Used music?

Isn't music meant to be used? Of course it is. That's what we put it out there for. First the creator uses it, all the notes and chords and beats and everything that makes up music in the first place. Then the producer uses that raw material to shape it into his vision of what the performer meant. And if you don't think that's true...read an interview with a producer some time...any producer. Sure they try to be sensitive to the performer and present her in an honest and sympathetic way...but too many times will you read about major artists having songs changed by their producers. It's probably a good thing. Well, back to the argument at hand...then the record company uses the music, as a sales tool. Everybody wants to sell their music...that's why they make it. OK, people without record deals, who only play in their basdement, maybe they don't want to sell it...but they wish they could! Then the listener, or consumer comes along and "consumes" the music. They buy the CD, or mp3s or they might even steal them from bit-torrent sites, they learn how to get FLAC files to play, you know the drill. They use songs to dance to, to sing along with, they use them for exercise, for special celebrations like weddings and birthdays. Music is used to create moods in movies and on TV. Even reality TV has music. Alfred Hitchcock asked Bernard Hermann (who was scoring Hitch's film Lifeboat) "Where does the music come from in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean?" And Hermann replied, "Same place the camera does!" Hitch allowed the music!
Doctors use music in surgery, kids use music as they play, we use music at funerals.
Music is meant to be used...so...buying used music...only makes sense right?
After all...somebody paid for the album once, so the license was paid.
I just traded a bunch of CDs that I wasn't listening to anymore for a bunch of CDs that I'm going to listen to for a while. Things I had missed, or ignored in order to buy the things I was now tired of...things I had 'used up'!
When Neil Young first released On the Beach in 1974 I bought it on the day it came out. Rushed home, put it on the stereo. Thought that the packaging was a bit odd (little did I know what Neil's packaging would look like in the future) and then the music...Yikes! I couldn't stand it, it seemed so raw, unfinished, sloppy. I had followed his career with interest from Buffalo Springfield on. I even knew about the Mynah Birds! I saw them in the audience at the Merv Griffin Show one night. But this? After the classic albums Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere, After the Goldrush, Harvest this was too much to take. I felt like I was being used. Tonight's the Night restored my faith but then came a long stretch of duds as far as I was concerned. Zuma, Long May You Run, American Stars & Bars, I just lost interest. It wasn't 'til the last couple of years that I really got back into Neil's music. The Archive material has covered my favourite years...so that's been great. And suddenly I found myself starting to appreciate these lost years. The raw guitar solos, the "sound". So when I chose On the Beach as one of my trades...it was a calculated gamble. Wow! It's got some great stuff on it. How did I miss it? I don't know. Maybe I was using other music, and didn't have time for Neil. But now he fits in to my framework again. A great lost album. Don't tell me I have to find a copy of American Stars & Bars now! Not Trans though...please!
Also found a couple of Daniel Lanois discs, shine and here is what is just to complete the collection and the deluxe 2 disc set of U2's Boy. This was the first U2 album, and I loved it from the moment I first heard "I Will Follow" being played in a record store in 1980! The Joe Strummer DVD The Future Is Unwritten was also there...and what a film it is! Don't miss it!

Warren Zevon's first album (reissued)

Okay, I know, it's not his first album. But it's really the first one that counts. I have a copy of the real first album on vinyl, that I bought in a department store for 99 cents! But this one is his first album on Asylum Records. Produced by Jackson Browne and featuring some of LA's elite as backup singers, and musicians. It introduced Zevon's peculiar brand of songwriting to the world in a big way. And even more than 30 years later it sounds bright and different than all the other country-rock stuff that was pouring out of LA in those days.
Rhino has put together a 2-disc deluxe set, with the original album on the first disc, and a second disc of demos and alternate takes that serve to flesh out the original album and show us just how fully formed these songs were when Warren and Jackson went into the studio. The demos include "Frank and Jesse James" which was even more fascinating since I had just watched Brad Pitt in the Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford in the past week. Other demos? "The French Inhaler", "Hasten Down the Wind" (in a full band version), "Carmelita", and others. Some solo piano, others with backup (alternate takes) and even a live version of "Mama Couldn't Be Persuaded" from a radio show.
The historical value of these tracks overtakes the limited audio quality of some of the early demos. The warmth of Zevon's voice, the comfortable piano work, gives a hint of the man behind the myth.
Have you read I'll Sleep When I'm Dead? An amazing biography by Warren's ex-wife, it left me wondering what people saw in this virtually irredeemable drunken bully. But there's always real humanity in the lyrics and melodies. He didn't write songs like all those other Rodeo Drive cowboys. There are no werewolves or mercenaries on this album...but the citizens of Zevon's world are us, and our neighbors. "He agrees, he thinks she needs to be free, then she says she'd rather be free..." life is confusing and Zevon captures all that confusion, and gives the listener a sense that...there's somebody out there who understands.
Read the book about Warren's parents, and then listen to "Mama Couldn't Be Persuaded". You'll see what I'm talking about.
The demos were beautifully translated by Jackson Browne's sensitive production to create what has to be one of the 70's classic albums. Phil Everly, a couple of Eagles, some Fleetwood Mac, a Beach Boy and Bonnie Raitt join some of LA's choice session guys (David Lindley, Bob Glaub, Bobby Keys et al) are all here, but this is Warren Zevon's show, his songs, his voice, his vision. And I for one, am glad to have this deluxe package to enjoy.

The Ry Cooder Anthology

There has been a lot of talk on the Rylanders discussion group about this new anthology from Rhino Records.  Ry Cooder has already had 2 different "best of" collections Why Don't You Try Me and River Rescue (and the movie music set Music By...) and the hungry Cooder collector has been dying for a collection that presented rare and hard to get tracks.  Rhino had a project in the works a few years ago called Slide Ruler, which was to be a double disc which included obscure session work and more.  So when The UFO Has Landed was announced people looked at the tracklist and said, "got it, got it, got it..." and then "ONE NEW TRACK!  I'm s'posed to shell out for ONE NEW TRACK!"  Well folks, today's release day, and last night my review copy came in the mail.  I immediately slapped it onto my iPod and gave it a listen, and I have to say..."Yep!  Shell out, because this is a fine album!"

Part of my reason for saying this is that the songs sound so good!  But there are other reasons too. I received a link to a 40 minute interview Joachim Cooder did on KPFK's Global Village last week.  In this interview Joachim explained his choices, his approach, and gave some back story to the whole project.  In this context the album makes sense.  Joachim's memory of his father's work really starts with 1982's The Slide Area (an album Joachim loves, but which many Rylanders found to be Ry's weakest).  So what is it about this album that rocks Joachim's socks? It's the sound, the feel, the vibe.  And when you listen to the tracks he's included here you get that.  

The first disc starts with "Get Rhythm" the title track from Ry's 1987 album.  This Johnny Cash tune just plain rocks out.  If you think Cooder is just a guitar player, you are missing out on his vision of rhythm, his arranging skills, his ideas of harmony.  That's right vocals!  Maybe Ry is no Pavarotti but he surrounds himself with tip-top singers and the vocals tracks become as deep as the guitar tracks.  And that's what Joachim was looking for.  Music that was deep and greasy, with a groove.  This anthology is full of just that.  Even the thinner recordings done on acoustic guitar, Ry's bottleneck floating over the strings, seem heavier and more intense on this album. One of the things I always loved about Cooder's playing was that you could hear his fingers on the strings, you could hear the glass rub against the windings on the strings.  It just sounded real. Years ago, maybe 30, I played an album for a guitar playing friend who said, "Oh, that's Ry Cooder...I can't stand him his records sound so sloppy.  You don't need to have all that extraneous noise!"  What one man's noise is another man's music, I guess.

"Available Space," "On a Monday," Woody Guthrie's "Do Re Mi," and more tracks from early albums find themselves juxtaposed with soundtrack music like "Smells Like Money" from the film Johnny Handsome.  And that rolls into the new track "Let's Work Together" recorded with Buckwheat Zydeco.  And it all just works.  Cooder's obsession with cars and girls reappears over and over, "Crazy 'bout an Automobile" leads into "Drive Like I Never Been Hurt (from this year's I, Flathead) .  

There are 34 tracks (17 per disc), and if it was up to me, this would have been a four disc set, with session tracks and obscurities, but as it stands...it's a darn good cross section of work. Instrumentals, blues, rock, lots of guitar, some mandolin, great drumming from Keltner (and others) and those dandy vocals from Terry Evans, Bobby King and associates.  All wrapped up in a nifty package.  The cover design is a bit goofy to be sure.  It's a cartoon done by an unknown artist (take a look, maybe you can identify who drew it) but inside there a hefty booklet with photos by Susan Titelman from early days on.  My favourite?  The picture on the roof of Sound City Studios, Ry and guitar in front of an Airstream trailer (just like on the first album) that seems imprisoned behind barbed wire!  

An introductory essay by Canadian poet and novelist Michael Ondaatje, and notes on each track by Cooder himself fleshes out the package.  I recommend the set, not just for newcomers but for anyone who calls himself (or herself) a Rylander!   

Arlo Guthrie...

Last night The Who played at Copps Coliseum in Hamilton.  Or, what's left of The Who.  Roger & Pete and their assocciates put on what was described in today's paper as an energetic, classic Who show.  So...why wasn't I there?  Big fan of The Who that I've been ever since my brother swiped a copy of the "I Can't Explain" 45 and gave it to me as something he 'thought I'd like'.  He was right. I wasn't there because I drove to Brock University to see Arlo Guthrie in his Lost World Tour. That's right...Arlo Guthrie!  And you know what...he was great!

He walked out on-stage at 7:30, followed by his band (guitar, bass, drums and his son Abe on keyboard), he sat on a stool centre-stage and picked up a shiny blue 12-string guitar (MacPherson?) and proceeded to play one of my favourite songs from his first album..."Chilling of the Evening".  It's the first song on his 2005 Live In Sydney set too.  And who could argue with it, it's a fine song.  He followed that with a silly tune based on "The Shade of the Old Apple Tree".  And it was that way for most of the night, a serious song, a silly song, prefaced by a story from his past.  And the great thing is...it's a past we share.  Bob Dylan, the Vietnam War, Woodstock, Woody...I was there, through all of it, and so was Arlo.  After a couple of songs he brought out the Burns Sisters, three siblings from Ithaca, NY who added background vocals, and flipped their long hair around.  They were woefully underused, but it's early in the tour and maybe Arlo will give them a solo spot later on.  

The band started to rock out a bit when Arlo kicked off "The Motorcycle Song" but they kept it short, and disappointed people who were just starting to get warmed up.  Then a little later when Abe seemed ready to let fly with a long organ solo, the guitarist jumped in, and stepped on his toes.  But that was about the only miscue all night.  A selection of old classics and songs from a forthcoming album were mixed with a few tributes to Dad Woody making for a great cross section of tunes.  And Arlo's philosophizin' just gets better and better.  I especially enjoyed the quick version of Joseph and the fancy coat, and the moral he drew!  Fabulous!

OK, I hear The Who were really good, but Arlo told his own Woodstock tale.  After all...he played there too! 

Some new music, and stuff...

The new Jackson Browne CD, Time the Conqueror has been on my playlist for a week now, and I can't get enough.  The band is very good, especially Mark Goldenberg on guitar.  I saw them on Leno and they were excellent.  Searching Jackson Browne on eBay led me to the discovery of a very cool blog, Addicted to Vinyl.  Check it out at addictedtovinyl.com/blog/.  

I've had two Albert Lee CDs on order at the local used shop for over 2 years.  Finally last week I got notice that one had arrived.  Road Runner.  I drove up to grab it after work.  Paid, got in the car and took the disc out to play it, and what do you know?  The insert was signed by Albert Lee!  Maybe the previous owner forgot, or maybe he just wasn't much of a fan...but let's just say, it was worth the wait, to get a signed CD by this guitar master!  Oh, and the music's good too!  I picked up the new Buena Vista Social Club Live at Carnegie Hall set too, and while Ry Cooder might complain about the sound quality, the performance is great.  Nice packaging too.  Someone sent me a programme from this show just after it took place...so I have audio and visual souvenirs now!   Lucinda Williams Little Honey is a beautiful sounding album too.  I love the quality of her voice, the directness of her songs, and she always has a hot band.  This time is no exception. And she covers AC/DC!

I also bought myself an 8gig iPod Nano on the weekend, and jammed it with a bunch of these new CDs.  I love shuffling through the album covers, shaking it for a new shuffle.  And it just feels so substantial.   And the white earphones are cool!

Sad news this week as Frankie Venom, lead singer of Hamilton's own Teenage Head passed away.  Only 52 years old.  Their newest CD recorded with Marky Ramone is a delight. That's the way Frankie would want to be remembered. Playing loud and fast rock'n'roll!

Lindsey Buckingham

For the beginner Lindsey Buckingham was the guitar player for Fleetwood Mac, who replaced Bob Welch, who had replaced Dave Walker & Bob Weston, who had replaced Danny Kirwan, who was a replacement for Jeremy Spencer, who had filled in for Peter Green.  Oh, I think that's everybody, except that Lindsey left the band for a while and was replaced by Rick Vito and Billy Burnette, but then the band broke up and when they reformed Lindsey replaced the guys who had taken his place...got all that?  It doesn't matter.  For the purposes of this article Lindsey Buckingham is the solo artist who created such wonderful pop masterpieces as "Go Insane", "Trouble", and the recently released Gift of Screws.

He and his band played at Hamilton Place on Tuesday night and from my seat in the third row, it was one of the absolute best shows I've ever seen/heard.  No fancy stage setup, just four guys and their instruments, and some lighting fixtures.  When they started the audio wash was brilliant, clear, loud, and melodic.  Loud?  Yep!  Painful?  Nope!  

The first two songs were from the new album, and the group played beautifully.  I looked around and thought, "Where's the bass?"  Three guitarists played guitars!  Add the drummer, and where was the bass coming from.  Supplemented by tracks which featured sound effects, bass lines, and maybe some additional harmonies (although that was hard to decide) the sound was full and rich.  They ran through a history of Buckingham's songs, including "Trouble", "Go Insane", the Mac years were represented with "Tusk", "Never Going Back Again", "Big Love", "World Turning" and more.  The new album received its fair share of attention too.

Buckingham's acoustic side was featured in a short unplugged set.  Well, not quite unplugged! Using Renaissance guitars built by Rick Turner the guitarist was able to replicate even nylon string sounds electrically.  The guitars sounded fabulous.  

The major disappointment of the night was the lack of an audience.  Only about 800 fans in a hall that holds 2200 left lots of empty seats, but Buckingham played as if the room was full.  Flailing his guitar, sometimes hunched over it, he seemed like a man possessed.  Passion?  It was there in buckets!  What a show!  Right down to the encore, more Mac, more solo, more news stuff! What a performer! 

NEW CDs?  Lindsey Buckingham's Gift of Screws, Dion DiMucci's Heroes (a tribute to old time guitar rock that rocks), James Taylor's Covers (Taylorized oldies, excellent), and David Gilmour's Live in Gdansk (beautifully played and recorded, and even presented, but I think it's time for some new material Dave!  After all, how many versions of the On An Island album do we really need?)  

David Lindley...

Well...I went off to Hugh's Room a couple of weeks ago to see Mr. Dave.  Rich and I had a great table right in front of the stage, and for dinner we had the salmon.  It wasn't as good as the salmon I make (a little dijon, some horse radish, wrap 'em in foil and barbecue them gently, opening only to finish them off...don't overcook!) but it was certainly better than the hard slab of fish I ate in Minneapolis last week!  But I digress.  Mr. Dave and his tech arrived about the same time we did, and stacked the stage with seven or so instruments of different sizes and shapes. Bouzouki, Weisenborns, and Lindley's prize electric oud!  Amazing.  Dave disappeared and the tech tuned, and the waiter waited, and so did the audience.  Before too long Mr. Dave arrived decked out in typical polyester garb and he played through most of his new CD (although not in the same order) and in long jam versions.  The guy can play.  I knew that going in, but Rich was amazed, moreso with each tune.  Steve Earle's "Copperhead Road," Warren Zevon's "Monkey Wash Donkey Rinse" or one of Dave's own weird almost surreal classics...like "Cat Food Sandwiches" whatever he played...he sure played the beejeebers out of it.  The Weisenborns sounded full as Dave's fingerpicks flashed and his steel slid up and down the strings.  The bouzoukis added a touch of Europe and the oud?  Well the oud took us all to a place somewhere else.  Somewhere weird.  

After the second set, and no requests...(play "Mercury Blues"..."No!") Dave moved out to the lobby to sign CDs and pose for pictures.  That's the 2 Mr. Dave's together at last!

Look for a 30 page feature on Lindley in the new Fretboard Journal coming soon to a quality bookseller near you!