Rock & Roll Historical Perspective

[Parasolpink]

Glad I found this great thread!

Speaking of BTO, ex-member Randy Bachman has a radio show on CBC Radio ONE at 6:30 pm EST Saturday nights called Vinyl Tap. I am listening to it as I type! Tonight's show is about bands comprised of family members. He chats a great deal about his past life and there's plenty of neat stories, like this one:
Graham Nash has just left the Hollies and headed to California. He walks around his new neighbourhood and happens upon a party. The mood was mellow and everyone was sitting around listening to two lads playing the guitar. When they finished Nash asked them to play it again. And they did. He requested a second time and they complied yet again! When he requested the third time he harmonized with them and it was magical. And CS&N was born. Now what was the song you ask? Sweet Judy Blue Eyes, Stephen Stills' post-breakup with Judy Collins lament song. It must have been a long night!

Thought of another one from my own collection or recollection!
The Lovin' Spoonful auditioned for the part of the Monkeys, but were rejected because they were deemed too 'boring'! Zanofsky boring? Really?

[Google]

 

[razorbacker]

Hey Parasolpink;

Glad you found us. Stop by & contribute often. It's fun to hear these stories & rememberances. I think that the Spoonful were one of the most underrated bands for their time frame. Loved their stuff.

[Parasolpink]

Originally Posted by razorbacker

Hey Parasolpink;

Glad you found us. Stop by & contribute often. It's fun to hear these stories & rememberances. I think that the Spoonful were one of the most underrated bands for their time frame. Loved their stuff.

Aww 'you didn't have to be so nice'! I agree they never got their due. I loved the song Darling Be Home Soon-
I think I just gave you an earworm!
Sorry!
I can definitely give a Canuckian perspective to our music scene. Looking forward to dropping by!
Cheers!
Pink (no not that one!)

[razorbacker]

Rolling Stone Issue 58

Dated May, 14 1970. Captain Beefheart on the cover.

Despite prognostications of Stardom he still lives in obscurity & near poverty in the San Fernando Valley & in his 6 years in the business he has had less than 25 concert appearances. He is, however, putting together a new band to tour behind his recent release Trout Mask Replica.
He plays harp & soprano Sax & has a 41/2 Octave vocal range. It is reported that during the recording of the song Electricity his voice is so strong that he hit a high note & completely destroyed a $1200 microphone.
He grew up in Lancaster Ca., named Don Van Vliet, & became boyhood friends with that other denizen of the desert, Frank Zappa who was instrumental in naming him Captain Beefheart. His album was even released on Zappas’ Straight Records label & Frank considers him to be one of the few true musical geniuses he has ever known. He wrote all 28 songs on the album in 8 hrs using only piano…he had never played piano before. He doesn’t play guitar or drums either but has taught his musicians all the note he wants played.
In one of his typically unusual moods, Don recorded the album at his home in Lancaster. He billed Straight Records $250 for a tree surgeon to be on hand at his house because he was afraid the trees wouldn’t like the noise & would fall over.
He also paints, sculpts & writes novels.
The beginning of this article begins as the Captain excuses himself to answer the phone, the problem is that the phone hasn’t wrung…well at least it hadn’t wrung yet. It proceeded to ring 15 seconds later. Don is also supposedly clairvoyant.

Random Notes

It is official the Beatles are no more. According to John, there hasn’t really been The Beatles for a while. He says you only have to listen to the White Album to realize that it wasn’t the group, but it was instead 4 guys making their own music, backed sometimes by the other 3. Their last album, Let It Be, will be released May 8th. George is scheduled to begin sessions on his first solo album on May 20th with Phil Spector at the helm. John has all the songs he needs for his first, but hasn’t begun to record yet.

In other news, both John & George have been given US visas.

Neil Young is claiming to have disbanded Crazy Horse, saying he’s not going to work with them any more.

The newest & scariest drug on the market recently is “angel dust.”

Buddy Miles has formed the Buddy Miles Express complete with a 3 person horn section.

On the TV scene, the old show Truth or Consequences is celebrating 30 years on the air. It began on April Fools Day 1941.

Ginger Baker’s Air Force is set to tour the US. Included in the group is ex Blind Faith bassist Rick Gresch & ex Moody Blues member Denny Laine along with 7 or 8 other unnamed members.

Ever wonder why Jefferson Airplane isn’t in the Woodstock movie? Apparently the sound man had been at the boards for a day & a half straight when it came time for The Airplane to play & he fell asleep & didn’t record them.

The Danish government has decided that when hippies show up for the draft, they won’t be required to cut their hair or shave their beards.

The growing interest in the occult, especially in England, has given rise to a new band on the horizon going under the name of Black Sabbath.

The seems to be a rash of bands breaking up in the UK. In just the past few weeks, we have seen the end of The Nice, Spooky Tooth, & Fleetwood Mac.
Rumor is that keyboard player of the Nice, Keith Emerson, is forming a trio with King Crimson bass player Greg Lake & an as yet unnamed drummer.
Spooky Tooth’s members will go their separate ways after the release of their next album.
Peter Green has decided to leave Fleetwood Mac because he wants to lead a “freer & more selfless life along Christian principles.” The band is looking at new guitar players including giving more space to current member Jeremy Spencer. Peter Green will record on his own.

The upcoming tour by CSN&Y has been postponed due to a broken wrist Steven Stills got in a car crash. He hit a parked car while on his way to the store to get smokes. He has also had to postpone work on his first solo album.

After hitting the #3 position on the charts with Spirit On The Sky, Norman Greenbaum has decided his next single will be Canned Ham. Weird eh? The song would peak at #46 & that would basically be the last we heard of one of the biggest one hit wonders of his era.

Pete Townshend is interviewed from his home in England. We learn he has just finished producing & playing bass on the next album by Thunderclap Newman.
The band is deleting Tommy from their live show, keeping only a couple of songs such as Pinball Wizard. He admits that he got to heavy with Tommy & in fact calls the album very unWho like.
He talks about how The Who record & makes this statement: ”The production of our records has got nothing to do with sound. It’s got to do with keeping Keith Moon on his drum stool & away from the booze. We’re a dreadful group to record.”
They are putting together a live album to be called Live at Leeds. He says that they had 240 hrs. of live audio from their last US tour & instead of culling it for an album, they just didn’t want the hassle, so they burned it to keep the bootleggers away.

Carl Perkins is writing the music for the upcoming movie Little Faus & Big Halsey.

Ads for groups or albums this issue:

Ike & Tina Turner - Come Together on the Liberty label.

Shawn Phillips - Contribution on A&M

Ringo Starr - Sentimental Journey on Apple

McCartney - also on Apple

Joni Mitchell - Ladies of the Canyon on Reprise

Linda Rondstadt - Silk Purse on Capitol…not all pigs are your enemies….

Small Faces - The First Step their Warners’ Debut.

Mott The Hoople - on Atlantic can I just say how much I hated this band.

Hendrix - Band of Gypsies - On Capitol

Quincy Jones - Walking in Space on A&M

Miles Davis - Bitches Brew on Columbia

Frigid Pink - (including their hit House of the Rising Sun) On the London label

War - Eric Burdon declares War on MGM


Album Reviews:

McCartney - McCartney
In both the quality of the songs & the character of it’s production, McCartney will no doubt be a disappointment to many Beatles fans. Most probably hoped that Paul’s album would be a giant leap beyond the Beatles, with songs that would make Let it Be & Hey Jude pale in comparison. This did not happen. The songs are distinctly second rate. Maybe I’m Amazed, however, is a very powerful song. If one can accept the album on it’s own terms, McCartney, stands as a very good although not astounding work….Langdon Winner

Quicksilver - Shady Grove
With the absorption of Nicky Hopkins & the departure of Gary Duncan the sound & thrust of the band has entirely changed. The old Quicksilver was immediate, instrumentally flashing & frenzied. The new band has had it’s head turned by Nicky & the result is a more precise, more lyrical, more textured band. Now, in a way, they have become “straight men’ for Hopkins. Fine music is still the result, but that rock & roll free form jamming quality seems to have been sacrificed…Gary Von Tersch

Ringo Starr - Sentimental Journey
Sentimental Journey may be horrendous, but at least it’s classy….Greil Marcus.

Simon & Garfunkel - Bridge Over Troubled Waters
After 2 years of waiting we finally have a new S&G album. That the duo could only come up with 11 songs in 2 years didn’t seem to bother the fans. That nearly all of those songs were hopelessly mediocre fazed them even less. The new album was in & wasn’t that cause enough for jubilation? Well, NO!. Maybe Simon has gotten lazy. Maybe Art is dedicating to much time to acting. Whatever the reason, their music has gotten stale & complacent. It’s not really that bad an album, but after two years?…Gregg Mitchell

Other albums reviewed:

The Move - Shazam

MC5 - Back in the USA

Badfinger - Magic Christian Music

Buck Owens & The Buckaroos - Your Mothers Prayer

Singles Reviewed:

Joe Cocker - The Letter

Dorothy Morrison - Rain

Albums Expected in the near future.

Dave Mason - Alone Together
The Who - Live at Leeds

With a new subscription ($8 a year) , RS will send you a copy of Band of Gypsies by Jimi Hendrix.

[razorbacker]

Gosh, the last RS got zero comments.

Maybe this will. For anyone that loves music, loved the old vinyl, is a collector, or just wants to read something interesting, click the link below. Read the article, view the photos. But, I warn you now. Prepare to wear a bib. It is truly drool worthy.

Austin Record Convention

[myrosiedog]

Sorry, been busy.

So I'm thinking that the drummer for the new band Keith Emerson is forming is going to be named Palmer????

[razorbacker]

April 12th, 55 years ago today, Bill Haley & The Comets entered the studio & recorded Rock Around the Clock & the Rock & Roll era had begun.

[myrosiedog]

ANother reason to celebrate today!!

[razorbacker]

I should have the next RS done today sometime, but I just wanted to post something I just found out.

I don't know how many of you ever liked or listened to or followed Poco, but they were one of my favorite bands in all their iterations. Anyway, Jim Messina & Richie Furay are back with Paul Cotton & Rusty Young & the band is once again touring & set to record. That, to me, is great news.

[razorbacker]

Rolling Stone Issue 59

Dated May, 28 1970. Little Richard on the cover.

Random Notes

We are having an epidemic of fake groups touring under the name of the otherwise famous . The Animals, The Zombies & the worst travesty of all, fake Archies. Eric Burdon, Chris White, & Don Kirschner are not happy campers about this.

During a move from his house to his new boat, David Crosby has lost a suitcase filled with all sorts of memorabilia from all phases of his career. He’d dearly like to get it back.

Gram Parsons of the Flying Burrito Brothers has crashed his custom made Harley, sending him to the hospital for two weeks. He had a cut knee, a broken cheekbone & multiple facial scratches suffered as his helmetless face scraped across the pavement.

After being convicted of abusing a stewardess, Jim Morrison has seen the verdict reversed as the stewardess changed her story & said it wasn’t Jim after all.

Sly Stone is back on the road again with The Family Stone after a two month hiatus while recovering from an ulcer like intestinal problem.

Twiggs Lyndon, the road manager for the Allman Brothers, has been arrested for the stabbing death of a bar owner in Buffalo. The dispute came over an “alleged” breach of contract by the bar owner. Twiggs has been charged with murder & is facing life in prison with little chance at parole.

Creedence is in the midst of a money losing European Tour & they are blaming the promoters for double dealing & taking their money away. They are scheduled to make $40,000 for a 3 week tour & claim that they make that in one night in the states.

After playing on recent albums by Cream, Blind Faith, Plastic Ono Band, Delaney & Bonnie, George Harrison, Aretha Franklin, King Curtis & Steven Stills, Eric Clapton is in the studios working on his own solo album.

George Goldner is dead at the age of 52. For those that don’t recognize the name, you should recognize some of his producer credits. He put together Why Do Fools Fall in Love by Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers, Party Doll by Buddy Knox, & Leader of the pack by the Shangri-Las among others. He was behind such acts as The Wrens, The Heartbeats, The Drifters, Little Anthony & The Imperials, & The Isley Brothers. His last involvement was the song Cowboys to Girls by the Intruders.

A top secret & at the time still being denied, recording session has just taken place in NY, including Bob Dylan & George Harrison. Also included, & playing Bass, was Charlie Daniels.

There is a protest going on in Minneapolis to protest the high cost of concert tickets for the upcoming CSN&Y shows. Tickets are going for $5, $6, $7 & for the best seats, an outrageous $10. Even David Crosby & the bands manager are calling the prices outrageous. Stills’ fractured wrist has healed so the band is in rehearsals for the tour.

Okie From Muskogee has allowed Merle Haggard to make huge inroads into the Pop genre. The song has become an anthem of sorts for hippies, draft card burners & the free love contingent.

Janis is with yet another new band & she is feeling so good about it & her life right now that she has just had a new tattoo put around her wrist. A bracelet of hearts & flowers. She tends to head in a Country/Blues direction with her next album.

Here are some snippets from an interview with Paul Simon:
Part of the huge delay between albums was that Artie took 6 months away to do the film Catch 22.
He wrote Brodge Over Troubled Water on guitar but knew all along that it would be played on Piano. He mentions that the similarities between BOTW & Let it Be are very curious in that they were written at the same time, use the same instrumentation, have approximately the same message & both songs were written with Aretha Franklin in mind.
Now this is weird. He says he cannot write songs if he doesn’t have finger nails. He writes on guitar & can’t play without nails, so he doesn’t write, not even on piano.
He is teaching a song writing course at New York University.
They recorded Bye Bye Love in front of a live audience in Ames Iowa & they did the song twice because the first time the crowd didn’t clap in tempo good enough.
In 1957, they had a hit song called Hey Schoolgirl. The song would peak at #48, but they did get to make an appearance on the Thanksgiving American Bandstand. At the time however, they were recording under the names of Tom & Jerry…not Simon & Garfunkle.

Blues guitarist Howlin Wolf is in London & recording one of those “Super Session” albums. This one will include backing musicians Eric Clapton, Steve Winwood, Bill Wyman & Charlie Watts. I have a copy of this & it is very good.


Rusty Day from the Amboy Dukes, Ex Buddy Miles band mate Jim McCarty, & Tim Bogart & Carmine Appice both from Vanilla Fudge have formed a new group going by the name of Cactus. Will they be the next big thing?

Jethro Tull have decided they will not do anymore singles & will instead concentrate on concept albums.


Ads for groups or albums this issue:

Ginger Bakers Air Force - on ATCO Records

Jean Luc Ponty - King Kong, the music of Frank Zappa on World Pacific

Country Joe & The Fish - CJ on Vanguard

The Move - Shazam on A&M Records & Tapes

Mandrake Memorial - Puzzle on Poppy Records

Incredible String Band - I Looked Up on Elektra

Melanie - Candles in the Wind - A New Album from Buddah

Jethro Tull - Benefit on Reprise

Ten Years After - Cricklewood Green on London Records

Rick Nelson - In Concert on the Decca label

Album Reviews:

Small Faces - First Step
The 3 remaining Faces, Ronnie Lane bass, Ian McLagen organ & Kenny Jones drums, with the addition of Rod Stewart vocals & Ron Wood on lead guitar, make up a fine rock band. The basic weakness with the album is that although the music is original it is also very derivitive. The final effect leaves one considerably less excited than the lineup promises. Ron Wood is far more proficient than he is thrilling, no where on the album does he play with any abandon. Rod Stewart on the other hand sings his butt off. The band lacks the power & drive to make the music work without subtleties…Joel Selvin

Jimi Hendrix- Band of Gypsies
Band of Gypsies was one of Hendrix’ amalgamations including Billy Cox on bass & Buddy Miles on drums. They hadn’t been together very long when this session was recorded Live at the Fillmore East on New Years Eve & the music shows it. Both sides are basically extended jams with Hendrix playing great guitar, able bass by Cox, overbearing drums by Miles, & rather lame buried vocals by both Hendrix & Miles. This album is Hendrix the musician & gets by on the strength of his guitar work alone…Gary Von Tersch

Other albums reviewed:

Cream - Live Cream

Ginger Bakers Air Force

Sam Lay in Bluesland

Taste - On the Boards---This band had a young Rory Gallagher as lead guitarist.

Miles Davis - Bitches Brew

Singles Reviewed:

Melanie - Lay Down thumbs down

Credence - Up Around the Bend thumbs way up

Albums Expected in the near future.

Rolling Stones live album called Get Yer Ya Ya’s Out