Dylan reprises 2015’s Shadows in the Night with more covers of the great American songbook – especially songs associated with Sinatra. It works better for me this round because I have gotten over the shock of hearing Dylan croon and caress the songbook – Shadows on the Night trained me to be in a receptive state of mind. I can just sit back and enjoy Fallen Angels.
For years pop and rock artists have been exploiting the songbook to pad their catalogs. What Dylan is doing does not feel that way. What Dylan brings to the table is:
- Dylan’s genuine appreciation a of the songs
- Dylan’s unique voice – specifically modified to a croon for the occasion without sounding affected
- The original arrangements of Dylan’s touring band
- America’s greatest living songwriter interpreting great songs – Dylan has always been a student of songwriting – so it is cool to hear his take on these masterpieces
This is not revolutionary – it is merely fun. What more can you ask from a 75-year-old superstar? He is still entertaining us. Happy belated birthday Bob!
In an earlier post I shared my exasperation with Radiohead’s distribution model for A Moon Shaped Pool. I was still annoyed with Radiohead when I eventually broke down and got a Tidal subscription about a week ago. I have had a love/hate relationship with Radiohead since Kid A. So exasperation is all part of the deal with Radiohead and me.
I have some history with Tidal too. I was an early adopter of Tidal when their shtick was CD-quality streams. That gimmick never panned out for me, but their recently exclusive content has worn me down. Fortunately they have a family plan and so I joined my son’s plan (my son’s breaking point was Prince’s death and the dearth of his music on Spotify).
Well the bastards have done it: this is, for me, their best album since Ok Computer and it is the most conventionally beautiful in their catalog. In a word it is brilliant.
The week before the release of A Moon Shaped Pool Radiohead released “Burn The Witch.” It may be the most accessible Radiohead single since “Creep.” The song would not sound out-of-place on a U2 or Coldplay album. That is not meant as some kind of snarky put down – writing a catchy pop song is high art in my book. “Burn The Witch” opens A Moon Shaped Pool. In addition to being a great pop song it is pretty topical too. It has a pretty great video too – here it is (in case you were not one of the 15 million views):
“Daydreaming” is classic post OK Computer atmospheric weirdness. It starts out with the obvious:
Dreamers
They never learn
And ends with the obscure mantra:
Evol ym dnuof ev’I
That turns out to not be so obscure after all – the mantra is “I’ve found my love” backwards. The song also has a nice video:
“Decks Dark” is a beautiful slow song. It has a lush arrangement complete with chorale voices. It reminds of that feeling you have as you about to fall asleep. But about the two-thirds of the way through it transitions into a vivid dream.
“Desert Island Disk” focuses on acoustic guitars! Radiohead are getting their Nick Drake groove on. I can’t think of a better way of putting it: his is a pretty song.
“Ful Stop” opens with heart-like beat that morphs into a more subtle menacing sound. By the half way point it is everything Radiohead does best – stark and epic at the same time. I can’t wait to hear this number live.
“Glass Eyes” opens with a very cool keyboard and stings intro. This is a very cinematic sounding track. The strings are perfect augmentation to Thom Yorke’s gorgeous voice.
“Identikit” focuses on the rhythm, yet it ends with a very nice electic guitar solo.
Every time I hear “The Numbers” it reminds me of one of my favorite bands: Traffic. It has a nice hippie psychedelic feel, yet it is utterly Radiohead.
“Present Tense” teases you with little whiffs of Dylan’s “Don’t Think Twice.”
“Tinker Tailor Soldier Sailor Rich Man Poor Man Beggar Man Thief” is Kid A sounding Radiohead. This is the most minimalist track on the album, but it is still compelling. As the song progresses it gets richer.
“True Love Waits” closes out the album with a quite meditation on love. The lyrics are both clear and obscure:
I’ll drown my beliefs
To have your babies
I’ll dress like your niece
And wash your swollen feetJust don’t leave
Don’t leaveI’m not living, I’m just killing time
Your tiny hands, your crazy-kitten smileJust don’t leave
Don’t leaveAnd true love waits
In haunted attics
And true love lives
On lollipops and crispsJust don’t leave
Don’t leave
I have not fallen for a Radiohead album this hard since OK Computer. I don’t know how to categorize what is going on here – rock, pop, electronica, ambient, classical, etc. Radiohead have claimed a piece of the pop space that is all their own. This is Radiohead music – there is no other way to classify it. All is forgiven.
I will pretty much consume everything Pat Metheny creates. I particularly value when he serves as a sideman, as it often turns me on to a new artist I am not familiar with. Metheny’s voice plays so well in so many different contexts – whether the pop of Joni Mitchell or the avant-garde jazz of Ornette Coleman. As a sideman you get to see the depth of Matheny’s artistry.
I recognized Cuong Vu as a trumpeter and vocalist who played on the Pat Metheny Group’s Speaking Of Now (2002) and The Way Up (2005). In PMG Vu added color to Metheny’s palate. But on this album Vu is the featured soloist and composer. The tables have turned and now Metheny is the color. But of course that is a simplistic – Metheny is a brilliant soloist and collaborator who is inspired by these kinds of gigs and quickly becomes an equal conversationalist to the session leader.
Each time I listen to the album I gain greater appreciation for Vu and his band. Metheny is the perfect foil to this band. Metheny sounds like he belongs in this band – he does not sound like a guest. This album shows the power of improvisational music when played by sympathetic masters: majestic beauty. It is like listening to a brilliant conversation.
This is not easy listening light jazz. But it is not inaccessible either. At times it requires patience, but if you give it a chance you will be rewarded. I have listened to the album about 20 times and with each listen additional nuances have been reveled.
It is intriguing, as the liner notes point out, that Metheny’s dad was a pretty good trumpet player as was his maternal grandfather. Pat’s older brother Mike has played trumpet professionally. Pat’s first instrument was the trumpet. So it is with great sympathy that Metheny plays with trumpeter Vu.
As I mentioned earlier, the delight of a session like this is that I get to discover an amazing player and composer like Vu. This is a guy is in total command of his instrument. He can make it purr and he can make it roar.
The album opens with “Acid Kiss,” an avant-garde noise number. Vu wails on his horn and Metheny does the same with his synth guitar – with horn-like tone.
“Not Crazy (Just Giddy Upping)” is a hard bop sounding cutting contest between Vu and Metheny.
“Seeds Of Doubt” is a gorgeous ballad where Metheny plays in the classic fat tone that made him famous and what made me a fan of him in the first place. Vu match Metheny with a fat smooth tone. It is a perfect back and forth between these tone masters.
“Tiny Little Pieces” opens with some plaintive probing by Vu and Metheny mirroring him. It slowly gathers in intensity. The song climaxes in an free-jazz storm. This song has an almost electric Miles feel to it. The interplay between Vu and Metheny is so knowing.
“Telescope” is an almost bluesy number. It is rare that Metheny puts on the big rock guitar sound. This is the lone Metheny composition on the album.
“Let’s Get Back” is a slow song with a Tom Waits feel. Metheny and Vu battle it out to see who cans sound prettier – it is a draw.
“Tune Blues” is a playful sounding Andrew D’Angelo cover. It is both bluesy and avant-garde. The song starts out as an easy-going blues and then slowly boils into some beautiful noise. And the it abruptly comes to a close.
Kudos to the rest of the Cuong Vu Trio: Stomu Takeishi on bass and Ted Spoor on drums. These are clearly guys who have been playing together a while. The sonics on the album are pristine. I love a well crafted recording and this is a well crafted recording.
Vu and his trio are a perfect match for Metheny. Metheny sounds absolutely inspired by the setting and his always outstanding play is elevated to a new level – there is something special going on here. Metheny has been on a roll lately. The last several albums he has been on have been challenging, beautiful and adventurous music – all in Metheny’s signature voices. I will definitely be checking out the Cuong Vu catalog after this amazing introduction. In summary this is a perfect collaboration.
My appetite was whet last week when I heard the lead single “Burn The Witch” on Spotify. I was stoked the new album was to be released in a few days. When A Moon Shaped Pool arrived this past Sunday I was vexed:
- It is not available on Spotify (yet Radiohead felt fine leveraging that medium for pre-release hype)
- A crappy MP3 is overpriced at $11 – but at least it is available in 24 bit WAV for an extra $8 – God knows how long that will take to download – sorry I should be grateful
- You can preorder the vinyl (arrival in “just” 5 weeks), but you can’t download the digital copy now (the LP comes with digital download card – but of course not 24 bit WAV)
- You can preorder the special edition vinyl (arrives in September) and you will get the digital download now – for a mere $86.50
What kind of twisted fuck thought this up? The same guy who came up with pay what you want 9 years ago? Radiohead you are breaking my heart. This was supposed to be our year (seeing you live for the first time at Lollapalooza). I am trying boys, but I am pissed.
I got hooked on The Jayhawks in 1992 with their country tinged album Hollywood Town Hall. For me they were the second coming of Gram Parsons. They pretty much defined alt-country and Americana. 1997’s Sound Of Lies introduced a pop sound that was more Beatlesque and less county. Since then the chief difference has been whether Mark Olson is involved or not (he departed prior Sound Of Lies but returned for thier last album – Mockingbird Time and subsequent tour). Olson tilts the band country and when he is not in the mix Gary Louris pop/rock aesthetics dominate. Frankly I love both versions of the band. Paging Mr. Proust finds them firmly on the pop side of the ledger (and naturally they are Olson-free).
No matter what side of the ledger they are on you can always count on a few things: amazing harmonies, great Gary Louris guitar play, gorgeous lush arrangements and music that is deeply steeped in 60s and 70s pop without sounding retro or derivative. The Jayhawks, 30 years into their career have crafted a distinctive sound that is all their own (with or without Olson).
“Quite Corners & Empty Spaces” opens the album in classic familiar Jayhawks territory. A shrewd move as the band invites us to put up our feet and get comfortable for what is to come.
“Lost the Summer” adds the first twist. The band gives their sound a shot of Big Star.
“Lovers of the Sun”has a glossy 60s pop sheen. A hipper version of The Association. The harmonies are golden.
“Pretty Roses in Your Hair” continues with the 60s pop sheen, but it is quickly subverted by Neil Young/Crazy Horse rusty guitar solo by Louris.
“Leaving the Monsters Behind” raises the Jayhawks’ freak flag a bit higher. The song is augmented by great R.E.M. harmonies.
“Isabel’s Daughter”has has wonderful swirl to it. This sounds like a long-lost R.E.M. song – yet is pure Jayhawks.
Side two opens with “Ace” – the most atypical Jayhawks’ song of their career. This is challenging noise rock that would not be out-of-place around Wilco’s and Neil Young’s weirdest moments. Not for the faint of heart but if you are willing to embrace it you will be rewarded.
And then the classic Jayhawks’ sound is back with “The Devil Is in Her Eyes”. It sound even more Jayhawks-lush than normal given it follows “Ace.” This song is graced by one of Louris’ all-time great guitar solos.
“Comeback Kids” is another nice evolution in the Jayhawks sound.
“The Dust of Long-Dead Stars” sounds a little like Tom Petty, a little like the Grateful Dead, a little like R.E.M., but mostly like the Jayhawks.
“Lies in Black & White” is an acoustic driven song, yet there is not anything folkie or country about. It has a great harmonica break.
“I’ll Be Your Key”has a nice Big Star feel to it.
Overall I feel Paging Mr. Proust is the Jayhawks most adventurous and experimental album in their catalog. It feels like they have taken a cue from Wilco to just let their freak flag fly. Yet they are completely grounded in who they are. The transition seems like a natural progression and not some fad, imitation or pandering to the hip. This is a great album by itself and even more amazing 30 years into an established band’s career.
A special shout-out to Karen Grotberg – her vocal harmonies are a key element to the unique sound and beauty of this album. Pete Buck sprinkles some of his R.E.M pixie dust on the album without overshadowing the Jayhawks personality.
I am so proud of the band for not milking their legacy and instead reinventing themselves. To quote Dylan “That he not busy being born is busy dying.” The Jayhawks are busy being born.
When Simpson’s last LP, Metamodern Sounds in Country Music, came out in 2014 it was a revelation: classic country with a mischievous psychedelic twist. I absolutely loved it. A Sailor’s Guide Earth is even better and makes Metamodern Sounds in Country Music sound conventional.
I have been trying to figure Sturgill Simpson out on this new LP. He can sound conventional country in a rich Waylon Jennings baritone, but he can also go pop and sound like Roy Orbison. The album is country funk along the lines of Tony Joe White or Johnny Jenkins – arrangements are augmented by the Dap-Kings (the soulful/funky horns behind Sharon Jones and Amy Winehouse).
To call this LP country or even alt-county is a red herring. A Sailor’s Guide Earth has more in common with 70s’ singer songwriters – the kind of genre bending that ambitious guys like Lowell George, Warren Zevon and Jackson Brown used to do. But there is something else going on here too and I couldn’t put my finger on it.
Then I listened to a Joe Rogan podcast with Simpson and he spilled some of his not so obvious influences: Van Morrison, Marvin Gaye and Tool. Then it started to make sense – Simpson is swinging for the fences. Marvin Gaye elevated Motown to a new art form with his concept album What’s Going On. Simpson is doing the same to Nashville here. Van Morrison leveraged some pop hits to create a left field masterpiece with Astral Weeks. It was a commercial flop, yet it set the foundation for one of the most adventurous careers in pop/rock. I don’t have a link here, but I can see the same Van the Man aesthetics in Simpson. And Tool? Well of course they are thinking man’s metal – right up Simpson’s alley.
The LP is a concept album – a time capsule of life’s lessons for his young son. And because we can all use some good advice it is universal.
“Welcome To Earth (Pollywog)” sets the table for a great LP. Ambitiously arranged and orchestrated and with a whisper to a scream delivery. Simpson receives his son into the world. It is gorgeous and bittersweet. No sooner than his son arrives he as to say goodby and head off to the road.
“Breakers Roar” is a gentle lullaby that Simpson sings in a soft voice. For me this song speaks to the seductive pull of career at the expense of family.
“Keep It Between The Lines” is a great musical mix of county and R&B. Lyrically Simpson is telegraphing to the future teenager his son will become. Common sense advice in the grand parental tradition of do what I say not what I did:
Everything will be fine
Long as you stay in school
Stay off the hard stuff
And keep between the lines
With “Sea Stories” Daddy starts speaking from personal experience about doing stupid stuff and coping with things beyond your control. There have been lot of great city lists in pop songs over the years, but “Sea Stories” has one of the best (for sure it has the best punchline):
Now you hit the ground running in Tokyo
From Kawasaki to Ebisu
Yokosuka, Yokohama, and Shinjuku
Shibuya, Ropongi, and Harajuku
Aw, from Pusan and Ko Chang, Pattaya to Phuket
From Singapore to Kuala Lumpur
Seen damn near the whole damn world
From the inside of a bar
Simpson then drops a gorgeous pop bomb by covering Nirvana’s “In Bloom.” The best part is that it does not even stick out – it seamlessly fits the album – it totally belongs.
“Brace For Impact (Live A Little)” reminds us that life is short – no one gets out alive – so live a little, but don’t forget to give a little too.
“All Around You” could easily (both musically and lyrically) be on a Van Morrison album. A warning that there will be bad days, but you can get through them if you remember Daddy loves you.
“Oh Sarah” breaks the spell as the narrator needs to mend a tear with mom.
The album ends with “Call To Arms.” It is a soldier’s angry rant: “They serve up distractions and we eat them with fries.” Musically it rocks.
2016 is just past the quarter mark and so far there have been several great albums. A Sailor’s Guide Earth will be on my short list of the best of 2016. An added bonus is that it is my great Nashville souvenir – I picked it up on release day at the Country Music Hall of fame on my last day in Nashville.
Prince circa 1977 in downtown Minneapolis
A few personal memories.
Even though I am a Minneapolis guy, the first Prince album I ever owned was 1981’s Controversy. The fact is, his hometown was pretty late to the party. I bought it because he was starting to get a lot of buzz. It was the most unusual, yet catchy music I had ever heard. It was revolutionary.
I saw Prince live for the first time during the 1999 Tour at the old Met Center in Bloomington Mn (3/15/83). Prince was the headliner and The Time and Vanity 6 were the undercard. It was mind-blowing. Prince is the greatest live performer I have ever seen.
Laura and I got married in 1984 and Prince’s Purple Rain LP was a massive hit. It had been released about 3 months before and I loved the first cut “Let’s Go Crazy.” At our reception I did an air guitar solo standing on the head table and at the conclusion of the song I did a flip off the table. I was stone sober. It was an inspired song for an inspired day.
Prince’s guitar solo at the Rock and Hall of Fame in 2004 is one of the most beautiful guitar solos I have ever heard. He blows the other rock stars of the stage.
My favorite Prince album is 1987’s Sign O’ The Times. He was a huge star at that point and chose art over commerce.
In 2004 we went as a family to see Prince. He was brilliant and created a great family memory.
Prince was the real deal: songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, guitar god, entertainer, mysterious weirdo and most of all a rock star. He will be missed.
Dearly beloved
We are gathered here today
To get through this thing called lifeElectric word life
It means forever and that’s a mighty long time
But I’m here to tell you
There’s something else
The after world
We just completed a successful family vacation to Nashville Tennessee. I highly recommend Music City as an adult vacation destination. Nashville is absolutely booming as evidenced by 15 cranes in its skyline. It is a very tourist friendly location with most destinations within walking distance or a $5 Uber ride of downtown hotels. April was a good time of year as it was 60 to 70 degrees – perfect for walking.
If you are into music (mostly country, but not exclusively), eating and drinking in an urban environment, Nashville is perfect. I assume there are other things to do, but those were our focus. We went for a week and never ran out of things to do. You could get a great flavor of the town on a long weekend if you don’t want to make a big time commitment. This was not a sit around vacation – we were in pretty much constant motion – which was our plan.
There were lots of highlights and you can find my day-to-day blog here. Below are my Nashville greatest hits.
Family – when you have adult children it is priceless to have their full attention for a week. We did this last year in Seattle and it was a big success. We had an equally great time together this year. A special shout out to my wife Laura and daughter Al for all the pre-planning. Al took the extra responsibility of being our daily event coordinator.
Country Music Hall of Fame – There is the Hall itself and then there are its “children:” RCA Studio B, Hatch Show Print and the Ryman Auditorium. All are well run and have a consistent message focused on the history and appreciation of country music. Tour them all and see any show available at the Ryman (we saw Jethro Tull – further proof Nashville is not all about country). As an added bonus we got to support the Hall and its mission by attending the All For The Hall concert.
Grand Ole Opry/Eric Church – The Opry is a musical variety show. No matter who is the headliner, be prepared for something old, something new and something corny and that is all part of the charm. We had the good fortune of seeing Eric Church give an intimate, joy filled and mischievous 60 minute performance (he was scheduled for 30 minutes).
Arnold’s Country Kitchen – Arnold’s a simple cafeteria specializing in southern comfort food (lunchtime only). Assume you will need to wait in line 15 minutes, share your table, eat your lunch and move on for the next guest (they are expanding so it will likely get better). But the food is worth it – best fried catfish I have ever had.
Corsair Distillery – I have never toured a distillery before so this was a new one for me. Corsair is a small operation and you can tell there is a passion going into the product. The bonus: the whiskey is amazing. Their Triple Smoke was like an Isly Scotch.
Robert’s Western World – Nashville’s Broadway is a strip of honky tonk bars, most of which have live music. We did not explore every one of them, but the one that stuck out was Robert’s. It was small, crowded, old, just enough of a dive to feel right and it had the most authentically country band I heard in Nashville (John England and the Western Swingers).
The Musicians Hall of Fame – This Hall could easily get lost in all that Nashville has to offer. If you are a music fan of all popular genres it can’t be missed.
Mammoth Cave – Mammoth Cave National Park is about a 90 minute drive from Nashville. It is an amazing work of nature.
The Listening Room Cafe– The Listening Room Cafe is a simple performance space with a good bar and restaurant too. We got to see some young singer songwriters chase their dream.
Yazoo Brewing Company – We visited several breweries in Nashville and Yazoo is the most successful, yet it has not lost its soul.
There was still tons that we did not do, so I guess we will just have to go back. Thanks Music City for a great time!
I started the day listening to the new Sturgill Simpson album on Spotify (A Sailors Guide to Earth). Sturgill’s music is a pretty good analogy for Nashville: it is pure country, but it is not; it sounds old-fashioned, but it is totally modern; and it is hip as hell.
Day 7 (our last day in Nashville as day 8 is lost to travel) started with yet another museum experience: The Musicians Hall of Fame. This is the museum for the music obsessed, as it is focused on the behind the scenes: studios, studio musicians and producer/engineers or as this hall puts it: “Come See What You’ve Heard”™. This hall is not on most tourist’s radar and it is in a part of downtown that is off the typical tourist path. A friend of mine insisted on it in a recommendation of what to do in Nashville and he was right on, it was a great experience.
It has been augmented (just this month) by the GRAMMY Museum Gallery which somewhat focused on the GRAMMY awards, but more significantly on the music making process with interactive displays. It is an impressive interactive museum.
If you are a music nerd or musician, I highly recommend The Musicians Hall of Fame.
Next we headed over to lunch at Arnold’s Country Kitchen. Arnold’s is a cafeteria style restaurant where they serve “meat & 3” (an entree of meat of your choice and three sides). The ambiance upscale soup kitchen, but the food is truly amazing. I had the best fried catfish of my life, a top 10 mac & cheese and a top 10 bread pudding.
Next we headed over to Broadway for some souvenir shopping. Once that was accomplished we stopped by the Beer Sellar – where they proudly permit smoking. It was dark, dank and smelled of stale beer and smoke – it reminded me of my youth, but did not create a sentiment to partake so we moved on to the George Jones roof deck (it was a perfect weather day in Nashville) for a beer. The rooftop was great with a nice view of the river and a good country cover band, but it may have the worst beer selection in Nashville. We stayed for the ambience and not the beer.
In need of a more serious beer we headed over to the Gulch neighborhood to a couple of brewery/tap rooms.
Jackalope Brewing Company was hopping and had an impressive beer line up for a small brewery. I had a maple brown ale infused with chai that was delicious. In addition to great beer the brewery is notable as being founded by women (Robyn Virball and Bailey Spaulding). The tap-room is homey, but of limited space.
Tennessee Brew Works is a short walk from Jackalope and it had a great tap-room with great outdoor space. They also have a bar food menu (we tried the sweet potato poutine 👍). The beer was good but honestly by this point in the trip my taste buds where a bit overwhelmed and their brews were a blur.
We were ready for dinner and headed over to the Tavern. This is a classic gastro-pub with a contemporary ambience and eclectic menu. Sports is on TVs that are both strategically located and unobtrusive. I had a fancy pot pie that had an amazing curry sauce.
That ended our final night in Nashville. I plan to write one more post summarizing and highlighting the trip.
Day 6 we drove out to the Loveless Cafe for some classic southern cooking. It is about 30 minutes from downtown. The menu is pure comfort food (I had country ham and eggs and of course their famous hot biscuits). Portions are generous. Everything I tasted was excellent. The cafe has a nice homey ambiance.
We headed back to town by way of Vanderbilt University and stumbled upon the Parthenon. Yes, Nashville has a full-scale reproduction of the Athens original. In addition to being a stunning art piece of its own, it is also a museum. We skipped the museum and just took in the building itself.
After that we headed over to what my research suggested was Nashville’s best record store: Grimeys. Grimeys has a used store called Grimey’s Too that also is a book store (specializing in the music topics). The book store goes by the name Howlin’ Books. There is also a coffee shop connected (Frothy Monkey). The used LP selection is a bit thin, but I managed to find a few items. The new selection is quite good. I am starting to learn how good we have it in the Minneapolis/Saint Paul area with record stores. It is hard for other cities to live up to that standard.
We headed back to the hotel for some down time.
Next we went to Fat Bottom Brewery. Their Knockout IPA has been one of my go to beers in this trip. They have a tap-room with a nice funky vibe. It has a nice little stage and we got to hear a partial set from Jessica Cayne.
Cayne has a blues voice in the style of Bonnie Raitt and Susan Tedeschi. She played a few covers associated with those ladies. She is also a songwriter, but we only heard a couple of those before we headed out. One of those originals was called “Vinyl” that had me interested in hearing more from Cayne.
Across the street was a brand new brewery Smith and Lentz. They have a spacious tap-room – an open and clean look. Most importantly the beer is good. I tasted the El Cuarto IPA and the Black Rye IPA and both were tasty. The tap room looks to be a great hangout.
We went to dinner at Lockeland Table and had the best meal of our trip. They have an eclectic menu, well crafted cocktails, charming ambiance and attentive wait-staff (shout out to Haley). Our feature was a couple of their pizzas – I could have consumed the crust naked and I would have been satisfied. We left the restaurant fully satisfied. Highly recommended.
We were too pooped to party and called it a night.
Axl's Catch Groove 