Because I don’t have enough CDs, inevitably I must buy more…
Written by: Matt Wardlaw
The opening line is a lil bit of a joke, and I've actually been working on thinning out my musical collection lately, which is something I need to focus more on, actually. But I love music, and I love acquiring new music...what's a boy to do?
As you might notice, I've been slacking on the ol' blog, so we've got a lot to catch up on.
Sit down, and stay for a while!
I took a half day on Friday, and although driving to Columbus to see the Indigo Girls and Kathleen Edwards was on the schedule, I ended up deciding that I would enjoy a rare evening at home instead. I drove by the Lakewood branch of The Exchange, picked up a couple of things from the cheap bins, got some food from My Friends, and locked myself into the house for the night.
Later that weekend, Mom, Dad, my sister, and I, collectively known as "The Family," got together at the family compound to celebrate b-days. My b-day is October 1st, and my sister's b-day falls a coupla days later on the 3rd, so we have a traditional joint b-day celebration that generally occurs on the weekend after that.
Dad and I had already celebrated the b-day slightly by going to see Garrison Keillor at the Lakewood Civic Auditorium on Wednesday night, which was part of my b-day present that I already knew about. The weekend's festivities accessorized that gift with an additional gift of Bruce Springsteen: On Tour 1968-2005, a beautiful coffee table book by longtime Springsteen biographer Dave Marsh.
The Springsteen book is one of two that I had on my Amazon wish list for quite a while, waiting for the price to drop. I acquired the first book on my list, Greetings from E. Street, by Robert Santelli , earlier this year. I was happy to cross On Tour off my list thanks to Mom and Dad, and thumbing through it briefly, I can't wait to read it - anything that Marsh puts out on Springsteen, is always a good read.
My sis, on the other hand, gave me what is becoming a birthday/Xmas gift tradition - a $50 gift card to The Exchange - the plastic musical equivalent of a toy store shopping spree for someone like me. During my previous Exchange visit, I had seen a couple of items that I wanted that I passed on, making an effort to be financially smart. Enter gift card, and ditch previous efforts to be financially smart, back to The Exchange I went, with some additional musical items to put up for trade.
Here are a few selected purchase highlights from my two trips to The Exchange this weekend:
Willie Nelson - One Hell of a Ride
Never, has there been a more appropriately titled box set, especially when you're talking about the career of Willie Nelson. This box set, which came out earlier this year celebrating Willie's 75th birthday, features 100 tracks from Nelson's career. The insert notes that it is "the FIRST Willie box set to include tracks from ALL phases (and stages) of his storied career."
And yet, like the Songs retrospective release, One Hell of a Ride is yet another Nelson retrospective that omits "Beer For My Horses," Nelson's collaboration with Toby Keith. What's up with that?
Many of my Willie favorites are on this box set, including "Hello Walls," a track which reminds me of a departed former co-worker. As his family was trying to sell his old house, his wife told me a story about how much her husband loved that house. He would come home after a day at work, and say "hello, house." Nelson apparently had conversations with his house as well, and wrote a great song about it. According to the box set liner notes, "Hello Walls" was one of three songs recorded that scored Nelson a recording contract with Liberty Records in 1962. The other two songs? "Crazy" and "Funny How Time Slips Away." Not bad, huh?
U2: Live: Under a Blood Red Sky
When the U2 reissue campaign kicked into gear with the great box set for The Joshua Tree, I was excited to think about the chance that U2's classic Red Rocks performance might finally see release on DVD. U2 fans can now get this classic performance on DVD, and with five previously unreleased songs, to boot! There are a couple of edits, "Let's Twist Again" is edited out of "Two Hearts Beat as One," and "Send In The Clowns" has also been removed from "The Electric Co." Several covers were also previously removed from The Joshua Tree box set.
While it's a shame that they couldn't (or didn't) go through the appropriate paperwork that would allow them to keep the performances intact, the majority of the U2 fanbase seem happy just having the Red Rocks show on DVD.
Roy Orbison - The Very Best of Roy Orbison
As a George Harrison/Beatles fan, The Traveling Wilburys were truly a "supergroup" that fit every definition of the term. The Wilbury albums were my first introduction to Roy Orbison, and although I had certainly heard some of his hits prior, the Wilbury material officially made me a fan. "You Got It" from Orbison's "comeback" album Mystery Girl, was one of a couple of Orbison 45s that I purchased growing up. A re-recording of "Crying" with k.d. lang was the other one, and is an example of a re-recording that I would argue to be just as good, or possibly better than the original.
Years later, I wanted to put the song on my Ipod, and discovered that The Very Best of Roy Orbison was the only compilation that had the track, and it wasn't available as an MP3 download. Finding a cheap copy of the best of at The Exchange this past weekend, it was a no-brainer purchase. Some fans might have issue with the fact that all of the "classic hits" on this compilation are re-recordings or live versions, but if you want a nice one disc compilation that covers the Orbison essentials, this is the one to get.
That version of "Crying" with k.d. lang by the way, was recorded for the Jon Cryer movie Hiding Out. Luckily for you all, it's the latest featured movie over on Popdose as part of their ongoing "Soundtrack Saturday" series. Check out the Orbison track (and the rest of the soundtrack) over here.
One more Orbison note for you all, you can also find that track, and every other Orbison song you could ever want to hear, on a brand new Orbison box set, The Soul of Rock and Roll, which now replaces the Willie Nelson box set on my want list. That's the problem with me, as soon as I get an item off that want list, it is inevitably replaced with something else.
I'm still waiting for that complete Calvin and Hobbes box set.....
The Soul of Rock and Roll is similar to the Nelson set - four CDs, covering every phase of Orbison's career, and all of the hits are the original recordings that you know and love. It really is a nice looking set.
Indigo Girls - Swamp Ophelia
This was a random pick. I bought this album in high school on vinyl, and LOVED it. I was without a turntable until about a year ago, so it's been quite a while since I've heard it. I don't know if this has happened to you, but sometimes you just forget about a song, and that was the case with Amy Ray's "Touch Me Fall." As soon as I saw the song title, memories came flooding back, and I had to hear it. I forgot how many different musical movements occur during "Touch Me Fall." If you watch the heavily edited video for the track, you get the sense that the record company might have been scratching their head a bit trying to figure out what to do with it.
Indigo Girls - Touch Me Fall
When you talk about songs that sound better on vinyl (always a fun debate amongst music lovers,) I'd place "Touch Me Fall" in that category. And Swamp Ophelia had great artwork at a time when vinyl was starting to go away in the mid-90s.
If you feel like some additional surfing, here's a great IG fan site that has large amounts of live material from the girls, and you can find plenty of live versions of "Touch Me Fall" that stretch from 10-12 minutes, all the way to one version I saw, that was past the 20 minute mark (with "Cortez The Killer" built in, as I recall.)
I picked up Rites of Passage (also by IG) to wrap up a conversation that AK and I had about the IG version of "Romeo and Juliet" originally recorded by Dire Straits. I had the Rites of Passage album in my collection for years, and hadn't listened to it, so it left my collection many years back during a musical purge. I had no idea that IG had recorded a version until AK pointed me towards audio on Youtube. I had forgotten about it, until I picked up Rites of Passage and saw that "Romeo and Juliet" listed on the track listing.
I also picked up a couple of pieces of vinyl that I plan to display as additional pieces of "musical art" here at the house - Hall and Oates Livetime and Duran Duran's Seven and the Ragged Tiger.
Need something cool for your walls? Grab any Hall and Oates album from the 70s or 80s!
Now I just need some more of those album frames!!
A couple more musical thoughts:
Jimi Jamison's Survivor - Empires
After years of courtroom battles related to the Survivor name, Survivor guitarist Frankie Sullivan eventually patched things up with Jimi Jamison in 2000 for several years of touring that eventually led to the 2006 release of Reach, the first Survivor album in nearly 20 years. The album had been nearly 13 years in the making, and the Survivor saga took another twist with the departure of Jamison, who left the band again shortly after the album was released.
Was Reach worth the 13 year wait?
Not quite.
In fact, Jamison's 1999 solo release Empires, released under the banner of Jimi Jamison's Survivor, sounds more like the proper Survivor album you might have been expecting. Nearly 10 years later, Empires has aged well, and "First Day of Love" is still one of my favorites from the album.
Jimi Jamison's Survivor - First Day of Love
Jamison is still one of my favorite rock vocalists, and I am really looking forward to the following pending new release from Jamison. Crossroads Moment is the new album from Jimi Jamison that will be released on November 7th. The project reunites Jamison with longtime Survivor comrade Jim Peterik, who co-produced and assumed a familiar position as songwriter for the songs on the project.
Peterik comments: "My main goal with this record was to keep it focused to what the fans want the most - that means strong beats, inspiring lyrics and soaring melodies. I feel Jimi really hit his stride vocally as well."
Meanwhile, Jamison says "I feel I have something to prove with this record. It is my chance to say that I am back with a vengeance ready to rock harder than ever. I think my new passion can be heard on every cut. Singing those great Peterik melodies and lyrics felt like coming home."
If you're a Survivor fan, how can you not be excited after reading that?
Hear some song samples via this link.
Here's a bit more for you, from the press release:
Although Peterik wrote every song on this collection, he channelled everything through Jamison’s life philosophy and experience. "Sometimes Peterik and I”, explains Jamison “would just get together for a beer and I'd spill out what's going on in my life. Next thing you know he would play me a song directly inspired by that conversation. “Crossroads Moment” comes to mind as well as "Can't Look Away". Jim has that knack of setting my life to music".
Kathleen Edwards:
The Kathleen Edwards Itunes session that I wrote about a few weeks back, is available now in the Canadian Itunes store.
Here's a track listing for you all:
1. Run
2. Asking for Flowers
3. 12 Bellevue
4. Goodnight, California
5. I Make The Dough
6. Only Love Can Break Your Heart (Neil Young cover)
Edwards commented on the EP availability (and non-US availability) on the message board at the great Kathleen Edwards fan site:
i guess it is only available in canada right now. sorry. i will ask my itunes friend when it will be in the us store. but you can also change stores from US to Canada and see it and hear the samples if you like. and if you're even more eager, you could just set up a canadian account with itunes and buy it now. but that is WAY TOO MUCH work.
off to open for Amy and Emily.
Chew on that kids, I'm off to listen to some more music!
P.S.
People love 'em, and people hate 'em - I've got two, that's right TWO, guest blog entries coming up this week on ATV. Both are penned by old friends o' mine, and I think you'll enjoy 'em. These are the first-ever guest blogs here on ATV, for those of you that keep track of stuff like that.
Excited, aren't you? I know you are.
Stay tuned!
CommentsNew Release Watch: Golden Smog, Jackson Browne, The Replacements, Bill Champlin, and more!
Written by: Matt Wardlaw
Thought I'd shine the light on a few things that are hitting stores on Tuesday that you'll probably want to be aware of.
The first item on my list is the new Golden Smog anthology Stay Golden Smog: The Best of Golden Smog - The Rykodisc Years.
I've been living with an advance copy of this for a couple of weeks now, and you'll enjoy this one, even if you have both of the Rykodisc albums like I do.
The details are lost in a fog of one-night, one-off, one-gig combinations, but the double helix of Golden Smog's DNA encircles the abiding friendship and periodic career frustrations of Soul Asylum's Dan Murphy, The Jayhawks' Gary Louris and Marc Perlman, Run Westy Run's Kraig Johnson, and Wilco/Uncle Tupelo's Jeff Tweedy. Mutating strands over time would include Soul Asylum's Dave Pirner, Big Star's Jody Stephens, The Replacements' Chris Mars, The Honeydogs' Noah Levy, and a cast of tens, all of whom could really play.
excerpted from the liner notes of Stay Golden Smog
They could certainly play, and as someone who hadn't listened to either of the Ryko albums (Down By The Old Mainstream and Weird Tales,) in a while, Stay Golden Smog is a nice reminder of how much fun those first two albums were. As Wilco's profile has continued to rise over the years, I've always been a bit surprised that more people aren't aware of Golden Smog. Perhaps the release of Stay Golden Smog will help with that, a bit. There are a couple of unreleased tracks on Stay Golden Smog including an early version of Louris' "Until You Came Along," which could be described as the "playout" version, featuring a couple of extra minutes of the Smog jamming out on the tail end. I'm most excited by the inclusion of a studio version of the Brian Wilson song "Love and Mercy," sung by Tweedy, which was always an awesome moment anytime it popped up in the live set. Both tracks are a nice compliment to Stay Golden Smog, which is already mighty fine, a perfect Cliff's Notes version of all of the necessary cuts from Golden Smog's time on Rykodisc. Add in great liner notes from author Norman Sherwood Forest-Drive, and Stay Golden Smog should convince you to do just that until the collective members of the Smog find their way back into the recording studio for another chapter.
The Replacements:
We'll stay in the Minneapolis zip code for the next bit - A new batch of Replacements reissues are finally in stores on Tuesday, covering Tim, Pleased To Meet Me, Don't Tell A Soul, and All Shook Down. Here's a review of the reissues, and also the original liner notes written (and later replaced) for the reissue of Pleased To Meet Me. What's next on the Replacements schedule? How about some live stuff - there is certainly plenty of stuff out there to choose from!
David Gilmour:
After last year's DVD release, David Gilmour wraps up the On An Island story with Live in Gdansk, a new live DVD and CD release that is available in a number of formats including a Best Buy exclusive 5 disc set, and there also is a vinyl release. The latest info and full details on the many different configurations for this release, can be found on Gilmour's official information blog. The vinyl edition includes an exclusive track, "Wot's...Uh The Deal" (originally on Pink Floyd's Obscured by Clouds.) The track is also available as a CD bonus from select indie retailers as well.
Good luck, your head will probably be spinning if you try to sort through all of the different versions that are available for Live in Gdansk.
On a somber note, Live in Gdansk of course features one of the last recorded performances from keyboard player Richard Wright, who was part of Gilmour's band throughout the touring cycle for On An Island.
Jackson Browne:
1993
2008
Time the conqueror, indeed.
I'll admit to being completely in the dark on the new Jackson Browne album Time The Conqueror, which is in stores on Tuesday. I haven't heard a note of it yet, although there is a live audience recording featuring several of the new tracks that just popped up on Dimeadozen. Time The Conqueror is personally the release that I am looking forward to the most on Tuesday. The new album has been in the pipeline for quite a while now, and I'm excited to finally hear it. Rolling Stone has a review here that says good things.
Jackson rarely disappoints, although I'll be quite disappointed if Cleveland doesn't pop up on his touring schedule soon!
Bill Champlin:
Longtime Chicago member and Sons of Champlin founder Bill Champlin quietly slips back into record stores on Tuesday with No Place Left To Fall, his first solo studio release in 13 years (purchase on Itunes). Like Browne, Champlin has been working on this new solo album for a while now, sharing a number of demos via his website, with plenty of interesting details about the origins and personnel for each one. No Place Left To Fall will be available digitally as of tomorrow from Itunes and Amazon.com, with a physical release coming later that will include a bonus documentary DVD that focuses on the making of the album.
Champlin gives insight on four tracks from the new album including the album opener, "Total Control:"
This song was written by Jay Graydon and me around 11 years ago. We cut it way slower on the demo back then, with just a drum loop, key bass and one or two piano parts. It sounded a lot like a Hall and Oates kinda' thing, which, at the time, wasn't a bad way to go. The basic vocal parts were similar to this version, but that's where the similarities end. I am opening the new album with this one because it may be the most basic 4 piece song on the CD. It was all about grooving with the basic band and it just felt good to let that be without a million overdubs, just a little Mark Eddinger rhodes overdubs on the bridge and tag. Mark is the co-producer of the whole album. This version is almost all about the vocals and the band. Straight ahead to kick off the album with a bang.
Click here to read more about the album, hear four sample tracks, and also see some video previews from the DVD documentary. Champlin's last semi-solo excursion Hip Lil Dreams, recorded with Sons of Champlin in 2002 was great - I'm expecting good things from this one, from the demos I've heard leading up to the release. No Place Left To Fall, the new album will be available on Tuesday via Itunes and Amazon MP3.
Bill, ya've been away way too long. Welcome back!
Kathleen Edwards:
Oh Kathleen, how I love thee. Kathleen Edwards has a live session available via Itunes in both America and Canada on Tuesday. Not sure if it is going to be a straight up live session, or one of their Itunes Originals, but I'm guessing that it will probably be a live set, the standard 6-7 tracks. That's what I'm hoping for anyway. I'm scheming, trying to work out a way to get to Columbus or Athens, OH next week to see Kathleen open for the Indigo Girls. As much of a fan as I am, I haven't ever seen the Indigo Girls.
That should be enough to keep you all busy for a while.
Is it time for that new Silversun Pickups CD yet? Please please please!
Relevant Links:
Jackson Browne - Time The Conqueror - CD or MP3
Golden Smog - Stay Golden Smog - CD or MP3
Purchase Bill Champlin's No Place Left To Fall from Itunes - purchase link
The Replacements - Pleased To Meet Me, Don't Tell A Soul, All Shook Down, and Tim
CommentsBlue Rodeo Week: Five from Jim Cuddy
Written by: Matt Wardlaw
In honor of Blue Rodeo’s U.S. jaunt happening next week, I’ve decided to celebrate with Blue Rodeo Week. Here's where we've been so far:
Day One: T is for The Days in Between
Day Two: What am I doing here?
Day Three: Five from Greg Keelor
Yesterday we took an abbreviated snapshot of the Greg Keelor side captured in five tracks. Today, we'll do the same for Jim Cuddy. A couple of years back, I took my friend Mark to see his first Blue Rodeo show at the Magic Bag in Detroit, and he was instantly captivated by the band's sound. "He's got an AMAZING voice," said Mark, talking about Cuddy's smooth tenor voice, which sounds like a voice that surely has sold millions of records.
And actually, it has: in Canada.
File the songs and vocals of Jim Cuddy into my large and ever-growing category of underappreciated artists that are so good, and yet so overlooked - in this case, everywhere else but Canada.
Blue Rodeo - Try
I dare you to make a single disc compilation of Cuddy's best Blue Rodeo material - it can't be done! Cuddy is good for at least one song per album that feels like an instant classic, and often there are several. Just when you might think that he has run out of material, Cuddy will prove you wrong with a new solo or Blue Rodeo gem. The signature song in the early years was "Try," without any question. These days, "Five Days in May" is an endearing love story that seems to reveal new elements everytime that you hear it.
Blue Rodeo - 5 Days in May (live at the Festival of the Islands)
Cuddy also has two excellent solo releases to date that kick up the country vibes full throttle. All in Time, his first solo effort was released nearly 10 years ago, and Cuddy toured a decent amount of tour dates in between BR shows to support the release. 2006 saw the release of his long awaited followup The Light That Guides You Home, featuring a guest appearance by longtime BR compadre Kathleen Edwards, who contributes vocals to Cuddy's "cautionary tale," "Married Again."
When Jim made a video for "Married Again," Edwards was right there to play along:
Jim Cuddy w/ Kathleen Edwards "Married Again"
Cuddy returned the favor earlier this year, appearing in the video for Edwards' "I Make The Dough, You Get The Glory," a video in which he is the rival captain of the opposing hockey team. The track can be found on Edwards' excellent 2008 release Asking For Flowers....but you've already got that one, right? RIGHT?
Kathleen Edwards - "I Make The Dough, You Get The Glory"
Cuddy is well known as one of the Canadian good guys, and pops up from time to time to guest on projects outside of his normal work with Blue Rodeo and solo.
Here's one:
Oh Susanna and Jim Cuddy - "You Were On My Mind"
Cool covers like this:
Jim Cuddy - "Still Crazy After All of These Years"
And speaking of covers, here is one of Jim's most recent collaborations that I am aware of, a version of Fleetwood Mac's "Songbird" by Melanie Doane, featuring a guest vocal from Cuddy:
Melanie Doane w/ Jim Cuddy - "Songbird"
So yeah, I am a bit of a Cuddy fan, and as you might gather from the above, there is plenty of Cuddy-related music out there for your listening pleasure, but today, we're here to talk about Blue Rodeo!
Here are five Blue Rodeo essentials from Jim Cuddy:
And every plan we made
I just let them fade
And pile up on the floor beside the bed
Now you're gone away
But your memory stays
I sit here thinking of the things I never said
"House of Dreams" from Diamond Mine (1989) (purchase)
Monday morning waking up
Still too numb to speak
Another night staring at the wall
Last night's conversation
Knocked me off my feet
I guess today I fall
"Already Gone" from Lost Together (1992) (purchase)
download
Called you up from across the ocean
in my dreams I hear your voice
you said I can't spend my whole life waiting
it's time you made your choice
"Sky" from Nowhere to Here (1995) (purchase)
download (an early pre-Nowhere to Here live version recorded for the CBC in 1993 from the In Stereovision DVD) (purchase)
Wouldn't it be just like me
To come undone
Get mad and lose my head
Leave with the bitter taste
Of poison on my tongue
From the things I said
Things I said
"Dragging On" from Tremolo (1997) (purchase)
I watch you lying on the bed
Curtains blowing ‘round your head
I see the pictures of the two of us in time
A world we left so far behind
"Find A Way To Say Goodbye" from Palace of Gold (2002) (purchase)
And since you ended up getting six Keelor cuts in the last post, here's another Cuddy tune for ya, from The Days in Between (speaking of that, see my previous post.)
This one's bursting with fruit flavor....er, lots of energy.
Alright I want you to know
I went down hard and I came back slow
But I'm on my feet again
And I'm begging you to let me in
I'm begging you to let me in
"Begging You To Let Me In" from The Days in Between (2000) (purchase)
Here's a cool video of Cuddy performing during Blue Rodeo's busking performance at Yonge and Dundas streets in Toronto on Sep. 24th, 2007. Performing "C'mon" - from the latest Blue Rodeo album Small Miracles.
Blue Rodeo - C'mon (live in Toronto)
Blue Rodeo - Trust Yourself (live on Letterman '91, U.S. television debut)
Blue Rodeo - After The Rain (live U.S. television '91)
Relevant Links:
Jim Cuddy official site
Blue Rodeo official website
CommentsGood Listening: Kathleen Edwards – Rocky Mountain Folks Festival 8-19-06
Written by: Matt Wardlaw
A couple of weeks ago, I posted audio from Kathleen Edwards' appearance on World Cafe. In that posting, I lamented the absence of "Scared At Night," from her latest album Asking For Flowers.
My good friend Jack (a fellow Edwards fan,) emailed me and asked me if I had a copy of Kathleen's performance at the 2006 Rocky Mountain Folks Festival. I figured he was just pointing me towards another good sounding show from Edwards, but I should have known better!
The Rocky Mountain Folks Festival performance from Kathleen is a magnificent sounding show. The show features a performance of "Scared At Night," (download) at the time unreleased, and a good introduction from Kathleen that reveals a great story behind the birth of the song. It gave me a whole new appreciation for the track.
Additionally, (and Jack HAD to know this) the performance features Blue Rodeo's Jim Cuddy, a longtime friend of Edwards, who comes out to duet on "Hockey Skates." (download)
Cuddy, by the way, has a big part in the just-completed video for Kathleen's next single "I Make The Dough, You Get The Glory."
Cuddy plays the captain of the competing team - check it out and see why Jim is one of the great guys on the Canadian music scene. Also, just imagine how much fun they all had making this video. They put a lot of effort into it, and the payoff is certainly visible in the completed product!
Kathleen Edwards - I Make The Dough, You Get The Glory
This performance from the Rocky Mountain Folks Festival is certainly a good career summary for Edwards tightly contained within one CD's worth of live music.
Enjoy it - thanks to Jack for the heads up!
Kathleen Edwards
Rocky Mountain Folks Festival
8-19-06
Planet Bluegrass
Lyons, CO
thanks to the original taper!
Track Listing:
complete zipped download
1. Intro
2. Somewhere Else
3. In State
4. Summerlong
5. Hockey Skates
6. One More Song the Radio Won't Like
7. When Will I Be Loved
8. Mercury
9. Scared At Night
10. Six O'Clock News
11. Good Things
12. What Are You Waiting For
13. Only Love Can Break Your Heart
14. Back To Me
(Encore)
15. Copied Keys
16. Pink Emerson Radio
Relevant Links:
Purchase Asking For Flowers.
CommentsQuick Hits – Rock and Roll Converse, Journey, and Jesus
Written by: Matt Wardlaw
Greetings from Cleveland, where we've had way too much sunshine and good weather lately. I'm getting a bit concerned.
Here are the things that I dug this week:
Get Converse All-Star kicks featuring The Grateful Dead, Beatles, Doors.....and Kurt Cobain, bullet holes sold separately. I'd love to get my hands on a pair of Dead Converse, for sure....and probably Beatles too!
Some late breaking thoughts on the latest Eagles album, Long Road Out of Eden.
STP frontman Weiland, breaking the hearts of 16 year old girls nationwide, or in Cleveland, at least.
Thanks to a note from Heather at I Am Fuel, You Are Friends, I stumbled upon the first draft of the parables of Jesus. VERY funny!
Butch Walker shares five things that are a must-have on the road for a touring musician in 2008. This is coming from Butch Walker, so of course the humor value is off the charts. With pictures.
Journey performed on Ellen this past week delivering a sonic assault with "Separate Ways." Not a bad way to introduce new singer Arnel Pineda, but it might have been a bit of a shock if you were watching at home, and didn't know that they had a new singer.
Highlights this week here at Addicted to Vinyl:
Reflections on life and one of my favorite albums from last year, REO Speedwagon's Find Your Own Way Home.
Great sets from Kathleen Edwards on World Cafe, and also a great show from the Indigo Girls.
CommentsGood Listening – Kathleen Edwards – World Cafe 5/16/08
Written by: Matt Wardlaw
I wrote previously about Kathleen Edwards following her mid-April appearance on David Letterman. And now, I've got a treat for you all.
Quality well-recorded live stuff from Canada's foul mouthed sweetheart isn't an easy thing to find. In fact, with the exception of some Austin City Limits audio that was pretty far removed from the original broadcast, I've yet to hear ANYTHING really good, until now. And man, was it worth the wait.
(p.s. - if you've got some nice sounding stuff from Kathleen - contact me via email, and I'd love to hear it!)
The syndicated program World Cafe was the venue for 45 minutes of great conversation and live performances from Kathleen and her full band in support of her newest release Asking For Flowers.
Host David Dye and Kathleen move through a wealth of topics including an interesting look behind the meaning of the album title, working with producer Jim Scott (Tom Petty, Whiskeytown, etc,) and some of the star power that pitched in musically on the album.
"Tom Petty's Wildflowers was the soundtrack to my young life."
The live stuff is a perfect cross-section from Asking for Flowers - including the title track, album opener "Buffalo," a haunting rendition of "Goodnight California," and the prize of the set, a fun rendition of "The Cheapest Key," which has evolved a bit in the live setting, first catching my ear when Kathleen and her band performed it on Letterman in April. Sadly, one of my favorite tracks from the album, "Scared At Night," was not in the World Cafe setlist, but the music that is contained within this 45 minute performance, is golden.
The sound of this recording is typically excellent as you would expect from the World Cafe crew, and the recording capture of the broadcast is perfect. If you dig Kathleen Edwards (and now would be the perfect time to start digging it,) this World Cafe show is going to be your new favorite bootleg! This performance ranks with a Jayhawks World Cafe performance that I have from 2002, in my unofficial list of favorite World Cafe performances.
For the uneducated, this recording is the perfect primer for your Cliff Notes lesson on Kathleen Edwards, a talented artist that in my opinion has only just begun to share the best of what she has to offer.
Track listing:
1. Intro
2. Asking for Flowers
3. Interview
4. Run
5. The Cheapest Key
6. Interview
7. Goodnight California
8. I Make The Dough, You Get The Glory
9. Interview
10. Buffalo
11. Outro
VIDEO – Kathleen Edwards on The Late Show with David Letterman
Written by: Matt Wardlaw
I knew there was someone that was going to be on late night television that I wanted to see. I couldn't come up with it. And now, thanks to Kathleen Edwards, now I remember. It was Kathleen Edwards, who actually performed one of my favorite songs, The Cheapest Key, which comes off of Kathleen's new album Asking For Flowers.
The video is online now at Youtube, but unfortunately not embeddable, so check it out via this link.
And on a side note, she doesn't sing "bull" on the album. Watch the video, and you'll perhaps catch my drift.
If you aren't hip to Kathleen's music....wow, you really should be. She's been called among other things, Canada's answer to Lucinda Williams. I call her simply "great," and her new album joins her previous two releases for a catalog of three albums that are must own material in my book.
I first became aware of her via her touring and overall support from Canadian faves of mine Blue Rodeo. Kathleen's husband Colin Cripps also plays guitar in BR frontman Jim Cuddy's solo band, and for those of you that dig a great guitar player, Colin is one to check out.
Kathleen is out on the road currently, and putting on a live show that deserves your attention if she is in your city/state/town. I'm crossing my fingers that Cleveland will get a date soon, and plotting a road trip otherwise if we don't.
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