Rene And Georgette Magritte With Their Dog After The War Paul Simon
Label: Warner Bros.
Released: 1983
Paul Simon’s 6th solo album wasn’t supposed to be a solo album at all. Hearts And Bones was originally slated to be a Simon & Garfunkel release, due to the enormous popularity of their Concert In Central Park. In fact, some of its material premiered in their world tour which followed that event. Unfortunately, the “old friends” couldn’t keep it together and the reunion album never happened. So, Simon retooled it himself. He ended up delivering one of his most personal and innovative albums to date. While it wasn’t warmly received upon release, time has shown that the album (and incredible tracks like “Rene And Georgette Magritte With Their Dog After The War”) is one of Simon’s most succinct, daring and essential offerings.
You may not know the name, but you probably know one of his songs.Shuggie Otis, son of ‘50s R&B bandleader Johnny Otis, wrote “Strawberry Letter 23” which The Brothers Johnson turned into a HUGE hit in the late ‘70s. “Aht Uh Mi Hed” came from his 1974 album Inspiration Information.Despite a host of strong songs and rhythms, the album surprisingly went nowhere upon release.Shuggie is a fascinating character. Playing with his father’s band at 12, recording with Al Kooper at 15 and Zappa at 16, he released his first record at 17.Inspiration Information was released when he was the ripe old age of 21 and unfortunately would be his last proper album. He turned down offers to tour with the Stones at the time as well as to have Quincy Jones produce the follow up to this record, and we still haven’t heard much from him after 36 years. Do yourself a favor and check out the 2001 re-issue on Luaka Bop.
In the early ‘80s, Prefab Sprout was a jangly, often heady, melodic English band that drew comparisons to Aztec Camera, Steely Dan, and Elvis Costello. For their second album, they hired synth-pop wiz Thomas Dolby to helm it.His presence brought a more polished production sheen, and the band showed up with a batch of tunes that would launch them into pop consciousness around the world except…in the U.S. “Faron” opens Two Wheels Good, retains some of their jangle, and starts off a brilliant alternative pop album. While Paddy McAloon’s words are often impenetrable, the melodies, arrangements, and production override any lack of lyrical understanding. Even though they weren’t able to conjure a strong follow-up on their subsequent releases, here Prefab Sprout really crafted an ‘80s pop gem that perfectly captures that moment in time.
The purest of pure pop, The Rubinoos are here to start your week. This song is taken from their Party of Two EP, when the band had boiled down to the two main members, Jon Rubin and Tommy (T.V.) Dunbar. Produced by Todd Rundgren and backed by Utopia, this song has a giant hook that drives a great power pop song. Now play it again, but louder!
Here is Andy Sturmer and Roger Manning Jr.’s pre-Jellyfish band, Beatnik Beatch.Today’s selection is a stark, rhythmic exercise in catchy power pop form that gives us a taste of what Andy and Roger were doing right before their Jellyfish years.Although Beatnik Beatch was the band’s major-label debut, the album was actually used some material from their 1986 indie release At the Zulu Pool.
I can’t think of a better DFD track to start off the week than Devo’s cover of Lee Dorsey’s 1966 hit “Working In The Coal Mine.”The band gives the standard an interesting industrial twist that sticks in your head long after it’s over.The tune was originally featured on the Heavy Metal soundtrack and included a bonus 7” with the New Traditionalist album.
Kevin Gilbert (R.I.P.) and Patrick Leonard combined to create Toy Matinee, one unforgettable album of what I like to call progressive power pop.Each song has a unique arrangement and influence that make up their own sound.With the help of Juliann Lennon’s background vocals, ”Things She Said” highlights many influences and yet feels brand new.Kevin Gilbert’s musical voice is sorely missed…
New England had 3 albums of ’80s AOR rock.They had catchy rockin’ songs with great harmony vocals as heard on today’s pick, “Get It Up.”I’m not sure if lead singer John Fannon was a true air balloon aficionado or if it’s a metaphor for something else, but it’s fun to listen to this unique arrangement and Todd Rundgren’s excellent production.So crank it up and enjoy the ride with New England!
Emo? Power-pop? Indie rock? Any one of those labels would’ve fit Nada Surf circa 2005’s The Weight Is A Gift. Confessional introspection? Check. Buzzing guitars? They’re here too, along with strong melodies and alternative cred in the person of Death Cab For Cutie’s Chris Walla, who coproduced the album. The weight of tracks like “Always Love” rests heavily on singer Matthew Caws’ sweet, clear voice, which negotiates shifts in tempo and tone effortlessly. That song’s titular message may seem simple, but the performances and arrangement are anything but, and will embed the tune firmly in your brain’s pleasure center. Favorite hook: “I’ve been held back by something – yeah!”
“Kiss and Say Goodbye” could easily stand as the manifesto artistico of Damn Fine Day. Up until their 1975 self-titled debut album, Canadian sisters/chanteuses Kate & Anna McGarrigle served as a cherished secret wellspring of songs, covered by Linda Ronstadt, Maria Muldaur, Emmylou Harris and others. “Kiss and Say Goodbye,” written by Kate (mother of Rufus and Martha Wainwright, by the way), sweetly, meticulously dreams of not just a damn fine day, but the Perfect Day: meet at the airport, catch a film from gay Paree, grab dinner for two in some eastside rendezvous, walk around the block hand in hand, and kiss ’til your mouth gets numb. Backed by a crack studio band featuring Lowell George on guitar and Bobby Keys on saxophone, the McGarrigles’ joyously warbling harmonies paint the everyday contours of domestic and romantic bliss with wit, sophistication, and a dash of sarcasm to leaven the mix. It ain’t easy to swing on a star and catch moonbeams in a jar, but that’s the McGarrigles’ metier artistique.
If you had a chance to see Jeff Beck on his 2010 tour, you had the pleasure of experiencing one of the world’s most incredible drummers, Narada Michael Walden.Narada plays with a sensitivity and artistry that is truly delightful. All of his notes are played with excellence, from whispery-quiet-tasty cymbal work to thunderous double bass crescendos.“Saint and The Rascal” is one of several exceptional songs from Narada’s Garden Of Love Light album, which is a great listen from beginning to end.
It was hard (so tough) to be a Beach Boy in the early 1970s. Shunned by the cognoscenti as musical Methuselahs, the greatest beards in all of rock watched their albums languish in stores. The members themselves felt stifled by the business and that warm California sun, so in the summer of 1972 they relocated to Amsterdam hoping to find inspiration as they recorded their next LP. They were joined by Blondie Chaplin and Ricky Fataar of The Flames, and band Svengali Brian Wilson, who arrived after only three attempts to coax him onto a plane. This act of creative cleansing turned into an eight-month ordeal, capped by then-label Warner Bros.’ dismissal of the finished release as weak. In retrospect, perhaps that’s a tad harsh. The aspects may not have been right, but as “Funky Pretty” proves, there were gems amid Holland’s gloomy murk.
When Clyde McPhatter created The Drifters for Atlantic Records in 1953, no one could have imagined that group would not only create hits for 13 years with the label, but become known as one of the greatest vocal groups of all time. With a virtual turnstile of members, The Drifters had hits with 7 different lead vocalists – one of which being the iconic Ben E. King. It’s hard to believe King’s tenure with the band lasted only 12 months, but two years after his departure, Atlantic pulled a King vocal from the vaults and released “Sometimes I Wonder” in hopes of solidifying The Drifters’ chart presence and perhaps to capitalize on King’s solo success. While this tale of yearning, with a truly impassioned vocal, didn’t chart, all was not lost. That same month the band cut a little track called “Up On The Roof” and The Drifters’ legacy continued.
By the time they recorded this Norman Whitfield track, The Jackson 5’s longtime association with Motown was slowly coming to an end. The brothers were bristling under Berry Gordy’s bubblegum thumb, eager to explore the kind of epic funk exemplified here, but on their own terms. (When the boys implore, “Play it, Tito!” it’s not Tito who responds.) Two years later, with the exception of Jermaine, they jumped to CBS, where they became captains of their own success rather than the cherubic front for armies of songwriters and session musicians. Little Michael, rest his soul, topped them all by becoming a worldwide institution, an icon for all time. Some 40 years after their debut—breathless trails of headlines aside—the lasting essence of the Jackson legacy is the ability to evolve past childhood novelty into an independent creative force. We didn’t have to just dance and hum along.
Before Prince Rogers Nelson misplaced his inner-nasty, he was waving his Freak Flag on Dirty Mind. The 1980 album features tracks about sex and incest, which overshadow a pure piece of rock & roll pleasure called “When You Were Mine.” Its playfully, infectious guitar riffs and Beach Boys-inspired harmonies are counter-balanced by devastating lyrics about loss and regret. Prince has long been an under-rated excavator of post-break up, nuclear fallout. “When You Were Mine” uncovers the insight gained after a man realizes he let his Good Thing get away. The falsetto refrain: “I love you more/than I did/when your were mine.” It’s the kinda song that’ll have you leaking tears in your Bud Light.
Long before they’d gone Top 40 with the timeless psychedelic soul of “Time Has Come Today,” The Chambers Brothers chose a Jimmy Reed song, “Yes, Yes, Yes,” to kick off their first album, People Get Readyfor the Fabulous Chambers Brothers. Captured live at L.A.’s Ash Grove and the Unicorn in Boston, the album also featured Reed’s “You’ve Got Me Running,” but it’s pretty obvious why “Yes Yes Yes” was chosen as the opener, setting the tone with some serious blues harp and the sort of groove the British beat groups lived to borrow. It’s what people used to mean by swagger – not as primitive as Reed’s original, perhaps, and yet more bad-ass in its own way. Reed’s own version of the song, it should be noted, was “I’m Goin’ Upside Your Head,” but these guys toned the title down without changing the actual lyrics, warning baby, “If you don’t watch out, goin’ upside of your head.”
Many regard Dusty In Memphis as one of the greatest albums of all time. With a record that’s loaded with sultry grooves like the acclaimed “Son of A Preacher Man” it’s hard to disagree. But despite it’s mass notoriety, there are few tracks that may have been overlooked such as the heavyhearted “I Don’t Want To Hear It Anymore”. This track sums up all that is great about the album: Dusty’s emotionally charged voice accentuated by a first rate production courtesy of Jerry Wexler, Arif Mardin, and Tom Dowd. Heartbreak never sounded so good.
Change is a good thing.INXS were looking for a new direction in 1982 and hired producer Mark Opitz for their 3rd album, Shabooh Shoobah.The result was a worldwide breakthrough.After hooking up with the legendary Chris Thomas, that breakthrough became domination.So, where to now?A decade after the first collaboration, INXS again recruited Opitz, who helped them create the most diverse and arguably best album of their career.From its Eastern-flavored opener to the orchestral closer, Welcome To Wherever You Are is an album full of surprises and textures.But, it isn’t all bells & whistles all the time. The album’s true strength lies in how tight the band is.You can feel it, especially on tracks like “Wishing Well”.The deceptively simple groove slowly builds upon itself, finds its way into your brain and doesn’t let go.And, once it’s done, you find yourself wanting to hear it again.And again.
Throughout the history of recorded music there are very few artists who possess the range of talents that Prince Rogers Nelson does. In the studio he’s a virtual one man band writing, playing all the instruments, and producing. And live, he’s as good on stage as anyone who’s ever taken to it: singing, dancing, and playing the hell out of the guitar. His influences cover the spectrum of popular music and he is equally as funky as he is a rocker. We usually don’t select a song that was released as a single, but “ America ” was not the stand out track from the 1985 album Around the World in a Day, and unless you’re a fan of the Purple one, it may have slipped past you. The song is Prince’s take on mid-’80s, Reagan-era politics with lyrics that mention communism, the minimum wage, and the threat of nuclear war, counter-balanced by his hope for freedom, love, joy, and peace.
Tommy Bolin usually plays with a raw level of excitement that sets his music on fire, however, this particular cut is one of his more mellow tracks.“Savannah Woman” features Bolin on guitar, Prairie Prince (Tubes) on drums, Phil Collins on percussion, and Paul Stallworth on bass.A short but sweet tune flavored with a tasty guitar solo courtesy of Mr. Bolin.
Q: Are We Not The Ventures?People seem to forget that “Whip It” was from the band’s 3rd album, and before they became synthesizer poster children, Devo were using lots of guitars.Taken from their classic debut, “Gut Feeling” starts off a little like Booker T. and the S.P.U.D.’s, but when the vocal hits, you know you’ve devolved.The track builds and builds until the rockin’ “Slap Your Mammy” coda takes it to a whole different place.One constant about Devo is that you can’t blink – something different is always around the corner.And, if you only think of them as the guys with flower pots on their heads, I’ve got a gut feeling this track will change your mind.
With two-thirds of their lineup consisting of Brill Building vets Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich, The Raindrops had access to plenty of good material, and their eponymous 1963 debut brims with wonderful songs. And while it wasn’t one of their hits, the album’s “That Boy’s Messin’ Up My Mind” just might be The Raindrops’ best. As would be expected from such talented songsmiths, the lyrics are a notch above the usual love song fodder. Many girl groups sang of boyfriends who were “rebels,” but this is the only ode I know to an ordinary schlub — it’s less about this great guy than about how the singer has learned to appreciate the little things about him. Structurally, it’s even more sophisticated, shifting from a loud and brassy “kiss, like his kiss” to the more subdued realization of the title without missing a beat.
Nowadays Mr. Wilson is a virtual cottage industry, but back in 1987, with Andy Paley nearly alone in Brian’s musical corner (the less said about Dr. Eugene Landy, the better…), it was easy to think that The Beach Boys’ troubled genius was down for the count. So hearing “Baby Let Your Hair Grow Long” on Rodney Bingenheimer’s radio program really took me by surprise. The deliberately stilted rhythm that opens the song was weird—but compelling—and that little keyboard hook that introduced the title phrase was weird—but compelling. Solid vocal work, and the kind of intricate arrangements producers had been trying to duplicate ever since Pet Sounds. I was sold. With tracks like this (and the brilliant “Love And Mercy”), Brian really had made it back.
