• Rock

    The Boss Live at the Roxy, 1978 (Part Three)


    August 24th, 1978 cover, photo by Lynn Goldsmith

    You’re a patient bunch, but it’s worth the wait, don’t ya think? Tonight, we finish off Bruce and the band’s legendary 7-7-78 show at the Roxy…

    Part Three

    Independence Day
    Born to Run
    Because the Night
    Raise Your Hand
    Radio Comments
    Twist and Shout

    Extras:
    Thunder Road – Roxy, 10-17-75
    Goin’ Back – Roxy, 10-17-75
    Pretty Flamingo – Cleveland, 12-31-78
    The Fever – Cleveland, 12-31-78
    The Promise – The Record Plant, 11-77 thru 4-78

    Part One | Part Two | Part Three

  • Bruce Springsteen

    The Boss Live at the Roxy, 1978 (Part Two)


    photo by Bob Minkin

    Bruce’s new tune, “Radio Nowhere” leaked yesterday. It’s a straight-ahead rocker. One of my Boss Forum posters said it’s reminiscent of “867-5309” as performed by Pearl Jam [Edit: Tommy Tutone’s song as Pearl Jam would perform it – that wasn’t clear the first time around]. It’s true, you can definitely hear a tinge of it in the tune. Good stuff! You can check it out over at the Hype Machine.

    So on to part two of this classic show. If you have the Live 1975-1985 box set, then you’ve heard quite a bit of part two. Six of these songs appear on the box set in edited form (Adam, Paradise, Growin’ Up, Saint, Backstreets, and Rosalita), which goes to show what an amazing show this truly is. The box set doesn’t include Bruce’s comments before “Paradise by the C”. Here, you’ll hear Bruce kick off the song with: “All you bootleggers out there in radio land, roll your tapes!”…

    The very next night, Bruce and the band headed over to my neck of the woods to play Veteran’s Memorial Coliseum in Phoenix. The video footage of “Rosalita” that made its way on to the Video Anthology DVD was taken from that night.

    So here’s part deux my friends. Enjoy!

    Part Two

    Paradise By The ‘C’
    Fire
    Adam Raised A Cain
    Mona
    She’s The One
    Growin’ Up
    It’s Hard To Be A Saint In The City
    Backstreets
    Heartbreak Hotel
    Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)

  • Citizen Cope
    Acoustic,  Laid Back

    Citizen Cope – D’Artagnan’s Theme

    I’ve been meaning to post this song for a while now. And it’s Michael’s great Alice Smith post that spurred me into action. Alice had been opening up for Citizen Cope on his recent tour.

    Cope is the pseudonym of Clarence Greenwood, and I’ve been enjoying his last couple of albums – 2004’s The Clarence Greenwood Recordings and last year’s Every Waking Moment – for a while now. They truly surprise me, as they seem to get better and better the more I listen. It was one of those iTunes shuffle moments when this song came up, and made me stop what I was doing to enjoy the laid back, semi-sad vibe.

    D’Artagnan refers to Charles de Batz-Castelmore, Comte d’Artagnan, one of the the fictionalized Three Musketeers. I can’t quite figure out who the protagonist is, but the lyrics evoke an outlaw type who has no time for the woman he’s singing to.

    Well I don’t know how else to say it
    In a different way
    But why don’t you just fade away
    ‘Cause there’s a battle going on
    Down south of Babylon
    So why don’t you just fade away

    The tune is a breeze on the acoustic guitar. C-F-G. Impress your family and friends!

    This one comes from The Clarence Greenwood Recordings….

    Buy: The Clarence Greenwood Recordings | Every Waking Moment

    Citizen Cope’s Official Site

  • Bruce Springsteen

    Springsteen’s Magic to be released on Vinyl a Week Earlier than the CD (Sept. 25th)

    It looks like I’ll be putting my new turntable to good use on September 25th!

    From this article on Billboard:

    In an unusual move, Bruce Springsteen’s new album, “Magic,” is expected to be released on vinyl a week before its CD version hits stores. The vinyl is due Sept. 25 via Columbia, while the CD will arrive Oct. 2. A handful of major releases have appeared on vinyl prior to CD; Pearl Jam released its 1994 album, “Vitalogy,” on vinyl two weeks early, prompting a premature No. 55 debut on The Billboard 200.

  • Alice Smith
    R&B,  Soul

    Second Listen: Dreaming…

    There’s just something about Alice Smith. I’ll admit it, I dug this one out of the pile of CD’s marked “Must Listen To Again” and I’m kicking myself for having slept on it for so long. With comparisons ranging from Patty LaBelle to Fiona Apple to Billie Holiday the one common factor is the presence of soul. There is something so honest in her phrasing and delivery, no smoke, no mirrors. It’s almost as if you are sitting in the corner of the vocal booth, just soaking in every corner of her four-octave voice. I’ve packed this post with two of my favorite tracks. Here’s just a little lyrical taste of “Dream”…

    When I wake up in the morning time
    I like to see you sleeping by my side
    I think about the nights we had before
    Wanna give you this and more
    Let you know I truly adore you

    I’ll tell ya, she had me at “Let you know I truly adore you”. I’m a fan, give a listen and you will be too.

    Alice Smith – Dream

    Buy: For Lovers, Dreamers & Me

    Links: Official Site

  • Bruce Springsteen

    The Boss Live at the Roxy, 1978 (Part One)

    My wife made me watch David Hasselhoff sing on America’s Got Talent, and now I feel sick to my stomach. I thought she loved me.

    This must be rectified now. We need live Boss, and we need it now. I am getting seriously geeked about the new boss album and E Street tour coming up in a matter of weeks. This show here, this has to be my favorite Boss show of all time. You’ll feel the energy from the second Bruce takes the mic to apologize to those who got shut out after waiting in line all day: “I wasn’t trying to turn this into no private party, ’cause I don’t play no parties no more…except my own. [crowd cheers wildly] So give me a little slap back on this microphone… One…we gonna do some rock n’ roll for you...” ZOWWW! They don’t call him Boss for nothing, as you’ll hear with this show.

    The show goes on for well over three hours, so this is going to be a three parter. I’ll have 2 and 3 up soon. But let’s get started with this. You Bruce fanatics, you probably have this show. But if you don’t, God are you in for a treat. I recommend downloading it all, queuing it up on your iPod or iTunes, and listening to it straight through. Certainly string the intro and “Rave On” together to see how this show kicks off. It’s amazing.

    Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band
    The Roxy, Hollywood, California
    July 7th, 1978

    Part One

    Intro
    Rave On
    Badlands
    Spirit in the Night
    Darkness on the Edge of Town
    Candy’s Room
    For You
    Point Blank
    The Promised Land
    Prove It All Night
    Racing Intro
    Racing in the Street
    Thunder Road
    Outro

    Come back soon for parts 2 and 3.

  • Giveaway,  Jazz

    Ickmusic Giveaway: Miles Davis Quintet on Monterey Jazz Festival Records

    It’s a giveaway frenzy here lately, so I have no choice but to once again bestow quality goods upon you people. The latest item will make any jazz fan happy. Even those who aren’t into jazz know a cool motherf**er when they see one, and Miles Davis was just that.

    Well the Monterey Jazz Festival has launched their own label, aptly named Monterey Jazz Festival Records, and their first wave of CD’s were released today. They launched into their live archives, and are debuting with releases from Sarah Vaughan, Thelonius Monk, Louis Armstrong, Dizzy Gillespie, and Miles. Future releases will also feature contemporary artists, projects and special events recorded at the festival.

    So leave a comment down below, folks, and have your chance to win this CD. Did anyone out there ever have the honor to see Miles play live? What’s your favorite Miles Davis album? Are you down with electric Miles?

    Speaking of cool mofos, check out his quintet circa 1963: Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter, Tony Williams, George Coleman. Sheesh…

    Miles Davis Quintet – Live at the 1963 Monterey Jazz Festival

    (September 20, 1963)

    Miles Davis – trumpet
    George Coleman – tenor sax
    Herbie Hancock – piano
    Ron Carter – bass
    Tony Williams – drums

    1. Waiting for Miles
    2. Autumn Leaves (streaming Quicktime)
    3. So What
    4. Stella by Starlight
    5. Walkin’
    6. The Theme

    Some other streaming goodies:

    Louis Armstrong – Mack the Knife
    Thelonius Monk – Rhythm-a-Ning
    Dizzy Gillespie – Poor Joe
    Sarah Vaughan – Round Midnight

    Monterey Jazz Festival Records: Official Site | MySpace

    Visit Concord Music Group’s Online Store to purchase.

    Good luck!

  • Bruce Springsteen

    Springsteen’s Magic – the cover?

    Here’s an unconfirmed, but possible cover to Bruce’s new album, due out October 2nd.

    Bruce and non-Bruce fans: thoughts? Cool cover? Badass Bruce? Grumpy Bruce?

    I vote gritty, badass Boss. Sort of the 21st century version of Darkness-era Bruce. It could be the real deal, or it could be that someone combined a new Boss pic and some Photoshop skills. We’ll see…

    Update: Amazon has it up on their site. It’s looking like the real deal: Magic

  • Joseph Hill of Culture
    Reggae

    Remembering Joseph Hill and Culture

    Joseph Hill, January 22, 1949 – August 19, 2006

    I have to thank my wife for the infusion of more reggae into my life. She’s an island girl (Seychelles), and has grown up loving reggae. One of the great groups she has introduced me to is Culture. They are reggae legends, but I wasn’t familiar with them until I met her.

    Today turned into reggae day for us. We watched Countryman earlier this afternoon. It’s a 1982 film about the adventures of a peaceful rastafarian fisherman. It has an awesome soundtrack of great reggae tunes. So naturally it put us into the reggae mood. So we put on Culture for the rest of the day. In cruising around the web checking out the Wikipedias and the YouTubes, I came to discover that Joseph Hill, lead singer of the group, passed away exactly one year ago today (August 19th). It was after a gig in Germany a year ago that Hill collapsed. It was later attributed to liver failure.

    Hill formed Culture in Jamaica in 1976 with his cousin Albert Walker and Kenneth Dayes. They soon joined up with producer Joe Gibbs and engineer Errol Thompson, who would help Culture record a string of classic reggae albums, starting with 1977’s Two Sevens Clash. They also worked with some premier musicians of the day, including Sly Dunbar and Robbie Shakespeare.

    Let’s remember Joseph Hill today with some classic Culture tunes, one of the true pioneers of roots reggae.

    Culture – I’m Not Ashamed – extended version, from Two Sevens Clash: The 30th Anniversary Edition

    Culture – Jah Rastafari – from International Herb

    Here’s a full 2003 set from Shrewsbury, UK at the Buttermarket: