Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Top Ten Of The Week-The Day Country Music Died

Another week, another top ten another snowstorm.  The fucking groundhog lied again. Another six inches of snow but since the temps have warmed up a lot since February, getting to work wasn't that bad since the roads were warm enough to make the snow easier to plow off the road.  But we're getting tired of the white crap.  Another storm coming for the weekend to make another mess.  Going from snow to rainy season sooner than we like.

This just in, Alvin Lee, the guitar slinger singer that make Ten Years After an sensation with his on fire solo on I'm Going Home at Woodstock passed away at age 68 from complications from surgery. His latest album is Still On The Road To Freedom that I just brought a couple weeks ago.  Bill Kopp interviewed him on the latest album awhile ago. http://blog.musoscribe.com/?p=2956

The Casino Vote was voted today and....the voters approved it by a 61 to 39 vote.  I guess this means that the Riverside Casino dude won't be building that water part here anytime soon.

Some interesting links to read: Margaret Cho gives you the top five male bands for lesbians.  A lotta thought when into this list and if anybody knows their lesbians, that would be Miss Cho http://blogs.ocweekly.com/heardmentality/2013/02/margaret_cho_gives_us_some_ins.php

Queensryche has been in a mess and dissarry since Geoff Tate got booted and formed his own version of Q. The other members have decided to carry on as Queensryche as well and signed up with Century Media, the prime choice heavy metal bands.  The guys have carried on but Tate seems to be a pissed off judging by the way he's been sprouting off lately.  http://ultimateclassicrock.com/geoff-tate-accuses-former-queensryche-bandmates-of-madness/

If you haven't been entertained enough, try this Rolling Stone interview with Greg Lake http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/prog-rock-pioneer-greg-lake-punk-is-not-a-form-of-music-its-a-fashion-statement-20130305


Not a good year for Motown artist, another one packs it in, Bobby Rogers, who was part of The Miracles passed away at age 73.  Co wrote a few hits such as First I Look At The Purse, a minor hit for The Contours and J. Geils Band rocker.


What's on the list?

1.  Flo-Smash Mouth 1997  Their little tribute to the Progressive Insurance chick that has been on TV for eons it seems.  Just kidding on that comment, hard to believe that their breakthrough album came out in 1997, sixteen years after the fact and forgive me, I still like Smash Mouth's Fush Yu Mang which supposed to been part of what Al Pacino said in Scar Face when the man was trying to say F U Man, while drunk on Cocaine.  Too bad we can't all go back to the 90s eh?  Or at least before Limp Bizkit turned music into ear turds.

2.  Come Unto Me-The Mavericks 2013  Some of you actually wrote me and asking if their new album was a POS since I commented about the 8 minute Call Me When You Get To Heaven being a POS, well in all fairness had they left that track off In Time, it would have a better album.  At least they stuck it toward the end before the Spanish Version of Come Unto Me.  I'm guessing that this is the single that has been offered to Country Music Stations but as far as I know KHAK or 99.3 have touched it yet.  Would sound good down at the local Mexican eatery here.

3.  No Other Baby-Dickie Bishop And His Sidekicks 1957   I'm sure nobody knows anything bout this song and neither would I had Paul McCartney not covered it on his 1999 Run Devil Run CD.  Macca says that The Ravens did a version of this song but it is Dickie Bishop that wrote this.  Found this on a cheap 2 CD set titled The Best Of Skiffle, which was Britain on the folk rock blues scene of the late 50s to which they covered a lot of Leadbelly and Kingston Trio.  This Import has a bunch of titles under the Heroes Collection Series to which they make a generous 50 song, 2 CD collection of artists no longer profitable in the US but aboard people still care.

4.  Inject The Venom-AC/DC 1981  As the years go by, the rock and roll that I grew up to is now older than the majority of folks still living.  What's the term we're looking for, so much music, so little time and where did it all go?   Nobody really knew how big Back In Black would be, how dare they replace Bon Scott without somebody that couldn't sing but hell Brian Johnson survived longer in the band than the years that Bon Scott roamed the planet.  I miss him just as much as you did and Half Priced Books had Family Jewels, a 2 DVD set of their highlights, videos and hits for 7 bucks!  Can't beat that as well as a bunch of their Epic reissues in the bargain bins too. Really makes no difference if it's Atco or Epic or Columbia, it's basically the same thing rehashed and reissued.  Would've been easier to include a BIB track but since KRNA and The FOX and KFMW plays that album to death, let's go with a lesser known song from the problematic For Those About To Rock CD, to which I like side 1 but side 2 but kinda blah.  Could be worse, you don't get many requests from anybody to hear anything from Blow Up Your Video or  (meh) Stiff Upper Lip.

5.  La Papa Sin Catsup (Potatoes Without Ketchup) Gloria Trevi 1994  Back in the late 90s when I still familiarizing myself with the internet and all out there that I wouldn't know about had we not know about the internet, I cam across this Mexican rocker from the Mexican answer to Madonna although she owes more to Pat Benetar on this blues rocker.  She got in trouble with the law for corrupting with minors and spent a few years in jail but has since been released and continues to make albums that do go up to number 1 on the Mexico chart although her highest charting album Gloria made number 17 in the US, the only time I saw that album was down at Arizona Hastings music stores.  Rumour has it that Wal mart has banned the sales of Gloria Trevi's albums in their stores.  If you don't care about your music being Spanish sung only, I suggest checking out her La Historia Greatest Hits which contains her groundbreaking 90s stuff for Ariola/BMG. Those in the Phoenix area will be able to see her perform at the Celebrity Theater on the 17 of this month.

6.  Feel Like Heaven-The Joy 1977  The last Joy Of Cooking album to which by then featured only Toni Brown and Terry Garthwaite to which they go from Capitol to Fantasy and hook up with some great soul musicians on a forgotten album that Record Collector had two copies of in the dollar bins in my Iowa City trek a few weeks ago.  The music isn't any different than what Little Feat was putting out.  3 decades later, Little Feat would make albums with a female lead singer doing the bulk of the singing.  The Joy did it a little bit better.

7.  Look Away-Ozark Mountain Daredevils 1974  They were offbeat when they hit the airwaves with If You Want To Get To Heaven and I managed to steal my Aunt Cindy's copy of that album when she was working at Target back when she lived with us.  Great memories, however this was a minor hit that sad to say that Marion TV and Records ever got in stock but KLWW played this a lot in the early stages of 1975.  Next up single would be their breadwinner, Jackie Blue.  I can honestly say that I never liked that song all that much.  But I do have all of their albums.  Got to see them play at Kirkwood years ago when Mike Supa Granda was playing in the band and he was a crazy mo fo.  Still playing alongside John Dillon and Steve Cash although they are now semi retired but do play from time to time.

8.  You Are The One-Leon Payne 1956  When I was growing up in Marion, I would buy the rock and roll forty fives for myself but if I saw something in the country bins that my dad would go for, I would end up buying that for him.  Had a great country 45 collection but what he used to do was sing along to the words and recorded them on 8 track to give to relatives.  I'm sure most of them never got played at all but the old man was instrumental in one thing and that with his recording stuff, I could record my own stuff, back then I wasn't any good, just some zit face brat banging on coffee cans and screaming half wit bayings that nobody ever knew what I was singing about.  Thank our lucky stars I finally learned how to play and sing music.  But the old man loved old country honky tonk to which I think we went up to Marion TV and Records to buy a 2 dollar Pickwick copy of Guest Stars Of The Hee Haw Show which was old time minor hits for Buck Owens or Sonny James and George Jones although it wasn't George Jones that sang on this track, it was Leon Payne and it was recorded for Starday Records in the 50s.  As in the 70s stereo craze, this mono recording was remixed in fake stereo.  Payne is best known for writing I Love You Because which was part of the songs that Elvis Presley recorded for Sun Records.

9.  Masterpiece-The Temptations 1973  The Temps had a second lease on life once they hooked up with Norman Whitfield and throughout the late 60s and early 70s he gave them a new makeover. Whitfield did that too with Rare Earth on the 15 minute Ma but for the Temps Papa Was A Rolling Stone clocked in at 12 minutes and Masterpieces almost two minutes more longer.  KAAY played this song a few times although it was the single version, unless if Beaker Street came up then you would hear the full 13:49 version.  A parting of the ways, and the Temptations would never frequent the rock charts again.  The Temptations was part of the Motown family for years with the exception of an ill fated two album disco deal with Atlantic.  They later return to Motown and associated labels through Universal although it's more a quiet fire slow grooves than the radicalness that was Papa Was A Rolling Stone or Masterpiece.

10.  Monster-Steppenwolf 1969  Political corruptness has always a part of the American Political system and nobody fucks it up better than the Grand Obstructionist Party or Republican Party and nothing has changed since John Kay made a comment about it in late 69.  In fact  I'm surprised that this song hasn't been introduced back into the protest rock circuit.  Unless Cumulus/Clear Channel radio banned it.

More album cuts:

Rich Kind Of Poverty-Sam & Dave 1967
Invitation To The White House-Eric Burdon  2013
Whiskey Talkin'-Henry Paul Band 1980
Tulsa Turnaround-Kenny Rogers & The First Edition 1970
Para Los Rumberos-Santana 1971

PT's Pick Of The Week: I Am The Walrus-The Beatles

I've always thought that this was one of the weirdest songs ever recorded. There are so many recording effects (the "amp tremolo on John Lennon's voice-thanks for showing me that one Brian Wheat!), all the real time BBC radio, and of course the famous "tape flanging". So let's jump into the Way Back Machine and travel to a time when this song was on AM Pop radio...today's "Musical Rx" is from...The Beatles...."I Am The Walrus"! Cheers, PT

A very quiet winter from Drew at Drew's Odd And Sods but Tad has been keeping busy with his observations and music favorites while entertaining the masses at his place of work.  He had a interesting comment about the reissue of Rumours but at the same time we both agree that the Peter Green years and Bob Welch years also are worth remembering.  I really have no use for another reissue of Rumours and neither does Bill Kopp.  I think for the most part if I want to revisit Rumours without hearing it on the radio I still have that 4 CD boxset of The Chain which steals good moments off that album including Silver Springs, the best song that was left off that album, only appeared as a B side to Go Your Own Way (great song but way overplayed).  Tad's latest blog is here:  http://tadsbackupplan.blogspot.com/2013/03/638-messing-with-people.html



It was fifty years ago that we lost Patsy Cline, Hawkshaw Hawkins and Cowboy Copas in a tragic airplane accident. Country Music's version of the day the music died.  http://www.angelfire.com/music5/archives/ClineNTSB.html

The RS Crabb Consortium reprinted the Tennessean's article of the events and can be found over there.

A side note, Billy Walker had an urgent message to return to Nashville in 1963 so Hawkshaw Hawkins gave him his commercial airline ticket (according to online Wikipedia on Walker's bio) and then flew on the ill fated private plane.  On May 21, 2006, Walker was killed in a auto accident in Alabama which also took the life of his wife and two band members.

Also last week, Chuck Goff, long time bass player for Toby Keith's band died in an auto crash outside Slaughterville Oklahoma. http://www.countrystandardtime.com/news/newsitem.asp?xid=6980


2 comments:

TAD said...

Crabby: Thanx as always for the plug.
Your post about your job situation is pretty scary. My only advice is don't take the "die" option. Anything that brings in some $$$ is worth it, no matter how much crap you havta eat. I'd even support your 2nd-hand store if you decide to do it....
When I start going nuts at work, sooner or later I think about what the hell my options would be if I was to become unemployed at 53 in this rotten economy. Probably I'd either move in with my Girlfriend or move back to Idaho and live with my Dad. I've been thinking a lot about my future lately, but I'm not exactly thrilled with either choice.
Hang in there, we're all pulling for ya. & I'm not just saying that because I wanna keep reading your rants and raves....

R S Crabb said...

Hey Tad thanks for your support over the years. Every place or business you're going to have that kind of impact, it only took them about 14 years after they bought National Computer Service that they would decide to centralize things. Printing is very stressful when paper rips in the printer and you have to redo and re-thread the paper since the guy who ran didn't had it set right. For 15 years being in CR, we have a close knit bunch of co workers and to see this change, people will be leaving. They talk of other opportunities in other departments but it will not be the same. Going to Minnesota isn't high on my list, never been to Snowball Minnesota and would hate the winters moreso there.

I'll give them this, at least they're preparing us of forthcoming chances and we have options unlike the poor folks that worked at Hostess. I'll survive somehow. ;)