Playlist and Trivial Tidbids from My Generation, 1/9/10
"Then and Now"
So much has to happen to break into the music biz. Like being in San Francisco in the late ‘60’s…the center of the rock universe at that time. Like getting to know people like Bill Graham who get you on the stage at Woodstock before you’re first album is even released. Like taking advice to record an obscure Willy Bobo tune called “Evil Ways” as a single and watching it and your first album shoot to the top of the charts. All that happened for Carlos Santana in 1969. From then and that amazing first album, here’s Santana and…
Shades of Time 3:16 Santana Santana
Game of Love 4:20 Santana/Tina Turner
Carlos hit the charts big again with that song…but it was with Michelle Branch singing lead. The thing is, he said he wrote the song with Tina Turner in mind…trouble was, she wasn’t available at the time.
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"Subterranean Homesick Blues" is an amalgam of Jack Kerouac’s writing and songs by Woody Guthri, Pete Seeger and Chuck Berry.
Subterranean Homesick Blues 2:19 Bob Dylan The Essential Bob Dylan
Beyond Here Lies Nothing 3:45 Bob Dylan
Beyond Here Lies Nothin'" is the opening track of Bob Dylan's 2009 studio album, Together Through Life
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When Van Morrison walked into the A&R recording studios in NYC in 1969 to record Moondance, he had nothing on paper. No arrangements…no music charts. Just the lyrics. The rest was all in his head.
Brand New Day 5:13 Van Morrison Moondance
Behind the Ritual 7:01 Van Morrison Keep It Simple (Bonus Track Version)
From his 2008 album, KEEP IT SIMPLE…Van Morrison made the news recently when he and his wife had a baby…or not. Hold off on that baby shower…Seems that someone managed to hack Van’s website and insert a very professional announcement that Van and his wife had just had another child. Not the case…they still have just the two.
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It was an album of necessity….Steve Winwood was trying to fulfill a contractual commitment to his record company. It was supposed to be a solo album…but Winwood ended up recruiting some old friends to join him. It was supposed to be rock…but it ended up an eclectic mix of blues, traditional folk and jazz fusion. And the origin of the title track can be traced clear back to 1568. The end result was one amazing body of work….John barleycorn Must Die.
Glad 7:00 Traffic John Barleycorn Must Die
Different Light 6:30 Steve Winwood
That song is from his 2003 release, “About Time”. His latest album is titled “Nine Lives” And when you think about it…after stints with Traffic, Blind Faith, Joe Cocker, Eric Clapton as well as numerous other bands, duets and solo incarnation, that title is apropos.
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When you’re one of the three noted guitarists — the others being Clapton and Jimmy Page— to have played with The Yardbirds and you’re ranked 14th in Rolling Stone Magazine's list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time”, and you’re called a "guitarist's guitarist" and described as "one of the most influential Lead guitarists in rock", then you must be Jeff Beck.
Shapes of Things 3:19 Jeff Beck Truth Rock
Parallel Lines 4:24 Jeff Beck/Joss Stone
Roger Waters, Les Paul, Cyndi Lauper, ZZ Top…just a few of the folks that Jeff Beck has recorded with recently. Add Joss Stone to that list…from her new album, Colour Me Free,
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OK, let’s name our band after a line in a 1931 Noel Coward song, add amazing backup musicians that included at times the likes of Leon Russell, Steve Winwood and Rita Coolidge, add a horn section, several drummers, a huge choir…then top it off with a frizzy haired, somewhat spastic singer who sound like he gargles with razor blades and Drano, and you’ve got MDAE. From 1970, LIVE at the Fillmore East…
She Came In Through the Bathroom Window 3:20 Joe Cocker Mad Dogs & Englishmen
Hymn for my Soul 3:45 Joe Cocker
With songs by George Harrison, Bob Dylan and Stevie Wonder along with backup by the likes of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Ethan Johns, Tom Scott and Greg Adams, Joe Cocker’s latest album “Hymn for My Soul” is one terrific assemblage of music. That was the title track.
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Jackson Browne’s 1974 release “Late for the Sky” is considered by many of his fans to be his best album…despite the fact that it doesn’t contain any breakout singles. It does however contain the talents of Don Henley, Dan Fogelberg and JD Souther among others. With themes like love, loss, identity and apocalypse, the album struck a chord with a generation still reeling from Vietnam and Watergate.
Fountain of Sorrow 6:55 Jackson Browne Late for the Sky Pop
Time the Conqueror 5:29 Jackson Browne Time the Conqueror Rock
From his latest release. The once boyish Browne has a more weathered look these days, sporting a full beard. He also took on the republican party in the last presidential election when the McCain campaign used Jackson’s classic “Running on Empty” in an attack ad against Obama. Brown, a longtime supporter of liberal causes took umbrage and extracted a pound of flash and an apology from the GOP.
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One day, I’m going to have to assemble a musical history of this man. His affiliations with Buffalo Springfield and Crosby, Stills and Nash are the stuff of musical legend. As are his songwriting abilities. With the look of a road weathered troubadour, a high tenor voice and a claw hammer guitar style, Neil Young is entering his sixth decade of creating music…music that transcends age, fad, style and generations. Check it out. From 1972’s “HARVEST”
Old Man 3:24 Neil Young Harvest
Cough Up the Bucks 4:39 Neil Young Fork In the Road
The album was inspired by a project to develop a viable electric energy power system for automobiles. What vehicle are the using? Neil Young's own 1959 Lincoln Continental will serve as their completed prototype.
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The history of Eric Clapton begins with the Rolling Stones. Um…HUH? Stick with me. See the Stones were the resident band at a joint in Richmond England called the Crawdaddy Club. When the Stones started getting successful, recording and touring forced them to abandon their club gig. That’s where Clapton comes in. because the group that he was playing lead guitar for snagged the Stones old job. Here’s the house band for the Crawdaddy Club…the Yardbirds .
Heart Full of Soul 2:29 The Yardbirds The Ultimate Collection, Vol. 1
Clapton wanted to move away from the pop sound of the Yardbirds and get back into the blues. So he quit the Yardbirds and joined John Mayall and the Blues Breakers…only to quit after a few months. Then re-join them…record one incredibly historic album entitled, originally enuf…Blues Breakers…then leave the band for good.
Hideaway 3:19 Eric Clapton, John Mayall & Blues Breakers With Eric Clapton
Next stop on the Clapton express…, Cream. With Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker, this power trio sold millions of records and sold out concert venues across America and Europe.
White Room 5:05 Cream Wheels of Fire (Remastered)
Make no mistake…Cream was great. But drug and alcohol use, infighting, creative differences and a scathing Rolling Stone concert review separated Cream (pun intended) . Clapton and drummer Ginger baker teamed up with Traffic’s Steve Winwood and Rick Grech from Family to form Blind Faith. From their self-titled album…
Sea of Joy 5:24 Blind Faith Blind Faith
Clapton’s musical A-D-D continued. Blind Faith recorded only one album, recorded in such haste that side two consisted of just two songs, one of them a 15-minute jam entitled "Do What You Like". The album's cover featured a photo of a topless pubescent girl and was deemed controversial in the United States and was replaced by a photograph of the band. Blind Faith dissolved after less than seven months. Clapton decided that he’d like to step into the background. He got together with Delany and Bonnie Bramlett and for contractual reasons, played under the name, King Cool.
Only You Know and I Know 3:30 Delaney & Bonnie & Friends On Tour With Eric Clapton
Clapton formed a new band which was intended to counteract the "star" cult that had grown up around him and show that he could be a member of an ensemble. The band was called "Eric Clapton and Friends" at first, and the name "Derek and the Dominos" was an accident,…at least that’s one of the stories. Depending on who you talk to there are a couple of fables about how the name came about. On is that the band's provisional name of "Eric and the Dynamos" was misread as Derek and the Dominos. Another version claims that Clapton’s nickname with the band was Del. Del and Eric were combined and the final name became "Derek and the Dominos".
Why Does Love Got to Be So Sad 4:44 Derek & The Dominos Layla and Other Asst Love Songs
After all these incredible…successful…tragic…groupings, Clapton finally opted to go it alone. And over the years he has compiled an amazing body of work…both on his own and pairing with legends like BB King, JJ Cale. His life has been a tapestry of dizzying highs and seemingly bottomless lows. Success has been interwoven in tragedy, friendship with betrayal. And out of all of it, Clapton has emerged as one of the most iconic figures in the history of music. There were so many different ways I could have gone with this last tune…electric or unplugged….rock or blues…solo or with any one of scores of musical legends that have recorded with him. But I opted for this one…a live pairing of Slow Hand reunited with one of his old Blind Faith chums, cranking out a classic at a sold out Madison Square garden. Here’s Eric
Clapton and Steve Winwood from 2008 and
Can’t Find My Way Home.
