U2-Joshua Tree

Last night, I dialed up this album on my MP3 player and the memories flowed in yet again. So, I thought I would put some ideas down.

According to 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die, 

Joshua Tree marks the point in U2's long and gloriously inconsistent career at which they woke up to the possibilities of studio technology, expanded their sound from a post-punk chug, and found grandeur, abstraction, and finesse.

In the spring of 1987, I was about to finish my 2nd year of college. I'm not calling it my sophomore year because of certain reasons.The band-U2 and their worldwide success were slowly bubbling up from underground status to ubiquitous superstardom. MTV was 5-6 years old at the time and the band had been in solid rotation with songs from their albums War and The Unforgettable Fire.  They definitely had a raw feel in their sound in those early years. They had grown up out of the punk movement of the late 70's to become the most well-known band to come out of Dublin since Thin Lizzy.  I have memories of my friends Mick and John coming back from Denver to see U2 during their Unforgettable Fire tour. They had nothing but great things to say about it. Even Modern Drummer magazine had a feature in their Style and Analysis column on the playing style of drummer Larry Mullen Jr.

I became more and more interested and slowly became a fan....but not a "Fanatic". Of course, my college years were filled with lots of great music and great memories to go along with them.

I remember there being a distinctive buzz about Joshua Tree.  Obviously, technology was different then. You couldn't get an online sampler for an album or "full album streaming".  My roommate Brian and I lived on the 2nd floor of Men's Hall at UNK(formerly Kearney State College).  I think Brian may have had a subscription to Rolling Stone Magazine.  But, I distinctly remember having the RS issue with the band (circa 1987) in my hand and reading it while listening to the album. That was part of the excitement of new music in those days. There would be a buzz about the album and then you would buy the album and either be blown away or really disappointed.

We found out that one of the guys on the 1st floor had a copy of Joshua Tree.  He let us either borrow the album or a cassette copy of it. We dropped the needle(love that antiquated term) on my little stereo and just let it soak in. This was in late April/early May. So, it was early Spring and it seems like the weather was just beautiful and the music was in harmony with each other.  For me, the description of this music was and is still intangible to put into words.  This was U2. But, it wasn't as raw as their earlier works. The music wasn't "IN-YOUR-FACE". It wasn't abrasive at all. But, it was very (simply) musical.

As I look back, the first 3 or 4 songs off the album were in some pretty heavy rotation on MTV. But, the opening with Where the Streets have No Name then into I Still haven't Found What I'm looking for then the first single Without or Without You! establishes a strong foundation and the rest of the album just flowed from there. I believe I actually ended up buying the album at Record Town in the Conestoga Mall(I hadn't started working for Dusty yet).  I used to have many conversations about music with my friend John G in Hastings NE.  I believe that summer I took my LP copy to his house to dub it onto a cassette because my tape deck just didn't have the greatest fidelity when it came to cassette replication. He had obtained a bunch of U2 singles with unreleased B-sides and we tacked them onto the end of the cassette. This is because this was the beginning of bands recording albums that were longer than 45 minutes. It was always nice to put one album on one side of a 90 minute cassette and then another side on the other. John put the B-sides and then some live tracks from Unforgettable Fire.  It was really cool! But, what should I call the 90 minute creation? He had a cassette single box with I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For .  Since we couldn't find a title for the 90 minute experiment, that's what we called it. So, now I had a cassette copy to listen to for mobile purposes in the car and on my walkman.
In the various music news stories about this album in 1987, the band used to refer to the recording of this album as a discovery of American music styles.

 

 

As a music fan and kid from Nebraska, I had already digested a lot of different music. But, even in 1987, I still had a lot of styles that I had yet to discover. The first 3 songs play out. They are great songs and ended up making great singles as well. It was exciting to see those original videos of the band playing on the rooftops of LA for Where the Streets Have No Name and walking the streets of Vegas in I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For. But, when Bullet the Blue Sky kicks in with Larry's drumming, It's alive and moving. The band is now creating a musical landscape as opposed to a pop record with snappy catchy tunes. Bullet the Blue Sky also features the lyric that would be the title for their next album/live project/full length movie-Rattle and Hum.  As I listen to the songs after Bullet the Blue Sky, the songs run together.  They are well crafted songs. As I listen to the guitars of the Edge and then musical landscape he creates from the music.  In Red Hill Mining Town and In God's Country, I am taken on a cross country trip with the sounds of the Edge's pulsating driving guitar sounds.  The triplet rhythm of Trip Through Your Wire has always been a favorite. It's as if the band is exploring the musical sounds of American Country music and the Blues of the Mississippi Delta all in one.

I was mere months from my employment at Dustys Records in the summer of 1987.  Which meant it would be months before I would discover a kindred spirit in my friend and Dustys employee Forrest.  I would still say that Forrest became (to me) the biggest U2 fan I would ever know.  Forrest was known as the Dustys employee with the taste for college underground/alternative bands. Still, to this day, when I hear (early) U2, REM, and the Replacements I automatically think of my "misfit" brother in music.  To put it in MTV speak of the day, He was the "120 minutes" guy and I was the "Headbangers Ball" guy. We never were at each other's throats about each other's music likes. But, U2's Joshua Tree was a common fave between the two of us. My college radio friend Bob started hanging out at Dustys a little more often. He and I became quick friends. After 23 years, I would venture to say that Bob is still one of my best friends.  After enough time, Bob managed to talk to Dusty and secure himself a part-time job at the store. Shortly thereafter, the 3 of us became great friends.  We did many things together. Most of it was done heavily intoxicated. But, we had a good time and still have our lasting friendships.  One of the things we all did together (in 1988)was go to the movie theater and see U2's concert film Rattle and Hum.  We didn't just go see it once. We saw it multiple times. I remember reading and hearing that movie was considered a bit of a box office disappointment. I couldn't see why.  All the music fans I knew had seen and generally liked it. But, there are some great compelling moments in the movie. From the Beginning where the movie is all in black and white to where it slowly comes into color at SunDevil stadium in Tempe AZ.

 
As I started writing this blog, I found it hard to sit and analyze this album.  When I listened more of it today on my way home from work, I came to two conclusions.
1) This album was more about the memories and the connections I made with friends than about the "historical" aspect of it.
2) This album was released at a time when I started to realize that good music(in my mind) was more than up-tempo rockers. There was music that was melodic and musical and engaging that resonated deep within myself.

U2 seemed simple then. The movie Rattle and Hum painted a picture of fun loving guys that toured the USA and discovered the music of America that most of us take for granted.  I thought today how engaging and lighthearted Larry Mullen Jr. was in the movie. But, as time went by, the band I knew as U2 became even bigger than I guess I ever wanted them to be. This is 1987 and before the band entered their 90's/over the top stage. Which is a point of discussion and disgust for me and perhaps other fans of this era.

Somehow, in the 90's, U2 lost their credibility with me. They stopped seeming like a band for the (certain) people and more for....well ...everybody.  When I see anything related to U2 in a current sense I usually refer to them as "The band formerly known as U2".  I enjoyed bits of Achtung Baby but never felt like I did for the band in the 90's.  Brian Klosterman says in his book Fargo Rock City

Serious U2 fans tend to be completely humorless(at least when they talk about early U2 records), and they award Bono an almost religious respect. This is because they feel Bono "stands for something" Even when U2 decided to become the '90s version of KISS and evolved into a bloated commercial monster, U2 fans insisted this was "camp."  To rational outsiders, it seemed like U2 was ripping off blind old fans who refused to judge them as a mortal rock band.  And maybe they were. But-if that was truly the case-I give Bono well-deserved kudos for his ability to sell himself as a messianic figure during the 1980s and then reap the capitalistic rewards for that performance ten years later.

Now, it seems like people still praise U2 for who they were. They want to go see U2 live because it's

U2!!!!!

I just don't think their current stuff has the longevity and the creativity of anything from War, Unforgettable Fire and Joshua Tree.  ....and I have great memories to go along with them.  Yet, I’ve watched some of the live performances of some of the songs of this album and WOW!  The band still does deliver in a magical way onstage.

Dave Brubeck Quartet-Time Out

In College, my Friend(and fellow drummer) Mick was instrumental in expanding my interests in music and introduced some great jazz players and recordings. One of them he told me about was the polyrhythms of Joe Morello with the Dave Brubeck Quartet. Hmmmm...sounded COOL to me. Over the past 20 years, this became the epitome of COOL piano jazz for me.

I had Mick dub off a cassette tape of Time Out for me. I would pop it in the deck occasionally. I loved the swinging simplicity of the quartet of piano, drums, sax and upright bass. Beyond the simplicity of the four piece is an intimate combo with time signatures that were beyond what I was used to in my obsession with Rock.

In the Summer of 97, My brother and I loaded in the car for a trek to Colorado for my niece's wedding. Part of our several treks to Colorado always seemed to include a stop in Loveland at the outlet stores to buy MORE MUSIC!! I remember on those treks listening to the Beatles(of course), Queen, the Police, Ben Folds Five and a bunch of others. But, I bought Dave Brubeck's Time Out as part of Columbia's Jazz Legacy Remasters series. During that weekend filled with tons of family time and interaction, I would sneak away to listen to this CD with headphones. It still is my go to "chill out/relax/Piano Jazz" CD.

It starts off with Blue Rondo A la Turk in 9/8 time. But, yet it lets me sit back and relax and it starts to swing nice and easy. It may have featured Dave Brubeck as band leader. But, this effort is definitely a band playing together. Paul Desmond on Sax that gives this recording added character with Eugene Wright on upright bass keeping everything grounded. Of course, it is Joe Morello's solo piece (in 5/4 time) Take Five that still has the legs of longevity that keeps this album going. This piece(written by Paul Desmond) is still used for commercials and movies. According to Wikipedia, "Upon his death in 1977, Desmond left the rights to royalties for performances and compositions, including "Take Five", to the American Red Cross, which has since received combined royalties of approximately $100,000 per year" Not too bad for a song written for a drum solo.

One of the movies I particularly love that features this song is "Pleasantville" where Jeff Daniels as the Diner owner starts painting in colors as you hear "Take Five" playing as the underlying score. I almost always listen to this album immediately after watching that scene or until the movie is over.

This is an album I keep on my MP3 player at all times and listen to it at least once a month.

The Police - Synchronicity

In the summer of 1983, I was 16 years old. The family vacation that year included a trip to Kansas City and the famed "Worlds of Fun"(WOF) and "Oceans of Fun(OOF). We stayed in KC for a day or two. We went to WOF one day and then to OOF the second. After a day at OOF, we drove down to St Joseph, Missouri to spend the night. We checked into our hotel room, ate supper and decided to check out the local shopping mall. I remember perusing through the cassette racks at the Musicland store in St. Joe. I found the new releases and was drawn to a blue, yellow and red album cover of the Police's Synchronicity.

I owned a few singles (45's) of the Police such as "Don't Stand So Close to Me", and "Every Little Thing She does is Magic" and "Spirits in the Material World". But, I think this may have been my first full length album by one of rock's greatest trios. I think "Every Breath You Take" had been released as the first single. I remember being less than impressed over the single. But, it was the Police and I have always felt that there were better songs on the album that what the record company had picked out as the singles. So, I was anxious to hear what else this album had to offer.

From the opening track "Synchronicity I", I thought it was just mindbending to take a word SYN-CHRON-I-CI-TY and fit it into a lyric.


The Second track "Walking in Your Footsteps" takes me by surprise with the line:

"Hey Mr Dinosaur. You really couldn't ask for more.

You're God's favorite creature. but you haven't got a future"

-so let me get this straight....this is a song for Dinosaurs? Interesting..

I remember reading the tiny lyric sheet in my cassette to the next song "Oh My God". Was this Sting asking God to fill up the space between God and man ...or is this Sting's lament to ex-wife...or both. Then, at about 3 minutes, it hits me that Stewart Copeland is just driving it home with some of my favorite drumming ever.

Andy Summers takes over lead vocals on the next song with his off-key, off kilter and avante-garde
"Mother". What always makes me chuckle is the line in this song

"Every girl I go out with becomes my mother in the end!"

This album became such a soundtrack to my teenage life. The Police was one of my Top 5 bands of my High School years. This album became so engrained into my music heritage that it's hard not to zone out the music while listening.

Side One ends with Synchronicity II which (at the time) seemed like just another song. But, when the video was released on MTV, it gave the song new energy and vibrance. I remember discussing the lyrics

"Many Miles away something crawls from the slime at the bottom of a dark Scottish Lake"

 

....Hmmm Lochness Monster...cool!

Over the years, Side two was just the side of the album with all the hits starting with "Every Breath You Take", "King of Pain" and "Wrapped Around Your finger". I loved these songs. But, I remember my weekly viewing of NBC's Friday Night Video Fights for that year either featured the Police with one of these songs or a Def Leppard song.

The album is rounded out with the songs "Tea in the Sahara" and the morbid "Murder by Numbers"

After buying this album, I became a full blown Police fan. I would buy the rest of the albums and I even had a 1984 Police Calendar hanging on my wall. If I didn't buy them at first, I would borrow the LP's from my classmate-Rick English who was also a big fan. I was always envious that Rick saw the Synchronicity tour in Denver. I wish I'd been there.

I'm sure as an older brother, my love of the Police filtered down to my brother Mike. As I stated in my note on Dave Brubeck's Time out, Mike and I would listen to the Police box set-Message in a Box as we would drive up into the Rocky Mountains.

For me, the music and the memories go together. I've met people who weren't Police fans and I couldn't believe it. I felt insulted by this probably because I had great memories associated with this music. The Police eventually reunited for a tour in 2007. The band is still made up of 3 great musicians. There are some songs on the live DVD The Police – Certifiable that Sting does have the vocal range he once had. I wish I could have seen one of these reunion shows. But, with the unbelievable price of concert tickets (and this was a reunion tour), it’s hard for me to make the trips for these things anymore.

Van Halen (self titled)

Here I go with more memories associated with the music mentioned in the book "1001 Albums You Must Hear before You Die". Today..Van Halen's 1978 self titled debut.

By the time I became a fan of Van Halen, it was 1982 and they were 5 albums into their recording career. I had heard their cover of Roy Orbison's "(Oh) Pretty Woman". Thought it sounded pretty rockin'. Like most of mainstream America, I was aware that guitarist Eddie Van Halen was now married to TV star Valerie Bertinelli too. Oh and the lead singer was named David (like me). My Buddy-Mick introduced me to the album Diver Down on his "Ghetto Blaster/Boom Box and I was hooked. EVH was doing things on the guitar that I didn't know could be done(check out Cathedral from Diver Down). From there, I went back and bought everything by Van Halen including their 1978 debut.

I remember buying the LP of this way back in North Platte and playing it on my older sister/hand me down/GE Stereo with turntable, AM/FM Radio, and 8-track player and just sitting back and listening to it over and over.

The album opens with the song "Runnin' with the Devil". At that time in the 80's, there was a big movement in churches to discourage kids from music with any reference to THE DEVIL. So, me being a good Christian boy, was a little leery of this song. Obviously, this SoCal quartet were not choirboys by any stretch. As the 1001 book states,

 "from the car horns that usher in 'Runnin with the Devil' to the pummeling of 'On Fire', it is an unbeatable blend of sonic swagger and lyrical lust".

As a teenage boy with lots of testosterone, that's what I wanted to hear...no doubt about it. Alex Van Halen was the most Kick-ass Rock drummer I'd ever heard. Eddie was incredible on his ground breaking solo piece - "Eruption". Michael Anthony's bass rumbled and his high backing vocals complemented lead singer David Lee Roth's over the top antics. He was the "DAVE" I wanted to be...confident with an undeniable swagger. Even Years later (mid 90's) when Nissan used VH's cover of the Kink's "You Really Got Me", I could still feel the power of the MIGHTY VAN HALEN.

"Ain't Talking About Love" was one of the songs from the Roth era that was carried over into the "Van Hagar" days. I still remember seeing VH in 1986 and watching Sammy Hagar standing on top of the lighting rig singing this one. This is great for its simple chords and Eddie's creative pickings to give the song its individuality.

"I'm the One' was the Boogie/Shuffle Double Bass groove that made me go crazy for Alex Van Halen and his drumming prowess.

"Jamie's Cryin" started Side 2 of the LP off with a simple descending intro fill and a rock solid groove that was so good that Tone Loc sampled this intro for his 1988 hit "Wild Thing". I was so enraptured by that fill that when Tone Loc had a hit with it in 1988, I felt it was my duty to educate everyone who hadn't heard the VH original. Of course, Michael Anthony's signature High Harmony vocals fill out the chorus for this classic too.

Rock Fans and guitar historians still write about the significance of the first VH album. I just know it's part of my musical history and my teenage years(and beyond).

Pink Floyd-Dark Side of the Moon

On February 17th in 1972, Pink Floyd premiered a new piece of music entitled “Eclipse” at London’s Rainbow Theater. It evolved into the album Dark Side of the Moon.

 

What can be said about DSOTM? Many people have memories of Pink Floyd (whether it be The Wall or Dark Side). Usually, it's been in the dark, late at night and possibly under the influence of some herbal jazz cigarettes...

 

"Dude...FLOYD on disc!"

According to Wikipedia, It was an immediate success topped the Billboard 200 for one week. It then remained on the charts for 741 weeks from 1973 to 1988 to be longest charting album of all time.

For me, I probably have many of the same memories as most when it comes to this album. As I drove home from work this past week, I thought about Abbey Road studios and the memories of this album I associate with this album. Todd Rundgren said in a Rock n Roll history documentary about the 70's that a lot of bands felt they could make their musical masterpiece akin to the greatness associated with the Beatles'-Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. For the 70's and Pink Floyd, DSOTM was their "Sgt Pepper" Achievement.

I originally bought my LP copy of DSOTM from the used LP bin at Dustys Records. I had been working there and had heard about the greatness of the LP. But, had yet to experience it. I put the LP on my stereo in my first college basement apartment. I kept the volume low and listened to it in the dark. I was immediately swept away by the swirling swooping keyboards of On the Run executed by Richard Wright and the perfected emotional guitars of David Gilmour.

According to "1001 Albums",

 "Anxious to shed their psychedelic shackles, the band gathered in Nick Mason's kitchen to compile a short list of things that bothered them. Those pressures being - Time, Money, Madness, and Death"

 

For me, it wasn't until years later that I paid closer attention to the themes in the music. It may have been the 1995 concert film and CD-Pulse (where the band performed the album in its entirety) that heightened my awareness of this album.

My former roommate took the music from DSOTM and combined images of video "feedback". He put it all on a video tape. He was very proud of it.....and rightly so...DUDE, IT WAS COOL!

Then, in 1995-96, there was a rumor in the early days of internet usage, that while playing DSOTM you could sync up the 1939 movie The Wizard of Oz such as the character Dorothy beginning to jog when the band sings 'no one told you when to run'. It was said that the band wrote the album to accompany the 1939 movie. Both Nick Mason and David Gilmour deny it. Roger Waters described the rumours as "amusing" and producer Alan Parsons says the movie was never mentioned while recording the album.   I was actually working in a Video rental store at the time and all this talk piqued my interest. So, I checked out a copy of the Wizard of Oz and took it home and tried this little experiment. Some say it matched up perfectly. It did? Wizard of Oz is a 2 hour movie. DSOTM clocks in at 42:30. So, I don't think so. Just a really cool coincidence.

I love how this whole album just flows. It should never be broken up.....never played on shuffle. If you listen to the themes of Time, Money, Madness and Death, You can hear them start with the myriad of sounds of the opening track "Speak to Me" which builds into "Breathe in the Air". "Breathe in the Air" just feels like a breath of fresh air. It just relaxes my senses. It's like at the end of a long hard stressful day, David Gilmour reassures me by saying

"Breathe in the air, Don't be afraid to care"

 

Onto the swirling keyboards of Rick Wright that pans from one side of your speakers/headphones/earbuds to another with "On the Run". By this time, I am completely engrossed with the aural landscape that has enveloped my head....the laughter, the explosions prompting my brain with endless scenarios which take me down to almost sleep.....then....

TIME....tick tock tick tock, alarms going off, grandfathers clocks ringing. The ticking continues. Nick Mason begins to play around his drumkit on the toms and other percussion to set off...

"Ticking away the moments that make up a dull day!"

Wow! a dull day really is just simply watching the moments TICK away.

"....and then one day you find, ten years have got behind you"

the events I experienced 10 years ago don't seem like they were that long ago. In the song, you have the dichotomy of Rick Wright's lilting vocals mixed with the subtle yet raspy vocals of David Gilmour.



Great Gig in the Sky is up for anyone's interpretation. It is a vocal improvisation by British session vocalist Clare Torry. In a few short takes, Torry improvised a wordless melody to Wright's emotive piano solo.

Money .... the subject that became something the band didn't have to worry about after this album. Roger Waters quote about this LP in "1001 albums" (from 2003) "We still had a common goal, which was to become rich and famous." David Gilmour has said that after this album, they became lost in themselves and their riches which reflects in the title of their next album "Wish You Were Here".

This is an album of a band with great musical talent along with fantastic production to make a great album....one of the greatest.
I could go on and on. I'm not going to touch on every song. To me, most of the music that touches us sometime in our lives is an intangible thing that can't be put into mere descriptive words. When I hear this album, I think of the myriad of my college friends and associates(many of who I still keep in touch with thanks to FB)....among those...Matt, Mick, McKinney, Vodie, Forrest, Bob and a lot of others.

Jeff Beck – Truth

 

This weekend, I rented the documentary -It Might Get Loud which is billed as a "Summit" of 3 players...Jimmy Page, the Edge and Jack White. I had read about this and was intrigued for Jimmy Page alone. My opinion of the movie is that Jack White tries too hard to impress everybody. The Edge is upfront about his talent and flat out says that's it's all about his rack of effects. Lastly, Jimmy Page shows up with a lifetime of playing and an arsenal of confidence. They all play something on their guitars from their individual careers. But, When Page plugs in to play "Whole Lotta Love", the other two glance at each other like Wayne and Garth as they are about to claim "Holy Crap! We are in the presence of Jimmy Page....WE'RE NOT WORTHY!" Page is very genuine when it comes to his love for his instrument and the music of his childhood as we see as he lights up while listening, talking about and playing air-guitar to it.

As I watched this "Summit", I wondered what it would be like to see the 3 Yardbirds guitarists get together and talk about their lives and careers before, during and after their prospective time in the band. Of course, those three are the trinity of English guitar players -Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton and Jeff Beck.

Jeff Beck is a name that most don't know. Do most people know that a little known Scottish born singer named Rod Stewart came to worldwide recognition with Jeff Beck? That's right...Rod Stewart. The same guy who pulled a Sinatra/Tony Bennett/Harry Connick turn at singing The Great American Songbook. The same Rod Stewart who asked us back in the disco era "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy?"  I became a fan of Jeff Beck and Rod Stewart through their individual associations with drummer Carmine Appice and the group Beck Bogert & Appice and Rod's solo band. That's a whole other story that I will probably touch on another time.

As the legend of Led Zeppelin grew in the 80's, I became enraptured with it all. So, of course, I read the book "Hammer of the Gods" and one of the stories told of how Page(with Zeppelin) recorded You Shook Me for the Zeppelin debut album just shortly after his former Yardbird bandmate-Jeff Beck had recorded the same song with his "group" featuring singer Rod Stewart.

I bought the Epic records double LP that featured the first two Jeff Beck Group albums- Truth and Beck-ola. I bought it while I was working at Dustys, dubbed off a cassette for myself and that tape was either in my car stereo or my portable tape player with headphones in my ears.  According to the liner notes in the 2005 remastered version, Jeff was aiming to have a "Way-out there Blues-rock band with an outrageous lead singer and a full-on power drummer. Amazingly enough, this album was released in 1968 which was the same year as Hendrix's Electric Ladyland and Cream's Wheels of Fire. It also preceded Zeppelin's first album by more than 6 months.

As I listen back to this album, I remember driving to and walking to my college classes listening to them with an added spring to my step as the album starts off with a reworked version of the Yardbirds song "Shapes of Things". If you've heard the original, this is a radical improvement. It's wild and free with a band consisting of Beck, Rod the Mod, Ronnie Wood on bass and Micky Waller on drums. This Track explodes from that start and grooves unlike the perpetually happy sing-song version of the Yardbirds. Micky Waller is as adventurous as Mitch Mitchell had been with Hendrix and Beck just plugs along with great ease on his instrument.

Track 2 is a funky bluesy number called "Let me Love you". There isn't much to say about this track but it has that all important groove with drums, tambourine and Wood holding everything together on Bass guitar. Jeff Beck sings along with Rod (both vocally and instrumentally) on the chorus which predates Page and Plant and their call and response of Zeppelin. The 3rd track is "Morning Dew" written by Tim Rose and is just a great showcase for both Stewart's vocals and Jeff Beck's prowess of the six string with wah-wah. But, it definitely has slow build with aspect of ligh and shade to compliment it.

Next is Willie Dixon's "You Shook Me' which would appear months later on Zeppelin's debut album. According to "1001 Albums", Jeff Beck was quoted later that "My Heart just sank when I heard 'You Shook Me'". Interestingly enough, Zeppelin's multi-instrumentalist John Paul Jones plays the Hammond organ while Nicky Hopkins plays barrelhouse piano on this track.

.....Then Rod sings "Ole Man River" (from the musical Showboat) with the band plus JPJ on Hammond organ along with the Who's Keith Moon on Timpani. I remember loving the subtleties of this song as I listended to this on my car stereo as I pulled into the IGA in Kearney on a trip for groceries. I loved it so much, I found myself singing along in my best bass voice.

Side two of the album opens with an interesting acoustic instrumental guitar piece..."Greensleeves". I never knew that was the title of that song. As a church going youth, I knew it as the Christmas carol "What Child is This?"

Next is "Rock My Plimsoul" which is a bluesy shuffle with a guitar solo that sings as it pans from one speaker to another. Yet it seems vaguely familiar and similar to the blues standard "Rock Me Baby".

Then comes the instrumental song (that legend says) was a seed for the formation fo Led Zeppelin..."Beck's Bolero". This song featured Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page on guitars, John Paul Jones on bass, Nicky Hopkins on piano and Keith Moon again on drums. In fact, (at 1:30) that is Moonie that screams as the whole band kicks the song from a spanish tinged march to a full on Rocking Band. "Blues Deluxe" is next and reminds us that Rod Stewart was once known as a great English Blues singer.

The Album finishes with a great version of Howlin' Wolf's "I Ain't Superstitious" which is another showcase for Micky Waller's drumming and Jeff Beck's expertise of the slide, the wah wah and delay. I always wanted to play this song (or any song) from this album with every blues combo I have drummed with since college. But, I've discovered that most guitarists are a little apprehensive about trying to duplicate Beck's playing.

I did however play in a blues trio that attempted to play Gary Moore's version of "Shapes of Things". It wasn't bad ....but it wasn't great either. I'll leave it at that.

After Rod left the Jeff Beck Group, Beck had another "Jeff Beck Group" with Cozy Powell on drums. He also did one album with bassist Tim Bogert and Carmine Appice. Then, he took a dramatic turn and decided to do instrumental Jazz -Rock albums...most notably "Blow by Blow" and "Wired". In the 80's, he did a total of 3 albums..."There and Back", "Flash" which reunited him with Rod Stewart for a cover of "People get Ready" and "Guitar Shop" with Terry Bozzio and Tony Hymas.

I have a copy of his recent live album from Ronnie Scott's in London. I haven't seen the DVD. But, I hear that features Eric Clapton sitting in for a song and Jimmy Page actually in the audience. Jeff also played Clapton's Crossroads festival in 2007 and according to Clapton's website is booked for the 2010 festival as well.

Clapton and Beck recently performed a series of dates together at MSG and from the YouTube videos I've seen, It just looked amazing. Now, they should call Page and figure something out with him too.

The Who-Who's Next

I decided to listen to some of the Who this morning on my commute to work.  Today, it was Quadrophenia.  But the album I had been wanting to write about is the 1973 album Who's Next.

In 1978, the Who's drummer-Keith Moon passed away after an overdose of medication to alleviate his own alcohol withdrawal. In 1979, at Riverfront Coliseum in Cincinnati, 11 fans were trampled to death when fans were rushing to get a good spot for festival seating. There was even an episode of WKRP in Cincinnati at the time with a parallel story called In Concert. I don't think the name of the band is even mentioned in the episode.  I seem to remember the original episode mentioned the Who by name. But, I've seen syndicated reruns of the same show and I don't seem to remember them ever mentioning the Who in the syndicated episode. According to Wikipedia and IMDB, the actual news story is being played in the background during the end credits. I had seen the name of the band in my childhood comic books. Mostly, in ads for iron-on t-shirt ads(among others). I also remember the department store my dad managed had a series of beach towels hanging on display. One of the towels on display was a design for the movie version of the Who's Tommy. In my 7th grade Art Class, one of my classmates was working on his lineoleum printing project and was making the Who's logo.
After my classmates talked up the Who, I started to look into this band and what they were all about. Looking back, I suppose it was an attempt to fit in by talking about a classic band. My older sister-Kathy had a subscription to US magazine at the time. At the time, I was mostly interested in looking at the pictures of the female celebrities of the day(Victoria Principal and uh..Morgan Fairchild that's the ticket) in all kinds of scantily clad apparel. One article I remember in the magazine was an excerpt from the book Full Moon about the life of Keith Moon written by his personal assistant Dougal Butler.
Late in my junior high years, I became so enraptured with everything involving the drums. I had picked up a Tama drums catalog at the local music store and carried it around with me. I would pull it out in my classes to read and peruse at the end of classes. As I would page through the catalog, I remember my classmates bringing up the subject of "Who's the best drummer?"  Well, one guy behind me said, "That dead guy who used to play for the Who!"
By 1982, the Who had released 2 albums after the passing of Moon. Those albums were 1981's Face Dances and 1982's It's Hard.  In 1982, the Who went on their "farewell" tour. It's even funny writing this 28 years later knowing that they've gone on the road many different times since that tour in 1982.  The build up of all these things piqued my interest in the Who.  By the summer of 83, I was a sponge for anything related with the Who. Even HBO aired the Who's "final concert" from Toronto.  My family didn't have HBO or any cable TV at the time. But, my friend John did. Somehow, I invited myself over to watch it. I loved it.  On my 16th birthday, I had some friends over to spend the night and we rented an RCA Videodisc player with 2 laserdiscs. That year, two of my biggest obsessions were the Who and the TV show M*A*S*H*.  So, I rented copies of the Who's The Kids are Alright and the Robert Altman movie version of  M*A*S*H* starring Donald Sutherland and Elliot Gould.  I think I was the only one that enjoyed those movies that night.  The format of the M*A*S*H*  movie was different than the TV sitcom.  There weren't a lot of one-liners and punchlines during the surgery scenes. Just seemed like a lot of mumbling and didn't really hold anyone's attention.  But, I was completely tuned in to the Who.  I loved the antics of Keith Moon and the outrageous behavior of Pete Townshend.  But, the music had so much energy. But, the part of the movie that lit me up was the footage from Shepperton studios in 1977 featuring songs from the album Who's Next.  I distinctly remember loving the instrumental intro for Baba O'Riley.  I simply couldn't get that riff and opening chords out of my head!  It's just keyboards and John Entwistle's bass and Townshend pounding on a tambourine, drops the tambourine.....

...I don't need to fight...to prove I'm right

I don't need to be forgiven......

Townshend starts his trademark windmill and then the guitar kicks in!!  .....when they look back at the power of a Les Paul guitar combined with Rock n' Roll,  this is the clip that should always be referenced.
Anyway, I was 16 and had a drivers license. I now had the opportunity to listen to music "on-th-go".....even if it was in the tape deck fo my parents' 78 Chevy Impala Station Wagon.  As a birthday gift, I got the albums Who Are You and Live at Leeds on an MCA Records "Two-on-One Cassette". I used to mow lawns with those albums blaring on my cassette walkman. But, now I had access to some wheels. So, I would frequent the local record departments and music/record stores on regular basis. I bought Who's Next from Murphy's Modern Music in North Platte on a hot summer day. I remember I had a couple of stops to make that day and I didn't want the LP to be in the car very long for fear of it warping. I put on Baba O'Riley and then as the album began to play, I didn't know any of the songs in between the first and the last Won't Get Fooled Again.  But, I wasn't about to skip from one song to another.  After all, I might miss something.  From Bargain to My Wife to Going Mobile to Behind Blue Eyes,  I found an album that had been around and (in a round about way) discovered it all myself.  I didn't hear it on the radio. I didn't have any friends pounding it into my skull and telling me "You gotta hear this!" This truly felt like my own discovery!
The band reunited for Live Aid in July 1985 and I was definitely tuned in for that performance.
My college years were filled with many different musical discoveries. But, this one stayed with me. During my first two years of college, many of my days ended up with a visit to Dustys Records after I finished my afternoon classes.  One of those days, I was driving back to the dorms and this day I didn't have any cassettes playing and I was actually listening to the radio. Well, the song that started was Won't Get Fooled Again!  I remember racing from the car to my dorm room (on the 3rd floor) so I could hear the whole song. I made it to my dorm room just in time to hear Keith Moon's drum solo at the end of the song!...priceless.  Every time I would hear this song or someone plays a track from that album, I am reminded what a great album it is and I feel compelled to listen to it again! 
Behind Blue Eyes was something I liked because (as an individual) I felt I was just a little different from my peers and....

No one knows what it's like

To be the bad man

To be the sad man

Behind blue eyes

No one knows what it's like

To be hated

To be fated
To telling only lies

But my dreams

They aren't as empty

As my conscience seems to be

Years ago, I heard a local college frat band do a cover of this song. It wasn't that great. It was cool as it was played solo with vocal and acoustic guitar. The performer hadn't figured out the rest of it. But, it was cool and prompted me to pull out my album again.

As my interest in music grew in college, I was also interested in what others liked too. I remember going through a classmate's CD collection. It was relatively small! But, it included Who's Next.  To me, just seeing it in other's collections was like an affirmation that it really is a great album. I was such a rabid fan about the Who. For example, I was at a party once and some girl at a party basically said that she didn't like the WHO!  My drunken response was "You don't like the WHO?....You are a stupid B**%*."  For the next hour and a half, (according to my friend Bob) I told this girl all the great things about the Who and why she should like them even long after she stopped caring about my drunken rants. Yes..that rabid of a fan!

Of course, in today's pop culture fed world, the Who is everywhere. For me, it was just great to watch the Who at the Concert for New York after the events of 9/11/2001.

(anybody else get goosebumps?)

When my ex-wife became a great big fan of the CSI TV shows, I watched a lot of the shows with her.  So, it was pretty cool to hear Who Are You, Won't Get Fooled Again and Baba O'Riley used as the theme songs for CSI, CSI:Miami, and CSI:NY.  So, the Who is everywhere. 

Obviously, the only original members of the band are Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey. Ringo Starr's son-Zak Starkey is now playing drums as even Townshend has called him "the karmic Keith Moon".  Session Bassist Pino Palladino has replaced John Entwistle after he passed away in 2002.  The only player that was around the same time as the Shepperton studios sessions is keyboardist John "Rabbit" Bundrick. This past February, the band played the Half-time show of the Superbowl. It was not a moment of greatness for the band.  I make the excuse (for the band)that it was a network TV production with bad audio and there was no crowd on the field for the band's performance. But, I'm sure there will be another public performance that the band will play to redeem themselves. If not, there will always be the great performances seen above here and (of course) a great album known as Who's Next!