WHEW!! How did the world stay on it's axis? How are you going to keep from jumping into the shower and singing at the top of your lungs? This one is so varied, so.... DENSE, epic moments from giants and forgotten ones both. It is easy to see how the generation coming of age in 1955-56 would have been hard to impress in the 60's.
"Germany's Bear Family label has created an amazing series in their Blowing the Fuse project. Each volume features chart and jukebox sellers of all stripes of R&B, soul, and early rock & roll. From the looks of things, 1956 was a wild and woolly year with Bo Diddley ("Pretty Thing"), Chuck Berry ("Roll Over Beethoven"), and Little Richard ("Rip It Up" and "Long Tall Sally") all making this set. But it's not all rock & roll. Clyde McPhatter's "The Great Pretender" is here, as are Ray Charles' "I'll Drown in My Tears" and Howlin' Wolf's "Smokestack Lightnin'," just to name a few more. Also in the register are James Brown's early soul with
"Please, Please, Please" and Big Joe Turner's proto-rock & roll/R&B hybrid "Boogie Woogie Country Girl," and there are two items that cannot be forgotten, the Cadillacs' amazing "Speedoo" and Little Willie John's classic of classics, "Fever." Add in fine sound (no "reprocessed for stereo" crap here), fine liner notes, and a handsome package. Along with the rest of the series, this is a must-own. Simply put, these are the best year-by-year compilations out there." Thom Jurek
"Germany's Bear Family label has created an amazing series in their Blowing the Fuse project. Each volume features chart and jukebox sellers of all stripes of R&B, soul, and early rock & roll. From the looks of things, 1956 was a wild and woolly year with Bo Diddley ("Pretty Thing"), Chuck Berry ("Roll Over Beethoven"), and Little Richard ("Rip It Up" and "Long Tall Sally") all making this set. But it's not all rock & roll. Clyde McPhatter's "The Great Pretender" is here, as are Ray Charles' "I'll Drown in My Tears" and Howlin' Wolf's "Smokestack Lightnin'," just to name a few more. Also in the register are James Brown's early soul with "Please, Please, Please" and Big Joe Turner's proto-rock & roll/R&B hybrid "Boogie Woogie Country Girl," and there are two items that cannot be forgotten, the Cadillacs' amazing "Speedoo" and Little Willie John's classic of classics, "Fever." Add in fine sound (no "reprocessed for stereo" crap here), fine liner notes, and a handsome package. Along with the rest of the series, this is a must-own. Simply put, these are the best year-by-year compilations out there." Thom Jurek
14 comments:
The stars were aligned in 1956, the year that changed everything. That's also the year Sam Cooke left the Soul Stirrers to try his hand at secular music. And of course, that guy Elvis signed with RCA and went from being a regional act to something a little bit more. The majors didn't know what was going on, but it was still the golden age of indies like King-Federal, Sun, Specialty and Chess. It seems like a mythical time, a Camelot of great music, but discs like this are the proof that this really happened. As we head into the final months of 2012, think back on the music that got made this year. Kinda depressing, huh?
Thanks again for all you do.
What is remarkable to me is that we take for granted the technology that makes music from almost sixty years ago so easily available. We have the luxury of being able to listen to music from other eras when only a few generations ago people had to rely on hearing the music live or interpreted by other musicians who may or may not have had the talent of the original. Better yet one has only to discover blogs like this to be exposed to great music about which one was previously unaware. What the series shows so vividly to me is the remarkably vital and ongoing contribution made to the music of this country by African American artists. They had a hugely disproportionate influence on the music and created new genres. In 2012 we have the Bear Family commemorating their and other contributions in what amounts to a course on popular music of the last half of the twentieth century. It has changed my perspective from judging the years music by what is currently played to what I have heard regardless of when it was recorded.
Let me suggest this book which discusses exactly what you are touching on there
http://www.amazon.com/The-Recording-Angel-Records-Aristotle/dp/0300099045
The whole idea of records and what it means to collect music are looked at from a number of different angles - the first half of the book is particularly good - I recall the final 1/3 was a bit dry and repetitive
OH GOOD LORD! What a thought! Actually consider what one of these would look like for ANY year in the last 30 years and they would be laughable in comparison - to go even further you would find some comparable years in the 60's and 70's but not many
It is interesting that this is the golden age of the independent labels for R&B but it comes in the 70's for Jazz because the process is happening backwards there - the majors pulled out there leaving an open field for the indies - in R&B the indies showed the majors the way to do it and are eventually subsumed by the big boys
Felimid, you are right... we have unprecedented access to ANYthing viz the net. However, without interpretation, it's just music for the sake of music. It takes a guy like KC to walk us through the relevance of the artists and their impact.
A player like Esquerita has been shared at other blogs, but it's more like. "Hey, check out this little known piano player." Thanks to our host, we get the benefit of understanding Esquerita's impact on Little Richard, and the impending results on music as a whole.
The thing I like with KC's approach is that he gives us the whole picture, regardless of how ugly or unsatisfactory it may be. Alot of these artists got F'd, plain and simple. Shadowed by opportunistic businessmen and white artists.
That's a side of this thing which is bound to come to light as we continue to look at African American artists from this period. It's not that I want to pretend that it never happened, but it wouldn't be hard for this blog to become a political and cultural hotzone... ergo splitting and dividing. No, this music has brought us all together so we must tread lightly the ugly side of what happened in the past. Besides, I think most people savvy enough to stop in here, have a general understanding that the early black artists were essentially robbed of fame and fortune in many cases.
I totally agree with you about the level of quality within these tunes. It becomes hard to listen to much afterwards, but this is a good thing. It means you are musically aware, and frankly nothing can really move forward without an undeerstanding of the roots. This is why we can laugh and scoff at so much "music" which is nothing more than fodder for the sake of commerce. It becomes easier to detect when something is truly unique, or infact well rooted and moving forward.
Chubbs
I couldn't agree more with you both and will order the book KC recommended, I also greatly appreciate your own contributions to the effort. As I have written elsewhere this blog and the other associated blogs are like the Smithsonian for me. They are museums of great music history and culture and the interpretation of the exhibits and efforts to educate by the curators make it all so worthwhile for me. Don't even get me started on Esquerita. I had never heard him before and was dumbstruck by how good he was and how apt Mr. K. C.'s comments were with respect to his obvious influence on Little Richard. I also agree about the need to avoid politicizing the music but am always amazed by the music that was created by people oppressed yet able to articulate so well through the music their dreams, aspirations, disappointments,etc. I couldn't imagine American culture and especially music without their contribution. In the same way that great literature came out of eastern Europe during the Soviet era, great music (and literature) has been created in our own country and too often ignored by contemporaries here only to be discovered by European youth. The Beatles, Rolling Stones, Clapton, and so many others owe so much of their own accomplishments to Howling Wolf, Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker, etc. Simply put, the education and insights offered by this and the jazz blogs make them the best on the net and a joy to read daily.
I couldn't agree more with you both and will order the book KC recommended, I also greatly appreciate your own contributions to the effort. As I have written elsewhere this blog and the other associated blogs are like the Smithsonian for me. They are museums of great music history and culture and the interpretation of the exhibits and efforts to educate by the curators make it all so worthwhile for me. Don't even get me started on Esquerita. I had never heard him before and was dumbstruck by how good he was and how apt Mr. K. C.'s comments were with respect to his obvious influence on Little Richard. I also agree about the need to avoid politicizing the music but am always amazed by the music that was created by people oppressed yet able to articulate so well through the music their dreams, aspirations, disappointments,etc. I couldn't imagine American culture and especially music without their contribution. In the same way that great literature came out of eastern Europe during the Soviet era, great music (and literature) has been created in our own country and too often ignored by contemporaries here only to be discovered by European youth. The Beatles, Rolling Stones, Clapton, and so many others owe so much of their own accomplishments to Howling Wolf, Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker, etc. Simply put, the education and insights offered by this and the jazz blogs make them the best on the net and a joy to read daily.
I agree with you, and for me the Crypt and it's network are home for me. I have had offers to post elsewhere, which often come in the form of me looking at dashboard, and seeing new authoring priveleges. Clever, but for the most part, far from tempting.
I have been absent for the last couple of weeks but will resume soon. As for the whole commenting crisis, I think KC just wants to know that people are enjoying what they hear. The thank-you's do get kind of dry, but are of course appreciated when coupled with something thoughtful. There are some fellows who literally say the same thing everytime... "thanks very much".
I think it's easy to misread where KC was comin from, thinkin that he wants some essay on the artist. Nah. After his first Little Willie John post, I simply commented about my wife and I sharing some drinks, and dancing for the night. I would dare to say that he enjoyed hearing that as much as any long winded thesis on LWJ.
Anyhow Feilimid (speaking of long winded), I am all over the place. Yes your comments are quite astute, great art derives from misery. The root of it all came from slaves in a field, so we see that great art in that situation isn't ironic, but rather a part of the human condition.
Maybe you will agree with me, but something that all this education has brought me is a sense of pity for those who don't know, or don't appreciate. I know that probably sounds awful, but when i see people listening to so many purposeless melodies, I can't help but feel that way. A bit snobby? Ya maybe. But I think if people put more effort into experiencing some history and culture, the world would be a better place. The reality is that most don't give a rats ass - something we all must accept, and certainly not judge people on.
Chubbs
Two years ago my now-eighteen year-old daughter asked me to make a compilation disc of hip-hop and alleged rhythm and blues for her best friend. My daughter listens to music as background noise and claims she doesn't listen to the lyrics. I'm no prude but I think she and her compatriots are missing a great deal because many song writers of the music she "enjoys" don't use or even seek the metaphors and similes to express sexuality, love,and passion that are an inherent part of the music I enjoy. I burned the requested disc but about twenty minutes into it, I included Otis Redding's Cigarettes and Coffee, the Isley Brother's Shout, the Chambers Brothers' version of Midnight Hour, Etta James' At Last, and Aretha's Chain of Fools. I cautioned my wife that there would soon be an eruption as my daughter and her friend went to her bedroom to listen to the compilation. Sure enough as Otis sang "It's three o'clock in the morning ...", my daughter screamed, "Dad, what did you do?" and raced down the stairs to confront me. Smug and blissful, I replied that I had included the superior foundations of the music that she liked and was exposing her to the masters, the work of the elders. I try to refrain from judging the music experience of others but I do feel a bit sorry for those folks who don't recognize the musical genius relied upon by, for example, Ray Charles to inject new meaning into Born To Lose or who are uninterested in the history behind the music. My wife enjoys my music collection but asks me at what point will I have enough music to which I reply when I draw my last breath. She bemoans the clutter of the compact discs that have accumulated beyond my shelves' capacity and are stacked up against the walls and asks what I am going to do when I run out of space. I reply that there is still her half of the bed and I will really miss her when she has to move out to make more room for my collection. This is all a long-winded means of saying,"Yeah, music is that important to me and enriches my life immeasurably." My twenty one year old shares my passion and brings her friends over just to look at the collection. Surprisingly, even if they don't appreciate music like I do, they do appreciate the passion and commitment illustrated by the collection. Blogs such as this make the music readily available and my hope is that her friends will discover the music and experience the same joy and "love supreme" that I do when I am raptly listening and oblivious to all else around me. I fumble around in far too many words to try to convey why this blog and its offerings are so important. I do understand Mr. K. C.'s frustration and have risked embarrassing myself to respond. The nexus he established between Little Richard and Esquerita and New Orleans, as well as the gay subculture of that era, and the essays he wrote about James Booker and Percy Mayfield, respectively,are just two examples of the invaluable context and history provided by this blog. So I write and hope others do as well because I don't want to wake-up some day and find this blog and its offerings gone. I first discovered the Crypt because I am passionate about Jim Pepper's music and the jazz blog was the only blog I could find on the web that not only provided Pepper's music but addressed the man behind it. I don't want this blog to go the way of that one because even though there is a backup blog the loss of the Crypt still leaves a huge gap and the loss of a source that taught me so much about the music and people who play it. Each time I discover a new singer or musician on this blog, I share the music via e-mail with close friends. I have crashed three of their e-mail accounts by doing so but fortunately they understand.
wow Feilimd you really are passionate about this music - Don't worry about the loss of this Blog - I'm sure KC is as avid as you (as am I) so it was just a ploy to get all of us to have a greater say - Create a community of blues lovers to communicate together and dare I say it not feel alone!
Appreciate the story Feilimid, thanks for sharing!! Our wives are a patient bunch no? Well my wife surely appreciated my love for music when we dated and right on up to our wedding. I would always pick the sexiest music for dinners and date nights. Then when it came to our wedding we had some amazingly soulful tunes playing at all the key moments of the big day. All of the women in attendance were clamouring to find out the names of the songs after the wedding. As a gift for each guest, I had made a disc of everything we played anyhow.
Of course, I must remind her of these things because now she simply rolls her eyes alot of the time. The way I straighten her out is a nice romantic evening with some great music.
OK I'm signing off here Feilimid, til the next post (which may be my own).
I am equally fortunate. A neighbor recently asked my wife if I listened to all of the music that takes up more space in the living room than the furniture. My wife responded, "Yes, he does." The neighbor then asked if what I listened to was any good and my wife replied, "Yes. All of it is great." Several years ago a Ugandan friend of my brothers graduated from law school and asked him if I could burn some music for her celebration party. I burned fifty compilation discs for her and apparently her relatives asked where she had gotten all of the great music. She told me that when she told them a white American has given her the music they were astonished and didn't believe her at first. Music is a medium and universal language that transcends all barriers and comments like my wife's and the law school graduate's make having so much of it so worthwhile. I am grateful that my wife and children understand why the living room is an obstacle course of compact disc and vinyl, but then there are far worse vices than being passionate about music!!!
Oh my, I believe friend Felimid that once you have read recording angel it may help to have your stunningly patient wife read it as well. Much of your story reminds me of Uncle Cliff who is surrounded by at least 20,000 cd's and LP's even now and he has sold off at least half of what he had 10 years ago. The livingroom, bedroom and study each have at least one entire wall (anywhere from 10 to 20 feet of wall mind you and with shelves from the floor to at least 5 to 7 feet)of music and another wall of books in each as well - at any given point in time the average available floor space to move thru rarely exceeds 20% (okay that may be a low estimate) Cliff's wife too has the patience of multiple saints but I know she likes this albums leaving and coming back as little skinny cd's.
The remaining space is occupied by books. I tell my wife that they and my music collection are also my children and any discussion of forcing them to move will not be tolerated. My latest ploy is to tell her that, given the efforts of the government and the recording industry, these blogs won't be around forever and I have to take advantage of them and the music they offer while they still exist. So far it is working. What she doesn't understand is why I still keep my vinyl when I don't even have needle for my stereo.
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