Friday, October 12, 2012

THE SANTA FE OPRY PLAYLIST


Santa Fe Opry Facebook BannerFriday, Oct. 12, 2012 
KSFR, Santa Fe, NM 
Webcasting! 
10 p.m. to midnight Fridays Mountain Time 
Host: Steve Terrell 
101.1 FM
email me during the show! terrel(at)ksfr.org
 OPENING THEME: Buckaroo by Buck Owens & The Buckaroos

If My Harley Was Running by Waylon Jennings
Cowboy Boots by The Backsliders
See Willie Fly By by The Waco Brothers
Truck Drivin' Man by The Twang Bangers
Smokin' Dope and Snortin' Coke by Todd Andrews
Christine's Tune by The Flying Burrito Brothers
Qualudes Again by Bobby Bare
Thrown Out of the Bar by Hank 3
Lillybelle by The Calamity Cubes

I Wish You Would Kiss Me by James Hand
Honky Tonkin' by Merle Haggard
Diggin' in the Dirt by Tom Irwin
Mother Blues by Ray Wylie Hubbard
Another Round by Ol' Red Shed
Oak Tree Hangin' by Gary Gorence
Brand New Cadillac by Wayne Hancock

I've Done Everything I Could Do Wrong by Reckless Kelly
Family Tradition by Cracker
Between  the Ditches by The Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band
It'll Be Me by Janis Martin
Boy Named Lucy by The Bloody Jug Band
Long Legged Guitar Pickin' Man by Johnny Cash & June Carter
Reprimand by Santa Fe All Stars
Okie Boogie by Jack Guthrie & His Oklahomans

Julia Belle Swain by John Hartford
No Man's Mama by The Carolina Chocolate Drops
You're the Reason God Made Oklahoma by David Frizzel & Shelly West
Take Me Back by The World Famous Headliners
Sweet William by Holy Modal Rounders
When the Last Curtain Falls by George Jones
CLOSING THEME: Comin' Down by The Meat Puppets

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Thursday, October 11, 2012

TERRELL'S TUNEUP: Second Acts in America

A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican 
Oct. 12, 2012

“The separation didn’t work out.” That’s what John Lennon said when he got back with Yoko Ono following the couple’s widely publicized mid-’70s split. It could also apply to a couple of bands that have recently released new material.

I’m talking about Mission of Burma and Dinosaur Jr. Both groups broke up years ago and got back together after prolonged absences — not as desperate casino-touring nostalgia acts but as vital creative forces that picked up where they left off and resumed making the same kind of sounds for which we loved them in the first place.

The bands are several years and several albums into their respective comebacks, and neither has worn out its welcome-back.

Here’s a look at the groups’ latest albums:

* Unsound by Mission of Burma. Mission broke up in the early ’80s because singer/guitarist Roger Miller (no, not that Roger Miller) began suffering ear damage from playing deafening rock ’n’ roll night after night.

But thanks to advances in noise-cancelling ear-plug technology, Mission came back. And it stayed.

This will be the third or fourth time I’ve publicly raved about the fact that this Boston “post-punk” (is that what they called it?) band came back from the dead and not only made a great album (ONoffON, 2004) but has continued to make great records ever since — The Obliterati in 2006 and The Sound, the Speed, the Light in 2009. Most of the material is arguably just as or almost as powerful as the group’s early-’80s work, and none of it sounds dated.

It’s probably beginning to sound patronizing by now, and I’m sure that the members of Mission probably are getting sick of hearing that line of praise from critics. But the praise is sincere. When a bunch of grizzled war dogs come out rocking this strong, reprobate rock geezers like me can’t help but feel somewhat vindicated.

It’s obvious from the bouncy, muscular opening song,“Dust Devil,” sung by bassist Clint Conley, that Unsound doesn’t stray far from the ferocious guitar-driven sound Mission of Burma has been known for since Reagan’s first term. But Miller and crew have added some jiffy touches here and there to keep the sound fresh.

 Bob Weston’s trumpet is a nice touch on “Add in Unison” and “What They Tell Me,” while the faux Beach Boy harmonies sound pretty cool on “7’s.” The android hip-hop arrangement of “This Is Hi-Fi” is pretty wild, but Peter Prescott’s crazed caveman drumming is what really carries the song.

Mission was one of the first rock bands to include a mad-scientist tape-loop mixer/manipulator in both the studio and on stage. Martin Swope was the original manipulator, and Weston took his place after the band reformed.

I’m not the first to note that Mission of Burma has released more albums since its reunion than it did during its original incarnation. I think that the musicians had as good a time making this album as their fans have listening to it.

* I Bet on Sky by Dinosaur Jr. There are lots of similarities between this band and Mission of Burma. Both hail from Massachusetts. Both released their first records in the 1980s. Both are guitar-centric groups that ride the feedback like rodeo stars — with Dinosaur Jr. being a proud devotee of Neil Young’s electric side.

But unlike Mission of Burma’s breakup, the split between Dinosaur Jr.’s J. Mascis and Lou Barlow in the late ’80s was hardly amicable. Nobody had a hearing problem, Mascis and Barlow were just sick of hearing each other.

Mascis soldiered on fronting a new Dinosaur Jr. lineup (usually with longtime DJ drummer Murph as part of the lineup) and later, J. Mascis & The Fog. Meanwhile Barlow enjoyed some success with his band Sebadoh and, later, with the less notable Folk Implosion.

Mascis and Barlow came together again around 2005 to do a short tour when Merge Records rereleased some of their early material. They must have overcome those past differences, because a year later they did another tour and announced they’d be recording a new Dinosaur Jr. album. Beyond was the product of that reunion, and it is a fine record.

DINOSAUR Jr.
Dinosaur Jr. at Pitchfork Festival, Chicago 2008
The followup, Farm was just as amazing, if not better, and now we have I Bet on Sky, which is no letdown. The band is more melodic than it was back in its young days. But the intensity remains.

As has been the case since the band’s early days, Mascis is still the indisputable frontman. He wrote and sings most of the songs on Sky — his high-pitched whine still provides the emotional center for Dinosaur Jr., while his trademark stormy guitar solos dominate the proceedings. And yes, Uncle Neil is still a huge influence on Mascis.

Trying to listen to the guitar intro of “See It on Your Side” without thinking of Young is as hard as listening to the William Tell Overture without envisioning the Lone Ranger.

But, as always, Barlow contributes some wonderful moments here as well. His “Rude” is a country-influenced stomp, while the melody of “Recognition” is outright catchy.

One standout on this album is the rhythmic “I Know It Oh So Well,” on which Mascis sounds like a kid who just got his first wah-wah pedal for his birthday. Then there’s the opening song, “Don’t Pretend You Didn’t Know,” in which the guitar sounds closer to Archie Bell & the Drells than anything Dinosaur Jr. has ever attempted before.

This album grows on you with each listen. I hope this dinosaur never goes extinct.

Blog Bonus: Enjoy some video!



Tuesday, October 09, 2012

R.I.P. Nick Curran

A couple of years ago, Russ Gordon, who produces all those great free shows in Los Alamos, told me that he was bringing in a performer to Los Alamos he knew I'd love  -- Nick Curran.

As frequently is the case, Russ was right. I listened to a couple of sound clips from Curran's then-current album Reform School Girl. It became my favorite album of the year.

I missed the Los Alamos show -- which I regret even more now. Curran died over the weekend  at the age of 35 following a lengthy struggle with cancer. His obit is HERE.

When I first hear Curran, I assumed he was older. His raw voice sounded like he had decades of hard living. But indeed, he packed a lot of life into his short time here, starting out as a teenager playing in rockabilly ace Ronnie Dawson's road band.

Here's my review of Reform School Girl. And below are a couple of videos to remember him by.




Sunday, October 07, 2012

TERRELL'S SOUND WORLD PLAYLIST


Terrell's Sound World Facebook BannerSunday, Oct. 7, 2012 
KSFR, Santa Fe, N.M. 
10 p.m. to midnight Sundays Mountain Time 
Host: Steve Terrell
Webcasting!
101.1 FM
email me during the show! terrell(at)ksfr.org

 OPENING THEME: Let it Out (Let it All Hang Out) by The Hombres
Shoot the Freak by LoveStruck
Teena Head by The Flamin' Groovies
Ice Cream Killer by the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion
Money Ain't Got No Loyalty by Andre Williams
The Clown of the Town by Rev. Beat-Man
She's Goin' Crazy by The Fast Takers
Shakin' All Over by Lolita #18
Have Some Mercy by The Sonic Reverends
Ramblin' Rose by Wayne Kramer & The Pink Fairies

Barbara by THEM!
Preachin', Prayin', Guitar Playin' by The Tombstones
Are You Serious? by The King Khan Experience
I've Become Flaccid from Eating Bad Acid by Gregg Turner
Angel with Bat Wings by The Improbables
I Love My Car by Dennis Most
Voodoo Barbecue by Big John Bates
Crescent Moon by The Nevermores
It's a Hard Life by The A-Bones

That's What They Told Mr by Mission of Burma
Dum Dum Boys by Sugar
I Know It Oh So Well by Dinosaur Jr
Nebraska Alcohol Abuse by David Thomas & Two Pale Boys
Like Flies on Sherbet by Alex Chilton
Manny's Bones by Los Lobos
Rock 'n' Soul Music/Love by Country Joe & The Fish
She Said, She Said by The Black Keys
Washington Bullets by The Clash
Dance Like a Leper by Al's Equinox Party
Sunny by Johnny Rivers
CLOSING THEME: Over the Rainbow by Jerry Lee Lewis

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Friday, October 05, 2012

THE SANTA FE OPRY PLAYLIST


Santa Fe Opry Facebook BannerFriday, Oct. 5, 2012 
KSFR, Santa Fe, NM 
Webcasting! 
10 p.m. to midnight Fridays Mountain Time 
Host: Steve Terrell 
101.1 FM
email me during the show! terrel(at)ksfr.org
 OPENING THEME: Buckaroo by Buck Owens & The Buckaroos
Your Favorite Fool by James Hand
Stupid Boy by The Gear Daddies
Up Against the Wall by Jerry Jeff Walker
200 Proof Lovin by Jason & The Scorchers
W.I.F.E.  by The Old 97s
Act Like a Married Man by Robbie Fulks
16 Chicks by J.P. McDermott & Western Bop
Frankie's Man Johnny by Johnny Cash
Trail Of The Lonesome Pine by Laurel & Hardy (See the video of this classic on the Santa Fe Opry Facebook Page)
Poor Little Critter on the Road by Trailer Bride

I Wish I Didn't Like Whiskey by Mike Cullison
Wham Bam Jam by Janis Martin
Jesus Never Lived on Mars by Eddie Spaghetti
Gambling Barroom Blues by Steve Forbert
Pistol Blues by Ray Cashman
10,000 Miles by Broomdust Caravan
Goin' Down Rockin' by Waylon Jennings
Excuse Me While I Break My Own Heart Tonight by Whiskeytown with Alejandro Escovedo
Busy Body Boogie by The Carlisles

Over the Cliff by Jon Langford's Hillbilly Love Child
Hang You Head and Cry by Scott H. Biram
House Rent Jump by Peter Case
Chords of Fame by Phil Ochs
Cigarettes & Truckstops by Lindi Ortega
Rita's Breakdown by Mama Rosin
A Horse Called Music by Willie Nelson with Merle Haggard
Please Warm my Wiener by Bo Carter

Scarlet Town by Bob Dylan
Railroad Lady by Lefty Frizzell
Greenwood by Stevie Tombstone
Tombstone Blues by Tom O'Brien
Tumbling Tumbleweeds by Sally Timms
CLOSING THEME: Comin' Down by The Meat Puppets

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Thursday, October 04, 2012

TERRELL'S TUNEUP: Shelter From the Tempest

A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican 
Oct. 5, 2012

Every few years Bob Dylan comes out with a new album like a medicine-show huckster returning to fleece a sleepy town.

Maybe the snake oil he sold you the last few times didn’t really cure what was ailing you. Maybe the euphoric effects didn’t last very long. But the show is usually fun; the music is nearly always great. And the joy juice the sly old crook is peddling does have a weird kick — whatever it is.

And such is the case with Tempest, the latest Dylan album, released last month. Some critics immediately declared that it’s one of the old master’s best, ranking it up there with Highway 61 Revisited, Blonde on Blonde, Blood on the Tracks, and Empire Burlesque. (Just checking if you’re paying attention there with that last one.)

I wouldn’t go that far, but I’m inclined to agree with one review that proclaimed Tempest to be Dylan’s best album since the turn of the century. Of course, there’s not much competition for that distinction. Not counting his 2009 Christmas album, it’s only his fourth record since the end of the ’90s.

For the past 10 or 15 years, Dylan’s voice has evolved into a wizened rasp, a world-weary hobo growl. But somehow he makes his ravaged vocal cords work in his favor. The gravel in his gut and the phlegm in his throat give his voice a fascinating aura.

Call it the croak of authority.

We don’t even hear Dylan’s voice for almost a minute into the album, but that’s OK. The guitar and steel-guitar instrumental intro to “Duquesne Whistle” can’t help but make a listener grin. It sounds like some strange old 78, evoking images of both Jimmie Rodgers and Laurel and Hardy before it settles into a railroad shuffle.

“Listen to that Dusquesne whistle blowin’, blowin’ like it’s gonna sweep my world away,” Dylan sings. The words — written by Grateful Dead lyricist Robert Hunter — may sound foreboding. Later Dylan sings that the whistle is “blowin’ like the sky’s gonna blow apart.” But any apprehension is overshadowed by the joyfulness of the melody.

The next tune, “Soon After Midnight,” is a slow love song, one of the prettiest Dylan has done in a long time. The melody and the arrangement are reminiscent of sweet, melancholic instrumentals from about 50 years ago like Floyd Cramer’s “Last Date” and “Sleep Walk” by Santo & Johnny.

This leads into “Narrow Way,” a rocking blues like many of the better tunes on Dylan’s previous two albums, Together Through Life and Modern Times. In the song, Dylan warns, “I’m armed to the hilt, and I’m struggling hard/You won’t get out of here unscarred.”

He’s darn tootin’. This one contains an unusual historical lesson: “Ever since the British burned the White House down/There’s been a bleeding wound in the heart of town.” I can’t help but think this is a disguised reference to the 2001 attack on American soil and the effect it’s had on the American psyche during the past 11 years.

Speaking of bleeding wounds, the body count on Tempest is much higher than on your usual Dylan album.”Pay in Blood” is the title of one song. “I pay in blood, but not my own,” goes the refrain. In one verse he snarls, “I got something in my pocket make your eyeballs swim I got dogs could tear you limb from limb.” Yikes! And by the final verse he’s threatening, “Come here I’ll break your lousy head.”

The record is full of several epic story songs, lengthy tracks that deal with violence and/or death. “Roll On John” is a seven-minute ode to his friend John Lennon. He was murdered more than 30 years ago, but Dylan makes the pain of his death seem fresh. The title song is a near-14-minute sea chantey about the 1912 sinking of the Titanic. Dylan turns this oft-told tale into an apocalyptic metaphor set to an upbeat melody with echoes of “When Irish Eyes Are Smiling.”

The most impressive of these songs is “Tin Angel,” a violent minor-key dirge that probably has roots in a dozen or so folk and gunfighter ballads. I hear a lot of “Black Jack Davy” in it, though it also has elements of “Matty Groves.” It’s an age-old story of a cuckold, his unfaithful wife, and her lover. In this story there are no sympathetic characters, which probably is good. No one survives the final encounter.
My secrets are safe (Photo by Associated Press)

In a dirge called “Long and Wasted Years” — one in which the only tragic victim may be the soul of the singer — Dylan croaks, “I wear dark glasses to cover my eyes/There are secrets in them I can’t disguise.”

(Dylan fans might recall cool Bob raising some eyebrows this year by wearing his shades at the White House when accepting his Medal of Freedom from the president.)

 With Tempest, once again, he’s lifted those glasses a little and let a few more secrets out. Dylan’s never-ending medicine show rolls on.


Also recommended:

* Greenwood by Stevie Tombstone. No, I’m not declaring Tombstone “the new Dylan.” But I bet a lot of Dylan fans would appreciate his music.

In fact. you might argue he’s like a reverse Dylan. The sainted Bob started out as a folkie and then went electric. The Georgia-born Tombstone started out electric, with a powerful if unsung “swamp rockabilly” (as he calls it) band called The Tombstones, and then went acoustic.

I’ve heard several Tombstone solo albums, and this one’s my favorite. It may be his most personal as far as lyrics go, but he never sounds self indulgent. He grabs you from the very first line in the opening track, “Lucky”:

“I’m lucky that I’m still alive/Well, I thought I’d used nine, but I must have been high/Forgotten and shot at, delivered denied, I’m lucky that I’m still alive.”

The title song is not about the awful singer who wrote and recorded “God Bless the U.S.A.” It’s the story of a young Tombstone who in 1991 bought a tombstone for blues god Robert Johnson.

Accompanied by Johnson contemporary Johnny Shines, Tombstone went to the purported Johnson grave in Greenwood, Mississippi, to place the headstone. Apparently that evoked some criticism by some blues fans who blasted Tombstone for what the singer thought was an act of respect.

“I won’t go back to Greenwood, I’m not welcome there,” he sings.

While these are strong tunes, my favorite is the jaunty country song “I Wish I Was Back in Las Vegas.” Maybe it’s just because it’s the only song I know of that starts out talking about huevos rancheros.

Blog Bonus:

Here's Mr. Tombstone telling the story behind the title song.


Monday, October 01, 2012

I Am The Slime on the DVD

Here's something to look forward to: Frank Zappa & The Mothers' December 1973 performances at the Roxy Theater are coming to DVD. (Hat tip to David Barsanti for alerting his friends to this.)

According to the Gibson Guitars website:


Over the weekend, the Zappa Family Trust announced that they've quite thoroughly identified all parts and participles of the audio and video recordings of this famous run of shows, and will finally deliver a concert film in theatres, DVD and on Blu-Ray some time before December 2013.

In the meantime, in anticipation of the actual movie, the ZFT will release a prequel to the soundtrack. Or as Gail Zappa describes it, "75 minutes and 49 seconds of Roxy without the Elsewhere."

This features the George Duke/Ruth Underwood/Napoleon Murphy Brock/Fowler BRos. era Mothers -- one great band..

For Zappa fans, this is a long-anticipated development to say the least.

Below is a trailer/teaser released last week:



And below is 32 minutes of a '73 Roxy show. (Watch this quick. I have a feeling it could get taken down before the DVD comes out.)

TERRELL'S SOUND WORLD PLAYLIST

  Sunday, March 24, 2024 KSFR, Santa Fe, NM, 101.1 FM  Webcasting! 10 p.m. to midnight Sundays Mountain Time Host: Steve Terrell E...