Mean Street

Van Halen, Mk.1. No brown M&M's but plenty of Jack Daniels.

There's an urban legend in Philadelphia about the unusual way that Philly rock audiences show their appreciation for an unknown opening act that looks a hostile crowd right in the eyes and proceeds to kick the audiences butt against seemingly insurmountable odds.

So what happens is, when a 'take no prisoners' opener finishes their surprisingly impressive set, the crowd, who had showed up to see the headlining band, will not only applaud wildly, usually with an extended standing O, but they will then pack up and walk out on the headliner. They will actually leave the building! This is their way of telling the hapless headliner, "You just got completely blown off your own stage and there's absolutely no way you're gonna be better than the band we just saw". It's a fairly harsh and disrespectful rebuke. Although this particular phenomenon is infrequent, it demonstrates that Philly rock fans appreciate work ethic, attitude and balls more than anything else.

Bet they tore up Niagara Falls too.

The first instance where I heard of this mass exodus occurring was at a Black Sabbath gig at The Spectrum in late August of 1978. The opener was a brand new band from California that Philly hadn't met yet. Their name was Van Halen. Reportedly, Black Sabbath played to fewer than 1000 stragglers in an arena that 30 minutes prior held nearly 20,000. Sabbath clearly got owned that night and they wouldn't be the last band shamed off their own stage by Van Halen, who would not be a support act for much longer.

Here's "Mean Street" from what I feel is still their hardest rockin' album, "Fair Warning".

Niacin: Dennis Chambers, Billy Sheehan, John Novello

I heard someone describe the band Niacin as "Emerson Lake & Palmer re-imagined as a funk band". That's close, but not entirely accurate. To be sure, the band has chops to spare. Niacin is session drummer Dennis Chambers, bassist Billy Sheehan, and John Novello on keys, primarily the Hammond B3 organ; hence the name Niacin, which is vitamin B3, but you knew that, didn't you?

Given the classic premise of a keyboards, bass and drums three-piece, the results could have been less than spectacular in the hands of lesser musicians. But these guys aren't lesser than anything, having learned their craft through decades of rock, fusion and jazz performances. Billy Sheehan, bass monster for such bands as Talas, Mr. Big and coincidentally, David Lee Roth, following Roth's departure from Van Halen, talked about Niacin in an interview. "We definitely went more towards some of our late '60s, early '70s prog rock roots; people like King Crimson, Gentle Giant, early Genesis and of course, Emerson, Lake & Palmer, who we often get compared to. Both John and I as writers have many influences. A good part of that is that you have a big bag of tricks to pull from. So we have a lot of things that we can reference as inspiration."

The new Niacin album "Krush", is available now!

Billy's bandmates are more than up to the task to help shape the vision. "Dennis Chambers, man, I wouldn't know where to start to tell you what records he's been on. He's worked with Chick Corea, Steely Dan, Parliament/Funkadelic, Santana, even James Brown! He's just an absolute champion of the drums. His jazz and funk roots are deep, and as a person, he is ego-free and completely selfless. It's an inspiration because he is just so possessed by playing music. That's all he does, tour and play music. And though his background is jazz, he loves rock. At soundcheck, we'll play Grand Funk or Zeppelin. He digs so many different kinds of music and that's kind of inherent with all of us, so it works out really good when we play together."

Keyboardist John Novello is, in essence, the guitarist and lead vocalist of Niacin, even if he accomplishes it all using B3 vocabularies. "John is a real expert at the B-3 thing. It's fallen on keyboardists' shoulders to know the computer and MIDI stuff, and he's become an expert at that too. But he can also remove himself from that whole computer thing and play real heart and soul type stuff, almost like gospel, on the B3. And as a person, he's really fastidious, and he cares a lot about the overall sound of the band; he's more of a team player than an individualist. I like that a lot."

A drivers seat view of Dennis Chambers' Pearl drum setup. Nice!

I was lucky enough to attend one of Dennis Chambers' drum clinics a few years back. I am a bassist, but yes, I will go to drum clinic. It's the other side of the rhythm section coin. Chambers is known for his powerful playing and explosive fills, much like one of his chief influences, Billy Cobham. Dennis walked in and sat at the drums, took a big swig of his coffee and played solo for roughly 40 minutes. He played riffs on top of riffs, in multiple time signatures, blazing fast and achingly slow, and generally pushed himself as hard as any pro athlete would in a typical workout. A jaw dropping performance.

During the Q&A time afterward, I got to ask him how, when walking into a session with players you've never met, do you sound like you've been playing together for 5 years after only 5 minutes of actual playing. Dennis stood up and addressed the room of drummers with "OK, listen up. All that bulls**t I just played has nothing to do with his question!" He then went into an extended instruction on how to listen to the other players; not leading the dance, but fitting your drum parts into the rhythm of the music. "The music will tell you where it lives.", he said. Sound advice for players of any instrument. And, just as Billy Sheehan described, he was a super nice guy to meet and talk shop with.

From their 2000 album, "Deep", here's Niacin kickin' the snot out of Van Halen's "Mean Street". That's Sheehan doing his best Eddie impression on a bass in the intro. Dude is no slouch. Crank this up!

Niacin just released a new album, "Krush", early in April. It, along with the rest of Niacin's catalog of brain melting recordings, can be found at Amazon. In case you didn't think it was possible, you can indeed get all the Van Halen you would ever want there too. I will direct your attention toward a nifty import boxed set of all 6 of the Roth era studio albums; the only ones that matter in the humble opinion of many. It's yours, new, for about $25. Such a deal.

Regarding those brown M&M's, you can peruse Van Halen's infamous 1982 contract rider here.

Review: Drink A Toast To Innocence - A Tribute To Lite Rock

It is often said that in order for someone to be successful in a business venture, it is critical that they find their niche; their own unique position in the market, and address the needs of that underserved market segment. Andrew Curry has certainly done that in spades by producing a terrific new tribute album that focuses on a specific timeframe and sub-genre of popular music.

The album, "Drink A Toast To Innocence - A Tribute To Lite Rock" is a giant 28 song collection, spread over 2 CD's that are packed to the brim with excellent renditions of Lite Rock songs from the late '70's and early 80's. There will also be a 10 song vinyl edition. Sorry, but no 8 tracks or cassettes.

If you're 35 or older, you know every one of these songs and can probably sing along with them too! But age is no restriction on your potential for enjoying this music. These newly recorded tribute versions are performed by current independent bands and individual musicians who may not yet be familiar names, but I assure you, all of them are worthy of wider recognition for the quality of their songcraft.

Album Producer Andrew Curry

The idea began as a playlist on a Facebook page. Lite Rock fan Andrew Curry assembled a countdown of what he thought were the 20 greatest Lite Rock songs of all time. Curry described these songs as "the soundtrack of my youth". Eventually, the idea of doing a real album of cover versions developed and it was time to make it happen. The project was pitched on the fundraising website, Kickstarter and achieved its $10,000 goal in just 3 weeks! That should tell you something about not only the enduring popularity of this music, but also the costs involved in putting an album like this together. Things like song licensing, manufacturing & promotional costs add up quickly.

Contributing Artists David Myhr & Eytan Mirsky

Andrew's next task was getting musicians on board to record the songs. The first ones to sign on were Eytan Mirsky and Andy Reed (of An American Underdog). But Andrew recently told me, "I had an interesting sort of dance going with Mike Viola before he finally agreed. But when he did come aboard, it made securing other artists much easier to do. After all, I'm hardly a household name."

I asked Andrew at what point was he certain that the idea had wings. He replied, "I knew the project had real potential when Michael Carpenter submitted his video for "We Don't Talk Anymore". It showed that a major figure in the power pop world took this thing seriously enough to put in that extra work to help make the record buzzworthy. I had gotten a few tracks submitted by the time Michael sent me his video, and I really dug them all. But that specific moment is when I thought, "You know? This thing might actually work."

All the way from New South Wales, Australia, here's Michael Carpenter's video version of "We Don't Talk Anymore", originally a hit for Cliff Richard back in 1979. Nice job, Michael!

Kelly Jones

Other artists made less involved, but no less impressive initial entries. To present her idea for the England Dan & John Ford Coley song, "I'd Really Love To See You Tonight", Kelly Jones sent Andrew Curry a demo that was recorded on her iPhone! The song has a very gentle, sweet feel in that lo-fi demo version. The song was recorded properly in a studio for the album, but I can't help thinking it would have been a nice touch to work in the iPhone recording for the early 1st verse or so, since the song is about a phone call anyway.

Brandon Schott

As for other interesting stories, there are a few. But one of the best is about Brandon Schott's version of the Andrew Gold hit, "Thank You For Being A Friend". Brandon had the idea that a song about friendship should include lots of people (friends and fans and family) in the background of the song. So he put together a choir of people that included not only his parents and his kids, but also a bunch of other artists from the tribute album itself. Included in the background vocals are David Myhr, Andy Reed (of An American Underdog), Steven Wilson (of Plasticsoul), Joe Giddings, Paul Bertolino, Michael Simmons (of Popdudes), Eric Kern (of Vegas With Randolph) and radio personality Michael McCartney, who did the great K-tel style voiceovers for the Kickstarter fundraising videos.

Willie Wisely

There's only one song on the entire album that makes me itch a bit and that is Willie Wisely's percussion-heavy take on Atlanta Rhythm Section's "So Into You". After repeated listens, I feel that the track could have been greatly improved by doing a "single edit"; shortening the song and eliminating some distracting vocal excesses during the last minute or so, but the overall production is interesting. Willie certainly picked up on the "voodoo in the vibes" lyric in the first verse of the song. I do have to say that I was surprised to see that this track is to be included on the vinyl edition of the album. While this recording has merit, I'm not sure that it's one of the best choices to represent the album on what amounts to a 10 song sampler.

Vegas With Randolph

However, I do have my personal favorites, like this first rate version of the Little River Band's "Cool Change", done by Vegas With Randolph. THIS, my friends, is how to do a cover! It completely respects the song, keeping all signature parts intact, yet it sounds like the band who's playing the song; putting their identity on it, but not in an overwhelming way. By the way, this song does not appear on the vinyl version and it should.

Then, there are the musicians that do their darndest to replicate the original recording as best they can. Hailing from sunny Southern California, here are The Popdudes with their excellent version of Walter Egan's "Magnet & Steel". This makes me smile. If you like toy pianos, this is your jam!

There are almost too many highlights to mention without including the entire list of songs, but in particular, I got a charge out of Bleu's excellent replication of Player's "Baby Come Back"; still the best Hall & Oates song that Hall & Oates didn't write. Other favorites that scored high in originality include Mike Ruekberg's "Believe It Or Not", Greg Pope's reworking of Poco's "Crazy Love", Paul Bertolino's version of "Just Remember I Love You" by Firefall, and The Davenports' energetic take on "Just When I Needed You Most".

In conclusion, the best cover versions are, as my wife says, "different enough so it's fresh, but the same enough to where you can sing along if you want." I completely agree, and this collection is chock-full of recordings like that. In my many years of enjoying tribute albums, I have heard the good, the bad and the very ugly. This project is obviously a labour of love for the producer and for the musicians who played on it. In fact, there's so much consistently good material in this collection, from one track to the next, that I honestly feel that this is easily one of the very best and most enjoyable tribute albums ever done by anybody, and I do not say that lightly, folks. This album is a great one and you should go buy it right now.

Here's what's on the CD's.

The vinyl edition will include:
SIDE ONE:
1. Steal Away - Mike Viola
2. The Things We Do For Love - David Myhr
3. I'd Really Love To See You Tonight - Kelly Jones
4. We Don't Talk Anymore - Michael Carpenter
5. Escape (The Pina Colada Song) - Eytan Mirsky

SIDE TWO:
1. Baby Come Back - Bleu
2. More Than I Can Say - Linus Of Hollywood
3. Thunder Island - An American Underdog*
4. Shake It - Cliff Hillis
5. So Into You - Willie Wisely

(* Thunder Island is a vinyl exclusive!)

The album will be available on Monday April 29th, but you can pre-order the CD or the download version right now on Bandcamp. On the 29th, the full album will be available there and will also find its way onto the usual outlets like CD Baby, Amazon and iTunes. The official website, MonstersOfLiteRock.com, is where you will be able to find links to where you can get the album on the 29th. It's up and running now, so you can sign up via email to be notified when new info is available.

Right Down The Line

It sure was nice to see a new album from Bonnie Raitt recently. "Slipstream" has all the good stuff you'd expect from Bonnie, yet she's also managed to update and punch up her signature sound, no small feat for any musician.

Bonnie has a history of making savvy choices of older songs to cover. She's re-invented quite a few songs over the years; in some cases making them more identifiable with herself than with the original artist, such as "Angel From Montgomery", written by John Prine, or the rockin' title track from her 1982 album, "Green Light", borrowed from NRBQ. Incidentally, former NRBQ guitarist Al Anderson penned no less than three new songs for "Slipstream". There's also songs form Bob Dylan, Loudon Wainwright III and Randall Bramblett; not a slouch in the bunch.

The subject at hand today is her reggae-fied version of the Gerry Rafferty tune, "Right Down The Line". It's not only the second track on "Slipstream", but it's the first single released from the album, so Bonnie's not shy about leading with a good cover. This song will soon be a highlight of her live shows, if it's not already. Enjoy!

 

1978 was a breakthrough year for Gerry Rafferty. His album, "City To City" was a huge hit, thanks to the hugely successful singles "Baker Street" and today's feature, "Right Down The Line", which made it to #12 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

Rafferty had tasted success previously with Stealers Wheel, back in 1973. That bands' debut album featured the hit "Stuck In The Middle With You", which enjoyed a revival from its use in a memorable scene from the 1992 motion picture, "Reservoir Dogs". Their four albums were produced by the legendary songwriting team of Jerry Leiber & Mike Stoller. Former Beatles engineer Geoff Emerick recorded the 1st album. Sounds like they had everything going for them.

Although often overshadowed by "Baker Street", "Right Down The Line" has earned a place of its own in pop history.

In September 2011, EMI issued a remastered 2 disc collector's edition of "City To City" featuring previously unheard demo versions of "Baker Street" and other tracks from the album. You can find it at Amazon, for about 6 bucks new, along with all the Bonnie Raitt music you can handle.

Ferry Cross The Mersey

Winner of the "More Strings Than You" contest, Pat Metheny!

Guitarist Pat Metheny has challenged the musical boundaries of himself and his audience for over 35 years and his 2009 album, "One Quiet Night" is no exception. The album features Metheny performing alone, on a custom-made baritone guitar with a non-traditional folk tuning that accentuates the instrument's rich sound and warm, resonant bass register. Recorded by Metheny in his New York City home, half of the material on the CD was captured on a single night in November 2001. In January 2003, he recorded the other half, including two new original compositions, a reinterpretation of the popular Pat Metheny Group song "Last Train Home", and an eclectic group of covers: "Don't Know Why" from the 2002 Grammy winning album by Norah Jones; "My Song" from jazz pianist Keith Jarrett; and a 1960's pop hit from the British Invasion band, Gerry and The Pacemakers, "Ferry Cross The Mersey", which Metheny says is one of his all time favorite songs.

Evocative at times of recordings made by the late Michael Hedges, Metheny constructed a contemplative and deeply emotional set of music quite unlike anything he's done before. The fact that the November 2001 session was not originally intended for public consumption and was entirely improvisational in nature is a testament not only to Metheny's skill as a guitarist, but also his innate sense of melody and harmonic structure.

Pat Metheny moves easily among varied musical settings, such as traditional jazz trios, post-bop experimental jazz, jazz-rock fusion and polyrhythmic World Music, to name a few. "One Quiet Night" is a new color on the palette; a different texture to the canvas for Metheny and his fans, who should find the album completely satisfying. In the liner notes, Metheny hopes this album will offer his listeners "some peace and enjoyment". It easily provides both.

Enjoy this unique recording of "Ferry Cross The Mersey" by Pat Metheny.

In the early sixties, Gerry and The Pacemakers worked the same Liverpool/Hamburg circuit as The Beatles and many other groups before being signed to EMI in 1962 by manager Brian Epstein, as his second group, following The Beatles.

The next year, under the direction of producer George Martin, they burst onto the music scene with three consecutive #1 hits: "How Do You Do It" (which Gerry recorded after The Beatles had rejected it), "I Like It" and "You’ll Never Walk Alone", proving themselves serious chart competitors to The Fabs at the time.

Over the next few years, most of the Pacemakers hits were written for the group by Gerry Marsden, based on sound financial advice, no doubt. These included "It's Gonna Be All Right", "I'm The One", "Don’t Let The Sun Catch You Cryin’" and of course, "Ferry Cross The Mersey", which was also the name of a film they starred in; a popular career move for beat groups of the day. The Pacemakers disbanded in 1966, but were reformed by Gerry in 1974. They continue to tour in the UK and worldwide to this day.

Here's a great video from 1965 of Gerry & The Pacemakers performing absolutely live for the British telly. During the first verse, Gerry Marsden very nearly gets popped in the mouth when a dancer bumps his mike stand; a hazard of playing in tight quarters since the dawn of microphones. Check the cheesy grin he flashes at the camera in the second verse. What a ham.

Amazon.com currently lists 133 albums with Pat Metheny's name on them. Although there is definitely such a thing as too much choice, I'm sure you'll find one or two that you like. There are also several very good "Best Of" collections available from Gerry & The Pacemakers, along with some reissues of his original EMI albums from the '60's.

By the way, did you know that Pat Metheny was, at age 19, the youngest ever faculty member at the Berklee School of Music in Boston? True. The second youngest? Bassist-vocalist Esperanza Spaulding, who is an absolutely amazing musician. Check her music out here.