Thursday 9/22 1975!

[ggould]

Ooh!  VHM to "Somebody Up There Likes Me."

Gaz I may have asked before, but your boss Mr Christgau panned Young Americans when it came out (gave it a C+ as I recall).  I wonder if he's changed his mind about it over 30 yeras.

For me, the ultimate lame-ass review is Rolling Stone's review of the "Layla" album.  Classic lines like "of course there's the usual double-album bloated excess"  (this is not a quote but a paraphrase) and so on...

[RGMike]

Ooh!  VHM to "Somebody Up There Likes Me."

Gaz I may have asked before, but your boss Mr Christgau panned Young Americans when it came out (gave it a C+ as I recall).  I wonder if he's changed his mind about it over 30 yeras.

For me, the ultimate lame-ass review is Rolling Stone's review of the "Layla" album.  Classic lines like "of course there's the usual double-album bloated excess"  (this is not a quote but a paraphrase) and so on...

Of course hindsight is always 20/20. Remember virtually every major film critic in the US panned Bonnie & Clyde.  Both South Park and Sex & the City got decidedly mixed notices when they premiered.

[Gazoo]

Ooh!  VHM to "Somebody Up There Likes Me."

Gaz I may have asked before, but your boss Mr Christgau panned Young Americans when it came out (gave it a C+ as I recall).  I wonder if he's changed his mind about it over 30 years.

I don't plan to ask him.  Christgau -- who thankfully is NOT my boss -- is horribly rude to copy editors and I've lost a considerable amount of respect for him in recent months.  The less said to him, the better.

[Gazoo]

Ooh!  VHM to "Somebody Up There Likes Me."

Gaz I may have asked before, but your boss Mr Christgau panned Young Americans when it came out (gave it a C+ as I recall).  I wonder if he's changed his mind about it over 30 years.

http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_album.php?id=957

Consumer Guide Album

David Bowie: Young Americans [RCA Victor, 1975]
This is a failure. The tunes make (Lennon-McCartney's) "Across the Universe" sound like a melodic highlight, and although the amalgam of English hard rock and Philly soul is so thin it's interesting, it often overwhelms David's voice, which is even thinner. But after the total alienation of Diamond Dogs and the total ripoff of David Live, I'm pleased with Bowie's renewed generosity of spirit--he takes pains to simulate compassion and risks failure simply by moving on. His reward is two successes: the title tune, in which pain stimulates compassion, and (Bowie-Lennon-Alomar's) "Fame," which rhymes with pain and makes you believe it. B-

[Lightnin' Rod]

Listening to the replay.  What an awesome segue from the "if America gets a cold, blacks get pnemonia" clip into "How Long Has This Been Going On."  Dave's the best a seques.

Also, listening to "10 Years Gone" with this more than slight buzz I've got going was wonderful.  Really listened to how the bass line interacted with the song.  Not fancy, but perfect.  And Jimmy reels off a couple of solos that are oh so tasty, but no real not flashy.  Again, perfect.

BOS 2 and 3 for Bowie and Dr. Wu, two songs I missed this morning.  BOS 1 for Zep, of course.

[Gazoo]

Listening to the replay.  What an awesome segue from the "if America gets a cold, blacks get pnemonia" clip into "How Long Has This Been Going On."  Dave's the best a seques.

Also, listening to "10 Years Gone" with this more than slight buzz I've got going was wonderful.  Really listened to how the bass line interacted with the song.  Not fancy, but perfect.  And Jimmy reels off a couple of solos that are oh so tasty, but no real not flashy.  Again, perfect.

BOS 2 and 3 for Bowie and Dr. Wu, two songs I missed this morning.  BOS 1 for Zep, of course.

Drunk before 10pm = CLASSIC   :twisted:

[Lightnin' Rod]

Listening to the replay.  What an awesome segue from the "if America gets a cold, blacks get pnemonia" clip into "How Long Has This Been Going On."  Dave's the best a seques.

Also, listening to "10 Years Gone" with this more than slight buzz I've got going was wonderful.  Really listened to how the bass line interacted with the song.  Not fancy, but perfect.  And Jimmy reels off a couple of solos that are oh so tasty, but no real not flashy.  Again, perfect.

BOS 2 and 3 for Bowie and Dr. Wu, two songs I missed this morning.  BOS 1 for Zep, of course.

Drunk before 10pm = CLASSIC   :twisted:

Well, if you wait too long, it's hard to get up the next morning.

[urth]

BOS2 Holdin' On To Yesterday--Ambrosia at their best.

...annual birthday Amoeba album binge last weekend--more on that later!)

Do share! does "album" mean you're getting vinyl?

Nay, Ms. Alicat, it just means I am being my usual stubborn self when it comes to the lexicon. To me, 'album' refers to a collection of songs regardless of the medium on which they're stored. I use the words 'record' and 'album' pretty much interchangeably with 'CD,' but in this case, all are on CD. I did look at some original Young Fresh Fellows vinyl, but as I've got them in other formats, I put that purchase off to another day.

And what did I get?

Kinks-Soap Opera
Be Bop Deluxe-Live in the Air Age*
Be Bop Deluxe-Modern Music*
Mercury Rev-Deserter's Songs
Mercury Rev-The Secret Migration
Randy Newman-Sail Away (used for $6, couldn't say no)
Graham Parker-Squeezing Out Sparks+Live Sparks (also used, $8, couldn't say no here either)

Only a couple among them that were recorded in the past 20 years. Hmmm. Why does that bug me, just a little?

Of course, upon returning home, I discovered that we already had a copy of Soap Opera, so I was forced (at gun point, I swear) to go back to Amoeba that night & exchange it for a copy of the Kinks' Schoolboys in Disgrace. Not one of their best, but a few noteworthy tunes, particularly the aforementioned No More Looking Back, one of those songs that ripped my adolescent heart from my chest when I heard it circa 1975-76.

And while I was transacting that exchange I also ran across a used copy of the 25th anniversary edition of Curtis Mayfield's Superfly soundtrack, an album I'd been desiring in one form or another for quite a few years. $13, two discs, mine.

*Rod, you may already have noticed, but it appears that most, if not all, of the Be Bop Deluxe catalog has finally been reissued domestically. I grabbed these two, but they also had the two I copied for you earlier this year (Sunburst Finish, Tramcar to Tomorrow) as well as Futurama, Axe Victim, and Drastic Plastic, not to mention a few other compilations. Ironically, another album I bought in the UK last year on the premise that it wasn't in print in the US has since been reissued, that being Gang of Four's Entertainment! And the reissued Richard and Linda Thompson records I bought seem to be readily available now too, although as imports but at reasonable prices. Damn, guess I'm just ahead of the curve when it comes to tracking down unavailable 70s nuggets. If I'd only waited a year I could have saved a good $15 to $20, at least.

Maybe I can get a gig as a consultant for Rhino or something, helping plot their next rounds of reissues? Dreamer....

[RGMike]

quite a haul, my friend.  Mr Newman's Sail Away is a masterpiece at any price. Can I assume you already own Good Old Boys?

[Gazoo]

quite a haul, my friend.  Mr Newman's Sail Away is a masterpiece at any price. Can I assume you already own Good Old Boys?

I was just looking for Good Old Boys at the Virgin Megastore last week.  No dice, though they had seven other Randy Newman CDs available.  Either they're weirdly selective about their catalogue, or I was far from the only person who had "Louisiana, 1927" on his mind of late.

I suspect the latter.

[urth]

quite a haul, my friend.  Mr Newman's Sail Away is a masterpiece at any price. Can I assume you already own Good Old Boys?

You may, indeed. Don't know why it took me so long to pick up its companion piece.

I was just looking for Good Old Boys at the Virgin Megastore last week.  No dice, though they had seven other Randy Newman CDs available.  Either they're weirdly selective about their catalogue, or I was far from the only person who had "Louisiana, 1927" on his mind of late.

I suspect the latter.

Safe to say. It's on a couple of best-ofs and other comps as well, but as you've probably already decided, GOB  is an album that should be heard in its entirety. Painful, but funny at the same time. If any album should be considered "americana", it's this one. It has that timeless feel--the arrangements could have been written any time in the last 60 years, if not more.

I'd be really curious to know what the Soundscan figures are for that album over the last three weeks, give or take a few days.

Btw, Aaron Neville does a really great cover of Louisiana, 1927 too.

I just noticed something kind of interesting about Good Old Boys. Among those listed on its stellar credits (Keltner, Cooder, Al Perkins, Willie Weeks to name a few) are Robert Margouleff and Malcolm Cecil, credited with Moog and Arp synth programming. Those two gentlemen also performed that task, as well as an associate production nod, on Stevie Wonder's Innervisions and Fulfillingness First Finale. Small world, LA in the 70s.

[RGMike]

GOB  is an album that should be heard in its entirety. Painful, but funny at the same time. If any album should be considered "americana", it's this one. It has that timeless feel--the arrangements could have been written any time in the last 60 years, if not more.

Randy has often named Stephen Foster as one of his major idols/influences, and it's apparent on GOB.  It's an admission that's bothered some people who think of Foster as a racist old Southern white guy who wrote songs about lovable "darkies".  I was just looking at GOB recently; I have a friend from Louisiana who went to LSU ("went in dumb, come out dumb too" -- LOL!) who has never heard it.  I remember it getting a lot of NYC airplay when released, particularly the song "Rednecks", and I can't imagine that happening today.

[mshray]

GOB  is an album that should be heard in its entirety. Painful, but funny at the same time. If any album should be considered "americana", it's this one. It has that timeless feel--the arrangements could have been written any time in the last 60 years, if not more.

Randy has often named Stephen Foster as one of his major idols/influences, and it's apparent on GOB.  It's an admission that's bothered some people who think of Foster as a racist old Southern white guy who wrote songs about lovable "darkies".  I was just looking at GOB recently; I have a friend from Louisiana who went to LSU ("went in dumb, come out dumb too" -- LOL!) who has never heard it.  I remember it getting a lot of NYC airplay when released, particularly the song "Rednecks", and I can't imagine that happening today.

Gaz & I have friend from our days as Scwabbies who used to live in the house that Stephen Foster lived in, in Pittsburgh, which is said to be haunted by his ghost.  He has some intersting stories to tell.

Just to be clear, Foster was a Pennsylvanian, and never went south of the Mason-Dixon line except once - his honeymoon in New Orleans.  He was the very first American to make a living as a composer of music, and he was also lucky in the way that all major pop culture icons have to be:  He wrote "Oh! Susanna" in 1849, and it became the adopted anthem of all the folks heading west to California.

lastly, the most recent time I went to Amoeba, I too walked out with a used copy of Sail Away.

[RGMike]

Just to be clear, Foster was a Pennsylvanian, and never went south of the Mason-Dixon line except once - his honeymoon in New Orleans.

racist old Northern white guy, then :wink:  But thanks, I did not know that.

[mshray]

Just to be clear, Foster was a Pennsylvanian, and never went south of the Mason-Dixon line except once - his honeymoon in New Orleans.

racist old Northern white guy, then :wink:  But thanks, I did not know that.

No, he had no sympathy for the south, was probably never even aware that his popularity was so high there & wouldn't have expected his legacy to be so closley tied to it.  Check out the Allmusic bio sometime.