Why fight about what it is?…it’s all music…it’s all magical

By Phill Marder

(As promised last time, this exciting episode explores the definition of Rock & Roll)

Like me, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame is far from perfect.

I know, I know. Hard to believe.

For starters, it should have been and still should be designated the Rock Era Hall of Fame. That way, when Abba, Madonna, Bob Marley, Miles Davis and countless others were inducted, there could be no screaming, ” They’re not Rock & Roll,” as if anyone can provide the definitive definition of Rock & Roll in the first place.

Ironically, the variety of music provided by the Hall of Fame inductees is one of the nominating committee’s crowning achievements. For while I can’t tell you what Rock & Roll is anymore than anyone else, I can tell you it’s not as limited as some of you like to believe. Rock & roll is not just two guitars, bass and drums, though that may be the trunk of the Rock tree, and the Hall of Fame recognizes that. The trunk yes, but many branches have developed as the Rock Era years have gone by.

Buried deep below the surface are the roots, Country and Blues. The branches? Everything else. So don’t tell me The Moody Blues aren’t Rock & Roll. And the Commodores aren’t Rock & Roll. And Yes isn’t Rock & Roll. And Donna Summer isn’t Rock & Roll.

As John Sebastian sang in the Lovin’ Spoonful’s “Do You Believe In Magic?,” “don’t bother to choose, it’s jugband music or rhythm & blues.” You’re right, Eric, it’s all meat from the same bone.

It’s Buddy Holly doing “Rave On,” then turning around to do “True Love Ways” or “It Doesn’t Matter Anymore.” It’s Elvis snarling “Hound Dog,” then doing “It’s Now Or Never.” It’s Fats Domino pounding out “Blue Monday,” then weaving “Walkin’ To New Orleans” in and out of the string section. It’s Ricky Nelson releasing two-sided hits that paired opposites such as “Just A Little Too Much” and “Sweeter Than You.”

Did Roy Orbison become a rock & roll star singing “Ooby Dooby” or such symphonic mini-operas such as “Running Scared,” “Crying” and “In Dreams”? Who was the real Eddie Cochran, the one who gave us “Somethin’ Else” or “Sittin’ In The Balcony”? Who was the real Gene Vincent, he of “Dance To The Bop” or “Wear My Ring”?

Were the Everly Brothers those of “Bye Bye Love” or “Devoted To You”? Was James Brown not symphonic in “Try Me” or “It’s A Man’s World.”? How about Ray Charles? Have you ever listened to the album “Ingredients In A Recipe For Soul”? Was Sam Cooke’s “You Send Me” closer to Donovan’s “Lalena” or AC/DC’s “Back In Black”? Or Bobby Darin – “Queen of the Hop” or “Mack The Knife?”

How about Jackie Wilson belting out “All My Love” or “Night”? Was Jackie Wilson not rock & roll? The Skyliners “Since I Don’t Have You” and “This I Swear,” two of the greatest ballads in the history of rock & roll…not rock & roll? For that matter, I could name almost any ballad that has become a rock & roll standard, “At Last” by Etta James, “It’s Just A Matter Of Time” by Brook Benton, for instance. Not Rock & Roll?

How about anything by rock’s greatest ’50s vocal group, The Platters. Not rock & roll?

Two different looks of Rock & Roll from two of the greatest groups, The Platters, the masters of the ballad, & The Beatles, the masters…period

Consider this album: Side 1 – 1. Till There Was You; 2. And I Love Her; 3. She’s Leaving Home; 4. Continuing Story Of Bungalow Bill; 5. Eleanor Rigby; 6. Julia; 7. Martha My Dear.

Side 2 – 1. Fool On The Hill; 2. Honey Pie; 3. When I’m 64; 4. If I Fell; 5. Yesterday; 6. You Know My Name, Look Up The Number; 7. Good Night

If that had been the only album you ever heard by the greatest band of the Rock Era, would you have called them a Rock & Roll band? And I could have turned it into a full four-disc box set.

The Beatles are a four-piece band that played rock & roll. Because they were so versatile, they could change instrumentation, style, mood, whatever you want to call it, to give us an unbelievable variety of fantastic music. Was it all rock & roll? I think yes. Was “As Tears Go By” or “Backstreet Girl” not rock & roll? They were great cuts written and recorded by what many consider the “greatest rock & roll band of all.”

Brian Wilson gave us some of the most beautiful music ever written. Was he and his group not rock & roll?

Where some bands would emphasize their “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” side and sprinkle in the occasional “As Tears Go By,” some bands go the opposite route, emphasizing the “Nights In White Satin” style while sprinkling in “I’m Just A Singer In A Rock & Roll Band” or “Question.”

And I could go on and on, which most of you would say I usually do.

I can’t pretend to know the definition of Rock & Roll. But I was there from the beginning. Actually, I must admit, before the beginning. I had a collection of 78s which I played on an old wind-the-crank phonograph, so I was into Perry Como, Jo Stafford, Hank Williams etc. before the “big bang.” Then I got a paper route – actually two – for the prime purpose of having money to purchase the latest 45s, the first three of which were “All Shook Up,” “Blue Monday” and “Mama Look At Bubu.” And I ended up delivering the bad news on the doorstep.

Still, I was the Northern kid who said, “But I will” every time the record store stocked a new yellow Sun 45.

Take my first three 45s as an example of what I’m blabbing about. “Blue Monday,” a driving rocker by Fats Domino, was backed by “What’s The Reason I’m Not Pleasing You,” which also became a hit. “What’s The Reason” was originally a hit for Guy Lombardo in 1935 and Fats’ entire catalog is sprinkled with remakes of old standards. If Fats wasn’t Rock & Roll, who was? Elvis’ “All Shook Up” also was a two-sided hit, the flip being the quiet “That’s When Your Heartaches Begin,” written in 1937 and recorded by the Ink Spots in 1941. Elvis…”The King of Rock & Roll.”

Harry Belafonte was one of the biggest superstars of the early Rock era

The third became a No. 11 record by the superstar Harry Belafonte whose genes were provided by his Jamaican mother and West Indian father. In the style of what was then known as calypso, many today would not classify it as rock & roll but the chalypso was one of early rock’s most popular dances and it fit “Mama Look At Bubu” perfectly. Belafonte also had other major hits, “Jamaica Farewell” and today’s ballpark favorite “Banana Boat,” more commonly known as “Day-O.”

Twenty years before Bob Marley and just as much a star, why isn’t Belafonte accorded the same rock & roll respect? Only because those alive at Rock’s outset, when Belafonte was cranking out hits, are few and far between today. If “Mama Look At Bubu” doesn’t fit your definition of Rock, then reggae shouldn’t either. But both, chalypso and reggae, are branches of the Rock Era tree. By the way, the flip, a soft ballad entitled “Don’t Ever Love Me,” also charted, then returned four years later as the Arthur Lyman instrumental, “Yellow Bird,” which rose all the way to No. 4.

Which brings us to the conclusion. Can I tell you what “Rock & Roll” is? No chance. The best I can come up with is “music released since 1955 that appeals to young people.” Some young people find Metallica appealing, some like Dionne Warwick. Some love Eminem, others Linda Ronstadt. Some like The Association, and some, yes, The Velvet Underground. Some love Bob Dylan acoustic, some love Bob Dylan electric.

And some, me for instance, love all of it … practically.

Having been there from the start, when the radio played Little Richard followed by Johnny Horton followed by Paul Anka followed by Jerry Lee, I was exposed to every form of what was simply known then as Rock & Roll and, fortunately for me, I kept my ears open as the years passed or else I would have missed a lot of great music no matter what name you wanted to give it.

Why listen to the Moody Blues or The Commodores and try to fit them into a category? The Moody Blues, Procol Harum and other progressive groups such as Yes, Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Pink Floyd, King Crimson, Gentle Giant, Rush…you get the picture…are simply bands expanding the boundaries of Rock as far as they are capable of doing. Groups such as The Commodores, Earth, Wind & Fire, Sly & The Family Stone and others simply follow the lead of Brown, Wilson, Cooke et al. They’re just different branches of the same tree.

Little Richard rocks…and so does Emerson, Lake & Palmer

It’s not Rock & Roll if you confine the definition to something that approaches “Keep A Knockin’,’ but it is rock & roll if your definition encompasses “Keep A Knockin’” as well as “My Special Angel,” “Dark Side Of The Moon” and “(You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Party).”

So applaud the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame this time. Their choices leave much room for debate – and, in case you haven’t noticed, no one has ranted more incessantly about them than yours truly – but give credit where credit is due. The Hall of Fame recognizes the great diversity making up what is known as Rock & Roll. It can be The Red Hot Chili Peppers. It can be Chaka Khan. It can be Eric B. & Rakim. It can be Heart.

Those who were there at the beginning will tell you the strict categorization came later. When it started, it all was just Rock & Roll. When the new 45 by Elvis or Connie Francis or The Drifters came out, only one question was asked…

Is it fast or slow?

by Michael Popke

Crimson fans,  rejoice!  Adrian Belew, Tony Levin and Pat Mastelotto have combined the forces of their trios — the Adrian Belew Power Trio and Stick Men — for the upcoming Two of a Perfect Trio U.S. tour. “It’s a rare treat, both for us in the band and for the audience, for three King Crimson members to be together onstage,” Levin said in a prepared statement (although, oh, how I wish he would have told me directly). “And the supporting cast are excellent players in their own right.”

According to sources, the performance will feature two sets with an extended encore of Crimson material. The show will kick off with sets by Stick Men (featuring Mastelotto on electronic and acoustic percussion, Markus Reuter on his self-designed Touch Guitar and Levin on Chapman Stick) and the Adrian Belew Power Trio (with Belew on guitar and vocals, bassist Julie Slick and drummer Tobias Ralph). An extended “Crim-centric” encore will boast Belew, Levin and Mastelotto performing some of their favorite pieces from their King Crimson catalog.

“King Crimson is an elite club,” Belew said. “There have only been seven members in the last 30 years. Having Tony, Pat and myself onstage, three legitimate Crimson players, will make this as close as currently possible to the actual thing.”

That’s good enough for me.

Click here for tour dates.

To this day, Foreigner has been ignored by Rock’s Hall of Fame

(No. 42 in a continuing series on artists who should be in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, but are not)

By Phill Marder

Of the many sax players who have graced Rock & Roll since its inception, to me the recently departed Clarence Clemons was without equal.

But the man he replaced atop my list of favorites was not far behind.

Thus, a moment in the summer of 1981 always has been one of my supreme musical memories. I don’t recall where I was driving, but the car radio was playing the latest offering from one of Rock & Roll’s hottest groups. And it was a great one. And that was before the shock.

There it was, smack dab in the middle of this latest blockbuster, the difference between a good record and a great record.

I said – I was by myself, but I talk to myself a lot ’cause no one else listens – anyway, I said to myself…”That’s Junior Walker.” Actually, I more yelled it. Couldn’t believe what I was hearing, and I was correct right from the first note because this was one sound you couldn‘t mistake if you had survived the ‘60s with any memory intact. Junior Walker back on the airwaves – blowin’ that mighty sax right in the middle of “Urgent.”

But this week’s thrilling episode is not about Junior Walker. Instead, it’s a thank you to Foreigner, for one of the many outstanding moments they provided between 1977 and 1988 in a hit-filled career that should spell Hall of Fame inductee. The Rock Hall can ignore Walker. The All-Stars weren’t exactly Motown’s superstars. I’ll just chisel a Mount Rushmore of sax players and put him and Clemons on there with King Curtis and Boots Randolph. But why Foreigner has been ignored thus far is a mystery. After all, they are one of the biggest selling bands of The Rock era and they did it all on Atlantic Records, the label that already has placed almost its entire roster, deserving or not, into Rock’s Hall.

Foreigner has had No. 1 albums in five different countries, the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Norway and Switzerland and nine Top 10 singles in the U.S. alone. The run began with “Feels Like The First Time,” which hit No. 4 for the six-piece band fronted by former Spooky Tooth guitarist Mick Jones of England and American Lou Gramm, who would prove to be not only a fine songwriting partner for Jones, but one of Rock’s most versatile vocalists as well.

“Feels Like The First Time” could have been recorded by most straight-ahead, hard rocking outfits of the day, but it was distinguished from the ordinary by its intricate vocal interplay, also featured on the next hit, “Cold As Ice,” which hit No. 6 after “Starrider” had bombed.

The massive success of the two singles propelled the band’s eponymous debut LP to No. 4 in the States. Though the singles were modest hits in Europe, the LP made nary a ripple in Britain, also the home base for Ian McDonald, a former King Crimson member who played guitars and keyboards, and drummer Dennis Elliott. Like Gramm, bassist Ed Gagliardi and Al Greenwood on keyboards hailed from New York.

A third single, “Long, Long Way From Home” was pulled from the debut LP and this, though not as polished as the previous two, also proved a success, hitting No. 20. It also pointed the direction the band would be heading for the 1978 LP “Double Vision,” which eclipsed the debut in worldwide sales and on the charts, peaking at No. 3 in the U.S.

The first single, “Hot Blooded,” could feel at home in AC/DC’s catalog, and it soared to No. 3 only to be bettered by the follow-up, “Double Vision,” which hit No. 2. Another heavy hitter, “Blue Morning, Blue Day,” got to No. 15, but a fourth single pulled from the LP, “Love Has Taken Its Toll,” flopped, probably because most fans already owned it on the album.

Gramm called the band’s next effort its “grainiest.” Like calling Lou Reed’s vocals bad. The first single, “Dirty White Boy,” and the title cut, “Head Games,” were as raw as anything released in the ‘70s. But both singles proved sizeable hits and the LP reached No. 5

At this time, the group began going through personnel changes which would become rampant during the ’80s, Englishman Rick Wills replacing Gagliardi for the album, with McDonald and Greenwood dismissed almost exactly a year after the album’s release.

Mutt Lange, fresh off production of AC/DC’s “Back In Black” was called in to work on the next effort. Now a streamlined, three-piece with a vocalist, Foreigner unleashed “4,” which started the ’80s by spending 10 weeks at No. 1. To put this into perspective, Hall-of-Fame inductee Solomon Burke spent seven weeks on the Billboard top 200 album chart in his entire career!! It was the group’s breakthough in Europe, too, reaching the top five in several countries, including the U.K.

No wonder. With “Urgent” issued as the initial single, a whole new generation was introduced to the wailing sax of Walker. Also featured was the keyboard work of Thomas Dolby before he was blinded by science. But “Urgent,” which reached No. 4, was just the first of five classic hits pulled from this long player.

The next single, “Waiting For A Girl Like You,” was Foreigner’s first successful ballad, and what a success it was, setting a record for spending 10 weeks at No. 2. Incredibly, it was blocked from No. 1 for nine weeks by Olivia Newton-John’s “Physical.”

The next three hits, “Juke Box Hero,” “Break It Up” and “Luanne” returned the band to its normal, heavy mode. Over three years later, “Agent Provocateur,” became the group’s initial No. 1 effort in Britain and several other nations, producing the arena anthem “I Want To Know What Love Is” that became the group’s first No. 1 single in the U.S. and U.K.

Though the band had more big hits on the uptempo side, “That Was Yesterday” (No. 12) and “Say You Will” (No. 6), the last major blast was, again, a big ballad, “I Don’t Want To Live Without You” climbing to No. 5 in 1988.

By this time, Jones and Gramm were beginning to wear thin as a duo and Gramm proceeded to issue a pair of solo albums, which yielded several hit singles, while Jones worked on production with the likes of Van Halen, Bad Company and Billy Joel. Eventually, they split and Foreigner continued on with several replacement vocalists as they do today.

It was never the same though. Most groups find difficulty maintaining a huge fan base when the lead singer changes, and Foreigner was no exception. However, the 11-year period in which they dominated record and concert ticket sales is an impressive run for any artist.

Rolling Stone’s Paul Evans, who we’ve met in previous episodes of this blog, called Jones “…master of the hook” and “…a guitarist of unerring efficiency.” He refers to Gramm as “…one of the finest singers in all of pop metal.” Evans, not the easiest critic to please, added, “Foreigner’s catalogue of car-stereo hits is nearly unrivaled.”

As happens with so many bands, it becomes difficult to pinpoint key members, or in this case which members should be inducted into the Hall of Fame. Certainly Jones and Gramm and the rest of the original six merit induction plus Willis. Add Mark Rivera, who served two terms with the band as a multi-instrumentalist and Bob Mayo, keyboardist during most the ‘80s, and you account for those who were present for most of the group’s period of world dominance.

Foreigner was a heavy band that happened to have hit singles. Foreigner was a heavy band that happened to have a couple huge selling ballads. These successes should not be held against the group. A behemoth of the ‘70’s and ‘80’s music scene, Foreigner earned its spot in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

by Michael Popke

With so much legally “free” music available on the Internet these days, it’s easy to go crazy trying to find and listen to everything that might — just might — appeal to you.

Enter British DIY guitarist Matt Stevens, who is one of those musicians who attended the Radiohead School of Business and allows listeners to pay whatever they want to download his incredibly melodic, occasionally proggy and wholly enjoyable music. His signature sound is made with a single acoustic guitar and a sampler to create multilayered tracks – all performed live.

I’m humbled to admit that this guy passed me by with his two instrumental solo albums, 2008’s Echo and last year’s Ghost. By now, he’s an Internet phenom – a “poster child for the digital revolution,” as his website declares – who has taken advantage of social networks and video to cultivate an international audience. His Twitter account (@mattstevensloop) boasts more than 33,000 tweets and almost 6,000 followers, while more than 2,300 people “like” him on Facebook. He even gives online concerts and details the origins of his songs on his website.

After putting in time with bands, Stevens struck out on his own, wielding an expressive sense of songwriting. The result is music that sounds far grander than one man and his guitar. On Echo, Stevens made his guitar sound like keyboards, indulged in some Sunday-morning jazz, penned a stompin’ acoustic rocker and grooved to a flavorful Latin vibe — all in the first four songs. The album became a word-of-mouth success.

The more-complex Ghost – which Stevens says was downloaded more than 1,500 times and recouped all its costs in less than two months – reflects a maturation of  the man’s playing, incorporating elements of King Crimson on “Big Sky” and “Burnt Out Car,” and indulging in some Pink Floyd and Alan Parsons Project mellowness on “Lakeman.” There also are remnants of Radiohead, Nick Drake and Electric Light Orchestra. Stevens’ prog tendencies really come the forefront on his side project, The Fierce & The Dead, which borrows a branch from Porcupine Tree.

This stuff is all instrumental, and all compelling as hell. You won’t even miss the lyrics.

Stevens quietly reached out to Goldmine, inviting us to give his music a listen and write about it, if we’d like. No pressure, no hype. Just a guy and his guitar, hoping to keep spreading the message of unbelievably good music. Well played, sir.