Fleetwood Mac -Rumours

Drama…we all seem to go through some kind of drama…either our own or hearing about someone else’s. I was talking with some friends the other day and two of those friends talked about “not dealing” with someone else’s drama.  Of course, it ultimately comes down to how we choose to deal with it. Do we get “dramatic” about it or do we find other outlets to express it?  It seems when others have dramas, we become strangely attracted to their troubles. Somehow, we find it nice to know that others have the same issues under duress.  We look at their dramas and we can feel better about ourselves knowing that others may have things much worse than we do. That may explain why the general public loves the idea of reality shows and (in this case) music.

There are many albums that (as a listener) I’ve heard so much that I know it from beginning to end to the point that it’s practically embedded in my DNA. I know that I’m not alone in this either. I actually read that Jason Bonham(son of Led Zeppelin’s John Bonham) used to travel with his dad to Motocross competitions and listen to Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours on his dad’s state-of-the-art 8-track player for the duration of the trips. I don’t know the first time I heard Rumours. But, I know that it’s something I’ve known for 33 years of my life and it wasn’t until my own marriage ended that I was able to relate to it in a lyrical sense to the themes of heartbreak, jealousy and betrayal. These are all things that come when a relationship ends and yet you must continue to communicate with the person who hurt you and caused this heartache and pain.
Released in 1977, Rumours was the work of 5 musicians and songwriters in a state of personal and emotional turmoil. Fleetwood Mac originally started as an off shoot of John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers where the rhythm section of bassist John McVie and drummer Mick Fleetwood formed a band to showcase the guitar prowess of Peter Green. Various personnel changes led to the recruitment of guitarist/vocalist/songwriter Lindsey Buckingham and his girlfriend/vocalist Stephanie “Stevie” Nicks. They recorded the band’s 1975 self titled (white album) and brought the band to the forefront of 1970’s pop-rock hierarchy. Soon after that “white” album, Stevie and Lindsey broke up as did keyboardist/vocalist Christine McVie and husband John McVie. Even drummer Mick Fleetwood experienced marital strife with his wife Jenny when she moved back to England with his two kids.
At the time of the release of this album, I was 10 years old. One of the things my sisters contributed to my musical growth was exposing me to some great music of the time(they also exposed me to some real stinkers too)  In 1977, one of the formats to experience music through was the 8-track cassette.  Looking back, the 8-track is a rather amusing format to explain to someone who was born in the mid to late 80’s that has never experienced them. My sister Kathy owned Fleetwood Mac Rumours on 8-track and one of my memories of this album was my sister washing the family station wagon while Rumours blared on her portable 8-track player.  My sister was also a fan of watching all kinds of music TV and Awards shows. This is before MTV and so we would watch all the American Bandstand performances and variety shows. She would stay up late and watch the Midnight Special on NBC. I was too young to stay up and watch them. Occasionally, she would wake me up to watch (maybe) Steve Martin do a bit of his comedy act on Midnight Special. But, not more than that. We would watch the Grammy awards and the American Music Awards and stuff like that.  I can remember watching those awards shows the year that Fleetwood Mac seemed to sweep the awards. Every time an award was announced, the camera would be on Stevie, Lindsey, Christine, John and Mick and they would stand up to make their way to accept yet another award.
After the success of Rumours, the band (obviously) grew in popularity and released 3 more albums with the same lineup until early 1988 when Lindsey opted out of a tour and ultimately left to pursue his own solo career. In that time, they released Tusk (1979), Mirage(1982) and Tango in the Night(1987) and I remember distinct memories and small discussions about each of those albums. I remember visiting my cousins the summer of 79 or 80 and they had a cassette copy of Tusk as I recall thinking it was a strange and amusing title for an album. In my early high school years, I remember seeing the video for Hold Me in wide rotation on Friday Night Videos, TBS’s Night Tracks and HBO’s Video Jukebox.  The image of the band walking through the desert and the pile of guitars in the middle of a sand dune is embedded in my memory.  The entertainment media definitely made every album out to be a big event and I even remember seeing bits of pieces of an HBO concert that was recorded too.  My friend John even made some comment about Mick Fleetwood being so stoned and out of it during the HBO concert. Looking back at the band’s trouble with drugs and alcohol, it’s not a big surprise and he was probably right. In 1987, they released Tango in the Night and the first single was the (very 80’s sounding) Big Love. I’ve heard that Lindsay basically did that song all himself because of the colossal addictions of the other members.  This was yet another album and it was definitely another media event and yet another topic of conversation that would usually start with the question “have you heard the new Fleetwood Mac album and what do you think?”
In early 1988, Lindsey announced he was not doing the accompanying tour and was leaving the band to pursue his solo recording career.  The band soldiered on with two new members to replace Lindsey. Soon the drama was gone and the media (and the public) didn’t want to really hear about Fleetwood Mac any more. Stevie Nicks continued to make her own solo records and it just didn’t seem like a big deal like it was in the 70’s and early 80’s.
In 1992, Lindsey finally released his first solo album 4 years after leaving “the Mac” called Out of the Cradle.  I was working as a manager of Tape World in Omaha’s Crossroads Mall and we received a promo CD copy of this album. We were always receiving promo copies of some kind. I took the CD home and put it in my home stereo and the production just floored me.  The vocals and instruments would swoop from one speaker to the another across the room and take me on an aural adventure.  It was incredibly inventive and performed with excellent musical prowess. But, the songwriting was very catchy and very pop oriented. But, It was so good that I went back to work and my assistant manager and I would talk endlessly about how good this was.  Then, we would start talking about Fleetwood Mac to the point of obsession. In those days, the record companies were always coming up with a reason to release some kind of box set and Fleetwood Mac was no exception. Warner Brothers released a Mac box set called the Chain.  My assistant manager-Kevin bought it and made cassette copies of it so we could listen to it on the store. 
Also at this time, was the big 1992 Presidential election year where Bill Clinton was using Mac’s Don’t Stop as his campaign “theme song”.  I’m not the kind of person who likes it when a song is associated with something or someone other than the original theme of the music. Eventually, Clinton asked the band to reunite and play for his presidential inaugural ball. Music fans and Mac fans took notice and it was once again…a big event.  But, this was definitely a reason to take notice of some great music. With the combination of the exposure through Clinton’s campaign, Lindsey’s Solo album and the new box, my interest in “the Mac” was blooming.  I even woke up one morning listening to Omaha’s Z-92 as my alarm went off to the sounds of the lead off track Second Hand News. By this time, I decided I would no longer wait to own the one album I had vaguely known since I was 10 and just buy it. I would dub it onto a cassette for portability purposes and had it with me almost all the time.
Fast forward from 1993 to the summer of 1997. The band regrouped with Lindsey, Stevie, Christine, John and Mick for a full fledged reunion concert and MTV special called The Dance.  Once again, this was an event. There was a concert video, DVD and CD released.  Everyone I knew that was a fan of pop music was talking about the reunion concert.  Guitarists and musicians were bowled over by Lindsey’s guitar picking style during his solo turn on Big Love.  We talked about Stevie’s emotional rendering of Landslide and the maniacal look on Mick Fleetwood’s face as he provided the unique backbeat to all the songs.
1997 was also the 20th anniversary of Rumours.  VH1 highlighted the album on their new Classic Albums Revisited show.  Of course, I was excited to see this show and suddenly saw(as they pushed the faders up and down) the intricacies of that album.  John McVie is truly a genius of the bass guitar. His bass line break in The Chain and Go Your Own Way are so incredible and undeniable. Christine McVie takes a bluesy shuffle like Don’t Stop  and turns it into a pop music classic. The fantastic vocal harmonies of Christine McVie, Lindsey and Stevie compliment each other flawlessly.  But, what still floors me every time is the layered guitar sounds that Lindsey constructs during the intro to Go Your Own Way.

I’ve watched the documentaries and the episodes of Behind the Music about Fleetwood Mac countless times. 1001 Albums summarizes

The Lazarus-like renaissance and transformation of a London-based blues band into the cutting edge Los Angeles-based world champions of Adult Oriented Rock is one of the greatest stories in rock’s rich history.

I’ve heard the stories that Stevie and Lindsey tell of each other.  After the dissolution of my own marriage, I try to relate how these guys somehow make it work in a civil sense. They are forever linked with this band and the music they’ve written and made for this band. In a sense, the music is the offspring or children of their creative union.  So, they are connected through those songs much like I am connected to the mother of my son whom we are both very proud of.
Is it hard for Stevie and Lindsey to be around each other? Is it hard (or tense…or uneasy) for any divorced or separated couple to be around their former love? I can only speak for myself…..and my answer is…….well….er….um……..YES!  If you’ve never been divorced, I’m not sure you would know. I have and it’s hard to know that the person who was your everything is suddenly not.  Now, Imagine you are on the world stage like Lindsey and Stevie and your “drama” is a “Big event” to your fans and the media for years and years after the breakup.  By now, I don’t feel like my drama is anywhere near as big as theirs. But, for myself, the music of Fleetwood Mac-Rumours helps me to get through my own breakup and heartaches knowing that someone can express their feelings through music and somehow I can relate to it.
Even as I write this, I have stopped and started this blog many times to try and figure out how to express my appreciation for an album that I first heard as a 10 year old boy and that grew into a love for the music and eventually as a tool of therapy for myself as a 43 year old man. All I can say is that I hope that I’ve conveyed those feelings as I’ve written this blog.
Thank you!

Yes – Fragile

This past week, I was going through a bin of closeout/used CD’s marked at 4 for $1. One of the CD’s I came across was a band (and CD) called White.  Being the music(and drumming) fanatic that I am, I knew this was Yes drummer-Alan White’s band. So, with that in mind, I want to go back and talk about an album released the same year I started kindergarten!

In 1972, I was 5 years old. It would be 13 years later that I would come to love and appreciate the music of an English band known as YES. It wasn’t as if I’d never seen the name of the band. But, it would be a college friend that would educate me and eventually get me hooked on the music of YES!
During my teen years, I really loved flipping through records/albums in Mall record stores, department stores, and independent record stores. My father was the general manager of a department store and I remember going through the kid’s records and then gradually making my way into the Rock stuff. I was especially drawn to the Beatles after finding out I shared the same birthday with some guy named Ringo Starr. I would start at the A’s and flip through all the records till I got to the Z’s.  I would also peruse through the (what I found out later were called) cut-out bins too. These albums were usually very cheap. But, sometimes, I would find some cool treasures. I often remember getting to the Y section and I would inevitably come across an album(or two) by the band yes,,,,probably Tormato or Drama.
In 1983, There was a big buzz going about the band YES. This was the early days of MTV and music videos.  One of the songs in wide rotation on all video outlets was the song Owner of a Lonely Heart and the album was called 90125.  All of a sudden, YES was everywhere and (from what I heard) I liked it.
Fast forward to the fall of 1985. It’s my freshman year of college. I started my college career as a music education major and one of the first things I was involved with was the College Marching band. On my first day of early marching band rehearsals, I met up with a friend I had met the summer before at KSC Music camp. I walked into rehearsal and saw my friend Shaun. In the summer of 1984, Shaun had educated us small town kids from North Platte about what punk and hardcore was really like by introducing us to bands like Suicidal Tendencies and the Butthole Surfers. He taught me that Punk was more than funny hair colors and goofy clothes that the mainstream media had saturated the public as “Punk Rock”.  After about the second day of band rehearsals, a bunch of us were on our way to a meal of some kind at the campus cafeteria. Shaun shared the information that he had listened to the first 3 YES albums the night before. Wait a minute…YES? The same guy I knew as a punk aficionado was listening to YES? It turns out Shaun had a girlfriend back in Lincoln that was a big YES fan and got him turned onto the band and he turned out to be more of a fan than she was.
This was 1985. Most of my peers had heard the multi-platinum selling album 90125 from 1983. But, very little of them knew about the albums from the 70’s lineups.  I may have heard of Roundabout at one point…maybe!  Shaun was not a fan of the 80’s/Trevor Rabin lineup. He used to say (or rather PROCLAIM) that it wasn’t YES without Steve Howe on Guitar or Bill Bruford on drums. Well, Bruford left after the album Close to the Edge and by 1982, Steve Howe was a member of the new 80’s supergroup-Asia.  Bassist Chris Squire has been the only member to see the band through all of its incarnations.
After meals at the Student Union, we’d walk back to his dorm room and Shaun would pull out a hollow body electric guitar and strum a few songs. But, he would always “warm up” with the opening notes and riff from YES’s Roundabout from the 1971 album Fragile.

Through Shaun, I became more and more interested in the band.  In 1985, Atlantic Records released a live concert video and album of the band’s 1984 tour called 9012LIVE.  As I was walking through the dorms or the student union, I saw a live video of YES (with Trevor Rabin) performing a song that I didn’t know and wasn’t on the 90125 album. They just kept singing something about “All Good People”.  It was complex, longer in length that usual pop songs and really cool.  So, I went to the only expert on YES songs that I knew. Obviously, Shaun told me it was a song called I’ve Seen All Good People from 1971’s The YES Album.
A couple years had passed and I was working at Dustys Records and I had access to all kinds of music. As employees, we would see all kinds of used tapes, LP’s and (later) CD’s come in the store. There was a very “mousey” woman(don’t remember her name) that was a huge YES fan. She began bringing in her old YES LP’s and replace them with a CD copy.  By this time, I had become a fan myself. I think I had heard a CD compilation of the 70’s music.  So, I began to snatch them up for myself.  The three I was most interested in were The YES Album, Fragile and Close to the Edge.
I have a distinct memory of getting my pristine used copy of Fragile back to my apartment and I was ready for some serious listening.  In other words, I sat on my bed and plugged in a set of headphones for optimum aural enjoyment and discernment. I put on the headphones and (of course) the album starts off with Roundabout.  Steve Howe’s flamenco style intro starts the song and into a freight train riff accompanied by Chris Squire’s monster Rickenbacher bass and the pulsating rhythms of Bill Bruford on drums.  After that, the album begins to highlight the individual members of the band and their respective talents. I definitely remember looking at the liner original liner notes and realizing all the musicians had their own showcase pieces.  The second track is Cans and Brahms dedicated to the talents of keyboardist(and new guy) Rick Wakeman. It’s a classical extract from Brahm’s 4th symphony. It’s a mix of Wakeman’s accelerated talents on various flavors of keyboard sounds.   Wakeman had come in to replace original member Tony Kaye on keyboards.  It’s According to 1001 Albums :

Jon Anderson and Chris Squire sought to develop the band’s sound with newfangled synthesizers. Tony Kaye’s preference for Hammonds(and arguments with roommate Steve Howe) led to his exit in August, by which time Wakeman had left the Strawbs, bringing Yes a whole new level of virtuosity and showmanship.

Next up is vocalist Jon Anderson’s multi-layered vocal exercise known as We Have Heaven.  As I listened with headphones, this was hypnotic as the vocals swirled around me. This song could also be a great credit to producer Eddie Offord and his inventive production skills.
South Side of the Sky is next as is definitely a showcase for the band as a unit. In the liner notes of my 1993 Gold-Disc, Bob Mack states:

…both the title and sound effects of which anticipate Dark Side of the Moon.  This may be the hardest rocker they ever did and it’s hard to say which is cooler; the lumber bass riff, Steve Howe’s mathematical but woodsy guitar runs, of the way Bill Bruford kickstarts the beat at both the beginning and after the windy, piano-tinkling middle section

Drummer Bill Bruford short 38 second avant-garde piece is next and is important to note that Bruford was all of 20 years old when he held the drum throne for the recording of this album.
Side two of the album starts off with Long Distance Runaround.  I love how Wakeman’s keyboards and Steve Howe’s guitar start this song together then to be propelled by the Bruford/Squire rhythm section. The song goes from driving beat to laid back with an underlying rhythm while Anderson and Squire harmonize vocally.

The song then segues seamlessly into Chris Squire’s bass showcase known as Fish(Schindleria Praematurus).  The band definitely stretches out and gets to show all of their instrumental chops. Bruford has always championed himself as a jazz drummer and fan of instrumental experimentalism.
Steve Howe is next with his acoustic guitar suite Mood for a Day.  Howe’s guitar playing is definitely a different animal from the rest of the guitar heroes of the 70’s. Most players were from the blues school of playing established by Clapton, Beck, Page and Hendrix. So, Howe was a distinctive voice in the world of aggressive (and louder) players of the hard rock 70’s.
Heart of the Sunrise closes the album with a piece of music that clocks in at 11:26. This song is made of different movements that ebb and flow with relentless musical prowess and then to subtle dreamy vocals and then more complicated riffing and rhythms. Once again, Bob Mack in the 1993 liner notes states how this influenced the metal bands of the 80’s

Finally, the colossal coda, “Heart of the Sunrise” ends the album by pounding the listener into submission with an accelerated, all instrumental-united attack that was adopted a decade later by practitioners of “speed” or “thrash” metal. The only difference between this song and Metallica is that Jon Anderson can sing

At first, I don’t think my mind could take in this whole song. It wasn’t until years afterwards that I truly appreciated the depth of musicianship on this album.

After college, I worked at the Dustys Records store in Grand Island.  In the summer of 1991, Atlantic Records released a box set titled YES-years which featured 4 discs of music from all of the band’s lineups. It was so much to take in. I just became such a fan that I wanted to take in all that I could by the band. Also that year, the band released an album with the 80’s version of the band and the “Fragile” lineup called Union.  It was a summer of much YES music. I liked a lot of the early stuff and then the 80’s stuff too. For the past 5 days, I have been on a YES kick that has only fueled this blog. As I write this blog, I am influenced by the 1993 liner notes. YES was very instrumental and influential not only to the genre of progressive rock and bands like Rush and Kansas, They also influenced pop music. 90’s Pop producer Trevor Horn was once a member of the band and then a producer of such acts like Seal(among others). 
In 1001 Albums…

Critically lauded and Top Ten in the UK and the United States, it signaled, as Jon said, “Yes are a people’s band” – albeit people with a love of the music at its most complex

John Henry Bonham “Bonzo” – 30 Years Gone September 25, 1980

As I write this, it is Saturday September 25th 2010.  Drummers everywhere are aware of this day as the thirtieth anniversary of the day that Led Zeppelin’s John Bonham passed from this earth. In the past 30 years, Bonzo has become revered by many as perhaps the greatest rock drummer ever.  I’m sure some will dispute it.  I won’t be one of them. I personally put Bonzo at the top of my list of favorite drummers all the time.  How did I find out about John Bonham and the work of Led Zeppelin? That is what I’d like to write about tonight.

Of course, I’ve written a blog on the first two Led Zeppelin albums.  How I got to that point is yet another story.  When I first picked up the drums as my instrument of choice, I just liked the primal pounding sound and feel it made. But, I also became familiar with a certain celebrity drummer that I shared a birthday with.  That would be Richard Starkey AKA Ringo Starr.  I became increasingly serious about drums and I was able to buy my first set of drums.  A friend of the family named Jerry L was about 3 years older than me and happened to give drum lessons. Jerry had helped me with a few rudimentary things for my audition for the “Varsity” band at North Platte High School. Once I got my own drumset,  Jerry got me started on some technique books.  One of the first books he had me study out of was Carmine Appice’s Realistic Rock book.  I don’t know what it was about Carmine. But, I found him and his book to be really cool. He had pictures of himself behind his big Ludwig double bass kit. He included a sound sheet of himself playing the various parts. Lastly, he had a list of his recording credits and discography. On the last page of the 1981 edition was an ad for his solo album called Rockers. At this point, I had begun frequenting local record stores in North Platte. There was a store called Daley(or Daily) Records and I found Carmine’s album, I just thought it was the greatest thing. The drums were big in the mix and he had 3 drum instrumentals on the album. In the liner notes, Carmine dedicated this solo album to “Loving Memory of my dear friend..John Bonham”. 
I also started reading more articles on drummers and the one name that kept coming up was John Bonham. Two that I remember reading articles in Musician magazine were with the band Foreigner and drummer Dennis Elliot mentioned one of his influences was Bonham. That’s rather coincidental because (in 2005) John Bonham’s son (and drummer)Jason Bonham was instrumental in resurrecting Foreigner with leader/guitarist Mick Jones.  The other was Go-Go’s drummer Gina Schock as she mentioned Bonzo as an influence. In the early 80’s, I would read practically every rock magazine I could get my hands on. I would read articles in Rolling Stone, Hit Parader, Circus, Musician, and Modern Drummer.  Obviously, in circles of Rock drummers in the 80’s, Bonzo’s name was highly regarded as greatness.  In the July 1984 issue, Modern Drummer did a tribute issue for John Bonham. For the article, the magazine talked to drummers like Dave Mattacks from the Fairport Convention and Carmine Appice too.  At the time, I was still wrapped up in everything involving Carmine Appice.  In the article, he talks about the first Zeppelin tour where the band opened up for Carmine’s band Vanilla Fudge. Carmine was very impressed with the first Zeppelin album and Bonzo’s drumming, that he was able to secure a Ludwig sponsorship for him. Carmine’s other quote was that “I was Bonzo’s hero!”  Well, for many, that was a bit far for Carmine to take credit for Bonham’s style.  But, I have read over the past 30 years from various sources including the 3 surviving members of Zeppelin that…yes John did listen to Carmine and yes..he was one of Bonzo’s drumming influences. He was also a fan of Motown and James Brown and others.
I even remember that someone in my high school newspaper wrote a quick review of Zeppelin’s album CODA  that was released a few years after they had disbanded. She basically said…”if you like the drums, you’ll like this song especially the song 'Bonzo’s Montreux” I ended up buying it on a cassette and enjoyed the drumming on it. I found a lot of Carmine’s bass drum techniques similar to the ones on the album. I also remember (during my senior year) that a friend of mine I had known for years saying “Have you ever heard the end of the song Rock and Roll by Led Zeppelin?” I hadn’t and we promptly cued it up on somebody’s walkman.  WOW!! …this just seemed like the ultimate in a drumming outro. One that I would always try to imitate and play in cover bands for years to come.  It wasn’t until later that I bought the fourth album that song appeared on. I bought Led Zeppelin II a few days before my high school graduation and thought that the solo piece Moby Dick was fantastic. The toms rang out as he played with his bare hands and then struck them with such a powerful force with sticks.  I was well on my way to becoming a fan. During my freshman year of college, I had been driving home on every other weekend when the marching band wasn’t required to play for the fall football home games.  One weekend, some friends decided to go across campus to a place called VTO(or Video Take Out) and rent some movies. In the 1984 MD article, they had mentioned the Led Zeppelin concert film The Song Remains the Same.  So, we rented a copy of the concert film. We rented some other stuff that night. But, this is about Bonzo. I knew a lot of the songs in the movie. Most of them were from the first 4 albums. There was also stuff from the album Houses of the Holy which was one of the albums I didn’t own….yet. It was late when we got around to watching TSRS.  But, we were young and we had to see how Bonzo performed that drum solo in Moby Dick. It truly was awesome to watch and I still like to try a little bare handed soloing myself. 
As the decades changed from the 80’s to the 90’s, I was still enraptured with everything Led Zeppelin.  In the early 90’s, My brother Mike and I were in Lincoln and I bought a Led Zeppelin/John Bonham shirt and he bought a Led Zeppelin/John Paul Jones t-shirt.  As I became more of a fan of Zeppelin, I had influenced my brother and he had become a fan too. By the end of the 90’s, I actually owned up to 3 shirts that were John “Bonzo” Bonham t-shirts.  I met a few drummers through the years that were envious of my shirt. I actually bought it from Joe Voda’s Drum City in Omaha Nebraska.
I am still a big fan of John Bonham and his playing. In recent interviews, Carmine Appice still tells the story of getting Bonzo his Ludwig endorsement.  His quote to Ludwig was “I think this band (Led Zeppelin) is going to be big”…Carmine then says “that’s the understatement of four decades”
In 2003, Jimmy Page and producer Kevin Shirley remastered old live bootleg tapes(both audio and video) and released two packages. One was How the West was Won on CD and a two DVD package simply titled Led Zeppelin.  I wrote a review on Amazon.com in which my basic wrap-up of the DVD is that…for years, Zeppelin fans have always wanted more…Well…This is MORE!  Even as I watched the DVD, there was something to just amazing to hear and see from the power that Bonzo had behind the kit. Even my ex-wife thought his playing was incredible and couldn’t believe he was doing all those things with only one bass drum. It’s an intangible thing that I can’t describe. It’s something that gets me revved up when I hear it and inspires me to play too.
At the time of these special releases, the surviving members did interviews with the mainstream press. I recall Jimmy Page telling the Today show that this was music made by four different individuals.  This band was made of four different guys with four distinct personalities and when John Bonham died, that didn’t want to continue without him.  That’s what many people in today’s music world don’t understand.  Some say “Why didn’t they just get another drummer?”  Because, they respected the memory of their friend first and didn’t want to do it without him.  Yes, they have reunited since then with different drummers including John’s son Jason.  Jason is a favorite drummer of mine. He’s a very solid drummer and he and I are very close in age.  But, he’s still a different person (and drummer) than his dad.  I completely respect the integrity of the band for not regrouping with another drummer(even if it is Jason Bonham). It’s not about just replacing a drummer.  Drummers (and musicians alike) are humans and our own individual talents are what we bring to the table and the collective of a band.
In 2007, a special issue by DRUM! magazine called Traps..the Art of Drumming did an issue on John Bonham. They talked about the drummer and his rise to fame and a special bit on his personal life as a man who struggled with being a world renowned drummer and suffered from a bit of stage fright. According to the article and his son Jason,

People assumed he was the man they saw onstage, but actually he was very shy and reserved, very introspective,
The John Bonham who people watched up on stage every night needed alcohol to have that kind of bravado.

Robert Plant says,

He was a big, warm softy who often got swamped by the absolute remoteness inside the goldfish bowl.  Often that was very sad for all of us, but I think he felt it most of all, which kind of accented his vulnerability. He loathed the whole rock and roll circus. The thing he loved most of all was just (to) get on those drums and show everybody how it should be done……
…..The essence of Bonham is what he didn’t play rather than what he did play – what he left out.”

This article was an insight that (for me) showed that he was a man..only a man. He played the drums, loved his friends and family. His friends and family remember him as a man. But, for John Bonham…his influence as a drummer will be known for a long time to come for future stick wielding rhythmatists and musicians alike.

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.7

Derek & Dominos-Layla and other Assorted Love Songs

Love lost….Unattainable love….forbidden love…Heartbreak…obsession…infatuation….enamored…envy….pleas for understanding
……and expressing all this in a musical statement.
Never have I been so moved by an album and a musical cry for love in a musical statement. The story of a man longing for the wife of one his friends. He writes an unforgettable song to her. He eventually gets this woman of his dreams and eventually marries her.   How romantic right?  I once thought so.  Years pass into their marriage. He pushes her away, keeps her off his tours, cheats on her and eventually fathers a child with another woman.
Never have I had a stir of contradictory emotions about what seemed like a perfect musical statement.  I’m talking about Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs by Derek and the Dominos(AKA Eric Clapton, Duane Allman, Bobby Whitlock, Jim Gordon and Carl Radle)

Through my early infatuation with Eddie Van Halen and his love of early Clapton(mostly Cream), I sought out everything Clapton.  I had read about the landmark recording that Eric did with Duane Allman on dual guitars. I had been working at Dustys and decided to make the purchase of this double LP.  I bought it and dubbed it to a cassette for portable listening purposes. It was a double album that times in at about 77 minutes long. At first, I only had heard the title song of Layla and that is the next to last track on the album. So, you either fast forward to that song or you just take in the whole album the way it was meant to be listened to.
Well, I had it available in a portable format. So, as I would walk to class or drive across town to campus, I would take all of this in. It didn’t take long that I was really into it. But, something happened as I listened to this.  The blues of the album was so strong that I felt myself relating to the music contained within.  When you get to songs called Have You Ever Loved a Woman? and Why Does Love have to Hurt So Bad?,  you start to think about past girlfriends and lovers. It had been a year or so after a relationship had ended with a past girlfriend. At first, I was glad she was out of my life. But, she had returned to the boyfriend she had dumped to be with me. In fact, they are still together and have a family of their own.  At the time, I was longing for that companionship and… well…. the intimacy.  Truthfully, she was probably my first love and now she wasn’t mine any more.  Did I still have feelings for her?  Probably?….definitely?…..ABSOLUTELY!  I still saw her around campus. Some of her friends were still telling me stories about her and him. I said I didn’t care. But, I did. But, then again, I had a tendency to get myself all wound up about it and proceed to have a little pity party for myself. 
I had seen the MTV Rockumentary on Eric Clapton and how he told the story of writing the Layla song and the entire album with Derek and the Dominos.  He had met Pattie Boyd Harrison who was the wife of Beatle George Harrison.  He fell crazy head over heels in love with her. He wrote her letters to let her know how he felt. She rebuffed him and his advances and he fell into the throes of heroin addiction. He recorded the album with the band from his days with Delaney and Bonnie and Friends. So, Eric was the only Englishman in a band of American musicians.  After this rejection from Pattie, he poured his heart into the music of this album. He eventually included slide guitarist Duane Allman to the recording sessions and musical magic happened.  All of this somehow resonated for me as I felt lonely and longed for the former girlfriend myself. I felt a kinship to Clapton. 
According to 1001 Albums:

Clapton’s masterstroke was recruiting Duane Allman as a guest player: Allman’s slide guitar on the title track screamed like a train coming off the rails over one of rock’s most memorable riffs

Even producer Tom Dowd’s quote from the book said:

I walked out of the studio and said ‘That’s the best goddamned record I’ve made in 10 years’

I would listen to the album from start to finish and every song had something that a lonely heartbroken man in his early 20’s could relate to. (Even men out of their 20’s can relate too)

I looked away and she ran away from me today
I’m such a lonely man
It came as no surprise to me
That she’d leave me in misery
It seemed like only yesterday
She made a vow that she’d never walk away
Bell Bottom BluesI don’t want to fade away
Give me one more day please
I don’t want to fade away
In your heart I long to stay

Have you ever loved a Woman may not have been written by Clapton but he sure made it his own. Especially when the lyrics even allude to be “in love” with another man’s wife.
Little Wing …for me was really cool as I discovered an alternate cover of the Hendrix masterpiece. I had played the Hendrix version over and over both as a drummer and a music lover.
Too Late:
It’s Too Late. She’s gone!
Once again, I thought this was a Clapton/Derek and the Dominos original. Truthfully, I just found out a few weeks ago that this was actually a lesser known Buddy Holly and the Crickets tune from their only album in 1957 called The “Chirping” Crickets. I was sampling through some Buddy Holly albums and played this song and I did that “I know this song only it’s performed by another artist…….who is that other artist?”
This whole album just seemed like a great study in the blues as it was steeped in heartbreak and loss. Keyboardist and Vocalist Bobby Whitlock compliments Clapton vocally while the rest of the band (drummer Jim Gordon and Bassist Carl Radle) locks in.
Sadly, Clapton fell into heroin addiction for years after this album. He suffered from the loss of his grandfather(who he considered as a father) and his friend Jimi Hendrix who passed away 8 days after they had cut the new version of Little Wing. Duane Allman died a year later in a motorcycle accident. Bassist Carl Radle actually toured with Clapton’s band from 1974-1978 and died in 1980 of a kidney infection. Drummer Jim Gordon has long been revered by studio drummers as a peer of Jim Keltner and Steve Gadd and a strong influence on Jeff Porcaro. He also played with artists as diverse as Joe Cocker, Steely Dan, Harry Nilsson, Frank Zappa, George Harrison, Rickie Lee Jones and Alice Cooper.  But, in 1983, Jim brutally murdered his mother and is currently serving a life sentence at a series of correction facilities in California. He’s been denied parole twice.
Of course, the showpiece and classic track on the album is the title song – Layla.

What do you do when you get lonely?
and No One’s waiting by your side
You’ve been running and hiding much too long
You Know it’s just your foolish pride

Clapton and Allman are interacting so well with each other. It’s the stuff legends are made of. It’s a shame there is no live recorded performance of the two legends playing this together.  But, a few years back, Clapton employed Derek Trucks on slide guitar in his touring band.  Derek is actually the nephew of Allman Brothers’ drummer Butch Trucks.  It was reported a few years back that (with Derek in the band) Clapton was playing the entire Layla album in concert.

The great story I like to tell about this album and the title track is that one summer morning during my college years, I was lounging around my apartment and made my way to the bathroom. I decided to cue up my cassette copy for some listening music during my shower. I cued up the title track that runs at 7:07.  I found that this song is the perfect shower song.  I told my ex-wife about that years later.  If I ever tell her I was listening to Layla , She then asks me if I was taking a shower. 
Clapton later recorded a different acoustic version of Layla on his Unplugged album.  He definitely puts a different spin to it. I also remember a Vh1 collaboration that Clapton did with Dr. John for a definite funky version of the same song. I still like that version as a different version. But, then again, I like New Orleans style rhythms too.
Last year, I read both Clapton’s biography and Pattie’s biography – Wonderful Tonight.  As I read Pattie’s book, I felt disillusioned by the romantic story that had followed this song over the years.  She eventually left George Harrison. She was ignored by Clapton and banned from joining him on the road as he cheated on her. He eventually fathered his son Conor with another woman and that ended their marriage.
I still enjoy the music. But, I have discovered that the hero worship that I bestow on these artists are nothing but hollow admiration for someone who’s struggling to make it through life like the rest of us.  But, I am forever thankful for the music that resonates in those times of something to lift you up.

 

 

Published with Blogger-droid v1.7.4

Jimi Hendrix - 40 years gone- September 18th 1970

This past week, many music websites and media outlets have been talking about that today is the 40th anniversary of the passing of Jimi Hendrix. Music Radar website has had memories and stories from Joe Satriani, Eric Johnson, Kenny Wayne Shepherd and Steve Vai about what Hendrix means to them.
A friend of mine emailed me a link to an NPR story on Jimi and asked if I was going to write anything today since it was the 40th Anniversary. I actually wrote something up back in July about Jimi Hendrix and the three "Experience" albums. So, I'm posting a link to that blog.
But, in memory of Jimi, I'd like to say that the music of Jimi Hendrix was an absolute game changer for me as a music fan and a drummer. I met a guitar player named Carl Hanson who was a Stevie Ray Vaughan and Jimi Hendrix fanatic. He had asked me to play drums with him for a blues trio he was putting together called "Bluesberry Stew".  When we started jamming and we did lots of that, it was the first time that I found the almighty "groove" and my playing switched from the formal drum education of rudiments and time signatures into just plain feeling the music and applying what I knew into my instrument. I still get excited listening to Jimi. There was an energy to his playing.  He took the blues and rock and jazz and put it in a "stew" together and it came out as the most aurally stimulating music that musicians and music lovers still revere.
In the spring of 1992, I saw the band Arc Angels at the Ranch Bowl in Omaha. The band featured guitarists Doyle Bramhall II and Charlie Sexton along with Stevie Ray Vaughan's rhythm section of Chris Layton and Tommy Shannon.  That night, they played a song that wasn't on their album called Angel. It would be later that I realized it was a Jimi Hendrix song that had been released after his death. That song is a beautiful song and still a favorite of mine.

I was only 3 years old when Jimi died. So, I had no idea who he was until many years later. It's amusing that he only lived to the age of 27 and his music and the stories of Jimi have lived on for 40 years after his death.
Thank you Jimi for your music you gave us!

My music and memory blog from July 2010

Published with Blogger-droid v1.7.4

B.B. King - Live At The Regal

Live at the RegalAs I’m writing this, it is September 16th, 2010.  That means it’s Riley B. King’s 85th birthday! …or as most know him as B.B. KING!  By all accounts, he’s one of the only living true blue Delta bluesman left aside from maybe Buddy Guy! I’ve written about Muddy Waters. I’m gearing up to write up something on John Lee Hooker. So, tonight I’ll talk about the long lasting “King of the Blues” himself.

For many of the people of my peer group, most of us didn’t really get much exposure to BB King until the concert film U2’s Rattle and Hum.  He had obviously been around and made his mark on many guitar players and blues aficionados. I actually came across an old episode of Sanford and Son that he had guested on in the 70’s.  I’m sure as a kid I probably saw BB King on such appearances as Johnny Carson, Mike Douglas or Flip Wilson. He’s also listed as a guest performer on shows by the Captain & Tennille, Helen Reddy and Crystal Gayle too. So, he obviously did a round of the variety shows of the day too. 
As I write this, I realize I “discovered” a lot of different artists after I was in college. Of course, working for a record store had a big part in that too.  I remember after I had moved out of North Platte(moved to Hastings and spent at year in school at Kearney) an older friend of mine in North Platte asked me, “So, what kind of NEW or Old music have you discovered now that you’re in college?”  I shrugged it off and said, “nothing much that I already didn’t know about.”…. Looking back, like many of us do, I realize I didn’t know as much as I thought I did. I knew more than most. But, then again, most people weren’t die hard music junkies like myself.
When ZZ Top became mainstream big in the early to mid 80’s, I became a big fan. So big that I began to dig into the old catalog and the history of the band.  One of the things they stated was the band came up with the name “ZZ Top” to make it sound like an old blues singer’s name like BB King.  In fact, in the early days of booking the band, they were mistaken for an old blues artist as opposed to a rocking blues trio of white boys from Texas. …or at least I think that’s how the story went. Well, ZZ Top is another blog(I promise). So, back to B.B.
Obviously, I had spent a lot of times in record stores and the record departments of department stores growing up. As my interest in the blues grew in the late 80’s, the more I became more familiar with B.B. King.  I had been listening to those white interpreters of the blues like Zeppelin and Jeff Beck and Clapton.  So, I was familiar with B.B. too. Probably the most identifiable songs that B.B. has ever performed is The Thrill is Gone.  It’s been used in movies and TV. In fact, I remember seeing a performance of BB in the MIchelle Pfeiffer/Jeff Goldblum 1985 movie Into the Night.  In fact, that may have been the first time I actually “noticed” BB King in a greater sense.  I have actually seen footage of BB perform The Thrill is Gone (seperately) with Clapton, Gary Moore, and the Doobie Brothers’ Jeff (Skunk) Baxter.
But, I honestly think that BB’s collaboration with U2 on their song When Love Comes to Town catapulted his career another step up and put his name, image and music into the public consciousness.  Many people who were U2 fans admitted to liking the song and BB fans acknowledged this pairing as a great piece too.  When U2 released the album Rattle and Hum, I was working at Dustys and Forrest, Bob and myself were really into the album. Forrest was the resident U2 fanatic. The 3 of us thought this was an incredible album.  I honestly remember Dusty telling Forrest that it was OK but the BB King song was the best on the album.  In that moment, Forrest seemed a little hurt that Dusty didn’t like it as much as he did. But, he couldn’t deny how great the BB King duet was.
I added BB King to a list of artists that I wanted to hear more from. So, I bought an early “Best of “ LP and the Live at the Regal album.  At first, I would listen to it casually.  The album definitely captures the excitement that BB would exude to the audience. You can tell by this recording that the audience is fired up and BB has got them going. From the opening of Everyday I Have the Blues to Sweet Little Angel, He is an electrified bluesman worthy of his “royal” name.  His personality shines through as he relates to every man on How Blue can You Get?

If you know the lyrics and have seen this performed and happened to be a man…You can relate more than we want to admit.

I’ve been down hearted baby
ever since the day we met
I said I’ve been down hearted baby
ever since the day we met
our love is nothing but the blues
baby, how blue can you get?
You’re evil when I’m with you, baby
and you’re jealous when we’re apart
I said You’re evil when I’m with you, baby
and you’re jealous when we’re apart
how blue can you get baby
the answer is right here in my heart
I gave you a brand new Ford
But you said: I want a Cadillac
I bought you a ten dollar dinner
and you said: thanks for the snack
I let you live in my pent house
you said it just a shack
I gave seven children
and now you wanna give them back
I said I’ve been down hearted baby
ever since the day we met
our love is nothing but the blues
baby, how blue can you get?

In 1994, I saw BB King on a Blues package tour that featured a Muddy Waters Tribute band, Dr. John, Little Feat and wrapping up the night…BB King. It was truly a great show and I saw so many great musicians in one night.  I would really like to see BB another time before he dies.
In 2000, BB King paired up with probably his most devout follower- Eric Clapton on the album Riding with the King.  I have listened to this album many many times. It’s great to hear Eric and BB trade off licks. The clarity of the recordings when I first heard it was so good, it felt like they were picking away in my living room. Here’s the review I wrote on Amazon at the time! I was over-the-top excited about this album
For me, I love the deep baritone blues vocals of Muddy Waters and John Lee Hooker. But, the voice of BB King is the only original Delta bluesman (aside from maybe Buddy Guy) still carrying on the music of the blues. That’s not to say that the music of the blues is dead. But, BB King is definitely one of the forefathers that the blues disciples will always look up to.
It will definitely be a sad day when BB passes away. But, right now, Let us celebrate the 85 years of life and music he’s given us.

Chicago Transit Authority

How often do you (or someone else) ask "Do you know what time it is?" All the time! Right? How often does someone answer back "Does anybody really know what time it is......Does anybody care.....About Time?"
....If so, I can't imagine why!
I have testified for a long time that my earliest memories of music of my childhood were Johnny Cash on TV, my sisters listening to the Beatles, and the Jackson 5 on American Bandstand. But, recently I have added the memory of hearing Chicago playing on AM radio in the family station wagon coming home from grocery shopping.

In the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die, the only album listed by the band Chicago is their debut Chicago Transit Authority. So, I will spend my time recollecting about a great band and their legacy that started with this album.
Chicago is a band I don't ever remember being introduced to. I just remember the music being around.
I’ve said earlier that I grew up with 3 older sisters listening to pop music around the house and on the radio. I don’t know which sister owned the Chicago albums. But, I do remember hearing it and then discovering it on my own.  Later, I discovered that my oldest sister Pam had a vinyl copy of the original Chicago Transit Authority.  I should probably ask her if that is indeed hers or if it belonged to my brother-in-law Steve.
In my teen years, I would go through a downstairs cupboard where my sisters would put their old albums for Mom to put on sale for her Garage Sales.  When I first started exploring new tastes for music(or old albums), I came across two albums in the “Garage Sale” cupboard.  The two albums were Chicago V and Chicago IX: Greatest Hits 69-74.  Coincidentally, Chicago (as a band) was enjoying a resurgence in popularity in the early 80’s. So, I was educating myself on an old band that was making a comeback.  By this time, original guitarist Terry Kath was gone from the band after an accidental suicide.  Bassist/vocalist Peter Cetera had slimmed down, cut his hair and beard and looked much different than in the liner notes of Chicago V and the accompanying band poster.  But, The band Chicago was always known as a “Faceless” band. People know the iconic logo of Chicago and maybe not the members of the band. But, in the MTV influenced image conscious era of the 80’s, Peter Cetera became the face for the band.
Back to the copy of Chicago V…This was really an interesting album to me. Of course, the hit that I knew off the album was Saturday in the Park.  I also would listen non-stop to the Chicago IX Greatest Hits album too. So, I became very familiar with the songs on there from 25 or 6 to 4 and Beginnings to Colour my World and Feeling Stronger Everyday. I was young enough when Chicago hit that I never understood the innovative nature of this band. It wasn't innovative to me. It was just there. I’ve watched the episode of VH1’s Behind the Music many times and the band has said that they wanted to be like the Beatles with a horn section. Looking back at the time of their early releases, They really were very inventive infusing horns and pop/rock melodies. Even in my hair-metal and hard rocking days of High School and College, I still paid attention to the music of Chicago.  Through 1984-1990, they were more power ballad oriented and seemed more appropriate for slow dancing at school dances. Even the NP Homecoming committee adopted a ballad title for our Fall Homecoming dance: “Winning: a Hard Habit to Break”.  We lost the game!
As I entered college and started discovering older music, I still seemed drawn to the music of “classic” Chicago.  It really is hard to resist the guitar riff to the original version of 25 or 6 to 4.  I remember putting on my Greatest Hits LP and realizing I knew (and Liked) every song on it. The respect of my music loving peers and partners at Dustys had grown to the point where what we liked or didn’t like just didn’t matter. We just respected what the other guy was listening to…even if we were getting tired of it.
After college, my sister-Pam got me to come out to Colorado for a weekend to see the reunited Doobie Brothers at Red Rocks. So, I started looking at these bands from that era a little more seriously. I eventually bought the Sony issued box set called Group Portrait.  It really concentrated on the early years and I was looking more for the hits. So, I got rid of it. Looking back, I would probably really enjoy it now.  In the mid 90’s, Both Chicago and the Doobie Brothers began to tour together. I thought that I really had a blast at the Doobies concert and I do like Chicago too. So, the band soon were on my “Bucket List” of bands I’d like to see. Then I began to catch about every GMA and Today show appearance the band would make. Because, they would usually play a classic tune. Then, I caught them on an episode of A&E’s Live By Request.  They played a bunch of songs from their catalog spanning from the late 60’s to the 90’s. You know what, I loved those songs and I still have that show on a VHS tape. Soon, I was a full blown fan. This was a truly great band that had gotten pigeon holed as a ballads band in the 80’s. But, I didn’t care.  They sounded great to me.
In the summer of 2002, I turned 35 years old….and so did the band Chicago(or so the press release read).  Rhino records released a double CD called The Very Best of Chicago: Only the Beginning.  Disc one was the classic music of the 60’s and 70’s and the Disc two was some of the stuff from the late 70’s and the bulk of the hits from the 80’s and early 90’s. This was more of a Chicago sampler that I was looking for. I soon had it ripped to my computer at work and soon was listening to it daily. My boss was not a Chicago fan and I think would turn down my computer speakers when I would leave the room. The jazzy drumming of original drummer Danny Seraphine had me wrapped up. It was jazz and rock together. It had the swing of Buddy Rich and then pop songs that snared you like the Beatles.
Then, in the summer of 2008, it was announced that the band would be playing the Hall County fair in Grand Island. I was pumped and was able to get a couple of free tickets from the sales manager at my job at the TV Station.  I asked my ex-wife if she was interested in going to the concert with me. We’re actually very civil with each other and have a common love for music. But, she told me that she wasn’t a big fan of the band. So, I looked elsewhere. I contacted my college buddy Scott M who I had reconnected with shortly after my marriage had fallen apart. It was nice to have a friend in Scott who was now a Pastor.  But, Scott and I were music and classic rock fans.  So, Scott and I went to the concert and just soaked it all in.  I loved the concert and my respect for the band grew on so many levels and Scott and I walked away with a great memory for us to share as friends. I even got the setlist from the guys at the soundboard as a souvenir.
About this time, original drummer Danny Seraphine had returned to the music business after being fired by the band(or voted out of the band) in 1990.  He had put together a band called California Transit Authority or CTA.  The name of the band was in reference to the Chicago band’s original name-Chicago Transit Authority. The band had shortened the name because of legal matters from the city of Chicago.  At this time, Pepsi was including codes with their bottle caps to redeem for Amazon.com downloads. So, I drank lots of Pepsi and downloaded the CTA album – Full Circle. It probably cost me more to buy all those Pepsis that it would have to just pay for the album. But, I didn't care. The album contained new versions of old Chicago songs Introduction, South California Purples, Make Me Smile, Colour My World, I’m a Man and a live recording of 25 or 6 to 4. 

I had no recollection of hearing Introduction or South California Purples.  But, I was definitely becoming a big fan. That album is still one of my favorites.
When I started looking through the 1001 Albums book, I started looking at the songs on the album and then downloaded the album to realize that I already knew the majority of this album.  What a great debut this album is from the soulful guitar and vocals of Terry Kath to the biting horns of Lee Loughnane, Walt Parazaider and James Pankow. 
It starts with Introduction. Then, into an extended version of Does Anybody Really Know What Time it is? Track 3 is the great song by keyboardist Robert Lamm known as Beginnings.  Question 67 and 68 is next featuring the fantastic high tenor voice of Peter Cetera who many have forgotten was also a world class bassist too. Also featured is the original version of South California Purples and a cover of the Spencer Davis group’s I’m a Man written by Steve Winwood.
Definitely a great debut by a great band!  My observations of this band is that (in the beginning) the band would line up on stage together as if they were a cohesive team working together for the music and the brotherhood of the band.  The current lineup of the band only includes 3 original members…Keyboardist/vocalist Robert Lamm and the horn trio of Parazaider, Loughnane and Pankow.  Terry Kath on Guitar killed himself.  Peter Cetera struck out on a solo career after the success of Chicago 17 and drummer Danny Seraphine was voted out of the band in 1990.  The band is still great. But, I’m just a little nostalgic for the original lineup.
By the way, at my former job I used to ask my co-worker and college buddy Scott(aka Scooter) “Does anybody know what time it is?”  He would almost always respond singing “Does anybody really care…..(high falsetto) ABOUT TIME!” So, Yes..that actually happened and on a daily basis too.