“Rock ‘n’ roll is a communicable disease.”~The New York Times, 1956
And I’ve got the fever, baby!
JEFF BECK AT THE NOKIA
Submitted by RockPhiles Blog
Jeff Beck who, along with Clapton and Page, made up a great triumvirate of 60s Brit blues guitar players, is out and about these days, promoting his new album “Emotion and Commotion.”
The album is a strong outing, featuring Beck’s versions of “Over the Rainbow,” “Nessum Dorma,” “I Put A Spell On You,” which features Joss Stone on vocals, and “Elegy for Dunkirk.”
Jeff recently appeared in Los Angeles at the Nokia Theater, keeping the crowd on their feet.
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BRET MICHAELS IN CRITICAL CONDITION
Submitted by RockPhiles Blog
Bret Michaels was rushed to a Los Angeles hospital on Thursday, after suffering a brain hemorrhage. His condition is critical. Doctors will only comment that they are waiting for the results of tests, and in the meantime Bret is in the ICU under constant observation.
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Mark Knopfler Rocks Milwaukee!
Submitted by Rock and Roll Guru Blog
Every time I have an opportunity to see someone on my A-list, there’s a wonderful feeling of anticipation that permeates the day leading up to the show, and a warm wave of good vibrations fills the air as I enter the venue. Such was the case on Saturday. Since we’ve got a house full of Dire Straits fans, we all headed out Saturday night to Milwaukee’s majestic Riverside Theater to see the one and only Mark Knopfler in concert.
Knopfler is a virtuoso…indeed, he’s a freakin’ guitar god! He’s one of those rare cats you can listen to play guitar for just a few seconds and know, without a doubt, it’s Mark Knopfler.
Touring behind his latest album, Get Lucky, Knopfler and his phenomenally tight 7-piece band were truly splendiferous. We were blessed with a mixture of the old and the new, as they seamlessly blended Knopfler’s solo work with several of the classic Dire Straits tunes we love so dearly.
Mark has always masterfully crafted stories that take us on an emotional roller coaster, and the beautiful “Romeo and Juliet,” a blistering “Sultans of Swing” and a fantabulous ride during the 15-minute version of “Telegraph Road” did just that as we sat blissfully mesmerized.
Encores from the Dire Straits Desert Island Disc “Brothers in Arms” included both the hauntingly lovely title track and a delicious romp through “So Far Away.”
Once again, the Rock & Roll gods smiled down upon us…and we’re still smiling back.
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This Blog Is Now Old Enough To Attend Kindergarten
Submitted by Bloggerhythms Blog
Today’s post is probably the most personal one ever to appear on Bloggerhythms because I’ve followed one rule about blogging that I discovered on the web many years ago. It is to inject your personality into your posts without getting too personal.
Bloggerhythms turns five years old this week and it’s still online because I discovered I enjoy writing even more than I thought I would. I’m happy this is a passion that I can actively participate in because I embarrassed myself every single time I tried my hand at my first love, music, and my second one, baseball. (The Mendoza line was a huge pipe dream for me even when I was in little league).
This blog started out strictly as a CD review site but it’s focus has changed slightly over the last couple of years because I discovered that readers are often more interested in some of the other music related stuff I’ve written about than they are in the reviews. I’ve also noticed that there appears to be greater interest and response to articles about artists and music from the baby boom era than more current fare. (Maybe that just means I have an older audience).
I know that the more a blogger posts the more readers he or she gets and I’m frequently shocked how prolific many of my fellow bloggers are. The last two years I’ve struggled to post at least once a week and because I’ve only come close to achieving that goal I proved I can miss the Mendoza line even in adulthood. I give a tip of my hat to those of you who manage to regularly post new stuff two or three times a week. How do you find the time to do it?
Finally, I apologize to those of you who I may have confused with multiple facelifts of Bloggerhythms in recent months. I had grown weary of Blogger’s boring, amateurish looking templates and I even considered migrating over to Wordpress, However, with Blogger’s recent upgrade I’m happy to at last come up with a look that I can appreciate. Now if they can just get rid of the stupid navbar.
I thank all of you who have come along for the ride these past few years. I don’t know if there will be a tenth anniversary but I certainly hope so.
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Rock and Roll Philosophy from the book DREAMtweet
Submitted by Rock and Roll Guru Blog
I am incredibly blessed and grateful to be living my dream, and not long ago I was asked by Happy About Publishing to share my process for living my dream. That resulted in the book DREAMtweet: Enlightened Inspiration from a Rock and Roll Guru being released earlier this year. Over the coming months I’ll post the book here a bit at a time. I believe everyone can live their dream and hopefully this will provide a little reminder of what’s possible for you.
Your dream is your birthright, and it begins with creating a vivid vision of that dream.
Be specific in creating your dream, as clarity provides tremendous power.
Once you have a clear vision, you must release attachment to how you think it’s supposed to manifest and trust the universal forces. (As Meat Loaf sang, “You got to do what you can, and let Mother Nature do the rest.”)
Clarity regarding your dream allows you to create vivid mental pictures and the corresponding positive emotion. (This is NOT just about visualizing your dream. As you contemplate your dream, it’s critical to experience the groovy feeling of the dream already fulfilled as often as possible and for as long as possible.)
Click here to learn more about DREAMtweet and order your copy now.
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Steve Miller Band: Rock & Roll Video
Submitted by Rock and Roll Guru Blog
Since I just posted about my Rock and Roll Breakfast with Stevie “Guitar” Miller and his groovy song, “Serenade,” let’s check him out rockin’ it in concert.
Have fun and enjoy the video!
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Tom Waits: Rock & Roll Quote
Submitted by Rock and Roll Guru Blog
“Achievement is for senators and scholars. At one time I had ambitions, but I had them removed by a doctor in Buffalo.”~Tom Waits
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ROCK and ROLL Lives Here!
Submitted by Rock and Roll Guru Blog
Welcome to the unofficially official new site. Here are some of the things you can expect to see here over the next several months…
For those of you who receive this by email, please click here to watch the brief video and check out the new site design and my new books.
As always, have fun Rockers!
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John Oates - 1000 Miles Of Life (2008)
Submitted by Bloggerhythms Blog
John Oates, one half of Hall and Oates, the biggest selling duo in pop music history, issued a very interesting solo CD in 2008 called 1000 Miles Of Life. It’s not overloaded with the catchy hooks that are a trademark of his famous band but it’s still a good enough outing to make you wonder why their long and stellar career was so dominated by Daryl Hall.
Many fans of the superstar, 80s, version of Hall and Oates may not realize that they began life as a folk-pop duo. The music they made in the early 70s was more singer-songwriter oriented even though blue-eyed soul was still a component of their work. Their best album from this period, Abandoned Luncheonette, (1972) was the perfect synthesis of folk and R & B. The highlight of the record was the single “She’s Gone.” It would take several more years for both the song and the album to become a hit after the success of “Sara Smile” but today they are considered classics.
1000 Miles of Life is Oates second solo CD (the first was Phunk Shui in 2002) and it has far more in common with Abandoned Luncheonette than anything he and Hall recorded during their glory years. There are lots of acoustic guitars, strings, some dobro courtesy of Jerry Douglas, and banjo from Bela Fleck. Bonnie and Bekka Bramlett sing back up and The Blind Boys of Alabama harmonize superbly on “Sending Me Angels.” John Popper and Steve Cropper also help out and the late T Bone Wolk plays bass.
There is some funkiness for sure. The title cut, “Ghost Town,” and “Carved In Stone” all have a soul inflected groove. There is a folky remake of the title track from Change Of Season, Hall & Oates’ last album before their 1990 hiatus. The songs are deeply personal and reflect the rocker’s personal life at the time. Oates is philosophical but never depressing. His singing proves he should take the lead vocals for H & O far more often and his songwriting is the equal of Hall’s. All in all, it’s a rewarding release from the underrated half of the much underrated duo.
Here is an interview Oates did for the CD in March 2008 before he even recorded it in Nashville.
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Rock & Roll Quote
Submitted by Rock and Roll Guru Blog
“The preachers and moral guardians who in rock’s infancy warned us of the evils of the music weren’t that far off base. Rock, at least as practiced by The Who and a few others, is defiant, it is antisocial, it is revolutionary. Anarchy, that’s what The Who is all about.”~Robert W. Butler
Dude says it like that’s a bad thing.
Long Live Rock!
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Rock and Roll History April 13
Submitted by Rock and Roll Guru Blog
Some groovy Rock and Roll history for April 13th, including the phenomenal Jack Casady, Mighty Max Weinberg, The Beatles, Elton John & Lowell George.
Have fun and enjoy the video.
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Summerfest 2010 is Gonna ROCK!
Submitted by Rock and Roll Guru Blog
This is going to be an absolutely AMAZING year for Rock & Roll at Summerfest!
It’s more than two months before The Big Gig, and they’ve already confirmed these A-list rockers, putting a huge smile on my face. Check this out:
Tom Petty with ZZ Top (2 nights)
Eric Clapton with Roger Daltrey (2 days after Clapton’s Crossroads Guitar Festival)
Carlos Santana with Steve Winwood (just announced this morning)
The Moody Blues
Jeff Beck
The Wailers
How cool is that?!?!? And there’s plenty more to come…
Hope you can make it to Milwaukee to party with us for 11 days at this year’s edition of Summerfest!
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Vince Guaraldi - Vince Guaraldi’s Greatest Hits (1980)
Submitted by Bloggerhythms Blog
The late Vince Guaraldi is known to most of us only as the pianist on the soundtracks to the Peanuts TV specials and especially as the genius behind the most famous jazz Christmas album in history, A Charlie Brown Christmas. That is a real shame for a man who died too young of a heart attack at age 47 just after completing work on another Peanuts TV show earlier that day.
Fantasy Records released this fourteen song disc, Vince Guaraldi’s Greatest Hits, on vinyl in 1980 and on CD in 1989. It is far from being a complete retrospective because it only contains music Guaraldi recorded for Fantasy but it still serves as a very nice overview of this intriguing jazz man’s work.
Guaraldi started making records in the mid-50s as a sideman for Cal Tjader. He also sat in with Woody Herman. Later he played with percussionist Mongo Santamaria and Dave Brubeck’s bassist, Eugene Wright.
In 1959 Guaraldi set out on his own. It would be 1963 before he hit paydirt when “Cast Your Fate To The Wind” became a hit single and earned him a Grammy for Best Original Jazz Composition. Soon after that he worked with Brazilian Bola Sete, an acoustic jazz guitarist who made a name for himself during the early 60s when his country influenced a lot of jazz in America and elsewhere. Greatest Hits features Sete on “Ginza,” “Star Song,” and Henry Mancini’s “Days Of Wine and Roses.” The most interesting collaboration between the duo is an instrumental version of Lennon-McCartney’s “I’m a Loser” featuring Guaraldi and Sete as the only two musicians.
Of course, the the disc also includes “Oh Good Grief,” the world famous “Linus and Lucy,” and “Christmas Time Is Here,” an instrumental that can be played anytime of the year.
Guaraldi was always able to sustain a groove without getting frantic, improvise without losing site of the melody, and both compose and interpret other people’s music with ease.
Even if you’ve never heard anything else by Guaraldi except for his work from the Charlie Brown specials you’ve already been schooled in how tasteful jazz piano can be. Adding Vince Guaraldi’s Greatest Hits to your collection is surely a safe bet.
Visit Guaraldi’s official website.
Listen to “Cast Your Fate To The Wind.”
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Eric Clapton’s Crossroads Guitar Festival
Submitted by Rock and Roll Guru Blog
Eric Clapton’s Crossroads Guitar Festival 2010 on June 26th at Toyota Park in Chicago is gonna be an AMAZING event! If you haven’t already, put this one on your schedule now as it is guaranteed to be the grooviest concert experience of the year!
Guitar Center is offering an incredible opportunity to win a V.I.P. trip for 2 to this spectacular show, complete with airfare, hotel, spending cash and V.I.P. access! How cool is that? Check out this chance to live a Rock & Roll Fantasy. The Guitar Center Giveaway runs through April 30th, so be certain to get your entry in this month.
Several of the world’s greatest guitarists will be on hand to jam at this phenomenal once-in-a-lifetime collaboration, including Jeff Beck, Buddy Guy, B.B. King, ZZ Top, Steve Winwood, Joe Bonamassa, the Allman Brothers Band and so many more! Here’s the entire lineup.
In addition, there will be a Guitar Center Village at Crossroads. You’ll be able to experience today’s top guitar, amp and effects manufacturers, presented through interactive exhibits and displays, including a series of very special guitar clinics conducted on the Ernie Ball Stage by main stage artists and other virtuoso guitarists.
All profits from the Festival will benefit The Crossroads Centre in Antigua, a treatment and education facility founded by Clapton for chemically dependent persons.
For more information go to CrossroadsGuitarFestival.com.
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Macho: Rock & Roll Dictionary
Submitted by Rock and Roll Guru Blog
Macho: a guy who jogs home from a vasectomy.
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JOHN CIAMBOTTI - RIP
Submitted by Rock and Roll Guru Blog
My friend and chiropractor, John Ciambotti died very unexpectedly last week. He served as bassist for Clover, Huey Lewis’ band, when they backed Elvis Costello on his ground-breaking album, “My Aim Is True.” His other credits are here. As far as his undeniable musical talent, suffice to say that he was approached by the Stones when Bill Wyman resigned. John declined, preferring to go into the health care field. Personally speaking, I can attest to his chiropractic skills. My left shoulder thanks him!
His daughter, Gia Ciambotti, is also a successful singer/songwriter.
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Eric Clapton: Rock & Roll Birthday
Submitted by Rock and Roll Guru Blog
Here’s my birthday tribute to the phenomenal Eric Clapton. Any list of guitar gods has to include Slowhand.
Enjoy the video and have fun!
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Rock & Roll Book Reviews for #DREAMtweet
Submitted by Rock and Roll Guru Blog
Hey Rockers, I know I haven’t been writing here much, but I promise there’s some very cool stuff on the way that I’ll be sharing within the next week….and then getting back to a regular posting schedule.
Just wanna give a great big THANK YOU to some groovy folks who have had some very kind words to say about #DREAMtweet: Enlightenend Inspiration from a Rock and Roll Guru. If you click on their names, it will take you straight to their reviews.
I’m incredibly grateful to Judy Davids (better known as Rock Star Mommy), George Angus and Teresa Morrow!
You all rock!
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Loren Francis - I’ve Been Down Before (2010)
Submitted by PlasticLess.com Blog
Guitarist and singer-songwriter Loren Francis is a Maine native currently residing in Boston. Francis has buskered down the entire East coast of the United States, on Greek islands, in the catacombs of Jerusalem, on the beaches of the Virgin Islands, and all over Central America. Even though he has written tons of songs in those locales I’ve Been Down Before is his first CD release.
Francis describes the music on his four song EP as urban Americana. While his arrangements may fall on the softer side of rock they still offer plenty of energy and passion. The very radio friendly title song opens with just a solo piano and voice, gradually building in intensity while morphing into a full blown rock anthem. “If It Was Up To Me” and “Lot Left To Learn” are nearly as effective. During the disc’s best moments his vocals remind the listener of an American Ray Davies.
The New Englander writes very personal songs and he takes complete advantage of his natural gift for strong, emotional wordplay. He proves this with very curious but thoughtful lines like, “You can’t make love and have it too,” from “It’s Over,” the disc’s opening track.
These four songs make me want to hear the hundreds of others Francis has written. You can listen to all of the tracks from the EP and more on his MySpace page.
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Forgotten Music Thursday: Do You Remember Tim Moore?
Submitted by Bloggerhythms Blog
Obscurity claims another victim. For the second installment of Scott Parker’s Forgotten Music let’s take a look at Philadelphia’s Tim Moore. He has been totally forgotten in his home town and was never known enough anywhere else in North America to have even achieved forgotten status. Isn’t it true that to be forgotten someone had to know who you were in the first place?
Here at home, Moore was best known for a song Art Garfunkel also turned into a minor hit, the moving ballad, “Second Avenue.” Unfortunately, except in Philadelphia, Garfunkel’s version did better on the charts and on the radio. To this day Moore’s version remains one of my all-time favorite breakup songs.
Early on, Moore was the drummer for a local Philadelphia band, Woody’s Truck Stop, featuring Todd Rundgren. Later, believe it or not, Frank Zappa became a fan and wanted to produce the rather conventional rocker and singer-songwriter. However, when the avant-garde composer didn’t have the time to follow through with it, Moore left New York City and went to work for Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff back in Philadelphia. He then recorded one album with Daryl Hall in a band called Gulliver before John Oates came along.
Soon Moore’s songwriting attracted enough attention to secure a record deal with Asylum. The multi-instrumentalist played almost everything himself on his 1974 eponymous debut album. The record contains some really good stuff: “A Fool Like You,” “When You Close Your Eyes,” “Charmer,” and “Second Avenue.”
Three more LPs soon followed. Moore composed “Rock ‘n Roll Love Letter,” a song The Bay City Rollers turned into a hit, for his second disc, Behind The Lines. Don’t let the The Rollers connection fool you. Moore’s version really rocked. His third, White Shadows, was recorded in Los Angeles in 1977 with help from with Bill Payne of Little Feat, Timothy B. Schmidt, drummer Jeff Porcaro, David Foster, and Michael McDonald. High Contrast followed two years later. None achieved even a modicum of success before he disappeared from the music scene.
In 1985 Moore recorded one more album, Flash Forward, and a song from it, “Yes,” became a giant hit in both Brazil and Portugal in the late 80s. This resulted in a long tour of The South American country after the song went to the top of the charts. Meanwhile, Moore remained a non-entity in the United States where the CD is available only as an expensive import.
Here are the original versions of the upbeat “Charmer,” the ballad “A Fool Like You,” and the beautiful “Second Avenue.”
Finally, here is a Portugese video of “Yes” sung in English.
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JIM MARSHALL - RIP
Submitted by Rock and Roll Guru Blog
Details are a little sketchy at present, but it is confirmed that Jim Marshall, seminal rock photographer, whose unerring photojournalistic eye captured the spirit of rock like nobody else, has died in New York City on March 24, 2010. He was 74. New York Times.
Granted unprecedented access to rock stars of the 60s, including the Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, Janis, The Stones and Jim Morrison, as well as being the chief photographer at Woodstock, Marshall blazed a photographic trail and leaves an extraordinary legacy.
Here’s a collection of his work.
Photo credit to Jim Britt.
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Polygamy: Rock & Roll Dictionary
Submitted by Rock and Roll Guru Blog
Polygamy: a great idea in theory, until you realize it multiplies the number of your in-laws.
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Warren Zevon: Rock & Roll Quote
Submitted by Rock and Roll Guru Blog
“I’ve been a walking advertisement for excess and chaos most of my life, so it’s about time I tried to do something for the other side.”~Warren Zevon
This one hits just a little too close to home for me.
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Poco - The ForgottenTrail (1990)
Submitted by Bloggerhythms Blog
Poco has never released a box set but there are some nice compilations out there that need to be scooped up. The best one is the superlative double disc, The Forgotten Trail (1969 - 1974). It’s not only for the casual fans or curiosity seekers. This is a collection for true Poco aficionados.
The package’s thirty-eight songs span Poco’s formative and glory years with Epic Records. Included are most of the best songs from their first eight albums plus eleven other previously unreleased tracks from 1969 to 1974. Then the quartet left Epic for MCA where Paul Cotton and Rusty Young finally led them to some much deserved commercial success.
In addition to all of the band’s “hits” (and I use that term both lovingly and jokingly) there are some fantastic rarities. Among them are Richie Furay’s single “My Kind of Love” backed with Timothy B. Schmidt’s “Hard Luck.” Both appear on an album for the first time. Young’s pedal steel inflected instrumental “Last Call (Cold Enchilada #3)” was released for the first time anywhere as was another of his wordless entries, “Skunk Creek.” A special treat is an all acoustic version of Jim Messina’s “You Better Think Twice” with some great guitar pickin’ by the composer. There is also the never before heard Messina ballad, “Lullaby In September” that he wrote for Furay’s wife as a baby shower present. She was expecting the couple’s first child.
The set also includes “Pickin’ Up The Pieces,” “Grand Junction,” the original “You Better Think Twice,” “C’mon,” “From The Inside,” “Kind Woman,” “Just For Me And You,” “A Good Feelin’ To Know,” “And Settlin’ Down,” “Crazy Eyes,” and Cotton’s “Bad Weather,” a song about the breakup of his previous group, The Illinois Speed Press. The only glaring omission is “Let’s Dance Tonight.”
An outstanding thirty-six page booklet is included that offers tons of biographical information about the band’s golden era including interviews with most of its members. There are some nice pictures and good information about who played on the different albums, something that is necessary because Poco’s lineup was constantly in flux.
The most important thing about this whole release (other than the obvious joy of listening to the music) is that it shows Poco’s importance in rock history. These trailblazers heavily influenced The Eagles (whose lineup even included two former Poco members) and almost all other country-rockers. Today, anyone involved with a sub-genre often referred to as Americana owes a huge debt to the band that played a significant role in its birth. Why Rusty Young, Jim Messina, Paul Cotton, Timothy B. Schmidt, George Grantham, and Richie Furay (who was inducted with Buffalo Springfield) are not in the Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Fame is not only a mystery, it may be the museum’s greatest travesty.
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