Bluegrass Across the Years

A pair of fairly recent DVDs that show two very different views of the bluegrass world. "Bluegrass Country Soul" was filmed at a bluegrass festival in 1971, and it shows a genre in flux. "Traditional" bluegrass was flummoxed by the popular long-hair culture -- how do we keep current without betraying our roots? I'm sure at the time some of the crossover song choices were considered radical (John Denver! Elton John!!) and it's weird seeing Earl Scruggs in short hair and short sleeves playing with his far more hirsute offspring. We also get to see Ralph Stanley (long before "O Death" but still every inch the patriarch), J.D. Crowe (with a young chubby-faced Tony Rice -- who doesn't even get to solo!), Chubby Wise playing his trademark "Orange Blossom Special" with the biggest grin on his face, and Bluegrass 45, a band of young Japanese men that elicits one of the biggest responses from the crowd. But my favorite has to be the Stanley Brothers. They play like they could do it in their sleep, but I never felt they were phoning it in -- and "Ruby" still has all those hill-holler piercing high notes. Jump ahead 30 years, and you get "Bluegrass Journey", recorded at the Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival in 2000. We get to see performers from "Bluegrass Country Soul" like Del McCoury and Tony Rice, but this DVD includes the full festival experience, which by now includes the special instrumental workshops and the crazy jamming through the night at the official hotel (I REALLY need to get to Wintergrass in Bellevue next year). Highlights for me: Peter Rowan performing "The Hobo Song" that he recorded with Old & In the Way which featured Jerry Garcia and started me on the road to bluegrass, Nickel Creek stretching the boundaries with "Old Cold Coffee On the Dashboard" (oh, wait, it's just a variation on what David Grisman was doing in, umm, 1976, but okay, I still like it), and yes, you guessed it, Tony Rice performing his medley of "Shenandoah" and "Danny Boy". I also love the energy in the hotel, from the lobby where old friends meet again to the hallways and rooms where all the jam sessions happen. The scenes from the International Bluegrass Music Association's "World of Bluegrass" (the bluegrass Grammys) show we're a long way from 1971. Two DVDs, two very different looks at a fascinating culture. And RIP, Earl. His performance in "Bluegrass Country Soul" shows a gracious, humble man, performing with so many of the people he influenced. Priceless.

And the EBTG reissues begin

An Unlikely Pairing

"Folk Roots, New Routes" by Davy Graham and Shirley Collins is one of the cornerstones of the British folk movement, and I've only just recently managed to get a copy. Davy is THE major influence on Bert Jansch, Paul Simon, Donovan and many more in the burgeoning British folk scene of the '60s. Davy was a bit erratic, though, and fairly uninterested in the music business; Bert Jansch refined Davy's style and more importantly, kept playing and touring, so that he (Bert) is far better known, and probably a bigger influence on later generations of guitarists. Davy added jazz repertoire and other cultural influences (Moroccan, Indian) to folk guitar. Shirley Collins was one of the First Ladies of British folk, and "Folk Roots, New Routes" (released in 1964) influenced the Pentangles and the Fairports and the Steeleye Spans that came later. I had to get used to Shirley's voice. Many British women folkies have a high nasal pinched quality, but Shirley's tone is broad, doesn't hit the notes spot-on but in the general area. She reminds me of some British auntie after a few gin and tonics. The combination of Shirley and Davy shouldn't work but it does, admirably. Which brings me to more than 30 years and many miles away: "The Moon and the Banana Tree: New Guitar Music from Madagascar", released in 1996. No, the vocals (about half the album) don't sound anything like Shirley, and most times the guitar playing doesn't sound like Davy. But to my ears, there's a common theme of absorbing outside influences (mostly African, in this case) and reinterpreting a native folk music with a multicultural blend. And considering Davy's exotic travels, I wouldn't be surprised if he absorbed some of the Madagascar culture and reflected it in "Folk Roots, New Routes".

Where Did You Hear That? (Or: Oh Really? I Never Guessed You Work in a Library)

The Internet has certainly made it easier to discover new (or old) music, but I still rely on traditional channels: sometimes the radio, mostly reviews in the music press (Uncut and Mojo, primarily) and more often, music reference books (latest treasure trove is "The Great Folk Discography", Volumes 1 & 2 by Martin C Strong). Also very valuable: "1000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die" by Tom Moon, the various Rough Guides {"Reggae: The Rough Guide" by Steve Barrow and Peter Dalton, and "The Rough Guide to Rock" -- though be prepared for a British bias -- they feature many third-tier Brit bands you've -- rightly -- never heard of.)
Recently, I've enjoyed "The Best Music You've Never Heard" (another Rough Guide).

Umm, I sometimes refer to both the red and blue Rolling Stone guides, and the All Music Guide -- but they're really a last resort, mostly just repeating inaccurate information and third-hand reviews.

And I don't have a book source for jazz or classical. My son gave me "The Penguin Guide to Jazz", but do you really want a Brit to tell you about jazz? And classical music I just hunt and peck my way along. More about that later.

KSER at 90.7 is a life-saver. Sundays, there's the great double bill of Bluegrass Express at 11AM, followed by String Band Theory (traditional and acoustic music) at 1PM. Saturdays, I can usually listen to Juke Joint during my lunch break (show starts at 1PM) and then Dusties (R&B from the '40s through the '70s) on the way home from 5-7. This last Saturday, I had to drive to Coupeville for a family dinner, so I listened to Dusties all the way, and now I'm on the trail of late seventies funk bands like Mandrill and Cymande. These groups fall through the cracks of most music history complilations; listening to some of these shows, it's like there's an alternate universe of music, a whole parallel dimension outside the playlists we grew up with.

KING is our best classical choice, since CBC decided that kids these days don't listen to classical music unless it "rocks their world". Really? Is your market research department that lame? I try to listen to "Deep Roots" on Friday or Saturday, but there's a LOT of repeats, and TOM POWER repeats his name 45 times each hour!! KILL ME NOW!!!

Sorry. Back to KING. Great on-air talent, essential programs ("Northwest Focus" plays music to be performed locally. My heart leaps with hopeful anticipation.)

We have access to hundreds, if not thousands, of years of music. What's the point of sticking to some current commercially-driven pink slime when there are other worlds to discover? (Wait a minute, didn't Captain Kirk already say that?) Oh hell, I admit it; my credo is also from Star Trek, courtesy Jean Luc Picard: "Let's see what's out there!"

Shine On, You Crazy Barrett

This is not what I expected to post on Number 100. But I just finished dipping into a recent bio of Syd ("A Very Irregular Head" by Rob Chapman) and went back to the solo albums... and here I am! So, Syd Barrett 101: Pink Floyd guitarist, wrote most of the first PF album "Piper at the Gates of Dawn", songs about gnomes, underwear thieves, lots of dipping into the British children's literature canon for lyrical fodder, took way too much LSD which either a: drove him mad, or b: unbalanced an already wavering psychotic, bandmates boot the liability and eventually become the Pink Floyd that conquers the world and sparks the Sex Pistols to spit on the bloated corpse of rock 'n roll. That's quite the resume to attribute to anyone, let alone a fragile talent who shattered under the pressure of being in a groundbreaking pop group.

David Gilmour, who replaced Syd as the functioning guitarist in Floyd (and who eventually wrested control from original member Roger Waters -- is this Dickensian or what?) worked with Syd to wring a solo album out of song sketches and ephemera. So much of the solo albums feel like demo or even sub-demo material, but there's a morbid fascination with hearing a looner in the studio. The problem is that, though Gilmour is sympathetic to Syd's illness and he comes across as earnest in his desire to help capture something useable, the album's producer submitted a final release including false starts that portray Syd as rambling, incoherent and tuneless. Reality TV years ahead of its time on an LP, exploitative and cruel. (The aforementioned bio paints David Gilmour as a true gentleman, who saw that Syd received the financial royalties due him. And wow, turns out you get big big bucks if you write songs for a group like Pink Floyd.)

Yet there are some good songs to be found on "The Madcap Laughs", the first of 2 'official' Syd solo releases. Same with "Barrett", the one recorded under even more dire cirumstances, but still worth hearing. And finally there's "Opel", the leftovers, or rather, songs that if polished could truly have been great. It's heartbreaking to hear the title track and realize that with some fleshing out, it could have been a real Pink Floyd song. It's the kind of reveal that makes this listener get just a hint of how we as a culture (and the record companies as an industry) nurture our geniuses just up to the point where we can eat them and suck their bones dry (see Brian Wilson for another example.)

Peter Bergman, RIP

Peter Bergman founded the Firesign Theatre, and I owe him thanks for hours upon hours of laughter. So glad I got to see the boys at the Paramount years ago, a great chance to meet other Firesign fans and show the love.

New York Times obit here.

Renbourn Roundup Redux

Back in Bellingham again, I snagged 3 more John Renbourn CDs. What's up with this rampant consumerism? Well, there was an internet rumor flying around last year that record companies were shifting all their efforts to downloads, and that 2012 would be the last year they'd manufacture and distribute physical compact discs. THAT turned out to be false, but a recent Rolling Stone article suggests it's not that far off. It may not happen in 2012, but 2015 as the target date doesn't seem too far-fetched. All you have to do is check the aisles of Best Buy -- CDs (and even DVDs) continue to shrink as they make more room for games and Blu-Ray discs.

So I finally sat down with my notebooks (yes, plural) of CD wish-lists and listening suggestions and managed to whittle it down to maybe a dozen titles, and even that will shrink, I'm sure. So when I DO find something I'm looking for, no more hesitation, I'll snap it up.

Which brings me to the last round of Renbourn. These are late '80s, early '90s Shanachie reissues, so they don't have any bonus tracks, though true to Shanachie's nature, "The Hermit" features guitar tablature (which was a nice feature in the LP era, but for CDs makes the booklet a little chubbier than usual.) "The Hermit" was John's first album after Pentangle broke up, and it's a grab-bag of styles similar to his previous solo albums. "The Black Balloon" sticks mostly to traditional early music and Celtic tunes, very much in the vein of his earlier "The Lady and the Unicorn". "Snap a Little Owl" is a duet album with Stefan Grossman, so add a little ragtime and jug band influence. It's also a 'best-of', drawn from their two late-'70s recordings.

Next: my autographed Michael Hurley CD arrives! (I hope...)