Music Dreams

 Posted by
Apr 172020
 

Facebook reminded me that it’s the anniversary of the morning I woke up to this dream, one of my 3 Most Memorable Music Dreams.

Have you ever had a music dream? The other ones that stand out for me are the time I got to meet my childhood heroes The Band in the basement of a club, a basement that wasn’t too different from the one on The Basement Tapes. I met them, however, on one of those post-Last Waltz shows, before band members started dropping, as Robbie Robertson feared they would, if they continued on The Road. One Band member was more out of it than the next. It was a very sad dream.

A joyous music dream I won’t forget is the time I saw David Thomas of Pere Ubu live, wearing a gold lamé suit and singing Elvis Presley‘s “Burning Love.”

Just outside my Top 3 list is an image-free dream I once had of hearing a Frippertronics version of Them‘s “Gloria.” If I had the patience, I might one day be able to make that dream come true.

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Rock Town Hall’s Saturday Night Shut-In: Overtime

 Posted by
Jan 212012
 


Sounds of the Hall in roughly 33 1/3 minutes!

In this week’s edition of Saturday Night Shut-In a road-weary Mr. Moderator finds that extra gear and ends up taking the show into overtime. If only he can keep his audience hanging in for 7 minutes beginning around the 11:25 mark…

[audio:https://www.rocktownhall.com/blogs/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/RTH-Saturday-Night-Shut-In-63.mp3|titles=RTH Saturday Night Shut-In, episode 63]

[Note: The Rock Town Hall feed will enable you to easily download Saturday Night Shut-In episodes to your digital music player. In fact, you can even set your iTunes to search for an automatic download of each week’s podcast.]

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Please Explain: Wizzard

 Posted by
Sep 272010
 

Sid and Marty Krofft couldn’t dream up this performance! We’ve got our share of Move and Roy Wood fans around here, myself included, but can anyone explain Wizzard? Must one be English to get what Wood was up to by this point? I don’t know if there’s any artist I love whose work past a certain point I love less than Roy Wood’s Wizzard recordings. Please explain. Show me the light, if even a faint glimmer.

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Say “Amen Corner,” Somebody!

 Posted by
Sep 242010
 

Townspeople, I just came across this abbreviated, super-charged version of The Move‘s “Hello Susie,” by a band I’d long heard of but never heard, Amen Corner, led by a musician I’d long heard of and knew of as a sort of Oliver, I believe, for big British bands in the ’70s but never heard play on his own, Andy Fairweather Low.

Hearing this version of “Hello Susie” for the first time was pretty exciting, primarily for the fact that Bev Bevan is not paradiddling all over the tune. As loyal as I am to The Move (and as tolerant as I am of their excesses), Bevan’s sloppy, sludgey style sometimes aggravates me. Amen Corner’s arrangement gets to the chugging, cascading heart of the song and doesn’t overdo it. Ultimately it makes for a “lighter” approach in scope as well as the song’s inherent ability to celebrate The Power and Glory of Rock, but tonight I was intrigued and wanted to hear more. Continue reading »

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Artists Badly in Need of Some Scrutiny

 Posted by
Oct 232009
 

As many of you know, I’m a big fan of Roy Wood, in particular his work with The Move and his solo album Boulders. However, once he crossed the line into ridiculous, futuristic-retro glam with Wizzard, I have trouble keeping up with the guy. First of all, his recordings sound worse than ever. I’m no audiophile, and I’ve always found something charming about the overloaded sound of The Move records and the claustrophobic Boulders, but Wizzard simply sounds terrible – and not in a good way.

More troubling is the progression of Wood’s Look and what it says about his interest in communicating with humans on any level. As seen in this 1972 ELO video, the guy was pushing it a few years before Wizzard and his Mustard solo album. It’s one thing to be “eccentric,” quite another to announce to the world that you do not intend to ever be taken seriously, not even in a joking way.

Anyhow, I’ve rarely found interviews with Wood, and my attempts at reaching him myself have not been fruitful. I’m all for rock’s outsiders, wildmen, and such, but someone needs to put a little scrutiny on Roy Wood, someone needs to ask him one question:
Continue reading »

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Jingles for Pringles Ambassador Roy Wood

 Posted by
Dec 182008
 

“Christmas spirit” means different things in different cultures. In England, people still dig Roy Wood‘s Christmas hit, “I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday.” Although the song made no splash in the US, it’s still so beloved in the UK that to coincide with the holiday, Pringles has chosen Wood to serve as its “Jingles for Pringles Ambassador.”
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