Dylan Cover #333 Old Crow Medicine Show "Visions of Johanna" Live

In this ongoing Monday Series we will be exploring various artists versions of Bob Dylan song's. Today's artists, Old Crow Medicine Show doing a live cover of "Visions of Johanna" 

Certain months RtBE has a special focus during our Dylan Covers series. Sometimes it is harder, sometimes it is softer. Sometimes it is jazzy and then each April we get ready for the upcoming Jazzfest, which isn't always jazzy. 

This month it's the Old Crow Medicine Show's live celebration, 50 Years of Blonde on Blonde.

Thoughts on Original:
One of the clear high points in Dylan's poetic songwriting, "Visions of Johanna" is a complete stunner, especially the first time you encounter it. Now (on a personal note) f that first encounter just happens to be a hot sweaty night in the urban village which Dylan roamed about 30 years before you were doing the same god damn thing, then so be it. Even if your personal take is different it is hard to wrap your brain around the lyrics and the more you listen the more the mystery deepens. It is elusive, bright, cunning, dismissive, ionic and tossed off all at once. It is mega and it is nothing...and I can't be more vague than that. Musically he couldn't get it right until he went down to Nashville and it says something that he stuck with this song (unlike say..."She Belongs To Me") and got a version that is magical musically as well, just listen to that bass line throughout from Joe South...a crowning success all around.

The closest I ever got to the sound I hear in my mind was on individual bands in the Blonde on Blonde album. It's that thin, that wild mercury sound. It's metallic and bright gold, with whatever that conjures up.

Cover:


Thoughts on Cover Artist:
We have actually tackled Old Crow Medicine Show before in this Monday Dylan Cover series. Here is what we had to say about them then and it still stands:
Old Crow Medicine Show have always been a fun folkise root rock ride when we have heard them, but also that hasn't been too often.

Regarding this album:

50 Years of Blonde on Blonde was recorded live at the CMA Theater at the Country Music Hall of Fame, in Nashville, Tennessee, in May 2016. The concert coincided with a Hall of Fame exhibit exploring Dylan's time in Nashville.In an interview, band members Ketch Secor and Critter Fuqua described how they had bonded over Dylan's songs as teenagers, and that the 50 Years... project was a natural extension of that collaboration. While the new recording follows the sequence of Dylan's original track-for-track, Old Crow took considerable liberties with the arrangement of individual tracks. The recording was released as an album on April 28, 2017. It was the band's first release on their new label, Columbia Records, which had released Dylan's original album in 1966.

Thoughts on Cover:
While we really enjoyed last weeks more emotional infused take on "4th Time Around" this version just doesn't work to these ears. The playing is a bit fast, the singing is flippant, the hoe down sound which the band are so proficient at seems to undercut all of the mystery and power of the original. One of the reasons we love doing this series each week is that each take is different and exciting even when they don't really work...like this weeks.

Full Show Friday: Sheryl Crow Outlaw Music Festival 7/9/17

We search the murky back waters of youtube to find full concerts and post them to the site weekly, come back every seven days to help us celebrate Full Show Friday's. These shows are of varying quality and may not be here for long so enjoy them while you can...As always, please support the artist every which way, but especially by seeing them live (if they are still playing)...This week...Sheryl Crow!

Almost exactly one year ago, the Outlaw Music Festival in Milwaukee presented a killer lineup. While she wasn't headlining, we wanted to showcase Sheryl Crow for our Full Show Friday this week and her set from this day will do nicely. An RtBE favorite also shows up onstage as Brendan Benson from The Raconteurs playing and singing along with Crow and Company, a pleasant surprise.

Pro Shot, Pro Sound with full setlist below. Enjoy:


American Family Insurance Amphitheater Milwaukee, Wisconsin (USA) Sunday, 9 July 2017
Setlist: Everyday Is a Winding Road My Favorite Mistake Can't Cry Anymore Be Myself There Goes the Neighborhood Long Way Back Strong Enough Best of Times If It Makes You Happy Soak Up the Sun Midnight Rider

James Hunter Playing NYC Tomorrow, Curates Playlist

Tomorrow night The James Hunter Six will play Lincoln Center as part of their swing series and to help hype the event the cultural institution asked Hunter himself to curate a playlist of the the music as he states "What I Growed Up Listenin' To."

The full list can be found here with explanations for each of his choices. It is a very eclectic list ranging from soul (obviously) to punk rock (not so obvious).

Earlier this year I reviewed Hunters most recent album for Glide and really enjoyed it, so some of these choices make some sense in retrospect. Below are a few of the songs which he selected that RtBE also really loves.

Tickets are also still available for the show tomorrow night if you want to see the artists and his great backing band in person. More dates are here if you not in NYC tomorrow. 

Album Review: Deafheaven - Ordinary Corrupt Human Love

Hey all, got a new review up @glidemag which you can read Right C'here!!!

It is of Deafheaven's newest album, Ordinary Corrupt Human Love which will be released tomorrow.

RtBE has reviewed the last two albums (Sunbather and Bermuda) from the California metal group and have liked each one progressively better and their new release is the best yet. This record is a clear move away from the sub-genre mad metal scene and will probably be reviled in those circles, but for everyone else it is a positive evolution for the band. 

It is hard to understate how god damn pretty some of the musical passages are, especially the guitars from Kerry McCoy who never seems to run out of riffs. The screaming vocals still will keep me from listening to this on the regular but the fact that George Clark is experimenting more and more with singing is a great sign, especially because he seems to be broadening his lyrical scope.   

Support the artists, buy the album, read the review and peep some video below:

Album Review: Toubab Krewe - Stylo

Toubab Krewe

Stylo

**** out of *****

The term 'world-music' always sounds lazy and lame, but when a band combines Appalachian folk with West African rhythms and present it in a jamband "any thing goes" dynamic, that term fits. 

Toubab Krewe are back with Stylo. The album comes after a 8 year recording break since their 2010 release TK2. The band has even been on hiatus from the road for the last two years where they make their living as their fluid music is intended to move in and out of the dancing crowd. 

Even with the long break, the bands style has not deviated much at all from their first offering back in 2005; light funky grooves, layers of percussion, easy hip-hop influenced beats, cutting guitar lines and bright break downs. Back then the group called it "Afro-Cowboy-Ninja-Surf-Music" and while elements still ring true they have evolved into a more polished/cohesive outfit. One noticeable change for Stylo is in the production, in the past their was more separation between players but now their sounds blend into an audio driven maafe.

The band, (Drew Heller - electric guitar and soku, Justin Perkins - kora, kamelengoni, and electric guitar, Justin Kimmel - electric bass Luke Quaranta - percussion Terrence Houston - drums) gets right back in their familiar groove with the lighthearted first single "That Damn Squash". Long time fans will immediately feel back at home, but newbies are easily welcomed also. 

Both the heavily thumping "Lafia" and "Night Shade" increase the percussive pressure adding heavy beats to the mix, "Lafia" in particular increases the head bopping aggression levels with metal guitar power, while the title track really shines. "Stylo" manages to merge deep bass with lightly distorted surf guitar culminating into a languid offering with a Caribbean tilt to it; super cool cruise music. 

"Saba Menyia" is one of the more experimental tracks as it almost two offerings in one as the beginning plays close to free jazz with everyone soloing before shifting gears into deliberate slow down and trip out the groove. While not the most successful track here, it shows the band pushing itself. "Salut" is more in the bands wheelhouse as the killer guitar riff sets the tone before all of the players increase the tempo to a frenzied celebratory state. 

There is very little that misses the mark on Stylo and while their's may be a sound new to listeners, it is instantly enjoyable. For a band who has been away for the game for a bit Toubab Krewe's newest feels like they never left and that is outstanding for the ears.
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We like this band and are happy they are still at it. We reviewed their first record for Glide back in 2005 and caught them when they came to NYC back in early 2006.

Support the band, buy the record, stream it and peep some video below:

Album Review: Ty Segall - Freedom's Goblin

Ty Segall

Freedom's Goblin

**** out of *****

The insanely prolific singer/songwriter Ty Segall's newest offering Freedom's Goblin is a wide swath of psychedelic pop. Touching on various genres as Segall and crew have constructed a successful double album marking a high point in the non-stop recording artists career.

Pulling back the curtain at RtBE, I listen to an album and take notes on the tracks for the review proper after the record has had time to sink in. For Freedom's Goblin, since it is such a sprawling release, I thought it would helpful to share those exact, unvarnished notes and you will notice something, not one song is the same style...and all of them are pretty damn good.

• "Fanny Dog"- blaring out of gate, great mix of horns hard drums and distortion
• "Rain"- softer, shifting of gears, vocals are rough, dramatic piano, big swells
• "Every 1's A Winner"- killer distorted funky cover of Hot Chocolate. Weirdly great.
• "Despoiler of Cadaver"- disco, not awful but least favorite.
• "Why Mommy Kills You"- hip swinging punk/grunge guitar rock.
• "My Lady's on Fire"- gorgeous pop with sax, organ, really great. odd beginning, highlight
• "Alta"- Big arena rocky riffs
• "Meaning"- hard angular fuzz rock female vocals as wife sings lead. Heaviest track.
• "Cry Cry Cry"- softest, pop effort, weeping guitars. Jarring coming off "Meaning"
• "Shoot You Up"- Swaggering T-Rex style
• "You Say All The Nice Things"- dreamy, pretty, rolling, ends oddly
• "The Last Waltz"- whimsical death march
• "She"- motoring cock rock metallic mid-80's arena/hair. Really dynamite extended guitar solos
• "Talkin 3"- DIY lo-fi punk-sax skronk, damn good
• "The Main Pretender"- groovy, touch of soul
• "I'm Free" 60's Jingly-jangle pop
• "5 Ft. Tall"- noisy yet sweet power pop. Bad ass drums/riffs, awesome tune, maybe best..it closes with feedback dripping into...
• "And, Goodnight"- Fluid guitar work, plus organ soaring in vein of Zappa-esque closer. Killer

Segall and The Freedom Band are all over the sonic map, we even left out a couple of tunes up there, but you can see things never stay with one style/genre. Even Segall's vocals, which can run thin at times, vary up enough throughout the album to keep listeners on edge.

The clearest direct link would be something like The Beatles White Album in scope and range for a pop double record. High praise, but Segall has nailed the majority of his tracks here.

The only true complaint is the style and direction makes listening to the full record jarring at times as very little vibe/sound/style flows from track to track. That is a minor detriment and one that shouldn't stop anyone from checking out this collection of fantastic efforts from Segall and company.
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Support the artist, buy the record, peep some video below:

Dylan Cover #332 Old Crow Medicine Show "4th Time Around" Live

In this ongoing Monday Series we will be exploring various artists versions of Bob Dylan song's. Today's artists, Old Crow Medicine Show doing a live cover of "4th Time Around" 

Certain months RtBE has a special focus during our Dylan Covers series. Sometimes it is harder, sometimes it is softer. Sometimes it is jazzy and then each April we get ready for the upcoming Jazzfest, which isn't always jazzy. 

This month it's the Old Crow Medicine Show's live celebration, 50 Years of Blonde on Blonde.

Thoughts on Original:
From the first time we tackled a cover of this song:
This is a weird one, as I heard this track after I had already fallen in love with The Beatles "Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)" and didn't know what Dylan was getting at with this track. After checking out Wikipedia, I guess I am not alone as John Lennon was all over the map with his reactions to it. The music is the same and the lyrics are a mix of lazy and nonsense, reading into anything Dylan says too heavily can cause one to go mad, but why he chose to do this song so close to when the Beatles had their first lyrical success is a mystery. Social commentary, goof, stoned malaise? Anywhichway, the song was never one of my favorites and not up to anywhere near the version he was praising or mocking, take your pick.

The closest I ever got to the sound I hear in my mind was on individual bands in the Blonde on Blonde album. It's that thin, that wild mercury sound. It's metallic and bright gold, with whatever that conjures up.

Cover:


Thoughts on Cover Artist:
We have actually tackled Old Crow Medicine Show before in this Monday Dylan Cover series. Here is what we had to say about them then and it still stands:
Old Crow Medicine Show have always been a fun folkise root rock ride when we have heard them, but also that hasn't been too often.

Regarding this album:

50 Years of Blonde on Blonde was recorded live at the CMA Theater at the Country Music Hall of Fame, in Nashville, Tennessee, in May 2016. The concert coincided with a Hall of Fame exhibit exploring Dylan's time in Nashville.In an interview, band members Ketch Secor and Critter Fuqua described how they had bonded over Dylan's songs as teenagers, and that the 50 Years... project was a natural extension of that collaboration. While the new recording follows the sequence of Dylan's original track-for-track, Old Crow took considerable liberties with the arrangement of individual tracks. The recording was released as an album on April 28, 2017. It was the band's first release on their new label, Columbia Records, which had released Dylan's original album in 1966.

Thoughts on Cover:
The band makes this version more of an emotional waltz with piano leading the way as violin and steel guitars color the weeping backgrounds with pretty lines. Musically the group nails this one about as cool as you can and actually is an improvement on the original to these ears.