Month: November 2017

Full concert: Jeff Beck live in Switzerland, The Baloise Sessions 2016

Posted on by Hallgeir Olsen

Geoffrey Arnold “Jeff” Beck (born 24 June 1944) is an English rock guitarist. He is one of the three noted guitarists to have played with The Yardbirds (the other two being Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page). Beck also formed The Jeff Beck Group and Beck, Bogert & Appice.

Much of Beck’s recorded output has been instrumental, with a focus on innovative sound, and his releases have spanned genres ranging from blues rock, hard rock, jazz fusion, and an additional blend of guitar-rock and electronica. Although he recorded two hit albums (in 1975 and 1976) as a solo act, Beck has not established or maintained the sustained commercial success of many of his contemporaries and bandmates. Beck appears on albums by Rod Stewart, Mick Jagger, Tina Turner, Morrissey, Jon Bon Jovi, Malcolm McLaren, Kate Bush, Roger Waters, Donovan, Stevie Wonder, Les Paul, Zucchero, Cyndi Lauper, Brian May, Stanley Clarke, Screaming Lord Sutch, ZZ Top, and Toots and the Maytals. Continue reading “Full concert: Jeff Beck live in Switzerland, The Baloise Sessions 2016” →

Classic concert: Paul Butterfield – Mike Bloomfield Reunion Boston 1971

Posted on by Hallgeir Olsen

Fenway Theater, Boston – on December 10-11 1971 – a reunion gig of several members of the Paul Butterfield Blues Band

A historical document of a band, maybe not as good as they were in their prime, but solid and interesting. The chemistry is still there even if some of the energy is lacking. It’s great to discover these gems on YouTube, and thanks to all those out there, that filmed, taped and photographed all our great bands from the “old days”.

Paul Butterfield – harp vocals
Mike Bloomfield – guitar
Mark Naftalin – piano
John Kahn – bass
Billy Mundi – drums

– Hallgeir

November 6: The late great Guy Clark was born in 1941

Posted on by Hallgeir Olsen
guy clark
Photo credit: Aimee Howell – [email protected]

“Buffett I guess. Lightfoot. Warren Zevon. Randy. John Prine. Guy Clark. Those kinds of writers.”
– Bob Dylan (on the question about favorite songwriters asked by Bill Flanagan in 2009)

I have no reason to sit home and write songs all day without going out and playing for the folks. And I have no reason to go play for the folks unless I’m writing new songs so they can sort of feed off one another. And I just try to do the best I can.
~Guy Clark

Guy Clark doesn’t just write songs, he crafts them with the kind of hands-on care and respect that a master carpenter (a favorite image of his) would have when faced with a stack of rare hardwood.
~Kurt Wolff (allmusic.com)

Desperados Waiting For A Train (FANTASTIC version from the legendary “Heartworn Highways” DVD):

Continue reading “November 6: The late great Guy Clark was born in 1941” →

November 5: The late great Gram Parson was born in 1946

Posted on by Hallgeir Olsen

Gram Parsons, originator of Country Rock music and member of The Flying Buritto Brothers playing at the Altamont Speedway, Livermore, CA December 6, 1969

 

“I think pure country music includes rock and roll. I’ve never been able to get into the further label of country-rock. How can you define something like that?”
~Gram Parsons

“I just say this – it’s music. Either it’s good or it’s bad; either you like it or you don’t.”
~Gram Parsons

In a way, it’s a matter of lost love. Gram was everything you wanted in a singer and a songwriter. He was fun to be around, great to play with as a musician. And that mother-fucker could make chicks cry. I have never seen another man who could make hardened old waitresses at the Palomino Club in L.A. shed tears the way he did.
It was all in the man. I miss him so.
~Keith Richards (Rolling Stone Magazine, 2005)

Keith Richards on Gram Parsons:

Continue reading “November 5: The late great Gram Parson was born in 1946” →

November 5: Grateful Dead released “Europe ’72” in 1972

Posted on by Hallgeir Olsen

grateful dead - Europe72_Cover 3

 

With Bill Kreutzmann masterfully drumming alone following the resignation of Mickey Hart, and augmented the previous fall by Keith Godchaux’s elegant piano, the Dead leaned toward the pared-down sound they’d perfected on their previous studio albums, Workingman’s Dead and American Beauty. Indeed, Europe ’72 arguably completes an acid-Americana trilogy insofar as it features a handful of sepia-toned new tunes: “He’s Gone,” “Jack Straw,” “Brown-Eyed Women,” “Ramble on Rose,” and “Tennessee Jed.” It also eliminates nearly all crowd noise and contains enough post-tour overdubs (mainly in the vocals department) to suggest a live-studio hybrid, with Jerry Garcia’s joyously apocalyptic “Morning Dew” as its show-stopping closer. The Dead’s best-selling live album also marked the group’s final recording with singer-keyboardist Ron “Pigpen” McKernan, who died the following year.
~Richard Gehr (rollingstone.com)

Cumberland Blues:

Continue reading “November 5: Grateful Dead released “Europe ’72” in 1972” →

November 5: Johnny Cash released American IV: The Man Comes Around in 2002

Posted on by Hallgeir Olsen

johnny cash the man comes around

The selection here is at once so obvious and so inappropriate it feels redemptive–as if that old softy Rick Rubin gently advised his fast-failing charge that if there was ever a song he wanted to sing he’d better not put it off till next time, ’cause there probably wasn’t gonna be one.
~Robert Christgau (robertchristgau.com)

Cash’s first three albums with producer Rick Rubin won Grammys, and this one should keep the streak alive. Supplementing his own material with songs from such varied sources as Nine Inch Nails and Hank Williams, it’s an eclectic collection whose highlights convey the adventurism and heart that have characterized this country music great’s best recordings for half a century.
~Robert Hilburn (LA Times)

The Man Comes Around:

Continue reading “November 5: Johnny Cash released American IV: The Man Comes Around in 2002” →