February 1 2014

Recorded at the Front Row in Highland Heights Ohio on February 21, 1990, WARREN ZEVON performs SENTIMENTAL HYGIENE.

Warren Zevon - Front Row 2/21/90 6 - Sentimental Hygiene

Recorded in Arizona with Calexico's Joey Burns producing, Amos Lee's fourth studio album, 2011's Mission Bell, finds the singer/songwriter in a thoughtful mood and once again wrapping his soulful folk numbers in country, blues, and soft rock. A ruminative, lazy summer day of an album, Mission Bell is not dissimilar to Lee's last effort, 2008's Last Days at the Lodge, but lacks the more contemporary R&B tracks that made Last Days a bit of a departure from Lee's more granola leanings. Here listeners get the introspective leadoff track "El Camino" and the airy Steve Winwood-sounding ballad "Violin." Similarly engaging is the jaunty mid-album anthem "Flower," which is equal parts the Commodores' "Easy" and Hall & Oates' "She's Gone." It's a brilliant, joyously melodic number with the only downside being that it only works to remind you how melodically dire the rest of the album is. Which isn't to say Mission Bell is bad. On the contrary, there is a lot to admire here and maybe that's the main problem. Lee is a talented songwriter with a distinctive pop voice who is becoming recognized as an heir to the American singer/songwriter throne -- a notion given weight by the addition of several well-known guest artists here, including roots rocker Lucinda Williams and country legend Willie Nelson. That said, he often favors rambling, low-key country numbers that get you to quietly consider the bittersweet nature of our existence rather than lose yourself in the song. You come off a track like "Flower" and keep waiting for another one to grab you in the same "instant classic" kind of way. If Mission Bell rings true, it's in the lyrics with Lee's knack for stories and personal revelations keeping you listening, and not always the melodic content.

Mission Bell

Windows Are Rolled Down

Recorded just 2 weeks ago, this is a stunning matrix recording from the Lobero Theater in Santa Monica, California. David plays with a full band. I've remastered this gem so that others might get to enjoy it. Hope you do.

David Crosby - Tracks In The Dust - The Lobero Theater -2014

Perfect Day (Lou Reed)

Boz Scaggs ‘Lowdown’ (greg wilson edit)

115 bpm

Previously limited vinyl only 2008.

This is a straightforward, no added elements extension of ‘Lowdown’ that I knocked together back in 2004, and which would later be shared on limited vinyl in 2008 as ‘Blue Eyed Boz’, issued on the same 12” as ‘Adriano Italiano’ to launch the GW Ruff Edits series. It’s popped up in a few of my live mixes down the years, and features in the East Village London mix on here from last December.

'Lowdown' was released in the UK 35 years ago, in September 1976. Between January 2006 and September 2007 I compiled a series called Time Capsule for Samurai FM, where, month by month, I revisited the tracks I used to play in the clubs exactly 30 years earlier. It was a real labour of love, for not only did I have to research and often re-source the music included (I had a load of records stolen in 1985, so there were big holes in my collection), I also wrote an accompanying piece every month looking at the records featured, and how my fledgling DJ career was shaping up. 'Lowdown' was a single I used to play at the time in my New Brighton residencies, the Chelsea Reach and the Penny Farthing. Time Capsule covered the period I was at the Chelsea and the Penny, leading up to when I took over at the Golden Guinea, where I’d spend 3 memorable years before embarking on my Wigan / Manchester adventure in the early 80’s. 

I’d hoped to take Time Capsule all the way through 1977, but the workload became too much and I found myself unable to meet the monthly deadlines, so I reluctantly had to stop at Sept 77, with the intention of getting back to it in the future if I ever have sufficient time on my hands. Even if this turns out to be all I ever manage to do, Time Capsule, as I left it 4 years ago, still stands as a snapshot archive from a key moment in dance culture, as the Disco era gained full momentum and the 12” gradually began to take over from the 7” in the affections of British DJ’s.

All the programmes, plus ‘First Impressions’, which inspired the series, can be accessed here:
https://www.mixcloud.com/gregwilson/playlists/greg-wilson-time-capsule/

Here’s what I wrote about ‘Lowdown’ for the Sept 76 Time Capsule:
“Regarded as one of the classic Blue-Eyed Soul singles, 'Lowdown' by Boz Scaggs, despite its popularity on the UK club scene, peaked at a somewhat disappointing position of number 28 on the British chart. By contrast, the single had reached number 3 stateside, with the album it was taken from, 'Silk Degrees', becoming an American classic, which sold more than 5 million copies and spent over 2 years on the chart! Picking up a Grammy for Best Rhythm & Blues song, 'Lowdown' was recorded with a team of session musicians, who would later form the nucleus of the hit band Toto. In the early 60's, Scaggs, who was Ohio born, had left his Texas home to briefly join London's burgeoning R&B scene, returning to record his debut solo album, 'Boz' in 1965. He'd later appear on the first 2 Steve Miller Band LP's, 'Children Of The Future' (1968) and 'Sailor' (1969), before continuing his solo career with a series of albums for Atlantic Records. However, it wasn't until he signed to Columbia that the commercial acclaim, which had previously eluded him, finally came thanks to 'Silk Degrees'.”

Greg Wilson – September 2011

Check out my label's music at: https://superweirdsubstance.bandcamp.com

Boz Scaggs 'Lowdown' (greg wilson edit)

My co-writer Kurt and I had been following the case, and when the civil case verdict came down letting the cops off the hook the song wrote itself in twenty minutes. Nothing's going to bring Alex Nieto back, but a line has to be drawn. He was killed because techies moved into his neighborhood and saw longtime residents as a threat.  And the cops thought his Forty Niner jersey was some kind of gang sign. Don't they train these people?

Alex Nieto - Chuck Prophet

Singer/Songwriter James Maddock was in Studio with Rich Russo and performed an acoustic version of "Prettier Girls" on Anything Anything May 2nd, 2010.

James Maddock Performs "Prettier Girls" on Anything, Anything.

Loan Me A Dime - The Allman Brothers Band

www.JamesMaddock.net
Management and Booking: J.W. Johnson - jw@globalpositioningservices.net | www.globalpositioningservices.net 
Licensing: Steve Scharf - sscharf@carlinamerica.com

Chance

www.JamesMaddock.net 
Management and Booking: J.W. Johnson - jw@globalpositioningservices.net | www.globalpositioningservices.net 
Licensing: Steve Scharf - sscharf@carlinamerica.com

My Old Neighborhood (Radio Edit)

Keep Me In Your Heart -- Warren Zevon

Fred Eaglesmith & Band - The Bluebird Cafe - 2011
Recording & Mastering by Ramcey Rodriguez / Songpoets Sound - Nashville, TN.
Photography by: (c) Ramcey's Photography 

Fred Eaglesmith - Johnny Cash - The Bluebird Cafe 2011

Bruce Cockburn - The Moore Theater - Seattle - March 22nd, 2002
SOLO ACOUSTIC

Fantastic audience recording (if you ARE or KNOW the original taper please contact me so that I can give him credit!). I've remastered the song using Audition & Ozone 4.

World of Wonders ....      Indeed!                                   brucecockburn.com/





February 1 2014

imageman2005