Slid down the rabbit hole watching some cover versions with my wife. She insisted Pentatonix' "sound of silence" was better than the original. I said it couldn't be better because they didn't create anything that wasn't already there. "You just like it better."
Well, I didn't recognize any of the judges, but it did appear to be "The Voice", ala American "The voice." Regardless, I admit I'm biased. I think GNT (Girl Named Tom) did it better on the U.S. version of The Voice. Did I say I was biased? GNT are my cousins.
Went to the Cleveland Auto Show last night with my cousin, who choose the music in our ride on the way home. He put this song on. Man, I haven't heard it in a million years. Great song!
I am fully aware that this video will not mean much to many.
Most are not old enough to know the impact Nat King Cole had on music and society. This type of music is not popular today.
I decided to post this after I watched a documentary on him. It made me remember the impact he had on me as a boy. He still remains to me the greatest singer I have ever heard.
Nat King Cole is one of my absolute favorite singers of all-time. He was also a pretty damn good piano player. Mono Lisa is a wonderful song that Nat recorded perfectly. His rendition of When I Fall in Love is one of the best ever, if not the very best.
Each year during the holiday season, the first Christmas song I play is The Christmas Song and it is also the first song we play when we sit down for dinner on Christmas Eve, which our biggest day of celebration.
Went to the Cleveland Auto Show last night with my cousin, who choose the music in our ride on the way home. He put this song on. Man, I haven't heard it in a million years. Great song!
Excellent. Paul Rodgers is one of my all time favorite vocalists.
When I was a boy around the age of ten or so. I really had no concept of race. My parents were not prejudice. We lived in Harrisburg, Pa. it was an all white neighborhood. Nat King Cole had a TV show in 1956 and 1957. I watched the show and it never dawned on me the significance that a black man had a TV show.
I just watched the show and thought that Nat King Cole had the best voice I had ever heard. The show was cancelled after 60 weeks even with the highest TV ratings. And the fact that guests like Tony Bennett and Sinatra played for free. It was cancelled because the southern states refused to put the show on TV.
The documentary reinforced my opinion about Nat and it was also felt by many of the giants of music. He was a great jazz piano player. His trio was also one of the first to ever incorporate electric guitar. When you watched Nat play piano and sing. It was like he could play piano with zero thought. His fingers just worked on their own. He would sing and be looking sideways at the camera while playing piano. He would never even look at the keys.
He was am amazing talent who had an incredible impact on music and black history.
I have been a huge Billie Holiday fan since I first really listened to her when I was in college.
i have damn near everything she ever recorded in remastered CD's.
The Ken Burns film Jazz covers Billie extensively. It fascinates me to listen to those who played with her. Bradford Marsalis said his dream was only to play behind her.
My favorite recordings of Billie are with Lester Young on sax.
Her voice was small. She was not "big mouth" singer with projection. She was a stylist with a voice that sunk into you. Her phrasing and pitch were unique to her alone.
There are times when I will listen only to her for a week or so. I imagine being in Harlem back in her day and going to a club to listen to her. The jazz music of her time remains some of my favorite music.
She went through hard times and bad relationships. Died broke and smacked out.
But damn she was great during her prime.
Listening to those who played with her. Reverence, the way she captured an audience. It was told you could hear a pin drop when she sang.
Harlem in her day must have been something. Whites went to Harlem because they loved the music.
Back in the day I'm talking 1964-65. I used to go to Leo's Casino on Euclid Ave. We went to hear MoTown. Stevie Wonder, Smoky, Temptations, The O'Jays were the house band. It was great times. The audience was 60/40 black to white. Never was a problem. Just people loving music.
Chrissy's brother played in the Kent band 15-60-75 the Numbers Band. The lead singer Bob Kidney was a friend. His girl and mine were high school buddies from Kent.
[
The Pretenders recorded this song. It is so strange to me to see and listen to this song. It does seem possible to see Bob now. I found this video and it was the first time I saw Bob since 1970.
He was a terrific singer and harp player. I had some connections in music and wanted to manage the band. He had no interest in going on the road and doing the things needed to "make it."
He spent the next 50 years pretty much right in Kent.
IIRC, MTV actually had some pretty good, extended, late night programs at the time: 120 minutes, Headbangers Ball, Liquid TV. I guess all that sort of stuff is on the internet now.
At any rate =
Gotta go back to the mid-80's again when, I think, music videos were sort of novel.
Strange to wrap my head around the 40 or so years since I saw this one. A little grimey and raw:
He was a terrific singer and harp player. I had some connections in music and wanted to manage the band. He had no interest in going on the road and doing the things needed to "make it."
He spent the next 50 years pretty much right in Kent.
The world needs people like him. World-class talent that stays near home deepens the cultural landscape of places that aren't on both coasts.
Additionally, many artists have their own definition of "making it." Not everyone wants the grueling, solo life of the artist/entertainer who spends month of his life on the road, promoting the next money-maker for the label that owns his contract.
Most musicians/artists do what they do because they are called to the Art, not to garner fame and/or fortune.
*Edit* I wrote this post before listening to either vid you posted of your pal Bob. Went back and watched both- in chronological, not thread order. The youthful Bob was "talent in training." The mature Bob sang with the same gravitas as Johnny Cash, when he covered Trent Reznor's "Hurt." A lot of Life and learning transpired between those two performances, and it shows. That is the true mark of a artist: one who never stops exploring, reaching, and finding new ways to give voice to that which lives inside, bursting to get out.
Almost exactly a year ago, I flew to Phoenix to visit one of my Best Friends in Life.
We became best buds back in the early 80's. 2 years of everyday face time on the job, and we became friends for life. Absolutely brilliant musician. Deep intellectual. Multi-layered personality, with a deliciously malicious wit. The last time I visited him in PHX was the week when John Lennon was slain in front of the Dakota. I flew out last year, because he'd been telling me of his cognitive decline, and informed me that he didn't know how much longer he'd still be himself.
I was there for a day, when he said he'd invited his longtime local music pal over to jam for the evening. I didn't have my cello, but he owned a mandolin, which I could play reasonably well (it's tuned just like a violin, so there is a 'family familiarity' that allows me to get around on the instrument). I'd been hearing about this brother ever since By moved out there, so I was keen to meet. Turns out, he'd heard a ton about me as well. Years of anecdotal stories from our times in the trenches, and all.
So, dinner's wrapping up, and My Boy & his wife are talking while plates are being scraped, and clean-up is underway.
[She]: I wonder which Al will show up- Big Al, or Little Al.' [He]: "My guess is 'Transitional Al'... there's a new tour coming up- but he loves him some some eats..."
The doorbell rings.
She opens the door, and yells, "Big Al! long time, bro!" By starts laughing. "I guess he's not slimming down for the tour yet-" A big Hispanic dude with curly, shoulder-length salt&pepper hair, a guitar and a huge, broad, blindingly-white smile walks in, and gives massive bear hugs to She & He. It had been a good long while since they'd all been together, but it had the feel of "Old Home Week." He then looks at me and says, "So you're the infamous Clem I've heard so much about, all these years. Did you bring your axe?"
"Axe" is a slang word for musical instrument in the Jazz world... it refers to the tool we use to chop/shred wood (music on paper... 'going to the woodshed' means getting deep into practicing).
[me]: "Nope. I wasn't paying for an extra seat on the plane, and I'll never trust My Girl to baggage handlers. But I think I can limp around on this little piece of crap your boy has lyin' around his crib-
Big Hispanic Dude LHAO, looks at My Boy and says, "He's just as advertised." He then sticks out his hand as says, "I'm Al. Glad to meet a fellow playa." Note: as we shook hands, he specifically made a point to NOT say, "player." That's when you know that your reputation has preceded you. Using the "er" pronunciation is a secret, coded pronunciation for "pretender."
For the next 3 hours, a happy noise was made at My Friend's home. 3 bros did stuff together that most Dawgtalkers Folks could only imagine for themselves.
At one point, Byron looked at me and said, "My two favorite musicians, making noise with me. What a great night!" When it was done, and Big Hispanic Dude had left to go home, She came up to me and said, "This was the happiest I've seen him in 3 or more years. You guys helped me to get My Baby back... even if for only one night."
And then, she hugged me as if her life was at stake. I lost contact with My Dear Friend in the Summer of 2022.
AZ Brown: I had just spent that entire evening throwing down notes with Al Ortiz, bass player for Stevie Nick's touring band.
Here he is, with my bass-playin' bro, Byron Lipkins, in a cover of Midnight Rider (Allman Bros Band). Byron Plays With Al
I will say that for some reason the voices of Tom Petty and Stevie Nicks blended probably better than almost any I've ever heard. I'll also say that, even though some people may not like it, I think the best music Ozzy and Steven Tyler ever made was when they were wasted as hell.
I completely agree. I really disliked any studio stuff Aerosmith did after 1982. Their "Live Bootleg" album is still one of my favorite live rock albums of all time. Just listening to that one, you can tell there was some hooch and blow helping out the effort. A good, sleazy album. Funny how things work out.
With the exception of Midnight Special, I don't remember watching much good music on the three available TV channels in the 70s. I wonder what music videos would have looked like as a true commodity in the decade before MTV.
I feel a little late on this one, and I may be the only one who likes this, but what the heck.
Judith Durham passed last summer and I didn't say anything then. She had a wonderful voice. This to me sums it up and is a feel good song from days gone by.
I think there is some good stuff out there, but they just aren't popular. I know you like Melody Gardot. There are others like Beth Hart, Caro Emerald, etc.....but most folks have never even heard of them.
In a word, today's music is shallow. The pop stuff is so horrible that I can't even listen to it. I have tried to like Rap, but it's also lacking depth and most of it is vulgar. I'm glad I was able to be alive during the 60s and 70s. I enjoyed some of the stuff from the 80s and recently have found an appreciation for some of the female artists of the 90s, such as Suzanne Vega. I also enjoyed a lot of the music my parents listened to, such as the guy you brought up earlier--Nat King Cole--and many of the other great artists of that time period.
I actually spend quite a bit of time making new playlists. It's fun in that brings back great memories and I then can enjoy playlists that fit my mood and/or activities. I made a new I Got the Blues playlist over the last couple of days. Great stuff from John Lee Hooker, Robert Johnson and Muddy Waters all the way through to guys like Alvin Lee, Joe B, and Gary Moore.
I've always been more about how lyrics and vocals can make you feel the music. I also think a great guitar player can accomplish that same thing. And while there's still music coming out that does that, the older I get the more trouble I have relating to much of it. But then it was the same way for my dad when I listened to my music in the 70's so I'm thinking that's sort of the natural order of things. This was a group that did exactly that. While I'm showing a single video, it took me back to a time when you could be an album and play the entire thing through without wanting to miss a single track on the entire album.
This is a really underrated, under appreciated band from the 90’s, Bighead Todd and the Monsters. They were great live. Their album Strategem is a VERY good listen.
This is an artist right out of Cleveland I've always thought was overlooked and surprised I had never seen any of his music on any of these video threads. I would post a live video but it's hard to quite portray all of his skills that way. In this recording he plays all of the instruments and puts it all together. I find his talent to be amazing.
4,364 views Nov 22, 2014
The title cut to the CD "The Guitarsonist", written, recorded and produced by Rick Ray. All instruments by Rick Ray. Released in 2002 on Neurosis Records. Available at www.rickray.net
This was a song I used to emotionally abuse myself with while I was going through a rough breakup with my first true love. I had started drinking, hard. It was pretty much my bottom. This song, and the entire Jar of Flies album was my cudgel. I’m glad I made it out alive. Unfortunately not everyone does. This performer is testimony to just such a tragedy.
These guys… I saw them in ‘92 before Dirt was released. Just before they got huge. They were loud as all hell. They were different. Live they were powerful, emotional, raw. The heavy metal of grunge.
Layne was a beast. Jerry has had access to the best singers in the world and as much as he’s tried… AIC can’t replace him. Around 2:25 through to 3:30 or so… goosebumps. This is from 1990. He was 23 years old in this video. Crazy.
Okay… so these guys… talk about defining my early 90’s experience. I caught them live a couple times around Nothing Shocking. Which I consider one of the best albums of the 90’s. They were rock and roll infused with the LA drug scene at the time. Raw, weird, powerful, in your face…
Early Jane’s with Flea on bass… Perry and Dave it sweating out. You could probably have licked them and gotten higher than you’d ever been. Lol
I love AIC. Layne Staley is one of my fav if not all-time fav vocalists.
Saw Jane's Addiction one year at Lollapalooza. I don't know what year it was but NIN was on the bill (they were awesome), if that helps. I really liked Janes Addiction back then too, was looking forward to seeing them play. Perry Ferrell sang so out of key (just like in the video posted above) I had a bad acid trip. I just wasn't expecting that.
Re: Layne Staley. He and Jerry Cantell had great harmonies. The new front man in AiC is surprisingly good.
Re: Jane's Addiction. Those first 3 albums (self, nothing, ritual) were truly some of the best alt rock albums of the time, and they have held up well. Their last 2 albums, I didn't really for. They have a really good live DVD called Live Voodoo (from Halloween night in New Orleans) some years back. I liked it very much. He didn't sound so out of tune on that one.
You’re right, Jane’s albums hold up. They have a distinct ‘90’s sound but they aren’t dated by it. Partly because of how unique it was. Bands like Faster Pussycat were what was on the rise in LA in the late 80’s. Then here comes these weirdos out of nowhere. Perry Ferrell was just different. Their song writing was more raw, emotionally and sonically complex, and generally more nuanced than the fading glitz, glamour, and ‘guitar god’ style of hair metal. Thankfully bands like Jane’s help put a nail in hair metal for good. Yuck.
We just got to hang out for a bit. I don't get to spend the time with her and my son as I would like. We had a week in December.
Jade is a dedicated fantastic musician. Talented in every aspect of music. She has become really integrated into my family. My daughter and her have become super tight as friends. All of us treasure our time together.
Thought you might have a comment about Nat King Cole and Billie Hollday.
Every one loved Nat Cole's singing voice, but he was was a vocal heart throb, he was a Jazz pianist at the top of his generation's class. He not only played things that could drop your jaw, he also made it look childishly easy and elegant as h#.
Look what he was able to do with the old standard chestnut "Tea for Two":
I'll talk about Ms. Holliday in another post. She deserves her own space.
For me as a kid watching him. I thought he was just so cool.
His voice was pure silk. He had impeccable pronunciation and voice articulation.
Then like you said. When he played piano. His hands danced over the keys.
I think back to when his show was on a black and white TV. I never thought of him in racial terms even though he stood alone as a black man with a TV show.
I only saw him as being a great musician and singer.
I caught him at a bluegrass festival on a side stage in 2016. He was obviously talented but the last couple of years he’s really come on. He’s filling the biggest concert halls in the country now. He’s on the edge of stadium level shows… as a traditional bluegrass artist. Crazy.
It certainly sounds crazy on the surface. But I sort of liken it to what Stevie Ray Vaughan did for the blues. It was quite uncommon at the time to have a blues artist so popular but he helped bring blues back into the forefront. Maybe not the exact same circumstances but similar IMO.
There’s been a growing bluegrass/newgrass scene riding the coat tails of the Dead scene. Jerry had Old and in the Way. Introducing a lot of us (heads) to traditional bluegrass. From that grew an underground jam grass sound. Bands like Leftover Salmon and The String Cheese Incident pushed bluegrass out of the hills and into hippies ears through their weird eclectic take on psychedelia and bluegrass. Band like Yonder Mountain String Band and Greensky Bluegrass bring an updated take on more traditional bluegrass. Etc. None have broken the surfactant of becoming mainstream on any level. Billy is the first to really find a footing there of sorts.
When I was an early 20-something kid, I used to spend hours on the road in my English sports car. I was young/single/healthy af, and had a blue-collar job with an income that other guys were raising families on. I was living in a 2-bed apartment with a/c, cable... and a $160/month rent load. Banking fat cash for the future, invested in the company's stock plan, partying my ass off at the late-nite clubs, and buying toys that were shaming those punx who tried to bully me back in the high school days.
I had a custom cassette rig with an Alpine 4-channel 40W RMS amp mounted under the passenger seat. Alpine 6x9" speakers in the front footwells, Pioneer TSX-9 wedges in the parcel deck behind the seats, Blaupunkt head set under the driver's seat. It was designed to sound good with the ragtop in the down position. A dome of hi-end sound, with the sky as my roofline. It was nothing like the trunk-thumping car stereos of the 90's-present -hip-hop car culture. Loud af sound... clean, full, aimed inward... instead of out into the neighborhood. I rolled my town inside my own soundtrack silo.
This is a live version of the studio recording I played when I was on the road. Three masters in collaboration.
Johnny Mac was a personal hero from his Mahavishnu Orch days. Al was a personal hero from his days with Chick Corea and Return To Forever Paco was a hero from my study of Flamenco in Ethnomusicology 302.
So, when these three broke out with a feature album, I lost my mind.
In this live video, the Director clearly does not know the music/arrangement. [/b] 1. camera angles do not match the music's arrangement 2. tight camera focuses are aimed inappropriately (video footage shows a player comping, when another player- off-camera -is actually playing a solo) 3. Paco De Lucia's second statement of the opening subject 1:36 is played into a dead mic.[/i] Pathetic production values.
Anyway, I submitted this clearly flawed example for two reasons:
1. Video was the thread's criterion. I follow rules. 2. to share the genius that was happening at that time.
DISCLAIMER/FYI: When you finish this vid, I strongly urge you to listen to my second embed. This was the version I was listening to, as I drove my car about the contours of Bellefontaine, Hocking, and SE Ohio- seeking curves and hills... with a 4-speed manual gearbox, swerves, and thrills.
Al DiMeola takes the first solo. Paco DeLuicia takes the second. John McLaughlin takes the third.
...and then, all 3 trade solos, back and forth.
Ain't no shreddin' like Olde Schoole shreddin'.... This is from 1980.
Rock shredders wish they could be this fast/precise. Precision is artistry.
If I'm gonna take the time to share My Craft/My Love with you brethren, I promise to never waste your time. I will only share with you the best of my best.
It has been with me since the first time I heard it.
When I was at MiraCosta junior college in Oceanside, California. I had a studio apartment that was a converted garage. It sat up on a high hill and I could see the ocean in the far distance. There was a table with a chair that I hung my coat on the back of. At night I use to light a oil lamp as the only light. I would play this album. And in my mind the Band was in the room. Every note played through me.
The music tool me away on some voyage where there was only the sound of the music playing.
"Kind of Blue is regarded by many critics as Davis's masterpiece, the greatest jazz record ever recorded, and one of the best albums of all time. Its impact on music, including jazz, rock, and classical genres, has led writers to also deem it one of the most influential albums ever made. The LP was one of fifty recordings chosen in 2002 by the Library of Congress to be added to the National Recording Registry, and in 2003 it was ranked number 12 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. In 2019, Kind of Blue was certified 5× Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for shipments of at least five million copies in the United States."
I have heard many people that are career musicians say:
"If I could only have one album to play for life; this would be the one I would choose."
Agreed about "Kind of Blue". Your comment about interpreting things differently when listening to music without words is spot on. This is most definitely in the case of revolutionary jazz.
But being a little bit younger than you, My favorite Miles Davis stuff was the fusion albums with John McLaughlin, Wayne Shorter, Chick Corea, etc....
Since it's a video thread, this one (in part) seemed to fit:
Karen Carpenter was great singer. She could hit the lows like none other. The best female singer by far IMO. I know that is subjective, but she is at top no mayyer.matter.
She was big bottomed woman. She didn't deserve to die because of that. I wish I could have been there to try to tell her that. It makes me sad she died trying to meet a standard.....such a waste.
And that's the thing, like you said it is subjective. I was a big Carpenters fan as well. But this being subjective, this this is my favorite female singer.
Karen Carpenter was great singer. She could hit the lows like none other. The best female singer by far IMO. I know that is subjective, but she is at top no mayyer.matter.
She was big bottomed woman. She didn't deserve to die because of that. I wish I could have been there to try to tell her that. It makes me sad she died trying to meet a standard.....such a waste.
Dude, are you really calling a woman who literally starved herself to death a big bottom woman???? She had body image issues but was underweight if anything, especially at the end. Sad.
I'm a fan of every Miles incarnation. He was a "musician's musician." If you get what he was doing, you're a musician, too- whether you play an instrument or not.
From Bop to his last statements, he has never bored me, and has always challenged me.
Thanks for your vid. That jam was a great example.
My high school best buddy's older brother played played baritone sax in Buddy Rich's band.
He tuned me on to Myles and Coltrane when I was 16. I am now 75.
I have been a fan of Myles all these years. He is my go to playlist guy. His music is so expressive to me. His sound floats.
I get carried away. "Round Midnight" and "Kind of Blue" I wore out the vinyls. Bought them again. When digital music came out and I played those albums off Spotify. I got pissed. It was like half the music was being played.
I still have the vinyls but my turntable doesn't work. So, I bought the CD's.
Love "Sketches in Spain" as well.
In my mind as much as I loved Bebop with Byrd and Dizzy. I thought Myles changed jazz in 1959. I didn't know it in 1959. I learned it 1967 or so when I really got locked into jazz.
I binge music. I will listen to one artist till I feel ready to move on. The two people I come back to all the time are Myles Davis and Billie Holiday.
"Rikki Don't Lose that Number" uses the intro of "Song To My Father."
I'm about the biggest Steely Dan that ever was. I never knew that.
Cool.
I'm giving you the benefit of the doubt on missing a word but that is funny.
I was trying to find some sort of clever response, but of course there is none. The only thing I can say is that I hope I've brought momentary joy into an otherwise lonely day.
There's another song taken from a section of that song that I hear clear as day, but I can't quite figure out the song ... but it's a Stevie Wonder song, IIRC.
"Rikki Don't Lose that Number" uses the intro of "Song To My Father."
I'm about the biggest Steely Dan that ever was. I never knew that.
Cool.
I'm giving you the benefit of the doubt on missing a word but that is funny.
I was trying to find some sort of clever response, but of course there is none. The only thing I can say is that I hope I've brought momentary joy into an otherwise lonely day.
Let my post be a lesson to us all.
Can we close this thread now?
I did not mean to upset you if I did. I apologize.
As I mentioned earlier, I like songs with a story and someone who can make you feel the story they are telling. While not the most talented singer, Leon Russell was one such artist.
I think that Van Morrison also fits into this category.
I was going to post that Blind Faith video but chose the Traffic one instead. The BF clip was a very early performance of the song. Steve had a rough time with the chorus vocal. Not knowing much about music theory, my guess is he learned over time to drop the vocal an octave or something so he didn’t have to hit that high note so high.
I agree. I do like this band too but their music is much more simplistic. Being raised on southern rock and blues certainly adds to my attraction to the band.
Claptain was God… or so some said. Maybe not God, but God the boy could play. This show is filled with epic guitar rifts and lengthy blues based jams. Here’s 19 minutes of smoke and fire… Let it Rain.
My appreciation of Joe Cocker has really grown over the years. He was an amazing singer and a really nice man.
His wife was a friend to my family for a long time. Pam Cocker's brother George lives with my ex-wife. Joe and Pam bought my son and daughter Christmas gifts. My kids and wife stayed with them in Colorado. Helped them do charity events for kids in the community.
Whenever Joe came to Atlanta we all got tickets and went to his show. My mother-in-law was English. Got to go backstage and chat with Joe. She got a huge charge out of that. It was very sad when he got lung cancer and passed away.
His "Organic" album was outstanding. I remember the concert producer Billy Graham saying he was surprised Joe Cocker lasted because he didn't write his his own material. Joe was a stylist. He brought uniqueness to any version of song he performed.
No real video, but who isn't curious about Ozzie doing "Staying Alive" by the Bee Gees?
It's tempting to say embarrassing, but hey, if you're getting towards the End (and you've got a lot of money and time) - all the more power to you. Hell, even Johnny Cash was doing this kind of stuff in his last years.
I like the way that song built to a crescendo of sorts along the bass lines..I remember a time getting really high on some really strong weed while in college and listening to the song. It was maybe 4-5 years after it was released, but on those premium JBL speakers it just sucked me in to the speakers deeper and deeper. It was like I heard it for the first time. Now I hear it the same way.
No doubt Simon and Garfunkel could turn their two voices in to one.
They just don't do it like this anymore. Besides Roy, the band included James Burton and Bruce Springsteen on guitars...I see Jackson Browne, JD Souther, Bonnie Raitt, KD Lange, Elvis Costello and others...
I am fully aware that this video will not mean much to many.
Most are not old enough to know the impact Nat King Cole had on music and society. This type of music is not popular today.
I decided to post this after I watched a documentary on him. It made me remember the impact he had on me as a boy. He still remains to me the greatest singer I have ever heard.
This was my mothers song for my dad - played at his funeral and many times since. Thanks for posting.
I know there will never be another Neill Young, but Jason Isbell is a young artist who reminds me quite a bit of him at least from a lyrical standpoint and in songs such as these also from the standpoint of musical stylings.
This is an artist right out of Cleveland I've always thought was overlooked and surprised I had never seen any of his music on any of these video threads. I would post a live video but it's hard to quite portray all of his skills that way. In this recording he plays all of the instruments and puts it all together. I find his talent to be amazing.
4,364 views Nov 22, 2014
The title cut to the CD "The Guitarsonist", written, recorded and produced by Rick Ray. All instruments by Rick Ray. Released in 2002 on Neurosis Records. Available at www.rickray.net
When I was a little kid in elementary school he was secretly known as "The Masked Cartoonist" and would graffiti around town with I think just a magic marker.
Artwork like music videos is in the eye of the beholder.
Now in this one, a song, that gets right to the point, is simply stated, and it gets a message across, a simple message but one nonetheless, the song defines a time frame, and is just dumb enough to be appreciated for being dumb too, yet it grows on you. it's a real work of art. and like any art, there are a few remakes, remix's, and people who won't understand the beauty.
"cars that go boom" I like it better than Will smith's opening theme to fres prince because the first songs story is an imperative and the latter song is too self celebrating.
"cars that go boom" if you ain't got it go out and get it.
If you think you have seen a great drummer watch this.
At the very end of the video the last guy in line of saxophone players is my best friends brother Jose Calo. Ironically the keyboard player is my daughter-laws father Dave McRae.
I saw him do this solo (in Cleveland) and was maybe 15' away with my bottom jaw on my shoe tops.
I don't care what people say, I liked The Carpenters. Karen may not have been the best drummer in the world, but she was the best singing drummer ever.
She had a great rage, especially the deeper notes. Unusual for a female.
There’s a band out of Connecticut called Goose. They’re moving up the ranks in the ‘jamband’ scene. It’s a talented group of guys. Pretty laid back feel. I love the guitarists’ tone. He’s got a good voice too, which can be hard to find at times in the scene.
The lead and another bandmate have an acoustic side project, Orebolo. This is a Goose song that Orebolo also plays a stripped down version of.
The song is called Hungersite. This is a live acoustic version. It was filmed in a weird style that’s slightly off timed from the audio so it makes it not look live, but the recording actually is.
This is the full electric band, Goose, studio production. I think it’s a pretty song with great guitar work. Hope some of you enjoy it too.
Here’s a talented guy out of Lancaster, PA that if you’ve not heard of yet you will have now… my guess is in a short time many others will have too. He’s a little country, a little folk, a little grunge, all mixed with a lot of song writing talent.
Sorry not sorry but I’m spamming with Orebolo. This is another Goose song, Slow Ready, that they stripped down to make it acoustic. I’m a little obsessed with this version. It sounds like a lost track off of Jar of Flies by Alice In Chains. My favorite album of theirs. It’s similarly morose, haunting, emotional.
Man..that song… nails on a chalkboard, hardcore. Backstory… After I graduated highschool, 1990, I spent the summer working at Cedar Point as a photographer for those stupid keychain things with your photo in them. Anyway, the booth right next to ours was the karaoke type booth where you could go record your vocals over the backing track of your favorite song. Nothing Compares to You was the big hit… and every tone deaf teenage girl felt compelled to caterwaul their wretched version of it for prosperities sake… and the booth played those versions on their PA… all day… non stop. I hate that song. I hate karaoke. I hate people that can’t sing that feel obliged to release their lack of vocal talent on the rest of us. I hate those that enable this behavior.
I'm a huge fan of an artist being versatile in his or her musical genres. It's not something that's extremely rare but often times the contrast isn't quite this stark.
Ren has been an obsession for me since I discovered his music in February. His combination of musical styles, theatrical presentation, and innovation sets him apart from nearly every other musician. He's a bard. I've heard his music referred to as 'bardcore,' a word I've never heard before.
Tom Jones recently passed. No, not that Tom Jomes. This Tom was a playwrite/composer who wrote the ""Fantasticks" which played Broadway and off Broadway for over 40 years.
I was going to write something in another forum, but thought I would just add it here, and yes Jerry Orbach was in the origional cast. Most of you remember him as Det. Lenny Briscoe from Law and Order.
Jerry was a very accomplished stage actor before his TV stint. When he passed, the theaters on Broadway dimmed their marquees, a big honor reserved for only a few.
Joe and his wife Pam had been family friends for many years. I became a fan over time. He was really a great singer. The human voice can be an instrument. And Joe had a unique way to present a song.
The album "Organic" is a terrific album. There is a a behind the scenes video of the whole album which is fantastic.
Several incarnations ago, this musicvid thread spent time on covers of classic tunes. I'm too lazy to find the exact thread tonight. If I had more energy, I'd drop this short clip in the appropriate thread from the Wayback Machine, and drag it back to the present (if someone can easily do what I'm too dumb and/or lazy to do, I'd be deeply appreciative).
In the 'covers' thread, I submitted two versions of a tune- one, by a young man (the original composer) and a second, by an old man, near the end of his life.*
That tune was "Hurt," by Trent Reznor (9 Inch Nails). Covered by Johnny Cash. Any fan of either (or both) of these artists has the video/soundtrack of these versions burned into their long-term memory, both were so powerful.
Tonight, I stumbled upon a YouTube vid entitled, "The Greatest Cover Song of All Time?" In it, the producer/narrator presents his case for this tune (with these two artists) as his submission for the all-time best.
It took me back to that thread, some few years ago- and the observations I made at the time.
Just to riff off the last few posts, although not strictly within the "music video" intent of the thread.
First, DP fell through the cracks when I first started listening to music. When a buddy put on "Space Truckin'" one day in his car, I too was soon wearing a groove in that vinyl... Highway Star, Pictures of Home, Space Truckin'... damn. Machine Head was a quintessential hard rock album.
Here's a cover, a one-off for Marshall amps, from one dude playing his favorite band and another, his former band. Glenn Hughes is a rock god, Yngwie a guitar god, and damn what a synergy they displayed on stage. Good stuff.
My family knows I want this one played at my funeral. Lyrics only as language does not allow me to post the video do to a comment at the end of the video.
Hope it ain't no time real soon But we know one thing's for true One of these days, the good Lord's callin' me Hey, y'all ain't got to go to church Use my truck, don't rent no hearse You ain't gotta dig six feet, I just need three You bury me upside down Right in the heart of this old town Here lies a man with one thing left to say You put my middle fingers up To all the folks that said I's trash Bury me upside down, so the world can kiss my ass To my exes and my boss Teams that I bet on that lost Every bartender that ever cut me off Old bitch Let me get this off my chest Let me make one last request Before y'all lay this homeboy down to rest You bury me upside down Right in the heart of this old town Here lies a man with one thing left to say You put my middle fingers up To all the folks that said I's trash Bury me upside down, so the world can kiss my ass If there ever comes a day When they stop hatin' on my name Well, hell, I might roll over in my grave But until that day You bury me upside down Right in the heart of this old town Here lies a man with one thing left to say You put my middle fingers up To all the folks that said I's trash Bury me upside down, so the world can kiss my ass Oh, y'all can kiss my ass
Sometimes I just like a "pretty" song. This is one at the top of the list. John Denver was a great guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter. When you can get up there with just you and your guitar and carry the song, you are the real deal. As with any of these vids, headphones work best.
Rolling Stones will release first studio album in 18 years, 'Hackney Diamonds'
The wait is over: The Rolling Stones will soon release new music.
On Monday, the band announced they are preparing to release their first album of original material in 18 years - since 2005's "A Bigger Bang."
Titled "Hackney Diamonds," the band will share details of the release at an event in East London's Hackney district on Wednesday, where Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood will be interviewed live by "The Tonight Show" host Jimmy Fallon.
The event will be livestreamed exclusively on YouTube on Wednesday at 2:30 p.m. BST, 9:30 a.m. EST and 6:30 a.m. PST.
"Hackney may be at the heart of Hackney Diamonds, but this is a truly global moment we want to share with fans around the world via YouTube," the Rolling Stones shared in a statement.
The announcement of "Hackney Diamonds" follows a cryptic teaser campaign, in which the band's iconic mouth and tongue logo was projected onto the faade of major landmarks in cities around the world, including New York, London and Paris.
The album is also the Stones' first since the death of drummer Charlie Watts in 2021.
Same song by GNT. This was filmed live about 13 miles from me - 6-7 weeks ago. It was a free concert because the year before they were going to do it but they all got covid and had to cancel. They said they'd do it, and, true to their words, they found time in their busy schedule of touring to do a free concert. (side note: when the concert was over, even though they were 'home', they had to get back to Nashville by morning, so they left immediately )
Like I said, same song as I linked before, but not the 'official' video. Just a live video.
You see/hear the most interesting stuff when you watch people talk about Music.
Their passion, and the way they express that passion, is another form of Music for me. When I read Dawgs in these threads, I've noted that they take more time to submit their posts. They write with more detail. I can see their level of commitment in their word count. And word content. It's plain as day.
When I'm dining out, I eavesdrop on table conversations near me. I don't do it for content. I couldn't give a s# about the mundane details of strangers' everyday lives. It's like listening to a soap opera that you've never watched. No, I do it to hear the Music in their voices, as they interact, and tell their stories to each other. The spoken Human Voice is the most expressive, intuitive, natural musical instrument that has ever been created. It is beyond amazing. It's infinitely more engaging than even birdsong, which is by nature, highly 'musical,' but limited and mechanical by comparison. People talking to each other is the Music of your life.
I also enjoy the way all this plays out in the DT threads. This might be the only enduring thread that seems devoid of PP taint. That makes me smile.
Of all the positive things that have come my way from a life in Music, I think this is perhaps the most satisfying. People come together when Music is the common language.
The human voice as an instrument tells us so much. The diversity of sound comes to our ears and we respond to it.
The call of a walk off home run. Jim Donovan calling a Chubb run for a touchdown. The sound creates all that emotion.
The first time I heard Nat King Cole sing. Even as a kid I thought wow. How can someone sound so good? His voice was so smooth and perfect.
Then later in life I heard Billie Holiday. It made my skin react. Her voice penetrated. I could hear sadness, pain, and sometimes joy. She had this way to sing inside the music and still grab you like the words had claws.
In songs I have always liked the singer's voices that fit the music and lyrics. Leon Redbone comes to mind. Tom Waits as well.
Narrators like Peter Coyote and the voices used by Ken Burns in film documentaries. The voice of storytellers. How a good storyteller can captivate an audience.
The album will be out in a few months. When I listened to this song on headsets I appreciated it more. I had just got off the phone with her. She explained how the recording went down. She is a terrific gal. Hard worker. IMO her most recent recordings are really good. Song writing and vocals have all gotten better over time. She is focused and dedicated on all she does. She is a die hard Browns fan. I tell ya that. Has a Chubb jersey. Just sick about the injury.
We had moved from Atlanta to Reno. My son's catering business had Joe Bonamassa as a client. They were handling the tour. Jade was a backup singer. They had a show in Reno and my son brought Jade over to our house. His sister, her husband, and my two grandsons were living there.
Immediately we hit it off. It was like we had known each other for years. In less than a year they were married. Since that time we have had a few chances to really spend some quality time together. We have become very close. Jade and my daughter are the same age. They have really become sisters. Jade is such a high quality person. Her and I can talk for hours on any topic. She is a joy to be around. As a parent you never know if you will get along with the spouses of your kids. I am thrilled my son found her.
Ok, this is a personal one....takes me back to the early days with my now wife. I know many of you haven't heard the song, but a good song is a good song, especially if it takes you to a time a moment, and this one does it for me.
I posted this one a long time ago, but it's worth repeating (especially for anyone who is a fan of the fretless bass) I wonder what Jaco Pastorius could've done with this instrument:
But to strike it rich and carve a place today is not easy.
Bro-
"Striking it rich" should never be the goal of the artist, nor do I think for one minute that might be Jade's goal. "Carving a place" is relative. There is such a thing as shallow international fame and fortune, and then there is such a thing as being respected in the field of one's peers.
This young lady has been paying her dues... and it shows. She has chosen a genre that requires not only heartfelt expression, but also real control/technique. Aretha. Ella. And all the other Jazz & Soul artists from 1940's onward. That is both a daunting field of competition- and fertile ground for inspiration. It's clear to me that your fam has embraced the challenge, and is in it for all the right reasons.
If pros like her stuff, it's only a matter of time.
Striking it rich is not the goal. I think it is more that she wants to be heard by more people.
Touring as a backup singer is a job and she likes performing. IMO she would like to have the freedom to do her own thing. Make enough for that freedom.
I have so much respect for her. She has been playing since she was five. She is as dedicated and hard working as one can be.
Being from Australia probably has not been helpful. Although she is highly recognized there and can always work there. Trying to form a band in the US and finding work while keeping her schedule is almost impossible.
Her new music IMO has shown personal growth as a songwriter. Her voice has matured with age IMO. I love what she is doing now.
In her twenties she was a pop star in Australia. She won all kinds of awards there. Her mother and father are also very well known. Joy Yates and Dave MacRae.
Dave MacRae studied at the New South Wales Conservatorium of Music and then worked in Australia in the 1960s as an arranger for Festival Records. He moved to the United States in 1969, playing with experimental groups in Los Angeles before joining Buddy Rich's ensemble in 1970. He relocated to London in 1971, working that year with jazz musicians Clark Terry, Chet Baker, Jon Hendricks and Gil Evans.
Joy Yates has shared time, stage & studio with great artists such as Neil Sedaka, Van Morrison, Cat Stevens, Cliff Richard, Chaka Khan, Randy Crawford, Gladys Knight, Ronnie Scott, Cleo Laine, John Dankworth, Andrew Lloyd Weber, Monty Python, The Goodies, Orson Welles, Elvin Jones, Art Blakey, Clark Terry & many more.
In music, one doesn't need to become rich. That just happens along the way if the breaks come your way. If you can make a nice living, you have beat the odds.
I was in Nashville maybe 10 years ago at Valentinos....now closed. My wife and I like to sit at the bar and I started talking to the woman and her husband sitting next to me. The house piano player/ singer called her up to sing. She was great.
Turns out she was Marty Slayton Jordon and sang back up for George Straits' "Ace In The Hole Band". Had been touring with George for many years. I told her she was great and asked if she ever thought about going on her own? She said when she was younger she did, but once George hired her, those thoughts faded. Making a living in music was what she really wanted.
I got it. She was living the dream even if not the headliner. Being on stage with George Strait for 15 touring years, singing on numerous albums, I'd say she made a pretty darn good living. She has some gold records on her wall.
Here is a link to her story...and yeah, you can see why I struck up a conversation with her and to puff up just a bit, she didn't brush me off and the 4 of us talked for several hours of engaging conversation over dinner and drinks, and few after dinner drinks....lol
Growing up and a lot of my adult life I sang in bands. A pretty good singer but not some great or special talent. In my early years a guitar player in one of those bands rated with some of the best I had ever seen. A very rare and special talent. The most musically gifted guitarist I had ever had the opportunity to work with. He could play anything from any genre. He plays guitar, banjo, Mandolin and almost anything that has strings on it. I knew if he chose to he could be a professional guitar player. Of course at that time in my life we were all rockers.
He left the area in the 70's and headed for Nashville. As many young musicians did at the time he began by getting a job playing at The Opryland Amusement Park which has since closed. While many on the board may not know who she is, I'm sure you do. He went to an audition for Brenda Lee and was hired on the spot. As we both know Brenda Lee is an artist form a previous era. So from the aspect of longevity it was only a matter of time before that gig ended.
While I don't know the validity of this story, the story goes that he went to audition for Louise Mandrell. At that time the Mandrell Sisters were quite popular. The story is that Barbara overheard him warming up and hired him on the spot. While I'm not 100% sure of the accuracy of the story itself I do know that she did hire him and he was with her as her lead guitar player for 10 years. Roy Clark claimed Dave was one of the most fabulous guitar players on the planet. He and his wife now do their own show together and as far as I can tell he couldn't be happier. He is a very down to earth and kind person.
I think he could have chased a more fulfilling career from a monetary standpoint but Barbara didn't tour extensively and he liked the idea of being close to his home of the most part.
Here is an article with the Roy Clark quote and a little more about him............
ARTS AND CULTURE: The Dave and Daphne Show coming to Ironton
I agree with you that it's not all about the money. He could have made much more of that. For him it was always about enjoying who he was working with and finding a situation that fit him best. The greatest rewards in life aren't always about the money.
They were from Kent. They have played locally since 1970. The lead singer Bob Kidney was a friend. His girlfriend and mine were friends from high school in the Kent area. We hung out together.
The band still plays and has maintained a following. They made a good living.
I tried to convince Bob to travel. The band would open for a bunch of the big acts when they played Cleveland. Chrissy Hynde's brother was in the band.
I had contacts and thought about being their manager. He would not compromise. He didn't want to go that route. He wanted to play his stuff to the people who liked their band.
I saw this video of Bob recently. It blew me away. It was the first time I saw him since 1971.
I have listened to this song so many times that I often think the record grooves have been transplanted into my brain.
This may sound strange. Long ago I was living alone going to junior college at Mira Costa in Oceanside, California. I lived in a one room converted garage. The room was sparse. There was one table with a chair. I would hang my coat on that chair.
Late at night the only light in the room was a pilot light coming from a wall heater. I would lay in my bed and play "Kind of Blue." "So What" is one of the recordings. I would listen and stare into the darkness. The glow from the pilot light would cast a shadowy figure. I would imagine that my coat was Bill Evans playing piano. The rest of the band were like spirits in the room playing their parts. It was a kind of jazz meditation. I could hear each instrument so clearly. I knew every note by the sound not literally. I could play every part in my head. It was a mental sanctuary. A place where there was only the sound of that record.
I have never grown tired of that album. In fact, if I was ever stuck someplace and had only one album to play for eternity. That is the album I would choose.
Playing For Change is a wonderful project. It kept a lot of people's hopes up during the pandemic lockdown. Music is a healer.
At some point, I'd like to contribute to one of their joints... or something similar to what they do. I wear the tux for my paycheck, but I play for the good music brings. I go outside the orch, and try diff stuff with diff folks whenever I can. For 3 years straight, I played at the Detroit Jazz Fest, in 2 (very) different groups. Diversity is key to a fulfilling life: learn a little about a lot, and your personal toolbox fills. Variety is the spice.
I respect your breadth of interest. It's evidence of an inquisitive mind that has never stopped.
Nov 2, 2023 #26 on Trending for music Now and Then's eventful journey to fruition took place over five decades and is the product of conversations and collaborations between the four Beatles that go on to this day. The long mythologised John Lennon demo was first worked on in February 1995 by Paul, George and Ringo as part of The Beatles Anthology project but it remained unfinished, partly because of the impossible technological challenges involved in working with the vocal John had recorded on tape in the 1970s. For years it looked like the song could never be completed. But in 2022 there was a stroke of serendipity. A software system developed by Peter Jackson and his team, used throughout the production of the documentary series Get Back, finally opened the way for the uncoupling of John’s vocal from his piano part. As a result, the original recording could be brought to life and worked on anew with contributions from all four Beatles. This remarkable story of musical archaeology reflects The Beatles’ endless creative curiosity and shared fascination with technology. It marks the completion of the last recording that John, Paul and George and Ringo will get to make together and celebrates the legacy of the foremost and most influential band in popular music history.
To this day I still find John Lennon's death hard to deal with.
When people die from an overdose it is sad. When others have lived their lives and pass on. You accept it.
Lennon's death was not like that. It was so wasteful. So useless. He had so much more to give.
I can't listen to "Imagine." I break down.
I liked the Beatles but bands break up. People change. They want to do something else. John seemed to have reached that point where great music was going to come out. I remember listening to him tell a story about a fan showing up at his home. He was so humble and down to earth. He felt a commonality with the people of his generation. Like we were all in this together.
Even though I don't play an instrument. Music has always been a huge part of my life. I was a fan very early in life. I listen to music all the time. I don't go anywhere in a car and not listen. Spotify and youtube have been great technology adds. I cruise youtube for hours.
It is a good thing to hear John's voice again on something new.
Nov 2, 2023 #26 on Trending for music Now and Then's eventful journey to fruition took place over five decades and is the product of conversations and collaborations between the four Beatles that go on to this day. The long mythologised John Lennon demo was first worked on in February 1995 by Paul, George and Ringo as part of The Beatles Anthology project but it remained unfinished, partly because of the impossible technological challenges involved in working with the vocal John had recorded on tape in the 1970s. For years it looked like the song could never be completed. But in 2022 there was a stroke of serendipity. A software system developed by Peter Jackson and his team, used throughout the production of the documentary series Get Back, finally opened the way for the uncoupling of John’s vocal from his piano part. As a result, the original recording could be brought to life and worked on anew with contributions from all four Beatles. This remarkable story of musical archaeology reflects The Beatles’ endless creative curiosity and shared fascination with technology. It marks the completion of the last recording that John, Paul and George and Ringo will get to make together and celebrates the legacy of the foremost and most influential band in popular music history.
The Beatles are my all time favorite band. Just downloaded the new song plus a 2023 remastered Love Me Do. Saving them for tonight!
