Fourth Of July Musings and the Best of 2013 So Far...

So it's the 4th of July.  Happy Birthday America.  Now if everyone could play nice we would have something to celebrate but that's for another post.  Might as well dig a couple of 4th of July Songs.

Shooter Jennings

Dave Alvin

Bruce Springsteen

Since it's midyear I thought I might ruminate on the state of music (as are many of the bloggers) in 2013.  So far it has been a weak year that has seen some very good albums released.  Hell quality is always better than quantity.  So in no particular order here are the mid year all stars.

Holly Williams deserves a listen because she is Hank's grand daughter.  She deserves to be album of the year because this one is that special.  It's been in constant rotation since it was released and I still find new things to like about it.  A major singer-songwriter has been unleashed on the world.  Do not hesitate to pick this one up.

Speaking about major singer-songwriters...so much has been written about this masterpiece, another contender for album of the year, that I wonder if I have anything to add to the accolades.  This is simply an amazing, mature work by one of the premier songwriters of this or any other era.  It's that good.

This one was a complete surprise and I have to thank Autopsy IV over at ninebullets.net for first posting about this one.  Being totally unfamiliar with his work I was blown away by the first couple of songs I heard.  My wife hears Bruce Springsteen in the vocals and I definitely do as well.  However the Boss hasn't quite gotten this sound down so well in the past.  From what I have heard he rock more on his earlier albums, but this one is just right.  Check it out if you like Otis Gibbs, White Buffalo, etc.

Bruce Robison and Kelly Willis are husband and wife.  He has written some huge hits and she has a killer voice.  Together they make beautiful music.  I especially like their take on Border Radio.

Honest, real country music folks.  Fans of Florida Georgia Line and Jason Aldean can move along.  This is some serious, hard core country.  Thanks Sturgill.

Here's an early version of Life Ain't Fair with his old band Sunday Valley.

 



Speaking of hard core country this is the seconds album I've gotten by Eric Strickland.  If he keeps making them like this I'll keep buying them.  He seems incapable of making a bad record.

I had never heard Dale Watson before and I am kind of pissed at myself for that.  Great, honest, honkytonk or as he calls it Ameripolitan Music.  Whatever he wants to call it is fine with me.

So have a great day folks.  Pop a top or two and listen to some music.  It doesn't get much better than that on a beautiful summer day.  I hope the neighbors aren't expecting any top 40!

Bruce Springsteen - Met Life Stadium

I know these shows were a couple of weeks back but life has been pretty hectic for me and I just couldn't find some time to write about them.  I was lucky enough to make it to the second and third nights of the run and as expected Bruce put on a couple of amazing shows.

Night 2 (9/21) 

This was my first time to Met Life Stadium.  It's new.  It's huge.  It reminds me of...well, Giants Stadium but bigger.  I hate stadiums and the only one who could get me there for a concert is Bruce.   This show was a fan's dream...could it be nothing was played off of Darkness?  The setlist was loaded with rarities top to bottom.

SET LIST

1. Living on the Edge of the World
2. Out in the Street
3. Night
4. Hungry Heart
5. No Surrender
6. Lost in the Flood
7. We Take Care of Our Own
8. Wrecking Ball
9. Death to My Hometown
10. My City of Ruins
11. Does This Bus Stop at 82nd Street?
12. Jole Blon
13. This Little Girl
14. From Small Things (Big Things One Day Come)
15. Talk to Me
16. This Depression
17. Shackled and Drawn
18. Mary's Place
19. Waitin' on a Sunny Day
20. Incident on 57th Street
21. Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)

ENCORE

1. Rocky Ground
2. Born to Run
3. Ramrod
4. Bobby Jean
5. Dancing in the Dark
6. Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out
7. American Land

Night 3 (9/22)
It was Bruce's birthday at midnight so we expected a late night, but nothing like this. There was a 3 hour rain delay (really 2 if you go by the usual start time). Bruce hit the stage around 10:30 and played until well past the midnight hour. 2AM!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Another night of tour firsts and a great party atmosphere rain and all.

SET LIST

1. Out in the Street
2. The Ties That Bind
3. Cynthia
4. Badlands
5. Who'll Stop The Rain
6. Cover Me
7. Downbound Train
8. We Take Care of Our Own
9. Wrecking Ball
10. Death to My Hometown
11. My City of Ruins
12. It's Hard to Be a Saint in the City
13. Jole Blon
14. This Little Girl
15. Pay Me My Money Down
16. Janey, Don't You Lose Heart
17. In The Midnight Hour
18. Into the Fire
19. Because the Night
20. She's the One
21. Working on the Highway
22. Shackled and Drawn
23. Waitin' on a Sunny Day
24. Meeting Across the River
25. Jungleland

ENCORE

1. Thunder Road
2. Rocky Ground
3. Born to Run
4. Glory Days
5. Seven Nights to Rock
6. Dancing in the Dark
7. Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out
8. Twist And Shout

Bruce Springsteen - MSG 2009

So you  might be able to tell from some of my posts I am a HUGE Springsteen fan and have been of over 30 years.  I try to get to as many shows each tour as possible and was lucky enough to be at both of these MSG shows from 2009.  The first night features a complete The Wild, the Innocent and the E. Street Shuffle and the second a jaw dropping complete version of The River.  The links are two of the finest sounding ROIO's that I have ever heard.  Simply fantastic.

You can get night 1 here.

You can find night 2 here.

Both of these releases appear to be from Crystal Cat and claim to be audience/iem matrix mixes.  Whatever they are the sound and performances are top notch.  A must have for any Springsteen fan.

Bruce Springsteen at the Izod Center - April 4th

I wasn't going to go this tour.  I've seen Bruce and the band so many times over the years that I thought I could sit this one out.  The tickets were damn near impossible to get and I wasn't going to pay a scalper.  I was always able to get tickets before so this one I was sitting out.  Then the record dropped and I kept playing it and playing it.  I absolutely love Wrecking Ball...it's everything a Springsteen record should be.  So in the end what did I do?  I paid the scalpers.  And I am so glad I did.

Bruce is never less than good and so often great that you can take him for granted.  I've see pretty much every tour multiple times for over 30 years and have enjoyed them all and absolutely loved most nights.  Did I mention that I am a fan?  What is really amazing to me is how the shows are getting better over the past 15 years.  The Reunion tour was really good...lots of old classics.  The Rising tour was full of great new songs and it morphed into these mega celebrations by the time it hit the stadiums.  The Magic / WOAD tour was a fan's dream by the end with those great Giants Stadium shows and the E. Street and River nights at MSG, not to mention the Seeger Sessions and solo shows!  Last night was as good as those those nights and sometimes even better.

You can tell how deeply Bruce feels about the new music. It takes center stage and the expanded E. Street Band is more than up to the task of making it come alive. Last night he played 7 of the 11 new songs and then came the tour premiers!

Wow! Three off the River (Ties That Bind, Jackson Cage and Ramrod), Candy's Room and a stellar version of Racing In The Streets. I've seen dozens of shows over the years and this one seems to pop up infrequently on the nights I go. Last night's version with the full horns was simply breathtaking. It needs to be in the set more often. And then there was Johnny 99 getting the FULL band treatment. A big highlight.

The only bummer for the night is the gaping hole left by the loss of the Big Man. Jake is pretty good in his own right and the crowd is loving him, but there is no denying that we are indeed missing a few pieces on stage. The video montage during 10th Avenue Freeze out was an emotional time for all. A nice touch that should be there every night.

I can't say enough good things about Wrecking Ball and Rocky Ground is becoming a favorite. Great performance last night with Michelle Moore. Trapped is a long time favorite and was a great way to kick off the encores. I really have nothing bad to say. I would have liked Land of Hope and Dreams, but with all the surprises who am I to complain?

Anyone have an extra for Monday night?

Bruce Springsteen - Wrecking Ball

So I have been playing this one quite a bit since it leaked...  Down to Florida, on the drive back, around town in the car.  I was very apprehensive after 2009's Working On A Dream which I really didn't like...even a little.  I mean coming from the artist that made Born To Run, Darkness On the Edge of Town, The River, Nebraska and Tunnel of Love it just seemed kind of...Lame.  I mean I'm In Love With The Girl From the Supermarket?  Really Bruce? Really?

Then I read about Bruce experimenting.  Drum loops and other electronica.  It was like oh shit here we go again.  I also didn't think the lead single was all that great so I was a little bummed out and worried that Wrecking Ball was going to be another flop.



Well after repeated listening I can tell you that all my fears were unwarranted.  Wrecking Ball is a very, very good record.  Is it Darkness for a new generation?  No, but then that probably could never happen.  What it is is a very direct response to our troubled times by one of the great songwriters of our generation.  This is not the narrator in Darkness or the voice of The River, rather it is the voice of a generation singing about how the American Dream has become tarnished over the past decade. There is a lot of desperation on this record...it is not Dancing In The Dark part two, in fact it is closer to Nebraska,  Ghost of Tom Joad and Devils and Dust rather than Born In The USA.

The sound of the record is not all that striking really after all of the reports of experimentation.  In fact it is often closer to the Seger Sessions in sound than it is to those other records.  Even in desperation there is a real buoyancy to the soundtrack (Death To My Hometown among others).  In particular Shackled and Drawn, Jack of All Trades and This Depression are particularly strong on what looks to be side one.  There is a constant feeling of desperation that works its way through these songs culminating in Wrecking Ball, a tune I didn't care much for on the last tour but one that now seems so much stronger in the context of the album.

The album then begins to turn a bit towards more of feeling of hope, if ever so slightly.  Yes there is a tiny little rap on Rocky Ground (the albums weakest cut in my opinion but one that is not in the least a "bad" song) but it is really pretty tame and sung by one of the other vocalists.  The album ends on an almost spiritual note with Land of Hope and Dreams (from the 1999 tour but far more affecting in this incarnation) and the closing We Are Alive.

All told this is a rock solid Springsteen record.  I can't wait to hear this on vinyl when it is released next week.   It will be interesting to see how these songs are transformed on the tour as the album is pretty much a solo record as it stands.

No question that this gets the OldRockr1 Seal Of Approval.  I only wish that the sax solo on Land Of Hope & Dreams the last we will hear from Clarence...the Big Man will be missed.

UPDATE: Still loving it and Rocky Ground is fast becoming a favorite. This one is right up there with the classics.

New Springsteen Leaked Today

So the new Springsteen album Wrecking Ball leaked today.  I have to admit some trepidation about hearing it.  I did not really like much of Working On A Dream which was tough for me as I am, and have been since I was a kid, a huge fan.  So I am listening and I have to tell you I am liking what I am hearing.  There has been a lot written about drum loops and such but it not really that pronounced to me.  Wrecking Ball, so far at least, is closer to We Shall Overcome in sound than one would expect.  I'm only half way through but I am kind of digging it on first listen.  There's even a pretty tasty guitar solo on Jack of All Trades.

Full review to follow at the end of the week after I play it a few dozen times.

R.I.P. Clarence "Big Man" Clemons

I never met Clarence Clemons.  I have been a fan for almost 35 years, I own everything that Bruce & the boys have ever released.  I have all the bootlegs, videos, etc. but I never met any of them.  That's OK.  The mythology of the band is my point of familiarity.  I feel like I have known them my whole life.  In fact, these records have provided the soundtrack for most of my life since high school.  A part of that soundtrack is now gone from my future, but never from my past.

Clarence was a monster sax player. You just need to be there one time when he steps up to do the solo in Jungleland to understand that.  But he was so much more than that to the band.  He was the foil for Bruce.  The King to his Boss.  He was the soul to go with Bruce's heart.

I can't thank you enough Clarence for all the music, all the joy you gave me.  If you don't understand you had to be there one October night in 2007 at MSG.  Bruce introduces the next song for Peter Boyle who had just passed and the band launched into Meeting Across the River which of course moved into Jungleland.  Pure Magic.  People who were complete strangers were all hugging and singing along.  Truly magical.  That was one moment for me and there were many more.

As my musical heroes get older they are beginning to pass to their next gig.  We all are getting up there and I miss so many that are gone.  Clarence you were the shocker...a big part of my soundtrack is gone.  Rest in Peace and God Bless Big Man.

Bruce Springsten The River Tour 1980-81

There are only 3 or 4 known soundboards from The River Tour as far as I know. I have two of them and while both are good, one is amazing. First up is the great performance/OK sound show from November 5, 1980 in Tempe, Az.

The second is the legendary NYE show from the Nassau Coliseum. Just download it...

I don't know the source and there are some problems with cut songs and fades on this one but the sound is absolutely fucking amazing. It is the 12-31-80 show and it is two discs so it is incomplete but well worth the download for the sound quality. You can grab it here.

Bruce Springsteen 1975

Big time, long time Bruce fan here so I figured I would post up some of  my favorite ROIO's from the Boss.  I'm going to try to hit a bunch of years/tours one at a time and give you all my idea of the cream of the crop.  So here goes nothing with 1975.

The Main Point 2-5-75

Part 1   Part 2

The Bottom Line  8-15-75
This is the complete broadcast.

Get it here.

And last but not least one of the most amazing boots I have ever heard...
Bruce Springsteen
and the E Street Band
December 31, 1975
Tower Theatre
Philadelphia (Upper Darby), PA

Uber Series: Vol 33

Generous/Mysterious Uber --> CDR --> EAC --> FLAC Frontend

At first blush, this tape might seem a bit ho hum as a complete
soundboard recording of the 12/31/75 show has been in circulation
for years (as are other nights from the same stand). But make no
mistake, you have never heard this before.

The previously circulating soundboard (generally attributed to be
sourced from the late, great Ed Sciaky) was recorded live to
two-track, likely on cassette or perhaps reel, and it sounds a lot
like other '75 board sources. But it turns out a multi-track
recording was also made on 12/31/75, and in early 1976 those
multi-tracks were mixed down to stereo for consideration of a live
album that never happened.

These nine songs are taken directly from the 1976 production reels
of those mixes and offer what is arguably the finest live recording
of the era. Undoubtedly, the official Hammersmith release sounds
great, but it was mixed in 2005, not 1976. If you thought
Springsteen was in your living room on the WGOE session, the entire
E Street Band is there this time.

Track Listing
1. Night
2. 10th Avenue Freezeout (slow)
3. Spirit in the Night
4. Does This Bus Stop at 82nd Street?
5. It's My Life
6. Pretty Flamingo
7. It's Hard to be a Saint in the City
8. Mountain of Love
9. Jungleland

 Grab this classic here.

Hope you enjoy these shows.  More to come in the near future.

I've Had This Conversation Before...Several Times

2010 - A Great Year for Music

I was talking to one of my friends down at Looney Tunes the other day and I was saying what a good year it was for music, maybe not the popular hit crap, but music in general.  John went so far as to say that the past few years have made the past decade one of the best ever.  Being an Oldrockr from back in the day I don't know if I can go that far, but these past years have seen some great music being released, predominantly by independent labels and artists.

I love putting together these year end lists.  Like any true music geek I am constantly arranging lists in my mind.  Those characters in Hi Fidelity are just composites of all of us and our idiosyncrasies.  We organize and we make lists.  So here goes my year end Best of 2010 list.  These are in no particular order but all have become staples on the turntable or in my iPod.  Sorry record labels I don't even want CD's anymore.  So for better or worse  here we go....

Joe Pug - Messenger
A great album of modern folk by one of the up and coming young singer songwriters.  He reminds me a bit of Bob Dylan in the vocal department but there are worse comparisons that one can make. I've been playing this quite often lately   Not So Sure, The Sharpest Crown and Bury Me Far (From My Uniform) are several standouts among many.

Mumford & Sons - Sigh No More
Young English guys pick up assorted Americana instruments and make a great big wonderful sound. The album sounds so familiar and at the same time fresh and exciting.  Little Lion Man may be the "hit" but the rest of the album, especially Caves, is just as good.  Banjos, mandolins, and acoustic guitars haven't sounded this good in years.

The Gaslight Anthem - American Slang
The older I get the more bored I am by the Rock & Roll that is being released.  These boys from Jersey have made a classic.  A great album to crank up in the car from start to finish.  I hear the Springsteen influences (a good thing) but this is so much more.  I can't recommend it enough.  

Mat D. - Plank Road Drag
The internet has become the place for me to find new music.  I saw a video of Mat D singing Forty Watt Moon (one of favorite songs of the year) on another blog and immediately tracked down this album.  I think it was $1.88 on Aimie Street (I miss this site) and I would easily pay 10 times that.  A great, great record.

The SteelDrivers - Reckless

This is not only the best bluegrass release of 2010, it might be the best album of the year.  You can check my review out here.

The Fox Hunt - Long Way To Go
The Infamous Stringdusters - Things That Fly
Modern bluegrass has stretched the genre far beyond the traditional sounds.  This may piss off the traditionalists but it works so well for me.  I hope to see both of these acts at Grey Fox in July!

Otis Gibbs - Joe Hill's Ashes
For the second year in a row Otis Gibbs lands on my year end best of list.  Think Billy Bragg if he came from the midwest.

Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings - I Learned The Hard Way
Real soul music that sounds just like it should.  A fine update for a genre that doesn't often fire me up.  This one does.

Randy Rogers Band - Burning the Day
The best country music isn't coming out of Nashville folks.  Texas is a might fine place to start looking for some quality country and the Randy Rogers Band delivers the goods once again.

Peter Wolf - Midnight Souvenirs
If this was only a 45 with the excellent Tragedy (featuring Shelby Lynne) it would be on this list.  Lucky for you and me it is so much more than that.  An excellent album by an oft overlooked talent.

Mavis Staples - You Are Not Alone
Working with alt-country pioneer and Wilco front man Jeff Tweedy, Mavis Staples makes on of the best recordings of her career.  A unique voice and true talent.

Black Country Communion - Black Country Communion
All the excess of the 70's hard rock scene which in this case is a good thing.  Killer guitars, pounding drums and some great vocals.  I hate me for liking it but I can't help myself.

Kid Rock - Born Free
Kid Rock finally ditches his old persona and releases his inner Bob Seger.  Pure 70's retro good time music.  I love it.  Hipsters need not apply.  As for me I'll be playing this one all summer long...

Bruce Springsteen - The Promise
Bruce released the right album in 1978.  Darkness on the Edge of Town is his best work.  Period.  That said most artists would kill to release this much good music in the career.  And these are leftovers!  Buy the box set, it's worth it.


Best release of new versions of old songs:  The Black Crowes - Croweology
Best Concert: Sam Bush (BB Kings) and The Subdudes (BB Kings) a tie!
Best Box Set:  Bruce Springsteen - The Promise: The Darkness on the Edge of Town Story
Best Reissue:  The Rolling Stones - Exile on Main Street

Here's to a Happy and Healthy 2011 that brings us all more great music!