New Music by Old People

[anni]

I was knocked out by this new Chuck Prophet song and the video that just came out Tuesday.

First heard Chuck when he was with Green on Red in the 1980's. Since then I have to admit I'd totally forgotten about them and his Chuckness!

His new album about San Francisco, "Temple Beautiful," is out on Yep Roc. Enjoy:

[Brian]

Five years and five days after "Sgt. Pepper," the greatest album of all time was released.

This is my seventh copy of "The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars." I bought it initially on 8 track, which presented the songs out of order, so I scrounged together $3.69 at the age of 14 for the LP. When I wore out that copy on my RCA record player with the heavy tonearm, my grandmother gave me another for Christmas. Next was a cassette for my second car. In 1990, David Bowie got control of his mechanical rights and Ryko put out the first version with bonus tracks, which I purchased on cassette. My first "Ziggy" CD was the 30th anniversary edition in 2002 with even more extra songs from that era.

The 40th anniversary CD, however, might be the only reissue that sounds as good as the LP. Virgin enlisted the engineer from 1971-72 to remaster the album from the original tapes. At $14 on Amazon, it's much cheaper than the record in 1972, adjusting for inflation. (Amazon is also selling an 18-gram vinyl record and surround sound DVD package for $33.) This "Ziggy" comes with no booklet or bonus tracks. Just the iconoclastic yet timeless songs on a disc mimicking the old RCA orange label. Back to the egg.

Oh how I sighed when they asked if I knew his name
And he was alright, the band was altogether
Yes he was alright, the song went on forever
And he was awful nice
Really quite paradise
And he sang all night long

It had been a year or two since I had heard "Ziggy," because I can play the album in my head anytime I want and hit every chakra. But I cannot remember the last time I appreciated Mick Ronson’s piano playing and string arrangements as much as his guitar. He made this record -- and Bowie's career -- immortal.

I wrote about the song "Five Years" and my man crush on Mick Ronson in two posts here back in 2009:

montrosepeacevigil.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=talk5&thread=40&page=2#427

The 50th anniversary edition will probably be had only online. I hope it sounds better than the current MP3.

[Brian]

The official video of "Oh Susannah" from "Americana," the new album by Neil Young and Crazy Horse:

There's an undeniable WTF factor in hearing these Cub Scout singalong ditties drowned in guitar feedback and off-key yelling. But that's the goofball charm. -- Rob Sheffield, Rolling Stone

When Crazy Horse reunited with Neil Young in studio after 16 years, he had no new songs to record. WTF, indeed. Until a real album comes out in autumn, we have "Americana." The best tracks have new melodies thrashed out by Poncho, Billy, Ralph and Neil as if it were 1975.

Right now, it's a hoot. I just started listening to the album after waiting weeks to get two free CD's from Ticketmaster for purchasing tickets to see Neil Young and Crazy Horse at the Hollywood Bowl next October. It's too soon to tell whether I'll be playing it decades from now, like "Tonight's the Night," "Zuma," "Rust Never Sleeps" and "Broken Arrow." But the fresh yet familiar alchemy makes me happy.

[Brian]

The two-minute promotional video for Jimmy Cliff's album "Rebirth," released last Tuesday:



Except for occasional blasts from folks like Bunny Wailer and Toots and the Maytals, the Jamaican music known as roots reggae or rock steady died with Bob Marley and Peter Tosh in the 1980's. Now the man who established Marley's career in so many notable ways and who introduced roots music to the world with "The Harder They Come" in 1972 is back 40 years later, bearing one more bullet for the revolution.

So what if Jimmy Cliff is no pacifist. His clear, strong voice delivers another anthem about poverty and defiance in a "World Upside Down" before the guns come out. And the traditional horn section and female backup singers are always there, both to soothe and move us. The message is still about love and justice.

We bought our "Rebirth" CD at Starbucks for $12.95 and recommend it highly. Irie.

[Brian]

I've been playing a lot of Chuck Prophet since Yep Roc Records e-mailed me a link to the video for "The Left Hand and the Right Hand" that kicked off this thread in May. His "Temple Beautiful" is one of the best albums I've heard in years. This five-minute promo video stars Chuck, showing us some of the places in San Francisco that inspired the songs he wrote for the record:



Great clip. I learned that "The Left Hand and the Right Hand" was about the Mitchell brothers -- wow, that makes sense, but doesn't diminish what I felt previously about the song. Not when I'm constantly tickled by a line like, "One day it was separate checks, the next day bodyguards." And although Chuck is five years younger than me, he remembers Black Randy and the Metro Squad -- the finest, funniest and most socially conscious L.A. punk band of the 1970's, who changed the world then disappeared.

To achieve greatness and become a five-tool player in baseball, you have to hit, run, field, throw and hit for power. For three decades, Chuck Prophet has proven that he can channel pure pop hooks, write memorable lyrics, play lead guitar, sing like nobody else and still do everything necessary to make his music available to the world. He belongs in anybody's hall of fame.

Until Anni pries the CD from me, she can listen to her favorite song, "Museum of Broken Hearts," here:

[Brian]

Some guy made a fine if out-of-synch montage of Wednesday's concert using audio of "Powderfinger" live.

I post this concert review of Neil Young and Crazy Horse in the "New Music by Old People" thread because six of the 13 songs they played in two hours at the Hollywood Bowl on October 17 are on their forthcoming album, "Psychedelic Pill." And that double CD has only eight songs in its 85 minutes. But fans of this band expect long and strong. Hearing the new songs for the first time, they felt like classics to me. Or, as Neil announced in a shtick he's been doing onstage with Crazy Horse for at least 15 years, "Here's a new song that sounds just like the other ones. Same key, same melody, same dumb guitar solo." The setlist:

• Love and Only Love
  
• Powderfinger
  
• Born in Ontario (new)
  
• Walk Like a Giant (new)
  
• Needle and the Damage Done (Neil solo)
  
• Twisted Road (new)
  
• She's Always Dancing (new with Neil on piano)
  
• Ramada Inn (new)
  
• Cinnamon Girl
  
• F*!#in' Up
  
• Psychedelic Pill (new)
  
• Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black)
  
• Mr. Soul (encore)
  

Only seven oldies, and two of them come from 1990's "Ragged Glory" and two more from 1979's "Rust Never Sleeps." Presumably, concertgoers in the other 27 cities on this tour stretching from early October into December will hear songs from "Tonight's the Night" and "Zuma," two of the greatest albums ever recorded, 1996's excellent "Broken Arrow" or some of their deeper tracks over the past four decades.

Los Lobos reminded me of the perils of seeing a beloved act precede another at the Hollywood Bowl. The last time Anni and I went there, Wyclef Jean opened for Erykah Badu. But the old boys from East L.A. transcended the constant chatter in Section U1, jamming the roots of the past over an uncaring present into an uncertain future, as long as we can listen with the hearts of the children we all were and we are.

[Sharon W]

You guys were at that show too! We were in section K - also with lots of chatty people many of whom were also texting throughout the performances. I just don't understand why people pay those ticket prices and ignore the music. Here's another sample from the show:

The Bridge School Benefit show from yesterday is available online for a $5 donation - we watched it via live streaming last night. Neil was wonderful as usual, did Powderfinger again. I'm not a big fan of Guns N Roses and this didn't change my opinion - but it's always a great show. Eddie Vedder wasn't in the line up but came out and played a couple of numbers anyway. Lukas Nelson (Willie's son) joined in for the big finale and Neil handed him his guitar - amazing performances all around.

[dharma4one]

I'm all confused here but I'm trying to respond to the Ziggy Stardust post.
So Brian, I wasn't aware of this section of the blog which is why I didn't see this in June but I too just got my copy of Ziggy last week.
I bought the record. I had purchased it twice from Amazon and twice returned it as defective last June. I thought it was a bad batch so I waited until 3 weeks ago and reordered. Then suddenly they couldn't get anymore so I went to their "other sellers" and found a new sealed copy for $18.00 less than amazon's $43.00. It is fabulous. I have heard a lot of people say what you basically said. This is the best remaster because it sounds the most like the original. I agree. Just the music and nothing more. Modern vinyl does sound excellent when done right and many companies are making great strides.

I appreciate what Ziggy did to the music scene when it came out, it was hugely important but I enjoy "The man who sold the world" & "Hunky Dory" more if only for their sing along quality. I heard them out of order of course. First it was space oddity on the radio, then you told me about Ziggy and then I went looking for earlier records. They all need to be given the remaster treatment

Well I'm off on a tangent but Bowie is still The Man and deserving of the kind of catalog clean up that Neil is doing with his archive series.
That's it.

[Brian]

What a trip that Sharon and Bill were also at the Hollywood Bowl last Wednesday! In our section on the same side but much farther back, just about everybody who ignored Los Lobos throughout their 40-minute set shut up and quit texting for the entire two hours that Neil Young and Crazy Horse played. And thanks, Sharon, for the link to the "Cinnamon Girl" video by farnorthglendale.

Replying to dharma4one, my friend Sam: You posted in exactly the right place. I'm surprised you had so much trouble finding a decent vinyl pressing of the "Ziggy Stardust" remaster. The original RCA record was flimsy but it sounded fabulous, even on my crappy stereo. I love "Hunky Dory" and "The Man Who Sold the World" too, not just because of Bowie's songs -- Mick Ronson invented himself on those albums.

And I want to wish you a happy birthday, Sam, although you gave me the bad news that I will be eligible for a deal at Denny's in only six months. The birthday of dharma4one is noted in the Info Center on the homepage today. Our fellow Verdugo alumnus Emma, another message board member, was born the day before you -- tj1975's birthday was listed there yesterday.

Anni started this thread with a video from Chuck Prophet's new album. Later I embedded the first part of his "Temple Beautiful" tour of San Francisco. Chuck recently put up the second installment on You Tube:

[Roberta]

www.sweetadelineintl.org/index.cfm?id=324

Just in case anyone is curious, my friend's Santa Monica Chorus (oldest Sweet Adelines west of the Rockies) goes on at around 2:30 today (1:30 L.A. time), their first time in the semi-finals. I am surrounded by big excitement, big hair, and big eyelashes. It is a trip and a half.