‘All Night Long’
I heard this Rainbow song, “All Night Long,” yesterday afternoon. I can’t even tell you how long it’s been since I’ve heard that sleazy paean to “band aides.”
“All Night Long” is great in its unapologetic portrayal of the girls who love the bands: “Your mind is dirty but your hands are clean / You’re short on class but your legs are long.” How awesome are those lyrics? And they’re certainly not the typical Ritchie Blackmore fare.
This was actually my introduction to Rainbow, coming by way of the first Monsters of Rock album, recorded at Castle Donnington in 1980. Dio sang that version, though, whereas Graham Bonnet handled original vocal duties. It was only after I heard this song that I became more interested in Rainbow and Ritchie Blackmore. Actually, I take that back. Castle Donnington
was my introduction to Rainbow, but it was a video clip of the performance that I had seen on TV that made me seek them out and, ultimately, led me to the Castle Donnington album and “All Night Long.”
Still with me? Good.
I was looking for a little information about this song and came up with the following: “All Night Long” – surprisingly – came in for some criticism from feminists. However, in a 1980
Sounds magazine article, Roger Glover was quoted to the effect that the song was “supposed to be funny.”
I also found an interesting Website called
Groupie Dirt, which I’ll let you explore on your own.
All Night Long.mp3 Labels: classic rock, guitar heroes
Hendrix in Miami(!?!): live 1968
Here’s what I like about the Internet: Last night I read something about the 1968 Miami Pop Festival (more about what I read in a sec), and within the half hour I had located a recording of Jimi Hendrix’s appearance and was listening to it. Not all that long ago, I probably never would even have heard about the festival, let alone been able to so quickly find a recording from one of the artists playing there.
Some quick background info on the Miami Pop Festival, then I’m going to link you to the site that got this whole post going. “Woodstock was born at Miami Pop” is the retrospective tagline attached to the event. Michael Lang, who would go on to be one of the brains behind Woodstock, was the Miami event promoter.
The two-day festival took place May 18 and 19 at the Gulfstream Park horse racing track in Hallandale Beach, which is actually just north of Miami. Featured acts included Hendrix, Steppenwolf, the Mothers of Invention, and Blue Cheer. The weather was typical Miami for that time of year – rain, rain, and more rain. Hendrix’s “Rainy Day, Dream Away” was supposedly written in response to the rain cancellation of the Sunday show. Rock legend also has it that rain and technical difficulties plagued Hendrix’s short set and resulted in Jimi tossing his guitar into the audience, only to be claimed by Frank Zappa.
The article I read was posted yesterday on a site called REV Miami. The site basically covers music, art, and similar happenings from around this area. One of the site’s creators, Ric Delgado, managed to land an interview with Ken Davidoff, a rock photog of some renown. The Miami Pop Festival the first major event Davidoff covered, and he shared his memories of that with REV Miami, including a run in with Hendrix: “My first night time shot was a beautiful full length pic of Jimi in these blue crushed velvet pants that practically glowed,” Davidoff said. “For the second shot I moved closer. As the strobe went off for the second time, I was stunned to hear Jimi stop, look directly at me, and say, ‘There will be no more flash photography.’”
The rest of the interview, including Davidoff’s memories of shooting other rock greats and some outstanding examples of his work, can all be found at the
REV Miami Website. I cannot encourage you enough to go there when you’re finished here.
This is a soundboard recording of very good quality and, as far as I know, has never been officially released, although obviously it’s been bootlegged aplenty.
Intro.mp3 Foxy Lady.mp3 Fire.mp3 Hear My Train a Comin’.mp3 Purple Haze.mp3 Outro.mp3 Labels: classic rock, guitar heroes, live music, rock
Ronnie James Dio: 1942 - 2010
I had no sooner finished yesterday’s post than I went to one of the forums where I hang out and read about the passing of Ronnie James Dio. His death had been mentioned the previous day in the same forum, so I wasn’t sure if this was another rumor or if it were, in fact, true.
Sadly, it was true. His wife, Wendy, posted the following message on the Ronnie James Dio
Website:
“Today my heart is broken, Ronnie passed away at 7:45am 16th May. Many, many friends and family were able to say their private good-byes before he peacefully passed away. Ronnie knew how much he was loved by all. We so appreciate the love and support that you have all given us. Please give us a few days of privacy to deal with this terrible loss. Please know he loved you all and his music will live on forever.”
No cause was given in the announcement, but Dio had been suffering from stomach cancer, and recently his band Heaven and Hell canceled its summer tour because of his health.
By way of tribute, I found a couple of tracks spanning Dio’s career. This version of “Man on the Silver Mountain” is an epic, 14-minute version, showcasing Richie Blackmore’s guitar prowess as well as Dio’s vocals. It comes from an album called
Rainbow: Live in Munich 1977. The recording is from a show taped for the German TV show Rockpalast, and was heavily bootlegged, eventually seeing commercial release in 2006.
“Neon Knights,” of course comes from
Heaven and Hell, Dio’s 1980 debut with Black Sabbath.
The last song, “Rainbow in the Dark,” is from Dio’s classic 1983 album,
Holy Diver. In October 2005 he performed the album live in its entirety and, the following year, released the show as the
Holy Diver Live album. You can hear the strain in Dio’s 63-year-old voice, but he still delivers a performance the youngsters can only hope to match.
Throw some metal today in memory of one of metal’s greatest front men, Ronnie James Dio.
Man on the Silver Mountain (live).mp3 Neon Knights.mp3 Rainbow in the Dark (live).mp3 Labels: current events, guitar heroes, metal
Doing the Cabo Wabo
Fifteen or so years ago, when I was still married, the ex and I took a weeklong trip to Cabo San Lucas. Coming from the deserts of Southern California, we were ill-equipped to handle the brutal humidity we found there. But the subsequent sweatfest was only the beginning of the fun.
A couple of nights into the trip, we made the obligatory trip to Sammy Hagar’s bar, Cabo Wabo, where mucho drinking ensued, natch. The bar was way crowded and at some point another couple ended up at our table. They seemed decent enough, so we had drinks with them. Then at some point before closing time, they disappeared. When the tab appeared, guess who hadn’t paid? The ex and I were young, drunk, and in love, and decided, fuck this: We threw our share on the table and beat it out the door.
This might seem hard to believe, but in Cabo there’s not much to do at night except drink. So, a couple of nights after the discrepancy with the tab, we found ourselves headed back at Cabo Wabo. You would think that in a town filled with gringo tourists, one would pretty much look like another. No way. Cabo Wabo’s managers and bouncers were on us before we could even sit down.
“You skipped out on your bill,” they said.
“Wtf?” we said.
Our explanation of being stiffed by the other couple seemed to hold no
agua with these guys and they promised there would be police involvement if we didn’t pay up.
After a brief conference, we decided it would be in our best interest to pay the tab and consider it a lesson learned. I forked over a credit card, signed as appropriate, and managed to look sufficiently contrite as the manager told us we were not welcome back in his bar.
And that, my friends, is the story of how I was banned for life from Cabo Wabo.
This track comes from Van Halen’s 1993 album,
Live: Right Here, Right Now.
You Really Got Me / Cabo Wabo.mp3 Labels: guitar heroes, live albums, rock
'Gotta Keep Things Moving...'
For David Lee Roth lightening struck twice when he tapped guitar virtuoso Steve Vai for his first full-length solo album, 1986’s
Eat ‘em and Smile.
Following a decade alongside Eddie Van Halen, anything less would have seemed as if Diamond Dave were just settling for what he could get. Instead, he dove into his solo career with a big splash, introducing to the world one of the few guitarists who could arguably out-Van Halen Eddie Van Halen.
Steve Vai had, of course, been around for years before DLR brought him on board: He’d been working with Frank Zappa since 1979 and was often credited on Zappa’s albums as performing “stunt guitar” or “impossible guitar parts.”
Vai left as Zappa’s fulltime guitar player in the early 80s, releasing a solo album and serving a short time as Yngwie Malmsteen’s replacement in Alcatrazz. Then, in 1985, he made the career move that would catapult him onto rock’s world stage.
In an old interview with the
DLR Army fansite, Vai reminisced about how he ended up joining forces with Diamond Dave. Billy Sheehan, who would play bass on
Eat ‘em and Smile, recommended Vai to Dave. “I’ll never forget,” Vai said. “I was in the shower, covered in soap, and a call came in: ‘Hey, this is Dave Roth, man!’ I was like, ‘No, it's not!’ He said, ‘Yeah man, we’re putting a group together.’”
Eat ‘em and Smile came out to mostly positive reviews. Critics agreed the album was fun in the style of the early Van Halen albums and was actually better than the slick pop rock coming from Dave’s old band mates. Some even called it the “real” follow-up to
1984.
Shy Boy.mp3 Labels: guitar heroes, hard rock, rock
I've Got A Rock 'n' Roll Heart - If You're Paying For It
For the record, I am not a fan of artists licensing their music to sell things, no matter how unique or prestigious said things may be. There are memories associated with particular songs and I would, for example, just as soon that memory not involve David Caruso.
Which brings up the new
T-Mobile ad starring Eric Clapton. Clapton, of course, is no stranger to whoring out his product: Back in the 80s, Anheuser-Busch used “After Midnight” to sell Michelob beer. I guess the admen didn’t consider the irony there.
I can understand artists seeking sponsorships – I know it costs zillions of dollars to tour and having a large corporation underwrite it can help out. And I suppose if it’s a product the artist truly believes in, why not put your name on it. Or, you can just take Pete Townshend’s attitude and say,
“This is my music, not yours. I sell it wherever I like.” But I don’t get the phone thing. This has gone beyond using a great Clapton song in the advertisement to designing a special Eric Clapton model telephone. According to the T-Mobile Website, it comes “with a classic Fender sunburst-inspired design” and “preloaded with music from Eric Clapton.” I just don’t get it, but then again, I’m not a Techno-Beaver kinda guy. The company I work for has thoughtfully provided me with a pretty lo-tech cell phone and I seem to make do with that. As much as I admire Eric Clapton, and as beautiful as I think the Fender Stratocaster is, I just don’t see the need for a $450 telephone with faux sunburst colors. I can buy a lot of Clapton records with that $450. Hell, I could just about buy a
real Strat for that kind of money. And without the monthly bills from a pain-in-the-ass phone company.
I can see from different things I’ve read that feelings vary widely on the idea of commercial use of classic rock music. Some people think it’s the reality of the times and that it actually helps introduce a new audience to the songs. Others feel the music is sacrosanct and shouldn’t be whored out to the highest bidder. If you care to, drop me a comment and let me know what you think. In the meantime, here’s the song Clapton and T-Mobile are using to hawk this latest gadget.
I’ve Got a Rock ‘n’ Roll Heart.mp3 Labels: clapton, classic rock, guitar heroes
Happy Christmas
Happy Christmas to you and yours.
I’ve decided to finish off this Christmas song season with quality rather than quantity. These three songs are right up there with my all time favorites. I hope you enjoy them as well.
Like every year at Christmas, there’s been a slight uptick in visitors to my little blog, most of them searching for seasonal music. I hope at least a few of you come back. Once in a while I post some listenable stuff.
Little Drummer Boy (extended version).mp3 ~ Jimi Hendrix
Christmas (demo).mp3 ~ The Who
Winter Wonderland.mp3 ~ Dean Martin
Labels: demos, guitar heroes, holiday
Slash Turns Japanese
Seriously. Slash is probably the hardest working rock guitarist around. If he’s not lending his talents to any number of artists, he’s either playing live or working on his own studio projects. So, while Velvet Revolver is on permanent hiatus, Slash has wasted no time in recording a solo album with guests ranging from Iggy to Fergie.
The album itself isn’t due out until early next year, but a Japanese-only single has already been released, featuring Koshi Inaba, of Japanese hard rock band B'z, on vocals.
The song, “Sahara,” sounds more like Slash’s Snakepit than it does Velvet Revolver; it’s harder, faster, and not as glossy. Bonus strangeness points – Koshi sings the song entirely in Japanese. It actually took me a couple of listens before I realized there was a reason I couldn’t understand what he was saying.
Sahara.mp3 Labels: guitar heroes, hard rock, new stuff, singles
Stuck on 17B - Day Three-and-a-half
Woodstock organizer Michael Lang: “Jimi Hendrix wanted to close the show because the headliner does close the show. [Jimi’s] manager, Michael Jeffery, insisted. I said, ‘Listen, it’s not like that. They’re all headliners. Why don’t you go on around midnight?’
“Jeffery said no. Hendrix has to close the show. So I said, ‘OK. You got it,’ even though I knew it was not really a great spot to have, waiting up all night and knowing many of the people would have left already. On Monday morning, Hendrix did play an incredible set, but by the time he got to the stage there were only about 60,000 people left.”
Impatience became anticipation as everyone warmed to the first rays of the new rising sun. Melting rainbow watercolors seeped through the sunrise sky and inspired a new title for Jimi’s band. He walked out in to the dawn of a Gypsy Sun, with multicolor streaks stretched across the sky.
A blissful afterglow radiated over the site as his Gypsy Sun & Rainbows Band took positions on stage. It wasn’t until this moment that history could claim Woodstock as the apex of the decade.
“I see that we meet again....”from the liner notes,
Jimi Hendrix: WoodstockVoodoo Chile (Slight Return).mp3 Star Spangled Banner.mp3 Purple Haze.mp3 Labels: classic rock, current events, guitar heroes, hard rock, live albums
Get on the Chickenfoot
I like to think that I’m pretty much on top of new music insofar as the stuff that interests me. That’s why it totally took me by surprise when I read a couple of weeks ago about the latest supergroup, a band called Chickenfoot.
Chickenfoot, for those who haven’t heard, is the teaming of legendary rockers Sammy Hagar, Joe Satriani, Michael Anthony, and Chad Smith. The band, as the members say, “kicks a donkey's ass six ways to Sunday and back again.”
Chickenfoot came together almost by accident, a result of jams held at Hagar’s club, Cabo Wabo Cantina, in Cabo San Lucas. “We were just having fun,” says Michael Anthony in the band bio. “After Sammy and I left Van Halen, we’d get together with musicians, and certain people seemed to really gel. Chad came down and we got on well with him. Gradually, we started talking about doing something more serious, but we needed a guitarist. Somebody smokin’ – somebody who could take us to the Promised Land.”
That somebody turned out to be Joe Satriani, who is happy to be part of a band. “I never mapped out a plan to be an instrumentalist,” he says. “I really wanted to be a part of a big vocal-oriented rock band. I had offers, but nothing seemed to fit. Everything seemed like a career move...until Chickenfoot.”
To me, this band fulfills what Hagar could – and should – have done during his tenure with Van Halen. In Satriani, Hagar has teamed with one of the few rock guitarists who can out-Van Halen Eddie Van Halen. If Van Halen would have kept rocking like this, instead of turning pop, maybe they could have kept their early reputation as rock gods.
“Soap on a Rope,” which I’m sampling for you tonight, is typical of the type of music Chickenfoot is putting out: Instead of playing woulda/coulda Sammy takes this band back to his days with Montrose. It’s great to hear him back with a band that wants to rock, and it’s also amazing to hear Joe Satriani in a band with a seasoned rock singer.
Soap on a Rope.mp3 Labels: guitar heroes, new stuff, rock
'I've Got the Rock 'n' Rolls Again'
It’s been a couple of years ago that
I posted about the Joe Perry Project, Joe’s ill-fated band during his early 80’s hiatus from Aerosmith. Despite releasing three albums that, in my opinion can stand against most Aerosmith releases, the JPP never got beyond cult status. By the mid-80’s, as we know, Joe was back in the Aerosmith fold.
Not long ago, I found a JPP live recording, taken from a show in Joe’s hometown of Boston. Although the date on the file puts this show in April 1982, based on the band line-up and the set list, it was likely a late 1983 show. In an interview before the show, Joe says the band members are singer Cowboy Mach Bell, bassist Danny Hargrove and drummer Joe Pet. Brad Whitford, who didn’t start appearing with the them until 1983, also joins the Project onstage.
In a 2000 interview with the
Website d-filed.com, Mach Bell looked back on his tenure with “one of the most famous guitar players in the business.” “Joe took us on the road – and I mean road – no more Lear jets and pampering lackeys,” Bell said. “Our crew hoisted the Jolly Roger and crisscrossed the continent in rental cars and vans. We ate together at Denny’s and slept in the Motel 6 ... and had more fun than I thought was humanly possible.”
This show was probably one of the Joe Perry Project’s last, and they sound musically tight, despite the wear and tear. But there’s also the feeling that, despite it being a Boston show, the band is simply going through the motions. I’ve heard recordings of Aerosmith in Boston and the band always seemed a lot more up for the home crowd. I think that by this point in the JPP story, things were close to an end and maybe Joe felt that, despite his talk of a fourth album and further tours.
Interview, pt. 1.mp3 Intro / Toys in the Attic.mp3 No Substitute (for Arrogance).mp3 Heartbreak Hotel.mp3 Once a Rocker, Always a Rocker.mp3 Going Down.mp3 Buzz Buzz.mp3 Black Velvet Pants.mp3 I’ve Got the Rock ‘n’ Rolls Again.mp3 East Coast, West Coast.mp3 Let the Music Do the Talking.mp3 Interview, pt. 2.mp3 Labels: Aerosmith, classic rock, covers, guitar heroes, live music
One Night In Paris (with Led Zeppelin, not Ms. Hilton)
All right – I made it back on line and will stay on line for a while. I hope.
As promised, I dug around the Licorice Pizza vaults in order to bring you good people something to make up for the downtime. What I came up with is a nearly 40-year-old Led Zeppelin concert recording.
One Night Stand In Paris was recorded October 10, 1969, at the Olympia in Paris. According to the notes that came with the file, this recording comes from audio released to radio stations. So it’s like one step up from FM broadcast quality.
Actually, I found the quality of this recording so good, I burned it onto a CD and had it in my car for a couple of weeks. That’s something you can’t say about many live recordings – especially recordings from 1969.
This show took place a little less than two weeks before Zeppelin would release their second album, so there’s a mix of songs from both disks. This short set is heavy on the blues, but, as Zep would prove over the years, they could add a heavy element to almost anything. No exception here. They also stretched the songs out into showcases,
a la the 23-minute version of “How Many More Times” you’ll find here.
Introduction.mp3 Good Times Bad Times (intro) / Communication Breakdown.mp3 I Can’t Quit You Baby.mp3 Heartbreaker.mp3 Dazed and Confused.mp3 White Summer / Black Mountain Side.mp3 You Shook Me.mp3 How Many More Times.mp3Labels: classic rock, guitar heroes, Led Zeppelin, live music
Lights Out
There were a couple things behind today’s decision to post some old UFO: First, I still occasionally see hits on a
UFO post I did in September 2006 (the music is on my old host, but the links seem to still be good); next,
Strangers in the Nights is right up there as one of my all time favorite albums.
Strangers is UFO’s 1979 live album. Recorded in late 1978 at shows in Chicago, Ill., and Louisville, Ky., this disk has the band’s classic line-up of Phil Mogg, Micheal Schenker, Pete Way, Paul Raymond, and Andy Parker. Schenker left the band right after this tour ended. It has been rumored that he refused to record any overdubs for the album, which would make this an accurate account of his live guitar work.
Despite often being cited by fans and critics as
one of the best live rock albums of all time,
Strangers in the Night never charted higher than number 42 in the U.S. and number 8 in the U.K.
For me, this is one of the albums I never get tired of hearing. I bought the double vinyl release back when it first came out, then replaced it years later with the CD. Like many of my favorites, it’s hard to put my finger on the exact reason for its lasting appeal. But maybe that’s the secret of something so classic.
Out in the Street.mp3 Lights Out.mp3 Shoot Shoot.mp3Labels: classic rock, guitar heroes, live albums, rock
"Shut the Door and Cover Me..."
The other day, while searching through eMusic for a couple of songs, I stumbled across a bunch of compilation disks. These disks all have names like those old
KTEL releases – things like
Trailer Park Hits and
Monster Mullet Rock. If I saw these in the cut-out bin (do they still have those?) I probably wouldn’t even give them a second glance.
As I skimmed the song titles, though, I saw these disks were filled with cover versions I’d never heard: Roger Daltrey and Slash doing “No More Mr. Nice Guy.” Ted Nugent playing “Rag Doll.”
I’ve ‘fessed up before that I love to hear a good cover of a good song. Rarely can a cover surpass the original, but it’s almost always interesting to hear a musician stamp a song with their own style. Case in point: Faster Pussycat. I’m not going to even get into their whole evolution from Motley Crue wanna-be’s to Marilyn Manson wanna-be’s, but did you ever think you’d hear an
industrial version of “Misty Mountain Hop”? Also, check out Yngwie Malmsteen’s take on “Dream On.” Whoever’s singing is no Steven Tyler, but Yngwie just
shreds the song. Joe who?
No More Mr. Nice Guy (Alice Cooper cover).mp3 ~ Roger Daltrey and Slash
It’s a Long Way to the Top (AC/DC cover).mp3 ~ Lemmy
Squealer (AC/DC cover).mp3 ~ Genitorturers
Viva Las Vegas.mp3 ~ Johnny Ramone
Tie Your Mother Down (Queen cover).mp3 ~ Lemmy and Ted Nugent
Misty Mountain Hop (Led Zeppelin cover).mp3 ~ Faster Pussycat
Dream On (Aerosmith cover).mp3 ~ Yngwie Malmsteen
Rag Doll (Aerosmith cover).mp3 ~ Ted Nugent
Money (Pink Floyd cover).mp3 ~ Edgar Winter
If you haven’t done so already, you need to check out
eMusic. For a fair price, they have become my number one source for independent, DRM-free music.
~~~~~
(
Picture Note: The pic is of Gen, singer and founding member of the Genitorturers, from the band's MySpace)
Labels: AC/DC, Aerosmith, classic rock, covers, guitar heroes, industrial, Led Zeppelin
Where's my bailout?
I’m waiting to hear what the president has to say about why I don’t have any money. Somehow I don’t think he’s going to give me a raise, but you never know. The talking heads at CNN have set expectations so high for this speech that anything short of an immediate economic 180 will be a deemed a failure.
While I am waiting, I thought there’d be no better way to pass the time than to listen to some 70’s guitar rock. Specifically, some Pat Travers-style 70’s guitar rock.
Pat Travers is one of those guitar cult heroes. With the exception of a couple of late 70’s singles, he never seemed to really hit it as big as he could have. Travers is a fantastic blues rock guitar player, heavily influenced by the likes of Hendrix and Jeff Beck. His 1979 live album,
Live! Go For What You Know, was my introduction to the Pat Travers band. This album and the band’s follow-up,
Crash and Burn, both recorded with band members Pat Thrall, Tommy Aldridge, and “Mars” Cowling, are probably Traver’s best releases.
Following those two albums, Travers was on the cusp of stardom when both Thrall and Aldridge left the band to pursue other projects. Then, in 1981, Travers released
Radio Active, which was more keyboard-oriented than his previous efforts, serving to alienate his new fans and getting him dumped from his record label.
Travers battled through the 1980s and 90s, returning to small club shows but still recording and releasing albums through small, independent labels. He’s still recording and playing live, and is now – almost ironically, it seems – considered one of rock’s most influential guitarists.
So, as the president prepares to take the podium, if you get tired of listening to him, turn the sound down and check out some classic Pat Travers. You can always catch the highlights later.
Boom Boom (Out Go the Lights) (live).mp3 Snortin’ Whiskey.mp3 Last Child (Aerosmith cover).mp3Labels: Aerosmith, classic rock, covers, guitar heroes
The 12 Days of Xmas (day 2)
On the second day of Christmas
my true love sent to me:
Two Turtle Doves
and a Partridge in a Pear Tree
Gotta make up for a little lost time, so I’m going to go ahead and cram day two in here.
You’ll probably recognize this Xmas classic from the ubiquitous
Garmin commercial.
Carol of the Bells.mp3 ~ Gary Hoey
Carol of the Bells.mp3 ~ Pacific Chorale
Labels: guitar heroes, holiday
Thanksgiving and Hendrix's Birthday. All at once.
To those of you who celebrate it, Happy Thanksgiving. To the rest of you, today is Jimi Hendrix’s birthday, so you, too, should join in the party.
Had Hendrix lived, he would have been 66 years old today. Hard to imagine what the flamboyant guitar god would be doing now. Would he have mellowed into an elder bluesman? Or would he have become a nonstop touring nostalgia act? Sadly, we’ll never know.
To mark Jimi’s birthday, I dug out a box set released in 1990 on what would have been his 48th birthday. It’s called
Lifelines: The Jimi Hendrix Story. I skipped this back when I was doing the “Saturday Boxing” series because of the way this collection was put together.
Over the 1988 Labor Day weekend, the Westwood One Radio Network aired a program called “Jimi Hendrix – Live & Unreleased,” hosted by Bruce Gary. This
Lifelines collection is from that program and includes excerpts from several interviews with Hendrix. To me, the dialogue was annoying, interrupting the flow of some great music. As such, I’ve only listened to the entire thing once or twice, and I decided to skip it when I posted selections from my box sets.
When I was thinking about posting something for Hendrix’s birthday, I thought back to this set. I gave it another listen and decided that not only is the music great, but it’s interesting
now to hear Jimi’s thoughts. The dialogue also provides you some information about the tracks you might not otherwise have known.
With that in mind, here are a few tracks from
Lifelines: The Jimi Hendrix Story, dialogue and all. I’ve also included the liner notes for each track.
I’m a Man (live).mp3 ~ with Curtis Knight and the Squires
Recorded live in Hackensack, NJ, in December 1965. One of the earliest examples of Hendrix singing in front of a band, this Bo Diddley classic demonstrates Jimi’s blues and R&B roots – as well as how his guitar playing was already becoming quite stylized.
Drivin’ South.mp3 Recorded in the BBC’s London studios on Oct. 17, 1967, this may well be the guitar showpiece of this collection. Jimi used to perform this in the early days with Curtis Knight, but he never released his own version.
Voodoo Child (Slight Return).mp3 The original version appeared on 1968’s Electric Ladyland album. This alternate take is take four of eight takes recorded at The Record Plant in New York on May 3, 1968. Of the eight takes of “Voodoo Child (Slight Return),” take four (this one) was the longest run-through before the selected master take (number eight).
Angel (home demo).mp3 Recorded on Jimi’s portable tape deck in early 1968, while he was composing songs for the Electric Ladyland project. “Angel” wasn’t recorded properly until 1970, during sessions for what would become The Cry of Love. A very intimate glimpse into Jimi’s songwriting process.
Send My Love to Linda.mp3 Recorded at The Record Plant in New York in August 1970, this comes from one of Jimi’s last recording sessions.
I Don’t Live Today (live).mp3 Recorded live at the Los Angeles Forum – Apr. 26, 1969
[No dialogue in this track.]
Labels: classic rock, demos, guitar heroes, holiday, live albums, outtakes
Untitled Zeppelin post (take 12)
Well my friends, here we are at long last. The final chapter of my temporarily recurring feature here at the Licorice Pizza: The Ultimate Led Zeppelin Sessions disks.
When I kicked this off, I had intended to post one part per week. That was almost four months ago to the day. Well, I came close. I doubt I’ll undertake again anything of this magnitude; it stopped being fun after the first few weeks! Judging from the hits I get for these posts, though, I think most of you liked it and I do appreciate you checking it out.
Fittingly enough, these last 10 songs come from some of the last stuff Zeppelin would do: The first three tracks, recorded in May 1978 at Clearwell Castle in England, are early rehearsals for
In Through the Out Door. The remaining tracks were recorded in April and May 1980 at the Rainbow and the New Victoria Theatres in London, just prior to the band kicking off its European tour. That tour started June 17 in Dortmund, Germany; three months later, John Bonham would tragically die, effectively bringing to an end one of the greatest rock ‘n’ roll bands to ever exist.
The only real stand out here is a song called “Fire,” the first track. I couldn’t find any information about this song, where it came from, or what the story is behind it. It could be a cover, but I don’t immediately recognize it. Of the other tracks, there is nothing really special, other than the chance to hear Led Zeppelin together one final time.
Per usual, I’ve posted the individual songs and also Zipped them all up for you. I’ve also provided links to the 11 previous posts. Of those previous posts, I know the individual song links are still active, but I’m not sure about the RapidShare links – they expire after 30 days if they’re not used. Let me know if you come across something you can’t live without and the link is dead.
Fire.mp3 Carouselambra.mp3 Carouselambra.mp3 Carouselambra.mp3 White Summer.mp3 White Summer/Black Mountain Side.mp3 Kashmir.mp3 Achilles Last Stand.mp3 Achilles Last Stand.mp3 Stairway to Heaven.mp3 Unzip it all
here.
~~~~~~~~~~
Untitled Zeppelin Post
Part 11 Untitled Zeppelin Post
Part 10 Untitled Zeppelin Post
Part 9 Untitled Zeppelin Post
Part 8 Untitled Zeppelin Post
Part 7 Untitled Zeppelin Post
Part 6 Untitled Zeppelin Post
Part 5 Untitled Zeppelin Post
Part 4 Untitled Zeppelin Post
Part 3 Untitled Zeppelin Post
Part 2 Untitled Zeppelin Post
Part 1Labels: classic rock, guitar heroes, Led Zeppelin, outtakes
Untitled Zeppelin post (take 11)
I know, I know – I’m a lazy sod and it’s been another two weeks since the last installment of my temporarily recurring feature here at the Licorice Pizza: The Ultimate Led Zeppelin Sessions disks. I’d like to think that the gaps would keep people checking in to see if I’ve posted the latest chapter, but things don’t seem to work that way in the blogosphere.
But here we are, with the penultimate disk, this one covering a little of
Presence and a lot of
In Through the Out Door. Sessions for both of these albums took place during tumultuous times in the Zeppelin camp. Recording for
Presence started while Robert Plant was recovering from injuries sustained in a 1975 car accident. Plant was convalescing in Malibu, Calif., and writing lyrics when Jimmy Page joined him. The two fleshed out the music Plant was working on, before being joined by John Paul Jones and John Bonham at SIR Studios in Hollywood for rehearsals. The album would ultimately be recorded at Musicland Studios in Munich, Germany.
The first three tracks of today’s post are from the sessions in Hollywood.
By late 1978, when Zeppelin set about recording
In Through the Out Door, the band had divided into two camps: Jones and Plant, who were actually trying to record an album; and Page and Bonham, who were both reportedly battling addictions. Often Plant and Jones would record during the day and Page and Bonham would show up at night to record their parts.
In Through the Out Door is the only Zeppelin album with original compositions (“South Bound Suarez” and “All My Love”) that Jimmy Page had no part in writing. The resulting album was much more keyboard-oriented than any of the previous Led Zeppelin disks.
These sessions took place during November and December 1978 at Polar Studios in Stockholm, Sweden. Some things to note: This version of “All My Love” has an alternate ending with a “twangy” guitar solo and additional vocals. Plant also did all of the vocals in one take, so, other than the ending, this is the same version as on
In Through the Out Door.
The title of “South Bound Suarez” seems to be a point of contention among Led Zeppelin fans. Some think the title contains a typographical error; it is thought by some that “suarez” is a misspelling of the French word for an evening party,
soirée. More likely, though, is that it’s just a play on words, as the lyrics reference “flying down” (southbound), being happy to have his feet on the ground again, watching a woman walk and talk, heavy rhythm, and “con carne,” a Spanish dish prepared with beef.
Since there are only 14 songs on this disk, I posted them all, but also Zipped them all up for you. And I’ll try to get to the final disk sometime before Christmas!
1.
Royal Orleans.mp3 2.
Tea for One (aka Hootchie Cootchie version.mp3 3.
Don’t Start Me Talking / Blues Medley / All My Lovin’.mp3 4.
Carouselambra (inst).mp3 5.
unknown song (intro only).mp3 6.
Wearing and Tearing.mp3 7.
Fool in the Rain.mp3 8.
Hot Dog.mp3 9.
In the Evening.mp3 10.
South Bound Suarez.mp3 11.
Darlene.mp3 12.
Fool in the Rain.mp3 13.
Carouselambra.mp3 14.
All My Love.mp3 Unzip it
here.
Labels: classic rock, guitar heroes, Led Zeppelin, outtakes
Sheik it One Time for Frank
I was listening this morning to something I haven’t heard in a long time: Frank Zappa’s 1979 classic,
Sheik Yerbouti.
Nearly every song on this album, from “Bobby Brown Goes Down” to “Dancin’ Fool,” are among his best and most biting social commentaries. Even the instrumental tracks are superb, showcasing Zappa’s immense and often underrated skill as a guitarist. As I listened to the album, and in particular, the instrumentals, I kept thinking about a review I read many years ago. The author, (and I wish I remember who it was and where I read it) commenting on Zappa’s skill as a musician, wrote how impressive it was that Zappa could go from symphonic pieces to a note-perfect cover of “Whipping Post.”
Zappa recorded the basic tracks for
Sheik Yerbouti live during three shows at the Palladium in New York (Oct. 28-31, 1977) and a run of shows at the Hammersmith Odeon in London during January and February 1978. As the liner notes say, most of the songs contained “lots” of overdubs.
Sheik Yerbouti represented a major turning point in Zappa's career. The first album to be released on his own eponymous label after his departure from Warner Bros. Records, it emphasized the comedic aspect of his lyrics more than ever before, beginning a period of increased record sales and mainstream media attention. The album itself charted as high as #21, and “Dancin’ Fool” was nominated for a Grammy.
The album also attracted a fair amount of controversy: “I Have Been in You” pokes fun at Peter Frampton’s 1977 hit “I’m in You” while maintaining a sexually driven structure; “Flakes” includes a parody of Bob Dylan; and “Jewish Princess” attracted attention from the Anti-Defamation League, to which Zappa denied an apology, arguing, “I didn’t make up the idea of a Jewish Princess. They exist, so I wrote a song about them.”
Flakes.mp3 Jewish Princess.mp3Labels: guitar heroes, rock, Zappa
This was actually my introduction to Rainbow, coming by way of the first Monsters of Rock album, recorded at Castle Donnington in 1980. Dio sang that version, though, whereas Graham Bonnet handled original vocal duties. It was only after I heard this song that I became more interested in Rainbow and Ritchie Blackmore. Actually, I take that back. Castle Donnington was my introduction to Rainbow, but it was a video clip of the performance that I had seen on TV that made me seek them out and, ultimately, led me to the Castle Donnington album and “All Night Long.”
