1. art and entertainment
2. music

General Comments for all Naweedna CDs

Will Moyle’s Jazz Alive, a locally produced master collection of classic jazz. The Will Moyle stuff is the best
collection of jazz I‘ve ever heard. I taped it in the 80s from WXXI broadcasts.

FFUSA: Folk Festival USA, a nationally distributed collection of excerpts recorded live at various folk
festivals around the country – varying from traditional country to purely ethnic, to socio-political (one lesbian
festival, in fact). FFUSA is eclectic, and the live recordings often catch a lot of crowd noise as well as bad
microphone placement. Originally taped from WXXI in the 80s.

GTWG: The Glory That Was Grease, another locally produced broadcast that featured the formative years of
Rock and Roll from the 50s and 60s – my youth. The ―Grease‖ may have been ―Greece‖, the Rochester suburb
where the program originated. The GTWG is marginal but good for reminding my generation of their teenage
years – if that can be considered a good thing. Originally taped from WXXI in the 80s.

BBGR: Big Band Go Round, yet another local program featuring … Big Band, but also including most anything
recorded from the 20s to 50s. The BBGR is so broad that it is unlikely to be duplicated anywhere. However,
you have to have a fondness for the crackle of scratchy old 78‘s and an appetite for schmaltz to fully
appreciate it. Originally taped in the 80s.

PHC & PHC-D: Prairie Home Companion – the middle years. I didn‘t get started with PHC until the 80s, so I
missed the early period, and I stopped taping when Garrison retired – for the first time. Remember the
unfortunate guy who took over the time slot from Garrison? Me, neither. AS IF anyone could do that – a
classic no-win situation. When Garrison un-retired (like Michael Jordan), the second version of the show was
based in NYC, and I didn‘t care for it that much, so I didn‘t tape it. A few years later I discovered that he
had gone back to the old format and was broadcasting from St Paul MN again. I‘ve been digitizing those
programs in real time ever since, and they are designated as PHC-D. The PHC stuff contains the essence of
American music – in my not-so-humble opinion. The only nationally broadcast show that ever came close to
matching PHC for quality and variety was the TV show, Northern Exposure – go figure. I have two Northern
CDs; if there are more, I would like to know about them ASAP.

Recording & Release Dates: The parenthetical numbers appended at the end of track titles represent the
release date of the album or CD source. These dates are as accurate as I can obtain. The dates for some
tracks from compilations reflect the release date of the compilation. Format: (xx, yy) where xx = last two
digits of recording date; yy = last two digits of release date.
As usual, my comments are in blue. The other information comes from www.allmusic.com and various lyrics sources.
Additions and corrections are welcome … encouraged, in fact.
In Memoriam … 2010:

Kate McGarrigle Obituary
The Playlist and Notes for Naweedna 2010-YAY(Sides)
01
Not Easy - Dan Hicks
Where's The Money 1971
This track intro always elicits a smile from us … we thought it might do the same for you. Dan‘s got it
right … it‘s not easy. But it sure is fun ;-)
Lyrics
Okay, I think you can figure out the lyrics …
Where's the Money?
4.5 Stars Checked
1971
Pop/Rock
Before they could release a second album of their patented good-time hippie acoustic swing, Hicks and his
band parted company with Epic records. That their fresh start would be marked by the release of a live
set may seem odd at first. But the album does in fact capture a certain intimacy missing from their
studio debut. Songs that would remain staples of the Hot Licks repertoire for years to come are found in
their most well-known versions here, including the title track, "I Feel Like Singing," "Shorty Falls in
Love," and "By Hook or By Crook." The between-song banter even stands up to repeated listenings. It's
not often that can be said about a live recording.
Dan Hicks
Throughout his decades-long career, Dan Hicks stood as one of contemporary music's true eccentrics.
While steeped in folk, his acoustic sound knew few musical boundaries, drawing on country, call-andresponse vocals, jazz phrasing and no small amount of humor to create a distinctive, albeit sporadic, body
of work which earned him a devoted cult following.
Hicks was born December 9, 1941 to a military family then living in Arkansas, and grew up in California,
where he was a drummer in a number of high school bands. He attended college in San Francisco, where
he switched to guitar and began playing folk music. He returned to the drums, however, when he joined
the Charlatans, one of the Bay City's first psychedelic bands. Although the Charlatans were short-lived they issued only one single during their existence - they proved influential throughout the San Francisco
musical community, and were one of the first acts the play the legendary Family Dog.
Hicks had formed the acoustic group Dan Hicks and His Hot Licks in 1968 as an opener for the
Charlatans, but soon the new band became his primary project. After adding a pair of female backing
vocalists - "the Lickettes" - the group issued its debut LP Original Recordings in 1969. After a pair of
1971 records, Where's the Money? and Striking It Rich, they issued 1973's Last Train to Hicksville,
which proved to be the Hot Licks most successful album yet. At the peak of the group's popularity,
however, Hicks dissolved the band, and did not resurface until 1978, releasing the solo LP It Happened
One Bite, the soundtrack to an uncompleted feature by animator Ralph Bakshi. He then phased in and out
of the music industry for more than a decade, and did not issue another major recording until 1994's
Shootin' Straight, a live recording cut with a new band, the Acoustic Warriors In 2000, over two decades
after the group's dissolution, Hicks reformed the Hot Licks and issued Beatin' The Heat. Alive and
Lickin' arrived a year later.
02
The World's Green Laughter - The B-52's
Good Stuff 1992
Oh, this one‘s been sitting in the Naweedna queue for a couple years. We decided this was the year to
include it, so here it is. It makes me chuckle and that seems appropriate for this year‘s offerings. I really
don‘t know anything about The B-52‘s … but I do know I like this track … a lot. Music doesn‘t have to be
serious to be good. The CD came to us through the good graces of Joe Spollen – thanks, Joe.
Lyrics
Hmmm, no lyrics again …
Good Stuff
2 Stars
1992
Rock
If Cosmic Thing found them returned to most-favored party band status, this followup gamely soldiers on
in similar fashion. Without Cindy Wilson, Good Stuff becomes Kate Pierson's showcase, while even Fred
Schneider turns in his most purely musical performance to date. If the B-52's hit some dead ends while
trying to stretch out a bit, be assured there are enough classic bits to make this one worthwhile.
The B-52's
The first of many acts to cement the college town of Athens, GA, as a hotbed of alternative music, the
B-52's took their name from the Southern slang for the mile-high bouffant wigs sported by singers Kate
Pierson and Cindy Wilson, a look emblematic of the band's campy, thrift-store aesthetic. The five-piece
group, which also included founding members Fred Schneider, guitarist Ricky Wilson (Cindy's older
brother), and drummer Keith Strickland, formed in the mid-'70s after a drunken evening at a Chinese
restaurant; the bandmembers had little or no previous musical experience, and performed most of their
earliest shows with taped guitar and percussion accompaniment.
After pressing up a few thousand copies of the single "Rock Lobster," the B-52's traveled to the famed
Max's Kansas City club for their first paying gig. Subsequent appearances at CBGB's brought the group
to the attention of the New York press, and in 1979, they issued their self-titled debut album, a
collection of manic, bizarre, and eminently danceable songs which scored an underground club hit with a
reworked version of "Rock Lobster." The following year, they issued Wild Planet, which reached the Top
20 on the U.S. album charts; Party Mix!, an EP's worth of reworked material from the band's first two
proper outings, appeared in 1981.
1982's Mesopotamia arose out of a series of aborted sessions with producer David Byrne which saw the
B-52's largely abandon their trademark sense of humor, a situation rectified by the next year's
Whammy!, a move into electronic territory. After a Schneider solo LP, 1984's Fred Schneider & the
Shake Society, the group returned to the studio to record 1986's Bouncing Off the Satellites. On
October 12, 1985, however, Ricky Wilson died; though originally his death was attributed to natural
causes, it was later revealed that he had succumbed to AIDS. In light of Wilson's death, the group found
it impossible to promote the new album, and they spent the next several years in seclusion.
In 1989, the B-52's finally returned with Cosmic Thing, their most commercially successful effort to
date. Marked by Strickland's move from drums to guitar and club-friendly production from Don Was and
Nile Rodgers, the album launched several hit singles, including the party smash "Love Shack," "Roam," and
"Deadbeat Club." In 1990, Cindy Wilson retired from active duty, leaving the remaining trio to soldier on
for 1992's Good Stuff. A year later, dubbed the BC-52's, they performed the theme song for Steven
Spielberg's live-action feature The Flintsones. Wilson returned to the group for a tour supporting the
release of 1998's hits collection Time Capsule.
03
Navajo Rug – Ian Tyson
Cowboyography 1987
This was slated for inclusion the very first time I heard it. The more I hear it; the more I like it. Just
good and simple music. We got this track from Bob Mahoney … think I need to buy the whole CD ;-)
Lyrics
Well it's two eggs up on whiskey toast, home fries on the side,
Wash it down with road house coffee, burns up your insides,
Just a canyon Colorado diner, and a waitress I did love,
I sat in the back ‗neath an old stuffed bear, and a worn out Navajo rug.
Now old Jack, the boss, he left at six, and it's Katie bar the door,
She'd pull down that Navajo rug, and spread it across the floor,
Hey I saw lightning cross, the sacred mountains, saw woven turtle doves,
I was lying next to Katie, on that old Navajo rug.
Aye, aye, aye, Katie, shades of red and blue,
Aye, aye, aye, Katie, whatever became of the Navajo rug and you Katie, shades of red and blue?
Well I saw old Jack, about a year ago, said the place burned to the ground,
And all I saved was this old bear tooth, and Katie, she left town,
Ah, but Katie got her souvenir to; Jack spat a tobacco plug,
Well you should have seen her comin‘ through the smoke,
Draggin‘ that Navajo rug,
Aye, aye, aye, Katie, shades of red and blue,
Aye, aye, aye, Katie, whatever became of the Navajo rug and you?
So every time I cross the sacred mountains, and lightning breaks above,
It always takes me back in time, to my long lost Katie love,
But everything keeps on moving, and every body‘s on the go,
Hey, you don't find things that last anymore, like an old woven Navajo,
Aye, aye, aye, Katie, shades of red and blue,
Aye, aye, aye, Katie, whatever became of the Navajo rug and you, Katie, shades of red and blue,
Aye, aye, aye, Katie, whatever became of the Navajo rug and you?
Cowboyography
3 Stars
1987
Country
One of the few Ian Tyson albums to be released in the United States, Cowboyography is also one of his
best records, demonstrating his skill for melding traditional western musical and lyrical themes with
contemporary arrangements, productions and sensibilities.
Ian Tyson
Half of the early-'60s folk group Ian & Sylvia, Ian Tyson retreated from performing and recording after
the duo disbanded in the mid-'70s to become a rancher in the foothills of Southern Alberta, Canada. He
quietly returned to music-making in the 1980s, releasing a series of albums that focused on detailed
songs about the concerns of the working cowboy.
Tyson was born in Victoria, British Columbia. As a child he was involved in rodeo, not music -- he didn't
learn to play the guitar until he was recovering from rodeo-related injuries. In the late '50s, he began
performing as a folk singer. In 1961, he met singer/songwriter Sylvia Fricker and the two musicians began
performing together; they also married three years later. Ian & Sylvia and their band, Great Speckled
Bird, became popular on the folk scene and released their self-titled debut album in 1962. In 1963, they
released Four Strong Winds; the title track, written by Tyson, became a folk standard. Ian & Sylvia
successfully recorded together through the mid-'70s. The duo also began hosting a television show,
Nashville North, which became the Ian Tyson Show when the couple split up in the middle of the decade.
After Ian & Sylvia's break-up, Tyson recorded Ol'Eon. He temporarily retired from recording in 1979 to
work his ranch, but returned with Old Corrals and Sagebrush in 1983. In 1984, he toured with Ricky
Skaggs and also released an eponymous album. Tyson released a third album, Cowboyography, two years
later, and in 1991, he released another popular Canadian album, And Stood There Amazed, which
contained the hits "Springtime in Alberta" and "Black Nights." Subsequent releases include 1994's
Eighteen Inches of Rain, 1996's All the Good 'Uns and 1999's Lost Herd. Tyson released Live at Longview
in 2002, followed by Songs from the Gravel Road in 2005.
04
Blue Light Boogie, Part 1 – Louis Jordan
Anthology 1938-1953
I‘ve wanted to include a Louis Jordan track from the very first. However, picking one of his many great
tunes was very difficult – just look at the tracks mentioned in the CD review and Jordan bio below. Then,
sometime over the last year, I heard this track and thought: Yeah, that‘s the one; it goes into Naweedna
2010 for sure. Hope you like it as much as we do. We purchased the Anthology CD set on Mahoney‘s
suggestion … and are very glad we did.
Lyrics
BLUE LIGHT BOOGIE
(Robinson)
Recorded by: Mary Coughlan; Jellyroll; Jive At Five;
Louis Jordan; Magic Sam; Taj Mahal; Jim Mesi; Texana Dames.
They did the Boogie real slow with the blue lights way down low
They did the Boogie real slow with the blue lights way down low
1
I went to a party, was nothin‘ there but bobby socks
Went to a party, man you oughta seen ‗em to reel and rock
They did the Boogie real slow with the blue lights way down low
They did the Boogie real slow with the blue lights way down low
2
I started rockin‘, man I threw my left foot out.
I started swingin‘, somebody begin to shout
You got to Boogie real slow with the blue lights way down low
You got to Boogie real slow with the blue lights way down low
3
The girls boys, they made so much noise
They even had a raid
But when the police got there all they could find
Was ice cream and lemonade
4
Oh what a party
I'm so glad I didn't stay at home
Oh what a party
They didn't treat me like I was a chaperone
They did the Boogie real slow with the blue lights way down low
They did the Boogie real slow with the blue lights way down low
repeat 2
5
The Women had they're heads laid on their fellas' shoulders
Who were boogie-woogeyin‘ and squeezin‘ em up in the room
I couldn't see how they was dancin‘
Cuz their feet, they didn't move
repeat 4
Let the Good Times Roll: Anthology 1938-1953
1938-53, 1999
5 Stars
Jazz
Overlooking Bear Family's comprehensive nine-disc box, this double-CD set is the best reissue ever on
Louis Jordan, and the first truly comprehensive domestic release on Jordan's work to feature state-ofthe-art sound. There are holes — only a relative handful of the tracks that Jordan and the Tympany Five
recorded in 1939 and 1940 are included, although those that are here represent most of the best of
them — but not huge ones, and every major Jordan track from 15 years of work is present. The quality of
the digital transfers is as alluring than the selection, the mastering so clean, that it sounds 20 years
newer than one could ever expect any of it to, based on their actual ages. The 1941 vintage "Pan Pan" and
"Saxa-Woogie" place the band practically in the listener's lap, with solos on clarinet, tenor sax, etc., that
have smooth, rippling textures and barely a trace of the noise one should expect from early '40s tracks
bumped to digital — and the fidelity of these, and "Boogie Woogie Came to Town," "Rusty Dusty Blues,"
etc., all run circles around any earlier reissues. Similarly, the drums, high-hat, trumpet, sax and ensemble
singing on "Five Guys Named Moe" are crisp enough to pass for modern re-records, except they're not.
Indeed, until you get to "Ration Blues," from 1943, there aren't many overt hints of the compression
inherent masters of this vintage, and that's the exception — "G.I. Jive" and "Caldonia," cut one and two
years later, have the kind of sound textures one more expects out of audiophile releases. Disc Two opens
with "Ain't That Just Like a Woman," a perfect blueprint in style and execution (check out Carl Hogan's
guitar intro) for the sound that Chuck Berry popularized ten years later. Of the later material, only "Run
Joe" sounds a little less distinct than the rest. "Life Is So Peculiar" features Louis Armstrong, as vocalist
with Jordan, in a beguilingly funny duet from 1951. By that time, Jordan's formula for success was past
its prime, and he and Decca records were looking for new approaches — "Teardrops from My Eyes" wasn't
it, adding an obtrusive organ played by Wild Bill Davis to the mix. The later incarnation of Jordan's band
on these tracks is a more restrained and sophisticated big-band unit, without much of the wild jump-blues
feel of the '40s Tympany Five — a 19-year-old Oliver Nelson can be heard on alto sax, incidentally — but
occasionally they capture the feel of the old band, as on "Fat Sam from Birmingham." This version of the
band and the way they're recorded are still superior to the incarnations of Jordan's group that turn up
on his later recordings for Aladdin and Mercury.
Louis Jordan
Effervescent saxophonist Louis Jordan was one of the chief architects and prime progenitors of the R&B
idiom. His pioneering use of jumping shuffle rhythms in a small combo context was copied far and wide
during the 1940s.
Jordan's sensational hit-laden run with Decca Records contained a raft of seminal performances,
featuring inevitably infectious backing by his band, the Tympany Five, and Jordan's own searing alto sax
and street corner jive-loaded sense of humor. Jordan was one of the first Black entertainers to sell
appreciably in the pop sector; his Decca duet mates included Bing Crosby, Louis Armstrong, and Ella
Fitzgerald.
The son of a musician, Jordan spent time as a youth with the Rabbit Foot Minstrels and majored in music
later on at Arkansas Baptist College. After moving with his family to Philadelphia in 1932, Jordan hooked
up with pianist Clarence Williams. He joined the orchestra of drummer Chick Webb in 1936 and remained
there until 1938. Having polished up his singing abilities with Webb's outfit, Jordan was ready to strike
out on his own.
The saxist's first 78 for Decca in 1938, "Honey in the Bee Ball," billed his combo as the Elks Rendezvous
Band (after the Harlem nightspot that he frequently played at). From 1939 on, though, Jordan fronted
the Tympany Five, a sturdy little aggregation often expanding over quintet status that featured some
well-known musicians over the years: pianists Wild Bill Davis and Bill Doggett, guitarists Carl Hogan and
Bill Jennings, bassist Dallas Bartley, and drummer Chris Columbus all passed through the ranks.
From 1942 to 1951, Jordan scored an astonishing 57 R&B chart hits (all on Decca), beginning with the
humorous blues "I'm Gonna Leave You on the Outskirts of Town" and finishing with "Weak Minded Blues."
In between, he drew up what amounted to an easily followed blueprint for the development of R&B (and
for that matter, rock & roll — the accessibly swinging shuffles of Bill Haley & the Comets were directly
descended from Jordan; Haley often pointed to his Decca labelmate as profoundly influencing his
approach).
"G.I. Jive," "Caldonia," "Buzz Me," "Choo Choo Ch' Boogie," "Ain't That Just like a Woman," "Ain't Nobody
Here but Us Chickens," "Boogie Woogie Blue Plate," "Beans and Cornbread," "Saturday Night Fish Fry,"
and "Blue Light Boogie" — every one of those classics topped the R&B lists, and there were plenty more
that did precisely the same thing. Black audiences coast-to-coast were breathlessly jitterbugging to
Jordan's jumping jive (and one suspects, more than a few Whites kicked up their heels to those same
platters as well).
The saxist was particularly popular during World War II. He recorded prolifically for the Armed Forces
Radio Service and the V-Disc program. Jordan's massive popularity also translated onto the silver screen
— he filmed a series of wonderful short musicals during the late '40s that were decidedly short on plot
but long on visual versions of his hits (Caldonia, Reet Petite & Gone, Look Out Sister, and Beware, along
with countless soundies) that give us an enlightening peek at just what made him such a beloved
entertainer. Jordan also cameo-ed in a big-budget Hollywood wartime musical, Follow the Boys.
A brief attempt at fronting a big band in 1951 proved an ill-fated venture, but it didn't dim his ebullience.
In 1952, tongue firmly planted in cheek, he offered himself as a candidate for the highest office in the
land on the amusing Decca outing "Jordan for President."
Even though his singles were still eminently solid, they weren't selling like they used to by 1954. So after
an incredible run of more than a decade-and-a-half, Jordan moved over to the Mesner brothers' Los
Angeles-based Aladdin logo at the start of the year. Alas, time had passed the great pioneer by — "Dad
Gum Ya Hide Boy," "Messy Bessy," "If I Had Any Sense," and the rest of his Aladdin output sounds great
in retrospect, but it wasn't what young R&B fans were searching for at the time. In 1955, he switched to
RCA's short-lived "X" imprint, where he tried to remain up-to-date by issuing "Rock 'N' Roll Call."
A blistering Quincy Jones-arranged date for Mercury in 1956 deftly updated Jordan's classics for the
rock & roll crowd, with hellfire renditions of "Let the Good Times Roll," "Salt Pork, West Virginia," and
"Beware" benefiting from the blasting lead guitar of Mickey Baker and Sam "The Man" Taylor's muscular
tenor sax. There was even time to indulge in a little torrid jazz at Mercury; "The JAMF," from a 1957 LP
called Man, We're Wailin', was a sizzling indication of what a fine saxist Jordan was.
Ray Charles had long cited Jordan as a primary influence (he lovingly covered Jordan's "Don't Let the
Sun Catch You Crying" and "Early in the Morning"), and paid him back by signing Jordan to the Genius'
Tangerine label. Once again, the fickle public largely ignored his worthwhile 1962-64 offerings.
Lounge gigs still offered the saxman a steady income, though, and he adjusted his onstage playlist
accordingly. A 1973 album for the French Black & Blue logo found Jordan covering Mac Davis's "I Believe
in Music" (can't get much loungier than that!). A heart attack silenced this visionary in 1975, but not
before he acted as the bridge between the big-band era and the rise of R&B.
His profile continues to rise posthumously, in large part due to the recent acclaimed Broadway musical
Five Guys Named Moe, based on Jordan's bubbly, romping repertoire and charismatic persona.
05
NaCl (Sodium Chloride) – Kate & Anna McGarrigle
McGarrigle Hour 1998
From the CD jewel case insert …NaCl: This little gem originally appeared on Pronto Monto. Kate studied
Chemistry in high school and at McGill and hated it, but something must have stuck. One afternoon in
1972, she wrote this at the piano in about 10 minutes.
Kate McGarrigle: singer and songwriter … (Obituary)
We lost a good one this year. Kate & Anna have quite the extended family: Kate's ex-husband Loudon
Wainwright and their progeny, Rufus. Then there all the artists they‘ve worked with over the years –
including Maria Muldaur who did a good job with ―Cool River‖. Mahoney put us onto the McGarrigle Hour
CD and it has loads of great tunes – many of which have been in the Naweedna queue for some time. Thus,
it seemed appropriate to commemorate Kate‘s passing with one of her tunes. I picked NaCl because its
humor seemed to fit with this year‘s special offerings … and it‘s Geochemisty. Oh, and I just love the
―whoop, whoop‖ background.
Lyrics
NaCl (Sodium Chloride)
Kate McGarrigle, Garden Court Music ASCAP
Just a little atom of chlorine
Valence minus one
Swimming thru the sea, digging the scene
Just having fun
She's not worried about the shape or size
Of her outside shell
It's fun to ionize
Just a little atom of Cl
With an unfilled shell
But somewhere in that sea lurks
Handsome Sodium
With enough electrons on his outside shell
Plus that extra one
Somewhere in this deep blue sea
There's a negative
For my extra energy yes
Somewhere in this foam
My positive will find a home
Then unsuspecting Chlorine
Felt a magnetic pull
She looked down and her outside
Shell was full
Sodium cried "what a gas be my bride and
I'll change your name from Chlorine to Chloride"
Now the sea evaporates to make the clouds
For the rain and snow
Leaving her chemical compounds in the absence
Of H2O
But the crystals that wash upon the shore
Are happy ones
So if you never thought before
Think of the love that you eat
When you salt your meat
Think of the love that you eat
When you salt your meat
The McGarrigle Hour
4 Stars
1998
Folk
An interesting idea, given the talented family tree of the McGarrigle Sisters: Gather the family together
(including Kate's ex-husband Loudon Wainwright) and record a CD as they play the family piano and sing
traditional folk tunes, originals, and old pop standards. Add in some friends (Emmylou Harris turning in a
stirring vocal on "Skip Rope Song"), Linda Ronstadt, and Chaim Tannenbaum, and the end result is a
pleasant yet somewhat mediocre CD. But even a mediocre release from this family has several redeeming
qualities. Kate and Anna's harmonies have never sounded tighter, and the choice of using Joe Boyd as
producer (he produced their first two albums) was a good one, as he seems able to highlight their vocals
and harmonies. There are some truly amazing songs as well, especially when they tackle pure, traditional
folk tunes. Loudon Wainwright's "Schooldays," the opening track, is an early highlight, featuring great
vocals and a great tune. The traditional folk song "Dig My Grave," featuring Chaim Tannenbaum, is chilling,
and Anna's version of her own "Cool River" is incredibly moving — all beautiful songs. The problem with
this album is that there are no new songs, which is a real shame since this is the follow-up to 1996's
brilliant Matapedia. This may be a small complaint, as the songs all mean something to the family, as
evidenced in the notes in the package. Overall, however, a good album, but not the best release from the
McGarrigles.
McGarrigles
Kate (b.1946) and Anna (b.1944) McGarrigle are Canadian songwriting sisters whose work first came to
international recognition in 1974 when Linda Ronstadt recorded Anna's "Heart Like a Wheel" as the title
song to one of her albums. The sisters were signed to Warner Brothers and recorded Kate & Anna
McGarrigle, an album of deeply felt (sometimes deeply funny) songs with a homey, eclectic folk backing
and tart, striking vocals. It was widely hailed. Its two follow-ups seemed rushed, though they contained
some good songs. In 1981, the sisters (having left Warner) recorded French Record for Joe Boyd's
Hannibal label, and it showed considerable charm. Love Over and Over, in 1982, marked a move toward
rock that cheered fans but also turned out to be their last album for almost a decade.
In the meantime, they raised families and ventured out every now and then to play a few rapturously
received dates, especially in the Northeast. At one of these in the late '80s, they said they'd been
working on a musical with producer Roma Baran. That project never came to fruition, but in 1990 they
finally returned to the record racks with Heartbeats Accelerating. The McGarrigle Hour followed in
1998.
06
Mfan' Omncane - Dorothy Masuka
Putumayo - Women Of Africa 2004
Name this tune – in English, please! It is familiar, but none of us – including The Music Man, Mahoney – can
come up with a title. I just know it is a standard Big Band Jazz tune but … what‘s the name? I tried
translating the title to no avail. Soooo, if you can come up with the name, you win a free CD next year ;-)
After Adam Schroeder gave us some Putumayo stuff, I went about collecting all their offerings I could
find. We now have 67 Putumayo CDs in our collection. Impressive, eh? The very first time I heard this
track on the Women Of Africa compilation, I was hooked … but bugged by not knowing the title in a
language I understand. Now I‘m looking for more Dorothy Masuka ;-)
Lyrics
You tell me ;-)
Putumayo Presents: Women of Africa
3 Stars
2004
World
While the African music scene is currently dominated largely by men, there has never been any stigma to
speak of against women performing (with the possible exception of some of the North African Islamic
nations). The catch is that women tended historically to spend less time playing instruments in favor of
other portions of the rituals and work, and stayed primarily within the vocal field as a result. Putumayo is
taking advantage of this to combine three of their favorite forms of compilation: African music, women's
music, and vocal music. The range here covers essentially the whole of Africa, with representatives from
each of the major areas. South African Judith Sephuma opens the album with a contemporary piece,
followed by Benin's great Angélique Kidjo with something based on Brazilian idioms. Following the
Portuguese influence a step further (or closer, as the case may be), Maria de Barros performs a bit of
morna from Cape Verde before the album makes a return to South Africa with Sibongile Khumalo. A quick
run to the east allows for a nice Malagasy work from Tarika, and a jump north to Cameroon precedes the
third South African piece, this time a bit of classic jazz from Dorothy Masuka. Firmly moving away from
the South African sphere of influence, a wonderful piece from the often-excluded Comoros is included,
preceding Ivorian Dobet Gnahore with a chipper work. A beautiful ballad from Souad Massi's Island
release takes up the North African end, followed by an acoustic guitar-based rhythm from Burundi's
Khadja Nin. Closing the album is a bit of female isicathamiya, courtesy of the Women of Mambazo, led by
Joseph Shabalala's wife prior to her murder. Overall, it's quite a good album, with nice coverage of the
various regions and the use of some underexposed but noteworthy artists. The only possible complaint
would be that it's a bit heavy on South African music.
Dorothy Masuka
Dorothy Masuka was born in Rhodesia but received her schooling in South Africa and chose to stay there
after graduating in order to pursue a musical career. She started out in a show called African Jazz and
Variety, with Miriam Makeba, Hugh Masekela and others, imitating American jazz greats like Ella
Fitzgerald. With the full-blown emergence of Apartheid in Rhodesia, she moved to London where she
lived for many years, performing on one occasion at Wembley during Harold Wilson's election campaign.
Masuka went back to Rhodesia in 1965 but left again and did not return until 1980.
Masuka's musical style is known as mabira: a fusion of swing and Zulu melodies, sung with great force and
intensity. Her earlier songs, and most notably "Kutheni Zulu," were hard-edged and political, but she has
since chosen to de-emphasize polemics in favor of poetics. Masuka's songs in the 1990s are upbeat and
chipper. A veteran performer now, with more than 40 years of performing and touring under her belt, she
is finally enjoying celebrity status in the world music world and hopes to crown her career by attaining
the financial security that most African performers still lack.
07
Deed I Do – Hot Club Of Cowtown
PHC (2004.03.27)
Oh yeah, I‘m a push over for Western Swing. Apparently, Garrison Keillor is too – he‘s had the Hot Club
Of Cowtown on PHC several times over the years. Elana Fremerman, for whatever reason, changed her
name to Elana James, but no matter what name she goes by, she‘s a great proponent of Western Swing
and this track shows off her talents particularly well.
Lyrics
Do I want you?
Oh my! Do I!
Honey, deed I do!
Do I need you?
Oh my! Do I!
Honey, deed I do!
I'm glad that I'm the one who found you,
That's why I'm always hangin' around you . . .
Do I love you?
Oh my! Do I!
Honey, deed I do!
( instrumental repeat of verse )
Honey, deed I do!
( instrumental repeat of verse )
Hmm! Honey, deed I do!
I'm glad that I'm the one who found you,
That's why I'm always hangin' around you . . .
Oh! Do I love you?
Oh my! Do I!
Honey, deed I do!
Ah Deed I Do!
Hot Club Of Cowtown
Western swing revivalists Hot Club of Cowtown formed in San Diego in 1996; originally a duo pairing
singer/violinist Elana Fremerman and singer/guitarist Whit Smith, a subsequent move to Austin, TX made
room for the addition of bassist Billy Horton. Signing to HighTone, the trio issued their debut album
Swingin' Stampede! in the fall of 1998; the follow-up, Tall Tales, appeared a year later. New bassist Matt
Weiner joined Smith and Fremerman for 2000's Dev'lish Mary. 2002's Ghost Train came two years later,
and it showed the group focusing more on original material and cutting back on the amount of covers.
Elana Fremerman (violin/vocals)
Whit Smith (guitar/vocals
Billy Horton (bass/vocals)
Peter Ecklund (cornet)
Marty Laster (violin)
08
She Just Wants To Dance – Keb’ Mo’
Keb’ Mo’ 1994
Oh, I‘ve been wanting to include a Keb‘ Mo‘ for years. I just couldn‘t pick a track. Well, during our
evaluation this last year, we came across this one … a definite for inclusion. After putting in all the ―must
includes‖ for this year‘s offering, I found I had a little room for … She Just Wants To Dance.
Lyrics
When the music starts to playin
She slides out on the floor
Dancing without a partner
Swaying on the two and four
There's a rhythm in her footsteps
And a flower in her hair
A smile on her face
Cause she's in a place
Where she don't have a care
She ain't looking for no lover
She ain't looking for a romance
She just wants to dance
She just wants to dance
Yeah she just wants to dance
Ooo she just wants to dance
Well she's moving kinda lazy
And it's obvious to me
This little girl ain't crazy
She's as wild as she is free
She can feel it in her fingers
And it moves on down her spine
And when it hits her hips
She parts her lips
And you know she's feeling fine
She ain't looking for no lover
She ain't looking for a romance
She just wants to dance
She just wants to dance
Yeah she just wants to dance
She just wants to dance
Oh go on get it girl
She ain't looking for no lover
She ain't looking for a romance
She just wants to dance
She just wants to dance
Get out the way and let the girl dance
Yeah she just wants to dance
Yeah she just wants to
Slide along the floor
She wanna shuffle her shoes and shake her hips
She wanna wave her hands in the air
She wanna shake that hanky
Yeah
But she don't want no hanky panky
Yeah she just wants to dance
Leave her alone
And let her dance
Keb' Mo'
4 Stars Checked
1994
Blues
Keb' Mo's self-titled debut is an edgy, ambitious collection of gritty country blues. Keb' Mo' pushes into
new directions, trying to incorporate some of the sensibilities of the slacker revolution without losing
touch of the tradition that makes the blues the breathing, vital art form it is. His attempts aren't always
successful, but his gutsy guitar playing and impassioned vocals, as well as his surprisingly accomplished
songwriting, make Keb' Mo' a debut to cherish.
Keb‘ Mo‘
Keb' Mo' draws heavily on the old-fashioned country blues style of Robert Johnson, but keeps his sound
contemporary with touches of soul and folksy storytelling. He writes much of his own material and has
applied his acoustic, electric, and slide guitar skills to jazz and rock-oriented bands in the past as well.
Born Kevin Moore in Los Angeles to parents of Southern descent, he was exposed to gospel music at a
young age. At 21, Moore joined an R&B band later hired for a tour by Papa John Creach and played on
three of Creach's albums. Opening for jazz and rock artists such as the Mahavishnu Orchestra,
Jefferson Starship, and Loggins & Messina helped broaden Moore's horizons and musical abilities. Moore
cut an R&B-based solo album, Rainmaker, in 1980 for Casablanca, which promptly folded. In 1983, he
joined Monk Higgins' band as a guitarist and met a number of blues musicians who collectively increased
his understanding of the music. He subsequently joined a vocal group called the Rose Brothers and gigged
around L.A. 1990 found Moore portraying a Delta bluesman in a local play called Rabbit Foot and later
playing Robert Johnson in a docudrama called Can't You Hear the Wind Howl? He released his self-titled
debut album as Keb' Mo' in 1994, featuring two Robert Johnson covers, 11 songs written or co-written by
Moore, and his guitar and banjo work. Keb' Mo' performed a well-received set at the 1995 Newport Folk
Festival. Keb' Mo's second album, Just Like You, was equally well-received. Slow Down followed in 1998
and Door was issued two years later.
09
Fernando - Pancho Sanchez
Jazz Alive (Will Moyle) unknown date
This is one of those Will Moyle selections … there are ever so many. As with several other tracks on
Naweedna-2010, this one‘s been in the queue for a while. It‘s time has come and here it is. Hope you enjoy
it as much as we do.
Lyrics
Fernando, cha, cha, cha …
Pancho Sanchez
The imaginative rhythms of Pancho Sanchez have made him one of the most influential conga players and
percussionists in Afro-Cuban jazz. In addition to recording as a soloist, Sanchez has been featured on
albums by the Jazz Cusaders, Eddie Harris, Freddie Hubbard, Tito Puente, Mongo Santamaria, Dianne
Reeves, Joey DeFrancesco, and Terrance Blanchard. Becoming a member of vibraphonist Caj Tjader's
Band in 1975, Sanchez remained with the group until Tjader's death on May 5, 1982. By then, he had
already planted the seeds for his own career as a bandleader. He recorded two solo albums — Poncho in
1979 and Straight Ahead in 1980 — and had begun performing with his own group, during Tjader's
vacations, in 1980. A native of Loredo, TX, Sanchez moved to Los Angeles at the age of four, where he
was deeply influenced by the music he heard in the Chicano neighborhood in which he lived. Initially a
guitarist, he played with a series of junior high school and high school rhythm & blues bands. Teaching
himself to play congas, he spent hours practicing to Caj Tjader, Machito, and Tito Puente records. He was
also deeply influenced by the hard bop sounds of the Jazz Crusaders. After more than two decades in
music, Sanchez's efforts paid off when his album, Latin Soul, received a Grammy award as Best Latin
Album of 1999.
10
Dreams – Brandi Carlile
PHC (2010.03.20)
Oooooo, I just love the ―1, 2, a1, 2, 3 … and … Dreams‖ and all that follows … especially the cello in the
background. This track gets in your head, so be careful. We saw Brandi on Austin City Limits a while back.
She didn‘t do Dreams. The tracks she did perform were really good, but not up to Dreams – in our
estimation. I bought the CD (Give Up The Ghost) with Dreams on it, but the studio version didn‘t seem as
good as the live performance on PHC … especially the ―1, 2, a1, 2, 3 … and … Dreams‖.
I‘d love to know what you think of this track … and all the others, for that matter ;-)
Lyrics
Dreams, I have dreams when I'm awake when I'm asleep
And you, you are in my Dreams
You're underneath my skin, how am I so weak
And now in my dreams,
I can feel the weight, I can just come clean
I keep it to myself, I know what it means
I can't have you, but I have dreams
How long, can you hold your breath?
Can you count to ten, can you let it pass?
Keep, can you keep it in?
Keep it behind lashes, can you make it last?
And now in my dreams, I can feel the weight
I can just come clean
I keep it to myself, I know what it means
I can't have you, but I have dreams
Oh, I have dreams, I have dreams
(And then an amazing guitar solo)
Mind, can you read my mind?
Has it come undone, am I showin' signs?
And now, in my dreams
I can feel the weight, I can just come clean
I keep it to myself, I know what it means
I can't have you, but I have dreams
I have dreams, I have, I have, I have Dreams
Brandi Carlile
A gifted singer/songwriter whose rich voice and literate storytelling belie her youth (she was only 23
when she released her major-label debut), Brandi Carlile was born in the small town of Ravensdale, WA,
an isolated community 50 miles from Seattle. With few neighbors or friends nearby, she grew up learning
to make her own entertainment, which included hiking trips in the nearby woods and self-taught vocal
lessons. Carlile also grew attached to the classic country music her parents doted on, specifically Patsy
Cline, and she made her stage debut at the age of eight after she was taken to a local country radio show
by her mother. At 17 years old, Carlile picked up the guitar, having developed a taste for rock & roll
through Elton John's classic albums of the 1970s, and began hitting the Seattle bar scene, playing
anywhere she could get a gig (including a stint singing backup for an Elvis Presley tribute act).
While playing clubs, she encountered a band called the Fighting Machinists, featuring twin brothers Tim
Hanseroth on guitar and Phil Hanseroth. Impressed by their instrumental skills and spot-on harmonies,
Carlile became an instant fan of the Fighting Machinists, and when the group broke up, she persuaded the
Hanseroth twins to form a new group with her. While they started out as an aggressive rock & roll band,
Carlile's emotionally powerful songwriting and acoustic guitar work soon became the dominant component
of their sound, and they began touring regularly, headlining small venues and opening shows for Dave
Matthews, Shawn Colvin, and India.Arie.
In 2000, Carlile recorded the first of several self-released recordings that sold briskly at shows, and in
2005 she was signed to Columbia Records, releasing a self-titled album later that same year. The album
earned enthusiastic reviews, and Carlile was named one of 2005's "Artists to Watch" by Rolling Stone. In
2006, Carlile and her band began work on her second Columbia album, The Story, with T Bone Burnett
producing. The record was released in spring 2007 to warm reviews, and the inclusion of its title track in
several commercials (most notably a General Motors ad that aired during the 2008 Beijing Olympics)
helped boost sales. Give Up the Ghost followed in late 2009 and cracked the Top 40, and Carlile rang in
2010 by issuing a Valentine's Day-themed EP, XOBC.
11
Once Upon A Time – Jay McShann
Just a Lucky So and So 1983
From : http://able2know.org/topic/1871-1
It was a lazy Sunday afternoon; I changed the channel to see Meg Ryan in a movie entitled,
"Hanging Up". It was the story of 3 sisters and an aging father, and how his care was mostly
given by one daughter (Meg Ryan) because she was geographically closer to him, while one sister
was busy trying to become an actress, and the other sister was totally involved in her career as
a magazine editor.
At the end of the movie, Jay McShann sang the following song. Listening to this song made me
feel very nostalgic. For one, Jay McShann did a beautiful job, I was spellbound, and the other,
of course, were the words.
I‘ve been holding off on this track because … well, I was just afraid I‘d included too many Jay McShann
tracks (this is the third). Ah, but can you ever get too much Jay McShann? Not me. This is a slow piece
but full of emotion so I put it in the middle of the selections with Dreams before and the happy Lilizela
Mlilizela following. Hope you don‘t find the transitions too jangling. We play everything in shuffle, so we‘re
used to abrupt genre and tempo changes.
Lyrics
From the 1962 Stage musical "All American"
Music by Charles Strouse and lyrics by Lee Adams
Once upon a time,
A girl with moonlight in her eyes,
Put her hand in mine,
And said she loved me so . . .
But that was once upon a time,
Very long ago!
Once upon a hill,
we sat beneath the willow tree,
Counting all the stars,
And waiting for the dawn,
But that was once upon a time,
Now, the tree is gone!
How the breeze ruffled through her hair,
How we always laughed,
As though tomorrow wasn't there . . .
We were young,
And didn't have a care,
Where did it go?
Once upon a time,
The world was sweeter than we knew,
Everything was ours,
How happy we were then . . .
But, somehow, once upon a time,
Never comes again!
Just a Lucky So and So
4 Stars
1983
Jazz
Pianist/vocalist Jay McShann was having a full-fledged comeback at the time of this Sackville date, which
has been reissued on CD. Teamed with Jim Galloway (who doubles on soprano and baritone), bassist Don
Thompson and drummer Terry Clarke, McShann is in a particularly good mood on such standards as "When
I Grow Too Old to Dream," "Red Sails in the Sunset" and even "On a Clear Day You Can See Forever." This
set gives one a good sampling of Jay McShann's timeless playing.
Jay McShann
The great veteran pianist Jay McShann (also known as Hootie) has had a long career and it is unfair to
primarily think of him as merely the leader of an orchestra that featured a young Charlie Parker. He was
mostly self-taught as a pianist, worked with Don Byas as early as 1931 and played throughout the Midwest
before settling in Kansas City in 1936. McShann formed his own sextet the following year and by 1939
had his own big band. In 1940 at a radio station in Wichita, KS, McShann and an octet out of his
orchestra recorded eight songs that were not released commercially until the 1970s; those rank among
the earliest of all Charlie Parker records (he is brilliant on "Honeysuckle Rose" and "Lady Be Good") and
also feature the strong rhythm-section team McShann had with bassist Gene Ramey and drummer Gus
Johnson. The full orchestra recorded for Decca on two occasions during 1941-42 but they were typecast
as a blues band and did not get to record many of their more challenging charts (although very rare
broadcasts have since surfaced and been released on CD by Vintage Jazz Classics). In addition to Bird
(who had a few short solos), the main stars were trumpeter Bernard Anderson, the rhythm section and
singer Walter Brown. McShann and his band arrived in New York in February 1942 and made a strong
impression but World War II made it difficult for any new orchestras to catch on. There was a final
session in December 1943 without Parker but McShann was soon drafted and the band broke up. After
being discharged later in 1944, McShann briefly reformed his group but soon moved to Los Angeles where
he led combos for the next few years; his main attraction was the young singer Jimmy Witherspoon.
McShann was in obscurity for the next two decades, making few records and mostly playing in Kansas
City. In 1969 he was rediscovered and McShann (who had first sung on records in 1966) was soon a
popular pianist/vocalist. Sometimes featuring violinist Claude Williams, he has toured constantly,
recorded frequently and appeared at many jazz festivals since then, being active into the mid-'90s. Jay
McShann, who has recorded through the years for Onyx (the 1940 radio transcriptions), Decca, Capitol,
Aladdin, Mercury, Black Lion, EmArcy, Vee Jay, Black & Blue, Master Jazz, Sackville, Sonet, Storyville,
Atlantic, Swingtime and Music Masters among others, is a vital pianist and an effective blues vocalist who
keeps a classic style alive.
12
Lilizela Mlilizela (South African Ululations) - Mahlathini & Mahotella Queens
Global Celebration: Gatherings 1987-1992)
Oh how happy and bouncy. I just love the juxtaposition of the male leads guttural growling and the soft,
melodic female choir. Wonder what this is all about … hope it is something happy. This comes from a
marvelous four CD set Janie got me for Christmas many, many years ago. We included a track in a
Naweedna compilation (NWN-04: Wet Me Down) … and there are many more in the queue.
Lyrics
Yeah, right!
Global Celebration
4 Stars
1992
World
...Superb 4 part collection of authentic world music from forty countries...Over fifty tracks showcase
stellar performers such as the Klezmatics, Mahlathini and the Mahotella Queens, Mongo Santamaria, the
New Orleans' Rebirth Brass Band and Matt Molloy of The Chieftains. These are songs that people around
the globe use to mark important events and joyous occasions. The four titles of Celebration include:
Dancing With the Gods, music from uplifting religious ceremonies; Earth Spirit, celebrating the cycles of
nature; Passages, which marks turning points in life, such as birth, death, and rites of initiation; and
Gatherings, global festival music from many countries. These four titles from the boxed set are also
available individually.
13
Gone Woman Blues - Rory Block
Gone Woman Blues: The Country Blues Collection 1997
Brian Tomaszewski gave me some Rory Block and, after a brief listening, I got busy searching out some of
her higher rated CDs and downloading them from Amazon. We have yet to hear all the downloads, but
when this one came up … oh my. I found myself playing it over and over and wanting more. It was a done
deal. You may have to listen to it a few times before it grows on you … like it did us.
Lyrics
Vocalization, yes; lyrics, no ;-)
Gone Woman Blues
4.5 Stars
1997
Blues
Subtitled "The Country Blues Collection," Rory Block sticks to what she may do better than any other
contemporary player around. These cuts have all been heard scattered about on various other albums
going back to High Heeled Blues from 1989; here they are pulled together into one comprehensive whole.
She explores the wide variety of country-blues, and even at 69-plus minutes this disc never gets
repetitive. Except for five cuts, she is unaccompanied, and when she is, it only enhances what she does.
Her youngest son, Jordan Block Valdina, helps out by doing the male vocal on a stunning a cappella version
of "Be Ready When He Comes." The harmonica backing by Little Annie Raines (a frequent collaborator
with Paul Rishell) just perfectly walks that line of being enhancing without intruding. If you like countryblues, this is one you don't want to miss.
Rory Block
Aurora "Rory" Block has staked her claim to be one of America's top acoustic blues women, an
interpreter of the great Delta blues singers, a slide guitarist par excellence, and also a talented
songwriter on her own account. Born and raised in Manhattan by a family that had bohemian leanings, she
spent her formative years hanging out with musicians like Peter Rowan, John Sebastian, and Geoff
Muldaur, who hung out in her father's sandal shop, before picking up the guitar at the age of ten. Her
record debut came two years later, backing her father on The Elektra String Band Project, a concept
album. She met guitarist Stefan Grossman, who, like her, was in love with the blues. The pair would often
travel to the Bronx to visit Reverend Gary Davis, one of the greatest living bluesmen.
At the tender age of 15 Block left home, hitting the road in true '60s fashion and traveling through the
South, where she learned her blues trade at the feet of Skip James and Mississippi John Hurt, her
greatest influence, before ending up in Berkeley. It was there that she developed her slide technique
(she uses a socket wrench as her slide), but she didn't record until 1975, when she released I'm in Love
(a compilation of earlier material, The Early Tapes 1975-1976, appeared later). After two records for
Chrysalis, she recorded the instructional How to Play Blues Guitar for Grossman's Kicking Mule label, and
later moved to then-fledgling Rounder, with whom she enjoyed an ongoing relationship. She toured
constantly, often playing as many as 250 dates in a year, which kept her away from her family -- she'd
married and begun having children in the early '70s -- but developed her reputation as a strong, vibrant
live performer, and one of the best players of old country blues in America.
In 1987 the best of Block's Rounder cuts were compiled on Best Blues & Originals, which, as it said,
featured her interpretations of blues classics and some of her own material. Two of the tracks, released
as singles in Belgium and Holland, became gold record hits. In addition to her regular albums, Block made a
series of instructional records and videos, as well as a children's record, Color Me Wild. Although she had
been performing for a long time, the plaudits didn't really begin until 1992, when she won a NAIRD Award
for Ain't I a Woman, a feat repeated in 1994 and 1997. In 1996 she began winning W.C. Handy Awards,
first for Best Traditional Album (When a Woman Gets the Blues), and in 1997 and 1998 for Best
Traditional Blues Female Artist. In 1997 she was elected to the CAMA Hall of Fame, and in 1999 she
received yet another Handy Award, for Best Acoustic Blues Album (Confessions of a Blues Singer).
Block continued to tour, although not as heavily as in earlier times, and she's often accompanied by her
grown son Jordan Block, who also plays on her albums. She remained busy in the early part of the 2000s,
releasing six albums, including a live recording. 2005's From the Dust drew raving critical reviews, as did
2006's The Lady and Mr. Johnson, an album that sees Block taking on select songs of her musical hero,
idol, and biggest influence, Robert Johnson. A digital video disc, The Guitar Artistry of Rory Block, was
issued in 2008.
14
Listen To The Rhythm Kings - Rhythm Kings
BBGR 1930s
How can you not like this? It comes from the Big Band Go Round FM show I recorded back in the 80s. I‘ve
never been able to find any information for The Rhythm Kings or this particular track. So, if you know
anything about ‗em, you better let us know pronto. We have Manhattan Rhythm Kings, Delta Rhythm Boys,
Chicago Rhythm, Blue Ridge Rhythm, Sun Rhythm, Sweethearts of Rhythm, McLean‘s Rhythm Boys, Spirits
of Rhythm, Inkwell Rhythm Makers, and African Rhythm … but only this one Rhythm Kings – and we don‘t
know how to get more. Damn!
Lyrics
Can‘t find anything for the Rhythm Kings … so just Listen To ‗Em ;-)
No AMG listing for Rhythm Kings ... or Listen To The Rhythm Kings …
15
Sugardaddy - Billy Bragg
William Bloke 1996
We have 62 Billy Bragg tracks, and this one is by far my favorite. I have to conclude that this isn‘t a
typical Billy Bragg, but that‘s not why I like it. I expect I like it because it echoes the old Doo Wop style
what with all the falsetto Sha-La-Las and such. Even with the lyrics, I‘m not the least bit sure what this
is all about. I just like the tune, so here it is for your enjoyment.
Lyrics
Sugardaddy took me to wonderland
Gave me so many presents I could not stand
To see you
I really couldn't stand to see you
Sugardaddy took me far away
On a holiday, I didn't have to pay
Just be there
All I had to do was be there
Sugardaddy comes with his pockets full of fun
Sugardaddy's blowing kisses from his gun
What will he do and where will he run
When the real world comes to town?
Sugardaddy took all my pain away
Now I have to say I'd let him get away
with murder
I'd let him get away with murder
He drives a car that doesn't have a roof
And he dares the Big Ol' World to tell him the truth
By buying silence
He buys your silence
Silence, so you'll never have to ask him why
Silence, so you'll never say he makes you cry
Silence, so you'll never look him in the eye
And say you want his time 'cos time is money
Sugardaddy can't help but overfill his cup
Sugardaddy always rides heavy on his luck
What will he do when his baby grows up
And doesn't want the toys he's provided?
Sugardaddy comes with his pockets full of fun
Sugardaddy's blowing kisses from his gun
What will he do and where will he run
When the real world comes to town?
William Bloke
3 Stars
1996
Rock
Billy Bragg took a five-year break from recording (and became a parent for the first time) after
releasing 1991's Don't Try This at Home, but William Bloke suggests he still wasn't ready to get back to
work when he returned to the studio. William Bloke was Bragg's sparest and most musically concise album
since Talking with the Taxman About Poetry, and beyond the upbeat and horn-fueled "Upfield" and the
loopy ska of the set closer, "Goalhanger," most of the songs feature little besides Billy's voice and guitar
(or in the case of "Everybody Loves You Babe," Billy's voice and a piano). More striking, however, is the
downbeat tone of the album; from the philosophical uncertainty of "From Red to Blue," the loss of
innocence of "The Space Race Is Over," and the crumbling relationship of "Brickbat," William Bloke
sounds like the work of a man somewhat overwhelmed by the world around him and not sure what to do
about it -- which is not the way Billy Bragg usually sounds. While the piss-and-vinegar adaptation of
Rudyard Kipling's "A Pict Song" and the cheerful wrath of "Goalhanger" indicate the old Billy wasn't gone
for good, there's a lingering air of defeat and dashed hopes that permeates William Bloke, and the songs
lack the generosity and rabble-rousing brio of his best work. Bragg would rally two years later with his
excellent adaptation of unpublished Woody Guthrie lyrics, Mermaid Avenue, but William Bloke is the work
of a man stuck in a creative rut, and while there are still things worth hearing here, they're outnumbered
by songs that speak more of Bragg's personal disappointments than his muse.
Billy Bragg
Finding inspiration in the righteous anger of punk rock and the socially conscious folk tradition of Woody
Guthrie and Bob Dylan, Billy Bragg was the leading figure of the anti-folk movement of the '80s. For most
of the decade, Bragg bashed out songs alone on his electric guitar, singing about politics and love. While
his lyrics were bitingly intelligent and clever, they were also warm and humane, filled with detail and wit.
Even though his lyrics were carefully considered, Bragg never neglected to write melodies for songs that
were strong and memorable. Throughout the '80s, he managed to chart consistently in Britain, yet he only
gathered a cult following in America, which could be due to the fact that he sang about distinctly British
subject matter, both politically and socially.
Bragg began performing in the late '70s with the punk group Riff Raff, which lasted only a matter of
months. He then joined the British Army, yet he quickly bought himself out of his sojourn with 175
pounds. After leaving the Army, he began working at a record store; while he was working, he was writing
songs that were firmly in the folk and punk protest tradition. Bragg began a British tour, playing
whenever he had the chance to perform. Frequently he would open for bands with only a moment's notice;
soon, he had built a sizable following, as evidenced by his first EP, Life's a Riot With Spy Vs. Spy (1983),
hitting number 30 on the U.K. independent charts. Brewing Up With Billy Bragg (1984), his first fulllength album, climbed to number 16 in the charts.
During 1984, Bragg became a minor celebrity in Britain, as he appeared at leftist political rallies, strikes,
and benefits across the country; he also helped form the "Red Wedge," a socialist musicians collective
that also featured Paul Weller. In 1985, Kirsty MacColl took one of his songs, "New England," to number
seven on the British singles chart. Featuring some subtle instrumental additions of piano and horns,
1986's Talking to the Taxman About Poetry reached the U.K. Top Ten.
Bragg's version of the Beatles' "She's Leaving Home," taken from the Sgt. Pepper Knew My Father
tribute album, became his only number one single in 1988 - as the double A-side with Wet Wet Wet's
"With a Little Help From My Friends." That year, he also released the EP Help Save the Youth of America
and the full-length Workers Playtime, which was produced by Joe Boyd (Fairport Convention, Nick Drake,
R.E.M.). Boyd helped expand Bragg's sound, as the singer recorded with a full band for the first time. The
following year, Bragg restarted the Utility record label as a way of featuring non-commercial new artists.
The Internationale, released in 1990, was a collection of left-wing anthems, including a handful of Bragg
originals. On 1991's Don't Try This at Home, he again worked with a full band, recording his most poporiented and accessible set of songs; the album featured the hit single, "Sexuality." Bragg took several
years off after Don't Try This at Home, choosing to concentrate on fatherhood. He returned in 1996
with William Bloke. In 1998, he teamed with the American alternative country band Wilco to record
Mermaid Avenue, a collection of performances based on unreleased songs originally written by Woody
Guthrie. Reaching to the Converted, a collection of rarities, followed a year later, and in mid-2000 Bragg
and Wilco reunited for a second Mermaid Avenue set. While touring in support of Mermaid Avenue, Vol. 2,
Bragg formed the Blokes in 1999 with Small Faces keyboardist Ian McLagan. Lu Edmonds (guitar), Ben
Mandelson (lap steel guitar), Martyn Barker (drums), and Simon Edwards (bass) solidified the group while
Bragg moved from London to rural Dorset in early 2001. One year later, the Blokes joined Bragg for
England, Half English, his first solo effort since William Bloke.
16
Girl's Town Ska - The Baba Brooks Band
Phoenix City: A History Of The World's Greatest Ska 2004
Bruce Ng has loaded me up with ethnic stuff from around the world. Guess what? I really like it. Well,
most of it. I haven‘t had the tracks long enough to properly familiarize myself with them. However,
sometimes you just hear something and are immediately attached to it. That‘s exactly what happened
when I heard the first track from the CD (Phoenix City). The more I heard, the more I wanted to include
one in this year‘s compilation. One morning I auditioned all 27 tracks from the CD. Let me say this about
that: although they are all very good, you don‘t want to listen them one after another – at least I don‘t.
The results of the audition left Girl‘s Town Ska standing alone, so in it went. Happy, bouncy, and full of
horns, cow bells, and lots of heavy Reggae beat. Hmmm, bet you could dance to this …
Lyrics
Who needs words ???
Phoenix City: A History of the World's Greatest Ska
4.5 Stars
2004
Reggae
So just how productive were the Skatalites? Well, this collection features 54 cuts, nearly all of which
the group (in various combinations) recorded between 1963 and 1965, and by the admission of Mike
Atherton's liner notes, it isn't even close to being complete. Ridiculously prolific, the Skatalites were also
remarkably consistent -- a spin through Phoenix City: A History of the World's Greatest Ska Band (which
focuses on music the Skatalites cut for producer Duke Reid, though a few stray Leslie Kong and Coxson
Dodd cuts are thrown in for good measure) confirms that these musicians held the good grove in the palm
of their mighty hands, and apparently never thought of letting go. While the "chugga-chugga" ska beat
propels everything here (and drummer Lloyd Knibb and bassist Lloyd Brevett are one indefatigable
rhythm section), it's the relaxed but confident horn work from trombonist Don Drummond, Tommy
McCook and Roland Alphonso on tenor sax, and Lester Sterling on trumpet that really makes this stuff
such a joy to hear. Like the jazz cats they were at heart, the horn players locked down the melody but
also showed a witty and clever sense of aural invention, often quoting classic pop tunes and weaving their
way in and around the tunes in their solos with the uptown grace of a rude boy on roller skates. Disc one
of Phoenix City is primarily devoted to earlier material and cuts which allowed the musicians a greater
chance to blow, while disc two picks up the tempo and offers more potent dancefloor burners (especially
the gloriously eccentric cuts they released under the billing of Oswald "Baba" Brooks, such as "Nuclear
Weapon," "Vitamin A," and "Teenage Ska"). With a group who cranked out so much material so
consistently strong, it's difficult to declare anything a "definitive" Skatalites collection, but along with
the excellent Foundation Ska, Phoenix City: A History of the World's Greatest Ska Band captures the
group doing what they do best at the height of their powers, and if you have a taste for original Jamaican
ska, you'll find this set to be pure pleasure from beginning to end.
No AMG bio for The Baba Brooks Band …
The Skatalites
More than a band, the Skatalites were and are an institution, an aggregation of top-notch musicians who
didn't merely define the sound of Jamaica, they were the sound of Jamaica across the '50s and '60s.
Although the group existed in its original incarnation for less than 18 months, members brought their
signature styles to hundreds upon hundreds of the island's releases. The Skatalites officially lined up as
guitarist Jerome "Jah Jerry" Hinds, bassist Lloyd Brevett, teenaged pianist Donat Roy "Jackie" Mittoo,
drummer Lloyd Knibbs, trumpeter Johnnie "Dizzie" Moore, Cuban-born tenor saxophonist Tommy McCook,
alto saxophonists Lester Sterling and Cuban born Roland Alphonso, and trombonist Don Drummond. Moore,
McCook, Sterling, and Drummond were all alumni of the Alpha Cottage School for Boys, an educational
institution for troubled and troublesome boys in Kingston, run by the Catholic diocese. Besides the
regular lashings of studies, the school was renowned for its music program, and over the years turned
hundreds of wayward boys into performers of note. All four ended up playing the hotel circuit, churning
out R&B and jazz covers for the tourists.
Previous to the late '50s, this was Jamaica's only real music industry outside the mento scene, and as
there were no local record labels, resorts were the only way for musicians to seriously ply their trade.
The hotel bands were an ever-shifting conglomerate of players, but over time, they would crisscross each
other's paths so often, that all became familiar with everyone else's style. Knibbs and Drummond, for
example, had both once played with Eric Dean's Band. When Knibbs departed for the Sheiks, he joined a
lineup that included Mittoo and Moore. However, new career opportunities presented themselves when
local businessmen Duke Reid and Clement "Coxsonne" Dodd both launched record labels and the era of the
sessionmen arrived in Jamaica.
Although both McCook and Alphonso had previously cut acetates, this was the first time any of the
future Skatalites would appear on vinyl. Between 1959, when Reid released his first vinyl single, and 1962,
most of the band's future members worked regularly at Reid's Treasure Isle studio, playing on a swathe
of R&B, boogie, and ballad releases. The Heartbeat label's Ska After Ska After Ska bundles up an
album's worth of this early material, as does the Dutch label Jamaica Gold, on Shuffle'n'Ska Time. In
1962, Dodd opened his own Studio One recording studio, and the future Skatalites now quickly gravitated
in his direction as well. Joining them was McCook, who'd missed all the previous action, having left
Jamaica in 1954 to join the house band at the Zanzibar Club in Nassau. The studio was inaugurated with
the release of the album Jazz Jamaica From the Workshop, which featured McCook, Alphonso,
Drummond, and guitarist Ernest Ranglin, amongst others.
The Skatalites came to fruition in June 1964, according to the members' own reckoning, although they
have given conflicting stories about just how it happened. Ranglin credits Moore, Knibbs credits himself,
but there's no doubt who came up with the name -- that honor goes to McCook. Drafting in vocalists
Jackie Opel, Tony DaCosta, Doreen Schaeffer, and calypso star Joseph "Lord Tanamo" Gordon, the group
debuted live on June 27, 1964, at the Hi- Hat club in Rae Town. It didn't take long for the Skatalites to
grab a residency at the Bournemouth Beach Club in Eastern Kingston, where they performed three nights
a week, as well as a Sunday residency at the Orange Bowl on Orange Street.
With the growth of Dodd's Studio One label, the group soon found themselves with almost more gigs than
they could handle, touring the island as the backing band for most of the label's artists, whilst also
performing on-stage themselves. It must have been grueling, the constant driving to and from venues and
playing a minimum of two sets a night, but in truth, the Skatalites were having a whale of a time. And in
between the gigs, the band seems to have spent virtually all their waking hours recording. Besides working
for Dodd and Reid, the group also played on a multitude of records for Prince Buster and Duke and Justin
Yap. The actual number of recordings they performed on is anyone's guess, an approximation made more
difficult by the fact that the musicians normally went unaccredited on the singles themselves. To add to
the confusion, the Skatalites in the studio could be any of a number of musicians, not just the
aforementioned lineup. Guitarist Ranglin, pianist Gladstone Anderson, trombonist Rico Rodriguez, and
trumpeter Baba Brooks are just a few of the many men who took part in the Skatalites recording
sessions.
And what actually defines a Skatalites record? Many of their recordings were understandably released
under the vocalist's name, not theirs. But what of Prince Buster's U.K. smash "Al Capone"? Buster may
have intoned the title across the track, but wasn't it the Skatalites who truly made the song? Even
amongst the group's own repertoire, the records were credited to the composer, not the band. Thus, the
seminal "Guns of Navarone" was originally released under Roland Alphonso's name, not the Skatalites'.
Modern archivists have attempted to address these injustices with compilations featuring the band,
regardless of original accreditation. The West Side label's Skaravan -- Top Sounds From Top Deck, for
example, is currently into the eighth CD of their Skatalites' compilations, all taken from their sessions
for the Yap brothers, while Heartbeat's Foundation Ska bundles up a batch of Studio One cuts.
Thankfully, the members' styles are so unique, as to be instantly recognizable within a few notes. In
truth, most ska compilations are awash in the members' music, credited or not. That bouncy swing tempo,
the jazzy brass, and the steady, skanking beat, all shout the Skatalites louder than any written credit, as
easily heard on the vocal releases as on their own instrumentals.
But the instrumentals were the group's glory. Songs like "Guns of Navarone," "Phoenix City," "Addis
Ababa," "Silver Dollar," "Corner Stone," and "Blackberry Brandy," to name just a small handful of their
most seminal cuts, not only defined the island's sound, but created a whole new genre of music -- ska. The
group have ofttimes been quoted as saying their invention of ska was never intentional, but merely the
byproduct of their flawed attempts at American R&B. But this self-deprecating explanation neglects the
jazz and big band swing sound that was also crucial to ska in its original form. And anyone good enough to
play in those styles would have little problem mastering R&B. What the Skatalites actually did was drag
these older styles into the contemporary scene, merge it with modern R&B, and propel it into the
mainstream via a faster syncopated island beat. And with it, the group's musical legacy spread around the
world and across generations.
But that must have seemed ridiculous at the very end of 1964. The Skatalites were playing at the La
Parisienne club in Harbour View for New Year's Eve, a show that went on without Drummond. The
trombonist had a history of mental illness and late that night, in a fit of rage, he stabbed his common-law
wife and band vocalist, Marguerita, to death. Drummond was arrested and sent to Bellevue Sanitarium; he
died there in 1969. The Skatalites continued on for six more months after this tragedy, but the spark
was dying with it, and finally in July 1965, the members called it quits. Several from the group did
continue playing together. Alphonso, Moore, Mittoo, and Brevett eventually formed the Soul Brothers,
which later become the Soul Vendors. McCook formed the Supersonics, which was virtually Reid's house
band at Treasure Isle Studio, and Sterling went off to work with producer "Sir" Clancy Collins. As their
session work continued apace, inevitably many of the former members found themselves back working
together. Then in 1975, most of the Skatalites reunited to record Brevett's solo album, African Roots.
McCook, Alphonso, Sterling, Ranglin, Mittoo, and Knibbs all took part in the proceedings. Two years later,
the Hot Lava album appeared, credited to Tommy McCook & the Skatalites, but in contrast to Brevett's
"solo" album, this really was one. 1978's Jackie Mittoo may sound like a solo outing by the pianist, but
actually features a clutch of former Skatalites. That same year, Island head Chris Blackwell convinced
the members to reconvene again and recorded the Big Guns album. However, due to discord between the
label man and McCook, the record sat on the shelf until 1984, when it was finally released as Return of
the Big Guns. The previous year, the group had again reunited under the aegis of producer Bunny Lee for
the Skatalites With Sly & Robbie & the Taxi Gang.
It took a few more years for the members to finally agree they were a band again; in 1986 they made it
official and began gigging regularly. In 1989, they toured the world as Bunny Wailer's backing band, and
the next year performed the same service for Prince Buster. In 1993, an album of new material,
Skavoovee, finally appeared. Now boasting a core lineup of McCook, Brevett, Sterling, and Knibbs, the
album was highly acclaimed. Their timing was perfect as the U.S. was in the grips of ska fever, and the
band's constant touring abroad had cemented a worldwide following. Over the intervening years, the
Skatalites had returned to their jazz roots with a vengeance, but ska fans didn't mind one bit. Alphonso
now permanently rejoined the Skatalites for 1994's Hi-Bop Ska: The 30th Anniversary Recording, which
also featured such illustrious guests as former vocalist Doreen Schaeffer, Prince Buster, and Toots
Hibbert, and an all-star gathering of jazz musicians. The album deservedly earned the band their first
Grammy nomination. Even McCook's heart attack in 1995 barely slowed the group down. The band
continued their hectic touring schedule without him until the tenor saxophonist rejoined them early the
next year.
However, even though he was forced off the road for good due to health problems a few weeks later, he
was still able to record, and 1996's excellent Greetings From Skamania remains a tribute to his
determination, and earned the group a second Grammy nomination. On May 5, 1998, the legendary
saxophonist passed away; he was 71. Later that year, the Skatalites released Balls of Fire, on which the
band re-created many of their old ska hits in their newer jazz style. That autumn, Alphonso collapsed onstage at Hollywood's Key Club. He slipped into a coma soon after, and on November 20, he, too, died. But
no matter how great the contributions of individual members, the Skatalites were always greater than
the sum of their parts, and thus the band carried on. In 2000, they released Bashaka and their touring
schedule continues unabated. While touring Europe in late 2001, they reocrded yet again, resulting in the
2003 release of From Paris With Love. Each year brings another slew of compilations of their recordings
from labels around the world. Decades on, their music remains timeless.
17
Teach Me Tonight (Live) - Amy Winehouse
Frank B-Sides [Explicit] 2008
Whoa, what‘s this? Amy Winehouse on a Boger CD? You bet, and the reason is right there in the first
paragraph of Amy‘s bio: Billie Holiday. We don‘t have Teach Me Tonight by Billie, but we do have it by Joe
Williams, Dinah Washington, Etta James, Teresa Brewer, and Jo Stafford. If we had a Billie version, I
expect it would sound very much like Amy track. My very first Winehouse tracks came by way of Amy
Carey. After that, I busied myself with Amazon downloads until I had a representative sampling of 52
tracks. I liked a surprisingly large number of them, but Teach Me Tonight stands out for inclusion in a
Naweedna compilation.
Lyrics
Did you say I've got a lot to learn?
Well babe, don't think I'm trying not to learn
Since this is the perfect spot to learn
Go on, teach me tonight
Starting with the ABC of it
Right down to the XYZ of it
Help me solve the mystery of it
Go on, teach me tonight
The sky's a blackboard high above you
If a shooting star goes by
I'll use that star to write "I love you"
A thousand times across the sky
One thing isn't very clear, my love
Should the teacher stand so near, my love?
Graduation's almost here, my love
Teach me tonight
I'll use that star to write "I love you"
A thousand times across the sky
One thing isn't very clear, my love
Should the teacher stand so near, my love?
Graduation's almost here, my love
Oh oh teach me...
Oh oh
Teach me tonight
Frank B-Sides [Explicit]
No AMG Rating
2008
R&B
No AMG review ...
Amy Winehouse
Much can be said about Amy Winehouse, one of the U.K.'s flagship vocalists during the 2000s. The
British press and tabloids seemed to focus on her rowdy behavior and heavy consumption of alcohol, but
fans and critics alike embraced her rugged charm, brash sense of humor, and distinctively soulful and
jazzy vocals. Her platinum-selling breakthrough album, Frank (2003), elicited comparisons ranging from
Billie Holiday and Sarah Vaughan to Macy Gray and Lauryn Hill. Interestingly enough, despite her strong
cockney accent and vernacular, one can often hear aspects of each of those singers' vocal repertoire in
Winehouse's own voice. Nonetheless, her allure has been her songwriting -- almost always deeply personal,
but best known for its profanity and brutal candor.
Born to a taxi-driving father and pharmacist mother, Winehouse grew up in the Southgate area of
northern London. Her upbringing was surrounded by jazz. Many of the uncles on her mother's side were
professional jazz musicians, and even her paternal grandmother was romantically involved with British
jazz legend Ronnie Scott at one time. While at home, she listened to and absorbed her parents' selection
of greats: Dinah Washington, Ella Fitzgerald, and Frank Sinatra among others. However, in her teens, she
was drawn to the rebellious spirit of TLC, Salt-N-Pepa, and other American R&B and hip-hop acts of the
time.
At the age of 16, after she had been expelled from London's Sylvia Young Theatre School, she caught
her first break when pop singer Tyler James, a schoolmate and close friend, passed on her demo tape to
his A&R, who was searching for a jazz vocalist. That opportunity led to her recording contract with
Island Records. By the end of 2003, when she was 20 years old, Island had released her debut album,
Frank. With contributions from hip-hop producer/keyboardist Salaam Remi, Winehouse's amalgam of
jazz, pop, soul, and hip-hop received rave reviews. The album was nominated for the 2004 Mercury Music
Prize as well as two Brit awards, and its lead single, "Stronger Than Me," won an Ivor Novello Award for
Best Contemporary Song.
Following Winehouse's debut, the accolades and inquiring interviews appeared concurrently in the press
with her tempestuous public life. Several times she showed up to her club or TV performances too drunk
to sing a whole set. In 2006, her management company finally suggested that she enter rehab for alcohol
abuse, but instead, she dumped the company and transcribed the ordeal into the U.K. Top Ten hit
"Rehab," the lead single for her second, critically acclaimed album, Back to Black. Containing evocative
productions from Salaam Remi and British DJ/multi-instrumentalist Mark Ronson, the album somewhat
abandoned jazz, delving into the sounds of '50s/'60s-era girl group harmonies, rock & roll, and soul. The
fanfare over the release was so great that it started to spill over onto U.S. shores; several rappers and
DJs made their own remixes of various songs -- not to mention covers by Prince and the Arctic Monkeys.
One month after Winehouse won Best Female Artist at the Brit Awards in February 2007, Universal
released Back to Black in the U.S. The LP charted higher than any other American debut by a British
female recording artist before it, and it remained in the Top Ten for several months, selling a million
copies by the end of that summer. Just as in the U.K., she became the talk of the town, landing on the
covers of Rolling Stone and Spin magazines. Not long afterward, though, Winehouse canceled her North
American tour. Early reports revealed that she was entering rehab for alcohol and drug addiction, but her
new management denied the claims, stating it was due to severe exhaustion. Her erratic behavior kept
her and her new husband, Blake Fielder-Civil, constantly in the tabloids and on and off stages on both
sides of the Atlantic, but in late 2007 American fans were finally given a chance to hear Winehouse's
early work, with a slightly abbreviated (two songs removed and one added) version of Frank.
18
Jesus On The Mainline - Ry Cooder
Show Time 1977
Okay, this is the SEVENTH Ry track on Naweedna CDs. You gotta problem with that? Me neither. AND …
there will be more – trust me. While we were fleshing out the 2010A playlist, we ended up with some
space to fill. I had just heard Dark End Of The Street (the instrumental version) and had bumped it up to
the NWN category for tracks to be considered later. Hmmm, maybe it would go in this year. Nope, it just
didn‘t seem to fit with the other ―must haves‖ so I started looking for other NWN-class Ry tracks. Hey,
there‘s Available Space. Really like that one. But look, how about Jesus On The Mainline. Hmmm, what to
do? As you might recall, we had a DOOCs outing wherein we ended up in Elora Ontario. They have an
annual BluesFest and we found ourselves sitting in a bar listening to two musicians … and they played two
Cooder songs – Jesus On The Mainline being one of them. Sooooo, I decided to include it in this
compilation. We have five versions of Jesus On The Mainline; three by Cooder (from Paradise & Lunch,
Slide On Dropdown D, and Show Time). I did another audition and picked the version from Show Time –
just about my all-time favorite Cooder CD. The professional music-critics seem to disagree with me, but
what do they know ; -)
Lyrics
I know Jesus is on that mainline
Tell him what you want
Jesus is on that mainline
Tell him what you want
Jesus is on that mainline
Tell him what you want
Call him up and tell him what you want
Well, the line ain‘t never busy
Tell him what you want
Wo, that line ain‘t never busy
Tell him what you want
Well, the line ain‘t never busy
Tell him what you want
Keep on calling him up
And tell him what you want
Well, if you want his kingdom
Tell him what you want
If you want his kingdom
Tell him what you want
If want his kingdom
Tell him what you want
Call him up, call him up, call him up, call him up
You can call him up and tell him what you want
Well, if you‘re sick and wanna get well
Tell him what you want
Well, if you‘re sick and you wanna get well
Tell him what you want
If you‘re sick and you wanna get well
Tell him what you want
Call him up and tell him what you want
And if you‘re feeling down and out
Tell him what you want
And if you‘re feeling down and out
Tell him what you want
And if you‘re feeling down and out
Tell him what you want
Call him up and tell him what you want
I know Jesus is on that mainline
Tell him what you want
Jesus is on that mainline
Tell him what you want
Jesus is on that mainline
Tell him what you want
Call him up, call him up, call him up, call him up
Call him up and tell him what you want
Show Time
3.5 Stars
1976
Pop/Rock
Following the odd, but entertaining Hawaiian, southwestern mix of Chicken Skin Music, Ry Cooder hit the
road with a group of Tex-Mex musicians led by the great accordionist Flaco Jiminez. To make things even
more interesting, he also included three soul- and gospel-based backup singers in the lineup (two of whom
had appeared on Chicken Skin Music). Recorded in December of 1976, over a span of two nights in San
Francisco, Show Time documents these shows by Cooder and his "Chicken Skin Revue." And while Cooder's
guitar -- along with his usual eclectic assortment of songs -- is the star of the show, each of the
principles has his chance to shine throughout the evening. Terry Evans, Bobby King, and Eldridge King's
soulful rendition of "The Dark End of the Street," as well as the lovely "Volver, Volver," which features
Jiminez, are a couple of the highlights. Cooder's selection of material here is as eclectic as ever, but
Jiminez and the band stay with him every step of the way. They seem equally at home with the R&B of
"Smack Dab in the Middle" as they do with the Jiminez instrumental "Viva Seguin," which leads into a
Tex-Mex reworking of Woody Guthrie's "Do Re Mi." Still, as good as the fit may be between leader and
band, it's the Negro spiritual, "Jesus on the Mainline," stripped down to just four voices and Cooder's
remarkable bottleneck, that's the real showstopper here. Cooder is not usually one to stray too far
outside the confines of the song on record, but in this setting he gets a chance to really stretch. Like
most live recordings, Show Time isn't necessarily essential, though there's enough to make it worthwhile
for fans. Also, included is a terrific Dixieland take on Gary "U.S." Bonds' "School Is Out" recorded with
the same band in the studio.
Ry Cooder
Whether serving as a session musician, solo artist, or soundtrack composer, Ry Cooder's chameleon-like
fretted instrument virtuosity, songwriting, and choices of material encompass an incredibly eclectic range
of North American musical styles, including rock & roll, blues, reggae, Tex-Mex, Hawaiian, Dixieland jazz,
country, folk, R&B, gospel, and vaudeville. The 16-year-old Cooder began his career in 1963 in a blues band
with Jackie DeShannon and then formed the short-lived Rising Sons in 1965 with Taj Mahal and Spirit
drummer Ed Cassidy. Cooder met producer Terry Melcher through the Rising Sons and was invited to
perform at several sessions with Paul Revere and the Raiders. During his subsequent career as a session
musician, Cooder's trademark slide guitar work graced the recordings of such artists as Captain
Beefheart (Safe As Milk), Randy Newman, Little Feat, Van Dyke Parks, the Rolling Stones (Let It Bleed,
Sticky Fingers), Taj Mahal, and Gordon Lightfoot. He also appeared on the soundtracks of Candy and
Performance.
Cooder made his debut as a solo artist in 1970 with a self-titled album featuring songs by Leadbelly, Blind
Willie Johnson, Sleepy John Estes, and Woody Guthrie. The follow-up, Into the Purple Valley, introduced
longtime cohorts Jim Keltner on drums and Jim Dickinson on bass, and it and Boomer's Story largely
repeated and refined the syncopated style and mood of the first. In 1974, Cooder produced what is
generally regarded as his best album, Paradise and Lunch, and its follow-up, Chicken Skin Music,
showcased a potent blend of Tex-Mex, Hawaiian, gospel, and soul music, and featured contributions from
Flaco Jimenez and Gabby Pahinui. In 1979, Bop Till You Drop was the first major-label album to be
recorded digitally. In the early '80s, Cooder began to augment his solo output with soundtrack work on
such films as Blue Collar, The Long Riders, and The Border; he has gone on to compose music for Southern
Comfort, Goin' South, Paris, Texas, Streets of Fire, Bay, Blue City, Crossroads, Cocktail, Johnny
Handsome, Steel Magnolias, and Geronimo. Music By Ry Cooder (1995) compiled two discs' worth of
highlights from Cooder's film work.
In 1992, Cooder joined Keltner, John Hiatt, and renowned British tunesmith Nick Lowe, all of whom had
played on Hiatt's Bring the Family, to form Little Village, which toured and recorded one album. Cooder
next turned his attention to world music, recording the album A Meeting by the River with Indian
musician V.M. Bhatt. Cooder's next project, a duet album with renowned African guitarist Ali Farka Toure
titled Talking Timbuktu, won the 1994 Grammy for Best World Music Recording.
19
This Ol' Cowboy - The Marshall Tucker Band
Where We All Belong 1974
Oh, I just love this piece. It has a rolling quality … that reminds me of ―Roll, Roll, Rolling Along‖ by Roy
Evans … maybe I‘ll do that next year. Anyway, I liked this song from first hearing and finally got around
to putting it in a Naweedna CD. Hope you like it too.
Lyrics
Well I'm sittin' down in San Anton'
Waiting on an eight o'clock train
My woman left me here last night
Things ain't been quite the same
I gotta get back to Dallas
And tie up a few loose ends
I'm gonna work a week make a hundred dollars
Aw and hit the road again
So I don't want you to think
That you're the first one
To leave me out here on my own
Cause this ain't gonna be the first time
This ol' cowboy spent the night alone
Now honey I've been a fool but a bigger fool
I can't remember when I've been
Just to open up my heart
And let you walk right in
Now there's one thing in this life
Ain't hard for me to do
That's as soon as I kiss the lips of another woman
I'm gonna forget all about you
So I don't want you to think
That you're the first one
To leave me out here on my own
No this ain't gonna be the first time
This ol' cowboy spent the night alone
(Solo)
If you wrote all the woman's names down I know
And let me pick one out
I don't think there'd be one in the whole bunch
Aw I'd give a hoot about
So I don't want you to think
That you're the first one
To leave this ol' boy out here on his own
Cause this ain't gonna be the first time
This ol' cowboy spent the night alone
No this ain't gonna be the first time
This ol' cowboy spent the night alone
Where We All Belong
4.5 Stars
1974
Western Rock
Although it runs a little long, Where We All Belong captures the sound of The Marshall Tucker Band
coming into its own. Half the tracks are new studio recordings, which are more focused than their
previous releases; the other half is a harder-edged, jam-oriented live set. Taken together, they show
that the band was progressing musically.
Marshall Tucker Band
One of the major Southern rock bands of the '70s, the Marshall Tucker Band was formed in
Spartanburg, SC, in 1971 by singer Doug Gray, guitarist Toy Caldwell (born 1948, died February 25, 1993),
his brother bassist Tommy Caldwell (born 1950, died April 4, 1980), guitarist George McCorkle, drummer
Paul Riddle, and reed player Jerry Eubanks. The group's style combined rock, country, and jazz and
featured extended instrumental passages on which lead guitarist Toy Caldwell shone. The band was signed
to Capricorn Records and released their debut album, The Marshall Tucker Band, in March 1973. They
gained recognition through a tour with the Allman Brothers Band and found significant success during the
course of the '70s, with most of their albums going gold. Their peak came with the million-selling album
Carolina Dreams and its Top 15 single "Heard It in a Love Song" in 1977. The band was slowed down by the
death of Tommy Caldwell in a car accident in 1980 and faded from the album charts after 1982. Toy
Caldwell left for a solo career soon after, and the original lineup disbanded in 1983. Later that same year,
Doug Gray and Jerry Eubanks hired some Nashville studio musicians and took the band back out onto the
road; a little over a year later, the second wave of the Marshall Tucker Band began, as Gray and Eubanks
returned home to Spartanburg, SC, and hired guitarist Rusty Milner, bassist Tim Lawter, drummer Ace
Allen, and guitarist Stuart Swanlund. During the years since the original band dissolved, the group has
had country chart hits, toured constantly, made forays into the blues and adult contemporary, and
suffered the loss of founding member Toy Caldwell, who died in 1993. Some bandmembers left, some
joined, and some stayed right where they were, but through it all, the Marshall Tucker Band endured. The
band continued to record steadily, maintained a loyal fan base, and eventually began to receive their due
as Southern rock pioneers. The 1998 Marshall Tucker Band consisted of Gray, Milner, Lawter, Swanlund,
David Muse (formerly of Firefall, on sax, flute, and keys), and drummer B.B. Borden (formerly of
Mother's Finest). The band took several stylistic detours with 1998's all-blues outing Face Down in the
Blues and the 1999 spiritual album Gospel. A thorough reissue campaign was inaugurated in 2003, and the
new studio record Beyond the Horizon appeared one year later. In 2006, the group released a live 1980
concert, Live on Long Island, and another new studio project, The Next Adventure, appeared in 2007.
20
Collared Blues - Dan Hicks
It Happened One Bite 1978
Hicks … can‘t get too much Hicks. This is our fourth Dan Hicks track and there are many more in the
Naweedna queue for future inclusion. So how did we go about picking this specific track for this year‘s
offering? Well, it is a classic example of the system working. We had all the other tracks in place and
ended up about four minutes short of a full CD. Okay, let‘s sort the library for NWN-class tracks, sort
them by time, and scroll down to the four minute entries. Viola, Collared Blues at 3:46. We gave it a listen
to refresh our memories and … there‘s whistling. I love whistling. Gotta have some whistling. Bam, it goes
in … and there are only 16 seconds left blank on the CD. Done deal. Oh, be sure to read the review of the
It Happened One Bite (below) ;-)
Lyrics
Lyrics, what lyrics? Whistling, ba, ba, ba … that‘s it, just one song to the next, folks.
It Happened One Bite
4.5 Stars
1978
Rock
A cherished rarity among even his most die-hard fans, It Happened One Bite finds Dan Hicks and
company – not exactly his Hot Licks, but close enough for hipster folk swing – providing the soundtrack
for a 1978 animated film set during the gangster ‗50s. Unfortunately, the cartoon in question, at least
with Hicks‘ exceptional soundtrack for it, was shelved. A reworked version of the film eventually released
in 1982 featured none of the tunes Hicks wrote and recorded. Too bad, too, because his 13 songs are all
top-notch tomfoolery of the patented Hicks variety. Though a Warner Brothers album made a brief
appearance on store shelves back in the days of vinyl records, U.S. consumers looking for it on CD had
only the choice of a pricey Japanese import or going without. Enter Rhino Handmade. The reissue label
remedied the dilemma with a widescreen limited-edition CD pressing of 4,500 in late 2001. This disc
includes the original album, plus an additional nine tunes (including the standard ―It‘s Only a Paper Moon‖).
Available only from the Rhino Handmade Internet site.
Dan Hicks
Throughout his decades-long career, Dan Hicks stood as one of contemporary music‘s true eccentrics.
While steeped in folk, his acoustic sound knew few musical boundaries, drawing on country, call-andresponse vocals, jazz phrasing and no small amount of humor to create a distinctive, albeit sporadic, body
of work which earned him a devoted cult following.
Hicks was born December 9, 1941 to a military family then living in Arkansas, and grew up in California,
where he was a drummer in a number of high school bands. He attended college in San Francisco, where
he switched to guitar and began playing folk music. He returned to the drums, however, when he joined
the Charlatans, one of the Bay City‘s first psychedelic bands. Although the Charlatans were short-lived –
they issued only one single during their existence – they proved influential throughout the San Francisco
musical community, and were one of the first acts the play the legendary Family Dog.
Hicks had formed the acoustic group Dan Hicks and His Hot Licks in 1968 as an opener for the
Charlatans, but soon the new band became his primary project. After adding a pair of female backing
vocalists – ―the Lickettes‖ – the group issued its debut LP Original Recordings in 1969. After a pair of
1971 records, Where‘s the Money? And Striking It Rich, they issued 1973‘s Last Train to Hicksville,
which proved to be the Hot Licks most successful album yet. At the peak of the group‘s popularity,
however, Hicks dissolved the band, and did not resurface until 1978, releasing the solo LP It Happened
One Bite, the soundtrack to an uncompleted feature by animator Ralph Bakshi. He then phased in and out
of the music industry for more than a decade, and did not issue another major recording until 1994‘s
Shootin‘ Straight, a live recording cut with a new band, the Acoustic Warriors In 2000, over two decades
after the group‘s dissolution, Hicks reformed the Hot Licks and issued Beatin‘ The Heat. Alive and Lickin‘
arrived a year later.
21
Blowin’ The Fuse – Brownie McGhee & Sonny Terry
Best Of The Blues (Vinyl) 196?
This was on a vinyl I bought back in the 60s. It has been one of my house favorites ever since. Just a lot
of good harp work and a fitting ending piece: ―Brownie, you know we blew the fuse, man. Lights out.‖
Lyrics
Can‘t find any lyrics for this track.
No AMG info for Best of the Blues ...
Brownie McGhee & Sonny Terry
Brownie McGhee's death in 1996 represents an enormous and irreplaceable loss to the blues field.
Although he had been semi-retired and suffering from stomach cancer, the guitarist was still the leading
Piedmont-style bluesman on the planet, venerated worldwide for his prolific activities both on his own and
with his longtime partner, the blind harpist Sonny Terry.
Together, McGhee and Terry worked for decades in an acoustic folk-blues bag, singing ancient ditties like
"John Henry" and "Pick a Bale of Cotton" for appreciative audiences worldwide. But McGhee was capable
of a great deal more. Throughout the immediate postwar era, he cut electric blues and R&B on the New
York scene, even enjoying a huge R&B hit in 1948 with "My Fault" for Savoy (Hal "Cornbread" Singer
handled tenor sax duties on the 78).
Walter Brown McGhee grew up in Kingsport, TN. He contracted polio at the age of four, which left him
with a serious limp and plenty of time away from school to practice the guitar chords that he'd learned
from his father, Duff McGhee. Brownie's younger brother, Granville McGhee, was also a talented
guitarist who later hit big with the romping "Drinkin' Wine Spo-Dee-O-Dee"; he earned his nickname,
"Stick," by pushing his crippled sibling around in a small cart propelled by a stick.
A 1937 operation sponsored by the March of Dimes restored most of McGhee's mobility. Off he went as
soon as he recovered, traveling and playing throughout the Southeast. His jaunts brought him into
contact with washboard player George "Oh Red" (or "Bull City Red") Washington in 1940, who in turn
introduced McGhee to talent scout J.B. Long. Long got him a recording contract with OKeh/Columbia in
1940; his debut session in Chicago produced a dozen tracks over two days.
Long's principal blues artist, Blind Boy Fuller, died in 1941, precipitating Okeh to issue some of McGhee's
early efforts under the sobriquet of Blind Boy Fuller No. 2. McGhee cut a moving tribute song, "Death of
Blind Boy Fuller," shortly after the passing. McGhee's third marathon session for OKeh in 1941 paired
him for the first time on shellac with whooping harpist Terry for "Workingman's Blues."
The pair resettled in New York in 1942. They quickly got connected with the city's burgeoning folk music
circuit, working with Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, and Lead Belly. After the end of World War II,
McGhee began to record most prolifically, both with and without Terry, for a myriad of R&B labels: Savoy
(where he cut "Robbie Doby Boogie" in 1948 and "New Baseball Boogie" the next year), Alert, London,
Derby, Sittin' in With and its Jax subsidiary in 1952, Jackson, Bobby Robinson's Red Robin logo (1953),
Dot, and Harlem, before crossing over to the folk audience during the late '50s with Terry at his side.
One of McGhee's last dates for Savoy in 1958 produced the remarkably contemporary "Living with the
Blues," with Roy Gaines and Carl Lynch blasting away on lead guitars and a sound light years removed from
the staid folk world.
McGhee and Terry were among the first blues artists to tour Europe during the 1950s, and they ventured
overseas often after that. Their plethora of late-'50s/early-'60s albums for Folkways, Choice, World
Pacific, Bluesville, and Fantasy presented the duo in acoustic folk trappings only, their Piedmont-style
musical interplay a constant (if gradually more predictable) delight.
McGhee didn't limit his talents to concert settings. He appeared on Broadway for three years in a
production of playwright Tennessee Williams's Cat on a Hot Tin Roof in 1955 and later put in a stint in
the Langston Hughes play Simply Heaven. Films (Angel Heart, Buck and the Preacher) and an episode of
the TV sitcom Family Ties also benefited from his dignified presence.
The wheels finally came off the partnership of McGhee and Terry during the mid-'70s. Toward the end,
they preferred not to share a stage with one another (Terry would play with another guitarist, then
McGhee would do a solo), let alone communicate. One of McGhee's final concert appearances came at the
1995 Chicago Blues Festival; his voice was a tad less robust than usual, but no less moving, and his rich,
full-bodied acoustic guitar work cut through the cool evening air with alacrity. His like won't pass this
way again.
22
Goodnight - They Might Be Giants
Here Come The ABCs 2005
But wait, we still have a little room left on the CD. How about this 23 second-long ditty. Goodnight … from
Naweedna-land ;-)
Lyrics
Goodnight my friends.
Goodnight my friends.
Sweetdreams from ABC land.
Here Come the ABCs
4 Stars
2005
Childrens
They Might Be Giants have always had a flair for educational songs. More than a decade after its release,
the refrain of "Why Does the Sun Shine" ("The sun is a mass of incandescent gas/A gigantic nuclear
furnace") still has a pesky way of lodging itself in the brain. And, as the band's wonderful first children's
album, No!, demonstrated, They Might Be Giants' music speaks to kids in a way that few other bands'
work can; they never sound like they're talking (or singing) down to their smaller fans. Here Come the
ABCs makes the most of the band's ability to teach and reach children, and more than delivers on its
promise to "learn ABCs the fun way!" Since this is a more educational enterprise than No! was, Here Come
the ABCs is a little more straightforward and like a traditional children's album than its predecessor.
Several songs, like "E Eats Everything," are more or less recitations of the alphabet, albeit with a few
twists: "Z Y X" brings the album to a close with a dramatic backwards reading of the alphabet, and "The
Alphabet of Nations" is a mini-atlas, spanning Algeria to Zimbabwe. This is still a They Might Be Giants
album, though, and the band's catchy melodies and smart wordplay haven't been dumbed down. "Flying V,"
with its charming, Vince Guaraldi-like pianos and images of migrating geese and electric guitars, is
another of John Linnell's seemingly effortless but brilliant songs, and "C Is for Conifers" offers an
extra-credit lesson in botany as well as the alphabet. Here Come the ABCs brings personality to the
alphabet's characters, with some letters sharing songs and others getting songs of their own. The bouncy
"Go for G!" is an immediate kid-pleaser, while "Q U" casts these letters as pals that "make a cool sound
together" -- much like Linnell and Flansburgh themselves. F gets "Fake-Believe," a celebration of
imagination so good that they had to include it on the album twice. Other songs are more conceptual:
"Pictures of Pandas Painting," which is all about alliteration, lives up to its psychedelic title, while "Who
Put the Alphabet in Alphabetical Order?" gets downright meta. Amidst all the learning, there's still
plenty of room for plain old fun, as shown by the squiggly synths on "Letter Shapes"; the self-explanatory
"Clap Your Hands"; and "Rolling O," which celebrates the joy of making silly mouth noises with scat-like
babbling. Though some of the songs feel a little incomplete without the dazzling visuals of the DVD
version, Here Come the ABCs is still a delight. It might be slightly less magical than No!, but it's a far cry
from a by-the-numbers (or letters) children's album.
They Might Be Giants
Combining a knack for infectious melodies with a quirky, bizarre sense of humor and a vaguely avant-garde
aesthetic borrowed from the New York post-punk underground, They Might Be Giants became one of the
most unlikely alternative success stories of the late '80s and early '90s. Musically, John Flansburgh and
John Linnell borrowed from everywhere, but their freewheeling eclecticism was enhanced by their
arcane, geeky sense of humor. The duo would reference everything from British Invasion to Tin Pan Alley,
while making allusion to pulp fiction and President Polk. Through their string of indie releases and
constant touring, They Might Be Giants built up a huge following on college campuses during the late '80s,
switching to a major label in the early '90s. With support from MTV, 1990's Flood became a gold album,
and with it, the duo began to reap commercial rewards, moving into the status of one of the most popular
alternative bands before grunge. However, They Might Be Giants' whimsical outlook became buried in the
avalanche of post-grunge groups that dominated MTV and modern rock radio in the mid-'90s, and the
group retreated to its cult following.
Flansburgh and Linnell met when they were children in Lincoln, MA. During high school, they began writing
songs together, yet they never officially formed a band. Both Johns went to college after high school,
with Linnell playing in the Mundanes, a new wave group from Rhode Island. By 1981, the pair had reunited,
deciding to move to Brooklyn to pursue a musical career. Taking their name from a George C. Scott film
and performing their original material with a drum machine, They Might Be Giants soon became fixtures
on the Manhattan underground. Although Flansburgh and Linnell were building a cult following, they had a
hard time getting a record deal, so they set up Dial-A-Song -- a phone line that played songs on an
answering machine -- as a way to get their songs heard. The gimmick worked. Not only did it lead to a deal
with the indie label Bar/None, but over the years it was a successful venture; at one point, the service
was receiving hundreds of calls a day.
They Might Be Giants released their eponymous debut in 1986, and the album became a college radio hit;
it also made waves on MTV due to the inventive video for "Don't Let's Start." Two years later they
released Lincoln, which expanded their following considerably. Featuring the college hit "Ana Ng," Lincoln
climbed to number 89 on the charts, earning the attention of major labels. They Might Be Giants decided
to sign with Elektra Records in 1990, releasing Flood later that year. Flood worked its way to gold status,
thanks to the singles "Birdhouse in Your Soul" and "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)," which both had
popular videos. In the wake of the group's success, Restless/Bar/None released the B-sides and rarities
compilation Miscellaneous T in 1991.
Apollo 18, released in 1992, wasn't quite as successful as Flood, yet it consolidated the group's cult. For
the album's supporting tour, They Might Be Giants performed with a full backing band for the first time,
hiring former Pere Ubu bassist Tony Maimone and drummer Brian Doherty. The shift toward a full band
coincided with the dominance of grunge in alternative rock. Though they were strengthened by the
powerful sound of a full band, They Might Be Giants failed to receive much attention from MTV,
mainstream modern rock radio, or college radio when they released John Henry in the fall of 1994.
Recorded with the full band, John Henry lost the group a number of fans, yet the group's concerts
remained popular attractions, especially on American college campuses. Still, the band's next album,
1996's Factory Showroom, was virtually ignored by the press, MTV, and radio. The live Severe Tire
Damage followed two years later.
They Might Be Giants maintained their "hardest working men in show business" status in 2001 when they
issued Mink Car, a stunning follow-up to Factory Showroom that boasted collaborations with M. Doughty,
Adam Schlesinger, and the Elegant Too. They celebrated their 20th anniversary in summer 2002 with the
release of their first children's album, No! Rhino also celebrated the band's tenure with the first-ever
They Might Be Giants retrospective, Dial-A-Song: 20 Years of They Might Be Giants. A year later,
Flansburgh and Linnell joined Canadian artist Marcel Dzama for the children's book and CD set Bed, Bed,
Bed. The Indestructible Object EP arrived in spring 2004, just a few months before the band's eighth
full-length album, The Spine. Early in 2005, Here Come the ABCs and its accompanying DVD were the
band's first releases for Disney Sound. Later that year, They Got Lost arrived.
Over the course of the next two years, TMBG released a series of monthly and bimonthly podcasts. They
also contributed to various film soundtracks, including Disney's Meet the Robinsons and the film
adaptation of Neil Gaiman's Coraline. The band's 14th studio release, The Else, hit stores in the summer
of 2007. Here Come the 123's, the sequel to Here Come the ABC's, appeared in early 2008. Later that
year, the CD/DVD set Venue Songs, which featured appearances by actor/comedian John Hodgman, was
released. Here Comes Science, which featured songs about paleontology, astronomy, and chemistry and
included a DVD with animated versions of "the Johns" and videos by Divya Srinivasan, Tiny Inventions,
David Cowles, Hine Mizushima, and Feel Good Anyway, was released in fall 2009.