The Smile is a rock trio consisting of Radiohead members Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, bass, keys) and Jonny Greenwood (guitar, bass, keys), along with Tom Skinner (drums) from the jazz band Sons of Kemet. The Smile is more prolific than Radiohead: They have released three albums (plus two live albums) in two years, compared to nearly a decade for the last three Radiohead albums.
The Smile sounds like Radiohead but with a looser and more jazzy vibe.
Cutouts, released in October 2024, was produced by Sam Petts-Davies during the same sessions as the previous Smile album, Wall of Eyes, released in January 2024. Per Wikipedia:
They performed several future Cutouts songs in early live performances in 2021 and 2022. Greenwood first performed the riff from “Eyes & Mouth” on Radiohead’s 2016 tour during performances of their song “Talk Show Host.”
Despite this backstory and the album title, this album is as cohesive as the other two The Smile albums—it is not an album of leftovers. I am finding this the most engaging of the three studio albums.
The album opens with “Foreign Spies,” which has a dirge-like feel. The band creates a warm bath of synth and electronica sounds that Yorke sings over. Lyrically, it seems to describe paranoia lurking in an otherwise beautiful world.
“Instant Psalm” opens with a string arrangement (the London Contemporary Orchestra) but quickly slips into a quiet rock riff. Yorke sings calmly about being in an intimate relationship yet not being close to that person. The song ends with a swell of strings.
“Zero Sum” has a classic Radiohead vibe but with a touch of the Red Hot Chilli Peppers in Yorke’s vocals. The song has a fabulous horn riff courtesy of Pete Wareham (baritone sax) and Robert Stillman (tenor sax). The phrase “zero-sum” refers to a situation in which whatever is gained by one side is lost by the other. Lyrically, the song seems to mock those in positions of power who are no more impressive than an outdated PC operating system like Windows 95 (referred to in the lyrics).
“Colours Fly” is another song with a Radiohead vibe. It features a spaghetti Western guitar riff and a wonderful quacking bass clarinet from Robert Stillman. Lyrically, Yorke appears to be mocking politicians who say what their constituents want to hear.
“Eyes & Mouth” is my favorite song on the album—it’s a banger! It’s funky Radiohead. Lyrically, the song is a classic Radiohead theme of alienation and detachment.
“Don’t Get Me Started” is a slow and spooky-sounding song. Yorke seems to sing about being misunderstood.
“Tiptoe” is like listening to a sparse rehearsal (almost noodling). Then, an orchestra steps in. Finally, an angelic-sounding Yorke vocal enters the mix. Lyrically, I am not sure what Yorke is up to here, but it is bleak.
“The Slip” starts with sparse percussion, drums, and a synth-bass riff, setting a groove for Yorke to work his vocal magic. He sounds like the bastard love child of Bowie and Bono. The electric guitar is a delicious slice of pop rock. Lyrically, Yorke sings about climate change, nuclear war, and political disillusionment as politicians appear to have their heads in the sand.
“No Words” is The Smile’s version of The Who’s “Baba O’Riley”/“Eminence Front” – a great combination of guitar and electronica.
“Bodies Laughing” has an acoustic guitar and a 60s bossa nova vibe. After all the lyrical darkness, the feeling here is, “What the hell? Let’s at least have a good time in the dystopia.”
Overall, the vocals are amazing. Yorke shows a vast range of vocal styles, but always unmistakably Tom Yorke. The soundscape the band creates is quite diverse. The best thing about The Smile (besides, it is a backup to the fact Radiohead is on indefinite hiatus) is that Jonny is playing lots of guitar.
Miles from India: A Celebration of the Music of Miles Davis
4Q/Times Square Records April 2008
I have no idea how I stumbled on this double CD (it was also released on a three-LP version). I assume it caught my eye in a record store. It seemed like a good idea: a collaboration of American jazz and Indian musicians (jazz and Indian classical) interpreting the music of Miles Davis produced by Bob Belden (responsible for the remastered Miles Columbia catalog). It 100% worked. This is one of my favorite jazz albums in my modest collection (jazz is roughly 15% of my CD/LP collection), so I am not a jazz expert; I am just a casual enthusiast.
I am familiar with the Miles Davis songs here, so it is fun to hear the Indian contributions. Miles had some dalliances with Indian music and instrumentation and Indian-inspired jazz musicians (John McLaughlin – who appears on this album ) during Miles’ electric/fusion period (late 60s through mid-70s). Hence, this collaboration is not a left-field idea. The Kind of Blue album has been interpreted in many ways (reggae, bluegrass, etc.) and always seems to work no matter what style it is played.
The concept of Miles From India is to recast familiar themes from such landmark recordings as Bitches Brew, In A Silent Way, Big Fun, We Want Miles, and Kind of Blue with an East meets West vibe. Some of the instruments that shine here are the electric guitar (Stern Cosey and McLaughlin), the flute (Rakesh Chaurasia), and the Carnatic violin (Kala Ramnath).
The Kind of Blue album has been interpreted in many ways (reggae, bluegrass, etc.) and always seems to work no matter what style. It works great with the Indian influences. But what works best is the material from Miles’ electric period (Bitches Brew, In A Silent Way, and Big Fun). The original recordings had an affinity for Indian music, so the tunes feel comfortable with the Indian influences here. If you are a Miles’ electric period fan and would like some world music spices added to your music, this album will meet your needs.
The American jazz musicians are a who’s who of Miles alumni from a variety of eras:
- Saxophonists: Dave Liebman (1972-74) and Gary Bartz (1970-71)
- Guitarists Mike Stern (1981-84), Pete Cosey (1973-76) and John McLaughlin (1969-72
- Bassists Ron Carter (1963-69), Michael Henderson (1970-76), Marcus
Miller (1981-1984), and Benny Rietveld (1987-91) - Keyboardists Chick Corea (1968-72), Adam Holzman (1985-87) and Robert Irving III (1980-
88) - Drummers Jimmy Cobb (1958-63), Leon ‘Ndugu’ Chancler (1971), Lenny White (1969) and Vince Wilburn (1981, 1984-1987)
- Tabla player Badal Roy (1972-3)
The Indian contingent is represented by:
- Keyboardist Louiz Banks – who also serves as co-arranges with Bob Belden
- Drummer Gino Banks
- American-born alto saxophonist Rudresh Mahanthappa
- Sitarist Ravi Chari
- Vikku Vinayakram (a charter member of Shakti) on Ghatam
- V. Selvaganesh (a member of Shakti and Remember Shakti) on khanjira
- U. Shrinivas (from Remember Shakti) on electric mandolin
- Brij Narain on sarod,
- Dilshad Khan on Sarang
- Sridhar Parthasarathy on mridangam
- Taufiq Qureshi and A. Sivamani on percussion
- Kala Ramnath on Carnatic violin
- Rakesh Chaurasia on flute
- Shankar Mahadevan & Sikkil Gurucharan on Indian classical vocals
Tracklisting – Disc 1
- “Spanish Key” (from Bitches Brew) – Gino Banks, Louis Banks, Rakesh Chaurasia, Selva Ganesh, Adam Holzman, Dave Liebman, Shankar Mahadevan, Rudresh Mahanthappa, Sridhar Parthasarthy, Taufiq Qureshi, Benny Rietveld, Wallace Roney, Mike Stern & Lenny White
- “All Blues” (from Kind of Blue) – Louis Banks, Gary Bartz, Ron Carter, Ravi Chary, Jimmy Cobb, Rudresh Mahanthappa & Vikku Vinayakram
- “Ife (fast)” (from Big Fun) – Gino Banks, Pete Cosey, Michael Henderson, Adam Holzman, Dave Liebman, Kala Ramnath, A. Sivamani & Vikku Vinayakram
- “In a Silent Way (Intro)” (from In a Silent Way) – Adam Holzman, Robert Irving III & Pandit Brij Narayan
- “It’s About That Time” (from In a Silent Way) – Gary Bartz, Ndugu Chancler, Pete Cosey, Michael Henderson, Adam Holzman, Robert Irving III & Kala Ramnath
- “Jean Pierre” (from We Want Miles) – Ranjit Barot, Rakesh Chaurasia, Adam Holzman, Robert Irving III, Benny Rietveld, Mike Stern & Vince Wilburn Jr.
Tracklisting – Disc 2
- “So What” (from Kind of Blue) – Louis Banks, Ron Carter, Ndugu Chancler, Chick Corea, Selva Ganesh, Sridhar Parthasarthy & Taufiq Qureshi
- “Miles Runs the Voodoo Down” (from Bitches Brew) – Pete Cosey, Michael Henderson, Adam Holzman, Wallace Roney, A. Sivamani, Vikku Vinayakram & Lenny White
- “Blue In Green” (from Kind of Blue)- Louis Banks, Ron Carter, Jimmy Cobb, Dilshad Khan, Shankar Mahadevan, Wallace Roney & Mike Stern
- “Great Expectations (Orange Lady)” (from Big Fun) – Ravi Chary, Pete Cosey, Michael Henderson, Adam Holzman, Marcus Miller, Taufiq Qureshi, Wallace Roney, Vince Wilburn Jr. & Vikku Vinayakram
- “Ife (Slow)” (from Big Fun) – Gary Bartz, Pete Cosey, Michael Henderson, Adam Holzman, Dave Liebman, Wallace Roney & Badal Roy
- “Miles from India” (an original composition by John McLaughlin for this album) – Louis Banks, Sikkil Gurucharan, John McLaughlin & U. Srinivas
Imaginary Day
(1997)
Pat Metheny is in my top ten artists/bands. I love everything Pat does, but the Pat Metheny Group (PMG) is my favorite version of Metheny. Imaginary Day was the PMG’s ninth studio album, and they had been working as an ensemble for nearly two decades. However, Metheny and keyboardist Lyle Mays were the only constants through that period. It was critically and commercially successful (as commercially successful as a jazz album can be), winning the 1999 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Jazz Album, and the song “The Roots of Coincidence” won a Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance.
The album’s signature features are taking the classic PMG sound and mixing it with experimental instruments (for example, the 42-string pikasso guitar and the fretless classical guitar) and lots of percussion instruments (Mino Cinelu, David Samuels, Glen Velez, and Don Alias contribute to the album). The album was also inspired by world music from Iran and Indonesia. Finally, it is one of the most eclectic of the PMG albums.
This post is inspired by years of listening to the album and Metheny’s track-by-track commentary from his website.
“Imaginary Day” is a ten-minute suite that opens the album like an overture. Although this is an ensemble piece, the highlights are Pat’s use of a fretless classical guitar and Lyles’s explorations on the synth. Per Metheny:
“We were recalling our recent concert tour to Indonesia and a gamelan concert we attended there. It was an ensemble of 25 Indonesian musicians playing on metal instruments, and it was one of the tightest, most well organized ensemble sounds we had ever heard. I suppose we thought we could draw some influence from that, in that our focus on ensemble playing has also been a priority over the years, and there were things about what they were doing that paralleled our thing even though we draw from different musical vocabularies. So that was the starting place for that tune; us wanting to combine the natural bluesiness of what the fretless guitar offers with something inspired by that Indonesian ensemble sound.”
“Follow Me” is the most conventional tune on the album. It has a nice yacht rock vibe. Per Pat:
“If we think of “Imaginary Day” as this album’s overture, then “Follow Me” is like once you’ve entered this new landscape, this piece sets the tone.” He goes on to say “This is a whole melody based on harmonics, which sets this dreamy tone. But at the same time, there’s a rock sort of thing that happens – and happens throughout the album. If We Live Here had an R & B flavor, this one has a rock flavor. American Garage was also in this zone, but I think this album is more rock, and it’s certainly more sophisticated.
“Into The Dream” is an intro to “A Story Within The Story” where Pat plays an acoustic solo on the 42-string pikasso guitar. This creates a shimmering harp like sound. Per Pat:
One of the great features of the instrument [pikasso guitar] is that you can make it sound as if there are two or three people playing; it allows you to create that illusion. There’s a special tuning that I’ve developed that has the guitar part of the instrument tuned very low, and the higher, ringing strings tuned very high, so you get a complete range of tones that aren’t far away from the range of the piano.”
“A Story Within The Story” is classic the classic PMG sound. In an unusual twist to the PMG sound Mark Ledford plays trumpet.
“The Heat Of The Day” Opens with what sounds like tap dancing for percussion and a fast melody. Per Pat:
“A very complex, uptempo piece that has connections to Iranian folk music, flamenco and this imaginary music we were trying to dream up to go with our imaginary day.”
“Across The Sky” is a conventional electric guitar-focused PMG ballad. Its beautiful melody is backed by lush keyboard work from Lyle Mays.
“The Roots Of Coincidence” is the most unusual song on the album and barely sounds like the PMG. It is a suite that combines atmospheric sounds with thrash metal guitar. On paper, it sounds like a mess, but on the ears, it is a masterpiece (thus the Grammy). Per Pat:
Compositionally, I think it’s our best work on the record. Over its almost eight minutes it goes through a whole range of moods and dynamic points and very abrupt changes from one thing to the next. More than anything, it really rocks, which has always been part of our potential that I don’t think we’ve ever really captured on a recording until this track.
“Too Soon Tomorrow” slows things down after the frenetic “The Roots Of Coincidence.” Per Pat:
“A ballad I wrote as we were making the record. There was a point where the album seemed that it might be a little relentless, with a lot of stylistic jump-cutting. We needed something to let things settle for a minute.”
The closer, “The Awakening,” has a Celtic feel. It is a bright and energetic tune. Per Pat:
“The effect of the whole thing at the end of the record is a wake-up call; it’s been this long journey, this long dream; you’ve gone to all these different places and this really feels like you’re back on earth. It also features a great Lyle solo.”
When I first acquired this album in 1997, I thought it was one of the best-sounding CDs I had ever heard. It still sounds great in that format today (it was also issued as a multi-channel DVD-A and cassette that I have never heard). As far as I know, it has never been issued as a vinyl LP. Streaming services present the album in CD resolution (16-bit/44.1 kHz FLAC – I use Tidal).
Jamey Johnson’s That Lonesome Song (2008) was one of my favorite albums of the ’00s. Just a few years later, he went offline as a recording artist (he continued to tour and write songs). Midnight Gasoline is his first album since 2012 (and that was a Hank Williams tribute album) – so we are long overdue for some original Jamey Johnson material.
Johnson has a gorgeous country baritone voice that echoes Waylon, Hag, George Strait, and Tony Joe White’s country funk. Musically, Johnson is country, but he also sprinkles swamp rock, the blues, and vintage R&B. If you are a fan of Chris Stapleton, Johnson is his big brother.
Returning to the studio was inspired by the death of Jamey’s buddy Toby Keith. Jamey told Billboard:
“The writing was already coming back to me, piece by piece, but I still didn’t have any ambitions on making a record. When Toby passed away, it moved everything into high gear because I realized that that was the end of his discography, that we weren’t getting another Toby Keith record. And that’s what drove me to wanting to finish my own discography. It’s what made me understand that I’m nowhere near done, and so it’s time to get busy. After he passed away, I immediately started talking about this session and started trying to get all the particulars in order. It was time for me to get in the studio again.”
Johnson recorded the album at Cash Cabin, Johnny and June Cash’s former studio now run by their son, musician/producer John Carter Cash. The first half of the album was produced by The Kent Hardly Playboys: Wayd Battle, Jim “Moose” Brown, Tom Bukovac, T.W. Cargile, Kevin “Swine” Grant, Cowboy Eddie Long, Dave McAfee, James Mitchell, and Chris Powell. The second half was Nashville Midas Dave Cobb (Chris Stapleton, Brandi Carlile, John Prine, Sturgill Simpson, Jason Isbell, The Highwomen, etc.).
The album opens with “Bad Guy,” which uses songwriting as an analogy for a relationship. The narrator wonders:
“So how did I
Become the bad guy
In this song?”
Musically, “Bad Guy” has a nice slithering swamp vibe.
The titular track, “Midnight Gasoline,” is a road song – the narrator is trying to forget a lost love.
In “What A View,” the narrator, who has seen the world, is overwhelmed by seeing his lover merely sipping a glass of wine.
“I’ve seen the lights of Paris
And I’ve seen the Taj Mahal
Those seven wonders never made me wonder at all
But I wish I could paint you a picture
And hang it up on the wall
So you could see you the way I see you
What a view”
“21 Guns” is a beautiful lament for a fallen soldier.
“Someday When I’m Old” is a simple prediction of the future: spoiling the grandkids and being a curmudgeon. But most of all being the one:
“That remembers you young and beautiful
Your dark hair falling on that pillow case
And all the secrets we shared
All the love that we made
And I’ll hold on to those precious moments
Like pieces of gold”
“Trudy” reminds me of a country-fried Van Morrison. The song has an amazing horn arrangement and features a guest vocal from Randy Houser. It is a cover of a Charlie Daniels song from his 1975 album Fire On The Mountain.
“One More Time” has a fascinating conceit: if the narrator were God, they would redo the story of Genesis and rebuild a lost love.
“Saturday Night in New Orleans” was written by Johnson, Chris Stapleton, and Tony Joe White. It has a nice swampy vibe. The song’s gist is, “Every night is Saturday night in New Orleans.”
“Sober” is a tale of the challenges of being sober while in the drinking song business. The song has a nice blues feel.
“I’m Tired Of It All” is another duet with Randy Houser. It is an end-of-your-rope country song:
“It may look like I’m having a ball
But the truth is I’m tired of it all”
“No Time Like The Past” takes a litany of cliches (time heals, count your blessings, etc.), and the narrator scoffs at them:
“If you want a heartache to last
There ain’t no time like the past”
“What You Answer To” is classic country wisdom: “But it ain’t what they call you, it’s what you answer to.”
This is an outstanding comeback. Midnight Gasoline is the first of what Johnson calls his Cash Cabin Series. Johnson spent three weeks recording about 30 songs at Cash Cabin, sleeping in his bus parked outside. I can’t wait for the next installment!
I have been publishing this music-focused blog since the fall of 2011. Most of the blog posts are album reviews. For several years, I have augmented the blog with Instagram and mini reviews (and lots of other stuff in my life). I originally started the blog as a musical diary – documenting the music I was listening to. I quickly found that blogging about music caused me to be a more engaged music fan. Another benefit was that friends, knowing I was a music head, would ask me what was new on my music radar, and I would generally draw a blank. Once I had a blog, I could easily refer to the blog to remind myself of what I was into. A final motivation was to promote music that I am a fan of in the hopes that others will listen. I rarely post a negative review because I don’t have the energy to listen and write about something I don’t like.
When I think of a music critic, I think of a professional writer employed by a publication or website. These professionals are typically assigned an album to review; therefore, their reviews are both positive and negative. A handful of music critics are like sports columnists—they write about whatever they want. I have read many music reviews (although fewer these days because of streaming), and I sense that the reviewer can be a fan, but they don’t have to be. In fact, there may be an advantage to not being a fan to have a more journalistic detachment with the subject.
If you regularly read this blog, you will notice that it is often in the first person with extensive use of the word “I.” My wife, who edits my blog, frequently teases me that there is too much “I” in my content. I recently wrote a post where I deliberately wrote in the third person and avoided using “I” (however, I failed in the postscript and fell back into the first person). The fact that I write my reviews so much in the first person makes me a blogger vs. a music critic. As a music blogger, I am a fan first and a critic second, whereas for a music critic, criticism is the priority. My music posts are less critical reviews than memorializing my relationship with a recording.
My blog posts are almost autobiographical, so I conclude that I am not a music critic and have no desire to be one. I am a music enthusiast (AKA music head) who wants to write about my relationship with music, especially new music. You will continue to get a lot of first-person narratives and the word “I” if you read Catchgroove.com.
Inspired by Miles Davis- Miles In France 1963 & 1964 – Miles Davis Quintet: The Bootleg Series, Vol. 8
Until recently, I gobbled up every Miles Davis CD box set Columbia (and other labels) could produce. But high-resolution streaming (I use Tidal) has disrupted that run. High-resolution streaming offers a lot:
- It is inexpensive (I pay $12 a month for Tidal).
- Quality – at worst, CD quality; at best, 24-bit/96 kHz FLAC.
- Extensive catalog.
- Portability – you can listen on your smartphone – you can even download when you have to be offline.
- Suggested music based on the streamer’s algorithm – I have been pleased with the suggestions.
- Ease of use – you can use your phone as your remote to operate your streaming device – you will never get off the couch again!
Steaming does have downsides, too:
- The artist gets screwed – now this is a debatable point as most of the streaming revenue goes to “rights holders” – which are often not the artists – that is not the streaming services’ fault – but no matter what, when you buy physical media (vinyl and CDs) more money is likely to go to the artist’s pocket.
- There is missing content—often, box sets are not issued in full-on streaming services but are merely a sampler; mono reissues are typically unavailable, some artists refuse to make their content available on streaming, etc.
- Finding content can be challenging, even if you know the artist’s name and album/song name.
- Given reissues – what version is on the streaming service is a crap shoot.
- Packaging: There is no pretty album cover to hold in your hand, no liner notes to read, etc.
- As a 65-year-old, it is weird not to own physical media (see my collection below).
I immediately wanted a physical copy when I saw this new Miles Davis set. There were two options: vinyl ($225) or CD ($80). But I also saw it was on Tidal as a 24-bit/44.1 kHz FLAC (included in my monthly subscription).
Like Bob Dylan, Miles Davis’ Columbia recording vault is bottomless. This is the eighth Miles bootleg collection, focused on live recordings from Europe during the birth of the Miles Davis Second Great Quintet in 1963 and 1964. The live recording quality is outstanding.
Miles Davis Quintet was the jazz legend’s primary ensemble format from 1955 to early 1969. It had various iterations. The first “great” quintet featured John Coltrane, and the second great quintet featured a bunch of kids: Herbie Hancock on piano, Ron Carter on bass, Tony Williams on drums, and Wayne Shorter on saxophone. These “kids” would all have great careers on their own. This box set is from five live performances, with George Coleman on sax for the first three (1963) and Wayne Shorter (1964) for the last two.
I love Miles Davis’s live recordings. On studio recordings, his playing is generally mellow and quiet (literally muted). It would almost lead you to believe Davis is focused on tone vs. technique. But live, you realize what a brilliant and powerful trumpet player he is. On these live recordings, Miles is at the top of his game. I assume his young virtuosic sidemen are pushing him, and that invigorates him. This is an outstanding recording (audio quality) that captures an essential jazz ensemble exploding onto the scene in front of a passionate French fan base at the absolute height of their powers.
But do I need this collection on my LP or CD shelf? How often will I listen to nearly six hours of Miles in concert? How frequently will I enjoy the 20-page (LP, 32 for CD) book that includes dozens of unseen photos, ephemera, and extensive liner notes by noted journalist Marcus J. Moore? Maybe listen to the set five times? Read the book once? Columbia and the Miles Davis estate are not hurting for money.
I will resist the temptation to buy a physical copy and enjoy Miles In France 1963 & 1964—Miles Davis Quintet: The Bootleg Series, Vol. 8 via streaming. Meanwhile, I will do my best to enjoy the several Miles box sets I have not listened to in a long time.
My introduction to Sadler Vaden was seeing him live as part of Jason Isbell and The 400 Unit. At one point during the show, Isbell turned over frontman duties to Vaden to perform “Honeysuckle Blue” from Vaden’s old band, Drivin N Cryin (the song is also on Jason Isbell and The 400 Unit’s Georgia Blue album). Vaden’s performance blew me away. This was not just a guitar gunslinger for hire but a special ingredient in Isbell’s band (Sadler has been with Isbell since 2013).
The next time Sadler appeared in my consciousness was when I noticed that he produced Morgan Wade’s major label debut, Reckless (2021). My streaming service’s (Tidal) algorithm recently suggested Vaden’s latest solo album, 2024’s Dad Rock. I gave it one listen and was immediately impressed.
Dad Rock is a stew of 70s classic rock vibes. I hear Joe Walsh (his big riff guitar, not his cartoonish vocals), Big Star, The Stones, Pink Floyd, etc., but also some contemporary sounds, like Spoon.
Dad Rock was produced by Sadler Vaden, engineered by Owen Lewis and Bobby Holland, mixed by Lewis, and mastered by Richard Dodd. Most of the album is original songs written by Vaden (“Dove” was co-written with Joel Hamilton, and “Staying Alive” is a cover of a The Whigs’ song). Musicians include Vaden (vocals, guitars, keys), Fred Eltringham (drums), Julian Dorio (drums), Timothy Deaux (bass), Dominic Davis (bass), Elliot Easton of The Cars (lead, 12-string and acoustic guitars), Benmont Tench from Tom Petty’s band (piano, organ), Art Edmaiston (tenor saxophone), Kirk Smothers (baritone saxophone) and Marc Franklin (trumpet, horn arrangement).
Side A opens with “Townsend’s Theme,” an instrumental named after Sadler’s young son. It has a nice Pink Floyd vibe. “Dove” has an epic arena rock feel and reminds me of Secret Machines (a mid-00s alt-rock band). “The New You” is acoustic-forward folk rock with a wink to Big Star. “Staying Alive” opens with Joe Walsh-like power cords and alternates with twangy power pop.
Side B opens with “Holes,” which sounds like an Americana version of Spoon. “The Rescuer” has Stones swagger, including a Stones-sounding horn section. This is my favorite track on the album. “I’ll Always Come Back” has a Jayhawks vibe. “Two Balloons” is a gorgeous nod to the sound of Big Star.
I love great guitarists who know how to draw attention to the song rather than being the guitar hero. Sadler Vaden is one of those guitarists. This album will likely fly under the radar but deserves more attention.
Allan Sparhawk (Low) on Pitchfork’s Instagram recently reminded me how great this album is. He rated it 10 out of 10.
You could not have been alive in the summer of 1978 without being aware of The Cars’ “Just What I Needed” and “My Best Friend’s Girl.” At the time, I was a budding music snob and looked down my nose at their music – considering it bubblegum. But they were a guilty pleasure. I didn’t own the album back then, so I did not know the rest of the album beyond the two hits above, plus “Good Times Roll,” “You’re All I’ve Got Tonight,” and “Bye Bye Love.” Given the cost, you had to prioritize your album purchases in those days. No reason to waste money on something that could easily be heard on the radio. In recent years, I picked up a cheap vinyl copy for my collection.
The Cars had an incredible five-album run from 1978 through 1984. But this 1978 debut brilliantly captured what would happen to music in the 1980s. They defined New Wave music. In hindsight, I have underrated their greatness.
Music critic Robert Palmer, who has written for The New York Times and Rolling Stone, described the Cars’ musical style as follows: “They have taken some important but disparate contemporary trends—punk minimalism, the labyrinthine synthesizer and guitar textures of art rock, the ’50s rockabilly revival and the melodious terseness of power pop—and mixed them into a personal and appealing blend.”
Side One of the album opens with an incredible three-song sequence: “Good Times Roll,” “My Best Friend’s Girl,” and “Just What I Needed.” Three hits in a row! The next song, “I’m In Touch With Your World,” takes The Cars formula, slows it down, and goes for quirky. “Don’t Cha Stop” felt like it could have been a hit, but it was just a touch less catchy than the hits.
Side Two opens with a one-two punch of “You’re All I’ve Got Tonight” and “Bye Bye Love”—more hits. “Moving In Stereo” is the coolest non-hit on the album. It has a spooky pop-Velvet Underground vibe. “All Mixed Up” closes that album with a completely different vibe—more of a 60s psychedelic sound. It seems a bit out of place on the album, but it is still a good song.
This is a fantastic debut—it has a bunch of hits, and the non-hits are quality deep tracks that are not filler. If you could only have one The Cars album, this would be it.
On October 29, 2024, I had my second open heart surgery to replace an artificial aortic heart valve (tissue) that was installed in 2011 (this blog was started during my recovery from that surgery). I am recovering and grateful to the medical technology that fixed me and the Abbott Northwestern/Minneapolis Heart Institute medical professionals who cared for me. I am also thankful to family and friends who helped, worried and prayed for me. Most of all, I thank my wife, Laura, my primary caregiver and, more importantly, the love of my life for over four decades.
Here is the background:(warning: some of the images below may bother some readers)
In my late 40s, I was diagnosed with a bicuspid aortic heart valve. The bicuspid valve was something I was born with and never knew was an issue until it was diagnosed. I had no cardio problems; I ran at least a marathon annually. However, as part of my annual exam, my doctor noticed that my EKG was not right and referred me to a cardiologist, who, in turn, diagnosed a bicuspid aortic valve. Once diagnosed, the plan was to check it annually via an echocardiogram and other tests. The assumption was that, at some point, the bicuspid valve would need to be replaced with an artificial valve.
Bicuspid valves are highly susceptible to stenosis (a thickening and narrowing of the valve that restricts blood flow) and/or aortic regurgitation (blood flow leaks backward into the heart due to the stenosis). This can also happen to normal tricuspid valves, but bicuspid valves are more susceptible to issues. The annual check-ups would monitor the progression of stenosis and regurgitation. Between yearly check-ups, the cardiologist said to watch for “diminished performance.” I asked, “What the heck does that mean” and he assured me that as a runner, I would notice (slower times, shortness of breath, etc.).
In the summer of 2011, I noticed “diminished performance.” I made an appointment with my cardiologist, and between a fresh echocardiogram and my symptoms, he declared it was time for surgery to replace my valve, and he hooked me up with a thoracic surgeon.
The surgeon explained my options: a mechanical or tissue valve (derived from a pig or cattle). He also noted that in addition to the bicuspid valve, I also had a weak aorta – a common genetic defect when you have a bicuspid valve. When you hear about a marathoner who dies at the finish line, it is usually because they had an undiagnosed bicuspid valve and weak aorta that ballooned and exploded (aneurysm) under the stress of the marathon. I had been lucky that never happened to me. As part of the valve replacement, he would replace the aorta with a Teflon pipe (my terminology, not his). The pros of mechanical valves are that they last a very long time. However, they require blood thinners that, in essence, make you a hemophiliac (mechanical valves also have an annoying clicking sound). A tissue valve does not require blood thinners (or any drugs to support it) and doesn’t click. However, they only had a useful life of 10-15 years, at which point you need to have it replaced. Given my active lifestyle, I decided on the tissue valve, knowing that if I lived long enough, I would likely need to replace it twice. Whether tissue or mechanical, it would be a significant surgery (crack your chest open) with a 6-week recovery.
On September 1, 2011, I had the surgery. The first few weeks were tough – recovering from having your chest cracked open was the issue, not the actual valve and aorta replacements. However, as each week passed, I felt better, and by the 6-week mark, I felt fantastic – my cardio fitness felt like I was a young man again. I could jog a mile.
Fast forward to this past summer, and I started to feel that “diminished performance” (shortness of breath) again. At the end of July, I got COVID – it was a minor case, but I developed asthma-like symptoms. At my annual cardiology appointment (September 4), it was determined that my artificial valve was showing some wear, but not significantly from prior years. There was concern that perhaps I had some arterial blockages that were causing the shortness of breath issue, so more testing was ordered. It was suggested that my asthma-like symptoms could be related to my heart. As the weeks went by, my shortness of breath got worse and worse. I also retained water (my ankles were swelled, and my stomach felt bloated). An angiogram determined that my arteries were not the issue but that my artificial valve was now quickly failing and that it would need to be replaced as soon as surgery could be scheduled. The replacement would need to be a surgical valve replacement – meaning open-heart surgery again. When I got my first valve in 2011, I had hoped that by the time I inevitably needed a new valve, I would be able to fix it with the less invasive transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) solution. Unfortunately, given my age and general good health, a TAVR was not in the cards for me – but next time (hopefully 15 years from now), I will be a TAVR candidate.
The new valve is an Edwards INSPIRIS RESILIA aortic valve. It is a bovine (cattle vs. pig) pericardial tissue valve. The beauty of new valves is they are specifically designed to be “replaced” by a transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) down the line. The Edward valve is designed to have a TAVR slip inside of it.
I was initially scheduled for surgery on November 12. I met with the surgeon on October 23, 2024; she was concerned about my escalating symptoms (I was now getting shortness of breath merely walking across the room, could not lay prone, and could barely make it up a flight of stairs). She ordered a new echocardiogram to look at the state of the valve. A few days later, I got the echo, and when the surgeon saw the results, she immediately called me and said, “You are coming in tomorrow!” My valve had significantly deteriorated since the last echo in early September. This was good news to us, as we were getting pretty spooked by my quickly deteriorating condition.
Surgery was on October 29, and sure enough, the old artificial tissue valve (which was porcine, AKA pig) was in awful condition. Below is a stock picture of what the valve looked like when it was first installed and a photo of what it looked like after removal by the surgeon. The significant gaps in the “after” photo are why I had so much trouble breathing. It turns out that the St. Jude Trifecta valve I had installed has been taken off the market as it has not performed as well as its competitors. My surgeon said I was lucky to get thirteen years out of it – most were failing at the eight-year mark.
I woke up in the ICU at about 9:00 AM on October 30 to begin my recovery. I felt about the same level of awful as I remembered from 2011. However, the next several days in the hospital were rougher than I recalled from 2011 (as a dear friend says, “A remodel is messier than new construction”). I assume that is because I was 13 years older and in a much weaker state entering surgery in 2024 compared to 2011. I had intestinal problems in reaction to drugs, and I had a couple of atrial fibrillation (Afib or AF) incidents. I was well enough to be released from the hospital in the early evening on Monday, November 4, 2024 (I was in the hospital for seven days).
As I write this post, I am two weeks past the surgery date, and I am recovering nicely. I have lost twenty pounds – primarily due to my heart condition causing me to retain water. The asthma-like symptoms have disappeared, and the water retention is fading (ankle swelling is decreasing, and stomach bloating is diminishing). My cardio is getting stronger (I can walk about a half mile, and I am getting less winded on stairs, and soon, I will start formal cardiac rehab). I have not been on narcotics since I was in the hospital – I can manage the pain with Tylenol – and the pain is a bit less as each day passes. I am on a bunch of drugs to manage potential Afib, stroke risk, water retention, blood pressure, cholesterol, etc. Hopefully, most of these drugs will not be necessary in a few months.
So, this second open heart surgery was a success. I am particularly grateful to my thoracic surgeon, Dr. Sarah Palmer, for escalating my surgery—I am not sure I would have made it to November 12, 2024 (the original surgery date). I am hopeful that I live long enough to require a third replacement valve, and that will be the less invasive TAVR solution.
I was introduced to Maggie Rose at the Sacred Rose Festival (Chicago) in the summer of 2022. I found her an engaging performer. However, she was a bit hard to categorize: Was she country, Americana, soul, pop, or rock? After seeing her live, I checked out her recordings, which were meh. When No One Gets Out Alive came out in April of 2024, I gave it a listen on streaming, and I was instantly smitten. It was a throwback to the late 70s Laurel Canyon singer-songwriter vibe I grew up on. I have consistently returned to the album since it was released, and it will be on my Top-10 for 2024. It recently received a Grammy nomination for best Americana album.
Rose has a great voice (I would put it in the Linda Ronstadt category of greatness), but the magic here is in combining her powerhouse vocals with great songs and gorgeous and rich arrangements.
The album is produced by Muscle Shoals FAME-trained producer, audio engineer, mixer, and musician Ben Tanner. The band on the album is guitarist Sadler Vaden and drummer Chad Gamble from Jason Isbell’s 400 Unit, keyboardist Peter Levin (Amanda Shires, Gregg Allman), bassist Zac Cockrell (Alabama Shakes), keyboardist Kaitlyn Connor and guitarist Kyle Lewis from Rose’s band. I can’t emphasize the great sound that comes out of this ensemble.
In a Billboard article shortly after the album’s release, Rose says: “The theme of this record is using this finite amount of time well while we have it.” According to Billboard, she was in a reflective mood as she wrote and recorded the dynamic work, having gone through the pandemic, seen some friendships come to their natural conclusion, and lost her best friend’s dad to cancer. “All these things that made me feel connected to my community were gone,” she says.
The album has no bad tracks, but if you have commitment issues and only want to listen to one song, I recommend the first/titular track: “No One Gets Alive.”
If you are a fan of Linda Ronstadt, Bonnie Raitt, Dusty Springfield, Shelby Lynn, and ambitious studio arrangements, you will like this album. In the late 1970s, this would have been a hit album.
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