EL PINO Y LA ROSA

Listen to EL PINO Y LA ROSA by Los Shakers.

Somebody on the internet recently argued that the last album by Los Shakers, "La Conferencia Secreta del Toto's Bar," is 'better than Sgt Peppers and Pet Sounds put together.'

Now that's loco. But I tell you what, just like there are a litany of pop albums whose greatness wasn't recognized upon release (Forever Changes, Radio City, etc.), "La Conferencia" is ripe for examination.

As mentioned on Monday, Los Shakers were known as the Uruguayan Beatles in their day. But their day was 1965, and their sound aped "Meet The Beatles" era Lennon & McCartney. For some reason, though, the band went on a recording hiatus, and the music scene passed them by. Similarly to The Zombies, when they went to deliver their album to the label in 1968, the label rejected it, the group split up, and the album was stillborn.

What a shame. The music on "La Conferencia" is a revelation. Clever arrangements, brilliant modulations, gold plated melodies, confident incorporation of candombe and tango styles, great performances, great recordings. It's light years ahead of what made them famous.

We actually put two selections from this album on this year's Holiday Mix as a tribute to our infatuation. Anyway, see what you think. A real highlight: El Pino y la Rosa.

Photo: Downtown view.

The Rivals:This Friday at the Annex

Quick programming note. Guestblogger extraordinaire Corbett leads his band of Rivals to the Annex (152 Orchard St.) this Friday at 8. Everybody's saying their music is lovely. Go see!

JERUSALEM

Listen to JERUSALEM by Ana y Jaime.

Jerusalem is the second song we're featuring from this year's holiday mix, Everybody's Saying Music Is Love.

Today we bring you another act whose exposure here is all out of proportion with their quality. For the life of me I can't find out the first thing about Ana y Jaime, except that they are sister and brother, and while they become a well known folk act in Colombia, they were only 15 and 17 when they recorded the album from which Jerusalem is taken. 15 and 17! But that's all we know! (It would help if we had the liner notes to the CD reissue, but we don't.)

Jerusalem has such a great melody and sturdy arrangement, I have a hard time believing these kids wrote it. At the same stage, I'm pretty sure it's not the same song as the English-language hymn. One way or the other, these two sing the hell out of it. They "harmonize as only people who are closely related by blood can" (that's Gram Parsons (possibly) via Corbett).

Listening to the mix, Amy awarded Jerusalem the title of "most beautiful song." No stronger endorsement can this humble blog offer...

Photo: View from Ayasofya.

EVERYBODY ON MONDAY

Listen to EVERYBODY ON MONDAY by Laghonia.

Everybody on Monday is the first song we're featuring from this year's holiday mix, Everybody's Saying Music Is Love!

Just a few days before we set off for Maine, I was on the internet and downloaded this random album by a group from Peru I had never heard of, named Laghonia. I did a search on my favorite music board, I Love Music, and couldn't find anything on them (somebody says there's only two copies of the original album!) Unbelievable cos I was blown away by how good it is.

So the first thing on my list after we got back from getting hitched was to start collecting this stuff in earnest. We had already told the blog about We All Together, a group that has a small cult following as being among the best Beatlesque bands out there. Well, it turns out that all of the principal members of We All Together had previously been members of Laghonia, so it's no surprise that they sound alike.

Both bands are heavily into late period Beatles. But where We All Together's sound is more Badfinger/Gilbert O'Sullivan, Laghonia's sound is more stoned psychedelic. If you've ever heard Spirit's "The Family That Plays Together" (and you have), then you'll have a good idea what you're getting in to.

Everybody On Monday was written on the spot following an unusually hard rain in light and dry Lima. That spontaneity is reflected in a great recording--all George Harrison guitar and Hammond Organ (the only one in Peru!). Live, organic. And everything comes together in a wonderfully mellow extended coda.

It's just amazing this music is not more well known. So do your part and listen! :)

See you back tomorrow for more holiday mix tunes.

Photo: View of Manhattan Bridge through a screen.

Happy Holidays! Enjoy some music from us!

Season's greetings! This is our favorite time of year, not because we get presents (though that's nice too), but because we get to share our Holiday Mix with all of you! As many of you know, every year we've sent out these mixes to our friends, and every year it's become a bigger production. In fact, this here blog started solely to distribute the one from last year.

So that brings us to this year, and I have to say, it's probably the best one yet:

Everybody's Saying Music Is Love.

Every mix has a theme, and the theme of this one is Classic Pop Music from South America. It sounds obscure doesn't it? Well, trust me, if you love the Beatles, the Kinks, Pink Floyd, Santana, Jethro Tull, Badfinger, Simon & Garfunkel, Carole King (that is, all that classic pop and rock music from the late 60s and early 70s), then you'll definitely want to hear this.

Just as the British Invasion swept the U.S.A. and revolutionized music on this continent (as Corbett has been discussing this past week), so it did in South America. Particularly in places like Lima and Montevideo, local musicians picked up guitars and tried their best to sound like their British idols. (Groups from the latter city even formed their own "Uruguayan Invasion" of Argentina, with Los Shakers as The Beatles and Los Mockers as The Stones.) Over time, just as in America, bands married local and foreign musical idioms with ever more sophistication and style. For those willing to look, there's a universe of great music all of these acts have left behind.

Long-time readers will already be familiar with groups like We All Together and Almendra, but we've gone scouring the internet for music from all over South America. Everybody's Saying Music Is Love mixes twenty of our favorites.

Each day this week we'll be previewing five of our very favorites. The full mix, including all of the artwork, will be available for you to download beginning on Friday. And the week after, we'll be sharing some great traditional Christmas songs (traditional? well, you'll see), so you should stick around for that too!

You'll Never Walk Alone (But You'll Lose to Reading)

YOU'LL NEVER WALK ALONE by Ray Charles.

I was just telling Philip last night I was sad I hadn't been able to post more of these versions. Reading obliged by mugging Liverpool today, so I give you Ray Charles! You'd have to say Liverpool were unlucky with their finishing and the two referee decisions in the first half. On the other hand, Reading were impressively clinical with their chances and they never really looked like conceding once they got out in front.

Let's hope the same thing doesn't happen to us tomorrow!

UPDATE: It happened.

Ceiling project: Now with less wasting time!

Believe it or not, we're a couple of days from getting our ceiling finished! We're helping our handyman do this, which is nice to keep it in-house. First was a coat of pink plaster weld. This is necessary because there is a different kind of plaster underneath what we're putting on now. As you can see from the picture, we almost got the ceiling completely covered with a first plaster coat today. Finish the plastering tomorrow, then repainting on Sunday! It could be a red letter day, because that's also when I think we'll unleash the greatly anticipated holiday mix. Fingers crossed...

WE'LL SEE

Listen to WE'LL SEE by The Buffalo Springfield.

This week's series culminates with today's group, the Buffalo Springfield. This is probably the most underrated American band in existence, and certainly the greatest Folk Rock band. Don't get me wrong, I love the Byrds a lot...But there are explainable and intangible elements that make the Springfield the most exciting American group to come out of the 60's. Note the word group, as I can appreciate that many would take issue with me and say the Beach Boys take the above honors. Well, on another day I might agree with them, but thinking about the Beach Boys' history is an exercise in shifts of power within the group. From the early influence of Mike, to Brian's complete control of the band's classic period, and finally to Carl's taking the helm in more troubled times. Regardless, they were a group dominated by a single visionary at any given time. Buffalo Springfield, on the other hand, were a powder keg of equal talents, with each member champing at the bit to take the group to new heights or, alternately, to fight about taking it in his own particular direction.

By all accounts, two of the principal characters (Stills & Young) were notoriously difficult to work with--Steve in his bravado and dictatorial style and Neil in a more passive-aggressive way. The unsung hero of the group was Richie Furay who was able to unite this fiery group for long enough to record 3.5 of the greatest Folk Rock you've ever heard. I say 3.5 because some of their best material was recorded for a album to be called Stampede, but was later shelved due to label incompetence.

Thankfully, all of the material was released on the creatively named Box Set in 2001. Today's song, 1967's "We'll See", demonstrates all the characteristics that make the Springfield's sound so wonderful, exciting and unique, one that was to establish the template for all California rock to follow in its wake (until, uh, I guess hair metal bands, the Red Hot Chili Peppers and other bands who wear long shorts unfortunately became the new L.A. template). First, a base of acoustic guitars. Second, two distinctively weird lead guitar sounds and styles. Third, lots of tremolo. Fourth, great, great singing...Stills's gritty voice perfectly counterbalanced by Richie's beautiful tenor. Fifth, an amazing rhythm section. Finally, energetic--live-- playing. Wow. Enjoy it, then treat yourself to the best weekend ever by purchasing everything these guys ever recorded!

Have fun.

Photo: All over, La Jolla.

8:05

Listen to 8:05 by Moby Grape.

Today's Folk Rockers are Moby Grape, a San Francisco group who could play just about anything. Now, before you run away with visions of endless acid jamming in your head, take a listen. I ignored these guys for way too long myself just because they hailed from the Bay area. Unfortunately, due to an intraband implosion (not to mention Skip Spence, their unhinged Canadian drummer, attacking other members with an axe in the studio landing him in Bellevue for a while) these guys were not able to deliver on the impressive promise of their eponymous debut record.

Moby Grape could do rock, folk, country, blues, R&B and psychedelia equally well, and they often deftly combined them all in the setting of tight three-minute pop songs. Today's song, "8:05" from their 1967 debut shows the band's quieter side. It has some lovely guitar playing and singing and strikes a nicely melancholic tone. It is my favorite cut from a very impressive album.

Photo: Santa Catalina Casino.

Into the breach...

Corbett assures that he has a song today coming. In the meantime, enjoy this 1966 performance of Like a Rolling Stone by Dylan and the Hawks.

TWELVE-THIRTY (Young Girls Are Coming to the Canyon)

Listen to TWELVE-THIRTY (Young Girls Are Coming to the Canyon) by The Mamas & The Papas.

Anyone who knows me knows that my major record find in the past 3 or 4 years has been John Phillips' 1970 album John, The Wolfking of LA. For anyone who hasn't heard this yet, please do yourself a favor and purchase it today. And thanks to Jeff from the former Rocks in Your Head for turning me on to it. Anyway, listening to Wolfking made me curious about some of the Wolfking's non-singles with his former bandmates.

In many ways, the Mamas & the Papas are what people think of when they think Folk Rock. These guys were true folkies, barely even reformed. Thanks to ingenious songwriting from Phillips and a particularly alluring vocal blend, their singles are ubiquitous to the point of being unfairly tuned out by many listeners.

Today's song may be a little less ubiquitous, but probably as good as many of their biggest hits. In fact, I had to ban myself from putting it on repeat because the urge to move to LA from New York would become quite overwhelming--so oppressive that my wife forbade me from bringing it up in polite company anymore. Well, even she can't stop the Wolfking from scatting and/or degrading himself with illegal drugs. In the same way, my mind responds to this tune with fantasies of Laurel Canyon, 1966.

The lyrics are simple and straightforward, yet nicely evocative of fresh-faced young girls migrating to LA in search of a geographic cure. Yet for all its sunny optimism (the line "to say good morning and really mean it" is especially striking), this onslaught threatens to turn the Canyon into what everyone was leaving behind in the first place. The sad/happy melodic contrast between the verse and chorus also highlights this ambivalence nicely.

Photo: Zuma Canyon.

RIPPimpC

Damn, Pimp C is dead. 33 years old. Haven't blogged any UGK here but I had a couple tracks in mind next time I was posting hip hop. Wanted to play I Choose You at the wedding reception in tribute but got overruled. Loved those guys. Click on the link for some tributes & cool youtubes.

LOVE IS ONLY SLEEPING

Listen to LOVE IS ONLY SLEEPING by The Monkees.

A lot has written about the beleaguered Monkees. You can already tell which camp I'm in from my choice of adjective in the previous sentence. I don't intend to add to this non-debate today. Suffice it to say, the Monkees were a classic Folk Rock group, and a group they were. All of them (um, except Jones) had spent time on the folk circuit and, in the wake of A Hard Day's Night, they wanted to become pop stars. Badly. I think we can all dig their position.

Anyway, they recorded some admirable singles, many of which are pretty hot. They also made a couple of good albums, most notably (I think) Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd. Today's song, 1967's "Love is Only Sleeping", is a great little Mann-Weil song. Although it strives to be little more than a Beatles pastiche, the Monkees (and their--this time--invited session men) take it to a pretty cool level. That's right baby boomers, put your stupid condescension aside and dig the Monkees!

P.S., thanks to my pal David for taking me on an elevator ride with Dolenz (who lives in his building)! That was a treat.

Photo: Santa Monica Parking Lot.

LADY FRIEND

Listen to LADY FRIEND by The Byrds.

Hi folks,

Corbett here...I'm back and doing the topic that's nearest and dearest to my heart. This week we'll be feauturing "Folk Rock Redux--Blowin' Minds". I'd like to post a few songs that are in the idiom but are maybe a little less well known (though no less deserving). I'll try and be brief, but it will be tough!

Folk Rock--It's a term that's been thrown around a lot since its marketing heyday in the 60's, and it's been despised by many of its avatars (that's you, Bob). Anyway, Richie Unterberger and others have devoted a lot of well-meaning scholarship to exploring what ties these artists together (see Turn! Turn! Turn! and Mr. Tambourine Man). Despite slogging through these books, I was left thinking that Folk Rock was nothing more than American musicians schooled in the styles and ideals of the early 60's collegiate folk boom who unexpectedly had their minds blown by the Beatles.

So, the listener gets a heady brew of traditional American styles (country, bluegrass, blues) combined with tight vocal harmonies, and spiced up with Rickenbackers, economic song structure and adventurous arrangements. Add in some exotic instruments and a warped new sensibility and you're left with a new style of pop.

That brings us to today's song, 1967's "Lady Friend" by the Byrds. I want to tell a little anecdote about this song. A lot of music gets played around our apartment, with varying levels of patience from my wife Laura (especially when she's trying to go to sleep). One evening, I put this song on while she was trying to sleep--Rather than the explosive "Shut that off!" I expected, she excitedly said "Wow, you're taking me back to the 60's with that bridge. I feel like I'm actually there!" The fact that my wife was transported by this song (while attempting to sleep) definitely caught my attention.

Indeed, this song is mind-blowing. It's a classic example of its form. It's also a great example of the amazing achievements engendered by intra-band rivalries in the 60's. "Lady Friend" was David Crosby's attempt to show McGuinn (and probably Clark) that he could also write a pop masterpiece. This he does with this song. Rather than the gratuitous instrumental decor of "Mind Gardens", Crosby is totally focused with this one, combining an upbeat, catchy tune with lyrics about lost love and disappointment (a lesson learned from the departed Gene). In addition, there are amazingly chimey guitars, an amphetamined brass section in the bridge and a few "bah-bah-bah's"...just enough to leave you wanting more. One last thing--listen to Chris Hillman's bass line. Hillman takes a typical country bass line, speeds it way up and plays it with a thunderous, propulsive force. Totally killer, and a great example of what makes this song quintessential folk rock. Enjoy.

Photo: Storm Over the Sunset Strip.

Here it comes again

Evening folks! Most of you won't be reading this tonight but a short short recap of the weekend's events is called for. Saturday morning followed the usual routine: a walk, then settle in on the couch for the soccer. Two nice things about our match: one, we won with some super stylish goals and pretty decent defending, two, at halftime we firmed up some arrangements on getting the ceiling finally put right. More on that a little later.

Amy and I spent some time Saturday cooking for a pot luck dinner at Helen & Oren's house to watch the OU game. Splendid stuff, though Maddox and I were both unusually downbeat at the end: depressed at how we managed to throw away a great chance to play for the national championship. Ah well, we'll be looking forward to buying all the preseason magazines next year listing us as the number one team in the country.

Today I visited Laura and Corbett to preview this year's Christmas CD for them and to hear some of the songs he's blogging this week. We're going on a five-songs-per-week schedule through Christmas at least: too much good material!

Before that Amy and I attended Luke's first birthday party. Luke's arrival on the scene was one of the very first posts on this blog. Speaking of, we wouldn't be doing ourselves justice if we didn't note that this weekend marks the one year anniversary of the public debut of this here blog! Happy birthday to us!