Today we bring you a super jam by British prog rock band, Yes.“Yours Is No Disgrace” is the opening track of the 1971 release The Yes Album.This is one of the band’s first experiments with longer songs, which would become a staple trademark for the band in years to come.Today’s selection is also the first song to feature Steve Howe on guitar.However, the song contains vital contributions from all band members including an instrumental duet between organist Tony Kaye and bassist Chris Squire, and even an a capella piece by Jon Anderson.
Here’s a freedom song that’s rarely played for Independence Day. The Clash’s Joe Strummer once dubbed Lee Dorsey the “hidden jewel” of soul, and the title fits in both respects. The goofy simplicity and eccentric New Orleans rhythms of his hits make it easy to write the man off as a novelty singer, and innumerable covers of Dorsey discs by artists like Devo and The Pointer Sisters (not to mention personal faves The Artwoods) further obscure the originals. But overlooked as they may be, the original versions are indeed gems, thanks largely to the man behind the music, Allen Toussaint. Most of Dorsey’s best sides were written and produced by the Crescent City genius, and “Freedom For The Stallion” is no exception. Opening with a martial drum beat, stately piano and some wonderful female backing vocals, Lee pleads for freedom for the stallion, the mare, the colt, and the baby child who has not grown old enough to vote. There may be better-known civil rights anthems but none more inspiring — this record is so dripping with soul you could put a pan underneath it and make gravy!
Only in the US would a genius like Marc Bolan and his band T. Rex be known as a one hit wonder. The single released after the massive “Bang A Gong (Get It On)” was “Jeepster” – which failed to chart. And, those who didn’t get the LP not only missed out on “Jeepster”, but its flip side, the album closing “Rip Off”. It’s Marc rocking out but keeping it groovy like only the boa wearing, guitar hero he was could. It’s almost punk-rock before it existed and the perfect finale to the ride that is Electric Warrior. Some folks who “got it” were the members of alternative super group Dim Stars, which featured Richard Hell, Don Fleming and Sonic Youth’s Thurston Moore & Steve Shelley. They covered “Rip Off” on their classic 1st EP.
To cartoon fans, Baby Huey may be a plus-size duck in a diaper, but to music fans, he’s one of the great unsung heroes of R&B. Born James Ramey, Baby Huey shared his namesake’s girth, but was nowhere near as naïve. Years before hip-hop arrived, he specialized in sketches of good times and hard life on the street – not unlike Curtis Mayfield, on whose Curtom label Baby Huey & The Babysitters’ sole LP appeared (posthumously; the weight and drugs took Ramey at age 26). The trippy wah-wah licks that open and close “Running” are years-old remnants of psychedelia, but the tale of a fruitless chase for love sandwiched in between is timeless. For three and a half minutes, the woman of his dreams is always a few steps ahead of Huey, while a fat guitar line and funky horn section are only one step behind.
These days I wear a lot of different hats (profession-wise) from radio show host to television personality to voice over artist to actor to writer and more. But when I need to rock, there are certain songs that will always get me right where I need to be. IF THIS DON’T KICK YOUR ASS, NOTHIN’ WILL!
By the time he got around to making Killer, Alice Cooper’s reputation for depraved onstage behavior all but guaranteed that any parent looking for another reason not to let this record in the house would automatically assume “Dead Babies” was the ticket. But the punchline is, it’s actually an oddly poignant cautionary tale about the dangers of bad parenting. As Alice once explained the song to me, “That record was one of the first times anyone had ever said anything about child abuse. I certainly wasn’t gonna say, ‘Now, don’t abuse children ’cause it’s not good.’ Alice Cooper wouldn’t say it like that.” In retrospect, what’s really shocking is how Beatlesque those backing vocals are at the end of the chorus.
Don’t Try To Lay No Boogie Woogie On The King Of Rock & Roll Long John Baldry
Label: Warner Bros.
Released: 1971
Before Rod Stewart created his Every Picture Tells A Story masterpiece, he warmed up by producing half an album—It Ain’t Easy—for the man who discovered him, Long John Baldry. (Elton John got the other 50%.) Because Rod’s production style involved extremely late hours and far too much Remy Martin cognac, Baldry ended up recording “Don’t Try . . . ” while lying on the floor! With Ron Wood helping on guitar, it’s easy to hear the blueprint that would become Rod’s early-1970s trademark sound. Incidentally, Elton took Baldry’s first name for his last, and in 1975 paid further tribute to this “Sugar Bear” in “Someone Saved My Life Tonight.” Long live the late LJB!
It was the perfect storm of David Crosby-meets-Grateful Dead-meets-Joni Mitchell—and with lyrics inspired by a Beatle. Crosby found it funny to watch George Harrison search for answers with the Maharishi, believing that real truth is found in something as simple as a child’s laughter. Jerry Garcia, Phil Lesh, and Bill Kreutzmann had Croz’s musical back while Joni joined in the layered vocals. “Jerry’s pedal steel on ‘Laughing’ eats my heart every time I hear it,” said Phil Lesh. “It’s so expressive—it’s a cry.” Now ain’t that the truth!
As the sound of Aretha Franklin’s heavenly pipes floats above the massive throng at the Obama inauguration today, my inner record geek impels me to reach into my collection for her breathtaking reading of “Border Song.” Originally released by Elton John as a low-charting single in 1970, it was one of many musical pleas for the ever-elusive universal brotherhood that was so in vogue a year after Woodstock. A few months later, the Queen of Soul tried her hand at the tune—and from the moment her fingers hit those ivories with that minor-key piano intro (not to mention the syncopated, rubberneck-inducing organ and bass that kick in soon after), she transformed it into the glorious gospel song it was always meant to be. Can we live in peace, as the lyric requests? In the hopeful spirit of this wondrous day, I’m willing to kick my cynicism to the curb.
Unwritten rule #14 for musicians: You are hereby commanded to pen an ode concerning life on the road. Practically everyone’s heeded it, from Chuck Berry (“Promised Land”) and the Grateful Dead (“Truckin’”) to Bob Seger (“Turn the Page”) and War (“Gypsy Man”). It’s a long list. In 1970 Chicago took the edict to new heights with an entire “travel suite” for their third and probably most overlooked album. “Flight 602” was written by Robert Lamm and features CSNY-esque harmonies and some pedal steel seasonings from Terry Kath. The trademark Chicago horns are absent, but visions of B-3’s and Leslies going ’round permeate nicely.
Alice Cooper called himself a “living obscenity” and held court with none other than Salvador Dali, Groucho Marx, and John Lennon. The Lizard King Jim Morrison was an early supporter of Alice’s band as well—not to mention a drinking buddy—and when Morrison checked out in the summer of ’71, Alice intentionally performed these lyrics as a tribute to both Jim and the gunslinger from The Magnificent Seven, Robert Vaughn. Musically, its origin was organic: guitarist Michael Bruce says the riff was basically a piece he used to tune up with!
While Rod Stewart and Ron Wood were the strutting focal points of Faces, the heart of the band was always Ronnie Lane. “Debris, ” from 1972’s A Nod Is As Good As A Wink . . .To A Blind Horse, is a very personal song—Lane is singing about his parents—but that doesn’t keep others from finding their way in. The less specific the story, the more room it allows for anyone else to see themselves in it. Lane was able to regularly draw listeners into similarly resonant feelings, and the entirety of his output (Faces, Small Faces, Slim Chance, and other solo ventures) is a treasure awaiting those unfamiliar, and an old friend to those who already know.
