Happy 70th Macca!

In honor of Paul McCartney's 70th birthday today, I'm going to post the video for his song "Arrow Through Me," from 1979's Back to the Egg album by Wings. I always love hidden gems in the vast discographies of some of my favorite acts, and had never heard this particular song until a few years ago. This is an example of an overly blow-dried Macca mixing some disco-flavored funk up (in the style of his buddy Stevie Wonder, as evidenced by the keyboards).

 Paul would have only been 37 when this song came out...just 6 months before I was born. Happy birthday Sir Paul.

Happy b-day to an ANIMAL

I just learned that Eric Burdon (singer for the Animals and War) turned 71 today. Holy crap I didn't realize he was that old, but if you do the math I guess it all adds up. I dig all of his stuff with the Animals but I think this is my favorite performance of his...enjoy.

Special Edition of Tonight's Slab...TODAY!

Today was a rare day off for me, as I decided to use some vacation time due to how slow my work has been lately. I figured a three-day weekend would be a nice treat, and would give me some time to catch up on my pile of records I hadn't gotten around to listening to yet. Today's record is the 1983 debut from a hard rock/aor/prog rock band hailing from New Orleans called Zebra.

I first heard Zebra on WZUU about three years ago. The song was spacey, dreamy, and had beautiful acoustic guitar playing on it reminiscent of Jimmy Page's style. In fact, the song had a definite Zeppelin sound to it, as the singer's voice had a Robert Plant vibe as well. The song closes out side one of this album and is called "Who's Behind the Door?"

Come to find out they were signed to Atlantic Records in the early '80s, which was also the record label of Led Zeppelin. Perhaps they wanted the possible next Zep in their stable of artists? At any rate, while they do sound kinda like Zep in some ways, I would almost compare them more to Rush. The similarities are there, including them both being power trios and both utilizing synthesizers to create proggy sounds.

The track that kicks off the album, "Tell Me What You Want," is the one other Zebra song I had heard before I purchased this record (and was yet another tune first heard on WZUU - God love that station!). That song is a straight-ahead rocker that features the singer pleading with an unknown lover for just a little communication.

While I've compared this band to both Zep and Rush, some of the songs on it have an almost Beatle-esque sound to them as well. Their love for that legendary band was no secret as they included a tribute to slain ex-Beatle John Lennon on their second album. The Zep comparison will always be the one they get the most though, and they included a cover of their song "The Ocean" on a 1990 live album.

I came across this slab at Schulers Books and Music in the Eastwood Town center on Lake Lansing Road. Schulers is a small Michigan chain of book stores with three locations in the Grand Rapids area and two locations in the Lansing area. I found out the Eastwood location was the only one in the Lansing area that carries vinyl, so I made a point to check it out. For $4, this is a great addition to my collection and one I plan on listening to again real soon.

Tonight's Slabs - A Starship is Born/Proto-Metal

Tonight's blog will be a double-look at two recent records I picked up. First on deck is Paul Kantner & Jefferson Starship "Blows Against the Empire."

I had heard about this one over the years and finally got a chance to listen to it this past Saturday after picking it up on Friday. It was released in 1970 during a time when Jefferson Airplane was starting to splinter as a band. Two of their members had formed a side project called Hot Tuna, and rhythm guitarist Paul Kantner decided to record a solo album with his old lady Grace Slick.

The album was based on a sci-fi idea he had conceived about the counterculture leaving the Earth in the not-too-distant future in a starship to start civilization anew, away from a rapidly deteriorating planet. Paul received help recording not only from his girlfriend Grace but also an ad-hoc conglomeration of musicians dubbed the Planet Earth Rock and Roll Orchestra (consisting of members of the Grateful Dead, Quicksilver Messenger Service, and Crosby Stills & Nash).

Paul and Grace with collaborator Jerry Garcia and legendary Bay Area impresario Bill Graham.

The album is far out in terms of concept and music, but is very interesting and better than I expected. At times it was folky, and at times it was cosmic. It  was also nominated for a Hugo Award, an honor typically reserved for sci-fi novels. As for the name Jefferson Starship? It would be dusted off four years later after the Airplane finally crashed, with a line-up consisting of members of that old band plus some new folks. Consider this the early beginning of what would become phase 2 of the Airplane's ultimate metamorphosis into the "Starship." You know, the ones who built this city.

 

Dig it, man.

C

Next up on the platter we have the self-titled debut of psychedelic heavy rock/metal pioneers, Vanilla Fudge.

 Released smack in the middle of the summer of love, 1967 (a year which saw the first releases of SO many influential bands...Jimi Hendrix Experience, Pink Floyd, the Velvet Underground, the Doors, etc.), the Fudge's main trip was covering other artist's songs in a slowed down, sludgy, heavy form. And they were good at what they did. Their most well-known song was from this album, a cover of the Supremes "You Keep Me Hanging On." The track is dirge-style with heavy guitars and organ, and I'm getting a contact high just THINKING of it.

As cool as this band sounded on this record, they definitely were NOT cool looking.

The faces of early metal...yikes!

Drummer Carmine Appice also happens to be the older brother of Black Sabbath/Dio drummer Vinny.

NEXT
A new feature covering comics I'm currently reading called "Off the (Spinner) Rack"