The Rascals– Groovin’ with the Great American band.

I know those of you that have read my blog on a regular basis have probably wondered what happened.  I’ve been through some changes in my life.  I’ve moved to San Antonio Texas from my home state of Nebraska and then to Las Cruces New Mexico in the past month.  All my energy and focus for the past few months was in finding a way to get here.  Now that I’ve relocated to the Lone Star State, I sit at my laptop and the inspiration to write has returned.

Over the past couple of years, I began to rediscover the Rascals and the drumming of Dino Danelli. So, let’s talk about the Rascals and my listening history of the band that has been labeled as one of America’s “Blue Eyed Soul” bands. 

As I researched this band, I found out that their album Groovin’ was released the summer I was born. The single Groovin’ went to #1 on the charts in March of 1967 and the next single A Girl Like You went to #10 on July 3, 1967. That’s a few days before my date of birth. But, it would be years later that their music would come knocking on my brain.

Like most people my age who grew up in the 70’s and 80’s, we heard the song Good Lovin’ in various movies and TV shows throughout those decades. In 1978, George Lucas used the song in his sequel to American Graffiti called More American Graffiti.  The song was also featured in the movies The Big Chill, Joe Versus the Volcano and the 80’s TV show Moonlighting where Bruce Willis sang the lead vocal. There was even a short-lived 1989 TV show called Doctor Doctor.  In 1984, drummer Max Weinberg of Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band wrote a book titled The Big Beat – Conversations with Rock’s Great Drummers.  I bought this book and obviously read through the interviews with the drummers I knew like Ringo Starr, Charlie Watts and Kenney Jones (among others). Modern Drummer magazine published an excerpt from the book with an interview with Dino Danelli of the Rascals. This was my first introduction to Dino. I read through the interview. But, I shelved that interview into my memory banks for future reference.

In 1988, Atlantic Records had a big multi-artist celebration for the record label’s 40th Anniversary. The big reunion that night was a performance by Led Zeppelin with drummer John Bonham’s son Jason filling in for his deceased father.  I was also excited to see the reunion of 60’s Psych-rockers Vanilla Fudge.  VF Drummer Carmine Appice had been (and still is) a big influence on my playing as a drummer. So, I was excited to see that reunion. Unfortunately, the Anniversary celebration was simulcast on HBO. At the time, I had just moved into a new apartment and we didn’t have HBO. After the HBO broadcast, ABC-TV aired a two hour version of the celebration. Obviously, this was edited down for time.  I was able to record that one. As I watched the recording, I would sit through some of the acts that I wasn’t exactly excited to see. I actually enjoyed some of the stuff. But, the one that reeled me in was the partial reunion of the Rascals. Atlantic Records had been known for many R&B acts in its early history. The Rascals’ are actually noted as the first “Rock’' act signed to Atlantic.  3/4 of the original band reunited onstage with Paul Shaffer and his musicians from Late Night with David Letterman known as “The World’s Most Dangerous Band”.  I was absolutely compelled by the fun that bassist Will Lee was having while he played with these guys. I loved the sound of Felix Cavaliere’s voice and the sound of the Hammond organ. Gene Cornish on guitar was playing a Rickenbacher and he was having the time of his life too. I had remembered that Dino Danelli was the drummer of the Rascals. But, to my disappointment, the cameramen are too busy catching the excitement of Will, Felix, and Gene to get a good shot of Dino playing drums.  I would go back to the videotape on this performance. It was fun and electrifying to watch.

  Since I was working in a record store, I would have to add some Rascals to my music collection.  I ended up buying a copy of Time Peace – The Rascals’ Greatest Hits.  At first, it was just an excuse to have a copy of Good Lovin’  in my collection and I could listen to it at any time. But, I remember thinking that the original audio mix was really low. So, sonically, it didn’t hold my attention for long. I remember hearing on the album itself a version You Better Run and eventually recognizing it as one of the songs that Pat Benatar had recorded. In fact, the music video of Pat Benatar’s You Better Run was the 2nd video ever played when MTV started its broadcast in August of 1981.

Fast forward to my post college days. I was living in Omaha and working at Music Avenue and Tape World. One of the promo CD’s we received was called the New York Rock and Soul Revue – Live from the Beacon.  It featured Donald Fagen from Steely Dan, Phoebe Snow, Michael McDonald and David & Eddie Brigati.  I had been on a big Doobie Brothers kick at the time. So, anything with Michael McDonald was cool to me. Track 11 on this CD was the Brigati brothers singing the Rascals’ song Groovin’.  Somehow, I knew the connection of this song back to the Rascals. But, I didn’t know the Brigati name. I knew Felix Cavaliere was awesome on the Hammond B3 organ and Dino was the influential drummer. So, I add the name of Eddie Brigati to my list of band members to be familiar with. While I listened to this album, I felt a connection yet again to the Rascals. 

When the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame announces their yearly inductees, I’m always interested and attentive to see who is in that year’s class. VH1 used to air an edited version of the induction ceremony. In 1997, the inductees included the Jackson 5, Parliament Funkadelic, The Bee Gees, CSN&Y, Joni Mitchell, and the Rascals.  Honestly, I was quite excited to see all of the inductees that night.  But, it’s often said that Little Steven Van Zandt’s induction of the Rascals was the highlight of the ceremony. Van Zandt had actually employed Danelli in his band “The Disciples of Soul” in the 80’s.  I’ve often said when a person is so passionate about an artist it can be infectious. So infectious to the point where I want to know more and take in as much as I can of that artist.  That can be said about Van Zandt’s induction of the Rascals.

I would pull out my vinyl copy of Time Peace from time to time. But, the audio levels were so low that it still wouldn’t hold my attention.  Now in the age of social networking and sites like Facebook, I started to post celebrity birthdays on my Facebook page with a YouTube video of that person’s live performance.  When I came to the birthday of drummer Dino Danelli, I pulled up the performance of the Rascals on the Ed Sullivan show.  I was mesmerized as I can only guess that the cameraman was as well.  Dino sits at his drumkit and drives the band with such a force and an aura of self-confidence.  He twirls his sticks with sense of cockiness that drummers in the 80’s would eventually imitate. I’ve read some comments that Dino looks weird and spastic. I don’t see that.  I’m drawn to him every time I see that video.

Watch Dino as he commands the drumkit.

Even my own drumming hero Carmine Appice admitted that Dino had been an influence on his playing in an interview with DRUMHEAD magazine.  Modern Drummer magazine added video interviews with Dino Danelli with former longtime Billy Joel drummer Liberty DeVitto back in 2008.  DeVitto is obviously a huge fan of Dino.  As I think back to seeing Liberty play with Billy Joel on live TV in 80’s and early 90’s, he’s quite commanding on his drumkit as well. 

I’ve had a running conversation with a music-loving friend of mine that Dino has yet to receive the praise and accolades he deserves as an influential drummer of the 60’s.  There’s always mention of Ringo, Charlie Watts, Keith Moon, Ginger Baker, Mitch Mitchell among others.  But, you rarely see Dino mentioned in those lists.  But, I know there are a few that will list him as one of the biggies.

This past June I sat down to watch the annual Tony awards to celebrate and honor the theatre productions of the past year in New York City.  I had stepped into the other room when all of a sudden I heard Good Lovin’  coming from the TV.  A few years back, a Broadway musical had been made about Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons called Jersey Boys.  So, I wasn’t too surprised to hear the music of the Rascals playing. I was actually amazed to see the actual Rascals reunited and playing together.  With that, I add another memory of fascination with the Rascals.

2013 Tony Awards

Along with the appearance on the Tony Awards, Dino was featured in a cover feature of Modern Drummer magazine. The article was basically a sum up of his career. In fact, there really wasn’t much of an interview contained in the article. But, it finally got me searching more into the catalog of the Rascals’.  I went and got a copy of the 1993 Rhino Records remastered Very Best of the Rascals’.  Of course, I knew Good Lovin’, Groovin’ , and You Better Run.  But, I was drawn in by People Got To Be Free, I’ve Been Lonely Too Long and A Ray of Hope. 

I listened to these songs and I thought about all the vocals, the drums, the guitars and the Hammond organ. I had been a fan of Deep Purple’s Jon Lord and his prowess on the Hammond B3.  Then, I listened to Vanilla Fudge’s Mark Stein and then discovered that I loved Felix and his sound too.  Somehow, they all feel connected. The members of Deep Purple have stated that Vanilla Fudge was their original template for Deep Purple.  Vanilla Fudge was from Long Island New York and obviously the Rascals were East coast based as well. This was an American band that was referred to as a “blue-eyed soul” group and was a US counterpart to the bands of the British invasion. They actually opened for the Beatles at the historical Shea Stadium gig.  They survived through the “Flower power-hippie”  movement of San Francisco.  They made their own sound. Perhaps that is why they don’t get lumped in with different bands of the 60’s. They were definitely a band of their own sound and talent.  The other day I hit “party shuffle” on my MP3 player and a Rascals song came on. I usually can guess who the band is when they come on my player. When it came on, I thought it was a Motown group like the Four Tops or the Temptations that I enjoy listening to occasionally. Nope, It was the Rascals’.

1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die only lists the 1967 Album Groovin’ in their albums by the Rascals’.  Groovin’ is heralded as the band’s “most important album”. Critic George Durbalau writes,

‘'”The album grabs you from the start, switching from garage thrash into psychedelia-tinged experimentation and even gospel.
….the record brims with intelligent arrangements, blending deep soulfulness with raw, loose guitar, introspective lyrics, and unexpected touches.”

For me, it’s been music I’ve probably heard all through my life. But, I wasn’t sure how much it was affecting me.  It’s great that I’ve discovered this music that will further enrich my musical palette, vocabulary and library.

U.K. – Danger Money

 

This is a first in a series of albums by bands that are hard to find or a side project that feature musicians that come from more well-known bands or backgrounds.

When I sold my LP collection about 5 or 6 years ago. I had serious reservations about getting rid of a collection I had spent many years compiling. Then I realized as I looked at my huge collection that this was some kind of possession and something that gave me some kind of bragging rights. But to whom? I had my music loving brethren I had worked with at Dustys Records. I had millions of vinyl junkies that I could show how cool I was that I had all this music. But, all these records were sitting in a storage garage and I had no way of listening to them. Most of the stuff that I really loved was stuff I had bought on CD or had downloaded(both legally and illegally)

It’s now 2013 and there are multiple ways to access some of those old recordings. There’s iTunes, Rhapsody, Amazon MP3’s, and Spotify. You can listen to a lot of these and with services like Spotify, you can stream the music on most wireless mobile devices. I often have an urge to hear one of those old albums and I will dial up that artist and their recorded catalog on Spotify and that usually satisfies my urge to hear music from my past collections.

But, there are some bands that I followed that were maybe one-off projects from musicians who came from more established and well-known acts. That is what this series of album reviews will be about.  A band comprised of musicians known for their work in BIGGER bands but made some cool music away from their so-called “day job”.  This blog is about a progressive band that was essentially a “Super Group” with a rich past.

When I first started playing drums, my friends and I would spend our weekends hitting music instrument stores, record stores and the record department of the general stores of the day(Kmart, Alco, Ben Franklin etc.)  Mick and I were(and still are) drummers. Mick had been playing his own drum kit for a few years before I had got my own. We would pick up all the free drum catalogs we could get our hands on. We had a 1980 Tama drum catalog and these would have pictures of all this companies endorsers.  One of them I remember was Terry Bozzio. They would have a picture of him behind some kind of drum kit and (in parenthesis) the band/artist he been playing with. In 1983, I didn't know Terry Bozzio from any other drummers. I had no idea of his history with Frank Zappa. But, the band this catalog had him associated with was called U.K.

 

At the time, I was bagging groceries at the store where my Dad was the general manager. I would occasionally wander over to the LPs and peruse the record bins…including the the discount or “cut-out” bins. Lo and behold, one day I came across a copy of a U.K. album titled Danger Money.  I flipped the 12 inch cover over to find a picture of 3 musicians. Eddie Jobson on violin and keyboards, John Wetton on Bass guitar and vocals and Terry Bozzio on drums and percussion. 

Here it was in the cut-out bin for $2.99 or $3.99(maybe even cheaper). So, I bought it and took it home. I placed the album on my General Electric hand-me-down stereo from sisters and was ready to be blown away. At first, I was anything BUT “blown away”. 

At that point, I loved everything with HEAVY HEAVY drums and distorted guitars(mostly heavy guitars). I’ve said for a long time that there’s something about adolescent males and the sound of distorted guitars. Once again and upon a closer look, this album had NO guitars. It was bass, drums, keyboards and VIOLIN? I dropped the needle on this album and drum beat that Terry Bozzio lays down on the first (title) track is rather basic bass drum and snare. I was waiting to be dazzled and felt let down. The keyboard sound felt wimpy and not the muscular guitar sound I loved.  Then, I start listening to the vocals and start thinking “Man, this sounds like the guy from the band Asia.”  Once again, if I had looked closer and known my Rock bios (like I do now) I would have known that John Wetton (in 1982-83) IS the bassist/vocalist for the band Asia. This album was released in 1979 and by 1982, Asia was probably the biggest selling band and album of that year. Which is pretty impressive for a band of progressive all-stars making a pop-rock album.  I listened through the album a couple times and then kind of shelved it for awhile. I heard and read such great things about Terry Bozzio and his prowess behind the kit. But, I think the lack of distorted electric guitars just dampened any kind of excitement I felt towards this album or maybe the prog overtones and complicated odd-time signatures just went over my head at the time.

Fast forward a few years (I’m guessing around 3-4 years). The store that my Dad had managed closed up in the Spring of 1984 and he looked for other work and eventually moved to the town of Hastings Nebraska. I remember one night reading through one of my many copies of Modern Drummer magazine and there was a transcription of Bozzio’s drum part on the U.K. track Caesar’s Palace Blues.  I still had the LP and so I put the album on. This track was the first track on Side two. So, I played it back and all of a sudden, I was blown away, impressed and engaged into this track. I then played the whole album again from top to bottom.  “I get this now!”

As my tastes in music grew, I became more familiar with the drumming of Terry Bozzio. The early 80’s, he led the band Missing Persons which consisted of many former members of Frank Zappa’s band of exceptional musicians.  I would continue to seek out many of the groups and albums featuring his playing. Among my favorites include his work with Frank Zappa, the Brecker Brothers Heavy Metal Be-bop, and Jeff Beck’s Guitar Shop.  I also discovered that there was another album by U.K. before the Danger Money album.  The band was originally a quartet featuring the aforementioned Wetton and Jobson along with Yes and King Crimson drummer Bill Bruford and guitarist Allan Holdsworth. Holdsworth was a guitarist I had read about from reading interviews with Eddie Van Halen who claimed that Holdsworth was “the best in my book”. I also began to learn about different drummers and styles of music. From that education, I found that many of the drummers I was getting into during the 80’s and 90’s were fans of Bozzio’s drumming with the band U.K.

Guys like Deen Castronovo(Journey, Bad English, Steve Vai, Tony McAlpine) and Mike Portnoy(Dream Theater) would cite the live U.K. album Night after Night as a favorite and an influence on their playing.  A few years back(and I wish I knew when) Modern Drummer wrote reviews on the CD reissues of the the 3 albums. So, when I sold my LP’s I figured there shouldn’t be any difficulty finding CD copies of these albums.

This past Fall, I picked up a copy of Drumhead Magazine with a cover story of drumming brothers Carmine and Vinny Appice. Carmine has been a longtime influence and favorite drummer of mine. I usually find multiple articles to read through in these kind of magazines.  As I paged through, I came across an article about U.K.’s album Danger Money written by former Damn Yankees and current Lynyrd Skynyrd drummer Michael Cartellone. In this article, Michael recounts his memory of this album much like I am recollecting now. Only his story is a bit different. He cherished the music he heard on this album and how it shaped his playing with the odd-time signatures and his love of progressive rock.  But, it also was important in his life and career as a drummer. According to the article, Michael “lived, ate, slept and breathed that record for many many years.”  He also tells the story of how he eventually corresponded with Eddie Jobson through Jobson’s fan club and would work with him. In fact, I had a VHS copy of a drummer video magazine called “Hot Drummer” which had an interview with Cartellone and he talked briefly about working with Eddie Jobson.  When I originally watched the video I remember thinking “Hey, he talking about that U.K. violinist guy.” He also would record with John Wetton on his album Battle Lines. His article tells of how he went from being a fan of the band to becoming contemporaries and friends with all 3 of the guys. 

The enthusiasm in his writing about this album made me yearn to hear it again. It had been years and I was eager to hear it again.  I figured these albums had been remastered on CD and shouldn’t be hard to find on many of the online stores and streaming services with vast catalogs of music available.  I went to Amazon.com and their digital downloads. I checked out the iTunes store and looked it up on Spotify.  I couldn’t stream it through Spotify and Amazon and iTunes didn’t have the Danger Money for download either. The only U.K. album available was the original self-titled debut album featuring Bruford and Holdsworth. I went to Amazon.com only to find the CD of the album was not that easy(or cheap) to acquire.  Amazon had the CD priced starting at $24.95 for a used copy and $185 for a new copy.  As I said earlier, I originally paid $2.99 or $3.99 for my cut-out bin LP copy almost 30 years ago.  I really liked the album…just not that much. So, I started searching out different online outlets to find a cheaper alternative.  There’s tons of websites that say “FREE DOWNLOADS”.  But, when you decide to download them, all the spyware, spamware, Anti-virus alerts start flashing and going up in front of you. So, I stop right there.

I went to YouTube and found the recordings of the 6 songs on this album. I compiled a playlist and would listen to a stream of the videos. I even downloaded a program to convert the audio from YouTube videos to MP3’s. That way I could sync the MP3’s to my smartphone and listen to the album that way. That satisfied me momentarily. I wanted the whole CD now. So, I went to eBay to find the CD and hopefully it would be at a price I was willing to pay(under $20). At the end of January(2013), I finally found a copy for about $9.65 US dollars. I specify US dollars because it would be shipped from Latvia and would take longer than a US order.  I got the bid on the CD and waited for 3 weeks for it to finally arrive.

When it arrived in the mail, I was elated and excited to hear it. I have probably listened to it repeatedly for the past month and a half. All the nuances of Bozzio’s drumming, Wetton’s bass & vocals and Jobson’s arrangements have reverberated through my head on a daily basis ever since.  I emailed Michael Cartellone through his website and complimented him on his article in Drumhead Magazine. He responded with a kind ‘Thank you’ and how fun it was to write the article and pay tribute to an album (and his friends) in proper way.

In Cartellone’s article, I found out that the band had reunited for a short reunion tour in 2012(and an upcoming small tour in 2013).  I can only imagine how cool it would have been to see these 3 perform the songs from this album in a small intimate live setting. Thanks to the technology of the 21st Century(and YouTube), many of my fellow fans of the band have posted some live video of the performances. These are great performances with some cool close-ups. I have watched these videos repeatedly and I am energized by these performances and the music played by these exceptional musicians. I only wish I could see the band live and share the experience with more people.

As I start writing more blogs on some of these lesser known albums, I reflect on the music that has touched me in my own personal way.  For years, there have been many books and lists of albums by many critics and tastemakers that state “the greatest” of all time or this or that decade etc.  I want to highlight music that touched me at a certain time in my journey as a music lover, drummer, musician and human being. I may have discovered this music in my own way. I may be the only one in my circle of friends that found an album to be “great” or a favorite. But, I know one thing. I liked or loved that album for my own reasons.  Hopefully, as you read this, you’ll seek out some of your own lesser known favorites from your past as well and revisit them. I’m sure there will be a memory(or more) to go with it.

Music Listening Habits(and favorites) of 2012

It’s the end of yet another year and the beginning of a new one too. Music lovers, writers and critics always put together a list of their yearly favorites.  As I was mentally preparing my list this past week, a friend of mine sent me a message to ask what my top 3 albums were of the year. They had to be new material. So, no live albums or re-issues.  I used to dislike lists like this. Most lists in magazines, newspapers and websites don’t usually match up with what I consider my favorite(or best). I really don’t like using absolutes like “best” or “greatest”  For me, there are no “bests” just “favorites”. When I wrapped up my favorite albums of 2011, I was looking forward to the new releases by Van Halen, Aerosmith and Rush.  Those three along with a host of others were on my radar and heavy rotation on my MP3 player in the past year.

The new Van Halen album A Different Kind of Truth was dissected and examined by myself and fans all over. As I said in my initial review and listen, I did NOT want to like it. But, the overall playing by the 3 guys with the last name Van Halen(Edward, Alex and Wolfgang) won me over.  The core band stepped up to the plate and knocked it out of the park with a freight train of power with that musical talent they collectively possess and express.

While watching a lot of the live videos and reading interviews, It’s become clear that Ed’s son Wolfgang pushes this band with a youthful exuberance that propels them from a “can they do it?” scenario to “Doesn’t the new stuff kick some serious tail?”  I found myself lit on fire by the instrumental interplay between Alex, Eddie and Wolfie on tracks like She’s the Woman, China Town, HoneyBabySweetieDoll, The Trouble with Never and Outta Space.  As for DLR, I felt his vocal performance on the CD was well done. I just wish he would step up his live game to match his studio performance (and his bandmates) onstage.  That’s another rant. I won’t go into it. In short, the band that inspired me to play drums and make music in my teens has continued to stimulate that urge that still lies within me.
The other band that continues to inspire me is that 3 man band from the Great White North.  Rush had another great year with their 20th studio album in their (almost) 40 year career – Clockwork Angels.


The album had some preemptive buzz around it because the band had recorded and released the first two tracks – Caravan and BU2B back in 2010 and was featured on their 2010-2011 Time Machine tour.  As a fan, I had downloaded those two songs and had listened to them. But, of course, (like most Rush fans) I just wanted more than a couple new songs. I wanted an entire new album. Like their 2007 release Snakes & Arrows, I wasn’t initially blown away by the album. I believe that Rush albums are so complex that they take multiple listens to fully appreciate them. There are so many nuances and intricacies in a Rush album that I can’t just say after one listen “Wow I love this album!”  That being said, there were moments of elation for me with some hard cracking drums, distorted guitars and loping serpentine basslines that won me over. Among those songs that just lit me up from this album is Headlong Flight. 

As I listen to this album more and more(and I have been) I am blown away by the creativity of this band. There is no way to categorize this band.  There is Neil’s creative drumming and timekeeping along with his intelligent and intellectual lyrics. There is also a novelization of this album written by Neil Peart’s friend Science Fiction novelist Kevin J Andersen. According to Andersen, the album’s concept is:

In a young man's quest to follow his dreams, he is caught between the grandiose forces of order and chaos. He travels across a lavish and colorful world of steampunk and alchemy, with lost cities, pirates, anarchists, exotic carnivals, and a rigid Watchmaker who imposes precision on every aspect of daily life

The band continues to be a creative force. There are songs that are pleasing to the pre-80’s heavy guitar loving fans. There are songs that stoke the fans of complex arrangements and time changes. Along with the Sci-Fi concept, this is a well rounded Rush album.
Finally, in late 2012, it was announced to the joy of Rush fans everywhere that the band would (finally) be inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2013.  After several years of disgust that they hadn’t been inducted yet, I was elated to hear the great news.
Also being inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2013 is the Seattle band Heart featuring sisters Ann and Nancy Wilson.  I recently wrote a blog on their debut album Dreamboat Annie that was released in America in 1976.  Here it is now in 2012 and the band is still making new music. They’re always making new music and (for me) they still make compelling music. This year, they released the album Fanatic along with a Biography and a career spanning compilation box set.

The new album is really well done. It’s Heart for the 21st century with many current production sounds and techniques. They have a lot of current sounds. But, it has moments of passionate rockers and heartfelt acoustic ballads too. After listening to Dreamboat Annie lately, I’m secretly wishing that Ann would bring out her flute again and play some woodwinds on a current album like she did on Sing Child Sing.  This is more of a hard-rocking album in 2012. The band has its folk roots along with rock.  I went back and forth whether or not I wanted to include this of my 10 albums of 2012. I chose to keep it on my list because I have been consistently listening to this since it was released earlier this Fall. As I said at the beginning of this blog, these are albums I’ve been listening to this year and I keep coming back to it. 

On December 26th, 2012, CBS aired the Kennedy Center Honors and among those being honored was Led Zeppelin.  At the end of the broadcast, Ann and Nancy came out and performed Zeppelin’s Stairway to Heaven with an orchestra, a large choir and drummer Jason Bonham(son of Zeppelin’s late drummer-John Bonham)  This performance not only excited me more about Zeppelin. It also stimulated my ever existing love for Heart and the Wilson sisters.

I don’t usually watch live network TV. But, I was glued to my TV for this tribute. I was excited to hear Ann Wilson singing Stairway to Heaven and I have followed Jason Bonham and his career so I knew he’d been sitting on drums for this performance too.
I’ve been a longtime Zeppelin fan. But, even when I barely knew about Led Zeppelin, I started to follow the career of Jason Bonham way back when he was only 17 and in a band called Airrace. I had read about this band through an article in Hit Parader magazine. I was interested in this up and coming drummer who was close to my age(he’s almost a year older than me) and was the son of the fabled Zeppelin drummer John “Bonzo” Bonham.  I followed him from Airrace and Virginia Wolf to Jimmy Page’s Outrider album and the 1988 Zeppelin reunion to his band- Bonham and Paul Rodgers to UFO and Foreigner. In 2010, he formed a supergroup with Glenn Hughes, Joe Bonamassa and Derek Sherinian that called themselves Black Country Communion.  In 2012, that “Supergroup” released their 3rd album in 3 years titled Afterglow.

 I don’t like to compare an artist's work to their past work. But, since Black Country Communion only has 3 albums, it’s been refreshing to hear how this band has grown and matured as a band. Much like the Hard Rock bands of the 70’s (that many feel like they sound like),  They are a band that has grown over the arc of 3 full-length albums.  When I heard the first two albums, I would pay attention to mix of the various instruments and vocals. I was very critical of every little bit on each album. When I listened to the new Afterglow album, I was keyed into the songs and band’s full input into everything. They are a strong band now and this album is a strong example of well oiled unit working as one cohesive machine.  I felt that the first two albums were some kind of outlet for Glenn Hughes to attain some kind of greatness he once experienced in his days with Deep Purple. He was exercising his vocal chops so much that it was bordering on excessive. This album has all the instruments equal in the mix. But, at the same time, you can pick out the individual instruments and character of each musician. Glenn Hughes sings and performs and emotes through the songs of this album. Joe Bonamassa comes up with great riffs and melodies and contributes his own bluesy vocals (both lead and backing). Derek Sherinian takes the keyboards and conjures the same magic that the late Jon Lord mastered with Deep Purple in the 70’s.  Finally, Jason Bonham takes everything he had learned from his father and every drummer he’s heard after that and applied to some of the most solid timekeeping out there. The songs have light and shade.  The songs range from all-out riff rockers to bluesy British shuffles to introspective ballads.  I was impressed with this album from the first listen.

Unfortunately, there has been some question concerning the future of the band. When the band had finished the album and Glenn Hughes was doing some press for the album, He made some comments that this may be the last album for the band.  Jason Bonham, Hughes and Sherinian are ready to tour behind this album. But, guitarist Joe Bonamassa has his calendar booked with dates for his solo band. So, there were words and rumors circulating online about the future of the band. The last I heard was that Bonamassa and Hughes got together to talk and ironed out any problems.
Bands like Black Country Communion are called a “Supergroup” because the individual members come from a rich history of musical success and notoriety. Another Supergroup that made a debut in 2012 was a group (and album) known as Flying Colors. 

I found out about this band from following the activities of former Dream Theater drummer Mike Portnoy.  Portnoy is a musician’s musician. From the multitude of interviews I’ve read with him in Modern Drummer magazine, he loves music…both listening to it and making it. For several years, He has played in various side projects (OSI, Transatlantic, Neal Morse) and tribute bands (Beatles, Zeppelin, the Who and Rush).  In 2010, he filled in for the late Jimmy “the Rev” Sullivan of the band Avenged Sevenfold. Shortly after his gig with Avenged Sevenfold, he announced that he was leaving his longtime gig with Dream Theater.  In both 2011 and 2012, He definitely kept busy. He recorded with 2 different groups. One was a band called Adrenaline Mob which was more of a Heavy Rock/Metal band. The other band was a progressive pop group called Flying Colors featuring the talents of guitarist Steve Morse(Dixie Dregs, Deep Purple), bassist Dave LaRue(Dixie Dregs, Steve Morse Band), keyboards Neal Morse(Spock’s Beard) and vocalist Casey McPherson(Alpha Rev).
I had been familiar with Steve Morse and Dave LaRue and I had actually met them back in 1993 at the Ranch Bowl in Omaha when the Dixie Dregs played there.  I found out about Neal Morse through his association with the band Spock’s Beard and he sings a lot of the John Lennon parts in the Beatles Tribute band-Yellow Matter Custard.  The only one I hadn’t heard of was singer Casey McPherson.  Portnoy had described this album as a Prog band with pop style songs.

I gave it a listen and I was hooked.  I would listen to it after a day of working in a retail atmosphere where my fellow employees were content to listen to the current format of Top 40 radio where artists like Lady Gaga and Niki Minaj are considered “good”.  All I could think of was that this music and musicianship was so good and if they ever let loose with what they could do on their respective instruments, the average Top 40 fan’s head would literally explode by sheer talent they possess. I hate to sound like a music snob. But, this album makes me feel like I’m on to something really really good and I’m just a little superior than the people who aren’t listening to it. Of course, I feel like that when I’m tuned into a great jazz album or something that’s really good but not mainstream anyway.
One band that’s filled with great musicianship and yet connects with the Country music mainstream is Zac Brown Band. 2012 was a year for this band to explode once again with their album Uncaged.

The Zac Brown band continues their down home Southern feel of Jam band hootenanny and bluegrass rocking.  If Willie Nelson, Dave Matthews and Jimmy Buffett went to a party with the Charlie Daniels band and the Allman Brothers Band, I would think it sounds something like the Zac Brown Band.  If there were two country bands I’d love to play drums with, that would be Brad Paisley’s band and the Zac Brown Band.  Whenever I listen to the Zac Brown band, I’m inspired to set up my drums and just play along.  This album features the addition of percussionist Daniel de los Reyes and the addition of this added “flavor” to their musical “recipe” makes this album very….delicious.

There is such a great groove to a lot of the songs like Jump Right In and the title track Uncaged. There are ballads of love lost(Goodbye In Her Eyes) that I feel a deep resonation to. The Wind is a heated up hoot and holler bluegrass burner that leads into a reggae inspired Island Song.  There’s even a song for that intimate time together they talk about in those Cialis commercials called Overnight.  The song only lasts less than 5 minutes. So, no need to worry about things that may last longer than 4 hours.
The songs of Uncaged fulfill so much in my love of music. It has rhythms that get me moving. It has vocal harmonies that get me singing and it has songs that resonate with me emotionally.  Another album that calms my mind is the 2012 release of John Mayer and his album Born and Raised. 

I wrote a quick write-up on this blog for this album back in May.  I have continually come back to this album for some solace. A day after I wrote that blog in May, I was “terminated” from the job I had been working at. So, I struggled with what direction to go from there.  My son moved to Texas in late November with his mother(my ex-wife) and I’m planning to move there as soon as I find a job in the same area as them and be a continuing presence in the life of my son. I miss my son very much and I have continually applied for many jobs already.  I’ve had communication from some of those jobs that they’ve chosen someone else for those jobs. So, it’s been tough and discouraging and my own self-doubt tends to sink in. So, I go to the song Shadow Days for my own self affirmation.

Hard times let me be
I’m a good man with a good heart
Had a tough time, got a rough start
And I finally learned to let it go
Now I’m right here, and I’m right now
And I’m hoping, knowing somehow
That my shadows days are over
My shadow days are over now

This album has a very earthy acoustic feel that soothes my troubled mind and lets me sit back and breathe. It’s a laid back Sunday afternoon album that grows on me with every listen.
There’s time to sit back and relax, decompress after a day at work. There’s also music that’s aggressive and drives a person to move a little faster with an added confidence and swagger.  When I first heard the new album from the reunited Soundgarden, King Animal was the new driving album for me.

Almost 3 years ago, Soundgarden vocalist Chris Cornell alluded to a Soundgarden reunion via his writing: "The 12-year break is over and school is back in session. Sign up now. Knights of the Soundtable ride again!"  This was actually posted online on New Years Day 2010. For me, I found it really cool to wake up that New Years to find that one of my favorite bands of the 90’s was reforming and making new music.  They released a compilation that year and then toured for a couple years. I began to wonder if an album of new material would happen soon.  They released a new single called Live to Rise this past summer that was on the soundtrack for the Super Hero movie – The Avengers. This definitely whet my appetite for more Soundgarden. 

The new album was released in mid November.  The album was available for streaming on iTunes for a week prior to it’s release. So, I took advantage of that opportunity to give it a listen.  I eventually downloaded the album and have been hypnotized by all aspects of this album. It’s aggressive and complex. As a drummer, I’m automatically tuned in to what the drums sound like and what kind of rhythms are incorporated. This is what hooked me on this album.  I believe Amazon had the album at really good download price when it was released. I felt the need to share this information on my Facebook page. When I did, a couple of my friends made comments asking “how is it?” and another feared that it was more Chris Cornell(vocals) and not enough Kim Thayil(guitar).  As I listened to it, I was pleased with all band contributions to the album. The guitars are strong in the mix and bassist Ben Shepherd keeps the low end heavy and churning. Drummer Matt Cameron is solid and loose.  His playing slinks and slithers in this magical mayhem and (along with his gig as Pearl Jam drummer) continues as THE powerhouse drummer of the Pacific Northwest.  In short, I find this album very satisfying to my musical tastes.
If there was one album that I didn’t think I would pay any attention to this past year. That would be a “country duets” album with 80’s icon Lionel Richie called Tuskegee.
 
I had read and heard little bits of news regarding this effort from Lionel. My longtime friend Bob mentioned something on his Facebook page about this album and expressed some curiosity.  Bob had opened my eyes to his tastes years ago and I have always respected them. So, I dialed up this album one night on Spotify and gave it a listen.  I was surprised with a refreshed and intimate interpretation of music from one of the great songwriters of the 80’s.  I have tried over this past year to write for two different blog websites. So, I posted my review for Tuskegee on HubPages.  This album was just an absolute joy to listen to and sing along to….even if I'd never owned a Lionel Richie ever in my life.

In my review I said if you have an appreciation for this music and the songs that came from this time, give this album a listen. I had no intentions of giving this album a listen, a sample of even a chance. But, I'm glad I did. Lionel Richie really is a great songwriter. These songs still sound great 25-30 years later. That's the sign of really great songs. When I listen to these albums that resonate with me and touch something deep within me, I am happy to share that with my friends and with the fans of the music that we enjoy as part of our daily lives. This one's worth it!
The 10th album on my list is was one of the albums that I was looking forward to this year.  I’m talking about Aerosmith’s supposed comeback album– Music from Another Dimension.  I listened to it and then I made the mistake of reading some cynical reviews and listening to some podcasts where they dissected this album. I went back and forth about whether I wanted to add this to my list for the year.

Before it was released, it was reported that producer Jack Douglas had returned to produce this album.  Because Douglas had produced the band in the 70’s, there was now a buzz that this album would be a return to the classic Aerosmith sound of Toys in the Attic and Rocks.  One thing that can be said about Aerosmith is that the band is one of the tightest and most solid bands in Rock.  The rhythm section of Joey Kramer on drums and Tom Hamilton on bass is a locomotive force drives this band.  It’s no surprise that one of the band’s classic songs in concert is Train Kept a Rollin’.  The band continues to blast through these new songs. It’s so infectious. It gets my toe tapping and my heart pumping.  I love the opening track LUV XXX (that’s actually ‘love 3 times a day’) and then there are some just down n’ dirty rockers that harkens back to the days of those dangerous “Bad boys from Boston” like Oh Yeah and Beautiful.  There are funky rockers like Out Go the Lights that have that low cowbell make me wanna dance around as I my head starts bobbing up and down.  Legendary Child, Street Jesus and Lover Alot are all great songs that have an aural onslaught that pleases my ear.

The one complaint that I’ve read in a lot of reviews have been the power ballads on this album. There is also a duet with country star Carrie Underwood.  Automatically, people slam this pairing as “Aerosmith doing a country song”.  I think that if Carrie Underwood had not even been mentioned on this track, it would be a more of a mid-tempo rocker with a great female harmony vocal. Because(to me) that’s exactly what it is. Back to the ballads… Aerosmith’s big 80’s comeback happened with the album Permanent Vacation in 1987. That was 25 years ago. To some people that are younger than 30 years old, this may be their version of a “classic Aerosmith” sound.  Truth is that this album celebrates both the classic 70’s, comeback 80’s and mainstream 90’s sound of Aerosmith.  I was a big fan of what was to be their 1985 comeback album Done With Mirrors.  Sadly, that album didn’t light the mainstream audience on fire and it would be another 2 years before Aerosmith would start seeing the resurgence that has continued to carry them through the past 3 decades.  I read a review that said if Done With Mirrors had done better in sales, we probably wouldn’t have seen these guys recording the pop ballads they’ve been chastised for by longtime die-hard fans.
There you go. That’s 10 albums I was listening to in 2012. As the year came to a close, I started listening to a few more albums that really perked up my ears. I had heard about a couple of these and some of these I knew came out and I curse myself for never giving them more of a serious listen this past year.
Among those would be:
Gary Clark Jr. – Blak and Blu    Rival Sons – Head Down
 

ZZ Top – La Futura                      S.U.N. – Something Unto Nothing
 

The Sword – Apocryphon         Dave Matthews Band – Away from the World
 
These 6 are ones that I heard something that caught my ear within the first 3 or 4 songs as I listened.  I probably would have given them a more thorough listen. But, chances are I was listening intently to one of these other albums. 
When I started formulating this blog in my head, I had a couple of other CD’s in mind for this list too. But, since I had made it specific that these would be studio releases only, I left off a couple of live recordings. Those two would be the Tedeschi Trucks Band – Everybody’s  Talkin’ and the long awaited CD/DVD of the 2007 live reunion of Led Zeppelin at London’s 02 Arena titled Celebration Day. 

This was a big event for Zeppelin fans when it originally happened in 2007.  This was one of the most anticipated reunions ever.  At the time, Jimmy Page made the comment that the concert had been recorded for a POSSIBLE DVD release.  Fans waited and waited. There were bootleg videos compiled and posted on YouTube.  There was lots of talk of how great it was. Jason Bonham filled in for his late father – the late John Bonham.  As a fan of both Zeppelin and Jason Bonham, I was in deep anticipation for it too.  Jason Bonham has often been criticized online for not being as good as his father.  That’s very unfair for Jason because over the past 32 years his father has become one of the biggest drumming icons of all time.  So, I was happy to see that Jason stepped up and removed all doubt. He can do it and he did it.  As for the rest of the guys in Zeppelin, they were also at the top of their game. There’s been a lot of talk yet again that they should reunite and tour. As a longtime fan, I’d love to see them tour. Alas, I don’t see it happening.  The band has had the integrity to say “It’s not the same without our late drummer, bandmate and FRIEND. So, we’re not going to do it.”  So, here’s a live CD and DVD that shows that they can do it and we should be happy with that.

2012 was a good year for my self confidence in creativity.  I have continually been inspired to write for this blog. This not only fuels my love of music. It also fuels my own vocabulary and need to express myself.  Musically, I played with as much as 4 different groups of musicians with varying styles from Country, Classic Rock and Oldies Rock to Contemporary Christian, Funk and Jazz. This not only fulfilled my love of playing. It also built up my confidence to say that I am versatile enough to play drums with various styles and I can certainly hold my own in those different arenas.
I am looking to move to the El Paso Texas area in 2013 so that I may be closer to my son and be a continuing presence in his life.  I look forward to using my creative talents down there as I continue on this crazy journey through life. I like playing music. I like listening to music. I like writing. I like writing about music...and I will continue to do so into 2013. That being said……….
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!