Wednesday, June 27, 2007

#4 of 13 Crowes DVDs you should own: El Gordo's Grugahalle DVD











The Black Crowes
15 November 1996 - Grugahalle - Essen, Germany [ EUR ]

S E T L I S T »

One Mirror Too Many
Bring On, Bring On
Evil Eye
Shake Your Money Maker
Ballad In Urgency ->
Wiser Time
Thick N' Thin
Nonfiction
She Gave Good Sunflower
Chevrolet
High Head Blues
Stare It Cold
Good Friday
Hard To Handle

S H O W L E N G T H:
90 minutes

Version: El Gordo Production
Tracklisting: Complete
Menus: Title & Song Selection
Authoring: PC
Video Quality: VG, multi-cam pro shot, from master VHS
Audio Quality: VG, from DAT audio
Notes: PAL format.


By some stroke of luck, all three of the Black Crowes’ late 1996 European performances (if you call the Bullet Sound Studios a “performance” – I do) we caught on video – and two of the three were pro-shot. Of them, this DVD gets the nod above the others.

This debut of the Three Snakes and One Charm tour in Europe is a harbinger of what was to come weeks later in early 1997. Right out of the gate, you get the one-two-Three Snakes punch of One Mirror, Bring On, and Evil Eye. All are relatively tight (in a good way), with Bring On soaring, even without the jam. While the Crowes pack 14 songs into 90 minutes, the performance doesn’t suffer.

The setlist continues with four of the strongest tracks from Amorica (Ballad > Wiser, Nonfiction, Sunflower, HHB) interspersed with the era-appropriate cover and a track from SYMM. The highlights here are the Ballad outro jam, which seems to feature more pronounced Marc/Rich interplay than other versions I have heard, the Nonfiction outro, which gives everyone in the audience a taste of what’s in store for February, and a searing HHB outro that everyone, especially Ed, just rips up.

Production-wise, El Gordo did an outstanding job. The master VHS footage is paired with a great DAUD recording that’s nearly SBD quality. The menus look great and visually reference the TSAOC packaging, and the menu transitions are unique for a Crowes bootleg DVD. I believe this was one of, if not the, first Crowes DVDs he put out, and he definitely threw down a marker with this one. A great piece of production befitting a great piece of footage and Crowes history at number 4 on the list.

Friday, June 22, 2007

Random Album Review #2: Television - Marquee Moon

Something about this album fits my day. The guy shows up at the door asking for a job. As I am responding, his phone rings, he answers it and start's talking! I said, "Look man, you get either me or the phone." He told me to hold on. I closed the door and went back up stairs.

People are very strange, absurd sometimes.

Listening to Marquee Moon provides me with a perfect back drop for the strange and almost storied way that life can come at you. It can be really out there and just make for great entertainment. Anyway, on to the review.

Television emerged from New York's chaotic scene of the mid-'70s. The group is sometimes mislabel a punk band. That's not really correct. Its a tight rock outfit that paves the way for a large amount of inferior 80s stylings - think the best and tightest moments of the Talking HEad's Cure and maybe even a dash of Oingo Boingo mixed with dueling guitar prowess that is rarely paralleled outside of peak era Allmann's (or for Crowes fans, those rhythmic jams that Rich and Marc occassionally groove into - not full of solos, but rather all about interplay), add in Velvet Underground attitude and a dash of Big Star pop sensibility. Imagine all of that distilled into a perfectly organized and very complex sonic attack that never goes where you expect it and you've got an idea what Television sounds like.

Television was guitarist/vocalist Tom Verlaine, guitarist Richard Lloyd, drummer Billy Ficca, and bassist Richard Hell. By 1974 their fan base was large enough that they began to play regular gigs at CBGB's. In 1975 Television recorded a demo with Brian Eno, that failed to get the band a contract. Hell left the band after recording the demo, and was replaced by Fred Smith. After a hit underground single, the band released a Bit EP in 1976. They then began recording their debut album, Marquee Moon, which was released in 1977.

Television released their second album, Adventure, in the spring of 1978. Months later, the group suddenly broke up, largely due to tensions between the two guitarists. Smith rejoined Blondie, while Verlaine and Lloyd both pursued solo careers. Television re-formed 1991, disbanded again in early 1993 and in 2001, reunited once again to play sporadic dates.

OK, that's the basic background, now to the music.

Marquee Moon has no bad songs. Actually, let me rephrase that. Every song on Marquee Moon is perfect.

1 See No Evil 3:58
2 Venus 3:54
3 Friction 4:45
4 Marquee Moon 10:47
5 Elevation 5:10
6 Guiding Light 5:37
7 Prove It 5:05
8 Torn Curtain 7:01

Its pretty impossible to do a song by song review because each song is unique yet sounds exactly like the previous song. The effect is a collection of perfect singles that collapse into a perfect album. Its like one endless song that constantly and dramatically changes gears if you have the album on repeat you suddenly realize you've listened to the entire album twice, enjoyed every second of it, but never noticed that it started again. The vocals and lyrics reflect a borderline insanity that is more than equally (and paralleled) by the endless guitar lines and interchanges.

The closest I can think of describing how excellent this album is is by comparing it to what might have been if Big Star's album "3rd" hadn't been intentionally ruined by Alex Chilton. Take away the darkness and the anger, take away the slow pain and despare, keep the craziness, keep the clarity, keep the pop, keep the hooks that grab you over and over and over... and (to me at least) you have very similar musical ideolgies - though not necessarily the same sound by any means.

This is guitar music. Its not "jam" music, though its all about the jam. This is the type of guitar music that is offended and insulted by jamband noodling and bluesy riffing. Its deep. Its complex. Its interesting. Its dynamic. Its over the top. Its New York.

Thursday, June 21, 2007

From the Archives: Show Review: New Year's Eve at MSG 12/31/05


http://www.crowesbase.com/tapelisting.cfm?TapeID=1785

Top shelf, incredible show from start to finish...

The MSG show was lost for many fans in the shuffle. It followed arguably the best show of 2005 at Lupos (12/30/05) and had, in comparison, a pedestrian setlist. Those who were there might not remember, but the performances of every song at this show were some of the best the band did from 2005-2006, and its worth noting that every song played at both Lupos and MSG featured significant;y better performances at MSG. A tight show and on my short list for shows that I would hope get released at some point. A great rock show from start to finish.

No Speak No Slave - This has always been one of my favorite Crowes tunes. NSNS is always a great way tro get any show started. The band takes well over a minute to get into this song - it sort of comes out of a swampy slop and eventually clicks together into the classic that it is. Marc's solos/fills throughout are borderline genius/sloppy. It really sounds like he's playing on the edge of cliff, and its never really all that obvious if he hasn't just fallen over. Killer version.

Sting Me - Number Two Slot! Those who complain about a song being played at a certain point of the show simply don't get it. Sting Me on this night is bliss. Every note is perfect. Every solo is outstanding. Every jam is righteous. Oh, and Chris' vocals are phenomenal. A true rock and roll evening at its best... at MSG... on New Year's Eve... what could be better?

Lickin' - Played a few nights before at the first MSG warmup show, this one boggled the minds of every fan... why bring back Lickin'? I can't answer that. This version is probably the best it was ever played (What that means exactly I'm not sure). As someone recently remarked, its not a bad song at all except for the repetitive and awful chorus. The bridge sections are actually pretty cool and I've always somewhat liked the verses... but the chorus is well, more than a bit of a mule. I'll say this, it does rock during the verses and the fact that they played this of all songs on this night certainly ought to convince even the most jaded fan that the Crowes do enjoy playing their own songs... all of them. The song has a somewhat extended outro - similar to, but shorted than, Providence 2001. People want rarities, here's one for you.

Thick N' Thin - When played occassionally, this is one of the most fun songs to hear live. Great on this night. Lots of great keys pepper throughout. Reminds me of a song on Exile... That's a good thing.

Jealous Again - A perfect performance. I'm a fan of this band - its whole catalogue for better or for ill - and I'll tell you, there are shows where the band just gets better and better each song and it doesn't matter if they are playing hits or playing obscure tunes. This was one of those nights. The fills from Rich and Marc are just magical on this tune. Chris's vocals are outstanding throguhout the show and its this song where it really begins to dawn on you that this band is on fire right here, right now. For the record, I really, really love the outro of this song. Beautiful guitars, keys, drums, and of course Chris peppering his shouts and grunts. Not liking this song is as perverse as not liking the sunshine.

Bad Luck Blue Eyes Goodbye - Sometimes its hard to explain how a great song can be a perfect performance that defies all expectations. This is one of my top 5 Crowes songs. Its like Feathers' older brother whose on steroids. Having listened to nearly every show from the era, this is probably the single best version of BLBEG from 2005-2006. Its hard to find an on-night where this isn't a highlight, but this is ridiculous. Exceptional dueling guitar fills over excpetional vocals and keys. Happy ears, happy ears I have.

Soul Singing - The most recent "hit", and I might add, a darn good tune. The question is always: "is there a jam?". Versions without the jam are almost a different song - like Thorn without the jam. Great, but different. Therefore, that's the wrong question. The correct question is: "Is the jam great or not?" Some wander around and get lost, others are solid. This jam is awesome. I think that sometimes the spacey shows produce spacey jams and they can be great, but often they are just spacey. The jams at the rock shows are more structured and sometimes go to incredible heights - these are those "I think they just wrote a new song moments." It begins like its going to be spaced out... Then it hits like thunder. I think the best way I can describe this jam is that it feels like your in a thunderstorm, the guitars begin to sound like rain at some point and then they transition into what just feels like stormy weather. About a 5 minute jam. Rich's tone at the end of the jam is the exact same from Never Forget This Song. Great version of a solid tune.

Space Captain - This is a great version of this 2005-2006 staple - its shortened though since 12:00 was approaching. Ed and the rest of the band really rumble the big stage at MSG. I'm really ahppy the played this as often as they did in 2005-2006. I really enjoyed every version I saw and I always enjoy it when its on a show I'm listening to. The shortened version is a treat here.

"Me thinks somethings about to happen...." The new year is rung in with the entire venue doing a countdown and lots of laughing and wasting of time, then a deliciously jammed out version of Auld Lang Syne played by the band. As a timepiece its great, but its a serious "You had to be there" moment.

Will The Circle Be Unbroken - A whole slew of people (openers, etc) had joined the band to ring in New Years and this is the result of a very messy colaboration. Luther Dickinson, Cody Dickinson, Chris Chew and Trey Anastasio all played on Will The Circle Be Unbroken. Good for them. For my tastes, this is one of those moments where I think: "This is why I hate the jam band scene". Such slop. But hey, it was New Year's Eve, it probably seemed ideal at the time.

Thorn In My Pride - For my money, ther'e no Thorn like a 13 minute Thorn. Not too long, not too short. After a break in the action, we are back to a Black Crowes show. What's most impressive is how fast the band reverts to rock-soild playing after the New Year's "jam" out. Scortching and tight version of this staple.

Break in the show.... I find it interesting that the break in the show was here... but I guess it makes sense. Where do you break up a New Year's Eve show? In any event, the first set was fantastic. The proof is in the pudding. Not "classic" setlist in the sense that Lupos was extremely chock full of rarities, but the songs are flawless versions and the enrgy and musicianship on display is fantastic.

Wiser Time - The second set (a glorious affair) opens with Wiser Time. Rich's backing vocals stand out quite nicely on this version. He's in perfect harmony and his voice is the exact same volume as Chris' - very cool! Oh, and the jam in disgustingly good - really delicous keys by Ed, Marc goes "deep", and Rich slides it on home.

My Morning Song - Its fairly unusual to get both Wiser, MMS, and Thorn all in one show, especially in a row. The jam is very intense and rocked out, a great version of the tune, as they almost always are.

Ten Years Gone - Wow. No Jiimy Page? No problem. Unlike the Crowes Zep tour of 2000, this one is all Crowes and its for the better in my view. I love LZ, but I don't need to see JimmY Page show off with the Crowes. Marc and Rich really nail this one flawlessly. If they ever did a best of for 2005 covers, this probably closes the album out. Fantastic.

Wanton Song - Again, another great Zep tune. Actually this tune rips the roof off! Was Jimmy supposed to show, but didn't? Why did they play two Zep tunes back to back? Those questions remain unanswered and we are left with the music. The Crowes could rotate both of these (and a few of the other Zep tunes) into their catelgue from time to time and I would be happy. Yowza!
Seeing Things - The "Left Coast Horns" joined the Crowes on this and the next tune. Very cool! I really, really dig the occassional horn addition. The Filmore DVD features a great couple of horn additions, as did the Boulder BOAF show. Always a plus because its such a nice treat. For this song it really works well. Great singing! Great horns. Great keys. The horns really turn this intoa a great Soul tune. Love it.

Hard To Handle - Some guy from Phish played on this incredibly long version of this tune. (And don't forget the horns are still playing.) Trey's addition is - to me - like the miriad guest additions to this, SYMM, or Dreams. Its a fine line between a great spontaneous performance a sloppy mess of excessive noodling. Both have happened a lot but it does add a degree of specialness no matter what. That's cool. What matters most is how the song actually comes off. The version of this song from this show SMOKES! The horns are awesome! Awesome!! The solos are really great (horn solos too!), but the horn throughout the song! Great horns! Great way to end a great show... One of the most memorable and best Hard To Handle's.

Twice As Hard & Remedy - Oh, its not over yet. Just the band. These two songs , for me, are both great at the end of the night. Only the "I'm going to cross my arms, stand still, and judge the band all night" crowd doesn't get into this number. Have fun. Enjoy some of the greatest Crowes tunes - which everyone loves - and rock out at the end of the night! Stellar versions - but you already know it before they play it, its one of those nights.

Street Fighting Man (encore) - Significantly improved over the night before. This really was outstanding just to hear the night before, but in terms of performance it was a bit sloppy. Totaslly cleaned up for MSG and really one of the best songs of the night. They brought it all night and brought it home with skill, finesse and raw power. Great show. Great encore. As a Stones fan, it is so fitting to close a show at MSG with SFM. Thanks so much!!

I think its hard to pick a highlight from the second set. Bad Luck Blue Eyes is the obvious standout from the first set, but both Zep songs, the songs with the Left Coast Horns and Street Fighting Man were all outstanding.

Monday, June 18, 2007

random album review #1...
album: Neil Young
artist: Neil Young
released: January, 1969


The Emperor of Wyoming
The Loner
If I Could Have Her Tonight
I've Been Waiting For You
The Old Laughing Lady
String Quartet From Whiskey Boot Hill
Here We Are In The Years
What Did You Do To My Life?
I've Loved Her So Long
The Last Trip To Tulsa
_________________

This is one of the most underrated albums by a major recording artist. Neil has a lot going on here on his first time out on his own. Anybody who has read the epic "Shakey" knows he essentially was "on his own" by the time Buffalo Springfield were recording their second album, Buffalo Springfield Again. By then, Neil was recording Expecting To Fly with Jack Nitzche and without any other members of the band.

This is a transition album of epic proportions. On the one hand, there are songs that sound like they could have appeared on the last Buffalo Springfield album Last Time Around, specifically If I Could Have Her Tonight, Here We Are In The Years, I've Been Waiting For You and What Did You Do To My Life. Heavy fuzzed and phased electric guitars, in the 1967-1968 Buffalo Springfield style. On the other hand, there are songs that form the cornerstone of Neil's 'new'-at-the-time sound; The Loner, The Old Laughing Lady, I've Loved Her So Long. These contrasting styles of his own signature grungy electric sound established clearly on The Loner and his spare, acoustic style exemplified by The Old Laughing Lady put Neil Young firmly on his own original ground. With The Loner, he broke away from the fuzz-phased electric signature sound established and (over) used by his partner in crime Stephen Stills during their stint in Buffalo Springfield. The electric guitar in Buffalo Springfield's Bluebird is the ultimate example of that tone and overall sound - Rock And Roll Woman, Questions and Special Care are also worth mentioning for the best of that guitar sound. With The Loner, he established the sound he would explore with incredible, almost feverish supernatural results on Cinnamon Girl, When You Dance I Can Really Love, Down By The River and Southern Man.

And then there is the other signature sound - soft, spare and profound. The blueprint songs on this album, The Old Laughing Lady and I've Loved Her So Long would lead - almost instantly, within months - to masterpieces such as Helpless, I Believe In You, Only Love Can Break Your Heart, Tell Me Why, Birds, Don't Let It Bring You Down and After The Gold Rush. To top it all off, there's also the nine and a half minute closing song, the trippy acoustic adventure known as Last Trip To Tulsa, which has got to be the penultimate Neil stream of consciousness song - other than, of course, the beloved metaphorical Will To Love. After not hearing that album in its entirety in several years, I have to say that was a fun listening experience...I think it is time to put on After The Gold Rush.

Sunday, June 17, 2007

Reports from the archives...
August 2, 1997 - Shoreline Amphitheatre, Mountain View, CA



Wiser Time ->
Share The Ride ->
Another Roadside Tragedy
Sister Luck
Boomer's Story
Come On Baby, Let's Go Downtown
Nonfiction -> Jam ->
Hard To Handle

http://www.crowesbase.com/tapelisting.cfm?TapeID=248

We've all become accustom to Arlo Guthrie's warm introductions for the band on the 1997 Furthur Festival Tour. He always provides the crowd with a slight warning with his common introduction of "we're going to... or it's time to... TURN IT UP with The Black Crowes!" The words "turn it up" is the message in the context of the other artists who played prior to the Crowes set that summer. This tour, instead of being the formal beginning of a new era turned out to be the formal ending to an era. That is an understatement, plain and simple. But on the afternoon of August 2nd, 1997 in Mountain View, California, regardless of what decisions had already been made, regardless of the karmic wheels already set in motion, there would be 2 more evenings of Black Crowes Music, as we knew it from 1992 to 1997, Marc Ford's original stint in the greatest band that ever played music.

After Arlo's introduction; "we're gonna kick it up though, we're gonna do it right now, so fans put your hands together for The Black Crowes", the delicious opening notes of Wiser Time begin to bubble. The band is playing at a supernatural level of interplay on this particular performance of this song and that's about all that needs to be said about this evening's Wiser Time. I will say that it is possible that Chris' vocals were even better in 1997 than they were in 1996. I will also say that's like comparing a really really great orange with a really really, really great orange. After about 6 notes of the Ballad In Urgency coda, the band launches full bore into Share The Ride. It is played in its usual style with an outro "take it easy baby" jam that segues into Another Roadside Tragedy, one of the outstanding new songs that was recorded that May for the unreleased-till-2006 album Band. Out of all of the performances of this new song, this is the one that finds the band struggling on the most. As the outro begins, Marc Ford is having some difficulty getting it on and as a result, the tempo slows (and the tempo is already slow at this point in the song) and you can hear what is the result of musical gears grinding. After a few more bars, they start to lift up and increase the pace of the tempo.

Sister Luck is next, and after a couple of flubbed notes from Marc on his intro slide part, he overcompensates with a beautiful series of notes somehow all played within an impossible timeframe but still sounding natural and nicely spaced out. Ridiculous. This is one of the best versions of Sister Luck I have ever heard, period. Next up, with Bruce Hornsby sitting in on accordian(!), is the beloved Boomer's Story. I challenge you to find somebody who doesn't love this song. Challenge, I say! What a beautiful version, given the presence of a finely played accordian, especially Bruce's soloing over the 'never saw the girl again' line, so organic, and well, 97' Crowes-like.

Next up, one of my favorite covers that was debuted in 1997, the Neil Young - Danny Whitten song Come On Baby, Let's Go Downtown. This song was first played by Neil Young & Crazy Horse at The Fillmore East in March of 1970 and was originally released on Crazy Horse's eponomously titled debut album in 1971. It was even more famously released on Neil Young's 1975 album Tonight's The Night. This is a song about buying drugs and in the summer of 1997, if you were in your late teens to mid-20's, chances are you could relate to this one. It seemed at the time that the covers the band were choosing to play were very easy to relate to, and the chances were, if you were really into the music, that you already had the originals at home in your collection. This was one of the best examples of that aesthetic.

Nonfiction, next up, is my favorite Black Crowes song. That is saying a lot already when you consider the amount of babble I've already thrown down regarding a bunch of non-favorite songs. Anyway, this particular performance is one of my favorites. Top 10 Nonfiction list material here. It is played in the full-blown band style, but this one has that 'even-nicer and looser, built-for-Furthur' vibe going. And just when you thought it can't get groovier, Chris ad-libs "I like to dress up like Bruce Hornsby...". Well, being a fan of Mr. Hornsby and the whole Furthur-Crowes-Hornsby-Love-Sit In-Vibe, well, that little ad-lib just gives you a warm and fuzzy feeling about the whole proceedings and the promise it held at the time. Just when you think you are fuzzed out, in steps Dave Ellis, and plays some appropriately breezy (and very fitting) sax, perfectly accompanying Chris singing "you're never very far away". The jam keeps on jamming, led by Marc Ford and Ellis' beautifully intricate intertwining space melodies. Many twists and turns later, the Roland Kirk-esque psychedelic freak jam settles down and suddenly we're all transported to the winter of 1970 at The Fillmore East and the Dead are, I mean, The Black Crowes are slowly cooking up a Hard To Handle closer that Pigpen would have been proud to have sung on. All too soon, just like every summer Furthur night in 1997, it was over. 24 hours later, it would be even more over. Nearly ten years gone and it still seems like it just happened. Such are the power of memories of ideal times.

Friday, June 15, 2007

Reports from the archives...
November 11, 1996 - The Boathouse, Norfolk, VA



Wiser Time ->
Ballad In Urgency
Bring On, Bring On Jam -> Bring On, Bring On
P.25 London
Tied Up And Swallowed
Girl From A Pawnshop
Hotel Illness
Sting Me (Slow)
Girl From The North Country
Under A Mountain
Somebody's On Your Case
Feathers
High Head Blues -> Jam
Blackberry
- encore -
Nonfiction -> Jam
Happy
Jealous Again

http://www.crowesbase.com/tapelisting.cfm?TapeID=338

Who knew that this Monday night show in Norfolk, VA would be the only one from the 1996 North American Tour that did not make it into the hands of traders, tapers and collectors? While there may be other shows from this fabled tour that are of poor quality (10/20/1996 Montreal) or required remastering to improve subpar sound (10/13/1996 Cleveland), one would say this show is special simply due to its absence. But that would be selling this particular performance short. Each show from this tour is special in its own way, but this one is outstanding. When this show eventually becomes available to fans (sourced from the digital soundboard master tape), I think this show will fast become a favorite. The sound quality of this show (and others) will be familiar to the ears of fans who have heard the 12/13/1996 Pantages Theatre show on The Black Crowes Online Radio. As we work on the archives this summer in preparation to make more music available, I will try to provide some reports on the more interesting contents.

The excellent setlist always drove me crazy due to the total unavailability of the show, despite CIA-level global searches for it. 6 songs from Tall, 4 from Three Snakes And One Charm, 2 from The Southern Harmony And Musical Companion, 1 from Amorica (5 if you want to get technical), 1 from Shake Your Moneymaker and 3 outstanding covers. This is a show full of gems:

In what appeared to be a mini-tradition on the tour, the beloved Theme From Monday Night Football plays over the PA to kick off the events of what is to be a heavy evening, which is a description that could be used to describe the previous two Monday evenings (Providence and Wallingford) as well. Right out of the gate, the Wiser Time -> Ballad In Urgency opener is extremely tight, confident and boiling over with passionate playing from everybody. The jam in between is a killer. After playing shows almost every day for nearly 8 weeks and due to leave in a couple days for a short European trek, the band was certainly peaking at this point in the tour - and it shows.

I was hoping for it, and seemingly living up to my own personal mythology around the show, they perform the beautiful, slow extended intro to Bring On, Bring On, a slightly heavier sounding variation on the intro jam played at the Supper Club on July 23, 1996. In an act of organic perfection, the jam segues into one of my 3 favorite songs from Three Snakes And One Charm. This is an amazing performance of Bring On, Bring On.

Some nights have a more quicksilver sequencing than others, but this setlist is like a perfect storm. If nature itself created the setlists for the band, it seems, well, natural that the next two songs in the set, P.25 London and Tied Up And Swallowed would be played back to back. 'A funky combination' would be a good way of understating (and undermining) the sonic lashing of an experience provided by the combined snarl of Marc and Rich's interplay on that pair of songs that Monday evening.

This show is one of three occasions when the band played both 'girls' (North Country and Pawnshop) in the same show. First up on this evening was Girl From A Pawnshop, which starts off a little rough due to a couple of decidedly out of tune strings. After 20 seconds, they shake that off and begin taking the song and the audience to the usual heights. The 'P.S. all my love' ending does not fail to deliver, as usual. Hotel Illness is next and without harmonica, as was the practice on this tour. Great performance of a great song, 'nuff said.

For over 10 years, only people who attended the show knew that Sting Me was played Slow that night. This organ heavy version is a real treat and some lyric miscues on the backing vocals during the first verse lead to Chris doing some fun overenunciation of the lines in the second verse, assuring no additional lyric miscues from Rich, Marc and Johnny. It's a fun performance.

Girl From The North Country, which was a new cover that Fall, is performed for the seventh time on this evening. Chris and Rich experience some vocal miscues near the tail end of the song, but all in all this is one of the better performances of this great song from the tour. Under A Mountain is standard greatness, featuring the typical monster presence of Eddie. This song features what is simply one of the best organ introductions ever.

Somebody's On Your Case, a cover recorded for a Three Snakes b-side and in regular rotation in the sets that fall is up next. Tight and funky, wah-driven playing with Chris delivering the energetic vocals that the lyric demands. Listening to Rich and Marc's interplay is an addicting habit to say the least. Considering his drumming is perfect throughout the show, Steve's work on this number stands out.

The performance of Feathers is a slow-burning study in the sound of evil, with some added effect-driven forboding sounds by guitar scientist Marc Ford anchored by the scarier-than-usual tone of Rich's ominous groove. Once again, Steve owns space and time, has Johnny locked in perfectly and Chris' vocals on this are compelling, to say the least.

The outro of High Head Blues grooves as good as it smoked the previous Monday night in Providence. The performances of this song on the tour are essentially fantastic across the board. All of the outros are worth hearing due to the fork in the jam, or fork in the road, or whatever it is where they decide to either continue and speed it up psychedelic style (like 11/4/1996) or go for the psychedelic reggae breakdown jam (like 12/14/1996). This version is around the time they were beginning to experiment with the psychedelic reggae jam.
A crisply played Blackberry closes out the set as it did the previous Monday evening.

The encores in 1996 could be anything from 2 to 5 songs. This one is the 3 song model and the
sequence reminds me of the previous Monday evening show I attended in Providence which ended with a similar encore (Nonfiction, Silver Train, Remedy). First of all, the Nonfiction outro occurs entirely in outer space., with Rich and Marc tinkering around with the controls to the heart of the sun. Then, like with Silver Train the week before, they completely change the mood with an uptempo Stones cover. They just flat out nail Happy here. Chris, Rich and Marc all hit their vocals and the playing is inspired. Who doesn't love covers from Exile on Main Street?

Jealous Again is a great closer, and I'm a fan of this song, definitely one of the three I would have wanted to hear from the first album, and given they only played one song from it, this was a great pick to end a great show. This show is just another reason why fans can never seem to stop talking about and listening to live Black Crowes from the Fall of 1996.

Obscured by Pink Floyd


I'm a big fan of Pink Floyd. Fans of the band will know all of thier songs, but this post is mainly for those who aren't all that familiar with Floyd. Here's a few tunes to check out that are a bit off the Dark Side of Wish You Were the Moon.

Wot's...Uh the Deal - gorgeous tune, accoustic arrnegment featuring multitracks of David Gilmore singing - killer harmonies the guy can sing with himslef. The song was released on
Obscured By Clouds and sadly was never performed live by the band - Gilmore played it in 2006. When I went to Pompie on my honeymoon, we visited the ampitheatre where the famous Live at Pompie show took place. This song accompanies the Pompie portion of the photo journey on my honeymoon DVD - to give an idea of what a lovely song it is.

Cymbaline - the orignal name of the song was "Nightmare" which adequately refects the tenor of the lyrics. I've always thought it was (re)named after the king Cymbeline (note the different spelling) in the somewhat obscure Shakespeare play of the same name - I know the play and the song, and the play adequately portrays a nightmare series of events in the life of the king and his family - loose connection maybe, but there's not lots of Cymbelines or Cymbalines out there. In any event, the song is dark, borrding and beautiful (Crowes fans may recall Blue Floyd's version of this great tune). Its available on More.

Embryo/The Embyo - Classic, early, concert staple (usually 10-12 minutes) - it was played at every show from February 11, 1970, to November 20, 1971. The (significantly shorter 4 minutes) studio version appeared on Works. The "whalesong effect" so familiar from Echoes originated in Embryo, it (the effect) was retired from the song after echoes was released. In any event, both versions are worth seeking out. The short studio cut is early and somwhat simple, but still very cool. The live track is illustrative of 1970-1972 Floyd shows.

Alan's Psychadelic Breakfast - I'm the only person I know who really digs this tune, so take this song with a grain of salt. The song closes out Atom Heart Mother and had a classic effect that has sadly been lost on CD... on the vinyl, the dripping tap at the end of the song is cut into the run-off groove, so it plays on infinitely until the listener removes the needly from the record, an on the CD , the dripping continues for approximately 17 seconds after all other sounds have ceased. Weren't records cool! Anyway, the song has three killer instrumentals that pierce into the omontany of Alan (a roadie for the band) talking about the breakfast he is making, other breakfasts he had had, all the while making breakfast (bacon and eggs cooking permate the song). I love the instrumentals and I recommend giving this tune a few listens. Fun stuff.

Pigs On The Wing (complete version) - This song is the bookend of my favorite Floyd Album "Animals". The only beatiful song about love surrounds three songs devoted to different types of people (all of them falwed and highly problematic (sheep, dogs, and pigs - imagine calling someone a pig or a sheep or a dog and you get the idea of those three songs). Pigs On The Wing surrounds that nonsense and its been said that the idea is to focus on companionship rather than the flaws in people, or likewise that companionship will overcome the flaws we all have. I buy it. Anyway, the 8-track version of Animals featured an alternate version of Pigs on The Wing. The two parts were looped together with a great guitar solo bridge (the solo is played by Snowey White, not David Gilmore) On the 1977 tour, Snowy played the guitar solo at the end of part 2, while Gilmore played electric rhythm guitar (on the last US leg of that tour Gimore bass guitar instead). Its worth seeking out the complete version. The song obviously looses some meaning removed from the context of Animals, but so what. Its a great song in its own right and makes a nice addition to the mellow Floyd catalogue.

Anyway, those are a few of my favorite, somewhat obscure Floyd tunes to check out.




Slooooooooow Sting Me....


Released as a B-side and later a bonus track, the slow version of Sting Me was played a grand total of 17 times - once in 1992 and 16 times between 1996 and 1997. This is one of those songs (those holy grail songs) that many die-hard fans salivate over when they come to see the band live. This was one of those tunes that was constantly on the wishlist to return to the set in 2005 and 2006 - unfortunately, it did not. What will 2007 bring? Perhaps the return of slow Sting Me.

Trujillo, of course, in German means...


This is the tail end of a 13-part series of posts on the old amorica.org and the current blackcrowes.net message boards: my attempt to detail 13 must-have Black Crowes bootleg DVDs. I'll cross-post the top 5 here and then do a roundup with all 13 and the honorable mentions.


#5:: 5/24/95, Civic Theater, San Diego, CA; Acoustiking DVD Productions

http://crowesbase.com/tapelisting.cfm?TapeID=471

The Black Crowes
24 May 1995 - Civic Theater - San Diego, CA [ USA ]

S E T L I S T »

Sometimes Salvation
Jam -> Black Moon Creeping
A Conspiracy
Exit
Twice As Hard
Halfway To Everywhere Jam -> My Morning Song
Ballad In Urgency ->
Wiser Time
Stare It Cold
Hotel Illness
Hard To Handle
No Speak No Slave
- encore -
She Talks To Angels
Ooh Las Vegas
Remedy

Version: Acoustiking DVD Productions
Tracklisting: Complete
Menus: Title & Song Selection
Authoring: PC
Video Quality: Good, AUD shot from Marc side balcony, low gen
Audio Quality: Good, from alternative audio source
Notes: DVD created with 1g VHS footage and 1g DAT audio.


The Black Crowes, in full 1995 swing, Chris Trujillo in tow, blew the roof off the dump that is the San Diego Civic Theater. And we get to watch, courtesy of this DVD. Taken from first gen VHS footage with the camera on a tripod in the balcony, this very nicely shot video is synced with a very pleasing DAT audio source for your viewing and listening pleasure.

The performance is vintage 1995 -- everyone's rocking in the right places with plenty of energy, and taking their time when jamming it out. Witness the debut of the Halfway to Everywhere Jam, which builds from bits and pieces into an even more psychedelic take on an already funky riff, until it turns into a hard-driving jam and then winds down into MMS.

You can't ask for much more from a 1995 setlist, either. In addition to the Halfway Jam debut (hell, it was the debut of Halfway, period), we get one of the last Exits ever performed, a Sometimes Salvation opener, the second performance of Ooh Las Vegas, plus an Ed-heavy Ballad > Wiser.

The guy running the camera knew what he was doing. The usual wide full-band shots and Chris close-ups, but spotlights on the right people during the solos and more judicious parts.

One of the things I really enjoy about the DVDs are the little things you see during a show that you'd never catch unless you were watching, rather than just listening. This show features one of my all-time favorite running themes, which I believe was exclusive to 1995 shows: Chris' own little private random percussion station. Situated between Steve's and Trujillo's kits, it seems like something the band decided to give Chris to keep him busy during the jams. "Here Chris, go play with this maraca and cowbell until we finish up this jam." I can only imagine how Trujillo felt after being brought in to beef up the sound, to see this skinny white boy flailing around on the cymbals...

Anyway, spectacular performance + outstanding setlist + great, low-gen footage + sync + unintentional comedy/percussion stylings of CRob = #5.

Thursday, June 14, 2007

Rolling Stones 1973 Tour Poster



I think this speaks for itself. Not my favorite - even for the Stones - but one of the fuinniest I've seen.



Through The Lonely Nights

I've never really had an idea how many people are familiar with the Rolling Stones song, Through The Lonely Nights. It was the B-side of Its Only Rock N' Roll and was not released on CD until last year when it finally surfaced on the Rarities CD (Great CD for the record).

Its the song that, for me, brings together all of the mid to late 1970s Stones music. Its quiet, beautiful, and kind of sad. I think that sort of sums up what really was going on with the Stones. They had the whole party rocker things going on, but there was a side that was more honest, more real, and often it was not so uplifting or rocked out. In the context of this song, a song like Think I'm Going Mad or even all of Emotiona Rescue makes a little more sense.

In any event, I highly recommend this tune to all who have never heard it and to those who have it, but not on CD, pick up Rarities - some good stuff on there.

Through the lonely nights I think of you
Through the lonely hours I dream of you
I don't no why I do it, but I do
Why do you take it, what's wrong with you?

Through the lonely weekends I'm far from you
Why you're coming on, like you're supposed to do, yes
Oh, but you know me so well,
And your time ain't so hard to sell.

Every time I see ya
Every time I see ya
Every time I see ya
Every time I see you

In your cherry dresses and your shiny shoes
In a doorway on some neon avenue
Making the lonely pay for me
Why don't we set each other free.

When did I mislead ya
When did I misread ya
When did I mistreat ya
When did I deceive ya

Oh, I'm stuck out want to cry, cry, cry
Sleep in the doorway, Lord, making a rendezvous
Lord, I'm stuck out baby, want to cry cry cry cry cry cry cry
Lord, babe, I li, li, li, li, li Lord...

Tuesday, June 12, 2007

Grinnin'

One of my favorite Crowes songs is Grinnin'. The history of the song is really interesting. I remember when the Band (1997 Boot) surfaced a few years ago (that was a great day!). There was a song that was called OK By Me on the boot - the song was Grinnin'. That arrangement (not the same take) appeared as Grinnin' on Lost Crowes' Band. Why is it called Grinnin'? The word grinning isn't even in the song.

Take a look at our Crowesbase record for the song...

http://www.crowesbase.com/songlisting.cfm?SongID=71

Grinnin' was an early track in the Tall sessions - as of this moment its not known if it was worked on after the initial rehearsal sessions. Tall session versions of the song have - to put it nicely - a lack of lyrical clarity. The riff was cool. The jam was cool. The lyrics were cool, but very sloppy. The result: the song was retired for a few years. It was played live in 1995 a total of three times - each with different lyrics. Finally, it reappeared during the sessions for Band. The final version of the song didn't even contain the word grinning - early versions did. Yet, the song had been kicked around for so long that the band continued to refer to it as Grinnin' during the sessions until it was finally renamed "Okay By Me". The finished Band album kept OK as the title, but that album was scrapped.

In 2006 a version of Band was released on Lost Crowes. A number of differences can be seen on the album - different song order, different takes of some songs, "louder" mastering, the replacement of Smile and Only A Fool with Peace Anyway, and finally the name of Grinnin' for was restored to OK/Grinnin.

For fans of the Band version of Grinnin', I really recommend seeking out one or all of the live versions that circulate of the 1995 Grinnin'. The live version smokes. For those who aren't all that into the Band version, I think that recommnedation goes double. The arrangement of the original is different. The chorus is more jammy and less orchestrated (if that's the right way of putting it). Both are good, but my nod still goes to the 1995 version - not for the lyrics so much as the arrangment.

http://www.crowesbase.com/songsearch.cfm?SongID=71

http://www.crowesbase.com/songlisting.cfm?SongID=162

Thursday, June 7, 2007

Some thoughts about the Blues

If you are ever in Chicago, check out Kingston Mines and the CheckerBoard #2 Lounge.

I'll never forget Kingston Mines. They have 2 stages and 2 vieing areas that are parallel to each other. One band prepares to play while the other is playing (I think on weekends they sometimes have both stages going at the same time), when the first band is finsihed their set the other band begins.... everyone just moves to the other room. Great Chicago Blues place, and always lots of fun... also they are open quite late (4AM I think, which is late for Chicago - actually its late for me now-a-days).




The Checkerboard #2 Lounge (there is a #1 and a #3) is on the South Side - in the 30s on King I think. Terrible neighborhood so be careful, but its the place where the Stones "happened" to show up and jam with Muddy Waters. They have fantastic Chicago Blues - real South Side stff and great local bands. Make sure you have a ride home though - calling a cab before the place closes is probably best.

I'm a big fan of the Blues. I tend not to like alot of the slicker stuff that has been popular since the 80s - I wonder how much of that is due to SRV's influence? I really dig the 50s and 60s Blues masters the most. A particular favorite of mine is a tune by John Lee Hooker called Stella Mae. I probably haven't really delved into the Blues as much as I would have liked, but I do really recomend checking out live Blues in your area.

More than anything I think its a live event. Lightning Hopkins was famous for making up lyrics to his songs on the spot from his observation of the crowd. Much of what he recorded was quite different from how he played it in the clubs around Houston. His shows had staples, but they were significantly different night after night. I suppose that's sort of like jazz. Jazz is cool live, but I've never really been able to get into the records much.

Wednesday, June 6, 2007

The Never Empty Table


Well my winter was long
As I wait for the thaw
And my wounds have all healed
But my nerves are still raw
Living in my own ghost story
Watching silence statues fall
Defying all category
I will make room for you all

Though my garden gate is broken
And there's cracks in all the walls
Though my table is never empty
I will make room for you all

At the end of the day
When the shadows are long
When there's nothing to say
Because nobody's wrong
Reading meaning into patterns
Pleading vainly with the wall
Even lonely doesn't matter
There is no space left to fall

Though my garden gate is broken
And there's cracks on all the walls
Though my table is never empty
I will make room for you all

Come wanderers come enemies and sufferer kings and lay your coats to dry by the fire
Come heretics, come horse thieves come all wise men of great vision


(Lyircs from http://www.newearthmud.net/mudsongs.cfm?SongID=74)

I recently gave this song (and all of the NEM songs) a spin.

I really liked this song when I first heard it... up until the bridge about horse theives and heretics. The lyrics of that whole section are just too over the top for me, too "lyric poetry" just for the sake of saying those words. I mean seriously, heretics and horsetheives???

Anyway, A few years removed from the initial reaction and I'm able to really appreciate the song - I'm still down on about half of TMD. The song is just a great listen. It'd be a really nice treat to hear the Crowes play this tune, who knows, maybe they could do something with the bridge and jam it out. Check it out if you haven't given it a listen in a while.

A future box set?


Do I think that the Tall Sessions (as a whole) might get released at some point?

Short answer, no. I would hope that some of the demos and solid alternate takes would someday be released, but there's no reason to release most of it. The August 12, 1993 DAT that was leaked is decieving; its a one off session, but the songs like Title Song, BBY, SGGS, and Tied Up And Swallowed were clearly worked on and ready to go. They smoke. In particular, BBY, TS, and TUAS would be on my list of songs to release - ironic since they circulate, but they are all first rate performances and two of those songs are still not known to have been recorded elsewhere.

The "Tall Sessions/Rehearsal" from late 1993 are mostly run throughs and slop until the final arrangements gets worked out. One of the DATs was labeled "TBC roughs" and had the "best of" from the rehearsals. Maybe something like that would be the starting point for a Tall/Amorica sessions release. Maybe the songs like Painkiller and Wind & Wood Heart that don't circulate (yes, a really bad version of Painkiller circulates), but again, what's to prevent the band from revisiting those songs and releasing them later? The Rolling Stones sometimes released songs 20 years after first working on them - its a reference point. I'm not sure what market there is for alternate versions of songs.

There's a handful of people who salivate over that stuff - heck I salivate over versions of songs that are not overbloated with loudness problems - but I think most people don't care. Take "Band" for instance. I've yet to see or read any discussion about the different takes on the official release as compared to the bootleg of the 1997 version. About half of the tracks are different takes but nobody seems to care. I think releasing a funkier version of P. 25 London would just be a waste for most fans. From that era, I'd stick entirely with really fantastic and different alternate takes and completely unreleased songs (officially unreleased).Other stuff, like Pastoral, Nothing Love Everything, Spider, Unlikely Morning, Out West, Tickle Tickle and the rest of the 1996-1998 unreleased catalogue would be more interesting to me. Those years were actually the most productive in the Crowes writing and contain the greatest amount of unreleased gems - almost all of which do not circulate. You could do 2 or 3 albums of unreleased songs that were demo quality from that time period and just call it "Lost Crowes 2".

Recent updates to the Crowesbase

I'm currently adding more information to individual songs, in particular known sessions information.

I've finished Tied Up & Swallowed - http://www.crowesbase.com/songlisting.cfm?SongID=234.

I added a chunk of the 1993 Tall Rehearsal/Session information at Conway Studios. If you search for Conway Studios at Crowesbase you can see what has been added.

I plan to add more information to the Tall sessions over the next week or so....

A good example can bee seen on December 7, 1993 the band recorded a very guitar heavy version of Descending, an acoustic Cursed Diamond, a version of Dirty Hair Halo with rough vocals, a super funky version of P. 25 London with rough vocals, an instrumental of Song Of The Flesh with harp, a cover of Stand Back, and an extended version of Tied Up & Swallowed. The goal is to be able to have a very clear picture of the development of albums, songs and sessions.

Badge updated the Ocean Way Sessions and some of the BYS sessions.

Welcome to the Underground Press

In 2001 I began a Crowes related internet newsletter (basically it was a blog) for Amoricans. I've decided to try reviving it as a place to talk about music since the official board is down. I've kept the name Underground Press from the original newsletter.

Anyway, welcome.