Billy Powell, the pianoist of Lynyrd Skynyrd passed away yesterday at
the age of 56 due to a heart attack. Which means that Gary Rossington
is the sole survivor of the band he formed with Billy and Ronnie Van
Zant years ago. It's hard to understand the circle of life sometimes,
to find that you fight for most of your life to get somewhere and
finally when you feel that you're content in life, that's when God calls
you up to the Great Beyond. Billy will be missed by the fans and
tribute bands of Skynyrd. Now, getting on the original program of this
week..
The big hubnub of the week happens to be Bruce
Springsteen's Working On A Dream album and the reviews have been five
star from Rolling Stone to Two Star from a LA Times review. From what I
gathered so far, it has been the perfect followup to Human Touch which
pretty scared me off from reviewing it and the usual digipak bullshit
that confirmed and deny reviewing it. I went instead with the Buddy
Holly box set called Down The Line to which it comes a week before Buddy
decided to come up to the mid west and gave himself to entirety. Upon
listening to disc one, Buddy could have been a very good hillbilly
artist with the cuts he did with Bob Montgomery, sounds somewhat in the
tradition of Reno And Smiley or the Louvin Brothers. The second half
showcases some early garage covers of the rockabilly he was listening to
and yep, he probably had Elvis' first album. In other words Buddy
covers Elvis and not essensial by any means but a lotta fun and a peak
into the development of Mr. Holly. The second cd contains what is
called the Apartment Tapes, a cache of songs Buddy was working up and
was still working on as late as January 20th, not barely two weeks
before his passing. It seems that we'll never get The Complete Buddy
Holly album of 30 years ago due to the usual major label and lawyers
messing things up, but for it matters, Down The Line may just be the
final chapter of the recordings of Buddy, going back as far as 1949 to
which as a 13 year old, he may have been messing around a Hank Snow
number but that recording would shed just a little light into what Buddy
would become and sadly 10 years later what could have been. Certainly,
Elvis Presley may have been the King Of Rock n Roll, but had Buddy
lived on, things would be a lot different. I'm sure the UK bands of
that time probably think of Buddy more of the King, since he influenced
most of them. Without Holly, The Beatles or The Hollies wouldn't be as
we know them today.
On the subject of Mr. Springsteen,
Working On A Dream might be the biggest bomb of the year, or the most
overexposed. Sure BS will be playing at the Super Bowl with the usual
hits, I certainly don't expect him to trot out Outlaw Pete, the 8 minute
disco song that Springsteen leads off WOAD. His fans complain about
Brendan O'brien's production to which I thought worked well on The
Rising and not so much on Magic, last year's five star album which
rated as a C plus in my book and raised the wrath of Bruce's fans.
O'Brien is a very good producer, he's done wonders with most of the 90s
rock and roll you hear on KRNA and elsewhere but from what i heard of
this album, it's been Bruce's songwriting which has fallen apart this
time out. Perhaps Bruce is no longer the Hungry Heart who was Born To
Run to The Cadillac Ranch. Style is over substance on WOAD and a 2 star
BS album qualifies as a one star for any other artist out there. And
radio is not going to play this album, they didn't with Magic, nor
Devils and Dust. I don't consider Bruce to be the saviour of Rock
although I did buy albums from him off and on, And even on his best
ones, (The River, Darkness On The Edge Of Town, Born To Run) there was a
lotta filler between the hits. But I paid attention up till Tunnel Of
Love and then the interest wained. The Bruce of this decade is far more
different than the 70s and 80s, or even the 90s. He's not going to
come up with a Born To Run 2 or even Tunnel Of Love 2, but I thought
he'd do better than Human Touch 2. Chances are it will probaly make
number one, and then take a dive south. The way things are in the Great
Depression 2, people will probaly choose to eat rather than pay 11.99
for a flimsey digipak full of subpar material.
As another Bruce would sing: That's just the way it is.
To Russ, got your note, thank you for the birthday shout. I figured you'd eventually remembered bro ;-)
The Top Ten Of The Week in Crabbland.
1.
My Two-Timin Woman-Buddy Holly 1949 When you hear this song, you will
not believe that this is Buddy in the beginning. Before puberty, but
then again I think I sounded like that when I was 13 years old. The
major difference was that Buddy got lots better before I did.
2.
Jail Bait-Wishbone Ash 1972 Do you believe that I have four Wishbone
Ash 45s in my collection? I cannot recall where I got this one at
although I'm thinking it may have been Rock N Bach in the 80s. Or maybe
uptown at Town Square Books when they were selling the juke box 45s
they got next door from Ole's Ham and Egger. Kids today don't
understand the thrill of buying records nowadays, it's easier to
download things from the net. Guess that makes me an old fuddy duddy.
3.
I Want You Back In My Life Again-Cooper Dodge Band 1980 Another of who
the fuck are they, this band made this MOR single for ATCO which
sounded like Minite by Minite Doobie Brothers or Player of Baby Come
Back fame. Outside of that, these guys are unknown. Betcha nobody else
plays this song in the world anywhere. And I do mean anywhere kiddies.
4.
Please Send Me Somebody To Love-Fred Neil 1968 Neil was a hotshot
songwriter who had a hit with Everybody's Talking but he was a reclusive
from the word go and when I read books about the 60s, people don't
speak a lot about him and if they do it's not very nice. Made a decent
S/T for Capitol and the followup was a custerfuck at best. But Fred,
when he did put his mind to it does a very fine slow bass vocal to this
song with has only a standup bass and another guitar to it. This was
the B side to Felicity, a failed single.
5. Lucid Dreams-Franz
Ferdinand 2009 The first album of the year and the first song of this
year to hit the Top Ten and it's one of the more advantureous that this
Scottish band has attempted, a 8 minite electronia jam. And the way,
things are going this year, there won't be too many cds reviewed this
year. Blame it all on digipaks, a sucky economy or shitty music. All
the above.
6. The Long Race-Bruce Hornsby and The Range 1986
This is probaly the hardest rocking song off The Way It Is, our
introduction to Bruce and company. I don't think it has dated as badly
as say Huey Lewis and The News but sometimes I do remember about the
past.
7. Front Me Some Love-Joe King Carrasco And The Crowns
1983 Party time rock and roll from one of the more entertaining
musicians that ever came out of Texas. This was off the second album
Joe did for MCA, he would do a killer album a few years later but that
one has been extremely hard to find.
8. Singer Of Sad
Songs-Waylon Jennings 1970 Produced by Lee Hazlewood, this album if you
ever get around hearing it, is the most stripped down Waylon that RCA
put out at that time and even in the digital age have refused to
reissued it but Diggy Kat, my good friend sent me the complete album to
which this song was the most polished of all songs on this. But I think
on the final track of this album Rock, Salt And Nails it's Lee that's
dueting on it, not Kris Kristofferson. Lee's a bit more tuneful shall
we say? Yes Diggy it's Lee doing the other vocals in his own unmistakeable voice! ;)
9. Sister James-Nino Tempo And the 5th Ave. Sax 1973
Another forty five that I rediscovered over my birthday weekend, this
made the top twenty on the KCRG Super 30. Tempo had a hit back in the
60s with Deep Purple, but by this time, he went in a more jazz
direction. You know I can make bout 10 volumes of Hard to Find 45s and
not duplicate them as the damn major labels do. Sing along to the
lyrics...Don't Play No Games, With Sister James. Uh-haaaa.
10.
Baby Don't You Do It-The Who 1972 Out of all the compilations I have
seen from Universal or MCA, they never have put this B side to Join
Together on any of them. I mean any. This was taken from a live
performance (an show at San Francisco I think) and is famous for Keith
bashing away on a 20 inch crash ride. The Who attempted to do this song
a couple times in the studio, once in 1965 and second when Leslie West
came on as a guest around 1971 but for all it's worth, this 6:54 live
version remains the bomb. Too bad, The Who doesn't do this song live
anymore but then again, I don't think Pete could play that fast.
DIGGY KAT repiles:
oh man, RIP Billy =(
wow i don't even know that Buddy Holly song! wow what a treat!
is
that Lee singing on Rock, Salt And Nails? out of the albums i got
that's the only one that doesn't list additional musicians/singers. i'm
not familiar with Lee Hazelwood at all besides his producing with
Waylon. the vocals caught me off guard at first too lol "who's this?
oh...must be Kris" lol GREAT Waylon song by the way, i also swoon for
Times Between Bottles Of Wine and If I Were A Carpenter ;-) and hey!
another harpsichord appearance in She Comes Running! brilliance! pure
brilliance!
