Songs Ohia: Magnolia Electric Co. (2003)

 

     A couple years ago, I got around to checking out Will Johnson adjacent musician Jason Molina. Turns out he was another December 30th birthday buddy. Anyhow, Molina and Will Johnson recorded an album together in 2009 simply titled Molina and Johnson. Four years after Molina's death in 2013, Erin Osman wrote his biography, "Riding With the Ghost", and asked Will Johnson to write the forward. It was a beautiful tribute to a kindred spirit. The biography was fascinating and prompted me to head down the Jason Molina rabbit hole. Osman went into great detail about the song "Farewell Transmission" from his Songs Ohia album Magnolia Electric Co., so that's where I began. What I discovered was a record that continually veered back and forth between savage power and spare beauty, with Molina presiding like a prime era Neil Young. 

     Magnolia Electric Co. opens with the aforementined "Farewell Transmission" and it is a 7 1/2 minute revelation. I have to resist the urge to just post the entire lyrics; there are so many poignant lines. One that resonates because of Molina's death is "I will try and know whatever I try, I will be gone but not forever". Two other brilliant lyrics are "My kind of life's no better off if I've got the maps or if I'm lost" and "Mama here comes Midnight with the dead moon in its jaws". "Farewell Transmission" ends with a great run out where Molina repeats the line "Long dark blues...LISTEN". Then on the final "LISTEN" the song abruptly ends. Goosebumps.

     "I've Been Riding With the Ghost" and "John Henry Split My Heart" are full on Neil Young and Crazy Horse rockers. "John Henry" opens with a Crazy Horse style jam, then it pulls back for a sparse piano interlude, then kicks the door in with more Crazy Horse jamming. Molina also reprises lyrics from "Farewell Transmission". The song ends with John Henry asking "Boy what are you going to do with your heart in two?" The reply is "If it's good enough and only if it's good enough, half I'm going to use to pay this band. Half I'm saving because I'm going to owe them". Fuck. 

     "Just Be Simple" starts out with some exquisite pedal steel then Molina joins in with fragile vocals. "You'll never hear me talk about one day getting out. Why put a new address on the same old loneliness". My favorite line is "I think he's been letting me win. And I think he's doing it again. Thanks for letting me win. And everything you hated me for, honey there was so much more. I just didn't get busted". 

     I highly recommend this album, as well as, Osman's biography. It's a riveting story. Peace. 

Doves: Lost Souls (2000)

 

     I'm sitting at my desk on a cold, rainy morning coming to the realization that summer will be coming to a close soon. It is this time of year that I invariably turn to my go-to end of summer album, Lost Souls. Lost Souls was realeased in the U.K. in the spring of 2000, but fittingly not released in the States until October. I remember being up in the middle of the night with my daughter, watching MTV2, when the video for "Catch the Sun" came on and blew my mind. I was at the record store the next day. "Catch the sun before it's gone" is the perfect line for late August in a northern clime. I will never understand those who complain about the heat of summer. Every sunny day is a gift. 

     The opening track on Lost Souls, "Firesuite", sounds like what I can only imagine Manchester to be. In my mind, I see seabirds circling in cold, gray skies above a cold, gray cityscape. I can visualize guys going to work in their peacoats and knit caps. I can hear them raising hell in the pub in their fantastic Mancunian accents. Think The Fighting Gallagher Brothers. "Firesuite" sets the atmospheric theme for the entire record. At first listen, Lost Souls may seem dark and depressing, but in fact it's an album about hope and longing and escape. Escape from a place or a person or yourself. And the hope that comes from just one moment in the sun. "Here it comes. Here comes my days in the sun. Here it comes. Here comes my time in the sun. And you don't know how it feels. Here it comes. Here comes my time in the sun". That is the second chorus of track number two, "Here it Comes". 

     The themes of escape and longing resurface in the first verse of standout track "Catch the Sun". "Everyday it comes to this. Catch the things you might have missed. You say get back to yesterday. 'Cause I ain't ever going back. Back to the place that I can't stand, but I, I miss the way you lie. 'Cause I'm always misunderstood, pulled apart and ripped in two, but I, I miss the way you lie". Longing for the simple peace of sleep is a theme in songs like "Sea Song" and "The Cedar Room". "Sea Song" begins "Drive with me, do the things you won't believe. Drive with me, past the city and down to sea. Crushing dreams, leave me be, I cannot sleep". "The Cedar Room" is probably the best song on Lost Souls. The chorus is great; "I tried to sleep alone, but I couldn't do it. You could be sitting next to me and I wouldn't know it. If I told you you were wrong, I don't remember saying it. I don't remember saying it". 

     Other standout tracks are the triumphantly soaring "Rise" and the eerie closer "A House". "A House" begins and ends with a burning sound. Here are the lyrics: "It was a day like this and my house burnt down. And the walls were thin and they crashed to the ground. It was a day like this and my life unwound. You could've struck me a line and that's okay now. We could always put it together again. You could've told me a lie, and a lie so thin, so thin now everything's clear. Day after day and life goes on. And I try to see the good in everyone. If I ever find myself here again I'll give everything". 

     Doves, for me, are the band that defines the 2000's. Lost Souls came out in 2000 and Kingdom of Rust in 2009. In between were The Last Broadcast and Some Cities. They are all 5 star records in my opinion. This decade run is similar to The Beatles run in the Sixties and Zeppelin in the Seventies. One of my regrets is I never saw these guys live and chances are I probably never will. At least I have the records. Peace.

The White Stripes: De Stijl (2000)

 

     The White Stripes were roundly credited for the Garage Revival. As I am revisiting their second album, De Stijl (The Style), it strikes me as mostly a blues album. Yes, there are two tracks, "Let's Build a Home" and "Jumble, Jumble", that are textbook garage rock; complete with crunchy guitars and sloppy drums. However, the album is dedicated to bluesman Blind Willie McTell and much of it sounds like an homage to one of Jack White's guitar hereos, Jimmy Page. 

     The Jimmy Page influence is all over songs like "Little Bird", "I'm Boung to Pack It Up" and the Son House cover "Death Letter". Of course, Jimmy Page was featured in the film "This Might Get Loud" with Jack and U2's The Edge. I've never listened to Son House or Blind Willie McTell, so I don't know the extent that their style may have influenced Page or White. It is clear that Page was an influence on Jack White. 

     The album opens with "You're Pretty good Lookin' (For a Girl)". I wish I could take this song in a time machine back to 1965 and give it to The Kinks. It would have been a huge hit. The second track is the tremendous "Hello, Operator". This is more like the sound we would come to expect from a White Stripes song. The second verse is fantastic. "Find a canary, a bird to bring my message home. Carry my obituary, my coffin doesn't have a phone. How you gonna get the money? Send papers to an empty home. How you gonna get the money? Nobody to answer the phone". I also love Meg's drum rim solos.

     There are a few more tracks that point to the future sound of the band, like "Why Can't You Be Nicer to Me?" There are also a couple tracks that are like "We Are Gonna Be Friends" from White Blood Cells. I liken this type of Jack White song to those old tyme Paul McCartney songs that he would put on every Beatles album. They are cute, but not my personal favorites. 

     It was nice to really dig into De Stijl again. Truthfully, when I'm in the mood to listen to The White Stripes I just put on White Blood Cells. I forgot how good this record is. The White Stripes were a rare band who could combine style AND substance. The red, white and black motif was striking. And the whole marketing thing about whether they were married or brother and sister was brilliant. I still kick myself for not going to see them Downtown when I lived on the mean streets of the Detroit suburbs. I have seen Jack at the Little Caesar's Arena and The Raconteurs at the Agora here in Cleveland and he is an amazing performer. I'm sure The White Stripes will be first ballot Rock Hall inductees. Hopefully they will reunite for the ceremony. If they do I will be there. Peace.

     

The 2000's Revisited

 

     Now that my yearly album Mt. Rushmores are done, I feel like I may have taken an unintentional crap on the 2000's. While I stand by my perspective regarding Mt. Rushmores for the 2000's, there admittedly have been many tremendous records released in the past 22 years. I reviewed the year 2000 again and would be hard-pressed to come up with a Mt. Rushmore without doing a deep dive on dozens of records I don't own and have never heard. But I love Doves Lost Souls and Badly Drawn Boy The Hour of Bewilderbeast and Modest Mouse The Moon & Antarctica. And De Stijl by The White Stripes is pretty good too, but are these albums Mt. Rushmore wothy? 

     I think going forward, I would like to focus on albums of the 2000's. As I said, there are many great records that I know and love. There are also thousands I have meant to get around to, but haven't managed. It might be chronological, or just random. I haven't made that call yet. This could also be an exercise to step out of my comfort zone and try new genres. My instinct is to examine records I enjoy and not bother with those I don't. Who am I to tell people Adele is horrible? And who knows, maybe Harry Styles is amazing. Or BTS. I do know my faith in music has been restored by artists like Yard Act, Wet Leg, Horsegirl and D.C. Fontaines. 

     On a side note, my next Sound Mind post will be number 200. Not too impressive since I began this blog almost 10 years ago, but it's a milestone nonetheless. It feels good to publish something everyday, even though these posts are basically stream of consciousness, unedited first drafts. Hopefully it's not too obvious. Peace.

Mt. Rushmore: Sixties Recap

 

     My top ten albums for the Sixties aee very good. Not Nineties good, but probably better than the Seventies and Eighties. The Sixties was interesting because the early years were still singles dominant, but the second half was marked by the concept album, rock operas, garage rock, psychedelic rock, prog rock, hard bop and festivals. Music took a huge creative leap in the Sixties, much like the Space Program putting a man on the Moon by 1969. No band exemplified this more than The Beatles. But how will they fare on my list? Let's find out.

1)  Odessey and Oracle

2)  My Generation

3)  Abbey Road

4)  Revolver

5) The Doors

6)  Nefertiti

7)  A Love Supreme

8)  Are You Experienced

9)  The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society

10) I've Got a Tiger By the Tail

     This list might be better than the Nineties. It's hard to say because it's more diverse. The Nineties doesn't have two jazz albums and a country record. Every album on this list is 5 stars. And I didn't even have Pet Sounds, The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan or Simon and Garfunkel. Great decade! Peace. 

Mt. Rushmore: 1964

 

     1964 was a bit more difficult than I first thought. It turned out I had five solid options and the final cut was painful. It came down to The Beatles and Getz / Gilberto. Most of you probably don't consider that a hard decision, but it was for me. Stan Getz will probably be on my Mt. Rushmore of saxophonists and Getz / Gilberto has "The Girl From Ipanema" and "Desifinado", which are jazz classics. The Beatles' A Hard Day's Night was the second album, all-time, to feature all originals by a group or artist. In the end, I decided a Mt. Rushmore for 1964 has to have The Beatles on it. 

     My number one may, or may not, be a surprise. It's Buck Owens and His Buckaroos I've Got a Tiger By the Tail. Where do I start? The Buckaroos were named by Merle Haggard when he was in Buck's band for a hot minute. I consider Buck and his Buckaroos to be the country music equivalent of Miles Davis' Second Quintet. Buck on vocals and guitar, Don Rich playing lead guitar on a Fender Telecaster, Doyle Holly on bass, Tom Brumley on pedal steel guitar and Willie Cantu on drums. Buck was also a hell of a guitarist. He learned in the Grapes of Wrath era work camps as a kid as his family moved west to Bakersfield, California. He started out as a session player, but eventually came to create The Bakersfield Sound; which went up against the Nashville machine. That's why he was always written off by mainstream country music, until Dwight Yoakam became a champion for his legacy. Buck had an affinity for songs that start with the chorus, like the title track of I've Got a Tiger By the Tail and "Fallin' For You". He was an influence on The Beatles and they covered "Act Naturally", which is another song that begins with the chorus made popular by Buck Owens. Other great Beatles songs that lead with the chorus are "HELP" and "You're Gonna Lose That Girl". Someday, after I reread "Buck 'Em", I will do a post on Buck Owens. He was a one of a kind entertainer. And this album was released two days before I was born, on December 28th. 

     Number two and three are by two more heads on my saxophone Mt. Rushmore; John Coltrane and Wayne Shorter. Just to end the suspense, Sonny Rollins would be the fourth. Anyhow, Coltrane released Crescent in 1964 with his clasic quartet of McCoy Tyner, Jimmy Garrison and Elvin Jones. Tyner and Jones also played on Wayne Shorter's 1964 release, Juju. These are both tremendous, overlooked classic jazz records. If you are only passingly familiar with Kind of Blue or Time Out or A Love Supreme, I would recommmend really digging into these albums. They are top shelf hard bop. 

     So, number four is A Hard Day's Night. It's a movie soundtrack, but it's all originals written at the time. Of course, it begins with that iconic chord being struck at the beginning of "A Hard Day's Night". Then there's that classic "music video" during the film where they play "Can't Buy Me Love" while they are frolicking around in a park. Truthfully, it's not high in my ranking of Beatles records, but the movie is fantastic. It was an important album in the band's development and a critical landmark in the history of rock music. Therefore, Mt. Rushmore worthy. 

     Tomorrow is the Sixties recap. Since there were only six years covered, I will pick a few wildcards to round it out to a top ten. This exercise has been fun and it made me post everyday, so win-win. Peace.

Mt. Rushmore: 1965

 

     1965 was a little rough for albums. Not due to a lack of quality, but rather a lack of originality. There were so many artists with a couple originals who then supplemented their albums with covers. Hell, that's how The Beatles started. I was considering Here Are the Sonics by The Sonics and Begin Here by The Zombies, but I felt there were too many covers. I even briefly considered Highway 61 Revisited out of desperation. Other contenders were Herbie Hancock Maiden Voyage and Miles Davis ESP. In the end, I have my top four and they are pretty good. 

     Ironically, my number one has three covers and questionable sequencing. It's The Who Sings My Generation by The Who. I'm puzzled why a band would come out of the gate with a manifesto like "My Generation" and bury it on track six behind a James Brown cover and an original that sounds like an R&B cover. "People try to put us down just because we get around. Things they do look awful cold. Hope I die before I get old". That's a Roger Daltrey punch in the face to the "Greatest Generation". Factor in arguably the best pop song of all-time, "The Kids Are Alright", and this is already one of the most important albums of the Sixties. Then there are several straight up rockers like "Good's Gone", "La-La-La Lies" and "Much Too Much". Try to imagine being alive when this album came out. It was louder, edgier and more confrontational than anything that preceded it. And they had Keith Fucking Moon. So good.

     For my number two, I'm going with John Coltrane's A Love Supreme. This is peak Coltrane with his classic quartet of McCoy Tyner, Jimmy Garrison and Elvin Jones. If a made a Mt. Rushmore for jazz albums, this would be on it. If you find Coltrane intimidating, go back to his stuff with Miles and work your way through his catalog chronologically. He was a musical genius and a brilliant player. Unquestionably the most gifted individual to pick up a saxophone. 

     Number three is Rubber Soul by The Beatles. An album of originals. Yay! Not as good as Revolver, but a nice companion piece that showed the direction they were heading as a band. The songs were more sophisticated and complex. This change was credited to the influence of Dylan. Perhaps, but it probably would have happened organically anyhow. For me, the standout tracks are "Nowhere Man", "Think For Yourself" and "If I Needed Someone". What else can I say, it's The Beatles.

     Number four is a bit of a stunner. I'm going with A Charlie Brown Christmas by the Vince Guaraldi Trio. It is a beautiful album in the style of Bill Evans. This has to be the bestselling and most listened to Christmas album ever. Worth listening to just for "Linus and Lucy". This is a nostaglia selection sorry, not sorry. 

     Wow, tomorrow is 1964, the year I was born; barely. That will be my last album Mt. Rushmore for specific years. I will do a Sixties recap and some other random Mt. Rushmores. After that I'm not sure. I have published something for 38 straight days and I don't want to lose my momentum. Anyhow, 1964 looks like a lot of jazz and country, but I will review my options one more time. Peace.