No Posts for a day or two....

On a short break....back soon.....

JJ Grey, 1

Okay, the sound could be better, but dig the STYLE in this performance:

"Orange Blossoms"

JJ Grey is one of those guys who really does bring the flavor of the place where he grew up:  in the country, near Jacksonville, FL.  Nearly everything written about JJ & his band Mofro references their
"swamp" sound, but these aren't the swamps of the Louisiana bayou, thick with moss.  They're the swamps of the northernmost Everglades, clean and clear (at least where the developers haven't gotten to 'em yet).  And Grey's music has that blend of clarity and funk that you hear in some of the best deep Southern soul, undoubtedly one of his strongest inspirations.

For a taste of that, check this version of "The Devil You Know" by 100 Proof (Aged in Soul):\

"The Devil You Know"

Those are the first two tracks of Grey's lates album, "Orange Blossoms".  But he's done four already, and they ALL are solid & worth checking out.  Here's one of the older songs:

"Mississippi"

JJ Grey & Mofro are out on tour right now, and they'll be playing at Shank Hall in my current hometown of Milwaukee *tonight*.  Here's one more taste of their live shows:

 "War"

Good stuff.

Jason Narducy (Verbow), 2: Rockets Over Sweden

Not sure about this video, but I'm VERY sure about the song:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oeq0oaROvMM

It helps to turn it WAY up:)

When I wrote about Verbow June 9, I mentioned this "other" group that Jason Narducy led after Verbow split up. Since then, I've listened over and over, with ever-growing pleasure, to the one recording issued by that group, Rockets Over Sweden. That six-song ep, "Penny Coliseum", may be a little hard to find, but trust me, IT'S WORTH THE EFFORT. It may have the most straight-up rock songs that Jason Narducy ever writes, and wow is he good at those.

Based on this excellent article published after Verbow's reunion show, it doesn't sound like we'll ever hear any more from Rockets Over Sweden:

http://www.luminomagazine.com/mw/content/view/3003/1

but you can see one fairly sketchy live video on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HBro9_E2C_Q

and I hope you'll check out "Penny Coliseum" sometime. Those songs are worth some trouble to find!

Vertical Horizon, 1

(Certainly not the perfect music video, but...) the perfect pop song?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZoD8JEFjAE

Lots of people apparently thought so in 1999, when that song was a rather large hit. As with so many "major label success stories", though, the sequel was not so happy. Vertical Horizon, who'd been slogging it out for eight years before BMG "discovered" them, managed to re-release their back catalog and eke out one more album after the big hit before they parted ways in 2003.

But they kept playing, and last year--SIX YEARS later--Vertical Horizon finally got another album out. It's actually pretty good. And it has a surprise: Rush drummer Neal Peart guests on four songs, and contributes lyrics to the final track ("Even Now"):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMQxvDVzd4M

Yes, it's a BALLAD and it does not sound like Rush, but it's sweet, isn't it? Even if it does sound like you might hear it on American Idol someday:)

The salvation of this band for me: Matt Scannell, the lead singer & songwriter. When he gets to be himself, it's pretty good. Remember that perfect pop song? Listen to it this way:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IZl_146aR68

Yeah, that's right:)

Rockin' Dopsie, 1

"The Crowned Prince of Zydeco" (according to the title of one of his early cassettes), Rockin' Dopsie might never have eclipsed Clifton Chenier, but he sure knew how to party:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_a_0BAW71E8

and I bet you won't forget that melody for awhile! Rockin' Dopsie (born Alton Rubin in Carencro, LA, in 1932) spread the gospel of zydeco around the world. He never really achieved "mainstream" success (although he added some tasty spice to Paul Simon's "Graceland"), but he left a fine legacy of recordings and performances. And his son, Rockin' Dopsie Jr., carries on the tradition with their band The Twisters.

Rubin wasn't a great songwriter like Chenier. But he *was* a great accordionist, and he knew how to run a band. On recordings, his music is best appreciated live, as on the fine "Big Bad Zydeco" (1988) and on the small label release "In New Orleans" (recorded 1984, released 2002). And it's definitely worth checking out any videos of Rubin or his son that get posted online. For example:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_a_0BAW71E8

(That's Rockin' Dopsie, Jr., on washboard.) Although Rubin died in 1993, it's clear that the music lives in. And in this renewed time of trouble for the Gulf and our country, that's one reason to rejoice.

Willy Mason, 1

One hit? I wonder.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3BCRsuQmQA

"Oxygen" got Willy Mason the Big Break: several times. When someone who was just passing through Cape Cod heard him play it live on the radio, and hooked Mason up with Conor Oberst. When a BBC dj saw him play it at SXSW and put it on the radio. And most of all, when people all over the world heard it on his first album "Where the Humans Eat" in 2004.

It's a song that opens doors. And maybe a song that defines a musician, for better or worse. Mostly better, I guess. It's certainly a good song, but it's *not* the only good song that Mason's written. The two albums that Mason's released have lots of others, like this one from "If the Ocean Gets Rough" (2007):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLiqZ7BdpAI

But, well, that second (and so far, last) album came out in 2007--ages ago, in the "pop market" terms beloved of his label(s) EMI UK/Virgin UK. So, what's up?

Well, if this little slice of life is any indication:

http://vimeo.com/1899737

Willy is doing just fine. In fact, based on this other one here--and the fine song he sings----

http://vimeo.com/5611740

I'd have to say, "better than fine".

Let's go see him, next time we get the chance, and find out for ourselves.

Franz Berwald, 1

I love all kinds of music, by all kinds of musicians. But I've always had a soft spot for musicians who are innovators, outsiders, or both.

And Franz Berwald (1796-1868) certainly was both. The son of a German concert violinist, he grew up in Stockholm, Sweden at a time when it was impossible to make a living as a composer there.

But that didn't keep him from trying. Berwald had a couple of relatively happy stays in Vienna, where he married, wrote his first symphony, and had two of his operas performed successfully. But he always came back to Stockholm, despite a near-total lack of recognition from the Swedish public and critics.

To support himself and his family, Berwald tried his hand at the glass-blowing business, and made an unsuccessful attempt to run a sawmill. Finally, he found a niche in the relatively new field of physical therapy. Throughout it all, he never stopped composing, although he gained no recognition until the very last years of his long life.

Berwald's music sounds strikingly original even today, with novel formal construction and strong, beautifully developed themes. He was fondest of his operas, but his symphonies are his best-known works. Championed by Sixten Ehrling, Neeme Jarvi, and Herbert Blomstedt, they have been performed around the world, and even have made it (finally) into the "standard repertoire" in Scandinavia. I once saw Blomstedt give a particularly moving performance of one of the symphonies with the San Francisco SO, who went on to make fine recordings of all four with him.

This lovely version of the first movement of Berwald's Symphony No. 3, with Roy Goodman and the Swedish RSO, gives you a good idea of his music:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9akDcG4Sfk

Berwald's chamber works are equally original and often very moving. Here's the first movement of the Grand Septet:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jcytdk5FwM0

I hope that you will explore more of this man's fine music, and that looking at the woodcut in the last video wasn't too disturbing.....you can see that he was a determined man, can't you?