The late Brian Jones of the Rolling Stones
would have been 70 today! But as Keith used to say Brian was never going
to be an old guy.
Brian actually founded the band. He was the
leader at first. He named the band.
The first couple Stones albums are actually
nothing special and certainly did not hint at the greatness that would soon
come. They mostly covered other people’s songs. Their first hits were a cover
of Chuck Berry’s “Come On” and a version of the Beatles “I Wanna Be Your Man’.
They definitely did not hit stride until they started wrting their own songs.
“The Last Time” was a great start to the self-penned hits. Brian is one of those figures in rock history
whose contributions are either underrated or overrated . By all accounts he was a good rhythm
guitar player and a very good slide guitar player as well as a good
blues harmonica player..
His shining moments on guitar seem to be on “Little
Red Rooster” and one of his last contributions on “No
Expectations”. The problem is back in the 60’s there really weren’t
many albums with the musicians credits listed saying who played
what.
Is that Brian on the iconic main lick on “the
Last Time”? Is he trading great riffs and notes with Keith on “19th
Nervous Breakdown”? Is the wonderful acoustic picking on “Sitting
on a Fence” all Keith? Is that Brian playing the cool little guitar
figure on the “but it’s all right now” part of “Jumpin Jack Flash”?
I’m a huge Stones fan and I’ve never seen a clear answer and Keith never
seems to clear up any of the confusion only describing his musical
relationship with Brian as the beginning of the “ancient art of weaving”;
the idea of both guitar players trading off playing lead and rhythm
fairly seamlessly. So it is hard to judge how good of a guitar
player Brian was. Besides the afore mentioned “Little Red Rooster” are
there really any songs where you can sight a great Brian Jones guitar solo?
He ceratainly wasn't a Page, Clapton or Beck.
Let’s address that Brian apparently did not
write songs. This obviously put him at a disadvantage when Mick & Keith
started to write together and took over the band. The only writing credit Brian
Jones ever got on Rolling Stones albums was on any song credited to the
pseudonym “Nanker-Phelge” for group compositions; usually pedestrian
blues-oriented instrumental songs they used to use as album filler. Now some have insinuated that Brian did help
Keith write “Ruby Tuesday” but I guess only Brian and Keith know
and Keith always says he wrote it. There have even been some conspiracy
theorists that claim Brian wrote the legendary riff to “Satisfaction”
rather than Keith recording the riff on his tape recorder before he feel
asleep! Again, a certain segment of people trying to give Brian too much
credit I think.
Where the praise is often heaped upon Brian
is for his versatility on other instruments. Adding sitar to
Stones songs like “Paint it Black”, “Mother’s Little
Helper” and “Street Fighting Man”;
& woodwinds to
Ruby Tuesday”.
mellotron on songs like “We Love You” and “2000 Light years From
Home.
He can be seen at the piano on TV appearances
like Ed Sullivan, but I’m not sure how much piano he really played on the
albums. The Stones often used session legend Nicky Hopkins on
piano as well as their longtime cohort Ian Stewart . Overall does this make the guy a legend or
even as crucial as the other members? There is a story that by the “Beggars
Banquet” sessions Brian was pretty incapacitated by drugs and
asked Mick “What can I play?”.. , “I dunno what can you play ?” answered Mick.
Why has so much credit been heaped on Jones
other than he founded the band? It may sound funny, but he was one
of the coolest looking rock stars that ever lived.
He was a 60's fashion icon a bit of a
"dandy", and was known for his mane of blond hair. He was probably
the most popular member with the girls until Mick eventually took over.
I think people are more enamored of his
image than of his actual contributions, sorry to say. Guys wanted
to look like him and girls wanted to be with him.
Unfortunately, he had a fragile ego and
apparently vacillated between being a mean person and being the wounded
victim-type. He dove deeper into drugs and in 1969 was asked to leave the
band. Some say he was trying to get his act
together and form a new band just before he tragically and mysteriously drowned
in his pool in July of 1969.
Brian near the end of his life
In his honor, here are 20 great Brian-era Stones songs
“Paint it Black”- I believe in his book, Bill Wyman says he
was playing these chords on the organ while Charlie drummed claiming he started
the genesis of the music for the song. Of course the song is only credited to
Jagger/Richards. Brian’s sitar is a key component of the song and is one of his
finest moments.
“Lady Jane”- an Elizabethian sounding piece with harpsichord
and Brian on the dulcimer.
A very “English”
track from the guys.
“Ruby Tuesday”- Keith claims he wrote the song by himself.
Brian adds the flute like flourishes that do add to the song nicely.
“Mother’s Little Helper”- an ode to the trials and
tribulations of motherhood and being a housewife. All cured by valium…
“Connection” – a song mostly written by Keith (and played on
his solo tours) describing the difficulties of getting thru customs in the
60’s. He thinks it was hard then?
“She Smiled Sweetly”- I must admit this one didn’t hit me
until seeing “The
Royal Tenenbaums.” Sometimes a song being effectively used in
a movie can really give it life.
“Play With Fire”- great minor-key moody piece.
“Sittin on a Fence”- lesser known but a favorite of mine.
Great lyrics examining how people can rush into adulthood, marriage , mortages,
etc without giving it too much thought because it’s seems like what you are
supposed to do.
“Something Happened to Me yesterday”- an attempt at a
Dylan-esque type track. Keith helping Mick out on vocals. The band didn’t seem quite sure which direction to go
on “Between the Buttons”.
“19th Nervous Breakdown”-stress! Some nice guitar
riffs, not sure who played what.
"Under my Thumb" - Brian on the marimbas
“Get Off of My Cloud”- Of their best early singles. Saw them
do this live in 2006 and the whole place was shouting the “hey!” parts.
“Dandelion” – a great psychedelic pop track. Not sure if
that is Brian on some of the odd sounds on here.
“She’s a Rainbow”- Psychedeilia was never really the Stones
forte but this is probably the Stones best “psychedelic” track.
“We Love You”- written to their fans after Mick and Keith
were cleared of drug charges where they were threatened with going to prison.
Supposedly John and Paul join in on backing vocals. Brian on the mellotron
keyboard.
“2000 Light Years From Home”- a definite attempt at
something along the line of what the Doors and some of the San Francisco bands
were doing. Used to kind of creep me out when I was kid. Brian on the mellotron
keyboard.
“Jumpin Jack Flash”- an incredible comeback single from the
band and one of their most loved songs. Great riff and that may be Brian on the
little fills on the “It’s all right now” part. Another creepy vid. Freaked me out as a kid.
“Street Fighting Man”- Brian adds some subtle sitar to his
one. Keith overloads his acoustic to sound like electrics..
“No Expectations”- That is supposedly Brian on slide guitar,
considered by most to be his last shining musical moment.
“Sympathy for the Devil” – You can see them
trying to work it out here
But the finished product is really Mick and Keith’s baby..
bonus:
“You Can’t Always get What you Want” Rock n Roll Circus. I
think is Brian last public appearance with the band and he didn’t make the album version the songs. He seems to be just strumming along here.
I am continuing my series on the weakest tracks on iconic, classic albums. Even the greatest albums can have a weak track or two and when compared to the great material on the album, they can stick out like a sore thumb.
These are the tracks you press the > button on your cd player or IPod.
I'm gonna start off with a track from Bruce. "Born to Run" was the album that finally broke Springsteen and probably saved his career. It has iconic tracks like the title track, "Jungleland", "Backstreets" "Thunder Road", "Tenth Avenue Freeze Out".If you go to a Springsteen concert, chances are you are going to hear these. While album cuts like "Night" "She's the One" , and "Backstreets" make the cut as good quality tracks.
That leaves Just the oddly jazzy (?) "Meeting Across the River".
I can kind of picture maybe Tom Waits singing it? There's not much of a melody.
The chord progression makes it sound like something someone would sing on Broadway and the featured instrument is not even Clarence's sax??!!!! it's a trumpet!!
Surprisingly , Bruce has played this live in recent years. I know he did the entire "Born to Run" album live a couple of tours ago so I guess he had to.
I suggest skip it! >
"Meeting Across the River"
Well, here is the one that might be the "Mother"(sorry couldn't resist) of all bad tracks on a great album! I can't believe I didn't include it in my first post!.
The Police"Mother"!. Andy Summers dissonant contribution to "Synchronicity".
Musically it seems to be influenced by his recent collaborator King Crimson's Robert
Fripp and vocally a bit by some of the Adrian Belew's vocals on
King Crimson's "Discipline" album,... but that's being kind....
This is the best Andy could do? He had written one of my favorite Police songs, "Omegaman", on the previous album. The record company even wanted that song to be a single, butStingwouldn't have it , even though he sang the lead vocal!
Apparently Sting had now started to refuse to sing Andy's songs and Andy is not much of a singer, so maybe Andy just said " F*%k it. I'll give them a piece of crap and dare them to put it on the album."
Well Sting claimed he loved it! So on the album it went!
Not only is this song considered the worse song on the album, it is considered one of the worse songs ever done by a major rock band!
Don't get me wrong, I'm not crazy about the Stewart Copeland penned "Miss Gradenko"; and Sting himself turned in the weak "Walking in Your Footsteps". But "Mother" takes the cake.
It is baffling that the song Summers and Sting co-wrote, "Murder by Numbers", a good little track, was only on the cassette of "Synchronicity". They could have easily swapped it with the hated Mother"
The Police - "Mother"
With the next entry I'm going to go with the Stones.
I'm sure I could pick thru "Exile on Main Street" and find a couple of unnecessary tracks but I will leave it alone for now and tackle "Tattoo You", a huge album for the Stones in 1981.
It contained hits like "Start Me Up" and "Waiting on a Friend". Great pub-rock style tracks like "Hang Fire" and "Neighbors". More bluesy numbers like "Black Limousine" and "Slave". "Little T&A" is one of Keith Richards' greatest songs!
It is amazing that most of the tracks were leftovers from previous albums that just needed some lyrics and vocals added. It turned out really good!
but then you get to side 2 (if you ever got there at all)..Suddenly there is a run of ballads that seem to all be more "Mick" songs. For "Worried About You" Mick breaks out his "Emotional Rescue" falsetto for the verses and you know its not gonna be a great one. This was a leftover from the 1975 sessions and Wayne Perkins (who?) plays the lead guitar on it! But they did make a video for it and they actually played it live a couple of tours ago..
Side 2 also has "No Use in Crying" which isn't a bad ballad and sounds like a leftover from "Emotional Rescue".; The experimental, eastern-flavored "Heaven", which only features Mick, Bill Wyman, Charlie Watts and producer Chris Kimsey on it is worth a listen.It's more of the kind of track Mick would do on his later solo albums.
Side 2 ends with"Waiting on a Friend" which is actually a great song and features amazing sax playing from jazzman Sonny Rollins!
That leaves just track 2 on side two "Tops" an old leftover song of about an ambitious girl trying to make it (as an actress we assume). The track is so old that Mick Taylor who had left the band 7 years earlier plays lead guitar! He had to sue to get paid for this track!
The track kind of sounds like a weak 70's Philly soul ballad, think O'Jays or the Spinners.
I'm going with "Tops" as the dud. It's not "the tops"....
"Tops"
Peter Gabriel is probably one of the least likely pop stars ever. He never intended to be one. In 1986 he released the single "Sledgehammer" and the album "So" and away he went.
Pretty crazy that a guy who used to dress in crazy costumes in a prog-rock band (Genesis) would have the biggest hit of 1986!
This was an album even girls would buy! Especially after Cameron Crowe used Gabriel's "In Your Eyes" in the "boombox" famous scene in the movie "Say Anything". Personally, I never need to hear the "hits" on this album ever again. They aren't bad just incredibly overplayed.
And, sorry, but if you ever tried that whole boombox schtick on a girl , like John Cusack did in the movie, you're a dope...
I'm not against trying to show someone how you feel with music but this was a little too corny...
The album featured some good tracks like "Here that Voice Again", "Red Rain", the duet with Kate Bush "Don't Give Up" and more. It's when you get to the end that things get weak.
The experimental track ""This Is the Picture (Excellent Birds)" he does with Laurie Anderson doesn't really go anywhere but I'd had to say the weakest track is "We Do What We're Told (Milgram's 37)", which sounds like the soundtrack to getting a lobotomy...
"We Do What We're Told (Milgram's 37)"
For the final entry on this edition, I am going to look at John Cougar Mellencamp's"Uh-Huh" album, was of the better rock albums released in the 80's. I know we are tired of hearing songs like "Pink Houses", "Crumblin Down (always thought it sounded like a cool 70's Paul Rodgers type song for some reason" and "Authority Song" (heavily influenced by the song "I Fought the Law") but they were great down-to-earth rock tunes at a time when Michael Jackson and the "Footloose" soundtrack ruled the airwaves.
"Warmer Place to Sleep" had the bite of a Rolling Stones song. "Play Guitar", had a "Gloria"-like hook and was a fun look at how playing guitar would get you the chicks. "Serious Business" was tongue in cheek look at the hard partying life of either a rock star or a biker, with an early-70's Stones feel.
"Golden Gates" was actually a beaut that closes the album, a hint of things to come on his future albums. "Lovin Mother For Ya" was a throwaway that was AC/DC meets "Land of a Thousand Dances".
That leaves just "Jackie O" written with folkie John Prine; known for his dark humor.
For some reason they decided to just use something that sounds like a cheap Casio keyboard to be the musical accompaniment!? Believe or not Mellencamp actually closed his 1984 live shows with this track!!!
From 1987; for some Rush-die hards not their favorite period; "too many synths", "guitars not heavy enough", "glossy production", etc..
But there are still some good tracks with great Neil Peart lyrics. As time went on in their career, Neil's lyrics became more personal, examining deeper thoughts and feelings and, in general, the human condition and our struggles to grow and enjoy life. Some prefer the earlier Rush stuff with more of thefantasy oriented lyrics, but I prefer these type of lyrics. I always find comfort in knowing I'm not the only one grappling with such thoughts and feelings..
" Closed for my protection
Open to your scorn
Between these two directions
My heart is sometimes torn
I lie awake with my secrets
Spinning around my head
Something that somehow escaped me
Something you shouldn’t have said I was looking out the window
I should have looked at your face instead."
"Open Secrets"
If you are a fan of Neil's lyrics and thoughts, I would highly recommend you read his book"Ghost Rider", an incredibly open and honest account of his struggle to go on after the deaths of his daughter and his wife.
So tonight is the Oscars. I probably won't watch any of it but in honor of the wonderful art form of movies here are 7 of my favorite 80's comedies.
These movies never had a chance to win an Oscar.
Some of my opinions may have been influenced by alcohol back in the day when I saw them,but I can still occasionally watch all of these and still laugh and get a great feeling from
7."Doctor Detroit"- Dan Aykroyd. used to be a big star, believe or not kids. This movie is the nerdy guy goes wild and becomes a pimp. A common theme in 80's comedies believe or not! Also stars Fran Drescher (aka The Nanny) Howard Hesseman (aka Dr Johnny Fever), and Akroyd's future wife Donna Dixon. Has the requisite new wave song from Devo plus music from James Brown! IMDB
6. "Trading Places"-1983- Eddie Murphy's 2nd hit movie.
A fun character study about money, privilege and whether everyone has the same potential given the chance.
Also starring, you guessed it, Dan Akroyd
and Jamie Lee Curtis( and her boobs. I know she's old now,
but she was hot back then. This was pre-internet you couldn't just Google "boobs" and see
them. It was a tough time to live!).
5." Bachelor Party "- 1984. Tom Hanks wasn't "TOM HANKS" yet. He was a likable comedic actor from "Bosom Buddies" and "Splash". Here he's kind of a Bill Murray wannabe, but still a fun movie. The female lead is Tawny Kitaen, who here is nice and sweet, she later went on to be on a Ratt album cover and of course those Whitesnake videos as well as various TV appearances (including Seinfeld) and unfortunately "Dr Drew's Celebrity rehab".
The plot? oh come on. Tom and Tawny are getting married. He's a school bus driver, her rich proper parents hate him, etc.
His buddies including Adrian Zmed, he of cop shows and 80's hair, throw him a Bachelor Party.
One last night of freedom, will he stay faithful?
Craziness ensues..of course prostitutes are involved because you had to have hookers in 80's comedies!!
4. "Jekyll and Hyde... Together Again
" 1982 - this was kinda of in that "Young Doctors in Love", "Airplane" vein of humor.
It starred Mark Blankfeld from the sketch show "Fridays" (where Larry David and Michael Richards also got their start) If you remember Blankfield was the pharmacy druggest who sampled all of the pills and would go nuts...
Blankfield stars as naive and repressed Dr. Daniel Jekyll. He invents a coke-like substance in his lab one night and snorts and turns into "Mr Hyde" who is a party animal.
Full disclosure: my friends and I were drunk when we saw it in the theater. Whenever I watch I always remember my one friend's laugh and that he laughed so hard he threw up in the theater!
Someone has actually posted the whole movie in pieces on youtube. lol here is his transformation....
3. "The Wild Life"- 1984- written by Cameron Crowe who wrote "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" and sorry, I like this movie better.
It stars the late Christopher Penn, Eric Stoltz, Lea Thompson, Randy Quaid, IIan Mitchell-Smith (who went on to star in "Weird Science") and the always great Rick Moranis. Crowe's wife Nancy Wilson of Heart has a small cameo as well. Chris Penn takes over the wild man role in this one. He's more of a dumb jock partier than his brother's Spicoli character was in "Fast Times".
Eric Stoltz is the level headed just graduated high school guy who gets his own apartment and lets Penn move in with him. Of course there is trouble. It's not all goofy beer and boobs though. Quaid's character is a heroin addicted vet that Mitchell-Smith's character worships.
It is a crime THIS IS STILL NOT OUT ON DVD!!! ok it's not a crime, but it would be nice if it was out...
trailer
Eddie Van Halen did the instrumental soundtrack music
2. "Stripes"- Bill Murray, Harold Ramis, John Candy, Warren Oates. What can you say. classic.. arguably Murray's best performance. I know everyone quotes him from "Caddyshack" but this is better.
1."Night Shift" 1982- Michael Keaton and Henry Winkler star as night shift morgue employees who start to run a prostitution ring out of the morgue. (again with prostitutes! an 80's theme I tell ya) Ron Howard's first directing job I believe.
Henry Winkler was still " the Fonz" in those days , we had never seen him play a nebbish like his "Chuck" character.
This was really Michael Keaton's break out role.
not pimps, "Love brokers"
a great movie I probably watch once every year or two, Always makes me laugh.
