Recently...

Skip Prokop, drummer and songwriter from The Paupers, and Lighthouse, has a new CD. It's called Smoothside because it shows Skip's smooth side. Jazzy, almost a George Benson feel with some sterling guitar work from Matt Shelvock and featuring the keyboard work of Jesse O'Brien the album is a nice change. Mellow, relaxed, solid drumming, great production, and some interesting vocal arrangements. You can order it now and receive a signed CD, along with a signed 5"x7" photo of Skip if you're among the first 1000 to order. Listen to what they've done to a few Lighthouse tunes to get a sense of the whole thing. I'm not sure about "Pretty Lady" though. It's the lead-off track and to my ears it is very dated. Things pick-up right away though. I've been reading quite a bit lately. Mainly biographies. Carole King's A Natural Woman was my favourite, but I also enjoyed Greg Allman's My Cross To Bear and Sophia Parkes's story of Eliza Carthy Wayward Daughter. Check my reviews on Critics at Large. Was supposed to tip a jar with Jacob Moon last night but we got our times mixed up and we had to postpone. Looking forward to chatting with him about music. He's hosting a house concert in August with the amazing Suzie Vinnick. She'll be promoting her new live blues CD. Can't wait. But before that we'll be in Chicago for a visit to Buddy Guy's Legends, and to check out The Million Dollar Quartet on-stage.

"The Weight" (what does it all mean?)

Somebody asked the question about whether the lyrics to "The Weight" were Biblical or not. OK, in fact there was no question...they simply said, "Well that song is all from the Bible, you know!" Sorry...that's not the case. Even in the Bible there's nobody named "Crazy Chester"! Nazareth, where the story takes place, refers to the town in Pennsylvania about 70 miles north of Philadelphia. In the liner notes for the Across the Great Divide box set, Robbie Robertson (who wrote the song) is quoted as saying that he chose that place because they make legendary Martin Guitars there, so he was aware of the place and been there once or twice. We stopped there on a trip to Pennsylvania, and had a great tour of the Martin Guitar Factory. In fact, if we hadn't got lost three or four times and had arrived when we meant to...we would've run in to Eric Clapton checking out a guitar he was having built! The characters in the song - Crazy Chester, Luke, Anna Lee, are based on friends of the band. In Levon Helm's autobiography This Wheel's On Fire: Levon Helm And The Story Of The Band, he explained: "We had two or three tunes, or pieces of tunes, and 'The Weight' was one I would work on. Robbie had that bit about going down to Nazareth - Pennsylvania, where the Martin guitar factory is at. The song was full of our favorite characters. "Luke" was Jimmy Ray Paulman. "Young Anna Lee" was Anna Lee Williams from Turkey Scratch. "Crazy Chester" was a guy we all knew from Fayetteville who came into town on Saturdays wearing a full set of cap guns on his hips and kinda walked around town to help keep the peace,if you follow me. He was like Hopalong Cassidy, and he was a friend of the Hawks. Ronnie would always check with Crazy Chester to make sure there wasn't any trouble around town. And Chester would reassure him that everything was peaceable and not to worry, because he was on the case. Two big cap guns, he wore, plus a toupee! There were also "Carmen and the Devil", "Miss Moses" and "Fanny," a name that just seemed to fit the picture. (I believe she looked a lot like Caladonia.) We recorded the song maybe four times. We weren't really sure it was going to be on the album, but people really liked it. Rick, Richard, and I would switch the verses around among us, and we all sang the chorus: 'Put the load right on me!'" There has been more than a little debate among Classic Rock DJs and enthusiasts over the real meaning of this song [including the enthusiast who brought this up at the swimming pool last week!]. Robertson has insisted time and again there is no biblical subtext, but many people think he may be deflecting. Consider the following: -the narrator can't find a bed in Nazareth, and the guy to whom he makes an inquiry just smiles and says "no" -Carmen and the devil were walking side by side, Carmen can go but her friend the devil has to stick around - an allusion to ever-present temptations -"Crazy Chester followed me and he caught me in the fall" - possible allusion to Paul on the road to Damascus [although...I think the lyric is "caught me in the fog" which rhymes a whole lot better with "take Jack my dog"! And what "allusion to Paul on the road to Damascus"? Saul wasn't 'crazy' and okay, while the Bible does say "he fell to the ground" that's a pretty big stretch to think Crazy Chester alludes to him!] -the most glaring one: "I do believe it's time to get back to Miss Fanny, you know she's the only one who sent me here with her regards for everyone" - Miss Fanny is the one who sent him to Nazareth, but now it's time for him to go back to her; Miss Fanny is God, the "time" in question is the crucifixion, and "regards for everyone" is Jesus dying for all of man's sins. That's the most glaring allusion! That Miss Fanny is GOD? Yikes! I think it more likely, and I believe Robbie Robertson would agree with me, that the lyric is a stream of consciousness thing combining characters in and around Woodstock, with some herb-induced creativity, and a little bit of luck. Great song, but not quite as deep as some might like you to believe!

To Hear Doc Watson, You Really Had to See Him

This appreciation of Doc Watson by Ry Cooder appeared in the New York Times artsbeat blog.

Doc Watson, who died on Tuesday at age 89, was the first truly great guitar player I ever saw up close. For me, growing up in Santa Monica, Calif., in the 1950s meant that great musicians were only manifested on records and radio, making it hard to catch a glimpse of the person behind the layers of sound and presentation. You knew people like Hank Snow and Merle Travis were great, but you couldn’t be sure how much the Nudie suits and custom boots had contributed to the sound you heard on KXLA radio. Then, Doc and the banjo player Clarence Ashley and some of the boys drove out to Los Angeles for the first U.C.L.A. Folk Festival in 1963. On the lawn by Royce Hall, the gothic classical music venue, they gathered around and sang “Daniel Prayed,” an intricate call-and-response-style gospel tune. The public was here and there, wandering around aimlessly, like they do at these events. It was casual and unannounced — we hadn’t entered into the hyperorganized way of music appreciation just yet — that came later with the big rock shows. Fred Price led the song with his old man’s ghostly voice, Clint Howard joined in on farm-boy tenor and Doc added his resonant bass, which was severe and shocking. In their tradition, the instruments are rested and the song is like a breathing exercise. Daniel prayed every morning, noon, and night, it says. I wondered if there were more people right there on the lawn than had ever assembled in their church back home in Deep Gap, N.C., to hear about Daniel and the nonstop prayer, but that didn’t bother Doc and the boys. Then, Ed Pearl, the owner of the folk music club the Ash Grove, took them away somewhere to get a sandwich. Their place back home would probably just about fit in between the lawn and the food tent, I remember thinking. I also remember thinking that these men know something about music I’ll never know, even if I practice and study all my life. You have to be born into it. That way, every note and word and gesture has meaning, and your notes and sung words line up with those of your friends and make a whole statement about life that is tiny but eternal. Now another rounder has gone. Doc made many good recordings, but you needed to be in his close presence to pick up the sound of his life and times; the microphone can’t do that for you, I’m sorry to say. Later that day, I was sitting on a bench playing guitar, and Doc and Ed Pearl walked by. Doc stopped and listened. “Who’s that?” he asked Ed. “That’s Ry Cooder, he’s a youngster.” “Sounds pretty good,” Doc said, and they walked on.

Gregg Allman blues...

Just got a cancellation notice from the place where I bought the signed Gregg Allman bio. According to an email the publisher discovered that their inventory of signed copies was depleted...meaning...no signed Gregg Allman book! #$%^!

I guess I'll just buy the e-version and save myself some money. The e-book edition of Buddy Guy's new one looks really good on the iPad!

Quadrophenia Demos, volume 2

Thanks to Jesse who tracked it down and brought it home, I now have volumes 1 & 2. Oh, sure, I know...the songs are all on the Quadrophenia CD set, but that's not the point is it!?! It's all about the collecting. And...ummm...the storing. OK I admit, the storing does become a problem after the collecting part goes on for as long as I've been doing it, but I did sell off a bunch of vinyl 2 years ago and bought a bike with the proceeds. A pretty nice bike too. And...I could've traded all that vinyl in, for much higher value...in...umm..CDs. And I didn't do that. That's progress isn't it? Anyway...my vinyl copies of Blunderbuss and Dr. John's Locked Down, are here too. Just waiting for my signed copy of Gregg Allman's autobiography to arrive. Problem? No I don't have a problem.

Steve Strongman, Live in Hamilton

Steve Strongman has introduced his new releases at Hamilton Place's Studio theatre for quite a while now. We've attended almost all of them. The audience is always filled with family and friends, neighbours and fans, so a good time is virtually guaranteed. He shows every time that he is following the advice given to him by his mentor Mel Brown, "Strong-Man, he called me Strong-Man, give the people what they want!" That he does. So when the people called out for both "Birthday Song" and "River" as encore choices, he said, "What the hell, I'll play 'em both." It took a long time, though, to get to the encore. Steve is looking prosperous these days, wearing a fine pair of Italian shoes, silk socks and a new grey suit. One imagines he treated himself to this finery after winning the Maple Blues Award for Best Blues Guitarist a month or so ago. He came out on a stage that was dressed up with some plants, and an old wooden dresser he found earlier that day sitting on the side of the road, marked 'FREE'. Homey! The new album is an acoustic affair. Steve played an acoustic for five years before switching to electric guitar, and says he still "loves the sound" and I love it too. He started things off playing a 12-string on "Haven't Seen It Yet" a tune from the new A Natural Fact CD. He would go on to play all 12 of that album's tracks, but that was the point of the night...it was a CD release party, and the merch table had plenty of CDs for sale! He switched to the old Gibson J45 for a few songs, then blew harp and sang "Just One Thing" before bringing out the band.

His band was made up of olf compatriots and relatives. Colin Lappsley played a cool electronic stand-up bass, and added backup vocals; Dave King drummed alternating between a pair of brushes and the heaviest drumsticks I've ever seen. My wife said they looked like hockey sticks! And they had a beat you might imagine hockey sticks would have. Steve's cousin, the brilliant pianist Jesse O'Brien tinkled the 88s, and you might've thought it was Dr. John sitting on the bench. Jesse always adds to the excitement when he joins the band. Steve strapped on a thin-line cutaway Guild for "Full of You" and would alternate between this axe and a shiny new resonator guitar for much of the band set. Whatever guitar he held, he played beautifully. His finger-picking is precise, and his slide playing stings. He definitely understands dynamics and is not afraid of sharing the solo space with Jesse O'Brien who was his usual marvelous self. This is not to take away from Dave and Colin who provided solid support throughout the night. Everyone on-stage and off had a fine time.

As the clock edged toward 10:30 Steve and the band played a few older songs from Honey and Blues In Colour to keep the people satisfied. They were fired up and filled with energy, that was contagious. After the three song encore, we filed into the night, stopping only to pickup our own copy of A Natural fact. I should mention the opening act, local bluesman Alfie Smith whose gruff voice, and startling finger-picked country blues set the stage for Steve's more urban sound. All in all a fine evening of blues music.

Last night I went to the store...

I had to buy the George Harrison movie from Martin Scorsese. It's taken it so long to come out on DVD, blu-ray. So I picked up the blu-ray, and of course had to get a copy of Early Tracks, Volume 1 too...real demos and home recordings, but essential for a fan. And the new Norah Jones deluxe CD was a good price too, very mellow but good. Jesse got an Essential Rockabilly CD and a 2-disc Wanda Jackson set. So he'll be rockin' down the highway today! I also picked up the new issue of Sing Out! with Abigail Washburn on the cover. It has a Ry Cooder song transcribed, which I present as my gift to you. You should buy Sing Out! because Woody sez, "One little issue of Sing Out! is worth more to the humanly race than any thousand tons of other dreamy, dopey junk...I don't know a magazine big or little that comes within a thousand million miles of Sing Out! when it comes to doing good in this world." Hey! Woody said it...not me! I think that giving you this sample of what they give every issue, is in keeping with the folk process and all...so here you go: