COLUMBIA RECORDS FLASHBACKS

Bruce Springsteen- The Wild, The Innocent & the E Street Shuffle (1973)

*Review* Bruce Springsteen- The Wild, The Innocent & The E Street Shuffle (1973) (CBS)
The Boss, as he is affectionately known, became a household name with his 1975 smash Born to Run album, however the one he made before that has been immortalised in the minds of long time fans, an artistic statement, which was the pinnacle of his career. Born To Run would prove to be his commercial breakthrough, but The Wild.. became much more than that.
Being one of the most overlooked albums of all time, one has to wonder why the appeal of it’s successor eclipsed this set of music. Simply because of commerical potential. A lot of promotion went into Born To Run, it was being hyped to the max and columbia records saw it as a once in a llifetime opprortunity to propel Springsteen into the mainstream. If he couldn’t achieve it with Born to Run, then it would never of happened.

In hindsight, many facets of Springsteen’s music has been continual over his 30 plus year career.

His E Street Band, his style of songwriting, his management (Jon Landau).
However, in my opinion he peaked on this one. It’s like when Brian Wilson from the Beach Boys tried to follow up the pet Sounds album, he had an unstable personality but anyway he had a nervous breakdown because he accomplished so much on that record, that he was artistically burnt out.

In no way did the Boss burn out after this though. But material wise, the second album was his strongest to date. It starts of with The E Street Shuffle, you get a feeling of the summer air in New Jersey as you walk the streets, and see the children playing under fire hydrants, (it sounds like the first scene of Spike Lee’s Crooklyn). Interracial families hanging out by the diner, the young men in their Sunday best trying to make the girls swoon. It’s typical 1950’s New Jersey which Springsteen paints a picture, and from there he takes you on a journey.
Sandy, is a song about a beloved girl who falls in love a boy and they ponder over leaving the wreckless town in which they live.

Kitty’s back, about the ex-girlfriend, who’s back in town and you don’t want to be lured in again by the reckless vixen.

Side two is essentially a three song suite, which run into one another. It opens with the classic “Incident on 57th Street”, refers to Spanish johnny the central character of the song, he can’t find a true heart and thinks it can be bought, however finds his true love in puerto rican Jane whom he leaves at the end, to succumb to the street hood he was and always is.
Rosolita, is about the rock n roll singer and his girlfriend’s disaprroving parents. It’s a plea to the girlfriend to see some sense and make a decision on whether they should go steady.

The closer “New York City Serenade”, is the centrepiece of the album. Describing the dusk atmosphere of early morning New York, walking past buskers and corner boys down on their luck. Set against an orchestral backdrop, it threatened to be one of the all time classics in contemporary music. Had it not been for it’s unrecognised reception upon release, it may well of been considered his greatest album. He followed this album up with the classic
“Born To Run”, his first mutli platinum classic.

Musicians Who Never Learnt Their Instruments

Believe or not, music has a long history of musicians who have never learnt to play their instruments properly.



Not to be disheartened by this, some of them have become notable for their influence on popular music in a way. It all stems from either lack of resources, like teaching wasn't available in their area, or couldn't afford leasons, or because the player eventually had a natural talent for hearing notes inside a scale, and putting it together in their head and replicating on the instrument.



Many popular artists have accomplished this, most notably a large number guitar players have managed to learn this way, as it is easy to do so than to learn music theory.



Eric Clapton never learned music, he was bought a guitar, and copied note for note the guitar lines from his favourite Muddy Waters records.



Jimi Hendrix- never learnt music theory. He tuned his guitar to what he could hear, his band would play to what key he was tuned in. He used to refer to different colours when trying to describe what key or vibe he wanted the direction of music to be in.



Paul Mcartney- never learnt theory. To this day he's writing material for his solo albums and hasn't needed the aid of sheet music or notation to get him by.



To have a natural ability to hear notes is a great ability to have as a musician. Some musicians could have learned all the theory in the world, and practice consistently for years and still not be as proficient as someone who plays by their ear. It shows you can still be terrible if you try and learn everything right, it's apart of having the natural talent.



Having said that, Jimi Hendrix never learned theory and was a great guitar player, but at the same time he was no pavarotti when it came to vocal ability. In fact, in my opinion that was his weakest attribute, he couldn't sing that well really but he had a lot of presence in his performance which was what his appeal was.



Don Letts, a famous London DJ, who rose to prominence in the 70's london punk scene, as a DJ he started spinning his dub reggae records at the punk clubs and became an influential documentary maker in the later years, was called upon to be a part of a new group, which Mick Jones (at the time, out of the just disbanded Clash) was forming called Big Audio Dynamite.



His input into the band, would be to press his fingers on the keyboard when the lights shone on the keys. So it goes to show you, that you can be in a band without even having to play a note. All jokes aside though, I think Mick Jones recruited him for the gimmick value of it.



Ornette Coleman is another example. He came onto the Jazz scene without knowing a solitary note, he played Alto Sax but never learned to read notation and didn't know any scales whatsoever. He became an innovator in the free jazz movement of the early 60's, and remains still a relevant figure today as he is still musically active. Miles Davis claims in his autobiography that, "I don't know what's wrong with him. For him-a sax player-to pick up a trumpet and violin like that and just think he can play them with no kind of training is disrespectful toward all those people who play them well".

Soon music will become automated, just like everything else in our lives. I've explained in a previous blog that music will not psychically change hands at the counter anymore, we will be purchasing digital files at a music store designed for purchasing tracks at 1.69 and there will be no cover art at all to look at. The fact that musicians don't have to really have learn instruments to get by isn't exactly a revelation in this day and age.

Anyone who saw Britney Spears woeful lip syncing performance at the 2007 MTV Music Awards, knows that she had to get there, and she got there by fresh airing it.

Lip syncing has become such a maligned apsect of television live performances. Australia's hit music show Countdown, every opportunity they got would get the peformers to lip sync their songs on live television. The show ran from 1974 to 1987 in Australia on the ABC network. The live performances often entailed solo artists lip syncing to the background music of their song.

So there you have it. If you want to become a keyboard player, you program your keyboard to light up your keys. If you want to play proficient guitar, try copying all the solos off the old Muddy Waters albums, if you want to sing, get someone to autotune your voice in the studio and sync it up when you're singing live. If you want to become a critically acclaimed jazz musician, just pick up a violin and start wailing on that bow.

COLUMBIA RECORDS FLASHBACKS

Miles Davis-Bitches Brew (1969) (CBS)

The cultural and political landscape has changed not only in America, but worldwide over the last 50 years. We have been changing continuously to meet the demands of everyday life, with economic reform, lifestyle changes are inevitable. The political and social landscape was changed significantly in America during the period of 1944 through to 1970. Many things happened, and many contributing factors led to the eventual liberation and change in levels of patriotism one had for their country dubbed “the home of the brave”.

On the political front, movers and shakers such as Martin Luther King, Bobby Kennedy, Malcolm X and others, shared a similar view in that the people as a nation should be united as one, and embrace and respect each other’s heritage without prejudice. While many shared this view, black oppression was and still is prominent in the U.S (other countries as well) and sticklers for convention were reluctant to acknowledge other races, let alone accepting the fact that interracial politicians were active in their country.

Making a statement always meant that controversy would surround you in whatever you attempt you made to lead a normal, unharmed life. In wanting unity for everybody, Martin Luther was assassinated, the same applied for Malcolm X. Bobby Kennedy wanted to provide for the working class or hard done by districts, he went into the run down communities and tried to make a change, providing them with more facilities. Or at least he tried to. The years of work he tried to put into the country was all a waste, after his death. In a few years time the imprint he left on American society was all but diminished when Richard Nixon led his term in office, ruining any hope the American people had of changing their way after making so much progress.
After World War II, the depression had a certain catharsis in the air, and blues singers probably could muster up more pain and anguish in their playing, than any emo band could in a lifetime.

Families trying to survive doing what they had to do. Black musicians were entertaining everyone and the main culprits around this time were Charlie Parker, Ella Fitzgerald, Dizzy Gillespie, Bud Powell, Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington to name a few. They were all entertaining coloured folk around the country and leading jazz in becoming a popular form of music.
From 52nd streets rush, to Harlem’s inner heart, and Minton’s Playhouse were so many legends of jazz played over the years. In the beginning it was pure, and it was music for the black people as was blues.

Once Caucasian America caught wind of it, it began to spread out, and white musicians were starting to popularise this music by playing at white clubs around New York.
Bill Evans among many others were starting to get known for their brand of jazz around town, and it was of the opinion of the African American folk that the white man would try and take their music from them and take credit for it.

There was a truly vibrant atmosphere around uptown New York with clubs like Minton’s playhouse or Heatwave where all the hot jazz ensembles had residences.
After the big band era died, jazz started getting smaller, and the quintet’s starting forming, where a smaller setting for the music enabled the musicians to thrive on not compositional arcs in the music, but the improvisational nature of it.

With the emergence of the bebop sound, were it’s pioneers Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie “Bird” Parker, they paved the way for what was to become the modern jazz sound. However, it was Miles Davis who then took all his influences from the Dixieland through big band and bebop and created his own style of jazz, it would become the Modal sound.
The modal approach to jazz was based on a series of chords, in which the soloists can improvise around, moving up in key to further explore a roughly arranged chord progression.
Miles Davis was from St Louis and moved to New York to enrol in the Julliard School of Music. He later sat in for Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie and would later become a very influential figure in popular music.

His breakthrough album which featured the modal style of playing, was 1959’s Kind of Blue. It’s considered a jazz album classic and is highly publicised as being the highest selling jazz album of all time to the present day. He broke into the big league, having already established himself in the jazz scene. After a few years his second great quintet featuring Wayne Shorter, Tony Williams, Ron Carter and Herbie Hancock recording a few classic albums, such as E.S.P, Nefertiti, Filles De Kilimanjaro etc. However by the mid sixties Miles had to move forward with the times. He met Betty Mabry in 1968 and they got married shortly after he divorced his previous wife Frances earlier that year. She was a funk soul singer who was into the new culture of rock n roll, and influenced the way Miles dressed and played after that. Out with the Italian suits, and in with the flairs and colourful vests and whatnot. He had changed in a big way, and his music was also going to indicate a huge turning point in his life, because he would ultimately alienate the bulk of his long-time fans, but reach out to millions of new ones.

In a Silent Way was recorded before Bitches Brew. He introduced rock drumming time signatures, upright basses turned into electric bass, guitarists started being used (John McLaughlin debuts on this record for the miles davis band) and the music begin being more ethereal and more funk based.

Bitches Brew is a landmark album in music history, it represents the pride and boldness of an artist to come forth and break open the floodgates for everyone else to come through. Jazz had such a repressed attitude about it, and Miles had always claimed that good music is good music no matter what genre it is, it allowed experimentation into the jazz form, which is ironically something it had been lacking for a couple of years, despite aficionados saying that it was such a complex and exciting form of music, though they cringed at the fact that anyone could introduce electric instruments into it. Miles did that and broke the conventions of a genre that was getting pigeonholed. It was to the outrage of the purists who thought that Davis had gone mad, though it was to worldwide praise that this significant document of music had been received, and to this day it remains that way influencing countless numbers of musicians around the world.

The album opens with Pharaoh’s Dance, a slowly building dissonant gliding piece. Next up is the title track Bitches Brew. In all it’s 27 minutes of greatness (it originally covered side 2 of the LP) it’s a brooding slow build, rising action and decline. The sneeking bass line is immortalised as one of the most beloved memories of my music appreciation, the bass line acts as a mantra throughout the track, and the other soloists interact with each other building up to wailing proportions and then falling again into submissiveness. Miles uses an echoplex of his trumpet something revolutionary at the time, which gives it an alien like attitude to his horn sound.
Spanish Key remains one of the most upbeat numbers on the album, Miles resonating riff through Spanish Key is memorable.

John McLaughlin the track named after the guitarist of the same is the shortest track on the album about 4 minutes long.

“Miles Runs The Voodoo Down” is a remarkable funk based jam which rises up to the heavens with dissonant noise, and wailing trumpet from Davis, it feels as if it’s going to burst out of the speakers.

The closer Sanctuary, I believe is the centrepiece of this album. It requires the group to keep contained and they reach an unspeakable climax at the end, to be reinforced by Davis’ central riff at the end to finish proceedings.

An astonishing achievement in contemporary music, it’s vital for anyone who wants to explore a certain electricity which cannot be obtained by sticking a fork into a power point. Miles Davis has been declared an innovator up until his death, but has left behind an unmatched legacy in terms of spirit of creativity he brought to music as an art form. Becoming the first jazz musician to perform at huge rock festivals and arenas around the world, Bitches Brew more than made up for its sheer audacity and non compliance with the jazz form, by opening up to millions more younger people willing to open up their minds to even jazz musicians, he left the old timers behind and never looked back.

The ability to nurture this historical document of recorded sound is made possible by either these days a cd reissue by Columbia records, or the original LP which is now a huge collector’s item.

Discover this album for the time in the cd reissue from 1998. It is a terrific accomplishment, by one of the most accomplished men in music, Miles Davis.

*Review* Oasis-Dig Out Your Soul (SONY)

Rating:**/5

Before you predictably write them off, as for years we've been so inclined to do, let's examine the history of Oasis and the reasons why they have set themselves up for failure ever since they tried to follow up 1997's "Be Here Now".

It's simple science, they have not followed their formula. It's as simple as that.

And what is their formula you might ask? It's simple melodic hooky pop rock.

And good songwriting.

I believe the Gallagher brothers peaked two albums in with their songwriting efforts. They wrote enough classic tracks to fill maybe 2 and a half albums worth of material. So the debut was full of the early tracks, (What's The Story?) Morning Glory, was material that they couldn't fit onto the first. Be Here Now, had leftovers and the second half was material they had written at the time of recording.

So you get a sense of this as you listen to Be Here Now, which I reckon is their last decent album. In which the first half of the album starts out very strong, and then it falls in pieces towards the end. Then to follow it up with Standing on the Shoulders of Giants, well that was the last nail in the coffin for all the Oasis faithfuls out there, and the critics stood clear after that as well.

What went wrong, it was simply selection criteria or lack of ability to write songs anymore. This has plagued Oasis for the last ten years, they can't for the life of them deliver on any high expectations set upon them by the fans who have been heralding a return to form for the last 4 albums.

There is however, some silver lining in this. 2005's Don't Believe The Truth was warmly received upon critics and fans alike when it was released, and was somewhat tolerable compared to Heathen Chemistry (spew) and Giants.. Lyla was great leadoff single and showed a lot of promise for the group heading into the promotion of it.

To follow up on this, they have not in any way, succeeded to build upon what worked they towards on their last release. Noel Gallagher's vocals are lost in their own echo, as is evident from the oddly mixed vocal tracks, where you can only hear a slightly muffled and hardly audible english whine of his.

Somehow, the album has flashes of brilliances, but they are quite often fleeting, and the next thing you find yourself listening to the next track which is devoid of any kind of hook or catchy chorus. There us no opportunity for the listener to believe or join in.

In their heyday's, the Gallaghers were specialists at providing sing a long chorus' and catchy melodies, you couldn't help but sing a long to Shakermaker, Wonderwall or Roll With It. Yet there is no evidence of this on Dig Out Your Soul, which makes it a very disappointing effort from an act who for a period of time were the hottest rock band on the globe.

Influential Bands Getting Overlooked

Seminal acts quite often never get the kudos they deserve. It's odd in this day and age that a lot of the acts come through and the fans who are oblivious to their predecessors are unable to acknowledge the artists they were influenced by.

It's through this ignorance that i bring this up to discuss the hopelessness of a situation where by music lovers have forgotten about respecting the people who inspired their favourite artists. It must be said that it's pretty common for people listening to current bands not to know who people like Gang of Four, King Crimson, Pere Ubu, Moby Grape, Spirit etc.

I went to see the Black Keys earlier this year during their "Attack and Release" tour. They played at the Metropolis Fremantle which is great venue for their kind of show. The supports played, they were pretty good, including a great set from local bands The Silents.

After the Silents got off the stage, they were setting up for the Black Keys to come on. Anyway, the house music was playing and "You Aint Goin' Nowhere" by The Byrds came on.

A guy in front of me started frowning and proclaimed that "this music is hillbilly shit, what are they playin this for?". Because it suited the venue, and because without The Byrds, The Black Keys may have never come to be.

The Byrds released an album in 1968 entitled "Sweetheart of the Rodeo". After a few years with nominal success through albums sich as "Younger than Yesterday", "Fifth Dimension" and "Mr Tamborine Man", they had a few linup changes which resulted in a change of direction for the band. David Crosby and Micheal clarke left the group after they recorded "The Notorious Byrd Brothers" album.

Coming to a crossroad in their career, they had to do something to move forward. After exploring pop folk with "Mr Tamborine Man, "My Back Pages", psychedelia ("Eight Miles High"), they started expanding out into a more country orientated version of rock. Gram Parsons was recruited into the band at the time he was only 21. Deciding to record the album in Nashville, the bulk of the songs were covers of songs written specifically having the country rock sound in mind.

Parsons wrote "Hickory Wind, "Lazy Days" and "A Hundred Years From Now". The three originals continued in the vein of the country rock sound. Others including "You Aint Goin Nowhere" written by Bob Dylan and "Pretty Boy Floyd" by Woody Guthrie also continued in this vein.

Due to the controversial change in style, it signaled the start of the commercial decline of the group. However, this album was highly instrumental in the way bands out of the west coast honed their sound in years to come. Together with Buffalo Springfield and The Eagles, later in the 70's with country rock sound would become prominent and it's because of Sweetheart of the Rodeo.

Also, a lot of artists who were into blues rock had incorporated elements of country into their sound. Ted Nugent, Ry Cooder, ZZ Top, Wilco, My Morning Jacket and Whiskeytown are all indebted to the Byrds.

And so is The Black Keys, so in condemning this music you ultimately condemning the people who have made them who they are.

Metal Machine Music, by Lou Reed. A commercial failure upon it's release in 1975, it signified the innauguration of abstract noise in rock music. even though it was incredibly criticised at the time without it we wouldn't of had the likes of Sonic Youth, Gang of Four, Bauhaus, Jim Jamusch, Theoretical Girls, Merzbow,Mogwai etc.

Big Star, a very overlooked band whom without them we wouldn't of had a entire movement. Indie rock.

Suicide, the trio from New York whose ultra violent confrontational stage act involving whips and assaulting audience members, was a precursor to the punk movement which would emerge 5 years later in England.

So you see their are many bands whose influence has been overlooked in the history of 20st
century music, and their is nothing much anyone can do except acknowledge these acts. but next time you criticise a band or artist because you don't like a certain aspect of their sound, remember that bands like the Black Keys, who even though are a heavy blues rock band, can still be influenced by such a band as The Byrds.

Is An Artist's Death in Vain?

An established artist can be around for decades, in their heydays sell multi platinum albums and go on world tour promotion tours. Over a period of around ten years or so, they will eventually reach their peak and make way for the emerging artists of the time. They will dubbed musical veterans of the scene or dinosaurs with dwindling interest in them, even with the die hard fans. Release after release, the group/solo artist will be looking for validation for their efforts. In an attempt to stay relevant in some ways to not only the young commercial target audience, but their long time loyal fanbase.

Tensions will arise, usually concerning ownership over material, or royalties for the songs. Solo artists will find themselves resorting to bringing on board new producers to inject some life into their otherwise torrid and diminishing repertoire. Other succesful artists may join them in the mighty infamous "Duets".

Record labels will drop them, they will enter rehab for drug and/or alcohol abuse. They will have to wipe the slate clean once again, and think about their comeback plan.

Touring schedules will be shortened to less and less dates. Booking agents will have them starting to perform at civic centres in rural areas, usually named on the bill just above the chicken parmigana (see Spinal Tap).

After years of trying to reignite the passion they once had for music, everything will die down and they will fade into obscurity, like countless others in the industry have done.

Renewed interest in their back catalogue will enjoy a short lived boom upon their uneventful passing. People will recognise what the artist represented in their music, and will savour the sounds they brought to our ears.

Sounds bleak, doesn't it? Well the road less travel may mean you could become a legend by the age of 27 if you wanted to.

Kurt Cobain, beloved singer songwriter of Nirvana (1967-1994). Led the powerhouse to multi-platinum sales of their second album Nevermind (Geffen 1991). Becomes an icon, speaks out to the generation x kids, enjoys wealth and chart success for 3 years and committs suicide at the age of 27.

His death was a glorification for the masses, which indicated that it was alright to committ suicide. Because after all, Kurt did it and he was cool. The mindset of a lot of people was that it was a waste, and a shame for popular music as he was so influential to a lot of people and got people through rough times with his music.

A lot of emphasis was put on his relationship with Courtney Love, and his psychological state leading up to the point in which he ended his own life. Claims from people who saw him the night before he died, said that they wouldn't of been able to pick that he was suicidal at all.

Drugs may have presumbly played a part in his taking his own life, they wouldn't of helped to his state of rashionalising, so it may of contributed to it. Although many things did contribute to his suicide.

The media exposure he was receiving was overwhelming for him, and would for be anyone. He had been hailed as the next musical icon, the next Hendrix, the next Elvis up in those ranks. People put him up on a pedestal for everyone to see, he had become public property.

Now, had things been different today, Nirvana may have gone on to make more successful records, and may even still be around today. However, the nature of Cobain's songwriting was so volatile, that at any given time it was destined to self destruct. He could of either kept going, under sufferance or retreated to another country or retired on his earnings. The latter might have been an option. His career may have gone on, but he would have deteriorated in time, and his songwriting would of suffered for it. With each move he made he would of been scrutinised. When another album failed to live up to people's expectations, he would be scrutinised for it. Sooner rather than later, people will question his ability to write hooks like he did when he was in his prime, and eventually he and Nirvana would be written off as a joke.

Nirvana would of been viewed as a forgotten relic. People would of said, "Cobain used to be a song writing genius, but he's a has been now". No one knows whether Kurt could of predicted this could occur, but the question is would you rather take yourself out of the limelight and live a normal life? Or end it ensuring you become even more famous than when you were alive?

Some artists have taken over decades to be recognised for their music, without a mere mention from anyone, once someone committs suicide then that's when the attention starts to revolve around them. You could go down in history for taking your own life. It takes a lot of courage to committ an act so painfully honest, for the public to recognise the angst and frustration you must of felt when you were walking the earth! Wrong, note that i was being sarcastic and all i would ask for is that i don't hear about how brave Kurt Cobain was for killing himself. After all he was a drug addict, he was just a weathy one at that.

Artists deserve more recognition when they're alive, but continuing on they must understand that they won't be on top forever. If you're of the indie persuasion, then you'll be content with reaching a niche market for which you will be appreciated by your fans. If you are looking at breaking it big, the industry is hopelessly fickle and one day you're the biggest shit out, and the next your cd's start appearing in cash converters bargain bins or end up as landfill.

If you've died of natural causes then you have more of a chance of being ignored, but still honoured in some way.

Jimi Hendrix, he was put on a pedestal- Drug Overdose
Janis Joplin, put on a high pedestal (OVERRATED)- alcoholic
Charlie Parker, jazz legend highly respected-drugs
John Coltrane, heart problems-former drug user though.
Bud Powell-drugs
Sid Vicious-drug overdose
Elvis Presley-the king couldn't be told to stop- his dead body temporarily resided over a toliet bowl reportedly when he was found dead.

All these guys, put up on a pedestal only to find themselves a hollow and empty shell of a person, succumbing to their own self decadence, and ultimately death.

It's a harsh way to send off our beloved idols, although that's the way it often is in the industry.

Upon signing up to any major label, it should be a pre-requisite for any record company to offer either a burial or cremation service upon signing, i think that's what is has come to.