Saturday Morning Flashback - a new weekly feature (1975) ELO - Face the Music

Our "fine rock" FM radio station here in Chicago is 93.1 WXRT.  They have a long-running show called Saturday Morning Flashback.   On Saturday mornings, they play only songs from a pre-determined year, from 8 am to 12 noon.  You can listen via live streaming here:  http://wxrt.radio.com/  When I run my errands, it's what I listen to in the car.  The on air talent also submit retro movie reviews from what was out that year, and a bit called Rock and Roll Obituaries.  So for a while here - I will post an album on Saturday mornings to coincide with the year XRT is featuring that Saturday.  The superb host of the show is Wendy Rice.  Today is 1975 - right up my alley.  When they pick a year after vinyl was phased out - this won't work.  OK, above is ELO's Face the Music from 1975.  Wendy will be playing Night Rider from it.  But this album also has some major-league great songs, like Fire on High, Evil Woman, and Strange Magic.  Thanks!

Peter Frampton Concert Review - and his 2nd solo album - Something's Happening

He actually opened with the song Something's Happening, which is the title of today's record - above.  The cover design and artwork is by Hipgnosis, which was a British art design group that specialized in creating some really cool album cover art for bands such as Pink Floyd, T. Rex, UFO, 10cc, Bad Company, Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, The Scorpions, The Alan Parsons Project, Genesis, Peter Gabriel, ELO, and ETC.  The design firm was made up of Storm Thorgerson, Aubrey Powell, and later, Peter Christopherson.  The group dissolved in 1983, though Thorgerson still works on album designs, and Powell works in video, most notably with The Who. 

   Back to the concert - then Peter played FCA! - (mostly) in order, with my new (old) favorite song of his Doobie Wah, then Lines On My Face, Show Me The Way, It's a Plain Shame, Wind of Change, Penny For Your Thoughts, All I Wanna Be (Is by Your Side), Baby I Love Your Way, I Wanna Go To The Sun, (I'll Give You) Money, Shine On (Humble Pie song), Jumpin' Jack Flash, (Stones), Do You Feel Like We Do.  OK, so that’s all of them – but not exactly in the right order.  I wonder why?  He took a brief break and then he went right back at it with songs from his newer CD’s, the 2006 CD called Fingerprints and Thank You Mr. Churchill from 2010.  Those were Asleep at the Wheel, Restraint, Float, Boot It Up, Double Nickels, Vaudeville Nanna and the Banjolele, All I Wanna Be (Is by Your Side), Black Hole Sun (Soundgarden – from his 2006 Fingerprints), Four Day Creep (Humble Pie), and Off The Hook.  His encore: While My Guitar Gently Weeps (The Beatles cover), which we did not stay for.

Davy Jones - The Monkees

Davy Jones - of the The Monkees.  I can't do any better than the obituary written today by Greg Kot in the Chicago Tribune, which you can find here:  http://tinyurl.com/6oqnju2   Despite being more of a singer than a musician (drummer), I read that Micky Dolenz (who was my favorite Monkee) purchased one of the 25 first-made Moog synthesizers, actually - it was the third Moog Synthesizer ever commercially sold. (The first two went to Wendy Carlos and Buck Owens).  Micky's performance on The Monkees song "Daily Nightly" (written by Michael Nesmith) on lp (above right) Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd., was the first use of a synthesizer on a rock recording.  He eventually sold that instrument to Bobby Sherman, who I posted about earlier this week.

The Scorpions: with their a Great Double Live Album: World Wide Live

The Scorpions - with their DLA.  World Wild Live.  The Scorpions hail from the ancient, famous, and historic city of Hanover, Germany, where the British Royal Family can trace their roots.  The Hanover Monarchs of Great Britain and the UK include: Ernest Augustus and Sophia's son, George I became the first British monarch of the House of Hanover.  This dynasty provided seven British monarchs: George I (r.1714–27) George II (r.1727–60). George III (r.1760–1820) and of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland: George III (r.1760–1820).  George IV (r.1820–30).  William IV (r.1830–37).  And Queen Victoria (r.1837–1901).  But back to this album.  World Wide Live is the album name, released in 1985, produced by band member Dieter Dierks.  It was originally released as a 2LP vinyl set, in a gatefold-sleeve, and also in cassette format. The liner notes contain a crew member list and the live tour date information and when the shows were recorded, such as: Sports Arena, San Diego, CA, USA (4/26/84).  The Forum, Los Angeles, CA, USA (4/24/84 & 4/25/84).  Pacific Amphitheatre, Costa Mesa, CA, USA (4/28/84).  Bercy, Paris, France (2/29/84).  Sporthalle, Cologne, West Germany (11/17/84).

Graham Parker and the Rumour - The Up Escalator

Graham Parker and the Rumour - The Up Escalator.  This was his follow-up to Squeezing Out Sparks, which was voted album of the year in 1979 by the Village Voice.  I remember his hit from that record, Local Girls - which was played tons that summer, sounding a touch like Joe Jackson, or vise versa.  On this record, Graham taps an interesting list to play with him.  They are - besides himself on guitar and vocals:   Bruce Springsteen - background vocals.  Nicky Hopkins - piano (of course).  Jimmy Maelen - percussion.  Martin Belmont - guitar.  Danny Federici - organ.  Steve Goulding - drums.  Brinsley Schwarz - guitar, background vocals.  Peter Wood - synthesizer.  Andrew Bodnar - bass.  Stupidly, mostly because their names sound similar, I do get him confused with Gram Parsons.   But they could not me more different.  Graham is an Englishman, and Gram is a California dude.

Bobby Sherman Album Cover; double fold album cover

Do you remember Easy Come, Easy Go?  This is an unfolded album cover from Bobby Sherman.  So this is pretty much the evidence, the smoking gun if you will, is why the girls went gaga over this guy.  No argument here.  Robert Cabot "Bobby" Sherman, Jr. (born July 22, 1943), is an American singer, actor and occasional songwriter, who became a popular teen idol in the late 1960s and early 1970s.  He graduated in 1961 from Birmingham High School in Van Nuys, California.  He attended Pierce College in Woodland Hills, California.  He grew up in Van Nuys, California along with his sister Darlene.  Sherman married long time girl friend Brigitte Poublon.

Oscar Night. Night and Day. And Midnight in Paris: the great Cole Porter

Cole Porter.  My dad told me once that the greats are great for more than one aspect and that Cole Porter was great for three distinct aspects, four if you count the music part.  Cole Porter was Gilbert AND Sullivan.  He was John AND Taupin.  He wrote the music and the lyrics.  Two, he lived much of his life in a nagging pain from a horse riding accident.  And 3, he didn't need the dough.  The last two things aren't important.  So, I am fixated on Cole Porter again, based on having seen Woody Allen's Midnight in Paris.  That's really only the nominated movie that we've seen.  We sort of behind.

Rush - 2112 in 2012, just a hundreds years to wait...

Rush - 2112...nuff said.