Tag Archive | Led Zeppelin

Recommended Listening: Kurt Vile, Wakin’ On a Pretty Daze

May20

Kurt Vile Wakin On A Pretty Daze CD Cover
Album Cover Art By Steve Powers!

When it comes to modern music, not much impresses me these days. If you look back over the past few years at any Top 10 Albums list I might have compiled – in those years where I was even able to cobble together such a list at all – you’ll see it’s comprised partly of comeback records by classic rockers, greatest hits packages or tribute albums that revisit the material of a legendary artist. That’s rather pathetic, I know, for a writer who once embraced the tagline ‘Rock Critic at Large,’ but it is what it is. I don’t apologize for being unable to shake the feeling that the best years for popular music are, for the most part, 30 – or even 40 – years behind us.

It if it weren’t for Australia’s Tame Impala, who’ve managed to harness a sound comparable to Led Zeppelin on downers, or Canada’s The Sheepdogs, who pay homage to the seventies better than most bands did back in the ‘70s, there probably wouldn’t be one new band I could name in the past few years whose records gave me any kind of a thrill at all. And then there’s an enigma like Kurt Vile; a singer/songwriter/guitarist whose Murmur-esque vocal delivery is coupled with an amazing finesse for musical arrangements and an ability to turn a phrase that rivals Bob Dylan or Leonard Cohen. On Wakin’ On a Pretty Daze, his follow-up to 2011′s brilliant Smoke Ring for My Halo, Vile once again completely and totally blows my mind.

In search of a contemporary reference, I’d say that Kurt Vile keeps company with fellow singer/songwriter and innovator Joseph Arthur, who possesses an equal gift for infusing seductive aural melancholia with an exhilarating emotional transcendence. Like Arthur, Vile’s lyrics are wickedly introspective and his knack for finely tuned word economy is juxtaposed with jam-heavy arrangements that indicate Vile is in no hurry to get where he’s going. The nine-minute-plus title track launches the disc with Vile’s countrified acoustic strumming that carry his dreamlike musings about what might be in store for the next 18 or so waking hours, as circular guitar patterns draw the listener deeply into the artist’s head. In fact, “Head Music” is not an entirely inappropriate label for these eleven aural journeys that play out over the course of a full, blissful hour.

And just in case you drifted away, the comparatively strident opening chords of “KV Crimes” jolts you back to consciousness before the hand percussion-driven, traveling rhythm of “Was All Talk” swallows you whole with its limitless gorgeousness. Over five albums worth of material, I don’t know if Vile has written a better song than this. “There was a time in my life when they thought I was all talk,” is such an exquisitely personal fuck you to naysayers, while remaining ambiguous enough to allow the listener to adopt the song as his or her own anthem of self realization. And when he sings, “Making music is easy – watch me,” one could believe that this song effortlessly flowed right through Vile. Seriously, when it comes to amazing songwriting, “Was All Talk” is right up there with “All The Young Dudes” and “Shake Some Action.” The fact that Vile lets a song that could have been neatly wrapped up in three and a half minutes continue on for over seven makes it all the more bittersweet when it finally comes to an end.

What’s most amazing about Wakin On A Pretty Daze is that every song on the record is that good. Each track packs a jaw-dropping Oh Wow Factor that makes my head explode. “Girl Called Alex” mines the minor chord gloom in a way that recalls a meatier version of Mazzy Star’s “Fade Into You” or Dylan’s “Knocking On Heaven’s Door.” Showcasing Vile’s flair for changing up arrangements, “Pure Pain” alternates between what I’d call a baroque stomp and a waltz. The remaining tracks could be summed up as follows: great, great, great, great, great. I recommend you pick up a copy of Wakin’ On A Pretty Daze and start developing your own relationship with a disc that I am just going to go ahead and call the Album of The Year.

Grade: A+

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RIP Studio Legend Andy Johns

Apr9

Andy Johns

Andy Johns, who famously produced or engineered ground breaking albums by Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, Jethro Tull and The Rolling Stones, to name but a few, has passed away on April 7th, 2013. The cause of death has not yet been confirmed, although Johns had recently been hospitalized with liver ailments.

Andy Johns was part of an amazing musical legacy that included his older brother, producer Glyn Johns, who famously worked with The Who (among a laundry list of legends). His sons Ethan and Will Johns are working musicians and his nephew, Evan Johns (son of Glyn) is also a producer.

Many years ago, I had the opportunity to interview Andy Johns when I was hired to write a bio for an indie band whose record he had produced. The band’s management and publicist were completely clueless about how to effectively spin this band and it was my idea to add John’s input to the bio. He was fun to talk to and definitely knew his shit.

Sadly, the group’s handlers disagreed with the artistic slant I put on the bio, another writer was brought in and I was paid a kill fee for my efforts. Hilariously, when I eventually received a finished copy of the band’s album, along with the new bio, I did notice that direct quotes pulled from my interview with Johns were integrated into the new piece, with no credit to me. What a bunch of dicks. Andy Johns was 61 years old. RIP, Andy.

Led Zeppelin Nesting Dolls

Jan31

Led Zeppelin Nesting Dolls
Image Source

The most fun thing about this set of hand made Led Zeppelin matryoshka (Russian nesting dolls) is the fact that the tiniest member is their late manager, Peter Grant, who was famous for being not so tiny. Purchasing information is available at This Link.

Morrison Hotel Gallery Presents The Melody Maker Photography of Barrie Wentzell

Sep28

Jimi Hendrix Color Portrait By Barrie Wentzell
Apparently, Jimi Hendrix Always Dressed Like This (all Post Photos By Gail, Click any Image to Enlarge)

Every picture tells a story. During his career, Photographer Barrie Wentzell collected an endless cache of unheard stories from and about many of rock’s greatest legends that would blow your head right off. From 1965 to 1975 – certainly one of the (if not the) most vibrant and fertile decades for Rock & Roll music and culture — Wentzell shot both live performance and candid, intimate photographs of everyone who was anyone: from Jimi Hendrix and The Beatles to The Kinks and Led Zeppelin for the UK weekly music rag, Melody Maker.

John Entwistle and Pete Townshend By Barrie Wentzell
John Entwistle and Pete Townshend During Recording Sessions for Tommy

His pay was about 20 pounds per week, but Wentzell will tell you even today that his dream gig during the Golden Age of Rock & Roll was never about the money; it was about the experiences he had with these artists.

Early Yes
An Early Incarnation of Yes

Right now, you can view a small portion of Wentzell’s extensive and wildly impressive career legacy at the Morrison Hotel Gallery in the comprehensively entitled exhibit, Melody Maker: The Best Years, 1965-1975, The Photography of Barrie Wentzell. Most of these pictures have never been published or viewed by the public. In fact, Wentzell admitted that, prior to staging the exhibit, he’d not viewed the majority of these photos since he first took them. And that is just shame, because his pictures are transcendent.

Ray Davies Plays Pool By Barrie Wentzell
Ray Davies Plays Pool

Pete Townshend with Toys By Barrie Wentzell
Pete Townshend & Friends

I have seen many, many great rock photography exhibits and I must say that this is the first one where the words “Fine Art Rock Photography” – which is what Morrison Hotel Gallery is known for – really resonated with me when experiencing Barrie Wentzell’s photos. The oddest reaction I had was while silently gazing at a black and white photo of Elton John and Bernie Taupin, taken while both were still in their early 20s. They just looked so young and unjaded, with their entire lives and careers ahead of them. I thought about the first Elton John songs I ever heard, like “Mona Lisa’s and Mad Hatters,” “Mad Man Across the Water” and “Sixty Years On.” And unexpected tears of deep nostalgia welled up in my eyes. It was embarrassing to dork out in public like that, but it was also such an amazing feeling to be so fully transported back to a time when Rock Stars meant everything to me. Barrie Wentzell’s work is truly as magical as the music of that era.

Jimmy Page Color Portrait By Barrie Wentzell
Jimmy Page

Read more about Barrie Wentzell, and view some of the photos in this do-not-miss show, at This Link.

Barrie Wentzell with Pete Townshend Photo
Barrie Wentzell

Morrison Hotel Gallery is Located at 116 Prince Street (Loft) and 124 Prince Street (Store Front) in NYC’s Greenwich Village.

David Bowie By Barrie Wentzell
David Bowie

Cat Stevens By Barrie Wentzell
Cat Stevens

Led Zeppelin Live

This Photo of Led Zeppelin In Concert Fully Captures the Energy of the Performance in a Static Medium. Amazing.

See the Photo that Made Me Cry After the Jump!

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Razor & Tie Re-Issues 3-Disc Sets of ELP's Debut Album and Tarkus

Sep17

ELP and Tarkus Covers

It is no secret that I am pretty sweet on the music of Emerson, Lake & Palmer. I can’t really bring anything new to the party that wasn’t already said in the post hyperlinked above, so maybe go read that for some background on my obsession and them come back and rejoin us.

Emerson, Lake & Palmer are just a magical band to me. Even though I don’t revisit their music as often as I do, say, The Beatles or Led Zeppelin, I can’t find any fault with it. I understand that smell memory has the fullest power of transportation to the past, but when I listen to ELP I feel like I’m 12 years old, discovering their music for the first time on their three disc live album that had a tri-gatefold sleeve and a title much too long to type. There is nothing on earth quite like losing yourself in Keith Emerson’s Thor-meets-the Renaissance keyboard noodling, and when I hear Greg Lake sing songs about how “The Waters Rhine Taste of Wine” (“Stones of Years”) it makes my head explode. I have all their albums and several greatest hits packages and I cannot dispense with any of it. Because I am a huge Prog Rock Nerd.

Imagine, then, how hard I geeked out when I opened a package last week from Razor & Tie Records that contained three-disc reissues of ELP’s self-titled debut album and a reissue of the group’s sophomore album Tarkus — the one with the armadillo/tank hybrid on the cover. Wow, it was like Christmas in September! I got so excited, I immediately laid them out on my rug and took pictures of them for this post!

For other completist collector record geeks out there, here is what you’re getting with each of these deluxe editions, so you can make a judgement call on whether or not you need to own them:

  • Disc one is the original album with original track listing
  • Disc two contains alternate stereo mixes and unreleased bonus tracks
  • Disc three is a DVD Audio disc that contains new for 2012 5:1 Mixes and new Stereo Mixes, also previously unreleased

ELP and Tarkus DiscsEach set includes a color booklet with the track listings, lots of photos of the guys when they were young and hot, and lengthy historical liner notes by veteran British Rock Journalist Chris Welch. Three time Grammy-nominated producer and engineer Steven Wilson (of Porcupine Tree) worked from the original Greg Lake produced multi-track tapes to remix both albums, so you already know that they sound amazing.

The 3-Disc Deluxe Sets of Emerson, Lake & Palmer and Tarkus will be available wherever fine music is sold or downloaded on September 25th, 2012, but you can get pre-order information and find out to get all sorts of rare ELP swag by visiting This Link.

Complete Track Listings are After the Jump! 

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Led Zeppelin IV Turns Forty!

Nov8

On This Date in 1971: Led Zeppelin released their fourth album, Led Zeppelin IV which contatined the massive hit, “Stairway to Heaven.”  The album would reach number two on the Billboard 200 album chart and sell 23 milion copies in the U.S. alone, making it the third biggest selling album in U.S. history.