Senses Working Overtime

Jerry Garcia once said this about the popularity of The Grateful Dead. "The Dead are like brussel sprouts. Not everyone likes brussel sprouts. But those who do, really like them a lot". The same applies to British Pop wizards, XTC. Not everyone I know has heard of them, but I also have friends who have a good portion of their substantial discography on their shelves, myself included.

The men from XTC: Partridge, Moulding & Gregory

XTC began as a New Wave rock band in Swindon, England, formed by songwriters Andy Partridge and Colin Moulding. The band was active from 1976 until 2005. Despite their long career, XTC were a performing and touring band for only six of those years, having retired from live performance in 1982. For the remaining years of their existence, XTC were a studio-based project involving session players around a nucleus of Partridge, Moulding and Dave Gregory. Their first singles, such as "Science Friction" and "Are You Receiving Me", presented a sharp, angular attack that worked well in the late 70's, but by the time of their 1982 album "English Settlement", they were morphing into a more polished, Pop-oriented sound, as best exemplified by one of their more popular songs, "Senses Working Overtime", which managed to reach #10 on the UK singles chart.

XTC never managed any sort of major commercial breakthrough in the US due to a number of factors. Their quirky songwriting and markedly British lyricism presented a challenge to stateside ears accustomed to Americanized English, despite the prevalence of new English bands at the time. Much like the music of the aforementioned Grateful Dead, XTC proved to be something of an acquired taste, though the styles of the two bands were night and day different. To this day, XTC isn't often thought of as an easy listen, though they were always very musical. Also, Andy Partridge's personal difficulties with extreme anxiety, which manifested as uncontrollable stage fright, directly contributed to the band permanently swearing off touring. XTC became a studio band exclusively, apart from occasional performances from radio stations, and a few TV appearances. This arrangement worked well for Partridge, but it inevitably affected the band's worldwide popularity, sales, and income.

XTC's Nonsuch; the new 5.1 surround Blu-Ray edition!

Management and contractual problems dogged the band throughout their career, but reached a peak in the early 90's. Around the time of the recording of the album "Nonsuch" in 1992, they found themselves having to reach a legal settlement with a former manager. Although most fans assume that there was some financial impropriety involved, the terms of the settlement imposed a gag on the band, which prevented them from speaking publicly about the matter.

Concurrently, XTC's relationship with Virgin Records had broken down. The final straw was Virgin's unfounded decision that XTC had no further prospects of charting. The band then asked that Virgin either allow them to renegotiate their contract or release them from it, but the label stalled for years until finally agreeing to release them after a change of management at the company. After leaving Virgin, Partridge had the band's accounts audited, and it was discovered that Virgin had withheld substantial royalty payments from them. The settlement of the accounts provided the group with much-needed cash flow, allowing Partridge and Moulding to install fully equipped studios and work comfortably from their homes, which they did for the next five years or so.

From their album "English Settlement", here's XTC with "Senses Working Overtime".

In the early 80's, I saw a bar band in Florida (whose name now escapes me) open their set with The Moody Blues' "Lovely To See You", which segued directly into "Senses Working Overtime". I was as gobsmacked as you can imagine, and went to see them play every chance I got. Theirs were the most tastefully chosen sets of cover songs I've ever heard. All killer, no filler. I subconsciously use them as a model for my band projects to this day.

There's always room for a thoughtful makeover of a song long thought too odd for the Pop charts, and that's the exact approach taken by singer/actress Mandy Moore on her 2003 album, "Coverage". This was Moore's 4th album, and as it turned out, her last one for Epic Records, who, like most major labels, has long been out of the artist development business.

But Moore, unlike most of her 90's Kid-Pop contemporaries, was focused on having her music evolve. Moore has often been praised by music critics for branching off and making her own music. Billboard stated "She has successfully dropped all the tacky accoutrements of her past and turned into a sweet, classy singer-songwriter whose charms are readily apparent". AllMusic wrote "Moore has smoothly evolved from adolescent starlet to mature songwriter, continuing to distance herself from the scene that launched her career one decade prior".

The album's production, headed by John Fields, was cutting edge in 2003, but now, it addles the record with a dated sound, much like the snare drum and synth tom sounds of the 80's. Moore admitted that her vocals were often laid down to a basic rhythm section track, then the production team would go in and 'fill things out'. Not my preferred way to make a record, but when you're on Epic's dime, you do it their way, especially when unbeknownst to the artist, it's your last shot on the label, and the bean counters want a hit.

As a finished product though, "Coverage" is actually a fine Pop album which overtly moved Moore several steps further from her musical past. While it wasn't successful, it is likable and admirable. Indeed, her choices of material for the album reflected a strong grounding in Pop's 70's and 80's past, as there are songs by Carole King, Elton John, The Waterboys, Joan Armatrading, Blondie, Cat Stevens, Joe Jackson, Todd Rundgren and others. Regarding the songs, Moore said, "I’m stuck in the 70's. I think I'll always have that kind of influence. Joni Mitchell, Harry Nilsson, McCartney, that's the sort of stuff I'm really inspired by". Moore also discussed "Senses Working Overtime" in a video interview, saying "It was one of the last songs we recorded. I love it and it's an incredible experience to play it live. The first time I heard it, I thought there was such a great smash hit of a song underneath this eclectic, eccentric rendition. I was kind of amazed that no one had covered it yet."

This is Mandy Moore's album-opening take on "Senses Working Overtime". I agree that this should have been a sizable hit, but there's a million reasons why good records fail. Go figure.

"Coverage" is available new or used, at Amazon. Since even a brand new copy can be had for super cheap, like less than $3 cheap, I'd suggest you opt for the Limited Edition, which features different cover art and a bonus DVD. It's all about content and value here, people.

The extensive catalog of XTC can be found at Amazon, of course, but you never know what you'll find at your local, well-curated record shop. Fans of XTC tend to be collectors, so things like vinyl and box sets get snapped up fast and hoarded, driving up the price. For those of you who are curious about their music, as well you should be, I will heartily recommend this 2 disc singles anthology, which gives you a solid overview of the band's musical history and is available new for well under $20. XTC, like many of their British peers, were always focused on singles as stand-alone releases. For fans and audiophiles, there is the new Blu-Ray audio reissue of "Nonsuch", which admittedly is aimed at a niche audience, but contains a truckload of high quality content, and therefore, at about $20-25, is a value-added bargain.

Review: Nashville Outlaws: A Tribute To Motley Crue

It would seem, according to a recent browsing of the Top 40 Country chart, that Country music is woefully one-note at the moment. I lay the blame squarely on a trashy trend known as "Bro Country", a wincingly awful hybrid blending Country with elements of Hip Hop, Hard Rock, and Pop. The performers are basically a bunch of indistinguishable douchey guys, whose choices in chain-walleted apparel are often one step away from Ed Hardy, singing about trucks, truck beds, headlights, rolled-down windows, painted-on jeans, Daisy Dukes, plenty of alcohol, moonlit makeouts, and sex on river beds beside old red dirt roads. Female singers have not been exempt from trying out their version of this anomaly, and though they are squarely in the minority, it's not an improvement. When your song lyric is basically a check list, it's not songwriting, it's Bro Country.

There’s also a pervasive trend of addressing females as "Girl", like it's an attractive thing to say to women who presumably have names, and it's not even close to the same way The Temptations sang "My Girl". Bro Country dudes are yelling out "Gurrl!" in a manner that Tarzan might if he knuckled his way into a honky tonk. Now, granted, Country music has a long history of stock subjects, as noted by Steve Goodman and John Prine in their classic song "You Never Even Called Me By My Name", which included Mom, being drunk, prison, rain, pickup trucks and trains. So it might seem that not much has changed, but it has. It's gotten a lot more cliched and dumbed down.

Witness if you will, Exhibit A. I know for sure that Hank didn't do it this way.

Over the years, there's been a ton of assorted tribute albums saluting individual bands and artists, as well as entire genres of music. They can vary in quality from being heartfelt and sublime, to feeling like it was slapped together with total disregard for any connection to truth. This past week saw the release of such a tribute album, and it's one that gives rise to the hope that Bro Country may have finally jumped the shark, as it inevitably will.

There's something about real cowboys that differentiates them from just another guy wearing a hat. Come to think of it, the same thing applies to bikers. There are two things that I've learned about real cowboys and real bikers. First, you cannot simply put on the clothes and be one of them. You have to earn it. The other thing is that both of those groups of people are willing to spend large sums of money on having a good time. That part may apply somewhat to the Bro Country lifestyle, but the first part negates all of it. Fake is fake, and that's the core of the problem I have with this disturbingly bogus tribute album. Perhaps because of all the cliches that Bro Country has adopted, there's a sense of falseness about it, like there's really nothing there underneath all the pretense.

"Nashville Outlaws: A Tribute to Motley Crue" is as false and contrived a project as I could ever imagine. There is absolutely nothing even remotely "outlaw" about any of the participants. Rascal Flatts? Leann Rimes? Former "Hootie", Darius Rucker? Cassadee Pope, from the TV talent show, The Voice? Even The Mavericks, who aren't a bad band at all, sound embarrassed to be there. Someone must have promised them "exposure".

Going by the roster, this project appears to be a total fabrication from the record companies' hellhole of a marketing department. Heck, even the music conglomerate that put this out is called Big Machine. They appear to own Nashville at the moment, as well as most of the artists on this album; to the point where it amounts to being a label sampler, so that should tell you something.

Also, the word "outlaw" apparently means not a damn thing anymore. Waylon, Cash, and Hank Sr. would be rolling in their crypts with laughter, making jokes about "I remember my first beer". Any current performers who truly are on the outer fringe of not only Country music, but other genres as well, should distance themselves from the term "outlaw" as quickly as possible, if this is what it has come to mean. That definitely includes our co-conspirators and subjects of this musical travesty, Motley Crue themselves!

I would wager with confidence that back in the 80's and 90's, absolutely none of the performers on this album would have anything to do with the likes of Motley Crue, who provided good reason to lock up your daughters, your wife, your liquor and prescriptions, the dog, and probably any livestock too. In their day, The Crue were outlaws; Les Enfants Terribles for real. Now they're just tired old survivors who are in the midst of one final tour, which a friend of mine referred to as a new version of "Weekend At Bernie's". Also, they're inexplicably allowing Alice Cooper to open for them. Alice may be an old survivor himself, but he ain't tired, and is reportedly blowing Motley Crue right off their own stage, night after night. Can you imagine your band having to follow Alice Cooper? That's insane. Who made that decision?

Truly, the album title should be your first clue to the deception. Anyone who knows anything at all about how tightly controlled and highly conservative the Nashville music business machine is, knows that "Nashville Outlaws" is as contradictory a term as jumbo shrimp. Maybe that's their out; they're telling us right up front that it's a sham.

Normally at this point in an article, I would provide a streaming track or two for your listening enjoyment. That means that I would have to buy the music myself, either hard copy or digital, because that's the right thing to do. In this unique case, I am publicly refusing to spend even one thin dime on this stupid release, and I highly recommend that you, dear reader, follow suit. The album might be good for a grim chuckle, but that's no reason to justify it with any monetary response. If you must subject your ears to this cacophony, here's a link to Amazon, where you can check it out for yourselves. There's also a video, if you have the stomach for it.

I can't recall the last time a collection of cover songs got under my skin like this one has. Unless this really is your sort of thing, you should avoid this album to the point where it won't even sell in the cutout bins, which is the fate it richly deserves. Shame on all involved parties for foisting this mess on the unsuspecting public.

Review: I Saved Latin! A Tribute to Wes Anderson

Wes Anderson

The films of director Wes Anderson, much like the work of fellow auteurs Quentin Tarantino and Martin Scorsese, are as well discussed for their musical soundtracks as they are for their visual presentation. Having established a popular body of work in fairly short order, Anderson is one of those rare directors who understands the inherent value of choosing musical accompaniment that will enhance a scene or plot development without ever trampling on it. Yet it's the music that we often recall when we are describing a particular scene in conversation.

Unlike most of his contemporaries, Anderson's musical choices are often far more subtle, with a decided leaning towards the so-called 'twee' side of Indie Pop, but that certainly has its own merit. Marc Spitz wrote about this quality in an article for Salon earlier this year, when he said, "Nobody, but nobody, has owned their Twee more than Wes Anderson. Curiously, by not self-consciously backing off from his signature style, he got stronger and his films became deeper, not, as some critics claimed, a bit shticky. The films themselves are full of triggers, like the cameos by beloved Anderson collaborators like Owen Wilson and Bob Balaban, and of course, Bill Murray, and the quotable missives to his devoted, such as "Rudeness is merely the expression of fear" in 'The Grand Budapest Hotel'. It reminded me of that line in The Smiths' song, "I Know It's Over", where Morrissey sings, 'It’s so easy to laugh, it’s so easy to hate. It takes strength to be gentle and kind'. Morrissey was another giant who owned his Twee, and never sold it out". *

The ever-widening appeal of Anderson's films has already spread far beyond his initial core audience of 20-something urban hipsters to suburban families desperately looking for cinema entertainment that is intelligently written without being smug; films that are pleasant to watch, earn their laughs, and have a minimum of dark crimes or explosions, if any. Personally, I see nothing wrong with that at all, so you'll likely find me queued up for a ticket.

There are soundtrack and orchestral score CD's available for most, if not all, of Anderson's films. But today, we are presenting an album that offers a bit of a twist befitting the quirkiness of Anderson's work. The album, "I Saved Latin! A Tribute to Wes Anderson" is a perfect little gift for fans of Anderson's musical soundtracks, being a 23 song, double CD that features a variety of Indie musicians covering songs from the Anderson films "Bottle Rocket", "Rushmore", "The Royal Tenenbaums", "The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou", "The Darjeeling Limited", and more.

Being of an older vintage of hipster myself, I do find it interesting that several of these cover versions are new takes on 60's and 70's songs by the likes of The Who, Love, The Zombies, Cat Stevens, The Bobby Fuller Four, Velvet Underground, Scott Walker, The Kinks, The Rolling Stones, and David Bowie. In Bowie's case, the covers are a double-down. For the film, "The Life Aquatic...", Bowie's songs were sung by Brazilian musician Seu Jorge, save for two. I imagine that saved the production a large bundle of cash that would have been spent on licensing all of the original Bowie tracks, but it also contributed greatly to the humor and the environment of the movie.

The performances on "I Saved Latin!" are by current musicians who may be new to you, such as Juliana Hatfield, Mike Watt, Kristin Hersh, Matt Pond, Tea Cozies, Margot & the Nuclear So and So's, Freelance Whales, and lots more. But if you don't know them now, you will soon. You can scan the 30 second samples on the album's Amazon or iTunes pages if you like, but here's a few full-length examples for you to consider. Enjoy!

The album, "I Saved Latin" is available from Amazon, or should you prefer, direct from the record label, American Laundromat Records. Soundtracks and scores from the individual Wes Anderson films can be found at your local, well-curated emporium of indie music, or at The Big A.

Of particular interest for those who dig musical curiosities is "The Life Aquatic Studio Sessions" by Seu Jorge, who not only had a role in that film as an actor, but also played a handful of Bowie songs solo with acoustic guitar, singing them in Portuguese. ­This collection features the whole of that Bowie session, which means Jorge's six songs from the soundtrack, plus seven other Bowie tunes and one playful Jorge original entitled "Team Zissou". Bowie completists should be on this one like snow on Christmas.

* The quoted section from the Salon article by Marc Spitz was edited for punctuation and space limitations. There is a link to the full article provided above. - Ed.

Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want

The Smiths

As a certain forthcoming tribute album will amply demonstrate, British bands all but owned the 80's. They were plentiful and inescapable worldwide, largely due to the new international phenomenon of Music Television; which functioned, for all purposes, as a 24-hour promotional channel for the major record labels. But any time there has been a saturation of the Pop market with any new thing, there must, and will be, a backlash to some degree. Which leads us, maybe not directly but inevitably, to The Smiths.

I know that The Smiths are now revered as one of the most important bands of their time. But it's never been made clear to me exactly why The Smiths were so important until very recently. Now, before some of you get all up in a lather about this, please consider that, along with other moody British indie bands of the time like Echo and The Bunnymen, The Cure, or Joy Division, perhaps they just didn't resonate with me for whatever reason, and that should be ok. Any given music either turns you on, or it doesn't. As memory serves, I was simply into other music at the time; music that I perceived as a little more positive, or dare I say, happier. Somehow, either actively or passively, I managed to dodge that whole post-punk movement.

I know I didn't relate to the melancholy romanticism, or the protracted sense of ennui I heard in Morrissey's lyrics. Nonetheless, I've felt that some of the music of The Smiths could be enjoyable enough, though only to a point, with no small thanks going to Johnny Marr and his atmospheric guitar work, which balanced Morrissey's carrying on. It's been said that the singer is the salesman of the song. Sorry, but at that time, I wasn't buying.

Perhaps Morrissey struck me as pretentious, but his lyrics and vocal stylings are also the kind of things that tap directly into female teenage angst, which is something that no male will ever understand completely. Come to think of it, that may be the key to their lasting appeal, right there. Well, that and the fact that The Smiths and their brethren appealed greatly to the punks and the goth kids who needed something that was not "Born In The USA" or Huey Lewis or Duran Duran to relate to. As the 80's faded into the 90's, many of those alterna-kids started bands directly because of The Smiths' influence.

To their credit, The Smiths saw themselves primarily as a singles band. Even after Morrissey had been on his own as a solo act for some time, he'd put out several singles, but did not issue a proper album until "Viva Hate" in 1988. Now, that concept has genuine merit. It's something that I see independent artists like Marshall Crenshaw reverting to as a means of having more flexibility with their releases. Issuing singles and EP's allows them to strike as the mood suits, rather than waiting to finish writing and recording a dozen or more songs that complement each other enough to work together as an album. Never mind that it's also much cheaper to do things that way.

Today's featured song is the plaintive "Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want", and it comes from the post-breakup compilation "Louder Than Bombs"; an album long used by fans to introduce those unfamiliar with the band. The song was first released as the B-side of "William, It Was Really Nothing" in 1984. The Smiths have become icons of their era, and so their catalog of 4 original releases is now far outweighed by collections of assorted hits and misses, b-sides, remixes, and other ephemera. Their fans are dedicated enough that they will buy nearly anything by the band, or its members, and honestly, isn't that the sort of devotion that any band would hope for?

The Dream Academy

One of the many British bands that appeared on the Pop charts during the mid- 80's was the trio known as The Dream Academy. With a sound as synth-laden as any of their contemporaries, The Dream Academy also were smart enough to keep an ear on other musical developments of the time.

Following the success of their singles "Life In A Northern Town" and "The Love Parade", the band were keen to record a song by The Smiths. According to notes by Nick Laird-Clowes, they wanted to do their version of "Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want" in order to "show people at the time who were calling them 'miserablists' what great songwriters they really were". The Dream Academy booked a studio with David Gilmour of Pink Floyd, worked out an arrangement, and recorded the song in a day. Gilmour played bass, programmed the Linn Drum, and produced the track with Laird-Clowes. The single peaked at #83 on the UK Singles Chart. The instrumental version of the song is the better known recording, since it was used in the film "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" (during the Art Institute scene), along with another Dream Academy song, "The Edge Of Forever". The song was also featured in the John Hughes film, "Pretty In Pink", which took its title from a Psychedelic Furs tune. It appeared again in the prom scene of the Drew Barrymore film "Never Been Kissed", but was not included on the soundtrack CD, for some reason or another. Here's the vocal version.

"Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want" has been covered by several other notable artists, including The Decemberists, The Halo Benders, Franz Ferdinand, OK Go, Deftones, Amanda Palmer, She & Him, Muse, Third Eye Blind, Josh Rouse, and even Hootie & The Blowfish! The song has become one of the most well-known songs of The Smiths' oeuvre, despite it being a B-Side, and is often performed by Morrissey at his concerts to this day.

You can find everything by The Smiths at Amazon, who will very definitely let you get what you want, and then some. You should also have excellent luck finding vinyl, singles, and other Smiths-related odds and ends at your local, well-curated, indie record shop.

The original albums by The Dream Academy are long out of print, but findable affordably, for the most part. Thankfully, there is a fine, recently released retrospective collection that's nicely remastered, reasonably priced, and comprehensive. I love anthologies like this that wrap up nearly all of a band's output in one tidy, chronological package.

With regard to that forthcoming tribute album I referred to at the top of this article, you need to head over to the Kickstarter page for "Here Comes The Reign Again: The Second British Invasion". All the info you need on the album is there. The project is 100% funded, so that's all done. A webpage where you can buy the album is in development, and we should have more information about that in a couple of weeks or so. Rest assured, we'll let you know.

Low Rider

CD's: from yesterday's innovation to tomorrow's scrap heap?

Some of us opinionated pundits will forever bring up our pet conspiracy theories regarding the foisting of overpriced CD's onto the music market of the 1980's and 90's as a way for the music industry to contain expenses and maximize profit margins; usually involving the forced obsolescence of vinyl. To be fair, it was a time when consumers were so dazzled by these shiny new discs that we were willing to dig deep and pay exorbitant prices just to have the latest and possibly greatest thing to occur in music reproduction since the advent of the Victrola. With no small measure of cynicism, I will say that the industry saw a gouge opportunity and we were more than willing to buy into it. I'm one of those consumers, and I accept personal responsibility for playing my part in the swindle. It resembled being sold a bill of goods by a suspect politician and replying, "I know you're an ethically bankrupt swine with ulterior motives, but I'm voting for you anyway because I like your presentation." And so it went for the next couple of decades or so. I also have doubts that musicians saw any increase in their compensation as a result of the high CD prices during that time. That's not how the machine works.

Ultimately, as things have worked out, that business model of the music industry has been proven unsustainable, as the very same technology that once generated obscene levels of profit for entertainment corporations, has kicked open the doors for the average musician; permitting them to produce and sell their own music without being vetted by less musically inclined corporate employees. This new reality is both a good and bad thing, depending on your own perspective. To many musicians, I'm sure it's wonderful, and we listeners are often glad to be able to hear their work that likely would not have been seen as financially viable by some bean counter. But sometimes, the work is the musical equivalent of having handed whiskey and car keys to a teenager. So maybe having a benevolent gatekeeper of sorts wasn't such a terrible thing after all? That query is still being debated.

For all the industry-driven push toward permanent doom for vinyl record albums, especially during the 90's, I'm pleased to say that the format has rebounded rather nicely. They're now being manufactured to standards of quality that were previously unachievable. Records never really went away. They just went into storage for a decade or two. The fact that vinyl has been in hibernation for so long has made us older music buyers miss pawing through the bins like we miss those dusty old hardware stores with the creaky wood floors. It's nostalgia for sure, but with a reborn edge of an older technology that's been improved upon.

When shopping for vinyl records these days, I prefer to buy new pressings when possible, because they're made so well now and they sound better than ever before. The first and most important factor that I evaluate is "Will this music sound good on vinyl?", because not everything does. I have found that certain genres of music sound better, to my ears anyway, than others. Acoustic music of any genre, Soul, Jazz, and Classic Rock seem to fare best. I'd much rather listen to some John Coltrane on vinyl than say, Kraftwerk.  However, as it is with CD's, it largely depends on the master recording that's used. I have purchased beautifully made vinyl editions that were sourced from a substandard master; such as the first Crosby Stills & Nash album. Very disappointing. But then you have recordings like Van Morrison's "Moondance" album, or "American Beauty" from The Grateful Dead that sound for all the world like they were recorded just last week! So yes, there's a bit of the old 'caveat emptor' involved, but trusting one's own instincts regarding any addition to our sagging vinyl shelves is often the best course.

I am often surprised by what is available on vinyl, and what isn't, but certainly should be. A prime example is the music of the band War, who had a series of powerfully funky hits during their run of popularity in the 70's. Their music was made for vinyl and by any reasonable speculation, should sound fantastic on a freshly remastered 180 gram pressing. But their music is not in print on vinyl. Not yet anyway. I did find an old, used copy of their "Greatest Hits" album recently, but it sounds rather flat. I am certain that this music could be made to sound so much better, as evidenced by the CD version. One more for the wishlist, I suppose.

Here's one of War's best songs, "Low Rider", that adapted it's imagery from the Latino car culture of urban Los Angeles and personified it. This is a classic street groove that just won't quit. Crank it up!

As a bassist myself, I not only love this song, but I also really enjoy any opportunity to attend a musician's clinic when it's being presented by a musician of some accomplishment. It's a rare chance to have a little one-on-one time with musicians of note, and get some specific technical questions addressed that have nothing to do with the various celebrities they've worked with. These clinics don't happen near as often as I'd like, so I make every effort to attend them whenever possible, even if the person doing the clinic isn't a bassist. I believe that you can learn something from any good teacher, which makes for a more complete musical education.

Gary Hoey

Back in the mid-90's, I went to a clinic given by guitarist Gary Hoey. The event was sponsored by Fender, and part of Hoey's mission was to hawk the latest Fender gear of the day. That said, he was also there to promote his own recorded work and instructional media. The 90's were a peak era for players like Hoey, his guitar wizard compatriots like Joe Satriani and Steve Vai, and the dozens of also-rans who tried so hard to sound like those who inspired them while failing to establish their own unique voice on the instrument.

In 1994, Hoey provided one song to filmmaker Bruce Brown, who was making a sequel to his classic surf movie, "The Endless Summer". On the strength of that one song, and some subsequent demos, Brown hired Hoey to score the entire film. Hoey recorded 13 more tracks, start to finish, in 12 days. Here's Gary Hoey's update on War's "Low Rider", which is perfect music for some crazy surf footage. Again, loud is the only way to play this.

Both the DVD and Gary Hoey's soundtrack CD are still in print and available at The Big A. Both are recommended for your enjoyment, as is the original 1966 movie, "The Endless Summer", now freshly remastered for Blu-Ray. Watching the original film now, it does appear dated, but no less authentic than when it was first shown in theaters. It's an engrossing time capsule of a much simpler era, which makes it a must-see. If you find that surf documentaries trip your trigger, then I must encourage you to check out the Hi-Def showpiece "Step Into Liquid" from 2008. Cowabunga, Mofo's!

The rest of Gary Hoey's musical catalog seems to be available without much difficulty. There's more info on his music, tour schedule, and other stuff at his website.

The music of War is just as essential to any collection of Funk/Soul music as Sly & The Family Stone. If you don't have any of War's music on your CD shelf, then head thee to Amazon, or your favorite local music emporium. I will recommend the career-spanning and very affordable "Icon 2" collection as a good starting point.

War has just released their first album of new material in over 20 years! The new album, "Evolutionary", also contains a bonus reissue CD of the long out of print "Greatest Hits" album pictured above. Better yet, if you get it at Best Buy, you also get a 2nd bonus of a live concert DVD! I cannot find any new reissues of War's music on vinyl, which is a shame. I'm sure there's plenty of old used copies out there, but wouldn't you much rather have a fresh one?

For more insight on the recent comeback of vinyl records, check out this excellent article on Pitchfork.