Record World Playlist 2-26-14

I really didn't pay much attention to the Winter Olympics this year but did note of the US meltdown against Canada and the Finland blowout 5-nil and it may have been the most disappointing of the US hockey team in recent memory, while the girls blew a 2-0 lead and lost to the Canadian Girls.  For Canada's reward they should get both Justin Bieber and Ted Cruz back.

I have no use for Dancing With The Stars but had to point out that they're doing a make over to improve from sagging ratings,so they got rid of their 28 piece Harold Wheeler Orchestra  and Brooke Burke-Charvet in favor of a 5 piece electronic band and pre recorded music, in order to get younger viewers to watch.  Which is not work. Which will not get me to watch this show (not that I ever did anyway).  If you really want to watch more crap, there's Basketball Wives, which has the most scary looking bimbos with steroid encrusted looking lips that can suck paint off the house in the summertime.  And among other things, Snooki, is knocked up again, along with 10,000 other women around the world. You care? I don't.

It wasn't a good week for me either, ended up slashing my finger on a Made In China piece of shit plastic garbage can and put about 100 dents in it in the process, plus going to ER at 2 AM trying to stop the bleeding and getting a tentius shot too.  Weatherwise, we continue the snow and cold and sub zero shit that has been a part of winter since December 1st although Friday's Winter Storm Seneca Wallace was a rainmaker rather than snow (actually last Thursday but too tired to back track).  We had thunder ice that day and almost an inch of rain this early (too early).  No snow that time but the winds howled for 2 days afterwards.  Sick of winter?  Me too.

Another slow news weekend, but you knew that the original KISS wouldn't perform at the Jann Wanner Hall Of Fame, another big falling out, Ace didn't want Tommy playing Space Ace and Gene and Paul thought Ace and Peter should be there to pick the award up only.  Gene likes Tommy Thayer better, he's a more loyal and in line employee of the band and Eric Singer the drummer has maintained the beat most of the time except when Peter returned to the lineup. Would love to see Ace back in the fold but he tends to be a bit wilder and not as easy to control and Peter may have been the least needed band member of said band.  And everybody still misses Eric Carr the Fox which after Carr's passing, the fox face retired.  As they say to be continued.....and so it does, KISS put out a statement saying that they would only show up for the awards, Ace and Peter boycotting and the KISS army is not happy either.   While Gene And Paul CEO's for KISS INC states their business, Ace remains defiant that Tommy Thayer doesn't show up in the Spaceman paintface that he wore during the classic years which the two KISS CEOs said Thayer could since he's been a more reliable performer.  But Ace shouldn't feel too bad, after all Gene and Paul are still pissed off that Ace's 1978 album was the best selling of the solo albums that came out that year and neither Gene or Paul's solo stuff, even later didn't sell as well.  But then again Ace's last couple albums haven't set the world on fire either.  As they say, stay tuned for further developments.  This won't go away.

Hawkwind will not tour in the states and Canada due to visa issues and the lack of finances provided to do such a tour, the band issued a statement saying that they tried everything to make this work but in the end, it would not be cost effectiveness and Dave Brock is still not 100 percent to do such a long trek. They were also still not happy with Nik Turner doing a Hawkwind like tour but even Turner's tour were played to mostly half empty sports bars across the country.  They may not be happy with Turner but at least his last album was in the spirit of the original Hawkwind than the last decade of Brock's output with Hawkwind.  

From the archives: http://rscrabb.blogspot.com/2012/09/top-ten-of-week-diminished-returns.html
I had to replace yet another couple pictures due to them disappearing and thought why not revisit a blast from the past.  After all, lot of people do on some of them, more than other it seems (circumstances beyond control, hairball and quibble and bits the three most revisited)  Up next, the new Ted Nugent song I Am A Pedophile on Classic Crock Radio.

Archives volume 2: John Mendelson, big Kinks fan and wrote and compiled The Kinks Kronlkes (sic) became the first person to review Led Zeppelin's first album for the up and coming Rolling Stones Magazine and trashes it to pieces.  The world and musicians would have a different viewpoint: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/led-zeppelin-i-19690315

When The Roll Is Called Up Yonder, Thou Will Go.  John Fowler 89, former principal of Vernon Junior High and voice of the Marion Indians during my formative years, WWW2 Vet and local hero, died from complications from a stroke.  I actually he passed on years before. A great man and an Marion Iowa Icon. RIP.

Kelly Holland, vocalist for Cry Of Love, best known for Too Cold In The Winter and Peace Pipe from their Brother album, severe abdominal stomach problems, he was 52.  One of the best pure classic rock vocalists in the grunge era, Holland departure derailed Cry Of Love and they never recovered.

Chip Damiani, drummer for The Remains, one of the best if not the best unknown garage rock bands of the 60s (they could have been real big) suffered a brain hemorrhage, died suddenly at age 71. The Remains recorded a highly sought after LP for Epic and toured with The Beatles before Chip left to go back to school and was replaced by N.D. Smart.  When The Remains reunited back in the 2000's Chip was behind the drums once again.

Harold Ramis, one of the best performers of the SCTV Network when they were on TV and legendary producer director for Animal House, Ghostbusters, STRIPES, Caddyshack and later the Anaylize   This And That Movies passed away at age 69 from a rare disease affecting blood vessels. A all around great guy, Ramis returned to Chicago from LA and could be seen from time to time in the city or Cubs games.

Gail Collins: Infamous lyricist that co wrote Strange Brew and later hooked up and then shot and killed Felix Pappalardi, got jailed and paroled in 1985 and disappeared from view and went to Mexico and lived as a recluse, dead from cancer. She was 71.

Vinyl Lovin:

Sweetwater (Reprise 1969)

Perhaps the most best known unknown band to play Woodstock, Sweetwater made it there on the grounds of their first album which somehow sounds like Jefferson Airplane jamming with Santana to which the latter band exploded on the scene with their Woodstock performance but Sweetwater was left in the archives and became more of an footnote.  Which is a shame really, their first album was very good and with Nansi Nevins sounding like Sandy Denny and Grace Slick, they were destined for at least FM greatness till a car accident sidelined Nevins and they never recovered.  Were they Los Angeles answer to The Airplane?  Not really, they were more varied and Jefferson Airplane would have never employed cello and flute to their sounds.  Starting out with the vocals only of Motherchild Child before going into a Latin groove this begins a journey of early funk, hippie dippy (My Crystal Spider) avant garde passages, protest music (What's Wrong) and good old fashioned RnR (For Pete's Sake) this album actually does beat The Airplane at their own game. In fact I think it's better than Volunteers.  Unlike the Airplane, they didn't have a decent vocalist outside of Nevins and it would show on later albums (haven't heard the second but the third Slices was a hodgepodge affair) but the first album is their classic.  Found a very worn out cover of this album (probably the worst looking album I ever bought) on vinyl but the record itself is in very good shape.   Grade A-

Instrumental Themes For Young Lovers (Columbia/Legacy 1997)

Dedicated to John Fowler.  I remember during my junior high years (better forgotten) that when you went to the principals office they would be listening to the Muzak station at the time WMT FM.  The soft safe sounds of Percy Faith or Ray Conniff or Barry Manilow would fill in there as you would get chewed out for being late or being a brat.  WMT FM later changed formats and went from old time middle of the road music to faceless Cumulus/Clear Channel Corporate Crap to now shitty Bro Country (the even more faceless KISS Country).  I'm off subject so getting back to this.....somebody at Sony Music Inc thought it would be cool to come up with 12 to 13 tracks of muzak sounding lite jazz or lite pop to make this forgettible collection of remembering the local muzak station and for Percy Faith he gets one track to himself (Theme For Young Lovers) and future Muzak practitioners like Andre Pevin, Dave Grusin and Andre Kostelanetz hipping out to the groove of a full orchestra on Cast Your Fate To The Wind or Stella By Starlight.  But it's not all muzak as they would like you to think although on Errol Grant's remake of Misty it is more 100 Strings driven than his Mercury version, the oddball zither that is the hook on Ferrante and Teicher's Blue Moon shows their avant garde side as well.   And the 35 minute time on the record is basic, to the point and out of here before you know it's over.  And probably all for the better for it.   Grade B

Best tracks: Cast Your Fate To The Wind (Joe Harrell) Blue Moon (Ferrante & Teicher)

Jeff Golub With Brian Auger-Train Keeps A Rollin' (E One 2013)

Brian Auger is one of the most underrated musicians out there and for me his best period was in the late 60s and early 70s, making a couple classic albums along the way (Closer To It, Befour) but he was more jazz based than I would have liked back then growing up but then discovered later.  Jeff Golub, a very good jazz guitar player in the tradition of Larry Carlton or a more lively George Benson hooks up with Auger on this record.  Interesting to point out that Golub lost sight in both eyes but the title track comes from an incident that Golub fell on a subject track in front of a uncoming train and got clipped and drag for a bit but survived. Gotta admire him for his sense of humor.  Auger actually gets help from former members of the Oblivion Express (Steve Ferrone who never does wrong be it here, or Tom Petty) and Alex Ligertwood who is the weakest link and singer here. I never cared much for Alex's vocals, he's not Muddy or Mose on I Love The Life I Live and even Brian Auger's original vocal takes on Whenever Your Ready and Happiness Is Around The Corner are still preferable.  The best vocals come from guest singer Christopher Cross who sings on How Long (the Paul Carrack/Ace cover) but in all fairness the best moments come from the instrumentals which dominate the record, the interplay between Golub and Auger are impeccable.  The Police cover of Walking On The Moon is pointless though.  Given that, Train Keeps  A Rollin' while not groundbreaking or classic, remains a nice record to do the laundry or taking a drive down the road.
Grade B

Playlist:

Why Do I Cry-The Remains
Hard To Laugh-The Pursuit Of Happiness
Why Oh Why-Sweetwater
That's The Way I Feel About Cha-Bobby Womack
Cheater-Bloodrock
(Why) Am I Treated So Bad-The Staple Singers
It's Still Warm-Dramarama
Rude Boy-Identity
Whenever You're Ready-Brian Auger Oblivion Express
Pictures Of A Dream-Paul Allen And The Underthinkers