Well it has been quite a couple of weeks for reissues of my all time favorites – one week The Who’s Quadrophenia and this next week the Stones’ Some Girls. Like last year’s Exile reissue, this like getting a new Stones album. In addition to remastered version of the original album there is a second CD of Some Girls era scraps. Some of these were incomplete tracks that the boys finished recently – a similar approach to the Exile reissue.
When this album was released in 1978 the Stones were considered has-beens. Punk was thumbing it nose at successful bands like the Stones. But the Stones were always punks themselves and they took the sniveling punks threat as a reason to pick up their game. They took a deep breath and cut their most successful album.
The Some Girls sessions were legendary for a treasure trove of creativity – seeding content for Stones albums for the next ten years. I assumed the well was dry, but for this edition they pulled out another 12 tracks – virtually an additional album.
The original album is an absolute masterpiece and does not need a review, beyond that the remaster sounds great. Instead I will focus on the bonus CD.
- Claudine – This is semi famous track that was allegedly stuffed due to a potential law suit. The Stones mocking tell the tale of a Claudine Longet a singer/socialite who “accidentally” killed her Olympic skier boyfriend Spider Sabich. This is a rollicking track.
- So Young – A bluesy number in praise of jail-bait. This could have easily been on the original album.
- Do You Think I Really Care – This is probably my favorite track. Classic Stones mock country.
- When You’re Gone – A classic Stone blues. Raw and dirty.
- No Spare Parts – Another Stones mock country. That wonderfully sloppy, but tight Exile sound.
- Don’t Be A Stranger – This sounds like an update. A little too obviously a new track (although I assume based on a Some Girls fragment). Very upbeat poppy modern Stones sound. A bit out-of-place for the rest of the period pieces.
- We Had It All – A Keith Richard tender vocal. s a song written by Troy Seals and Donnie Fritts and originally recorded by Waylon Jennings on his 1973 album, Honky Tonk Heros.
- Tallahassee Lassie – this is a cover of an old-time rock and roll standard. The boys play it in a nice and 50s rock and roll style.
- I Love You Too Much – a very classic Stone sounding throw away that could be on almost any album. But a Stones throw away is better than most artist best work.
- Keep Up Blues – That classic Stones take on the blues. All dirty and with Euro trash lyrics.
- You Win Again – A Hank Williams cover with the boys doing their best take on straight county – which sounds exactly what you would expect from rich English drug addicts – wonderfully perverse. Ronnie Wood tears it up on the pedal steel.
- Petrol Blues – The most primitive track on the CD. A total Jagger solo vocal and piano . A fragment. Ranting on oil. Sadly this could be written today vs. 1978.
So over all a real hoot for a Stones fan. A bit much for the casual fan.
While crate digging at Restless Records I struck up a conversation with a stranger. We continued the conversation while paying at the counter, when he asked “what kind of turntable do you have?” I reacted by telling him and then reached to show him a photo of my turntable on my phone as he simultaneously did the same thing with his phone. He joked “wow it is like we are showing photos of our kids.” A few hours later we ran into each other again as I was leaving Dave’s Records and he was arriving and exchanged greetings like old friends. A good music nerd memory from Record Store Day Black Friday.
It was a beautiful day in Chicago for Black Friday. The family is in Chicago to celebrate the holiday weekend with my son pwelbs who lives their.
I had the good fortune to visit Reckless Records on Broadway this AM just as they were opening. My guess is there were about 50 people in line to pick up some special editions for Records Store Day – Black Friday. I picked up Wheedles Groove, Wilco, Ryan Adams, and Miles Davis. I added some nice used vinyl too. It was so great to feel a major record store buzz with a bunch of other music nerds.
I stumbled across this album on release day on emusic. I had no idea it was coming. But the thought of Betty Wright mixing it up with The Roots sounded pretty appealing. I learned about Betty from Joss Stone’s first album (The Soul Sessions). I was very impressed by that first Joss Stone album – she was 16 at the time and sounded amazing – how could this be? Well reading the credits I saw that a Betty Wright was very involved in the production. Further research revealed that Betty was a moderately successful soul singer from the 70s.
This is my first Betty Wright album and it sounds great (I have a few of her hit singles). It is retro, but has some modern touches too (e.g. guest raps by Snoop and Lil Wayne). The Roots have crafted a very nice subtle late 70s/early 80s soul vibe. There are plenty of younger singers playing this retro soul game these days, why not give a genuine vintage artist a chance? If you like Erykah Badu, Joss Stone, Jill Scott, Adele etc. give this LP a chance.
This album was a very important part of my youth. When I was 19 this album perfectly captured the mood of an angry young man. I am sure I listened to it several hundred times. My roommate had a copy and I mainly listened to a cassette dub of his vinyl.
Early in the CD era I had a CD edition (1985 MCA version not the mid 90s remaster) and it sounded pretty good, but this version sounds fantastic. Early CDs reissues often were issued without much care. I never listened to the mid 90s remaster, so I can’t compare this to that. There is nothing better than hearing a familiar piece and noticing nuances you have never noticed before. That has happened on almost every song on this edition.
There are several versions that have just been reissued, but this is the most economical version. This deluxe edition adds a handful of demos. These are interesting, but nothing close to the main event. I am much more impressed with The Stones approach with Exile on Main Street and Some Girls where they basically give you a whole new lost album. I am glad I did not splurge for one of the more expensive editions.
Personally I think Quadrophenia is the most coherent of Townsend’s rock operas. I find it a much more advanced work than Tommy – both in the libretto and in the score. All the players are amazing. Entwistle’s bass plays like a lead guitar. Daltrey is both subtle and bombastic. Moon is tight and chaotic. Townsend plays some of the best guitar and keyboards of his career.
One of the best parts about Quadrophenia is that is an album whose cuts have been rarely played to death on classic rock radio. So they still sound fresh. There are wonderful instrumentals and themes that recur throughout the album. There are parts of this album I swear that bands like Radiohead have listened too. It is a real genius to have an album that is both symphonic and rock and roll. This album pulls together all the best aspects of The Who and is solid from beginning to end. Highly recommended.
I have been sitting on this one for a couple of months now. Just making sure it was fully absorbed into my skin. For Miles fans this is a wonderful find. This is an incredible set of live recordings of Davis’ “Second Great Quintet.” at the height of their powers and near the end of their run – Miles was on the verge of a change to electronic-funk-rock-based jazz. But this recording is modern hard bop tipping into free jazz at its finest.
The reason I sat on this was that I found the first listen challenging. It was the free jazz element that held me back (or as my dear wife refers to this kind of music: noise). But I stuck with it and with each listen I broke in a little further and the music’s secrets were revealed. I can now listen to this with compete ease and comfort. And what seemed wild and untamed now has a logic. So like all the finer things, this is an acquired taste.
For live recordings this is very high quality sound. The audience is unobtrusive. At times the bass and piano are buried a bit far back. As an added bonus there is a DVD of concert footage. It is great to see the band in their very hip suits looking ever so cool.
Although I am a huge Miles fan I have not always given him the respect he deserves as a technical trumpeter. But these sets show how strong a player Miles could be. He plays with a lot of enthusiasm and strength and I am grateful the mute has been for the most part left behind. As for the rest of the band – there is a reason they are known as the Second Great Quintet. Each player would go on to huge success and be considered a key player at their position for their generation. Wayne Shorter (sax) is the other main soloist besides Miles. Herbie Hancock mainly plays a supporting role – but don’t ignore him – that is the brilliance of Hancock – he is the greatest accompanist of his generation for my money. Ron Carter’s bass gets a little lost in the mix, gut his playing is great. Tony Williams drums are very prominent – so you get to hear a lot of him – wonderful light and airy cymbal work.
This music on the CDs come from 3 dates in Belgium, Denmark and France and the DVD has shows from Germany and Sweden. All from a 10 day period. Most of the songs are repeated at each show, which gives you a chance to see how inventive this group cold get with the repertoire. This group had been together for 4 years at this point and their interplay is very strong. They can play very free with each other – a conversation amongst very old friends. Each with an independent voice and each bringing up a different topic. Experts have called the approach of this band “time, no changes.” I take that to mean they all stay in rhythm but are free to go where they each want with the melody and chords. There are points when the horn soloist and Hancock sound like they are playing different songs, but some how they miraculously make it work without sounding like cacophony.
The collection is subtitled “The Bootleg Series Vol. 1” – a nod to a similar approach that has been taken with Columbia label mate Bob Dylan. It is amazing how much material must be in the vaults. I have collected all the Columbia box sets which are crammed full of bonus material. I look forward to being fleeced by Columbia on the multiple bootleg volumes to come.
CB2’s (a Crate and Barrel spin off) recent catalog (see page 39) highlighted the Pro-Ject Essential USB Turntable. This delights me to no end. This is a great turntable for the budding audiophile. In addition it looks very cool. Bonus is that this is a USB turntable so you can rip vinyl or if you lack a real stereo you can play the LPs though your computer speakers. At 400 bucks this is not a crap discount store USB turntable (sorry ION), but a legitimate turntable that will rock your world and help you understand why music snobs like me prefer vinyl.
Yesterday I visited Analog Audio’s ultimate man-cave to test drive the Vivid Audio B1 loudspeakers. If you want to read a more knowledgeable review check out the cover-story in the October 2011 Stereophile. I have never heard speakers of this quality in my life – these are a $15K pair of speakers! It was such a privilege to hear cover-story speakers first hand in a private session in a state of the art listening room.
These speakers sounded fantastic. I don’t know how much was due to a well constructed listening room (I have never been in a room this amazing – this room deserves a whole post to itself) and/or high quality components driving these speakers. As best I can tell the cables alone are worth more than my whole home set up. But I am pretty sure the speakers were the primary cause of the amazing sound I heard. These are speakers I will never afford unless I win the lottery, but what the heck – someday some crazed audiophile may sell them used to a poor soul like me.
I brought along some familiar vinyl to check them out. First up was Weather Report’s titular track from “Black Market.” Zawinul’s keyboards filled the room like a warm blanket. I felt saturated with the sound – this was not because the music was loud – it is that the music completely engulfed the room. The keyboards were thick – on inferior systems these keyboards sound thin and artificial – here they sounded rich and organic. I was sold (although I can’t buy).
Next up was The Brother’s Johnson’s cover of the Beatles’ “Come Together.” This is a funk piece and it was great to hear bass and drums in a very natural way – not though some artificial sub-woofer thump.
Bob King and Terry Evans’ “Live and Let Live” stepped into the room to give us their soul review. Ry Cooder’s guitar was fully realized. You felt like you could bite a piece of it out of the air.
Finally I played Dylan’s “Gotta Serve Somebody” – wow – it fell like Bob was singing in my ear. I have never heard the vocals pop like this – and I bet I have listened to this song 1000 times. It was such distinctive presence.
So my final verdict was that I was wound up like I had 10 cups of coffee spending an hour with the B1s. This was clearly the best sounding speakers I have ever heard, but I can’t fully appreciate these speakers as I have nothing to compare them to in my personal experience. It was like the first time I test drove a BMW after a lifetime of driving mere regular cars – I was, to use the well used cliché, “blown away.” I am not ruined – I can still enjoy my home system, but I now know what a sonic masterpiece is like. And everyone should get to appreciate masterpieces, even if they can’t own one.
Oasis’ (What’s the Story) Morning Glory? would be on my all time 100 greatest albums list. So I am a sucker of anything that slightly smells of Morning Glory. This has a strong Oasis feel. More so than brother Liam’s Beady Eye from earlier this year (which I also enjoyed, but that strayed a bit from the trademark Oasis sound).
I listened to this at the gym this AM via a headphones and found it kind of ho-hum. But I re-listened tonight on my home system and it sounds much better. I take that to me this is music that needs to fully surround you. The arrangements need to float around and bounce off the walls. On headphones they are too confined – almost muffled.
Noel’s voice is not as nuanced as Liam’s, but he makes up for it in big magnificent arrangements that evoke the classic Oasis sound.
It is too much to expect another masterpiece like Morning Glory, but this is is a nice little whiff of that fine aroma. Don’t expect to be blown away, but if you like Oasis you will enjoy.
Axl's Catch Groove 