Arthur Russell in the Country

Arthur Russell's body of work continues to grow long after he left this world thanks to the good people at Audika Records. If known at all, Arthur's usually referred to in hushed tones by left-field disco enthusiasts for his David Mancuso Loft Party inspired jams such as "Go Bang" or "Is It All Over My Face" but his musical output was far broader than that excellent, but narrow slice of avant-pop. Arthur died of AIDS in 1992 and was creating music up until his final passing, but much of that output has yet to be heard by the public. Thanks to Audika records some of these recordings are being released and fans like me are eager to hear whatever comes out.

The latest release is "Love Is Overtaking Me" and collects recordings spanning his entire recording career from the early 1970s until 1991. What I like about this set of tunes is that they focus on more acoustic arrangements and the songs are shorter and more traditional in their pop song format with choruses and hooks, etc, but they are still distinctly different than most anything you'd ever hear on the Top 40 radio. Arthur's personality transcends any genre distinction and comes through in most everything he recorded.

These four songs are cherry-picked for their acoustic and country elements specifically for WW&W. They are also my favorites from this compilation, though there are many other great songs with more pop orientation and some synthesizers here and there. Listening to these tunes I can't help but compare Arthur's songwriting and vocal delivery to another fragile country boy who left us far too soon, Gram Parsons. The latter two songs also have a real country-soul feel with those horns much like some of Gram's cover tunes from the first Flying Burrito Brothers album.

Arthur Russell - Close My Eyes
Arthur Russell - Love Is Overtaking Me
Arthur Russell - I couldn't Say It To Your Face
Arthur Russell - Nobody Wants a Lonely Heart




If you are even vaguely moved by these songs or have heard of Arthur and wanna know more, I urge you to see the recent documentary, Wild Combination. It's a really touching tribute to this lost genius and an entertaining and compelling story. I particularly liked the parts with his heartland Iowa parents who still referred to him by his given name Charlie and who honestly admit they didn't care too much for his music while he was alive.

The Other Gallagher (& Lyle)

The REAL Gallagher & Lyle are an unlikely pair of pop musicians and their success and fame didn't really manifest itself until more than a decade into their careers. I honestly don't know too much about them as my introduction to their work was through their participation in the first incarnation of Ronnie Lane's band "Slim Chance." Benny Gallagher and Graham Lyle have gone back and forth from being a duo to joining larger bands to being a duo again and their incorporation into Ronnie's band was after their second stint as a duo.

The album featured here is from 1972 and is the one right before they joined "Slim Chance." If you know Ronnie Lane's work, you'll recognize some of his style, or vice versa, in Gallagher & Lyle's self-titled album from 1972. The music is based in a country-folk format with a strong British (or should I say Scottish) sensibility and like Ronnie, most of their best songs have a fragile and melancholy vibe.



These guys are best known as songwriters (for Art Garfunkel and Tina Turner, among others) so their vocal chops are not always the most steller, but I kinda like the way they strain for the high notes in Broken Wings. These are the kind of songs that sound better around a roaring fireplace than they would on stage at a proper venue.

Gallagher & Lyle - Comfort & Joy
Gallagher & Lyle - To David, Charlie & Ian
Gallagher & Lyle - Great Australian Dream
Gallagher & Lyle - Broken Wings

Talkin' Blues and Greens

My very good friend Josh has a dad who happens to live with his wife (and Josh's mother) in my very own hometown of Portland, Or. I met David and Diane just once at Josh's wedding in New York City and we deduced that their favorite delicatessen in Portland is the very same one that my dad worked in after graduating from Reed College back in the seventies.

Another crazy coincidence is that my fiance, Jamie, grew up in Grass Valley, CA whose sister-city, Nevada City is the home of the well known and loved independent radio station KVMR. David used to have a show on the very same radio station, so its not unthinkable that a young Jamie might have heard the tunes and voice of today's guest blogger.

Latelty, I've been benefiting from David's wealth of musical knowledge after Josh sent him the Michael Nesmith post on WW&W and since then we've occasionally exchanged musical tid-bits, Blossom Dearie for one. Josh suggested I pick David's mind about some tunes for WW&W and this one was the first (of maybe more?). Here's what David has to say about Ramblin' Jack Elliot's "912 Greens":

Ramblin' Jack Elliot - 912 Greens

I first heard Ramblin’ Jack Elliot’s song 912 Greens on one of the early free-form FM radio stations like KSAN in San Francisco, and although I barely knew what a “talkin’ Blues” song was, I knew what I liked, and this was it. This, and similar Dylan songs, and around the same time, Tom Rush’s take on the Bukka White song Panama Limited and ... and... well, there was a lot of stuff of this ilk to choose from, once you started looking. The title 912 Greens is a play on the address of the place Jack says he stayed in in New Orleans, 912 Toulouse Street. He says the song was a blues song, so he was going to call it 912 Blues, but for some reason he liked 912 Greens better. Anyway. This song has one of the best lines ever written by a white folksinger for a Talkin’ Blues song: “There was this girl there, who had once been an ex-ballet dancer”, which sets up a circular logic of staggering dimension. In the recording, it sounds natural, just a charming verbal faux pas, but he uses the phrase verbatim to this day when he performs this song.

Tom Rush - The Panama Limited

Ramblin’ Jack was a self-made cowboy from New York City who changed his name and persona in the early 1950’s and left for the open, bohemian, Woody Guthrie Cisco Houston Allen Ginsburg Jack Kerouac Road, singing, busking, telling lies and performing (and recording) with virtually every singer-songwriter of note in the latter half of the 20th century. His discography is staggering in its breadth and depth, although he very seldom, at least so far as I can tell, recorded songs with women. I don’t know why that is, it just seems to be so. He seems to love women; he has been married several times.

Anyway, this song, 912 Greens, perhaps the only one he was ever credited to have written, formed a secret, hidden soundtrack to a secret hidden life for me that was never to be. If I were to participate in the online game Second Life, my avatar would live out the life I always imagined from this song, travelin’ and singin’ and drinkin’ and stonin’ and profligatin’ and cowboyin’ and tellin’ stories and little harmless lies to any and all who might listen. And droppin’ every final “g” in the bargain. Jack Elliott, a truly self-made cowboy, entertainer, raconteur, singer, and original American Man. God bless him.

A biographical Documentary was made in 2000 by a daughter: it is called: The Ballad of Ramblin’ Jack. It’s worth viewing.

Discovering Buried Treasure: Steve Young

I was planning on posting these few songs from Steve Young's 1969 debut album and I was going to talk about how it's too bad this guy never recorded anything else, but lo and behold as soon as I started doing some research I realized that he's got lots of albums and is pretty well known. I'm not exactly certain how I managed to miss hearing anything else about him, but the good news is that I now have a new favorite artist to explore. So I don't know much more about him than this album, but its more than enough to whet my appetite for more. Here's Steve Young:


Steve Young featuring Gram Parsons - That's How Strong My Love Is
This is a cover of a classic Memphis soul song originally recorded by O.V. Wright and later by Otis Redding. Gram plays organ on this tune and it only seems to creep up towards the end of the song.

Steve Young - Rock Salt & Nails
What a tune! The lyrics are really something else . . . makes me think of another O.V. Wright song, "A Nickel and a Nail".

Steve Young featuring Gene Clark - My Sweet Love Ain't Around
Another cover, this time of Hank Williams Sr. and that's Gene Clark on the harmonica.

Rare Byrd Sightings

Here are a few tunes to tide you all over from the quality Byrds catalog. Before doing a wee bit of research just now, I was unaware how closely these two songs were linked. Both songs were unissued Byrds songs that were eventually released in 1969 as "Pre Flyte", a compilation of songs that pre-dated their first album "Mr. Tambourine Man." Both songs don't sound particularly Byrd-like, but that doesn't mean they're not excellent folk-pop numbers.

The Byrds - Airport Song
McGuinn shares the writing credits on "The Airport Song," but its delicate lead vocal and its jazzy changes mark this as a Crosby song, and not a bad one at all. Though not quite up to the level of "Everybody Has Been Burned," which dates from Crosby's pre-Byrds career as a solo folksinger, "The Airport Song" shows him working in similar territory. (from The Byrd Watcher site)

The Turtles - You Showed Me
One of the earliest Byrds songs, "You Showed Me" was an auspicious beginning. A minor-key romantic ballad, the song has a near- Beach Boys feel and ends up being an effervescent piece of moody pop. Although this fine song was left off the Byrds' debut album (no doubt to make room for more Dylan covers), it is available on Preflyte (or In the Beginning on Rhino). The Turtles did a fabulous, slowed-down cover of the song, which was a huge hit in 1969, at the end of their career. Furthermore, U2 sampled the Turtles' version for the hook on "Playboy Mansion" in the late '90s, providing the writers with another, unexpected royalty windfall.

"The 1989 debut album by hip-hop combo De La Soul featured an uncredited sample from the Turtles (specifically, the intro to "You Showed Me"), in the song "Transmitting Live from Mars". Kaylan and Volman sued, winning a large settlement, setting a legal precedent, and causing the music industry to begin carefully crediting (and paying royalties for) sampled works on future rap and other recordings. As they explained, "We don't hate sampling; we like sampling. If we don't get credit, we sue, and all that stuff (a share of the royalties, plus punitive damages) comes back to us!" (from Wikipedia)

Vanishing Point Soundtrack

I can't even quite remember how I first came across the 1971 cult-classic film "Vanishing Point." It probably had something to do the Delaney & Bonnie kick I was on several years back when I found some obscure reference to a movie that they appeared in playing musical Jesus-Freaks that lived out in the desert. I managed to catch part of the movie on cable TV and then a few years later found a gently-used VHS copy at a thrift store. I was of course on the hunt for the soundtrack, but that proved a little trickier to find. I managed to find a copy in Porto Alegre, of all places, in the southern part of Brazil. Why, you ask, would this obscure movie soundtrack deserve a Brazilian pressing? It turns out that the major Brazilian TV network, Globo, used the song "Freedom of Expression" by the J.B. Pickers (featured below) as the theme song to one of their news programs, "Globo Reporter".

Here's the original movie preview:


Here's the US release of the album:

















The J.B. Pickers - Super Soul Theme
So, who exactly were the J.B. Pickers? Well, the J.B. I assume stands for Jimmy Bowen, a longtime Nashville producer who was big in the late 60s country-pop scene, having shepherded the careers of Kenny Rogers and Glen Campbell, among others. He came out with a book about a decade ago retelling his story and rise to fame and fortune in the country music business - he retired before Garth Brooks could have him fired. Jimmy's players have three tracks on the soundtrack, two of them being included here and the last credited to "Jimmy Bowen Orchestra" being a little schmaltzy as the score to the nostalgic/romantic flashback scenes. This track here is the one for the beat-heads with its open drum-break intro and funky vamping. Country-Funk, served up in honor of DJ Super Soul aka Cleavon Little, best known as the black cowboy from Mel Brooks' Blazing Saddles.

Here's the scene that introduces DJ Super Soul and is fairly representative of the film in its artsy approach and deliberate pacing: small-town life contrasted with a high-flying car chase.


Bobby Doyle - The Girl Done Got It Together
I have no idea who Bobby Doyle is but I've always liked this uptempo country-rock nugget that is the soundtrack to the an earlier scene in the movie before things start to go horribly wrong.

Gotta love the naked hippy chick cruising around the desert on a motorcycle.

Jerry Reed - Welcome to Nevada
Jerry Reed is another big name in 1970s country and I really like this rocky instrumental that was clearly written for this movie as Kowalski makes it halfway to San Francisco and enters Nevada.

The J.B. Pickers - Freedom of Expression
This is the track from Brazil's "Globo Reporter". I've also found it make a perfect soundtrack to high-stakes driving as it happened to be playing on the CD player one winter while heading home from some hot-springs in the mountains with 6 inches of slushy snow on the ground, the sun setting and our minivan fishtailing down the road. My dad was driving and after a minute or two of white-knuckled musical accompaniment, he kindly asked me to turn it off as the driving was stressful enough.

Jimmy Walker - Where Do We Go From Here?
Like the Bobby Doyle track, I have no idea where Jimmy Walker came from or where he want after this soundtrack, but this is another poppy tune that really gets stuck in your head. It's also kind of like Kowalski's theme song . . . "Hooray for the man of vision."

Delaney, Bonnie & Friends - You Got To Believe
This is the Delaney & Bonnie track that seems to have actually been recorded on set and specifically for this movie. If you see the movie you'll notice that an uncredited Rita Coolidge is also part of D&B's religious tribe. In doing research for this post I learned that Delaney Bramlett passed away at the age of 69 just after Christmas. He will be missed. I will definitely be doing a fuller D&B post in the future on Weed, Whites & Wine, so stay tuned.

This really is kinda the perfect soundtrack for Weed, Whites & Wine with its cross-pollination of country and rock and even its overt drug references (Kowalski's marathon car-chase is fueled by pills and he meets the hippy chick and her hippy daddy in search of a refill).

The film is well known enough to illicit numerous tributes, among them a couple of Chrysler employees trying to convince us that their new Challenger is in the mold of the famous white Challenger from the movie.

Or here we have the lead single, "Kowalski" from Primal Scream's 1997 album, "Vanishing Point". If the film wasn't such a cult classic, the references would have probably been over the top, but these guys were clearly fans of the film and Kowalski's heroic story. Their video is a visual homage to the film.

One Monkee Requests a Brief Intermission

This is a big generalization, but . . . the sharpest, most eloquent and put together types don't make the best musicians. The great musicians usually have some critical character flaw that is compensated for because of their immense creative genius. Rarely do I find that popular music celebrates the soberly insightful straight-talker. In the case of today's highlighted artist, he's been hiding in broad daylight as that dude from the Monkees who wore the dorky stocking cap.

When I first got tipped off to Michael Nesmith as a serious artist I too scoffed. During my road-trip this summer I managed to find his first and third solo albums at a record shop in Nevada City, CA and I took a chance on them. I have yet to amass his entire solo works, but if they are anything like the three albums I do have then I'll be on the lookout for the others. A bit of internet research about the guy and you'll find his credibility is not in question. This interesting article in Swindle Magazine gives a decent overview of his life's work to date.

Like some of the other artists we've highlighted so far on WW&W, the Monkees crew were also very much intertwined in the hippy Laurel Canyon L.A. Rock scene. Fellow Monkee, Mickey Dolenz, was the most notorious Monkee in the canyon, but clearly Papa Nez (his nickname) was tight with some of the L.A. rock luminaries, such as Frank Zappa.

Later, after having pitched the idea of Music Videos to Nickelodeon's parent company (see the Swindle Mag article), he won the first Grammy award for Video in his "Elephant Parts" series of skits. You can buy it here. The previous year his mother, the inventor of liquid-paper, died and left him with over 50 million dollars. Papa Nez also founded the Council on Ideas, a biannual think-tank gathering of distinguished individuals brought together to brainstorm big ideas that can help heal the world.

To get back to my earlier generalization . . . Michael Nesmith is clearly no slouch, but after listening to these handful of tracks I think you'll find that his music is pretty good too. Sure, it's cerebral, but its also very artful and his lyrics are extremely honest and poignant, often showing an emotional maturity that is rarely found in rock music.

Michael Nesmith & the First National Band - Calico Girlfriend
The rockin' lead-off song from Papa Nez's first post-Monkees album.

Michael Nesmith & the First National Band - Nine Times Blue
Just listen to the words on this one. Have you ever heard such a plaintive and honest plea for a forgiveness?

Michael Nesmith & the First National Band - Little Red Rider
And I love how the last song segues right into this funky rock tune.

Michael Nesmith & the First National Band - Joanne
This is the "big hit" from his first album. I love his country-inflected falsetto.

p.s. - these four songs are the first four songs on the album meaning the whole thing is pretty nice.

Michael Nesmith & the First National Band - Nevada Fighter
This is almost like country-prog-rock with its strange and complicated arrangements.

Michael Nesmith & the First National Band - Tumbling Tumbleweeds
A nice version of this classic country tune that you may recognize in another version from the movie "The Big Lebowski."

Michael Nesmith - Different Drum
Papa Nez wrote this song and Linda Ronstadt and the Stone Ponys made it a hit. This is from a later album of his after he disbanded the first and second national bands. This album is stripped down to just Michael on guitar and vocal and Red Rhodes (who played on nearly everything he did during the early seventies) on pedal steel.