Uncle Paul Comes To Visit

Who would have ever thought back in the sixties that Paul McCartney would become America's favorite houseguest. That foreign cousin who stops by once or twice a year and always does something to brighten your day.

Watching Saturday Night Live this past weekend it became fascinatingly clear that our comfort level with Paul, along with his constant desire to please, makes him uniquely qualified to lift our mood.

Saturday Night Live's cold open this week featured only a children's choir singing. It was heartfelt and emotional and without addressing this past week's senseless tragedy dealt with it perhaps in a way that was more meaningful than any other tributes we will see.

The episode itself was uneven with only a skit called Your a Rat Bastard Charlie Brown and the always funny What's Up With That making me chuckle. Even Seth Myers struggled to be funny on Weekend Update although another edition of " Girl you don't want to start a conversation with at a party " showed that it is a keeper.

Sir Paul started his night off by performing My Valentine. All I can say to that is Paul we love you and we are glad you are in love again but that song is nothing we need to keep hearing. Much better was his performance of his new song recorded with the boys from Nirvana. Dave Grohl, Krist Novoselic, and Pat Smear joined him, as they did at the 12/12 concert for Cut Me Some Slack an original tune that features a Helter Skelter like feedback laced riff in which Paul shows that he can still howl pretty well, amazingly well for a seventy year old.

The last skit of the night featured host Martin Short and a character played by Paul auditioning to perform at a village Christmas concert. Short's character is the singer and Paul's only plays the triangle. Eventually the skit gives way to Paul asking the judges if he can sing now and of course they say yes and the stage is cleared and Paul joins his band to sing his Christmas single from the days of Wings Wonderful Christmastime. About halfway in he is joined by the same choir that started the show. Paul having great fun, and the joy on these children's faces as they sang with,inevitably some guy there parents were more excited by than they were, was a tonic we could all use about now.

So yes I believe if not in Santa Claus at least in America's new favorite Uncle. Uncle Paul with his vegetarian ways, his younger wives and his eccentricities. But Sir Paul still has his heart in the right place and he wants us all to feel better. He is welcome on our side of the lake and on our television anytime.

Thanks Paul

12/12 Concert: Who Washed Up and Who is Washed Up

Last night at Madison Square Garden a host of the greatest acts in Rock n Roll got together at the Concert for Sandy Relief. A benefit to raise funds to help with the devastating effects of Hurricane Sandy there was no shortage of great acts that wanted to lend a hand.

Watching the whole show gives me a chance to review entire show. Some acts were better than expected, some were fantastic and some disapointed.

The show opened strong with Bruce Springsteen and his full band going through Land of Hope and Dreams,Wrecking Ball, and My City of Ruin before being joined on stage by fellow Jersey boy Jon Bon Jovi for a duet on Born to Run. Springsteen was great as always, during Born to Run many who have not seen Jake Clemons, Clarence's nephew and replacement on sax got a chance to do so, and the band was sharp. Looking for audience participation Springsteen seemed a little disappointed a couple of times, particularluy on Wrecking Ball but there is no such thing as a bad performance.

Chris Christie was in the audience and received one of the biggest chairs of the evening. It was a pleasure to see a politician actually be received emphatically by a cross current of crowd.

Next up was Roger Waters. Waters was in a word, fantastic. Playing The Thin Ice and then Another Brick in the Wall to open Waters voice was in fine form. In truth it sounded like Pink Floyd records. I do not know the name of the fellow playing lead guitar but on Money and Us and Them Waters allowed him to take the lead vocals, and then ended with Comfortably Numb joined by Eddie Vedder. Waters was wonderful but certainly when he stopped singing the songs lost some luster. It was a great performance however.

Adam Sandler played a comedic version of Hallelujah which was only slightly funny. Kristin Stewart introduced Bon Jovi and I have to say that charitably she looked terrible. If one was not being charitable the words to be used might include meth and addict.

Bon Jovi's performance was far from overpowering. Jon's voice was not strong. The best part of their set was Dead or Alive and the best part of that was Richie Sambora's backing vocals as he still sounds incredibly strong.

Eric Clapton had a mellow set, in a word there is just nothing exciting about seeing Eric Clapton at this time.

The Rolling Stones played a short two song set. You Got Me Rocking and Jumping Jack Flash were not surely the songs we would have chosen but they were entertaining. The boys look a little old, the holes in Mick and Ronnie's cheeks look like they need more silly putty than you can buy in one store but that said they still play great.

Without a doubt the highlight of the show was the performance by The Who. Having seen them at the Super Bowl a couple of years ago it would seem a bit surprising to say this but both Roger and Pete seemed revitalized. Pete's guitar playing was tremendous, and Roger's voice though showing a crack or two still was very above the curve. When Roger started to unbutton his shirt I got nervous, that is alot of old but when it came fully unbuttoned it was fine. Roger still looks good and they are still The Who. Their set was killer. Opening with Who Are You and then going into a very sweet Keith Moon tribute called Bellboy that actually featured video of Moon singing with Daltrey and Townsend saluting from the stage while watching the video screen. Next came the Pinball Wizard/See Me Feel Me with Townsend seemingly delighted with both the song and his night. The crowd roared with the opening riffs and Daltrey started playing with the aforementioned shirt, feeling the years float away. Baba O'Riley never disappoints, Daltrey's harmonica solo at the end is amazing, a song from the last album Tea and Theatre delivered a small segue to Daltrey howling Love Reign Over Me. This set was the strongest of the night, the crowd went crazy.

Occasionally, in between sets, Brian Williams would take us backstage to the phone banks to see the celebrities taking the calls. At this juncture we were treated to many members of the cast of The Sopranos taking calls. Williams talked to James Gandolfini, watching the interview one had to wonder where does Tony stop and James begin.

Kanye West played next and was awful. I just do not understand as I saw one person tweet The Stones got two songs and West had a full allotment. Diversity rules I guess. Alicia Keys played before The Who I should add but I used this time to get a few things done that I needed to.

Billy Joel was next and with the exception of The Who was clearly the second star of the night. Playing Only the Good Die Young, Big Shot, and Movin Out one was easily transported to those early teenage years when Joel ruled the charts. Opening with Miami 2017 and playing New York State of Mind Joel showed that his catalog of music might well be one of the most underrated around. A fantastic performance.

Chris Martin played a couple songs and was joined by Micheal Stipe for Losing My Religion. The set was forgettable but Martin with his patter and talking showed himself to be very warm, wry, and gracious.

Ending the night was Paul McCartney and I would have to put his performance as a bit subpar. Maybe I was tired, it was on towards one but I thought his song selection was weak with Let Me Roll It, 1985, and My Valentine taking up space on the set lists with songs we wanted t her such as Blackbird, Helter Skelter and Live and Let Die. Much was made of the " Nirvana reunion" with Paul fronting for one song all the surviving members of the band for a new song called Get Off My Back. It was the highlight of the set, Paul seemed energized and Dave Grohl on the drums showed why he is clearly the most energetic man in rock today.

Alicia Keys ended the show with Empire State but I shut the television off. All in all the show was good not great, acts like Bon Jovi, Paul and Eric Clapton were a letdown, while Bruce, Billy, and the crazy good The Who stole the show. The Stones and Roger Waters also deserve praise.

Hopefully a great deal of money was raised on this night of East Coast bias.

Analog Man by Joe Walsh

When I was in high school for some reason Joe Walsh was considered one of the cooler people in the Entertainment World. I had a friend named Bob who had a shirt that said Bob for Pope, Joe Walsh for President.

It has been a long trip for Joe Walsh. He has stayed on the periphery of pop culture but not been a major influence for the last twenty years or more. Occasionally a solo album. he would reappear and make a ton of money as part of any Eagles reunion but all in all Joe Walsh has been quiet.

This year his exposure increased in the spring when he made a few appearances playing guitar for Paul McCartney. Walsh has married into the extended Beatles family recently by marrying his good friend Ringo Starr's sister. Walsh had played on several of Ringo's All Star Tours. Rock and Roll is a primarily incestuous family much of the time.

Now this month Walsh has released a solo album and at least to my ears it is a very strong album. One should not confuse very good with will be a big seller as I do not know what the market for any album is any more, at least one that does not have hip hop or teenage girls singing but Walsh has released an album anyone of a rock and roll youth should enjoy.

The album begins with the title cut Analog Man in which Walsh plays everyman, stating that he is not comfortable with technology and does not everything need, that vinyl is just fine Joe is and will remain an analog man. I find this to be a quandary for many of our age group. I detest all the technology but I love my Iphone, Spotify, and of course here I am blogging. Let's just say I am conflicted.

Many of Walsh's albums in the last decades have had a cute song or too but the albums as a whole cannot carry the load. This album is much deeper. For those wishing to hear a little Eagles inflected Joe Walsh the song Spanish Dancer will be a hit. Close your eyes and the first thirty seconds will place you in the late seventies Joe Walsh Eagles sound.

The album ends with Funk 50 and update of the old James Gang Funk 49, followed by an instrumental India. These are both interesting but the instrumental especially is not virtuoso material, that is, warranting a spot on the album is questionable.

This is corrected however by a couple standout songs on the album. In Band Played On Joe takes us through some of the modern day problems that we appear not to be able or willing to fix. Much better is the song Family, in which the now happily married Walsh sings about the happiness and contentment he has found with wonder. " I finally found a wife and a home, and a family that matters means more to me than anything I'll ever believe," Walsh sings from the heart, he has been through a busy life, a crazy up and down life and now he ....it seems ...he feels blessed for not only his wife but his circle. Good for you Joe.

One Day at a Time is a standout. When Walsh says " I was always the first to arrive at the party and the last to leave the scene of the crime, it started with a couple of beers and went I don't know how many years." he tells us of the excesses in his life. He learned to live his life One Day at a Time. Maybe not the party anthem of the summer but for many his age the song will be very resonant.


These songs in itself make a strong album, but Just Lucky That Way makes it clear that this album will connect. An auto biographical song Walsh admits how lucky he has been, how far above his original wishes he has come. When Joe says he is Just Lucky That Way he is thanking the stars for the last forty years of success and perhaps also thanking for coming out on the other end of that success and feeling a level of contentment all the party days never provided.

Not an album that will change rock and roll. Still an album many aging rockers and rock and roll fans can appreciate and connect with. As Joe would sing " That's not so bad after all. "

That's Why God Made the Radio by The Beach Boys

The Beach Boys landed in Bangor, Maine last night. We did not get tickets to the show, the tickets were fairly expensive, and I decided that having seen them back in the eighties that I did not need to see them again.

Over the last couple of weeks having read articles about the band and it's tour, their fiftieth anniversary tour in fact, in Time, Newsweek and Rolling Stone I was more interested in seeing them. Overall the tour has gotten good reviews, my concerns about how good they would sound, and of course about if Brian Wilson is capable of touring and performing turned out, according to most sources, to be unfounded. In short the Boys were playing a 150 minute set of forty or more songs that fans of all ages were enjoying.

One could not really have had any sense of expectation over the album of new material that The Beach Boys recorded and released recently. Truthfully I certainly did not. I was wrong.

Unexpectedly this is a refreshing, beautifully recorded album of layered vocals and harmonies that certainly would have felt at home on a Beach Boys album in the mid sixties. I have listened to the album three times and each time I listen to the last six songs, a connected Abbey Road type sonnet, that ends with the wonderful Summer's Gone I am more impressed. Brian Wilson has always been known as a musical genius even as he struggled with mental health issues. What becomes apparent quickly is this is his album, he orchestrates all the arrangements, the layering of vocals and instruments. If possible this album is not getting enough positive buzz even though all the reviews I have heard are positive.

This album makes me wish I had the big speaker ed stereo I had in high school and college with lights all over it, so that as I lay in the dark on a hot summer night I could feel the breeze and listen to the Beach Boys cope with growing older while still being true to their sound.

The single on the radio, the title cut, is a very catchy enjoyable song. It is however pale in comparison with the sheer beauty of the last six songs. Starting with Daybreak Over the Ocean the feelings of retrospection and the incredible arrangements are really beyond compare.

Is it possible that with their surfing music in it's seeming simplicity dominating our perception of The Beach Boys that we sold them short. Of course this was always the battle between Wilson and Mike Love, the latter wanting to make the music that he perceived as safe and sure to be popular and Wilson wanting to stretch and challenge both himself and his listeners. Wilson's genius is known far and wide. It was after all Paul McCartney who said that God Only Knows was the most perfect song ever written.

McCartney might well be right, but listening to the last two songs on this album, Pacific Coast Highway leading to Summer's Gone and one has to wonder, as great as this as, as great as they were, how much more could they have accomplished if we had not lost Brian for twenty years or more.

This is a good album. It has some great moments however. This is not rock and roll per say it is in the latter song perhaps a song on a par with our greatest, Sinatra, Rodgers and Hammerstein and yes McCartney and Lennon.

Brian Wilson is out of bed, finally. We are all lucky for it.

Americana by Neil Young

As most everyone knows Neil Young is on my list of great things. I believe Neil Young might be one of the best songwriters of his generation and his longevity is a testament to his ability to adapt and being willing to explore different musical styles.

Thanks to the good folks at Rolling Stone Magazine I was able today to listen to Young's new album Americana which will be released next month.

This album in which Young comes together with all the members of his famed Crazy Horse band is a theme album in which Young and his bandmates take a run at various songs from the American songbook. These are not the Rod Stewart, Paul McCartney standards albums we have recently seen but more from the traditional songs from pioneer days.

The first song released from the album has been Neil's take on Oh Susannah. Yes the same Oh Susannah that we all sang when we were kids. With Young and the bandmates it becomes a singalong for the rock era. When Young says he comes from Alabama with his b-a-n-j-o on his knee you cannot help but tap your foot and sing along. My kids with the exception of my oldest son have no affinity for Young but my daughter has complained that the song has stuck in her head as well.

As with all things Crazy Horse one has to decide just how much guitar jamming and soloing is too much but perhaps oddly these work well with most of the songs.

Another winning entry from the album is the song Travel On. The steady beat performed by Crazy Horse makes this another earwig that you cannot get rid of.

Not all the songs work, in fact much of the first side of the album is weak but this is made up easily by listening to the last half. After Travel On Young continues his fascination with birds by singing High Flying Bird as a blues song that could easily fit on his Everyone Knows This is Nowhere Album from forty years ago. Forty years ago, can you believe it?

Another splendid effort is Young's version of " She'll be Coming Around the Mountain" here titled Jesus Chariot. With a nasty electric back-beat and a strong backing vocal from members of the Horse this is not the version you sang when you were kids. It is strong with the mix of old, electric and a touch of Irish dirge. However it is the song works for me.

Young slows things down for his take on Wayfarin' Stranger performing the song in an electric Dylan way that again compliments the original.

It seems that all of the classic rock singers want to perform the Woody Guthrie classic This Land is Your Land. In recent years Springsteen and for example a great version by The Counting Crows have added to the long list of recordings. Young's version here while not the best song on the album certainly deserves to be held up as one of the better versions. I am just not sure if we need too much guitar solo on this song. Still the sing along section with the Horse and Neil's friends make this one a keeper.

The album ends as perhaps only it could with a rocking version of God Save the Queen. Neil Young, a Canadian citizen remember, singing God Save the Queen might be something you thought you never would here. Surprisingly it fits and with a single drum pounding the length of the song with a chorus helping Young makes you believe he would love to bow for the Queen.

All in all this is not a great album. While fun it is not a necessary album and proves little of what Young will be remembered for. Still some of the songs on this album are quite remember-able, certainly songs that stick in your head and Young should be commended for being willing to still take chances.

Surely this is better than 90 percent of the things you will hear this year. And of course we will never hear someone accusing Young of just knocking off another album off the assembly line. That in itself makes this album worth your time.

Fire and Rain by David Browne

Subtitled The Beatles, Simon and Garfunkel, James Taylor, CSNY and the Lost Story of 1970 this book has a title that is a mouthful.

Browne traces us through some of the history of 1970 but mostly focuses on this as being a pivotal year in popular music. The breakup of the Beatles, Simon and Garfunkel disintegration and the rocket that was CSNY and then the flame out just as quick. James Taylor's second album Sweet Baby James owned the charts.

This book does not divulge much new information to any who have read any materials on this time before. We do learn how Rita Coolidge had relationships with multiple members of CNSY and how Joni Mitchell broke Graham Nash's heart only to move onto the drug addled James Taylor. We learn more about Taylor's history of mental problems and more than we would like to know about his drug issues that almost destroyed him.

Stephen Stills comes across as an abrasive personality and we see the final breakup of the Beatles which rightly or wrongly is again portrayed as Paul against the rest.

This book is not a revalation but it is a nice little timepiece for the year. Surprisingly so we learn how much Charlie Daniels was a part of the Rock and Roll Scene in that time frame. As a popular session musician he played for Bob Dylan, George Harrison and others. In fact he was even asked, assumingly jokingly by Harrison to join the band as they were down a bass player.

An enjoyable read but you will not leave it thinking better of any of these flawed people who happened to have immense talent musically.