December 14, 2016 - David Bowie - Station to Station (1976)

Station to Station is like the little engine that could. The first half of the song is the uphill climb and the second half is the thrilling downhill ride. It's David Bowie's longest studio recording.

It begins with the sound of a train powering up and heading out of the station. A whistle is heard at 1:06, and then the train slowly heads up the hill. The piano represents the piston rods cranking the wheels along. At 1:51 the little engine and it cars and crew are all working hard, willing the train along. Little puffs of steam float out of the chimney. The wheels screech against the tracks.

At 3:17, Bowie speaks up: The return of the Thin White Duke Throwing darts in lovers' eyes...not sure if this is helpful to the conductor, he probably just nods from the cab and says 'Yes, sir. I am too busy to listen to your story. Please return to your seat.' As Bowie walks down the aisles to his seat, he keeps up his monologue about the Thin White Duke, getting frowns and muffled guffaws from his fellow passengers.

Perhaps this chant of his has proven helpful, because at 5:14, the halfway point of the song, the train crests the hill and is poised for its downhill run. Bowie sings

Once there were mountains on mountains
And once there were sun birds to soar with
And once I could never be down

Yes, we are on a mountain, on our way down the other side of it. I hope the brakes work if we need them. Bowie's cheerful voice leads us on. He says Drink, drink, drain your glass, raise your glass high. Thanks, David, I believe I will. But then he says It's too late to be grateful. Oh well. He says it's not the side effects of the cocaine, but I have my doubts.

The music bounces the train back and forth, it's a rollicking wild party atmosphere as the little train cruises at warp speed down the hill. Roy Bittan adds to it with some piano glissandos. From 7:35-8:22, Earl Slick breaks out the guitar and cranks out a soaring solo of epic proportions. He hits the most divine harmonic at 8:12, a lightning bolt from heaven. We continue along, heading for our destination.

December 13, 2016 - The Stone Roses - Fool's Gold (1989)

I remember it like it was yesterday...one night in March 1990 I was driving back to Chicago from Minneapolis. It was late at night and I was getting closer to home. I had the radio on and it was the first time I heard Fool's Gold. From start to finish it had me completely mesmerized. What was this long funky rockin thing? When the DJ said it was the Stone Roses, a light went on in my mind, because I already knew another song by them, I Wanna Be Adored.

I thought their debut album was great and I still love it, but Fool's Gold was the song that really got to me. That drum pattern and bass line are groovy, and then there's that cool little wah guitar lick from 0:40-0:45. It sets up the rest of the song, an acid rock meets house music/new jack swing formula. The lyrics tell a heart of darkness/treasure of sierra madre story, a mad hunt for gold:

Gold's just around the corner
Breakdown's coming up round the bend

The vocals end at 5:38, but the groove goes on for another 4:15, looping around, guitar spinning out the riffs, the wah pedal pumping along, bass and drums locked together. This was Madchester.

December 12, 2016 - Shin Joong Hyun & The Men - Beautiful Rivers and Mountains (1972)

Shin Joong-hyun is known as the Godfather of Korean Rock. He will be 79 years old in a few weeks. I was introduced to his music via a newspaper article that came out in the late 90s, when I was living in Sangju. He had just released an album called Kim Sat Gat, a collection of poems by the 19th century wandering poet that Shin put to music. It wasn't until years later that I finally heard Shin's earlier recordings.

In 1972, Shin was asked to write a song in praise of president Park Chung Hee. Shin said no, and instead wrote a song about the natural beauty of the country, called Beautiful Rivers and Mountains. His refusal of the president's request resulted in Shin being harassed by the police and other government jerks. He was eventually imprisoned for 'involvement' with marijuana.

Beautiful Rivers and Mountains, Ahreumdaeun Gangsan (아름다운강산), has a pattern that is somewhat similar to Free Bird in that it has a slow majestic intro, a long series of verses and choruses, and a 'kick out the jams' instrumental finale. Musically, it's closer to the Doors. The song opens with a psych pastoral quality, like here we go out into the welcoming forest. At 0:37 the floodgates open and we are propelled down a winding river of loping bass, fast-strummed guitar and pounding drum. The vocals have this kind of dark whispered sound to them. Organ, bass, and oboe or recorder maybe, accompany the vocals. At 3:12, I think it's Shin himself who delivers this kind of spoken word section, accompanied by the lead and harmonies. The singers rise up at 3:54, filling the air with a sense of pride and joy. The final verses begin at 4:36, and the drum pounds away with greater intensity.

The vocals end at 5:47, with four minutes left for all sorts of instrumental fun. After a few circles around the track, at 6:15 Shin Joong-hyun's wah wah guitar gurgles its way into the mix. Organ, drums and cymbals explode around it. My favorite Shin moment is at 8:03 or so, when his guitar just shrieks.















 

December 11, 2016 - Pink Floyd - Interstellar Overdrive (1967)

Interstellar Overdrive is a 9:41 journey through the psychedelic mind of Syd Barrett. We fly among time and space in something much like a TARDIS, witnessing scenes of brilliance and madness. Perhaps we are companions like Ian and Barbara, with Syd as our Doctor.

A turn of the ignition switch powers up the engine. At 0:37 we blast off through the clouds, hitting a rough patch at 0:58 or so before settling in at 1:10. Looking out the window, we notice various comets and swirling energies, objects of great power and beauty, time bending and shifting within the cosmic fabric. It feels discombobulated and strange. At 2:22 we hover over the barnyard of a vast space farm, and a robotic chicken calls out to us...b'gaw! b'gaw! b'gaw! OK, that's enough, chicken. Where's the farmer? b'gaw!! Shut it already, chicken!

At 2:45, a hole slowly opens up around us. A blast of the engine at 3:18 and we head into it, chickens, ducks, tractors, cows, farmer, barn, haystacks and all. Everything expands and contracts as it gets sucked across other dimensions. The intensity builds at 4:30. Roger Waters looks in vain for a place to toss an anchor, while everyone else rolls about helplessly. We are caught in a stardust tornado!

At 6:17 the dust settles and we find ourselves at rest. There is an eerie calmness around the ship. Vibrations pass through us, reaching out for a common thread. Are we being probed? Something is out there. A tractor beam locks onto us at 7:46, and we are pulled into the hull of an even larger ship. We can't fight it.

The larger ship starts its engines at 8:30, preparing for departure, with us on board. It parades before a giant mirror, and we see our negative reflections pass through us over and over again, piling up in sheets of consciousness until we are linked together in one massive field of energy. At long last, the ship arrives at its destination and shuts down its engines. We disembark, finding ourselves back home in our own time and place, much like Ian and Barbara at the end of The Chase...safe and sound.



 

December 10, 2016 - Led Zeppelin - Tea For One (1976)

Tea For One is a large moon that orbits Presence, the Pluto of the Led Zeppelin solar system. Out there in space, barely visible, a dark piece of rock that is seldom visited. Well, I can't say I blame them. I wouldn't care to dine at the yacht club with the 70s family and their creepy object either.

This song deserves way more appreciation than it gets. People treat it like a bastard child of Since I've Been Loving You, from the third album. Although I like SIBLY, I occasionally tire of Robert's screechy hyper vocals. Tea For One is way more relaxed, just guitar bass and drums, no organ and no screech.

The opening groove is fantastic, this 3/4 guitar riff against 4/4 drums...then it is suddenly over just as we're starting to roll with it. It's like the band wanted to rock out, but then heavy and oppressive clouds rolled in. The remaining 9:00 is a slowwwww minor blues meditation on loneliness and boredom, the saddest song they ever did. Robert sings about time dragging on, wanting to be home instead of sitting there drinking tea by himself. His voice sounds haggard and lost, like 'lord, please get me the f home.' When he sings One minute seems like a lifetime, it's hard not to feel for him. It is the blues on a completely personal level. The music sticks with him in solidarity, those slow riffs muscling along like some poor wounded creature at the end of hope. I also love the reverb gloss on everything, it creates a very intimate setting. Some critics claim the musicians sound bored, but I think there's a lot more to it; regret, resignation, sacrifice, choices, things they gave up on the road to superstardom.

December 9, 2016 - King Crimson - The Court of the Crimson King (1969)

https://vimeo.com/142512117...the vimeo link has the long version.

This is really bad timing, Greg Lake just died the other day. He is the singer and bassist on The Court of the Crimson King, and was 1/3 of Emerson, Lake & Palmer. RIP. Palmer is still around.

One interesting thing I just learned about this song is that Doc Severinsen covered it on his album Doc Severinsen's Closet, which is a record my Dad owned. So, my Dad might know this song, albeit a different version.

In the grand progressive rock pantheon, this song has a prominent place at the table. It is from the King Crimson album In the Court of the Crimson King: An Observation by King Crimson. Of all the pretentious progressive album titles, this one tops them all. Who do these guys think they are? Knave, we are King Crimson. You may now kiss our hands. OK, I have to say I've always liked it. Even if the cover illustration is annoying. Yeah, like I really want to look up some guy's nose and down his throat. Surely they could have come up with a better image.

The title and last track on the album is the majestic The Court of the Crimson King. It is a fairly Dungeons and Dragonsesque tune with citadels and damsels and knights, and an assortment of wizards and Robin Hoods. The purple piper, the black queen, the fire witch, and the yellow jester are among the characters who appear at the court.

What I like best about this song is how the main motif shows up whenever we get to the in the Court of the Crimson King part. It is treated like such a big deal, who is this Crimson King anyhow? Oooh, I'm in the court of the crimson king. I'm soooo impressed. We are in his court, but is this king actually here, too? Or are we sitting around waiting for him to return from a squash tournament?

Best part is when the drums come in at the end, at 7:55. Michael Giles, y'all. Maybe that represents the arrival of the king. Everything after that is frosting.

December 8, 2016 - Neil Young & Crazy Horse - Down by the River (1969)

The opening guitar scrapes out a space between the ears, making room for another guitar, then a bass and drums. Neil Young sings Be on my side I'll be on your side, baby. Kind of like the power struggle over the bed between me, wife, and dog when we are going to sleep at night.

Neil Young & Crazy Horse perform Down by the River with a loosely structured rural grace. Neil sings with a hushed confessional tone, describing how he shot her dead. The ol murder ballad. 'He had to do it, she was shooting her mouth off about his mom.' Oops, that's Crispin Glover in River's Edge. Both are about a river and a murder. Perhaps Neil was a young Feck. If you haven't seen River's Edge, I sorry for you.

When Neil isn't singing, he's choking out all sorts of primal electric sounds on his guitar. Love those one note solos! 1:52...then at

3:22 he lays down this amazing lick. Guitars trade some great stabbing chords for a bit, then an even crazier one/two note solo starts up at 3:56. Neil at his electric best: cutting loose in his idiosyncratic way, no rules, working out all the subtle nuances of one note until he feels it's ok to move on to a different one. Then having little spasms of fast-picked chaos.

I just love Neil's vocal delivery. Nobody sounds like him, letting the words out of his mouth with this kind of delicate seesaw between innocence and wisdom.

December 7, 2016 - Yes - Roundabout (1971)

I have a story about the first time I heard Roundabout. I was seven years old, and I was in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, at Conference Point (church camp), summer of 1974. I slept on a top bunk in a green cabin. Previous occupants had written on the ceiling. Right above my head someone had written 'Confucius say: Man who go to bed with itchy butt wake up with smelly fingers.' Who was this wise Confucius? Anyhow, I didn't like being at camp too much, but there were these hippie junior ministers who played acoustic guitars and had us sing hippie religious songs, like I am the resurrection, and tunes from Godspell. They were pretty cool. They also had a Chevy van with these big speakers that weren’t locked down to anything. So, one night we were going somewhere and I got to ride in the van. I got in it and someone put one of the speakers in my lap and said I had to hold onto it. They turned on the stereo and I soon felt an amazing vibration surge through my hands and into my brain and I had no idea what was going on...but it was like some kind of epiphany. I didn’t know it was Roundabout at the time. But I recognized it when I eventually heard it again, and I knew it was Chris Squire's Rickenbacker bass that had affected me so much.

That bass comes in at 0:45. It has this woody, round texture, almost like a thick cord of elastic rope, this is what it feels like to me. Rick Wakeman's keyboard riff at 1:53 is pretty dramatic as well. We had a pipe organ at my church, so I probably thought this was another hippie religious song.

Mountains come out of the sky and they stand there...they just stand there, doing what mountains do. In the image below, Jon Anderson says, 'Look yonder! A mountain! Standing there!'

December 6, 2016 - The Who - Won't Get Fooled Again (1971)

The Who recorded this song. Who? Right. No, who? I can't believe they all urinated on that helpless concrete monolith. You boys should be ashamed of yourselves!

Who hasn't heard this song a zillion times? I don't know, who? No, they recorded it. Haha, never gets old does it. Groan. I still love it. I have fond memories of playing this song when I was young and my Mom would say, "Oh there's that four year old again, banging on the organ. Where are the parents?"

Won't Get Fooled Again is an epic. It's one big Keith Moon drum fill, John Entwistle bass exploration, Pete Townsend guitar armada. Plus the amazing long organ parts at the beginning and in the middle (also played/programmed by Pete Townsend). Roger Daltrey's powerful vocals, and that wail at 7:45! One of the greatest wails ever recorded. Meet the new boss, same as the old boss. What more is there to say, it's from the classic album Who's Next (with the classic urination cover), one of many fantastic albums released in 1971.

December 5, 2016 - Built to Spill - Velvet Waltz (1997)

Velvet Waltz, like Safesurfer a few days ago, is a long guitar extravaganza. It is very waltz-like. 123-123-123...ouch! You stepped on my toe. Sorry.

The song follows this trajectory: one minute opening - a couple of verses - middle slowdown - final part about the sun - epic raging guitar solo for the final 3:18. Let's take a closer look, shall we? 123-123-...

I interpret the song as a vague lecture on the woes of regret. A trio of somewhat mournful and pining electric guitars open the proceedings. One picks out some waltzy arpeggios, another plays slightly distorted chords and leads, and the other is a wah pedal hanging out in the corner. They sound good together, united in storytelling.

At 1:01, Doug Martsch proffers a notion:

If there's a word for you
It doesn't mean anything
I've got some words for you
They don't offer anything

Hmm, well, thanks for nothing then! I wonder why the rhythm picks up so early, which it does on the second line (doesn't). I think it should have been held back a bit, but whatever, not my concern. I've also never been that wild about Martsch's voice, I'm way more impressed by the guitars. The lyrics go on about an unsuccessful salesman, at 2:08 Doug sings You thought of everything but some things can't be thought. They just come to you, through inspiration. You were inspired to do something else, but you didn't do it, you became a salesman. You dreamed about a different life, but never acted upon it. By 3:30, you are being made to feel ashamed because you left it in the sun and let it dry up, when maybe you should have acted on it sooner, and now you're unhappy.

During all the sun stuff, the guitarists are getting pissed off about this bummer trip. They finally overpower the vocals at 5:15 and boil over. Screw you world! I am not going to go gentle into that good night, I am going to go for it and ditch this salesman thing!

The music during this finale gives me goosebumps, it's very emotional by this point. The guitars shoot off in all directions, every guitar for itself! I especially love the slide up the neck at 5:44, the slow pitch bend from 5:54-:56. It's magical stuff, this vast starry night of guitar fireworks and it goes on and on...123 123, burning up in one giant wah pedal supernova. It's fun being in the middle of all these shooting stars.