Sound and the Fury: "Live Albums" and the Concerts that Inspire Them...

 

Redartz:  Over the course of the rock era, one of the signal features of many musical careers has been the release of a "Live" album. Once you got big enough, had a few hits, you could count on the eventual release of a live  performance recording; generally amounting to a 'greatest hits' collection, but often with some nice, uncommon tracks as well. Our discussion this time around will be centered upon such albums, as well as questions on concerts and preferred formats. Allow me a few words to illustrate.

 

Back in the Bronze Age (there's that phrase again), my favorite live album was "Wings Over America". Having been a fan of Wings (and that other band Sir Paul had been involved with) for a couple of years, the release of "WOA" in 1976 was most fortuitous.  That summer I got my driver's license, and got a car with, yes, an 8 track player in the dash. Ah, but what would be the first 8 track to drive to? No question, that 2-tape set was the choice, and it got worn out in play over the months that followed. Unfortunately I didn't get the chance to see the tour, but that album was a fine substitute. All of Wings' highlights, and for the first time since the Breakup, Paul included a few Beatles tunes on a commercial release. A perfect soundtrack for the Summer of '76.

 

 

Some years later, another live album (or more correctly, disc) took over the spot as my favorite live album. In 1985 I had the great pleasure to see Depeche Mode in concert in Chicago. I'd seen many shows, but none matched the magnitude and spectacle of this show in my book. They were incredible. Perhaps it was the electronic aspect of their music that made the show so appealing- unlike some live performances, the heavy use of synthesizers made the show sound as polished as a studio recording, while allowing the sheer energy of the live band to shine through. At any rate, the show was the best I'd ever seen.

 

Fast forward a few more years, to a local music store. While scouring bins for CD's, what do my eyes spy but a Depeche Mode disc with the title "101". As no Depeche Mode discs resided on my shelves at the time, I snatched it up, not realizing at the time that it was a live recording. A happy discovery, I assure you. It brought all the excitement of that 1985 concert right back into my living room. It's still a favorite.

 

 

 

 

 I've since added numerous other 'live' recordings to my collection, some great and some little more than semi-audible novelties. It has become  a source of interest to seek such recordings out now, in search of those unusual cuts and alternative arrangements you find therein. An example: Duran Duran, on "Seven and the Ragged Tiger", featured the song. "The Seventh Stranger". Subsequently that song was also included on DD's live album "Arena"; upon hearing that version, I greatly preferred it to the original studio recording. Which surprised me a bit at the time, as my experience had been that live performances often failed to match the quality of a fully engineered,  polished studio cut. Love the exceptions to the rule...

 To sum up, concerts are fun, and concert recordings can be as well. So, what live albums have you encountered, and which did you like? Were there any you thought fell pretty flat? How did they compare to the familiar studio albums? What rare performances, out-of-the-ordinary songs, and special appearances have you found on such albums? Do some artists sound better live, or  should they stick to the studio?  All these questions, and more, await your consideration...

Rank and File: My Favorite Year...

Redartz:  Greetings all! For this week's discussion; we're going to update / expand upon a post I did several years ago at Doug and Karen's fondly remembered Bronze Age Babies. That post was dedicated to choosing a favorite summer, and sharing the reasons why. Here's a link to that original post (with thanks again to Doug and Karen):  http://bronzeagebabies.blogspot.com/2016/06/open-forum-your-favorite-summer.html#links

As our title above indicates, today we are tweaking that subject to select a favorite year. The characteristics of your favorite year will, of course, be subjective; it's your year, you pick the reasons why. Maybe it was the comics, maybe the television, perhaps it was something more personal. Whatever your reasons, what year do you look back upon with the most warmth?

In that previous BAB post, I named 1975 as my favorite summer. For favorite year, I'm sliding back a year to 1974. My reasons: 

Primarily, that was the year I 'returned' to comics.  I say 'returned' because in one sense, I never left- but 1974 was when my junior high pal convinced me to pick up some Marvel (and later DC) books after several years of Archie and Charlton reading. And that reunion with comics lasted, in one form or another, to this very day. 

But 1974 has more to offer than just that personal milestone. Man, what a year to start reading:

 


Marvel brought out the Giant-Size books, and the Treasury Editions,DC had the 100 page giants.  Gerry Conway and Ross Andru had Spidey fighting Molten Man, Jackal and Mysterio. Thomas and Buckler had the Fantastic Four tackling Sub-Mariner, Dr. Doom, Frightful Four and the Silver Surfer. The Avengers were dealing with the Celestial Madonna and Kang (repeatedly). Steve Gerber and Mike Ploog were doing Man-Thing. There were Marvel Value Stamps (yes, I was one of those who clipped them out; mea culpa). Just so much comics fun; it was mind-shattering. 










Ah, but 1974 also knocked me out musically. That was also the year I started following pop music, specifically Casey Kasem and American Top 40; and learned there was something called a "Billboard Hot 100". Some of my all-time favorite singles emanated from that halcyon year. Gordon Lightfoot's "Sundown". 

Hues Corporation's "Rock the Boat". Wings' "Band on the Run". MFSB's "TSOP".

 Ray Steven's "The Streak". Steely Dan's "Rikki Don't Lose That Number". Carole King's "Jazzman". 

And that merely scratches the surface. Every week tuning in to AT40 was like magic that year.

So there it is, my testament to 1974. What year gets your vote?

Riding the Retro Metro: Friday June 21, 1974!

Redartz:  Hello again, fellow time travelers! We are off on another journey to the Bronze age, courtesy of the Retro Metro. Today's destination is one very close to my heart:: June of 1974. I only recently started collecting comics, and my interest is skyrocketing. And although the topic on everyone's mind these days is the Watergate tapes, the tapes I'm most interested in are the ones I've recorded off Casey Kasem's American  Top 40. And speaking of the top forty, let's check out the apex:

On top of the US 'Billboard Pop Chart:  Bo Donaldsen and the Heywoods, "Billy, Don't Be a Hero"

Apparently this song has been used in a recent "Billy Jack" movie, but it was actually written about an soldier in the U.S. Civil War.

Rounding out the top five:
2.  The Stylistics, "You Make Me Feel Brand New"
3.  Gordon Lightfoot, "Sundown"
4.  Ray Stevens, "The Streak"
5.  William DeVaughn, "Be Thankful For What You Got"  

Man, I'm really loving the pop charts right now! Gordon Lightfoot's "Sundown" is my favorite song right now: "Sometimes, I think it's a shame, when I get feelin' better when I'm feeling no pain". Great. Then there's Ray Stevens and "The Streak": the king of novelty/comedy tunes strikes again. Everyone on the school bus just goes nuts for that song. And there are tons of ther cool hits:  Wings, "Band on the Run"- an amazing song with three distinct sections; Paul still has it.  The Hues Corporation, "Rock the Boat"- an incredibly catchy tune. Steely Dan, "Rikki Don't Lose that Number"-just getting to know these guys, and really like this tune. I'm planning to pick up their album "Pretzel Logic" (great name).  ABBA, "Waterloo" (debuting this week on the top forty)- a new group from Sweden; this song is a prime piece of pop. May have to pick up their lp as well.

 Tops in the UK:   Gary Glitter, "Always Yours"

As it's Friday, chances are the tv viewing tonight will be good. Checking out the listings:

US Television Schedule:


 
ABC:  The Brady Bunch, The Six Million Dollar Man, The Odd Couple, Toma

Our family is still following the Brady family. Personally, I'm more excited about the show following them: Lee  Majors in "The Six Million Dollar Man". Kind of a superhero without a costume, but with appealing action and a great theme.
And after that, "The Odd Couple" is still going strong. Thanks to a perfect cast led by the incomparable Jack Klugman and Tony Randall, this show always promises laughs. 

CBS:   Dirty Sally, Good Times, The CBS Friday Night Movies

Afraid "Dirty Sally" is unknown to me. Many friends watch "Good Times", but as I'm pretty much tied into ABC's schedule, I never catch these shows.

NBC:  Sanford and Son, Lotsa Luck, The Girl With Something Extra, The Brian Keith Show, The Dean Martin Comedy Hour

Same situation here; although my parents will sometimes tune in Dean Martin.

BBC1:  The Friday Western: The Younger Brothers, Skywatch, The Nine O Clock News, A Man Called Ironside, The World of Stan Smith

BBC2:   Gardener's World, The Money Programme, World Cinema: Detruire Dit-Elle, All the Buildings Fit to Print

But hey, what a month it's been on the Spinner racks! It's an embarrassment of riches; this new comics fan has waaaay too much to choose from. Just take a look:

Wow, where to begin? That Amazing Spider-Man issue is the first thing I grab. What a cover, what a villain, what a book. Andru's Goblin looks just fine. Then I also have to grab that great Spectre book. Not getting many DC's at this point, but that looks fantastic. And speaking of fantastic, I'm getting that Avengers issue- my first Avengers comic, and picking it due to the Fantastic Four appearance. 

Then there's that Doctor Strange issue: have to get that, continuing the excellent Silver Dagger story. And now there's all these Giants and magazines to consider. Definitely need to get the Savage Sword of Conan; a beautiful Red Sonja story awaits within by Esteban Maroto and Neal Adams. Plus how can I resist the first issue of Planet of the Apes? Well, I can't. Could you? 

And capping it all off, the first Marvel Treasury Edition; with Spidey no less! All the great Spider-man artists represented. And that cover just hypnotized me; I stared at it all the way home on the city bus the other day when I picked it up. I'm scrounging everywhere I can to gather the needed funds for this month's goodies.  

Well, since we've probably spent our limits at the newsstand, guess it's time to head back on the Retro return trip. Hope you enjoyed this brief visit to the stellar year 1974; I sure did! And even if you're not old enough to fully remember that year's attractions, let us all know what you think of them...

 




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