Johnny At The Fillmore

The Fillmore East in NYC was notorious for housing some of Rock’s greatest live shows from 1968 – 1971. One of the many special events that occurred on the venue’s stage happened in December 1968. Al Kooper and his musical counterpart Michael Bloomfield were booked to play a couple of shows. On the first night, Bloomfield brought with him an unknown Texas Blues guitar slinger named Johnny Winter who he had previously heard in Chicago.

After playing only one song, an excited Bloomfield introduced his guest. Johnny Winter quickly tore into a smokin’ rendition of B.B. King’s “It’s My Own Fault” and immediately dazzled the audience. Listening to the recording, you really sense Johnny is playing for his life. The intensity in his vocals and especially his execution on his guitar is electrifying. It is one of those career defining moments. The executives from Columbia Records on hand to watch Kooper and Bloomfield were at the right place at the right time and stumbled across this virtually unknown gem.

The following Monday; Winter was offered a lucrative record deal that helped propel him to superstar status. Within a year, he would release the Blues/Rock classic, “Second Winter.” Johnny went on to become a Rock star. But his love of the Blues never left him, and by the late-1970's after having helped resurrect Muddy Waters' recording career, he went back to permanently being the Bluesman he originally was.

Fortunately, the December 1968 shows with Kooper and Bloomfield were professionally recorded by Columbia. 30+ years later, Al Kooper was able to locate the tapes and create the live album, “Fillmore East: The Lost Concert Tapes 12/13/68.” Not only is some fantastic guitar work showcased from the brilliant Michael Bloomfield, but that legendary performance of “It’s My Own Fault” with Johnny Winter is officially highlighted for the first time.

There is nothing better than being able to hear a young and hungry Blues musician playing for his love of the music. Thank Michael Bloomfield for bringing Johnny Winter along for the ride that night, and thank Al Kooper for finally unleashing the music recorded on those tapes from another magical evening at the Fillmore.

Long John Baldry

Long John Baldry is a music legend; although there are probably plenty of music fans who have no idea who he is. Baldry was one of the pioneers of the British Folk and Blues scene during the mid-1960's. As a member and leader of various Blues bands such as Blues Incorporated, John Baldry & His Hoochie Men, and Steampacket; he influenced, inspired and helped countless artists.

In the late 1960's, he had some chart success in the England with some Pop ballads, but that soon passed. By the early-1970's, this once influential figure in the British Blues scene was a forgotten memory for the most part. Then two former protégés, Rod Stewart and Elton John, decided to produce an album for their ex-bandleader/bandmate. The results are an undervalued and fairly unknown Blues gem, "It Ain't Easy." This is a gritty and raw Blues album with a lot of acoustic folk and soul. Any fan of the Blues and anyone who is interested in the burgeoning and highly influential British Blues scene from the mid-1960's should check out this lost-gem from Long John Baldry.

*The best way to explore these recordings (plus loads of outtakes) is on the limited edition Rhino Handmade title: "Long John Baldry - Boogie Woogie: The Warner Bros. Recordings."

Please Stop

"I Don't Wanna Stop" is one of the singles off Ozzy Osbourne's newest studio album, "Black Rain." It isn't horrible, but it is far from being OK. It is typical corporate Ozzy. Sleek industrial studio production with some cool Zakk Wylde solos. Totally forgettable stuff. Every Ozzy cliché in the book is used on this track and the entire CD. What you have with "Black Rain" is a sad release by a Rock artist who once meant something.

Ozzy is completely irrelevant in 2007. So is Ozzfest for that matter. Did you see the line-up? Totally unimpressive. Any significance that Ozzfest ever had is long-gone. Ozzy means nothing. He hasn’t released anything worthwhile in nearly 20 years since his Randy Rhoads “Tribute” album. OK, “No More Tears” had some redeeming tracks, but other than that pleasant surprise (and it originally was supposed to be his retirement album), all the dude has been pumping out is boring and mechanical Pop Metal with no edge and passion.

At one time, Ozzy’s work was noteworthy. After being dumped by Black Sabbath, he rebounded with the help of virtuoso guitarist Randy Rhoads. In 1980, Ozzy and Rhoads released the Metal masterpiece, “Blizzard Of Ozz” which was followed up the next year by another classic, “Diary Of A Madman.” The two albums were Ozzy’s finest moments in the studio outside of his work with Black Sabbath. His work with Rhoads was interrupted when Rhoads died in a plane accident in early 1982. And although it is strongly suggested that Rhoads was going to leave the music business for a period of time to study classical guitar, no one can say with complete certainty that his collaboration with Ozzy would have ended permanently had he done so.

Over the next decade, Ozzy cranked out a few Metal albums with Pop leanings. Also, during that time, an incredible live album “Tribute” featuring Ozzy’s and Randy’s performances was issued. Other than that highlight, Ozzy was simply a celebrity with a growing body of mediocre work.

Ozzy is now basically a corporation. He is a product. He has name value. And he no longer has any artistic credibility. How could he? His albums are calculated Pop Metal productions that mean nothing and he made a complete fool out of himself on his MTV reality TV show a few years back.

To add insult to injury, due to a long-standing legal battle with Bob Daisley and Lee Kerslake (the bass player and drum player on “Blizzard Of Ozz” and “Diary Of A Madman”) over royalties and publishing, Sharon Osbourne had Daisley’s and Kerslake’s original bass and drum parts completely wiped off of those two classic Metal albums and replaced by two of Ozzy’s musicians in his current touring band. Sharon Osbourne destroyed a piece of Rock history by altering and butchering those two landmark albums. So, the two redeeming studio albums in Ozzy’s catalogue are essentially no longer available – what is now on the shelves are truncated versions. It has negatively impacted Ozzy’s legacy and also Randy Rhoads' legacy. Why did Sony allow this to happen? Does being in business with Ozzy Osbourne in this century still mean anything?

So why spend a few minutes writing about an irrelevant artist? Because after hearing “Black Rain,” it was a reminder that this pathetic artist once had a legitimate recording career. Anyone doubting this should take a few minutes to listen to a pre-2002 version of the “Blizzard Of Ozz” album.

Moonbeams

I broke out Bill Evans' 1962 classic "Moonbeams" earlier in the day. It is an album filled with one stunning performance after another. If you are not overly familiar with Bill Evans, all you really have to know is that he is the most influential Jazz pianist to ever stroke the keys. Miles Davis once said Bill Evans could play anything. He was of course right. Evans could play with a fiery intensity and he could swing with the best of them, but what really stands out is his lyrical sensibility, his soft-spoken approach. He had such a beautiful silky-smooth delivery and creative touch as well as impeccable technique and a polished tone. Listen to "Stairway To The Stars" and "It Might As Well Be Spring" to hear what I am talking about. You can't have too much Bill Evans in your music collection. "Moonbeams" is a nice starting point.

Recommended titles:
Moonbeams
Portrait In Jazz
Explorations
Interplay
Sunday At The Village Vanguard
Waltz For Debby
How My Heart Sings!
Trio '64
Conversations With Myself
The Last Waltz
Kind Of Blue [the epic Miles Davis album]

Concerts

I’ve seen a lot of concerts during the past 20 years. I’ve seen some legends, overrated stars and unknowns that never graduated past the clubs. Some have been quite forgettable while others have been quite memorable. Some of best shows of all time happened before I was able to attend. Here is my top-15 that I would love to go back in time to see (in no particular order of significance).

Elvis Presley - 7/31/69 at The International Hotel, Las Vegas
Elvis Presley - 8/12/70 (midnight show) at The Hilton, Las Vegas
Led Zeppelin - 3/7/70 at Royal Albert Hall, London
Led Zeppelin - 9/4/70 at The Forum, Los Angeles
Led Zeppelin - 6/25/72 at The Forum, Los Angeles
Jimi Hendrix - 6/18/67 at Monterey Pop Festival, Monterey
Jimi Hendrix - 1/1/70 (1st show) at The Fillmore East, New York
Jeff Beck - 5/3/75 at Music Hall, Boston
The Rolling Stones - 11/9/69 (2nd show) at Oakland Coliseum, Oakland
The Who - 2/14/70 at Leeds University, Leeds
The Who - 12/13/71 at Civic Auditorium, San Francisco
Bruce Springsteen - 8/15/75 at Bottom Line, New York
The Allman Brothers Band - 3/12/71 (2nd show) at The Fillmore East, New York
Eric Clapton - 6/24/74 at Long Beach Arena, Long Beach
The Doors - 9/6/68 (late show) at The Roundhouse, London

There are of course more that I could add (a lot of my favorite artists are not referenced here), but I tried to make it as exclusive of a list as I could. There were too many essential concerts to squeeze into 10 slots, so I had to make it a top-15 list (Some of these were difficult like the New Years Hendrix shows from the Fillmore. I would have loved to have seen all 4 shows, but with only 15 slots, I had to choose one.). Why so much Zeppelin? Well, I consider them to be the greatest "live" Rock band ever. There are a few others that come close, but when Zeppelin was "on" during their non-stop run between 1969-1972, it was out of this world.

This is strictly a list of Rock shows. Most of these shows have been represented on album in some form or on underground releases. The one that remains unavailable is Elvis’ 7/31/69 gig in Las Vegas (The show that was his comeback to live performing. There is a good chance a private collector has this soundboard…). There is no relevance to this list, but I had a few minutes to kill on Labor Day, so….

Record Label Confusion

There is a great article about Rick Rubin in the NY Times. Here is the link:

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/02/magazine/02rubin.t.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin

Rubin is an interesting character to begin with, but after sifting through the kiss-ass nature of the bio portions of the article, the real substance of interest is his take on where the record business should head.

He admits that Columbia is in the "dark ages" and that the current business model used by the labels is done. But in talking about the future, he brings up a concept that has been mentioned before in that he sees the record business adopting a subscription model where the consumer pays a monthly fee for unlimited access to complete catalogues of music by their favorite artists. The material within these catalogues that could be available for service would include demos, bootlegs, concerts, and the obvious master recordings - anything the artist would approve for release. The music will be available for use anywhere the consumer wants - computers, cars, home entertainment systems, etc. With a model like this in place, he feels the record business will quickly and vastly grow.

Certainly this model has potential. Let's face it; this is the model a lot of music consumers have already adopted. They listen to as much music as they want and because the record labels only release a portion of what is available, the consumer goes underground to hear the rest. They use their iPods in the house, at work, at the gym, and in the car. What he is suggesting isn't revolutionary; he is just admitting that the labels need to get paid for it. And as I have mentioned before, the labels can really capitalize on this sort of scenario because of their vast catalogues. They have a lot of unreleased material in their vaults that fans want.

He also mentions that there will be no need for an iPod. There will be some other machine similar to a "walkman-like device" that one can plug into their speakers at home. Hmmm, no iPods? Could it be that Rubin works for Sony? Hey, record label executives, Apple isn't going away. Ok? Your old s**ty business model is. Apple is still innovative right now, so maybe their products will be around for awhile.

One of my main questions is will the music that is available for subscription actually be owned by the consumer once purchased or will it just be rented? As consumers, fans will want to be able to have unlimited lifetime access to the music they purchase. If their access to the music is up after the month expires (and there is no way to download or copy the files), you will not have people embracing this model. Rubin says if the subscription model is in place for a good price, no one will steal the music. What planet are you from Rick? Yes, you may stop a lot of the free trade between peers, but friends like making copies of music for friends. It has been that way 25 years. And as Steve Barnett (Rubin's co-head of Columbia) says in the article, if the subscription model is not done correctly, it may be the final nail in coffin for the labels. Don't rush into it guys....

The other point I need to talk about is the idea that Columbia is considering asking artists for 50% of their touring/merchandise/on-line revenue streams. Hello? Now, I know that Jeff Kwatinetz has made some similar deals or partnerships for his artists in order to secure loads of cash, but I consider those isolated situations. A lot of managers will not touch that deal with a ten foot pole. Do you see Jon Landau going along with that one? Who wants to give up touring and merchandise revenue to a record label? So in 20 years when you can't sell 10,000 albums, but you can sell 10,000 tickets a night, Columbia will get a piece of that? I know it is more complicated, but still, that is total insanity. If the record label does its job right, they can make plenty of money selling records. Also, does the artist need Columbia so badly that they need to give up touring revenue just to have a record deal? We all know that answer to that one.

So, the label executives are trying to figure a way out of this cluster-f**k they created (while running business as usual). It will be interesting to see how it plays out. One thing is certain, the artists and the public have the power right now. They can partially dictate where this goes. It is going to take more than a monthly subscription fee for music rentals, stealing touring revenue from artists and figuring out how to run Apple out of the business. Stay tuned, the game continues….

Dream Brother

Jeff Buckley’s brief career came and went like a flash of light in the nighttime sky. He had one official album during his lifetime, the magnificent “Grace.” It isn’t an album of driving rhythms or dazzling musicianship; it is an album full of moody musical collages with Buckley’s unmistakably beautiful voice. “Grace” is somewhat of an understated cult classic.

Jeff Buckley died ten years ago at the age of 30 in a drowning accident way before he reached his full potential as an artist. Leaving behind a modern-day mini-masterpiece in “Grace,” he made a significant mark in the musical landscape during the mid-1990s. The album has proven to have life beyond its initial period of release. While a vast majority of albums released during any generation are easily forgotten, “Grace” has continued to gain fans and appreciation because of its depth and beauty.

I consider Jeff Buckley’s death a great loss to contemporary music. You will hear music journalists fawn over Kurt Cobain as a tremendous loss, and maybe he was, but I would add Jeff Buckley to that discussion without hesitation. Take a listen to the haunting “Dream Brother” from “Grace” with its mystical melodies and captivating vocals and you will hear the genius of Jeff Buckley. Take a listen to the Legacy Edition of "Grace" and you will hear a versitile artist with unlimited potential.