I first discovered Ralph Towner as the acoustic guitarist in the band Oregon in 1978. Oregon’s 1978 album Out Of The Woods, on Elektra, was a small sensation in the jazz world at the time. Their genre was impossible to pin down: jazz, folk, classical, chamber music, world music, etc. It was New Age music before that was really a genre (or an insult). Listening to it today, it sounds timeless.
Over the years I picked up a few Ralph Towner albums (solo and side projects). I knew that Solstice (1975) was his solo crowning achievement, but never managed to pick it up until a CD was reissued in 2008. I enjoyed that reissue for a short bit, but it never managed to speak to my soul. I recently was cleaning out an LP shelf, that houses used records that I have acquired at record shows, that are waiting for a serious listen before filing. I discovered I had picked up a pristine vinyl copy of Solstice. It has been in my rotation the last several weeks and is has officially earned my appreciation.
The album is quintessentially ECM circa mid-70s. That is not to say it sounds dated or clichéd, but that it represents everything that makes ECM a great label: it is quiet yet adventurous and impeccably recorded. Lots of jazz labels have a distinctive style and ECM may be the most distinctive. Depending on your taste you will find it beautiful or boring. I am in the beautiful end of that spectrum. I am a huge ECM fan.
Towner is the principal composer on Solstice (7 of 8 of the tracks). He is also a soloist and accompanist playing 12 string guitar, classical guitar and piano. Towner defers plenty to Jan Garbarek (tenor and soprano sax and flute). Garbarek’s playing is fantastic. The great bassist Eberhard Webber gets plenty of action too (he also contributes some cello). The group is rounded out by drummer Jon Christensen, who provides a light but wonderfully hyperactive touch to the kit.
Towner’s soloing on Solstice is subtle and supportive of the ensemble. But if you listen carefully, you will be blown away by what he is doing with his ax.
The music is atmospheric, but by no means musical wallpaper. It demands your attention and has plenty of challenges despite its gentleness. It is the kind of album that you might be able to get away with as background music at a dinner party if you played it at low volume. But if you played it loud, its cinematic beauty would quickly overshadow dinner conversation.
Towner was clearly a big influence on one of my jazz heroes, Pat Metheny, both in his acoustic guitar playing and in his style as a composer. Metheny said this about Towner in a Downbeat Blindfold test:
“That’s unmistakably Ralph Towner, somebody I hold in high esteem for what I was talking about earlier, the ability to find your own voice on the instrument…I have been knocked out with Ralph ever since I Sing The Body Electric, which was his guitar debut on a Weather Report album years ago. The first time I heard that I was stunned. I’d never heard anybody play anything even remotely similar, let alone improvise with such freedom on a 12-string guitar, which is one of the most cumbersome instruments, very difficult to play. I’m always amazed at Ralph’s flexibility and the power he can get. He’s got incredible touch.”
Solstice is a grand rediscovery in my collection.
Based on Metheny’s tip, I pulled Weather Report’s I Sing The Body Electric off the shelf to give it a reminder listen. That is not an album that has previously resonated with me, but given context and being in a receptive mood, I now appreciate its beauty (and I am reminded that in the early 70s, Wayne Shorter was very much an active participant in the band). Towner’s playing on the second cut, “The Moors” is brilliant. Guitars have been rarely present on Weather Report albums and Towner is given rare guitar prominence on this cut. I see a connection with the ECM sound and Weather Report, that I have never noticed before.
Ever since I started this blog in the fall of 2011 I have been doing a “best of” music list (albums) annually. This is a highly personal list – it is albums released in 2017 that caught my attention and in most cases motivated me enough to write a review/blog post. I have stated before that I don’t write bad record reviews – I don’t feel any need to trash an album. If I am going to make the effort to write a review, it is going to be for an album I like and that I want to recommend. If I wrote a post on an album, I liked the album and given I don’t post that much, it is pretty likely to end up on year-end “best of” list. Except for my album of the year, this list is not in any order of preference. There are a few random notes at the end too. In general the links are to the original post.
Mavis Staples- If All I Was Was Black – This was a Jeff Tweedy/Wilco year for me. Jeff Tweedy released a solo album, I saw Wilco live, in what may have been their best show I have ever seen (I have seen them close to 10 times over the years), they did a magnificent re-release of their first two albums and this Mavis Staples album that Jeff Tweedy produced. This is their third album collaboration and it works the best. As I stated in my original post:
Tweedy and Staples get so deep into this collaboration, that on their duet “Ain’t No Doubt About It,” you can barely tell their voices apart. They are not impersonating each other, it is synchronicity.
Howard Wales and Jerry Garcia – Side Trips: Volume One (Live) is yet another Garcia live date I have added to my collection – I must have about 25 Garcia solo albums – and most are live albums. This is Garcia playing jazz rock fusion and he pulls it off amazingly well. This is an older recording that was first released on CD in 1998 and was re-released as a Black Friday Record Store Day release on vinyl in 2017.
Per jerrygarcia.com:
From 1970 to 1972, Jerry Garcia and keyboardist Howard Wales played together around the bay area and on the east coast. It was usually instrumental—a jazz session with a lot of other influences thrown in. Sometimes they played as a trio, including Bill Vitt on drums, and other times a bassist, such as Richard Favis or John Kahn, would sit in on the session. This collaboration would mark the beginning of Jerry’s twenty-five-year partnership with Kahn. For Jerry, the appeal of this outfit was the ability to play in a more relaxed context than the Dead. Wales was a serious musician, and Jerry had to work hard to keep up with him, which he would say did more for his ear than anyone else he played with.
Bob Dylan – Trouble No More – The Bootleg Series Vol. 13 / 1979-1981 is another ambitious collection in the Bob Dylan Bootleg series. This time the focus is on Dylan’s born again period in the late 70s/early 80s. It was bizarre that Dylan even had a born again stage, but somehow it inspired him musically and he was at the top of his game – especially performing live – which is the bulk of this collection. I loved this period in Dylan’s career and it was something I experienced in real-time at a formative stage of my becoming a serious music head.
This collection is blessed with one of the all time greatest liner note essays. Proud atheist and Dylan fanatic, Penn Jillette (of Penn and Teller fame), comes to terms with how great Dylan’s Christian period was (Jillette admits he was a hater of the Christian trilogy when it was released back in the day). Jillette is candid, confessional, insightful and most of all entertaining in his essay. Here is a taste:
I am the fool who still says in his heart there is no God, but Dylan’s gospel is stronger than my lack of faith.
The full collection is not available on Spotify, but this sampler is:
Margo Price – All American Made was a worthy follow up to last year’s Midwest Farmer’s Daughter. Sophomore albums often are let downs, but this one is not. From the original post:
This is no sophomore slump. Midwest Farmer’s Daughter was not the work of a rookie – Price was a mature talent in her early thirties with plenty of life and musical experience when she recorded it. So, it is not surprising she has released a solid follow-up.
This was a serious contender for my album of the year.
The Replacements – For Sale: Live at Maxwell’s 1986 is yet another collection of old unreleased live music on my list. The Replacements are one of my favorite bands and the fact they are from my home town makes them even better. They were legendary in their live shows for sucking or being transcendent (mostly sucking) and this set is one of their rare moments of transcendence – and as a bonus it is professionally recorded.
This is a quality live recording and remarkably the boys are on good behavior and not subverting the Sire investment in a legitimate live recording. It is a nice snapshot of their catalog at that point in their career. The guitar interplay between Westerberg and Stinson is delightful. It could be argued that this was the end of The Replacements because subsequent albums became more and more Westerberg solo albums. So if you never got a chance to see them live, or if you did and you want a great souvenir, this album is highly recommend.
The Waterboys – Out Of All This Blue – Every once in a while you forget how much you once liked a band. Often bands you once loved have disappeared off the face of the earth. This year I got a double reminder that The Waterboys are great, alive and well. This was a serious contender for my album of the year.
I have not given The Waterboys a thought or a listen in a long time. I recently went to see U2 at US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. Sadly one of the highlights of that show was the last song played before the lads came on: The Waterboys’ “The Whole Of The Moon.” I made a note to myself to pull out This Is The Sea and give it a spin.
A couple of days later I was at Mill City Sound record store when I saw the double (and deluxe triple) LP Out Of All This Blue by The Waterboys as a new release. I did not even think The Waterboys/Mike Scott was still an active band.
Jeff Tweedy Together At Last is a simple concept, Wilco frontman Jeff Tweedy does stark acoustic renditions of Wilco songs (and some other bands Tweedy is associated with).
As carefully crafted a sonic experience as Wilco is, the revelation of Together At Last is how much Wilco is ultimately Tweedy’s voice. These songs lose nothing stripped down. They are not better or worse, just different; amazingly not that different. Wilco’s arrangements and players are complex and artsy (in a good way), but the privilege here is that the songs are so pure and clean.
Kamasi Washington – Harmony of Difference – Kamasi Washington returned with new music in 2017, but instead of a huge multi-course meal, he served hors d’oeuvres. This little taste was far from a disappointment, in fact a snack this time around was a better choice than the big meal – I was still full since the last meal Kamasi served. Yet another contender for my album of the year.
This EP is composed, arranged, conducted and produced by Washington. Washington is the featured soloist. Washington has great tone and his engaging phrases that can both caress and bite. He may not end up on the jazz saxophonist’s Mount Rushmore, but he has something special: the ability to musically communicate to old jazz fans like me and to millennial hip hop fans. That is pretty magical.
Arcade Fire – Everything Now – Arcade Fire is an art band that is not afraid of writing a pop song – similar to their forefathers the Talking Heads and David Bowie . Commercially this album and tour were flops, but don’t let sales define quality – this album and its accompanying tour are top-notch.
HAIM – Something To Tell You – I have few pure pop albums on this year’s list and it does not get much sweeter than this savory glob of bubble gum.
Jaco Pastorius – Truth, Liberty & Soul – is a full concert – something that was missing in Jaco’s catalog. It is professionally recorded and captures Jaco at his best as a player, composer and band leader.
Truth, Liberty & Soul is a full concert from the Word Of Mouth tour. A New York show from 1982 recorded for a NPR program radio program called Jazz Alive. It was recently issued as a limited Record Store Day (April 2017) three LP set. It came out digitally May 26, 2017 (as best I know it is only available on CD or to download via Apple, it is not on streaming services).
Ryan Adams – Prisoner – Adams continues to release quality material twenty years into his career. I keep forgetting about the B-Sides album that was released as a companion to this album – I need to give that a good listen.
Each song on Prisoner reflects on love lost. The guitars speak as much as the lyrics. As always, Adams crafts beautiful sonic soundscapes and is a fascinating pop artist.
The Brothers Robinson – I am a longtime fan of the Black Crowes and post Crowes’ work of brothers Rich and Chris Robinson. This year there were three releases associated with the brothers:
Magpie Salute – The eponymous named debut from Rich Robinson’s new band has lots of great covers and a nice 70s feel. It is mostly live, but unobtrusively so.
Chris Robinson Brotherhood – Betty’s Self Rising Southern Blends Vol. 3 is a nice long live set. This is the third in a series of soundboard mixes by renowned Grateful Dead engineer Betty Cantor-Jackson.
It is bluesier than their studio albums. It is sloppier in a good way – their studio albums can be a bit too buttoned down. It includes originals and covers. There is more diversity to the set – the recent studio albums have been a bit too cohesive.
Chris Robinson Brotherhood – Barefoot In My Head – I have a half written post on this album. That is more about my laziness than lack of enthusiasm for this fine album. In fact, it might be their best release. From the unpublished post:
Although the CRB has yet to lay a studio turd, this sounds like their primus inter pares. With Barefoot In My Head they have crafted their most diverse, adventurous and polished album of their career. Over a hundred shows a year for seven years will either bring a band together or tear it apart. It clearly has brought this band together.
Harry Styles – Styles is the most blatantly pop artist on this list. Despite his pedigree, Styles has crafted an album that would not have sounded out-of-place on late 70s FM radio. This came dangerously close to being my album of the year.
On release day (May 12, 2017), I got up for a bike ride planning to listen to the new Todd Rundgren album on the ride. I noticed that Harry Styles’ solo debut was out so I decided to try it. Styles’ appearance on SNL earlier this spring impressed me.
As I pedaled and listened to the album, I was amazed. I don’t know what I was expecting, but it was not this. This is sophisticated serious pop. As I listened, I thought of three Bs: Jeff Buckley, Beck and dare I say David Bowie. The more I listen, the more influences I hear (as the Bard says: “Steal a little and they throw you in jail/Steal a lot and they make you king”).
Styles does not have one of these tour de force pop voices. He has a good voice, not a great voice. However, he has what all the great pop voices have: authentic emotional expression. When his voice hitches on the high notes of “Sign of the Times,” it is more powerful than perfection.
Laura Marling – Semper Femina – Marling continues to put out high quality contemporary folk. I had the good fortune of seeing the tour supporting this album. The deluxe edition of the album includes a live version of the album as a bonus.
This album is not a radical departure from her past couple of albums. It is still subtle and folky, but it does have a little more adventurous and rich arrangements. Her voice has grown and is slightly different on each cut.
Tedeschi Trucks Band – Live from the Fox Oakland – Tedeschi Trucks Band is best consumed live and this album does a nice job documenting a recent tour. In addition to great audio, there is a solid DVD of a live show too.
Donny McCaslin – Beyond Now – I discovered McClaslin on Bowie’s Blackstar. McClaslin’s band provided the jazz feel on that album. This is a late 2016 release, but I listened to it in early 2017.
McCaslin’s band reminds me a lot of Weather Report. It is not derivative or imitative of Weather Report, but it is:
- A sax and keys based combo
- Jazz/rock fusion
- Orchestral (with only a handful of instruments)
- Not confined by boundaries.
At times, it sounds like LCD Sound System (“A Small Plot Of Land” – which is actually a Bowie cover), punk (e.g. FACEPLANT) and ECM fusion (most of the rest).
Flo Morrissey and Matthew E. White – Gentlewoman, Ruby Man – I had forgotten this release until I reviewed all my 2017 posts. I re-listened and was reminded of how good it is.
I have been a Matthew E. White fan since his 2012 release Big Inner. White has amazing pop sensibility – he is Lee Hazelwood updated for today’s ears. I was not familiar with Flo Morrissey. This album is all covers – some pretty famous songs and some not so famous.
This album has a great back story. White saw a review of Flo Morrissey’s album in the U.K. newspaper The Guardian (it was next to a review of White’s own album). He was intrigued and reached out to her – and the rest is history.
Father John Misty – Pure Comedy – And the winner is… This is my number one album from 2017. Pure Comedy was a slow burn for me. It was not that I didn’t like it, it is just that I did not like it as much as the previous two FJM releases. But over repeated listens it grew on me. Then seeing FJM live this summer – where generous portions of the album were played – put me over the top. In the end it is my number one album because I have consistently listened to it throughout the year and it is still prominently on my playlist.
This album is one of the finest pop criticisms of contemporary culture I have heard in a long time – especially pertinent given it is not coming from a jaded baby boomer millionaire bard (depending on your definition FJM is at the tail end of Gen X or an early Millennial).
FJM has even gotten more cynical since his last album – an impressive feat. However, these are cynical times. Musically it is a mellower album, but not dour. FJM continues to conjure elaborate pop arrangements.
And finally…I have a few final thoughts.
Missed the list – There were a couple of albums that caught my attention at the end of the year:
- Vijay Iyer Sextet’s Far From Over is sophisticated yet easy to listen to jazz. Not easy-listening – easy to listen to.
- Neil Young & Promise of the Real – The Visitor – Neil continues to pour out more material (between reissues, his archive project and new stuff) than the average fan can consume. This is one of Neil’s most diverse albums and one of the best back up bands he has ever played with (that is saying a lot). Neil also introduced his online archive. For now, it is free. Neil is streaming from his catalog at the highest quality your internet connection allows (192 kHZ/24 bit of feasible).
ECM is now streaming – One of my favorite record labels finally joined streaming (and Spotify specifically) in 2017.
Stephen Hyden – I discovered Hyden’s podcast late in the year when he posted an extraordinary interview with Wilco. He is a great interviewer and music head.
Record Rack – My wife and I like to go to craft shows and at one of them this fall we found the perfect “in rotation” record rack from craftsman Sgot B. See photo below for this amazing and perfectly designed rack. Sgot B put some serious design thought into this beauty – it is at the perfect angle for flipping, without the LPs falling.
Live Shows – I saw a bunch of great live shows this year. The highlights were:
- Lady Gaga (at the X)
- Wilco (Palace)
- Arcade Fire (Lollapalooza)
- Laura Marling (First Ave)
- Kamasi Washington (First Ave)
- Margo Price (First Ave)
- Bon Iver (Rock the Garden)
- Father John Misty (Surly)
- Sturgill Simpson (Portland’s Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall)
Well that is a rap for 2017.
I first “discovered” Mavis Staples in 1989 with her album Time Waits For No One. Because it was produced by Prince, I had to check it out. The notion that Prince would produce a mature soul/gospel artist was intriguing. It was a good album and it got me digging to find out more about Mavis Staples. I picked up a Staples Singers anthology and that sealed the deal – I became a Mavis Staples fan.
Prince was not the first Minnesota boy who fell under the spell of Mavis Staples – Dylan once proposed to her. In 2010 another member of my rock pantheon was bewitched by Staples: Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy. Tweedy produced Staples’ 2010 comeback You Are Not Alone. It was such a success that it won a Grammy.
Time Waits For No One is the third Tweedy/Staples project. Mavis Staples is the perfect canvas for Jeff Tweedy. Although Staples has an independent voice and point of view, she can fit perfectly into two very different distinctive artistic visions: Prince and Jeff Tweedy. Ironically, given she is ultimately a soul/gospel singer, the Tweedy (an alt country/alt rock guy) collaboration works better than the Prince (who is closer to Staples’ musical DNA) collaboration. In fact the more “Wilco” Tweedy makes Mavis, the more true to herself Mavis sounds. It is a bizarrely symbiotic relationship between Jeff Tweedy and Mavis Staples. But they are both Chicagoans and the Staples Singers had a bit of country in their groove. For example, The Staples Singers’ cover of The Band’s “The Weight” eclipsed the original.
On the first two projects, Tweedy wrote some of the songs and borrowed the rest. For this set, they are all written by Tweedy or co-written by Tweedy and Staples. Although, I loved the first two Tweedy/Staples albums, this one is the best of the three for me. All three projects share some of the same musicians (some of whom are in Staples’ road band), so maybe they are just approaching their 10,000 hours together. The big difference for me is this album has more cohesion – both in sound and in lyrical content. This is Tweedy’s most political set of songs. According to Tweedy:
“I’ve always thought of art as a political statement in and of itself—that it was enough to be on the side of creation and not destruction. But there is something that feels complicit at this moment in time about not facing what is happening in this country head on.”
Tweedy and Staples get so deep into this collaboration, that on their duet “Ain’t No Doubt About It,” you can barely tell their voices apart. They are not impersonating each other, it is synchronicity.
I am not a Grateful Dead fan, but I am not a hater either. I fully respect their legacy. I am a Jerry Garcia fan. He can play rock, country, bluegrass, folk, pop, soul, blues, and on this LP: jazz rock fusion. Over the years I have collected a lot of his solo work. I am especially fond of the jazzier side of Garcia.
Side Trips: Volume One (Live) is some deep soul jazz in a jazz rock setting: drums (Bill Vett), bass (John Kahn), keyboards: B3 organ and Fender Rhodes piano (Howard Wales) and of course, electric guitar (Jerry Garcia). In 1970 Howard Wales invited Garcia to regularly sit in with him for a Monday night jam at a club in San Francisco (the Matrix). Fortunately, some of these jams were recorded (in incredibly high quality as a bonus). This album was originally released on CD in 1998 and was recently re-released as a Black Friday Record Store Day release on vinyl.
All the songs are written by Wales. The first cut, “Free Flight,” is an 18 minute jam that allows all the players to shine, but the focus is on Wales and Garcia. If you didn’t know it you might identify the guitar player as John Scofield. Garcia’s tone and approach to his solos is similar to Sco. I wondered if Sco was influenced by Garcia. I googled the topic and Sco acknowledges Garcia’s greatness, but admits to not really being aware of the Dead in any meaningful way until well into his career – I believe him. I think it is fair to say that all Wales, Garcia and Scofield) are all under the influence of electric Miles Davis. It is amazing to me that a guy like Garcia who was not schooled in jazz could be so comfortable playing in the jazz context. But I should not be surprised, the Dead were improvisers and jazz at its core is improvisation.
“Space Funk” is well named. It is delightfully ponderous navel gazing funk. The song starts out with a long Garcia solo. Wales starts a conversation with Garcia and they volley licks for several minutes until the song fades out leaving you wanting more.
“All For Life” is the longest jam on the album clocking in at nearly 25 minutes. It has a Traffic (the band) mixed with “Bitches Brew” vibe. Garcia and Wales are in a deep dialogue. It is the most polite cutting contest you could ever imagine.
“Venutian Blues” ends the set with a bluesy groove. It has that late night feel, a nice slow jam.
This album is exactly why I love Record Store Day: an obscurity I would never have discovered on my own. This is also why I love Jerry Garcia: adventurous and accessible.
Per jerrygarcia.com:
From 1970 to 1972, Jerry Garcia and keyboardist Howard Wales played together around the bay area and on the east coast. It was usually instrumental—a jazz session with a lot of other influences thrown in. Sometimes they played as a trio, including Bill Vitt on drums, and other times a bassist, such as Richard Favis or John Kahn, would sit in on the session. This collaboration would mark the beginning of Jerry’s twenty-five-year partnership with Kahn. For Jerry, the appeal of this outfit was the ability to play in a more relaxed context than the Dead. Wales was a serious musician, and Jerry had to work hard to keep up with him, which he would say did more for his ear than anyone else he played with.
I recently attended an Audio Society of Minnesota meeting where the featured presenter was writer Josiah Titus, a contributor to Dust & Grooves. Titus gave a fascinating presentation on his experiences meeting obsessed record collectors as part of his participation with the Dust & Grooves project. This got me thinking: am I a record collector?
I have a lot of vinyl LPs (see the 12’x6′ Wall above), CDs (see the 12’x5′ wall below) and some 45s. I obsess about acquiring particular albums. I recently had to purge a bunch of CDs my adult children left behind and it was traumatic for me and would not have happened without the encouragement of my wife. But I got through it. It felt good in the end – kind of like when a scab finally falls off.
I have a nice stereo, but I don’t think of myself as an audiophile. Similarly, despite having more LPs and CDs than the average person, I don’t see myself as a record collector either. I see myself as a guy who has a higher than average passion for music. A bit of a music-head, but not nearly as music nerdy as others I have met.
I don’t see my albums as having value beyond the pleasure they give me from listening to them. That is, they are not collectibles. I like being around them in my listening space, but I don’t think I fetishize my albums. They just provide warmth.
So here are some facts on the matter:
- I have about 4,000 LPs, 3,000 CDs and 200 45s.
- When the CD era arrived I pretty much stopped buying vinyl LPs, but I never got rid of vinyl LPs (most people did).
- When I see one of my favorite albums in good shape for a good price I will pick it up as a spare.
- My records are filed in alphabetical order, but I usually have about 200 un-filed because they are “in rotation.”
- I get up early and wait in line for several hours on Record Store Day.
- I love record stores and could easily spend a couple of hours digging in a small shop.
- I named my blog after the infinite loop in the lead-out at the end of the record.
Despite those facts, I have never bought an album on Discogs. I don’t think I have ever paid more than $20 for a used record – it is rare I spend more than $5. In reality I listen to most music via Spotify on my iPhone through ear buds – but if I have the time I like to listen to LPs on the big boy stereo.
To the casual observer, I am a record collector. In the obsessive world of record collecting, I am just a guy with a bunch of records – a piker. I like good music and I like listening with a bit of ritual attached to it. Although I do not see myself as a record collector, on the record collector scale of 1 to 10, I am clearly higher than a 5.
PS – As part of my final edit of this post, I figured I should fact check my LP and CD counts. My original count was a pure guess. For the fact check I did not count every LP and CD, instead I counted two sample shelves from each of my storage units (there are about 80 LPs per cube of my IKEA Expedit and about 55 CDs per shelf of my Boltz rack). The result is I originally underestimated my LP count by 50% and CD count by 40% (the counts above are now solid estimates). I am starting to reconsider discounting myself as a collector.
I first got turned on to Bob Dylan in the fall of 1977 when I entered college. My dorm neighbor Paul, who was a few years older than me, took me under his wing. One of the several things he turned me on to that fall was Dylan. I recall Highway 61 Revisited, Desire, Greatest Hits Vol. 2 and Pat Garrett from his collection.
The summer after freshman year (1978) I bought my first Dylan album, a new release, Street Legal. I was disappointed in Street Legal compared to what I had previously heard and enjoyed from Dylan. Over the years, I have come to fully appreciate Street Legal, but at the time I did not understand it. At the time, I continued to mine Dylan’s back catalog vs. listening to Street Legal.
The next summer (1979), Slow Train Coming was released. I was experiencing a classic Dylan pivot in real-time and I was in the perfect place to fully appreciate it. I loved that album and it’s follow ups Saved and Shot Of Love. All three were Christian albums – quit a shock to most of Dylan’s audience. I found a passion in those albums that seemed to be lacking in Street Legal. I had just dropped out of a Catholic seminary, so I did not find it offensive that Dylan was embracing Christianity. At the time I was trying to find my way in faith and spirituality and admired (and was a bit jealous of) Dylan’s fresh certainty in Jesus.
I remember at the time, that even though the rock intelligentsia was annoyed that Dylan was a born again Christian, they could not deny the brilliance of his live performances of the new Christian material. Dylan had a crack band and a small female gospel choir. He had developed a uniquely Dylanesque take on gospel music. I never got a chance to witness Dylan’s Christian phase live and I have been pining for the Bootleg series to present it.
Trouble No More takes a deep dive over eight CDs and one DVD of the Christian era. Six CDs of live material and two of unreleased and rare material. As much as I have loved Slow Train Coming, Saved and Shot of Love, it is otherworldly to hear that material live. And like most eras of Dylan’s career, he left amazing material off the albums. Bootleg Vol. 13 is a treasure chest of previously hidden gold (unreleased songs and live cuts) from his Christian period.
One of the all time greatest linear note essays is on Vol. 13. Proud atheist and Dylan fanatic, Penn Jillette (of Penn and Teller fame), comes to terms with how great Dylan’s Christian period was (Jillette admits he was a hater of the Christian trilogy when it was released back in the day). Jillette is candid, confessional, insightful and most of all entertaining in his essay. Here is a taste:
I am the fool who still says in his heart there is no God, but Dylan’s gospel is stronger than my lack of faith.
One of the joys of this release are the many variations of the key songs from the Christian era and how those songs morphed and evolved over a three-year period.
The principal pleasure of this album is Dylan’s singing. It is passionate, fierce and soulful. He was clearly inspired. The band, backup singers and arrangements rival the best of Dylan’s career. Dylan has always had great bands, but this one is extra special. By the end of the era he was mixing his hits into the set list. Although it is great to hear these songs with this version of Dylan and his band, he is not nearly as passionate performing them as he is the Christian material. You realize how into this new music he was when you hear the old songs next to the new songs.
Many have been bewildered by Dylan’s born again Christian era, but the lesson of Trouble No More is don’t try to understand, just enjoy its devotional beauty. It is a leap of faith that will reward.
The full deluxe release is not on Spotify, only a 15 song appetizer. The regular edition is a mere two CDs (but 10% of the cost of the deluxe edition). Sorry you will need to layout $150 to get the full super sized meal (or wait a few years – the full Bootleg editions will eventually show up on Spotify). If you can’t afford the financial commitment, listen to Slow Train Coming, Saved, Shot of Love and the Trouble No More sampler (all linked below) for a rich dive into Dylan’s Christian era. The deluxe edition has some nice packaging in the form of a mini coffee table book and excellent essays and song-by-song commentary.
Dylan has amazed and baffled his audience for nearly 60 years. I remember well how poorly the rock world reacted to this material. I was ignorant enough and square enough to not know any better and I fully embraced it. It is a thrill to have eight CDs worth of material from this era to bathe in. It has been a slow train for this music to finally get its props.
The Palace is a new venue in the Twin Cities. It is the perfect size for a lot of cult bands. It has a wonderful shabby chic aesthetic and great sight lines. Unfortunately I have been disappointed with the sound – too muddy. Disappointed enough that I was committed to never seeing another show there again. Then I got a major temptation when Wilco announced a two night stand at The Palace – I resisted and they sold out immediately. A few days later they announced a third show on a Friday night. FOMO overwhelmed me and I bit. Thank goodness I did as this was a great show – one of the best Wilco shows I have witnessed (I have seen them 5 or 6 times).
First let’s get the sound issue out of the way. It sounded better than Ryan Adams and Beck shows I saw earlier this year. Those shows I experienced on the floor. I suspected that the balcony might sound better given the house PA looks biased toward the balcony. My Wilco ticket was in the balcony and sure enough it was better. That being said it is not great – just acceptable. It is good enough for me to rescind my ban on the Palace. But I will definitely be aiming for balcony seats for future shows.
Now on to Wilco – the boys sounded great: passionate, loose and rocking. This was the last night of a three night stand, the last night of the tour and the eve of a planned year-long hiatus. So there was a special vibe. They had a diverse set list (see below) dipping into their full career (including Uncle Tupelo).
Guitarist Nils Cline was absolutely on fire. Every solo was something to behold and ranged from conventional to outright weird. Plus he is fun to watch – lots of odd contortions. The whole band walked the razor’s edge between total rehearsed professionalism and loose garage rock buddies. Most of all there was a joy in their playing – and that was the key word -they were playing. Jeff Tweedy was in great voice and charming in his stage banter. He seems to get the special bond his band has with its audience. He acknowledges without pandering.
Visually they had a stage set that made it look like they were playing in some kind of spooky psychedelic woods. The lighting was dramatic and contributed to the overall effect of the show: delightfully weird.
There were so many highlights and the show gained momentum with each song. As I assembled the set list in a Spotify playlist below (thanks setlist.fm), I recalled how much I liked the performance of each song. I came so close to not seeing Wilco on this tour due to my dislike of The Palace. Thank goodness my FOMO won out. Wilco you reminded me why you are one of my favorite bands.
Two years ago, I saw Kamasi Washington at the Icehouse in Minneapolis. It was an intimate space for an epic artist like Kamasi. First Avenue is a better fit. Kamasi has grown in confidence and skill as a performer and as an entertainer since I saw him last. He has charming stage banter and visibly enjoys his sidemen.
As much as I enjoy the super sized arrangements of Kamasi’s recordings, it is an equal thrill to hear him in a more stripped down and rawer context. Of course, a small combo for Kamasi is two drummers, bass, keyboards, trombone, a female vocalist and his dad on flute and soprano sax.
First Avenue is a rock club and the crowd reacted to Kamasi and band like they were a rock act. Although Kamasi’s brand of jazz is very accessible, he doesn’t play down to the crowd – this is straight ahead jazz. Imagine if Coltrane had been on the CTI record label. Adapting to his surroundings, Kamasi played loud and aggressive.
Kamasi has a great band and he gave each of the soloists plenty of room. Trombonist Ryan Porter is especially gifted, he has great tone and adventurous solos.
Kamasi’s genius for me is as a composer, he writes great jazz melodies. He also is a great arranger, both on recordings, where he has more resources, and live. A great example was the opening number, “Change of the Guard.” On the record (The Epic) it is an elaborate arrangement and live he just focused on the great melody.
Other highlights for me were “Henrietta Our Hero” and “Truth.” “Henrietta” featured vocalist Patrice Quinn. My only disappointment in the show was that Quinn’s role was diminished from the Icehouse show. She is a great jazz vocalist with a vintage style. Her backup singing got lost in the maelstrom of this show. “Truth” allowed the featured soloists to weave independent melodies into an inspired ensemble performance. A musical lecture on the beauty of diversity.
Washington is a great player, band leader, composer and arranger. He is crossing over to the rock and hip hop audience without diluting the jazz. He is an exciting and entertaining performer. He is a worthy face of jazz’s future.
Charlie Boone and Roger Erickson
I was sad to hear of the passing of WCCO radio legend Roger Erickson. When I was a kid, half the state of Minnesota listened to WCCO radio and Roger Erickson was one of its biggest stars.
In the summer when I was a kid, I used to listen to the mid morning Boone and Erickson radio show. I loved their corny jokes and G rated humor. I would call in to their show and tell a joke. They must of thought it was a cute gimmick because they encouraged me to be a regular contributor.
One day they invited me to visit the studio and sit in on the show. I took them up on their offer. I took the city bus to downtown Minneapolis to visited the show. Boone and Erickson could not have been nicer.
That summer, I continued to listen to Boone and Erickson and pretended I was a radio announcer like them on my little reel to reel tape recorder (sadly their is no evidence of this). Eventually, I grew out of of this stage and Boone and Erickson were no longer cool to me.
Today I remember their kindness and I am saddened they are both gone (Boone passed a couple of years ago). I remember Roger Erickson as a consummate radio professional, but also a clown. My greatest memory will be the kindness he showed to to me, an anonymous latchkey kid, by taking my jokes seriously.
Margo Price’s Midwest Farmer’s Daughter was one of the most exciting debuts in recent years and one of my favorite albums of 2016. We (my wife and daughter) saw her live at First Avenue this year and she is a great live performer too. I first fell for alt-country chanteuses in the late 70s when I discovered Emmylou Harris. Sadly, to hear real country you have to chase after alt-country artists like Margo Price.
This is no sophomore slump. Midwest Farmer’s Daughter was not the work of a rookie – Price was a mature talent in her early thirties with plenty of life and musical experience when she recorded it. So it is not surprising she has released a solid follow up.
This past summer Price released Weakness, a four song EP, and it was excellent. It was configured as a couple of seven inch 45s. I was a bit worried it was going to take a bite out of her eventual full LP, but only the titular cut is on All American Made.
The LP kicks off with “Don’t Say It,” a stinging honky tonk country rock song. Margo tosses off one liners, but the message is clear: don’t mess with this lady.
“Weakness” is a reprise from the Weakness EP. It is a classic country confessional with the key confession being: “sometimes my weakness is stronger than me.”
“A Little Pain” is a good antidote to feeling sorry for yourself when you don’t have real problems: “a little pain never hurt anyone.”
I can’t imagine what a thrill it must have been for Margo to record a duet with the legendary Willie Nelson. “Learning To Lose” features Willie. On this song Margo goes Nashville – not contemporary Nashville, but vintage countrypolitan. I usually don’t like strings, but here they work perfectly. In the midst of it all Willie whips out a nice little guitar solo on Trigger. There are some pretty good lines here including:
“And the only devil I’ve seen is in the mirror
And the only enemy I know is my mind”
“Is winning really learning to lose”
On “Pay Gap” Margo is a feminist – Tammy Wynette style:
“Pay gap, pay gap
Don’t give me that feminist crap
Pay gap, pay gap
They’re ripping my dollars in half”
“Nowhere Fast” is about the treadmill you can’t get off:
“Living in the present trying to forget the past
Yeah, I’m going nowhere fast”
“Cocaine Cowboys” sounds like a rewrite of “Paper Cowboys” from the Weakness EP. “Paper Cowboys” called out a phony and so does “Cocaine Cowboys.” It also has one of my favorite rhymes on the LP: saddle and Seattle.
“Cocaine cowboys, they’re bad in the saddle
But they’re coming from New York, LA and Seattle”
“Wild Women” makes the simple observation that “Wild women don’t worry.” But also the more profound observation: “Looking for an answer but a question is what I need.”
“Heart Of America” is a farmer’s daughter’s lament. Margo still feels the sting of the 80s farm crisis:
“And you can pray to anybody’s Jesus and be a hardworkin’ man
But at the end of the day, if the rain it don’t rain
We just do what we can”
“Do Right By Me” has a gospel feel thanks to the soulful refrain by The McCrary Sisters, who sound like the Staples Singers.
“Loner” is the only song on the LP that is not penned by Margo, but it is penned by her husband Jeremy Ivey. The song asks what is wrong with being a loner? It takes no prisoners with the line:
“You can take your pick, you either came from an ape
Or the dad of a magic man up on a cross”
“All American Made” ends the album on an acoustic Neil Young groove. Margo ponders the politics of our time without getting preachy. Over samples of presidential speeches, Margo wonders about both the goods and the bads that are American made.
With this album Margo Price proves she is the real deal. So many sophomore albums are duds, but she has delivered a worthy rival to her debut. She is as pure country as you can get. As I said in my review of her debut: “With a voice somewhere between Emmylou and Dolly and with the pen of Loretta Lynn, Margo Price storms out of a Memphis studio in a Nashville state of mind.” She continues to work outside the country machine: recording at Sun Records studio in Nashville, releasing on Jack White’s Third Man Records and singing and playing in a vintage county style. Margo Price will be in my “best of” again this year.
Axl's Catch Groove 