Listen To The Dolphin's

Everbody's Talkin'- Fred Neil MP3


Green Rocky Road- Fred Neil MP3
4/28/11

beeradvocate.com- B+

Bluepoint Hoptical Illusion IPA-Key Food, Forest Hills Queens-12oz bottle into Pub Glass- 6.8% ABV- This is an interesting beer for me. A few years ago before I really tried many different beers I bought a six pack of this. I had been drinking Bluepoint Toasted Lager for a few months at a happy hour I used to frequent in Brooklyn which had $3 pints of it as a special. I like the Toasted Lager and I saw this in a bodega and thought I would try it. When I got it home and tasted I was pretty shocked I had never tasted a beer so bitter. It was very suprising and I actually didn't like it that much and did not return to it till today. Although I didn't like the beer I was intrigued by how different it was and in some I think it was partly responsible for me getting at least a bit interested in expanding my tastes a bit. That said this beer poured a deep gold with hints of tangerine. About a fingers worth of head which receded fairly rapidly. Some foamy blotches left on the glass but not much true lacing going on. Translucent with a heavy flurry of bubbles racing to the top of the glass. Strong citrus aroma but not overpowering. Nice body creamy but a bit towards the light side and very carbonated. This beer is not as strong as I remembered it but it certainly has a nice "hop" presence. This is actually quite an easy drinking beer suprisingly especially compared to the last time I drank it about 4 years ago. Maybe a bit more balance would be nice, a bit more maltieness would make this perfect. I could see myself drinking this again when I am in the mood for a beer with a bit of character but not one that is gonna knock me out. Well done. I think the beeradvocate.com rating of B+ is right on their mark.

On the turntable is Everybody's Talkin' (Theme From "Midnight Cowboy")- Fred Neil- a late 60's Capitol Records reissue of Fred Neil by Fred Neil recorded
in 1966. I was inspired to play this LP because I just finished a book called Positively 4th Street which documented the early 1960's folk scene in NYC through the early careers of Bob Dylan, Richard Farina and Joan and Mimi Baez. Fred Neil was mentioned in the book a couple of times and it prompted me to pull out this LP I had not listened to for a few years.

Although a mentor to many aspiring singers like David Crosby Mr. Neil was never a widely known singer-songwriter in popular culture but his legacy was sealed by authoring the song Everybody's Talking, successfully covered by Harry Nilsson for the movie Midnight Cowboy which has now become a fascinating sonic touchstone for the late 60's and early 70's. Aided by its prominent inclusion in the Midnight Cowboy soundtrack it has become a ubiquitous and archetypal song which has resonated with successive generations and one I personally associate with that era even though I wasn't born until 1974. Everybody's Talkin' incorporates those distinguished, searching qualities so well illustrated in other songs of that time like Wichita Lineman, God Only Knows and Sunday Morning Coming Down. A bit of achy loneliness, alienation and hope for the future.

After doing a bit of research on the internet I realized to some disappointment Mr. Neil's catalog is not very deep: 4 LP's and some unreleased work and compilation albums. At the dawn of the 1970's Mr. Neil largely retired from the music game, probably aided from residuals provided by Everybody's Talking, and became a precursor to the modern day environmentalist taking up the protection of Dolphins long before it was an attractive social cause. This LP has some really nice moments outside of its tile track. With subtle electric folk arrangements and a deep, baritone vocal delivery Mr. Neil incorporates a variation on the traditional "Cocaine Blues" in Sweet Cocaine and possibly inspires Jerry Garcia in someway with a song reminiscent of Garcia's "Sugaree" with I've Got a Secret (Didn't We Shake Sugaree). Above I included MP3's of Everybody's Talking, in its stripped down original incarnation, along with my other favorite from this LP the lilting, woozy Green Rocky Road.

Unknown Master of Many

5 String Blues- Roy Buchanan MP3

She Once Lived Here- Roy Buchanan MP3
4/20/11

beeradvocate.com- A-

Victory Hop Devil IPA- Community Beverage, Queens, NY- 12 oz. bottle into Brandy Snifter- 6.7% ABV- Poured a reddish brown which was a bit surprising to me. I guess I expected a lighter colored ale. About 1 1/2 fingers worth of head that was fairly dense. Medium to light amount of lacing. Real nice creamy mouthfeel. I stress the mouth is real nice on this, some of the stouts I have experienced were not nearly as creamy as this. Very hoppy ale, but not as distinctively cirtusy as I have come to expect from a lot of IPA's. And the citrus I do smell in there may lean more towards oranges than the typical grapefruit. Maltier than a lot of IPA''s I've had. This is a real bitter beer and the bitterness really leaves my tongue and lips buzzing. Maybe this is a "hop bomb" that "crushes the palate" I have read about. Strange sensation. Chewy. Good brew, don't know if I would get it again but I did buy a si pack of this time around, which is a bit unorthodox, because I tend to buy bombers or growlers for blogging purposes.


Hunkered down for some woodshedding...

On the turntable is Second Album- Roy Buchanan- Inspired by a really good blog post found at theadioslounge.blogspot about Roy Buchanan I pulled this LP out. The post include some wonderful footage from a documentary done for PBS in the 70's called The Worlds Greatest Unknown Guitarist. The clip included him playing with Merle Haggard and The Strangers. Awesome. According to wikipedia this was his best selling LP. Born in Arkansas he cut his teeth playing in R&B groups in the early sixties honing his skills with guys like Ronnie Hawkins and mentoring a young Robbie Robertson of the band. Buchanan's gritty economical style is certainly evident in Robertson's technique. Buchanan was a master of the Fender Telecaster and incorporated peerless "volume swells" and squelchy pull-off's in his playing of which both are apparent on the track "5 String Blues" included above. Incorporating the style of the Delta, Chicago and Bakersfield into his playing, a master of many genres, but unfortunately is largely unknown theses days outside the guitar geek community.Members of the backing band are mentioned on the back cover but none of the names ring a bell to me. Unfortunately the band on this record lacks some grit in my opinion and the album suffers a bit as a result. However that does not diminish the finely crafted playing of Mr. Buchanan and is still an enjoyable listen. If only he had recorded in Muscle Shoals...that would have been one sweet album.

A Post Inspired By Eddie Trunk

Slipping Away- Black Sabbath MP3
4/10/11

beeradvocate.com- A-

Stone Ruination IPA- Community Beverage, Queens, NY- 22 oz. bomber into Pub Glass. Brandy Snifter- 7.7% ABV. Today I have a Double IPA by Stone Brewery. Straw colored in appearance with bits of orange. Pretty clear in appearance with a steady stream of small bubbles. The head was about 1 1/2 fingers thick. Lacing was moderate on the glass. The aroma was a pure American IPA, though not overpowering,.bitter, citrusy hops. Medium bodied, silky mouth feel with small sparkling carbonation. This is defined as a Double IPA but it doesn't overpower. Well balanced but some bitterness lingers. This reminds my of Victory Hop Wallop but a bit more bitter. This is a good IPA and I wouldn't mind having it on draft. At 7.7 ABV its a nice beer to have a couple of without feeling the affects of the booze to quickly but still has a bit of bite.

On the turntable is Mob Rules- Black Sabbath- Recorded at the Record Plant, Los Angeles for Electra/ Asylum Records in 1981. This post is inspired by my trip to Huntington, Long Island, my hometown, to meet my friend and attend a book signing by DJ and Heavy Metal/ Hard Rock expert Eddie Trunk. I have listened to Eddie Trunk on the radio, on and off, for years and since his first season of That Metal Show on VH1 Classics, which coincidentally, coincided with me getting cable for the first time in many years.

I don't have a whole lot of heavy metal on vinyl. I don't come across it much as other genres but I actually believe it is one of the genres that truly benefits from the sound quality delivered by CD. The clarity and precision of a cd mirrors the inherent qualities present in heavy metal all to well. As a result most of the heavy metal I have is on CD. However when I come across some metal on vinyl, for the right price, I will buy it. I started dipping into the Ronnie James Dio era of Black Sabbath back when for their reunion tour around 2006. It was serious fodder for the guitar magazines at the time and I soaked it up. I grew up with Ozzy era Black Sabbath but I have come to really enjoy the Dio era of the band a lot and in someways it has a more focused approach. Tony Iomni's guitar playing really evolved at this time and his solos became even more aggressive and Dio's vocals, which certainly have more range than Ozzy's, breathed new life into the band. One thing stood out to me on this album were the drums. I am not a drum guy and usually they are the last thing I remember about an song but for some reason they stood out to me on this LP. Today after doing a bit of research on wikipedia I learned that the drummer was not the original Black Sabbath drummer, Bill Ward, but a guy named Vinnie Appice. There is not much filler on this LP and wasn't sure which song I wanted to include as an MP3 so I decided on Slipping Away. A catchy track, with a cool chorus, and whose main guitar riff is a bit reminiscent of Led Zeppelins Custard Pie. My favorite part of this track is the dueling Guitar and Bass solos at approximately 2:09. Geezer Butler, on Bass, is one of my favorite bassists and has an melodic approach on the bass and whose hard grooves often drive many of Black Sabbath songs as much as Iomni's guitar.



One thing that struck me as I was riding home on the LIRR, from the book signing, leafing through the Eddie Trunk book was his commitment to a specific genre of music. He made note that he listens to other types of music, being a radio guy, but he is clearly committed to heavy metal/ hard rock and has a knowledge of those genres which is clearly unmatched. In some ways I am really envious of this unwavering interest in particular bands or genres. I have always found it difficult to commit my interests to one type of music. I have never felt complete allegiance with one particular musical scene. Sometimes I think I spread myself to thin, bouncing from one tradition to the next without fully exploring every music al detail. There are common denominators reflected in most of the artists I like:

1. Well crafted songs, with somewhat definitive themes (lyrically or musically)
2. Strong musical hooks and/or chops
3. Acknowledgement of the past and its influence on the artist
4. Focused improvisation.
5. A deep catalog (i.e. Miles Davis, Bob Dylan, Frank Zappa, etc.) preferably with lots of live material available in bootleg form. There is nothing better than finding an artist with a deep catalog that you can get lost in for while, leave it, come back, and then get lost again. This example is a stretch and by no means a requirement for me but its nice if you can find it. I have also listen to an artist with only one recorded song which has its on intrinsic benefits.

But to be honest I am just following my on interests form one day to the next. One day it will be Blind Willie McTell and then the next week will by Ennio Morricone with bits of The Pretenders and Deep Purple mixed in. There isn't a whole lot of rhyme or reason to it. It got me to thinking about other writers/ historians who have raised the bar in their commitment to exposing and analyzing the music of specific artist and or genres:

Phill Schapp- Charlie Parker and all things Jazz
Barney Hoskyns- Los Angeles bands from the 60's and 70's
Greail Marcus- Van Morrison and Bob Dylan
Ben Watson- Frank Zappa
Peter Guarlnick- Southern R&B/ Rockabilly/ Roots Music

etc., etc., etc...

Frank Zappa once said writing about music is like "dancing about architecture" which is most likely aimed at music critics in general. I have to agree that writing about music is often times kind of silly but I wouldn't have experienced a lot of music without being exposed to it through writers and historians in some way. Lets face it there are not a lot of avenues for being exposed to music through traditional avenues anymore, especially, old music.

Drinking Black Coffee and Smoking Cigarettes All Night...

Never Get Out Of These Blues Alive- John Lee Hooker with Van Morrison MP3


T.B. Sheets- John Lee Hooker MP3

4/1/11

beeradvocate rating- B-

Hens Tooth English Ale- Whole Foods Houston St., NYC- 16.9 oz. Bottle into Pub Glass- 6.5% ABV- Another bottle conditioned ale, this one from a brewery in Suffolk, England. After referring to beeradvocate.com before opening this beer I was suprised to learn it had a pretty low rating which was a bit disappointing but hopefully won't make me biased. It poured a translucent, caramel color with a big fat, frothy two finger head. As I poured the head started to level off upwards, sitting well above the rim. It receded at a medium pace and little lacing was left on the glass but some foamy blotches were left behind. Not much aroma to this beer. Some malts and mild dark fruits mixed with a bit of hops but nothing truly distinctive. Light, and fairly watery body which is highly carbonated. This is a pretty bitter beer, not much sweetness going on that I generally associate with some English Ales. I had high hopes for this beer but its pretty unremarkable. As you can see in the picture I posted this bottle had quite a lot of yeast sediment in it and I thought that was a good sign. But this beer is far from complex and I can see why it received a fairly low rating. I want to find something good to say about the beer but there is not much to say. It is pretty drinkable in a sense but it also has a vaguely astringent quality to it. I did like the bottle, label and name of this beer but other than that I don't think I would by this beer again.


Bottle held to light illuminating yeast sediment in bottom of bottle

On the turntable is Never Get Out Of These Blues Again- John Lee Hooker- Recorded in September 1971 at the world class Wally Heider Studios in San Francisco, California for ABC Records. I once heard an interesting thing on an WFMU broadcast. A DJ whose name escapes me at the moment noted that if you come across an unknown record with the band standing in front of their tour bus you should buy it. An interesting motivation to buy a record, right? Well I have tested this theory and it actually is not bad advice. This record doesn't have the band in front of their tour bus but it does have them riding in a bus provided by the Los Angeles Rapid Transit according to the liner notes. This is a pretty sweet record. Despite all of this I would have bought this record regardless of the theory.

I had never seen or heard of this record when I came across it. I was in one of those rare record stores for me where I actually befriended, in a way, one of the proprietors. Unfortunately the store is no more. But when I went in that day he recommended I check a shelf of new records which would be of interest to me. They had yet to be properly sorted and this is where I found this LP. I bought based on the price and the cover alone but when I got it home I realized there was an added bonus... Van Morrison sings a duo on the song Never Get Out Of The Blues Alive! Not only that but Mr. Hooker covers Morrison's truly bluesy song, in both theme and structure, T.B. Sheets. In this treatment dramatic violin lines, which augment gritty organ and guitar accompaniment,lend dramatic crescendo's to an already melancholy, moody piece. This was at the beginning of my Van Morrison fixation and it only intensified it. Beyond the inclusion of Van Morrison on this LP there are top notch session players who include but are not limited to Elvin Bishop on Slide Guitar, Mel Brown on Guitar/Bass and presumably Hooker's kin Robert Hooker on Organ and Fender Rhodes. Bubbling Fender Bass and Wah-Wah guitars give this LP a funky edge I have not come across on any of Mr. Hookers other records.

On a side note the two tunes I posted from this record I remind me of two things:

1. Voodoo Chile on Electric Ladyland by Jimi Hendrix.

2. A great early 80's bootleg I was listening to yesterday called Sweet Home Chicago by The Rolling Stones with Muddy Waters. Muddy and Mick's vocal interplay is very reminiscent of John Lee Hooker's and Van The Man's. There is an energy and joy there shared between the master and the student that escapes literary description. Particularly well illustrated for me on the Stone's boot with Mannish Boy and Champagne & Refer.