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...Dire Straits!
Today we head to London's Wembley Arena back in 1985 for the Brothers In Arms Tour from Dire Straits.
Speaking of Wembley, Chelsea play Leicester City in the FA Cup final tomorrow and here's hoping the Blues trounce the Foxes and lift the first of possibly two cups this year. Back to Dire Straits...
This is the band in their prime. Pro Shot, Pro Sound, full set list below. Enjoy:
*** The Band: Mark Knopfler : lead guitar, lead vocals ; Jack Sonni : guitar ; John Illsley : bass ; Alan Clark : keyboards ; Guy Fletcher : keyboards ; Terry Williams : drums ; Chris White : saxophone.
*** Video containing the famous concert from Wembley 1985. Great show of the Brothers in arms tour, containing powerful versions. Nice to see the two guest players Nils Lofgren and Hank B. Marvin. Picture and sound quality are both very good. The picture is taken from probably one of the best preserved VHS tapes available and the sound is taken from the best sounding audio soundboard bootleg (Perfect Investigations), except for the songs Tunnel of Love, Solid rock and Going Home but which still have good sound.
Last year we searched the murky back waters of youtube to find full concerts and posted them to the site monthly. That was all well and good but this year RtBE is upping the ante with a show every week to 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...Dire Straits!
This is a pro shot, pro sounding show from Dire Straits from 1992 when they were touring for, On Every Street, their come back album. This was also their first major tour since the mid 80's so anticipation ran high. While we here at RtBE respect Dire Straits and dig their hits we have never been huge fans, I think it boils down to overall slick sound and Mark Knopfler's intentionally muffled singing style.
That said the show is pretty solid, and the huge crowd reminds us that they were one of the most popular bands in the world at one time. All of our favorites are here, "Sultan's Of Swing", "Walk Of Life" and their best song "Romeo and Juliet" which delivers the goods each time it is played and here it showcases some fine sax work.
We recently caught him open for Bob Dylan,
and he only played one old tune from his Dire Strait days, so concerts
like these will probably be the only way to enjoy that groups sound now:
Way back in 2009 we were lucky enough to help contribute to Glide Magazine's list of Best Albums of the 2000's. Hard to believe it has been ten years since we worked that list, but it is that time again to look back at the previous decade and put together some arbitrary rankings. Since this site has been going strong the full decade we have a lot to pull from.
Here comes RtBE's picks for the top albums from the last decade, 2010-2019.
If we reviewed the album we will provide a link to that review in the title, a brief reflection on the record and a tune from it. A lot can change in ten years and a lot stays the same. Some albums were just right for their time and place and haven't aged particularly well and others were perhaps misunderstood or even prophetic as to where the world was headed.
Just our two cents, but this decade will not be looked back at fondly when it comes to remembering music in general. Things (for the most part) are being programmed and mushed together into mellow, white bread, digestible tunes with a hip hop foundation around pop hooks, synth vibes, a few strings and nothing the least bit exciting or offensive for the majority of music out there. In an era that should be considerably be ripe for protest, outrage, and individual expressionism, very little of actual substance has escaped to the masses.
Also from a practical standpoint, never before has the concept of "album" been so meaningless in our streaming/playlist curated society. While RtBE isn't completely old fashion, we still haven't bought into those ways of consuming music and the album is still our only way of listening to things, whether on vinyl or downloaded; no shuffling of singles here. This list focuses on full lengths that are played from beginning to end and deliver the goods.
We will break this down over five parts, doing ten albums a day. There were a ton of good records released over the last ten years, much more than fifty, but these are our choices. We kept our personal musical releases off the list, but feel free to listen and critique those.
As a note, Glide Magazine, the main site we contribute to, changed its rating system in the middle of the decade from 5 Stars to 10 stars, then removed it all together so if you see say #49 on our list with only 4 stars, consider it doubled to 8. For Reference, here is 50-41 40-31 and all of those are also listed at the bottom of this post.
Like all of the lists RtBE have done, this is meant to start conversations, not end them. So let's kick it off...
The usage of the word "the" comes up right at the beginning when digesting the newest album from The War On Drugs. Lost In The Dream is the the title as opposed to "a" dream, there is a communal sense of oneness inherent in that switch. Instead of inward looking loner tunes this album spaciously feels all connected via dreamy pop and nods to radio influences of past days to accomplish that.
That word pops back up forecasting the same thing in the opening "Under The Pressure" as if we are all experiencing that same push down. Drifting and escapist but grounded in a hook that reminds of a digitally aged Dire Straits track. Echos and drama color "Red Eyes" in shades of Arcade Fire but the group fronted by Adam Granduciel seems to be looking back to the neon inspired decade for more inspiration then anything happening today.
The pumping of "An Ocean Between The Waves" was made for early 80's rock radio in the vein of really hip Bruce Hornsby cut. It goes and goes for 7+ minutes on the back of keys and rising vocals/guitar lines. Maybe not as successful with it's 80's love is "Disappearing" which recalls When In Rome's "The Promise" only with spacier guitars. The dream pop combo in general though seems warmer then other releases of this genre.
"Suffering" mellows things out with lyrics about "both of us faking it" while "I am here suffering" behind swirls and piano lines; a gorgeous downer.Vocally Granduciel stays mostly behind the music except on the title track which places his singing at the forefront putting his confusion and Hornsby tendencies on display plainly.
"Eyes To The Wind" starts a linking of songs by a Jackson Brown like strum some acoustic guitars over a positive progression that swells to include an easy saxophone. All that melts into a warbling interlude titled "The Haunting Idle" which "The Burning" pulses out of. The last in this series never reaches the heights it strives for but is a fun ride anyway.
The songs are long here but there is palpable sense of pop work infused in them. While never overly joyous the group has layered this record for the listening on a larger scale; Lost In The Dream with everyone.
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Interesting disk, we never got into the groups first release Wagonwheel Blues, but a friend just recommended we go back to give Slave Ambient a shot. This new one popped up first and the group has obviously improved, this is cool stuff.
During the pandemic, New Orleans based singer/songwriter/guitarist Billy Iuso laid down the tracks that would become 52 Hz. Working with local musicians and friends from his home studio the record came together as a mix of easy rock, light soul, and funky workouts.
The core band helping Iuso are Reggie Scanlan on bass, Eddie Christmas on drums, Joe Ashlar on keys, with Renee Gros and Sari Jordan on backing vocals. The group interplay swells as the excellent production, engineering (David Farrell) and mixing (Tracey Freeman) brings a vibrant texture to all of the ten songs presented.
Opening with the soul based outing "My Getaway", the record kicks off on a strong note as the horn work and rich sounds take hold while "What's Gonna Set You Free?" also traffics in these same waters, using excellent guitar work from Iuso. Violinist Rurik Nunan shows up to lend a hand on both "More To The Island (than meets the man)" and the easy rolling instrumental "Rains of Oaxaca". Each of the tracks also use warm organ, bass and nuanced guitar lines to flush out the sound.
Less successful is when Iuso dips into 80's Steve Winwood inspired waters as "Strongest Child" (with guitar solo from Mike Doussan) and "Look Inside" (with added congas from Michael Skinkus) mellow things out, losing a bit of the songs bite. Better is when Iuso channels more of a Dire Straits sound on the organ backed, guitar rock of "It's Time" and the grooving "Shine On" which deploys layers of light funk and excellent work from the backing vocals in a Trey Anastastio Band like manner.
A gorgeous instrumental "Arkansas Girl" shows off Iuso's guitar chops with layers of six strings, while album closer "It's Gonna Be OK" wrap things up on an incredibly strong note. It starts life as a stirring piano ballad before swelling into a cathartic, faith filled number that would be completely at home closing any show as a group singalong; reminiscent of Gov't Mule's "Soulshine".
Named after the fascinating story of the world's loneliest whale, Iuso took pandemic isolation and funneled it into his craft as 52 Hz strongly shows off his dexterous guitar playing, emotive singing and honest songwriting talents.
The newest collection of stout songs from Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit, titled Weathervanes, is yet another example of top notch song writing in a discography full of them; every release since Southeastern has been must hear and excellent.
While it is clearly a band album, Isbell has truly started coming more into his own with enhanced self confidence. He self produced the record (with some help from Matt Pence), designed the cover art (whose weathervane only points south and east) and wrote all of the songs with his unique take on small town life standing in for larger societal problems.
The album is fairly split between softer Americana/country/folk efforts and full band, southern rockers. The 400 Unit is Derry deBorja - Acoustic Piano, Electric Piano, Organ, Accordion, Synthesizers, Therevox, Tack Piano, Background Vocals Chad Gamble - Drums, Percussion, Congas Jimbo Hart - Electric Bass, Bass Ukulele Sadler Vaden - Electric Guitar, Acoustic Guitar, Electric 12 String, Acoustic 12 String, Background Vocals. His wife Amanda Shires supports as well on fiddle and backing vocals and other guests help out along the way. While the core songs remain Americana/Southern rock, there are flashes of new avenues musically that Isbell is toying with to keep things fresh.
Opener "Death Wish" goes in a slightly new musical direction, with touches of new wave and angular percussion as the track oddly gets a dance beat roiling around swelling strings (provide by by Morgan O’Shaughnessey) as Isbell sings with an extra touch of anger, amping the distressing feeling immensely. A song like "King of Oklahoma" feels as if Isbell could have written it in his sleep, as down on their luck addicts fight their demons to regain a sense of humanity through righteous memories, killer guitar solos, and ensnaring turns of phrases; whether they are walking in homemade house shoes or stealing copper pipes.
Highways and wounded cowboys arrive in "Strawberry Woman", as does Mickey Raphael's harmonica while "Middle of the Morning" has a laid back Allman's Brothers vibe coursing throughout the pandemic influenced track. The acoustic shuffling of "If You Insist" ramps up the twang to deal with isolation and loneliness while a trio of easy swaying numbers, "White Beretta", "Vestavia Hills", and "Volunteer" (with great supporting vocals from Shires) are so confident in their tales of broken dreams that contain slim slivers of hope, that it feels Isbell could literally churn these top notch efforts out forever.
Never afraid of diving into tough subjects, gun violence is addressed directly and confidently on "Save The World" which brings in an early 80's Dire Straits sound (along with digital bleeps and electro keys) to the tale of helplessness one feels when another mass shooting tops the news; a powerful song. "Cast Iron Skillet" turns a mirror onto Southern charms that aren't very charming at all while the hard stomping "When We Were Close" painfully deals with substances abuse in the arts around the best guitar solo on the record.
The album ends with two elongated tunes that really shine the spotlight on the band interplay as "This Ain't It" was recorded live and has a vibrant feeling as the 400 Unit uses a big rock sound with congas in a Rolling Stones like way winningly. Closer "Miles" feels like two songs in one and is a bit clunky, however, the opening playing/verses remind of a polished version of Neil Young and Crazy Horse before a big climax changes the tone as Isbell discusses modern issues of displaced rage and capitalisms faults. Perhaps breaking this into two songs may have been a better move, but the ambitious track certainly stands out on this record.
Overall, while other Isbell albums have had higher pinnacles and must hear songs, the solid nature of every song here speaks volumes to the groups talents as the 400 Unit deliver and Isbell continues to craft mini movies with his specifically affecting songwriting throughout Weathervanes.
On The War On Drugs last release, the critically acclaimed breakthrough Lost In The Dream, lush AOR styled tunes were paired with distanced vocals singing mumbled paranoia filled phrases. On his Atlantic Records follow up, A Deeper Understanding, Adam Granduciel (the main WoD'er) has managed to improve on the bright, soaring, radio friendly sound while warming up both vocally and lyrically, constructing the best album of his bands career.
The sonic production (another result of Granduciel directly) is simply put, glorious. Songs shine out of the speakers with vibrant crisp textures as the players move through the long numbers that rarely feel weighed down by repetition. The 80’s radio touchstones remain the same for the band, but they have incorporated new depths and dimensions as Granduciel’s vocals take a larger role in the overall sonic production.
Opener “Up All Night” sets the tone with its stylized sound and digital beats behind questioning lyrics. Where in the past Bruce Hornsby and Dire Straits were the main references to WoD's sound, now Granduciel has incorporated Tom Petty and especially mid-eighties Bob Dylan (the good eighties Dylan that is) into the fold. "In Chains" has breakout energetic appeal while “Pain” uses riveting guitar sounds ranging from clean acoustic to fuzzy electric as it slowly rolls like a wave in the ocean with Granduciel floating on top via questioning lyrics as he “Wants to find what can’t be found”.
On an album chock full of picturesque songs “Strangest Thing” is a standout. Huge strums and soaring keyboard work projects a sunrise over the mountains as pianos fade in and a bubbling bass pushes things forward surrounded by Granduciel’s ambivalent lyrics; a beautiful number that rewards repeated spins.
A major advancement is Granduciel projecting vocally rather than retreating into himself. Using Dylan circa Shot of Love and Infidels as an inspiration, his vocals take on a new found honesty on the ballad driven “Knocked Down” and the digital keyboard/chime laced “Holding On”. The difference is, where Dylan during this era dove deep into his evolving spirituality (“Series of Dreams”) or his intricate weighty tales (“Jokerman”) Granduciel never gets past textured phrases describing light and dark, rivers and oceans, shadows and light, pain and happiness, etc. He isn’t truly saying much of anything lyrically but the vocal confidence and easily identifiable openness (compared to past releases) certainly is a step in the right direction.
If there is a downside to A Deeper Understanding it is the feeling of a one trick pony as Granduciel and company have been down this path before and now flush their mid-80’s AOR love to its zenith. That said, it is hard to fault the majority of songs here, even the almost twelve minute, meandering “Thinking Of A Place” contains sonic surprises.
The nineteen eighties neon revival has been everywhere the last few years, taking a slightly different approach to the decade Granduciel and company strive to get mid-eighties mass marketed rock radio back on everyone’s radar. A Deeper Understanding nails this perfectly and should propel and already successful band to even greater heights.
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Friends have been telling us about this band for a while now and while we have enjoyed them in the past nothing form the WoD has stuck around long with RtBE. That has changed. This album is damn good.
In this ongoing Monday Series we will be exploring various artists versions of Bob Dylan song's. Today's tune is a cover by Mark Knopflerplaying "Restless Farewell"
For November and December we highlight covers from: Chimes of Freedom: The Songs of Bob Dylan Honoring 50 Years of Amnesty International
Thoughts on Original:
From the first time we covered this song (which was a twofer) Since we took last week off there is a two-fer today with "Rambling Gambling Willy" which is a gorgeous little number about someone I would like to have a beer with before we get "Restless Farewell". One of Dylan's many tunes based off of a old Irish folk song, this time it is "The Parting Glass". Lyrics seem bittersweet as time often is, and I always go back to the version he and his crack band played at the Frank Sinatra's 80th Birthday Party, you can see the video here. I always loved that version, with the added strings, and I am intrigued why he chose to play that song for Frank Sinatra's 80th birthday, when every other performer was doing Sinatra tunes, odd all around. Far from his sweetest song, but you can sense that Irish longing, behind lines and phrases which makes Liam covering it ideal.
Cover:
Thoughts on Cover Artist: Mark Knopfler has a long connection to Dylan, producing his albums, playing with him, fairly recently touring with him and RtBE was lucky enough to catch that tour. Obviously he is famous for Dire Straits, who RtBEdigs a bit, and he has a long career.
Thoughts on Cover: This is a really great cover, with layers of acoustic strings, a Celtic/Irish influence and a soft setting that works for Knopfler's understated vocals. A really great cover.
The Tuareg guitar player Bombino is back with Deran his fourth studio record which finds him eschewing modern rock producers to return back to Africa to record primarily in Casablanca. The songs are sung in Tuareg, messages of hope and peace are spread in his unique mixing of rock, eastern, groove and splashes of reggae.
With his band (Illias Mohammed on guitar, Youba Dia on bass, Corey Wilhelm on drums, Hassan Krifa on percussion, and Mohammed Araki on keyboard) he traveses familiar terrain for anyone who has checked out his playing before. Bombino (born Omara Moctar) has his style and on all of his releases it is only the small details that separates things for non Tuareg speaking listeners.
Opener "Imajghane (The Tuareg People)" kicks things off with swirling guitars in the patented Bombino fashion before "Deran Deran Alkheir (Well Wishes)" picks up the pace and adds backing vocals. "Tehigren (The Trees)" is the first excellent track as it begins with Bombinos unique take on reggae before kicking up the tempo into a full dancing groove before ending on a metal riff which hints at a whole new horizon; it is a standout on the record.
"Tenesse (Idleness)" closes out with a guitar solo that is a touch buried behind sounds while "Oulhin (My Heart Burns)" is more upbeat with hand claps and rhythms matching the vocals. The chanting repetitive "Adounia Dagh (This Life)" goes on a bit long but also showcases strong acoustic guitar work before "Adouagh Chegren (At the Top of the Mountain)" closes the album with more acoustic fret work that has a more natural ebb and flow.
The production of this record has been noted as it is the first in a few not to feature an indie rock man behind the boards, but the production is also a muted especially when it comes to drums and rhythm sections. On the excellent AzelDavid Longstreth was able to meld Bombino's style and experimentation with the artists love for Dire Straits, seeming to be a perfect fit where Dan Auerbach's more blues roots style on Nomad was a touch abrasive. Deran feels neither rough or well matched, in production terms it isn't horrendous, just diluted compared to past offerings.
That said, fans of Bombino now have another full length to enjoy. As a site who has been a fan since first catching him back in 2011 this is a major positive. However, if we were guiding newcomers to his sound RtBE would pick out past efforts for them to listen to first.
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Support the artist, buy the album and peep some video below:
Way back in 2009 we were lucky enough to help contribute to Glide Magazine's list of Best Albums of the 2000's. Hard to believe it has been ten years since we worked on that list, but it is that time again to look back at the previous decade and put together some arbitrary rankings. Since this site has been going strong the full decade we have a lot to pull from.
Here comes RtBE's picks for the top albums from the last decade, 2010-2019.
If we reviewed the album we will provide a link to that review in the title, a brief reflection on the record and a tune from it. A lot can change in ten years and a lot stays the same. Some albums were just right for their time and place and haven't aged particularly well and others were perhaps misunderstood or even prophetic as to where the world was headed.
Just our two cents, but this decade will not be looked back at fondly when it comes to remembering music in general. Things (for the most part) are being programmed and mushed together into mellow, white bread, digestible tunes with a hip hop foundation around pop hooks, synth vibes, a few strings and nothing the least bit exciting or offensive for the majority of music out there. In an era that should be considerably be ripe for protest, outrage, and individual expressionism, very little of actual substance has escaped to the masses.
Also from a practical standpoint, never before has the concept of "album" been so meaningless in our streaming/playlist curated society. While RtBE isn't completely old fashion, we still haven't bought into those ways of consuming music and the album is still our only way of listening to things, whether on vinyl or downloaded; no shuffling of singles here. This list focuses on full lengths that are played from beginning to end and deliver the goods.
We will break this down over five parts, doing ten albums a day. There were a ton of good records released over the last ten years, much more than fifty, but these are our choices. We kept our personal musical releases off the list, but feel free to listen and critique those.
As a note, Glide Magazine, the main site we contribute to, changed its rating system in the middle of the decade from 5 Stars to 10 stars, then removed it all together so if you see say #49 on our list with only 4 stars, consider it doubled to 8. For Reference, here is 50-41 and those are also listed at the bottom of this post.
Like all of the lists RtBE have done, this is meant to start conversations, not end them. So let's kick it off...
Way back in 2009 we were lucky enough to help contribute to Glide Magazine's list of Best Albums of the 2000's. Hard to believe it has been ten years since we filled out that list, but it is that time again to look back at the previous decade and put together some arbitrary rankings. Since this site has been going strong the full decade we have a lot to pull from.
Here are RtBE's picks for the top albums from the last decade, 2010-2019.
If we reviewed the album we will provide a link to that review in the title, a brief reflection on the record and a tune from it. A lot can change in ten years and a lot stays the same. Some albums were just right for their time and place, some haven't aged particularly well and others were perhaps misunderstood or even prophetic as to where the world was headed.
Just our two cents, but this decade will not be looked back at fondly when it comes to remembering music in general. Things (for the most part) are being programmed and mushed together into mellow, white bread, digestible tunes with a hip hop foundation around pop hooks, synth vibes, a few strings and nothing the least bit exciting or offensive for the majority of music out there. In an era that should be considerably ripe for protest, outrage, and individual expressionism, very little of actual substance has escaped to the masses.
Also from a practical standpoint, never before has the concept of "album" been so meaningless in our streaming/playlist curated society. While RtBE isn't completely old fashion, we still haven't bought into those ways of consuming music and the album is still our only way of listening to things, whether on vinyl or downloaded; no shuffling of singles here. This list focuses on full lengths that are played from beginning to end and deliver the goods.
As a note, Glide Magazine, the main site we contribute to, changed its rating system in the middle of the decade from 5 Stars to 10 stars, then removed it all together so if you see say #49 on our list with only 4 stars, consider it doubled to 8.
Like all of the lists RtBE have done, this is meant to start conversations, not end them. So let's kick it off...
