Football weekend and Iowa State once again reclaims the Cy Hawk Trophy and takes it back to Ames with a 20-17 victory over Iowa in a game that might just prove that Iowa is in rebuilding mode. With the best linebackers from last year graduated and moved on, the defense is as shaky as ever as Iowa State, a team that has packed it in the second half last two games but this time woke up to rip to shreds an Iowa defense for a 92 yard drive and go ahead TD. Iowa Tied it on a shaky FG from Marshall Koehn. Iowa played not to lose, and it came back to cost them the game. Never mind the fact that the Iowa State kicker missed the FG with 4 seconds left but our fearless head coach called a time out before the miss. With a second chance you can guess what happened next. Way things are going this year, don't be surprised to see the Iowa Trophy case get more and more bare as the weeks go on. I don't forsee them beating Nebraska, Wisconsin will keep the Heartland one up in Madison and even Floyd Of Rosedale might be packing his bags up to the icebox they call Minnesota.
Last year I got to see Quad Cities win the Midwest League title and 16 of the players moved over to Lancaster in advanced A ball and they rocked Visalia 10-2 to win that title. On the homefront Kane Country, the Cubs A team swept Lake County. A record year, Kane County won 98 games including sweeping the opposing team in the three finals. Unlike the parent team the Chicago Cubs who continue to trip on every twig and pebble and make watching games painful to watch and have lived in the cellar for the last four years. But if the future is in the minors, the hope is that the future Kane County Cougars will be future Cubs and hopefully can win the world series before we all die. Wouldn't that be something.
Later in October Shout Factory is reissuing WKRP In Cincinnati with most of the original music that was used for that series, but it does have a few omissions namely from the usual suspects (The Eagles, Pink Floyd). It's a real thorny issue that even back then using an Eagles track would raise the ire of the band or their lawyers. It's makes more money for them just to reissue their albums over and over again. To which if you known when to program your CD or MP3 to the Johnny Fever segment with Dogs used as the main music track, you're be better in the long run (no pun intended Don Henley) rather than go wine about it in the Shout Factory comment section. http://ultimateclassicrock.com/wkrp-in-cincinnati-complete-series/
Johnny Fever segment via You Tube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1enfo8zn3_g
Everybody seems to be jumping on the alternative format. KRNA has done it now KDKB in Phoenix is doing this. I'm thinking they're be a bit more alt rock than the crap KRNA has forced upon us and called it alternative, hometown heroes Jimmy Eat World and The Maine will make Phoenix/Mesa a bit more tolerable to listen to but I think it's all bullshit anyway. Alternative the way I remembered it was Luna, Lush, The Dylans, The Charlatans UK and Stone Roses. KDKB also promises to play more Bad Religion and Decedents as well. I'll believe when I hear it. Since then KDKB became history and the original web link was a 404 not found.
Up yours and your Spotify Bob Lefsetz, Love Japan: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/17/business/media/cd-loving-japan-resists-move-to-digital-music-.html?_r=0
Another passing to tell you about: Joe Sample, long time piano player for the Jazz Crusaders (later The Crusaders) passed away at age 75, details unknown but he's had a history of heart problems. A jazz band that recorded for Pacific Jazz, they later added more R and B and funk elements into their music and signed up with Blue Thumb for the top ten hit (here) Put It Where You Want It. Their best album was 1975's Southern Comfort. http://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-deaths/article/Pianist-Joe-Sample-also-a-prolific-composer-5753844.php
John Gustafson, who played in Ian Gillan's band for a time but also was the uncredited bass player on Roxy Music albums in the 70s died Sunday at age 72. Other projects included the all star Jerry Lee Lewis 1973 album The Session and reformed The Pirates with Mick Green in the 1990s.
Robert Young, long time member of Primal Scream passed away over the weekend. He was 49.
Chris Duarte, who recorded a few albums for Silvertone back in the 1990s played in a free show at Parlor City Sunday Night and for Blues Rock Duarte has been one of the better guitar players out there. I managed to catch a few songs while walking past and I sat outside while trying to combat the smokers and Parlor City was filled up quite well as Duarte and company tore it up. Across the street was some young dude banging on a guitar and singing songs at the top of his lungs on the New Bo Amphitheater Stage. I give him credit for trying, but couldn't help but noticed the strange looks on peoples faces as they walk past wondering what drugs he was on. I thought about doing that myself, play on the open stage in a crowd about ten and see if anybody cares. But I would make sure nobody was playing at Parlor City if I ever did.
Playlist This Week:
Walk On The Wild Side-Joseph Arthur (Lou)
Getting Kinda Cocky-Black Oak Arkansas (Raunch N Roll Live)
Little Maggie-Robert Plant (lullaby AND THE CEASELESS ROAR)
Rock And Roll Queen-Mott The Hoople (S/T)
The Loner-Brand New Sin (Recipe For Disaster)
Political World-Bob Dylan (Oh Mercy)
Walk Out Of My Mind-Waylon Jennings (Love Of The Common People)
You Baby- P F Sloan (Child Of Our Times)
Radical Radio-The Dead 60s (S/T)
Raeline-The Brains (S/T)
Reviews:
Joseph Arthur-Lou (Vanguard)
Something that I came across in the dollar bin was this recent release and tribute to Lou Reed by J. Arthur and there's a sheer beauty among the acoustic guitars and pianos. By starting the album out with a reworking of Walk On The Wild Side which really does Lou proud, Arthur's subdued vocals and guitar makes this a must hear. Even taking on Heroin as well, the song that is, that the first four songs are worth the price that I paid for this album. For me, some problems exist, Dirty Blvd, would have been better had somebody tried out the coda part that Dion made that song a classic back in 89 and Pale Blue Eyes tends to actually drag but just a bit. But for a final tribute to the now departed Reed, Arthur's Lou works most of the time, all the way to end closer Coney Island Baby, a song that I can identify with, even my days as a youth and hoping to play football for a coach, only to quit when I couldn't make the practice squad. Arthur on the other hand with this effort at least makes the second squad, if not the first.
Grade B plus
Train-Bulletproof Picasso (Columbia)
Let's face the facts; the band second career began with the odious Hey Soul Sister, one of the most despised and biggest hits of 2010. And since finding that formula, Pat Monahan and company continued to study top forty (and most notably Country since most of these songs would not sound out of place on a FGL album) and make music tailored made for top forty record. The band that gave us the debut of 1998 doesn't exist anymore, they're clones of Maroon 5 and just fine if you like Maroon 5 but at least Train spares us with the hip hop that Maroon 5 tends to favor more often then not. Bulletproof Picasso continues Train's fluff pop autotuned hi jinx with top forty radio ready songs (Wonder What You're Doing For The Rest Of Your Life) with even an eye toward country (Bulletproof Picasso, I Will Remember). And, as always fluff ballads (Don't Grow Up So Fast) for your honey to get misty eyed over. Butch Walker, pop wonderkind and who has continued to find employment after the demise of The Marvelous 3 works well as producer for this band. While there's nothing on this new album that has that annoying but everlasting effect on Corporate radio like Hey Soul Sister, it's their best since For Me It's You. but that's not saying a whole heck of a lot. Save Me San Francisco was total junk and California 37 was an improvement but still not enough for me to recommend that. Bulletproof Picasso, the album itself shows a lot of a work in duplicating the styles of music today from Katy Perry to the stop and start of Fun and even Munford and Sons all the way down to the AH ROOO OOOO backing vocals. But it's hardly original. Which seems to suit Train just fine.
Grade C+
Paul Anka-Jubilation (Buddah) 1973
Guilty pleasure single of that year came from the former teen idol now a Vegas headliner but you could say this was his lost wilderness period to which he recorded a couple albums which Arista after acquiring that label put them out on a best of that wasn't his best. The goofy organ cover shot which he doesn't break a sweat plus no song titles anywhere made this a 1.99 special in no time. My mom was a big Anka fan, buying selected ABC Paramount singles and the remakes of them The Great 21 to which an unheard of 21 songs making it into a album that barely made it past 40 minutes. Very Ramones like shall we say but Anka was a pop star more than rock. However the title track remains a fun listen, somewhere along the lines of I Got The Music In Me but with a gospel feel. In some ways Jubliation is Anka's hardest rocking song in his career and maybe he wasn't trying to be. Adding a metallic fuzz guitar to sound like the devil might have worked back in 1973 but nowadays it's sounds more like a failed gimmick. And the drummer whoever he was must have loved the china cymbal since he kept crashing it like a Keith Moon. For the first four minutes or as they say Part 1 of the single, it does make you want to believe Jesus will win, hell freezes, and the devil is displeased, until you get to the overblown Johnny Harris arrangements and you get the feeling that perhaps you are in hell with the overblown horns and strings going at it for the last two minutes of this 7 minute workout. And then after that, outside of a cover of John Prine's Pretty Good, the rest is forgettable. Vegas pop and droll and I couldn't even make it through the second side of the glop that Anka is famous for. And would later gave the world one of the worst all time crappy songs ever with You're Having My Baby. But thank Jesus that you didn't have to hear it on this record.
Grade C-
Forgotten song of the past: The Ballad Of Ira Hayes by Bob Adams (Country & Western Hits 277)
This song originally written by Peter LaBarge and covered by many, most notably Johnny Cash, I was more familiar with this version on a budget label done by the unknown Bob Adams, who made a habit of covering country songs of the past via The Hit Record Label. My dad has had a copy of this well worn record. Even in the era of the internet, and while there have been websites that actually celebrate the K Tel label of the 60s, the majority of recording artists who were on Hit/Country And Western Hits were either minor league recording stars or just plain unknowns. The eerie introduction spooked me when I was 3 or so, but it was one of the earliest songs that I ever heard. The female backing vocals could either be The Anita Kerr Singers or The Nashville Edition, I'm guessing the former. This version seems to come from a near mint copy and it's kinda nice to hear it without the hideous scratches and abuse of my dad's recording. And who is this Bob Adams? We don't know and the link to the song has disappeared. Therefore, Johnny Cash's version, which Adams did a nice similar job is included instead. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6WN2Yddj1ko
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