|
|
11-02-12 Footnotes
Show 362: James Brown Dissection, Reviews of Kendrick Lamar & Neil Young
Listen to the MP3 Stream of this show: (link)
Download the Podcast: (Download the MP3)
1 Singer-songwriter Terry Callier never got the acclaim he deserved in the early part of his life, but as Greg explains, his influence was strong. The Chicago native released a Chess Records debut in 1968, and went on to fuse folk with jazz and experimental music. It’s a sound that caught the attention of younger artists like Beth Orton and Devendra Banhart. And you can best hear it on the 1973 track “You’re Goin Miss Your Candyman.”
2 Before he was America’s Godfather of Soul, James Brown was the king of the South’s segregated chitlin’ circuit. It took Live at the Apollo – an album recorded fifty years ago last month on Brown’s own dime– to catapult him onto the national stage. In honor of its fiftieth, Jim and Greg give Brown’s Live at the Apollo a well-deserved Classic Album Dissection with help from music writer RJ Smith. RJ’s biography of Brown, The One: The Life and Music of James Brown, came out earlier this year. As RJ explains, James Brown was all about the live experience. He knew if radio listeners could just hear his live show, he could be “Gary Cooper big.” He was right. High-energy numbers like “Night Train” and “Think” propelled Brown onto the pop charts and super-charged his career. But as Greg notes, Live at the Apollo wasn’t just a turning point for Brown personally, it was a turning point for music. Suddenly doo-wop and soul was starting to sound…funky.
3 It’s been a busy 2012 for Neil Young. Not only has he given us a memoir, Waging Heavy Piece, he’s also given us two albums. This spring we got the antique folk romp Americana. Now we have Psychedelic Pill – an epic three records’ worth of psychedelic guitar from Neil and the band he was born to play with, Crazy Horse. How good a prescription is Psychedelic Pill? Greg’s the first to admit there’s a lot of flab on this record. But standout tracks like “Ramada Inn” (about an affair gone sour) and “Walk Like a Giant” (in which Neil reflects on the hippie dream) make this record a worthwhile, if lengthy, listen. Greg says Burn It. As much as it pains him, Neil’s #1 fan Jim DeRogatis has to disagree. Never has he heard worse lyrics or more self-indulgent guitar from Neil. This record is sprawling in a bad way. Jim says Trash It.
4 At 25, Kendrick Lamar is shouldering some pretty heavy expectations for his major label debut, Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City. The Compton rapper caught the attention of Dr. Dre and rap tastemakers with his independent debut Section.80. Does Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City live up to all the hype? Jim acknowledges Kendrick’s skill as a lyricist – he says his rhymes are almost novelistic – and he understands he is taking on characters in his songs. However he’s troubled by the gangsta clichés. No amount of self-awareness, Jim says, makes it ok to indulge in 50 Cent-style misogyny. Jim gives Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City a Trash It rating. Greg couldn’t disagree more. He thinks Lamar has yet to meet the rap cliché he couldn’t upend. Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City is wrestling with Compton’s legacy in a way that eludes sound bites and lyrics-quoting. Greg says it’s a Buy It record that requires close listening.
Songs Featured in Show #362
Terry Callier, “900 Miles,” The New Folk Sound of Terry Callier, Prestige, 1968
Terry Callier, “You Goin’ Miss Your Candyman,” What Color is Love, Cadet, 1972
James Brown & The Famous Flames, “I’ll Go Crazy,” Live at the Apollo, Polydor, 1963
The Swanee Quintet, “Take the Lord with You,” Take the Lord with You, MCA, 1998
Little Richard, “Tutti Frutti,” Here’s Little Richard, Specialty Records, 1957
James Brown & The Famous Flames, “I Don’t Mind,” Live at the Apollo, Polydor, 1963
James Brown & The Famous Flames, “Try Me,” Live at the Apollo, Polydor, 1963
James Brown & The Famous Flames, “Medley: Please, Please, Please/You’ve Got The Power/I Found Someone/Why Do You Do Me/I Want You So Bad/I Love You, Yes I Do/Strange Things Happen/Bewildered/Please, Please, Please,” Live at the Apollo, Polydor, 1963
James Brown & The Famous Flames, “I Don’t Mind,” Live at the Apollo, Polydor, 1963
James Brown & The Famous Flames, “Lost Someone,” Live at the Apollo, Polydor, 1963
James Brown & The Famous Flames, “Night Train,” Live at the Apollo, Polydor, 1963
James Brown & The Famous Flames, “Introduction to James Brown and The Famous Flames,” Live at the Apollo, Polydor, 1963
James Brown & The Famous Flames, “Medley: Please, Please, Please/You’ve Got The Power/I Found Someone/Why Do You Do Me/I Want You So Bad/I Love You, Yes I Do/Strange Things Happen/Bewildered/Please, Please, Please,” Live at the Apollo, Polydor, 1963
James Brown & The Famous Flames, “Night Train,” Live at the Apollo, Polydor, 1963
James Brown & The Famous Flames, “Think,” Live at the Apollo, Polydor, 1963
James Brown & The Famous Flames, “Night Train,” Live at the Apollo, Polydor, 1963
Neil Young & Crazy Horse, “Driftin’ Back,” Psychedelic Pill, Reprise, 2012
Neil Young & Crazy Horse, “Walk Like a Giant,” Psychedelic Pill, Reprise, 2012
Kendrick Lamar, “Swimming Pools (Drank),” good kid, m.A.A.d. city, Aftermath, 2012
Kendrick Lamar, “good kid,” good kid, m.A.A.d. city, Aftermath, 2012
Tonikom, “Hope,” Found and Lost, Hymen Records, 2012
De La Soul, “Ring Ring Ring (Ha Ha Hey),” De La Soul is Dead, Tommy Boy, 1991
Vanilla Fudge, “Season of the Witch,” Renaissance, Atco Records, 1968
Frank Zappa, “Zomby Woof,” Over-Nite Sensation, Disc-Reet, 1973
Helium, “Wanna Be a Vampire Too, Baby,” Pirate Prude EP, Matador, 1994
Blue Oyster Cult, “Godzilla,” Spectres, Columbia, 1977
|
|
