Full Show Friday: Screamin' Jay Hawkins Tokyo 1990

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...Screamin' Jay Hawkins!

This month RTBE will pay homage to The Blues with 5 special shows for every Friday in October. So get sad, get happy eat your greens and get the blues.

What a treat on this Halloween, we get the freakydeaky blues of one of the all-time great performers, Screamin' Jay Hawkins. If you haven't seen the documentary on him yet, you need too, what a life- or at least what a world class yarn spinner.

Nobody could be more perfect to wrap up this monthly blues series on Halloween then Screamin' Jay. So happy there was a show on youtube. This is the reason we decide to pick October to celebrate the blues so we could on Halloween with Screamin' Jay.  Just another example of the scope and depth of the blues, they certainly have put a spell on us.
 
Enjoy:

Album Review: Rancid- ...Honor Is All We Know

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

It is of the 8th Studio disk from Rancid titled ...Honor Is All We Know. It is a straight up dope Rancid album, if you liked them in the past you will dig them now. If not the, nothing has really changed. We have always dug them dating back to before they formed in their Op-Ivy days. Early Rancid were very influential on us and we still have a great memory of meeting Tim back at Saratoga Winners. I think we still got a Let's Go t-shirt somewhere too. 

To RtBE ...And Out Come The Wolves is our favorite from the Bay Area Rockers but since those first two early blasts of greatness we would probably call this new release their third best as a band and that is saying something as they have not put out a bad disk, ever.

Enjoy the review, voice your opinion below, support the band here, buy the disk here and peep some video below:

and one of our favorites from the disk:

Album Review: Primus- Primus & the Chocolate Factory with Fungi Ensemble

Primus

Primus & the Chocolate Factory with Fungi Ensemble

*and1/2 out of *****

Over the summer Les Claypool put out one of the quotes of the year when he was pumping his upcoming release. Primus were getting ready to showcase their take on the songs from Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory and his quote took on the recent remake:

We need to make sure that kids in the future watch the original Willy Wonka and not the horrendous, horrible remake that came along and left the taste of feces in our mouths. There are a lot of very talented people on the planet. And Tim Burton and Johnny Depp are two of those very talented people. But like all human beings, every now and then, we crap in our pants.

Yeah that movie sucked sucked sucked. Recent efforts from Claypool solo have boarded on the absurd (Killer Pig Soundtracks?) and veered pretty close to sucking too (not in the good Primus way either). While Wonka fits the weirdness, what really made ears perk up was the reuniting of the best Primus lineup, meaning Tim "Herb" Alexander would be returning to the mix.

A funny thing happens though when you listen to P&TCFwFA, it has zero of classic era Primus qualities. Larry Lelonde's angular guitars or Herb's pounding unique rhythms? Nowhere to be seen and the final product plays as a solo Claypool vanity piece. Perhaps worse, it lacks energy and drive, subsisting sparseness and creepy vocals.    

While not a song by song remake of the original soundtrack it does stick close and after the instrumental "Hello Wonkites" introduces the very prominent Fungi Ensemble of percussionist Mike Dillon and cellist Sam Bass, Claypool takes over. The freaky singing and changing tempo with "Candy Man" shows where the band is headed and would be a good intro but things don't pick up at all from there.

"Pure Imagination" gets big in the chorus but again turns down the tempo and cuts out instruments leaving space and a dull sense of going nowhere. The Oompa breaks are prime candidates for big slap bass and weirdness but they are played by the book and don't color anything purple, chocolate or golden.

Bringing Herb back into the mix and not having him play a proper kit was an odd choice; it is impossible to figure out which parts he contributes as Dillon is also a master of beating on odd things uniquely. The Primus moniker is a misnomer, Lalonde in particular is almost absent from the full disk except showing up to get out a solo and take over lead vocals as Veruca Salt in "I Want It Now".

This is clearly Claypool's baby and a tame, incredibly restrained one at that. It should be noted a huge opportunity was missed with "Semi-Wondrous Boat Ride" as the chaos of the original film and soundtrack seems perfectly suited for a mega Primus freak out in the vein of "Hamburger Train" or "Professor Nutbutter's House of Treats".

In fact Tales from the Punch Bowl would make a better companion to Willy Wonka ala Dark Side of the Moon to The Wizard of Oz, then this release would.  

A cool idea in theory but one that doesn't succeed like it should. Very much like another recent cover album release, this is one belongs in the live setting, let the players inject more energy into the proceedings. Not a "crap in your pants" album but almost worse, it is dull and forgettable.     

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We were very stoked when we learned about this, but it didn't live up to expectations. Here's hoping the show on Friday does....

Support the band here, buy the album here and peep some video below:

Live Review: J Mascis 10/17/14 Bowery Ballroom, NY, NY

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

It was a fun time last Friday night as J went through his catalog....I emailed this to my editor Shane over at Glide:

I resigned myself mid show to be "the only one" who liked his actual song writing. Then I opened my eyes, bought a beer and realized, fuck j is amazing and all these people dig on him too. It was cathartic.

I thoroughly enjoy J's song writing but I do feel it is an acquired taste, he isn't for everybody and he has (basically) one style of writing. That said, I fucking love that style.

There is no one else on the planet can play/write/sing like him and that makes catching a solo show a can't miss in my book.  At the end of the night though, it was Friday and I reeeeeeeeallly wanted Dinosaur Jr. to be full throttle and rocking...oh well we have seen them a bunch and can view them now:

Dinosaur Jr:

Dylan Cover #161 Lina Paul & Arthur Kranzler "Love Sick"

In this ongoing Monday Series we will be exploring various artists versions of Bob Dylan song's. Today's tune is a cover by Lina Paul & Arthur Kranzler playing "Love Sick" 

Thoughts on Original:
From our first cover take on this song:
The opener on Dylan's 1997 classic Time Out Of Mind, signaled to the world, that the old bard had tons of great songs left in him.  Considered by some (not RTBE) his comeback album  Time Out Of Mind showcased stark songs with biting lyrics and most importantly lush sounding production; Dylan ditched modern sound for one he liked better.  The result was a true winner, no better seen then on this disk opener.  Dylan identified with every human via the lyric, "I'm sick of love/and I'm in the thick of it"  Who hasn't been there?  A great song that kicks off a great album, it would be nice if he played it live though...  
Cover:


Thoughts On Cover Artist:
Like lots of artists in this series I have never heard of Lina Paul or Arthur Kranzler before listening to their take on this tune. Lina Paul seems to be a European singer songwriter from her bandcamp page and I couldn't find out anything about Arthur Kranzler unfortunately.
Thoughts On Cover:
Wow these are the types of covers I really like as it moves the Bards work into complex new realms. A touch of trance digital beats and power all lurk under the service as Paul's vocals floats hauntingly on top, mimicking the original. This is a hell of a cover and continues to prove "Love Sick" is an amazing song, ranking high on Dylan's all time list when it inspires covers like this. A spooky track to kick off Halloween week and closes an October where we found 4 great cover examples, versions we had never heard of; months like this make us want to continue this series for another 161 more songs. 

Full Show Friday: Albert Collins 1988

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...Albert Collins!

This month RTBE will pay homage to The Blues with 5 special shows for every Friday in October. So get sad, get happy eat your greens and get the blues.

Albert Collins getting down later in his life, as the energetic performer plays for an TV (and live) audience in 1988 in Germany. Backed by a full horn (and mullet) laden band Collins shows off his trademarked engaging blues style, making things come alive on this night.  The horns are dynamite on this one adding a lot to Collins performance of the blues, thankfully captured on film for us to enjoy in 2014. Collins and company prove the blues can still be energetic and fun...

Enjoy:

Live Review: Black 47 10/11/14 Rocky Sullivans, Bklyn, NY

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

It was a hell of a good night, got to Red Hook Early to watch some playoff baseball pre-show, I got to make new friends, speak with some people who got me into music way back when and hang with longtime comrades. It was my first time at Rocky's and with how good the vibe and Guinness were I doubt it will be my last. Excellent show, and a great way to finish up our Black 47 run, which started when we first saw the band back at the RACC at SUNY Albany in 94!

If you want to read more about our connection with the band, we did a piece for NYPL Blogs which you can see here and our RtBE post on the subject as well 

All I can say fellas is, Cheers!

Album Review: The Flaming Lips- With A Little Help From My Fwends

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

It is of Flaming Lips (and Friends) newest album With A Little Help From My Fwends which is a track by track cover of another little album you may have heard of called Sgt. Peppers Lonely Heart Club Band.  

I think the first paragraph of the review sums it up, I am not sure why the band feels the need to do this. It is cool, but a live show in this vein, I believe, would be much more fulfilling. Not a bad disk, weird, a decent listen and token appreciation of some tunes. But feel free to find your own opinions.

Support the band here, buy the disk here, stream it here on NPR for a limited time and peep some video below (nudity in videos, be aware):


     

Neil Young Interviewed by Howard Stern

Thanks to Ed for sending over this interview that Howard Stern conducted with Uncle Neil:

I really enjoy Howard Stern interviews when he is not talking to a porn star. Neil Young is a lot of things but porn star is not one of them.

I dig when he talks about his voice, he has such an identifiable tone, which can't be classified as good, but IS great. He is his own muse, he goes where the vibe takes him, even in his personal life apparently. Fantastic, this is a in depth listen so give it a shot. When your done with this give this song a listen, a personal favorite of ours:

Bob Dylan Cover #160 Jedd Hughes "Lay Lady Lay"

In this ongoing Monday Series we will be exploring various artists versions of Bob Dylan song's. Today's tune is a live cover from Jedd Hughes and it is of "Lay Lady Lay"

Thoughts on Dylan Original:
From the first time we tackled a cover of this song:
Excellent track and the first time the world heard Dylan's new singing style, which would only last for Nashville Skyline.  This song is the standout track from this album, it is a classic and so simple, yet sweet and timeless.  One of Dylan's best tracks, the closest to country he ever got and an fantastic piece of music.     
Cover:


Thoughts on Cover Artist:
I do not know Jedd Hughes, but apparently he is an Australian born country/singer-songwriter. With those credentials "Lay Lady Lay" would seem a pretty perfect choice...let's see if it is.     
Thoughts on Cover:
Hell's yeah. This is a dynamite cover, Hughes' singing and electric guitar playing is top notch. His solo at about 3:40 in is dynamite, recalling both Robbie Robertson lead lines and Dylan's original country feel. Before more praise is heaped on him though, his backing band needs props. From the well played Steel guitar to the deep booms from the stand up bass and drums this is a great sounding group. Well produced and mic'ed for a live set. Excellent cover all around and makes me want to hear the full set from these players. 

Full Show Friday: Freddie King Live in Europe 73 & 74

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...Freddie King!

This month RTBE will pay homage to The Blues with 5 special shows for every Friday in October. So get sad, get happy eat your greens and get the blues.

The man with the killer guitar face, Freddie King is our Full Show Friday this week as we still got the blues.  Out of all the blues greats we probably know the least from Freddie King as he died at the young age of 42, but god damn do we love to hear him play and sing, what a treat. Having both Chicago and Texas blues styles is a perfect combo as the weeping/fiery guitar can intermingle gorgeously. 

Simply put, one listen to him playing and singing "Have You Ever Loved a Woman" puts Eric Clapton's version to shame.

Enjoy:
 

Karl Denson Joins The Stones...For the Next Few Months

In a cool piece of news to anyone down under catching The Rolling Stones in the next few months, on of RtBE's fav's will be joining them on stage. Karl Denson has signed on to tour with the band for it's upcoming shows in Australia and New Zealand.

Denson will be playing his horn, maybe horns plus, but I can't think of a Stones tune with a flute at the moment....

We love Denson and the Stone and specifically loved Denson when he helped cover our favorite Stones album in its entirety at a fantastic show a few years back. This must obviously be a huge thrill for him and we wish him the best. His album with The Tiny Universe from earlier this year was a blast, so 2014 keeps coming up Denson...Keep the funky stuff flowing:

and keep the Stones Evil Life a-rockin':

Album Review: Screaming Females- Live at The Hideout

Screaming Females

Live at The Hideout

*** out of *****

The three piece arena sounding/club playing punk band from New Brunswick, NJ, Screaming Females have made major waves in the recent years around excellent records but primarily because of their constant touring and energetic, engaging, must see live show.  Live at The Hideout is the groups attempt to capture that onstage magic on record and like most live records parts of what make them vital is there but it also proves seeing/being/feeling in person is hard to duplicate.

The group went for a rawness/simplistic approach asking Steve Albini to record the trio at a tiny Chicago bar during a freezing January cold spell. Albini is familiar with their work, manning the boards for the groups fantastic 2012 release Ugly.The band booked 2 nights in Chicago at The Hideout for the recording to take place and the album is mix up of those two shows.

The group attacks its songbook in its now well honed fashioned, going after 14 tracks. Screamales love to play with extended jam parts while still managing tight precision/drop-on-a-dime-changes when they are needed. A track like "Foul Mouth" from Baby Teeth rolls in with a confident ease before banging back and fourth between the rhythm duo and guitar solos.

Overall Albini's no frills approach serves the band very well and while the group works hard to not make Females the Marissa Paternoster show, the live recording seems to push her vocals and guitar under the moving bass and pounding drums. Mike Abbate's bass in particular sounds fantastic but a clearer path to the forefront for Paternoster is desired at times, especially during solos.

The band shines brightest on their long standing road tested warhorses with this live document. "Lights Out" is always a show stopper and here at 7+ minutes it is a clear go to as the band plays with the songs extended intro, scorchingly slamming riffs, tempo changes and driving beat. Speaking of beats it is "Starve the Beat" that bubbles up as a highlight towards the middle and the killer album closing "Boyfriend" shows off chops, groove and style that the band excels at; closing things on a super high note.     

Perhaps it is simply the fact that we have had the great privilege to catch the band numerous times over the last few years but Live at The Hideout, while doing what it sets out to do, never pushes things to over the top status. That simply stated, is something the band does on a consistent, nightly basis. Listen to the album sure, but make sure you catch them live. 

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We love this band, have written about them a ton, interviewed Marissa, etc. For some reason we thought this album would be their highpoint and I don't think it is (for us that is still Power Move maybe because that's when we first got into them though).

Again if you have never seen them this is probably an eye opener, but I feel like I have caught better versions/shows. Maybe I am just being to harsh or too in love with the shows I have caught. Either way, go see them, won't be long before they are in your town.

Buy the disk here,  catch the band live here peep some video below and see from the first one why it was better to have been there: 

Album Review: Prince- Art Official Age

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

It is of one of Prince's new albums, his solo release, Art Official Age. This one was tough because there is obviously a lot going into the disk and a lot behind it given Prince's long and varied career.   

The disk itself is full of varied tunes too...and judging by the comments already filling up the bottom of the page it seems people aren't really reading or hearing what I am putting down. This album isn't bad by any stretch, he has had his fair share of bad ones over the last say 20 years (almost all of them), but when he comes so close to pulling off a major statement and it doesn't come together I think it should be noted.

Anyway, I said a lot about the disk in the official review, but I am happy to talk more about it, feel free to give your thoughts in the comments below, but before that support the artist here, grab the album here and peep some video below:

Bob Dylan Cover #159 Taj Mahal & the Phantom Blues Band "Bob Dylan's 115th Dream"

In this ongoing Monday Series we will be exploring various artists versions of Bob Dylan song's. Today's tune is a cover by Taj Mahal & The Phantom Blues Band playing "Bob Dylan's 115th Dream"

Thoughts on Original:
Showing up on one of Bob's greatest accomplishments Bringin' It All Back Home, "Bob Dylan's 115th Dream" always feels like a breather in the albums context. It is silly, the playful Dylan, a Dylan that still exists and can be forgotten about especially when getting "deep" into his serious songs. A vital part of Bob is his playful charm, and amongst the silliness and simple word play on this track he still manages to drop some bombs, " I said, 'You know they refused Jesus, too'/He said, 'You're not him'". A great example of a level of Bob's genius not often exhibit in this series, his playfulness. 
Cover:

Thoughts on Cover Artist:
Taj Mahal has had a long distinguished career, but I have yet to hear him play with The Phantom Blues Band until today's holiday cover of Bob Dylan. Apparently they formed to back Taj up on his 1993 album Dancing The Blues and still play together today, releasing albums.
Thoughts on Cover:
This is excellent, one of the few covers in this series that probably by passes the original with its style and substance. A song that always felt like a throw away with a few great lines from Dylan, really gets improved in the hands on Taj and the players. Oh and we picked this for today because of the closing phrase, Happy Columbus Day:

I saw three ships a-sailin’
They were all heading my way
I asked the captain what his name was
And how come he didn’t drive a truck
He said his name was Columbus
I just said, “Good luck”

Full Show Friday: Seasick Steve 2012 Pinkpop

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...Seasick Steve!

This month RTBE will pay homage to The Blues with 5 special shows for every Friday in October. So get sad, get happy eat your greens and get the blues.

From 2012 we are joining Seasick Steve's set at the Pinkpop festival. S.S. uses a stripped down set but the honesty of the blues come through, the blues are in his blood. Have seen him play solo but here he incorporates a drummer to much better effect. He seems to be more popular over in Europe then here in the USofA but any where he has talent even when he is just playing his Diddley Bow. 

Enjoy:

Album Review: Little Hurricane Gold Fever

Little Hurricane

Gold Fever

**and1/2 out of *****

The Sand Diego based duo Little Hurricane have put out their second album of original material as the band showcases its poppy, blues influenced, sound. Guitarist Anthony Catalano and drummer Celeste Spina may want to be considered "dirty" but there is a fine polished sheen covering everything on Gold Fever.

The disk begins with the best track here the sleek groove driven "Summer Air" that showcases a greasy side to things but immediately a brighter light shines on the short choppy "Upside Down". All of these tracks float in and out, not sticking around long like the indie rock influenced "Sheep in Wolves Clothing" or the E-Street Band sounding "Boiling Water".

The group is casting a net out for various sounds and paying homage to lots of their influences but by doing this the album can become disjointed at times, such as on "Breathe" a complete outlier of an acoustic duet fueled by a squeezebox. 

The easiest influence to pick out and see in Little Hurricane's palying would be a cleaner version of The Black Keys, which is readily apparent on "No Man's Land" and "Con Man". Both try to scruff it up but Little Hurricane come off as too cinematic and proper. The tracks aren't to be skipped but they really aren't to be remembered either.

The perfect example of this is the title track. An excellent sounding riff opens things before both Catalano and Spina take turns at lead vocals literally telling a story with no room for wonder. Things are mapped out and direct unfortunately losing steam; this track and others on Gold Fever would fit well in movies but aren't as alive and messy as life is.
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We obviously dig this style and this isn't a bad record by any stretch but it just didn't really speak to us that much. We dig say the Graveyard Lovers more in this sort of style...maybe its an east coast v west coast thing.

Support the band here, buy/stream the album here and peep some video below:
 

Jack White to Headline MSG and Gets Chatty with Mike McCready

Lots of news on the Jack White front and the best being he is bringing his amazing Lazeretto tour down the block from RtBE headquarters to the world's most famous arena.

Pre-sale for certain credit card holders begins tomorrow at 10am and on-sale to the general public hits on Friday. We can not state this enough, SEE THIS TOUR LIVE!

We loved the album Lazerretto, but as you can see from this review the live show just amps up everything great about White and his top notch band.

Needless to say we can not wait for that. In another cool twist, Mike McCready chatted with White and you can hear a few clips of the interview here on Consequence of Sound. These clips are cool I agree with him on the female front and I think it provoked him in an excellent way last tour.

How sick would a Pearl Jam/Jack White co-headlining tour be?  My brain just exploded....

The full interview will air on Sirius at 9pm tonight, so check it out, it is so cool when great guitarists and fantastic artists get to chat it out.  Enjoy some McCready goodness and White axe slaying below:

Album Review: John Mellencamp- Plain Spoken

John Mellencamp

Plain Spoken

**** out of *****

We at Rock The Body Electric must cop to a musical curiosity…a slight detour for our readers who have grown accustomed to us praising tomorrow’s hipsters and yesterday’s rebels…we are extreme fans of John Cougar Mellencamp…and find it something near criminal that the tyrants at Microsoft not only label “Mellencamp” a misspelled word – with that sanctimonious squiggly orange underline – but also offer “no spelling suggestions.” 

Mellencamp, we believe, should be granted a rhetorical exception – the kind of one-off bestowed upon the likes of Lincoln or Eisenhower. And the fact that none of the engineers in Redmond, Washington saw fit to make room for Mellencamp strikes us as so incredibly typical of the technocrats. Technology has transformed this once-sensual country into a land of dead souls, stall-pissers and idle neurotics. Yet as its counterpoint, still among us despite that four pack a day habit, stands Mellencamp, a man who – years ago, while the Western World cheered the Internet and the “End of History” – noted that “The Internet is worse than the Atomic Bomb.”…a prophesy he recently revisited in an interview with Time Magazine.

There has always been a guru-like quality in the acrid interviews and simple songwriting of John Cougar Mellencamp. His is the unique power of prophesy, and one that is often obscured by a commercial reputation for producing hokey radio staples full of cowbells and tales of America. As a thinker, he is precise. As a songwriter, we honor the fact that he has never been pulled over for chasing his last album. Yes, he may have written the cornstalk gems of "Jack and Diane", "Little Pink Houses" and "Hurts So Good", becoming a victim of their place as insta-80s-classics, but he also penned the hauntingly melodramatic "Small Paradise" and that grand 1978 guitar anthem, a masterpiece on intergender relationships – "I Need A Lover".

Amid a lifetime as an American oracle, nothing quite foretold of Mellencamp’s three divorces like his romantic psalm—

I need a lover who won’t drive me crazy,
Some girl to thrill me, and then go away;
I need a lover who won’t drive me crazy,
Some girl that knows the meaning of a,
Hey hit the highway

Brilliant stuff. The reason why, whenever we are befuddled by the narrow walls of modernity, we ask ourselves “What would JCM do?” And the most common answer is “Light a smoke and get behind something that still takes leaded gasoline.” 

All of this is to say that John Mellencamp’s latest album Plain Spoken is a step into the superb. It’s a stripped-down, man-staring into his casket moment of truth. With the sole exception of the closing, twangy "Lawless Times", the entire album – and yes, this is an album in the ancient sense – sounds as if it were recorded around a campfire in the Western Theater of the Civil War…with someone handing U.S. Grant a guitar on the eve of Shiloh.
 
The opening track "Troubled Man" is now all over satellite radio, and yet this dark and agreeable ballad is a lighthearted prequel to what follows. The song "Sometimes There’s God" slips the bonds of religion and becomes an elegant shrug – capturing the tenor of the old working class religion that has been lost in mega-churches and televangelists. In recording this, Mellencamp steals back a little of the decency and quiet stoicism that once belonged to American Christianity, when it lived as a solitary question with inconsistent answers; when “God” was the thing you said when nothing else fit.
 
Yet far and away Mellencamp reserved his best material on Plain Spoken for "The Isolation of Mister". At five-and-a-half minutes, this reflective roadmap of the male mind is the most honest piece of songwriting we’ve heard in a decade. At first listen, you think you’ve heard it before…from Cash…from Dylan…but "The Isolation of Mister" is pure Mellencamp, a notorious recluse who lives alone on a farm in Indiana, emerging only “for supplies” or to duck into Manhattan for (until recently) some Meg Ryan time. Amid a dozen classic lines, he sings—

Always felt like sorrow was a lesson,
Always felt I needed to feel the pain;
I thought happiness was a transgression,
And I took it as it came.

With this gem, like so many that have fallen from his solitary pen and guitar, the man from Indiana keeps demonstrating that in an age of coastal living, America’s great artists continue to keep counsel of the heartland.
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Support the artist here, buy the album here and peep some video below:

"Troubled Man"

"The Isolation of Mister" Live

Bob Dylan Cover #158 Julia Roempke "If You See Her, Say Hello"

In this ongoing Monday Series we will be exploring various artists versions of Bob Dylan song's. Today's tune is a live cover by Julia Roempke playing "If You See Her, Say Hello"

Thoughts on Original:

A really heart wrenching tune from Blood On The Tracks because of both the amazing lyrics and the vulnerability with which Dylan sings the words. The phrasing is excellent as well, with the song coming alive when sung with a sense of resignation and a touch of despair. A linchpin and sometimes over looked piece to perhaps Dylan's best album. 

Cover:

   

Thoughts on Cover Artist:

Like many artists in this ongoing series I have not heard of Julia Roempke until listening to her here for the first time. She is a Scandinavian Singer/Songwriter who you can see more of on her youtube channel. 

Thoughts on Cover:

Gorgeously sung and expertly delivered in a live acoustic (personal) setting. Can tell this tune means a lot to Julia just from hearing her sing it. Makes me want to check out her originals.

Full Show Friday- Muddy Waters Chicagofest 1981

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...Muddy Waters!

This month RTBE will pay homage to The Blues with 5 special shows for every Friday in October. So get sad, get happy eat your greens and get the blues. 

Well since we talked about some mean old blues in Chicago last week, why not start this monthly retrospect off in the same part of the world. Let's toss it back to that fair city and one of the kings of the blues, Mr. Muddy Waters himself in Chicago at Chicagofest in 1981. 

Enjoy the blues, as Muddy welcomes Johnny Winter to join his crack band for this show. Winters had produced the last few Waters albums and is a damn fine guitarist in his own right. This is considered one of the last great performances from Waters so give it a whirl and enjoy as we start this blues month of Full Show Friday's off with a bang:

Album Review: Chris King & The Gutterballs- Hiding Out

Chris King & The Gutterballs

Hiding Out

**and1/2 out of *****

A trio from Seattle, WA, Chris King & The Gutterballs have put together a cassette with a streaming chaser for their debut titled Hiding Out. The band moves between garage rock and lo-fi soul over the 6 short tracks and show bubbling talent.

The tunes tend to warble around the same vicinity as "Letter At The Station" starts things with muted guitar rock before "Said I'm Through" moves things more towards the low end. Both are fine if not truly memorable but things pick up immensely on the tapes third track "Montana Quinn". The song spreads out close to six minutes before reigns itself, feeling as it could travel even longer in a wonderfully shaggy soul style; an album highlight.

A shorter but almost as successful  "Serpent Man" has a kick-drum drive that backs King's developing vocals. His singing contains a level of aloofness but also desire that is a cool combo. The waltzing continues with the "Hidin' Out Blues" as the echo and temp changes move back and fourth (not always successfully) before the quick "Garden of Shame" ends things on a solid classic rock inspired note.    

The ramshackle quality posses a charm as the songs worm into the ear via wooly production and heartfelt playing. Just straight ahead tunes that all waltz to their own slightly fuzzy time are found on Chris King & The Gutterballs first release.
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Another random bandcamp find that we really enjoyed.

Support the band here, buy/stream the cassette here or below:  

Live Review: Nuggets and Beyond- City Winery, NYC 8/31/14

Nuggets and Beyond

City Winery, NYC

8/31/14

For those who don't know Nuggets is an album that was conceived by Jac Holzman from Electra Records and Lenny Kaye who would later go on to play lead guitar for Patti Smith. It would be expanded in later years (including a 4 disk CD release in 1998 which is how it came into RtBE lives) and has been a gateway into the world of garage rock and punk for countless listeners (present company included). On this steamy Labor Day Weekend in New York City Kaye got together with a bunch of old and new friends to run through a ton of these tracks live at City Winery in Tribeca.

The whole Patti Smith Band were in the house with added guests even though only Tony Shanahan was billed to join (as was Patti herself) but when things got started it just seemed like a bunch of old friends getting together to play tunes they loved from their youth. The core players on this night along with Kaye and Shanahan were Glen Burtnik (keyboards, vocals), Jay Dee Daugherty (drums, vocals), Andy York (guitar, vocals), and  Jack Petruzzelli (guitar, vocals). The stage had a real communal feel to it as bands like The Strangeloves, Count Five and The Swingin' Medallion's got airings for the first time in ages by a world class group of players.  

Highlights were guest Jesse Malin's ripping performance of two of the best songs on the collection, The Knickerbockers "Lies" and The Seeds "Pushing Too Hard" the second saw Malin dancing on tables and giving a needed punk injection into things. Later in the night Joan As Police Woman wasn't as invigorating with her two numbers but everyone took a back seat when a genuine rock star emerged.

Rather then closing the show Patti Smith came out early and with little fanfare singing four songs with the band and leaving the room speechless. As the core players moseyed into Richard and the Young Lions "Open Up Your Door" Smith sauntered onto the stage and helped with the backing vocals before the only non 60's song, Smith's cover of John Lennon's "Beautiful Boy" which she dedicated to Robin Williams. Her nuggets era offerings were a slow burning take on The Leaves "Hey Joe" and her own excellent cover version of Them's "Gloria" which brought the house to it's feet dancing and singing along.  Smith clearly owned the room on this night but by playing early she also let the songs get the airing they deserved from the main band; putting the spotlight back on the music itself.

There was a constant shuffling of guests as fans reveled in a by gone era of tunes, remembering what made songs by The Turtles, The Outsiders and Paul Revere & The Raiders hip in the first place. As the musicians on stage wound down with an encore of "Wooly Bully" and "Louie Louie" old folks and young rockers were happily mixing back into the hot summer air, singing along to whatever the words to those jams are....   
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Glad I got to experience this one with Tom and Lindsey as well. Purely NYC night of music and hanging.
"Just Like Me"

"Lies"

"Hey Joe"