Observations From The Forefront-January

Good evening.

While Record World is dormant, there are still news going around and I would agree to hang around to document the more noteworthy news .  Already we are only half way through the month and already we lost a few notables.  My good friend Duane Connaughton's mom Sioux suddenly passed away today. Anything I can do Duane, please let me know.  Your wife was a great person.

The big news of the week is that The Chrome Horse has returned to New Bo, in the former New Bo Ale House and US Bank building.  This Friday Slap N Tickle will be the first band to play there and Lonesome Road will play on Saturday. It's nice to see the Chrome Horse return to familiar surroundings although they insist that the Blairs Ferry location will still be up and running.  For the past couple years, I tend to park the car in that area to do my Sunday walk but now it looks like finding a parking spot will be a bit more harder to find.

While it looks like I may have returned, I'm basically pacing myself to at least stay in touch once in a while with these observations from the forefront blogs.   I have a band that takes up a lot of my time and to add to that, a special somebody  although she's been sidelined with the flu for the past month and I haven't seen much of her. When she gets sick, she sees nobody including the other half.  But she needs to get better.  Her singing partner in Dreams Of Arcadia is coming back into town for a couple weeks and they'll be hitting the ground running.  Which means I won't be seeing much of her unless I get the night off and go see her play and help her out.   Perhaps in the future, we can form our own duo, but I tend to get in the way more than I help.

Even being in love with a great special woman, I will tend to do my bargain hunts and see what kind of music I can find in 2018.  And of course Madison and the river towns as well.  I would love to see Arizona this year, I haven't been there in five years.  But already things have changed.  No more Hastings and FYE shut down the location I used to frequent when I lived there years ago.  There's Bookman's and Zia's but anything else I would have to scour the thrift stores.

With a special woman in my life, I'm trying to settle my fears and phobias.  The usual feeling that the more she knows me, the more she'll want to run away screaming.  Usually if a woman knows once she finds a great man no matter how skewed he is, she's not going to give him up without a fight. I mean she really wanted to be around me, even when I didn't think she wanted me at all.  So I'm trying to combat that negative thought.  I really want this relationship to succeed so I'm doing my best to curtail the Crabb inside of me.  And I never thought I would ever say that.

I don't have much goals for 2018.  I'll listen to new music if it's worth a listen but I'm not going go out of my way to buy the flavor CD of the month, play it once and then donate it back to Goodwill. There's not much for reissues I'm looking for, unless Universal finally decides to reissue The Brains first album.  Let's face it, 50 years ago, the music on the radio was great.  50 years later nobody gives a fuck about new music and most of it sucks anyway. 50 years later the classic rock and rollers are now 70, Eric Clapton is going deaf and we'll lose more rockers along the way. Maybe even myself if I'm not careful.  If I compile a best of 2018, it will be less albums than last year and most will be forgotten anyway.   I'm sure Half Price Books will continue to have some interesting stuff in the 2 dollar bins, likewise Stuff Etc. and I'll be amused of what 45s I find in the future.   If I can make it to May I would be at my place of employment for 30 years.  Never thought that would come to light.

I hope my family and friends can hang around another year. But things can and will change.  If I lose a certain family member or friend that might drive me over the edge and the world will never hear from me again.   Likewise my special woman,  if I lose her it might break me as well.   But who knows what time will bring.  But if you know me, it will not stop me from continuing to buy used music.  If it's worth a blog, I post it.   But I'm leaving the politics to somebody else.  As well as the cheesecake photo of the month.

So that's it for now.  Keep the cards and letters and comments coming in and I get back to you ASAP. And remember Tide Pods are for washing clothes, not eating them.

Review:

Maren Morris-Hero (Columbia 2016)

It was a year ago that Morris took a few ACM awards home and was proclaimed the next big thing.  Judging by seeing this CD in the two dollar bins that maybe her time might have come and gone.  In terms of new country, Hero is more geared toward electronic pop music although it's not as blatant as say Taylor Swift or Lady Gaga but to these ears it's pop with a country voice.  And I don't have much tolerance for pop music of the century 18 years into this.  While kudos was praised for Morris'  hit (the rest didn't make much of a chart dent) My Church,it sounds unfinished, especially at the end when you think there should have been more to this.  I am not a big fan of the processed beats co producer Busbee adds. But pick and choose a song or two and it stands out.  I got a chuckle of Morris use of the S word (Shit if you want to know) and Drunk Girls Don't Cry is the stand out track, more so than My Church.  Second stand out track is I Could Use A Love Song, which did make number 1 on the modern country chart this week.  Not bad, for a 2 dollar find this week at Half Price Books.
Final analysis: fairly listenable  as a pop album masquerading as a country album.
Grade B

Taste-Live At The Aisle Of Wright Festival (Capo/Eagle 2016)

Given Rory Gallagher's crazed guitar playing and original lyrics done as blues, I still find his first band Taste to be an acquired "taste". They certainly go all over the place by playing the riffs and then Rory roaring off to play guitar solos and some off the wall stuff before going back to the song itself and I guess you had to be there to enjoy this.  Without the video, the songs drag, especially the ones that go over ten minutes. However they did three encores to which Rory says they got time for one more short song, which turned out to be the 7 and half minute Blister On The Moon.  Those Irish guitar players got such a sense of humor!
Grade B-

Joe Perry-Sweetzerland Manifesto (Roman 2018)

I'm sorry.  It used to be that Perry could make some hard rocking albums but on this, it just doesn't work. The songs are simply not very good.  I'll defend Joe when he puts his vocals on the album but this time out he gives that to the outdated Terry Reid, and David Johansen.  Even Robin Zander is wasted on the Aye Aye Aye. And at the same time Johnny Depp turns Eve Of Destruction into a trainwreck.  At his best Perry lets the music do the talking.  This time out it's more Shit than Sweet.
Grade C