The Band Guestbook, September 2011

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Peter V

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Kevin J

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Bill M

sadavid: Good advice that morbid curiosity made me ignore. Funereal, to be sure.

JT: Not so much Band-related, but Victoria gave us Ian Tyson, whose new biography I picked up this AM. An interesting side-note to the "Suze Rotolo" chapter that sadavid linked us two a couple weeks ago is that Suze's sister Carla was, a couple years earlier, the girlfriend of Ian's first Toronto-based musical partner, singer-actor Don Francks. Their duo, called Ian and Don or Don and Ian (whoever got the gig, I suppose), split up when Don went with Lenny Breau and Ian went with Sylvia. I don't know that it's in the book, but Ian was almost hired as accompanist for the Travellers folk quartet. They did use Breau from time to time, though, and used Amos Garrett regularly on stage and on record in '65-'67.

Kevin J: After a successful visit to Long and McQuade a couple of weeks ago, I'll now think of them as the place where there's a secret stash of indie CDs on the second floor. For several years I tried unsuccessfully to find the second Sparkjiver CD; their first was brilliant and the second has the added attraction of a cover of "The Shape I'm In". The group's stale-dated website suggested L&M and I finally stumbled in, only to be told by at the front desk that no, they don't sell CDs. I went upstairs anyway, and there it was, complete with Rod Phillips' slow and sombre take on TSII. Means a lot to me for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that it seems to be the late, great Rod's only recorded vocal. Fabulous organist too; I wonder if RtO knows of him. And where is that guy anyway?

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Kevin J

….…Adam is likely the guy but at last check he was still in 1964 and working out the subtitles to stage banter……….”Funky Bobby” is now added and someone is being paid too much money to get that just right in French and Spanish……Peter V is rumoured to be bankrolling the whole shebang…….

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Dunc

Subject: Bob Dylan painting

This is my favourite Bob Dylan painting by a well known surreal Scottish painter who exhibits in London.

Over the years I've built up a collection of his etchings and one drawing. Subjects include the barber's shop the school room, fruit picking scenes, inside the pub etc.

But John is a lifelong Dylan fan and he was lucky to go to the Edinburgh Dylan goes electric with our boys concert. He made an etching of the concert which focuses on the reaction of the crowd with over 100 faces looking at Dylan on stage behind three spotlights. A beautiful etching I feel lucky to own because what's important is the reaction of the crowd as the subject.

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jT

Subject: The Band concert list. Can we put it together?

A good start is clearly the tape archive (and other such files) here at this site. Can anyone fill in the blanks? Perhaps if you attended a concert that is not archived in 'tape archive' you could let this site know? Maybe we can put a list together (ideally complete with songlists?).

Entered at Fri Sep 30 21:52:02 CEST 2011 from (82.69.47.175)

Peter V

I love the Buddy Holly "Listen to Me" compilation. I noticed it today next to the new Decca 3 CD Buddy Holly Story (remastered). Three CDs with Buddy Holly himself for £7. That's the bargain!

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JT

Subject: Sacred Ground

Kevin J As I am in the lounge now waiting for a flight to Victoria, I'm in a Victoria frame of mind. I am not aware of any 'sacred ground' in Victoria like the Long & McQuade on Bloor St. in Toronto. I don't know if The Band ever played Victoria, BC, though I suspect they were in Vancouver a few times. Does anyone actually have a list of concerts (like the list that exist for Dylan; in that case, complete with songs played usually- though there are still some missing) that the Band played during their tenure to 1976? Can one of the experts compile what does exist so far?

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John D

Correct title is "Note of Hope A Celebration of Woody Guthrie." Sorry for the extra post.

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John D

Just a note (no pun intended) the Jackson Browne track is just under 15 minutes in length and he is joined by Rob Wasserman. If you buy it on iTunes you get a bonus radio edit of the Jackson Browne track.

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John D

For those interested; check out this new Cd called Men of Note. It is a tribute to Woody Guthrie with Van Dyke Parks, Madeleine Peyroux, Lou Reed, Kurt Elling, Ani DiFranco, Tom Morello, Studs Terkel, Nellie McKay, Chris Whitley, Pete Seeger & Tony Trescha and Jackson Browne

A very interesting album. Peter V will love the Pete Seeger. On 429 Records and a great album to pick up along with the new Lost Notebooks of Hank Williams

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Kevin J

JT: I actually think of you whenever I go to Long & Mcquade now! No such Band sacred grounds in Victoria – is there?

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sadavid

Subject: Majnun funeral march

always nice to hear a decent horn section . . . .

The palaver ends about 2:55, if you want to skip ahead (Bill M: you might want to skip this altogether . . . ).

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Bill M

Mike H: Maybe Garth had already learned clairvoyancy from Robbie and knew that Charlie Bermant was the guy who'd call him "the functional equivalent of Ringo". Who wouldn't be uncooperative?

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Mike H.

Recent RR video interview about Sonny Boy Williamson.

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bob w.

George Harrison - Living in the Material World available on home video on October 10. Screened in theaters one night only, on Tuesday 4th October. In the UK, the film is released as DVD, Blu-Ray and Deluxe packages on 10 October, 2011 by Lionsgate Home Entertainment UK.

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Bob F.

Subject: Article on Garth and Maud

Mike H, that is a very interesting article . Kind of strange but very insightful in the end. I wonder if he got his vacuum cleaner back(lol). Thanks for the link.

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bob w.

Martin Scorsese's “George Harrison: Living In The Material World” debuts in two parts on October 5 and October 6, 2011, exclusively on HBO. The companion book is available from Abrams Books beginning October 1.

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Peter V

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David P

Jim James (a.k.a. Yim Yames) of My Morning Jacket released a solo George Harrsion tribute EP two years ago. It featured six haunting versions of Harrison songs, one of which, "Love You To", seems to be included on the Mojo Harrison Covered CD.

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Peter V

I've been playing it all afternoon. Most unusually for such discs, it's sequenced well and makes a smooth listening experience. Every track works, nothing jars. Stand out is The Webb Sisters on I Need You, but it's all excellent. That's The way It Goes by George's close friend, Joe Brown, is great. The Felice Bros on Behind That Locked Door is another. But it's all so good I'd buy it if it were a full price disc.

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JT

Subject: Attribution

Kevin Of course, attribution is another matter entirely. I think that is what the issue is in the medial.

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sadavid

Subject: art and theft

Nothing really to do with the present discussion; [My link] is a good story about how you can sell bogus art cred with a good story.
Or about taking music piracy to a whole new level.
Or something.

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JT

Subject: Photograph

Thanks Kevin. Sorry if I wasn't clear. If he 'painted' using a brush while looking at it, in my view, that would be the same as using the voice and instruments to cover a song while or after listening to it.

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Kevin J

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JT

Subject: Cover versions

Leaving the concerns regarding skill in painting (or its lack) and other issues behind, I am reminded by Peter V. to comment on the high art form of 'cover versions' of well-respected music (in this case it is George Harrison covered by artists in the latest Mojo). This is an art form that many of us admire. I look forward to interpretations by others of music. Sometimes the covers are close to identical in form and structure; other times, they are a distinct departure. In all cases, covers are interesting. Covers of photos and paintings could be considered in the same way. Being aware of what is happening when this approach is taken by an artist is something that most seemingly would prefer. If we knew art and photography as well as many of us know music, there might have been less of a fuss in the media.

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NorthWestCoaster

Subject: Painting My Masterpiece

EMPTY NOW: An interesting thought, more likely a spontanious self-ironic picture of European tours.

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David P

In my opinion, as his Asian series of paintings reveal, Dylan does have drawing skills. That many contend that they plagarize the works of skilled photographers, only seems to confirm that Dylan has rendered distinct images in an artful manner.

The Gagosian Gallery in question has also recently featured a very brief film by Richard Phillips, characterized as a "motion portrait" of Lindsey Lohan in various provocative poses inspired by iconic movies. Whether it be high or lo, what better example proving the question of art is truly in the eye of the beholder :-)

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NorthWestCoaster

Subject: GB Art

Former(?) gb regular DAVE Z emailed me for a few years ago saying that he is painting a collage of gb regulars and asked for an old photo which I had in my visiting card. Just wondering what happened with that painting? Hanging in Jan Hoibergs office, maybe? Or more likely in WC....

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Mike H.

Interesting article from backstage w/ Garth & Maud.

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Peter V

The latest Mojo has a "Harrison Covered" cover mount CD, following on from previous Beatles, Lennon, McCartney ones. Don't hold your breath waiting for Ringo covered. The Harrison one has The Webb Sisters, The Felice Brothers and Ron Sexsmith.

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Adam

Subject: photographer Ernst Haas

Speaking of art, I recently learned who Ernst Haas was. I was very surprised to learn that Haas, the head photographer for the Band's "Rock Of Ages" concerts, was a quite well known and admired photographer, working with John Huston on "The Bible" film as well as pioneering several photo techniques dealing with color and 'experimental form'. I was pretty impressed that Haas agreed to shoot photos of the "Rock Of Ages" concerts for the Band. It is most of his photographs that grace the triple gatefold of the LP. I have to say that I've always given them a cursory look when listening to the music, but after reading about Haas and his background I became quite fascinated. \mI'm currently scanning all of the photos from the LP gatefold to digital. It's a bit of a project, as there are 24 photos and I want to do as high a quality job I'm capable of. But seeing each photo in large form, as opposed to the microscopic reproductions on the 2001 CD reissue, really does the photos justice. I've never paid as much attention to the photos before, but I think it's amazing a rock group got somebody like Haas as a photographer. It seems like it must have been quite an honor.

The picture linked above is, in my opinion, one of the greatest photos of the Band taken. It says everything that can be said.

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Empty Now

Hilda F : Only for having pointed out the review you were admirable.

Bill M : nobody dared to discuss "When I Paint My Masterpiece" I always thought it is about another painter. Dylan sings at the first person while seeming at a stand far from his person alluding a real painter. There's something diffuse in the song that I can't precise which makes me think of Rembrandt, The trip Rome-Brussels was a life must initiatic for the old Flemish school, though Rembrandt is well known as the exception who avoided the road to Rome, of course Dylan may have some presumption of his own upcoming masterpiece(s), but it is a rule that every artist has their model

penetrating ? unforgiving ? my North African sun? uh? Oh No! relaxing and purifying

half an hour exposure : one takes off into half-grogginess,
one hour exposure : one losses their least trace of cholesterol,
half a day exposure : one starts philosophying,
maybe it's what's happened to Camus

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PutEmUp(Friend0

Subject: works of art

was in the aol headlines.

there are masterpieces, and there are masterpieces.

stella seems to have created a masterpiece that is illusional. so is it a masterpiece, or is it just technical manipualtion?

no question about kate, kate is a masterpiece. with or without miracle dresses.

god is the best artist.

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JT

Subject: Judgement

Bob w. Thanks for your comments. I think as you do that it would be ideal for any artist to communicate with his source about his use of that source's material. I don't think an artist owes the public anything. Dylan or anyone else owes us nothing. I do think that when I enter that gallery to see Dylan's work, it there is a method (whatever that method is) that is important to that work (in this case perhaps photos used as source), the gallery should tell me that. It is relevant to my understanding of that work. It is much like a description of how Picasso might have used different techniques, some of which were used by others before him. Perhaps he provided a variation. Such description enriches the experience of the viewer of the art. Dylan and other artists owe me nothing. They give me pleasure at times and sometimes I dislike what they have offered. But that is my choice. Casting doubt on the integrity of an artist in the portrayal(whether it ts literature, music, or painting) of the work is of course an option but I don't think it gets us too far. We don't know all the facts and as a group I think we are too quick to judge.

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dj

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BONK

Subject: Joan and Carol

I'm thinking my comments about Mr Dylan a couple of days ago might have been a tad harsh to people who truly love the guy. I'm sorry if I offended Carol or anyone else. I guess it's just his 'I don't give a shit' attitude that offends ME. But I do love his words, or I sure like the way he talks.

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Hilda F

Subject: Stealing from other artists

Famous quote from Picasso: Every artist steals but I only steal from the best! An artist always owes all the other artists who went before. And I would not mind having a real ' red horse ' by Dylan.

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JQ

That art is subjective is a factor, but painting, as with music, does have an objective POV too. There are ingredients that can constitute a quality work. Kinkade doesn't possess any no matter the consumer's subjective taste.

However I think fashion dictates popular opinion even more that subjective taste. Rockwell & Pollack have run the fashion gamut and ended well apparently -

Entered at Fri Sep 30 01:04:19 CEST 2011 from (71.246.9.74)

bob w.

This just showed up in my email. Had to share it...

A guy is driving around the back woods of Montana and he sees a sign in front of a broken down shanty-style house: 'Talking Dog For Sale '.He rings the bell and the owner appears and tells him the dog is in the backyard.

The guy goes into the backyard and sees a nice looking Labrador retriever sitting there.

'You talk?' he asks.

'Yep,' the Lab replies.

After the guy recovers from the shock of hearing a dog talk, he says 'So, what's your story?'

The Lab looks up and says, 'Well, I discovered that I could talk when I was pretty young. I wanted to help the government, so I told the CIA.

'In no time at all they had me jetting from country to country, sitting in rooms with spies and world leaders, because no one figured a dog would be eavesdropping.

'I was one of their most valuable spies for eight years running.

'But the jetting around really tired me out, and I knew I wasn't getting any younger so I decided to settle down. I signed up for a job at the airport to do some undercover security, wandering near suspicious characters and listening in.. I uncovered some incredible dealings and was awarded a batch of medals. I got married, had a mess of puppies, and now I'm just retired.'

The guy is amazed. He goes back in and asks the owner what he wants for the dog.

'Ten dollars,' the guy says.

'Ten dollars? This dog is amazing! Why on earth are you selling him so cheap?'

'Because he's a liar. He's never been out of the yard.'

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bob w.

Peter, I couldn't agree more about Rockwell. He was brilliant in a very unique style. I've never owned as much as a print but I have always admired his talent and sense of humor.

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bob w.

Dylan is a great artist in many senses and as such he should have far more respect for the creative process and his fellow artists who likely work at least as hard as he does. It simply isn't right to take what he takes without publicly acknowledging the other artists involved.

My two cents is all.

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JT

Subject: Dylan paintings - iisting the issues

Dylan Paintings. Listing the issues raised so far- 1. Dylan can't draw 2. Plagiarism 3. Mercenary approach 4. Doesn't clearly state how he did what was done and then there is 5. He thinks he is above it all and can do whatever he wants to All of this holds no water for me. IMO 1) he can draw - you may not like it 2) Everything derives from something else - its only degree 3) Mercenary - everyone makes $$$ - its what we do/ some do it more effectively than others 4) He owes us no explanation for what he did. If anyone does, its the gallery that should describe what we are going to visualize and how it was done 5) So be it!

Entered at Thu Sep 29 23:34:46 CEST 2011 from (71.246.9.74)

bob w.

My issue with Dylan is the plagiaristic nature of some of his work....music and painting.....and his attitude that seems to be insinuating that he is well beyond reproach. It seems ridiculous to think he might have reckoned no one would connect the dots. That being said the only other conclusion I can make is he has decided his place atop the music world has earned him the right to take what he wants and owe no explanation.

I love so much of what he has done but this is clearly a wrong turn and a bit of a nick on a brilliant legacy.

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Peter V

I don’t know about Pollack. Durer is to my mind in a different league, way way above. So is Warhol to me. And Lichtenstein. I like both very much. I see Pollack as in a very dodgy area. It can only exist in art galleries. It has no other role..

If you look at his earlier stuff, (e.g.) Picasso could draw. I expect that from an artist. Improvise. Drip paiint on the canvas. Piss on top of it. But I expect the artist to be able to draw if required to. And I greatly admire Rockwell.

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Carmen

Subject: Previous post

sorry - it is a RR interview from the WSJ

Entered at Thu Sep 29 21:32:09 CEST 2011 from (204.138.59.92)

Bill M

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Carmen

Subject: See Web Site

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sadavid

Subject: your TV guide: Bertie Wooster on keys

PBS tomorrow nite 9 pm BPT:
Hugh Laurie showcases his musical side in an atmospheric personal odyssey filmed on location in New Orleans.

_Hugh Laurie: Let Them Talk – A Celebration of New Orleans Blues_

Band link: A. Toussaint.

Entered at Thu Sep 29 20:36:47 CEST 2011 from (74.108.30.41)

Joan

I think Dylan has developed his "I don't give a s**t what you think" to a high art. He doesn't think he owes anyone an explanation. Most of us couldn't get away with it, but he does.

Art is a very subjective thing. We collect photography. People will look at a Kertesz or Adams and ask why they should pay "so much" for a print. It comes down to supply and demand, and what a person perceives s "beauty". There are some people who will say I can do that with a camera myself, but there is an intrinsic value to a limited edition print that some people will pay for.

A chacon a son gout.

Entered at Thu Sep 29 20:11:53 CEST 2011 from (75.127.150.74)

Carol

JT

I really like your comment. I am happy to see this conversation, too. I know I just "appeared" here, but I happened to look in at just the right time, I guess, when three of my loves--The Band, Dylan, and art--were being discussed. Hope that's okay! There are so many ways to look at, think about, enjoy, and "understand" painting--or any kind of art. You don't have to study it in any formal sense.

I like the point Bob F (I think?) made about Dylan's work bringing people into the galleries where, maybe they will look at, learn about, or purchase other art.

How about John Lennon's lithographs? I remember being 14 and being able to replicate some of them in pencil--and I can't draw. Does that mean that what he did isn't art? Who knows? But, at that time, if John Lennon had touched a piece of sting, I would have had it framed and hung it on my wall...he made me happy.

There is a really wonderful book by Umberto Eco called "On Ugliness"--looks at ugliness through the ages--in life, in art, etc. Very compelling. The companion book is "The History of Beauty." Both are worth checking out.

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Kevin J

…..and Bill M…….loved that hitchhiking story……when one has the time to look at life…..amazing how many of the truly memorable times are related to travel……..Life might be better lived in reverse….retire 20-35 and then work 35-75….then retire again……

Entered at Thu Sep 29 19:40:30 CEST 2011 from (204.138.59.92)

Bill M

NWC: Excessive, yes, and something that would probably have drawn a "And what's the point of that?" response from Camus when he was still above ground. But I do understand your habit; I used to have an annual read of "The Wooden Horse" (the story of POWs escaping the Nazis in WWII) for about 10 years starting in grade five or six.

Entered at Thu Sep 29 19:29:38 CEST 2011 from (174.114.101.47)

JT

Subject: The ART of Art, listening and considering

Wow! Who would have predicted such a lively discussion regarding 'painting' and art on The Band website. This is terrific! This adds a whole new dimension to the art of listening to others and considering with seriousness other opinions. This is the essence of what a good discussion website can be. Too often we have the bickering and the put downs. Constructive criticism and discussion is great. Peter has raised some important issues and while some have agreed, others have offered variations on the theme. And I agree that bringing people into museums to look and even to buy when they like what they see can only be a good thing. Let's hear more. I wouldn't buy Pollack but I liked a lot of what Wharhol did. And even books and literature, Bill M. This Wheel's On Fire!

Entered at Thu Sep 29 19:15:10 CEST 2011 from (90.239.118.207)

NorthWestCoaster

Subject: Peter V. and Bob Dylan art

It is a blessing for us all here that PETER V. understands more of music than paintings. - I can get his point after visiting a tiny art gallery in our fishing village the other day. They showed maritime art from 19th century and the coast of Southern England (and Denmark as well).

Entered at Thu Sep 29 19:06:15 CEST 2011 from (70.31.50.216)

Kevin J

JE: You also said that a well-known painter (whose name I won't mention) had said to you, "Nobody else paints like this." It isn't clear to me whether that was praise or bafflement, or both. But, from how you talk about the paintings, I get the strong impression that you are not interested in the so-called art world, especially with the exclusivity track of what kind of art is in and what isn't in.

BD:I didn't know what to make of that statement either. What's in or not in changes all the time, doesn't it? Some artists are always in—Picasso, Rembrandt, Dickens, Son House, Keith Richards. There's nothing the authoritarian order can do about that. If you were never in, you were never out. People are only out once they've been in. We never hear of the ones that are truly out. They're so out, they're in. It's all relative, isn't it? I've always been more of a traditionalist and followed my own star—to thine own self be true and all that. What's in or not in is mostly media-manipulated for commercial reasons anyway. You have to believe in what you do and stay dedicated. It's easy to get sucked in to what others think you should do. But there's a price to pay for that.

JE:Coming back to the development of your work as a visual artist, it has been written that you took up painting when you were given a box of oil paints for your twenty-seventh birthday, in 1968. That year you did the cover for The Band's album and a cover for Sing Out!. Then there was the 1970 album cover for Self Portrait. Were you doing a lot of painting in those years?

BD:That was a great painting, wasn't it? No, I wasn't doing a lot of painting, but I was doing a lot of sketching in diaries. There was one I did when I was traveling with The Band in '74, but that sketchbook diary was stolen. That was years ago.

Entered at Thu Sep 29 18:31:40 CEST 2011 from (90.239.118.207)

NorhWestCoaster

Subject: Albert Camus

Thanks BILL M for mentioning Albert Camus. Being more a "nothingess-as-shackle" guy I have visited his grave in the south of France twice a year for the past thirty years, in the summer when lavendel is blooming on the grave and in the winter when people are gathering small stones on it. I also read "Sivullinen" (L'Etranger in Finnsh translation) twice a year - it must have been for sixty times by now. An obsession?

Entered at Thu Sep 29 16:25:04 CEST 2011 from (204.138.59.92)

Bill M

Empty N: I've read three books by Algerian-born Frenchman Albert Camus - "The Rebel" (which I didn't care for; I much prefer Sartre's nothingness-as-freedom existentialism to Camus' nothingness-as-shackle approach), "L'Etranger" and one other. I took away, from both "L'Etranger" and the other one (which was a "Livre du poche" edition with a cover shot of sun on beach rocks), a sense of a penetrating and unforgiving North African sun. The '70s techno revamp of the previously poppy "Blue jeans sur la plage" by Montreal's Aut'Chose always made me think of both Meursault and Lou Reed.

Entered at Thu Sep 29 16:04:58 CEST 2011 from (75.127.150.74)

Carol

Peter~

How do you explain the "value" of Jackson Pollock's "drip" paintings, then? He certainly was no draughtsman. Warhol, on the other hand, was an excellent illustrator--though his "art" is, by many, questionable. Then there is Durer, perhaps the greatest draughtsman of all time--yet his works are valued at a fraction of a Pollock.

I think there is technique, and then there is vision and creativity. There are a lot of very technically proficient draughtsmen who are not artists, and vice versa. There are standards of what makes something "good," of course, but beyond that, it's in the eye of the beholder and what the market will bear. Also, tastes change over time.

During his lifetime, Henri Rousseau was mocked. He couldn't even sell "Sleeping Gypsy." Today, the painting resides at MoMA, and Rousseau is considered a great (if not a master) artist.

Entered at Thu Sep 29 15:54:22 CEST 2011 from (156.47.15.10)

David P

There's a Norman Rockwell Band connection. He was commissioned to do the album cover portrait for "The Live Adventures of Michael Bloomfield and Al Kooper", which featured a cover of "The Weight".

The eponymous debut album of Pure Prairie League featured one of Mr. Rockwell's Saturday Evening Post cover paintings entitled Dreams of Long Ago. Sad Luke, an old cowboy, is pictured sitting by a phonograph, record in hand. That character was also used on subsequent PPL album covers.

Entered at Thu Sep 29 14:15:36 CEST 2011 from (216.114.128.38)

Mike H.

Today's Jerry Lee Lewis' b'day & here's his rendition of "Twilight."

Entered at Thu Sep 29 13:24:13 CEST 2011 from (129.42.208.177)

Bob F.

Subject: Dylan's Art Work

Bob Dylan's art work brings hundreds if not thousands of additional people into the art gallery. How could that be a bad thing? People who buy his prints want something that passed from his hands to theirs. They're are not choosing between his work and a lesser known artists work. In fact I would think having his work in the gallery increases sales of other artists work. More people viewing has to be a good thing. As far as the money, who knows what he does with it? I don't think Dylan is going to hold a press conference everytime he donates money. This isn't Sting or U2 we're talking about. Also, in the last 15 years Dylan has given the world 'Time Out OF Mind' and 'Love and Theft', two of his greatest records. Nothing about Bob Dylan's music is inept. The vocal he does on the new 'The Lost Notebooks of Hank Williams' cd is just brilliant. Man, they're so many things in this world worth criticizng, Bob Dylan is certainly not one of them.

Entered at Thu Sep 29 11:31:36 CEST 2011 from (62.140.137.90)

Hilda F

Subject: Review 1971

To Empty now:I called the art department of the Volkskrant and they sent me a screenshot of it which I can pass on to you if you like, but you can only quote from it. The public library also turned out to have it on microfiche but the print out was very poor quality. Let me know how to get this screenshot to you.

Entered at Thu Sep 29 10:24:23 CEST 2011 from (41.97.142.174)

Empty Now

Subject: Hilda F : Elly de Waardt review

Hilda F: you posted on Sep 8 "Today i finally managed to get hold of the review Elly de Waard wrote in 1971 for De Volkskrant"

As an 1971 European Tour fan, I am not the only one here interested with this review after a lot of queries to this Alladin Lamp called the internet, I saw that De Volkskrant holds no web archive prior to 1994, the best related item I found is the linked above blog commenting the screening of "Ain’t in It for My Health" documentary in IDFA 2010, with the following excerpt, translated

"There was a cut from de Volkskrant, dated June 7, 1971. A review by Pop critic Elly De Waard. She went to a performance of The Band at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam."The Band are with Mothers of Invention the best group who ever played at the Concertgebouw" she writes. "The Band play not more than Rock&Roll, but it may be the most fargoing Rock&Roll I ever heard" "

there is even no record of the Amsterdam concert in the Concert Archives of this site. "

Take the present post as not more than a notification of what a precious document you hold in Elly de Waardt's review, "

Thank you very much for the opportunity

Entered at Thu Sep 29 07:29:33 CEST 2011 from (82.69.47.175)

Peter V

Entered at Thu Sep 29 05:31:05 CEST 2011 from (62.140.137.75)

Hilda F

Subject: On art in general and Dylan's art in particular

As a former art teacher I had some training in art appreciation. One of the major things I learned was to litterally take back a step first from any work of art and try to describe in as much detail as possible what you see, but not in terms of ' beautiful' or ' ugly' , 'like' or 'hate'. When you do this the work will start to 'speak' to you which is what the maker intended. I believe art is a means of communication. So all art is valuable whether it is made by children, mentally disturbed people, celebrities or artists. It tries to 'paint' what you can not say in words. So 'listen' with your eyes and 'see' what you hear without judgement. Just heard 'The Do Re Mi' on Dylan Radio.com. Never heard it before. Can anyone tell me where to find it?

Entered at Thu Sep 29 00:15:07 CEST 2011 from (71.246.9.74)

bob w.

Entered at Wed Sep 28 23:34:03 CEST 2011 from (24.218.200.216)

Tim

Subject: Beach Boys

Sounds like the surviving members are up for a reunion. I saw them about 8 times over the last 30 years including all the originals at the Mall in Washington DC 1980. Looking forward to it.

Entered at Wed Sep 28 22:43:33 CEST 2011 from (75.127.150.74)

Carol

Subject: But is it Art?

I love the poker-playing dogs. I'd hang it on my wall because it makes me happy. Is it art? What does it matter, in that case?

On the other hand, Hans Baldung's "Death and the Maiden" (see link; there are many versions of the theme by various artists, and Baldung painted several) is, by all reasonable, expert, and academic accounts, most *definitely* art -- but I wouldn't want to hang it on my wall. Sadly, the work of many of my favorite artists--including Munch--would not really work in a decorative capacity, but that doesn't mean they're not art.

Regarding Dylan's paintings, his autograph alone could sell for hundreds--why not have one of his signed prints, if you love Dylan and you can afford it?

The "work" of Thomas Kinkade, on the other hand, is a manipulation and a "brand." His goal is to elicit the warm fuzzies and translate it into $$$--which he does well. Sarah Palin loving him speaks volumes...

Entered at Wed Sep 28 22:15:24 CEST 2011 from (204.138.59.92)

Bill M

Subject: poker playing dogs

Technically, I even own a poker-playing-dogs 'print', in that one of the paintings was used as the cover for Heavy Cruiser's second LP (see link and scroll down a bit). That album can be considered the final gasp of an LA-based group (which included very successful movie-score guy James Newton Howard) that had evolved from, going backwards in time, Mama Lion, Merryweather-Carey, Merryweather, Heather Merryweather, New King Boiler, Livingston's Journey, Livingston's Tripp, the Tripp, Just Us V, Just Us, Group Therapy, Just Us, the Sikusis, the Ookpiks and Gary and the Reflections (in 1964). Richard Bell was in the Tripp version, so there's even a Band link! The interview with Neil Merryweather is an interesting read, with a couple of references to our guys.

Entered at Wed Sep 28 22:12:38 CEST 2011 from (41.97.174.194)

Empty Now

the poet expresses in words, words evoke images – shapes and colors – that have their emotional receptacle in the one who listens or reads the poem

the painter dubbed of an artist expresses in shapes and colors, the one who receives the painting develops his own emotion

Interesting cross reference Bill M, it sent me straight to one of my guilty pleasures : Léo Ferré, La Memoire et la Mer

Since Dylan is not a poet either, an outstanding songwriter but not a poet, where Dylan wrote “young girls pulling mussels”, Léo Ferré – he the poète undeniably – wrote and narrates the following picture in “La Mémoire et la mer”

Les coquillages figurants
Sous les sunlights cassés liquides
Jouent de la castagnette tant
Qu'on dirait l'Espagne livide
Dieu des granits ayez pitié
De leur vocation de parure
Quand le couteau vient s'immiscer
Dans leur castagnette figure
Et je voyais ce qu'on pressent
Quand en pressant l'entrevoyure
Entre les persiennes du sang
Et que les globules figurent
Une mathématique bleue
Dans cette mer jamais étale
D'où nous remonte peu à peu
Cette mémoire des étoiles…

, actually the full stanza means textually “young girls pulling mussels”, No painting ever substitutes, I won’t suggest any translation, it’s an insult to Léo, it is untranslatable, just arm with humility and enjoy

Entered at Wed Sep 28 22:11:13 CEST 2011 from (156.47.15.10)

David P

And there's Dylan's cover drawing for "Planet Waves", adding another Band/art connection. Those who bought the original LP version of Dylan's "Greatest Hits" (vol. 1) will recall Milton Glaser's insert poster, a psychedelic portrait of Dylan that became a popular wall hanging for many young people at the time. For those who missed it the first time round, the more recent Sundazed mono LP reissue of the album included a reproduction of the poster.

Entered at Wed Sep 28 21:52:21 CEST 2011 from (204.138.59.92)

Bill M

Entered at Wed Sep 28 21:24:49 CEST 2011 from (82.69.47.175)

Peter V

Entered at Wed Sep 28 21:23:12 CEST 2011 from (82.69.47.175)

Peter V

The other thing, looking at your Warhol example, is that some art work is designed to be a print. It's the correct medium for it, because screen prints achieve a flatness of colour that no other medium does. Dylan's works aren't "prints" in the sense of being designed to be prints. They're print reproductions of paintings, in which case £30 is pushing it. That's what you pay in a museum for a print repro of a painting. A print designed to be a print is a different medium.

Entered at Wed Sep 28 20:52:24 CEST 2011 from (204.138.59.92)

Bill M

Does anyone know when Dylan wrote "When I Paint My Masterpiece" and when he actually did paint his 'masterpiece' (based on public recognition), the cover of MFBP? Also, when he says "the streets of Rome were filled with Rubble", is he talking about Barney?

Entered at Wed Sep 28 20:36:08 CEST 2011 from (204.138.59.92)

Bill M

Joe J: Good for Doreen and her photos. My first (of just two, I'm afraid) visit to your province involved a boat trip (or ship trip as Cap'n Norm'd insist) up the Labrador coast from St Anthony to Nain and back to Goose Bay. Being an excessive compulsive (like you apparently), I counted the bergs. Thirty two of in sight at one point - some near and some far. Quite amazing and amazingly beautiful.

Entered at Wed Sep 28 20:21:45 CEST 2011 from (75.127.150.74)

Carol

Subject: Dylan's Paintings, Thomas Kinkade, Agreeing with Peter(!)

JQ

Right on about Thomas Kinkade. I've attached a post I did some time ago about the difference between art and kitsch; not sure Kinkade even qualifies as the latter.

Peter~I know what you are saying about Dylan. I don't think he's talentless, but I do think this is probably a largely--not solely--money-making enterprise. However, what was he *thinking* to paint what are basically virtual replicas of existing photographs? I was going to go to the NY exhibit; now, I don't know if I want to.

I am curious to know what you guys think Dylan should have done, aside from these particular paintings which were copied, with his desire to paint? He obviously loves painting, and there is a market for his work. He also obviously struck a deal to exhibit his paintings & to make a hefty profit. Should he have said no? Or should he have indicated that he was just doing it as a hobby, or maybe just given them away?

I'm not being sarcastic--I really don't know what I would have done if I were Dylan in this situation. Hope you are all doing well!

Entered at Wed Sep 28 20:06:43 CEST 2011 from (156.47.15.10)

David P

Joan: In the late '60s Dylan once traded a Warhol Elvis, silk-screened not velvet, to Albert Grossman for a sofa. A mystified Mr. Warhol later found out about the transaction from Robbie. Dylan had essentially conned Warhol out of the work in exchange for merely going through the motions for appearing at a movie screen test at Warhol's Factory.

Entered at Wed Sep 28 19:49:42 CEST 2011 from (70.31.50.216)

Kevin J

Subject: Serenity

The attached is for you Serenity - .........performance by the Painter and his wife.....lovely song.

Entered at Wed Sep 28 19:36:03 CEST 2011 from (74.108.30.41)

Joan

Sarah Palin is a big collector of Kinkaides. Take from that what you will.

Happy New year to those who observe. L'Shana Tova.

Entered at Wed Sep 28 18:01:52 CEST 2011 from (74.203.77.122)

Jon Lyness

Subject: To Kingdom Come, live 1969

Just came across this on YouTube... a live Kingdom Come attributed to the Isle of Wight show, a rough but fun rendition. Cool how you can hear Richard (!) really singing out on this one.

Entered at Wed Sep 28 15:36:52 CEST 2011 from (131.137.35.83)

sadavid

Subject: for the Wilco fans

. . . live off the floor . . . .

Entered at Wed Sep 28 14:38:03 CEST 2011 from (216.114.128.38)

Mike H.

Happy b'day to Maud Hudson!

Entered at Wed Sep 28 14:08:34 CEST 2011 from (82.69.47.175)

Peter V

Amazing pics. Those dwarf even the rock coming out of Neil Young's nose in TLW! It's probably not the time to sail across the area in an unsinkable ship then.

Entered at Wed Sep 28 13:03:50 CEST 2011 from (96.30.174.20)

joe j

Subject: Big ice

The 60 sq km Templemann ice island broke up just down the coast. Local waters inundated with bergs. I counted twenty six from the viewing station at the lighthouse. See video.

Entered at Wed Sep 28 12:41:43 CEST 2011 from (41.162.7.114)

NUX

Of ‘40s/’50s country duo Johnnie & Jack, at the age of 97

Among their hits were Poison Love, covered inter alia by Doug Sahm and T Bone Burnett and an album title for Buddy Miller; Cryin’ Heart Blues, covered by the Band among the Moondog Matinee extras and an album title for Rick Danko; and Ashes of Love, covered by Buck Owens, Chris Hillman, the Amazing Rhythm Aces, Levon Helm etc.

Jack had died in 1963, in a car accident on the way to a Patsy Cline memorial service. And they say Americans don’t do irony!!

Entered at Wed Sep 28 11:19:57 CEST 2011 from (82.69.47.175)

Peter V

What Dylan's doing is using his name … a name that would be in the top four of five of the last century for artistic endeavour … to muscle in on another field, and to steamroller other stuff from working artists of greater merit out of the way. They find it hard enough to find wall space anyway, and they can't charge his prices for originals, let alone prints. £1750? Multiply that by 295. That's over half a million pounds for a picture. It's a damn sight more profitable than trekking round doing concerts. Even if he keeps 50% (normal artist / gallery split) it's £250,000. You have to work really hard and invest a lot of time and money to get £250,000 profit from live shows. None of the Dylan I've seen could have taken a day to paint. I'd bet he gets a better split too.

It's a bit like Bill Gates waking up and saying, "I want to be a songwriter now" and filling MTV and every music paper with huge ads for his stuff.

Entered at Wed Sep 28 10:46:28 CEST 2011 from (69.253.214.48)

Peter M.

As for me, I really like those 1950's pictures of kitty cats, composed of colored gravel, glued down on poster board and framed, especially if the outline is done in that fancy cord with gold string. There is a "near example" on the wall of Pee Wee's Playhouse, except it is a portrait of Pee Wee. Instead of gravel, it appears to be composed of some sort of dried beans.

Entered at Wed Sep 28 10:21:30 CEST 2011 from (69.253.214.48)

Peter M.

Subject: Key to the Highway

I have to agree that Little Walter's take on Key to the Highway is outstanding. Showing a personal bias of mine, I also enjoy Leroy Thomas & the Zydeco Roadrunners' version. But, in 1986, The Rolling Stones closed out their contentious album, Dirty Work, with Key to the Highway, in a 33 second long clip just titled "Piano Instrumental". Ian Stewart had just passed away in December, and rumors abounded that the pretty little bit that just gently faded out at the end of the 2nd side was indeed Stu's playing. Never confirmed though, but obviously a tribute to the real forgotten Stone.

Entered at Wed Sep 28 04:57:35 CEST 2011 from (99.235.255.183)

Serenity

Subject: R&R HOF noms.

Hi all!! Bet you've forgotten all about me?

My link is the latest R&R noms.

Congrats, LEVON.

KEVIN: Thanx for link to Gene Autry. I met & saw him in Toronto many moons ago. He was very nice.

Love the Beach Boys. Play their music often on my PC.

TIM: Wish "ROBBIE LIVE" were on TV.

SADAVID: Jim Cuddy was on Canada AM yesterday and sang 2 songs from his album. He sounds as good as ever.

Take care and God Bless

Until next time LOVE AND PEACE xoxoxoxoxo

Entered at Wed Sep 28 03:24:47 CEST 2011 from (24.218.16.94)

Dave H

Subject: Johnnie Wright of Johnnie & Jack dies at 97

Band connections include co-authoring "Down South in New Orleans" and having a hit in the early '50s with "Cryin' Heart Blues."

Entered at Wed Sep 28 03:00:50 CEST 2011 from (198.228.209.138)

JQ

Peter V brought this guy up and coincidentally I saw him on a home shopping channel this morning hawking his shite paintings - he's a complete fraud. Plus he's one of the many ersatz Christians that populate the American right wing these days.

Entered at Wed Sep 28 02:50:18 CEST 2011 from (24.108.131.161)

JT

Subject: Holland

John D 'Holland' is my favourite Beachboys album. I always liked their work and especially liked 'Pet Sounds'. But 'Holland' blew me away. I still listen to it on those 5 hours flights between cities. It stands the test of time.

Entered at Wed Sep 28 02:48:24 CEST 2011 from (24.108.131.161)

JT

Subject: Anger

Peter I'm sorry to hear that you got 'actively angry' over this. It is clear that you feel very strongly about this. I am no expert but rather a novice in this area. I know what I like and don't like. Some of the Dylan paintings (new and old) appeal to me while others don't. I don't hold his mercenary attitude against him. Like all artists (and indeed all of us with rare exception) financial incentive is motivating. I remember how the 60's kids thought of artists 'in it for the money' with derision. Anyway, for what its worth, my opinion is that we look at each piece of work on its own merit. If none of it appeals, so be it. But I think we have to get by the 'mercenary' issue and then judge. Just my opinion.

Entered at Wed Sep 28 02:38:48 CEST 2011 from (184.66.107.77)

BONK

Subject: Peter V

Bob Dylan is a pompous ass. He can't sing. He can't play any instrument worth a shit. And he can't paint or fucking draw. His impact on music was gone in the seventies. I've been dragged out to some of his concerts in the last 25 years and this guy sucks. If he's not high or drunk then I don't know what. Thank god his bands have been great for the most part otherwise, I wanted my coin back! He is just an egotistical prick who believes his press. Look what he done at the Last Waltz. He held up everything until he got his own way. I can't believe that some musicians hold this guy as some sort of god. Even Levon's guilty of it. But I guess if you attach yourself to his coat tails every once and awhile, you're bound to make some dough. GREAT, GREAT WORDSMITH. BUT THAT'S IT!

Entered at Wed Sep 28 00:49:36 CEST 2011 from (82.69.47.175)

Peter V

I just think it sad that Dylan hoovers up money that could go to real artists with a load of shite that occupies so much wall space in the few outlets artists have. OK, if you want a Dylan signature on your wall, go for it. Or go for Kincaide because you find it exudes warmth (which is what Kincaide lovers tell me). I don't like him. But if you ask Kincaide to draw a tree, he can. Just as if you ask our local pub singer to run through a song, he can hit all the notes. Bob can't do either.

Entered at Wed Sep 28 00:35:07 CEST 2011 from (82.69.47.175)

Peter V

Entered at Wed Sep 28 00:32:52 CEST 2011 from (82.69.47.175)

Peter V

I've spent 30 years commissioning illustrations, and Bob Dylan wouldn't get a look in. I would dare to say he was "inept." Whether he has taste, flair or vision is a quite separate matter, He has all three in singing, but in the last 15 years at least. he is also technically inept.

Entered at Tue Sep 27 23:04:36 CEST 2011 from (99.254.209.45)

John D

JQ's post; which was; in some ways about how we the audience handle change; in artists music and it reminded me of a story of The Beach Boys. When they started out we had a number of two minute hits; with lots of hooks and everyone loved them. Hit after hit after hit. Later they would do albums like Sunflower and Holland. The late Carl Wilson among others would talk about how the fans would not allow them to grow; or change; with these albums. They wanted the oldies. Even Mike Love said in an interview he had trouble understanding and getting his head around Pet Sounds. To this day I love that early music; but I was also knocked out with the likes of Holland and Sunflower.

I saw Al Jardine and his Beach Band in Vegas this summer and I can't remember the last time I had that much fun. It was an interesting contrast to seeing Brian Wilson and his band reconstruct the oldies; just a few months back. While Wilson's was vocally and orchestrally perfect, Jardine's band reminded me more of the original Beach Boys. Far more fun coming from the stage and his son Matt really does sound like a young Brian, hitting all those high notes. The vocals like Brian's band were in perfect harmony. I admit I have not seen Mike Love and Bruce Johnson's band; who are the only one's to be able to use the name, The Beach Boys, legally. A gift from Brian. Al joins Brian; from time to time.

This is the 50th anniversary of the Beach Boys this year. It would have been nice to see the remaining Beach Boys and friends reunite.

Entered at Tue Sep 27 22:50:21 CEST 2011 from (156.47.15.10)

David P

JQ: I've been listening to the new Ry Cooder album for about two weeks now and, for me, it keeps getting better with each listen. I wouldn't call it an acquired taste but rather, like all works of intriguing art, a challenge that draws one in deeper with each experience. I just got the new Wilco yesterday evening, so I've only listened to it once, but I can tell that it too is a work that will bring new revelations with each listen.

As another topic of present discussion, I would also mention that Dylan attended art classes tought by Norman Raeben around 1974. Through Mr. Raeben he learned to see things in an intuitive manner, through feeling rather than conceptualization. This approach to perspective soon revitalized Dylan's songwriting craft, resulting in the brilliant "Blood On The Tracks" album.

In wrapping up these concepts of art, it brings to mind something Pete Hamill wrote in the liner notes to that album; something that seems even more resonant decades later; something that the new Ry Cooder album also invokes:

"...We live in the smoky landscape now, as the exhausted troops seek roads home. The signposts have been smashed; the maps are blurred. There is no politician anywhere who can move anyone to hope; the plague recedes, but it is not dead and the statesmen are as irrelevant as the tarnished statues in public parks. We live with a callous on the heart. Only the artists can remove it. Only the artists can help the poor land again to feel."

Entered at Tue Sep 27 22:45:41 CEST 2011 from (99.254.209.45)

John D

JQ I would have to agree. I'm a giant Ry Cooder fan; but this last album and the one before is taking time to grow on me. I know artists have to grow; in their art. I understand that. Sometimes it's harder to keep up; with the artist; with their own changes. To this day albums like Paradise and Lunch remain favorites.

Entered at Tue Sep 27 22:13:00 CEST 2011 from (204.138.59.92)

Bill M

He goes on to talk about garlicky ginger sauce, which I don't think he or anyone else would care to see hanging on any wall, and on a cruise ship it'd be too remeniscent of what's too often emitted orally over the side.

Entered at Tue Sep 27 22:09:01 CEST 2011 from (198.228.212.224)

JQ

David P - What's your take on the new Ry C and Wilco albums? I haven't got Wilco yet but I've found the Ry Cooder, as with his more recent records, to be an acquired taste, requiring multiple play-throughs. There's nothing wrong at all with that, in fact I think it's a better LP that requires that heavy listening. I've found that easy-to-like-at-first-listen stuff usually has a shorter life span.

I think the new Nick Lowe is an acquired taste too.

Entered at Tue Sep 27 22:06:10 CEST 2011 from (74.203.77.122)

Jon Lyness

Subject: Re: Robbie Live

That's cool! Thanks for the tip, Tim. Hope someone here can attend.

Entered at Tue Sep 27 21:44:02 CEST 2011 from (96.54.171.63)

JT

Subject: ART

I admire many of Mr. McCartney's paintings. Peter, you made me start to think about the word "ART" and the meaning of the word to its user. I agree with you regarding the notion that what hangs on the walls of our museums or cruise ships is worthy of our comments and impressions. We all enjoy the view or the sound differently. Kincaide is beloved to some and reviled by others. But that's what its all about. I may not want to hang all Kincaides, Dylans or McCartneys on my wall but its too easy to just damn them all because they are not Picasso or Reubens. Shite is in the eye of the beholder.

Entered at Tue Sep 27 21:39:30 CEST 2011 from (204.138.59.92)

Bill M

Kevin J / Peter V: Yes, a very nice job by all concerned. Kudos to Paul for managing to wipe his nose (at 51 seconds) without altering his timing or tone.

Entered at Tue Sep 27 21:36:49 CEST 2011 from (156.47.15.10)

David P

Spinning on the turntable this week:

"Pull Up Some Dust and Sit Down" -- Ry Cooder
"The Whole Love" -- Wilco
(Both of these are 2-LP sets that also include the CD versions)

From the reissue bin:

"American Beauty" -- Grateful Dead (excellent new 180g LP from Warner/Rhino
"Murmur" -- R.E.M. (1995 200g LP from Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab)

Entered at Tue Sep 27 21:28:30 CEST 2011 from (82.69.47.175)

Peter V

… and applause due to Hamish Stuart and Robbie McIntosh for superb backing

Entered at Tue Sep 27 21:18:27 CEST 2011 from (70.31.50.216)

Kevin J

Subject: .......and he can also sing and play a bit....

Entered at Tue Sep 27 21:06:52 CEST 2011 from (82.69.47.175)

Peter V

But Sir Paul McCartney can actually paint …

Entered at Tue Sep 27 21:00:21 CEST 2011 from (70.31.50.216)

Kevin J

Subject: Everybody must get Gene Autryed

See above......light another cigarette Joni!

Al Edge: Thank you for that analysis.......I am just glad to have a team that I have some connection with.....the EPL is everywhere.....Hope that the season gets better.

Entered at Tue Sep 27 20:58:00 CEST 2011 from (204.138.59.92)

Bill M

Entered at Tue Sep 27 20:52:07 CEST 2011 from (96.54.171.63)

JT

Subject: Originality - Nothing new under the sun

I am amused by some of the comments both in the media and here in our beloved Band site. Bob Dylan's output (both lyrical and more recently paintings) has been accused and at times even maligned with the contention that it lacks originality. I suggest that since the caveman, there is 'nothing new under the sun'. All artistic work is the evolution of ideas from those who came before. Using source material to provide variation is in fact the nature of art. It is the creativity to make something just a bit different and sometimes very different that is the essence of the artistic process. It is rare for pure originality to appear in art. Dylan's lyrics in the 60s approached that but even then there were often 'sources'. Einstein's theory or relativity was perhaps original, though all ideation comes from previous thoughts. So I suggest we cut the artists some slack and stop whining. There will be many opinions on this matter ranging from agreement to continued criticism. Somehow, Mr. Dylan should be above it all. As he always suggested, he did not want the pedestal he was placed upon - ever. He's just a 'song and dance man' and his songs were derivative with some very interesting variations. He's done some interesting things with the paintbrush. I suggest we not elevate this work to loftily and enjoy it for what it is.

Entered at Tue Sep 27 20:38:31 CEST 2011 from (131.137.35.83)

sadavid

Subject: channeling Cartier-Bresson

As it turns out, Bob Dylan's paintings are every bit as original as the rest of his creative output.

Grand Prize to the first reader who identifies the source of the _Music From Big Pink_ painting.

Entered at Tue Sep 27 20:04:03 CEST 2011 from (204.138.59.92)

Bill M

sadavid: Yes indeedy, sunset between bank towers!! Sometimes the wife and I take the streetcar downtown just to watch the solar-fiscal splendour of it all.

Entered at Tue Sep 27 20:01:33 CEST 2011 from (134.174.21.2)

Tim

Subject: Robbie Live

Robertson will appear at Los Angeles’ The Clive Davis Theater at The GRAMMY Museum for an interview, Q&A session and a live performance.

Entered at Tue Sep 27 19:36:12 CEST 2011 from (41.97.235.60)

Empty Now

NorthWestCoaster : difficult question, VH would be precious for the current GB debate, I am still amazed by his analysis on [Printing Press v/s Cathedrals]

for those really interested, in the link above, i found an English version of the chapter in question

"This will kill that. The book will kill the edifice."

i am still wondering what kind of edifice the ibook will stop

Entered at Tue Sep 27 18:50:27 CEST 2011 from (131.137.35.83)

sadavid

Subject: wool, bull

Bill M: something about "Wooly Bully" that seems a natural fit for the outback . . . .

As you're probably aware, the Royal Canuckistanian Radio Service has been giving Cuddy's album a bit of push . . . Jim & his band did a couple of tracks "live in Studio Q" the other day and I gotta say I was much impressed -- in the "singer / songwriter with band" genre, and nothing outré musically, but the songs are strong. At least on the evidence of "Everyone Watched the Wedding" and "Watch Yourself Go Down." Subject: middle-aged man realizes this really is all there is, life HAS passed him by. Now that's the sort of sentiment I can relate to.

In the interview segment, much was made of how this is an urban record vice Blue-Rodeo-rural. But no-one said anything about _Toronto_. Now I gotta reconsider.

Entered at Tue Sep 27 18:15:33 CEST 2011 from (204.138.59.92)

Bill M

sadavid: You're not trying to blow Rockin' Chair's cover are you? Me, I can't hear Sam the Sham without thinking of hitching into the obscure Australian outback town of Borraloola on dance night, arriving just as the band broke into "Woolly Bully". A memorable day for me: started with picked out of a lineup of hitchikers by author Thomas Keneally (who told us about his soon-to-be published "Shindler's List") and ended up with "Woolly Bully".

Entered at Tue Sep 27 16:52:20 CEST 2011 from (90.239.81.188)

NorthWestCoaster

Subject: Victor Hugo - a Levonist? / Empty Now

As a typical representant of romaticism of 19th century a (more or less) straight line goes to Levon, right? Economically Victor Hugo was against liberalism which makes my point somewhat uncertain.

Entered at Tue Sep 27 16:33:03 CEST 2011 from (156.47.15.10)

David P

An opportune time for a Sham the Sham connection -- According to Bobby Whitlock's autobiography, Derek & the Dominos recorded their cover of "Key To The Highway" spontaneously. At the time they were recording at Criteria Studios in Miami, Sam the Sham was also recording his "Hard & Heavy" album there. Eric Clapton overheard him recording KTTH and decided that the Dominos should have a go with the song. As they were fooling around with an arrangement, Tom Dowd liked what he heard and started rolling the tape machine after the group had already begun playing.

I've always liked "Key To The Highway", with Little Walter's version being my favorite. It's one of those songs particularly seductive for guitar players, as it features that classic blues turnaround, where they can stretch out a bit.

Entered at Tue Sep 27 16:17:57 CEST 2011 from (99.89.226.221)

PutEmUp(Friend0

Entered at Tue Sep 27 16:16:37 CEST 2011 from (24.108.253.172)

Rockin Chair

Subject: All the King's Horses

Ain't gonna be able to put Sadavid together agin.......I'm comin' after you next kid!

I got to drive up the island to Port Hardy this morning, do some work on my tug & barge.........and maybe a job.

Later gang. Keep 'em in line Lars..that's a heavy task.

Entered at Tue Sep 27 15:57:47 CEST 2011 from (204.138.59.92)

Bill M

NWC: You know the events that Robbie recorded in TNTDODD, specifically when "the bells were ringing"? That was Quasimodo at work, in an uncredited appearance.

Entered at Tue Sep 27 15:31:53 CEST 2011 from (204.138.59.92)

Bill M

Subject: Garth, name-checked ...

Here's a link to an article about Jim Cuddy (of Blue Rodeo) and his new solo album. Don't know if Garth appears on it, but he is mentioned as someone who Cuddy has championed over the years. Towards the end it has Blue Rodeo playing their first show at the Rivoli in '85. Earlier that year I saw just Cuddy and Keelor, then just back from NYC, playing in a stageless corner of what was then called the Slither Club and later became Healey's - where I (and BEG, and Wittgenstein) saw Garth play many years later.

Speaking of Garth, CBC Radio played a cut from Doug Paisley's newish CD, which I believe Garth played on. Sure sounded like him on organ.

Speaking of CBC Radio, today they played "Oh Yoko". Such a beautiful song, which I hadn't heard this millenium. Really liked the piano especially.

Speaking of backing musicians, how 'bout that short bit of drumming skill that Jim Gordon trots out at 5:02 of "Anyday" on the "Layla" album?

Speaking of the "Layla" album, what's with "Key To The Highway"? Has anyone ever made that song sound worthwhile? It flattens the Dominoes album, it flattens "Official Music" by King Biscuit Boy and Crowbar, and it would have flatten whatever Band album they had the smarts to pull it from.

Entered at Tue Sep 27 15:21:36 CEST 2011 from (90.239.81.188)

NorthWestCoaster

Subject: Tobacco and alcohol (Media connection)

"We've come a long way, Baby" - that's what Rockin' Chair wrote. For a reason or another I read every American issue of ELLE MAGAZINE between 1987 and 1989 today. I got both irritated and fascinated on "MARY SLIMM'S" female tobacco advertizing. They had mostly a visual language like an average Band LP cover but they had also this slogan: "You've come a long way, Baby".

Victor Hugo. Good to see him mentioned here in this LIVRE DES VISITEURS. Was he a Band fan? Pro-Levon or pro-Robbie? - Anyway, if Highway Patrol stopped you in Finland in good old days (Music From Big Pink, that is) you were asked to say "Hugo" (pronounced as "Whooooogooo") to sniff if you have been drinking vodka.

Entered at Tue Sep 27 15:04:18 CEST 2011 from (131.137.35.83)

sadavid

Subject: life after show biz

There are alternatives to hallucinating in motor homes . . .
. . . such as Sam the Sham, Ship's Captain . . . .

Entered at Tue Sep 27 10:28:20 CEST 2011 from (41.97.235.60)

Empty Now

In definitive professional typewriters and scribes do the same job, the latter aren't upset when the power goes off

I posted the OV of this tale in Tracy's Little-Pink :

When I arrived in Constantine, I heard enough on Saint-Augustine that I felt obliged to read him, just to have a seat in some clever conversation, in the vein of who feels obliged to read Barney Hoskyns just to have a seat in some The Band conversation. I went to the library, the librarian led me to a four meters long shelf, editions in all formats tidied up, not a book resembles another. "here's Saint-Augustine" he said. I cleverly replied "I don’t want to read what was written by others about him but what he wrote"
He said "it is right all this shelf"
I stopped silent, the man waiting, after a while I just thought out loud
"from what I know, Saint-Augustine wrote on papyrus or animal's skin or something like, I imagined that every time he produced an idea a cow was stabbed, and he wrote all this (eg Confessions is in 9 volumes) … and I, using Word 6, I haven't yet written 3 pages that History will retain". We are not made of the same substance

When I used to tell this anecdote, people say that it is not an isolated case, many novelists had this superhuman capacity of overproduction in scriptwriting, among them Victor Hugo was cited.

A similar debate with the current one in the GB is held in "The Hunchback of Notre-Dame". Beside the story of Esmeralda and Quasimodo, throughout the novel appears the argumentation that, where anyone else saw the freeing of the monks writers, the invention of Guttenberg put an end to the building of Cathedrals.
Stunning, only a Victor Hugo can see this kind of hidden relations cause to effect. The chapter "Ceci Tuera Cela" (this will kill that) is exclusively devoted to the explanation that I didn’t really understand : "there's only one book for writing, the buildings, and the stories are told with the stones"
One thing is certain: no Cathedral has been ever built after the invention of the printing press by Guttenberg.
What kind of buildings will disappear with iPad ?
At an intermediary stage between the book and the ebook, there has been the short living audiobook. I read only one in my life: Chronicles of Bob Dylan, read (for me) by Sean Penn, a failing experience for me. What bothers me later was that every time I needed to cite a paragraph, I had to search in the paper edition to mention the page number.

The debate is welcome at a time of JRR autobiography announcement. The audiobook is the dreamed format for such a project. Imagine, written by Robbie Robertson and narrated by Robbie Robertson

Right now, having spanned several technologies and using Word 2007, I still haven't produced 3 pages that History will retain

Entered at Mon Sep 26 23:07:43 CEST 2011 from (82.69.47.175)

Peter V

Subject: Sly Stone

Sly Stone had a new album out a few weeks back with re-recordings of his hits. As he's a competitor for worst performance I've sever seen (see linked review) I didn't cough up for it.

You have to know when to stop. One of the saddest sights I've seen on stage (after Sly) was Phil Silvers in A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum in a late 70s or 80s revival tour. He was either very sick or very drunk. I think the former. He didn't know where he was, or any lines and staggered about and fell down a couple of times. A slow handclap developed. Then people started walking out in droves. We joined them. Promoters shouldn't drag people around in that state. Phil Silvers was my dad's hero (my dad was a sergeant in the motor pool just after the war with a keen eye for games of chance).

Entered at Mon Sep 26 21:47:31 CEST 2011 from (72.230.109.86)

Bashful Bill

Subject: Me too, Joan......

I not only prefer a printed page for pleasure reading, but I don't like watching movies or TV shows on the computer either. I hold out the best I can but I do sometimes end up doing all of the above. I'm currently reading Ben-Hur, of which an old, yellowing and somewhat musty paperback copy has long been on my shelf and also which I've long meant to get to. I paid 50 cents for it in a used bookstore decades ago. On my weekly visit to B&N I'm curious to see if it's even still in print. Though I'm enjoying it I can't imagine there being that much demand for this title. The Robe is next on my reading list, also an old (hardback) copy which belonged to my mother. That will be a re-read, as I read it away back in my teens. The Claudius books may be next, if I can take so much of this subject matter all at once. I'm in the process of serious downsizing and in the process of packing and storing I set out a number of books which I own but mostly haven't gotten around to reading.......

Entered at Mon Sep 26 21:44:51 CEST 2011 from (24.108.253.172)

Rockin Chair

Subject: What the F...........!

An underage drive to Durango????????? That ain't no wheres near the garden of Eden!

Some one's got to be close enough to slap Bill up side the head. I'm sending John Donaby after him. He's trying to turn a very serious subject into somethingh from Monty Python.

Empty! I was motivated to get after that link, due to news of the "Dead Sea Scrolls" being shown and explained on line now. I was just typing this very important document when the gawd damn power went off. I had to do it all over agin, so I'm going before it happens again.

Blessed are the cheeze makers!

Entered at Mon Sep 26 20:34:10 CEST 2011 from (204.138.59.92)

Bill M

David P: From what I recall of the holy text, it gets you stung by a snake down by the lake. Followed by an underage drive to Durango.

Entered at Mon Sep 26 20:24:19 CEST 2011 from (70.31.50.216)

Kevin J

Flamboyant funk legend Sly Stone now calls a camper van parked in the Los Angeles neighbourhood of Crenshaw his home. The "New York Post" reports the former Sly & the Family Stone ringleader has fallen on hard times thanks in part to financial mismanagement, substance abuse and excess but also by choice.

"I like my small camper," the 68-year-old told the paper. "I just do not want to return to a fixed home. I cannot stand being in one place. I must keep moving."

The van is parked on a residential street in Crenshaw and stamped with the words "Pleasure Way." A retired couple brings him a meal once a day, he showers at their house and their son is his assistant and driver. The vehicle also doubles as his recording studio

Entered at Mon Sep 26 20:18:59 CEST 2011 from (156.47.15.10)

David P

I still support Gutenberg's old technology. And, as recounted in his bible, we know what happens when you take a bite of the Apple.

Entered at Mon Sep 26 20:06:12 CEST 2011 from (204.138.59.92)

Bill M

Entered at Mon Sep 26 19:56:47 CEST 2011 from (41.97.134.59)

Empty Now

inspiring link, Norm, is cuneiform suitable on iPad2, with a good scribe and an easy to use iPad-2-clay-tablets connector ?

Entered at Mon Sep 26 18:29:51 CEST 2011 from (74.108.30.41)

Joan

I'm about to go download Taplin's book to my Ipad 1, but I wish it was in print. I hate reading from a computer screen for long periods of time. My eyes don't like it. Give me a good hardcover book every time. I like the feel of a book. But. sadly, I think technology is going to win in the long run.

Entered at Mon Sep 26 17:31:43 CEST 2011 from (24.108.253.172)

Rockin Chair

Subject: We've come a long way Baby!

As regards your topic this morning. I still like to read a book, even tho' information on the web is easy and free and so available.

There will never be the feeling of laying back by my fire with a good book, (or in my Rockin Chair).

Entered at Mon Sep 26 17:20:06 CEST 2011 from (82.69.47.175)

Peter V

Entered at Mon Sep 26 17:19:29 CEST 2011 from (82.69.47.175)

Peter V

Entered at Mon Sep 26 16:22:59 CEST 2011 from (69.177.235.186)

Todd

Subject: The Apple Blues

I tried to view the Taplin book sample through iTunes, but it doesn't work for me. I'd like to buy the book, but my confidence level isn't very high at the moment if I can't even view the sample.

Is there a specific iBooks reader that I need to install? I don't have an iPad, but I do have a top of the line Macbook Pro running the latest version of iTunes.

I've been a faithful Apple user since the mid 1990's, but have been becoming slightly disillusioned with them in recent years as their success in the marketplace has increased. I used to be able to find a solution to almost any Apple / Mac problem that came my way, but it's becoming more of a hassle these days. They used to "just work" with very little fuss, but now it's an almost endless cycle of installing updates and trawling through forums to find solutions.

I even keep an old G4 Tower in my office running OS9 for certain tasks. It plays nicely with my film scanner, and runs a copy of Word with very few problems.

I'm convinced that all of these new software "improvements" are designed to drive the sales of new hardware. It used to be that you could enjoy the functionality of the software on an older machine. You may not have had the top speed that newer hardware provided, but things still worked. My other theory is that improvements in hardware with cheaper memory and speedier processors have made some programmers sloppy and inefficient in the way that they code.

Entered at Mon Sep 26 13:59:47 CEST 2011 from (99.141.52.19)

Adam

Entered at Mon Sep 26 12:54:27 CEST 2011 from (71.246.9.74)

bob w.

bwigo at verizon.net

Entered at Mon Sep 26 12:40:29 CEST 2011 from (71.246.9.74)

bob w.

Adam, have you used the Apple support forum [link]? Called their help line? I can't find any reason you wouldn't be able to view the publication on your PC if the proper software is in place. I will look around as time allows today.

Have you purchased and downloaded to your PC already? From a different iTunes account than the one on your Apple device?

Entered at Mon Sep 26 10:12:05 CEST 2011 from (41.97.197.126)

Empty Now

And what if gadgets are designed such that nobody well behaves ?

I have as many anecdotes to report as any GBer here. It could consume the full space available to discuss The Band, when Mr Jones loses consciousness that they take-off in mass insanity, prisoner of their own device, when they no longer have control over their moves, This is my preferred today :

My natural way of walking along the sidewalk, I avoid looking at people's faces. At one meter, I hear a friendly "hello Toef, how are you?" I answered spontaneously, by instinct, "hello dude, I am fine"
The guy, a perfect stranger, was talking in a cell phone, thinking that I made fun of him, an argument ensued. It was possible to convince him of anything except that my name is Toef.

don't tell me it's a version of the guy who pushes you, reading an unfold newspaper while walking

Entered at Mon Sep 26 10:05:08 CEST 2011 from (82.69.47.175)

Peter V

Jeff's post brought back an early 70s memory. In those days, people lined up outside the local newspaper office at 12 noon if they were looking for a job or a flat (apartment). You'd have a pile of coins, buy a paper and dash to the line of six phone boxes opposite the newspaper office. Even so, flats and jobs were usually "already gone." Finally a friend explained it. You went to the pub next door the evening before, where the typesetters would sell you a list of forthcoming good job ads / flat ads / car ads.

Entered at Mon Sep 26 09:59:54 CEST 2011 from (82.69.47.175)

Peter V

That’s the problem, Adam. They can (at the moment) build in platform exclusivity. I was an Apple adopter at the 512kb first Mac point, and it replaced a BBC-B. I have used a PC only a couple of times in 25 years, for PowerPoint when my iBook wouldn’t connect. The reason I’m raging about technology is that a new generation of programmers at Apple are screwing it up, and the reason is that all they can think in terms of are Games, Streaming and Apps. They don’t know how people use a computer for actual work. In two days, WORD has frozen twice (latest WORD, fully upgraded, latest Mac OS Lion). Both times I restarted the computer, and each time Safari, a totally unrelated program, had lost its history and all my bookmarks. It’s never done that before in years of crashes.

The exclusivity is going to be a problem with electronic content, and Apple are holding onto it pretty tightly. For the quarter of a century in which they were “simply the best” that just meant, “well, get one.” They're fast undermining my brand loyalty.

For all Neil Young’s raging about sound quality and blu-ray, an engineer friend pointed out that you used to run test signals when mixing to find out when your ears were too tired to keep working. On the 20-20,000 audible range, he said you used to give up when the 13,000 one disappeared. But in the case of professional musicians who have played with extremely loud amplification (Out of The Blue and Into The Black …) they never hit that even at the start of the session. The engineer was extremely dubious about whether the “over-amplified” can tell the difference. Few people over around 50 will register much beyond 12,000 anyway. Pete Townsend is the “near deaf” example, but the guys mixing Ray Davies said he insists on having volume beyond painful and described him as "deaf as a post." Neil Young was notorious for over-amplification.

Mind you, I accept the vinyl argument, that even if you can't hear a test tone, you can "feel" the difference when music has a range beyond the audible 20-20,000 of CD. So I guess that applies to SACD, DVD-Audio and Blu-ray.

Entered at Mon Sep 26 06:48:26 CEST 2011 from (99.141.52.19)

Adam

My frustration and disappointment with this medium continues. I bought Taplin's book and I can't even read it! It makes me hate this technology more. I just wanted to read the damn book.

Entered at Mon Sep 26 06:28:27 CEST 2011 from (59.101.27.15)

dlew919

I don't know, but I suspect you'll need to download the Kindle Reader or some such...

Entered at Mon Sep 26 05:54:36 CEST 2011 from (99.141.52.19)

Adam

Entered at Mon Sep 26 05:48:03 CEST 2011 from (99.89.226.221)

PutEmUp(Friend0

Entered at Mon Sep 26 04:47:38 CEST 2011 from (71.246.9.74)

bob w.

I'm in full agreement about all the qualities of a good book. Books and e-publications do not have to be an either/or predicament. That is a big part of the appeal of the technology for me. E-publications are in their infancy. The genre has unlimited potential for creative means. Enjoy all of it. Why wouldn't you? Some of the best and most creative minds in the world will be offering their ideas through e-publications as we go forward. I'm anxious to see what they do with it and what we all can learn from it.

Every time we log on to this site we cast a vote in the digital world. Every Google search, every Amazon purchase, every iTunes download, every YouTube link, every piece of computer hardware.....each one is a vote in favor of advancing the technology and the need for ever expanding content.

Let it grow.

Entered at Mon Sep 26 03:49:44 CEST 2011 from (99.141.52.19)

Adam

Would I be able to do it on a PC?

Entered at Mon Sep 26 03:47:10 CEST 2011 from (69.253.214.48)

Peter M.

Subject: books, e and otherwise

I've lately fallen into a realm of antiques... books. Nothing beats the sensation of holding a hefty book in your lap, sitting in a favorite place, and getting lost for 20 to 90 minutes. It's the greatest break from responsibility, best way to wake up, best way to wait for anything.

Entered at Mon Sep 26 03:39:15 CEST 2011 from (99.89.226.221)

PutEm Up(Friend0

Entered at Mon Sep 26 01:26:13 CEST 2011 from (71.246.9.74)

bob w.

Entered at Mon Sep 26 01:23:33 CEST 2011 from (80.61.9.3)

Eskandar

"Saved" also appears on several Watkins Glen bootlegs. It's longer, at 7.50 something against Jersey City's 5.29. It also sounds more sloppy, in my opinion.

Entered at Mon Sep 26 01:15:52 CEST 2011 from (99.141.52.19)

Adam

It reminds me of Neil Young's "Archives" Blu Ray set. The Blu Ray is his preferred format for the experience - having the highest quality sound, having the timeline/pictures/memorabilia up on the screen and mixing together for a multimedia experience. But he also offers the plain CD version, for people who understand what his vision was designed for, but who just don't have the technology and who just want to experience what they can of the set.

Entered at Mon Sep 26 00:14:32 CEST 2011 from (71.246.9.74)

bob w.

Personally, I don't see why the printed text and the hybrid e-books have to be viewed as mutually exclusive. They aren't in my....er.....book.

Entered at Mon Sep 26 00:04:55 CEST 2011 from (82.69.47.175)

Peter V

Entered at Sun Sep 25 23:40:21 CEST 2011 from (82.69.47.175)

Peter V

Entered at Sun Sep 25 21:28:52 CEST 2011 from (71.246.9.74)

bob w.

Entered at Sun Sep 25 21:27:23 CEST 2011 from (71.246.9.74)

bob w.

I can't help but laugh as your rants regarding technology hit this page almost daily. The irony rests in the fact that you place what is probably five times the average in orders (marketplace votes)for digital content and have bought all of the pertinent hardware as it has been released (Ipod, Ipad, Iphone...). You're all in. You just can't bring yourself to admit it.

If that much shit hits anyone's fan, huddling around a Kindle, an Ipad or good old fashioned hardback will be the least of our worries.

Entered at Sun Sep 25 20:45:17 CEST 2011 from (82.69.47.175)

Peter V

Two years ago you couldn't do that on Kindle and you still can't. As the economy shoots downwards a consolation is that civilisation as we know it is recorded in a non-electronic form. When the shit hits the fan, as it may, we won't be able to recharge our electronic readers. We'll still be able to huddle around a book in the daylight hours.

Will electronic readers change the way we think? Dunno, but probably. Whether it's a good thing or a bad thing will become apparent in a century or so.

Entered at Sun Sep 25 19:37:38 CEST 2011 from (71.246.9.74)

bob w.

Adam, to put this particular work on paper and eliminate the other features would diminish the entire project. It may appear in text form at some point but it won't reflect the intention of the original effort. Why insist it be something it was never meant to be?

Entered at Sun Sep 25 18:13:14 CEST 2011 from (82.69.47.175)

Peter V

A few months ago I read a retrospective review of Stranger in A Strange Land, a book I'd mentally dismissed as "alright at the time" but gone with the 60s. The review made me want to look again. I picked up my copy with tiny text on yellowing paper, and thought "no." Next time I was in a large bookstore, I picked up a new copy. Same text design as the original (they probably scanned it!). So I downloaded the iBooks version and that was way better, though I gave up after three chapters (couldn't be bothered with the story).

So I'd agree electronic beats an ageing cheap edition paperback. However, a crisp new hardback wins every time for reading experience. Also you're not zapping your testicles with harmful rays when you have a book open on your lap. Always switch an iPad to Airplane Mode when sitting with it on your lap, I was told.

Anyway, Jonathan Taplin's book seems a mixed media natural. I'm interested for myself too, because the book I've been working on has a huge number of scans, making it a daunting encyclopaedic book. BUT … as an electronic book, everything changes.

It naturally makes sense for language teaching too, although the many, many examples I've seen are universally dire. That's because the people doing it know the programming, but don't understand the syllabus or pedagogy.

Entered at Sun Sep 25 17:20:08 CEST 2011 from (99.141.52.19)

Adam

Entered at Sun Sep 25 16:51:18 CEST 2011 from (41.97.236.28)

Empty Now

“Gadgets, is there a best way to behave ?”
this passage from my last post may seem vague, it would take to re typewrite the cited article to give the phrase a shape, and the material is increasing everyday. I guess my observations are not too different from everybody else experience

linked above an awesome ad clip, (i hope it won’t be hijacked again) funnier than a joke.

Selected translation, (the guy is visibly bigamist)
0:04 - "what to do! with that screaming female ?"
0:18 - "you've come, I miss you, i need to see you and know how are you doing"
0:22 - "I've come and and I brought with me PEACE, the next time you need to see me, use THIS"
0:36 – “My Lady, never we will be disturbed again”

Entered at Sun Sep 25 15:51:40 CEST 2011 from (71.246.9.74)

bob w.

Entered at Sun Sep 25 14:05:21 CEST 2011 from (96.30.174.20)

joej

"I'm not disillusioned; I'm not illusioned either.", sayeth the bard.

Entered at Sun Sep 25 11:49:55 CEST 2011 from (82.69.47.175)

Peter V

Entered at Sun Sep 25 11:42:05 CEST 2011 from (82.69.47.175)

Peter V

I tried accessing Jonathan Taplin through iTunes Book Store and amazon.co.uk, so the first advice I'd give is Facebook is not the way to sell unless you're linked to iTunes or amazon. And if you're linked to the US store, it's also worth linking to the UK store to expand your potential market by 25%.

I'm fascinated by the embedded music and video idea. It's the perfect way of doing a book about music and musicians. It's going to work better on an iPad than a B&W Kindle though because of colour and audio and video. Will it work on Kindle at all? Also iPad can read Kindle books. I don't think the vice versa is true?

Entered at Sun Sep 25 04:05:20 CEST 2011 from (71.246.9.74)

bob w.

Entered at Sun Sep 25 02:47:23 CEST 2011 from (24.108.131.161)

JT

Subject: Margaret Steen 1965 Dylan interview

John D I remember reading that interview first hand when it was first written. Dylan had a real connection with Toronto - Quest at CBC in 1964 - then Mary Martin and the Hawks connection - then Massey Hall in Nov. 65 for the 2 shows we saw . There wasn't that much attention being given to popular music in the print media in those days, so the Steen interview was something special to me. I hope I can get an answer to my 'The Stones That I Throw' question. Anyone, please?

Entered at Sun Sep 25 00:09:53 CEST 2011 from (82.69.47.175)

Peter V

Entered at Sun Sep 25 00:04:51 CEST 2011 from (82.69.47.175)

Peter V

Thanks, Bob. I went straight to buy it but it's market restricted "Not available to the UK." This keeps happening!

The Evil Empire … a Star wars quote. Today M/Shit WORD crashed. I restarted. Guess what? Every bookmark in Apple's SAFARI had disappeared. These are totally unconnected programs. All computer programs get worse year by year. A designer I know says WORD was a great program in 1997 (PC) or 1998 (Mac). Since then, every version gets steadily worse. Mac OS Lion is the biggest heap of shit they've ever dumped on the Mac community.

Entered at Sat Sep 24 23:59:12 CEST 2011 from (99.254.209.45)

John D

Subject: Dylan Interview Toronto Nov 15, 1965

http://www.punkhart.com/dylan/interviews/nov_1965.html

Check this interview Jerry

Entered at Sat Sep 24 23:44:39 CEST 2011 from (99.254.209.45)

John D

Can't help you Jerry. I was there the first night and it was NOT done that evening. Good luck finding the answer.

Entered at Sat Sep 24 19:08:32 CEST 2011 from (41.97.242.54)

Empty Now

First I would invoke my deep respect for your person, and toward your opinions in particular and say, everything you post has its due importance for some readers, this is the essence of respect.

I once wrote in a local newspaper an article “à la Desmond Morris” where I treated of the visible paradox : the more modern society masters the development of technology, the more it proves its awkwardness to behave with it. I focused on a third-world society, consumer not producer, axing on some morals implications.

I think I was wrong at the time about the targeted field, as the concern was not technology (who knows what technology truly is?) but rather gadgetization of technology, the products and trends of the like of Google, YouTube, Apple, Micro$oft, I guess the list is incomplete.

Upon reading your post this morning, my reaction was to spend a one day without Google, YouTube, Apple, Micro$oft, then i went for a boring walk in Saint-Jean, meanwhile I realized that it is the qualifier “Evil” that actually worried me, the Empire as never History knew being for real. His products, whose necessity remains discussable, impose themselves as a staple in everybody day’s life, define a way of life.

Google, YouTube, Apple, Micro$oft, and the like, I rather perceived them as a model of meritocracy, maybe they are guilty of success. I do not see an entity they harm, to be Evil, or maybe had them proven some concurrency abuse practices, I don’t know, I lack of information in that field

Maybe you just wrote it tongue in cheek, and the topic isn’t worth its waste of time.

Yours

back to The Band

Entered at Sat Sep 24 16:35:25 CEST 2011 from (71.246.9.74)

bob w.

An "e-book" from Jonathan Taplin.

Entered at Sat Sep 24 15:54:52 CEST 2011 from (24.108.131.161)

JT

Subject: 'The Stones That I Throw'

I would like to settle a question by asking anyone who knows to confirm that Levon and the Hawks played 'The Stones That I Throw' at the second of the two Massey Hall concerts in Toronto on Nov. 15, 1965. I recall hearing them play it that evening (I was there) without Dylan on stage in the second half of the concert. I have been trying to get this verified by anyone who was also there. I have written to a number of people including one of the musicians but have not yet received an answer. There is no existing set list for those concerts which I can find 'on line'. Can anyone confirm? Does anyone have the set lists? Thanks

Entered at Sat Sep 24 12:43:13 CEST 2011 from (82.69.47.175)

Peter V

When they played the UK in 1996, Randy played bass for Caledonia Mission, then handed it to Levon for Crazy Mama right afterwards. From memory (vague) they both used a PB, which was not the bass Rick was using.

Entered at Sat Sep 24 04:51:44 CEST 2011 from (75.75.20.151)

JTull Fan

Lars, errrr no. Roosevelt Stadium was a dump but a historical one. Pesky's pole on the other hand is in a shit hole :)

Entered at Sat Sep 24 02:14:00 CEST 2011 from (24.164.173.243)

Lars

Subject: The Grand Old Stadium

Pat- I'm proud that our boys got to perform in that venue pictured in your second link. Is the Pesky Pole in that shot?

Earlier there was a post about Levon coming out from behind the drumkit and playing bass. At Woodstock '94 Rando also came out to play the bass and I never knew he played the instrument. Kind of a throwback to the OQ when they would swap instruments between songs.

On the subject of nicknames (I was almost half right on my take on "FB" Robertson), The Reformed Band had a lot of nicknames running through it. They even gave some fans a different identity. A.P. was on sound and Butch always drove Lee to the show. Ricky sometimes had to use panty hose to replace a broken fan belt, but he always made it to the show. Levon even named his dog "Muddy."

Pat, just a quick word of praise off-topic. I just re-read Burke Davis' TO APPOMATTOX: NINE APRIL DAYS IN 1865 (if that title isn't accurate, it's close enough)...and it was an excellent read. Especially after trying to read Walter Taylor's FOUR YEARS WITH GENERAL LEE, which was like reading a phone book.

Entered at Fri Sep 23 23:56:42 CEST 2011 from (64.105.104.160)

Pat B

No, more like left center field. That scoreboard is dead left field. Those are the bleachers down the left field foul line in that background of this photo.

Entered at Fri Sep 23 23:49:27 CEST 2011 from (64.105.104.160)

Pat B

So the Band/The Dead set up in right center field.

Entered at Fri Sep 23 22:39:29 CEST 2011 from (217.5.150.254)

JTull Fan

Entered at Fri Sep 23 22:33:48 CEST 2011 from (217.5.150.254)

JTull Fan

Subject: Roosevelt Stadium

An even more interesting link. I spend much of my time posting here these days...

Entered at Fri Sep 23 22:30:50 CEST 2011 from (217.5.150.254)

JTull Fan

Subject: Roosevelt Stadium

Scroll down about 2/3rds the way...

Entered at Fri Sep 23 20:46:15 CEST 2011 from (82.69.47.175)

Peter V

It's happened before. You put a YouTube link, and you get diverted to some shite advertising. This time it's Apple, proving once and for all (I knew it when I installed OSX Lion) that Apple are the new Micro$oft.

OK, just Google "Connie francis Fallin' and you should get there, though Google, along with YouTube, Apple and Micro$oft are all aspects of the Evil Empire. May the force be with you.

Entered at Fri Sep 23 18:40:31 CEST 2011 from (41.97.186.230)

Empty Now

Subject: youtuberies (for fun)

clicking on your link Mr Peter V, what I got is the [link above]

if you see the same thing I see, three page later, and right now, they propose 3 Macbook Air, 4 iPhone 4, 2 iPad 2 remaining to win

There's more in the picture than needs the eye

Entered at Fri Sep 23 16:52:59 CEST 2011 from (82.69.47.175)

Peter V

Subject: Fallin'

Thanks. They're a great band … bass player's also good. Having said it was superior to Connie Francis's original hit, I linked to that. It's pretty great too with a very different twangy guitar part.

Entered at Fri Sep 23 16:07:15 CEST 2011 from (131.137.35.83)

sadavid

Subject: Wanda Jackson's guitar man

Peter V: I was intrigued by the track, and the question, so I ran the Google thru its paces for a bit.

The short answer is: Roy Clark (with a question mark).

One Marvin Hughes on piano, one Ken Nelson producing, the rest of this tight little band lost to history.

This bunch recorded (at "Bradley Film & Recording Studio, 804 16th Ave. South, Nashville 3,TN") for four days and cut 16 tracks (an album and two singles), four tracks per day, bam bam bam. Two before lunch, two after lunch, doors open at 9, doors close at 5.

Entered at Fri Sep 23 14:58:31 CEST 2011 from (74.203.77.122)

Jon Lyness

Subject: Re: Roosevelt Stadium

Cool, I've been quoted by Peter! I'm humbled...and feel like I should tape it up on the fridge. ;) Yes, I was quite excited when that Roosevelt Stadium boot surfaced. Though in retrospect I'm embarrassed to see my reference to it "tying or surpassing Watkins Glen as the definitive show". I can only have meant the now-discredited "Watkins Glen" that was the official release, as I had not then heard the real Watkins Glen recordings (and now that I have, I wouldn't call them the definitive anything though there are some fun bits scattered around). But yep, that 8/1/73 is a real keeper.

Entered at Fri Sep 23 14:24:24 CEST 2011 from (82.69.47.175)

Peter V

Subject: Fallin'

I'm stuck into "Where The Boys Are" in the Ace Songwriter series (Sedaka & Greenfield) and have Wanda Jackson's (superior) version of Fallin' on replay. Link is to it on YouTube. Ace fail to say who's playing guitar. Does anyone know? It's classic late 50s guitar.

Entered at Fri Sep 23 14:19:57 CEST 2011 from (82.69.47.175)

Peter V

The "Roosevelt Stadium 8/1/73" boot does clip Saved on the end, noting that it's the 7/31/73 performance. They did process it enough to improve it too.

Entered at Fri Sep 23 13:43:36 CEST 2011 from (75.34.39.10)

Adam

Entered at Fri Sep 23 11:25:12 CEST 2011 from (82.69.47.175)

Peter V

You’re right. The organ at the end of “Saved” from 31st July 1973 is very nice. There are some good bits in it. I might be mellowing. The bass playing is uncharacteristic … watching The Alllman Bros the day before? Dipping into other bits they’re leaden, and also no one is in great vocal form. I like Levon in the banging on a big bass drum bit. But I’m still convinced that 1st August was a vastly better show. Listen to “Loving You” and the two bass parts. Tossed away on 31st July. Danko at his best on 1st August.

Entered at Fri Sep 23 10:58:14 CEST 2011 from (41.97.186.230)

Empty Now

Subject: John D, Peter V : Bluray / Neil Young (epilog)

John D, Peter V: thanks for the precious indications, for the seriousness and objectivity

I need to display the following thoughts, without sentiment

There's always a moment for any fan of a legendary Rock star to feel disconcerted by the legendary Rock star

Out of the blue and into the black
They give you this, but you pay for that

I 've been merely pleased by this line, full of lyricism at its time, without being able to figure out any particular situation, and much less, to place particular individuals on both sides of the transaction, as of course contenting myself with the obviousness that "they" refers to "the others", "the bad ones"

the current marketing tendency of its author seems to give it a reason

period

Entered at Fri Sep 23 09:31:43 CEST 2011 from (82.69.47.175)

Peter V

There were two shows in Jersey City in 1973. The 31st July, on the bootleg “This Wheel’s On Fire” was the first. Then the bootleg “Roosevelt Stadium 8/1/73” captures the next night. I remember the first show as weak and lacklustre, still exhausted after Watkin’s Glen (which was their first show in nearly two years). On the second night, they were back to form. On the GB, Jon Lyness said:

JON:

The 2nd show blows away the first in every way, tying or surpassing Watkins Glen as the definitive show from that middle period of the original group. The sound is phenomenal, with all of the instruments sounding crisp and in-your-face, and the Band sounds like they are at the top of their game. A fairly pedestrian setlist (for the time) is elevated by smoking, confident performances by each and every member. Robbie's guitar in particular stands out...but they all really outdo themselves on this one. Several of the songs (Back to Memphis, Chest Fever, & others) even feature extended instrumental verses which are breathtaking...I've never heard the original lineup jam so much!, although perhaps those of you with a tape collection know more than I do. Sadly, Garth's Genetic Method has been cut, seemingly to fit the whole show onto one disc, but that is the only flaw I can find with this gem. The CD is called Roosevelt Stadium (quite reasonably!). This is not to be confused with the boot called Roosevelt Stadium, which is the same as Blue Highways & This Wheel's on Fire, all of which contain the 1st concert at Roosevelt (July 31, 1973). Along with The Last Moving Shadows, Roosevelt Stadium 8/1/73 is one of the real finds of the last several years. If you see it, don't pass this one by.”

ME: The notes I have say on 31st July:

For: It contains the only live recording of Saved. Also Endless Highway pre-1974 tour.

Against: Saved is not a classic by The Band, and this recording proves that even the greatest have their real off-nights.

Lovin You is simply a dreadful performance, vocally and instrumentally - but sound quality is dreadful as well.”

I suppose I should pull them down and check. My point about bootlegs is fair.

Entered at Fri Sep 23 05:12:43 CEST 2011 from (68.171.231.81)

Bill M

Entered at Fri Sep 23 01:21:18 CEST 2011 from (80.61.9.3)

Eskandar

Subject: Saved

I was recently reading through Peter Viney's assessment of Moondog Matinee, and I noticed this passage in particular: "It's one of the few Moondog Matinee songs to make their stage act, though the Jersey City 1973 version which has appeared on bootleg (as This Wheel's On Fire and as Blue Highways ) is frankly awful, one of the worst Band performances I've heard. They can't be criticized for an unsanctioned release though! Listen to this and you see why artists hate bootlegs so much (apart from the loss of royalties)." So I take it this it's the July 31rst Jersey City recording he's talking about? Why the hate, mr. Viney? I absolutely love that version, especially Hudson's awesome organ solo right at the end. Why do you dislike it so much?

Entered at Thu Sep 22 22:37:00 CEST 2011 from (71.246.9.74)

bob w.

Entered at Thu Sep 22 22:08:35 CEST 2011 from (99.254.209.45)

John D

Believe it's the Samsung 1500 bob. Thanks for your interest.

Entered at Thu Sep 22 19:01:12 CEST 2011 from (71.246.9.74)

bob w.

Entered at Thu Sep 22 17:21:30 CEST 2011 from (82.69.47.175)

Peter V

We watch in a long rectangular room, with the screen a good distance away. The TV guy who set it up reckons we wouldn't see major blu-ray benefit, because we're "at the right distance." He said Blu-ray comes into its own when you're sitting closer (and so pixellation becomes more of a problem). Don't know.

Entered at Thu Sep 22 16:26:31 CEST 2011 from (99.254.209.45)

John D

Got a Samsung Blue-Ray early on. Beautiful picture. That's where it stops. Now I can't play two of my favorite Brian Wilson DVD's. Also the latest Jack Johnson DVD. Won't play mp3 CD's. I could go on. You really need two machines. Old technology to play everything Blu-Ray won't and Blu-Ray to enjoy such movies as The Searchers; with John Wayne. One of the most beautifully shot films ever.

Dont talk to me about downloading new firmware. Oh no.

Entered at Thu Sep 22 10:14:51 CEST 2011 from (41.97.191.20)

Empty Now

Subject: Watch out musinessmen! Blu Ray (has surely come)

Thanks Sadavid for the link, Rust never sleeps

I guess I am a fan of Neil Young, but who isn’t a fan of Neil Young ?

I was as contemplative of Neil Young's heyday work, his talent and skill to conciliate art-for-art and committed-art, protest-song some say,

I didn't see it coming like a tidal wave his ecumenical commercial compliance. The three are not necessarily incompatible.

Uneasy to conceive how the pensioned from Broken Arrow Ranch breaks into the music business. There are lessons to be learned

The link above

"A MESSAGE FROM NEIL : WHY BLU-RAY IS BETTER FOR NYA"

is for information only, for the GBers who want to engage the discussion in conformity with the primary purpose of The Band Guestbook

Entered at Thu Sep 22 07:39:36 CEST 2011 from (75.34.39.10)

Adam

Entered at Thu Sep 22 05:44:25 CEST 2011 from (99.115.147.236)

Pat B

Entered at Thu Sep 22 05:43:17 CEST 2011 from (99.115.147.236)

Pat B

Entered at Thu Sep 22 01:26:32 CEST 2011 from (96.30.174.20)

joe j

Subject: F.B.

That's good Seb, my guess was Felice Boudleaux.

A local roots band, the Once, has a new release. Thefirst song I've heard is a cover of the cheesy Queen hit "Ooh You Make Me Live Now.." or whatever. I'm loving it and was hoping to post a youtube link but not yet. Perhaps the once. Link is to a cover of a Strawbs tune instead in which Geraldine Hollett takes on Sandy Denny and scores a draw.

Entered at Thu Sep 22 01:26:59 CEST 2011 from (216.165.95.70)

Ari

Entered at Thu Sep 22 00:16:30 CEST 2011 from (216.220.192.132)

Sebastian

Levon had made up nicknames for all the boys in The Hawks... Beak, Honeyboy and F.B. stood for Funky Bobby Robertson.

Entered at Wed Sep 21 21:15:48 CEST 2011 from (82.69.47.175)

Peter V

Entered at Wed Sep 21 20:16:23 CEST 2011 from (156.47.15.10)

David P

No sooner does Al Edge initiate discussion here about R.E.M. a few days ago, then comes the end of that band as we know it. Breaking news today is that R.E.M. is calling it quits after 30 years. :-(

Entered at Wed Sep 21 20:03:43 CEST 2011 from (131.137.35.83)

sadavid

Subject: jumping on the Bandwagon

Another old man takes a look at his life . . . .

Entered at Wed Sep 21 19:52:38 CEST 2011 from (69.177.235.14)

Todd

Subject: Alex & Janel - Nobody's Watching

Been too busy with work and life to post much lately, but I wanted to share this clip of Alex & Janel. My photographer friend Ahron Foster turned me on to these guys. It gives me hope that there is still meaningful music being made out there by young singer songwriters.

It’s a really lovely acoustic backyard type performance. They harmonize very nicely together, and I’m blown away by Janel’s voice. Even though it’s an alt-country type of tune, she injects a lot of soul into it that suggests Amy Winehouse but with more control. I also hear a little bit of Natalie Merchant in her voice along with a touch of Judy Garland…..really wonderful stuff. And, she’s pretty easy on the eyes, which is a nice bonus. Oh yeah, the dude with the beard (Alex) playing guitar and singing is pretty good too!

Entered at Wed Sep 21 18:34:03 CEST 2011 from (41.97.160.210)

Empty Now

"And her anklet weighing two pounds"

Entered at Wed Sep 21 13:37:07 CEST 2011 from (41.162.7.114)

NUX

DUNC:Thanks for the feedback on John Martyn tribute album.Syd played me the song a week before he passed away and I have not heard it since.Would love to get hold of the album!

BST:One of my guilty pleasures I must say.(it hasn't dated well though)I've always enjoyed the"In Concert"album(released under various titles)

Entered at Wed Sep 21 11:28:22 CEST 2011 from (82.42.175.156)

Al Edge

Sounds good to me Pete. I'll pay his bus fare!!

:-0)

Entered at Wed Sep 21 11:23:16 CEST 2011 from (41.97.160.210)

Empty Now

Subject: Do not read this post without Parental Advisory

The rest of the verse in Hasni’s song “Drunk every evening, I fall asleep on the wooden bar”

Kevin J – JRR autobiography – There is a Arabian saying which means at the second level “to grant success is not to hurry towards success” the saying can also be taken at its immediate understanding.

“The only work done at perfection, is the work done at its schedule”

Tthe most admirable facet of The Band among what seduced me from the early days was this impression that the collective give themselves the time to mature their material, never hurry in the common vein of the pop business.
What I sensed starting with HTBC cooking and release date, and now JRR autobiography book, is very reminiscent of the The Band spirit

talking of Arabian sayings, i just learned this one related to a recent Neil Young evocation
"If you see the teeth of the lion, do not think that the lion is smiling at you.”, Al-Mutanabbi (915-965)

Football, the most you spend on Earth the more you see unfold, this may interest Norb and Al : a friend I met yesterday said me that he just watched the game Bayern Schalke NulFier, surprising for I always spelled it Schalke ZéroQuatre

My theory about that kind of colorful imagery in North African literature is that it emerged from the need to express libido inspired threads in a strongly puritan society

The most representative piece is the linked above song. Bellaredj == White Stork, It is a classic, very popular, written in the Andalusian era

Textual translation

My White Stork with the long neck
Who stands above the two cabins
Don’t graze in the garden of my Lady
And her wristband weighing two pounds

it is a very beautiful melody, the lyrics are very poetic, even pastoral, it can be a nice song for children, my problem is that everything suggests to rather understand at the second level, using Roz explicit terminology, the following meaning: “My long penis who erects above my two big testicles, don’t penetrate the pubis of my lady and her vulva weighing two pounds”

. You even get the weight with accuracy. Ok, everybody is free to choose their preferred understanding, or it is time for me to consult a psy

Entered at Wed Sep 21 09:54:37 CEST 2011 from (82.69.47.175)

Peter V

BST 3 was a bit of a classic third album dip after BST 2, which I wore out. If you hadn't heard Lonesome Suzie by BST before, I'm sure it impresses. I liked it the first few times, and in those days headphones were a novelty and I played it to death in the Language Laboratory. When I added The Band, most of the teachers my age continued to prefer the BST version. And in recent years, i've gone off the Band version too, which makes me a poor judge.

Someone said that the Chicago / BST sound would be the next thing to be revived and reissued and acclaimed. Could be that we're in for a lot of brass sections. BST3 is a hell of a lot better than Chicago III, which was a dramatic and massive loss of form after Chicago II. If you find a Chicago III secondhand, it will always be near mint. Never played twice. I have played it several times because I did an article on it for a "worst third album" thing.

Entered at Wed Sep 21 09:45:22 CEST 2011 from (82.69.47.175)

Peter V

Entered at Wed Sep 21 01:07:41 CEST 2011 from (82.42.175.156)

Al Edge

I'll give you my take on it Kev that I posted on the footy site.

It essentially comes down to a serious criticism of the manager's team selection for such an important game, centering around his continued selection of a big centr forward named Andy Carroll for whom we paid £35 million who has simply failed for whatever reason to perfom since his arrival last Christmas.

Opening bit refers to a post from a fan of Newcastle who had seen andy Carroll at his best when playing for newcastle.

""Some fine posts from our Geordie comrade. Very informative concerning how Andy fitted in up at St James's.

And there's no doubt looking at those videos that Andy really did look a real handful for Newcastle.

However, despite some folk in this thread appearing to have detected similar qualities in his appearances for us, the fact remains that he has scarcely troubled a single defence save for those two isolated cameos against City and one against Valencia. More worryingly given our quest for that 4th place, we have looked unbalanced as a team in virtually every game Andy has played. Any other take on his performances - and the performance levels of the team when he's played - is surely just wishful thinking.

And it contrasts starkly with how balanced and fluent we have looked with Kuyt partnering Suarez up front. An entirely different proposition with the opposition genuinely troubled by their high pressing and hard running partnership and Kuyt himself playing far better than he's ever done wide right and seeming to give Suarez the extra motivation to buzz around. With Carroll's far less mobile game alongside him, it's as if Suarez becomes quickly disheartened at the additional burden on his shoulders brought about by Andy's lack of menace and mobility.

That hard running, pressing and closing down of the front pair has also had added benefit in that it seems to have set the tone for the rest of the side encouraging a fluidity and passing game that we simply haven't managed with Andy Carroll in the side. Lucas and particularly Adam seem far more comfortable in their own role knowing that they have an addedd defensive sheild in front of them and a more mobile outlet when they receive the ball.

It may seem a mite skewed to pinpoint a single player change as the entire reason for the contrasting team performance levels we have seen. Yet that really does seem to be the case. It's not a marginal thing. It's fuckin stark.

The way I see it, we simply cannot afford to keep persevering with Andy just so he can use these important games to rediscover his mobility, his heart, his pace, his determination, his timing of his leaps and thus his slotting into the team. We need to build a platform of consistent performances and hopefully results stemming from those performances.

Andy, meantime, has surely got to re-discover his form and devilment and menace in reserve games or, at most, games such as this one tonight or by being introduced in small doses as substitute. It's up to Kenny to reassure him that once he's able to show the requisite performance levels then maybe he can feature as the vital player we all believed he would be and who our geordie mate reassures us he was up at St James's. But at present his inclusion is without doubt harming the team performance as a whole when compared to how it functions with Kuytie in Andy's place.

And besides it's making me feel absolutely fuckin shite.""

Entered at Wed Sep 21 00:08:32 CEST 2011 from (82.42.175.156)

The Bag Snatcher

I was kind of hoping you hadn't seen that one..

:-0(

There are reasons for it that I could bore you to death with. But I guess the honest answer is we were utter shoite.

Onwards and upwards.

:-0)

Entered at Tue Sep 20 23:01:05 CEST 2011 from (156.47.15.10)

David P

Speaking of Band covers -- there's Three Dog Night's version of "Chest Fever". It must have been very profitable royalty-wise, as it was the B-side to TDN's cover of Nilsson's "One", their first gold record that reached #5 in the U.S. charts. Is this case, "$one" followed by a lot of zeros was not a lonely number garnered by the writers & publishers for both sides of the single.

Entered at Tue Sep 20 22:15:31 CEST 2011 from (70.31.50.216)

Kevin J

….and Al…..any more games like Liverpool’s last and I might start regretting my allegiance……Bag-snatching it is then……

Entered at Tue Sep 20 21:48:45 CEST 2011 from (82.69.47.175)

Peter V

I've recounted the tale of how as a young ELT teacher, I found the Language Laboratory at the school had a stack of 7.5 ips tapes, including Lonesome Suzie from BST 3. I lived with it for a few weeks, and actually quite enjoyed it, then I added The Band version. But after the passing of years, I'm afraid I can't stand the BST version any more. It's gone. I still like Spinning Wheel (BST 2) and I Can't Quit Her (BST 1) though.

Entered at Tue Sep 20 20:45:40 CEST 2011 from (70.31.50.216)

Kevin J

Subject: Lonesome Suzie

David Clayton Thomas - One of the few guys out there that could have matched Richard and does on this take.......Would not have fit in the Band at all but what a singer.

Entered at Tue Sep 20 20:00:42 CEST 2011 from (70.31.50.216)

Kevin J

For Robertson, connecting music with artwork is a longtime tradition. "I asked Bob Dylan to paint the album cover for Music from Big Pink," he recalled. "He said, 'Yeah, let me see what I can come up with.' He went and painted that and I said, 'Yeah, that's pretty good – we'll use that!' Somebody just told me they're asking $18 million for it."

In addition to releasing the collector's set, Robertson is juggling a slew of new projects. He's already begun writing new material (including new collaborations with producer Howie B.) and is in the early stages of composing music for an upcoming Martin Scorsese film set in 16th-century Japan. He's also begun work on his autobiography, to be published by Crown. "It's a huge undertaking," he says, "especially since I'm not doing it with anybody. But I'm enjoying the storytelling process." Right now, Robertson said he's not sure when the book will be finished. "My deadline is when I figure out what I'm doing," he joked.

Entered at Tue Sep 20 17:04:27 CEST 2011 from (71.246.9.74)

bob w.

Subject: Crooked Stll

A friend just sent this link to me. Thought I would pass it on here.

Entered at Tue Sep 20 16:40:29 CEST 2011 from (64.105.104.221)

Pat B

Entered at Tue Sep 20 16:06:04 CEST 2011 from (74.190.55.189)

Mike C

Subject: A penny for her thoughts

Stubbed my ear on this nugget while wandering aimlessly through Youtube nation...

Entered at Tue Sep 20 15:00:15 CEST 2011 from (41.97.202.223)

Empty Now

Entered at Tue Sep 20 13:41:23 CEST 2011 from (82.42.175.156)

Al Edge

Bag Snatcher

Love it Norb!! You mad fecker.

:-0)

How did you find out by the way?

Entered at Tue Sep 20 13:12:24 CEST 2011 from (89.241.4.130)

Douglas

The first listen I had of The Gourds new album didn't impress me! I can only hope it's a grower. However, I'm Loving the latest Ry Cooder album.

Entered at Tue Sep 20 13:11:48 CEST 2011 from (94.172.130.9)

Roger

Subject: Bob Dylan - Mark Knopfler UK Tour

Tickets go on sale on Friday for three concerts at The Apollo, Hammersmith. Sat 19th, Sun 20th and Mon 21st November.

Entered at Tue Sep 20 13:10:59 CEST 2011 from (89.241.4.130)

Douglas

The first listen i had of The Gourds new album didn't impress me! I can only hope it's a grower. However, I'm Loving the latest Ry Cooder album.

Entered at Tue Sep 20 10:41:18 CEST 2011 from (41.97.202.223)

Empty Now

today's North-African spoken language
sample: if I had to translate a today's composition, the linked above song for ecample, one word is all what I have to know to complete the homework
Baida == Blonde

Entered at Tue Sep 20 10:36:50 CEST 2011 from (41.97.202.223)

Empty Now

I was so proud of my yesterday's translation, truly most text is inexistent in today's language
there is one word only which was wrongly translated as proper noun "Celis", it occurs at 6:13 in the version of Driassa

the word seems having a meaning in the full phrase "green celis"
I suspected a nuance of green, green may also refer to something fresh, new, rather than a color

One of my last tricks in similar situations is to tape the word in Google Images and exploit the results [see link] all the pictures seem related with bred

Norbert, Ilkka : how can them thing something bad about the internet ? (and un German en plus)

Entered at Tue Sep 20 08:32:15 CEST 2011 from (99.89.226.221)

PutEmUp(Friend0

Subject: newer young jazz talent

Entered at Tue Sep 20 03:15:43 CEST 2011 from (68.198.223.205)

Jed

Owned this on tape a bunch of years back and the sound was muddied and very difficult to hear.Today I got a cd of this performance,sound cleaned up(could hear someones's grandpa yell out,"Where's Dylan?)and really nice earthy tones in this scaled down,low key performance.Not perfect,but the songs are still perfect.Richard Manuel was singing beautifully that night and I believe they left RR's mic on there a few times.All in all a nice,interesting listening experience.

Entered at Mon Sep 19 22:32:24 CEST 2011 from (109.154.213.119)

Dunc

Subject: Kevin, Adam, Nux

Kevin:A great trip. I think the song is wonderful.

Adam:I posted about this on Little Pink. The memorial to Richard in Stratford is a bench beautifully situated by a river.(see Jan's site).

When I went down down to the bench, there was a woman sitting on the bench, who had been crying and said she visited the bench every day. My wife and I sat with her for about an hour and calmed her.

She told a sad tale that she had lived with her ill father all her life and cared for him until he had recently died. He had left the family house to this lady.

She had recently found out that her siblings had gone to a lawyer to say that she and the deceased father had mental health problems to get the will declared void. She was all alone. We pressed on her to see a lawyer and she said she would. But it left us upset because we had to leave her to return by train to Toronto. If this had happened in Scotland we would have supported her better.

Nux:I've been listening to Syd Kitchen on the John Martyn tribute album. He brought something different to the track.

Entered at Mon Sep 19 19:43:30 CEST 2011 from (216.114.128.38)

Mike H.

Subject: Weider, Ciarlante, Bernstein, Alexis P Suter & many others in Oct 16 "Irene" victims concert fundraiser.

Former The Band members & others join forces to raise money for hurricane "Irene" victims.

Entered at Mon Sep 19 19:35:06 CEST 2011 from (156.47.15.10)

David P

Al Edge: I admire the work of R.E.M., especially their earlier recordings before the departure of Bill Berry. As apples & oranges are to music, I would never compare them with The Band. Apart from the differences in styles, one needs maps and legends to follow the abstract tangents of the subject matter of R.E.M.'s songs. That said, I would cite their 1985 album, "Fables of the Reconstruction", recorded with Joe Boyd in London, as a work that deals with the landscape of America, specifically the South, much as The Band did on The Brown Album. Lyrically, of course, Michael Stipe favors dense layers, rather than a direct approach, setting R.E.M. apart.

I was at the University of Georgia in Athens just before emergence of R.E.M. and some friends of mine lived in the converted church where the group first played a few years later. I was first exposed to the group, just before their first recordings were released, when I saw a video of them playing at Wuxtry Records in Atlanta, where Peter Buck worked before moving to Athens.

Entered at Mon Sep 19 18:40:59 CEST 2011 from (90.239.115.54)

NorthWestCoaster

Subject: Guestbook paranoia - Aren't we here alone???

PATTI SMITH received this year's POLAR MUSIC PRIZE. He spent three days in Stockholm with internationally famous Swedish writer HENNING MANKELL (60+ leftist who is active in Ship To Gaza). He was asked about their talks. He said something like this:

"....we talked about this and that hmmm... (Interviewer: like what?) .... hmmm like Bob Dylan's musicians...his relationship to them..."

Nothing else in three days?! Now I need a drink.

Entered at Mon Sep 19 18:32:13 CEST 2011 from (78.145.120.60)

Douglas

Subject: Gourds

I got this the other day and I'm hoping it sounds like The Band. One of roots music’s most fervent leaders, Texas greats, The Gourds present their Vanguard Records debut, Old Man Joy. Produced by Larry Campbell at the infamous Levon Helm Studios a.k.a. The Barn, Old Mad Joy embraces the eccentric character and sonic range of the band while pushing their sound to the next level. I have most of the Gourds stuff and will give this a listen tonight)

Entered at Mon Sep 19 17:53:23 CEST 2011 from (70.31.50.216)

Kevin J

Subject: Nothing But the Whole Wide World

Entered at Mon Sep 19 17:44:38 CEST 2011 from (90.239.115.54)

NorthWestCoaster

Subject: Norbert's Internet Blues

Norbert's post about the internet made my day! - For ten years ago when fooling around here as deputy moderator I had a nice co-operation with Swedish Internet Police. We checked out Norbertus and Pater V. and Master Jan who all are long-lost cousins of Mother Teresa but then we had this/these jerks...

My memory is long.

Entered at Mon Sep 19 17:34:13 CEST 2011 from (70.31.50.216)

Kevin J

………On the topic of the bag snatcher dressed in red with lists and lists and lists flowing from those bags, REM is a band I like very much and in the George Harrison benchmark of greatness if had I a jukebox in my home – many of their albums would be on it ( start to finish “Monster” is my favourite )……that all said – I have never - not once - ever thought of the Band when listening to their music…….and I have never in the hundreds of interviews/articles/Music TV appearances, etc. ever seen anyone from the REM ever make any reference to the Band…………The Byrds they would cite ad nauseam……M.Stipe would also prattle on about The New York Dolls and Bowie and Iggy but never the Band

Entered at Mon Sep 19 17:15:57 CEST 2011 from (70.31.50.216)

Kevin J

Glen Campbell: Purchased the new CD on Saturday….and first impressions are that only two songs stand out…….”In My Arms” by Teddy Thompson and “Nothing but the Whole Wide World” by Jacob Dylan………the rest at least on first spin made no impression at all. I can see Paul Westerberg’s “Ghost on the Canvas” being a hit of sorts but it is a long long way from his vintage writing………………….On a funny note there is one song that is a blatant copy of a past Glen Campbell hit…………….don’t have the cd with me and cannot remember the song title - and the past hit also escapes my memory but it is an obvious clip…..

Entered at Mon Sep 19 16:07:01 CEST 2011 from (216.114.128.38)

Mike H.

Entered at Mon Sep 19 15:36:29 CEST 2011 from (131.137.35.83)

sadavid

Subject: "This world would be a sorry-ass place . . .

. . . if we didn't have recorded music."

Terrific Ry Cooder interview from the _Saturday Night Blues_ radio show.

Entered at Mon Sep 19 11:40:46 CEST 2011 from (41.97.132.193)

Empty Now

alternate performance

Entered at Mon Sep 19 11:39:54 CEST 2011 from (41.97.132.193)

Empty Now

Subject: Rachda - from the North-African anthology

This sung Poem is one reason of a serious argument and controversy with some honorable colleagues in the Learned Society.
They defend the theory that the text must be taken at its first degree and conceive it as "just one more supernatural story", very common in past North-African literature.
Conversely, I like to think that the semantic is rather rare, I have enough experience with the North-African imagery to believe that it is a prosaic story of the classic
illegitimate sex relationship of a teenage girl and her loss of innocence, but told with undecryptable allegories and metaphors that are evocative of the most erotic act.
Not having their solid knowledge in theological symbols, which are very numerous in the text, I may be wrong. They gave me an F.
If I am right, then this song is pure splendor, if they are right, the song remains splendid.
The story is set surprisingly in Cairo, for the Al-Azhar religious authority. The whole story is also conformal with the Moslim faith orthodoxy, as the thematic of the resuscitated is not necessarily contradictory with the dogma that "every living must taste death".
The other center of interest is the date of the poem, 1829, at the eve of the French invasion. It is a treasure of linguistic, given the negative influence of French on today's North6African spoken language.

Compacted Translation

The story of a worshiper boy in his solitude, Came the devil to challenge him
Put a bone on his lap and said to him, Give him life If you are capable
The boy said "Go away Grand Army of Satan", Drilling a hole and he buried the bone
From the hole erected an unknown tree with all beautiful fruits
When Egypt opened its gates, Women and young virgins started to visit it every Friday as a shrine
She was a child girl, such as Crescent, perfect in innocence
She came to the tree in pilgrimage, leaves poured from it, green Celis
A branch leaned down and poured milk on her, She tasted its amazing flavor
Sweeter than sugar and raisins, Then in ecstasy she picked a fruit and she ate it
The fruit went straight inside her womb, three months her belly blew up
Her mother shouted "What have you done Rachda"
"How can you doubt of my virtue, I always sleep by your side"
Her Father said and his heart was as stone "I will kill her and drink her blood"
"My Father, my Confidence, Think before if you killed me without reason
Go consult the Al-Azhar Mosque Distinguished scholars "
"What is the penalty of the sinners" he asks, the masters sitting on carpets told him
"Stoning is the punishment of the sinners" The child girl was brought to stoning gate
A young boy came from nowhere "What is the crime of the baby in her belly ?"
They said to him, "You are a good judge, we are imperfect minds"
Passed nine months, screamed the voice of a painless childbirth
And the parents hearts were happy, rushed candles, people visit to congratulate from every tribe
The boy arose an outstanding scholar genius, he read the Quran
He was cherished by his grandfather more that anyone
God have mercy of my talk, the poem is from Hashemi of the seal
His grandfather is Moulay Abdeslam Abdul-Qadir the wise mind
On the year two hundred, four quarters, and one thousand
The bottom line was achieved on the a new moon of Shaaban
Allah, make me die a martyr, and forgive all the Moslims

Entered at Mon Sep 19 08:55:38 CEST 2011 from (41.162.7.114)

NUX

Now this one is as close to "Band" sounding as one could get?

Entered at Sun Sep 18 21:08:50 CEST 2011 from (70.78.225.207)

Northern Boy

Subject: Headwater

Heard this Vancouver group live last month and quite enjoyed them. In this clip, featuring slide guitar and mandolin solos, they're performing in Germany. I've read somewhere that bluegrass has actually got quite a strong following in Germany. (Norbert ?)

Personally, I don't see the German psyche as having a whole lotta hillbilly in it, (be it either Jed Clampett or Tennessee Jed). To my way of thinking at least, the combination seems more than a little incongruous, actually. Mind you, not as incongruous as watching the new Smurf movie on the BIG SCREEN, which is downright omymoronic incongruous, but pretty darn incongruous nonetheless. Now this thread oughta keep the GB hopping for a few days. You're welcome. NB

Entered at Sun Sep 18 20:56:24 CEST 2011 from (79.202.172.218)

Norbert

Subject: internet

Having dinner in the hotel restaurant yesterday evening, we couldn’t help overhearing an elderly couple talking about internet. Apparently the woman had a face book page and the man warned her about her “friends” there. “Be careful with those internet friends, you never know who they are! They could be criminals, what do you know?”

Anyway, just an average restaurant conversation, nothing special. But it puzzled my head off last night in the uncomfortable hotel bed. Could they be all imposters in this very GB?;

Pat B not a musician but a pizza crook? John D a pimp? Al Edge a bag snatcher? Norbert the swindler? Bonk a smuggler? Peter V mobster? Bill M a circumventer? pick-pocket Roger? JT a con man? Brien Sz a gambler? Joe J a delinquent? Empty a lover boy? Dunc a banker? .... ok, ok, it's me again, but what do we know?

Entered at Sun Sep 18 20:10:23 CEST 2011 from (24.218.200.216)

Tim

Subject: Robbie At "Keep Austin Weird" festival

Down at the bottom of this article (Number 14) seems to suggest Robbie showed up and played the festival on Friday, but nothing else online about it.

Entered at Sun Sep 18 20:08:46 CEST 2011 from (99.254.209.45)

John D

Thanks for that Peter. So they are from Nashville. That explains the sound.

Entered at Sun Sep 18 19:57:47 CEST 2011 from (79.202.172.218)

Norbert

Peter, great story on Santiago de Compostella, thanks.

Rog; The Grey Fox, yes!

Just back in good old Germany. For the die hards, we drove in total 680 miles, the facts;

105 L diesel petrol,

2x Old School Double Smash Chicken Wraps

2x Grannies Cajun Stir-Fried Meatballs

1x Fried Mexican Super Chicken Dip Sticker

1x "Nairobi Aroma" Black Beetle Cappuccino Mix

1x Grubs on the Half Shell with Hollyberry & Mustard Mousse

2x Tahitian Vanilla-Wombat Espresso

1x Chocolate Chip Clam Dip

Entered at Sun Sep 18 19:53:13 CEST 2011 from (184.66.107.77)

BONK

Fender Boy?

Entered at Sun Sep 18 18:41:56 CEST 2011 from (82.69.47.175)

Peter V

Entered at Sun Sep 18 18:30:54 CEST 2011 from (216.121.194.179)

S.M.

Surely- frabjous- for such a beamish boy!

Entered at Sun Sep 18 18:19:27 CEST 2011 from (99.254.209.45)

John D

Peter I've forgotten the name of the backup trio on Van Morrison's Austin City Limits show. I remember you talking about them at the time. I believe they are from your side of the pond; but sound so authentic like the Nashville session backup singers of the 50's and 60's.

Entered at Sun Sep 18 18:10:41 CEST 2011 from (216.121.194.179)

S.M.

Fabulous?

Entered at Sun Sep 18 17:03:50 CEST 2011 from (68.171.231.81)

Bill M

Entered at Sun Sep 18 15:26:36 CEST 2011 from (129.42.208.177)

Bob F.

Subject: The Waterboys New CD

You can here the wonderful new Waterboys cd on The Guardian home page today.

Entered at Sun Sep 18 13:03:47 CEST 2011 from (82.69.47.175)

Peter V

It’s interesting which cities double for other cities. Bits of Oxford have been revolutionary wars Philadelphia and Boston in the past. Source Code, set in Chicago, was filmed in Montreal except for the helicopter shots.

Entered at Sun Sep 18 12:54:53 CEST 2011 from (75.34.58.24)

Adam

Anyone know why Levon refers to Robbie as "F.B. Robertson" on Hawks live tapes?

Entered at Sun Sep 18 12:19:38 CEST 2011 from (109.154.213.119)

Dunc

Subject: I saw Halle Berry yesterday

As I was making my way to Central Station yesterday, I saw crews filming Halle Berry's new film and a Glasgow street turned into San Francisco complete with American cars, a taxi and Walk Don't Walk signs.

Last month we had Brad Pitt filming Planet Z and Glasgow's main square turned into Philadelphia.

Enjoyed the posts about The Concorde, yesterday, and reminded me of the day when I trailed my wife(One day of the holiday only she cried!) around Toronto looking at The Band sites - the site of the Concorde, Bathurst and Bloor, Cabbage Town, Parliament Street, Riverside and massive high flats with no roads. Then down to Stratford to pay homage to Richard, meeting a family friend and feeling glad they appreciated him there, meeting Lonesome Susie on the 'I Shall Be Released Bench'. I thought the foyer of the Hard Rock cafe in Toronto was done well.

Bill M - got Iain and Sylvia playing just now. I spent the annual hol in Italy this year. On the radio came an Italian, guitar, modern sounding version of 'You Were on My Mind'. I said to my wife BIll M would like that. Ah how a great song lasts.

Al Edge, Kevin:I nearly picked 'Four Strong Winds' as my Neil Young song on the list but went for a Neil Young original. I remember Steve telling me it was voted the most popular Canadian song. I wish it was the Canadian National Anthem.

Entered at Sun Sep 18 05:27:12 CEST 2011 from (68.171.231.80)

Bill M

JT: Jerry Penfound told me that he and Rick had joined at pretty much the sane time and that his (so likely Rick's) first recording was "I Feel Good". Them joining at the same time makes sense because they replaced Stan Szelest and Rebel Paine, two Buffalonians who had joined together and who would likely have left together.

Entered at Sun Sep 18 05:18:39 CEST 2011 from (68.171.231.80)

Bill M

Entered at Sun Sep 18 04:37:56 CEST 2011 from (71.246.9.74)

bob w.

Entered at Sat Sep 17 22:03:33 CEST 2011 from (68.198.223.205)

Jed

Ever notice that Rick's rhythm playing has the rhythm and clunk,clunk,gulp,clunk of his bass playing?!

Entered at Sat Sep 17 22:02:49 CEST 2011 from (68.198.223.205)

Jed

Ever notice that Rick's rhythm playing has the rhythm and clunk,clunk,gulp,clunk of his bass playing?!

Entered at Sat Sep 17 21:28:26 CEST 2011 from (41.97.195.79)

Empty Now

Subject: Arabian Jabberwocky

On a completely different chapter, this is cute, I just heard this story .

The Sultan Al Mansoor (709-775) had a memory so good he was able to memorize any poem after hearing it just once. He had a slave-boy in the court who has the ability to memorize any poem he heard so long as it was recited twice to him, and a slave girl who can memorize any poem she heard so long as it was recited three times. A poet in his empire who comes up with a new poem must recite it in the Sultan’s Court, to claim the authorship copyrights
As soon as the poet finished reciting his neverheardbefore poem, the Sultan recites it line for line without making a single mistake. “You look surprised. In fact I know of others who have heard it as well”. Then the slave-boy recites the poem. Then the slave girl.
The Sultan continued playing this trick. One by one poets from all over the empire were frustrated of their authorship claims.
When Al-Asmai’e (740 – 828, poet and zoologist from Basra, also known for his work in breeding of horses) heard their story, suspecting the trick, he composed this poem "Voice of a Nightingale"
[the link : MP3 the poem recited.]
The Sultan attempting his old trick, recited not more than the title, the boy said he never heard it.

Unlike Carol's Jabberwocky, the text has a meaning. No matter if you aren’t Arabic speaker, it makes no difference, all is in the sonority. Awesome exercise of diction

Entered at Sat Sep 17 19:18:41 CEST 2011 from (24.108.131.161)

JT

Subject: Still more (unsubstantiated wiki research)

Hi John - Cloudy in Victoria. Back to Toronto tomorrow afternoon to work. From Rick's wikipedia site... if true.....'Hawkins invited Danko to join The Hawks as rhythm guitarist. Around this time, Hawks bassist Rebel Paine was fired by Hawkins, who, wasting no time, had Danko learn bass, given help by other members of the band. By September 1960, he was Hawkins's bassist, using the Fender VI six-string bass, then switching to a Fender Jazz Bass. Soon joined by pianist Richard Manuel and organist/reedsman Garth Hudson, The Hawks played with Hawkins through mid-1963. An altercation that year between Danko and Hawkins led Danko, Helm, Robertson, Manuel, and Hudson to give two-weeks' notice in early 1964 and parted ways with Hawkins on reasonably amicable terms. ' So yes, it seems that Levon and the Hawks were 'on their own' for about 1 1/2 years maximum when events overtook them and The Band began to evolve .

Entered at Sat Sep 17 18:33:34 CEST 2011 from (82.69.47.175)

Peter V

Entered at Sat Sep 17 17:50:01 CEST 2011 from (99.254.209.45)

John D

Subject: Le Coq'dor Tavern

This is the signage I remember of Le Coq'dor Tavern. Most of those front row tables were gone and people could dance in front of the bandstand. I had to wait a little longer to get in because of Toronto's drinking age of 21 was being enforced; although manager Bill Bulucon took pity on me. The Edison was destroyed by fire awhile back.

Entered at Sat Sep 17 17:35:53 CEST 2011 from (99.254.209.45)

John D

Subject: JT Question Sir.

For those who have not been around these pages for a long time JT is a man who knows of what he speaks. Jerry's Father owned the Concord tavern. Jerry; as a kid got to watch all those wonderful Saturday matinées. Priceless.

What is interesting to me; when you follow Jerry's time line is that Levon & The Hawks; after leaving Hawkins were only together for a little over a year; before joining Dylan in latter 65. Jerry Question? Does this mean they would have gone down to Le Coq'dor sometime in 62 and were gone to be on their own in 64?

Entered at Sat Sep 17 17:17:57 CEST 2011 from (82.42.175.156)

Al Edge

Subject: Bands that have been compared to THE BAND

Over the years - for obvious reasons - I've made the effort to research many of the bands that the media have likened to our boys.

For me, none have ever really come near to the vocal, musical and lyrical richness The Band created - that unique blend we all adore - particularly in those first two albums.

That said, most who have been compared have proved to be fine artists in their own right. Of these two for me merit special mention. REM [who were strongly likened to The Band at the time of the release of Life's Rich Pageant] and The Gourds.

The quality of the material of both convinced me to collect their entire catalogue over the years and that quality still speaks for itself - particularly in the case of REM.

It's funny actually that on such a strong musical site as this GB with so many real music lovers I can hardly recall any savouring of REM's amazing musical legacy which I personally have right up there at the very top - and certainly in terms of their back catalogue only a whisker away from the level of those artists who most on here would rank as the finest ever.

The link is 'Cuyahoga' off Rich Pageant. A good excuse to stick up a fabulous REM track. You can sort of see why the media may have made the analogy with The Band's sound. But really, to those of us who lived and breathed our quintet it was a different thing altogether. Though no less terrific for it.

:-0)

Entered at Sat Sep 17 16:13:07 CEST 2011 from (24.108.131.161)

JT

Subject: More research ... such as it is

Bill M - from the Richard Manuel wikipedia site (anything at wikipedia should be taken with a grain of salt, but this may be accurate) "Manuel was eighteen when he joined Ronnie Hawkins' backing group The Hawks. At this time the band already consisted of 21-year-old Levon Helm on drums, 17-year-old Robbie Robertson on guitar and 18-year-old Rick Danko on bass. Garth Hudson, at 24 years old, joined that Christmas. After two years, Manuel left the Hawks and joined with Helm, Robertson, Danko, Hudson and saxophonist Jerry Penfound to form their own band." So if Richard, born in April 1943, joined at age 18 and all the above is true, then that was 1961. So once again, the phone call could have involved all 5 of our boys at the Concord presumably.

Entered at Sat Sep 17 16:05:01 CEST 2011 from (24.108.131.161)

JT

Subject: 2/5 of the boys at the Concord 1961

Bill M - The photo with Ronnie, Levon and Robbie in 1961 at the Concord allows for 2/5 of the boys to be a part of that 'phone conversation' at the Concord. Stan and Rebel were others in that photo. When Garth, Richard and Rick joined is not absolutely clear to me but I presume it was soon after. If that is so, since Ronnie played the Concord often, maybe the 'conversation' could have occurred regarding that venue in 1962. Also, comments at other websites talk about Robbie playing with Ronnie at age 16. If he was indeed born in 1943 then he was with Ronnie by 1959 and likely was at the Concord Tavern at least a few times by 1962. However, though I saw Levon and the Hawks multiple times at the Concord, I never saw Ronnie at those Saturday afternoon coke and fries 'rehearsals' (which incidentally were packed with people). Ronnie could clear this up. Was he there with the full Levon and the Hawks band before the end of 1962? The ad that you can see in ' google images' advertising Ronnie Hawkins and the Hawks doesn't have a date nor does it state the members of the band.

Entered at Sat Sep 17 13:39:46 CEST 2011 from (24.44.101.8)

Brien Sz

I have always thought the JayHawks have a certain Band like quality but they essentially only have a two voice group.

Entered at Sat Sep 17 11:41:42 CEST 2011 from (75.34.58.24)

Adam

Entered at Sat Sep 17 11:26:59 CEST 2011 from (41.97.140.44)

Empty Now

Subject: Smile, Neil

If I fell in adoration for TLW from the first screening, it is also for the total absence of picturesque.
And since the moment I learned that TLW is above all picturesque, and that the picturesque of the whole TLW lies in Neil Young’s smile, the thread must be methodically observed and academically presented.

For every Neil Young’s fan , and for everybody interested, the link above is an article from the Austin Chronicle

“Journey Through the Past Archiving Neil Young, past, present, and future”
By Raoul Hernandez, Fri., Aug. 7, 2009

A detailed biography of the pre North-Country period, a little long, very well documented, comprehensive with scrutiny and almost indiscretion

“Teeth determine the grin. Self-conscious hardware hides in pursed smiles.
On their wedding day in Winnipeg, Canada, 1940, Edna Ragland – "Rassy" – beams, anything but self-conscious, while Scott Young's barely unturned lips cede all curvature to his arched eyebrows and knowing look. Eldest son Bob favors his mother in a family portrait circa 1954, "Say cheese" replaced by pre-Elvis pout. Dad reveals a top row of senatorial ivory, but Rassy and Neil (born Nov. 12, 1945) match genuinely happy grills. A picture three years later, of the youngest Young, prompts your ear-to-ear amusement with its Howdy Doody glee.
…
And yet ... from a boy fishing in Omemee, to a boy with his first ukelele in North Toronto, to a tall thin kid playing and singing to a full house at Carnegie Hall – what the hell happened?"
Archives happened. Smile, Neil.”

those articles from the Austin Chronicle are solid gold for Rock archives

Entered at Sat Sep 17 09:46:04 CEST 2011 from (82.69.47.175)

Peter V

Bonk’s question: I can’t think of anyone who sounded “like the Band” because the three lead voices were so distinctive. Most “Band-like” records aren’t … I’ve bought so many from Jawbone to Head, Hands & Feet to The Gourds to Blue Rodeo, and none of them sound like The Band (but many have virtues of their own). The most Band-like albums to me are Link Wray (1971), and Workingman’s Dead and American Beauty, but I can’t think of any track which would fool me into thinking it was The Band. Déjà vu has a couple moments (and it certainly has the sleeve design, as does Tumbleweed Connection).

Spooky Tooth at times are a bit of a contender, though you’d never mistake them for The Band … funnily enough, I saw their misguided side venture “Celebration” for 99p yesterday and picked it up. I haven’t listened yet, but I remember I thought it was dire in 1972. But I’ve been re-listening to Spooky Tooth recently, and also to their previous incarnations as Art and The V.I.P.s.

I’ve found a couple of unusual Band covers by British groups recently … The Shape I’m In by Meal Ticket (1979) and Time To Kill by The Wild Angels (1971). The latter is pretty good, because they don’t try to emulate the original. They were Gene Vincent’s European backing band, and that’s how they do Time To Kill, and it works.

Entered at Sat Sep 17 07:32:27 CEST 2011 from (71.246.9.74)

bob w.

Entered at Sat Sep 17 06:55:49 CEST 2011 from (71.246.9.74)

bob w.

Entered at Sat Sep 17 06:44:58 CEST 2011 from (99.89.226.221)

PutEmUp(Friend0

real blues is disappearing, there are some practicioners left. Steve Freund, got a few years on me But from the same neightborhood as I, is the first that comes to mind. if you pick up his latest, Lonesome Flight, it is very for real blues. Which is not to contradict the fact that real blues is disappearing. Big Joe & The Dynaflows also puts out some fine stuff. Ther are others, But real blues is disappearing fast. Don't have the time to get n depth into the differences etc, but, Pat, i agree with you we are lucky so many of the old men lived so long, and of course, yes, generations and what was peculiar to them disappear. That doesn't make it any less sad or painful for those attached. Chris James & Pat Rynn, are doing their best to carry on . It is very different of course, but they have it in their hearts and ears. they were close, holed up together with The Myers Brothers for a long time. And Hey. Boo Boo Davis, from Drew, Mississippi, spent a lng time livcing in East st louis and more recently St louis, been doing his thing over in Amsterdam or one of those places for a long time.Black & Tan Records. Comes & goes, St Louis, europe..... His last record, Drew Mississippi. is the most interesting, in a RL Burnside Fat Possum kind of way. I heard it over a great club system, killer sound. Boo can sing the deep shit. So deep many don't get a word of it. Was a helluva shuffle drummer and harpist when that was what he did. That " I'm So tired ' commercial, for 5 Hour Energy, that is Boo Boo Davis. His last buncha reecord is with the label owner's band backing him.

Pat, real bues disappearing. One f the things that is intersting, but sad.... i waTCH ALOT OF GUYS i KNOW, LATE 40S, 50S, 60S, PLAYED THE DEEPEST , REALEST BLUES WHEN THEY WERE PLAYING WITH THE OLD MEN, THE GENIUSES, AND PLAYED IT ON THE HIGHEST LEVEL. THEY GOT IT, THEY FEEL IT, IT IS IN THEM. THE OLD MEN GONE, IT IS SLIPPING FAST. sOEMTIMES I SEE EM PULL IT OUT ( JUST CAUGHT THE FONT CHANGE, SORRY) but i also see them play more bullshit., than real shit. That hurts.But one guy that I know is not gonna change is Steve Freund. It'll be deep blues to the grave for that guy.

Entered at Sat Sep 17 05:49:24 CEST 2011 from (99.115.147.236)

Pat B

Jeff, it is a sad fact that generations keep disappearing. I think we're a bit lucky that so many great blues musicians lasted as long as they did, but that certainly doesn't fill the void. It seems real blues is also disappearing with that generation.

Entered at Sat Sep 17 03:37:01 CEST 2011 from (99.89.226.221)

PutEmUp(Friend0

Wille " Big Eyes" Smith passed away. One of the great blues drumers, one of the too few left. Man he could paly those triplets, he, Levon, and Sam Lay masters at it. His son, Kenny "beady eyes" Smith, continues the tradition. |n The whole thing, kind of unnerving, watching a entire genration of culture, musical genius, ingenuity, defiance,love, pride, knowledge, mastery, disappear. When the death is personal too, it is worse, but even when you don't know these guys persoanlly, but you lump it in with those you knew, and love for their music, and it's importance in your life for what seems like forever, it shakes you up. i was sitting in my second home here, the day after Honeyboy died, having dinner & a beer, when i unknowingly broke the news to the bartender and cook. Kocked em out cold. Bartende was s ayign I just fed him.... shook up.Then one of the guys who has been a part of a lot of the old men's lives walked in, he;s traveled with these guys, helped em any way he could, promtoed them booked them, out of love, without much or any recompence, always did anythign he coudl to improve their lives and keep the music forefornt & heard, and you could see how visibly shook up he was. It's not just seeing one death, or even a bunch of deaths, it's seeing all that, plus the death of friends, and a culture, a way of music, and a generation.

Entered at Sat Sep 17 01:41:17 CEST 2011 from (184.66.107.77)

BONK

Subject: Bands or Artists that sounded like...

A bunch of us were listening to a friend of ours singing 'Walking the Dog' when Jackie Shane's name came up, who covered the song, and we got to talking about how much Jackie sounded like Smokey Robinson. The conversation led to other bands/ artists who sounded like the original. As far as the Beatles were concerned I came up with the Knickerbockers and their song 'Lies' from the mid-sixties, which sure as hell sounded like John Lennon singing. Someone else said Oasis. Maybe. We then got around to the Band and we couldn't come up with anybody that really sounded like them and could fool you. Peter V or Bill M, any comments?

Entered at Sat Sep 17 01:27:50 CEST 2011 from (96.30.174.20)

joe j

Henry Aldrich (1647-1710)

From a sophomoric essay on rhyme.

Also examined:
"A Book of Verses..." (Omar Khayyam)
"I cannot eat but little meat..." (Anonymous)
"Life is a jest..." (John Gay)
"What is fame?..." (James Grainger)

Education is wasted on the fool.

Entered at Fri Sep 16 22:06:01 CEST 2011 from (70.31.50.216)

Kevin J

Entered at Fri Sep 16 21:15:47 CEST 2011 from (82.69.47.175)

Peter V

Worst offender in the "Woah, Gotta, Gotta, Little Girl, Y'All" stakes on the Ace "Black America Sings The Beatles" is Al Green by a mile. The most tasteless possible cover of "I gotta, gotta, wanna, I Want To Hold Your Hand". Surprisingly, Al Green renders Little Richard's take on "I Saw Her Standing There" completely tasteful in comparison.

Entered at Fri Sep 16 20:57:28 CEST 2011 from (156.47.15.10)

David P

Subject: Do Whacka Do Meets Batman

Kevin: This brief snippet is for you. Note Thumbs' fashion statement -- a stylish T-shirt worn with a suit, years before it became in vogue.

Entered at Fri Sep 16 20:36:21 CEST 2011 from (99.250.10.113)

GregD

With all the discussion of Glen Campbell here recently, it's interesting to remember a certain tenuous link between Mr. Campbell and The Band. In his book, Levon says that in the wake of the radio success of Up on Cripple Creek, The Band was asked to appear on The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour, but walked out, when they were told they'd have to sit on barrels in the back of a pickup truck and lip-synch. I don't know if the producers intended to fit a grand piano and Lowrey organ in the back of the truck too for added realism.

Entered at Fri Sep 16 20:16:04 CEST 2011 from (216.114.128.38)

Mike H.

From Professor Louie & Miss Marie: "Professor Louie plays on new Blondie CD "Panic Of Girls."

Professor Louie just received from Tenth Street Entertainment the Limited Edition Collector's Pack for the new Blondie CD - Panic Of Girls with a signed note from Chris Stein & Blondie.

Professor Louie's fabulous accordion playing can be heard on the song le bleu.

Professor Louie recorded a variety of songs with Chris Stein & Debbie Harry at Applehead Studios in Woodstock, NY and the song le bleu was selected to be on the new "Panic Of Girls" CD.

The Collector's Pack includes LP's, CD's, Blondie Buttons, a giant double-sided poster, 132 page magazine which includes interviews, articles and more... Also in the package are great picture postcards by Chris Stein.

The CD cover and amazing artwork are by artist/painter Chris Berens of Amsterdam.

Professor Louie is excited to be part of this great musical project. The CD was pre-released in England and is now available in the States.

Entered at Fri Sep 16 20:15:08 CEST 2011 from (96.30.174.20)

joe j

Thumbs Carllile, Barbi Benton, the Le Coq D'Or, pissin' in the wind.... Conversation as stimulating as ever.

It's battening down time again. Hurricane Maria is making its' way across the island. These storms never used to come this far north but Igor last year was devastating and now this.

What I'm listening to these days:
Allmans: At Fillmore East (remastered)
Little Feat: Waiting For Columbus (remastered)
Lynard Skynard: pronounced leh-nerd skin-erd (w Free Bird)
Bob Marley: African Herbsman
The Band: Jericho
Amelia Curran: War Brides
Bruce Cockburn: In The Falling Dark

Entered at Fri Sep 16 19:50:33 CEST 2011 from (204.138.59.92)

Bill M

Entered at Fri Sep 16 19:42:27 CEST 2011 from (96.54.178.226)

JT

Subject: The Conversation (not the movie)

Nice conversation Bill M. It must have gone something like that. But I always wondered about L' Coq d'Or? The boys always played at The Concord on Bloor and its role in this whole thing is underplayed perhaps. History is not well served when possible errors of commission or of omission are perpetuated. I just wonder. Of course, I don't know for certain, but I wonder...

Entered at Fri Sep 16 19:21:53 CEST 2011 from (82.69.47.175)

Peter V

I love these phone transcriptions from the past. It's all around in the ether if you have the right machine to hook into them. You have to bounce the signal off Alpha Centauri now, but there's amazing stuff just shooting off into outer space.

Thanks, Jeff. Looking forward to seeing Glen.

I got the Ace "Black America Sings Lennon McCartney" today. It's at least the fourth or fifth of its ilk, with some duplication. Reviews said the best track was Chubby Checker doing Back in the USSR. I thought they were joking, but they might be right. Some is a bit over the top (Woah, yeah, she picks up that rice in the church, y'all … that sort of thing). Some is "why bother?" But some is really interesting … The Moments doing Rocky Racoon stood out on first play, and (for a Band link) Billy Preston doing Blackbird. Mary Wells utilises Please, Please Me beautifully … "Last night I said these words to MY GUY …".

Entered at Fri Sep 16 19:14:17 CEST 2011 from (70.31.50.216)

Kevin J

Entered at Fri Sep 16 18:50:15 CEST 2011 from (156.47.15.10)

David P

Subject: Roger Miller

As I've mentioned in the past, guitarist Thumbs Carllile, a longtime member of Roger Miller's band, was a friend of The Band. Garth produced an album for him, released on Garth's Buscador label. Years later, Mr. Carllile, who moved to Atlanta, occasionally sat in with The Band whenever they played here. Jan has posted a photo of Thumbs, playing Jazzmaster guitar in lap, with Roger Miller standing in the background (see link). Thumbs appeared regularly on a friend of mine's radio show, where he played and told stories. His amazing talent as a guitarist was matched with his skills as a raconteur, and his sense of humor rivaled that of Roger Miller.

Entered at Fri Sep 16 18:24:48 CEST 2011 from (68.198.223.205)

Jed

Got this DVD from a friend in Japan who seems to remaster a range of audio/video of concerts and shows.it was on regular dvd's and nothing I had to do but put 'em in and play.Six hours of music,and live goings on.the sound was described as naked--I guess like the Let It Be Naked concept--or as it actually was.There is some splicing of color footage from the movie in it,but the sound is naked throughout.Recently,I watched all 6 hours! A blast!

Entered at Fri Sep 16 18:17:34 CEST 2011 from (204.138.59.92)

Bill M

Ian: "Oh, hi Bob. Where are you?"

Bob: "Toronto for the week."

Ian: "That's long distance - what's up?"

Bob: "It's okay - Albert said he'd pay. I'm looking for that friend Mary Jane you introduced me to. Nice girl. I thought I'd bring her with me, but I didn't. Any idea where I can find her?"

Ian: "Albert's paying your phone bill? Shit - not ours. Just a sec." [Turns to speak to someone else in room: "Yeah, I know it's long distance, hon, but Bob say's Albert's paying. Yeah, I know."] Bob, what you should do is take the subway to Dundas station. You'll be on Yonge Street just north of the Le Coq D'Or - a bar. This singer from the south, Ronnie Hawkins, is always there. Ask him about Mary Jane. Tell him I sent you."

Bob: "A bar? Rough place?"

Ian: "Nah, it's really safe - lotsa girls. Hawkins always has a great band too, so you might even enjoy yourself."

Entered at Fri Sep 16 17:51:10 CEST 2011 from (99.89.226.221)

PutEmUp(Friend0

Entered at Fri Sep 16 17:49:52 CEST 2011 from (131.137.35.83)

sadavid

Subject: everyone knew her as Nancy

Sir Paul to marry New York heiress @ London's Marylebone Town Hall, apparently a venue with a rep as "a rock 'n' roll place to tie the knot."

Entered at Fri Sep 16 17:12:34 CEST 2011 from (90.239.72.97)

NorthWestCoaster

Subject: A clarification to my previous music related post

It was Barbie (Playboy) Benton who gave the kiss to fans in first row - not Boxcar Willie. Sorry for incoherence in English grammatics.

Entered at Fri Sep 16 17:06:44 CEST 2011 from (90.239.72.97)

NorthWestCoaster

Subject: Music related - for the change :-)

Thanks JQ for mentioning ROGER MILLER. The first vinyl single I could afford in my early teens was his KING OF THE ROAD.

Thanks (Friend100 and PETER V. for mentioning Glenn Campbell. In early seventies "American Country Festival" toured Nordic Countries. I saw people like Boxcar Willie and Barbie (Playboy) Benton - sitting in first row and getting a kiss - and all of them who were big names back then. A memory for the lifetime.

Thanks DAVID P. for pointing out that TLW is nothing but a Hollywood movie and thanks EMPTY NOW for pointing out that TLW was not just a Hollywood movie.

Entered at Fri Sep 16 16:50:34 CEST 2011 from (70.31.50.216)

Kevin J

Entered at Fri Sep 16 16:40:44 CEST 2011 from (156.47.15.10)

David P

"The Last Waltz" was a movie in the Hollywood sense, as it was released by a major studio and featured a major theatrical director & film crew, shooting in 35mm. Although it was a concert film in the documentary genre, the event was staged & scripted and additional interview footage was added later as narrative, which are theatrical style elements.

Entered at Fri Sep 16 15:55:56 CEST 2011 from (216.121.194.179)

S.M.

" The Last Waltz" was billed as a movie- not a documentary!

Entered at Fri Sep 16 15:51:33 CEST 2011 from (99.254.209.45)

Robert

Jed you say you have the Japanese version. Does that mean you had to reformat it to play in North America? Also where do you find it? Just curious. I was aware of the CLW on CD; but not this one.

Entered at Fri Sep 16 15:23:07 CEST 2011 from (94.172.130.9)

Rog

Norbert - JQ's right to point you to The Grey Fox. It's in my top ten westerns but I haven't watched it for years. Must go back to it. Thanks - this Guest Book is so eclectic.

We went to see Brian Wilson the other night. It's the third time I've seen him and every concert has been wonderful. At a Mark Knopfler concert last year some wag shouted from the audience "PLAY EVERYTHING". Impossible at a Mark Knopfler concert but almost possible at a Brian Wilson concert. He was different from previous times - talking a lot to the audience, bits of chatter with the band (who were second only to Leonard Cohen's band for me). He's on in London for three nights this weekend and is unmissable!

Entered at Fri Sep 16 13:11:23 CEST 2011 from (68.198.223.205)

Jed

There is on one true Waltz & it's the Lost Waltz--recently watched thecwhole DVD and the sound,warts and all,is the way it was not the way the producers recreated after the fact.Garth & Richard actually play important roles in the sound that is completely remixed or covered up in the gauzy official release. I can listen over and over to the Complete Lost Waltz(the Japanese version).The repackaged fantasy Waltz--no need for it!

Entered at Fri Sep 16 11:38:06 CEST 2011 from (41.97.143.141)

Empty Now

Subject: TLW DVD Official Trailer 2002: It is not like it used to be

A HOBBY, not a lobby

I’ll be artless enough to assume that the main purpose of a trailer is to trail a maximum of audience.
Less artless and with a bit of mischief, I will now try the impossible effort of imagination that I am somethen in time between the 1978 broadcast of the TLW trailer and the instant when “I know nothing about The Band, I watch TLW” – believe it or not – this hypothesis was the actuality of many people, the reason of my quest.

TLW DVD trailer 2002 – as the first time I focus on. A bit surprised, it is somewhat un-analyzable visually.

There are injections of visual effects and synthetic sound patterns which are more of Mangas and “The Lord Of The Ring” than THE OQ AND THEIR ERA, this is the negation of the [TLW] sober atmosphere, evocative of the Deep-South and the genuine Rock-Folk feel.

It is clear that the DVD addresses an already acquired audience, who has more that apriory knowledge of TLW concert and 1978 movie

In the limit, I have difficulty to conceive that the usual soon The Band fan was first attracted by “that thing”

The most noticed is the introduction of the diegetic voice (I wonder whose voice ?), that redundantly tells a text which is written in huge uppercase letters
THE LAST WALTZ, A FILM BY MARTIN SCORSESE
THEY CAME TOGETHER FOR THE BAND’S FINAL CONCERT [I thought each one came his lonely way]
NOW ON SPECIAL EDITION DVD
PICTURESQUE [ at this instant, the picture in question is a quick “Manga Effect” that lands on the big-smile of Neil Young]
A 5.1 AUDIO REMIX SUPERVISED BY ROBBIE ROBERTSON AND THE BRAND-NEW FEATURE TRANSFER [this precision is capital to question one’s first faith on TLW]
AND ALL NEW BEHIND THE SCENE DOCUMENTARY [what we saw before is old behind scene]

and much more

Entered at Fri Sep 16 10:23:53 CEST 2011 from (75.34.58.24)

Adam

Entered at Fri Sep 16 08:35:57 CEST 2011 from (99.89.226.221)

PutEmUp(Friend0

Peter, and anyone else going to see Glen's farewell tour. Campbell was here last week. In a huge arena. St Charles Family Arena, which unfortunately for me i asociate with Ta Party Republicans, and I did not go. Glen Beck & sarah Palin will be there soon, and there is a rather similar history to the Arena's short life. The large paper's review here was thoroughly positive. said his band ( all sons & daughters) did not lock on the first song, and he lost his place, but on the second, Galveston,. they were right on, and he gave a perfect, powerful peformance that only he could give. Gentle On My Mind made you get lost , forget time exists, and about the same for By The Time I Get To Phoenix.

Calvin, i'll catch Furay in Chicago or New jersey. The jersey show is s upposed to have some special guests, which considering the guy who is behind the show there is a mover shaker and very decent guy, it could be anyone but i;d bet on Rusty Young or Jim Messina & maybe even George Grantham for sentimental reasons.

Anyone near midsouthern Missouri or The ozarks, the present version of Poco, Rusty Young being the only original member, is playing Old miner's Day in Viburnum, a mining town in early October.I have strong & probably accurate doubts about this lineup, but hey, how often do you have any reason to go to a old mining town in Missouri?

Entered at Fri Sep 16 04:58:08 CEST 2011 from (198.228.208.174)

JQ

Calvin - He's another great writer remembered for his novely songs. Perhaps Tom T Hall too.

Entered at Fri Sep 16 04:21:08 CEST 2011 from (72.196.128.161)

Calvin

Jerry Reed is hardly the first, nor will he be the last, talented artist who will unfortunately be remembered for a few novelty hits as opposed to his really commendable work. I do wonder if it bothers him though.

As a full-time job these days I run a Big Box Store in the suburbs of Cleveland, Ohio. I program my own music, like the Miles I just mentioned. I have about 700 songs in rotation. 300 or so Jazz cuts, about 250 Mototown Tunes and about 150 assorted songs by the Beatles, Johnny Cash, Buddy Holly, Taj Mahal, The Band of course, The Beach Boys, Billy Holliday, Sinatra and Dinah Washington. A whole lot, and I mean pretty much %95 of the staff in their early 20s recognize within the first couple notes the vast majority of the Mototown and the assorted artists. Id say a much, much higher percentage of folks in their 50s who would recognize artists who dominate the charts now. It is much more common to hear folks our age (I know, its a fairly wide range) Say music today sucks than a 23 year old say old stuff sucks.

Ive been to the Motown Museum-its worth going. Much more entertaining than the RocknRoll Hall of Fame.

Thanks for the Heads up on Richie Furay hitting my neck of the woods Jeff. I would have picked up on it anyway-but I knew to look for him. The show with he and Chris Hillman I saw at the same venue he'll be playing at a few years ago was masterful.

Saw Jandek at the same place a few weeks ago, anyone familiar with him? That was an experience.

Entered at Fri Sep 16 02:32:09 CEST 2011 from (198.228.208.174)

JQ

David P - There's some good clips of Jerry Reed on YouTube that demonstrate his chops. Although Amos Moses is seen as a humerous novelty, his abilities around swamp-boogie-funk playing are evident there too.

Entered at Thu Sep 15 23:15:18 CEST 2011 from (24.143.60.154)

Dexy

You are correct on both points! Thanks, and sorry for the misspelling.

Entered at Thu Sep 15 21:01:54 CEST 2011 from (216.114.128.38)

Mike H.

Cahoots 40-yrs old.

Entered at Thu Sep 15 19:24:28 CEST 2011 from (131.137.35.83)

sadavid

Subject: Sheryl Crow kisses Levon Helm . . .

. . . and plays a nice squeezebox!

"Evangeline" with Crow / Harris / Helm.

Entered at Thu Sep 15 18:59:19 CEST 2011 from (156.47.15.10)

David P

GregD: After leaving the Hawks, Fred Carter Jr. got his first big break in Nashville when Chet Atkins began using him on sessions for various RCA artists, including Waylon Jennings. On many of those sessions, Jerry Reed was one of the other guitarists.

While many may dismiss Mr. Reed's many humorous songs, the fact that two legends of rock & roll, Gene Vincent & Elvis Presley, recorded his songs speaks for itself. Early success as a songwriter came when Mr. Vincent covered "Crazy Legs". Elvis covered "Guitar Man" and "U.S. Male", and when the session guitarists had trouble duplicating Mr. Reed's licks, he was brought in to play lead himself.

Bill M: We do know that John Hammond Jr. and Mary Martin, who was then working with Albert Grossman, helped bring the talents of the Hawks to Dylan's attention. Recently, it was Ms. Martin, who has worked as a manager, A&R person and producer for many decades, who brought Dylan on board for the Lost Notebooks of Hank Williams project, which she co-produced. And, bringing things full circle, Levon is among the allstar artists participating.

Entered at Thu Sep 15 18:47:51 CEST 2011 from (99.89.226.221)

PutEmUp(Friend0

Subject: Garth & Others Appearing Sunday in Bearsville

Hurricane Relief concert featuring Garth, Larry Campbell, others.

Entered at Thu Sep 15 18:22:33 CEST 2011 from (99.250.10.113)

GregD

David P- thanks for the link to the video and info that it was none other than Jerry Reed who taught Glen Campbell that opening lick for the intro to his version of "Southern Nights". While probably better known to younger generations as an actor, Mr. Reed was one of the very few to have received the title of "Certified Guitar Player", considered to have mastered the instrument. This award was bestowed upon him by none other than that master guitarist himself, Mr. Chet Atkins.

Entered at Thu Sep 15 18:12:46 CEST 2011 from (174.89.116.120)

Kevin J

Subject: Sylvia on Dylan going you know what!

"Four Strong Winds" is one of those great songs that somehow did not make it into anyone's Top 30 - or did it? The power of an openning line..............

Entered at Thu Sep 15 16:06:11 CEST 2011 from (204.138.58.96)

Bill M

Peter V: Re the Manfreds and Band links, I still think that their follow-up to "The Mighty Quinn", a John Simon song titled "My Name Is Jack", is about Dylan's dog Hamlet, who/which was passed along to Rick. Can it be a coincidence that it was Rick who was chosen to sing the bit about being saddled with Jack the dog?

Entered at Thu Sep 15 15:39:28 CEST 2011 from (131.137.35.83)

sadavid

Subject: blowin' in the four strong winds

Bill M. mentioned this the other day -- the new Ian & Sylvia authorized biography.
See [My link] for an excerpt regarding how Tyson learned from Dylan how to write a hit song and how Dylan learned from Tyson how to smoke reefer.

Entered at Thu Sep 15 15:34:07 CEST 2011 from (41.97.147.78)

Empty Now

Subject: JTull / correstions / TLW: today's standards trailer

JTull: thanks for the comment (and the interest), it's a lobby, a passion

2 corrections in the last post(s)

1 - Scorsese writen one second, of course

2 - Eric Clapton appears : shot at 2:14 - that which inherently updates "ERIC RON RINGO are left for the choosy..."

link above to the DVD trailer, Special Edition 5.1 Audio Remix - the world is going so down

Entered at Thu Sep 15 15:22:30 CEST 2011 from (82.69.47.175)

Peter V

Then someone of our company pointed into the far distance. There, way across a river we could see the lights of a Fun Fair. And then we located the direction of the organ noise, hugely distorted by wind and distance. it was the Merry-Go-Round.

I hope you explained you were Dutch.

Entered at Thu Sep 15 14:45:59 CEST 2011 from (217.5.150.254)

JTull Fan

Empty Now: You actually sat there with a stopwatch to document that? There are such things as Facebook, internet porn, scrabble, brooms......

Entered at Thu Sep 15 12:07:05 CEST 2011 from (90.16.7.186)

Norbert

Subject: My French Pilgrim on the road

JQ have to see the Grey Fox, looks great to me too, thanks.

Hilda, welkom meid, goed dat er is een nieuwe bijkomt hier. Ik ga zeker naar The Band voorstelling, ik ken Wouter Planteijdt een heel klein beetje (beste gitarist van NL trouwens vinden velen met mij). Het zijn allemaal prima mensen hier, echter soms is er wat heibel, laat je daar door nooit uit het veld slaan, gaat vanzelf weer over. Er is ontzettend veel kennis over The Band hier schroom niet als je wat weten wilt. (sorry this had to be in Dutch, I just welcomed Hilda and told her how nice you all are).

Anyway it’s beautiful here in France (Creuse), but absolutely nothing to do, good the food and wine is fine. What I didn’t know is that our French holyday house is situated near an old trail to Santiago the Compostella. Yesterday, on the crossroads in the pooring rain, we met an old pilgrim, sheltering with his mule under an ancient patio, or what was left of it. We shared some bread and wine and talked some. He told me he was looking for God and salvation, I said to him that he was only looking for himself, there is nothing else. He pointed at an oak tree and the rain eluding Limosin cow underneath it and wondered who made that? I warned him not to give me that kicked off shit and returned, if there was a God, would he let the Greek waste our retirements? Why didn’t he kill the mouse in our kitchen that caused so much marital quarrel last night? Or strangle that vicious French Belgium sheppard of our neighbors?… my pilgrim savior stood up, placed his hand up on my shoulder “I have to go, shake off your iron coat and have faith German” he mumbled and off he went with his mule and the rain stopped.

We're off for another walk to the river, although I still drive the first 500 yards.

Entered at Thu Sep 15 11:40:27 CEST 2011 from (41.97.147.78)

Empty Now

absent on the trailer : Paul Butterfield, Eric Clapton, The Staples

Entered at Thu Sep 15 11:32:55 CEST 2011 from (41.97.147.78)

Empty Now

Subject: TLW guests (continued) - about the official movie trailer 1978

The Last Waltz - Trailer - (1978) [link above] The duration of the trailer (2:44) is very long regarding today’s standards 1:28

0 :01 - “A Martin Scorsese Film” (written, one minute duration)

0 :19 - a 1st series of shot-pictures NEIL Y - VAN - BOB - Dr JOHN, almost in subliminal, as a “teaser at trailer time”

0 :27 - 2nd teaser in snapshots BOB - EMMYLOU - MUDDY – JONI

then a series of 10 seconds in average slot for every guest, i.e. the duration of the retinal persistence:

0 :46-0 :54 - Dr JOHN

0 :55-1 :06 - JONI

1 :07-1 :18 - VAN

1 :19-1 :29 - NEIL D

1 :30-1 :48 - BOB

2 :08 2nd (end) series of shot-pictures RONNIE - NEIL Y - MUDDY - JONI - VAN - NEIL D - RON - RINGO – BOB

2:20- 2:30 – (ten seconds again) written “GUEST ARTISTS IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER” follows a list of 14 names, the only time you see written for the trailer, in addition of Martin Scorsese (0:01)

Some remarks:

1) NEIL Y - EMMYLOU - MUDDY - RONNIE appear only in snapshots, the order of apparition has surely a meaning, the first guest who strikes the sight is NEIL YOUNG

2) RON and RINGO are left for choosy until the ultimate moment

3 ) Guests who don’t appear at all in the trailer : deduce them

Footnote: back to the full movie, and concerning the time ratios controversy, now I suspect that Martin Scorsese appears more than Robbie Robertson

Entered at Thu Sep 15 11:27:51 CEST 2011 from (82.69.47.175)

Peter V

Subject: The Manfreds

I just put a review of last night's show by The Manfreds on my blog. Bloody hell, Dorian Gray has nothing on Paul Jones. It's also thrilling to realise a provincial UK audience know all the words to The Mighty Quinn (for a Band connection).

Entered at Thu Sep 15 01:42:27 CEST 2011 from (96.30.174.20)

joe jj

Another worthwhile tribute album that I streamed from RS when I should have been working. Certainly made the afternoon move right along. Echoing John D and Al E I noted particularly the contributions from Stevie Nicks, Brian Wilson, Natalie Merchant and the previously unheard-of Imelda May.

Entered at Wed Sep 14 19:50:42 CEST 2011 from (82.42.175.156)

Al Edge

Subject: Listen to me - Buddy Holly Tribute - number two

Cheers John Donabie for the nod on this second Buddy tribute album.

:-0)

The link is to the Rolling Stone website where you can currently listen to every track in full. The initial Rave On tribute is no longer available on line. But well worth the purchase.

Hard to put a feeler gauge between the two tribute albums. Each done with tender loving care. Each containing a terrific selections - as is inevitable given Buddy's legacy.

What I love with both albums is the innovation and clear love and admiration for Buddy that so many of the artists - and the producers of course - bring to their choices.

John Doe still doing it for me with his amazing take on Peggy Sue Got Married but both albums are packed with great interpretations.

Entered at Wed Sep 14 19:33:28 CEST 2011 from (74.108.30.41)

Joan

Thank you Mike for taking the time to explain all that. I think you are doiing a great job.

Entered at Wed Sep 14 19:12:53 CEST 2011 from (41.97.233.73)

Empty Now

Entered at Wed Sep 14 19:08:34 CEST 2011 from (41.97.233.73)

Empty Now

Si: thanks for the Paperback Writer post, this sounds as fresh as a Beatles' sound

link above to Steve Hoffman Music Show, thread : Beatles Mono Box - best way to listen?

a wealth of posts worth the read

don't push the mono button and listen with two speakers, ( commonly known as "bigamist mono" )

Entered at Wed Sep 14 18:43:02 CEST 2011 from (67.85.31.81)

Jersey Girl

Subject: NIMBY comes to Woodstock

The link is to an article in today's NY Times about the controversy over affordable housing in Woodstock. No mention of condominiumizing Big Pink yet . . . .

Entered at Wed Sep 14 18:33:33 CEST 2011 from (82.69.47.175)

Peter V

Entered at Wed Sep 14 18:23:13 CEST 2011 from (216.114.128.38)

Mike H.

Subject: THE BAND (facebook)

I wanted to take a moment to contribute to & clarify some Guestbook conversion from a wk or so ago relative to THE BAND facebook pg.

First & foremost, I want to share that I love & adore The Band, its members from all eras, & its family members, associates & fans I have been in contact. The more I experience & learn (which is never ending), the more respect I have for The Band.

Although, no online social media better promotes The Band's legacy than this website by Jan (w/ much assistance by many contributors), I feel THE BAND facebook pg fairly & broadly represents The Band & its members from all eras. As you scroll down thru the multitued of posts, you witness pics, videos, memorabilia & numerous other interesting items from the days of The Hawks thru the '90s & current individual members' updates. There is much more to be updated in the "Info" section, but the original five (5) members are listed, as well as some of the '80s / '90s members.

Robbie's son (Sebastian) started THE BAND facebook pg a few yrs ago, as well as his father's facebook pg (& many other social media pgs - i.e - Myspace, ReverbNation, etc), as there lacked a presence in those online medias (Robbie didn't even have his own website until recently). Sebastian labeled it "official" as there were (& still are)a few The Band facebook pgs (I'm not talking about individual member pgs, but "The Band" pgs) in existence that contain sparce contributions & having a Band family member create the facebook pg provided initial up-front spark & insight. Many artist facebook pgs do not allow an open posting forum (where only the moderator has the ability to post), but Sebastian created THE BAND pg allowing anyone who subscribes to the pg to post & that open forum continues to this day.

About 1-yr ago, as things picked up for Sebastian w/ online work, etc (especially for Robbie & his at-the-time upcoming album), Sebastian asked if I could assist him w/ THE BAND facebook pg as he recognized my adoration for The Band & knew I would bring a broad perspective. I initially had to decline as I was a new parent & experiencing a very busy work schedule. This yr, things smoothed out for me & I came on-board. I do perform posting & many other miscellaneous items, but Sebastian is still very involved (including posting, responding to subscribers, etc). He & I communicate frequently to discuss pg direction, strategies, etc.

It is not a paid gig, solely a labor of love if you will. The benefit I receive is my involvement w/ THE BAND pg, ongoing learning & experiencing The Band, its history & its pg subscribers (currently of over 66K & climbing daily), & a lot of interaction w/ The Band members, family & community. It's absolutely amazing. Yes, I have learned a lot of discouraging behind-the-scenes stuff (sometimes it would be nice to only know the artists & associates as just that... artists & associates & not the nitty gritty background details), but that doesn't take away from my love for the music created by all of The Band members & artists they have come in contact. As for authorization to operate such a pg, Sebastian & I have been in contact w/ numerous key The Band-related folks & the response has been very positive. There's no written contractual agreement, but rather a seemingly broad recognition that THE BAND facebook pg is a positive promotion for The Band & contributions by all of its members, associates, fans, etc are welcome. Some folks have been blocked from participating due to poor online behavior or posting ridiculous advertising, but otherwise the pg moderation has been quite liberal. A common theme that most The Band folks want to see is positive promotion & interaction relative to The Band & all of its members.

Obviously, Robbie's authorization is recognized. He & his family have been nothing short of wonderful & open. Robbie's children are very sweet & he has been appreciative of my involvement. As for Levon, I have communicated directly w/ Helmland (& some of his relatives)who wished me best of luck w/ the project. The folks there know that anything "Levon" is welcome on THE BAND facebook pg & they are invited to contribute (& have done so on occasion). Levon & Helmland are amazing & the Rambles far exceed any other live gig I've attended.

Maud Hudson (on behalf of both she & Garth) & I keep in touch & she greatly appreciates the positive promotion of all things "Garth" on the Plochmann Lane blog & THE BAND facebook pg. She is in charge of Garth's facebook pg (as well as her own) & has posted updates relative to his schedule on THE BAND pg. I have to say, Maud & Garth are amazingly wonderful people - absolutely love them. Also, Dave Zzzzz diligently keeps up Garth & Maud's websites & he's a pretty cool guy too :).

I also keep in touch w/ Richard's son & daughter, who are very sweet. They don't really involve themselves w/ The Band, but are appreciative of any positive promotion relative to their father. I would have loved to have met the man as I believe he had a lot to say & contribute. He was a passionate musician & his children miss him dearly. Hopefully, the recent Canadian college grads (including Jeremy Blair who created & moderates Richard's facebook pg) will be able to wrap-up production of his documentary as we all await anxiously. They've worked very hard, nailed down some great interviews, but a couple key interviews still remain in order to finalize the production.

Rick's widow Elizabeth removes herself from involvement w/ The Band items (according to a family member I have spoken w/) & has sold a lot of personal Rick items. His Myspace pg is operated by his niece & facebook pg by his publicist. Generally speaking, any positive promotion of Rick (personally & professionally) seems to be accepted by the Danko family members. I've also informed many other associated The Band folks - producers, promoters, photogs. etc. They have all been made aware of THE BAND facebook pg & are invited to participate. All of which have been accepting of the pg.

So, although one The Band family member started the pg & continues to be involved w/ its guidance, it's by no means closed to any of The Band members, etc (& in fact, participation is invited). It isn't about just promo'g Robbie & The Band eras he was involved in. We peruse a lot of archived & current material to post & definitely welcome your participation.

Entered at Wed Sep 14 17:29:42 CEST 2011 from (156.47.15.10)

David P

Entered at Wed Sep 14 17:23:52 CEST 2011 from (90.239.106.124)

NorthWestCoaster

Subject: Bayou Sam: "Levon even gave him a couple of tee-shirts today. Cool "

Can't help but... For a few years ago when I crossed French-Italian border just above Principaute de Monaco I had Prince Albert's (of Monaco) Mercedes in front of me - no, I had it behind me but the gorilla sitting in the driver's seat pulled our humble AVIS Renault over. Prince Albert himself opened the trunk and gave t-shirts (Ellesse) to Italian customs officers. Oh boy how glad they were! A few lousy t-shirts. AND NOW IT IS IN THE INTERNET! I LOVE INTERNET (smack).

Entered at Wed Sep 14 17:17:38 CEST 2011 from (174.89.116.120)

Kevin J

Entered at Wed Sep 14 16:47:18 CEST 2011 from (71.246.9.74)

bob w.

David, thanks. McCartney has performed "Hitch Hike" several times in recent years including this interrupted version at the Apollo last year.

Entered at Wed Sep 14 16:32:45 CEST 2011 from (156.47.15.10)

David P

In light of recent discussions, I thought it's interesting to note that Paul McCartney & his band took a guided tour of the Motown Historical Museum last month during a concert stop in Detroit. It was reported that Sir Paul was particularly thrilled to check out the famous Studio A, which the Funk Brothers called the snakepit. As noted, he was overheard pointing out to his band the differences between the set-up at EMI's Abbey Road studios with that of Motown's. When the tour guide explained how Motown used a studio hallway for echo, the amazed musicians took time to clap hands & snap fingers to hear the sound first-hand. Later, during their concert, Sir Paul & band performed a faithful, rousing rendition of Marvin Gaye's "Hitchhike".

Entered at Wed Sep 14 16:04:26 CEST 2011 from (82.42.175.156)

Al Edge

LOL!!

Entered at Wed Sep 14 15:30:59 CEST 2011 from (86.184.226.105)

Simon

While we're on the subject, Al, this is going back to something you said years ago ... that you never wanted to flaunt your native insight into the lads. Me neither. But there is some insider info I'd like to share with you. This is between me, you and the gatepost. Strictly on a hush-hush tip.

I won't reveal my sources here but it relates to Paul's divorce settlement. It's well known that Heather liked fast cars but it's not so well known that Paul was also forced to buy Heather her own plane. Oh yeah.

And some Veet so she could do the other one.

Entered at Wed Sep 14 14:21:52 CEST 2011 from (82.69.47.175)

Peter V

The reason I post it is that it's coming to NWU in Evanston - next year I think. Worth noting if you live in the area.

Entered at Wed Sep 14 14:08:07 CEST 2011 from (82.42.175.156)

Al Edge

Subject: Joe J and It Shoulda been me and Paperback Writer

Aren't computers feckin useless when they don't work.

:-0)

Anyroad, just about back on line now.

Yeah Joe J - I think Yvonne Fair's is an astounding performace. I can see why some like Bill M would see it as way over the top. And the histrionics in any real life comparable scenerio would be cringeworthy. But for me, just like the equally preposterous final scene in The Graduate with Dustin and the delectably delicious Katherine Ross, it somehow works beautifully - albeit with different outcome.

I think it's the emotional intensity the singer manages to evoke with that amazing delivery that simply demands the listener to shed any disbelief as to the nonsense of the actual scenerio. If you listen to the Gladys Knight and Kim Weston versions they just don't pull that off - fine efforts as they are.

I grouped it with The Temps because for me David Ruffin does something similar with the desolation he conjures up in I know I'm Losing You. It's the same depth of despair that our boys manage in It Makes No Difference. Of course, there's other similar songs too.

What each of them seem to have in common is the singers ability to deliver the song onto a different plane altogether. And despite the drama they unleash there's scarcely a hint of maudlin self pity. Just the broken heart of the protaganist. And crucially, it's all just so believable. I mean compare David Ruffin's vocals on Losing You with Rod stewart's take on the same song. I adore the Faces but Rod's vocals are merely Rod doing what he does. Ruffin on the other hand makes you cry. The hackneyed lost love situation that form the core of so much popular music becomes a genuine cry of heartfelt pain.

Meanwhile, Si, love the Paperback writer you linked. It did take me back to '66. Is the one I've linked the stereo version- so I can make sure to see the contrast. If not will you link one mate.

PS I love one of the comments on the Paperback writer I've linked.

"Ringo is such an amazing drummer he can actually play the drums without drums"

:-0)

Entered at Wed Sep 14 13:40:16 CEST 2011 from (71.246.9.74)

bob w.

Featured today at Wolfgang's Vault

The Band

King Harvest (Has Surely Come)

San Francisco Civic Auditorium (San Francisco, CA) Dec 31, 1983

Entered at Wed Sep 14 13:18:57 CEST 2011 from (86.184.226.105)

Simon

Subject: Paperback Writer in mono

Thought I'd post this ... no particular reason, although I could link it to Miles Davis who reportedly raved about it. It makes no sense that the stereo mix is the one on all the compilations available today. It was mixed into stereo in the UK in late '66 for inclusion on the stereo "Oldies But Goldies" (which was also issued in mono). Across the pond the stereo version didn't appear until the "Hey Jude" album in '69. A stereo mix of "Rain" was made in '69 for inclusion on that album.

The mono mix is 'rock' and the stereo just ... isn't IMO. Even allowing for the compromised quality of YouTube the difference is startling. If you're a Beatles fan and like the track turn up the volume and enjoy. This is what people would've heard back in the day when it first came out. A shame it's only available on the mono box.

About the echo effect at 0:47 and 1:35, almost inaudible in the stereo mix, Wiki says:

"Send tape echo echo delay (more commonly known as STEED, alternatively known as single tape echo and echo delay) is a technique used in magnetic tape sound recording to apply a delay effect using tape loops and echo chambers.
In 2006, while publicising his memoir (Here, There and Everywhere: My Life Recording the Music of the Beatles), recording engineer Geoff Emerick stated that "God only knows" how the effect worked.
cont ...
The technique was developed at Abbey Road Studios in the early 1960s, by recording engineers Geoff Emerick and Ken Scott, while both were under the supervision of Norman Smith. It involved delaying the recorded (dry) signal, sending it into the studio's echo chamber using a tape machine. The dry signal (without delay) was also sent to the chamber via the tape machine's replay head. The resulting sound was picked up by two condenser microphones. These microphones then fed the wet signal back to the recording console. The amount of feedback could be controlled allowing multiple delays to be sent to the reverb chamber, which could lengthen the effect's delay time."

Entered at Wed Sep 14 10:09:27 CEST 2011 from (41.97.233.73)

Empty Now

Jed: Thank you very much for the credit you assigns to the histogram I reported, it gives energy to carry on the ponder. I realise how the work is still perfectible, and I rediscover the universality of a basic principle : the elite is in the small number

on a complementary note, now all are aware that the inedite TLW flavour and aesthetics by itself hooked the casual spectator, also transcended time and national borders, merit is due to the talent of its makers. Behind the willingness to honor companions of the road by a physical presence in a farewell concert, and the evidence that it worked the image of The Band, it was important for me to have a measure

Entered at Wed Sep 14 09:43:41 CEST 2011 from (82.69.47.175)

Peter V

I never knew the American word was Porta potty. I just Googled and it's all over the place. The British word is Portaloo, but it's one of those trademark issues where the Portaloo company (part of Portakabin) is fighting a losing battle to stop generic use (cf. "to hoover").

Once we were filming at Glastonbury Tor. I arrived to park about 6 a.m. and a truck with the Portaloo for the video shoot crew trundled into the lay-by next to me. I was chatting to the driver, and we established that we had both driven up from Bournemouth. 'Didn't you know,' he said, 'That Bournemouth is the Portaloo capital of Southern England?' A lot of people don't know that.

Entered at Wed Sep 14 07:36:33 CEST 2011 from (99.89.226.221)

PutEmUp(Friend0

Entered at Wed Sep 14 03:54:06 CEST 2011 from (24.47.42.238)

Bayou Sam

Subject: toilets

A friend of mine who lives upstate delivers "porta-pottys" to places that hold events where a large number of people will need to use the "facilities". One of his frequent stops is Levon's house.

He tells me what a warm and personable guy Levon is to him. Levon even gave him a couple of tee-shirts today.

Cool

Entered at Tue Sep 13 22:44:52 CEST 2011 from (156.47.15.10)

David P

Bill M: Rusty Young played pedal steel on "Kind Woman", Richie Furay's showpiece from the album "Last Time Around", which also featured Jim Messina. When all three of these musicians reprised the song as members of Poco, it became a concert favorite for that band.

Entered at Tue Sep 13 21:12:12 CEST 2011 from (131.137.35.83)

sadavid

Entered at Tue Sep 13 20:56:39 CEST 2011 from (204.138.59.92)

Bill M

David P: Presumably Burton and Stills were both on "Child's Claim To Fame", a couple years before their appearance together on "Someday Soon". Was steel guitar used on any BS records? Sneaky Pete Kleinow would seem an obvious possibility, given his pre-Springfield history with Dewey Martin (in Dewey's Coupons band in Seattle and possibly with the Dillards after that).

Entered at Tue Sep 13 20:50:49 CEST 2011 from (204.138.59.92)

Bill M

Entered at Tue Sep 13 20:26:47 CEST 2011 from (156.47.15.10)

David P

And speaking of Ian Tyson, I'm reminded that Judy Collins' wonderful cover of Mr. Tyson's "Someday Soon" featured James Burton on lead guitar. The other musicians supporting Ms. Collins on that song aren't too shabby either -- Buddy Emmons on pedal steel, Jim Gordon on drums, Van Dyke Parks on piano and Judy Blue Eyes' former boyfriend Stephen Stills on bass. That cover version was the cut that preceeded "Who Knows Where The Time Goes" to end side 1 on the album of the same name and was also released as a single in 1969.

Entered at Tue Sep 13 19:58:14 CEST 2011 from (131.137.35.83)

sadavid

Looking at "Perfect Miles," the real mystery is why the Canuckistanian list price ($85-ish) is always, always way higher than South of the Border ($45-ish) when the $$ are more or less at parity.
I see that Sony also has _The Perfect Jazz Collection_ (2 volumes, each 25 discs) and a similar set for blues. Frankly, I don't see how these make any sense, unless they have warehouses full of discs due to duplicating too many in production runs (do they do that?) and are desperate to move same. Only fogies buy CDs anyway, and we're too old to invest in 25-disc sets of anything. Especially blues.

More attractive is the Rhino "Original Album" series -- 5 from The Monkees, say, or Dr. John, for 20 or 30 bucks.

In related death-of-the-CD news, Bob Seger has apparently announced the end of his digital-sales-holdout stance. Can't beat 'em.

Entered at Tue Sep 13 19:50:55 CEST 2011 from (204.138.59.92)

Bill M

Kevin J: Speaking of Ian and Sylvia, our slow-road drive to Picton that took us through Cobourg a couple of weekends ago took us through Newtonville, where I&S had their farm in the late '60s and '70s, on the way home. Finally was able to talk the other half through the first verse of Ian's wonderful "Long Time To Get Old" from the GSB album on Bearsville: "Eagle flies tomorrow / Mosquito biting me today / Take a bus to Toronto / Highway 2 all the way [we were on 2 at the time, which helped] / Take a walk down Yonge Street / Where good times are bought and sold / Remember this children / If the good lord's willin' / Live a long long time to get old".

Next day, inspired by GB mentions of the Bobby Charles package, I listened to Bobby's Bearsville CD and was struck by how much the lyrics of "Grow Too Old" seem to echo the Tyson song. Not really surprising, considering Tyson and Charles shared a manager and a label and that Amos Garrett and other contributors to Charles album had passed through the Great Speckled Bird.

Entered at Tue Sep 13 18:25:30 CEST 2011 from (156.47.15.10)

David P

Also intriguing for Miles Davis fans is the upcoming release of "Live in Europe 1967: The Bootleg Series Vol. 1" due out on Sept. 20 from Columbia/Legacy. It includes 3 CDs and a DVD sourced from live European broadcasts, featuring Mr. Davis' stellar second quintet (Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Ron Carter and Tony Williams) at their peak.

Entered at Tue Sep 13 18:14:10 CEST 2011 from (82.69.47.175)

Peter V

Entered at Tue Sep 13 17:36:26 CEST 2011 from (156.47.15.10)

David P

Subject: Glen Campbell & Jerry Reed

GregD: That intro to Glen Campbell's "Southern Nights" was inspired by a lick he learned from none other than Jerry Reed. (see link)

Entered at Tue Sep 13 17:26:09 CEST 2011 from (86.186.43.190)

Simon

Pat - Thanks for that. I've kind of neglected "What's Going On" in recent years because I played it to death but everything comes full circle, especially as "Money is tighter than it's ever been." I notice there are two deluxe versions available so I'll do a bit of research.

There's a forthcoming boxset called "The Perfect Miles Davis Collection" and I thought it was worth posting details as it's 20 titles spread over 22 discs and the retail price is about USD 35-45. It's £35 on Amazon UK, £30 via SpinCDS. I thought the price was a misprint but it's the real deal. If physical product is going the way of the dodo then the big labels should follow this example.

"Round About Midnight" (1957)
"Miles Ahead" (1957)
"1958 Miles" (1958)
"Porgy and Bess" (1959)
"Kind of Blue" (1959)
"Sketches of Spain" (1960)
"Someday My Prince Will Come" (1961)
"Seven Steps To Heaven" (1963)
"Miles In Berlin" (1965)
"E.S.P." (1965)
"Miles Smiles" (1967)
"Nefertiti" (1968)
"Filles de Kilimanjaro" (1969)
"In A Silent Way" (1969)
"Bitches Brew" (1970)
"A Tribute To Jack Johnson" (1971)
"On The Corner" (1972)
"We Want Miles" (1982)
"Star People" (1983)
"Decoy" (1984)

Entered at Tue Sep 13 17:22:52 CEST 2011 from (156.47.15.10)

David P

Like many great session guitarists, James Burton was a master of another stringed instrument -- the dobro. This specialty increased his studio calls, particularly for country sounds, as he could provide his trademark chicken-pickin' on the Telecaster, along with rich acoustic fills and slick-slidin' dobro licks. He provided the latter on Buffalo Springfield's "A Child's Claim To Fame".

Entered at Tue Sep 13 17:16:21 CEST 2011 from (129.42.208.177)

Bob F

Subject: The Waterboys

Great article on The Waterboys (Mike Scott).

Entered at Tue Sep 13 17:08:48 CEST 2011 from (129.42.208.177)

Bob F.

Subject: Young Music Fans

I find that young people who are into music have a strong knowledge and interest in the music that came before. Of course I wouldn't expect an 18 year old to be aware of all the music that we've heard in the last 50 years! They're far more open to older music then most of us old timers are to rap, hip hop or electronic club beats.

Entered at Tue Sep 13 16:40:36 CEST 2011 from (99.250.10.113)

GregD

David P mentioned Glen Campbell's last number one hit, Southern Nights, which provides a connection to the Band via its composer, Allen Toussaint. I recall reading that Mr. Campbell's intro to that song, which at the time he often performed using a solid body Ovation electric 12-string, involved simultaneously playing an ascending figure on the top E-string and a descending pattern on the bottom E-string, which he likened to "rubbing your head one way and your belly the other way", no mean feat for a guitarist. I happened to catch him performing songs from his new (and apparently final) album on the Tonight Show last night.

Entered at Tue Sep 13 16:23:14 CEST 2011 from (204.138.59.92)

Bill M

Peter V: Burton on the Springfield song is news to me, but makes sense given the bluegrassy riff.

Entered at Tue Sep 13 15:48:21 CEST 2011 from (99.254.209.45)

John D

Doug Dillard perform each year; (sometimes Rodney) during Mayberry Days in Mount Airy North Carolina, the town where Andy Griffith grew up and where the fictional town of Mayberry was based on.

Entered at Tue Sep 13 15:40:55 CEST 2011 from (82.69.47.175)

Peter V

I have a hunch that “Listen To Me” will be more to my taste than "Rave On" was. I just went to amazon.co.uk to look, and the recommendation was an Ace CD due in two weeks time: James Burton: The Early Years 1953 to 1959. Appropriate as we’re talking about Glen Campbell and Jerry Reed. Tracks include The “Poor Boy Looking For A Home” by Green River Boys … featuring Glen Campbell again. There’s Dale Hawkins and a fair bit of Ricky Nelson on there obviously. The one that surprised me was A Child’s Claim To Fame by Buffalo Springfield. I had no idea Burton played on that.

Entered at Tue Sep 13 15:34:06 CEST 2011 from (99.254.209.45)

John D

Lyle Lovett track is of course "Well All Right."

Entered at Tue Sep 13 15:30:04 CEST 2011 from (99.89.226.221)

PutEmUp(Friend0

Entered at Tue Sep 13 15:27:04 CEST 2011 from (99.254.209.45)

John D

Recently it was the 75th birthday of Buddy Holly. There are two tribute albums out. One is called Rave On and the other is called Listen To Me. Listen To Me is produced by Peter Asher and the artists on it reflect more of my taste. A woman who has become one of my absolute favorites, Imelda May sings, "I'm Looking For Someone To Love" and blows everyone off the bandstand. I first discovered her on the Jeff Beck tribute to Les Paul. Other great tracks include, Lyle Lovett; with "Well It's Alright" and Chris Issak doing "Crying Waiting Hoping."

Other notables are Brian Wilson, Stevie Nicks and Ringo Staar. Eric Idle does a spoof on "It's Raining." Worth checking out.

Entered at Tue Sep 13 15:27:03 CEST 2011 from (99.89.226.221)

PutEmUp(Friend0

Entered at Tue Sep 13 14:52:04 CEST 2011 from (68.198.223.205)

Jed

Sometimes I wonder if the racism that cheated many of these guys of due recognition and money are at the root of such neglect and forgetfulness of these great artists who shaped traditional American music.Today's acceptance of hip hop and rap may reflect a younger generation that is hopefully a bit less concerned about skin color.

Entered at Tue Sep 13 14:49:36 CEST 2011 from (99.254.209.45)

John D

Great to see 3 of the 4 Dillard's mentioned here. Saw them a number of times in the 70's. Some of the finest bluegrass I have ever heard. Sadly, bass player Mitch Jayne passed away and Dean Webb no longer joins them, I understand. Also they were great on the old Andy Griffith show as the Darlin' family of musicians.

Entered at Tue Sep 13 14:33:31 CEST 2011 from (82.69.47.175)

Peter V

I've recounted this before here, so it may have grown (or shrunk) in the telling. About ten years back I was in Chicago at the then Virgin store on Michigan Avenue. I was looking for the Hubert Sumlin Cd which had just come out. The guy asked if he could help. I said I was looking for Hubert Sumlin. He said he'd never heard of him. I said he played guitar with Howlin' Wolf. Total blank. Then he told me he ran the blues section. He called over a young clerk, and asked him, on the grounds that he was African-American. Being 18 and dressed in hip hop gear, he'd never heard of Howlin' Wolf either, and looked somewhat affronted at the assumption that he would. Or should. This was, as I said, in CHICAGO.

Entered at Tue Sep 13 14:17:08 CEST 2011 from (68.198.223.205)

Jed

As much as I love The Band,it's understandable that people would be and in general remain ,clueless as to who they are. Muddy--well that is ignorance and worse that so few came to TLW for Muddy.Can't say it's surprising,but pretty sad.

Entered at Tue Sep 13 14:15:00 CEST 2011 from (71.246.9.74)

bob w.

Another name that doesn't come up as often as it should in the great guitarist discussion.

Entered at Tue Sep 13 11:01:23 CEST 2011 from (82.69.47.175)

Peter V

I've been inspired to dig out the LP "Twelve String Guitar" by The Folkswingers. This band consisted of Glen Campbell on 12 string, with Rod Dillard guitar and Doug Dillard banjo, with Dean Webb on bass. Folk classics all with 12 string. Date? 1963.

Entered at Tue Sep 13 10:56:01 CEST 2011 from (82.69.47.175)

Peter V

Thanks for the Glen Campbell link. Judy Collins doesn't do Amazing Grace live anymore, but that one more than makes up for it. We'll await Dunc's comments on the playing! I'm looking forward to the Brighton show in November even more now.

Entered at Tue Sep 13 10:34:23 CEST 2011 from (41.97.230.202)

Empty Now

Subject: Kevin J / how TLW guest stars brought new The Band fans

Kevin J : Joni at 2%, it is a worldwide opinion poll score I conduced totally out-of-The-Band-GB targeting a mainly profane public, over a period that spanned almost 20 years, where to those for whom it has a meaning, I exploited rudimentary data mining tools.

Statistics are often more mistaking than enlightening, a more refined percentile would be “what is the relative ratios of the non The Band fans who went to TLW movie” this question is soon obsoleted by the fact that everybody who watches TLW is converted a The Band fan short before the end of the movie

The topic how TLW guest stars brought new The Band fans fascinated me from the beginning, the promoters and the defenders of “TLW end of the road” ideology should be more interested than I

Here is an excerpt from a post from I, See The Band Guestbook archives:\

Entered at Sun Sep 1 13:32:11 CEST 2002 from (80.84.130.132)
Posted by: Empty Now
Subject: Plato, Allen, TLW outsiders
“In the context of the first version of TLW in 1978, the popularity of folk-rock singers like Dylan, the band, Hawkins, was somewhat elapsed, and came a generation of consumers that was preferring singers like Neil Young , Emmylou Harris I think too, etc... If a statistic is made on what motivated all who entered the movie, a non-negligible part consists of fans of the invited artists. Remember the video-clip was not current ( it became in 1983, the same year than aids) then TLW was an opportunity for people to see their favorite artist. When TLW has been announced, it was current to hear, amongst the largest number, comments like 'the film where Ringo Starr is appearing' or ' it's the history of the band, you know the instrumentists of Dylan', or 'it is surprising how James Taylor is absent'....”

Since the time I am posting here, no one assumes I am one of those who use The Band GB as a rough book. To renew the study and give it a The Band GB mark, I call officially every GBer if he/she fits the following clause :

I BECAME A THE BAND FAN AFTER TLW THAT I WATCHED SPECIALLY BECAUSE IT FEATURED [THE NAME(S) OF ONE OR MORE TLW GUEST STAR(S)]

I know they are crowds, and personally I almost fitted the clause, but I listened non-stop TLW triple album a few weeks before I went to the movie, though it may bias the topic, for information only I have a very clear memory that the names on the poster that captured the more my attention were, in no special order :
Martin Scorsese
Robbie Robertson
Neil Young
Emmylou Harris
Eric Clapton (I had some respect for the guy then, but he is a full zero since the day I learned of his overt Arabophoby, see the article “Eric Clapton: Farther On Up The Road by Barbara Charone” In the library section of this site) I haven’t in addition to spend money for it

Entered at Tue Sep 13 03:44:07 CEST 2011 from (71.246.9.74)

bob w.

Entered at Tue Sep 13 03:18:25 CEST 2011 from (71.246.9.74)

bob w.

Entered at Tue Sep 13 03:12:47 CEST 2011 from (99.89.226.221)

PutEmUp(Friend0

Our worldwide host, JH, is a big fan of this guy. Ron Eoff, onetime bassist with the Cate Bros. I noticed he is the bass player in the present version of The Amazing Rhythm Aces. Only 2 originals left, Russell Smith, of course, and Billy Earhart.

Entered at Tue Sep 13 03:06:09 CEST 2011 from (99.89.226.221)

PutEmUp(Friend0

Subject: What's That Smelly Fish.......

Worthwhile reading, article on, interview with Hot Tuna.

Entered at Tue Sep 13 01:17:06 CEST 2011 from (74.198.87.25)

Kevin J

From RR's Facebook page.......the following Q & A:

What's the chance of ever seeing the 1971 Royal Albert Hall shows by the Band officially released?

Robbie Robertson: pretty good.

Entered at Mon Sep 12 22:56:19 CEST 2011 from (82.69.47.175)

Peter V

Sorry, failed. Try again …

Entered at Mon Sep 12 22:55:06 CEST 2011 from (82.69.47.175)

Peter V

Subject: Southern Nights

Link is to my mercifully concise (unusually) review of Allen Toussaint from 2007.

Entered at Mon Sep 12 22:51:57 CEST 2011 from (82.69.47.175)

Peter V

Entered at Mon Sep 12 22:21:20 CEST 2011 from (156.47.15.10)

David P

Subject: Southern Nights

Check out Allen Toussaint performing a majestic solo version of "Southern Nights". One can easily see & hear what inspired Glen Campbell, who grew up in the country over in Arkansas, to cover the song. Another song by Mr. Toussaint with a similar feel, from his "Southern Nights" album, is "Country John".

Entered at Mon Sep 12 21:06:35 CEST 2011 from (174.89.116.120)

Kevin J

Subject: and a wicked guitar player he was.......is

Glen Campbell backstage......

Entered at Mon Sep 12 20:52:13 CEST 2011 from (156.47.15.10)

David P

Glen Campbell used to joke that the early secret to his success as a session musician in L.A. was due to his use of a capo, a device that clamps onto the fretboard, allowing the guitarist to easily change keys. According to Mr. Campbell, "I was the only one who knew how to use a capo. you'd go to Nashville and they all used one. Nobody used them back in L.A., and that was the only way to get that ringing sound on the guitar strings when I played on those Sinatra records."

When he was growing up in Arkansas as a child, Glen Campbell's first capo, used for his $7.00 Sears guitar, was a corn cob & rubber band, improvised by his daddy.

Mr. Campbell's last #1 hit and gold single was his 1977 cover of Allen Toussaint's "Southern Nights".

Entered at Mon Sep 12 20:26:21 CEST 2011 from (174.89.116.120)

Kevin J

Entered at Mon Sep 12 20:03:09 CEST 2011 from (41.97.233.235)

Empty Now

"Ringo Starr 30%"

how to read it: "among the spectators of TLW who dont care of The Band, 30 percent came thanks to the presence of Ringo Starr

the logic as well as the ethics are safe

Entered at Mon Sep 12 19:49:50 CEST 2011 from (41.97.233.235)

Empty Now

here is the result of a rare investigation, giving the world average number of the very specific population who in 1978 never heard yet of The Band (or just as a formation of sideman) and "came to" The Last Waltz movie [next stepping into The Band] by pure fandom toward a specific TLW guest first, or as Rock connoisseurs for whom the name of the specific guest on the bill granted some label of quality

Ringo Starr 30%
Ron Wood 17%
Bob Dylan 10%
Eric Clapton 9%
Neil Young 9%
Dr. John 7%
Van Morrison 6%
Neil Diamond 4%
Muddy Waters 3%
Joni Mitchell 2%
Paul Butterfield 1%
Staple Singers 1%
Emmylou Harris 1 %

The percentages are worldwide averaged and valid for the screenings of year 1978 only

Entered at Mon Sep 12 18:56:58 CEST 2011 from (90.239.86.142)

Ilkka Jauramo

Subject: Our webmaster has posted a link which relates to US health care politics

No politics here, HUH??? Compare this link: - "Levon Helm will receive the Wonderful World Award from The Louis Armstrong Center for Music & Medicine on Monday, September 19. See wehealny.org for more info." - with Michael Moore's movie on American health care... yes that's the movie where he interviews citicens in CANADA about health care.

Entered at Mon Sep 12 18:11:32 CEST 2011 from (174.89.116.120)

Kevin J

Bob F: Some of the truly happy concert moments of my life and on one occasion simply one of the happy memories period was seeing Rick Danko in concert…….Before this GB I never even knew that there were sides to take and a nice development here over the last few years is that the division lines are being blurred somewhat……..which is nice to see…………………….No musician in this crazy little business called rock n roll that I miss more than Rick Danko.

bob w: Funny stuff……I remember as a kid going away to hockey school in the summer for the first time and being shocked that there were other kids that knew as much as I did about the sport or a favourite player…………Music is much the same in the area of discussion – especially this on-line discussion…..and the “better than the Beatles” argument is always fun to see someone try and support………………………….Feat21 meet Adam…..subject: Better than Clapton……..discuss.

Simon: Thank you. Great clip. What a talent....

Entered at Mon Sep 12 18:03:26 CEST 2011 from (64.105.104.221)

Pat B

Entered at Mon Sep 12 16:07:20 CEST 2011 from (31.52.57.141)

Simon

Subject: Marvin Gaye

"What's Going On" and "What's Happening Brother" from a 1973 TV special. This is a bit special and besides, there's not a lot of footage of James Jamerson around.

Entered at Mon Sep 12 16:02:22 CEST 2011 from (31.52.57.141)

Simon

Subject: The Marvelettes / "I'll Keep Holding On"

Just thought I'd throw this one into the ring. I don't think it was as big a hit as some of their others. They've just got that extra bit of raunch. And what can you say about that bassline? Also worth checking out are "Danger Heartbreak Dead Ahead," "Don't Mess With Bill," "My Baby Must Be a Magician" and "You're the One."

Peter - I believe that the second volume of their albums was due to come out on Hip-O Select and was going to start with the 'pink album' from 1966 or so. I think they found an extra reel of tape somewhere so it could be worth waiting for.

bob - I'll be in touch soon. Hope you and yours are doing okay.

Entered at Mon Sep 12 15:38:50 CEST 2011 from (204.138.59.92)

Bill M

Peter V: I'd thought that Toto was the epitome of LA overproduction, so to find out they're from Kansas was a shock. As for Glen Campbell, do the notes note that he was in the Champs with Seals and Crofts, post-"Tequila"? He played Tronno as a Beach Boy in the mid-'60s, I'm told; wonder if he looked up our most famous Arkansawyer, Ronnie Hawkins?

Al E: The Temps will likely forgive you, but others may not. Way too over the top for me.

Entered at Mon Sep 12 10:45:42 CEST 2011 from (41.97.233.235)

Empty Now

Subject: this is a high intensity game : Greendale, Neil Young, 2003

…or how we had been all denatured-dehumanized-screwed with our own goodwill and benediction by TV

In the linked page above, click on the icon LISTEN, then Click on the speaker icon to listen to the track

THE LYRICS

Grandpa's interview / Bringing down dinner

The noise was unfamiliar, generators whirling, walkie-talkies screaming, vans parked in the open field.
TV crews and cameras, they wanted to interview grandpa on the porch.
They came through the gate and across the lawn knocking down Edith's Tiki Torch.
And grandpa saw them there, looking through the venetian blind.
"Those people don't have any respect, so they won't get any of mine."
"I don't wanna talk about Jed. I don't watch channel 2 or 6 or 9.
I don't have time to talk that fast, and it ain't my crime."
"It ain't a privilege to be on TV and it ain't a duty either.
The only good thing about TV is shows like 'Leave it to Beaver.'"
"'Shows with love and affection', like mama used to say.
A little Mayberry living could go a long way."
He took Earl's shotgun down from the closet, loaded up both barrels.
Walked out on the porch and fired 'm off, and up walked a woman named Carol.
"Susan Carol from Early Magazine, I got some questions to ask."
"Well you can stick 'm where the sun don't shine!" grandpa said with a gasp.
Then he fell face first and let out a sigh, and Edith ran out in shock.
He was looking at her from down on the floor, Grandpa looked like he was trying to talk.
"That guy just keeps singin'! Can somebody shut him up?
I don't know for the life of me where he comes up with that stuff."
They laid his head on a newspaper with a picture of Carmichael on the front page,
posing with the little league baseball team, and a seedy shot of Jed on a motorcycle.
Grandpa died a hero. Trying to stop the media. Fighting for freedom of silence. Trying to be anonymous.
Share your loving and you live so long. Share your loving and you live so long.
The evening fog was rollin' in It was gettin' hard to see
The old white car edged down the road Headed for the Double ‘E'
She was bringin' down dinner for Grandpa It was crawling with vitamins And tender as a mother's love
When she saw the TV vans The side door was open here were three TVs Grandpa's face was on every one
He was talkin' to a woman with a microphone he was sexy and her hair was all done
Sun Green came down and met Grandma then "My you're such a beautiful girl.
Mother Earth needs more like you You should go out now and see the world.
"What's Grandpa doin' on TV?"

Entered at Mon Sep 12 10:02:16 CEST 2011 from (184.94.119.35)

h. Nguyen

Subject: lyrics and chords

just wondering what happened to the lyrics/chords section?

Entered at Mon Sep 12 09:56:37 CEST 2011 from (82.69.47.175)

Peter V

Hilda, I don't really know. I know my TV can play audio from USB sticks (though I only tried it once). It must be a pretty recent CD player. Maybe you need to find someone who's happy to transfer those old bootlegs to CD for the joy of having a copy.

Entered at Sun Sep 11 20:38:54 CEST 2011 from (96.30.174.20)

joe j

Good one Al. I don't believe I've ever heard it before. A week ago I'd never heard that Stevie Wonder song either. Keep it coming.

Entered at Sun Sep 11 18:39:57 CEST 2011 from (74.108.30.41)

Joan

That is a bizarre list.

Entered at Sun Sep 11 18:19:02 CEST 2011 from (82.42.175.156)

Al Edge

He'll always be the Wicheta Lineman to me.

:-0)

"I'm outside left for Stockport County
And I tear down the wing
Running with the ball so that I can
Make the fans sing

Entered at Sun Sep 11 18:11:58 CEST 2011 from (82.42.175.156)

Al Edge

...What a cut...and those final two lines and the way she punches them out...feck me.

:-0)

Entered at Sun Sep 11 18:07:47 CEST 2011 from (82.69.47.175)

Peter V

Thoroughly enjoying Glen Campbell’s “Ghost on the Canvas” today. New songs by Paul Westerberg, Teddy Thompson, Jakob Dylan and others, and a typically lush production.

In the sleeve notes Glen lists some of the songs he played on as a session man in LA: Strangers in The Night, Good Vibrations, Viva Las Vegas, Surf City, Mama Tried, Hello Mary Lou and You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling. I didn’t know he came from a farming family in Arkansas either!

Entered at Sun Sep 11 17:45:34 CEST 2011 from (82.42.175.156)

Al Edge

Subject: The Temptations will never forgive me but...

...this simply has to share my top Tamla spot with I Know I'm Losing You. I'd forgotten all about it until I just heard it on some '70's review show.

Wowser!!!!

Entered at Sun Sep 11 15:43:29 CEST 2011 from (41.97.175.236)

Empty Now

Subject: anti-TV songs

This is a list of Anti-TV songs I found available on the net

Bruce Springsteen - "57 Channels"
Don Henley - "Dirty Laundry"
The goats -" Television, the drug of the nation"
Treepeople - "feed me"
Buggles - "on TV"
Husker Du - "Turn on the news"
The Cheepskates - "Cathode prison"
Back to the Planet -. "Teenage Turtles"
Michael Franti, - "Eye of the Storm"
John Butler Trio - "Media"
Red hot chili peppers - "Throw away your television"
Bow Wow Wow - "I'm A TV Savage"
Rose tattoo – "TV"
Gang Of Four - "5:45"
Replacements - "Seen Your Video"
Violent Femmes - "I Hate the TV"
Crass - "Nineteen Eighty Bore"
Remote Control - "The Tubes"
The Victims - "television addict"
The Cramps - "TV Set."
The Misfits-"TV Casualty"
Jefferson Airplane - "Plastic Fantastic Lover"
Simon & Garfunkel - "The Bright Green Pleasure Machine"
The Normal - "TVOD"
Dwight Twilley Band - "TV"
The Dickies - "Tricia Toyota"
Roger Waters - "Amused To Death"
Public Enemy - "She Watch Channel 0"
Bill Harley "Dad Threw the TV Out the Window"
Wilco -"Kicking Television"
The Bottle Rockets - "Sunday Sports"
Shoes - "The Tube"
The Cucumbers - "Don't Watch TV"
Frank Zappa - "I'm the Slime"

Entered at Sun Sep 11 11:14:47 CEST 2011 from (82.69.47.175)

Peter V

Entered at Sun Sep 11 01:17:11 CEST 2011 from (71.246.9.74)

bob w.

Entered at Sat Sep 10 20:33:16 CEST 2011 from (68.198.223.205)

Jed

Dopey list.

Entered at Sat Sep 10 20:29:17 CEST 2011 from (24.218.200.216)

Tim

Subject: Coming in at number 57.....

Top Groups/duos

Entered at Sat Sep 10 18:12:37 CEST 2011 from (64.105.104.221)

Pat B

Entered at Sat Sep 10 18:11:33 CEST 2011 from (68.198.223.205)

Jed

Thought that was Rick's dog...possibly given to him by Dylan.Or,am I confusing stories and names?

Entered at Sat Sep 10 18:09:34 CEST 2011 from (68.198.223.205)

Jed

Just saw a pic of Bobness playing tennis with George Harrison,both decked out in their R&R duds,including Dylan wearing those hip boots of his.(of course not as floridian looking as the white boots he wore playing ping pong with Levon). I wonder if they owned workout clothes. These are the important things to ponder in life.

Entered at Sat Sep 10 16:39:10 CEST 2011 from (90.239.87.238)

NorthWestCoaster's Dog

Subject: Talkin' Internet Blues #109

/C/ If you violate the letter or spirit of my Statement, or otherwise create risk or possible legal exposure for me, I can stop providing all or part of Guestbook to you.

/F/ Yes 'n'... I will give a damn to notify you by email or at the next time you attempt to post in this forum.

/C/ Hmmm... You may also try to delete your posts or disable your application at any time, but you will never be able to do it.

/G7/ Oh Lord will I never gonna lose... (Backing vocals: "In all such cases, this Statement shall terminate, but the following provisions will still apply):

/C/ This (Backing vocals: "2.2, 2.4, 3-5, 8.2, 9.1-9.3, 9.9, 9.10, 9.13, 9.15, 9.18, 10.3, 11.2, 11.5, 11.6, 11.9, 11.12, 11.13, and 14-18") Guestbook Blues.

Entered at Sat Sep 10 15:15:52 CEST 2011 from (62.140.137.109)

Hilda F

Subject: Vinyl/cd Peter V

To Peter V Thanks for your reaction. But I don't own a computer. I never wanted one, but when I reached legal retirement age this year, my brothers and sisters (9!) gave me this iPad to drag me into the 21st century as they say. I admit I quite like it, since one of my brothers put all his regular Dylan and Van Morrison albums on the Ipod function. We share almost the same taste in music, but he is twenty years younger and is still a very busy guy and said he has done enough. So..... But I do own a state of the art cd player. A gift from an american friend . I believe it can play USB sticks because there is an entrance or plug-in or whatever it is called. Can I just put them on such device and then play them? Please enlighten this digitally illiterate old lady!

Entered at Sat Sep 10 13:49:35 CEST 2011 from (96.30.174.20)

joe j

Subject: The Basement

What really was happening in the basement. See link to photo. Rumour was that Levon was the undisputed champ.

Entered at Sat Sep 10 13:00:54 CEST 2011 from (90.239.122.83)

NortrhWestCoaster

Subject: Internet criminality here in Nordic Countries

According Synmantec's "Cybercrime Repport 2011" 4.000 people are victims of this type of criminality in Sweden - a day! There are 10 Millions people living here. The next common crime is hacking and missusing e-mail accounts and social network accounts. The risk to be a victim is three times bigger than being a victim outside of the internet (like robbery on the street).

Entered at Sat Sep 10 12:38:27 CEST 2011 from (90.239.122.83)

NorhWestCoaster

Sorry, I forgot, mainly because I am sober: The Culture Wharf in Denmark has a collection of Dylan's work. It is placed by a huge window facing to Hamlet's Castle (and Sweden as well).

Entered at Sat Sep 10 12:28:48 CEST 2011 from (90.239.122.83)

NorthWestCoaster

Subject: Denmark/Dylan/Hamlet/Learning English (mainly to Peter V.)/Shakes_pier

I use to visit Hamlet's castle in Denmark regularly. I take a walk to the series of Historic Signs. One of them says "Bob Dylan was here etc...". (During Cold War the American imperialists had a radar station at the same point.) -The interesting thing for me is this: Shakes_pier's "Merchant From Venice" (as well as many of others) begins with "Enter Antonio..." and Dylan's "Hurricane" begins with "Enter Paddy Valentine..."

Footnote: The Danes are building an old wharf near Hamlet's castle into a building dedicated to culture: theatre, mediatheque, concert hall... that's why I spell it as Shakes_pier instead of Shakespeare. There is a pier, you see. Understood? HUH??? Should I build a Lego model OR WHAT????

Entered at Sat Sep 10 12:18:47 CEST 2011 from (109.154.213.119)

Dunc

Subject: Various

The Marvelletttes. I only really know 'When Your Young and In Love' which was really big in my home town at the time. I started googling this morning and came across the story that they turned down certain songs, which went to the Supremes instead...but you read those types of stories all the time. Anyway I think 'When You're Young...' is one of the great Tamla songs and am going to buy a collection. Thanks Peter.

Bill M:Enjoyed the posts. I really like 'Indiana' and in the UK 'There's A Ghost In This House' is a Northern Soul Classic.

Remember there was a Holland Dozier Holland collection eleased a few years ago and our boys were on it. I had tokens that Christmas, but couldn't get it in Glasgow.

This is a nosiness question, but again recently I enjoyed discussions related to collections. John D, Pat, David, Bill M, Bob and Peter. How do you store these collections? Catalogued and in an entire room?

Entered at Sat Sep 10 11:19:47 CEST 2011 from (41.97.203.131)

Empty Now

Subject: Belgian TV / Bill M / Rai from the Netherlands

Belgian TV is also infamous for the license fees they practice, the higher in the world, I still see those bills at gunpoint for a cable program that moreover doesn't fill the deal, the other reason I grew up an anti-TV man

Bill M : thanks for the comment

in the link above : precious video about Jan Wouter Ostenrijk, Jazzman and Rai-man from the Nederlands, a quasi academic introduction to the instruments that create the special beat of Rai though this music draws its primary soul in the nature of the landscape,

enjoy

Entered at Sat Sep 10 09:02:59 CEST 2011 from (75.34.58.24)

Adam

Entered at Sat Sep 10 07:43:16 CEST 2011 from (82.69.47.175)

Peter V

Entered at Sat Sep 10 07:38:17 CEST 2011 from (82.69.47.175)

Peter V

Hilda, it’d be just as cheap to buy a USB record player (in the UK they’re from £70 up, with many at £99). That goes straight in your computer’s USB slot and will convert LPs and singles to digital files for an iPod or you can burn CDs from the computer. They even recognize the gaps. You have the interest of listening again as you do it. Then when you see a great secondhand LP for 2 euros or whatever, you can convert it too. But it should be easy to find someone who has one. They might be happy to do it for you just to get a copy themselves.

Entered at Sat Sep 10 06:02:30 CEST 2011 from (66.45.129.2)

Dexy

Subject: Interesting Robbie intervidew

Sorry if this has already been posted, but an intersting new interview with Robbie about the end of The Band.

Entered at Sat Sep 10 05:44:22 CEST 2011 from (86.163.180.134)

Simon

As revealed by the man with the golden ears, Feat21

So tell us about the early approach to recording, Feat:

"While The Band and The Beatles may share some general similarities in their music, at their core they are often very different. As I said many times, The Band was not a pop group. Their music, songwriting, performances, and in fact everything about them, had nothing to do with creating music specifically for commercial consumption."

That's true, Feat, you have told us that many times even though I didn't ask about The Beatles but weren't The Band signed to Capitol and didn't they also do radio spots, record and promote the debut album, advertise concerts and sell tickets? Carry on:

"The Band's greatness is also seen in their approach to recording and playing. They were not a 'studio' band. For the most part, on those early albums, they set up in a room and created sounds in the air that went to tape. Sure, they sweetened and added flourishes and overdubs but their approach was pretty revolutionary. The Beatles were influenced by this approach in the studio as have so many bands down the line even to this day."

Interesting. Sounds in the air that went to tape. Flourishes and overdubs. Is there more?

"The point is The Band were true musicians and a true band. They did not rely on the studio, tricks or overdubs to achieve their sound."

Okay. So this is in a room not a studio? But a room with recording equipment in it ... like a studio would have? I see.

"The sound you heard from them on "Across the Great Divide" in the studio was most likely the same sound you'd hear from them if they set up in your living room and played. They LISTENED to each other, and achieved a perfect balance and blend with their instruments naturally. They created music that sounded beautiful as it was being made, raw, drifting right into the air in real time.

Wow. Most likely, eh? In real time, too.

"After experiencing music like that, my appreciation for the Beatles was never the same. The studio experimentation stuff is fine and interesting, but for me there is no comparison. I love hearing a real band of impeccable musicians playing together in the same room, raw and live. If you got The Band playing live in a room and compared it to The Beatles playing live in a room, I don't have to tell you that The Beatles would get blown away."

That's true, Feat, you didn't have to tell us but thanks anyway. All these pieces of the jigsaw puzzle add up. That's all we have time for today, dear listeners. We'd just like to remind you that the highly acclaimed box sets "The Beatles in Mono" and "The Beatles" (Stereo) are available from the usual outlets, as is The Band's back catalogue. Feat's 15 second mandolin sample is out there somewhere on the net.

Thanks for tuning in.

Entered at Sat Sep 10 05:14:46 CEST 2011 from (68.171.231.80)

Bill M

Entered at Sat Sep 10 03:23:27 CEST 2011 from (62.140.137.129)

Hilda F

Subject: Great White Wonder

I rember buying the album in 1969 and playing it over and over again. I have not been able to do so for several years now because I don't have a functioning record player anymore. I'm trying to find someone in or near Amsterdam who can convert all (10) my bootleg albums into cd's, scratches and all! Know someone, please let me know. I would love to hear them again.

Entered at Fri Sep 9 22:20:05 CEST 2011 from (68.198.223.205)

Jed

I still vividly recall buying the album in '75 and playing the music while identifying all the characters on the album cover.And,picking out The Band's members as well!

Entered at Fri Sep 9 21:30:18 CEST 2011 from (69.123.3.201)

Bob F.

Subject: Upstate NY Kids

Hey Kevin J., those are my kids your talking about man! How did you know that? All kidding aside, my kids are all huge Band fans and they know Robbie was the Band's main songwriter. However, their generation will always think of Levon, Garth and Rick when they think of the Band. The reason is they grew going to see them perform. Richard died way too soon and Robbie never plays live. In 1975 when the Columbia Basement Tapes came out every Dylan fan I knew was a huge Band fan and every Band fan was a huge Dylan fan. It wasn't until The Guestbook started that I began to see Band fans that weren't really Dylan fans. That probably has something to do with the fans the Band picked up with The Last Waltz.

Entered at Fri Sep 9 21:25:03 CEST 2011 from (82.42.175.156)

Al Edge

Many thanks to all three of you for your terrific insights into what is pretty clearly a tacky affair.

Got to say I'm still wrestling with the implications and their ramifications. I guess there are times when you're better off just being an ignorant so and so and simply revelling in the emotional pull of your very own ignorant bliss of wondrous timeless tracks such as Suckling Tree and Lo and Behold etc etc etc of which I never tire.

Still. Reality beckons I guess.

:-0)

Anyroad, I'm now off to sit in a darkened room and weigh up exactly where I stand on all this. Before I devote my energies to that by no means little task, there is, however, still the monumental undertaking of figuring out Bill M's sensational Ringo joke.

;-0)

Sorry Bill. Couldn't resist.

Entered at Fri Sep 9 21:17:26 CEST 2011 from (71.34.1.245)

Jerry

Subject: The Boss in Bosston

Bruce being Bruce, pretty cool..

Entered at Fri Sep 9 21:20:19 CEST 2011 from (71.43.124.98)

Dan

The Basement Tapes as issued is one of my favorite albums. I can listen to it again and again because it is great music and is in listenable format. I like the Bootleg disks but they are not good for sustained listening, especially with company. I always enjoyed the inclusion of Band songs because The Band was integral to the process, the songs illustrate what they were doing transitioning from the Hawks to MFBP, and it is great to hear Richard Manuel and Rick Danko compositions. Nobody ever acknowledges that Robbie's Ferdinand the Impostor was left off the BT. I am tired of this dissing of Robbie and/or The Band and leaving no accountability with Dylan. Dylan ain't G-d, he's the guy who wrote great songs, but also picked on Phil Ochs. There is no way Dylan should be divorced from the 1975 release. Frankly, I get pissed every time Dylan or others denigrate the 1974 tour when The Band played its heart out and performed better than Dylan - listen to Wolfgang's Vault for the Madison Square Garden tour which had Richard's last good vocal of King Harvest before his voice broke. Put it to you this way, Robbie may be overly controlling, but when there was counterbalance there was great product. His solo albums have been performed to the best of his ability as have his limited live outings. If Robbie and The Band were around, then there was no way the Live Aid debacle with Dylan, Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood. Finally, by way of balance, Rick Danko's Home Cookin' would have been appropriate for the Last Waltz and more emotionally honest.

Entered at Fri Sep 9 21:15:39 CEST 2011 from (64.105.104.221)

Pat B

Entered at Fri Sep 9 20:30:13 CEST 2011 from (71.246.9.74)

bob w.

Kevin, and then there's "Feat21"!

Hope you are well.

Entered at Fri Sep 9 19:34:20 CEST 2011 from (64.105.104.221)

Pat B

Entered at Fri Sep 9 18:38:24 CEST 2011 from (174.89.116.120)

Kevin J

……imagine the agenda at the first meeting of editors for the Robbie Robertson Children’s book on the Band………”Well Phillip……the team have decided to not start at the beginning of the end but rather the end of the beginning so that discussion on whether RR killed the fly or not has been pushed back to next week………..we have cleared the deck and “Basement Tapes” is the topic……Market research has indicated the kids in the Nordic countries like the “Big Lie” angle while those in North America are divided…….though it should be pointed out that that there is a particular group of kids being raised in upstate New York that will just eat up the 'Robbie lied, stole, cheated and never really even existed' story line.”…

Entered at Fri Sep 9 18:34:12 CEST 2011 from (156.47.15.10)

David P

The famous, or infamous, depending on your perspective, Dylan bootleg album known as the "Great White Wonder" first surfaced in the summer of 1969. The 2-LP set included nine Basement Tape recordings, which featured poor sound quality. Rolling Stone reported the release and contacted Columbia Records for comment. A spokesperson responded:

"We consider the release of this record as an abuse of the integrity of a great artist. By releasing material without the knowledge or approval of Bob Dylan or Columbia Records, the sellers of this record are crassly depriving a great artist of the opportunity to perfect his performances to the point where he believes in their integrity and validity. They are at one time defaming the artist and defrauding his admirers. For these reasons, Columbia Records in cooperation with Bob Dylan's attorneys intend to take all legal steps to stop the distribution and sale of this album."

Six years later, some would say, it was Columbia Records, with the cooperation of Dylan, The Band and, yes, Greil Marcus, who defrauded the great artist's admirers with a product of questionable integrity and validity.

Entered at Fri Sep 9 18:29:17 CEST 2011 from (136.167.102.118)

Dave H

It's always seemed to me, though, that either Dylan's management or Dylan himself isn't terribly interested in the basement stuff. The first Bootleg Series 3-disc set, which was career-spanning, only had 2 basement songs when it could easily have cherry-picked 6 or 7 of the best or most complete unreleased tracks (plus one of them was "I Shall Be Released"...nice to have, but not exactly an unfamiliar tune). And the Witmark demos, Halloween '64 concert, etc. have all come out before the complete BT. At one point, there were rumors about a sequel to the Scorsese "No Direction Home" film that presumably would have had an accompanying CD release with unreleased material from the post-'66 era, but I haven't heard anything about that for a while--maybe Scorsese did the George Harrison documentary instead?

Entered at Fri Sep 9 18:14:43 CEST 2011 from (204.138.59.92)

Bill M

Entered at Fri Sep 9 18:10:52 CEST 2011 from (62.140.137.78)

Hilda F

Subject: Jakob Dylan

Sorry about that people! Belgian TV is pretty infamous for their wrong anouncements. So we got Grace Jones instead as the main guest. Still it is the best live performance show we get over here and the public library has dvd's of all the shows if you missed one. Hope they will put on the one with Jakob D at a later date.

Entered at Fri Sep 9 17:49:06 CEST 2011 from (82.69.47.175)

Peter V

The bootlegs were awful quality and a mishmash, with stuff like Percy's Song and If You Gotta Go Go Now which weren't basement era. Dylan was wrong. He probably still thinks everyone's got them, but I reckon a Bootleg Series "Basement Tapes" with a good clean up of what's basically on A Tree With Roots or Genuine Basement Tapes would sell. Half my Genuine Basement Tapes CDs rotted. I reckon many people would opt for an official release even if they had the boots. Especially with good liner notes … interviewing Garth would be the way to go.

Entered at Fri Sep 9 17:28:27 CEST 2011 from (217.5.150.254)

JTull Fan

Subject: Brien's list

Brien, I love your list and totally concur, Aqualung included. And I am NOT buying the soon to be released 5-disc box set of the album, ugh, as much as I do like it.I'll add: Anything by Tom Petty, and Sultans of Swing. Instant switch the station reactions from me!

Entered at Fri Sep 9 17:16:20 CEST 2011 from (90.239.114.132)

NorthWestCoaster

Subject: The Band is a lie

The Band is a lie, the whole lie, and nothing but a lie. No big deal.

Entered at Fri Sep 9 17:14:21 CEST 2011 from (156.47.15.10)

David P

"When a collection of sixteen basement recordings, plus eight Band demos was officially released in 1975 and reached the top ten, Dylan expressed surprise, 'I thought everybody already had them'".

Entered at Fri Sep 9 16:57:34 CEST 2011 from (64.105.104.221)

Pat B

Entered at Fri Sep 9 16:36:14 CEST 2011 from (70.28.32.74)

Landmark

That's why I placed "Uptight" as my Stevie Wonder choice, which could've been a couple of dozen easily. I thought that the horn line says Motown, with a capital M.

Entered at Fri Sep 9 16:05:34 CEST 2011 from (204.138.59.92)

Bill M

John D: Thanks for including "Does Your Mama Know About Me" (and for the record, I think she does). I'm going to take it as giving me licence to expand upon my Dunc-aimed post re R Dean Taylor.

Both Tom Baird and Wes Henderson initially got to Motown with Bobby Taylor and the Vancouvers - Henderson as the group's bassist, Baird as arranger and co-writer (with Tommy Chong) of "Does Your Mama Know About Me". Baird stuck around the label and is notable for having introduced Diana Ross (or was it Berry Gordy) to the Jackson Five and for his subsequent work with Rare Earth (the group; he wrote "Born To Wander", for example). Post Vancouvers, Henderson spent some time in Toronto as bassist for the local production of "Hair", then returned to Detroit to do an excellent 45 of his own song, "In Bed" (which was later covered by Three Dog Night, whose drummer, Floyd Sneed, was Henderson's brother-in-law). Allan Nicholls was also a "Hair" alumnus, but in his case it was the New York production. He'd previously been the lead singer of JB and the Playboys a huge Canadian pop band of the '60s (and a particular John D favourite) and a subsequent associate of Robert Altman whose worked on soundtracks of a bunch of movies and who had significant on-screen roles in "Nashville" and "Slap Shot" (the one with Paul Newman, where he's the willy-waver).

Entered at Fri Sep 9 16:02:19 CEST 2011 from (131.137.35.83)

sadavid

Speaking of getting paid . . . it was obvious on the model of "This Wheel's On Fire" that a Basement Tapes writing credit was (potentially at least) a useful revenue stream. Dunno how they would have estimated the market, but fans like myself had certainly bought into the myth and were more than eager to snap up the Official Release. Bootlegs were not on offer in my leafy suburb. (And what True Believer in NY, L.A. or London who did have one of the bootlegs was gonna pass on said Official Release?)

So, to augment the royalties stream from covers of the acetated / bootlegged Dylan / Danko and Dylan / Manuel, the non-basement tracks include two Robertson / Manuels, one Manuel, one Danko / Robertson, and a Robertson. Share the wealth.

Entered at Fri Sep 9 15:21:28 CEST 2011 from (71.246.9.74)

bob w.

Entered at Fri Sep 9 15:15:36 CEST 2011 from (204.138.59.92)

Bill M

Peter V: Or we're a bunch of weirdos.

Entered at Fri Sep 9 15:12:37 CEST 2011 from (82.69.47.175)

Peter V

Entered at Fri Sep 9 15:00:39 CEST 2011 from (204.138.59.92)

Bill M

Empty N: Thanks for the Raina Rai - great singing, great instrumentation. Your post, together with Brien's mention of "Layla" reminded me of something I read - in a book from that '60s. In a Sufi story/parable called, I believe, Layla and the Madman, Layla is so beautiful that touching her garment drives the man to his knees, mad; sounds like the song, eh?

Adam: It would have been nice and clean and serving of all purposes for Bob and the Band to have released "A Bob Dylan and the Band Tribute to Songs from the Legendary Basement Tapes". Nobody would have had any reason to expect anything other than remakes, and if some original tracks were thrown in here and there, who'd've complained? Back then, unfortunately for fans, record companies didn't cooperate, and the Band only got to record away from Capitol for soundtracks or if they were working with his Bobship. So see it as an end-run around companies and maybe managers, done with nods and winks from all, including Greil Marcus. Boys just wanna have fun.

Entered at Fri Sep 9 14:47:01 CEST 2011 from (99.254.209.45)

John D

I Could Never Love Another After Loving You - Temptations

Gonna Give Her All The Love I Got - Jimmy Ruffin

I Can't Help Myself - 4 Tops

Hitchhike - Marvin Gaye

Blowing In The Wind - Stevie Wonder

Dancing In The Streets - Martha & The Vandellas

My Girl - The Temptations

Does Your Mama Know About Me? - Bobby Taylor & The Vancouvers

I With It Would Rain - Temptations

You've Really Got A Hold On Me - Smokey Robinson & The Miracles.

The above are not in any order.

Entered at Fri Sep 9 13:48:21 CEST 2011 from (71.246.9.74)

bob w.

My Ipod has become my music source in the car and Pandora is streaming through the TV sound system at home these days. They do a fantastic job and, if you want to take the time, you can really tailor what they play by voting on each choice they make. If you aren't enjoying Pandora already.....check it out. Very easy and inexpensive (approx. $75.00) to link to your home system and no fees for the service.

I will be happy to help anyone looking to get going with Pandora at home. Great addition to your home entertainment choices.

Entered at Fri Sep 9 13:36:44 CEST 2011 from (24.44.101.8)

Brien Sz

Entered at Fri Sep 9 13:15:15 CEST 2011 from (71.246.9.74)

bob w.

Entered at Fri Sep 9 12:59:52 CEST 2011 from (24.44.101.8)

Brien Sz

Listening to radio in the NYC area is a chore. If there was ever an area that lacked variety in music choices by artists, it's here. FUV is just a touch out of reach and crackles too much to get in - its the little station that has a deep and varied playlist. Anyway - there are songs now that I can't stand to listen to and instantly turn them off when I hear them.

The Top Ten Most Overplayed Songs I Can't Listen to Anymore (That I like at one time)
1. Layla - I know people still love this but it is now the most loathsome song on the radio.
2. Aqualung - see above, should be 1a.
3. Walk on the Wild Side - Come on people, he wrote other songs.
4. Brown Eyed Girl - Isn't everyone tired of hearing this.
5. Tangled Up in Blue - a recent entry. Since so many great songs are on this album as well, its a crying shame this is the only that is played. The other day, the DJ said, "this is the top vote getter of what Dyaln song listeners wanted to hear - Really, this is what Dylan fans wanted to hear on the radio! - puke.
6. Rolling in the Deep. This Adele song started as a unique tune. She has this cool voice. Then radio played it so much that I believe I'd rather stick needles in my eyes than have to listen to this song ever again.
7. Margaritaville. This song died years ago for me but I don't seem to run into it all that often, but when I do I find another station to listen to.
8. Baba O'Rielly - How about playing the live version once. You'd think the Who wrote 4 songs. This is the one I tolerate the least.
9. What I Like About You - nothing
10. Billy Joel - song doesn't matter.

Entered at Fri Sep 9 11:32:52 CEST 2011 from (76.98.218.136)

Carmen

Bruce -

Entered at Fri Sep 9 11:29:46 CEST 2011 from (41.97.144.177)

Empty Now

Entered at Fri Sep 9 11:28:25 CEST 2011 from (41.97.144.177)

Empty Now

For those who doubt yet, Raina Rai is the legendary group who released in 1983 the best Rai song ver link above

Entered at Fri Sep 9 11:26:41 CEST 2011 from (41.97.144.177)

Empty Now

Subject: Maimouna - a song about a woman by name

“No Mimouna” - I was intrigued since the beginning by this common expression in Oran dialect, which is very used in Rai songs, and that literally means “I have no luck”

while Mimouna is a girl name, feminine of Mimoun. For example the etymology of the famous Sahara city Timimoun is tin-mimoun “the well of Maimon”.

Problem Resolved Thanks to the internet and music, I report what I learned lately

Excerpt from an article titled “Lady Luck” by Yigal Bin-Nun

”In Morocco, Mimouna was a feast day designed to appease a local she-devil, and contained no religious components. In Israel, however, its pagan origins have been ignored.
Mimouna, the holiday of the Moroccan Jews, is a family celebration but also a happening that attracts a large number of politicians - a combination that has assured its legitimacy in Israel. The most common explanation for the origin of the holiday has to do with its name, which people try to anchor in a Jewish religious context. In Israel, the Mimouna has been linked to the birthday of Rabbi Maimon, the father of Maimonides (Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon), or portrayed as a festival of emuna (faith), because of the phonetic similarity between the words. Of course, there is a connection to redemption and the Exodus from Egypt because the holiday falls on the day after Passover ends. But, in fact, all these explanations are mistaken.
The Mimouna table offers a hint of the holiday's true origins. It is not set for a family dinner, as usual, but displays an array of symbols that are basically variations on a theme. On this table you will not find typical Moroccan cuisine. It is laden neither with meat dishes nor an assortment of salads. Instead, it is laid out with items, each of which is symbolic in some way: a live fish swimming in a bowl of water, five green fava beans wrapped in dough, five dates, five gold bracelets in a pastry bowl, dough pitted with five deep fingerprints, five silver coins, five pieces of gold or silver jewelry, a palm-shaped amulet, sweetmeats, milk and butter, white flour, yeast, honey, a variety of jams, a lump of sugar, stalks of wheat, plants, fig leaves, wildflowers and greens. All are symbols of bounty, fertility, luck, blessings and joy. The traditional holiday greeting fits right in: "Tarbakhu u-tsa'adu" - meaning, "May you have success and good luck."
Why is the table set this way? The answer can be found in the name of the holiday and in the songs traditionally sung on the day. The Arabic word mimoun means luck or good fortune. At the Mimouna celebrations, songs are sung in honor of "Lady Luck." One of them is "Lala mimouna/ mbarka masuda," which means "Lady Mimouna/lucky and blessed." Lady Luck is being feted with a table laden with goodies symbolizing abundance, health, success and good fortune.
A table set out in honor of Lady Luck will not be unfamiliar to anyone who has explored folk customs and traditions over the ages. The prophet Isaiah already mentions one: "But as for you who forsake the Lord / Who ignore My holy mountain, Who set a table for Luck / And fill a mixing bowl for Destiny ..." (Isaiah 65:11). The verse in Hebrew is "Ve'atem-ha'orkhim le'gad shulkhan." This "Gad" is none other than the Babylonian deity, Ba'al-Gad, the god of good fortune. A table is set to appease him.
The prophets of Israel denounced this custom, as they did many other superstitions of the day. The rabbis of the Talmud decried it, too: "Veha'orekh lefaneha (lifnay hayoledet) shulkhan haray zeh meedarkhay ha'emori" (Tosefta Shabbat: 7). One must not "set a table" for a woman after childbirth, they said. This is the way of the Amorites, that is, it's a pagan custom.
In the 15th century, we find written references to a demon named Mimoun, husband to a she-devil named Mimouna. "Claviculae Salomonis," a handbook of magic composed in Spain, probably before the 15th century, mentions a demon, king or god called the "black Mimoun from the Occident." The Occident is North Africa - specifically Morocco. Mimoun and his female partner appear in numerous manuscripts from the 16th century onward. ….
etc …”

if really interested, read the full article at http://www.haaretz.com/weekend/week-s-end/lady-luck-1.217597

Back to Music

Over the years, overwhelming is the number of worthy anthropolocical things I have learned starting from a single tip in some popular song;

whatever is the anthropological interest ; the eponymous song by Raina Rai [link above] is just a precious jewel

Entered at Fri Sep 9 11:17:54 CEST 2011 from (82.69.47.175)

Peter V

They had a low profile in the UK. Everyone knew they'd done Please Mr Postman as covered by The Beatles. I had a school friend who bought then before the Beatles, and has an original of Twistin' Postman from 1961. Beechwood 4-5789 was reasonably known. Too Many Fish in The Sea and Don't Mess With Bill were well-known on the disco scene. Their one big smash hit was When You're Young and In Love in 1967.

In terms of reputation, the previous 1967 single, The Hunter Gets Captured By The Game, is generally held to be a Motown classic of the first order.

You can find the "Complete Motown Albums Vol 1" in a gold box set at budget prices nowadays. It's worth picking up if only for the great early 60s covers album they did, where they took on the likes of Mashed Potato Time, Good Luck Charm, Twistin' The Niight Away and Hey Baby and "Motownized" them.

Entered at Fri Sep 9 11:08:58 CEST 2011 from (82.69.47.175)

Peter V

Subject: Basement Tribulations

There are several things that get people riled about the BTs. First, for the Dylanologist, they selected Band-only tracks, while leaving some of the best basement compositions out. I’m ignoring the many covers they did for fun, but talking about I’m Not There (1956), Sign On The Cross, Quinn the Eskimo, I Shall Be Released. Collaborative stuff, the essence of the project, was dumped and replaced with Band only myth creation. It’s myth creation, because good as the material is, it’s a fake. It was not from the basement, and some not from rermotely the era. Now to a Band fan like me in 1975, that was not a problem. But to Dylan fans it was sacrilige.

Second, it’s the audacity of the lie. It reveals total contempt for the audience. That contempt reared up even more strongly in the Watkins Glen album, which Pat B exposed on this site. Pat’s article is linked above. Robbie’s “extreme lack of veracity” is odd. Is it contempt? Is he in Castaneda terms ‘recreating his own history’? If you passed these off in any other walk of life it would be called fraud. Under the British Advertising Standard laws, Watkins Glen is actionable misrepresentation. Why does he do that? Why does he employ writers like Barney Hoskyns to do liner notes for the remasters, and ditch them? (Though maybe because he discovered Hoskyns had called him a "vain control freak."). He employed Greil Marcus for A Musical History and ditched him. Perhaps the 2005 Greil Marcus wasn’t as pliable as the 1975 model.

The other thing is that all five went along with it. Robbie compiled the album, but everyone participated in the lie. Get to the Watkins Glen album, and they may not have had the call, but no one blew the whistle. (Though I was told that Levon was “steaming mad” about it).

Overdubs aren’t the issue so much. Some may even date back to the basement. There are way more overdubs on live material than you’d think. It’s completely new recordings and completely new songs that are the issue. I’m delighted to have them, but the historian in me feels the hackles rise.

Entered at Fri Sep 9 09:16:01 CEST 2011 from (122.59.251.42)

Rod

Adam, I agree with you. The only downside is that The Band could have made a great album of their own out of their tracks. Maybe commercially they made the right decision.

Entered at Fri Sep 9 08:28:59 CEST 2011 from (75.34.58.24)

Adam

Entered at Fri Sep 9 05:34:17 CEST 2011 from (99.89.226.221)

PutEmUp(Friend0

Entered at Fri Sep 9 05:17:57 CEST 2011 from (99.115.147.236)

Pat B

Entered at Fri Sep 9 05:04:35 CEST 2011 from (99.115.147.236)

Pat B

So the truth runs one of two ways. Marcus wrote the liner notes knowing that all this took place and chose to participate in the dance, or he didn't know the subject well enough in the first place to recognize the real BT vs. the new improved versions. Either way, pretty bad.

Entered at Fri Sep 9 04:56:42 CEST 2011 from (68.171.231.80)

Bill M

As a white Canadian at Motown in '66, Taylor was seen by Berry Gordy as the natural guy to work with the largely white, largely Canadian Mynah Birds, which is why some of the songs the band recorded are Taylor co-writes. Later he was given the job of running the Rare Earth label. Likely no coincidence that the label was Canuck-heavy, relaively speaking - with Tom Baird, Wes Henderson, Allan Nicholls and Taylor himself releasing stuff.

Entered at Fri Sep 9 04:20:02 CEST 2011 from (99.89.226.221)

PutEmUp(Friend0

Top Twenty Best Covers of Motown Songs. Now that would be a list.
Top Ten songs about California.
Top Ten songs about a musician.
Top Ten Songs about the music business.
Top Ten songs about a politician.
Top Thirty songs about a woman, by name.
Top Ten songs About A Car.
Top Ten Songs about a animal, by name. i.e Wildfire, the song was about the horse, where as Blue River would not work, asd the song was not about Moe, the dog,

Entered at Fri Sep 9 04:13:31 CEST 2011 from (99.254.209.45)

John D

Entered at Fri Sep 9 03:55:51 CEST 2011 from (96.30.174.20)

joe j

Entered at Fri Sep 9 03:27:01 CEST 2011 from (166.129.130.225)

JQ

Subject: Nick Lowe

Nick Lowe has a new record coming out in a few days. This is an interview from earlier this week where he covers E Costello's Allison. To me, it's the best version of that lovely song I've ever heard -

Entered at Fri Sep 9 03:20:29 CEST 2011 from (166.129.130.225)

JQ

Norbert - The late Richard Farnsworth starred in both. The Grey Fox is from 1982, set in Western Canada, and is about a former train robber (Farnsworth) who is hauled reluctantly into the 20th century - top notch!

Entered at Fri Sep 9 02:54:04 CEST 2011 from (71.246.9.74)

bob w.

bwigo at verizon.net

Entered at Fri Sep 9 02:00:39 CEST 2011 from (86.163.176.190)

Simon

Subject: On second thoughts ...

Having had a day to reflect on it I think that SH.tv thread fully deserves to be linked here. Because it's from the Hoffman site there's still a bit of unintentional humour there. Click link for a cautionary tale on the dangers of being a fanboy. (And male he almost certainly is, there's no way a woman would type all this bullshit.) There is a hell of a lot of BAND content and a fair bit of BEATLES content, so there'll be something for everybody.

I'll leave it up to you to decide who the GREATEST ROCK GROUP OF ALL TIME is - subjectively speaking of course. I should warn readers that the Original Poster REALLY LOVES THE BAND and makes frequent use of the words POP, COOKIE CUTTER, ROOTS, SOIL, AMERICAN ROCK AND ROLL and (my pet hate) AUTHENTIC. On the last few pages of the thread he uses this last one freely, sometimes three, four or five times per paragraph. He's almost spraying it around by this point. The little gobshite.

If you like you could bookmark it for a rainy day. It takes half a dozen or so pages to get warmed up though. Like I say there is a lot of Band content along with some latent Anglophobia and (sadly - I wouldn't make fun here) possible OCD issues. There's certainly potential for parody too. I might have a crack at that soon. Perhaps I'll turn him into a BEATLES fan.

I've been enjoying the Motown lists everyone so keep them coming.

Entered at Thu Sep 8 23:49:03 CEST 2011 from (82.42.175.156)

Al Edge

Have to hold my hands up on two counts

Won't be the first time - and most certainly won't be the last

:-0)

First BILL M: Yer gonna have to run that Ringo one by me again mate. I'm sure it was hilarious like all your quips but 'fraid it went right over this thicko bonce.

Sorry mate. :-0)

Second- PAT: Really am struggling with the Basement Tapes liner notes thing. I don't have the complete 4/5 disc set so it may be that it leaves a huge gap in my grasp of how significant this criticism really is.

From what I understand, the Band stuff on the '75 Columbia issue - which is the only one I've ever had initially on cassette, then vinyl and later CD - was organised by Robbie who tried to make it seem more of a joint effort than it really was and it was later found when the bootlegs emerged that The Band's tracks were not genuinely "basement" derived.

So is the point you're making that Marcus knew this and tried to disguise the fact on the liner notes and so basically deliberately misrepresented what they were all about?

I must admit reading through the liner notes again tonight I can see that there certainly is no attempt to represent it as we now know it really was. That said, he does seem to get into the underlying spirit of what I've always seen as the proper Basement songs. And I must admit without any real insight I never really bracketed the cuts by The Band with those of Dylan.

I loved Katie and Cane but great as they are they never seemed to me to fit at all with the string of seemingly effortless and timeless gems from Dylan.

Is there more to this thing?

Entered at Thu Sep 8 23:47:26 CEST 2011 from (62.140.137.156)

Hilda F

Subject: Jakob Dylan

Just noticed in my tv guide that he will be on Belgian tv in a late night screening of a BBC show: Later With Jools Holland. For anyone who can watch this on Satellite, he is so starting to look like his father, it is uncanny! I already saw this when it was on BBC.

Entered at Thu Sep 8 23:39:13 CEST 2011 from (62.140.137.156)

Hilda F

Subject: Norbert, the Straight story., Levon as actor

I saw that movie years ago and it truly moved me. Did you know it was based on a true story and the guy who played him was already terminally ill at the time? I recently saw Levon in a cameo in The three burials of Melquiades Estrada as an old blind farmer! Amazing movie and music as well, especially Paulina Reyes playing a Chopin etude on a honky tonk piano in a bar, while Tommy Lee Jones sits at the bar and seems to be contemplating his sins. Ever since watching it i keep hearing that music in my head.

Entered at Thu Sep 8 22:59:28 CEST 2011 from (109.154.213.119)

Dunc

Subject: Get Ready, Temptations

I feel I missed this wonderful song in my list.

Peter, were the Marvellettes not so big in UK?

Bill M, I was wondering if one of the Canadians would come in with 'Indiana Wants me'

Entered at Thu Sep 8 22:46:53 CEST 2011 from (41.97.147.250)

Empty Now

Subject: if [Music] History were pure facts truth, it would be such a boring

Norbert : location : CE in short

Here is a Cut&Paste from a online biography of John D. Loudermilk.

"Another top 40 pop-rock classic, "Indian Reservation," was originally written by John Loudermilk in 1959 and recorded by Marvin Rainwater, as "Pale Faced Indian." Later on Loudermilk reshaped some of the lyrics and released it in the mid 1960s as "The Lament of The Cherokee Reservation Indian."
In 1969 Don Fardon shortened the title to "Indian Reservation" and scored a mammoth worldwide hit everywhere except here in the states, which was very fortunate for The Raiders featuring Mark Lindsay. Two years later their version mimicked Fardon’s interpretation almost note for note and scored a huge hit in the US.
Loudermilk was once asked by Casey Kasem of American Top 40 Radio about the back story of “Indian Reservation.” Loudermilk concocted a tall tale about being rescued by Cherokee Indians after crashing his car in a blinding blizzard only to be held captive by his rescuers.
He was finally released once he promised he would write a song telling of their plight. The story appeared several times on the show; Kasem is quoted as saying, "one of the most incredible stories we've ever told on AT40."

Alternate Cut (&Paste)

"Loudermilk (a cousin to the Louvin Brothers, who were born Loudermilk), who at some point near the tail end of the 1950s was driving through western North Carolina in the middle of winter when his car got stuck in a snowdrift. Trapped in the middle of nowhere, he decided to spend the night in his car, until he was unceremoniously dragged out by four Indians of the Cherokee tribe.
The Cherokees held Loudermilk hostage for several days, sacrificing his car by pushing it over a cliff and, in an eerie foreshadowing of A Man Called Horse, torturing Loudermilk by piercing his skin with needles. He told the Indians he was a writer, so they said they'd let him go if he'd write a song that told the world of the indiginities heaped upon the Cherokee tribe. Loudermilk said no, so it was back to the torturing. Finally he relented, and was released so that he could write a song called "The Pale Face Indian." so Casey said."

in the link above, my favorite among the so many versions of the hit, Don Fardon but not the 1968 hit version, this one is a remix from 1972

Entered at Thu Sep 8 22:40:58 CEST 2011 from (91.42.227.205)

Norbert

p.s. come to think of it, Levon could have played in that. ok I'm off.

Entered at Thu Sep 8 22:26:40 CEST 2011 from (204.138.59.92)

Bill M

Entered at Thu Sep 8 22:26:12 CEST 2011 from (82.69.47.175)

Peter V

Entered at Thu Sep 8 22:25:40 CEST 2011 from (91.42.227.205)

Norbert

Entered at Thu Sep 8 22:23:22 CEST 2011 from (91.42.227.205)

Norbert

Subject: Germany, Holland, Belgium & France

Just saw The Straight Story, the ultimate road movie …. on a lawnmower, beautiful motion picture, great music too.

Tomorrow we will travel to Paris, stay one night and then move on to the heart of France, where the stars shine brighter and the land is sweet like honey. But first we will travel the North of France tomorrow at dawn, where Mr. Straight has fought and cross the river Somme where so many men have died. Maybe I should buy a lawnmower to travel too and leave a Porsche to those who still have to grow a little.

c.u.

Entered at Thu Sep 8 22:12:10 CEST 2011 from (109.154.213.119)

Dunc

Subject: Tamla list

No particular Order

The Marvellettes 'When You're Young and In Love'

Marvin Gate and Tammi Terrrel 'The Onion Song'

Marvin Gaye and Kim Weston 'It Takes Two'

Marvin Gaye I Heard it through The Grapevine'

Smokey Robinson and the Miracles 'Tracks of My Tears'

Smokey Robinson and the Miracles 'Tears of a Clown'

Stevie Wonder 'For Once In My Life'

Temptations 'Just My Imagination'

Junior Walker and the All stars 'How Sweet It Is'

The Four Tops 'Walk Away Renee'

Entered at Thu Sep 8 21:59:44 CEST 2011 from (174.89.116.120)

Kevin J

Bill M: The small hor'dourves plate at “North 44” is also $60……guests are in town and a non-Band loving significant other has just informed me that this is where we are entertaining them………If I could just get to Cobourg fast enough I might be able to drop a quick $60 on the RS cover and have a good enough excuse to bypass the overpriced appetizers….……Thank you.…Still back and forth for a while so I’ll see.

On Motown……….any serious music person knows and appreciates the magic that came from this label but for those of us that came of age in the mid to late 70’s, Motown was largely done by then…….and the categorization of “I’m Wondering” as obscure sits fine with me as I had not heard the tune before and I am one who can name 20 or so Stevie Wonder songs with ease. Bob W recently lamented RR’s decision to essentially lay off his instrument for much of the last 30 years which I also am sorry about as I would have loved to hear much more of his playing in that period……….which made me think of Stevie Wonder……..No talent bigger – only 2 or 3 in the same stratosphere – but what has he been doing for the last 30 years……Have I missed great material or has he really been a non-producer all this time?

Entered at Thu Sep 8 21:46:44 CEST 2011 from (204.138.59.92)

Bill M

Subject: Bob 'n' Sarah / underground

sadavid: Yup, a history of forgetting the shopping is bound to come back at a husband at some point, no matter how many lovey-dovey songs he's written.

Speaking of the underground album, has anyone written about the similarities between the cover of Columbia's "Basement Tapes" release and that of Thelonious Monk's 1968 "Underground" (see link)?

Entered at Thu Sep 8 21:32:19 CEST 2011 from (131.137.35.83)

sadavid

Bill M: according to my COD, "trope" means a figurative use of a word; I like "themette" much better.

Speaking themettically, if it hasn't happened already, someday soon a PhD thesist will publish something along the lines of _Chicken Dancing in the Basement: Bob Dylan's Post-Crash Food Obsession_.

Combine the novelty of exurban family life and the novelty of eating (after years fuelled by little more than cigarettes and amphetamine) and you get:

"juice" ("Odds and Ends")
"cheese" / "sweet cream" / "potatoes" ("Million Dollar Bash")
"meat" / "plum" / "rum" ("Goin' to Acapulco")
"chicken" ("Lo and Behold")
"apple" / "suckling" ("Apple Suckling Tree")
"beers" / "eggs" ("Please Mrs. Henry")
"meat" / "fruit" / "trout" / "pie" / ("bread") ("Yea! Heavy and a Bottle of Bread")
"sugar" / "salt" ("Crash on the Levee")
"bird" / "pig" / "dough" ("Tiny Montgomery")
"chicken" / "apple" / "beanery" ("Don't Ya Tell Henry")

And I don't think the list is exhaustive (there's a "bibb" in there somewhere). Throw in "Quinn" and you get "sugar" (again), "meat" (again) and "pigeons."
When Bob rolled a sheet of paper into the ol' Underwood, 7 times out of 10 it was the shopping list the missus had -- with faint hope -- pressed into his hand as he left for the clubhouse.

Entered at Thu Sep 8 20:48:34 CEST 2011 from (74.108.35.95)

Joan

Subject: New Book

For those of you who love Fender, a new "coffee table" book.

Entered at Thu Sep 8 20:34:24 CEST 2011 from (74.108.35.95)

Joan

I just got my Rhino Bobby Charles compilation. I'm a Bobby Charles fan,and Rhino did a great job. The packaging is beautiful, and there are some things I've not heard before. Well worth the cost

I'm not great about lists. IF I look at someone else's list I go "Yeah, That the one," but with the meds I'm on the memory gets interrupted

I tried to get tickets for Garland Jeffries & Graham Parker. but drat, they sold out before the sales were open to the nonmembers I did get Ollabelle tickets though.

Entered at Thu Sep 8 20:27:33 CEST 2011 from (204.138.59.92)

Bill M

Kevin J: If you're the kinda guy who'd like to own the the issue of "Rolling Stone" magazine from '68 that has the Band on the cover, are willing to shell out $60 and are still driving between TO and Mtl, you might want to get off the 401 at Cobourg and drop in at Zap records on the north side of the main street in the centre of town (i.e., highway 2, aka either King or Dundas, presumably). It's hanging on the wall behind the till. A bunch of other '68-'69 issues can be found facing you if you stand at the counter and look down. Most are $20-$25, but the Janis-is-dead cover is $100.

Entered at Thu Sep 8 20:13:25 CEST 2011 from (99.254.209.45)

John D

Just received a promo copy of Allen Toussaint's "The Bright Mississippi"; on 180 gram vinyl. It's heavy. And I mean in weight. Going to find out for the first time what David P has been talking about all this time.

Entered at Thu Sep 8 20:12:08 CEST 2011 from (156.47.15.10)

David P

For Stax albums before 1968, I believe the blue label that John D mentioned was also used for mono LPs. The stereo LPs at that time, which were often electronically rechanneled rather than true stereo, featured a yellow label that used the same Stax tracks of records logo used on the blue label. I have a couple mono promotional LPs from that era, which had a white label with the same logo.

Entered at Thu Sep 8 20:04:25 CEST 2011 from (204.138.59.92)

Bill M

NWC: You're right on all counts, though we still reserve the right to grouse. Note that your Karl Marx quote was adapted for use in "The Weight": "Take a load off Fannie, and put the load right on me" - in other words, the song of the American taxpayer. How did Robbie know that was going to happen - was he clairvoyant or something?

Entered at Thu Sep 8 19:22:22 CEST 2011 from (90.239.91.29)

NorthWestCoaster

Subject: Greil Marcus, seriously

I have read all Band/Dylan related Greil Marcus books. As long as gb masterminds (like Viney, Edge, Brennan, Young, Now, Powell) refuse to sit down and write it all, there is nothing better.

Personally to Pat B about your stupid post on The Basement Tapes sleeve notes. How about that:

1.) The Bible: "The truth was that God said to Abraham, kill me a son, and Abe said, man you must be put me on!"

2.) Karl Marx: Das Kapital: "The truth is this: Bail out Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac."

3.) Prophet Muhammed in Koran: "The truth is this: Cheers."

It never going to happen.

Entered at Thu Sep 8 19:17:38 CEST 2011 from (204.138.59.92)

Bill M

Entered at Thu Sep 8 19:09:29 CEST 2011 from (82.69.47.175)

Peter V

In the UK, Private Number was the first yellow Stax single in 1968 (STAX 101). It was preceded by Soul Limbo in the USA, where it was the second. This is the point where Stax broke off from Atlantic. Before that as John D says there was the more collectable blue label with the “Stax of Trax” symbol. We didn’t have those for long in Britain… until 1967, all the Stax releases came out as Atlantic in the UK. If you’re into value, the mid-blue labels on the first few releases are worth more than the later light blue ones. Look in the attic.

Entered at Thu Sep 8 18:53:10 CEST 2011 from (131.137.35.83)

sadavid

Subject: raising "raising Cain," again

I like Marcus; I haven't read _Invisible Republic_ yet but I'm looking forward to it. One of the citizen reviewers on Amazon sez "Music is a hard thing to write about. You can go clipped and dry in your appoach, with dates and names and other history, which can be pretty dull. Or you can, if you live and believe it like Greil Marcus obviously does, do the stream-of-consciousness thing. Despite its unevenness I think I prefer the Marcus approach." Discuss.

I suspect GM, like JRR, feels that facts should never get in the way of a good story. And any three good stories make a myth.

I take it that one of Marcus's theses is that the recordings that survive from the early days present a kind of alternative and decidely non-establishment history. The first big 'history book' in this sense was the Harry Smith anthology. It seems to be received wisdom, for example, that Dylan used one of the tracks from the anthology ("Down on Penny's Farm" The Bently Boys, 1929) as the basis for both "Hard Times in New York Town" and "Maggie's Farm". It could have been an inspiration for "King Harvest (Has Surely Come)" as well --- the privations of the tenant farmers at Penny's and elsewhere led to the formation of the STFU ("Southern Tenant Farmers' Union", not what you were thinking) and other organizations of similar ilk. (And the title of another Smith track ("Wake Up Jacob" Prince Albert Hunt's Texas Ramblers, also 1929) is certainly intriguing.)

One of the principals of the STFU was one John Handcox. Handcox's father had owned his Arkansas farm, such as it was, but was "crushed by a wagon" at which point his family had to turn to sharecropping. When the STFU's activities became a threat to landowners, John had to scarper. He was in DC in 1937 attempting to drum up financial and political support when the Union secretary put him in touch with Charles Seeger (Pete's dad) at the Library of Congress. Handcox recorded six songs and two poems (all self-penned) for the Archive of Folksong.

All this is preamble - what struck me in reading about Handcox was his comment about his daddy's farm, which was near the Delta, but not in it: "You couldn't even raise a fuss on that land."

Something about that has a ring to it . . . .

Entered at Thu Sep 8 18:53:34 CEST 2011 from (82.69.47.175)

Peter V

As someone else who earned a living from a pen, I always found being paid was a considerable incentive.

Entered at Thu Sep 8 17:54:48 CEST 2011 from (156.47.15.10)

David P

Pat: Perhaps Mr. Marcus' agenda was a publicity tie-in with the publication of his original edition of "Mystery Train", which was released around the same time as Columbia's "Basement Tapes".

Entered at Thu Sep 8 17:02:05 CEST 2011 from (68.164.5.108)

Pat B

Entered at Thu Sep 8 16:37:43 CEST 2011 from (99.89.226.221)

PutEmUp(Friend0

The reformed Band that I saw with Richard smoked. Every show, every night. I saw them on home turf, NYC or surrounding area. Can't speak for the quality oftheir shows elsewhere.

After Richard hung himself they eventually got their act togthr again, the only weak shows I saw were the ones that came reasonably close after Richard's death. I distinctly remember a show the following fall where they were right on the money all night, it was at The Ritz in the East Village. They might have gotten their act back together sooner,I don't recall anything specific though..

Entered at Thu Sep 8 15:57:03 CEST 2011 from (204.138.59.92)

Bill M

Entered at Thu Sep 8 15:46:10 CEST 2011 from (156.47.15.10)

David P

The legendary New Orleans producer, arranger & bandleader Wardell Quezergue died Tuesday. Among his countless credits, he contributed horn charts for Robbie's "Storyville".

Entered at Thu Sep 8 14:52:33 CEST 2011 from (71.246.9.74)

bob w.

Another facet of John Lennon's legacy.

Entered at Thu Sep 8 14:07:56 CEST 2011 from (82.42.175.156)

Al Edge

SIMON: Ha ha - see what you mean. I read first three pages then skipped to the end to find that the original poster thinks Levon was actually Blind Lemon Pie.

I was hoping I'd see a follow up along the lines of ..."Now just you hold up there a cotton-pickin minute"...but I guess Westie doesn't go on that site.

:-0)

Entered at Thu Sep 8 14:01:11 CEST 2011 from (71.246.9.74)

bob w.

2) I Second That Emotion - Smokey Robinson and the Miracles

3) Too Busy Thinking About My Baby - Marvin Gaye

4) I'll Be Doggone - Marvin Gaye

5) What Does It Take (To Win Your Love) - Jr. Walker & the All Stars

6) Since I Lost My Baby - The Temptations

7) Mickey's Monkey - Smokey Robinson and the Miracles

8) Signed, Sealed, Delivered - Stevie Wonder

9) What's Goin' On? - Marvin Gaye

10) I Can't Help Myself - The Four Tops

Entered at Thu Sep 8 14:00:32 CEST 2011 from (99.254.209.45)

John D

I remember when the Stax yellow label came out with the hand in the center of it. There was also a black and white version with the word "stax" at the top in red.

My favourite Stax label will always be the original; with the blue background and the Stax-O-Wax of records.

Entered at Thu Sep 8 13:41:36 CEST 2011 from (82.69.47.175)

Peter V

Actually, my favourite song on your list has a yellow Stax label (if it’s an early copy). That’s Private Number by William Bell & Judy Clay. But it fits the list. Perhaps Stax should be next.

Entered at Thu Sep 8 13:15:35 CEST 2011 from (82.42.175.156)

Al Edge

Got to say I'm looking forward to Simon's list. You Tube will be getting a hammering

:-0)

Entered at Thu Sep 8 13:09:16 CEST 2011 from (82.42.175.156)

Al Edge

Some interesting points being made – especially Pete’s point regarding the sheer joy of these sort of lists.

SI/PETE/DAVID: I had to listen a few times to Simon’s link before the memory really connected. I think Pete's right and wrong re this song. I certainly now do recall it from that time. But only after two or three listens did the memory really connect with it. It used to be played a bit in the Mardi Gras and Beachcomber clubs which sort of specialized in Tamla and Soul. But not with anything like the fervour of the more obvious Motown cuts. It actually sounds like a Temptations cut more than Stevie if you ask me. I honestly don't recall ever hearing it away from there on the radio or on jukeboxes. And I'm sure it was never on the major Motown compilations. That said, I’ve just had a look on the major Stevie Wonder box set “End of the Century” and it’s right there on Disc One.

I’ve asked a few people I know whether they recall it. The old fogies looked at me blank. The younger ones simply took pity on me and offered me a cold flannel to cool my brow. My daughter remembers it pretty well but that’s because she has often borrowed the box set and – very clearly – has played it a damn sight more than me.

:-0)

So I guess you’re kind of half right and half wrong Pete. Yeah it was a classic though not heavyweight Motown cut. But I can confirm that if you’d have asked me to sing it cold without a few listens first then I’d have failed your test pretty miserably – and I love Motown as much as most. I guess it may be one of those instances when you have something so entrenched in your mind you sort of assume it’s the same with most other folk when really you’re underestimating the strength and extent of your own passion and knowledge. Maybe the two you asked were secret Stevie Wonder devotees who’d collected every single Stevie release ever.

:-0)

Incidentally, as I’m sure you well know Pete from some of my other comments I’m right there with you regarding the amazing Temptations.

PAT B: As a non-musician I can still see why yourself – as a musician and writer of historical fact – would feel so frustrated and piqued with Greil Marcus for getting the instrumentation and such like wrong on the Basement Tapes liner notes. Those sort of things matter greatly to the likes of yourself. And perhaps rightly so. That said, as someone who’s not that arsed about that sort of thing and who will always be grateful to Marcus for the wonderful stuff and hitherto [for this particular ignoramus] unknown insight and analysis he gave us in Mystery Train I think I’m gonna give him a Get out of jail card.

:-0) MY TAMLA [or equal and approved]TOP 10
– impossible task as we know but the fun is surely in giving it a go

1] I Know [I’m Losing You]– Temptations– Motown’s finest ever moment for me - as genuinely frantic as music can get
2] This Old Heart of Mine – Isley Brothers
3] I Can’t help Myself – Four Tops
4] Papa was A Rolling Stone – Temptations
5] Reflections – I melt every time I hear that 20 second intro - eat yer heart out fab four – Diana Ross and Supremes
6] Breaking Down the Walls of Heartache – Johnny Johnson & Bandwagon
7] Tracks of My Tears – Smokey
8] Tears of a Clown – Smokey
9] Private Number – William Bell & Judy Clay
10] Ain’t Nothin but Houseparty – Showstoppers

**6] and 10] are not strictly Motown but in spirit and every other criterion bar colour of label they really are – that is if you were attending Liverpool clubs back in those days.

:-0)

Entered at Thu Sep 8 11:20:03 CEST 2011 from (41.97.147.250)

Empty Now

Subject: Hilda f : Re - Upcoming theatreshow about the band

Dank jij wel, het link werkt mooi uitstekend

Entered at Thu Sep 8 10:38:47 CEST 2011 from (82.69.47.175)

Peter V

OK Jeff, Best Band list:

1) The Band (OQ)

2) The un-named four piece in the basement with Bob

3) The un-named five piece on the 1966 tour with Mickey Jones

4) The mid-90s Band sextet with Ciarlante, Weider & Bell

5) Levon & The Hawks

6) The 90s Band circa Jubilation where no tracks feature the “proper six.”

7) The ridiculously inflated 8-piece with The Cate Bros

8) The quintet shambling around in the 80s with Richard

9) The remnants after Richard died with Fred Carter, or Blondie or whoever

Entered at Thu Sep 8 10:31:39 CEST 2011 from (82.69.47.175)

Peter V

List are not about objective ranking. They’re about which tunes come into your head on that particular day as essential Motown. The fun is that you read other lists, and think ‘I wish I’d thought of that one.’ I just started trying to think, and realized that I had ten by The Temptations before I started. If you’d asked me my favourite Motown artist yesterday, I’d have said “Marvin Gaye” but as soon as I start to list SINGLES then The Temptations walk away with all the prizes. So they’re my favourite Motown act and I’d never even realized it.

So …

My Girl – The Temptations

It’s Growing – The Temptations

Ain’t Too Proud To Beg- The Temptations

Just My Imagination – The Temptations

Reach Out I’ll Be There – The Four Tops

I Heard It Through The Grapevine – Marvin Gaye

The Tears of A Clown – Smokey Robinson & The Miracles

Uptight- Stevie Wonder

What’s Going On? – Marvin Gaye

Come See About Me – The Supremes

SHITE! I’ve hit ten and I’m hardly started … so ten more …

Papa Was A Rolling Stone- The Temptations

Loving You Is Sweeter Than Ever- The Four Tops

My Guy – Mary Wells

Please Mr Postman – The Marvelettes

I Can’t Help Myself – The Four Tops

You Keep Me Hanging On – The Supremes

The Tracks of My Tears – Smokey Robinson & The Miracles

Nowhere To Run – Martha & The Vandellas

How Sweet It Is – Marvin Gaye

You Can’t Hurry Love- The Supremes

Twenty is not enough and I’ve barely skimmed the 70s … but those twenty will fit on one CD.

Entered at Thu Sep 8 08:17:50 CEST 2011 from (99.89.226.221)

PutEmUp(Friend0

1) The Band (O.Q.)

2)The Band (80s quintet with Richard)

3) The Band, post Richard, wih Richard Bell

4) The Band, wih Szeleste

5) The 80s Band, including Cates

6) The The Band Band

3 & 4 are about interchangeable for me, I loved szeleste's playing, he brought a fire to the live proceedings

Entered at Thu Sep 8 07:08:43 CEST 2011 from (75.34.58.24)

Adam

Entered at Thu Sep 8 06:53:37 CEST 2011 from (75.34.58.24)

Adam

Entered at Thu Sep 8 06:04:07 CEST 2011 from (99.115.147.236)

Pat B

Entered at Thu Sep 8 03:03:51 CEST 2011 from (59.101.27.15)

dlew919

the original version (by David Ruffin) is stiff, and a bit dull. Nearly every other version (especially the one on the essential 'Standing in the Shadows' documentary) is superior to it, and it's a great song.

Entered at Thu Sep 8 03:01:30 CEST 2011 from (59.101.27.15)

Dlew919

1) dancin in the streets Martha and the Vandellas

2) what becomes of the broken hearted? *

3) livin in the city Stevie Wonder

4) reach out The Temptations

5) Where did our love go? The Supremes

6) Heard it through the grapevine (both versions)

7) I want you back Jackson 5

Now it's getting really hard... I'll be back for the last two. No particular order, subject to change, yada yada yada...

Entered at Thu Sep 8 02:28:32 CEST 2011 from (31.52.106.170)

Simon

Subject: That dopey Band thread at SH.tv

Sufferin' suffercats ...

Never have so many keystrokes been used to say so very little, and no amount of tedious repetitive purple prose can change that. For the first time in my life I'm embarrassed to be a fan of The Band. Absolute madness. But I knew it would happen. That's what you get when you insist something is the "greatest of all time" (assuming one can look that far into the future, of course). You might as well hurl shoes in the air to knock clouds from the sky. It's all art, FFS.

Nothing to do with this fine guestbook or the equally fine people at BFB ... I feel frustrated that I've just spent an hour and a half I can't get back. Now I understand why 'fan' is derived from 'fanatic'. If that's passion then I want no part of it.

One last thing ... re. some wild claims made tauntingly over and over again (hence I make no apology for my tone) within the thread that Hendrix didn't really know how to play blues until John Hammond showed him the So Many Roads album in LATE 1967? I mean, it simply HAD to have been Robbie who showed Jimi the way, right? This is what happens when you try to shoehorn history to fit your biased worldview. Well, Google is always your friend. But in any case I'll defer to Charles Shaar Murray, who at least knows what he's talking about. Hammond must've been as high as a kite in May:

"Recorded at a club gig in Hackensack, New Jersey, on Boxing Day of 1965 - a mere seven months before his transatlantic jaunt - it finds Hendrix beating a bunch of blues standards to within an inch of their lives. Among other things, it demonstrates, fairly unanswerably, that Jimi Hendrix had learned everything that he needed to know about the vocabulary of modern blues guitar by the time he was twenty-three." [See link]

And everything had been going so well lately! Now who do I invoice to get those 90 minutes back?

Entered at Thu Sep 8 02:20:15 CEST 2011 from (184.163.104.168)

Landmark

Okay, I'll get us going. As usual in no particular order and of course, I'll be second guessing myself as I see other lists and remember other songs. So...

1) Make Me Wanna Holler - Marvin Gaye

2) Uptight - Stevie Wonder

3) Never Can Say Goodbye - Jackson Five

5) Don't Mess With Bill - The Marvelettes

6) Poppa Was A Rolling Stone - The Temptations

7) Ain't No Mountain High Enough - Mavin Gaye & Tammi Tyrell

8) Stoned Love - The Supremes

9) My Guy - Mary Wells

10)So Many Memories - Martha and The Vandellas

Entered at Thu Sep 8 01:09:08 CEST 2011 from (62.140.137.153)

Hilda fernhout

Subject: Upcoming theatreshow about the band

Today i finally managed to get hold of the review Elly de Waard wrote in 1971 for De Volkskrant, aleading Dutch newspaper. It turned out they were asked to perform two times at the same night, because the first show sold out within one day. They did and so 2500 more people were able to see and especially hear them live. The review is raving! About the upcoming theatre show: here comes the link: Http://www.leoblokhuis.nl/result_nieuws.asp?ld=194 i hope i did not make any mistakes. If anybody needs a translation i will be happy to do so. I am still trying to trace the photographer who took the picture in the newspaper because the quality you get from a microfilm copy is very bad. His or her name is not mentioned but i presume he/she is dutch, so if anybody out there knows who............

Entered at Thu Sep 8 00:42:00 CEST 2011 from (71.246.9.74)

bob w.

David, thought you might enjoy the link in light of this discussion. Could have been two drummers......as long as that other kit was still available!

Motown has such a great history. What a great job "Standing in the Shadows of Motown" did in telling the story.

Entered at Thu Sep 8 00:41:54 CEST 2011 from (82.69.47.175)

Peter V

The 1967 set says of “I’m Wondering”

“Once again the rhythm track is a smash in its own right. the heavy accent on the three beat keeping the pace relentless. In a clever arrangement move, the strings are made to echo the harmonica solo, so that Stevie’s closing riff appears to continue after he comes back in on vocals.”

There are two mixes on the 1967 box set.

CHI-LITES were on Brunswick in the UK (US Decca).

Entered at Thu Sep 8 00:12:57 CEST 2011 from (75.34.58.24)

Adam

I just received my Bobby Charles Rhino Handmade release. My pre-order came with a limited 7" of "Small Town Talk / Save Me Jesus". The package is exquisite, the liner notes are great, with several rare photos of Bobby - including a full shot of Robbie, Bobby, Butterfield, and Rick rehearsing for The Last Waltz (the shot with Bobby singing with a drum in his lap). The bonus material is plentiful, and amazing. Anyone with a passing interest in this overlooked masterpiece of an album needs to pick this up!

Entered at Wed Sep 7 23:38:25 CEST 2011 from (204.138.59.92)

Bill M

Entered at Wed Sep 7 23:32:43 CEST 2011 from (71.246.9.74)

bob w.

Entered at Wed Sep 7 22:59:13 CEST 2011 from (71.62.70.35)

Charlie Y

Subject: Buddy's Birthday and Ry's New Album

It was 75 years ago today Buddy Holly was born in Lubbock, Texas. His music has not faded away and I don't think his influence can be overstated--especially on artists such as The Beatles and The Hollies (even The Band).

The new Ry Cooder is at the top of my CDs to buy list. I wish Mr. Cooder would tour and come to my neck of the woods.

Entered at Wed Sep 7 22:36:53 CEST 2011 from (156.47.15.10)

David P

Back to Robbie's original point about the drum beat on this song -- I believe it features two drummers. At that time, as I recall, Uriel Jones and Richard "Pistol" Allen had supplemented the origianl Funk Brothers drummer Benny Benjamin. So I wonder which two might have played on the cut? I checked and it seems as if discussion of this song is very timely -- it was released 44 years ago next Wednesday (Sept. 14, 1967).

Entered at Wed Sep 7 22:35:41 CEST 2011 from (166.187.157.220)

JQ

Are they considered Motown? With just these 2 alone, Have You Seen Her and Oh Girl, I'd rank them highly -

Entered at Wed Sep 7 22:05:15 CEST 2011 from (70.28.32.74)

Landmark

What do you think Peter, Is it time for a Top Ten Motown list? I say yes!

Entered at Wed Sep 7 22:03:03 CEST 2011 from (82.69.47.175)

Peter V

Complete Motown Singles 1967 has it as a single … and #4 R&B as well as #12 pop. It's very noticeable how much more we're exposed to Motown in the UK … as I said a few years back, you're hard put to find anything by The Allman Brothers or Lynrd Skynrd, but there'll be a Motown section in good stores.

Entered at Wed Sep 7 19:53:48 CEST 2011 from (156.47.15.10)

David P

Wasn't "I'm Wondering" released only as a single, appearing later on compilation albums? I remember the song, as I used to listen to R&B/Soul radio stations, as well as Top 40 stations here in Atlanta back in the day.

Entered at Wed Sep 7 19:39:12 CEST 2011 from (74.203.77.122)

Jon Lyness

Subject: I'm Wondering

Great song! (I'm listening to it on you-know-where right now.)

There must be a UK/US divide specific to this song, because I swear I've NEVER heard it before, and I grew up listening to classic rock radio stations that played Stevie Wonder's 60s/70s hits in regular rotation. (By contrast, I'll hear "I Was Made To Love Her' easily several times in an average year.)

Entered at Wed Sep 7 19:03:58 CEST 2011 from (82.69.47.175)

Peter V

On Motown, you have a UK / USA divide. It's proportionally more popular here, I'm sure, with compilations charting every year, so it never goes out of date. My daughter's car has Motown double CDs in the glove compartment. I just asked two visiting 30 somethings, not specialist Motown or soul fans, and both could immediately sing "I'm Wondering" (not as well as Stevie Wonder, of course). So could a 40 year old. None of them could hazard a guess as to which year it came from. it's continuous rotation.

Pat B … maybe Greil did as he was told without investigating further on the Basement Tapes. His notes were indeed, a crock of shit. The 2004 analysis is really good though.

Entered at Wed Sep 7 18:27:16 CEST 2011 from (156.47.15.10)

David P

Adam: I not hearing what you pointed out on "In A Station", but will listen more closely. However, it's quite possible, as Richard revealed in an interview with Ruth Albert Spencer, he received a diploma in Hawaiian guitar from the Ontario Conservatory of Music. That instrument, better known today as the lap steel, is played in open tuning, usually with a steel bar.

Entered at Wed Sep 7 18:14:49 CEST 2011 from (82.69.47.175)

Peter V

Has anybody listened to "Pull Up Some Dust & Sit Down" yet? It's very much a throwback to early Ry Cooder. I'm interested if David's heard it. It got me worried, because I'd just bought new Bowes & Wilkins computer speakers, very well reviewed if you connect via USB, not stereo jack. Anyway, Ry's voice sounds slightly rough, and the brass on Jesse James sound rough, primitive & ropey … I think the whole is deliberately designed to sound extremely "old fashioned" like that, but as the speakers were so new I was worried. I tried it on my best system and car system too and it still sounds definitely 'coarse.'

Music's great though.

Entered at Wed Sep 7 18:04:10 CEST 2011 from (82.69.47.175)

Peter V

Entered at Wed Sep 7 18:03:28 CEST 2011 from (68.164.5.108)

Pat B

Entered at Wed Sep 7 16:23:13 CEST 2011 from (75.34.58.24)

Adam

Entered at Wed Sep 7 16:16:04 CEST 2011 from (131.137.35.83)

sadavid

Subject: listen to the rice

Images from the National Rice Festival, Crowley, LA, 1938.
Etc.
Set to "Valse de Boscoville".

Entered at Wed Sep 7 16:06:51 CEST 2011 from (156.47.15.10)

David P

Peter: It may have been a top 20 song in 1967 but, compared to "The Weight", I wonder how many people have heard it in recent years.

Entered at Wed Sep 7 14:36:18 CEST 2011 from (82.69.47.175)

Peter V

Entered at Wed Sep 7 14:03:31 CEST 2011 from (82.42.175.156)

Al Edge

Loved your post Si.

And agree with every word - and also your point about greil marcus. Fer fucks sake - over in this band starved neck of the woods - for god knows how many years his was the only decent stuff that I'd ever read about the boys.

I used to read it and re-read it over and over and over again.

Funny thing was - or I found it funny in a feck me sense - his take on Big Pink coincided exactly with my own which had evolved over the years during my splendid isolation from anybody else who could little mor identify The band from a rubber band.

That was that the final two songs - as hailed and respected as they've since come to be - simply didn't fit. As for Suzie - I've always loved it but I think Pete's right the initial attraction had worn out by around 1972/3

You really should post more often Si. Your posts are invariably a joy.

:-0)

Entered at Wed Sep 7 12:09:34 CEST 2011 from (75.34.58.24)

Adam

Entered at Wed Sep 7 11:58:11 CEST 2011 from (81.151.184.48)

Simon

Subject: Greil/Robbie on Stevie

Peter - Amazon UK have got the Greil Marcus paperback cheap. I think Greil gets a bit of a bad rap, plus he just seems like a really nice guy, the kind you could have a few pints and a chinwag with. Hard to imagine those pre-internet days when Mystery Train was pretty much all there was on the Band. I loved it and got a lot out of it, especially the discographies and recommended listening. Plus there was stuff on Raymond Chandler. I'll buy the new one next month.

Thinking of A Musical History there's a quote from Robbie: "Stevie Wonder had a song called "I'm Wondering," a very obscure record. It had this drum thing on it, this beat (sings a line that is very close to the drum part on 'King Harvest.') I was writing a song to that groove in my head."

See link for song. I'd forgotten about that one. Haven't heard it in years. Motown really was a production line for classic pop.

Entered at Wed Sep 7 11:02:06 CEST 2011 from (75.34.58.24)

Adam

Entered at Wed Sep 7 10:22:14 CEST 2011 from (82.69.47.175)

Peter V

On Lonesome Suzie, I called it the "poor man's Eleanor Rigby" a few months ago and got somewhat castigated. I said then that I loved the song on MFBP, and this continued into the early 70s, when I started skipping it. Maybe my hearing shifted, but Lonesome Suzie (and to a degree, I Shall Be Released) started grating.

Entered at Wed Sep 7 09:27:45 CEST 2011 from (82.69.47.175)

Peter V

In "Bob Dylan: Writings 1968-2010" by Greil Marcus, I read an article "The Lost Waltz" published in The Threepenny Review in 2004. A note says it's "understandably rejected" liner notes written for "A Musical History."

So, they got Barney Hoskyns to write the notes for the remaster series, then rejected them. They got Greil Marcus to write for A Musical History and rejected them?

Whatever, it's Marcus's writing at its best. Not impenetrable like his stuff on the Basements Tapes, but reminding me of why Mystery Train was the best book on The Band for twenty years. The long passages on King Harvest are worth the price of the book on its own (plus his stuff on the 74 tour). For those too tight-fisted to support the book industry, it starts on page 325, so if Borders hadn't gone bust, you could have gone in and read it standing up. Hang on, that's probably why they went bust.

I remember seeing a guy in Chicago, it could have been Borders or Barnes & Noble, but I think it was Borders. This is ten years ago before Wiki's inventions replaced the academic encyclopaedia. He had a volume of the Britannica Macropaedia open in the coffee shop, and a cup of coffee. He was eating a huge smelly sandwich, not bought there, but brought in to the store from home. As he hadn't bought it there, he was using the book as a plate while he made notes. There were onion rings and bits of lettuce on the page. That's an entire set of the encyclopaedia written off. But I'm told that would have been the Britannica's problem because everything was on "sale or return."

Entered at Wed Sep 7 04:53:32 CEST 2011 from (203.160.29.153)

Fred

Entered at Wed Sep 7 03:22:47 CEST 2011 from (81.151.184.48)

Simon

I should point out I love the alternate version. That's probably the exact opposite of what most here would say. But herein lies the rub for me, and, come to think of it, my friends who listened along all those years ago. To wit: Richard Manuel could sing the phone book, no doubt about that, but I don't believe his falsetto is for everyone. And I'm only going by what people have said to me over the years. One of my friends at the time loved the album but singled out Suzie as a non-starter. His other misgiving was about the last track. This'll probably get me flamed but he likened it to Kermit the Frog. BUT he did make a point of saying that Tears of Rage and We Can Talk featured some of the best singing he'd ever heard. And he loved all the other songs and vocals too. Later on he'd claim The Rumor was one of the best songs he'd ever heard.

So I expect a bit of stick for this but Lonesome Suzie in its original album incarnation comes across a bit naive, almost hippy-ish. Idealistic but unrealistic. On the other hand the alternate version works in some kind of way for me. Dunno why I react differently to it because the lyrics are the same. Perhaps it's the jauntiness of the music in that version.

I can see why some might call it inspired by Eleanor Rigby but that song is brutally honest if you were to make a comparison. But I wouldn't do it because it's on a higher level in every way. Can't remember the full quote but the late Ian MacDonald said that although the Beatles were often portrayed as purveyors of fantasy - somewhat lightweight - at their best they reflected their society more poignantly and incisively than anyone else. And so it is with that song.

I know this has been covered before but I've never commented on it until now.

Entered at Wed Sep 7 02:27:14 CEST 2011 from (184.66.107.77)

BONK

Subject: In a station.

For the 43 years I've listened to MFBP, I've always thought that 'In a station' belonged on 'Pet Sounds" (good album). It just wasn't what I was looking for from the boys. Even to-day I have to skip over it. To me, it almost sounds like they were trying too hard to reach something.To go some place else. Great words, and later versions when they simplified it I enjoyed it. But not off MFBP. I really don't think Levon enjoyed that one at the time. Just my thoughts.

Entered at Wed Sep 7 02:21:11 CEST 2011 from (59.101.27.15)

dlew919

Have you read Gioia's Delta Blues? What did you think?

Entered at Wed Sep 7 02:17:04 CEST 2011 from (81.151.184.48)

Simon

Thank you gentlemen. That conclusively settles it then! ;-o)
I honestly can't make up my mind about it as both suggestions for each track seem plausible. Will have another listen later. Cheers.

Entered at Wed Sep 7 00:53:53 CEST 2011 from (74.82.64.16)

David P

After listening to the extremely detailed MoFi SACD version of MFBP through my Grado headphones, I surmise the following. On "In A Station" I think that's Robbie using regular fingering, sliding chords or triads.up and down the neck, at times through an effects box. In interviews Robbie has said that, when he first heard certain blues records on the radio, he didn't realize that some guitarists were using a slide or bottleneck. As a result, he learned to emulate the sound by playing in standard fashion, sliding or slurring his fingerings on the neck. On "Caledonia Mission", I think someone (Richard?) was doubling Garth's organ figure by humming the part in falsetto.

Entered at Wed Sep 7 00:36:48 CEST 2011 from (96.30.174.20)

joe j

Subject: Matt Andersen

So Matt Andersen has cut an album at Levon's place. Link is to a video of Matt doing Bruce's "I'm On Fire".

Entered at Tue Sep 6 23:36:24 CEST 2011 from (75.34.58.24)

Adam

The weeping part you hear in "Caledonia Mission" is one of Garth's keyboards. It can actually sound a lot like Richard Manuel singing wordless falsetto in the background, but I believe if you really listen you can tell when Richard is singing. That sound is most likely Garth on keyboards. It has a bending kind of sound, and is something he would surely be capable of.

Entered at Tue Sep 6 22:16:10 CEST 2011 from (204.138.59.92)

Bill M

Here's the text of a news release I received today:

MATT ANDERSON CAPS HIS BUSIEST YEAR YET WITH A CANADIAN NATIONAL TOUR TO LAUNCH HIS NEW CD, COAL MINING BLUES

Cross Canada trip with over 35 concerts — with more to be announced — puts the spotlight on a fast-rising young artist

Matt Andersen, the acclaimed singer-songwriter and guitarist, is having the busiest year of his career. So far it’s included a six-day blues cruise around the Caribbean, two shows at Britain’s massive Glastonbury Festival, and 14 major Canadian folk, jazz or blues festivals. He played nearly 100 other shows from the Maritimes to Vancouver Island, and also toured several American cities with the Old Crow Medicine Show.

And now, in support of a brand new CD due to be released September 20, he’s getting ready to embark on a cross-Canada tour that’ll take him from home in Nova Scotia to British Columbia and back. So far, 36 concerts have been confirmed in eight provinces, and additional shows in the Maritimes at the end of the tour are expected to be announced soon.

The tour starts with two shows — one already sold out — at Winnipeg’s West End Cultural Centre on September 20, and moves on to Saskatoon, Red Deer, Victoria, Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Hamilton (this one with the Hamilton Philharmonic), Toronto, Ottawa and Halifax, with numerous shows in smaller centres in Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Columbia, and Ontario. (A current schedule is listed at the end of this release)

New CD expected to be major seller Andersen’s career is expected to move upward with the release of his latest CD. Coal Mining Blues was recorded at drummer Levin Helm’s Woodstock NY studios.

Produced by Nashville-based Canadian guitarist Colin Linden, the record includes performances by Garth Hudson, the former keyboard player with The Band and singer Amy Helm. The CD is on Ontario-based Busted Flat Records, distributed by FAB.

The first single from the CD, “Fired Up,” is distributed digitally this week by Sonic Unyon Records, and will be complemented by a video for the song, shot recently near Calgary.

Hailing from New Brunswick, Andersen’s known for his larger than life showmanship that has earned him fervent and steadfast fan base. His sprawling blues, roots, country and rock musical hybrid has gained him multiple East Coast Music Awards and an international reputation. Last year, he became the first Canadian artist to win the prestigious International Blues Challenge, organized by the Blues Foundation in Memphis Tennessee.

He plans a major US tour in the New Year, and will be one of two Canadians — the other is Shakura S’Aida — on the Rhythm and Blues Cruise out of Florida in January. It’s the second time he’s been invited to take part.

—30—

Websites:
www.stubbyfingers.ca
www.bustedflatrecords.com

For more media information, interview arrangements, and really good new high-res photography, please contact: Richard Flohil, Richard Flohil & Associates 416 351-1323 rflohil@sympatico.ca

Entered at Tue Sep 6 20:51:29 CEST 2011 from (81.151.184.48)

Simon

Entered at Tue Sep 6 20:21:17 CEST 2011 from (156.47.15.10)

David P

Will have to listen closely to my MFSL SACD copy of MFBP for what you mentioned on "In A Station".

Entered at Tue Sep 6 19:34:46 CEST 2011 from (81.151.184.48)

Simon

I haven't got it to hand but didn't Paul Griffin play keyboards on the lovely alternate version of "You're a Big Girl Now" from Biograph?

Also I was wondering if Pat or David or anyone else might be able to shed some light on a couple of bits of MFBP instrumentation. Firstly there's what sounds like a glissando on In A Station. I don't know for sure if it's a guitar. Perhaps it's a regular slide part recorded at half-speed. Secondly, what is the instrument that can be heard intermittently during Caledonia Mission? It can be heard here and there, most notably during the "he don't care why you cry" part. It sounds a bit like weeping. I assume it's Garth but it's really hard to identify what it might be.

Entered at Tue Sep 6 19:24:19 CEST 2011 from (82.69.47.175)

Peter V

Subject: Blues Vol 1

I have a blues playlist on iTunes. The first twelve tracks are The Blues Vol 1 LP in order. The next twelve are The Blues Vol 2. I reckon if you ask any British musician in an R&B band circa 1964, they will have played half the songs on The Blues Vol 1. They'll always be the same six too:

Don't Start Me To Talkin' Sonny Boy Williamson

My Babe - Little Walter

Hoochie Coochie Man - Muddy Waters

Smokestack Lightning - Howlin' Wolf

Just Make Love To Me - Muddy Waters

Spoonful - Howlin' Wolf

I was wondering why it was always those six. The other six are First Time I Met The Blues (Buddy Guy), Reconsider Baby (Lowell Fulson) - both too hard to sing for Brit bands. Walkin' The Boogie (John Lee Hooker) - rhythm too quirky for most. Juke - Little Walter is only possible with a first rate harp player, and was probably 7th in terms of covers. When The Lights Go Out by Jimmy Witherspoon has a 40s / early 50s big band sound. The last is Worried Life Blues by Chuck Berry. Easy enough to do, but as all those bands were doing half a dozen Chuck Berry anyway, they didn't need another one.

Got My Mojo Working by Muddy is on Volume 2.

Entered at Tue Sep 6 19:04:49 CEST 2011 from (156.47.15.10)

David P

With his session work with Steely Dan, Paul Griffin achieved two rare distinctions. He received co-writing credit, along with Donald Fagen & Walter Becker, on "The Fez" (from "The Royal Scam"). As Mr. Fagen explained, Mr. Griffin "came up with a nice melody, so we felt like we should include him in the writer credits." Later, Mr. Griffin, in addition to playing electric piano, contributed background vocals, along with Michael McDonald, on the last chorus & fade-out on "Peg" (from "Aja").

Entered at Tue Sep 6 18:47:47 CEST 2011 from (90.239.68.108)

NorthWestCoaster

Subject: Mainly to Rockin' Chair

... if don't have gas in this part of the world (see my link) ...

Entered at Tue Sep 6 18:34:21 CEST 2011 from (68.164.5.108)

Pat B

Speaking of incredible songwriting, I believe Paul Griffin played on this.

Entered at Tue Sep 6 17:17:08 CEST 2011 from (99.254.209.45)

John D

I was really only concerned about "One Of Must Know"; with Griffin on piano.

Entered at Tue Sep 6 17:10:21 CEST 2011 from (131.137.35.83)

sadavid

Subject: take me baby, around the block

. . . sounds like a hit . . . .

Entered at Tue Sep 6 17:06:41 CEST 2011 from (72.78.35.54)

PSB

Subject: Paul Griffin

The article John D quotes (which I'm believe is by Sean Wilentz) is wrong in that Paul Griffin did not overdub his organ parts on Blood On The Tracks. He was live in the studio.

Entered at Tue Sep 6 16:54:24 CEST 2011 from (24.108.253.172)

Rockin Chair

Subject: Farewell

Good to hear from you Mike..........Y'all keep on ....keepin on......

There's a ship lies rigged and waiting in the harbour........

Entered at Tue Sep 6 16:09:53 CEST 2011 from (156.47.15.10)

David P

As I've currently been re-reading Robert Palmer's definitive "Deep Blues", here's a little background on Sonny Boy Williamson's (Aleck "Rice" Miller) first big hit:

"Sonny Boy bought a home in Milwaukee and began recording for the new Chess subsidiary label, Checker, in 1955. His first single, 'Don't Start Me to Talking', ('Because,' he warned, with perhaps a bit of irony, 'I might tell everything I know'), with Muddy [Waters] and Jimmy Rogers on guitars, Otis Spann on piano, and the Aces' Fred Below on drums, became a Top Ten r&b hit toward the end of the year, and Sonny Boy, now approaching sixty, suddenly found himself on the verge of stardom."

Entered at Tue Sep 6 16:05:31 CEST 2011 from (82.69.47.175)

Peter V

I'm sure that's right, though interestingly I was browsing Greil Marcus's Dylan selection just this morning. He reckons She's Your Lover Now is neither Griffin nor Richard, but Dylan on piano, on the grounds that no one could follow the vocal except the person singing it. Mind you, Marcus confused who sang what on Band stuff a fair bit.

I also browsed his stuff on the 74 tour … extremely enthusiastic.

Entered at Tue Sep 6 15:04:21 CEST 2011 from (99.254.209.45)

John D

This weekend, I became once again immersed in Bob Dylan's Blonde On Blonde. Unlike some, I do not have total recall on studio musicians. Yes some I remember; but not all.

As I sat listening to one of my favorite Dylan tracks of all time, I knew it was Al Kooper on organ; but could not remember the piano player. I thought it might be Paul Griffin. I was right. Let me share this brief article with you:

If Paul Griffin's jazz/blues and gospel chops are not as easily recalled on the productions of Bacharach, Ragovoy, Wexler and Berns, his contribution to Bob Dylan's seminal mid-sixties records is already writ large in pop music history. Griffin was present at Dylan's first rock' n roll session in 1965 for the album, Bringing It All Back Home . No fluke, Dylan requested him three more times; for his next album, Highway 61 Revisited which included Paul's tasty work on "Like a Rolling Stone," and the sessions that included "Positively Fourth Street," "Sitting on a Barbed Wire Fence" and "Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window?" Dylan also tapped him years later to overdub organ on Blood on the Tracks . But Paul Griffin's most extraordinary -- and often uncredited -- work with Bob Dylan occurred on January 25, 1966. There has always been some confusion about the players on this first New York session for Dylan's Blonde on Blonde . Because the album was finished a few months later in Nashville, the album lists only the Nashville musicians. The two New York sessions, the first of which produced "One of Us Must Know (Sooner or Later)," are frequently credited to members of the Band . Rick Danko and Robbie Robertson might have played bass and guitar on one of the New York sessions. But just a single listening erases any doubt about who played piano. Al Kooper, who played organ at the session, remembers Paul well.

Entered at Tue Sep 6 12:34:19 CEST 2011 from (82.69.47.175)

Peter V

Subject: I'll tell everything I know …

Don’t Start Me To Talkin’ is probably the best known Sonny Boy Williamson song, at least in the UK. I spent years trying to work out the lyrics. It circulated widely on “The Blues Volume 1” LP (Pye International) which was the most influential of all the R&B / blues compilation albums in Britain, and compiled Chess classics (track list of later reissue is linked). It was the first track too. I loved it, and went out and bought “Down & Out Blues” the corresponding Pye International compilation of Sonny Boy Williamson.

ALL versions pale to nothing against the original.

Entered at Tue Sep 6 12:21:37 CEST 2011 from (76.99.245.65)

Peter M.

Subject: Thanks, Jon L

As Ed McMahon used to crow on The Tonight Show, "You are correct, sir!". Worst part is that it was Cotton's version of it I heard on YouTube just a few months ago. As I said, it probably would have come back to me after rolling around in my mind, vexing me for awhile. Would have easily picked it out in multiple choice, but straight out remembering didn't come to me... yet. In the early '80s my wife and I and a few friends used to swim in Avon Lake Club, a 100 foot deep quarry that was run as a swim club. It was 30 miles from home, a pleasant drive thru the Brandywine Valley (Bob W. country). I had a mix tape for the car that included some Howlin' Wolf, Jerry Jeff Walker, Buddy Guy, a couple of African bands and a rich representation of The Band, in rather subversive form. Java Blues and Ophelia, from some live sources. Old Time Religion and the aforementioned Don't Start Me Talkin' were lifted from The Last Waltz VHS tape. I had a couple of Levon & the RCO All Stars tunes. There was also a version of Summertime Blues Levon had played with the Cates on SCTV, preceded by a ridiculous "interview" by Earl Camembert (Eugene Levy). There were Ry Cooder and David Lindley songs, some stuff from Ronnie Wood's '73 solo album and a bit of big band, zydeco and reggae. In between cuts were bits of dialog like lines from "Scarface" (the 1930's Paul Muni one), the shoplifted baloney story, and way too many places where, at the end of a song you would hear, "It was Jack Ruby's place".

Entered at Tue Sep 6 12:06:08 CEST 2011 from (41.97.230.209)

Empty Now

Subject: dlew919 / Hilda f / Al Edge / Don Henley

dlew919 : I do feel old , I am old

Hilda fernhout : Theatre show about The Band, I believe I am not the only one interested to read the theater program, the rule here is as long as it is The Band related, you can post in any Language, or provide a link if the program is on line

Al Edge : for The Band connection, there is a theory running on which asserts that FC Barcelona is the legacy team of Ajax Amsterdam, to justify their current supremacy

Al Edge : can I post a revised and corrected 30 best non the Band songs List ?

I just learned that in the Grammy acclaimed official music video of Don Henley “Boys of Summer” (1984) [link above]; the scene of volley jumpings [2:47-2:52] is inspired or remade from the movie of Leni Riefenstahl, Olympia (1938).

Is Don Henley the strike songwriting force of Egles? Is there a different way to jump in Volley ? Have I ever said something good about anything Nazi related ? if no there’s a beginning to everything. To not recognize the technical abilities of the Germans is kind of foolishness

From the biographie of Leni Riefenstahl(1902-2003):
“In 1936, Hitler invited Riefenstahl to film the Olympic Games in Berlin, a film which Riefenstahl claimed had been commissioned by the International Olympic Committee. She also went to Greece to take footage of the games' original site at Olympia, where she was aided by Greek photographer Nelly. This material became Olympia, a successful film which has since been widely noted for its technical and aesthetic achievements. She was one of the first filmmakers to use tracking shots in a documentary, placing a camera on rails to follow the athletes' movement, and she is noted for the slow motion shots included in the film. Riefenstahl's work on Olympia has been cited as a major influence in modern sports photography. Riefenstahl filmed competitors of all races, including African-American Jesse Owens in what would later become famous footage.
Olympia was very successful in Germany after it premiered for Hitler's 49th birthday in 1938, and its international debut led Riefenstahl to embark on an American publicity tour in an attempt to secure commercial release. In 1937, Riefenstahl told a reporter for the Detroit News: "To me, Hitler is the greatest man who ever lived. He truly is without fault, so simple and at the same time possessed of masculine strength". She arrived in New York City in November 1938, five days before Kristallnacht, or 'night of broken glass'; when news of the event reached America, Riefenstahl maintained that Hitler was innocent. On November 18, she was received by Henry Ford in Detroit and Olympia was shown at "The Chicago Engineers Club" two days later. Avery Brundage stated that it was "The greatest Olympic film ever made" and Riefenstahl left for Hollywood, where she was received by the German Consul Georg Gyssling, on November 24. She negotiated with Louis B. Mayer and on December 8, Walt Disney brought her on a three hour tour showing her the on-going production of Fantasia.
After the Goebbels Diaries surfaced, researchers learned that Riefenstahl had been friendly with Joseph Goebbels and his wife, Magda, attending the opera with them and coming to the Goebbels' parties.[5] However, Riefenstahl maintained that Goebbels was upset that she had rejected his advances[14] and was jealous of her influence on Hitler, seeing her as an internal threat; therefore, his diaries could not be trusted. By later accounts, Goebbels thought highly of Riefenstahl's filmmaking but was angered with what he saw as her overspending on the Nazi-provided filmmaking budgets”

Entered at Tue Sep 6 10:40:00 CEST 2011 from (82.69.47.175)

Peter V

1991 … these are what I think of as pretty recent albums. What a very poor year it was. The Metallica and Red Hot Chili Peppers were horrible stuff. The U2, Primal Scream and Pearl Jam are vastly over-rated. The only album there I’d give house room is REMs Out of Time.

A quick look in the chart book … good singles that year, all of which I bought, or have on album, include:

Cher: It's In His Kiss

Soho: Hippy Chick

From A Distance: Bette Midler

I'm Too Sexy: Right Said Fred

The Simpsons: Do The Bartman

Kirsty MacColl: Walking Down Madison

REM: Shiny Happy People

Waterboys: The Whole of The Moon

Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me: George Michael & Elton John

Light My Fire by The Doors (which I like!) was an unexpected reissue chart entry. The HUGE hits were Bryan Adams singing a song which had feck all to do with Robin Hood and Jason Donovan on Any Dream Will Do from Joseph.

All are more fun than the albums, but most of the 1991 charts draws a total blank for me.

Entered at Tue Sep 6 07:12:23 CEST 2011 from (59.101.27.15)

dlew919

Subject: It was 20 years ago today...

Albums from 1991... do you feel old yet?

Entered at Tue Sep 6 06:15:07 CEST 2011 from (70.53.114.162)

Mike Nomad

Entered at Tue Sep 6 05:14:13 CEST 2011 from (24.108.253.172)

Rockin Chair

Subject: Sea Cruise

Well.........the ship isn't perfect yet, but.....it's respectable. Susan and I laid in provisions and are leaving tomorrow for our first little, "ship trip".

The weather is beautiful, most of the summer wanna be sailors have left and got the hell outta the way so we'll take a little sojourn. Up to Port Hardy, take her out of the water and clean her up then over to Rivers Inlet and visit my brother. Get some crabs, prawns, maybe a halibut, have a feast..........y'all be good to one another.

Some of yuz got to plan on getting out this way next year. I'm gonna take some pictures, then I gotta figure out who to send them to so y'all can see them. Oh yeah, I bit the bullet, took my Dremel and engraved Rockin Chair on the teak name boards on the sides of the command bridge. Painted them in with gold laquer and varnished them. They look real cool.

I see that gawd damn Mike Nomad......where in hell! have you been????

Entered at Tue Sep 6 04:49:42 CEST 2011 from (74.65.220.175)

Jon Lyness

Peter M, I'm guessing that's Don't Start Me Talkin' you're thinking of. (Link is to a great version by James Cotton with some mean harp playing.)

Entered at Tue Sep 6 04:07:19 CEST 2011 from (76.99.245.65)

Peter M.

Subject: Al Edge's post Sunday

I couldn't agree more with the points Al brought out last night. I actually tried to post a few days ago, but somehow it got lost in the ethers. I was semi apologizing for not taking part in "The Lists", mentioning that my favorite Band songs change with my mood, the weather, my memory at the moment, and and endless list of variables. I cited a few examples, hit "send" and my post got lost. Then yesterday I read Al's post mentioning one of my two favorite songs from The Last Waltz. Gotta love that loose, sloppy, Old Time Religion. The other one that always gets me is that snippet of an old blues tune Levon sings, about the beauty operator, and "stop that signifying". Wish I could recall the name, especially as I just saw a YouTube video of it recently. Oh well too many good memories, some of them just crowd the others out, but it's usually just temporary.

Entered at Mon Sep 5 23:00:40 CEST 2011 from (92.238.33.140)

Rob the Organ

Quite so, Sam - be more concerned about learning how to get your kit to sound like Willie Mitchell mic'd it up at Hi than about the actual playing!!!!!!

Entered at Mon Sep 5 22:58:17 CEST 2011 from (92.238.33.140)

Rob the Organ

Would agree the BEST is probably best applied to German not Japanese cars. Lottery win purchases for me would represent Germany and home turf: a gull-wing Mercedes 300SL and a Bristol 409. Oh, and France: one of those so-appalling-they're-quite-adorable Citroen HY vans, for gigs. Refurbed and probably with a modern diesel lump shoehorned in, obviously!

Entered at Mon Sep 5 22:52:18 CEST 2011 from (24.47.42.238)

Bayou Sam

Ari - if you don't mind some unsolicited advice from a drumer (me) - once you have the basics, just play like you. Be inspired by other drummers but don't go nuts trying to drum like them.

Entered at Mon Sep 5 22:05:23 CEST 2011 from (74.101.79.26)

Ari

Entered at Mon Sep 5 21:59:51 CEST 2011 from (70.53.114.162)

Mike Nomad

Entered at Mon Sep 5 21:57:06 CEST 2011 from (109.156.152.210)

Dunc

Subject: Al, Simon, Peter, Roger

The greatest footballer... and I'm not a Celt. Watch...it gets better as it goes on.

Saw GeorgeBest when he made his debut at Hibs.

Alan Hanson was not as good as Dave Narey.

I'm going to Hampden tomorrow.

Entered at Mon Sep 5 18:31:00 CEST 2011 from (99.89.226.221)

PutEmUp(Friend0

Dirty Big Pink House priceless.

Entered at Mon Sep 5 17:46:49 CEST 2011 from (82.69.47.175)

Peter V

It was a beauty. A friend worked for a bank executor dept, and an old man died in 1971. They found the car on blocks in the garage. It had been there for ten years since 1961 and had about 30,000 miles on the clock. He paid £40 for it, kept it a couple of months and sold it to me for £60. It could easily get 20 mpg downhill with a tail wind, but round town it did around 12 mpg. You could do anything in any of the four gears. It didn’t seem to mind whether it was in first or fourth at any speed and was silent. A Renault 16 crashed into it from behind and was a write off. The Humber had a tiny dent in the bumper, that’s all. The exhaust fell off, and I had to get a Jaguar Mk X exhaust welded on. That worked but increased petrol consumption a tad. Then the 1973 petrol crisis hit, and petrol doubled from almost nothing to not quite almost nothing (in modern terms). It had to go. I sold it for £25 to a guy who was going to restore it to new. He started, gave up, and left it to rust.

For our American readers, diesel fuel on the motorway in the UK yesterday was £1.45.9 a litre.That's $9.39 per US gallon.

Entered at Mon Sep 5 16:30:07 CEST 2011 from (203.160.29.153)

Fred

Al: I don't think my nephew is going to pursue a career as a professional footballer. He's part of his university's team at the moment. Perhaps it would be better for him if he defended like Claudio Gentile. ; )

Entered at Mon Sep 5 16:28:13 CEST 2011 from (91.42.254.245)

Norbert

Entered at Mon Sep 5 16:11:59 CEST 2011 from (82.42.175.156)

Al Edge

Sounds promising Fred.

have to say, dear old Bobby was a mite overrated for me. Don't get me wrong, there's no doubting his greatness. Just he was never as good as the Southern media made out. Too often merely a static presence albeit he did read the game possibly better than anyone before or since.

Put it this way in the dozen or so games I saw him play Liverpool he was regularly shown up by our attacking play no matter how good his reading glasses happened to be.

I guess I'm a tad biased as his presence in the England team deprived the far more gifted footballer Tommy Smith of the shedload of England caps and all round recognition he so richly deserved.

The Kaiser on the other hand was a phenomenon. Finest defender I've ever seen - and he was a tremendous right half before dropping back to let Gunther Netzer and Overath do the midfield duties.

But back to red bias, tell him to dig out the Alan Hansen videos. Now that was silky smooth defending.

:-0)

Entered at Mon Sep 5 16:10:34 CEST 2011 from (203.160.29.153)

Fred

Peter: I wonder how much money it would have cost to keep the gas tank filled on that automobile then and now.

Entered at Mon Sep 5 16:07:08 CEST 2011 from (203.160.29.153)

Fred

There are a lot of magazines on used cars/vintage cars for sale. I guess there might be a few websites, too. Haven't come across any, though.

All those nice imported sports cars were bought during the economic boom years...then the bubble burst and for the past 20 years their owners have been trying to sell them off.

Entered at Mon Sep 5 16:05:12 CEST 2011 from (79.202.184.115)

Norbert

Entered at Mon Sep 5 16:04:01 CEST 2011 from (79.202.184.115)

Norbert

Japanese car ratings work like this:

7 = new; 6 = less than 1000 miles; 5= very good; 4= good; 3,5 = average

Inside A to F; A = very clean; F= dirty

Crash cars: R or RA or 0. You can trust these ratings blindly, mileages are mostly correct.

Entered at Mon Sep 5 15:56:46 CEST 2011 from (82.42.175.156)

Al Edge

I'm sure that car belonged to Chief Superintendent Tom Lockhart.

He always used to claim there was No Hiding Place.

looks like he was right

:-0)

Entered at Mon Sep 5 15:47:19 CEST 2011 from (82.69.47.175)

Peter V

Subject: Automotive beauty

For those who didn't know the car I mentioned.

Entered at Mon Sep 5 15:37:59 CEST 2011 from (79.202.184.115)

Norbert

Subject: German Sushi and Japanese German Cars

Fred, haha, but good to see you here, we may need your help.

The word is that Japan makes you wet (mouth), not alone from fresh Sushi’s but special caused by Young timers. The trick is to buy an (German) old-timer (or young timer) from Japan. Seems there are a lot of 1980-1997 Porches with a low mileage, packed with extra’s and in excellent condition, dream cars with less than 60,000 miles, fresh oils in gearboxes and engines, cabrio hoods that are never used.

In Japan, correct me if I’m wrong, they don’t use salt and sand for winter road maintenance (which should be actionable here too b.t.w.). Anyway seems that under those 130 million Japanese people are a lot of rich ones that buy an expensive car and hardly use it.

In Germany we have this great Mobile.de a site where millions of used cars can be found (bought two there myself).

Fred is there such a site in Japan too? I only know this auction site (see link).

p.s. Jan a real disadvantage with Porches is their mantenance costs, they are extrem. You have to do it yourself or find someone who can help there. (on the other hand the engine is easy to get out of the car, not so much computer controled things, so it can be done (I hope ;-))

Entered at Mon Sep 5 14:27:47 CEST 2011 from (82.69.47.175)

Peter V

Fred, the statistically MOST RELIABLE cars are Japanese. The BEST cars is quite a different matter, and for consistency, I reckon it has to be German. We've had a few Japanese cars, and they all worked well, but I never felt any pangs of regret when they passed on to a new owner. Every French and Italian car we ever owned (one Citroen, three Renaults, two Fiats) was total crap, though fun at first. The car I loved most was British … a 1953 Humber Super Snipe.

Entered at Mon Sep 5 14:18:10 CEST 2011 from (82.69.47.175)

Peter V

Entered at Mon Sep 5 13:58:39 CEST 2011 from (203.160.29.153)

Fred

Al: A silky smooth defender. Bobby Moore, Der Kaiser and Giacinto Facchetti rolled into one. : )

Entered at Mon Sep 5 13:03:23 CEST 2011 from (86.163.180.119)

Simon

Entered at Mon Sep 5 12:46:58 CEST 2011 from (82.42.175.156)

Al Edge

Subject: Dlew and Georgie

Yeah. It's funny especially when you hear George telling the tale. I've looked for it on You Tube but just can't find the particular clip.

The little clip I have posted I guess captures George when he was at his most devastatingly mercurial best. [For anyone who may be interested but not particularly into football [soccer] George is either in a number 7 or 11 shirt but it quickly becomes obvious]

There's loads more clips of course which show many of his more famous clips - some quite lengthy - but I think this brief montage really does encapsulates most vividly just what it was like to see him. Certainly when I used to see him in the flesh.

Without being old and farty I really can say have seen them all and whilst there were many many fantastic players with huge arrays of skills there was honestly nobody else remotely THIS good that I've ever witnessed.

Whether you like football or not or even if you don't like sport per se the grace, beauty and heaven blessed magic of these clips is simply undeniable.

God bless you Georgie. Watching you brings tears to the eyes. So great were you son.

Entered at Mon Sep 5 12:39:43 CEST 2011 from (82.42.175.156)

Al Edge

Come on then Fred - more info mate. Spit it out.

:-0)

Entered at Mon Sep 5 12:35:12 CEST 2011 from (203.160.29.153)

Fred

because my nephew doesn't play for them. So I guess the team that proudly wears the Liverbird on it's kit is only the better best of the best...for the time being.

Entered at Mon Sep 5 12:31:39 CEST 2011 from (203.160.29.153)

Fred

NOT the one we own!

Entered at Mon Sep 5 11:32:05 CEST 2011 from (91.42.239.163)

Norbert

Ok, I’m off to VW.

Entered at Mon Sep 5 11:21:29 CEST 2011 from (82.42.175.156)

Al Edge

Now you've put up those werds I think I do vaguely recollect it Pete. I'll get it going at the next home game.

:-0)

Did you ken Kenny is a big Tamla fan. Doubt if his liking extends to Northern Soul proportions but I recall he certainly loves the Temps.

Entered at Mon Sep 5 11:18:49 CEST 2011 from (91.42.239.163)

Norbert

Entered at Mon Sep 5 11:16:34 CEST 2011 from (82.42.175.156)

Al Edge

Liverpool are clearly the greatest bestest most fantasticest ever team of all time

Cheers for that Pete. I always believed it but never realised til now it was a proven fact

Ha ha Great fun all this pissin' about. Beats gravity any day.

:-0)

Entered at Mon Sep 5 11:02:50 CEST 2011 from (91.42.239.163)

Norbert

Jan, thanks. The Karmann Ghia is indeed a beautiful car and if that’s your dream car go for it. They built those cars in Osnabrück, that’s close to where I live, the company still exist although VW bought it this year.

A Porsche 356 is also built on the VW beetle floor plate but these cars cost a fortune now, so not a real option unless you’re rich uncle is going to die.

Anyway, please keep in mind;

1) The Karmann Ghia is a little underpowered for modern traffic (34 Hp or so). Now this is not a problem for little trips on Sundays but can get annoying if you want to travel to the south of France.

2) Rust, after 1976 Porsche galvanized the chassis, this ensures a longer life of the bodywork. So if you buy a Porsche buy one after 1976, best is a 1988 one with 3.2L and G50 box as stated, or the 993 (1993-1997), the last air-cooled one, DON’ T buy a water cooled one!)

3) The Karmann Ghia can easily be repaired by one self, parts are cheap and good to get by (beetle stuff).

3) Always buy the best car you can get, don’t fall for cheap trash that will ruin you in the end.

4) Don’t restore a car yourself, this is way too much work and costs far more.

5) Just try a Porche ones please and listen to the rasp hauwl of the engine.

6) Forget all the above and do what you like best yourself.

7) Good luck too and let me know if you bought one. (the search is half the fun).

Entered at Mon Sep 5 10:24:23 CEST 2011 from (91.42.239.163)

Norbert

Al, George Best was a hell of a player and I like his women too. Since I discovered that life has no meaning I’m the joker and the thief, the horses are restless, two riders approaching, but don’t worry I’m here and I love you.

Entered at Mon Sep 5 10:04:43 CEST 2011 from (82.69.47.175)

Peter V

Al, in case you've forgotten it goes to the tune of Heinz's Just Like Eddie.

Now history's made, the way he's played

For scorin' the goals such a plenty

A ton in the north, a ton in the south

Just like Kenny

or skip to verse 3:

On Hampden's green grass, he took every pass

And banged in the goals, 'Oh, so many.'

Now England's the same, it's just like "hame"

… Just like Kenny

Entered at Mon Sep 5 09:56:28 CEST 2011 from (82.69.47.175)

Peter V

Jesus! Rob, you’ve got to differentiate between a God-forsaken profanity and a fucki*g obscenity! Erocative is such a good word though that I’ll try and get in a dictionary for you.

OK, today’s grandma aka grammar lesson. I wish I didn’t know this stuff but fortunately with the passing of years I’m beginning to forget it. Right, you’ve got your superlative: BEST, MOST, LEAST, WORST, GREATEST, SMELLIEST, DUMBEST. Let’s take:

Liverpool were the BEST team of the 70s.

You can intensify it. There are two kinds of intensifiers, AMPLIFIERS (certainly, obviously, absolutely, Vox AC30) and DOWNTONERS aka DIMINISHERS (arguably, possibly, for me, Revlon facial cosmetics).

Liverpool were OBVIOUSLY the best team of the 70s. And I have my front door painted red and wear a red scarf even in the bath. (AMPLIFIER)

also:

Liverpool were the fuck*ng greatest team in the universe. (Here “fu*king is an AMPLIFIER).

Liverpool were ARGUABLY the best team of the 70s. And I come from Nottingham, and I’m related to the Clough family. (MILD DOWNTONER)

Liverpool were ALLEGEDLY the best team of the 70s. (DOWNTONER) And I’m American, so know little about it.

Here endeth today’s lesson.

Entered at Mon Sep 5 09:31:34 CEST 2011 from (59.101.27.15)

dlew919

My favourite Best quote: "What happened to the money George?" - "Well, I spent most of it on women, alcohol and fast cars. The rest of it I squandered."

Entered at Mon Sep 5 09:08:42 CEST 2011 from (82.42.175.156)

Al Edge

...as to interject with how a Liverpudlian might have re-coined your Big Pink ditty

In the shack where we drink rye
Lived a man who shot racoons
And he made them into hats
Everyone of them like Daniel Boone's

All together now...

We all live in a Dirty Big Pink 'ouse
A dirty big pink 'ouse
A dirty big pink 'ouse
We all live in a Dirty Big Pink 'ouse
A dirty big pink 'ouse
A dirty big pink 'ouse

And our friends are Bob and Van
Bob's a narky twat and so is Van
But we tell them that they're great
And we let little Van stand on a crate

2,3,4...

Repeat chorus ad feckin infinitum or until Van needs a wee

:-0)

Entered at Mon Sep 5 09:08:23 CEST 2011 from (24.47.42.238)

Bayou Sam

I feel the need to mention Pete Best for some reason.

Entered at Mon Sep 5 08:07:19 CEST 2011 from (99.89.226.221)

PutEmUp(Friend0

Can you imagine what "We all live in a real big pink house, a real big pink house, a real big pink house" might have beenm lyrically and in soound had they had that combination of commercial opportunity, direction and edge in 1970, 71 72 etc. Of course, that was the last thing on their mind, but ... nah

Entered at Mon Sep 5 07:10:32 CEST 2011 from (86.163.180.119)

Simon

So who's the best then, The Beatles or The Band? That was the gist of it. To me the only reasonable answers are 1) Who cares? 2) Neither. It's impossible to determine empirically.

They both evidently give great pleasure to many people so I'm quite happy to leave it at that.

But I wonder how musicians would react if you approached them and showered them with unconditional praise and told them they were the absolute best at what they did. I'm sure they'd be very flattered and whatnot but would they feel comfortable being singled out as the best ever? My guess is most would not. They might point to their influences and all the other fine musicians who came before and after them. I imagine most would be self-deprecating if put on the spot.

Thanks Al, that was a splendid piece on Ajax and the masterful Cruyff. Slightly before my time but I've heard many similar tributes over the years. I recently saw a repeat of highlights of the Netherlands v Brazil match in the 1974 World Cup (the first I can really remember) and the boys in orange really took them to the cleaners. I think Cruyff scored the second goal and it's an absolute joy to watch that move. A rather ill-tempered display from Brazil, too. Not what you might've expected from the reigning world champions.

And imagine if George Best had graced a World Cup. He really was something else.

P.S. Good luck with the album, Rob.

Entered at Mon Sep 5 04:49:06 CEST 2011 from (24.47.42.238)

Bayou Sam

So, argue.....

Entered at Mon Sep 5 01:18:29 CEST 2011 from (92.238.33.140)

Rob the Organ

Evening all - just a quick fleeting visit while on self imposed exile to get more mixing done! Couldn't resist chipping in on the subject of superlatives though. In my line of work, we put our guys through a sales course that includes coaching on superlatives ("Yes, sir, the GREAT thing is..."), and the mystery internal shopping process docks points where a dearth of them is noted. Not that there is anything wrong in a corporate business with a percentage of retail discipline attached (I operate a self storage facility in London that is an almost unique service/retail/logistics hybrid) but would therefore note that when used in private conversation, you are dealing with a salesman who is either a) selling something, including himself; b) finds it difficult to turn the salesman persona off; or c) more worryingly, CHOOSES NOT TO.

Being cynical and jaded, I offered "profanitives" as a sales tool: ("Come, come Mr. Pickersgill, at that price you'd be a f*cking idiot to miss out!!"/"To be fair, I'm being a c*nt to myself, but I'd do that price if you commit today"). For some reason, the corridors of power couldn't see the potential.

I toned the blunt language down a bit and offered eroticatives instead: "Lois, I'm sorry to hear about your divorce and related house sale. Now sit your sweet little 49-going-on-19 ass down and I'll do you a deal that'll get you panting" but that was also viewed with, I thought, short-sighted apathy. I don't think they liked the transatlantic presentation and thus failed to see the basic method was first-rate.

Speak to you soon, dear hearts. Rob x

Entered at Mon Sep 5 01:02:35 CEST 2011 from (82.42.175.156)

Al Edge

NORB - we were the first major club to feel the brunt of the great johann. Amsterdam, in the fog Autumn 1966. Until that historic night, everybody thought Ajax was another form of Vim - a scouring powder. Boy, did Johann and Naninga and company scour us a new arsehole that night. Each time they came marauding out of the shrouded mist they banged one in past the peering Tommy Lawrence.

Amazingly, we somehow managed to grab a late consolation goal at the very death with Crissie Lawler as well as keeping out goodness knows how many cert effots from the merciless flying Dutchmen [Band Link :-0)].

Shanks - who else but the greatest man football has ever seen [superlative oops] - said that Lawler's goal in the 5-1 scoreline was crucial and we'd murder them in the second leg.

56,000 of us gullible souls turned up for that second leg convinced by Shanks's psychology - and who wouldn't have been? 15,000 were locked outside glued to transistor radios. All believed Shank's words.

It was a crystal clear night. That was until the waves of steam rising from 28,000 sweat drenched Kopites - myself included - began to cascade down onto the pitch until it was shrouded in a misty blanket. Just like in Holland but minus any meteriological assistance.

:-0)

The match kicked off. We tore into them like savage pack of hyenas. Our onslought lasted all of two minutes befor once again Johann and his mates mesmerised us all with their fabulous array of talents. He bagged two for himself but our own hero Sir Roger Hunt did the same and somehow we came away with a 2-2 draw.

Drenched to the bone with our own perspiration and thoroughly spent after 3 hours cascading up and down the human ocean of fanatical Reds on the Spion Kop, we all stood as one and applauded the finest football team we'd seen up to that time off the Anfield pitch at the final whistle.

It was an honour to witness the birth of Ajax and Johann Cruyff. True giants of the game.

Simon's right though. Anybody who ever had the privilege and honour to witness George Best in the flesh - particularly the 1964-1967 vintage - knows that not even Pele, Maradona, Cruyff or Zidane at their very finest - even all rolled into one - could ever come near to matching the heaven blessed footballing genius of the boy from Belfast.

Great to see you back on Si. And yeah something special is about to happen. I too can sense it. Could be lumbago like but hope it's the real thing.

:-0)

Entered at Sun Sep 4 23:55:27 CEST 2011 from (99.89.226.221)

PutEmUp(Friend0

Link above to weir & hornsby at recent ramble

Entered at Sun Sep 4 23:42:02 CEST 2011 from (68.171.231.81)

Bill M

Entered at Sun Sep 4 23:37:46 CEST 2011 from (79.202.165.98)

Norbert

Entered at Sun Sep 4 23:29:12 CEST 2011 from (82.69.47.175)

Peter V

Al, I picked up "Just Like Kenny" by Kenny Dalglish (Zuma label) for 20p today. How much do you think it'll fetch in Liverpool? I'm selling …

Entered at Sun Sep 4 23:20:04 CEST 2011 from (82.69.47.175)

Peter V

The worst thing about superlatives is they're the most exaggerated thing you ever see. The least useful thing about superlatives is they praise the most popular rather than the best or greatest.

Entered at Sun Sep 4 22:24:12 CEST 2011 from (71.246.9.74)

bob w.

Entered at Sun Sep 4 22:19:01 CEST 2011 from (86.163.180.119)

Simon

I want to tell you something. I'm so tired of them. They're here, there and everywhere. Yesterday and today and the night before, even. But tomorrow never knows. I think people should just let it be.

Got to agree with Al about George Best, though. (Good things are gonna happen this season, Al. I can feel it in me bones.)

Entered at Sun Sep 4 22:15:02 CEST 2011 from (71.246.9.74)

bob w.

Entered at Sun Sep 4 22:05:32 CEST 2011 from (71.246.9.74)

bob w.

Entered at Sun Sep 4 22:00:48 CEST 2011 from (85.255.44.145)

jh

Subject: Vintage air-cooled cars

Norb, good luck with your Porsche project. That's an old 911 cab you're looking for, judging by the specs? I'd go for a 356 myself, if I had the money. An alternative air-cooled oldie is the VW Karmann Ghia (see link above). Not very powerful, as it has the same flat four as the Beetle, but maybe the most beautiful vehicle ever to be truly mass-produced. And they are still available at a fraction of the price you pay for a good 356.

Entered at Sun Sep 4 21:53:35 CEST 2011 from (79.202.160.5)

Norbert

Entered at Sun Sep 4 21:43:32 CEST 2011 from (212.238.39.27)

Hilda fernhout

Subject: Theatre show about The Band

I would like to post a theatre program in Dutch- with translation- but I don't know if it is possible and if so, how to do this.

Entered at Sun Sep 4 21:29:02 CEST 2011 from (79.202.160.5)

Norbert

Soccer; Johan Cruijff is the only one, period.

Anyway even more important we just decided to buy a vintage Porsche (well we're gonna save money ;-). Demands:

1) Cabrio

2) 3.2 L Engine (232 Hp, the best Porsche engine)

3) G50 gearbox, if possible (the best Warner gearbox, but we'll see....)

4) Black paint, black top.

5) Good overall condition

6) Cheap, hm ....

Entered at Sun Sep 4 19:22:47 CEST 2011 from (99.89.226.221)

PutEmUp(Friend0

Best is not the best, but he may be the bestest.

Entered at Sun Sep 4 19:18:04 CEST 2011 from (68.198.223.205)

Jed

If someone disputes the fact,can one consider it a disputed fact,one's personal definition of truth notwithstanding.

Entered at Sun Sep 4 18:41:12 CEST 2011 from (82.42.175.156)

Al Edge

George Best

Greatest player ever to grace a footy pitch

Undisputed fact

Irrevocable truism

No matter what any other fecker says!!!

Ha ha

:-0)

Entered at Sun Sep 4 18:18:42 CEST 2011 from (68.198.223.205)

Jed

There may be no best,but there is what we believe to be best.

Entered at Sun Sep 4 18:12:10 CEST 2011 from (99.89.226.221)

PutEmUp(Friend0

Entered at Sun Sep 4 16:26:26 CEST 2011 from (24.47.42.238)

Bayou Sam

Then of course when they played together they made some fantastic sounds. There are Cream songs where each guy is literally soloing at the same time, yet the song stays together (except on Crossroads where they do go off beat slightly).

The Band though may be the ultimate example of a group playing together with no single member sort of becoming the main focus, which is how it was with Clapton and Cream. As someone pointed out earlier, Robbie wasn't a lead singer, so despite his name being there so prominently as writer it was Rick, Levon, and Richard who got the spotlight singing.

Just to throw another name into the drum mix - one of my favorite players is Jim Keltner. That's a guy who can just come in and play well for whatever the song is. He can lay back, or kick the song in the ass if he wants to.

Entered at Sun Sep 4 16:12:05 CEST 2011 from (174.116.227.143)

JT

Subject: Objectivity about Subjectivity

I am in Al's camp. Despite appreciation and even awe regarding solo work, I am always drawn to the meshwork that is the excellence of the group. We saw a band called "Marshall Catch" last week in Seattle. This is a newish indie group from Montana and what struck us both was how many hours of work and preparation there must be in order to put together what we heard that evening. All the players were highly talented but the sum was greater than its parts. When I look at what I listen to and admire most, it is the alchemy of the musicians... how do they do that, I often wonder. It is one of the wonders of our artistic times. The Band, Steely Dan, Beatles at their best, and so many others demonstrate the point. The voice as an instrument in concert with the players cannot be underestimated in the mix. I appreciated the best of Dylan before 1965, but with Levon and the Hawks, I was in awe at what that did to those lyrics. Who the best is at any particular instrument holds little for me, though I continue to be amazed after all these years about how a guitar can sound and be played so differently by its musicians. It is the playing in context to which I am most drawn. It is that phenomenon of nature that holds me and gives me the will to keep listening and searching for more.

Entered at Sun Sep 4 16:04:01 CEST 2011 from (68.198.223.205)

Jed

Can't disagree with you that the song is of greatest import to the music and that's why my respect and love for The Band is musically paramount.But,the joy of music for me,Dylan,The Band,Duane Allman,EC,jazz,blues,classical,whatever,the beauty is in the diversity of sounds.I may find The Band's music most fulfilling but that need not diminish my love for a superb guitarist,soloist,or ensemble.It's all about enjoying the many choices that exist in the music.

Entered at Sun Sep 4 15:04:48 CEST 2011 from (82.42.175.156)

Al Edge

Ha ha - reading over the last few days posts it will never cease to amaze me just how much all rock fans - myself included - simply cannot help but revert to the indigenous rock fan default setting of "what I like best simply has to be the fuckin best ever"

Superb.

:-0)

Mind you after looking at Adam's Cripple Creek vid how can anyone possibly argue that Levon isn't the Drum King?

Ha ha

Seriously, I have to own up to not really having a scooby doo about who's the best or not the best on their respective instruments. Other than the obvious insight gleaned from a lifetime's love of what I'd term good music.

Personally speaking, I've always steered well clear of the solo virtuouso guys - the Becks, the Pages, the Allmans, the Clapped Outs, the Hendrix's, the Bonhams, the Moons etc etc. All are clearly amazing musicians...yet they mean not much at all to me. Same goes for jazz or any virtuoso stuff. Give me a riff that knows its place as slave to the object of the exercise [the feckin song] anyday as distinct from a solo that thinks the song should bow down in front of it and worship at its feet.

But...so feckin what!! We all like what we like and I know many view it otherwise.

My own humble [hmmpph] take is it's always the song that is EVERYTHING. That amalgam of melody, chords, beat, riffs, vocals, harmony and lyrics is 99.9%. Solo shite - with odd exceptions of course - is so much mickey mouse to my own ears.

But that's me.

I guess more than anything else, that's why The Band first grabbed me - and, more to the point, have continued to enchant me for all these years.

Their music and performances exemplify the team approach possibly better than any group have ever done. Their amazing individual musicianship was always subjugated to mesh into the whole. Almost to the point of spitting in the face of any solo virtuosity [I'll leave Garth's occasional solo ramapages out of this for the moment :-0)].

Such consummate teamwork ensured time and time again that 'the sum of the parts was greater than the whole'. It didn't really matter what they were playing. Deploying that 'less is more' approach can turn the simplest snatch of song into something truly wondrous. If Ole Time Religion or anything else for that matter can be improvised more captivatingly than Rick, Robbie and Richard manage it in their last Waltz clip then I'll throw my hat willingly into that ring.

You could play me back to back Clapton or Hendrix solos til the cows came home. Sure my jaw would drop at the skill, the dexterity the sheer bravado of the virtuosity on offer. Yet I'd gladly bin it all for just one solitary listen to Ole Time Religion by Rick and the boys.

The genius, for me, is always in the amalgam of the gifts available. And nobody's ever done that quite like The Band.

Entered at Sun Sep 4 13:43:33 CEST 2011 from (68.198.223.205)

Jed

Yup,that's him! Thanks. And,no question no one approaches Levon's organic greatness on drums.

Entered at Sun Sep 4 08:04:39 CEST 2011 from (76.99.245.65)

Peter M.

Great, ain't he?

Entered at Sun Sep 4 08:03:02 CEST 2011 from (76.99.245.65)

Peter M.

Subject: Jamie Oldaker

A handful of years ago, Jamie was playing drums in the megacool Tulsa band, "The Tractors".

Entered at Sun Sep 4 07:19:44 CEST 2011 from (75.34.58.24)

Adam

Entered at Sun Sep 4 07:09:20 CEST 2011 from (99.89.226.221)

PutEmUp(Friend0

JQ, regarding your question or statement about stagecraft, there's no question about enjoyment,Levon loves playing. Simultaneously, in the absence of drums, I've never witnessed anyone come alive for the camera like that man.

Entered at Sun Sep 4 04:59:34 CEST 2011 from (75.34.58.24)

Adam

Levon is the greatest rock drummer of all time. I could talk about all these guys all day, independently of their Band membership, and be amazed at their talent. That the five of them found each other and made music as The Band is simply astounding. I mean really. There was once a band with Levon Helm, Robbie Robertson, GARTH HUDSON, Rick Danko, and Richard Manuel in the same group at the same time. Sometimes I just have to read that in print.

It's my ultimate dream to play with a drummer like Levon. He's just so perfect. Watch his touch and connection with his instrument in the clip above from Syria Mosque 1970. Amazing.

Entered at Sun Sep 4 04:40:24 CEST 2011 from (71.246.9.74)

bob w.

I agree. He is a fantastic drummer who can really drive a band.

Entered at Sun Sep 4 03:18:56 CEST 2011 from (24.47.42.238)

Bayou Sam

Entered at Sun Sep 4 00:12:58 CEST 2011 from (198.228.211.251)

JQ

I'm a big, long-term fan too. Bit when I saw him play at a Ramble (from about 6th) my appreciation entered a higher realm altogether.

Likewise his joyful exuberance. There must be a learned bit of stagecraft there, but I'll take it a face value.

Entered at Sat Sep 3 23:54:10 CEST 2011 from (24.47.42.238)

Bayou Sam

Steve Gadd is definately a respected name in drumming. I first came to notice him on Paul Simon's, "50 Ways To Leave Your Lover".

(Not a slight on Levon at all, whose drumming I adore)

Entered at Sat Sep 3 23:38:59 CEST 2011 from (68.198.223.205)

Jed

Peter,interestingly I recently went to a ramble where Steve Jordan sat in and we all talked about the similar style Jordan played and I commented,he's a drummer's chameleon who seems to adapt to his context.For EC he,and when Paul's drummer played(wish I could recall his name),they tended to lay down a heavier groove almost compelling EC to lock in completely and fully,whereas Gadd,IMO,has a softer touch required in so many places but for EC a "heavier" approach seems somewhat stronger.Funny how we all hear stuff differently.And,yes,the Phil collins influence was horrendous!

Entered at Sat Sep 3 22:25:37 CEST 2011 from (82.69.47.175)

Peter V

Entered at Sat Sep 3 22:19:00 CEST 2011 from (24.47.42.238)

Bayou Sam

Subject: EC

Clapton did put out some "blah" stuff in the mid-70's, but not "Slowhand". I wonder what Jamie Oldaker (drummer) is doing these days.

Eric seemed to be actively trying to distance himself from flashy guitar solos for a time back then. I do remember being happy when the "Just One Night" album came out and Eric was back to some fine soloing. I wore out the grooves listening to, "Blues Power", Cocaine", and "Tulsa Time". The wah-wah pedal also made a return for Eric here.

I really didn't like Eric's period with Phil Collins. It was too produced for my liking, and sounded like Clapton was part of Genesis. But Eric returned to the blues with stuff like, "from The Cradle", which I love. Today it seems that Eric is in a good place. He has made all the money, and has had all the hits he needs. He seems very happy to "give back" in so many ways. He also seems to be having fun playing with people he likes and respects - like Robbie.\ BTW - I'd be happy to be drummer for Eric. I think I'd do him proud. If anyone knows him please feel free to mention me. I do a killer job on "After Midnight", if I do say so my self :-)

Entered at Sat Sep 3 22:04:59 CEST 2011 from (68.198.223.205)

Jed

I recall we may have discussed this is another context but the notion of evidence in music,an area of taste and subjective observation,is difficult for me to consider.Simply put,the way I hear(and have seen Gadd a bunch with EC in the past) Steve Gadd,he doesn't lay it down for EC in the definitive way of Steve Jordan or most certainly,Levon.That you hear Gadd and Levon as in the same style or level of ability is very different,subjectively speaking,than my experience hearing and observing Gadd.I can't produce objective evidence,only my subjective personal and learned musical experience with all my imperfections.It's the best I can muster for poor ole Gadd,who does just fine w/ o me! nothing personal,Peter,merely different perceptions.

Entered at Sat Sep 3 21:17:02 CEST 2011 from (82.69.47.175)

Peter V

Jed … what? "Steve Gadd lacks the energy …" have you ever seen him play live? I've been privileged to see him three times. As drummers go, he is the best. OK, Levon, too … but Steve Gadd plays with a greater range than Levon does. Steve Gadd can do what Levon does. I've heard no evidence that the reverse is true.

Entered at Sat Sep 3 20:50:46 CEST 2011 from (109.156.152.210)

Dunc

Subject: Thanks, Roger

I think it will be an amateur recording from a folk club. I would like a copy if there is one.

Entered at Sat Sep 3 19:04:32 CEST 2011 from (198.228.211.251)

JQ

As a teenager in the 60's, Cream was a revelation to me. It worked as an intro to the Blues' stylings that we never got listening to the AM radio of that era. The lead on Crossroads (along with Puple Haze) was something every young guitar player worked to learn then.

I'm curious about the playing style that was very evident on his first solo LP (the lead on Let It Rain for instance) and other stuff between Blind Faith & rehab. I don't know how to define it but I thought it was quite distinct and short- lived. It's evident in his lead on Steven Still's "Go Back Home" too. Was there any studio enhancement for the pinpoint clarity and speed then?

I agree with those that believe that post rehab EC's fire went out somewhat.

Entered at Sat Sep 3 18:47:42 CEST 2011 from (24.47.42.238)

Bayou Sam

Entered at Sat Sep 3 18:45:43 CEST 2011 from (24.47.42.238)

Bayou Sam

I beleive that George Harrison once compared himself to Robbie as both of them being guitarists that played more for the song, rather than for the spotlight on their soloing. I thought that was accurate. If you listen past the guitar solo proper you will hear some of Harrision's best stuff.

A good example for me regarding RR is "KIng Harvest....". I remember that special where he's talking about that recording and how the bass and drums "made" that song work. I like the way he plays the guitar throughout the song - and not so much the soloing as the way he plays during the verses.

Entered at Sat Sep 3 18:09:27 CEST 2011 from (68.198.223.205)

Jed

He was a guitarist with Lucinda Williams for awhile and he blew me away live the 4 times I saw him.No one seems to know him.Anyone here ever hear or hear of him?

Entered at Sat Sep 3 17:37:17 CEST 2011 from (68.198.223.205)

Jed

Adam,I love your enthusiasm for RR's playing and gotta agree with you that he is a special and IMO very original guitarist.Your enthusiasm reminds me of the first time I heard Duane Allman in 1969.Well not much has changed.When I listen to Duane play on Boz Scaggs Loan Me a Dime or the Allman's In Memory of Elizabeth Reed(from Live at Fillmore East) I feel that same thrill and excitement as in the distant past,and I discover nuances that are both fascinating and useful to my own playing. so keep on keeping on and enjoying the many dimensions of talent that exist in the musical lives of The Band members.I wish I could study a whole bunch of music with Rick on fiddle,Garth on piano and sax,Levon on harp,mandolin, & bass,and Richard on drums.

Entered at Sat Sep 3 17:25:58 CEST 2011 from (68.198.223.205)

Jed

You're correct,other than some excellent songs along the way,EC's albums since Derek and the Dominos have not been up to even his level of live excellence.Although between '83 and his Cream reunion I found even his live shows lacking.I did enjoy his first solo effort,461 OB,and There's One in Every crowd.And his fairly recent Road to Escondido with J.J. Cale(& some sweet Derek Trucks) is worth a listen or two!And,as I mentioned earlier Crossroads 2--Live in the Seventies is excellent,albeit live.His drunken album(forget the name--with guitar pick engraved but standing out on original album cover)with The Band members contributing and Dylan/EC duet on Sign Language was a lot of fun and if you like The Band a lot,it's a cool curiousity piece! But,you're correct--EC put out a lot of poppy dreck over the years.I love his ferocious return to guitar of the past years.Wish he'd get Steve Jordan or Paul's drummer back--Steve Gadd lacks the energy and power that push EC to attack the music with passion,particularly that he last toured w/o Doyle on 2nd guitar.Ah.....so much to say on the guitar and EC.

Entered at Sat Sep 3 17:25:40 CEST 2011 from (41.97.175.170)

Empty Now

if one confines the debate of just a guitarist as a machine to fiddle with the strings and produce sound, excide his prime inspiration, the humor which underlies the progression in sound. but the guitarist is artist, art involves the idea of beauty along with the idea of ​​creativity, something I call an artistic product, inferred already having something attractive in conjunction with unfolding an individual signature

a sentence from Gibson's article "How to Play Guitar Like The Band’s Robbie Robertson" by Ted Drozdowski [what's new] :

"Another element in his bag by then was using open strings to create droning textures within chords, and hammering on fretted strings to produce a more percussive sound than plucking or picking"

this phrase is of the finest in musical literature, and so matching technically

observe also the link above 1:44

Entered at Sat Sep 3 17:12:38 CEST 2011 from (79.202.176.73)

Norbert (the one and only)

ok, let's stop this shit before it gets out of hand and accidents happen, I mean now! cut!

have a nice weekend al.

Entered at Sat Sep 3 17:09:20 CEST 2011 from (79.202.176.73)

Levon Helm

ps. I love Germany, do they still make them Porches?

Entered at Sat Sep 3 17:06:50 CEST 2011 from (79.202.176.73)

Peter V (the real one, see my ID)

Entered at Sat Sep 3 16:47:00 CEST 2011 from (91.42.231.49)

Rockin Chair

Entered at Sat Sep 3 16:45:29 CEST 2011 from (91.42.231.49)

Landmark

Entered at Sat Sep 3 16:43:21 CEST 2011 from (91.42.231.49)

Norbert

Entered at Sat Sep 3 16:42:31 CEST 2011 from (91.42.231.49)

BONK

Entered at Sat Sep 3 16:40:18 CEST 2011 from (91.42.231.49)

Roger

A man walks into a shop. "You got one of them Marshall Hiwatt AC30 amplificatior thingies and a Gobson StratoBlaster geetar with a Fried Rose tremolo?"

"You're a drummer, aren't you?"

"Yeah. How'd you know?"

"This is a travel agency."

Entered at Sat Sep 3 16:39:24 CEST 2011 from (91.42.231.49)

Peter V

A man walks into a shop. "You got one of them Marshall Hiwatt AC30 amplificatior thingies and a Gobson StratoBlaster geetar with a Fried Rose tremolo?"

"You're a drummer, aren't you?"

"Yeah. How'd you know?"

"This is a travel agency."

Entered at Sat Sep 3 16:35:46 CEST 2011 from (91.42.231.49)

Norbert, alias Peter V

NW, that’s just the thing we want to see around here, thanks for the EC-JB thing.

On a serious note, I want your help to put an serious observation I made in this GB to the test. What? Ok this needs some explanation:

After years of studying and analyzing all posts of this GB it strikes me that, for instance if poster X tells a joke nobody laughs whereas poster Y tells the same joke everyone laughs his head off, or poster XY tells us the BG’s are cool it is a fact and if poster YX says the same there then the BG’s aren’t cool, see what I mean?

How can we help Norb?

1) In a minute I will post two exactly the same jokes, only under different names and I want you to tell me witch joke you like better, ok?

2) Further, and this is a hard one so please pay close attention; I want you all to post under different names from now on (aka name-shifting) and continue to change names every week for a period of 3 weeks. In return I will, like an Al lists’, conscientious monitor every little changes in attitude, shifts in kindship, shifts in friendship, every laugh, every little smile, all the grumpies and nagging, in short the change of the flow of emotions. After 4 weeks I will publish my report in this GB to dispute.

I myself will start as NW coaster and Peter V the first week with some Edge and Empty, then a little Lars and Pat B and Bill M. I want Pat B to post as Friend0 and visa versa, Peter V as Dunc and Dunc as Roger, Brown Eyed Girl as Jh, Al Edge as Peter V , B.Sam as an nameless innocent new poster who just discoverd The Band. Second week Peter V as a Russian hacker with sex sites, and so on. Thanks in advance my friends, know your help will make this GB a better place (this GB will never be the same again).

Entered at Sat Sep 3 16:06:08 CEST 2011 from (74.82.64.16)

David P

Fortunately we have a visual record of Robbie's Tele pyrotechnics on the '66 tour with Dylan preserved in "Eat The Document". In the performance footage, albeit abbreviated except for a complete "Ballad of the Thin Man", there are glimpses of Robbie's aggressive fretwork. Specifically, there's a brief segment showing Robbie warming up by himself onstage, probably doing a soundcheck of his guitar/amp rig. The camera focuses tightly on his Tele as he runs through some blues licks and one can see he employed both a flatpick along with metal fingerpicks on his second + third fingers. This approach is also evident in the Festival Express DVD during close-up shots on "Slippin' and Slidin'", one of The Band covers where Robbie harkens back to his agressive style, where he employed sharp crescendos of snarling licks played simultaneously on multiple strings.

Entered at Sat Sep 3 14:22:36 CEST 2011 from (184.163.104.168)

Landmark

Linear approach? Mathematical guitar genius? All well and good. However if you want my vote, to put it simply, strap the f#$%er on, plug in, and let fly.

Clapton has always done this. Robertson, not so much.

Entered at Sat Sep 3 12:28:39 CEST 2011 from (24.108.253.172)

Rockin Chair

Subject: The Evidence

Does Eric Clapton enjoy "cuttin' heads", (with another guitar player??)...........You bet your ass he does! Here you go.

Entered at Sat Sep 3 10:40:33 CEST 2011 from (81.158.255.199)

Roger

Subject: Rab Noakes

Sorry Dunc, can't help. I've never come across that. The trio has a terrific pedigree however and I'd have been extremely pleased to have heard them back in the day doing In A Station...

Entered at Sat Sep 3 09:00:17 CEST 2011 from (74.190.55.189)

Mike C

Check out the ripping break from EC on "Key To Love" from the Mayall "Beano" album for a good example of the rich, fat tones referenced by David P. in his earlier post.

Entered at Sat Sep 3 07:51:11 CEST 2011 from (75.34.58.24)

Adam

Entered at Sat Sep 3 07:45:26 CEST 2011 from (75.34.58.24)

Adam

Robbie's playing on those John Hammond albums is my personal textbook of blues rock guitar playing. 1960s Robbie with a Telecaster was just an unreal combination. Although I love everything he's done on a Strat as well.

Now all of this makes me want to start practicing and studying.

Entered at Sat Sep 3 07:21:12 CEST 2011 from (99.89.226.221)

PutEmUp(Friend0

Subject: Pat Powdrill

Very intersting stuff, the "finger money" is priceless

Entered at Sat Sep 3 06:38:59 CEST 2011 from (24.47.42.238)

Bayou Sam

Subject: Slowhand

Along the lines of what Brien posted, Robbie isn't know to the average listener of The Band's music as a fancy, or flashy guitar player. The Band had no front-man or main star. It always seemed to me that Robbie was more interested in letting the band as a whole make the song work, rather than solo himself all the time. I never thought of him as much of a soloist until I saw him go right along with Eric on "Further On Up The Road" in TLW movie.

Clapton got tagged with the "guitar hero" tag, and he hated it. In fact, the very idea of being in The Bnad appealed to him because it was a band of players who all were featured, and had plenty of singers.

Another point about Eric is that since pretty much the Cream days he likes to have good guitarists playing with him. There was always one guy (Albert Lee for example) that he had on albums and tours for a length of time. Eric seems to enjoy watching another guy play as much as he enjoys playing himself

I've linked another cool clip I found awhile back. This is Eric really doing justice to a Robert Johnson song, very much in the RJ style. Check it out.

Entered at Sat Sep 3 05:30:08 CEST 2011 from (68.171.231.81)

Bill M

Hendrix never left blues behind? Maybe in the sense that he never was really there in the first place. R&B for sure, but not blues like EC, SRV et al.

Adam: I think the Buchanan influence is oversold, and maybe Sumlin too. On the undersold ((overlooked) side there are Mickey Baker and (not Blind) Willie Johnson, who was Howlin'Wolf's guitarist before Sumlin joined. Primitive and incendiary. And don't forget Bo himself.

Entered at Sat Sep 3 04:36:53 CEST 2011 from (184.66.107.77)

BONK

Subject: Bob and Brien

Amen. But I think the important thing is it's never seemed to bother Robbie. Sure as shit he has never made the bucks off of his guitar work like the others, but, he seems ok with this. ADAM! Thanks for finding some of the stuff that you do. I love it.

Entered at Sat Sep 3 04:18:34 CEST 2011 from (24.44.101.8)

Brien Sz

Entered at Sat Sep 3 03:00:44 CEST 2011 from (71.246.9.74)

bob w.

Robbie is a very good player and a gifted songwriter but his body of work as a guitarist over his nearly fifty year career is not on the level of Clapton's. I can't even see it as comparable. At least not to these ears.

I have always felt that Robbie should have kept on playing. I really wish there would have been more from his guitar. To each his own. It seems a loss to me.

Entered at Sat Sep 3 02:56:41 CEST 2011 from (24.44.101.8)

Brien Sz

Entered at Sat Sep 3 02:28:29 CEST 2011 from (99.89.226.221)

PutEmUp(Friend0

Entered at Sat Sep 3 01:03:54 CEST 2011 from (75.34.58.24)

Adam

Entered at Sat Sep 3 01:02:54 CEST 2011 from (75.34.58.24)

Adam

Robbie tapped into the heart and soul of American music, born and raised in the South (the music that is). He had a first hand account, and developed his skills by basing his style on true innovators and exceptional guitarists (Roy Buchanan namely, but also Hubert Sumlin, Curtis Mayfield, Pops Staples, etc.) He then took all this and created his own, amazing style. His playing on the John Hammond albums show he could play the most amazing, gut wrenching, stinging blues guitar all night long. His partnership with Bob Dylan - combining those lyrics and songs with exceptionally lyrical, emotional, passionate lead guitar playing - was for me one of the greatest pairings in popular music history.

Entered at Sat Sep 3 00:22:08 CEST 2011 from (24.44.101.8)

Brien Sz

And another reason RR doesn't come to the forefront like EC, is that he doesn't sing or at them time, didn't sing. It helps to front a band as a player and singer.

Entered at Sat Sep 3 00:20:38 CEST 2011 from (24.44.101.8)

Brien Sz

I believe one of the reasons RR is not in the pantheon of greats (at least in a commercial/well-known sense) is that RR just didn't do all that many guitar solo stuff as a member of the Band. Sure he talked and others talked of him ripping up the fret board in the early years but there isn't enough of it out there and wasn't out there at the time for people to digest. By the time he got up to Woodstock, he let those days go by and worked more on songs. Adam, you can elude to all the great blues playin RR did but there isn't a lot on record to back that claim - certainly not enough to match the greats of EC, Jimi, Duane, SRV and the like. Those guys cut their teeth on the blues and stayed with it for their careers. RR sough other paths and explored far more dimensions in music than any of them - that in itself has garnered RR long lasting respect. I would love to hear RR in a concert performance just lay into the leads time and again, but sadly, I don't think many of them have been preserved. The Dyaln 66 is a great record and there are some great parts but nothing to the point where you went, 'Holy Shit' did you hear that! At least not for me - certainly some jammin playing but nothing like what other guys were doing that set them apart and made themselves household names.

Entered at Fri Sep 2 23:07:10 CEST 2011 from (68.198.223.205)

Jed

If you don't dig EC this under rated and often unknown box set of seventies live stuff is fantastic.Somewhat drunken but fierce blues and cool jams.

Entered at Fri Sep 2 23:02:32 CEST 2011 from (68.198.223.205)

Jed

No question Gibson is a fatter sound,but if you haven't heard the 5/20/09 set EC did with the Allmans you'll see the advantage a strat may have even when surrounded,as he was,by two very intense gibsons! Though,I'd like to hear him pull out the Gibson once in awhile.Soon,a DVD is being released with EC sitting in for a full showbwith Wynton Marsalis and his band--all out jazz and jazz versions of some EC songs.Another twist on EC's musical journey.

Entered at Fri Sep 2 22:55:31 CEST 2011 from (68.198.223.205)

Jed

I respect your opinion and other than Jimi or Duane Allman who stand alone RR & EC are in my top 5 personal favorites.Both RR & EC form the foundation of the tonal,melodic,& technical approach I take to my playing....of course,I lack the key ingredients--talent and abilities! lol. And,I have to agree with you that RR has a particular bite,rhythm, and sound that is particularly unique and clearly distinguishable from any other guitarist.And,I understand why you prefer RR,perhaps for what Dylan called his mathematical approach!

Entered at Fri Sep 2 22:44:02 CEST 2011 from (24.47.42.238)

Bayou Sam

Subject: Bashful Bill, Clapton

Thanks Bill - it's, wipeout1960 AT yahoo dot com

I'm enjoying the Clapton discussion. He remains my favorite guitar player. The main reason is because his playing comes from a place deep within his soul. I know that sounds a bit hokey, but that's what it is for me. A good example is on "Have You Ever Loved A Woman", from the Layla album. it's a perfect example of how Eric channeled the pain he felt over wanting Pattie Harrison right through those guitar strings.

I also like the fact that Eric is humble about it all. He's never comfortable when someone asks him about his great talent, and he always refers back to the blues guys that he considers the great ones.

I've linked a great performance above of Eric doing the song I mentioned. This was of course after he got - and lost - Pattie. But he still "brings it" here.

Entered at Fri Sep 2 22:30:13 CEST 2011 from (86.93.230.158)

Hilda Fernhout

Subject: Film about Levon Helm

I would like to know if 'i ain't in it for my health' is available on dvd. I saw it at the Amsterdam documentary movie festival.I am also very happy that on these pages I finally found the concertdate in Amsterdam in 1971 because in 1996 someone from Holland mentioned it. Thank you Bert Jan Kraal!

Entered at Fri Sep 2 22:23:10 CEST 2011 from (156.47.15.10)

David P

Jed: In contrast, I've recently been listening a lot to E.C.'s playing on the 1965 "Beano" album with John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers. The recent reissue of the mono mix of that recording highlights the rich, fat tones he got using a 1959 Les Paul Standard (with P.A.F. humbucking pickups) through a small 1962 Marshall combo amp.

Entered at Fri Sep 2 22:16:02 CEST 2011 from (75.34.53.206)

Adam

It's just my personal opinion. People praise Clapton to such a degree that I just don't agree with. I'm not all that impressed by his playing/style, and I think Robbie is much more worthy of that praise and respect. Robbie's playing in 1966 alone justifies me saying that he was probably the greatest rock guitarist of all time. That's how I feel about it. His early work with Ronnie Hawkins, John Hammond and Dylan led him on a path of true guitar mastery. The techniques and style he developed during those early years, with his jaw-dropping vibrato technique and raw blues playing, just astounds me. When I think of how many people are in awe of a solo like Clapton's on "Crossroads", it just doesn't impress me like Robbie's playing does. Just my opinion.