Concert Review: The Gaslight Anthem, August 9, Rebel

Posted on August 10, 2018 by Paul in Concerts | Leave a comment

20180809_211818

After a quartet of songs to start off the night, The Gaslight Anthem frontman Brian Fallon addressed the crowd, focusing his attention on a very specific subsection of the crowd – the VIP area to the side of the stage. “What did you do to get put over there?” he asked them. “What are you, over 40? You look young – why are you sitting down?” After a couple more jokes about bottle service and security not being needed for that crowd, Fallon returned his attention to the show and to the rest of the packed house at Rebel with a simple “Alright here it goes. A bunch of songs.” And with that understated introduction, the band launched into “Great Expectations,” the first track off of The ’59 Sound.

It’s become all too commonplace over the past several years for bands to tour behind a classic album and though some may question the deep dive into nostalgia, it’s a good reason for a band to go out on tour without having to have a brand new release to promote and it’s certainly a popular move with the fans. And while I’m sure most of the devoted Gaslight Anthem fans in attendance would be happy to see the band perform any one of their albums in its entirety (OK, probably not Get Hurt), their sophomore album, with its punk-goes-Springsteen vibe and use of retro ’50s imagery, was their breakthrough and is the one that makes the most sense to get the track-by-track performance tour.

If by chance The ’59 Sound is not your favourite though, the band still played plenty of other songs from throughout their career (but no requests please), bringing out opener Matt Mays near the end of the set to join them for “National Anthem” before closing things off with “We’re Getting A Divorce, You Keep The Diner” and “American Slang.” No encore though, because as Fallon so eloquently put it, encores are stupid. Amen.

Song of the Day: Israel Nash, Rolling On

Posted on August 9, 2018 by Gary in Song of the Day | Leave a comment

Nash.Isreal_Lifted-3600x3600
I remember 2013’s Rain Plans like it was yesterday.

No, really. While I listen to it quite frequently, it had also made me erroneously peg Israel Nash as a gritty, melancholy country songwriter. And I haven’t touched country since I said good-riddance to braces/dentists in high-school. But in reality since Rain Plans, he has put out an expansive album with Silver Season, shifting more towards a more open form of Americana.

From the opening moments of “Rolling On” from Nash’s new album Lifted, all I hear is optimism. It paints an expansive ambiance and slowly drapes that landscape with strings of hope like multiple bunches of wisteria. Incidentally, that comparison is apt because the same chorus is its only vehicle besides the guitar highlights at the very end. It is really very soothing. But then again, when I listened a third time a portmanteau of “Take My Breath Away” (Berlin) and “I Will Follow Him” (Little Peggy March) materialized. Now I can’t get those 5 notes out of my head to keep rolling on. Damn it, where has all the optimism gone?

Song of the Day: Tony Molina, Nothing I Can Say

Posted on August 8, 2018 by Gary in Song of the Day | Leave a comment

a3350258821_10

If brevity is the soul of wit, then the extremely brief album Kill the Lights from Tony Molina might be the wittiest kid on the block. At once fulfilling yet incomplete by design, it doesn’t just leave you wanting more folksy harmonies and miniature refrains, it positively asks you to look for more – like a purposeful intro to a long Pandora session.

“Nothing I Can Say”, the first of 10 minute-long Lego® Folk-Songs® (they even managed to include fade outs on several songs), is likely the most ear-catching. The only issue is that with so little timing separation, I find it difficult to manage the emotional feedback cycle. At the point when the jangling guitars return upon “Give He Take You”, I had over-shot and under-shot the tunes 6 times and became stuck on somewhat ambivalent, even though the music itself is well-crafted. So, it’s a nice experiment. But I would disperse them into your playlist and listen individually for best effects.

The Lost Art Of Liner Notes: Country Chart-Busters Volume 5 (1974, Columbia Records)

Posted on August 7, 2018 by Paul in Albums, Classic Albums | Leave a comment

R-6594149-1523760411-8789.jpeg

After a lengthy break from writing about liner notes written on the back covers of random old LPs, our Lost Art of Liner Notes series returns as I make my way through a bounty of ten cent records I acquired on a recent record shopping expedition.

Today we take a look at a record which featured a minimal amount of liner notes – the fifth edition of a country music compilation series entitled Country Chart-Busters. So why write about the liner notes when they don’t really say that much, you may ask? Well folks, they do say that a picture is worth a thousand words but for the picture that accompanies the liner notes on the back cover of this album … well, really there are no words. See for yourself:
IMG_4798_1024x1024
Can’t sleep … clown will eat me.

Why someone though it would be a good idea to include a grainy photo of some creepy-as-hell clown on a collection of country hits I have no idea. While the front cover is a jovial, old timey depiction of three country musicians somehow managing to ride a horse simultaneously while standing up and holding guitars, the back cover is pure nightmare fuel from way out of left field. Is he supposed to be a rodeo clown or is he some ghoul who will murder you in your sleep while the sounds of Johnny Paycheck and Barbara Mandrell play softly in the background? Or worse yet, is he Crazy Joe Davola?

Anyways, read the liner notes below while trying to figure out who thought this was a good design idea and whether they got to keep their job after this was released. And then try to scrub this horrific image from your memory forever. The sweet sounds of Lynn Anderson may help in that regard.

The most amazing thing about Country Chart-Busters, Vol. V is that all of these songs are on one album. ten of the biggest stars in the World of Country performing the classics that have made country music what it is today. Songs like “Kids Say The Darndest Things” by Country Queen Tammy Wynette, Lynn Anderson’s “Fool Me” and “Nice ‘N’ Easy” by the fastest rising star in country music, Charlie Rich. Stars like Sonny James, Freddy Weller, Connie Smith, Barbara Mandrell, Jody Miller, David Houston and Johnny Paycheck make Country Chart-Busters Vol. V an album worth writing home about. There’s only one way you’ll ever hear such amazing talent performing material of such outstanding caliber and you’re holding it in your hands.

« Previous   1 2 ... 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 ... 784 785   Next »