A Lifetime-Plus of Music

     It actually took me two albums to get through today’s album, “Bookends”, by Simon and Garfunkel.  I had originally added The Graduate soundtrack (another movie I have never seen), which came out several months ahead of Bookends, but I realized that album was much more “soundtracky” and not a really complete work.  In contrast, “Bookends” feels like the band nearing the apex of their career, as most acts have an ascent, a peak, and an inevitable descent.  Some are just messier than others.

     Side One is a bit more eclectic, written by Paul Simon as a recurring concept of life from cradle to grave.  The songs are pure Simon and Garfunkel, mostly limited in instrumentation and lush with their beautiful harmonies.  Side Two contains one of their most well-known hits, emerging from “The Graduate”, the American ode “Mrs. Robinson”.  Since I was a young baseball fan, I have always resonated with the longing reference to “Joltin’ Joe” DiMaggio, and the rest of this song is just perfect to me, and always has been.  Following is their original version of “A Hazy Shade of Winter”, remade 20 years later by The Bangles.  The album closes with the melancholy “At the Zoo”, more of the duo at their harmonic best.

     At their peak, Simon and Garfunkel had a tremendous impact on the cultural evolution of the 1960s, with the irony being their delicate vocal harmony as their internal relationship began to fray.  If I had one album to play as testimony to them at their best, it is either this or their next (and last) release.

     Today is one of the 10 albums that didn’t otherwise make my list that were selected by my son for inclusion.  A really great album, the self-titled album “Taj Mahal” presented a fresh and energetic new take on traditional blues songs, with one original. 

     Track #2, “Statesboro Blues”, by Blind Willie McTell, was ultimately made much more famous by the rendition from the Allman Brothers, but I absolutely love this sound.  Taj Mahal covers the lead vocals and also plays accompanying guitar and harmonica.  We go all the way back to Robert Johnson for “Dust My Broom”, which ZZ Top fans will surely recognize as well.  The overall sound is very authentic, while at the same time, a notable advancement from the generation before.  His one original take “EZ Rider”, not to be confused with “Ezy Rider” by Hendrix, has a very catchy opening with his harmonica blended nicely with his singing.

     His accompanying band is not surprisingly outstanding, and there is an edge and power to this I haven’t heard yet from any of the blues or blues-influenced disciples.  The mix of rhythm in this blend reminds me of where Led Zeppelin ultimately took the blues, and I hear a lot of striking similarity to “Travelling Riverside Blues”, another Robert Johnson track they recorded and performed.  If you know me, you know I don’t offer that type of comparison or praise lightly.

     While not a massive commercial success, my uneducated guess is that Taj Mahal was an excellent featured artist and opening act for many a rock-blues show over the years, as a qualified purveyor of the genre who performs with a genuine tough delivery.  It appears that he is booking shows again as the world opens up, I will be looking for an opportunity to experience this great sound live.  So far, my son is 2 for 2 on his picks… well done.

     As I listen to each album every day, there are certain practices I like to deploy.  I try listening in the car if I have a decent drive to make, or when I’m out for a walk or run.  Also, I never look at the song titles ahead of time to know what I’m getting.  When it is an album like “Sgt. Pepper” that I have listened to hundreds of times, there is a comfort and familiarity revisiting an old friend.  However, the real joy has come when I put on album and either hear an unexpected surprise and/or a true classic amidst a sea of unfamiliar songs.  Today, I had all of the above when I listened to “Lady Soul” by Aretha Franklin.  This album is rated #75 on Rolling Stone’s Top 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, and it is also #7 on the digitaldreamdoor.com list of Top 10 Soul Albums of All Time.

     As I began my morning run with the rising sun along the Atlantic shore, I was already feeling pretty good about the day, and the album quickly kicked into high gear with “Chain of Fools”.  However, as the sun was rising above the horizon with infinite beauty, she went into an amazing version of “People Get Ready”.  I wasn’t ready for that one, and it hit me hard.  Nobody will ever confuse me with a religious or perhaps even a spiritual person, but sometimes I can’t help but wonder when all of those forces come together at once, listening to Aretha take this song to church.  It is one of the moments from this long road I will never forget.

     The album then dropped a really funky bass groove on “Niki Hoeky”, which I just loved, particularly with its Louisiana-themed backdrop.  And just to bring it home like only Aretha can, the very next song was “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman”, originally written by Carole King and Gerry Goffin.  If you ever want to be deeply moved, watch the video of Aretha performing this song at the Kennedy Honors as Carole King was being recognized.  An incredible scene full of emotion, and my second favorite Kennedy Center Honors moment of all-time.

     All of the emotion of Aretha’s recent passing, her remarkable impact on the world we live in, and the magnitude of this song all combined for yet another moment where I almost had to stop running.  Don’t ever underestimate how powerful the art of music is and can be.

     Throw in a version of “Groovin’”, and an otherwise excellent collection of songs featuring Aretha Franklin at her very best, and you just can’t go wrong.  If this album isn’t on your playlist, you have your own homework to do.

     We move into 1968 with an eclectic album, the debut from New Orleans piano master Dr. John.  My family lived in the New Orleans area for 10 years when I was younger, and I gained a tremendous appreciation for the unique sounds of the city, and you will see that influence bleed through in a big way as this project continues.  Starting with Fats Domino, there is a long-running collection of great piano singers that come from this city that includes Art Neville, Allen Toussaint, and of course, Dr. John.  This album, “Gris Gris”, is ranked #356 on Rolling Stone’s Top 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.

     When I think of Dr. John, I think of his unique piano sound that is a Cajun version of ragtime with a twist of jazz, funk, and blues.  What this album actually delivered, to my surprise, is a much higher infusion of psychedelia, Mardi Gras Indian chants, and cosmic sounds consistent with the world in the late 1960s.  If you have seen the movie “Easy Rider”, during the scene where Dennis Hopper and Peter Fonda are on LSD in the New Orleans above-ground cemetery, you could easily envision most of this album working as that soundtrack.

     It was a much different listen than I was expecting, and it took a couple of times through to rethink what I was hearing and listen to it differently.  From the simpler sounds of “Gris Gris Gumbo Ya Ya” to the fairly far-out-there track, “Croker Courtbullion”, Dr. John took me somewhere much further and less predictable than I expected.  I still resonate with the familiar strains of his more popular sound that will emerge later, but I absolutely appreciate the connection this has to the voodoo-inspired world of New Orleans.

     I did have one big dose of flashback myself, as I heard what appears to be the original version of “I Walk on Guilded Splinters”, written by Dr. John as most of these songs were.  I have heard this song performed as a cover dozens of times, primarily by another notable New Orleans band I will feature many times down the road. 

     Time to start a new day, maybe clear my head with a beignet if only I had one, and bid farewell to the Crescent City… for now.

     Today’s album is an interesting selection.  Imagine the Beach Boys doing Hall and Oates, or some beach-fried version of R&B.  The album “Wild Honey” is #410 on Rolling Stone’s Top 500 Albums of All Time, but I have to say I’m not sure why.  On this album, the band is partially escaping the creative controlling hands of Brian Wilson, and Carl Wilson and Mike Love had a much larger role in the writing and performing of these songs.  A noble attempt to spread the wealth and the creative influence, but it is hard to match up to one of the greatest songwriters of the 20^th century.

     Brian doesn’t completely vanish, he does take an active role in songwriting in more of a collaborative fashion, but he does turn a lot more of the lead vocals over to Carl.  This works on a classic ballad like “God Only Knows” from “Pet Sounds”, but you can easily hear the strain in Carl’s voice on the first song and title track, “Wild Honey” as well as “I Was Made to Love Her”, which oddly sounds like an early Stevie Wonder tune.  The next song “Country Air”, although a bit of an odd start, delivers the trademark beauty of the Beach Boys harmonies, so naturally this quirky song stands out as a favorite.

     Brian takes more of a lead role on side two, singing lead on “I’d Love Just Once to See You” and “Here Comes the Night”.  As gifted as Brian is, these songs don’t seem to have much of a hook, an issue that is pervasive across this otherwise nondescript album.

     I have to come to realize I’m more likely to vocalize some unfavorable thoughts when it comes to my favorite bands.  Perhaps I hold them to a higher standard, fairly or not, and while I don’t expect any band to stand still and I frequently celebrate success, it is more difficult for them to make a favorable impression on me once I have heard them at their very best.  Definitely a transitional album for the Beach Boys as the musical world was rocking harder and still trying to keep pace with some of their previous work.

     I have to give it to The Who, they definitely liked to push the boundaries for format and concept as they matured as a band.  Their latest album, “The Who Sell Out”, is a concept album that effectively presents as an hour-long audio stream (complete with adverts, as the Brits would call them) from a pirate radio station trying to compete with the BBC.  This album rates as the #316 album on Rolling Stone’s Top 500 Albums of All Time.

     It definitely is a step forward from “A Quick One”, full of dry British humor, which is resident with The Who as well as many of their UK peers.  Musically, there are some songs that stand out for me.  I like the light pop song “Mary Anne With The Shaky Hand”, as well as “Relax”.  If you listen to “Rael – Pt.1”, you will hear an extremely familiar passage from one of the band’s most famous future projects.  While there was a lot of discovery for me on this album, I will acknowledge it was great to hear them at their aggressive rocking best on “I Can See for Miles”.  Some of the songs, like “Silas Stingy”, were a bit too much for my tastes, as I have said, if you don’t take chances, you don’t make something new.

     I really respect Pete Townshend’s ambition to do his own thing here, and the band all follows along enthusiastically and embraces this unusual album.  Like all of their contemporaries, it sets the stage for some coming albums that are amazing.

     We have discussed the many direct and indirect influences that followed The Beatles legendary album “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band”.  There probably isn’t a more blatant and misguided attempt than the next album by the Rolling Stones, “Their Satanic Majesties Request”, which is unfortunate, as they are a much better band than this album reflects.

     Starting with a colorful album cover, complete with vividly bright clothing and a blue-sky background, it really looks like they were trying to do their version of “Sgt. Pepper”.  Instead of the attention-grabbing opener of “Sgt. Pepper”, we get the similarly carnival-like “On With The Show”.  Instead of the multi-dimensional “Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds”, we get “In Another Land”.  Clearly trying to follow the same path, the Stones just really get away from what works best for them, funky, bluesy, and suggestive rock and roll.

     There are only two songs I take away from this album in a positive light.  My favorite is “She’s A Rainbow”, a lush and sweet song that even features John Paul Jones, later to be heard in Led Zeppelin, arranging the strings.  “2000 Light Years From Home” isn’t quite as memorable, but the upbeat tempo and pace allows a bit more of the Mick we know and love to shine through.

     I take comfort in knowing that even the band looks back on this album with some regret, although if you don’t take chances, you will never know, so I certainly applaud the attempt, if not the final product.  Fear not, we have some phenomenal music ahead from this band.

     As we near the end of 1967, the psychedelic one-upmanship continues with the second album from the Jimi Hendrix Experience, “Axis: Bold As Love”.  Continuing to push onward in every direction, this album is rated as #92 on Rolling Stone’s Top 500 Albums of All Time.

     As big of a Hendrix fan as I am, I may not rate this album with quite the same high regard.  There are certainly many classic Hendrix moments on this record, some of which may be less familiar to the casual listener.  That said, there are enough tracks that don’t quite pull me in, so I see it as a notch or two below his remarkable debut album earlier in 1967. 

     The highlight of the album for me, is the beautiful song “Little Wing”.  For everything caustic, intense and electrifying Jimi created with his Fender Stratocaster, this song represents his core ability to write, sing and perform a moving and gorgeous song minus his otherwise-impressive histrionics.  This song rates up with “Red House” and “Fire” from his debut album as my all-time favorites.

     “Spanish Castle Magic” is a great song on the first side, as is the funky “Wait Until Tomorrow”.  Side One closes with “If Six Was Nine”, one of his best cosmic jams.  Like the first album, the drums from Mitch Mitchell consistently stand out, and Noel Redding even takes a lead vocal on “She’s So Fine” on Side Two.  Other favorites on Side Two include the hopeful “Castles Made of Sand”, and the closing title track, which blends the slow burn with building intensity to close out “Axis: Bold as Love” in a phenomenal manner.

     As I may have said before, of all the artists we lost too young, I really wonder a lot about what more Jimi Hendrix could have done with the guitar and music as technology and style advanced.  An incredible pioneer, he remains one of the most legendary rock guitar gods ever, well beyond the fiftieth anniversary of his short but spectacular career.

     Even the Beatles themselves felt the pressure to build upon their success and top their landmark album, “Sgt. Pepper”.  Approximately six months after the release of that album, they released their next album, “Magical Mystery Tour”.  Musically there are some great moments on this album, even if it was ultimately compiled in somewhat of a disjointed manner.  Side one is the soundtrack to their next film project, and both the film and most of this “soundtrack” was received with mixed results.  Side two is a collection of songs that were mostly released as singles previously during the course of the year, and are a blend of highly recognizable Lennon and McCartney songs.

     The title track, somewhat of a sequel to the opener to “Sgt. Pepper”, opens the album with fanfare, before we head into several songs that garner much less enthusiasm.  I find “The Fool on the Hill”’ to be one of the more bland Paul McCartney Beatles songs, and “Flying”, an instrumental track, and George’s one song on this album, “Blue Jay Way”, don’t really grab me very much either.  From that point on, whether this was intentional or not, the rest of the album becomes a back and forth between John and Paul.

     I remain fascinated by the brilliance, collaboration, competitive rivalry and ultimately collapsing partnership that was the duo of John Lennon and Paul McCartney.  Differing personal and political philosophy, as well as differing musical direction, fully spilled over into their respective solo careers and personal lives.  With that in mind, the next six songs really deliver an incredible alternating contrast of styles as they each continue to try and raise the bar.  Paul starts it off with the less known but welcoming reflection song, “Your Mother Should Know”, followed by John’s iconic identity song, “I Am the Walrus”.  Side two opens with Paul’s highly successful and upbeat “Hello, Goodbye”, and back to John for his psychedelic classic “Strawberry Fields Forever”.  Paul counterpunches with another classic hit, “Penny Lane”, and then John comes back with “Baby, You’re a Rich Man.”  In almost each case, the McCartney song is a relatively straight-up happy pop song, and the Lennon response is more experimental, distorted in sound, and some would argue more disruptive and provoking in thought and style.  It really is a fascinating subplot within the remarkable talents of this band.

     As unusual as this album was in content and in the way it was compiled and delivered, the album concludes very effectively as a united front with one more home run, John’s “All You Need is Love”.  My favorite part of this song may be the outro when Paul chimes in with a nod to their seemingly distant past as he kicks into a slow chorus of “She Loves You”.  They may have come at from four different angles and styles, but the Beatles remained united in their message of love over hate, a theme that was extremely prevalent during these turbulent times around the world.

     Today feels like a bit of a travel back in time, earlier than 1967, as we take a listen to Chicago blues artist Magic Sam.  Interestingly enough, with all of the blues legends we have covered already, his 1967 album “West Side Soul” is the #2 rated blues album of all time by digitaldreamdoors.com.  Like many of the blues legends of the 20^th century, he is a singer and guitarist, but the focus for me, much more so than many of his peers, is on the vocal performance, even though his guitar playing is really solid.

     I was not previously that familiar, if at all, with Magic Sam, so this was a new and welcome path for me.  Ratings can be debated endlessly, but I really did enjoy this album a lot, and it had a bit more of a retro sound that Albert King’s album from the same year.  Less polished in production, with more of a raw and rough edge, his voice is also distinctive in a higher range that has a dash of soul blended in with his traditional blues appeal.  The album is a mix of original tunes and notable covers.  “All of Your Love” is probably his best original song on the album; the vocal on this is just really powerful and intense.  In terms of cover tunes, the stand out is a rousing version of Robert Johnson’s “Sweet Home Chicago”.  Magic Sam, aka Sam Maghett, also mixes in B.B. King and Willie Dixon from the traditional blues catalog.

     Like many artists, Magic Sam sadly met a very young and early demise, passing away not long after this album was released at the age of 32 from a heart attack.  The more I listen to him, the more taken I am with his powerful and distinctive voice.  The closest I can come to describing is if Sam Cooke and James Brown merged voices to sing passionate blues.  It is very sad he didn’t live to reach his full potential along his contemporaries of the day like B.B. King and Buddy Guy, and this is yet another hidden treasure I’m grateful for finding along the way.