Posted on 12/15/2010 10:14:36 AM PST by JoeProBono
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland will induct Tom Waits, Neil Diamond, Alice Cooper, Dr. John, and Darlene Love, according to the New York Times. Jac Holzman, who founded Elektra, and Art Rupe, who founded Specialty Records, will receive the Ahmet Ertegun Award, which is given to music-industry executives. Pianist Leon Russell will receive the Award for Musical Excellence. The ceremony will be held in March
What a performance. It was right after the "Blow by Blow" album IIRC.
Have you heard "Loose Cannon" yet? IMO it's one of the best guitar jams to be released in years.
Best,
L
Frank Zappa nailed it on the head here:
“One thing that did happen during the 60’s was that some music of an unusual or experimental nature did get recorded and did get released. Now look at who the executives were in those companies at those times – not hip young guys. These were cigar chomping old guys who looked at the product that came in and said, “I dunno. Who knows what it is? Record it. Stick it out. If it sells, all right!”
We were better off with those guys than we are now with the supposedly hip young executives who are making the decisions about what people should see and hear in the marketplace. The young guys are more conservative and more dangerous to the artform than the old guys with the cigars ever were.
And you know how these young guys got in there? The old guy with the cigar, one day goes – “Yeah, I took a chance. It went out and we sold a few million units. All right. I dunno. I dunno what it is. But we need to do more of them. I need some advice. Let’s get a hippy in here...” So they hire a hippy. They bring in the guy with long hair. Now, they’re not going to trust him to do anything except carry coffee and bring the mail in. It starts from there. He carried the coffee four times so they figured they could trust him. “Let’s give him a real job.” He becomes and A and R man (artists and repertoire) . From there, moving up and up and up... Next thing you know, he’s got his feet on the desk and he’s saying, “Well, we can’t take a chance on this – because its simply not what the kids want – and I know.”
Ted, Cooper, Iggy, Seger, all Michigan legends.
Chicago on the basis of their firsts 10 years should get in. They created great fusion of strings, keyboards, horns and vocals and were great. After Terry Kath died, not so much.
Amen to that. Terry didn’t sing on a lot of Chicago songs, but those were by far their best songs, even the songs Lamm sang on were much better than the ones Cetera sang.
yes, that’s his best album in years. BTW, I saw him open for Aerosmith in PHX back in the 70s and he blew them off the stage-—then I read in Aerosmith’s bio, that the author (THEIR author) said “Beck blew them off the stage.” Nice to see your view confirmed!
They were still drinking and drugging back then. Tyler fell flat on his face during the performance. To top it all off there was a fire at the venue, Comiskey Park, right in the middle of the show. I was inches from bolting for the exits. LOL.
For years I put Aerosmith in my Top 5 Worst Live Bands Ever. They were tied with the Grateful Dead.
Yeah I remember those times when they were a real rock band and they were great. I read somewhere where they had an old feud with Rolling Stone magazine that was never resolved and this may be a reason they will not get consideration.
Absolutely. Boring. Black Sabbath was another snoozer. With a few exceptions, bands who don’t have great musicians-—but only have songs-—have trouble live. One approach is that of the Eagles, which is to play every song exactly like the record, and some concertgoers like that. I prefer to see what I CAN’T hear on vinyl, or, in today’s case, digital downloads.
Very true, in fact the first song on Chicago VI was called “Critics Choice” that addressed it:
What do you want?
What do you want?
I’m givin’ everything I have
I’m even trying to see if there’s more
Locked deep inside
I’ll try, I’ll try
Can’t you see, this is me
What do you need?
What do you need?
Is it someone just to hurt
So that you can appear to be smart
And keep a steady job
Play god, play god
What do you really know
You parasite
You’re dynamite
An oversight
Misunderstanding what you hear
You’re quick to cheer
And volunteer
Absurdities, musical blasphemies
Oh Lord, save us all
What do you want?
What do you want?
I’m givin’ every thing I have
I’m even trying to see if theres more
Locked deep inside
I’ll try, I’ll try
Can’t you see, this is me
One of the best live performers ever. The touring bands he put together were always first rate musicians AND performers.
You're absolutely right; Rock 'n' Roll Animal was great ONLY because of the live band versions of Sweet Jane, Heroin, etc. which were off-the-chart spectacular. That Sweet Jane intro just may be THE best of all time.
Ever hear his studio version of Sweet Jane & Heroin? Ugggh. Depressing, uninspired, and yes - he was probably on heroin during the recording.
Good observation as to why Reed probably resents the live version as well - it dwarfed and marginalized his weirdness.
Derek and the Dominoes?
Come on now - back in 1970-1971, who didn't have a little "stinkin' hippie" DNA in us? ;-)
To borrow a line from Cracker: "What the world needs now, is another folk singer, like I need a hole in my head."
Rap did totally destroy MTV. Shame. I loves those cheesy early 80s videos.
Hey - this just in too:
"Video Killed The Radio Star" (btw, this ditty was THE very first Music Video.)
Got an acoustic guitar? You're a "folk singer," my friend (scary when my brother-in-law used to break it out.)
Cracker was a band in the early nineties, with the former lead singer of Camper Van Beethoven.
So was Tiny Tim.
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