The Allman Brothers Band: Live at the Beacon

I had the great pleasure a couple of Friday’s ago to see the Allman Brothers at The Beacon Theatre in NYC. The Allmans have played this venue every year since 1989 (except last year as they were supplanted by Circ du Soleil), basically camping out there every March for the entire month. This was my third time seeing the band- the second at The Beacon and their 200^th show there.

Recently restored, The Beacon Theatre is an optimal place to see The Allman Brothers these days. It is where Martin Scorcese filmed his documentary of  The Rolling Stones, “Shine A Light”. Originally built as a silent movie palace in the late 20’s and acoustically designed for the live accompaniment silent movies required, the neo-Grecian interior includes thirty-foot-tall goddesses flanking the stage, a huge, ornate thing hanging down from the ceiling and cool murals on either side depicting exotic trade ships, camels and turbaned Arabs.  The location is Broadway at 74^th St, across from the Beaux-Arts Ansonia Hotel, itself one of New York’s architectural and historical marvels.

With seating for 2900, The Beacon is similar in size to Bill Graham’s legendary Fillmore East, New York’s greatest rock venue, which closed in June ‘71. The Allman Brothers played the Fillmore East so many times they were considered the house band, honing their skills and broadening their audience in that final year before Duane Allman, their charismatic, slide guitar playing leader, died in a motorcycle accident. Their third album recorded in March of  ‘71, The Allman Brothers Band: At Fillmore East is arguably one of the greatest live albums of all time. In later years, the original double LP has been augmented by other material from these gigs. For me, the two-hour-plus deluxe CD version, including the live stuff which ended up their next album Eat A Peach, is the optimal way to hear this record.  It’s the best example of why they were among America’s best bands in the early Seventies.

Although long guitar solos were de rigueur when the Allman Brothers formed in 1969, two lead guitar players were virturally unheard of. But then Blind Faith, Eric Clapton’s band with Steve Winwood, released their only album, which opened with Had To Cry Today, a song in which the two guitarists played different lead solos at the same time. Duane Allman and Dicky Betts followed with the concept of playing the same lead lines in harmony, inventing the twin-lead concept.

The delta blues material they drew from in ’69, still largely unknown to young white audiences, was beginning to cross over big time and this was largely due to Clapton but also by the advent of Led Zeppelin that year. Authentic black blues artists were discovering white college audiences were a better market for them than playing blues clubs. In a few years the fired up jazzy blues rock the Allmans provided would have a huge influence, unintentionally inventing the Southern Rock idiom by spurring a host of southern boogie bands like The Marshall Tucker Band, The Charlie Daniels Band, Lynyrd Skynyrd and The Outlaws.

Like most great rock music, what the Allmans created was an amalgamation, and their particular thing was to mash up delta blues with the elongated melodic improvisations inspired  by Miles Davis and John Coltrane.  The guitar interplay between Duane Allman and Dicky Betts provided the focus, as they played over the rhythm bed provided by twin drummers (very rare) bass and organ.  This is true today with current guitarists Derek Trucks and Warren Haynes.  Each man an amazing player and band leader in his own right when they aren’t playing Allman gigs, these guys are really something to see- especially when they are together. Underneath these two soaring guitars is still an intense supporting bed of sound provided by Greg Allman’s Hammond B3 organ, bass and three (count them, three) drummers. Greg and drummers, Jaimo and Butch Trucks (Derek’s uncle) remain from the original band. Original bass player Berry Oakley was killed a year after Duane in yet another tragic motorcycle accident. Although these guys are in their mid-sixties now Butch “freight train” Trucks still puts out 110%.

In 1970 the local NYC PBS station filmed a few concerts at the Fillmore East, and the eventual TV broadcast gave high school kids like me who lived far from NYC a rare taste of what the Fillmore was about. I was blown away by the chance to see Albert King, Van Morrison and The Byrds on this show. What we couldn’t know at the time was The Allman Brothers were filmed, but cut from the final program, perhaps because they were largely unknown. Luckily this footage is available on YouTube. Here is the original band with Duane (sunburst Gibson Les Paul), Dicky Betts (red Gibson SG) and Berry Oakley on bass:

A month after the the classic third album was recorded, I made my one pilgrimage to The Fillmore East. Procol Harem was playing the night I was there. Attempts to see the Grateful Dead the week before were unsuccessful, their four nights a sell out. Too bad as these April ‘71 shows were amazing.

Coming off this latest Allman Brothers show, which was incredible, I have spent the past few weeks saturating myself with The Allman Brothers, Derek & The Dominos and The Derek Trucks Band.  To have a saner family life, Derek put his main band down and regrouped with his wife Susan into the Tedeschi-Trucks Band. I urge any of you to see these guys when they come around this summer. I saw them open for Jeff Beck last June and am enjoying their work from DVD’s of the Clapton Crossroads Guitar Festivals from 2007 and 2010. Derek’s solo material ranges from Derek and the Dominos and Delaney and Bonnie tunes circa 1970 to John Coltrane songs like Afro Blue to original material with Pakistani and East Indian influences.

Here is a 9 minute version of “Dreams” from a Beacon show in 2003 which shows in long form how Derek crafts a solo. They did a killer version of this the night I saw them.

Here is Derek’s solo on a Greg Allman-Warren Haynes song “Rockin’ Horse” played at the Beacon in 2003.

Here is The Tedeschi Trucks Band along with Warren Haynes doing a smokin’ version of the old Delaney and Bonnie song “Comin’ Home” a the Crossroads Festival in Chicago 2010:

Here is kid prodigy Derek opening for The Allman Brothers when he was 13! This clip is not to be missed.

Finally, here is the set list from March 25th, the next to last night of this years Beacon run. . .

1.  Trouble No More
2.  Midnight Rider
3.  Who to Believe
4.  Rocking Horse
5.  Statesboro Blues
6.  Sailin’ ‘Cross The Devil’s Sea
7.  Egypt
8.  Turn On Your Love Light (with Col. Bruce Hampton, vocals; Duane Trucks,drums)
9.  Leave My Blues at Home

Set II
10.  Dreams
11.  Come and Go Blues
12.  Worried Down With The Blues
13.  Anyday (with Susan Tedeschi, vocals)

14.  In Memory of Elizabeth Reed (with Oz Noy, guitar)
Encore
15.  Into The Mystic

Richard Thompson: Part 2

Last Fall I narrowed down Richard Thompson’s nearly 5 decade career onto two CD’s for my daughter and her friend. In my last post I covered the first 11 songs which were from the Fairport Convention period in the late 60′s through Richard’s breakup with his wife Linda after their classic Shoot Out The Lights in 1982. The balance of the list is songs from Richard’s solo career, which is still very active today. These recommendations are for people who want an introduction to Richard’s incredible talents as a songwriter, singer and guitarist. If you are already a fan I’m sure you have your own list of favorites. I’ve included snatches of lyrics and links in the song titles to songs found at Amazon.com so you can hear a preview. The other links are live videos from YouTube which show Richard’s progression over the past 30 years. Finally, at the end of this post are links to his wonderful guitar lesson series which are also found on YouTube. Richard’s key albums in my view are the Grammy nominated Rumor and Sigh from 1991 and the Live album Two Letter Words recorded on the 1994 tour with his classic lineup of Pete Zorn, Danny Thompson and Dave Mattocks. I thought this album  and More Guitar were only available from Richard’s excellent website Beesweb but recently discovered it can be downloaded from Amazon if you search under Richard Thompson Band. Two Letter Words is two hours worth of outstanding performances of many of Richard’s greatest songs up through the Mirror Blue period and  I consider it one of the greatest live albums of all time. Finally If you don’t have time to link to all the songs and have a listen make sure you check out the live links so you can see how amazing this guy really is. The order is chronological.

12.  Hand Of Kindness (Hand Of Kindness-1983)

Well I wove the rope and I picked the spot

Well I struck out my neck and I tightened the knot

O stranger, stranger, I’m near out of time

You stretch out your hand, I stretched out mine

O maybe just the hand of kindness

Maybe just the hand of kindness

Maybe just a hand, stranger will you reach me in time
?

13.  A Poisoned Heart and a Twisted Memory (Hand of Kindness 1983)

Link to Hand Of Kindness live in Hamburg 1983

14.  I Ain’t Going To Drag My Feet No More (Across A Crowded Room- 1985)

15.  When The Spell Is Broken (Across A Crowded Room- 1985)

Link to When The Spell Is Broken- Live 1985

16.  Can’t Win (More Guitar: Live Washington DC 1988)

One of Richard’s “epic guitar solo” songs, Can’t Win was a highlight of Richard’s 2010 electric tour in support of “Dream Attic” which I saw in Boston last year. This version is also found on the Watching The Dark box set from 1991.

17.  Don’t Tempt Me (More Guitar: Live Washington DC 1988)

Get your mittens off my gal
 or you’ll end up as mincemeat, pal

I’ve got friends, mean sons– they’ve got knives, chains, guns,

gas grenades, knuckle-dusters, 
lazy susans ­–blockbusters.

don’t tempt me, don’t tempt me, don’t tempt me

I’m half way out of my seat!

18.  Read About Love (Rumor And Sigh- 1991)

Asked my daddy when I was thirteen,

“Daddy, can you tell me what a lover really means?”

His eyes went glassy, not a word was said,

he poured another beer and his face turned red

Asked my mother, she acted the same,

she never looked up, she seemed so ashamed

Asked my teacher, he reached for the cane,

he said “Don’t mention that subject again”

(Read about love) I read it in a magazine

(Read about love) Cosmo and Seventeen

(Read about love) In the back of Hustler, Hustler, Hustler

So I –know what makes girls sigh,

And I –know why girls cry

So don’t tell me I don’t understand,

what makes a woman and what makes a man

I’ve never been to heaven
 but at least I’ve read about love

 

19. I Feel So Good (Rumor And Sigh- 1991)

I feel so good I’m going to break somebody’s heart tonight

I feel so good I’m going to take someone apart tonight

They put me in jail for my deviant ways,

two years seven months and sixteen days,

now I’m back on the street in a purple haze,

and I feel so good, and I feel so good,

well I feel so good I’m going to break somebody’s heart tonight
.

I feel so good I’m going to make somebody’s day tonight

I feel so good I’m going to make somebody pay tonight

I’m old enough to sin but I’m too young to vote,

society’s been dragging on the tail of my coat,

now I’ve got a suitcase full of fifty pound notes,

and a half-naked woman with her tongue down my throat,

And I feel so good, and I feel so good,

Oh I feel so good I’m going to break somebody’s heart tonight

 

Link to I Feel So Good on the David Letterman show 1991

 

20.  I Misunderstood (Rumor And Sigh- 1991)

21. Mother Knows Best (Rumor And Sigh- 1991)

Here is a great example of Richard and the band really rocking out. I have no idea what the inspiration is for this song, Margaret Thatcher? It is like something from Steven King. Make sure you check out the smokin’ live link.

So you think you know how to wipe your own nose

You think you know how to button your clothes

You don’t know shit if you hadn’t already guessed

You’re just a bump on the log of life, ’cause mother knows best

She tells everybody she was born in a ditch

She back-combs her hair ’till she looks like a witch

Wolves in her train, serpents suckle at her breast

Don’t forget to wash behind your ears, ’cause mother knows best

O you lost your job, well ain’t that a shame

You got nobody but yourself to blame

You deserve everything you get for such a carelessness

And don’t eat your peas off the knife, ’cause mother knows best

So your baby’s hungry, so your baby’s sick

Don’t make babies, that’ll do the trick

Put another string of barbed wire in your little love nest

It’s better than a cardboard box, ’cause mother knows best

 

Link To Mother Knows Best Live in Toronto 1991

22.  MGB-GT (Mirror Blue- 1994)

 

The following 4 songs are from the outstanding live album Two Letter Words. Please note that the previews at Amazon embedded in the links for each song are correct for sound but Amazon has mixed up the order so – for example- when you click on 1952 Vincent Black Lightning it will say the song is Mingus Eyes but when you listen to the link it is the correct song. . .

23.  1952 Vincent Black Lightning (Two Letter Words- Live: Washington 1994)

This is  at least Richard’s most famous song if not his best. When I saw him do it solo acoustic in Portsmouth NH last summer I was transported, I felt like it was a great moment in my entire life. This guy can be unbelievable sometimes.

Oh says Red Molly to James “That’s a fine motorbike.
A girl could feel special on any such like”
Says James to Red Molly “My hat’s off to you
It’s a Vincent Black Lightning, 1952.
And I’ve seen you at the corners and cafes it seems
Red hair and black leather, my favourite colour scheme”
And he pulled her on behind and down to Boxhill they did ride
Oh says James to Red Molly “Here’s a ring for your right hand
But I’ll tell you in earnest I’m a dangerous man.
For I’ve fought with the law since I was seventeen,
I robbed many a man to get my Vincent machine.
Now I’m 21 years, I might make 22
And I don’t mind dying, but for the love of you.
And if fate should break my stride
Then I’ll give you my Vincent to ride”

“Come down, come down, Red Molly” called Sergeant McRae
“For they’ve taken young James Adie for armed robbery.
Shotgun blast hit his chest, left nothing inside.
Oh come down, Red Molly to his dying bedside”
When she came to the hospital, there wasn’t much left
He was running out of road, he was running out of breath
But he smiled to see her cry
He said “I’ll give you my Vincent to ride”

Says James “In my opinion, there’s nothing in this world
Beats a 52 Vincent and a red headed girl.
Now Nortons and Indians and Greeves won’t do,
Ah, they don’t have a soul like a Vincent 52″
Oh he reached for her hand and he slipped her the keys
Said “I’ve got no further use for these.
I see angels on Ariels in leather and chrome,
Swooping down from heaven to carry me home”
And he gave her one last kiss and died
And he gave her his Vincent to ride.

Link to 1952 Vincent Black Lightning Live- solo acoustic (date?)

24.  Tear Stained Letter (Two Letter Words- Live: Washington 1994)

25.  Hokey Pokey (Two Letter Words- Live: Washington 1994)

26.  Ghosts In The Wind (Two Letter Words- Live: Washington 1994)

27.  Persuasion [Live] Walking On A Wire: 1968-2009

Link To Persuasion Live

 

28.  Cooksferry Queen (Live From Austin, TX- 2004)

This song has shades of The Acid Queen underscoring Richard’s fondness for The Who. The live link shows how outstanding and intense a performer he can be. You have to see this!

Link To Cooksferry Queen- Live: Jools Holland Show 1999

29.  Gethsemane (Old Kit Bag- 2003)

30.  Haul Me Up (Dream Attic- 2010)

31.  Guns Are The Tongues (Sweet Warrior- 2007)

This is an incredibly moving song about Irish bandits which is a good example of how Richard can build a song to an emotional climax culminating in a soaring guitar solo.

 

Here are links to the excellent 3 part Richard Thompson guitar school series:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJ2pmCuAKwo&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMPSFxUpPGM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fSj2Nf7lSlA&feature=related

Richard Thompson: Part 1

I have wanted to be a Richard Thompson fan for 30 years and due to several stumbling blocks didn’t reach this goal until this year, never being able to to quite connect with his talents.  Everything I knew and read about the man indicated he was worthy of hero-worship, being that he’s a critically acclaimed songwriter, a skillful singer and one of the world’s greatest guitar players. This year, thanks to my three best music buddies, I  finally had my Richard Thompson epiphany. I borrowed, bought and wore out most of his work dating back to 1967, bought a concert DVD, saw him play three times and even got his autograph. Unfortunately, the most amazing thing about Richard Thompson is not his prodigious talent, it’s how famous he isn’t. At least 9 times out of 10 when I mention this guy to someone they tell me they never heard of him. I gave sampler CD’s to many of these people including the plumber installing our new heating system. This is what having a cult following is all about. Richard’s disciples are spreading the good news. Sign me up!

One of the live gigs was a free acoustic set at Amoeba Records in Los Angeles in September (where I got the autograph). I took my daughter Emma and her friend Chas and when they subsequently requested an RT sampler I came up with a playlist of 31 songs. This is my desert island Richard Thompson minimum- to start with fewer songs would diminish the value of the exercise. Still I know I’ll get complaints from my friends wondering why I left out their essential RT tunes. The playlist follows, interspersed with comments about the tracks. . .

Early years- Fairport Convention:

1. Time Will Show The Wiser [from 1968, Richard as a teen tearing through a guitar solo with the band reminiscent of early Pink Floyd].
2. Meet On The Ledge
3. Come All Ye
4. Reynardine [these last two classic Sandy Denny performances from Liege & Lief.

Long ago, I had a folk-singing girlfriend who turned me onto the core of British electric-folk music, Steeleye Span and (Richard’s breakout band) Fairport Convention (which also featured the incomparable Sandy Denny). I was a huge Jethro Tull fan in my late teens and was easily taken in by Sandy’s tales of bonnie lasses being victimized by evil men (she was on Led Zeppelin 4 for cryin' out loud). Fairport’s quintessential album (and one of my favorite records of all time) is Liege & Lief, recorded in 1969 as the band was recovering from the tragic van accident which killed drummer Martin Lamble and Richard’s girlfriend Jeannie Franklyn.

Here is Time Shows The Wiser from British Television prior to Sandy Denny joining the band.

The album’s success spurred half the band members to strike out on their own, Richard subsequently married Linda Peters, the pair making several albums in the following decade, notably I Want To See The Bright Lights Tonight (1974), Pour Down Like Silver (1975) and  Shoot Out The Lights (1982).

Richard And Linda Thompson:

5.   When I Get To The Border
6.   The End Of The Rainbow
7.   The Calvary Cross
8.   The Great Valario
9.   Don’t Renege On Our Love
10. Shoot Out The Lights
11.  Wall Of Death

I Want To See The Bright Lights Again‘s songs segue well from Fairport Convention especially When I Get To The Border and The Little Begger Girl. Linda’s singing has never sounded better than on the exquisite The Great Valerio. The live (bonus) version of Calvery Cross on the remastered version of this album is an early example of Richard’s “epic” guitar soloing. He’s famous for “gloom and doom” themes, misery being fertile ground for inspiration. The End of The Rainbow is a devastating case in point. The best song about hopelessness and neglect you are likely to ever hear:

“I feel for you, you little horror, safe at your mother’s breast

no lucky break for you around the corner

‘Cos your father is a bully, And he thinks that you’re a pest and your sister, she’s no better than a whore

Life seems so rosy in the cradle, i’ll be a friend, I’ll tell you what’s in store

There’s nothing at the end of the rainbow

There’s nothing to grow up for anymore”

(If you think that is grim believe me, it gets worse for the “little horror”)

Shoot Out The Lights is legendary, partly as it coincided with the dissolution of the couple’s marriage. It also set Richard on his path as a solo artist. You find his mature style evident on this record. Themes of relationships gone bad and back-stabbing friends and lovers show up in Richard’s songs to this day. I missed Shoot Out in ’82 (it wasn’t radio fare) but I read about it in Rolling Stone over the years which considered it one of the best records ever made.

Shoot Out The Lights is  a great path to discover Richard’s talents, starting with the album cover. Linda evidently couldn’t make the photo shoot (maybe she wasn’t invited?) so she’s present via a photo on the wall of the skuzzy room lit by a bare lightbulb hanging from the ceiling. Richard sits in the corner on the floor wearing a mischievious smile. The songs are incredible. Don’t Renege On Our Love sets the tone of conflict between lovers, a theme which carries though much of Richard’s best work. The title cut and Wall Of Death have remained concert staples though out his career. I vaguely remember seeing a Wall Of Death motorcycle stunt at a State Fair once when I was a kid. The wall is the inside of a vertical wooden cylinder, which a motorcyclist must traverse horizontally at a gravity defying speed. The lyrics aren’t much, mostly describing what carnival attractions have lesser value, but the music is anthemic. You feel for the poor guy who looks to stunt riding for a way to escape an unfulfilled life. At the song’s bridge the protagonist pleads “let me take my chances” because

“On the Wall Of Death all the world is far from me. . .

On the Wall Of Death it’s the nearest to being free. . .”

Next time we’ll look at the past 30 years of Richard Thompson’s solo career.

Jeff Beck: Live 2010

A couple of weeks ago I had one of those moments in life when seemingly the stars align and everything goes right for a change. I knew Jeff Beck was playing at the Bank Of America Pavilion in Boston’s South End but hadn’t seriously considered finding tickets. It’s such an expense to see anyone these days now that Live Nation/Ticketmaster has monopolized the internet-ticket sales business. I had seen Jeff at the Orpheum a decade ago so he was off my bucket list. Still, I left it on my calendar- the guy’s a living legend for crying out loud, one of a handful of people who reinvented how a guitar could be played. And, someone I have loved since Shapes of Things was a single for the Yardbirds 44 years ago, back when a young and penniless Jimi Hendrix decided to take Chas Chandler’s offer to go to London and make a band as it would afford him the chance to meet Jeff Beck.

So I didn’t hesitate when a co-worker from across the hall came to me with a problem two hours before the concert. As I saw him reach into his wallet I exclaimed, “don’t tell me you have Jeff Beck tickets and you have one left to sell! Next thing I knew I was sipping a cold one watching opening act Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks from row J. But the story gets WAY better. Co-worker Dave found 4 empty seats in the row B. One thing led to another and we spent the rest of the night watching Jeff Beck from 16 feet away (see photo).

Jeff attracts a heavily male audience with a set blending exquisite ballads (Over the Rainbow) with thundering funk-fueled rockers (Led Boots). For at past decade or so his quartet has included talented women. Australian bass prodigy Tal Wilkenfeld has been in Jeff’s touring band for the past few years and can be heard (and seen) on . . . Live at Ronnie Scotts and the new album, Emotion and Commotion. However for this tour Jeff has a new rhythm section. The bass spot has been handed to the formidable and funky Rhonda Smith who has worked with Prince. Famed drummer Narada Michael Walden- who played on Wired back in the ’7os is also a wonderful addition. The man is a tank. We’re talking Tolkienesque Uruk-hai-like  but (of course) nicer looking. The new album’s killer track Hammerhead was played early in the set. Here is the song played a few months ago in NYC.

Other than Led Boots from Wired they stayed away from the older things. Other favorites of mine: Stratus, a Billy Cobham fusion-era tune and (more recent), Rolling and Tumbling’, Big Block and Dirty Mind. Download these songs off  Ronnie Scott’s and listen at frightening volume in the car to get an idea of how much fun this concert was. Here is Big Block, a song which never fails to put my jaw on the floor:

The thing you really need to understand about Jeff Beck is that he is a magician. He does things with his hands that don’t equate with the sound you hear. Eric Clapton recently said of Beck, “ he pulls notes out of the guitar.” There are moments when he reminds you of Dumbledore conjuring something with a wand. I’ll let you get a feel for the show with a few YouTube clips. Fortunately Jeff has put aside the 22 piece orchestra now that he isn’t doing the larger venues with Eric Clapton- a pairing reported by the NYTimes as not as good as it could have been. Though the ballads can sometimes verge on being sappy, they showcase Jeff’s amazing technical virtuosity in ways different from the rockers. Personally I enjoy the uptempo things more.

The man’s stage outfit is indicitive of what a character he is. The shirt is (always) sleeveless, though at his age the biceps are getting flabby (the forearms get all the exercise).  He sports weird hightop sneaker-like footware and trousers stolen from some marching band – navy with a 3 inch wide yellow stripe down the outseam.  A turqeouse necklace thingie and to cap it all off, 5” silver bands on both arms and wrists like something out of Jason and The Argonauts.

A memory I will always hold is the way he soaked in the applause and adoration after each number, standing straight in front of the audience breathing it in like fresh air. After giving up touring for a good part of his life, clearly the affirmation brings him back. Unlike many rockers, Jeff Beck doesn’t take the adoration for granted. It was clear the love was flowing in both directions. He closed with A Day In The Life in suitably epic fashion. The encore was another treat. In honor of Les Paul (for whom he did a tribute concert a few days later at Iridium in NYC) he played a barn-burning version of How High The Moon.

Valleys of Neptune

Being a Hendrix connoisseur I am compelled to report on Valleys of Neptune, the recently issued collection of  previously unreleased studio recordings from 1969. There really isn’t anything great left in the vaults after 40 years other than live stuff and I have lost patience waiting for some of that to get the proper treatment. I was shocked that the next release would in fact be studio recordings. After South Saturn Delta (what is up with the planet references?),Valleys could have been a cynical attempt to create buzz and help move the rest of Jimi’s reissued catalog. This can be a fine line considering the “biblical” exploitation of this artist over the last four (count ‘em) decades.

First the bad news, the title song and Crying Blue Rain are from the bottom of the Hendrix barrel. What’s worse, two of the more interesting tracks are bonus cuts found only on iTunes or at Target stores. These two, Trash Man and Slow Version, are not real songs, merely jams which (like most of these songs) Jimi wouldn’t have considered valuable but which do contain plenty of mean guitar playing. I am convinced that practice sessions were where he did much of his experimentation which these tracks indicate. If you do go for this album make sure you get the bonus tracks version but remember Valleys of Neptune is only thinly revelatory and new fans of Jimi would be better off to stick with the more polished stuff and some of the excellent live reissues.

However, even a sub-par Hendrix album will have something to offer serious fans. If your sights are set at a realistic level you may find more than a few gems. Red House and Fire are from the same worthy live-in-the-studio rehearsal which spawned Stone Free, Spanish Castle Magic and Hear My Train A Comin’ on Disk 3 of the Jim Hendrix Experience Box Set. As the February Royal Albert Hall gigs were to be filmed, Jimi undertook serious (and rare) rehearsal preparation. The trio is in good form, indicative of what you would have heard live but (alas) without the volume, the audience vibe or the typical live-Jimi intensity. Sunshine Of Your Love is not credited as such but has to be a rehearsal take like those cut the following day. It has a Noel Redding bass solo (the only one I’ve ever heard) and later Jimi quotes Outside Women Blues, another Cream song, in his solo. I’m thinking he was expecting Eric Clapton to be at the gig and was doing this in tribute. The updated studio working of one of his oldest songs Stone Free may have been considered for the US version of Smash Hits which came out mid-year. Unfortunately the old version was eventually used. Included also is what I consider the defining studio take of  Hear My Train A Comin’ one of Jimi’s most important songs and a live staple. Why has this been in the dark all these years? It should have at been on South Saturn Delta if not First Rays.

Less good but relevant are new songs in early stages: Ships Passing Through the Night, which would become Night Bird Flying, Lullaby for the Summer which would become Ezy Rider and a slow version of Lover Man. Bleeding Heart was performed live as a slow blues at Albert Hall but by April Jimi had shifted to using a faster tempo. This version is rougher than the final found on South Saturn Delta but I like this funkier version better. Finally, an oddball song from 1967, Mr Bad Luck, predates Axis Bold As Love and is the early version of Look Over Yonder, a smokin’ Electric Ladyland era outtake now found on South Saturn Delta.

Hard core fans will be happy to now have most of this stuff available. Hopefully there is something better in the pipeline (the live Albert Hall film and soundtrack? Please?) to mark the 40th anniversary of Jimi’s death in September. Ultimately, Valleys of Neptune offers up another chance to hear the master do what he did best; play the heck out of that guitar.

Jimi Hendrix Reissues

Experience Hendrix LLC recently signed a distribution deal with Sony Legacy and reissued Jimi’s studio albums on March 9^th. These included the three albums he released while he was alive and the First Rays of the New Rising Sun compilation, which offered most of the nearly finished work he had in the can at the time of his death. As with the Beatles reissues last year, my enthusiasm for properly packaged, good sounding versions is tempered by the realization that (once again) we are having our pockets picked. That said, it’s good news for the fans out there who didn’t buy these discs two or three times already. Like previous updates coming out of Experience Hendrix the package design is wonderful adding 32 page booklets and mini documentaries on the making of the album (though only slightly more substantial than the videos which came on the repackaged Beatles disks). Regarding the sonic quality, these disks aren’t an improvement (from what I can tell) over the last time around. The second disk, a DVD, contains only a 10 minute film of Jimi’s engineer Eddie Kramer discussing cool things that happened in the studio. This is a missed opportunity as you can be sure they will release these someday on Blu-Ray like Neil Young’s Archive Series. Later I’ll comment on the “new” Hendrix album Valleys of Neptune then will take a break from Jimi for the rest of the year- promise!

The Greatest Bass Player Who Ever Lived?

I missed James Jamerson’s birthday last month on January 29. A Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame’r considered the father of the electric bass, Jamerson was a founding member of The Funk Brothers, the Motown house band Barry Gordy recruited from Detroit jazz clubs in 1959. The Funk Brothers played un-credited on countless hit records and took a major role in creating the arrangements. The fact that a man of Jamerson’s talents, a key to the highly successful Motown Sound, would later fade into obscurity and destroy himself with alcohol is one of the lesser-known tragedies in modern music.

Having a jazz background, James Jamerson played acoustic double bass in the early days of Motown. Listen to the end of the Mary Wells hit My Guy from 1964 to hear James delivering a few flourishes on acoustic. Later, to enhance the recording process, he began to use an electric bass to overdub a richer tone unto his original acoustic takes. Soon after, he switched to a 1962 Fender Precision bass full time. The instrument was dubbed “The Funk Machine”. His acoustic experience enabled him to play electric with or without frets plucking the notes with a single finger, “the hook.”

Jamerson’s holds the groove on virtually all of the important Motown hits from the decade: Shop Around, Heatwave, Pride and Joy, Shotgun, Stop In the Name of Love, etc. were among the early ones. For an extensive listing see Rick Suchow’s  website.

Listening to the early hits, what comes to mind is how collaborative the process was in “the snake pit”, the studio in the former garage at “Hitsville USA.” It’s hard to credit any one element. The artist/vocalist, the writer/producer, the musicians and the engineer all bring something special to the final song. However, by 1966 you notice a change in Jamerson. Whereas bassists were normally confined to playing a simple or repetitive pattern of root notes, Jameson (either due to the repetition of long recording sessions or from a high degree of self assurance), starts adding syncopation and improvisation into his performances. For me Jamerson is the secret sauce that brings these songs to a whole new level. He puts spaces were you don’t expect, hangs off the beat or plugs in tons of notes. This intensifies as the decade progressed, evident when you compare the songs from ’66 with ‘67. Don Was described him as fearless in the film Standing In The Shadows of Motown, which if you haven’t seen it, is a religious experience for any Motown or 60’s music fan.

Is it any wonder bass players as diverse as Paul McCartney, Rick Danko, Jack Bruce, John Entwistle, Jaco Pastorius and John Paul Jones credit James Jamerson as an influence?  When I first became acquainted with The Band I thought it uncharacteristic that they covered Motown tune in concert. Is Jamerson the reason Danko sings Loving You Is Sweeter Than Ever? This is certainly the case with Home Cookin’ a version of which recently turned up on The Band’s A Musical History. Check out the Jr. Walker version from 1968. Jamerson is on fire!  Listen for Jamerson’s bass in all of the following songs. Don’t tell me they are not insanely great.

A playlist of my favorite Jamerson moments:

Uptight (Everything’s Alright) – Stevie Wonder     1/22/66

Shake Me, Wake Me (When It’s Over) – The Four Tops     3/12/66

Ain’t Too Proud To Beg – The Temptations     6/11/66

Reach Out I’ll Be There – The Four Tops     9/17/66

You Keep Me Hangin’ On – The Supremes     11/5/66

(I Know) I’m Losing You – The Temptations     12/3/66

Bernadette – The Four Tops     3/18/67

Ain’t No Mountain High Enough – Marvin Gaye     6/3/67

I Was Made To Love Her – Stevie Wonder     6/24/67

Your Precious Love – Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell     9/30/67

I Heard It Through The Grapevine – Gladys Knight & The Pips     11/4/67

Home Cookin’ – Jr. Walker & The All Stars     6/15/68

Love Child – The Supremes     10/26/68

For Once In My Life- Stevie Wonder     11/9/68

Cloud Nine – The Temptations     11/23/68

I Can’t Get Next To You – The Temptations     8/30/69

What’s Going On – Marvin Gaye     3/6/71

B.B. King- Live

It goes without saying that the blues are best experienced live, preferably from within a hot and sweaty throng at the foot of a club stage, something that is harder to come by in the Northeast these days (the music not the clubs). Fortunately, my business takes me to the Midwest once or twice a year where I try to carve out time to go to one of many excellent blues venues found out there.

With the passing of James Brown, B.B. King has got to be the hardest working guy in show business. He’s been doing 300 gigs a year for 40 years or so and will be 85 next September. Although bluesmen generally get better with age (if they survive the lifestyle), I’m partial to B.B. from the artistic peak of his career, from 1964-74. As a senior in high school I had the good fortune to see B.B. and his band at the University of Vermont in December of 1970, when B.B. was in his mid-forties. His basic act didn’t change from gig to gig, but it didn’t need to. He had that group of college kids in the palm of his hands as if they were a black crowd in a club on Chicago’s south side.  He alternated starting or ending his songs with a long guitar solo. The strategic use of the horn section would ratchet up the intensity as a song progressed. I worked my way to the edge of the stage and got to shake the great man’s hand after the encore. B.B. was just getting huge with a young white audience after getting a Grammy award that year for The Thrill Is Gone.

To hear B.B. at his best, check out the double disc set How Blue Can You Get, Classic Live Performances 1964-1994 which offers some of the best live cuts from several albums.  Live at the Regal, Blues Is King, Live And Well, Live In Cook County Jail, and Live in Japan and Live at the Apollo are all represented.

For a single disc I highly, recommend Live In Cook County Jail, recorded three months prior to the UVM concert. Aside from the always wonderful guitar work and with his stage patter for the inmates, the band’s introduction by a woman employed by the correctional system is a classic. She has the unholy task of introducing the inmates to “our own beloved Sheriff Woods” and then “ another dear friend of yours . . . Judge Joseph Powers”, who are in attendance and both loudly booed. B.B. later peppers the concert with a lot of advice for the inmates which, depending on your age or gender, are either funny, disconcerting or appalling. It’s not PC but it’s the next best thing to being there.

Here is my playlist for the best B.B. King live:

1. Introduction/Everyday I Have The Blues

2. Sweet Little Angel

3. You Upset Me Baby

[Live at The Regal- Chicago- 1964]

4. Don’t Answer The Door

[Live and Well- The Village Gate, NYC- 1969]

These first 4 songs epitomize B.B. in a club environment. B.B. is masterful- clearly in his element. Don’t Answer the Door is my personal favorite. B.B. plays the obsessive, controlling, jealous husband who orders his mate to keep the door locked at all times. “I don’t want a soul, woman, hanging around the house, when I’m not at home. I don’t want you to answer the door for nobody, when you are at home and you are all alone.” She’s told to keep her sister and her mother away from the house. By the final verse he says the doctor can’t come over either if she gets sick. B.B. ends the verse shouting “So you’ll just suffer, suffer, suffer until I get home.” Intense stuff. And then everybody claps.

5. Introduction/Everyday I Have The Blues

6. What’s Wrong With Mama?

7. Why I Sing The Blues

[Get Your Ya, Ya’s Out! -40^th Anniversary Edition-  Madison Square Garden, NYC- 1969]

This set, when B.B. opened for The Rolling Stones on their Gimme Shelter tour, finally saw the light of day last fall as part of the tour’s anniversary. Although the entire package is overpriced by a mile, these stellar cuts can be purchased singly online.

8. Introduction/Everyday I Have The Blues

9. How Blue Can You Get

10. Worry, Worry

11. The Thrill Is Gone

[Live In Cook County Jail - Chicago 1970]

With How Blue Can You Get, B.B. would always bring down the house with the line “I gave you 7 children and now you want to give them back!”

12. I Need You Baby

[Newport In New York ’72, Vol. 6 - Yankee Stadium, NYC- 1972]

I have lost my tape of this out of print album bought in ’73 but it is one of the best B.B. King performances I’ve heard. It can be found on eBay- vinyl only. Because of the stadium venue B. B. really had to crank up the volume on Lucille- a rare treat. For a taste, notice how he ups the volume to fill Madison Square Garden at the ’69 Rolling Stones gig. You can imagine what he had to do to fill Yankee Stadium. It’s a great up-tempo song as well.

Jimi Hendrix- Best Live Performances- Part 4

One of the problems Hendrix scholars run into is finding words to describe Jimi’s sound. Frank Zappa came close in his article The Oracle Has It All Psyched Out from the July 28,1968 issue of LIFE  Magazine. Zappa stated “The sound of his music is extremely symbolic: orgasmic grunts, tortured squeals, lascivious moans, electric disasters and innumerable other audial curiosities are delivered to the sense mechanisms of the audience at an extremely high decibel level. In a live performance environment, it is impossible to merely listen to what the Hendrix group does… it eats you alive.”

A few weeks after the Fillmore East concerts the Band of Gypsys disbanded, Jimi being forced by management to go back to a revised version of the Experience with Billy Cox joining Mitch Mitchell. A 4-month 30 date tour of weekend gigs was booked which allowed for studio time on weekdays for working up new material. His cutting-edge studio, Electric Lady, was being built by Eddie Kramer in New York City at tremendous expense and the live dates brought in essential revenue. Jimi worked on a double-albums’ worth of songs, many of which were near completion at his untimely passing on 18 September. The studio officially opened the night before he flew to England to start the European leg of the tour at the Isle of Wight Festival. There are several recordings available from this tour also known as “The Cry of Love tour”. In my book the best were the two sets from May 30th at the Berkeley Community Theatre across the bay from San Francisco. Both sets were recorded and filmed. The heavily edited and poorly crafted film Jimi Plays Berkeley is what is left of the filmed version. As far as audio, most of the opening set has not been released but can be streamed in it’s entirety on the Wolfgang’s Vault website. The second set was released in 2003 as Live at Berkeley and includes excellent versions of Lover Man, Stone Free, Hey Joe and I Don’t Live Today. Here are the final list of the best live Hendrix songs. . .

15. Hear My Train a Comin’– Berkeley Community Theatre, May 30 1970, 1st set.

Of the several live versions of this song available, a regular concert staple for nearly two years, this one is definitive. The song has the pace of a slow blues but it is such a violent collection of sounds that you can hardly describe it as blues. Hendrix lays down the foundation of the song for about 2 minutes before going into the first verse and chorus. At 3:25 he begins a series of blistering solos. This involves layers of sweeping violence with which Hendrix, organizes, carves up and shapes like a sculptor handling clay. Two minutes later he quiets everything down creating a gentle respite before the 2nd verse. At 8 minutes he has built to a new level of intensity. The artist is one with the sound. Focused on his creation. Possessed by it. The solos come one after another with the visceral pleasure and diverse flavors of a pie-eating contest. [found on Blues and Voodoo Child: the Jimi Hendrix Collection]

The song is 11 minutes long and can be seen in Jimi Plays Berkeley in such a heavily edited form it’s a travesty (see following link). Showing this song as a collection of highlights is like throwing paint on the Mona Lisa–it’s Ansel Adams in low-res. But it’s such a good performance the bits we do see reflect genius.

16. Johnny B. Goode – Berkeley Community Theatre, May 30 1970, 1st set.

Speaking of a man possessed. Check out this outrageous, balls-to-the-wall version of the Chuck Berry nugget which preceded Hear my Train. [found on The Jimi Hendrix Experience Box Set]

Another significant concert from this era and the last to be fullt recorded and filmed was the aforementioned Isle of Wight Festival gig on August 31st, just a couple of weeks before he died. This concert finally was released properly in 2002 and you can hear or watch the entire concert as it happened on the Blue Wild Angel disks.

Unfortunately this was not a good Hendrix concert for many reasons. Jimi was in terrible shape. He appears to have had no sleep in days or weeks- he spent untold hours in August working in the studio. Compared with how healthy he looked at Berkeley he seems physically exhausted. Perhaps of greater importance was he couldn’t get his sound together for various reasons. In spite of this there are  interesting rare moments: live versions of All Along the Watchtower and new songs Freedom, Dolly Dagger,  Hey Baby, Midnight Lightning and In From The Storm.

Honorable Mention

Foxy Lady –Isle Of Wight Festival, August 31 1970.

I am not a fan of this song. It is the second or third most played Hendrix tune by the millions of fans who are only interested in his first album. It is also something he felt compelled to play at every gig and he phoned it in many times. The Isle of Wight version is interesting for a couple of reasons. Jimi does a split a few minutes into the song and he clearly thinks he’s ripped out the backside of his stage pants. He has to go behind the amplifiers and get checked out or safety pined by the roadies so there is a few minutes of Billy Cox holding the moment with some bass lines awaiting the solving of Jimi’s problem. At the same time there is walkie-talkie interference from security personnel or radio interference (or both) feeding through the amps which creates an unintentional but eerie effect. This is clearly audible on the CD or MP3 version of the song but unfortunately was intentionally covered up in the film so you don’t hear the full effect on the YouTube clip. [found on Blue Wild Angel: Jimi Hendrix Live at the Isle of Wight]

Jimi Hendrix- Best Live Performances- Part 3

Jimi Hendrix’s career – his discovery by Animals bassist Chas Chandler in mid 1966 until his death in September of 1970 – can be boiled down to 4 distinct phases. The first year Jimi created a brand: he was brought to England, formed a band, made a record and toured England and Europe while established himself very quickly as someone the likes of which the world had never seen. Jimi’s equipment and overall sound were elementary at this stage when compared to his mature sound, incorporating a fuzz tone and newly invented 100 watt Marshall amplifiers.  The Octavia pedal designed by Roger Mayer was added for the recording of Purple Haze in March ‘67 and was used from that point on. His stage act relied heavily on showboating- using outrageous gimmicks like somersaults (while playing), doing a bump and grind with the guitar or amplifier, playing behind his back and with his teeth, flicking his tongue at girls in the front row, etc. The initial year ended with his U.S debut at the Monterey Pop Festival in June of ’67. The audio and video of this event is definitive of this period.

The second year– through mid ‘68– was spent touring to theaters and arenas, extensively in the U.S., and work on Axis: Bold as Love. The October ’68 Winterland concerts offer the best glimpse of The Jimi Hendrix Experience as a cohesive and aggressive trio with a sound more complex then at Monterey, as Jimi was (by now) an international star tasting fame and success. Jimi’s sound was enhanced by his use of the Wah Wah pedal, introduced in mid 67. Cream’s Tales of Brave Ulysses and Jimi’s Burning of the Midnight Lamp, were the first rock recordings to utilize this effect. Any Wah Wah like effects on Axis were done manually and not with a pedal.

The third phase of his career,  commenced with several months working on his magnum opus, Electric Ladyland. By late ’68 Jimi was tired of the restrictions of playing hits over and over and of being supported by the same guys. He was constantly bringing music friends like Steven Stills, Steve Winwood and Jack Cassidy into the studio to play on sessions or to jam. Bassist Noel Redding, who joined the group with the expectation it would be collaborative, became increasingly disenchanted. After the album’s release, the Experience went back to extensive touring, but the concerts in the spring of 1969 are marked by several changes: Other than the usual problems associated with stardom (rampant drug use, greedy management, legal problems, groupies. etc.), there were frequent technical challenges associated with the Jimi’ unusual and customized electronics, which caused frustrating delays for the audience and the band. Jimi also began winging his set lists to match his mood and to avoid the boredom of rehearsals and choreographed set lists. Several songs now included long improvisational jams. Finally, his enormous popularity allowed him to be booked into stadiums – often playing to unruly crowds who would rush the stage.

This is the backdrop for the Royal Albert Hall London concerts in February and the San Diego concert in May of 1969. With Albert Hall you get the extended jams. The San Diego recording reflects the un-ruley crowds that were typical of these dates.

The final year of Jimi’s life and career begin with Woodstock, as previously mentioned, a completely new type of performance. Jimi still did some of the old tricks on the hit songs, but on the new material focused more on playing with incredible dexterity and invention. New bassist Billy Cox, a bandmate of  Jimi’s from their Army days, added a soulful groove which Noel Redding had been unable to provide. Also, Woodstock was Jimi’s first use of the Uni-Vibe pedal, which is partly responsible for the incredible sound he presented at this performance and others in the year following.

In the fall Jimi hung out with Buddy Miles, another old friend from the “chitlin’ circuit” days, recording several songs which would show up after his death. This black band, Band of Gypsys, played only a few live gigs, the Fillmore East in NYC on New Years Eve and New Year’s Day 1970 being the most notable. This concert was recorded and handed over to Capital Records to settle an old contract dispute. Ironically, the only live album Jimi produced in his short career, one of the great live albums of all time, was given away.

The music from these 2 nights is more coherent with the band condensed to a trio again, and due to Buddy Miles having a vastly different drumming style than Mitch Mitchell.  Much of the material from both sets of each night can be found on the more recent, Live at the Fillmore East but clearly the best set was the first show of January 1^st, the key tracks of which are found on the Captial release Band of Gypsys. The recent complilation Voodoo Chile: The Jimi Hendrix collection, has many of Jimi’s greatest live moments on the second disc but it’s version of Machine Gun is subpar, being from the pervious night, The Band of Gypsys version is one of Jimi’s most amazing performances. A black and white video (very early for this medium) can be seen on the DVD Live at the Fillmore East.

13. Machine Gun- – Fillmore East, New York City, January 1, 1970

Hendrix’s political take on the horrors of war. No tricks, just Jimi standing trancelike shredding violence out of his black Stratocaster over Buddy’s punctuating bullet sounds. Many guitarists favor this as the ultimate Hendrix track. [found on Band Of Gypsys].

14. Power of Soul­–same date and location as above.

This includes one of my two favorite Hendrix solos. There are two versions of this song from the Fillmore East gigs.  The other version is ragged on the vocal, Jimi forgets the words, but it has an extensive build up of the groove over the first several miniutes, which is truer to the studio version of this song.  This version jumps right into the main solo, which is beyond description. After 39 years I am still blown away by this. [found on Band Of Gypsys. Alternate found on Live at The Fillmore East.)

Next up- Berkeley 1970.