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.

John Lennon - "Imagine"

I had originally wrote about John Lennon's "Plastic Ono Band" album for what would have been his 70th birthday in 2010 here is a link to that post
http://loosenthekey.blogspot.com/2010/10/john-lennon-john-lennonplastic-ono-band.html

Lennon's second solo album "Imagine" was released in 1971 and became a number one hit. Again produced by Phil Spector who is able to incorporate more of his Wall of Sound techniques than he was on the previous "Plastic Ono Band" album.

"Imagine" finds Lennon moving toward the political activism that would comprise his next album "Sometimes in New York City" and his public life for much of the early 1970s.

The title track has become his signature tune and will always be a spectacular plea for peace and understanding that, for me, never gets old. It is Lennon being the master musician but also pushing a slightly political agenda. On my car I have a bumper sticker that reads "You may say I'm a dreamer but I'm not the only one."

"I don't Wanna be a Soldier" and "Gimme Some Truth" are straight forward political songs obviously protesting the Vietnam War and the latter calling out politicians. Despite the ranting lyrics (particularly on the latter track), Lennon is such a strong musician he makes them catchy.

The rest of the album focuses on confessional songs similar in content to "Plastic Ono Band." Yet where that album was raw and bare, the songs here are given smooth sweeping arrangements that slightly mask their raw emotions. "Crippled Inside" is a mix of two faced politicians and Lennon's own pain with his winking off-center humor. "Jealous Guy" is a beautiful apology (possibly to Yoko Ono) set to sweeping strings. "How Do you Sleep" is a snarling through gritted teeth confrontation with Paul McCartney (but Lennon later said the song was a way to separate himself from the Beatles). "It's So Hard," "How?" and "Oh My Love" are simple quiet emotions and would have fit well on his previous album.

This is a great album, especially for Lennon fans. The version I have has a lot of photographs and lyrics in the CD booklet. Thank you John for another gift of music

For Christmas 2012 lets imagine all the people living life in peace and the world as one. Merry Christmas Everyone.

Led Zeppelin - "The Best of"

"Been a Long time since a Rock and Roll" post.
After a long unintentional absence The Music Man has returned. Nice to see you all again.

Picking up where my alphabetical listings stopped about a month ago. (Last post was Carole King, check it out). Coincidentally my next album is Led Zeppelin who received a Kennedy Center honor this year.

My Led Zeppelin "Best of" collection was made for me by a gorgeous ballet dancer that was very special to me for a time, but I sadly have not seen her in many years. Anyway she and I used to trade music and she made me what she claimed was the perfect Led Zeppelin collection and I am inclined to agree. At the time the group had only released an expensive Box Set and "Early/Later Days" (the later of which was an affordable two disc set but poorly selected, no "Ramble On" what the hell?). So she made a wonderful two disc collection for me. She picked it pretty well because a few years later Zeppelin came out with "Mothership" an excellent greatest hits collection that is basically identical to the one my ballerina friend made me.

First off I want to say I enjoy a number of Zeppelin songs, "Over the Hills and Far Away" is my favorite, and the albums "Led Zeppelin II," "Led Zeppelin IV," and "Houses of the Holy" are very good. I am not a Zeppelin obsessive that thinks they are the greatest band ever, I think they are very good though.

Zeppelin make great guitar riffs, Robert Plant's vocals, and John Paul Jones is one of the best bass players out there. There is not much I can say about Zeppelin that has not been said already if you enjoy 1970s rock and have not checked them out you probably should. Pick up the compilation "Mothership" or the three album I mentioned in the paragraph above. If you are looking for they live performance (with excess jams that last 30 minutes!) check out "How the West Was Won" triple CD live album.

Well hope all is well and next time we will talk about John Lennon's "Imagine" see you then.

Carole King - "The Carnegie Hall Concert, June 18, 1971"

This legacy edition of this 1971 concert was not released until 1996. But it is a little gem.

Performed for a sold out crowd shortly after the release of King's landmark "Tapestry" album that was climbing up the charts and her song "It's Too Late" had hit number one on the charts the morning of this concert.

The audience is incredibly excited between songs and in sheer respectful awe when songs are sung. The audience is so quiet during some songs you can hear her voice bounce of the walls. King is obviously nervous as evidenced by her stage chatter, she does get more comfortable as the show progresses and as noted at this point in her life she had terrible stage fright.

While the songs are largely from "Tapestry" there are several excellent renditions from her forgotten debut album "Writer" and songs from her at the time unreleased  album "Music." For the majority of the concert King is alone with her piano giving even the famous songs a different spin. It is almost as if King is in your living with a grand piano, that is how intimate this concert sounds. Sometimes her voice is shaky as she was not really a performer at this point in her career. Well known California session guitarist Danny Kortchmar appears on a few songs; There is also a special appearance by James Taylor who duets with King on some of her old hits like "Will you still love me tomorrow" and of course "You've Got  a Friend."

The liner notes are excellent as is the sound which is usual for Legacy releases. This is a great companion piece to the classic "Tapestry" album and a warm nice listen for a late cold night. Recommended for fans of King and "Tapestry."

Israel Kamakawiwo`ole - "Alone in IZ World"

Easily the best of the many IZ studio albums released after his death in 1997. This is really a compilation of alternate performances and remixed/overdubbed songs from his previous albums. There are a handful of "new songs" one of which, a version of Nat King Cole's "Mona Lisa" is an outtake with IZ cracking jokes part way through. It is a nice insight into the man like he is talking to you. Most of the tracks are unplugged IZ and his ukulele which is wonderful and soothing.

There are several orchestral, wall of sound style remixes that work very well, "Starting All Over Again" and "In This Life" becoming big hits in these redone versions. Overall the album works very well because it picks some lesser known songs in the musicians catalogue and presents them in simple but pleasing ways. Also released after the massive success of "Facing Future" and IZ's untimely passing the album became a huge hit and a popular addition to many listeners libraries. Most original copies of the disc come with a Quicktime special version that plays some candid personal photos, press clippings, and a screen saver.

Note: the version of "Over the Rainbow" presented here is not the famous version, see IZ's album "Facing Future" for the famous "Somewhere Over the Rainbow/Wonderful World" medley.

Israel Kamakawiwo`ole - "Facing Future"

Israel Kamakawiwo`ole is one of the most popular Hawaiian musicians of all time and this album is his most successful. This is the first Hawaiian music album to be certified Gold and eventually Platinum.

Bruddah "IZ," as he is affectionately called, first gained fame as a member of the Makaha Sons of Ni`ihau with his brother Skippy and Moon Kaukahi, Jon and Jerome Koko.
Skippy, who also had a weight problem, died of a heart attack at 28 when the group was gaining their fame in the early 1980s.

In the 1990s the remaining four members became one of the most popular bands in Hawaiian Music but IZ wanted to take the music in a more contemporary direction while the other three members wanted to keep things traditional. IZ left the group after their biggest success with the hit song "Take a Walk in the Country."

He made several solo albums but "Facing Future" released in 1993 was his biggest success. Mixing traditional Hawaiian songs with modern arrangements and contemporary songs. Of the contemporary songs "Hawaii 78" became a Native Hawaiian anthem. A Hawaii-ized version of John Denver's "Take Me Home Country Road" changing some lyrics to make the song about Hawaii instead of West Virginia is a catchy winner. The epic Jawaiian style "Maui Hawaiian Sup'pa Man" is funny. catchy and educational all at the same time, it was one of the hits off the album. A solo acoustic version of "White Sandy Beach" is also a beautiful lamenting winner.

The most popular track is the ukulele led medley of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World." This song has been used in TV shows, Movies and Commercials. The song's success is really the reason this album is the first Hawaiian music album to be certified Gold.

"Facing Future" is a winning record and the best example of all IZ's abilities and styles.

Kalapana - "Blue Album"

Sorry for the long break in posts everyone, got a little side tracked but now I am back on track.

This is the last album of new material Kalapana has released to date. Released in 2002 it was something of a phoenix story for the band.

In 1999, Mackey Feary, one of the band's founding members committed suicide after a long battle with substance abuse. Kalapana performed a tribute concert in Waikiki in early 2000 but stayed out of the music scene until the release of this album in 2002.

"Blue Album" is the band's best album in years. They have written a strong batch of songs and have also found an excellent medium between their Jazz Fusion/Pop/Rock/Folk style of the 1970s and their more electronic sound of the 1980s and 90s.

Malani Bilyeu dominates the album with the excellent and super catchy "Another Lonely Night," "Ten Years After (featuring the group CHANT)," "Keala," "Lost Love" and "Coming Home to You."

Maurice Bega, a friend and former bandmate of Feary's, provides lead vocals on two songs and back up on all the others. Bega also performed Feary's vocals at the Kalapana performance in 2000. Gaylord Holomalia is great on keyboards and as engineer gives all the songs a great sound. DJ Pratt has some killer guitar solos.

The album is dedicated to Feary and it is a winner. It does, however, lose steam in the last four tracks but that does not diminish its excellence. After this album Kalapana was touring almost constantly with new member Zanuck Lindsey filling in on guitar and Mackey Feary vocals. Since 2008 the band's performances have become very erratic, particularly Bilyeu's stage antics and weakening voice. A proposed anniversary concert in 2009 was canceled and the band has since vanished from the music scene.

If this does turn out to be their final album they went out on a good note.