The rock world lost a true innovator today with the death of Phil Everly, one half of the amazing Everly Brothers. Their harmonies had a major influence on groups that would follow including The Beatles, The Beach Boys, and Simon and Garfunkel to name just a few. Phil will be missed greatly. Here’s a wonderful video of them performing (OK….they were obviously lip syncing) one of their early 60s hits called Cathy’s Clown (Phil is on the left in most of the shots in the video. His brother Don is singing lead on this one).
Here is a short but to the point documentary about the impact of the Everly Brothers on the music business (with some great insight from Warren Zevon….RIP Warren)….
Here’s a much more detailed documentary about the duo and their music. You need to watch this to truly appreciate their talent and what we’ve lost with the death of Phil.
(For a great story about the Abandoned Luncheonette cover checkout this blog post)
Some people will tell you that the 70s were a vast wasteland for music. To those people I say….”You don’t know what the hell you are talking about!” Take a look at the unbelievable collection of albums that were released in the last three months of 1973 and I dare you to find another three months in any year that produced the same level of music quality and diversity. I’m proud to say that I have these albums in my collection.
So get ready….I have well over an hour of music below celebrating the best albums released at the end of 1973. Enjoy…….
October 1973 Album Releases
Selling England By The Pound – Genesis
This is probably my favorite Genesis album of all time. It was back during the days when the band was fronted by Peter Gabriel (i.e. it was the “real” Genesis). I know what I like and here it is……
Time Fades Away – Neil Young
This is the rarest Neil album of all time to the best of my knowledge. I am lucky enough to have the vinyl album…I say that because Neil has never released this one as a CD. Here’s one of my favorite songs from Neil which is one of his most autobiographical numbers. It’s also a great New Years Resolution if you are still looking for one……Don’t Be Denied……
Quadrophenia – The Who
I’m quite sure that I’ve talked about this before…..Quadrophenia is my favorite album by the Who and this is my favorite song from that album…….
For Everyman – Jackson Browne
I think Jackson Browne may be the most talented singer/songwriter of my generation. I’m currently working on a major blog post that provides a critical analysis of a set of Jackson’s songs including the title song from this album. Since I will be talking about Everyman in that post, I have chose to feature These Days my second favorite song from this album……
Laid Back – Greg Allman
Wrapping up the October albums is Greg Allman’s first solo album which is a classic by anyone’s standards. I love Greg’s voice and he is a terrific songwriter as well. Here is Multicolored Lady from Greg’s album.
November 1973 Album Releases
Abandoned Luncheonette – Hall and Oates
Before Hall and Oates produced their string of “Pop” hits they produced that absolute masterpiece. It is without a doubt my favorite for their albums and the title song from the album is stunning. Give it a listen and you will see what i mean…..
Piano Man – Billy Joel
What can you say about Billy Joel that hasn’t already been said? This is the album and the title song that started it all for him………
Mind Games – John Lennon
This was John’s fourth solo album. He started working on the title song during the Get Back sessions by his first band that you might remember as The Beatles :-). Let’s listen……
Keep on playing those mind games together
Raising the spirit of peace and love
I want you to make love, not war I know you’ve heard it before
Fergusile Park – Stealers Wheel
Stealers Wheel was a great but very much under appreciated group. Fergusile Park was the group’s second album and by the time the album was released it was down to the duo of Joe Egan and Gerry Rafferty each of whom was a great songwriter so I’ve chose to highlight a song from each of them from this album. First up is Star that was written by Joe Egan…..
Next up is Who Cares that was written by Gerry Rafferty. When I listened to this song back in 1973 I knew that Gerry was going to have a very long career. Unfortunately we lost Gerry way to soon back in 2011!
Stealers Wheel didn’t last long after this album. Gerry’s went on to have a great solo career while Joe’s career kind of faded away. Sometimes talent just isn’t enough…..the music business is tough.
Montrose – Montrose
Montrose was a powerhouse that featured Ronnie Montrose on guitar and Sammy Hagar on vocals. They rocked on their debut album which you can see for yourself by listening to the first song, Rock the Nation (written by Ronnie)……
December 1973 Album Releases
Band On The Run – Paul McCartney and Wings
Not to be outdone by John’s release of Mind Games, Paul released this Wings masterpiece the very next month. The title song, with its three independent parts beautifully woven together, is an absolute classic……
Tales From Topographical Oceans – Yes
One double album featuring four sides of music each of which is made up of a single song. Yes it has to be Tales from Topographical Oceans. My favorite of the four songs….The Remembering…..see what you think……..
Ozark Mountain Daredevils – The Ozark Mountain Daredevils
The Ozark Mountain Daredevils were a very much under appreciated band. Their first, self titled, album featured one hit (If You Wanna Get To Heaven) but a lot of other great music as well. Today let’s listen to Colorado Song. I think you will like it……
Ridin The Storm Out – REO Speedwagon
The REO Speedwagon of the early 70’s rocked. While they would go on to have significant “pop” success in the 80s, I have always preferred their early stuff from the 70s. The title song from this album is my favorite…….
Wild Tales – Graham Nash
Graham’s second solo album was a great piece of work. Let’s listen to the final song from the album, Another Sleep Song……
Today’s Monday Matinee post is almost certainly the greatest assemblage of musical talent on any concert bill. Some might argue that a few of the music festivals that would occur later in the 60’s had more talent but these were multi day events, not a concert. I’ll leave it up to you to decide if you agree with me but I’m betting that one look at the list of performers provided below will make this an easy decision for you.
Jan and Dean (Over credits)
– (Here They Come) from All Over the World
Chuck Berry
– Johnny B. Goode
– Maybellene
Gerry & The Pacemakers
– Maybellene
– Don’t Let the Sun Catch You Crying
– It’s Gonna Be Alright
Chuck Berry
– Sweet Little Sixteen
Gerry & The Pacemakers
– How Do You Do It?
Chuck Berry
– Nadine
Gerry & The Pacemakers
– I Like It
(Smokey Robinson and) The Miracles
– That’s What Love Is Made Of
– You’ve Really Got a Hold on Me
– Mickey’s Monkey
Marvin Gaye
– Stubborn Kind of Fellow
– Pride and Joy
– Can I Get a Witness
– Hitch Hike
Lesley Gore
– Maybe I Know
– You Don’t Own Me
– You Didn’t Look Around
– Hey Now
– It’s My Party
– Judy’s Turn to Cry
Jan and Dean
– The Little Old Lady from Pasadena
– Sidewalk Surfin
The Beach Boys
– Surfin’ USA
– I Get Around
– Surfer Girl
– Dance, Dance, Dance
Billy J. Kramer and The Dakotas
– Little Children
– Bad to Me
– I’ll Keep You Satisfied
– From a Window
The Supremes
– When the Lovelight Starts Shining Through His Eyes
– Run, Run, Run
– Baby Love
– Where Did Our Love Go
The Barbarians
– Hey Little Bird
James Brown and The Famous Flames
– Out of Sight
– Prisoner of Love
– Please, Please, Please
– Night Train
The Rolling Stones
– Around and Around
– Off the Hook
– Time Is on My Side
– It’s All Over Now
– I’m Alright
– Let’s Get Together
Today’s Sunday Session features one of my all time favorite performers, Jackson Browne, performing with the group that released my favorite record this year, Dawes, during the Occupy Wall Street protests. Enjoy….
I have a special treat for you today. A great documentary about, Jefferson Airplane, the best of the San Francisco bands from the 1960s. This is true rock history, some amazing rock music, and a chance to observe the beautiful and talented Grace Slick in her prime. Enjoy……
A couple of weeks ago I mentioned that I was reading Simple Dreams by Linda Ronstadt. I have enjoyed the book and the behind the scenes stories that it contains. A great example of those stories is Linda’s description of working with Brian Wilson who I think is one of the great musical geniuses of our generation. Like all geniuses, Brian is a little eccentric and Linda captures that perfectly in the following story extracted from Simple Dreams……
When Peter Asher and I began to record the Cry Like a Rainbow album, our best collaboration, in my opinion. Jimmy (Webb) wrote an orchestral arrangement for me of his wistful song “Adios,” with Brian Wilson singing the complex backing harmonies. I had known Brian Wilson briefly in my Troubadour days, when he was separated for a time from his first wife. He was always sweet and friendly, and never pressed any romantic agenda. Several times I discovered him at my back door, studying a little pile of coins he held in his hand, which he said was ten or fifteen cents shy of the price for a bottle of grape juice. He said it was important for him to drink grape juice in order to solve some health problem that was troubling him. I would provide the remaining ten or fifteen cents, and we would climb into his huge convertible with the top always down, the back stuffed with a sizable accumulation of Brian’s dirty laundry. As a bachelor, he seemed to have difficulty coping with domestic arrangements, so I would suggest a trip to the Laundromat, where we would fill an entire row of machines. (I had a lot of quarters.) Afterward we would sit in my living room, drink the grape juice, and listen to my small collection of Phil Spector records. Brian really liked Phil Spector.
In the studio, under Brian’s direction, we recorded his harmony parts for “Adios” with five separate tracks of unison singing on each of the three parts, fifteen vocal tracks in all. He didn’t seem concerned if some of the tracks veered slightly out of tune, but took advantage of the slight “chorused” effect it created when he came back into the control room to mix the harmony tracks into the creamy vocal smoothness instantly recognizable as the Beach Boys.
Brian was making up the harmonies as he went along, but sometimes, when he was having difficulty figuring out a complicated section, he would scold himself and say that he needed to work for a time at the piano. However, when he sat down at the piano, he never played any part of “Adios,” but instead would play a boogie-woogie song, very loud in a different key. After a few minutes of this he would go back to the microphone and sing the parts perfectly, without a trace of hesitation.
Let’s listen to the results of that collaboration……
A great Jimmy Webb song, a beautiful vocal by Linda, and unbelievable harmonies from Brian…..it doesn’t get any better than this! If you are a Linda fan I encourage you to pickup Simple Dreams, you will really enjoy it.
If you had any doubts as to the smartest person in Crosby, Stills, and Nash I think this interview with Graham will convince you that it’s him. He’s not just a great musician and an accomplished photographer…..he’s also a successful entrepreneur. I think you will enjoy this video……..
As much as I enjoyed the interview, we can’t leave without at least one song from Graham. Here’s a really good 1874 solo performance from the Old Grey Whistle Test……
Today’s post continues our CSN focus with a great 1972 TV show about Stephen Stills. This provides some great insight into Stephen at the height of his musical power. As always, let me know what you think…….
Continuing our CSN focus for this week I have a wonderful treat for you today…..a recent video of David Crosby singing Joni Mitchell’s For Free during a photo shoot. This is really good stuff……
Since it’s Two’Fer Tuesday here is a great video of Joni singing For Free on BBC from 1970.
Here’s a an interesting TV profile of Crosby, Stills, and Nash from 1987. It’s brutal but very interesting at the same time. You might want to look away but I suggest you watch………
thebestmusicyouhaveneverheard 