Hey all-- I was hoping to get back to some original tunes, but we've got some Rock Zone renovations going on up at the Compound, so it's most expeditious to post this here batch of covers. Similar to the most recent back of Hoot tunes, these are LONG overdue anyway. They hold a warm and fuzzy place in my black heart, and it's an unbelievable pleasure to get 'em up for broader consumption.
Having gotten together with my old Iona Prep buddy John Stackpole each summer the past few years to do some playing and recording, and intermittently doing the same with our old buddy Dillo, and eventually getting Dillo to overdub bass on some Stackpole-Keating cuts, it was only a matter of time before we managed to get the three of us in a room to kick around the classic rock like it was 1985. That finally happened at the beginning of August 2013, and it was basically just like picking up where we left off, except we're all better players now, and able to work things out on a tad higher level. Needless to say, I could go on...
"Fearless" is a Pink Floyd cover from 1971's "Meddle" LP. For all the press and sales of "Dark Side..." through "The Wall", the afterlife of the Waters-less Floyd and the Floyd-less Roger Waters, and the rediscovery of the band's original, Syd Barret-driven lineup, this is the Floyd era for me: The feeling of collaboration instead of auteurship; the more open production; the stretch; the electric/ acoustic contrasts; the predominance of warmer, non-synth keyboards (piano, Hammond), and all that. Plus, the song itself is a certified Gilmour-driven classic.
Released at about the same moment in time was Mott the Hoople's "Brain Capers" album, from which comes the other cover here "Darkness, Darkness" (most recently also swampily covered by Robert Plant). Mott was a funny band, and has barely persisted in American popular knowledge. They came out of Birmingham in '69 and were hard rocking kings of the road in the UK for the next few years: huge concert draws, but their albums never quite got there. They basically broke up after their 4th LP (from which this cut comes) in 1971 but subsequently got a fresh lease on life from newly famous David Bowie, who convinced them to reunite, gave them "All the Young Dudes", and jumpstarted them on a hugely successful glam-rock run from '72-'74. Good lordy Mott are all-time faves of mine, and I'll swear to this day that half of their problem was that shitty, shitty name they picked.
Here's an internets-fueled wormhole for you: The song was written by Jesse Colin Young, years before his flower-power-fueled Youngbloods fame (by which I mean "Come on people now, smile on your brother, everybody get together, try to love one another right now" fame). Funnily, "Get Together" was itself a cover, written by Dino Valenti (under his even cooler real name, Chet Powers) who was in and out and in (ah yes!: drugs, incarceration) San Francisco's psych-rock fixtures Quicksilver Messenger Service. Quicksilver's only real hit was (another HIT of) "Fresh Air", written by "Jesse Oris Farrow" (hint: same guy as Chet/ "Dino"!), but they did also manage to turn a Bo Diddley cover into an entire LP side: "Who Do You Love", "When...?", "Where...?" and so on. "Bo Diddley" of course was a stage name, for Otha Ellas Bates (later McDaniel), and on and on....
jk
Fearless: https://app.box.com/s/iciank7gxb36f9j9nfxn
Darkness, Darkness: https://app.box.com/s/vd6no0s9m38rk20vtzvl
Thursday, May 29, 2014
Tuesday, May 20, 2014
Harpswell Hootenanny '13, part 5: Neil Young b/w Freddy Fender
Wrapping up the electric-rock bounty from last spring's get-together, we've got two very different sounds for you. Both saw release in 1974 but they couldn't be more different: one jittery, foreboding and minor-key, the other swaying and sweet and major.
The dark side is represented both lyrically and musically by Neil Young's "Revolution Blues" off "On the Beach". It was a bleak time for Neil, still by all accounts reeling from the overdose deaths of bandmate Danny Whitten and roadie Bruce Berry, and an ugly time in America as a whole, what with the long southeast Asian wars winding down, Nixon falling, the long post-WWII economic boom grinding to a halt and the brief bloom of 60's optimism on its deathbed. "Revolution Blues" is a wide-eyed plunge into paranoia, drugs, guns and cultism, straight out of the Manson-deranged corner of SoCal in which Neil was living at the time. Poisonous stuff... On this version, Paul B played the percussive guitar and took the lead, I played the rhythm guitar and overdubbed Wurlitzer, Dillo positively nailed the jumpy Rick Danko bassline and Roadkill drove the whole thing home.
"Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye", on the other hand, is a warm throwback to 1962 (when the song was first released). It's one of those chestnuts that's been covered by many artists and, depending on when and where, various tones can dominate: country, soul, R&B, lounge jazz, and so on. My favorite version, on which our take is based, is off Freddy Fender's record "Before the Next Teardrop Falls". He has a nice soft, slow go at it, with a romantic Tejano croon. Our version is still positively calling out for a horn section but as it is, Paul B played the Wurlitzer, Roger played lead guitar, I played rhythm and some organ, and Dillo and Roadkill supplied their steady bass and drums.
jk
Revolution Blues: https://app.box.com/s/ttomoe18xi30e3py0l6r
Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye: https://app.box.com/s/brwgssk3mu8swu9cn2cv
The dark side is represented both lyrically and musically by Neil Young's "Revolution Blues" off "On the Beach". It was a bleak time for Neil, still by all accounts reeling from the overdose deaths of bandmate Danny Whitten and roadie Bruce Berry, and an ugly time in America as a whole, what with the long southeast Asian wars winding down, Nixon falling, the long post-WWII economic boom grinding to a halt and the brief bloom of 60's optimism on its deathbed. "Revolution Blues" is a wide-eyed plunge into paranoia, drugs, guns and cultism, straight out of the Manson-deranged corner of SoCal in which Neil was living at the time. Poisonous stuff... On this version, Paul B played the percussive guitar and took the lead, I played the rhythm guitar and overdubbed Wurlitzer, Dillo positively nailed the jumpy Rick Danko bassline and Roadkill drove the whole thing home.
"Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye", on the other hand, is a warm throwback to 1962 (when the song was first released). It's one of those chestnuts that's been covered by many artists and, depending on when and where, various tones can dominate: country, soul, R&B, lounge jazz, and so on. My favorite version, on which our take is based, is off Freddy Fender's record "Before the Next Teardrop Falls". He has a nice soft, slow go at it, with a romantic Tejano croon. Our version is still positively calling out for a horn section but as it is, Paul B played the Wurlitzer, Roger played lead guitar, I played rhythm and some organ, and Dillo and Roadkill supplied their steady bass and drums.
jk
Revolution Blues: https://app.box.com/s/ttomoe18xi30e3py0l6r
Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye: https://app.box.com/s/brwgssk3mu8swu9cn2cv
Tuesday, May 13, 2014
Harpswell Hootenanny '13, part 4: Chuck Prophet b/w the Records
It's part of our charter that the Good Ship Hootenanny sometimes ply corners unbeknownst to most mortals. Maybe we don't go ocean-trench deep, but we do get at least county road obscure. Record geeks that we are, here's some stuff that we prefer to think should be a part of everybody's daily routine....
"Whole Lot More" comes courtesy of the unsung Chuck Prophet: Guitar slinger, smooth singer, bobbleheaded and tousled and bemused and small-shoed and FONKY! We're both huge CP fans, Paul B and I, and I'd a feeling this song would benefit from the Hoot treatment, since the time Dr. W and I were out west late in '12 for Paulie's surprise 40th. A fine time was had by all, yonder in the Outer Richmond, where the city falls into the the Pacific by Land's End and the Cliff House and Sutro Heights Park and all that jazz. The cocktail party was still rolling late into the evening at our buddy Leff's when, in the tiny downstairs kitchen, the acoustic gitboxes finally came out. Paulie played a version of this tune with his buddy "El Lefty Malo" and I made the mental note right there. A few months later in Harpswell Paul B helmed it, playing the straight rhythm guitar and taking the Prophetic lead vocal. Dillo and Roady bassed and drummed, and I played the tremolo guitar, etc . I guess Roger wasn't on this one. We kept missing out on his planned mandolin overdub, so I stepped up to that particular plate best I could.
"Starry Eyes" is a song that hung at my periphery for many years. Turns out it's a semi-lost power pop classic, released in '78 by the Records, out of the UK-- A real one-hit wonder situation, only without the hit. Anyways, my recollection is that about every time I heard the song, it seemed like the first time, and I'd wonder "Holy crap!--- Where has THIS song been all my life?!? Then, like a moth at the porchlight or a floater in the eye, it would be gone and out of mind. Fortunately, Dillo was sharp enough to bring this one to the table, and he played that great descending line and the bright Byrds-y parts on that fine Fender JazzMaster of his and sang most of it. I took up a Rickenbacker 6-string and some acoustics for the rhythm part and sang some. Bonanos shifted over to his typically clean and propulsive bass, getting up to his old tricks from the olden times-- One Way Dog for Roggie, that'd be, and Honcho for me and RK.
Hope you dig it.
jk
Whole Lot More: https://app.box.com/s/4xux21vumzftakv1juzm
Starry Eyes: https://app.box.com/s/2ngd8hpcqs53xx6fbmsj
"Whole Lot More" comes courtesy of the unsung Chuck Prophet: Guitar slinger, smooth singer, bobbleheaded and tousled and bemused and small-shoed and FONKY! We're both huge CP fans, Paul B and I, and I'd a feeling this song would benefit from the Hoot treatment, since the time Dr. W and I were out west late in '12 for Paulie's surprise 40th. A fine time was had by all, yonder in the Outer Richmond, where the city falls into the the Pacific by Land's End and the Cliff House and Sutro Heights Park and all that jazz. The cocktail party was still rolling late into the evening at our buddy Leff's when, in the tiny downstairs kitchen, the acoustic gitboxes finally came out. Paulie played a version of this tune with his buddy "El Lefty Malo" and I made the mental note right there. A few months later in Harpswell Paul B helmed it, playing the straight rhythm guitar and taking the Prophetic lead vocal. Dillo and Roady bassed and drummed, and I played the tremolo guitar, etc . I guess Roger wasn't on this one. We kept missing out on his planned mandolin overdub, so I stepped up to that particular plate best I could.
"Starry Eyes" is a song that hung at my periphery for many years. Turns out it's a semi-lost power pop classic, released in '78 by the Records, out of the UK-- A real one-hit wonder situation, only without the hit. Anyways, my recollection is that about every time I heard the song, it seemed like the first time, and I'd wonder "Holy crap!--- Where has THIS song been all my life?!? Then, like a moth at the porchlight or a floater in the eye, it would be gone and out of mind. Fortunately, Dillo was sharp enough to bring this one to the table, and he played that great descending line and the bright Byrds-y parts on that fine Fender JazzMaster of his and sang most of it. I took up a Rickenbacker 6-string and some acoustics for the rhythm part and sang some. Bonanos shifted over to his typically clean and propulsive bass, getting up to his old tricks from the olden times-- One Way Dog for Roggie, that'd be, and Honcho for me and RK.
Hope you dig it.
jk
Whole Lot More: https://app.box.com/s/4xux21vumzftakv1juzm
Starry Eyes: https://app.box.com/s/2ngd8hpcqs53xx6fbmsj
Tuesday, May 6, 2014
Harpswell Hootenanny '13, part 3: Led Zeppelin b/w the Who
Continuing the bounty of Harpswell Hootenanny '13 with some classic rock from classic rockers:
A side is "Down By the Seaside" from Led Zeppelin's grand, (somehow) obscure and (to my ear) finest release, "Physical Graffitti" from 1975. (I think that rock criticism demands one use the term "sprawling" here, so insert here as need be). Who could say no to this particular deep cut? Paul B brought it to the Hoot-ers and locked the whole thing down with bubbly Wurlitzer 200a electronic piano. Roger and I played guitars (mine often tremoloed, plus the crappy solo, and his bright and fancy), and Roady and Dillo set the languid pace.
B side is "The Kids Are Alright" which came from the mod phase of the Who, ten long years prior to the Zep tune. This was another one where I got to sit back and watch the magic happen, particularly Roady and Dillo as the Moon/ Entwistle rhythm section. Paulie B appropriately took up a 6-string Rickenbacker while Roger played the other guitar (the Epiphone Sheraton semi-hollow, I believe) and sang. I added some harmonies and tambourine and acoustic guitar during production, as Pete Townsend and Kit Lambert would've wanted, and left it at that. We used to play this back in high school, me and Dillo and Stag and Maff and Andy, and it feels comfortable and ever so good to do it fair justice....
jk
Down by the Seaside: https://app.box.com/s/3ea2px10v4potv27ea6v
The Kids Are Alright: https://app.box.com/s/q049tlwyh2sj8aj2tb78
A side is "Down By the Seaside" from Led Zeppelin's grand, (somehow) obscure and (to my ear) finest release, "Physical Graffitti" from 1975. (I think that rock criticism demands one use the term "sprawling" here, so insert here as need be). Who could say no to this particular deep cut? Paul B brought it to the Hoot-ers and locked the whole thing down with bubbly Wurlitzer 200a electronic piano. Roger and I played guitars (mine often tremoloed, plus the crappy solo, and his bright and fancy), and Roady and Dillo set the languid pace.
B side is "The Kids Are Alright" which came from the mod phase of the Who, ten long years prior to the Zep tune. This was another one where I got to sit back and watch the magic happen, particularly Roady and Dillo as the Moon/ Entwistle rhythm section. Paulie B appropriately took up a 6-string Rickenbacker while Roger played the other guitar (the Epiphone Sheraton semi-hollow, I believe) and sang. I added some harmonies and tambourine and acoustic guitar during production, as Pete Townsend and Kit Lambert would've wanted, and left it at that. We used to play this back in high school, me and Dillo and Stag and Maff and Andy, and it feels comfortable and ever so good to do it fair justice....
jk
Down by the Seaside: https://app.box.com/s/3ea2px10v4potv27ea6v
The Kids Are Alright: https://app.box.com/s/q049tlwyh2sj8aj2tb78
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