I am a big fan of the Brother’s Robinson – originally via the Black Crowes, but even more now due to their solo work and new bands. Their post Crowes material is top notch.
Per the Magpie Salute’s website:
THE MAGPIE SALUTE is an exciting new band that features musicians who have played together for decades throughout various projects and share a musical bond. The band brings Rich Robinson, the guitarist and co-founding member of The Black Crowes, together with two key members of Crowes fame – guitarist Marc Ford and bassist Sven Pipien – alongside drummer Joe Magistro and guitarist Nico Bereciartua. The Magpie Salute also boasts a fine cast of vocalists, including lead singer John Hogg (Hookah Brown, Moke), former Crowes singer Charity White and background singers, Adrien Reju and Katrine Ottosen.
So the band has perfect name (a magpie is of the crow family – see final quote at the end of this post), how do they sound? They sound great. There have great vocals (both lead and backup) and a great twin guitar attack. They recorded the album live, in the studio and in front of an audience at Applehead Recording in Woodstock (where Rich has been recording his last solo albums). The recording quality is high and with taught arrangements. The recording is so clean; it is a bit of a shock when the crowd erupts at the end of a song.
“Omission” is the sole Magpie Salute original. Back when I was a kid, we would have called this hard rock. The song would not sound out of place on a Soundgarden album. It features lead vocals by John Hogg. Hogg is a new voice to me and I look forward to doing some more research on him.
“Comin’ Home” is a Delaney & Bonnie song from On Tour With Eric Clapton. It is a great jam for the twin axes of Robinson and Ford to spar and for the multiple vocalists to harmonize.
“What Is Home” is a Rich Robinson original that first appeared on the Black Crowes’ album Before The Frost…Until The Freeze (2009).
“Wiser Time” is another Black Crowes’ song from Amorica (1994). The song feels like you are flying.
“Goin’ Down South” is a soul jazz song composed by Joe Sample (Crusaders) and was originally from the Bobby Hutchison/Harold Land album San Francisco. This is a perfect groove for an instrumental jam. It has some great keyboards and it is a sad reminder that keyboardist Eddie Harsch passed away shortly after this album was recorded.
“War Drums” is a cover of a song from the band War. Magpie Salute finds more inspiration from this song than I would have ever imagined.
“Ain’t No More Cane” is a traditional prison work song. The arrangement sounds like an outtake from The Band. In fact, it appeared on The Basement Tapes.
“Fearless” is from Meddle by Pink Floyd. The original was acoustic, and the Magpie Salute electrify it.
“Glad And Sorry,” composed by Ronnie Lane, is a Faces’ song. The Black Crowes always seemed like a Faces inspired band – so this is a very appropriate cover.
“Time Will Tell” is by Bob Marley from his album Kaya. Reggae covers can be cornball, but the band avoids pretending to be Jamaican and makes it their own.
I am impressed with this band. The best part is the twin guitar attack for Rich Robinson and Marc Ford – these guys have many miles with each other – so it is an easy conversation. The album has good diversity without being a grab bag. If you like a good jam band in the spirit of the Allman Brothers, you will like this.
Another quote from the band’s website:
Rich explains how the band members’ past experiences connect to the band’s moniker, The Magpie Salute. The term references a British superstition about the imperative to salute a Magpie anytime you see one in order to ward off negativity, or to have a good day; it is like saying, I am unarmed or I come in peace. Rich says, “The magpie falls within the crow umbrella of species, figuratively and literally. Magpies can be black and white, which for me represents the dark and the light. “The way to salute a magpie, is to say Good Morning Captain. I felt this had too many coincidences to ignore. He adds, “This touches on many aspects of my life and experiences.”
Here is a playlist of the originals:
Bob Dylan has been rocking my world for a long time now. I have read dozens of books about Dylan. In less than a half hour I learned more about Dylan and his muse than in all those books combined. He explains how three great works of literature informed and inspired his art. This is not a normal lecture – this is a long poem. If you have the slightest curiosity about where Dylan’s lyrics come from, this is the great reveal.
With the witty lyricism of Randy Newman and the pop sensibility of Elton John, Father John Misty (FJM) skewers our culture artfully.
2012’s Fear Fun is one of my favorite albums of this decade. I Love You, Honeybear was a worthy follow up. Pure Comedy makes it a hat trick.
FJM is Richard Dawkins cynical about religion (from the song “Pure Comedy”):
Oh, their religions are the best
They worship themselves yet they’re totally obsessed
With risen zombies, celestial virgins, magic tricks, these unbelievable outfits
And they get terribly upset
When you question their sacred texts
Written by woman-hating epileptics
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 mellower album, but not dour. FJM continues to conjure elaborate pop arrangements.
This album has not been in constant rotation for me like his first two. I have let rest for several weeks and it sounds better having had a chance to breathe. It now sounds more Beatlesque and the lyrics more relevant. For example, on first listen “Leaving LA” was too slow, too long and too stark, now it seems just right. Now I appreciate the Spartan framing – it allows you to focus on the vocals and lyrics. Here is a lyrical highlight from “Leaving LA:”
These L.A. phonies and their bullshit bands
That sound like dollar signs and Amy Grant
So reads the pull quote from my last cover piece
Entitled “The Oldest Man in Folk Rock Speaks”
I kind of like that Father John Misty is making us work for it.
P.S. Thanks for the ambitious packaging as always FJM!.
I listened to the latest Here’s The Thing with Alec Baldwin podcast. The episode featured Joe Jackson. The interview reminded me of how much I love Jackson’s Night And Day. I was inspired to give the LP a spin and to add it to my Hall Of Fame.
Jackson burst on to the scene with an amazing hit single in 1979: “Is She Really Going Out with Him?” from his debut Look Sharp. Jackson was one of the founders of what became known as New Wave (my definition of New Wave is punk rock played by musicians). I was a modest fan of his debut, missed his second, but went positively nuts over his third album Beat Crazy, which was a commercial failure. That album was pop punk, New Wave and ska. What do you do for a commercial failure’s encore? Why an album of 1940s swing and jump blues songs – stuff associated with Louis Jordan and Cab Calloway. It was another flop, but foreshadowed the retro swing revival by about ten years. Therefore, it was quite a shock that Joe’s next album, 1982’s Night And Day was Steely Dan slick with legitimate hit singles.
The Englishman’s move to New York, his attempt to be the new Cole Porter and the hunch he should record a guitar-less/keyboard focused pop album inspired Night And Day. The album has a jazzy and Latin feel, but with a punk/New Wave edge. This was a New Wave Steely Dan album – complete with the clever lyrics and a pristine studio sound (sorry for the second Steely Dan reference in as many paragraphs, but it is the most appropriate reference I can think of).
I played this album until the grooves where gray. It was perfectly of the time, yet timeless. I have never tired of it. The secret ingredient is the outstanding use of percussion. I had the good fortune of seeing the tour that supported this album; it was every bit as perfect live as this album is a studio gem.
Given this was a big hit and Joe Jackson is a bit underrated compared to his contemporaries like Elvis Costello, you should be able to pick up a high quality copy of this LP for cheap (I recently picked up a pristine backup copy for a buck).
Gregg Allman is one of rock’s great singers, songwriters and song interpreters. Allman is the definition of a soulful blues singer. Gregg was the voice of most of The Allman Brother’s hits. He also had a solid solo career. His Laid Back is one of my favorite albums.
I am a fan of Gregg and of The Allman Brothers, so I read Gregg’s autobiography. One of my favorite stories from that book, was how the songs on the first Allman Brothers album were written. The rest of the band locked Gregg in a house, bought him a B3 organ and told him he couldn’t leave until he had an album’s worth of material. He came out of that writing session with some classics including: “It’s Not My Cross to Bear,” “Dreams” and “Whipping Post.”
Gregg Allman was no angel, which fittingly was part of the title of one of his solo hits. Reading his biography I found him a pretty unattractive person, but the voice was so good it was easy to look past that. Also, reading the book I learned Gregg never really healed from the death of big brother Duane.
I had the privilege of hearing Gregg helming The Allman Brothers twice (the Warren Haynes and Derek Trucks version in the mid 00s). His beautiful gravelly voice and percussive organ were magical live. I have band-issued boots of both shows. I wish I had seen him live solo. His last studio album, Low Country Blues, showed he was still a force late in his career. R.I.P. “baybrah.”
Per Wikipedia “Jam bands are musical groups whose live albums and concerts relate to a unique fan culture that began in the 1960s with the Grateful Dead, and continued with The Allman Brothers Band, which had lengthy jams at concerts. The performances of these bands typically feature extended musical improvisation (“jams”) over rhythmic grooves and chord patterns, and long sets of music that can often cross genre boundaries.” I don’t like to pigeonhole bands, but The Chris Robinson Brotherhood is a jam band and a damn good one. I have been looking forward to this release since I first heard about it.
Release Day 5/4/17
I am grooving to this new Chris Robinson Brotherhood (CRB) release via Spotify as I pregame for Laura Marling at First Avenue tonight. I ordered the LP via Amazon so I won’t get it for another week (sorry real record stores, but I had a gift certificate to burn). CRB are hit-and-miss as far as what they make available on streaming services. Fortunately, this one is on Spotify.
The Betty Blends series features recordings mixed live from the soundboard by renowned Grateful Dead engineer Betty Cantor-Jackson. The most valuable LP I have in my collection is Vol. 1. That one was a Record Store Day release. The moment I bought it, a guy tried to buy it off me (at double the price I just paid) and when I said no he cursed me out as a flipper.
Betty’s Self Rising Southern Blends Vol. 3 is a 13-track set of performances captured during CRB’s November 2015 Southeastern run through Atlanta, Georgia; Raleigh, North Carolina and Charleston, South Carolina.
First impressions are good. 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.
Several Days In
I am really digging this album. It could be my favorite since CRB’s debut Big Moon Ritual.
The album opens with “I Ain’t Hiding” from The Black Crowes’ final studio album, 2009’s Before the Frost…Until the Freeze. The original cut had Some Girls Stones’ swagger. This version is mellower and more playful. It has a more Grateful Dead Shakedown Street feel.
“I Got Love If You Want It” is a Slim Harpo cover. I am not a blues scholar, but I am familiar with the Slim Harpo name. Beyond “I’m A King Bee,” I am not familiar with his work. Listening to CRB’s cover has me now listening to The Excello Singles Anthology. CRB give it a Led Zeppelin read. There is a reason Jimmy Page chose to tour with The Black Crowes to play Led Zeppelin covers.
“Clear Blue Sky & The Good Doctor” is from CRB’s Phosphorescent Harvest album. It has a happy easygoing groove. One of the things I like about the CRB is that they have an old time folk rock feel, gut the same time they have a psychedelic Pink Floyd feel. This song perfectly captures how CRB expertly walks the tightrope.
“The Music’s Hot” is another Slim Harpo cover. The original has an almost a blues rap vibe. The CRB give it a nice funky twist. It bluesy and a bit swampy.
“Roan County Banjo” is from CRB’s If You Lived Here, You Would Be Home By Now album. This is a classic CRB original that shows off who they are.
“I’m A Hog For You” is a Leiber/Stoller song that was a hit for The Coasters in 1959. Many, including by CRB influencer, The Grateful Dead, have covered it. CRB take a novelty song and turn it into nine-minute jam. The slow it down and blues it up.
“Oak Apple Day” is a CRB original from Any Way You Love, We Know How You Feel. This song has a nice calm “siting on the porch” vibe.
“Get Out Of My Life Woman” is an Allen Toussaint song that he wrote for Lee Dorsey. The Jerry Garcia Band (JGB) often performed it. The album that turned me on to Garcia was the 1991 live album simply called Jerry Garcia Band and this song was on that album. Like all Toussaint songs, it has the NOLA groove. This the perfect song for bands like the JGB and the CRB to just plain jam.
“Honeysuckle Interlude” as best I know, has not appeared on any other album. It is a short interlude/intro to the next song “Ride,” from Chris Robinson’s first solo album New Earth Mud. “Ride” has a jazz rock sound in its extended intro. This is probably Robinson’s most gymnastic vocal on the album. It is a wonderfully funky song. It is a nice long (about 15 minutes) jam.
“Tales of Thunder Teeth” is a CRB original that does not appear on any other CRB album (again as best I know). It is an instrumental with a prog-rock feel.
“Girl, I Love You” was written by Al Bell and Eddie Floyd and released on Stax under Floyd’s name. CRB gives it a soul/country read. Robinson is doing some serious testifying here.
“She Belongs To Me” is a Bob Dylan tune. What first attracted me to Jerry Garcia was his outstanding Dylan covers. CRB keep that tradition alive – turning Dylan tunes into jam band classics.
Personnel on the album is:
- Chris Robinson: vocals, guitar, harp
- Neal Casal: guitar, vocals
- Adam MacDougall: keyboards, vocals
- Mark Dutton: bass, vocals
- Tony Leone: drums
The LP
Ten days after release the LP finally arrives. I pull out the first LP and out drops a surprise and unadvertised CD – actually two CDs. This is not a CD version of the LP, but another sixteen live Betty Cantor-Jackson curated/engineered cuts. It is from the June 26, 2015 San Francisco performance at The Warfield (per All About Jazz).
CD 1:Boppin’ the Blues; Roan County Banjo; Badlands Here We Come; I’m a Hog for You; Jump the Turnstiles; Star or Stone; Meanwhile in the Gods…; Honeysuckle Interlude; Tales of Thunder Teeth.
CD 2: Tulsa Yesterday; One Hundred Days of Rain; Beggar’s Moon; Shore Power; Got Love If You Want It ; Big River; Catfish John.
I will never publish this post if I review this bonus material, so I will have to pass.
Final Thoughts
The LP sounds fantastic. It is simple black vinyl (as cool as colored vinyl is, it rarely sounds good). The LP has well done packaging: a combination of art from CRB’s regular artist Alan Forbes and photos. The best photo is the band with Betty Cantor-Jackson. I am committed; this is my favorite CRB album since their debut.
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.
I don’t know anything about Styles beyond he was in a boy band and he has celebrity girlfriends (Taylor Swift, Kendall Jenner, etc.). This does not impress me. It’s a turnoff. The SNL performance was enough to transcend my biases and give him a chance. I am glad I did.
Looking at the credits, Styles has writing credits on all the songs, but so do about five others per song. Who knows if he is really a songwriter or not. The songs are well done and the production is subtle and tasteful – unusual for celebrity pop stars. More importantly, it has staying power. Often when something sounds good on first listen it wears thin quickly. I have been listening to this album for a couple of weeks now and with every listen, it revels more depth.
What I like about Styles is he seems to understand and appreciate classic rock and pop. I hear a hundred influences, but he still manages to sound original and of the moment. I learned a long time ago that a great pop song is magic. If it were so easy, everyone would do it. When it works, it is very special and this is a special album. I like this album. Every once in a while you need to be reminded that the world needs rock stars. Harry Styles is a rock star.
I first discovered Art Blakey in 1982 when he got a lot of buzz for a couple of young brothers in his band: Wynton and Bradford Marsalis. I soon learned that Blakey’s The Jazz Messengers was one of the great “graduate schools” of jazz. Outside of Miles Davis, there is not another bandleader with more distinguished alumni. Despite being a hall of fame jazz drummer, Blakey’s “school” may be the greater legacy.
I discovered Tony Allen via Fela Kuti. Allen is a legendary Nigerian drummer and Afrobeat pioneer and Kuti’s drummer for a number of years.
The idea is for Allen and his seven-piece band to interpret some of the legendary jazz drummer’s catalog through the Afrobeat legend’s lens. The results are perfection. A lot of Blakey’s stuff has a nice funky feel to begin with. For example, Bobby Timmons, who spent a couple of stints with The Jazz Messengers, composed the opening track, “Moanin’”. Timmons is associated with the soul jazz style of which he was an originator/founder. “Moanin'” is a naturally funky tune, so it perfect launch point for Tony Allen. Allen and company play it straight, but they can’t help but infect the tune with just a bit of their Afrobeat.
The rest of the EP includes “Night In Tunisia,” “Politely” and “The Drum Thunder Suite.” Like “Moanin'” Allen plays it straight with just a twist of Afrobeat.
The music of Africa was influential for Blakey (aka Abdullah Ibn Buhaina – his Muslim name) throughout his career. In the late-1940s, Blakey spent time traveling abroad in West Africa exploring the culture, religion and the drumming. Blakey later recorded several albums heavily influenced by African music including Orgy in Rhythm (1957), Holiday for Skins (1958), and The African Beat (1962), which featured the Nigerian drummer and percussionist Solomon Ilori. This is a nifty return volley.
My only complaint is that this is just a four song EP, I am ready for the long player! Plus Allen’s versions are about half the length of the originals. Give us more Blue Note.
Below I have mixed the Allen EP with the Art Blakey and The Jazz Messengers’ tracks they are based on. It will give you a sense of what kindred spirits the two drummers are.
PS – the cover art is a nice nod to the Blue Note tradition.
Here are some recent steaming and cable TV shows I am enjoying.
The Get Down (Netflix) – This is a drama, borderline musical, set in 1977 in South Bronx. It is about the birth of hip-hop told through the eyes of teenage dreamers. It is a bit corny, but I have a soft spot for this because I was the same age as these kids in 1977. I recall the fashion, the headlines and the music (disco not hip-hop – I was too clueless to be aware of rap/hip-hop at the time – I did not become enlightened for another five years). It is visually ambitious and I think it accurately shows the primordial soup that hatched hip-hop. There are eleven approximately one-hour episodes that create a complete story arc. Rumored to be one of Netflix most expensive originals – it has been a flop so it is doubtful there will be more episodes.
Better Call Saul (AMC and back seasons on Netflix) – I binge watched Breaking Bad and it frankly got tedious. What never got tedious was Saul Goodman – Walter White’s attorney. Comic Bob Odenkirk created a brilliant character, and is now Bob Odenkirk the dramatic actor. He was so good, AMC decided to make a spin-off show. The gimmick is: the back story on how Saul became Saul. Saul is such a lovable con man he can’t be resisted. Now in its third season. I have raved about this before.
Big Little Lies (HBO) – This is what we used to call a miniseries (I guess that is still a term). It is a seven one-hour episode adaptation of the bet selling book of the same name. It is part mystery and part farce/comedy. Imagine The Real Wives of Monterey do murder. It has some of the best use of soundtrack music I can remember. It has been such a success that there are serious discussions of making this a regular series.
Longmire (Netflix) – This is a contemporary western set in fictional Absaroka County Wyoming. The focus is on the local sheriff Walt Longmire. In one sense, it is just another cop show. It has wonderfully engaging characters and is set in modern rural America. Longmire’s jurisdiction intersects with a reservation creating modern cowboy and Indian tensions. The show was originally on A&E, but was cancelled. It became popular on Netflix and so they have kept it alive and made new episodes – there are now five seasons on the books.
. 
The Handmaid’s Tale (Hulu) – The series is based on the mid-80s Margaret Atwood bestselling novel. It takes place in dystopian future where women are subservient to men. Women in the society of The Handmaid’s Tale fall into four major categories:
- Wives – who are infertile
- Marthas – who are household servants
- Handmaids – who are breeding stock
- Jezebels – who are exactly who you would expect
This fantasy is too close for comfort. It is not far off from some realties of our time. It is a thought-provoking show. My only beef is its poor use of a music in its soundtrack.
Day 1 – First Listen/Release Day
I can’t remember how or why I stumbled upon Laura Marling. When I first heard her I thought she was the second coming of Joni Mitchell. I am a major fan of Joni and I am afraid we will never hear from her again. So, I am susceptible to Joni’s doppelgängers. Marling’s Once I Was An Eagle is one of my favorite albums of the last five years.
Semper Femina just came out today and I know I should not comment on an album after just three listens. Tonight my Laura and I watched Southside with You a romantic drama about Barack and Michelle Obama’s first date. So I guess it is a night for first dates.
Laura Marling evokes so many singer songwriters – sometimes in the same song: Dylan, Nick Drake, Carole King, Patti Smith, Chrisi Hynde, Leonard Cohen, Paul Simon and of course Joni.
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.
I am listening via Spotify on the big boy stereo. The recording is sonically stunning, but I can feel the constraints of streaming. I can’t wait to check it out the LP. A good DAC can only do so much with a 160 kbps bit rate.
I began to wonder if there is a better option on Spotify. Sure enough I can change to 320 Kbps (pretty damn close to CD quality and nothing short of a miracle considering you don’t have to leave your house). What the hell. I can’t believe I have never adjusted this setting on the laptop that serves the big boy stereo. This is game changing – it sounds so much better. I feel foolish I have been compromising. The music is now blanketing me in its warmth.
Day 2 (Side A)
I picked up the LP today at the Electric Fetus. Giving it the first spin. It sounds lighter, more delicate and more vivid on LP vs. the Spotify stream.
The album opens with “Soothing” which has a nice slinky riff for Marling to float over. Musically it is soothing, but lyrically it is tense. It creates a nice contradiction.
“The Valley” has a Nick Drake feel and a little bit of Dylan’s “Girl From The North Country” sound.
“Wild Fire” is kind of soulful in a Carole King sort of way. This is my favorite cut on the album so far. Her voice gently sways between talk and a full-out belting.
“Don’t Pass Me By” reminds me of a Pretenders’ song on narcotics.
Over a month later (Side B)
“All This Way” has a Norah Jones vibe. The bowed cello gives the song some nice bottom end. It also has a mellow Vampire Weekend vibe too.
“Wild Once” brings back the Nick Drake vibe. Marling uses what I call her British voice. It is a bit affected, but I like it. So many British pop singers sound American, it is a treat when they actually sound British. I like how the narrator weaves between reflection and observation.
“Next Time” has a Paul Simon feel. It is a deceptively simple song. If you listen carefully to the arrangement there is a lot going on. Great use of strings without getting syrupy.
“Nouel” is pure Joni. This song’s lyric has the album’s title in it. Semper Femina means “loyalty among women” or “always women” in Latin.
“Nothing Not Nearly” is the most rocking cut on the album. Nice grungy guitar licks. Marling almost raps the lyrics. It is a great ending.
Bonus
The LP edition comes with a bonus LP of the album’s songs live at Martyrs in Chicago (a club I have actually been to). It was recorded on 11/22/15 – almost a year and a half before the release of Semper Femina. I find that delightfully weird.
Finally…
I have been marinating in Semper Femina for a few weeks now. I am not getting bored with it – it is getting better. I have not been listening to the live disk. Not because I don’t like it, it just hasn’t been convenient.
Upon further listening one of the secret ingredients of the album is Rob Moose’s string arrangements. They are tasteful and not syrupy.
One of the things that struck me early on was the range of Marling’s voice. On almost every cut it has a slightly different nuance.
The arrangements on the album are lush, but unobtrusive. They serve Marling’s voice without overwhelming it. The album has both a retro and familiar feel, yet it still feels completely of the moment.
All the songs are focused on women. “I started out writing Semper Femina as if a man was writing about a woman,” Marling explained in a press release. “And then I thought it’s not a man, it’s me — I don’t need to pretend it’s a man to justify the intimacy of the way I’m looking and feeling about women. It’s me looking specifically at women and feeling great empathy towards them and by proxy towards myself.” So many pop songs focus on romantic relationships. It is pretty cool that Marling is digging into non-romantic love.
This is a mellow album that can be enjoyed in both the background and in the foreground. If you listen to it in the foreground you will be bathed in it lushness – its rich, but subtle arrangements. Best of all, its the many voices of Laura Marling.
Axl's Catch Groove 