I’ve listened dutifully to the White Stripes since I caught their puzzling colour-coded act on the Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn back in 2001. Jack and Meg White’s records routinely impress me with their range of ideas in spite of the simplicity of their formula. For me, it represents songwriting stripped to the bone, with every added layer a very deliberate and interesting conscious choice on behalf of Jack, who can blow a song out of the water with the simplest tweak. It’s gratifying to see him in the trailer for “It Might Get Loud”, putting together a makeshift instrument with little more than a Coke bottle and nails.

As a musician, I’m looking forward to seeing these men delve into their approaches to creating not just music, but sounds – the very basic elements of the way a song plays in the head long before it comes out in the performance. It will be equally pleasing to see Jack White match talents with the Edge, as the two men seem to operate on opposite ends of the guitarist spectrum, with Jack’s backyard organic approach seemingly challenging the Edge’s vast array of effects pedals. Then, of course, there’s Robert Plant, one of the only guitarists on Earth with nothing to prove, a man who is the reason most successful musicians today picked up a guitar in the first place.

I wonder what Plant makes of the avenues rock and roll has taken over the last 40 years. It’s a great mix of musicians getting together, each coming from an equidistant point in the succession of their breakthroughs, to talk about why and how they still show love for what they do. Davis Guggenheim is serving as director, best known for the Oscar-winning doc “An Inconvenient Truth”. Really looking forward to this one.

Metal Bastard Report:

Click here to go to MB to check Led Zeppelin “Four Sticks”

A Steven Tyler le buscan sustituto

La legendaria banda Aerosmith se encuentra en estos momentos en una etapa de crisis, debido a que su cantante Steven Tyler se encuentra prácticamente en el limbo, tratando de poner orden a su vida, por lo que prefirió salir de la banda, aunque existen rumores de que volvió a recaer fuertemente en las drogas.

Por su parte el guitarrista Joe Perry comenzará una gira en Canadá con su banda Joe Perry Project, abriendo para los Mötley Crüe, durante enero y febrero del 2010.

Por otro lado se habla que Aerosmith está buscando un nuevo cantante para seguir vivos, pero la historia de esta banda comprueba que cuando han tocado sin sus integrantes originales de plano son un real fracaso, aunque también la mala relación que han llevado, más sus problemas con los estupefacientes, también ha provocado que su gran nivel musical  baje a la más pura mediocridad.

Así que pensar que Aerosmith sobreviva sin Steven Tyler, cuando su voz  es prácticamente el sello del grupo, es una idea que sus fans podrían considerar ridícula  y provoca cuestionamientos serios sobre el juicio de los demás integrantes de Aerosmith. 

Aerosmith sin Tyler, sería como los Rolling Stones sin Mick Jagger  o Metallica sin James Hetfield, sin embargo ya comienzan a decirse nombres de quién podría sustituirlo y aquí les damos algunas opciones.  

Tom Keifer, quien fuera el frontman de Cinderella, podría ser un sustituto con afán de revancha, porque seguramente conoce al dedillo el material de Aerosmith. Recordemos que Tom se vestía igual de Steven Tyler y hasta tomaba de la misma forma el micrófono. Sería un renacer para este talentoso cantante y compositor, pero esto es sólo un deseo de Inquisidor71, ya que las últimas noticias que se tienen de este talentoso músico es que perdió la voz, debido a unos nódulos en sus cuerdas vocales.

John Corabi fue brevemente el cantante de Mötley Crüe, en la etapa en que esta banda quiso cambiar su sonido radicalmente, pero sin buenos resultados. A pesar de todo, la calidad de este cantante es incuestionable y podría musicalmente dar el ancho en la música de Aerosmith, pero no es tan dinámico en sus movimientos;  nadie baila como Tyler.

Chris Robinson de The Black Crowes podría ser otro candidato ideal, ya que domina esa mezcla de blues-rock con maestría. Quizás tendría que dejar de lado un poco la banda que lo ha hecho famoso para probar qué se siente subirse  al escenario con esta gran banda.

Stephen Pearcy ex cantante de Ratt, modernizó con esta banda, el hard-rock  de los años 80’s. Aunque muchos los comparaban con Def Leppard, la realidad es que su mayor influencia era Aerosmith, sólo que eran más dinámicos en las guitarras. La voz agresiva de este cantante haría un efecto interesante en la música de la banda que dirige Joe Perry.

Sebastian Bach es un intérprete que a pesar de salir de Skid Row hace varios años, ha mantenido su fama con participaciones en series de televisión y en realitys, así como con participaciones en Broadway, así como en uno que otro disco solista.

Su voz ha sido considerada una de las mejores del heavy metal, pero ahí está el problema, no se identifica mucho con el rock-blues, pero seguramente se pondría a ensayar con todo para ser adorado por los fans de Aerosmith.

Josh Todd de Buckcherry es dinámico en el escenario y tiene una voz rocanrolera de primer nivel, quizás sea el que más se adapte a las necesidades de Aerosmith. Por algo los lectores de la revista Rolling Stone lo tienen ubicado como el principal candidato para sustituir a Steven Tyler.

David Johansen quien fuera el frontman de New York Dolls también es otro candidato favorito para entrar a Aerosmith, sin embargo no creo que logre el nivel por el cual se hizo famoso. Sin embargo, si conserva su dinamismo en el escenario podría salir adelante en esta hipotética empresa.

Axl Rose fue influenciado tremendamente por Aerosmith, sino chequen su versión en vivo con los Guns N’ Roses de “Mama Kin”. Y en realidad es el único que lo veo adecuado para la música de esta banda, ya que tiene una gran voz con perfectos  agudos y graves, así como un estupendo manejo escénico. Pero si fuera invitado, su ego probablemente se lo impediría.

Cormac Neeson de la banda hard-rockera The Answer también es mencionada por algunos medios como un ideal sustituto, aunque en mi particular punto de vista no podría mantener el ritmo dramático que impone Tyler en vivo.

David Coverdale, líder de Whitesnake le cambiaría la cara a Aerosmith. Si con Jimmy Page cantó como Robert Plant, por qué no podría hacerlo como Steven Tyler, además su manejo en las vocales del blues-rock y del hard-rock es de grandes ligas.

Nota: También se menciona a David Lee Roth,  a Iggy Pop  y a un tipo que participó en American Idol, llamado Adam Lambert, pero sobre este último, a pesar de su talento, quizás su homosexualidad no sea del agrado de los legendarios Aerosmith.

Ok, ok,  ok, so for us who prayed to the gods for a Zeppelin re-union tour in our lifetime we now know it ain’t gonna happen.   I was trolling the web the other day and discovered that the official Led Zeppelin website has quite a generous offering of vintage videos (some in their entirety and other snippits) from the 1968 through post 1980 breakup; their most recent 2009 concert at the O2 Arena in London is not featured which is a bummer.

There are some very cool vintage performances featured .  I personally enjoyed the 1969 performance of How Many More Times (Danish TV ) & 1979’s performance of Nobody’s Fault But Mine (Knebworth).

Click here to check out what Jimmy, Robert, and Jonesy have made available for us.  

If they don’t ever reunite at least we have these incredible performances to enjoy. Check them out and tell us what you think!

***Please note that the link above is safe and will take you to the Official Led Zeppelin website.  However, when I googled “Led Zeppelin 1969 Danish TV” to find the remainder of the 1969 Danish show (How Many More Times) I found a website that had “supposedly” offered the remainder of the original broadcast, please do not go to this website.  BEWARE if you do chose to go to the website you get a nasty Trojan virus and Malware issue (do not fall for the bogus window that pops that looks like your hard drive saying that your computer is corrupted, it’s not, and do not attempt to download the offered software it too is a scam, so please be aware. 

Here at Hi-Fi Central we take pride in providing legit links to our content, please know that.

Forse non c’entra nulla dal punto di vista musicale con l’articolo precedente (Mars Volta) ma non sarei così tanto sicuro… intanto prima o poi questo capolavoro dei Zeps l’avrei messo:

Berkeley Place Report:

Click here to go to BP to check two Led Zeppelin covers…The Hold Steady cover “Hey Hey What Can I Do”, and Golden Smog cover “Stairway to Heaven”

Yesterday, my good friend Peter Ryan passed away after a long battle with cancer. He was buried this morning in Singapore. We are mourning him.

Pete was a wonderful man, kind and loving and always helping out. He was a teetotaler, not drinking a sip of alcohol, but his liver failled him nonetheless (cirrhosis).

He tought me, among others, how ups and downs are part of human existence and that in end both do not matter. I also learned from him to appreciate the beauty of eccentricity.

He was a fan of Johanna Budwig and defeated his liver cancer successfully following the Budwig diet.

I salute you my dear friend. We will drink a bottle of champagne tonight in your honor, I will smoke a cigar and we will be reminiscing about the good times we had together. We will celebrate your life and the impermanence of it.

Though I am not particularly religious, I like the Irish folk song, “Your long jouney”, especially its version by Robert Pant and Alison Krauss. Two of the verses I find appropriate and want to share with you.

Your long journey

1. Verse
God’s given us years of happiness here
Now we must part
And as the angels come and call for you
The pains of grief tug at my heart

3. Verse
Fond memories I’ll keep of happy ways
That on earth we trod
And when I come we will walk hand in hand
As one in heaven in the family of god

Llevamos un tiempo viendo como grupos veteranos de gran calado volvían a anunciar su unión en detrimento de toda esa nueva generación de promesas que salen de los concursos. Les hacen sombra, no se puede negar y es que la fama, a pesar de ser desagradecida, siempre queda en el recuerdo nostálgico.

Grupos que dieron el pelotazo en su época como Spice Girls, Backstreet Boys o la posible reunión aún no confirmada de Take That ponen de relieve este hecho. Sin embargo, no solo bandas a las que muchos podrían considerar oportunistas se quieren reunir, también otras que tuvieron un auténtico gran éxito como Queen (una reunión que de vuelta casi solo tiene el nombre, por cierto), The Police o Blur.

Sin embargo, a las alegrías, penas.

Pulp ya confirmó que no iban a reunirse mediante Jarvis Jocker (ex líder) quien negó que Pulp, uno de los grupos más conocidos de la década dorada del brit pop de los 90, fuera a reunirse.

El último grupo que ha tenido que desmentir la supuesta unión, han sido los legendarios Led Zeppelin. El grupo se reunió varias veces para ensayar sus viejos temas sin la presencia del cantante. Seguramente, también nostálgicos, llegaron a revivir sentimientos de una época que acabó marcando a varias generaciones hasta el punto de surgir la idea de retomar la formación.

Pero el cantante no estaba; Robert Plant estaba sumergido en su aventura musical con Alison Krauss (cantante de Bluegrass) y no quería volver con Led Zeppelin para ninguna gira a pesar del éxito de su última unión sobre los escenarios en el O2 de Londres.

Embriagados por la ilusión buscaron durante un año un nuevo cantante. Finalmente, será John Paul Jones quien desmentirá la posible unión. Claro que al estar sumergido de lleno en el proyectoThem Crooked Vultures (del que ya os hemos hablado) seguro que le ha roto la ilusión, pero no las ganas de triunfar.

Happy 40th, Led Zeppelin II!

I guess there’ll be 40th anniversaries of all things Zeppelin right up until 2020! But it’s worth celebrating the October 1969 release of the band’s second album, Led Zeppelin II. Released on October 22, 1969 in North America and October 31 in the UK, LZII was an amazing achievement on many fronts.

Led Zeppelin toured North America from December 26, 1968 to February 14, 1969. In mid-tour, the group’s self-titled debut album, Led Zeppelin, was released on January 12. For the sake of easier comparison, I’m going to call this Led Zeppelin I or LZI. Forgive me, you purists!

The material the band performed from LZI was very well received in the U.S. Jimmy Page and Peter Grant knew the band was on to something big and that they had to maintain the momentum. A second album as follow-up was a sound marketing strategy.

As Zeppelin continued to tour throughout the spring, summer and early fall of 1969, the concert stage became their crucible. Not only did the songs from LZI continue to expand as they improvised in concert, they were also developing and testing new musical ideas that would be captured on vinyl in Led Zeppelin II.

It was difficult to record that album, with the incessant touring. Between July and September, 1969, they largely did it while on the road, recording in the studios of their tour stops: Vancouver, New York, Los Angeles and London.

Eddie Kramer, who had worked extensively with artists like Jimi Hendrix, was the new sound engineer for this project. Glyn Johns had recorded the debut album. You only have to listen to the opening track of Whole Lotta Love with its chaotic mid-section to hear what a similarly great collaboration there was between Kramer and producer Jimmy Page!

Led Zeppelin I had done extremely well on the record charts, reaching #6 in the UK and #10 in the U.S. But Led Zeppelin II did even better, hitting #1 on the charts in both places! Zeppelin’s well-earned reputation for being great live and on record had spread like wildfire. Their fan base grew and sales of LZII skyrocketed.

Let’s take a look at some of the ways the band’s first two albums were unique and different.

All records are time capsules that freeze forever where a band is at a certain point of its career. When Led Zeppelin II was conceived and recorded, all four members of the band knew that they were making a huge impact on popular music. The energy and enthusiasm of LZI grew and carried over into LZII, which is even more urgent and jubilant.

The second album relied far less on covers of blues songs although there were a few. On Led Zeppelin II, the band fused rock and blues to create the bombast evident in Whole Lotta Love. They expanded lyrically, with Robert Plant starting to show his evolving talent in penning songs like Ramble On and Thank You.

Instrumentally, they made giant strides forward, showcasing the individual talents of every group member on this album. John Bonham’s technique and power in Moby Dick would become a textbook study for aspiring percussionists. John Paul Jones demonstrated his prowess and training in classical music on the Hammond organ in Thank You.

Jimmy Page switched from his Telecaster to his Les Paul guitar, as the main axe on this album, achieving a fatter, fuller sound. Nevertheless, the harsh and vicious attack of Page’s Telecaster on Communication Breakdown (LZI) is mirrored on the Les Paul’s driving guitar riffs in Heartbreaker and The Lemon Song on Led Zeppelin II. The timbre is still rich and raunchy, but its quality is quite different.

Robert Plant’s vocals were evolving as fast as his ability to write lyrics. On LZI, his voice was raspy. J.J. Jackson described him as “a marbles-in-the-mouth bluesman”. Because Led Zeppelin II was recorded on the run, this raspiness takes on a sense of urgency, power and raunch! It’s frenetic. Just listen to Whole Lotta Love and The Lemon Song.

Yet there are still moments of great clarity, as in passages of What Is and What Should Never Be, Thank You and Ramble On.

Here’s a quick look at each track.

Whole Lotta Love is riff-based rock at its finest, in the tradition of Communication Breakdown. Page and Kramer make supersonic music, manipulating the technology of the recording studio. One of my book interviewees told me that he was studying late one night. When Whole Lotta Love came on, he jumped under his desk because he thought a plane was crashing into his room!

Plant’s voice comes through here in a frantic, erotic manner in the tradition of How Many More Times on Led Zeppelin I.

What Is and What Should Never Be is a beautiful blend of acoustic and electric guitar. It develops strong images of living a free lifestyle while incorporating the mysticism of Tolkien lore. Musically and lyrically, this very poignant song demonstrates Plant’s development as a lyricist.

The Lemon Song stems from Howlin’ Wolf’s classic blues number, Killing Floor. With Page’s outrageous guitar work and Plant’s scathing, regretful vocals the song follows in the footsteps of You Shook Me from Led Zeppelin I and yet, as always, the band manages to make it their own in new and exciting ways.

Thank You shows the quiet, sensitive side of Led Zeppelin, with John Paul Jones’ strong classical influence on the Hammond organ intro, Page’s hauntingly beautiful acoustic guitar work and Plant’s increasingly more sophisticated lyrics.

Heartbreaker kicks off Side Two. Yet another rocker, it takes advantage of a strong chromatic arrangement of notes that creates a hypnotically infectious main riff that would go on to thrill thousands in concert over the years. Jimmy Page’s scorching solo guitar work in the middle is unlike anything else on the album.

Living Loving Maid starts up so soon after Heartbreaker, it seems like another movement of the same song. All four band members make this straight, hard rocker pulse forward. Plant’s vocals are especially frantic in this one!

Ramble On is a welcome change of pace after the all-out attack we’ve just heard! It features another masterful blend of acoustic and electric guitar that complements the dramatic louds and softs of Plant’s idealistic “hippie” lyrics. This is an excellent example of how well Led Zeppelin’s songwriting is coming along at this point in the band’s career.

As mentioned earlier, Moby Dick is truly a textbook for would-be drummers. Based on an earlier Zeppelin creation called Pat’s Delight in honour of John Bonham’s wife, it leaves the listener breathless, wondering what Bonzo will do next. He even plays with his bare hands to create unique timbres of unusual aural interest – a technique that stunned concert audiences as early as when Zeppelin debuted at The Boston Tea Party in January ’69.

Page’s brilliant riff-based intro and outro are played with steely execution on his Les Paul guitar.

Bring it on Home is a tribute to Zeppelin’s earliest influences; in this case, to blues great Sonny Boy Williamson. Plant’s voice – and adroit harmonica playing – steal the show in this one! Page offers up another wealth of guitar riffs that stick in your mind’s ear like musical glue and with that, Led Zeppelin II is over.

Like its predecessor, the production techniques and arranging of songs on Led Zeppelin II convey the same sense of non-stop musical action that made the band’s concerts so exciting. There’s a split second between the pairings of Heartbreaker/Living Loving Maid and Moby Dick/Bring it on Home.

We’ve just reviewed a few of the factors that made Led Zeppelin II so special and helped create an impact on the world of popular music. Many of the album’s songs that the band played live for the first time in 1969 evolved and endured right up until the end of Led Zeppelin’s career in 1980. Whole Lotta Love and Heartbreaker are great examples.

What better way to close this 40th anniversary of Led Zeppelin II than with one of the tracks? For giving us four decades of musical excellence, we Led Zeppelin fans say Thank You!

Läste nånstans idag, tror det var i en gratisblaska på tåget, att Schlager/Fame/pop-Jessica Andersson vill göra country till sin nästa grej. Och då “inte som Jill Johnsson, utan mer soft country, som Alison Krauss”. Well, vi ska väl inte döma nån i förväg, man kan ju överraskas eller få äta upp sin (cowboy-)hatt, så vi låter väl Jessica göra sin skiva och dömer ut den då. Istället för att sitta som på nålar i väntan på det (…)  rekommenderar jag att du bekantar dig med originalet.

Alison Krauss är en vän, högst ödmjuk i såväl framtoning som sound, bluesgrass-/countrysångerska med flinka fiolfingrar. Hon släppte sitt första album redan som 16-åring och även om hon har åtnjutit tämligen god framgång som soloartist, är det tillsammans med bandet The Union Station som Alison huvudsakligen gör sin musik.

Alison tycks även ha en fäbless för film då hennes musik har förekommit på en hel del uppmärksammade soundtracks. I den underbara filmen O’ Brother, Where Art Thou gör Alison Krauss en fullkomligt klockstannande acapella-version av “Down To The River To Pray”, i en magisk scen i filmen. Alison har även gjort musik Åter till Cold Mountain och Ya-Ya flickornas gudomliga hemligheter.

Förutom att spela med The Union Station har Alison samarbetat med en rad andra artister, såsom Emmylou Harris, Brad Paisley och senaste i den lite oväntade konstellationen tillsammans med Robert Plant från Led Zeppelin. 2007 släppte Plant/Krauss albumet Raising Sand som blev en stor framgång såväl inom som utanför countryvärlden. Albumet vann inte mindre 5 Grammis för bland annat “Årets album” och “Bästa folk/americana album”.

Men Dagens Låt hämtas från ett annat album, nämligen “New Favorite” från 2001 tillsammans med The Union Station. Låten “The Lucky One” blev Alisons största hit sedan “When You Say Nothing At All” som hon spelade in 1995.

Albumet “New Favorite” med Alison Krauss & The Union Station hittar du på Spotify här.

Vill du försvinna in i sakral musikalisk magi i form av “Down To The River To Pray” hittar du soundtracket till O’ Brother, Where Art Thou här.

Albumet “Raising Sand” med Robert Plant & Alison Krauss hittar du på Spotify här.

Robert Plant: Born 1948 in the United Kingdom. He is probably best known as the lead singer of legendary rock band Led Zeppelin. He elevated the rock and roll wail to a high art. On stage, Plant possessed a charismatic swagger and sounded amazing live. These days, he demonstrates his range by teaming up with bluegrass singer Alison Krauss. Their 2007 collaborative album Raising Sand was a hit critically and commercially.

This performance of “Since I’ve Been Lovin’ You” is taken from the Led Zeppelin concert film The Song Remains the Same (Peter Clifton and Joe Massot, 1976). I don’t mind telling you it always leaves me a tad hot and bothered. Can you really blame me?

Remember to visit NPR’s list and vote for your 5 favorite great voices.

A veces los grandes estrellas del rock son captados en momentos que no precisamente son de gloria y donde después de ver la foto, uno puede llegar a pensar varias cosas de ellos, aquí en Inquisidor71 ponemos algunos ejemplos con nuestro respectivo comentario.

Esta imagen la captó un fan en Mexicali, donde podemos pensar dos cosas de Gustavo Cerati, que las copas se le pasaron o que estaba totalmente cansado después de una intensa presentación.

Gustavo Cerati con unos fans posando un poco indispuesto

En esta otra imagen, el cantante Robert Plant  al parecer se le olvidaron los pantalones cortos para jugar fútbol, y prefirió usar un traje de baño para darle al balón. 

Robert Plant haciendo deporte

Antes de los tables dances, la punketa Wendy O’ Williams, quien tristemente se suicidara, ya mostraba un lado más que erótico en sus conciertos.

Cantar sin sostén lo deberían hacer más seguido

Ahora una sección de besos y claro que empezamos por Kiss, lo cual me hace dudar de sus tan publicitadas conquistas heterosexuales.

Aquí Ace Frehley dándose “calor” con un señor maduro.

Ace Frehley realmente excitó a este tipo

Frehley también se vio cariñoso con Paul Stanley, antes de provocar la histeria en su audiencia.

El Spaceman y el Starchild en los buenos tiempos

Gene Simmons se olvidó un rato de sus miles de mujeres y se dio un lenguetazo con un fan, que seguramente tenía sueños eróticos con él.

Gene Simmons pasando saliva con este rubio muchacho

Y ya que estamos en los besos, tambien los miembros de The Cure han tenido momentos románticos, como Robert Smith y Simon Gallup.

Este beso habrá inspirado el álbum "Kiss me, kiss me"

Y cómo ven este momento “sublime” entre David Bowie y Lou Reed, rock-stars de primer nivel a punto de un picorete, mientras Mick Jagger estuvo de cerca en este momento, aunque es tapado por ambos artistas.

El talento también se une con un beso

Y volviendo a Kiss, una imagen de la sesión de fotos del álbum “Hotter than hell”, donde las modelos se quitaron un poco la ropa,  aunque esto no apareció en el arte del disco.

Peter Criss tratando de salir bien en la foto

Faroo Khan / EFE

Existe un bello lugar rodeado de montañas y de lagos al norte de la India que, además, linda con Afganistán, Pakistán y China. El historiador Henry Kamen se refirió a éste como país en un artículo publicado en el diario El Mundo hace unos años, aunque en la actualidad tal soberanía no está tan clara y más bien habría que hablar de una serie de territorios controlados por alguno de los estados citados. En conjunto reciben el nombre de Cachemira —”Kashmir” en inglés—, una región que desde 1947, año en que los británicos abandonaron la colonia asiática, no ha hecho sino padecer los estragos de multitud de enfrentamientos armados. Su caso es comparable con el de Palestina, pero desafortunadamente no recibe el mismo trato mediático y es desconocido para demasiada gente —salvo si se les pregunta por el origen de sus alfombras—. Y si quien firma estas líneas lo recuerda de cuando en cuando, no se debe a los periódicos, ni siquiera a la televisión, sino a cierta canción de una de las bandas más prestigiosas que ha dado y dará Gran Bretaña, Led Zeppelin.

Nos referimos a Kashmir, el tema publicado en 1975 como parte del álbum Physical Graffiti. Robert Plant, vocalista del grupo, lo escribió  a raíz de “su expericiencia marroquí”, tal y como aclara Benjamín A. Estacio en  el libro Monsters of Rock. De manera que nos encontramos en él con la influencia de la cultura africana,  pese a  la introducción dedicada a aquel rincón de Asia por mi parte. Quizás habría sido más lógico que el telón de fondo de la canción hubiera sido oriental, pero la historia  no la inventamos nosotros.

Y prosiguiendo con la historia de Kashmir, lo cierto es que la acogida dispensada por la audiencia no fue excesivamente calurosa. Plant siempre se caracterizó por unas letras espiriturales y místicas, habitualmente con reminiscencias mitológicas,  pero la de nuestra protagonista fue más allá hasta convertirse en una de las composiciones más originales de la banda. Personalmente la comparo con Stairway to Heaven, y no precisamente por la dilatada duración de ambas. Para que me entendáis,  ante los oídos del gran público ésta sería la gemela buena y guapa —con permiso de su oculto y supuesto mensaje satánico—, mientras que la otra sería la fea y mala, “La incomprendida”. No obstante, si prestamos atención descubriremos que su estructura, sus riffs… es mucho lo que guardan en común, incluido ese singular aura de misterio.

Pero la crítica no ha opinado igual y no ha dudado en situarla entre las mejores del Rock ‘n’ Roll de todos los tiempos —ránquines de Rolling Stone, VH1, Q o Classic Rock entre otros—. ¿Quién tiene razón entonces?, ¿en qué quedamos? Antes de que salgáis de dudas vosotros mismos, si es que no lo habéis hecho ya, un último apunte. Innumerables han sido las versiones de esta canción de Led Zeppelin desde su lanzamiento a mediados de los 70: Orquesta Filarmónica de Londres, Jeff Buckley, Paul Di’Anno (primer vocalista de Iron Maiden), Slash, etc. Y tal vez la mejor de ellas sea la que los propios Robert Plant y Jimmy Page grabaron en su disco conjunto grabado en directo No Quarter (1994), con los rasgos de Marruecos más marcados si cabe, y que podéis encontrar a continuación. Un lujo para los sentidos.

Oh let the sun beat down upon my face
With stars to fill my dream.
I am a traveler of both time and space
To be where I have been.

To sit with elders of a gentle race
This world has seldom seen.
They talk of days for which they sit and wait
When all will be revealed.

Talk an’ song from tongues of lilting grace
Whose sounds caress my ear.
But not a word I heard could I relate
The story was quite clear.
Whoa-ohh-oh
Whoa-ohhh-oh-oh

Ooooh
Oh baby, I’ve been flyin’
Nooo-yeah
Oh mama there
Ain’t no denyin’

Oh!
Ooooh-yes
I’ve been flyin’
Ma-ma-ma
Ain’t no denyin’
No denyin’-uh

Oh!
All I see turns to brown
As the sun burns the ground.
And my eyes fill with sand
As I scan this wasted land.
Tryin’ to find
Tryin’ to find
Where I’ve been.

Oh pilot of the storm who leaves no trace
Like thoughts inside a dream
Who hid the path that led me to that place
Of yellow desert screen.

My shangri-la beneath the summer moon
I will return again.
Sure as the dust that floats high in June
When movin’ through Kashmir.

Oh father of the four winds, fill my sails
‘Cross the sea of years
With no provision but an open face
Along the straits of fear.

Whoa-oh ah-oh
Whoa-ohhh oh

Ohhh

Whoa!
When I’m on,
When I’m on my way yeah!
When I see,
When I see the way
You stayyyyy-yeah!

Ooh-ooh yeah-yeah
Ooh-ooh yeah-yeah
When I’m downnn-yeah

Ooh-ooh yeah-yeah
Ooh-ooh yeah-yeah
When I’m down, so down

Ooh my baby
Oooh my baby let me take you there

Oh-oh
Come on, come on
Oh!
Let me take you there
Let me take you there

Ooh yeah-yeah
Ooh yeah-yeah…

]]> http://thehurstreview.wordpress.com/2009/11/07/landmarks-the-year-2007/ Sat, 07 Nov 2009 22:31:43 +0000 Josh Hurst http://thehurstreview.wordpress.com/2009/11/07/landmarks-the-year-2007/

There have been times when I’ve found it difficult to pick a favorite record for a given year, but 2007 wasn’t one of them. Granted, any time Joe Henry releases a new album, it makes the Album of the Year race fairly tough to call for me, but 2007’s Civilians felt particularly timely and triumphant. Part of it was that the album was the follow-up to Tiny Voices– an album that had by then become my all-time favorite, by Henry or anybody else– and that it had been some four years in the making. But more than that, the album followed on the heels of a particularly turbulent political season and looked ahead to the election cycle that was to come, yet it was not, as Henry has always been quick to point out, a “political album.” Actually, it was a decidedly spiritual one, casting its eye to national affairs but also invoking God’s name on nearly every song and exploring profoundly theological matters– namely, the providence and grace of God, themes it addresses more poetically and richly than any other album I know of, save perhaps Sam Phillips’ A Boot and a Shoe.

Henry was 2007’s true MVP, not only for that album’s superb songwriting but also for his skilled work as a producer, both on Civilians and on a pair of albums he cut for other artists– Loudon Wainwright III’s Strange Weirdos and Mary Gauthier’s Between Daylight and Dark. These three albums are produced immaculately and cut with the same core band, which made them feel, at the time, a bit like a trilogy, though all three have very distinct characteristics. If Henry’s album is about poetry and spiritual exploration, Wainwright’s is about joy and humor, and Gauthier’s about gritty blues. All three are utterly excellent, though, and rank as three of the finest albums from 2007, which I still think of as The Year of Joe Henry.

But if the big story in 2007 was, for me, Joe Henry, it was, for everyone else, Radiohead. In Rainbows appeared from out of the blue at the tail end of the year and made huge waves for its unorthodox release strategy, but, with a little distance, the album is now starting to be celebrated not just for its cutting-edge marketing, but, more importantly, for its standing as a very fine Radiohead album. In fact, it’s become one of my favorites: The sound of it is (comparatively) warm, romantic, and comfortable in its own skin in a way that no other Radiohead album is. When I get a Radiohead itch, it is, more often than not, for In Rainbows.

Another trend: Rock and roll. 2007 was full of great rock, ranging from The White Stripes‘ Icky Thump– their hardest-rocking set, and one of their most peculiar– to Queens of the Stone Age and the loud, nasty, primitive roar of Era Vulgaris. My two favorites might be Arctic Monkeys‘ piledriving rock and roll set Favourite Worst Nightmare and Spoon’s sensational, inspired tribute to pop songcraft, Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga. Rounding out the rock and roll set is Dinosaur Jr. and Beyond, one of the decade’s most thrilling comebacks, an album of great hunger, energy, and roaring rock and roll vigor.

Behind Joe Henry, though, the thing I listened to most in 2007 was The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter, a blindingly great pop album for which I hold boundless affection. I’m not sure that anyone else loves the album in quite the same way that I do, but I stand behind it completely: Ritter reshapes American myth and music in his own image, and the album is both heartfelt and incredibly fun. More than anything else, it reminds me of the great Nick Lowe albums of the late 1970s– it’s a jukebox of great songs and styles, but it holds together due to the sheer magnetism of the singer and the consistent nature of the songwriting.

2007 was also the year of what is arguably my favorite soul album of the decade– it’s gotta be either Solomon Burke’s Don’t Give Up on Me (from 2002) or Bettye LaVette’s The Scene of the Crime. The latter album is an exemplary entry in the genre, for a number of reasons: Not only is it a crash course in the art of song interpretation, with LaVette pulling songs from diverse sources and styles and turning them all into not only soul songs, but soul songs that tell her own, unique story, but it’s also a primer on inspired collaboration; LaVette and her backing band, the Drive-by Truckers, create a speaker-rattling, soul-stirring roadhouse fury, and few soul albums released in the 00s match this one in sure, unhinged fervor or edginess.

And though he didn’t release any album of his own in 2007, Bob Dylan was nevertheless the source– or at least the source material– of one of my very favorite albums from the year, the dynamite two-disc soundtrack to I’m Not There. Dozens of vintage Dylan tunes covered by some of the best artists around, and the whole thing is virtually devoid of clunkers of filler. It’s inspired, and compulsively playable; it still finds its way into my stereo all the time.

And the list goes on and on. Over the Rhine got playful with The Trumpet Child. Maria McKee made her more inspired and colorful album with Late December. Nick Lowe made his best-yet collection of country/rock/R&B gems with the easygoing, romantic At My Age. Arcade Fire mixed politics and religion for the fiery, ferocious Neon Bible. Robert Plant and Alison Krauss got contemplative for the sublime Raising Sand. Patty Griffin turned in another winning set, mixing country and folk and gospel, in Children Running Through. LCD Soundsystem made what might be my favorite dance recording of the decade, Sound of Silver. Nick Cave and some of his Bad Seeds rocked their way through midlife crisis in Grinderman’s self-titled debut. Andrew Bird made one of his most ambitious and provocative works, Armchair Apocrypha. Miranda Lambert gave mainstream country a much-needed dose of rock and roll in Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. The National turned in working-class poetry with their beautiful album Boxer. And on and on it goes; all told, I’m pretty sure 2007 was my favorite musical year of the decade.

But how about you?

See also: 2000; 2001; 2002; 2003; 2004; 2005; and 2006.

Good Rockin’ Tonight Report:

Click here to go to GRT to check Dread Zeppelin covering Led Zeppelin “Your Time Is Gonna Come”, and “Whole Lotta Love”

John Henry “Bonzo” Bonham è nato il 31 maggio 1948 a Redditch (UK) ed è morto il 25 settembre 1980.

La vita di John è sempre stata legata al “ritmo”. Il ritmo del suo cuore che cessò di battere dopo un giorno di vita a causa di un medico ubriaco, il ritmo di quella sua batteria che ha cominciato a suanare all’età di 5 anni costruendosi un kit di barattoli e lattine di caffè, imitando le mosse dei suoi idoli Gene Krupa e Buddy Rich, il ritmo forsennato con cui tracannava bicchieri di vodka perchè non gli piaceva volare e stare lontano dalla famiglia.

Nel 1964 abbandonò la scuola e formò la sua prima Band: Terry Web and the Spider. Incontrò ad un ballo la sua futura sposa Pat Phillips ed incise un 45 giri che ebbe un discreto successo.

Un paio d’anni dopo ebbe la possibilità di suonare con Robert Plant, già abbastanza noto allora, ed in quel periodo si fece la fama di “batterista più forte d’Inghilterra. Suonava con tale vigore che spesso distruggeva le batterie e capitò più di una volta che alcuni Club lo pregarono di smettere.

Quando Jimmy Page decise di formare una Band chiamò Terry Reid, che rifiutò ma consigliò Robert Plant, che accettò portandosi appresso l’amico “Bonzo”. Così, con John Paul Baldwin “Jones” iniziò l’avventura dei “Led Zeppellin“.

Durante la permanenza in America per il loro primo Tour, John divenne amico di Carmine Appice, mitico batterista dei Vanilla Fudge. Carmine lo introdusse nel mondo delle batterie Ludwig, e per Bonzo fu amore a prima vista.

Usava dei bastoni talmente lunghi e pesanti che li chiamava “alberi”. Il suo stile, colpire così violentemente la batteria, ha trovato massima espressione nelle canzoni “Immigrant song“, “When tle leeve breaks“, “The ocean“. Più tardi, invece, sviluppò uno stile più vicino al funk e al latin.

Pur non essendo approssimativo e sgangherato come Keith Moon, nè considerato dalla critica al pari di Ginger Baker, il suo assoluto potere dietro la batteria ha influenzato negli anni moltissimi batteristi hard-rock ed heavy-metal.

Da antologia i suoi assoli di batteria, prima in “Pat’s delight” e poi in “Moby Dick“, che spesso duravano mezz’ora, mettendo in evidenza l’uso delle mani nude per ottenere effetti sonori diversi.

Nel 1980 i Led Zeppelin decisero di fare un nuovo tour in America ed appena giunti iniziarono le prove. John bevve come una spugna prima di arrivare allo studio e quasi sicuramente nella notte, dopo la session. Fu trovato morto da John Paul Jones e dal manager. Due settimane dopo l’autopsia del coroner rivelò che John morì per un edema polmonare e non furono riscontrate altre sostanze se non l’alcool.

John fu cremato e spolto a Rushock, nella Chiesa Parrocchiale, e sulla sua lapide si legge:

“Alla cara memoria di un marito e di un padre amorevole. John Henry Bonham, morto il 25 settembre 1980, a 32 anni. Il suo ricordo vivrà sempre nei nostri cuori. Buonanotte amore mio. Dio ti benedica”.

Quando un amico, all’uscita del negozio di dischi, mi chiese: “Hai comperato l’ellepi dei Led Zeppelin? E’ favoloso!”, risposi: “No, quando ho visto la copertina ho pensato che fossero un pò pazzi…” Rientrai, lo comperai, e da allora ho acquistato un’ecatombe di dischi e souvenir in tutto il mondo. Sono io, il pazzo! Quante ore della mia vita ho trascorso ascoltando “Immigrant song”, “Moby Dick”, “Whole lotta love”, “Dazed and Confused”? Pagherei per poter avere “Bonzo” suonare alla mia veglia funebre!

Discografia essenziale:

Led Zeppelin (Atlantic, 1969)
Led Zeppelin II (Atlantic, 1969)
Led Zeppelin III (Atlantic, 1970)
Led Zeppelin IV (Atlantic, 1971)
Houses Of The Holy (Atlantic, 1973)
Physical Graffiti (Swan Song, 1975 2 LP)
Presence (Swang Song, 1976)
The song ramain the same (Swan Song, 1976 2 LP)
In trough the outdoor (Swan Song, 1979)
How the west wos won (Led Zepplin)
Led Zeppelin BBC Sessions (Led Zeppelin)

Discografia non-Led Zeppelin:

She’s a Mod (The Senators, 1964, album Brum Beat, compilation)
Hurdy Gurdy man (Donovan, 1968, album The Hurdy Gurdy Man, Epic)
Medley: It’s so hard (P J. Proby, 1969, album Three weeks hero, Liberty)
Thumping beat (Screaming Lord Sutch, 1970, album Lord Sutch and heavy friends, Cotillon)
Rockestra Theme + So glad to see you here (1979, Paul McCartney & Wings, album Back to the egg)
Keep your hands on the wheel (Roy Wood, 1979, album On the road, Warner)

Led Zeppelin Official Website

Exciting times for Theme Park. This week marks the first show of the Summer season, our First Anniversary and it was our Melbourne Cup Special with a live cross to Melbourne for Australia’s #1 horse race. We ran a sweep for our subscribers, with great prizes, and lots of fun was had by all. But what about the music, you may well ask?  The theme this week, quite appropriately I think, was LUCK.  

We opened the show with Stevie Wonder’s  SUPERSTITION. Stevie knows that it’s easy to blame bad luck when things go pear-shaped, but he’s not up for making excuses. “When you believe in things that you don’t understand, then you suffer”, he states with no uncertain authority. Here he is in the studio, circa 1973:

People have a tendancy to limit a person’s achievements by simply limiting it to ‘luck’. But don’t be envious, things aren’t always as great as what they seem, as Britney Spears points out in her 2000 song LUCKY, which spookily foreshadows her future breakdown. Thin Lizzy have a similar problem: They can’t help thinking that the grass is always greener on the other side: Someone else, somewhere else, is luckier than them. The song is HOLLYWOOD (Down On Your Luck) from their Renegade album. Here they are performing live in 1982:

Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes can even make a song about bad luck funky with a great piece of disco called, (what else?),  BAD LUCK. The JoBoxers are lucky in love and they want the world to know it. What better way than a song called JUST GOT LUCKY? Bonus: Cute dog in this video clip:

When it comes to love we all know there’s a downside and no other genre does bad luck as well as the Blues category. Memphis Minnie seems lucky in love, because she has no trouble finding a guy; the trouble is, as soon as she finds one, disaster strikes. The song is I’M A BAD LUCK WOMAN. We followed with one my favourite jazz performers,  the wonderful, melancholy voice of Chet Baker singing EVERYTHING HAPPENS TO ME.

I had to include two of my faves: The Verve with LUCKY MAN and PJ Harvey with GOOD FORTUNE - The track is from her album Stories from the City, Stories From the Sea:

Alison Krauss and Union Station sang THE LUCKY ONE right up until we crossed to to Melbourne for the Cup broadcast. Congratulations to BayFM subscriber Annette who drew the winner of the race, SHOCKING, and therefore won the sweep and the dinner for two at Utopia Restaurant with limousine transfers from Bangalow Limousines. Thanks to everyone who rang in for the sweep; filled in a record 5 minutes!- and thanks also to our sponsors.

While we recovered from all that excitement we listened to a little R&B: YOU WIN, I LOSE from Little Johnny Taylor and LUCKY LIPS from the fantastic Ruth Brown. Jason Mraz and Colbert Caillat offered up a cute bit of optimistic pop with their duet LUCKY. Matchbox Twenty aren’t so positive. Their song, SEMI-CHARMED LIFE, indicates a bit of a ‘glass-half-filled’ take on life.  

A song I’ve played before, but couldn’t resist, was LUCKY NUMBER by the amazing Lena Lovich. It’s a great piece of New Wave from 1978. If you want to check out the video clip go to the show on the Number ONE.

Remember Alan Price singing O LUCKY MAN! from the film of the same name? I’d forgotten how good that was. Starring a very young Malcolm McDowell and directed by the legendary Lindsay Anderson, here’s a clip from the film that features Alan Price singing the title song.

Another great song is FORTUNE TELLER. Originally recorded by Benny Spellman in 1962 it’s been covered many times. We played the version by Robert Plant and Alison Krauss from their Grammy Award winning album, Raising Sand. We also included two songs about how much ‘attitude’ influences luck. Lynard Skynard were crying out for sympathy with their song GOOD LUCK, BAD LUCK: “When it’s good luck you’re the last to get it, when it’s bad luck you’re the first.” Ah well, some would call that a persecution complex.  Mary Chapin Carpenter knows how to have a good time. She ignores all advice, to her benefit, with the very chirpy I FEEL LUCKY:

We closed the show with The OJays singing THEY CALL ME MR. LUCKY and then it was a perfectly pitched piece of pop – Rod Stewart’s  SOME GUYS HAVE ALL THE LUCK.

Here’s the complete playlist:

Next week: FASHION. I’d love to have your suggestions for the playlist.

Listen to Lyn McCarthy at the Theme Park on BayFM, Tuesdays 2-4pm, Sydney time.  

Also streaming on http://www.bayfm.org

Tragically also on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/maccalyn

Cover Me Report:

Click here to go to CM to check a batch of Robert Johnson covers by…Tom Hanway “Cross Road Blues”, Peter Green “Terraplane Blues”, Patti Smith “Come On In My Kitchen”, Susan Tedeschi & The Derek Trucks Band “Walkin’ Blues”, Beck “Last Fair Deal Gone Down”, Bob Dylan “32-20 Blues”, Bob Margolin & Pinetop Perkins “Kind Hearted Woman Blues”, The White Stripes “If I Had Possession Over Judgement Day”, The Gun Club “Preachin’ Blues”, Johnny Winter “When You Got a Good Friend”,  L?k?o “Ramblin’ On My Mind”, John Mellencamp “Stones In My Passway”, Rory Block “Milkcow’s Calf Blues”, Cowboy Junkies “Me and The Devil Blues”, and The Mountain Goats “Hellhound On My Trail”

If you need a snack or a potty break, now’s the time. Cause the lovely and talented Bebe Buell is about to suck up your entire life until you are through with this entry. … Welcome to the jungle. Better men than you have been lost in its vines.

Before I go on with her basically amazing life-story, I’d like to point out that this gorgeous slice of strawberry cheesecake was basically the Greenwich Village bicycle of the musical world in the 1970’s, and she rocked a pretty plush rug Down There. What gives with the kind of freakish waxed hardwood floors I am seeing in commercial porn lately? Vivid Video, this recently rediscovered art of the legitimate nude, this sexytimes pictures and video trend informed by raw, sexy authenticity, is why you guys are now losing the game almost completely to amateur streaming videos. Pubes and kissing are what make the difference between a so-so, mainly unconvincing video and a really special one. Write that down. Okay, so on with the show.

In 1972 while working as a teenage model in New York City, Buell met and dated rock star Todd Rundgren for several years. During and after her sometimes open relationship with Rundgren, she also became intimate with many other famous musicians, including Iggy Pop, David Bowie, Mick Jagger, Jimmy Page, and Steven Tyler while maintaining homes with Rundgren in both New York City and the Woodstock, New York area until late 1977.

Buell then moved on to Rod Stewart and in the summer of 1978, she began a tempestuous affair with the married but separated Elvis Costello which continued on and off until 1984. She was also involved with the late Stiv Bators and actor Jack Nicholson. — the wiki.

Okay, so the backstory, which is really more like a sexual history. Look, I think it is wretchedly unfair when a lady’s life story is framed by the boys she has bagged, but holy jeebus, Bebe Buell. How can I not bring it up??

Oh, you. You nutty, star-fucking, gorgeous-movie-star-baby-spawning, Penny-Lane-in-Almost-Famous-inspiring, deranged little minx! Gawd, how I love you and your decades-long trail of desperation. This chick is truly endless entertainment, you guys. I mean it.

And we should all kiss her feet for bringing that little daughter of hers into this world. Who is it?

All grown’z up, that chitlin in the above picture now easily ranks as one of my personal top ten most beautiful women alive on this planet, the gorgeous, sophisticated, private, and nothing-like-her-parents Liv Tyler:

*tear* Lord love you, Bebe Buell, you are a crazy mamma-jamma, but you make pretty mini-me’s. And it’s rather amazing that more did not hail from her loins. Like I said, she spent the 70’s and 80’s being quite the busy bee (no judgment AT ALL — you kept it clean and lean with some real sex machines: nothin’ but props, garrrl!). A brief glimpse at some of the highlights of Miss B’s hit parade:

Jeff Goodman aka Sammy Grubman, the “Strikeout King” and sleazy men’s magazine editor.

John Waite of The Babys and Bad English.

Robert Plant.

“Filmmaker Cameron Crowe, in his commentary on the extended DVD of his 2000 movie Almost Famous, said he based the film’s “Penny Lane” character (played by Kate Hudson) on two women he met during the early 1970s — Bebe Buell and Pennie Trumble, a.k.a “Penny Lane”. He said he created some of Penny’s dialogue from statements Buell had made in interviews over the years.” — the wiki.

Todd Rundgren, who it was assumed was Liv’s father until testing proved otherwise in the early 1990’s.

Stiv Bators of the Dead Boys

Legit babydaddy Steve Tyler — she claims because of his drug addiction she let Liv think her father was Todd Rundgren. You’re right, Bebe, that’s much better. What clarity — someone please hand this woman a gavel, cause she should be a judge and bring mind-blowing Aristotlean logic to every case she oversees from the bench, topless of course.

Bonus mm-mmm-mmmmm hookup: co-groupie, the notorious Cyrinda Fox. Ow!!

Oh, those halcyon days of yummy, yummy ’70s drugs.

Recent shot at the 2009 Tribeca Film Fest

I couldn’t even find shots of her with Iggy Pop, Jack Nicholson, Jimmy Page, Mick Jagger, and some of the others with whom it is rumored she spent Us Time. But I did happen upon one decent picture of her and another personal favorite, Mr. Elvis Costello, who shockingly did not have very nice things to say about Miss Bb B!

Following pic and he-said/she-said quotes via the super-amazing neato-fantastic understated-uber-genius of chained and perfumed:

She said: “He was my Clark Gable.”
[Elvis Costello] said: “At best we were strangers with a coy and theoretical entanglement…However, she turned up with eight pieces of luggage like a mail-order bride…and I was too stupid and vain to resist. She’d later claimed to have inspired most of the songs on [Armed Forces]-all of which were already written when we met…It is a tragic delusion about which I could say: ‘I shall not dignify that with a response’ but ‘dignity’ doesn’t come into this story.”

Oh, my god, I never thought I’d say this, but I am tired of this. I’ll pick her back up another day (that’s what they all say).

Until next time, remember: if you see her backstage, it’s okay to let her in, Mr. Bouncer. She is with the band.

continued from the previous post…..