Old Enough to Forget

Back in the early '80s I started to listen to Christian music, and the pickings were pretty slim. The number of artists I really liked I could count on one hand. Keith Green was a piano playing singer who dropped his first "Christian" album in 1977. He'd release a couple of albums with label support before being overcome with the desire to go all in on his version on ministry, to the point where he felt he couldn't charge for his his albums. So he did the unthinkable, he put his money where his mouth was, and he made an album his way. Then said (I'm liberally paraphrasing here) "I'll send it to you if you want it. If you want to send a love offering that would be nice, but if you can't that's cool too." A couple of my friends had his earlier albums and they liked them ... I never did get them - But, I did send a my gift (can't remember how much, but it was about what I'd have paid) and sure enough a little while later the album ar...

Al Kooper is like a rock and roll Swiss Army Knife. I can't actually recall hearing anything by him as an artist, but I would read his name on a lot of my favourite albums. I mean if all he was ever known for was discovering Lynyrd Skynyrd, and producing their first three classic albums that would be a crowning feather in anyone's cap. As a teen he co-wrote "This Diamond Ring" that was recorded by Gary Lewis and the Playboys, and then in his early twenties he'd play the Hammond organ on a number of Bob Dylan recording, notably "Like a Rolling Stone" and he'd also be present at Dylan's infamous Newport Folk Festival appearance when Bob decided it was time to go electric. Al Kooper was more than an occasional sidesman, he was a gifted multi-instrumentalist. Playing piano, organ (yeah, there is a difference), guitar, vibes, the sitar (echoes of the '60s baby) and something called a Ondioline (an analog synth that was first built in the '40s ...

I'm often asked, "Hey what's your favourite cover song to play live?" More often than not "Keep Your Hands to Yourself" is my reply. They are better songs out there for sure, many that are a lot more challenging, but for sheer goofy shits and giggles this is about as good as it gets. I can remember vividly where I was when I first heard it too. It was the fall of '86 and Expo was winding down and I was in A&B Sound (man I miss that place) and it was being blasted in the store. It was a breath of fresh air. I mean sure there was good old George Thorogood and the Destroyers and I really liked "I Drink Alone" but this was next level shit. I went and asked who it was, and was told it was a band called Georgia Satellites. I'd come to pick up Billy Squier's Enough is Enough , and I'd be leaving with more than one album.  I'd recently picked up Timbuk 3's debut, that also came out in October of 1986, and it was kind of weird ho...

My only real exposure to Shakin' Stevens comes courtesy of his Christmas song "Merry Christmas Everyone" a truly festive ear worm, and one that seems to be in constant rotation on Christmas FM out of Ireland when they fire up for their annual broadcast in December.  I'm a sucker for rockabilly, and Shakin' Stevens was definitely channelling his inner Elvis Fonzarelli. Just take a look at that smirking pompadour sporting Animal House era looking Tim Matheson lookalike. Which is not a shot, not at all.  The album itself didn't have any notes, and likely didn't have any to begin with. You Drive Me Crazy is one of those strange North American releases that cobbled together songs from a few of his UK to specifically harvest the best songs and hopefully make an impact with the duller and less sophisticated North American audiences. I'm sure that's not the case, but it would be nice to just have the albums intact to the artists' vision. Regardless, ...

I meant to pull out my copy of Hot Shots , but as I had recently found a couple of Trooper albums I'd not heard (which outside of their greatest hits album was pretty much everything in their catalogue) I figured why not put on something that was new to me.  It was either Money Talks , or Flying Colors , as there were a couple of songs I remembered from Flying Colors , so Flying Colors it was. Aren't you glad you get to get a little peek into my decision making process? I've not heard the album so it's the deeper tracks here I'm curious about, particularly the Frank Ludwig compositions. Frank had the unenviable position of being a decent writer and a good singer in a band where Ra was a great singer, and the songwriting team of Ra McGuire and Brian Smith were the backbone of the band. This I'm sure was a pretty sore spot, and it's not especially helpful or sporting for me to sit here and stir up the embers of what is now pretty ancient history. When Frank...

I already have this one ... but when the dollar bin spit out a classic you take a chance. Yeah, this was in the dollar section for a reason. It looked pretty clean, but hidden in the grooves the Rice Krispie gremlins had set up shot and didn't wait for someone to pour the milk to bring out the snap crackle and pop and an honest to goodness skip. It was mainly the first cut, but it was annoying. I've gotten used to having a decent experience with my bin diving that I'm caught off guard when there are actually issues. Like I said, I already have this so the main draw was having the gatefold. True, there were no liner notes, but the cover itself was okay to display if nothing else.  The big draw here of course was the band's ubiquitous hit, "Don't Bring Me Down" which somehow managed to be incredibly awesome with Bev Bevan's driving drums, and then just as quickly become irritating. The only other song I've ever truly worn out was "Shooz" by...

As a kid I was enamoured with the movie Yellow Submarine . I don't remember the year I first saw it on our tiny black and white television, it was maybe 1969 or 1970, My parents were having a party and I got to stay up late and as long as I wasn't seen or heard I could do what I wanted. I'm not sure if this was the night I watched Hitari! with John Wayne and Red Buttons (tell me again about the monkeys ...) and Yellow Submarine but those two movies are intertwined in my memory as a double feature. I always loved the songs Ringo sang. It was 1973 and Ringo was having his day in the sun. Songs like "Photograph" and "Oh My My" were a big deal. Although "You're Sixteen" was huge it was always a little creepy sounding even to my ten year old ears. Go figure. Over the years I maintained my soft spot for Ringo, although I never got any of his records. I did of course pick up a greatest hits CD, but my fandom never really translated into sales. So...