“Tuesday Heartbreak” was track 4 on Stevie Wonder’s 15th album “Talking Book“. The album’s first track was “You Are the Sunshine of My Life“,which earned Stevie Wonder his first Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance. “Talking Book” is a must have for anybody who wants vintage, hit-making Stevie.
“Tuesday Heartbreak” is one of my favorite tracks off of the album. Written by Steve, a notable player on the track is world renowned alto saxophonist David Sanborn. “You Are the Sunshine of My Life” was released as a 7 inch vinyl single. On the “B-Side” is “Tuesday Heartbreak”. My copy of this vinyl single is perhaps may favorite Motown collectible. I shot the video using a small digital camera…. it sounds a lot better in person… 😉
Hardly known, and often overlooked, Alphonso Johnson was an electric bass player of the highest order in the 70s. He has played alongside some jazz music’s greats, including, Horace Silver, Woody Herman, Chuck Mangione, and Chet Baker. His popularity rose to its heights during the late 70’s had was able to record solo albums while simultaneously playing Weather Report.
“Yesterday’s Dream” epitomizes Alphoso Johnson’s expertise in jazz fusion and funk. While the album, as a whole, is average, passages do reveal why Alphonso Johnson’s playing ability in those genres was at the time, and currently, in such high demand.
The album is mostly instrumental. Though there are some notable features and musicians on the album (i.e. Sheila E, Philip Bailey, Mark Jordan, and Grover Washington Jr.), the songwriting doesn’t live up to Alphonso’s, or his sidemen’s, talent. It’s a shame too, because with all the talent on the album, I wish I could remember something to hum other than just the introductory bass line riff at the start of “Balls To The Wall”.
“Yesterday’s Dream” is an interesting listen, but I’d rather save my money and buy another Victor Wooten album.
Below is the track and ratings with my video clips of the songs I enjoyed the most.
I was a freshman in high school when “grunge” was trending. I’ll be honest with you … I was more of a Pearl Jam fan, and often pledged allegiance to Pearl Jam over Soundgarden, but over the years I’ve realized that that was just plain stupid. Stupid, unfounded childhood preferences. To think of all the amazing music I would have missed out on if I still thought so close minded today.
Plain and simply, Soundgarden’s music kicks ass. This concert is supporting their current album “King Animal”. I wrote my review on the album here. They’ve been on an 18 year hiatus. Who knows whether their reunion was more for the money than for the music, but I could give two shits about that. Their music still kicks ass; their older songs holding fast against the sands of time- I think Morrissey would agree…..
I saw this concert tour as a musical blessing that couldn’t be passed up. I remember waking up early to get online for the ticket pre-sale (and those who know me, know that I HATE paying the ticketing service fees). I remember clicking the refresh button at least 50 times to finally get through to purchasing my tickets. That ticket confirmation email was like digital nirvana (no grunge pun intended). I mean there were some that thought that Soundgarden would never perform together again. After all, the band disbanded after their release of “Down on the Upside” on very acrimonious terms, most stemming from creative differences.
The concert was everything Soundgarden fan could hope for. They played a solid set-list, powering through over 2 hours of material, covering their entire catalogue. Now, if you were a “new” Soundgarden fan, you were probably expecting a bit more “excitement” from the set. The Wiltern had a “No Moshing, Stage Diving” policy, so that may have put a little damper on things. And while Chris Cornell has an amazing rock-and-roll voice, his stage presence is a little, to put it bluntly, boring. It also could have helped if it wasn’t so sweltering in the venue. But while the stage performance may have been a little lacking, their music makes up for it.
The acoustics in the Wiltern were adequate. My friends found some space stage right about 2/3 the way in from the rear. I spent parts of the show roaming the venue, and thought that the acoustics were better in towards the rear of the venue. I also thought that the bass was a little too overpowering at times, but that could have very well been a result of my cheap ear-plugs. I thought that on the louder songs of the set, Chris voice got drowned out at times. The drumming, in my humble opinion, was excellent. Matt Cameron smashed it, and was perhaps the most lively up on stage. Not the most perfect concert levels, but bearable.
A friend of mine noted that towards the end of the show, before the encore, Ben Shepherd- the bassist- appeared to be pissed about something, throwing his bass off-stage, stage left. I can’t speculate as to why it was done, but it was something to note… new inter-band turmoil arising?… or just band levels?…
A little personal side story to the show: I am a self-professed music dweeb. I’m big into music memorabilia. I bring a poster tube with me to shows. If that isn’t too dweeby for you … LOL. I was waiting in line for merchandise, when the guy right in front of me got an autographed copy of the poster. I asked the sales people what was up with the signed poster, and they said that Soundgarden signed a handful of the posters and they were randomly inserted into the pile. I offered some extra cash on the side if they could sift through the stack for another signed poster, and after flipping through the top 10 copies, they said they couldn’t go through the whole pile (apparently there were 150 posters printed for the event. I still bought a poster, but I told them that I would keep swinging by to check in.
The concert poster… unsigned.
I hit up the merchandise booth several other times throughout the evening, and the last time I showed up they said that there were no more signed copies of the poster. I was bummed, but figured that that was life. As I was about to head back inside to the show, the guy I had been bugging throughout the night just happened to add, “Well, there is 1 signed vinyl left…”
WHAT!?!?! Of course I’d buy that! In fact, it was the perfect night cap to the evening. After all, my deluxe vinyl is still in its shrink wrap. I tipped the guy $10 for hook up on the souvenir.
I ended up hitting up a bar where a buddy of mind hosts and DJs karaoke after the show. I showed him my treasure from the evening, and recounted some of the highlights- and not, I didn’t sing “Outshined” even though I had bothered my friends with a rendition of it all day. I called my cabbie (in LA, it’s a must to have the number of a cab that can pick you up without waiting) and we spoke about the show. I told him it was “great”, but what I really wanted to say was that it was “good”. I don’t want to diminish the concert in any way, after all the simple fact that they are performing again is, in its own right, amazing, but I still wanted more.
Below is the setlist. I’ve inserted a couple video snippets of “Outshined” and “The Day I Tried To Live” (a couple of my favorite songs). The Saturday setlist was the short setlist of the three day stint at The Wiltern.
In anticipation of the Soundgarden concert I’ll be going to later today (2/16/13) at the Wiltern Theater in Los Angeles, today’s album review will be that of Soundgarden’s latest album, “King Animal”.
The picture above is the King Animal box set that I purchased. No, the picture above isn’t the box set that I purchased. Mine is still in its plastic shrink wrap. I’m a music dork, what can I say? Instead, I can only look at this picture and gain some satisfaction knowing that my set will rest in pristine condition until … well … who knows …
“King Animal” is Soundgarden’s 6th studio album, and first in 18 years. It was released on November 12, 2012 (one day before my birthday!) and received very solid reviews across the board, and I agree with all of them.
The production quality on this album is so much more polished than their prior albums. Each guitar lick is steady like a metronome, and pierces through without being intrusive, with the drums anchoring the steady count. I mean, just listen to “By Crooked Steps”.
Let’s not forget about Chris Cornell’s ability to wail through songs. His voice definitely sounds more mature than on the prior Soundgarden albums, but he can still wail. Check out “Black Saturday”. Though his voice may not be able to hit ALL of the notes he used to be able to sing, he’s smart enough to write melodies that fits the voice he as today.
The album starts with a bang. “Been Away Too Long” (very fitting title, by the way), the first track, is classic Soundgarden. Big and loud, it’s the kind of song that makes you want bust out the air guitar and fantasize about being a rock star. Other highlights for me include “A Thousand Days Before”, “Non-State Actor” and “Blood on the Valley Floor” (which, for me, sounds like a slowed down “Spoonman”). Coincidently, all of these tracks are in the first third of the album.
The rest of the album seems to be more toned down that the songs at the start of the album. I’m not sure if that’s what the band was looking to do, but that’s how it feels. I can’t say I particularly liked “Attrition”, “Taree”, “Halfway There” or “Eyelid’s Mouth”. They are average songs to me. In fact, and I hate to even say this, but “Halfway There” and “Eyelid’s Mouth” almost feels like <gasp> soft rock.
The album, as a whole, doesn’t finish as hard as it opens, but that’s besides the point. This is still a solid album. And if you are a Soundgarden fan, you will not be disappointed. I’m excited about what the future holds for them. The album was produced by Adam Kasper, but I’d love for them to branch out and get a cutting edge producer to do the next album… “Hello, is this Jack? Is Jack White there?”…
On February 14, 2013, George “Shadow” Morton passed away. The casual music fan won’t realize it, but Shadow’s legacy in music history is quite profound. Having introduced The Shangri-Las to the world in the 1960s, he set the stage for the evolution of women of music, giving women a “tough girls” persona, as compared to their contemporaries. Music historians and critics point to Shadow as one of the original building blocks of punk, pointing to the New York Dolls, and women in punk, particularly pointing to Blondie, as being influenced by The Shangri-Las.
He wrote all of The Shangri-Las biggest hits. His discography credits him with having worked with, or written songs that were covered by, artists ranging from Aerosmith to Janis Ian to Vanilla Fudge to The New York Dolls. RIP, Shadow. Your legacy should not be forgotten.
Allen Stone’s vocal style reminds me of the classic soul and R&B singers of the 60s and 70s. Growing up in the small community of Chewelah, Washington (population 2,606 as of 2010!), it can be hard to imagine a voice as soulful coming from such an isolated city, especially since his dad was a pastor, and he grew up on gospel music, so you’d expect more of a secular influence.
Allen’s first full album release is “Last to Speak”, which, unfortunately, is only (as of the date of this writing) only available in a digital format.
It is a strong debut and gives the listener a craving to follow this talented singer to see where he evolves and takes his music. Though lyrically the music leans closer to folk than I necessarily would prefer, there is no doubt this album highlights the wide range of musical influences that Allen Stone has been able to cultivate at his young age (25 as of the date of this posting).
Elements of classic soul, popular music and R&B are used to tell various stories of heartache, social and religious commentary and self exploration, reminiscent of Stevie Wonder’s work during the late 70s and early 80s (Allen Stone has stated that Stevie Wonder was one of his idols).
I’ll admit that the album sequence could have been better. I would have put “Running Game” and “False Alarms” (in that order) before “Last to Speak”. That’s just a personal preference.
The vocal production is raw. It isn’t polished, softened or auto-tuned, and it shows all of the natural tendencies of Allen’s voice. I saw Allen Stone in concert in 2012, and I can guarantee you that what you hear on this album is how it sound live and in concert.
1. Shelter-I would have picked a different track to open up the album – ****
2. Quit Callin – ***
3. Better Off This Way – *****
4. Reality – I’m a big fan of the keys that open this track – *****
5. Figure It Out -I really love the chorus of this song- *****
6. Poison – For a song about that’s social commentary, I didn’t think the music matched the message-***
Sometimes covers put a new spin on old material. Sometimes the cover surprises. Most of the time, covers disappoint. Some covers make you want to blog about it …
If you aren’t familiar with David Bowie’s “Sound And Vision”, listen to the video below:
Beck “reimagines” this David Bowie staple and the YouTube description states the following:
“The Hello, Again performance started with an idea — Beck would reimagine David Bowie’s classic, “Sound and Vision.” But it became more than another cover. It became an experience that presented a fresh take on the possibilities of the once familiar, for both the audience and the performers.
In collaboration with Beck and a “band” of more than 160 diverse musicians, Director Chris Milk created a concert experience that was fully immersive for both the audience and the performers. By capturing the concert with 360-degree cameras and binaural microphones, online viewers will have the opportunity to experience the show from any and every seat in the house. Coming soon to http://www.hello-again.com.”
Check out Beck’s “re-imagining” below:
All I’m saying … if Beck ever tours with this, I’m the first one in line for tickets.
I’ve always prided myself in being a jazz aficionado. I’ve tried to educate myself in the history (I’ve watched Ken Burns’s documentary twice) and cultural significance (I wrote my senior Anthropology paper on the influence of Jazz Music on society and culture) of Jazz Music.
I don’t listen to much radio these days, and the music that I “discover” tends to be through word of mouth. I’m a Jill Scott fan, and one day she posted a tweet that caught my attention:
Now, I had heard good things about Robert Glasper (I knew that he was nominated for a 2013 Grammy), but I really didn’t pay too much attention to his music, so this tweet caught my attention. I mean, Jill Scott is so incredibly talented, that if another musician were to give her musical fits, that musician MUST be as, or more, talented than she.
I started pulling up some video from YouTube, and was instantly hooked. It was like a modern day version of Guru’s Jazzamatazz albums. I noticed in one of the YouTube videos a link to purchase tickets to an upcoming show he was to have at the Roxy, and with the Grammy’s that same weekend, I thought it may be a good idea to purchase a couple of tickets to catch the his show. After all, his latest album “Black Radio” had tons of features on it, and who knew how many musicians may have decided to swing through that evening.
I went to the show with a friend, and I’m glad I bought tickets ahead of time I smirked a little bit when the people in front of me in the box office line were told that tickets had sold out.
We got inside while DJ Shafiq was spinning, and were relaxing comfortably when Taylor McFerrin took the stage. It was my first time listening to Taylor McFerrin’s music. He’s a talented producer/vocalist who is signed to Flying Lotus’ Brainfeeder Label. His show consisted of a freestyle improvisation where he riffed on a vocal pattern, stored it in his computer module, and looped it while playing keys or singing over the looped elements. All of a sudden, he started to sing Bobby McFerrin’s “Thinkin’ About Your Body”. I mentioned it to my friend in passing. It wasn’t until the next day that I realized he was Bobby McFerrin’s son. LOL.
After Taylor’s set, The Robert Glasper Experiment took the stage.
My friend trying to sneak a peek of the Robert Glasper Experiment setting up.
The set was amazing. I do not, unfortunately, know all of Robert’s music by heart (yet), but I think that they MUST have played the following songs, because the featured artist’s came on stage to perform as well:
Bilal: “Letter To Hermoine”
Bilal and Lupe Fiasco: “Always Shine”
LaLah Hathway: “Cherish The Day”
Ledisi: “Gonna Be Alright (F.T.B.)
And although they weren’t featured on any of the tracks on “Black Radio”, Marsha Ambrosious and Elzhi (of Slum Village) stepped up to the stage to perform as well. Ms. Ambrosious was kind enough to snap a picture of me after her set.
Lalah HathawayBilal and Lupe FiascoMarsha Ambrosious
The vibe and setting in the Roxy was intense. Whenever the band started going off an a jazz riff, I kept thinking to my self, “This is what it must have felt like to be at a John Coltrane or Miles Davis show, back in the day.” People were entranced. The music enraptured.
The Robert Glasper Experiment performed with an intensity and focus that is impossible to measure. The beats were on point. The solos amazed. The performance was brilliance animated. Here are a few snippets.
And the kicker was that it was all accessible. Though Jazz is the foundation for American black music, people seem to lack a certain appreciation for it. This evening, the people in the audience ate it up with a spoon. Maybe it was because all of the guest artists made it seem to be more of an R&B or Neo/Soul show, but at the heart of it, it was all jazz. Pure, unadulterated jazz put through an R&B filter. The results? Amazing.
The Robert Glasper Experiment won a Grammy the following night. I’m glad I got to experience the music before the win.
#DKLPHOTOS 