Let's Talk About Great Music

You know, I like to think that the music I love as I came of age in the late 60's and early 70's can't be topped by what has come since. Those of us of that generation (aka "geezers") sometimes act as though there wasn't much other than Elvis, Chuck Berry, and Buddy Holly prior to the whirlwind that was the Beatles and certainly very little since that time that can measure up to that golden age of "classic rock" (more about that in future blogs). Well, while flipping stations the other night, I came upon a Time-Life Music informercial hosted by....

BOBBY GOLDSBORO!

This poor guy has been botoxed and lasered (with bad rug added) until he is nearly unrecognizable from the 60's pop singer who performed such hits as Honey (an uplifting song about his dead love), See the Funny Little Clown, and Watching Scotty Grow. The royalties must be running out or he has another laser/botox treatment coming up cause why else would he do something like this.

Bobby then

Anyhow, it got me thinking that while I will extoll the greatness of such bands, artists, and songwriters like The Beatles, The Who, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Bob Dylan, Neil Young, etc. ...We had our share of stinkers as well. I mean really, can my generation be proud of allowing a band called the 1910 Fruitgum Company have hits with songs like Yummy, Yummy, Yummy (I Got Love In My Tummy) and Goody, Goody, Gumdrops?

Yeah, no doubt the 80's and the 90's and the 21st century doesn't have the monopoly of shitty music. Heck, let's talk about those manufactured groups that recording companies and talent agents pasted together as machines to sell pre-packaged pop slop to the upcoming and impressionable pre-teens
and teen sheep with money in their pockets. Sure, we've seen the New Kids on the Block, and the Spice Girls and groups of their ilk over the last couple of decades. And yes their music was highly forgettable. Well everyone, let's not forget that back in the day, my generation had

The Archies! The Archies were quite the little enigma. These cartoon characters had the biggest hit of 1969 with the mega hit Sugar, Sugar! We never really had any human faces to associate with this bunch. Let's also throw the Partridge family into this waste basket of a catagory. Keith actually sang and Shirley had starred on both Broadway and in Hollywood musicals but did anyone believe that the rest of the fam could read a note of music? We also gotta put the Monkees into this catagory since they were put together to star in a TV series. The thing with the Monkees is that they either were or became musicians during the course of the show and they also had the privlege of performing songs written by people like Neil Diamond, and Boyce and Hart.

For heaven's sake, even the great Johnny Cash had to go through the embarrassment of singing

...A Boy Named Sue. For the love of God! the Man In Black! The badass of Ring of Fire and Folsom Prison Blues recorded this silly song?

So let me be clear, no matter what musical generation you have hitched yourself to. No matter where your musical loyalties lie, you can be sure that there was plenty of crappy music available during that time as well. If you want further proof, spend some time watching Bobby Goldboro host Time/Life's infomercial, Pop Memories of the 60's. Once you get past Bobby's very odd helmet like hair, you'll see that the beloved 60's produced a decent number of lousy artists doing bad music and even some great artists producing lousy music.

Le

Lou Reed the Rock and Roll Animal

Imagine...the lights of the theater are dim...the rustle and mumble of the audience is all that can be heard...the lights go out. Then, from the darkness of the stage the unmistakeable searing tone of a Gibson Les Paul overwhelms the crowd noise. The rest of the band quickly jumps in for a few minutes that let you know that this will be no ordinary show. The intro winds down...a series of power chords ring out then transitions into a familiar riff. A spotlight focuses on the microphone at center stage. the singer steps up..."Standin' on the corner, Suitcase in my hand..."

In 1974, Lou Reed assembled a killer band, unveiled a different look, a gave us incredible new reworkings of some of his best work as a member of the legendary Velvet Underground. Rock and Roll Animal is simply one of the best live albums of the Rock Era.

There are only five tracks on this LP and with over 40 minutes of music, the tracks are long. Side 1 consists of 2 songs. The already mentioned Sweet Jane and Heroin. Side 2's cuts are White Light/White Heat, Lady Day, and Rock and Roll. All the songs were penned by Reed. For me, the highlight is Sweet Jane. This is one of Rock's great songs and this version jumps off the vinyl with the power of it's performance. Heroin is 13+ minutes describing the lure, exstacy, and torture that are all part of the addiction to the drug. Reed's voice may be an acquired taste but somehow suits the songs perfectly.

The band! simply. SMOKES! Led by the dual guitars of Dick Wagner and Steve Hunter the musicians nearly steals the show. This group had their roots in the great Detroit rock scene of the late 60s. They also provided a lot of the muscle behind some of Alice Cooper's work during that time. The great songs don't stand alone, the band completes the performance.



The album itself features shaky focus pictures of an androgynous looking Reed with black being the color that dominates. Inside the book style album cover is a black and white photo of the band with the sparse credits above them.

Live albums are, for the most part, lesser versions of music that was much better served with the benefit of studio production. Most of those albums should be titled "We don't have any good new material so let's put out these live versions of our best known songs to fulfill our contract obligations". Rock and Roll Animal is one of the very notable exceptions. As with all the records I talk about on this blog, this one should be listened to in it's entirety...don't miss anything on this album.

Doppleganger Faceoff-The Who vs. Led Zeppelin

Well, I've had this theory for a while about these two great bands who made lasting impacts on the world of rock music. Led Zepplin is The Who's doppleganger. What that you say? Well do any of you remember the Sienfeld episode were the characters all meet up with another similar group that look and act just like Jerry, Elaine, George, and Kramer? Well, that's kind of what we have here. Let'a examine the evidence shall we.

Just a little history here. Members of the Who are basically known as members of the Who. As a band, they were formed originally in the early 60's and their original name was the High Numbers. Zep was put together later in the 60's. At that time, Jimmy Page was a sessions musician showing up on records by such people as Brenda Lee, the Rolling Stones (Heart of Stone), The Kinks debut album, and interestingly enough, The Who's first single "I Can't Explain". When Zep was being put together, Page and Plant actually recruited the Who's Entwistle and Moon as bassist and drummer. While he didn't join the band, Moon did contribute the name the name of the band when he said a band featuring Page and guitarist Jeff Beck would go over like a lead zeppelin.

Each piece of the machines that were Led Zeppelin and The Who bear striking similarities to each other in appearance, performance, and contributions to their respective bands.

Guitarists: Pete Townshend and Jimmy Page were the creative geniuses of the bands. Both were the primary songwriters and contributed heavily to the studio process thus the eventual sound of the records. On stage, they were major focal points for the live shows. Pete's windmill strums, jumps, slides, and famous guitar smashing set a standard for what the rebellious tone of rock was meant to be. Page was no less flamboyant with the feedback and famous violin bow effect used on stage.



Lead Singers: Ok, just look at the pictures. These pictures should be in the dictionary along side the word doppleganger. Roger Daltrey and Robert Plant on stage at the peak of their band's popularity were the essence of what a front man on stage is supposed to be. The long flowing locks, the open shirt bare chest. (the stuffed tight pants?). While I don't lean that way, these guys were the sexual focal point of the band. They both provided fuel to the runaway train that was a live performance for these bands. Plant surely provided more to the creative process as a partner to Page in the song writing process.


Drummers: Keith Moon and John Bonham are probably rock music's most iconic time keepers (next to Ringo Starr of course). Moon's frenetic but musical style did more than just keep the beat. On stage, his manic performances matched the chaos of Townshends whirling, physical playing. I'm not sure anyone hit the skins harder than Bonham. The shear power of his playing was so essential to the sound of the Zep that upon his death, the dissolution of the band was announced. Sadly, the similarities they shared as members of their bands also carried over into their personal lives where the excesses of those life styles led to early deaths.

Bassists: These guys were the stability on stage among the nearly out of control frenzy that marked the rest of the band during live shows. While chaos was happening all around them, John Entwistle and John Paul Jones supplied the solid basis for the music and the performance on stage. Within the band, both were probably also the best overall musicians in the band playing multiple instruments.

Other similarities? Both bands did "sell out" Zep allowed their song "Rock and Roll" to be used in a Cadillac commercial (how 'bout that for rock rebellion?). The Who? Jeez, many of you young kids out there just know them from the opening credits of whatever CSI TV show you choose to watch....YEEEEAAAAAHHHHH!!!!!! They also titled an album "The Who Sell Out".

What does this all have to do with the Album Listening Experience? Not that much other than it is a fun comparison. I will at some point share an actual Listening Experience of one or more of these band's albums...but that's for another day.

Todd Rundgren: Before he was Banging on the Drum, there was Something/Anything

The first record I've chosen to share with you for an Album Listening Experience is Todd Rundgren's 1972 release Something/Anything. The combination of music, album art, and read along material is just the sort of album that fits the premise of this blog.


This double LP was actually Rundgren's 3rd solo album and showed him to be a force as a song writer, musician, and producer. On three of the four sides of music, Todd wrote all the songs, played every instrument, and was responsible for every sound the listener heard as the producer in the studio.. At the ripe age of 24,Rundgren was already the wizard and true star that he declared himself to be on his next album one year later.

First, the music: Todd separated the music by themes call side 1 "a bouquet of ear catching melodies". Side 2 is "the cerebral side". Side 3: "the kid gets heavy". Finally, side 4 is "Baby gets a new pair of snakeskin boots (a pop operetta)". Hello It's Me from side 4 is the highest charting single from Rundgren's career (#5 of Billboard) but there are plenty of other great pop melodies to choose from on the 4 sides including I Saw the Light, It Wouldn't Have Made Any Difference, Sweeter Memories, Marlene, and One More Day. The guy could write a hit anytime of his choosing.

Side 3 is my favorite side of the album. Todd does get heavy and shows off his 6 string chops on songs like Black Maria and Little Red Lights. My favorite song on the album as well as my favorite Todd song (and among my all-time favorite songs) is Couldn't I Just Tell You. It features a great intro riff that shows up throughout the song, multi layered acoustic and electric guitars, and a soaring lead guitar break. Turn this one up loud to get the full effect!

Side 4?...This side is an interesting listen. Let's just say that with song titles like Piss Aaron, Slut, and You Left Me Sore, these aren't exactly radio friendly. That's not to say that they aren't fun and quite listenable.

Of course, the experience isn't complete without the album itself. Despite Todd's apparent ego, the front cover just features colorful flowers and he reserves the back cover for his picture. Open up the book style cover and there's Todd in the studio shot from behind, his Gibson SG strapped on and his arms triumphantly outstretched, his fingers give the peace sign (or is it V for victory?) Included in one of the record sleeves is a four page fold-out section with lyrics and the various credits including the guest musicians used for side 4...perfect for following along with as you listen to the 86+ minutes of music contained on the record.

Double albums are often full of self-indulgent filler material that bogs down the whole effort. give this one a chance. Todd uses his talent in all aspects of making music on this one and really delivered. Therre will be more to share about Todd Rundgren and his music on these pages in the near future.

Hi Everybody...Let's see how this goes...

So anyhow, I'm a guy in my mid 50's who remembers watching the Beatles on Ed Sullivan in 1964. I got my first stereo somewhere in my mid teens. I started to move away from listening to Mom and Dad's Montovani and Percy Faith orchestra records sometime between that Beatle's experience and getting my stereo when I expanded my collection through the old "your first record is $1 and receive 11 more free" order from the Columbia record club probably somewhere around 1968. In that bunch (a rip-off actually becuase I got only about 2 of the albums I actually selected on the form) were some albums that started expanding my listening experience. As I finished high school and went away to college, I had maybe 20-25 albums and much of it fairly tame rock. That collection grew exponentially during my 4 years in college. Those college years opened up that world of music...as well as a few others ;-)... to me. Listening to music became a social experience for me and many others during that time. The music playing on the stereo while having a beer...or other things...or at parties or while playing cards was not background. It was part of and important to the occasion.

I remember buying that new record, placing it on the turntable, placing the needle on the vinyl, then sitting down and pouring over that album cover while listening to what was coming out of the speakers. The album art, the instrumental and songwriting credits, the lyrics, all of that information made the songs more alive.

The world of music with videos and digital downloads has virually eliminated the experience that I have described above. The impact of album art is minimized by how it is reproduced for a CD. Digital downloads center on songs. While you can download albums, the vast majority of those downloads are individual songs. There is no continuity the the music listening experience today.

What I'd like to do with this blog, going forward, is to bring back some of that experience by discussing some of the great albums I have loved over the years and why I think they are great. I'll stray away from that from time to time. Stay tuned, when I'm done here, hopefully I'll have converts to the ALBUM LISTENING EXPERIENCE