Steve Earle, "This City" from "Treme" (2010)

Here's Steve Earle -- as a friend wondered "why isn't this guy famous?" -- doing the track over the closing credits for season one of the acclaimed HBO series Treme'.  The track documents the Army Corp. of Engineers engineered severe flooding of my beloved New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. . For a self-proclaimed Texas hillbilly singer-songwriter, Earle covers post-flood New Orleans like he grew up in this neighborhood.

Story-songs don't get much better than This City. The story Steve weaves together is solid American history. This City will last 'til the marble crumbles in D.C.

"Laughing Out Loud": The Wallflowers (1996)

I love this deep album cut from The Wallflowers 1996 break-out CD Bringing Down the Horse. I've intentionally included the lyrics because they're so damn good. Enjoy.

Warren Zevon: "The Wind" (2003): 'Fending Off Death Naturally Through the Transition from Immortality'

Warren Zevon's last record was released two weeks before he died. The CD arrived in yesterday's mail.  I give this masterpiece five stars with a bullet. Nonetheless, greater minds than mine have evaluated this record. Robert Christgau has been the quintessential rock 'n' roll critict, to my mind, since I first discovered him in 1972 and way before that. Here's Christgua on Zevon's The Wind:

The Wind (Artemis, 2003) Naturally he fends off death-the-fact the way he fended off death-the-theme -- with black humor. "I'm looking for a woman with low self-esteem" is how he sums up the succor he craves, and he finishes off a painful "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" with impatient cries of "Open up, open up, open up." But "El Amor de Mi Vida," "She's Too Good for Me," "Please Stay," and "Keep Me in Your Heart" mean what their titles say. Only by hearing them can you grasp their tenderness, or understand that the absolute Spanish one seems to be for the wife he left behind, or muse that while the finale addresses his current succor provider, it also reaches out to the rest of us. Everyone who says this isn't a sentimental record is right. But it admits sentiment, hold the hygiene, and suggests that he knows more about love dying than he did when he was immortal. A-

 That's an A+ analysis, but, in my humble opinion, I disagree on Christgua's rating. This essential "facing death" record gets an A.

Disorder in the House (w/ Bruce Springsteen)

Gabriel Garcia Marquez' "One Hundred Years of Solitude", Redux

Gabriel García Márquez

This giant of modern writing passed away April 17th -- yesterday -- at the age of 87.
Señor Márquez, Requiescat in Pace. http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-27073911

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A good cure for thinking the United States, capitalism, and magical realism are correctly called American is our fine, current Latin American literature. Garcia Marquez' masterwork should be a fixture in every library -- at home and for the public -- in North and South America. Truly a masterpiece and object lesson for nortes'. Verdaderamente instructivo.

.

Carolyn Wonderland at Skipper's Smoke House: Texas Burnin', with a Cherry Red Custom Telecaster and a Lone Star Lady Singin' the Blues

Carolyn Wonderland at Skipper's Smoke House (April 8, 2014)

Carolyn blew my socks off. Carolyn was on fire, Texas style. Here's a little recent evidence:

TEXAS BURNING with Carolyn Wonderland: I Live Alone With Someone

An Event that Changed America on April 4, 1968: "Shot rings out in the Memphis sky"

At 6:01 p.m., April 4, 1968, a shot rang out as [Reverend Dr. Martin Luther] King stood on the second-floor balcony of the [Memphis motel where he was staying while he supported] black sanitary public works employees ... who had been on strike since March 12 for higher wages, [pay equity with white employees] and better treatment. From the Wikipedia Contributors on Martin Luther King, Jr. 

Reverend King was assassinated on April 4, 1968, on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee -- the wreath marks the spot where King fell, mortally wounded. 

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One man come in the name of love
One man come and go
One man come, he to justify
One man to overthrow

In the name of love
What more in the name of love
In the name of love
What more in the name of love

One man caught on a barbed wire fence
One man he resist
One man washed on an empty beach.
One man betrayed with a kiss

In the name of love
What more in the name of love
In the name of love
What more in the name of love

(nobody like you...)

Early morning, April 4
Shot rings out in the Memphis sky
Free at last, they took your life
They could not take your pride

In the name of love
What more in the name of love
In the name of love
What more in the name of love
In the name of love
What more in the name of love 
...
(U2, Pride (In the Name of Love), The Unforgettable Fire (1984)

"Lost but not forgotten, from the dark heart of a dream"

Bruce Springsteen (1976)

You're born into this life paying,
for the sins of somebody else's past ...
You inherit the sins, you inherit the flames ...
Lost but not forgotten, from the dark heart of a dream,
Adam raised a Cain

Adam raised a Cain

Steve Earle Covers His Mentor's Best: "Townes" : "Pancho and Lefty" (2009)

Backstage before going on at a gig with Willie Nelson, Bob Dylan explains why Townes Van Zandt's song Pancho and Lefty is a national treasure:

He's (Townes) is like a philosopher-poet. He gets to the heart of it in a quick way; gets it out. It's over, and just leaves the listener to -- think about it. 

Here Steve Earle covers this superb, truly American song.

Stephen Stills' "Manassas": "Both of Us (Bound to Lose)" (1972)

In the spring of 1972 perspective, Stephen Stills' band Manassas, Crosby and Nash, and Neil Young shared the Top Ten Billboard LP charts with three separate releases. During this record dominance by former members of the shattered supergroup, Rolling Stone found it "reassuring to know that Stills has some good music still inside him". (RS (109). Manassas stands by far as the best of what those artists released in '72. And with this record Stills expands on his original song structures.

Suite: Judy Blue Eyes established Steven Stills as a composer who could take three shorts songs about his ex-girlfriend and form an exquisite suite. On Manassas, each of the double albums four sides consist of a multi-song suite. Below is the track Both of Us (Bound to Lose) that closes the side one -- Suite: The Raven. On this track Stills not only gets to show off his harmony vocal prowess with Chris Hillman, but the song also closes with a fine latin rock movement powered by Joe Lala's percussion. Stills' deft electric lead guitar is on display throughout.

Yep, it was 1972.

(Manassas percussionist and Tampa native Joe Lala passed away this month. This one's in memory of you, Joe.)

"I Feel Alright Tonight"

Steve Earle (1996)

"I feel alright tonight!"

Toots & The Maytals - "Pressure Drop" / The Slickers - "Johnny Too Bad"

The Harder The Come Soundtrack (1973) 

Toots and The Maytals

Here's a couple of cuts from The Harder They Come soundtrack that turned me on, in the early 80s, to the real deal -- reggae straight from the source: the isle of Jamaica. When it comes to my favorite deep album cuts from this record, Pressure Drop blew my mind the first time I heard the track and still gets me out of my chair to this day, over three decades later. 5 stars with a bullet!

The second cut, from The Slickers, has, to my ear, a whole different feel. And it still get 5 stars from me. Enjoy! 

Bonnie Riatt & Aretha Franklin: "Since You've Been Gone" (live)

In 1993, at the Nederlander Theatre in New York City, Aretha Franklin did an AIDS benefit featuring some gifted talents of the era, including Smokey Robinson, Bonnie Raitt, Rod Stewart, Elton John, Gloria Estephan and P. M. Dawn. Each spoke of how thrilled they were to perform with Ms. Franklin. When Bonnie stepped up, the two Rhythm and Blues greats combined to give us a unique, moving duet performance. That said, save some attention for Bonnie's soulful slide guitar.

Genre Pioneer Pete Seeger Passes on to His Reward

Pete Seeger in 2007 (photo by Anthony Pepitone)

Folk legend Pete Seeger passed away yesterday. As one of my blogger mentors covered Seeger's passing so well, I pass it on here. 

See https://www.facebook.com/EchoesInTheWind/posts/10201455913622155

Pete, Requiescat in Pace.

A Mature Bruce Springsteen and The Big Man's Last Solo for Him

Bruce on tour in Europe (top photo) in support of Wrecking Ball (2012)

I just finished reading a collection of interviews, speeches and encounters, Springsteen on Springsteen (2012) containing Bruce's 2011 eulogy for his E Street Band's founding sax player, dear friend Clarence Clemons. After giving the eulogy, Bruce told an interviewer, he went home, put on The Big Man's sax solo in the yet unreleased song Land of Hope and Dreams, and cried. I love that song off Wrecking Ball (2012), an album I've enjoyed thoroughly since I got a copy last summer.

Mature; that's what this record is. Bruce's recent speeches and interviews attest to that maturity. Not really surprising; the man is 64. 

The daring arrangements and historically-aware ethnic diversity in the tracks, some of Irish and traditional immigrant folk with complete, authentic instrumentation. But there's plenty of the straight ahead, take-no-prisoners social commentary about the world we live in. I see plenty of charismatic rocker I've followed devotedly since the late 70s.

Springsteen on Springsteen may be best for die hard fans, but the album should bring new listeners from Bruce's international audience to the fold. (His photo up top was shot at a festival gig in Denmark.  

Here's a taste of mature, pure rock n' roll redemption.

Land of Hope and Dreams -Bruce Springsteen on Vimeo.

"Where the eagle glides ascending, there's an ancient river bending ...." --Neil Young

From 1979, a year that rock saw punk and Anglicized reggae ascending -- here, with audience reaction removed, is an acoustic track from a live collection comprising one of Neil's finest albums.

Etta James: "I'd Rather Go Blind" (1968)

Etta James in 1960

I cut my teeth on Rod Stewart's 1972 cover of the soul classic I'd Rather Go Blind from his Never a Dull Moment album. Now I realize Etta James is responsible for creating the definitive version of this song four years earlier at FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. Indeed, Ms. James handed off her co-writing credit for the lyrics -- a collaboration with Ellington Jordan.

For anybody wondering why Stewart is a "white boy lost in the blues" compared to Etta James, here's my evidence:

Lou Reed Goes to the Otherside

Lou Reed (1942-2013)

Lou Reed, Velvet Underground Leader and Rock Pioneer, Dead at 71

Read more: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/lou-reed-velvet-underground-leader-and-rock-pioneer-dead-at-71-20131027#ixzz2iwvfk8vG 

I try to focus on genre pioneers 'round here. When it comes to New York City rock 'n' roll, Lou is, was and always will be the man. Requiescat in pace.

A Film of an Unfilmable Novel: Jack Kerouac's "On The Road" (2012)

For all of my 56 years, it was assumed this classic, genre'-defining, beat generation novel was unfilmable. But, as usual, patience pays off.

Roy Orbison: "Mystery Girl" (1989) (".... Am I left to burn, and burn eternally ...")

Bono and The Edge wrote this song for Roy. It was Roy's last record (released posthumously).

The Velvet Underground -- Alternate Lou-approved Outro to Cut from "Loaded" (1970): Sweet Jane

This is is one of the only LPs I ever "borrowed" and never returned. I guess I stole it but this record was so fundamental to my late-70s-'til-now musical development, well ....

Hear what all this fuss out of me for the last four decades is about just below.

(Bye the bye, Maureen Timmons and The Cowboy Junkies do a rock solid cover of this essential song.)