In this ongoing Monday Series we will be exploring various artists versions of Bob Dylan song's. Today's it is Stable Shakers performing a live cover of "Most of the Time"
Thoughts on Dylan Original From our first cover take on this tune: One of the best songs in Dylan's repertoire from any of his era's and also one of the most important, "Most Of The Time" proved Dylan was far from done as an artist. Showing up on the return to form album Oh Mercy, "Most Of The Time" is a revelation with it's descending bass line and powerfully stark lyrics. There is a palpable sense of desperation, longing, sadness, a nervous sense of things are falling apart around me; this tune touches a nerve and makes you stand up and take notice.
Cover:
Thoughts on Cover Artist:
This is the first time we have heard theStable Shakers, who are an Americana outfit from Pennsylvania
Thoughts on Cover:
We end March with a dynamite cover all around. This is one of the best we have randomly found in this ongoing series. Stable Shakers do what RtBE loves; they make the song their own successfully. Beautiful singing, a nice bright piano, "Most of the Time's" famous descend bass run, but the expansive guitar outro is blissfully grand and a welcome addition. A must hear cover.
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...Black Belt Eagle Scout!
We reviewed Black Belt Eagle Scout's newest album last month for Glide Magazine, today we are showcasing the bands set from KEXP in 2018 in our Full Show Friday series.
Pro shot, pro sound, set list and info below. Enjoy!
While RtBE are partial to New Orleans for our Jazz Festivals, Newport Jazz just announced a hell of a lineup for their fest in a August.
The Newport Jazz Festival lineup is stacked. From RtBE favs like Thundercat, Jon Batiste and Herbie Hancock to historic soon to sets of Joe Russo Almost Dead with Kamasi Washington and lesser known (but still kick ass) acts like Butcher Brown and Pedrito Martinez; this is one loaded lineup.
Check out some tunes from the artists and buy some tickets to the festival.
The Lusaka, Zambia based artist Paul Payne837has a new track out titled "Ulendo"
The song draws on themes from the tale of Jonah, to quote the artist himself:
"I wanted to write a song that captured the complexity of purpose and the struggle that often comes with it. The story of Jonah is a perfect metaphor for that struggle. We all have something we are called to do, but sometimes it can feel like a burden. 'Ulendo' is a reminder that even when our purpose feels difficult, it is still a gift that we should embrace."
In this ongoing Monday Series we will be exploring various artists versions of Bob Dylan song's. Today's tune is a cover by The Willing of "My Back Pages"
The original has taken upon itself a cultural importance, and the chorus has simply become iconic. I doubt Dylan intended such, but it toes the line of out and out protest and illustrative questions. He puts down everyone from evangelists to girls, but the language snakes and flows so magically that it doesn't seem as harsh as "Positively 4th St" or "Ballad in Plain D". The sense of exhaling desperation or at least the realization that age confuses things even more seems to be what I take from this tune after each listen, but things can change...or can they? Cover:
Thoughts on Cover Artist:
The is RtBE's first time checking out The Willing. This Chicagoland band played the Midwest in the 70's and got back after it in recent years. Check them out.
Thoughts on Cover:
Like a lot of covers of this song, this full band version owes as much to The Byrd's as it does to Dylan. From the drums to the gorgeous harmonies which are pristine. Surprisingly, all the members take turn singing lead verses clearly. The Willing expertly serve up an excellent version of this Dylan classic.
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...The Pogues!
We talked about them yesterday, here are the boys from 1988 in London.
Pro shot, pro sound, full setlist below. Enjoy!
00:18 Metropolis01:42 The Broad Majestic Shannon05:27 If I Should Fall from Grace with God07:42 A Rainy Night In Soho13:11 Thousands Are Sailing18:30 Fairytale of New York23:35 Lullaby of London27:45 Dirty Old Town31:25 London Calling34:55 Turkish Song of the Damned39:00 Fiesta43:52 The Irish Rover47:08 Worms49:24 A Message To You52:27 Wild Rover
The story goes...in the lead up to our first St. Paddy's Day gig we were working on some traditional Irish songs to play and our lead singer/keyboard player Don McNally realized they were basically all the same chords just re-arraigned.
So the Irish American from Woodside, NY dug into his past and crafted QBS. He brought it to the group and after a few tweaks it was ready for prime time, we actually played it only about a week after it was written.
A little inside baseball into our process, now go celebrate by hoisting a pint....Happy St. Paddy's!
This will be the first year in a long time that I will not be in NYC for St. Patrick's Day tomorrow. The holiday has a special place in my heart as my father marched in every St. Patrick's Day Parade he was able to from the 60's until the Pandemic. In looking back at some old writing, I found this from 2006 and wanted to share it. Reminds me of why I love the city on this day more than most. Cheers, Sláinte!
The Pogues...In NYC...On St. Patrick's Day
Thursday, March 30, 2006 (original published date)
Happy Birthday to Phil Lesh, the bass player for The Grateful Dead and beyond turns 83 years old today and he is still out there doing it.
RtBE are huge fans of Lesh and feel that, next to Garcia, he was the life blood of the best American band of all time. RtBE has also truly loved his post Dead projects, particularly Phil and Friends who we have been lucky enough to have seen many times.
So to celebrate, here are a few tunes from the Grateful Dead and Phil and Friends:
The first full-length in five years from the Hoboken, NJ based trio Yo La Tengo arrives with a sense of energy and immediacy not heard from this group in many efforts. Released on Matador Records and titled This Stupid World, the nine tracks run the gamut of the bands sounds from angular noise rock, to blissful musical wanderings.
The trio of husband and wife team Ira Kaplan and Georgia Hubley along with long time bassist James McNew, hunkered down in Hoboken and self recorded/produced the album with just minimal loops and overdubs. C. J. Camerieri adds a few French horn parts, but for the majority of the album it is just the trio delivering their unique brand of indie rock.
Opening with the excellently elongated "Sinatra Drive Breakdown" the band does it's best driving and clanging on the album, recalling their old peers across the river Sonic Youth with long, hypnotic guitar passages. The drumming leads the way around the echoing layered sounds on "Fallout" with Kaplan's lyrics trying to make sense of the confusion of the last few years while the warbling/eerie "Tonight's Episode" produces a driving bassline and a few noise rock induced headaches.
Things cool out for the swirling sounds of "Aselestine" as Hubley takes the vocal lead and Camerieri's French horns arrive before the dull "Until It Happens" stalls out. Things improve on the laid back and dreamy relationship song "Apology Letter" before the chaotic noise, screeching guitar work and upbeat bass crash in during the vibrant "Brain Capers".
These juxtapositions, the dreamy/soft and the loud/hard, are the core of Yo La Tengo. They have always been around, but lately the scales have tipped too much towards the soft and dreamy; the balance they achieve on This Stupid World is strong, never giving in to either polarity for too long.
That pairing continues to end the album as the title track flashes gnarly guitars, marching/thudding drums and the refrain that "this stupid world/is all we have" while album closer "Miles Away" plays with digital soundscapes and softer passages, floating and closing on more of a whimper than a rebellion.
Over their forty year career Yo La Tengo has made it work, a testament in and of itself. This Stupid World might not be the best album of their career, but arguments could be made in that direction and they wouldn't be very far fetched.
It is of King Khan's new album, The Nature of Things.
This is Khan's second jazz album and it is a pretty cool spin through modern jazz sounds with direct shout out to the masters. He has moved pretty far from his DIY punk roots a this point.
In this ongoing Monday Series we will be exploring various artists versions of Bob Dylan song's. Today's artist, Kezia Gillperforming a live cover of "I'll Be Your Baby Tonight"
Thoughts on Dylan Original: From the first time we tackled a cover of this tune: A simple little number coming off of John Wesley Harding it discards the lyrical wizardry for a down home spin. We are rewarded with easy bliss, not often found in Dylan tunes. The emotions displayed by the singer here are heartfelt, hearty and easy going, just like the tune as a whole. Always a pleasant ride, bring that bottle over here...
Cover:
Thoughts on Cover Artist: This is RtBE's first time hearing Kezia who is an England based, country music artist. More info here.
Thoughts on Cover:
A straight ahead acoustic cover that stakes it's claim with Gill's fluttering vocals that can soar and vibrate wonderfully. A fine live cover.
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...U2!
They have a new album coming out next week RtBE should be reviewing.
Pro shot, pro sound full set list below. Enjoy!
1. City of Blinding Lights 00:55
2. Vertigo 07:16
3. Elevation 11:47
4. The Cry/The Electric Co. 16:30
5. An Cat Dubh/Into the Heart 22:15
6. Beautiful Day 29:25
7. New Year's Day 33:55
8. Miracle Drug 41:45
9. Sometimes You can't Make it on Your Own 46:16
10. Love and Peace or Else 51:28
11. Sunday Bloody Sunday 56:33
12. Bullet the Blue Sky 01:03:02
13. Running to Stand Still 01:08:05
14. Pride (In the Name of Love) 01:15:01
15. Where the Streets have no Name 01:19:19
16. One 01:29:27
17. Zoo Station 01:36:45
18. The Fly 01:41:21
19. Mysterious Ways 01:46:50
20. All Because of you** Copyright Deleted
21. Original of the Species 01:54:57
22. Yahweh 01:59:30
23. 40 02:03:16
The Stockholm Sweden based punk outfit Vidro blast hard and direct with their second full length album Glöd. The quartet injects subtle changes into a straight ahead sound, delivering winning results.
Kicking things off with the fast rocker "Stockholm Ekar" the group (Lucas Lima (guitar), Melody Almroth (bass), Vendela Engström vocals, Staffan Fagerberg (drums)) kick off with solid energy and a distorted sense of melody with a distinct groove behind all of the wailing. While the lyrics are sung in Swedish, the screams and angst are palpable as Engström squeals and yelps like many a punk before her.
A catchy groove pumps up "En Syster Mer" as Lima delivers buzz saw guitars with brutal effects while "Anti Allt" is a showcase for Fagerberg's slamming drums. The group moves into a bit more unique sections after those straight openers as "Vita Handen" deploys washes of white noise guitar, flirting with industrial tones, while "Dansa" takes on a Ministry industrial punk vibe directly.
Some repetitiveness drags down "Vågornas Svall" as the pounding sounds just end up with a dulling effect, as does the stomping "Vem Bryr Sig", both tracks feel longer than their brief run times. Much better is the hardcore blast of "Nästan Galen" which crushes with powerful riffs and rumbles.
The catchy shout along ready "Digital Kärlek" is a banging joy with scraping guitars and pummeling low end while album closer "Dö För Ingenting" is an overdriven dynamo of guitar work from Lima as the layers of sound deliver migraine inducing noise to the ears in grand fashion.
Their fierce sound wanders into many sub genres and elevates the music above standard punk albums. Vidro are onto something throughout Glöd with their revved up tempos, cutting guitars and pounding low end.
Fragments - Time Out of Mind Sessions (1996-1997):
The Bootleg Series, Vol. 17
****and1/2 out of *****
This the review of the 5 CD release of this Bootleg Series entry.
Time Out Of Mind holds a special place in Dylan fans hearts, because while there were fits and starts of Dylan regaining his muse in the 80's (Infidels and Oh Mercy), the 90's found him revisiting his folk roots and little else of note; then came TooM. It was revelatory, deep, had back story of Dylan's mortality, and also was his best work in literal decades.
Now arrives Fragments, the newest entry into Dylan's amazing Bootleg series, and to paraphrase the man himself from a recent song, it proves that TooM contained multitudes.
The apparent spark for this installment of the bootleg series was to re-release the original album with a lot of the studio tricks that producer Daniel Lanois added removed, so that listeners could get the "true" version of these songs. That smells a bit like PR spin because there is no way, even back in the 90's, Dylan would have given into Lanois in the first place, but it makes a nice story and allows us to hear the album in a new way.
That is the first disk of this set as things are certainly changed. "Love Sick" has less warble, "Dirt Road Blues" has a cleaner country feel and there is more space/separation between instruments on "Standing In the Doorway" and the majority of the other tracks. All of the instruments are a bit clearer, but it is hard to say this is an improvement, as the original contains such a mood and has been in the circulating consciousness for the last twenty five years.
The two tracks where the new stripped down sound stood out the most was on "Cold Irons Bound" which made the song more upbeat to it's detriment and "I Can't Wait" which somehow felt more funky in this version. People will like what they like and more Dylan is always accepted, but the real meat of this release arrives on the next few disks which consist of outtakes (disks 2, 3, and 5) from these sessions and live offerings (disk 4) of the full album from various locales between 1998 and 2001.
Rather than breaking down each outtake it is safe to say if you appreciate the bard this release will hold water. The songs evolve, mutate, and sometimes just don't work, but are always interesting. One song that was held off of TooM is "Mississippi" which has a country honk on this outtake, all of the "Not Dark Yet" versions feel to upbeat and "Cold Irons Bound" gets a spacey intro reminiscent of the live version.
When it comes to the live renditions on the fourth disk, "Can't Wait" features a tasty guitar solo, "Trying To Get To Heaven" has a soft ballad feel and the May 21st, 1998 version of "Make You Feel My Love" is the best version of the song, ever. Some other live versions aren't as strong as I have heard in person, but having any live material from the late 90's early 2000's is a blessing, as this era was the best Dylan sounded live since The Rolling Thunder Revue.
The final disk is a rehash of Tell Tale Signs bonus disk, which is odd, but as Dylan clears out the vaults I guess another collection of these songs is fine to own, if a bit of a cash grab. Overall though Fragments is worth the price of admission as Dylan was feeling the muse vitally during these sessions and all outtakes from Time Out Of Mind are worth checking out, here's hoping this kind of treatment arrives soon for the even better Love and Theft.
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 Sarah Jarosz playing "Meet Me In The Morning"
Thoughts on Original:
From the first time we tackled a cover of this tune: A swaggering track that rose out of the ashes of "Call Letter Blues" (which was later released on The Bootleg Series Volume 1-3) "Meet Me In The Morning" is a shot of blues after the blissfully mournful "You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go" as it kicks off side two of the famous Blood On The Tracks. The song is one of the ones Dylan recorded in NYC for Blood on the Tracks and it pulses with the city's energy. A cool note about this straight ahead song (which is tailored made for covering) is that Jack White is a big fan, playing it at times at his shows and got Dylan to perform it for the only time ever on 9/19/07 in Nashville, TN.
Cover:
Thoughts on Cover Artist: This is actually the second time we are featuring Sarah in this series. Way back in 2015 she graced cover #188, doing her version of "Simple Twist of Fate". Wow, this series has been going on forever...Oh and Jarosz is legit.
Thoughts on Cover:
A live take from the 2011 Winnipeg Folk Festival's "If Licks Could Kill" workshop. It seems off the cuff as the players just seem to be playing together for the first time. Great pickin', a few lost words, and good times had by all.
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...TH1RT3EN!
Today we go for a shorter NPR Tiny Desk concert from hip hop/rock outfit TH1RT3EN who RtBEreviewed a few years back.
Pro shot, pro sound, full set list and more below. Enjoy:
The Tiny Desk is working from home for the foreseeable future. Introducing NPR Music's Tiny Desk (home) concerts, bringing you performances from across the country and the world. It's the same spirit — stripped-down sets, an intimate setting — just a different space.
Abby O'Neill | January 18, 2021
TH1RT3EN, an irreverent and inflammatory new trio conceived by hip-hop star and lyrical savage Pharoahe Monch, has been in the works for five years. Co-conspirators include Daru Jones, a monster on the drums best known for his work with Jack White, and guitar mercenary Marcus Machado. Both the moniker and supergroup were born out of a frustration with the veneer of American society that underestimates the darkness of white supremacy.
"I knew 5 years ago where we headed," Monch shared over the phone. "Sure, we've always done socially and politically aware music, but I'm tired of this "love will win" nonsense. Love may be the most powerful vibrating force, but consciousness is spreading and it's impossible not to be more aware of the evil that has kept the world in complete darkness. TH1RT3EN is the musical personification of me and my comrades at combat."
Shot in a padded "panic" room, this Tiny Desk (home) concert reflects the rage felt by this three-man battalion of rhythm and verbal artillery, shattering genre boundaries in the process. While TH1RT3EN recorded this set in August 2020, as evidenced by Monch's interlude, this four-song set still channels the discontent outside our windows today.
SET LIST
"The Magician"
"Cult 45"
"Scarecrow"
"Fight"
MUSICIANS
Pharoahe Monch: vocals
Marcus Machado: guitar
Daru Jones: drums
CREDITS
Video: Get a Grip Productions, Arianna Thibodeau, Rashad Frett, Josh Therriault
Audio: King of Chill
TINY DESK TEAM
Producer: Abby O'Neill
Video Producer: Maia Stern
Audio Mastering: Josh Rogosin
Associate Producer: Bobby Carter
Tiny Production Team: Bob Boilen, Kara Frame, Morgan Noelle Smith
Executive Producer: Lauren Onkey
Senior VP, Programming: Anya Grundmann
The Austin, TX based indie-folk band Wild Child have just released "Cheap Champagne"
Photo Credit Megan Buse
It is the latest single off their upcoming album End of the World, out 3/31 through Reba's Ranch Records. The dramatic, heartbreak twisting tale swells in over the top fashion using horns, stout singing, strings and soliloquies.
The Brooklyn based rockers The Men are back with New York City, a ripping raw slice of throwback, 70's inspired rock. The ninth studio effort from the outfit finds them ditching their more pastural experiments and just stripping down to the basics with snarling efforts.
The players, Nick Chiericozzi, Mark Perro, Kevin Faulkner, Rich Samis played live and recorded to 2" tape in Travis Harrison’s (Guided By Voices, Built To Spill) Brooklyn studio. The result is a vibrating full length that shimmies with energy from the beginning combo of "Hard Livin'" and "Peace of Mind", which acts a double shot of garage rock rambling via punkish bouncing and scruffy riffs in jubilant New York Doll inspired fashion.
That blistering shaking continues with "Echo" as the chugging effort sports the best guitar solo on the album. The band struts with powerful confidence into the catchy "God Bless The USA" wrapping up a successful four pack to start the record.
Things are less positive on the slowed down crashing of "Eye" and the droning repetitive "Round The Corner" both of which feels straight out of The Stooges play book, but like that legendary group, The Men are much better when rocking, not plodding.
The album never recaptures the energy and excitement of the intro run of songs, however, they move more into pop rock territory with the cool "Eternal Romance" that successfully features spacey sounds and 'oh-ah' vocals. "Through the Night" kicks back up the overall good times, but the country twang tinged rock of "Anyway I Find You" and the long closing "River Flows" never fully take off to the heights hinted at.
When The Men nail it correctly during the first half of New York City everything's Jake, but when the attention wanders and pace slows on the second half, some raucous injections of chaos is called for.
The most recent entry to the series, Dave's Picks 45 drives that train back in time to October 1st and 2nd 1977 for back to back shows at the Paramount Theater in Portland, OR. 1977 is a beloved year in Grateful Dead history with many official live releases, however most releases focus on earlier in the year (excluding the excellent Road Trips Vol 1 #2). These October shows give hints as to where the band was going in 1978, namely more revved up songs.
This being the Grateful Dead, things aren't speed metal levels, but there is more noticeable upbeat playing on this release. Perhaps it was the bands love of the Pacific Northwest, the chemical concoctions ingested or the energy of a successful year, but the band is raring to go.
Dave makes note that the first few songs from 10/1 are taken from an audience source recording and are in rough shape sonically, things improve, but be warned the sound is not up to these releases high levels until "Dire Wolf". Overall, 10/1's first set isn't very noteworthy and the weakest on this release. There is a sped up "Cassidy" with nice key work from Keith Godchaux, a rocking "Passenger", and a solid "The Music Never Stopped" set closer. When the highlight of the set is a hot "Minglewood Blues" though you know the band is leaving a lot in the tank.
The second set improves right off the bat. "Bertha" is a light and airy opener with the full band following Jerry Garcia's leads but the Bob Weir led tracks this second set really cook as "Good Lovin'" continues to dominate '77 with another very strong version along with a wah-wah drenched "Estimated Prophet". While both Weir and Garcia front the band, both of these shows are very clearly driven by the bands drummers, Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzmann who push and pull things along, sometimes at break neck pace (for the Dead).
That drummer led pounding pushes this version of "Eyes of the World" forward with lots of energy and good playing, melding into a pumping version of "Dancing In The Streets" as the disco Dead strut out with confidence. Billy and Mickey never let up beating on the "Drums" and charging into "Not Fade Away". Things screech to a halt with the ballad "Black Peter" before wrapping up with a cover of Chuck Berry's "Around and Around", while nowhere near must-hear, the very lively second set makes 10/1/77 a fine effort from the band.
The second show, 10/2/77, is set to be special right from the jump as the band decides to bust out "Casey Jones" for the first time in years. While Jerry may have forgotten the songs structure, this uniquely jammed out version acts as a stakes raising show opener and ties in beautifully with this releases album art. Again the drummers set the energetic pace as "Jack Straw" is jacked on up, moving quickly throw the paces. A solo spotlight for Donna Jean Godchaux for "Sunrise" is a fine outing while "Brown Eyed Women" has Garcia missing some lyrics but playing damn fine.
There are two more first set highlights, a very well played version of "Dupree's Diamond Blues" finds Garcia singing strongly (and nailing the lyrics) while "Let It Grow" is the most exploratory song of the first set with a driving percussion once again leading the away as Garcia's Latin tinged, southwest flavored, lead guitar lines discover nuanced spaces; a crisp version.
The drummers keep up their MVP status to start off the second set as "Samson and Delilah" bounces out with raucous energy. 1977 was also the year "Scarlett Begonias > Fire on the Mountain" became an upper echelon jam vehicle for the band and this pairing is a delight on all fronts. Garcia's lead lines in both are magical as he directs the group through the grooving numbers, Phil Lesh ties the interchange between the two songs beautifully, while the drummers slow their pace just a touch to allow the heads and hips to bob and weave; the highlight section of this whole release.
The frantic energy kicks back in for "Playin' In The Band" which seems to go a bit too fast for it's own good, but does have some interesting electro key work from Godchaux. A solid version of "The Wheel" comes out of "Drums" while the band dives into it the finale of the show with a strong run of tunes to close. "Truckin'" is a dynamite adventure that repeats and increases drum work banging into a brief foray into "The Other One" before dripping easily into "Wharf Rat". A gorgeous rendition of the ballad finds great harmonies between the singers before the set closing "Sugar Magnolia" and the encore "Johnny B Goode" wrap up a phenomenal second set and great overall show with a special focus on the drumming.
While it is nice that Dave's Picks #45 includes 10/1, it is 10/2 which really is the shinning star of this release. If you are new to the Dead, start elsewhere, but for long time fans there is a lot to like regarding Dave's 45.
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Support the band, buy the album and peep some video below (not official sound)
