Just when I think I won't find enough of the music that moves me, I find enough.
In the playlist this week, you're going to hear lots of violin, mandolin, and acoustic guitar. There's more exciting Americana/Folk music being made today than Rock 'n' Roll, but Guided By Voices will be enough to mix up this mix.
If you remember Nickel Creek back in the 90's, they're back to deliver even more textured arrangements and vocals. Growing and evolving, that's what this playlist is about.
Andrew Bird's new album is wonderful. This guy just keeps getting more interesting. Same for Blake Mills. Layers and layers with these two. If you take the time to listen, your time will be well spent.
If you haven't heard of Maia Sharp, listen to her new album. Every song's a winner and in this playlist. How often does that happen? Well, I guess I did the same for Nickel Creek and Andrew Bird...
Enjoy the playlist my friends, there's enough to find some gems.
Here's a Happy Birthday shout out to lifelong friend and Beatles fan, Paul Hobbs!
A Happy Birthday to my grandsons, Brendan and Drew who also love The Beatles and share this birthday date with Paul. I guess if you were born on August 14th, you were destined to be a Beatles fan.
Since Paul is also such a huge friend to Monday Monday Music™ with many contributions to my blogs over the years, I thought I'd put together some of Paul's favorite songs together in a playlist. Directly below the playlist, you'll find an embedded Spotify playlist Paul put together several years ago of his, Top 100. I of course have lifted many of the songs from that list here, but he don't mind.
Your everlasting summer and you can see it fading fast
So you grab a piece of something that you think is gonna last
Well, you wouldn't even know a diamond if you held it in your hand
The things you think are precious I can't understand. –Steely Dan
It's August 1973, I'm out of high school and about to start college at Allan Hancock Jr. College in Santa Maria. Yep, back in the day it was called, "Junior College." Looking forward to two years of, "You're not really in real college yet bucko!"
Well, it's still the summer and I'm having fun with my new girlfriend, Mary Kit. She graduated a year early, and to my great luck will be attending pretend college with me too! In reelin' in the years here, I can say... the weekend at the college really did turn out like we planned.
I'm seeing a bit less of the boys of summer, and they're wondering, "Where's Doug these days?"
Ron dropping water balloons on our sisters from his rooftop while I pelt them from behind the stationwagon, riding bikes on 166, smoking the thin Erik filtered cigars on a starry night, Bill pushing me in his mom's wheelchair to Rexall, as (oh boy), I pretend to be handicapped, Gary buying us beer at Dino's, hangin' out in Paul's fort overlooking the garbanzo bean field, making whirlpools in my backyard circular pool, taking turns cranking and waiting to eat my mom's homemade peach ice cream.
"Yeah Doug's off with Mary Kit again, I think they drove to San Luis." We sure did love hanging out there. I have a wonderful memory of the two of us walking together in the downtown indoor network of wooden and brick shops, it was like a hippy mall. The smell of leather and incense. Now Cal Poly, that was a real university and a real college town.
Let's think this through, Cal Poly and 30 minutes from home, or maybe the five hour drive to San Diego State? We got time to plan our getaway...
On The Ed Sullivan Show there was this guy named Eric Brenn who had a fabulous act of "plate spinning." Everybody loved him and Ed had him on many times. This act became so popular that you've probably used a variation of this line- "Well, this week's really got me spinning the plates." I know I've said it over the years, so here I just put up a video clip of Mr. Brenn on Ed Sullivan. I guess it's been that kind of week, and managing my own balancing act...
Well nothing like a song to right the world. For me it's been The Beatles' Here, There And Everywhere, one of Paul's best. I first heard it on a run several weeks ago, then it started playing in my head, I then found three different versions of it on YouTube. Nothing unusual about that, as I often will fish up several versions of a song, keep one for the playlist and throw the other ones back into the sea of songs. This week in the playlist, I've kept all three.
Here, There And Everywhere serves as a meditation, a musical potion to calm the mind, therapy for my soul. Thank you Mr. McCartney.
Then, I couldn't leave John out, so I paired him next to Paul, and there, everything is balanced here, there...
It's an interesting mix of music for the month of July, 1963. On one hand you have the jazz vibe of Miles Davis with his classic album, Seven Steps to Heaven, and the soulful voice of Ray Charles' album, Ingredients in a Recipe for Soul. Mix that with instrumental surfer rock 'n' roll from the Surfaris, and homogenized folk from the Kingston Trio, and you have the diversity of music in America in the early 1960's.
I now love it all, from my whitebread upbringing listening to pop on the radio, to appreciating the range of emotion that Ray Charles communicates in his voice. Ray has a whole different experience to share of America. His interpretations of standards such as Ol' Man River, Over The Rainbow, and You'll Never Walk Alone are incredible. Over the Rainbow for example, is one of the most over-covered songs in the history of music. As a black man and artist, Ray emotes, "Take a walk in my shoes America." It's now my favorite version. I would love to hear a "naked" version of this album. Take out the sappy strings and background harmonies so popular in 1950's and early 1960's recording arrangements, strip it down to an R&B band with Ray at the piano, and man that's an album a lot of people would want to hear in 2023.
Enjoy it all my friends. And rest in peace Tony Bennett, you and Ray can now sing together again... @ the Heavenly Club. Check out the bonus track at the end of the playlist.
Fifty years later, what holds up? Maybe by the summer of 1973, the albums coming out were a red flag that rock 'n' roll and R&B were morphing into slicker versions of their former selves from the 1960's.
In listing my rejection bullet points for this blog from July, 1973 in Music, it's kind of a bellwether for what's to come from my both sides now perspective as an 18 year old and 68 year old.
18+ minute songs from Cat Stevens and Jethro Tull. Sure artists are allowed to grow, but sometimes you miss their former hooks.
Elvis. Teenagers in 1973 were not listening to Elvis Presley. C'mon, pictures with Nixon, WTF.
New York Dolls. Only a few bands could really pull off glam.
Styx. The rock 'n' rock slick stuff, that just kept growing. So why do I like Queen here and not Styx? I don't know, I just always liked Queen, maybe a little more originality, creativity?
Barry Manilow. 1970's pop is getting so infected with these types of viruses.
10cc. Clever little name for a rock 'n' roll band, that ended there.
Grand Funk Railroad. C'mon man, are you serious? Kiss is lurking too in 1973. My God, the horror!
Jim Croce. Folk has always had cornball singer-songwriters, I just didn't get into most of his songs.
Funkadelic. What's happening to R&B here?
West, Bruce, and Laing. They shoot horses don't they? 50 years later, it was hard to listen to their last album.
My more experienced ear is now more accepting to say the collaboration between John McLaughlin and Carlos Santana in Love Devotion Surrender.
The late 60's and early 70's had some wonderful western movies. In April 1973, the Eagles jump on that with Desperado, and I just loved Bob Dylan's soundtrack for Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid. Bob's big hit, Knockin' On Heaven's Door has always been a favorite of mine, and I just got into the soundtrack again this past week.
And I'll tell what really holds up 50 years later, Steely Dan. A band that would help define the best of music in the 1970's and help carry the rock 'n' roll torch forward with their own unique sound.
Okay, What's an AI Squirrel? For me, it's the right side column on YouTube populated with what YouTube thinks I might like to click on based on my most recent clicks. My typical pattern is to go to Youtube after listening to a good song I've recently heard on Amazon music. I'm listening to that video to determine if it's going to make my new playlist, and low and behold on my right there's another video by the same band or artist that looks even better than the video I'm currently watching, SQUIRREL!
I think maybe this technology is making me attention deficit, I don't remember ever being so easily distracted. In any case maybe it's actually making for a better playlist. So a new pattern is emerging. I hear a great song on my trail run, come back to find a version of it on YouTube, and now about 40% of the time, pick something else from YouTube's right column. So, someday if my monthly #BestSongIHeardToday blog series gets renamed to AI Squirrel, you'll know that I've completely gone up that tree.
Let's just call it July 4th week and start the summer party! Fire up the bar-be-cue and soak up the sun pilgrims! Now don't forget to crank up the music and enjoy my third installment of Summer Tunes! In fact, don't hesitate to play my other two Summer Tunes playlists as you sip on your favorite summer drink and take some time to relax.
Here's my latest favorite summer concoction!
Doug's Lazy Daze
Get in your car and turn on the AC.
Go to the nearest McDonalds' drive through.
Order a Large Mango/Pineapple Smoothie, or the number for as many who are drinking back at the house.
Drive home quickly, but carefully.
Go to your liquor cabinet (oh yes you do), and select your favorite brand of tequila or vodka.
Don't bother to pour the smoothie into a pretty glass, time's a wastin'.
Stir in gently whatever amount of tequila or vodka you want, if it's overflowing... maybe you have a bigger problem!
Put on Doug's latest Summer Tunes playlist, and as always, enjoy my friends!
Doing the usual sift and sort through the various streaming services for new music, I came up with only three albums with four or more songs that gets the marquee treatment above. My listening ear tended to heavily drift to the folk/Americana side of things this month as Rufus Wainwright, Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit, and Marty Stuart and his Fabulous Superlatives all delivered the goods.
Altitude, Marty Stuart and his Fabulous Superlatives (This album was inspired by The Byrds and their 1968 album, Sweetheart of the Rodeo.)
Now like most of my playlists of new music, I've also found some other worthy songs to mix in between these three albums, enough to put 56 songs together with several having my signature jingle-jangle leanings.
Originally, I was going to use the title of the Martha and the Vandellas' 1963 single, Come and Get These Memories as the title of this post, then I started listening to Ike and Tina.
In June 1963, Ike and Tina released their 5th album together, It's Going to Work Out Fine. All of those songs were written by Ike Turner except for the album title track and in hindsight it's maybe an indication of what's to come for Tina. With titles like, Gonna Find Me a Substitute, Why Should I?, I'm Gonna Cut You Loose, Poor Fool, and the most appropriate title, This Man's Crazy, all written from Ike's self-centered and sexist perspective, but delivered through Tina's vocal and performance. It's safe to say some 60 years later... there's blood on the tracks.
With Tina's recent passing on May 24th, I didn't intend this post to turn dark, but I'm still so inspired about her life story and eventual fulfillment of this 1963 album title, It's Going to Work Out Fine.
Last week, I featured one of Tina's biggest hits, The Best. This week before I get to the playlist, I wanted to show the famous 1976 incident where Tina finally leaves Ike after another beating by her psycho-husband. Here, she bravely takes the first step in taking her life back. This scene is from the 1993 movie, What's Love Got To Do With It, and followed her 1984 smash hit single of the same name.
Warning...the following video clip contains domestic violence. Feel free to skip it and read on.
Here's Tina's 1984 #1 song, What's Love Got To Do With It
Long live the queen of rock 'n' roll!
Then, as I was going through the Wikipedia, June 1963 in Music list, I came to Leslie Gore's album, I'll Cry If I Want To, and smash hit single, It's My Party.
Judy and Johnny just walked through the door
Like a queen with her king
Oh, what a birthday surprise
Judy's wearing his ring
It's my party, and I'll cry if I want to
Cry if I want to
Cry if I want to
You would cry too, if it happened to you
Seemingly, this teeny-bopper pop was a million miles away from the more raw R&B of the Ike and Tina Turner Revue. But wait, maybe with the wisdom of time we've all learned that Leslie needs Johnny like a hole in the head. In fact, Johnny is probably going to turn out like the monster of Ike Turner in just a few short years. Run Leslie, run!
The alleged perpetrator (or "sniper") of a recent trip and fall.
Recently, I changed up my running routine. After one trip and fall, I decided to slow my running pace down. I already was a slow jogger or what I call, a "slogger," so how is that even possible?
You may ask, "Are you just walking fast?" It's actually still a jog, but before the slowdown, I noticed I was so focused on watching the ground for jutting up stones that I was losing my most cherished aspect of running, the time to space, to let my mind wander.
So I slowed my pace down to 4 miles a hour and increased my run from 5 miles to 6.25 (10K). Team Tortoise forever baby! It's great, I'm not any more tired, and burn a few more calories. Most importantly, I re-routed my course so that I'm now on the dirt trail for 5 miles and only 1.25 miles on the grassy parkway next to the speedy fossil fuel cars in my little suburbia.
You might ask, "Why would you increase time on the part of the run where you're most likely to trip on one of those 'sniper' jutting up rocks?" Well, it all has to to do with the time to space part.
The trail is located in a small canyon between two mesas that's just deep enough that for most of the 1.25 mile length, I can't see any houses. On the trail my mind just goes off in different directions as my streaming music shuffles in different artists and bands. I've written about this little trail many times here in the blog, but I continue to marvel how important this wanderful place is to me, and so close to my house.
So here's another playlist my friends created this spring while mostly spacing out.
And rest in peace Tina Turner, you inspired many people to simply be their best!
In listening to several new albums released in the past couple of months my thoughts drifted to the broad category of "Indie" music. I'm not going to get into all the indie and alternative music dynamics as the business of popular music evolved or devolved in the late 20th century. What I'm thinking here in 2023 is that the general public doesn't know or hear about the 'Record Producer' much anymore.
Back in the day, major label recording artists would all use or were even assigned a Producer by the record company to enhance the odds of creating a hit song. One reason that artists slowly blew up this model was for the fact that the record label often used the Producer to control the recording process and thus, the product.
As newer folk, rock 'n' roll and rock artists and bands became more independent, the meaning of indie itself kind of found two camps.
Successful and signed artists wanting control of their content in making albums on an established record label and,
Lesser successful and unsigned artists without a record contract and a friggin' dime.
In the 21st century, both camps expanded their audiences by creating and streaming their songs and albums on the Internet, or as many published musicians have learned to say, "pennies on a dollar."
In cutting to the chase, sometimes in hearing professional artists self-produce their recordings is that feeling I get that something is missing. It's hard for me as a non-musician to put my finger on it, but maybe an established record producer à la Glyn Johns or Phil Ramone could add that punch and magic to make a professional recording, well more professional.
In listening to the indie pop group The Lemon Twigs' new album, Everything Harmony, I got the feeling that there are some really good songs here, but if they had only used a producer à la Todd Rundgren, I bet it would have been even better.
What's great about YouTube is hearing both the polished song version on an album, and the unpolished versions of the same song in various live performances. I'm often looking for the live performance of a song, and that is so much easier and accessible with music made in the 21st century.
As film turned to tape in late 60's, so many great performance really can't be heard or even seen well in the digital transfer to a YouTube video. Maybe that's why my old ear falls back to the standard of songs that were well produced and released on vinyl when hearing those 60's-70's original recordings on YouTube today.
In relation to songs being recorded today, I'm not talking about the quality of analog vs. digital, I'm talking about the teamwork of an artist and producer crafting the arrangement of a song together.
I don't want to make this a generational thing, I love and appreciate a lot of music being recorded today. On one hand it's easier to make music and share it with the world, on the other hand, it's still a small group of artists who get a great record deal and all the things that go with making a record, like maybe, an experienced record producer.
Susan Anspach, Kris Kristofferson, and George Segal in Blume in Love (1973)
If you go back a couple of months to the blog post, Fifty Years of Music • March, 1973, you can catch most of the beginning of this little love story.
In that post, we have young McIntosh just turning 18 who is completely smitten by a pretty and spunky redhead, Mary Kit Smith. She's been sitting behind him in English class the entire spring semester. Well here it is late May of 1973 with graduation only a few weeks away, and damn it all, the boy has not summoned the courage to ask the fascination of his dreams, out on a date.
He has however done some reconnaissance. He has enlisted a long-time Sunday school friend and current classmate in Miss Dunn's English class, Evie to ask Mary Kit if she likes Doug enough to go out with him on a date. Her response, "Yes."
But nevertheless, the lad is hopeless and fails in several attempts as the class bell rings and popping that question just before the rush of students fills the hallway.
He even stoops so low after finding out that Mary Kit and her best friend, Valerie are going to see the wildly popular 1972 movie, Cabaret at the Peppertree Plaza Theater. With this information, he stalks the pair entering the theater and slips in the back row to watch them watch the movie, so pathetic!
However, he does see a poster in the theater lobby for an upcoming movie, Blume in Love. And most importantly, it plays as a preview trailer before Cabaret. He's now plotting, maybe I could take her to that movie?
The movie's tagline is "A love story for guys who cheat on their wives." It's about a guy, (Stephen Blume) who's still hopelessly in love with his ex-wife (Nina). It's not exactly high school first date material, but oh well.
So a plan is hatched and rehearsed, "Hey Mary Kit there's this new movie out called Blume in Love, and I was wondering if you heard about it?"
So with that line practiced in his brain, he finally summons the courage to ask the question in the 11th hour of the last week of May just before the bell (literally) rings. Her answer, "Yeah, that one looks kind of interesting."
And the all important follow up, "Well, would you like to go with me this Friday night and see it at the Peppertree?"
Her response, "Yes, that would be fun." They then walk slowly together in the hall of wall-to-wall students before splitting off to their next classes. The boy will remember that scene forever.
So on a Friday night, June 1, 1973, young McIntosh hops in his green 1957 MGA sports car, nervous but happy as he has ever been in life, and turns onto East Church street. Inexplicably, he quickly drives right past her house as she's waiting, looking out the front living room picture window. "Did that little f**ker just chicken out," she's thinking.
No, in his excitement he's simply lost in love, what a doof! He slowly turns around and parks the car. She's there to greet him at the door with her parents in tow, and that begins a wonderful four year relationship from that moment.
Unbelievably it's now fifty years later, and that seventeen year old girl waiting at the door eventually became, his second wife! But that's a whole other story...
Enjoy the Playlist my friends! And, thanks for the timing of this Harry Nilsson with your June, 1973 release of A Little Touch of Schmilsson in the Night. Nothing better than a little mood music to kick this thing off.
Paul Simon's new album is not a typical album of songs, rather seven connected works.
Produced by Simon and Kyle Crusham, Seven Psalms is a single suite of music comprised of the following seven interlinked movements:
1. The Lord
2. Love Is Like A Braid
3. My Professional Opinion 4. Your Forgiveness 5. Trail of Volcanoes 6. The Sacred Harp 7. Wait
I've been listening to it on YouTube and present it here. What I like is that the original form is a 33 minute continuous stream of music. I'm sure others will break up the seven songs, but what it did for me was force me to make time to listen to a half hour of music. Kind of like when I was a teenager, buy an album and sit in my bedroom and listen to the entire piece. I suggest taking it on a walk with your phone, somewhere in nature away from the cars and noise, or just maybe in a quiet room with amplified equipment.
The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan starts with the front cover itself, a photo that will reflect a generation. Bob with his hip but too thin suede leather jacket for a cold February, 1963 day in New York City, walking in the middle of the street with his bundled up girlfriend, Suze Rotolo in the dirty snow. I just love how they are framed between the building and cars (not to mention the VW Bus that would be a symbol itself of the 1960's.)
This is a 21 year old with his whole life in front of him with most any young person looking at the cover and thinking the same. The photograph is a thoroughly spontaneous moment in time that communicates, you're going to like what's inside.
I of course was an oblivious 8 year old at the time. I can't recall the first time or 25th time I casually heard Blowin' in the Wind on the radio or TV. But, at some point in many a teenager's life since 1963, we let our minds purposely listen to this wonderful song for the first time, and ponder the big questions without any answers, for ourselves.
As an 8 year old, I lived in an household where abstract questions were presented with a singular answer. From my small town church community and parents, the answer wasn't blowing in the wind, it was Jesus Christ. He was the answer. The man who died for our sins so that we could have everlasting life... but with the caveat, only if we accepted him into our life... as our personal savior. Yes, I was told very strongly by the church as a child, that I personally needed saving. And please sit tight, don't ask questions, as we have all the big answers.
Bobby Dylan and his friends come along in the 1960's with their 'Protest Songs,' then, plug in an electric guitar into an amp, and the Billy Graham's suddenly got themselves some serious competition.
This devil music just wasn't going away, and by the 1970's 'Christian Rock' actually became a thing.
In 1963, all my family, and all my close friends went to church.
In 2023, none of my siblings, blended family, and close friends go to church. Guess we started asking some questions?
Blowin' in the Wind
How many roads must a man walk down
Before you call him a man?
How many seas must a white dove sail
Before she sleeps in the sand?
Yes, and how many times must the cannonballs fly
Before they're forever banned?
The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind
The answer is blowin' in the wind
Yes, and how many years must a mountain exist
Before it is washed to the sea?
And how many years can some people exist
Before they're allowed to be free?
Yes, and how many times can a man turn his head
And pretend that he just doesn't see?
The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind
The answer is blowin' in the wind
Yes, and how many times must a man look up
Before he can see the sky?
And how many ears must one man have
Before he can hear people cry?
Yes, and how many deaths will it take 'til he knows
That too many people have died?
The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind
The answer is blowin' in the wind
Before I get to the album, here's a clip I love of Bob Dylan singing Blowin' in the Wind with a few friends at the 1963 Newport Folk Festival. The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan would make Bob Dylan an international star and singer-songwriter for the ages. Still today, generation after generation of young people discover Bob Dylan for the first time. I could only be so lucky to have a young person hear this album here for the first time.
There Goes Rhymin' Simon was released by Paul Simon on May 5, 1973 and I bought it shortly after. It instantly was one of my all-time favorite albums with so many great songs. I love them all to this day. If there was ever a doubt about the genius of Paul Simon, this album puts Simon into rarified air among artists. In 2003, the album was ranked number 267 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums, I personally would put it in the Top 100.
In the spring of 1973, as the Watergate scandal was heating up and leading to the resignation of Richard Nixon in 1974, Simon's American Tune hits the streets. If ever there was a song that captures that snapshot in time, it's American Tune. It is in fact a timeless song. Listen to it today, and it plugs right into today. Upon hearing it again this past week, I immediately thought of the mass killings happening everyday in America with assault weapons.
For me, American Tune transcends an individual citizen's weariness to our nation's weariness. We now live in a time where keeping Democracy is a taunting challenge. Our weariness in this struggle is felt by millions, but we get up every morning with the knowledge of who we are and the collective tasks ahead, as Americans.
I never tire of reading the lyrics.
American Tune
Many's the time I've been mistaken
And many times confused
Yes, and I've often felt forsaken
And certainly misused
Oh, but I'm alright, I'm alright
I'm just weary to my bones
Still, you don't expect to be bright and bon vivant
So far away from home, so far away from home
And I don't know a soul who's not been battered
I don't have a friend who feels at ease
I don't know a dream that's not been shattered
Or driven to its knees
But it's alright, it's alright
For we lived so well so long
Still, when I think of the
Road we're traveling on
I wonder what's gone wrong
I can't help it, I wonder what has gone wrong
And I dreamed I was dying
I dreamed that my soul rose unexpectedly
And looking back down at me
Smiled reassuringly
And I dreamed I was flying
And high up above my eyes could clearly see
The Statue of Liberty
Sailing away to sea
And I dreamed I was flying
We come on the ship they call The Mayflower
We come on the ship that sailed the moon
We come in the age's most uncertain hours
And sing an American tune
Oh, and it's alright, it's alright, it's alright
You can't be forever blessed
Still, tomorrow's going to be another working day
And I'm trying to get some rest
That's all I'm trying to get some rest
Living in a Material World was released by George Harrison on May 30, 1973. I never purchased this album, but in the world of streaming albums and YouTube, I can listen to it anytime. This past week I sat down and listened to the whole album and now appreciate this gem of a record with it's #1 smash hit Give Me Love (Give Me Peace on Earth) which in turn made it the #1 album at the time too.
This album hits at a time where many young people are "losing their religion" and finding an inner spiritual awareness as an individual over organized religious denominations. In 1973, I was still very much in the grips of a conservative Baptist upbringing, but rock 'n' roll would help "save me" in the long run from that narrow mindedness, to creating my own path. It's interesting that George emerged from the "Quiet Beatle", to openly share his own spiritual journey as a wealthy person in a spiritually poor world.
In 1976, Paul Simon hosted Saturday Night Live and his special musical guest was none other than George Harrison. Here I have included their two songs together, George's Here Comes The Sun followed byPaul's Homeward Bound.
This playlist has been shaping itself for the past couple of months after I discovered that I was picking a lot of songs with "rock," "roll," or "rock and roll" in the song title.
I then started stripping out the straight up "folk" or softer stuff, and started alternating bands and artists between the 60's-70's classic era with rock 'n' roll songs from the 80's on. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers are always the exception for me, as that band is one of the best five bands of all-time and stand next to The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and The Who. (I'll let you pick the other band.) I'm not a huge Bruce Springsteen fan, but Bruce and Tom carried the torch through the 80's and 90's and helped keep rock 'n' roll front and center until it wasn't.
As the playlist progressed, I just stopped my natural selection process of hearing songs on my trail runs and just started thinking about songs with "rock," "roll" in the title, or songs that struck me as the essence of rock 'n' roll. For example, The Doors Light My Fire certainly does that for me. The video I picked from their 1967 performance on Ed Sullivan must have shaken "the establishment" to the core with his, "I don't give a f*** attitude." Jim Morrison's performance of that song on that show is quiet memorable from my 7th grade brain.
The Byrds are one of my favorite bands and perfect to start this thing off as they were pioneers in blurring the lines between folk and folk-rock, psychedelia, and then, country and country-rock. If you love rock 'n' roll, you can never forget The Byrds.
A last note of sorts- You may say, "Why didn't he pick ____________, or for example, Bob Seger's Old Time Rock & Rock? Well, that particular song doesn't move me, but Fire Lake sure does. Well, it's only rock 'n' roll, and as the old saying goes pertaining to art, "I know what I like."
The Beatles ended, embroiled in a fierce battle regarding who should take over the management of their affairs. They were bleeding money. They were growing apart. But, they convened once again at EMI studios, later to be officially renamed Abbey Road Studios, to record the album, named for the road on which the studio is located.
John Lennon would later speak, dismissively, about Abbey Road, but was enthusiastic when interviewed by Alan Smith for New Musical Express in 1969. He talked about how much he and Paul were writing individually and that he was going to Paul’s to write with him at the conclusion of the interview — they were working on Abbey Road.
The narrative we got, on the other hand, was immediately redirected by the release of Let It Be, the album and accompanying film. They had been shelved indefinitely, due to the extensive editing needed on the film, and subsequent production of the album being handed over to Phil Spector as the Beatles washed their hands of it. They were released, respectively, as the last Beatle album, and a film of a band in the process of writing and recording that album. It also showed them in the process of falling apart.
The album is considered by many Beatle fans to be the weakest in their canon, and the film shows them to be, constantly, at odds with one another. It’s presented as the Beatles at the end of the line. Very depressing! And then they were gone.
I and my fellow Beatle fans were shocked and saddened. We carried on loyally following the solo careers of John, Paul, George, and Ringo, but it would never be the same. Three years crept by. It seemed like 30. And then…
The Beatles Red (1962-1966) and Blue (1967-1970) albums were released simultaneously — on April 2nd, here, and April 19th in England — in 1973. All the fanfare of this new collection of old Beatle songs, and not-as-old Beatle songs, reawakened the passion of Beatle fans everywhere. It had been three years, man! They were thirsting for more Beatles. It didn’t matter that true Beatle fans had most of this stuff in their record collections already. The two albums sold like hotcakes.
This release heralded the new trend of repackaging songs in various forms. They had the quintessential Red and Blue, Rock and Roll, Love Songs, Past Masters (Volumes 1 and 2). The album featuring all their singles that reached number one, 1, not only sold well, but catapulted the band back to the top of the charts when it was released in November of 2000.
They even repackaged the first eight Beatle albums released by Capitol in the 60s as two, separate boxed sets that also sold astoundingly well. These were the albums that Dave Dexter, the A&R man for Capitol Records, whose job it was to facilitate the integration of British acts on American radio, had assembled. EMI, who owned a 97% share of Capitol, sent all The Beatles’ singles to him, all of which he passed on before, according to some sources, he was directed to accept I Want To Hold Your Hand. He was responsible for borrowing tracks from one album to add to another, and for brazenly adding reverb to tracks that George Martin and The Beatles had painstakingly mixed to perfection before Dave got his hands on them. Sorry, I digress.
The Beatles were further reimagined, if you will, with the highly anticipated film Get Back. Here they were shown to ultimately love each other, some of the time, and on one occasion, George and John, are seen expressing an openness to work on side projects and reconvene for Beatle albums. Oh, what could have been!
At any rate, the record companies, and The Beatles are still raking it in. Those Beatles: the gift that keeps on giving.
I'm as pleased as an outlaw in a sleepy town bank to write this post.
First hitching post.
It's September, 1975 and I've just moved into the Toltec dorms at San Diego State University as a junior transfer. It's my first time living away from home and I'm teamed up with another junior, Kevin Kuhlmeyer from Pasadena, California.
We become friends and share our love for the Eagles. Kevin has just bought the new Eagles album that came out in June 1975, One of These Nights. Kevin quickly proclaims it as the "best" Eagles album. I too love One of these Nights, but in a fun dorm room debate stake my claim that Desperado is indeed the best Eagles album.
During that 1975-76 school year, we will share each others records on our respective turntables as we both have complete stereo systems in our little 10' x 12' cell block dorm room. So one day during the spring semester, I walk into the room and Kevin is sitting with his friend, Debbie Phelps listening to Desperado, and he says to me, "Doug, I think Desperado is now my favorite Eagles album." Rest in peace my friend, I'll always cherish our year together.
Second hitching post.
YouTube was started in 2005, and then was purchased in 2006 by Google for $1.65 billion dollars. (In 2022, YouTube is estimated to be worth $180 billion dollars.)
If you're old enough to remember the wild west of streaming music back in the early 2000's, you might recall that thing called, "Napster" was shot down like a dirty dog in the street in 2001. Another outlaw online streaming service, Limewire was hung in the public square in 2011. I say this in context as various bands like The Beatles and Eagles were slow to embrace the new streaming format for music. The Beatles didn't appear on the very "legit" iTunes until 2010, for example.
Since the early 2000's, most famous bands and artists eventually put all their content on YouTube, Spotify (2006), and Amazon Music (2007) as they figured pennies on the dollar were better than no pennies at all.
However, there were a few holdouts who were not going to give it all away as the Eagles, and in particular, Don Henley was just not having it. It's like he hired Palidin from Have Gun - Will Travel as an AI bot bounty hunter taking down non-approved fan uploads of Eagles and Henley songs with his six-shooter.
In January 2015, I started writing this blog and used another outlaw free streaming service called "Grooveshark" to build my playlists. By April, that too was strung up, and thus I made my way to YouTube that still stands tall today like Gary Cooper in High Noon as my playlist app of choice.
Last year, I was doolin-dalton around on YouTube, and found that every song from Desperado was now actually there! By combining a 2018 Eagles greatest hits album called, Eagles - Legacy with the non-hits from Desperado, that had been uploaded in 2014, I was finally able to blacksmith a complete Desperado YouTubealbumplaylist. Phew! (So how many of these cowboy references is he going to throw in here?)
Third hitching post.
In preparing this blog post, I came across a website called, Randy Meisner - Hearts on Fire. You have to stop and click here first, before listening to the playlist as it chronicles the outlaw photo shoot by Henry Diltz and includes many interesting articles, you'll love it!
Jackson Browne, JD Souther, Bernie Leadon, Randy Meisner, Don Henley & Glenn Frey
April of 1973 finds me instantly buying Seals and Crofts Diamond Girl as the soft rock duo is at the height of their careers.
Their 1974 follow up, Unborn Child would smack their young fans in the face with their anti-abortion stance as Roe v Wade had just been passed in January of 1973. Looking back 50 years later, I guess the duo got their wish as the Supreme Court ended Roe v Wade last June, not to mention our current political landscape. For me, Unborn Child was an awakening of how religion and rock 'n' roll simply don't mix.
Diamond Girl, and Seals and Crofts' previous albums had played that middle ground of rock 'n' roll fan tolerance, as we all love a good song about peace and unity without dipping deep into the religious dogma. My enthusiasm for Seals and Crofts (and their fan base) dropped off instantly. Also, anybody remember Yusuf Islam?
But in 1973, I was a huge Seals and Crofts fan and wore out Diamond Girl and Year of Sunday on my portable record player in my room.
Upon the release of David Bowie's, Aladdin Sane, I hardly gave it a thought as "glam" rock was not in my orbit. However, by the summer of '73 I was dating the Judge's daughter and she had just bought that album. In any event, I heard a lot of Aladdin Sane and The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars that year, and my appreciation for Mr. Bowie continues to this day, with one big caveat. Bowie, looking past the Ziggy Stardust character should have never dropped his guitar player and arranger, Mick Ronson. What a team those two made! David was always the star without having to throw out Mick Ronson with the bath water.
If it's one thing most bands who become famous seem to forget and eventually lose, is that duality of talent that got them to the big stage in the first place. There's a lot to be said about the Rolling Stones, but you have to give a tip of the hat to Mick Jagger and Keith Richards as those two seemed to figure it out through periods of separation, and not the finality of divorce.
In listening to Paul McCartney and Wings Red Red Speedway, and Stephen Stills and Manassas' Down the Road, I was a little more impressed 50 years later, but back in 1973, not so much. I was a huge fan of both and it seemed that the quality had dropped off by many of the 1960's rock 'n' roll gods.
However, three albums that came out in April, 1973 would quickly change my spirits.
On April 17, 1973 one of my favorite albums of all-time, Desperado was released by the Eagles. That will be my feature next week.
In two weeks, Paul Hobbs returns with his take of the April 1973 release of The Beatles' two compilation albums, 1962-1966 and, 1967-1970.
So much of everything we do these days is digital. When Joe Walsh's Analog Man came on the other day, I thought about my most enduring analog task, handwriting outline notes and ___To Do Lists ___To Do Lists ___To Do Lists.
My wife and I share a Google Calendar, but she likes her spiral notebook style calendar too. She says if she handwrites an event in, she remembers it much better than entering it in the app. The calendar, not a bad wingman for the mind.
People who handwrite a self-journal most enjoy a worn beat up cover and tattered pages. The physical vessel itself is like a broken in baseball glove, it just fits the owner.
My favorite pen of all-time is the Uni•ball Air. The pen shown here is the Uni•ball Vision Elite as I've been giving that a test run. My penmanship is crap, always has been. Sometimes I have to squint at my own chicken scratch to see what the hell I have written.
When I was young, I feared the moment of pencil in hand staring at lined paper... what to do next? Now with a lot of years hanging over my belt, I sit in front of my laptop keyboard and the writing comes easier. I like the ying yang of shifting from the keyboard to picking up the pen and jotting down some notes, doing a doddle, recycling the blank backside page from using my printer to print something almost instantly useless.
Near the bottom of my current (pictured above) To Do List, I have listed ___ Blog Vol. 21. From the looks of things here, scratch that one off.
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