Saturday, December 29, 2012

The British Invasion Tour 1973 Starring Hermans Hermits

                                                                    
The British Invasion Tour of 1973

@ Pine Knob

Starring Herman’s Hermits

It was a glorious sunny day for a rock & roll concert. It was an oldies show that included acts from England that were still performing and recording. The original Herman’s Hermits (without guitarist Keith Hopwood) co-headlined the show with the original Searchers .The support acts were very good for the most part but relied on the same backup band for each of their performances. The lineup included Gerry Marsden (Gerry & the Pacemakers), Wayne Fontana (Wayne Fontana & the Mindbenders), Freddie & the Dreamers and Billy J Kramer (& the Dakotas).

The show opened with Manchester-based Freddie & the Dreamers with most of his original band from the sixties. Freddie was just a wee bit over five feet tall and his peripatetic antics got the crowd up on its feet. He wore thick glasses and looked like a dweeb while his backing band wore shades and looked like hit men for the mob. It was a high energy set that included the hits I’m Telling You Now, You Were Made For Me, Do The Freddie as well as minor releases that charted below the Top 100 including I Understand and Over You. Freddie did the “Freddie” all over the stage. To do it you had to stand in place, then in rhythm with the music,  lift your left arm and leg, then your right arm and leg until the damn song ends. Ok, it was annoying but I mastered the Freddie right then and there!

Wayne Fontana opened with an early British hit, the soulful Um, Um, Um, Um,Um, Um (a tribute to Major Lance)  followed by minor hits Road Runner , Hello Josephine, She Needs Love  and Together - a big hit in Australia. He included Pamela Pamela, a sweet little rocker that charted in the UK but sunk into a black hole here in the states. Toward the end he performed a new song entitled Sweet America – a great rockin’ tribute to the USA. It worked on so many levels, the arrangement, the lyrics and Fontana’s powerful vocal. It should have been the hit that resurrected his career.  I never again heard the song  and Fontana slipped back into oblivion. He ended his brief set with his monster hit from 1965, Game of Love. He was in great voice and he looked good. He seemed to be on top of his game. It was a squandered opportunity.

The Searchers had their original singers Mike Pender and John McNally on board and they recently recorded an LP entitled Second Take that included new songs as well as re-recorded versions of their hits. It was a masterful performance with those trademark close harmonies and jangly guitars that the Searchers perfected. They were on their game and gave the audience a spectacular set of British Invasion pop – Love Potion # 9, Needles & Pins, Don’t Throw Your Love Away and When You Walk in the Room. The band opened with a tight performance of Sweets for My Sweet and they interspersed the hits with new songs such as Solitaire, Sing Singer Sing, Don’t Shut Me Out, The World is Still Waiting for Tomorrow and Bite it Deep. It seemed as if The Searchers were poised for a great comeback. It didn’t happen. Shame.

The next performer, Billy J Kramer gave an insipid performance of his hits. The dude was long, lanky and terribly awkward. He wore a shag haircut that may have been the original mullet except there was no party in the back. Kramer mugged the crowd, winced and sang off key for the entire performance. The band made faces in the background and rolled their eyes. Kramer was oblivious to the slights and continued to warble his hits – Little Children, Trains & Boats & Planes, Bad to Me, From a Window and I’ll Keep You Satisfied. The Beatles connection couldn’t save him. It made we wonder what Brian Epstein had seen in him in the first place…oh, yeah, Billy was caught buried waist deep into Brian’s bum. Strange bed follows don’t always make great music.

Gerry Marsden was something else indeed, an immaculate singer and showman. His husky baritone was perfect and he did all his hits. He did a superb nuance vocal on Bobby Darin’s I’ll Be There and nailed How Do you Do It and It’s Gonna Be Alright. It was like getting a close look at the early days of the Beatles when they battled the Pacemakers for the toppermost of the poppermost on the British charts. In the early to mid-sixties the Pacemakers were one of the premier acts in England. Marsden was a rocker who excelled on ballads and he sang beautifully on Don’t Let the Sun Catch You Crying and You’ll Never Walk Alone (Rodgers & Hammerstein would not be displeased). A masterful reading of his self-penned Ferry Cross the Mersey closed the set. The crowd roared for more, it was the most voracious response by the crowd so far. He was not only a great singer but a great showman. He came back onstage and did the Ray Charles chestnut What I’d Say. Marsden got the crowd revved up in third gear and then downshifted into the ancient call & response gambit. Perfect!

The crowd gasped when Herman’s Hermits walked onto the stage. It was the original band featuring Derek Leckenby (guitar), Karl Green (bass guitar), Barry Whitman (drums) .  When Peter Noone entered on stage left the crowd went wild. They started their set with Gary Glitter’s Hello! Hello! I’m Back Again. It was a great choice. It’s an upbeat and obscure rocker (in the states) and has the perfect lyrics for a popular hit-making band returning to form following a three year separation…

Hello Hello 

 It’s good to be back

Good to be back

Hello, Hello, hello

Did you miss me (YEAH)

While I was away

Did you hang my picture on your wall

Did you miss me every single day (YEAH)

I thought you didn’t need me at all

Noone looked youthful and handsome and he hadn’t lost a step. He was all over the stage mugging with crowd and flashing that toothy smile and capitalizing on his vaudevillian charm. He did his music hall numbers Mrs. Brown (You’ve Got a Lovely daughter), I’m Henry the VIII and Leaning on a Lamp. His reading on their first big hit I’m Into Something Good was a shining example of good time music. It was followed by Can’t You hear My Heartbeat and Listen People. It was a thrill to hear these wondrous sixties pop artifacts performed by the original band. Noone performed Sam Cooke’s Wonderful World and the ancient street corner soul of Silhouettes. He even did a great version of the Kinks’ underrated masterpiece Dandy. In my view it surpassed the Kinks original arrangement. Noone stretched out a bit with the Graham Nash chestnut A Simple Man accompanying himself on piano. His vocal was nuanced with a restrained emotion, “I just want to hold you; I don’t want to hold you down.”

He interspersed pop rockers – A Must to Avoid, Sea Cruise and Just a Little Bit Better - with the ballads End of the World and No Milk Today. They even did a few obscurities Here Comes the Star and Sentimental Friend

The crowd reserved the biggest ovation to Noone’s perfect reading of There’s a Kind of Hush – their last bit hit (#4 in America) and the last song of the night.

The British Invasion tour was a wonderful, low-tech affair that was somewhat flawed yet glorious in its subversiveness. God Save the Queen.

 

 

 

Thursday, December 27, 2012


 
 
The Association

Live @ CMU

1969 

The Association was a great group of singers who also wrote some of the most beautiful love songs of the sixties. They were not per se a rock band, more like a hip college folk band that was more Christy Minstrel than Bob Dylan. It’s not to say that they wrote only schmaltzy folk pop for the masses, looking for the big hits and a bigger payoff. They were both singers and writers and were capable of writing lyrically compelling songs with layered emotional themes. Some of their songs such as Cherish, Never My Love are timeless. Their rudimentary musicianship was their weakest link but their unison singing and layered three-tiered harmonies could make up for the lapses in the instrumental department. There were exceptions – Terry Kirkman was a multi-instrumentalist and musical leader and Brian Cole was a monster bassist and his powerful playing was often up front in the mix. He was also the leader of the band onstage. For better or worse, Cole did all the banter. At times he seemed more like a fraternity dweeb than a philosopher stone. Just Google his rap on Time Machine or Thurber’s The Last Flower intro to Get Together and you’ll have an idea. It was performance art that was somewhat interesting if not overwrought. The band consisted of Terry Kirkman (baritone, brass, reeds, recorder, harmonica, percussion), Russ Giguere (baritone vocals, rhythm guitar, percussion), Larry Ramos (tenor, lead guitar), Jim Yester (tenor, rhythm guitar, keyboards), Ted Bluechel Jr. (baritone, drums) and Cole (bass, bass guitar). Everybody in the band could sing lead as well as harmony.  It was a notable strength, their vocals were near flawless. They were inducted into the vocal group Hall of Fame in 2003. It was the last time the original lineup would play together. The Association had eight top forty hits, not too shabby and as of this new millennium three of the 100 most played songs played on the radio are Association songs  - Cherish (5 million +), Never My Love (8 million +) and Windy (4 million +).

 In 1969 The Association was riding the crest of a wave. They enjoyed massive success and appeared on all the right television shows from Ed Sullivan to the Smothers Brothers. Their hip quotient was gaining some currency even though they were decidedly un-cool for writing so many cloying love songs.

 The CMU administration was attempting to lure students to the campus through a new emphasis on collegiate social activities. This included the development of a concert series featuring some of the most popular bands in rock & roll including Neil Diamond, Blood Sweat & Tears, Spanky & Our Gang, the Cryan Shames, The Turtles and The Association.  It was a social agenda that spoke to the students interests in the late sixties. I was there for the music and to impress my girlfriend and maybe get a smooch or two. Hell, it seemed everyone was in love and making out – some heavy mashing, indeed.

 

  The Association opened the show with The Time It Is Today. The stage was dark as the first strains of the guitar moaned with a minor chord as Kirkman’s flute offered contrasting accents. The lights gradually appeared as the darkness faded. The night makes room for the rising sun. Giguere sings the intro in unison with the band

 Sunrise Sunset                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  What you’re born with                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               Is what you get            

This is a clear-eyed treatise on youthful rebellion and government misanthropy, as Giguere sings                                                                                                                                                                                                                             They’re lying, killing, and pushing their rules                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          They tell me the prophets all are just fools

The song was relevant to our country’s divisiveness over the Vietnam War, Civil Rights, Women’s Rights, Free Speech, and the Selective Service System (mandatory military service – my number was 55)

Surprisingly (to me) Giguere was the most prominent vocalist on this night, singing lead on seven songs.

 Cole was the affable MC and lead the audience through a “get to know you” exercise in which he instructs us to look into the eyes of a neighbor, wish them peace and say “I love you.” It was a hoot.

The next song was Along Comes Mary, the Association’s first big monster hit. On record the musical dynamics were crisp and the vocals were clear and upfront in the mix but the live version was plodding and the instrumentation rudimentary. The vocals were husky, breathless and off time. It seemed that Yester was incapable of shoe-horning the lyrics into the verse. He’s a great singer but this was a train wreck.

Larry Ramos pure tenor hit the mark on Like Always though Yester’s piano work was not as jazzy or intricate as the recorded version. The background vocals were just a bit off and the intricate vocal sections were difficult to duplicate. Each singer contributed to a particular part e.g., high harmony, unison and low registers. It was very good and a nice stretch for the band.

Kirkman and Ramos teamed up on a spectacular version of Never My Love. The soaring harmonies were heavenly and Yester’s singing on the bridge –“Never My Love” was spot on and his keyboard solo was the perfect  punctuation to the verse.

Giguere did a great interpretation of Dylan’s One Too Many Mornings and his intense bluesy take on Babe, I’m Gonna Leave You was ahead of its time. The country funk of Blistered was a huge surprise. I loved the adult themes and irreverence in the lyrics. He followed with an incredible take on his hit, Time for Livin’. It was jazzed up in a cool syncopated arrangement that was faithful to the recorded version. Once again the backing vocals were an impressive blending of bass, baritone and tenor voices – thanks to Clark Burroughs vocal arrangements!

I was looking forward to hearing their latest hit, Everything That Touches You. It was a love anthem that transcended the moon & june lyrics typically associated with teenagers. The lyrics were a combination of wonder, yearning and the soulfulness of a deeply felt love. From the first note I sensed that something was very wrong. The instrumentation was off and the tempo was a mess. Cole kept the bass poppin’ a big riff  but the other instruments didn’t fill in the blanks. Musical spaces are good but there were definite outages – too many spaces. The songs lost its fragile spark and momentum. I sat slack-jawed, stunned. How could this great band fall apart so completely and ruin one of their true musical masterpieces. I couldn’t speculate how it happened. It was then I realized that the Association were a great vocal band but only adequate musicians.

Jim Yester’s reading on No Fair At All was simply beautiful and it helped the band recover its confidence and resolve. It is a simple song with a verse/chorus structure and basic instrumentation. Yester’s pure tenor soared over the music - a great performance. The song is about unexpectedly falling in love with an old friend.

Ramos came back to sing  Are You Ready, a sweet little rocker, the heaviest  tune of the night and a genuine mixture of energy and craft. The show was self-righting, a cool homeostasis. They were hitting on all the cylinders and living up to the hype.

The newly released Just About the Same had a Caribbean motif with a shuffle beat, unison vocals and spectacular harmonies. It is a true charmer about universal nature of our species. We are all the same despite our differences. It is about living in peace and love.

Requiem For the Masses sounds like a Catholic Liturgy, a song of faith or perhaps it’s a metaphor about war and death. Maybe it’s both. It is written and sung by Terry Kirkman with the other five members singing heavenly harmonies. It is a dialectical dilemma. It is a religious spiritual as well as a form of social commentary. It was one of the best anti-war songs of the sixties. It was a gutsy call to put it out in the first place as our country was strictly divided between political factions. At any rate it’s a song rare in its scope and depth – a masterpiece and the Association nailed that night. The lyrics…

Mama Mama forget your pies                                                                                                                                                                                                       Have faith they won’t get cold                                                                                                                                              And turn your eyes to the bloodshot sky                                                                                                                                              Your flag is flying full                                                                                                                                                                                                               At half-mast for the matador                                                                                                                                      who turned his back to please the crowd                                                                                                                                           And all fell before the bull

Six Man Band was a rare Association rocker with fuzz guitar and a big back beat and it set the stage for the last two songs in the show.

They closed with two of their most popular songs Cherish and Windy. The arrangements were true to the recorded versions.  Kirkman’s lead vocal on Cherish had depth and nuance while Giguere’s take on Windy was breezy and cool and the full range and complicated harmonies from Yester, Ramos and Buechel were perfectly executed.

I left feeling that I experienced something special. I’ve been a fan of those glorious Association pocket symphonies ever since.

 In 1982 I attended a performance in Flint (funded by the Mott Foundation) by the original band save for Brian Cole who passed away years before. They sounded great and announced a new tour and new recordings. The performed Walk Away Renee (Left Banke) that night and eventually recorded it for an LP entitled 1995; A Little Bit More. They also did a set list of their greatest hits. I was hoping they would perform a few songs from their 1972 masterpiece - Waterbeds in Trinidad.  It seemed unfair that it was so roundly ignored. It proved to be the swan song of the original band. But those great obscure songs remain - Come The Fall, Kicking The Gong Around, Silent Song Through the Land, Darling Be Home Soon (Lovin’ Spoonful) and Snow Queen.  

All those vintage Association Recordings are available  through eBay, Amazon, Spotify and Zune. Enjoy!

 

 

Friday, December 21, 2012

Neil Diamond Live @ CMU 1969

                                                            
Neil Diamond Live @ Central Michigan University 1969

 

There’s been a lot of smack talked about Neil Diamond for maybe 30years now -his pretentious delivery; his overblown bombastic songs; and slick overwrought productions; and his sorry maudlin appeal to a middle-of the-road bourgeoisie. This seems pretty much true to me but what the critics do not remember or were too young to witness was Neil Diamond’s glorious folk rock beginnings - Brill Building meets Dylan…or James Taylor. Diamond was more of a rocker than a pop singer in those days and his onstage persona was at once quite exciting and familiar. Hell, when he talked to the audience it was like servin’ up a dish a goulash in the kitchen, just real familiar and comfortable. And yet, there was an edge to him that was just a bit elusive. He seemed a bit socially awkward as if he didn’t quite fit in with anybody anywhere unless he was onstage. This is where he could unleash his demons and become something other than the solitary man. He was sensitive and yet his ill-defined doubts and internal sense of unease seemed to be masked by his “Neil Diamond” persona. I immediately liked him and I loved his introspective, personal yet accessible songs. His early songwriting career in New York was quite remarkable. Like a sponge on a mop, he learned about song structure, hooks and melody rom some of the best songwriters in the business such as Goffin & King, Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich. He had developed a knack for pop music and scored hits with Jay & The Americans (Sunday & Me) and the Monkees (I’m a Believer, Love to Love). His music was based in the original rhythms of the streets in New York. Do wop and pop.  These now ancient sounds were gradually transformed with help from the Beatles, Dave Clark Five and the Rolling Stones and were essentially co-opted by an industry that favored bottom rung of disposable artists riding the engine of instant stardom ala American Idol that chugged along to the tune of a narrowly defined demographic, delivered and discarded in the ebb and flow of corporate interests. Mediocrity prevailed – as it always will. It’s the American way. Yet our dear rock ‘n roll was ultimately bought and sold out and it natural energy and spontaneity – its very soul - was all but lost in the mix. Perhaps this is the true story of Neil Diamond. But in 1969, Diamond’s worst tendencies were only a whisper and his talent shouted out from the stage and millions of us took notice. His band was a small 4-piece.  Neil played rhythm guitar with Randy Sterling was on bass and Eddie Rubin on drums. The guitarist Carol Hunter was the standout. She had a cool sexy stage presence and Diamond mugged and schmoozed with her throughout the ninety minute show. Not only was she beautiful, she was also an excellent guitarist and a great singer. She used a solid body Fender 12-string and picked it like George Harrison. In fact before working with Diamond, she made a name for herself in the New York club scene as a highly regarded top notch musician. It was highly unusual for a woman at that time to have such a prominent role as a guitarist. She was HOT and in demand. During this concert the interplay between Diamond and Hunter was equally as hot. Diamond introduced her, saying she was not just a great guitarist but she was “soft...and uh…warm…mmm…so warm…and soft…ahem”. He also mentioned something about getting in the back seat of the car. Yep, ‘ol Neil was a huge flirt. The music was exceptional. The opener Song for the Asking (by Simon & Garfunkel) segued into Lordy, Diamond’s most rockin’ song ever. Led by Hunter’s incredible12-string attack, this song proved to be the sleeper hit of the entire show. Diamond played all of his hits and a few covers such as Joni Mitchell’s Both Sides Now. Diamond said that Mitchell was one of his favorite singer/songwriters and that he loved her poetic lyricism and her lovely cantilevered ass. Solitary Man was followed by Holly Holy. Diamond introduced Cherry Cherry by stating that he didn’t sing “cherry” once during the course of the song. I believed him and when I told my girlfriend and anyone else who cared to listen about the show I told them that Diamond never sang the word “cherry” during the song. Cherry Cherry?” She asked with a twisted grin on her mug, “Well, what did he sing.” I said, “I...ah..um – I don’t know but it wasn’t Cherry Cherry. She could only shake her head and smile. One by one each of his little Brill Building nuggets took on a new life in the rockin’ arrangements of this little four piece ensemble; Sweet Caroline Kentucky Woman, Thank the Lord For The Nighttime. Hunter’s exquisite background vocals add additional punch to Diamond’s sometimes wavering intonations. He is a great vocalist but not much of a singer. Diamond did a few album cuts such as the country-tinged satire, You’re So Sweet (Horseflies Keep Hanging Round Your Face), And the Grass Won’t Pay No Mind and Diamond’s personal favorite, The Singer Sang His Song. Diamond had great difficulty hitting the notes and holding pitch.  Throughout the performance Diamond told stories about his songs, the early country influences, hearing Solitary Man on the radio for the very first time, and even making mild anti-war comments.   The show closed with the stripped down gospel-rocker Brother Love’s Traveling Salvation Show. I left feeling as if I witnessed a first-hand account of a humble genius at work, creating great music and putting together an incredibly tight four-piece band that could re-interpret his songs. My God, I thought, it doesn’t get any better than this. And for several years, I was a confirmed Neil Diamond fan. I bought all of his albums and attended shows in1971 and 1972. But something had changed. The band was getting increasingly bigger, more proficient, but not better. The arrangements were slick and more polished but that down home intimate in the-kitchen vibe was disappearing and Diamond’s singing was becoming almost melodramatic. His voice no longer creaked and cracked, it bellowed as his phrasing became pretentious and operatic - he held notes longer in the chorus but he began talking through the verses. I would have never guessed that Diamond’s musical metamorphosis would take him to a creative nadir with the Jazz Singer and Jonathan Livingston Seagull. It was curious to me that his adoring fans would accept this bombast hook, line and sinker. But I remember Neil Diamond in 1969.

And he was glorious!

Peace,

 Bo White

 

 

Thursday, December 20, 2012

The Byrds Live @ Daniels Den 1966


 
 
The Byrds

1966

Live @ Daniels Den

 

 I was anticipating a great show by a band hyped as the American Beatles. The Byrds  consisted of seasoned ex-folkies who cut their teeth on college campuses and small clubs.  Jim McGuinn (singer, lead guitar) performed with The Limeliters and the Chad Mitchell Trio and was briefly a Brill Building songwriter writer under the guidance of the incredibly gifted Bobby Darin. Gene Clark (singer, tambourine) was a natural singer and songsmith who sang leads and harmony with The New Christy Minstrels.  A chance meeting at the Troubadour led McGuinn and Clark to form a duo playing Beatles covers and Beatlesque versions of traditional folk songs. They were on fire. Soon after David Crosby (vocals, guitar), a former crooner for Les Baxter’s Balladeers, joined McGuinn and Clark and called themselves the Jet Set. This became the nucleus of the Byrds. The year was 1964 and the music scene was evolving rapidly. Michael Clarke (drums) came on board not so much for his musical skills but for his uncanny resemblance to Brian Jones of the Rolling Stones. He had good hair. Chris Hillman (bass guitar) was a country gentlemen and a multi-instrumentalist who mastered the bass guitar almost effortlessly.

In 1964 Jim Dickson, the manager of the Byrds, got his mitts on an acetate of an unreleased Dylan song entitled Mr. Tambourine Man. The band did not like it at first; it was a bit meandering and went on and on like Dylan songs do but they toyed with it in rehearsals, giving it a rock band arrangement and changing the time signature from 2/4 to 4/4. It became a different song. The Byrds were like sculptors bringing an object out of a slab of marble. The results were simply breathtaking.  Mr. Tambourine Man was released on April 12th, 1965 and by June it was #1 in the charts with a bullet. A new genre was created by that song. It was called Folk Rock and it was characterized by McGuinn’s jangly 12-string Rickenbacker and clear harmony singing. McGuinn and Clark would sing in unison with Crosby singing the high harmony. It was an entirely new sound, majestic and hauntingly beautiful. The band was also creating fashion trends; McGuinn’s granny glasses, Crosby’s striking suede green cape, Beatle haircuts and a studied aloofness onstage suggesting California cool and a non-conformist attitude. They were all the rage. You could see them on Ed Sullivan, Shindig and Hullaballoo and hear them all over the radio from east coast to west coast and all points in between.

 The Byrds were my new musical heroes displacing the Bossmen, The Dave Clark Five and the Beatles – in that order. So when the Den’s mammoth red velvet curtain opened and revealed the cool detached visages of my heroes I was right at the lip of the stage hanging on every word and every sound. They looked just like they did on Sullivan; Crosby with his cape, McGuinn with the granny glasses and the Beatle-ish looking Gene Clark looking bored and smackin’ the tambourine on his hip.  The rest of the band seemed transparent like they weren’t onstage. McGuinn intoned something like “umm…ahh …it’s nice to be here…we’re not used to getting up this early.”  Then they launched into their big hit Mr. Tambourine Man. The famous intro sounded spectacular with that melodic tonal brilliance that helped define folk rock forever after. But after a few bars, McGuinn began singing the verse, it was barely audible. The sound was dreadful. The harmony singing on the chorus was washed out and I could only hear McGuinn’s lower register. Even worse the band seemed listless even bored. California cool needed a wake up call, snap the rubber band and wake up for chrisssakes. They were like an engine with a manual transmission that couldn’t get out of first gear. The clutch ain’t working, brother. They followed with a Gene Clark chestnut Feel a Whole Lot Better. It’s a great song and Clark sang his ass off but once again the harmonies were muffled or nonexistent. They went on to perform Bells of Rhymney (Pete Seeger’s adaptation of an Idris Davies poem), Chimes of Freedom but the performance were lacked energy and conviction. Twenty minutes later they ended the show with the exquisiteTURN! TURN!TURN! (To Everything There is a Season) and walked off stage. McGuinn remained at the microphone as the big red velvet Curtain closed McGuinn mumbled “that’s it, sorry.”  I thought it was odd yet incredible that my hero would apologize for a lackluster performance. I thought that maybe this matinee performance was ill-timed for a group that is not used to playing in the late afternoon. Some said they were smoking marijuana and were too high. Donny Hartman was a member of the Chevelles at the time and he opened the show for the Byrds. Donny is one of the nice guys in rock & roll and made a name for himself as a singer and guitarist in the Frost, one of Michigan’s greatest bands. His assessment – “they were dicks.”

The Byrds were the Worst Great Band I’ve Ever Seen

Peace

Bo

Addendum:  In 1974 I was enjoying my final year at Michigan State University. I was enjoying myself, on top of my game, academically speaking but also listening to a lot of great music, seeing the Woolies @ Lizards and attending concerts @ Jenison Fieldhouse (the Guess Who, Steve Miller Band, The Beach Boys,  Peter Frampton etc. ). But one of my fondest musical memories came from a rare performance by Roger McGuinn at the Stable, a cozy East Lansing Concert venue. I took a date and we shared a bottle of wine and enjoyed an incredible show by McGuinn. He used a 12-string acoustic guitar and sang solo. His voice was in great shape and the acoustics were perfect. He played all his Byrds hits from Mr. Tambourine Man to Chestnut Mare and everything in between.  He sang some obscurities like Tiffany Lamp, Just a Season, Lover of the Bayou and near hits like Ballad of Easy Rider and Jesus is Just Alright. It was a brilliant stripped down to the basics performance.  It was one of the most intimate musical statements I’ve ever experienced.

Tuesday, December 18, 2012


 
The McCoys

 Live @ Daniels Den

January 1970

I was really looking forward to finally seeing my musical heroes the McCoys. They were about my age and they played blues based pop and retro rock & roll with great harmonies, a strong backbeat, organ flourishes, and a distinctive jangly guitar. The hits were pure gold and I collected everyone one of them The 12 bar blues of Hang on Sloopy and Fever; the delectable bubblegum rock of (You Make Me feel) So Good, the Louie Louie vibe of I Got To Go Back (And Watch That Little Girl Dance) as well as the psychedelic rock of Don’t Worry Mother (Your Son’s Heart is Pure) and the dramatic maturity of Beat the Clock. I even liked the distinctive bright yellow BANG label that depicts an old fashioned six shooter emitting a contoured bubble with the BANG logo in bold red silhouetted in black. Loved it.  The McCoys consisted of two brothers Randy (drums, vocals) and Rick Zehringer (guitar and lead vocals-later known as Rick Derringer), Randy Jo Hobbes (bass, vocals), and Bobby Peterson (keyboards, vocals). Between 1968 and 1969 The McCoys morphed like a caterpillar to a butterfly and began a drastic 180 degree musical shift to harder blues-based rock and jazz-based psychedelia. It started with an LP entitled Infinite McCoys. It seemed unfocused and too eclectic for a more concise musical statement. Still, they delivered a few shining moments with Jesse Brady (released as a low charting single), the Popsicle rock of Song For Janie and the country-influenced Rosa Rodriguez. However Human Ball was a huge step forward even with its jazzy pretensions and its meandering eclecticism. Zehinger found his voice as a guitar slinger and did blistering version of Stormy Monday Blues as well as Daybreak an R&B influenced tune and a rootsy cover of Dylan’s All Over You.  I must admit that I did indeed buy these LPs when they were first released and I did not understand what the McCoys were attempting to do. I was not familiar with blues at that point in my life and I just wanted to hear the hits. It wasn’t met to be.

They opened with Daybreak which seemed to go on and on.  Human Ball Blues was an exquisite introduction to 12 Bar Blues. They did a jazz workout on Epilogue and a hard core rant on Clergy Lies. I recognized each member of the band but they looked older. The guitarist Rick Zehringer played his ass off. He was light years ahead of the riffs he created for Hang on Sloopy and his other pop hits. He was a monster guitarist capable of picking lightening quick licks with fat tones and incredible harmonics. He could play fast and clean with as many notes as you could pile into a guitar case. The band was tight, even brilliant. The rhythm section was in the pocket and the organist played fluid jazz like he was Mose Allison. The band took a break at this point t clear are heads and are shattered ear drums. Toward the end of the break I saw the guitarist standing next to Frank Patrick, one of the owners of Daniel’s Den. I was standing close by with my buddy Tom Merry (later a football star @ Ball State) complaining that the McCoys weren’t playing any of their hits. So Tom saunters over to Zehringer and Patrick, interrupted their conversation and said pointedly, “Hey, play some of your hits.” They just stared back at him. But after the break the McCoys played Hang on Sloopy, Fever and their last chart single the incredible Jesse Brady (about being caught cheating). I was beside myself. It was a great show even though or because of – I’m not sure - The McCoys didn’t succumb to just doing a retrospective of their hits.
 A few years later I saw Johnny Winter And @ Cobo Hall with the Faces (Rod Stewart) and Three Dog Night headlining (weird lineup but very cool). As Winters blistering Louder than GOD set rambled on, I noticed that the McCoys were the backing band,  now known as AND. I remembered their modest yet transformative performance at Daniels Den and I knew that I seen the caterpillar turn into a butterfly that night in January 1970. And I smiled.

 
 
The Gentrys

Live @ Daniels Den

September 6th 1968

 

The Gentrys may have had little impact in the history of rock & roll but they were one of my favorite bands in the sixties. They played Daniels Den on several occasions and I just happened to see the last show of their original lineup. It was a total gas. They had a few hits at the time. Including their breakout million seller Keep On Dancing from there it went pretty much downhill despite the release of several gems produced by the legendary Chips Moman including Everyday I Have to Cry, Spread It On Thick, Brown Paper Sack, You Make Me Feel Good (a great cover of a Zombies album track), I Can’t Get Out of Denver, Woman of the World. They were hot for a New York minute and their management finagled television spots on Hullabaloo, Shindig, and Where the Action Is. They even managed to place them in the 1966 teen exploitation movie It’s Bikini World. They toured with the Beach Boys and Sony & Cher  (who hadn’t) and joined Dick Clark’s package tours where the groups would play a couple hits and run offstage to make room for the next band. After paying all the bills it wasn’t much money yet it was needed exposure for the group.The band consisted of Larry Raspberry (leader/singer), Jimmy Hart (vocalist/harmonies), Larry Wall (drums), Bruce Bowles (vocals), and Pat Neal (Bass guitar).The newest member was Larry Butler and extraordinary talent who went on to produce Kenny Rogers, Johnny Cash, Crystal Gayle, Dottie West and BJ Thomas.

The Gentrys were a Memphis band and reveled in the richness of the local scene. They were just high school kids when Keep On Dancing was picked up by MGM which was a major label at the time. The rest is history. Memphis is an extraordinary mecca for talented musicians. It is no wonder that a city the eats, sleeps and drinks music could hoist such talents as Alex Chilton, Booker T & the MGs, Issac Hayes to the top of the National charts. There is no doubt that the Gentrys were cocooned by a golden web of talent and innovation. They were the first Memphis rock band to make it to the top of the Billboard charts ending up at # 4 with a bullet.

The original Larry Raspberry-led Gentrys performed at Daniels Den on three occasions and I was lucky enough to see one of their last performances before packing it in. Vocalist Jimmy Hart resurrected the Gentrys and played the Den two more times between January and October 1969.

The show was a love fest from start to finish. Raspberry was on top of his game, singing well, telling jokes and leaping from the dance floor  up to the first tier of seats left of the stages. The girls swooned and the guys laughed. It was Raspberry who held it all together. It didn’t matter that their new drummer missed the intro to Keep on Dancing by half a beat. Raspberry just looked at him briefly, smiled and laughed broadly. No harm, no foul. They performed their hits and the sound was perfect. The harmonies on You Make Me Feel Good were exquisite with Hart accompanying Raspberry’s solid lead. Everyday I Have to Cry Some was a poor boy’s anthem and they nailed it. They performed a few covers including Dedicated to The One I Love (the Shirelles’ version, not the lush Mamas & Papas version); I Can’t Go Back To Denver. They even did Ain’t To Proud To Beg, a Motown masterpiece resurrected through the lens of Raspberry and his Memphis cats and nailed the high energy Latino rocker Let’s Dance.  They performed a soulful Everyday I Have to Cry Some that segued to Don’t Let It Be This Time (the B-side), a real tearjerker sung perfectly by Jimmy Hart. Great pipes! The popish Woman of the World sounded almost Beatlesque. Raspberry was developing his chops as a songwriter and sang one of his originals entitled There Are Two Sides to Every Story followed by Bye Bye Baby a high energy garage rocker!

I left the show with the firm conviction that Larry Raspberry was the talent and focal point of the band. He could jump around, run around the stage, climb to the second level and jump back down on the dance floor. He was a great singer and a storyteller, the perfect front man. Years later I saw him perform with his band Larry Raspberry & the High Steppers. It was some tasty Memphis rockin’ soul. I loved his new songs especially Jive Ass and Baby Get Out of Bed (Once is Enough For Me).  Years later I saw Raspberry perform at Pine Knob on a One Hit Wonders Tour. I wanted to stand up and shout that Raspberry was not a One Hit Wonder that he had several modest hits with the Gentrys and the High Steppers. But I didn’t; He might be remembered for Keep On Dancing but there was so much more

Sunday, December 16, 2012


 
The Kingmen

Live @ Daniel’s Den

1965

I was excited about seeing my heroes from Portland Oregon, The Kingsmen. It was only the second rock show I’d ever attended. It was only a few months earlier that I saw Simon & Garfunkel @ the Y A-Go-Go. I was a bit disappointed with that show, they seemed so uncomfortable and their music was folky and cerebral and Garfunkel had a big blonde ‘fro that gave him an eerie other-worldly look. The Kingsmen were different. They played that goodtime early version of rock & roll that focused on the beat. They already had a ton of hits and performed on Where the Action Is, Upbeat and Ed Sullivan; can’t beat that. The leader was Lynn Easton, a chubby and affable grunt with a gravelly voice and limited range but a whole lot of personality. Rumor had it that his mother owned the rights to the Kingsmen name. I didn’t care one way or another I just wanted to see my heroes up close and personal. I squeezed myself to the front of the stage and remained there for the entire show.

The band looked older than most of the teenage bands on the hit parade and their musicianship was simply superb. The rhythm section was tight as a vise. The bassist Norm Sudholm was always in the pocket. He had short hair and looked like a chubby father knows best dude. The drummer Dick Peterson had a lock on the time and was in my view one of the most talented members of band. But it was the keyboard player Barry Curtis who pulled everything together. He talked and made faces at the audience, all in good humor. He’s the dude with the deep voice that did the intro to Jolly Green Giant.  Make no mistake Easton was in charge of the show. He sang lead on most of the songs, played rudimentary saxophone and played drums on Louie Louie, allowing Peterson his only vocal of the night.

They did all of their hits from the opener Louie Louie to Little Latin Lupe Lu, Money, and Jolly Green Giant. They also did a take on Little Sally Tease, a Jim “Harpo” Valley song written for Don & the Goodtimes prior to his enlistment in Paul Revere & the Raiders. Mitchell and Peterson performed Grass is Green one of their superlative garage anthems and it went over well with the eager teenage crowd. The Kingsmen were fine rock & roll musicians that were comfortable enough to highlight their show with several instrumentals such as the cool Bent Scepter and the even cooler David’s Mood. The guitarist Mike Mitchell, trade off leads with Easton on Little Latin Lupe Lu. Easton penned two of their later hits Annie Fanny and The Climb. Easton proved to be an excellent MC, he mugged and taunted the crowd about playing Wipeout whether we liked it or not. He tilted his head, frowned and intoned deeply…”we don’t do that one.” It was all in good fun and in keeping with their Frat Rock reputation of the band. I left the show filled with the gospel of those five Portland musicians. I was a forever after a true believer in the voodoo of the Kingsmen.

Thirty Years later they came back to Saginaw in a package that included Paul Revere & the Raiders. The Raiders were a huge disappointment, no Fang, no Harpo or Smitty and Mark Lindsey was nowhere in sight. They didn’t sound too bad and they had sparkly stage uniforms but struck no real currency for me. The Kingsmen still had three original members from ’65, Peterson, Mitchell and Curtis, the core of their live shows for all those years. They rocked harder than they did in ’65, blame it on the advanced technology. They didn’t do many of their classics but their updated versions of Money, Little Latin Lupe Lu and David’s Mood were simply outstanding. The grump I had was they did too many covers of classic rock songs such as The Last time (Stones), Love Me Two Times (The Doors) and Oh Darling (The Beatles). I preferred the old time rock & roll covers they did like Hand Jive, Rumble and Matchbox. All in all it was a splendid night of music. All Hail Garage Rock!!

Addendum:

In November 1994, a lawsuit was heard by Federal court Judge Robert Keller. The Kingsmen brought suit against G.M.L Inc. and Highland Music Inc. for royalties never paid to the Kingsmen for the uses of their recordings. The lawsuit was resolved in the late nineties after the companies’ attorney acknowledged that the Kingsmen were not paid royalties for over 30 years. A lower court judge granted the The Kingsmen all royalties from the time they sued. This amounted to a few million dollars. The Kingsmen had finally won control their 1963 monster hit, "Louie, Louie". The Supreme Court let stand a ruling that gave the band their unpaid royalties and control of the song's master recording. Since that time the Kingsmen have been actively assisting other sixties artists who have been bamboozled by the recording industry. Love the Kingsmen. Good Guys!