Cooperstown Interuptus Meeting Reviews

July 2011

 

Stevie Ray Vaughan- Couldn't Stand the Weather

Stevie is a guitar viruoso with a distinct sound and style who can be identified immediately and who has been mimicked endlessly. CSTW showcases his versatility with nods to serious blues, boogie woogie, hillbilly, jazz  and over the top godlike wailing. Arguably this is his best album and without a doubt and example of Mongilloing in its purest form.  (5.0)

Yo Yo Ma- Plays Ennio Morricone

Being well versed in the ways of cello I can with a clear mind say that Yo Yo is cello shredder.  But of course  shredding the cello isn't the same as shredding a Gibson or Fender Strat. While there is nothing  remotely wrong with any part of this recording it put me to sleep. But as noted before saying YO YO Ma is extremely entertaining. (2.5)

Warren Hayes- Man in Motion

White man soul, which basically means no soul. A Michael Bolton who can play a pretty good guitar. (2.0)

Thea Gilmore-John Wesley Harding

As a Dylan fanatic I went into this with a sour countenance. Why cover an album in its entirety? Why Dylan? And c'mon, a chick? With much chagrin I found myself rooting for Thea midway through wanting the next song to be as good as its predecessor. She breathed new life into each song, not just covering them but recreating them. Each song was retooled. A rocked up "Wicked Messenger" and "Drifter's Edge" the  hillbilly-ed "Down on the Cover" the  lamented "Dear Landlord".  The only song I didn't connect with was the closer, "I'll be Your Baby Tonight". Pleasantly surprised (4.)

Mavericks-Trampoline

A blend of Beatles, Orbison and Vegas. Malo has a great voice, the band is awesome and songs well written. Slight problem is that it is too good. Too perfect. This was a favorite disc of mine when it came out but it doesn't hold me like it did, but that is not to say it isn't a well done recording. Just sounds more like blue hair country pop now. (3)

Stiff Records

Interesting mix with some established acts and some oddball acts. Some song definite  classics, some good and some downright bleeech. Kept half, quickly deleted the bleeech.

Topic

In the spirit, I put down my most listened to albums of the 70s. There are better albums not listed.

Kiss- Alive

George Harrison- All Things Must Pass

Led Zeppelin- Houses of the Holy

Pink Floyd- Wish You Were Here

Dylan- Hurricane

Dylan- Blood on the Tracks

Beatles- Let it Be

Stones- Exile on Main Street

Stones- Sticky Fingers

Who- who's Next

Aerosmith - Rocks

Wings- Over America

Ian Hunter- You're Never Alone with a Schitzophrenic

J Geils- Blow Your Face Out

Zappa - Hot Rats

Chicago- IV

No Ken, No Jay, and Sucking In the '70's

Yo Yo Ma plays Ennio Morricone – Roma Sinfonietta

It really doesn’t matter that the cellist is Yo Yo Ma…what matters here is the brilliance of Ennio Morricone, both as a composer and arranger. He is one of a select few whose film scores are as powerful without the visual as when you are watching the movie. Even if you don’t know the music is from a movie, or the title of the track, you know the inspiration for “Death’s Theme” and “Journey” is someone dying. The other star here is the Roma Sinfonietta…it’s very hard to beat beautiful melodies, like “The Dinner”, “The Nocturne”, “Deborah’s Theme” and others in full symphony orchestra with all the texture that offers, and when you combine it with the emotionally stirring compositions of Morricone, it’s a 5.

Warren Haynes – Man in Motion

Soulful. And absolutely heartfelt in tracks like “Save Me” and “Your Wildest Dreams”, where for me it’s almost like listening Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs. It’s no surprise that the lead work is inventive, fun and technically outstanding. What is a surprise is the depth of vocal emotion in this solo album from a singer/guitarist who isn’t really known for his vocals. This is great Sunday morning listening…4.

Stevie Ray Vaughan – Couldn’t Stand the Weather

It’s funny…this would have gotten at least a half point more had I not listened to Warren Haynes first. I’m very familiar with this album and listening in comparison to soulful blues with great guitar work forces the realization that SRV is like the EVH of blues…way too many notes that, while technically amazing, don’t add up one of B.B. King’s string bends. And the vocals are “weak sauce” compared to other straight ahead blues singers. It’s only a 3 instead of a 2 ½ because of how he died.

Thea Gilmore – John Wesley Harding

It’s very difficult to cover Dylan and bring something exciting to it. It’s even more difficult if you’re a girl. Even Joan Baez couldn’t get it done. I think Thea Gilmore nails it on this CD. The tracks are reimagined (not like Brian Wilson reimagined Gershwin, either) and well played, each fresh in its own way without either paying too much homage or be too far a field from what Dylan gave us with this album. And while it’s not exactly Hendrix’s “All Along the Watchtower” or Joe Cocker’s “Dear Landlord”, she was smart enough to keep her version of Watchtower short and sweet. All in all, it’s a solid effort, and her voice is pretty good, too. 3 ½

The Mavericks – Trampoline

Throw Freddie Fender, Miami Sound Machine and a lot of pop influences in a blender, and this is probably what comes out. Trampoline is aptly named, as I would bounce up
and down during listening to click ahead since after the first 2:00 of many of these songs, as they don’t change much dynamically out of the box. I did enjoy songs like “Tell Me Why” much more than “Melbourne Mambo” or “Delores”, which were pretty far away from the pop/country leanings of the early tracks on the CD. 2 ½.

GH – Stiff Records

Back in the day, they had a slogan, “If it ain’t stiff, it ain’t worth a fuck. Well, these are all worth a fuck…Jay did a great job cherry picking from the stiff box set…it was especially fun hearing “Police Car” and “I Belong to the Blank Generation” again.


Topic – Top 15 Albums of the 1970s…here we go…chronologically.

1. Derek and the Dominoes – Lalya. The best album of anguish over a woman ever.

2. Sticky Fingers – Rolling Stones.

3. B.B. King – Live in Cook County Jail

4. Led Zeppelin IV

5. The Who – Who’s Next

6. John Lennon – Imagine

7. The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars

8. The Allman Brothers – Brothers and Sisters

9. Steely Dan – Can’t Buy a Thrill

10. Queen - A Night at the Opera

11. Bob Dylan – Blood on the Tracks

12. Ramones - Ramones

13. Darkness on the Edge of Town – Bruce Springsteen.

14. Neil Young – Rust Never Sleeps

15. The Clash – The Clash

There’s a whole second tier of 15-30 from many of the same artists…Hunky Dory could easily replace Rise and Fall…, Harvest and Tonight's the Night are neck and neck with RNS…Wild and Innocent could replace Darkness…3 or 4 Dylan albums could be here…Pretzel Logic….Eat a Peach…Who Are You…you get the idea.

Heat induced ramblings for July

Thea Gilmore – “JWH” is one of my top 4-5 Dylan discs, and the idea of a track-by-track cover, by a female artist no less, made me cringe.  Surprisingly, it works.  Gilmore pulls off the nifty trick of re-arranging each track so it stands on its own merits, yet is faithful to the original.  Ironically, this is a trick Dylan hasn’t been able to pull off when re-tooling his own songs. A sturdy, rootsy band delivers great backing, and Gilmore’s vocals are first rate. 4 stars

Warren Haynes – No questioning his guitar chops; he can play and the best tracks on this sound like they were lifted right out of the Allman Brothers playbook. Where the disc falls short is in variety. Just too many mid-tempo songs with the omnipresent big choruses that lead up to the lengthy guitar solo. Songs sounded a lot better in a shuffle than in one sitting. 2.5 stars

Mavericks – Glad this was submitted, I’ve wanted to check these guys out for a while.  Liked most of it, vocals are fantastic and the band is tight.  Where they lose me is when they stray from the path of the traditional Tex-Mex sound, notably the faux-jazz number and the gospel rave-up.  I appreciate them stretching themselves, but it didn’t work for me.  That said, two thirds of the disc are rock solid.  3.5 stars

Stevie Ray Vaughn – Yes, it’s blatant Mongillo-ing, but this is good stuff.  It was a slight step backwards from “Texas Flood”, but the band’s playing is simply brilliant.  How great do you have to be to take on a Hendrix standard and out-do him?  I had forgotten how awesome the first two SRV albums were; thanks for the reminder. 4.5 stars

Yo-Yo Ma – We have ignored classical music to date, so the “wild card” seemed like a chance to broche the subject.  I liked it, but found myself tuning it out about halfway through.  The playing is lovely and the disc makes for good background music.  I’m no expert on the style, but it makes a pleasant enough change of pace, and tell me it isn’t fun to say “Yo-Yo Ma.”  3 stars

Stiff  - Brought back many fond memories of my teenage years, as the heavy, heavy, Monsta sounds of Stiff Records were such a vital part of my musical education.  To me, the 3-minute single is still at the very heart of rock and roll music, and Costello, Lowe, Madness, etc were masters of the form. The best g-hits we’ve had in eons, IMHO.

Discussion Question

A brutal cut-down, as there was so much great stuff in that era. For purposes of discussion, "best record" = my favorite, not most important or groundbreaking...

15. Joe Jackson - Look Sharp
14. Elvis Costello - My Aim Is True
13. Elton John - Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
12. Bruce Springsteen - Darkness on the Edge of Town
11. Nick Lowe - Pure Pop For Now People
10. Rolling Stones - Sticky Fingers
9. Led Zeppelin - Houses of the Holy
8. Neil Young - Rust Never Sleeps
7. Rolling Stones - Some Girls
6. Warren Zevon - Warren Zevon
5. Bruce Springsteen - Born to Run
4. The Ramones - The Ramones
3. The Who - Quadrophenia
2. Bob Dylan - Blood on the Tracks
1. The Clash - London Calling

Cool Month

Yo Yo Ma- Plays Ennio Morricone – 5

Brilliant!!!

The only downside of this cd is that you couldn’t actually see Yo Yo Ma play.

Thea Gilmore- John Wesley Harding - 2.5

A very relaxing album. A little too Indigo Girls for me, but it grew on me. If there was one song I didn’t guess that I’d hear on the cd it was All Along the Watchtower, but she did a good version. Judas Priest is an interesting song too, but ultimately most of her songs just ran into one another and they grew boring.

Warren Haynes- Man in Motion - 2

It’s good to know that there’s always a job for a Hammond Organist as long as Warren Hayes is alive. The songs flowed right along, but they just get lost with a bunch of lame lyrics that are destined to be reused on a future Kid Rock CD. He basically rewrote Bad Company’s Shooting Star with Hattiesburg Hustle. He definitely won the award for the most sax and organ on one cd. It’s too bad because the piano and sax alone were great, but the cd sounded like it was recorded in a tin can and everything goes to shit when on top of that you then overwhelm every song with an organ. Oh well, he’s still Warren Haynes and I’m still Greg Lawless.

Mavericks- Trampoline

I had to look these guys up. I was pretty sure that they copied Elvis, Roy Orbison, and Chris Isaac and not the other way around, but they do it so well that I continued to listen. Apparently the Mavericks are huge in Canada, but only Gold in the states. The styles changed so many times I had to check to be sure I was listening to the same cd.

Stevie Ray Vaughan- Couldn't Stand the Weather – 4

It’s a damn shame that he had to die. With the exception of Stang’s Swang, which sounded like a big off time mess, every other song was near perfect. Voodoo Chile is the best Hendrix re-do that there is.

Ghits -Stiff Records

Wow, I did get stiff listening to these songs.

15 Best 70’s albums There were way too many great albums in the 70’s to pick 15, so I chose my favorites feeling no pressure to conform. So there!

Led Zeppelin - III

Van Halen - Van Halen

Pink Floyd - Meddle

Pink Floyd - The Wall

The Who -Who's Next

Boston – Boston

Springsteen – Born to Run

Journey – Infinity

Kiss – Destroyer

Rush – 2112

Tom Waits – Closing Time

Simon & Garfunkel – Bridge Over Troubled Water

Genesis – Selling England By The Pound

Pink Floyd - Animals

Just under the wire and givin' it "The Full Mongillo"

10cc- 4.0
Love this band, love this cd. Good Morning Judge is one of my favorite nitrous oxide songs!

The Notes and Scratches- 3.0
This is what I love about indie music- put your stuff out there. Nice lo-fi alt/indie sound. While there’s nothing really disagreeable here there’s nothing really outstanding either. The credits list some pretty eclectic instruments that I’ve never even heard of! Worth repeated listening.

Black Angels- 3.5
Austin, TX is the coolest city in the country. This is a nice set of songs with a psychedelic sound that takes me back to my hippie-dippy days. I like it!

Bad Brains- 3.0
Interesting band. Never heard of them. Rastafarian punk rock. I think they came up with their own genre. First listen- not so much. But on return listens I found more songs I liked than didn’t. Liked the Reggae tunes better.

Okkervil River- 4.0
I’m telling you. Austin, TX is the coolest city in America. And OR just don’t know how to make a bad record. This is good, solid, lyrically and musically, feisty stuff.

Hoodo Gurus
I don’t have any of their music- not sure why. But now I do and I’m going for more. Really good stuff. Thanks D’Arcy

90’s- Then and now- it’s the same. I take that back. MSP-Holy Bible would now be on my list (the D’Arcy factor) and The Counting Crows (now annoying) would be out.
Weezer- Blue album
Green Day- Dookie
Beck- Odelay
Manic Street Preachers- Holy Bible
Sublime- Sublime
Wilco- Summerteeth
Sloan- One Chord To Another
Modest Mouse- Lonesome Crowded West
Van Morrison- Back On Top
The Jayhawks- Hollywood Town Hall (Desert Island)

90's who can remember?

10cc

The Things We Do for Love is an AM radio classic. Good Morning Judge should have been just as big. 10cc should have been better that known for making videos, the 2 songs mentioned above and I’m not in Love. This album shows why. Contained here are 12 really good pop songs. Yes most are on the lite side but none are filler. Interesting story about why they chose their name too. 3.0

Bad Brains

As someone who loves heavy music I have never understood why Bad Brains are always listed as one of those heavily influential and under the radar bands. Once again I give them the chance and I am left with the same feeling of its okay. The reggae songs are sort of cool, but the punk/metal stuff just doesn’t work for me. 2.0

The Black Angels

Dark atmospheric and memorable. The Black Angels are not a sunny day and a smile band, just the opposite. Sludgy may be the best description for the sound, but it’s played clean and with just enough crispness to let the music ring out. Garage yes, velvet influenced of course, but those are great things. Great ep. So good revisited their past stuff. 3.5

Notes and Scratches

Great opening tune brings to mine Mark Lanegan singing upbeat for once. Band has an interesting sound to it. Has an early two cow meets okerville vibe at times. There is the Mark Lanegan thing. Finally there is more than a snake cross thing going on especially at the end of the disc. What a wonderful choice of ingredients. 3.0

Okkervil River

At first listen was extremely disappointed with this disc. Uh oh these guys have discovered The Cure, and their depressing period at that. Maybe we were too spoiled by Black Sheep Boy and its shadow would taint the rest of these guys catalog. But I put it away and came back to it and found myself of changed thoughts. Yes the Cure has snuck in, but not to the point of disrupting their groove. The key to these guys is not to pay too much attention of what is up front, but it’s the wonderful things going on around the main melody and how it works into the song as a whole. Just listen to The Rider and you’ll get the idea. This is a cd that needs multiple listening to experience all it contains and surprises as you do it. 3.0

Hoodoo Gurus

Arguably the second best band to come out of Australia. They are Midnight Oil who lived in garage by the ocean, and preferred a sense of humor over politics. Just a great guitar based band that for 17 years have put out strong cds. In fact if I had known they had a cd out last year it would have made my top ten as it’s that good. As good as they are on record, they are even better live where as a four piece they just put incredible sound. An unsung pop gem of a band.

Top 10

1 Earth vs. Wildhearts, The Wildhearts

2 Everything Must Go, Manic Street Preachers

3 Puzzle, Dada

4 Vinyl, Dramarama

5 Girlfriend, Mathew Sweet

6 Goodbye Jumbo, World Party

7 Saigon Kick, Saigon Kick

8 Moseley Shoals, Ocean Colour Scene

9 Songs For The Rain, Hothouse Flowers

10 Trampoline, The Mavericks

Ones that would have probably fallen off:

· Buffalo Tom, Let me come over, Big Red letter days

· Cracker

· Jane’s Addiction Ritual de la habitual

No Snappy Titile This Month

10 CC – Deceptive Bends

This is one of those “bands in transition” albums as Godley and Crème, two of the founding members left the band before this album so this is really Stewart and Gouldman…I remember at the time critics were calling it 5 CC…either way, for me, it was pleasant pop with some humorous lyrics and a “hit single”, not too far a field from the previous 10 CC stuff at that time. Their cleverness catches up with them sometimes, as you tend to overlook how much quality musicianship – great lead guitar on some of these songs – there is here. I’m also a sucker for melody and harmony, so I enjoyed that aspect as well. They do go overboard with that Beatlesque 11 minute “epic”, but all in all it’s an enjoyable listen that brings a smile to my face. 3


Okkervil River - I Am Very Far (2011)

My only other experience with listening to this band has been in “concept album” form, so it’s nice to hear an album of their songs, unrelated to each other, each sounding different, and to my ear, more intense musically than previous CD’s of theirs. For me, it’s also kind of an “up-down-up” with the songs at the beginning and end more interesting than those in the middle (like White Shadow Waltz and Show Yourself), but there was more good than bad, and I’ll move some of these to my I-Tunes library. 3 ½

Bad Brains – Rock For Light (1983)

This is a band I missed the first time around, probably because by 1980 or so I was more interested in New Wave than punk and reggae. Listening to them now vs. when they were groundbreaking takes some of the vitality out of it, but I was pleasantly surprised at how they moved between speed metal and reggae so easily. The singing is a little screamy for me, and as I was listening I had to think that if they were THAT good, I would have been heard about them "back in the day." 2 1/2.


Notes and Scratches – Uh Oh (2005)

Had not heard of these guys before, learned a bit from their website, but sadly, I mostly learned that they’re not making any new music, since this was my pick of the month. It actually dovetails nicely with the new Okkervil River CD…I enjoyed their sound, vocals, dynamics, mix of a zillion different instruments and I can see where parts of this, if not all of it will get repeated listens from me...Thanks, Ken! 4

Hoodoo Gurus GH - Loved it. Thanks, D'Arcy.

Topic - I'm supposed to remember what I liked in the '90's? I can barely remember what day it is. All I know is that I listened to a lot of Matthew Sweet and I still do, so not much has changed, I guess.

Better Late Than Never...

Okkervil River – “I Am Very Far” is very far indeed.  Very far from the high bar set on “Black Sheep Boy” and “Stage Names”.  Very far from the great hooks of those records and very far from making a connection with this listener.  I hate the drum sound, and the lack of pop song structure makes Sheff’s vocals come off as whiny and annoying.  “We Need a Myth” is the lone standout. I apologize for submitting it, but I suspect 2 of you are drinking the Kool-Aid.   2 stars

10CC – “Things We Do For Love” is a classic.  The rest of it, not so much.  The clever humor on “Things” isn’t found on the other tracks; despite the way the band tries to force it in there.  The poppy stuff like “People in Love” is just nondescript, and when they try to put a little edge on songs, it’s unconvincing. 2 stars

Bad Brains – Neil’s been singing their praises since I’ve known him, but I didn’t get it.  The 8/4 tempo in every freaking song just exhausted me 4 tracks in, and the vocals were brutal.  The last 10 tracks might have been genius, but I’ll never know.  .5 stars

 

Notes and Scratches – A wild card indeed, this one needed multiple listenings.  Parts sound like Tom Waits fronting Titus Andronicus.  There’s a touch of Arcade Fire pomposity on some of the cuts as well.  I couldn’t get into all of it, but about half of the songs really stayed with me, notably “The Hours” and “Via Satellite”.  3 stars

 

Hoodoo Gurus – A really good collection from a band I had long ago forgotten about.  The post-“Blow Your Cool” stuff isn’t quite as good as the earlier stuff, but these guys certainly have the power pop formula down.  Should have been bigger here than they were.

Discussion Question

10. Matthew Sweet - Girlfriend

9. U2 - Achtung Baby

8. Steve Earle - I Feel Alright

7. REM - Automatic For the People

6. Counting Crows - August & Everything After

5. Johnny Cash - American Recordings

4. Neil Young - Ragged Glory

3. Bob Dylan - Time Out of Mind

2. Lucinda Williams - Car Wheels on a Gravel Road

1. Uncle Tupelo - Anodyne

Note: If I could cherrypick the best tracks from GNR Use Your Illusion 1 & 2, that would be in the mix.

Cant go back and make a list as to what my top ten would have been back then, but I suspect Ten, Exile in Guyville & Ghost of Tom Joad would have been in there. My #1 disc was something I didnt discover until the 2000's, so it wouldnt have been on my list at all.