You learn lots of towns’ names you’ve never heard before, even if they are only a short drive away.
Towns named Hamner, Geiger, Snoddy, Braggvile, Hycutt, Creet, Black Bottom, Blow Gourd, and Brushy Pond.
When the TV weather folk move the radar cams in close the little Alabama towns pop up like magic.
For a brief shining moment the little towns have their day in the sun, figuratively speaking.
And don’t feel bad if you don’t know where Blow Gourd is. It’s few miles south of Cleveland. That’s Cleveland, Alabama, of course. But you knew that already.
Then the camera pulls back and — poof, the tiny towns of Alabama are gone.
I bought this 2-record album in Leesburg, FL, in about 1988 at a store I did well finding cool, unusual records such as the relatively obscure guitarist John Fahey and some early 1960s folk music such as Tom Rush. Unfortunately for me –and the store — is that we lived in Leesburg for only about a year as I moved to the downtown office of the Orlando Sentinel, making trips to Leesburg rare. Plus buying records was not in our budget.
This band for a while had Sandy Denny who did ‘Who Knows Where the Time Goes,’ and was widely recognized as one of England’s top vocalists.
Future Yes-man Rick Wakeman was a Strawbs member on a couple of early albums in the early 1970s. He went on to become the famous keyboards guy for prog-rockers, Yes.
I don’t know what was the name of the group?
Yes.
No, I just want to know the name of the band he went to.
Yes.
Yes that’s what I want. What is the group’s name.
Yes.
OK, so who went to Yes?
Rick Wakeman.
Digressing again.
Denny went to Fairport Convention, a group similar to the Strawbs. Fairport featured Richard and Linda Thompson, whose crumbling marriage was channeled into one of the most heartbreaking break-up albums of all time, ‘Shoot out the Lights.’
So what about the Strawbs?
Perhaps the album cover liner notes best helps understand what this band was like. Michael Hooker, whom I don’t know, wrote this in the notes:
It’s something of a tribute to the slightly bizarre nature of that catchall pigeonhole known as British Rock that a group which originated as England’s answer to Flatt and Scruggs would go on to cite The Tibetan Book of the Dead as one of its prime influences. …
In a recent post I took a look at Rod Stewart and Bruce Springsteen as part of my countdown of the records in my collection.
It was left knotted up at three each when I judged the two in six categories. It turned out like this (link above explains reasons behind the picks):
Best Song — Rod Stewart
Best Album — Bruce Springsteen
Best Live –Bruce Springsteen
Most diverse body of work — Rod Stewart
Best Voice — Rod Stewart
Best Lyrics — Bruce Springsteen.
And the winner is: Bruce Springsteen with 135 million records sold. Rod has sales of 120 million. (There are discrepancies and wide variations in reporting the sales figures. Explanation in note and links at end of article).
This has translated into a higher net worth for Bruce as well. According to Celebrity Net Worth, Springsteen is worth $500 million. Don’t cry for Rockin’ Rod though. He’s worth $300 million.
Since it is my blog I am entitled to an editorial comment on this:
This is way too much money.
Our teachers, our law enforcement , our bus drivers, our nurses, our construction workers, our miners, our day care workers, our food service folks– these people doing everyday necessary jobs are lucky if they ever crack six figures. Many will never see $50,000 a year after 20 years of work.
I don’t blame Bruce and Rod and the similarly well-strapped movie and sports stars.
They are living the American dream. I know Bruce has been a big donor and organizer of food banks in the various cities where he plays. And Bruce, particularly, has raised awareness of working class America through his songs.
But Bruce doesn’t need $500 million to relive his glory days. And Rod, at $300 million, needn’t steal his daddy’s cue to make a living playing pool.
But that’s the way it is and that’s the way it likely will be.
I am one who will argue that music can be transcendent, life affirming and soul stirring. And that’s priceless.
SPRINGSTEENALBUMS: (Springsteen): Born to Run (1975); Darkness on the Edge of Town (1978); The River (1980); Nebraska (1982); Born in the USA (1984);Tunnel of Love (1987); Live 1975-1985 (box set).
SPRINGSTEEN MVCRATING : Born to Run 5.0/$$$$$; Darkness 4.5/$$$$; The River 4.5/$$$$$; Nebraska 4.0/$$$$$; Born in USA 5.0/$$$$$/Tunnel 4.0/$$$$; Live Box 4.5/$$$$$
STEWART ALBUMS Every Picture Tells a Story (1971); A Night on the Town (1976); Footloose and Fancy Free (1977); Blondes Have More Fun (1978); The Best of Rod Stewart Vol. 2 (1976). Small Faces FIrst Steps (1970).
STEWART MVCRating: Every Picture 4.5/$$$$$; A Night on the Town 4.0/$$$$; Footloose 4.0/$$$; Blondes 3.5/$$$; Best 4.0/$$$$; Small Faces First Steps. 4.0/$$$$$
Bruce Springsteen rules. When I got this idea to put Rockin’ Rod Stewart and BROOOSE in the same post, I figured Bruce would kill. He’s the Boss.
So what am I doing here? Other than creating a sneaky way to lower my Countdown list by about a dozen. (Folks just now tuning in hit the About Me button on the homepage if you are wondering what this Countdown thing is all about.)
So making a dent in the Countdown was a motivator. But I actually got the idea from a website called Answerbag.com, which posed to readers this question: What is the Difference Between Bruce Springsteen and Rod Stewart? That brought out some provocative reaction like ‘Talent,’ ‘Are you kidding … Bruce is the boss.’ And, ‘Their hair,’ and ‘their singing.’
Well I grabbed my stacks of albums from both artists. The list above, like always, lists only those vinyl records I own. So for fun, I made up a little report card to see who scores highest.
Best Song: Maggie May (Stewart). I know this is controversial, but Stewart uses a few words to evoke a time and a place — that precipitous place where you are wrestling with the question: What do I want to be when I grow up? Here, the older woman rejects Stewart, and it’s decision time: You could go get some more education or steal your daddy’s cue and make a living out of playing billiards.
Bruce’s best? My favorite is ‘Thunder Road’ in which Bruce is making no promises to Mary, who enjoys Roy Orbison music. The door is ajar and the windows are open but the ride is not without hidden surcharges.
Best Album: (Springsteen) ‘Born to Run’ edges out ‘Born in the USA.’ Both albums are loaded up with great songs but the breakthrough album was like something we hadn’t heard before. This category is closer than you think because Stewart’s Every Picture Tells a Story is one top-to-bottom classic. Maggie, Mandolin Wind, (I Know) I’m Losing You and Reason to Believe — and that’s just one side,
Best Live: (Springsteen) The Boss made his legend with his high energy, marathon concerts, looking like a natural born blue-jeaned every-guy. After seeing him for the first time in Birmingham on the ‘Born in the USA tour, ‘I drove to South Carolina to see him again. I never saw Rod in concert but I’ve seen him in some videos and he looks like he’s having fun.
Most Diverse Body of Work (Stewart) Stewart started in a blues outfit led by legendary guitarist Jeff Beck. He came to Small Faces which turned into Faces and their raggedy, blues folk rock. He continued with albums and singles hitting h Top 40 singles (Tonight’s the Night, Hot Legs), dabbled in Disco (Do Ya’ Think I’m Sexy,) and wound up tuxedoed, doing the American Songbook. If you made this category ‘best’ body of work, Bruce winds hands down. But Rod has definitely done a wider variety — not necessarily all good.
Best Lyrics (Springsteen) ‘The screen door slams, Mary’s dress waves, She dances across the porch as the radio plays.’ Springsteen wrote some lines that made great stories — consistently. Rod Stewart could write as I pointed out above with Maggie but he often chose to interpret others to good effect for the most part.
Best Voice (Stewart) Now this, probably more than the other categories is a matter of personal choice. Do you like Stewart’s raspy delivery or Springsteen’s guttural voice that teeters on hoarseness. I had a friend, someone who knew way more than me about music tell me that Stewart did a fantastic job with the American Classics project as his voice was pitch perfect and his timing and interpretative abilities brought the songs to life. As for Bruce, let’s just say he can sing in a stadium well. That’s a compliment because few are able to do it — with the possible exceptions of Bono, Tina Turner, the Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin and the Who (in their prime). And then of course, Queen.
But I digress.
So let’s see who won?
Best Song — Rod Stewart
Best Album — Bruce Springsteen
Best Live –Bruce Springsteen
Most diverse body of work — Rod Stewart
Best Voice — Rod Stewart
Best Lyrics — Bruce Springsteen.
So it is all knotted up at 3-3. The final tiebreaker will be who has sold the most records? I’m going to take some time to research this but it should be a multimillion-dollar battle. Look for answer in upcoming post.
This Jamaican duo was widely regarded as one of the best rhythm sections in Reggae/dub music if not all contemporary music. This 1985 release was a breakthrough of sorts and featured musicians such as Herbie Hancock, Bob Dylan and Afrika Bambaataa.
I didn’t play this a lot because it forced you out of your chair and made you dance, and I can’t be dancing all the time.
With its interlocking World Music rhythms, some of the synthesizer and programmed drums sounds a little dated now but most of it stands the test of time as a funky piece of dance music.
Bass and Trouble is perhaps my favorite. The ‘hit’ was ‘Make ‘Em Move.’
Night Moves, the song and the album, was along with the Eagle’s Hotel California, ubiquitous on FM radio in the late 1970s. They fell full square in my high school days.
The songs bring back memories of weekends, cruising and boys looking for girls; where the only future was ‘later that night.’ You could throw Springsteen in there as well with ‘Born to Run.’ Although Springsteen seemed to come out of nowhere at that time whereas Seger and the Eagles were much more of a known quantity.
I recently saw ‘Night Moves’ on eBay going for $90-plus and it reminded me I have that album somewhere. (At my first record convention a year ago, I sold my Hotel California for $20 (It was in Near Mint condition and had the poster). I still have Seger and Springsteen. And that’s fitting because they were the closer aligned. Both had gravelly, powerful voices and wrote rock and roll epics; The kind of story-songs that help you visualize your nostalgic memories. Springsteen edges Seger in lyrics category but Seger dropped some fine lines.
From Night Moves: I woke last night to the sound of thunder/How far off I sat and wondered/Started singing a song from 1962/Ain’t it funny how the night moves.
The album gets a high rating from me because it is strong all the way through with ‘Mainstreet, ‘Rock and Roll Never Forgets,’ and the ‘Fire Down Below,’ to name a few.
Oh, and Night Moves album for sale on eBay was well above what I saw elsewhere. It generally seems to be worth between $15 to $35 depending on condition.
I almost slid by the ‘R’ alphabetical category without writing up one of my all time favorite bands.
I have well over half of the dozen or so albums, split between vinyl and digital. I have listed my vinyl R.E.M. records above. I have a few R.E.M. stories so I’m going to approach this a little unconventionally with some list boxes.
I’ll have a list of my personal connections to R.E.M. Don’t get too excited, they aren’t that big a deal, just stories you can tell your grandchildren. I’m also going to look at a Rolling Stone magazine reader’s poll listing their favorite songs. Then I will offer up an alternative list.
First, connections. I grew, for the most part, in Athens, Ga., where the band famously began. I bought many of the albums I have used in this countdown from Wuxtry Records.
Guitarist Peter Buck before R.E.M. worked at the little store which, at that time, was the definition of ‘little corner store.’ You had to inhale deeply to pass someone on it’s one aisle. They have since expanded to a larger domain next door. Still in business after all these years.
In the mid-1990s I was shopping all alone except for the clerk behind counter and in walks Peter Buck. I wasn’t 100 percent sure it was him until he invited me to buy ‘Drivin’ and Cryin’ frontman Kevin Kinney’s new album. “I produced it,” Buck said. So that ended the debate in my mind about who he was. I had a Los Lobos CD in my hand and told him I was going to get that. ‘I already have the Kevin Kinney one.”
I’m not sure he believed me. He left shortly thereafter and I remember kicking myself for not at least buying another copy and getting him to sign it.
But I’ve never been much of an autograph go-getter.
Onward with connections. I stayed in the same dorm as Mike Mills (or was it Bill Berry?) Anyway it was called Reed Hall and it was right up against the football stadium. Saturday was game day and at Reed students would usually roll out a keg of beer. Having lived in Athens for years, I knew all the secrets. There was a train track from which you could perch and see the game — and for free, as most of us were college student broke.
Every now and then a train would come at slow slow speed and folks would scramble. The stadium has since been rebuilt and closed that open sight-way to the game.
One more connection. My wife, Catherine, and I met some friends downtown at what used to be Abbott’s but currently and still is, I believe, called the Globe. We had a big corner table with bench seats and chairs. We had about six or seven people in our party. Michael Stipe comes in with some folks and he asked Catherine if the table would be available soon. She ended up chatting with him for 15 minutes or so, explaining this was a reunion of sorts and wouldn’t be moving soon.
And if you see my brother, David, ask him about opening for R.E.M. He’ll pull out a tattered newpaper clip of an advertisement from the bar/band venue, Tyrone’s. At the top of the ad is an advertisement for R.E.M. live on Saturday. Below the ad is another one for Southbound, a garage cover band featuring my brother on drums.
My brother will tell you this while showing the clip quickly and say, yeah we were opening act. But if you ask to see it, you might catch the fact that his thumb was over ‘Live Friday’ for Southbound not Saturday . Well, they did technically open for them —24 hours earlier.
Sometimes you make assumptions earlier in life that affect your entire opinion of a band.
Sure, I know Spirit’s great, guitar ripping big hit: ‘I Got a Line On You.’ You can’t help yourself from jumping up and saying yes as Spirit slams down that song down in one breath.
My assumption really had nothing to do with that. It had to do with filing this song and group under the ‘1-hit-wonder file.
But, no, there’s some good to great music to be had here: ‘Prelude –Nothing to Hide.’ ‘Uncle Jack,’ ‘Mechanical World,’ ‘Mr. Skin,’ and ‘Dark Eyed Woman.’
Spirit could play a little bit and throw some jazz in to mostly good effect. The musicians were tight and Randy California could play on a guitar that screamed like you were holding its neck too tight.
If there’s a weak spot, it’s the lyrics. Who said ‘shut up and play your guitar?’ Zappa? It applies to several songs here.
Quick note: I’m looking for sesame seeds and/or its leftover oil which may have a great effect on Parkinson’s disease according to Japanese researchers. Does anyone know where to get the seeds and/or the oil called sesaminol? (Tell me how to get, how to get to sesame seed … )
The study found sesaminol to have high brain cell protecting antioxidants. The researchers want to move quickly onto human trials but I’m not waiting. I have Lewy body dementia, which, surprise surprise, wasn’t mentioned. But Lewy is characterized by the same rogue proteins, alpha-synuclein, as Parkinson’s disease. So it’s open sesame for me.
