Stephen Stills - "Stephen Stills 2"

For the 68th Birthday of one of my all time favorite musicians Stephen Stills, I am writing about his second solo album released in 1971, a mere seven months after his first. This also happens to be my first post of 2013. Happy New Year everyone.
[I previously posted about his debut album for his last birthday check it out.
http://loosenthekey.blogspot.com/2012/01/stephen-stills-stephen-stills.html]

Stills had been making great music with a streak of excellence that goes from Buffalo Springfield, Super Session, CSN, CSNY, to his solo debut. After all that success it was no surprise that Stills stumbles a bit here. He mostly falters when he goes into Chicago (the band) territory adding a horn section (The Memphis Horns) and creating his own version of the Wall of Sound. At the time of release the album went Gold but did not produce a big hit single like "Love the One You're With" and the critics ready to bash Stills found ample opportunity here.

Looking at the album now Stills really scores on about half of the tracks. "Change Partners" feels like a ballroom country dance with a swinging tempo and great chorus that gets things off to a great start.
"Fishes and Scorpions" starts slow with acoustic guitar then turns into a rocker in the second half with some nice work by Eric Clapton. "Know you got to Run," a banjo led tune (reworking of John Hopkins song) is a brooding dark accusation (the first two lyrics were used on CSNY's "Everybody I Love You").  "Singin' Call" has a tight acoustic picking and quiet reflective vocals that show off Stills' abilities. "Sugar Babe," is a blues based mid-tempo song with a great feel and good organ work. "Marianne" is superb catchy rock featuring Stills singing in a high register.  "Word Game" is a fast acoustic number  with swirling wordy ranting lyrics about racism and prejudice.

On the rest of the tracks is where Stills stumbles. "Nothin' to do but Today" and "Open Secret" mix gospel and rock, but they are take them or leave them tracks, listenable with choruses that may stick in your head but are not so great. "Relaxing Town" and "Ecology Song" feel unfinished and rushed. The lyrics are also below par on both and the production can be overbearing.

The closer "Bluebird Revisited" is one of those 'why would you remake this?' questions. Seemingly intended as a epic finish that does not succeed. It seems like Stills had a portion of a new song and decided to mix in verses from his Buffalo Springfield classic. The music has been redone and is not bad I especially like the trumpet playing before the last verse.

Like his debut album there are some famous guest appearances by Eric Clapton, Nils Lofgren, Billy Preston and David Crosby. As well as Henry Diltz photography (the back of the cover photo shows what could be a bag of white powder on the table next to Stephen). The CD version I have sounds good, certain vocals seem really soft though. iTunes may help listeners with this album because they will pick their favorite songs and leave the rest.

All in all as many critics pointed out Stills seems to have rushed the album out before enough strong material was ready. His creative energy, however, would get a shot of adrenalin from Manassas a year later. In the end this album has some good moments that many critics chose to ignore and it is definitely worth a look.

Happy Birthday Stephen Stills, let's wish for the much anticipated and long overdue release of the Stephen Stills Box Set this year.

Stephen Stills - "Stephen Stills"

In honor of one of my all time favorite musicians' 67th birthday I am writing this post to a true musical genius named Stephen Stills and reviewing his solo debut album (this also happens to be my first post of 2012!).

By 1970 Stephen Stills was on something of a winning streak, from his excellence on the three Buffalo Springfield albums, to "Super Session," through Crosby, Stills & Nash's debut album and CSN & Young's "Deja Vu" as well as the CSNY single "Ohio/Find the Cost of Freedom." He had nothing left to prove, yet he decided to prove himself again anyway.

Between late 1970 and early 1971 all four members of the recently disbanded CSNY released a solo album (in various formations at least two members worked on each other's  albums as back up) Stephen Stills' eponymous debut was the most successful of the four and in my mind the most enjoyable. Stills gathers a spectacular mix of great musicians of the era including, Jimi Hendrix (one of his last recordings, the album is also dedicated to him), Eric Clapton, Cass Elliot, Rita Coolidge, Booker T. Jones, John Sebastian, supposedly Ringo Starr is the drummer listed as Richie, and David Crosby and Graham Nash also lend their voices.

From Henry Diltz's excellent cover photo one might guess that this is a quiet singer/songwriter album, but in reality this album runs the gamut from pop to rock, folk, blues, and gospel. While it also has echos of his work with Buffalo Springfield and particularly CSN this album is completely different and fully Stills.

From the opening guitar strings along with the steel drum of the hit single "Love the One You're With" the album grabs you, the chorus of voices and a borrowing from the end of "Suite Judy Blue Eyes" are nods to CSN but then Stills moves into his own with the beautiful "Do for the Others" and superbly tackles gospel with "Church (Part of Someone)." "Old Times, Good Times" follows with some killer guitar by Hendrix and some great organ work by Stills on one of his best rock songs. "Go Back Home" is bluesy rock with Clapton and Stills trading guitar licks and Clapton turning in one of those great solos.

"Sit yourself Down" is one of Stills finest recordings with some great singing by all involved and I wish it was more talked about in terms of Stills' music, just such a great tune. "To a Flame" is a powerful piece of heavenly glory followed by the live acoustic blues of "Black Queen." The wall of sound of "Cherokee" would have fit well on his next solo album and the gospel style powerhouse closer "We Are Not Helpless" bring the proceedings to a epic close.

Throughout this album Stills gives one of his finest vocal performances ranging from bluesy to beautiful and etheral. His song writing is as usual flawless here. I can never pick which is my favorite Stills solo album this one or "Manassas" so I say it is a tie between the two.

Happy Birthday Mr. Stills and thank you for this wonderful album and all the wonderful music you make.

George Harrison - "All Things Must Pass"

If I were to ask which of the four Beatles had the first number one single and biggest selling first solo album? Most people would probably guess John Lennon or Paul McCartney but they would be wrong. It is the quiet Beatle George Harrison with his landmark debut solo album "All Things Must Pass." The first triple disc record ever released (now on two CDs) made it even more astonishing because it was slightly more expensive than a regular length albums.

As the Beatles essentially disbanded at the start of 1970 Harrison joined forces with record producer Phil Spector and gathered a who's who of musicians. Largely gathered from Delaney and Bonnie's group the musicians included Eric Clapton and the soon to be Derek and the Dominos (Bobby Whitlock, Carl Radle, Jim Gordon), Dave Mason. As well as Billy Preston, the band Badfinger, bass master Klaus Voorman, and drummer Jim Keltner. There are also brief appearances by Ginger Baker and an unknown Phil Collins.

Harrison had been writing a massive amount of songs during the last few years of the 1960s. However, Lennon/McCartney were so prolific that they only allowed Harrison two songs on every Beatle album. He thus built up a large backlog of written songs that had to be recorded the majority of them became "All Things Must Pass."

Harrison never had a strong or distinctive singing voice but it serves its purpose here and thanks to Spector's wall of sound production Harrison's voice sounds very good and fits into the mix perfectly. Harrison's songs are also very strong and prove that he was a writer in the same league with Lennon and McCartney. Harrison was always interested in spirituality, particularly the religions of India, thus this album focuses on themes and ideas of Spirituality. The music is so melodic and pop/rock oriented that the songs never cease to be accessible, despite sometimes having philosophical, religious, or spiritual content. He also for the most part is not direct about the spiritual connotations of the songs. Only "My Sweet Lord" and "Hear Me Lord" blatantly call up higher powers. The rest of the songs could just as easily be about the love of a woman, the state of the world, and the state of life itself.

Sure the album is long but for the most part everything is a keeper, I personally may have removed "I Dig Love," "Let it Down" and "Apple Scruffs" but even those are pretty entertaining. The real flaw is the Original Apple Jam that ends the album (originally the third disc of the Vinyl Record). The Jam consists of five instrumentals (two are ten minutes) in which Harrison and Derek and The Dominos along with certain guests for each track basically just, well, jam. I think I know why Harrison included them; he was never really allowed to jam with The Beatles. Beatles music was a very expertly structured and arranged entity and they never allowed Harrison to really break out and jam on the guitar. So these sessions are a way for him to let out all his pent up guitar fury that had been built up during The Beatles.

The problem I find with the Apple Jam is that they are not all that interesting simply because there is too much going on at once. The 60s and 70s groups that jammed the best often were very small; like Cream Clapton was the main focus, Hendrix, CSNY focused largely on Stills and Young during their live jams. Harrison, however, often has seven or more people playing on the jams. Perhaps in a nod to Delaney and Bonnie's large band and Spector's wall of sound the music is very encompassing and thus makes it hard for any particular element to stand out, because there is so much going on at once. So often the jams are kind of boring and repetitive and are probably hardly listened to by many owners of this album.

None the less the 2001 remastered set makes everything at least listenable. The remastering makes all the difference. I remember I borrowed the original late 80s early 90s CD version of this album from my friend and I thought the album was awful. But when I heard all the glowing reviews of the 2001 remaster I decided to pick up the album and the thing sounds spectacular. Amazing what remastered sound can do; turning what I thought was awful into a great album. There is a wonderful booklet inside as well as one new song bonus track (that should have been on the original album), some alternate takes and a new version of "My Sweet Lord." The 2001 remaster is a great addition to any Beatle fan's music library.

George Harrison and Friends - "The Concert for Bangladesh"

I am going to break with my usual alphabetical posts to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the spectacular "Concert for Bangladesh."

It was August 1, 1971 Vietnam was raging, Nixon was in the White House, Bangladesh was in shambles and in the music world Bob Dylan had vanished and The Beatles had broken up, which was a bigger blow to many Americans than all the other things happening at the time.

Upon the Beatles break up all 4 member released solo works Lennon's first solo album "Plastic Ono Band" and McCartney's "McCartney" while both were quite impressive (particularly Lennon's) they were met with low sales and harsh criticism.

Then came Harrison's triple disc masterpiece "All Things Must Pass" album with its No.1 hit single "My Sweet Lord" the album was nothing short of astonishing especially coming from the quiet Beatle. Ringo also had a big hit single with "It Don't Come Easy."

Ravi Shankar approach Harrison to help the problems facing Shankar's home area of Bangladesh and Harrison organized the very first superstar benefit concert. Two sold out shows on August 1, 1971 at Madison Square Garden, New York City with some top tier talent including Ringo, Billy Preston, Leon Russell, Shankar and his sitar band, Badfinger, Klaus Voorman, Jim Keltner, and Phil Spector arranging it all (building a living wall of sound on stage) and recording a live album. Eric Clapton, who at the time was in self imposed exile, flew over from England to play back up guitar.

Then there was Harrison on top of the music scene and always the center to the concert, wearing his white and orange suit with the OM symbol on his lapels. This was the first time any of the Beatles performed live (barring the performance on the roof of Abbey Road and Lennon's impromptu appearance at the Toronto music festival).

When Harrison plays an acoustic version of "Here Comes the Sun" the rays really fill the room. In this time of problems here were a bunch of rock stars doing something good for other people (none of them got paid for their performances). Here was an audience that wanted to feel good again and Harrison gave them that for a few hours.

Then the sun really shines when the poet of a generation comes out of the shadows, a friend of us all Bob Dylan. Also at his most reclusive point Dylan had not and would not perform live for five years with the exception of this concert. Wearing his acoustic guitar and harmonica Dylan reaches back to his early days to play five of his greatest songs, including "Blowin in the Wind," "Mr. Tambourine Man" and "Just Like a Woman." He had not played these songs in a while and more over he plays them straight. It is truly a magical moment which the listener feels.

Then when Dylan leaves the stage to thunderous applause, Harrison launches into his best song "Something" just to remind us that he is awesome.

So for this 40th Anniversary of "The Concert for Bangladesh" check out the free streaming of the concert film at http://www.theconcertforbangladesh.com/. Download the album or songs from iTunes all proceeds go to The George Harrison Fund for UNICEF. I own the Remastered set which has a cool booklet, great sound and the money I paid for it went to the George Harrison Fund. Long live George Harrison, the quiet one, who in 1971 made a lot of great noise.

Derek and the Dominos - "Live at the Fillmore"

To support their only album Eric Clapton, Carl Radle, Bobby Whitlock and Jim Gordon aka Derek and the Dominos went on a erratic tour of the USA. This live album is compiled from two of the shows at New York's Fillmore East auditorium in October 1970.

The Dominos were always Clapton's finest group, "Layla," their one album together, is Clapton's finest studio album and no surprise this is his finest live album. This would be the first time Clapton was the official leader of a group. He had been famous for years by this point and he was in great turmoil in love with Patti Boyd the wife of his best friend. These factors could account for his powerful performances.

Being the insecure guy that he was Clapton is uncertain of his singing and leadership ability thus he tries to cover up his insecurities with some killer guitar playing. He has never sounded as fierce or as inventive as he does here. His singing is perfectly good as well. The powerful "Have you ever loved a woman" blows the excellent album version away. The nearly twenty minute "Let it Rain" is jaw dropping with a killer drum solo by Gordon. This is also the only place, until the new 40th anniversary "Layla" album came out last month, to get the song "Got to Get Better in a Little While."

The songs are long, five of them run over ten minutes, but if you are a Clapton fan these are great great treasures. It is a shame that this album is not mention more often in Clapton's catalogue, I guess that makes it something of a great discovery for the Clapton fan. I personally was hesitant to buy this album because of the long songs; after all sometimes longer does not mean better. I finally picked this album up and am so happy, this is the finest live performance Clapton has ever released and one of the best live albums I have ever heard. If you want more from the Dominos this is the only place for it. Doesn't get better than this.

Derek and the Dominos - "Layla and other assorted love songs"

I believe I missed a week, sorry about that. Here is the triumphant return with my favorite album of all time. Derek and the Dominos lone studio album is not only one of the finest examples of rock music, it is also a testament to the creative power of love; whether it be euphoric or heartbreaking.

As it has been widely told before Eric Clapton was madly in love with his best friend's, George Harrison, wife Patti Boyd. Clapton had been working as a side man, with Delaney and Bonnie as well as on Harrison's "All Things Must Pass" album, to escape the spotlight of superstardom. Clapton joined forces with Bobby Whitlock, Jim Gordon and Carl Radle to form Derek and the Dominos. During the recording sessions Duane Allman joined the group as well.

The Dominos are Clapton's finest group able to adeptly support him but also work as a unit creating a true band sound. The title cut is a prime example of their great teamwork: halfway through the song all the blistering guitars fade to a whisper and the rest of the tune is a beautiful piano solo by Whitlock. This is truly a great band and it truly is a pity that they were not able to record more albums.

None the less their one album is a shining achievement. Clapton has never been better, he throws out blistering guitar parts that are among the best of his career. Some are fast straight ahead jaw droppers other are intricate quiet tunes. He uses the blues and rock equally to get his point across. Clapton has never before or since sounded as passionate or interested in his music as he does here.

The songs emit all Clapton's yearning, aching, depression and excitement that comes from being in love. Despite his turmoil the songs are often up tempo but there are a fine share of blues songs in there as well. The songs encompass everything that one feels when love is out of reach. There is also some hope though, in reality Clapton eventually married Patti Boyd largely in part due to this soul bearing album.

I could go on and on for days about the greatness of this album and how much I enjoy it but I shall stop soon. I believe one of the main reasons this is my favorite album is that I have more times than I want to admit been in the exact same place as Clapton, in love with someone who does not love me. I have never been as talented as Mr. Clapton and I can play only a few notes on the guitar; the only outlet I have is writing and listening to music. This is the music that connects us to each other, we as humans are consumed by emotion at all times and "Layla" reflects that. That is what this album does for me, not only is it great music; "Layla" reminds me that love conquers all and that in the end even a guitar god like Clapton is just as human as I am.

Delaney & Bonnie & Friends - "On Tour with Eric Clapton"

Delaney & Bonnie Bramlett were a husband and wife duo from California who made a series of, they actually crossed a number of different genres: Blues, Rock, Soul, Gospel and a little country. The duo recorded eight albums together before divorcing in the early 1970s causing the end of the pairing. Despite having a number of hits in the late 1960s they were never really superstars with the public. They are more well known for all their superstar "Friends" that performed with them such as, Clapton, George Harrison, Duane Allman and Dave Mason. They gained fame as Blind Faith's opening act for Blind Faith's only tour. A number of famous musicians joined their back up band and thus the group was called Delaney & Bonnie & Friends. The Brammlett's are also responsible for the formation of Derek & the Dominos all of whom played in their back up group. The same musicians were also used as backup on George Harrison's epic "All Things Must Pass" album. Delaney Bramlett also cowrote and produced Clapton's first solo album and persuaded Clapton to start a solo career.

This is Delaney & Bonnie's most famous album and one of the only ones still readily available for purchase or download. Their eleven piece band includes all of Derek & the Dominos, Clapton, Mason and Rita Coolidge. They perform like a white version of Ike and Tina Turner but with a better understanding of music. Clapton and Mason provide some strong guitar solos but the Bramletts are always the focus and they do put on a rousing show. They give strong renditions of "Things Get Better," Mason's "Only You Know and I Know" and Clapton's strong "Coming Home." (The version on the Clapton "Crossroads Box Set" has a much clearer sound however than the one presented here). The album though is a brief 40 minutes spear over nine tracks. There was a limited edition 4 disc box set feature the majority of the concerts that this album was culled from, it is a little hard to come by now.

Overall this is a fine live album not really necessary but a very important point in music history. Without this tour and album there would be no Dave Mason solo career, no Clapton solo career and worst of all no "Layla" album. That would be a tragedy.

Eric Clapton & Steve Winwood - "Live From Madison Square Garden"

Starting in the year 2000 Eric Clapton began teaming up or reuniting with musicians left and right. He Recorded albums with B.B. King and J.J. Cale, he did live performances with Jeff Beck, John Mayer and Wyclef Jean. He even reunited with Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker for a Cream reunion tour. And so here we have it a reunion of Clapton and Steve Winwood the two major players of the short lived supergroup Blind Faith. The pair reunited after nearly 40 years of separation to do a series of concerts from which this double live album was culled.

This is an interesting album because not only is this the closest anyone has come to a Blind Faith Live Album, it also largely abandons the most popular songs by either artist. Clapton's biggest hits like "Layla" and "Wonderful Tonight" are absent as are Winwood's "Higher Love" and "Back in the High Life." This is not a bad thing, it actually allows to pair to show off their musical talent much more. The album features Blind Faith's entire album (minus "Sea of Joy" for some unknown reason) then there are a bunch of Traffic songs and finally there are a lot of covers, which are given fine renditions. This is one of Clapton's better live albums and Winwood's first non-Traffic live recording. As with most Clapton live recordings there is no banter with the audience and aside from the applause you would not know there is an audience. There are no liner notes, which is disappointing, the CD booklet contains a few pictures from the concert. But this no frills approach is probably designed to make you purchase the same name DVD Documentary that explains more about the shows.

Winwood is in Strong voice and he plays the keyboards and acoustic guitar wonderfully. Clapton also sound excited about performing as he pulls out a number of strong guitar solos. Many of the songs here do not appear on Clapton's other live albums so this is the only place to find them. If you are a fan of Blind Faith, Traffic and/or the two artists this is a very good live recording.

Eric Clapton & Friends - "Eric Clapton's Rainbow Concert"

This live album culled from the January 1973 concert that returned Clapton to performing and the public eye. After the 1971 break up of Derek and the Dominos, his finest band, Clapton went into exile. He locked himself in his house for two years and basically went on long drug binges and recorded music. Pete Townshend organized this concert at the Rainbow Theatre in an effort to remove Clapton from the destructive cycle he had entered. Townshend organized an all star back up band which included himself, the Rolling Stones' Ronnie Wood, Steve Winwood and most of the band Traffic.

Recorded live by the legendary Glyn Johns this album was originally released as a meager unimpressive six song album. Thankfully when released on CD they added eight songs from the original concert recordings which expanded the album to over an hour of music and a much better document of the concert as well as a much better listen. The band is ragged, with only ten days of rehearsal, but they are filled with energy. The performances are full blooded and Clapton proves his exile did not effect his playing as he tears through his hits and sings with passion. If you are a fan of Clapton's work this is one of his better albums with great liner notes and great sound. Clapton has released so many live recordings in his career that it is hard to choose which one to get, this is one of his better live albums but not his best.

Eric Clapton - "The Cream of Clapton"

This is the first Eric Clapton CD I ever owned; my grandparents bought it for me at I think a store called something like SunCoast. As I would come to find after purchasing this compilation and then listening to other Clapton albums, he actually was best on individual songs. With the exception of the "Layla" album and arguably his first couple solo albums; Clapton has a mass of excellent songs but a large amount of just average albums. That is why this compilation is nearly perfect, not only does it focus on Clapton's most successful years it also gives the hits from the different groups Clapton performed with not only solo work.

There are five Cream tracks, basically the most famous songs the band recorded in their short career. There is "Presence of the Lord" the only Clapton composition on Blind Faith's only album. Two cuts from the "Layla" album including the classic title track. And finishing off with eleven of Clapton's biggest solo hits including, "Wonderful Tonight," "I Shot the Sheriff" and "After Midnight." Sure there are missing later hits like "Tears in Heaven" and "Change the World," but why carp? If you are a listener who wants more Clapton than is presented here but is unwilling to search through his individual albums the double disc compilation "Complete Clapton" may be more your style.

This one though is pretty hard to beat all his best songs, several pages of liner notes from Clapton biographer Ray Coleman and a number of old pictures from the years. All in all an excellent compilation for an excellent artist