March 22nd is Propellor Time!

According to Robyn Hitchcock's fancy new website, March 22nd is Propellor Time. What does that mean? Well, it would seem to indicate that he's releasing a new album of that title on that date. I'm guessing that the above picture is the album cover, meaning it's another album with his crack backing group, The Venus 3. (Okay, so they do more than just back Robyn. Peter Buck, for example, also plays with a little group called REM.) I'm excited, not just because I like Robyn, but I really feel that his last two albums, "Goodnight Oslo" and "Ole, Tarantula," are some of his best work. I'm excited to hear where Robyn will go with this album. Maybe his trip to Greenland as part of Cape Farewell inspired some of these new songs. Only 5 weeks and one day until Propellor Time!

AllMusic Loves 1965, and so do I

AllMusic.com just published one of their periodic "Best Of a Random Year" lists, and they finally chose an awesome year, 1965. Their editors all picked their favorite albums and singles from that year, so I thought I should blog about some of my favorite music that came out that year. Okay, let's start off with the obvious albums...

The Beatles, "Help!"

"Help!" showed the Beatles moving forward in leaps and bounds in their songwriting. John Lennon was entering a particularly fertile time in his writing, penning the title track, "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away," and "Ticket to Ride." I quite enjoy John's "It's Only Love," which he said later was one of his least favorite songs ever. Oh well. And even though Paul McCartney's songs for the movie are rather slight, "The Night Before," and "Another Girl," he came up big on the second side of the album with "I've Just Seen a Face," and a little song called "Yesterday," which has since become the most performed song EVER. Wow. And George Harrison is starting to emerge as a great songwriter as well, with "I Need You," and "You Like Me Too Much."

The Beatles, "Rubber Soul"

"Help!" is great, but "Rubber Soul," recorded in a frantic rush to have product out for the Christmas season of 1965, is a quantum leap forward in production. John and Paul are pushing at the boundaries of rock and roll. I've always felt that "Rubber Soul" marks a huge high point for John Lennon's songwriting, the same kind of peak that Paul would reach in 1966 on "Revolver." John's songs on "Rubber Soul" are: "Norwegian Wood," "Nowhere Man," "Girl," "In My Life," and "Run for Your Life." (Along with co-writes on "The Word," "What Goes On," "Wait," and "Drive My Car.") Okay, so "Run for Your Life" is filler, but the other four songs are among the finest he ever wrote, and show the group progressing far beyond typical rock and roll subject matter. Given how great the production is on "Rubber Soul," it's amazing that this album was banged out in such a short time. Everything seems so perfectly thought out, unrushed. And Paul adds another song to his list of Lennon-McCartney standards, "Michelle." And he and John wrote his concert opener, "Drive My Car." My Mom has always been puzzled by Paul's great love for "Drive My Car." I came up with an explanation over Christmas when we were watching the mini-documentaries from the Beatles re-issues. Paul has said that he and John really struggled over "Drive My Car," they had some nonsense about "golden rings" to start off with, but that didn't work. And eventually, over the course of the day at John's house, they polished "Drive My Car" to a sheen, coming up with a fun song with a "beep beep yeah!" chorus. So it was really the two of them working together to create this song, and I wonder if that's why Paul likes it so much, maybe it reminds him of that partnership he had with John.

Bob Dylan, "Bringing It All Back Home"

And Dylan went electric...abandoning folk protest music for rock and roll, Dylan wrote some of his most brilliant songs, and influenced just about everybody making music at this time. This landmark album starts off with "Subterranean Homesick Blues," a fast-talking number that isn't about anything in particular. Practically every song on this album is terrific, from the bitter "Maggie's Farm" to the hilarious "Bob Dylan's 115th Dream." The second side is acoustic, and introduced the world to "Mr. Tambourine Man," "Gates of Eden," "It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)" and "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue." Wow. A staggering achievement by a single artist.

Bob Dylan, "Highway 61 Revisited"

And just 5 months later, he did it again. Starting off with "Like a Rolling Stone," this album never lets up on the rock. There was no acoustic second side this time. Dylan is pushing his imagery farther and farther, churning out surrealistic pop masterpieces like "Ballad of a Thin Man," the title track, and "Desolation Row." He was clearly on a hot streak, and even if his folk audience was deserting him, he was gaining new fans from the rock world.

Okay, so those are the obvious ones. I haven't actually heard the Beach Boys' albums from 1965, so I can't say how good they are, but most of the AllMusic critics picked their two albums as well.

The Kinks, "Kinda Kinks"

Yes, this album has some less than essential tracks, like Ray's cover of "Dancing in the Streets," but it also has "Tired of Waiting For You," the first Kinks single to not just be a re-write of "You Really Got Me." And if you get the version with all the bonus tracks, you get great singles like "Set Me Free," "See My Friends," and "A Well Respected Man." Great stuff, and it shows Ray Davies beginning to flex his brain more.

The Kinks, "The Kink Kontroversy"

More great Kinks songs on their second album of 1965, including "Till the End of the Day," "I'm On an Island," and "Where Have All the Good Times Gone." Sets the stage for their first masterpiece, "Face to Face," from 1966.

John Coltrane, "A Love Supreme"

Perhaps Coltrane's most complete and beautiful musical statement, this album shows his classic quartet at the peak of their powers, working together to create a stunning album-long suite of music in praise of God. Amazing.

Frank Sinatra, "September of My Years"

Frank Sinatra turned 50 in 1965, an event which he commemorated with a new album, "September of My Years," and a 2-disc retrospective, "A Man and His Music," which was also a TV special. He was a busy guy, and "September of My Years" proved to be one of his classic albums, it introduced "It Was a Very Good Year" to his repertoire, and the album as a whole dealt with the theme of aging, and features terrific versions of songs like, "This Is All I Ask" and "September Song." This is one of Frank's last classic concept albums.

Bobby Darin, "Venice Blue"

Okay, I'm a huge Bobby Darin fan, so I'm not expecting anyone else to know this one. But it features some great Darin performances, like his swinging version of Tony Bennett's "The Good Life," and "I Wanna Be Around," and a gorgeous rendition of "Somewhere," from "West Side Story." And check out Bobby's bluesy "Ain't No Sweet Gal Worth the Salt of My Tears," it's great. Bobby's 1966 album, "Bobby Darin sings The Shadow of Your Smile" is fantastic, he sings all the songs from 1965 movies that were nominated for the Best Song Oscar. His version of "The Shadow of Your Smile" is simply lovely. And the second side featured some of my favorite songs of his, "Rainin'," "Lover, Come Back to Me," and "Cute."

Hank Mobley, "Dippin'"

Hank Mobley was the great underrated jazz tenor saxophonist of the 1950's and 60's. He cut tons of great sessions for Blue Note, and he was always a "musician's musician," but he never broke through to wider acclaim. "Dippin'" is just one of his classic sessions featuring Lee Morgan on trumpet, and it also features Mobley's skill at writing great songs.

Hank Mobley, "The Turnaround"

Only some of this album was recorded in 1965, some songs are from a 1963 session. The title track, a groovy number in the style of Lee Morgan's "The Sidewinder," is a killer.

Hank Mobley, "A Caddy for Daddy"

Yes, people often recorded 3 albums in one year! This is another solid hard-bop set from Hank, with support from Lee Morgan and McCoy Tyner.

Rolling Stones, "The Rolling Stones, Now!"

A solid early Stones albums, before Mick and Keith turned into great songwriters. My highlight is "Little Red Rooster," dig Brian Jones's slide guitar!

Rolling Stones, "Out of Our Heads"

Features some sub-par cover versions, but also early brilliance on "The Last Time," "Satisfaction," "Play with Fire," and the very funny "Spider and the Fly" and "The Under Assistant West Coast Promotion Man."

Rolling Stones, "December's Children"

This was one of the first Stones albums I got, for some reason. I like it, kicks off with a fiery version of "She Said Yeah," and has a live version of "Route 66." It also included perhaps the only song that both Dean Martin and the Rolling Stones recorded, "You Better Move On." No, I'm not kidding. Also features "Get Off Of My Cloud" and "As Tears Go By."

Dave Brubeck, "Time In"

Yes, another one of Dave's "Time" albums, this one is an overlooked gem. If you like Dave Brubeck and Paul Desmond, pick this one up. But, you can only get it in the box set, "For All Time," which collects all of Brubeck's "Time" albums for Columbia.

Phil Ochs, "I Ain't Marching Anymore"

Phil Ochs picked up where Dylan left off, and recorded one of the great folk protest albums, "I Ain't Marching Anymore." The title tune takes us through all the wars that America has fought over the years, with the narrator vowing that after every war he ain't marching anymore. This album also features Ochs's hilarious "Draft Dodger Rag," a young man's litany of reasons why he can't fight. ("Someone's gotta go over there, but that someone isn't me.") Ochs has a touching tribute to JFK, "That Was the President," and ends with the bitter, angry, "Here's to the State of Mississippi," which none-too-subtly suggests that the rest of the US should kick Mississippi out of the union. "Here's to the land you've torn out the heart of, Mississippi find yourself another country to be part of." I wish that Phil Ochs were still alive.

The Chad Mitchell Trio, "Typical American Boys"

Okay, as long as I'm on the folk protest train, I should add the Chad Mitchell Trio's album. The title comes from a line in Phil Ochs's "Draft Dodger Rag," which they covered on their 1964 album, "The Slightly Irreverent Mitchell Trio" to great effect. (What a great album title!) For those of you who don't know, the Chad Mitchell Trio were a folk group, similar to the Kingston Trio, except they had better harmonies than the Kingston Trio, were more overtly political, and of course, were nowhere near as popular. "Typical" features their great harmonies on songs like "Jesse James" and "My Name is Morgan." Their other 1965 album, "That's the Way It's Gonna Be," was cut after Chad Mitchell left the group. His replacement was a young man named John Denver. The title song is one of my favorite Mitchell Trio songs, written by Phil Ochs, who unfortunately never put it on one of his own albums. The album also features some of their humorous topical material, like the "I Was Not a Nazi Polka."

So, there you have it, some of my favorite music from 1965. Quite a year. What are your favorites from 1965, dear readers?

Ringo at the Grammys wearing Electric Fetus shirt!

I didn't watch the Grammys last night, but I read in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune today that Ringo was wearing a t-shirt from the Electric Fetus, my favorite Minneapolis record shop! See the photo above for proof. So this means that a Beatle actually knows about the greatest record shop in the Twin Cities, that I have spent many hours at! Awesome! I would love to know if Ringo actually chose that shirt himself, or if some assistant was like, "Here's a cool shirt, boss." I'm secretly hoping that it's really Ringo's favorite record shop as well, as it reminds him of when he thumbed through the stacks at Brian Epstein's NEMS shop in Liverpool. Come to think of it, the last time I was at the Electric Fetus two weeks ago, there was a limousine parked outside. I was thinking it might be Prince. (Seriously. He still hangs out in the Twin Cities.) Maybe the next time I go there, I'll run into Ringo flipping through the used CD's, and we'll strike up a conversation and he'll say, "Oh, yeah, I brought me mate Paul along too." And then Paul McCartney will look up and say, "Ringo and I are going to play a couple of tunes, you know, unannounced, in-store show, get back-like, do you want to sing harmony?" Hey, I can dream, can't I?

The Best Music I Heard in 2009

Like my similar post from last year, this list is not just the best albums released in 2009, but the best music I discovered/rediscovered during 2009, regardless of when it originally came out. And I'll pick one great song from each CD.

First up, albums that were released in 2009:

Robyn Hitchcock, "Goodnight Oslo"

A simply brilliant album from one of my favorite songwriters. I've listened to this CD a lot this year, and it holds up very well through repeated listens. One of my music highlights of 2009 was seeing Robyn in concert and meeting him after the show. Check out "Intricate Thing."

Chris Isaak, "Mr. Lucky"

Great comeback album proving that Isaak still has his great songwriting talent and his gorgeous, haunting voice. This is his first album of all-new material since 2002, it's nice to have him back. Listen to "Mr. Lonely Man."

Nick Lowe, "Quiet, Please: The New Best of Nick Lowe"

Okay, so this is a compilation, but it's the only release we got from Nick this year, and it's wonderful to hear all his great songs spread out over two discs. It makes you realize how many truly great songs he's written. Give "Without Love" and "Soulful Wind" a spin. (I had to pick two songs!)

Elvis Costello, "Secret, Profane & Sugarcane"

The ever-prolific Elvis dropped another album this year, and it's a winner. I need to listen to this CD some more. Check out the funny "Sulphur to Sugarcane."

The Beatles re-issues

I just got these for Christmas. (Thanks Mom!) So I haven't fully explored them, but the sound is amazing! Give "Back in the USSR" another listen. And the promo film clips make me want to see a DVD of all of them! (And can we see all 3 "Hello, Goodbye" clips, please?)

Okay, that takes care of CD's that came out in 2009, so let's move back into the past.

The Fireman (Paul McCartney), "Electric Arguments"

Amazing. Macca continues his 21st century winning streak with this more experimental album. Paul's not trying to please anyone here, it really sounds like he's making music for the sheer pleasure of it. Groove to "Highway."

Bruce Springsteen, "The Essential Bruce Springsteen"

I bought Bruce's single-disc "Greatest Hits" in the summer of 2008, but it wasn't until his Super Bowl performance in 2009 and my subsequent purchase of the double-disc "Essential" that I really became a fan. Bruce picked up social protest music where Dylan left it. And he writes better melodies than Dylan. Give "Badlands" and "Brilliant Disguise" a listen.

Leo Kottke, "Instrumentals: The Best of the Capitol Years"

Kottke's guitar playing isn't easy to categorize. Is it folk, country, Americana, jazz, or some hybrid mixture of all of the above? Kottke is a long-time Minnesota resident, so I've known of him for a long time, but it was just this fall when I started to seriously listen to his music. There's no one quite like him on guitar. Check out "Lost John," and prepare to be amazed.

The Beach Boys, "Sounds of Summer: The Very Best of the Beach Boys"

I've loved the Beach Boys since I was about 8 years old. I think it had something to do with the fact that they had so many songs about cars, which were one of my primary obsessions as a youngster. I had numerous tapes of their music, and this CD has all the songs that I loved as a kid. Listening to it all over again it reminds me why I loved this music, it's just so much fun to hear! The beautiful harmonies, the sheer joy that drives most of their songs, the great arrangements, it's really stood the test of time. It's too bad that Brian Wilson kind of lost it after "Pet Sounds" and the group really didn't evolve much after 1966. But from 1962-66, they were working at a very high level. Listen to "California Girls" and "Good Vibrations," and tell me that you don't forget all of your problems for three minutes.

John Coltrane, "The Classic Quartet: Complete Impulse Studio Recordings"

I listened to absolutely every note of this mammoth 8-CD set this fall, and it made me rediscover Coltrane's great group. The lineup was Coltrane on tenor and soprano saxophones, McCoy Tyner on piano, Jimmy Garrison on bass, and Elvin Jones on drums. This set collects all of their performances from 1962-65. The first two discs start innocently enough, with Coltrane covering well-worn standards from the 1930's and 40's, played in a relatively straightforward style. The reason Coltrane did this was because many critics at the time were labeling his playing "anti-jazz." So he wanted to show them that he could produce music that was not as "out there" as some of his more recent recordings on the Atlantic label had been. Things change pretty quickly, though, as on Disc 3 we get all of "A Love Supreme," perhaps Coltrane's most eloquent musical statement. In the later discs, song structures start disappearing, and it sounds more like the musicians just jamming. Coltrane's playing was constantly evolving, and one can only speculate where he music would have gone had he lived past 1967 and the young age of 40. The music on this set captures him at the peak of his powers. Listen to the whole album of "A Love Supreme," and if that's too much, go with the haunting song "Alabama," Coltrane's tribute to the civil rights movement.

Live at the Dakota: Dorado Schmitt All-Stars

I saw an amazing concert on Tuesday night at the Dakota jazz club. The concert was part of a series celebrating Django Reinhardt's 100th birthday. Dorado Schmitt, a French Gypsy guitarist who plays in a similar style to Django Reinhardt, brought his great group to Minneapolis. The line-up was Dorado on guitar, his son Samson on rhythm guitar, the blind accordionist Marcel Loeffler, Pierre Blanchard on violin, and Brian Torff on bass. They played some original songs, and some songs associated with Django and Stephane Grappelli. (Samson was able to copy Django's licks on "Minor Swing" just about perfectly.) Dorado is able to perfectly capture Django's impossibly quick, impossibly perfect-sounding runs up and down the fretboard, no small feat. Whether it was an uptempo song or a ballad, all the players were outstanding. They were all able to get just the right feel for a piece. These are clearly musicians who enjoy playing together. Dorado can play as fast as Django could, but he can also bring the required emotion to slower songs.

This show is as close as I will ever come to seeing Django Reinhardt live. It was like taking a trip back to Paris in the late 1930's. Amazing. Tres bien.

Hall of Fame Voting 2010

I'm finally back after an extended Winter Break from the blog. The goal in 2010: post more! So, today's post is about baseball, my favorite sport. Today the voting results for the Hall of Fame were announced. Only one player was elected, outfielder Andre Dawson. Bert Blyleven, one of my favorite pitchers, who played most of his career for the Twins, fell just five votes short! Oh well, I guess next year will finally be Bert's year.

I think that Andre Dawson definitely deserved to be elected, he was one of the best players of the 1980's, and he combined speed and power. Dawson played 20 years, despite having terrible knees, (I read today that he had 12 knee operations!) and the numbers he put up are very impressive. 2,774 hits, 503 doubles, 438 home runs, 1,373 runs, 1,591 RBI's, 314 stolen bases. Okay, so his batting average of .279 and on-base percentage of .323 are pretty low...but I would still want him on my time any day. When you add 1 Rookie of the Year, 1 MVP, 8 Gold Gloves, 4 Silver Slugger awards and 8 All-Star Games, it's an amazing career that Dawson had.

Bert Blyleven was stuck pitching for some pretty crummy teams throughout his career, which prevented him from reaching 300 wins. He ended his career at 287 wins, which is still impressive. Blyleven also threw 60 shutouts, good for 9th on the all-time list. And, perhaps most impressively, when he retired in 1993, he was 3rd on the all-time strikeout list, with 3,701. The only two pitchers ahead of him were Steve Carlton and Nolan Ryan. That's very select company to be in. I'm really glad that it looks like next year will be Bert's year to get in, he's definitely the best pitcher not in the Hall of Fame.

For players on the ballot for the first time, Roberto Alomar came very close to making it in, with 73.7% of the vote, so he'll surely make it in next year. Alomar was a slick-fielding second baseman who also put up great numbers at the plate. Barry Larkin and Edgar Martinez did well in their first years, 51% and 36%, respectively. Larkin could have a chance to get in, as he was a good fielding shortstop, but Martinez could have a more difficult time, as he spent the bulk of his career as a DH. Fred McGriff was the only other first-year player to garner more than 5% of the vote, and thus ensure getting listed on next year's ballot. The "Crime Dog" got 21% of the vote, a rather tepid response to some pretty solid offensive numbers. I think McGriff was a great player, but I'm not quite sure that he's a Hall of Famer. I was sad to see the "Big Cat," Andres Galarraga, drop off the ballot in his first year, he was an awesome hitter who came back in 2000 after missing all of 1999 due to cancer. In 2000 he posted one of his best seasons, hitting .302 with 28 home runs and 100 RBI, at the age of 39.

Most other players on the ballot increased their vote totals, Jack Morris, Lee Smith, and Tim Raines all went up. Dave Parker and Dale Murphy held steady at 15% and 11%, pretty low totals for two great players. And Harold Baines, one of my favorite players growing up, just narrowly avoided falling off the ballot again, moving up slightly from 5.9% to 6.1%!

Well, I'm excited for next year when Bert finally gets in!

Concert Review: Herb Alpert and Lani Hall at the Dakota

Last night I saw Herb Alpert and his wife Lani Hall at the Dakota jazz club. It was a great show! Lani Hall was one of the singers in Sergio Mendes's Brazil '66 group, and she and Herb have been married for 35 years. They finally did an album together, "Anything Goes," she sings jazz standards and he accompanies her on trumpet. When my Mom and I heard that they were coming to the Dakota, we knew we had to go. My Mom was a big fan of Herb's in the 1960's, and I've really liked his music since I was a teenager. (When I was in high school, I listened to a radio station that played a lot of his songs, so I would be hearing "A Taste of Honey" and "The Lonely Bull" as I got ready for school.)

I was blown away by how good Alpert still sounds on the trumpet. His tone is rich, clear and pure, and his playing is effortless. And he's 74 years old. I've heard that playing the trumpet gets more and more difficult as you get older, but Herb sure made it look easy last night. Lani Hall has a pure voice that is easy to listen to, and her phrasing is outstanding. It was fun to watch the back and forth between them, and to hear Herb respond to her singing on his trumpet. And it was fun to see the obvious affection between them, this is a couple still very much in love after 35 years of marriage! Some of the highlights for me were a beautiful version of Paul McCartney's "Blackbird," Herb's solo take on "Till There Was You," and a lovely medley of Antonio Carlos Jobim songs played as an encore. No, Herb didn't play any of his hits from the Tijuana Brass period, although he did quote from "This Guy's In Love With You," at the end of "I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face," and he also offered brief quotes from "Spanish Flea" and "What Now My Love." When he played the little part of "What Now My Love," I got a shiver, he sounds just like he did 40 years ago!

There were also great versions of "Anything Goes," "Let's Face the Music and Dance," "That Old Black Magic," and a re-arranged "Laura." What makes Herb Alpert a great arranger is that he is able to combine disparate elements and make them into a coherent whole. His version of "Till There Was You" featured groovy percussion and finger snapping, which wouldn't seem to fit, but it sounded fantastic. It reminded me of what he did with the Tijuana Brass, combining things together into new ways and creating something new and different that sounds great. Herb and Lani's band was great as well. The band is Bill Cantos on piano, Hussain Jiffry on bass and Michael Shapiro on drums. Jiffry and Shapiro really got to shine last night, handling tricky rhythms all night long with ease.

Alpert's stage presence really surprised me. I had no idea what he would be like, but he told everybody that he wanted a very "informal" show, and then he asked if anyone had any questions. And he was serious! Eventually some people raised their hands and Herb answered their questions with charm and wit. One woman told a story about how in 1968 she was studying to be a nun, but she kept hearing his music being played by other students outside her window. She quit her studies to be a nun and never regretted it! Herb and Lani found that story very hilarious.

I was thinking the other day about what made Herb Alpert such a star in the mid-60's. I think it's just a matter of great music actually becoming popular. Sure, scorn it as mere easy listening music, but take another listen, there's a lot more there. Herb was able to cross the generational divide of the 60's. That struck me when I realized that my Mom, a college student who loved folk music and the Beatles, had lots of his albums, so did my Dad, and so did my Grandma, who turned 50 in 1966, the peak year of Alpert's popularity. His music was really appealing to everyone. (At one point in 1966, Herb had 4 albums in the Top Ten! No one else has ever accomplished this.) I can't listen to his music without smiling, perhaps the highest compliment you can pay music.