Steely Dan Alive Alive at Last

In keeping with my resent pod cast, Bluegrass Blog Mixer on ITunes and my last blog I felt it was time to share my thoughts on Steely Dan. I have reviewed the solo works from Donald Fagen and Walter Becker but I haven't shared my thoughts on a Steely Dan album. Now I love them all and the best worst thing I ever bought was Citizen Dan.  It was a box set of all of the CDs, but with the band not putting out anything new I had bought all there was to get.  I was stuck until the guys reunited for a tour. 

I have yet to see the band live. I do greatly regret it. Something is always in the way. So for now their live album will have to and it does do quite nicely. Now Donald and Walter are known to be perfectionist in the studio and I had often wondered would that translate to a live performance?  Surprisingly enough it does. I was in Interlochen Michigan working at the Arts Academy when the CD came out and the sound engineer guys where quite impressed with sound on the CD. 

Now my first memories of the Dan are once again the AM radio in the Parents VW Bug or van. In college I bought a cassette that had Katy Lied and The Royal Scam on it and I got sucked into their world.  Now to the suburban white boy that I am the world of the Dan is the other side of the tracks, drug dealers and the underbelly of life. A musically mysterious realm that their songs bring me to.  The reason I am reviewing Alive in America is the other albums have been reviewed and analyzed to death and as I wrote about earlier the first new Dan in many years. 

The CD starts the mood with Babylon Sisters and it glides on their jazz, pop, rock blend from there. The tracks are mainly the big hits.  I have to admit I was surprised that the only solo work on the CD was a Walter track. I reviewed Book of Liars on an earlier blog about Walter solo but on this release was my listening to the song. It is a better song live than what he had on his solo CD.  Oddly enough the song is richer and musically layered live than in the studio.  The feel of the recording is almost like you're seeing the band on a late summer night laying on a blanket under the stars.  

I recommend Alive in America for anyone like me who haven't gotten a chance to see the Dan live. 

Till next time listen to the best your ears deserve it!

Kamakiriad Fagen Looks at Middle Age

I love Steely Dan,  I have already reviewed Walter Becker and it is time for Donald Fagen.  Odds are even people who don't love Steely Dan will recognize some of Donald Fagen's songs.  Commercially he achieved more success after the break up than his partner Walter did.

Donald's first three CD's were his takes and views on early, middle and twilight of a man's life.  The first CD The Nightfly had a few hits and most people know of it.  The second CD Kamakiriad never really hit the pop crossover like the first, but right now it is my favorite of the three and the one I will review.

I guess being middle aged it is closer to what I see and feel.  I won't say I am what you traditional think of as middle age,:mainly no kids.  But I observe and feel what I would describe as the middle of my shuffle on this mortal coil.  That's a lot of explanation on why these tracks speak more to me and the tracks off the other two CDs.

Keeping in that theme, the CD starts with the track Trans-Island Skyway.  It is a track about how men love cars and when we get that one "I made it car."  For the singer, the car is way over the top with the bells and whistles, not that I don't think having a vegetable garden in your car isn't great. I haven't quite gotten to that "I made it" car yet, but I know I will share in the pride of the singer of this track. Snowbound is another great track.  When I hear it, I always picture my time in Michigan and the fun, at least for the first couple of days, of the town being covered in snow.  The stand out track on the whole CD is On The Dunes.  Beaches are special places and the way Donald uses his words paint such a picture of the pain that he feels from the breakup I really feel I am there.  Finally Tomorrow's Girls, I was talking with the Mrs about this song.  She works on campus at UK and I see the Coeds at work.  At my age women in their 20's almost feel like women from another planet.  Like the city is being invaded by Tomorrow's Girls.  The song nails how time changes and how we look at the opposite sex.

I got a wonderful gift for Christmas last year.  A pair of wireless Bose Headphones.  Now Steely Dan and Donald Fagen have been accused of over production on their CDs but to all who say that listen to their works on headphones.  Their songs are made for to close your eyes and let the music and lyrics take you to the dunes and watch a man morn a lost love, or watch a suburban college professor walk across campus and marvel at the Coeds like they are from another world.  The music Donald and Walter make is meant to immerse yourself in the worlds they create.  If it is overproduced and slick or not I don't care, when I listen I am there.

Til next time- only listen to the best: your ears deserve it!

The comment that caused a career to Fly away

I have had a hard time starting this blog. The CD is incredible but the trio or one of them is difficult. What the singer said and the reaction or overreaction to the comments is not an area I want to go into with my blog. Unfortunately the  contervery seems to have an halo effect with the trio and caused an early demise to a stellar career. 

The trio are the Dixie Chicks and whatever your opinions on their lead singer Natalie Maines are that is fine with me.  What I want to review is in my opinion is one of the great modern country CDs. 

Fly came out in 1999 and dominated the country music charts and propelled the band into crossover success. I like most of America loved the trio. The group was fun and a great blend of modern feel with a healthy nod to their country past. 

The CD starts off with the track Ready to Run, which was also included in the soundtrack to the Julia Roberts movie Run Away Bride. The video that accompanied the song was very cute with the trio running away from their weddings on bikes. Sticking with the video theme Goodbye Earl is wonderfully tasty song about vengeance. The video with its release had some great stars in it, Jane Krakawoski and Lauren Holly as the best friends and Dennis Franz as Earl.  Finally Cowboy Take Me Away another successful crossover hit. 

The thing that makes this CD is great is in between these crossover country songs is some wonderful updating of country classic themes. Hello Mr Heartache is a country gem along with Cold Day in July share the wonderful traditional word play that are in country classics. Hole in My Head and Sin Wagon are fun jams. Finally you can hear feel the desperation and hopelessness in the tracks Heartbreak Town and Without You. 

Well if you don't know what happened to cause the trio's career go sideways find out for yourself I am not covering it here. Still with such a prefect blend of the old and new in a country music scene that seems to have abandoned their past it makes you wonder what if. 

Til next time listen to the best your ears deserve it.  

The Guy is Immortalized

Hey a review of an CD from this century in fact this decade.  I wrote in an earlier post of my love of Disturbed and how they re awoken my love of Hard Rock.  Well Disturbed took a five year hiatus and the members put out some good music.  Then last year on Disturbed's Facebook page The Guy was shown being revived.

The CD was released and shot to number one on the charts.  Fans loved it and the critics were back on the hunt again. Critics are what critics are, I take everything they say with a grain of salt and to take pieces of what they say to make a true picture. They don't like the CD and don't see any growth, the quote I loved was "this was a for Fans only release", of course they wrote the CD for the fans who else buys it?

On to the CD.  First of I disagree with the critics there are some new things on the release.  First off there is almost a ballad, well by Disturbed's standards a ballad.  You're Mine is a song the lead singer David Draiman wrote for his wife. it and the song The Light are almost upbeat and happy.  I am not sure I would have used those terms to describe any Disturbed tracks from earlier CDs.  Finally the cover of Simon and Garfunkel's Sound of Silence should put the haters of Draiman's voice to rest.  The man can sing and his delivery on this track proves it.  Sheryl listened to the track and didn't know it was Disturbed.

Now there are the standard Disturbed tracks. The title track is powerful and Immortalized can be used to fire up teams before taking the field.  The video release for The Vengeful One brings back Disturbed mascot The Guy and although a great video it isn't Land of Confusion.  I am kind of happy they didn't try to remake the Todd McFarland video that was lighting in a bottle and couldn't be repeated.  The new video is live action and animation, it features The Guy returning and taking on the evil of the media.  The funnest point is that the corporation has an intern named Hope and the monsters of executives eat her  Not exactly subtle but funny.

In some ways the critics are right if you like Disturbed you will like this CD.  In other ways they are wrong I can see some changes without losing your fan base.

Til next time listen to the best your ears deserve it.

Powerful Soft Rock Mr. Cross

Me and Sheryl were watching Anchorman 2 and Christoper Cross's Ride Like the Wind comes on. Wow that is a great song do I own that?  Reviewing ITunes I find out, no I don't.  That was quickly fixed.  I am surprised and not so surprised that the Album didn't make it onto ITunes, I probably had a copy of a copy on cassette.  It was nice to rediscover another musical piece of my teenage years.

Now in the early 80's Christopher Cross dominated the air ways and many a jam box.  I remember several youth group and choir groups bus tours that Mr. Cross was played on the jam box on the way home. It was a soft rock sound that parents and teenagers could listen to.  Growing up in Miami in the early 80's you couldn't get away from the song Sailing.  Everybody with a boat either had that or Jimmy Buffett playing on a loop.

The album, as I rediscovered is really one of the perfect examples of Soft Rock.  Not only did you have the classic Sailing, there was I Really Don't Know Anymore and Ride Like The Wind.  Those tracks featured on background vocals the Great Micheal McDonald another legend in the soft rock field.

As a funny side note Sirius XM has put out a temporary channel called Yacht Rock. Please check it out it plays all the artists I have listed and more.  I am back in my parents Volkswagen and listening to the AM radio, good times.

To say the album was a monster is an understatement.  When it hit the Grammy's the album and Mr. Cross won five awards.  And if this isn't a shocker it beat Pink Floyd's The Wall for album of the year.

Unfortunately for a lot of Soft Rock artist of the age MTV showed up.  Pop and Dance ruled the charts and airwaves fueled by the Music Video.  Not to say Christoper totally disappeared there were a few very notable hits, Think of Laura from General Hospital, that's for you Halcomb, and Arthur's Theme from Arthur but nothing like the monster his first Album was.

So if you want to take a great trip back and listen to classic give his first album at try.

Til next time keep listening to the best your ears deserve it.

Chickenfoot what I expected a few years later

The 80's where a great time for hard Rock.  One of the bands that ruled the age was Van Halen.  I remember a friend gave me their first album it was a master piece of ROCK. By the time I got into high school the album 1984 came out for Van Halen. I was less than thrilled, keyboards on the album and not just filler music keyboard solos.  What happened to the Monsters of Rock?  Then Dave went solo found his own guitar genius Steve Vai and put out some fun music.  Guitar driven over the top flamboyant style that we knew from Mr. Roth.  To the outside observer thank God he is gone David was keeping the band back.

For the next album Van Halen was going to add Sammy Hagar, Holy Sh#t I was stoked.  The Red Rocker, the guy who wrote I Can't Drive 55, Heavy Metal and 3 Lock Box, old Guitar driven Van Halen is back. Then 5150 came out.  I have grown to like the album now, but then I was meh.  It's a good rock album but not what I thought it should sound like.  Van Hagar, as they were known, put a few more albums most solid rock albums.  Then the public found out who the real snake in Van Halen was.

Eddie Van Halen is an innovator and a monster on the guitar, but as a person what came out about him is pretty terrible.  He threw Sammy under the bus, and then a few years latter he threw the most underrated Bass player Michael Anthony the same place.  Now lead singers and lead guitarist have always had tenuous relationships in most bands but Michael Anthony has never gotten into the mudslinging and drama that has seemed to follow Van Halen.

Sammy and Michael still played together and jammed in Cabo at Sammy's club.Ah to be 10-20 years younger and to hang out there.  They brought on Chad Smith from the Red Hot Chili Peppers and a Guitarist that more than holds his own with Eddie Van Halen, Joe Satriani.  Chickenfoot was born.  I bought the album and what I thought I would hear 30 years ago was there.  Guitar driven songs and almost a hard rock jam band feel.  What I feel makes this band superior to Van Hagar is that all the musicians work together not in competition for the lime light.

If you want to hear a great rock band Chickenfoot is the way to go.
Til next time be good to your ears they deserve it.

Chess many moves for a musical

In 1984 watching MTV I caught a video that was very different.  One Night in Bangkok was a concept video from the concept album Chess.  The song is neat and different and for kid like me that was raised on musicals from my Mom it was genius.  After the song hit I didn't know any thing more about the album Chess for a few years.

1987 I was a senior in Miami Killian High School and I was singing in the coral ensemble.  The director Mr. Matthews was looking for works for us to preform and he brought Chess back into my world.  I learned much more about the musical from what we sang and I loved every minute of it.

1989 attending Miami Dade Community college and still singing.  I found the concept album for Chess in a second hand CD shop.  It was the original concept ie the British version and it was awesome.  I devoured the songs and for a 20 something idealist the themes running through them hit all the right buttons.

Now I can still put the CD on at anytime and lose myself in the story and music.  Different things speak to me now but it still stands the test of time.

The beauty of the album is first it is a great collaboration of song writers.  Take the music of ABBA which lends itself to story telling and then add the lyric great Tim Rice to weave the story through the words.  Second the story itself, as a child of the end of the Cold War I knew of the Chess matches between evil USSR and the noble USA.  Imagine a 20ish young man looking behind the scenes with the story told and finding the people involved might not be so black and white as the Chess board is.

The themes are mature and deep, nationalism, drive for career, abandonment of family and can love survive success.  The story is crafted equally well through the music and the lyrics. If you want to hear some very clever and words that sound right out of real life listen to Argument and Pity the Child.

As good as the Concept album was the show for many years didn't translate well to the actual stage. I saw the American tour and it just didn't quite work, the curtain had fallen by that time and the East Vs West didn't work.  There were a few more attempts until

2008  a very stripped down version sticking the the original Concept album with limited dialog other than the songs.  The performers included Idina Menzel, Adam Pascal and Josh Groban.  Finally it is the closest to what I pictured in my mind.

If you want to listen to history and very current situations preformed wonderfully give Chess a listen.

As always listen to the best your ear's deserve it.