And Fools Shine On

Brother Cane***Back in the autumn a few moons ago, I heard this song playing in the car I was driving.

I never quite understood the meanings of the lyric & yet, it had a very haunting feel to it & some adroit guitar over-tones.

I was chanting at the time quite heavy like into Amida or/& Nichiren Buddhist chanting. One wouldn't know these terms, lest one pray in Japa fashion ; Like a spoken word repeated with & without rosary beads.

In a nutshell, this band has a hot cut & it has never lost in my mind; So now is good as time as any. I hope to hear more of them as I go about my ritual music studies Of great bands that have slipped through my fingers, or should I say attention...*

Junk

Mr. McCartney***Paul could do about anything & a large part of it would be good. Besides his greatness ; No discord is worth the time.

Be I still feel that his best material was in the band which starts with the letter "B'....*

20/20

Cherie***Circa New Wave late seventies to mid-eighties. I was there. They were about the best Power Pop band in Los Angeles; Originating out of Tulsa.

Their first album was a smash hit. Virtually every track on the album was hot. Earl Manky produced ; With so called "major label" backing from CBS Portrait.

This is a near perfect example how a very talented band who had the sound & they had the look. It was the real deal. So why are they in Oklahoma now these days,,,? Another example of the old wall as it stood crumbling., Rife with Payola,Politics & Nepotism to rule the roost & brainwash large swaths of demographic market niches with disposable income. Yes, I said it again.

Truly a great band based on that first album. In times when the radio & buying public were listening to Elvis Costello, The Police & some other fine bands breaking out big ; As 20/20 should have. The music is there, I guess it's Out Of This Time...But What Do I Know Anyway...*

Real Love

John Lennon***An Acoustic alternative version, stripped down to the essence.

I remember watching a John Lennon biography in a theatre in the middle of the week. It was one of my off journeys, you could call it. No one was in the place & I distinctly recall the tune playing as the epilogue & lights came on.

Actually I like this version in its' draft state better on hindsight, than the full version & arrangement in the movie.

That's why It's very interesting to hear the writer, or in other cases, the singer-songwriter, carve out the basis of the work ; Without the arrangements & so forth. A song in its' birthday suit...*

Here There & Everywhere

The Beatles/Paul McCartney***Let us put it that way then. A live performance to boot. I saw him once in the late seventies in Los Angeles' [the forum] with Wings.

His melodic vocals are as always strong ; Good to see Vox amplifiers all over the place too. A fine band to back him up & with his chord progressions, he tugs at the heartstrings most times.

If you're a fanatic, it's not too hard to read who wrote what, with a good set of ears. It's all part of the intricate legacy, one that never dies. Godspeed Sir Paul...*

Lightning Seeds

You Showed Me***They picked a great song & I virtually never do re-makes. This is also ten years old. So, I'm odd.

The arrangement for the time & production were fairly good. I wonder how much airplay this baby had logistically.

Now I'll have to do some research on the band. Oh well. that's cool...*

Try Too Hard

The Dave Clark Five*** It's not all that complicated at the time when this band broke upon the British music scene in the middle sixties ; They did have a handful of finely crafted tunes , reverb drenched & all. Plus the dynamic sense of the music was quite strong.

So...They promoted the publicity at first as the answer to The Beatles ; Like they were the next biggest thing this side of white bread & were capable of possibly over-taking The Beatles. It worked for a while & I think they may have even put a movie behind the whole campaign.

Of course the men in that other band, knew perfectly well that their compositional craft was far above & beyond the conception of everybody else on either side of the ocean.

So in a nutshell, they took their best shot & it just about worked for a while, with tunes such as this high energy cut. Needless to say when they ran out of the handful of material that was truly stunning & on some levels, almost brought themselves up to the plateau shall we say.

Their true gift was actually the keyboard player, who at the time was playing a Farfisa & had the chops, the voice & the compositional ability to keep up with The Beatles for awhile.

As was always the case though, they ran out of the handful of really premium material & reverted back to just trying to blow the socks off of their fans with a more pure rock almost American style, which actually brought them down a level, whereas the Beatles had continually kept coming out with song after masterful song in the two to three minute range that they could no longer compete with.

This circle always came to pass upon most every group that was trying to keep pace with the Beatles. Or just take a ride on their coat tails.

Many a great band came to this conclusion, so they should not have felt too bad about it & rather could be proud enough to even come that close. The writing is what they couldn't come up with. At least not in that wide genre.

I mean who could one nominate as the best modern composers in the history of popular 20th century music. No One.

Even Coming up with a lot of data about the DC5 & the machinations of the promotion/publicity program that was extended to the utmost at that time of industry stupidity is not an easy chore to fathom.

Needless to say the four remaining "major"labels still grasp at the old ways of doing business. I find even the moniker "major label" makes me feel alienated right off the bat.

What a bunch of hypethat has been perpetuated through the years. So ,finally humpty dumpty is falling off the wall & they will not be able to put him back together again.

Thank the Almighty for the technology revolution. Finally a way to pull the walls down & let these folk run for cover inside their fortified mansions. What with the stock market meltdown, on one level, even that is almost funny.

But What Do I Know Anyway...* Perhaps I don't try too hard.

Valerie

The Monkees***Written by Boyce & Hart , I believe this song to be about the best tune with a Monkee logo. As was the case , the best songs of this moniker, were for the most part the above mentioned writers. Even Neil Diamond threw in a song or two.

In studio a large variety of session players were utilized. Don Kershner at that time had his hooie together from three standpoints. He could recognize a probable hit song, he employed good producers & the big stuff is the T.V. show running weekly. Talk about marketing...

Ape-ing a pseudo Beatles appearance, as all the other acts, for the most part internationally to a large extent ; was a good way to go.

Now I am not trying to knock down any of the fellows in the band. there is a large volume of data on this subject , so I'm not going to drill this into the ground. All I can say is , there were quite a few masterful songs & for that , I am thankful.

I know it was hard for the guys , especially at the time of the industry & its' modus-operandi. Look that one up. It's a handy word , I don't know if it's Latin or what.

Let's leave it at that. You have my two cents...*

Yesterday's Gone

Chad & Jeremy***What a duo. finely crafted music, with both electric & acoustic instruments & orchestra when needed : Mostly strings.

You could take a song like this & record a couple of different versions. One soft & smooth & one with steroids.

It's obvious that music in general has been stuck in the mud for the most part since around 1985. Perhaps many of early age & others with the herd mentality, believe that the junk being floated today is music. Music ? You gotta be kidding me.

The New Is Old...The Old Is Strikingly New...*

Cinnamon Girl

Neil Young & Crazy Horse***A studio version of a timeless wondrous song. Another cut of this song, I thought I had somewhere, but as the postings are approaching 400 songs or so, even my search doesn't show it.

This tune reminds me of a girl & knew when I was quite young. My brother went out with her sister & ended up throwing her out of his car. My destiny wasn't quite the same to say the least. It was one of those first big crush kind of things when you first hit your teens.

I'll never forget her name was Debbie & I was as head over heels as a thirteen year old virgin could get. In a nutshell, she just ended up using me in the middle of her boyfriend breakup. It was the first time I ever remember the feeling of complete sadness & melancholy.

My chivalry never worked with Debbie or most anyone else. Being a broken hearted romantic fit into my persona, but it sure was a lonely way to work on girls. All through middle & senior high school she would occasionally show her face & play a little game with me & some of the other fellows. I stayed away from her as long as I Can remember after the initial experience.

Years & decades later, the same picture scenario plays across the tiny film screen of my life. Early on psychiatrists had a field day with me & still do. So thanks a lot for nothing Debbie, I hope you didn't hurt your husbands, girlfriends, boyfriends or any other sentient beings, after you broke my heart ; Ah...But What Do I Know Anyway...*

Prince Montreux 2009

Prince***I was looking for the original video on this one as I consider it a very high level of soul-heart that's real.

After watching & hearing the man do his thing, it again engraves upon me his unique ability to re-invent himself over & over again.

His free form playing & live presentation is extremely fine to say the least. Like his re-arrangement of this classic. I really admire this fellow so much & respect him for his pure talent.

He looks great, he sounds superb & it seems that there's never an end to what he comes up with when he reaches into his magic bag of tricks. I have to admit a tad of envy on top of everything else, which is truly something that I rarely if ever feel ; Bubbling up to the surface of my subconscious.

We're about the same age & I have to be in some state of awe that he has reached this level, like this little cut from Switzerland. Yea, I do wish I was up there & by God perhaps at some point it might happen. God works in mysterious ways. But What Do I Know Anyway...*

Where Have All The Good Times Gone

Van Halen***It's a very simple & natural thing to know. There's nobody that can do it in the hard rock arena better than Edward, David & company. No one can touch Edward Van Halen.

As for the consummate front man, there's nobody that can do it better than David Lee Roth.

They are a Juggernaut in & of themselves & it is so wonderful to see the core of the band finally back & intact.

God Speed Sirs...*

I Can't Smile Without You

Barry Manilow***Oh...so I'm going to get it with this one. Well maybe I'm just getting old. I think it's actually the lyric in this one that sets the ol heart strings fluttering.

Hey look. I wouldn't mind the residuals he gets for this song. It's gotta be the best thing he's got going. That's my two cents...*