Who did Neal Schon of Journey play guitar for when he was fifteen?
Hey guys, I just realized that I had skipped ahead to Round 12 on the last few posts but, alas, it is still Round 11! And here’s the tally so far… Woody-7, Kev-6, Crystal-3, Dave-3, Vinary-1.
And here’s Question 24…
Don’t Touch Me There (1976)
Check out the new AC/DC tune. It sounds like something that would fit in on a classic AC/DC album like Back In Black, For Those About To Rock, or Flick of the Switch!
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ba4xujkWeQ4&hl=en&fs=1]
A-maze-ing, no? Alice Cooper said that he was flattered when he heard that in a recent interview, Brian Johnson was complimented by the interviewer on the new album, and Brian said, “Yeah, but have you heard Alice Cooper’s new album?!” Nice. You likey?
Where was the 1979 ‘riot’ at a Who concert? (US City)
…And it was great to see Saturday night at the Lower East Side’s Cake Shop! We were there to see the band Apache, whose debut album is excellent, and I wanted to see how they translated live. Well live is where the band really lives! It was complete sweat-drenched, classic style garage/glam rock & roll… reminiscent of the old Detroit masters of that game… the MC5, the Stooges, and even early Alice Cooper.
And we got there in time to see one of the bands that went on before Apache called Electric Shadows, who rocked equally well and grittily…and who gave us a great Kiss “Strutter” cover! It was obvious that these guys have been touring with each other at least for a while, as they were all buddies and there were lots of Shadows playing with Apaches, and Apaches playing in the Shadows set. It was like one big happy rock family!
Check out these bands on Myspace now…that is, if you like to rock!
And also check out this other band that went on first that night, who I missed, but loved their songs on Myspace…
I’ve never really stopped to think about what our friends across the pond think about our New York-centric Steely duo, but it comes to mind now that I’m checking out the UK release of the new Walter Becker joint, Circus Money, on Sonic 360. Perhaps they didn’t grow up sneaking their parents’ Steely Dan records like I did, giving them spins in between Iron Maiden and Def Leppard albums, and becoming addicted to the sheer sonic quality and unique songwriting of Becker and Fagen. There was always something special to the quality of Steely Dan music; it walked the musical tightrope between jazz and rock, but sneering at you before you are able to dare lump it into the same pile of other fusion garbage that came from the mid-70’s. There was some really good stuff that came out of that fusion era and there was a lot of bad…and then there were the innovators like Steely Dan.
With Walter Becker’s new Circus Money album, only his second solo album overall and his first in 14 years, you shouldn’t be surprised to get the kind of high-gloss production that we’ve been used to from the Steely brothers, at least ever since 1980’s Gaucho or perhaps, arguably, Aja (from 1977). Yes, the production is very sleek and maybe some fans yearn for the grittier (yet still super-smooth) style of the Dan’s first 5 albums leading up to Aja…but we know better than to expect that from any post-70’s Steely productions. All that said, Circus Money is certainly up to par with the high-level of quality that we’ve always known we could expect in any era of Steely Dan.
Circus Money has a decidedly reggae flavor throughout, a style that we’ve seen crop up on a few Steely tracks over the years… The Royal Scam’s ”Haitian Divorce” comes to mind. Becker told Rolling Stone he has long been a fan of…“ska, Rock Steady reggae, rockers, steppers, all these different variations on the patterns as the drumming changed a little bit and the tempos changed. A lot of Lee Perry stuff, the stuff that the rhythm section from the Wailers played on — Style Scott, Sly & Robbie, Flabba Holt.” And Becker’s band pulls off the skanking in a most delicious way…just listen to the deep-bass dub groove on “Bob Is Not Your Uncle Anymore”, probably the standout track for me.
The usual clever Steely wit is here in full-force (“Selfish Gene”), the songwriting is top-notch (“Paging Audrey”), the players are fantastic, the production is crisp, and the only thing you might find yourself missing is that classic Dylan-meets-Manhattan-R&B-jazzbo vocal of Donald Fagen. These two are always at their absolute best when they work together, but since it’s been five years since their last combined offering, Everything Must Go, the next best thing is grabbing the two superb solo works that these guys have done during that time off from Steely Dan recording…Fagen’s 2006 album Morph The Cat and Becker’s just released Circus Money. You can’t go wrong.
Check out this original post on Blog Critics Magazine…and leave me some comments over there!
What song on the ‘White Album’ was Lennon’s tribute to his mother?
This comment about the new AC/DC album (that still isn’t out for another couple months) from music industry ‘guy’, Bob Lefsetz really grabbed me…
The groove to “Decibel”… Like you’ve just stripped naked and are sauntering to the bed to stick your rod into a woman who’s BEYOND FANTASY! Wow, this is too much, PURE SEX!
Wow! The song better be amazing to legitimize using such a porny and corny word as ‘rod’. Reminiscent of Penthouse Forum letters, no? Cheers to ya though, Bob! You’re writing is always quite captivating. Check out the whole review of Black Ice. It looks like we can look forward to a gem from the Aussie boys this October! Subscribe to the Lefzsetz Letter here.
Who released “Downtown” in 1965?
A true superstar, who really lived the rock’n'roll lifestyle and paid for it with his life, Phil Lynott embodies the ethos of the bassist/singer. inspired by Hendrix’s example, he proved a black man could rock, and the massive cultural hurdle (in those days) of being Irish and Black fed his music and lyrics, embodying them with a wild romanticism and a “me an the boys” gang mentality, reminsicent of Bernsteins West Side Story.
His mother, Philomena, figured large in his life, and he wrote a song for her. It’s said that his last words to her were “oh ma, what have I done to ya?” – and it’s quite clear that there were two Philip Lynotts – the caring father and son, and the wild man, the romeo, forever ligging at someone’s party, glass in hand.
Bon Jovi are vocal in their appreciation, saying Phil and Lizzy were a massive influence on them. Songs about Cowboys from the Irish – Inspiring the Americans to do the same – it’s like selling sand to the arabs!! No mean feat. John Norum and Swedish band Europe were also massive lizzyphiles – Norum covering “Opium trail” on one of his solo outings. Huey Lewis also cut his teeth playing blues harp with them.
He led Thin Lizzy to produce some of the finest rock in the last forty years, employing a succession of guitarists that reads like a who’s who – Eric Bell, Gary Moore, Brian Robertson, Scott Gorham, Snowy White and John Sykes. He even employed Ultravox’s Midge Ure at one point!
But it was his driving bass, his power stance and delivery, and his completely unique voice, that really sold Lizzy. listen to the bass line on “the boys are back in town”, or the earlier “I’m a gonna creep up on ya”. He WAS rock bass, straight-ahead, no-nonsense. There are so many great Lizzy bass lines, delivered on the now iconic black Fender precision with the mirrored scratchplate – an idea he nicked from Slade’s Noddy holder when he saw how the spotlights reflected off the mirrors on Noddy’s trademark top hat!
I had the pleasure and privilege to briefly meet him in Derby, when he’d taken the new-look twin-guitar lizzy out on the road to promote “Nightlife”. he was quite, unassuming, a gentleman. But onstage, the consummate rocker. Recently, that very show I attended at Derby college has been released on CD, where they previewed the as yet untitled Cowboy Song, calling it “Derby Blues!”.
I’ve always felt a connection with Phil. He’s one of my strongest and earliest influences, and I had the good fortune to portray him on the UK TV Show “Stars in their Eyes”.
I met Eric Bell some time afterwards, and he told me he’d enjoyed it alot, and Phil would be looking down saying, in his inimitable Irish accent “jaysus, I tort oi was dead!” it was one of the proudest moments of my life.
Happy Birthday Phil.
Recommended listening…”I’m gonna creep up on ya” “The Hero and the Madman” “The boys are back in town” “Don’t believe a word” “The Rocker”…..the list goes on!
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=umdj-GG0y6g&hl=en&fs=1]
…East Village Radio