This Date In Rock History: 12 August

Happy Birthday to ace guitarist and songwriter Mark Knopfler, born on this date in 1949. As a special treat to our readers in celebration, here's a couple of songs that Knopfler played with idol Chet Atkins (the distinct finger picking styles are especially noteworthy on the acoustic guitars, but Knopfler famously applied the technique to the electric guitar during his stint with Dire Straits). The duo perform the old standard "I'll See You In My Dreams" and John Lennon's "Imagine" at the Secret Policeman's Third Ball in London in 1987.

Ascending: Villagers

Villagers is the moniker adopted by Dubin tunesmith Conor J O'Brien to identify his musical work. After a brief apprenticeship with Cathy Davey's band and a group called The Immediate, the young singer-songwriter garnered some praise with a four-song EP titled Hollow Kind (2009). Appearances at summer festivals Oxygen and Electric Picnic followed, and noted music critic Jim Carroll wrote in the Irish Times: "Conor O’Brien’s band of merry citizens have been attracting plaudits all year long on the back of their Hollow Kind EP and live shows. A must-see for those who dig ragged pop, eerie folk and heartfelt, emotional songs and sounds."

The first full-length LP, Becoming A Jackal, was released two months ago, and is getting heavy rotation on TNOP's stereo. O'Brien wrote all the songs and played all instruments (save strings and horns). In hopes of creating a small groundswell in the States, O'Brien recently played acoustic sets across the country, usually in coordination with independent radio stations.

Here's a sampler for your ears. We think you'll want to hear more.

"Becoming A Jackal" (video)

"Ship of Promises" (official promo video)

"Set The Tigers Free," "Home," "Becoming A Jackal" & "Twenty-Seven Strangers" (Capitol Hill Block Party, Seattle via Nialler9)

Ultimate Singles Jukebox [Slot 121]

Seven Nights To Rock
b/w "Honolulu Rock-A-Roll-A"
Moon Mullican with Boyd Bennett and His Rockets
Written by Buck Trail, Louis Innis & Henry Glover
Produced by Syd Nathan & Henry Glover
King Records
Released March 1956

In the second of our four jukebox worthy singles written by pioneering music executive Henry Glover, we visit the brand new landscape of rock and roll, circa 1956. The charts are filled with songs like James Brown's "Please, Please, Please," Little Richard's "Long Tall Sally," Howlin' Wolf's "Smokestack Lightnin'" and Fats Domino's "I'm In Love Again."

And into this breach attempts to step a brazen, good timin' East Texan, Aubrey "Moon" Mullican. He first learned the guitar from a local sharecropper but then took up the pump organ and the piano (later famously remarking that he chose the latter because "my beer kept sliding off my fiddle"). By the time he was in his 20s, Mullican was playing in bands that were riding the wave of the Western Swing craze.

In 1946, Syd Nathan of King Records in Cincinnati signed Mullican to a long-term contract. An originator of the "two finger style" of piano playing, his songs were a mix of maudlin country ballads and blues and boogie tunes that anticipated the advent of rock and roll.

Increased sales of records on King allowed Moon Mullican to tour outside Texas. At a concert in 1949 he became friends with Hank Williams, which led to a regular gig on the Grand Ole Opry. A year later Moon had his first million selling song, "I'll Sail My Ship Alone." And there is evidence that he is the uncredited co-writer of the huge Hank hit "Jambalaya" (he received 50% royalties on the song). In his biography of Hank Williams, author Colin Escott unearths an interview in Country Song Roundup Magazine in which the immortal star mentions Moon as one of his personal favorites.

But while critics said that Mullican could sing honky tonk and sentimental tunes as well as anyone of the period, the performer wanted to "make the bottles bounce on the tables" with an array of blues and boogie tunes. He left the Opry and lit out on the road.

One of the most enduring cuts of Mullican's career would be 1956's "Seven Nights To Rock." Billboard described it at the time as "the guy spreads himself thin as he rocks with 7 different chicks in seven nights. A swinging bit of commercial wax that could connect at the juke level."

Unfortunately, it didn't. Why? Elvis and Little Richard, probably. Moon Mullican was a 245 pound bald man who was not going to break into that realm. The era of Bill Haley was quickly over, and Mullican was a casualty.

Moon continued to perform into the 1960s, basing himself out of Texas. He died on New Year's Day, 1967. Rock and roll pioneer Jerry Lee Lewis consistently lists Mullican as one of his two main influences, along with Hank Williams. And artists like Nick Lowe and Bruce Springsteen (don't miss The E Streeters version!) regularly cover "Seven Nights To Rock" to make sure new generations never forget that some songs -- even those 55 years old -- always rock.

Ultimate Singles Jukebox [Slot 120]

Drown In My Own Tears
Ray Charles
Written by Henry Glover
Produced by Ahmet Ertegun & Jerry Wexler
Atlantic Records
Recorded in New York City, 30 November 1955

"I suppose I’ve always done my share of crying, especially when there’s no other way to contain my feelings. I know that men ain’t supposed to cry, but I think that’s wrong. Crying’s always been a way for me to get things out which are buried deep, deep down. When I sing, I often cry. Crying is feeling and feeling is being human. Oh yes, I cry."
—Ray Charles

Anybody that has spent time in a bar knows that the place isn't always hoppin'. And these are the times that the jukebox can come in handy, especially late at night when loneliness and brooding can set in after a few drinks.

That's why the classic Ray Charles tune "Drown In My Own Tears" is a natural for the TNOP Ultimate Singles Jukebox. A number one hit on the R&B chart in early 1956, Brother Ray's treatment of Henry Glover's song melds the formula that literally gave birth to soul: the swaying gospel beat with the intimate tale of secular problems.

In the intriguing liner notes written by Robert Palmer for the Atlantic compilation Ray Charles: The Complete Atlantic Rhythm & Blues Recordings , 1952-1959, it is noted that even though the rock and roll wave had broken through to white audiences (Elvis Presley had covered Charles' "I Got A Woman"), "at this crucial junction in Charles' career, a very surprising thing happened. Charles refused to compromise his music with the simpler beat, more adolescent lyrics, and smoother singing that white rock and roll fans seemed to favor. He continued to write, arrange, play and sing from his soul, and his records continued to sell almost exclusively within the black community. Even more remarkably, Atlantic an enlightened company but one that needed to sell records as much as any other label, backed Charles all the way. His music suffered no delusion. In fact, mid-fifties Charles landmarks like . . . "Drown In My Own Tears" . . . . recorded during rock and roll's breakthrough period in 1955, was more soulfully incendiary, churchy and rootsy -- more "black" if you will -- than . . . his earlier discs."

Henry Glover's composition, written in 1951 and originally recorded by Lula Reed on King Records, became a classic and constant in the Ray Charles canon throughout the remainder of his career. The stunning backup of The Cookies near the end of the tune's arrangement led Charles to permanently integrate female singers into his act and many of his recordings (the most famous being The Raelettes).

Provided below is a 1986 live performance of "Drown In My Own Tears." Charles is joined on stage by Ron Wood on guitar, Paul Shaffer on organ and Steve Jordan on drums.

The Dictionary of Soul: Henry Glover

The great thing about being a rock and roll is the new names that are discovered inadvertently when researching something seemingly different. TNOP knew the bare bones biography of Henry Glover (1921 - 1991): a producer, arranger and talent scout for King Records, also an important figure in the desegregation of music in the late 1940s and into the 1950s.

A native of Hot Springs, Arkansas, Glover was exposed to a variety of music as a youth and became a trumpet player. After attending high school and college, he played in the Buddy Johnson and Lucky Millender big bands in the mid-1940s. His appointment with fate was meeting Syd Nathan, a record shop owner turned independent label mogul from Cincinnati, Ohio. Nathan's King Records became famous for signing and releasing numerous hits by James Brown, Hank Ballard and other R&B greats.

Glover's knowledge of jump blues and rhythm and blues was invaluable to Nathan, and led him to a land pioneering management position for a black man in the music business at the time. While at King, Glover produced some of the most important early R&B sides that would forever influence rock and roll: Little Willie John's "Fever"; Hank Ballard's "Annie Had A Baby"; and Bill Doggett's "Honky Tonk".

After leaving King in 1958 to join Roulette Records, Glover worked with Sarah Vaughn, Dinah Washington, Sonny Stitt and Ronnie Hawkins. The latter would prove important as he became an early backer of Hawkins' backup band, The Hawks, who would later famously back up Bob Dylan and then leave a music imprint of their own on rock history as The Band.

But what took us by surprise was the number of noted hits that Glover penned himself. The four that TNOP appreciate the most are all very diverse in sound and style. They all belong in our Ultimate Singles Jukebox, and we hope that you enjoy listening to and reading about them in the coming days.

Your Weekly Dylan Cover [#14]

Leon Russell
"A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall"
Original Dylan version found on The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan (1963)

A native Oklahoman, Claude Russell Bridges suddenly found himself an in-demand studio musician in California in the mid-1960s. He was part of the famous "Wall of Sound" on some Phil Spector records and played on songs by artists as diverse as The Byrds, Bobby "Boris" Pickett and Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass.

By 1967, the man now billing himself as Leon Russell had a studio built for himself in the Sooner State. With partner Marc Benno, he cut his first solo album, Look Inside The Asylum Choir.

Russell's major breakthrough was his production (with collaborator Denny Cordell) of Joe Cocker!, released in 1969. The album was a hit and contained two Russell-penned compositions, "Hello, Little Friend" and a song that was to become a signature for Cocker: "Delta Lady." A highly successful - and very raucous - tour followed, resulting in the double live LP Mad Dogs & Englishmen.

In late 1970, Russell's second album, released on Shelter Records, was cut in the studio. Leon Russell and the Shelter People remains a great effort worthy of any record collection. Along with a group of stellar originals, Russell tried his hand at a number of Bob Dylan selections during the Shelter People sessions: "It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry" (which made the cut), "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue," "Love Minus Zero/No Limit" and "She Belongs To Me" (which all didn't).

And one notable other Dylan gem: "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall," the chilling and daunting number that electrified the folk community upon its introduction back in 1962. I still love the way that Russell put his stamp on this cover. His rolling New Orleans-style piano is perfectly accented by the deft slide guitar of Jesse Ed Davis and the ace drumming of Jim Keltner. The vocal is quintessentially Midwestern American - just like the original - except the geographic tone is obviously turned more to the south.

Cocker had also recorded two Beatles' tunes during the Joe Cocker! sessions. This, as well as his studio playing and production prowess, brought Russell to the attention of the Fab Four's Apple Records. Along with George Harrison and Klaus Voorman, Russell was an uncredited musician on Badfinger's Straight Up (1971), an album that spawned two big singles that remain staples on classic rock radio to this day: "Baby Blue" and "Day After Day."

By March 1971 Russell found himself in a small studio in New York's Greenwich Village, playing on and producing some new songs written by Dylan. "Watching The River Flow" and "When I Paint My Masterpiece" were included on Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits, Vol. 2.

And on August 1 of that same year, Leon Russell would be standing on stage playing bass with Harrison and Dylan at the Concert For Bangla Desh in New York City. The selection? "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall."

=======================================

Reams of paper have been devoted to analysis of "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall." We'll leave you with two quotes.

One from Dylan himself, in a 1963 interview with Studs Turkel on Chicago radio (courtesy transcript in Jonathan Cott's compilation Dylan On Dylan: The Essential Interviews): "No, it's not atomic rain, it's just a hard rain. It isn't the fallout rain. I mean some sort of end that's just gotta happen . . . In the last verse, when I say, 'the pellets of poison are flooding the waters', that means all the lies that people get told on their radios and in their newspapers."

The second is from an emotional Allen Ginsberg, from the Martin Scorsese film No Direction Home:



Original Listening: Bob Dylan, "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall"

Live Listening: Bob Dylan, "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall" (The Concert For Bangla Desh, 1971; with George Harrison, Leon Russell)

Other Cover Versions: Bryan Ferry, "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall" (These Foolish Things, 1973); Pete Seeger, "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall" (Live in Australia, 1963)

The Live Vault: The National

4 August 2010

Riverside Theater, Milwaukee
[On occasion, our far-flung correspondents attend and review shows. Here's another installment.]


BY THE NIGHT OWL


In between songs during The National's sold-out concert Wednesday night at The Riverside Theater, guitarist Bryce Dessner recounted the days years ago when their visits to Milwaukee would revolve around shows at a RiverWest neighborhood tavern. Naturally, someone in the audience shouted out "I was there!" To which Dessner replied, "Yeah, it was just you and me, buddy."


Sometimes it is hard to believe that The National is now rating lengthy profile pieces in The New York Times Magazine, selling out Radio City Music Hall, and packing 2,500 seaters like The Riverside. After all, this is a band whose latest album begins with the words "terrible love and I'm walking with spiders" and ends with "I'll explain everything to the geeks." And their lead instrument is arguably the drum. Not exactly mainstream stuff, right?


Well, on this warm and humid night, on a stage purposely compact and intimate, The National continued to make its bones and amble down the road to becoming, quite possibly, America's best band.


Without fanfare, the group took their places: twin guitar playing brothers Bryce and Aaron Dessner; drummer Bryan Devendorf; bassist Scott Devendorf; and vocalist Matt Berninger. They were accompanied by a multi-instrumentalist and a two man brass section.


Berninger, surely the tallest lead singer in all of rock and roll, stood ramrod straight at the mic stand and greeted the crowd with "there's no savin' anything," the opening line to the song "Runaway," a tune off the new CD High Violet. It was accompanied by a beautiful, subtle building of melody and got The National quickly in the pocket. But this reading of "Runaway," much in the mold of the tightly produced version found on the LP, proved deceiving. For outside the studio, The National showed that it gladly revisits its bar band roots and knows how to play to a crowd after over ten years on the road.


"Mistaken For Strangers" revs things up. The brothers Devendorf are joined at the hip musically and almost figuratively when one focuses on them on stage. And the haunting New Order hollow guitar sound compliments the detached lyrics written by Berninger.


"Anyone's Ghost" and the amazing "Bloodbuzz Ohio" follow, and there's no subtlety now. The bass drum is thumping into your heart. Heavy metal guitar breaks fill the air. Berninger has taken his black blazer off and rolled up his sleeves; he's shadow boxing with the drummer. It's time to go to work.


"Squalor Victoria," an underrated gem from the new album, turns into an unlikely clap along anthem. [Ed. note: "Squalor Victoria" is mistakenly identified above as being a cut from High Violet. In fact, the song is off of Boxer. Thanks to our readers for the heads up.] "Afraid of Everyone," a deeply affecting Berninger tale of new fatherhood, takes on a spooky vibe. It is a riveting performance by the entire crew, nicely accented by the horns.


It is at this stage that your reviewer is reflecting on just how full the stage sound is of The National. Quite a contrast from the meticulously produced albums that almost seem at times like a nod to minimalist classical works. As the Stones eloquently put it, it's live where this group gets its ya-yas out.


The set continues to rely heavily on High Violet, and rightly so, as it is an early contender for album of the year. "Conversation 16" is brilliant; it sounds like a lost Flannery O'Connor short story set to a brooding melody. "Sorrow" and "England" are affecting as well. The former starts with a high hat nick from "Theme From 'Shaft'," evolves into a Edge-like sonic guitar, and then adds still another layer with a melancholy horn chart. "England" creates a pastoral feeling; while The National publicly states that they try to avoid outright musical influences, the song is a perfect live partner to "Sorrow" as it is also in the U2 wheelhouse, building up to an anthemic chorus.


The wonderful "Fake Empire" closes the set, a not so veiled shot at the previous presidential administration and now no doubt at the money changers who have brought ruin to so many. Its cacophony of sound at the end of the song is glorious.


The four encores are highlighted by "Secret Meeting" - leaving this reviewer agape at the drumming of Devendorf - and the roof-raising "Mr. November," in which Berninger leaves it all on the stage. In the tradition of great rock and roll, The National departs the stage in a buzz of sound.


A band makes its mark on popular music when its influences - face it, everybody nicks from their idols - are not readily evident and, as a result, create their own sound in the listener's mind. These are the bands that prevail over the years despite changes in style and in turn create a road map for future musicians, regardless of sales and/or acclaim. While I'm not ready to proclaim The National as part of the unique succession of American rock and rollers that so many now (or will) point to as seminal - Chuck Berry, Bob Dylan, The Velvet Underground, Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band, R.E.M., Wilco - the potential is there. The National has paid its dues and learned their trade. They tell compelling stories that are drenched in Heartland Americana. They get better with each studio album. And they are a confident and an original presence on stage.


The mantle of Best American Band may change hands in the near future.


SET LIST (Thanks to Connor)
Runaway
Mistaken For Strangers
Anyone's Ghost
Bloodbuzz Ohio
Brainy
Slow Show
Squalor Victoria
Afraid of Everyone
Little Faith
Available/Cardinal Song
Conversation 16
Apartment Story
Geese of Beverly Road
Abel
Sorrow
England
Fake Empire
--ENCORE--
Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks
Secret Meeting
Mr. November
Terrible Love

Free Stream: Calexico, "Live In Nuremberg"

The fine Tuscon, Arizona-based band Calexico has released Live In Nuremberg, a record full of treats for both long-time fans and the uninitiated. TNOP readers can enjoy the full stream of the album simply by clicking below or can download it for free by visiting this site.

Calexico has just commenced a summer tour of the US, Canada and parts of Europe, which will culminate with a headlining spot at The Hollywood Bowl with Ozomatli and others on 19 September.

Calexico, Live in Nuremberg by cashmusic

Rock 'n Film: "I Need That Record!"

Brendan Toller's 2008 paean to the independent record store, I Need That Record! The Death (Or Possible Survival) of the Independent Record Store has now been released on DVD. (We've checked Netflix and it's already in our queue.) The documentary examines the plight of the local shops in light of the takeover of the music industry by corporate media titans like Clear Channel (radio conglomerate), WalMart (mass volume physical product) and Apple (digital dominance).

The film originally made its debut on Independent Record Store Day in 2008 and then made the festival circuit Tuscon, Portland, Boston, Melbourne and Leeds. It features commentary by a host of music indie notables: Mike Watt, Thurston Moore, Patrick Carney and Patterson Hood, just to name a few. You can watch the trailer below.

Farm Aid 25 Announced

I’d just like to say I hope that some of the money that’s raised for the people in Africa – maybe they could just take a little bit of it – maybe one or two million, maybe - and use it, say, to pay, er, the mortgages on some of the farms . . . that the farmers here owe to the banks. --- Bob Dylan at LiveAid, 13 July 1985

Prescient? Out of line? Whatever your interpretation of Dylan's 25-year-old quote above, it was these words that gave birth to the Farm Aid organization, devoted to "helping farmers find the resources they need to access new markets, transition to more sustainable and profitable farming practices, and survive natural disasters."

Willie Nelson and Neil Young allowed their names to be affiliated with Farm Aid and have served on its Board of Directors and performed at the annual concert for a quarter century. Along with other high profile artists John Mellencamp and Dave Matthews, it was announced this morning that Farm Aid 25 will be held at Miller Park baseball stadium in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on 2 October. JSOnline reports that tickets for "Farm Aid 25: Growing Hope for America" will go on sale at 9 a.m. Aug. 14, at the Miller Park box office, by calling (414) 902-4000 or online at www.tickets.com. Ticket prices range from $39.50 to $97.50. Farm Aid will offer special advance sale tickets to Farm Aid members beginning Friday, August 6. To become a Farm Aid member, visit www.farmaid.org.

In addition to Nelson, Young, Mellencamp and Matthews, the full lineup of the concert will be announced in the coming weeks. TNOP will keep you updated.