On this day way back in 1942 Jerome Garcia was born and as we have done in the past we wanted to take a second to remember Jerry in the best possible way, by listening to his music.
To kick things off how about an interview with Branford Marsalis (Go Mets!) Scott Poulson-Bryant,Anthony Decurtis and others on what it was like to play with Jerry and the Grateful Dead.
The Hard Quartet is a new indie-rock outfit with Pavement's Stephen Malkmus, Superwolf's Matt Sweeney, The Cairo Gang's Emmett Kelly, and The Dirty Three's Jim White. The group have released their first single/video "Earth Hater"
Frontwoman/bassist Shannon Shaw of the indie-rock outfit Shannon and the Clams, suffered a tragic loss with the death of her fiancé Joe Haener in a car crash just weeks before their wedding in 2022. The devastation of this was overwhelming for Shaw who threw herself into her band's newest record The Moon Is In The Wrong Place, and album closer "Life Isn't Fair" says it all:
How do you expect me to understand/That the love of my life was taken away from me/All the blossoms blooming, twilight looming/Without you on this earth?/Life is unfair/Yet beautiful/I see it now.
Being able to make art, survive, and keepin' on is commendable for Shaw as the band (Cody Blanchard – (vocals, guitar) Nate Mahan – (drums) Will Sprott – (vocals, keyboards)) craft a sonic mix, very much like their past excellent albums on Easy Eye Sound (all produced by Dan Auerbach), allowing Shaw to explore emotions and sing with passion, pain, and optimism.
A classic love song from Shaw kicks thing off and sets the tone as "The Vow" uses inspiration from The Chordettes and horns,as the yearning vocals are tear wrenching with Shaw using her unspoken wedding day vows as the lyrical foundation. The band stays in that 50's dreamy vibe musically with restrained charm on "Oh So Close, Yet So Far" (which also has the most surprising guest of any release in a while, Mick Foley on Handclaps!), the slow waltzing "So Lucky" which delivers gorgeous harmonies, and the torch song "Real or Magic" which delivers even more heart on her sleeve singing/lyrics from Shaw.
The band has always moved between poppy indie rock and more artsy experimental music and that continues here. On the poppy side of things "What You're Missing" uses chimes and a sunshiny feel, the upbeat live-life-to-the-fullest "Bean Fields" cooks with joy and the Mama and the Poppa's 60's radio pop of "UFO" moves slightly towards the psychedelia acid waves.
More in that vein is the warbling, tripped out tempos of the fuzzy "Big Wheel", digital bleeps/crazy percussion kick up on the excellent title track, and "Dali's Clock" is off-kilter in odd ways not as successful as some of the other offerings. The beach rock of the swaying "Golden Brown" lets Shaw's pained vocals float through the breeze while "The Hourglass" just may be the best of the bunch with snaking guitars, banging punk-like percussion, ripping bass, cosmic keyboards, and ominous tone; capturing everything the band does well.
Knowing the backstory and inspiration for The Moon Is In The Wrong Place adds to the depth of the record, but even coming in fresh, Shannon and the Clams newest, deeply personal album, continues the bands strong run of successful artistic works.
This album is very Radiohead influenced and personally, RtBE digs it when the band gets looser, like they did on their recent, excellent live album which we also reviewed for Glide.
In this ongoing Monday Series we will be exploring various artists versions of Bob Dylan song's. Today's artists, Sheila Atim doing a live cover of " "Tight Connection To My Heart (Has Anyone Seen My Love)" "
Thoughts on Original: Arriving on the hit and miss Empire Burlesque, as Dylan reemerged into secular music during those disastrous times known as "The 80's", "Tight Connection To My Heart (Has Anyone Seen My Love)" is the biggest casualty of that era's shitty studio ideas. As mentioned when we reviewed Springtime in New York: Bootleg Series 16, the song itself is fairly solid, but the production on the original is not good. With that combo, the settings are ripe for other artists to put their own spin on the tune.
Cover:
Thoughts on Cover Artist: This is the first time we are hearing Sheila Atim. Thoughts on Cover:
As much as RtBE loves Bob Dylan, not all of us are theater fans, so while some connected to the site saw Girl From The North Country, some did not. This is a unique and very theatrical cover that is completely different than the original and we usually like that. However, this is not our favorite take on the song it certainly is worlds away from the 80's produced original that rambles off the rails at times or the slightly reggae party time jam from the Bootleg Series. The serious tone just doesn't work to these ears, but feel free to listen to it and judge for yourself.
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...Dua Lipa!
This months Full Show Friday Series focuses on Female Artists at the Bonnaroo Festival.
Since we are in the teeth of summer, it gets RtBE thinking of Festivals, so let's revisit great sets from Bonnaroo's past. This isn't the first time we will be looking back at Bonnaroo, but there are tons of full sets to choose from. This month we focus on Female artists who played the festival in the past.
The NYC based Lightning Bug's fourth album is a continuation of their mix of ethereal and folk sounds as the quartet toy with electronics, nature, poetry, and the modern world on No Paradise.
It is of Beachwood Sparks - Across The River Of Stars on Curation Records. The album is very reminiscent of GospelbeacH'slatest which we also reviewed for Glide.
Continuing our ongoing Monday's Dylan Cover Series, this week we present Eliza Gilkyson performing a cover of "Chimes of Freedom".
Thoughts on Original: From the first time we tackled a cover of this song: This song is a giant one in Bob's catalog, but it has always been one of the classic Dylan anthems that never really struck a chord with RtBE. For some reason when we talk about Dylan moving from protest singer to full on poetic songwriter, this is the tune that comes to mind. It seems to be stuck between those two worlds and the version on Another Side Of Bob Dylan just doesn't connect on many personal levels. I may be in the minority but this has never been a great Dylan song in my eyes...which in-turn does make it ripe to cover...
Cover:
Thoughts on Cover Artist:
This is the second time we are featuring Eliza Gilkyson who is a Taos, New Mexico-based folk musician, in our Monday Dylan Cover series. Check out her live version of "Love Minus Zero/No Limit".
Thoughts on Cover:
A very 90's alt-rock-folk take on the tune sung as a duet, marching forward into the unknown with electric/acoustic guitar strums, drums and a protest spirit.
Happy 83rd Birthday to George Clinton, the purveyor of all things funky.
Clinton has been a longtime favorite of RtBE and a massive influence on our musical tastes. We reviewed his most recent album (which was much better than expected) and have seen him live a bunch.
Give up the funk for Uncle Jam, the dirty dog himself. Celebrate his birthday by pumping some tunes and getting down. Here are a few we will spin:
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...Gillian Welch!
This months Full Show Friday Series focuses on Female Artists at the Bonnaroo Festival.
Since we are in the teeth of summer, it gets RtBE thinking of Festivals, so let's revisit great sets from Bonnaroo's past. This isn't the first time we will be looking back at Bonnaroo, but there are tons of full sets to choose from. This month we focus on Female artists who played the festival in the past.
This week it is back to 2007 with Gillian Welch. Check it out below:
Orphan Girl
Elvis Presley Blues
Rock of Ages
Throw Me a Rope
I Want to Sing That Rock and Roll
Black Star (Radiohead cover)
Look at Miss Ohio (with John Paul Jones)
Wayside/Back in Time (with John Paul Jones)
Keys to the Kingdom
Everything Is Free
Knuckleball Catcher
My First Lover
No One Knows My Name
One Little Song
Revelator
To Be Young (Is to Be Sad, Is to Be High) (Ryan Adams cover)
Caleb Meyer
Encore:
I'll Fly Away (Albert E. Brumley cover)
Jackson (Billy Edd Wheeler cover) (with John Paul Jones)
Happy 50th Anniversary to Neil Young'sOn The Beach.
This record from Uncle Neil, the second of his Ditch Trilogy, has always been a a favorite of RtBE's, starting with the best album cover Neil ever created.
The North Carolina based outfit The Pinkerton Raid have released a new single "If A Tree Fell".
Regarding the songs creation, the writer, Jesse James DeConto states:
"I was complaining to our old drummer Scott about struggling to connect with the right audience who would have the kind of experience that we’re trying to craft for them. Scott said I should write a song for those people; that was after playing for one of those very distracted and preoccupied barroom crowds, maybe six months before COVID started. During the lockdown, I finally dug into writing that song, and the sense of longing was only heightened because in those endless 18 months, we couldn't be in the same room with any kind of audience at all, much less a beautifully connected one. “If a Tree Fell” is my attempt to capture the feeling that a song is incomplete until it makes somebody feel something."
The fantastic Tipitina’s Record Club’s newest release is a reissue of Sister Gertrude Morgan's only full length release, 1971’s Let’s Make A Record. This singular gospel rarity arrives on white vinyl, the same color Morgan wore once she became a bride of Jesus, preaching her sermon throughout New Orleans.
One of RtBE's Favorites, Japandroids are back for one final album, Fate & Alcohol, which is due out in October.
The site has focused on the band a lot in the past and can't wait to check out the new album. The first single, "Chicago" has been released today. You can check it out below:
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