So far I haven't gotten used to working ten hour days. We get friday
off but that leaves me little time on the days between then to really
get into the tunes and stuff. I'm getting behind on emails. After a
whole week of no rain, this week has find us back into the rainy season
once again much to our dismay. Thankfully the first night the storms
stayed to the south of here although at work it rained a lot then it did
up here at home. Count our blessings and hope we can continue this.
Cause as you all know too well, I hate extreme rains. But then again if
you're out in the desert you have to contend with dry thunderstorms and
heavy lightning. Not exactly a tradeoff.
I haven't been downtown CR at all yet, still can't see any reason to
go downtown. I guess we're all shellshocked two weeks later after the
heavy rains and one month ago the Parkersburg/New Hartford monster
tornado happened. A very hectic month, but I'm sure elsewhere in the
world, people have having more than their share of monster storms.
The tunes are.....
1. Mama-Genesis 1983 A very weird tune that hit the top forty from
Phil, Mike and Tony but strangely the 45 version was longer than the
edit chosen for the Turn It On Again compliation. In fact this song is
kinda creepy.
2. Cashbox-Jimmy McGriff 1963 He passed away May 20th and even I
missed his obituary while surfing the web. Jimmy was one of the masters
of the Hammond B3 organ sound (the other Jimmy Smith who too is no
longer with us) and made some funky jazz albums for Sue Records before
moving on to a more fusion funk sound of the late 60s and early 70s. He
returned to a more jazz sound the last two decades of his life but if I
ever want to hear Jimmy, I usually put on his Blues For Mr. Jimmy album
and get a groove on. Gone but never forgotten.
3. Well, All Right!-The Hives 2007 Used for a Sears commerical to
which I almost forgot about their last album so I had to slap it back
on. Donno if we'll remember this ten years from now, I can't remember
it unless I see the Sears Commercial.
4. Too Weak To Fight-Johnny Law 1991 A band from texas that used
the drummer from Georgia Satellites and did this Dan Baird cover. Not
sure if Dan ever recorded it on any of his albums, I don't have it any
of his albums that I do have. This band got signed to Metal Blade
Records, which couldn't figure out what to do with a Texas rock and roll
band and they issued this as a single. Which bombed. A minor but a
very good rock album in a era to which bands got swept away by the
Nirvana Grunge wave. Produced by Brendan O'Brien.
5. Going Down Slowly-The Pointer Sisters 1975 As a teenager with no
dating skills, I bought just about everything in the dollar bins and
grabbed a copy of Steppin by the Pointers as well. Brought the three
minite single and didn't know bout the 8 minite workout later on. Used
to like the full version but lately it kinda drags on more than it used
to do. Nevertheless, The Pointer Sisters were never this funky ever
again, although they found their pop side courtesy of Richard Perry and
Bruce Springsteen who wrote them Fire. Don't we wish we can live the
70s all over again? It'd be nice.
6. Weight Of The World-Ringo Starr 1992 I listened to Liverpool 8,
the brand new Ringo album and just didn't like it all that much and I'll
tell you why. For the past 12 years, Ringo has been hobhobbin with
Mark Hudson of the Hudson Brothers and Mark Hudson is so fucking one
dimensional that every album he did with Ringo was subpar at best. Yep,
everybody needs a good love song but eight or nine per album got to be
very tiring. Ringo probaly thought so too, he dumped Hudson after this
album and got Dave Stewart to remix and co produce the album. Only
decent song off Liverpool 8 was a song about death (R U Ready) and
everything else was blah. So I went with this version from Time Takes
Time to which this song sounded like a Byrds knockoff. Another good
thing about this album, Mark Hudson is nowhere to be found.
7. You Make It Right-Cool Waters Band 2002 Band from Wisconsin that
sounded a bit like the jam bands of that era (a bit of Widespread Panic
here, Train there) and made three albums, one to which I found for two
bits at the pawnshop. I'm sure they don't read my blogs but i do find
their stuff to be pretty damn good. They also remind me of From Good
Homes, another jam band that never got the breaks that they so
deserved. And yes, I still like to listen to Train as well. At least
the first album.
8. Ain't No Easy Way-Black Rebel Motorcycle Club 2005 Shoegazers
that threw a curve and made a mostly acoustic album called Howl that
didn't sell due to the Rootkit problems of Sony/BMG. However, later
copies the copy protect was jettisoned and can be played on all
players. Choose wisely people and avoid the copy protect at all costs.
9. Fox On The Run-Manfred Mann 1969 Minor hit single to which
became a bluegrass standard thanks to Tom T Hall in 1976. Had this on a
forty five that was in that 10 records for 2 bucks that you could get
when K Mart sold them that way.
10. The 11 Oclock News-George Carlin 1972 And finally we conclude
this top ten with a fond farewell to George Carlin, one of the best
observationists that we have ever had. Always radical to the very end
George made us laugh and made us think. Although the Bad George period
showed him to be grouch, I enjoy the Good George period to which he
parlayed AM radio of the late 60s and early 70s dead on and his hippy
dippy weatherman (Forecast: Dark with periods of Light or something like
that) I always get a good laugh out of. Sure he'll always been known
as the 7 words you can't say on television (and radio), but when I want
to remember the Good George, I'll put on Wonderful WINO or this
hilarious take on the news.
George Carlin..a one of a kind.
Most of the time, George Carlin was dead on when it came into the
situations of the world. He was a very witty observationist and made
some of the funny sides in recorded history with the dead on Wonderful
WINO off his first album, which speaks more of volumes of the music
world at that time. He later go on to utter the seven words you can't
say on televsion. And would later would make the every other year show
for HBO to which his last show It's All Bullshit And It's Bad For You
was one of his better ones. George also had a show for FOX in the mid
90s to which I watched when it was on.
George passed away at age 71 due to a heart attack. A one of a kind original, he will be missed.
