Let Us All Praise Dave Cousins!

Dave Cousins, the long-time frontman for British folk-rock-prog band the Strawbs (shown above, performing with violinist Ian Cutler), is an underrated treasure in the world of rock & roll. Forming the Strawberry Hill Boys in the late-60s, recording their first album with vocalist Sandy Denny (who would go on to Fairport Convention), the Strawbs would go on through the '70s to record brilliant albums such as Grave New World (1972), Hero & Heroine (1974), Ghosts (1975), and Burning For You (1977), among others.

As related in an interview that I did with Cousins in 2007, the singer/songwriter "retired" from full-time performing with the band to take a job in commercial radio in the U.K. After appearing at the Strawbs' 30th anniversary celebration with other former bandmates in 1998, Cousins "re-started" the band in 2001, touring the U.S., Canada and Europe with a revolving line-up that has included such stalwarts of the '70s-era bands as guitarist Dave Lambert, bassist Chas Cronk, and keyboardist John Hawken, among others. Sometimes they tour as "Electric Strawbs" with full gear, sometimes as "Acoustic Strawbs," just three or four guys sitting on stools with their instruments.

Cousins recorded his first solo album, titled Two Weeks Last Summer, in 1972 and then didn't record a follow-up until The Boy In The Sailor Suit in 2007. Of the more recent album, which the Reverend reviewed for Harp magazine, I wrote "Cousins’ intricate wordplay is on display throughout, the album offering a balance of acoustic folk and electric rock, an appropriate soundtrack for this lyrical celebration of life and love." In 2008, Cousins released a follow-up and his third solo effort, Secret Paths, a collection of his favorite story-songs re-cast in a mostly acoustic light.

To promote Secret Paths, Cousins booked a short acoustic tour in the U.S. and Canada in the spring of 2008. He was accompanied on the first few dates by the talented violinist Ian Cutler, rounding out the tour with strictly solo performances. If you missed any of these shows, you missed out on one of the most intimate and breathtaking performances that you'll ever witness.

We caught Cousins and Cutler at The German House in Rochester NY, a cool old venue that began life over 80 years ago as a church hall. Booked by our buddy Tom Kohn at The Bop Shop record store, unfortunately Cousins was suffering from a touch of the flu during his visit, and was visibly ill before the show. He wasn't one to let down the 100 or so fans that had assembled to see him perform, though, so Cousins and Cutler carried on, weaving a magical spell created by Cousins' wonderful stories and well-worn voice, accompanied by Cutler's sometimes mournful, sometimes incendiary violin playing.

But you can witness Cousins' talents for yourself, as some fan has provided video from the singer's Kent, Ohio performance of the beautiful songs "Grace Darling" and "Blue Angel." The third video here, is a heavy reading of the Strawbs' "Grave New World" from a couple of years back, a mesmerizing song in spite of the video/sound quality.

Several of Cousins' performances from the 2008 tour were recorded, and recently released as an album titled Duochrome. Either the new album or Secret Paths (or The Boy In The Sailor Suit and Two Weeks Last Summer, for that matter) would make a great gift for the singer/songwriter fan in your life, all four albums showcasing the incredible talents of Dave Cousins. (Photos from the Rochester show by Rev. Keith A. Gordon, subsequently "freaked-out" in Photoshop Elements)

(Click on the CD cover to buy Secret Paths from Amazon.com)


Dave Cousins - "Grace Darling"


Dave Cousins - "Blue Angel"


The Strawbs - "Grave New World"

Standing At The Crossroads....

James McMurtry - "We Can't Make It Here"

America is standing at a crossroads, and the devil is pushing us to make a deal. Do we replace the worst Presidential administration in history with a doddering old fool and his bimbo sidekick, or do we choose the young, intelligent, and admittedly imperfect alternative?

The Devil You Know....

Under the Bush regime, we've seen the sins of the father magnified by the son...extraordinary rendition, the war in Iraq, Gitmo, spying on citizens, the lack of response to Hurricane Katrina and the burning and looting of New Orleans...the list is tragically long. John McCain has attempted to distance himself from an administration that, bluntly, history will rightly judge a dismal failure. But McCain has sold out what shred of dignity that he ever held, auctioned off his scruples to the right wing of a party that long ago lost its relevance to the average person. The G.O.P. stands for nothing more or less than a military-industrial complex that makes a few sycophants wealthy while ignoring the needs of the country.

McCain's choice of the Alaskan "Barbie Doll," Sarah Palin, as his running mate is as blatant a political move as I've ever witness in nearly 40 years of being aware of such things. The so-called "hockey mom" is nothing more than an ignorant appeal to the extreme Christian right that has controlled the Republican Party for several decades, a special interest group that wouldn't fully support the candidate until now. Heaven forbid that McCain get elected President and die in office...the completely unprepared Palin would have the rich hunting the poor for sport, shooting at them from black helicopters leased from Halliburton. Aggression and charisma don't make a good leader...the last eight years have proven this true...I'd prefer a modicum of intelligence, some common sense, and a little humility in my President, personally....

Barrack Obama is a great speaker and a charismatic individual, and although an imperfect candidate in many ways, he's the best shot we have to break the rule of the right, which dominated Congress from 1994 to 2006, and has sat in the White House for eight years. Obama, perhaps, is not aggressive enough, and afraid of being necklaced with the flaming label of "liberal," he keeps the Democratic Party's "special interests" – unions, gay Americans, feminists, etc – at arm's length.

Obama's health care proposal is laughable, relying on the largess of corporations unwilling to provide such concessions, and other Obama policies are equally naive, preferring to tread the middle-of-the-road rather than attempt to upset any apple carts. Even Obama's choice of Joe Biden...a long-time Demo party hack...seems to be calculated to "win back" disaffected Clintonites. Still, he's a much better choice than his rapidly aging opponent....

James McMurtry & Willie Nile

My opinion of singer/songwriter James McMurtry was formed entirely after listening to his first couple of major label records, unspectacular efforts that showcased a young, talented voice but just didn't knock me out. McMurtry has released six albums after leaving the major label ranks, and I know that he's become somewhat of a demigod in Americana circles. After doing a little reading, it's seems that McMurtry has honed his songwriting and performing skills to a surgical precision. Watching the video provided above, "We Can't Make It Here" (from McMurtry's 2005 album Childish Things), it's clear that McMurtry understands the pain in the heartland and the effect that "politrix* as usual" has had on American families, better than any politician. Perhaps it's time for me to pick up a couple of recent McMurtry albums and refamiliarize myself with a talent that I had originally written off....

Willie Nile, on the other hand, has been a long-time favorite of mine, a folk-rock poet that has long understood the hopes and dreams and fears of the average American. Signed in 1980 by Columbia Records – who thought that they had the next Springsteen in their hands – Nile has seemingly emerged from his three-album major label career with his sense of humor intact. Although I didn't hear much about Nile during the '90s...I heard that he had come to Nashville for a while to look into songwriting opportunities...he is enjoying a career renassaince of sorts during the new millennium, releasing the excellent Streets Of New York in 2006, and more recently the incredible Live From The Streets Of New York CD and DVD.

The video below, for Nile's insightful "Hard Times In America," was taken from the live DVD, but the song itself dates back to a five-song EP by that name that Nile released in 1992. I found a copy of the EP at The Great Escape in Nashville a decade later, musing that perhaps Nile had sold it to the store himself. I find it sadly prescient that the song has as much relevance today as it did when he wrote it....


Willie Nile - "Hard Times In America"

Click on Shepard Fairey's "Obama Progress" image to go to the Obama website

(Click on the CD covers to buy either album from Amazon.com)

Nick Moss & The Flip Tops - Benefit Show for Stolen Gear!

Scheduled to play the Ottawa Blues Festival last weekend in Ottawa, Ontario Canada, blues guitarist Nick Moss and his band The Fliptops had their van and all their gear stolen from the parking lot of their hotel sometime during the morning of July 5th, 2008. Although the parking area was supposed to be under surveillance, the film in the camera had not been replaced, so no photos of the crime are available to police, making it unlikely that the idiots that did this will ever be caught.

A "blues benefit" has been organized for September 7, 2008 at the Milwaukee Ale House in Milwaukee WI to help raise funds for the band to buy some new gear. Moss and the Flip Tops will perform, of course, along with friends like Rev. Raven & the Chain Smokin' Alter Boys, Perry Weber & the DeVilles, Billy Flynn, Jim Liban, and other special guests.

We have a list of the equipment that was stolen from Moss and the Flip Tops [PDF link here]. Anybody that has any information about this crime is urged to contact Moss either through the artist's website or through Blue Bella Records.

Nick Moss & the Flip Tops @ Buddy Guy's Legends Club, 2007

Nick Moss & the Flip Tops @ The Kalamazoo Blues Festival, 2007

Frankie Miller - Scotland's Finest!

Frankie Miller isn't very well-known stateside, but dammit, he should be! First of all, don't confuse the rock world's Frankie Miller with the country singer of the same name that recorded in the '50s and '60s. This Miller, born in Glasgow, Scotland, plied his trade during the 1970s and into the early-80s.

Scotland's Miller came up through the British pub rock scene during the early part of the decade. What could have been a big break – after leaving Procol Harum, Robin Trower picked Miller as the vocalist for his new band Jude – became a bust when Jude proved to be a non-starter. Miller often performed with fellow pub-rockers Brinsley Schwarz, and used them as his backing band when he recorded his 1972 debut album, Once In A Blue Moon. The album is still considered one of his best, showcasing Miller's extravagant pipes and a radical (at the time) mix of rock, blues-rock, R&B, and the sort of roots-country that Brinsley Schwarz was known for at the time.

Miller travelled from the U.K. to New Orleans to record his sophomore album with soul giant Allen Toussaint. Released in '73, High Life was an incredible accomplishment, Miller's vocals melding perfectly with the band that producer/musician Toussant put together for the sessions. I became familiar with Miller through his third album, 1975's The Rock, which made its way to Tennessee somehow, and landed on my turntable. Miller's third album, The Rock showed an artist in full control of his abilities, and songs like "A Fool In Love," "Ain't Got No Money," and the shambling "Drunken Nights In The City" provided this listener with a healthy dose of blue-eyed soul that was largely missing from mid-70s rock & roll.

A couple of years later, Miller would release my favorite album of his, 1977's Full House. A full-blown fury of reckless soul and bluesy rock, the album yielded great performances on tunes like "Be Good To Yourself," "Down The Honky Tonk" and "(I'll Never) Live In Vain." Miller's tearful cover of John Lennon's "Jealous Guy" is simply brilliant, covering the song with a blanket of emotion. The album barely scraped onto the American charts, though, rising as far as #124 on the Billboard Top 200; sadly, Full House would be the best-selling of the three Miller albums that would chart in the U.S.

Double Trouble, from 1978, and 1979's Falling In Love (released as Perfect Fit in the U.S.) brought Miller a couple of hits in the U.K. but resulted in nothing but further obscurity on this side of the pond. Easy Money, from 1980, was recorded in Nashville while 1982's Standing On The Edge was mostly recorded in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. Dancing In The Rain, from 1986, would prove to be Miller's last studio recording for nearly 20 years, until the 2006 release of Long Way Home.

Tragically, a brain hemorrhage in 1994 almost took Miller's life, and the singer remained in a coma for five months and spent a total of 15 months in the hospital. He gradually got well enough to begin writing songs again, and his unique lyrical vision provided hits for artists like Bob Seger and the Bellamy Brothers. Frankie Miller's songwriting talents cut across artificial genre lines, and have been recorded by Johnny Cash, the Eagles, Rod Stewart, Bonnie Tyler, and Roy Orbison, among others.

As for Miller's lack of commercial success in the U.S., well, even his most rabid fans would admit that his albums were often a perfectly-balanced mix of the brightly shining and the less-than-perfect. Much of his late-70s and, in my mind, all three of his '80s-era albums suffered from average production, and even his best work tended to have a clunker or two thrown in among the many-faceted gems. Miller never seemed to receive the promotional push of some of his peers, and that might be because of the timeless (i.e. not trendy) nature of his music.

Still, there's a lot of heart-and-soul in Miller's work, and most of Frankie's early catalog, including the essential Full House and The Rock, have recently been digitally remastered and reissued, with some of the albums featuring bonus tracks. In the meantime, check out these very cool live videos that feature Miller doing what he does best – sing!

(Click on the CD covers to buy The Rock and/or Full House from Amazon.com)

Frankie Miller - "Be Good To Yourself"


Frankie Miller - "I'd Lie To You For Your Love"


Frankie Miller - "Ain't Got No Money"


Frankie Miller (w/Rory Gallagher) - "Walking The Dog"

(How cool is this video? One of my favorite rock & roll vocalists performing with one of my favorite blues-rock guitarists in the late, great Rory Gallagher. Yippie!!!)

Random Thoughts on Dire Straits

Memories are often attached to music, usually a specific song or performance by a favorite band. Music – the best music, in my mind – can trigger that memory just by hearing it again, even decades after the connection was first formed.

I have always had mixed feelings about Dire Straits. The band's breakthrough hit, "Sultans Of Swing," from their self-titled 1978 debut album, was catchy enough, and frontman Mark Knopfler's post-punk, pub-rock amalgam was supported by his fluid guitar tones. Still, the band's first couple of albums just didn't knock me out. They were awkward, clunky, and stylistically stood between eras...I was much happier listening to the Clash.

Then came 1980's Making Movies, the band's third album, and still their best in my humble opinion, though not their biggest commercial success. The album's first side – remember, this was back in the glorious days of vinyl – with songs like "Tunnel Of Love," "Romeo & Juliet" and "Skateaway," was better than most band's entire albums. With MTV right around the corner, a video for "Skateaway," if I remember correctly, received heavy airplay.

For me, "Romeo & Juliet" became connected to a too-brief romance with a girl that broke-up with me to go back to her abusive ex-husband. They stayed together a few months, until his teenaged and very pregnant girlfriend showed up at their door. Whenever I hear the song, I think of that girl....

The band cranked out another couple of albums before 1985's Brothers In Arms blew the doors off the joint. With MTV firmly entrenched in popular culture (back when they actually played music videos), Dire Straits delivered the perfect namecheck with "Money For Nothing." On the basis of the video for the song, "Money For Nothing" became wildly popular, but it was just another Dire Straits song that I could take or leave. From the same album, I found "Walk Of Live" and "So Far Away" to be much more impressive.

It was the title song that I would latch on to the strongest, however, "Brothers In Arms" being used in a particularly strong episode of Miami Vice. Sure, it sounds stupid when you read it like that, but in reality Miami Vice was one of the first television programs to use music as more than a soundtrack throwaway. Creator Michael Mann understood the power of music as an appeal to emotion, and that episode's use of "Brothers In Arms" has stuck with me for better than 20 years.

Thus, for your viewing/listening enjoyment, live video clips of two of my five favorite Dire Straits songs....

Dire Straits - "Romeo & Juliet"


Dire Straits - "Brothers In Arms"

(Click on the CD covers to buy Making Movies or Brothers In Arms from Amazon.com)