https://exchange.prx.org/pieces/470760-dc-2317
The first two-thirds of this week's show is made up of three sets of three tunes from three different years. I guess you might call it a trio of trios from a trio of years. The last 20 minutes or so, on the other hand, have nothing to do with it at all (but are some pretty cool tracks nonetheless). Put together they make quite the rock 'n' roll stew.
Artist: Traffic
Title: Rock & Roll Stew
Source: CD: Smiling Phases (originally released on LP: The Low Spark Of High Heeled Boys)
Writer(s): Grech/Gordon
Label: Island
Year: 1971
Bassist Ric Grech (Family, Blind Faith) and drummer Jim Gordon (Derek and the Dominos) were only members of Traffic for one album, 1971's The Low Spark Of High Heeled Boys, but their main contribution was a memorable one. Whereas most Traffic songs at this point in time were written by Steve Winwood and Jim Capaldi and sung by Winwood, Rock & Roll Stew, which opens side two of the original LP, is a Grech/Gordon compostion that is sung by Capaldi rather than Winwood. Rock & Roll Stew was also the only single released from the album, and has been included on multiple greatest hits compilations such as Smiling Phases.
Artist: George Harrison & Friends
Title: Something
Source: CD: The Concert For Bangla Desh
Writer(s): George Harrison
Label: Capitol/Apple
Year: 1971
For years, the Beatles' George Harrison had felt that he was not getting the respect he deserved from his bandmates for his songwriting ability. That all changed in 1969 when he introduced them to his latest tune for inclusion on the Abbey Road album. Something impressed everyone who heard it, including John Lennon (who said it was the best song on the album), Paul McCartney (who called it Harrison's best song ever) and even producer George Martin, who made sure the song was released as the A side of the only single from Abbey Road. Commercially, Something was a major success as well, going to the top of the US charts and placing in the top 5 in the UK. Perhaps more tellingly, Something is the second most covered song in the entire Beatles catalog (behind Paul McCartney's Yesterday), with over 150 artists recording the tune over the years. in 1971, accompanied by an all-star band that included Eric Clapton, Billy Preston and Ringo Starr, among others, performed Something at The Concert For Bangla Desh at New York's Madison Square Garden.
Artist: Pink Floyd
Title: Biding My Time
Source: CD: Relics
Writer(s): Roger Waters
Label: Capitol (original label: Harvest)
Year: 1971
Although it was originally recorded during sessions for the Ummagumma album and performed live as part of a concept piece called The Man And The Journey, the studio version of Roger Waters's Biding My Time was held back for two years, finally seeing the light of day in 1971 as the only previously unreleased track on Pink Floyd's Relics album. Along with David Gilmour, Nick Mason and Roger Waters on their usual instruments, keyboardist Richard Wright plays trombone, as well as piano and organ, on the track.
Artist: James Gang
Title: Got No Time For Trouble
Source: CD: Bang
Writer(s): Bolin/Tesar
Label: Atco
Year: 1974
In 1974 the James Gang hired their third lead guitarist since the band was formed in 1969. That guitarist was Tommy Bolin, who had first come to national attention as a member of the Boulder, Colorado band Zephyr. Bolin co-wrote several of the tracks on his first album with the James Gang, Bang, including Got No Time For Trouble, which also was issued as the B side of the only single taken from Bang. Lead vocals on the song are by Roy Kenner, who had joined the James Gang shortly after the departure of the band's original guitarist/vocalist, Joe Walsh.
Artist: Hot Chocolate
Title: Brother Louie
Source: 45 RPM single
Writer(s): Brown/Wilson
Label: Rak
Year: 1973
The British soul band Hot Chocolate recorded the original version of the song Brother Louie in early 1973. Co-written and sung by band members Errol Brown and Tony Wilson, the song peaked at #7 on the UK charts. A few months later the song was covered by an American band called Stories, who took Brother Louie to the top of the US charts in the summer of 1973. Personally I prefer the British original.
Artist: War
Title: The Cisco Kid
Source: 45 RPM single
Writer(s): War
Label: United Artists
Year: 1973
The Cisco Kid, released as a single in 1973, was War's biggest hit. In fact, it only missed the top spot on the charts because of the immense popularity of Tony Orlando and Dawn's Tie A Yellow Ribbon Round The Ole Oak Tree. Guess which of the two songs is more fpopular 50 years later (and which one is best described as "cringeworthy")?
Artist: Rolling Stones
Title: No Expectations
Source: Mono CD: Singles Collection-The London Years (originally released on LP: Beggar's Banquet and as 45 RPM single B side)
Writer(s): Jagger/Richards
Label: Abkco (original label: London)
Year: 1968
The first single to be released from Beggar's Banquet was Street Fighting Man, which was also the first Rolling Stones track to be produced by Jimmy Miller, who had already established a reputation working with Steve Winwood, both with the Spencer Davis Group and Traffic. Brian Jones's slide guitar work on The B side of the single, No Expectations, is sometimes considered his last important contribution to the band he founded.
Artist: Jeff Beck
Title: Morning Dew
Source: CD: Truth
Writer(s): Bonnie Dobson
Label: Epic/Legacy
Year: 1968
With a stellar lineup that included vocalist Rod Stewart, bassist Ronnie Wood and drummer Micky Waller, Jeff Beck's debut solo album, Truth, is considered one of the earliest examples of what would come to be called heavy metal rock. This can be heard on tracks like Bonnie Dobson's Morning Dew, which by 1968 was already becoming well-known as a staple of the Grateful Dead's setlist as well as being a minor hit single for Tim Rose (particularly in the UK) in early 1967.
Artist: Who
Title: Faith In Something Better
Source: LP: Odds And Sods
Writer(s): Pete Townshend
Label: Track
Year: Recorded 1968, released 1974
The Who's Faith In Something Better was recorded in 1968 for a followup album to The Who Sell Out, but was abandoned as the rock opera Tommy took shape. The song was later included on Odds And Sods, an album compiled by bassist John Entwistle to counterract the various bootleg LPs and tapes (and one called Who's Zoo in particular) that were circulating at the time.
Artist: Deep Purple
Title: The Mule
Source: CD: Made In Japan
Writer(s): Blackmore/Gillan/Glover/Lord/Paice
Label: Purple/Rhino (original label: Warner Brothers)
Year: 1972
Every hard rock band in the early 1970s had one song that contained a drum solo. For Deep Purple, perhaps the most successful hard rock band of its era, that song was The Mule. Inspired by the mutant dictator in Isaac Asimov's Foundation And Empire, the live version of the song, from the 1972 album Made In Japan, runs over nine minutes in length, about half of which is taken up by Ian Paice's solo.
Artist: Emerson, Lake & Palmer
Title: L.A. Nights
Source: LP: Works
Writer(s): Palmer/Emerson
Label: Atlantic
Year: 1977
Emerson, Lake & Palmer's double LP Works was one of the most anticipated album releases of 1977. Unfortunately it was also one of the most disappointing. The album had one side dedicated to each of the three band members, with the fourth made up of group compositions. Of the three "solo" sides, drummer/percussionist Carl Palmer's got the best reviews, with L.A. Nights, featuring guest guitarist/vocalist Joe Walsh, being singled out as one of the highlights of the entire album.
Artist: Jo Jo Gunne
Title: Run Run Run
Source: 45 RPM single (stereo promo)
Writer: Ferguson/Andes
Label: Asylum
Year: 1972
After Spirit called it quits following the disappointing sales of Twelve Dreams of Dr. Sardonicus, lead vocalist Jay Ferguson and bassist Mark Andes hooked up with Andes's brother Matt and William "Curly" Smith to form Jo Jo Gunne. Their best known song was Run Run Run, which hit the British top 10 and the US top 30 in 1972, receiving considerable amount of airplay on progressive rock stations as well as being the highlight of the band's live performances.
No comments:
Post a Comment