Saturday, October 30, 2010

JDIZZY's 365 # 175: You Were Right

You Were Right - Badly Drawn Boy (2002)

Is it a sound idea to move to England simply because of the country's love, respect and quality of pop music? I think so. At a time (October 2002) when Kelly Clarkson's treacly "forced by a TV show" American idol ballad was number one on the American charts, Damon Gaugh was entering the British top 10 with a song about turning down advances from Madonna and regretting his inability to do anything when Buckley, Sinatra, Lennon and Cobain passed away. That's quite a difference. It would be Badly Drawn Boy's highest chart appearance, but his quality of work continues to stand at the heights he achieved back in '02. America, take note. If music of this level can be pop hits in the Mother Country, isn't it time we placed our ears outside the box. Badly Drawn Boy on the Hot 100? What a day that would be!

Friday, October 29, 2010

JDIZZY's 365 # 174: Year Of The Cat

Year Of The Cat - Al Stewart (1976)

Al had released six previous albums before Year Of The Cat broke all over the world. It's easy to see why. It was the story songs of the seventies meeting head-on with the studio perfection of groups like Steely Dan and The Alan Parsons Project (Alan Parsons coincidentally produced the album!). Stewart had always had the songwriting goods, but with this and his previous album, he came into his own in the studio as well. He would continue this streak through to his next album, the minor classic Time Passages. Today, he's still at it hard, releasing two great albums in the last few years. Funny though, even those who don't continue to follow his career seem to always come back to this tale of love on tour. Maybe we all long for exotic holidays involving trysts with mystery lovers. Maybe we just know a quality song when we hear one.

JDIZZY's 365 # 173: Oh what A Circus

Oh What A Circus - Colm Wilkinson (1976), David Essex (1978), Mandy Patinkin (1979) and Antonio Banderas (1996)

Four men have owned this song from Andrew Lloyd Webber's last perfect musical. Here they are in order of release, not quality. I simply cannot pick which is best.







JDIZZY's 365 # 173: Diamond Day

Diamond Day - Vashti Bunyan (1970)

When you record an album featuring members of Fairport Convention and Steeleye Span with Joe Boyd helming the production chair in 1970, you know before hearing it that you are dealing with a classic. Oddly enough, it took until the turn of the millennium and a cd re-release before the world- at- large knew anything about this marvelous work. Vashti Bunyan was less than a footnote in music history, having popped up on Andrew Loog Oldham's radar as well as Mr. Boyd's for the briefest of seconds. The album was forgotten, but it had staying power. It became a sought after collector's item, regarded as one of the archetypes of the psych folk movement that began to flourish with Devendra Banhart, Joanna Newsom and Vetiver. It is clear to see why. Every song on this disc sweeps you away to the countryside of the UK, with rivers, grub worms and various sundry characters that calm, inspire and confound. This is thought provoking music of the airiest variety. Vashti has since come out of hiding in the wake of the reissue's success, releasing her first new album in over 30 years, as well as an acclaimed EP with Animal Collective. Let us hope she never disappears again. Sometimes soothing music is all you need, and you will find none more worthy of that description than Ms. Bunyan's.

JDIZZY's 365 # 172: Gimme The Loot

Gimme The Loot - The Notorious B.I.G. (1994)

We all knew he was the greatest MC of our generation, but going back to his best album sixteen years after its release, it becomes clear that Biggie would have been a fine actor as well. One of the most cinematic hip-hop albums ever released, Ready To Die tells a clear story of disenchantment brought on by a life of crime. Today's song, along with "Me and My Bitch", have always been my personal favorites on the platter. I've often wondered if the two robbers on "Gimme The Loot" were actually two people, or Biggie battling with voices in his head. They are both voiced by him, giving Biggie a Method Acting performance only three tracks into the record. The rest continues in this vein, until Biggie kills himself on the last track. Like John Lennon, there is no clear idea what Biggie would be doing today if he hadn't been murdered, but it would be something extraordinary, no doubt in my mind. One needs only listen to the two albums he released in his lifetime to know that.

Monday, October 25, 2010

JDIZZY's 365 # 171: Visions Of Paradise

Visions Of Paradise - Mick Jagger (2001)

This should not be this good. Mick sounds better going all turn of the century pop than we had any right to expect. Like most of Mick's solo outings, it turns out to be an underrated classic that will be remembered long after Rob Thomas' other high profile collaboration is reserved for late 90's oldies stations. Hell, it might even become a hit one day. You cannot deny these hooks for much longer!!!

JDIZZY's 365 # 170: Maple Leaf Rag

Maple Leaf Rag - Scott Joplin (1899)

We are going back today, aren't we friends and neighbors? Not only is this song one of my perennial favorites, but it is also probably the most important piece on the 365. Without "Maple Leaf Rag", there is no dixieland, no jazz, no popular music as we know it. It still digs a hole in your ear after all these years, making you go around humming it for the rest of the day. It is the joy of melody, the joy of abandonment, and the joy of its composer, who thankfully "recorded" piano rolls so that we can hear it as he played it. He makes it sound easy, which any piano player will tell you it is not. Neither was his life. Scott Joplin died of dementia brought on by syphilis in a mental institution in 1917, and was buried in an unmarked grave that didn't receive a marker until 1974. In his 49 short years, he became the king of ragtime, wrote a magnificent opera and left us with multiple pieces of music that puts him on par with any modern composer of the 20th century. Let us never forget that without Mr. Joplin, the world would be a very square place.



Keith, bring it back to prog for me!!!

Saturday, October 23, 2010

JDIZZY's 365 # 169: Old Man

Old Man - Randy Newman (1972)

This is the hardest entry for me to put to screen so far in the 365. How do you choose one song that defines Randy Newman? It was easier with The Beatles. I know good and well that Rocky Raccoon isn't their best song, but it is my favorite, and its novelty has never gotten old for me. With Mr. Newman, I am at a loss. Is it " I Think It's Going To Rain Today"? What about " My Old Kentucky Home"? How about a modern day classic like " The Great Nations Of Europe", or the understated beauty of "Feels Like Home"? I finally decided it had to be off of Sail Away or Goold Old Boys, just because they are two of the best albums ever made, one a conglomeration of thoughts on humanity, the other a searing treatise on the American South (It could just as easily come from the long under-appreciated Little Criminals, but I had to make a cut somewhere!) When push came to shove it came down to two songs, one from each album. "Rednecks", while a brilliant dissection of the aforementioned specimen, is reliant on the shock of the N-word to get its point across. "Old Man" shocks with a beautiful melody and the starkest lyrics ever written on a familial passing. It works even more because he has prepared us for this moment by a positive song on the slave trade, and ends the record with God decreeing that man means nothing to him. Sail Away should be a depressing record, but it's not. Its strength lies, as it does in "Old Man", with its ability to make us see the worst in us, which in turn brings out an appreciation of the best. Randy doesn't have to touch on the good side. He will get us there through exposure of the bad.

Whew, that was hard!

I better stop before I change my mind.



Here's a delightful cover by your favorite and mine...Art Garfunkel!!!!!

Friday, October 22, 2010

JDIZZY's 365 # 168: Hey Jupiter

Hey Jupiter - Tori Amos (1996)

It has been said that Kate begat Tori. Tori in her turn has begat Fiona, Vanessa, Amy, Amanda and a school of other like-minded literate females with 88 keys at their disposal and a voice somewhere between an angel and a banshee. Ms. Amos' first three albums are master classes in adult alternative music. Little Earthquakes announced her power and made all memories of Y Kant Tori Read go away. Under The Pink is probably the greatest sophomore release by a major recording artist since Astral Weeks. Boys For Pele, however, is a landmark recording that to this day has not received the credit it deserves. Seeing her live on the accompanying tour back in 1996, I became convinced that no album before it had captured her opposite sides better than this marvelous disc. "Hey Jupiter" is a stunner which speaks to the fragility of our human minds and hearts. It is Emily Dickinson set to piano. I consistently come back to this album. It happens more often than others from the class of 1996 because it brings to mind perfectly the psyche of a sixteen year old, lost between childhood and college. That age is a tough time for kids, especially now. I don't know for a fact if her music has saved lives, but it certainly made mine easier in high school. It is reassuring to note that Tori continues to challenge, to teach and to make beautiful music. It also seems that teens continue to discover her, which is a good thing. If ever someone deserved a vaulted place on the rock shelves from that immediate post-Nirvana haze, it would be her.

Her unplugged version follows the album track. Absolutely gorgeous!



The video features the remix but works just as well on a different level.

Thursday, October 21, 2010

JDIZZY's 365 # 167: Bell Bottom Blues

Bell Bottom Blues - Derek And The Dominos (1970)

Patti Boyd must have been something special. Not only did she inspire "Something" by George Harrison, but two of Eric Clapton's finest works were spurned from his love for her, the wife of his best friend. Clapton would never make another Derek And The Donminos' album, but he also was never more of a self-contained songwriter than on this epic track."Bell Bottom Blues" is substantial also because every note of guitar you hear is all Clapton. The song was cut before Duane Allman joined up, so Eric overdubbed all of the axe parts himself. Rarely has unrequited love sounded so all-encompassing, so damning, so futile. The honesty is deafening! It's the best break up song you've ever heard, and Clapton hadn't even started his affair with her yet!



I don't know what's more entertaining, Cher's version or this girl's lip synching!?!

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

JDIZZY's 365 # 166: Photograph

Photograph - Ringo Starr (1973)

Oddly enough, Ringo has had the most varied of all The Beatles' solo careers. He has been a crooner, a hillbilly, a rocker, and a hell of a band leader. Still, it is his rash of hit singles in the early seventies that are his greatest legacy outside of The Fab Four. This gem sits atop that stax of wax for its sheer perfection in a 7" single. In a year when the rest of the boys were losing focus, Ringo brought them all back together for his self-titled album, creating with George Harrison his finest moment. It tells how pictures trap our memories better than any song I have ever heard. Poignantly performing it the Tribute to George in 2002, Mr. Starkey didn't leave a dry eye in the house. He continues to show us, after all these years, that Billy Shears is just as important as The Walrus, The Shaman and The Pop Impresario.

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

JDIZZY's 365 # 165: All Things Must Pass

All Things Must Pass - George Harrison (1970)

Those first four post-Beatles solo albums by the boys were really a varied bunch. Paul invented twee indie-pop. John fought his demons. Ringo created the "pop star doing the American Songbook" record. George simply showed that he never should have been confined to two songs a release. All Things Must Pass is technicolor church, majestically produced by Phil Spector, with a backlog of pent-up songs simply bursting to be heard across the three disc album. The title track is just gorgeous, a goodbye to his former bandmates, written and demoed before they broke up during the "Get Back" sessions. No later tribute has come close to George's seminal recording, except maybe his own "When We Was Fab" from 1987........... or, since he wrote it too, tomorrow's entry!



Paul's beautiful cover was a fitting memorial to his fallen brother.



Jim James, you are a genius. We will get to you on the 365 soon!

Monday, October 18, 2010

JDIZZY's 365 # 164: I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry

I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry - Hank Williams (1949)

The golden age of country music lasted roughly until the mid-seventies, before Nashville became a money-hungry society of banal songwriters, pretty faces and pop-mimicking producers. Still, it had quite a run. Everything we love about "Countrypolitan", "The Bakersfield Sound", "The Outlaw Movement" and anything Billy Sherrill ever touched begins right here. Hank Sr. would write or perform many a touchstone of this American art form, but none would so perfectly capture the circle of the past and the present being unbroken. You would be hard pressed to find any work in the greatest singer/songwriter's canon that can hold a candle next to this honest portrayal of heartache. It's important to remember that it was a b-side to Hank's novelty hit, "My Bucket's Got A Hole In It", and that when it was re-released in 1966, it only made it to number 43 on the Country Charts. It's rare that such a poor chart performance is so widely hailed and covered as this. It just goes to show, as I hope most of this blog pays tribute to, that popularity is no match for quality, and that over time, if a work of art is good, it will find respect. Eternity is a powerful opinion shifter.

Sunday, October 17, 2010

JDZZY's 365 # 163: Not A Friend

Not A Friend - Sebadoh (1994)

Oh, the days of buying indie rock through mail-order catalogs!!! Not only was the postage paid if you ordered records directly through Sub-Pop, but in those pre-music blog days, you could discover bands like Elevator To Hell, Sunny Day Real Estate and Sebadoh. I don't know what it was that made me buy Bakesale, but something told me it was going to be worth my time. From the opening fuzzed-out guitar of "License to Confuse" to the urgency of "Careful" via the melodic indie-pop of "Skull", I had discovered a lo-fi cult classic. it felt so good back then to love a band that no one else in my small town of Virginia knew about. It was only later that I learned Lou Barlow was a founding member of Dinosaur Jr, and by that time he already had a pop hit with The Folk Implosion's "Natural One".It didn't matter; they were all mine for at least six months. This is the song I would play over and over late at night, hearing Lou's pain and knowing that whatever my awkward teenage years could through at me, there was someone out there who understood. I haven't listened to that album in quite some time. I think today might just need a little Sebadoh!

JDIZZY's 365 # 162: 2112

2112 - Rush (1976)

The side-long epic had fallen out of favor by the late seventies, but these stubborn Canadians could not have cared less. Disco be damned, here was a prog masterpiece, which invented prog-metal in its wake. which means We have Rush to thank for the careers of Dream Theater, Spock's Beard, and Muse. However, let's be honest: NONE of these bands can hold a candle to THE power trio to end all power trios. From Neal Peart's timeless prose of a society where music is banned to Geddy Lee's vocals ( Which make Jon Anderson look like a bass) and the beautiful middle section featuring Alex Lifeson's acoustic guitar.... I cannot praise this song enough. Seriously, there is no band out there who deserves a spot in The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame more, and since Rolling Stone has inducted Genesis, the blacklisting of Prog acts should be at an end and at least two a year should start being inducted. Let's start with The Moody Blues and these guys. Now, put on your headphones, cause Neil Peart's drums are why they were invented!





Friday, October 15, 2010

JDIZZY's 365 # 161:Wonder

Wonder - Colin Meloy (2008)

You don't expect such tenderness from the guy who gave us "The Rake's Song" and " A Cautionary Tale". That doesn't stop "Wonder" from being the most beautiful tribute to a child since, to be redundant, "Beautiful Boy" by John Lennon. Colin Meloy takes a break from his epic tales of Celtic myth, ghosts trapped in chimney flumes and wacky upbringings to give us this gem. He has shown love before, but never in an autobiographical sense. It's a form that suits him as well as his short stories. Like his cover EP's of Morrissey, Shirley Collins and Sam Cooke, it shows that this young star is just starting to explore his versatility. Let's hope for many more years of such diverse and glorious work.

Thursday, October 14, 2010

JDIZZY's 365 # 160: Grace

Grace - Jeff Buckley (1994)

After Kurt Cobain, this is the greatest loss that my generation has felt in the music world. Releasing only one full album before he drowned in the Mississippi river, Jeff Buckley still left an indelible mark on our lives. Never had such guitar prowess been paired with simply otherworldly vocal ability. I mean, the only person that comes close is Peter Frampton, and Buckley runs circles around him with his many strengths. Although he is remembered mainly for sublime covers, this title track original is like Zeppelin reborn in the 90's: a towering hammer of the gods, Page and Plant wrapped into one. I cannot imagine where he would have gone next. I strongly recommend purchasing his unfinished second album My Sweetheart The Drunk, as well as the beautiful biography of both Jeff and his father Tim, Dream Brother. I simply refuse to believe that you don't already own Grace.

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

JDIZZY's 365 # 159: In The Aeroplane Over The Sea

In The Aeroplane Over The Sea - Neutral Milk Hotel (1998)

Brilliance doesn't always breed longevity. This has been painfully obvious with Neutral Milk Hotel, who have not released and album in 12 years. Still, one has to wonder, how would they follow this up? In The Aeroplane... is the greatest indie album of all time, a fully realized concept of art, lyrics, music and Jeff Magnum's haunting voice. Granted, it has been great seeing his sightings reported on and swooned over in the last few years. Pitchfork, Stereogum and the rest of the blog big-wiggers keep hoping for that miraculous reunion with new material. I don't believe it will ever come. Like Chinese Democracy has proven, even if an album is pretty damn good, it simply cannot live up to the hype of an over-a-decade long wait. It's in their best interest not to release anything at this point. It's all right though. We will never have to say Neutral Milk Hotel lost its power over time. They released their perfect album and faded into the ether. Listening to the title track, you don't even feel the need to hope for more. Why would you when what you have in front of you will never get old? It will always be fresh, stunning and perfect.

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

JDIZZY's 365 # 158: Where Is My Mind?

Where Is My Mind? - The Pixies (1988)

This story begins 11 years before I first heard the musicians we will discuss today. Being eight years old in 1988 meant that Michael Jackson's Bad was a lot more accessible then REM's Document or Nirvana's Bleach. Hence, I didn't get into Athens, Georgia's finest and Seattle's saviors until "Losing My Religion" and "Come As You Are" in '91, the year that Out Of Time and Nevermind opened my ears to underground music. Reading any article I could about the two bands in the next three years, I began to notice that they both made references to The Pixies, a band I had never heard. In the golden age of major label alternative releases ('93-'96), I soaked up albums by The Breeders and Frank Black. Rolling Stone informed me that both were former members of The Pixies. I made a mental note that I needed to check this band out. Then classic rock kind of took over my listening tastes for about 4 years and I forgot to research further. Then, while sitting in a movie theater, I heard the band's signature song play while the buildings toppled at the end of Fight Club. Let's just say, after scanning the ending credits to see who that could be playing this incredible treatise on insanity and fish, I was happily surprised to find I had finally been exposed to The Pixies. Their music continues to be some of my favorite 11 years later, and I fully understand now why Kurt said "Smells Like Teen Spirit" was a Pixies knock-off. Frank and Kim should get co-writing credits.



An unlikely cover and mashup follow!



Monday, October 11, 2010

JDIZZY's 365 # 157: Love Will Tear Us Apart

Love Will Tear Us Apart - Joy Division (1980)

I've never really considered post-punk a genre (Wouldn't it be everything released since The Sex Pistols broke up?). However, let's play devil's advocate. If the movement existed, this would be its anthem. New Order would last much longer than this short-lived treasure, but New Order didn't have Ian Curtis. Part Jim Morrison, part vampire, his voice was a vessel of pain that has not been equaled since his suicide the same year this legendary cut was released. Pain never made you want to dance so bad. LCD Soundsystem would never have existed without this classic.



This song begs to be covered. Many have given in to its wishes.





JDIZZY's 365 # 156: Dream On

Dream On - Aerosmith (1973)

This is why lighters are flicked at concerts (I refuse to accept cell phones being used for this purpose!). This is why Steven, Joe and the rest of the boys still hold our imagination after making a mockery of the power ballad format they helped create (Even though many of them are EXTREME guilty pleasures of mine!). It has been loved for almost forty years by people from every walk of life. It is penultimate, to use a really big word. It is "Dream On" and it is Aerosmith at their finest.

JDIZZY's 365 # 155: The Bricklayer's Beautiful Daughter

The Bricklayer's Beautiful Daughter - William Ackerman (1981)

Solo acoustic guitar pieces have the power to stop me in my tracks as I quickly become completely enchanted with their beauty. Two of my favorite bands, Genesis and Yes, have included spectacular additions to the form on two of their seminal albums, so that probably helped with the whole love thing. Yet we must traverse the murky waters of New Age to truly hear where the affection began. One needs look no farther than this recording. It is quite simply the most beautiful piece of instrumental music I have ever heard, regardless of genre, style or artist. All from the guy who started Windham Hill. Don't even watch the video. Just put on you friendly neighborhood headphones, start the video, close your eyes, and be at peace with everything in the world. She must have been quite a beautiful daughter, Mr. Ackerman.

Friday, October 8, 2010

JDIZZY's 365 # 154: Without You

Without You - Badfinger (1970)

It wasn't until my Beatles-obsessed mind inclined me to purchase the Best of Badfinger (They were signed to Apple Records and recorded Paul's "Come & Get It".) that I learned a shocking truth: They wrote "Without You". I came to this song through Mariah Carey, found the definitive version with Harry Nilsson and was then rocked by this British Band's original. It is one of those songs that never loses its power to move you.. Badfinger's version is more urgent, more driving then the covers that followed. It is made all the more heartbraking because of the outcome of Badfinger's troubled history. Band members Tom Evans and Pete Ham killed themselves almost a decade apart from each other. With the knowledge of their suicides, it becomes hard to fight back tears and chills while listening to this haunting classic.

JDIZZY's 365 # 153: Longfellow's Serenade

Longfellow Serenade - Neil Diamond (1974)

Neil Diamond is one of the biggest musical inspirations of my life. I was raised on four albums of his: Hot August Night, Stones, the Jonathan Livingston Seagull soundtrack and Serenade. Serenade is still my favorite of his albums, with Beautiful Noise coming in at a close second. I love the fact that I discovered the latter's Robbie Robertson produced magic on my own, but all thanks for my Jewish Elvis worship rests in the musical tastes of David and Betty Jewell. I loved that record so much as a child that I colored on the album sleeve. This tale of poetry and love perfectly captures Neil at a time when everything he released was huge, before the E.T. song and the mid-80's took him out of serious music lovers minds. He's back now with a vengeance, in the form of two perfect late period albums produced by Rick Rubin. Also, he has FINALLY been nominated for The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. It's good to know my parents were right all along!

JDIZZY's 365 # 152: Welcome To The Black Parade

Welcome To The Black Parade - My Chemical Romance (2006)

In the year that I discovered The Decemberists, a goth punk band made one of the best concept albums I had ever heard. It had story, it had killer production (by Rob Cavallo, no less!)..... hell, it had Liza Minelli! The first single is a fine tribute to the symphonic rock of Queen, with tempo changes, orchestral swells and lyrics not often heard over the speakers in a Hot Topic store. They are releasing the followup in November, and I am eagerly anticipating something equally brilliant. Don't disappoint me guys, I've talked you up a lot, and I would hate to lose face!

JDIZZY's 365 # 151: John Barleycorn

John Barleycorn - Traffic (1970)

If you grew up in the 1980's, the Steve Winwood you hear on this recording is a different beast all together than the guy who sang "Don't You Know What The Night Can Do" on a Michelob commercial. This ancient ballad (dissected beautifully in its wikipedia article) is given new life by Mssrs. Winwood, Capaldi and Wood. Traffic, having just become a power trio after Steve returned from Blind Faith, crafted this lean, jazzy folk classic as the title song to their 1970 reunion disc. It is one of their finest moments. However, gems abound in their catalog, encompassing genre after genre. Most "progressive", to say the least.



So many versions, so little time!!!





Wednesday, October 6, 2010

JDIZZY's 365 # 150: Sail On

Sail On - The Commodores (1979)

The late seventies and early eighties were a banner time for songs that started as ballads before becoming up-tempo jams before the end of the track. Some of my favorites include "Hard To Say I'm Sorry/ Get Away" by Chicago, "The Load Out/ Stay" by Jackson Browne, and this, the finest thing the venerable Lionel Richie ever put to vinyl. I have been an apologist of the artist for years, but now I see no point to continue. His music has stood the test of time. If you can't find something in this song to like, from the heartfelt lyrics to the inevitable funk break that sails the single on to its end, then you must prefer music of a harder variety. For you, I say listen to Lionel and Rob Zombie re-record Brickhouse. If that doesn't work, well, I suppose you just were never meant to love Mr. Richie or his equally talented band mates. In which case, I feel sorry for you.

Sunday, October 3, 2010

JDIZZY's 365 # 149: Faithfully

Faithfully - Journey (1983)

In a way, they are America's ABBA. Loved by millions, they are the 26th best - selling recording act of all time. They have ties to classic bay area behemoths like Santana and Jefferson Starship. Their hits have echoed through the years, and thanks to Glee, a new generation has discovered their music and embraced it as their own. I am willing to bet that besides The Beatles, Pink Floyd and Bob Marley, they are the most successful act to cross generation gaps. (And they had two video games before Rock Band was even a thought!) Even today, with their dead ringer for Steve Perry - Filipino lead singer, they are a force to be reckoned with on the touring circuit. Why do the press hate them so much? To quote the "classic" film Big Daddy, music critics can be "hypocritical assholes". "Faithfully" is the true definition of a power ballad, so get out you lighters, cast aside your snarky comments, and revel in the fact that almost everyone you know (whether publicly or not) loves this song.



See, even modern Prog-Metal groups like Coheed & Cambria love this song!

Saturday, October 2, 2010

JDIZZY's 365 # 148: Sailing

Sailing - Sutherland Brothers (1972)

The Sutherland Brothers are one of those anomalies in the music industry. Almost any fan of classic rock is quite familiar with their biggest song, but few have ever heard their version. You see, they share a spot at the table with lesser known artists like Tim Hardin and Danny Whitten whose signature tunes were made famous as covers by Rod Stewart. Rod certainly nails his version, but the Sutherland Brothers' original captures the sound of the Island "pink label" years perfectly. At a time when Richard Thompson, Cat Stevens, Nick Drake and John Martyn were all releasing stellar recordings for the same company, The Sutherlands' work stood out as well for their breadth and fusion of old and new. It's a good thing Rod the Mod sang this ditty. We here on the other side of the Atlantic might never have known their names at all.

Friday, October 1, 2010

JDIZZY's 365 # 147: Human Nature

Human Nature - Michael Jackson (1982)

In the aftermath of Michael Jackson's death, I sought solace in the music that made us all love him, at one point in our lives. That meant bringing out Thriller. If there ever was an album that can be called the most important in my life, it would have to be this. I was two years old when it was released. I received a copy of it on my 3rd birthday (on cassette). It was my first album, and I played that thing until the tape started to squeak in the player from wear and tear. I have since owned it on vinyl and cd. If another physical format is ever dreamed up, I'm sure it will be re-purchased again. Thriller isn't just a stroll down memory lane for me. It seems like every reason I love music is captured in it's 9 tracks. There's metal, there's funk, there's pop, there's a Beatle and there is this beautiful ballad. It is this song that I played over and over again last summer. It was this song that brought tears to my eyes while watching This Is It on the big screen. I always came back to Thriller no matter what happened in Michael Jackson's tumultuous life. Now, in the wake of his passing, I come back even more, to be reminded of what he was, what this world caused him to be and the loss we will never fully recover from.



Miles turns pop perfection into electro-jazz manna.

JDIZZY's 365 # 146: Theme From Mahogany (Do You Know Where You're Going To?)

Theme From Mahogany (Do You Know Where You're Going To?) - Diana Ross (1975)

Seventies pop rock perfection from the former Supreme, who seemed to be enjoying the hell out of being a diva. Oddly enough, the movie isn't half-bad either, being one of the three must see Diana Ross vehicles.



Mariah sure loved covering Diana songs. Hey, at least it's better than the J.Lo version!

JDIZZY's 365 # 145: Trouble

Trouble - Ray LaMontagne (2004)

Before we get to Mr. LaMontagne, let's listen to him and Mr. Rice nail a Bee Gee's cover:



Arrrrgghhh, why is that so brilliant???!!??!

Anyway, Ray brings just as much power to his own work. The first song on the 365 with a previous entries' title, "Trouble" sums up what made us stop in our tracks and take notice of the record of the same name back in 2004. He has continued to release great albums, up to this year's God Willing & If The Creek Don't Rise, his first without producer Ethan Johns. There's not much else to say on the subject. The guy's just really good, and all four of his albums are welcome additions to anyone's collection.