Back when I used to eek out a few bucks writing about music, one particularly hard-ass editor accused me of being “not a Real Rock Critic.” This was likely due to my unwillingness to indulge in the widespread practice of pondering the sociopolitical leanings of a band in the context of a record review rather than just basing my critique on how the music sounded to me. I never really ‘got’ the former approach. I’m not interested in reading paragraphs of turgid, impenetrable prose and rock-crit wankery. Just tell me how the music sounds so I know if I want to buy the record.
Continue reading Recommended Listening: The Sheepdogs
Tag Archives: Seventies Rock
Remembering Bob Welch
John McVie, Mick Fleetwood, Bob Welch, Christine McVie Circa 1970 (Image Source)
Bob Welch sang lead vocals on “Hypnotized” and “Silver Heels”: the two best Fleetwood Mac songs, ever, pre-Buckingham Nicks. And now he’s dead. Welch’s body was found by his wife in their home in Antioch, TN earlier today (June 7, 2012) with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the chest. It is reported that he had been suffering from deteriorating health. Welch would have been 66 years old on July 31st.
Please enjoy this clip of Bob singing “Hypnotized” from the album Mystery to Me. RIP Bob Welch!
RIP Ronnie Montrose
It’s a huge bummer to have to report on the passing of legendary guitarist Ronnie Montrose, whose eponymous band — fronted by vocalist Sammy Hagar — released so many songs that I loved while growing up in the seventies. According to an article up now at Rolling Stone, Montrose died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound on Saturday, March 3rd, 2012, having suffered from clinical depression since childhood. A sad loss for music. Ronnie Montrose was 64 years old.
Recommended Listening: Take It Or Leave It, A Tribute to The Runaways
While the span of the band’s career was relatively short, The Runaways changed the landscape of rock and altered the perception of women making music forever. With The Runaways’ biopic just released last year, who would have imagined that their influence would continue to be topical several decades after their break up? I was around for the duration of their rise and fall and, the significant post-Runaways careers of Joan Jett and Lita Ford notwithstanding, I sure never thought we’d still be taking about them 30 years later. So it’s not surprising, really, that Main Man Records has compiled what can only be called the definitive Runaways tribute compilation; a two disc set called Take It Or Leave It. All you need to know is that this record fucking rocks. Continue reading Recommended Listening: Take It Or Leave It, A Tribute to The Runaways