rolling stones

The hardest working singer in showbiz is…

Posted by machinery

Mar 092012

Film study.

Excuse me if this thread has been talked over ad nauseam.

I was driving back from a meeting the other day when “Sympathy for the Devil” came on the radio. Now, I dig this song for a number of reasons, mostly the guitar solo (number 2 in my book) and the general direction of the “evil Stones” lyrics.

But what struck me on this listen was how hard Mick was working that song vocally. Here’s the band just churning away, nothing too special, but Mick is literally putting the whole band on his back to bring out all that song has to offer.

Which got me thinking…is Mick the best lead singer in rock? He certainly doesn’t have the best voice. Here’s my hypothesis. Since the Stones play a lot of blues-saturated music, they often don’t stand out too musically and melodically as say…Zeppelin. So Mick has to work twice as hard. And he does on almost every Stones song I can think of.

Ok, now stay with me. I’m no means a Stones fanatic, and I’m sure the Hall will school me here. But the Stones play great stripped down, sloppy rock. Same drum beats, same bass lines, and we’ve already talked about whether they even need a second guitar. (Yes, I’m generalizing.)

So what makes most Stones songs what they are owes 90% to Mick, no? Which got me thinking of other lead singers. Surely the Who and Zepp had more in their arsenal than just their lead singers. And even lead singers I love — Costello — had back-up musicians which more than filled the holes and brought on smiles in their own right.

So, who worked harder than Mick? Discuss.

Practice Makes Perfect: The Rolling Stones Rehearse for 1978 Television Appearance

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Feb 132012

One of my long-unfulfilled rock performance dreams is to have a gig in which my band sets up and “performs” in rehearsal mode: that is, facing each other, playing for each other, having the right to stop songs in midstream, adjust part of an arrangement, and criticize each other. We would completely block out the crowd and just do our thing, the way our thing is meant to be done.

Every once in a while I stumble across a video of an artist rehearsing for a gig or studio recording. I LOVE THIS STUFF! As a music lover, I’m as interested in experiencing what goes on behind closed doors as I am listening to or making music myself, also behind closed doors. Don’t get me wrong, the thrill of playing out or seeing a band out in the wild can be tremendous, but there are less opportunities for catching knowing glances, intimate gestures, and tossed-off asides and fills.

Enjoy this goofy, spirited rehearsal by The Rolling Stones while it lasts on YouTube. I’m afraid Steve Luthaker owns the rights to this clip.

Chemistry Class

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Jan 272012

Wow, here’s an oldie-but-goodie, first posted almost 5 years to the day, that many of our current daily participants have not had a crack at. This thread is so old that Wilco has had time to change its chemistry at least one more time. Enjoy.

This post initially appeared 1/28/07.

Changes in band chemistry need not ruin a band’s sound, but they will alter it greatly – sometimes for better, sometimes for worse, sometimes for something just as good and interesting as the orginal but…different. Today, I’m most concerned with the first and last categories. We need not spend much time on the “for worse” category. Remember, this is a site to which fans on Ron Wood-era Stones need not apply.
Continue reading »

The Unbearable Irrelevance of Relevance

Posted by misterioso

Sep 232011

Relevant or just plain good?

Now try this:

Irrelevant or just plain shitty?

Although I certainly agree with the general gist of Machinery’s REM thread, and would, myself, add at least 10 years to his over-generous assessment of REM’s breakup being “15 years too late,” I think that framing such a discussion around “relevance” is a mistake. No performer is going to remain relevant forever. Some great performers do not attain relevance while they are active, even. Relevance is largely irrelevant. What matters is the quality of the work. REM’s work after, let’s be generous here, Document may be more relevant than what came before, or it may be less relevant. I have no idea. Perhaps many people find “Everybody Poops”–er, “Hurts”–to be far more relevant than “Radio Free Europe.” I suppose there is nothing preventing a mawkish, bathetic, and dull-as-dirt song from being relevant to people.

Since of course the Stones have been mentioned, the problem with their post-Tattoo You (say) records is not irrelevance, it is shittiness. You might say that the two are related, but in all fairness, the best Stones record ever was not going to make them relevant in 1990.

Let’s try this exercise again:

Something for Almost Everyone

Posted by cdm

Sep 232011

Great news everybody! There’s a new super group in town and they go by the name Super Heavy.

Super Heavy is composed of Mick Jagger, Joss Stone, Dave Stewart, Damian Marley, and A. R. Rahman (a composer of movie soundtracks in India). As near as I can tell, Jagger and Stone sing, Stewart plays guitar, Marley raps, and Rahman noodles (on the keyboard).

They are clearly going for something that transcends national and cultural boundaries. The current formula sounds to me like:

45% Jagger
20% Marley
15% Stewart
15% Stone
5% Rahman

How would you tweak the formula to help them better reach their goals? 20% more Rahman? Seriously, this guy has apparently won two Oscars, two Grammys, and has sold 300 albums. Why is he hiding his light under a bushel? Mick’s presence is going to put asses in the seats but would it kill him to just dial it back a little bit for the good of the United-Colors-of-Benetton nature of the project?

Also, do you think they meant to evoke the “Waiting on a Friend” video starting at 3:37? I hope that Keith updates his bio with the next pressing, I’d love to hear his thoughts on this.

Finally, who is the real 6th member of Super Heavy (or 5th member if Rahman doesn’t step up his game): Marley’s floor-length dreads or Joss Stone’s rack?

In any event, these guys have upped the ante for super groups everywhere. Your move, Chicken Foot.

REM, 15 years too late?

Posted by machinery

Sep 212011

Not to be a hater here…but I can’t think of any band breaking up I could care less about. I mean, have they even been relevant for the last few decades?

So to frame it as a discussion: Are there other bands who shoulda called it quits a lot earlier than they did? Or still should? I’ll start: The Stones. Break up already. Please.

The Two LP Set: Defensible Doubles or Twofers of Unearned Arrogance

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Jul 212011

The following piece made its way up from the lp-jammed basement of E. Pluribus Gergely.

Once a month or so, I spend about 2 to 3 hours in my basement chopping up cardboard into mailers for my record bidness. Truth be told, that’s when I listen to music. When I’m in the car, it’s usually NPR. Sad but true. Anyway, before the chopping ensues, I head over to the stacks to pick something out to listen to while I chop. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve picked up something like Electric Ladyland and said, “Too much work to get to ‘All Along the Watchtower’,” ‘Crosstown Traffic,’ and a few others.” Really, you’ve gotta have a Hitler-like ego to think you can keep the interest of any listener for more than a single serving.

After racking my brain for a good half hour or so, I arrived at the following list of essential double LPs.

Charlie Parker, The Very Best of Bird (all the Dial sides with just a few outtakes). And yeah, I know it’s like a greatest hits thing, but I’m letting this one slide because it’s the best way to hear all that Dial stuff in one shot.
The Beatles, White Album. Yep, it’s all great. “Wild Honey Pie,” “Revolution #9,” “Why Don’t We Do it in the Road”…absolutely necessary. It’s all over the place, and it’s my favorite Beatles album, probably because it’s jam packed with a lot of unexpected weirdness that works extremely well together.
The Rolling Stones, Exile On Main Street. Still on my list despite the fact that it dies after “All Down the Line,” the opening track on the fourth side. As I’ve stated before it’s the ultimate statement of “Sex, Drugs, and Rock and Roll.” The cover, the 3 decent sides, and the snapshots on the inner sleeves (especially those of Mick and Keef and Jack at the microphone and Keef finishing off a sandwich whilst having a smoke) make it the LP that mom and dad worry most about in your teenage record collection.
The Clash, London Calling. The ultimate statement of life-changing rock. Again, that killer album cover, 4 sides of doozies with only a track or two of filler, and finally…2 inner sleeves jam packed with the lyrics to all the songs. The revelation that Strummer’s M16-like yammering is actually on a ’63–’66 Dylan lyric level is mindblowing. And continues to be so. On a recent trip to Hellerstown to buy a bunch of garage 45s, I revisited London Calling for 456th time and still heard things for the first time.

And that’s it. “What,” you ask, “no Blonde on Blonde?” Hell no. I can honestly say I never need to hear “Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands” ever again. It goes on and on forever, which is most probably what’s behind the meat of the thing. Dylan most probably wanted the world to know that he was the first to be skillful enough to fill a whole side with a single song. You know what? Nice try, but it doesn’t really work.

“No Freak Out?” Again, forget it. Jam “Trouble Every Day” somewhere on side 1 or 2, leave out the second wax slab of Edgar Varese/noise poop, and you’ve got a real winner. Again, too much ego and not enough good ideas.

“No Beatles Live in Hamburg ’62?” Just between you and me, I wanna add that thing to my list in the worst way, but I absolutely and positively cannot defend 4 sides of monotonous mach schau “Red Sails in the Sunset” sturm and drang. My weakness? Anything “Beatles” remains utterly fascinating. I would read a 600-page tome by George Martin’s tailor should he choose to tell all.

As far as greatest hits releases are concerned, real thought went into The Beatles: 1962–1966, The Beatles 1967–1970, Hot Rocks, More Hot Rocks, and The Kinks Chronicles. To put it bluntly, no filler. Come to think of it, add The Rolling Stones’ Through the Past Darkly (that “stop sign” looking thing) to that mix and you more or less have everything found in Townsman andyr‘s record collection. That’s not an insult. That’s a high five. That’s andyr in a nutshell. No time for bullshit.

Who knows. Maybe I’m wrong about all this. Maybe some of you see Refried Boogie, the 40-minute second LP of Canned Heat‘s Living the Blues, as an argument for the existence of God. Needless to say, your insights are always greatly appreciated.

Sincerely,

E. Pluribus

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