Thursday 28 June 2012

Kevin Ayers' Carribean Moon...AKA The Gayest Thing I've Ever Seen.

For all you art-rockers out there, I'm sorry, I love Kevin Ayers, but I just laughed hysterically upon seeing this music video. And I thought Elton John was gay...

July birthdays

1-Debbie Harry of Blondie
3-Brian Jones dies, Jim Morrison dies
5-Robbie Robertson of the Band
9-Mitch Mitchell of Jimi Hendrix, Bon Scott of AC/DC
10-Rik Emmett of Triumph
11-Ritchie Sambora of Bon Jovi
12-Chris Wood of Traffic dies
18-Nico dies
19-Bernie Leadon of the Eagles
22-Don Henley of the Eagles
25-Jim McCarty of the Yardbirds
26-Mick Jagger of the Rolling Stones, Karac Plant (Robert's son) dies

Wednesday 20 June 2012

Whatever happened to Jefferson Airplane???

The difference in the music caused by the evolutions of Jefferson Airplane and Fleetwood Mac are similar in that there were three main stages in both of their careers. But looking at it all critically, the difference between early and late JA is much greater then early and late FM- mainly for the reason that the Airplane came out earlier and lasted longer, I guess. And one thing I actually find quite cool about JA is that their music really did move with the times. Each album they did represented the current state of popluar music when it was made- without ever sounding jaded or burnt out. That may be attributed to the ever-chaning line-up... Their music never did disapoint though. And although I personally favor the music of the Airplane stage in their career, I'm glad they weren't that married to their psychedelic roots that when the time came to move on, they weren't stuck with what they were known for, they had room to grow, expand and move on.
The first incarnation of the group was formed in San Francisco in 1965, and quickly became known as one of the best bands around in the Summer of Love '67. The very first line-up was Marty Balin, Paul Kantner, Signe Toly Anderson, Jorma Kaukonen, Jack Casady, and Skip Spence. The following year Anderson left and was replaced with Grace Slick. The band became a nation wide hit when White Rabbit and Somebody To Love began scaling the charts.
In the early 70s, the Jefferson Airplane became the Jefferson Starship as the band's music and style changed to accomodate the new times. In 1975 they found great success with the album Red Octopus and the hit single "Miracles." While this was quite a departure from their heyday, the fans still bought it, and the group kept evolving. By the mid 80s they had dropped the Jefferson from the name, now to be known simply as Starship. They recruited vocalist Mickey Thomas, who brought new life and energy to the band and bring songs like "Jane" and "We Built This City" to life.
So how did the ultimate symbol of the late 60s music become a 70s pop band, and then (gasp) and 80s Pop Band??  Like Fleetwood Mac and like what I said earlier, Jefferson Airplane/Jefferson Starship/Starship represented the times and had no sentimental attatchments to their roots. I'm sure the die hards shudder when they hear what they produced as Starship (and rock fans in general as we watch their videos) but give them a break. A psychedelic band would never have made it outside of the 60s, no matter how good they were. So let's remember them as they were and as what they became- none of it was that bad at all.

Wednesday 13 June 2012

Underrated Musicians #3: Bob Welch

Bob Welch's recent passing inspired me to talk about him a little more in depth, and I figured he would be a suitable character for the Underrated Musicians column because, well, he really was underrated. I mean, he had loads of great songs, but how often do you hear them on the radio or anything? (I know I don't hear them.)
Bob was born on July 31st, 1946, in Los Angeles, into a family much involved in show biz. He was taking French at UCLA when he dropped out to join various local bands, singing and playing guitar. He was invited to join Fleetwood Mac in 1971, and helped define their melodic, poppy sound that the band later went multi-platinum with in Rumors.With F, he did five albums- Future Games (1971), Bare Trees (1972), Penguin (1973), Mystery To Me (1973), and Heroes Are Hard To Fine (1974). He left the band in 1974 after many cases of difficulties within the group that made working with them increasinglly difficult. He was replaced by Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckinham.He redefined himself in the late 70s and early 80s with a successful solo career, spawning hits like Ebony Eyes and Sentimental Lady.
Bob Welch sued Mick Fleetwood, and John and Christine McVie for unpaid royalties, and was later excluded from the band's induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
You know, that last part especially really wasn't right. That he would even have unpaid royalties issues, and that they would do that to him. He remained friends with FM after he split them- some members at least. In one of my late 70s Circus Magazines, I've got pictures of him jamming on stage with Stevie Nicks and everything...About his death, Stevie Nicks had to say that "He was an amazing guitar player - he was funny, sweet - and he was smart - I'm so very sorry for his family and for the family of Fleetwood Mac - so, so sad."
God Bless you, Bob, and rest in peace.

Thursday 7 June 2012

Bob Welch:1945-2012

I broke down and cried when I heard today on the news that Bob Welch died today. He commited suicide by gunshot around 12:45 today in his home in Nashville, and his wife found his body. He was 66 years old.Oh God, I just can't believe it. We've lost a lot of good people this year-Whitney Houston, Levon Helm, Donna Summer, Adam Yauck, and now Bob Welch.Well, my deepest sympathies go out to Bob and all who knew him.RIP and God Bless you, man.

Bob Welch-Ebony Eyes

Tuesday 5 June 2012

The Worst Joke Ever

Q: What has nine arms and sucks ass?
A: Def Leppard

Why I love this joke-it is darn funny.
Why this is the worst joke ever-Why pick on Def Leppard? I mean it. Def Leppard were a damn good band. Real, real good. They definetly did not suck ass. I would definetly prefer this joke if it was directed at a real lame band like Steelheart, but the nine arms thing only works for the one and only Def Leppard.

Whatever happened to Fleetwood Mac?

Around the time I became interested in classic rock music, I decided to do some extensive research on Fleetwood Mac, always having liked their commercial music and curious as to their roots. You can sure as hell bet that I was surprised to find stuff like the Bob Welch era, you know, Hypnotized and all that, which is quite a departure from the well known stuff like Dreams and Don't Stop. Well, that shock was nothing compared to how I felt when I discovered English blues band Fleetwood Mac with Peter Green. I mean, they kicked ass! I love stuff like The Green Manalishi and all that, you know, just darn good classic British blues rock. Peter Green was one of the best blues guitarists England ever produced, which is quite the compliment.
But I guess the question many people are still asking is What the hell happened to Fleetwood Mac? How could this heavy blues band become famous for pop ballads? Well, in 1970 Peter Green basically went nutso and then quit the band. He was replaced by the American guitarist/songwriter Bob Welch, and around the same time John McVie married former Chicken Shack musician Christine Perfect. The music made by Christine and Bob changed the music's direction completely, guiding them away from their blues roots and towards a more melodic, pop-oriented song. And you know, in this case I'm not scoffing at them.They didn't sell out or anything, they just progressed into something new. When Bob Welch left, Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham joined, and the band practically said goodbye to their roots forever as Buckingham and Nicks' music pushed them even further towards the mainstream.
There you go. For all the curious out there, this is essentially the career of Fleetwood Mac and how they evolved from Black Magic Woman (bet you didn't know they wrote it first, not Santana!) to Go Your Own Way. Enjoy the following recording of my personal favorite Fleetwood Mac song.

The Green Manalishi


Underrated Musician #2:Rick Grech

Rick who?
If that was your initial reaction after viewing the post title, then you're not alone. Grech isn't too well-known a guy anyway. But you have definetly been missing out on some darn good music if you aren't familiar with the name.
Rick Grech was born in Bordeaux, France, on November 1, 1947, and was originally of Ukrainian descent. He moved to England when he was young and became a well-known bassist through his work with the group Family. After putting out two albums with Family, he joined supergroup Blind Faith with Steve Winwood, Ginger Baker and Eric Clapton. The band was a short-lived project, and only put out one album (which I assure you is one of the greatest ever released) and after their breakup Grech joined Traffic,with whom he released another two albums before being booted for his drug problems. One album was released in 1974 titled Rick Grech: The Last Five Years, featuring highlights from his career and music from Traffic, Blind Faith and Family. He worked as a session man until his retirement from the music industry in 1977. Best examples of his talent would be tracks such as Had To Cry Today and Sea Of Joy from the Blind Faith album, both featuring strongly Jack Bruce-influenced base riffs. Grech also played violin, viola, cello, guitar, mandolin, keyboards and drums.
Rick Grech passed away on March 17, 1990, aged 43, from liver and kidney failure due to alcohol consumption. So, for whatever reason he may be so underrated, God bless and  Rest In Peace Rick Grech.

Friday 1 June 2012

Underrated Musician #1: Mick Taylor

This shall begin what will be a regular feature commemorating the terrific forgotten musicians of rock and roll, and the ones who never did get as much recognition as they deserved. My first Underrated Musician is Mick Taylor, known best as a member of the Rolling Stones from 1969 until 1974.
Mick  Taylor had a difficult role to fill in the group as Brian Jones' replacement, a job which I believe he filled very nicely. The music the Stones made during this period- Let It Bleed, Sticky Fingers, Exile On Main Street, Goat's Head Soup and It's Only Rock And Roll can easily be considered to be the best music they ever made. Before joining the Rolling Stones, Taylor was a member of John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, filling the position once held by Eric Clapton and later Peter Green (who went on to form Fleetwood Mac). He played on two sessions for Let It Bleed, and then was made a full member of the band. Although Mick Taylor was not the musician that Brian Jones was in the sense that Jones could play seemingly any instrument ever made, he was definetly one of the most brilliant guitarists who ever lived. I'd go as far as to say his playing rivalled Keith Richards'...
So why did Mick Taylor never get the recognition that the rest of the band did? There are many reasons, of course. He was very shy and stayed away from the public eye. But a lot of the trouble came from within the band. Mick Jagger and Keith Richards definetly weren't as nice as they could've been to him.
I'm guessing that it's mostly because of jealousy reasons- Mick Taylor was doing a good deal of writing for the Rolling Stones during this period. Not to mention he was much younger and far better looking then Mick and Keith were. Mick split the band in 1975, also for unknown reasons, but I usually figure it was just because of this attitude he was getting from Mick and Keith, and because he wasn't getting proper writing credits on their songs. The Stones never were quite the same again after he left, and really didn't do that much great stuff with his replacement, Ron Wood. Don't get me wrong, I love Woody and I love the Faces. I just don't think he was right for the Stones. Or maybe he was but the rest of the band was out of ideas for songs.
So for whatever reason he may be more or less forgotten, I consider Mick Taylor to be one of the true great musicians who has ever lived. Long live and God bless you, Mick!