Motel Jam Time With D&B

The first time I heard Delaney And Bonnie was on the Crossroads Box set that was a four CD Eric Clapton Retrospective. It was a song that was featured on an album by Delaney and Bonnie and Eric Clapton was the lead guitar player. It was pretty good. About a year later MTV had a special on Eric Clapton and the same song was featured. It sounded better then the first time I heard it. I did not know a lot about Delaney and Bonnie, but I made a mental check that I will have to find some of their music. It did not take long to find them on cassette, but LP was a bit tougher, not because it was rare, it was just a very unknown husband and wife band that very few people heard of. The name on the record had Eric Clapton on and that maybe was the only way that this was still in print.

I found the cassette and brought it home to listen to. It was really well done and I liked the rest of the songs beside the one on the Box set. It was good old fashion rock and roll and really liked what I heard. I also wanted to know more about what they put out musically. I really had problems all the way around. I even asked people at tag sales, and some people laughed because they were in the same boat I was or they were scratching their heads and saying who? It more then likely was not the most recognized group of it's time. Looking at the the cassette now I could understand that. But it had most of Derek and The Dominos and even more important at the time Dave Mason. All in all it was a great live document.



Years later I decided to revisit their music. I needed to really hear if I was missing something. I decided to buy more of their catalog. I had to find something that made another wonderful band be ignored. It was tough to pick because all the music is so good. It's mix of R&B, Soul, Rock, Blues, Gospel and so much more. Each album makes you want to hear the genre they just put down on record. I went back to the albums I originally owned and decided to play them all. I heard great music in all of them. That was a big problem because I wanted to do just one album. I decided to stumble on two albums and really listen to them.



It was a hard pick but picking Motel Shot was the one that needed to be talked about. Every moment of this album is a mix of wonderful genres. The guest stars on this album too. People like Gram Parsons, Joe Cocker, Dave Mason, Duane Allman, John Hartford, Leon Russell, and many great session players. The music tells the tale of how great Delaney and Bonnie were. They are not in your music history books, but damn they really make you love this greatness of good old fashion roots music. Check out this album and I am sure you will find your reason to love it. Enjoy!

Living The Canned Heat Blues

The other day I grabbed all my classic 1960's Music and DVD's and brainstormed ideas on what to write about. There was a lot to go through. I have both the Woodstock 6CD set and the Monterey Pop Box Set. I also have both DVD box sets of each festival. I also grabbed my Fillmore DVD and music sets. I even at one point wanted to do a Ten Years After Blog post, but that fell apart at the last moment do not enough information. Don't worry though I will get to them soon. I am a huge fan of theirs and I really want to talk about them. The Blues Boogie is some great stuff. I narrowed down the ideas to artists played both Woodstock and Monterey Pop festivals. Since I did Hendrix, Jefferson Airplane, The Who, Grateful Dead on past posts I figure I try something different.

I asked my uncle about Canned Heat. He told me that after seeing them at Woodstock he was speechless. He did not know what to think. He loved their ability to jam and play so hard that it seemed like the last gig for them on planet earth. He told me that their live album is so much better then the studio material. The live stuff showed that they can crank it up and let loose for sometimes a half and hour. Then I mentioned to him I found a copy of Living The Blues on CD. His eyes looked at me and his jaw dropped. He wanted a copy right there. I pulled out the CD and handed him the whole 2CD set. I told him that he could keep it, because I bought two. He smiled and ran to the closest stereo in the house. He cranked up the CD all the way up and was in heaven.



I was happy to support his Canned Heat habit and for me it was an idea I could not refuse. I looked and listened to all my Canned Heat albums. I realized after a while the album I wanted to do was staring me right in the face. I should do Living the Blues. It was half studio and half live. It just happens that the live part was one 41 minute piece of music. That was okay by me because that song has really never been a part of any other Canned Heat album. The other reason that this album had one of their biggest hits called "Going Up The Country."

I decided to grab my copy of the album and listen to it with the volume cranked up too. It was not a bad idea. I had a copy of the record and remember how "Refried Boogie" was 40 minutes long over two sides of record. I also remember the girl I was dating at the time committed the album to tape for me. I used to and still do play that tape when I have a chance. It was great hearing the cracks and pops of the record. It was always great to listen to stuff I put on tape from record. The memories were great and something I more then will remember for the rest of my life.



Canned Heat had an interesting story. There popular years from 1966-1970 they had some great music and wonderful albums. These albums were not classic in the sense, but still were pretty damn good. In 1970 the man in the middle picture (Alan Wilson) died of a drug overdose. Later the lead singer who sang falsetto on the hit "Going Up The Country" Bob Hite the music was quickly over as soon as it begain. I picked this album because of the memories, and this album for me packed a few. If you can find it, get it. Enjoy a boogie and have fun hearing something that is really part of American Blues. For this I promise you will enjoy!

Sssh The Secret Words Are, Built To Spill

Back in 1997 MTV did a feature on up and coming bands hitting the college circuit. I knew that I was not going to a college that these bands were featured I fugure I ask friends who they had coming for these spring weekends. One friend told me that one band they were getting was a band called Soul Asylum. Another friend told me that he was getting some band I never heard of and still to this day cannot remember. Good thing, because they never made it big. But one band that another friend had was a band called Built To Spill. I saw the TV special and thought that this was my chance. I had nothing to loose, hey the price to see them was cheap and the music cannot be that bad. What I heard was great. If it was the only good song at the show then I was cool with that.

At the show my friend too had heard very little and was excited. He wanted something good that year because last spring they had some pretty crappy bands come to the college he was at. When I told him what I saw them on MTV and it looked pretty good he was hoping I was right. The lights dimmed and we were ready. After the first song we were screaming for more. He looked at me and told me that this was awesome. Song after song they got better and better. I think I found a new band. I really liked their heavy Neil Young and Crazy Horse moments and I also liked the lyrics to their own songs. What was the kicker was a version of "Cortez The Killer," a Neil Young song from the mid 70's and one of my favorites. They played this for about fifteen minutes. The crowd loved it, but I am not sure they knew what it was, but I did and I was really happy. At the end of the show I went to the merchandise table and bought a few things.



Built to Spill is a band that I would easily put in my top 20 list. They are full of great lyrics and also great albums. Even better they are awesome live. Their obvious influence of Neil Young is really scene when you see them live. They cover his songs with long and full of energy like no other. Take that live album that put out. As I mentioned above, only Built To Spill could do something like that. Yea, you may say that Pearl Jam can do it as well, but can they really play a song twenty minutes and keep the song intact like Built To Spill. That I think what makes Built To Spill so great. They are good at keeping the attention of songs like that that you are transformed into a time where this music is so good. There covers are just wonderful and you feel like they actually wrote the songs.

The music of Built To Spill is got some great hooks, and most of some catchy songs. Each time I hear a song by them I feel like that I know the words and I can sing along with them. The wonderful interplay of guitars and Doug Martsch vocals and lyrics are something I always thought was Built To Spill's strong suit. On the Built To Spill Keep It Like A Secret, the opener is the killer. Many bands wish they could have an opener like "The Plan." The words, the music it's all right there. What the band does so well is the fact that all those long song's on previous albums (what drew me to them in the first place) now these short blasts of twists and turns are in shorter form. Built to Spill still demand that listener meet them on their own terms -- these just happen to be the easiest terms to understand in their catalog. (AM)



you were wrong
when you said
everything's gunna be alright
yeah you were wrong
when you said
everything's gunna be alright

you were right
when you said
all that glitters isn't gold
you were right when you said
all we are is dust in the wind
you were right when you said
we are all just bricks in the wall
and when you said manic depression's a frustrating mess

you were wrong
when you said
everything's gunna be alright
yeah you were wrong
when you said
everything's gunna be alright
you were wrong
when you said
everything's gunna be alright

you were right when you said
you can't always get what you want
you were right when you said
it's a hard rain's gunna fall
you were right when you said
we're still running against the wind
life goes on long after
the thrill of living is gone
you were right when you said
this is the end

Do you have to think about it?
Do you have to think about it?
Do you have to think about it?
Do you have to think about it?



Every song on this album is a true gem. It will make you wonder why this band is not on the top of the world. Well, in my world they are just great. Well done, and full of great energy. Like the lyrics above for "You Were Right" Those words are so great and still is one of my favorite songs ever. It's well done and the music that goes along with it makes it just great. I have seen them a few times and still in awe on how they pull it off so perfectly. Built To Spill is one band no matter what they do, they still are fresh and wonderful to the ears. This is a great album with along with their others make a case for Built To Spill being one of the best Indie Rock bands ever. They maybe be on a major label, but they are not minor by any means. Enjoy!!

Mr. Shorter, The Soothsayer

Who is the man who had five albums as a leader of his own band plus put was part of a Miles Davis Quintet who also put out five albums, was on Miles Davis's Bitches Brew and founded the Jazz fusion band Weather Report? Anyone know this answer. The man we speak of is Wayne Shorter. He also played on Steely Dan and a Rolling Stones albums. Wayne Shorter is one of my favorite musicians to listen to. Wayne Shorter is extremely prolific and his music and his songs tell the tale. Every once in a while I will grab someones CD and notice that a Wayne Shorter song is on it. It is great to hear someone else do his songs.

What makes Wayne Shorter so great is the fact that his compositions in the Miles Davis Quintet were amazing. They are the ones that you remember as a listener and really wonder how such beautiful music like this is created. It's almost when you hear songs like "All The Things You Are" or "All of You" (a Cole Porter Classic) and lastly one of my favorites "Bye Bye Blackbird." Wayne used to write wonderful pieces that just worked so well. After plenty of listening you hear that theme of what makes a great piece. Some Jazz people really put Wayne Shorter as one of the best writers in the Jazz world. I went to see Joshua Redman one day and he spoke for about five minutes about how he loved the music of Wayne Shorter. It meant a lot to me to hear that.



His catalog of song is quite nice to hear. His two compositions on Bitches Brew are quite impressive musically and the form is great as well. Miles Davis had some great respect for his musical placement of notes and let him write a majority of the songs in the quintet he was in.
Wayne Shorter eventually developed his own more succinct manner on tenor sax, retaining the tough tone quality and intensity and, in later years, adding an element of funk. On soprano, Shorter is almost another player entirely, his lovely tone shining like a light beam, his sensibilities attuned more to lyrical thoughts, his choice of notes becoming more spare as his career unfolded.(AM) Even the one International type album he did with Milton Nascimento is classic. The attractive side trip into Brazilian-American tropicalismo was something I really enjoy. It shows he could be put in any good musical genre and do well at it.



The album's five originals and one arrangement (of Sibelius' "Valse Triste") show a multi-layered complexity that seems effortless even as it weaves together contributions from a very strong, stylistic sextet. Of particular interest is the interplay of the three horn players, including altoist James Spaulding and trumpeter Freddie Hubbard. As a performer, Shorter also shows a lot of strength, with fluid, at times subtly evocative, solos that bloom with energy without ever seeming frantic or harsh. The title track shows Shorter at his most forceful and is one of the most passionate moments on the album, but even here, beauty seems to come first, while his low-key standard "Lady Day" embodies grace and calmness in every moment. The album was recorded during his most prolific time in the 1960's, but sadly never saw the light of day till the late 70's.

Wayne Shorter's music is something to experience I suggest many albums, but to me this is the one to get. There is so many albums that he made his own and that he really kicked major butt on. Even the lineup of musicians on his albums are first rate. You even have his rhythm section from the Miles Davis Quintet from the 1960's on this. How can you go wrong. The music tells the tale and let Wayne Shorter tell it to you. After a while you as well will be telling all your friends that your new/old favorite musician is Wayne Shorter. After this I suggest others, but that will be for another post. Enjoy!

Eric and The Dominos Live!

The first time I heard Derek and The Dominos was when I bought the Eric Clapton Crossroads box set in 1989. I got the box set because my mother told me if I behaved in the mall I could get some music. It was also near my birthday so I asked if this could be a good behavior and a birthday present in one. She reluctantly agreed to it, and I purchased this great box set. This was in a long line of musical gifts for my birthday or just because I was a good boy. This lasted four years. There was so much there that I needed to listen to because I was unfamiliar with most of it. I knew a little about Cream. I had some knowledge on John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers. I knew few songs from Eric Clapton's solo career. The Yardbirds I had a cheap best of that was no longer then twenty minutes long. The Derek and the Dominos stuff I knew the song everybody knew and was played on the radio way to much. I needed to know more.

In 1990. I picked up the Derek and The Dominos box set and studied that for quite a while. The music on the Crossroads Box that I got in 1989 just teased about them. I picked up the Derek and the Dominos box set for a reason. One, I did not have the full album; and two I bought the box set because I wanted the two sessions CD's to hear how they made this wonderful and one off album. Since everybody knows the story of Derek and the Dominos I don't need to tell you the story. But for me the story stopped when at one point they studio and live album did not tell you more. One story I heard is the live album did not really give much of a document on the great music they played night after night. It is considered a great live recording from that era. I wanted to hear more.



My uncle told me that he saw them play and the songs on the LP was just a tip of the iceberg. He played all kinds of stuff. When I was doing my research for this post I saw that some shows had guest artist like Delaney Bramlett (Delaney and his wife did a bunch of albums and Eric Clapton played on a few),and some of the New York City shows had the other great guitar player on the album called Duane Allman. The live album my uncle had was great. I made a tape copy for the car and loved every minute of the extended jams and the wonderful guitar playing of Eric Clapton. It made me think that there should be more.

I got that wish in 1994 when I saw this 2CD set of Derek and the Dominos Live at the Fillmore. Once again I realized that there was so much magic that did happen at the Fillmore. I have plenty of Fillmore recording in my collection. Each has it's own great story. The magic that was created there tells me that I wish I could go back in time and be at some of these shows. The night Derek and The Dominos played must have been a great time. The best Eric Clapton showcased the blues is right here.



Looking for some great live album to hear how it once was? This is a wonderful addition to your collection. Eric and the rest of the band show how great they really could be. Yea, the Dominos only made one album, but that one album had all sorts of gems, but the real gem is the live music. Transport yourself to 1970 and really see that the music is something. "Let it Rain" is amazing and even more is the Hendrix's "Little Wing" and "Why Does Your Love Have To Be Sad." Everything is very good and classic Clapton. Enjoy!

Flying Robyn Hitchcock Sighting!

My first Robyn Hitchcock experience was when I was in High School. I heard his music on someones Walkman and asked that person who he was. He told me that it was the modern day Syd Barrett. The music was pretty good, but the lyrics were quite warped and full of so much imagery. The album was called Perspex Island and It was not one of his better efforts, but still a decent album. The album came out in 1991 and still to this day is the one I got started on my Robyn Hitchcock fixation.

Robyn has always been a bit odd, ever since his band The Soft Boys took the Post-Punk world by storm. He took great pride of being a spiritual relative of Syd Barrett. He could have fit in nicely in the 60's with either Bob Dylan or the Psychedelic movement. His words were warped and showed every part of his twisted ideas. His lives shows are a treat because he talks in this warped way too. He mentions these odd ideas and philosophy that he actually knows what he is talking about. Here is a sense of his odd lyrics to a song called "1974."



You have two coffees
One of them is one coffee too many for you
On a health kick
Trying to lead a middle-aged life
Well, it's either that or drop dead
Wait 'til you get older than this
And then turn around and tell me I was young for my age
Yeah

And it feels like 1974
Waiting for the waves to come and crash on the shore
But you're far in land
You're in funky denim wonderland
You and David Crosby and a bloke with no hand
You've got hair in places
Most people haven't got brains
Ooh

But it feels like 1974
Syd Barrett's last session, he can't sing anymore
He's gonna have to be Roger now for the rest of his life
Oh

Enough about me, let's talk about you
You were working at the Earth Exchange at half twenty-two
'Rebel Rebel' was your favorite song
On the Archway Road
Where it all belongs
All those molecules of time
That you thought you'd shed forever
All those inches of time
That you thought you could just say bye-bye

And as Nixon left the White House
You could hear people say,
"They'll never rehabilitate that mother
No way."
Yep

Whirry-whirry goes the helicopter out of my way
I've got president to dump in the void
Ooh

Python's last series and The Guardian said,
"The stench of rotting minds"
But what else could you smell back then?
You didn't have to inhale too hard
You could smell the heads festering in the backyard
There's a baby in a basket and it's taken your name
And one day it'll grow up and say,
"Who are you,
Eh?"

And you say that's where it ended
But I say no no no, it just faded away
August was grey
It feels like 1974
Ghastly mellow Saxophones all over the floor
Feels like 1974
You could vote for Labour, but you can't anymore
Feels like 1974
Digging Led Zeppelin in Grimsby
Oh Christ



The first time I heard that in 1998 I was laughing pretty hard. The lyrics are sly and out there, but they also tell a wonderful story of the 1974. The first time I could actually understand what was actually going on. I did not need to replay the song and catch what he told us, but I did want to replay the song to memorize his words. The funny thing about Robyn Hitchcock over the years is that he has not really conformed to the culture change, like the 80's synth sound or the 90's grunge. He did his own thing most of the time.

His oddballness was always something that kept him as a cult type artist. His music was impressive and noteworthy. He even got on college radio charts with some stuff, but his music was always a great subject of debate. The time I heard him was the early 90's and by the end of the decade I wanted just about everything he put out. I even saw the documentary called Storefront Hitchcock. There he showcased his old and his new music. It for me was a great moment because I loved the informal set up he did.



This new found love for Robyn Hitchcock has spilled all the way to present day. His music has always been something I am always eager to wait for a new release. I have picked up two early box sets and those show his true genius. Lately I just picked up Goodnight Oslo and Propellor Time. Each have shown the Robyn Hitchcock of old. Propellor Time has shown the classic we all know. The album has a great array of special guests. These people include Peter Buck from R.E.M. to Bill Reiflin who played with Robert Fripp and Ministry, and John Paul Jones and Nick Lowe. All these stars make this album a wonderful classic in Robyn's catalog.

But from the first moments, Propellor Time is clearly a Robyn Hitchcock album, and he captains this ship with a steely confidence; the lyrics are typically mysterious and witty without playing too strongly to Hitchcock's fondness for bizarre imagery, his sly vocals fit the music with an uncommon agility and wisdom, and the ten songs blend together like the ingredients of a fine meal. Robyn Hitchcock doesn't really make bad albums, but he doesn't always make legitimately great ones; Propellor Time thankfully feels like one of the high-watermarks of his post-millennial body of work, and it's beautiful, essential listening. Don't forget to go to his early work too and find some gems. Enjoy this one and really understand a true master. (AM)

Team Mogwai

This band, quite simply, rocks. They’re loud. They’re full of riffs and feedback. They’ve got heartbreaking melodies that stomp their way out of the squall. And they’re back with a vengeance. Mogwai, can crush our eardrums or just do a quiet passage better then anybody. What makes them unique is the fact that they do it with such great musicianship that it's hard to see them do with so little effort. They make the best instrumental Post-Rock. It's great to watch this band live because they know that we are smart listeners and with that they don't let up.

Song's like "My Father, My King," "Like Herod," "Stereodee," and my person favorite "Mogwai Fear Satin" can litterly knock one on it's ass as far as some of the best white noise ever. I am not sure how they are not deaf themselves, but they sure can build some songs up intensity and then completely destroy them with one wonderful ear crushing guitar riff. They have added vocals to some of their songs, but most of this is just vocal humming or just vocal undertones with very little sense of lyrics. It's music that nightmares are created and stay with you for a very long time. "Mogwai Fear Satin" is such a song. The 16 minute song slowly climbs with very little going on, and then it knocks you down and runs away from you at the five minute marker and just makes you shake your head and wonder what just happened.



If straight ahead rock and roll is your thing, then I suggest that you do not listen to this band. They will break all forms of ideas and thoughts on how bands should act or perform. Mogwai use the sheer length of an album to their advantage, recording a series of songs that meld together — it's easy to forget where one song begins and the other ends. The record itself takes its time to begin, as the sound of chiming processed guitars and murmured sampled vocals floats to the surface. Throughout the album, the sound of the band keeps shifting, and it's not just through explosions of noise — Mogwai isn't merely jamming, they have a planned vision, subtly texturing their music with small, telling details. When the epic "Mogwai Fears Satan" draws the album to a close, it becomes clear that the band has expanded the horizons of post-rock, creating a record of sonic invention and emotional force that sounds unlike anything their guitar-based contemporaries have created.(AM)

Mogwai does this better any band I know and since Young Team has come out, they been a bit uneven, but that does not distract their wonderful sound and landscape for us to look at. I love the way Mogwai can just make things sound like that you wish you could have created that kind of sound or even that guitar riff. The white noise moments make things that we normally think is chaos is actually some kind of zen reason in the Mogwai world. This is not loud music that should be played at parties (believe me I tried), it should be music that is studied with wonder and awe.



This is another band I heard when I went back to school in 2ooo. I heard very little before that and when I got to school, I told a few DJ that I wanted to do a Progressive, Electronic, Psychedelic radio show and he mentioned to me that I should take a listen to Mogwai, because there very Post-Rock feel and sometimes they sound like instrumental Progressive Rock. I got a copy of Young Team and realized I could squeeze some of their great music into my shows. Mogwai shows us that music can be different and fresh. This music is some of the best out their. Take the time and try this one! Enjoy!