Crabb Bits: Rain, Relics, Chuck Murphy

Actually it felt like a long month with it the beginning of it seeing Los Lobos play and then Starship, REO and Chevelle in the weekend after that.  I think it felt longer since I didn't take much time off work and then having the big celebration of hitting shrapnel in the fucking road and ruining yet another tire.

Usual things going on, KCRG bitching and moaning of no rain for most of the month and then get hit with a fucking monsoon that knocked power out here.  This is why I never pray for rain anymore, nobody on that station remembers 2008, I'm one of those folk that would die of thirst out in the desert and not asking for water.  The ground here got scorched and I didn't have to mow it most of the month, of course with the inch and half of it last couple days may have to mow the place after all.

Carol, who came into town for Irishfest but somehow we didn't meet up (probably of her going to O'malleys at the time I was up there) mentioned that Jerry Scott the former owner of Relics has a junk shop where the old music rental place used to be.  Something called Things and More Things And Then Some or something other to that effect.  The old Relics I used to be a permanent  fixture at from 1990 to 1997 when Best Buy bought up the place and then tore it down for parking space.  Carol mentioned that the old Relic dude has bought the space next door to the Cellar Door, another junk shop that has former Rock n Bach employee Jim Kibler working there and she mentioned something bout expecting perhaps a revival of Relics in some capacity.

All fine and good I think since this town is in need of a good record store since you have to go to either Iowa City, Dubuque or Davenport to get one close by.  But the sad part is that it's not 1992, nobody is flocking to music stores for the latest CD, they're downloading and the vinyl market although coming back from the dead is nowhere near what it used to be when we had 9 music stores in the neighborhood.  CDs Plus found out the hard way you cannot charge 8 dollars for a used cd anymore or 5.99 for the lesser known.  And CD's Plus only stay around the second time around for 4 months in the old CD Warehouse location.  The old head shops that I used to frequent in my high school years, had a decent selection of vinyl of bands that Target or Marion TV wouldn't touch.  In order to survive in a dying field of recorded physical stortage, you have to have a backup plan which is why Moondog Music or Record Collector have survived over the years.  Moondog Music remains what Relics used to be and the old hippie is surviving quite well.  20 years ago Jerry had three locations in the area, two in town and one in Anamosa. And the end of Relics Phase One ended in a cloud of mystery and hard feelings before Marcus Draves took it over and did the best he could for the six years, with the end coming in 2003.   For the CD market, we have the pawnshop and Half Priced Books and whatever that can be found at Goodwill or The Salvation Army (Stuff Etc just haven't much in years and what they do have is junk).  I don't doubt Jerry, he had the best record store in town in the time they were up and running but it's a new era and you can't sell 8 dollar used cds like you once did.  That's why Half Priced Books has a big turnover in the 2 dollar section, when something don't sell at 5.99 or 7.99 they get dumped in the bargain bins.  And why HP Books is always busy.  People come from miles around to shop there and move on to the ones in Madison and Des Moines (and I thought I was the only one that did that).  Told Carol, I'll do my best to promote whatever Jerry does and reconnect with the old Relic himself when I get to see him.


In my rant and rave on the previous blog, I forgot to mention and give kudos.  If Tommy Lee is the anti rock star, we have Willie Nelson being the diplomat, the musician that will give the time of day to you and even do a meet and greet.  All month I have been singing the praises of Los Lobos and their Iowa City showcase but I have to give a big shout out to Enrique 'Bugs' Gonzalez for being one of all time best people to meet.  I have never met a more gracious and appreciating guy that spends time talking with people after a show.  He may be the new guy in Los Lobos but he has played along side of some of the best known Latin and Spanish artists (Gloria Trevi-The Mexican Madonna anybody).   Very appreciate of the folk to come up to talk to him, hell he'll even let ya take a picture or two of himself with you too.  https://twitter.com/EnriqueBugs


The Happy Together Tour featuring The Turtles Flo and Eddie is only 25 bucks at the state fair the most expensive is Miranda Lambert at 48 dollars which won't be cost effective for me to go see her.  Too much but I'm sure the Turtles would be much more fun and more penny wise shall we say.  I managed to find a copy of Frank Zappa's 200 Motels (Ryko/MGM) although it was pricy 20 dollars I had to hear this. And it turns out the second cd with the opera is so sick you have to hear it to believe it.  It's highly doubtful to see this in print, Rykodisc had a hell of a time even trying to get it out when they had the rights but they did a fine job putting up a very lengthy book and even a small poster of the movie 200 Motels.  For the cheap music collector, you'll be happy to know that Fleetwood Mac's 1975 breakthrough album is now at 4.99 at your local Best Buy.



Finally, I finally found a better copy of Chuck Murphy's One Beer/2D Girl In A 3D Town to finally replace that old record that I found by the side of the road that got ran over 50 times.  It sounds better without those scratches and to hear 2D Girl all the way through was a revelation.  Interesting concept of pairing up Murphy's honky tonk Moon Mullican type of boogie with Pee Wee Ervin's Dixieland Band on that side but One Beer is dixieland New Orleans style, may not work in theory but I love that song anyway.  Nevertheless it turned out to be Chuck's last Coral release before moving over to Columbia for a more straightlined early rockabilly.  I guess I'm not the only one that cares about Chuck Murphy.  Here's a link to somebody that also thought it would be worthy to keep his memory going. http://countrydiscography.blogspot.com/2010/03/chuck-murphy.html

CHUCK MURPHY SINGLES
Bama (1950)
300 Boogie Jackson / Woman Is The Strangest Thing - 06-50 (ad. 04-51,reissued on Coral 9-64096 in 1951)
301 Blue Ribbon Boogie / They Raided The Joint - 02-51 (reissued on Coral 9-64090 in 1951)
302 Baby Please Be Mine / It's Coming Back – ca 51

Coral (1951-53)
9-64082 My Bucket’s Been Fixed / Honky Tonk Blues - 03-51
9-64101 A Thousand Times / The Honeymoon Is Over - 51
9-60584 Lay Somethin’ On The Bar / Waitin‘ For My Baby - 51
9-60674 Clickity Mc Clackity / Nosey Joe - ca 03-52
9-60800 Who Drank My Beer (While I Was In The Rear?) / Oceana Roll - 52
9-60933 Buckin‘ The Dice / I’d Like To Break Your Neck - 52
9-61014 One Beer / A 2-D Gal In A 3-D Town - 53
9-61785 Lay Something On The Bar (Besides Your Elbow) / Who Drank My Beer? (While I Was In The Rear) - 57 (reissue)

Columbia (1954)
4-21258 Hocus Pocus / Hard Headed - 06-54
4-21305 *09-10-1954 Chuck Murphy Rhythm Hall / Riding The Sunshine Special - 10-54 (rev. Oct. 9)
4-21322 Let's Have An Old Fashioned Christmas / Santa Plays The Trombone - 11-54
4-21376 I'm Gonna Run Not Walk / The Friday Night Free For All - 02-55

MGM (1955)
K 12140 I've Been Floating Down The Old Green River / Dallas Blues - 12-55

Please Respect Our Privacy

It must be a bitch being a music star, who's made it on the circuit.   A few things that annoyed me was when I was reading about Tommy Lee bitching about people trying to take pictures or say hi to him whiles he's out and about and he made a big stink about it on Facebook.  From the man himself.

"Dear fans,

I f**king LOVE my fans! And you know this!!!... If you asked anyone that knows me really well, they would tell ya the same thing... 'Tommy loves his fans. He lives for this s**t... he eats, breathes, sh*ts music 24/7.' They'll also probably tell ya that 'he's a down-to-earth grateful life-lovin dude and a nice guy, too.'

What I have a problem with is... taking pictures! I hate it! Irritates the f**k out of me when people say... 'You owe it to your fans, they put you where you are, etc. etc.!'

I certainly don't owe anybody anything!

When I bought all my Led Zeppelin records and concert tickets, I didn't say, 'One day these f**kers are gonna owe me a picture.' It's the least they can do for me!...

[What the f**k], people? You don't admire something so that it can give back... You just cherish it! And to those who say, 'You should be grateful that people wanna take your picture. Maybe one day they won't want it!' That day can't come soon enough!

[By the way]… I'm not here to take pictures with you, I'm here to entertain you!

Nobody put me where I am but ME! They may have helped inspire me with their love for what I do... but I put myself right here where I want to be with a lot of hard work, practice, talent, luck, etc. What I do owe myself and others is being THE BEST I can be! And that's making great music, being a good man, father, lover and human being! We all owe that kinda stuff to ourselves and each other.

People, do we really need a silly picture?... For what?! Bragging rights? Really?.. Who f**king cares! Someone's not gonna believe you if ya don't have the proof pic? Then f**k 'em! I'd never go up to someone that I admired and bug them for a picture!! Why! I might say a quick hello... maybe a handshake? I dunno... It depends on the 'situation'... Most people never consider the 'situation.' That's really important... Ya wouldn't wanna handshake standing at the pisser in the men's bathroom next to me, would ya? And yes, that's happened to me, too... Or when you're eating a nice, quiet meal with your family, some rude jackass comes up and asks for a picture!

You can't even imagine what kinda crazy has happened to me. I understand the excitement and all, but just take a second and think... Is this cool right now? It's called consciousness; it's the quality or state of being aware of an external object or something within oneself. Be conscious.

So like I said… the fastest way to get me to leave is whip out a camera! Maybe just say hello and I'll probably take ya home with me! Well, I'd have to ask my girlfriend first! Hah!

Sincerely yours,
The Picture Taker Hater!
Tommy Lee"

http://www.fuse.tv/2012/07/tommy-lee-asked-for-photo-while-carrying-his-moms-ashes

UPDATE:  Too bad Tommy didn't tell us about this before he started ranting.  Then I would agree with him.
Now back to the original blog and views.

I can probably see his point of view if he had fans that demand to take his picture with them for keepsake (or for some of them to auction off EBAY)  And hell no, I would never go up to him while he's taking a piss and bothering the fuck out of him on that.   Since I'm not a Motley Crue fan I wouldn't run across a street to shake his hand or even acknowledge him at the record store.  Perhaps if he would cover his tatts up or at least put on a three piece suit and bowler hat he might get the privacy he wants while taking the kids out.  Have to disagree that it was HIM and ONLY HIM that got to the top, basically he had a crack manager and some breaks along the way and lotta fans helping their cause.  But I doubt if Tommy would consider doing a meet and greet after a show to talk with the fans, he doesn't seem to be the type.

Case in point number two. Justin Bieber took exception to a interviewer when he thought Justin sounded like the other Justin, Timerlake and the little brat got pissed and then hung up the phone when the dipshit interviewer asked him about a One Direction member dating his mom.  Yeh, I probably be a little miffed too but Bieber could blame a bad connection or the signal to the cellphone going out.  It's tough being a pop star in this day and age. Too many people trying to make you look like a fool without you doing it yourself.   Damn radio personalities. http://music.msn.com/music/article.aspx?news=740076

Then again there's Adele, who's expecting her first child.  Woman has everything right, boyfriend drops her, she gets pissed off and writes the album that broke her big 21 and complained she couldn't find a good man, wanted to have kids bla bla bla and then we get this little tidbit from the UK Diva.

Im delighted to announce that Simon and I are expecting our first child together. I wanted you to hear the news direct from me, obviously we’re over the moon and very excited but please respect our privacy at this precious time. Yours always, Adele xx

Something is wrong with that last statement, wonder what it could be eh?  Please respect our privacy at this precious time. Here's a suggestion to the UK Diva, if you want privacy, why not keep it to yourself.  That last statement calls attention to yourself more so that anything else that you wrote on 21.  It's a fact of life, people die and babies are born into this world.  I'm sure the unwed mother down the road expecting her second child isn't blabbing about it on the net since she doesn't make anywhere near as much as the UK Diva.

I have no use for Adele, her albums are for her fans and those who want to know what's on the radio.  Certainly there's better stuff and of in the case of Nicki No Talent less but it's not my way to really give a flying shit if she got laid the other day and will bestow another life on the planet with probably a dumb name to shame the poor child.  Adele isn't the only one expecting, One of the Dixie Chicks is expecting child number 4 and so is about 40,000 other women in this world.  Which begs the question if her new boyfriend decides to head off somewhere else, if it's going to lead to another album of heartbreak and emotion called 25?   But who knows, maybe it will all work out for them.

I donno, I get tired of seeing things in the paper or on the internet and seeing how the train wreck stars out there are going through life's changes of love, heartbreak, marriage, divorce and ten kids from ten different daddies and please respect our privacy in this time of trail and tribulations.  Fuck that and fuck you.  The other night while driving the old piece of shit purple car, somehow I managed to run over something and ended up getting a big split in my tire to which air was going out as fast as I was putting it in from a GD pay air hose.  And had to change a flat in the fucking darkness of the out of town BP, cussing out the Almighty and anything that came without fifty feet of myself.  But that's the story of 2012 for me, junk cars, hitting every fucking yellow red light in this wonderful town, crappy printers at work and a attitude that might just give me that stroke or heart attack that just might silence me.  If I knew had I hit Shrapnel on the fucking road, I would have mugged the guy in front of me at wally world, take his Jack Daniels and down the thing in one gulp and then ride the rims home.  So please respect my privacy while I scream f bombs to high heaven and tell Adele to rock on with her bad self.

I basically have no use for Divas' who tend to think only of her self serving selves, ya want privacy luv, keep it out of the mainstream media.  As for Tommy Lee, I prefer a Willie Nelson  or a Los Lobos who will play their shows and still be kind enough for a meet and greet afterwards.

One more Tommy, you may not want to park next to me in the urinal, I tend to have a lousy aim.............

Two Thousand Views!

Well it is official.  We have gone over 2,000 views this month, which is a first.

It's been a long month it seems, we have done a lot, blog a lot and still think we missed something out along the way.  Thirty five percent of the views went to the Rock And Roll And The Brains blog, which continues to pack them in and a distant second was the Can't Review Them All Blog with Maroon 5 which managed to unseat the Paul Revere blog for the time being.  I don't really that much stock in the all time blog since numbers tend to fall with the exception of number 1 and 2.


I like to thank everybody for their support and reading of the archives.  Comments are still welcome but I had to add a few security words due to too many porn spammers and whatever the Russians were peddling on others. 

The momentum has kinda slowed down since the Top Ten Blog, we passed 2,000 two days ago but yesterday we didn't get much hits except for the Brains Blog of course.   We also cleared 100 views this month for the Consortium Blog, another first considering I don't tout that as much.  For next month I don't forsee 2,000 views, I'll probably take some time off between blogs and let the rest of the world get  caught up on what's still in the archives.  Next month will be another return to the Mad City for more bargain hunting provided if the damn car makes it up there.  And Arizona is still a dream in progress but slowly the dates of going out there are becoming clearer and all for it to work is the getting the plane ticket, car rental and map out where I am going for that week away. If we do a 10 day trip, then I can do both Tucson, Kingman to go with the Mesa/Tempe adventures.  But I'm having such a disdain of flying that I'm really not that gung ho of going to the airport and getting the annual cavity search just to get on a 3 hour flight out there. Mr. Daniels is trying to convince me to head out there again and we'll see. I'm yearning for a St Louis return trip since I haven't been there since 2009.   Which means that the Chain Of Rocks Bridge is missing the Crabb down there.  As well as Crookton Pass in the Arizona range.

This month has been exciting and I've done a lot to get out and see some bands, starting with Los Lobos and maybe end with the I C Jazzfest this weekend although Central City has the Linn County Fair with The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band being the Friday night showcase.

The 4th of July coming up with means more bands and more fun but it also means the halfway point of summer already.  What's coming up for the Crabb site next month is hard to tell but I'm working of some things that are still under wraps.  So keep checking back and as always thanks to all for making it past 2,000 views.  Y'all rock!

Top Ten Of The Week-Dreaming Of 2000

This month promises to be the most viewed month here at Crabby's Top Ten and Music Review Consortium.   Getting close to the 2,000 mark our advisers told me to add something sensational in order to bring new viewership in and perhaps using Justin Bieber and Maroon 5 to the fray might guarantee about 20 to 30 more views than previous.  Sometimes that might backfire too. The Can't Review Them All Bog with Maroon 5 roared out of the gate but has now been stuck around 55 views. Which may not unseat the final blog of Paul Revere/Mel McDaniel to which it trades spots with the Best Of 2011 or Blanda Blackmore Blues.  Anyway, Justin Bieber's album will be the number 1 record of the week and Maroon 5's latest is out this week.  I'd love to but I just can't find it in my heart to review Justin's CD Believe.  But will probably will settle for the new Blues Traveler, provided if it isn't in digipak.....(The Blues Traveler is pretty good, the Best Buy version has a bonus disc of six more songs and you can live without them but it's a bonus disc for fuck's sake.  The Maroon 5 I passed, since it was in digipak).

Hard to believe it but we are at the halfway point of the year already.  And we've done a lot in traveling and making the summerfests that have been around the area.  Irish Fest was somewhat a bit boring, Dennis McMurrin, had a laid back funky feel but so laid back at times it almost puts me to sleep.  And Patchy Fog had a family of dude with the shakers and tambourines to keep the beat going that it felt like being in a hippy community.  The person I was going to meet up with, may have gotten to the Irish bar with friends and decided not to show up, which is okay by me.  Which also freed me up into going up to the Sip n Stir for Mike's 59th Birthday party.  He used to sing in the band but since he got tired of no shows and egos he retired to a Karaoke career.  I'm not a big fan of that so I rarely go up there but damn if he didn't throw a microphone at me and played Tequila  so I actually got to sing or shout out the word of said song.  There Mike, R U happy now?  You got me to sing on a karaoke song, don't do that again. ;-)

I must be losing my mind.  I was going to go hang out to Half Priced Books on Sunday and then go watch Dark Shadows but forgot that HP Books closes at 8 on Sunday nights, and now Barnes & Noble closes at 8 on Sundays too, they used to close at 9.  Basically, I just said the hell with it, went to Dollar General and picked up some air fresheners and went home. I'll just rent the video or take the night off and catch the late night showing.

The Linn County Fair is this weekend.  Up and comer Country star David Nail plays Wed. night, Pop Evil (whoever they are) is the rock act Thursday and Nitty Gritty Dirt Band plays Friday night.  Would be fun to go see them but since we're busy at work that won't happen.  Plus lots of Tractor Pulls, stock car races and other fun things that making going to the fair fun.  That's all in Central City.

It's top ten time.  This week's specials are following.

1.   Free Ride (45 remix)-Edgar Winter Group 1973  Interesting post from the Besides It's A B Side Facebook site on 45s and the different sounds and takes that vary from record.  Back in the days of the 7 inch black circle, 45's would have a brighter or louder mix or a version that differs from the album version and this is a case in point.  You rarely ever hear the 45 version of this song, mostly the stolic version that appears on the album.  Which isn't bad, it's just there's a more lively guitar lead on the single version.

2.  Runaway-Samantha Fish 2011  Not every girl wants to grow up to be another Madonna, nor Lady Gaga or starts a love affair with dance beats and autotuner, believe it or not when I say there's some women out there that are listening to the blues and having dreams of making it in the spotlight.  I'm not a big blues fan myself, if I am it is usually the Chess artists of long ago or Stevie Ray Vaughan.  Her CD came out on the German Ruf Records (Omar & The Howlers) and of course Best Buy doesn't have it but the local Half Priced books did and therefore I thought would be worth a listen.  Sam comes from Kansas City, one of the homes of the blues and has traveled the regional scene although further research showed that she hooked up with Dani Leigh and Cassie Wilson for Girls With Guitars that Ruf put out last years.  A contrast of styles, of Dani Leigh's Janis Joplin vocals to go with Fish's Bonnie Raitt.  It may seem like a novelty at the time but they're no different than Pistol Annies while the PA's are country, GWG are blues that play real guitars and Samantha knows her riffs and influences very well (Stevie, Bonnie, Koko Taylor too).  Here's hoping Sam Fish can join Susan Tedeschi in the blues department of being well known and being a legend like Bonnie as well.  She's got the goods and Runaway, the album is great (but since it came out last year won't qualify as one of the ten best of 2012).

3.  Take A Heart-The Sorrows 1965 Another obscure oldie that didn't make it across the pond, this was found on the Piccadilly Story (Castle/Sequel/Sanctuary) that came out on CD but I'm sure you didn't know about.  They are considered to be the ultimate freakbeat band of that time, recording for Joe Meek and then later for Piccadilly in the UK although further research showed that Warner Brothers released this (WB 5662) as a single  If this sounds familiar it's of Don Fardon who is lead vocals on this, he later did first version of Indian Reservation (later taken to number one by The Raiders featuring Mark Lindsay).  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=em2xu0j-oss  

4.  I Blame You-Michael Shelley 2000  Do you know it's been 3 years since Michael Jackson passed away? I know where I was at, down at the La Quinta Inn in Mesa enjoying the 108 degree heat and searching for more music that nobody else knows about.  Such as Mr. Shelley who sounds a bit like Freedy Johnston but more laid back.  He recorded a couple albums on the power pop Big Deal Label (which are still around but dammed if I know what type of music they're selling now).  Big Deal fell apart and Shelley moved over to Bar None to record this album and title song to which he got Dennis Diken of the Smithereens to play drums and give it a harder sound than on previous efforts.

5.  Red Hot Chicken-Wet Willie  1972  Best known for Keep On Smiling, Wet Willie was the more R and B influenced bands that came on Capricorn and their albums did make it to CD till the Universal/Polygram merger to which Phil Walden pissed off about the whole deal pretty much quit putting out the Capricorn Reissues.  Some have stayed in print (Allman Brothers, Elvin Bishop, Captain Beyond) but most if not all Wet Willie fell by the wayside.  One Arizona adventure I found Wet Willie 2 and Drippin Wet for 5.99 at Hastings in Kingman but I picked both up as curio.  Sold Drippin Wet off but kept WW2.  For some reason the cheapest found at Amazon sells for a un fucking believable 166 dollars?!?  I like the know the logic behind why it's so high on the cost list.  Cheaper ones go for 80 bucks at EBAY. Update: Amazon had a cheap one for 39.95.  A bargain so to speak.

6.  Let The Music Do The Talking-Aerosmith 1985  Nobody expected much from them when they signed up with Geffen and put out Done With Mirrors, a album that basically is Ted Templeman recording them in one take and seeing where it would lead.  Originally done by Joe Perry Project that version was a bit better thought out than the toss out words that Steven Tyler did on DWM.  Everybody in the band bitched about Templeman's recording process but the album is a garage rock classic if you take it as a garage rock classic. Once they started working with Desmond Child and other song doctors, they got the hits back but as for myself I enjoy Done With Mirrors quite well in this day and age.  At least the FOX don't overkill that album like they do with Love In A Elevator or God Forbid on KDAT, I Don't Want To Miss A Thing to which they sold their soul to the devil Diane Warren for a number 1 hit but rock fans don't play that song.  Hell, I don't even own a copy of that song.  And I'm better off for it.

7.  I Just Want To Hold-Mick Jones 1989   Telling Lou Gramm to take the rest of the career off, Mick Jones does his first and only solo album with some guest stars of note.  Namely Dennis Elliot of Foreigner fame on drums, Ian Hunter co writes and sings back ground and Ian Lloyd of Stories makes a cameo but perhaps a side note that Billy Joel plays on this cut, doesn't say what he does but I'm guessing that's him on piano in the background.

8.  Police Dog Blues-Blind Blake  1927  From the Blues Story that Shout Factory put out about 10 years ago, which is a nice sampler of the different styles and types of blues and most of it was represented with the exception of Universal holding their masters hostage and not allowing any of the Chess stuff to be put on that album.  Which is one reason why I hate mergers and major record companies and believe that if EMI gets sold to Universal they'll only hold back more masters and leave out key elements in the blues. Blake is one of those forgotten blues player although he could do rag time just as well as the blues.  He recorded for Paramount (Not the ABC Paramount but rather a small Wisconsin label that was home to other blues acts) for about six years and then disappeared in 1932, whereabouts unknown for all time.  Blake did influenced Hot Tuna that recorded a few of Blake's songs for their albums in his honor.  Perhaps Samantha Fish would like to take a whack of some of Blind Blake's number for future song requests? ;-)

9.  Ginny Come Lately-Brian Hyland 1962   If you think about it, the teen idols of the early 60s were not as puke inducing as the acts of today (Old man here, GET OFF MY LAWN.....) Bobby Darin could finger pop with the best of them and even the odious Paul Anka could pop out a cool number as well (as well as Bobby Rydell, 'snaps fingers') and Hyland kinda falls in the middle between a Darin/Ricky Nelson and Rydell/Anka.  But then again I continue to get opinions that I should just stick with the classic rock era and quit messing around the new music or anything before 1958.  Um, doesn't work that way, especially with a record hoarder who's looking for more and more of the obscure.  He's still working the the Peter Udell and Gary Gold tag team that gave him the hit with Sealed With A Kiss.  Most of Hyland's output is now in the hands of the dammed Universal umbrella (ABC Paramount, Phillips, Kapp, UNI) and MCA did put out a best of that captures most of Hyland's hits although I enjoy his failed Phillips single 3000 Miles, which was produced by Snuff Garrett and features Brother Leon Russell as band leader.  This did reach number 21 on the top forty although Oldies radio doesn't play it.  One of a few singles that I found at Iowa City' Salvation Army that decided to sneak in with the rest of the 45s that I took home.  And the record plays very well.

10.  Rock Me Baby-Paraphernalia  1982  This is for Mike Swearingen and this is his birthday present from me.  His very own spot on the top ten.  A long time ago (3 decades and then some)  my band was looking for somebody that could sing and my best friend suggested his cousin who was in a who's who of Iowa bands of the 70s.  Suede comes to mind, (not the UK band mind you but a horn driven band that sold out many dance halls and bars according to the lead singer).  We were not very good, and the bass player was spending most of his time in the Marines, while the rest of us were working crappy jobs or playing in other crappy bands.  Most of Paraphernalia's stuff is out of print and the only thing out there is a compilation of the better known songs, I.E. songs that they didn't fuck up or missed a note.  Don't bother looking up the band, they don't exist on the internet and The Paraphernalia band that's out there is not our band.  This song comes from the infamous Live At The Waldorf Astoria, a tongue in cheek album of 6 covers and a strange original called Heavy Medication (don't ask what it means, even the guitar player's mind draws a blank on why he wrote the song in the first place).  This song shows how we sounded live, lotta out of tune guitars, a screaming singer trying to outshout the guitars and bass on the ten knob and the drummer was playing cymbals more than actual drums.  A total travesty but at that time we were thinking we were on the verge of world domination.  Which could be further from the truth.  However a couple years later, the band made it to the OK Lounge on Dec 7 1984, a day that will live in infamy and under a full moon too.  Nowadays, the bass player still dreams of playing in the band, the drummer would rather do top tens and hang at record stores and the lead singer is the Karaoke star of Crown Karaoke of Robins Iowa, who plays Saturday Night at the Sip N Stir and continues to badger the drummer and bass player to come up stage and pick a song.  To which the drummer declines and prefers to sing solo....so low that nobody can hear him.    But you're all free to join the fun whenever you're in this one horse town.  Tell him Crabby sent ya.  http://www.facebook.com/pages/Crown-Karaoke/141448602575579?v=info


No room at the inn:
Pressure-Billy Joel 1982
Sunshine-Johnathan Edwards 1971
Banks Of The Ohio-The Carter Family With Johnny Cash 1960?
All Alone-The Cultivators 1999
Theme From Z Cars-Johnny Keating  1962


Read of the day: The Pleasure Seekers, a all female band that made a couple singles for Hideout and Mercury but mostly known for the Qutaro Sisters. http://rockprosopography102.blogspot.com/2011/04/pleasure-seekers-cradle-story.html

Crabb Bits: Irish Fest, Samantha Fish, Mike Swearingen

Well we are three hundred views away from 2,000 so maybe just maybe we might make it there for the first time ever.

To your left  this is the face of the new blues.  This up and coming woman has no interest in autotuned pop that is the flavor of the day.  This woman is Samantha Fish and her latest album Runaway (Ruf-Germany) has a connection that has her vocals like a Bonnie Raitt but her guitar playing is much in tune with Stevie Ray Vaughn.  Normally most of what I hear in the blues is okay but not earth shattering, but Fish's CD is a revelation upon itself.  From greasy bayou blues of  Down In The Swamp to the Delaney/Bonnie type of soul as guest Mike Zito adds a male counterpoint to Push Comes To Shove but she can also do a slow jazz number in Feelin Alright.  It's refreshing to say that not every girl wants to be a Lady Gaga.  Give Samantha time and she'll give them all a run for the money.  That includes the guys too.


I used to know Carol from Relics years ago and she told me about meeting her up at Irish Fest, which happened in Cedar Rapids, which was a cheaper alternative to the BBQ Roundup to which the locals were too happy about seeing no locals at the BBQ this year.  Personally I didn't think paying three bucks to get in and pay more for the BBQ stuff at the vendors was a good idea so I went to Irish Fest instead.  When I up there I didn't see Carol anywhere but they had some bands of note playing.  In the Acoustic stage inside they had Patchy Fog, a band that played some Eagles and Buffalo Springfield and had some bald dude with a Amish beard to boot, but they were not too bad.  Dennis (Daddy O) McMurrin was on the main stage and had some guest stars of note, T Bone Giblin on keys.  He plays some funky grooves and did a bit of James Brown and Charles Wright and the 103rd Street band Express Yourself..  Surf Zombies played earlier and some jam band came on at 7 but by then I went up to Sip And Stir to wish Mike Swearingen a happy birthday.

I've known Mike since he played in the band I was in back in 1980.  He'll go down as the main screamer for Cruise, a Iowa favorite in the late 70s (or Suede, Cruise was the band he was in when I first met him and we conned him into playing for us later on in Paraphernalia/Tyrus)  Today he turned 59.  So happy birthday Mike and hope you have many many more.  Cheers!

Top Ten Of The Week-Justin Beaverbiscuits

Sir Paul McCartney turned 70 on Monday.  Each day the sixties gets further away like a distant planet that you can't return to.   We all get old.  He's 70, Willie Nelson is pushing 80 and Old Crabby is past 50 as well.  Funny how our youth we couldn't wait to get older and now that we are older we wish we could be younger again.  Looking at all this music that I have and wish it can be 30 years ago so I can have time to hear it all again.  Too bad we can't take it to the grave and hear it in the great beyond.



Rock festivals continue. Jackson Michigan has Rockapalooza this weekend.  Puddle Of Mudd, Saliva, 12 Stones, Coolio and 50 other bands are playing there.

Radiohead lost their drum tech on the Toronto stage collapse (good to know I have spell check since my typing is sucking already).  Scott Johnson was one of the good ones.

Justin Bieber has a new record out this week, I'm sure you all are going to march out to your local record store and buy it.  It's called Believe and I'm sure the kids out there are going to dig it.  While the rest of us pan it and get called bad names on Twitter.  But for the rest of us, Omar And The Howlers have a new one coming out called I'm Gone and it returns Bruce Jones back into the fold since Courts Of Lulu.  Don Williams has a new one coming out on Sugar Hill and reunites with Garth Fundis. And So It Goes it's called. And Smashing Pumpkins has a new CD out too but Billy Corgan continues to bash his ex band mates every time a music mag is around.  James Iha called and says he's doing much fine and much better without Uncle Festus around to bother him.



Top Ten Of The Week:

1.  American Wheeze-16 Horsepower  1993  From the Night Owl Sessions and later reissued on the hard to find Olden CD.  It's hard to pinpoint these guys and what David Edwards sees in that mind of his, but 16 Horsepower was good enough to be on A&M for 2 albums and an EP and they done this song but this one is the most spookiest.  Featuring a jews harp and then an bandoneon  coming through the fog this is not for the faint of heart or Justin Bieber fans. Strange to find that I have 6 of their albums in my collection and every one is a different persona.  Heard stories of Keven Soll being even more weirder than Edwards and they may have played Gabe's in Iowa City years ago before a sparse crowd.  The drummer and a later bass player came from the doom and gloom band Passion Fodder and made a album for Beggar's Banquet that was oddball too.  Freaky music, courtesy of the local pawnshop that nobody bought.

2.  Fema Camp-Killing Joke 2012   More gloom and doom but this time comes from the original band that has been together for two straight albums although your local Best Buy never carried either of the last two Killing Joke albums.  In the beginning I liked their first album but everything after that seemed like the same goth dance stuff that didn't do anything for me although Night Time had Eighties on it which became the inspiration of Come As You Are by Kurt Cobain and Nirvana.  Paul Raven (RIP) replaced Youth and they became somewhat industrial on the 1990 Extremities, Dirt & Various Repressed Emotions but I didn't get to hear that till I got their reunion album Pandemonium a few years later and then became a big fan of theirs.  They caught fire on the S/T 2003 album with Dave Grohl bashing away on the drums and even better on Hosannas From The Basement Of Hell.  Then Big Paul Ferguson returned and the original guys were back on 2010's Absolute Dissent.  Gotta love Jaz Coleman's goth croon one minute then Lemmy like shoutings on the chorus.  I think KJ has been much better the second time around and their new album MMXII continues the winning streak that they're on.  It's a import since Universal hasn't reissued it as a CD in the US yet.  Universal does a fine job at that.  Not releasing stuff over here.  That basically killed off the power popper McFly over here although across the pond they were as revered as Justin Bieber is here.

3.  Love Struck Baby-Stevie Ray Vaughn & Double Trouble 1983  The last true guitar hero had to be Stevie, who played to a crowd of assholes at Montreaux  and was booed despite playing some of the most intense guitar playing and left him startled and confused by it all, to which you can hear on the Live in Montreaux 2 CD set of his 82 and 85 comeback to by then the crowd saw the error of the ways and embraced him.  Impressed David Bowie enough to pick him up to play on the Let's Dance album.  In the beginning Vaughn was special right off the bat, making four classic albums and a live double before an ill fated helicopter crash in 1990 took him away from us.  In my guesstamation    I liked Stevie's Voodoo Chile better than Jimi's version  (which is saying a lot since Jimi was king of the Strat). Certainly today we still got some great guitar players out there which continues the tradition. Joe Bonamassa, Devon Allman comes to mind, Parker Griggs of Moscow Radio another but my generation had SRV to call our own.  And I still have the long box of The Sky Is Crying with SRV on the backside that I still have out as a tribute.

4.  Euro Trash Girl-Cracker 1994  https://thetrichordist.wordpress.com/2012/06/18/letter-to-emily-white-at-npr-all-songs-considered/#comments
I guess there was a report about some girl at NPR that downloaded a bunch of songs but only claim to own 15 CDs that she actually bought and I think it ruffled some feathers in the long term.  I'm thinking this is the same David Lowery who is the leader of Cracker, who made some classic albums of the 90s and a more recent one that I liked but nobody else bought.  A lotta replies come from some well known people Steven Street, Cranberries Producer and The Dylans to name a couple.  But then again we get blowhards like Bob Lefsetz who think otherwise.   http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/index.php/archives/2012/06/18/the-david-lowery-screed/   To which I say fuck off Lefsetz, I work as a printing operator fucktard.  If only we can make a living making bullshit blogs and getting paid handsomely enough for trips to Aspen and across the ocean.  Emily White's original article is here: http://www.npr.org/blogs/allsongs/2012/06/16/154863819/i-never-owned-any-music-to-begin-with?ps=cprs  Maybe she's the original Euro Trash Girl eh?  Probably not, she probably was in diapers back then.  Or still wetting them....  Update to all, http://www.futurehitdna.com/is-stealing-music-really-the-problem/

5.  Good Morning Judge-10cc  1977   Basically I forgot how good this band was and how witty.  Bought their Rubber Bullets a long time ago (on UK Records) and when they went to Mercury a couple years later they had a number 1 hit with I'm Not In Love, then Godley/Creme left the band and Graham Gouldman and Eric Stewart continued on and had a bigger hit with The Things We Do For Love but I like this failed top 40 song a lot more.  I think the DJ played this at a high school dance party one night and he ran out of 45s to play so he played this one twice.  But never told us who did it till I got the Greatest Hits album years later.  Always mistaken this for the Wall Street Shuffle which isn't the same thing after all.

6.  Let The Sad Times Roll On-Buck Owens 1965  Mr. Owens was very busy in the 60s, making lots of music and albums and the funny thing was the majority of those he did write with help from Don Rich or Red Simpson.  Seems like Buck could write three or four albums per year, have a big hit and even the other stuff wasn't as throwaway as you expect.  Still, the albums didn't last but 30 minutes or less, an EP by today's standards.  This is from the Tiger By The Tail LP, and Buck could write a heartbreak number as well as happy songs.

7.  Black Coffee-Delta Moon 2012   I'm sure Tom Gray is getting tired of me touting his long ago band but really Delta Moon has been around for over 10 years and have made 6 great albums of delta blues swamp music and the new album Black Cat Oil continues the winning streak.  Even KUNI played this track Monday night.  Which surprised me, then they went to some chick singing some foreign language crap and I changed the channel back to the overplayed classic rock on the FOX.  Even NPR can't seem to play two decent songs in a row anymore.

8.  Whereever You Go-Clint Black 1994  Clint Black's output frustrates me sometimes.  Better Man was considered his classic album but for me he had way too many ballads on that and I haven't heard anything off the next two and sorting through some old boxes, found a copy of One Emotion and wondered how that got into there with all those outdated Goldmine Magazines that used to be big and fat and full of music and not a bad intimation of US Weekly or People Mag.  Being a music fanatic sure is hard nowadays since record stores are few and far between and music magazines more and more about flavors of the day rather than anything good.  Perhaps Jerry at Relics threw it in with some other things I bought, who knows so I took it to work and didn't expect much but this CD is a bit more rocking than Killin Time, his debut to which Bill Ham had a hand in producing.  Still mainstream country but not as fiddle driven as Alan Jackson but I can probably get used to hearing this a few more times.

9.  San Antonio Rain-Alejandro Escovedo 2012  At least his latest album did make the Billboard top 200 at number 200.  Thought I give the man a little love.  His new album Big Station is worth buying.

10.  Lynching Party-Bobby Bare 1963   Needless to say, my folks had a pretty diverse record collection when I was growing up and it showed.  If you read the blog about Teen Idols on the Consortium side you get a picture of one part teen idol, another part country music and the rest rhythm and blues.  And of course a lot of the RCA albums from artists that Dad in his collection (Jim Reeves, Don Gibson, Paul Anka...Paul Anka???) but he had 500 Miles Away From Home by Bobby Bare to which some of the songs made it onto disc one of a Bear Family Box Set that I found for a few bucks during the Mister Money Davenport Dash of the late 90's and early aughts.  But this song which concludes one side of that album really intrigued  me.  For a RCA song, it's kinda stripped down.  But it also one of my all time favorite songs ever.  That's saying something.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7qR4Tn1nLE

The Five Day Forecast:

Freedom-Jimi Hendrix 1971
I Want You Back-Hoodoo Gurus 1984
Wishful Thinking-Wynn Stewart 1959
Iscariot-Walk The Moon 2012
The Thrill Of It All-Black Sabbath 1975

And in the words of the almighty Justin Beaverbiscuits  we leave you with this thought provoking lyrics From his latest single Boyfriend off the new Believe album.  And you can read the wonderful review from Posh boy Jon Dolan, some hack review writer that you'll forget in record time.  Who's better suited for this type of music rather than the taxing Rush album that he compares with Nickleback (say wha????)

"Swag, swag, swag on you/Chillin' by the fire while we're eating fondue,"

Read more: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/believe-20120615#ixzz1yGENn5BX

You can complain about it later.....
 

More Hot Air and Reviews And Hymie's Vintage Records

You would think at this point and time that we would find everything we could want for music.  The past month I think I bought more music.  A never ending cycle that seems to be worth blogging over.  Looks like Jeff Higgins' Groove Sandwich site has been very quiet for the past month.

Blogging is like record collecting.  It's a hobby and a way that keeps me from going insane.  There's plenty more music and record sites that are probably better and more informed than the Crabb Review site.  But at least 20 of y'all out there continue to support the latest music efforts (although only 3 views of my shoot the redwings blog?) and once in a while we'll get a comment or two from some people too.  But we only live so long and maybe after I'm gone this may serve as some sort of reference to the lesser known.  And with the discovery of Ragged Records, there's still hope for the return of vinyl and perhaps a record store in my area.  May have to open one up if need be but I'm such a specialty, artist, looking for the lesser known, that I would be out of business within a month or two.  


You know it seems when my mom took me up to Woolworth's in 1963 to look at those plastic things with the hole in the middle that I think she left me back there for the next 48 years and I never came out of.  Same attitude, different record store.


If you like a good record store with a good blog here's another one for you..
http://hymiesrecords.com/  or http://hymiesrecords.com/


They're based in Minneapolis so it may be worth going up there one of these years.


On the Crabb Review Consortium, is where you can find the Music Of My Years: Teen Idol blog.http://rscrabbmusicconsortium.blogspot.com/2012/06/teen-idols-of-60s.html

There's still might be hope of finally reaching the 2,000 view plateau by the end of the month since we're about three quarters of the way to it but this could also be one of months that I blogged about 15 plus times.  Didn't plan it that way but a lotta things have been happening along the way and I'm sure there's more to blog before the month comes out.  I'm sure I'll be writing a few more novel chapters as well.


Which comes to more new releases and reviews.  For the most part I have been associating country music that I play to be Americana which somebody commented to me that was derogatory, http://www.moonrunnerscountry.com/ 
To which I never thought of it that way.  Myself I associated Hank Jr, Waylon, Alan Jackson, Munford & Sons and many others in that light since I couldn't figure out any other term to describe it all.  I don't get caught up in the hoopla that CMT or whatever calls country or alt country Americana and half the time I get lambasted for even playing Alan Jackson.  But if the trailer trash country they call Brantley Gilbert or Luke Bryan Americana maybe I have to change it to just music I like and leave the Americana in the trash.  BTW I still like Hank Jr. He may have fucked up to the point of losing his MNF anthems but you cannot take away his music output that made him part of the new Outlaw movement.  So there.

For new releases, I'm surprised to point out that John Mayer Born & Raised (Columbia) is his best album ever despite Bruce at the pawnshop making gagging faces.  He maintains a easy South Cal pop that harks back to the days of CSN or a very laid back Eagles although his lyrics can be corny at times.  Even David Crosby and Graham Nash add vocal support on the title track.  At times this album is in need of a rocking song but I can listen to this all the way through.  Not so much with Hit The Lights Invicta  (Razor & Tie) which is punk music gone wrong.  Used to be punk bands would play lightning fast and spew out lyrics left and right but this band plods along,  using Oi like chants and other vocal that recall U2 or Rise Against.  It's not very original and just bores me half way through the album.  If this is the way The Warped Tour bands sound nowadays, think I'll stay home.


Nevertheless the blues rock is coming back and Delta Moon Black Cat Oil (Red Parlor) continues to tread on the music that CCR made famous but drawing more on the delta blues of Fred McDowell as well and on this effort a nod toward Americana (er) Country with Jukin', a term I haven't heard since Atlanta Rhythm Section used it for their 1976 single.  Continuing the one two punch of Tom Gray and Mark Johnson's stinging steel slide guitars Delta Moon keeps the fires burning on how it used to be for blues rock swamp music (Boogie is too strong of a word). While one critic wishes for the return of Gina Leigh,  I still think Tom Gray's world weary vocals of his songs are a better fit, especially on Down And Dirty or Wishbone or Applejack.  The title track is fun revisit of Love Potion Number 9 or Your Cash Ain't Nothing But Trash.  In other words another great album from Delta Moon to which they have made 7 albums in their 10 year history.


Another surprising good album is The Royal Southern Brotherhood (Ruf) which is a blues supergroup in its own way, Devon Allman, son of Gregg, Mike Zito who's recorded a few blues albums on various labels Delta Groove comes to mind and  Allman formed Honeytribe a band that somehow managed to follow me at My Space but I never gotten around hearing any of their music, Devon sounds more Duane than Gregg from what I heard.  They join up with Cyril Neville from the Neville Brothers to make a perhaps one of the better albums of 2012 with Jim Gaines (Huey Lewis, George Thorogood, Stevie Ray Vaughn) producing.  This album actually draws more on Neville's New Orleans roots and gumbo music more than the actual blues that Zito plays (although there's a couple songs that are blues based and some that are rock, Zito's more blues, Allman more rock with Neville balancing things out).  This the kind of music that they don't make anymore cuz it doesn't sell and nobody has that good looks persona that appeals to the CMT or Americana crowd.  Their loss.  Like Delta Moon, or Black Mountain Communion but without Glenn Hughes' over the top vocals, RSB keeps it true and keeps it bluesy.  The way it should be.


And finally Adele is back on top with her 21 album again to which I may have jinxed John Mayer by buying his album.  I'm Adele is worthy of all the attention and sales but let's raise our glass and toast Alejandro Escovedo for getting his Big Station album on the top 200 at number 200.  


Grades:
John Mayer-Born & Raised (Columbia) B+
Hit The Lights-Invicta (Razor & Tie) C-
Delta Moon-Black Cat Oil (Red Parlor) A-
Royal Southern Brotherhood (Ruf) A-
 

Can't Review Them All-Maroon 5, Don't Yell At Me Singers

In our latest installment of CRTA.  We take a look at a band that took off after changing their name and the phenom we call Don't Yell At Me singers. 

The point of Can't Review Them All is that these are bands that I don't take much interest in.  I do buy a lot of used and cheap stuff but even the cheap stuff won't get me to review such media darlings or fan favorites.  Or they're overexposed on CCC radio formats.  Or somebody from Clear Channel/Cumulus loves them to keep on that overplayed list that makes me want to shoot out the windows at Dollar General.

The first band of note is Maroon 5 and at least they have a sense of humor, their next album is called Overexposed and ain't they?  They started out as Kara's Flowers which made a listenable album for Reprise in 1998 to the point that I called them an up and coming band.  It's mostly straight ahead power pop with a nod toward Freedy Johnson but it didn't sell and Reprise dropped them (they would reissue it via Rhino when Songs About Jane took off).  One change was making their music more pop and R n B, the second getting Adam Levine to become lead singer and lastly changing the name over to Maroon 5.  A label change over to J Records and with Clive Davis putting out a better promo Songs About Jane became a top 5 smash album.  Perhaps the reason I never bought it was She Will Be Loved, a song that is overplayed on KDAT, certainly it has that milky Adam Levine falsetto that women love but the guys cringe when they hear it.  And This Love the other big hit  could make Hall and Oates jealous in a way.  In a wasteland that was 00 music, Songs About Jane is like Matchbox 20's first album was.  You may not like it much but it does earn its spot in music history.  It Won't Be Soon Before Long was more harder rocking but more schizophrenic due to no fewer than 4 producers working on it but still if I had to pick a Maroon 5 album to review that would be it.  Hands All Over featuring the hit Moves Like Jagger is where most of the hate comes from,  even Lady Antebellum duets on one number to which they embrace a country sound.  And they got Robert John Lange to produce it, the guy behind Def Leppard, his ex wife too although he made more sense being a producer of the 70s to Graham Parker and The Rumour, Mallard, and The Motors.  Reviews of that album shows the they were all over the place and tried to be too many things.  With the new album Overexposed, they go for Max Martin (Britney Spears)  and I'm sure they will sell a few copies of that.  But as for myself they never really topped The Fourth World........

 The epidemic today is the Singers that oversing.  You hear them on American Idol, you can blame Whitney Houston or Mariah Carey or Martinka or Celine Dion for the GRAND FINALE on the chorus of that GD Titanic song.  To which we call it the DONT YELL AT ME singers that when you hear them on the CCC owned stations everywhere.  Whitney Houston (RIP) first album back in 1985 pretty much set the tone of what to be but I actually listened to the second album just to impress some woman I was trying to date at that time and the duet with her mom was my favorite.  I wanna Dance With Somebody was the big hit and continues to be overplayed on KDAT.  Booze, drugs and Bobby Brown just about killed off that high end voice but I think her last couple albums had some worthwhile moments.

With Mariah Carey, she has nothing in her catalog that I ever want to hear.  And everybody knows if Chris Blackwell still owned  Island Records, she'd wouldn't be on that label.   Martinka had a 1989 hit with Toy Soldiers.  She was ahead of American Idol by about 20 years.  Less said the better for Celine Dion too.  I think Columbia marketed her as a new wave singer in the early 90s for a odd reason.  And she covered You Shook Me All Night Long (The Ac/dc song) which riled up the rock crowd.  But with My Heart Will Go On, is where the Don't Yell At Me term came into play, or maybe Miss Carey.

And the oversingers continue to be the big thing.  Fantasia for one, Carrie Underwood another and Jessie J more examples of Don't Yell At Me.  Underwood marketed as a boneified country singer is the most successful of the American Idol franchise but her new album 19 records has an eye for pop market.  And Underwood to me was more pop singer than actual country.  And her latest seems to have more autotuner as well, she really doesn't need autotuner, she's  a fine singer in her own right.  It's just that we don't need to hear her whole vocal range on one chorus line.   Jessie J comes across as a screamer and one of the worst kind.  Kids love it I guess but not the old folks. Fantasia just screeches.

There's a long line of Don't Yell At Me singers that have albums out, Kelly Clarkson, Jordin Sparks, Pink etc etc etc.  It would be fun to make fun of them all or comparing them to cat screeches or peeling tires on the pavements but here at Can't Review Them All Incorporated we just don't have the time nor money to really do that.  Time is too precious for that.

Shoot The Redwing Blackbirds

It's been a dry month here, for the rainy season not good.  Four years ago was a different story, rain every other day till 31 feet of Red Cedar muck changed Cedar Rapids forever but one thing has remained the same.  Every year at this time we get our flying shitbag so called friends the infamous Redwing blackbirds to start divebombing you when your out for a walk any place around here that has a corn field or a puddle.

I hate these fucking birds, oh they're nice to look at with that commie red wing, too bad the good lord didn't plant a swastika instead.  Redwings have the same temperament as a Nazi or Dick Cheney.  Imagine a bird with a Dick Cheney attitude. These mutherfuckers would dive bomb you and say Go Fuck Yourself on a infinite loop.

I think global warming has made these birds even more angry or pissed off.   I can't walk the building around work anymore in the day time for having two or three of these flying shit torsos circling around you.  Sherrie, our security guard told me that those evil three (they're named Dick Cheney, Fuckface & Koch suck) chased her up and down the road coming into work.  Hell even the old crow bird was sitting out there on the lamppost and having two of these fucking birds biting its tail feathers before it took off.  Basically I got sick and tired of throwing rocks and badly missing the hovering flying shit bag and flipping it off and decided the hell with it and just wait till after dark to do my walk around the building.

We don't get the nice birds, the Cardinals, the Goldfinchs, Orioles although Robins and Chickadees still prevail, it usually the GD redwings that drove all them away or chase the walkers back into the building.  I'm thinking of getting either 2 tin pie pans and smack them everytime the fucking shit bags come within a foot of myself or one of those airhorns.  The Canadian Geese are not as problemmatic, although their problem is they shit more than the Dick Cheney Redwings.  I seriously think that we should have a day of shooting redwings and fuck that law prohibiting shooting redwings.  Everywhere you go here in Cowpie Iowa land, you see Redwings on every GD fence and traffic sign outside of town.  Some stupid dumbfuck GOP person wanted hunters to shoot doves which makes me want to shoot the fucktard for making that rule up and not consider shooting Redwing Blackbirds.  Maybe the fool likes them flying shit bombers pecking him in the back of his head but I'm just about ready to say fuck the Mirgation Law and fire away on the overpopulated Redwing Blackbirds.  Don't worry folks, they'll make more and divebomb you if you're around their nest.

And leave the damn doves alone.

And I think the folks at get dental implants info dot com for their support of my blog.  It shows that they're truly on top of the music world.  Or bestbxcleaner, if these folks are into music I wish they let me know on the secret, they seem to like me for a referring site here at blogspot.   Gamerzhut too. In fact, go to their website and mention Crabby sent me and they'll set ya up for a discount.  Chances are they'll probably go Dick Cheney on you but hey it's worth a try.

Crabb Terms that nobody else uses:

CCC Radio (or just plain CCC)  A derogatory comment thrown at Clear Channel and Cumulus for all the radio stations that are own by them in this area.  Chances are if you hear overplayed shit like Train's Soul Sister or Broken Wings, that would be your neighborhood Clear Channel or Cumulus station (KDAT).

Bacon Bits:  Police

FMR:  As much as I try to keep things PG or G, a good rant will throw a few F bombs or MF just like Redwing blackbirds I have been known to use abbreviations to get my point across.  You learn a few things in the 10 years that have been blogging for me, what it really means is Find More Records.

Off to work and other things, let's hope I can make it to the car without a fucking flying gestapo coming after me like a scene from The Birds.

BTW:  Shoot a Redwing Blackbird. you'll feel better. 

Dick Cheney (or gone Dick Cheney) A term stolen from Family Guy to which Cheney as a Wal Mart greeter tells people to go fuck themselves.

Iggy Pop Factor (Loud Mixed Cds)  Another derogatory term for TOO LOUD CDs.  Around 1996 Iggy Pop remixed Raw Power to a mix that overpowers the original version and to which one has to turn the volume down on the player.  A lot of the albums of 2000's and even to this day (the new Rush Clockwork Angels, Metallica's Death Magnetic) the end results is distorted to the point that it ruins the original intention of music.  To which music should be enjoyed at a reasonable volume and not blaring in your face.

And if you read this far, more fun stuff coming: More Music Of My Years, The Teen Idol Years and another installment of  Can't Review Them All and it's all about the DONT YELL AT ME singers that plague Top 40 and KDAT.  You'll love that one.

Update on the Redwings:  They're still attacking and chasing anybody that goes around the building by the road out of work.  Only thing we can do is either ignore the flying shit bag fucks or wait till after the sun sets when the flying bags of fuckola call it a night.

I'm still open to shooting each and every one of them.

Observations From The Forefront: Meg White

This month might feature a first if things fall into place.  This month we might just clear 2,000 views for the first time ever.  And it might be the last, you never know.  To those who read and comment, thanks for your support.  Basically rock and roll blogs like this  are like music stores.  I'd be starving if I had to do this on a regular basis but I still have this feeling that I might be accomplishing something.  All this typing for years, has made my thumb joint snap every other time I flex it.  Fucking annoying even to me but can't stop it.

We have no way of knowing what demons people face or how they fare against them.
So love them.....Margaret (Meg) White

Iowa City lost a real good person in Margaret (Meg) White who passed away at age 51. http://www.press-citizen.com/viewart/20120530/NEWS02/305300024/Margaret-Meg-White-51

I probably met her on occasion at Record Collector or downtown Iowa City. For the most part she did interviews for The Source and on occasion wrote her own piece for blogspot although nothing new came after 2009.  http://www.margaretlouisewhite.blogspot.com/

http://www.press-citizen.com/article/20120613/OPINION02/306130005/Laughter-compassion-give-em-hell-activism?odyssey=nav|head

Depression can kill you at any given time.  Kinda like what happened to Bob Welch last week.  Suicide, don't ask why, here today, gone forever.  Certainly I have lived with depression for many years, it hasn't killed me, came close a couple times but either I'm too tough or too stupid to die.  I hope it never comes down to the day that there's nothing left to live for, or having old age rob me of whatever thought that I may still have or worse, be in invalid and not knowing what to do.  But in the case of Meg, she never did let on of what would decide for her to end it all.  When you do that, you leave behind folk that still care and wonder why you even did it without explanation.   Maybe the answer is given on her final blog from this site http://megdoesblogs.blogspot.com/

I think by doing nothing encourages the inner depression to take over the rational thoughts, to give the impression that there's nothing to live for and the world isn't getting any better.  Perhaps Meg didn't see anything useful about the upcoming Presidential Election.  Or the more money you make the more chances you get to own your own candidate.    We'll never know the answer to the question, Why Meg?
For over thirty years, I have learn to live with depression by doing the things that I like to do.  I suppose that's why I hit the music stores and pawnshop as much as I do, to continue to find the music that I never heard.  The drugs don't necessarily work, I tried a few of them and most of them, either made me too tired to think or too mean and evil to be around with more than a minute, so it's off the music store or back online to blog about things that mean something to me and hopefully to you the reader. 

In the end, the above message is all we can do to understand what people face or the demons that invade their lives.  And believe me I have my share of demons that drag me down when things don't go very well.  It's just life and the best we can do is hope that in the end, we go to a better place in the great beyond.

Where ever that may be.

Top Ten Of The Week-Hot Air And Hot Music

Since Los Lobos came to town, we been having some great outdoor shows in the past couple weeks.  Saturday up in Dubuque we had Starship and REO Speedwagon paying a visit whereas in Cedar Rapids Alan Jackson, Joe Nichols and Phil Vassar were putting the country downtown.  And then Sunday it was Weezer, Filter, Cheville, Tonic and some other band that escapes my thinking (Fuel).  Even two blocks away we could hear the angry nu metal of Chevelle, thought it was Filter but it wasn't.  Hell they all sound the same, with the exception of Weezer who rocked the place pretty well.

REO didn't disappoint but Starship featuring Mickey Thomas sucked most of the show and the chick singer trying to sound like Grace Slick on White Rabbit couldn't cut it so I went to Diamond Jo and played the penny slots and still lost 20 dollars in the process.  Last time I was up there Nicole won 40 bucks, while I lost 50.  Which  probably should tell me just never to gamble again.  Only good luck ever had was Vegas in 82 when I won 300 dollars and then promptly gave it back in half hour.  Fucking casinos anyway.  I thought the opening act was Head East but it turned out to be Stranded In Iowa, a fairly decent covers band of the classic rock era. They even did Bon Jovi justice too.  I don't hold much credo for any covers band anymore, even my old band I probably slam for the overplayed but Stranded In Iowa is pretty good.  Up in Auburn Hills, Radiohead played there and everybody had a good time from what I heard.  Steve Earle and The Dukes will be playing in Iowa City come August 7th at the Englert Theatre and it might be worth going too. A week before that Taj Mahal plays there too.

I think this year I'm going to try to get out more often to see such shows.  The Bellamy Brothers play at Central City next month, Blake Shelton at Jones County Fair and the Turtles Happy Together Tour at the State Fair In Des Moines.  Plenty to consider.  Maybe even The Townedgers might be reuniting as well?  One never knows.

Look for Los Lobos to open for Neil Young And Crazy Horse this fall.  Patti Smith replaces Los Lobos in November.

I don't know if anybody mentioned this but sometime in early January, the other Fleetwood Mac guitar player in the Bob Welch era Bob Weston passed away at age 64 from various problems.  Weston replaced Danny Kerwin and recorded two albums Mystery To Me and Penguin before Mick Fleetwood bounced him out of the band for personal differences.  Rumour had it that Weston had the hots for Fleetwood's wife at the time.

Link of the week:  http://www.vintagevinylnews.com/

For the old fart rocker like me (and you dear reader) it's hard getting news about my favorite artists still living while Rolling Stone and Spin continue to kiss ass over reality stars, movie star and anything but rock stars. Vintage Vinyl News has the lowdown on such forgotten favorites like Tommy Roe (who is playing for  at Riverside Casino this month), Freddy Cannon and many others.  And where I found that tidbit about Bob Weston.  Check it out.

The Top Ten Of The Week:

1.   Caravan-Rush 2012  The big event this week is the new Clockwork Angels album from Rush and if somebody would have recorded this album right this would rank into the top five all time Rush.  They have performed this live during their last couple tours and it's everything you'd expect.  Problem is THE RECORDING IS RECORDED TOO FUCKING LOUD! Just like they did with Vapour Trails but unlike that album Clockwork Angels has much better songs.  Blame Richard Chycki for the over recording and hope maybe next time they'll get Stephen Wilson from Porcupine Tree to at least record the whole thing. Neil Peart is thinking of doing Clockwork Angels as a sci fi novel. Should be worth a read.

2.  Night Time-George Thorogood 1986  Originally done for the MCA Better Than The Rest album, we take this cut from the Live album and this blows the studio version away.  But then again I always wondered if this was done in the studio with live overdubs since it has that loud Terry Manning drum sound that he was famous for in the mid 80s.  George was more blues and hooker at the start but as the years went on, he added more boogie to his blues and won me over.  But if you want to hear the real blues you go to.......

3.  Back Door Man-Howlin Wolf   1960  This is the blues kids and this version is the real deal.  Chester Burnett sounding real mean and nasty, taking your wife or GF and eats more chicken than any man can seen.  Jim Morrison tried his best to sound like Wolf on the Doors' classic album but it pales next to the original.

4.  All That I Am-The Creation 1967
5.  I Don't Believe You-Len Price 3 2010

The 60's are done and they been done for 5 decades now.  The hippie chick that looked great back then is now a senior citizen as well the hippie dude if he hadn't succumbed to a drug overdose or cirrhosis of the liver.  But once in a while a band will come along and add the influences of the band's of the past and sometimes I will come across them.  The Len Price 3 remains the best interpreters of the early Who/Kinks/Creation sound that is in each and every of their 3 albums that Little Steven put out on his Wicked Cool label.  The Creation on the other hand was more popular in the UK then over here, Makin Time was used for a beer commercial and a movie and Decca issued How Does It Feel as a 45 (it flopped) in 1968.  Led by Eddie Phillips for their better stuff, The Creation could have been twins of The Who although they didn't employ a wild drummer but Phillips could keep up with Peter Townsend anytime.  By All That I Am, Phillips left and he was replaced by Ronnie Wood (yes that guy who would go on in Faces and later The Rolling Stones) and this song owed more to the Hollies than The Who.  Which isn't a bad thing, it does have a catchy chorus to it.  The Creation, one of the best bands of the 60s you never heard because radio won't play them.

6.  Personality Crisis-New York Dolls 1973   Yep, the outrageous cross dancing kinda ruined them, but the lineup with Jerry Nolan would kick major music booty for their two albums and then the reunion which gave us two pretty good albums, a okay live album, and that fiasco that they recorded for 429 just about ruined their rep.  Losing Sam Jaffe didn't help either but then again it was always more David and Sylvan and the hired hands.  Their first album remains in print in the five dollar section for those who wanted to know all about the fuss.

7.  Superman-The Kinks 1979   There was a disco version of this song years ago that Record Realm sold in the late 70's and this song is a rarity in itself that the single version is longer than the album track.  Good old Arista Records on track for that.  Wouldn't know anything about it had I not picked up a 45 of that song at Encore last month.  The Come Dancing best of has the single version as far as I can, at least the album did.  No idea on the Velvel/Koch reissue though.  Not high on the list to get.

8.  Hypnotized-Fleetwood Mac 1973   And so, trying to figure out what to put down as the tribute song that best described Bob Welch's years with the Mac I had two choices and both were from Mystery To Me, Emerald Eyes and The City to which Bob revisited on the 2006 Mac Years And Beyond 2 CD that nobody bought.  Sentimental Lady not my favorite version but The Ghost off Bare Trees (Geezus, good thing we have spell check and backward key, this fucking post is killing my fingers) was considered as well.  Welch will appear later in the year with another track from the solo era but in the end, I decided to go with this song which remains a classic rock staple.  Also Mick Fleetwood gets credit for playing that triple beat for five minutes without doing any drum roll or cymbal hits.  It might be even tougher to play than Neil Peart's stuff for that matter.

9.  I Want More-The Hives 2012   Everybody's favorite garage band from the other side of the ocean is back and they're rockin and stealin everywhere on Lex Hives which may be their best album to date.  Joan Jett should sue them for taking the I Love Rock And Roll riff that starts out this song.  But I love these guys anywhere, that's the power of rock and roll.  Recycle baby!

10.  Going To California-Led Zeppelin 1971   It sounded like a good song to end the top ten of the week don't cha think?

Honourable Mentions:

1.  Tell Her She's Lovely-El Chicano 1974
2.  Lay Something On The Bar (Besides Your Elbow)  Chuck Murphy 1954
3.  Can't Get Enough Of You Baby-Smash Mouth 1999
4.  Listen Through The Static-The Nadas 2005
5.  Lonely Boy-Paul Anka 1963

Final thoughts:
The new Gregg Allman autobiography is a great read if you ever come across it used at your local bookstore.    I think I read about 5 chapters when I was up at Books A Million. But too cheap to pay the 27 bucks to get it (minus the 30 percent discount).  I'm sure it will turn up used eventually.

Patience people ;-)

A Collection Of Quickie Record Reviews

Last weekend was the best week of new music all year.  With new releases from the likes of the Beach Boys, The Hives, Joe Walsh, Alan Jackson and even Joe Bonamassa (can never get his name right GD it).  This week promises the new Rush album (slated for review) and sometime down the road the new Delta Moon.

While critics rave about Patti Smith's Banga album, I find it a chore to listen to, even from the confines of Moondog Music, including the 10 minute segment Constantine's Dream which would garner plenty of airplay if underground radio was still around.  It also shows how great Patti is for improvising on the spot, it's one of those songs that you hate at first but then like it later.  But I'll give it a good recommendation on a song that includes inspiration (and a co write) from Sun Ra.  But it's not for everybody.

While Chet Flippo raves about Americana, the new Neil Young/Crazy Horse album, I tend to agree more with All Music Guide of being thrown together of the songs that Neil wanted to do and do in one take.  Oh Susanna the best version and the rest just plain sloppy even for Crazy Horse standards.  As a N.Y fan it might be the least interesting album of his long career and that includes Silver And Gold or Are You Passionate.  Plus it comes in a crappy digipack.

Alan Jackson-30 Miles West (EMI)  is country the way it used to be back in the early 90s before the trailer trash rock, mohawks and bad tattoos took over and Alan employs plenty of steel guitars, a bit of banjo here and a generous amount of fiddles everywhere.  Keith Stegall has been the producer of choice.  Heard complaints that Freight Train was too polished but I doubt that although 30 Miles West is a bit less polished for the radio.  Alan woops it up with Zac Brown on the 7 minute Dixie Highway and while Jackson writes the bulk of the songs the best ones come from outside songwriters, You Go Your Way (And I'll Go Crazy) and So You Don't Have To Love Me Anymore although Jackson's Look Her In The Eye and Lie shows that even he can write a breakup song with the best of them.  I still think he's never topped I'll Go On Loving You from 1998's High Mileage.

The big album deal was Joe Walsh's Analog Man (Fantasy)  and while Bob Lefsetz celebrated this album, I thought it was a bit boring at times and Jeff Lynne's 1992 production sound made this sound dated a day later.  Leads off with the title track which in 1978 would have been the perfect followup to Life's Been Good and Wrecking Ball but after that I really couldn't remember much the rest of the songs.  Joe says the best song was a extra track jam with Little Richard on piano but you'll have to get the deluxe edition to hear it.  Which pisses me off about paying extra for a deluxe edition with bonus tracks for five bucks more.  Best Buy has a exclusive edition to which you get bonus tracks, a 10 minute DVD and a T Shirt: Joe Walsh For President which might be worth the 22 bucks if you need a new T Shirt.

The Beach Boys-That's Why God Made The Radio (Capitol)  may be the sign of the end of the world coming.  Brian Wilson vowing never to work with Mike Love again years ago became a tour and then their first actual new album since 1985  (forget the 1991 Mike Love driven Summer In Paradise and Stars & Stripes Volume 1)  and their best since 1977's Beach Boys Love You.  Even for 70 year olds, the harmonies still sound good on the lead off  Think About The Days and the all too brief Pacific Coast Highway.  Like Van Halen, The Beach Boys came back against all odds and if they didn't tarnish their image, they actually took us back in time when the radio was king.  Before the evil Clear Channel/Cumulus takeover that is. Joe Thomas, the producer talks about recording that album http://andrewromano.tumblr.com/joethomasbeachboys
4 years later:  I don't think the album sounds as vital as it once did four years ago, there's something creepy about Mike Love hanging around and throwing his nostalgic horse hockey against the sonic landscape of Brian Wilson but I think the mellowness tends to take the fun out of this.  It's a good album but if you're looking for the days of Sunflower (forget about Pet Sounds, that's 50 years ago) or 15 Big Ones this comes close to the latter album.  But it still earns a B Plus, simply of the fact that we won't expect much more from them, since they're over 70 and Mike Love still continues to flaunt more ego than song writing ability, especially after him booting Brian Wilson, Al Jardine and David Marks out of the band so he can earn a living on the oldies circuit.   And Love still remains more creepy than ever before too.

Alejandro Escovedo-Big Station (Fantasy) continues his partnership with Chuck Prophet and Tony Visconti producing the third straight album and even if this isn't as good as Street Songs Of Love or the radio ready sound of Real Animal it still kicks the crap out of the Boxing Mirror, not that album wasn't that bad.  I tend to like him rock out more than the reflective acoustic with cello band.  He gives Patti Smith a run for the money on the wordy Sally Was A Cop and I don't get the Sabor A Mi track at the end but in between Escovedo shows why he's good on San Antonio Rain and Party People.  This record might end up on my ten best of the year.

And The Hives  Lex Hives (Independent Label Group).  They're still around and they're still making albums that barely go over 30 minutes but I always had a love/hate with this band.  At times they were great enough for the hype and Lex Hives might be their best overall Cd although they tend to be too silly and too juvenile even on These Spectacles Reveal The Nostalgics  but you get Go Right Ahead and My Time Is Coming that reveal that The Hives can rock hard just as Jack White could with The White Stripes.  Hard to believe that The Hives have been around for over ten years and outlasted  the majority of the new garage acts that are now gone.

Grades:
Patti Smith-Bunga (Columbia) B+
Neil Young/Crazy Horse-Americana (Reprise) C+
Joe Walsh-Analog Man (Fantasy) C+
Alan Jackson-30 Miles West (EMI) B+
Beach Boys-That's Why God Made The Radio (Capitol) B+
Alejandro Escovedo-Big Station (Fantasy) A-
The Hives-Lex Hives (ILG) A-

Bob Welch-The Fleetwood Mac Years

I'm still in shock over the news that Bob Welch killed himself Thursday.  It seems like every week we start out losing another musician that was a part of my listening experience over the years but with Welch it seemed more personal.  Never got meet him but I was connected to him after buying his forgotten 2006 album Fleetwood Mac Years And Beyond 2 which came out on Reality and you could only get at the local FYE Store, back when FYE had twice more stores than they do now.  So I revisited that album once again and even though Welch was using some dated drum machines and keyboards, his honesty and belief in the songs still shown through.  Especially Never Say Never to which Bob maybe should have heeded the lyrics better.  In some ways it reminded me of a old friend Tim Ackley who when I was down and out suggested that Don't Worry Things Will Only Get Better to quote a Howard Jones song, and then a year and half later he'd hang himself.  To which another Howard Jones song I recall was No One Is To Blame.  Unless it's done by your own hand.

Bob Welch has always been the happy go lucky dude you would want to party with, even after leaving Fleetwood Mac before they got BIG he was always a party dude who could talk to you for hours about music or UFO or how the record industry fucks you over.  Leaving the Mac for a upstart band called Paris, he formed with The Hunt Brothers and former Jethro Tull bassist Glenn Cornick, I never heard their first album but Big Town 2061 was pretty damn close to heavy metal with the title track and New Orleans getting some FM airplay but it didn't sell, the Hunt Brothers went over to Iggy Pop's band for Lust For Life and Welch made French Kiss a album that sold more than most of the Fleetwood Mac albums Welch was associated with.  TAD was right by saying it was kinda boring but the best songs made it to 45's Sentimental Lady made top ten the B side was Hot Love Cold World which also garnered airplay but I enjoyed the followup Ebony Eyes more, I think it was Welch's finest solo hour, produced by the late John Carter and the B side Outskirts.  The album also showed Welch's oddball side  with three different versions of Lose My Heart.  Three Hearts was a bit better and Precious Love and the title track becoming top forty hits as well but The Other One bombed big time despite having a cool version of Future Games.  And then Man Overboard sold even less and Welch made two more albums for RCA (both slated for reissue via Wounded Bird Records) but by then he was a distant memory although radio continued to play Sentimental Lady and Ebony Eyes to this day.    The Fleetwood Mac Years & More Volume 1, originally on One Way was retitled Greatest Hits And More on Airline Records, I'm guessing are like the Fleetwood Mac Years 2, Welch was very faithful to the versions on the AAO release and even covered Rhianon and World Turning to which are on the Fleetwood Mac album but at that time Welch moved on.  Rhino cherry picked Welch's Paris period as well as key tracks from the Capitol and RCA albums and as a overview is a bit exhaustive. A paired down version Bob Welch Greatest Hits came out on Curb back when Curb was still going through EMI for distribution and is for fans who only want the big four hits from Bob.

Even though Bob had some contact and production help from The Mac, I don't believe he ever got over the snub that Fleetwood Mac did to him when they were inducted into the rock and roll hall of fame in 1998.  Which is a damn shame for Bob Welch's era Mac is considered to be the bridge from the blues of Peter Green and Jeremy Spencer to the Cal Pop of Buckingham Nicks although Welch played a bigger role in getting that California Rock sound in the first place and can be heard on Future Games to which Welch wrote the 8 minute epic title track.  Welch replaced Jeremy Spencer when Spencer became a Child Of God and dropped out of the band (Spencer would appear later in a different band that made the ultra snooze Flee album for Atlantic in 1979 but more recently returned to a blues based sound the last decade).  Fleetwood Mac was more of a cult band at that time, when they joined Reprise Records they made the moody Then Play On and then the rockabilly Kiln House.   Most of the songs were done by either Welch or Danny Kirwan (Christine Perfect/McVie would later figure more into the songwriting but Danny and Bob wrote the bulk of songs).  Kirwan dominates on Bare Trees but the better known songs Welch wrote, the early Sentimental Lady and The Ghost.  When Kirwan got booted from the band, Welch begin to take over songwriting, especially on Mystery To Me which is the best album of the Welch Mac era, Bob writing seven of the 12 numbers.  Penguin is a bit more scattershot and more of a group effort (Dave Walker from Savoy Brown joined up as well as the ill fated Bob Weston).  The last Welch effort Heroes Are Hard To Find was unbelievably boring, nothing really stands out (blame the muddy sound of the record I guess) and I don't remember much of that album except for the beautiful sounding Coming Home.  It probably wasn't the best way to end the Welch era Mac but perhaps Bob thought it was the right time to move on.  And he did and the Mac did with a couple unknowns under the banner of Buckingham/Nicks.  And the rest became history.

Reading all the kudos and tributes to Bob from various trade websites and the appreciate folk makes it even harder to understand why Bob Welch took the way out that he did.  Even Mick Fleewood admitted in a reaction that Welch was part of the Mac era lineup that was largely forgotten which I find that somewhat hard to believe as with there's many Fleetwood Mac fans that believe that Bob Welch's albums were just as good as Rumours or The S/T album.  Certainly Bob Welch should have joined the Mac when they got inducted into the HOF.

And now he's dead.  But his music still lives on.  And if not for any other readon The Fleetwood Mac Years and Beyond 2 should be at least brought simply of Welch's insightful liner notes.  The man was one of a kind as they say.   And will be missed.

The Bob Welch Fleetwood Mac Years Discography:

Future Games (Reprise 1971) B+
Bare Trees (Reprise 1972) A-
Penguin (Reprise 1973) B
Mystery To Me (Reprise 1973) A-
Heroes Are Hard To Find (Reprise 1974) B-


UPDATE:
Bob Welch, who passed away last Thursday, took his own life after an unsuccessful spinal operation that was going to leave him an invalid.

The 66-year old guitarist was found by his wife Wendy in their Nashville home with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the chest. He left a suicide note.

It has been revealed that Welch had a spinal operation three months ago and it had become apparent that he was never going to recover.

Friends of Welch say he had lived through watching his mother care for his invalid father for years and in his note wrote Wendy “I’m not going to do this to you”.

Read more: http://www.vintagevinylnews.com/2012/06/bob-welchs-death-came-after.html#ixzz1xWMxuuor