As the story goes, in late 2010 Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys traveled down to Louisiana to visit New Orleans musical legend Mac “Dr. John” Rebennack. A longtime fan of Rebennack’s late 1960s/early 1970s recordings as “Dr. John the Night Tripper,” the now-classic albums fusing psychedelic rock with New Orleans funk, Mardis Gras R&B, and reckless swamp-blues, Auerbach promised Rebennack that if he allowed him to work with him in the studio, he’d help him make “the best record you’ve made in a long time.”
Rebennack’s children had told him nothing but good things about the Black Keys, so the pair decided to try out the new musical marriage at the 2011 Bonnaroo Festival, the resulting jam session leading to the recording of Locked Down, the follow-up to Dr. John’s acclaimed 2010 album Tribal, in Auerbach’s Nashville studio with a group of musicians hand-picked by the producer. The results seem to have exceeded both men’s expectations, described in the album’s liner notes as “a return to the heady sound that defined the legend of Dr. John and a new chapter in a long book.”
Dr. John’s Locked Down
It doesn’t take song for Locked Down to display an innate musical chemistry between the musical legend and his (relatively) young acolyte. The album-opening title track is a sordid tale of life on the wrong side of the law; Dr. John’s soulful, patois-heavy vocals and street-smart, slang-ridden lyrical imagery matched by a deep groove fueled by chiming keyboards and energetic percussion. By the time that Auerbach’s guitar solo jumps out at you, it cuts like a knife, leaving as unexpectedly as it arrived. The New Orleans pedigree of “Revolution” shines so brightly that you’ll need sunglasses, bleating horns striving with a dangerous, syncopated rhythm, the singer’s shotgun vocals slung low but effective in the mix.
Opening (and closing) with a found snippet of sound from an old movie or TV show, “Big Shot” perfectly captures Dr. John’s infamous “Night Tripper” persona. Above a languid groove, the singer spits out lyrics like a conman’s tease, the song itself evincing a brassy New Orleans vibe that swings and sways like an out-of-control metronome. By contrast, “Ice Age” masks it social commentary with a mix of Cajun-styled swamp-blues and old school R&B, Dr. John’s stream-of-consciousness lyrical rant be-bopping and scatting machinegun-like above a rich, blustery soundtrack complete with swaggering percussion and scraps of guitar and keys.
Kingdom of Izzness
The up-tempo “Getaway” continues in a similar jump-n-jive vein, the song’s brief, albeit image-filled lyrics almost overwhelmed by a wall of instrumentation and backing harmonies that send wave upon wave of sound up against Dr. John’s vocals. Auerbach’s fierce guitar solo almost three-and-a-half minutes into the song delivers a scorched-earth finish to the sentiment, firmly punctuating the song’s tale of troubled lovers. No less confusing is “Kingdom of Izzness,” some sort of deep, back-alley wisdom going on in the seemingly random words and thoughts that Dr. John strings together here, the lyrics threaded in between the song’s rich mix of blues, soul, and gospel music.
The spry “Eleggua” is funky lil’ romp across the New Orleans musical landscape, the song’s instrumentation bringing to mind the Meters, fife-and-drum music, barrelhouse blues, and much, much more with Dr. John’s rich vocals hidden beneath the cacophonic soundtrack. Locked Down closes with “God’s Sure Good,” an old-fashioned, houserockin’ rhythm and blues song with a great deal of soul rising up above the wiry fretwork, keyboard riffs, gospel-tinged harmony vocals, and fluid rhythms. Dr. John’s vocals are inspired and energetic, tipping towards a sort of spiritual joy as his keyboards reach a crescendo of life and light above this mere mortal plain.
The Reverend’s Bottom Line
Auerbach has delivered everything he promised Rebennack, producing in Locked Down an album that perfectly captures the spirit and energy of the singer’s earlier work under the Night Tripper persona while providing Dr. John’s sound with a raw, raucous contemporary edge. Auerbach’s production of Locked Down is nuanced and light-handed; never do you get the sense that the guitarist is trying to push the singer out of his own album like some producers will do.
Instead, Auerbach provides Dr. John with the support and motivation to deliver one of the best albums of his lengthy career. While Rebennack’s efforts these past few years have certainly provided several fine showcases for the artist’s immense talents and songwriting skills, with a little help from a sympathetic producer and instrumentalist like Auerbach, Dr. John has delivered what will be considered a late-career tour-de-force in Locked Down. (Nonesuch Records, released April 3, 2012)
Lone Justice was a band at least ten years, maybe even a decade and a half ahead of their time. They were one of the first outfits to take their cue from Gram Parsons and the Byrds, successfully mixing traditional country leanings with roots-rock and punkish energy, pre-dating such “cowpunk” bands as Rank & File or Jason & the Scorchers by a year or two. Although Lone Justice was comprised of talented musicians with a bit of experience under their belt, it was the golden angelic tones of vocalist Maria McKee that made this material special. With one foot in her country and gospel upbringing and the other in the early-‘80s L.A. punk rock scene, McKee was often compared to a young Dolly Parton. Like Parton, McKee lent a presence to a song that was undeniably distinctive and unique.
The band’s first two albums were completely unexpected affairs, offering songs with complex themes of sin and salvation, love and lust that featured McKee’s incredible voice and were propelled by a band that was as equally endeared of the Sex Pistols as they were of Hank Williams. This World Is Not My Home is the first proper compilation to take a long hard look at those first two Lone Justice albums, paying the band their due respect. Offering up the most magical moments from those discs alongside a number of unreleased and obscure import tracks and a handful of live performances, This World Is Not My Home is as good a snapshot of Lone Justice as you’re likely to find.
All of the best songs from the band’s mid-1980s college-radio days are here, great big slabs of country soul like “East of Eden,” Tom Petty’s “Ways To Be Wicked,” and “I Found Love.” Some of the unreleased early tracks are real gems that should have seen the light of day before now. Among these are McKee’s duet with guitarist Ryan Hedgecock on “The Train,” the spirited “Drugstore Cowboy,” and the gospel-tinged title track. The live tracks are a bit of a disappointment, however. Lou Reed’s “Sweet Jane” is steady enough until guest star Bono from U2 sticks his smarmy nose into the song. The other live cuts are from a later, inferior incarnation of Lone Justice without guitarist Hedgecock or bassist Marvin Etzioni and just aren’t up to the band’s earlier standards.
As with all good things, the members of Lone Justice eventually went their separate ways, with McKee moving on to a critically-acclaimed though short-lived solo career. The band never broke out of the alternative, college-radio market, however, standing alongside such equally esteemed but commercially bankrupt bands as the Long Ryders, the Del Lords, Green On Red and the True Believers as the lost children of Gram Parsons. This World Is Not My Home is a good place to acquaint (or reacquaint) yourself with Lone Justice, however, a fine band that would have fit in right at home with today’s alt-country scene. (Geffen Records, released 1999)
When I lived in the Detroit area back in the late 1970s I used to hang out at
a place not far from the house called Dearborn Music. A third-generation
record store that had been passed down in a straight line from grandfather to
grandson, the store had never sent back any records that it ever bought during
its thirty-year history. This practice would make today’s retailers, with
their sorry philosophy of limited selection and “just-in-time” inventory,
wince and cry. But the result was a wonderfully dusty, crowded store that
offered everything from still-sealed Big Band albums to ‘60s psychedelica and
punk rock imports. Knowing my penchant for loud, high-octane Detroit rock ‘n’
roll, the grandson called me over one day and laid a 7” 45 rpm copy of “City
Slang” on me. It was the first release from Sonic’s Rendezvous Band, a
local “supergroup” made up of members from the MC5, the Stooges, and SRC and
named after guitarist extraordinaire Fred “Sonic” Smith.
Little
did I know at the time that this single would also be the last official
release from the band. Although a couple of live bootleg tapes have circulated
among the faithful during the past couple of decades, those of us thirsting
for more had to be satisfied with our rare copies of “City Slang.” Imagine my
surprise then when I opened up a copy of Mohair Sweets zine and saw an article
on Sonic’s Rendezvous Band and a listing of a web site. Although Smith died a
few years back, his wife – the talented Patti Smith – asked longtime associate
Freddie Brooks to look through the band’s collection of tapes with an eye
towards releasing some of the material. The first result of this jump into the
vaults is the “Sweet Nothing” CD, which captures the band alive and
scorching during a 1978 performance. Needless to say, I sent in my hard-earned
coin as soon as possible and grabbed a copy of this gem before it disappeared
on me.
Even though it had been twenty years since I saw the
band play live in Ann Arbor, “Sweet Nothing” immediately brought up
fond memories of that night. A solid hour-long set of raging “Motor City” rock
‘n’ roll, “Sweet Nothing” does not disappoint, even given my high
expectations. Sonic’s Rendezvous Band were a monster of a live band, with
Smith and fellow guitarist Scott Morgan dueling like sword fighters in a death
match, trading deadly, razor-sharp riffs with abandon. Ex-Stooges’ drummer
Scott “Rock Action” Asheton kept up a steady, often-times manic beat while
bass maestro Gary Rasmussen laid down a rhythmic groove that propelled the
music along like nitro in your gas tank.
With a sound that’s loud,
meaty, and muscular, booming out of your speakers like a metal stamping
machine in a Detroit auto plant, the songs on “Sweet Nothing” are almost
immaterial, given the heaviness of the performances. These are good, not great
songs, mostly originals by Smith or Morgan. Some are standard, guitar-driven
love songs, like the mesmerizing “Hearts,” the engaging title track or the
band’s drunkenly passionate cover of the Stones’ “Heart of Stone.” Other songs
– like “Asteroid B-612,” for instance – are more esoteric, blazing a musical
trail across territory that’s more akin to Sun Ra than to anything rock ‘n
roll was spitting out in the late ‘70s.
That legendary single,
“City Slang,” is presented here as an eight-minute, album-closing rave-up
that’s guaranteed to stand you on your head, leaving you with the certain
knowledge that Sonic’s Rendezvous Band were a great band. It’s a damn shame
that they never became huge stars, but then again, their cult status befits
them. After all, like Neil Young once said, “it’s better to burn out than to
fade away.” For a too-few brief years, Sonic Rendezvous were the underground
rock scene’s brightest burning stars, blazing their way through hundreds of
live shows. Lucky for us that somebody captured one of these special nights on
“Sweet Nothing”. (Mack Aborn Rhythmic Arts, released 1999)
The epitome of the modern heavy metal guitarist, few log-splitters play with the speed, dexterity, and complexity of Zakk Wylde. Chosen in 1987 by rock legend Ozzy Osbourne to handle his six-string chores, the 19-year-old Wylde followed in the footsteps of acclaimed players like Randy Rhoads and Jake E. Lee, earning a reputation as a skilled instrumentalist while touring and recording with Ozzy. Wylde formed Black Label Society in 1998, the band conceived of as both a collaborative effort of like-minded hard rockers and as a vehicle for Wylde’s artistic vision.
As a showcase for his immense talents, Black Label Society has excelled beyond even the chainsaw guitarist’s expectations. Each album has shown Wylde evolving and growing as a musician; with Hangover Music, Vol. VI, he has taken a major step in defining himself as a legacy artist in the game for the long haul. Whereas previous BLS albums like Blessed Hellride successfully blended heavy metal chops with Southern rock aesthetics, Hangover Music takes the hybrid a step further, revealing more of Wylde’s personality and relying less on his trademark six-string pyrotechnics and more on solid musicianship and songwriting.
Backed by former Crowbar drummer Craig Numenmacher and a revolving cast of musicians including former White Lion bassist James LoMenzo, Wylde covers a lot of stylistic ground on Hangover Music, Vol. VI. “Crazy Or High” is reminiscent of late ‘70s Black Sabbath and “Queen of Sorrow” is a guitar-driven dirge that features Wylde’s tortured vocals and monster riffs. “Steppin Stone” is an atmospheric rocker long on grandeur while “Layne” is a somber tribute to the late Alice In Chains frontman Layne Staley.
Adding piano to his instrumental palette, Wylde brings a previously unrevealed artistry to the acoustic-based “Woman Don’t Cry” or his inspired cover of the classic rock gem “Whiter Shade of Pale.” While there is nothing to alienate long-time fans here – there is enough string shredding to satisfy even the most die-hard headbanger – Wylde is quietly breaking new ground and taking his music to heights that few critics ever suspected he’d reach. (Spitfire Records, released 2004)
Review originally published by the Community Free Press, 2004
In 1959, blues legend John Lee Hooker was at a crossroads in his career.
The music industry was evolving from a singles-oriented medium towards
full-length albums and “The Hook” was in danger of being left behind. Hooker had
enjoyed a string of seven R&B charting singles circa 1948-1958, including
five Top 10 hits like “Boogie Chillen’,” “Crawlin’ King Snake,” “Huckle Up
Baby,” and “I’m In the Mood” (which also rose to #30 on the mainstream singles
chart). These songs wrote the lexicon of the artist’s rhythm & blues
saturated boogie-blues sound that he would pursue for the next 40+ years.
Hooker’s
first bona fide album release was 1959’s I’m John Lee Hooker. Released by
Vee Jay Records, it was a collection of seven previously-released singles and
five newly-recorded tracks (a parallel album release, Chess Records’
House of the Blues, was comprised entirely of singles). Around this time,
Riverside Records owner Bill Grauer traveled to Detroit with the idea of
recording a new John Lee Hooker album consisting entirely of Leadbelly songs.
Riverside was essentially a jazz label, so recording a blues artist of Hooker’s
stature was an out-of-the-box notion, especially once Grauer discovered that
John Lee had no idea of who Huddie Leadbetter was, and was unfamiliar with his
music. Grauer quickly regrouped and produced sessions with Hooker and his
acoustic guitar at the familiar United Sound Systems in Detroit where the artist
had recorded several previous hits.
The core of Grauer’s brainstorm
had merit, as acoustic-based “folk blues” artists were beginning to rise in
popularity at the time. Long lost Mississippi Delta and Hill Country bluesmen
like Fred McDowell, Skip James, and John Hurt were being “rediscovered” and
shoved into studios to re-record their “old songs” before hitting the coffee
house circuit and folk festival trail. Even Chicago blues stalwarts like Muddy
Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, and Sonny Boy Williamson were re-branded as authentic,
acoustic-toting “folk blues” singers. Grauer left Detroit with enough songs on
tape for two albums, the first of which was released in 1959 as
The Country Blues of John Lee Hooker (quickly re-titled as
The Folk Blues of John Lee Hooker). The second album arising from those
Detroit sessions was Burning Hell, which wasn’t released until 1964 and
then only in the U.K. by Fontana; Burning Hell wasn’t reissued on CD
until 1994, and it’s been long out-of-print in any format.
John Lee Hooker’s Burning Hell
The first release from the newly-resurrected Bluesville Records label
(part of the Craft Recordings family), Hooker’s Burning Hell is an
often-overlooked entry in his massive and decades-spanning catalog of music.
With a tracklist largely comprised of roughly half Hooker originals and the
other half choice covers, Burning Hell showcases Hooker’s deep, fluid
vocals laid across several styles of acoustic blues. The title track is a
spry, Piedmont-styled morality tale with scrappy guitarplay and strong vocals
but “Graveyard Blues” is a dour, Delta-styled dirge with intricate guitar
patterns and Hooker’s sonorous, almost droning vocals. Hooker isn’t the
deftest of string-pullers, especially when compared to contemporaries like
Lonnie Johnson, Eddie Kirkland, or even his cousin Earl Hooker, but his
performance here is simply mesmerizing.
Hooker’s cover of the Big
Joe Williams’ classic “Baby Please Don’t Go” is provided an
emotionally-charged performance that relies on the singer’s pleading vocals
more than on his boogie-stomp fretwork. Ditto for his reading of Howlin’
Wolf’s “Smokestack Lightning” which substitutes soaring, almost falsetto
vocals (well, as high as Hooker could go…) for The Wolf’s primal howl;
combined with Hooker’s circular guitar strum, he creates a sort of melodic and
enchanting tone poem. “You Live Your Life and I’ll Live Mine” is based on a
standard blues scale with a few instrumental flourishes here and there as
Hooker sings of his romantic woes while “Jackson, Tennessee” is afforded an
up-tempo, loping guitar riff atop of which Hooker pounds out his Delta-dirty
vox. Hooker’s jaunty “How Can You Do It?” is almost pop-styled with
radio-friendly, intelligible vocals, an upbeat and melodic guitar line, and an
undeniably sunny performance.
John Lee Hooker photo by Lawrence Shustak, courtesy of Riverside
Records Archives
On the other hand, the odd bodkins Lightnin’ Hopkins cover “I Don’t Want
No Woman If Her Hair Ain’t No Longer Than Mine” is an awkward talking blues with
meandering guitar licks and disjointed vocals. Hooker’s “Blues For My Baby”
pursues a similar theme, but with better results, his powerful vocal performance
matched by bog-standard boogie-blues git licks with the occasional (and
delightful) instrumental detour. Bluesmen and rock stars alike have covered Big
Bill Broonzy’s “Key To the Highway” for decades but, for my money, Hooker’s
reading is one of the best, with yearning vocals and a jazzy acoustic
soundtrack. His reading of the Willie Dixon-penned “Natchez Fire” provides the
song – originally recorded as “Natchez Burnin’” in 1956 by Howlin’ Wolf – with
an eerie chill as his haunting vocals and arcane guitar playing mourn the
true-life tragedy that took 200 lives at the Rhythm Club in Natchez, Mississippi
in 1940.
The Reverend’s Bottom Line
Looking at its history and provenance, Burning Hell is an odd
choice to kick off the new era of Bluesville Records. Perhaps it was chosen
because Hooker is a well-known artist among casual blues fans, as
Burning Hell was never released previously by Bluesville. When
Riverside impresario Bill Grauer passed away in 1963, the label’s catalog
passed through the hands of ABC Records before being bought by Fantasy Records
in 1972. Fantasy, in turn, was bought by Concord Records in 2004, forming the
Concord Music Group. Bluesville Records was a subsidiary of the esteemed
Prestige Records jazz label that also became part of CMG via its purchase by
Fantasy in 1971…and that’s how you get a 1964 John Lee Hooker album on
Riverside Records seeing reissue by Bluesville Records some 60 years later. *
There were a number of other choices for an inaugural Bluesville
reissue, including long-forgotten but worthy flapjacks from Lightnin’ Hopkins,
Lonnie Johnson, Scrapper Blackwell, Sonny Terry, Snooks Eaglin, and Pink
Anderson (who inspired Pink Floyd’s band name). The minor cavil of its dubious
status in the Bluesville label universe aside, this version of
Burning Hell is nevertheless a godsend for hardcore blues fans and
collectors. The packaging is hearty, with a thick cardboard sleeve, glossy
laminated cover, and a padded, archival quality inner sleeve to cradle the
vinyl. Little has been changed with the graphics, which are perfectly garish
for the era, and the back cover includes Alan Bates’ insightful original liner
notes. Cut from the original master tapes and pressed on black 180-gram vinyl,
this Bluesville edition is the first time that this long-lost album has been
released domestically on record.
In the end, however, it’s the
music that counts, and Burning Hell showcases a different side of John
Lee, his flirtation with “folk blues” opening new doors for his career as he
entered the decade of the 1960s as a grizzled veteran. No less than six
“folk”-oriented Hooker albums would be released just prior to, and shortly
after Burning Hell for labels like Vee-Jay, Crown Records, Chess, and
Kent Records, many of them constructed from vintage 1950s-era recordings.
Hooker hit the summer folk festival circuit with aplomb, which helped carry
him through the difficult ABC Records years to The Healer and his
successful final chapter. With its raw vocals and wiry fretwork,
Burning Hell isn’t the crown jewel of the massive John Lee Hooker
catalog, but it represents a significant turning point in his career and is
well worth rediscovery by both fans of the artist and blues fanatics alike.
(Bluesville Records, reissued June 7th, 2024)
* For more on the Bluesville Records story, check out my interview with producer Scott Billington on the Rock and Roll Globe website!
Many thanx to Charles Shaar Murray, and his wonderful John Lee Hooker
biography Boogie Man, for info on the artist’s Riverside
recordings...
The Roots are, perhaps, the most underrated players in hip-hop. They may not raise a ruckus like the Wu-Tang Clan, carry a rep like the Ruff Ryders family, or even belong to an impressive Platinum™ album posse like the rappers on Master P’s roster. The Roots nonetheless continue to crank out some of the most interesting and intelligent music you’ll find on the hip-hop scene. Because their songs are based as much on African-American musical tradition as they are on rap’s verbal traditions, the Roots are also one of the few hip-hop crews that can pull off a live show with some energy and dignity.
A tight performance outfit with over a decade under their belts, the Roots hit the stage some 250 nights a year – a pace that would make many “touring” rock bands blush with embarrassment. As such, The Roots Come Alive, compiled from the performances during the past year, showcases the band’s strengths and delivers an accurate documentation of the Roots’ live persona. With various guest vocalists (including the incredible Jill Scott) rapping over a musical undercurrent that draws its influences from the worlds of jazz, soul, World music, and old-school rap, the Roots create a truly mesmerizing vocal and musical rhythm. Flying under the listener’s radar to stealthily deliver the band’s lyrical message, if you’d like to hear how good hip-hop can be, check out The Roots Come Alive. (MCA/Universal)
Review originally published by Alt.Culture.Guide™ zine, 1999
Rock ‘n’ roll’s greatest court jester, “Weird Al” Yankovic follows a pretty successful formula with every album. Toss on a couple of decent song parodies of recent chart toppers, mix in a handful of tongue-in-cheek originals, and complete with a polka-flavored “Stars on 45” styled medley of popular songs. Sure, it’s rote by now, but the key to Yankovic’s genius is in his dead-on, bull’s-eye pop culture parodies that often skewer the ridiculous cult of personality with which we grace musicians, actors, and athletes. Running With Scissors follows Al’s formula to a “T” and although, like most of Yankovic’s albums, there is quite a bit of thrown away material, there are also several very smart and entertaining cuts here as well. The album opening “The Saga Begins” tackles the Star Wars phenomena with a hilarious retelling of The Phantom Menace tale set to the music and rhythm of Don McLean’s classic “American Pie.” Especially clever is the chorus, “Oh my my, this Anakin guy/may be Vader someday later/now he’s just a small fry/he left his home and kissed his mommy good-bye/saying ‘soon I’m gonna be a Jedi’.” The humor here is sly as a fox and sharp as a paper cut.
Other parodies include “Pretty Fly For A Rabbi,” a Yiddish send-up of the Offspring’s “Pretty Fly (For A White Guy)” and the ultra-cool “It’s All About the Pentiums,” taking on Puff Daddy’s “It’s All About the Benjamins” with heavy metal, high-tech aplomb. “Jerry Springer,” a wordy rendering of Barenaked Ladies’ “One Week” is an engaging look at the addictive nature of tabloid television while originals like the wickedly cruel “Your Horoscope For Today” and the surrealistic story-song “Albuquerque” are hip, funny musical comedies. “Weird Al” is a true treasure, and like I’ve said before, we may take him for granted now but one day we’ll miss him when he’s gone. Nobody else has done more to deflate the egos and absurdity in pop culture, and Running With Scissors is another essential part of Yankovic’s legacy. (Volcano Entertainment)
Review originally published by Alt.Culture.Guide™ zine, 2000
Ah, to remember those hallowed days of ‘80s “college rock,” an ephemeral genre
and overall catchphrase for bands too oblique and oblong to fit into the era’s
increasingly straitjacketed commercial FM radio format. The domain of university
radio stations that were originally launched in the 1970s as outlets for
progressive rock records played by dope-smoking student DJs, college radio took
on a new mission in the ‘80s, providing a safe haven for odd, unusual, and
ornery music that was too unpredictable and, well, too chaotic overall for
corporate radio, all of which was categorized as “college rock.”
As
Noel Murray wrote for The A.V. Club webzine, “though hardly uniform in
style, there were commonalities between the college-rock acts. Not really punk,
hard rock, or art rock, most of these groups played conventionally hooky songs,
heavy on jangle and twang, with lyrics steeped in poetic Americana.” In the wake
of America’s overall indifference to the bloato-hype of “new wave” and the sort
of neutered, safe-as-milk punk rock then being shilled by the major label
machine, Murray insightfully states that “the edgier and artier acts found a
home on college radio, where screaming noise, retro country, avant-garde
electronics, and power pop could coexist, linked by cheap-sounding singles
recorded by local bands, often peopled by college-radio DJs and record-store
clerks.”
College rock was a genre-that-wasn’t-a-genre unique to the
‘80s, later to be subsumed into the alternative rock tsunami of the 1990s, which
itself was heavily influenced by many of the bands included on this list.
College radio went further underground in the ‘90s as many onetime college rock
stalwarts found unexpected (and often unwelcome) mainstream success. College
radio itself barely exists today as many universities have divested themselves
of their broadcast licenses for much-desired cold cash. Once upon a time,
however, the “left of the dial” provided adventuresome listeners a respite from
the anodyne hard rock pushed by homogenized, consultant-driven commercial FM
radio playlists.
To follow is the Reverend’s “Top 10” list of
college rock artists that helped blaze a trail during the uncertain ‘80s, my
favorites among the many records I heard spun by DJs on Vanderbilt’s WRVU-FM in
Nashville over the years. Your list may differ from mine, and you’re welcome to
hype your personal faves in the comments section.
10. They Might Be Giants The “Two Johns” – John Flansburgh and
John Linnell – were the unlikeliest of ‘80s-era rock heroes. They weren’t
black-clad, axe-toting, semi-Goth fops moping around and moaning about how bad
their lives were, nor were they tech-obsessed keyboard warriors with wobbly
stacks of synthesizers, moaning about how bad their lives were. They Might Be
Giants was a jaunty acoustic duo with absurdist, often surreal songs which
displayed the John’s quirky sense of humor and playful, imaginative lyrics.
Signed to the regional independent Bar/None Records label, their
critically-acclaimed 1986 self-titled debut album became a mainstay of college
radio with tracks like “Don’t Let’s Start,” “Put Your Hand Inside the Puppet
Head,” and “(She Was A) Hotel Detective” becoming staples of FM alt-rock
airplay.
The Giants’ 1988 follow-up album, Lincoln, was
even more successful, fueled by the infectious single “Ana Ng,” which brought
them to the attention of Elektra Records. Called up to the major leagues, the
Johns were forced to recruit a full band to tour with, but they recorded their
third LP and 1990 label debut, Flood, largely by themselves with a slew
of guest musicians. Provided a fair amount of creative freedom,
Flood eventually achieved Platinum™ sales status on the back of melodic
earworms like “Birdhouse In Your Soul” and “Istanbul (Not Constantinople).”
The band rode out the ‘90s with a string of moderately-successful major label
efforts, eventually branching into movies and TV, and even kid’s music, and
the Two Johns are still banging away at it today, proof that a band can retain
both its innocence and its integrity. Recommended Album:They Might Be Giants
They Might Be Giants photo courtesy Elektra Records
9. XTC College rock wasn’t notably biased in favor of American
artists who, it could be argued, experienced greater corporate marginalization
in the ‘80s. Anglophiles made up a large segment of college radio listeners
and import LPs from the U.K. and elsewhere were easy to get in larger cities
(especially those with universities). As such, artists like the Smiths,
Depeche Mode, Robyn Hitchcock, and the Cure found loyal audiences on the left
of the dial. XTC is a perfect example of a British band whose stateside
following was 90% built by college radio (MTV later adding the other 10%).
Formed in 1972 in Swindon, England and fronted by singer/guitarist Andy
Partridge and singer/bassist Colin Moulding with keyboardist Barry Andrews and
drummer Terry Chambers, the band’s unique blending of New York Dolls-inspired
punk, jagged guitar rock, and skewed Britpop had “cult rockers” written all
over it. XTC transcended punk and new wave with the eccentric musings of
White Music, their 1978 Virgin Records debut album.
British
record buyers nevertheless pushed the album into the U.K. Top 40, and it was
quickly followed up later that year by Go 2, which rose even higher to
#21 on the charts. Andrews left afterwards, replaced by a second guitarist in
Dave Gregory. The band found a creative balance between eccentricity and
accessibility with 1979’s Drums and Wires, scoring a Top 20 hit single
in “Making Plans For Nigel.” The album was also XTC’s first to inch onto the
U.S. charts, albeit at #174, but with the new decade came Black Sea,
which became the band’s highest-charting U.S. release. Released in 1982 and
quickly finding a home on college radio stateside,
English Settlement is arguably XTC’s masterpiece, singles like “Senses
Working Overtime” and “Ball and Chain” threatening to take the band
mainstream. Subsequent albums like 1983’s Mummer and 1986’s
Skylarking earned diminishing returns for the band, but 1989’s
psych-pop oriented Oranges & Lemons brought XTC a renewed
reputation with the hit single “Mayor of Simpleton.” By 1992, the members of
XTC had gone their separate ways, but despite the band’s relative obscurity in
America, they were major influences on ‘90s-era bands like Jellyfish and
Apples In Stereo. Recommended Album:English Settlement
XTC 1978, photo by Jean-Luc Ourlin, courtesy Wikipedia Commons
8. Love and Rockets Formed in 1985 from the ashes of Goth-rock
pioneers Bauhaus by that band’s Daniel Ash (vocals, guitar), David J (bass,
vocals), and Kevin Haskins (drums, synthesizers), Love and Rockets pursued
less morose music with a guitar-driven pop/rock sound that quickly resulted in
a cult of fans stateside and in their British homeland. Signed to the Beggar’s
Banquet label (which had previously released three Bauhaus LPs), the band
introduced themselves with a psych-drenched take on the Motown classic “Ball
of Confusion,” a non-album single which didn’t sell particularly well but
found a welcome home on college radio in the U.S. Their 1985 debut album,
Seventh Dream of Teenage Heaven, faltered commercially, but the
following year’s Express album yielded well-received singles with
“Kundalini Express,” “All In My Mind,” and “Yin and Yang (The Flowerpot
Man).”
Although 1988’s Earth, Sun, Moon represented a step
forward creatively, it performed weakly commercially save for the minor
college radio hit “No New Tale To Tell.” The band’s self-titled 1989 album
evinced a bolder AOR sound that resulted in a Top 10 U.S. hit with “So Alive,”
which pushed the album to Gold™ sales status. After a lengthy hiatus that saw
the band members pursue individual solo projects, Love and Rockets returned
with 1994’s Hot Trip To Heaven, a severe departure from their previous
sound that incorporated electronic and ambient sounds with psychedelic
elements which fell on deaf ears among their longtime fans. Dumped by Beggar’s
Banquet, the band recorded a 1996 album for Rick Rubin’s American Recordings
label, Sweet F.A. returning to a harder-rocking sound a day late and a
dollar short. A final album for the ill-fated Red Ant Records – 1998’s
Lift – returned the band to an electronica sound that resonated with
absolutely nobody. Red Ant’s subsequent bankruptcy, along with a
long-anticipated Bauhaus reunion tour, stamped ‘paid’ to Love and Rockets, but
at least the band delivered three enduring albums during the college rock era.
Recommended Album:Love and Rockets
Love and Rockets photo by Mitch Jenkins, courtesy Beggar’s Banquet
Records
7. The Pixies Suffice it to say that, with the 1988 release of
their debut album Surfer Rosa by the U.K. 4AD Records label, rock fans
had never heard anything like the Pixies. Formed a couple of years earlier in
Boston by singer/guitarist Black Francis (a/k/a ‘Frank Black’), guitarist Joey
Santiago, bassist Kim Deal, and drummer David Lovering, the Pixies were almost
too late for the college radio party, their brief (1988-91) four album heyday
straddling the college rock ‘80s and the alternative ‘90s and having an
immense influence on bands like Nirvana and Smashing Pumpkins. Produced by
underground wunderkind Steve Albini (R.I.P.), Surfer Rosa was
groundbreaking in its use of a “loud/quiet/loud” musical dynamic (later
utilized with some success by Nirvana), coupled with the band’s chaotic,
cacophonic punk-influenced sound, and Black’s eerie, odd, and often surreal
lyrics. Due to scattered distribution, Surfer Rosa was little heard in
the U.S. save for on college radio.
Doolittle, the Pixies’
sophomore album, offered more of the same, only with a bigger recording
budget, and the extra noise the additional cash could buy. Songs like
“Debaser,” “Here Comes Your Man,” and “Monkey Gone To Heaven” received heavy
college radio airplay, while a new distribution deal with Elektra Records put
the record in stores across the U.S. which, combined with constant touring by
the band, launched Doolittle to Platinum™ sales status. Not wanting to
mess with a good thing, the band recorded 1990’s Bossa Nova with
producer Gil Norton (who helmed Doolittle), but their sound was showing
signs of being watered-down for popular consumption. The Pixies’ swansong,
1991’s Trompe le Monde, displayed further creative exhaustion, and that
would be it for the band until their first reunion in 2004. Elektra reissued
Surfer Rosa in 1992, after the band was essentially kaput, extending
the Pixies’ notoriety well into the alt-rock era. Frank Black subsequently
pursued a solo career that is still thriving to this day alongside various
Pixies reunion tours, while Kim Deal made a name for herself in the ‘90s as
the creative force behind the Breeders. Recommended Album:Doolittle The Pixies photo courtesy 4AD Records
6. Camper Van Beethoven Formed in 1983 in Southern California, the
eccentric and visionary Camper Van Beethoven pursued a unique hybrid musical
that blended the sounds of punk, pop, folk, country, and folk music into a
heady sonic stew that often left their hardcore punk audiences gasping in
confused fury. Students at the University of California, Santa Cruz, the
line-up of singer/guitarist David Lowery, guitarist Chris Molla, bassist
Victor Krummenacher, multi-instrumentalist Jonathan Segel, and drummer Anthony
Guess recorded 1985’s odd yet entertaining
Telephone Free Landslide Victory. The album quickly earned the band
much coveted college radio airplay with “Take the Skinheads Bowling” and a
countrified cover of Black Flag’s “Wasted.” Camper Van Beethoven tread water
with their 1986 sophomore effort II & III, with Guess dropping out
and guitarist Greg Lisher coming on board. Guess was replaced by Chris
Pederson on drums.
With their best-known line-up in place, the band
broke through with its tongue-in-cheek self-titled 1986 album, which threw
caution to the wind with an inspired mash-up of punk rock, psychedelia,
Zep-styled bombast, and satirical lyrics on songs like “Joe Stalin’s Cadillac”
and a raucous cover of Pink Floyd’s “Interstellar Overdrive.” The album also
saw the beginning of the band’s association with avant-garde D.I.Y. guitarist
Eugene Chadbourne, which would result in two impressive collaboration LPs.
Camper Van Beethoven made the jump to Virgin Records for
Our Revolutionary Sweetheart (1987) and Key Lime Pie (1989),
both of which featured a more mainstream rock style. The band subsequently
broke up, with Lowery forming the modestly-successful ‘90s band Cracker and
the rest of the guys pursuing their musical side project, Monks of Doom.
Camper Van Beethoven reunited in 1999 and released several albums through
2014, but the college rock era was long over and only hardcore fans noticed.
Recommended Album:Camper Van Beethoven
Camper Van Beethoven photo courtesy Virgin Records
5. Talking Heads Forming in 1975 in New York City and mainstays of
the decade’s CBGB scene, Talking Heads were never really a punk band, although
their unique sound and uncompromising attitude certainly appealed to the more
free-thinking punk-rock fanatic. The same aspects of the band that made them
outliers on a CBGB stage that included such diverse artists as Blondie, The
Ramones, Television, and Patti Smith also positioned them for college rock
stardom in spite of their success as a Top 30 charting band with albums like
More Songs About Buildings and Food and Fear of Music.
Singer/guitarist/keyboardist David Byrne, guitarist Jerry Harrison, bassist
Tina Weymouth, and drummer Chris Frantz were musically adventuresome, the
band’s wandering muse leading them down some seldom-travelled creative
pathways that paid off in cold, hard cash. Talking Heads burst out of the CBGB
ghetto and arrived to the 1980s, bag of tricks in hand, ready and willing to
infect college radio with their peculiar vision and talented musicianship.
They became darlings of the fledgling MTV network, mostly due to
imaginative music videos and Byrne’s exaggerated on-screen personality, but it
was their Brian Eno-produced 1980 album Remain In Light, which
incorporated Afrobeat rhythms inspired by Nigerian musical legend Fela Kuti
into a sonic experiment with funky grooves and an alt-rock soundtrack, that
earned the band their first Gold™ Record on the back of the classic single
“Once In A Lifetime.” Their 1983 album Speaking In Tongues transcended
the band’s long-standing college rock popularity to cement their mainstream
rock status with the Top 10 hit single “Burning Down the House,” which drove
the album to Platinum™ sales status. Their college rock popularity suffered
little from hit albums like 1985’s Little Creatures or 1986’s
True Stories, both of which featured a poppier “new wave” sound but,
after better than a decade in the trenches, 1988’s back-to-Afrobeat collection
Naked sounded weak by comparison to their earlier works and the band
went on a hiatus that continues, more or less, to this day.
Recommended Album:Fear of Music
Talking Heads 1980, photo uncredited, courtesy Sire Records
4. Hüsker Dü Originally formed in St. Paul, Minnesota in 1979 as
‘Buddy and the Returnables’ and featuring singer/guitarist Bob Mould, bassist
Greg Norton, keyboardist Charlie Pine, and drummer Grant Hart, the core trio
soon dropped Pine, took on a new name, and plowed ahead with a fast ‘n’ loud
guitar-rock sound that often teetered on the shiny, sharp edge of heavy metal.
Although Hüsker Dü’s initial guise was that of a hardcore punk band, the guys
left themselves a lot of creative space to grow into, and I’ve always
considered them the first true ‘post-punk’ band of note. After regional
tastemakers Twin/Tone Records rejected the band, they began releasing singles
on their own Reflex Records label, which led to the release of the live
Land Speed Record in 1982 and their 1983 studio debut,
Everything Falls Apart. Steady touring by the band made fans out of
scene heavies like Jello Biafra of the Dead Kennedys, D. Boon of the
Minutemen, and Black Flag’s Greg Ginn, who signed them to his SST Records
label.
Hüsker Dü’s tenure with SST was astonishingly brief (a
couple of years, really…) but fruitful, resulting in three bona fide classics
of punk/post-punk Sturm und Drang with the 1984 double-album
Zen Arcade and the following year’s New Day Rising and
Flip Your Wig. The band benefitted by having two accomplished singers
and songwriters in Mould and Hart, and they successfully kept their unique
musical formula intact after signing with Warner Bros. I defy any critic to
argue that the band’s major label output (1986’s Candy Apple Grey and
1987’s Warehouse: Songs and Stories) isn’t as fresh and exhilarating as
their SST albums. As music historian Michael Azerrad stated in his 2001 book
Our Band Could Be Your Life, Hüsker Dü provided a bridge between punk
1980s-era college rock, writing that the band “played a huge role in
convincing the underground that melody and punk rock weren’t antithetical.”
After the band had run its course, Mould went on to an acclaimed solo career
that included the alt-rock band Sugar while Hart released two albums with his
band Nova Mob as well as a number of solo records. Hüsker Dü was immensely
influential, with everybody from Nirvana, the Pixies, Green Day, and
Superchunk singing their praises. Recommended Album:New Day Rising
Hüsker Dü 1986, photograph by Daniel Corrigan, courtesy Warner Bros.
3. The Replacements Much like their crosstown contemporaries (and
sometimes rivals) Hüsker Dü, the Replacements started out as a punk rock
outfit and quickly veered towards an influential alt-rock sound that was as
equally influenced by bands like Big Star, the Rolling Stones, and the Beatles
as it was by the Ramones and Sex Pistols. Formed in Minneapolis, Minnesota in
1979, the early line-up of the Replacements featured singer/guitarist Paul
Westerberg, guitarist Bob Stinson, his brother Tommy Stinson on bass, and
drummer Chris Mars. They came to an agreement with the local indie Twin/Tone
Records to release their 1981 debut,
Sorry Ma, Forgot To Take Out the Trash, which received overwhelmingly
positive fanzine reviews. The eight-song Stink EP followed in 1982 but,
with Westerberg emerging as the band’s primary songwriter, 1983’s
Hootenanny album saw the band shrugging off the punk rock albatross and
incorporating elements of blues, country, and rockabilly into their ramshackle
sound. With their third album, Let It Be, the Replacements found its
voice as a band, Westerberg’s ‘coming-of-age’ lyrics evincing a humorous,
rather than dour vision of the transition into adulthood. Songs like “I Will
Dare,” “Unsatisfied,” “Androgynous,” and a cover of Kiss’s “Black Diamond”
became college radio staples.
The major labels soon came calling
and the Replacements signed with Sire Records. Former Ramones drummer Tommy
Erdelyi produced the classic 1985 album Tim, which yielded several
timeless tracks like “Kiss Me On the Bus,” “Bastards of Young,” and the band’s
ode to college radio, “Left of the Dial.” Three more major label releases
cemented the band’s status as college rock trailblazers:
Pleased To Meet Me (1987) was recorded at Ardent Studios in Memphis
with producer Jim Dickinson, and includes the band’s tribute song “Alex
Chilton” while 1989’s Don’t Tell A Soul was the first to feature
guitarist Slim Dunlap, who had replaced Bob Stinson.
All Shook Down (1990) was the band’s swansong, essentially a Westerberg
solo album, and afterwards the band went its separate ways. The Replacements
could have been bigger, commercially, save for their unpredictable live shows
– some nights they were the best rock ‘n’ roll outfit anywhere while other
nights they were falling down drunk and barely able to play. Ticket-buying
fans never knew which version of the Replacements that they’d get, but the
band was still highly influential, with disciples like the Goo Goo Dolls,
Beach Slang, and the Gaslight Anthem following in their wake.
Recommended Album:Let It Be
The Replacements 1984, photo by Laura Levine, courtesy of Twin/Tone
Records
2. The Smiths Along with RE.M. the Smiths were probably the most
influential of the college rock bands of the ‘80s, directly inspiring the
following decade’s “Britpop” movement and bands like Blur, Suede, Oasis, and
the Manic Street Preachers; alt-rockers like Belly and Throwing Muses; and
contemporary millennial bands like the Magnetic Fields, Arcade Fire, and the
Decemberists. Formed in 1982 in Manchester, England by vocalist Steven
Morrissey (i.e. ‘Morrissey’) and guitarist Johnny Marr, who shared a love of
the New York Dolls and Patti Smith, the band eventually evolved to its
best-known line-up with bassist Andy Rourke, and drummer Mike Joyce.
Signed to Rough Trade Records, the Smiths released their
self-titled debut album in 1984, hitting #2 on the U.K. albums charts and
hanging around for a grand 33 weeks. Sire Records picked up the band’s albums
for stateside distribution, which proved to be the Smiths’ entry to college
radio. Meat Is Murder, the band’s classic 1985 album, hit #1 on the
British chart and they added keyboards to their sound for 1986’s
The Queen Is Dead would rise to #2 in the U.K. on the strength of a
pair of Top 30 charting hit singles, “The Boy With the Thorn In His Side” and
“Bigmouth Strikes Again.” Internal band tensions would break-up the Smiths
after the release of 1987’s Strangeways, Here We Come, another #2 U.K.
hit and the band’s highest-charting U.S. release. Morrisey would go on to a
successful solo career that has resulted in better than a dozen albums through
2020. Recommended Album:Meat Is Murder
The Smiths 1984, photo by Paul Cox, courtesy Sire Records
1. R.E.M. Although they would become major label chartbusters,
R.E.M. began as a humble band of jangle-rock enthusiasts in the sleepy college
town of Athens, Georgia. Fittingly, for the undeniable granddaddies of
“college rock,” the four members of R.E.M. – singer Michael Stipe, guitarist
Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills, and drummer Bill Berry – came together while
students at the University of Georgia in Athens. Buck and Stipe met at Wuxtry
Records where Buck worked between classes, quickly bonding over a shared love
of artists like the Velvet Underground and Patti Smith. A mutual friend
introduced them to Mills and Berry, who had been playing together since high
school and, after jamming for a short while, a magical musical chemistry
emerged, with each band member contributing something special to the cauldron.
R.E.M. released its first single, the enigmatic and awe-inspiring “Radio Free
Europe,” in 1981 on the Atlanta-based independent Hib-Tone Records label.
Signing with the major/minor I.R.S. Records imprint, they released
their landmark Chronic Town EP in 1982, following it up with the
critically-acclaimed 1983 album Murmur. With subsequent albums like
1984’s Reckoning, 1985’s Fables of the Reconstruction, and
1986’s Life’s Rich Pageant, R.E.M. dominated the college rock
landscape, quickly outgrowing both the medium and a crowded Athens rock scene
(which also included The B-52’s, Love Tractor, Pylon, and Dreams So Real,
among others). Signing with Warner Bros, R.E.M. easily made the transition to
become a mainstream rock band, releasing five subsequent multi-Platinum™
selling albums that would make them one of the most successful bands of the
‘90s. R.E.M. influenced a generation of artists like Nirvana, Pavement, Pearl
Jam, and Dream Syndicate and can arguably be held responsible for the alt-rock
explosion of the 1990s. Not bad, eh? Recommended Album:Reckoning
R.E.M. 1992, photo by Anton Corbijn, courtesy Warner Bros.
Honorable Mention: Depeche Mode, The dB’s, The Feelies, Game Theory,
Let’s Active, New Order, The Pogues, Sonic Youth, Violent Femmes, Wall of
Voodoo...
Recommended Album links are for Amazon and we get a cut of your
purchase!
Credit where credit is due…quoted above, my colleague Noel Murray
wrote a great piece on college rock titled “1992: The Year College Rock Died.”
If you’re interested in the subject at all, you should give it a read:
https://www.avclub.com/1992-the-year-college-rock-died-1798233377
In the “style-over-substance” environment of the ’90s, songwriting has taken a back-seat in importance to image in rock ‘n’ roll. There’s still a slew of gifted wordsmiths wandering around the musical horizon – towns like L.A., Austin, and Nashville are awash in singer/songwriter types who’ll never get the time of day from the major labels. It’s just that in this day and time of marketing strategies and multi-Platinum sales expectations, the songwriter is simply not needed. Which makes it all sweeter when one runs across a talent brave enough to buck the odds like Ed Pettersen.
A true roots-rock craftsman, Pettersen still believes in the power of music to tell the story...and Somewhere South of Here is full of stories. From the modern outlaws of “Run Away” to the hopeless romantic of “What A Little Love Can Do,” Pettersen spins tales of love and loss, hope and betrayal. Collaborations with ex-Del Lord Scott Kempner are additional joys, while Pettersen’s rendition of Kempner’s “Listening To Elvis” is reverent as well as timely. You’ll find nothing fancy on Somewhere South of Here, just exceptional songwriting and tasteful, no-frills musical accompaniment.
With strains of rock, folk and country providing a solid base to work upon, Ed Pettersen and the High Line Riders have delivered a wonderfully unassuming effort with substance that will be around long after the styles have changed. (Tangible Music, 1997)
Review originally published by Thora-Zine, Austin TX
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