• Punk

    Midnight to Stevens – The Clash Pay Tribute to an Original

    I’m about a quarter of the way through Marcus Gray’s Route 19 Revisited: The Clash and London Calling. It’s a meticulously detailed account of absolutely everything having to do with the landmark 1979 album. Gray also wrote one of the best full biographies of the band, The Clash: Return of the Last Gang in Town.

    Needless to say, I’ve been buried pretty deep in Clash music over the last few weeks, listening to the albums, live shows, outtakes, B-sides and the like. This includes listening to my old Clash on Broadway CD collection, and encountering a great song I don’t recall hearing before. Apparently, when I bought the box set back in the 90’s, I didn’t give it the listen it deserved. Shame!.

    Guy Stevens and Mick Jones

    “Midnight to Stevens” is an outtake from the Combat Rock demo sessions, cut in September of 1981. The subject is music industry/producer Guy Stevens, who produced Procol Harum and Mott the Hoople in the late 60’s and early 70’s – and who, along with the Clash, produced London Calling. From what I’ve read, Guy was wild, unpredictable, and a raging alcoholic. Underneath it all though, he was loved by the musicians he worked with – in spite of the his behavior (he’d pace the studio during takes, throw chairs and ladders, and get in the face of the musicians). Clash guitarist Mick Jones, for one, was a huge Mott the Hoople fan, so would have been excited to have Guy on board for London Calling. Guy was absent for a good portion of the LC sessions, but his eccentric spirit likely helped fuel the creative and unpredictable spirit of the album – inspiring the band to produce a multi-genre masterpiece.

    Sadly, on August 28, 1981, Guy Stevens died of an overdose of prescription medication, which he was taking to try and combat the alcoholism. He was only 38 years old. Just three weeks later (Sept 17), at the People’s Hall in London, with the Rolling Stones mobile studio parked outside, the Clash recorded this tribute to Guy.

    The song itself is a more subdued, pop-oriented tune than one is used to hearing from the Clash. It’s a sad, beautiful tune if you ask me – and I know you are. It was a nice surprise to discover this after all these years.

    So here’s a short clip of the London Calling sessions at Wessex Studios in London, where you can see Guy exhibiting his Guy-ness:

    And here is the song (available on the Clash mega set Sound System).




  • Punk

    Titus Andronicus and the Snarl of Lonely Boy

    Titus Andronicus has a brand new album, a 90 minute rock opera called The Most Lamentable Tragedy.  While I haven’t had time yet to wrap my head around the entire album – its five acts and twenty-nine songs serving as a metaphor for manic depression – there are moments that jump out, make the ears perk up and the hairs on my arms stand at attention. The first such moment for me came in the form of “Lonely Boy.”

    I love seventies classic rock, glam rock, and punk – and in “Lonely Boy”, all three elements seem to meld together. The intro comes right out of the 70’s classic rock playbook (I can’t help but hear Foreigner’s “Feels Like the First Time”); but then the drums and guitars pick up, and the snarl of singer Patrick Stickles is front and center. The T.Rex bump-and-churn of the song, with Stickles’ irreverent punk delivery just seals it for me.

    T.A. is kicking off a tour in a few weeks, including a stop here in Phoenix. In September. God bless ’em. I can attest from their tour following the release of The Monitor (excellent album) that T.A. is one hell of a fiery live act, so go see them.

  • Punk

    New Titus Andronicus: ‘Local Business’

    High expectations – they’re dangerous.

    I first heard Titus Andronicus on a jog around the neighborhood in March 2011, a few months after they released their 2nd full length, The Monitor. Halfway through the opener, “A More Perfect Union,” I was all systems go, hair standing on end. It was exhilarating (as was their live show a month later). The album was rich with imagery, rage, a continuity and flow from song to song, an abundance of fist-to-the-air-moments, and a full production sound.

    So maybe I can be partly blamed for the high expectations I brought to the table today when I tapped “Play” on T.A.’s new release, Local Business. I strapped on the earbuds and the running shoes and embarked on that familiar jog around the neighborhood, ready for that feeling, that Red Bull-will-give-you-Wings rush that music can provide…

    Wasn’t happening.

    Granted, the opening trio of songs – “Ecce Homo,” “Still Life With Hot Deuce on Silver Platter,” and “Upon Viewing Oregon’s Landscape With Flood of Detritus” – are solid rockers with that familiar angst and anger, a specialty of frontman Patrick Stickles. They’re good, and they very well may grow on me, but where The Monitor had that epic, fulfilling feel to it, Local Business has a garage-y, rushed quality to it.  And, a lot like the (disappointing) album cover, the record’s production sound seems a lot more Do It Yourself and lower quality than the two previous releases.

    I know it’s not really fair of me to rush to the web on the first day of its release to spit out my less than favorable judgment. But dammit, I was expecting more! They captured lightning in a bottle on The Monitor, and I know Stickles has it in him to go to that level again. On first listen, Local Business doesn’t come close.

    → Local Business on Amazon.

    → Titus Andronicus Web Site

    Here’s “Still Life with Hot Deuce on Silver Platter” at Shayz Lounge in Brooklyn. See all Local Business Sessions at locations around Brooklyn here on Pitchfork.

  • Punk

    New Gaslight Anthem: “45”

    Photo by Tony Cano

    I’ll be honest, The Gaslight Anthem‘s last record, American Slang, didn’t do a whole lot for me. After being knocked out by their preceding album, 2008’s The ’59 Sound (the title track and “Here’s Looking At You, Kid” being two of my favorites), Slang just seemed to lack that spark, that connection and excitement I felt with ’59.

    With their brand new single, “45”, Brian Fallon and the boys are clearly back in that hard-driving ’59 frame of mind.

    The single comes from Handwritten, TGA‘s new album due out on June 24th. The album is produced by Brendan O’Brien, who we Springsteen fans are well aware of (he produced The Rising, Magic, and Working On A Dream), but who has also produced the likes of Pearl Jam, Incubus, Mastodon, and Trey Anastasio (and a whole lot more).

    It should be an entertaining listen, and I look forward to checking it out – and of course I hope TGA are returning to my neck of the woods on tour. The albums are one thing, but their live shows take their songs up in the stratosphere.

  • BritPop,  Electronic,  Punk

    The Modfather’s Mid-Life Renaissance

    For me, music begins with John Lennon. The very first step after that is Paul Weller.

    And it’s always been that way.

    Ever since I heard Sound Affects by The Jam back in 1981, Paul Weller has taken me on where no other artist (save John, of course) has really taken me. A few come close…Todd Rundgren…Joe Jackson…U2…Oasis…but none really compare to Weller simply because his mark on the music world has been so exciting and diverse. The Jam were punk, soul, and absolutely fun pop with a few ballads thrown in for seasoning. The Style Council were smooth jazz, cafe chic, solid R&B, symphonic pastorals, and house music before there was such a thing.

    His solo career began with acid jazz and then segued into hippie soul, power trio bombast, and psychedelia. His last record, Wake Up The Nation, charted even newer (and older) territory that completely took the UK music scene by storm. Bruce Foxton, former bass player for The Jam, even played on the punked up track, “Fast Car-Slow Traffic.” Praises were showered over him and the word was that he was moving beyond his moniker, The Modfather, and into God Like Genius mode.

    With his latest release, Sonik Kicks, there is no doubt that he has arrived to lord over us from musical heaven. This 14 track album (16 if you spring for the Deluxe Edition) is simply magnificent. I’d use the phrase “tour de force” but that would be paltry in illustrating how truly amazing this fucking record is by the man who has been the soundtrack to my life of for the last 30 years.

    With a nod to Kraut Rock, the album opens with “Green,” an explosion of aural delight that sends one’s heart racing directly into the matrix. “The Attic” is next with its wistful nostalgia. “Kling I Klang” could easily be on All Mod Cons or Setting Sons. “Sleep of the Serene,” a trippy instrumental, dovetails nicely with the acoustic beauty of “By The Waters.” On these last two tracks, Weller seems to be going back to the VERY under-appreciated Style Council record, Confessions of a Pop Group. “That Dangerous Age,” is the first single from the album, is next and laments the trials of being a parent to teenagers.

    At this point I was already in love with the record and wasn’t fully prepared when the next track took it up another notch. “Study in Blue” completely blew me away. It could easily be on any Style Council album with its smooth cafe sound. And me, being the hopeless romantic, was completely sucked in to the abundance of amore that spills out on this track.  Having his wife Hannah sing on the track was simply brilliant as her voice adds to the perfect and never changing mood.

    “Dragonfly” and “Around the Lake” are more tracks that sounds Jam-ish (The Gift era, towards the end), each with a dash of macabre thrown in. “When You’re Garden’s Overgrown” brings us back to Kraut Rock but with that signature Weller melody and refrain. This is my second favorite track on the album as Weller takes a page lyrically from the biting commentary of Dylan’s Blood on the Tracks. The link track “Twilight” steams ahead nicely into “Drifters” sonic and aural panorama. Listening to the latter track, one is simply stunned at how fresh Weller sounds. “Paperchase” reminds me of Berlin era Bowie.

    The album proper closes with a loving message to his ever growing brood of kids, “Be Happy Children.” An upbeat message for all of us, really, Weller indeed sounds happier than he ever has and why not? His music is more relevant, wonderful, and, indeed, more innovative than ever!

    The Deluxe Edition contains the single from last year, “Starlite,” which is devastatingly gorgeous and “Devotion,” an acoustic rock jaunt that will put a smile on your face. I highly recommend plunking down the extra greenbacks and getting it.

    Here’s my favorite track from the album, “Study in Blue.”

    http://youtu.be/gK3kc63xKXQ

  • Punk

    It’s Good to Leave Home

    If you find yourself with an extra half hour today, you should really listen to the Ramones 2nd album, 1977’s Leave Home. I’ve been getting back in the swing of things after more than two weeks of vacation, and yesterday, in the midst of catching up with my backed up work email, I stepped back, took a deep breath, turned up the speakers, and cranked Leave Home.

    “Glad To See You Go”, “Suzy Is A Headbanger”, “California Sun”, “Pinhead”, “You’re Gonna Kill That Girl”, and my album favorite – “Gimmie Gimmie Shock Treatment”… a therapeutic tour de force of headbanging rock n’ roll NY punk.

    It does the body good.


    Leave Home on Rdio / Amazon / Spotify

    If you can’t spare half an hour, surely you can spare a minute and 35 seconds?

    “I was feeling SICK, losing my mind, heard about this treatment by a friend of mine…”

  • Live,  Punk,  Rock

    Recap: Titus Andronicus at the Rhythm Room

    It was a modest but passionate crowd that showed up at the Rhythm Room Monday night for New Jersey’s Titus Andronicus. The passion manifested itself early, as the group launched into “No Future Part Three: Escape From No Future”. When the drums kicked in, the crowd near the front of the stage erupted in a mosh frenzy, knocking around and into us, and making it clear this was gonna be a high energy show.

    Frontman Patrick Stickles commented often on the positive punk vibe, and he and his band did not let up for the next – I don’t know – 90 minutes? This was one of those shows where i was completely swallowed up in the spirit and energy, and didn’t check the clock – not even once. The music was explosive, angry, beautiful, and intense from start to finish. I was blown away.

    The songs came primarily from their two studio releases – songs like “Four Score and Seven”, “Fear and Loathing in Mahwah, NJ”, “To Old Friends and New”, “The Battle of Hampton Roads” (a favorite), and of course “A More Perfect Union”. But they threw in a couple of punk covers: most notably “Racism Sucks”, a 7 Seconds song that was clearly directed at my state’s government – and rightly so. The second cover was UK punk band Sham 69’s “If the Kids Are United”, which they played for the encore .

    Mucho props to guitarist/violinist Amy Klein, who is one of the rockin-est (for lack of a better term) female guitarists I’ve ever seen live. She adds a great dynamic to the band, and rocks out fiercely with her male bandmates. She made it a point to tell the crowd it was her favorite show of the tour so far. She had one hell of a cheering section in front of her… a lot of fun to see the give and take.

    Titus Andronicus is live force right now. Yeah, they only have two studio albums to their name, and their band lineup is even more recent, together for just over a year. But as new as they are, they have something very cohesive and powerful. And that Patrick Stickles – the bearded, spirited front man with his primal growl… He’s laying it all out there – he’s hungry for it, and you can tell.

    In the summer of 2000, I saw Philly band Marah play a small, sweat soaked club in Tempe. They were also touring behind their second album, and I came away completely transformed – just jaw-droppingly floored by their energy and their ability to take control of a room.

    I had the same feeling last night when I walked out of the Rhythm Room. I made a beeline to the back door to shake Patrick’s hand and thank him for the show. Nights like this are few and far between…

    See. This. Band. http://titusandronicus.net/tourdates

     

  • Punk

    Remembering Joe Strummer / Live Clash from Jamaica

    Today marks the seventh anniversary of Joe Strummer‘s untimely death at the age of 50 (due to a heart defect). To mark the occasion, and to celebrate the legend – born John Graham Mellor in Ankara, Turkey – here’s a nice boot from the Clash at the height of their popularity.

    Touring behind their hit album Combat Rock, the tour took them through Montego Bay, Jamaica for the Jamaican World Music Festival. The Grateful Dead had headlined the night before, and this night, it was the Clash’s turn.

    According to the Clash resource Black Market Clash, the “Bob Marley Centre” was nothing more than an immense gravel parking lot with a stage at one end. Earlier acts of the evening included Rick James, Jimmy Buffett, the English Beat, and Bob Weir’s band, Bobby and the Midnites. By the time the Clash came on, it was closing in on dawn.

    Rest in Peace Joe…

    The Clash at the Jamaican World Music Festival (ZIP)
    Bob Marley Centre – Montego Bay, JA
    November 27, 1982

    Introduction
    London Calling
    Police on My Back
    The Guns of Brixton
    Magnificent 7
    Armagideon Time
    The Magnificent 7
    Junco Partner
    Spanish Bombs
    One More Time
    Train In Vain
    Bankrobber
    This is Radio Clash
    Clampdown
    Should I Stay or Should I Go
    Rock the Casbah
    Straight to Hell
    I Fought the Law

  • Ick's Pick,  Punk,  Roots Rock

    Ick’s Pick: Laughin’ and Cryin’ with the Reverend Horton Heat

    Jim Heath and his power psychobilly trio Reverend Horton Heat are like the damn Energizer bunnies of rock & roll – they keep on a goin’. It wouldn’t surprise if they’re out on the road 300 days out of the year. And this has been going on for 20 years… I’ve seen ’em many times, and it’s always an experience.

    The Rev’s 11th studio album, Laughin’ and Cryin’ with the Reverend Horton Heat was released just a few weeks ago, along with its unsettling cover (especially for you coulrophobics out there… yeah, had to look it up). The new record is stocked full of the types of tunes and lyrics that endear him to his cult following. Songs about drinkin’ and cigarettes, Vegas, using his growing belly as a beer holder…even an ode to Arizona’s Saguaro cactus.

    With Jimbo slapping hard on his stand-up bass, and the Rev pickin’ mean on his Gretsch, the album gives us high dosages of rockabilly, punk, and the ever-present humor. A case in point found in this tune, featuring the standout line: “His dirty feet might dangle like it’s [??] / But it’s not a grocery basket if there’s booze inside”. Kudos to whoever can nail those missing lyrics there…

    Reverend Horton Heat – Please Don’t Take the Baby to the Liquor Store (mp3)

    Buy Laughin’ and Cryin’ with Reverend Horton Heat

    Links: Official Site | MySpace

    Oh hell, if you haven’t heard “400 Bucks”, then you need to… this song is the best part about seeing the Rev live, in my humble opinion.

    Reverend Horton Heat – 400 Bucks (mp3)

    From the still amazing 1993 album, The Full Custom Gospel Sounds of the Reverend Horton Heat