When I first heard about this album I assumed if Prince shelved it there was a good reason – like it did not pass his quality control. After listening to the teaser singles my conclusion was that it was not quality, but that he did not feel the time was right in 2010. Well the time is now.
Per a Prince press release: “Recorded in the spring of 2010 and then mysteriously abandoned by Prince before its release, the statement album Welcome 2 America documents Prince’s concerns, hopes, and visions for a shifting society, presciently foreshadowing an era of political division, disinformation, and a renewed fight for racial justice.”
Prince has always had social commentary, politics and black pride themes in his music, but this album is his most in your face political statement of his career. Why did he withhold it in 2010? I have a theory: He was not fooled by America electing a black president and that racism was suddenly behind us. Yet he did not want to stir the pot during the Obama administration. So he sat on it. He passed away before Trump was elected, otherwise we might have heard this sooner. According to people who worked with Prince, as relayed on the podcast series that his promoting the album, the reason is “because he didn’t want to.” Prince rarely explained himself. We will never know.
Ideally this album would have been released in the summer of 2020 in response to the murder of George Floyd and a racist president running for re-election. But bringing an album to market posthumously during a pandemic is complicated. Despite the delay, the content of this release is still relevant. Just because Joe Biden beat Trump and Derek Chauvin was convicted and in prison doesn’t let us off the hook. So the timing of the album is still perfect.
I religiously studied every Prince album from his debut in 1978 through the end of the 90s. I was a bit hit and miss after that. This is the most excited I have been about a Prince album since 1998’s Crystal Ball. The is not just a posthumous money grab by the Prince estate (not that there is anything wrong with that), this is an important entry in the Prince catalog. Hopefully, this is a foreshadowing of more gems in the infamous Prince vault.
Prince uses the titular track to give us his state of the union address via a Parliament-Funkadelic groove. Prince is funky, but he’s not happy.
“Running Game (Son of a Slave Master)” is a slinky groove. Prince and Shelby J trade verses mocking the music industry. Prince, an internet innovator in marketing his music, knew the game was up and the power was shifting back to the major labels. The song is in essence an editorial – an amazing musical editorial. This is a great song despite the heavy theme.
Prince was friends with polymath Dr Cornel West. “Born 2 Die” was recorded as a rebuke toward West, who said Prince was “no Curtis Mayfield.” On a recent podcast, regarding this album, West shared that he loved that he was proven wrong with this track.
“1000 Light Years from Here” is a song of hope imagining a better world. The one we live in is not so great for many:
“We can live underwater
It ain’t hard
When you never been a part
Of the country on dry land”
“Hot Summer” is a departure from the soul and funk: a garage rock song complete with cheesy organ and hot vocals from Liv Warfield. At the moment this is my favorite song on the album.
The one cover on the album is not an R&B standard but a song from Soul Asylum (written by Dave Pirner and released on 2006’s The Silver Lining) a Minneapolis band that has its origins in punk vs funk. Prince makes “Stand Up and B Strong” totally his own and has the hottest guitar solo on the album.
“Check the Record” is classic Prince funk-rock. It is a romantic kiss off. It has a great shout out Sheryl Crow:
If it makes her happy
Can it be that bad?
Like Sheryl said
It might be the most favorite mistake I’ve ever had
“Same Page, Different Book” is a cynical, but joyous admission our world is a mess.
“When She Comes” is classic silky Prince erotica with jazz flourishes. No one does it better.
“1010 (Rin Tin Tin)” was a bit mysterious to me. I googled “1010” and it means: to embrace positive thinking, as you don’t know what’s going to happen or change in your life. It’s a message to stay relaxed and open to new possibilities. Or as Prince sings in the song: “We need to let the funk unwind.”
“Yes” is an arena anthem of positivity with a bit of a Sly & The Family Stone vibe. Nice antidote to some of the heavier earlier material.
“One Day We Will All B Free” is an inspiring end to the album. It starts out like a hymn, but gets bouncy and is very up lifting. Prince name checks Franklin Benjamin Banneker. I googled him and he is a pretty fascinating historical figure – read about him here.
Welcome 2 America featuring Tal Wilkenfeld on bass, Chris Coleman on drums, Morris Hayes on keyboards, and vocals from New Power Generation singers Liv Warfield, Shelby J. and Elisa Fiorillo. Prince had never worked with Wilkenfeld and Coleman before and he never worked with them again. He was not disappointed with them and in fact he complemented them for helping him capture a sound that had eluded him.
Musically the album does not chart new ground, but the craftsmanship is superb. Lyrically this is one of Prince’s strongest performance. This is a super collaborative sound between the band and vocalists. What a great gift from the grave to up lift us in these trying times. I am now very curious to learn what other shelved masterpieces are in the vault.
I have been listening to an MQA Master stream since release day and it sounds fantastic, but the vinyl edition sounds even better.
I am not sure how I got to be 62 as a Patti Smith fan and I have never seen her live. I saw her this past Saturday at an outdoor venue and it was transcendent – I literally had goosebumps most of the show. I am sure that part of it was circumstantial: my first real rock show in about 18 months, outside on a nice summer night, her mini tribute to Dylan, beer, pristine sound (except for the encore – more about that later), etc. Patti was the perfect welcome back to the concert scene – she was the right shaman for the right moment.
The band was fantastic: Lenny Kaye (guitar and bass) and Jay Dee Daugherty (drums) have been with Patti since day one, Tony Shanahan (keyboards, guitar and bass) has been with her a couple of decades and Jackson Smith (guitar) is her son. So, these are not hired hands – this is a band! I loved the PA mix: Jackson in left channel and Lenny in the right. It sounded great, except for one snafu: Patti’s mic was off for half the encore song. But it worked out and just made the show more intimate when Patti joked after her mic was hot again: “I was wondering, something great must of happened, you got rid of me.” Jackson is a solid guitarist and he displayed prowess in several styles. Lenny Kaye was otherworldly. Jay Dee was rock solid on the skins. Tony’s diversity of skills added awesome color.
Patti has an amazing presence on stage – she is contradictions:
- She seem like a real person and a rock star at the same time
- Pissed and compassionate
- Humorous and dead serious
- Ragged and beautiful
- Loud and soft
- Organic and transcendent
One interesting moment that kind of defined the experience. Patti is rocking – in full punk rock mode and she spits on the stage. After the song is finished she humorously apologizes for spitting (apparently she swore it off for Covid) and gets on her hands and knees and cleans it up with a towel. It was a weird magical moment.
I have seen a lot of shows in my life, I don’t think it is recency bias, but this was a top 25 show for me (note to self: blog post – list out those top 25). If you haven’t seen her live and you are a fan make a point to see her when you get a chance.
Below is the set list in the form of a Spotify playlist.
The razor’s edge between “awesome” and “sucks” in rock is a very personal thing. I can be a music snob, but I also accept guilty pleasures. You should own your guilty pleasures. Greta Van Fleet’s The Battle At Garden’s Gate is a guilty pleasure and it’s awesome.
I have no problem that these dudes channel Led Zeppelin and Rush. I love those bands, but have heard them so many times that I am ready for some fresh material – GVF delivers that new material. Is it as good as Zep and Rush? Hell no, but who is?
GVF sound has evolved and they now sound like GVF. It could be that I have picked up on the nuances of how they sound different from their influences, but I prefer to believe they have evolved. The band has worked the road hard over the last few years and it shows in how tight they are as a band and in the maturity of their material.
I love their bombastic take-me-seriously rock and roll. And let’s face it, I like that it is rock and roll and not hip hop (no disrespect to hip hop, it’s just my old classic rock ears are overwhelmed by its dominance in pop). I am all in on this band. In summary: yes, they are still doing derivative crotch rock, but somehow it is more mature.
I am a long time fan of Derek Trucks and the Tedeschi Trucks Band (TTB). Derek and the Dominos’ Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs is the perfect album for TTB to cover. Derek Trucks is the rightful heir to Duane Allman (the secret sauce on the original album). Derek was named after this album and Susan was born on the original album’s release date. Layla Revisited is a live show by the TTB with Phish’s guitarist/vocalist Trey Anastasio and longtime TTB collaborator guitarist Doyle Bramhall II. It was recorded August 24, 2019. The performance of Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs was kept secret until the moment the band took stage – I can’t imagine how amazing an experience that must of been for the unsuspecting audience. I have chatted with a few people on the internet who were there and it was a mind blowing experience.
Layla Revisited is fantastic – do I dare say better than the original? The vocals are better, the recording, mix and mastering are better, the guitar is at least on par and TTB is a tighter band. I am not dissing the original – it is a classic, but this cover is next level. This is not a novelty or a tacky tribute band. The TTB and friends are faithful to the original, but they make the material their own like a great singer whose interpretation of a song makes it theirs, TTB and friends own Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs.
Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs is the only studio album by Derek and the Dominos and was released in November 1970 as a double album. It is best known for its titular track, “Layla” that is often regarded as Eric Clapton’s greatest musical achievement. In addition to Clapton, Duane Allman played lead and slide guitar on 11 of the 14 songs.
Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs was a commercial failure and critical disappointment when it was released, but it has grown in stature over the years and is regarded by most classic rock fans as a hall of fame recording. Personally, beyond “Bell Bottom Blues” and the titular track the rest of the album has never really resonated with me. But on the first listen of this cover version I was hooked. I now appreciate the original more – what more can you ask from a tribute album? I have re-listened to the original and now I love every song and not just the hits ( “Bell Bottom Blues” and “Layla”). Layla Revisited benefits from the fact the TTB is a cohesive and road tested “big band” (the base TTB is an 11 piece with multiple vocalists, a horn section, etc.) and Derek, Trey, Doyle and Susan are simpatico guitarists with each other. The original Layla album was a jam and TTB and Trey are the ultimate players on the jam band scene – this is the perfect group of musicians to perform this classic album. TTB has never disappointed me and Layla Revisited exceeds even my high expectations of them.
PS – the vinyl edition sounds fantastic. It is pressed on 180g vinyl and was mastered and cut by Chris Bellman (a vinyl mastering rockstar) from analog tapes. It is a reasonable price for a 3 LP audiophile release.
John Mayer has the skills to do anything in the rock genre and yet he chooses yacht rock. The “problem” is he does it brilliantly. This is well executed soft rock: hummable songs, great arrangements, impeccably recorded, tasty guitar licks and cover art that screams of the 80s (a wink to the listener that Mayer knows exactly what he is doing). “I’m somewhere between a pop artist and a jam band—maybe closer to pop artist,” Mayer recently stated.
There is not much to say here. If you like Mayer and you are not too cool to enjoy soft rock, give this a listen. It is like having a decent craft beer on a brewery patio on a nice day – pleasant. It is not 80s Dire Straits or Steve Windwood, but it is pretty damn good. Kickback and enjoy.
PS – I love The Nice Price sticker on the album cover. Back in the day, Columbia (now Sony) used this sticker to discount slow moving product (and albums past their sell date) in its catalog – another wink at musicheads like me.
I am a minor Beach Boys fan. I like the hits when I am hear them, but I wouldn’t deliberately play their music. I fully appreciate their genius and their influence on pop music. Despite my ambivalence about The Beach Boys, I am a fan of Dennis Wilson’s 1977 solo project Pacific Ocean Blue.
I became aware of Pacific Ocean Blue when it was reissued by Legacy Recordings as a special 30th anniversary 2-disc edition in 2008. It also included material from the Bambu sessions which was the intended follow up. Pacific Ocean Blue reissue got a lot of positive hype as a lost classic. Based on the reviews, I picked it up on CD and have enjoyed it ever since. I picked up a green vinyl version of Bambu on Record Store Day 2017.
I was recently crate digging and came across an attractively priced limited edition 180-gram blue vinyl version released on the Sundazed label (same tracks as CDs). I was not going to pass that up.
The album has a bit of a Beach Boys vibe, but it has its own vision. It has much more in common with the late 70s California singer songwriter movement than The Beach Boys. As Tom Jurek states, in his All Music review, “This album is a classic, blissed-out, coked-up slice of ’70s rock and pop that is as essential as Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours.” There is almost a Pink Floyd feel to the album. Also, there is a funkiness to Wilson’s music that doesn’t exist in The Beach Boys’ music. Wilson has a soulful gravelly voice that is more Dr. John than the Boys.
Unfortunately Dennis Wilson had many demons and died of drowning in 1983 so we are left with one great album and an unfinished album that is the Bambu sessions.
The bonus material from the Pacific Ocean Blue sessions is a nice addition and the Bambu sessions material shows Wilson still had some gas in the tank. But the original 12 songs from Pacific Ocean Blue are perfect and together they form an LP masterpiece.
(LP – Thrill Jockey #THRILL 540LP)
I discovered Rose City Band when I was captured by the eponymous debut album’s cover art that I saw in an AllMusic new release email. My reaction upon hearing it was that this was country shoegaze and I loved it. I couldn’t find anything about the album or band on the internet. Eventually, I learned it was a psychedelic journeyman Ripley Johnson solo project:
“…that refined his more polished and rock-oriented work in bands like Wooden Shjips and Moon Duo into a gauzy, cosmic take on country-folk.”
Allmusic
I enjoyed the second album Summerlong, but it did not hit me as hard as the debut. Earth Trip, takes the lo-fi beauty of the debut and elevates it to reference recording level excellence. Musically and sonically it sounds great.
If you enjoy the mellow folk side of Neil Young (Harvest and Harvest Moon), the noodling guitar and whispered vocals of JJ Cale, the jammy psychedelics of Grateful Dead or the contemporary psychedelic take of The War On Drugs, you will likely dig The Rose City Band.
Per the album’s label’s (Thrill Jockey) website:
Earth Trip was written during the period of sudden shocks and drastic lifestyle changes of 2020, quite literally “called down off the road” as he sings in elegiac album opener “Silver Roses”. Home for an extended period for the first time in years, he was able to reconnect with simple pleasures of home life: hikes in nature, bathing outside and waking with the dawn. Johnson found hope and healing in forming a more mindful relationship with the natural world, from the simple pleasures of tending a garden to sleeping out under the stars. “
Thill Jockey
Besides the overall mellow vibe, the most distinctive feature of the album is Ripley’s fluid guitar that works as effectively as Jerry Garcia (without sounding anything like him). I also love the arrangements and mix, which according to Ripley Johnson:
“I was trying to capture that feeling when you take psychedelics and they just start coming on – maybe objects start buzzing in the edges of your vision, you start seeing slight trails, maybe the characteristics of sound change subtly. But you’re not fully tripping yet. Cooper (Cooper Crain who mixed the album) got the idea right away and his mix really captures that feeling.”
Thrill Jockey
Unfortunately, the album is not available on streaming services like Spotify (although four tracks were issued as singles, so I assume it eventually will be), but it is available on Bandcamp. The other two albums are available on Spotify.
I am not a long time fan of Lana Del Rey, but she made my best of 2019 with Norman Fucking Rockwell. At the time I said: “I feel like I should be a fan:
- I take female artists seriously (Joni Mitchell rivals Dylan for my favorite artist)
- I am a big fan of current female pop stars
- I love dreamy slow songs
- Mazzy Star is one of my favorite bands
- Cat Power’s The Greatest is one of my favorite albums”
I guess I can now add Jack Antonoff production (Taylor Swift among others) to the list of reasons I should like Lana Del Rey.
As best I can tell Lana is not changing or doing something different with Chemtrails over the Country Club, but perfecting her brand of melancholic, atmospheric and dreamy pop. Lana Del Rey barely sings – she whispers and purrs and it totally works.
Her lyrics are just as strong as the music. Most songs are mini novels. Per Wikipedia:
“Her music is noted for its stylized, cinematic quality and exploration of themes of sadness, tragic romance, glamor, and melancholia, containing many references to pop culture, particularly 1950s and 1960s Americana.”
Wikipedia
I like this album even more than Norman Fucking Rockwell. It seems more sonically interesting and lyrically more engaging. It also helps that it has a bit of a Joni Mitchell vibe. I suspected after listening to Norman Fucking Rockwell that Lana must be a Joni Mitchell fan. On Chemtrails over the Country Club there is no question. She name checks her and covers Joni’s “For Free” – one of my favorite Joni song’s. “For Free” features Zella Day and Weyes Blood (two singers I am not familiar with). It is a pretty straight cover.
And then there is Nikki Lane. “Breaking Up Slowly” is a country song written and performed by Lana and Nikki. I am a huge Nikki fan so this is a real treat.
If you have never listened to Lana Del Rey, this is a great place to start. If you are a long time fan, you will not be disappointed.
In a recent post I forgave Ryan Adams and I am back to being a fan. I have come to accept that I can like the art and not the artist. Big Colors is not typical Ryan, it sounds like him, but a different sound. Per a Ryan Adams quote I saw in Rolling Stone:
“Big Colors was created as a 1980s soundtrack to a movie that never existed.Wednesdays was a study of decline and morality; Big Colors is meant to feel like a daydream. New York, where this album was written, always propels me into new, unexpected creative spaces and this album happened to me, more than I can say I happened to it.”
It does have an 80s vibe, invoking a careful curated 80s jukebox. I hear traces of Roxy Music, The Smiths & Morrissey, R.E.M. and without irony 38 Special (on “Middle Of The Line”). And there is a few hints of classic Ryan Adams. It is a remarkable juxtaposition of songs that really work together. I can definitely imagine some of these songs in a cheesy 80s movie where the soundtrack is better than the movie.
As I noted in a recent post, Adams was planning to release three albums in 2019. Those were shelved due to scandal. In December 2020 Adams released one of the three and now has released the second of the three. From what I see online he has rearranged the song placements of the three and both Wednesdays and Big Colors are not the original albums that would have been released in 2019.
The simple review is, I dig this album. I like that is not the typical Ryan Adams Americana. It is obviously him, but in some different moods. I am instantly hooked on it, whereas Wednesdays took awhile to sink in. For now I prefer Big Colors to Wednesdays, but that can change with time.
When I first heard this album I posted on my Instagram account (@catchgroove): “Does the world need another 2.5 hour live recording of Neil Young and Crazy Horse? Hell yes! As usual the boys are brilliantly sloppy and there are some deep cut gems.” A few months have gone by and this album still sounds good to me.
This live album is from a warm up show for the Ragged Glory tour at The Catalyst in Santa Cruz, CA, on November 13, 1990. Neil’s timing for Ragged Glory could not have been more perfect – Neil and the Horse were prophets: Seattle grunge was about to explode. They were like John The Baptist: anticipating a messianic rock movement that would be greater than themselves. Eventually Neil would be rightfully named The Godfather of Grunge.
The band plays most of Ragged Glory and selections from their back catalog – the obvious and not so obvious, for example, three from 1975’s Zuma (obvious) and two from 1981’s Re-ac-tor (not so obvious). I never tire of hearing this stuff: it is a turgid plodding mess, but somehow beautiful. The Horse is often maligned as not being accomplished musicians, but musicianship is besides the point – the magic of great rock music is that it just emotes – Way Down In The Rust Bucket gushes emotion.
On the one hand there is nothing new here, but on the other hand that is not the point. Neil Young and Crazy Horse are just a great hang and I will take every opportunity to hang with these guys. This is a particularly great opportunity.
Axl's Catch Groove 