I was saddened to learn about the death on 18 November, of Robert McCormick, better known simply as "Mack".
As a musicologist, folklorist and historian, McCormick was probably best known for his work tracking down the true story of blues legend Robert Johnson. Through his dedicated field research during which he interviewed literally hundreds of people, he eventually, in 1972, traced Johnson's two half sisters and subsequently obtained the first photographs of Johnson himself. His plan was always to write a book about Johnson but he became bogged down by the wealth of material he had gathered, and filled with self doubts fuelled by his own manic depression, the book was never completed. However, the 1991 documentary film 'The Search for Robert Johnson' was partially based upon McCormick's research.
"Mack" was also instrumental in bringing the music of many other blues performers into the public eye. These included Mance Lipscomb and Lightnin' Hopkins, whose career McCormick revived in 1959. He also spent many years tracking down the story of the Texan singer Henry Thomas who had a short recording career in the late 1920's and who clearly influenced bands like Canned Heat in the 1960's. When a collection of Henry Thomas songs was eventually released on Herwin Records, McCormick wrote a 10,000 word essay to accompany the disc.
I was particularly struck by work that McCormick carried out tracing the true identities of Elvie Thomas and Geeshie Wiley who recorded for Paramount Records in the early 1930's. They had always been shrouded in mystery as having released only six recordings, they simply disappeared from public view. The journalist John Jeremiah Sullivan published a piece last year in the New York Times in which he claimed to have spoken with McCormick and somehow obtained transcripts of two interviews "Mack" conducted with L.V. Thomas in 1961. At that time Thomas was in her 70's but it would appear that she and 1930's recording artist Elvie Thomas were one and the same. During the interviews, she was also able to shed further light on the identity of Geeshie Wiley.
These are only a couple of examples of data that McCormick accumulated in his adult life. Indeed the mass of information he had stored became something of a millstone around his neck as it was simply too great for him to organise, analyse and draft into a form that could be published. In fact he himself often referred to all the data as the "monster" and found himself frequently flitting between unfinished projects. What he needed was a partner who could put his work into a form suitable for publication. He did at one time work with the English blues writer Paul Oliver but the two had a falling out and since then much of McCormick's laborious work has lain untouched.
I understand that it has now passed into the hands of his daughter Susannah who has declared that something will be done with the material but it is not yet clear what.
I can only hope that in the not too distant future McCormick's work does come into the public domain and we can share in all the wonderful stories that he unearthed. Without his work, many of the so-called blues legends who have become household names, would be forgotten or completely unknown. I believe we owe him a debt of gratitude.
RIP Mack
Although I've seen him on two or three occasions as part of the E-Street Band, I had never seen Nils Lofgren in his own right, so I was looking forward to catching him at Whitley Bay Playhouse last night. Nevertheless I almost missed the start of the show as the ticket showed special guest Greg Varlotta who I assumed was the support act. Fortunately my pal had seen Nils earlier in the year and was more tuned in to the fact that Varlotta was not the support but that he accompanied Lofgren through his set. Thankfully we finished our pints in a nearby bar and made it to our seats in time for the start at 8.00 PM prompt.
Two hours later as the pair thanked us and left the stage, I had joined everyone else who was on their feet to applaud a consummate, professional musician.
The set began with Lofgren on harp but it was not too long before he had switched to a Fender electric guitar with a trademark long scarf trailing from the headstock. Thereafter he switched between acoustic guitars taking us through a variety of songs that were a fair representation of his 47 year career. These included three songs from his early days with Grin who he informed us had supported Jimi Hendrix on Lofgren's 19th birthday. From then on, his career path has been fascinating and working with the likes of Neil Young and Bruce Springsteen must have been a fantastic musical education for him. And believe me, it shows.
The stage had rather minimal lighting and Lofgren was wearing a brimmed hat pulled down to his eyes so it was difficult to discern his expressions. This plus the signs warning against the practice made photography impossible I'm afraid - so no photos on this occasion.
The fine music which included personal favourites, 'Walkin' Nerve', 'Rusty Gun', 'Keith Don't Go', 'Believe' and of course 'No Mercy', was interspersed with some amusing chatter from Lofgren. An early joke told us of a teenage boy who announced to his mother that when he grew up he wanted to be a rock musician. Her reply was "Son, you can't do both". Another was a story of African drums but for me the most interesting anecdote of the evening was how he got the gig playing with Neil Young on the album 'After the Goldrush'. Young and David Briggs suggested that Lofgren should play piano and the fact that he wasn't a pianist didn't deter them. After all, Lofgren had played accordion since he was 5 years old.
While working on the song 'Southern Man', Lofgren remained during a lunch break with drummer Ralph Molina to practice his piano part. He introduced some of his old polka rhythms into the arrangement which Young and Briggs liked so much that they remained. Have a listen yourself. You may never hear the song in the same way again.
There is no doubt that the whole audience was delighted when during 'I Came To Dance', Varlotta left his keyboard and began a tap dancing routine, soon to be joined by Lofgren, tap dancing while playing his guitar. It was a great moment and I never thought that I would live to say that tap dancing was the highlight of a show. It just goes to show that life is full of surprises. I should at this juncture make special mention of Varlotta himself who provided wonderful accompaniment to Lofgren on keyboard, guitar and trumpet. Clearly he is a great musician in his own right.
After ending the main set with 'No Mercy', the pair returned to encore with Neil Young's 'Rockin' in the Free World'. It went out to the people who were killed or injured while going about their normal business at the Bataclan Theatre in Paris last Friday. It was a fitting anthem particularly as the song begins with the line "There's colors on the street, red, white and blue". I don't think there was anyone in the audience last night who was not yelling out that famous chorus. And I suspect that a few like me had a tear in their eye.
The night ended with the crowd pleaser, 'Shine Silently', then to rapturous applause the pair left the stage. Lofgren may have forgotten at one point that he was in Whitley Bay and referred to us as Scarborough. However he was soon put right on that score and after such a wonderful performance, how could we not forgive him for such a faux pas?
I have no idea why I have left it so long to see a Lofgren show but I'm delighted I have now seen one. And I'm so pleased that I never missed a second of it.
I read of the sad passing of Allen Toussaint a couple of days ago and have thought how best to offer my own little tribute to his talents from within my own music collection.
So, here is Jess Roden with 'Trouble in Mind' a track which featured on his 1974 solo album and which was produced and arranged by Toussaint who also plays piano on the track.
'Trouble in Mind'
Also a live performance by Little Feat of the Allen Toussaint composition, 'On Your Way Down'.
'On Your Way Down'
Enjoy and remember a musical genius.
Having taken a temporary break from listening exclusively to Bob Dylan ('The Cutting Edge'), Drive-By Truckers ('It's Great to Be Alive') and Pere Ubu (Elitism for the People'), I have delved into some old Fleetwood Mac (Peter Green era) material. Perhaps it was because I had been immersed in the way Dylan's songs developed in the course of various studio takes, that I was particularly drawn to a Peter Green song entitled 'Show Biz Blues'. This track went through numerous changes before appearing on the often overlooked 1969 album 'Then Play On' which was the first to feature Danny Kirwan and the last to feature Green himself.
Much has been made of Green's state of mind in the lead up to his departure from what had become a very successful band. People usually quote the melancholy lyrics of 'Man of the World' or the nightmare surrealism of 'The Green Manalishi (With the Two Prong Crown)' to illustrate how Green was feeling at this time. They are of course absolutely correct to do so, yet I feel that 'Show Biz Blues' demonstrates just as clearly how confused and disillusioned he had become.
The recording sessions for the song took place in early to mid 1969 and listening to early versions, it is clear that it went through various changes before it's final appearance on the album released in September that year. For example, the song originally bore the title 'Do You Give a Damn For Me' which appears in two different versions on the companion compilation albums 'The Vaudeville Years of Fleetwood Mac' and 'Show-Biz Blues - Fleetwood Mac 1968- 1970'. By take 12 which features on the latter, the song had changed little but in the third verse, Green sang "If I needed anybody, I would take you home with me, ...... I don't need nobody, I don't need anybody but old me".
Do You Give A Damn For Me - Fleetwood Mac
Significantly the tempo had slowed slightly by the next version which was recorded in June 1969 and the lyrics had also altered to "... I don't need nobody, I don't need anybody 'cept Him and me". To add further significance to this alteration, the song title had also changed to 'Him and Me'. As Green himself admits, he had found God and went from being fiercely independent to acknowledging that he needed someone or something in his life. However in 1969, being into God wasn't considered especially hip so for the final version the title was changed yet again to 'Show-biz Blues' and the mood of the song was lifted by the addition of percussion in the form of tambourine and handclaps. By 1970, God had also been replaced in Green's life by LSD. His use of the drug may have ultimately led to Green's breakdown and departure from the group, but thankfully, after a period of illness, he did emerge to tell the tale.
Here is the final album version:
Show Biz Blues - Fleetwood Mac
Listening to it again after all these years, I am struck not only by what a great song it is but also that it features some terrific slide guitar playing from Green, incorporating elements of Skip James and Bukka White among others.
One sad postscript to the story of this song, concerns Rory Gallagher who himself recorded a version in 1994 for a Peter Green tribute album, 'Rattlesnake Guitar'. The words in this version are changed significantly but in the final verse Gallagher sings "Tell me anybody, do you really give a damn for me. I'll tell you a story, ..... my soul is killing me".
Showbiz Blues - Rory Gallagher
Sadly these words were to prove prophetic as by the following June, Gallagher was dead.
Yet another box set. Don't they come thick and fast at this time of year?
I first reported on this set in all of it's versions last month, so if you wish to read it or refresh your memory, you can do so here.
As I indicated then, I opted for the set entitled 'The Best of The Cutting Edge' which came on three LP records plus two CD's. Housed in a very sturdy slipcase box, each of the albums has been pressed on 180g vinyl and each is contained within a nice thick card cover in a retro style that puts me in mind of the kind of covers old 78 RPM records used to come in. Not only that, but there is also a card, not paper, inner sleeve. A nice touch I feel.
And of course there is a book which in this edition is a 12" x 12" softback running to 56 pages. And a very fine thing it is if I'm honest. In fact it was one of the main reasons for me plumping for the vinyl version, to have a book of a decent size that I could actually read without the aid of a magnifying glass.
The least impressive part of the set are the two CD's which are in ordinary card sleeves but as they will mainly be used in the car, that is a very minor quibble.
Obviously I'm aware that having gone for the lower priced set, I was set to miss out on a lot of music that is included in the 'Deluxe Edition'. However those nice people at a certain well known online retailers that shall remain nameless, provide a service that enables a purchaser to download a copy of their item. On the day of release, I duly set about downloading my copy, only to discover that I was provided with the full Deluxe Edition! All 6 CD's (111 tracks) of it!
So enough of the packaging and downloads. What of the quality of the music? Well, all I can say is that this is exactly what made me a fan of Bob Dylan in the first place. Did anyone ever produce a better body of work in such a short space of time? And what we have here allows us to experience first hand how those wonderful 1965/66 recordings evolved in the studio to eventually become the trio of albums 'Bringing It All Back Home', 'Highway 61 Revisited' and 'Blonde on Blonde'. Albums that were all recorded within a 14 month period. Incredible!
For the purpose of this post, I intend to focus on the vinyl version - a mere 36 tracks, as absorbing and analysing the larger collection will take considerably longer but is something I feel I may return to in the fullness of time. Personally I believe that the vinyl albums provide one with a more pleasurable listening experience. Why? Well simply because there is far less repetition. I mentioned that there were 36 tracks spread across the three discs and these represent 33 different songs. Only 'Like a Rolling Stone', 'Desolation Row' and 'Highway 61 Revisited' are repeated and in vastly different arrangements. Compare that with four versions of 'On The Road Again' or 'It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry' or even 20 versions of 'Like a Rolling Stone' that appear on the Deluxe Edition, and you can possibly imagine that this might jar after a while.
OK everything included here may not be absolutely top class, but it is not meant to be. Let's not forget that this collection is part of the Bootleg Series. We are dealing here with rehearsals, demos and alternate takes that were considered to be not good enough for the officially released albums or were still very much works in progress. So on side 6 of the vinyl we hear an unusual fourth take of 'Just Like a Woman' taken at a much faster pace than the sedate released version. Even producer Bob Johnson comments "That's one hell of a beat". He doesn't sound convinced and one can understand why Dylan soon reverted to the slower tempo. Also some of the tracks come to a sudden and abrupt ending which can take one unawares upon first hearing. There are also short throw-away snippets of songs such as 'You Don't Have to Do That'. But none of these things ultimately detract from the listening experience. Simply because much of the content is absolutely brilliant and we are witnessing first hand a genius at work - warts and all. We hear Dylan creating and refining his words and melodies, making adjustments to the tempos or the way the words fit within the framework of the songs. There are changes that will surprise people who are familiar with these songs but the whole experience is absolutely fascinating and always entertaining.
In my view we should just be bloody grateful to Bob for allowing us to witness this act of creation.
I don't believe that the Drive-By Truckers have ever made a bad album - and in their almost 20 year history, they have made a few (10 studio records plus three previous live albums). I would even go a step further and offer the thought that they have never even produced a bad song. Indeed Patterson Hood confesses in the excellent liner notes that accompany this set, that "we have always considered ourselves first and foremost, a songwriter's band and always said that 'song is king' should be the basis of all artistic decisions".
If proof was needed, these 35 songs recorded over three nights at the Fillmore, San Francisco last November, span the entire career of the band and demonstrate what an awesome outfit they are. I was lucky enough to witness them live in a very small venue a good few years ago and they blew us all away. Sadly I doubt I will ever witness them again in that kind of environment but I would jump at the chance to see them again regardless of the venue. Meanwhile I will have to content myself with this excellent set.
The songs truly do span the whole career of the Truckers, indeed some predate the formation of the band, when college roommates Patterson Hood and Mike Cooley began playing music together and formed a band called Adam's House Cat. Album opener 'Lookout Mountain' may have appeared on the 2004 album 'The Dirty South' but the song was originally created in 1990 and 'Runaway Train' dates from 1987.
This album has also given the band members the opportunity of revisiting some of their songs and changing aspects with which they may have been unhappy. For example, Hood claims that he couldn't stand the way his voice sounded on 'Ronnie and Neil' (from 'Southern Rock Opera'). He is now happy to have a version out in the public domain that doesn't make him cringe. Other songs have simply evolved over time having been performed live on so many occasions. The album also gave them the opportunity to hear what some of the songs would sound like with the addition of some soulful horns (sax, trumpet and trombone). Well, I can tell you, they sound great.
I opted for the 3 CD set and can report that it is a very nice package. I suppose it is not technically a box set as it comes in a four part folded digisleeve with each section housing a CD or the informative 22 page booklet. I should add that there is also an alternative 2 disc version for those more casual fans who don't wish to splash out on or sit through the full 35 tracks.
Whatever your choice, you surely won't be disappointed.
I felt compelled to comment on the Rugby World Cup by first congratulating the world champions New Zealand who must surely be the greatest rugby team we have ever seen.
Sure the first 40 minutes of the final was hardly a classic but the way Australia came back into the game after the kiwis had extended their lead with a great try early in the second half, showed what a great side the wallabies are, but also brought out the very best in the eventual and deserved champions.
And what a great competition it has been overall.
Credit has to go to all of the teams, officials, organisers and fans for providing an absolutely wonderful spectacle; a one which I hope will encourage youngsters throughout the world to take up this wonderful sport, either as players or fans.
There were so many highlights in the competition that it is difficult to select a favourite, but if pushed, I have to go for the wonderful and unexpected match between Japan and South Africa in the group stages. What a match, what a supreme and brave effort by Japan and what a result.
As a lifelong fan of football (soccer), I have to admit that the game I love could benefit hugely from adopting some of the aspects of rugby that make it such a great sport. Why is it that a rugby player can take a crunching tackle and just get up and get on with the game, while a footballer gets a slight tap and goes down as if poleaxed and rolls around in agony? Why is it that footballers feign injury so much and why are football referees decisions not accepted with the same grace as in rugby? Also, it is a pleasure and a relief to see so few bad refereeing decisions made in rugby compared to football,where quite frankly, the standard is abysmal. The technology is there to help ensure that decisions are correct, so why isn't it used more in football?
My view is that frankly there is simply too much money in top class football and as a result, the game is being ruined. The rugby world cup has demonstrated that with great organisation, dedication and wonderful sportsmanship, the world can be entertained without the need for cheating or gamesmanship.
If the football world is not careful, I can see true fans leaving in droves and switching their allegiance to rugby. And not just in the southern hemisphere.
Personally I would not blame them. In fact, I may even join them.
As a musicologist, folklorist and historian, McCormick was probably best known for his work tracking down the true story of blues legend Robert Johnson. Through his dedicated field research during which he interviewed literally hundreds of people, he eventually, in 1972, traced Johnson's two half sisters and subsequently obtained the first photographs of Johnson himself. His plan was always to write a book about Johnson but he became bogged down by the wealth of material he had gathered, and filled with self doubts fuelled by his own manic depression, the book was never completed. However, the 1991 documentary film 'The Search for Robert Johnson' was partially based upon McCormick's research.
