Alison Krauss, Revisited

I've spent the last few weeks listening again to most of the Alison Krauss catalog, from her first solo album to the latest ("Paper Airplanes") with Union Station. Hearing them in sequence allows you to follow her developing style, not that it needed 'developing', because she was fully-formed on the very fist album (when she was something like 14 years old?)

Alison's been able to rely on various band members over the years for great songs, and she has a knack for finding other songwriters' material that she interprets in her own style. It takes a truly talented performer who can make a Beatles song sound like their own. I'd bet that after her first few albums, word got out and and songwriters were beating down her door.

It was quite a hoot to hear how Alison's vocal style changed over the years. She had a clear, ringing tone at the beginning, perfect for bluegrass, but by the 3rd or 4th album, she added more breath to her voice; she'd found the coo that she still employs today.

I'd mentioned in an earlier blog post how we'd seen Alison Krauss and Union Station in the early days (Wednesday, November 10, 1993) and how much fun they seemed to be having on stage. Cut to the official AKUS live album from 2002 and it's all business. I'll have to watch the DVD of the concert again -- maybe with the longer playing time of the DVD, we get more glimpses of band interaction. And man, I'd like to know the background story of Union Station. She employed them on her second album, and slowly (like Wilco) members left until by 1998 or so, she had the band that she still performs with today. "Paper Airplanes" is the latest album, and my wife and I both agree that it's good, it just sounds like they're on autopilot. They've got their style down pat. James Taylor has admitted in interviews that he's more of a craftsman these days that an "artist", and maybe that's what's going on with Alison. Of course, I haven't followed the whole story -- didn't really like the "Raising Sand" album she recorded with Robert Plant, and the subsequent tour meant Union Station was on hiatus for a while, so maybe "Paper Airplanes" is a tentative step back into the saddle.

Joni Mitchell

With the recent news about Joni Mitchell's medical woes, I was reminded of the early Joni albums where I was first introduced to her vast canon. I suppose most people think of "Blue" and "Court and Spark" when Joni's name comes up, but the very early albums established her songwriting chops.

"Songs to a Seagull" was the first Joni Mitchell album, 'produced' by David Crosby (depending on which interview you read, David either was totally hands-off, or he flattened the sound). It's too bad that the CD doesn't add "Urge for Going", one of her very first recordings (you'll have to buy "Hits" to get that truly wonderful song). "Songs" and the several albums that followed feature Joni's bright flutey (piercing?) high register that significantly lowered over the years, and as such, has been known to be off-putting to some listeners. I liked "Songs" because it mirrored so much of my vision of what my life could be like in the years ahead, post-high school, moving to the city, finding love and finding a purpose.

"Clouds" followed, and by now I was imagining myself as the one who would rescue Joni from the shallow and deceitful men that featured in some of her songs. Yes, me, the White Knight. Listening to Joni helped me be more sensitive, but really, looking back now I realize I've only recently begun to be the man I had hoped I was then. (And there's so much more to go...) I guess my point here is that I very much internalized these songs in those days, and hearing them again, I get a glimpse of the person I was then. Joni's music offered a promise of hope and a yearning to explore the larger world.

By "Ladies of the Canyon", more of the songs were piano-based, and I like them slightly less than the acoustic guitar songs --- her guitar chords sound more quirky to me, the piano ones more earthbound, if you will. Still a fine album, though.

These days my favorite Joni albums are the ones that saw her popular appeal dip. I find it hard to believe that albums like "The Hissing of Summer Lawns" and "Hejira" weren't hailed as the masterpieces they are back in the day. But then, I sorta dropped out after "Mingus", so maybe I'm clueless too. I do want to tackle "Don Juan's Reckless Daughter" again -- maybe I'm finally ready to hear it.

A Brief History of the Future, Firesign Theatre Style

Hearing the Firesign Theatre for the first time was a life-changing event for me. But I struggle to explain it because there's so much cultural and historical baggage attached; I worry that someone new to FT would need an annotated transcript to get 60% of the jokes. Here's the deal: Firesign wrote comedy material specifically for the LP medium, meant to be listened to multiple times. Unlike comedy albums of the time, they weren't just recordings of live performances but (again) specifically crafted to be multi-layered -- I STILL find jokes I missed every time. And they were funny, really funny.

Sometimes the FT gets lumped in with Monty Python, two comedy troupes from (relatively) the same era. But I'd suggest there are vast differences: while I can watch MP skits again and again, there's rarely anything new to hear (other than an obscure-to-me British pop culture reference). I love the familiar, and wait for my favorite lines. And there are times when I can be amused by the concept of a sketch rather than the actual sketch itself. MP were much better presented on screen; FT never seemed comfortable on screen (or even sometimes live), so their best presentation is in audio. Hard to cross over there. Firesign, stuck in radio in a TV world.

Finally, FT wrote long-form pieces, each one 20 minutes plus. Who listens to anything like that in one sitting anymore? The sad thing for me is that FT wrote stuff way ahead of its time, and yet now, when we can actually understand and appreciate their prescience, their audience has, for the most part, disappeared.

But enough handwringing. For the initiate, the 2 CD compilation "Shoes for Industry: The Best of the Firesign Theatre" is a good collection, and it contains the complete Nick Danger sketch, which is most people's introduction to Firesign World.

The first album "Waiting for the Electrician or Someone Like Him" has its moments, but they really hit their stride with the next 3 classic albums ("How Can You Be In Two Places at Once When You're Not Anywhere At All", "Don't Crush That Dwarf, Hand Me the Pliers", and "I Think We're All Bozos on This Bus"). There were still fine albums ahead; my favorites include "The Tale of the Giant Rat of Sumatra" (probably their most pun-filled album), "Everything You Know Is Wrong", even their much later Rhino albums like "Give Me Immortality or Give Me Death" and "Boom Dot Bust", but a lot of the albums after the classic 3 were spotty (but the good spots were great -- our family is always quoting from "Ben Bland's All-Day Matinee" from the much maligned "Just Folks ---A Firesign Chat" -- initially released on Butterfly, a disco label!)

Firesign were and are great, and great fun too. Consider listening to some on your next road trip ('on the freeway, which is already in progress') -- who knows where you might end up?

RIP Phil Austin

Phil Austin, "lead guitarist" with comedy troupe Firesign Theatre, passed away Friday. Soon I'll do an overview of the Four of Five Crazy Guys, but here I just want to pass along my condolences to Phil's wife Oona. Phil was a warm and generous guy; he will be missed.

Cassettes Clinging to Life?

I still have way more cassettes than I need; can't listen to them in the car anymore, so why do I keep them? Yeah, thought about replacing them with CDs, but...well, here's an example. My Bruce Cockburn tape would require buying 4 CDs to replicate the track list. So I spent $5.99 at Goodwill and bought a decent boom-box. The tape's still in good shape -- why replace it?

Here's the deal with cassettes: for most of us music enthusiasts, cassettes were all about control. For the first time, I could pick and choose the songs, the sequencing, and even the cover -- I was a producer! (Reel-to-reel tapes were a whole 'nother thing, and the only people I knew with reel-to-reel were in the Navy. I'd love to see a socio-economic profile of entertainment hardware users; who bought reel-to-reel, or Beta tapes, or laserdiscs?)

I'm proud to say that the mixtapes I made for friends (or girlfriends -- or potential girlfriends!) were always enthusiastically received. I really put some good collections together. But later...I don't know, maybe I was too budget conscious, but I'd do stuff like splice in new songs to replace the ones I got tired of -- and it was either too long (bad edit!) or muffled or just a  mess. But even though many of these old tapes aren't sequenced very well, I still enjoy them because I can remember where I was (physically, emotionally) when I put them together.

I recently read an article on CollectorsWeekly.com about the whole burgeoning indie cassette label scene. (Urk, I just wrote 'scene'!) Cassettes are cheap compared to vinyl, and you can record yourself or your band for a lot less money than a studio session. They're easy to mail, and you can pass them around chain-letter style.

The major labels (what, are we down to 3 now, each one gobbling up as much musical real estate as they can) try to keep the lid on things pretty tight, so I find it amusing that an old discarded technology can still survive, like Robin Hood in Sherwood Forest, to give The Man a little competition.

Santana: Is This Jazz?

As much as I truly enjoy the first 3 Santana albums (and I'd wager those albums are all most people think of when they think of Santana), the next phase was a major leap forward for the band. "Caravanserai" through "Welcome" may have confused early Santana fans (where's the vocals? where's the guitar??) but Carlos and company added so much more color to the Santana palette with these albums.

In the middle of all this experimentation, Carlos Santana recorded an album with jazz guitarist John McLaughlin (they both shared a guru -- don't ask). The result. "Love, Devotion and Surrender", was a head-scratcher for me. The first track is a cover of John Coltrane's "A Love Supreme", both guitarists blasting out of the gate at full strength. Huh? Is this supposed to sound like an argument? Where's the love?

I was better acclimated when I got to what was at the time Side Two, which opened with "Let Us Go Into the House of the Lord". That track starts out quiet and builds in intensity, which my ignorant ears could follow. Another Santana/McLaughlin track "Flame Sky" (from "Welcome") follows the same template with excellent results.

And I got to hear this album again thanks to Freegal, the library service which allows you to download 3 tracks a week -- for free!

Final note: my brother and I went to see Carlos and John in concert when they toured together, which was unfortunately marred by John's amplifier problems. He'd launch into a solo, interrupted by SKRONK!! and then silence as he and a roadie attempted to fix the problem. Meanwhile, Carlos gamely carried on until John could rejoin, but once again SKRONK!! Sigh...

New Brian Wilson -- "No Pier Pressure"

The Beach Boys reunion album from a couple of years ago was much better than expected, so hopes were high when Brian announced he'd wrapped up his new album, featuring some "special guests" such as Kacey Musgraves and Zooey Deschanel. Uh, oh. Some fans took to the interwebs, complaining about an album they hadn't heard yet. Brian responded, saying essentially "I've earned the right after 50 years of music to make my own choices -- don't judge it until you hear it!"

I don't know how many of these songs were intended for the second post-reunion Beach Boys album (Mike Love pulled out, saying he'd promised to do the album and 1 tour only) -- Brian's supposedly also has some tracks for a more 'rock 'n roll' album, tributes to Paul McCartney, Elton John (?), etc.

So using social media, Brian posted excerpts from the song "The Right Time", and it was an excellent PR move because it's a great song, with those lush Beach Boy harmonies we love. There are a few more BBoy-sounding tracks on the album -- the ones featuring former Boys Al Jardine and David Marks -- but even with the duets, it's definitely a Brian solo album.

If the last Beach Boys song you heard was "California Girls" or even "Good Vibrations", you might be  confused by what passes for Brian Wilson material these days, but those of us who followed them in the '70s, slogged with them through the '80s, and kept our distance in the '90s and '00s can still follow the plot. I've heard the new album maybe 4 times, and so far, it doesn't seem to have the depth of "That's Why God Made the Radio", but it just may be more consistent.

"Whatever Happened", "Tell Me Why", and "The Last Song" share some of the themes of TWGMTR -- nostalgia for places no longer there, hope that there's still time ahead, but "On the Island", the song featuring Zooey and M. Ward ('She and Him') is just plain fun, a bossa-nova variation, and "Guess You Had to Be There" is also fun, with the slightest hint of pop-country. I missed it the first time through, but "Somewhere Quiet" adds lyrics to the instrumental "Summer Means New Love" from way back on the "Summer Days (and Summer Nights!!" album. All in all, a very pleasant album that I'm sure we'll be spinning in our CD player a lot this summer.

One more note about marketing: in addition to YouTube clips, there's also some multi-level purchase points. The regular CD has 13 tracks, the Deluxe addition adds 3 bonus tracks, and the exclusive to Target edition adds 2 more bonus tracks. The first batch of Deluxe bonus tracks are pretty good, the Target version includes those and remakes of "In the Back of My Mind" and "Love and Mercy". "In the Back" was awful when Dennis Wilson recorded it for "The Beach Boys Today", and Brian's new version is just as much of a struggle to listen to. "Love and Mercy" is okay (it's of much more recent vintage). Target's super-Deluxe version is the same price as Best Buy's regular-Deluxe version, so Target has the very slightest bang-for-your buck edge.