Saturday, December 28, 2013

Cool Change

Little River Band, during their chart-ruling 80's heyday.
Early in my Air Force years, at the dawn of the 80's, I was assigned to a technical school outside Denver, Colorado. There, I made fast friends with a sergeant who was in charge of a rock band that was part of a "special duty" squadron. As having that duty meant that I would be exempt from some of the other more traditional military nonsense, I was quick to audition and was accepted for the rhythm guitar and backing vocal slot.

One of the first things this sergeant told me was that he wanted the bands' vocals to sound like the Little River Band, who had recently been through town. He had attended their concert and said that they had opened their show with the song, "Lonesome Loser", which has an acapella harmony intro. Apparently, this was mind-blowing to Sarge and he had decided that his band was going to sound just like that. Yeah, well, sometimes you have to deal with the talent you've got, so suffice it to say that our little band of misfit airmen did the best we could with what we had. After some time, it did turn out to be a fairly good 6 piece band after all. We rehearsed daily for at least 2 hours, so something had to stick. I can also assure you that we played a few songs that are on my short list of tunes that I will never play again; not even under duress. But such were the 80's. Here's the Little River Band with one of their songs that we did manage to pull off reasonably well, "Cool Change".

An excellent cover version of "Cool Change" can be found as a bonus download that's included with the fine new album from Vegas With Randolph, "Rings Around The Sun", which is easily one of the very best albums of 2013, and probably one of my top favorite new releases of the last 5 years as well. It's apparent that the band puts a lot of work into getting their music to sound good. The audio quality is great, and will likely sound just as good in earbuds as it would through some large, high-powered speakers, although I would opt for the latter. The songwriting is tight and the lyrics are clever in a good way. VWR knows the value of storytelling in songwriting. This is a well-constructed Rock album that's fun to listen to and doesn't wear the listener out. VWR's take of "Cool Change" was also one of the standout tracks on the must-own tribute album, "Drink A Toast To Innocence", which is now appearing on many 'Best of 2013' lists around the blogosphere. Crank this one up loud and enjoy! Things get interesting in the 2nd verse.


You can snag "Rings Around The Sun" and other great music from Vegas With Randolph at their online store. It's always best to buy direct from musicians, wouldn't you say?

The single, "Cool Change" is only available as a download from the band, but if you want it on a physical CD, then get thee with haste to the Monsters Of Lite Rock homepage, where you can, and definitely should buy this fantastic tribute album! It's absolutely my favorite compilation album of any kind for 2013. Another reviewer stated, and I'll paraphrase, "it represents the sub-genre of 70's Lite Rock better than a 25 CD series could".

And of course, music from Little River Band is best found either at Amazon, or the budget CD bin of your local independent music emporium. LRB is one of those bands that's best represented in your collection by a solid anthology. Here's a good one.

Kool Kovers would like to wish all of our readers and Facebook friends a very happy, prosperous, and healthy New Year! 2014 has a lot of potential to be a good one around our way, and we want the same for all of you! Cheers!

Saturday, December 21, 2013

Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer

Back when my father was a boy, the list of celebrities that a kid could look up to were pretty much limited to baseball players and cowboys. Although Roy Rogers would later call himself "King Of The Cowboys", the most popular and versatile of the silver screen western heroes was Gene Autry.

Gene Autry
Owner of one of the more diverse and busiest resumes in entertainment history, Autry, along with his successes in radio, movies, television, and live appearances, made a whopping 640 recordings, including more than 300 songs written or co-written by him. His records have sold more than 100 million copies and he was awarded more than a dozen gold and platinum records, including the first record ever certified gold. ("That Silver Haired Daddy Of Mine", later recorded by The Everly Brothers.) While such sales numbers are not unheard of today, it's worth remembering that we're partially talking about sales of 78 rpm singles, back when few homes had a phonograph. In that light, Autry's record sales were truly phenomenal.

His classic Christmas and children's records "Here Comes Santa Claus (Right Down Santa Claus Lane)" and "Peter Cottontail" are among Gene's best known recordings. Today's feature song, "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer", is the second all-time best selling Christmas single, with sales in excess of 30 million. The all-time leader is still, after all these years, "White Christmas" by Bing Crosby.

Now, I will turn the story over to the pages of "Public Cowboy No. 1: The Life and Times of Gene Autry", written by Holly George-Warren, who relates the story of the recording of "Rudolph" in detail, and does it much better than I could in summary.

An original Columbia 78 from 1949.
Gene's session on June 27, 1949, yielded the most enduring hit of his entire career. The success of "Here Comes Santa Claus" had begged a follow-up. Submissions arrived over the transom from numerous eager songwriters, including one tuneful narrative based on a 1939 poem popularized by the Montgomery Ward stores. The story of an outcast reindeer whose "difference" ultimately helped him save Santa's threatened sleigh ride, "Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer" was written by veteran composer Johnny Marks. His brother-in-law, copywriter Robert L. May, originally had penned the verse for the department store's annual holiday booklet giveaway, a practice discontinued in 1947. The copyright became May's, who got the poem published as an illustrated children's book that sold one hundred thousand copies. May then permitted Marks to use the story for a composition. "I thought about it for a while and sat down to write a song about it," Marks related. "That song was easily one of the worst songs ever written. Then about a year later I was walking down the street when a new melody came to me. It's the only time that ever happened, and I have to admit, it's a great melody." Marks sent a demonstration recording to RCA Victor recording artist Perry Como, but the pop singer turned it down when the composer wouldn't allow him to change any lyrics. Marks later confessed to Gene that it had been rejected by Bing Crosby and Dinah Shore as well.

The 78's picture sleeve.
Over the years, Gene always told the story that he didn't care for the song either, but that Gene's wife, Ina, had heard Marks's demo acetate and, enchanted by the "Ugly Duckling" theme, had encouraged him to record it. It became widely acknowledged that if not for Ina, there would be no "Rudolph" by Gene Autry. But according to Carl Cotner's widow, Juanita, Marks originally contacted Carl, who was Gene's musical director and "wanted Carl to talk Gene into (recording it)... Johnny Marks had said, 'I'll give you a piece of the action if you will do it,' and Carl said, 'Well, I don't want that,'... which was not a good business decision, but that was Carl. Carl had told Gene, 'I think it's a good song for you,' and Carl did the arrangement. When working out the material for the session, Gene said, 'How about that song that you're so crazy about?' They threw it up on the stand, and did it in one take. Later, a publicity man put it out that it was Ina that talked Gene into it."

Now, go pour yourself a good sized mug of something festive and enjoy Gene Autry's original 1949 recording of "Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer". Sing along if you want. It'll take you right back to your childhood.


So, with that under way, I'm going to tell you that Tommy Emmanuel just might be the World's Best Acoustic Guitarist.

Tommy Emmanuel
There, I've said it. I know there are plenty of excellent, even mind-blowing acoustic guitarists out there; some already famous, many who are unknown, who might qualify for that accolade. Both Phil Keaggy and Leo Kottke come to mind. But Tommy Emmanuel is the guy that some of the best guitarists on the planet say they want to sound like. Welsh guitar master Dave Edmunds even told me so face-to-face back in 2002. I think that says a lot.

Two-time Grammy nominee Tommy Emmanuel is one of Australia’s most respected musicians. The legendary guitarist has a professional career that spans five decades and continues to intersect with some of the finest musicians throughout the world. A household name in his native Australia, Tommy has garnered hundreds of thousands of loyal fans worldwide. Tommy’s technique, which he calls simply 'finger style', is akin to playing guitar the way a pianist plays piano, using all ten fingers. Rather than using a whole band for melody, rhythm, bass, and drum parts, Tommy plays all that and more on one guitar. Guitar legend Chet Atkins was one of the first to inspire Emmanuel to try this "fingerpicker" style as a child. Decades later, Atkins himself became one of Emmanuel’s biggest fans.

It's fairly easy for solo acoustic guitar recordings to sound a bit thin. But Tommy's recordings always sound crisp, clear, full and just plain fantastic. His albums fit into a rare category of music that is very nice to have playing as pleasant background while you're doing something else around the house. But when you take the time to sit down and really listen to what is being played, you will discover performances of staggering skill, present humanity and impish humor.

Tommy is no flash-in-the-pan newbie who rushes a holiday record out before their 3rd proper release has dropped. For this one, like all of his recordings, a lot of obvious care and thought was put into crafting it. Here's Tommy's instrumental rendition of "Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer". This is the sort of Christmas music I can really get behind. Enjoy!


You can find Tommy Emmanuel's recordings on Amazon. Tommy has at least a dozen albums worth of great music available, and all of them come highly recommended. For starters, I'd recommend "The Mystery" and "Little By Little". If you like acoustic music half as much as I do, then you're in for a real treat.

While there are over 60 albums by Gene Autry available, there is no reason to go any further than this excellent anthology, unless you're a rabid collector of Cowboy memorabilia. It has every song on it by Gene that the casual collector could ever want. The book, "Public Cowboy No.1: The Life and Times of Gene Autry", is available in an affordable paperback edition.

I'd also like to wish all of our readers and Facebook friends a very Merry Christmas, and best wishes for a fantastic 2014! See ya next week with one last Kool Kover for the year!

Saturday, December 14, 2013

It's Cold Outside

Yes, indeed. Winter has arrived with a bold entrance and friends of the blog all over the USA are scrambling to find their gloves, scarves, parkas, and breaking out their sturdiest holiday elixirs. All of which brings us to today's featured song from the classic Psychedelic Garage era of the mid to late '60's.

The 1967 Roulette 45
I know I've mentioned before on these pages how I'm a little envious that my wife's first Rock concert was The Guess Who and The Raspberries. I would have loved to have seen either of those bands in their prime. (For the record, my first concert was Golden Earring, Foghat and Black Oak Arkansas!) But I bring this little factoid up again because one of today's featured bands was a predecessor of The Raspberries, and that little old band from Cleveland was known as The Choir.

Three members of The Choir, Jim Bonfanti, Dave Smalley, and Wally Bryson went on to form The Raspberries with Eric Carmen. The Choir had a fairly good repertoire of original songs, most notably "It's Cold Outside", which parlayed impressive local success (a #1 hit in Cleveland), into a nationally charting single for Roulette Records that maxed out at #68. This song had been recorded for a local label under the bands' first name, The Mods, in 1966. But the group soon learned that a Chicago group calling themselves The Modernaires had shortened their name to The Mods, and so, our heroes quickly changed their name to The Choir to avoid potential hassles.

The Choir at a reunion in 2006.
Not long after that single was recorded, two members left the band and a series of line-up changes ensued. Ironically, considering that he would later front The Raspberries with three core members of the band, Eric Carmen's audition to join The Choir did not go well, and Kenny Margolis was selected instead. The band's second and third singles did not have the same success as their first, and in the spring of 1968, The Choir disbanded.

But then, in late 1968, they had second thoughts and reformed. So, in early 1969, the band returned to the studio and recorded a planned album that had a more psychedelic flavor, with eight original songs and a cover of the song "David Watts" by The Kinks. The tape was shipped to several different record labels without success. The Choir released a final unsuccessful single on Intrepid Records in 1970, and the band officially broke up for the final time. Such was the tale of many bands of that era.

Here's The Choir with "It's Cold Outside". This is a record with all the flavor of its origins and its time.


The Queers play VERY loud. Can't you tell?
So, if you were to form a band that would have a sound based on your two biggest musical influences, what would it sound like? Well, one band decided that a blend of The Beach Boys and The Ramones was the ticket. Unfortunately, they named the band The Queers. I feel they could done better with their name, but the sound is definitely there. Supposedly, the band name was adopted just to poke fun at their local art community, so let's all just smile and nod, and roll with that explanation for now.

The Queers are a punk rock band from Portsmouth, New Hampshire, that formed way back in 1982. Singer-Guitarist-Songwriter Joe King has been the principal member of the group all along, with a long list of musicians cycling in and out of the band over the years. While some punk bands use their music to impart a social or political message, King has made it clear that The Queers exist simply to play just for the fun of it. The Queers' style of juvenile pop-punk has produced anthems like "Can't Stop Farting", "Born To Do Dishes", and "I Can't Get Invited To The Prom", but also features plenty of songs about girls, beer, and a variety of other rude topics. But their repertoire is also jam-packed with cover songs and they have a way of making each one sound like it belongs in their set list. Case in point: their kickin' rendition of "It's Cold Outside", from their 2002 album, "Pleasant Screams", which ranks as one of their very best efforts. Play this as loud as you can stand it. You know you want to.


While it appears that an official website for The Queers is MIA, and there are a few fan sites online, the band seems to rely on their infrequently updated Facebook page, which does have a link to their Online Store where you can buy records and CD's direct from the band. There's also lots of their music available on Amazon, as you might expect. You'd think that a band that has been going for over 30 years would at least have a decent website by now. Just sayin'.

Buy this album NOW!
Recordings by The Choir are a little harder to come by. The Sundazed anthology from 1994 can be had, used, for under $20, but a new copy might get spendy. "It's Cold Outside" first made a CD appearance on Volume 4 of the authoritative and extensive Garage-Psych-Rock compilation series, "Pebbles". I also found it on the now out-of-print, box set version of "Nuggets" from Rhino Records, which is trading hands at enough of a collectors' premium that you may have to fill out finance paperwork. Wow.

But, although "It's Cold Outside" isn't on it, the original "Nuggets" album is a must-have, all-time great compilation of mid-60's Psychedelic Garage classics; many of them one hit wonders, in excellent quality. It's still in print and available affordably. And yes, there's 180 gram vinyl too! If you enjoy 60's Rock at all, you owe it to yourself to get this one. Yes, seriously.

Saturday, December 07, 2013

If It's Really Got To Be This Way

Bill Kirchen at The Waiting Room, Omaha
My wife and I were lucky enough to catch a recent Sunday afternoon show by Bill Kirchen, one of the modern masters of the Telecaster. Kirchen led his trio through two smokin' hot sets of Truckabilly, Texas twang, and Honky tonk thunder. I've seen a whole lot of guitar players over the years and Kirchen is easily one of the very best. Kirchen's band takes a minimalist approach, even with their gear, but although they travel light, they get more sound out of less equipment than many other bands. The best explanation for that is that they are journeymen musicians who can really play, and since they don't need to rely on much outboard gear for their sound, it's about as pure and clean as you're gonna hear. And yes, Kirchen played a rip-snortin' extended take of "Hot Rod Lincoln", which really got the crowd wound up.

Many of you may recall Kirchen as the guitarist of Commander Cody & His Lost Planet Airmen. Bill now carries that legacy forward, infusing his repertoire with Rockabilly, Country, Americana, and good ol' Rock n' Roll. Here's a 5 minute video of Bill Kirchen with guitar tech Dan Erlewine, that features Bill demonstrating some his signature guitar techniques. Bill also talks a bit about his guitar's custom features and construction with Dan. Gearheads, take notes.


One of the songs Bill and his band played for us was a slightly off the cuff rendition of "If It's Really Got To Be This Way", a song written by Arthur Alexander. Bill had recorded it in 2007 for his album "Hammer Of The Honky Tonk Gods", and the song closes the album. During a break, Bill told me that he'd simply heard Arthur's recording and liked it enough to do it himself. Simple as that.


I do find it interesting that Arthur Alexander chose that same song to open his 1993 album, "Lonely Just Like Me", which turned out to be his final recording. It sets up the tone for the album as a statement of purpose. Along with Alexander, the album features performances by legends of the Muscle Shoals sound, including Reggie Young, Dan Penn, Donnie Fritts, and Spooner Oldham.

Alexander's best known work appeared in the early 60's when, as was common then, British Rock bands were busy educating American kids on their own music; predominantly Soul, Chicago Blues and Rhythm & Blues. Two of Arthur's songs, "Anna" and "You Better Move On" were recorded by The Beatles and The Rolling Stones, respectively. It's possible that John Lennon's song "All I've Got To Do" was his way of copping Alexander's writing and vocal phrasing, as was the Jagger/Richards tune, "Congratulations". Both Paul McCartney and Keith Richards have often cited Alexander as an inspiration in various interviews over the years.

Other successful songs of Arthur's include "Every Day I Have To Cry Some", which was a hit for both Dusty Springfield and Ike & Tina Turner, and "Set Me Free", covered by both Esther Phillips and Joe Tex. More recently, "Soldier Of Love (Lay Down Your Arms), which The Beatles did for the BBC way back when, was revived by both Marshall Crenshaw and Pearl Jam. Bob Dylan recorded "Sally Sue Brown" on his 1988 album "Down In The Groove", and "Go Home Girl" was done by Ry Cooder on his great 1979 album "Bop Till You Drop". Alexander's influence is still felt in songwriters like John Hiatt, who said "Arthur Alexander is really one of my all time favorites. His singing has such a beautiful, sad quality which builds as he goes along. It's country sounding, stately and wonderful".

Arthur, Dan Penn & Donnie Fritts, in rehearsal.
Along with his contributions to Rock 'n Roll, Alexander also played a large role in the development of the Southern roots music that became known as the Muscle Shoals sound. Arthur was not merely a participant in the pioneering of Muscle Shoals, Alabama as a center for recording and songwriting, but helped the town to emerge as a haven for interracial artistic collaboration during an often hostile climate of segregation.

"Lonely Just Like Me" was Arthur's first album in 21 years. He had signed a new recording and publishing contract in May of 1993, but suffered a fatal heart attack the following month, three days after performing in Nashville with his new band. Arthur had endured some hard miles along the way and was just at a point of discovering some newfound peace and stability in his life. He had just turned 53 when he passed.

Here's Arthur Alexander with "If It's Really Got To Be This Way". This is Soul. Feel it.


There is a very good and highly recommended expanded edition of "Lonely Just Like Me" available on Amazon. You can also find several collections of Arthur Alexander's classic earlier recordings as well. No serious Rhythm and Blues or Rock history fan should be without these. For you more casual fans, try this one from the great UK reissue label, Ace Records, which can be had, used, very affordably. It's the real deal.

Bill Kirchen's music is available through his Website Store. It's also at Amazon and very likely, your local indie music shop too. You guitar aficionados who like their Tele with a zesty splash of twang sauce should be on this like cheap on a suit. Go getcha some.

Saturday, November 30, 2013

Review: Del Shannon - Songwriter

Del Shannon
Most of us remember Del Shannon for his biggest hit songs, "Runaway", "Hats Off To Larry" and "Little Town Flirt". But as it turns out, that's like remembering Buddy Holly only for "Peggy Sue" and "That'll Be The Day". For most of us average music fans, there's quite a lot more of Del's music to be discovered, much like the later work of his peers such as Dion DiMucci, The Everly Brothers and Ricky Nelson.

Del Shannon, whose birth name was Charles Westover, wasn't just another pop singer of the early 60's; he was a skilled songwriter who didn't have to rely on outside help, like the all-powerful publishing houses of the day would have preferred. Along with his own successes, Del wrote the song, "I Go To Pieces", that was a major international hit for Peter & Gordon in 1965. That said, Del was not beyond recording a song that struck his ear just right. In 1963, he became the first American to record a cover version of a song by The Beatles. Del's recording of "From Me to You" charted in the US just before The Beatles hit it big.

Fortunately, there's a new door through which Del Shannon's catalog of songs can be discovered. The title of a new Del Shannon tribute album, "Songwriter", seems to emphasize that the key ingredients to Del Shannon's recipe for success were two-fold. He wrote his own songs, and he constantly reinvented himself. On this fine compilation, you can hear new interpretations of Del's songs by excellent independent musicians such as Marshall Crenshaw, Frank Black, The Rubinoos, The Britannicas, Randy Bachman, The Drysdales, Carla Olson, Peter Case, Marti Jones, and noted producer Don Dixon, who also did the album's mastering.

Here's a video from The Britannicas for the song "I Got You". It may be more commonplace now, but back in the mid-2000's, The Britannicas were pioneers of the transcontinental cyber-band concept; a recording project by 3 multi-instrumentalists and songwriters in 3 separate parts of the world. The band members hail from the US, Australia and Sweden. About the song, the band says "Del seems like an enigma to us: known yet seemingly unknown, loved yet wholly unloved. His enormous body of music truly deserves to heard and appreciated. Long live Del."



It doesn't surprise me after hearing this track that, following the passing of Roy Orbison, it was reported that Tom Petty had suggested that Del be invited to join The Traveling Wilburys, but that was not to be.

Moving right along, here's Richard Snow, covering Del's "Over You". Richard is a singer-songwriter from Nottingham, UK who sings lead and harmonies, and plays 12 & 6 string guitar, bass, drums, keyboards and percussion. Regarding his recording, Richard says "I discovered Del Shannon by playing through my Mum’s old records when I was a small boy. Being born in the 70’s I didn’t hear of him at the height of his fame or even know what he looked like for years but I was knocked out by the sound of those few 45’s. So as a teenager I sought out ALL his records. 'Stranger In Town' backed with 'Over You' was always a big fave of mine. Both sides are so good I wasn’t sure for a long time which was the A side. I chose to record “Over You” because I think it’s such a beautiful song that is often over looked. I could never sing it as well as Del, but I hope everyone enjoys my spin on it."


Truth is, I could go on and on, all day, song by song, and still not fully convey not only how good this tribute is, but how good a songwriter Del Shannon was. You have to hear it all for yourself. There's so much good stuff on this album and I can't recommend it highly enough. You can get it on CD or Mp3 at Amazon. If you enjoy tribute albums half as much as I do, you'll be glad you did. Not only that, but you'll be supporting independent music, and that's always good to do.

Regarding the music of Del Shannon himself, there are several hits collections available. This one is very affordable and comprehensive. Del's 2 albums he did with Tom Petty are still in print, as is the 1968 soft pop/psychedelic oddity, "The Further Adventures of Charles Westover". 

Saturday, November 23, 2013

Always You (Siempre Tu)

The mid-60's worldwide heyday of the British Invasion spawned countless Beatles, Stones and Yardbirds copycat bands. Long haired lookalikes and attempted soundalikes were popping up as fast as fans in their teens and twenties could buy instruments and make room in the garage.

Arguably, the first successful American cloning of the Liverpool sound came in 1965 with the hit song "Lies" by New Jersey pop pioneers, The Knickerbockers. But unknown to Americans, one of the biggest and most successful Fab Faux bands came from, of all places, Uruguay, in southeastern South America.

Like almost everywhere else, Rock 'n Roll was discovered by Uruguayan audiences with the arrival on the world stage of The Beatles and other British bands. So it wasn't long before a flock of local bands appeared in Montevideo, the capitol city and apparently, the Liverpool of Uruguay. These bands included Los Malditos, Los Mockers, Los Iracundos, Los Moonlights, and Los Shakers, who fast became the most popular act in the so-called Uruguayan Invasion of Argentina(!), which I had never heard of until recently.

Oddly, though their native language was a regional Italianized Spanish, most popular Uruguayan bands sang in English. Los Shakers obviously modeled themselves after The Beatles, having adopted similar haircuts and clothing, as you can see on their 1st album cover above. All you Beatleheads may find it interesting that the first single recorded by Los Shakers was "My Bonnie", in 1965! Over the next 2 years, Los Shakers made regular appearances on Latin American TV to promote their singles and were even featured in a movie; a low-rent musical revue entitled "Escala Musical".

Was this the Uruguayan T.A.M.I. Show?
Despite the appropriation of the Liverpool sound and style, these guys had to have some fairly well developed instrumental and vocal chops to be able to write and perform their songs as well as they did. I've also seen some online speculation that Los Shakers may have been the direct blueprint for the wonderful 1978 Beatles parody, "The Rutles". After hearing several Los Shakers tracks, I don't doubt that for a second. Rutles songwriters Neil Innes and Eric Idle could not have had a better source of inspiration.

Although Los Shakers racked up many 'Grandes Exitos', the first one I heard was the upbeat Pop of "Always You", or "Siempre Tu", from their 1968 attempt at a 'Sgt. Pepper' project entitled "La Conferencia Secreta Del Toto's Bar". Their record label, Odeon/EMI, hated it, wanting more single hits and not a knockoff concept album. The band then dissolved and EMI released the album anyway. So goes the music business.

This video isn't official at all, but makes good use of lots of band photos; more than I could show you otherwise. Here's Los Shakers with "Always You". Listen for the quick Beatlesque "Ooo" at 1:14. It's so fast, it sounds like an afterthought, and that's worth a chuckle.


Now, I could understand if some older music fans, on one side of 50 or the other, would have dug up the music of Los Shakers and anthologized it properly, or even assembled a tribute album, in order to resurrect the band's popularity, or at least, capitalize on their novelty value, so that we American music fans would discover them in a 'historical footnote' sort of way. But no. The first mention I ever heard about Los Shakers was through this astonishing cover version done by youthful Beatlemaniac, Nick Martellaro, who appears to be only about 20!

There's a bunch of Nick's Beatle cover videos on YouTube, where I found this clip, shot in his garage, of Nick covering "Always You" with all the Liverpudlian gusto his impressive guitar collection will allow. He doesn't miss the quick "Ooo" either. Nick's version has a fantastic "That Thing You Do" quality to it, and dare I say that if any band in the 60's had covered this song with this much energy, it would have been a nationwide American hit. British Invasion fans should crank this up and prepare to smile a lot.


I can't seem to find much info about him, but Nick Martellaro has some Mp3's available on Soundclick. I predict that if he stays at it, this young man will turn out some power pop dynamite over the next few years. Keep your ears open for him. And Nick, if you should see this article, nice work and keep going!

The music of Los Shakers can be easily and affordably found at Amazon. But now that you know some of their story, the bottom line on Los Shakers is this. Most of their original work is interesting as a knock-off novelty, but when they tried to equal The Fabs, as their atrocious cover of "Submarino Amarillo" demonstrates, they crossed a line that showed listeners how good the real deal was. Neither the band or their management could have honestly expected the game to go on for too long anyway. So, approach the music of Los Shakers with the knowledge that it's only gonna get so good.

And before I forget, you'll be happy to hear that the long out of print film, The Rutles, will finally have a Blu-Ray/DVD release on December 3! Those who remember it will be very happy to see it again. Those who've never had the pleasure are in for a real treat. All you need is cash!

Saturday, November 16, 2013

Still Crazy After All These Years

I've recently been lucky enough to be involved in a new band project with a very good songwriter, whose musical influences run deep. Along with the wealth of original material, we've been working up a few select covers that compliment the original stuff. Usually the process is the opposite; figuring out where to pop in your original songs amidst the chaotic mess of various cover tunes, which often have little relevance to each other.

An early 60's promo shot of Artie & Paul.
When choosing which songs to cover, there are always some that might be good for the band, but turn out to be a lot more work than anticipated and wind up sounding either forced, tentative, or sloppy. There are others that you may feel very passionate about because the song means something special to you, but for one reason or another, the band just doesn't sound good playing it. The only solution to that is to park the song and let it go, although that's not easy. But, if you're lucky and have a good sense of where your original material lives, you will find songs that seem to fall right into your lap. In our case, the first one was Paul Simon's "Something So Right" from his 1973 album, "There Goes Rhymin' Simon".

It got me thinking about Simon's extensive and eclectic body of work. Paul Simon was a sophisticated writer and arranger even at a young age. Even the earliest Simon & Garfunkel songs are far more advanced than the work of most of their musical peers of the day. In many ways, I remember them as the collegiate musical darlings of their time because that's the audience I observed being their most enthusiastic fans. They were also very popular with those who had been Folk fans during its golden era in the early 60's, but had their party disrupted by the British Invasion.

But as I was saying, Simon, like Joni Mitchell, was writing way above the level of his contemporaries, and continued to do so as the 60's collapsed with a weary, stoned sigh into the 70's. By mid-decade, Paul Simon had established himself as a solo artist to be reckoned with. Using popular media vehicles like "Saturday Night Live", which was as hip as it got in those days, Simon endeared himself to a newly broadened audience. By the time Simon released "Still Crazy After All These Years" in 1975, he could do no wrong on the Pop charts, but his records still held enough musically interesting challenges that no one ever accused him of selling out.

Here's an interesting video clip of Simon during an appearance on Dick Cavett's show, presenting "Still Crazy After All These Years" in very rough draft form. The middle bridge section had not even been written yet! I can't imagine any currently popular musician going onto a national talk show and playing an unfinished new song. I would guess that it's just not possible, what with all the gear they'd have to schlep along with them. Such were the times.



Some time later, when the song was completed and the album had been released, Simon again performed "Still Crazy..." on national television. This time, it was on "Saturday Night Live". It was near Thanksgiving and as a joke, Simon sang the song while, reluctantly, wearing a turkey costume. The video clip of this performance appears to have been removed from YouTube. I'm not terribly surprised.

One thing I really enjoy about researching new material for this blog is the unexpected discovery of talented performers whose work I was not aware of. Such is the case with The Shadowboxers, hailing from Atlanta, Ga. This is no plastic teenybopper boy band. These guys are ALL about the vocals. They also have a genuine, soulful sound and aren't shy about using a horn section where needed. It's so refreshing to hear a new band that can really sing and play their own instruments well. As one reviewer wrote about their album "Red Room", "This CD is an absolute winner. Moving vocals with beautiful harmonies go hand-in-hand with accomplished musicianship. The album almost seems like it should be from a more seasoned group that has honed their craft for a decade or two." Every other review seems to correlate those sentiments.

You can hear more of The Shadowboxers on a fine session they did for Daytrotter. They've also demonstrated their fondness for the songs and musicians that influenced them by posting a series of cover videos on their YouTube channel. Here's The Shadowboxers with their arrangement of "Still Crazy After All These Years". I'm sure Paul Simon would be very pleased to hear this.



While you can certainly find The Shadowboxers music on Amazon, I will recommend that you visit their website, where you can find the "Red Room" album in assorted configurations. Yes, that means there's vinyl. When you buy direct from the artist, they get paid for their work, which allows them to keep making music for all of us to enjoy. Please join us in supporting independent musicians.

Of course, you can also find the entire musical catalog of Paul Simon at Amazon, along with the complete recordings of Simon & Garfunkel, which are a must for any self-respecting music library.

Saturday, November 09, 2013

Perfect Day

Lou Reed & Laurie Anderson, earlier this year.
A former co-worker once said that the three things that sell books, music and movies in America are sex, death and anger. I've yet to see him proved wrong.

In light of the recent passing of Lou Reed, I've been seeing quite a lot of well deserved tributes and accolades being thrown his way, the best of these being the heartfelt note written by his wife, Laurie Anderson. Nonetheless, and I hate to say this, but so many of these acknowledgements have come off as somewhat contrived.

Now, I both understand and welcome those who may be late to the party, but grow to appreciate the work of any artist or musician long after the fact because, for instance, they weren't yet alive at the time of the music's release, or were just too young for it. That's not only completely fine, but also accounts for most of us. But if something like that is the case for you, then please don't pretend that you've been a hardcore lifelong fan all along. That rings false and smacks of status-seeking hipsterism. Even the few serious Lou fans I've known that owned a copy of Reed's notoriously abrasive "Metal Machine Music" album could not honestly say they endured a continuous front-to-back listen, and even they weren't ever going on about how profoundly Lou's music had impacted their life. So when I hear things like that, it sounds disingenuous at the least. If all the people who are now saying how Lou's music meant so much to them had been buying his records all along, then both Lou and his legacy would have been much better off.

I also find it interesting that according to the online media data tracked by the analytics company, Musicmetric, Reed jumped from adding around 1,500 Facebook fans this year to adding a whopping 37,864 just on the Monday following his departure! What newcomers now expect from his Facebook page is not clear.

In the early 1970's, I was in junior high and already heavily into the music of the day, although neither myself or my friends had yet paid much notice to Reed's work in The Velvet Underground. I can tell you with certainty that if we had heard them at that time, all of us would have hated their music. The Velvets would prove to be an acquired taste. In fact, it wasn't until decades later that we all figured out that without The Velvet Underground, the Indie Rock explosion of the 90's would never have been possible.

Like many others, our first dose of Lou came later in the form of "Walk On The Wild Side", the first single from his 1972 album "Transformer". It was one of those songs that became a hit almost in spite of itself. While the song had a unique and hypnotic sound, the lyrics were far beyond what even progressive FM radio was willing to promote, despite the worldwide success of The Kinks' tale of transvestism, "Lola", from 2 years earlier. A heavily edited version finally took hold at radio. But "Walk On The Wild Side" wasn't the only thing the album had going for it. Not by a long shot.

Mick Ronson and Lou Reed, 1972
By 1972, the world had seemingly gone mad for David Bowie and all things even distantly related to him. Bowie had often cited both Reed and The Velvet Underground as profound influences. Given that the two were on the same record label, RCA, it was inevitable that they would work together. Indeed, "Transformer" was produced by both David Bowie and Bowie's guitarist and arranger, Mick Ronson. Bowie had referenced The Velvet Underground in the cover notes for his album "Hunky Dory" and regularly performed the VU songs "White Light/White Heat" and "I'm Waiting For The Man" at his concerts. Bowie even began recording "White Light/White Heat" for inclusion on his covers album, "Pin-Ups", but it was never completed. Ronson ended up using the backing track and finishing the recording for his solo album, "Play Don't Worry", in 1974. Although Bowie's attachment to the project was the draw, Ronson played the major role in the recording of "Transformer", serving as the co-producer and primary session musician, contributing guitar, piano, recorder and backing vocals, and notably contributing the lush string arrangement for the favorite Lou Reed song of many, "Perfect Day".


The lovely & talented Duran Duran, in the early 80's.
Fast forward to the mid-1980's. Technology had taken great leaps and a sharply digital edge began to dominate the production sounds of the Pop charts. The resurgence of Dance music was a cyclical dismissal of the simplistic lessons of late 70's Punk, and another enormous wave of British bands had overtaken the world's airwaves, record stores and televisions. Chief among these was Duran Duran, named after the villain from Roger Vadim's French science-fiction film, "Barbarella", Dr. Durand Durand. The band was easily one of the most successful of the 1980's, largely due to their heavy rotation in the MTV-driven video revolution. Since then, they have placed 14 singles in the Top 10 of the UK Singles Chart, and 21 in the Billboard Hot 100, achieving sales of over 100 million records.

The cover art for "Thank You".
In 1995, the band released their inevitable cover album, entitled "Thank You", which included their version of Lou Reed's "Perfect Day". In a video interview provided with the album's press kit, Reed himself said he considered Duran Duran's recording to be the best cover ever done of one of his songs. Whether Lou was sincere or just being kind and/or grateful, I don't know, but the Duransters certainly acquitted themselves well enough. At least on this track they did. Most album length cover projects should have been 5-7 song EP's, and this is one of those. Often, albums like this are simply too much of a good thing, which is far better than an overdose of one bad idea after another.

Here's Duran2 with Lou Reed's "Perfect Day". We hope you somehow manage to have one of your own.


Surprisingly, the entire album catalog of Duran Duran remains in print. This catalog includes several different attempts at a definitive collection, of which only one succeeds, and it is both worthy and capable of plugging the Duran-a-rama vacancy in your music library.

I'm certain there's been a bit of a run on albums from Lou Reed and The Velvet Underground as of late, but that is certainly not any indication or inference that those recordings are going out of print and are never to return. Quite the contrary. That is an urban myth the record companies want you to believe so the post-mortem buying frenzy will continue. You longtime Velvet fans probably have everything already, but for our newer or more casual listeners, I will recommend the so-called "banana album", or this excellent 2 disc anthology.

Lou Reed himself, however, is one of those rare performers whose work has not been well served by 'best-of' collections. So, while "Transformer" is a very good document of the glittery early 70's, as is the fabled live album, "Rock & Roll Animal", my recommendation for a definitive Lou Reed album is the gritty 1989 masterwork, "New York". In the opinion of many, Lou was never better than on this one, and I concur.

Saturday, November 02, 2013

Across The Universe

The only digital video of "Let It Be" is this long gone 12" Laserdisc.
Rife with tension, boredom, and outside distractions, the sessions that were eventually collated into the album and film "Let It Be" should have, by all rights, been The Beatles' swan song. The bond that The Beatles had nurtured through their teens, and over the previous decade as a band, was at a breaking point. The fact that an album and a movie were assembled from that chaotic mess is something of a miracle, surviving even Phil Spector's unwelcome meddling with the music by slathering on layers of choral and orchestral syrup. Thankfully, the subsequent miracle of George Martin being able to put Humpty together again for the final hurrah, "Abbey Road", still lay ahead.

Despite the 'revisionist history' talk at the time, I was very glad when Paul McCartney oversaw the 2003 release of "Let It Be: Naked", a new edition of "Let It Be", which presented the album as originally envisioned, prior to the addition of Spector's production excesses. The removal of the sonic sugar coating revealed that there were not just some solid songs there, but those songs were made far better by this simpler incarnation, which proved an excellent application of the famed 'less is more' theory.

From "Let It Be: Naked", here is John Lennon's "Across The Universe", presented as The Beatles intended. No strings, no choir, no effects, no chirping birds, and no Yoko. Enjoy!


"Across The Universe" has been covered numerous times over the years with the expected mixed results. Most of them, particularly David Bowie's rendition on his 1975 "Young Americans" album, are much too heavy handed; crushing the delicate filigree of the lyric under musical bombast and vocal overkill that is more of an unwitting tribute to Spector's production than Lennon's songwriting.

Some good friends of ours have, for the last 13 years, sponsored a series of house concerts in their home. They feature nationally touring Folk and Americana songwriters who come to their house and do an acoustic concert in the living room! Some are names you may know and many are not, but every show we've attended has been excellent. An important distinction is that the artist gets 100% of the proceeds from admission and CD sales. The house makes nothing. It's not a business; it's very much a labor of love. I rather enjoy not knowing what sort of musical surprise awaits us at any given performance. Plus, the sound quality is superior, and the volume is very comfortable. If you've not heard of, or attended a house concert, do so at your earliest opportunity! You'll wonder what took you so long to try it.

Kagey Parrish & Laura Wortman: The Honey Dewdrops
One recent house concert featured the Virginia-based duo of Laura Wortman and Kagey Parrish, who perform under the name The Honey Dewdrops. With a blend of new Americana and traditional folk music, they create inspired songs that are rooted in the experience and lives of real people. The songs they write shine with energy and emotion through intimate performances with a handful of acoustic instruments and tightly layered harmonies.

When playing live, The Honey Dewdrops focus on dynamically blending the sounds of instruments and voices by singing and playing into a single microphone. There is a 'high lonesome' quality to the way their voices blend that is familiar, yet the mixture is unique. Their music covers the ground between hand crafted folk songs, Appalachian fiddle tunes, and spirituals. In their own way, the duo fills up a room with sound and feeling that lingers long after the show is over.

Go buy this CD right now! You'll love it.
Unusually for musicians of their genre, Kagey and Laura also happen to be enthusiastic fans of The Beatles, incorporating at least one of their songs into each performance. They also seem to have discovered the band in the same way that many of us have. During a recent conversation, Kagey told me, "We have both been lifelong Beatles fans. We got into music by listening to them at a young age and collecting all the records. It was like a gateway drug; from there we were introduced to a lot of the Rock music of the 60's." When asked about what other music influenced and helped them form their own music, Kagey replied, "After the Beatles, the music that we both loved was acoustic music ranging from old-time, blues, bluegrass, and singer-songwriters. There is something profound and honest about folk music that draws us into the stories about and for people. There's also something magnetic about acoustic instruments, unplugged and without effects and amps. This is how we found the acoustic duet harmony singing format. We think it's a really powerful way to play music." I agree completely, as their method has a way of drawing the listener in, and it's a very inviting and comfortable place to be; like a favorite old flannel shirt.

You'll notice in this video, shot for them very recently by some friends, that although the mike is front and center, their instruments are indeed unplugged, so what you hear was captured by that single microphone. The Honey Dewdrops recently played a festival in Baltimore, where they performed 5 Beatles songs: "All I've Got To Do", "Lovely Rita" (both of which they played at the house concert I attended), "Something", "Strawberry Fields Forever", and the song they perform for you here, "Across The Universe". They also learned the entire "Please Please Me" album, front to back, and performed it live in August and September of last year! I'll bet that took some work.

Here are The Honey Dewdrops with their lovely version of "Across The Universe". Enjoy!


Merchandise sales make it possible for independent artists like The Honey Dewdrops to continue writing and recording new music for us to enjoy, and also finances their road trips so they can come to our towns and play for us. The artist is getting paid and recovering costs when you buy their music, and that feels good to know. With that in mind, I encourage you to visit The Honey Dewdrops website, where you can read more about them, listen to and purchase their music, and then go to one of their concerts when they are in your area. Their CD's can also be found on iTunes, CD Baby, and Bandcamp. It's good stuff, people!

As much as they were revolutionary in their time, The Beatles are now rarely the first to do anything. Although the 2009 remasters of The Beatles' entire catalog of albums were much needed, the availability of their films has been patchy, at best.  "The Beatles Anthology" successfully made the jump from VHS to DVD in 2003, but that's 10 years back, so it could stand a remastering for Blu-Ray. So far, only "Help!", "Yellow Submarine" and "Magical Mystery Tour", which underwent a sorely needed full restoration, are available in the US on Blu-Ray. "A Hard Days Night" was given a very good, yet short of definitive DVD release back in 2002. A good deal of material that rightly should have been included was passed over, but the print looks good. Oddly, it's on Blu-Ray only in Canada.

The film version of "Let It Be" last saw official release on VHS, Beta and Laserdisc in the 80's. Bootleg DVD's can easily be found online, but they're terrible. I suspect the film elements may be in less than desirable condition by now, so a full-on restoration may be needed in order to release the film in a definitive way. This sounds like the perfect project for Criterion, a top shelf purveyor of cinema classics, but I do have to wonder if Paul and Ringo have any interest in participating. Here's hoping that happens before we're all too old to remember how to operate the video player. Heck, I'm still waiting for an official release of The Beatles' TV cartoon series, and their Christmas recordings, done for their fan club from 1963 through 1969. I'm told they're in the pipeline, but... we'll see.

Kool Kovers would like to extend a hearty "Thank You!" to Kagey and Laura of The Honey Dewdrops for their participation in the writing of this feature. Go see them play and buy their music!