Carlos is one of my favorite guitarist of all time. In this interview he talks from his heart about the roots of music. There’s a great line where he talks about …notes that sound like a ghost that wants to get back to god….never whining but crying. That is the best description I have ever heard of his music! Very deep stuff.
If you enjoy Santana be sure to check back on Sunday for an amazing Sunday Sessions post featuring a reunion of most of the original Santana lineup on the 20th anniversary of the start of the band.
In rock and pop music the phrase “rhythm section” normally refers to the drummer and bass player of a band. The rhythm section is the foundation of every band’s sound but it seldom gets the attention of the singer and/or the guitar player. If you think of the Who my guess is that you either think of Pete Townshend and/or Roger Daltrey but I don’t think there would have been a Who without their amazing rhythm section of Keith Moon and John Entwistle.
In today’s Two’Fer Tuesday post we celebrate one of the best rhythm sections in rock history, Tim Bogert and Carmine Appice. They provided the rhythm section for three major bands in the 60s and 70s, which to best of my knowledge is an accomplishment that has not been equaled by any other bass player/drummer combination.
Bogert and Appice initially got together in Vanilla Fudge, a late 1960s psychedelic group. Let’s listen to their biggest hit, a psychedelic remake of You Keep Me Hanging On.
Vanilla Fudge – You Keep Me Hanging On
As Vanilla Fudge started to break up a an idea for a new supergroup started to take shape. The new super group was going to consist of Tim Bogert and Carmine Appice from Vanilla Fudge along with Jeff Beck and Rod Stewart from the Jeff Beck Group. Unfortunately, this group never came together due to a car accident which forced Jeff out of the music scene for a year. With the collapse of the planned super group, Rod ended up joining forces with Ronnie Wood to create The Faces while Tim Bogert and Carmine Appice combined with Jim McCarthy and Rusty Day to form Cactus. Let’s listen to a song from Cactus’ debut album……..
Cactus – Let Me Swim
In 1972 Cactus was starting to breakup as was Jeff’s latest incarnation of the Jeff Beck Group. The end result, leaving out a lot of boring details, was that Beck, Bogert and Appice finally managed to join forces and form a real super group/power trio with the simple name of Beck, Bogert, and Appice or BBA for short. We have talked about BBA in earlier posts but just to refresh your memory here is one of the cuts from their one and only studio album.
Beck, Bogert, & Appice – Sweet Surrender
One rhythm section, three great bands, and a little know piece of rock history. You just never know what you will learn from this blog!
I found this Bruce documentary online this week. I had never seen it before so I was pretty excited. Here is how it was described…..
Bruce Springsteen documentary from 2011 – How different the career and music of Bruce Springsteen could have turned out had it not been for his legally enforced recording hiatus, witnessed between the release of his celebrated ‘Born To Run’ album and the delayed but extraordinary follow-up, ‘Darkness On The Edge Of Town’ – almost three years later. Despite the undeniable strength of his ’75 opus, during this break from the studio, many wondered if ‘the future of rock n’ roll’ was a one trick pony who had somehow managed to capture the imagination of the media for a brief moment, but in reality was just yet another ‘new Bob Dylan’ who got lucky. This film examines the period between the start of the lull and the threat of the storm, when Bruce Springsteen recorded and released, arguably, the finest music he was ever going to make. Featuring rare and classic performance footage, archive interviews with the Boss himself, contributions from those who know the man best and who were around him during the 1975-1985 period, plus seldom seen photographs, news reports, newly discovered film material and some of the finest music ever made!
I think the Bruce fans will love it for sure (I’m talking to you Gerard 🙂 ). Everyone else let me know what you think.
Today’s Sunday Session is an amazing performance by The Faces at the height of their power in 1971. This performance was captured on BBC as part of their Sounds For Saturday series. This particular video is from a rebroadcast of the concert on VH1 Classic and features an introduction by Glenn Tilbrook. This is a particularly tight set by a group that was always entertaining but not necessarily always tight. The set list is provided below…..I think you will really enjoy the performance!
Three Button Hand Me Down
Maybe I’m Amazed
Too Much Woman
Street Fighting Man
Too Much Woman
Miss Judy’s Farm
Love In Vain
Stay With Me
I am starting a new blog, justsouthofhell, to provide me with an outlet for political topics. This will allow me to focus thebestmusicyouhaveneverheard blog exclusively on music. If you interested in politics check out the new blog at:
A couple of weeks ago I posted about the worst cover song of all time, America as recorded by Yes. Before anyone gets the idea that I think that a cover song has to be a note for note rendition to be good, I offer up today’s bonus edition of Two’Fer Tuesday which features three great cover versions of All Along The Watchtower each of which is unique. First up is Bob Dylan’s original version of the song.
The first, and probably most well known cover of the song, is from Jimi Hendrix. An amazing performance by an amazing artist. In my opinion this version is better than the original.
Next up is a great version by a very much under rated Dave Mason. While very much guitar driven like Jimi’s version, I think this one has a different feel to it.
My final version of the song is a 1o + minute version by Neil Young. Old Black was screaming on this rendition and I absolutely love it.
Send me a comment and let me know which version you prefer!
Today’s post is a loving and sweet tribute to Nick Drake’s music and a life that was way too short. I think you will enjoy it as much as you can enjoy such a sad story. It’s definitely worth your time!
OK…….I confess that what I have for you tonight may not be what you normally expect as a Sunday Session. The reason is both strange and sad……there is no known footage of Nick Drake performing. In reality there are damn few pictures of Nick and only three complete studio albums or his music. None of his three albums sold more than 5000 copies upon their initial release and he died of an overdose on 25 November 1974.
All in all Nick’s story is one of the most tragic in all of rock music. His music was brilliant but totally unappreciated during his life. Although his music had a cult following among musicians, it was only in the last 10-15 years that it really started to get the attention it deserved. What triggered this change…..the use of Nick’s song Pink Moon in a Volkswagen commercial. Sad…..no, very sad……
So what I really have for you today is two songs that were recently discovered from a performance by Nick on the John Peel radio show in 1969. I can’t vouch for the accuracy of this story but the performance sounds real to me. Following that I have a video that provides some of the essential Nick Drake songs that every music fan needs to be familiar with. Enjoy…….
The John Peel Session
Essential Nick Drake
If you aren’t familiar with the details of the Nick Drake story be sure to check back tomorrow for a great documentary on his life and career.