Folks are going bonkers over Adele, and I’ll admit she has a powerful voice. But for pure emotional impact, I’ll still take Joan Armatrading.
“Joan who?” you say. Therein lies the rub. Even back in what would be considered her heyday of the mid 70s through early 80s, Joan never really hit it big. Which is a shame because she’s got a fantastic voice and some great songs. And a great backstory too – here’s an excerpt from her website’s bio:
Born in St Kitts in the West Indies on December 9th 1950 and moving to England when she was seven, she took her first musical steps on her mother’s piano. Although her father had a guitar it was strictly out of bounds so when Joan saw one for £3 in a pawn shop window she pestered her mother to barter two old prams they no longer used. She taught herself to play and began writing songs at the age of 14. Her debut album, “Whatever’s For Us”, released on Cube Records in1972 and produced by the late great Gus Dudgeon, was critically acclaimed and saw Joan voted as best newcomer. In 1974, Joan signed to A&M world-wide and the career that has followed has witnessed a plethora of classic and memorable songs – “Love and Affection”, “Down To Zero”, “Drop the Pilot”, “Me Myself I”…..
Here’s a lyric video to my favorite Joan Armatrading song, “The Weakness in Me”
And here she is in concert:
Why not spend some time with Joan today on YouTube? You won’t regret it.
The Super Bowl to end all Super Bowls (at least until next year) is just a day away… and already I’m sick of the hype. Not the hype for the game – I’m oblivious to that after years of Roman Numerals being shoved in my face XXIV/VII (see what I did there?). I’m sick of the hype for the halftime show. Excuse me, I meant to say “The Greatest Halftime Spectacle In The History of The Universe” or whatever they’re calling this year’s gig. They went with the Chinese Restaurant menu approach this year – one from each column – Coldplay for the aging wannabe hipsters, Beyonce for the soul sisters, and Bruno Mars for… well, pretty much everybody else. And of course they have a corporate sponsor, because there’s a sponsor for everything. I’m surprised they don’t say “This Geico commercial is sponsored by Bud Light.”
Call me an old fuddy duddy (merely typing that phrase makes me an old fuddy duddy) but I actually miss the early Super Bowls before the greedy tentacles of the NFL and advertisers hijacked the halftime show. For many years, the “entertainment” (using that term very loosely) was Up With People – a group of overly earnest teens singing easy listening versions of the day’s top hits. Sort of like an Osmond Family clone army. Sure they were super cheesy and super lame, but who cares? It’s halftime – time to reload on food and drinks.
Paste Magazine has a nice interview with Geddy Lee, the singer/bassist for Canada’s premier power trio, Rush (sorry Triumph, better luck next time). Count me among the many “geeky nerds” (as Geddy himself says) who have always liked Rush. They were the first band I saw in concert, back in ’81 on the Moving Pictures tour, and they blew me away. I’ve seen them more than a dozen times over the ensuing years. They always put on a fantastic live show, which is a huge part of their enduring appeal. Better yet, they don’t seem to take themselves too seriously – must be that Canadian upbringing.
It seems that Neil Peart, the Rush drummer, doesn’t want to tour anymore. Can’t blame him. He’s the best drummer in the world but kids a third of his age wouldn’t be able to keep up with the demands of single Rush set, much less an entire tour. I certainly hope they still make studio albums, but if not it’s been a fantastic 40+ years. And as their R40 tour proved, they still have the chops.
Here’s a clip of one of their more recognizable songs…
Back by unpopular demand, it’s the dubbatrubba list of last year’s top albums, in no particular order, with a video from each album, because I don’t know how to do a Spotify playlist.
Calexico – Edge of the Sun
Royal Headache – High
Kacey Musgraves – Pageant Material
Jason Isbell – Something More Than Free
CHVRCHES – Every Open Eye
Sufjan Stevens – Carrie & Lowell
Tame Impala – Currents
The Mountain Goats – Beat the Champ
Courtney Barnett – Sometimes I Sit and Think and Sometimes I Just Sit
Do they still put photos of missing persons on milk cartons? If so, we need to put Syd Straw on a few half gallons. She’s a wonderfully gifted singer and songwriter, a former member of the Golden Palominos waaay back when, who has put out only a handful of solo albums in the past 25 years. I always loved her voice, and would like to hear more of it.
I turned to the ol’ Interwebs in an effort to find out what she’s been up to, but it was no help. (Well, at least Wikipedia told me that she started her professional career as a backup vocalist for Pat Benatar.)
Syd’s website has expired. I even resorted to Facebook – and I’m not even on Facebook! – but her Facebook page has no posts since January of this year, and the previous post was from May of 2014. “Reclusive” doesn’t do her justice.
At least there are a few videos of Syd performing.
Here she is with the old Letterman band and Dave Alvin:
Here’s a song from her 1996 album:
I think Syd is right up there with Emmylou Harris as a harmony vocalist/backup singer. Check out her work on this tune from former Go-Betweens frontman Grant McLennan.
And here’s one where she sings with Michael Stipe. I think he was in a band of some note.
And a fun live song with Dave Alvin at McCabe’s Guitar Shop in Santa Monica, CA (side note: McCabe’s is a fantastic place to see a show.)
The video of the Harry Nilsson session features Syd for a second, and as a special bonus to middle-aged fans of obscure artists (I’m on that list), also includes Bob Forrest, formerly of Thelonious Monster and The Bicycle Thief.
Hope springs eternal… maybe Syd Straw will put out a new album in 2016.
Kevin Sullivan on Warren piece: “Praise Warren. He also said, “You only have to do a very few things right in your life so long…” Jan 15, 08:48
Damian on Eternally Grateful… still: “Thanks for reading, and thanks for sharing that song, Chuck! You’re absolutely right that the Deadhead community is amazing.” Jan 15, 08:17
Chuck Wiggins on Eternally Grateful… still: “I’m ambivalent at best about the Grateful Dead’s music, but there’s no discounting the incredible community built around it. And…” Jan 14, 09:05
Kevin Sullivan on Spoken and Unspoken: “You lived the brotherhood Damian, and that is a full plate. Peace to you and peace to John.” Nov 18, 16:54
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