Author Archives: Tom Muscarella

This Is Just A Test

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I gave your 15 Shuffle game a whirl on my iTunes and here’s what I came up with. I have no idea what it says about me or my musical inclinations.

1. Ramones – She’s the One – not the Springsteen song, but you probably know that

2. Sea Oleena – Island Cottage – OK, the rules said “NO editing/cheating.” I have no recollection of downloading the whole album this song comes from!

3. Wrecking Ball – Bruce Springsteen – bootleg of the 4/24/2012 concert at HP Pavilion I attended

4. Living Colour – Information Overload – from 1990’s Time’s Up

5. Walker Brothers – Land of 1,000 Dances – goofy cover of soul classic

6. Swervedriver – Sunset – from shoegaze group’s 1st album, Raise

7. George Harrison – Run So Far – from his underrated final album, Brainwashed

8. Eddie Hinton – Super Lover – anything by this soul master is pretty cool

9. Bad Brains — Sailin’ On – from a MOJO mag sampler called I Love NY Punk

10. Mick Jagger – Brand New Set Of Rules – boring song from 2001’s Goddess in the Doorway

11. Fiona Apple – A Mistake – another spooky Apple song from 1999’s When a Pawn…

12. Grand Funk – Closer to Home/I’m Your Captain – when Grand Funk was popular in the 70s it was totally uncool to like them (because the critics hated them). But with my years of perspective I’m willing to stick my neck out and defend this as pretty good blues rock.

13. Emmylou Harris – J’ai Fait Tout – from the great Red Dirt Girl

14. Rachel Unthank & The Winterset – Sexy Sadie – nice cover of The Beatles’ classic

15. The Sparkletones – Boys Do Cry – deep cut from the rockabilly band most well know for the great “Black Slacks”

Songs of the Week – You Will You Won’t & Confusion, The Zutons

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A few months ago the SotW was by the La’s, from Liverpool. Today’s SotW is by another Liverpool band, The Zutons.

The Zutons first album, Who Killled… The Zutons?, was released in 2004. I read a review of it in the British magazine MOJO and knew instantly that I would be something I’d like. That figures – the album did pretty well in the UK, reaching as high as #9 in the charts. Here in the US? Nada. Except that one of the album’s songs, “Pressure Point”, received some notice when it was used in a Levi’s ad. Check it out… it’s pretty funny:

The Zutons – Pressure Point Levi’s Coomercial

Their next album, Tired of Hanging Around (2006), did even better reaching #2 in the UK. Two of its singles charted at #9 – “Why Won’t You Give Me Your Love” and “Valerie”. Some of you might be more familiar with “Valerie” from the terrific cover version recorded by Amy Winehouse.

The band managed one more release, 2008’s You Can Do Anything, but not much has been heard from them since. That’s a shame.

As is often the case, one’s favorite album by a group is the first one you heard. For me that’s Who Killed… ?. I was planning to pick one song and then send you to Spotify to listen to the rest of the album. But for some reason Spotify only offers Tired of Hanging Around. So I’ll indulge and present a couple of songs.

“You Will You Won’t” is a foot stomping, party sing along and it opens with a pretty cool Hendrix inspired guitar squeal.

The Zutons – You Will You Won’t

“Confusion” opens with a simple bass line that’s reminiscent of Roy Orbison’s “Blue Bayou”. It’s a bittersweet ballad that features amateurish, but “just right” sax honks by Abi Harding.

The Zutons – Confusion

As you can tell by what’s been presented in this post, the band covers a lot of stylistic territory — and you’ve just scratched the surface. I wish you could also hear their theme song, “Zuton Fever”, and others. All and all, this is a fun, energetic record that you can listen to over and over again. It doesn’t get old.

Enjoy… until next week.

Song of the Week – Midnight at the Oasis, Maria Muldaur

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Maria Muldaur’s self titled, debut solo album is one of my all time favorite records. Let’s say Top 100. Really. I know that’s not a very hip choice, but I go to it on a regular basis and find myself singing along to the tastefully curated selection of great songs written by Dolly Parton, Kate McGarrigle, Dan Hicks, Dr John and Wendy Waldman. And they’re played by a “dream team” of session musicians including Clarence White, Bill Keith, Ry Cooder, David Lindley, Andrew Gold, Jim Keltner, Amos Garrett and Chris Ethridge amongst others.

While I would generally select a deep cut as the SotW, today I’m going with the hit – “Midnight at the Oasis”.

This song perfectly evokes the feel of a hot summer night. What with talk of camels, sand dunes and harems, how could you avoid imagining a magic carpet ride to a romantic Saharan tent?

Campingsite

The lyrics are overtly suggestive, but in Muldaur’s hands they come across as cheeky, not creepy.

The musicianship is impeccable. Jim Gordon (Derek & The Dominoes) takes over the drums. David Nichtern, who wrote the song, plays acoustic guitar. Freebo, Bonnie Raitt’s longtime collaborator, is on bass. Then, at the bridge, there’s that wonderful, tasteful Amos Garrett guitar solo. It’s simple, short and absolutely gorgeous.

Enjoy… until next week.

Song of the Week – There It Goes Again, Buzzy Linhart

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A few months ago my friend Lissy A was at my house for a band rehearsal. She’s a fine singer and bass player in The Ballisticats that play in bars from San Luis Obispo to San Francisco’s South Bay.

Once she saw my extensive vinyl record collection she realized an opportunity to hear some “almost forgotten” favorite songs. She provided me with a list of songs and asked me to digitize any I might have in my collection. It was a boat load of fun for me to rediscover some of the cool obscurities she identified.

One was the title track from the Buzzy Linhart 1974 album Pussycats Can Go Far. Wow, Linhart hadn’t crossed my mind in a jillion years. I ended up listening to the whole album and have gone back to it several times since. While I like the song “Pussycats…”, I’ve decided my favorite on the album is “There it Goes Again” which is today’s SotW.

Buzzy Linhart – There It Goes Again

The song has very poignant lyrics about disappointment, failure and everything going wrong. But the gospel choir background vocals give it a sense of optimism, not sadness. There’s something about the way Linhart delivers his vocal that reminds me of Conor Oberst’s Bright Eyes material (though I doubt Oberst has even a clue who Linhart is).

Linhart was this eccentric guy that was a “musician’s musician” in the 60s and 70s. There are a million stories about him. Like how he roomed with John Sebastian in New York, how he played with Jimi Hendrix, how he did a scene in the cult movie Groove Tube that displayed him in full frontal nudity, and (most famously) how he co-wrote the song “Friends” that became Bette Midler’s theme song. (“Friends” is also on Pussycats…)

The story goes on and on. If you’re interested in learning more, there’s an 80 minute documentary on Linhart available to stream for free on Vimeo:

Famous: The Buzzy Linhart Story

Song of the Week – Hello Hello, Sopwith Camel

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In the second half of the 1960s, several pop songs were released that had a nostalgic, vaudevillian sound. “Daydream” (#2, Mar 1966), “Winchester Cathedral” (#1, Dec 1966), “Honey Pie” (White Album, Nov 1968), and today’s SotW, “Hello Hello” (#26, Jan 1967) by the Sopwith Camel. (You might throw the music of Harper’s Bazaar in there too.) Each of these songs had an old timey feel and vocals that sounded like they were being sung through a megaphone.

The song was later included on the soundtrack for the movie Milk (2008), that depicted the life of the San Franciscan who became the first openly gay person to be elected to public office in 1977.

The Sopwith Camel came out of the San Francisco psychedelic scene. The recording was produced by Erik Jacobsen who had recently moved to Northern California after having been fired by the New York based Lovin’ Spoonful. In fact, you can hear the similarities in their sound (not to mention that both recorded for the small Kama Sutra label).

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The band broke up the same year that their eponymous first album was released. They reunited to record another album, 1972’s The Miraculous Hump Returns from the Moon, but never repeated the success of “Hello Hello”, leaving them as another name on the long list of “one hit wonders.”