Anyone seriously listening to Beyoncé singing ”You must not know about me” and warning her beau with “I could have another you in a minute!” (does this woman really think that would solve her problem?) is most likely not going to enjoy Rickie Lee Jones’s latest release.
As I understand it, Rickie Lee hooked up with some L.A. musicians, one of whom has written a book, The Words, in which he makes his own personal interpretations of the words of Christ. Rickie read sections of his book while standing in a makeshift recording studio and listening to tracks these musicians had prepared. She proceeded to spontaneously sing her own lyrical interpretations of various passages. After some embellishments (and adding a few songs of her own) these tracks became the new RLJ CD.
This collaboration has produced a work of great integrity. It’s extremely creative and most definitely a rock’n’roll record. Patti Smith comes to mind in light of the poetic, somewhat political, and quite serious intent here, but this record is more about the politics, if you will, of a raw Christian view of the world. It often moves between modern western culture and a New Testament context . . . “now” becomes Roman-occupied Israel and that troubled era becomes now. We get a “timeless” sense of the follies and insensitivities of mankind.
A record like this can’t be made without a true artist present, one with a strong personal vision for the project and a good singing and/or reciting voice. Rickie Lee is such an artist.
Perhaps you haven’t tuned in to her various releases for a while, but the high points have been great—did you hear her early nineties album Flying Cowboys? Don’t miss its title track and “Away from the Sky”. Did you hear her take on “The Low Spark of Highheeled Boys” and “Showbiz Kids” on It’s Like This? How about her “Jolie, Jolie” on Traffic from Paradise? Her last CD, The Evening of My Best Day, should have been a big seller (check out “It Takes You There”) and should have won a Grammy for technical sound quality at the very least!
Rickie Lee Jones’s excellent musical influences abound on The Sermon on Exposition Boulevard—Van Morrison’s super-emotional LP, Astral Weeks, Sly Stone’s nonchalant cool on his hit “Family Affair,” Vini Reilly’s Durutti Column moods, The Velvet Underground, The Jefferson Airplane’s “Comin’ Back to Me” (which Rickie Lee covered on Pop Pop)--the list goes on . . . maybe even a little Adam Durwitz/Counting Crows.
“How do you pray in a world like this?” she asks in the voice of someone observing people starving outside a restaurant. “Comin’ into town on your donkey, but you’ll be goin’ out on a cross,” she whispers. If you weren’t particularly offended by Martin Scorsese’s The Last Temptation of Christ, you may find you like the way this CD sets you thinking and feeling. The final cut, “I Was There,” is rather flimsy in its connection to the Jesus theme, but the rest of this thirteen-song (one instrumental) endeavor really does somehow reach something in the neighborhood of its very lofty goals!
Originally posted to SteveForbert.com in June 2007.
Monday, July 30, 2007
Neil Young | Heart of Gold DVD
Superstar Singer/Songwriter Gets a New Lease on Life
(as does the material he released on his pre-operation CD)
The Heart of Gold movie, directed by Jonathan Demme and filmed at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium, is a must-see. Don’t just put this on the TV while everyone’s rushing around the house. You need to sit down and watch the entire thing to get its real impact.
The major portion of this carefully staged production is comprised of nine songs from Neil Young’s recent Prairie Wind CD. Frankly, I wasn’t very interested in this film because I felt the performances on the original CD and its accompanying in-the-studio DVD lacked bite and the recording lacked any kind of special ambience; consequently, the songs didn’t seem so good either. This in-front-of-a-live-audience DVD version, however, corrects all that. Maybe it’s just a general sense of relief after his successful brain-aneurysm operation, maybe it’s everyone on stage being more familiar with the material, or maybe it’s more of a sense of shared purpose between the musicians upon being invited back for another go-round. Anyway, it’s excellent. Mr Young sounds damn near as good as ever. There have been a lot of releases from him in the last decade and, to me, few have had the right combination of elements. This “Prairie Wind take two” does.
Obviously, the songs on Prairie Wind were initiated by the loss of his father. A trip back to the Winnipeg area for the memorial service produced a palette of emotions demanding some sort of assessment. Take “The Painter” for example:
Green to green, red to red,
yellow to yellow in the light . . .
black to black when the evening comes,
blue to blue in the night,
it’s a long road behind me, it’s a long road ahead.
“Only a Dream,” the most moving song on the original CD, remains a standout here. The verses, obviously written quickly and not in entirely matching meter, add up the visions: a bad dream his wife or daughter wakes up with one morning; the Red River running through his boyhood hometown; a solitary boy fishing down by the bridge pylons; a description of a passenger train picking up passengers, picking up speed, and vanishing into the Canadian prairie, and a man in an overcoat stopping to chat with a policeman on an windy sidewalk of long ago. (Ben Keith’s steel guitar during the train verse—wisely captured by Mr. Demme—is musical excellence.
Between songs Mr. Young talks carefully about our age group’s time now—parents dying, questionable “progress,” juxtapositions of past and present landmarks (the old Ryman/the new Gaylord Entertainment Center).
An encore/finale of carefully selected older songs begins with “I Am a Child,” followed by “Harvest Moon,” “Heart of Gold,” and a story about Louis Avala, the ranch caretaker he wrote “Old Man” for so long ago: “Tell me, how does a young man like yourself have enough money to buy a place like this?”
With the performance of “One of These Days” from Harvest Moon, the movie begins to reveal its full message. In this song, he apologizes to old friends for bridges burned and acknowledges good things he forfeited with those broken ties. By this point, the camera is focusing more on Mr. Young’s wife, Pegi, catching some key looks between Neil and her.
The version of “Four Strong Winds” here is awesome. So is “Comes a Time.” I still smile at its trade-off between “proper” strings and a fiddle. And slipping in “Old King” from Harvest Moon is a good way for Neil Young to reiterate that he knows he’s still got a long and unknown way to go.
It’s hardly common practice to rerecord an album, especially immediately after its release (!), but in this case it’s a very worthwhile endeavor—brilliant, in fact.
Originally posted to SteveForbert.com in December 2006.
(as does the material he released on his pre-operation CD)
The Heart of Gold movie, directed by Jonathan Demme and filmed at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium, is a must-see. Don’t just put this on the TV while everyone’s rushing around the house. You need to sit down and watch the entire thing to get its real impact.
The major portion of this carefully staged production is comprised of nine songs from Neil Young’s recent Prairie Wind CD. Frankly, I wasn’t very interested in this film because I felt the performances on the original CD and its accompanying in-the-studio DVD lacked bite and the recording lacked any kind of special ambience; consequently, the songs didn’t seem so good either. This in-front-of-a-live-audience DVD version, however, corrects all that. Maybe it’s just a general sense of relief after his successful brain-aneurysm operation, maybe it’s everyone on stage being more familiar with the material, or maybe it’s more of a sense of shared purpose between the musicians upon being invited back for another go-round. Anyway, it’s excellent. Mr Young sounds damn near as good as ever. There have been a lot of releases from him in the last decade and, to me, few have had the right combination of elements. This “Prairie Wind take two” does.
Obviously, the songs on Prairie Wind were initiated by the loss of his father. A trip back to the Winnipeg area for the memorial service produced a palette of emotions demanding some sort of assessment. Take “The Painter” for example:
Green to green, red to red,
yellow to yellow in the light . . .
black to black when the evening comes,
blue to blue in the night,
it’s a long road behind me, it’s a long road ahead.
“Only a Dream,” the most moving song on the original CD, remains a standout here. The verses, obviously written quickly and not in entirely matching meter, add up the visions: a bad dream his wife or daughter wakes up with one morning; the Red River running through his boyhood hometown; a solitary boy fishing down by the bridge pylons; a description of a passenger train picking up passengers, picking up speed, and vanishing into the Canadian prairie, and a man in an overcoat stopping to chat with a policeman on an windy sidewalk of long ago. (Ben Keith’s steel guitar during the train verse—wisely captured by Mr. Demme—is musical excellence.
Between songs Mr. Young talks carefully about our age group’s time now—parents dying, questionable “progress,” juxtapositions of past and present landmarks (the old Ryman/the new Gaylord Entertainment Center).
An encore/finale of carefully selected older songs begins with “I Am a Child,” followed by “Harvest Moon,” “Heart of Gold,” and a story about Louis Avala, the ranch caretaker he wrote “Old Man” for so long ago: “Tell me, how does a young man like yourself have enough money to buy a place like this?”
With the performance of “One of These Days” from Harvest Moon, the movie begins to reveal its full message. In this song, he apologizes to old friends for bridges burned and acknowledges good things he forfeited with those broken ties. By this point, the camera is focusing more on Mr. Young’s wife, Pegi, catching some key looks between Neil and her.
The version of “Four Strong Winds” here is awesome. So is “Comes a Time.” I still smile at its trade-off between “proper” strings and a fiddle. And slipping in “Old King” from Harvest Moon is a good way for Neil Young to reiterate that he knows he’s still got a long and unknown way to go.
It’s hardly common practice to rerecord an album, especially immediately after its release (!), but in this case it’s a very worthwhile endeavor—brilliant, in fact.
Originally posted to SteveForbert.com in December 2006.
Old Friends & Brian Wilson Presents Smile: The DVD
Old Friends Live On Stage
Simon and Garfunkel
Brian Wilson Presents Smile: The DVD
Brian Wilson
Hey, these guys are good together! I wasn’t able to attend any of their concerts, but this Madison Square Garden DVD is evidence of a first-rate road show. My feeling these days is that the older guys are still far and away the best--that is to say, the top “acts” of the sixties who still have their central members and, of course, their classic material are the ones that can really do it right when they want to. That includes Simon and Garfunkel. For one thing, their band couldn’t be better. Jim Keltner is on drums and he’s as good as ever. Mark Stewart on electric guitar is of particular interest. It’s hard to believe cello is his main instrument! Some of the classic melodies are altered here and there, but not in ways that really damage them. I particularly like this version of “A Hazy Shade of Winter.” (For some reason they chose to avoid singing “that’s an easy thing to say, but if your hopes should pass away, simply pretend.”) “I Am a Rock” is excellent, the signature riff still great.
It’s somewhat of a miracle that these two guys from the sixties can call out their main influence, the Everly Brothers (from the fifties!), for a few numbers, all four singing together on “Bye Bye Love.”
“Parsley Sage” contains a Cuban/Latin detour that works perfectly and allows each musician a solo spot. (I remember when Larry Salzman was playing lead guitar with Shawn Colvin in clubs around the Village.) Yes, as a baby boomer I’m biased, but the sixties superstars that remain with us are the ones with both the material and the smarts/wherewithal to make the nowadays-commonplace over-$100-ticket price seem worth it, which leads me to the Brian Wilson Presents Smile DVD.
How ironic after all these years (nearly forty!) to see him succeed in putting the Smile pieces together (as a “rock opera”) and even performing it in front of a live audience! And managing to enjoy himself on stage!
I confess I never liked stray bits like “Veg-e-tables” or "Wind Chimes" that surfaced on Beach Boys albums . . . just too weird. It’s said throughout this special two-disc DVD set that the times have finally caught up with the Smile material. In truth, a lot of the “accepted at last” credit must go to musician Darian Sahanaja who put all the Smile vignettes into a computer for easy access and helped Mr. Wilson make some actually entertaining sense of it all. Keeping “Heroes and Villains,” “Surf’s Up,” and “Good Vibrations” strategically placed in the running order allows the stranger pieces such as “Vegetables,” the barnyard sounds, and even the fire thing (“Mrs. O’Leary’s Cow”) to be pleasingly sequenced into the whole.
There are quite a number of musicians in Brian’s core UK tour band here and, as on the Simon and Garfunkel DVD, each one seems perfect to me. Of particular interest are Probyn Gregory, trumpet and vocals, and Jim Hines, drums. Who would have dreamed that the infamous Smile project that caused Brian Wilson so much pain so long ago would ultimately bring us, and him, a great deal of pleasure?
Originally posted to SteveForbert.com in June 2006.
Simon and Garfunkel
Brian Wilson Presents Smile: The DVD
Brian Wilson
Hey, these guys are good together! I wasn’t able to attend any of their concerts, but this Madison Square Garden DVD is evidence of a first-rate road show. My feeling these days is that the older guys are still far and away the best--that is to say, the top “acts” of the sixties who still have their central members and, of course, their classic material are the ones that can really do it right when they want to. That includes Simon and Garfunkel. For one thing, their band couldn’t be better. Jim Keltner is on drums and he’s as good as ever. Mark Stewart on electric guitar is of particular interest. It’s hard to believe cello is his main instrument! Some of the classic melodies are altered here and there, but not in ways that really damage them. I particularly like this version of “A Hazy Shade of Winter.” (For some reason they chose to avoid singing “that’s an easy thing to say, but if your hopes should pass away, simply pretend.”) “I Am a Rock” is excellent, the signature riff still great.
It’s somewhat of a miracle that these two guys from the sixties can call out their main influence, the Everly Brothers (from the fifties!), for a few numbers, all four singing together on “Bye Bye Love.”
“Parsley Sage” contains a Cuban/Latin detour that works perfectly and allows each musician a solo spot. (I remember when Larry Salzman was playing lead guitar with Shawn Colvin in clubs around the Village.) Yes, as a baby boomer I’m biased, but the sixties superstars that remain with us are the ones with both the material and the smarts/wherewithal to make the nowadays-commonplace over-$100-ticket price seem worth it, which leads me to the Brian Wilson Presents Smile DVD.
How ironic after all these years (nearly forty!) to see him succeed in putting the Smile pieces together (as a “rock opera”) and even performing it in front of a live audience! And managing to enjoy himself on stage!
I confess I never liked stray bits like “Veg-e-tables” or "Wind Chimes" that surfaced on Beach Boys albums . . . just too weird. It’s said throughout this special two-disc DVD set that the times have finally caught up with the Smile material. In truth, a lot of the “accepted at last” credit must go to musician Darian Sahanaja who put all the Smile vignettes into a computer for easy access and helped Mr. Wilson make some actually entertaining sense of it all. Keeping “Heroes and Villains,” “Surf’s Up,” and “Good Vibrations” strategically placed in the running order allows the stranger pieces such as “Vegetables,” the barnyard sounds, and even the fire thing (“Mrs. O’Leary’s Cow”) to be pleasingly sequenced into the whole.
There are quite a number of musicians in Brian’s core UK tour band here and, as on the Simon and Garfunkel DVD, each one seems perfect to me. Of particular interest are Probyn Gregory, trumpet and vocals, and Jim Hines, drums. Who would have dreamed that the infamous Smile project that caused Brian Wilson so much pain so long ago would ultimately bring us, and him, a great deal of pleasure?
Originally posted to SteveForbert.com in June 2006.
Al Stewart | A Beach Full of Shells
According to VHI.com, “Year of the Cat was an unqualified hit, selling over a million copies and spawning the Top Ten title single. Time Passages duplicated both feats but Stewart’s creativity dried up soon afterwards.” How little attention that particular reviewer must be paying! I would suggest they give his 1995 release Between the Wars a listen, especially the songs “Sampan,” “A League of Notions,” and “Laughing into 1939.” They should also give his new release, A Beach Full of Shells, some consideration.
Here again Al is mixing his vast knowledge of history with his skills as a singer/songwriter .
No, these records are not for everyone, but I don’t think "everyone" is visiting my website and checking out my music picks. Many remember Al’s Past Present and Future LP (from the seventies), which featured songs about such subjects as the prophecies of Nostradamus and the life of a soldier resisting the Nazi invasion of Russia. Many will remember “On the Border” (from Year of the Cat) about the Spanish Civil War.
Al is certainly not your typical singer/songwriter and his unique songs would perhaps be merely academic exercises if he weren’t so good at writing and singing them.
My personal picks for standouts on A Beach Full of Shells would be “Mr. Lear,” “Royal Courtship” (in which he amusingly writes the same verse three times using different clever word choices), “Somewhere in England 1915,” and “My Egyptian Couch.” The latter describes some of his ancestors of a few generations ago wearing what were for them the latest clothes and staring out from a photograph. It is Al’s frequent musings about time and the way we relate to it that interests me most. Remember these words?
It was late in December, the sky turned to snow
All ‘round the day was going down slow
Night like a river beginning to flow
I felt the beat of my mind go
Drifting into time passages.
There’s something back there that you left behind
Oh, time passages.
From “Merlin’s Time”:
I think of you now
As a dream that I had long ago
in a kingdom lost to time
from “Laughing into 1939”:
The party draws them in
It breathes and moves
To a life its own
In its arms it’s gathering all time
Now the girl and the beach and the train
and the ship are all gone
And the calendar up on the wall says it’s ninety years on
(“Somewhere in England 1915”)
So they look from the photographs
and they’re curious now,
wondering how we turned out
Let’s say like the Chinese adage
We’re living our lives in interesting times
(“My Egyptian Couch”)
Visit Al’s website and you’ll see that, contrary to what VH1.com might print, there are many people who know that Al Stewart is still alive and well and doing very special work. I might add that the sound quality on A Beach Full of Shells is exceptional. Recording at the legendary Capitol Studios in Hollywood was worth every penny, even moreso if this fine CD somehow manages to sell several hundred thousand copies!
*Click here to read two of Steve Forbert's own "Time Passages".
Originally posted to SteveForbert.com in June 2006.
Bob Dylan/Willie Nelson Live Review
Bob Dylan\Willie Nelson
Hot Club of Cowtown
Friday, August 20, 2004
Pringles Stadium, Jackson, TN
The Bob Dylan concert was fantastic. I’m presenting my “review” in the cartoon-like (without the drawings) form of imagining some of his thoughts during the show:
I’ve played enough guitar in public. This thing of just playing an electric piano for the entire show is A-OK. It doesn’t matter that the audience can hardly hear my playing. I might not even be playing keyboards at all, just pushing buttons and flicking switches to control a musical rock show of four musicians who are more center stage than I am, while I sing my traveling preacher poems into a microphone that’s angled way too low.
The new adjustments to the “Cold Irons Bound” arrangement are really working. It’s so much fun to sing lyrics creepier than Edgar Allan Poe. And if it wasn’t for ol’ O.J., I wouldn’t even have the song at all!
I like having Stu’s lead guitar here on my side of the stage. He’s really got the blues and plays some really tasty stuff. I also like this co-bill with Willie. Plenty of people are coming out for our reasonably priced tickets and his legendary friendly relationship with the crowd probably offsets my usual distance some. That talking-to-the-crowd thing doesn’t work for me. It only worked back in the intimate “folkie” days and of course I tried it during the Christian album tours. Hell, I don’t even have to stand center stage anymore! Does anyone think of me as looking like Ray Charles up here, or like Thelonious Monk or something? Would anyone see me as being like that old man in a white lab coat whom Neil Young described in that song “Sedan Delivery”? I haven’t been this free on stage in, like, forever. Does anyone notice that I’ve actually transcended my own self and am very close to being the person I was at age 13 when I insisted on playing the drums solo at my bar mitzvah? This is so “me.” I’m not a rock star anymore, I’m simply Bob Dylan and I’m having a ball. I’ve never worked harder and tried less! I wonder if Steve Forbert drove over from Nashville. He’d absolutely love this show!
I’m so glad I was able to find another great drummer after David left. It’s certainly not easy to find excellent drummers these days. Oddly enough, that “vary the set more every night” criticism I was getting a few years ago turns out to have been a good idea. Taking that to an extreme has helped me further escape the tentacles of the nostalgia/oldies act syndrome. I should have thought of that myself.
And hey, this back-to-the-past, pre-’60s, country-and-western, cowboy hat and expensive suit thing has really worked. I’m so glad I quit trying to keep up with pop fashion and tastes. The world situation may be getting pretty bad but, uh, life is good. And this minor-league-baseball-field tour makes a lot of sense. It’s not sold out tonight but it certainly isn’t a disaster. The audience is pretty loose and having a good time. And the weather is cooperating, too. Of course, if you listen to most of the lyrics I’m singing, I sound dejected and very angry. Oh well, that’s nothing new. Should I care that a large part of my personality and artistic drive seems to stem from some extremely intense anger? I wonder if it will mean much to anyone when we play a few bars of the Exodus theme right before my second-most-apocalyptic song, “All Along the Watchtower.” Oh look, what’s up? Larry’s laughing . . . because . . . oh, Tony’s bass strap has come unfastened.
Originally posted to SteveForbert.com in September 2004.
Hot Club of Cowtown
Friday, August 20, 2004
Pringles Stadium, Jackson, TN
The Bob Dylan concert was fantastic. I’m presenting my “review” in the cartoon-like (without the drawings) form of imagining some of his thoughts during the show:
I’ve played enough guitar in public. This thing of just playing an electric piano for the entire show is A-OK. It doesn’t matter that the audience can hardly hear my playing. I might not even be playing keyboards at all, just pushing buttons and flicking switches to control a musical rock show of four musicians who are more center stage than I am, while I sing my traveling preacher poems into a microphone that’s angled way too low.
The new adjustments to the “Cold Irons Bound” arrangement are really working. It’s so much fun to sing lyrics creepier than Edgar Allan Poe. And if it wasn’t for ol’ O.J., I wouldn’t even have the song at all!
I like having Stu’s lead guitar here on my side of the stage. He’s really got the blues and plays some really tasty stuff. I also like this co-bill with Willie. Plenty of people are coming out for our reasonably priced tickets and his legendary friendly relationship with the crowd probably offsets my usual distance some. That talking-to-the-crowd thing doesn’t work for me. It only worked back in the intimate “folkie” days and of course I tried it during the Christian album tours. Hell, I don’t even have to stand center stage anymore! Does anyone think of me as looking like Ray Charles up here, or like Thelonious Monk or something? Would anyone see me as being like that old man in a white lab coat whom Neil Young described in that song “Sedan Delivery”? I haven’t been this free on stage in, like, forever. Does anyone notice that I’ve actually transcended my own self and am very close to being the person I was at age 13 when I insisted on playing the drums solo at my bar mitzvah? This is so “me.” I’m not a rock star anymore, I’m simply Bob Dylan and I’m having a ball. I’ve never worked harder and tried less! I wonder if Steve Forbert drove over from Nashville. He’d absolutely love this show!
I’m so glad I was able to find another great drummer after David left. It’s certainly not easy to find excellent drummers these days. Oddly enough, that “vary the set more every night” criticism I was getting a few years ago turns out to have been a good idea. Taking that to an extreme has helped me further escape the tentacles of the nostalgia/oldies act syndrome. I should have thought of that myself.
And hey, this back-to-the-past, pre-’60s, country-and-western, cowboy hat and expensive suit thing has really worked. I’m so glad I quit trying to keep up with pop fashion and tastes. The world situation may be getting pretty bad but, uh, life is good. And this minor-league-baseball-field tour makes a lot of sense. It’s not sold out tonight but it certainly isn’t a disaster. The audience is pretty loose and having a good time. And the weather is cooperating, too. Of course, if you listen to most of the lyrics I’m singing, I sound dejected and very angry. Oh well, that’s nothing new. Should I care that a large part of my personality and artistic drive seems to stem from some extremely intense anger? I wonder if it will mean much to anyone when we play a few bars of the Exodus theme right before my second-most-apocalyptic song, “All Along the Watchtower.” Oh look, what’s up? Larry’s laughing . . . because . . . oh, Tony’s bass strap has come unfastened.
Originally posted to SteveForbert.com in September 2004.
Air | Talkie Walkie
I've really liked Air's most popular songs to date, so when I saw their new release at CD World in Eatontown, New Jersey, I went for it. To be honest, I was able to blow through the CD itself rather quickly because the up tempo tracks just don't do much for me. What I like about Air are their atmospheric, pleasant things--and the sounds they select for them from their obviously vast knowledge of vintage synthesizers and record-making in general.
Why buy Talkie Walkie? Because three tracks make the full price more than worth it. You may already be hearing the single, "Cherry Blossom Girl," on your local adult album alternative station. It's an instant hit and, like track 5 ("Mike Mills") and track 10 ("Alone in Kyoto"), it is perfectly produced and arranged. Very pleasant and definitely reminiscent of the Cocteau Twins, it could take the CD into the top twenty, even here in the US (if they've got a video, etc.).
REM's bassist, Mike Mills, is no doubt pleased to see that track 5 is named after him. Like "Cherry Blossom Girl," it has a nice, intricately patterned acoustic guitar and Air's beautifully composed synth/string parts. It is wonderful. The same goes for "Alone in Kyoto," which is slightly more adventurous, features a beautiful little "Parsley, Sage"- like glockenspiel at one point and shifts into a seemingly tacked-on grand piano section before ending to the sound of ocean waves on the beach.
These three tracks are on par with, I feel, the best music ever made. It's quite possible that decades from now they'll be placed alongside "Clair de lune" on a regular basis.
Originally posted to SteveForbert.com in May 2004.
Why buy Talkie Walkie? Because three tracks make the full price more than worth it. You may already be hearing the single, "Cherry Blossom Girl," on your local adult album alternative station. It's an instant hit and, like track 5 ("Mike Mills") and track 10 ("Alone in Kyoto"), it is perfectly produced and arranged. Very pleasant and definitely reminiscent of the Cocteau Twins, it could take the CD into the top twenty, even here in the US (if they've got a video, etc.).
REM's bassist, Mike Mills, is no doubt pleased to see that track 5 is named after him. Like "Cherry Blossom Girl," it has a nice, intricately patterned acoustic guitar and Air's beautifully composed synth/string parts. It is wonderful. The same goes for "Alone in Kyoto," which is slightly more adventurous, features a beautiful little "Parsley, Sage"- like glockenspiel at one point and shifts into a seemingly tacked-on grand piano section before ending to the sound of ocean waves on the beach.
These three tracks are on par with, I feel, the best music ever made. It's quite possible that decades from now they'll be placed alongside "Clair de lune" on a regular basis.
Originally posted to SteveForbert.com in May 2004.
The Methadones
On a different note, get ready to be hearing about a rock'n'roll band called the Methadones. The CD isn't out in the US , but I'm told it will be soon. These guys, who are former members of assorted other bands, rock as hard as any band can rock and still be actually playing together, which sorta means they sound, for 2004, like the way the Ramones sounded in 1976. They're not possessed of a New York Cool like the Ramones or the Strokes (whose track, Modern World, by the way, was a classic), but they have enough of their own meat-and-potatoes attitude to go very far.
Originally posted to SteveForbert.com in May 2004.
Originally posted to SteveForbert.com in May 2004.
Robert Bradley Live Review
Robert Bradley
Dancing in the District concert
Nashville, TN
Wednesday, July 17, 2003
"When you get to Hollywood and get a triple platinum and a Lamborghini, please call my daughter.”
-- Robert Bradley, quoting an Alabama girl’s father
There won’t be any more deep soul singers after Robert Bradley. He’s the last of the line. I finally got a chance to see Robert Bradley’s Blackwater Surprise (see my review of their 1996 debut CD below) last night at an outdoor, radio-sponsored show for $3! There were a couple of moments when I (as Neil Young might say) “got all choked up” watching and listening to this thin, blind black man, with prematurely gray hair, from Evergreen, Alabama, singing his emotional autobiography of rain, the Golden Gate bridge, music in the park, the Viet Nam War, and lovers who could make a blind man see. There’s definite a sense of longing and tragedy about him as well as an endearing sort of everyman-elemental essence.
His band, the Detroit-based Blackwater Surprise, some of whom actually discovered him singing on the streets of that city, is good. In fact, very good--but it’s still all about Robert. Standing there listening to a talent of his caliber, name checking Marvin Gaye, Otis Redding, and Sam Cooke, I couldn’t help but wonder if his own good fortune will continue. I hope so.
Originally posted to SteveForbert.com in August 2003.
Mark Knopfler | Ragpicker's Dream
RAGPICKER'S DREAM features the same team that Mark Knopfler worked with on Sailing to Philadelphia, but it's a much better album. In fact, it's excellent. The songs are excellent, the playing is excellent, the production is excellent, the sound quality is excellent. Knopfler's reputation (via Dire Straits) as a great rock guitarist is a given, but lately he's making a personal journey through various styles of American roots music. He--and this band--are kings of sublime subtlety. Listen carefully and you'll hear his complete mastery of every style presented here. I've settled on four tracks as my favorites "Hill Farmer's Blues," "You Don't Know You're Born," "Coyote," and "Old Pigweed." You may decide your favorites are different, but I'd say get this CD right away and find out. I'd also say track 12 is Knopfler's subtle response to 9/11 (or is it just Mark's wise old country-gentleman comment on the human race in general?). My friend at the Martin Guitar Factory says it's just about a love affair gone wrong.
Originally posted to SteveForbert.com in December 2002.
Originally posted to SteveForbert.com in December 2002.
The Breeders | Title TK
Kim Deal is forever as American as French's mustard. The sound she and her twin sister, Kelly, make together is a kind of drug. Like the Rolling Stone's Exile on Main Street, the Breeders are a portable party.
1993's The Last Splash was quite possibly the best rock-'n'-roll record of the nineties. On TITLE TK, which has taken many years (six?) to complete, their intoxicating/ intoxicated effect remains pretty much intact. Frankly, not all of the material on this record is up to par, but the thing they do is so potent that the very best selections here will make the album, if not amazing, at least somewhat worth the long wait. I'd pick "Off You." It's an odd track (with nothing but two basses, vocal, and guitar) and owes a lot to pretty Velvet Underground songs like "Pale Blue Eyes," "Femme Fatale," and "I'll Be Your Mirror." Still, its mood is its own and the weird synthesizer interruption near the beginning is hilarious. (I guess the picture of Kim with cigarette and upright bass from a few years ago was from the initial session for this song.) I'd also pick "Huffer." This is the obvious single and so, of course, appears last as track 12! It's as close as they can get (or care to get) to the million-seller style of The Last Splash. That CD will probably indeed turn out to be their last big splash; nevertheless, on its best tracks, TITLE TK is still "The Breeders."
Originally posted to SteveForbert.com in September 2002.
1993's The Last Splash was quite possibly the best rock-'n'-roll record of the nineties. On TITLE TK, which has taken many years (six?) to complete, their intoxicating/ intoxicated effect remains pretty much intact. Frankly, not all of the material on this record is up to par, but the thing they do is so potent that the very best selections here will make the album, if not amazing, at least somewhat worth the long wait. I'd pick "Off You." It's an odd track (with nothing but two basses, vocal, and guitar) and owes a lot to pretty Velvet Underground songs like "Pale Blue Eyes," "Femme Fatale," and "I'll Be Your Mirror." Still, its mood is its own and the weird synthesizer interruption near the beginning is hilarious. (I guess the picture of Kim with cigarette and upright bass from a few years ago was from the initial session for this song.) I'd also pick "Huffer." This is the obvious single and so, of course, appears last as track 12! It's as close as they can get (or care to get) to the million-seller style of The Last Splash. That CD will probably indeed turn out to be their last big splash; nevertheless, on its best tracks, TITLE TK is still "The Breeders."
Originally posted to SteveForbert.com in September 2002.
David Bowie | Heathen
The new David Bowie CD is good! I fell for the 1999 hype of Hours . . . and found all of that talk about a return to his early-seventies-type of quality/style to be unjustified. (Not that I think a creative force like Bowie would necessarily have to return to somewhere in his past to do something credible/incredible.) Nevertheless, the similar talk regarding Heathen made me skeptical. Surprise! It really is a slight return to the writing (chord progressions) of that era and is even quite an emotionally convincing record. I've followed Bowie through a lot of releases and even did a lot of listening to 1. Outside (probably the darkest album ever released by a well-known artist, including Lou Reed's Berlin.) Bowie said in one of the many recent interviews that he wound up using his own playing for a lot of Heathen and (along with his teaming up with producer/bassist Tony Visconti again) I think it accounts for some of the believability here. More important, the material is good and sometimes great. He's lost some top end on his voice (how old is he now?), but still sounds like one of the best. His (one-sided) conversations with God ("I Would Be Your Slave" and "A Better Future") are funny, sad, and likeably personal.
The excellent "Afraid" should have been the first single. He actually sounds like a real friend on "Everyone Says Hi."
It's been weird to watch a person as talented and intelligent as David Bowie artistically searching (with very mixed results) from record to record (Never Let Me Down, Tin Machine, Tin Machine II, Black Tie White Noise, 1. Outside, Earthling, Hours...). It's a lot better than weird to see him release something as good as Heathen.
By the way, I wonder if David ever heard "Loophole" by the Royal Coachmen (which happens to be on the new Lost Legends of Surf Guitar now out on Sundazed). The opening chords bear a striking resemblance to "I Would Be Your Slave."
Originally posted to SteveForbert.com in September 2002.
The excellent "Afraid" should have been the first single. He actually sounds like a real friend on "Everyone Says Hi."
It's been weird to watch a person as talented and intelligent as David Bowie artistically searching (with very mixed results) from record to record (Never Let Me Down, Tin Machine, Tin Machine II, Black Tie White Noise, 1. Outside, Earthling, Hours...). It's a lot better than weird to see him release something as good as Heathen.
By the way, I wonder if David ever heard "Loophole" by the Royal Coachmen (which happens to be on the new Lost Legends of Surf Guitar now out on Sundazed). The opening chords bear a striking resemblance to "I Would Be Your Slave."
Originally posted to SteveForbert.com in September 2002.
Radiohead | Amnesiac
I heard AMNESIAC in a Tower Record store recently and was impressed. I bought it and have listened to it and I think it will continue to be highly regarded as time goes by. It's pretty much a mood piece (a gray rainy-day type), but I like the mood. You may have seen the Rolling Stone headline about how Radiohead had to "destroy rock 'n' roll." Actually, the music here hearkens back to the past a lot--back to Snowflakes Are Dancing by Isao Tomita, Tubular Bells by Michael Oldfield, and maybe the Durutti Column--and, really, there's not much here conceptually that Bjork hasn't already done. I guess all the commotion just stems from this popular rock group making such a hard left turn away from their guitars and the style that made them popular. Ironically, the deviation has made them more popular. Radiohead is obviously doing a lot of things right. Some of the credit should go to Nigel Godrich, their engineer/coproducer. Even though they seem to work in different studios from album to album, this man always gets wonderful state-of-the-art sounds. The frequent comparisons to Pink Floyd aren't just based on the musical content here.
What I'd like to see happen next is Radiohead doing all the music for a movie version of C. S. Lewis's That Hideous Strength.
Originally posted to SteveForbert.com in August 2001.
Big Sandy and His Fly-Rite Boys Live Review
Big Sandy and His Fly-Rite Boys
Live at the Vancouver Island Music Fest
Sunday, July 14, 2001
Catch these guys if you can. There are five of them--doing the rockabilly thing and doing it so well. It's the real deal. Not too loud at all; upright bass rattling the stage; excellent soloing from both the pedal-steel player and lead guitarist; drummer playing well-thought-out, creative parts (and quietly, even holding his left stick old-style proper, between his fingers); everybody swingin' and Big Sandy delivering his best--going for the subtleties in each melody. He's an instantly likeable personality who's obviously meant to be doing what he's doing. I know I'll go see them again as soon as possible.
Originally posted to SteveForbert.com in August 2001.
Live at the Vancouver Island Music Fest
Sunday, July 14, 2001
Catch these guys if you can. There are five of them--doing the rockabilly thing and doing it so well. It's the real deal. Not too loud at all; upright bass rattling the stage; excellent soloing from both the pedal-steel player and lead guitarist; drummer playing well-thought-out, creative parts (and quietly, even holding his left stick old-style proper, between his fingers); everybody swingin' and Big Sandy delivering his best--going for the subtleties in each melody. He's an instantly likeable personality who's obviously meant to be doing what he's doing. I know I'll go see them again as soon as possible.
Originally posted to SteveForbert.com in August 2001.
Doug Sham | The Return Of Wayne Douglas
As I understand it, The Return of Wayne Douglas is a CD that Doug Sahm was working on in the year prior to his death on November 18, 1999. This CD was given to me at the Mucky Duck on October 21 and for some reason I didn't listen to it until Clay and I, having completed the February/March band tour, were driving back from New York.
From the very first notes, we were pleasantly surprised. It's instantly recognizable as true Texas heart and soul. There's something very warm about the sound of this record, and there seems to have been a lot of spontaneity in the recording process.
I should go ahead and say that he covers "Love Minus Zero/No Limit" by Bob Dylan (as many of you know, Bob appeared on one of Doug's records in the early '70s, contributing an original tune called "Wallflower," which seemed oddly to me like an imitation of John Prine, and obviously didn't go unnoticed by Bob's son, Jakob). Doug's "Love Minus Zero" stands on its own. There are some really good original songs here as well, particularly "Beautiful Texas Sunshine" and "You Was for Real." Track 6, which is a cover of the Leon Payne song, "They'll Never Take Her Love from Me," is, I might say, devastating. It may be the best version I've ever heard of this sad, unique song, and that includes Hank Williams Sr. and the Coward Brothers.
Back with us on this posthumous release, Wayne Douglas makes a charming return.
Originally posted to SteveForbert.com in March 2001.
From the very first notes, we were pleasantly surprised. It's instantly recognizable as true Texas heart and soul. There's something very warm about the sound of this record, and there seems to have been a lot of spontaneity in the recording process.
I should go ahead and say that he covers "Love Minus Zero/No Limit" by Bob Dylan (as many of you know, Bob appeared on one of Doug's records in the early '70s, contributing an original tune called "Wallflower," which seemed oddly to me like an imitation of John Prine, and obviously didn't go unnoticed by Bob's son, Jakob). Doug's "Love Minus Zero" stands on its own. There are some really good original songs here as well, particularly "Beautiful Texas Sunshine" and "You Was for Real." Track 6, which is a cover of the Leon Payne song, "They'll Never Take Her Love from Me," is, I might say, devastating. It may be the best version I've ever heard of this sad, unique song, and that includes Hank Williams Sr. and the Coward Brothers.
Back with us on this posthumous release, Wayne Douglas makes a charming return.
Originally posted to SteveForbert.com in March 2001.
Neil Young | Road Rock, Vol. 1
Neil Young has released another live CD. This time out it's not with Crazy Horse, it's a document of the summer tour featuring Jim Keltner, Ben Keith, Spooner Oldham, Duck Dunn, Astrid Young (Neil's sister), and Pegi Young (his wife). This, to me, is sort of a continuation of Neil's SILVER & GOLD mindset, that is, the work reflects a strong turn toward family. It's no surprise that it's subtitled "Friends and Relatives." With his wife part of his live show, he moves into an alignment with Bruce Springsteen and (pre-1998) Paul McCartney. To the best of my knowledge, this is Pegi's debut as a performer with Neil. Maybe she's done some singing at the Bridge concerts (which, of course, she organizes).
As you'll read in all of the reviews, Neil has chosen some good surprises from his catalog "Cowgirl in the Sand," "Walk On," "Peace of Mind," "Motorcycle Mama" (!). This is a good album overall (in spite of the fact that one of the backing vocalists has a bit of a pitch problem), but two of the cuts really make it worthwhile. He has resurrected "Words" from the HARVEST album. Here it lasts 11 minutes and is probably my favorite thing he's done since "Natural Beauty" on HARVEST MOON. You can tell that the phrase, "Between the lines of age," resonates much more strongly with him these days--no surprise there. The new version has its own urgency and is quite orchestrated--strong dynamics and some great guitar playing. The other winner is "Tonight's the Night." It's very free-form since Neil leaves lots of extra space in some of the verses or repeats lines here and there, while lap steel fills from Ben Keith make the song bluesier than ever. It works really well -- a simple but effective way to make the story fresh again.
Of course it's still quirky Mr. Young ("just think of me as one you never figure") and he's elected to include an eight-minute version of "All Along the Watchtower" to close the album (!). Well, anyway, the two winners make the set essential for Neil Young fans.
Originally posted to SteveForbert.com in January 2001.
As you'll read in all of the reviews, Neil has chosen some good surprises from his catalog "Cowgirl in the Sand," "Walk On," "Peace of Mind," "Motorcycle Mama" (!). This is a good album overall (in spite of the fact that one of the backing vocalists has a bit of a pitch problem), but two of the cuts really make it worthwhile. He has resurrected "Words" from the HARVEST album. Here it lasts 11 minutes and is probably my favorite thing he's done since "Natural Beauty" on HARVEST MOON. You can tell that the phrase, "Between the lines of age," resonates much more strongly with him these days--no surprise there. The new version has its own urgency and is quite orchestrated--strong dynamics and some great guitar playing. The other winner is "Tonight's the Night." It's very free-form since Neil leaves lots of extra space in some of the verses or repeats lines here and there, while lap steel fills from Ben Keith make the song bluesier than ever. It works really well -- a simple but effective way to make the story fresh again.
Of course it's still quirky Mr. Young ("just think of me as one you never figure") and he's elected to include an eight-minute version of "All Along the Watchtower" to close the album (!). Well, anyway, the two winners make the set essential for Neil Young fans.
Originally posted to SteveForbert.com in January 2001.
Emmylou Harris | Red Dirt Girl
Emmylou Harris told MOJO magazine for their December 2000 issue "Writing RED DIRT GIRL I felt propelled. We had the last couple of songs to cut, so I was driving from Nashville to New Orleans when I passed this road sign for Meridian, Mississippi. I started rhyming and this story came out. We have these emotional pools, you know, with things lurking at the bottom that we don't even realize are there."
Naturally, I'd be partial to any song that mentioned my hometown. But the title song from Emmylou's new record, RED DIRT GIRL, is terrific anyway. So is the rest of the CD. I don't know every single album from her thirty-year catalogue, but this has to be one of her best. It may be the best. The first single, "I Don't Want to Talk about It Now," is as accurate a description of romantic obsession as you're ever likely to hear. "My Baby Needs a Shepherd," written to her daughter Hallie, completely delivers on its anxious title. Her version of Patti Griffin's "One Big Love" should be a bona-fide hit. I really feel that any sixteen-year-old girl who heard this on the radio for a few days would go out and buy the CD. That would be great, because theoretically it would open up a whole new world for such a person. Not only Emmylou's catalogue, but on into--of course--Gram Parsons, and from there to the Byrds, and from there to Bob Dylan . . . Maybe even on to something like Harry Smith's Anthology of American Folk Music. Who knows?
Originally posted to SteveForbert.com in January 2001.
Naturally, I'd be partial to any song that mentioned my hometown. But the title song from Emmylou's new record, RED DIRT GIRL, is terrific anyway. So is the rest of the CD. I don't know every single album from her thirty-year catalogue, but this has to be one of her best. It may be the best. The first single, "I Don't Want to Talk about It Now," is as accurate a description of romantic obsession as you're ever likely to hear. "My Baby Needs a Shepherd," written to her daughter Hallie, completely delivers on its anxious title. Her version of Patti Griffin's "One Big Love" should be a bona-fide hit. I really feel that any sixteen-year-old girl who heard this on the radio for a few days would go out and buy the CD. That would be great, because theoretically it would open up a whole new world for such a person. Not only Emmylou's catalogue, but on into--of course--Gram Parsons, and from there to the Byrds, and from there to Bob Dylan . . . Maybe even on to something like Harry Smith's Anthology of American Folk Music. Who knows?
Originally posted to SteveForbert.com in January 2001.
Van Morrison | Heartbeat
It was a cliché thing to do, I suppose, but I spent a lot of travel time in Ireland listening to Van Morrison and the Chieftains' 1988 IRISH HEARTBEAT CD and I was more impressed with it than ever (just because I was actually in Ireland?). This album may ultimately prove to be one of Van's five or six best. Not only does the concept of the him with Chieftains performing what is mainly a collection of folksy Irish covers succeed as well as one would think it should, but the choice of material seems so complete. The up-tempos--"Star of the County Down," "I'll Tell Me Ma," and "Marie's Wedding"--contain some of Van's most joyful moments. From these clear highs the listener can travel with them all the way down the years to the ache of "Carrickfergus" and "Ragland Road" and even drift off with Van in his ("She Moved Through the Fair," "My Lagan Love") moments of spontaneous meditation/abandon. (Set within the traditional Irish sounds here, these moments become something new--a different kind of depth added to the "previous, previous" flights on ASTRAL WEEKS, SAINT DOMINIC'S PREVIEW, and elsewhere.) And the title song/Morrison original (which has now been covered by the Burns Sisters) may itself become a folk standard.
Originally posted to SteveForbert.com in 2000.
Originally posted to SteveForbert.com in 2000.
Vic Chestnutt | The Salesman and Bernadette
Vic Chestnutt, THE SALESMAN AND BERNADETTE (1998), and Lambchop, NIXON (2000). These two CDs could form a bookend set. It's Nashville's thirteen-piece Lambchop that's backing Vic Chestnutt on THE SALESMAN AND BERNADETTE, and a similar mood flows into their own NIXON. Both are extremely "literary," "Southern" albums. The song "Square Room" from the definitely darker Chestnutt CD is completely unique and should be required listening at any rehab center.
Originally posted to SteveForbert.com in 2000.
Originally posted to SteveForbert.com in 2000.
Lambchop | Nixon
NIXON has a sweet overtone (including string section overdubs) and is, in addition--oddly--a sincere and thoughtful cousin to Beck's "Midnight Vultures"! I tend to recommend the last half of BERNADETTE and the first half of NIXON. But, of course, you'd have to buy all of each.
Originally posted to SteveForbert.com in 2000.
Originally posted to SteveForbert.com in 2000.
Jimmie Vaughan | Strange Pleasure
"Back in March I was in Austin for SXSW. Jimmie Vaughan played the Texas Music Hall on Saturday the 20th. For me this one turned out to be inspirational. It was one of those times when I had the feeling I needed to make the effort and attend a live show. (The whole thing was broadcast over some website and I'm still trying to get an audio copy.) The next week I bought STRANGE PLEASURE, which came out on Epic in 1994. It's as good as the Austin concert. I'm a few years late here and there is a newer album out now, but "Strange Pleasure" is Jimmie (the future of the-real-thing blues) on record at his best.
Originally posted to SteveForbert.com in January 2000.
Originally posted to SteveForbert.com in January 2000.
Randy Newman | Bad Love
What's out now? Well, of course, there's the new Randy Newman, BAD LOVE. After all the movie scores, the Faust musical, the 30-year box set, Randy has released a new "pop" album. It's totally up to par with his best records of the past; brutally honest, as only he can entertainingly be. I'd recommend it even on the merits of track 7, "The World Isn't Fair," alone.
Originally posted to SteveForbert.com in January 2000.
Originally posted to SteveForbert.com in January 2000.
Mandy Barnett | I've Got A Right To Cry
And I must include Mandy Barnett's I've Got A Right To Cry on Sire. This beautiful record is so good country radio won't even consider playing it. I must admit I thought of her as a mired-in-the-past Patsy Cline clone based on what I'd heard and her long-running appearance in the stage production, "Always, Patsy Cline." I don't feel that way now. This girl's voice on this sadly overlooked album is too fantastic to compartmentalize as "retro." The playing, the production, the arrangement as well, are further examples of what Nashville can "secretly" still do.
Originally posted to SteveForbert.com in January 2000.
Originally posted to SteveForbert.com in January 2000.
Robert Bradley | Blackwater Surprise
Robert Bradley's BLACKWATER SURPRISE came out on RCA in 1996. Yes, I know it's 1999 (Happy New Year!), but there are tracks on this record that I'm still listening to. Robert Bradley sounds like a somewhat troubled/unstable guy whom these white boys in Detroit met as a street singer and decided to produce an album for. That's just my imagination? I think the strongest cuts are "Once Upon a Time" and "California" (remembrances of things past), although our local Nashville Radio Lightning is still playing "Shake It Off." Bradley's voice is powerful, old style, gritty soul. He reminds me of Clarence Carter and, my favorite, the troubled/unstable Chris Kenner.
Originally posted to SteveForbert.com in January 1999.
REM | Up
Everybody's reviewing and hopefully many are listening to REM's UP, the most consistent record I've heard this year, but then again I'd expect that of this group. I guess Stipe's lyrics (from "New Adventures in HiFi" on) will remain pretty sad and stay pretty dark. Well, so what? REM is still doing engaging, soul-searching, top quality work.
Originally posted to SteveForbert.com in January 1999.
Originally posted to SteveForbert.com in January 1999.
Patti Smith | Peace and Noise
I thought Patti Smith's GONE was overrated. Then paradoxically 1997's PEACE AND NOISE went largely unnoticed. It's a terrific record. Very much her own -- straight-ahead rock 'n' roll; guitar, bass, and drums; the lyrics--totally tribal poetry. It's an education in itself. There aren't albums like that anymore--except this one.
Originally posted to SteveForbert.com in January 1999.
Originally posted to SteveForbert.com in January 1999.
Mudhoney | Tomorrow Hit Today
I never had much interest in Mudhoney at all, but TOMORROW HIT TODAY (produced by Jim Dickinson) is the best garage-rock album in ages. This is the 13th Floor Elevators meets the Seeds with a '90s brain and heart!
Originally posted to SteveForbert.com in January 1999.
Originally posted to SteveForbert.com in January 1999.
Damnations | Half Mad Moon
Finally, HALF MAD MOON by the Damnations is something to check out. They're from Austin and are another, you know, "country-rock, Americana, Poco, Wilco, etc.-type thing," but this one's really good. There's so much music flying out every month (even from major labels) that there's no way for a person to hear most of it and that's the chance the "artist" takes and anyway most of it isn't that special anyway, but good stuff is good stuff, just the same.
Originally posted to SteveForbert.com in January 1999.
Originally posted to SteveForbert.com in January 1999.
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