February 22: David Crosby released If I Could Only Remember My Name in 1971

f-i-could-only-remember-my-name

“My girlfriend had been killed in a car crash and  the only place I could exist was in the studio, Garcia would come every night. The Airplane and the Dead were recording in the same complex… They were all buddies of mine…”
– David Crosby about the recording of his masterpiece (Mojo)

Rolling Stone Magazine put it at number 37 of the “Greatest Stoner Albums” and said:
“Like a super-stoned campfire jam with an A-list of Cali hippie-rockers – including Joni Mitchell and most of the Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, and CSNY – this hazy solo project by the altered-consciousness overachiever sounds like it was pretty much made up on the spot. See the toasted strum-fest “Music Is Love” (with Neil Young on congas!) and “Tamalpais High,” with Jerry Garcia and Jorma Kaukonen noodling around wordless Crosby-Nash harmonies. By the time it’s over, you may not remember your name, either.”

I believe a couple of Santana and Quicksilver Messenger Service members also visited.

Photo: BBC/Tricia Yourkevich
Photo: BBC/Tricia Yourkevich

David Crosby – Cowboy Movie (Live, Jan 31, 2014) a very fine version! :

It is an album that grows on you, it feels like a mess at first, but it soon starts to make sense. This is a coherent album with wonderful melodies and harmonies. For me it is the quintessential “Laurel Canyon” album, a true classic.
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Full Dylan album covered: Highway 61 revisited

Bob Dylan’s Highway 61 Revisited full album covered

It is not hard to find other artists covering Bob Dylan’s songs, but it is not so easy to find interesting and good interpretations. The originals are so strong that  I wouldn’t expect anyone to top them, and noone does. Even if that is the case, I think I’ve found some of the best out there.

Highway 61 Revisited is one of the best albums in Rock’n Roll history, if you don’t have it, go buy it or buy it online or something…just get it, it’s a life changer!

Side 1: Continue reading “Full Dylan album covered: Highway 61 revisited”

December 11: John Lennon’s John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band was released in 1970

… Lennon presents everything on the surface, and the song titles — “Mother,” “I Found Out,” “Working Class Hero,” “Isolation,” “God,” “My Mummy’s Dead” — illustrate what each song is about, and charts his loss of faith in his parents, country, friends, fans, and idols. It’s an unflinching document of bare-bones despair and pain, but for all its nihilism, it is ultimately life-affirming; it is unique not only in Lennon’s catalog, but in all of popular music. Few albums are ever as harrowing, difficult, and rewarding as John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band.
~Stephen Thomas Erlewine (allmusic.com)

I don’t believe in Beatles
~John Lennon (“God”)

Mother:

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Album Documentary: Band On The Run by Paul McCartney and Wings (video, ITV Special)

Paul McCartney and Wings: Band On The Run – ITV Special with Dermot O’Leary

 

From YouTube:
Paul McCartney and Wings: Band on the Run In this one hour documentary Dermot O’Leary meets Sir Paul McCartney to hear about the making of the 1973 classic Wings album Band on the Run. Dermot hears how McCartney flew out to Lagos in Nigeria to make the record — even though two members of his band resigned before the flight Arriving there, the former Beatle found the recording studio half finished. McCartney was mugged, lost his demo tapes – and could have lost his life.. Continue reading “Album Documentary: Band On The Run by Paul McCartney and Wings (video, ITV Special)”

December 3: The Beatles released Rubber Soul in 1965

There are places I’ll remember
All my life, though some have changed
Some forever, not for better
Some have gone and some remain
All these places had their moments
With lovers and friends, I still can recall
Some are dead and some are living
In my life, I’ve loved them all

All four faces of The Beatles appear stretched on the cover of 1965’s Rubber Soul, but it is not only the picture that is mind bending, the music within stretches the boundaries of popular music, too. In my mind it is he first truly unified album by The Beatles (and their first recorded within a specified session period), it is a quantum leap compared to the band’s past work. The Songwriting is out of this world, and the instrumentation was cutting edge. A milestone in rock history.
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November 22: Elvis Presley released Elvis (NBC TV Special) in 1968

I want everyone to know what I can really do
~Elvis Presley (to producer Bob Finkel)

Elvis delivered an incredible performance throughout the television special. His vocal performances were loose and gutsy…
~John Bush (allmusic.com)

Medley: Heartbreak Hotel / Hound Dog / All Shook Up:

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