Clarence Clemons: RIP

Sadly, we report the death of Clarence Clemons at age 69 from a massive stroke suffered earlier this week. The "Big Man" of the band has been with the E Street Band since 1973, Bruce Springsteen's first album, Greetings from Asbury Park.

We think of the personality he added to the band's stage show and versatile brilliant sax playing from all out blasting on many a rocker, to passionately subdued on songs like "Nothing Man" to perhaps his opus, "Jungleland" from Born to Run.

His loss is tremendous. We love him!!

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Beatles "Red" and "Blue" Albums Remastered

After releasing the entire Beatles’ catalog carefully prepared and remastered last year, the Apple-EMI brain trust has released two anthologies of Beatles material fans know as the “Red” and the “Blue” albums. Originally released in 1973, these consisted of two double albums, the first, The Beatles: 1962-1966 and the second, The Beatles: 1967-1970. Between the two, these albums contain all the bands’ major singles and a generous dose of album cuts spanning their entire career. The first collection takes the listener up to Revolver. The second collection picks up with Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band onward. In time for the Christmas rush, these two rich collections have been rereleased with the superb remasters of a year ago and booklets with additional notes and photos.

For anyone who wants an instant Beatles collection, these two sets are a superb starting place. The listener is treated to a rich serving of everything from “Love Me Do” to “Long and Winding Road” and much in between. For those who do not want to invest in all 13 original albums and wants more than just the hit singles, this is the place to start. The Beatles fan on a budget can then purchase the necessary individual albums best suited to his or her tastes. Likewise, for those who have many of the first generation CD’s and would like to hear how satisfying the recent remastering of the entire catalog is, here’s a fine starting point.

Here’s the song line up:

1962-1966 (The "Red" Album)


Disc 1
1. Love Me Do
2. Please Please Me
3. From Me to You
4. She Loves You
5. I Want to Hold Your Hand
6. All My Loving
7. Can’t Buy Me Love
8. A Hard Day’s Night
9. And I Love Her
10. Eight Days a Week
11. I Feel Fine
12. Ticket to Ride
13. Yesterday

Disc 2
1. Help!
2. You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away
3. We Can Work It Out
4. Day Tripper
5. Drive My Car
6. Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)
7. Michelle
8. In My Life
9. Girl
10. Paperback Writer
11. Eleanor Rigby
12. Yellow Submarine


1967-1972 (The “Blue” Album)

Disc 1
1. Strawberry Fields Forever
2. Penny Lane
3. Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
4. With a Little Help from My Friends
5. Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds
6. A Day in the Life
7. All You Need Is Love
8. I Am the Walrus
9. Hello Goodbye
10. The Fool on the Hill
11. Magical Mystery Tour
12. Lady Madonna
13. Hey Jude

Disc 2
1. Back in the U.S.S.R.
2. While My Guitar Gently Weeps
3. Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da
4. Get Back
5. Don’t Let Me Down
6. The Ballad of John and Yoko
7. Old Brown Shoe
8. Come Together
9. Something
10. Octopus’s Garden
11. Let it Be
12. Across the Universe
13. The Long and Winding Road


As the song listings show, this is quite a collection. There are early tunes like “Twist and Shout” and “Money” that many listeners might enjoy, but the compilers of this collection specifically chose to exclude cover versions. “I Should Have Known Better” and “If I Fell” seem like disappointing omissions from A Hard Days Night. “She’s a Woman,” the B side of “I Feel Fine” would also have been a great inclusion particularly since many American listeners might have it on Beatles 65 in fake stereo. However, the most conspicuously absent material would be from the album, Revolver. Still, fans with even a casual interest in the Beatles should certainly have Revolver in their collection.

This is one hearty serving of Beatles music, and for those who are more oriented toward Beatles' songs and not specific albums, this is one lucious feast sure to be enjoyed with many second helpings.



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John Lennon -- 70th Birthday

John Lennon: October 9, 1940 - December 8, 1980

IMAGINE what could have been. John Lennon would have been 70 years old on this date had he not been murdered by a wicked madman stalking him and shooting him dead outside his New York City residence on that tragic Monday night, December 8, 1980.

He was a hero to the first real TV generation who met him playing with the Beatles on Ed Sullivan and were shocked to hear of his death watching Monday Night Football getting the dreadful word from Howard Cossell.

In between, we were treated to some of the most incredible and imaginative pop music of all time.

As popular and controversial today as he was during his time, his music will forever be immortal.

Keith Richards Sober???

In almost stark contrast to “is nothing scared” the fellow who joked he snorted his father’s ashes mixed with “blow” and many have joked would be the only survivor besides cock roaches in the event of a nuclear holocaust, Keith Richards announced his has gone on the wagon. No he’s not being towed by “Wild Horses,” cruising in a “Black Limousine,” nor riding a “Silver Train,” ol’ Keef is off the sauce, tea totaling, desert-dry.

Always the personification of the worst excesses of the rock ‘n roll lifestyle, back in the late 70’s after a heroin bust in Toronto, his career and the tenure of the Rolling Stones as the world’s greatest rock ‘n roll band appeared to be over. He kicked the smack, but the other vices apparently remained in tact for decades. However, when Richards accounts for his home life, his exploits are much more down-to-earth than most of his fans would ever imagine including listening to Mozart in the morning and at times wondering what kind of crap his kids are listening to.

For a more complete accounting of Keith’s great spiritual leap, consult the following story from The London Guardian.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/musicblog/2010/jan/26/sober-keith-richards

We wish Keith Richards well and hope to be hearing the strums of Micawber, he trusty old worn Fender Telecaster in the near future.

Abbey Road and Let it Be: "And in the end, the music and the mysteries remain..."

Synopsis: Whether the Beatles' recording career ended triumphantly or reeking of unfinished business and controversy depends on whether the listener considers their last recorded album, Abbey Road, or their last released album, Let it Be, as the "Fab Four's" finale.


Abbey Road was the last album the Beatles recorded. Let it Be was the last album the Beatles released. What became compiled as the album Let it Be was recorded mostly during January, 1969 as part of an ill-conceived project which did yield a movie of the band’s efforts, but nothing went according to plan, the least of which was the inability to get a coherent album to show for the effort until well over a year later.

As the film, Let it Be, documents, songs from Abbey Road were already under construction as the work for the project commenced. Some snippets from this effort are included in the Beatles Anthology series.

With years of history and many Beatles fans not even having been born when John, Paul, George, and Ringo officially split in the spring of 1970, the irony of their final recordings becomes even clearer.

The way things actually played out with Let it Be being the Beatles final album, their stellar career ended on a note of uncertainty and incompleteness. Examining the finished product, the album released as Let it Be, how can one not feel certain emptiness?

The Beatles were to have created a film that showed the band in preparation recording an album leading to the grand finale, a concert. The project was largely Paul McCartney’s brain child with John and George reluctant participants from the get go. Instead, what became the movie, Let it Be, documented a band falling to pieces. Starting in Twickenham studios, the lads are shown working through a series of songs, many of which would wind up on either Abbey Road or Let it Be. Others would show up as solo material on Paul’s and George’s first albums. The tension was obvious especially between Paul and George while John seemed more interested in drifting off with Yoko and Ringo seemed largely indifferent. No material from Twickenham could be polished off to make it on the album. The Beatles then moved to the Apple Records studio setup in the basement of their Apple headquarters in London, not as sophisticated as EMI’s Abbey Road where they would normally record, but certainly an environment suitable for recording a rock album. They brought in keyboard player Billy Preston, whom they had known since performing with Ray Charles early in their career. Suddenly, the music started to percolate. Bits and pieces from these sessions did make it to the finished album, but the most noteworthy material from the Apple Headquarters recordings was a hastily arranged noon January 30th concert on the rooftop of the studio where the band performed “Don’t Let Me Down,” one of several versions of “Get Back,” “Dig a Pony,” “I Got a Feeling” and “The One After 909.”

Few would argue the rooftop set was absolutely brilliant. How wonderful it was to hear the Beatles plus Billy Preston play as a live band, no studio gimmicks, playing great rock n roll music, the kind of music they honed their skills playing before Beatlemania swept the planet.

The following day, the band retreated to the basement to record most of the rest of the album, “Let it Be,” “The Long and Winding Road,” and “Two of Us.” Two songs on the album have nothing to do with the sequence of the Get Back/Let it Be project. “Across the Universe” dates back to February, 1968 where a very different mix of the song was released on a special compilation of English artists performing for the benefit of wild life preservation. “I Me Mine” was the last song the Beatles minus John would ever record in January, 1970 as they were putting the final touches on what would become the single version of “Let it Be.”

Somehow, the goings on of all these efforts were flying below the radar of all the eyes cast upon the Beatles. In early 1969, the rock music scene was exploding on both sides of the Atlantic. Beatles’ fans attention was riveted to the The Beatles or the“White” album and Yellow Submarine. The meteoric career of Cream, Eric Clapton’s band, had been riding high, but almost simultaneous with the release of Yellow Submarine came their final release, Goodbye Cream, with just three studio tracks, one of which was co-written by George Harrison who played on the track as Mysterioso.

The Beatles were getting attention. John Lennon and Yoko Ono were staging bizarre stage events centered on an anti-war message. Plastic Ono Band became the vessel for Lennon’s solo recorded efforts first with “Give Peace a Chance” and then “Cold Turkey.” George Harrison had numerous projects in the works including finding talent for Apple Records for which he would serve as producer, Jackie Lomax, Billy Preston, and Doris Troy.

While clues were abundant in the “White” album and all kinds of things were pointing toward the world’s most famous act falling apart, none of that was apparent to the fans or the entertainment media who perhaps as a matter of faith simply could not comprehend the dissolution of the Beatles. Their individual exploits were more seen as their maturation, branching out, giving their faithful fans even more material to appreciate.

While the “White” album has plenty of great music as part of the Beatles’ legacy, what can be appreciated in hindsight is that each song clearly was the project of its composer, not an ensemble production. John, Paul, and George were acting more like solo artists using the rest of the band as mere studio performers. It also marked the first time high caliber artists were participating in the recording sessions with Eric Clapton contributing to “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” and Nicky Hopkins adding the piano for the single, “Revolution.” Billy Preston’s involvement with Let it Be seemed to be taking that progression one step forward.

After the completion of recording on January 31, 1969, the Beatles were cranky, tired, and at each others’ throats. Paul was at odds with the business direction of the band but also enjoying the joys of his romance and marriage to Linda Eastman. Even producer, George Martin, whose roll was much less defined through the Let it Be project and had delegated some of the production duties to Chris Thomas during the “White” album was growing impatient with the Beatles.

Despite the dueling egos and conflicting agendas, the Beatles weren’t done yet. The first tidbit from the Get Back/Let it Be project was released, the single: “Get Back” backed with “Don’t Let Me Down” in April of 1969. Paul McCartney contacted George Martin asking him if he were interested in working with them on their next album telling Martin they wanted to work the way they used to with Martin behind the controls at Abbey Road studios. Martin felt apprehension at first particularly concerned of John’s commitment, but Paul indicated the whole band was ready to go.

Limited activity took place in April, the same week as the single’s release, as “The Ballad of John and Yoko” and “Old Brown Shoe,” their next single was recorded. Work began on “Something” and “I Want You (She’s So Heavy).” Some work was completed in April including remaking “Something” and some initial overdubs for “Let it Be.” At the end of the month, their last single before Abbey Road, hit the streets, “The Ballad of John and Yoko” actually just John and Paul recording and “Old Brown Shoe.”

From early July to mid-August, Abbey Road studios were busy as the band worked diligently to record what would turn out to be the final album they’d record together. While they worked to use the studio to its maximum benefit under George Martin’s careful watch, they weren’t attempting to explore any bold experiments but rather to harness their full creative power to record a magnificent cohesive album. George Harrison introduced the moog synthesizer into some of the songs. The album featured intricate arrangements and lush harmonies, creating at least the illusion of much more an ensemble approach to the repertoire.

All the A sides of Beatles’ singles were Lennon/McCartney compositions with John and/or Paul in the lead. Unlike coincident with most Beatles albums, no isolated single was recorded, so the single would come from the album itself. This time, the A side would be George Harrison’s, “Something,” with John Lennon’s lyrical adventure, “Come Together” as the B side.

On September 29, 1969, Abbey Road was released during a fall season some of the greatest albums in rock history were issued. The album was received with instant acclaim around the world perhaps exceeding the fanfare of any of their releases in the past. There would be no controversy as surrounded Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. It was a more digestible single album unlike The Beatles (White Album), its predecessor. There was none of the confusion brought on by earlier albums with different American and British releases. The world-wide media was now in place allowing Abbey Road broader instantaneous exposure than any album before.

As if the album itself were not enough to blast its sales into orbit, an insane urban legend/conspiracy surface soon was sweeping the airwaves and campus buzz. Paul McCartney was dead and since their final tour in 1966, he had been replaced by a stand-in. Almost six years after the Beatles first crossed the Atlantic to appear in the United States in early 1964 conquering the music world, they remained high atop the world of pop music having grown so tremendously as artists and having such a profound influence on pop culture.
From its catchy beginning with “Come Together” followed up with one of their most touching love songs, George Harrison’s, “Something,” the first side of the album included Paul’s catchy pop for “Maxwell’s Silver Hammer” and “Oh Darling!,” then features what amounts to almost a children’s song, Ringo’s “Octopus’s Garden,” before coming to a dramatic climax with the extended hard rocker, “I Want You (She’s so Heavy)” featuring awesome guitar duels between Lennon and Harrison.

Side two opens showing George Harrison surely attained peer status to John and Paul as a song writer with the uplifting, acoustic guitar driven, “Here Comes the Sun.” From that glorious introduction what follows is unlike anything ever attempted by a rock band before, a mixture of fully realized songs, little snippets, and what amounted to in parts, a series of medleys where almost every element of the bands’ immense talents could be showcased leading to a huge big production finish that winds up with Paul McCartney’s vocal line, “And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make.” That final line would almost seem to be the fitting message, a perfect coda for their collective work, but always being ones for a humorous or ironic touch, twenty seconds of silence follows, then a goofball little ditty, “Her Majesty,” a tongue in cheek love song for the Queen.

When the Beatles work is taken in its entirety and one realizes Abbey Road is actually their last album to be recorded, the last work all four participated in producing, everything about it seems like the just conclusion to their brilliant efforts. They did not go into Abbey Road studios with the intention of it being their last album nor did they feel they were finished as a unit when the album was completed. It just worked out that way.

By the time the album was released, John Lennon had pretty much lost all interest in the band engaged in his theater of the absurd avant-guard presentations with his Japanese bride, Yoko. Days before the album’s release, Lennon joined forces with Eric Clapton, drummer, Alan White and bass guitarist, Klaus Voorman performing six tunes for a Toronto audience. He was active with his own recordings, releasing the single, “Cold Turkey” and then “Instant Karma” produced by Phil Spector early in 1970.

Engineer Glyn Johns, whose work included the Rolling Stones, who worked with the band during the Get Back/Let it Be project labored over the tapes attempting to come up with a marketable album. Though a finished album was presented and widely bootlegged, it never got the go ahead. The tapes remained sidelined as Abbey Road flourished.

As the band was increasingly at odds finishing an album from the project continued to gather dust. Anticipating an album of largely new material, Apple and Capitol records threw fans a biscuit with the release of Hey Jude (The Beatles Again), a compilation of familiar Beatles tunes never released on a Capitol or Apple album going as far back as “Can’t Buy Me Love” and “I Should Have Known Better” but also bringing “Paperback Writer” and “Rain” out of orphan status before going to some recent singles not finding a place on an album, “Lady Madonna,” “Revolution,” “Hey Jude,” “Don’t Let Me Down,” “Old Brown Shoe,” and “The Ballad of John and Yoko.” Missing in action was “Get Back” perhaps with the understanding it would anchor their album of unfinished material.

1970 opened with the Beatles final recording sessions on January 3rd and 4th, putting the finishing touches on “Let it Be” as it would be released as a single, and tracks were laid down for “I Me Mine.” Their final worldwide single was prepared for release finding a novelty number, largely John Lennon’s doing, “You Know My Name, Look up the Number” as the “B” side.

“Let it Be” was released as a single on March 6, 1970 complete with a video shown on Ed Sullivan’s show. Even though it was competing with John Lennon’s “Instant Karma,” fans still had no idea the Beatles were heading to a breakup though John Lennon’s behavior became more and more difficult to predict.

The battle for the band’s financial management was getting ugly with John and George seeking to work with Allen Klein who managed the Rolling Stones but was about to get the boot leading many to believe they would have been wise to have consulted with Mick Jagger for a little savvy business advice. Paul McCartney sought to have his father-in-law handle the business. Allen Klein, anxious to get the Beatles cash register ringing again got John and George to bless handing the tapes off to Phil Spector, whom John already had a working relationship to pull a marketable album from the Get Back/Let it Be stash. On April 1st, his work was completed. The album, Let it Be, was ready to coincide with the release to theaters of the movie of the same name, but Paul McCartney was furious. Incensed by Spector’s heavy handed approach to “Let it Be” and “Long and Winding Road,” Paul quickly put the finishing touches on his first solo album with a handful of familiar McCartney sounding tunes and some instrumental filler to have a preemptive release prior to Let It Be hitting the stores. April 20th was the day that rocked the world as McCartney went on sale along with a scathing announcement from Paul announcing the end of the Beatles.

Less than two weeks later, Let it Be was released as the Beatles’ final album. Though generally not their best, the album had plenty of brilliant material. Opening with a John Lennon wisecrack, then starting with a spirited acoustic duet, “Two of Us,” Let it Be appeared off to a great start. The live sound of the rooftop concert material was a welcome change from the carefully crafted studio sound that was the band’s signature from Revolver forward. “Dig a Pony,” a John Lennon lyrical workout, follows with just straight forward two guitars, bass, drums, and keyboards format from the rooftop concert. Phil Spector’s influence pervades the next two songs but most effectively. “Across the Universe” is reworked to become a dreamier less spaced-out composition with strings and female voices gently worked in to help create the atmosphere. George’s “I Me Mine” follows where Spector’s sense of drama is quite appropriate. Trying to recapture the original live intent of the project inserted a short little jam, “Dig It” follows. After that, perhaps the greatest shambles ever to wear the Beatles’ imprint follows. Starting off faithful to the single, all sounds in good order, as the title track, “Let it Be,” begins. If anything, the first Spector touches open the song up a little helping to enhance its gospel elements. The instruments stand out more vividly; however, at one and a half minutes into the song, things start to turn horribly wrong with some very loud blaring brass mixing in quickly followed by an absolute disaster. Gone is George Harrison’s beautiful soft telecaster solo enhanced by being played through a Leslie speaker system, burying it is a loud, raucous, out of tune guitar that completely destroys the whole spiritual tone of the song. That horrendous guitar continues to surface in bursts through the rest of the song, but after the solo then comes another dreadful miscalculation mixing the percussion up to an unnatural annoying level. Dramatic backing vocals and blaring brass continue to the song’s conclusion. Spector’s efforts would be the musical equivalent of trying to touch up the Mona Lisa with crayons.

The first side ends with a little John Lennon jam singing lines from an old Liverpool pub tune, “Maggie Mae.”

Side two begins with rooftop numbers and couldn’t sound better with their back to the basics approach. “I Got a Feeling” and “One After 909” are great live performances. The third track on side two of the original LP is one of the Beatles’ greatest controversies. Rather than using the take used in the movie, Spector found another recording of “Long and Winding Road” that was lean on instrumentation, mostly just Paul accompanying himself on piano. This beautifully simple arrangement presented unaltered on Anthology 3, is buried beneath one of the boldest employments of the massive Spector wall-of-sounds ever with sweeping Hollywood style strings and horns and a female choir. The results apparently infuriated McCartney who criticized passionately the results even citing usurping his creative control in legal briefs supporting his attempts to dissolve the band. Ironically, Paul’s arrangement for a live version of the song on Wings over America borrows substantially from the Spector approach.

The album wraps up with a happy-go-lucky, blues influenced George Harrison tune, “For You Blue” featuring some lively lap steel by John Lennon. “Get Back” concludes the album without the reprise at the end that was part of the single increasingly giving the album an indefinite finish.

For younger fans who did not live through the thrills of the Beatles when they were an active band, it’s easy to put things in chronological sequence and see a band’s career so beautifully balanced ending with the perfect swan song. Abbey Road can be seen as the wonderful final effort after signs of unraveling to the point of near chaos shown in the execution of Let it Be.

For those of us who were there, the Beatles seemed to be reaching for even higher heights when Abbey Road blessed our turntables in the fall of 1969. With so much great music from so many of the great icons of pop music its contemporary, perhaps we were distracted from seeing what was happening to the band that started so much of the great phenomenon.

The following spring, we had heard the news that Paul McCartney had announced the Beatles demise as many of us were seeking satisfaction from his first solo album, McCartney, but as we went to the record and discount stores just a few weeks later, we must have been in denial as we picked up Let it Be and if we had some extra coin the wallet the sprawling three record Woodstock album released the same week. Some of us would be lucky to get British or Canadian releases of Let it Be with the beautiful color book, dozens of fabulous photos of the band at work during the sessions.

The Beatles were just too good to leave us. Maybe they needed a break. Perhaps getting a couple solo albums out of their system would do the trick.

Soon the solo efforts started to pile up. By year’s end in addition to Paul McCartney’s effort, John Lennon and George Harrison would release landmark albums: John’s Plastic Ono Band and George’s All Things Must Pass. Even Ringo Starr got in the act releasing two albums, neither were rock albums but instead he explored old standards for his parents with Sentimental Journey and his passion for country music with Beaucoups of Blues.

In the early 1970’s, all four former Beatles maintained active recording careers, some albums well received while others were almost universally panned. No album elevated Beatles fans’ high hopes more than Ringo’s first pop effort in the fall of 1973. So far, Ringo had played on both George’s and John’s albums and George played on John Lennon’s album Imagine, but with the release of Ringo, all four Beatles performed, but never did all four perform on one song. George Harrison was quite active on the album, but the album’s opener, “I’m the Greatest,” John and George join Ringo with Billy Preston supplying keyboards for even more Beatles’ authenticity. Paul and Linda contributed a Beatles-sounding tune, “Six O’clock.” Richard Perry’s production helped pull the album together and give it often a distinctly Beatles’ sound.

High hopes and rumors would unite the Beatles’ in their fans’ imaginations, but what concluded with the recording of Abbey Road and the release of Let it Be marked the end of the most universally popular band in pop music history. Whether their legacy ended on a triumphant note or one of uncertainty and promises left unfulfilled depends on the listener’s perspective on how to put these two albums in their proper historic perspective. While Let it Be might seem to be getting a bum rap in this article, it would be a masterpiece by just about any other band’s standards with the horrible butchery of the title track standing out as painful insult to such an idyllic legacy.

Abbey Road is many listeners’ favorite album and the one producer George Martin is the most proud of. Along with Rubber Soul, Revolver, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Heart’s Club Band, and The Beatles, it is an essential recording for all music lovers who enjoy classic rock, post World War II pop music, or any serious collection of the best recorded music ever released. Let it Be is far more than a curio; it is a welcomed addition in many music collections as well.

The Great Album List: Take A Look!!!

We've revised our album list available to our readers in the left column. It's now arranged by artist to make it easier to follow. If you're a discerning listener looking for the best music mostly from the last half of the 20th century, check our list. You'll find plenty of rock, R&B, country, jazz, reggae, blues, bluegrass, and those great old standards.

The list is a work in progress with more titles being added over time. Check back often. Listen to these fine recordings. Most of them are readily available. From good music to kick back and relax, tunes that are the life of the party, or just good cruising stuff for making life on the highway more enjoyable, there are dozens of great choices.

Please comment if you'd like to see us publish a review of any of the albums included or you might want to check for them at www.allmusic.com, an excellent resource for music collectors.

The Beatles' Albums: Overview

Please Please Me, March 22, 1963

The Beatles early style for their first three albums was defined on this album. It also consists of a variety of cover songs which helped show the diversity of their influences from Motown and girl groups to the more pure pop of the Brill Building and Bacharach-David. How many music fans realize “Twist and Shout” was first a hit for the Isley Brothers?

Featured songs:
I Saw Her Standing There
Please Please Me
Love Me Do
P.S. I Love You
Do You Want to Know a Secret
Twist and Shout

With the Beatles, November 22, 1963

Here’s the album which defines Beatlemania style. This is the Fab Four at their cutest make the girls scream and faint style but beneath that pop glossy surface were signs of the incredible talent that was about to explode.

Featured songs:
All My Loving
Don’t Bother Me
I Want to Be Your Man
Not a Second Time

Covers:
Till There Was You
Please Mister Postman
Roll Over Beethoven
You Really Got a Hold of Me
Money

A Hard Day’s Night, July 10, 1964

Noteworthy for being the first album of all songs written by the Beatles and supporting their first film effort, while A Hard Day’s Night stays close to their “mania” signature sound, their performance and arrangements become increasingly more complex and creative.

Featured songs;
A Hard Day’s Night
I Should Have Known Better
If I Fell
Can’t Buy Me Love
And I Love Her
I’ll Cry Instead
Can’t Buy Me Love

Beatles for Sale, December 4, 1964

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This album marks the first departure from Beatlemania into more sophisticated music. Starting to embrace influences like Bob Dylan, the instrumental arrangements are far more complex and themes more varied. While not acclaimed as one of their best albums, it surely helps point toward Rubber Soul and beyond.

Featured Songs:
I’m a Loser
I’ll Follow the Sun
Eight Days a Week
I Don’t Want to Spoil the Party

Covers:
Rock N Roll Music
Kansas City
Words of Love

Help! April 13, 1965
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Though the movie, Help!, was considered far less sophisticated than A Hard Day’s Night, the album was a breakthrough on several counts. The first seven songs are all from the movie. They constituted side one of the album. Lyrics grew much more sophisticated from the angst expressed in “Help!” to the romantic melancholy of “Yesterday,” the most widely covered song in pop music history. While the last seven cuts lack any kind of connection of continuity, the Beatles go from Buck Owens’ Bakersfield country with “Act Naturally” to skillful songs far deeper and musically accomplished like “It’s Only Love” and “I’ve Just Seen a Face.” Most of the fundamentals of their later work were in play now. They only needed more time to put them to work.

Featured Songs:
Help!
The Night Before
You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away
Ticket to Ride
Yesterday
It’s Only Love
I’ve Just Seen a Face

Rubber Soul, December 3, 1965

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The Beatles truly came of age on this album. They are no longer a teenybopper hits band in any manner and are writing classic pop songs with provocative and introspective lyrics second to no tunesmith. The album features more acoustic guitar work and introduces George Harrison playing the Indian sitar for the first time. The British version of the album is far different than what was on the American LP. “It’s Only Love” and “I’ve Just Seen a Face” were already provided on Help! Four other tunes were released as singles or saved for an American compilation.

Featured Songs:
Norwegian Wood
Nowhere Man
Michelle
Girl
I’m Looking Through You
In My Life

Revolver, August 5, 1966

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The Beatles hit their creative peak with Revolver. “Eleanor Rigby” was accompanied by a classic string quartet. George Harrison’s “Love You To” featured a complete Indian ensemble with sitar and tabla. John Lennon explored psychedelic themes and music on several numbers most notably “Tomorrow Never Knows.” Paul McCartney’s ballads “Here There Everywhere” and “For No One” were written for far more mature relationships. The power of the studio became much more a creative extension of the band.

Featured Songs:
Taxman
Eleanor Rigby
I’m Only Sleeping
Here There Everywhere
Yellow Submarine
For No One
Got To Get You into My Life

Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Heart’s Club Band, June 1, 1967

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Sgt. Pepper is the album widely seen as the Beatles’ ultimate creative statement but over time it perhaps doesn’t hold up to the ground explored by Revolver. Nevertheless, it was a powerful album for its time that might be more significant for its cultural impact than musical expertise. Paul McCartney sought to have the Beatles attempt to create a new image. Once even the most casual listener heard this album, he or she would never see the Beatles in the same light again.

Featured Songs:
A Little Help from My Friends
Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds
When I’m Sixty Four
Lovely Rita
A Day in the Life

Magical Mystery Tour, November 27, 1967

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Originally released as an EP in the UK with only the six songs for the television comedy of the same title, it was released as a complete album with singles from the Sgt. Pepper time period to fill it out to a complete album. It would be released as the full album world wide in November, 1976. Musically, the album was essentially a continuation of Sgt. Pepper.

Featured Songs:
Fool on the Hill
I Am the Walrus
Hello Goodbye
Penny Lane
Strawberry Fields Forever
All You Need Is Love

The Beatles “The White Album,” November 22, 1968

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The “White” album was a sprawling two record set which unbeknown to fans at the time showed the band members heading in their separate directions. In essence, the songs were John Lennon, Paul McCartney, and George Harrison songs with other band members functioning as little more than studio musicians. In fact one of the most dramatic instrumental performances on the album, though never officially credited, was not by a member of the Beatles at all. It was Eric Clapton on “While My Guitar Gently Weeps.” The music covers much ground from hard rock to reflective ballads to comedy to just plain weirdness. Despite its nature, there are plenty of most enjoyable songs and one that introduces Ringo as a songwriter.

Featured Songs:
Back in the USSR
While My Guitar Gently Weeps
Happiness is a Warm Gun
Blackbird
Rocky Raccoon
Birthday
Yer Blues
Helter Skelter

Yellow Submarine, January 17, 1969
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Yellow Submarine features six songs by the Beatles, two previously released and the orchestral soundtrack music scored by George Martin for the animated film. The songs are likeable but of little consequence.

Featured Songs:
Yellow Submarine
Hey Bulldog
It’s All Too Much
All You Need Is Love

Abbey Road, September 26, 1969

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The Beatles final effort was named after the studio which had been their workshop for the vast majority of their material since their first album over six years previously. It’s a slickly produced, highly professional effort utilizing far improved recording technology than they had used over most of their career. George Harrison further stands up as a songwriter on par with Lennon and McCartney with their first hit, a Harrison composition, “Something” and also the highly popular, “Here Comes the Sun.” While John and Paul were going in very different directions on the “White” album somehow those differences mesh together more harmoniously on this album.

Featured Songs:
Come Together
Something
Octopus’s Garden
Here Comes the Sun
She Came in Through the Bathroom Window

Let it Be, May 8, 1970

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A Beatles album that was never consciously put together as an album, Let it Be was recorded in early 1969 prior to Abbey Road as part of a poorly conceived project with movie cameras running to capture the band at work rehearsing, recording, and finally performing a short live concert atop their Apple Studios rooftop in London. Lots of material was recorded, and one attempt to compile it as an album by engineer Glyn Johns was rejected. “Get Back,” “Don’t Let Me Down,” and “Let it Be” produced by George Martin were released as singles. Bombastic legendary American producer, Phil Spector, was brought in largely at John’s and George’s urging to rescue an album from the sessions. The end result was quite a mixed bag with some songs sounding live and fresh while others got the Spector treatment including a dreadful remix of “Let it Be” with a raucous guitar solo overdubbed over the original. “Long and Winding Road” infuriated McCartney with its heavy orchestration and female choir. The album became a most peculiar swan song when truly Abbey Road provides the perfect punctuation to the band’s amazing run.

Featured songs:
Two of Us
Across the Universe
Let it Be
One After 909
Long and Winding Road
Get Back

Several compilations were issued to capture hits not appearing on original albums, the best of which was the two double album sets, The Beatles 1962-1966 and The Beatles 1967-1970; however, rather than re-issuing these which left out some singles and B sides, when the Beatles catalog was prepared for CD in 1988, two CD’s Past Masters Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 were released to provide all remaining songs not released.

Past Masters, Vol. 1 & 2, March 7, 1988

If it's not on one of the albums above and was released by EMI as a regular Beatles release, singles, EP's, some were released on American albums, they're on these compilations.

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Featured Songs:

Vol. 1

From Me to You

She Love's You

I Want to Hold Your Hand

I Feel Fine

She's a Woman

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Vol. 2

Day Tripper

We Can Work It Out

Paperback Writer

Rain

Lady Madonna

Hey Jude

Revolution

Don't Let Me Down

The Beatles: Get Ready for the Big Beatles Blitz!!!

Classic shot from 1st Capitol single, "I Want to Hold Your Hand."

Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, George Harrison, John Lennon

Look out world, here come the Beatles again! It’s been forty years since Abbey Road, the last album they recorded was released, but with the release of their entire catalog as part of a comprehensive remastering program and the introduction of The Beatles: Rock Band, a video game capitalizing on the Guitar Hero craze, the Beatles frenzy will almost certainly hit its highest degree of intensity since the word of the band’s demise shocked the world as Paul McCartney released his first solo album and their final album compiled from the massive Get Back project, Let it Be, hit the stores.

Yes, there have been Beatle blitzes before. Before the digital age, Capitol records attempted to create some excitement through a series of compilations of the Fab Four’s work, then in the spring of 1987, the Beatles catalog was released, a couple albums at a time on compact disc. For first generation CD’s, EMI records did a respectable job. Surely, they should be applauded for releasing the original British albums for the entire world. Each album was the same song selection and titles as they were introduced with Past Masters, on two volumes, the catch all for singles and other songs never on an official album. Many found it puzzling that their first four albums were released in mono even though Hard Day’s Night and Beatles for Sale were recorded in full stereo not the format with instruments on one side and vocals on the other as their first two albums and Rubber Soul were originally presented.

1995 brought us another Beatles revival with the Anthology project consisting of three two CD sets of outtakes and alternate versions which realistically are for only the most dedicated fans. ABC also broadcast a marvelous series of Anthology television specials which then would be released as a boxed VHS and DVD set with far more material. A hug table top book was also part of this blitz.

As such, each decade provides its own reintroduction of the Beatles to another generation, and regardless of how one looks back at their material, they never fail to please.

We have our own insights on the Beatles, their music, their contributions to pop music, and to Cultural Revolution of the 1960’s. We’ll have several commentaries on the Beatles in the days ahead both examining their albums and adding some context about their release.

Yes, we will ruffle the feathers of some Beatles’ fans on some issues, but this writer was ten years old in fifth grade when the Beatlemania went wild in early 1964. He also became an instant fan of the Rolling Stones and Beach Boys, other British acts, Motown, soul, Bob Dylan, and the whole folk rock scene within the next year or so leading to a life long love of music and an insane gigantic music collection. We lived the Beatles from 1964 forward. No musical talent or other entertainers short of one’s home town sports team winning a championship could ever equal the excitement of what the Beatles created at their prime with the release of each hit single and album.

Let’s revisit their wonderful music and enjoy. For those never captured by the Fab Four, the trap is set!!! For the joy and happiness the Beatles put in our heart during the darkest hours of Vietnam, maybe a little bit of that tonic would be perfect for a world that's feeling rather down and out these days.

Elvis Presley: The King's Demise - 32 Years Later

The album that changed the world. Presley's first album for RCA.

Today marks the 32nd anniversary of Elvis Presley’s death at only 42 years of age. The “King” or the “King of Rock n Roll” died a miserable death having been destroyed by the ravages of excessive drug abuse and a generally poor lifestyle becoming obese and sickly. For all Elvis accomplished, and the many ways he reinvented himself, by the mid-70’s, Presley had become a fat, sickly mess barely able to hang on between the variety of drugs he was taking and a hideous diet. Everything about him seemed much older than his age.

Considering Elvis’s final days became much more poignant after Michael Jackson’s death in June revealing haunting similarities in how both pop icons died. Jackson too had suffered a miserably unhealthy life style and was constantly doped using his inner circle and handlers to maintain his lethal habits.

Of course there was the strange intersection of the King and the King of Pop when Michael Jackson briefly married Elvis Presley’s only daughter, Lisa Marie, a relationship that created a huge media uproar.

What both fallen stars share besides their grotesque fates is their incredible body of work, and few performers changed the face of music the way Elvis Presley did. Michael Jackson worked within styles of music already well established, but it was his showmanship and ability to capture a new medium, the music video that helped make his career so stellar.

To think the teen audiences who went crazy for Elvis in the mid 50’s are now in their 70’s. Rock n Roll, the music of youthful angst and rebellion has reached old age, but there’s nothing old about Elvis’s groundbreaking early recordings from the material he recorded for Sam Phillips at Sun Record to his first worldwide hits for RCA.

His work for Sun helped define the essence of rock music, the union of the blues and rhythm of Southern African American music with the melody of country music. True to this form, he recorded blues legend, Arthur Crudup’s, “That’s Alright Mama,” and the country classic, Bill Monroe’s, “Blue Moon of Kentucky.”

Once landing a major label contract with RCA, the output of hits in rapid succession was something perhaps only equaled by the Beatles in 1964 who of course cite Elvis as among their greatest influences. The first wave of hits and his first album, Elvis Presley, in 1956 included both original material and brilliant covers such as: “Blue Suede Shoes,” “Heartbreak hotel,” “I Got a Woman,” “Shake Rattle and Roll,” “Lawdy Miss Clawdy,” and a new pumped up version of “My Baby Left Me.” Not to be outdone, his second wave that year which yielded an album simply called, Elvis brought forth “Hound Dog,” “Don’t Be Cruel,” “Long Tall Sally,” and “Love Me Tender.” Meanwhile, a wave of a completely new sound completely changed the face of pop music as romantic crooners backed by lush orchestrations were replaced by small combos and charismatic young singers often with just a guitar or two, bass, drums, and maybe a piano or saxophone. The other underlying factor was young white musicians were playing music either originally performed by or highly influenced by black performers. Elvis dominated simultaneously the pop, country, and rhythm and blues charts. When has there ever been an artist who could have accomplished that.

The Elvis phenomenon continued at a feverish pace until October 1, 1958 when Elvis was drafted into the army where he attempted to meld in as just another soldier.

His popularity and the revolutionary nature of his music including the hip wagging swagger and the apparent raw sexuality created quite a backlash of horror. Some would see Elvis as ushering in the very destruction of our civilization itself. Frank Sinatra, who’d later come to appreciate Elvis was quite hostile at first, observing, “His kind of music is deplorable, a rancid smelling aphrodisiac. It fosters almost totally negative and destructive reactions in young people." The FBI under J. Edgar Hoover’s paranoid reign even suggested Presley was a danger to US security. Preachers sermonized against him. Judges threatened to arrest him but Elvis rocked on.

A different Elvis emerged coming out of the military, perhaps best identified as Hollywood Elvis. Through most of the 1960’s, Elvis performed in one cheesy movie after another including “Blue Hawaii” and “Viva Las Vegas.” The King had his share of hits, but nothing matched the intensity of the 1956-1958 period. By 1964, Elvis was now the old guard as Beatlemania swept the world. Still, one could not dig too deep into the material of the Beatles or the Rolling Stones and not see a strong Elvis influence. In fact, Mick Jagger attempted to display black influences and exploit sexual themes to create even a more intense furor than what Elvis accomplished.

By 1968, Elvis was ready for a comeback and delivered with a December TV special featuring a live segment that showed Presley sure could still rock and helped introduce him to a new decade of fans who came to rock and roll through the British invasion and flower power. The program opened with, “You looking for trouble…you came to the right place.” Some mighty powerful rock and roll showmanship followed. 1969 saw Elvis hit his greatest creative peak of his later career with the release of “From Elvis in Memphis” a more mature, decidedly country and blue eyed-soul effort accompanied by two highly successful singles not on the original album, “Suspicious Minds” and “Kentucky Rain.”

Soon Elvis would be back in Vegas, at first triumphantly, but as time went by, the image of Las Vegas Elvis would become the very symbol of his demise. The 1970 release of Elvis in Person at the International Hotel, Las Vegas, Nevada showed just how powerful the Elvis big band Vegas show could be, backed by a core band of Glen Hardin on piano, James Burton on guitar, Jerry Scheff on bass, and Ron Tutt on drums. Additional musicians, and singers including the Sweet Inspirations who worked with Aretha Franklin, and a Vegas orchestra helped produce a most powerful show. The lavish, big show, live album would be repeated with various degrees of success, On Stage, February, 1970; Elvis Recorded at Madison Square Garden; and Aloha from Hawaii via Satellite. During this time, Elvis released his last critically acclaimed album, Elvis Country (I’m 10,000 Years Old from 1971).

After 1973, the album output would ease up as would the quality. 1975 saw the release of Promised Land featuring a lively rocking version of the Chuck Berry song. The 1977 release of Moody Blue, an album finding his career gasping for breath, though the single, the album’s title track, was certainly a decent country single for its time and is clearly recognizable as the work of Elvis.

Today, Elvis’s prime recordings drift in and out of print with various singles and alternate recordings often recorded. The most recent generation feature some excellent remasters often including singles not included on the album and some additional material. Not all albums have gone beyond their original CD release. For the casual fan who wants a good dose of Elvis for his or her music collection, Elvis: 30 Number 1 Hits featuring his number one worldwide hits and Second to None which rounds out his work featuring well-known work that was not a chart topping single.


Still, for the music fan wanting to capture the essence of rock music, two revolutionary albums that set the stage for so much we’ve enjoyed for the last half century plus, the original RCA albums Elvis Presley and Elvis are must haves. Both are supplemented with concurrent singles that give the listener the whole Elvis story of that landmark year in American music, 1956, the year the King took his throne.

Thoughts on Woodstock 40 Years Later: I'M GLAD I WASN'T THERE!!!!

Grooving in the mud and garbage, ah the memories!!!!


Forty years ago today an event which has come to define a generation was held outside a sleepy country village in upstate New York on the farm belonging to Max Yazgur. The small community of White Lake, New York was overrun by up to half a million people converging on the farm for the most legendary rock festival of all time. These four decades later, surely it’s not hard to find a baby boomer who might have been between sixteen and around thirty who might claim to have attended the event. Likewise, there’s a huge population of people forty years old born around April, 1970, nine months after the event, who claim their parents were hippies and that mom and dad made love conceiving them as Woodstock love children. Such was the history of the Woodstock. Billed as an “Aquarian exposition” consisting of three days of peace and music, it seemed like every major rock and folkie act that mattered minus Bob Dylan, the Rolling Stones, The Doors and the Beatles, who unbeknownst to the world had all but called it quits by then. The Who, Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, The Band, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Janis Joplin, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Santana, Ten Years After, Mountain, Sly & the Family Stone, Jimi Hendrix, Richie Havens, Sha Na Na, Country Joe & the Fish, Arlo Guthrie, John Sebastian, Mountain, John Sebastian, Joan Baez, Melanie, Canned Heat, the Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Sweetwater, and Joe Cocker all appeared on the giant stage to the adorning mass of hippies or at least music fans who fashioned themselves to be hippies just for the occasion. What was more monumental, the lavish list of rock royalty or the size of the crowd, to say Woodstock exceeded expectations would be the ultimate in understatement as would stating the obvious, with thousands more fans than expected, the event likewise posed an absolute logistics nightmare!

Oh by the way, did anyone mention it rained like hell?

Think of the challenges. While the event was billed as a three day event and many attended with the expectation of camping out, there were not adequate provisions for camping, food, water or personal hygiene. With half a million people present, the assembly exceeded the size of most cities in the northeast spare the major metropolitan centers. Wouldn’t there also be the need for doctors and police protection? Remarkably, the crowd, though engaged in all kinds of craziness, maintained a remarkable sense of order and respect for each other. People could go absolutely nuts and the assembly could be quite forgiving just thinking, “Ah he’s freakin’ out on some bad acid.” There were some medical episodes, a child birth, and a slew of drug overdoses. The imagery couldn’t be more outrageous including naked people frolicking in the mud.

Yes, the Woodstock festival proved to be the epicenter that defined a generation. For adults in their mid 50’s and 60’s today, do they really realize what kind of definition is being laid on them?

This writer is one hell of a huge music fan with a special fondness for much of the music of the Woodstock era. Having first becoming a pop music fan with the Beatles Invasion, I quickly took to the Rolling Stones and Beach Boys. The Yardbirds, Kinks, Animals, Zombies, and Motown would all become part of my early scene with the folk rockers like Bob Dylan, Simon & Garfunkel, and the Byrds joining the roster quickly. The harder they rocked, the more they experimented, or the more adventurous their song-writing, the more I listened always searching for the ultimate hook or great guitar solo. How could things get more exciting than the “Summer of Love” in 1967 when an explosion of new groups exploring every music experiment possible burst on the scene even thanks largely to George Harrison even included the sounds of India. For the record, we’re not aware of any rock bands who featured bagpipes or the pan flute (thank God!). For the next two years, just about any trip to E.J. Korvettes or the local record stores would be a treasure trove of remarkable new artists whose work seemed so revolutionary and fresh. From the raw soul of Aretha Franklin to the hard rocking eroticism of the Doors, top 40 radio could barely contain the creative explosion and soon “underground” or “progressive rock” stations started popping up on the FM dial, which had previously been the domain of classical music, jazz, and elevator music.

Woodstock attempted to capture in one glorious weekend the total experience of hip pop music that dominated the music scene from the Summer of Love forward. The Who were experiencing new heights hot off of their great music experiment, the “rock opera,” Tommy. Jefferson Airplane was hell bent on the political anger and rebellion responding to the killing fields of South Vietnam. Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young were charming the crowd with their sweet harmonies. The 50’s revival got its launch with Sha Na Na’s well received performance, and Joe Cocker’s bizarre moves and slurred lyrics became the stuff of decades of parodies based on his performance perhaps best captured by John Belushi on Saturday Night Live.

So given all this excitement, the chance to see almost every major pop act that seemed to matter at the time, be honest, would you really want to be there? Think of being crowded in as just one person with half a million other people sounding you elbow room only. There was no avoiding getting sopping wet and dealing with the mud. Could anyone have had enough food rations or liquid to get through the weekend? Even folks who might have brought plenty of beer, it would have gotten mighty warm as even the thought of finding ice would be a bold dream. The crowd made it impossible for any food concessions to operate. Gee, how to respond when the obvious happened, “Good God, I gotta pee!!!” Remember it’s three days and where could one take a good dump. Yeah, this is crude talk. We admit it, but for those who romanticize about three days of peace, love, and music, this was a big part of the reality too. Imagine having even the slightest sense of claustrophobia!

Right Minded Fellow will say proudly, I’m damned glad I was just a tad too young at sixteen years old to have made it up to White Lake, New York. I had plenty of great albums from most of the bands that mattered anyway. Yeah, I played the living hell out of the Woodstock album when it was released the following spring ironically in piles of big boxes right next to huge shipments of the Beatles’ swan song album, Let it Be.

Remarkably, though, somehow despite everything that posed a danger and all that seemed to go wrong, not to mention the thought of how many fans were probably whacked out of their minds on drugs much stronger than blowing a little weed, the whole thing worked. A good vibe permeated the population and the music was so compelling it provided the focus that kept everyone working in harmony together. For folks who could deal with three days of not being able to wash, eat, or perform necessary body functions while being covered in wet muddy clothes being constantly elbowed, they can brag of the legend they were a part of. Millions of others pick and chose from the happenings and create their own fictitious account. I can’t imagine going through that experience and not becoming a total wreck traumatized by the evaporation of any kind of personal space whatsoever.

For those wanting to relive Woodstock, new videos of the event are hitting the market. Rhino records recently rereleased greatly improved remasters of the original Woodstock and Woodstock II albums. More comprehensive releases containing more Woodstock material are also hitting the street. Truth be told, for most bands, the Woodstock performances are far from their bests. Some bands like the Grateful Dead, the Band, and Creedence had long barred their material from being released. A complete soundtrack of Jimi Hendrix’s work is available and pretty darned slick. Pete Townshend and the gang performed some glorious rock as only the Who could perform.

Having recently purchased the remasters of the original albums, today they seem more like historical documents rather than vital music. Some of the real hippie stuff, the stage announcements, and just the overall picture of what was really going on shows that Woodstock was a product of its time and this writer not only is glad he never came close to upstate New York in the summer of 1969, but in hindsight, aside from the sheer spectacle of bringing so many choice acts together, the venue was hardly the place to experience them where their talents could be properly appreciated.

Further proof that Woodstock was a one time only amazing feat, though some Brits might include the Isle of Wight events in the discussion, later attempts to capture the Woodstock spirit failed miserably. If there was a Woodstock spirit, it was brutally assassinated the following December outside San Francisco at Altamont where the Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, Flying Burrito Brothers, among others set the stage for the top act, the Rolling Stones. Just inland from Haight-Ashbury, the center of the hippie world, hell broke lose as a rowdy crowd was subjected to the infamous motorcycle gang, Hells Angels providing “security.” As the Stones got hot and heavy into their set, a young man was murdered, and the whole world of the 1960’s came crashing down in the final days of the decade.

For rock fans young and old, the Woodstock 40th anniversary provides time to reflect on the strange cultural forces that made ordinary middle class kids adopt such a bizarre lifestyle where traditional values and the American way seemed so out of touch with the world they faced. Having grown up in schools practicing civil defense drills to be prepared in the event of a nuclear attack, students were directed out in the school hallways to duck and cover as if that would keep them from being vaporized by a Soviet nuke. As they hit high school and beyond, thousands of young men were conscripted by their government to be shipped halfway around the world to serve as soldiers in a war with no blueprint for victory and even shabbier reasons for them to be involved with to begin with. All this was just six years after Martin Luther King’s famous “dream” speech which helped finally tear down the walls of racial segregation as cities burning to the ground in urban violence were all too frequent every summer during this most peculiar time. Many Americans went through the whole experience remaining more or less ordinary middle class Americans through out. For those who became part of the Woodstock styled movement, they’d face coming to terms with that world and adjusting to the world of careers, raising children, and putting the past in perspective as the years flew by. Oh by the way, almost everybody, straight and hip, was smoking a hell of a lot of pot. How many of the Woodstock gang would be heading to the discos only six years later? How many of them came home to American values, love of country, and traditional values when Ronald Reagan spoke of the “shining city on the hill” and “it’s morning in America.”

Maybe we truly are better off because that most unusual time in history gave us a chance to experiment with who we are, step outside the American mold, and then have to choose to accept it as the right way to live rather than simply being indoctrinated to be a Yankee Doodle dandy in the first place.

The great sixties artists who still perform attract thousands of fans worldwide. Some folks remain lost in the worst of the 1960’s. Does the name William Ayers come to mind?

Michael Jackson: After Years Falling Apart - What Could Have Been?

Before the mutilations began...

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Michael Jackson died of heart failure at fifty ending one of the most perplexing and bizarre lives ever to become such a universally known figure. One cannot ponder the life of this great entertainer without two equally powerful images competing for the final word on his life First, few figures ever mastered the entertainment industry with the absolute mastery Jackson revealed as he matured as a member of the family ensemble, the Jackson Five to being the omnipresent pop star of the early 80’s. However, the second factor is almost the complete opposite. Michael Jackson was a genuine freak, a troubled man unable to live in the real world of humanity seeking out a child-like existence that became evermore perverted and disturbing as his youth gave way to middle age.

While the Jackson Five was a huge Motown success, Michael Jackson became a star of the highest order at the peak of the Disco era in 1979 when he teamed up with producer/arranger, Quincy Jones, to release the album, Off the Wall. While the hits, “Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough” and “Rock with You” were mega-hits that fit right in with the disco style, they had a richness and substance that went far beyond the passing trend in music of the day. The album went far beyond just a collection of dance songs, “She’s Out of My Life” struck gold as a mellow soulful ballad compatible with the mellow soul trends that would be furthered by producers like Babyface through the 90’s.

Three years passed and the music scene underwent a dramatic transformation. Disco was dead while the 80’s gave way to driving hard rock evolving into heavy metal, synthesizer drenched, rhythmic pop music that many would identify as the 80’s sound, and the street dance scene provided the precursor to hip-hop. The music scene could not have been more eclectic in 1982 as these styles, classic rock, punk, funk, and even a hipper form of country music all competed for attention on the pop charts, but it wouldn’t be styles of music that would be the story in 1982, it would be a new medium. With the rise of cable TV came MTV and the dawn of the video age. It wasn’t sufficient for pop music performers to have the right sound, but they had to have the right look or be able to come up with some formula that translated well to the video format.

Michael Jackson’s album, Thriller, entered the crowded music market and skyrocketed to become one of the most successful albums ever. “Billy Jean” was the album’s first giant hit. Its video gave Jackson the ability to show off his dancing moves but would hardly give a hint of what would lie ahead. “Beat It” the album’s second hit made Thriller a universal pop hit featuring a sizzling guitar solo courtesy of one of rock’s hottest guitar heroes of the day, Eddie Van Halen, Michael Jackson became one of the few African-American artists to get regular airplay on rock radio since Jimi Hendrix.

As “Beat It” was inescapable on the radio and MTV, the world was aware one of the great legends of pop music, one with the same breakthrough power as the Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours, the Eagles’ Hotel California, or the soundtrack for Saturday Night Fever featuring the Bee Gees.

Thriller’s biggest thrill came next. Teaming up with film producer, John Landis, Jackson and Landis devised the ultimate big production video for the album’s title tune based on old 50’s style horror flicks, complete with a myriad of special effects, costuming, and makeup to propel a lavishly choreographed video, and if that wasn’t excitement enough, MTV and other video outlets would broadcast a short mini-documentary on the Making of Thriller. The album’s success and massive pop culture penetration continued to grow and the album wasn’t through yielding more charting topping hits with numbers like “Human Nature,” “Want to be Starting Something” and “Pretty Young Thing” adding to the massive collection of gold.

As the Thriller phenomenon was peaking though, the world was starting to get a glimpse that maybe there was something just a little bit off about Mr. Jackson. His conduct went beyond just ordinary eccentricity into something far darker. As part of his success, he became valuable to Madison Avenue as a pitchman. Pepsi quickly embraced the pop star and a commercial was in production. The pyrotechnics malfunctioned burning Jackson’s hair, and it would appear that from that point forward, the unraveling began.

By the time his third album hit the streets with Bad in 1985, he was surely known as a bit of a freak, and from that point forward things kept getting worse to where entering the decade of the 1990’s all his weaknesses were hanging out for the world to see. He had one last mega-hit album with Dangerous in 1992. From that point forward, the King of Pop was in freefall with charges of child molestation and bizarre conduct spreading through out the media.

The fall from grace ended on this day in June, 2009.

Phil Spector: Da Doo Gone Gone

Phil Spector was sentenced to serve 19 years to life for his second degree murder of struggling actress, Lana Clarkson. The murder conviction carries 15 years to life. Four years are for a weapons charge. Additionally, Spector will pay restitution for funeral and other expenses. At 69 years old, the sentence all but should guarantee life in prison for the fallen mad genius of pop music trading in his famous wall of sound for the walls of California state prison.

In an earlier posting, we chronicled Spector's gigantic influence on pop music, also aspects of his bizarre personality. While the press will no doubt publish this as the personal tragedy of a fallen genius, and all the "how could this happen" grief, our true feelings should be directed to the tragic loss of life and its impact on the Clarkson family.

The loss isn't of Spector's freedom or any possible creative contributions he had left, but the loss of a human life. Somehow, in the celebrity obsessed world of mass media, something that basic, a real moral truth gets lost in the glitter.