The Beatles with Maharashi

The Beatles in India

The Beatles with Maharashi

In early 1968, all four members of The Beatles traveled to northern India to attend a Transcendental Meditation training course with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. While George Harrison, John Lennon, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr all arrived at the Maharishi’s ashram in Rishikesh in mid-February with optimism and enthusiasm, they departed at different times and with differing opinions of the positivity of the experience. In any case, prolific songwriting took place in India, much of which would be reflected on The Beatles (white album), which was released later in 1968. In that sense, this historic event remains musically significant, no matter the actual merits of the Maharishi or Transcendental Meditation itself.

This trip followed the adventurous and tumultuous year of 1967. That year was the group’s first full year without touring, where they produced and recorded the iconic classic Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, were the centerpiece of a worldwide television special, and starred in their third feature film, Magical Mystery Tour, and its recorded subsequent soundtrack. On the darker side, 1967 saw members of the group heavily experimenting in drug use and losing their long time manager Brian Epstein, which ultimately saw the band to begin fracturing professionally. Before departing for India, in what originally was to be a three month stay, the group recorded a few songs for single release. McCartney’s “Lady Madonna” was chosen as the A-side of the single, beating out Lennon’s “Across the Universe”, a version of which later appeared on  Let It Be. The single’s B-side was Harrison’s “The Inner Light”, which was partially recorded with several Indian classical musicians in Bombay, India in January during the sessions for Harrison’s Wonderwall Music soundtrack album. This is notable as the only Beatles studio recording to be made outside Europe and it set a nice vibe as the members publicly departed for India.

Beatles In India

A year earlier, Harrison’s wife Pattie Boyd came across a newspaper advertisement for Transcendental Meditation classes and she and her husband soon became part of this movement. In the summer of 1967, Harrison had recruited the other members of the Beatles to attend a lecture that the Maharishi gave in London, followed by a 10-day Spiritual Regeneration conference in Wales. McCartney reflected that the group had been “spiritually exhausted” and, while at the conference, the group members committed to giving up drugs. However, their stay at the conference was cut short when news of Epstein’s unexpected death reached the group. Before departing Wales, the Maharishi invited the Beatles to stay at his ashram in Rishikesh in the near future.

The group arrived in India in mid-February 1968, along with their wives (or girlfriend in McCartney’s case), along with numerous assistants, reporters, celebrity meditators and even some contemporary musicians like Donovan and Mike Love from The Beach Boys. They flew into Delhi and then rode by taxi the 150 or so miles to Rishikesh, walking to the ashram by crossing a footbridge over the Ganges River and up a hill to the property.

Located in the “Valley of the Saints” in the foothills of the Himalayas, this 14-acre ashram was built 5 years earlier in 1963 and it was funded through a $100,000 donation from American heiress. While there, life was comparable to that of a summer camp, starting with a communal breakfast followed by morning meditation and the occasional lecture from Maharishi. And at the end of the day, the musicians would often jam.

Beatles In India

Donovan taught John Lennon a guitar finger-picking technique that they later used on the songs “Julia” and “Dear Prudence”, the latter of which was a direct narrative about Mia Farrow’s sister who caused concern by locking herself inside and intensely meditating for weeks on end. Starr completed his first solo composition for the Beatles, “Don’t Pass Me By”, which he had begun writing way back in 1963. McCartney was prolific as usual with songs forming from the parody “Rocky Raccoon”, which he wrote to entertain others at dinner, to “Mother Nature’s Son” which was directly inspired by one of the Maharishi’s lectures, to “Back in the USSR” which he wrote in Love’s presence as an interpretation of the Beach Boys style. In fact, plans were briefly discussed for a possible concert in Delhi to feature the Beatles, the Beach Boys, Donovan, and Paul Horn.

Compared to the regular attendees, the Beatles were given some additional perks such as heated tents and on-demand private lessons from the Maharishi. Still, Ringo Starr and his wife Maureen were never quite comfortable with the retreat as Ringo had food allergies and Maureen had a deathly fear of insects. So, after just 10 days, Starr was the first Beatle to leave on 1 March. McCartney and his girlfriend Jane Asher left a few weeks later in mid-to-late March, causing slight derision by Harrison and Lennon who questioned his commitment. Lennon had wanted to invite his new love interest, Yoko Ono, on the trip but feared a confrontation with his then-wife Cynthia and therefore declined to do so. Nevertheless, the Lennons effectively split up on this trip as John moved into his own room about a week into the retreat.

Beatles In India

In early April, the Maharishi announced plans to move the whole retreat to Kashmir, a higher and cooler altitude as the summer months approached. Lennon and Harrison were planning to follow this course to the end, but changed their plans abruptly on April 12th, following rumors of the Maharishi’s inappropriate sexual behavior towards female students. The night before Lennon and Harrison sat up late discussing the Maharishi and decided to leave first thing in the morning. The final two Beatles and their wives left hurriedly and while waiting for their taxis to take the long drive back to delhi, Lennon wrote “Sexy Sadie”, a direct indictment of the Maharishi.

With the Beatles’ quick departure and implicit denunciation of the Maharishi, his rapid rise to fame abruptly ended. Whether or not the rumors about his misconduct were in fact true, remain in dispute to this day. Harrison later apologized for his and Lennon’s abrupt departure and he would later organize a 1992 benefit concert for the Maharishi-associated Natural Law Party. In 2007 McCartney took his daughter to visit the Maharishi, a year before his death in 2008. After a few years of abandonment, the ashram was opened to the public in 2015 and renamed Beatles Ashram.

Since they permanently gave up touring in 1966, this trip to India would be the last time all four Beatles traveled together outside of the UK. While their cohesion as a group began to deteriorate shortly after until they ultimately broke up two years later, the Beatles made a good faith effort to reach a higher understanding. In all, the group members wrote nearly 50 songs in India, some of which were published after the band’s breakup.


Beatles In India

List of songs written by the Beatles in Rishikesh, India 1968

Released on The Beatles (white album) 11/22/68:

  • “Back in the U.S.S.R.”
  • “Dear Prudence”
  • “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da”
  • “Wild Honey Pie”
  • “The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill”
  • “I’m So Tired”
  • “Blackbird”
  • “Rocky Raccoon”
  • “Don’t Pass Me By”
  • “Why Don’t We Do It in the Road?”
  • “I Will”
  • “Julia”
  • “Yer Blues”
  • “Mother Nature’s Son”
  • “Everybody’s Got Something to Hide Except Me and My Monkey”
  • “Sexy Sadie”
  • “Long, Long, Long”
  • “Revolution” (1)
  • “Cry Baby Cry”

Released on Abbey Road 9/26/69:

  • “Mean Mr. Mustard”
  • “Polythene Pam”

Released on Anthology 3 compilation 10/28/96:

  • “What’s the New Mary Jane”, recorded during the White Album sessions in 1968
  • “Teddy Boy”, recorded during the Let It Be sessions in 1969

Released on recordings outside the Beatles:

  • “Sour Milk Sea” – written by Harrison, released by Apple Records artist Jackie Lomax as a single 8/26/68
  • “Junk” released on Paul McCartney’s debut solo album McCartney 4/17/70
  • “Look at Me” released on John Lennon’s album John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band 12/11/70
  • “Jealous Guy” (originally titled “Child of Nature”) released on John Lennon’s album Imagine 9/09/71
  • “Circles” released on George Harrison’s album Gone Troppo 11/05/82
  • “Cosmically Conscious” released on Paul McCartney’s album Off the Ground (The Complete Works) 2/02/93

Unreleased (as of 4/03/20)

  • “Dehradun” composed by George Harrison
  • “Spiritual Regeneration/Happy Birthday Mike Love” recorded at Rishikesh by several group members and Donovan 3/15/68

 

Frogstomp by Silverchair

Frogstomp by Silverchair

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Frogstomp by SilverchairAustralian grunge rockers Silverchair launched their recording career when all three members were still teenagers in 1995 with the debut album Frogstomp. The compositions and sound of this record continue the popular heavy sound of early nineties groups like Pearl Jam and Stone Temple Pilots while also forecasting some of the post-grunge sound that emerged later in the decade, a formula which worked well in giving the trio world wide notoriety following its release.

The group was formed under the name Innocent Criminals in Newcastle, New South Wales in 1992 by then-12-year-old classmates Daniel Johns (guitar, vocals) and Ben Gillies (drums). Bassist Chris Joannou later joined to round out the trio which won an Australian national competition for school-based bands in 1994. With this, the group recorded early demos of original tracks, with the song “Tomorrow” receiving national radio play. With an accompanying television appearance, the trio changed their name to Silverchair after a C.S. Lewis novel from The Chronicles of Narnia series. The group soon signed a three-album recording contract with Sony Music subsidiary Murmur Records and began recording their debut in late 1994.

Frogstomp was recorded in just nine sessions with producer Kevin Shirley. Much of the recordings were performed live in the studio to capture the group’s live sound. The album was titled by Johns when he discovered an obscure song from the 1960s while exploring a record execs record collection.


Frogstomp by Silverchair
Released: March 27, 1995 (Epic)
Produced by: Kevin Shirley
Recorded: Festival Studios, Pyrmont, Australia December 1994–January 1995
Album Tracks Group Musicians
Israel’s Son
Tomorrow
Faultline
Pure Massacre
Shade
Leave Me Out
Suicidal Dream
Madman
Undecided
Cicada
Findaway
Daniel Johns – Lead Vocals, Guitars
Chris Joannou – Bass
Ben Gillies – Drums
Frogstomp by Silverchair

Most of the tracks on Frogstomp were written by Johns and Gillies, with some credited individually, starting with Johns’ opener “Israel’s Son”. This track was built mostly on a repeating guitar and distorted bass riff.  The song only slightly changes direction in coda as it works its way into a closing frenzy. The indelible ‘hit’ track “Tomorrow” follows as a moderately paced anthem that finds a melodic intersection somewhere between Alice in Chains and Creed. The authentic rawness of this track is the real charm that propelled this track (and ultimately the teenage band) to radio stations worldwide.

“Faultline” instantly launches in a full pace and pretty much stays there until breaking into a series of short bridges near the end and the closing riff is completely different from  the beginning. “Pure Massacre”, with its mesmerizing, rotating riff that drives this vibe, is one of the more rewarding songs sonically on the early part of the album. This became the second single from Silverchair’s debut record and it was later performed by the group on Saturday Night Live. “Shade” follows as strummed acoustic/clean electric ballad with Johns providing a jazz guitar lead preceding the final chorus.

Silverchair

The second half of the album offers even less pretension and more raw, pure rock. “Leave Me Out” has a classic Black Sabbath feel, while the vibe swiftly returns to the mid 1990s with the off-timed riffing and shoe-gaze vocals of “Suicidal Dreams”. “Madman” is a short instrumental with frantic riffing and potent drumming by Gillies as “Undecided” features a very effective use of a two-chord riff, led by the buzz bass intro of Joannou. The rhythmic track “Cicada” offers some interesting melody and movement, leading to the closing “Findaway”, a frantic, punk-laden anthem which wraps things up in a strong way.

Frogstomp topped the album charts in Australia while reaching the Top 10 on the American charts. It has since been certified double platinum in sales, which saw a resurgence in 2015 when a remastered 20th anniversary edition of the album was released.

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1995 Images

Part of Classic Rock Review’s celebration of 1995 albums.

 

Duke by Genesis

Duke by Genesis

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Duke by GenesisDuke was the tenth overall studio album by Genesis and their second since contracting to a trio. The album is made of twelve songs mainly composed by individual members of the band while remaining inter-related in a thematic way (although not presented in sequence). This mix of pop and prog was a commercial and critical success at the time of its release and it masterfully displays this pivotal musical era of the group at the beginning of the 1980s.

Following the massive success of 1974’s The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway and its equally massive world tour into 1975, lead vocalist Peter Gabriel departed from Genesis. Rather than replace Gabriel, the group decided to continue as a quartet with drummer Phil Collins assuming the role of lead vocalist. The group recorded and released two well received albums in 1976, A Trick of the Tale and Wind & Wuthering. The tours following these two albums made up material for the group’s 1977 live album, Seconds Out. However, guitarist Steve Hackett decided to become the second member to leave the group and embark on a solo career and the remaining members of the group decided not to replace him. Instead, bassist Mike Rutherford played most of the guitar parts. Collins, Rutherford and keyboardist Tony Banks soon recorded and released And Then There Were Three followed by another world tour in 1978.

Entering 1979, the group decided to take an extensive break with Banks and Rutherford working on solo albums and Collins relocating to Vancouver. Later in the year, the group got back together to rehearse and record the material that would become Duke. The album was recorded at Polar Studios in Stockholm with David Hentschel co-producing along with the band.


Duke by Genesis
Released: March 24, 1980 (Charisma)
Produced by: David Hentschel & Genesis
Recorded: Polar Studios, Stockholm, Sweden, November–December 1979
Side One Side Two
Behind the Lines
Duchess
Guide Vocal
Man of Our Times
Misunderstanding
Heathaze
Turn It On Again
Alone Tonight
Cul-de-sac
Please Don’t Ask
Duke’s Travels
Duke’s End
Group Musicians
Phil Collins – Lead Vocals, Drums, Percussion
Tony Banks – Keyboards, Guitars, Vocals
Mike Rutherford – Bass, Guitars, Vocals

The group originally planned to record a side-long suite but ultimately the piece was broken up into six tracks. The main riff leads the majestic instrumental opening of “Behind the Lines”. Complete with deliberative accents on its three-chord main riff, the vocals finally enter about two and a half minutes in for this popular song that opened many concerts in years to come. The opener dissolves into “Duchess”, with a long electronic intro as Banks slowly works in a piano arpeggio. The song was released as single but barely missed the Top 40 on the UK Singles charts. “Guide Vocal” is a short electric piano ballad by Banks followed by Rutherford’s “Man of Our Times”, with a tension filled, heavy synth riff and deliberative drumming.

Continuing the streak of solo compositions comes Collins’ first contribution, “Misunderstanding”. This upbeat lover’s lament pop rock with doo-wop elements and Rutherford’s rollicking bass line with a main riff that heavily borrows from Sly and the Family Stone’s 1969 hit “Hot Time In the Summertime”. The song became a worldwide hit and their highest charting single to date in the United States. “Heathaze” is an uplifting ballad written by Banks with Collins definitely channeling Gabriel and some excellent musical phrasing throughout. Banks later went on to describe Duke as his favorite Genesis album.

Genesis in 1980

Side two begins with “Turn It On Again”, the next phase of the underlying suite and a song which best encapsulates the Genesis sound at the turn of the decade and is all encapsulated in a less than four minute track. This upbeat synth-driven with great vocal melody features complex time signatures, with a forward motion where the song’s hook doesn’t appear until the end coda. Next comes a trio of solo compositions – Rutherford’s ballad “Alone Tonight”, Banks’ potent and profane “Cul-de-sac”, and Collin’s emotional “Please Don’t Ask”, with fine instrumental backing throughout and a forgotten gem as far as Genesis ballads go. This all leads to the climatic conclusion. “Duke’s Travels” is a long and deliberative, synth-led mainly instrumental with later vocals to deliver the final narrative of the underlying theme, with “Duke’s End” being one last frantic deluge of the main riff theme from “Behind the Lines” to encapsulate the album.

Duke was the first album by Genesis to reach the top of the UK Album charts and it has been certified Platinum on both sides of the Atlantic. With this commercial success, the band built their own dedicated studio in Chiddingfold, known as “The Farm”, where further successful projects were recorded throughout the 1980s and into the 1990s.

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Part of Classic Rock Review’s celebration of 1980 albums.

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Back On the Streets by Donnie Iris

Back On the Streets by Donnie Iris

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Back On the Streets by Donnie IrisReleased in the summer of 1980, Back on the Streets was the debut solo record by Pittsburgh based artist Donnie Iris. This came after Iris spent more than a decade fronting national bands and, on this album, he collaborated with producer, composer and keyboardist Mark Avsec to deliver a blend of classic rock and cutting-edge new wave with a particular focus on vocal arrangements and hooks. The album spawned a national hit as well as several songs that received heavy regional airplay.

Iris was born Dominic Ierace in Western Pennsylvania and drew early inspiration from Elvis Presley and Buddy Holly. After forming and fronting several groups through high school and college in the early-to-mid 1960s, he started The Jaggerz, a group which originally performed R&B covers. After gaining popularity through Pennsylvania and Ohio, the group secured a contract with Gamble Records in 1969 with their debut album, Introducing the Jaggerz released later that year. The following year, the group came to national prominence with their sophomore album We Went to Different Schools Together and the 1970 Top 5 hit “The Rapper”. A third Jaggerz album, Come Again, was released in 1975, shortly before Iris left the group to become a studio engineer. While at Jeree Recording, Iris worked with the band Wild Cherry and he briefly joined the band as a guitarist in 1978-1979.

Avsec was then also playing keyboards for Wild Cherry and once that group disbanded, Donnie and Mark decided to form a songwriting project together. Their initial release was a 1979 disco-influenced single called “Bring on the Eighties”, but it had little commercial success. With this, the pair decided to go in a harder rock direction when they entered the studio in early 1980 to record a full-length album with the freshly christened group Donnie Iris and the Cruisers.


Back On the Streets by Donnie Iris
Released: July 15, 1980 (Midwest National)
Produced by: Mark Avsec
Recorded: Jeree Studios, New Brighton, PA, Spring 1980
Side One Side Two
Ah! Leah!
I Can’t Hear You
Joking
Shock Treatment
Back On the Streets
Agnes
You’re Only Dreaming
She’s So Wild
Daddy Don’t Live Here Anymore
Too Young to Love
Primary Musicians
Donnie Iris – Lead Vocals, Guitar
Marty Lee Hoenes – Guitars
Mark Avsec – Piano, Keyboards, Vocals
Albritton McClain – Bass
Kevin Valentine – Drums

The album begins with its lead single and most indelible tune, “Ah! Leah!”, Catchy with simple riffs combined with complex vocal arrangements, this track reached number the Top 30 of the US Billboard Hot 100 and puns on its title have been used on Iris’ 2009 live album Ah! Live! as well as his 2010 Christmas album Ah! Leluiah!. The album’s other single, “I Can’t Hear You”, follows as a straight-ahead new wave rocker with just a touch of Talking Heads influence in the verses but breaking out with rich harmonies in the choruses. “Joking” is an even better new wave track with some cool synths over the crisp rock guitar riffs by Marty Lee Hoenes to reach a sound similar to The Cars earliest material.

Avsec’s “Shock Treatment” features a weird, synth lead psychedelic intro before song proper kicks in led by the fine bass of guest Robert Peckman and the various vocal experiments make it almost sound like a show tune from a modern movie. The album’s title song and side one closer adds some variety with a real classic rock, Who-type feel complete with distorted guitar riffing, synthesized orchestration and intense story-telling vocals, while “Agnes” is another dynamic rocker with a simple riff, cool vibe and call and response vocals.

Donnie Iris and the Cruisers

“You’re Only Dreaming” is a group composition with input from bassist Albritton McClain and drummer Kevin Valentine as is the frantic, sexually charged tune “She’s So Wild”, which ends quite abruptly. The album then returns to the moderate, power pop/new wave track with “Daddy Don’t Live Here Anymore”, with a vibe that has a bit of Cheap Trick influence and a cool, almost psychedelic synthesized organ lead by Avsec. Wrapping things up is “Too Young to Love”, the closest thing to a ballad on this album albeit with tremendous musical dynamics such as a sax lead by Kenny Blake and Iris singing his heart out with dramatic, strained vocals to finish the album strongly.

While Back On the Streets was originally released by the small Midwest Records, its immediate success got Iris signed to a five-album deal with MCA Records, starting with the national re-release of this debut in in October 1980.

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Part of Classic Rock Review’s celebration of 1980 albums.

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 Here Are the Sonics by The Sonics

Here Are the Sonics!!!

Buy Here Are the Sonics!!!

 Here Are the Sonics by The SonicsHere Are The Sonics!!! is the 1965 debut album by American garage rock band The Sonics. The record features a dozen songs of the days’ most powerful and upbeat rock with some flourishes into shocking and unpolished blues with none of these densely packed tracks eclipsing more than three minutes in length. With this studio recording, the group finely captured their live blend of covers and a few originals while at the peak their power, making it one of the earliest influences of the soon-to-come punk rock genre.

The Sonics were formed in 1960 in Tacoma, Washington by then-teenage guitarist and vocalist Larry Parypa. About a year later, Larry’s brother Andy Parypa joined on bass with three members form another band called The Searchers – keyboardist and vocalist Gerry Roslie saxophonist Rob Lind and drummer Bob Bennett – coming along in 1963. The group developed a sound based around simple chord progressions, speed and tonal aggression, and their live repertoire began to pick up speed in the Seattle area through 1964 with the groups internal goal being to “move the floor and break windows.”

Buck Ormsby, contemporary bassist for the Northwest band the Wailers, signed to his bands’ independent label Etiquette Records and assumed the producer for their debut album. The songs were recorded with a limited number of mics, giving into a highly energetic, lo-fi live feel. Prior to the album’s release, the single “The Witch” was released. Written by Roslie, this original track which would lead off the album featured a doomy riff of combined sax, guitar and organ with Larry Parypa’s strained vocals giving the song an edge which made it ahead of its time. Through airplay on smaller radio stations in the Northwest, and became one of the largest selling independent singles in the region.


Here Are the Sonics!!! by The Sonics
Released: March, 1965 (Etiquette)
Produced by: Buck Ormsby & Kent Morrill
Recorded: Audio Recording, Seattle, 1964
Side One Side Two
The Witch
Do You Love Me
Roll Over Beethoven
Boss Hoss
Dirty Robber
Have Love Will Travel
Psycho
Money (That’s What I Want)
Walking the Dog
Night Time Is the Right Time
Strychnine
Good Golly Miss Molly
Group Musicians
Gerry Roslie – Lead Vocals, Piano, Organ
Larry Parypa – Guitars, Vocals
Rob Lind – Saxophone, Harmonica, Vocals
Andy Parypa – Bass
Bob Bennett – Drums

Following the popular opener comes a pair of covers. Berry Gordy Jr’s “Do You Love Me” is pretty close to original but with slightly differing backing vocals, while Chuck Berry’s “Roll Over Beethoven” is an original interpretation with dual lead vocals and some fine guitar riffing. Roslie’s “Boss Hoss” is the album’s second original, with this steady rocker driven by the consistent beat of Bennett and a nice growling sax lead by Lind.

“Dirty Robber” as a song Ormsby brought with him from the Wailers, followed by the side one closer, “Have Love Will Travel”. Perhaps the album’s most catchy tune, this Richard Berry cover features great riffing and rhythms backing a real showcase for Roslie’s lead vocals. The second side features two originals that appear to be about alcohol and drug abuse, the horror screed “Psycho” and “Strychnine”, the dark, piano-led “ode to poison” rocker with a nice space for instrumentals in between the verses.

The Sonics

The rest of the second side features a mix of contemporary cover songs. “Money (That’s What I Want)” is the first place where the group seems reserved as this version is calmer (and therefore duller) then the excellent John-Lennon led Beatles version from two years earlier. Rufus Thomas’ “Walking the Dog” offers a nice change of pace as a bluesy rock cover, while Roslie fully exhibits his vocal abilities on Lew Herman’s “Night Time Is the Right Time”. This all leads to the apparently logical closer, “Good Golly Miss Molly”, as Roslie fuly pays homage to his idol Little Richard with a nice piano lead adding to the overall effect.

While Here Are the Sonics!!! was not a tremendous commercial success, its influence reverberated through the music industry for more than a decade after its release. The group released a follow-up album, Boom, in early 1966, but by the end of that year their heyday began to diminish.

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Part of Classic Rock Review’s celebration of 1965 albums.

1965 Page

The Beach Boys Today

The Beach Boys Today!

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The Beach Boys TodayThe Beach Boys Today! was the 1965 eighth overall studio album by The Beach Boys. It marked a subtle shift in production technique and lyrical themes for the California based group. These changes were brought together by producer, composer, and vocalist Brian Wilson who had decided to move away from the surfing / cars / girls themes that had brought super-stardom to the group in the early 1960s and moved towards more mature themes with richer accompanying orchestration. This shift did not seem to deter the record’s pop success, as it reached the Top 10 in album charts on both sides of the Atlantic and spawned a trio of hit singles.

The origins of the Beach Boys date back to the late 1950s in when teenage brothers Brian, Dennis Wilson and Carl Wilson began mimicking the harmonies of vocal groups such as the Four Freshmen. Soon the Wilsons’ cousin Mike Love and Brian’s high school friend Al Jardine were writing and seeking a publishing deal under the name “The Pendletones”. In 1961, the band recorded a demo of their first original “Surfin'” and the following year the group signed with Capitol Records under their new name, The Beach Boys. Over the next two and a half years the group released seven studio albums and had seven Top 10 hits in the United States, an incredible streak of productivity and success which left the group exhausted. This stress, along with the difficult decision to dismiss the Brothers’ father Murray Wilson as the group’s manager, ultimately contributed to Brian suffering a panic attack in late 1964.

During the recording sessions for The Beach Boys Today! in January 1965, Wilson announced that he would stop touring with the group and concentrate solely on songwriting and record production. Brian also wanted to start separating the Beach Boys from their surfer image and more towards complex music with the use of richer instrumentation. When released in March 1965, The Beach Boys Today! featured a first side with mainly uptempo songs and a second side with mostly emotional ballads.


The Beach Boys Today! by The Beach Boys
Released: March 8, 1965 (Capitol)
Produced by: Brian Wilson
Recorded: United Western Recorders, Gold Star Studios, & RCA Victor Studios, Hollywood, CA
Side One Side Two
Do You Wanna Dance?
Good to My Baby
Don’t Hurt My Little Sister
When I Grow Up (To Be a Man)
Help Me, Rhonda
Dance, Dance, Dance
Please Let Me Wonder
I’m So Young
Kiss Me, Baby
She Knows Me Too Well
In the Back of My Mind
Bull Session with the ‘Big Daddy
Group Musicians
Brian Wilson – Piano, Organ, Bass, Vocals
Mike Love – Vocals, Percussion
Al Jardine – Guitars, Vocals
Carl Wilson – Guitars, Vocals
Dennis Wilson – Drums, Percussion, Vocals

The album starts immediately with “Do You Wanna Dance?”, a late fifties song by Bobby Freeman, updated with rich production and featuring drummer Dennis Wilson on lead vocals. Despite being released as the B-side of a single, this Beach Boys’ version reached the Top 20 in the United States. “Good to My Baby” follows with an interesting rotating guitar riff and dual lead vocals by Love and Brian Wilson. “Don’t Hurt My Little Sister” is the most complex composition of the early tracks, an upbeat rocker with a bright guitar riff, that dissolves into an air of sadness as the descending chorus pattern progresses. The lyrics are based on Wilson’s complicated feelings for his wife Marilyn and her younger sisters.

“When I Grow Up (To Be a Man)” is a crossroads song lyrically as Brian discusses his anxieties about becoming an adult. Musically this track is rich with melodic harmonies and with the presence of a vibraphone throughout. “Help Me, Rhonda” is the definitive hit from the album as well as the first and only song to reach three minutes in length. With Jardine on lead vocals, this single reached number one in the US, the second chart-topper by the group. On “Dance, Dance, Dance” the group progresses further in the pure rock direction with the strong presence of co-writer Carl Wilson’s guitar and a consistently upward motion overall.

The Beach Boys

The ballad filled second side begins with “Please Let Me Wonder”, with this mellow track featuring a Western-like backing and the usual over-the-top harmonies. The William Tyus cover “I’m So Young” is a doo-wop ballad with Phil Spector-like snare/tambourine hits, as “Kiss Me, Baby” vocals are exquisitely delivered. On “She Knows Me Too Well” Brian Wilson stretches the upper limit of his vocal range in the choruses, while “In the Back of My Mind” is a complete departure from the rest of the song as Dennis Wilson providing solo lead vocals on this melancholy track in 6/8 time.

The Beach Boys Today! was a commercial success as it climbed into the Top 10 on both sides of the Atlantic. Brian Wilson was replaced temporarily by Glen Campbell and then permanently Bruce Johnson for live performances while he delved even deeper into developing new studio methods.

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Part of Classic Rock Review’s celebration 1965 albums.

1965 Page

Young Americans by David Bowie

Young Americans by David Bowie

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Young Americans by David BowieFor his ninth studio album, David Bowie decided to move in a radically new direction with the soul and R&B infused 1975 album Young Americans. On this record, which was recorded mainly in Philadelphia, Bowie collaborated with diverse musical legends such as Luther Vandross and John Lennon in fulling his legitimate quest to produce a solid cross-genre album. The result was a commercial success which resulted in a Top 10 album on both sides of the Atlantic.

Following the release of 1974’s Diamond Dogs, Bowie embarked on a North American tour, complete with a high-budget stage production and theatrical special effects. Ultimately, this tour spawned a documentary entitled Cracked Actor as well as the live album, David Live, which was a worldwide hit and is highly acclaimed as a live album. During the tour, Bowie also became deeply enamored in American Soul music and during a break in the tour he convened some recording sessions.

These initial sessions were from August through the Fall of 1974 with producer Tony Visconti and a variety of musicians loosely called the Sound of Philadelphia, including Vandross and guitarist Carlos Alomar. Much of these sessions were recorded live in studio for a more authentic feel and during these sessions several non-album tracks were recorded, including the single “John, I’m Only Dancing (Again)”, a sequel to a 1972 non-album single. Later sessions during the winter of 1974-1975 (including those where Lennon contributed) took place in New York City with engineer Harry Maslin.


Young Americans by David Bowie
Released: March 7, 1975 (RCA)
Produced by: Tony Visconti, Harry Maslin, & David Bowie
Recorded: Sigma Sound, Philadelphia, August 1974 – January 1975
Side One Side Two
Young Americans
Win
Fascination
Right
Somebody Up There Likes Me
Across the Universe
Can You Hear Me?
Fame
Primary Musicians
David Bowie – Lead Vocals, Guitar, Keyboards
Carlos Alomar – Guitars
Earl Slick – Guitars
David Sanborn – Saxophone
Willie Weeks – Bass
Andy Newmark – Drums

The consistent sax David Sanborn along with the excellent chorus backing vocals lead the opening title track. “Young Americans” proved to be a commercial breakthrough for Bowie in the United States as a Top 40 hit due in part to its cynical and timely lyrics and overall catchy energy. “Win” follows as a steady Soul ballad topped with Bowie’s slightly contrasting English folk which makes the whole effect a bit psychedelic. Vandross co-wrote the song “Fascination”, which derived from a song called “Funky Music”. This version prominently features the clavinet of Mike Garson and is a real showcase for bassist Willie Weeks.

While less cohesive than much of the previous material, the first side closer “Right” does feature an excellent short guitar lead by Alomar. The beginning of side two starts with much of the same style. “Somebody Up There Likes Me” is the album’s longest and (seemingly) most vocally improvised of the album tracks as Bowie’s vocals reach for the next level, even briefly going falsetto in the coda section. Then, in a break in genre, comes a bluesy rock cover of The Beatles’ “Across the Universe”. However, there are some distinct divergences, such as the chorus mantra “jai guru deva om” omitted and the song changing keys for the third verse and newly extended coda section.

David Bowie

The album ends strong with two distinctive tracks. “Can You Hear Me?” is an excellent Soul ballad with cool rhythms and a potent outro which dissolves to solo vocals. The closing track “Fame” was a smash hit written by Bowie, Alomar and John Lennon. This catchy dance track at the forefront of disco became Bowie’s first number 1 single in the US and Canada as it explored the mixed blessings of being famous.

Bowie’s foray into Soul music partially persisted into his transitional follow-up Station to Station in early 1976, after which he reflected back with the compilation Changesonebowie later that year.

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1975 Images

Part of Classic Rock Review’s celebration of 1975 albums.

Against the Wind by Bob Seger

Against the Wind by Bob Seger

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Against the Wind by Bob SegerIn early 1980, Bob Seger completed his trifecta of commercial smash hit albums with the release of Against the Wind. It was his eleventh overall studio album, the fourth to feature (in part) the Silver Bullet Band and the second to include some tracks recorded by the Muscle Shoals Ryhthm Section. While building on the tremendous success of his previous two releases, this record ultimately became Seger’s only number one album as it spent six weeks on top of the American album charts.

With a long and winding career that dated back to the early 1960s, Seger finally achieved his widespread commercial breakthrough the 1976 album Night Moves and this was followed up with the nearly-equally as successful 1978 album Stranger in Town. Seger also rose as a cross-over composer as he co-wrote the Eagles’ #1 hit song “Heartache Tonight” from their The Long Run and his song “We’ve Got Tonight” later became a worldwide hit for Kenny Rogers and Sheena Easton in 1983.

Co-produced by Seger with Punch Andrews and Bill Szymczyk, Against the Wind alternates between Seger’s reflective, mid-tempo acoustic ballads and upbeat, slick old-time rockers with simpler themes.


Against the wind by Bob Seger
Released: February 25, 1980 (Capitol)
Produced by: Punch Andrews, Bill Szymczyk & Bob Seger
Recorded: 1979
Side One Side Two
The Horizontal Bop
You’ll Accomp’ny Me
Her Strut
No Man’s Land
Long Twin Silver Line
Against the Wind
Good for Me
Betty Lou’s Gettin’ Out Tonight
Fire Lake
Shinin’ Brightly
Primary Musicians
Bob Seger – Lead Vocals, Guitars
Drew Abbott – Guitars
Chris Campbell – Bass
David Teegarden – Drums, Percussion

“The Horizontal Bop” starts things off as a heavy blues rocker with an extended jam towards the end. This song was later released as the fourth single from the album, but failed to reach the Top 40. In great contrast to the opener in both style and success, “You’ll Accomp’ny Me” is a fine acoustic ballad with dynamic vocals by Seger, which reached the Top 20 on the Billboard Hot 100. The cool, riff-driven hard rocker “Her Strut” is the real highlight of Side One, with Seger’s treated lead vocals delivering catchy lyrics along with the potent bass by Chris Campbell and the indelible guitar riff Drew Abbott.

The Muscle Shoals Rhythm section comes in for the next two tracks, the pleasant acoustic folk “No Man’s Land” with a fine closing guitar lead by Pete Carr and the upbeat rocker “Long Twin Silver Line”, which features an interesting ascending verse melody. While the Silver Bullet Band returns to back the masterpiece title track, the song is musically highlighted by the piano of guest Paul Harris. This masterful composition with a dedicated coda features lyrics which compare Seger’s high school days as a long distance runner with the rat race and duplicity of the music industry.

Bob Seger live

For the rest of Side Two, the album thins out a bit in quality with a pleasant country waltz of “Good for Me”, the old time rock-n-roll of “Betty Lou’s Gettin’ Out Tonight” and the Eagles-like country folk of “Shinin’ Brightly”, which finishes the album with an upbeat, positive message and prominently features saxophone by Alto Reed. The best of these lot is “Fire Lake”, a song originally written for Seger’s 1975 album Beautiful Loser and featuring Glen Frey and Don Henley from the Eagles on backing vocals. Released as the lead single from the album, “Fire Lake” was a Top 5 hit in both the US and Canada.

Against the Wind reached 5x Platinum in sales and won a Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal. This high-water commercial mark was something Seger later admitted as his goal for this album as he was “gunning for nothing less than a chart-topping hit when he entered the studio”.

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Part of Classic Rock Review’s celebration of 1980 albums.

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Bridge Over Troubled Water by Simon and Garfunkel

Bridge Over Troubled Water
by Simon & Garfunkel

Buy Bridge Over Troubled Water

Bridge Over Troubled Water by Simon and GarfunkelSimon & Garfunkel saved their best for last with the early 1970 release of Bridge over Troubled Water, the fifth studio album by the New York based folk duo. The record shows the artists branching out to new musical avenues with smooth production featuring warm sonic elements to showcase the exquisite compositions of chief songwriter Paul Simon. Despite the breakup of Simon & Garfunkel later in 1970, the album’s success reverberated for several years as it received multiple Grammy awards and even briefly became the best selling record of all time as it topped album charts worldwide.

The duo’s highly successful third album, Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme was issued in October 1966 and followed by a series of non-album singles including “A Hazy Shade of Winter” and “At the Zoo”, both of which made the Top 20 on the pop charts. However, Simon developed a bout of writer’s block which delayed any follow-up album in 1967. Then Hollywood came knocking as director Mike Nichols, a big fan of Simon & Garfunkel’s previous records, sought the duo to record some songs for the soundtrack to his new film, The Graduate, in 1968 with the single “Mrs. Robinson” becoming the first rock n’ roll song to win the Record of the Year Grammy. Simon & Garfunkel’s fourth studio album, Bookends was also released in 1968 and reached the top of the album charts. Both Simon and Art Gurfunkel were invited to audition for acting roles in Nichols’ next film, Catch 22, but only Garfunkel got the role. This caused a bit of a rift between the two musicians, especially as filming took up much of 1969 with much taking place in Mexico.

Production of Bridge Over Troubled Water took place in New York and Los Angeles studios with the help of producer Roy Halee, who Garfunkel once referred to as the third member of the group. This album also partly abandoned their traditional style by incorporating further elements of rock, R&B, gospel, and world music as well as using more singular lead voices by each singer, rather than the traditional blended harmonies.


Bridge Over Troubled Water by Simon & Garfunkel
Released: January 26, 1970 (Columbia)
Produced by: Paul Simon, Art Garfunkel & Roy Halee
Recorded: Columbia Studios, New York City & CBS Columbia Square, Los Angeles
Side One Side Two
Bridge over Troubled Water
El Cóndor Pasa (If I Could)
Cecilia
Keep the Customer Satisfied
So Long, Frank Lloyd Wright
The Boxer
Baby Driver
The Only Living Boy in New York
Why Don’t You Write Me
Bye Bye Love
Song for the Asking
Primary Musicians
Paul Simon – Vocals, Acoustic Guitar, Percussion
Art Garfunkel – Vocals, Percussion
Fred Carter Jr. – Guitars
Larry Knechtel – Piano, Keyboards
Joe Osborn – Bass
Hal Blaine – Drums, Percussion

Like most previous material by Simon & Garfunkel, the songs here were initiated by Simon and next he would work on the harmonies with Garfunkel. However, with the title track “Bridge Over Troubled Water”, Simon basically gave the song as his acoustic composition was transformed with Garfunkel on solo vocals and Larry Knechtelon piano dominating most of the recording. The payoff does come with the exquisitely harmonized third verse followed by the orchestra crescendo to close out this opening title track, which topped the Pop charts and won a Grammy for Song of the Year in 1971. “El Cóndor Pasa (If I Could)” follows as a traditional Peruvian instrumental, centuries old onto which Simon added lyrics on top< This interesting track starts with a distant flamenco guitar with the verse proper containing a European waltz beat and a flute mimicking the lead vocals throughout, an arrangement that carries an air of psychedelia.

The inventiveness continues with “Cecilia”, a low-fi dance song driven by the harmonized vocals over a totally unique percussion arrangement that was recorded at home and placed on a loop. “Keep the Customer Satisfied” is an upbeat, acoustic-driven pop song with rich harmonies and a later horn section to complete to fine effect. “So Long, Frank Lloyd Wright” hearkens back to their early sixties folk style, but with just a touch of mellotron to give it a “modern” edge along. “The Boxer” is another gem of production, from the perfectly Travis-style finger-picked acoustic guitars by Simon and Fred Carter Jr to the contra bass and tuba by Bob Moore to the wild percussion effects recorded on location at a cathedral at Columbia University by the legendary Hal Blaine.

Simon and Garfunkel

While not quite as interesting, the latter part of the album does include some unique moments. “Baby Driver” is a bluesy acoustic folk track in a style later mastered by Jim Croce, while “Why Don’t You Write Me” is upbeat acoustic folk with Joe Osborn laying down some excellent bass. Osborn also shines on “The Only Living Boy in New York”, a song written by Simon about Garfunkel flying off to Mexico to film Catch 22 and featuring a chorus of backing vocals recorded live in an echo chamber in Los Angeles. The Everly Brothers’ “Bye Bye Love” is an odd live inclusion here with some treated hand clapping by the audience, recorded at multiple gigs, before the closing “Song for the Asking”, a pure Paul Simon style folk with an edge to become a very short soliloquy to complete the duo’s final studio album.

Bridge Over Troubled Water topped the charts in ten countries around the world and was on the best-selling album list for the years 1970, 1971 and 1972. With this massive success, both musicians decided to pursue independent projects and ultimately solo careers as Simon & Garfunkel dissolved into musical history.

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Part of Classic Rock Review’s celebration of 1970 albums.

Van Morrison’s Astral Weeks and Veedon Fleece

Cut From the Same Cloth:
Van Morrison’s Astral Weeks and Veedon Fleece

Van Morrison’s Astral Weeks and Veedon Fleece

Buy Astral Weeks
Buy Veedon Fleece

This article was provided by Mike Fishman, who has written about Van Morrison for the Mystic Avenue blog and writes about film for IndependentFilmNow.com.

Any musician with a career spanning 50 years is going to hit at least a few major milestones and when you’re talking about an artist as prolific as Van Morrison the milestones inevitably start piling up. While 2018 saw widespread celebrations of his seminal 1968 recording, Astral Weeks, the fall of 2019 found many longtime fans turning their attention to Veedon Fleece (released in October of 1974), one of Morrison’s lesser-discussed yet just as affecting works. Both albums were heavily influenced by Morrison’s Irish roots and personal life and share a special kinship often alluded to by ardent listeners. Given the singer-songwriter’s copious output it is remarkable that only these two albums mirror and complement each other, in both subtle and overt ways. And with some five years and a handful of albums separating the two, the similarities can’t be attributed merely to the musician being in a similar state of musical mind.

Both albums are clearly marked by prominent acoustic guitar, bass, flute and strings. The singing, too, feels connected with Morrison vocalizing with an abandonment doled out elsewhere more sparingly. While Morrison is known for his intensity of singing and repeating or stretching out words to emphasize meaning or move into pure sound, no other albums display such vocalizing to such a degree. As well, both albums are marked by a narrative approach in the lyrics that is seen less frequently elsewhere. Perhaps most overtly, both display a greater sense of place than any other of his albums of original material. While Morrison would continue to mine sites of remembrance from his youth in Belfast, no other albums are as steeped in setting. As Morrison noted in an interview for Rolling Stone in 1978, unlike his other records up to that point most of Astral Weeks and Veedon Fleece were written in Ireland. The album covers themselves suggest the importance of setting, with a poem on the back of Astral Weeks referencing locations in Massachusetts (where Morrison lived before recording the album in New York City) and Veedon Fleece with its cover photo of the singer in the Irish countryside. Stylistically, vocally and lyrically, Veedon Fleece recalls Astral Weeks, making the two bookends for an extremely productive and eventful period of time in Morrison’s life. The connections between the two albums become apparent when one compares the two, side by side.


Astral Weeks by Van Morrison
Released: November, 1968 (Warner Brothers)
Produced by: Lewis Merenstein
Recorded: Century Sound Studios, New York City, September-October 1968
Side One Side Two
Astral Weeks
Beside You
Sweet Thing
Cyprus Avenue
The Way Young Lovers Do
Madame George
Ballerina
Slim Slow Slider
Primary Musicians
Van Morrison – Acoustic Guitar, Lead Vocals
Jay Berliner – Guitars
Larry Fallon – Strings, Horns, Harpsichord
Richard Davis – Bass
Connie Kay – Drums

Astral Weeks starts off with Richard Davis’s insistent bass on the title track as Morrison launches into an uncertain but evocative image, “If I ventured in the slipstream between the viaducts of your dream.” With the bass driving it all, Jay Berliner’s guitar propels the song forward as John Payne’s flute dances around the vocal, strings trill and vibes and percussion add flavor until it all swirls together in an amalgam of folk, jazz, blues and soul, moving from uneasy to calm, with lines about “a home on high…so far away…way up in the Heaven.” Morrison stretches out the word “Heaven,” accentuating the ethereal meaning of the word. The song closes gently with Morrison humming over final plucked guitar notes and a bowed bass note extending the otherworldly effect. While more an inner journey than to a physical place there is a narrative here, of a protagonist addressing his lover waiting for her to “find” him, wondering if she will “kiss-a my eyes,” this woman who has a boy she is taking care of, “putting on his little red shoes.” “From the far side of the ocean, if I put the wheels in motion…” It’s not a stretch to imagine that Morrison was singing about his future wife Janet, an American who had a young boy from a previous marriage. Clocking in at just over seven minutes, the album opener is the second longest song on the album and sets the stage for the seven songs that follow.

As with Astral Weeks, Veedon Fleece opens with the second longest song on the album. “Fair Play,” and introduces a markedly consistent sound and feel that will inform the rest of the album and that shares Astral Weeks’ mix of folk, jazz, blues and soul as well as lyrics incorporating Morrison’s Irish roots. Similar to the prominent bass on “Astral Weeks,” the piano is at the forefront, playing off of Morrison’s committed vocals, though here the gentle melody more falls into place than charges ahead. As with “Astral Weeks,” there is an air of uncertainty and tension and meaning is slippery. Both opening songs find Morrison singing with abandon, luxuriating in pure sound. Here the singer takes the word “Geronimo” and repeats it, playing with the phrasing until it becomes “ronimo-woh,” perhaps in keeping with the word’s use as an expression of letting go. But it could also be referring to Morrison’s dwelling in San Geronimo, California on Meadow Way as he sings “meadow’s way to go/And you say Geronimo.” Written, as most of the songs on Veedon Fleece were, during a trip Morrison took to Ireland in 1973 following his divorce, “Fair Play” weaves together images from both the Irish countryside and his life in America, sharing Astral Weeks’ theme of place. Both opening tracks, in fact, start off with locations, “Killarney Lakes are so blue” in “Fair Play” to the more ambiguous slipstream of “Astral Weeks.” As Morrison stretches out the word “meadow’s” much as he did “Heaven,” a countryside of the mind is conjured, a countryside both Irish and American. Both album openers also share a sense of yearning. On “Astral Weeks,” the singer wonders, “If I ventured in the slipstream…could you find me?” while on “Fair Play” the protagonist wishes “we could be dreamers in this dream.” Both songs end gently, with the tension resolving, eschewing fade-outs. After the previous five studio releases (Moondance, His Band and Street Choir, Tupelo Honey, St. Dominic’s Preview, and Hard Nose the Highway) we are back in Astral Weeks territory.

“Beside You,” the second song on Astral Weeks, starts off gently, even tentatively, with soft guitar that feels like a hushed response to the previous song as Morrison opens by naming a character and moving through at least the makings of a story: “Little Jimmy’s gone…way over on the railroad…the tipping trucks will unload all the scrapbooks stuck with glue.” Images appear that will be mainstays in the songwriter’s work: back streets, a railroad yard, church bells, someone turning around to address another person. A sense of a tortured soul runs through the song with Morrison forcefully repeating the phrase “beside you” and ending on an anguished “child.” The mixture of uncertainty and hopefulness creates a tension that is unresolved in contrast to the album’s title song, which ends on a note of tranquility.

As on Astral Weeks, the second song on Veedon Fleece, “Linden Arden Stole The Highlights,” continues the album in an introspective mood. James Trumbo’s piano opens the song tenderly, with notes of melancholy and regret. Morrison enters, assured and conversational, the lyrics now directly narrative. As with “Beside You,” the song starts by naming a character, Linden Arden. Morrison sings hard, barking out words, biting them off at times, and utilizing a falsetto that soars over acoustic guitar and strings. His impassioned vocals nearly reach the pained intensity of “Beside You” when he darkly draws out the word “hatchet.” Across just two and half minutes a story emerges of a hard-drinking man hiding out in San Francisco after having “stole the highlights” with “one hand tied behind his back.” Whatever the specifics, this is clearly a troubled man on the run in whom “whiskey ran like water in his veins” but who loves “the little children like they were his very own.” The song ends on a note of turmoil, the desperation of “livin’ with a gun.” As with Astral Weeks, the album opens with a long song finding peaceful resolution followed by one that continues the mood but turns conflicted and bothered.

“Sweet Thing,” the third song on Astral Weeks, changes the mood significantly from “Beside You,” the upbeat strumming guitar acting as a bridge to more sunny days. A romantic love song propelled by percussion and a galloping bass, the song finds the singer looking forward to when he and his lover will “walk and talk in gardens all misty wet with rain” and declaring enigmatically “I will never grow so old again.” Flute and strings add texture to the album’s most succinct example of Morrison’s blending of folk, jazz, soul and blues.


Veedon Fleece by Van Morrison
Released: October, 1974 (Warner Bros.)
Produced by: Van Morrison
Recorded: Mercury Studios, New York & Caledonia Studios, Oakland, CA, November 1973-Spring 1974
Side One Side Two
Fair Play
Linden Arden Stole the Highlights
Who Was That Masked Man
Streets of Arklow
You Don’t Pull No Punches, But You Don’t Push the River
Bulbs
Cul de Sac
Comfort You
Come Here My Love
Country Fair
Primary Musicians
Van Morrison – Lead Vocals, Guitars
Ralph Walsh – Guitars
James Trumbo – Piano
David Hayes – Bass
Dahaud Shaar – Drums

On Veedon Fleece, the third song connects directly to its preceding one, with the first line of “Who Was That Masked Man” echoing the closing line of “Linden Arden Stole The Highlights,” now detailing the loneliness of “livin’ with a gun.” Morrison again adopts a falsetto that lends urgency to the mournful melody as acoustic guitar dances around the sung lines. The title can’t help but evoke the Lone Ranger; a symbol of the America that Morrison was taking a respite from but the protagonist here is no hero in the traditional sense. One can easily imagine we’re still concerned with Linden Arden, now on the run after cleaving off the heads of the men who came looking for him. There is a palpable sense of paranoia and of being watched with the image of a fish inside a bowl, an image Morrison would return to years later on one of his many songs about the pitfalls of fame, “Goldfish Bowl.” Perhaps on some level Morrison is referring to himself, already struggling with fame. There is a sense of existential dread throughout, stated perhaps most plainly in the line “when the ghost comes round at midnight…he can keep you from the sun.” The music swells on the unsettling line, “You can hang suspended from a star/ or wish on a toilet roll.” However you interpret that line it speaks of anguish, setting the song quite apart from Astral Weeks’ third song, the uplifting “Sweet Thing.” Interestingly, when Morrison performed the entire Astral Weeks in 2008 to mark its 40th anniversary, he restructured the album’s sequence so that the third song was “Slim Slow Slider,” a song that shares the bleak desolation of “Who Was That Masked Man.” While there is no obvious connection to Astral Weeks‘ “Madame George,” it’s notable that the song includes the image “and the hand does fit the glove” recalling the central line in “Madame George,” “Hey love, you forgot your glove.”

“Cyprus Avenue,” the fourth song on Astral Weeks, starts with strumming guitar hinting at intensity as a harpsichord dances in to remain present throughout, strings whirling and swooping, the bass stepping in and out. A tale is told of a lovelorn man “conquered in a car seat” watching a 14-year-old girl walking down “the avenue of trees…in the wind and rain…when the sun shone through the trees.” He tries to talk to her but his tongue gets tied and he decides to go walking by the railroad “where the lonesome engine drivers pine.” The reference to locations (Cyprus Avenue is a street in Belfast that a young Morrison liked to walk along) and narrative flow give the song a cinematic feel that is also present in the album’s most elaborate song, “Madame George.” The girl in question is obviously younger than the singer who observes her as “so young and bold, fourteen, yeah I know.” But he also knows that “nobody stop me from loving you” nor can anyone stop him from fantasizing about her in a carriage being drawn by six white horses. The sense of anguish at observing a group of girls walking home from school making up rhymes blissfully unaware of his emotional suffering is accentuated by the ever-present harpsichord. Morrison sings passionately, alternating barked-out lines with soft caresses. He raggedly extends the word “ribbons,” evoking an image of ribbons in a young girl’s hair fluttering in the wind. As he observes leaves falling from trees, the indifference of nature seems to mock his romantic longings. The lyrics share a strong sense of both yearning and a feeling of being at odds with the world that runs through both Astral Weeks and Veedon Fleece.

“Streets of Arklow,” the fourth song on Veedon Fleece, is notable as a culmination of the intermingling of the folk, soul and blues of its preceding three songs and the first song on the album where Morrison starts to really let loose, coming down hard on “and our souls were clean,” then breathing out gently “and the grass did grow.” It’s a song enraptured with beauty and a desire to revel in the moment, probably with a lover. A line about gypsies who love to roam (another image that appears frequently in Morrison’s lyrics) gives the song a cinematic feel. As with the word “ribbons” on “Cyprus Avenue,” Morrison stretches out the word “drenching” to wring out its meaning. In place of a harpsichord, “Streets of Arklow” is supported by gliding strings, at times murmuring in the background, then swelling darkly. A rain could be coming on over the green fields and streets of Arklow. The strings give the song a strong sense of movement until it comes to an abrupt stop that feels immediately picked up by the next song, “You Don’t Pull No Punches, But You Don’t Push The River,” the centerpiece of the album. In what is surely a coincidence, the fourth songs on both albums are named for their settings.

Side Two of Astral Weeks opens with a song that feels slightly out of step with the rest of the album. “The Way Young Lovers Do” starts with gentle vibes and guitar but quickly builds in intensity as the bass thumps furiously and strings enter followed by brash horns as the pace becomes frenetic. One wonders what the song, a love song about walking through fields wet with rain and dancing the night away, might have felt like without the strings and horns, though certainly a tasteful trombone adds to the jazz feel. Morrison sings at full throttle and is likely tipping his hat to Ray Charles in the line “in the night time, yeah, that’s the right time.” Elsewhere, a line about how the lovers “sat on our own star and dreamed of the way that we were and the way that we wanted to be” may remind listeners of the line in “Who Was That Masked Man” about hanging suspended from a star. But unlike that song, “The Way Young Lovers Do” is relentlessly upbeat, a conflict-free ode to love shared only on Astral Weeks with “Sweet Thing.” Some wonderful scat singing from Morrison is heard on the fade-out.

Side One of Veedon Fleece ends as Astral Weeks does with a long song (at 8:50 the longest song on the album), with hard-strummed acoustic guitar and scat singing from Morrison that makes the song feel as if it’s picking up from where “Streets of Arklow” left off. As strings swirl, a flute trills against probing piano. As with “Cyprus Avenue,” the song is about a woman the narrator is preoccupied with. Now though, the protagonist is not pining away for a teenager but directly addressing a woman he knew “way back in shady lane,” possibly even the same girl of “Cyprus Avenue” now an adult. But the journey in “You Don’t Pull No Punches, But You Don’t Push the River” is not down memory lane but in the clear present and “out in the country…to the west coast…to the cathedrals…and the beaches,” perhaps conjoining images of Ireland and America as in “Fair Play.” Morrison sings about “days of blooming wonder…going as much with the river as not” (see Don’t Push the River (it flows by itself) by Barry Sands), William Blake, and the ultimate mystery in Morrison’s music, the “Veedon Fleece”. However you define Veedon Fleece, the phrase is as central to the song and the album as the glove in “Madame George” and is noteworthy as one of the few Morrison album titles not taken directly from a song title. If Morrison was starting to let loose on “Streets of Arklow,” he’s in full swing here, singing about as hard as he ever has right off the bat on the line “way back in shady lane.” The singer seems almost possessed by the music as he uses his voice like an instrument, alternately stretching out words and clipping them, moving from mournful calmness to blues shouting and back again. Such looseness of singing and a feeling of improvisation and letting go that is part of the fabric of both Veedon Fleece and Astral Weeks would be seen more occasionally on Morrison’s subsequent studio albums. Just past the six minute mark the music turns serene and gentle. Flute floats about as strings are plucked and Morrison repeats phrases, creating a trance-like effect. As the song comes to a quiet close with Morrison whispering “you don’t push the river,” the ending of “Astral Weeks” may come to mind as well as the emotional intensity of “Cyprus Avenue.”

Van Morrison in 1968

“Madame George” follows “The Way Young Lovers Do” on Astral Weeks and, as with “You Don’t Pull No Punches, But You Don’t Push The River,” is the centerpiece of the album. With a running time of more than nine minutes, the song is anchored by nuanced bass as decorous acoustic guitar, supple flute and violin join in to create a swirling effect fitting for the memory story that unfolds. Morrison returns to Cyprus Avenue and the back streets of Belfast in a portrait of a young man “sitting on a sofa playing games of chance” at a party with the captivating Madame George. Madame George remains an elusive character and Morrison himself has confirmed that he’s actually singing Madame Joy. Is it pure coincidence that the singer’s given name is George? A line about “playing dominoes in drag” adds to the ambiguity. Whether “Madame George” refers to a specific person or a symbolic figure, the lyrics portray a young man moving on from friends and circumstances of his youth. The events unfold in a cinematic style in perhaps Morrison’s most polished combination of the narrative and the visual. As the young man takes leave of Madame George “she jumps up and says, ‘Hey love, you forgot your glove’.” The glove…the party scene…a reluctant farewell. “And you know you gotta go…dry your eye, your eye, your eye, your eye, your eye.” Alternately insistent and blissful. Then the fade-out…“get on the train, the train.” As on both albums, equal parts mystery and snapshot accuracy. Completists will want to give a listen to two recordings Morrison made prior to Astral Weeks: a bluesy version of “Madame George” and “Madame Joy,” a sweet paean to a beloved teacher.

Opening Side Two of Veedon Fleece and coming on the heels of “You Don’t Pull No Punches, But You Don’t Push The River,” “Bulbs” is strikingly jaunty, mirroring the move from the mystical leaves of “Cyprus Avenue” to the energetic “The Way Young Lovers Do.” Morrison’s vocals are forceful with a country-blues “hey, hey, hey” and some deep grunting that suggests a tuba.

On Astral Weeks, the swaying fadeout of “Madame George” flows fluidly into the pulsating intensity of “Ballerina” as the melancholy of the former is uplifted. The singer launches into a second-person narrative to a woman he cares about deeply, exhorting her to spread her wings and “fly it, sigh it, try it.” The vocal grows in forcefulness as he encourages her to “step right up, just like-a ballerina.” The songs fades, echoing the splintered light ending of “Madame George” as Morrison sings “take off your shoes…just like a ballerina,” extending the syllables.

On Veedon Fleece, “Cul De Sac” follows “Bulbs” and marks a return to the more introspective feel of the album. Bluesy piano and guitar drive the song as Morrison delivers one of his most impassioned vocals on record. He emphasizes nearly every word, enunciating, stretching vowels, repeating syllables, hammering on “you,” letting loose with a startling shout, and grunting as the song fades out. Setting is ever-present with references to Mt. Palomar, California and “down the cobblestones.”

“Slim Slow Slider,” the closing song on Astral Weeks, is the album’s shortest, the original recording having been edited in length. As is, the song gives the album a fittingly mournful and conflicted ending, with John Payne‘s soprano saxophone winding its way around Morrison’s downbeat vocal like a snake and ending on a flurry of frantic notes. The lyrics provide a second–person narrative about a friend he sees “down by Ladbroke Grove this morning” who’s “out of reach” heading somewhere where she “won’t be back.” The song’s bleakness caps the album, standing in contrast to the re-birth of the album opener. While performing the album on stage in 2008, along with placing “Slim Slow Slider” in third position, Morrison ended with the sequence of “Cyprus Avenue,” “Ballerina” and “Madame George,” perhaps in his view more in keeping with the ‘rock opera’ he has stated he originally envisioned.

The three-song sequence closing Veedon Fleece comprise perhaps the most clear connections to Astral Weeks, any one of which could fit comfortably on the earlier album. “Comfort You” descends gently, with Morrison singing sweetly, a guitar fluttering and strings entering, caressing the melody. The singer is likely addressing a lover, although as is often the case with Morrison’s lyrics, it could just be a close friend. The song grows in intensity until Morrison is wailing, then a sublime ending as he hums the proceedings to a close.

“Come Here My Love” opens with spare guitar and finds Morrison singing in a more direct manner, almost conversational although occasionally elongating a word as he implores his lover to lift his “melancholy feeling that just don’t do no good.” The pace recalls “Slim Slow Slider” but this is a love song and hopeful, a song about “contemplating the fields and leaves and talking about nothing” and becoming “enraptured by the sights and sounds of nature’s beauty.”

“Country Fair” closes the album with guitar, bass and synthesizer whispering behind Morrison’s wistful vocals as Jim Rothermel’s recorder remains prominent throughout. The delicate melody and impassioned singing create an atmosphere both calming and restless, recalling the tension of “Slim Slow Slider.” But here images of watching a river run, counting pebbles in the sand “on an old open day” and “the cool night air in sweet summertime,” not to mention an Irish country fair, convey a romantic mood and a feeling of time standing still. There is an overwhelming sense of both celebrating the beauty of life and acknowledging how fleeting the moment can be. That yearning to capture the moment echoes the protagonist’s wondering about his place in the world and the grasping at moments of Astral Weeks. And perhaps nothing Morrison has recorded sounds so remarkably like the sublime ending to the title track of Astral Weeks than the closing moments of “Country Fair,” with Morrison humming and the final evocative line, “on an old pine cone open day.” The halting probing of “Beside You” may also come to mind as well as the idyllic musings of “Fair Play.”

Thus the closing song on Veedon Fleece harkens back not only to the first song on the album but the first songs and by extension the entire cycle of Astral Weeks, creating one cycle out of two. Perhaps, too, there is something more hidden and personal that gives the albums a common resonance: Astral Weeks, the first fully-realized statement from a hungry young Morrison; Veedon Fleece, inspired by a return to Ireland and self. Regardless of the particulars, the two albums contain separate yet linked journeys that form a natural, unique flow.

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Classic Rock Review of Astral Weeks
Classic Rock Review of Veedon Fleece