you’re like me and were only vaguely aware of John Squire, prepare yourself for an education. This guy is a phenomenal talent on guitar and god knows, we need guitar talent around here these days. I might go so far as saying this is a tremendous comeback for Liam after C’mon You Know. It’s got to feel good to the guy to just lay down vocal tracks and not have to write an album’s worth of material. Heaven knows, Noel is probably green with envy…

I have to say, along with Green Day’s latest album Saviors, this is one of 2024’s best LPs. I’m not a natural optimist but I’m beginning to think this is going to be a great year for rock n roll and it’s only early March. This one is a must listen, especially for those of you Oasis/Liam Gallagher/Madchester fans out there.

Cheers!

A Music Collector’s Journey: From Vinyl to CDs to MP3’s And Now… Back To Vinyl Or Streaming?

~ kcorsini ~ 13 Comments

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*Photo of my multiple options to listen to David Bowie’s ‘Aladdin Sane’ taken by your intrepid blogger… and yes, I put my LPs in plastic sleeves… and I forgot to take it off for the photo so it looks like I’m suffocating Bowie with a Dry Cleaning bag…

I don’t know where it came from, this need – or perhaps it’s better described as a compulsion – to “own” music. Perhaps it was the influence of my younger brother – and when do we ever get influenced by a younger brother vs an older brother – who, by the time I started collecting albums at the age of 13 or 14, had already built an extensive collection of albums. He owned mostly Beatles, George Harrison and Doors albums back then. It was the late 70s and he was a 60s DJ. Whenever I walked by his room, vinyl was spinning and music filled the air. I remember, once music captured me in it’s magic siren’s spell, there was no question I was going to start buying records. Maybe it was the influence of radio, once I turned the dial from baseball games on AM to rock n roll on FM. I’d hear a song and long to hear it again and just hated waiting. Maybe I just decided to cut out the middle man – local rock station KY102 in my case – and go directly to my very own turntable. Regardless of why, that decision to buy Some Girls by the Stones all those years ago began a life long love affair with rock n roll for me…

There were other options available in terms of music formats back in the late 70s when I started buying vinyl. Cassettes were big. I actually bought a couple of albums on cassette – which I regretted later – AC/DC’s Highway To Hell and Pete Townshend’s Empty Glass. I thought the cassettes might lend some audio advantage… they didn’t. Of course they could be played in the car and were considerably more portable. Cassettes, for me, were more of a Mix-Tape experience, buying blank cassettes and recording songs in creative sequences sourced from my vinyl LPs…or other people’s vinyl. Borrowing albums and cassettes was a crude, early form of “file sharing,” I suppose? Although even when I started driving my parent’s car, they didn’t have a cassette player in the Oldsmobile. I’d carry my boom box in the back seat.

There were also 8-track tapes still available. My buddy Brewster owned Cheap Trick’s Live At Budokan on 8-track – he’d play it in the car on the way to school – and I’m not sure I ever really knew the running order of that album until years later. 8-tracks were for aliens so I shied away from them. For me, it was all about that vinyl. I wanted that 12.375 inch by 12.375 inch album cover. I wanted to stare at the album art and read the lyrics and liner notes while I cranked my tunes. I was a student in the temple of musical delights. Although admittedly, I had this weird rule where I’d only buy an album if I liked 3 tracks on the record… I’d been burned one too many times by albums with one great song and the rest filler. Looking back, the number 3 seems terribly arbitrary.

By the time I got out of college I had not one, but two record crates full of albums. I’d purchased the record crates at Peaches Records and hammered them together myself…they weren’t terribly sturdy but I had them until I was in my 30s, schlepping them from apartment to apartment. But by the time I paraded across the stage to receive my college diploma the world of music was radically changing. CDs had come along. I remember being in a used record store and they had a portable CD player chained to the counter by the cash register (used record stores were mostly a cash business back then, ahem), and I listened to the clean, pristine sound of whatever they were sampling. My verdict, which I announced loudly to anyone who would listen, was that CDs were a “fad” like 8-tracks and would never gain any traction. This is why you should never listen to me when predicting the future.

By the time I had been exiled to Ft. Smith, Arkansas CDs were everywhere. You could still buy vinyl, but CDs were gaining market share rapidly. To add salt in my vinyl wounds, CDs often had a bonus track or two, much the same way cassettes occasionally did to entice you to make the move to that format. I found a new rock n roll friend in Ft Smith when I met Arkansas Joel. He was a gadget guy and so was all in on CDs. Cleaner sound, no pops and hisses, and portable so you can take them with you in the car – CDs were the wave of the future according to Joel. I finally succumbed to his peer pressure – he really wanted me to buy CDs so he could record them – and purchased a CD player. My first CD was yet again, the Stones, but this time it was Steel Wheels. After that I followed everybody else and shifted my buying focus to CDs which led me to buy The White Album and so many other LPs again.

I actually liked CDs. You still had the album artwork and the lyrics. There was a huge market for used CDs. If I was kind of into a band – maybe I’d heard a song or two I liked – but wasn’t sure about the band or which LP to buy, I’d buy it used on CD. If I didn’t like it, I’d sell it and pick out something else. And record stores started putting listening stations at the end of the CD rows so you could sample a new record prior to buying it. That went a long way to ending my “three songs” rule. I remember buying the Red Hot Chili Peppers LP One Hot Minute, which is a weird starting point on the Peppers, and loving it. I picked up Blood Sugar Sex Magik at a used CD store because I still wasn’t “sure” about them and couldn’t believe I hadn’t gotten into them earlier. Wary still it took me a good half hour of listening to Californication at the end cap listening station in a Barnes & Noble before I took the plunge.

Eventually I met the Rock Chick and I’m embarrassed to admit she got me to start selling off albums. Usually it was the ones I’d repurchased on CD. I succumbed but only around the edges of my collection. In truth I sold records I wasn’t listening to more often than ones I’d repurchased in the different formats. I sold a lot of Greatest Hits albums as I’d collected most of the songs on the albums and CDs I’d purchased.  I regret selling a lot of those but as they say, marriage is a compromise. Between the Rock Chick and I we had a lot of CDs. A lot. I was beginning to worry about storage but I figured as long as we lived in a house with a guest room, I’d have a living space I could cannibalize for music storage… although admittedly I never had that conversation with the Rock Chick and I’m not sure it would have ended in my favor. Not many conversations with the Rock Chick end in my favor now that I really think about it.

Around this time the music industry changed again and Apple invented the iPod. Oh, we all loved the iPod. Luckily I could pull MP3’s off my CDs and put them on my iPod. It was called “ripping” a CD. I even figured out how to download the artwork. The good news about MP3’s was it solved my storage issues. I wasn’t going to have to put up giant CD racks in the guest room and hope the Rock Chick didn’t notice. We built quite a music file over here at B&V. Between the CDs we ripped, and new purchases by me and the Rock Chick our musical universe exploded. Then my daughter got into the game and suddenly I had everything from the Stones and Springsteen to Christmas music (the Rock Chick is indeed Mrs. Claus), and Lil Wayne (my daughter). I never got into that whole Napster file sharing thing but I must admit I dabbled on Limewire. Usually it was only for that rare B-side or live track I couldn’t find anywhere else. I used Limewire the same way I did the listening stations in the CD store, as a way to check out an album. If I liked the songs I’d downloaded, I’d go buy the album. I wanted the artist to get paid for creating this beautiful music. Recently, Apple changed iTunes to an app simply named “Music” and I can no longer plug my old iTouch into the computer and manually manage my music files. I could do it via Bluetooth, but it apparently would load all the music we have onto my iTouch. First, it wouldn’t fit and more importantly I don’t want Xmas music or Lil Wayne, I just want my rock n roll and my playlists. So after 20 years of buying albums on Apple, now I’m at a standstill. I can’t use my phone, it belongs to my corporate masters. I can’t update or change my iTouch… I can’t even buy new LPs and add them to my iTouch which seems like a faulty business model, although admittedly the folks down at Apple seem to know what they’re doing?

As folks who have read our posts containing playlists, I too joined the “streaming revolution.” It seems that’s why Apple ended my ability to update my (old technology) iTouch. I’m on Spotify which was an unfortunate choice. But I typically have used Spotify again, as a sampler. Listen to the record and then buy it if I like it. It’s a useful tool for me. The Rock Chick is all in on Spotify and listens in her car. I just don’t think I can go all in on streaming, it’s just not the same as owning the album. I began to buy used albums again a few years ago. And I have loved getting back into vinyl.  However, the price tags on the new albums are prohibitive. Peter Gabriel’s latest, i/o, came in two mixes. To purchase the CD or download it on my home computer is $20. To purchase both mixes on quadruple LP is $80. Hey man, even I have limits. I’m not a huge audiophile but I do think everything sounds better than streaming. I encourage all music fans to consume music in the fashion they most enjoy and for most folks I guess that’s streaming.

But I must admit I find myself at a crossroads. Pearl Jam’s Dark Matter comes out on April 19th. I love the title track, by the way. If I download the album – because I certainly want Pearl Jam to get paid and I want to own the album, I have all the rest of them – I can listen in my home office but nowhere else. If I buy it on vinyl it’s sure to cost a fortune, but at least I can crank it on my stereo. I can buy it on CD but those don’t really have the cache with the Rock Chick that LPs do… yes, she’s finally become a vinyl-head like me. And I guess this goes back to my first sentence, I have a compulsion to own music. Just having access to an album on Spotify doesn’t scratch the itch for me. I need that album or CD to hold in my hand, or the ability to pull the album up on my iTouch on command. When I started collecting music we all judged each other on our music taste. If you weren’t into rock n roll there was something wrong with you. Hell, if you were into the wrong music or artists we thought there was something wrong with you. Buying albums and sharing my collection with people is central to who I am.

And so I’ve taken this whole journey with music, from albums to CDs, to MP3s, sort of to streaming… and then back to used vinyl. Where I’ll go from here now that my MP3 era is over, remains a mystery. I can’t afford all the new vinyl I want, there are great LPs on the way (Lenny Kravitz, the Black Keys, the Black Crowes, the aforementioned Pearl Jam, Liam Gallagher/John Squire to name a few) and streaming doesn’t do it. I tried to explain this to the Rock Chick the other night over martinis and it might have been the martinis, but I don’t think she understood what I was talking about. I don’t know if others out there are like me, and feel this compulsion to buy records, but if you do, how do you plan to go forward collecting music? CDs, shelling out for vinyl? Or have you embraced this whole streaming thing? I suppose next we’ll all just have a chip in our head where we can call up music my tapping our temples… Count me in I guess?

However you’re getting your music, good for you for continuing to listening to your rock n roll. It’s taken twists and turns but my love affair with rock n roll will continue until they bury me with my copy of Exile On Mainstreet. Keep cranking those tunes folks, it’s a long dark ride… at least we can rock n roll to the finish line.

Cheers!