Country Joe McDonald at Woodstock: History being made

Yesterday I viewed or listened to a lot of circa 1960 hits that presented itself on You Tube after I had clicked on the Dutch 1965 superhit 'Sophietje' by Johnny Lion. I had sat on a terrace overlooking the river IJ in Amsterdam and came home with 'Sophietje' in my head as the song goes "On an Amsterdam terrace". The song is with me for as long as I know, maybe for longer than I can remember, that it has always been sort of there since 1965. Clicking and clicking, Paul Anka, Neil Sedaka, Brian Hyland, The Four Seasons, Dion & the Belmonts, Del Shannon (My girlfriend: "I know all of these songs"!), etc. Until Woodstock came up and I listened to 'White rabbit' by Jefferson Airplane and then clicked on Country Joe McDonald. Despite the fact that I've seen the footage before on film somewhere in the late 70s and later several times on DVD, the song never before had so much impact. The performance stood out for me. But let me take you back first.

My teenage friend Frits' dad and mine were both merchant marine officers. Frits' dad brought home Taiwanese pressings of LPs (as mine would not much later). One of these albums was Woodstock. So in 1972 and onwards, we were listening to the official soundtrack album for whole days in a row. From Ritchie Havens all the way to Jimi Hendrix. With the exception of Paul Butterfield's Bluesband and to a lesser extent Santana and Joan Baez, I dug it. I dug it enough for a lifetime worth. The fantastic versions of Ten Years After's 'I'm going home' or Joe Cocker's 'With a little help from my friends'. Arlo Guthrie's beautiful 'Coming into Los Angeles'. the nutty madness of Sha Na Na, 'Volunteers' that spat of the vinyl: "This is morning maniac music, believe me ... It's a new dawn!". And the only available version, as far as I'm aware, of Neil Young's great song 'Sea of madness'.

In between this all is this anti-Vietnam protest done by one man with one guitar: 'I-feel-like-I'm-fixin'-to-die-rag' or 'The fish cheer'. One guy taking on the whole of the US establishment, government and military complex. First on this spot, then on record, on film and now on the internet forever and ever. If you look at the footage, you'll notice a few things. First the audacity to start "the fish cheer", "Give me an F, a U, a C, a K: "What's that spell?" and the audience answering, summing up. So much for the "fish" cheer. We see a man with long hair, bound in by a bandanna, a moustache, earring in his right ear and wearing army sergeant fatigues with a blue coloured scarf on his left sleeve, armed with an acoustic guitar. "A hippie". The footage shows the audience and Country Joe alternating. What amazed me is the impact of the song on those present. From amazement on the faces of people in the audience. 'Am I hearing what I'm hearing'? The singing along. Many people knew the song beforehand. Remember that almost all guys present at Woodstock, bands as well as audience, were at the draft age and could be sent to Vietnam any time soon. And then the most beautiful thing happens of all.

The camera angle changes. First it shows Country Joe's back and then goes up and zooms out ever so slowly to the audience, showing ever more people getting up to stand and sing, where everyone was sitting and listening before. An audience so large that it goes up the hill in Max Yasgur's cow field and perhaps disappears behind it. And all get up to sing and cheer with one man and one guitar. Yes, music can have a profound impact on people, but does it ever have it at this magnitude these days? After finishing the song, Country Joe McDonald stands up from his stool, waves with his guitar to the audience and walks backstage where someone approaches him, embraces and kisses him on the cheek. This guy realised that history had been made that evening.

For the first time it dawned on me what impact this performance had on the people present. Probably because it was isolated from the rest of the Woodstock movie. This way it touched me directly.

Listening to 'I-feel-like-I'm-fixin'-to-die-rag' yesterday made me realise that I only know two Country Joe (and the Fish) songs, both on Woodstock and never ever have heard another one. ('Rock and soul music' obviously being the other one.) One of it's albums was re-released recently. I intend to review it on this blog soon. What will it sound like?

Wo.

You can watch Country Joe McDonald at Woodstock here.

Mozes and the Firstborn

You can listen to 'I got skills' here.

So far several fine records have been released by Dutch bands in 2013. For months on end the rumour about a new top band has been going around and now the album is here. Mozes and the Firstborn is a band from Eindhoven in Noord-Brabant. Listening to the album for the first time last week, it became clear once more that retro-psychedelia is the new hip in 2013. Mozes and the Firstborn has found its way to the well and dipped the instruments in deep.

One song sticks out far above all else. 'I got skills' is the summer of 2013 radio hit for the band, coming by in mid rotation. It has all it takes to be a novelty hit like Nada Surf's 'Popular' or Armand's 'Ben ik te min'. The single reminds me of both so much. A slacker hit if I ever heard one. But not the song the band will want to be remembered for for the rest of its career, I guess. There's a lot more going on on this first album.

Mozes and the Firstborn consists of Melle Dielesen (lead singing and guitar), Ernst-Jan van Doorn (guitar), Corto Blommaert (bass) and Raven Aartsen (drums). They are all young, early twenties and sound more enthusiastic than super proficient. The sound of the album is semi-primitive, as if recorded in the garage, actually the basement I understand of one of the parents, while at the same time there is a clear and keen ear for details in the production. This way the music has a rough and a sweet edge, which works well most of the time. The sound is straight out of the 60s, not unlike The Outsiders or Q65, but with a lot better English (pronounciation).

The music period that Mozes and the Firstborn is inspired by is about the same as Jacco Gardner, this band sounds more alive and less studied. Something is happening that makes me prick up my ears, even if a song is not so special all by itself, but something is happening in it that make it worth while listening to. 'Time's a headache' e.g. does not have a special melody, but the dynamics and the guitar eruptions make it a fun song to listen to. And a little detail like the pre chorus acoustic guitar strokes announcing to the rest of the band to catch up, is a fine detail.

What I also like about the album, that it is all but one dimensional. It rocks out and has a poppy song like 'Skinny girl' based on the acoustic guitar, with fun details and o so 60s. It is not pretentious. The songs are all pretty straight forward. There may be a guitar overdub here or there, sometimes a few organ notes, but all to serve the song and not a concept. There may be no virtuosity on Mozes and the Firstborn, it all leads to songs that are worthwhile hearing and hearing again. Towards the end of the album is 'Heaven'. Low tempo, not much going on until the lead guitar lets it all rip. Totally over the top, showing again that Mozes and the Firstborn is able to have a great impact with minimal effects. One to be exact in this example, on the guitar.

To be honest, I can't wait to see the band live. This is going to be one big party, I'm sure. Until then I'm happy with Mozes and the Firstborn at home and underway.

Wo.

George Duke, 1946 - 2013, in memoriam

It suffices to give you this link to 'Inca roads' of Frank Zappa & the Mothers of Invention's 1975 album 'One size fits all'. 'Inca roads' says it all where George Duke's singing and playing is concerned. Easily Frank Zappa's best song ever, one of the most interesting and diverse songs ever and without a doubt the best George Duke ever recorded. Listen and be stunned by the time changes, the virtuosity, the instrumentation and singing. For those seeking a little more technical insight, I can refer you to Wikipedia, that has a lemma dedicated to 'Inca roads'.

Wo.

P.s. There is a review of 'One size fits all' on this blog here.

Muddy "Mississippi" Waters live. Muddy Waters

You can listen to 'She's nineteen years old' here.

On the occasion of Muddy Waters' 100th day of birth I re-posted a blog on 'Checkerboard lounge', the DVD of Muddy playing together with three (or four) Stones in Buddy Guy's Chicago club. I promised then to listen to some of Muddy's albums and write a review. Let me start with the first one I ever heard.

Around 1980 I had a friend who basically changed his life's rhythm pattern in the summer holiday. From day to night, listening to the radio all night, picking up new music and old. One of his tips was this live album that remained one of my favourite live albums ever.

Muddy Waters', born McKinley Morganfield in 1913, recording career started on a farm somewhere in the Mississippi delta where Alan Lomax recorded him on his porch, decennia later released as 'The complete plantation recordings'. Like many other coloured Americans he took his chances and moved north to Chicago, where he emerged with an electric guitar being one of the pioneers of electric blues. His career was revived, especially in Europe, through the blues bang in the UK in the early to mid 60s. In the 70s Johnny Winter revived Waters' career again by producing three albums in which most of Muddy Waters' best songs were rerecorded in a modern studio with modern techniques. Blasphemy to some, the best thing that could have happened as the songs now stand out as an epitome of electric blues. This live album was the third album in a row of four with Johnny Winter in control. Since several years the original album is also available as a legacy edition with more than twice as many songs on the second disc.

Looking at the original album there are just seven songs, recorded at three different locations in 1977 and 1978, released in 1979. Not even the musicians are all the same. Despite that, this was how blues was supposed to sound to me when I was twenty and some years old. It took me years before I could appreciate the original thing. Now in 2013 that has changed, just like blues does not offer many surprises any more. It has become good time party music to listen to live every once in a while. This album, together with 'Hard again', Muddy Waters' first release with Johnny Winter, are the exceptions. Before Live I had hardly ever heard anyone play a solo like Luther "Guitar Jr." Johnson. This solo that sort of goes on and on, where it is "supposed to stop" at the turn around at the 12th bar, but doesn't.

There are other instances of fine musicianship. The mouthharps of James Cotton and Jerry Portnoy. The call response between singing and harp were all new then to me and still sound fresh and fun to me now. The piano of "Pinetop" Perkins that rolls in the background and at times comes forward.

Muddy Waters by that time was an older man. Looking like a benevolent grandfather, which he was many times over. (At the same time, he had a much, much younger girlfriend, 'She's 19 years old', 'Deep down in Florida' seem to have to be taken literally here.) At shows he used to sit on a stool and mostly reserved his energies for his singing. The band did everything for him, making sure things gelled and rocked, whether slow or fast. At times Muddy lets things rip in a fiery solo, like in 'Howlin' wolf' and 'She's nineteen years old'. As slide guitarist he may not be flawless, but certainly full of passion and great attack. There's no mistaken who is satisfying who through the solo in 'She's 19 years old'.

Should anyone be wandering what thé version of 'Baby, please don't go' is, just listen to this one. Everything is on a roll here. The rolling drums of Willie "Big Eyes" Smith drives the song forward as the drumming on this song is superb. The rolls and fills are in all the right places giving 'Baby, please don't go' the steampower it needs.

Muddy "Misissippi" Waters live is an album that has the right balance between hard rocking blues, subtlety and virtuosity. The band is a great dynamic machine, serving the right mood in the right places of a song. Solos are dispensed by Waters to all band members who get the chance to shine in his sun. There's no misunderstanding about who's the boss here. Just listen to the cheers of the audience at specific parts of the lyrics. At most of the tracks where Winter's playing he gets a little extra attention, being a star in his own right, somewhat consumed by alcohol and heroine, but a star of late 60s and 70s blues in the U.S.

The legacy version gives more, which I will not discuss here. The original LP is enough. That had the strong impact on me and defined my taste in blues. Let me end with referring you to a Muddy Waters biography that is well worth the read: 'Can't be satisfied: The life and times of Muddy Waters' by Robert Gordon.

Wo.

Strange pleasures. Still Corners

You can listen to 'Strange pleasures' here.

In my top 10 album list of the year 2011 there were only ten spots to give away. 'Creatures for one hour' was one of the last albums to be scratched just before publishing. One of the ones that was hardest to do so. Perhaps quite rightly so, as I have not played the album often since. This spring I was pleasantly surprised by the band's second effort, Strange pleasures. The album has rotated on my iPod regularly in the past months.

Still Corners is a duo from London. Songwriter/producer Greg Hughes teams up with singer Tessa Murray and they make music together since 2007, although the production between 2007 and 2010 was only one single. The offering on Still Corners' second album is not music for all times of the day. The music has a very dreamy quality, ethereal even. Almost as if it is not real. Influences go all the way back to Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, without the overly poppy elements and the synth beats of Ultravox. The accents Still Corners puts down are more subtle, but in essence the same. There are definitely some new wave elements in here. The triphop of Portishead is not very far away either, but Still Corners has Tessa Murray who fits right in with all ladies in dreampop of the 10s. It is something in other words that I have to be in the mood for. One day it's fine. On another day I do not get passed the third song.

A fine song is 'Fireflies'. It has the same quality as Lana del Rey's best songs. Murray's voice is lighter, but she strikes all the right notes here to put 'Fireflies' close in league with 'Videogames' and 'Ride'. 'Berlin lovers' is to 80s to me in sound, beats and song. A few songs later the band surprises in the very dreamy 'Midnight drive', in which sustained synth chords are woven all over the song, with a very The Cure like guitar injection. One of the songs I like best is 'We killed the moonlight'. Tessa Murray harmonises with herself, in which she shows us a higher register, in a very convincing way and guitars, with delays switched on, kick in at intervals from different angles. And what to think of those Tubeway Army sounds that rustle in the background of the song? I like it, but it's over all to soon in this case. It is in these slightly darker moments that Strange pleasures becomes ever more interesting.

The song that starts the album off, 'The trip', is very much the right choice. Arguably the best song of the album, driven by an acoustic guitar, but I have to say that the second half of the album works best as a whole. There is more variation in sound and approach, although this is minimal in tempo. Greg Hughes delves deeper in his sound repertoire and arranging skills. With the obvious result that the songs stand out more and sound less more of the same, which is the case from song three onwards. If I wanted to approach the album negatively I could write here that there is not enough originality, too many familiar things going on, but I opt for glorious variation that leads to, well, strange, aural, pleasures.

In closing it becomes clear that Strange pleasures is an album to which I have an ambiguous relation. I love it or leave it depending on the day, place, time and mood. All in all it deserves attention on this blog, for the simple reason that Strange pleasures does something to me. It sticks out, in different ways, yes. But stick out it does.

Wo.