Thursday 28 April 2016

Nevermind the …


According to Rolling Stone, punk is now 40 years old, as celebrated in The 40 Greatest Punk Albums of All Time.

Sure, you could call the release of The Ramones a start.  Or you could go back to the 60s with MC5 or The Velvet Underground.  Or you could look at pictures of The Beatles in Hamburg and marvel that the same guys played on Ed Sullivan wearing suits.  Then theres Elvis, or Eddie Cohcrane, or

Lets face it:  Rock and Roll has an edge.  It has attitude.  It has barely contained and badly channeled rage some of it sexual, some of it social.  Its for kids who have energy and excitement but no power.

Sometimes that music is raw and unnerving.  Sometimes its subjected to more refined production.  But the edge is always there.

Personally, I prefer well-produced music, but that doesnt mean I dont get (or enjoy) it when I hear whats come to be called Punk.  So rock or punk on, people.

Thursday 21 April 2016

I Stick Around For More


Theres no way you could argue Bonnie Raitts Spit of Love, recorded in 1998, is an R&B tune.  Its got a classic hook, a hypnotic groove, and a solid, driving beat.

So how come Ive got it on my Psychedelic playlist?

Thursday 14 April 2016

Love


With the recent death of George Martin, Rolling Stone inevitably published a list of his Top 10 Albums.

The entry for America’s Hearts, and in particular the hit single Sister Goldenhair, got me thinking that he was really trying keep the Beatles sound alive.  I mean, can’t you hear The Beatles doing that song?

Then again, maybe that’s what they were all doing.  Let Me Roll It could be Paul doing a John song from the White Album.  John's Starting Over could be on Abbey Road.  So could George’s All Those Years Ago.

Not surprising, I guess, that they would all continue to share what they had learned from each other.

Lucky us.

Thursday 7 April 2016

I Feel As Though You Ought To Know


Rubber Soul.  The best Motown album not released by Motown Records.

Friday 1 April 2016

Jimi vs. Stevie


Many (possibly most) people consider Jimi Hendrix to be the greatest guitar player of all time, and, while I don't agree, I get it.  But listen to Stevie Ray Vaughan's version of Little Wing and tell me that isn't how Hendrix should have sounded all the time.