The Zombies, She's Not There, This Will Be Our Year

Posted in The Zombies, Youtube Favs on August 5th, 2011 by Willie

The Zombies were an underrated band.  In the 1960s, the Brits invaded America.  Leading the charge were the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, The Who, and the Kinks.  Right in the thick of that mess of ungodly talent was the Zombies.  A piano/keyboard based pop group armed with their own mix of catchy singles and sentimental rock and roll.  I’m really drunk right now, and can’t sort through for you who sang what, and who wrote what for the Zombies, but I can present you two killer songs that represent the Zombies at their very best.  The first is their break out hit, “She’s Not There,” a charming piece of moody Brit-pop.  It’s one of the catchiest songs of all time, and its structured around a perfect melody, a real piece of genius.  The other you might recognize from a Tiger Woods commercial.  It’s “This Will Be Our Year,” one of my favorite songs ever.  It’s a nostalgic piece of sentimental pop baked to perfection.  Enjoy these British biscuits while you can, and all hail the ZOMBIES!

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The Rolling Stones, Play With Fire

Posted in The Rolling Stones, Youtube Favs on August 1st, 2011 by Willie

“Play With Fire,” a 1965 B-Side by the Stones, was credited to Nanker Phelge, a pseudonym the Stones used when they attributed the songwriting to all the members.  Still, its mainly the work of Jagger and Richards, with Phil Spector on bass oddly enough.  In fact, Mick and Keith are the only Stones to appear on the track. It was recorded on a late January night in 1965 Los Angeles; what a scene that must have been.  This song is pure attitude.  Richards came up with the perfect guitar line to match Jagger’s ferociously deadly delivery.  It’s one of my favorite Stones songs ever, and the video below captures the Victorian hellishness of the song’s power.  The Rolling Stones were truly a one of a kind phenomenon coming along at the ground zero for rock and roll phenomenons.  This song is proof of their unique singularity in music history.  Enjoy.

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John Lennon Was Wrong About Bob Dylan's New Morning LP

Posted in Bob Dylan, John Lennon, Record Reviews on July 7th, 2011 by Willie

Here is an exchange between John Lennon and Jann S. Wenner of Rolling Stone Magazine on Bob Dylan’s 1970 release New Morning, ”

WENNER:
What do you think of Dylan’s album?
LENNON:
I thought it wasn’t much. Because I expect more–maybe I expect too much from people – but I expect more. I haven’t been a Dylan follower since he stopped rocking. I liked “Rolling Stone” and a few things he did then; I like a few things he did in the early days. The rest of it is just like Lennon-McCartney or something. It’s no different, its a myth. WENNER:

You don’t think then it’s a legitimate New Morning?
LENNON:
No, It might be a new morning for him because he stopped singing on the top of his voice. It’s all right, but it’s not him, it doesn’t mean a fucking thing. I’d sooner have “I Hear You Knocking” by Dave Edmonds, it’s the top of England now.

Pretty damning stuff from John Beatle, but I understand.  John was in a revolutionary mood at the time, firmly believing that rock records should be altering people’s consciousnesses and  toppling governments.  It’s ironic because ten years later he’d release a similar record to Bob’s New Morning in the form of Double Fantasy.  Like John’s last release, New Morning was a record about escaping into the pleasures of domesticated life, taking it easy, and appreciating the little things.  New Morning was mostly written on Bob’s piano, the instrument he would retreat to when he wanted to ruminate on less socially and psychologically intense themes that would come out on his acoustic guitar.  I love this record.  When you play it, it just hums along with a sweeping peaceful energy.  John’s right about one thing, in this record, Bob left his high pitched country singing style behind in favor of his traditional folk rocking croon.  There is almost a Jim Morrison lounge like imitation going on here as Bob enthusiastically moans his way through a bunch of gospel tinged bluesy numbers.  The clearest example of this is “The Man in Me,” a boozy and rollicking celebration of romantic devotion.  This song was famously featured in the Coen Brothers fabulously funny classic film, “The Big Lebowski.”  The Coen’s apparently picked it because at the time the song was relatively obscure, and its the sort of song that only middle aged hippies like the Dude, (and my dad for that matter) would have on their mix tapes.

On the more playful side you get a cut like “Went to See the Gypsy,” a song where Bob seems to be mocking the hype surrounding some famous Las Vegas fortune teller.  It’s not about meeting Elvis Presley, as some have suggested. The straightforward storytelling on this track is very reminiscent of the minimalistic style Bob mastered on John Wesley Harding.  It’s a slow building song that just gets under you skin with repeat playings.  It’s a feeling the record gives you spades.

“Day of the Locusts,” my favorite song on the album, is a lot like “Went to See the Gypsy” in its clear cut storytelling style, but way more epic.  It’s a song inspired by Bob’s experience in receiving an honorary diploma from Princeton University and how the “singing” cicada’s spooked him.  Folk rocker David Crosby, who was with Bob at the time tells the story best, “Sara (Dylan’s wife) was trying to get Bob to go to Princeton University, where he was being presented with an honorary doctorate. Bob did not want to go.  I said, ‘C’mon, Bob it’s an honor!’  Sara and I both worked on him for a long time.  Finally, he agreed.  I had a car outside, a big limousine.  That was the first thing he didn’t like.  We smoked another joint on the way and I noticed Dylan getting really quite paranoid about it.  When we arrived at Princeton, they took us to a little room and Bob was asked to wear a cap and gown.  He refused outright.  They said, ‘We won’t give you the degree if you don’t wear this.’  Dylan said, ‘Fine. I didn’t ask for it in the first place.’…Finally we convinced him to wear the cap and gown.”  Priceless.

The last song I want to highlight is “If Not For You,” a song featured on my youtube countdown.  This track continues the steady mature romanticism that defines the record.  George Harrison famously covered the song with a lavish arrangement for his All Things Must Pass solo record, but I kinda prefer the low key presentation Dylan came up with.  Here is George and Bob taking a stab at it in the more mellow vein.

In conclusion, it’s probably a very good idea to listen to this whole record if you haven’t gotten into it ever, despite what John Lennon says.  Part of me suspects John was just projecting a hyper competitive spirit at the time.  As a newly emerging solo artist, Lennon was trying to grab some credibility real estate in the field of solo stars, and if that meant knocking Dylan a bit to make room, that was probably all the rationalization he needed.  In that same interview, he also did manage to knock the Stones, McCartney, Harrison, and all other rock artists in general outside of Jerry Lee Lewis and Fats Domino, leaving very little room for anyone but himself to revel in glory.  Leaving John’s caustic criticisms aside, this is just the perfect Bob Dylan album to have on your playlist this summer.  It’s a hiking record, a beach record, a meadow strolling record, a real peaceful outdoorsy sonic adventure if I ever heard one.  You’d do yourself a big favor to download it, or buy it used somewhere.  Until tomorrow, cheers everybody.
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My Top 100 Youtube Favorites, a Retrospective, Part 4

Posted in Youtube Favs on June 30th, 2011 by Willie

Sex sells!  I want to thank this “Drunken Angel” above and Tal Wilkenfeld from yesterday for drawing a few extra clicks to my humble little site.  Before anyone accuses me of perversion or lechery or something, I’d like to defend myself a bit by saying this is one of the better lists of rock and roll you are gonna find on the internet.  So, in that spirit, lets close it out right now with clips 24-1 and put this beautiful list to bed once and for all.

#24.  Bob Marley, One Love/People Get Ready – It’s Bob’s version of “All You Need is Love,” and its basically just as good.  Whatever melody making power the Beatles had, Bob had too.

#23.  Bob Dylan, The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll – I wish I had more Dylan on my list, but I couldn’t find too many choice clips of him playing my favorite Dylan songs.  This is an exception, one of the greatest Dylan videos you are gonna find on ole youtube. Read more »

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My Top 100 Youtube Favorites, a Retrospective, Part 2

Posted in Youtube Favs on June 28th, 2011 by Willie

Welcome back again to my youtube favorite retrospective part 2!  You know the deal, the list is done, and we’re looking back at all the hits that made us laugh, cry, and die.  Let’s start rolling right where we left off!

#74.  The Ramones, Blitzkrieg Bop – It’s more Ramones, the greatest and most original punk ever playing the shit out of Blitzkrieg Bop, in Germany of all places.  Not bad for a bunch of Jewish guys from Queens.

#73.  The Sex Pistols, Anarchy in the UK – When I was in college, I actually had a history professor show us this video as an example of historical outliers.  That’s all well and good, but I was just fascinated with how the drummer sat at the front of the band.

#72.  Elvis Costello, Pump it Up – Declan MacManus’s punky little pop jam.  You gotta love Costello for essentially being the reincarnation of Buddy Holly in modern times, both physically, and musically. Read more »

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My Top 100 Youtube Favorites, a Retrospective, Part 1

Posted in Youtube Favs on June 27th, 2011 by Willie

Now that my countdown is complete, I thought it’d be fun to look back at the whole list, organize it, link it up, and add a fresh comment or two for posterity’s sake.  So, without further ado, here it is, part 1 of my youtube countdown featuring the last 25 songs to appear on the list.

#100.  The Beatles, All You Need is Love – Is it my favorite Beatles song?  Not technically, but I think it’s their greatest triumph.  FYI, this video was originally in black and white until the art gurus at Apple colorized it based on photographs from the event.

#99.  The Beatles, Nowhere Man – The song that inspired me to become a Beatle slave, and a musician myself.  Fun fact, not many songs have a guitar solo after the first verse.

#98.  Tribalistas, Ja Se Namorar – 21st century island cool Brazilian pop at its finest.

#97.  Carl Perkins and Friends, Rockabilly School – One of the greatest TV concerts in rock and roll history.  Does anyone have a magic pair of blue suede shoes so I can travel back in time and be at this show?

#96.  Simon and Garfunkel, The Sounds of Silence –  You get to see S & G in all their young nerdy early 60s glory in this vid…Amazing. Read more »

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The Rolling Stones, Paint it, Black

Posted in The Rolling Stones, Youtube Favs on June 19th, 2011 by Willie

For part 94 of my fast concluding countdown, I have the Rolling Stones, “Paint it, Black,” from their 1966 LP Aftermath. First things first, the odd placement of the comma in the song’s title was added by the Rolling Stones record label Decca.  Why?  I have no idea.  Second, although Richards and Jagger wrote the tune, Brian Jones, having just returned from George Harrison’s house for an impromptu sitar lesson, added the eastern vibe with his own sitar work which you can clearly see in this video.  Speaking of the video, its pretty goofy with Brian vamping it up for the camera cross legged in full white jumpsuit.  The rest of the boys look positively mod and hipster chic which I don’t think is the Stones best look.  Whatever, I’ll leave the fashion criticism out of it, its just classic rock and roll, so enjoy this priceless document.

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The Rolling Stones, Out of Time

Posted in The Rolling Stones, Youtube Favs on June 6th, 2011 by Willie

For part 82 of my youtube countdown, you’re in danger of running “Out of Time” with the Rolling Stones incredible 1966 single.  First released on the UK version of Aftermath, the song is a fabulous example of 60s Brit pop, as well as being another song in a string of misogynistic themed lyrical exercises the Stones had going at the time.  (For the record, just pointing the misogyny out, not celebrating it.)  The first version of the song had a slow experimental garage rock feel, featuring Brian Jones on the marimba, (close to a xylophone.)  Version 2 has a more sweeping Beatle-esque  arrangement, with thicker background vocals, a faster tempo, and a dramatic string arrangement.  Version 2 is my favorite, mainly for the killer Motown vocal chorus where Mick’s voice mixes sloppily (yet sublimely) with the female singers.  It’s a hook that makes my knees buckle.  I’ve also included the Mick Jagger produced cover version done by obscure British pop singer Chris Farlowe.  His backing version is identical to the Stone’s second mix, and Mick is singing backup on that one too.  Farlowe’s version went to #1, but I’m including it because this guy is so British looking.  He’s like a cross between Austin Powers and Prince Charles.  It’s really funny.  So, here you go, all three versions of one of my favorite Rolling Stones songs of all time, “Out of Time.”


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The Rolling Stones, Like a Rolling Stone (Live)

Posted in Bob Dylan, The Rolling Stones, Youtube Favs on May 13th, 2011 by Willie

Part 61 of my youtube countdown rocks on with the Rolling Stones performing Bob Dylan’s classic “Like a Rolling Stone,” from their 1998 Bridges to Babylon tour.  The Rolling Stones have performed this song for decades, I guess a bit ironically, as an unofficial band anthem, though not really.  I mean, did they just want that live moment in their act to announce their band name in a song?  Or, was it Bob in 1966, who had Rolling Stones on the mind when he wrote his most famous chorus ever?  Possibly yes, possibly no to both questions.  It doesn’t really matter because the song is epic, and the performance here is really tight and joyful.  Mick is playing his harmonica really well, the band sounds together, and oh yea, Mick sings the song great.  Of course they are all wearing horrible outfits, and the Stones sound way better in a small club then in a stadium, but still, there is some old magic here worth checking out.  Rolling Stones forever.

 

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The Kinks, You Really Got Me

Posted in The Kinks, Youtube Favs on May 8th, 2011 by Willie

Welcome to part 57 of my never ending youtube countdown.  Today, I present another one of England’s best, this time, The Kinks!  I start off this blog with an understatement, the Kinks are an interesting group.  Led by lead singer/songwriter and all around musical genius, Ray Davies, the Kinks are the all time kings of garage rock in my opinion.  The rest of the band, which originally featured Mick Avory on drums (who nearly killed lead guitarist Dave Davies (Ray’s 17 year old brother) by knocking him unconscious with his drum set in an on stage brawl), and Pete Quaife on bass.  Also, Ray and Dave were constant bickering brothers who fought constantly for decades.  Yea…the Kinks had a slew of problems which led to a crazy ban from US touring at the height of the British Invasion and their commerical breakthrough success with “You Really Got Me.”  This ban cost the Kinks a potential army of fans, tons of money, and a greater spotlight that the likes of the Beatles, Rolling Stones, and the Who all happily lapped up.  For the rest of their existence, though still managing to churn out hits because of Ray’s sheer brilliance, and still influencing the very bands listed above enormously, the Kinks never got their proper recognition and were forced to carry on throughout the years in a Spinal Tap like state, embarrassingly embracing heavy metal schlock and stage craft by the 1980s in an attempt to stay relevant.  It’s one of the biggest crimes in rock and roll history because the Kinks were that good.  Ray Davies basically invented garage rock with “You Really Got Me,” a song which the Who admitted to copying for their breakout single, “Can’t Explain.”  Ray’s songwriting was also heavily influential on the likes of John Lennon, who considered “Wonderboy” one of his favorite songs ever, and used it years later as the inspiration for “Beautiful Boy.”  Not only that, he turned into one of rock and rolls greatest lyricists and melody makers, basically as good the Beatles, sometimes even better considering he had to put the whole band on his back and never had a partner to share the load with.  The most inspiring thing about Ray is the legacy of gorgeous, honest, and uncompromising music he left behind (well at least through the first half of the 70s,)  and “You Really Got Me,” is his undeniable greatest splash hit.  So here it is, rev it up, and toast one to Ray folks, one of the greatest ever.

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