Happy 50th Anniversary to Tom Waits Small Change

Happy 50th Anniversary to Tom Waits, Small Change. 

Happy 50th Anniversary to Warren Zevon's Self-Titled Album

On this day in 1976 Warren Zevon released Warren Zevon, and today we celebrate its 50th Anniversary. 

While Zevon released a record in 1970, this self titled album is where his solo career truly gets going.

Happy 50th Anniversary to the Ramones Debut Album

Happy 50th Anniversary to the ground breaking, self-titled debut record from the Ramones.

Popular music was never really the same after this one...

Happy 50th Anniversary to David Bowie's Station to Station

Today marks the 50th anniversary of David Bowie's album Station to Station. 

Recorded during an insane time in Bowie's life, the album stands as his masterpiece to these ears. 

Album Review: Grateful Dead - Dave's Picks 53 Riverfront Coliseum, Cincinnati, OH (10/2/76)

Grateful Dead

Dave's Picks 53 Riverfront Coliseum, Cincinnati, OH (10/2/76)

*** out of *****

Standard disclaimer: When reviewing any Grateful Dead release at this point, it needs to be noted that a lot of the truly great shows from the band have already been professionally released. (If you are new to the band, check out RtBE's Beginners Guide to The Grateful Dead Part's one and two.) With their vast back catalog on archive.org and all of their previous releases, the band's selections are running thin when it comes to must own, professionally released concerts.

That said, the band still release shows because rabid fans (RtBE included) will listen to everything they put out. So let's dive in...

Beginners Guide To The Grateful Dead - Part Two

There is a lot of music out there and some artists have massive catalogs which can paralyze new listeners with overwhelming choices. This Beginners Guide series will attempt to give new listeners entry points to some of these artists. Today we will look at: The Grateful Dead.

This post was very long so we are breaking it into two parts. This first offering will discuss the five places RtBE feels are the best entry points to the band. The follow up post will dive into the different eras of the Dead and pull out some well known and underappreciated shows for further listening. 

In part one RtBE discussed live shows and albums which will ease a listener into the band. The group has such a wide range of music/sound/shows that RtBE went through the years they were active and pulled out specific highlights. While this gets long, it is literally the tip of the iceberg. The Internet Archive is a digital gold mine for amazing Grateful Dead shows, but below are are choices throughout the years for highlights and further listening. 

Let's do a deeper dive now...

Album Review: Grateful Dead - June '76 Box Set

Grateful Dead 

June '76 Box Set

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

Box sets from any group are for the hardcore fans and this gorgeous release from the Grateful Dead highlights a period which the band has not showcased much in the past. June '76 is a perfect combination as diehards will eat it up and the music presented is wonderful to get lost in even if you are not super familiar with the group.

The Masters- James Brown - Best Studio Albums

RtBE loves listening to new music and prides itself on keeping tabs on up and coming artists but in 2019 we are also going to have a monthly spotlight on legendary artists who we really love. We are calling this series The Masters. It will focus on the best albums, live records, transcendent shows and other odd ways we appreciate the artists and their contribution to music, culture and our formation.

For May The Masters focuses on James Brown.

The Godfather himself, James Brown joins The Masters series here on RtBE. He is the visionary artist who helped invent funk and hip-hop as he moved through the amazing funky waters of time and his mind. Mr. Please Please Me is iconic and moved from The Famous Flames to Soul Brother #1 to the Godfather with ease as he aged.

He however joins the likes of Miles when RtBE is conflicted about the art and the artist. Longform collected just a few pieces on him, but it is safe to say that Brown's actions makes it tough with our love for the mans music. That said, we wrote about our feelings on Brown when he passed away for Glide as he had a huge influence on our musical ears and he won't be the first or last artist we are conflicted about loving.   

Today we are going to dive into his studio output and rank our favorite studio albums by Brown. Perhaps not shockingly, but like Elvis Presley, Brown is a mega artist who does not have definitive studio albums. His early albums were almost random collections of singles, his later albums were scattered, many didn't even have the title songs on them or were mixes of live/studio/overdub Frankenstein's (looking at you Sex Machine).

Some of these actual records are out of print and honestly people aren't losing much because of that. Live albums, box sets, greatest hits, he checks all those boxes, but a definitive studio effort is hard to find...let's give it a go anyways...  

As always, these lists are designed to start conversations, not end them.

Monday Dead The Beacon Theater 6-14-1976

When talk turns to the great years of the Grateful Dead's career for some reason 1976 gets overlooked, and I am guilty of this as well, having done this Monday Dead project for half the year so far and not posting a single show from that year. Well I am fixing my mistake by posting my favorite show from that year, June 14th 1976

You can click that link or listen right c'here:

 People can argue over favorites from different years, and 1976 has some other top contenders, such as the excellent New Years Eve show they recently released or the Boston Music Hall only a few days before this show presented today, and both of those are superb, but my money is on this show from uptown in my home city at the Beacon.

This is a peach of a SBD recording and you couldn't possibly get better quality.  By the way if you want a whole bunch of SBD's from 1976 head over here...While they only played 41 shows in 1976 it wasn't about quantity, it was about quality and today's show has it all.  A great tight first set is highlighted by an excellent "Cold Rain and Snow" opener.  I gotta admit this is one of my favorite ways for the boys to kick off a night of tunes and this version is crisp clear and satisfying.  Bobby covering Merle Haggard's "Mamma Tried" is a winner, and here is the original for comparison:

A sweet and Long "Row Jimmy" works wonders as does the short "Cassidy" which contains some really unique bass notes and runs from Phil.  Donna is also very upfront in this mix, but she does nothing to take away from the tunes and enhances them greatly with her supporting vocals. 

The unique phrasing of "Lazy Lighting > Supplication" catches me off guard all the time, and I usually dislike it, but it works well here as does "Tennessee Jed" which lopes along until Garcia's cutting solo to end the tune.  This solo has a different sort of sound and feel to it thanks to his playing of the custom made Travis Bean in 1976:

 As dozin' points out the guitar was played by Jerry for the first part of 1976 was a Travis Bean TB500 w/single-coil pickups and an FX loop.  Things stayed tightly wrapped in the first set until the huge "Playin' In The Band" that ends the set clocking in at almost 20 minutes with the fellas and chica dribbling all over the place going in separate directions, barely holding together; this is jazz rock personified.  Billy and Mickey ride the cymbals as guitar lines seem to ring out from nowhere and everywhere at once.  When they come back together around the 17 minute mark, it is almost as if they wanted to keep it spaced out and only reluctantly return before the set-break.

While the first set was good, the second set is even better, containing a few tunes that via for "best of" consideration. Starting things off in a really cool way, out pops a set opening "The Wheel", in fact I am not sure if ever opened a set any other show...will do some more research on that, but I couldn't find out, either which way it is rare, cool and a harbinger for excitement to follow.

The Rhythm Section gets a funky work out with the "Samson and Delilah" that bounces out, Phil again showing some intense dexterity on the bass.  Next comes "High Time" and this just may be the definitive performance of this majestic tune.  Pristine vocals, Donna again contributes but doesn't over power, smooth playing by Keith on keys and swelling crescendos make this a great listen and one of the best versions the band ever played.  "The Music Never Stopped" is a good work through, and there is an easy majesty to "Crazy Fingers" highlighted by the fluid jam at 7 minutes in that morphs into an almost "Spanish Jam" around the 10 minute mark before the "Drums> Dancin' In the Streets".  

Hey lookie here, someone made a Youtube Clip of "Cosmic Charlie" from this show:

The group brought this tune back into the fold briefly in 1976 so it is fun to have this version to check out, especially the nifty guitar work from Jerry, a rare tune played swimmingly.

Perhaps not as swimmingly as what comes next though, with another song suite in the running for the "best ever" label..."Help On The Way> Slipknot!>Franklins Tower".  Phil again here is propulsive as are the drummers, even sprinkling in a cowbell.  In reality this grouping of songs is what makes this show for me, sure everything else has been really great leading up to this, but with the flaring of Keith's keys, Jerry's strong leads and Phils backing you have a champion 25+ minutes of music.  "Slipknot!" in particular gets jammed out all over the place making you forget just what song you are listening too before it crashes back into its familiar riffs then motors into the glorious "Franklin's Tower" that just keeps building upon itself.  This is some great live music...alive in the moment.

The band in October 1976

The "Around and Around" and "US Blues" that end the set and make up the encore are really just icing on the cake of this fantastic show.  Give this one a listen to ease into your Monday and enjoy some of the best playing of a sometimes overlooked year.  Do you have a favorite 1976?  Feel free to let me know.