YES, thank you!
The band Orleans was named for Allen Toussaint and the Meters, our favorite music at the time.
Johanna Hall
____________________________________________
Hey Bob,
I just have to wade in here and mention that the man many of us associate early Allen Toussaint with, and the man who originally put out "Workin In A Coal Mine", Sneakin Sally Through The Alley", and "Yes I can", not to mention "Everything I Do Gonna Be Funky From Now On", was the late great Lee Dorsey.
As a kid in high school playing in all the local bands you had to play (and gladly) "Workin In A Coal Mine". It was mandatory and something of a hit on the radio in the central valley in the middle sixties.
All the bands that made up the "New Orleans Sound" back in that period, from Ernie K-Doe and Lee Dorsey to the The Meters and Dr John used Allen's unique horn lines and background vocal stylings.
I was talking with Bill Payne (a student of Professor Longhair of New Orleans fame) yesterday about his experiences with Allen and how the Feat were influenced greatly by the man. And of all the artists you mentioned, for me, Lowell George and Little Feat, Robert Palmer, and the Pointers really nailed what Allen Toussaint was all about.
But when you mention the tunes listed above, Lee Dorsey was his original messenger!
Tom Johnston
____________________________________________
Wexler pointed out to me that Toussaint's music was untouched by outside trends. That you could follow his work from the rock and roll era through the Beatles and past disco and never know any of that happened. Ironic, as you note, that people will discover only what they lost.
Cheers (babe).
Joel Selvin
____________________________________________
BOB: Kudos to you on some of these Allen Toussaint covers. Several I did not know about and I am a massive fan who was lucky to meet him several times. I started collecting his music back on those Minit sides in the '60s.
I recall the Herman Hermit's "Mother In Law" but can't quite place it in my memory bank. I have their albumjs here so I will check them.
I hope you are well.
Larry LeBlanc
____________________________________________
Thank you for this. As a New Orleanian, we have been blessed to have known and appreciated Allen as a friend. Not only was he a musical hero, he was the ultimate gentleman.
Suzette Toledano
Toledano Entertainment & Arts Law
____________________________________________
These songs, as well as a slew of others just as brilliant, are the reason we inducted Allen into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2011. Boz Scaggs performed in his honor and did his induction remarks.
Cheers,
Linda Moran
____________________________________________
On tour with Nicolette in Chicago she gave me Dixie chicken. Put it in the car player and drive to our next gig in St. Louis. By the time I got there I was hooked. Played it the entire tour and ended up dueting with Nickie on two trains. Fantastic band little feat and did not know til tonight toussaint wrote on your way down. Sounded like Lowell to me.
James Lee Stanley
____________________________________________
He played a bar here about 6 months ago...Charley's in Paia....20 bucks...I didn't go.....kicking myself..
Tom Clark
Maui
____________________________________________
Ohh man - Phish has been killing "SNEAKIN' SALLY THROUGH THE ALLEY" the last few years!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8hCA9LSA4I&feature=youtu.be&t=2m25s
Josh Dorf
____________________________________________
Wonderful musical journey through the masters life. He was one of a kind ,thanks Bob.
Lionel Conway
____________________________________________
Great songbook. Saw Allen every year for years in New Orleans at JazzFest alongside tens of thousands And here you could see him at the Lyric Theater Crazy
Mike Briller
____________________________________________
Thanks for this Bob
New Orleans is going to give him a royal jazz funeral
Besides the music what was amazing about Allen was that he was still in the mix. You would see him gassing up his rolls Royce or with the people walking around at a neighborhood festival and he was there, present and curious, Linking the history of nola to its present, With the most amazing classy style and of course socks and sandals.
I love that same song on your way down and discovered it when trombone shorty coveted it.
Also you know Here come the girls yes? Ernie k doe
Best always
Travis Laurendine
____________________________________________
Hi Bob,
I've had the good fortune of seeing Allen Toussaint perform on the various trips I've made to New Orleans - most recently this past May when he performed at the farewell tribute concert for The Neville Brothers. I also enjoyed his collaboration with Elvis Costello on the "River in Reverse" album.
Check out this exquisite performance of "Southern Nights"...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4EihE9a_mEE&list=RD8zC65J2W_0o&index=4
and this one of "It's Raining"...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMetcpbMN2w&list=RD8zC65J2W_0o&index=2
Truly, one of the greats.
Phil Stanley
____________________________________________
Dear Bob, thanks for these great recommendations. Despite being born in New Orleans, I have been slow to discover just how great Allen Toussaint really was.
You should not sleep on Allen Toussaint's wonderful jazz piano album from a few back, The Bright Mississippi -- can't say enough good things about that one, a real demonstration of the breadth of his skills.
best,
Andrew Baston
____________________________________________
You desperately need to listen to the Lee Dorsey album Yes We Can from which sprang the originals for such oft-covered Toussaint gems as Sneaking Sally Through the Alley (backed by the Meters who also did the Palmer record--but a completely different arrangement), Yes We Can [Can], Occapella, Riverboat, Freedom for the Stallion and On Your Way Down. And pay special attention to "Tears, Tears and More Tears" which is a smash hit that never happened. Dorsey was Toussaint's favorite artist to write for. Just look at the huge number of classics they did together. Also the CD Yes We Can's liner notes include Toussaint remarks about that collaboration.
Harmony--michael tearson
____________________________________________
Thank you for the Allen Toussaint cover list. I am really depressed that he is gone. I was supposed to see him in a week or so in London. At least he died in the saddle...
I think you missed some great ones:
Lee Dorsey - Working in a Coal Mine
Van Dyke Parks - Riverboat and Acapella (both on the excellent Dioscover America Album)
And many others. One of the greatest songwriters, performers and producers ever. At least Heaven will be more fun and funky from now on.
Jorg Mohaupt
____________________________________________
Good read Bob.
Above all Allen Toussaint was a gentleman; the brilliance of his talent just seemed to come along with the man.
I had the honor of meeting he and his then wild man manager/partner, the colorful Marshall Sehorn in 1970 when he recorded a "From A Whisper To a Scream" for my boss and second career employer Charlie Greene and his Tiffany label. Allen Toussaint opened the door and introduced me to a musical world and culture I knew little about then… the real culture of New Orleans.
I remember him as being shy snd gentle. Imagine as he, Tammy Tyrell, Bob Krasnow and myself were tossed into the back of Charlie Greene's mink lined stretch Lincoln Limo and whisked away to the Baldwin Hills home of Ike and Tina Turner to ring in the New Year. Allen made an immediate b-line to Ike's white Steinway Grand (white metal flake I think) and entertained us all and until we sang "Auld Lang Syne."
It was sweet to see how embarrassed he got and pretended not to hear when a jet fueled Bob Krasnow turned to Ike and screamed, "Hey man, I didn't think it was possible to spend $10,000 at Woolworths to furnish a house". I thought Allen was going to fall off the piano bench. When we got back into the limo he busted out laughing and then led us all in song till our next stop. Thanks Allen Toussaint for the music and that night.
Bruce Garfield
____________________________________________
Good one. You are correct about enjoying them while they're here. I was aware of Allen Toussaint and generally what he had done.
About five years ago, my wife and I were in the Aspen area for summer vacation. There was an ad in the paper that I saw by accident, a free concert in Glenwood Springs featuring Toussaint.
Free? Cool!
It was a Beautiful weekday evening, in an outdoor park. We got there reasonably early and found a good parking spot. Got a beer and wandered right up to the stage. He was playing in one of these proscenium arch kind of things. It with him on piano, bass player, drummer and sax player. A quartet. He was the main instrument.
They come out and do a lot of his early stuff that were not big hits unless you lived in New Orleans. He wore a pastel colored suit that was conservative but natty at the same time.
Played about an hour and then took a break. Hanging around behind the stage and we wandered back. Said hello and told him we enjoyed him, and he was delightfully friendly.
We went back and got another beer and wandered up to the stage again and he kicked it in for the second set. This time he was dressed in a very slick looking black contemporary outfit that I have trouble describing. It was cool. He did newer stuff and a lot of the big hits and told a bunch of entertaining stories. I was immensely impressed, I thought he was the goods.
He was. And the price was right.
Got to see a legend in a little local park. It was quite a unique experience and I'll never forget it. Especially now that he's gone. Sad.
Thanks,
Rik Shafer
____________________________________________
I began my conscious journey with Allen's music with Little Feat's "On Your Way Down", having already heard the hits by Ernie K-Doe and Lee Dorsey, not knowing anything about Allen Toussaint (or "Naomi Neville"). And and I was fortunate enough to have become a friend of Allen's over the years and to have had the great privilege of producing, Songbook, Allen's 2013 CD/DVD which was released by Rounder.
One of the things that has always fascinated me about Allen's work is the fact that he wrote so many great songs that were sung by such a vast number of artists that there is a treasure trove of hidden gems that are hardly ever mentioned.
In 1972 Allen produced an album on a Canadian blues singer and harp player named King Biscuit Boy. The self-titled album featured the Meters and includes re-imagined versions of some of Allen's greatest songs that are among the best things that were ever cut at Sea-Saint. Standouts include: "Riverboat" (a brilliant song from Lee Dorsey's masterpiece, Yes We Can album, from 1970 ), "Mind Over Matter", "Lovers and Leapers, "I'm Gone" and "The Greatest Love" (the original Lee Dorsey 1966 version is not to be believed. When I interviewed Allen for the Songbook DVD i asked him to sing this song and told that it was one of his favorites. It's always been one of mine, as well.)
Another unsung masterpiece, also recorded in 1972, was Van Dyke Parks' Discover America album. Van Dyke, an American treasure himself, covered "Riverboat" and "Occapella", also from, Yes We Can.
In 2012 New Orleans' brilliant piano player and singer, Jon Cleary, put out an album of all Allen Toussaint material that included a wonderful, reggae version of an early song that Allen himself had released, called "Poor Boy's Got to Move", and a soulful version of one of my favorite Toussaint compositions, "When the Party's Over", from Allen's Motion album, which was produced by Jerry Wexler for Warner Bros. in 1978, was largely ignored at the time, but has come to be appreciated over the years, for it's genius.
The world won't be the same without Allen Toussaint.
Best,
Paul Siegel
____________________________________________
Thank you for remembering Lowell's one and only solo album. Weirdly, I had it in my player when I learned of Toussaint's passing.
Paul Walker
____________________________________________
Thanks so much, Bob, for the blog post and the playlist. I'm here in my house, about 100 yards from the Sea of Cortes at 4 in the morning, crying my eyes out. Bow your head, everybody. I don't what you believe or don't believe. Bow your damn head. He's gone.
Ray Staar
____________________________________________
Hey Bob---wanted to bring a very special album to your attention if you don't already know it. Lee Dorsey's "Yes We Can" album from 1970 with many of your favorite songs and produced by Toussaint and with the Meters + Toussaint as backup band. I read in an article that Toussaint wrote these songs specifically for Dorsey and this album.
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_2_10?url=search-alias%3Dpopular&field-keywords=lee+dorsey+yes+we+can&sprefix=lee+dorsey%2Cpopular%2C138
Tom Principato
____________________________________________
He was truly an American musical legion. I was fortunate to see him last spring with the Preservation Hall Band. Let's not forget Southern Nights, Mother-in -law, I like It Like That.....................
Robert J. Levatino CPA
____________________________________________
thought you might enjoy this version of on your way down.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DPncVXZMEhc
Felice Ecker
____________________________________________
didn't you leave out Glen Campbell's Southern Nights?
Dennis Atchison
____________________________________________
Two weeks ago my husband and I were on the 25th Blues Cruise.
Later for that.
Allen Toussaint was one of the headliners (along with buddy guy and lots more). He did 4 shows- we went to see him the first night as we'd never seen him perform, and that way we could see him again if we wanted to.
We had a pleasant little conversation with him and his wife in the elevator after lunch. Chit chat.
Later that evening (much later), His set was magnificent-not just for the great band and his white and silver sequined jacket and pants but because the hub and I kept saying to each other "wow, he wrote that? "
We knew the Toussaint standards, but I had no idea he wrote one of my totally fave "uh, what I thought" was a Robert Palmer song!!!
And we must have named 4 different British covers of Fortune Teller.
Did I know he wrote Southern Nights? No! No way!! The hub knew. Neither of us knew he wrote Yes We Can Can ( we knew it as one of the Pointer Sister's greatest hits!)
When we ran into him againin the elevator, I told him that I thought when the real history of American pop music and rock and roll of the late fifties through the seventies is written, he is clearly on a par with Leiber and Stoller for he brought the sound of NOLA to the world and kept it in the forefront. He really liked my comments. I passed them along to one of the learned experts on the ship and at first he was hesitant to agree, but then after I added a bit to my "thesis " he couldn't disagree.
And just like Leiber and Stoller, he kept his publishing.
And like so many songwriters. Inside us a great performer just waiting to bust out.
Great piece, great personal obit thanks for it.
Glad we got to see him.
Regards
Amy Krakow
____________________________________________
Just to show you the power of a song, listen to the Mother in Law cover by Los Straitjackets. Even in Spanish, the song is a great one. They're also fun to see in LA if you like your surf music in suits and Mexican wrestling masks.
http://youtu.be/0YtRzx3ifvg
I do like the Stones version of Fortune Teller, but two versions I prefer - The Who's version from Live at Leeds/Hull era, and Robert Plant and Alison Kraus cover. Goes to show that for a great song, you can cover it multiple ways.
Regards,
Ned Ward
____________________________________________
If I remember correctly?..........
'What Do You Want The Girl' was recorded by Bonnie Raitt, Boz Scaggs, and Lowell George......individually, all in a two year period. The three of them recognized Allen T's greatness in songwriting!
Every time I saw Allen perform, I felt I was in the presence of someone special. A kind and wise soul.
Steve Chrismar
____________________________________________
Bob, you've probably never heard Jerry Garcia's magnificent cover of Allen's I'll Take A Melody from '75's Reflections, but not only does it feature a great vocal & arrangement, but also JG's most beautiful studio guitar solo.
This track belongs on any A.T. list and would be quite unique on this one. Do yourself a favor and check it out - the outro solo will blow your mind.
Rob Wolfson
____________________________________________
Forgot this one? My favorite.
https://open.spotify.com/track/027gUK945JpipqZR8nJ41d.
Frank van Hoorn
____________________________________________
Allen Toussaint - a national treasure!
I love this from Questlove (on Instagram):
https://www.instagram.com/p/96H1V7Qa_p/?taken-by=questlove
Liz Penta
____________________________________________
Jon Cleary's "Occapella" release has brilliant versions of "What to You Want the Girl To Do"...and "Southern Nights". If you haven't already, check 'em out!
Cheers,
Lynne Tattersall
____________________________________________
My favorite Toussaint lyric might be from "Who's Gonna Help Brother Get Further" (recorded by Lee Dorsey, but I love his own rendition with Elvis Costello):
"What happened to the Liberty Bell, I heard so much about? / Did it really ding dong? / It must've dinged wrong / It didn't ding long"
Rob Maurer
____________________________________________
Hi Bob,
Thanks for a superb list, albeit one that only scratches the surface of the genius that was Allen Toussaint as songwriter, arranger, producer, recording artist, and more. Allen touched my life in many unique ways, but one of the most unusual was towards the end of a three-week 1993 songwriters-in-the-round tour that I helped produce and manage across the country (AT along with Guy Clark, Joe Ely, Michelle Shocked and Sonny Landreth).
At our next to last stop at the Birchmere in Alexandria, VA, I asked Allen to check the piano level for me during soundcheck while I was at the mixing board. He suddenly launched into "Ya' Got trouble" from the brilliant Broadway classic The Music Man, and I grabbed the talkback mic and called the lyrics back to him. Allen stopped and said "who's that?", and that began a new and deeper level of shared musical passion. Who imagined that Allen knew and loved the songs and music from that great cornball Broadway show and film, but Allen Toussaint really is Professor Harold Hill.
AT was one-of-a-kind, in his fashionable suits and sandals, peerless gentlemanly manner, extraordinary sense of humor, rhythm, and melody, and clearly an incredibly rich inner life. It's already a much lesser world without him.
Best,
Danny Kapilian
____________________________________________
Thx.
I have not played Fortune Teller is some time. First heard it on the first Stones live LP, "Got Live If You Want It" (need to check if its on Spotify or iTunes but I still have the vinyl).
Not sure if I ever knew he wrote What Do You Want The Girl To Do and never knew Java by its title — just recall I know it and heard it many times growing up.
When I tweeted the NY Times obit I also included this link to AT playing on Proud Mary with John Fogerty at Jazzfest last year:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BmYoYWkxiLY&feature=youtu.be&t=1h31m51s
Corey Bearak
____________________________________________
New Orleans is a small town and its music community even smaller. When I was teaching choral and vocal music at Metairie Park Country Day School Country in Metairie, LA and singing at St. Louis Cathedral, I was lucky enough to network with musicians from many genres in New Orleans. One of those musicians was the legendary Allen Toussaint who, at the behest of a mutual friend, was gracious enough to spend time with me at his studio to see if I really had any chops for jazz. A classically trained lyric soprano, Mr. Toussaint spent a couple of hours with me, rehearsing, jamming, and listening in an effort to guide the ambition of an eager 25 year old. Mr. Toussaint's honesty - that my high soprano approach to the genre was a bit off putting and inconsistent with the style lending itself most effectively to the vocal jazz repertoire - was a turning point for me as a singer. Although he was complimentary of my style, my instrument, and my potential, in a short time he helped me to
realize that my instrument was most beautifully suited for the music for which I had trained, mostly the sacred and secular vocal and choral repertoire. I dabbled a bit in sort of new agey jazz after that session with Mr. Toussaint and did a summer at Berklee in vocal jazz on a grant, but these were asides to my real work singing in church and conducting choirs and pursuing the academics of music. I always remember how kind, gentle, unassuming, and deferential this southern gentlemen was and I was grateful to be able to have an personal audience with him at no charge. In the early 80s when I met Allen Toussaint, I was aware of his legendary status. He was still relevant at that time and we all knew that he would always be relevant, especially in New Orleans. Sadly, America loses another national treasure in Allen Toussaint. New Orleans no doubt will celebrate in throwing a big jazz funeral in his honor!
Patti Jones
____________________________________________
AT doing You Will Not Lose
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvLv20NMcUc
R. Emmett McAuliffe
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Thursday 12 November 2015
Tuesday 10 November 2015
My Favorite Allen Toussaint Covers
ON YOUR WAY DOWN
Little Feat
"The same dudes you misuse on your way up
You might meet up
On your way down"
I bought "Dixie Chicken" because of incredible reviews. And when I broke the shrinkwrap and dropped it on the turntable...I didn't understand it, not at all. But I kept playing it, BECAUSE I PAID FOR IT! That's what's different from today, music was scarce, we didn't have much of it, and when we made an investment, we wrung it for everything it was worth. And I became enraptured by the song "Juliette" and then this, an Allen Toussaint number I did not know previously.
Every other song on "Dixie Chicken" is written by the band (well, Fred Tackett eventually was in the band), this is the only cover, but it sounded like one of their own, I didn't find out it was a cover until I read the credits. And at that point, back in '73, I knew Allen Toussaint's name but could not associate it with any specific work, there was no internet for instant research. But from that point on Toussaint's name was parked in my brain, I kept a look out for it, since I loved "On Your Way Down" so much. Because of the sound, because of the above lyric.
Because it's true. Very few ascend to the pinnacle and stay there. Even the biggest movie star fades. A legendary artist can't sell a record. The people who used to greet you with open arms no longer do. This is a life lesson I learned in music that I keep repeating to myself. That's the essence of great music, something that worms itself into your brain and illuminates truth at the same time. "On Your Way Down" does this. Listen. You might not get it on the first play through, but let it play in the background, then the song will inhabit your brain...forever!
SNEAKIN' SALLY THROUGH THE ALLEY
Robert Palmer
From the unheralded funky solo debut, which few knew, long before Robert danced on MTV and became simply irresistible. I took a chance on it, I bought it as a promo, for $1.99 I'd take a risk.
Really, you have to play the first three tracks in a row, they segue into each other.
The opener is Lowell George's "Sailing Shoes" from Little Feat's album before "Dixie Chicken."
Then comes "Hey Julia."
And then the piece-de-resistance, "Sneakin' Sally Through The Alley."
I'd like to tell you exactly what makes "Sneakin' Sally Through The Alley" so magical. But like all great music it's indescribable, you just know it when you hear it. You can credit Lowell George's tasteful slide, Leo Nocentelli's guitar, George Porter, Jr.'s bass, Art Neville's keyboards and then there's Robert's vocal, all put together in a brew that oozes New Orleans. But the underpinning is the song, with its great change from the verse to the chorus.
"Trying to talk double-talk, get myself in trouble talk"
I know what you mean!
WHAT IS SUCCESS
Bonnie Raitt
Bonnie Raitt's 1974 album "Streetlights" was a disappointment after what had come before, it was slick where the first two had been rough, and Jerry Ragovoy's production eviscerated too much of Bonnie's sassiness.
But not on "What Is Success."
"When should one change his mind
And jump the fence
For the dollar sign"
If you haven't asked yourself this question you've never entered the workplace, or maybe you're an automaton brainwashed by your parents to play it safe, in the process sacrificing your life.
"What is success
Is it doin' your own thing
Or to join the rest"
It's easier to be a member of the herd. You're fearful if you strike out on your own...you'll be alone, never mind broke.
"Living in hope
That someday you'll be in with the winners"
You've got to take a risk to win, but not everybody does, never mind take a risk, but win. Chances are you won't. But what will you do when you fail? Put on a record and resonate. That's what artists provide, sustenance, consolation, truth when we can't get any. That was the essence of Allen Toussaint.
WHAT DO YOU WANT THE BOY TO DO?
Allen Toussaint
Produced by the Elektra legend Paul Rothchild, "Home Plate" was rough where its predecessor was smooth, Bonnie was back, albeit without a hit, that had to wait for the subsequent Rothchild album, "Sweet Forgiveness," with Bonnie's cover of "Runaway." But there's so much goodness on "Home Plate," from J.D. Souther's "Run Like A Thief" to Fred Tackett's "Fool Yourself" (from the aforementioned "Dixie Chicken") to Eric Kaz's masterpiece "I'm Blowin' Away" to Bill Payne and Fran Tate's great Pleasin' Each Other" to my personal favorite, John and Johanna Hall's "Good Enough."
But the album opens with a raucous, full-bore baking of this Allen Toussaint number.
"What do you want the boy to do
Don't you see you're breaking the child in two"
Talk about girl power! Bonnie personified it, and still does.
YES WE CAN CAN
The Pointer Sisters
From the Blue Thumb debut, with the cover of Lamb's "River Boulevard," this was long before "Automatic," long before the sisters were considered chart-ruling popsters. Although "Yes We Can Can" made it all the way to number 11, the Pointer Sisters were seen as hipsters, produced by David Rubinson, this was FM music, although ignored by too many outlets that were skewing white.
Talk about funky... The original 6:02 version that opens the album would burn up dance floors today, it's got more soul and makes your body move more than most EDM.
Can we make it?
I know that we can can. If we rally around the music, that evidences the truth we all know but have to hear.
MOTHER-IN-LAW
Herman's Hermits
Yes. That band. From the U.S. debut, which I played incessantly.
The Brits knew their American music, especially black delta tracks like this.
This sounds like a period piece, from the midsixties British Invasion, but if you were alive back then it will feel so good, check it out.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ac-G8R6d4w
(It's not on Spotify.)
WORKING IN THE COAL MINE
Devo
From the "Heavy Metal" soundtrack, wherein the modern men from Ohio take a classic and make it their own whilst still maintaining the song's magic. With the synths and the robotic feel, I actually prefer this to the original!
PLAY SOMETHING SWEET (BRICKYARD BLUES)
Frankie Miller
From the sadly ignored British bluesman's second album, "High Life," Miller's originals were world class (I point you to Kim Carnes's cover of "When I'm Away From You" from her smash LP "Mistaken Identity"), but his voice and interpretive powers were so great he could take anything and make it sound like an original, like this, which was also covered by Sylvester and B.J. Thomas and James Montgomery and Maria Muldaur and Three Dog Night IN THE SAME YEAR!
"Play somethin' sweet, play somethin' mellow
Play somethin' I can sink my meet in like Jello"
You see, you know it, you just had to be reminded!
GET OUT OF MY LIFE, WOMAN
The Paul Butterfield Blues Band
Released just one or two years too early, "East-West" influenced a legion of players, just as many as the Velvet Underground or Patti Smith's debuts, but the band has not gotten the public recognition it's deserved.
Mark Naftalin shines on keys, but how can you do anything but marvel over a track that includes not only Butterfield, but Elvin Bishop and deity Mike Bloomfield.
WHAT DO YOU WANT THE GIRL TO DO
Boz Scaggs
Every baby boomer knows this iteration, that's how big "Silk Degrees" was, Boz Scaggs was Adele back in 1976.
WHAT DO YOU WANT THE GIRL TO DO
Lowell George
The opening cut from his one and only solo record, which Lowell was promoting on his ill-fated tour. Lowell's take is more subtle than Bonnie and Boz's, it amps up but it's that funky intro that closes you.
FORTUNE TELLER
The Rolling Stones
This is so fresh, so magical, such a window back to the midsixties, it makes you want to jet back there right now, when you had to leave the house to feel the music in you. This is so simple in a way so much of today's music is so complicated. Without comping and additional tracks there's an honesty and a raw humanity that you can only marvel at. And the irony is this is exactly what the Stones have sold on tour, then and now. You go to see them and they're rough, but then they lock on and your jaw falls open. Because it's about catching lightning in a bottle as opposed to perfecting an image and sound for a public who you thinks wants it but doesn't. People want truth, reflected back to them, never forget it.
JAVA
Al Hirt
There's not a baby boomer alive who doesn't know this. That's how it was back when we were all addicted to the transistor, back in '64, when we were waiting for the Beatles and their brethren on radio stations that spoke to us and only us.
What bugs me about Allen Toussaint's passing is that he was here, for decades, and few cared. You could go see him, he was accessible, but he had to die for so many to realize what they'd missed.
There are more out there. Writing legends, passe stars, be sure to see them at least once, because they're not going to be here forever.
Just like you.
Spotify playlist: http://spoti.fi/20L9Kxz
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Little Feat
"The same dudes you misuse on your way up
You might meet up
On your way down"
I bought "Dixie Chicken" because of incredible reviews. And when I broke the shrinkwrap and dropped it on the turntable...I didn't understand it, not at all. But I kept playing it, BECAUSE I PAID FOR IT! That's what's different from today, music was scarce, we didn't have much of it, and when we made an investment, we wrung it for everything it was worth. And I became enraptured by the song "Juliette" and then this, an Allen Toussaint number I did not know previously.
Every other song on "Dixie Chicken" is written by the band (well, Fred Tackett eventually was in the band), this is the only cover, but it sounded like one of their own, I didn't find out it was a cover until I read the credits. And at that point, back in '73, I knew Allen Toussaint's name but could not associate it with any specific work, there was no internet for instant research. But from that point on Toussaint's name was parked in my brain, I kept a look out for it, since I loved "On Your Way Down" so much. Because of the sound, because of the above lyric.
Because it's true. Very few ascend to the pinnacle and stay there. Even the biggest movie star fades. A legendary artist can't sell a record. The people who used to greet you with open arms no longer do. This is a life lesson I learned in music that I keep repeating to myself. That's the essence of great music, something that worms itself into your brain and illuminates truth at the same time. "On Your Way Down" does this. Listen. You might not get it on the first play through, but let it play in the background, then the song will inhabit your brain...forever!
SNEAKIN' SALLY THROUGH THE ALLEY
Robert Palmer
From the unheralded funky solo debut, which few knew, long before Robert danced on MTV and became simply irresistible. I took a chance on it, I bought it as a promo, for $1.99 I'd take a risk.
Really, you have to play the first three tracks in a row, they segue into each other.
The opener is Lowell George's "Sailing Shoes" from Little Feat's album before "Dixie Chicken."
Then comes "Hey Julia."
And then the piece-de-resistance, "Sneakin' Sally Through The Alley."
I'd like to tell you exactly what makes "Sneakin' Sally Through The Alley" so magical. But like all great music it's indescribable, you just know it when you hear it. You can credit Lowell George's tasteful slide, Leo Nocentelli's guitar, George Porter, Jr.'s bass, Art Neville's keyboards and then there's Robert's vocal, all put together in a brew that oozes New Orleans. But the underpinning is the song, with its great change from the verse to the chorus.
"Trying to talk double-talk, get myself in trouble talk"
I know what you mean!
WHAT IS SUCCESS
Bonnie Raitt
Bonnie Raitt's 1974 album "Streetlights" was a disappointment after what had come before, it was slick where the first two had been rough, and Jerry Ragovoy's production eviscerated too much of Bonnie's sassiness.
But not on "What Is Success."
"When should one change his mind
And jump the fence
For the dollar sign"
If you haven't asked yourself this question you've never entered the workplace, or maybe you're an automaton brainwashed by your parents to play it safe, in the process sacrificing your life.
"What is success
Is it doin' your own thing
Or to join the rest"
It's easier to be a member of the herd. You're fearful if you strike out on your own...you'll be alone, never mind broke.
"Living in hope
That someday you'll be in with the winners"
You've got to take a risk to win, but not everybody does, never mind take a risk, but win. Chances are you won't. But what will you do when you fail? Put on a record and resonate. That's what artists provide, sustenance, consolation, truth when we can't get any. That was the essence of Allen Toussaint.
WHAT DO YOU WANT THE BOY TO DO?
Allen Toussaint
Produced by the Elektra legend Paul Rothchild, "Home Plate" was rough where its predecessor was smooth, Bonnie was back, albeit without a hit, that had to wait for the subsequent Rothchild album, "Sweet Forgiveness," with Bonnie's cover of "Runaway." But there's so much goodness on "Home Plate," from J.D. Souther's "Run Like A Thief" to Fred Tackett's "Fool Yourself" (from the aforementioned "Dixie Chicken") to Eric Kaz's masterpiece "I'm Blowin' Away" to Bill Payne and Fran Tate's great Pleasin' Each Other" to my personal favorite, John and Johanna Hall's "Good Enough."
But the album opens with a raucous, full-bore baking of this Allen Toussaint number.
"What do you want the boy to do
Don't you see you're breaking the child in two"
Talk about girl power! Bonnie personified it, and still does.
YES WE CAN CAN
The Pointer Sisters
From the Blue Thumb debut, with the cover of Lamb's "River Boulevard," this was long before "Automatic," long before the sisters were considered chart-ruling popsters. Although "Yes We Can Can" made it all the way to number 11, the Pointer Sisters were seen as hipsters, produced by David Rubinson, this was FM music, although ignored by too many outlets that were skewing white.
Talk about funky... The original 6:02 version that opens the album would burn up dance floors today, it's got more soul and makes your body move more than most EDM.
Can we make it?
I know that we can can. If we rally around the music, that evidences the truth we all know but have to hear.
MOTHER-IN-LAW
Herman's Hermits
Yes. That band. From the U.S. debut, which I played incessantly.
The Brits knew their American music, especially black delta tracks like this.
This sounds like a period piece, from the midsixties British Invasion, but if you were alive back then it will feel so good, check it out.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ac-G8R6d4w
(It's not on Spotify.)
WORKING IN THE COAL MINE
Devo
From the "Heavy Metal" soundtrack, wherein the modern men from Ohio take a classic and make it their own whilst still maintaining the song's magic. With the synths and the robotic feel, I actually prefer this to the original!
PLAY SOMETHING SWEET (BRICKYARD BLUES)
Frankie Miller
From the sadly ignored British bluesman's second album, "High Life," Miller's originals were world class (I point you to Kim Carnes's cover of "When I'm Away From You" from her smash LP "Mistaken Identity"), but his voice and interpretive powers were so great he could take anything and make it sound like an original, like this, which was also covered by Sylvester and B.J. Thomas and James Montgomery and Maria Muldaur and Three Dog Night IN THE SAME YEAR!
"Play somethin' sweet, play somethin' mellow
Play somethin' I can sink my meet in like Jello"
You see, you know it, you just had to be reminded!
GET OUT OF MY LIFE, WOMAN
The Paul Butterfield Blues Band
Released just one or two years too early, "East-West" influenced a legion of players, just as many as the Velvet Underground or Patti Smith's debuts, but the band has not gotten the public recognition it's deserved.
Mark Naftalin shines on keys, but how can you do anything but marvel over a track that includes not only Butterfield, but Elvin Bishop and deity Mike Bloomfield.
WHAT DO YOU WANT THE GIRL TO DO
Boz Scaggs
Every baby boomer knows this iteration, that's how big "Silk Degrees" was, Boz Scaggs was Adele back in 1976.
WHAT DO YOU WANT THE GIRL TO DO
Lowell George
The opening cut from his one and only solo record, which Lowell was promoting on his ill-fated tour. Lowell's take is more subtle than Bonnie and Boz's, it amps up but it's that funky intro that closes you.
FORTUNE TELLER
The Rolling Stones
This is so fresh, so magical, such a window back to the midsixties, it makes you want to jet back there right now, when you had to leave the house to feel the music in you. This is so simple in a way so much of today's music is so complicated. Without comping and additional tracks there's an honesty and a raw humanity that you can only marvel at. And the irony is this is exactly what the Stones have sold on tour, then and now. You go to see them and they're rough, but then they lock on and your jaw falls open. Because it's about catching lightning in a bottle as opposed to perfecting an image and sound for a public who you thinks wants it but doesn't. People want truth, reflected back to them, never forget it.
JAVA
Al Hirt
There's not a baby boomer alive who doesn't know this. That's how it was back when we were all addicted to the transistor, back in '64, when we were waiting for the Beatles and their brethren on radio stations that spoke to us and only us.
What bugs me about Allen Toussaint's passing is that he was here, for decades, and few cared. You could go see him, he was accessible, but he had to die for so many to realize what they'd missed.
There are more out there. Writing legends, passe stars, be sure to see them at least once, because they're not going to be here forever.
Just like you.
Spotify playlist: http://spoti.fi/20L9Kxz
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University of Missouri Protests
What kind of crazy, fucked-up world do we live in where the charge is led by football players?
One in which money talks.
That's why the President resigned. The college was gonna lose a cool million if its football team didn't play Brigham Young on Saturday.
Welcome to the sixties, they're back again. That's right, history repeats, but always with a twist.
Like the nineties, everybody thought the fifties were copacetic, that everybody was equal and happiness ruled. But this was untrue if you were black, ergo the protests on college campuses.
It always starts on campuses.
But back then, music went hand in hand with change. The folk movement was integral to the protest movement. Bob Dylan became a national fixture.
Today, music, the most fast-moving of entertainment media, is completely out of step. Purely about hedonism. And this lack of resonance with the populace is what makes it second tier.
People are feeling their power. They've got cameras and social media and despite the fact that most employ these for narcissistic purposes, they can be harnessed to move the ball, to stand up to the powers-that-be.
And there's so much to stand up to.
Not only are you paying a fortune to go to college, the state keeps cutting the budget. Listen to Malcolm Gladwell on Bill Simmons' podcast (http://bit.ly/1O2kekX ) rave about the indignities of Wisconsin cutting $250 million from its university budget whilst paying $500 million for a new Milwaukee Bucks arena. The team owners are hedge fund billionaires.
Most people are not.
You may think the United States is the greatest country in the world, but Canada was just rated number one in personal freedom, and the United States didn't even make the top ten. As for the most prosperous countries? Norway leads, the U.S. is number 11. (http://yhoo.it/1MfELTN) But we've been brainwashed by fat cat Republicans that we live in the land of the free and the brave and opportunity is ripe and if you question what's going on you're un-American.
What's going on, that's what Marvin Gaye asked.
Sure, he liked the ladies, he liked the substances, but unlike today's entertainment superstars he was unafraid of kicking back and questioning the injustices of the society he lived in.
Unlike today's musicians who believe injustice is the public's move from sales to streaming with the concomitant squeezing of revenues for some.
Wanna win in today's world?
Align yourself with the people.
And the people are saying they're mad as hell and they're not gonna take it anymore.
It started in Ferguson. And then it went to the workplace. That's what the raising of the minimum wage is all about, survival.
And if you think we're only talking about ethnic groups, how about that report stating that death rates for middle-aged whites are rising? (http://nyti.ms/1RqkRFK) That's what happens when you've got no hope, you drink and drug and commit suicide. Don't shoot the messenger, read the article.
This is what happens when you live in an oligarchy preaching false hope to the underclass. The poor enable the rich until one day they realize the game is fixed and don't want to play anymore. That's what explains the rise of Carson and Trump and the demise of Bush. Something's gotta give.
But it used to be that music rode shotgun. Whether it be "Masters of War" or "Eve of Destruction," if you wanted to know which way the wind blew you listened to a record.
Before Clear Channel/iHeart owned all the radio stations and all the stars were two-dimensional nitwits afraid of their shadows who believed if you could piss off one person you should keep your mouth shut.
That's right, we're living in the early sixties musically. The era of girl groups and meaningless ditties, just before the Beatles, when a pent-up anger and desire caused the assembled multitude to throw over what had come before for something brand new and honest.
But the difference back then was it was harder to play, not everybody considered themselves to be a star. Today we've got the look-at-me crowd which wants the old system to tumble so they can get a chance, even though their bona fides are suspect, they can barely sing, never mind write.
So if you want to change the world, start by appealing to college students, they're the only ones standing up to an unjust system, everybody else is either too scared of losing their job or too ignorant to know what's going on.
In none of the reports I read was there any talk of the students singing, not even "We Shall Overcome."
It's like the music business itself has been beaten down by the oligarchs, so frustrated by the changes wrought by the internet that it has no self-respect and believes it's got no power.
Hell, you don't hear protesters singing "Shake It Off."
And Kim Kardashian may have married a black man but she's too stupid and uninformed to take a stand on human rights, she's too busy burnishing her image in our Instagram culture, making sure her bank account gets fatter and fatter. As for her husband...all he keeps telling us is HE doesn't get a chance. How about helping OTHERS get a chance?
Music can reclaim its spot in the forefront only if it realizes that money comes from hits and hits are that which resonate with the public and you just can't make as much money as the techies but you can have a ton more power.
You may not think what happens in Missouri affects you.
But it does.
We've got an entire spectrum of disadvantaged people in America, one can argue they're the majority, and now they're speaking up and winning.
You may think people care about Obama's birth certificate and Hillary's e-mails but you're too old school, you're living in the pre-internet era, when people had no voice.
We've got a voice now. We own the internet. And we're speaking.
Put your ear to the ground and listen.
For the times they are a-changin'.
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One in which money talks.
That's why the President resigned. The college was gonna lose a cool million if its football team didn't play Brigham Young on Saturday.
Welcome to the sixties, they're back again. That's right, history repeats, but always with a twist.
Like the nineties, everybody thought the fifties were copacetic, that everybody was equal and happiness ruled. But this was untrue if you were black, ergo the protests on college campuses.
It always starts on campuses.
But back then, music went hand in hand with change. The folk movement was integral to the protest movement. Bob Dylan became a national fixture.
Today, music, the most fast-moving of entertainment media, is completely out of step. Purely about hedonism. And this lack of resonance with the populace is what makes it second tier.
People are feeling their power. They've got cameras and social media and despite the fact that most employ these for narcissistic purposes, they can be harnessed to move the ball, to stand up to the powers-that-be.
And there's so much to stand up to.
Not only are you paying a fortune to go to college, the state keeps cutting the budget. Listen to Malcolm Gladwell on Bill Simmons' podcast (http://bit.ly/1O2kekX ) rave about the indignities of Wisconsin cutting $250 million from its university budget whilst paying $500 million for a new Milwaukee Bucks arena. The team owners are hedge fund billionaires.
Most people are not.
You may think the United States is the greatest country in the world, but Canada was just rated number one in personal freedom, and the United States didn't even make the top ten. As for the most prosperous countries? Norway leads, the U.S. is number 11. (http://yhoo.it/1MfELTN) But we've been brainwashed by fat cat Republicans that we live in the land of the free and the brave and opportunity is ripe and if you question what's going on you're un-American.
What's going on, that's what Marvin Gaye asked.
Sure, he liked the ladies, he liked the substances, but unlike today's entertainment superstars he was unafraid of kicking back and questioning the injustices of the society he lived in.
Unlike today's musicians who believe injustice is the public's move from sales to streaming with the concomitant squeezing of revenues for some.
Wanna win in today's world?
Align yourself with the people.
And the people are saying they're mad as hell and they're not gonna take it anymore.
It started in Ferguson. And then it went to the workplace. That's what the raising of the minimum wage is all about, survival.
And if you think we're only talking about ethnic groups, how about that report stating that death rates for middle-aged whites are rising? (http://nyti.ms/1RqkRFK) That's what happens when you've got no hope, you drink and drug and commit suicide. Don't shoot the messenger, read the article.
This is what happens when you live in an oligarchy preaching false hope to the underclass. The poor enable the rich until one day they realize the game is fixed and don't want to play anymore. That's what explains the rise of Carson and Trump and the demise of Bush. Something's gotta give.
But it used to be that music rode shotgun. Whether it be "Masters of War" or "Eve of Destruction," if you wanted to know which way the wind blew you listened to a record.
Before Clear Channel/iHeart owned all the radio stations and all the stars were two-dimensional nitwits afraid of their shadows who believed if you could piss off one person you should keep your mouth shut.
That's right, we're living in the early sixties musically. The era of girl groups and meaningless ditties, just before the Beatles, when a pent-up anger and desire caused the assembled multitude to throw over what had come before for something brand new and honest.
But the difference back then was it was harder to play, not everybody considered themselves to be a star. Today we've got the look-at-me crowd which wants the old system to tumble so they can get a chance, even though their bona fides are suspect, they can barely sing, never mind write.
So if you want to change the world, start by appealing to college students, they're the only ones standing up to an unjust system, everybody else is either too scared of losing their job or too ignorant to know what's going on.
In none of the reports I read was there any talk of the students singing, not even "We Shall Overcome."
It's like the music business itself has been beaten down by the oligarchs, so frustrated by the changes wrought by the internet that it has no self-respect and believes it's got no power.
Hell, you don't hear protesters singing "Shake It Off."
And Kim Kardashian may have married a black man but she's too stupid and uninformed to take a stand on human rights, she's too busy burnishing her image in our Instagram culture, making sure her bank account gets fatter and fatter. As for her husband...all he keeps telling us is HE doesn't get a chance. How about helping OTHERS get a chance?
Music can reclaim its spot in the forefront only if it realizes that money comes from hits and hits are that which resonate with the public and you just can't make as much money as the techies but you can have a ton more power.
You may not think what happens in Missouri affects you.
But it does.
We've got an entire spectrum of disadvantaged people in America, one can argue they're the majority, and now they're speaking up and winning.
You may think people care about Obama's birth certificate and Hillary's e-mails but you're too old school, you're living in the pre-internet era, when people had no voice.
We've got a voice now. We own the internet. And we're speaking.
Put your ear to the ground and listen.
For the times they are a-changin'.
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Monday 9 November 2015
Leon Bridges At Somebody's House In Venice
Actually, it was Scott Powell's place, just by the beach, he used to be in Sha Na Na, now he's an orthopedic surgeon, he operates on players, and this was a benefit for Musicares.
And the highlights of the performance were a new song and a rousing rendition of "Mississippi Kisses" but what intrigued me most was Leon's story.
He's from Fort Worth.
Not a hotbed of the music industry. And he didn't start out as a child star. Hell, he didn't even begin playing, performing and writing until his twenties. He was washing dishes and he was analyzing the music scene and was confounded there was no old school soul, he decided that would be his genre.
So he starts writing songs in his bedroom. And when he's ready he goes out to open mic nights. Just him and his guitar. Playing to five people. Night after night.
So, you've got inspiration and perseverance. But if you think that's enough to make it these days you're wet behind the ears. We're inundated with a plethora of music, nothing breaks through, how did this guy?
Well, he caught the ear of White Denim guitarist Austin Jenkins, who said he wanted to make an album, and Bridges said WHY NOT?
This was not a stab at stardom, part of a superstar plan, just a lark, the next step in a nascent career.
So they set up in a warehouse and spend $2500 to record an LP and all hell breaks loose.
Well, not exactly. The album's finished and the guys at Mick Management hear it, they're intrigued, they're believers, they're in.
But you're not always sure, they decide to test it out. They post an unmastered track on the music blog Gorilla Vs. Bear and there's a reaction.
So they post it to another blog and the same thing happens.
And then fifty four labels want to make a deal and Bridges does a showcase in Nashville and ultimately signs with Columbia and CAA.
HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?
Exactly this way, which stuns me.
Michael McDonald thought it might be the Norah Jones effect, producing something in an ignored niche people are clamoring for but don't realize it.
Still, I haven't met a musician who hasn't been a hustler, a master manipulator, someone who knows how to climb the ladder. That's right, most are more Madonna than Leon Bridges.
But Bridges made it. He's sold 120,000 albums. He's doing two Fondas this week, he's burgeoning when everybody else is fading.
And he's not a cool, charismatic cat, not someone you meet and feel inferior to, someone who was destined to make it. Rather, he seems to be a guy who had the music in him, and decided to jump on the train and see where it took him.
Which was to international recognition.
Which proves there's hope.
I can listen to the country playlist on Spotify and every track sounds the same. I pull up the Top 40 and laugh, it's so assembly-line, done by the same people, there's no originality, no spark, no wonder most people don't care.
But then someone comes up with something original and it cuts through all the clutter. Bridges is just one hit away from ubiquity.
So there's hope, for both makers and listeners.
Proving once again it's less about facility than conception. Berklee will teach you how to shred, but that won't put you on the chart. There's nothing wrong with knowing how to play, never mind read, but too many people get the originality squeezed right out of them, they end up repeating what everybody else does, when the truth is we appreciate originality. Which can come from anywhere, even a bedroom in Fort Worth.
And none of the rigid rules apply if the music works. Bridges wasn't sold by sponsorship, he didn't have guest rappers on his album, never mind song doctors. He just let the music flow. And it was enough.
It's almost too much to believe. In 2015. When everybody's working the angles and looking for an edge. That it can be completely old school, that you can lead with the music and it's enough.
Originality and execution. Humanity and honesty. You're buying insurance and comping, making it perfect to the point no one can relate. But listening to Bridges you definitely hear someone's home, you get drawn in, this is something you want to be a part of.
And that's the essence of music.
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And the highlights of the performance were a new song and a rousing rendition of "Mississippi Kisses" but what intrigued me most was Leon's story.
He's from Fort Worth.
Not a hotbed of the music industry. And he didn't start out as a child star. Hell, he didn't even begin playing, performing and writing until his twenties. He was washing dishes and he was analyzing the music scene and was confounded there was no old school soul, he decided that would be his genre.
So he starts writing songs in his bedroom. And when he's ready he goes out to open mic nights. Just him and his guitar. Playing to five people. Night after night.
So, you've got inspiration and perseverance. But if you think that's enough to make it these days you're wet behind the ears. We're inundated with a plethora of music, nothing breaks through, how did this guy?
Well, he caught the ear of White Denim guitarist Austin Jenkins, who said he wanted to make an album, and Bridges said WHY NOT?
This was not a stab at stardom, part of a superstar plan, just a lark, the next step in a nascent career.
So they set up in a warehouse and spend $2500 to record an LP and all hell breaks loose.
Well, not exactly. The album's finished and the guys at Mick Management hear it, they're intrigued, they're believers, they're in.
But you're not always sure, they decide to test it out. They post an unmastered track on the music blog Gorilla Vs. Bear and there's a reaction.
So they post it to another blog and the same thing happens.
And then fifty four labels want to make a deal and Bridges does a showcase in Nashville and ultimately signs with Columbia and CAA.
HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?
Exactly this way, which stuns me.
Michael McDonald thought it might be the Norah Jones effect, producing something in an ignored niche people are clamoring for but don't realize it.
Still, I haven't met a musician who hasn't been a hustler, a master manipulator, someone who knows how to climb the ladder. That's right, most are more Madonna than Leon Bridges.
But Bridges made it. He's sold 120,000 albums. He's doing two Fondas this week, he's burgeoning when everybody else is fading.
And he's not a cool, charismatic cat, not someone you meet and feel inferior to, someone who was destined to make it. Rather, he seems to be a guy who had the music in him, and decided to jump on the train and see where it took him.
Which was to international recognition.
Which proves there's hope.
I can listen to the country playlist on Spotify and every track sounds the same. I pull up the Top 40 and laugh, it's so assembly-line, done by the same people, there's no originality, no spark, no wonder most people don't care.
But then someone comes up with something original and it cuts through all the clutter. Bridges is just one hit away from ubiquity.
So there's hope, for both makers and listeners.
Proving once again it's less about facility than conception. Berklee will teach you how to shred, but that won't put you on the chart. There's nothing wrong with knowing how to play, never mind read, but too many people get the originality squeezed right out of them, they end up repeating what everybody else does, when the truth is we appreciate originality. Which can come from anywhere, even a bedroom in Fort Worth.
And none of the rigid rules apply if the music works. Bridges wasn't sold by sponsorship, he didn't have guest rappers on his album, never mind song doctors. He just let the music flow. And it was enough.
It's almost too much to believe. In 2015. When everybody's working the angles and looking for an edge. That it can be completely old school, that you can lead with the music and it's enough.
Originality and execution. Humanity and honesty. You're buying insurance and comping, making it perfect to the point no one can relate. But listening to Bridges you definitely hear someone's home, you get drawn in, this is something you want to be a part of.
And that's the essence of music.
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