Lena Horne has joined the Heavenly Chorus, which will be all the better
for it. She was 92 and still a beautiful woman and a class act. She
could no longer hit all the notes she used to, but she was still class
all the way. Over the years people have compared her to Jackie
Robinson, who broke the color barrier in Major League Baseball, because
she was the first person of color to sign a contract with a major
studio (MGM) on her own terms and to have a say in her roles.
Lena Horne was not only a beauty
and a great singer, but also a tireless fighter for civil rights. If
you are not familiar with her music, check it out, you can find it if
you look. If you are a fan of this remarkable lady, then I am quite
sure you mourn for her as I do.
Ali-Ollie Woodson also passed
recently, at 58. He was the guy who stepped into the lead role for the
rejuvenation of The Temptations and brought them back to the forefront
of the Motown sound.
Another giant, Jimmy Dean, has
gone to meet his maker. Jimmy Dean was an Air Force veteran who crafted
a career in music as a singer / songwriter and then went on to success
with a television show, which featured one of the Muppets as his piano
player, and then created a dynastic sausage-making company. He was 81.
Christine Johnson Smith has
passed away at the age of 98. She was the original Nettie in the
Broadway debut of Rogers and Hammerstein’s “Carousel.” She also sang
with the Metropolitan Opera.
And Garry Shider has gone on at
56 after a battle with brain and lung cancer. He was a guitarist with
Parliament Funkadelic, known as Starchild.
I wish I had the kind of money
those people out there in charity land seem to think I have, I swear I
get a letter a day asking me to contribute to this or that charitable /
good works organization. I believe in sharing, but this is ridiculous,
and just last night a pretty young lady came to my front door and asked
me to give her my credit card number so they could charge me just
twenty bucks a month to support the victims of the oil spill in the
Gulf of Mexico.
I know some of those folks who
make their living out of those waters and they are in dire straits
right now, but I was not born yesterday and I would no sooner give out
my credit card number to a stranger at my door than I would try to fly
off a cliff by flapping my arms.
As I said, I believe in sharing,
and though I am not a wealthy man by any means, I generously support
the local food bank, which I personally know to be doing a good job of
getting food to people in need.
I used to ride in the toy runs (I always brought
books rather than the stuffed animals preferred by most bikers), but
now that I no longer ride (and if you ever saw the traffic in Baton
Rouge, you would not wonder why I sold my motorcycle after moving here)
I just send them a check every year.
Toys for Tots is run by the U. S.
Marine Corps Reserve and has been doing a fantastic job of delivering
gifts to kids who otherwise would not get anything for Christmas. I
applaud their efforts to bring a bit of delight to the most vulnerable
among us.
So anyway, my point is that one
should be as charitable as possible, but also be wary and make sure
that charitable donation is going to the right place.
A GOOD FIGHT
A Good Fight
Indie
A Good Fight is a good band.
They rock out and yet even I can understand their words, or most of
them anyway. And they refuse to do that thing of repeating a hook until
you wish it would just go away. The music is exuberant, but not so fast
and hard that it goes beyond the ability of the best dancers to keep up
with it, while avoiding the trite rhythms of most pop music designed
for dancing. The album was recorded at Poynter’s Place and Pure Sound
Studios and produced by Barry Poynter, who consistently delivers great
sound quality. One song, with a decidedly au courant chorus, is
dedicated to the memory of Nichole Sparks. Another apparently to one
Adam Brown. They have a MySpace site should you wish to check in on the
band (agoodfight in case you were unable to figure that out for
yourself). They also throw in a bonus track that sounds suspiciously
rappish, featuring Colin Hardaway, and reminds me of a song from that
crazy movie about Doctor Frank N. Furter. I cannot recall the title,
probably because I saw it somewhere between thirty and forty years ago.
I have a hard time remembering the movie I saw last night. At least I
think I watched a movie last night; I might have been dreaming.
AMBITION
Zach Walther And The Cronkites
Sustain / Universal
This was recorded in Austin,
Texas at the Aries Studio, with some additional recording done at Chris
Lieck Studios in San Antonio, which last time I was there was also in
Texas. It is country for the most part, but country as they do in the
Lone Star State these days, which is quite different from what you get
out of Nashville. In other words, it avoids the clichés and
ventures out into newer territory and it rocks a little harder. Walther
wrote almost all of the songs and for the most part they are quite
good. Best thing to me is that one can actually understand the lyrics
and they tell little stories, you know? Like real songs used to do. He
is backed by Luke Leverett on an amazing variety of instruments, Steven
Boykin on bass, and Chris Compton on percussion. They also get some
help from Mark Addison, Jess Klein, Gerald Boyd, and Glenn Shankle
(Addison co-wrote one of the songs and one of the better ones at that;
has a great line: “When I say red I think of roses / You say red it’s
bloody noses”). I wish I had written that. Go to greg@aueonline.com or
jimmy@823management.com for more.
NOT BROKEN YET
Travis Singleton
Indie
Bent but not broken, which
is the condition most of us find ourselves in, seems to be the main
theme here. Life experience makes you smarter, tougher, more resilient
if, that is, you pay attention to the lessons it is teaching you. I
just wish this young man, who recorded his album at Shed 58 Studios in
Knoxville, Tennessee (which last time I was over there was the location
of the University of Tennessee) had printed his lyrics in the liner
notes, because as I slip into my dotage, my hearing is slipping away
from me and I cannot understand everything he emotes in his tunes,
backed up ably by Dave Dewitt on drums, Rocky Norman on electric
guitar, and Tyler Huff on bass guitar. Travis plays an acoustic guitar,
my instrument of choice (besides the duck call, of course).
SWEET SORROW
Petal Shelf
Indie
Funny thing: the title of
the album is also the title of a poem I wrote after my mother died.
Well, maybe not funny, but interesting, to me anyway. Sorry if I
inflicted my own perplexities on anyone. This is some raucous racket,
but it is a musical racket at least. Ty Beach (vocals), Brandon Snider
(guitars), Brian Welch (bass), Aaron Hampton (guitars), and Josh
Copeland (drums) crank out only four tunes, all originals, on this
disc, but they do it exuberantly and with a modicum of style and
panache. Recorded at Young Avenue Sound (and I have no idea where that
might be, but probably somewhere within the borders of the United
States of America).
LOVE YOU TO DEATH
Bombay Black
2010 Triage
They rock hard and they rock
well. Erik Johnson, guitars and keys, Ty Sims, bass, Devil Jim Perry,
guitars, and Rob McCauley, drums, share vocal duties as they combine to
rock the house. A lagniappe is that they recorded this in Little Rock
at The Mental Ward and at The Recovery Room in Conway; how cool is
that? We always knew that rockers were mental cases, but now we know
they can recover. Hallelujah! Erik wrote (or co-wrote) all the songs
and also takes credit for the cover concept, which was photographed by
Kevin Sims (kevinsimsphoto.com). For more on the band, you can go to
www.myspace.com/bombayblack or their record label at
www.triagemusicfirm.com.
FOCAL POINT
Paul Cusick
Q Rock
Looky here, one from across
the big pond, recorded at Q’s Studio in York, England. It is at times a
bit moody for me, but is also at times quite brilliant. Cusick wrote
all the songs and plays guitars, including bass, and keyboards, as well
as sings. Alex Cromarty is his drummer and he also gets help from a
variety of people on tracks here and there, including Jessica Cusick,
Thomas Cusick, and Rosie Cusick. Might be a family effort. Interesting
sidebar: one of the liner notes mentions that the drums were recorded
at Fairview Studio, Hull. I have no idea how far Hull is from York, but
I do wonder if all those drum dude jokes Ed has been cracking in these
pages may be based on fact.
NO MORE PROMISES
Jimmy Warren Band
Electro Glide
Jimmy Warren reminds me of
Mike Dollins: both have been around and played awhile; both can play
the hell out of their guitars, with what I think of as a West Coast
flavor; both have an obvious reverence for the blues, but like to jazz
it up and rock it a bit (all good in my opinion). The album was
recorded at Electro Glide Records Studio in Beecher, Illinois. Warren
has a laid-back singing style, but he can flat swing his axe. His band
is composed of rhythm guitarist John Digregorio, bassist Mike Boyle,
and drummer Charles Price. They too have a My Space page and a website;
look for jimmywarrenband.
DOWN ON THE OLD RIVER
Henry Capps
Indie
This one did come from
California (Capps and Bolt Publishing, P.O. Box 3164, Glendale CA
91221), but sounds more like it came from down here by the bayou. The
music is country-tinged folk and Capps sings his tales with a sort of
sleepy baritone reminiscent of Waylon or Willie or Johnny or maybe Jed
Clampit (especially when he ends the disc with thanks to his listeners
and the people who helped put it together and then does a little ditty
about a bullfrog and a mockingbird, that is so very Jed. He is a poet
who spins yarns in melody, accompanying himself on both acoustic and
electric guitar. Capps gets some very tasteful backing from Sejo
Navajas on slide guitar and bass on these beautiful original songs.
SOME ORBITS WILL NEVER DECAY
Greymarket
Indie
Big Fat Cat is their PR firm
(a name I really like). Their music is poppish, with a bit of an edge.
The lead singer has a high tenor voice and snaps the lyrics with verve.
I seem to remember recently reviewing another album by Greymarket, but
for the life of me I cannot find it. I wanted to listen to it again
because this one seems different to me and I would like to be able to
compare them, but no. No sooner do I write the line about snappy
delivery than the singer starts crooning (but he quickly goes back to
Mercury, as in Freddy, not the record label or automobile maker).
Contact laura@bigfatcat.org for further data.
UNKNOWN SYMBOL I CANNOT DECIPHER
Wettstein / Voris / Norman
100m
Uh, noise is what I hear,
but it might be music to some ears. Go to www.fatesarekind.com to find
out for yourself.
RAISING THE BAR
Magic Slim
Blind Pig
Magic Slim is back with
another collection of great blues. Backed ably by Jon McDonald on
guitar, Andre Howard on bass, and BJ Jones on drums, he proceeds to
romp and roll through a series of mostly old standards, including the
more obscure “Cummins Prison Blues.” He also gets vocal play out of all
his band mates. It adds up to a sweet soulful rehash of things you may
have heard before, but not quite this way. Good stuff.
LIVE AT MUSIC CITY TEXAS
Wes Jeans
?
Wow! Wes Jeans really rips
it up. He also gives accolades to New Jack & The Rippers, whom we
reviewed in these pages a couple issues ago. I cannot say that I have
heard a more resounding album in years. Jeans is joined by Lance Lopez
on vocals and guitar, Syd Hydro on bass, Jack Miller on drums, and on
just one cut, Jason Helms, vocalist for New Jack. They just flat tear
it up.
Nightflying
Publications
P.O. Box 250276
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Phone: (501)354-8577
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