the Souther Hillman Furey Band

The the Souther Hilman Furey Band, with Gordon, Perkins, and Harris.  Souther is JD.  Richie Furey was in the Buffalo Springfield and Poco.   It could be argued that Chris Hillman invented country rock.  He was in the Byrds.  I read tons about these guys in a great book last summer, called Waiting for the Sun: A Rock and Roll History of Los Angeles, by Barney Hoskins.   The other three guys are: keyboard player Paul Harris.  Al Perkins, from Texas - whom the Gibson guitar company once called "the world's most influential dobro player."  They even made and sold an "Al Perkins Signature" Dobro in 2001 - designed and autographed by Perkins.  They lastly - perhaps, after Hal Blaine, the greatest (and certainly more prolific) sideman/session drummer in the known universe.  There should be a book on they guy, but the ending is too sad and tragic to write or re-tell.  I find it one of the most fascinating tibbits in rock and roll, that this drummer wrote the extended piano outro on Layla.

and on piano...Nicky Hopkins...It's only rock 'n roll (Woodstock too!)

Nicky Hopkins...played at Woodstock.  He sat in with Jefferson Airplane.  And, leave it to the Stones to have pictures not of themselves, but of the five, crack sidemen that play on this album shown in photos.  They are founding and former Stone Ian "Stu" Stewart, record Producer Andy Johns, Keith Harwood, Billy Preston, and Nicky Hopins.  Hopkins plays piano on tracks 4,5,6,8 and 10.  With Time Waits for No One being my favorite in that batch.  But Billy Preston gets the piano seat on the greats: If you can't rock me, and Ain't to proud to beg.  I just read that on Let it Bleed, Nicky gives us that great and subtle intro to Monkey Man.  Snap - I don't have that album!  But I dug this record out based on a very good pal of mine raving recently about the new book out called, And on Piano...Nicky Hopkins.  I have started the book and it is great.

Todd Rundgren: Something / Anything? Hello, It's Him

Todd Rundgren: Something/Anything?  My pal Dan is a huge Rundgren fan - so I thought I should get a Todd album up here ASAP.  So Dan - please use the Comment feature to let us know what you think of this album and or Todd himself. To me - Todd Rundgren's Caravan from Utopia will always be associated with 403 Broadway, a house where I lived with 11 pals in college my junior year.  That song was playing when Normal's brand new police chief walked in to "look around."  But this record is  Something/Anything?, it was released in 1972, it is his third solo album.  It peaked at #29 on the Billboard 200 list and later was certified gold three years later.  I guess it has some decent staying power - as it remains today his best-selling album.  And I read that in 2003, it was ranked number 173 in Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest rock albums of all time.  OK, I'm down with that.  The song on side 4 you know is Hello, It's Me.  Todd assembles a monster list of artists to play on this record.  Some names I recognize are: the Brecker brothers, Rick Derringer, and whaaa - Edward James Olmos?   Yes, the American actor and director who's been in Miami Vice, Battlestar Galactica, Stand and Deliver, and Blade Runner.  Nice!

"Best album side in Rock History," says Greg Kot. Really?

The Beatles - Abbey Road.

With Paul having just left town after 2 sold out Rock Shows, the week before, local rock critic Greg Kot gave us his fantasy Paul concert set list prediction.  He wrote correctly that Paul would close with the coda from the suite on side two of Abbey Road.  In Kot's column in the Trib he tossed in sort of off-handedly that side two of this record is the all-time best side of any record album, in the known history of rock and roll.  I went, OK, really?  Let me see if I agree.  I knew of course how great Abbey Road is and the Beatles canon is the gold standard.  Last time I heard side 2 straight through was in Gallas's room in college.  But I went back and played that side - and will certainly agree with Kot.  But for a special treat - click on this post's title and listen to the treatment Cheap Trick gives to that suite with a beautiful touch.  They start with Golden Slumbers and go to the end.  Joe Cocker owns the Bathroom Window segment, with Chris Stainton on keys.  I can't wait to read Kot's McCarthey concert reviews later today and tomorrow. 

Side two starts with "Here Comes the Sun" – George's most identifiably "his" song, said to have been written in Clapton’s back yard while George was supposed to at a mandatory Apple board meeting. The immortal 16-minute medley more accurately, a suite (from the baroque term meaning ordered set), is the climax of this tremendous album.  This perfectly woven/blended group of short songs (7 or 8 – depending on how you count them), are stitched together by Paul’s and that of recording engineer god Sir George Martin's hands.  Most of the songs were written and/or originally recorded in demo form during sessions for The White Album and/or the Get Back/Let it Be sessions.  First up is You Never Give me Your Money, framing Paul’s hard feelings towards Allen Klein.  Mean Mr. Mustard and Polythene Pam are the build-up to the thunderous She Came in Through the Bathroom Window, based loosely on a fan breaking into Paul’s home.  The build-up to the finale starts with Golden Slumbers based on an ancient Thos. Dekker poem (per wiki), leading to Carry That Weight with all of the Fab 4 singing the chorus.  And in The End….where Uncle Ringo (as Dhani calls him) gets his only drum solo on any studio-recorded Beatles material.

Juice Newton - Juice

Juice Newton...Juice.  This is her Juice is the multi-Platinum 1981 breakthrough album by American country-rock singer Juice Newton. The album was Newton's third solo album and her first major international success.  The album features two #1 hits "Angel of the Morning" and "The Sweetest Thing (I've Ever Known)".  This album also contains "Queen of Hearts," the biggest-selling single of Juice Newton's career, which peaked at #2 on both Billboard's Hot 100 and Adult Contemporary charts ("Endless Love" by Diana Ross and Lionel Richie prevented the song from reaching #1).  Thanks god.  Once you hear Queen of Hearts again - it's one of those really yet catchy tunes and will play on a tape loop in your head until hear something else to cleanse it.  Also - "Queen of Hearts" was a popular music video during the summer of MTV's debut.  Newton would go on to have more hit songs and albums, but this remains the album she is most known for.  So, she's got that going for her.

B.J. Thomas - more than just raindrops kept falling on his head

The great B.J. Thomas.  Best known for his magical rendition of Raindrops Keep Fallin' on my Head.  I love that song so much.  But I had forgotten he also did Hooked On a Feeling.  And that is also an awesome song!  I also have a B.J. Thomas record called DORAL Presents...that Doral is the cigarette company and I think you got the record free for buying a few cartons.  Nice!  As for summer concerts - it been a  very up and down year.  Really disliked Gabriel so much that I gave tix away that I had to his next show.  Then, we almost almost get killed (lightening!) at the cancelled but-not-soon-enough EW&F concert.  Their rescheduled show is now in our top 10.  We forgto how much we don't like that shed down in Tinley Park and won't go back.  Coming up is Tedeschi-Trucks Band in August, and ending with Bryan Ferry in October.  I will be taking off from the concert scene all next year: cold turkey.  But as we head in August - I will try to get some of my new They Played at Woodstock records up.  How do you like my new title photo.  That is Joan Baez, from the inside jacket cover of one of her live albums, called From Every Stage.