Rylander 7.2

I've been working on the next hard copy edition of The Rylander. I have some new subscribers and am planning on making a big issue this time. There'll be lots to talk about. The international reaction to My Name is Buddy, some reviews of Mavis Staples CD, pictures from Vincent Valdez (the artist who illustrated Buddy and provided drawings for Chavez Ravine) and lots of other stuff too. I may include a review of Ron Sexsmith live, and some recommendations for new DVDs. If there are any Paul Rodgers fans out there...his Live in Glasgow is a good one. Rodgers has one of rock's finest voices, and a masterful stage presence. His band is hot, led by ex-Heart guitarist Howard Leese.
I've been listening to Richard Thompson's Sweet Warrior CD again, and to T Bone Burnett's Proof Through the Night. Enjoying both of them. I'm surprised at how much I'm enjoying Corey Harris's forthcoming reggae album, Zion Crossroads. Neat title...note how it captures both the reggae and blues aspects of Harris ouevre! Why, it even hints at some African roots!
There's a new series of collections issued by Universal Music called Number 1's. All different editions, but I have '70s SOUL, which features one of my favourite tracks of all time. Marvin Gaye's "Got to Give It Up, part 1" is a song which I love to play in the car, cranked up loud. It's sexy and funky, and makes me want to drive with the wind blowing through my hair. Unfortunately this is impossible for me so wind blowing over my scalp just has to do!
The rest of the tracks on the album are not bad either. Parliament, James Brown, Dianna Ross, Rick James, Rufus, Peaches & Herb. A nice bunch of Number 1's indeed.
Oh, and that Bachman-Cummings CD is another good one for the car!

Wilburys and guess who else...

Up to Future Shop today to pick up the deluxe editions of the Traveling Wilburys Collection and Bachman-Cummings Jukebox. Both of these albums contain a DVD, as well as the music that one expects to find on a CD. Where to start?
George Harrison, Tom Petty, Bob Dylan, Jeff Lynne and Roy Orbison combined for one song, and stayed together long enough to create the first classic Wilburys album. It's included here on the first disc, along with two, relatively forgettable unreleased tracks. The sound is fine, everything has been done to present this stuff in the best light. The second album was called Volume 3 (just because) and it is expanded with "Nobody's Child" and "Runaway" two tracks which saw limited release. The third disc is the DVD which has all the Wilburys' videos (5 songs) along with a 25 minute documentary called "The True History of the Traveling Wilburys". It exists mainly as a tribute to the friendly nature of this project, and as a tribute to the lives of Roy Orbison and George Harrison. Excellent stuff. All of this is available in the standard edition, but the deluxe version has a linen box, and a hardcover book filled with pictures, original liner notes and an article by Anthony DeCurtis. Oh, and there's an envelope of memorabilia too. Wilbury pictures and a sticker, and a certificate of authentication with an official number. I have #11128. Not sure how big the edition is! My guess is...BIG!
The other album, by Canadian idols (real idols...not the TV kind) Randy Bachman and Burton Cummings is their take on some of their favourite songs from fifty years of rock'n'roll. They cover Elvis, Fats Domino, the Beatles, Georgie Fame, John Fred & his Playboy Band (whoda-thunkit?), Cliff Richard, Chuck Berry, The Equals and more (it's a jukebox, get it)...they even cover themselves. They polish up their shuffle rendition of "American Woman" with which they opened their 2006 tour. These two guys couldn't stand the sight of each other for a long time, and on the DVD they're so chummy it's almost sickening..."Oh Burton sings so great on this track...Randy lays down a super guitar part on that track..." I guess I should be happy for them, but it seems almost TOO friendly. The album, though, is good listening. Special props to slide guitar soloist Michael "Mickey Zee" Zweig for his work throughout.

where did that weekend go?

Friday night we fed both sons and their girlfriends, my mother-in-law, the neighbor from across the street, and ourselves, and then rushed everyone away so we could drive for an hour to Ball's Falls to a wedding rehearsal at 8pm. Ooops! It was scheduled for 7pm! Oh well! They had everything pretty much sorted when I got there. Then a nice leisurely drive home, along backroads instead of the QEW. Saturday started with swimming (need exercise to manage the diabetes y'know) then the market, groceries, gardening, dog-walking, collapsing in a heap and watching a chick flick (The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants) YIKES! Sunday, the usual morning stuff, then a quick lunch and get dressed for another wedding. The one we rehearsed on Friday. Mark & Sharon (the other 2/3's of the band I play in). This time I arrived ahead of schedule. It was in a little white wooden chruch at the Ball's Falls conservation area, and it was a beautiful spot for a wedding. Nice weather too. Musically? Mark's sister-in-law played the pump organ. Sharon's daughter sang a solo. And at the reception? Sharon's brothers did their country hit parade thing. Great singers both, they each played a black guitar, and sang some Dwight Yoakam, a little Van Morrison, some Don Gibson and more. A good time was had by all. By the time we got home we again collapsed. I read a page of the newest Peter Robinson novel and dropped off...and it's back to work. Good thing too, I need a break! Tomorrow...Bachman-Cummings Jukebox and...the Traveling Wilburys deluxe edition! Maybe some Rolling Stones?

Tuesday's coming...

Friday morning and after a cool week the heat and humidity are back. Whew! I think I'll do my best to stay inside today. Listening to some music, and reading a magazine. Maybe surfin' the interweb. My friend Michael just dropped off some burned CDs for me. Alfie Smith a local bluesman who played at the Sgt. Pepper's 40th Anniversary celebration last weekend. He bluesed-up "Fixin' a Hole". This one is full of trad-blues like "Nobody's Fault But Mine," "St.James Infirmary," "Amazing Grace," and "Soul of a Man." Very Bukka White I'd say! The other discs are mix-tapes, and while I know that term dates me...the fact is that that's exactly what these are. Blur, Okkervil River, Ane Brun with Ron Sexsmith, Xavier Rudd, Matthew Good, the Skydiggers, Bright Eyes, Arcade Fire, Damien Rice, and more. Geez, I feel like Michael is trying to drag me into the 21st Century! Oh, wait a minute...U2 with Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton, there we go.
I've been listening more to that McCartney memory almost full CD, and enjoying it much more. I have found the melodies just as contagious as the best Macca albums of the past. Sure, some of it seems unnecessary, even redundant. And he does have a tendency toward coyness...but Sir Paul knows his way around the studio, and around vocal arrangements. Speaking of harmonies, I listened to The Definitive America for fun, and found that I was appreciating some of the stuff they did, even though I have spent the last 35 years mocking them. "The heat was hot..." indeed! And The Thorns do they same sort of thing. I have the 2 disc set wherein they recorded the album on acoustic instruments. Tasty but too much of a sweet thing.
I'm about to review a handful of new blues albums. Jimmy Thackery, Tab Benoit and Paul Reddick. Been listening to them for a couple of weeks in order to get a handle on them. Gotta love that Reddick! And he's Canadian!
Oh...and why did I say Tuesday's coming? Because the Traveling Wilburys package comes out Tuesday! Finally! I have the two original albums on cassette, and then bought a CD version on a Russian bootleg! But now I'll get them in remastered glory, with a DVD and souvenir memorabilia! Oh boy!
Also coming Tuesday...Randy Bachman and Burton Cummings Jukebox. The core of the Guess Who doing cover versions! They were dynamite live last fall...this album should be fun.

Fretboard Journal...

There are guitar magazines, and there are guitar magazines. A friend loaned me a copy of a recent Guitar World with the Beatles on the cover. Mainly so I could read about Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. But I was struck by the ads. Clearly this mag was aimed at a different generation of guitar players. A fellow named John 5 appeared in a couple of ads for different guitar products. He wore lipstick that made his mouth looked about eight inches wide. Nothing wrong with that but...I'm not the makeup wearing kind of guitar player, myself. I wondered if the same people who knew John 5's work well enough to take his advice on which strings to buy would be interested in the Fab Faux (a bunch of session musicians who play Beatles' songs 'just like the record'). Lots of heavy metal, grunge, etc. players in the ads in this mag. You can buy custom made picks with pictures from Pirates of the Caribbean! Steve Morse explains how to play double-stops. People playing the guitar in contortions that I simply can't get into at this stage of my life. And there's tab for five songs. And that's all well and good. Different strokes for different folks.
There's Acoustic Guitar which has changed its format a few times but always has something of interest, like how best to setup your amplifier for the kind of small gigs I do, and how to play passing chords. AG really covers just about everything you need to know about acoustic guitar, and the interviews are based both on gear and technique.
There's the old stand-by Guitar Player which has always had a fine balance between interviews with players and gear tests. BUT as far as a guitar magazine is concerned...the ultimate for my taste is Fretboard Journal. This quarterly is pricey but worth it. It's like a full colour book that comes out four times a year. And I find I keep it close at hand for all of the three months til the next one arrives, and read each article at least a couple of times. The new one just came out and features BB King on the cover, resplendent in a gold tux, holding on tightly to the latest version of Lucille. There are stories on David Grisman, Z.Vex Pedals and the First Martin OM and some gorgeous photos, and the ads...are beautiful. It's a pleasure to browse through Fretboard Journal, and to revel in the beauty of these instruments both old and new.
Hey, I downloaded a couple of nifty albums from e-music today. Gerry Rafferty's Another World and Gurf Morlix's Toad of Titicaca, both of which are excellent albums. But I noticed that Sir Paul's new one is available for download there too! Imagine! Downloading Macca's music. What's the world coming too! E-music has a dandy selection of Americana and folk music...so it's worth checking out! I've had a subscription there for a year and a half.

Paul McCartney...and...the Boss

The newest album by Sir Paul arrived today, in a special edition, looking almost like a DVD package. But unfold it and amidst all the folds sits two discs, and some typical B&W photos of a smug multi-millionaire sitting on (or is it perched on) a big old chair. Story goes he was working on this album before he put it aside to do Chaos & Creation. Memory Almost Full seems like a continuation of that album in some ways. It's mainly a solo record. The touring band shows up on a couple of songs (and you can hear the difference when they do). It's all produced by David Kahne, and it sounds lush, with snappy and bright acoustic guitars, and Paul's amazing self-harmonies. The guy can still sing. Otherwise...it's quite simply another Paul McCartney album, without a really memorable song. I'll listen to it for a couple of weeks and then file it with the rest of his stuff. Abbey Road will be played much more regularly!
I also picked up Bruce Springsteen's multi-disc Live in Dublin. Two CDs and a DVD of a live show (drawn from 3 consecutive nights in Ireland at The Point in November 2006) all packaged in a digipack. It's a bit hard to get the DVD out of the centre panel, and the picture book seems a bit thin but I really like all these old songs from the Seeger Sessions. Bruce mixes in some classic originals that haven't been played on stage, and it's pretty enthusiastically delivered. Next week...the re-release of The Traveling Wilburys! Can't wait!

Richard Thompson

Well, the new Richard Thompson album arrived, with an extra insert, autographed by RT himself. Very nice. I have been busy with a conference I was hosting at work, so I've only had time to give it one quick cursory listen, but my feeling so far is...I like it! It's called Sweet Warrior and is filled with the electric guitar wizardry for which Thompson is best known. It's an electric, band album. And RT is in top form. He's not showy like Steve Vai (f'rinstance) and he definietly has his own sound. Man does this guy know his way around the fretboard. The lyrical content is suitably doomy and gloomy, some of it about the war, some if it about the people responsioble for the war. I'm going to spend a couple more days listening and will report back.
Picnic today, out in the heat. They're calling for possible thunderstorms. Oh, that'd be too bad!