Jake Holmes – The Above Ground Sound

I don’t think I had the opportunity on this blog to say how much I like Led Zeppelin. Or how I consider Jimmy Page to be an absolute musical genius. Well there, I’ve said it. What I like the most about them is their ability to take some songs and do this crazy jam, most of the time for more than six minutes, and come out with something that sounds insanely good. Take Rock and Roll. Or How many more times. Or, what was for a long time my favourite song – Dazed and Confused.

The problem with Mr Page is that he felt so proud of the results of those jams, that he forgot who made the songs initially. So Led Zeppelin got sued a lot. And accused of plagiarism even more. But somehow, they’ve managed to keep on rockin’. With Dazed and Confused the story is a bit weird.

Jake Holmes is a folk man and jingle writer whose first album The Above Ground Sound includes Dazed and Confused. When Led Zeppelin I came out, Mr Holmes wrote a letter to Mr Page, saying it is not nice what he did. I mean, he probably liked the version, but he didn’t like the fact that he got no credits. The Led Zeppelin man didn’t reply, Mr Holmes didn’t insist. Until a few years ago, when he finally sued. I don’t understand why he waited so long, but he did.

Anyway, the album The Above Ground Sound has been growing on me for a while now. Penny’s is a soft simple and relaxing folk tune, that reminded me of the kind of stuff I used to listen to from a Romanian folk man, Mr Andries.

As usual, wikipedia has more on Jake Holmes and his work. I want more from him now, because he seems to have kept the good work going. Here’s one last song from The Above Ground Sound, Did you know.

Soul from Suits – Charles Bradley: No time for Dreaming

If I’ve talked with you in the past three days, then most certainly I’ve mentioned my new obsession: Suits. One of the reasons I consider this show awesome is Harvey’s record collection. This wonderful website (as many others) has a list with songs from the show, and if I got it right, there is only one record played throughout the entire first season: Charles Bradley & The Menahan Street Band – No time for Dreaming.

Now, I am no expert in soul, but Mr. Charles Bradley must be one of the best male soul artists in the last 20 years, at least. Surprisingly, No time for Dreaming came out in 2007 and is his first and only record. All the songs used in the show are great, and I thought they were made by original soul artists, Motown or Stax. Heartaches and Pain is featured in the season one’s finale, a tune which I think you could easily find on any of Otis Redding’s albums.

The record company behind Mr. Bradley is Daptone Records, a Brooklyn based ‘House of Soul’, with a declared mission to revive and celebrate the funk and soul of the 60s and 70s(says Wikipedia). And I have to say they are doing a goddamn good job, with acts like this one or Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings (of whom I will write at one point). If the first song was not enough to convince you to listen to the rest of No time for Dreaming, here’s the shocker of the album: a cover version of Nirvana’s Stay Away. Yes, a song written by Kurt Cobain, one with very aggressive and loud drums and guitar and with an ending verse that claims God is gay. Charles Bradley & The Menahan Street Band take it and turn it into a modern soul track, replacing the anger with soul screaming sounds and the aggressiveness with funky wah-wah guitar effects. Enjoy.

Happy birthday, John!

Here’s one from your collection, certainly one of your favourites!

Released on his third and most successful album, Otis Blue, My Girl is Otis Redding’s cover version of the song originally written by another of John’s favourites – Smokey Robinson – and performed by The Temptations. Mr. Redding added a bit of his magical voice and soul and made it his own.

The B-Side of the single I have is Down in the Valley, from the same album. Enjoy and cheers to the memory of one of the greatest dreamers this world ever had, Mr. John Lennon.

Well-well-well

In the last post I think I was saying something about being ‘on a spree’.. Weeeeeell, yeah, I’m kinda actually a bit over the line ) , but that’s not a problem. I have a new single from Lennon’s collection, though it feels a bit like cheating, as it is a picture disc rather than a normal black vinyl.

Gene Vincent is one of those rock’n'roll legends you’ll inevitably love. He’s up there, in the same league with Elvis, Chuck Berry and Buddy Holly. And of course Lennon had something from him in his collection, I’m guessing Gene Vincent’s very first single – Woman Love/Be-Bop-A-Lula since both tracks appear on the compilation. I found it on ebay, but the shipping from USA is just too much to pay, as the record itself is a bit expensive.

The picture disc I bought includes Be-Bop-A-Lula and Rocky Road Blues, both, weirdly, on the only playable side. I have to admit I’m not a massive fan of picture discs, but the tracks are simply great. It appears to be part of a “Masters of Rock & Roll” collection released in Denmark from which I would like to find a few more titles, but hopefully on a simple black vinyl. Here’s the second track, Rocky Road Blues, which begins with the same prolonged ‘well’ that’s part of Gene Vincent’s signature rockabilly. And do try some more Gene Vincent, if you haven’t done so already.

What a day for a daydream!

I am on a spree! The first week of my musical adventure can be considered a success, since I’ve managed to get my hands on four of Lennon’s Jukebox singles and several other collectables. The first single I’m going to talk about is not the first I’ve acquired but the one with, in my opinion, the best B side. I’ve heard Daydream before, most probably in a commercial or something like that, but I never thought of searching who is playing it.

The Lovin’ Spoonful are a band I can’t tell you much about, but I’m pretty sure in a few weeks I’ll grow a tiny obsession on their music. Night Owl Blues, the B side of the single, is an absolute killer. A classic blues bass line, a harmonica that gives you the thrills, all topped with the perfect guitar solo. I’ve heard just two songs from The Lovin’ Spoonful (and how different they are!) and they’ve managed, as many others, to make me regret I can’t go back and live in the 60s.

Needle time!

Introductions are hard to write and mine usually end up in being a bit too long and a bit boring. So straight to the point, this is yet another blog about music. It does not intend to please anyone else besides myself. It is, if you want, a musical diary which I have no problem in sharing with other people.

I’ve been searching for a name for a while now, but as John Paul Jones put it in an interview, these days you think you might’ve just had a great idea for a name (in his case for a band – Them Crooked Vultures) and discover that someone else in Toronto or Burkina Faso had it before you. But I was surprised to see that no one had thought of Needle Time before. I can think of a few cases where it would be great, from heroin dealers to penicillin companies. And, of course, a music-blog and (hopefully) a radio show.

To put it in a few words, due to complicated copyright laws, the BBC radio stations were limited to a restricted number of recorded music that they could play in 24h. So they had to fill most of the time with live performances which I think was a pretty cool thing, and had awesome results. You can find some more info on the needle time on Wikipedia, but I recommend searching for (I think) any BBC sessions records and read the booklets. I’ve recently bought the The Jimi Hendrix Experience BBC Sessions on a very good triple-record and was entertained by *insert name of the guy who wrote the text* explanation of why they are so many recordings from BBC’s archives.

So there you go, this is a blog for my own personal amusement and will be filled with my joy of all the records and CDs I have and will have. And since I’ve mentioned Jimi, here’s the track that ends the BBC Sessions collection, a short but energetic cover of Sunshine of your love. Enjoy.

Oh, and here’s the ‘rubbish’ they were playing in that show: