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Coup De Stereo: Paul McCartney Wins the Gershwin Prize

2009-11-21T23:21:15Z

Just when I was getting the feeling that we should abolish the U.S. Congress, their fabled book wing, the Library of Congress, has awarded Paul McCartney the third Gershwin Prize for Popular Song (the first two recipients were Paul Simon and Stevie Wonder).

I didn't even know that the Library of Congress has a Librarian of Congress, but it does and his name is James H. Billington. He stated, about Macca, "It's hard to think of another performer and composer who has had a more indelible and transformative effect on popular song and music of several different genres than Paul McCartney." On a side note, I would say that John Lennon and Bob Dylan have had as indelible an effect as Macca. I'd add that like Stevie Wonder, Macca has also revolutionized how artists now use the studio and how trippy pop music can actually sound.

Of course, the 150 or so Beatles tunes that Macca either penned ("I've Just Seen a Face," "Drive My Car," "Black Bird") or co-wrote are a big part of this award. But, let's use this as an opportunity to look at some solid McCartney albums from his solo years (a mix of quite wonderful, sublime, neat-sounding but empty-headed, and just bloody awful).

Both Lennon and McCartney have stated that they didn't write for the public -- they wrote to impress each other. They also complemented each other's strengths and weaknesses. When that partnership dissolved, McCartney decided that the only way he could work against the legacy of the Beatles would be if he decided that anything he did would be OK. If something wasn't that good it wouldn't be the end of the world. He was right -- the world didn't end but some of his stuff wasn't any good.

This has led to so much misplaced aging rocker hostility that Macca's creative rebirth during the 2000s has pretty much gone unnoticed. Recent songs like "She's Given Up Talking" keep things sonically interesting (which, face it, is all that acclaimed hip-hop producers do) while combining his old, decidedly weird mix of bad vibes and aloof positivity. Stranded on an island of fame, expectation, adulation and disappointment, the Paul McCartney mantra is summed up on his 2008 tune "Don't Stop Running."

Here are some Macca solo discs to check out on Rhapsody, starting with his new live set. And, of course, you can listen to all these, right now and forevermore, with your Rhapsody membership. We have over 8 million songs, available anytime and (with the Rhapsody iPhone app) anywhere. Click here to get on board with a free trial.

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The Definitive, Career-Spanning Live Album
Good Evening New York City

While there is no shortage of Paul McCartney live albums, this one, a 2009 concert commemorating the Beatles' Shea Stadium gig, is more energized than most. Part of that is due to McCartney's young band, which marries old-world skill with spiky rock energy. But it also has to do with Macca's renewed creative energy in the 2000s. The upbeat numbers, like the Beatles' "I've Got a Feeling," are often superior because the ballads, including a still-powerful "Let It Be," reveal McCartney's tattering vocal chords, which struggle to hit the soaring notes of his youth. Energy-wise, though, this one can't be beat.

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The Early Solo Classics
Ram

Ram keeps the mellow, pastoral, self-recorded feel of McCartney's solo debut and mixes in some gruff boogie rock and the kind of fluid, orchestral pop that he cut with the Beatles. The multipart "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey" has to be the goofiest (and coolest) No. 1 single ever, while "Too Many People" and "The Back Seat of My Car" are two overlooked gems. The lovely "Dear Boy" was meant as a rebuke to Linda's first husband, but Lennon took it as an attack against him and started writing anti-Paul songs. Whatever -- Band on the Run is the remembered classic but Ram may be Paul's best all-around solo LP.

Band on the Run (Paul McCartney & Wings)

McCartney's first two solo records were casual, underrated charmers; his subsequent two LPs seemed lazy and formless. For Band on the Run, his fifth effort, Macca took Denny Laine and his wife to Nigeria and holed up until they birthed this best-selling return to rock 'n' roll respectability. For once, McCartney front-loads the LP with his best songs, so this opens with a 1-2-3 punch. The title track, the soaring "Jet" and the floating "Bluebird" all became instant rock classics. Nothing else tops those numbers, though "Let Me Roll It" stands up to any of Lennon's slow, sludgy rockers and "Nineteen Hundred and Eighty Five" is a sonic marvel. All help to make this one of the key albums of the 1970s.

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The Key Paul-Is-a-Lame-Stoner-&-Paul-Is-Great All-Mixed-Up Platter

Wild Life (Paul McCartney & Wings)

McCartney put a proper band, Wings, together and then cut Wild Life, which is even more casual than his first two solo albums. Macca doesn't help matters by starting the set with filler like "Bip Bop," but there are some real gems here. "Tomorrow" should've been the single -- it's one of his all-time best solo efforts. "Some People Never Know" is another lovely McCartney ballad, and the chilling, cinematic ballad "Dear Friend" is obviously a letter to Lennon. This version of the album includes the pointedly political "Give Ireland Back to the Irish," which was banned in the U.K. (bastards!) but topped the Irish charts.

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The Forgotten Paul Is a Weird Dude & Synth-Pop Innovator LP
McCartney II

In 1980, McCartney was paroled from a Japanese prison, sacked Wings, bought a bank of synths, and self-recorded this, one of the weirdest, most eccentric hit albums of all time. It seems like the always-sonically experimental McCartney was getting into Kraftwerk and synth pop, coming up with bizarre numbers like "Frozen Jap," "Temporary Secretary" and "Front Parlour" to feed his drug-bust bad vibes into. If you're looking for actual songs, "Waterfalls" and "One of These Days" are lovely odes to McCartney's increasing isolation, while "Coming Up" is an unstoppable disco-rocker (a juiced-up concert version was released as a single and returned Macca to the top spot on the singles charts).

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The Creative Rebirth Records

Driving Rain
By and large, Driving Rain was one of McCartney's most uplifting sets in years. It seems that after issuing records where he sorted through reflections on his early career (Flaming Pie) and the death of his wife (Run Devil Run), many of the songs here are as effervescent as titles like "Tiny Bubble," "Back in the Sunshine Again," and "Magic" might imply. McCartney delayed the release of the record to include the jingoistic bonus track "Freedom," but forget that -- the best tracks are lilting numbers like "From a Lover to a Friend." -- Nate Cavalieri

Memory Almost Full

After a slight opener written for McCartney’s toddler, this elegiac release kicks in with songs that dwell on memory, confusion and loss. While a melancholy air hangs over even upbeat tunes such as "Only Mama Knows" and "See Your Sunshine," Macca fills the set with warm memories of his working-class English youth and an acknowledgment of life's gifts. An extended song cycle on growing up, aging and the specter of death is uniformly strong, and two of the bonus cuts belong on the proper album. Heavy stuff, but the warmth is real and the melodies undeniable. Memory Almost Full stands up to the best solo efforts of his career.

Electric Arguments (Youth and Paul McCartney)

For well over a decade, McCartney has not-so-secretly recorded ambient trance music with producer Youth. In 2008, the ever-industrious Macca needed to get away from tabloid hell, so he gave Youth a call and proposed that they write, record and mix a song a day -- this time with McCartney's vocals. The results are so stellar that McCartney now wishes he released this under his own name. He gets rid of his bad divorce vibes on the blistering opener before rediscovering joy with "Sing the Changes," "Lifelong Passion" and the uneasy "Don't Stop Running." Not quite as richly rewarding as Memory Almost Full, but still an unqualified triumph, and each song features McCartney playing practically every instrument.

The Top 10 Adult-Alternative Artists of the Decade (or Why John Mayer Is God)

2009-11-05T21:07:42Z

Pop music has been knee-deep in the second coming of the soft-rock singer-songwriter for most of this young century. Of course, we no longer call them singer-songwriters; we call them adult-alternative artists. It all started back in 2001 when the double-helix of the new genre, John Mayer and Jack Johnson, dropped their debut full-lengths, Room for Squares and Brushfire Fairytales, respectively. There existed antecedents for sure (Dave Matthews, Tori Amos, Jewel). But it’s Mayer and Johnson who most succinctly sum up what makes an adult-alternative artist different from his or her singer-songwriter ancestors. ]]> Joni, Sweet Baby James, Stevie, Steely Dan, Slowhand and so on. But now that they were feeling all grown up they craved a modern mellow, one that they could claim for their own. And so they embraced the smooth alt-pop then dominating the Billboard, stuff like the Gin Blossoms, G. Love, Jeff Buckley, the Cranberries, Aimee Mann, the Counting Crows, Toad the Wet Sprocket, post-Joshua Tree U2, R.E.M. and, of course, Matthews, Tori and Jewel.

In a nutshell (and yes, I’m oversimplifying things a bit): adult-alternative music represents the synthesis of these two generations of artists. In other words, it’s adult contemporary sexed up with a little MTV-generation pizzazz. Now obviously, this is nothing more than a theory. However, if we were travel in time back to 1994 and sneak into the Mayer family home in Fairfield, Conn., I’ll bet you anything we’d come across copies of both New Miserable Experience and Clapton’s Unplugged in young John’s room just before the police arrested us.

With all that said, it’s now time for our Top 10 (plus) adult-alternative artists of the decade.

But wait, just one more thing...

With your Rhapsody membership, you can listen to our Adult Alternative Revolution playlist that gathers the best material from all these artists. Or you can click through and listen to all the great music from these performers, and you can access their catalog anywhere, anytime. To sign up for your free trial membership, click here.

10. Brandi Carlile
Nobody represents Adult Alternative 2.0 better than Brandi Carlile (plus, she’s cute). Here’s her thing: take your basic adult-alternative chassis and trick it out with edgy ideas learned from Wilco, Ryan Adams, Coldplay and Radiohead. Carlile is easily the artiest, uh, artist on the block.
Listen: The Story

9. Jason Mraz
Mraz is the kid in class who could easily earn A’s across the board, but he’s too much of a wise-ass to try. What does this mean? Well, if you spend some time with his records, you will soon learn the guy loves being cheeky and having fun more than the latest SoundScan figures. Good for him.
Listen: We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things.

8. Pat Monahan (and Train, too)
What’s cool about Pat Monahan (and Train) is how they’ve injected adult alternative with a little vintage bar-rock sass a la Eddie and the Cruisers. Of course, this means they’re more of a half-breed, but oh well. No one said this is an exact science.
Listen: Last of Seven (Monahan)
Listen: Save Me, San Francisco (Train)

7. KT Tunstall / Colbie Caillat
KT is the bigger talent, but Colbie possesses old-school love (see also: Jewel) for prancing about nature in cotton summer dresses. I say tie.
Listen: Drastic Fantastic (Tunstall)
Listen: Breakthrough (Caillat)

6. Ray LaMontagne
LaMontagne is giving fellow New Englander John Mayer a serious run in the “chicks dig me” race. Women are all over this guy, with his burly beard and blue-eyed love jams. His looking to Stephen Stills' solo albums for inspiration is way gutsy. I like them, too, Ray -- especially Manassas.
Listen: Gossip in the Grain

5. David Gray
Gray has been kicking around since 1993. However, he really came into his own this century. He’s more or less the Jack Johnson of the U.K., only more pugnacious.
Listen: Greatest Hits

4. Rob Thomas / Matchbox Twenty
Technically speaking, Thomas and company are proto-adult alternative, but the dude has made the crucial leap to popular solo artist. He’s the gift that keeps on giving.
Listen: Cradlesong (Thomas)
Listen: Yourself or Someone Like You (Matchbox Twenty)

3. Norah Jones
Three words: simple classic elegance. Plus, she’s sold in excess of 36 million records.
Listen: Not Too Late

2. Jack Johnson
To borrow a sports analogy trick from ESPN cool dude Bill Simmons: Jack Johnson is like the New York Knicks of the mid-1990s, who would’ve won multiple titles, easily, were it not for Jordan’s Bulls. And so Johnson -- who is actually the most listened-to artist in Rhapsody history -- would easily be top dog of the decade were it not for…
Listen: Brushfire Fairytales

1. John Mayer
This dude is beyond humongous. As I’ve said before, he’s our generation’s James Taylor and Eric Clapton combined. And according to fellow Rhapsody freaker Chuck Eddy, he’s also our Peter Frampton. So yeah, he’s basically ... GOD.
Listen: Battle Studies (the new album!)

Honorable mentions and the reasons why they didn't make the cut:

Ben Harper (only if this were the ’90s)
Sara Bareilles (great voice, but KT part deux -- so far)
Damien Rice (too alternative)
The Fray (more into piano rock)
Edwin McCain (too... I don't know)
One Republic (frat pop)
Joshua Radin (more work to be done)
James Morrison (too Jools Holland)
A Fine Frenzy (young and quirky, but loaded with simple classic elegance)
Mat Kearney (decent enough)
Donavon Frankenreiter (too beach bum)
Five for Fighting (use your real name, pal)

John Mayer and the Fraternity of Musically Talented Rock Heartthrobs

2009-11-05T16:46:27Z

In his eight years recording, John Mayer has walked a stylistic tightrope, splitting his time between presenting himself as a sensitive heartthrob (mainly on his solo studio albums) and a serious bluesman (on the live 2005 John Mayer Trio album Try!, for instance). By now, he seems to have found a comfortable middle ground between sex appeal and chops. But he's hardly the first musicianly beefcake to balance such seemingly competing sides. Here, some hunky virtuosos who've come before. ]]> your free trial Rhapsody membership. At Rhapsody, we not only have the latest and greatest premiers, we also all the an extensive selection of the catalog material you crave.

Johnny Burnette: This O.G. rockabilly went from inventing hard rock in his mid-'50s Rock and Roll Trio to Clearasil croons like 1960's Top 10 "You're Sixteen."

Ricky Nelson: With help from deadly guitarist James Burton, Ozzie and Harriet's kid made the toughest rock 'n' roll of any early '60s teen idol -- except when he didn't. Later, in "Garden Party," he sang about how fans' expectations can be demoralizing.

The Beatles: Cute enough for the girls, cool enough for the guys. "Beyond their music itself, their greatest strengths were clarity of image and the way they balanced," Nik Cohn wrote about the archetypal boy band in 1969. "No loose ends left over, and it all made for a comforting sense of completeness."

Michael Nesmith: Maybe not the most adorable Monkee -- Nik Cohn called him the "withdrawn, serious straight man," like George Harrison -- but the one who went on to help concoct country-rock. And he was handsome enough: all four were chosen to be photogenic, after all.

Peter Frampton: By the time his luxurious Farrah Fawcett locks on the front cover helped him break the bank with Frampton Comes Alive! in 1976, most teenyboppers buying didn't have any idea that he had churned out sizzling boogie riffs on five Humble Pie albums.

Rick Derringer: Now known mainly for one immortal '60s pop-rock hit (the McCoys' "Hang On Sloopy") and one equally immortal early '70s one ("Rock and Roll Hoochie Koo"), the longtime session dude also made a bunch of rip-roaring suburban metal records fronting a band sharing his surname in the late '70s. Then he went on to guitar for the WWF and Weird Al. But the close-up-kissable cover of 1975's Spring Fever, where he could almost pass for a young Valerie Bertinelli, is absolute Tiger Beat fodder.

John Taylor: Women who had crushes on him growing up in the '80s then went on to form their own indie bands and will tell you the Chic-and-Clash-inspired bassist was Duran Duran's most accomplished musician. Though maybe not the Power Station's.

Rick Springfield: The Australia-born erstwhile Dr. Noah Drake from General Hospital first hit the U.S. pop charts way back in 1972, and had long established his swoonability by the time "Jessie's Girl" topped the charts in '81. But though his manual dexterity was always an undercurrent, his unjustly slept-on '00s albums have demonstrated irrefutably what a meaty power-pop guitarist the guy is.

Prince: Pretty? Check. Pretty good musician? Okay, he fits.

Kurt Cobain: So does he -- in fact, some insist his guitaring outshined his singing or songwriting. Either way, he proved sometimes walking tightropes has risks.

Brad Paisley and Keith Urban: This pair of lady-killing cowpokes can both tear it up guitarwise, and they've both spent their careers trying to figure out how many hot solos per album they can get away with. Urban's latest album is all love songs, but Paisley actually managed a mostly instrumental set called Play last year. No shock that he's also done a CMT Crossroads episode with none other than ... John Mayer.

Rock's Best Albums of the Decade

2009-11-02T20:51:49Z

As you scan our 25 best rock albums of the '00s, you'll quickly notice that a lot of these artists could be claimed by other genres: Susan Tedeschi by blues, Drive-By Truckers by alt-country, Wilco by indie. And that's the thing about rock in this young century: it's less a definable genre and more of a fractured aesthetic scattered across numerous genres. But make no mistake -- had Back to the River or Yankee Hotel Foxtrot or Southern Rock Opera come out in the 1970s, they would've been considered nothing but rock.

Because of rock's current state of affairs, readers are going to stumble across new flavors. Fans of Jack Johnson are going to read about High on Fire's Matt Pike, while followers of Nickelback will get to learn about something called Creepjoint. So yeah, keep an open mind and instead of bemoaning what rock has become in the 21st century, embrace it. There are a lot of killer jams to be found here. Be sure to listen to high quality audio of all the artist mentioned here anytime and anywhere you want with your free trial Rhapsody membership. Click here to join!

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25. Clutch
Strange Cousins from the West, 2009

This ninth full-length from Southern-swaggered stoner metal outfit Clutch is a deeper foray for the band into the history of the blues. With the absence of organs and the addition of slide guitar, Clutch's sonic progression is a clever revision of rock 'n' roll's roots, from the soulful delivery of "Motherless Child" to the storytelling boogie of "Sleestak Lightning." Other foot-tapping standouts include the infectious rhythm of lead single "50,000 Unstoppable Watts," the effortless groove of "Minotaur" and the high-energy gallop of "Freakonomics."

24. Susan Tedeschi
Back to the River, 2008

Susan Tedeschi is beautiful and sexy, yet she howls, grunts and wails as if she's missing half her teeth and spent her teenage years drifting in and out of family court. Tedeschi is known as a blues singer, but Back to the River is straight-up classic rock, as sweaty and righteous as Rod Stewart-era Jeff Beck, Delaney & Bonnie and early Humble Pie. Much like JJ Grey & Mofro, Tedeschi isn't afraid to go retro; dig the soulful horns and vintage guitar solo on the gutsy ballad "700 Houses."

23. Jack Johnson
Brushfire Fairytales, 2001

Not only was Brushfire Fairytales Jack Johnson's debut, it was also the first of five platinum albums for the surfer-turned-adult-alternative dude. At the time of its release, the record felt like a pleasant and engaging fusion of John Mayer, Dave Matthews and Ben Harper. But looking back, Brushfire Fairytales feels downright prophetic. Johnson has gone on to spawn an ever-growing army of finely tanned crooners, specializing in the kind of funky fresh folk-pop that he single-handedly pioneered.

22. Nickelback
All the Right Reasons, 2005

With 2005's All the Right Reasons, Nickelback hit on a perfect recipe of big guitars and even bigger pop moves. Maturing into a relevant modern rock act, the elder statesmen of "active rock" reached and then surpassed the zillion-seller status that Silver Side Up brought them in '01. The Southern rock-ish "Rockstar," surging heart-tugger "Far Away" and anthemic "Photograph" all made it into the Top 10 for good reason: they are infinitely sing-able and sound great coming out of a jukebox.

21. The Coydogs
The Coydogs, 2008

We hate to reduce a band to its influences, but exceptions do exist. Example: the Coydogs sound like Tom Petty fronting Crazy Horse circa "Stupid Girl" -- oh yeah, toss in a little Big Star/Teenage Fanclub. The thought of a band nailing the ultimate all-time awesome fusion of American power pop and California country-rock can be pondered for lifetimes. Of course, the Coydogs don't achieve perfection, but they go for it. Plus, the band has cultivated a better balance of brute force and song craft than most of its peers.

20. Mastodon
Leviathan, 2004

Voted 2004's Album of the Year in Kerrang!, Terrorizer and Revolver magazines, Leviathan is a concept album based on Herman Melville's Moby Dick. The Atlanta prog-metal band's critically acclaimed combination of sludge-metal punch and Thin Lizzy-harmonized guitar leads made just about every metal fan in America say "UHG2BFKM!" when the album appeared and promptly began embarrassing everyone else in '04. Its only failing is that you can't actually toss harpoons at sperm whales while listening to "Seabeast."

19. Brandi Carlile
Brandi Carlile, 2005

Brandi Carlile's expressive voice lilts to and fro before edging into a cavernous howl, sounding at times like a female Jeff Buckley. But Carlile's voice also glistens with an odd country sheen, and she manages to fit all these nuances in a neat puzzle; rather than disjointed, her songs sound supernatural. "Follow," a haunting ballad that borders on shoegaze, is the most beguiling song in her set.

18. Creepjoint
Kill the Head, 2005

Kill the Head is one of the early 21st century's best hard-rock albums, and few know it exists. The latest project from mad genius Tim Harrington, cofounder of Masters of Reality, Creepjoint play electroid death-rock bubbling with preternatural rage and a profound cynicism for humanity. Harrington is a master of art pop, as well as a producer well versed in warped sound effects. This is simply a stunning -- if often challenging -- chunk of freakery. Dig the title track's pummeling onslaught.

17. Amy Winehouse
Back to Black, 2006

Wildly talented but also just plain wild, Amy Winehouse has got pipes that are more R&B-drenched than Joss Stone's, and her lyrics are more autobiographical than Lily Allen's. Winehouse also leads the kind of tabloid-rich lifestyle that would make even Britney Spears blush. But Back to Black proves that her material is stronger than the hype. "Tears Dry On Their Own" proudly recalls Motown classics, while cuts like "Wake Up Alone," "Some Unholy War" and "Love Is a Losing Game" show what the English Winehouse can do when she stops cribbing a posed toughness from American hip-hop songs.

16. The Flaming Lips
At War with the Mystics, 2006

More heartfelt flamboyance from the consistently weird, constantly brilliant Flaming Lips. As usual, they disguise mind-blowing observations with seemingly simple lyrics, then hide those inside odd orchestras of electric strings, thumping drums, heavenly voices, things that go bzzzzt and anything else that happens to be lying around. Prepare to be moved.

15. Shinedown
The Sound of Madness, 2008

Shinedown's third album marks their natural progression from a band that once bore elements of Southern rock into a band confidently running that torch into the late '00s. "Heroes," off Us and Them, was one of the best rock songs of 2005, and here Shinedown far exceed the potential hinted at in that track. Accessible as the straightest pop music but harder and heavier than anything else on the radio and, most importantly, angry as all hell, "Devour," the title track, and the scream-along-worthy ballads "Second Chance" and "The Crow & the Butterfly" grab the listener by the throat and don't let go.

14. Los Lonely Boys
Los Lonely Boys, 2004

Substance and style come together with this Willie Nelson-endorsed Texas brother act. Los Lonely Boys sound the way bands used to sound: like they live for the joy of playing together. They've created border soul music, with Albert King, Jose Alfredo Jimenez and the Beatles as their patron saints.

13. High on Fire
Blessed Black Wings, 2005

Matt Pike proves himself a true auteur of all that is heavy with Blessed Black Wings -- if the first druid metal minute of "To Cross the Bridge" doesn't prove that, then the thrumming, volcanic pillaging that ensues should do the trick. This is heavy metal made by a man who rarely wears a shirt, and he plays that way. Just the beginnings of these songs are better than most albums. Other over-the-top statements that can be made here are that the guitar solos all rule, the vocals are bloodthirstily monumental and you can't play it loud enough.

12. The Hold Steady
Boys and Girls of America, 2006

The Hold Steady's first two records of bare-knuckled bangers were lauded as dissertations on underdog bar rock, coupling Craig Finn's scrappy narratives about getting high and chasing tail with riffs on the scale of vintage Thin Lizzy. On their third, Finn reins in the rambling for more concise tales of spiritual survival in strip-mall culture. When things get sentimental, as on the piano-driven "First Night," the songwriting is still commanding, but these guys are best with unrestrained rockers like "Stuck Between Stations" or "Hot Soft Light" -- with hearts on their sleeves and amps on 11.

11. TK Webb
Phantom Parade, 2006

The first couple spins produce, "Man, this guy sounds drunk." After that the response becomes, "George Thorogood on cough syrup?" But eventually Webb's genius crawls out of his own bluesy murk: this guy has stolen the most lo-fi/country blues aspects of the Stones' Exile on Main St. and alchemically shaped them into a brand-new universe. "Which Witch," for example, burns slowly like vintage bar rock, then slyly shape-shifts into a droning raga that confuses the Ganges and the Mississippi.

10. Wilco
Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, 2002

The esoteric but alluring collage of sounds on this album earned them the No. 6 spot on our Best of 2002 poll. The songs traverse styles, from the bleak "I Am Trying to Break Your Heart" to the perky "Heavy Metal Drummer," all the while retaining Wilco's signature pawnshop-guitar-run-through-a-dozen-effects-pedals sound.

9. Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings
100 Days, 100 Nights, 2007

Maybe there's something anachronistic about a band that plays funk music in the 21st century as if Parliament (let alone hip-hop) had never happened. It does sound like Sharon Jones could have cut her record in 1967, not 2007. But when the music's this good, those concerns fly out the window. Jones pours everything she's got into this album, and her gruff, passionate, brassy style grabs you by the collar and doesn't let go until the end. The Dap-Kings restrain themselves behind her, shuffling and jangling but leaving her plenty of space to maneuver on a clutch of good, if not great, songs.

8. White Stripes
White Blood Cells, 2001

The third proper White Stripes LP catches Jack and Meg at their finest: not yet bored with the simple alchemy that brought them international acclaim, but mature enough to make the most of it. Starting with "Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground," the record opens with five of Jack White's most fully conceived tunes, the best being the seductive "I'm Finding It Harder to Be a Gentleman." Aside from the downright ungentlemanly snarl of "I Think I Smell a Rat," there's hardly a miss.

7. Radiohead
Kid A, 2000

After the whirlwind of acclaim for OK Computer, Radiohead tried to escape the hype by hitching a ride through the cosmos -- or at least that's what Kid A would have us believe. As Thom Yorke's wails sound like they're belted from the insular surface of the moon ("How to Disappear Completely"), opaque textures of twinkling music boxes ("Kid A"), bustling horns ("The National Anthem"), fanciful harp ("Motion Picture Soundtrack"), crystallized hums ("Treefingers"), dissonant reception ("Everything in Its Right Place") and plenty of unidentified flying clatter orbit this otherworldly masterpiece.

6. Drive-By Truckers
Southern Rock Opera, 2001

The alt-country reprobates enter three-guitar heaven on a what-it-says-it-is that gains power and bite as the fat lady's moment approaches. When Patterson Hood lets his bandmates write songs on the first disc, you can take a piss break, but Mike Cooley and Rob Malone both contribute winners on the second -- about alcoholism and Cassie Gaines easing her brother into Lynyrd Skynyrd, respectively. Although George Wallace is treated to a crucial cameo, Skynyrd are the tragic heroes throughout. The last three songs get them on the plane, up in the air and plummeting to their doom. Every detail and digression tells.

5. Coldplay
A Rush of Blood to the Head, 2002

On their sophomore release, Coldplay ace the difficult task of hanging onto their original fan base while proving wrong those who initially wrote the band off as Radiohead-lite. A Rush of Blood to the Head is a shimmering collection of confidently played life's-gone-wrong songs, highlighted by "Clocks" and "In My Place."

4. Bob Dylan
Love and Theft, 2001

Like 1997's comeback, Time Out of Mind, the sequel, Love and Theft, capitalizes on smoky production by Daniel Lanois, rambunctious performances and Dylan's tattered delivery. But with its rollicking spirit, Love and Theft deals more in revelry than remorse. Kicking open the saloon doors with the hard-strutting "Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum," the record is dually playful and powerful, butt-kicking and heart-rending. When on "Summer Days" Dylan is "standing on a table proposing a toast to the King," it's hard not to raise a glass right back to the enduring icon's continued rambles down Highway 61.

3. Green Day
American Idiot, 2004

Led by the killer title track, American Idiot finds Green Day sounding as vital as ever. Told through the character "Jesus of Suburbia," the concept album, released just prior to the 2004 presidential election, is nourished by the trio's vitriol against America's political climate and overall malaise. Rock-opera riffs complement instantly gratifying pop hooks that extend well beyond the band's punk roots. Even when they slow it down, they still pack a punch. The album won a Grammy for Best Rock Album and reignited Green Day's flagging career, all while spreading their message far and wide.

2. Andrew W.K.
I Get Wet, 2001

The rock music equivalent of Tony Robbins doing a keg stand, A.W.K. is smarter than the dunderheaded partycore I Get Wet appears to be on the surface. First, there hasn't been anything this catchy since "Surrender," and second, the music simultaneously references Obituary and '70s art rockers Sparks, whoever they are.

1. Queens of the Stone Age
Rated R, 2000

Fans expecting an album as heavy as Q.O.T.S.A.'s debut may have been a little disappointed in R, but the brute force of the band's heavy stoner rock still packed quite a wallop. "The Feel-Good Hit …" and the acid-tinged "In the Fade" (with Screaming Trees' Mark Lanegan on vocals) prove that while the musical atmosphere is thick, there's enough serrated melody to slice through.

Honorable Mentions:
My Chemical Romance, The Black Parade
Moviola, Dead Knowledge
Neil Young & Crazy Horse, Greendale
Buffalo Killers, Let It Ride
The Derek Trucks Band, Joyful Noise
Coldplay, Parachutes
Radiohead, In Rainbows
The Jayhawks, Rainy Day Music
Porcupine Tree, In Absentia
Beck, Sea Change
The White Stripes, Elephant
The Moondoggies, Don’t Be a Stranger
Ray LaMontagne, Till the Sun Turns Black
Bjork, Vespertine
Tift Merritt, Bramble Rose
Mark Lanegan, Bubblegum
Fall Out Boy, From Under the Cork Tree
The Felice Brothers, The Felice Brothers
The Avett Brothers, I and Love and You
Bruce Springsteen, The Rising
Ryan Adams, Heartbreaker
Dungen, Ta Det Lugnt
The Black Crowes, Lions
Bob Dylan, Modern Times
Heartless Bastards, The Mountain
Neil Young, Neil Young Archives Vol. 1
The Darkness, Permission to Land
The Killers, Hot Fuss
North Mississippi Allstars, Polaris
The Black Keys, Attack & Release
John Mayer, Room For Squares

Coup De Stereo: Hall & Oates Rule

2009-10-23T16:55:00Z

I've been seeing Hall & Oates references all over the place during the past few years. At the start of the decade, their soft-rocking 1970s period came back into vogue, and now, at the end of the decade, it's their synth-y 1980s hits (and videos) that have made a big comeback. These days practically every indie rocker around (including Josh Rouse and Ben Gibbard of Death Cab) cite the duo as a major influence.

As a child of the 1970s and '80s, I can say that Daryl Hall and John Oates ruled the airwaves during both decades. I can't remember a time when their '70s hits like "She's Gone" and "Rich Girl" weren't omnipresent. Later, at the start of the 1980s, when Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean" first came out, I kept thinking it was the Hall & Oates tune "I Can't Go For That (No Can Do)" starting up (Jackson and Quincy Jones lifted the song's kick-ass bassline intro and tempo and fit it into their song to give it extra juice).

Hall and Oates are still recording and touring, but they wisely spend a lot of time on their own projects (Hall seems to be the more driven of the two). The duo have now released a surprisingly rich box set, Do What You Want, Be What You Are, which offers a complete portrait of their career.

I interviewed Daryl Hall the other day about the box set, his Philly soul roots and his truly entertaining internet TV show, Live From Daryl's House. Hall gave thoughtful, B.S.-free answers and took it in stride that a fleet of work trucks pulled up right outside the Rhapsody offices and jackhammered the city streets to dust for the duration of our conversation. Click here to read the interview and to play a selection of music from the most successful duo in pop history.

]]> What was the music that informed you growing up?
I grew up in Pottstown, just outside of Philadelphia. It was a very industrial town, but with farms in the middle of the factories. It was a very racially mixed community with music literally in the street -- gospel music, doo-wop, soul, R&B. It was all there. I used to ride my bike down to the river and hear all of this music just happening everywhere. Plus, my parents were musicians. Classical music, jazz... all of that informed me.

Is it true that Hall & Oates came together because of a gangland shooting?
Yeah, it was a typical Philadelphia scene. Both of us were involved in the early genesis of the Philly soul scene ... street-corner R&B, basically. Both John and I had records out ... separately, with different groups. Both our groups were part of a battle of the bands-type show. Right in the middle of it all, there was some kind of shooting in the audience. Actually at the time, it wasn't that unusual. We both ran out of there separately and ducked into the elevator for cover.

So you walked out of the elevator and Hall & Oates was born?
No, we were both just out of high school and starting our first semester at Temple University. We ended up sharing an apartment -- that's how it started. We didn't have any plans to work together. John was doing his own projects and had a solid foundation in folk music. I was involved pretty directly in the Philly soul scene, working with people like Gamble & Huff [Rhapsody note: Gamble & Huff went on do for 1970s soul what Motown did during the '60s]. But we were literally sharing a kitchen, so that's really how our friendship started. Then, after college, we decided to work together.

You came out of the gate with really strong albums, but it took you a while to break big.
We had our tough, gritty moments, but we just kept working. The industry was different then. You had some time to develop. The reviews were actually pretty good, but critics didn't sell records. We were doin' well as a regional thing at first, but overall, people at the label didn't get us. They had trouble understanding our mix of music. Soul? Rock? Pop? How do you label us? So, we sidestepped them and went straight for the audience and forged a bond.

You guys pretty much put out an album a year ... for years. Plus, you toured constantly. Today, bands put out an album every four years and then go on tour for two years straight.
We found a way to balance touring and songwriting and recording. It's all hard work, but it has to be fun and we strive to keep it fresh. It's the same with performing. I often try and create songs that have a structure you can play with, so you can sing them differently from one night to the next.

Your early records started out closer to soulful folk-rock and became more rock 'n' roll as the decade went on.

We learned so much in the studio in the early years. I loved working with Arif Mardin, who was just so wonderful [Rhapsody note: This beloved Atlantic Records producer helped break Aretha Franklin and many other huge acts]. He really helped us and taught us and recognized our Philly soul side. Then, later in the '70s, we started working with producers who were pretty autocratic. Now, that was hard because I'm pretty autocratic [laughs]. I like to be in control of our records ... they're our records. So, we were bumping heads. It was our will versus somebody else's will. Mixed in with that were these L.A. session guys -- and you can hear it on the records. At least I could. There became this tension for us about living in New York and working in Los Angeles.

Then, with 1980's Voices, and the hits "You Make My Dreams" and "Kiss On My List," this tense New Wave sound appears and it's mixed with soul and rock.

Yeah, we started recording in New York City with our band. The L.A. guys were behind the times -- there was something unusual happening in New York and London, and they didn't get it. It was an exciting period, but they were pretending it wasn't happening. You can't help being influenced by the music around you, yet we had a unique take on all of it. It all sounded like us. And a lot of new people started responding to it.

Your music from that period is just sampled so much now. "I Can't Go For That (No Can Do)" alone has been sampled in almost 100 hip-hop songs.
The first time I heard our music sampled was with De La Soul. I just thought it was great. I still do.

In addition to hip-hop, you have all these new indie rock bands and soul artists who are citing you as an influence.
I started hearing all of these new people, all from very different backgrounds, who were referencing me. It's what gave me the idea to put the show Live From Daryl's House together. Why don't we put all of these artists with different backgrounds and different musical strands together and turn it into action ... into music?

The show does a good job of showing how musicians put everything aside and bond over music. One episode will have you singing with Smokey Robinson, who influenced you and wanted you to sign with Motown, and the next time out it's someone like Nick Lowe or a cult artist like Chuck Prophet.
It's strange. Because of the Internet, because of technology, music is everywhere now. It's in everybody's life all the time. But it has become more specialized. The mass media are playing fewer songs and fewer new songs and ignoring so much. But the people who like music ... they really like music ... they seek it out. They don't expect to like what is just given to them. So, a show like Daryl's House is about breaking expectations.

Your voice still sounds like it did in 1975 ... how do you do it?
[Laughs] Ask Tony Bennett. If you're a good singer, you're a good singer. Period.

...................................................................................................................................

The Box Set: Do What You Want, Be What You Are: The Music of Daryl Hall & John Oates

Hall & Oates ruled the airwaves during the 1970s and '80s, racking up a slew of hits that have never left the pop landscape. Stereotyped more by their music videos than their actual records, they combined a foundation in Philly soul with folk-pop, rock and New Wave. This box set paints a complete portrait of the duo, including the hits, key album tracks, rarities and concert material. The experimental early years offer unexpected riches, while their streamlined '80s material can still jump start any party. This plays like a master class in quality pop.
   -- Nick Dedina, Rhapsody

The box set's title comes from one of the duo's all-time greatest songs. Click here to see Hall & Oates performing the classic ballad in their 1970s glory (as a bonus, you get Hall in his Thin Denim Duke period). To watch the duo perform it in a "feelin' it" Ray Charles style, check out this modern rendition. They still got it.

The Essential Early Album: Abandoned Luncheonette

The duo's second album from 1973 is a blue-eyed soul delight with fragments of genius. The LP fuses together laid-back folk, analog synths and Philly-style soul harmonies. The big hit here is "She's Gone," but check out the knockout opening track, "When The Morning Comes," as well as "Had I Known You Better Then." -- Jon Pruett, Rhapsody

The Popular Breakthrough: Daryl Hall & John Oates

Hall & Oates delved even deeper into Philly soul with this 1975 album. Opener "Camellia" has one of their best choruses; "Alone Too Long" reaches "She's Gone"-like heights of Chi-Lite worship; and the rocker "Gino (the Manager)" is flat-out weird and great. Then there's "Sara Smile," which is hands down one of the finest love songs ever written. -- Mike McGuirk, Rhapsody

The New Wave Rebirth: Private Eyes

Self-produced during the most prolific and successful period of their career, Hall & Oates' Private Eyes scored two No. 1 hits in 1981. Their blue-eyed soul is given a scruffy, New Wavish update on album cuts like "Did It in a Minute" and "Friday Let Me Down," while drum machines and analog synths counter uptown saxophone on perfectly crafted, signature songs like "I Can't Go for That" and the title track. Thanks to its unblemished pop luster and the millennial music scene's fashionable retroism, Private Eyes is like a sonic wormhole connecting then to now. -- Jonathan Zwickel, Rhapsody

Here's a playlist of Hall & Oates cuts from the 1970s


Here's a playlist of the duo's 1980s music

Remembering Dickie Peterson

2009-10-14T20:31:24Z

Dickie Peterson (that awesome-looking dude in the center here (and yes, the guy on the left looks pretty awesome, too)), who succumbed to liver cancer on October 12, 2009, was the original bass player and vocalist of incalculably influential San Francisco superblues power trio Blue Cheer. In the late '60s, Peterson, Leigh Stephens (guitar) and first drummer Eric Albronda represented about the most extreme rock music around, as far as double-tracked guitar freakouts, dog-exploding volumes and all-out heaviness were concerned. The overfuzz of his bass and long haired yahoo screaming on hit single "Summertime Blues" simply defined acid rock, not to mention the rest of Blue Cheer's skull-rattling 1968 debut, Vincebus Eruptum (they're all good but do not miss last song "Second Time Around"). Released that same year, follow-up Outsideinside was murky and deliberate -- a menacing flipside to the sunny hippie rock of the times. Even today you can hear unmistakable traces of Outsideinside's trudging riffology in basically all the music that came out of Seattle in the early '90s, and all over the sludgemetal of modern day New Orleans. From here, Blue Cheer's history becomes convoluted as guitarists and drummers come and go, with long hiatuses throughout the '70s and '80s. Recently, however, Peterson had successfully reformed the band and recorded What Doesn't Kill You in 2007.

The Popular Classics of Grunge: A Stock Report

2009-10-13T20:06:50Z

New albums from Alice in Chains and Pearl Jam have me daydreaming about the days when grunge stormed America and wrapped just about every high school between Seattle and Syracuse in red-and-black checked flannel. Those were heady days for me and my alternative pals Jay, Kerry, Jared and Ted. In the summer before senior year, we’d sit around Ted’s house (his parents were never home) and impatiently wait for MTV to play the “Alive” video or maybe even Temple of the Dog's "Hunger Strike." Feeling intensely nostalgic, I’ve been spinning the popular classics of grunge over the last week or so. Some of these sound really great, others kind of dated and a few haven’t changed at all. I figure I'd share my discoveries … in the form of a stock report.]]>
Nirvana: Nevermind
There is no expiration date for these tunes, however overcooked. “Lithium” slays. That “yeah, yeah, yyeeaahh, yyyeeeaaahhhh” chorus perfectly encapsulates the kind of inchoate angst that rock 'n' roll has always been about. But what’s up with Butch Vig’s production? I don’t remember the bass, guitar and drums melting into gooey blah. It’s hard to take. In Utero is better.
Stock: DOWN
Listen: Nevermind

Alice in Chains: Dirt
Are you effing kidding me? This record drops one piledriver after another. Not only that, the songwriting is sick. From the sidewinder riffage to the contorted vocal work, everything about this album feels twisted, inverted and gutted. Vedder’s teen-drama shenanigans on “Jeremy” feel sophomoric when compared to the anguish that is “Rain When I Die.” Exposing myself to this kind of pain gets harder and harder with age, however.
Stock: UP
Listen: Dirt

Pearl Jam: Ten
Spinning Epic's Legacy Edition is cheating, I suppose. E.V. sounds silly ranting about loving himself on “Once” -- or is it me lacking that youthful angst? Another thing about this opening track: what’s up with the fretless bass? It’s smooth jazz. Kind of funny how my friends and I thought Ten was a major break from hair metal. Production-wise, it and Nevermind -- the two titans of grunge -- are awfully slick. But hey, “Black” is gorgeous. (Note to Kerry: At Lollapalooza II Eddie Vedder, a real man of the people, made his way through the sweaty masses. You saw him and ditched us. I got all pissed off, as you have often reminded me. But what you have to understand is this: I had a huge crush on you. There, I finally said it.)
Stock: HOLDING STEADY
Listen: Ten or try the Legacy Edition

Stone Temple Pilots: Core
Core came out in 1992, yet it really is the first post-grunge album. Culturally speaking, the Pilots didn’t fly the flannel. Had they been around a decade earlier they would’ve been chasing pop-metal stardom on the Sunset Strip. Still, the production here beats both Nevermind and Ten. That’s because S.T.P. weren’t hung up on authenticity (Pearl Jam) or afraid of sounding too "big business" (Nirvana). After cranking Dirt, however, “Wicked Garden” and “Sex Type Thing” feel like the Spinal Tap of grunge. “I wanna run through your wicked garden”? What in the hell does that even mean?
Stock: DOWN
Listen: Core

Nirvana: In Utero
This record scared me in 1993, and it scares me now. Nirvana sounds unhinged, particularly on the hellish “Scentless Apprentice.” Steve Albini’s production comes from the “punch you in the face and gouge out your eyes” school. Unlike so many underground bands, Nirvana’s major-label output was far more challenging than their indie stuff. Both sonically and emotionally, In Utero just might be the most extreme album to ever top the Billboard.
Stock: UP
Listen: In Utero

Hole: Live Through This
Though the following statement could land me on Courtney’s hit list, I subscribe to the theory that Kurt wrote most of this album. Even if he didn’t, Ms. Love totally ripped off her hubby’s songwriting tricks. Though I do have to admit: there is no denying Courtney’s howl. It’s a rusty shiv plunged into the base of the spine, especially on “Plump.” Then again, whenever I’m in the mood for tormented grunge full of stop/start dynamics and Pixies-inspired hooks, In Utero is my first choice.
Stock: HOLDING STEADY
Listen: Live Through This

The Screaming Trees: Sweet Oblivion
Despite Cobain digging them, the Trees aren’t loved like their peers. Moody Mark Lanegan is too tall and detached, while the Connor brothers are too large and detached. Too bad, because they are my fave of all the grunge gods. Sweet Oblivion, which includes “Nearly Lost You,” the band’s killer hit off the Singles soundtrack, is one prescient album. It possesses the same balance of alternative cool, neo-metal heft and classic rock that Queens of the Stone Age have since taken to the bank.
Stock: UP
Listen: Sweet Oblivion

Soundgarden: Badmotorfinger
Because Superunknown feels more like Soundgarden’s “we’re not grunge; we’re classic rock” album, I went with this slab of thunderous man-jams. With a newish album featuring Timbaland and Justin Timberlake, Chris Cornell is lost in the wilderness. The Hollywood suit who convinced him to try and play the genre-hopping solo artist angle needs to be escorted from the building. He’s no Mark Lanegan -- he’s a handsome dude with a preternatural roar tailor-made for neo-Zep bombast best performed shirtless. This is an unfortunate development. Badmotorfinger, a play on Montrose’s “Bad Motor Scooter,” is an insanely visceral listen. One of Cornell's good friends needs to lock him in a room with a copy, so he rediscovers the path.
Stock: HOLDING STEADY
Listen: Badmotorfinger

Mudhoney: Piece of Cake
Reprise never would’ve signed Mudhoney had grunge not gone global. They’re just not marketable. That’s why Piece of Cake doesn’t click. Ditching their Neanderthal sludge for sometimes-catchy alternative rock, Mudhoney sound neutered. Not surprisingly, the group released stuff both before and after that’s far better. But if any band deserved a little fame and money, it’s the group that more or less invented grunge!
Stock: DOWN
Listen: Piece of Cake

Singles soundtrack
To answer your question: yes, I wore a flannel button-up the night Singles opened at the local cineplex. I can say with absolutely zero sarcasm that it turned my life, as well as my wardrobe, upside down. You see, I didn’t know anything about Sub Pop or grunge or Seattle before it all blew up. Anyway, this soundtrack contains ace tunes from Pearl Jam, AiC, Soundgarden and the Trees. It also has an intriguing, but ultimately irrelevant, track from Mother Love Bone, a band that wasn’t grunge. They were more “painter’s cap alt-rock” a la Jane’s Addiction, Faith No More and Ugly Kid Joe. Billy Corgan, Inc. also make an appearance with the gorgeous psych-jam “Drown.” I don’t consider the Pumpkins grunge either. In the band’s pre-Siamese Dream days -- and this is something a lot of folks don’t seem to remember -- the group had one foot planted firmly in the neo-hippie scene. In fact, Corgan circa 1991 looks like the kind of shady longhair you’d buy weed off of at a Phish concert in Ithaca, New York.
Stock: HOLDING STEADY

Temple of the Dog: Temple of the Dog
An odd backstory: it’s a one-off tribute to a fallen comrade, Mother Love Bone’s Andrew Wood, who was barely known outside the Pacific Northwest. Furthermore, Temple of the Dog was released on a major label, A&M, before Nevermind, Ten and Badmotorfinger. So all the musicians involved were barely known outside the Pacific Northwest as well. The album then proceeded to go platinum. There are a few chestnuts here, including “Say Hello 2 Heaven” and “Wooden Jesus.” But these guys produced better material in their respective bands, Pearl Jam and Soundgarden.
Stock: DOWN
Listen: Temple of the Dog

Even More Listening: The Popular Classics of Grunge playlist

The Song Remains the Same ... or Not

2009-10-13T07:12:42Z

Lead singers tend to be prima donnas who snag all the front-row babes and front-page accolades. Unfortunately, replacing these ego freaks is almost always an exercise in failure. Though the dude might've skipped a rehearsal or three, he’s the vessel through which all those killer songs are delivered to the masses. The medium is the message and to lose the medium means nose-diving right back into club circuit hell, where green rooms are nothing more than a gutted bathroom plastered in hand-scrawled personals: For a good time call ...

Musicians know all this, and yet there are always going to be successful bands who believe they can succeed with a newbie frontman. Can you blame them? If you were Eddie Van Halen, wouldn’t you feel a powerful urge to stick it to that blowhard D.L.R.? I know I would. Of course, Van Halen are one of the rare exceptions to the rule. Say what you will about Van Hagar and lame-o hits like “Right Now,” but they sold a ton of records. Roth’s popularity, meanwhile, declined with each passing year he wasn’t swinging from the rafters 40 feet above Michael Anthony and his Jack Daniels bass.

But what of the other titans of rock who dared switch frontmen? How did they fare? Let's find out ...

]]>
Alice in Chains
I expected to hate AiC’s new album, Black Gives Way to Blue. While defenders of new singer William DuVall point out that guitarist Jerry Cantrell is the group’s primary songwriter, Layne Staley was one of the most intriguing frontmen of the last two decades. Dirt is a trip-through-hell rock odyssey: scary, brutal and engrossing. But hey, Black Gives Way to Blue is a fat slice of quality modern rock in its own right. Cantrell can still write, while DuVall does an honorable job, negotiating the whole “how much should I rip off Layne” issue. Besides, a Staley-less Alice in Chains still rocks harder than just about any post-grunge act you can name.
Grade: B
Further Listening: Black Gives Way to Blue

Motley Crue
The Crue really screwed the pooch back in 1994. In addition to 86-ing its trademark sound, the band parted ways with that pudgy, porno-producing pipsqueak Vince Neil, whose screechy yelp helped define the hair metal aesthetic. On Motley Crue, hapless scrub John Corabi howls like the grunge wanna-be that he is, while the group fails to find a place in the alt-rock revolution. But the Crue have never been about angst; they’re about stripper poles. And fortunately for longtime fans, the band came to its senses and reunited with Neil, as well as their love for trashy pop metal.
Grade: C (would be a D had they closed out their career with Corabi)
Further Listening: Motley Crue

Black Sabbath
There are more than a few pro-Ozzy Black Sabbath fans who coldly dismiss the Dio years. What these folks overlook is the abject mediocrity of the band’s last couple of albums with Osborne. Heaven and Hell and Mob Rules, in stark contrast, sound absolutely riveting. Not only do Sabbath sound revitalized with Ronnie James, they’re actually helping heavy metal make its next evolutionary leap into the 1980s. On top of all this, Dio’s pipes and artistry have aged far better than those of Ozzy, whose bumbling jive-talk I’ve always found more sad than endearing. I guess the moral of the story is this: an addiction to Dungeons & Dragons is far healthier than an addiction to cocaine.
Grade: A
Further Listening: The Dio Years

Lynyrd Skynyrd
I don't want to sound overly morbid, but let's say your brother dies in plane crash. You’re crushed. Yet you decide to dress and talk exactly like him for the next two decades. Not only that, you airbrush his image (which is now your image) on the back of your jean jacket. Only in rock 'n' roll would such behavior be rewarded with sold-out concerts at county fairs and a long line of longhairs waiting to purchase $30 belt buckles emblazoned with the flag of the Confederacy.
Grade: P (for psychotic)
Further Listening: Gods & Guns

Judas Priest
The story is now legendary: after the departure of leather-clad metal icon Rob Halford (who put together tenacious thrashers Fight), Judas Priest enlisted Tim “Ripper” Owens, a dude who was fronting some Priest tribute band in northeast Ohio. Thank Satan Halford returned to the fold in 2003; the band needs him far more than he needs them. Fight’s War of Words slays just about anything the Priest released during the Owens era.
Grade: D
Further Listening: Demolition (w/Owens on vox) and War of Words (Fight)

Journey
Steve Perry, who more or less invented the template for the soaring MOR crooner, wasn’t Journey’s first frontman (that was some dude by the name of Robert Fleischman) but he is unquestionably the group’s most popular -- and powerful. Chew on this: his first replacement, Steve Augeri, bowed out due to vocal attrition. The guy’s instrument simply couldn’t handle the poperatic gymnasitics of “Lights” night after night. In order to find a singer who could, Neal Schon and company had to venture all the way to the Philippines, where they found Perry clone Arnel Pineda. The latest incarnation of Journey, with Pineda out front, has enjoyed some modest success, yet they will forever live in Steve Perry’s shadow.
Grade: C
Further Listening: Generations (w/Augeri on vox)

AC/DC
AC/DC have produced two, maybe three, flat-out killer albums with Brian Johnson on vocals. One of them, the immortal Back in Black, was suppose to feature Bon Scott. That said, I’m going out on a limb and saying AC/DC would’ve fared no better had Scott lived. The group’s primal, minimalist riff-rock is beyond amazing, but it’s also a one-trick pony. AC/DC would’ve started making mediocre albums regardless of who was out front screaming. So give Johnson some credit. The guy has made the most with what's been handed to him. He’s kind of like a reliable workhorse who refuses to be put out to pasture.
Grade: B

Queen
I have a theory about Queen teaming up with meaty Bad Company stud Paul Rodgers. Somewhere along the way Brian May got sick and tired of all the “gay talk” that inevitably surfaces whenever the group is mentioned on a VH-1-produced special on rock history. It made them feel as though they were nothing more than the pit band for Liza Minnelli or bathhouse-era Bette Midler. So in order to prove that Queen was a real-deal hard rock group, they hired the most virile singer in the history of British blues-rock (yet they still call themselves Queen -- weird). This, of course, destroyed what made the group so unique: the original Queen rocked as hard as Zeppelin, yet also busted some wonderfully campy art pop. It’s one of the most singular aesthetics in all of rock 'n' roll. Unfortunately, with Rodgers now at the helm for the occasional world tour, Queen are just another boogie-rock dinosaur on the slow road to extinction.
Grade: H (for homophobic)
Further Listening: Return of the Champions

Iron Maiden
Who on earth remembers Blaze Bayley? I sure as hell don't! Mr. Bayley replaced Bruce Dickinson in 1994 and proceeded to stink up the joint. Iron Maiden, much like Priest, struggled until Bruce and his bionic lungs returned. I saw them in 1999, and they sounded just fantastic. (Halford opened, as a matter of fact.) What is it with these operative metal dudes? Why are they so irreplaceable?
Grade: C (should be a D, but the fact that Maiden succeeded in replacing their real-true original singer, one Paul Di'Anno, with Dickinson boosts them up a whole letter grade)
Further Listening: The X Factor

INXS
There is only one band more pathetic than the Doors when it comes to not realizing their lead singer meant everything, and that's INXS. Michael Hutchence was so Mojo Risin': a moody and charismatic longhair in shades whose distasteful death -- was it suicide or autoerotic asphyxiation? -- embodied rock’s dark side. INXS have tried to push on, but it’s been a slog. First came false starts with Jon Stevens and, uh, Terence Trent d'Arby, as well as the band asking Faith No More's Mike Patton, of all people, to join (he, of course, said no -- as well as some other choice comments). Then there was the reality-show debacle and winning contestant J.D. Fortune. After all that, the group started experimenting with celebrity frontman by committee. This has produced some strange results, including one-off collaborations with Rob Thomas and the Killers’ Brandon Flowers. Of course, this sounds a lot like Ray Manzarek and Robby Krieger shacking up with one modern rocker after another: Ian Astbury, Fuel’s Brett Scallions, Scott “It’s Good to be the King” Stapp and so on.

Grade: C (should be an F, but let's be honest: INXS' decline started long before the death of Hutchence)
Further Listening: Switch (w/Fortune on vox)

Van Hagar
We already stirred this cocktail (see our intro). However, I need to mention just a few more tidbits before folks start to grill me for defending Van Hagar. Call me crazy, but for me the Van Halen legacy took a serious hit when I discovered that the Chickenfoot album rocks harder than any of the live stuff I’ve heard from Van Halen’s recent reunion with Roth -- who, unlike the ageless Sammy, sounds tired and old. Couple this with the fact that Hagar’s first major band, the Ted Templeman-produced Montrose, basically invented the Van Halen sound all the way back in 1973, and you have to admit he isn’t a bad dude. Sure, I’m not spinning 5150 or OU812 anytime soon, but I’d rather party at the Cabo Wabo Cantina with him and nice guy Michael Anthony than either D.L.R. or those dysfunctional Van Halen brothers.
Grade: B (should be an A, but there’s Van Cherone to contend with)
Further Listening: 5150, OU812 and just for the hell of hit ... Chickenfoot!

The Doors
Jim Morrison is a golden god, and there’s no replacing golden gods -- even if we're talking Iggy Pop or Ian Astbury. 'Nuff said.
Grade: Anything below a F?

Further listening: The Song Remains the Same -- or Not playlist

Coup De Stereo: The Songs Johnny Cash Wants You to Know

2009-10-05T20:57:28Z

There's a lot of uncertainty out in the world today. Who knows exactly what is going to happen or when it's going to happen or who exactly it's going to happen to?

One thing's for sure, though. If Johnny Cash has recommended a list of essential songs, you sit down, you shut up and you start listening to those songs.

Back in 1973, the Man In Black gave his daughter, Rosanne Cash, a list of 100 songs that he thought she needed to know. Being a smart cookie, Rosanne listened to those songs and studied them over the years.

Now, Rosanne, a fine singer-songwriter in her own right, has whittled that list down to 12 songs and put out what is easily one of the best albums of 2009 -- The List. In her Rhapsody review, Linda Ryan, our country editor, writes, "It's difficult not to fall hard for the Springsteen-featured 'Sea of Heartbreak,' the gentle honky-tonk of 'Miss the Mississippi and You' and the Elvis Costello duet 'Heartaches by the Numbers.'"

One of the great things about Rhapsody is the depth of our catalog -- over 8 million songs strong -- that allows you to not only listen to the latest music, but also virtually any music from every period. Once you sign up for Rhapsody, it is at your fingertips.

And while you should definitely check out Rosanne's album, I went ahead and searched out 12 earlier versions of the songs on Rhapsody. These are tough, timeless songs with a sentimental streak, full of heartbreak, humor and resilience. The list includes rough, raw recordings as well as more polished, radio-ready hits of the past.

Listen in, take notes and either get reacquainted with some old friends or make some new ones. Johnny Cash was right: these are songs that you'll need at some point in your life. Rosanne Cash does the songs -- and her father -- proud.

]]> 1. Jimmie Rodgers: "Miss the Mississippi and You"
Rodgers was one of the architects of country music in general and of the country music singing style in particular. He combined elements of old folk, the blues, mountain music and cowboy songs in a new popular idiom. "Mississippi" seamlessly unites heartfelt sentiment and professional craft.

2. Son House: "Motherless Children"
This pain-soaked spiritual is a constant in American music. Son House's reading points to its origins as a slave song that spoke of families torn apart and never reunited. That pain and confusion is a big part of American pop, and Johnny Cash never sidestepped painful issues in his own music.

3. Don Gibson: "Sea of Heartbreak"
Gibson was dubbed the Sad Poet, and this wonderful tune shows that he was downbeat even when he sounded upbeat. Though Gibson penned a slew of classic hits, which were often covered by others, this number was written by Hal David, who had a long partnership with Mr. Burt Bacharach. This one earned Gibson decades of radio spins on the rock 'n' roll oldies format. Cash was embraced by both the country and rock worlds.

4. Don Gibson: "Take These Chains from My Heart"
The great Ray Charles' version of this song is now heard the most, but Gibson's voice has us transfixed. This is one of those numbers that shows how popular music could take a gospel theme and move it over to romance. (Rhapsody has 65 different versions of this immortal number -- one of them in German!)

5. Hank Snow: "I'm Moving On"
America is so vast that songs about rambling men leaving town when a woman does them wrong is a songwriting genre unto itself. Canada's first gift to country music, Hank Snow racked up over 70 chart hits during his long career, with this one going all the way to the No. 1 spot. Snow was also one of the first stars to be open about the abuse he suffered as a child.

6. Ray Price: "Heartaches by the Number"
A protege of the great Hank Williams, Ray Price shows that heartache can be humorous in this classic -- his voice goes one way while the witty lyrics go another. Cash seemed to like equal doses of horror and (gallows) humor in his songs. Price brought the Williams style to Texas, the Western state that has as much to do with the formation of country music as Appalachia or the rest of the South. Then again, Hank Snow was from Canada.

7. Peter, Paul & Mary: "500 Miles"
Like "Motherless Children," this yearning ode to the pain of separation doesn't seem like it was ever written -- it must have always existed. This version is the one that spread the tune far and wide, though Cash probably already knew it well. The Beatles and the British Invasion took away PP&M's hipness quotient, but this version is pure and beautiful. Rosanne's version is even more heartbreaking.

8. Johnny Cash: "The Long Black Veil"
This wonder sounds like an ancient folk "murder ballad," but it was actually written in 1959 to sound like one. Since murder ballads were a Johnny Cash specialty, we've chosen his live reading of the song, which ends with his famed prison water rant. Cash wrings every ounce of stoic heartbreak, irony and black humor out of the song.

9. Patsy Cline: "She's Got You"
This sublime song was written specifically for Cline, and it -- and not "I Fall to Pieces" or "Sweat Dreams" -- is what turned her into a crossover pop star. The outward appearances and sounds of Patsy Cline and Johnny Cash couldn't have been more different, but this number shows that the best songs communicate emotion, not fashion, directly.

10. Bob Dylan: "Girl from the North Country"
The first time Johnny Cash met Bob Dylan, he gave Dylan his guitar as the ultimate symbol of respect. Dylan was blown away to have one of his idols consider his songs at all. For all of Dylan's personality quirks and eccentricities, this song shows that he is also a deft student of folk and popular music. It sounds as though instead of writing it, he just plucked it right out of the air.

11. Merle Haggard: "Silver Wings"
Like Johnny Cash and Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard was a precursor to the "outlaw" country artists. An all-around talent -- songwriter, bandleader and singer (listen to that voice!) -- Haggard shows how to turn a song into a scene from the saddest movie ever made.

12. Maybelle Carter: "Bury Me Under the Weeping Willow"
Johnny Cash loved the Carter family so much, he married one of them. This is one of the earliest country hits ever and shows how popular music used to be tied to nature instead of shopping malls. Rosanne Cash's new version is just as pure and beautiful. Maybe that sense of authenticity (whether "real" or created by crafty professionals) is what ties all of these songs together. These 12 tunes just feel right.

Rhapsody subscribers can listen to the entire list here., or sign up for your free Rhapsody trial right now.

But They're Really Big in Europe...

2009-10-01T21:15:44Z

The last couple weeks saw the release of two new albums that will be a HUGE deal in Europe -- and will probably hardly make a ripple in the United States. The Boy Who Knew Too Much and La Roux are the efforts of, respectively, a major European pop star (Mika) and a seriously buzzed-about British dance-pop outfit (La Roux) who, in the U.S., are simply indie acts with something of a cult following. So what makes a band "big" in Europe, but not here? We set out to examine the subtle nuances that sometimes distinguish the delicate continental palate from our more, well, palatable American tastes. What we came up with was not one answer, but a series of reasons/differences/aesthetic problems.]]>
The Kylie Minogue Problem
Quintessential Case: Well, Kylie Minogue, but this is pretty much where La Roux lives
Try Listening Like a European: Minogue's "Slow," La Roux's "Quicksand"
An icy-hot singer who purrs beguiling hooks over a dance beat that soothes you into submission/shaking it? In theory, there is no reason why this should not be a recipe for serious success in the U.S. After all, Madonna and Britney have made careers out of it. Maybe Minogue is too clubby, maybe La Roux's beat is too cold and numbing, maybe Robyn is too hip. Whatever the reason, we seem to prefer our dance divas to be domestic (though nearly all these ladies generally find friendlier crowds in gay clubs).
See also: Robyn, Little Boots, Aqua, September

Spice Girls Saturation Level Reached
Quintessential Case: Girls Aloud
Put On Your Euro Ears: "Something Kinda Ooooh"
Americans knows a thing or two about girl groups, and we loved us some Spice Girls. We bought the baby-doll hair clips, we dutifully learned every word to "Wannabe," we watched Spice World. OK, maybe not that. But you get the point. Once we lost our taste for Spice, however, it's like we said, "OK, that's it. No more British girl groups for us," slamming the door in the faces of myriad all-female megastar acts from across the pond that followed.
See also: All Saints, Sugababes, Atomic Kitten, Liberty X (OK, not technically a girl group)

The Boy Band Bermuda Triangle
Quintessential Case: Take That
Put On Your European Listening Ears: "Whatever You Do to Me"
What goes better with girl groups than boy bands? Nothing -- unless they're British. Maybe we're biased, but when you've got boy bands like Boyz II Men and 'NSync at home, the rather anemic, choreography-challenged Brit versions really pale in comparison. Though we maintain that America is missing out on Robbie Williams. Sometimes, anyway.
See also: Boyzone, Ronan Keating, Westlife, maybe even Il Divo

Definite Article Bands, Circa 2002
Quintessential Case: The Libertines
Listen Like It's 2002: "Don't Look Back Into the Sun"
Remember back around the millennium when every other new band seemed to be a garage rock outfit called The [insert plural noun here] (e.g., the Strokes, the White Stripes, the Killers)? Well, Europe (and the U.K. in particular) really took that idea and ran with it long after Drew Barrymore dumped Fab Moretti for the "I'm a Mac" guy. Some of the bands they've kept in business are ours (see: the Von Bondies), but they've got their own garage rock assembly line going, too. Some of it's made some inroads in indie circles, but in large part, we just can't be bothered with Pete Doherty's shenanigans. We're busy with Kanye's.
See also: The Vines, the Datsuns, the Mooney Suzuki, the Hives, the Raveonettes, the Kills

The Hoff Phenomenon
Quintessential Case: See above
Put On Your European Listening Ears: "Do the Limbo Dance (Remix 2006)"
America has something of an inferiority complex when it comes to Europe, which all too often just seems so much chicer, cooler, more in-the-know than we. But sometimes, the continent's tastes just defy all logic (or at least any kind of logic Americans can fathom), leaving us scratching our heads at those upon whom it chooses to bestow celebrity and (dare we say it) respect. Enter David Hasselhoff, talent show judge, friend to talking cars everywhere, lifeguard extraordinaire and HUGE in Germany.
See also: Jerry Lewis

Glam
Quintessential Case(s): T. Rex, Suzi Quatro
Listen Like a European: Quatro's "The Wild One," T. Rex's "20th Century Boy"
Sometimes entire genres just don't take stateside. Something about the combination of extravagant makeup, flamboyant attitudes and hard rock didn't gel with American audiences -- that is, until we renamed it hair metal in the '80s. Always a bit more experimental with the juxtaposition of gender transgression and rock (see also The '70s Are Over, below), Europe embraced fabulous super-freaks like T. Rex and America's own Suzi Quatro (who gender-bent for the other team) that never got beyond one-hit wonder in the U.S.
See also: Slade, Gary Glitter, even Bowie, really

Weird Prog Rock/Scandinavian Death Metal That Would Be Niche Stuff Here But Is, Like, a HUGE Deal in Europe
Quintessential Case(s): Marillion, Mayhem
Put On Your Euro Ears: "Kayleigh"
Hi, Europe? Let us get this straight. So, what you're saying is, this stuff is almost, like, pop music there, right? Like, they win Eurovision contests and stuff? And you play them on the regular radio, not like only in the basement of some angsty suburban kid in a black T-shirt? And you ... don't make jokes about it? Ye-eaah, we don't get it.
See also: Marduk, Fish

Americans Don't Understand Hip-Hop with a British Accent
Quintessential Case: Grime/Dubstep
Listen Like a Geezer: Dizzee Rascal's "Fix Up, Look Sharp"
Maybe it's a proprietary thing -- after all, hip-hop was invented by Americans. Maybe it's the product of our limited world view. Maybe we just don't get the slang ("fit"? "cheeky"? And guys, it's wit, not wiv. Oy!). Or maybe it's just that that accent throws the whole freaking meter off. Whatever the reason, hip-hop with a British accent just does not translate into American, even if Jay-Z is promoting it.
See also: The Streets, Lady Sovereign, Wiley

Arctic Monkeys
Quintessential Case: Oasis
Listen Like a Brit: Arctic Monkeys' "My Propeller"
Look, United Kingdom. Stop trying to make Arctic Monkeys happen for us, OK? Like we told you about Oasis, we Just. Don't. Care.
See also: Klaxons, Blur, Pulp

The '70s Are Over (aka Campy Figures of Ambiguous Sexuality for Whom Freddie Mercury and Elton John are Major Influences Jes' Don't Sit Right with Red-Blooded 'Mericans)
Quintessential Case: Mika
Listen Like They Do in Italy: "We Are Golden"
Look, we're not bigots or anything, OK? We accepted Elton (after he watered down his camp and added a big side of Clay-mate-friendly cheese) and ABBA (after we turned them into a sanitized, Disney-style High School Musical). Mika may be a pop star of Britney-esque proportions even in somewhat conservative Italy, and Beth Ditto of Gossip may be a Kate-Moss-befriending megastar in the U.K. But here in the good ol' US of A, we like our men to be men, our women to be women, and our pop idols to be on the straight and narrow. You know, like Adam Lambert. And Prince. And Justin Timberlake.
See also: Scissor Sisters, Sliimy, Pop Levi, Boney M, Robbie Williams
Exceptions: Elton John, ABBA, George Michael

European Finishing School
Quintessential Case: Kings of Leon
Put on Your European Listening Ears: You know "Use Somebody," but check out "The Bucket"
Sometimes, even artists who are as American as they come just can't hit the ground running here. Take Kings of Leon, a bunch of Southern-bred, classic rock-playing sons of a preacher man. Maybe they were just a bit too on the nose? At any rate, we shipped 'em off to Europe, where they hit it big before returning to a, uh, Kings' welcome stateside.
See also: Jerry Lee Lewis, Josephine Baker, possibly Gossip (if they play their cards right)

All the Single Ladies

2009-09-29T18:16:43Z

With the release of Paramore's new album, Twilight's Kristen Stewart rocking her best Joan Jett for an upcoming bio-pic and Yeah Yeah Yeahs' Karen O leading an all-star cast of indie rockers on the Where the Wild Things Are soundtrack, it's really not a bad time to be a chick in a rock band. But of course, all chicks fronting rock bands face the age-old question at some point: To go solo or not to go solo? It's a question Paramore's Hayley Williams had to quash when rumors swirled this summer over a possible solo move when she contributed a track to the Jennifer's Body soundtrack. She's stayed adamant that Paramore is going nowhere, but this got us thinking -- as tempting as it is to reach for the brass ring, is going solo always a good idea? We lined up a few examples Ms. Williams might want to consider for future reference. (And please to be remembering: if you dig Paramore, solo projects, Wild Things, or all of the above, then get on the jet with a Rhapsody subscription -- try it for free right here, right now.) ]]>

Jefferson Airplane vs. Grace Slick

Though she'd recorded these tracks previously with the Great Society, it wasn't until Slick joined Jefferson Airplane that "Somebody to Love" and "White Rabbit" helped define the San Francisco Haight-Ashbury acid rock scene. Solo Slick, on the other hand, never quite discovered terra firma. In the '80s, her solo albums committed various synthesizer crimes. She eventually reunited with the band for 1989's Jefferson Airplane. In 1996, they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Side note: Though Jefferson Starship/Starship were more commercially successful than Jefferson Airplane, they are banned from competition based on illegal use of "We Built This City."

Fleetwood Mac vs. Stevie Nicks

While the trembling rhythm of "Edge of Seventeen" is certainly catchy and her duet with Tom Petty on "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around" difficult to resist, solo Stevie, like solo Slick, got a bit stuck in '80s trendville (ahem, "Stand Back"). And the Mac's Rumours was such a high-water mark, it was almost pointless to try to outdo it. Like Slick, Nicks reunited with Fleetwood Mac, which lead to the mega-selling The Dance, and the band's induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998.

Blondie vs. Debbie Harry

You can't deny the timelessness of 1978's Parallel Lines, with tracks like "One Way or Another," "Hanging on the Telephone" and "Heart of Glass." Blondie helped put punk, new wave and the CBGB's crowd on the mainstream map. Debbie solo, on the other hand, didn't quite have the beat, though 1981's Kookoo is a noble effort. Like Slick and Nicks, Harry has continually gone back to her first love: Blondie, also a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

No Doubt vs. Gwen Stefani

This battle is a toughie. When No Doubt released one of the dumbest songs of 2002, "Hella Good," their mojo was clearly flagging. Sure enough, a year later Gwen released her solo debut, which ditched the ska-rock in favor of straight up dance-pop. Though she's seen plenty of success on her own, none of her solo work packs the punch that No Doubt's does. And, like those before her, she's back on top ... touring with her band.

Hole vs. Courtney Love

Love her or despise her, Courtney Love was a key player in the early '90s grunge scene. With her band Hole, she was making her mark even before her relationship with Kurt Cobain overshadowed everything. Still, Hole's Live Through This stands as one of the great albums of the grunge era. It wasn't until after the band dissolved that Love tried her hand at a solo career, releasing her debut America's Sweetheart in 2004. The album was a commercial flop. So while this rock battle is still up in the air (Love has a follow-up set to release in 2010), Hole's work has Love's pretty much pinned.

So does this mean going solo is a bad idea? Definitely not. Prime example: Bjork, whose former group the Sugarcubes could never compete with the Icelandic oddball's influential work. With Bjork setting the precedent (and Hayley Williams possibly on her way?), here are a few other rock chicks we think could help break the going-solo curse:

Metric's Emily Haines (who already has one solid solo disc), Evanescence's Amy Lee, The Duke Spirit's Liela Moss, Noisettes' Shingai Shoniwa, The Kills/The Dead Weather's Alison Mosshart, Gossip's Beth Ditto, Black Mountain/Lightning Dust's Amber Webber, Flyleaf's Lacey Mosley and Karen O (sans the Kids).

For Those About to Boogie

2009-09-29T18:09:58Z

Southern rock often gets a bad rap among folks whose "learnin' shed" isn't a car on blocks in the front yard. This is largely due to the fact that classic rock radio tends to play only the most hillbilliest of Skynyrd songs ("Sweet Home Alabama," "Gimme Three Steps"), and it's just impossible for a normal person to see the unfortunate choice of a Confederate flag as part of a band's aesthetic and not feel weird.

But there's more to Southern rock than the endless boogie of Molly Hatchet. The music has its roots in ancient blues, deep soul and even the earliest rock 'n' roll music (see Elvis' Sun Sessions). For one thing, two of the genre's main progenitors, Greg and Duane Allman, basically grew up in Muscle Shoals studio, playing with Wilson Pickett, Aretha Franklin, Clarence Carter and others. And Southern rock itself has evolved over the years and remains vital today.

The genre can easily be broken down to three eras, and what we've done here is offer a little primer on Southern rock with the major players of each of its periods in playlist form. This is not the last word on Southern rock, so if you have "Whiskey Rock-A-Roller" tattooed on your forehead, don't flip out that there's no Wet Willie. This here is meant to be a starter kit for newcomers and some good songs for the acolytes.

Be sure to listen to all the artist mentioned here with your Rhapsody subscription and listen to all all of your favorite high quality audio with your free trial Rhapsody membership.
]]> Smelly Old Southern Rock/The Golden Age (1969-1975)
The Allman Brothers basically opened the door, set the bar, put the "choogle" in "chooglin'" or whatever you want to call it with their 1969 self-titled debut album. By the time Eat a Peach appeared in 1972, Southern rock had its blueprint and was an exploding scene in its own right. Here we have some of the best songs of that era, from Duane tearing the sky apart in "Stand Back" to forest-dwelling car thieves Black Oak Arkansas giving a history lesson. The Ozark Mountain Daredevils may be more of a country rock band, but "If You Wanna Get to Heaven" is such a damn good song we had to include it. That's Duane Allman playing guitar on Wilson Pickett's "Hey Jude."

The South Rises Again ('80s-'90s)
Southern rock fell from critical and commercial favor in the late '70s, possibly due to the loss of several members of Lynyrd Skynyrd in a plane crash in 1977. In any case, people didn't start talking about Southern rock again until Donnie Van Zant's .38 Special appeared in 1981 with the radio-perfect two-fer here. The Black Crowes hit it big in the '90s, but it was Drivin' N' Cryin', a band from Atlanta, that was better than both, as evidenced here by the only song of theirs to make it to the radio in any real way. It's a good'n.

Southern Rock's New Set of Teeth ('00s)
Unfortunately we don't have the rights to Raging Slab's 2002 Southern rock masterpiece, Pronounced Eat Sh*t, so you'll have to settle for their cover of Mountain's cowbell epic, "Mississippi Queen." Elsewhere, Kid Rock, Florida's Shinedown, the Black Crowes and the best Skynyrd song since poor Ronnie passed give you an idea of where Southern rock is today.

New Moon Rising

2009-09-25T16:53:35Z

The era of the celebrity DJ is on the wane. These days, the real big-tent tastemakers are music supervisors: the behind-the-scenes types with the knack for administering just the right dose of Snow Patrol at the tear-jerking climax of a Grey's Anatomy episode. And no one does that better than Alex Patsavas, whose keen ears and bursting Rolodex have put their sonic stamp on Grey's Anatomy, The O.C., Gossip Girl, and a little yarn about vampires called Twilight, whose soundtrack went on to sell 2.2 million copies.

]]> Iron and Wine and the Black Ghosts alongside megastars Muse and Linkin Park, Patsavas drinks deeply from the indie-rock vein with his selections for New Moon. Last week Stephenie Meyer, author of the best-selling novels behind the films, announced the sequel's soundtrack on her blog. The track listing offers a who's who of both yielding sensitivity and kohl-eyed cool, featuring artists like Death Cab for Cutie, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and the Killers, all experts in nocturnal angst. (Not to mention OK Go, whose superhuman stamina on the treadmill suggests that they might actually be vampires themselves.)

Perhaps we shouldn't give all the credit to Patsavas: after all, Meyer herself is an avowed fan of left-of-field faves like Animal Collective and Grizzly Bear, and the latter turn up on New Moon with a new song, "Slow Life." While Brooklynites may be scratching their rumpled heads over that one, it's not the only surprise on the album. Radiohead's Thom Yorke makes a rare appearance, as do the folksy Bon Iver and St. Vincent, teaming up in an even rarer duet performance. Even hardcore indie insiders may be unfamiliar with Hurricane Bells, aka Longwave's Steve Schlitz, who until just a few weeks ago was still flying in stealth mode, as he told EW.com in a hastily arranged interview.

The New Moon soundtrack comes out October 20, a month before the film hits theaters nationwide. See below for the track listing. At Rhapsody, you can listen to all these artist, anytime, and you can even take it with you anywhere with our new iPhone app. So, be sure to sign up for your free trial Rhapsody membership, and, in the meantime, whet your appetite with our exclusive playlist of tunes by the soundtrack's artists. After all, with vampires on the march, don't you want to be prepared?

Death Cab for Cutie, "Meet Me on the Equinox"
Band of Skulls, "Friends"
Thom Yorke, "Hearing Damage"
Lykke Li, "Possibility"
The Killers, "A White Demon Love Song"
Anya Marina, "Satellite Heart"
Muse, "I Belong to You (New Moon Remix)"
Bon Iver & St. Vincent, "Roslyn"
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, "Done All Wrong"
Hurricane Bells, "Monsters"
Sea Wolf, "The Violet Hour"
OK Go, "Shooting the Moon"
Grizzly Bear, "Slow Life"
Editors, "No Sound but the Wind"
Alexandre Desplat, "New Moon (The Meadow)"

A Get-Well-Soon Playlist for Marilyn Manson

2009-09-24T22:00:18Z

The H1N1 Influenza virus -- popularly known, to the chagrin of the Other White Meat industry, as "swine flu" -- keeps spreading. And with some estimates claiming that it could affect as many as two to three billion people, it's only natural that celebrities will be stricken, along with the rest of us schlubs. (I'm not a doctor, but I play one on this blog.) From the cases reported so far, it looks like swine flu is not immune to irony. CNN's chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta got it. Epidemiologist and Huffington Post medical blogger Larry Brilliant, M.D. got it -- just days after agreeing to write an article on the disease, at that. (In addition to all its other evil powers, swine flu also apparently rifles through your email. Maybe they should call it crazy ex-girlfriend flu?) And now, it turns out, Marilyn Manson has gotten it too.]]>
I know that swine flu is no laughing matter, despite the HuffPo doc's assertion that many people "joke about it and don't give it the respect it deserves. Swine flu is the Rodney Dangerfield of pandemics." (Who am I to argue with a guy named Dr. Larry Brilliant? I don't laugh at Rodney Dangerfield jokes, either.) After all, when even a dark prince like Marilyn Manson proves susceptible to snout gout, who among us is safe? (You'd think that the virus would have taken one look at Manson's terrifying visage and turned on its amoebic heels. With his pallor, how did the microbic critters even figure out he was alive in the first place?)

"Unfortunately, I am going to survive," wrote Manson on his Facebook page, clearly taking things in stride. We'll strike that "unfortunately," because frankly, a world without Marilyn Manson is not a world we really want to imagine. (Where would we get our Mansinthe?) Having lost the King of Pop, we're not about to lose the King of Shock-Schlock. So, wishing our beloved Celebritarian a speedy recovery, we whipped up an audio get-well card: a whopping dose of tunes dedicated expressly to our favorite cross-dressing, human-skeleton-collecting, starlet-dating-and-divorcing, scary-contact-lens-wearing Man in Black: James Brown's "Cold Sweat." Run-D.M.C.'s "You Be Illin'." M.I.A.'s "Bird Flu." Peggy Lee's "Fever." Ne-Yo's "So Sick." Queens of the Stone Age's "Sick, Sick, Sick." Motley Crue's "Generation Swine," of course, along with Today Is the Day's "Kiss the Pig." Even Jello Biafra's Tumor Cirus doing the scarily prescient "Swine Flu," from way back in 1991. And much, much more. If this "Soul Vaccination" (Tower of Power) doesn't do the trick, we recommend you "Up the Dose" (Mentors). With cuts from the Rolling Stones, Steely Dan, TV on the Radio, Misfits and more, the antibody's gotta be in here somewhere. But whatever happens, just remember Screamin' Jay Hawkins' sage advice, and "Shut Your Mouth When Your Sneeze."

Get well soon, Marilyn. If we can do anything for you while you're down -- send out for pork fried rice, BLTs, a piping hot bowl of chitlins -- just say the word.

Classic Rock Crate Digger: The Story Behind the Blue Ridge Rangers

2009-09-24T18:59:52Z

Ask much of the civilized world to name an album sequel with "blue" in its title, and the first thing out of their mouth is going to be Jay-Z’s The Blueprint 3. Ask the Classic Rock Crate Digger, however, and it’s going to be John Fogerty's The Blue Ridge Rangers Rides Again, a new collection of vintage country and roots-rock covers that rivals Jigga’s new joint when it comes to pushing product based on the number of high-profile cameos. Check it: there’s the Boss; drummer extraordinaire and Mellencamp cohort Kenny Aronoff; media mogul/producer Lenny Waronker; Eagles Don Henley and Timothy B. Schmit; Americana heavyweight Buddy Miller; and Herb "I've Played with Just About Every Major Country Rocker and Bluegrass Heavyweight of the Last Four Decades" Pedersen.*

]]> The Blue Ridge Rangers Rides Again is a star-studded event -- no doubt about it. There’s only one catch: barely anybody out there even knows it’s a sequel. Its predecessor, The Blue Ridge Rangers, was the Foge’s solo debut, and back in 1973 it proceeded to sink into the murky depths of the El Cerrito public pool without a trace. Hell, a lot of hardcore Creedence Clearwater Revival fans (excluding the Dude, of course) don’t even know the album exists. It's kind of strange that the guru behind C.C.R., one of the most successful acts in rock 'n' roll history, couldn’t muster more interest.

Part of the problem was the record’s insular quirkiness, a quality that stands in stark contrast to its high-profile successor. Though both Blue Ridge Rangers albums delve into honky-tonk, bluegrass, gospel and country-folk, the first installment finds Fogerty taking liberties with tradition in ways not uncommon in them heady, post-Woodstock days. Everything is just a little bit off -- if that makes any sense at all. Plus, he’s the only musician on the entire album, lending it a homemade, multitracked vibe not unlike McCartney and Ram. It's a method that really, truly shines on “I Ain’t Never,” a pulsating, neo-rockabilly groover with these multilayered voices that sound like a choir of cloned Fogertys.

Then again, maybe Fogerty didn’t want The Blue Ridge Rangers to succeed commercially. Maybe he wanted nothing more than the chance to play cowboy and bang out a batch of his favorite country-western chestnuts. The record definitely feels carefree. And as any knowledgeable Creedence fan can explain, the man was absolutely disgusted with the record industry by the time the band crashed and burned with the release of the thoroughly unspectacular Mardi Gras in 1972. Over the next 13 years Fogerty more or less ditched music, managing to release just two albums (including his debut) before striking gold with the bubbly Centerfield.

Having said all that, The Blue Ridge Rangers is still my fave non-C.C.R. offering from Fogerty. It's a unique listen that sounds like nothing else in his catalog -- its slick-willie sequel included.

Further Listening: John Fogerty Rides Solo playlist

Notes
*The low-rent photography mucking up the cover of The Blue Ridge Rangers Rides Again makes me think Fogerty blew his budget on all those guest musicians. I mean, honestly, it looks as though the guy headed over to the local Olan Mills with a handful of cowboy props stolen from this summer's county fair.**

Notes on Notes
**The Steep Canyon Rangers' paid homage to The Blue Ridge Rangers with the cover art for their third album.