Tuesday, May 12, 2009

This Date In Music History- May 12

I am resuming this feature, look for it every other day from now on!


Birthdays:

Melanie Chisholm - Spice Girls (1976)

Kix Brooks - Brooks and Dunn (1955)

Billy Squier - (1950)

Billy Duffy – Cult (1961)

Steve Winwood - Traffic, Blind Faith and the Spencer Davis Group turns 61.

Billy Swan ("I Can Help") is 67.

James Purify ("I'm Your Puppet") is 65.

Ian McLagen – Faces (1946)

Born on this day in 1940, Norman Whitfield, songwriter and producer, best known for his work with Berry Gordy's Motown. Also collaborated with Barrett Strong on such hits as ‘I Heard It through the Grapevine,” “Ain't Too Proud to Beg,” “(I Know) I'm Losing You” “War,” “Papa Was a Rolling Stone” and others.

Born on this day in 1928, Burt Bacharach, US songwriter, pianist and arranger. With Hal David wrote many classic songs including, “Close To You,” “Magic Moments,” “I Say A Little Prayer,” among others. Won two Oscars for film score “Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid,” for “Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head.”


They Are Missed:

In 2001, Perry Como died aged 88. He scored fourteen US #1 singles, from 150 US chart hits and over 25 UK chart hits, including the single “Magic Moments” and “Catch A Falling Star.” Como was once the highest-paid performer in the history of television.

Ian Dury, singer, songwriter, poet, actor (1942) - 1977 UK #5 album “New Boots And Panties!!” spent 90 weeks on the UK chart, 1979 UK #1 single “Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick”). Dury died on March 2000 27, 2000 (age 57).

The late George Carlin ("Wonderful WINO") was born in 1937.


History:

The only single of Billie Holiday's ever to chart, "Lover Man (Oh, Where Can You Be), entered Billboard's R&B chart in 1945, peaking at #5.

In 1958, "Nee Nee Na Na Na Na Nu Nu" by Dicky Doo & the Don'ts peaks at #40 on the charts.

In 1960, Elvis guest-starred on a Frank Sinatra-hosted TV special, “Welcome Home Elvis, and cut his first post-Army recordings in Nashville. They yield the hit album “Elvis Is Back” and such million-selling singles as "It's Now or Never" and "Are You Lonesome Tonight."

In 1962, the Temptations appeaedr on the chart for the first time with "Dream Come True."

"Right Place Wrong Time," by Dr. John, enters the singles chart in 1973, where it will peak at #9. Allen Toussaint produced, arranged, played and sang on the song, which was Dr. John's commercial zenith.

In 1967, Pink Floyd played London's Queen Elizabeth Hall, one of their first concerts to experiment with quadraphonic sound.

A British radio station debuts the Beatles' "Sgt. Pepper" album in its entirety in 1967.

"Satisfaction" was recorded by The Rolling Stones in 1965.

In 1968, Jimi Hendrix was arrested for possession of hashish and heroin when he crossed the Canadian border for a concert in Toronto. He claimed the drugs were planted and he was later exonerated.

All I Have To Do Is Dream,” the Everly Brothers ballad, was the #1 song in America in 1958.

In 2008, Neil Young had a spider named after him. Officially known as a Myrmekiaphila neilyoungi, the trap door spider is named by biologist Jason Bond. According to Bond "Young is worthy of that honor." The spider in question is found only in Alabama.

In 1962, Billboard Magazine reported that last year's most-played jukebox record was “Big Bad John” by Jimmy Dean. The second most-played was Chubby Checker's “The Twist.”

Led Zeppelin started a three week run at #1 on the US album chart in 1973 with “Houses Of The Holy.”

Buy Zeppelin Music - Picture Disc of "Houses of the Holy" Available Now!

Classic Rock Videos

Led Zeppelin Dazed and Confused

Audiophile Audition Review

I want to thank John over at http://www.audaud.com for the exclusive rights to reprint this great review!



AUDIOPHILE AUDITION focuses on recordings of interest to audiophiles and collectors, with an accent on surround sound for music, and on all hi-res disc formats. Over 100SACD, DVD Video/Audio and standard CD reviews are published during each month, and our archives go back to January 2001.

Neil Young - Fork in the Road - Reprise

There is a willfully off-the-cuff articulation to Neil Young's newest rock album.

Neil Young - Fork in the Road - Reprise 518040-2, 38:44 ***1/2:

(Neil Young - acoustic & electric guitar, vocals, producer; Ben Keith - lap steel guitar, electric guitar, Hammond B-3 organ, backing vocals; Anthony Crawford - acoustic & electric guitar, piano, Hammond B-3 organ, backing vocals; Pegi Young - acoustic guitar, backing vocals, vibraphone; Rick Rosas - bass; Chad Cromwell - drums; Niko Bolas - producer, engineer, mixing)

There is a willfully off-the-cuff articulation to Neil Young's newest rock album, Fork in the Road. For those who have been following Young's sometimes erratic solo career, you can put Fork in the Road somewhere between Re-ac-tor and Living With War, which were both ragged, full-throttle records that pinpointed with snapshot conciseness just where Young was in his life. On Young's current batch of low-fidelity material, he sings about the past (where we've been), the present (our contemporary problems) and the future (hope is alive again). Musically, the ten tracks overflow with stout and distorted Les Paul electric guitar fills, Chad Cromwell's thumping drums, and on most songs, slightly sweetening backing vocals that add balance.

Thematically, Young's latest venture is a socially-conscious travelogue centering on the American automobile, with appropriate tunes such as the shuffling "Fuel Line," the bluesy "Get Behind the Wheel," and the self-deprecating title track. On the grunge opener, "When Worlds Collide," Young depicts his road trip from California to Washington, D.C., when he drove his hybridized Lincvolt, a 1959 Lincoln Continental outfitted with a biodiesel-electric motor. Young describes places and people he saw and things he did along the way: floating on the Rio Grande with a Coca Cola in his hand; a man out of luck who spends his days in a jail cell; and old folks cruising down Route 66. Young continues both the contorted music and his passion for going green on "Fuel Line," an ode to ending dependence on oil companies. Throbbing "Johnny Magic," which nods to Young's tune "Hey Hey, My My," is a tribute to visionary mechanic Jonathan "Motorhead Messiah" Goodwin, Young's partner in the Lincvolt endeavor [http://www.lincvolt.com/]. The cut is a not-quite-eloquent plea to change the system by replacing the rules.

Young has written about his vehicles and the road before. "Long May You Run," "Drive Back" and "Motor City" are but a few examples of Young's fascination with traveling down the byways and highways. The blues jammer "Get Behind the Wheel" is not one of Young's best car songs, but its utter simplicity gives it a plain-spoken rock and roll charm. "Hit the Road" has a likeminded musical and lyrical stance, a craggy, mid-tempo tumbler that easily could have been performed by Crazy Horse.

Young is on shaky ground, though, when he heads straight into counterculture, political territory, such as during boogie toss-off "Cough Up the Bucks," a rant against greedy Wall Street denizens, which mimics "T-Bone," a similarly patterned and repetitive track that showed up on Re-ac-tor. If "Cough Up the Bucks" sounds as if it was penned and produced in a single afternoon, it probably was.

Young provides his most personal and poignant performance on country-colored "Light a Candle," where he expressively unplugs to sing about sincere inner transformation: Young's folksy acoustic guitar, assured vocals, and Ben Keith's masterful lap steel furnish the sparse piece a potent persuasiveness.

Fork in the Road doesn't rank with Young's best work, lacking the comprehensive focus of Rust Never Sleeps or Harvest, but it does have the organic, buckled impact of underrated outings such as Zuma or On the Beach. Casual fans who only remember iconic hits like "Heart of Gold," "Cinnamon Girl" or "Southern Man" can ignore this Fork in the Road and safely stay on their familiar path. But for those who prefer to take the road not taken, and welcome a different perspective, Fork in the Road is a detour worth traversing.

TrackList:
1. When Worlds Collide
2. Fuel Line
3. Just Singing a Song
4. Johnny Magic
5. Cough Up the Bucks
6. Get Behind the Wheel
7. Off the Road
8. Hit the Road
9. Light a Candle
10. Fork in the Road

-- Doug Simpson
Reprinted By Permission

Music News & Notes

Jack White’s Dead Weather: Album Art, Tour Dates Revealed

Jack White’s new band The Dead Weather have revealed the album cover for their upcoming debut LP Horehound and announced plans to embark on a full North American tour.

The supergroup consists of Jack White and Jack Lawrence of the Raconteurs, Alison Mosshart and Queens of the Stone Age member Dean Fertita.



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Dylan #1 in UK

Bob Dylan's Together Through Life stays at #1 for a second week in the UK, something he hasn't done since Nashville Skyline in 1969. Yusuf Islam's (Cat Stevens) Roadsinger debuts at #10.

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Stevie To Play Free Concert

It's being reported that Stevie Wonder is set to play a free outdoor concert to open the Montreal Jazz Festival on June 30. The show will be at the La Place de festivals which is currently being restored.

Others playing at the festival include Tony Bennett, Dave Brubeck, Jeff Beck, Joe Cocker, Jackson Browne and Al Jarreau.

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Modest Mouse Single Due May 26

In your mad rush to scoop up Record Store Day exclusives, you may have noticed that Modest Mouse’s contribution to the day’s festivities was nowhere to be found. Well, that’s because the band’s new limited-edition seven-inch never made it out in time for the April 18 celebrations. However, if you were disappointed, don’t be: Modest Mouse’s latest joint is now getting an official release on May 26.

The band’s new vinyl artifact will include two new tracks, "Satellite Skin" and "Guilty Cocker Spaniels," and pressed up on fancy orange vinyl with an embossed sleeve. The release is limited to 4,000 copies, but if you can’t hunt one down, it will also be up for sale on iTunes.

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Faith No More To Drop The Very Best Definitive Ultimate Greatest Hits Collection

Faith No More are on deck to receive another best-of comp this summer. Dubbed T"he Very Best Definitive Ultimate Greatest Hits Collection," the new double-disc package is due out in the UK on June 1 via Rhino, marking the band’s umpteenth greatest hits package.

On disc one, the band gather up an array of tracks from their career, which until recently ended in 1998. This means such Faith No More classics as “The Real Thing,” “We Care A Lot” and “Everything's Ruined,” along with 15 others, will make an appearance on the 18-track CD. For many fans, though, it will be disc two that will be the obvious draw, with that bonus CD coming packed full of various B-sides and rarities. (Two more yet-unannounced tracks will be added to iTunes’ digital version of the ten-song bonus disc.)