We are starting a new series of posts today called Thursday Interviews. In this series we will highlight great interviews with musicians. Today’s post is a follow-up to this week’s Two’Fer Tuesday post which featured Gary Wright and Wonderwheel with George Harrison sitting in on slide guitar. That performance was featured on the Dick Cavett show and was followed by a 35 minute interview with George. I really enjoyed what George had to say and it was wonderful to see what a great sense of humor he had. I think you will like this new series of posts. Please let me know you thoughts…..
It’s kind of funny that George mentioned Marmalade…..they are the subject of my next post. Stay tuned!
In 1976 it was hard to turn on the radio without hearing Gary Wright. He released his album, The Dream Weaver, in late 1975, and the single Dream Weaver quickly rose up the charts in 1976 reaching #2. I was lucky enough to see Gary perform on July 4, 1976 (the US Bicentennial) at Nashville Speedway (Peter Frampton, Gary Wright, and Natural Gas). It was a great show and Gary’s performance was amazing.
Many of my friends thought that Gary had appeared out of nowhere and and achieved overnight success but I knew better. Gary paid his dues…..he:
played the organ with Spooky Tooth from 1967 to 1964 and served as a major writer for the group’s albums
played keyboard on All Things Must Pass and on Nillson’s huge hit single, Without You
had a number of side projects including one called Wonderwheel
All of the above happened before his success with Dream Weaver….overnight success…..I think not!
So enough talking….let’s listen to some music. First up is a great Spooky Tooth live performance from 1969
Here is Gary performing Dream Weaver right around the same time that I saw him in 1976……
The bonus part of this Two’fer Tuesday post is an appearance by Gary Wright and Wonderwheel on the Dick Cavett show in 1971. If you watch close you might recognize the guy sitting behind Gary playing the sweet slide guitar…..
Yes…..that really was George Harrison sitting in on slide guitar. He did it as a thank you to Gary for playing keyboard on All Things Must Pass.
This is a great BBC documentary that makes a nice companion piece for our Southern California series from last year. Here is what the BBC website has to say about it….
Documentary looking at the music and mythology of a golden era in Californian culture, and telling the story of how Los Angeles changed from a kooky backwater in the early 1960s to become the artistic and industrial hub of the American music industry by the end of the 1970s.
Alongside extensive and never before seen archive footage, the programme features comprehensive first-hand accounts of the key figures including musicians (David Crosby, Graham Nash, J. D. Souther, Bernie Leadon and Bonnie Raitt, music industry bosses (David Geffen, Jac Holzman, Ron Stone and Peter Asher) and legendary LA scenesters including Henry Diltz, Pamela Des Barres and Ned Doheny.
The film explores how the socially-conscious folk rock of young hippies with acoustic guitars was transformed into the coked-out stadium excess of the late 1970s and the biggest selling album of all time.
I think you will like this one! Let me know what you think………
I have never been a huge Black Sabbath fan but they were a force to be reckoned with early in their career. I feel sorry for young people today that only know Ozzy as the addled, burned out, old man that he is today. This post is for those folks so they can see and appreciate Ozzy in his prime.
This concert was recorded in 1970 between the release of their first, self titled, album and the US release of Paranoid, their killer second album. This is Black Sabbath at the height of their power and it is something that everyone should watch, fan or not. Here is the setlist…..
LIVE in Paris (December 20, 1970)
1- Paranoid
2- Hand Of Doom
3- Rat Salad
4- Iron Man
5- Black Sabbath
6- N.I.B.
7- Behind The Wall Of Sleep
8- War Pigs
9- Fairies Wear Boots
If you don’t trust my opinion about this footage, maybe you will trust what Andy Greene had to say about the this 1970 concert and video in Rolling Stone last October….
Nobody knows exactly where and when this incredible 1970 Black Sabbath TV broadcast was taped. For many years bootlegs have claimed it was recorded on December 20th, 1970 at the Olympia in Paris, but knowledgable fans have pointed out the venue is way too small to be that theater. Some think it might be from Belgium in October of that year, but it’s very hard to say for sure.
It hardly matters. The pro-shot video captures Black Sabbath at the absolute peak of their powers. Paranoid presumably had only been on shelves for a matter of months (or even weeks), and the material is still fresh and shocking. Within a few years drugs, infighting and ego would start tearing the band apart, and the work suffered immeasurably.
“We’ve got a number now called ‘War Pigs,'” Ozzy says midway through the show. “It’s a number off our new LP. Hope you like it, thank you.” They proceed to tear though a nearly eight-minute version of the song that is absolutely explosive. Interestingly, the second and third stanzas of the song differs from the recorded version, perhaps providing evidence this show was cut before they finished the song in the studio in June of 1970.
Twenty five years ago yesterday, Tracy released her self titled first album. That album contained Fast Car which I think is one of the best first singles every released by a singer/songwriter. It reached number 6 on the Billboard Top 100 and Rolling Stone ranked it number 165 on their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. Maybe most significantly it was the highest ranking song on that list that was both written and performed by a female performer.
Tracy is one of the few performers whose voice and songs can stop me in my tracks……literally. The first time I heard Telling Stories, my favorite of Tracy’s songs, I was on a business trip driving through San Jose, California. I pulled off the road and stopped so I could focus on the song. It was, and still is, that good. Let’s listen to Fast Car and Telling Stories……
Fast Car
Telling Stories
Tracy – Thank you for your music over the past twenty five years! I am already looking forward to the new music that you might produce in the next twenty five…….
Anthony Phillips, an amazing guitarist, was one of the founding members of Genesis but………you might not have ever heard of him. He left Genesis in 1970 due to stage fright, before their most productive period.
In the seven years between his departure from Genesis and the release of his first solo album, Anthony studied classical music and worked with a number of other musicians on their projects (including many of his former bandmates).
While it took him a long time to produce his first solo album, The Geese and the Ghost, it was worth the long wait. The album was initially intended to be a collaboration between Anthony and Mike Rutherford, his old Genesis bandmate, but Mike’s other schedule commitments ended up causing the album to be released as a solo effort. Mike and Phil Collins both played a major supporting roles on the album. Let’s listen to a couple of tracks from the album. First up is Which Way The Wind Blows which features a great vocal by Phil…….
Next up is the album title track, The Geese and The Ghost (Pt 1 and Pt 2)……
In my opinion this album matches up to some of the best music produced by Genesis but, unfortunately, it did not achieve any significant commercial success. I have a nice surprise for those of you that were intrigued by the two songs above…….an opportunity to listen to an expanded version of the full album. Enjoy!
We have previously talked about Iggy Pop and the Stooges and their role (in the late 60s) of laying the groundwork for the Punk movement that would rise in the mid to late 70s. Somewhat forgotten in this timeline are the groups that carried the punk flag during the early 1970s. The Dictators were one of those groups and deserve a lot of credit for the survival of the Punk sound until the Punk revolution that would occur several years in the future.
Today’s Two’Fer Tuesday post highlights one of the Stooges’ best songs, Search and Destroy, and The Dictators’ cover of that same song. As always, let me know what you think!
Today’s Monday Matinee offering is a documentary that highlights the amazing career of Steve Winwood. Steve’s success includes stints in historic groups such as The Spencer Davis Group, Traffic, and Blind Faith (to name a few) and an amazing solo career that continues through today. The documentary is named English Soul, highlighting the soulful quality of Steve’s voice. I think you will really enjoy this one…..thanks to the BBC for putting it together!
As promised last weekend, today’s Sunday Sessions offering is Led Zeppelin in all of it’s 1973 glory. Filmed (mostly) at Madison Square Gardens on 27, 28, and 29 July 1973, it is the best documentation of Led Zeppelin at the height of their power. I could do without the fantasy sequences that were inserted to highlight the individual personalities of the members of Led Zeppelin (including their manager Peter Grant and their tour manager Richard Cole) but some of you may enjoy them. In case you are interested, here is a summary of the fantasy sequences that I borrowed from the Wikipedia page about the movie……
Grant and Cole were filmed as hitmen driving towards Hammerwood Park estate in Sussex in a 1928 Pierce-Arrow car. Roy Harper also makes an uncredited guest appearance as one of the ‘greedy millionaires’ portrayed at a business meeting of multi-national corporations. Massot envisioned Grant and Cole in the hitman roles, as it symbolised the tough business decisions they made on behalf of the band. The female passenger wearing a scarf with Peter Grant driving on a country road is his wife, Gloria. Massot had originally shot Grant walking a cameraman around a collection of antique cars, but this footage was quickly abandoned.
John Paul Jones was filmed first at home with his wife Mo, and reading Jack and the Beanstalk to his two daughters, Tamara and Jacinda, before receiving a call to join the band on their American concert. For his fantasy sequence, Jones initially wished to use footage from the original Doctor Syn film, but was prevented from doing so as this film was owned by Disney. Instead, his fantasy sequence involved a reinterpretation of the film. Jones portrays a masked gentleman known as “The Scarecrow,” who travels at night on horseback with three others and returns home to Sussex, an ordinary family man. The three other horsemen with him are a reference to the other band members. Jimmy Page’s girlfriend, Charlotte Martin, and baby daughter Scarlet Page can be briefly seen during the closing moments of this sequence, which was filmed in October 1973. The thematic music is “No Quarter.”
Robert Plant was captured relaxing on his Welsh country farm with his wife Maureen, and children Karac and Carmen. His fantasy sequence involves him being a knight rescuing a fair maiden (played by Virginia Parker), who is a symbolic representation for his vision of the ideal – his personal search for the Holy Grail. Scenes from the sword fight were filmed at Raglan Castle in Wales while the sailing, horseback riding and beach scenes were shot at Aberdovey thenMerionethshire and now Gwynedd, in October 1973. The thematic music consists of both “The Song Remains the Same” and “The Rain Song.”
Jimmy Page is filmed sitting by a lake next to his 18th century manor at Plumpton, East Sussex, playing a hurdy gurdy. The tune played is called “Autumn Lake” and the scene was filmed in October 1973. Page’s fantasy role involved climbing up the face of a snow capped mountain near Boleskine House, Loch Ness during the nights of a full moon on December 10 and 11, 1973.The act was meant to show Page on a quest of self enlightenment, and deep understanding, by seeking out the Hermit, a character featured in many Tarot packs. The mythological Hermit is seen on the summit of the mountain; Staff of Wisdom in one hand, and in the other, the Lantern of Knowledge held out abreast over the world below. Being a Threshold Guardian, he represents an obstacle the seeker must overcome to achieve true enlightenment. At the culmination of Page’s quest, he reaches out to touch The Hermit, only to discover paradoxically that the Hermit is himself. The Hermit features on the artwork of the untitled fourth album. The thematic music is “Dazed and Confused.”
John Bonham was shot with his wife Pat and son Jason Bonham on their country estate, Old Hyde Farm in Worcestershire. It is interesting to note that part of his fantasy includes him spending time at home with his family. Bonham was known for falling into deep depressions while on tour away from his family. His heavy drinking, which ultimately resulted in his death, is partly attributed to his homesickness. The game of snooker was shot at The Old Hyde Hotel and the Harley-Davidson riding near Blackpool. His fantasy sequence is the most straightforward of all the members, with Bonham drag racing an AA Fueler at 260 mph at Santa Pod Raceway, Wellingborough, Northants, UK, in October 1973, and its thematic music is the instrumental “Moby Dick.”
If you just want to see the concert footage, here is a listing of the songs and the times that they appear in the movie
1. 0:12:58 – Rock And Roll
2. 0:16:56 – Black Dog
3. 0:21:45 – Since I’ve been Loving You
4. 0:30:50 – No Quarter
5. 0:43:24 – The Song Remains The Same
6. 0:49:04 – The Raing Song
7. 0:58:22 – Dazed and Confuzed
8. 1:28:16 – Stairway to Heaven
9. 1:39:35 – Moby Dick
10. 1:51:14 – Heartbreaker
11. 1:54:48 – Whole Lotta Love
Roberta Flack had the number one single, Killing Me Softly, from Feb 24, 1973 – March 24, 1973. Let’s listen to her performing the song on Japanese television……
Roberta’s performance was excellent but most people don’t realize that it was a cover of a song that had been released by a young singer named Lori Lieberman a year earlier. I have been a huge Lori Lieberman fan since her debut album in 1972. I absolutely love the tone of her voice and I prefer her version of Killing Me Softly. Let’s listen to her perform the song in a great live clip from the Mike Douglas show from 1973. This video clip gives you some insight into the story behind the song which I think you will also find to be interesting……
As a bonus offering today, I have a great clip of Don McClean performing If We Try/Empty Chairs in Ireland in 1975. Empty Chairs was his specific song that inspired the writing of Killing Me Softly. Enjoy…..
thebestmusicyouhaveneverheard 