Rock & Roll Historical Perspective

[myrosiedog]

Good albums this time. Yes, Grand Funk, Rod Stewart, The Guess Who.

The end of the year awards were pretty funny.

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[razorbacker]

Originally Posted by myrosiedog

Good albums this time. Yes, Grand Funk, Rod Stewart, The Guess Who.

The end of the year awards were pretty funny.

For the first time, this particular issue contained a little section inbedded in the Album Reviews, called condemned. Obviously a place for albums that the reviewers felt should be avoided at all costs. That was the place the Grand Funk album review wound up. The reviewer certainly did them no favors, but in the long run did them no harm either.

[myrosiedog]

I have found reviews to mostly be non-helpful when it comes to what I like. Be it movies or albums, the reviews mostly dont' coincide with my likes and dislikes. Sometimes they do, but most often not.

My husband is a HUGE Grand Funk fan. That was the first album he ever bought.

[AJane]

My apologies to mr. mrd, but I have to agree with that Grand Funk review.

I saw Ronnie Hawkins on TV just a few weeks ago. Bizarrely, he was on a home renovations show that's based in Canada. He is some kind of spokesperson/PR for a tile company. His appearance was fun, really - very earthy sense of humour, the kind of old guy who probably still slaps female restaurant servers on the behind.

[myrosiedog]

Ajane, he was 8 or 9 years old, so maybe that explains it.

[razorbacker]

45 years ago today, 1/17/64, I Want to Hold Your Hand made it's debut on the Billboard Pop Charts at #35. This was the debut on the charts of the four lads from Liverpool.

[razorbacker]

Rolling Stone Issue 52

Dated February 21, 1970. Creedence Clearwater Revival on the cover.

From the interview with John Fogerty…
The band first signed with Fantasy records in 1964 under the name of the Blue Velvets. At that time they were only trying to sell instrumentals, but Fantasy convinced them to add vocals. So they cut a demonstration tape with some vocals & 9 months later the single was released, but when they got a look at the actual disc, the name of the band had been changed by the label to The Golliwogs. They suffered through that ignominy for 4 years before they could finally change their name to CCR.
When they were set to record the first album, the first song recorded was Suzie Q. Cut in one take, start to finish. 2 ½ months after the album was released Suzie Q & Put a Spell on You were both released as singles simultaneously. Suzie Q peaked at #11, “Spell’ had no luck as a single.
The current single is Travellin Band backed with Who’ll Stop the Rain.
Before the band eventually called it quits in 1972, they would have 9 Top 10 singles, five of them would go all the way to #2, but they never had a #1 hit..Pretty Bizarre!!


Random Notes

Audiences in London loved the concert put on by CSN&Y, but the reviewers hated them calling them low camp & extravagantly boring. On & on they went from acoustic to electric, from close harmony to counter melody, from whimsical folk to heavy rock, from dullness to dire drabness.

Country Joe was a defense witness at the trial of the Chicago 7. But, when asked to testify, he instead began to sing his I Feel Like I’m Fixin To Die Rag. The judge had to have the bailiff put a hand over his mouth before he would shut up.

Ringo is going to LA for the premier of The Magic Christian & while there he is supposed to appear on Laugh In.

Davy Jones is telling the British Press that the Monkees are dead.

Aretha Franklin’s father, the Reverend C.L. Franklin, has been arrested for Drunken Driving. And the saga of Aretha & her woes continues.

NRBQ has been arrested for criminal possession of dangerous drugs & loitering near Poughkeepsie. While waiting in jail for their appearance in front of the judge, the jailer shaved their heads, sanitation reasons were stated.

The brand new Ginger Baker’s Air Force (with 3 drummers) is off to a flying start. They have just finished a stand at The Royal Albert Hall & Ginger was so pleased that he is planning a US Tour. This time the critics were raving, but the audience…not so much.

Beat poet Lewis Ferlinghetti has been busted at the City Lights bookstore in San Francisco for selling Zap Comics, charged with possession & intent to distribute obscene materials.

Since the release of The Rod Stewart album just about a month ago, Rod is being quoted as saying he will be pursuing a solo career in the studio only & will remain as a part of The Small Faces. He is pleased with his first album, but says the second one will be better. He is already back in the studio recording it. He says he doesn’t want to tour solo because “he is to lazy to put a band together & also he is too scared to do it anyway.”
Rod got his start playing Harmonica for a “pick up band” called Jimmy Powell & His Five Dimensions. Frustrated at not being allowed to sing in that band he moved along to join Julie Driscoll & Brian Auger in Long John Baldry’s band called Steam Packet. But, he finally began to make a name for himself as a vocalist when he hooked up with The Jeff Beck Group. Now he is living the life of both a solo artist & as a member of Small Faces.

Mick Jagger returned home after the disaster at Altamont only to be found guilty of possession of marijuana, fined $480 plus $126 court costs. This stems from a traffic stop back in May 1969, when he & Marianne Faithful were pulled over & the pot was found in the car. Charges against her were dropped.

Noel Redding, former bassist for Hendrix & now leader of the group Fat Mattress has collapsed due to exhaustion & the band was forced to cancel tour dates on the West Coast of the U.S. Aside from getting the group ready to tour, he was over imbibing on drugs & alcohol. He is now secluded for an extended stay of solitude in Switzerland.

Their has been another new band founded combining elements of cast offs from other bands. Jack Bruce & Friends includes: Jack Bruce late of Creem on bass, Mitch Mitchell from The Hendrix Experience on drums, guitar player Larry Coryell, & organ player Mike Mandel. Mitchell says the band was formed out of boredom for what they had been doing previously. A US Tour is scheduled to begin in February.

A new four man band has a double album ready for release. No one is yet sure if they will succeed or not, their name? Redbone! So did they succeed or not???

Ads for groups or albums this issue:

The Plastic Ono Band - Live Peace in Toronto 1969. On Apple Records

MC5- Back in the USA on Atlantic

Fairport Convention…on A&M Records

Renaissance….their first album is available from Elektra

The Pentangle - Basket of Light is out on Reprise

Phil Ochs - Greatest Hits on A&M (produced by the everywhere man, Van Dyke Parks)

Merle Haggard - Okie from Muskogee on Capitol

Carl Perkins & NRBQ - Boppin the Blues on Columbia

Blue Cheer - 4th on Phillips

Ten Years After - Sssh on Deram


Album Reviews:

Jefferson Airplane - Volunteers
I happen to think that the Airplane, on the basis of what they have done with Bathing at Baxter’s & now Volunteers are musical pioneers. But tell this to some people & they tell you that the Airplane is dull & leaden. They don’t swing. And on Volunteers, man the politics. There is most assuredly something there, that may raise the musical complexity of Rock & Roll to new heights. The only trouble is that in the process, they may be turning off the part of their audience, those who say it’s got a great beat, but you can’t dance to it….Ed Ward


Joe Cocker - Joe Cocker
What’s so special about Cocker is that he’s so much fun to listen to because of the fun he’s having. Whether on stage picking his phantom guitar or on record letting his own excesses communicate, his real emotion is completely infectious…Greil Marcus

The Allman Brother Band
The Brothers are a rather heavy white blues group out of Muscle Shoals Alabama. For all the white blues bands proliferating today, it’s still inspiring when the real article comes along. The Allmans have mastered the form with rare subtlety & they keep you vibrating from one brilliant hard rock interpolation to the next. The albums pinnacle is “Dreams.” But this album is consistently subtle & honest & moving….Lester Bangs


Other albums reviewed:

The Frost - Rock & Roll Music

Blond - Blond

The Pentangle - Basket of Light

Country Joe McDonald - Thinking of Woody Guthrie

[myrosiedog]

Originally Posted by razorbacker

Rolling Stone Issue 52

Dated February 21, 1970. Creedence Clearwater Revival on the cover.

NRBQ has been arrested for criminal possession of dangerous drugs & loitering near Poughkeepsie. While waiting in jail for their appearance in front of the judge, the jailer shaved their heads, sanitation reasons were stated.

Man, I think that the penalty for "loitering near Poughkeepsie" should be to have your head shaved.

I am a huge Allman Brothers fan.

It's so great to read these as so many album and stuff I can't remember when they came out. I have Okie from Muscogee on my ipod. Merle Haggard. What a guy.

[Bunny555]

My friends and I were complete NRBQ groupies back in the day. They were local to us and every week-end we followed them from club to club. I can't say I'd necessarily like to relive those days but there sure were good times.

[norealityhere]

Who is NRBQ?