How to Search This Blog... (or any blogspot site)

Friends have asked me how to search for particular articles - such as book or music reviews - within this blog. I had no idea until about a week ago when a fellow blogger explained it to me.

In the upper left corner of this sample blog page, you'll see a blank white rectangular box. This is where you can enter a search term phrase or keywords such as: bob dylan, dave mason, small faces, jenny dalton, green day, great central government, munchy, peet's, starbucks, bold coffee or some other topic and then click on Search Blog (earlier Search This Blog). The multiple results for these topics will then appear as one long web page. Pretty cool.

I feel like I should keep writing except there is nothing more to say, it's as simple as this.

The Question of Favorite Music... (Part II)

The second test or rule involves emotion. When you hear a favorite piece of music you tend to feel a basic emotion such as happiness, sadness, sorrow, joy or anger. This may manifest itself in wanting to get up and dance, or simply smiling or laughing. The key is that no thought is required... Music is not an intellectual exercise. You either connect with a piece of music or you don't.

Recently I was driving into work, late, on a highly stress-filled morning, and turned on an oldies station by habit. I drove on automatic pilot and wasn't really hearing the songs being played until... I heard the hand claps and bright guitar notes opening I'm Into Something Good by Herman's Hermits. Suddenly, I was smiling and happy, feeling the youthful optimism of so many years ago. Why this happiness and sense of contentment is tied to this particular song is a mystery to me, but it is.

The Power of One

When Elvis' second greatest hits album was released in the late 1950's it bore the subtitle/headline: 500,000 fans can't be wrong! Conversely, a half-million critics can be wrong. It's true... If today's most respected critics write that the Jonas Brothers are producing the best music on the planet and you do not agree, then you are right. And if the critics label someone as a musical genius, and you do not see it, then you can - in the words of Dave Mason - say that we just disagree.

One of my late uncles bought a minimal amount of music during his lifetime. But he went out and paid good money for every one of Ray Charles' singles and albums the moment they were released. Did I, then, grow up loving the music of Ray Charles? Honestly, no. I can respect it but I never quite "got" what one was supposed to get from it.

The same holds true, for me, with the music of The Righteous Brothers. I don't dislike it, but when I hear a song like You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling I kind of tolerate my way through it... and I have no desire to hear it again.

Emotions...

When I hear one of my very favorite albums - like Pet Sounds by the Beach Boys, Beatles VI, Straight Up by Badfinger, Blood On The Tracks by Bob Dylan, or The Rising by Bruce Springsteen (the Boss) - I tend to go through the entire range... I'll smile, laugh, feel like celebrating or dancing, and I'll feel like crying. That's because, for me, these collections represent the reality of life, from good to bad, bad to good.

Anger...

One thing that has surprised me is that I'll find that some music that I actively disliked or disdained as a younger person is now music that I understand and/or appreciate. That which may have seemed threatening earlier - like teen angst or alienation - is now understood. (The years supply context.)

Of course, the point is that the anger or dislike means that the music had an impact on me even back then, back in the day.

It's the music that you ignored back then - to which you felt no emotional connection - that will be ignored today and into the future.

(To be continued... part of a series.)

Photo: flickr

Who were the Small Faces?

The original Small Faces was a British band, popular in the 1960's, founded by lead singer and guitarist Steve Marriott. Marriott added Ronnie Lane on bass and backing vocals; Ian McLagan on organ, guitar and vocals; and Kenny Jones on drums. He admitted to being influenced by the guitar work of Pink Floyd, and he was a vocalist with a strong voice that appeared to be built for hard rock.

During the Summer of Love (1967), the band had its first hit record with Itchycoo Park ("It's all too beautiful..."). This was followed the next year by the hard charging single, Tin Soldier ("I am a little tin soldier who wants to jump into your fire..."). The Small Faces were unique in including multiple instrumentals on their albums.

Marriott left the group in 1969, and he was replaced by the former lead singer of the Jeff Beck Group, Rod Stewart. Stewart also brought with him Ron Wood, a fine lead and rhythm guitarist. It was this band that recorded The First Step. They subsequently changed the band's name to, first, The Faces and later simply Faces. Faces recorded several albums, including Long Player, before Stewart departed for his highly successful - if not always critically acclaimed - solo career.

Ron Wood went on to join a popular band known as the Rolling Stones. Ronnie Lane joined Peter Townshend of the Who in recording Rough Mix, a quasi-solo album of very interesting songs. Lane also recorded several solo albums on his own before his musical career was slowed by multiple sclerosis. The highly talented drummer Kenny Jones went on, appropriately, to play with The Who following the death of Keith Moon.

Ian McLagen now lives in Austin, Texas where he is an active and respected member of the local musical community. Sadly, his wife Kim died in an auto accident in 2006.

In 1969, Steve Marriott joined with a then young singer-songwriter-guitarist named Peter Frampton to form the band Humble Pie. Greg Ridley played bass, and Jerry Shirley fumbled along on drums. Ridley came from the band Spooky Tooth, and Shirley from The Apostolic Intervention.

Humble Pie is best known for its live version of I Don't Need No Doctor and the single 30 Days in the Hole. The band broke-up, for all practical purposes, in 1975.

Peter Frampton, like Rod Stewart, went on to great success as a solo artist, recording the excellent Frampton album and the chart busting Frampton Comes Alive! Frampton basically became the second coming of Dave Mason on the wah-wah guitar.

Marriott, who appeared to be winning a lifelong battle to overcome his addictions, died quite tragically in a house fire in 1991. Greg Ridley died on November 19, 2003 in Alicante, Spain of complications from pneumonia and resulting complications. He was 56 years old.

Later this year, for the 13th year in a row, a Small Faces Convention will be held in London to pay tribute to the band's music. In 2008, Steve Marriott (namesake and nephew of the band's founder) appeared on stage to help perform his uncle's music. This year, The Small Fakers and the Darron Connett band - among others - are scheduled to perform.

Long live the spirit of the Faces Small!

The First Step by The (Small) Faces - A Retro Record Review...

The drums! This album is all about the drums. Kenny Jones was let loose on this 10 song, 48-minute, collection in a way that he never would be again. If you only heard the drum work, you might think you were listening to The Who, Cream, the Jimi Hendrix Experience or Bob Henrit of Argent - who played the part of Keith Moon on the (Roger) Daltrey solo album.

Note: I won't be quoting many lyrics here as my review copy CD is a Japanese import with lyrics printed in Japanese characters.

OK, so let's review the ten tracks...

Wicked Messenger - A Bob Dylan-penned fable with heavy organ (think Emerson, Lake and Palmer) starts the album off with a literal bang. Quite fine and quite audible bass work from Ronnie Lane, Ron Wood on the lead guitar, and Kenny pounds the drums until the very last of the 4:08. Good to the last beat!

Rod the Mod does such a great job as "the voice" that he could have made a career out of covering BD songs. Oh, and, yes, the arrangement does sound like Hendrix' cover-arrangement of BD's All Along the Watchtower.

Once the last drum beat hits, its obvious that Martin Birch did an A to A+ job of engineering.

Devotion - This ballad about family ("It's so good to be with the people that know you/ It's good to hear the things they say/ At times when you are with them...") would have fit perfectly on the Elizabethtown soundtrack. This is the first of two songs on First Step that sounds like Handbags and Gladrags on The Rod Stewart Album - meant and intended as a compliment. Wood picks in circles like Dave Mason on this one. Kenny kicks the drums right before the end.

Shake, Shudder and Shiver - It starts off like Foghat with a heavy lead guitar opening riff isolated on the right channel before the rest of the band drops in on the left. Kenny pushes the band like a locomotive barreling down the tracks. There's more than a trace of Cream's Sunshine of Your Love in the lead and bass rhythm. This is one of those hard rock tracks that, heard live, would cause fans to light their Bics in tribute.

Stone - Sorry, but talky tracks with banjo and mandolin were never a favorite of mine, and this Ronnie Lane vocal goes on for all of 5:43 - about twice the length needed. As a short throwaway, it might have seemed cute. The one positive is hearing Rod as a not so bad (and barking) back-up singer.

Plynth - This was the band's live show stopper and with good reason. Early Fleetwood Mac (pre Buckingham-Nicks) meets Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck and Robin Trower. Absolutely brilliant stereo production - it's moving in stereo - and Wood has never played a crisper lead. The drums are so clean and clear you feel like you're sitting under the kit.

(Part I of II... Continued tomorrow, from Flying to Three Button Hand Me Down .)

No Longer Waitin' On Dave Mason

We were afraid that our retro review of Dave Mason's Alone Together album would not post on St. Patrick's Day due to some technical difficulties... but due to some technological miracles - and the luck of the Irish - it did appear, and you can read the full review, below.

It has dawned on us that the AT title may have derived from the lyrics of Waitin' on You, the third track on the 1970 album:

While there's no one that I can believe
It's all because I couldn't see (that)
The best friend that I'll have is me...

Alone Together Live...

If you're in the San Diego area this weekend, you can see Dave Mason play live on Saturday, March 21st, at Anthology in the downtown Gaslight District, 137 India Street, at 7:30 p.m. For information call (619) 595-0300.

Only He Knew & We Knew... (a retro album review)

The year 1970 was a great one for rock music, a topic that we may re-visit later. One of the albums released that year, Alone Together, was the first solo album released by Traffic's former singer-songwriter-lead guitar player, Dave Mason. Not everyone came to know and enjoy Mason's later releases, but on AT - as allmusic acknowledged - "everything (came) together perfectly."

The AT recording sessions brought together a collection of musical all-stars including Leon Russell, Delaney & Bonnie, Rita Coolidge, bassist Carl Radle, and two drummers: Traffic's Jim Capaldi and the highly talented Jim Gordon.

Before examining the eight tracks on this long player, one note is needed. This review is based on the Original Master Recording CD (pictured), which features A to A+ quality sound; and nicely approximates the tone of the original vinyl recording. If you're seeking a bargain, the more recent Hip-O Records/UM re-release provides 85 to 90% of the sound quality at a much lower price.

Only You Know and I Know (4:05) - Mason's Top 20 single opens the album with a lot of energy and excellent sound dynamics enhanced on the CD. Gordon on the high-hats! In tribute, Phil Collins later wrote a song with the same title. Yes, there are hints of Get Back in the beat but it didn't seem so obvious back then.

Can't Stop Worrying, Can't Stop Loving (3:02) - There's a soft and humble quality to this love ballad, which may be why Mason got along so well with George Harrison. It virtually tip-toes to an ending.

Waitin' On You (3:05) - This rocker sounds even more like the Beatles; you half expect to hear Paul shout, "Get back, Loretta!" Leon substitutes for Billy Preston. Great gospel-style background vocals from the three girl singers.

Shouldn't Have Took More Than You Gave (6:00) - It starts like a song left off of Traffic's Dear Mr. Fantasy before speeding up, letting Dave showcase his impressive wah-wah skills. You think that Peter Frampton may have studied this track? Well, do you feel like we do?

World In Changes (4:30) - A track I've always loved but that still manages to completely confuse me. Mason left Traffic because he couldn't get along with Steve Winwood. Yet the featured organ on here is a 100% Winwood knock-off. Was it a back-handed way of saying he could survive without SW? "I've got a lot to learn about you/ You've got a lot to learn about me, too." All in all, this is the best Traffic song never recorded by Traffic.

Sad and Deep as You (3:35) - Leon Russell's gorgeous piano work underlies this ballad that sounds a bit like early Elton John (Your Song), early Rod Stewart (Gasoline Alley), and Cat Stevens (Trouble).

Just A Song (2:59) - "I'm tired of calling you when things go wrong/ Just take my hand and make me feel like I belong/ Just one more day and I will turn from you and run/ Although you're all I do, all I've ever done." A nicely written mid-speed track with fine mandolin work. Maybe Mason was returning the favor as this sounds like a Frampton ballad.

Look at You, Look at Me (7:22) - Needing even more wah-wah firepower, Mason turned to a guitarist who had earlier played with a band named Cream. Some guy named Eric Clapton. "I miss you like I miss the sun/ I need you every day/ As I turn around to look at you/ And you look back no more..." When this track hits its peak, it sounds like Joe Cocker's Mad Dogs had melded with Traffic and Delaney & Bonnie to produce the perfect stage band.

Some of Slowhand's best work closes out the final 2:45 of this classic album. "Wooh!" shouts Dave near the fade... Indeed.

Joseph Arellano

Looking back at one of the best albums ever...

Anyone putting together a listing of the best albums from the period of 1970 on must give strong consideration to including George Harrison's All Things Must Pass somewhere near the top. All Things reached number one when originally released - as did the single My Sweet Lord - and reached number four on the best selling albums list when it was re-released as a boxed 2-CD set with finely re-mastered sound (and extra tracks) in 2001.

"Released in late 1970, the album was a work of majestic beauty. Fans and critics hailed it as his personal masterpiece. Many still consider it the best Beatles 'solo' album." Contemporary Musicians, Volume 2, Gale Research, 1989.

All Things is said to have been the first three-album set ever released by a single musician, and I'm still tremendously impressed by the breadth and scope of its ambition. George himself looked back in 2001 and said, "The big production that seemed appropriate at the time, (may) now seem a bit over the top with the reverb in the wall of sound."

Of course, George didn't really create the album by himself. Phil Spector produced it. Eric Clapton and Dave Mason augmented George's lead guitar work, the fine musicians in Badfinger and the Dominoes (as in Derek & the...) all contributed, Ringo played at least half of the recorded drum work, Billy Preston and Gary Wright played organ, and Klaus Voormann and Carl Radle put down the bass lines. Whew! As if this was not enough, a young Phil Collins played the congas on several tracks.

The only quibble I've ever had with All Things is that the original version of Isn't It A Pity seemed to go on a bit too long, in the vein of Hey, Jude. So I prefer the shorter version included as a bonus in the 2001 version. Perhaps the other issue is that the length of the whole collection makes it - like a movie that runs three hours or more - a hard collection to find time for...

With this in mind, I've given some thought to putting together a single CD compilation; an easy-to-travel-with version. I've come up with the following tracks list - in my preferred order - which comes in at 76:44:

What is Life / If Not for You / I'd Have You Anytime / Behind That Locked Door / My Sweet Lord / Wah-Wah / Beware of Darkness / Ballad of Sir Frankie Crisp (Let It Roll) / Awaiting on You All / All Things Must Pass / I Live for You (bonus song) / I Dig Love / Let It Down / Isn't It A Pity (version II) / Run of the Mill / Art of Dying / What is Life (instrumental version) / It's Johnny's Birthday (instrumental jam) / Plug Me In (instrumental jam) / Beware of Darkness (alternate acoustic version)

Next: Ice B. on All Things and George Harrison