Heartbeat
First off, courtesty of Public Frog, this sideshow clip of a juggler covering part of the long track on the side 2 (obsolete technology reference) of Abbey Road: The Flying Beatle Brother
What I'd really like to see is this guy working with Miles' On the Corner, which I was listening to last week. After reading Stanley Grouch's [sic] essay on Miles in Slate this week, you'd think that someone was beating Miles with a crazy stick starting some time in 1964. While I can't say that I'll keep this one in regular rotation (unlike the Complete Jack Johnson sessions, for example), the work on this one - with folks like Jack deJohnette, Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, John McLaughlin, and ahead of the curve producer Teo Macero - is not to be belittled. It flows from an inexhaustible imagination coupled with an indomitable will and extraordinary musicality. Scorn it at your peril!
Recent listening has included a revisiting of Eric Clapton's Layla, the sole output of Derek and the Dominos. This time, beyond enjoying Clapton's most powerfully emotional work and the great slide support from Duane Allman, I really got into the drumming of Jim Gordon (no relation). Gordon, a stellar session drummer, plays with power and precision. I did a little reading up on him, and discovered that he's still alive in a California state mental institution, having been sentenced to life in 1986 for murdering his mother. Jim, apparently, was always on the schizoid side - and no, that's not true of all drummers....Meanwhile, catch him on this and many other albums. This time around, on past "Layla" and "Bell Bottom Blues" and "Little Wing", I was caught up with "Anyday", "Why Does Love Got To Be So Sad?", and the fine rendition of the classic "Key to the Highway". Some rock albums are essential for a reason; this one is essential for a whole bunch of them. Did I mention Bobby Whitlock?
I've also been listening to the Buddy Holly Collection, a double set of about 50 tracks by the late great. I've always been of the opinion that the biggest loss in the Miss American Pie crash - not to belittle the Big Bopper or Richie Valens - was Buddy Holly (Dion missed the plane). He was a star who had by no means reached his peak, and this collection shows his talents in depth. Just consider some of his hits like "Maybe Baby" or "Peggy Sue" or "Not Fade Away" or "Heartbeat" or "Everyday". There's a stylistic range coupled with strong and intuitive hooks, all powered by his handle on the teen zeitgeist - and he died so young. There are some artists who die at or after their peak; losses, but you shake your head and move on. And then there are some who leave you wanting so much more and wondering what they would have produced - people like Charlie Parker or Jimi Hendrix or John Coltrane or Sam Cooke or John Lennon or Janis Joplin or, and for me especially or, Buddy Holly.
What I'd really like to see is this guy working with Miles' On the Corner, which I was listening to last week. After reading Stanley Grouch's [sic] essay on Miles in Slate this week, you'd think that someone was beating Miles with a crazy stick starting some time in 1964. While I can't say that I'll keep this one in regular rotation (unlike the Complete Jack Johnson sessions, for example), the work on this one - with folks like Jack deJohnette, Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, John McLaughlin, and ahead of the curve producer Teo Macero - is not to be belittled. It flows from an inexhaustible imagination coupled with an indomitable will and extraordinary musicality. Scorn it at your peril!
Recent listening has included a revisiting of Eric Clapton's Layla, the sole output of Derek and the Dominos. This time, beyond enjoying Clapton's most powerfully emotional work and the great slide support from Duane Allman, I really got into the drumming of Jim Gordon (no relation). Gordon, a stellar session drummer, plays with power and precision. I did a little reading up on him, and discovered that he's still alive in a California state mental institution, having been sentenced to life in 1986 for murdering his mother. Jim, apparently, was always on the schizoid side - and no, that's not true of all drummers....Meanwhile, catch him on this and many other albums. This time around, on past "Layla" and "Bell Bottom Blues" and "Little Wing", I was caught up with "Anyday", "Why Does Love Got To Be So Sad?", and the fine rendition of the classic "Key to the Highway". Some rock albums are essential for a reason; this one is essential for a whole bunch of them. Did I mention Bobby Whitlock?
I've also been listening to the Buddy Holly Collection, a double set of about 50 tracks by the late great. I've always been of the opinion that the biggest loss in the Miss American Pie crash - not to belittle the Big Bopper or Richie Valens - was Buddy Holly (Dion missed the plane). He was a star who had by no means reached his peak, and this collection shows his talents in depth. Just consider some of his hits like "Maybe Baby" or "Peggy Sue" or "Not Fade Away" or "Heartbeat" or "Everyday". There's a stylistic range coupled with strong and intuitive hooks, all powered by his handle on the teen zeitgeist - and he died so young. There are some artists who die at or after their peak; losses, but you shake your head and move on. And then there are some who leave you wanting so much more and wondering what they would have produced - people like Charlie Parker or Jimi Hendrix or John Coltrane or Sam Cooke or John Lennon or Janis Joplin or, and for me especially or, Buddy Holly.
posted by DJStan at 6:45 PM
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