Has it really only been a week? There were no real surprises last Tuesday, and by this I mean that Pearl Jam has emerged victorious from last week’s edition where we looked at eight covers of Rockin’ In The Free World.
The general election may be over, but Cover Wars goes on. This week we will be featuring one of my favorite John Lennon solo songs: Jealous Guy. There are many covers of this tune out there, so this week’s contestants are by no means the only artists to have covered the song, but rather a sampling. Lennon originally wrote the melody to Jealous Guy on a trip to India in 1968 when the song was called Child Of Nature. The song would get new lyrics three years later when it was released on Lennon’s second studio album Imagine. You can read more about that here.
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We’ve seen some terrific shows thus far this fall, and one of the best was Page McConnell tearing it up with PBS at B.B. King’s on September 26.
[Photo by Jeremy Gordon]
For those of you who missed catching this funktastic quartet on their brief Northeast run, and for those of you who saw one of the shows and want to hear more, you can purchase the official recordings of each show in digital (FLAC and MP3) and CD formats at http://www.livephish.com. Phish Inc. has been kind enough to provide us with a tasty sample.
Here’s the Page McConnell original Beauty of a Broken Heart from the September 25 show at Lupo’s Heartbreak Hotel in Providence, RI…
We’d like to welcome C. Jenkins to the team to review a concert in New Orleans that combined two of the best acts the Crescent City has to offer…
[Photo by Erika Goldring]
In a legendary square in the heart of New Orleans where over a century ago countless men fell in duels under the live oaks that still stand, last Thursday night’s show with Bonerama (BNR) and special guest George Porter Jr. was nothing about dueling and everything about two musical forces of today’s New Orleans coming together for an amazing night of musical celebration in a city that appreciates life just a bit more these days.
Once the bones took the stage last night at Lafayette Square in New Orleans, it was clear this would be no ordinary BNR show. Of course these days with the bones gaining so much road experience under their belts, that could be ANY night on a BNR stage. But tonight it would be George Porter Jr. being the catalyst for driving them off the main BNR highway into the uncharted territory that we all love.
READ ON for more of C. Jenkins’ BNR w/ George Porter Jr. review…
Just before Hampton came alive again, Phish keyboardist Page McConnell hit the road for a four-night jaunt with Porter, Batiste and Stoltz. On Friday night, the quartet brought the MOODOO to NYC’s B.B. King’s. Andrew DeRosa kindly contributed a full report which we’ve teamed up with Jeremy Gordon’s typically stunning photographs. Let’s take a look…
“Good funk, real funk, is not played by four white guys from Vermont.” However, good real funk comes out the pores of George Porter Jr. and Russell Batiste. George Porter is a living legend. He’s up there with Larry Graham– except George Porter never got cheesy. He left that to Art Neville. With Art Neville out of the line up, the other members of the Funky Meters are unhinged. With the addition of cow-funker Page McConnell we’ve got some shit yo.
The first few tunes the band was warming up and I could barely hear Page in the mix. I wondered if this would be the case all night– a shy Page playing some back-up all night. As Brent Mydland once described his roll in the Grateful Dead, Page was “adding color”. He played a nice version of Jealous Guy, which sounded closer to the Donny Hathaway version with such a solid rhythm section behind him. It was weird hearing Page play clean piano from a Yamaha rather than the Baby Grand. After Jealous Guy, the rest of the set saw the band warmed up, locked in and inspired. Brian Stoltz can really take off on guitar and has the ability to dial in his tone. However, sometimes he just sounds like a talented New Orleans bar band guitarist– good, not great. I can’t say enough good things about Porter and Batiste. They are motherfuckers. The real deal.
READ ON for more from Page McConnell and PBS at B.B. King’s…
I’m going to go ahead and declare a tie from our edition two weeks ago with The Bridge and Mr. Blotto refusing to quit as the votes go higher and higher - so we’ll call them both winners from when we looked at covers of Low Spark Of High Heeled Boys. Last week’s however has a clear winner, no big surprise here as Jerry Garcia & David Grisman received the majority of votes when we examined covers of Sitting In Limbo.
This week, we look at the title track off of a Buddy Miles album from 1970: Them Changes. While not as well known as the version on Band Of Gypsies, the studio cut features a funky groove with a horn section whereas the live Hendrix cut is more of your straight power-trio rocker. What’s great about this week’s Cover Wars is that we’ve got some bands with horns that play the lines from the studio recording and some guitar bands that are a little closer to the version most people know. Lots of good guitar work this week.
As always, please register/login to IMEEM to listen to full-length clips in the playlist below.
Traditionally, September has always been a big month for the release of new albums and September 2008 is looking finer than Sarah Palin. For this week’s B List, I’ve put together a list of the nine September releases you’ve gotta hear.
One of my favorite albums of 2006 was Cowards and Robbers by the unknown at the time Cold War Kids. After seeing them steal the show at MSG last summer, where they opened for Muse, I realized these guys are the real deal: a band that produces amazing albums and bombastic live shows.
The Kids have been touring behind their latest album, Loyalty to Loyalty, and the new songs sound darker and groovier than the previous batch. Loyalty to Loyalty drops on September 23. For a taste of the new album check out the video for Something Is Not Right With Me on the Kids’ homepage.
READ ON for eight more terrific albums coming out this month…
Back on November 2, Vida Blue’s Page McConnell sat in with Porter, Batiste and Stoltz at Club Metronome in Burlington for what turned into an epic set of music. On September 30 we’ll finally be able to hear what went down at the club when PBS releases MOODOO, an album of ten songs recorded that magical evening.
As an added bonus PBS will hit a number of Northeastern cities with McConnell in tow towards the end of September. Confirmed dates include stops at Revolution Hall in Troy (Sept. 24), Lupo’s in Providence (Sept. 25), B.B. Kings in NYC (Sept. 26) and Higher Ground in Burlington (Sept. 27). MOODOO hits stores and online retailers on September 30 and tickets for the MOODOO shows are available now.
READ ON for more info including a full MOODOO track list…
Umphrey’s McGee has once again topped the voting of Cover Wars by capturing a majority of the votes in last week’s Nirvana edition. Of note is that every artist earned at least one vote - which doesn’t happen frequently. This week we’re moving back to the glory days of Classic Rock, more specifically 1967 and Jimi Hendrix’s second studio album Axis: Bold as Love.
Spanish Castle Magic’s lyrics are inspired by a dance club that Jimi would frequent in his high school days called, wait for it…The Spanish Castle. Whether you’ve been a long-time Hendrix fan or just like the song because it was on Guitar Hero, hopefully you’ll enjoy at least one of the versions included this week as we’ve got a smattering of artists including: Other all-time guitar greats, alternative rockers and more…
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READ ON for more information and versions we could only supply via YouTube…
Last year the Superfly folks one upped themselves with the addition of an additional tent at Bonnaroo called Somethin’ Else which brought a “downtown New York City jazz club” to Manchester - and by all accounts they nailed it. This year Somethin’ Else has been reinvented as a venue dedicated to celebrating the music on New Orleans. Here’s some info on what’s in store at the ‘Roo:
Somethin’ Else - New Orleans will be modeled after some of the city’s most distinctive and beloved music clubs, such as Preservation Hall, Tipitina’s and the Maple Leaf. Regional cuisine will also be featured in order to fully capture the essence of this special city. A donation will be collected upon entrance, with all proceeds going directly to support local New Orleans charities.
In addition to raising money for these charities, Somethin’ Else - New Orleans, in partnership with the Center for Rural Strategies, will expose many incredible New Orleans artists to a large base of passionate music fans and community-minded individuals. It will be Bonnaroo’s way of giving back to and promoting the culture of New Orleans, encouraging people to visit and support the city.
Here’s who’s been lined up so far to bring sounds of the Big Easy to Tennessee…
Porter - Batiste - Stoltz, Ivan Neville’s Dumpstaphunk, Henry Butler and the Game Band, Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Walter “Wolfman” Washington, Anders Osborne, Big Sam’s Funky Nation, Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue, Soul Rebels Brass Band, Morning 40 Federation.
What the over/under on the number of Cissy Struts these bands bust into?
I’m a sucker for any of those multi-part, comprehensive music docs - I can’t tell you how many time I’ve watched The History Of Rock N’ Roll on VH1 Classic. So I was quite excited when I stumbled across the following story about one that is in the works….
PBS announced the development of a new television series, On Record: The Soundtrack of Our Lives, an eight-hour series chronicling the history of recorded music and its impact on popular culture. Hosted by George Martin, producer of the Beatles, and narrated by actor Kevin Spacey, the series will feature hundreds of artists from all music genres. Produced by Wildheart Entertainment, the series is slated to air nationally in primetime in the fall of 2010. Along with the TV series, PBS will offer educational outreach including a companion website at pbs.org and has plans to include a corresponding CD box-set and branded CD series, 12-hour DVD/home video series, accompanying books, a multi-genre global radio show and broadcasting through online portals worldwide.
Not sure I can set my DVR that far in advance, but this sounds like appointment TV to me.
