Originally posted on January 23, 2008
One electric guitar, one set of drums. That was the initial line up of White Stripes, and it continues to be. Their relatively new CD Icky Thump (Warner Brothers) has them mastering another instrument—the studio.
This new set combines some appealing riffs, a good hook here and there, and the beginnings of a studio mastery that includes use of effects, musical double-tracking, and a fullness and ambiance of sound not previous equaled in their efforts. I find it quite refreshing and wish them continued success.
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Lightnin' Hopkins and the Transition from Country to Urban Blues
Originally posted on January 22, 2008
Texas-originated Lightnin’ Hopkins was a charismatic transitional figure between the country blues and the urban blues that especially came out of Chicago beginning in the late '40s. He often played a solo acoustic guitar and sang, later he might use a semi-hollow, but the essential performances were made with just him and his guitar. What he played on that guitar was often boogie based and could easily have been transposed to an electric band without difficulty. Yet his roots were in the rural style he grew up with, so there can be some variation in the number of bars in the blues form and other asymmetrical features and nuances.
I have a CD on my listening pile right now that was released on Legacy International. It is called The Best of Lightnin’ Hopkins, but I wouldn’t say it is quite of that caliber. He is joined by Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee for a more or less casual sounding jam session on about half the cuts and, as much as I appreciate those artists, they take away slightly from what Lightnin’ Sam would have done on his own. Still it’s nice enough. Mr. Hopkins had a sense of humor, a knack for story telling or scene setting and some elemental but perfect guitar accompaniment abilities.
Texas-originated Lightnin’ Hopkins was a charismatic transitional figure between the country blues and the urban blues that especially came out of Chicago beginning in the late '40s. He often played a solo acoustic guitar and sang, later he might use a semi-hollow, but the essential performances were made with just him and his guitar. What he played on that guitar was often boogie based and could easily have been transposed to an electric band without difficulty. Yet his roots were in the rural style he grew up with, so there can be some variation in the number of bars in the blues form and other asymmetrical features and nuances.
I have a CD on my listening pile right now that was released on Legacy International. It is called The Best of Lightnin’ Hopkins, but I wouldn’t say it is quite of that caliber. He is joined by Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee for a more or less casual sounding jam session on about half the cuts and, as much as I appreciate those artists, they take away slightly from what Lightnin’ Sam would have done on his own. Still it’s nice enough. Mr. Hopkins had a sense of humor, a knack for story telling or scene setting and some elemental but perfect guitar accompaniment abilities.
Sade's Live Album Reconsidered
Originally posted on January 18, 2008
Sade made a huge impact in the early ‘90s with several hits and some great albums. The guitar parts for some of the songs, like “No Ordinary Love” for example, were distinctive and said very much with minimal means. Of course Sade’s voice was and is a major instrument. So why has it taken me so long to listen to Lovers Live (Epic) a set of concert performances released in 2002? Sometimes I get backlogged. The CD has some of her best songs and they vary enough from the originals to be worth hearing on their own. The band is tight and she sounds beautiful as always. Next week we’ll kick up some dust with a varied assortment of things.
Sade made a huge impact in the early ‘90s with several hits and some great albums. The guitar parts for some of the songs, like “No Ordinary Love” for example, were distinctive and said very much with minimal means. Of course Sade’s voice was and is a major instrument. So why has it taken me so long to listen to Lovers Live (Epic) a set of concert performances released in 2002? Sometimes I get backlogged. The CD has some of her best songs and they vary enough from the originals to be worth hearing on their own. The band is tight and she sounds beautiful as always. Next week we’ll kick up some dust with a varied assortment of things.
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Classic Blue Note Jazz From Bobby Hutcherson
Originally posted on January 17, 2008
The situation of jazz around 1965 was interesting. Although rock was carving ever larger portions of the musically American pie, jazz was in one of its fruitful, increasingly innovative periods. There were the mainstream cats, plenty of them, playing some of their best music, there was the progressive branch, guys like Miles Davis, some of whom would go on to fuse jazz and rock, and there was the “new thing” or “free” school—late-period Coltrane, Ayler, Cecil Taylor and such—who were playing wild music that some people found downright puzzling. Interestingly, all three branches survive into today, although most radio stations don’t play it, and a very few play some of it, in the US anyway.
The current CD on my desk is somewhere between the progressive and free schools. Recorded in 1965 for Blue Note, it is a total classic and one of my favorite recordings. It’s by vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson and it’s called Dialogue. What’s great about this one is, first of all, the contributions of each member of the group. The agile, exceptionally musical trumpet of Freddie Hubbard, the volcanic and uniquely singular Sam River on woodwinds, Bobby Hutcherson’s thoughtful vibes and marimba, the angular piano of Andrew Hill, Richard Davis’s insistently driving bass and Joe Chamber’s lithely floating drumming—these musicians make the set truly improvisatory in the best sense. They all mesh together in a single idiom, yet they are all staunchly individual in their approach. The tunes themselves are extremely interesting and make the album extraordinarily satisfying. Andrew Hill wrote a bunch of them; Joe Chambers wrote two. It is just wonderful music. And it shows a respect for the structure of a particular original song form while giving plenty of room for the soloists to express themselves. It is not a widely remembered recording, to my knowledge, but I recommend it highly to anyone who wishes to explore where things came from that are a part of the music of today.
The situation of jazz around 1965 was interesting. Although rock was carving ever larger portions of the musically American pie, jazz was in one of its fruitful, increasingly innovative periods. There were the mainstream cats, plenty of them, playing some of their best music, there was the progressive branch, guys like Miles Davis, some of whom would go on to fuse jazz and rock, and there was the “new thing” or “free” school—late-period Coltrane, Ayler, Cecil Taylor and such—who were playing wild music that some people found downright puzzling. Interestingly, all three branches survive into today, although most radio stations don’t play it, and a very few play some of it, in the US anyway.
The current CD on my desk is somewhere between the progressive and free schools. Recorded in 1965 for Blue Note, it is a total classic and one of my favorite recordings. It’s by vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson and it’s called Dialogue. What’s great about this one is, first of all, the contributions of each member of the group. The agile, exceptionally musical trumpet of Freddie Hubbard, the volcanic and uniquely singular Sam River on woodwinds, Bobby Hutcherson’s thoughtful vibes and marimba, the angular piano of Andrew Hill, Richard Davis’s insistently driving bass and Joe Chamber’s lithely floating drumming—these musicians make the set truly improvisatory in the best sense. They all mesh together in a single idiom, yet they are all staunchly individual in their approach. The tunes themselves are extremely interesting and make the album extraordinarily satisfying. Andrew Hill wrote a bunch of them; Joe Chambers wrote two. It is just wonderful music. And it shows a respect for the structure of a particular original song form while giving plenty of room for the soloists to express themselves. It is not a widely remembered recording, to my knowledge, but I recommend it highly to anyone who wishes to explore where things came from that are a part of the music of today.
Gamelan and Kejak from Bali
Originally posted on January 16, 2008
In the bitter winter [I wrote this in the middle of January] it might be hard to imagine a tropical “paradise” in full bloom, but that is more or less what it’s like on the island of Bali, just at the tip of Indonesia. It’s not entirely a paradise—no place is that. Historically and I hope through to today it has been a center of beautiful music and dance, in the complex called gamelan. The music first gained some attention in the Western world through a series of 78s made by Dutch Odeon in the ‘30s. It attracted the attention of Colin McPhee, who spent a number of years in Bali before WWII and wrote some important books and monographs on the scene, bringing the genre to the attention of many music people in the West. With the advent of high fidelity recordings, educational programs in Ethnomusicology and a new audience looking for expanded sounds Balinese Gamelan music began to get pretty good coverage with recordings released here in the States and Europe. Nonesuch Records was one of the labels to cover the music intelligently and in some depth.
Here on my desk is a CD copy of one of their later releases Gamelan and Kejak. Recorded around 1986, it has a good sampling of the various ensembles. Gamelan orchestras consist of a number of metallic instruments, something like gongs and vibraphones, plus percussion and flute. The music is of incredible complexity. Each orchestra instrument plays a characteristic role and the result can be thought of as one monstrous musical organism. Included on the CD is an excerpt of a Kejak, a vocal piece notable for the imitation of the sound of monkeys chattering, only transposed into something very percussive and musical. If you’ve never heard gamelan music, you could learn much by listening. Then figure out what you would do on guitar or bass in the orchestra!! Or don't. Just listen.
In the bitter winter [I wrote this in the middle of January] it might be hard to imagine a tropical “paradise” in full bloom, but that is more or less what it’s like on the island of Bali, just at the tip of Indonesia. It’s not entirely a paradise—no place is that. Historically and I hope through to today it has been a center of beautiful music and dance, in the complex called gamelan. The music first gained some attention in the Western world through a series of 78s made by Dutch Odeon in the ‘30s. It attracted the attention of Colin McPhee, who spent a number of years in Bali before WWII and wrote some important books and monographs on the scene, bringing the genre to the attention of many music people in the West. With the advent of high fidelity recordings, educational programs in Ethnomusicology and a new audience looking for expanded sounds Balinese Gamelan music began to get pretty good coverage with recordings released here in the States and Europe. Nonesuch Records was one of the labels to cover the music intelligently and in some depth.
Here on my desk is a CD copy of one of their later releases Gamelan and Kejak. Recorded around 1986, it has a good sampling of the various ensembles. Gamelan orchestras consist of a number of metallic instruments, something like gongs and vibraphones, plus percussion and flute. The music is of incredible complexity. Each orchestra instrument plays a characteristic role and the result can be thought of as one monstrous musical organism. Included on the CD is an excerpt of a Kejak, a vocal piece notable for the imitation of the sound of monkeys chattering, only transposed into something very percussive and musical. If you’ve never heard gamelan music, you could learn much by listening. Then figure out what you would do on guitar or bass in the orchestra!! Or don't. Just listen.
Monday, November 2, 2009
Live Earth: Concerts for a Climate in Crisis
Originally posted on January 15, 2008
Almost nobody needs to be told that our environment is in trouble. Of course our dependence upon oil and those who set the prices makes the crisis that much more acute, even if consumption should theoretically be going down. We need to look to new leadership in the future, leadership that can think and act long-term on these issues.
So a two DVD, one CD set of The Concerts for a Climate in Crisis: Live Earth (Warner Brothers) might be called a “natural” for the times we are enduring. And it is. It is a current gathering of mainstream stars and a few edgier acts in support of a cause that certainly means something. I haven’t viewed the DVDs yet, but the CD is well constructed. Madonna, Foo Fighters, The Police, John Mayer, Roger Waters, Bon Jovi, Linkin Park, and James Blunt are some of the contributors, some new, some older school. It’s good if that’s what you like. And of course the message needs to go out.
Almost nobody needs to be told that our environment is in trouble. Of course our dependence upon oil and those who set the prices makes the crisis that much more acute, even if consumption should theoretically be going down. We need to look to new leadership in the future, leadership that can think and act long-term on these issues.
So a two DVD, one CD set of The Concerts for a Climate in Crisis: Live Earth (Warner Brothers) might be called a “natural” for the times we are enduring. And it is. It is a current gathering of mainstream stars and a few edgier acts in support of a cause that certainly means something. I haven’t viewed the DVDs yet, but the CD is well constructed. Madonna, Foo Fighters, The Police, John Mayer, Roger Waters, Bon Jovi, Linkin Park, and James Blunt are some of the contributors, some new, some older school. It’s good if that’s what you like. And of course the message needs to go out.
Rocking with Jimmy Reed
Originally posted on January 14, 2008
“I’m goin’ to New York, gonna get there if I have to walk.” So sings Jimmy Reed on the first cut of his 1959 VeeJay album Rockin’ with Reed (Collectibles). OK, so I did another of his albums earlier, but it’s Monday and this one speaks to me.
It has all that great Reed interlocking guitar and bass, all the laconic charm of his vocal style, and some real classics. “Caress Me Baby,” “Take Out Some Insurance,” “Going to New York” kick serious blues butt and the rest of the cuts do it too. Since my car is in the shop, I would have to walk if I were going to New York. But I am not. Instead it’s time for Cadence reviews.
“I’m goin’ to New York, gonna get there if I have to walk.” So sings Jimmy Reed on the first cut of his 1959 VeeJay album Rockin’ with Reed (Collectibles). OK, so I did another of his albums earlier, but it’s Monday and this one speaks to me.
It has all that great Reed interlocking guitar and bass, all the laconic charm of his vocal style, and some real classics. “Caress Me Baby,” “Take Out Some Insurance,” “Going to New York” kick serious blues butt and the rest of the cuts do it too. Since my car is in the shop, I would have to walk if I were going to New York. But I am not. Instead it’s time for Cadence reviews.
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