CD Review: Beside Bowie The Mick Ronson Story soundtrack (2018)

Even during an era of guitar heroes, Mick Ronson was exceptional, albeit underrated. Born in Kingston upon Hull, England Ronson was classically-trained as a pianist as a child, but was inspired to pick up a guitar after becoming enamored with early rocker Duane Eddy’s distinctive “twangy” sound. A veteran of various 1960s and ‘70s-era British rock bands (most notably The Rats), Ronson’s star began its ascent when he became an essential part of David Bowie’s short-lived Ziggy-era “Spiders From Mars” band. Ronson lent his six-string talents to such groundbreaking Bowie albums as 1971’s Hunky Dory, 1972’s classic The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars, and 1973’s Aladdin Sane and Pin Ups.

When Bowie broke up the “Spiders,” Ronson launched his solo career with a pair of critically acclaimed albums in 1974’s Slaughter On 10th Avenue and 1975’s Play Don’t Worry. Neither disc sold particularly well and a third solo album, recorded in 1976, was subsequently shelved and Ronson dropped from the label. The guitarist soldiered on, however, recording and performing with his longtime friend Ian Hunter (Mott the Hoople) and serving as a “gun for hire” for stars like Bob Dylan, Lou Reed, and John Mellencamp. Ronson would also become an in-demand producer as well, working with artists as diverse as Midge Ure, Morrisey, the Rich Kids, and Slaughter and the Dogs, among others, before his tragic death in 1993 at the too-young age of 46 years. All of this history is recounted in the 2017 documentary film, Beside Bowie: The Mick Ronson Story, for which this CD and vinyl release serves as a soundtrack of the guitarist’s life.

Beside Bowie: The Mick Ronson Story

Beside Bowie: The Mick Ronson Story is essentially bookended by Ronson’s performance as part of the all-star crew appearing at The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert for AIDS Awareness. Held in April 1992 – a mere year before Ronson’s death from liver cancer – the concert included members of Mercury’s band Queen as well as Bowie, Ronson, Hunter, and Def Leppard’s Joe Elliott and Phil Collen, among many others. Two songs are culled from that show, the first being a raucous performance of the classic “All the Young Dudes,” the Bowie-penned song that revived Mott the Hoople’s career in 1972. With all the hoopla surrounding the live performance of the revered Hoople song, it’s hard to pick out Ronson’s contribution from the fray, which isn’t necessarily the case with the epic live reading of Bowie’s “Heroes” that appears later on the album. Although Ronson was long gone from Bowie’s band by the time that the rock ‘n’ roll legend recorded “Heroes” (with guitarist Robert Fripp of King Crimson), his familiar wiry fretwork drives the performance’s inherent grandeur.

Far more intimate a portrait of Ronson’s immense talents can be heard on a track by British folk-rock legend Michael Chapman, whose “Soulful Lady” successfully blends Chapman’s not inconsiderable guitar skills with Ronson’s distinctive leads from an early session for Chapman’s 1970 album Fully Qualified Survivor. A lengthy alternative version of Elton John’s classic 1970 song “Madman Across the Water” features Ronson’s imaginative acoustic and electric guitar playing; it’s a damn shame that it wasn’t released on the original album, showing up years later as a bonus track and on rarities compilations. Ronson’s long-standing friendship with Ian Hunter is represented by Hunter’s popular solo track “Once Bitten, Twice Shy” which offers Ronson’s particularly jaunty git licks. More of this, please!

Ziggy’s Moonage Daydream

Joe Elliott’s previously-unreleased “This Is For You” was written in tribute to the universally-beloved guitarist, but its rather sedate performance is a real snooze. Ditto for pianist Mike Garson’s tepid instrumental “Tribute to Mick Ronson” which, however heartfelt, is nevertheless a somnambulant ending to an otherwise dynamic collection. The heart and soul of Beside Bowie can be found in four tracks taken from Ronson’s three extant solo albums along with three Bowie tracks that prominently feature the young man from Hull. Although the point of the documentary film is that Mick Ronson was so much more than his work with Bowie, there’s no denying the power of the performances created by the two men. Naturally, Bowie’s “Moonage Daydream” has to be included in any story written about Ronson, his electrifying fretwork melding with Bowie’s otherworldly vocals to create a rare bit of musical magick.

“Cracked Actor,” a favorite from Bowie’s 1973 album Aladdin Sane, is another bit of rock ‘n’ roll finery, a guitar-driven melody welded to a foot-tapping rhythm while the lesser-known Bowie track “Time,” also from Aladdin Sane, displays Ronson’s subtle side. Curiously, all four of Ronson’s solo tracks here were taken from posthumous albums released in 1994 (Heaven and Hull) and 1999 (Just Like This) – nothing from his earlier solo efforts. Recorded in 1976 as Ronson’s third solo album, but not released until ’99, Just Like This offers the excellent “Hard Life,” a muscular, melodic rocker with stellar guitar playing including a Ziggy-ish solo that soars above the mix. A cover of Dylan’s “Like A Rolling Stone,” from the acclaimed Heaven and Hull album, showcases Ronson’s six-string abilities in his familiar role as sideman, expertly backing up Bowie’s vox on the classic song. A pallid cover Giogio Moroder’s languid instrumental “Midnight Love,” where Ronson plays all the parts, would have best been replaced by anything from Ronson’s earlier solo albums.

The Reverend’s Bottom Line

Not having seen Beside Bowie: The Mick Ronson Story documentary film (yet), I can’t speak with certainty how representative this “soundtrack” album may be to the music actually included in the film, but I see how this CD could easily have been expanded into a two-disc set. Any of Ronson’s contributions to recordings by Lou Reed, John Mellencamp, Bob Dylan, or Roger McGuinn could have been included here, and we could have used more Bowie (with whom he recorded five studio albums) and Hunter (appearing on four studio albums).

That minor cavil aside, while the hardcore Ronson fan already has almost all of these songs, it’s nice to get them on one disc (or two vinyl LPs), and for newcomers to the music and magic that was Mick Ronson, Beside Bowie offers a rock solid introduction to the guitarist’s talent and charm, opening the door for the musically curious to Ronson’s underappreciated solo albums as well as his timeless work with Bowie and Hunter. Grade: A- (Universal Music, released June 8, 2018)

Buy the vinyl LP from Amazon.com: Beside Bowie The Mick Ronson Story

Classic Buddy Guy & Junior Wells LPs get Vinyl reissue!

Buddy Guy and Junior Wells – both performing both together and separately as successful solo artists – helped shape and define blues music for new audiences during the 1960s and ‘70s. Their work as collaborators resulted in classic blues albums like Hoodoo Man Blues and Southside Blues Jam while their solo careers are littered with milestones. Although Wells sadly passed away in 1998, Guy is still going strong at the ripe old age of 81 years, with a new album – The Blues Is Alive and Well – scheduled for release in mid-June.

On June 29th, 2018 Craft Recordings will reissue two albums on vinyl by the legendary bluesmen – Buddy Guy’s A Man & the Blues and Junior Wells’ Coming At You – in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the original release of these classic, albeit underrated albums. Both albums were originally released in 1968 by the venerable Vanguard Records label and are being reissued on audiophile-quality 180-gram vinyl cut from the original analog masters. Both albums will also enjoy their first appearance on vinyl since their initial release.

Wells’ Coming At You is an underrated title in the bluesman’s lengthy catalog, and features the harp player’s take on a slew of covers by Sonny Boy Williamson, Willie Dixon, John Lee Hooker, and Big Maceo Merriweather as well as putting his own unique spin on the garage-rock classic “Tobacco Road” and proto-rocker “Mystery Train.” Wells was joined in the studio by Guy and guitarist Lefty Dizz as well as bassist Tom Crawford, drummer Levi Warren (who would later play with Earl Hooker), and saxophonist Douglas Fagen (who later played with James Cotton).

Guy’s A Man & the Blues was his first album for the Vanguard label, and the guitarist’s second solo album overall. It was also Guy’s first recording done outside of the confines of Chess Records and 2120 S. Michigan Avenue in Chicago, the guitarist working instead at Universal Studios in the Windy City with noted producer Sam Charters on the board. The album features a number of Guy’s original songs, including the title track and “I Can’t Quit the Blues” as well as his original take on the traditional children’s rhyme “Mary Had A Little Lamb,” complete with barb-wire guitar licks. Guy also acquits himself nicely on the Motown classic “Money (That’s What I Want” and B.B. King’s “Sweet Little Angel.”

Alongside Guy, A Man & the Blues also featured great players like the legendary pianist Otis Spann, drummer Fred Below, and a full horn section and while it didn’t light the charts on fire, it was a fine early effort from a legendary bluesman. Both albums deserve space in the collection of any discriminating blues fan (and dig the groovy psychedelic cover art Vanguard burdened each LP with!).

Buy the albums from Amazon.com:
Junior Wells’ Coming At You
Buddy Guy’s A Man & the Blues

The Return of the Chocolate Watchband

The Chocolate Watchband 2017

 From a fascist-leaning Presidential administration to the horrible racism experienced by people of color in America, it seems that everything old is becoming new again. This goes double for rock music, which seems unable to nurture dynamic, creative young talents these days and instead finds itself increasing looking backwards to the 1960s for succor and inspiration. It’s fitting, perhaps, that we should relive the tumultuous psychedelic decade as we certainly seem to have forgotten the hard-fought lessons of Nixon, Viet Nam, and the civil rights and anti-war movements.

Into the void strut erstwhile ‘60s-era psychedelic pioneers the Chocolate Watchband. One of the legendary garage-rock bands of the era, the Chocolate Watchband formed in San Jose, California in 1965, appeared in the ground-breaking 1967 movie Riot On Sunset Strip, and would release three critically-acclaimed albums between 1967 and ’69, including No Way Out and The Inner Mystique. The band broke-up in 1970 but reformed in 1999 under the aegis of original vocalist David Aguilar and drummer Gary Andrijasivich. They’re still kicking around today with a line-up that includes guitarist Tim Abbott (who played with the band in 1967) as well as guitarist Derek See and bassist Alec Palao, both veterans of the Rain Parade, performing festivals with like-minded artists like the Strawberry Alarm Clock, the Electric Prunes, and the Yardbirds.

Like I said, everything old is new again, and the Chocolate Watchband has released a pair of new singles and a very cool video of a live performance of the Kinks’ “I’m Not Like Everybody Else.” The two new songs – “Judgment Day” and “Secret Rendezvous” – were recorded last year at Kingdom Voice Productions in Santa Clara, California. Framed by exotic, Middle Eastern-sounding riffs and Aguilar’s howling harpwork, “Judgment Day” is a bluesy, psych-drenched rocker with socially-conscious topical lyrics and some scorching fretwork while “Secret Rendezvous” is a ramshackle garage-rocker with dense, chaotic instrumentation and largely-buried vocals that evokes memories of the band’s halcyon days.
 
In a press release announcing the new songs, band vocalist David Aguilar says, “I wrote ‘Judgment Day’ as the country was still in recovery after every dollar you might have had invested suddenly tanked thanks to Wall Street. People were getting laid off, they were moving backwards in income, homes were being foreclosed on. Families were living in their cars. It was a terrible time for the American dream. But this was pure opportunity for those who enjoyed stratospheric wealth. Wall Street gangsters, bailed out by American taxpayers, were rewarded for their massive greed and stupidity. They immediately started buying up everything they could, hotels, new corporate jets, restaurants chains, radio stations, small businesses, big businesses, casinos, 300+ acre ranches with 16,000 square foot homes in compounds near Aspen, on Long Island, or in Florida. Their trophy wives were pampered like pet poodles. It resulted in the anger that put the current president into the White House. And it’s ironic, Judgment Day didn't come for the political party that remains the mouthpiece for the fat cats. And now the White House is filled with more Wall Streeters! The Who were wrong, Americans can get fooled again!”

Both songs are available for purchase from iTunes, Amazon, and elsewhere and we’ve embedded the band’s new video (as well as a classic vintage performance) below for your enjoyment. Now’s the right time to rediscover the Chocolate Watchband!

Buy the tunes from Amazon.com:
The Chocolate Watchband’s “Judgment Day”
The Chocolate Watchband’s “Secret Rendezvous”

Also on That Devil Music.com: The Chocolate Watchband’s The Inner Mystique CD review

Short Rounds: Brinsley Schwarz, Eric Corne, Roger McGuinn & Shuggie Otis (2018)

New album releases in 150 words or less…

Brinsley Schwarz – Live Favourites (Vogon Records)
British pub-rock legends Brinsley Schwarz never released a live album during their brief time in the spotlight (roughly 1969-1975), and ‘tis more the shame. Any band that can boast of Nick Lowe and, later, Ian Gomm as songwriters is aces in my book, and band namesake Schwarz’s fretwork is uniformly superb. Why they never made a commercial splash over the course of half-dozen studio albums is a mystery. Live Favourites is a semi-legit release of a June 1974 show, shortly before the release of The New Favourites Of..., their final album, and it’s a spankin’ fine effort at that. Sound quality is good with clear separation while the setlist – which includes treasures like “Country Girl,” “Trying To Live My Life Without You,” and “What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding” – displays the band’s deft alchemical mix of rock, country, and soul; highly recommended for any rock ‘n’ roll fan. Grade: A   BUY IT!

Eric Corne – Happy Songs For the Apocalypse (Forty Below Records)
In his role as studio engineer and producer, Forty Below Records founder Eric Corne has shepherded into the world some of the most essential blues albums of the past decade by legends Walter Trout and John Mayall. Few know that Corne is also a talented singer and songwriter in his own right, as attested to by Happy Songs For the Apocalypse, which offers an inspired blend of country-flavored folk-rock with blues influences. Corne’s “Mad World” is a lilting, folkish song featuring weeping pedal steel. The bluesy “The Gilded Age” reminds of Charley Patton with its high lonesome vocals, languid fretwork, and flowing harmonica tones. My favorite is “The Distance You Run,” a sort of country waltz with spry vocals and intelligent lyrics while the anguished “Forbidden Town” is wrought with emotion. With his sophomore solo LP, the talented Eric Corne delivers an altogether solid effort of primo-grade American music. Grade: B+   BUY IT!

Roger McGuinn – Peace On You (Floating World Records)
The Byrds’ estimable catalog is revered, and rightfully so. As for Byrds’ frontman Roger McGuinn’s solo work, well, not so much…and for good reason, as many of his LPs are littered by lack of focus. For Peace On You, the singer/songwriter’s sophomore album, he’s backed by the cream of L.A. session musicians, including guitarist Tommy Tedesco and steel guitar maestro Al Perkins. McGuinn delivers a work that veers from the engaging folk-rock of his legendary band to weepy, subpar country-rock fare that former bandmate Gram Parsons would have hit out of the park. Part of the problem sits with McGuinn’s songwriting partner Jacques Levy, a pal of Dylan’s who never met a lyrical cliché he didn’t like. McGuinn has long blamed the musical excesses of Peace On You on producer Bill Halverson when he should have looked in the mirror. Although the album has its charms, it’s no Cardiff Rose. Grade: C+   NAH?

Shuggie Otis – Inter-Fusion (Cleopatra Records)
When everybody else in popular music is running, lemming-like, in a single direction, Shuggie Otis is veering off towards left field. For his first studio album in better than forty years, the songwriter responsible for soulful gems like “Strawberry Letter 23” and “Inspiration Information” delivers a mostly-instrumental set guaranteed to blow your  mind. Working with talented journeymen like bassist Tony Franklin and drummer Carmine Appice, Otis puts the emphasis on his flamethrower fretwork, contributing only a pair of songs to Inter-Fusion but leaving his fingerprints all over the grooves. A buffet of rock, soul, funk, and jazz, Inter-Fusion is a breathtaking collection of virtuosity and, when Otis opens his mouth to sing as on “Ice Cold Daydream,” there’s little rust in his voice, just silky lyrical flow. Inter-Fusion is proof that Otis has lost none of the chops, imagination, or innovation that made him a legend in the first place. Grade: A   BUY IT!

Previously on That Devil Music.com:
Short Rounds, April 2018: Catfish, Jimmie Vaughan Trio, King Crimson & Memphis Rent Party
Short Rounds, March 2018: 6 String Drag, The Doors, the Nick Moss Band & Jack White
Short Rounds, February 2018: 6 String Drag, Tinsley Ellis, Mabel Greer's Toyshop & Wishbone Ash

2018 Blues Music Award Winners

Keb' Mo', photo by Joseph A. Rosen, courtesy The Blues Foundation

The Blues Foundation held its 39th annual Blues Music Awards celebration on Friday, May 11th, 2018 in Memphis, Tennessee with the event hosted by the legendary ‘Little Steven’ Van Zandt. Legendary bluesmen Taj Mahal and Keb’ Mo’ were the night’s big winners, the duo’s critically-acclaimed musical collaboration, TajMo, winning both “Album of the Year” and “Contemporary Blues Album of the Year” awards. Additionally, Blues Hall of Fame 2009 inductee Taj Mahal walked off with the “Acoustic Artist of the Year” and the coveted “B.B. King Entertainer of the Year” awards while Keb’ Mo’ was named the “Contemporary Blues Male Artist of the Year.”

Taj Mahal and Keb’ Mo’ weren’t the only big winners on Friday night. Esteemed blues outfit Rick Estrin & the Nightcats celebrated ten years in the trenches by earning the “Band of the Year” honor while Estrin was named “Traditional Blues Male Artist of the Year” and his song “The Blues Ain’t Going Nowhere” was named “Song of the Year.” Dynamic young blues woman Samantha Fish was named “Contemporary Blues Female Artist of the Year,” her second BMA (she won “Best New Artist Debut” in 2012 for her album Runaway) of many I’m sure she’ll win in the years to come. The Blues Foundation added two new categories this year – Mike Zito won the new “Blues Rock Artist of the Year” award while Beth Hart earned the new BMA for “Instrumentalist of the Year, Vocals.”

Along with hosting the event, Little Steven was also among the presenters for the evening, joined by such talents as Janiva Magness, Ruthie Foster, Tony Joe White, Joe Louis Walker, and David Porter. Several of the BMA nominees also performed during the show, including Walter Trout, the North Mississippi Allstars, Keb’ Mo’, Guy Davis, Trudy Lynn, and Rick Estrin & the Nightcats, among others. For those naysayers claiming that the “blues is dead,” half the performances at this year’s event were by artists under the age of 45 years old, with many still in their 20s and 30s.

Of this young blood injecting new life and electricity into the genre, Blues Foundation President and CEO Barbara Newman states “we are watching the trends closely, and the blues, as a genre, is definitely on an uptick, with younger musicians being drawn to create and play this style of music and a continually growing following of the music on our social media outlets and beyond.”

Little Steven set the tone for the evening and beyond with his introductory speech, stating “at a time our country is more segregated than at any time in the past 100 years, music holds us together and touches all our souls.” You’ll find the complete list of 2018 Blues Music Award winners below.

Acoustic Album of the Year:
Doug MacLeod’s Break the Chain

Acoustic Artist of the Year:
Taj Mahal

Album of the Year:
Taj Mahal & Keb’ Mo’s TajMo

B.B. King Entertainer of the Year:
Taj Mahal

Band of the Year:
Rick Estrin & the Nightcats

Best Emerging Artist Album of the Year:
Southern Avenue’s Southern Avenue

Contemporary Blues Album of the Year:
Taj Mahal & Keb Mo’s TajMo

Contemporary Blues Female Artist of the Year:
Samantha Fish

Contemporary Blues Male Artist of the Year:
Keb’ Mo’

Song of the Year:
Rick Estrin’s “The Blues Ain’t Going Nowhere”

Historical Album of the Year:
Luther Allison’s A Legend Never Dies, Essential Recordings 1976-1997 (Ruf Recordings)

Rock Blues Album of the Year:
Walter Trout’s We’re All In This Together

Rock Blues Artist of the Year:
Mike Zito

Soul Blues Album of the Year:
Robert Cray & Hi Rhythm’s Robert Cray & Hi Rhythm

Soul Blues Female Artist of the Year:
Mavis Staples

Soul Blues Male Artist of the Year:
Curtis Salgado

Traditional Blues Album of the Year:
Mike Welch & Mike Ledbetter’s Right Place, Right Time

Traditional Blues Male Artist of the Year:
Rick Estrin

Koko Taylor Award (Tradition Blues Female Artist of the Year):
Ruthie Foster

Instrumentalist of the Year Awards:
Beth Hart, vocalist
Ronnie Earl, guitarist
Michael “Mudcat” Ward, bassist
Tony Braunagel, drums
Jason Ricci, harmonica
Trombone Shorty, horn

Pinetop Perkins Piano Player of the Year:
Victor Wainwright

Also on That Devil Music.com: 2017 Blues Music Award Winners

Links in album titles to Amazon.com...buy, Buy, BUY!!!

Thomas Ruf, Walter Trout & Mike Zito, photo by Jeff Fasano, courtesy The Blues Foundation

1968 Revisited: Jeff Beck's Truth

British rock legend Jeff Beck is a bona fide guitar innovator who helped define a particular blues-rock style of playing while also influencing a generation (or three) of rock ‘n’ roll, blues, and jazz string-benders and fret-burners. Joe Bonamassa has cited Beck as a major inspiration, and his enormous influence can be heard in the music of artists as diverse as Adrian Belew (The Bears, King Crimson), Steve Vai, Vernon Reid (Living Colour), Joe Satriani, and Tommy Bolin, among many others.

After playing with a number of small bands during the early ‘60s, and doing session work, Beck first came to prominence as a member of popular British blues-rock band the Yardbirds. Replacing guitarist Eric Clapton, who jumped ship to join John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers, Beck played on nearly all of the band’s mid-decade Top 40 hits, including “Shapes of Things” and “Over Under Sideways Down,” as well as on the 1966 Yardbirds’ album Roger the Engineer. After leaving the band, Beck released a string of modestly-successful U.K. singles like “Hi Ho Silver Lining” and “Tallyman” before recording Truth, his 1968 solo debut album.

Jeff Beck’s Truth

One of rock music’s truly lost classic albums, the good folks at Sony Legacy decided to provide Truth (and its follow-up, Beck-Ola) the deluxe reissue treatment in 2006. Remastered and provided dynamics appropriate to the digital age, the songs on Truth sound every bit as dirty and grungy as they did when originally released back in 1968. Six-string wizard Jeff Beck had been unceremoniously sacked from the Yardbirds and living in the shadows of Eric Clapton’s international acclaim when he pieced together this short-lived ensemble, the first ‘Jeff Beck Group,’ that included Rod Stewart on vocals, Ron Wood on bass, and Micky Waller on drums.

Truth would introduce the world (and, more specifically, a U.S. audience as the album charted Top 20 stateside) to the talents of singer Rod Stewart but, more importantly, Truth would become one of the cornerstones for both ‘70s heavy metal (blues roots, big vocals, heavy percussion, screaming guitar solos) and the blueprint for dozens of British blooze-rock bands to follow in the wake of Cream (including Led Zeppelin, formed by Beck’s former bandmate Jimmy Page). Along the way, however, Truth has been overlooked for its mastery of form and the impressive range of the individual performances. Stewart’s vocals are never less than superlative, no matter what direction Beck takes the band, and the album’s mix of hard rock, Delta blues, Motown soul, and jazzy flourishes make for an intoxicating elixir.

Beck’s Bolero

A remake of the Yardbirds’ hit “Shape of Things” soars on Stewart’s weary vocals and the song’s pulse-thumping instrumental breakdown. Stewart’s “Let Me Love You” (in reality, a reworked Buddy Guy tune) benefits from a heavy bass riff, explosive percussion, and Beck’s cyclonic psych-drenched guitar licks. Bonnie Dobson’s “Morning Dew” (a hit for folkie Tim Rose) is delivered as a soulful ballad while Willie Dixon’s classic “You Shook Me” (a major hit for Chicago blues giant Muddy Waters) showcases the band’s collective blues roots and love for the genre. Based on Stewart’s expressive vocals and studio pro Nicky Hopkin’s piano flourishes, Beck embroiders the performance with some of his edgiest and most imaginative playing.

An impromptu studio performance of the medieval folk standard “Greensleeves,” which displays the full measure of the guitarist’s skills, would surprisingly became an audience favorite while the B-side of “Hi Ho Silver Lining,” the electrifying instrumental “Beck’s Bolero,” has become known as one of Beck’s signature songs. The stereo version of “Bolero” includes studio guests like Jimmy Page and the Who’s Keith Moon alongside Beck and band. The writing of the blues-infused shouter “Rock My Plimsoul” is credited to Jeffrey Rod (Beck and Stewart), but it is really just a raucous re-write of B.B. King’s classic “Rock Me Baby” while the slow-burning “Blues Deluxe,” which has been covered by Beck fan Bonamassa, is based on King’s “Gambler’s Blues” and features some fine Hopkins’ piano along the song’s fringes to accompany Beck’s jagged fretwork.

Willie Dixon’s “I Ain’t Superstitious” was a big song for blues legend Howlin’ Wolf, and has been covered over the years by everybody from the Yardbirds and Savoy Brown to the Grateful Dead and Carlos Santana. Beck has recorded “I Ain’t Superstitious” multiple times himself, including the greasy, wah-wah tinged version found on Truth. The 2006 Sony Legacy reissue of Truth includes extensive liner notes and eight additional tracks. The non-LP single “Hi Ho Silver Lining” was an uncharacteristic psych-pop offering featuring rare Beck vocals; ditto for “Tallyman,” which is even more of a trifle and notable mostly for Beck’s scorching solos. Much better is “I’ve Been Drinking,” the B-side to the 1967 single “Love Is Blue,” which allows Stewart to capture the full emotional pathos of the re-worked Johnny Mercer original.

The Reverend’s Bottom Line

Beck’s Truth would launch a solo career that persists, 50 years later, to the present day, the guitarist nearly as spry and innovative in 2018 as he was in 1968. The Beck-Ola album would follow in 1969, earning Beck his “guitar god” status, and subsequent albums (now credited to the ‘Jeff Beck Group’) would further explore musical avenues in soul, R&B, and jazz. A brief dalliance with the power trio Beck, Bogart & Appice would result in a pair of blustery blooze-rawk releases, after which Beck would deliver his mid-‘70s jazz-rock fusion classics Blow By Blow and Wired. It all began with Truth, however, the album highly recommended for classic rock fans, guitar aficionados, blues fans, Rod Stewart fans, Jeff Beck fans, and just about everybody else. It’s just that damn good… (Sony Legacy, released October 10, 2006)

Buy the CD from Amazon.com: Jeff Beck’s Truth

Also on That Devil Music.com:
Jeff Beck’s Performing This Week...Live at Ronnie Scott’s CD review
The Yardbirds’ Ultimate! CD review

Frank Zappa’s Burnt Weeny Sandwich Vinyl Reissue

After reissuing the extensive Frank Zappa catalog of albums on CD through Universal Music, the Zappa Family Trust has turned its eye towards making a quick buck by exploiting an acquiescent audience by reissuing long out-of-print Zappa titles on vinyl. On June 22, 2018 Zappa Records and UMe will release the Mothers of Invention’s 1970 album Burnt Weeny Sandwich on 180-gram audiophile black vinyl.

With supervision from the Zappa Family Trust (hey Ahmet!), this vinyl reissue of Burnt Weeny Sandwich was mastered by Bernie Grundman using analog production and cut directly from the original ¼” stereo safety master tape. The album has been unavailable on vinyl for over 30 years, when it was included as part of the Old Masters Box Two box set. The reissue features frequent Zappa cover artist Cal Schenkel’s oddball artwork and includes a reproduction of the original LP’s black & white poster. A limited edition color vinyl version will be made available for sale at a later date.

Burnt Weeny Sandwich combines studio and live recordings, a technique that Zappa would pursue throughout the remainder of his career. The album includes several notable Mothers performances, including covers of the doo-wop classics “WPLJ” and “Valarie” as well as the Zappa originals “Little House I Used to Live In” and “Igor’s Boogie” (parts one and two). In my book Frank Zappa Buying Guide, I wrote of the album, “Burnt Weeny Sandwich was the first posthumous Mothers’ album, and the first to mix studio and live tracks into a single work...Altogether, Burnt Weeny Sandwich holds up well in spite of its Frankenstein-styled construction, mostly due to the talent involved (Lowell George, Sugarcane Harris, Ian Underwood, several Mothers) in making the original recordings.”

Check out the album’s track list below and then get thee over to Amazon.com and order a copy of the vinyl reissue…

Burnt Weeny Sandwich track listing:

Side One
1. WPLJ
2. Igor’s Boogie, Phase One
3. Overture to a Holiday in Berlin
4. Theme from Burnt Weeny Sandwich
5. Igor’s Boogie, Phase Two
6. Holiday In Berlin, Full Blown
7. Aybe Sea

Side Two
8. Little House I Used To Live In
9. Valarie

Archive Review: Primus' They Can't All Be Zingers (2006)

Every marketing slogan – no matter how lame, laughable or lamentable – carries with it a germ of truth. In the case of They Can’t All Be Zingers, ostensibly a “greatest hits” compilation from post-punk, modern-funk avant-grunt trio Primus, the slogan is entirely apt. Without a doubt one of the strangest bands to crawl out of the primordial muck that was ‘90s alternative rock, this “Most Unlikely To Succeed” outfit drew its influences from an eclectic succotash of American musical outsiders, from Frank Zappa and Funkadelic to Devo and the Residents. The Primus hybrid of odd-rock, heavy metal, improv-jazz and Motown funk made for heady listening; surprisingly enough, considering its pedigree and pretensions, it also sold reasonably well, scoring the band a handful of Gold™ and Platinum™ Album certifications.

It all started with bassist Les Claypool, a virtuoso musician with a deft hand and a truly warped sense of humor. In another lifetime, Claypool might have been the next Jaco Pastorious, exploring the outer limits of jazz conventions. Claypool took another direction, however, brewing up his musical madness in the shadows of the Bay Area punk and metal scenes. With the addition of guitarist Larry LaLonde – an axeman whose talents were often overshadowed by Claypool’s personality and abilities – and drummer Tim Alexander, Primus assaulted the grunge generation with a succession of strange and somewhat confusing recordings, beginning with the band’s 1991 major label debut, Sailing The Seas Of Cheese.

Primus' They Can't All Be Zingers

Primus followed with Pork Soda in 1993 and Tales From The Punchbowl in 1995, the band’s first three albums yielding unique songs like “Tommy The Cat” and “My Name Is Mud” that found their faithful among the “anything goes” Lollapalooza crowd, if little in the way of traditional radio airplay. Claypool later booted Alexander from the band, replacing him with Brian Mantia in time for 1997’s The Brown Album. By the end of the decade and 1999’s Antipop, the gig had pretty well played itself out. By this time, Claypool had sunk into the mire of jam-band instrumentals, preferring virtuosity over even a semblance of melody or song-structure, which was never Primus’ strong suite anyway.

In many ways, Primus was a modern prog-rock band. As illustrated by songs like “Too Many Puppies” or “Mr. Krinkle,” Primus dove deep into the abyss of the genre-whose-name-we-dare-not-speak, surrounding Claypool’s nonsensical, often surrealistic lyrics and goofy, off-kilter vocals with an instrumental soundtrack straight from the musical playbook of prog’s extreme avant-experimental wing. Claypool’s talents were such that he could attack his instrument in a way that bass had never been played, slapping, tickling and manipulating riffs like a metal guitarist while retaining a funky rhythmic undercurrent that owes as much to Tony Levin and John Wetton as it does to Bootsy Collins or Marcus Miller.

In the same vein, Claypool’s longtime foil LeLonde hits the frets with a fervor that is equal parts Robert Fripp and Alex Lifeson. LeLonde’s wiry leads are dissonant and atonal, exploring the limits of the instrument in much the same way as Fripp. However, LeLonde would also incorporate classical and classic rock influences into his work, the dichotomy between the familiar and the exploratory supporting Claypool’s outer space instrumentals and heavy tone-riffing with both subtle and not-so-subtle flourishes. The drummers of Primus’ history – Alexander and Mantia – aren’t chopped liver, by any means, both doing an admirable job of keeping the beat behind a madman known to switch gears in a heartbeat. In the end, however, the drummers in Primus were incidental: the band’s sound is defined by the stormy interplay of Claypool’s dominant bass and LeLonde’s surgical six-string work.

The Reverend's Bottom Line

They Can’t All Be Zingers explores the complete history of the band, including three tunes from their pre-Interscope 1990 debut, Frizzle Fry, three songs each from the essential first three major label discs, and a smattering from the band’s later efforts. The album also includes a previously unreleased extended mix of “Shake Hands With Beef” from The Brown Album and “Mary The Ice Cube,” rarities thrown in as a sop to get fans to pony up for the compilation. For those unfamiliar with the radical noise made by Primus, They Can’t All Be Zingers is the only logical introduction; after you get a taste of this stanky cheese, you might be hungry for more... (Interscope Records, released October 17, 2006)

Buy the CD from Amazon.com: Primus' They Can't All Be Zingers

Review originally published by Alt.Culture.Guide™ music zine, 2006

Archive Review: Roky Erickson's I Have Always Been Here Before (2005)

Any rock snob or music historian worth his or her credentials knows the story of Roky Erickson by heart. Naïve young musician flirts with the big time, gets hassled by intolerant local law enforcement, chooses a mental hospital over serious jail time after getting jammed up on a marijuana possession charge (due to the draconian anti-drug laws in Texas) and pays for this choice for the rest of his life.

Unlike other madmen and visionaries of rock 'n' roll, however, Erickson's mental instability is less organic than manufactured, any neurotic tendencies he may have possessed before he entered the asylum blown up by the dubious treatments of electro-shock and psychoactive drugs. After his release from the institution in 1973, shady operators, fly-by-night labels, rip-off artists and bad luck plagued Erickson's subsequent musical career – which, incidentally, has nevertheless lasted longer than most of his contemporaries from the '60s.

Roky Erickson's I Have Always Been Here Before

Lost among the whispers, rumors and half-truths of Erickson's legend is the fact that the artist has made some pretty damn good music over the past forty years. Sure, for a long time any charlatan with a microphone and an eight-track tape deck would closet Roky in a studio, on a stage, or even in a hotel room to record his songs (recordings for which the artist never earned a dime). Prolific to a fault, Erickson would crank out the songs, enigmatic rockers and sad-eyed folk tunes that spoke of two-headed dogs, demons and outer space, the chatter in his mind taking form as interesting and often mesmerizing lyrical poetry.

Unfortunately, for the uninitiated wanting to delve into the Erickson catalog, the choices have been confusing and often times disappointing, albums marred by poor sound quality, duplicate performances and dubious stewardship. Music lovers who want a taste of Erickson's talent can rejoice in the Shout Factory's excellent two-disc set I Have Always Been Here Before.

Starry Eyes

Featuring forty-three songs culled from four decades of the artist's lengthy career, this is the only Roky Erickson anthology the average music lover will ever need. Assembled with loving care by long-time Erickson supporter Bill Bentley (who also produced the wonderful 1990 Roky tribute album Where The Pyramid Meets The Eye), I Have Always Been Here Before displays the many faces of this amazing artist in roughly chronological order.

The first disc kicks off with the rare Spades B-side "We Sell Soul" featuring Roky's piercing tenor vocals, jumping quickly into the psych-garage classic "You're Gonna Miss Me." The disc features a total of ten 13th Floor Elevators songs, culled from the band's first two albums, 1966's The Psychedelic Sounds Of and 1967's Easter Everywhere. After his release from the mental hospital in 1973, Erickson's friends helped him form his first backing band, Bleib Alien. This band recorded a handful of tracks in an Austin, Texas studio with Doug Sahm, including "Red Temple Prayer (Two-Headed Dog)" and "Starry Eyes," both of which would be revisited by Erickson frequently through the years to follow. Part of the Erickson mythology is that he sold the rights to a handful of songs, including the hauntingly beautiful "Starry Eyes," to Sahm for a slushie.

Career-spanning Anthology

From 1975 until the late '90s, trying to nail down Erickson's extensive catalog is like tiptoeing through a minefield while on crutches. One of the most productive eras of Erickson's career was with his late '70s band the Aliens, which recorded fifteen strong tracks in Austin with Creedence Clearwater Revival bassist Stu Cook (who was playing with Sahm at the time). These tracks -- psych-rockers and proto-metal romps with vivid lyrical imagery like "Creature With The Atom Brain" and "It's A Cold Night For Alligators" -- would travel the globe. The fifteen songs would be packaged and repackaged a maddening number of times by various labels, although they were originally released by CBS on two albums in 1980/81. Around two-thirds of the Stu Cook recordings are presented on I Have Always Been Here Before.

The second disc concludes the Cook session material, includes an assortment of Erickson's imaginative work with Evil Hook Wildlife E.T., songs from the All That May Do My Rhyme album recorded with Paul Leary of the Butthole Surfers in the mid '90s and various solo acoustic recordings. Erickson's impressive songwriting skills are reflected in touching ballads like "You Don't Love Me Yet," "For You I'd Do Anything" and "Clear Night For Love" that display Erickson's tortured vocals and lonely, lovelorn lyricism. The second disc also includes a fair number of rockers, often-covered tunes like the rockabilly-tinged "Don't Slander Me" and "The Beast," a bluesy work-out with fractured vocals and taut lead guitar work.

The Reverend's Bottom Line

With a documentary film on the horizon, this exhaustive two-disc anthology and the recent reissuing of Restless/Pink Dust label collections like Don't Slander Me and Gremlins Have Pictures, a full-fledged Roky Erickson revival seems right around the corner. It's about time, too, to take a look behind the veil of mystery to discover the too-often overlooked talents of one of rock & roll's truly misunderstood artists. I Have Always Been Here Before is an essential collection for anybody interested in discovering the heart and soul of rock 'n' roll as embodied by Roky Erickson. (Shout! Factory, released March 1, 2005)

Buy the CD from Amazon.com: Roky Erickson's I Have Always Been Here Before

(Royalties from I Have Always Been Here Before benefit the Roky Erickson Trust Fund, formed by Roky's brother and others to help provide the artist with food, shelter and medical care.)

Review originally published by Alt.Culture.Guide™ music zine, 2005