Wednesday, October 21, 2009

THE Cult Band of Our Time

Category: 50 Songs to Hear

SONG: Spellbound
ARTIST: Poco
SONGWRITER: Rusty Young
ALBUM: Legend
YEAR/LABEL: 1978; ABC

We've been together longer than any of our marriages.
(Paul Cotton)

Jethro Burns once quoted his father as saying of Homer and Jethro's early career, "You boys are about as unlucky as a one-legged man at an ass-kicking contest." Looking at the long career of Poco, one can only wonder if a member's father made that assessment of them as well. Poco was the pioneering band of the genre that would become known as "country-rock" in the late 60s and early 70s, forming before Gram Parsons joined the Byrds and made the landmark Sweetheart of the Rodeo album, and singing "there's just a little bit of magic in the country music we're singing" long before the Eagles even dreamed of takin' it easy -- or had even moved to California. The Eagles eventually became the epitome of "country-rock" and in the process acquired both their bassists from Poco (Randy Meisner played bass on Poco's first album but left before the album artwork was done, relegating his mention to a footnote in the credits) while enjoying a hall of fame career. Meanwhile, Poco put out album after album of great music, most of which sold a tiny fraction of the Eagles' records.

Ironically, after spending most of the 1970s in the shadows of the far more successful (and lyrically cynical) Eagles, it was the long hiatus that the Eagles took after the monstrous success of Hotel California -- and the departure of Timothy Schmit from Poco to replace Randy Meisner in the Eagles as he had done in 1968 for Poco -- that gave Poco an opening to score their biggest commercial success, 1978's "Crazy Love" from the album Legend. The album eventually sold nearly two million copies while Schmit was sitting in a studio in Miami recording the follow-up to Hotel California (1979's The Long Run, the last Eagles studio album for almost three decades), leading Glenn Frey and Don Henley to joke that Schmit may have left his former band right at the wrong time.

"Crazy Love" is a superlative song, one of the few numbers that became the best-known song for a "cult status" act that was actually deserving of the success (think of the best-known songs by acts like Jimmy Buffett, Warren Zevon, and Steve Forbert as examples of the opposite being true). One song that was overlooked on Legend that certainly should not have is "Spellbound." The song's title is a good indication of what the tune does to its listener.

The lyrics paint a lovely opening picture. The sound of crickets compliment the first line, "There's an easy evening breeze moving softly through the trees." The lyrics continue to weave a spell of spine-tingling lines ("she's got me hanging my a heartbeat") and meanders between first-person and third-person to suggest that this type of love (deemed "crazy" in that big hit on side two of the album) hits everyone at some point.

Poco has existed for over forty years in various incarnations. They have lost many famous members (Richie Furay, Jim Messinia, and the two bassists) and have seen music change so much that even their more rock-based songs would never find a home on country radio because they would be labeled "too country," yet they endure. As of this writing, original drummer George Grantham has recovered significantly from a stroke suffered onstage in July of 2004 but is unable to drum.

Country-rock would not exist without Poco, and if for no other reason than that they belong in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. .

OTHER POCO MUSIC TO INVESTIGATE:

(This is one band I truly want to say "get everything of theirs.")

The entire Rose of Cimarron album -- they should sue Emmylou Harris for what she did to the title track. Songs like "P.N.S. (When You Come Around)" and "Too Many Nights Too Long" make this one of Poco's best albums.

The entire Indian Summer album -- and then there's Rose of Cimarron's follow-up, the last album Timothy Schmit played on before leaving for the Eagles. What an album to go out on. The title track is one of the best songs of the 1970s, period.

The entire Cantamos album -- Richie Furay left after Crazy Eyes and Poco recorded a clunker (Seven). They rebounded beautifully with this marvelous album.

The entire Head Over Heels album -- the closest thing to a hit Poco had before "Crazy Love" is "Keep on Tryin'" off this album. Other gems such as their rendition of a song penned by Walter Becker and Donald Fagen ("Dallas") and a lovely tune about New Orleans ("Down in the Quarter") make this worth owning.

"Brass Buttons" (from Crazy Eyes) -- a lovely rendition of Gram Parsons' song.


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Friday, October 16, 2009

The Sound of One Heart Breaking

Category: 50 Songs to Hear

SONG: Sleep's Dark and Silent Gate
ARTIST: Jackson Browne
SONGWRITER: Jackson Browne
ALBUM: The Pretender
YEAR/LABEL: 1976; Asylum

The perception was that I wrote an album about my wife's death, which was not true. If you want to listen to "Sleep's Dark and Silent Gate" or "The Pretender" or "Your Bright Baby Blues" -- they're not about somebody dying.
(Jackson Browne)

Many performers emerged from the "singer/songwriter" era of the late 1960s and early 1970s. A number of them either came from or were based in southern California (e.g., David Blue, who wrote "Outlaw Man" on the Eagles' Desperado album, Warren Zevon, Randy Newman, J.D. Souther, and James Taylor), to the point where critics of the music labeled it a "mellow mafia." Fair or not, the music would never be mistaken for Led Zeppelin and the lyrics were heavily influenced by the deep, introspective writing of Dylan or other folkies.

For years Jackson Browne wandered about in the land of "cult" status. He was best-known for an early hit, "Doctor My Eyes," and for co-writing the first Eagles hit "Take It Easy" with Eagles front man Glenn Frey. Despite excellent albums that were praised by both his fans and critics he could not break through to "superstar" success.

After the release of his album Late for the Sky Browne married the mother of his son, Ethan. While recording the follow-up album The Pretender Browne's wife committed suicide, leaving Browne alone to raise his son and try to mend his broken heart.

Browne later claimed that The Pretender was not a musical documentary of his wife's death and his struggle to move on. Perhaps the melancholy mood of the album makes it appear that the opposite is true. Whatever the case, The Pretender is an album of pain, and "Sleep's Dark and Silent Gate" is the most painful song of all.

The song may not be explicitly about Phyllis Browne's overdose in March 1976 but the imagery makes it difficult to conclude otherwise. The term "sleep's dark and silent gate" screams of a euphemism for death (especially given the number of cultures and religions that refer to death as "sleeping" or older songs such as Bill Monroe's "Mother's Only Sleeping"), which may be where the belief that the song was the most personal reference of Browne's heartbreak. Or it could be the literal cry in his voice when he pours out the line, "Oh, God, this is some shape I'm in." Misery and genuine grief oozes from every syllable uttered in this song, and that is one of the reasons for its greatness.

The Pretender enjoyed more success than any previous Browne album, gave him his second minor hit ("Here Come Those Tears Again"), and set him up for the superstardom that was to be his beginning with the next album (Running on Empty). The album stands in stark contrast to everything before or after it because of the personal tragedy Browne endured, best exemplified in "Sleep's Dark and Silent Gate."

OTHER JACKSON BROWNE MUSIC TO INVESTIGATE:

The entire Late for the Sky album -- some of Browne's best writing and one of his best rockers ("The Road and the Sky"). From start to finish it is the premiere album of Jackson Browne's career.

"These Days" (from For Everyman) -- "don't confront me with my failures, I had not forgotten them" is not only the superlative line from this song but wisdom that the wisest of philosophers did not provide us with.

"Of Missing Persons"(from Hold Out) -- a tribute to Jackson's friend, Little Feat front man Lowell George, sung to George's daughter. A wonderful memorial to a great talent we lost too early.


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Saturday, October 3, 2009

Kenny Perry's Mother Dies

Category: Sports News

Kenny Perry is one of the truly nice guys on the PGA tour. The Kentucky native became a national hero during the 2008 Ryder Cup and nearly won the Masters in 2009. (Golf is one of those sports where second place is not, to the chagrin of Vince Lombardi and his famous quote, first loser.) He is also the 2009 recipient of the Payne Stewart Award.

Kenny Perry's mother, Mildred, died Thursday, October 1, in her Franklin, Kentucky home after a bout with multiple myeloma.

Perry will honor his family's request and play as scheduled in the President's Cup October 8-11.

Mildred Perry was 79.
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Saturday, September 19, 2009

A Most Powerful Opening Salvo

Category: 50 Songs to Hear

SONG: She's a Runaway
ARTIST: BoDeans
SONGWRITERS: Sam Llanas / Kurt Neumann
ALBUM: Love & Hope & Sex & Dreams
YEAR/LABEL: 1986; Slash

When I first heard Sam sing I thought it was an old woman. A very soulful old woman.
(Robbie Robertson)

Amid all the hair bands, synthesizers, and dance music of the mid-1980s came a different kind of "punk" movement: the root rockers. They were far less angry than the Clash or the Sex Pistols had been in rebelling against the disco and pop of the 1970s; and, unlike most punk bands, could actually play their instruments and sing well. These people weren't interested in seeing just how P.O.'ed at the world they could sound or trying to turn everything into a political cause. They just wanted to make good music. And most of the acts that came from that movement (e.g., Marshall Crenshaw, Webb Wilder) did exactly that.

The BoDeans happened along at the right time. They were both roots rockers and from one of the hotbed music scenes in America -- Milwaukee. In the mid-80s bands such as the Violent Femmes (the only act in history to get a platinum album [for their eponymous debut] without ever making the Billboard "top 200" best-sellers chart) and the Spanic Boys (a father-son duo that is the answer to a trivia question: what act was a last-minute music substitute on Saturday Night Live in 1990 when Sinead O'Connor refused to appear because Andrew "Dice" Clay was the host) garnered a good deal of attention from record labels. Most of the acts, unfortunately, never went beyond the Wisconsin border in terms of fame, with the Femmes and the BoDeans being the two notable exceptions.

What set the BoDeans apart, and continues to do so, are the harmonies. Front men Sam Llanas and Kurt Neumann, two high school friends, sing with harmonies that owe a great deal to the Everly Brothers or even the Louvin Brothers from country music. The band received a lot of attention initially because of these harmonies, and more so because of Llanas' voice, which, to say the very least, is unique. Critics began having a field day with descriptors of Llanas' voice. (His personal favorite: "a frog with laryngitis.") The attention, coupled with their stint as the opening act for U2 in the fall of 1987, established the band a solid cult following.

That is good and bad. It is good in the sense that they have a loyal audience, many of whom have been fans dating back to the 1986 debut Love & Hope & Sex & Dreams (a title taken from the opening line of the Rolling Stones' song "Shattered"); however, it is bad because this good, solid band has only made one venture into the top 40 ("Closer to Free," which was used as the theme song to Fox's TV series Party of Five).

Exhibit A as to why the latter is such a shame can be found in the first song from their first album, an incredible story song called "She's a Runaway." The story is not based on anyone from Llanas' life; however, the tale of the battered woman who "got beat up one too many times" rings sadly too true in society. Ditto the consequences: the victim of the story, Mary, decides the only way to solve the problem is by taking matters into her own hands. "Mary stole some money and she got herself a gun, then she shot her man down." The movie Thelma and Louise almost seems to be inspired by the plot of this song.

Trends in music have come and gone since 1986 but the BoDeans remain true to their original sound. Hopefully someday soon the trends will return to the roots rock sound so the BoDeans can enjoy the success they deserve.

OTHER BODEANS MUSIC TO INVESTIGATE:

The entire Love & Hope & Sex & Dreams album -- there's not a bad song on it anywhere. The reissued version includes the incredible "Try and Try," which had previously been relegated to a non-album B side (the flip of their first single, "Fadeaway").

"Forever Young (The Wild Ones)" (from Outside Looking In) -- the sophomore album that suffers from fellow Milwaukee native Jerry Harrison's too-heavy production (the Talking Heads guitarist/keyboardist did the same with the third Violent Femmes album, almost overproducing it into oblivion) still produced some gems. Harrison stepped back and let the BoDeans do what they do best on this song. If you can find any bootlegs from their 1988 tour where Neumann did this song as a ballad (with just a piano backing) it will be well worth the search.

"Small Town Ways" (from The Leftovers, a fan club-only release) -- originally recorded for the 1985 demo that got them the deal with Slash, this rocker traces how a job loss turns the protagonist to a life of crime.

"True Devotion" (from Black and White) -- this beautiful ballad was written after a long drought ("the night it finally rained") and features a wonderful, haunting backing vocal by Neumann.

"Far Far Away From My Heart" (from Home) -- the loneliness of the road poured out in a superb Llanas solo.

"Locked Up in the State of Illinois" (from All the King's Men, various artists) -- using Elvis' backing musicians the BoDeans finally committed to CD one of their old and great live songs.

"Somewhere Down the Crazy River" (Robbie Robertson, from Robbie Robertson, backing vocals by Llanas) -- one of Robbie Robertson's best songs with Sam providing backing vocals that make a haunting song more haunting.


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Thursday, September 17, 2009

Jackie Paper Comes No More

Category: Obituary/News

There was something magical about the song "Puff the Magic Dragon" when Peter, Paul and Mary sang it. Some people claimed it was a drug reference (they must've been smoking what they accused the song of promoting) and called for it to be banned, but fortunately most people accepted the song for what it was: great.

Mary Travers, the Louisville, Kentucky native who went to Greenwich Village and hooked up with Peter (Yarrow) and Paul (Stookey) to form one of the greatest folk groups of all time, died Wednesday (9/16) after a long bout with leukemia. In the end, it was not the actual disease that took her life but the complications from the treatment.

The iconic folk group also gave a young songwriter named Henry John Deutschendorf a foot in the door when they recorded his song "Leaving on a Jet Plane." Deutschendorf changed his name professionally to John Denver and went on to great success in the pop, country, and folk fields.

Mary Travers was 72.
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Saturday, September 12, 2009

B*Y*E L*A*R*R*Y

Category: Obituary

If you watch the movie M*A*S*H you can see it almost begged to be a television series. It wasn't a movie with a central plot, but rather "episodes" out of the lives of the surgeons at the 4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital.

Larry Gelbart must have seen that as well, for he took the 1970 film and developed it into a TV series that debuted in 1972. A lot of people don't know that the show nearly died in its Sunday night 8:30 slot during its first year. But it survived. Boy, did it survive. M*A*S*H is like I Love Lucy or The Andy Griffith Show or Star Trek -- timeless with legions of fans who "remember when" as well as discover it for the first time because they were not even born when it aired originally.

Larry Gelbart died Friday, September 11 at home in Los Angeles of cancer.

Although he was quite successful in his writing for other things (winning a Tony Award for A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum and Oscar nominations for Oh God! and Tootsie), he will probably always be remembered for his work on M*A*S*H. And that's certainly something to be proud of.

Larry Gelbart was 81.
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Wednesday, September 2, 2009

There Are Voices, And Then....

Category: 50 Songs to Hear

SONG: Painted Bells
ARTIST: Boz Scaggs
SONGWRITER: W.R. Scaggs
ALBUM: Moments
YEAR/LABEL: 1971, Columbia

Boz Scaggs is like sex and rock and roll: when he's good, he's great; when he's bad, he's not all that bad.
(Opening line of Rolling Stone magazine review of Down Two Then Left, 1977)

While still a teenager William "Boz" Scaggs played guitar and sang in a band at his high school, St. Mark's, in Dallas. Named the Marksmen, the combo featured another guitarist by the name of Steve Miller. After graduation, Scaggs went to Scandinavia and Miller went to the University of Wisconsin.

The two reunited in San Francisco in 1967. Scaggs played and sang on the first two Steve Miller Band albums, Children of the Future and Sailor, before parting company again. Scaggs recorded an album for Atlantic in 1969 (which featured what many consider to be Duane Allman's best guitar work, "Loan Me a Dime") before snagging a deal with Columbia Records. His debut on Columbia, Moments, featured a true classic: "Painted Bells."

Scaggs' recording career is filled with songs that showcase his lovely, soulful voice. "Painted Bells" is the first and one of the best. The song's story puts Scaggs in a cafe during an evening shower. His lyrics are as beautifully descriptive as the vocals he delivers them with. "I fall with the evening rain," Scaggs sings in the opening verse. He is just getting warmed up. He describes a rainy night perfectly, referencing "steam rising off the road" and people stepping carefully "to see that they don't get wet" while his cafe seat is under a tree. He sits there, content to "let the drops fall all over me and watch the city lights flick on."

Amid this rainy scene where "the crowds collide just out of my reach," the narrator's thoughts are on an old love, in his memory so fresh that he believes she is sharing the "wet cafe" table with him.

The "string of tiny painted bells" that give the song its title jolt Scaggs back to reality as he realizes the dream is like the passing shower: "the rain will go, and you will too."

Scaggs shot from cult status to Grammy-winning stardom with the 1976 album Silk Degrees, featuring his two best-known hits, "Lowdown" and "Lido Suffle." His greatest song, however, lies buried on an album that has yet to be released on CD in the United States.

OTHER BOZ SCAGGS MUSIC TO INVESTIGATE:

The entire Moments album -- no "sophomore jinx" here. This album blew the debut out of the water and set the tone for what was to come.

The entire Silk Degrees album -- yes, it is the successful Boz Scaggs album, and there is a very good reason for it.

The entire Middle Man album -- Boz wanders through pimps ("Jojo"), hookers ("Simone") and everything in between on an exceptional album that showcases his range from ballads ("You Can Have Me Anytime") to full-tilt rockers ("You've Got Some Imagination").

"Pain of Love" (from Slow Dancer) -- Creem magazine once said they wanted to present Scaggs with a Hostess snowball for Christmas that was "white on the outside and black inside, for obvious reasons." This exceptional blue-eyed soul tune is probably what gave them the idea for that joke.

"Runnin' Blue" (from Boz Scaggs & Band) -- Boz delivered this exceptional blues tune on an album with a large band that hid the fact that Scaggs is actually a rather good guitar player.

"Full-Lock Power Slide" (from My Time) -- strap in and hold on as Scaggs burns down the house with a straight-ahead rock and roll song that proves he is far from just a blue-eyed soul singer.

PREVIOUS SONGS:
(Country)
Not That I Care
Nobody Eats at Linebaugh's Anymore
My Book of Memories
Lost to a Stranger
A Little Bitty Heart
Life Has Its Little Ups and Downs
Life is Too Short
I Want a Home in Dixie
I Lost Today
Fingerprints
Down to the River to Pray
Don't Let the Stars Get in Your Eyeballs
A Death in the Family
Dark as a Dungeon
Bottomless Well

(Rock)
Out to Sea
One More Song
New Delhi Freight Train
Millworker
Long Way Home
Island
Heart of Rome
Harriet Tubman's Gonna Carry Me Home
Entella Hotel
Desperados Under the Eaves
Crossing Muddy Waters
Cliffs of Dooneen
Bruised Orange (Chain of Sorrow)
Baby Mine
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