I like Wilco's and Son Volt's new albums ... at least I think I do. I haven't listened to them much since I picked up "I Think This Is" by The Young Fresh Fellows and "Killingsworth" by The Minus 5.
Needless to say, Scott McCaughey, the leader of both groups, had a great month.
"Killingsworth," is a great record, but I imagine it'll get a lot of press because the album features Colin Meloy and some of his pals from The Decemberists. The Young Fresh Fellows, on the other hand, have never received as much attention as they deserve. If rock critics at newspapers and magazines (are there any left?) and bloggers have any sense, that'll change with "I Think This Is."
It's been 25 years since I fell in love with the Young Fresh Fellows' delightfully ragged instrumentals and outrageously funny lyrics. These days, the instrumentals are more cohesive. Credit (or blame, depending on your perspective) the production of Robyn Hitchcock, the 12-string guitar work of R.E.M. member Peter Buck, and the maturity of McCaughey and his bandmates, bassist Jim Sangster and drummer Tad Hutchison. The instrumentals are hardly sterile, though. They just sound like garage rock licks played through a power pop prism.
The Young Fresh Fellows' lyrics are still funny, perhaps just not quite as wicked. The Fellows are no longer begging Amy Grant (or anyone else) to take off her pants. Maybe that's because there don't seem to be any good girls left in the entertainment industry. Urging Paris Hilton to be slutty wouldn't yield many yucks, would it?
Still, the music all seems energetic and spontaneous. And the lyrics are mighty pretty.
I wonder whether I'll still be listening to Wilco's and Son Volt's latest albums in 25 years. If my ears hold out, I'm pretty sure tunes from "I Think This Is" will still be in my listening rotation.
1) Ron Wood: "Chain of Fools" 2) Little Esther: "Saturday Night Daddy" 3) Brook Benton: "Hotel Happiness" 4) Chuck Prophet: "Pin a Rose on Me" 5) Doyle Bramhall: "That's How Strong My Love Is" 6) Skyla Burrell Blues Band: "Don't Let Me Go" 7) Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble: "Ain't Gone Give Up On Love" 8) Katie Webster: "Those Lonely, Lonely Nights" 9) Fats Domino: "What a Price" 10) Lou Ann Barton: "Maybe"
Every time I listen to "Flatjacks," a 1964 recording by Willie Rodriguez, I wonder why it's not better known. I've never seen the album in anyone's list of best jazz albums of all time, for example, but you could certainly make a case for it.
Perhaps it's because the album doesn't have the star power of so many other recordings. But all four of the musicians on "Flatjacks" were top pros who were admired by their peers.
• Rodriguez, a Latin jazz percussionist and drummer, recorded with Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Byrd, Billie Holiday, Tito Puente, Sonny Rollins, Art Farmer, Sarah Vaughan...
• You'll find saxophonist and flautist Seldon Powell's name in the credits for folks such as Jimmy McGriff, Clark Terry, Joe Williams, Benny Goodman, Oscar Peterson, Big Joe Turner, Big Mama Thornton and Aretha Franklin.
• Bassist George Duvivier played and arranged for Coleman Hawkins, Lucky Millander and Lena Horne. He also appeared on albums by Bud Powell, Thad Jones, Herbie Nichols, Stan Getz and just about every other jazz musician who mattered.
• Guitarist Barry Galbraith played with Art Tatum, for God's sake, as well as with Red Norvo, Stan Kenton, Claude Thornhill, Cannonball Adderley, Anita O'Day...
"Flatjacks" offered all of them a chance to step out front. That's certainly the case on Clark Terry's "One Foot in the Gutter" and "Rodriguez' "Nanigo Soul," my favorite tunes on the album.
Powell and Galbraith float through "One Foot in the Gutter," the sounds of their instruments spiraling around one another. It's gorgeous. Rodriguez and Galbraith drive the Latin rhythms of "Nanigo Soul." They swing hard, but they always keep it soulful. As a result, the tune sounds almost like Latin cool jazz played at a torrid pace.
I've never compiled a list of my favorite jazz albums, but if I ever do, you can bet "Flatjacks" will receive strong consideration.
Predictably, I suppose, the album's out of print. I'd check Amazon sellers or Dusty Grooves America," though. It's worth searching for.
(Jazz Blog Special is a regular feature that examines older jazz albums worth checking out.)
In an interview with one of my students the other day, Big James Montgomery said he decided to become a musician when he was 7 after seeing James Brown perform. He's still under the Godfather of Soul's spell.
At a free concert outside the Purdue Memorial Union Wednesday night, Montgomery and his band, The Chicago Playboys, added horn-heavy heapings of soul to everything they played. They even funked their way through "Pass the Peas," a classic tune from Brown's backing band, The JB's.
There are a lot of similarities between the way that Big James and Fred Wesley, the long-time musical director for Brown and for the JB's, play the trombone. That was evident on the soul tunes the band played, including Tyrone Davis' "Is It Something You've Got," Wilson Pickett's "Mustang Sally," and Sam & Dave's "Soul Man."
Big James has taken that funky style and applied it to all sorts of musical genres, mostly to Chicago blues, which he learned under the tutelage of blues legends such as Albert King, Little Milton and Koko Taylor.
Taylor, he said, often encouraged him to sing, and Wednesday night he paid tribute to the late Queen of the Blues by performing one of her best tunes, "That's Why I'm Crying." No one could sing it like Taylor, but Big James came close. He has a monster voice.
The band also played several tunes from their new album, "Right Here, Right Now." All the tunes were nice, including some slower jams, but Big James and The Chicago Playboys are best when they're hopping. I'm sure the army of little kids who were dancing around our table would agree.
1) Mary McGinn: "Kill Devil Hills" 2) Amy Correia: "Life is Beautiful" 3) Amelia White: "Sugarman" 4) The Anomoanon: "Tongue and Heart" 5) Young Fresh Fellows: "Never Turning Back Again" 6) Ian Hunter: "Girl From the Office" 7) Alejandro Escovedo: "I Wish I Was Your Mother" 8) Jonathan Richman & the Modern Lovers: "Affection" 9) Matthews Southern Comfort: "What We Say" 10) Richard and Linda Thompson: "For Shame of Doing Wrong"
Kerri Simpson, a genre-bending Australian musician, mixes twang, heartache and attitude with her blues on "Maybe By Midnight."
She rocks, too. Between her yodels on the title track, for example, Simpson channels her inner Wanda Jackson.
Simpson's equally adept at breaking your heart with a ballad. Her vocals on "No Way Back" are sultry as hell, but you can tell they're laced with tears. And her voice is as sweet as the steel guitar on "Sometimes She Forgets" and "I Bin Your Fool."
American audiences might recognize Simpson from a tour with Dr. John and Keb Mo or from an appearance at 1999's Jazz and Heritage Festival in New Orleans. Even if you have heard her blues performances, I'll bet you've never heard her perform anything like the twangy tunes on "Maybe By Midnight." They're all winners.
1) Jack Oblivion: "Honey, I'm Too Old for You" 2) Subdebs: "No Good Man" 3) Goldstars: "Comin' Home Baby" 4) Heartless Bastards: "Done Got Old" 5) Stiv Bators: "Have Love Will Travel" 6) Dr. Feelgood: All Through the City" 7) Eric Bell: "Things I Used to Do" 8) Paul "Wine" Jones: "Coal Black Mare" 9) Otis Rush: "My Baby's a Good 'Un" 10) Boo Boo Davis: "Talkin' Bout My Dogs"
I heard George Russell's rendition of "Manhattan" for the first time when I was at a friend's house in the mid-'60s. I thought Jon Hendricks' opening patter was just about the hippest thing I'd ever heard, so my friend's father indulged me by playing Russell's "New York, NY" album just about every time I came over.
I'm playing "New York, NY" today because Russell died Monday at age 86. That album, along with the jazz I heard in cartoons, offered a fabulous entry point into jazz. If you have kids, I suggest you play it for them. They'll love Hendricks, I'm betting, and will be introduced to Russell's fabulous arrangements as well as to John Coltrane, Bill Evans, Bob Brookmeyer, Art Farmer, Milt Hinton, Max Roach, Phil Woods, Benny Golson, Al Cohn, Jimmy Cleveland, Charlie Persip, and a lot of other great jazz musicians.
And, for the record, I still think the album's rendition of "Manhattan" is just about the hippest thing I've ever heard.
I've known since I bought "Passionata" back in 1998 that Kenny Drew Jr. was a great jazz pianist. But I didn't realize until I saw him perform in Gunther Schuller's production of Charles Mingus' "Epitaph" just how special he was.
Drew wasn't the star of the show — the music was — but he did play brilliantly. And after the concert, he delighted the folks who hung around when he sat in with Chicago bassist Larry Gray's trio.
The next day I bought Drew's album "Remembrance" (released in 2001) at the Jazz Mart and was dazzled again. The album — a tribute to Art Farmer, Manfredo Fest and Milt Jackson — features Drew playing a variety of styles and tempos. He's great on all of them.
On Jackson's "Bags' Groove," Drew, vibraphonist Stefon Harris, bassist Santi DeBriano and drummer Tony Jefferson swing hard. But during his long solos, Drew mixes clipped notes, which come fast and hard, with free-flowing bluesy runs. As a result, the song isn't a direct copy of Jackson's masterpiece; it sounds fresh and vibrant.
Drew's cover of Fest's "Bossa Blues No 2" is both frenetic and lovely. And the fast-paced bop of "With Prestige," which Drew's father wrote and Farmer recorded, is stunning. Trumpeter Wallace Roney, who takes Farmer's part, is particularly good.
My favorite tunes on the album, though, are the softest: "Goodbye" and "Blame It on My Youth." The interplay between Drew's piano and DeBriano's bass on "Goodbye" is like a sweet lullaby to their fans. And it's been a long time since I've heard anything prettier than "Blame it on My Youth." Roney's trumpet and Drew's piano float through the tune.
Folks who say there haven't been any great jazz albums since the '70s haven't heard "Remembrance." It's a modern classic.
(Jazz Blog Special is a regular feature that examines older jazz albums worth checking out.)
1) El Michels Affair: "Hung Up on My Baby" 2) Toots Hibbert: "It's a Shame" 3) Jacob Miller: "Baby I Love You So" 4) Lee Fields and the Expressions: "My World" 5) Krystal Generation: "It is Meant to Be" 6) Willie Walker and the Butanes: "Sometimes Love's Not Enough" 7) Latimore: "If You Were My Woman" 8) Alton Ellis: "My Willow Tree" 9) Owen Gray: "Answer Me, My Love" 10) Otis Taylor: "I Like You, But I Don't Love You"
Perhaps the length of time between Magnolia Electric Co. releases caused me to forget just how lovely and melancholy Jason Molina's songs can be. Or maybe "Josephine" is the best album the band's ever released. Probably both.
Check out the duet between Iranian superstar Andy Madadian and Jon Bon Jovi in Don Was' Wasmopolitan Cavalcade of Recorded Music section at My Damn Channel. Along with Richie Sambora, they recorded "Stand By Me" as a message of solidarity for the Iranian people.
The video is below. A free download of the song is available at the site.
1) Teddy Charles Tentet: "The Emperor" 2) Lonnie Liston Smith and the Cosmic Echoes: "Cosmic Funk" 3) Steven Bernstein and the Millennial Territory Orchestra: "Makes No Difference" 4) Billy Harper: "Priestess" 5) Maynard Ferguson: "Light Green" 6) The Revolutionary Ensemble: "Berlin Erfahrung" 7) Roy Hargrove: "Speak Low" 8) Chico Hamilton: "Larry of Arabia" 9) Grant Green: "Stella By Starlight" 10) Sonny Criss: "Blue Friday"
Saxophonist Earl Turbinton and his brother, pianist Willie Tee, always groove.
You'd expect that from a couple of New Orleans natives who spent most of their lives playing blues and R&B with folks such as B.B. King, Allen Toussaint, The Neville Brothers, The Wild Magnolias, Patti LaBelle, Dr. John and Earl King. But on "Brothers for Life," an album released in 1987, the brothers head back to their jazz roots. And they always mix it up.
On "The Real McCoy," Turbinton communes with the spirit of Coltrane on some especially spiritual solos. Willie Tee anchors the song with meaty blues runs that almost always take unexpected jazzy turns. They both dance through the calypso-based "Kingston Town." And their wild, improvisational solos on "Think of One" offer no clue that they hadn't been recording jazz albums all along.
Sadly, the brothers died within months of each other in 2007, but they left us with a gem. Get a copy.
(Jazz Blog Special is a regular feature that examines older jazz albums worth checking out.)
There's been a wave of female British singers over the last several years. I like some of them; others annoy me. The one I like best, Gwyneth Herbert, is barely known in the States.
She will be, though, if she keeps making albums like the recently released "All the Ghosts," which features an eclectic mix of pop, blues, jazz and rock.
I'm particularly fond of a bluesy ode to her car called "My Mini and Me." I also love "So Worn Out," a pretty little pop ditty that sounds a bit like a collaboration between Joni Mitchell and Ben Folds.
Other highlights include "Jane Into a Beauty Queen," which sounds like a rockin' cabaret tune, and "Rock 'n' Roll Suicide," a tender reading of David Bowie's classic song.
Lately, I've been devoting a few minutes every Sunday morning to Peter Blue's tranquil guitar meditations. I find the bluesy videos on Youtube help me chill as I sip my morning coffee and prepare for another week.
Below, you'll find a clip of Blue's latest "morning tune-up" and another with his B3 combo, Blue Star, which he formed with organist Elizabeth Star.
1) France Gall: "Bébé Requin" 2) Geraint Watkins: "Champion" 3) Bob Dylan: "Mississippi" 4) Jack DeKeyzer: "Merciless Beauty" 5) Freda Payne: "Awaken My Lonely One" 6) Beverly Kenney: "It's a Most Unusual Day" 7) David Egan: "I Just Can't Do Right" 8) Eels: "That Look You Give That Guy" 9) Adam Green: "Jessica" 10) Kim Richey: "Straight as the Crow Flies"
Song for song, I don't like Gene Clark and Carla Olson's "So Rebellious A Lover" as much as "Gene Clark with the Gosdin Brothers." But there are a couple of songs — "Gypsy Rider" and "I'm Your Toy (Hot Burrito #1)," a version of the Flying Burrito Brothers classic — that I'd match with almost anything Clark ever recorded solo or with The Byrds. "Fair and Tender Ladies" is mighty pretty, too.
Besides, Clark died at age 46 in 1991, just four years after recording "So Rebellious A Lover," and we should treasure everything he left us.
Nat Adderley Jr.'s performance at Luther Vandross' funeral in 2005 was poignant and beautiful. Adderley, the long-time musical director for Vandross, has also played, arranged and produced for artists such as Aretha Franklin, Natalie Cole, Dionne Warwick and Beyonce.
I first encountered his name on 'Why Am I Treated so Bad," a 1967 live album by his Uncle Cannonball that featured his father, Nat Sr., on cornet. Nat Jr., who was 11 at the time, wrote and arranged a song called "I'm on My Way." Not surprisingly, there's a stunningly soulful solo by his father.
1) Miles Davis: "What I Say" 2) Tortoise: "Prepare Your Coffin" 3) Fela Kuti: "Mister Follow Follow" 4) David Berkman: "Pennies" 5) Babatunde Olatunji: "Kori" 6) The Zulus: "Joala" 7) Calvin Jackson and Mississippi Bound: "When My First Wife Left Me" 8) Freddie Roach: "Wine, Wine, Wine" 9) Paris Reunion Band: "The Burner" 10) Oscar Pettiford: "Monmarte Blues"
Don't think for a second that old folks don't get burned by love. Dorothy Ellis knows.
Ellis, who records and performs under the name "Miss Blues," has been singing blues tunes about heartache and scummy men since the early '40s. Almost seven decades later, the First Lady of Oklahoma blues is still at it.
"Bad Prospect," an album released last year, is filled with the tunes. Take "Trapped," for example. It's a song about a 50-year-old love affair gone sour, and take my word for it, I wouldn't want to be the guy she's singing about. The dude made a big mistake when he said Ellis was getting fat.
Ellis imbues every song she sings with spirit and sass. She's one of the great women of blues and it's a shame she's not better known.
Watch this clip of her performing, then check out her myspace page to hear more tunes.
1) Bap Kennedy: "Cold War Country Blues" 2) Jimmy LaFave: "When the Tears Fall Down" 3) Peter Case: "Wake Up Call" 4) Matthew Ryan: "The Dead Girl" 5) Joy Lynn White: "I'm Free" 5) Ray Wylie Hubbard: "Rock and Roll Gypsies" 6) Jim White: "Counting Numbers in the Air" 7) Amelia White: "Even Angels" 8) Patterson Hood: "She's a Little Randy" 9) Gillian Welch: "In Tall Buildings" 10) John Hiatt: "Trudy and Dave"
I was delighted to find a TV interview with Sonny Rollins conducted by Texas Monthly editor Evan Smith after Rollins' concert in Austin this May. That show was one of the best I've ever seen. And this interview is one of the best I've ever heard with Rollins.
"Viet-Nashville," one of Houston Marchman's earliest tunes, is a searing indictment of the corporate bottom-line approach of Nashville music executives.
Needless to say, Marchman follows his own dust-blown muses these days. He calls his music "grunge country." In other words, it's a swampy mix of Texas country, blues and rock 'n' roll.
There's a quote on his Web page from Ray Wylie Hubbard that says Marchman's music is "righteously cool." I won't argue with that. In fact, Marchman's music sounds a bit like Hubbard's, and that's about as cool as you can get.
Songs from "Long Gone" such as "Shreveport," "Ex Husbands" and "I Can't Go Back" illustrate that Marchman has joined Billy Joe Shaver, Lucinda Williams and Willie Nelson as one of the best songwriters in Texas. Bluesy rockers such as "Lightnin'" and "Rocks in My Pillow" illustrate just how badly Nashville screwed up by refusing to embrace Marchman's music.
"Long Gone" probably won't make many critics' best albums of the year lists, but you can bet it belongs on them.
1) Don Bryant: "There is Something on Your Mind" 2) Sam and Dave: "When Something is Wrong with My Baby" 3) Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes: "The Love I Lost" 4) Eddie and Ernie: "I Believe She Will" 5) Garnet Mimms: "A Little Bit of Soap" 6) Willie Hightower: "Nobody But You" 7) Johnny Dynamite: "The Night the Angels Cried" 8) Johnnie Taylor: "Steal Away" 9) Ricky Allen: "Messed Around and Fell in Love" 10) Homer Banks: "Lucky Loser"
I dated a woman in the early '90s who adored Seal. As a result, I burned out on his music, which I never really cared much for anyway.
So I was surprised, make that shocked, the other day when I started listening to "Soul," a 2008 release that features 12 soul classics, after reading a recommendation for it on Ann Peebles' myspace page. Seals' rendition of Peebles' signature song, "I Can't Stand the Rain," is one of the best covers of the tune I've ever heard. The production of the song relies on too much slick syncopation for my taste, but Seal's voice cuts through it.
His version of Otis Redding's "I've Been Loving You Too Long" is even better. I was a bit skeptical at first because most artists flop when trying to interpret one of Redding's tunes; Seal soars through it with vocals that are pure and sweet.
His covers of Sam Cooke's "A Change is Gonna Come," James Brown's "It's a Man's Man's Man's World" and Curtis Mayfield's "People Get Ready" aren't going to make me forget the originals. They're mighty nice vehicles for his voice, though, and I'll be delighted to listen them on occasion.
This year's schedulee for the Austin City Music Festival presents fewer major conflicts for me than ever before. Yeah, I'll have a tough time choosing between Asleep at the Wheel and the Gospel Silvertones, Todd Snider and Dr. Dog, Reckless Kelly and Andrew Bird, The Henry Clay People and Deer Tick, the Rebirth Brass Band and the Arctic Monkeys...
But there aren't any overlaps of my must-see acts — Levon Helm, Henry Butler, The Scabs, Walter Wolfman" Washington and Marva Wright. I'm worried that Marva Wright, who suffered a stroke recently, might not be able to perform, but if she doesn't I'll be happy to see Raul Malo instead.
The weather will dictate how many shows I actually see and whether I seek refuge under the pavilion — I'm hopeful it will be cooler now that the festival's been moved to October. At any rate, here's my tentative schedule:
Friday: • 12:30 p.m.: Asleep at the Wheel • 2:30 p.m.: Medeski, Martin and Wood • 3:30 p.m.: Todd Snider • 4:30 p.m.: Walter "Wolfman" Washington • 6 p.m.: Robyn Hitchcock and the Venus 3 • 7:15 p.m.: Reckless Kelly
Saturday • 11:15 a.m.: The Dexateens • 11:45 a.m.: Deer Tick • 12:30 p.m.: Alberta Cross • 1:15 p.m.: The Raveonettes • 2:30 p.m.: Sam Roberts Band • 4 p.m. Henry Butler • 5 p.m.: Bon Iver • 6 p.m.: Levon Helm Band • 7:15 p.m.: The Scabs
Sunday • 1 p.m.: Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band • 2:20 p.m.: Terri Hendrix • 4 p.m.: Rebirth Brass Band • 5:30 p.m. Marva Wright
1) The Whipsaws: "Lonesome Joe" 2) Tim Krenkel Orchestra: "Wilson Pickett" 3) Rod Picott: "No Love in This Town" 4) Townes Van Zandt: "Ain't Leavin' Your Love" 5) Bob Dylan: "Sign on the Window" 6) Los Lobos: "Down Where the Drunkards Roll" 7) Frank Lee Sprague: "I Don't Want What You Don't Got" 8) The Devil Makes Three: "Poison Trees" 9) Van Wilks: "Watching the World Go By" 10) The Krayolas: "Never Been Kissed"
Guitarist and producer Jan Mittendorp of Black and Tan Records sent me a note this morning about playing eight shows in seven countries over the last 10 days with Mississippi bluesman Boo Boo Davis. He also sent a link to a great Youtube clip from one of the shows.
My television's not hooked up to anything these days, but if there were a show like Frank Evans' "Frankly Jazz" on the air, you can bet I'd subscribe. The show, which aired in the early '60s, featured many of the great jazz artists of the day.
So you can imagine how thrilled I was tonight when I discoved clips from the show on Youtube. Here are a few featuring Shorty Rogers, Irene Kral, and Shelly Manne and His Men. Enjoy.
1) Jim Lauderdale: "It's Such a Long Journey Home" 2) Charlie Louvin, Waylon Jennings and George Jones: "Country Boy's Dream" 3) Orville Couch: "Uncle Red" 4) Will Kimbrough: "This Modern World" 5) Buddy and Julie Miller: "The River's Gonna Run" 6) Charlie Robison: "Nothing Better to Do" 7) Charlie Rich: "Why Don't We Go Somewhere and Love" 8) Fred Eaglesmith: "Rainbow" 9) Jean Shepard: "Satisfied Mind" 10) Blaze Foley: "Small Town Hero"
On "Music is the Food of Love," Canadian bluesman Jack de Keyzer talks about stirring low-down blues, uptown soul and real cool jazz into his musical stew. It works for me.
The tune, which can be found on his 2007 release, "Blues Thing," is a great representation of de Keyzer's eclectic mix. I'm also particularly fond of "That's How Much," a song on which his jazzy guitar licks are drenched with the bluesy waves of a Hammond B3 organ.
Don't get the idea that everything's jazzy, though; de Keyzer's guitar has a bite on tunes such as "I Want to Love You" and "We Go Together." And his guitar licks are as soulful and sad as his vocals on "Cry the Blues."
1) Karl Denson: "Rumpwinder" 2) Shirley Scott: "I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free" 3) Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis and Johnny Griffin: "Tickle Toe" 4) Will Barnard: "Party Hats" 5) Jimmy Ponder: "Love Will Find a Way" 6) Jimmy Smith and Eddie Harris: "8 Counts for Rita" 7) Joe Chambers: "Phantom of the City" 8) Gene Ludwig and the Bill Warfield Big Band: "Duff's Blues" 9) Terrence Brewer: "Study in Blue" 10) Skip Heller: "St. Louis Blues"
God bless Mainstream Records' Bob Shad for pairing soul singer Alice Clark with jazz arranger Ernie Wilkins back in 1972.
Clark's sultry voice would have sounded great no matter who she'd been matched with. That's apparent when you listen to "Never Did Stop Loving You," which sounds like it's straight out of Philly. But Wilkins' jazzy arrangements make Clark's songs stand out from the pack of other soul singers of the era.
She still burns through her vocals, but the romantic embellishments of the arrangements soften her sound. As a result, she seems both sophisticated and gritty ... like a link between classic jazz singers and soul shouters.
After hearing a couple tracks on Woodpigeon's new album, "Treasury Library Canada," I thought the Canadian indie rockers might be a little too syrupy for my tastes. But after listening to the album several times, I'm charmed by the simple sweetness of their vocals and lyrics. The fact that they're a bit goofy at times scores with me, too.
They sound a bit like a folky version of Supertramp with their orchestral instrumentals, but the vocals are much softer, almost angelic. And that's nice in small doses.
I'm not sure I'll listen to all 14 of the album's songs consecutively very often — my doctor tells me I can consume only a limited amount of sugar every day — but those few pieces taste pretty damn good.
1) Willem Maker: "The Greatest Hit" 2) Dave Alvin and the Guilty Women: "Que Sera Sera" 3) Red Foley: "Tennessee Border" 4) Amos Garrett: "My Jug and I" 5) Eddy Clearwater: "Tore Up All the Time" 6) The GP's: "Penitentiary Bound" 7) Drive-By Truckers: "Your Daddy Hates Me" 8) Paul Kelly: "Don't Stand So Close to the Window" 9) Wynn Stewart: "Big City" 10) Chuck Willis: "My Heart's Been Broke Again"
I probably own a couple thousand blues CDs and loads more digital and vinyl versions of blues albums. But I don't own a single Popa Chubby recording. Oops.
Andre Williams was on Raunch Patrol in 1998 when he recorded "Silky" with Mick Collins and Dan Kroha of The Gories.
Many of the lyrics are filthy and, as you might expect, the instrumentals are a dirty blend of blues and garage rock. You can bet I'm not going to play "Bonin'" and "Pussy Stank" when my mama's around.
She might actually like "Aphrodisiac," an album released in 2006 on which Williams is backed by The Diplomats of Solid Sound. It's more reminiscent of Williams' R&B tunes of the '60s and '70s. The Diplomats of Solid Sound's Hammond B3 organ-based instrumentals certainly bring back memories of "Twine Time," a hit Williams wrote for Alvin Cash. I also hear echoes of "Cadillac Jack," a tune Williams recorded for Chess, and "Shake Your Tail Feather," the great soul classic he wrote. (James and Bobby Purify's version should be one of the cornerstones of your music collection.)
Some folks might prefer the rockin' raunch, of course. That's OK. But there's no reason both albums can't peacefully coexist on your CD shelves; they do on mine.
1) Robert Cray: "The Last Time (I Get Burned Like This)" 2) Al Kooper and Shuggie Otis: "Lookin' for a Home" 3) Bonnie Raitt: "Blue for No Reason" 4) Toni Price: "Am I Groovin' U?" 5) Julie Miller: "All My Tears" 6) Eilen Jewell: "Thanks a Lot" 7) Boz Scaggs: "Might Have to Cry" 8) William Bell: "Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye" 9) Jean Knight: "Think It Over" 10) Solomon Burke: "Tonight's the Night"
Vieux Farka Touré, the son of the late West African legend Ali Farka Touré, has released a terrific new album called "Fondo." As far as I'm concerned, there aren't many things cooler than the intertwining of blues and African rhythms.
Young British bluesman Matt Taylor is a guitarist you'll be hearing a lot about in the years to come. On his latest album, "No Trouble At All," he rumbles through the uptempo tunes. I don't like some of the slower tunes as much, but he has a great voice and a lot of folks will love them. He's also been playing and recording with Snowy White, the great Thin Lizzy guitarist.
Here's a clip of Taylor playing nine years ago. He's even better now.
1) Lafayette Gilchrist: "Many Exits, No Doors" 2) Miles Davis: "One and One" 3) Billy Cobham: "Stratus" 4) Baikida Carroll: "Marionettes on a High Wire" 5) Greg Osby: "Vertical Hold" 6) Anthony Braxton: "Off Minor (Monk)" 7) Ran Blake: "Strange Fruit" 8) Harold Land: "One Second, Please" 9) Cecil Bridgewater: "As I Live and Breathe" 10) Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers: "So Tired"
Alto saxophonist Lewis Keel plays straight-up bop on "Coming Out Swinging," his 1992 album for Muse Records. But everything he plays is informed by the blues.
That's clear when you listen to tunes such as "Love for Sale," "Day By Day," "Quiet Nights" and "Blues Walk." Much of his feel for the blues is attributable to the fact that he grew up in Memphis playing in R&B bands and idolizing Don Wilkerson and Hank Crawford, two of the bluesiest of all jazz saxophonists. The fact that Keel served a stint playing with blues great Johnny Copeland probably helped him find his groove, too.
Keel found some kindred spirits to accompany him on "Coming Out Swinging": pianist Harold Mabern and bassist Jamil Nasser, both fellow Memphis natives; guitarist Jimmy Ponder; drummer Leroy Williams; and percussionist Buzz Hollie. They all play jazz with a soulful feel. And like the album title says, they really do swing, especially on "Anthropology" and "Lover Come Back to Me, which are played at a furious pace. In fact, "swing" probably isn't a strong enough word to describe it. The whole crew flies through the tunes.
"Coming Out Swinging is a good album with some outstanding moments. It's certainly worth picking up if you can find it. I'd check Dusty Grooves America, which lists a copy for $4.99.
(Jazz Blog Special is a regular feature that examines older jazz albums worth checking out.)
I bought several of Elliott Murphy's albums when I was in college in the '70s, but for some reason I never replaced them on CD. In essence, I forgot him.
I'm not alone. On a version of "Just a Story From America" included on "Live Hot Point," Murphy talks about being in a Milwaukee studio listening to the playbacks of some recordings when a woman came in and said it sounded just like Elliott Murphy. But it couldn't be, she insisted, because Murphy's dead.
Needless to say, he's still alive and rocking. His old friend Bruce Springsteen knows; the Boss has performed live with Murphy a number of times and sang "Everything I Do (Leads Me Back to You)" with Murphy back in 1995 for an album called "Selling the Gold." It's a beautiful song and a fine album worth searching for.
But if you're looking to explore Murphy's music, or reacquaint yourself with it, I'd recommend "Live Hotpoint," a live album recorded in Switzerland in 1989 that served as my re-entry point. "(It's available from iTunes for $7.99.)
"Live Hotpoint" includes "The Last of the Rock Stars," "You Never Know What You're Looking For," "Drive All Night" and several other great songs from Murphy's early albums. It also includes songs by Garland Jeffries and Chris Spedding, both of whom performed with Murphy at the concert.
In short, the album's filled with the kind of spirited rock that inspired Rolling Stone magazine to rave about Murphy's 1973 debut, "Aquashow," in a double review with Springsteen's "The Wild, the Innocent and the E Street Shuffle." It's music that shouldn't be forgotten.
1) Elliott Murphy: "Diamonds By the Yard" 2) Nikki Sudden: "Wooden Floor" 3) Freedy Johnston: "Bad Reputation" 4) Francis Dunnery: "Too Much Saturn" 5) Elvis Costello: "Ship of Fools" 6) The Kinks: "Holloway Jail" 7) Bruce Springsteen: "Gypsy Woman" 8) Charlie Mars: "Bay Springs Road" 9) Chris Gaffney: "My Baby's Got a Dead Man's Number" 10) Gwil Owen: "Mississippi Moonrise"
Somehow I missed the news that Big James and the Chicago Playboys have released a new album, "Right Here, Right Now." I've ordered a copy, though, and I can guarantee it'll be great.
Richard Thompson might be the only solo performer I've ever seen who managed to win the hearts and ears of an audience as well as Shawn Colvin. I like all of her albums, but I think Colvin's new album, "Live," is her best.
Songs such as "Shotgun Down the Avalanche," "Twighlight," "Tennessee" and "Sunny Came Home" just sound better, more personal, when Colvin's alone with just her guitar.
Sometimes I probably remember concerts as being better than they really were. After listening to "Live," I'm wondering whether Colvin's show I saw 15 years ago was even better than I remember. And I've always thought it was a great concert.
I'd like to say the roller rink where I had my eighth birthday party played one King Coleman tune after another — my friends and I would have loved the nonsensical R&B grooves of "(Do the) Mashed Potato," "Loo-Key Doo-Key," "Do The Hully Gully" and "The Boo Boo Song."
Unfortunately, the party was held in Georgia in the mid-'60s in a town where the city fathers closed the swimming pool when blacks had the audacity to ask to swim there.
I don't have anyone telling me what I can play at parties these days, so you can bet several King Coleman tunes will make the playlist when I host a big reunion for some college friends in the fall. My friends are well into middle age now, but I'm betting they'll start dancing and smirking like 8-year-olds when I turn up the volume on "The Boo Boo Song." I know I will.
1) Raful Neal: "Down in Louisiana" 2) Big Pete Pearson: "Time Has Come" 3) Sam Collins: "Dark Cloudy Blues" 4) Jimmy "Duck" Holmes: "Could Have Been Married" 5) Edward Thompson: "Seven Sister Blues" 6) Booker T. Laurie: "Early in the Morning" 7) Roosevelt Sykes: "Drivin' Wheel" 8) Sunnyland Slim: "Long Tall Daddy" 9) John Lee Hooker Jr. "Dimples" 9) Billy Boy Arnold and Tony McPhee: "I Wish You Would"
Let's face it, the cover of The Mannequin Men's new album, "Lose Your Illusion, Too," is disturbing. But it fits the Chicago rockers' music pretty well.
Like the folks on the cover, The Mannequin Men's music isn't pretty; to be honest, both their vocals and their instrumentals are ragged. They make up for that with the kind of raucous energy I haven't heard nearly often enough since the heyday of The Swell Maps. And if you follow my blog regularly, you know how much I love everything associated with the late Nikki Sudden.
I've never caught one of The Mannequin Men's shows, but I see they're playing at Bear's Place in Bloomington on Sept. 20. I've got my dancing shoes and a couple pairs of earplugs already laid out.
The Devil Makes Three's latest release, "Do Wrong Right," is the kind of album that both Blind Willie McTell and Hank Williams fans can embrace.
The band's cover of "Statesboro Blues," a tune written by McTell, is a terrific mix of bluegrass and blues played at a torrid pace. Their high-lonesome rendition of "Working Man's Blues" is based on the blues, too, but it's slower and prettier.
Here in Indiana, I know a fair number of folks who say they don't like country or blues but still dig Hoosier favorites Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band. I'm betting the same could be said in California, where The Devil Makes Three is based, because the two bands are kindred spirits.
1) Fugazi: "Waiting Room" 2) The Pixies: "Here Comes Your Man" 3) The Beatles: "Dig a Pony" 4) The Broken West: "Slow" 5) Dave Davies: "She's Got Everything" 6) The Gun Club: "Bill Bailey" 7) The Go-Betweens: "Born to a Family" 8) Pavement: "Starlings of the Slipstream" 9) Paul Westerberg: "As Far as I Know" 10) The Rosebuds: "Waiting for a Carnival"
On 1998's "Din of Inequity," Sex Mob scrambled my mind with its furious cover of Prince's "Sign O' the Times." I've been waiting ever since for the funky jazz collective to release an album of Prince tunes.
On their latest release, a live album called "Sex Mob Meets Medeski," Sex Mob meets me part of the way by revisiting "Sign O' the Times" and adding another Prince cover, "Darling Nikki." Needless to say, Sex Mob captured Prince's sass and jazzed "Darling Nikki" up with three or four layers of brassy sex. It's as good a track as Sex Mob's ever recorded.
Sex Mob also reworks a couple of tunes from "Sex Mob Does Bond." I said back in 2005 that the producers of 007 films should choose Sex Mob to record a soundtrack. After listening to live versions of "Odd Job" and "You Only Live Twice," I'm even more convinced. The tunes are an exotic mix of mystery and adrenalin. Hell, even Sex Mob's cover of Duke Ellington's "Black and Tan Fantasy" sounds like it belongs on a James Bond soundtrack.
Trumpeter Steven Bernstein is the focal point, of course, but his whole crew, including guest star John Medeski on the organ, is terrific. Sex Mob's one of the most inventive bands working today and they're a killer live group. But I'm still waiting for a whole album of Prince covers.
"Pass it On" by Pieces of Peace is the one tune on the extraordinary 40-track "Eccentric Soul: Twighnight's Lunar Rotation" that always slams my senses. The song includes instrumentals that are funky and frenetic and vocals that are smooth and sweet.
"Pollution," a tune from a self-titled album featuring recently unearthed tapes by the Chicago funksters, is even better. This is funk with both an attitude and a message. And "Flunky for Your Love" sounds a bit like a Temptations tune on which someone turned up the funk
The band's good when it slows the pace, too; the love song "I Still Care" is mighty pretty. Still, there are a lot of acts that recorded pretty soul burners. Pieces of Peace's funk makes the band stand out, even if not enough folks were paying attention back in the '70s.
1) Philip Cohran and the Artistic Heritage Ensemble: "Unity" 2) David Boykin: "Circus" 3) Henry Grimes Trio: "Flowers for Albert" 4) New Generation Quartet: "Two-Step Blues" 5) Kidd Jordan, Hamid Drake and William Parker: "Forever" 6) Sonny Rollins and the Big Brass: "Far Out East" 7) Charles Tolliver Big Band: "With Love" 8) Dizzy Reece: "The Shadow of Kahn" 9) Jackie McLean: "Old Gospel" 10) Sam Jones: "Bluebird"
The songs on Amy Speace's new album, "The Killer in Me," are among the most introspective ones I've heard in a while. She certainly didn't hold back many emotions when she wrote the tunes.
That's especially true on the title track. Speace uses it to investigate the passion and fears in her own heart as much as that of her lover's.
My favorite tune on the album, though, might be "Weight of the World," a song about a brother headed to war. The emotions are simple, raw. And the details are so vivid and true that you can picture her heartache.
1) Omar Shariff: "The Raven" 2) Angela Strehli: "You Don't Love Me" 3) William Clarke: "Trying to Stretch My Money" 4) Big Time Sarah and the BTS Express: "I Make Love" 5) Van Wilks: "Travelin'" 6) Gina Sicilia: "Kissin' in the Dark" 7) Johnny Winter: "Rollin' and Tumblin" 8) Koko Taylor: "Beer Bottle Boogie" 9) John Weston and Blues Force: "You Didn't Fool Me" 10) Bonnie Lee: "Summer is Gone"
Jazz trombonist Phil Ranelin, now 70 and 3½ years removed from a near-fatal automobile accident, celebrates life with every note on his latest album, "Living a New Day."
The title track, in particular, is a touching tribute to the human spirit. With a gentle rap mixed with some lightly grooving funk, Ranelin asks listeners to give peace a chance. Both musically and lyrically, it sounds like a gentle response to some of Gil-Scott Heron's epic political tunes of the '70s. In the album's liner notes, Ranelin said he'd written the song a number of years ago, but it took on new meaning after the accident. Amen to that. It's a beautiful and poignant tune.
The rest of the album is even prettier. With pianist Dave Matthews and guitarist Calvin Keys whispering the sweet melody of Kenny Dorham's "Blue Bossa" on their instruments, Ranelin's trombone sings. I don't know of many trombone solos that are sweeter.
Ranelin says he called Gregory Howe, the president of Wide Hive Records to pick up some copies of his 2004 release, "Inspiration, and Howe booked him in a studio. Ranelin had two weeks to write songs for the new project.
You can't tell. They're all good; "Naptown Afternoon," which I presume is a tribute to Ranelin's hometown of Indianapolis, is great. On it, Matthews switches to organ and drummer Donald Bailey sets a swinging tempo. Ranelin bounces through the tune. He glides through "Escapeology Maximus."
"Living a New Day" really is a good album. It's a great way to celebrate the fact that Phil Ranelin is still with us.
The sound of Johnnie Bassett's guitar is about as sleek as any bluesman's working today. His tone is fat, though, just like the women he sings about on "Meat on Them Bones," a tune from his new album, "The Gentleman is Back."
His guitar is really the star of the album. It's flat-out chunky on the rollicking "Keep Your Hands Off My Baby." It's sweet and soft on slower tunes like "Woman's Got Ways" and "I'm Lost." But he has a fine voice, too. It's warm, gregarious even.
The Florida native, who's a staple of the Detroit blues scene, will charm you with "The Gentleman is Back." If he doesn't, you probably need to go find a bad metal guitarist who covers his anorexic notes by playing as fast as he can.
1) Barbara Mason: "Shackin' Up" 2) Mable John: "You're Takin' Up Another Man's Place" 3) Ernestine Anderson: "As Long As I Live" 4) Julie London: "In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning" 5) Katie Webster: "Pussycat Moan" 6) Marva Wright: "The Sky is Crying" 7) Lavay Smith and Her Red Hot Skillet Lickers: "Big Fine Daddy" 8) Anna King: "Come on Home" 9) Dee Dee Warwick: "That's Not Love" 10) Jackie Ross: "Need Your Love So Bad"
While looking for information about the new album by Rick Estrin and the Nightcats, formerly Little Charlie and the Nightcats, I discovered a Youtube video featuring Estrin blowing hard with Brazilian bluesman Flávio Guimarâes' group.
I have a few friends who'll probably slap me around for saying this, but I think Dinosaur Jr.'s latest release, "Farm," is the best album of the band's career.
It's both peppy and poppy and the guitars are as fierce as ever.
If it reaches the ears of my cooler students, I'm betting they'll play it in the office. Loud. Then maybe I won't get slapped by the sounds of the Jonas Brothers whenever I walk into the newsroom.
1) Son Volt: "Down to the Wire" 2) Alejandro Escovedo: "Broken Bottle" 3) Buck Owens: "Before You Go" 4) Kinky Friedman: "They Ain't Makin' Jews Like Jesus Anymore" 5) Johnny Horton: "It's a Long Rocky Road" 6) Julia Haltigan: "Bobby Pins and Barbie Dolls" 7) Syd Straw and Evan Dando: "For Shame of Doing Wrong" 8) Kelly Willis: "Heaven Bound" 9) The Drams: "When You're Tired" 10) Wilco: "Deeper Down"
I was beat when I got home tonight after giving seminars for several hours and I had a hankerin' to hear Randy Newman's version of "Gone Dead Train," a tune that always perks me up. It's the rockingest song he ever recorded, at least as far as I know.
Foolishly, I plugged the word "train" instead of "Randy Newman" into the search bar of my iTunes player. More than 300 songs popped up. Yowza.
I started looking through the list and decided that almost all of them were good; many were great. Moreover, the songs cut through an amazing cross-section of musical genres. So, I decided to share a list of 100 of my favorite songs about trains.
I tried to limit the list to one song per artist and one version of a tune. I also included only songs with the word "train" in the title, which, I know, leaves out hundreds of spectacular tunes. Still, there was no shortage of great songs to pick from.
I'll bet Yvette Summers and Chekere's "Live at the Jazz Bakery" is driving record store owners nuts ... at least the ones smart enough to stock it. At the base, I suppose, is Afro-Cuban jazz. But there also are heavy dollops of traditional jazz, African folk music and funk. And if you listen carefully, you'll also hear some classical influences.
In many ways, the music reminds me of that of Los Hombres Calientes, a great big melting pot of a band. That's to be expected because Summers recorded with Los Hombres Calientes, adding her excellent percussionist and vocal skills.
Credit trumpet player Luis Eric Gonzalez, too. His horn chops are both lively and sensuous. (You really should check him out on "It's About Time," the new album by the great timbalero Orestes Vilató.) He has an especially tender solo on the ballad "Profundo [Deep]," which he dedicates to his wife, who'd just had a baby.
In fact, the whole band is terrific, as is the album. Whether they're playing a pulsing dance tune or a sweet jazz ballad, the music's all sensuous.
1) Dinosaur Jr: "Back to Your Heart" 2) Spoon: "The Way We Get By" 3) The Dictators: "What's Up With That?" 4) The Meteors: "Radioactive Kid" 5) Ludella Black and the Masonics: "Hey Johnny Raw" 6) The Greenhornes: "Gonna Get Me Someone" 7) The Downbeat 5: "Laughin' Out Loud" 8) The Seeds: "Pictures and Designs" 9) The Soledad Brothers: "Truth or Consequences" 10) The Wonder Stuff: "Ooh She Said"
Many years ago, my little brother wrote a lead for our college newspaper that said: Jesus has been crucified again, this time on a Lafayette stage.
The copy editors thought it was sacrilegious and didn't want to let it run. I was the managing editor and overruled them. I've been thinking about the merits of that lead since reading a short essay about bad reviews by my Twitter pal Jason Gross, the editor of the online music magazine Perfect Sound Forever.
I still think my brother's lead for a review of a community theater presentation of "Godspell" was clever. In retrospect, though, I wonder how much value there is in trashing amateur actors.
On my blog, I rarely write bad reviews of albums or performances. My goal is to point friends, students and fellow music fans to albums I think are good. Over the past four years, I've panned only a few albums, most notably The Rolling Stones' "A Bigger Bang," which most critics seemed to be comparing to "Exile on Main Street." I liked the music on "A Bigger Bang" just fine, but I thought the lyrics were trite and amateurish ... and I said so.
Newspapers, magazines and Web sites such as Popdose don't have the luxury, as I do, of ignoring releases by major artists just because they don't like the albums. Nor should they ignore them. In fact, I appreciate reading negative reviews of clunkers by artists I admire.
But too many music journalists, and especially music bloggers, write negative reviews simply for the sake of snarkiness. Moreover, there's often a mindless pack mentality. My best friend, for example, stopped reading music blogs after seeing one mean-spirited review after another of Vampire Weekend's debut album last year.
Here's some advice I often give in seminars to college students who write music reviews:
• There's no point in writing a bad review of an album by a group no one's ever heard of. • Don't review albums if you hate the artist or the musical genre. (I'll admit, for example, that I'm a music snob who sees no value in releases by Kenny G and Celine Dion. Others do, though, so you won't find me reviewing CDs by those artists.) • Never get personal. • Be consistent. I often find value in reviews with which I disagree if I have a historical sense of the writer's preferences. • Always remember that you're just a reviewer; not a rock star. As I survey the world of music blogs, I see one writer after another who's more concerned about ego than craft. Those are the writers who see their readership dwindle with every review.
1) Sammi Smith: "Help Me Make It Through the Night" 2) Irma Thomas: "I Haven't Got Time to Cry" 3) Bettye Swann: "I'm Lonely for You" 4) Patsy Cline: "Leavin' on Your Mind" 5) Aretha Franklin: "Do Right Woman, Do Right Man" 6) Helen Carr: "You're Getting to Be a Habit With Me" 7) Abbey Lincoln: "Brother Can You Spare a Dime" 8) Lucinda Williams: "Tears of Joy" 9) Kathleen Edwards: "Alicia Ross" 10) Wanda Jackson: "We Could"
When I was a kid I used to devour old books about the jungles of Africa. The writing and the artwork were cartoonish, but they seemed real to me. Scared the hell out of me, actually. Needless to say, I couldn't stop reading.
These days I can't stop listening to Australian bluesman C.W. Stoneking's "Jungle Blues," which is an almost spot-on musical approximation of my childhood books. Like the prose in those books, Stoneking's music is sparse, sometimes cartoonish. He often sounds like he's trying out for a spot as a circus announcer, but the music's all based on '20s-style country blues, and some of the tunes — "Jailhouse Blues," for example — seem as if they were penned by Robert Johnson or Charley Patton.
So here's my plea: Will some executive at Nickelodeon please give Stoneking his own TV show? There's a whole generation of fantasy-loving kids waiting to become blues fans.
1) Teenage Fanclub and Jad Fair: "Behold the Miracle" 2) Black 47: "I Got Laid on James Joyce's Grave" 3) Bill Lloyd: "Turn Me On Dead Man" 4) The Creations: "I Want You" 5) Rod Stewart: "Twistin' the Night Away" 6) Los Straitjackets: "Twistin' Way Out in Space" 7) Janis Martin: "Cracker Jack" 8) Lesley Gore: "Wonder Boy" 9) Eddie Bond: "One Way Ticket" 10) Gene Vincent: "Baby Blue"
Veteran soul master Lee Fields toned down the funk but not the intensity for his latest release, "My World."
"My World" has some great grooves, to be sure, but Fields sounds as if he's trying to seduce his listeners instead of herding them onto the dance floor with a funky stick as he did on 1999's "Let's Get a Groove On" and 2002's "Problems," two of the best funk albums released since the '70s.
He still burns, though, especially on "Money I$ King," "Love Comes and Goes," and "My World is Empty Without You," a fabulous cover of the Supremes hit. His band, the Expressions, set the mood with sexy grooves; Fields wins listeners' hearts with slinky vocals that always seem to end with fever-pitched pleas.
The Expressions also play a couple of instrumentals on the album that make me wish they'd release an album on their own. The fact that the band is so good probably shouldn't be surprising, considering the band members are jazz, soul, rap and rock veterans who have played with folks such as James Brown, Sharon Jones, Al Green, Charles Tolliver, Steely Dan, Amy Winehouse, NAS, Ghostface Killah, the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion and Pere Ubu.
As I listen to "My World," I imagine The Dramatics meeting James Brown to sing steamy ballads such as "It's a Man's, Man's, Man's World." And there's not a damn thing wrong with that.
Listening to "Nippon Soul" tonight I was struck by the way Cannonball Adderley combined toughness and mysticism.
Usually sweetness and swing are the first words that come to mind when I think of Cannonball, one of my favorite musicians. Both of those qualities are present on "Nippon Soul," recorded live in Japan in 1963, especially on the bluesy "Work Song," written by his brother, Nat. (It's an extra added to the CD version of the album.)
But listen to Yusef Lateef's "Brother John," written for John Coltrane, and you'll hear Cannonball spewing sharp notes out of his alto saxophone like he was going to a knife fight. He counters those notes with ones that suggest a Middle Eastern mystique. Lateef is great, too, especially on his oboe.
Song for song, "Nippon Soul" is one of the best albums in the Cannonball Adderley catalog. The band is one of Cannonball's best lineups. It features Lateef on flute, oboe and tenor saxophone; Nat Adderley on cornet; Joe Zawinul on piano and organ; Sam Jones on bass; and Louis Hayes on drums.
Everyone gets a chance to stretch out on the title track, one of Cannonball's best. The rendition of "Come Sunday" is a showcase for pianist Joe Zawinul and bassist Sam Jones; the horns don't even enter the song until near the end. And "Tengo Tango," which Nat calls a jazz tango, features two and a half minute of a sensuous Latin bop.
Check out this video version of "Brother John." If you don't own "Nippon Soul," I'm betting the clip will persuade you to buy it.
1) Mickey Murray: "Flat Foot Sam" 2) Johnny Rawls and L.C. Luckett: "What Makes a Good Man Go Bad" 3) Johnny Dynamite: "Everybody's Clown" 4) Toni Lynn Washington: "It's Love (24 Hours a Day)" 5) Alberta Adams: "I Want a Man" 6) Johnny Adams: "Love for Sale" 7) Honi Gordon: "My Kokomo" 8) Etta Jones: "Don't Go to Strangers" 9) Joe Williams with the Thad Jones-Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra: "Woman's Got Soul" 10) Curtis Mayfield: "Never Say You Can't Survive"
It seems to me that Nanci Griffith's new album, "The Loving Kind," is just about a perfect musical companion for the Fourth of July.
Griffith pricks America's social consciousness with "Not Innocent Enough," an indictment of the death penalty, and with the title track, a tune about an interracial couple who 50 years ago won a Supreme Court decision securing their right to be married.
Those are the songs that are receiving most of the attention, and they're fine songs, but the real strength of the album is Griffith's ability to connect with ordinary folks. That starts with her voice, which has always been an American treasure. It's an everywoman's voice ... except no one else sounds like Griffith.
Griffith's vocals, both joyous and plaintive, navigate the landscape of life in America. Cynics will dismiss the simple message of hope in the lyrics of "Across America," but it's a message that will resonate with the people rebuilding their lives after disasters both natural and economic.
Her return to the more traditional country of Griffith's early albums will resonate with her long-time fans. Covers of two Dee Moeller songs — "Party Girl" and "Tequila After Midnight" — are particularly good. They sound like classic country, classic Nanci Griffith.
1) Dave Alvin: "Fourth of July" 2) Louis Armstrong and His Hot Five: "Fireworks" 3) Josie Miles and Billy Higgins: "Picnic Time" 4) Bruce Springsteen: "Independence Day" 5) Memphis Slim: "Freedom" 6) Big Jack Johnson: "It's the Fourth of July" 7) Ani DiFranco: "Independence Day" 8) James McMurtry: "God Bless America (Pat McDonald Must Die)" 9) Bob Brookmeyer: "Holiday" 10) B.B. King and Bobby "Blue" Bland: "Let the Good Times Roll"
I'd never heard of Lavelle White when I picked up "Miss Lavelle" back in '94. By the end of the second track — "Voodoo Man," one of the funkiest blues tunes I'd heard in a long time — I'd have put her in the blues hall of fame if I'd had a vote.
Not many blueswomen have ever performed saucier versions of "Why Young Men Go Wild" or prettier renditions of "You're Gonna Make Me Cry."
"Miss Lavelle" is a flat-out great album that's sadly out of print. Find a copy if you can.
Also join me in wishing Ms. White a happy 80th birthday. She's performing a birthday concert at Saxon Pub in Austin tonight. I certainly wish I could be there to help her celebrate.
(Blues Blog Special is a regular feature that examines older blues albums worth checking out.)
1) Billy Joe Shaver: "The Hottest Thing in Town" 2) Skeets McDonald: "Heart-Breakin' Mama" 3) The Kentucky Boys: "Jelly Jane" 4) Beat Farmers: "Girl I Almost Married" 5) Neil Young: "Alabama" 6) Sonny Burgess and Dave Alvin: "Tennesse Border" 7) Jerry Lee Lewis: "Sweet Little 16" 8) Reckless Kelly: "Lonely All the Time" 9) The Morells: "Let's Dance On" 10) The Shadows: "The Frightened City"
When I was in high school in the mid-'70s, The Three Degrees' "When Will I See You Again" was the ultimate make-out song. It was probably the first slow-dance tune played at every dance I attended; I know it was at my prom.
This morning I learned that Fayette Pinkney, an original member of the Philadelphia group, died over the weekend at age 61. In a statement printed in a Philadelphia Inquirer obituary, Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff said Pinkney and the Three Degrees "were our Philly sound version of Motown's Supremes — but bigger and stronger and melodic."
1) Papa Groove: "Afro Taxi" 2) Mo'Fone: "Sling Shot" 3) Johnny "Guitar" Watson: "Feel the Spirit of My Guitar" 4) Betty Davis: "Your Man, My Man" 5) Mint Condition: "Funky Weekend" 6) Clarence Reid: "It Was Good Enough for Daddy" 7) Fela Kuti: "Zombie" 8) Miles Davis: "What I Say" 9) Couch-Ensemble: "Funky Donkey" 10) Charles Kynard: "Pieces of Pisces"
I don't know of many more aptly named album titles than the late Piedmont bluesman Cootie Stark's "Raw Sugar," which was produced by the Music Maker Relief Foundation.
On "Sarah," for example, Stark sounds a bit gruff, but there's undeniable sweetness in his proclamations of love. Listen to the intensity of his vocals and guitar playing and there's no doubting his sincerity.
Stark played his guitar with a delicate ferocity. But it's his vocals that always linger around my house long after the album quits playing. On "I'm So Lonely," Stark's voice sounds big and strong, but it quivers with every word he sings. I don't know many sadder tunes.
On "Cootie's Testimony," a long rambling blues sermon, Stark calls the blues a gift. The raw, sometimes sugar-filled, blues of Stark certainly sounds like a present from a classic Piedmont bluesman to me.
Here's a clip of Stark performing "U-Haul," a song from the album:
1) Buster Smith: "Organ Grinder's Swing" 2) Jimmy Smith: "Blues for J" 3) Leo Parker: "The Lion's Roar" 4) Freddie Roach: "When Malindy Sings" 5) Buddy Rich and Harry "Sweets" Edison: "Easy Does It" 6) Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis and Shirley Scott: "The Chef" 7) Johnny Griffin: "Satin Wrap" 8) James Moody: "The Jazz Twist" 9) King Curtis: "Soul Serenade" 10) Hank Crawford: "Never Let Me Go"
I don't know if I'd call alto saxophonist Buster Smith legendary, as the title of his only album as a leader proclaims, but listen to the 1959 release and you can hear how he influenced Charlie Parker and David "Fathead" Newman, both of whom Smith employed in their early days.
Smith played with a gentle and soulful lyricism. Add some vocals by a noted blues singer of the era and you might have had a legendary album. Smith also knew how to swing, but that's not surprising considering he once shared leadership duties with Count Basie in the Barons of Rhythm.
For me, the sweet groove of the album is perfect for easing me through the pains that are just now hitting me after surgery this morning.
I like Wilco's and Son Volt's new albums ... at least I think I do. I haven't listened to them much since I picked up "I Think This Is" by The Young Fresh Fellows and "Killingsworth" by The Minus 5.
