So Downhearted Sometimes

If Bruce Springsteen had done (What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding instead of Elvis Costello (or Nick Lowe) it, it would be as big as Born To Run or Born In The USA in the catalog of best rock songs of all time. 

So the question is: why isn't it?

Two Of Us

Not that he hasn’t worked damned hard to overcome it, but Paul McCartney is forever destined to be remembered as John Lennon’s partner.  A little unfair maybe.  After all, he only spent 13 years with John.  And he’s given us a lot of great music and memories over the last 45 years as a solo artist.

Then again, maybe he’s never given up trying to replace John.  Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, Elvis Costello, David Gilmour, Dave Grohl, Kanye West …  it’s a pretty impressive list of collaborations.

Or maybe Paul just digs music, is a fan like the rest of us, and understands that at bottom music is a shared experience.

The Simplest Things Set Me Off Again

Have a listen to My Brave Face.  What a great, catchy pop tune.

Maybe with a little help from Elvis Costello, but Paul still had it as late as 1989. 

Check that.  Listen to No Other Baby.  He still had it as late as 1999.  Ya, I know he didn’t write the tune, but he still knew how to rock and roll.

No wait!  Listen to Dance Tonight.  Pure joy, in 2007.  And with or without Kanye’s help, the man still has it.

Dream Baby

Growing up, I never knew what to make of Roy Orbison.  Oh Pretty Woman was a great rocker, but it didn’t quite have the same edge as contemporary Beatles or Stones songs.  And the rest of his canon seemed better suited to my parents’ radio station than mine.

I know his tenor voice was operatic, but all those strings!  Sure, it was the doo-wop era, and rock had been tamed, bottled and homogenized, but where were the twangy guitars?  Where was the attitude?  Roy Orbison seemed more like Gene Pitney or Shelley Fabares than Elvis or Chuck Berry.

Pretty good with the sad songs, though.

Maybe it was just the production values of the time.  Much later on, in the 80’s working with Jeff Lynne, Roy proved he could rock out with the Travelling Willburys and U2.  And if you’ve ever seen Black and White Night, I’m sure you’ll agree his old classics sparked some great rock and roll moments when supported by the likes of Springsteen, Bonnie Raitt and Elvis Costello.

Ringo has said that Roy was the only act The Beatles didn’t want to follow.  With a different producer in a different era, Roy Orbison could have had ‘em all running scared.  Except it’s obvious everybody loved him just the way he was.

The Second Time Around

Most of us have a few records/tapes/CD’s/MB of memory that are basically collecting dust because we:

1) Were blown away by someone’s debut album, and so …

2) Rushed to buy the second album, then went ‘oops!’

In many cases, it seems the more amazing the first album was, the easier it was to be disappointed with the second.  Maybe it goes back to the adage that bands have their whole lives to come up with that first album but no time for the next one.  Whatever the cause, a flop the second time around can be fatal.  Lots of one hit wonders probably released more than one record.  We just ignored them.

Rolling Stone’s 20 Best Second Albums provides a list of happy exceptions, albums that were every bit as good – or even better – than the debuts.  Examples from the list include second efforts by Neil Young, Springsteen, Radiohead, Elvis Costello, Dylan, Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, The Band, and Nirvana.

Yeah, I know these acts are all legendary and most people cherish their entire catalogues, but what if that second album had been awful?  Maybe then the legend is stillborn.  Or maybe the examples listed nicely illustrate why these acts became legends.  “You that was good?  OK, have a listen to this!”

Forgotten Years

Let’s face it: we were all rather tired of it by the time the 80’s ended.  And ever since, it’s been fashionable to look back on that decade with disdain.

But there was some great music in the 80’s.  Not the Euro-pop synth stuff.  Not the disco with no soul stuff.  But great guitar-based rock.  We got:

• The rebirth of rock ‘n’ roll from New Wavers such as U2, The Pretenders, The Police, Elvis Costello, and The Cars;
• A continuation of what came to be known as Classic Rock by the likes of Tom Petty, Midnight Oil, Dire Straits, Deff Leppard, and The Cult;
• Some great reminders by Classic Rockers like Eric Clapton, Linda Ronstadt, Peter Gabriel, The Stones, ZZ Top, Pete Townshend and George Harrison that they were far from ready to hang up their guns.
• Oh, and guys like Colin James and Stevie Ray Vaughan came along to carry the flag for ball busting blues guitar.  Oh ya, and AC/DC also had their best decade.

You reflect on the music noted above and it’s pretty easy to forget about all that spandex and those strap-on keyboards.  We were handed a lot of music that didn’t age well, but we were also given some brass in pocket.

Rebel Rebel

So Rolling Stone compiled a list of Rock & Roll Rebels, and introduces it with a smorgasbord of context.  Rebels are: bad boys, sensitive, revolutionaries who don’t understand why things have to be the way they are. 

Not sure that gives me a clear picture of what a rock & roll rebel is, but here’s their list:

Plastic People of the Universe, Fela Kuti, Elvis Costello, MC5, Peter Tosh, Sinead O’Connor, Kurt Cobain, Victor Jara, Jerry Lee Lewis, Public Enemy, Marilyn Manson, Steve Earle, The Clash, Sex Pistols, Johnny Cash

Neither does the list.  Some of these folks aren’t really rockers, although you can’t dispute the rock and roll attitude.

But rebel against what?  The government, parents, the “establishment”, societal norms, expectations, good taste?  Rebel consistently, or once upon a time?

Depending on your definition, there are lots of other candidates: Lennon, Richards, Dylan, Alice Cooper, Bowie, Zappa, Morrison, Hendrix …

Maybe the definition doesn’t matter, ‘cause at bottom rock and roll is about rebellion, isn’t it?  As Brando would say, “what’ve you got?”

Lovely Debutantes

Gibson’s list of 10 Great Debut Rock Albums makes the point that most bands need two or three records under their belt before the masterpieces show up, then provides a list of exceptions, which are:

Guns N’ Roses – Appetite for Destruction

Black Sabbath – Black Sabbath

Hendrix – Are You Experienced?

Oasis – Definitely Maybe

The Doors – The Doors

The Sex Pistols – Never Mind The Bollocks

The Velvet Underground - … and Nico

The Clash – The Clash

The Beatles – Please Please Me

Led Zeppelin – I (as in the Roman numeral)

Oh, did the Sex Pistols actually make more than one album?

Gibson’s introductory argument stands up.  Most of these bands went on to create more enduring, influential records (incontestable in the case of The Beatles, arguable in the case of Hendrix, irrelevant in the case of Sabbath), but these albums definitely made their mark.

I remember how people went nuts over Led Zeppelin and Hendrix.  Based on the strength of those reactions, I would have included the debut albums from:  The Band, Chicago, The Police, Elvis Costello, Tom Petty, and The Cars.  Everyone seemed to notice.  Your own list will no doubt differ.  You know, depending on your appetite, or experience.  Definitely, maybe.   Never mind; you don’t have to please me.

Living in the Material World

Rolling Stone’s Best Albums of the 80's provided a lot less fodder for argument than I expected.

The 80’s began badly.  After a big tease by Elvis Costello, The Cars and other New Wave arrivals, John Lennon got shot, synth players began wearing strap-ons, the guitars disappeared, and everyone began wearing makeup and stuff.

Rolling Stone notes that there were no big musical revolutions like there had been in previous decades.  Nope, just a bizarre retreat into glam, disco, and Broadway silliness.  So I expected a rather moribund scan over a list filled with the likes of Culture Club, George Michael and The Human League.

To be sure, they are all there, but they don’t dominate as much as I had feared.  Here’s the Top 10:

The Clash – London Calling

What’s-his-name – Purple Rain

U2 – Joshua Tree

Talking Heads – Remain In Light

Paul Simon – Graceland

Springsteen – Born in the U.S.A.

Michael Jackson – Thriller

R.E.M. – Murmur

Richard & Linda Thompson – Shoot Out the Lights

Tracy Chapman – Tracy Chapman

Pretty good.  And the rest of the list didn’t give me too much of the creeps.  It’s got Midnight Oil, The Pretenders, more Bruce, Tom Petty (though not near high enough), AC/DC, Lennon, Peter Gabriel, Squeeze, Travelling Wilburys, and Pete Townshend.

Lots of artists get on more than once: Springsteen, Gabriel, U2, The Stones, R.E.M., Talking Heads.  Some should have: Petty, Def Leppard, Townshend.  But overall the synth, dance stuff does not dominate, and much of what was selected actually ages well.

As with most such lists, you get the feeling that there’s an arbitrary pick of some album or other just to include some of the big names.  Take Freedom by Neil Young (#85) for example.  Then as now, Neil put out an album every 9 months or so.  Why that one?  I mean, why not, but …

Biggest surprise: Captain Beefheart was still around in the 80’s?

Disappointing that neither August nor Behind the Sun from Clapton made the list.  Speaking of omissions, no Phil Collins, with or without Genesis?  I was lukewarm on him, but Collins was everywhere that decade.  He was inescapable.  Singing, playing, producing …  Not finding him on the list seems to be against all odds.

Good News For Denver

I started playing with my U.S. music map, plotting where I thought some British artists would land. It looks like this:
 

I've already described how I thought The Beatles belonged in Ohio to reflect their

twin influences of Nashville and Motown, and how Cat Stevens sounds to me like a blend between Memphis and Motown.

The Stones? Chicago and Memphis, so they're neighbours of the Cat.

Eric Clapton's ancestors came from The Delta, Chicago and Texas, placing him somewhere on the Arkansas/Oklahoma border.

U2 and The Kinks split that Motown pop sensibility with a NY punk attitude, putting the somewhere in Penn state (OK, let's give U2 to Buffalo).

Bands like ELO and Queen blend that Motown pop gift with the Hollywood production thing (and jazz complexity), placing them squarely in the middle of the country.

Cream and The Animals blended their love of Chicago blues with a touch of California weirdness, making them natives of Colorado (there you go Denver). Zeppelin: about the same but with a pull from The Delta.

Deep Purple and Pink Floyd have lots of the Hollywood production and complexity, with a bit of pull from the eastern styles, which I guess lands them in the southwestern desert.

Neil Young lands in West Virgina (sorry Winnipeg), given an equal pull from Nashville and NY. And yes, I know he's Canadian.

Elvis Costello? A bit more NY punk.

Dire Straits? Nashville, Memphis, Delta.

Van Morrison: Memphis, Delta (maybe a bit of Motown?)

David Bowie was tough. NY punk and Motown pop pulling hard against California - landing him in Nashville of all places.

Hmmm ... there's a whole new twist on the idea of "Music City."

Got Your Back

Gibson has this list of 10 Backing Bands Who Propelled Their Leaders To Fame and Glory.

The Spiders From Mars (David Bowie)
The Band (Bob Dylan)
The Heartbreakers (Tom Petty)
The Revolution (Prince et al)
Booker T. and the M.G.'s (Various)
The Experience (Jimi Hendrix)
The Attractions (Elvis Costello)
The Wailers (Bob Marley)
The E Street Band (Bruce Springsteen)
Crazy Horse (Neil Young)

Not sure I can think of any substitutes, but I gotta question The Band and Crazy Horse. Can anyone seriously contend that Bob Dylan wasn't already a household name before he hooked up with The Band? Or that he needed them afterwards? Ditto Neil Young. I've seen/heard Neil Young fill an arena with just his warbly voice and an acoustic guitar. With all due respect to Crazy Horse, any backup band would do.

BTW, can anyone name those guys?

Along the same lines, although Hendrix was not a household name before he teamed up with Noel Redding and Mitch Mitchell, and as good as they were, I wonder how long it would have been before he took the world by storm anyway.

At the opposite end of the scale: as strong as they were - and as much as they were the obvious leaders and the driving creative forces - I find it hard to distinguish between Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, between Marley and The Wailers, between Springsteen and the E Street Band. They were units. The leaders were part of the band.

Probably the most interesting band on the list is Booker T and The M.G.'s. Those guys were the backup band. Sam and Dave, Wilson Pickett, Otis Redding, Albert King ... the list goes on.

Ah, hold on a minute! If we're going to include backup bands that supported more than one act, where are The Funk Brothers, who played on more hit records (for Motown) than everyone on the list combined?

In My Life

Now here's a list that says a lot: the Rolling Stone 100 Greatest Beatles Songs. Who else could deserve their own list?

Very thoughtful write-up by Elvis Costello, who has added scholarship to his songwriting and performance credentials. He respects their exceptional skills as songwriters, nails it with his admiration of George's sing-able guitar solos, and recognizes the influence their studio pioneering had on, as he puts it, everything from Motown to Jimi Hendrix.

Like me, he thinks it's impossible to pick favourites, then confesses that Rubber Soul and Revolver are.

Here's the Top 10:
1. A Day In The Life
2. I Want To Hold Your Hand
3. Strawberry Fields
4. Yesterday
5. In My Life
6. Something
7. Hey Jude
8. Let It Be
9. Come Together
10. While My Guitar Gently Weeps

Hard to argue with anything there. I could say I was a tad disappointed at the placement of the following: You Won't See Me (#94), Nowhere Man (#66), Drive My Car (#43), and We Can Work It Out (#30). OK, maybe more than a little disappointed on Nowhere Man.

But at what cost? What song(s) deserve to be lower? Every song on the list is remarkable, most are influential, and a healthy majority of them are masterpieces.

In my life, a better Top 100 list could not be assembled.