Chris Rea’s ‘Auberge’
A lost treasure was unearthed yesterday while the wife was on a mission to clean my daughters’ bedrooms: a spindle of old CD’s. Lots of Springsteen bootlegs, old mixes… but what I was most excited to find: Auberge.
British singer/guitarist Chris Rea released Auberge in 1991. Like most of Rea’s work, it didn’t make much of a ripple in the USA. I’m not sure why. Featuring Rea’s low, smoky vocals, the record is an atmospheric, emotional masterpiece.
Hearing a few of selections doesn’t come close to capturing the feeling you get after listening to the record straight through, from “Auberge” to “The Mention of Your Name”. But they do give you a glimpse into the sweeping ambience of the album – soothing, wistful, joyous, bittersweet… a critic might call it melodramatic at times. But that’s just fine with me…
♦ Gone Fishing – Hey Chris, tear my heart right out of my chest, why don’t you? Rea wastes no time getting deep down into it on track number two of the record, throwing up his hands and heading out on the water… “you ain’t ever gonna be happy, any how, any way / so I’m going fishing, and I’m going today”.
♦ Sing a Song of Love To Me – Pure, heartfelt longing for love. “Sing a song of love to me, as the shadows start to grow / And I won’t be sad lonely any more”.
♦ Looking For The Summer – One of the more uptempo numbers, with a bluesy, rootsy crawl. Looking for a path out of the darkness.
Check out Auberge on Amazon.
Official Web Site: ChrisRea.com
Here’s a nice video from Rea’s 1993 tour. A nice slide guitar intro into “Auberge”…
A good man named Hans from Germany sent me this link on Twitter this afternoon. He put it best: “it doesn’t get any better than this.”
That’s the truth. I was speechless after watching this…Willie’s Spirit
Since stumbling across it on Rdio yesterday, I’ve become quickly enamored with Willie Nelson’s Spirit album. “She Is Gone” is the only song I was really familiar with from the record. It’s a sparse, heartbreakingly gorgeous tune – one that I moped along to in the late 90’s during a breakup or two. But I had no idea it was nestled into an album of equally sparse and beautiful songs, and also no idea that the song that comes before it – the album opener and instrumental “Matador” – actually enhances the beauty of “She Is Gone”. It serves as sort of an introduction to the song – and to the album as a whole.
Spirit is a somber affair, to be sure – the theme heartbreak and loss – but oh the delicate beauty of it.
Excuse me while I jump back in…
Justin Townes Earle sings “Harlem River Blues” on Letterman
In my recent Best of 2010 post, I crowned “Harlem River Blues” by Justin Townes Earle as my song of the year. Last night, Justin made his network television debut on Letterman. With Jason Isbell on guitar, and Paul Shaffer providing the organ riffs, Justin blazed through this great song in his one-of-a-kind fashion. He has some kind of style doesn’t he? Dressed like a Depression-era accountant or college professor, Justin stands straight & stoic as he sings, pivoting from one direction to another. Truly a unique guy, and so different from the performing style, look and feel of his old man, Steve Earle…
If you haven’t heard the album of the same name, I recommend picking it up. Harlem River Blues is available on Amazon for just $5.
Morgan Heritage – “Down By The River”
How about some feel good, positive vibes?
I have to give a shout out to the mother-in-law for pointing the song out a couple months ago at a restaurant. Out came my iPhone, I tapped on the Shazam app, and there was my answer: “Down by the River” by Morgan Heritage – a group of five family members who split their time between Jamaica and Brooklyn.
If the chorus doesn’t make you feel irie and have you grooving along by the end, then wake up…
Jah bless.
Check out the album Down By The River
Q-Tip’s “Barely In Love”
Well, shame on me for not listening to this album when it came out September. 2009. It’s teeming with life. Live instrumentation; a funky, soulful, jazzy laid back vibe (it is Q-Tip, after all, who perfected “laid back” hip-hop twenty plus years ago with A Tribe Called Quest).
This song sums up the greatness of the record. “Barely In Love” is nothing you’d ever expect from Q-Tip, or anyone else in the hip-hop scene. I go back to my main theme – no boundaries, no genres. I feel 70’s Stevie Wonder. I feel an urban street scene, late on a Saturday night with musicians gathered around in a circle, jamming out. There’s hip-hop in this album, but it can’t be called a hip-hop record. It’s just… music.
Q-Tip – Barely In Love
Check out Kamaal The Abstract on Amazon.
I Suppose
One of my music resolutions for the New Year is to get my ass out on the town to see What Laura Says at least a handful of times. Here’s a nice street-side performance at ASU…
BET’s Tribute to Prince: Janelle Monae, Esparanza Spalding, Alicia Keys, Patti LaBelle
This past Sunday, Prince was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 10th annual BET Awards. Prior to the presentation, four of his favorite ladies took to the stage to pay tribute to His Purpleness, and let me tell you, this was no half-ass tribute. The performers were reportedly hand picked by Prince: Janelle Monae, Esperanza Spalding, Alicia Keys, and Patti Labelle – and they all killed. Let’s take a look…
Janelle Monae – quirky, unconventional, and flat out weird (in the good sense of the word) – chose the perfect song to match her style and to kick off the festivities: “Let’s Go Crazy”. Watching her perform made me slap myself for missing her when she stopped through town last week with Erykah Badu. I love the way she writhes and slides and pops and twists (aka her flavor of dancing). And to top it all off, she’s carried off the stage after the tune. Prince seemed to dig it, didn’t he? So did I.
Esperanza Spalding was next, stepping to the mic with her stand-up electric bass, and launched into the classic from side 3 of Sign ‘o’ the Times, “If I Was Your Girlfriend.” It sounds like they used the original studio intro, sans Prince’s “oooo’s”. I wonder if Prince provided the backing track? Top notch performance of one of my favorite Prince tunes.
Next up was Alicia Keys with another Sign ‘o’ the Times standout: “Adore”. I have NEVER been more attracted to Ms. Alicia Keys than during this performance. It may have something to do with kicking off her heels and crawling barefoot on top of her piano and doing serious lusty justice to the song. She stayed pretty true to the nuances of Prince’s vocal delivery too – though she couldn’t hit some of those falsettos where Prince is up in the stratosphere like only Prince can do. Outstanding stuff from Alicia Keys. Yum yum yum.
To top off the tribute, Patti LaBelle emerged for “Purple Rain” (which Trey Songz had segued into briefly during his performance a few minutes earlier). Patti was on fire. She was having some issues with moving around in her heels, so off they came. She kicked one toward Prince, who swiftly grabbed it up. Patti’s voice was in top form, and was letting loose after her first and only verse. It was a great finale, and Prince was clearly moved, as you’ll see.
Since 1984, for better or worse, through good times and bad, I’ve always loved this man’s music. It was a treat to see him honored like this, and a treat to watch him enjoy and be emotionally affected by these performances.
Nicely done, ladies, nicely done.
Recap: Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros / Dawes at the Clubhouse in Tempe
Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros Music discovery. I feel sorry for those that don’t keep their ears open to new sounds. As the calendar flipped over to 2010, I knew nothing (or next to nothing) about Dawes or Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros. Last night at the sweltering Clubhouse Music Venue in Tempe, I enjoyed the hell out of these two great bands.
It started with the Coachella webcast back in April, when I watched E.S. & TMZ ‘s set. Freaky, folky, hippie vibes – something refreshing and different. So when I saw their Arizona date (and no boycott – woo hoo!), I was all in. So then, just last week, I got curious about the opening band, Dawes, and checked out their web site. I watched a couple videos (“Love Is All I Am”, “When My Time Comes”), really enjoyed the sound and the harmonies, and promptly snatched up their full length debut, North Hills. And what an impressive debut it is – I’ve been enjoying the hell out of it since.
So it was with this frame of reference and mind that I went to the Clubhouse last night – getting there nice and early to catch both full sets.
Dawes are a four piece folk-influenced rock band from the Laurel Canyon area of Los Angeles. Led by brothers Taylor (lead vox, guitar) and Griffin Goldsmith (drums), they have something special going with their brand of catchy melodies and three-part harmonies. Man, the harmonies! They filled up the room from the onset, with the great opener “How Far We’ve Come” – where Griffin took the first line of the verses, Griffin and keyboardist Alex Casnoff on the second line, and Taylor joining in on the third. Great stuff. Harmonies abounded on tunes like “Love Is All I Am” and the crowd favorite “When My Time Comes”. They also showed a harder edge with a nice new one, “Fire Away” and “My Girl To Me”. Their set had us drawing comparisons to The Band at times, and they obviously grew up listening to a lot of Byrds and CSN.
Dawes Great all around musicianship and singing with Dawes, but a special tip o’ the hat to the singing voice of Taylor Goldsmith. The guy can flat out sing. And when he gets way up there, there’s a soulful growl that wouldn’t sound out of place on an old Stax record. Great, great live band and great album. You’d do yourself good to pick it up.
On to Eddie and his Zeros, also formed out of the fair city of Los Angeles (the Silverlake section). By the time the band came out, the Clubhouse was a stuffy, unventilated sweatbox. I got some reprieve by being directly under a fan behind the soundboard, but man, this venue clearly does not care about the comfort of its patrons.
After watching a live set online, I had a good idea of what was in store. And though the Polo Fields of Indio, Calif. have absolutely nothing in common with the Clubhouse Music Venue, the group’s vibe and spirit were intact. Some early microphone issues almost jeopardized that good overall vibe, turning frontman/leader/messiah Alex Ebert a tad grumpy – but all was sorted out.
And so the band played on – mostly tunes from their solid 2009 album, Up From Below. They kicked things off with “40 Day Dream”, “Up From Below” and “Carries On” – a trio of catchy sing-along songs that hooked in the crowd. Edward’s muse, Jade Castrino, was the sole female Zero of the show. Usually, Nora Kirkpatrick is along for the ride (*cough-hotblonde-cough*), but sadly she missed this gig in the desert. If you’ve watched Jade on stage, you’ve probably noticed she’s a little unorthodox as far as live performers go. She won’t face the audience – she sways and faces to the side, shyly smiling, with her eyes locked in on Alex 90% of the time. If you’re questioning the messianic quality of Alex Ebert, you’ll be convinced after watching Jade for a while. But anyways, she seems like a sweetheart, and she got some lead vocal duties with a song called “The River Won’t Flow”.
“Janglin” and “Home” were the feel-good highlights of the evening. It’s hard to not like these songs, paraphrasing my buddy Trevor. The gang of characters there on stage – keyboards, percussion, a trumpet, guitars, bass, and lots of smiles – the band clearly enjoys playing these tunes for the people, even in a 110 degree steam room. The band then wrapped up the evening in mellow fashion, singing “Brothers” while seated on the floor amongst the crowd.
It was short but sweet set, although a hot one. I got the feeling the band was good n’ ready to jump in the bus and make haste for L.A. Can’t blame ’em.
The experience was worth the heat though – two new, fantastic bands with tons of promise. Lucky for me, they’re both playing the ACL Festival this year, so I’ll be seeing them again in October.
Here’s a nice series of moments from the evening, courtesy of Rand LeSeur Photography.
Set List
Clubhouse Music Venue, Tempe, AZ
June 22, 201040 Day Dream
Up from Below
Carries On
Black Water
Come In Please
The River Won’t Flow (sung by Jade)
Janglin
Desert Song
Home
Om Nashi Me-Encore-
Brother[Ick’s Pick] Broken Hearts & Dirty Windows: Songs of John Prine
I discovered the treasure trove that is the music of John Prine back in the early 90’s, during my last year of college. The Missing Years about knocked me on my butt, with its witty wordplay, catchy cadences, and gorgeous melodies. The album led me directly to Great Days: The John Prine Anthology, which gave me a crash course in this American treasure, the postman turned folk singer from Maywood, Illinois.
In reading the liner notes of the new tribute album, Broken Hearts &Dirty Windows – Songs of John Prine, I found out that Justin Vernon (of Bon Iver) had the same experience – growing up in Wisconsin and happening across the Anthology; getting to know John Prine through classics like “Sam Stone”, “Paradise”, “That’s The Way That The World Goes Round”, and “Hello In There.”
With the release of this fantastic new tribute album, it’s clear that Prine has had a similar impact on a host of younger artists – and it’s interesting that the artists on this record rank among some of my current favorites: Conor Oberst, My Morning Jacket, Old Crow Medicine Show, Deer Tick, Drive-By Truckers… it makes sense now: we’re all rooted in Prine’s music, and as they’ve matured and made music of their own, its these same roots that have pulled me into their music.
The common theme is humble, genuine, gritty, homegrown American music.
The standouts for me on this record include Deer Tick’s “Unwed Fathers”, featuring the sandpaper vocals of John McCauley and the sweet accompaniment of Liz Isenberg; Josh Ritter does “Mexican Home” from 1973’s Sweet Revenge. Ritter takes Prine’s uptempo version. and slows it way down – exposing the song’s melancholy core:
“My father died on the porch outside
On an August afternoon
I sipped bourbon and cried
With a friend by the light of the moon
So its hurry! hurry! Step right up
It’s a matter of life or death
The sun is going down
And the moon is just holding its breath.Drive-By Truckers do their thing, taking The Missing Year‘s “Daddy’s Little Pumpkin” and shifting it into overdrive; My Morning Jacket also do a Missing Years tune, “All The Best”, which Jim James and Prine recently performed on Letterman (worth a look); the Avett Brothers pick what I think is the perfect song for them: “Spanish Pipedream”; and Old Crow Medicine Show take the beautiful “Angel from Montgomery” and add their old timey flavor to it.
The big surprise for me was the album’s finale – “Let’s Talk Dirty in Hawaiian” as performed by Those Darlins, a female trio from Murfreesboro, Tennessee. First off, it’s one of Prine’s most hilarious songs, the innuendos flying left & right. And then you add a sexy rhythm, an island feel, and the sensual and sassy singing of Those Darlins. Play this at a BBQ this summer, it’ll be a guaranteed hit. It’s such a fun ride, and a fitting finale to what amounts to a great tribute to good ol’ John Prine.
- Buy Broken Hearts & Dirty Windows: Songs Of John Prine on Amazon.
- You can hear a full stream of the album over at NPR’s First Listen (until it’s release on Tuesday, June 22).
- Also courtesy of NPR, you can listen to John’s full set from Bonnaroo, where he’s joined by Kris Kristofferson and Old Crow Medicine Show.
