Winter Song

And late December can drag a man down; You feel it deep in your gut; Short days and afternoons spent pottering around in a dark house with the windows painted shut... (Foutains of Wayne - Valley Winter Song)

It seem like over the past few Christmas seasons a new/really good version of a Christmas tune or a new seasonal song pops up. Last winter I discovered Fountain of Wayne's Valley Winter Song. The song really takes me back to those "snow days" of my youth for some reason.

Robert Plant's Band of Joy

It's like a radio turning way down low, telling me things I do not know I know; Tonight you will be mine; Tonight the monkey dies... (Robert Plant - Monkey)

I'm still taking in all the new Springsteen stuff and I will blog about it soon. In the meantime I wanted to talk about another CD that is great but maybe under the radar a bit. Robert Plant's new one is Band of Joy.

Robert Plant is one of the great voices of rock and roll. Led Zeppelin's music still sounds vital today. However, since the 70's Plant's music has been spotty. In the 80's & 90's he turned out an occasional solo record or a collaboration with some of his chronies like Jimmy Page or Jeff Beck (Honeydrippers) with mixed results.

Recently Robert Plant has reinvented himself; starting with his 2007's Raising Sand, the duet album with Alison Kraus and produced by super producer T Bone Burnett. That collaboration was a beautiful mix of 2 unique voices, a clever choice of covers, and an earthy production and playing that led to one of 2007's best releases.

Plant's latest release Band of Joy follows in that vein. Production credit for the CD goes to Buddy Miller along with Plant and once again the result is an earthy sounding collection of songs; almost all covers from the likes of Los Lobos, Richard Thompson, Townes Van Zandt and others. The band featuring Buddy Miller on guitar/vocals, Patty Griffin on vocals/guitar, Darrell Scott on vocals/mandolin/guitar/accordion/pedal/lap steel/banjo, Byron House on bass and Marco Giovino on percussion bring a rich sound perfectly suited for Plant's brilliant vocals.

The CD opens with Los Lobos's Angel Dance (from their great album Kiko); this version is unique enough to sound fresh without taking anything from the original; You Can't Buy My Love sounds like the long lost Elvis record from Viva Las Vegas or Little Less Conversation era; Cindy, I'll Marry You Someday and Satan Your Kingdom Must Come Down, old tradional songs, Plant and Miller make them relevant for today; Silver Rider and Monkey, by Alan Sparhawk and others from the band Low, sung with Patty Griffith are hauntingly beautiful.

Whip It Good!

Pay no attention to them haters, because I will whip them all... (Young/Springsteen - Whip My Hair)

I drove over an hour last night to buy the Darkness on the Edge of Town box set. I haven't had time to digest it all (3 cds and 3 dvds). However in the meantime I just found this nugget on youtube. A classic from about 1975 or so, Neil Young and Bruce Springsteen



Jimmy Fallon does a great Neil Young, that is so funny....

Classic Album Rewind: Darkness on the Edge of Town

Poor man wanna be rich, rich man wanna be king and a king ain't satisfied till he rules everything... (Bruce Springsteen - Badlands)

I'm getting very exciting anticipating the Darkness on the Edge of Town Box Set due this Tuesday. Let me just say that Darkness is my favorite album, along with Born to Run, of all time. In honor of the release I thought I would review why this is such a classic album.

If you are at all familiar about Bruce Springsteen, you know that after the breakthrough of Born to Run in 1975, Bruce went through a court battle with his manager at the time Mike Appel. During this three year ordeal Bruce wrote and recorded a lot of material, but did not release anything until 1978 and his follow up was Darkness. If Born to Run was Bruce's grand statement, Darkness was the mature response.

I grew up in the album era of music and there was a certain art to formatting the song order. For example the lead songs on each side were important and set the stage for each side. Alot of records may have had one good lead track in which case the other side didn't get played as much. The closing track on each side was nearly as important. Both Darkness and Born to Run, more than any records, had great starting and ending songs on each side.

SIDE 1
Badlands - Classic Bruce; great lyrics, the band never sounded better, especially Max on this one, great clarence solo and guitar solo. A great song, that just inspires. The lyrics are classic; "I believe in the faith that could save me. I believe in the hope and I pray that some day it will raise me above these Badlands..."; this is always great in concert.

Adam Raised a Cain - This angst ridden ditty about the son returning home and realizing that "we're born into this life paying for somebody else's past". This is some of the most powerful vocals by Bruce ever caught on record. The guitar work is equally as impressive.

Something in the Night - The most underated Bruce song ever. I love this one. Bruce at his most emotional and vulnerable; "You're born with nothing and better off that way, Soon as you've got something they send someone to try and take it away". A great song to listen in a car; "I take her to the floor, looking for a moment when the world seems right".

Candy's Room - Awesome; this song hits you right in gut, with Gary Talents driving bass lines. The harmony singing with Bruce (by Bruce) makes the hairs stand up on your neck. The lyrics are great; you're not quiet sure if the singer is being cocky or just trying to convince himself; "She has fancy clothes and diamond rings, She has men who give her anything she wants, but they dont see, That what she wants is me".

Racing in the Street - This is the kind of song that Bruce is famous for, the story song. The song is beautiful ballad played on the piano; I love when the organ kicks in. The lyrics is a tale of street racer who meets a girl at one of this races. No happy ending here, they slowly drift away; "She sits on the porch of her Daddy's house, but all her pretty dreams are torn, She stares off alone into the night with the eyes of one who hates for just being born". Another cool thing about this song is that it is kind of the third in the street trilogy song: one being Martha & the Vandellas Dancing in the Street; two being The Rolling Stone's Fighting in the Streets. They all have the lyrics "summer is here and the time is right for _______ in the Street".

SIDE 2
The Promised Land - Side 2 opens with Bruce on the harmonica and the fantastic Promise Land. This song is so hopeful and looking forward,"Working all day in my daddy's garage, driving all night chasing some mirage, pretty soon little girl I'm gonna take charge" and "There's a dark cloud rising from the desert floor, I packed my bags and I'm heading straight into the storm, Gonna be a twister to blow everything down that ain't got the faith to stand its ground". Another concert favorite.

Factory - This is the second song on Darkness about Bruce relationship with his father. The story is about how the factory gave men like his father reason to get up in the morning, a reason to live, but at the same time it seem to take something from them, like their soul. This song really tells why Bruce was so inspired to become a rock and roll singer and writer.

Streets of Fire - A lot of Bruce's song on this album sound like movie titles. Case in point, Streets of Fire. This is another emotionally, raw nerve song. Bruce lays it all out there "I live now, only with strangers, I talk to only strangers, I walk with angels that have no place".

Prove It All Night - This song just explodes after the slower Streets of Fire. The lyrics are about living in this very moment "You hear the voices telling you not to go, they made their choices and they'll never know what it means to steal, to cheat, to lie what it's like to live and die". Another song that really comes to life in concert.

Darkness on the Edge of Town - A great closing song. Another song about laying it all on the line, everything, one moment; "Tonight I'll be on that hill 'cause I can't stop, I'll be on that hill with everything I've got, Well lives on the line where dreams are found and lost". Bruce with some incredible insight; "Well everybody's got a secret Sonny, something that they just can't face, Some folks spend their whole lives trying to keep it, They carry it with them every step that they take, Till some day they just cut it loose, Cut it loose or let it drag 'em down".

Concert Season: A Few Tricks, But Mostly Treats

I am a breathing time machine, I'll take you all for a ride... (The Avett Brothers - Laundry Room)

I have been to several concerts lately:

The first was Alejandro Escovedo along with The Incurables at the Kentucky Theatre in Lexington, KY on 10/19/2010. Alejandro was in support of his recent great release Street Songs of Love (which was recorded in Lexington and some of the artwork shot at the Kentucky Theatre). This was a special show with Alejandro and the Sensitive Boys (or Sincere Boys as the tickets read and Alejandro joked) in great form. The band was awesome; bassist Bobby Daniel, drummer Hector Munoz, and especially guitarist David Pulkingham.

Alejandro was warm and funny, sounded even better. The show featured songs from Street Songs including: The Bed is Getting Crowded, Anchor, Down in the Bowery, Fort Worth Blue and Street Songs; and older songs like: Rosalie, Castanets, Always a Friend and Chelsea Hotel '78 to mention a few. This was one of the best shows that I've seen this year.

Additionaly the show opened with a St. Louis band called The Incurables who were lead by charismatic frontman Jimmy Griffin. Their portion of the show was excellent and I look forward to future recordings by this band.

The next show was The Avett Brothers along with Grace Potter and The Nocturnals in Huntington, WV on October 24.

This was my first Avett Brothers show and what a treat. The show was a high energy spectacle of the Brothers unique music. The audience was more familiar with their music than I was having only heard I and Love and You, but that didn't dim my enjoyment.

The highlights for me were Kick Drum Heart, January Wedding and I and Love and You.

The most recent show was Bob Dylan on his Never Ending Tour at Northern Kentucky University on 11/3. Dylan's current band includes the fantastic guitarist Charlie Sexton, who is very entertaining. Dylan played a very good setlist that included some of my favorites: It's All Over Now Baby Blue, Lovesick, Man in a Long Black Coat, Cold Irons Bound and from Highway 61 Revisited: Desolation Row, Highway 61 Revisited, Ballad of a Thin Man, and of course Like a Rolling Stone. Dylan was more animated that I've seen him before and at age 69 he still seems as enigmatic as ever.

Don't Worry About A Thing

Don't worry about a thing, Cause every little thing gonna be all right... (Bob Marley - Three Little Birds)

I have a friend who is going throught some medical things and I wanted to wish her the best through music. That is one of the great things about music, it can give you a small lift or at least make you feel like you are not alone. The genre doesn't matter; a good song is a good song. Music can span time and distances.

This one's for you. I believe that things will work out. You are one of the strongest people I know. Life will return back to normal soon!

Street Songs in American Slang

Everybody's got to dance with the blues sometimes... (Alejandro Escovedo - Down in the Bowery)

There's a couple of discs that have been out for a few months that deserve mention here: Alejandro Escovedo's Street Songs of Love and The Gaslight Anthem's American Slang. I've been slow about blogging about these, but they both deserve some raves.

I've been listening to Street Songs of Love for a while now and a couple of things that stand out. First of all this disc has a Springsteenish feel and I noticed that Alejandro is managed by John Landau (Bruce's manager). Additionaly Bruce makes an appearence on the song Faith. The second thing is the background singing by Karla Manzur and Nakia Reynoso is some of the best that I've heard in a long time. I also wanted to mention that the disc was recorded at Saint Claire Recording Company in Lexington, KY (just up the road; that is exciting).

Street Songs of Love sounds like s a new classic with a nice mix of both rockers and ballads. The cd starts with Anchor, a rocking love song that makes you want to sing a the top of your lungs with the windows rolled down; This Bed is Getting Crowded is another loud upbeat song with clever lyrics; Down in the Bowery is a slower number and a highlight as this duet features Mott the Hoople's Ian Hunter; After the Meteor Shower is a gorgeous ballad; Tula brings you back to your feet; Fall Apart With You is another beautiful song with a nice sentiment; Faith is another rocker and as I said previously features Bruce Springsteen.


The other new disc is The Gaslight Anthem's American Anthem. If you never heard these New Jersey guys they sound sort of like the Ramones meet Springsteen. The highlights of the cd include The Queen of Lower Chelsea, the title track, American Slang, Star Lucky and Boxer.

911: Never Forget

May your strength give us strength; May your faith give us faith; May your hope give us hope; May your love give us love... (Bruce Springsteen - Into the Fire)

This is a music blog and not a political blog, but as an American this day needs to be remembered always. Freedom is a wonderful and we take it for granted.

With that said back to the music; in 2002 Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band released an album that was sort of a tribute to those that fell on that horible day. The album was the first with the E Street gang since 1985. The Rising was a beautiful statement, hitting the right tone, speaking of the courage and strength of those who died.

Kings, Keys & Whigs

She's such a charmer, oh no; she's looking at me... (Kings of Leon - Charmer)

I saw a hot show in Cincinnati, OH at the Riverbend Music Center (my favorite venue) on Saturday (9/04): The Whigs, The Black Keys and the Kings of Leon.

It was almost exactly a year ago that I saw the Kings of Leon in Lexington, KY. The Kings still touring in support of 2008's break through Only By the Night, played 8 of the 11 songs from that cd. They also teased us with an new tune, Pyro, from their fourthcoming new CD Come Around Sundown (to be released October 19). The Kings provided many highlights, but my new favorite Kings song and highlight was Charmer from 2007's Because of the Times.

The nights middle act was the Black Keys, who's latest CD Brothers has been in my CD player all summer long. The Keys were amazing playing a portion of the set with only the two members vocalist/guitarist Dan Auerbach and drummer/producer Patrick Carney. Two additional musicians assisted on the remaining portion of the show. The standouts for me were Tighten Up and 10 Cent Pistol.

The opening act was The Whigs, a trio from Athens, GA (a very musical enriched city). The Whigs played a short energetic set of southern garage rock. Lead guitarist Parker Gispert entertained with his balancing on one leg guitar playing. This band requires further listening.

Darkness on the Edge of Town

I'll be there on time and I'll pay the cost, For wanting things that can only be found in the darkness on the edge of town... (Bruce Springsteen - Darkness on the Edge of Town)

Finally we get word on the release date that I have been really excited about all year. Columbia records will release the 3 cd/3 dvd set The Promise: The Darkness on the Edge of Town Story from Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band on November 16. Disc 1 is a remastered Darkness on the Edge of Town. Discs 2 & 3 are unreleased music from this era. DVD disc 1 is the documentary on the making of the album. DVD discs 2 & 3 are live music from the Darkness era, as well as a recent show that featured all Darkness music.


First of all let me say that Darkness on the Edge of Town was originally released in 1978. I did not hear it until around 1980 after I really started getting into Springsteen. Since this time my favorite album of all time has sort of alternated between Darkness and Born to Run.

Two discs of unreleased material will be the most exciting Springsteen release since Tracks in 1999. I expect this one will be in my cd player in my car and on my ipod for a long time. Read more about it here.