Reviews Written By: A2YARCE69AJTVBprovided by Amazon.com |
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 | Donovan - Barabajagal | |
 | "Donovan carries on with his flower-child persona even as it became old hat" | 2007-05-24 |
| In the early years of his career, Donovan had to deal with being called the British Bob Dylan, even if his brand of songwriting was nowhere near the caliber of Bob's. Where Donovan was childlike & precious, Bob was hardened & wise. Where Donovan stuck to his flower-child posturings for most of his career (that has changed slightly in recent years), Bob switched writing styles frequently, from topical songwriting to poetic mindscapes & back again. Perhaps it is that everchanging style that has kept Bob in the forefront of today's music scene, and saddled Donovan with oldies status. In 1969, both Donovan & Bob released albums that confounded the masses, and met with vastly different responses to both their careers. Bob put out the country-based NASHVILLE SKYLINE that was more a sign of Bob's wish to conduct his career as he saw fit, and his fans were either along for the ride or not (clearly, enough of them were). Donovan released BARABAJAGAL, which was yet another example of his psychedelia-lite approach to music, and indicated his days as a serious hitmaker were coming to a close. While lyrically, Donovan's music had refused to budge from its child's-eye view of the world, credit should be given later in the 1960s for musically shaking things up a bit. 1968's "Hurdy Gurdy Man" benefitted greatly from Jimmy Page's scorching electric guitar work, and had to have made Donovan, at least briefly, cool to fans of the harder, more serious psychedelic rock of the time. It would have been a direction Donovan had done well to continue in, but the accompanying album of the same name was mostly more of the same gentle folk-pop people had come to associate with him. BARABAJAGAL is another case of a few signs of rock life, but the rest sticking closely to the script. The title track featured help from the newly-formed Jeff Beck Group, and they do help elevate what could have been another routine folk number with a much-welcomed dose of electricity. Nobody could get away with lyrics like these in today's day & age, but for the era, their riff on ALICE IN WONDERLAND fit in well. Unfortunately, this is the only such rock-based song on BARABAJAGAL that works well. The other Jeff Beck-augmented one, "Trudi", is a throwaway at best, with lyrics that are a blatant rewrite of "Lay Of The Last Tinker" from A GIFT FROM A FLOWER TO A GARDEN (1967). What songs remain on BARABAJAGAL that adhere to Donovan's tried formula are reasonably good, and are fine last gasps to the style that would become obsolete as the 1970s dawned. Looking back, releasing the 5-minute long "Atlantis" as a single had to have taken some guts. The song is mostly a spoken-word piece with the only sung lyrics repeated over & over into the fade. But it was an "anything goes" atmosphere in the music scene of the time, and as it is, it became Donovan's last trip to the American top 10. When Donovan guested on FUTURAMA singing this song as "Atlanta", it certainly showed he had a sense of humor not often made apparent in his music. In his own gentle way, Donovan even protested the Vietnam war with "To Susan On The West Coast Waiting", a top 40 hit that intriguingly came from the point of view of a soldier in the war rather than someone at home protesting against it. OK, so it is not "Fortunate Son", but it does its intended job in its intended way very well. Only "Where Is She" manages to keep things on a mature enough level so that it does not sink into sub-children's song territory. It is in that area where BARABAJAGAL demonstrates the faults with Donovan's becoming a victim of his own formula. "Superlungs My Supergirl" & "The Love Song" are more adolescence-oriented, even if the former is clearly about a teenage girl with a smoking habit ("how to draw" is obviously not about doodling). "Pamela Jo" is the same way, but it manages to be a catchy-enough number that it is one you actually want to listen to more than once, its English music-hall vibe being undoubtedly infectious. It was clear all involved were enjoying themselves while recording it. "I Love My Shirt" & "Happiness Runs" (recently employed in a cereal commercial) are quite obviously songs that would likely appeal only to those under the age of 10. While there are many times that Donovan's youthful persona is quite engaging to the average adult listener, those two songs are not those times. When Donovan continued to turn out songs like this well into his 1970s work & even devote an entire album to them (H.M.S. DONOVAN), he must have known somehow this was not the way to continue to be taken seriously by the public. It is thus a shame that by the time of excellent adult-based albums like 1996's Rick Rubin-produced SUTRAS & 2004's BEAT CAFE, Donovan's credibility had all but eroded. Songs like the above two certainly did not help matters. At its best, BARABAJAGAL showed Donovan's light psychedelia still working well within the context of the times. At its worst, it demonstrated that he would need to make some serious changes to his approach if he wanted to stay relevant. Clearly, he did not want to, for he stubbornly stuck to his old tricks for as long as possible, making the music he wanted to make, but at a sacrifice to his commercial respectability. | ||
 | Dusty Springfield - Stay Awhile/I Only Want To Be With You | |
 | "A girl called Dusty creates a fine debut even in the context of the times" | 2006-02-22 |
| When one looks back on Dusty Springfield's momentous career, it still remains odd that she originally started out as simply Mary O'Brien in a group called the Springfields singing wholesome folk music. Indeed, their version of "Silver Threads & Golden Needles" was a huge hit, and certainly enough to build a career on. But supposedly when the group toured America, Mary was fascinated by the sounds of Motown & soul music, so much that she decided to change her singing style & go solo, keeping her Springfields stage name for the ride. Of course, even in the middle of a very liberal decade like the 1960s, the idea of a White singer singing soul music was an oddity & likely not very commercial. So instead Dusty simply decided to use her new style on the latest pop music of the time, giving them a lot more life & spice than they otherwise would have had from other singers. The 1960s was also the decade in which the album went from expensive novelty to the primary form of creative expression for artists, but in 1964, that transition was still in its early stages. Most often, albums were showcases for singles & some similarly-recorded filler. Dusty's early albums followed this format, and just from its title STAY AWHILE/I ONLY WANT TO BE WITH YOU, it was clear which songs were intended to push the album's sales. However, even with the latest pop material being given the Dusty treatment, it is nevertheless interesting to see just how well she succeeds at inhabiting songs made famous by others while at the same time turning two originals into her own. Yes, "I Only Want To Be With You" was the song that shot Dusty into the world pop stratosphere (reaching #4 in England, #12 in America), and it had all the hallmarks of a surefire hit, circa 1964: a good danceable beat, an enthusiastic vocal delivery & a chorus that would not leave your head even if you tried. However, while the song could have been recorded by any female singer & turned into just another run-of-the-mill girl-group hit, Dusty's fuller-bodied vocal leant it the right amount of soul one can expect from a White female. It has been covered countless times in the decades since, but it is safe to say the song remains Dusty's to the end. If you thought "I Only Want To Be With You" was a perfect pop song, "Stay Awhile" at least showed how to continue the formula successfully. Coming from the same writers of the former, "Stay Awhile" leans a little more towards the Wall Of Sound side of things with enough of a pounding backbeat & sweeping orchestra to make Phil Spector wonder if he had not recorded this song himself with the Ronettes or the Crystals. While not quite the opening salvo that was its predecessor (#13 U.K., #38 U.S.), it still packs quite a punch for a song just under 2 minutes. Naturally, those were the two songs the album set out to promote first & foremost (at least in America, while the British had an album called A GIRL CALLED DUSTY with which to first acquaint themselves with Dusty), but that did not mean the contemporary pop standards was one throwaway after another, since an artist like Dusty, who relied on material to be written for her, naturally had to turn to what was on the radio for songs to record. I am not sure if Dusty found Burt Bacharach, or vice versa, but just as he & Hal David were making Dionne Warwick into the living embodiment of their musical vision in America, Dusty began doing the same for her British audiences. "Wishin' & Hopin'" showed that Dusty could do more than just uptempo pop confections by slowing the beat down without sacrificing it altogether. Even with women's lib on the rise in the mid-1960s, such musical advice to women on how to snare a man was still commonplace, but where time has rendered most of these songs utterly sexist, Dusty's in-control delivery on this song hints at a more female-empowerment message. In other words, use your intuition to get your man, do not play hard to get. Only released as a single in America, it became Dusty's first top 10 hit (#6), and indicated just how far her creative range could extend. Dusty takes on two other Bacharach songs with "Anyone Who Had A Heart" (a not half-bad try at a Dionne impression) & "24 Hours From Tulsa" (which lends a unique female perspective on a song that Gene Pitney had made a hit). From there, the pop covers are just a matter of which one you listen to. The Shirelles' "Mama Said" is a good example of keeping the original beat & rhythm of a proven song, but just falling short of outright plagiarism. All there is to distinguish it is the fact that Dusty is the one singing. Charlie & Inez Foxx's "Mockingbird" may have sounded like a cute idea at the time, but it shows that even Dusty is not immune to artistic stumbling with a song that sounds good while playing, but leaves little impression after it is over. "When The Lovelight Starts Shining Through His Eyes" is primarily known as The Supremes' first top 40 hit in America, but Dusty manages to create a winner for herself even while maintaining the note-for-note reproduction of most of the album's covers. It is Dusty's soulfulness & enthusiasm that wins the day. The same works for "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" (a better attempt at a Shirelles cover), Arthur Alexander's "Every Day I Have To Cry" & most especially Lesley Gore's "You Don't Own Me" (finally a White woman who can give this proto-feminist standard the kind of fire & brimstone it needed). For someone who had to keep her ear to the ground for the hottest pop songs on the scene, Dusty still proved she was game at trying to write herself. "Something Special" is actually surprisingly well done for a first original song, and it makes one wonder why Dusty did not explore songwriting that much afterwards. But I suppose that can be chalked up to the interview in the liner notes where Dusty said she can "only write occasionally & very slowly." The CD version of STAY AWHILE comes with three bonus tracks that did not make it onto the album for whatever reason. "Baby Don't You Know" & "If It Hadn't Been For You" are rather similar in sound & content, but they again show that Dusty was about more than uptempo dance-pop. Give her a chance, and she can make you feel loved. The former was released as a B-side, while the latter was canned until decades later. "Standing In The Need Of Love" is a traditional number that continues the "I Only Want To Be With You" formula, and maybe the reason it did not see the light of day at the time was because of that similarity. After two uptempo hits in a row, Dusty may have felt it was time to move on; hence, the slower, more romantic "Wishin' & Hopin'." While singles still had plenty of clout in the pop music of the mid-1960s, the commercial viability of albums was also being discovered, even if the idea of a fully-cohesive work was still in its infancy (we were still a year or two from RUBBER SOUL, REVOLVER & PET SOUNDS, and 5 from Dusty's first truly-cohesive album DUSTY IN MEMPHIS). Even after that, the old singles-and-filler format never really went away, and would be a Dusty album staple well into later part of the decade. But while finding what contemporary pop song suited her best would be a target-shooting proposition for her for the first few years of her career, STAY AWHILE even at its bum moments proves that Dusty can be more than just as good as her last single. | ||
 | Barbra Streisand - Streisand Superman | |
| "Business goes on as usual for Barbra after A STAR IS BORN" | 2005-12-12 |
| By the mid-1970s, Barbra Streisand was truly a one-woman media blitz, having conquered television with her highly imaginative specials, Hollywood with films that were almost always guaranteed top grosses at the box office, and finally pop music with one finely-crafted LP after another. Sure, consistency was not always the order of the day with regards to the latter, but you could always count on an affair that was every inch approved by Barbra herself. If that was how she wanted to hear her music, there was no reason why her fans should not either. 1977's STREISAND SUPERMAN was another link in this unbreakable chain. Most of Barbra's 1970s albums were filled with various covers that were either great reinventions or interesting efforts, depending on the song at hand. SUPERMAN instead relies more on original songs heard here for the first time (Barbra even gets in on the act with credits on 2 songs). The harder-edged rock sound she had dabbled in while filming her 1976 remake of A STAR IS BORN was sure to be held over onto her next album, and SUPERMAN does not disappoint (some songs were originally intended for the movie itself). For someone as constantly in the public eye as Barbra was back then, the anti-tabloid "Don't Believe What You Read" (which is one of the Barbra co-writes) fits in nicely. While not as fierce as, say, Michael Jackson's "Leave Me Alone", it does rank as one of Barbra's most energetic & defiant songs of her career. "Cabin Fever" seems to be a precursor to Donna Summer's (who of course would record with Barbra 2 years later) "Hot Stuff" & "Bad Girls" with a ballsy salute to not staying inside, but getting out there & doing something, for crying out loud. In case the tougher side of Barbra was too unbelievable for some (and she was only marginally successful at turning up the volume), SUPERMAN still had plenty of softer treasures to remind us what Barbra always did best. The title track is perhaps too gimmicky to really work, but it still speaks to any listener looking for their own superhero to come rescue them (it probably took a pretty penny for Barbra to get the rights to use the Superman trademark). Roger Miller's "Baby Me Baby" abandons the sweeping strings of most the album's ballads for a smaller jazz-based backdrop that is Barbra's most sensual number since "Love In The Afternoon". "I Found You Love" finds her strutting gently towards the disco with a tune that would not quite be at home in Studio 54, but believe me, you will feel the need to cut a rug. The other Barbra co-write "Answer Me" is not really a terrible song, it just simply floats by in the 3 minutes it lasts without leaving much of an impression. Probably the only song on SUPERMAN that does not hold up with the rest (with it co-written by Paul Williams, this is probably the most likely holdover from A STAR IS BORN). "My Heart Belongs To Me" was the album's big hit, reaching #4 on the Hot 100, along with topping the Adult Contemporary charts, and was truly the best representative of the album for a single. It was also perfect for Barbra's own independent nature with its theme of opening oneself up to love, but never feeling the need to give your heart to only one. Rupert Holmes' "Lullaby For Myself" (a leftover from 1975's LAZY AFTERNOON?) is similar in its reminder to the listener that before you can love anyone, you must love yourself first. With Barbra's passionate delivery of this song, it is clear she has no trouble with that (and I mean that sincerely, not acknowledging her half-deserved reputation for being difficult & perfectionistic). The best-known covers come near the end of SUPERMAN, and show off the strengths Barbra has always had as an intrepreter. "Love Comes From Unexpected Places" was written by Kim Carnes when she was better known as a songwriter who had only minor success as an artist. This came 7 years before she & Barbra would team up again for "Make No Mistake, He's Mine", and it is said Barbra recording this song helped edge Kim further towards becoming a full-time singer who just happened to write her own material. Billy Joel was finally making his way to headliner status in 1977 with THE STRANGER, and Barbra helped the cause of getting him there by covering "New York State Of Mind". A lifelong New Yorker herself, I cannot think of anyone else who could have covered this song this well. She may have conquered Hollywood & played to audiences around the world, but Barbra remains forever drawn to the city that is her home. This could have been a can't-miss follow-up single to "My Heart Belongs To Me", but unfortunately remains an album track worth searching after. While STREISAND SUPERMAN may not have been Barbra's most groundbreaking album or her even most original, the fans appeared to have gotten their money's worth for the album peaked at #3 even with only one single release. It arrived only 7 months after A STAR IS BORN had been released, so Barbra Streisand was definitely a busy woman back then. Who was to say if she was running herself ragged & not taking a break once in a while? But as SUPERMAN shows, even with the workaholic attitude, a Barbra Streisand album could sound similar to the one that came before it, but never ever was it dull. | ||
 | George Jones - Walls Can Fall | |
| "George begins a slow-but-sure process into bringing back the honky-tonk" | 2005-11-01 |
| Hardly anyone would disagree that George Jones is truly one of the finest vocalists country music has ever had, and the fans know it as well, per the 150 country top 40 hits he has had in his career. However, people would think differently of the fact that he has recorded nothing but hardcore country throughout his career. During his early years when he recorded songs like "White Lightning" & "She Thinks I Still Care", that sentiment proved true. But when he moved to Epic Records in the early 1970s (the same label as his then-wife Tammy Wynette) & producer Billy Sherrill, George dove headlong into the equally-famous & infamous "Countrypolitan" sound that may have won country music a wider audience, but was reviled by Nashville elite as defanged country. George apparently did not mind too much as long as the hits kept coming & they did, but maybe by the late 1980s, even he grew tired of the whitewashed sound, and as he approached his 60th birthday, sought to shake things up a bit. George did so by signing with MCA Records in the early 1990s, and began a slow yet steady journey back towards hardcore country. The sweeping strings of his Epic days may have been done away with, but still there was some hints of conceding to the more easily palatable contemporary country that was in vogue at the time & still is. 1991's AND ALONG CAME JONES succeeded with this mixture somewhat in creating one top 40 hit with "You Couldn't Get The Picture", definitely one of his rootsiest efforts in some time. Only one such hit would be a disappointment in a younger artist's career, but for someone George's age with his history, it was high praise indeed. George's status as a legend with still some considerable commercial juice left in him continued on 1992's WALLS CAN FALL. If anyone thought that George Jones was dead in the water musically, one only needed to hear the opening track "I Don't Need Your Rockin' Chair", which put paid to the notion that George may have been old, but he was not feeble by any means. Clearly, this is a man not ready for the La-Z-Boy & slippers at all, and although ballads have always been George's forte, this honky-tonk rave-up still fits him like a glove. The all-star cast of guests may seem like an easy way of saying "make me a hit", but if that was the case it succeeded in becoming the album's biggest single. However, it also means that a lot of people can attest to the fact that George could give many other younger artists a run for their money. The only other time George kicks up his heels is on the closing "Finally Friday", which granted, may be a little odd coming from someone who ought to be collecting pension by now. But this celebration of the oncoming weekend & the readiness to spend your paycheck on a good time has enough youthful energy to not sound too much like a desperate attempt at sounding hip. Besides those two songs, WALLS CAN FALL falls more within the ballad vein that George has always made his specialty. Not all of them are of the hardcore variety that George always prided himself upon, but they come pretty close. Given his longtime history with alcoholism, songs like "Drive Me To Drink" & Merle Haggard's classic "The Bottle Let Me Down" may be hitting too close to home. But deciding not to sugarcoat his past rebelliousness actually makes them brave songs with which to do it. Alcohol & cheating have long been the mainstays of country music, so it makes sense to return to those cardinal rules in getting back to the country as George wanted to do. That second category of cheating is given sufficient time on WALLS CAN FALL with songs like "What Am I Doing There", which just barely gives a hint at some regret at breaking the vows of marriage. "Wrong's What I Do Best", on the other hand, seems to make no apologies for slipping around, and whether one likes the song just may depend on one's threshold of morality. However, even George can express some sorrow at doing wrong when you get his side of the story on being hurt. "You Must Have Walked Across My Mind Again" & my own personal favorite "There's The Door" show that sometimes even the cheater can feel cheated. The latter in particular was the album's true hardcore treasure in creating a song that is definitely heartbreaking with not only the end leaving no resolution or hope for mending, but the fact that the woman in the song has been burned so many times she no longer feels it. "There's The Door" is a prime example of a country song that gently tugs on the listener's heartstrings without yanking them. The remaining songs on WALLS CAN FALL show that even a rugged sod like George can be a softie at heart...sometimes. The title track & "Don't Send Me No Angels" demonstrate that just maybe the hard exterior he portrays is a front one can easily break down if they really work at it. That is what the former song says, while the latter actually has George sounding content with his lot for once, saying that he may not have to wait until he gets to heaven to feel happy because he found an angel where he is now (could that be his beloved 4th wife Nancy?). When most artists reach George Jones' age, it is usually time for them to scale back their recording & touring schedules or clear them altogether. Even in country music where legends are often treated with more respect & gratitude than in other genre, it would appear artists who get older know when their time is up. Occasionally, some like Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard or the late Johnny Cash would take it as a sign to just simply make music they themselves want to hear & not feel the pressure to create hit after hit. With his MCA albums, George was entering that stage of his career, recording music that if it managed to hit, that was fine. But you could best be sure he was not worried about it flopping either. WALLS CAN FALL proved that George Jones the man may still have a throbbing pulse even if he was more than willing to let his commercial heyday flatline. | ||
![George Harrison - Thirty Three & 1/3 [Bonus Tracks]](product_images/1366000/1366209_thumb.jpg) | George Harrison - Thirty Three & 1/3 [Bonus Tracks] | |
 | "After two speed bumps, George gets back on smoother ground" | 2005-06-28 |
| While I have not heard much from 1974's DARK HORSE & 1975's EXTRA TEXTURE, the fact most fans do not hold these albums in very high esteem has already convinced me to hold off purchasing them until further notice. Taking that into consideration, George Harrison probably considered his next album to be a bit of a rebirth, what with a new distribution deal for his Dark Horse label & the voice problems that had marred DARK HORSE the album long gone. Of course, the album was to have been released on his 33 & 1/3rd birthday (in June of 1976), but was delayed until near the end of the year. When it did arrive however, it was clear THIRTY THREE & 1/3 was some of George's strongest work (solo or with the Beatles) in some time.
As some reviewers have rightfully claimed, George did not seem to care very much for chart success, unlike Sir Paul McCartney who owes his status as one of the richest entertainers in the world to constantly shooting for the top of the charts. So while his singles after 1973's #1 "Give Me Love [Give Me Peace On Earth]" only fared modestly well (he would not see the top 10 again for 8 years), we could be sure George was not losing any sleep over it. As long as he made music that reflected his inner being & beliefs, the commercial success was just gravy. That being said, THIRTY THREE & 1/3 just happens to be a personal effort with enough universality to win over the marketplace (evidenced by 2 top 40 hits). Thanks to the highly insightful liner notes (from George's autobiography I ME MINE, which I must get someday), the songs on THIRTY THREE & 1/3 show just how his ideas for material can come from almost anywhere. The funk-blues of "Woman Don't You Cry For Me" opens things up, and its prominent clavinet would have certainly made it a candidate for Stevie Wonder's 1970s albums. A slight difference in his normal guitar-playing style brought about this song, and the fact it was written & played on a bottleneck slide is more than prophetic. George's 1980s music would feature a heavy amount of slide in his playing to the point where it became a late-period trademark. This song was the prototype. George the spiritualist gets its obligatory workout on THIRTY THREE & 1/3 with "Dear One". Naturally, George's inspiration in Indian religion is often the make-it-or-break-it part of a fan's admiration of George's music. He can come close to proselytizing in a way that runs directly counter to a listener's more traditional beliefs, and that is often too much for them to bear. However, when you strip away the unconventional religiousness aside, "Dear One" works almost on its engaging instrumentation alone. Gary Wright's keyboards definitely make this song (especially the churchy organ), along with George's not-too-shabby dabbling in synthesizers. George even began to dig back into his catalog for some unfinished gems to finally polish off. "Beautiful Girl" had originally been written by George for a Doris Troy album, but could not find a way to finish it at the time. Eventually, the tune came back to him, and made it to order on THIRTY THREE & 1/3. The song proves that even George can turn out a devotional love song like Paul, but with not nearly as much sentimentality as him. Even at its most celebratory, it is far from gushing. 1976 was also the year that George finally lost his battles with the publishers of "He's So Fine" with a judge claiming he had "unknowingly" plagiarized the tune for his own "My Sweet Lord". Royalties from "My Sweet Lord" would then be awarded to the publishers and the estate of the songwriter of "He's So Fine" (although I believe some years later, George would eventually win his own song back). With not much left to do but laugh at his troubles, George created the funny-as-hell "This Song", certainly one of the cleverest tunes he (or anyone else) has ever written. Daring to lift obvious melodies from The Four Tops & T. Rex (can you guess which?), it is clear George & crew were having a ball recording this one. Those who owned those songs probably were too busy smiling at the mood of "This Song" to ever think about calling their lawyers. But perhaps it was too clever for the general public, hence its topping out at #25. Surely, it deserved to go higher! Another lost song rescued from the scrap heap was "See Yourself", George's commentary on the press brouhaha surrounding Paul's admission back in 1967 that he had taken LSD. George had started it at the time, but then forgot about until a decade later when he needed a tune for this album. Pretty sage advice from George saying "It's easier to tell a lie/than it is to tell the truth", showing that sometimes the truth does not necessarily set a person free. A quarter century before saluting the American Songbook became a standard practice & career-reviver (are you listening, Rod Stewart?), George was doing it occasionally & with a surprising twist often enough. Cole Porter's "True Love" is given a vast rethinking with more syncopation & backbeat than Cole may have originally envisioned, but it actually works fantastically. George obviously knew when to be reverent towards the original article, but not be afraid to bend the rules just a tad. The gently-bluesy and bouncy (thanks to Tom Scott's horn arrangement) "It's What You Value" is an interesting version of George's long-standing fascination with the materialism of humanity. He wrote it about his friend drummer Jim Keltner, who was asked to fill in during the 1974 Dark Horse tour on the condition that he received no payment for his services. George instead paid Jim by buying him a car, which ticked off the rest of his bandmates who merely got cash. The song seems to have George observing that there are people who value the green stuff, and others who are more practical and would rather have something tangible they can use. Even this early, George's fascination with automobiles was more than evident. Being the humble guy he always was, George admits that he has been inspired by fellow greats himself. "Pure Smokey" was his tip of the hat to Smokey Robinson, who was certainly more than deserving of a tribute from somebody. Anyone who thinks this was a tribute to smoking drugs have definitely missed the point by a couple miles. As he himself claimed, George was right in saluting Smokey while he was still alive rather than waiting until he passed away, which is the only way to do a tribute song. The second top 40 hit after "This Song" came with "Crackerbox Palace" (#19), and proves that even George can be a master pop craftsman when he wants to. It practically defines the term "catchy", much in the same way he would prove with "Blow Away" on this album's follow-up. Partly inspired by legendary British comedian Lord Buckley, like "Dear One", its esoteric lyricism is made palatable by a melody that is literally inescapable. The term "Beatlesque" is often bandied about like mad, but "Crackerbox Palace" is one song that is deserving of it through & through. THIRTY THREE & 1/3 closes out with the steady slow-dance of "Learning How To Love You", that George initially had written for Herb Alpert. Herb had shown with "This Guy's In Love With You" that he can indeed sing well, and George had hoped to create his own Herb vocal classic. Apparently, he liked it so much he kept the song for himself. George had divorced his first wife Patti by this time, so I wonder if he had discovered his new love for Olivia already, for this could definitely have been written for her. Once again, the bonus tracks on the remasters of George's Dark Horse albums leave a lot to be desired, with the one on THIRTY THREE & 1/3 the most baffling of all. "Tears Of The World" is a fine, thought-provoking tune reflecting George's always-acute sense of world affairs, and was one of the infamous 4 songs that record-company politics forced off of 1981's SOMEWHERE IN ENGLAND. The fact that it is being made available at all for the first time anywhere is commendable, but including it on an album made 5 years before makes hardly any sense. However, it is a song that would certainly feel right at home on SOMEWHERE IN ENGLAND's bouncy, easily-digestible brand of topical pop. Putting a highly-publicized court battle behind him, George Harrison was clearly ready to move on & get back to the music. THIRTY THREE & 1/3 is an album that certainly does not feature that fraction of top-notch material within. After apparently allowing middle- to bottom-drawer songs make up his previous two albums, George at last appeared to be returning to the peak of his powers. | ||
![George Harrison - George Harrison [Bonus Tracks]](product_images/1366000/1366197_thumb.jpg) | George Harrison - George Harrison [Bonus Tracks] | |
| "George looks at his life & sees a wealth of inspiration" | 2005-04-25 |
| 1976's THIRTY THREE & 1/3 was a reasonably good album from George Harrison that spawned 2 top 40 hits & sold well enough. However, most of that album was tinged in bitterness at having lost his battle with the writers of "He's So Fine" over plagiarizing it for his own "My Sweet Lord" ("This Song" was one way of venting his anger). After that album, George took the next 2 years off, spending most of his time traveling & attending his beloved auto races. Supposedly, George was having a case of writer's block shortly after THIRTY THREE & 1/3, and was not sure if he would ever regain his main line. However, trips to Hawaii & the Virgin Islands at last got his juices flowing, and in 1979, GEORGE HARRISON appeared, its self-titled nature hinting at a new beginning & George tapping into a fresh vein of creativity.
Having just married his second wife Olivia & witnessing the birth of his son Dhani, George was clearly in a much better mood this time around, and the sunny weather of his island jaunts also helped to bring up his spirits & inspire him creatively. For someone as upbeat about the eventual savior of the world, a song like the opening "Love Comes To Everyone" (with guitar by George's pal, Eric Clapton) comes naturally from George. He points out that acheiving peace is never easy or quick, but as he mentions "It only takes time". The closing "If You Believe" also encourages the listener to keep his chin up & that believing in oneself will save the day. At a brief 3 minutes, this is one song that could have easily followed "Blow Away" as a single, for it is everything a hit should be. Those two songs are the only times George is in the role of world peacemaker. The rest are much more personal & introspective. The glow of his new marriage & family obviously had George smiling bright for Olivia & Dhani appears to have been the inspiration for songs like "Dark Sweet Lady" (which Olivia suggested as a Spanish-type number), "Your Love Is Forever" & "Soft Touch". George clearly took the old creative saying of "Write about what you know" to heart, and that helped him recharge his batteries. Some songs like "Your Love Is Forever" could be interpreted as being to God, but the fact they work on a secular level makes them the most successful. The new attitude George gained is transferred all throughout GEORGE HARRISON as the nature theme of some songs indicate. "Here Comes The Moon" was George's (un)intentional sequel to "Here Comes The Sun", and as he describes in the album's liner notes (taken from his autobiography I ME MINE), he was utterly entranced by the sunsets and moonrises of Hawaii. Maybe all of us could use a trip like that to brighten our lives. "Soft-Hearted Hana" also was directly inspired by the surroundings of Hawaii, with George using his own "Deep Blue" as inspiration for creating a yin to its yang (if you gotta steal, steal from the best). Even George himself agreed that the lyrics are a bit flowery, but maybe those "magic mushrooms" he had encouraged him to revisit his latter years in the Beatles when one could not help but feel the need to take a trip. Something as simple as a leak in George's house inspired the album's top 20 hit "Blow Away", truly one of George's finest singles. While the sunny Adult Contemporary vibe of the song may have people thinking George had gone "too soft", once they start smiling at hearing the song, they will get it. Through all his occasional preaching about world affairs, George boils it all down pretty much into "Blow Away", and as he points out in the notes, "The only thing we really have to work at in this life is how to manifest love". It was only a matter of time before George's love of racing inspired a song, and that became "Faster". Inspired by racecar driver & friend Jackie Stewart, it is likely this song in particular helped to get George back on the songwriting track again, especially since he mentioned 1977 was mostly an off year. The chorus is by far one of George's catchiest, making it a mystery why it did not do as well as a single like "Blow Away". Finally, there is the song that George held on to for over a decade, "Not Guilty". Written during the time of THE WHITE ALBUM, when the Beatles were slowly but surely growing apart, George had even recorded it at the time, with that version making it onto the THE BEATLES ANTHOLOGY 3. However, maybe it was considered to below the knuckle to issue at the time, but after enough time passed, George could revisit it & record it for GEORGE HARRISON. The song seems to reflect the Beatles' meditation jaunt in India, where George came home the biggest convert & all the others thought it to be of little impact. Maybe this was the element that soured George on continuing as a Beatle. "Not Guilty" is the only time on GEORGE HARRISON that detracts from the album's bouncy, upbeat feel, though the song's lighthearted attitude is still in keeping with it. Again, the bonus tracks on the Dark Horse reissues come up short, with only a demo of "Here Comes The Moon" to present on GEORGE HARRISON, and it pales in comparison to the splendor of the final product. Clearly, there are some more lost gems in the vaults because it almost never happens that an artist records just the 10 songs that make up the album he releases. Apparently, the time George Harrison spent just living life & not caring about music for a while helped him regain his enthusiasm for the thing that he had spent his life doing. Of course, that new career of smiles would not last long as the behind-the-scenes events involving this album's follow-up would indicate. Until then, GEORGE HARRISON showed that the only thing he needed to recharge his creative fuse was to look around & see all the good things happening to him. | ||
 | George Harrison - Living in the Material World | |
| "How ALL THINGS MUST PASS would sound without Spectorization" | 2005-03-21 |
| Naturally, after years of being only allowed 1 or 2 songs on Beatles albums, George Harrison had a huge backlog that essentially made his first solo album ALL THINGS MUST PASS (1970) completed except for the recording. With Phil Spector having been entrusted with the presentation of the Beatles' final album LET IT BE, it was perhaps only natural he would have a hand in the solo work of the Beatles who actually appreciated his involvement (i.e. not Paul). Save for the APPLE JAM album that was intended as a bonus, but instead shot the price of ALL THINGS MUST PASS up to triple-album level, George's first solo effort showed that he was going to do just fine on his own.
However, because ALL THINGS MUST PASS was a rousing success both commercially & artistically, it was likely George would have trouble coming up with material on his next album, and the prevailing opinion from most fans was that all his subsequent solo albums had that trouble. No doubt, George knew he had a tough act to follow with 1973's LIVING IN THE MATERIAL WORLD, but writing songs was the least of his worries. Initially, George was going to work with Phil Spector again, but he had trouble making the recording sessions & thus, has only a co-production credit on one song. Now, George is the one in the driver's seat guiding an album that is the stripped-down affair he wanted from the beginning. But George chose to record the album at Apple Studios instead of Abbey Road, and the differences in recording techniques were staggering (Apple's had nothing on Abbey Road's). After abandoning LIVING IN THE MATERIAL WORLD to work on the Concert For Bangladesh, George returned to it & at last managed to get things to fall into place. George's second #1 hit came with the gentle lullaby "Give Me Love [Give Me Peace On Earth], which continues the help-your-brother & make-the-world-better vibe that the Bangladesh concert was all about. After the Wall of Sound delights on George's first #1 "My Sweet Lord", the more organic mode on "Give Me Love" is quite refreshing & a lot less stifling. Even with that ray of sunshine, George is still aware that the world is not quite as rosy as all that. Songs like "The Light That Has Lighted The World", "Who Can See It", "Be Here Now" & "The Day The World Gets 'Round" have George facing that cruel world around him, and he basically says that even with all our imperfections, we can still find hope & inspiration. It is just that all of us need to look for them as individuals; we will not learn much by having someone tell us the answers. The legal fallout of the Beatles' disbanding was still fresh at the time of LIVING IN THE MATERIAL WORLD, and George bravely exposes all the wounds at the heart of those battles. "Sue Me, Sue You Blues" wonderfully demonstrates the endlessly tangled web that the Beatles had become simply by breaking up, where it got to the point that hardly anybody knew who they were suing & why. "You serve me/And I'll serve you/Swing your partners, all get screwed" is simply brilliant & wickedly hilarious at condensing all that legal red tape. The title track is an even more pointed dig at the Beatles' legal situation, even daring to mention George's former bandmates by name. It is a wonder yet another lawsuit (this one of defamation) did not come resulting from this song. True, being a Beatle may have helped George Harrison be financially set for life (though the royalty situation would take even longer to sort out), but he did not let that blind him to his spirtuality. "The Lord Loves The One [That Loves The Lord]" reaffirms the Biblical concept that "the Lord helps those who help themselves", and while it is a true statement, the overall song seems to be one instance where George tried to hit people over the head with his religion. He sounds much better when he keeps those views in check. That being said, it is still a listenable song on an album with 11 of such in all. "Try Some, Buy Some" was the only song which Phil Spector had a direct hand in, and while he is a CO-producer, his influence is still more than palpable. The lyrics are a little difficult to decipher, making it hard to say if this is a love or anti-love song. It is still a wonderful production all the same, showing that even on a back-to-basics album like MATERIAL WORLD, a little panorama never hurt anyone. Finally, there are simple songs of devotion that show George mastering the art of melody that Paul McCartney already had locked down years before. "Don't Let Me Wait Too Long" is a bouncy delight that would have made it an excellent follow-up single to "Give Me Love". It all closes out with the masterfully rendered "That Is All", a song that manages to be as expansive as a Phil Spector production even with the rootsier approach George favored. His vocal is stunningly beautiful, reaching falsetto range in parts that almost pierce the soul. Even with recalcitrant producers, shoddy recording conditions, and behind-the-scenes legal wranglings, George Harrison managed to perservere & indeed create a worthy follow-up to the magnum opus that was ALL THINGS MUST PASS. Some people call that the best Beatles solo album, and they may be right, but they should not forget that George did create some fantastic material afterwards. It was simply those high standards set by ALL THINGS MUST PASS that rendered anything in its wake less than stellar. LIVING IN THE MATERIAL WORLD, for the most part, shows what a little production restraint can do for George Harrison's music. Since he would take the reins on the production end for most of the rest of his career, LIVING IN THE MATERIAL WORLD simply points the way towards that future. | ||
 | Elvis Costello - North | |
| "The unthinkable: Elvis Costello drunk with love!" | 2005-03-04 |
| Throughout his career, Elvis Costello has made his reputation on changing his music styles with the days of the week. Even the angry punk he had made his name on & with which he became an unofficial member of the movement was just one facet of his identity, for shortly afterwards, he dabbled in soul (1980's GET HAPPY!!), country (1981's ALMOST BLUE), baroque pop (1982's IMPERIAL BEDROOM), and even classical (1993's THE JULIET LETTERS). The latter has proven to be more than just an ordinary flirtation, for even while THE JULIET LETTERS album with the Brodsky String Quartet may have been a very obviously self-conscious affair, Elvis returned to the genre three times more, recording an album with opera singer Anne Sofie Von Otter (2001's FOR THE STARS) & then recording his first full-fledged classical work (i.e. not still having his lyrical talents to fall back on) with IL SOGNO (2004). In between those two, Elvis recorded a unique jazz-pop hybrid (although it is released on Deutsche Grammophon, the label for his classical material) with 2003's NORTH. One of the things that makes NORTH Elvis' best classical-based work is the story behind its creation. After the divorce from his second wife Caitlin O'Riordan, Elvis met jazz singer Diana Krall (who my mother is quite a fan of). Supposedly, it was love at first sight, and by the time Elvis began work on NORTH (less than a year after 2002's artistic renewal WHEN I WAS CRUEL), the two were engaged. For someone as legendarily misanthropic in his music like Elvis Costello, the idea of him getting all lovey-dovey may be a frightening one. Just maybe finding the love of his life has Elvis wishing to sing rainbows, and while occasionally his lyrics will still retain a sense of didacticism, there is no secret about what each of the 11 songs are about. Of course, not every song on NORTH is completely dedicated to his new love. Some songs like "You Left Me In The Dark" could easily be about the demise of Elvis' second marriage with him wondering just how things went wrong. Rather than laying the blame at his ex-wife's door, Elvis accuses himself: "Nothing I do can make you stay/I'm glad it will rain today". "Fallen" also finds Elvis with a heart of despair over messing up a good relationship with its autumnal music & especially in its lyrics full of browns, ambers & burnished golds. Where the orchestral arrangements could have gotten over-the-top (and on "Can You Be True?", it comes quite close to that), they are actually much more subtle than expected, which was something THE JULIET LETTERS did not have enough of. Those are the only two songs on NORTH that find Elvis in a dark mood matching the blackness of the cover art. The rest clearly have him celebrating his newfound romance & darned be the results. "Still" is perhaps the most romantic Elvis has ever gotten in his music, especially with the opening verse. Elvis still does not have his head too high in the clouds, though, if the last verse is any indication: "I want to kiss you in a rush/and whisper things to make you blush/and you say, "Darling, hush". "Let Me Tell You About Her" certainly indicates Elvis' wish to tell the world about his new love, whether or not they care to listen. Elvis' lyrics have often been compared to Cole Porter, and maybe he is aware of that with the reference to Cole's classic song "You're Sensational". "Someone Took The Words Away" works in a similar fashion, demonstrating how Elvis is at a loss for words upon seeing his new love for the first time, as does "When Did I Stop Dreaming?". These three songs are the ones that contain the trademark Costello wit, only this time being used for good rather than criticism. "You Turned To Me" has Elvis wondering if he could all be dreaming these amorous feelings, and if his new woman does in fact consider him her new addiction. One song that does not have an orchestra of any kind on it, the simple bass & piano accompaniment still manages to sound as full as it needs to be. "Can You Be True?" has Elvis inquiring whether his new love will be as faithful to him as he will be to her. Elvis again shows no shame in being love poet extraordinaire, as he does on the more positive outlook of "When It Sings", but that just indicates the former angry young man of MY AIM IS TRUE (1977) & THIS YEAR'S MODEL (1978) has done a lot of growing up since those acid-drenched masterpieces. When you hear the devotional lyrics to a song like "When Green Eyes Turn Blue", it is apparent that Elvis has learned when to put the verbal daggers away if necessary. The love letter that is NORTH closes out in utter bliss on "I'm In The Mood Again", with Elvis creating a reverent ode to love in the big city, one you could hear emanating from a club after midnight in New York City. With just a piano (played by Elvis himself, whereas the keyboard playing mostly rested upon old Attractions member Steve Nieve) & a vibraphone as accompaniment, that is all the song needs to show that Elvis Costello is ready to give love a chance, and just maybe the third time is the charm. After experiencing some 40 straight minutes of unabashed romantic celebration, one can not help but hope that turns out to be true. While NORTH may not be as overtly classical as THE JULIET LETTERS or even IL SOGNO, that in fact is what makes it work so well. With THE JULIET LETTERS having been more a pastiche of a string quartet sound rather than a tried-and-true experiment with it, NORTH's more understated use of a classical sound, and concentrating more on the jazzier elements of the music therein (sounding like the theme albums that Frank Sinatra had created so successfully in the '50s & '60s, only this time, Elvis is taking a crack at writing standards as well as singing them), makes it one much easier to enjoy for what it is, and not what it should have been. The music of his future wife perhaps had a profound effect on Elvis' own work, and he would even collaborate with Diana Krall for the original songs on her then-upcoming THE GIRL IN THE OTHER ROOM album. Those who come into NORTH expecting just another genre experiment will be much surprised to see Elvis thrive in yet another style of music one would think he had no business even attempting. | ||
![Ringo Starr - Ringo Rama Deluxe [CD & DVD] [Limited] [11/11]](product_images/174000/174683_thumb.jpg) | Ringo Starr - Ringo Rama Deluxe [CD & DVD] [Limited] [11/11] | |
| "The resurrection of Ringo continues & flourishes!" | 2005-03-04 |
| The 1990s seemed to be a renaissance for all of the Beatles, be it together or separately. Obviously, there was the ANTHOLOGY & the new recordings by the "Threatles", but in the case of the solo Beatles, things were looking up as well. Paul McCartney was re-energized by the ANTHOLOGY experience to create 1997's FLAMING PIE, his best work since BAND ON THE RUN (1973). George was slowly-but-surely working on what be his last solo work, not to see release until after his death in 2001. After 1992's slight awakening of a sleeping giant on TIME TAKES TIME, Ringo Starr got his mojo working again 6 years later on VERTICAL MAN, which, more than ever, showed Ringo springing back to life.
That album's commercial failure disillusioned Ringo enough that he actually considered retiring from music for good! Yet 5 years later, he said "la de da" to that unfortunate episode, and picked himself up on yet another stunning late-period effort: RINGORAMA. Once again working with kindred spirit Mark Hudson, Ringo trumps VERTICAL MAN's ace by eliminating any covers in favor of 13 wonderful originals (in the bonus version's case, 16). It took him 40 years, but, at last, Ringo can wield a songwriter's pen with the best of his former Beatles. Referencing past works (including the Beatles') has been a part of Ringo's appeal, so when he references his own "It Don't Come Easy" on the opening "Eye To Eye", it is simply par for the course. But after exercising a certain "think for yourself" (another unintentional Beatle reference) attitude on VERTICAL MAN's songs, "Eye To Eye" actually has Ringo attempting some sort of middle ground, even if it is about seeing "eye to eye to eye", perhaps saying the other party has a dual personality. Moving on, "Missouri Loves Company" is a unique tribute to the Show Me State that a Liverpudlian like Ringo carries off well enough. Apparently, that is the place to escape heartbreak, but there is also some trademark Ringo-esque humor to go along with it as well. "Instant Amnesia" is another return to SGT. PEPPER-era Beatles again, strange considering that Ringo in fact does not care for that album because he did not get to do much on it. Well, now he is at least calling the shots on a song that plays to the era's feeling of a Technicolour dream that nobody can quite remember. Pink Floyd's David Gilmour contributes a heady guitar solo straight out of the Syd Barrett days, and is one of a rather scaled-down guest list on RINGORAMA. One of the Beatles' favorite artists was the late Roy Orbison, and of course, George Harrison got to work with him in the Traveling Wilburys, and so did Ringo, even though he was not an official member, just a sideman. However, Ringo again calls on Roy to augment the old-fashioned rock of "Memphis In Your Mind", sampling Roy's famous "mercy growl" from "Oh, Pretty Woman". But the song itself stands well on its own, with Ringo rightfully saying to all musicians that sometimes they need to go Memphis in their minds to get their music mojo working. Since George was my favorite Beatle (sorry, Ringo), his passing in 2001 was extremely saddening for me, but most especially for friend & fellow former Beatle Ringo, who pays him a glorious & reverent tribute on "Never Without You". George's close friend Eric Clapton channels his departed musical brother with a guitar solo you could imagine coming from the quiet Beatle himself. George may be up there in heaven with John now, but, as Ringo claims, "his message will live on" & "we're never without you". I wonder if Ringo was on the verge of tears while recording this, but that is okay, for even big boys cry & you will, too. Things brighten up a little on the following "Imagine Me There", which is not as directly linked to George's passing, but could easily apply with Ringo saying that wherever you go, that special someone in your life will always be there if you just picture them. Eric again turns in another wonderful solo that proves even in his advanced age, he can still burn. It is then time to dry up the tears for the raucous "I Think, Therefore I Rock & Roll", another mission statement from Ringo that could apply to all of the musicians who contribute to the album. Purists may cringe at the twisting of Shakespeare & Greek philosophers, but fun is the name of the game, and Ringo just wants the listeners to come on & get happy. The chorus is one that will lodge itself into your brain whether you like it or not. "Trippin' On My Own Tears" is not immediately memorable as most of the previous tunes but with a title like that, it is always a guaranteed smile on your face. Although she appears as a guest vocalist on here, Shawn Colvin's appearance is rather minimal at best, proving that even the biggest of guest stars on a Ringo Starr album do not necessarily have to dominate the proceedings. Even though Ringo Starr has never been a songwriter extraordinaire, he even knows when to write a song about his occasional inability to write them. Hence, "Write One For Me" which sounds 1ike a tribute to all songwriters who have the ability to say what all of us are thinking, and with the ease & finesse we can only dream of. Who else to help out on this song than that master song scribe himself, Willie Nelson! A perfect case of "you want the best, you got the best"! "What Love Wants To Be" is another sign of Ringo cooling out in his old age, and finding himself content with being a loving father & husband to his current wife, Barbara Bach. He has clearly grown up from his days as a Beatle, and is now making himself aware of smaller things in life that can have much more meaning than any hit song. The accordion by Van Dyke Parks contributes to the wistful romanticism of a song you would be likely to hear in Paris or Rome. Ringo returns to his usual "carpe diem" lifestyle on "Love First, Ask Questions Later", which has drummer Ringo Starr branching out instrumentally by also contributing acoustic guitar. Could he also be discovering other hidden talents in the twilight of his life? The addition of a Dobro makes this a country song just waiting to be covered by today's cowboy pretenders (it certainly has the title for it). Ringo Starr is also known as Richard Starkey, OBE, after all, so a song like "Elizabeth Reigns" makes perfect sense coming from him. With the Golden Jubilee having been celebrated in 2003, this song makes a perfect unofficial theme for it, managing to pay reverent tribute to Queen Elizabeth of Windsor, but with sufficient enough humor (particularly about servants and large palaces) to not make it too stuffy. Clearly, Ringo is an Englishman at heart wherever he goes. The official album closes out with the brief "English Garden", another song celebrating quiet contentment with the love of Ringo's life. Beatles reference time again comes in an altered vein with a hint at Paul McCartney's "Let 'Em In". If you got to steal, steal from the best, I suppose. But the song is not quite done yet, for there is an even briefer tack-on in the vein of "I Really Love Her" that has Ringo doing a Paul (circa 1970's MCCARTNEY) by playing all the instruments. We did not know you had it in you, Richard! Those who are lucky to find the delux edition of RINGORAMA will find 3 bonus tracks that were not on the original album for whatever reason. "Blink" is a reasonably good song about how love can hit you between the eyes when you least expect it. "OK Ray" is another revved-up rocker with sundry references to rock's past. "I'm Home" once again has Ringo in the role of family man & loving husband. Barbara is one lucky woman! With bonus tracks, a DVD & an insightful interview disc, RINGORAMA is Ringo Starr's finest album yet & then some. Who would have guessed at 63 years old he would be making some of the finest music in his entire life, and from a man who was initially considering walking away after VERTICAL MAN took a flying leap commercially? No matter how long it takes for Ringo to follow-up RINGORAMA, we can best be sure that when it comes, it will be loads of fun & now with a little more insight into the life of Ringo Starr, the songwriter as well as public personality. | ||
 | Wham! - Make It Big | |
| "Teen-idol pop that still remains tolerable 20 years later!" | 2005-03-03 |
| Because I can occasionally recall memories as far back as 20 years ago (I am now 24), acts like Wham! are ones that I remember almost like they were yesterday, and with George Michael's recent "retirement" from music, maybe it is inevitable that looking back at his "entire" career is warranted. While George has often been considered a musical personality unto himself, he in fact started as one part of a duo with childhood friend Andrew Ridgeley, even though George remained quite obviously the mind & body behind the project.
Their 1983 debut album FANTASTIC was reasonably pleasurable pop music that did not set the charts on fire as their next album would, perhaps deservingly since FANTASTIC only scratched the surface of what George was able to do. By the time 1984's MAKE IT BIG came along, it was quite apparent that Wham! had at last established themselves, even as it became more increasingly apparent that it was all but a solo vehicle for George himself. Whereas FANTASTIC failed to even spawn a top 40 hit, MAKE IT BIG literally steamrolled it by creating 3 #1 hits and a top 5, going multi-platinum where FANTASTIC even failed to go gold. The insanely infectious "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" at last introduced George Michael to the big leagues of stardom, topping the charts for 3 weeks, and while it may in fact be a song that makes Backstreet Boys music sound utterly GT (gifted & talented), its unabashedly lightheaded nature (the line about shining brighter than Doris Day certainly applies to the song itself) is oddly inviting. Not to mention the idea of George asking his lover to forgo a night of dancing for some midnight loving at home certainly put it a notch or two above normal, often inoffensive teen-idol fodder. If there was any doubt about who was really the brains behind Wham!, the second #1 hit being credited to "Wham! featuring George Michael" made it more than crystal clear. "Careless Whisper" once again showed George as much smarter than your average teen idol by creating a truly soulful lost-love ballad miles ahead of simplistic "you broke my heart & now I'm blue" fare. This was clearly a song for adults, and 20 years on from its success, the song could still be a surefire hit if covered today, which it has been several times over. Even Bananarama (Keren Woodward would eventually become Mrs. Andrew Ridgeley) gave it a whirl on their most recent album EXOTICA. The final #1 came with an uptempo song revisiting the old soul convention of "I work so hard to give you my money, but you still treat me like a dog". "Everything She Wants" was George's take on that standard, and once again demonstrates him taking the high road with regards to his material rather than cozying himself on typical "love-hate" relationships that teen idols rehash over & over again. Most importantly, George asks for an equal amount of giving from the other party rather than one-dimensionally saying "Love me for me, or I'm outta here". This was the 1980s, after all, when even women were engaging in the "spend, spend, spend" mentality of the era. After 3 #1's, one would think the streak continued, but not quite. The 4th single "Freedom" petered out at #3, but that is certainly no bearing on its overall worth. It remains quite as strong as its more famous counterparts with a punchy horn arrangement that would have had Motown clamoring for it in its 1960s heyday. Even with AIDS becoming a cold hard fact of life in the 1980s, the one-night stand seemed to still hold court in relationships, but George again goes for higher goals by asking his girl to commit to him, and that he no longer needs to play the field breaking hearts all over the world. With Wham! being the first group to ever tour China, the video for "Freedom" featured scenes from that trip, and remains one of my most memorable videos of them. With half of MAKE IT BIG having been released & hit (a common occurrence for 1980s albums in the wake of THRILLER), that likely meant the other half could not measure up. Well, not really. "Heartbeat" does border dangerously close on your typical lovey-dovey teen-idol pop, but the oh-so-80s synthesizer arrangement makes it a bit more tolerable even if just as a period piece. "Like A Baby", on the other hand, demonstrates the facility with ballads George would develop on 1987's FAITH by laying the foundation for sultrier, more grown-folks fare similar to "Father Figure" & "Kissing A Fool". To show where George's heart was in regards to his musical inspirations, his cover of the Isley Brothers' "If You Were There" shows that maybe George always had a more refined, developed musical taste. Finally, "Credit Card Baby" again plays to the "let's make [and blow] lots of money" attitude of the 1980s by telling a girl she can have her man's finances at her disposal, but do not masquerade that attitude in faux-romantic devotion. This could likely be the prequel to "Everything She Wants" & the result of this "spend first, love later" scenario. Some would say the 1980s was not really the finest decade for popular music with more one-hit wonders than you shake a platinum record at, and with more undeserving acts having hits instead of the truly talented & timeless ones. By embracing something as often-disposable as teen-idol pop (at least in the beginning), Wham! could have become an ordinary footnote that would have a few people who matured during the decade smiling in rememberance. But even if George Michael did become well-plastered on girls' bedroom walls all over the world, at least he got there by making music that would transcend its origins & still manage to hold up long after its time in the sun was finished. MAKE IT BIG is, in fact, one of the 1980s most finely-crafted & memorable pop albums, demonstrating that we had a real icon in the making with George Michael, especially since it appeared he was the one who really wanted to put in the elbow grease to MAKE IT BIG & stay that way. | ||
 | George Harrison - Somewhere in England | |
| "Considering the behind-the-scenes goings-on, it still works" | 2005-02-19 |
| The 1980s were looking bright for the individual Beatles, at least at the beginning of it. John Lennon was about to re-enter the studio to record his album DOUBLE FANTASY after 5 years spent being a father to Sean. Paul McCartney freed himself from the constraints of leading a band by starting work on MCCARTNEY II, his first solo album since 1971's RAM (although I consider his Wings albums to be Paul's and his alone). Ringo Starr was hitting a very rough patch musically, but personally he was over the moon after meeting the woman who would become his second wife, actress Barbara Bach.
For George Harrison, he was in the midst of personal joys himself, having married one of his personal assistants at Dark Horse Records, Olivia Arias, and then witnessing the birth of his only child, Dhani. Musically, he was holding steady after 1979's self-titled album did reasonably well, and had a top 20 hit with "Blow Away". Supposedly, George began work on SOMEWHERE IN ENGLAND almost immediately afterwards, and was said to be ready for the record stores around the fall of 1980. But Dark Horse's parent company, Warner Bros. Records, did not really care for the final product, and insisted George re-enter the studio to record new material. Naturally, he was none too happy about this proposition, but acquiesced, making sure some of the new songs hit the company right where they hurt. It is a wonder they considered the revised album worth a release this time, and so SOMEWHERE IN ENGLAND at last hit the racks in early summer 1981. If one good thing came from these interminable delays, it was the song that returned George to the top 10 for the first time since 1973's "Give Me Love [Give Me Peace On Earth]". Shortly after George went back into the studio for the second time, his old friend and Beatle mate John Lennon was brutally murdered, causing not just friends and family to mourn, but the entire world. Paul would write & record "Here Today" as his tribute to John for his 1982 album TUG OF WAR. George beat him to the marketplace with his own elegy, "All Those Years Ago", which by a wonderful twist of fate became an unofficial Beatles reunion over a decade before the ANTHOLOGY. Ringo Starr agreed to play drums on the song, while Paul & his wife Linda sang backing vocals. Add to that engineering by Geoff Emerick & string arrangements by George Martin, and it is a labor of love that had to have John smiling from above. The sprightly country-rock-tinged number deservedly peaked at #2 on the charts, and manages to pay a unique tribute to John with the lines "They've forgotten all about God/He's the only reason we exist/Yet you were the one that they said was so weird". Odd coming from a deeply religious man like George, and to a man who had uttered the infamous "The Beatles are bigger than Jesus" remark & had recorded "God", in which he doubted His very existence. Although I am sure John would have appreciated the irony. Like that song, SOMEWHERE IN ENGLAND is mostly an upbeat affair despite the blackness of the original cover that has been restored for the reissue, and was one of the things Warner Brothers wanted changed. "Life Itself" is a heartfelt tribute to Olivia, and shows that George has been softened somewhat by new love. "That Which I Have Lost" is not as obvious an anthem, but the chorus seems to indicate one: "I need someone to show me/illumine my consciousness/remove the dark from in me". Maybe at last he found it. Even a potentially mournful song like "Teardrops" is positively buoyant & borders almost on new wave. This particularly applies to the songs which had George striking out against the record company backroom boys telling him what to do. "Blood From A Clone" & "Unconsciousness Rules" show that cynical wit that George always had and, towards the end of his life, would get sharper. The fact Warner Brothers agreed to release such potentially libelous tunes means they either missed or got the joke completely. With an attitude like that, perhaps it is no surprise George recorded less & less over the years. When an artist who is as fine a songwriter as George, should they ever include covers on an album, that could mean they are running out of ideas. Who knows if that was the case on SOMEWHERE IN ENGLAND, which featured two of them. Maybe it was George's underhanded dig at recording material that his label would have rather had him do. Either way, Hoagy Carmichael's "Baltimore Oriole" & "Hong Kong Blues" manage to fit somehow, showing that George can be a great interpretor as well as a creator of standards himself. For someone who helped organize the Concert For Bangladesh, George has always been a sociopolitician at heart, and SOMEWHERE IN ENGLAND still allows for those opportunities to preach ever so slightly. "Writing's On The Wall" seems to have more cynicism in its veins, as if George is throwing up his hands in defeat & that the world is in too much a state of disrepair to be saved. But the album closes with more optimistic vibes on "Save The World", continuing the album's primary mood of bounciness. While still a bit biting in its wit, George does not lose faith even in the song's first line: "We've got to save the world/Someone else may want to use it". Truer words were never spoken, and are ones John would have certainly written. With George's Dark Horse albums now finally back in print after several years out of it, it would have been nice if the bonus tracks on SOMEWHERE IN ENGLAND had been more plentiful. The four songs that were said not to have made the final cut could have been welcome additions rather than just a demo of "Save The World", which is not a patch on the version that finally reached fruition. George Harrison may have been a little ticked off by his record company's nitpicking over SOMEWHERE IN ENGLAND, but he still did well enough for himself in creating one of his better albums, in my opinion. Soundwise, it proved that George was ready to transfer into the high-gloss & high-concept atmosphere of the 1980s, a route Paul would continue in as well. But maybe George's battles with his label did sap him of some enthusiasm, for his follow-up GONE TROPPO (1982) would be a commercial disaster, and is often ranked as his worst album (considering 1974's DARK HORSE & George's insistence on recording & touring for it while battling severe laryngitis, that speaks a lot). However, even if the bloom was off the rose when it came to records for George, SOMEWHERE IN ENGLAND showed he could still give it the old college try when he wanted to. First & foremost, he proved that when the record business tries to interfere with productivity, one should thrive, not cave. | ||
 | Ringo Starr ,Mccartney ,Harrison - Vertical Man | |
| "After a quarter-century in creative limbo, Ringo awakes!" | 2005-02-10 |
| It may be redundant to say Ringo Starr has relied mainly on his famous friends to bring his solo music to life, but for someone who was primarily the Beatles' drummer as opposed to the songwriting team of Lennon & McCartney, Ringo has perhaps had no other option. After 1973's RINGO, which set the standard for that "Ringo Starr & friends" format, he began to slowly dip in terms of consistency & enthusiasm, so much that 1981's STOP & SMELL THE ROSES is widely acknowledged as the worst Beatles solo album (and considering some of John's solo music, that says a lot), and even 1983's OLD WAVE could not get released in America.
Ringo battled various addictions throughout the 1980s, so much that it was not until 1992 with his album TIME TAKES TIME that he at least appeared to be awake while making his music. While it was his best work in years, who knew Ringo could only get successively better afterwards. 1998's VERTICAL MAN managed to do just that even if its commercial inactivity was both unfair & disheartening to Ringo, who had put his heart & soul into it. By now, Ringo had a really fine collaborator in songwriter & producer Mark Hudson (most famous for his recordings in the 1970s with The Hudson Brothers), and maybe it was this new blood that finally encouraged Ringo to take his songwriting seriously for a change, for all but 2 of the 13 songs feature his name on them. In most cases, it is a case of "What took you so long, Richard?" The opening track "One" is not just one of Ringo's most perfect songs, but would be of anyone's career, so again Ringo's luck wins out. Unlike the spot-that-star game that the rest of the songs employ, "One" mostly relies on in-house musicianship, save for Jeff "Skunk" Baxter's pedal steel guitar, who comes close to stealing the show. "What In The...World" at last gets the famous-friends theme started with Joe Walsh playing guitar (and doing the solo), and Ringo's old Beatle mate Paul McCartney playing bass & singing back-up. Even Paul thought this song was one of the most Beatlesque tunes you could lay your ears on, and all that is missing is George to chip in to make it another Beatles reunion. The stuff dreams are made of! "Mindfield" is a sort of Dylanesque turn that appears to say "Don't take celebrities for their word; listen to yourself". Quite a statement from a celebrity himself, and one who employs them on a regular basis. For this tune, we have Joe Walsh returning, with Aerosmith's Steven Tyler, Alanis Morissette (we'll hear more from both), and Stone Temple Pilots' Scott Weiland making up the fervent chorus. Finally, Ringo manages to create a melancholic number to rival that of "Photograph" on "King Of Broken Hearts", and maybe it was no accident that George Harrison (who co-wrote the former) was also involved here. The distinctive slide guitar is undoubtedly some of George's finest work (considering that his health was beginning to fail by now), and helps make the song any listener is sure to weep over. A Beatles cover? Surely, you jest. But 'tis true, Ringo redoes "Love Me Do" on VERTICAL MAN, mainly because he claimed it was his favorite Beatles song(!), and that Ringo did not play on the Beatles' version (a session man filled in). Ringo gets to take it back finally, slowing the tempo down a bit, and enlisting Steven Tyler to fill in for John Lennon on the harmonica. Instead of being a sign that Ringo was out of ideas, it manages to work no matter what its intention was. The title track is a bit off-the-wall even for Ringo Starr, and its origin comes from Ringo's stepdaughter & a book of quotations she made. However, any song that has Ozzy Osbourne singing back-up is still worth a listen, and sounds like something John would have come up with, circa "I Am The Walrus". And it also has the cello part played by producer Mark Hudson's landlord's secretary, her having done it in lieu of rent money! Even as Ringo was beginning to flex his songwriting muscle, he still allowed himself the occasional cover on Dobie Gray's "Drift Away". Slightly re-arranged as a trio with Tom Petty (Steven Tyler had done it originally, but was removed due to contractual issues) & Alanis Morissette (her contribution being especially fine) each taking a verse, I think this could easily have been a hit before Uncle Kracker turned it into one as a duet with Dobie a few years later. Steven Tyler does turns up though, this time, amazingly, on drums. "I Was Walkin'" is a freewheeling rocker that seems to be a statement of purpose not just for Ringo, but all musicians. In Ringo's case, his "occupation is syncopation, and when I hit 'em well it saves my life". Steven Tyler the blues-harpist returns & also joins the "I Was Dreamers" singers with Alanis & Paul McCartney. "La De Da" is a similar song about living your life true to yourself & nobody else, and no one knows about this more than Ringo Starr. His credo is whenever life drags you down, sing "la de da", get back up on the horse & ride on. The stars come fast & furious on this one, with another axe solo by Joe Walsh, back-up singing by Paul McCartney, Steven Tyler, Walsh & the "NOT the Village People Singers" (which are too numerous to mention but include Ringo's wife Barbara Bach & his daughter Lee Starkey among the choir). Ringo then goes to India for parts of "Without Understanding", tabla and all. Sounding like an outtake from SGT. PEPPER, the song even features background vocals by Beach Boy Brian Wilson, the same Brian Wilson who was often frustrated at being unable to overtake the Beatles' musical masterpieces. We all know he would finish SMILE eventually, but "Without Understanding" on the whole sounds like it could have been created during those infamous original sessions that led to his breakdown. The gospel group Sauce also joins in the madness singing back-up. "I'll Be Fine Anywhere" is a bit uncharacteristic from Ringo, being a song about the wandering type when, in a few songs, he would be praising settled domesticity. But it does give Ringo a chance to work with George again, who contributes another fine slide guitar solo. I think this would be the last time Ringo & George would work together, sadly. It is nevertheless a fine way to end one part of a great musical love affair. "Puppet" once again has a take-nothing-from-nobody kind of philosophy, but it is not quite as well-said as the previous songs on the album did. The closest thing to filler on what really was one of Ringo's most solid efforts. VERTICAL MAN says goodnight with the gentle lullaby "I'm Yours", that has Ringo Starr, former hellraising Teddy Boy, declaring eternal love to his wife Barbara, even mentioning her by name. Some might say the lyrics are of the dippy type Paul McCartney is often accused of writing, but the emotion is genuine coming from Ringo's voice. The string arrangement is from old producer George Martin, who probably will not work with Ringo again, seeing as he is now offically retired from the music business. Again, what a way to go! In all honesty, people probably did not really care about Ringo Starr's music anymore by the 1990s. George Harrison had all but retired from active duty, while Paul McCartney kept on truckin', but even he would not recharge his batteries until later in the decade. The fact that VERTICAL MAN did not set commercial records when it at least should have had the chance to is unfortunate, and I believe shortly afterwards, Ringo considered retiring to spend time with his family. Of course, he would return with an album that superseded even this winner, so even a Beatle's retirement is not exactly a permanent one. Until we'd see more in RINGORAMA, VERTICAL MAN is a wonderful surprise that shows Ringo Starr can & will do more than just rely on help from his friends because on here, they just add to the fun rather than guide Ringo by the hand. | ||
 | Dion - Born To Be With You/Streetheart | |
| "Will it change your life? That depends, but hear this once!" | 2004-12-31 |
| When both Dion & Phil Spector joined forces in 1975, both personalities had been through the wringer in all senses of the word. Dion had kicked a life-threatening drug addiction that not only resulted in an image change away from his streetwise hipster persona, it also encouraged him to open up his heart more in terms of composing his own material, thus making him a sort of charter member of the burgeoning singer-songwriter movement. Spector had all but retired from music after his self-proclaimed masterpiece of "River Deep-Mountain High" with Ike & Tina Turner had taken the charts by storm in Europe, but flopped badly in the States. His work with the Beatles (both collectively & individually) had made him a working producer again, but other than that, Spector seemed to want to work on a project-by-project basis, and when Dion hooked up with him for 1975's BORN TO BE WITH YOU, Spector had again dropped out of work. The resulting album was not the commercial bonanza that was predicted, and critical response was muted at best. In the 3 decades since its release, however, BORN TO BE WITH YOU has gone the way of a lot of Spector's later-period works by becoming a cult classic & one of those albums that those who claim to love it, really & truly adore it. Even Dion had little good to say about the finished product, claiming to be just one small part of Spector's massive wall of sound. Those who only know of BORN TO BE WITH YOU from its impossibly-high legendary status will take care to listen to it at least once in their lives, even if admittedly, it may not be for all tastes. As it looked, Spector could only muster up enough strength to put his work on 6 of the album's 8 songs, with the other 2 being produced by others, but having Spector conduct the orchestra on them (his most recent work with Starsailor was another such matter, with only 2 songs resulting from the collaboration). Apparently, Spector was rather shaken by the visitation of Bruce Springsteen and Steve Van Zandt to the sessions shortly after Bruce had made the covers of TIME & NEWSWEEK. But those 6 songs are nothing short of breathtaking, and Dion manages to rise above the din to make them his own. The title track, which had been a hit for the Chordettes in the 1950s, is a 7-minute wall of sound demonstration if anything, literally surrounding the listener with echo and raw musical emotion. For someone who refused to use the most up-to-date recording technology, Spector achieved a real coup in making this song sound like the second coming as much as possible. When the song was edited down by only a minute for a single, radio airplay was perhaps still not in the cards, and honestly, would you want to see a natural wonder like this cut to shreds? The Spector songs on BORN TO BE WITH YOU had the master producer working with some of the songwriters who had helped him make his legend in the 1960s, and likely this was to make him feel like he was working in the good old days. It worked because even though this was 1975, these songs could easily have been at home in the previous decade. Case in point is my favorite "Make The Woman Love Me". Having been recorded by Cher a little earlier, the team of Barry Mann & Cynthia Weil had created another hearttugging masterpiece just like "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'", and Dion was perhaps THE man to sing it. A lot of people claim that it borders on a stalker's plea, but Dion sings it with such passion & feeling, who would turn him down? He seems to be singing to God for help in winning this woman's love, so this is maybe a secular version of the religious material Dion would record a little later in his career after he had "found God". After those two magnificent introductory songs, the rest of BORN TO BE WITH YOU was bound to pale in comparison, and it does for the most part. Yet there's no denying that Spector's painstaking attention to detail will help make even the more uninspired material wonders to behold. "Only You Know" & "In & Out Of The Shadows" (both co-written by Spector with Gerry Goffin) are examples of songs which are quite good in the end, but sound a bit anticlimactic after the grandeur of the first two. Speaking of anticlimaxes, the non-Spector (or non-directly Spector, I should say) material cannot hold a candle to the songs he had a firm hand in creating. "Your Own Backyard" was a song Dion had recorded several years earlier shortly after he took a vow of sobriety, and was one of the most frightening and heartwrenching songs yet recorded. The second time around does not produce the same results, and one can only wonder how it would have sounded had Spector decided to not just simply direct the orchestra...an already scary song could have been the stuff of nightmares! "New York City Song" could also have benefited from something more than Cashman & West's overly-folky approach to production. "[He's Got] The Whole World In His Hands" comes the closest to meeting those masterpieces with a much more reverent approach to singing God's praises, especially in the vocal arrangement which I hope is what greets me whenever I reach that great record store in the sky. Even this early, it is apparent that Dion's religious reformation was honest & true. It may be a bit too reverent for some listeners, but it is worth their best shot. The album closes out with "Good Lovin' Man" (which Dion co-wrote with the master himself), which is the most authentic-sounding homage to Dion's early 1960s material, only magnified to the nth power thanks to Spector's Cinemascope production. Whoever does the background vocals, they are not credited on the album, but they give a fabulous vocalist like Dion a run for his money, and the contest ends in a draw with both of them working wonderfully together. The bonus track "Baby, Let's Stick Together" (co-written with Jeff Barry) works the same way, and it is a mystery why this did not make the final album because it would have fit in perfectly. So maybe BORN TO BE WITH YOU has a slight reputation as a project that sounded exciting on paper, but did not meet expectations (how could it?!) in the end. Just maybe, it was TOO ambitious, and people did not or could not have the patience to endure repeated listens to discover different nuances every time. People like Bobby Gillespie of Primal Scream and Jason Pierce of Spiritualized, who have clearly taken their extreme love of the album to bear in their own music, were probably ones who could, and just maybe they can be proof that BORN TO BE WITH YOU can change your life if you let it. I'm sure Dion's and Phil Spector's opinions of this album have improved in recent years, so if you can allow yourself enough time to take in all that this record has to offer, BORN TO BE WITH YOU just may turn out to be the legend a select & lucky few have deemed it to be. | ||
 | Barbra Streisand - Lazy Afternoon | |
| "One of her strongest albums, even if rather downhearted" | 2004-10-20 |
| Barbra Streisand was one of the most popular and successful personalities in entertainment by the mid-1970s, managing both music and film careers with the greatest of ease. With her keen eye for material that suited her talents, a Barbra album was more than likely to be both innovative and enjoyable. While her careers may have been moving full steam ahead in the success department, on record, Barbra seemed more in reflective mood on 1975's LAZY AFTERNOON. Indeed, this album is definitely one of Barbra's most sedate, with ballads reigning supreme, playing to her strengths as a torch singer for the modern day. This is also surprising considering her main collaborator on LAZY AFTERNOON. Songwriter/co-producer Rupert Holmes was just appearing on the scene, his debut album about to hit the market. While he would have success with more quirky material like "Escape [The Pina Colada Song]", "Him" and "Answering Machine", Rupert shows off a different, soul-stirring side to his talents in his work on LAZY AFTERNOON. "My Father's Song" is clearly one of the most personal songs Barbra ever sang, given that her own father died when she was still a child. She demonstrates her uncanny ability to make another songwriter's lyrics (Rupert's) sound like hers. That is perhaps the true test of an interpretative singer, and Barbra has always passed with flying colors. "By The Way" features a rare co-writing credit for Barbra that she claims came about by accident, but resulted in her first original English-language tune. For someone who envied the work of female singer-songwriters their knack for writing their own material, this somber ballad proves that Barbra can indeed work magic with a pen when the inspiration comes. "Letters That Cross In The Mail" sounds like one of those typically quirky songs that Barbra often included on her albums (just consider "Honey Can I Put On Your Clothes"), and is definitely something you'd expect Rupert to conjure up. But the more subdued mood of LAZY AFTERNOON turns this into a borderline-heartbreaking song that shows how communication is both important and a hinderance on the path to true love. I think this song would have benefited from a more upbeat and humorous atmosphere. "Widescreen" originally appeared on Rupert's debut with lyrics that wanted to linger in the dream world of motion pictures and the mystery it embodied. However, Barbra didn't exactly feel the same way, and asked if Rupert could slightly change them towards the opposite. While this frequent occurence in Barbra's career is often named by her detractors as proof of her perfectionism, Rupert understood and revised his lyrics towards those that embraced reality more than fantasy (particularly the line "let the movie end"). For the non-original tunes, Barbra proves once again her ability to know exactly what her strengths are and, if possible, discover some hidden ones. The title track was from a moderately successful Broadway musical called THE GOLDEN APPLE, and Barbra thought the song deserved a revival. With the languid atmosphere on the album, this was a perfect choice for the title track. Paul Williams' "I Never Had It So Good" was not one of his more popular songs, but Barbra has always been a seeker of the best if not well-known works in a songwriter's output, and this song about disbelief in how well things are going in your life is par for the course. Barbra had been inspired by Kris Kristofferson's performance of the song at a party to record her own version (Kris had done it a few years earlier). Stevie Wonder had a fervent fan in Barbra, her having recorded "All In Love Is Fair" earlier on. So she returns to the well for "You & I", which contains probably her best vocal performance on the album, soaring to the heavens in a way that had to have inspired mutual admiration on Stevie's part. An American Songbook standard was expected from Babs sometime on the album, and here, it's "Moanin' Low", a torch song if ever there was one. Featured prominently in the classic movie KEY LARGO, the tune has the right amount of bump-and-grind to make it more than your average "my-baby-done-me-wrong" sobfest. "A Child Is Born" had originally been written for Barbra's 1972 film UP THE SANDBOX, but didn't make the final cut. She loved the song enough to ask her friends, lyricists Alan & Marilyn Bergman, to write lyrics. Barbra was right in saying that the spare piano accompaniment worked better than the orchestrated one that had also been recorded. Such a tender lyric would have been too sugary with so much sweetening. LAZY AFTERNOON's sole sign of spring in its step is Barbra's cover of the Four Tops' classic "Shake Me, Wake Me [When It's Over]". It was this song that encouraged me to pick up the album because it is one of my favorite Tops songs. Disco had not yet become the way of life it would soon be thanks to SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER, so the fact that Barbra practiced it before it was cool shows how visionary she is. While I still prefer the Tops' version, Barbra's gives LAZY AFTERNOON that added hint of lightheartedness to prevent it from being completely introspective. Barbra Streisand certainly had no reason to be down in the mouth in real life during the time of LAZY AFTERNOON, but for the sake of artistry, she maybe could afford to create such a deeper album. By collaborating with someone like Rupert Holmes, who was just on the cusp of stardom in his own right, Barbra demonstrated her wish to stay ahead of the curve in whatever she did, something that has not changed in her career. True, LAZY AFTERNOON may not be the album one will enjoy on first listen, but it's certainly one of Barbra's works that reveals its strengths after a few listens, particularly on lazy afternoons. | ||
 | Boz Scaggs - Come on Home | |
| "After 2 decades of slick soul-pop, Boz comes back home" | 2004-03-18 |
| Right from his earliest work as a member of the Steve Miller Band, Boz Scaggs has been a disciple of blues & soul, something he has never totally forgotten in any of his solo work. But of course, since 1976's mega-selling SILK DEGREES, Boz was content to make his music sound as polished as possible, creating soul-pop with a pronounced accent on "pop". However, after experiencing a creative rebirth with 1994's SOME CHANGE, Boz decided to revisit his past with an album that explored the sounds he grew up idolizing. With an album firmly grounded in R&B and blues, a title like COME ON HOME could not have possibly been bettered. While covers albums are often the ones most avoided by an artist's fans, when done right, the result seems worth all the trouble. COME ON HOME not only proves this beyond a doubt, but Boz also created 4 original songs written & recorded in the vintage style. Clearly, Boz loves this music so much, he can tailor his own songs to the old sounds flawlessly, and that is far from an easy thing to do. Of the originals, the Stax horns-driven "Picture Of A Broken Heart" & the closing Blue Note-jazz-styled ballad "Goodnight Louise" are the biggest highlights. You'd swear that these songs were outtakes from the old days, they're that authentic-sounding. "I've Got Your Love" is almost straight from the Hi Records vaults with Boz sounding close to Al Green at times (not to mention showing off his often-overlooked guitar abilities). "After Hours" is exactly as its title claims, a downhearted blues shuffle that is perfect for any smoky club. Best of all, Boz is one White singer that can pull off these kinds of songs without trying too hard to sound Black. Again, this is a gift only a select few White singers possess, with Boz among them. The covers range from raw Southern-styled blues to the kind of gritty soul music that was put out more by Stax Records rather than Motown. The odd song out from these covers is the jazzy take on the old standard "Love Letters", which predates Boz's standards album BUT BEAUTIFUL by 6 years. The deep Southern blues numbers given a modern makeover include Jimmy Reed's "Found Love", Sonny Boy Williamson I's "Early In The Morning" & T-Bone Walker's "T-Bone Shuffle". The first two songs pretty much retain their country blues pedigrees, while the last one has a more pronounced city blues identity with the addition of piano & horns. I wonder if Boz is a particularly big fan of Bobby "Blue" Bland, for he covers two of his songs with "Ask Me 'Bout Nothin' [But The Blues]" & "Don't Cry No More". He could easily have chosen "I Pity The Fool" or some other better-known Bland classic, but Boz did right in digging deeper into Bland's catalog for songs to recast. Boz even heads on down to New Orleans with two Crescent City soul classics: the recently-departed Earl King's "It All Went Down The Drain" (again going for a lesser-known gem than the more-famous "Come On [Let The Good Times Roll]") & Fats Domino's "Sick & Tired". The latter tune in particular is a piano-pounding delight, Boz's version sure to have pleased even Fats himself. The gutbucket soul of labels like Stax & Hi Records is given a chance to shine with tunes that make you wonder why those labels never thought about signing up Boz back in their heyday. Syl Johnson's "Come On Home" & a 7-minute epic workout on Mable John's "Your Good Thing [Is About To End]" (later an even bigger hit for Lou Rawls) are songs Boz easily gets comfortable in, and like always, his enthusiasm & genuine love for the material comes through totally. After 30 years in the music business, 20 of those spent employing a decidely more glossy sound than what he was brought up on, Boz Scaggs took a considerable risk in returning to the stripped-down R&B blues that first inspired him to become a musician in the first place. The old logic of "stick with what works" may have hampered most other artists' wishes to do something like this. However, Boz had reached a point in his career where he could make an album like COME ON HOME with little regard for what sold best. He was a confirmed veteran who could record COME ON HOME for himself & those devoted fans who've stuck with him through thick & thin (perhaps even for newcomers like me). While the album after this would have Boz making a slight return to the polished soul-pop that had made him a name, he still proved that he could COME ON HOME back to this roots & influences without making it just another run-of-the-mill hats-off to who inspired you. | ||
 | New Order - Republic | |
| "Even with interband troubles, New Order still makes a winner" | 2003-12-06 |
| With 1989's TECHNIQUE, New Order had created their most commercially successful work yet, especially seeing as how most of their most famous songs from their previous albums were all big on the dance charts more than pop (it took until 1987's "True Faith" for New Order to crack the Hot 100). Songs like "Round & Round" & "Fine Time" proved New Order could easily create a hit single as well as a club anthem. Not to mention, the album was probably the band's best since 1983's POWER, CORRUPTION & LIES (home to New Order's signature song, "Blue Monday", which later hit the pop charts in a remixed version). Maybe success & the strain of it caused New Order to fragment slightly, for the recording of the follow-up to TECHNIQUE was said to be quite difficult, laying the foundation for the band's eventual 8-year hiatus. Indeed, 1993's REPUBLIC is a fine work, especially considering the signs of band turmoil are quite minimal. If there was one good thing to come out of the tough sessions for REPUBLIC (which wound up being the highest charting album of their career), it was the song that would become New Order's second top 40 hit (after "True Faith"): "Regret". Of course, one could never fault the band for being original in their songwriting, but maybe that's because they're specializing in a genre that tends to downplay lyrical importance in favor of a good beat. However, with "Regret", New Order manages to create poetry out of simplicity, and while it is another entry in the "woe-is-me" category of music, Bernard Sumner just might be hinting at some sense of hope in his usual deadpan vocal delivery. The prominent use of electric guitar (not often appreciated in a genre like techno or dance) helps foreshadow the more full-blown use of it on 2001's GET READY. Speaking of good beats, REPUBLIC certainly has its share of body-slamming rhythms that are placed smack dab in the middle of the song (maybe this was co-producer Stephen Hague's idea), often obscuring the words which sometimes manage to rise above New Order's typical underachiever approach to them. The hip-hop-influenced second single "World [The Price Of Love]", similarly-inspired fourth single "Spooky", "Everyone Everywhere", "Young Offender", "Liar" (can be considered just as much funk as dance), "Chemical" (particularly whiplash-inducing) & "Times Change" have dance floor written all over them & I'm sure all of these managed to get remixed in some form another to create even more energetic rhythms to dance the night away. To match their sometimes-soul-searching lyrical ideas, New Order can also create much smoother songs with fewer beats per minute, yet still invite the occasional sway. The third single "Ruined In A Day", "Special" (the closest thing to an upbeat love song New Order has ever done) & the closing instrumental "Avalanche" have the band favoring a quieter approach that nearly borders on trip-hop, which was still a few years away from entering the mainstream. Sumner particularly shines on these slower numbers, making the sense of melancholy in his singing even more apparent. Perhaps New Order would not consider REPUBLIC high up on their list of favorite albums because of the apparent infighting going on at the time of its recording. But to their credit, they managed to create music that belies any sort of trouble in the camp & can be enjoyed when forgetting about that fact. The only negative thing about it is that for the time New Order was gone, they never officially stated if they were on hiatus or disbanding, leaving their fans hanging for 8 long years. But the positive thing is that they left us with a good-enough album like REPUBLIC & would only go up a notch higher once they eventually came back. | ||
 | Carly Simon - The Bedroom Tapes | |
| "Not her best overall, but pretty darn good this far along" | 2003-10-18 |
| Like most singer-songwriters, as the 1970s drew to a close, Carly Simon saw her once-rising career enter a sort of commercial doldrums. 1980's COME UPSTAIRS was her bid to make it with the punk & new wave crowds of the time, and was a surprisingly respectable effort I didn't think Carly was capable of. But despite a hit single with "Jesse" (which just missed the top 10), the album didn't exactly break any sales records. Such has the been pattern for Carly's career since then with some occasional upswings like 1987's COMING AROUND AGAIN. Another one could have been her 2000 effort THE BEDROOM TAPES, if only she had not become "too old" for the now-youthful top 40 charts. THE BEDROOM TAPES was Carly's first original studio album in 6 years, but one of the benefits of no longer being a top-level star is the fact that you could take your time with new material & that's what Carly did. Building a studio in what was once her daughter's bedroom, Carly made demos and recorded actual songs in there (some later fleshed out in a more professional atmosphere), probably to give them a certain homey feel. While the majority of the songs on here won't make anyone forget "You're So Vain" or the like, they're nevertheless among some of Carly's most intimate material, which one shouldn't expect any less. It's no secret that Carly Simon is not a young woman anymore, so she could make her music fit accordingly. But she also invites the possibility of including a sense of humor that hasn't been keener since the "You're So Vain" days. Songs like the first single "Big Dumb Guy" (as a fervent internet addict, I can only wish I've seen some of the people she's encountered) "Actress" & "We Your Dearest Friends" are wickedly funny on a level of the recently (and sadly) departed Warren Zevon. The truly raucous (and downright hilarious) "Big Dumb Guy" is probably the only blatant attempt Carly makes to be "with it" by using a sample, but not your average kind (Quicksilver Messenger Service's "The Hat"). However, it's tastefully done, so it doesn't come off as a crass marketing ploy. Carly's stage fright is the stuff of legend & "Actress" finds that even she can see the humor in it. "We Your Dearest Friends" is wicked even in the tribal beat that accompanies the music, and if I had friends like the singer has had, I'd prefer being lonely. But if Carly really considers herself more of a shrinking violet, she's not so tongue-in-cheek about it on songs like "I'm Really The Kind". This song demonstrates a person who's more than all right with fading into the background (reminds me of me), and it could be a sign that Carly might actually prefer not being the commercial powerhouse she once was. Not every song on THE BEDROOM TAPES coasts on acidic wit, though. The rather bluesy rocker "Our Affair" appears to be about a couple trying to rekindle the love in their life after a decade or two of marriage & fear of the spark dying forever. "So Many Stars" may be what happens should that affair go bust & at least one person feels regretful that it's ended. Having survived breast cancer since her last album, "Scar" indicates that Carly may have found personal strength & courage from her struggle & that the "scar" she now bears is more a badge than an eyesore. On the flipside, "I Forget" finds Carly actually surprised yet thankful that she battled what could have been fatal & lived. The mournful, string-driven wall-of-sound that is "Cross The River" has people Carly's age looking back to their youthful past with a rather sad smile in hoping for the days when priorities were not as necessary. But the people seem to be more comfortable just reminiscing rather than actually seizing the chance to recapture the "glory days". "Whatever Became Of Her" is another song about the end of an affair, only this time the end might not have been so amicable. The subtle (perhaps not so) hints at domestic abuse make for a rather harrowing listen, giving the impression that was once an innocent youthful love has just been shattered by the reality of the years. Only one weak link exists in the chain that is THE BEDROOM TAPES, and that is the closing "In Honour Of You [George]". First off, paying tribute to the wonderful genius that was George Gershwin is more than a commendable gesture, but Carly appears to have been unsure of how to do it. Her interpolation of the chorus to "Embraceable You" is rather jarring when perhaps a straight cover would have done nicely. Also the music of the song doesn't have much in common with Gershwin's style. However, the song isn't completely horrible & the fact that Carly had the decency to co-credit it to George & Ira Gershwin is a classy & reverent gesture that the duo would have been proud of. It's been now 3 decades since Carly Simon first introduced her distinctive brand of feminine mystique to the business of pop music. Like more than a few of her contemporaries who have been lucky to continue their careers this far, she's made up for her sudden lack of commercial record-setting by continuing to create strong, respectable material that satisfies her fans new & old. THE BEDROOM TAPES is proof of this, in spite of the rather cool reception it received from critics & so-called fans. Some may call it self-serving & congratulatory, but singer-songwriters were & are mostly about confessional material, baring your soul. If that be a crime, then consider Carly happily guilty. | ||
 | Jazzhole - Circle of the Sun | |
| "For sure, this music sounds like it was made in the sun" | 2003-08-22 |
| I'm only 23 years old as of August 11, but I'll still say that my tastes in music have become more sophisticated than most others my age. Turn on an alternative rock radio station, and chances are you'll have me running out of the room or begging to be let out of the car. On the other hand, most people as young as me eat that stuff up, and would consider anything remotely quiet and mellow to be for their parents. Hopefully, some middle ground will be established thanks to Jazzhole's recent album CIRCLE OF THE SUN. It is mostly thanks to John Jones that my interest in acid jazz or soul-jazz was kindled, with Incognito also being a recent favorite, along with the Brand New Heavies (or at least their former lead singer, N'Dea Davenport). Why on Earth Jazzhole hasn't received the kind of V.I.P. status those bands claim is a mystery for they have an equal ability at delivering a brand of jazz that is palatable both to casual (who might like a little R&B with their jazz) and avid (may be more traditional) fans. CIRCLE OF THE SUN should then appeal to even those musicgoers who are keen on finding the flavor of the month before diving into more lasting stuff. The neo-soul fad may be starting to trickle out by now, but it's obvious that soul-jazz had a hand in unofficially creating that sub-genre, and Jazzhole helps prove that as many disciples as they spawn, the originals know how to do it the best. Songs like "Love Philosophy", "Who Do You Love", "A Little Dress For Mary" (a song about the joys of having a new baby rather than the usual subject matter involving a "baby's mama"), and "A Love Thing" are so undeniably catchy and sunny, one can not help but gently sway along to the music with a beaming smile on their face (like vintage soul music used to do). This is helped to no end by vocalist Marlon Saunders, whose solo album ENTER MY MIND just might be next on my "to-buy" list. Let's hope he works out just as well on his own as with the band. Marlon's other track "Winter's Melting" is more of an ambient tune that is equal parts new age and jazz that one can put on at the end of the day (repeat button recommended) and just drift off to. Marlon Saunders may be the breakout star of Jazzhole (that's how things look, at least), but Kaissa Doumbe might have something going in her direction as well. She's out front singing the tribal-rhythmic "Ndolo", the bright and carefree title track (Marlon chips in here, too), and probably the album's masterstroke, a cover of Leon Russell's "Superstar" translated into Duala. Both Incognito and BNH often featured a touch of the "mother land" in their music, but Jazzhole seems to wear more of it on their sleeve, and Kaissa could very well follow in the footsteps of Angelique Kidjo on the Afro-Pop scene. The two other vocal tracks have singers with a lot of promise as well, but perhaps a little more exposure on the next Jazzhole album will make solo possibilities more likely. Michelle Lewis does complete wonders with her rendition of Depeche Mode's classic "Enjoy The Silence", but replacing the original's synth-driven instrumentation with a more Indian-flavored beat is an excellent method I'm sure the guys in Mode couldn't have thought of beforehand. If Michelle is given more songs to demonstrate her talents on, she has the goods to go forward. "Three Days" features Spanish singer Lucia Iman on a song about the time-honored subject of being away from the one you love, but knowing you'll be coming home to them soon enough. Indeed, if Sade was a much more prolific artist, she could have conjured this one up. The instrumentals show that Jazzhole isn't just a gaggle of singers with able musicians backing them up. "Um Ritmo No Meu Sono" is an almost indescribable blend of Latin and African, yet either way the urge to dance is inescapable, even for an eternally left-footed soul like me. "Winter's Melting" is almost all instrumental, but there is the occasional instance of Marlon Saunders turning his voice into yet another instrument to accent the atmosphere created by the song. "Horn Interlude" struck me as the only sour grape in an otherwise delicious bunch in that it's only 2 minutes long, meaning just as you're getting into it, it's on to the next track. Perhaps a slight lengthening could have turned into a proper song. While I may have a certain old guy-sense in my musical choices, I still believe there are some younger artists who can keep the music fresh while still not neglecting where the music once went. The whole genre of soul-jazz might be an example of this, but even there are some visionaries for newer ones to look up to, and Jazzhole definitely is one of them. CIRCLE OF THE SUN never fails to look back to the music's past, while at the same time taking it in new or under-used directions. As the mainstream music scene continues to become more about what sells rather than what lasts, albums like CIRCLE OF THE SUN and bands like Jazzhole will be an example of the wonders music can do without any regard for the bottom line. | ||
 | Little Feat - Little Feat | |
| "A humble beginning, but a fine foreshadow of things to come" | 2003-07-11 |
| The amount of musicians Frank Zappa once had in his camp is almost innumerable, but nearly all of them have had much bigger careers on their own in whatever they did. This was definitely true | ||