2020 update. On February 7, 2021, Rush Limbaugh lost his battle with lung cancer, he was 70 years old. He was trail blazer for sure, a open mouth piece for the Conservative way of life. In the 9 years since this article, my feeling for him never changed, but since he is now dead and gone, it matter less to what I think. Cancer sucks and Rush will be missed by his legion of fans and supporters. Goodbye and thanks for the memories Rush.
Another musician that passed away this weekend was Jamie Campbell who was part of the Cedar Rapids music scene in the 80s and 90s. He played in a variety of cover bands, Mr Meaner the best known. He was 47. I may have caught a couple of his bands when he played at the Dark Horse, which was CR's roughest bar and perhaps he lived the rock style of booze and smokes and everything caught up to him. Funny how you're young, you're Superman and nothing can stop ya. I know through experience and jack and cokes. They make you feel like your playing better and at times I did but then waking up after a drunken stupor and seeing my hands all bloodied up from bashing them on the cymbals and drums. No, I cannot drink anymore, an enlarged liver will wake you up and I never did smoke although that second hand smoke would have gotten me lung cancer anyway. Nevertheless, Jamie Campbell a true rock and roll original drummer, And a great handyman. RIP.
And the music continues:
But first: Drew has a new site. http://daybydaysurvival.blogspot.com/ Gotta hand it to him for putting his collection out like that. Hell it would take about 2 years to sort out half the crap in my collection.
1. Bad Motor Scooter-Montrose 1973 Later done by Paraphernalia on their infamous 1984 show Live Under A Full Moon. All in all a perfect introduction of the guitar noises that Ronnie used to make and later became an influence on Eddie Van Halen half decade later. It all ties together.
2. Jammin & Jumpin-Bullmoose Jackson 1945 Rock n roll existed before 1954 in a different form. Mostly jump blues with a more swinging wild sound than jazz. Bullmoose Jackson, great bandleader, one of the best blues shouters out there with Big Ten Inch Record to which The FOX played one night before the Aerosmith version came on. Kind of a nice tribute to a forgotten R and B singer. Hell of a sax player too. Most of you probably don't know who Bullmoose is and I'm too lazy to look things up on You Tube for suggestions so your on your own. Contains a wild drum solo from Panama Francis who would drum on a lot of early Atlantic recordings of various blues singers i.e. Big Joe Turner or The Clovers.
3. Desde La Vida-3 1988 Last month I've been on a Emerson Lake And Palmer kick finding some of their lesser known stuff and off projects and revisiting their music. Basically this is Carl and Keith without Greg but Robert Berry (whoever he was) and going for more of a sound like Asia had although 3 was more poppier. Their sole Geffen album remains a prog pop mess but when Keith starts firing up the Moog, I can't help but having a cheesy grin on my face too. Certainly To The Power Of 3 is not Brain Salad Surgery, but it is loads better than Love Beach.
4. The World We Know-The Smithereens 1988 Staying in the year of the 88 I give ya a album track from Green Thoughts featuring the guest vocals of Del Shannon who would take his life a couple years later. Wished he never did that, he was loved a lot more than he thought he was. Used to have the CD of Green Thoughts but somehow somewhere I have the vinyl version. Life is wonderful.
5. Post Toastee-Tommy Bolin 1976 Deep Purple and drugs killed him (living up to Richie Blackmore in that band could do that, unless your Steve Morse, whose done just fine) and in his lifetime, he only recorded two proper solo albums, Teaser and the more jazzier Private Eyes which featured Norma Jean Bell on saxophone, (whose is still rocking up a storm in the Detroit area). My favorite Tommy Bolin track. http://www.tbolin.com/history/tommy_bolin_band.html
6. Distant Early Warning-Rush 1984 This is the kind of Rush I can get into. Not the big blow hard on Clear Channel though.
7. Hoe-Down-Leonard Bernstein/New York Philharmonic 1960 Later done by Emerson Lake And Palmer but my choice goes Leonard and his classical version. After all I don't post a lot of classical music if ever and if I did I'm sure Aaron Copeland had something to do with it. It's fun music and everytime I hear the ending I just want to yell out these inspirational words of wisdom in the style of Robert Mitchum. BEEF IT'S WHAT FOR DINNER! Hard habits are hard to break ya know?
8. Scarecrow-Brave Belt 1970 Randy Bachman bored with The Guess Who leaves to form his own band to make a country rock album and manages to hook up with former lead singer of the Guess Who before Burton Cummings, Chad Allen. I think Randy wanted Brave Belt to sound like Buffalo Springfield and ended up sounding more like the first Poco album. Good in spots but boring in others. This song which ends the first Brave Belt album comes across like a Crazy Horse/Mason Profit track. Fred Turner would replace Chad Allen on the second Brave Belt album on the way to become what you would all know as Bachman Turner Overdrive, boogie rockers extraordinaire but at the beginning, they were country rock.
9. Just To Satisfy You-Waylon Jennings & Willie Nelson 1982 Music Choice plays this way too much but I still enjoy this hit from Waylon and Willie although their hit making years are about to come to an end here.
10. Can't You Hear The Cows-The Turtles 1968. Moo Baby!
6 comments:
Intresting list. Yeah, you HAVE bn on an ELP kick lately, but that's OK.
The great thing about Aaron Copland's music is IT'S ALL LIKE THAT. All very AMERICAN -- like something out of an old western, sweeping plains, Monument Valley in the background, the Marlboro Man riding up on a horse.... All of "Rodeo" & "El Salon Mexico" & the "Simple Gifts" section of "Appalachian Spring," it's all very panoramic -- LOVE that stuff, crank it up loud every time I play it.... Strangely, ELP's version of "Hoedown" never got 2 me like a big orchestra's version, tho. But I LOVE ELP's "Fanfare for the Common Man"....
"Can You Hear the Cows"? Holy crap! I gotta track me down some more Turtles! & have you heard "Lady-O" or "Sound Asleep" or "We'll Meet Again" lately...?
Hey TAD-Seems like when I'm on a artist kick i tend to review more than a fair share of their albums and even though ELP gets raked through the coals, the records I picked showed maybe they were ahead of their time, even their side project are worth a listen or two. or 3!
ELP's Hoedown is over the top on Trilogy but it's campy fun as Mr Emerson eeks out sounds off the moog. I'm sure there's better versions of Bernstein though, I found a mono LP at Goodwill. It could use a bit of 5.1 Surroundsound if it exists.
As for the Turtles Sound Asleep got played on the radio a few times but Cows is the B side to Story Of Rock And Roll and showcases the strange sense of humor that is Flo and Eddie. Sound Asleep's B side was Umbassa The Dragon which gives Zappa a run on the Avant Garde. Didn't know what to think of it when first heard it as a 8 year old. And still don't today. Weird.
Thanks Crabb, for that shout out!
You got a few great tunes this week. Montrose is always good, don't hear them of the radio too much, if at all. People are always surprised when I tell them that Sammy Hager started his career with them.
3-I have that album, I haven't listened to it in a LONG time.
Funny how you brought up Post Toastee from Tommy Bolin. I listened to Private Eyes a couple of weeks ago. Good stuff there.
Rush-Always a great band, especially for a die hard like me.
Now, I've got to track me down some Brave Belt.
NP Drew
Bob Dorr promised that he be playing some Montrose this Saturday Night and I put my requests in (guess which ones). Sam Hagar was a unknown and even I didn't know that till I looked at who played what on the Paper Money album. The other album came later.
Too bad that Tommy Bolin didn't live long enough the see the riches that came with Private Eyes, which is probably his best solo album, I like it more than Teaser.
Brave Belt's albums never sold a ton, and if you heard the first album you wouldn't believe they would become BTO. The CD came out as a Canadian import which i bought at Tower Records in Vegas, a year before they closed up shop. Brave Belt 1 was them being Buffalo Springfield, BB2, shows them going for a more CCR sound since Fred Turner sounded a bit like John Fogerty. Both albums are uneven but the second one improves over the first.
Hey, Crabby: I was gonna mention, "Distant Early Warning" is very nice, but I'm a sucker for Rush's "Manhattan Project," "Force Ten," "The Camera Eye," & especially "Time Stand Still" -- which has been pretty much my theme song since about 1998....
Are you down to blogging 1nce a week now? These days I'm lucky if I can manage 2wice a week....
Still around Tad but don't post much on the GF's computer if I'm over here. It's too damn slow.
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