Friday, March 29, 2024

Firsts (Seconds)



Bruce Springsteen:
The Columbia House Record Club used to advertise on television. One afternoon, a commercial came on highlighting three records that were made available through the club. It was here that I heard Bruce Springsteen for the first time. His first two records were nowhere on my radar and so I thought this record being advertised, “Born To Run,” was his first. A medley of the music being advertised was playing in the background, along with Robin Trower’s “Bridge Of Sighs,” and a third record I can’t recall, while the announcer talked about the club and its benefits, and just as the final pitch was made, the music swelled and I heard “And I can’t gooo on!” As clear as a bell, almost 50 years later, I can still see that television and hear the bridge from “Tenth Avenue Freeze Out '' coming out of that tiny TV speaker in my living room. That one line haunted me for weeks until I was able to purchase “Born To Run.” The rest is history.




STEELY DAN:

Steely Dan had released five albums before I associated their hit singles with their name. Songs like “Reelin’ In the Years,” “Do It Again,” and “Rikki Don’t Lose That Number” were AM radio staples, and while I loved all three, they’d often just get lost in the shuffle with other favorites like “Amie” by Pure Prairie League” or “Love Grows” by Edison Lighthouse. I knew of Steely Dan but I didn’t really get to know Steely Dan until one weekend at my cousin Al’s house, when he played “Kid Charlemagne,” the first track off the band’s just released album, “The Royal Scam.” Every song that followed knocked me out. And like so many other bands, I started going backwards. I bought the record before it, “Katy Lied,” and then the one before that, “Pretzel Logic.” That’s when I heard “Rikki” again, but in a different context. This was no AM radio, one hit wonder band. This was sophisticated pop music played with precision. So my first real memory of Steely Dan is sitting on the floor in my cousin’s bedroom, holding “The Royal Scam” cover and thinking, “My new favorite song is ‘Caves Of Altamira.”





MOTT THE HOOPLE:
It wasn’t “All The Young Dudes.” And it certainly wasn’t a song from the four Atlantic Records flops before it. As a matter of fact, it wasn’t any music at all. It was the “Mott” album cover. Ian Hunter’s hair and sunglasses. The Klieg lights. This album spoke to me from behind a wall of plexiglass housing hundreds of 8-tracks at the Happy Tunes record shop on West 8th Street in Greenwich Village. I recognized it from a review in Circus Magazine and based on nothing else, I knew I needed it. My Uncle’s then fiance Patricia bought it for me and I fell in love with the band from the opening piano chords of “All The Way From Memphis.” Then, hearing that song blasting out of Alfred Lutter’s speakers in “Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore” validated the whole purchase.




ELVIS COSTELLO:
We all long for the “good old days,” though that could mean many different things, depending on who you are. So I will be very specific. I long for the good old days of WNEW-FM and the staff of DJs that included Richard Neer, Pete Fornatele, Meg Griffin, Scott Muni and of course, “The Nightbird,” Alison Steele. My radio was on every minute I was near it and WNEW-FM rarely disappointed. It was where I first heard Queen’s “A Night At The Opera” and Led Zeppelin’s “In Through The Out Door” played in their entirety. And it was also where I heard this unbelievable ballad that I thought was called “My Aim Is True.” I was lying in bed, stereo off, but my clock radio timer on so I could fall asleep to Alison Steele, and she played Elvis Costello’s “Alison.” I knew who he was from the photos in Trouser Press, but I expected the music to be as jarring as his looks, with those oversized black frames and that spastic stance. “Alison” was not that. When I went to Golden Disc records on Bleecker Street the next day, I asked for “My Aim Is True” by Elvis Costello and Michael, one of the clerks handed it to me, but I saw no title cut. After singing a few bars, he promised me it was the song called “Alison” on Side One. He was right, of course.



TOM PETTY & THE HEARTBREAKERS:
I had a Friday evening ritual. Get my $10 allowance and hop on the E train to Chambers Street. I’d run across City Hall Park and make it to J&R Music World right before they closed at 6:30. Records in 1976 cost $3.69. J&R also had a cut out bin with records priced at $1.69, making two new releases and one cut out a few pennies under $10.00 after taxes. One of the managers was a guy named Al, who was friendly enough, if a bit abrasive. He got a kick out of this 12 year old kid who knew what I knew about music. He also teased me relentlessly about my purchases, not being a fan of Yes or Queen or Thin Lizzy, though he minded Lizzy less than the other two. On one early evening visit, I rushed down the flight of stairs, taking two or three steps at a time, and came face to face with Al, holding the first Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers album over his head, and marching around the tight quarters of the shop, shouting, “This is the greatest rock and roll band in the world! This is the greatest rock and roll band in the world!” My first thought was, “You’re saying that because it’s your band.” Al looked just like Petty, and at the time, I hadn’t heard of Tom Petty, so for a few minutes, I believed Al was Tom Petty. Wanting to impress this adult clerk, I asked to see the record.
“Is this you?” He gave me a crooked, “Go away kid, you bother me” look, but handed me the record and said, “Buy this. You won’t regret it.” I realized soon enough Al wasn’t Tom. Al was right. No regrets.

 









 

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Two For Thursday

 


It's always great news when John Cale releases new music. Cale has been one of my favorite artists for a half century now, and though his last record "Mercy" received mostly glowing reviews, I found it a bit too dense and demanding. But if the new single, as well as the title of his forthcoming album "Poptical Illusion" is any indication, come June, we may have a Cale classic.

If that wasn't enough to brighten what has been a pretty dark March over in my neck of the woods, there is a new interview with Jason Falkner in Guitar World. It's mostly gear-related, so you guitarists might get all hot and twitchy. I managed to stay awake until the last paragraph, and was thankfully rewarded with the news (I'll believe it when I see it) that there will be a new Jason Falkner album and tour this year.

 

Wednesday, March 27, 2024

 Please stand by. 

Monday, March 25, 2024

C'est La Vie, Damn It!

 


It's 6:43A.M. in New Orleans as I write this at 7:43A.M. from my office in Queens, New York. I should have been walking up Ursuline towards Royal for some coffee at CC's, and then having a nice leisurely breakfast overlooking the French Quarter from my balcony. But alas, a medical emergency on Thursday got in the way of my belated birthday celebration in the Crescent City. 

New Orleans, I will see you soon enough.

Now the good news.

•Everyone is okay.
•No money was lost on the trip, save the cost of one pair of tickets to see Stanton Moore.
•A van arrived on Friday night at 9PM with 1200 records and I bought them all with my New Orleans food and beverage money.

I spent most of the weekend rifling through the vinyl, cleaning, pricing and listing. If I can't be in New Orleans, this is the next best thing.

I saw a Chet Atkins record called "It's A Guitar World." I knew what to expect from a Chet Atkins record, but I wasn't expecting to enjoy this as much as I did. There are killer versions of "For No One" and "Cast Your Fate To the Wind," the latter you can check out on Today's Cover Version to the right.

There were half a dozen Kiss records in this collection, and so I went on a mini Kiss binge. "Hotter Than Hell" was the first one I purchased upon release in 1974. I always thought it was one of the worst sounding records in recorded history. At least a half dozen great songs, with one of the most godawful mixes I had ever heard. I listened to this record for the first time in 25 years or more. It sounded pretty damn good. The mix wasn't bothering me, for some reason. It also triggered a memory of me singing "Mainline" in my bedroom and my mother bursting through the door screaming, "MAINLINE? IS THAT WHAT YOU ARE SINGING?" 

Another record I discovered is one I almost tossed. The cover was shredded and shabbily repaired with silver gaffer's tape. (What's wrong with people?) It turned out to be a Jamaican pressing of a 1975 record by Sonya Spence. Further inspection showed me the legendary Ansel Collins was involved, so I pulled the record out, and was shocked to see a very solid VG+ slab of wax. So I played it and I loved it. It was a perfect, upbeat rock steady reggae record that is also apparently so rare, even with a trashed cover, still fetches between $75-100.

There was an original French press of Jimi Hendrix "War Heroes." This is one of too many posthumous Jimi records, but happens to be my favorite of them all. The first time I heard "War Heroes" was after finding a copy at Titus-Oaks Records in Flatbush almost 50 years ago and it blew my mind.

Anyway, no New Orleans this week. But I got a truckful of vinyl to keep me busy.

That's the way it goes. You know me, always positive.

😳

If you're interested in the haul, check the link here. I will be adding to it all week.

Finally, I hope you dig today's selections.








Sunday, March 24, 2024

Songs Of The Week, 2024: 3/16-3/22

 


Flame Thrower Love- Dead Boys
It's Love- King's X
Sugar Babe- Mance Lipscomb
For All That I Am- The Creation
Hopper- Paul Weller
I Want You- Cyril Neville
Fools Fall In Love- Elvis Presley

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Flame Thrower Love- Dead Boys
It's seems you either love punk or you don't, but if you do, you'd probably agree that "Young, Loud & Snotty" is the "Let It Bleed" of punk rock records. This is not from that album.

It's Love- King's X

I've never been able to categorize King's X. Yes, they hang somewhat comfortably with the heavy metal crowd. But they possess so much more.

Sugar Babe- Mance Lipscomb

"All I want my babe to do
Make five dollars and give me two"

For All That I Am- The Creation

Mods or rockers? I highly recommend Numero Group's "Action Painting" collection.

Hopper- Paul Weller
The revisiting of some later Weller records that didn't hit me first time around continues to pay off. Check out this beauty from "A Kind Revolution."

I Want You- Cyril Neville
One of my very favorite Dylan covers.

Fools Fall In Love- Elvis Presley

A b-side recorded during the "How Great Thou Art" sessions! How's that happen?



Saturday, March 23, 2024

BW's Saturday #11

 

Friday, March 22, 2024

Ian Hunter: THE WEEKEND BOINK!!

 


How about a new occasional series?

Loosely using The Replacements' "Boink!!" as a template---6 album tracks, a b-side and an unreleased track---here are my choices to rep Ian Hunter.

I pulled out "Shades Of Ian Hunter" after it was mentioned in yesterday's comments, and it really is a smart set of songs. So this set of eight isn't trying to outdo that, so much as it is staying closer to the "Boink!!" format. I tried keeping it under 30 minutes as well, but that will be difficult moving forward.

TRACKLIST
Central Park N' West
Wash Us Away
Foxy Foxy
Rest In Peace
Your Eyes
23A, Swan Hill
I Wish I Was Your Mother
Women's Intuition

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