Together at last. For the casual music fan the collaboration of punk icon Billie Joe Armstrong (Green Day) and pop/jazz chanteuse Norah Jones may seem odd. But Green Day has always been thinking man’s punk and Norah has always refused to stay in bounds.
The back story here is Billie Joe wanted to cover The Everly Brother’s 1958 release “Songs Our Daddy Taught Us.” That album was a covers album of traditional Americana songs. The album had a special place in Billie Joe’s heart. Billie Joe wanted to use a female voice and thought of Norah – although he did not really know her he reached out and asked if she was interested. She was game and they went into the studio to test drive. They quickly found there was magic and committed to making the album. I am very casual Green Day fan, but a huge Norah fan so I greatly anticipated this album. The Everly Brothers are important founding fathers in rock and roll and I don’t think I have every read or heard anything short of adoration from various rock stars with regard to the Everly Brothers. If you harmonize in a rock song you owe the Everly Brothers.
This is an outstanding album. The juxtaposition of the murder ballad lyrics with gorgeous melodies and harmonies is classic. Billie Joe and Norah’s voices mix like gin and tonic. Billie Joe takes the lead on most songs with Norah is playing her best Emmylou (Harris – the most ubiquitous harmonizing vocalist in rock, country, Americana, etc,). Billie Joe has a surprisingly sweet folk voice. It is a real service when pop icons like Billie Joe and Norah lend their credibility to classic folk songs and remind us how amazing the folk cannon is. It is also great to be reminded how important the Everly Brothers are to pop music history. There is nothing better than when an artist pleasantly surprises and takes a chance. Thanks Billie Joe and Norah – this really works!
There are certain artists that I want to love, but for some reason the spark is just not quite there. Gary Clark Jr. is one of those artists. I am guessing I first became aware of Gary Clark Jr. in 2010 as I have his EP Gary Clark Jr. from that year (and I recall getting it when if first came out). He seems to have it all: guitar hero, sex appeal, Austin Texas pedigree, and soulful voice.
When Blak and Blu came out in 2012 I was so stoked until I heard it. First I was put off by the fact that 8 of the 13 tracks had appeared in some form on his previous LPs and EPs (I was so annoyed at the time I actually created a spreadsheet with song titles as rows and LPs/EPs as columns to prove to myself the sins of redundancy). Second I was a bit put off by his is uncertainty as to whether he wanted to be a hip hop artist, John Mayer or a blues god. Finally there was tentativeness to the album’s performance. I really wanted to love this album – there was smoke, but no fire.
Clark Jr’s performance recently at First Avenue was his first in my town and I snapped up a ticket as soon as they went on sale – hopefully live he would deliver on the hype. The night I saw him he was focused on being the blues god – which let’s face is what any mid-50s music-head is going to want. Clark Jr. lived up to the hype. Reviews in City Pages and StarTribune do the show more justice than I can – read the pros.
Here are my impressions:
- Clark Jr. has a wonderfully unassuming and relaxed stage presence – he has no need to prove anything to anyone – he looks very comfortable in his skin
- Clark Jr. is slinky rock star sexy
- Clark Jr. needs a different band, they were not bad, just anonymous – a star that shines as bright Clark Jr. can afford to have a little flash behind him
- Clark Jr. needs his next album to be a live album – a good 120 minutes on a double CD – what Clark Jr. does is best done in a packed sweaty booze soaked club and not in a studio
- Once the live album is under his belt he can escape the yoke of being the next big blues thing and he can record his Inspiration Information/Electric Ladyland – which I am confident he has in him – he has not yet painted his masterpiece
After seeing Clark Jr. live I feel like my emotional investment in him has been worth it and there is the potential of greatness to come. I kind of like it that he is just hitting his stride at nearly 30 years old (and thank god there were more people under 30 than over 40 at his show, but not by much).
At the November 2013 Audio Society of Minnesota meeting Bel Canto CEO John Stronczer introduced the club to their latest product: Black. Bel Canto says this is a new audio concept – I am a pretty uninformed audiophile – so I believe them – it is certainly not like anything I am familiar with. Neither traditional hi-fi (turntable/preamp/amp/speakers) nor current fad of wireless digital streaming systems (e.g. Sonos) – this is something else. My interpretation is that Black is the ultimate cost-is-no-object digital stereo. We are talking about a $50K system – and that does not include the $5k of cables and start-of-the-art speakers (at least $20k right?) that would be necessary to match with this system. Oh and don’t forget you are going to need a digital music server (could be your Mac, something more elaborate or the “cloud). And of course none of this is going to be very fun without hi-rez audio files that are in short supply, lack a standard, cost big bucks themselves and are often from a dubious source.
I have to give props to companies like Bel Canto for doing this kind of pioneering work. There is no doubt in my mind that a digital music solutions like this are the hi-fi future. But I am completely baffled as to the current audience for this kind of spendy equipment. It must exist, it is just not a circle I travel in.
I am almost 55 and a good stereo and decent music collection has been my raison d’être since I was 18. I have cobbled a humble system together over many years (probably about $5K over 10 years). My young adult kids are as serious about music as I am, but they couldn’t care less about hi-fi – convenience and low-cost are their priorities. High end audio is unobtainable to me, let alone the next generation.
I don’t know the demographics of audiophiles, but I presume it is:
- 50 years old
- Male
- Income over $100,000 annually
I have read that some manufacturers feel that the estimate for ‘audiophiles’ is about 500,000 worldwide. And the “high-end ” has got to be like 50,000 worldwide. Not quite zero, but pretty damn close compared for the audience for smartphones and tablets. I wish I could buy a system like Bel Canto’s Black, but it will never happen. I wish my kids would listen to music on something better than their Mac’s speakers or cheap ear buds. Although Beats and Bose headphones are crap, it does give me hope that there is an audience to support hi-fi into the future.
Back to Black by Bel Canto – this is a truly amazing system, but I am way to ignorant to recommend it or evaluate it. I would love to be able to be able to justify spending $1400 on Bel Canto’s entry-level DAC (and that is not going to happen). My only hope is that pioneering work like Black will trickle down to my budget in the next 5 years.
I was a very one-dimensional Weather Report fan – I was a Jaco Pastorius fan. I had the good fortune of seeing Weather Report live during the Mr. Gone tour and I got to see Jaco with Joni Mitchell Shadows and Light tour. So my Weather Report experience was Heavy Weather and Mr. Gone. I failed to dig deeper back in the late 70s and early 80s.
But a few years ago I bought the Forecast Tomorrow box set and I learned how much I was missing. This coincided with my vinyl renaissance. Weather Report was a hugely popular band so their catalog is easily available on vinyl for cheap. Over the last few years I have been slowly filling in the gaps with near mint vinyl for less than five bucks a title. Each title I have picked up has been sensational.
My most recent purchase was Sportin’ Life from 1985. I have been spinning it endlessly for the last couple of weeks. It is a sensational record. I Googled it and found a great site: Weather Report: The Annotated Discography. The article on Sportin’ Life gives the back story better than I can so read it.
At this point in the Weather Report discography, the band was primarily Zawinul. That is not to diminish Wayne Shorter – he adds some amazing spice here, but he is not the main attraction – it is Zawinul. Zawinul had just recently embraced the latest in keyboard technology – MIDI. This album was his first official expression of the new technology. In the hands of a guy who had been playing with electronic keyboards for 20 years at this point it was a match made in heaven.
This album has a very world music feel and it most of the songs have a very festive resort feel (the album cover perfectly captures the spirit of the music on the LP). Weather Report were at the height of their powers and on top of the world in the mid-80s – they were THE FUSION band. Unfortunately this was the end – there would be one more throw away album and the band would be over.
This is near perfect fusion jazz – it is timeless – is sounds amazing today as it must have over 25 years ago. Zawinul makes a synthesizer totally organic: a horn section and not just sound effects. The cover of Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On” is perfect and a great introduction for the novice of the Weather Report modus operandi. This album is readily available in the crates for less than $5 – buy it!
I am generally pretty ignorant of the pop stratosphere – I have no idea of what a Miley Cyrus or Katy Perry song sounds like. Lady Gaga hooked me a few years ago when I unavoidably saw her headline 2010 Lolalpsalooza (early in the Monster Ball tour). At that point she was ascending to super-stardom – I was curious about the hype. Born This Way was still 9 months away, but she was test driving some of its songs and they caught my attention on that first live listen. She had established herself with her debut as the next big thing. I was impressed – she was the next big thing: a Madonna wannabe, but with more musical talent than Madge (and she was building a specific tribe). When Born This Way was released I was pretty blown away – this was a real POP star with a singles heavy album. She had a hell of shining moment from 2008-2011 and it will be hard to duplicate that super nova. Plus she has some real competition in her space now.
This is not a review but a first impression – you can’t really write a review on just a couple of listens. I have not listened to any of the leaked singles – so I have no preconceived notions. Today is my maiden voyage with ARTPOP. It does not knock me over the head like Born This Way did. This album seems more subtle. I am on my third listen and there seems to be more to it than meets the eye (my first listen response was “this is unremarkable”). There is not the obvious knock your over single, but I kind of like that – obvious singles don’t always wear well. Born This Way seemed like a collection of singles – ARTPOP sounds more like a cohesive album. I am feeling a depth to the arrangements. I actually want to listen to this some more. It is too early to really evaluate it – other than Gaga has invited us in to her twisted mind and I think I want to stay for a while and I am not sure why – is it merely a shiny object or is there some real substance here. If there is substance I will be back with a real review.
My virtual buddy Jim tipped me off to Deodato 2. I have been a long time fan of Deodato’s debut on CTI (Prelude), but had never listened to Deodato 2 . After Jim’s kick in my pants I dialed up Deodato 2 on Spotify and instantly liked it more than Prelude. Since then I have been searching for a vinyl copy and picked one up last week in Chicago while visiting Pwelbs at Reckless Records in Wicker Park (in very good condition for a mere $3 – damn I love vinyl bargains!). To add to the intrigue Pwelbs had slipped Deodato’s Prelude into his soul jazz playlist (AKA DJ Funky Socks) without any influence from me.
Eumir Deodato is a Brazilian keyboardist, composer and producer. He has his hand in works from Sinatra to Lupe Fiasco. Prelude is a soul/funk jazz classic and Deodato 2 is just as good, but somehow did not catch the same acclaim as Prelude. John Tropea guitar work is absolutely burning throughout the album. My favorite cut on the album is Super Strut, but is hard to beat Deodato’s funky take on Rhapsody In Blue.
This album is very dated 70s soul jazz – but hey that is a feature not a defect. This is the classic CTI sound of the early 70s with amazing sidemen: Billy Cobham, Jon Faddis (Madlib’s uncle), Herbert Laws and Stanley Clarke to name the more prominent names. Deodato himself is a very funky keyboard player.
This is an absolutely epic slab of soul jazz perfection. Dig it up!
After years of Arcade Fire being hipster darlings, it seems like all the hipsters are now haters. I assume they resent that Arcade Fire is now mainstream and the U2 of their generation. I love the way Arcade Fire has hyped the album – they have attracted attention without naked self-licking.
I think this is an epic album, For me it is their Achtung Baby – an appropriate nod to Euro-disco pop without loosing their soul. Their sound, but not; exactly what makes a career in pop music: constantly shape shifting. Yesterday I played through the full Arcade Fire catalog on a long bike ride. With each album you could hear the careful trajectory from quirky indies to full pop stars (with Grammy’s under their arms – popular and critically acclaimed). With Reflector they have arrived at their destination – perfect intelligent pop in the tradition of The Beatles, The Stones, Bowie, U2 and Radiohead. Every Arcade Fire album has been different, yet not schizophrenic – it has been very natural organic/natural growth.
Quick thoughts on each of the cuts:
- The opening cut and current single “Reflektor” is a fun and danceable; hip disco – competitive with anything on the recent Daft Punk smash – it even has a Bowie (Arcade Fire mentor) cameo.
- “We Exist” has an infectious bass line that could almost be derivative of Bon Jovi’s “Livin’ On A Prayer” (I love Bon Jovi’s Slippery When Wet – it a pop masterpiece – this is not a snarky or ironic complement).
- “Flashbulb Eyes” A bit of a a reggae lilt without being obvious, yet a rock song.
- “Here Comes The Nighttime” – A traditional Arcade Fire – a song that would not have been out-of-place on previous albums. Richly textured with great instrumentation.
- “Normal Person” is a contemporary T-Rex romp.
- “You Already Know” is bouncy pop – think of an arena version of Bell and Sebastian.
- “Joan of Arc” has a Blondie “Heart of Glass” feel, but thicker and meatier.
- “Here Comes The Nighttime II” is a sub-three minute mini-suite in the spirit of The Beatles.
- “Awful Sound” – Very cool big drum sound – a bit of a Flaming Lips vibe.
- “It’s Never Over” – This is great example of the mash-up of the established Arcade Fire and the Euro-disco styling of this album.
- “Porno” is the best Cure song I have heard in years!
- “Afterlife” – great atmospheric anthem – this should have been the last song (and they could have saved money on the second CD).
- “Supersymetry” – this seems like the only throw-away on the album. It starts out as a slow atmospheric piece with a nice hook, but the song ends as s a long senseless tail of Coldplay swirl that degenerates into mildly annoying ambient wallpaper – we are talking over five minutes here!.
Arcade Fire has always had a big and expansive sound and this album continues that tradition. This band is arena ready. It is fun to play “what’s that influence” as you listen, but it is never imitative, but rather an impressive reinventing of influences within the context of the well established Arcade Fire sound.
I really like this album and I have been playing it to death. Although I own the whole Arcade Fire catalog and have loved various songs along the way, this is the first of their albums that really resonates with me. Clearly on my top 10 for 2013 and good enough to have purchased the vinyl edition! Thanks for living up to the hype Arcade Fire!
P.S – Listening to the first Arcade Fire album Funeral, I was struck by how they really positioned pop ears for the current wave of folk rock of Mumford and Sons, Lumineers, Avett Brothers, et al. I can’t describe it – it just seems those bands’ popularity makes more sense post Arcade Fire’s debut.
A few years before I “discovered” Lou Reed, I “discovered” his fellow Velvet Underground cohort John Cale via Cale’s Sabotage/Live (recorded in 1979 at the CBGB – doesn’t get more rock and roll than that). I played that album gray. I didn’t have a clue who John Cale was – I just read a review that sparked my interest. I have never owned another John Cale LP or Velvet album for another 30 years.
I knew who Lou Reed was, “Walk On The Wild Side” was one of the most arresting singles I have ever heard on the radio. But I did not become a fan until I fell in love with his brilliant mid-80s classic LP New Sensations. I saw Lou live in Minneapolis when he was touring that album. I was struck by New Sensation’s simplicity, humor, New Wave feel, but most of all Lou’s irresistible cool.
I started to explore his catalog with a wonderful compilation, the double LP: Rock And Roll Diary 1967-1980. That album had Velvet songs and Lou solo. One of the coolest part of that album was the quote on the back: “Record One of this two album set was assembled from various sources and the sound quality is less than state of art. The music more than compensates for any loss in fidelity.” Amen to that!
It took me a few years to “get” The Blue Mask, but what an amazing album that is once you are ready to hear it.
Lou did me a major favor when he covered Dylan’s “Foot of Pride” from a Dylan album I never understood – Street Legal. Lou managed to find a gem in one of Dylan’s most under-appreciated albums. The cover was the standout track from a 29 track all-star Bob Dylan tribute album/concert: The 30th Anniversary Concert Celebration. Ironically Street Legal was the first Dylan album I ever bought and I hated it. Lou elevated Street Legal to one of my top-5 favorite Dylan albums.
I am one of the handful of people who actually liked Lulu – Lou Reed and Metallica together at last.
And how cool was it that Lou was married to Laurie Anderson – whose “O Superman” was one of the most offbeat hits of the 80’s (if not all time). What a cool couple they must have been.
So Lou I will miss you – a true rock and roll icon. I will use your death as reason to truly study your catalog. Just today I “re-discovered” two absolute gems: “Pale Blue Eyes” and “Street Hassle.” R.I.P. Lou Reed.
Last week David Byrne wrote an article for the British national daily The Guardian about the evils of music streaming. Duh, the internet has been disruptive to the music business – retailers, labels and the artists have been trying to figure this thing out since Napster exploded on the scene in 1999 (yeah 15 years and the music industry still has not figured this internet thing out).
I have been using Spotify for several months now and I love it. I still manage to spend $100 to $200 a month on music (mostly CDs and vinyl – I rarely buy a download). I realize I am an oddity in my volume of purchase (although I wonder how odd am I when I am 200th in line outside my independent record store on Record Store Day a full hour before they open).
Byrne argues the boom in digital streaming may generate profits for record labels and free content for consumers, but it spells disaster for today’s artists across the creative industries. I can see what he saying, but musicians have been paddling against the current forever. Making music is a labor of love and very few are able to convert their avocation into a vocation.
I am almost 55 and I really don’t pine for the old days of reading a review in Rolling Stone that sparks my interest only to buy the LP, listen and be disappointed. Now every Tuesday I add the new releases I am interested in to my Spotify playlist and sample them. When I read a review or a profile that catches my fancy I immediately add it to my Spotify playlist. Nearly every week I stop by my independent record store and buy the vinyl or CD (if vinyl is not an option or is insanely overpriced) for the albums that resonate with me.
I find the access to music on the internet absolutely awesome and it has introduced me to a ton of music I would never have been able to afford to listen to. I love the convenience of Spotify – just this morning I was reading an article (on my Kindle) in the Wall Street Journal about pianist Michele Rosewoman and percussionist Pedrito Martinez (on the stationary bike at the gym) and I was interested enough to want to listen. I searched for the reviewed albums on Spotify. Michele Rosewoman was not there (too bad I will probably never listen to you Michele) and Pedrito Martinez was – I proceed to enjoy Mr. Martinez group (it is too early to tell if I will be motivated to purchase a physical). In the old days I would have likely passed on the Martinez LP due to my limited budget (or have forgotten my intrigue within moments of setting down the paper). Martinez would have never hit my ears.
I have started to sample Spotify’s suggestions based on my listening habits and that has been a delightful bonus to the service. I chuckle at some of their suggestions, but for the most part they as clever as a good conversation with competent record store clerk.
So Mr Byrne the cat is out of the bag and she is never going back in. Musicians are going to have to find a different way to monetize their art than selling LPs. And lets face it, back in the day for every Talking Heads there were several thousand bands that never made a penny (and those where the years of bountiful harvests in the recording industry).
There is no turning back – the only way a musician can make money is going to be though live performances, licensing, patrons and souvenirs (sorry but CDs and vinyl LPs are right there with T-shirts now). They need to cultivate fans that have a sense of responsibility to the artist. Things like crowd sourcing give me hope. Fans are going to have to invest (e.g. crowd source), buy direct (e.g. bandcamp), show up (go to live shows) and buy physical (vinyl and CDs) if they love an artist. But I need to be real here, despite my music buying habit, my motivation is not to be the artist’s patron. I buy music in the form of CDs and vinyl LPs to meet my need for better quality sound than a stream and to feed my desire to have a physical asset.
I am not worried about the musicians – they will find a way to eek out a living just like they always have. I believe they will find ways to leverage the internet. It is so easy for Thom Yorke and David Byrne to spurn the internet – they made it a long time ago under a different paradigm. I have to put my faith in a band like the one my son manages (whysowhite) hustling any gig they can get and spreading the word on bandcamp, Spotify, YouTube, SoundCloud, etc. I bet they are making as much money as they would have in the old days without going in debt to a record company via an advance. So surprise – technology changes the game.
Sheryl Crow’s new country album probably seems like the least hip album for Catchgroove to review, but hey I got some history with Sheryl. I have been a fan since her brilliant debut, 1993’s Tuesday Night Music Club. She followed that up with the pop masterpiece Sheryl Crow which was produced by the very hip Mitchell Froom and Tchad Blake. I was officially hooked. At this point she was commercially and critically successful enough for Bob Dylan to personally gift her a song (Mississippi) for the equally good The Globe Sessions.
Then Sheryl had a monster hit – the kind of monster hit that can ruin your career by turning you into a celebrity – a real star – (2002 “Soak Up the Sun”). My daughter was a tweener and we were both huge fans – we loved that song: it was a cruising, roll down the windows sing-along anthem. Crow crowned her celebrity with a tabloid romance with (then) America’s hero Lance Armstrong (the pre–douche bag years for Lance). She was no longer hip – she was practically Cher – she even survived a celebrity disease – breast cancer.
There is a fine line between being a star and being a self-parody and cliche. Sheryl was teetering. She stumbled. Since the mid-2000s Crow’s music career has been floundering – highlighted by three not bad (worse – they were unremarkable – isn’t it better to out right suck?) releases.
So it was with some suspicion that I came to Sheryl’s COUNTRY album. Genre jumping to country is often a calculated career-stretching move (Darius “Hootie” Rucker), mockery (Rolling Stones), or irony (Elvis Costello). In most cases it is not that much of a stretch even if it seems like hanging on for dear life (Bon Jovi).
I think Crow comes to country music honestly – all I ask from a musician is some basic authenticity. She has always had a touch of country, roots rock and folk in her pop stew. And let’s face it, today’s county is more inspired by The Eagles than Hank. And for years she has lived on a farm outside Nashville for goodness sake. What is a 51-year-old pop diva to do? Make a fool out of yourself trying to compete with Katy Perry, Lady Gaga and Miley Cyrus? Or make a dignified mature county-pop album? The choice seems obvious.
So how does she do? Well pretty damn good. There are some conventional country songs about drinking, cheating, disappointment. There is Midwestern/Southern sentimentality regarding family and home. She plays it with a sob, but also with a wink and grin – which are country staples. She also sprinkles in songs that would not have been out-of-place on her mid-90s masterpieces.
So she did exactly what I would hope: she made a credible Sheryl Crow album, that just happens to be more country than rock. It positions her to take back her career and gives her a mature platform to play out the next 20 years. This is not a daring album and it is not a classic album, but it gives me reason to stay interested in Sheryl for another few albums and concert tour or two. All I ask for, as a career long fan of an aging pop star, is to keep me interested and don’t turn into an oldies act (all I ask for from my baseball team is give me hope through the end of August – see I don’t ask for much). Thanks Sheryl, I am still with you!
Axl's Catch Groove 