SIDE ONE
TRACK 1. "APRIL 22, 2013"
Part One: In Memorium
On this date, I commemorate the lives of two musicians, both of whom I had only experienced in passing but each had left lasting effects. First, is Chrissy Amphett, lead singer/songwriter for the Australian band The DiVinyls, known here in the states most famously for their hit single "I Touch Myself," who passed away at the age of 53. Too terribly young as far as I am concerned. While I possess scant knowledge of the music of The Divinyls, whenever I heard Amphett sing, her voice always struck me as belonging to a small breed of female rock singer who simultaneously projected uncompromising toughness, intelligence, heroism, tenderness, savagery and sexiness like her contemporaries such as Pat Benetar, Patty Smyth and Chrissie Hynde as well as our current rock heroine Shirley Manson of Garbage. She had power, grit and soul and I must take the time to introduce myself to her music. May she rest in peace.
Secondly, I was surprised to hear on the very same day that folk music legend and guitarist Richie Havens also passed away at the age of 72. The fullness of his life in music is also something of which I have never been familiar but I will say that as a child, when I saw Director Michael Wadleigh's "Woodstock" (1970), I was immediately captivated by the sight and sound of his incredible voice and guitar strumming as he performed "Freedom," the very first song of the legendary festival. As one of my faithful "listeners" recounted to me after the news of his death hit the airwaves, "The world was blessed by his presence!! (My husband) Brad and I were honored to see him in concert at the Barrymore about 15 years ago. Moving. Wonderful!"
Blessed, most certainly. May he also rest in peace.
Part Two: Happy Birthday
And with death, there is life as the same day honored the 63rd birthday of singer/songwriter/guitarist Peter Frampton, a personal favorite from my 1970s childhood when "Frampton Comes Alive" (released January 6, 1976) and "I'm In You" (released May 28, 1977) were each part of life's sonic wallpaper. I latched onto Frampton even further with the release of Director Michael Schultz's universally maligned musical fantasy film "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" (1978) which starred Frampton alongside The Bee Gees, a movie which nearly derailed his career. Most thankfully, Frampton carried onwards, re-building his reputation as a musician, songwriter and guitarist extraordinaire rather than as a pin up pop star.
As much as I love "Frampton Comes Alive," I have to say that when I reach into the collection to hear his music I will more often than not grab his album of pastoral glory, the eponymously titled "Frampton" (released March 1975).
Or I may even play a more recent effort, the all instrumental "Fingerprints" (released September 12, 2006), on which he tackles no less than Soundgarden's dark classic "Black Hole Sun" to rampaging effect. Play on and on, Mr. Frampton. Play on and on...
TRACK 2: "THE GODFATHER"
May 3, 2013 marked a musical milestone of such magnitude that if I had forgotten or neglected to pay proper homage, Synesthesia would have to immediately shut down for good. Dear listeners, this day marked what would've been the 80th birthday of none other than Soul Brother Number One, Mr. Dynamite, The Hardest Working Man In Show Business, The Amazing Mr. Please Please himself, the Minister Of The New New Super Heavy Funk, you guessed it, THE GODFATHER OF SOUL....JAMES BROWN!!!!!!!!
My first introduction to the musical majesty of James Brown was through those record album compilation television ads and then, through his appearance in Director John Landis' musical comedy classic "The Blues Brothers" (1980) and yet neither of those moments grabbed me enough to try and discover more. For that, I will have to place my eternal thanks to Eddie Murphy, whose imitation of James Brown, as I heard on his comedy album "Comedian" (released October 24, 1983) was so exhaustively side splitting that I just had to find out if there was any truth to Murphy's interpretation of this musical legend as an indecipherable madman was remotely true. A few cable television concert specials later, I discovered that not only was Murphy absolutely dead on, I found myself enormously entertained with everything I heard and saw.
Now for many years afterwards, James Brown was an endless source of comedy as the songs, with the endless titles, orgasmic screams (the track "Cold Sweat" literally had me doubled over on the ground the very first time I heard it), guttural grunts, and mostly indecipherable lyrics were unlike anything...and I mean, anything I had ever heard in my life. It was just something that could not be believed! And when the music was merged with his exploits and troubles in the real world, the mythology of the man just became that much more unbelievable.
But over time, something changed...
My laughter subsided when I began to truly hear the extraordinary musicality on display. I found myself becoming lost in the grooves of tracks like "I'm A Greedy Man," "Get On the Good Foot," "I Don't Want Nobody To Give Me Nothing (Open Up The Door, I'll Get It Myself)," "Talking Loud And Saying Nothing," "Get Up, Get Into It, Get Involved" and others, growing more amazed in the process. I began to realize that while his music had the swing of jazz, the earthiness of the blues and it was performed with the most intense discipline. The intricate, percussive phrasing of the horn sections, guitars, and bass made the full band sound like one giant sized drum set as I realized that James Brown had made the rhythm completely musical, from harmony to melody. Furthermore, James Brown made the rhythm essential to making any song work to its boundless, eternal glory at all. Just listen to how he and all of his musicians WORK those grooves, elongating them to stretch past time and space, always arriving on THE ONE so effortlessly only to simultaneously spiral onwards into the stratosphere and the grit of the dance floor daring us to remain locked in for as long as they choose to play. James Brown was loose and as tightly precise as that aforementioned drum and as his music continued onwards into the later 1960s and 1970s, the political messages contained inside the music was nothing less than a call to arms for African Americans to stand tall with pride, strength and acknowledgement of the beauty that exists in all of us as a people as he commanded with his revolutionary track "Say It Loud! I'm Black And I'm Proud!" It was as if he was a one man version of the entire Civil Rights Movement for a spell, and I responded passionately.
The influence of James Brown is undeniably seismic and everyone must realize and properly recognize that because if not for him, funk music, dance music, disco, electronic grooves, hip hop and rap music would not exist at all if not for him. George Clinton, Michael Jackson, Prince and all of their contemporaries and disciples would not exist as well. James Brown was the consummate composer, orchestrator, producer, band leader, vocalist, musician, dancer and all around showman. His place in the world moved the medium and art form of music FORWARDS and he is truly one of the very few of whose likes we will absolutely, positively, NEVER, EVER see again. Let the celebration of this man never fade!!!!
And do I still laugh? I certainly do..but now it is just out of sheer amazement!
TRACK 3: "BLACK METAL"
May 3, 2013 also provided me with another musical milestone of deep personal significance to me: the 25th anniversary of Living Colour's debut album "Vivid" (released May 3, 1988).
When I was applying to college, I knew first and foremost that I wanted, above all else, to attend the University Of Wisconsin-Madison. But, I also had to concede that there was a possibility that I would not be admitted and because of that possibility, I needed to find some additional choices. So, aside from the University Of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, I also found myself applying to the all African-American Florida A&M University, a move which flat out delighted my parents as well as shocked them as I had never expressed an interest in exclusively aligning myself with my own race for anything. Truth be told, it was a "what the hell" decision as the representative I met from the school certainly performed her job to the best of her abilities as she talked a great game and did make the school sound attractive enough to me to possibly try it out even though I had no desire to go to Florida. Also, after having spent the entirety of my school career thus far with predominantly Caucasian students and friends, maybe being with my own race for those formative years would be a good thing for me.
Thankfully, I was accepted into all three schools to which I had applied and while I was looking over the materials for Florida A&M, I was sitting in my family kitchen listening to Led Zeppelin's "Houses Of The Holy" (released March 28, 1973) album. My Father walked into the room, saw what I was leafing through and listening to and he plainly said, "You know you can't listen to Led Zeppelin if you go to that school." And with that, I instantaneously and completely snuffed out my desire to attend Florida A&M and without even one regretful thought, for that matter, because why should I attend any facility in which I would be allowed to be whomever I was and wished to be?
As an African American male who has harbored a lifelong passion for rock and roll,the scream of guitars and the bash and thrash of drums, the arrival of Living Colour back in 1988 could not have been any more welcome and needed. By the time I was 19, I was just so extremely tired of having to justify my musical passions to those (mostly of my own race) who could not understand just why oh why the likes of The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, The Who, Rush and others meant so much to me and the more I was misunderstood and challenged, the more unrepentant I became. So imagine my feelings when I stumbled upon a music video, deep in the night on MTV, of Living Colour's "Middle Man." Viewing the image of four Black men playing hard rock with that Zeppelin-esque swagger and blazing guitar work was something that I needed to see. It was a moment and feeling that I will never forget as it spoke to my soul.
"Vivid" is as daring and as auspicious of a debut release as any that I have heard, especially from a major label. While the band explores dimensions of funk, soul, gospel and the blues, Living Colour's musical attack is locked into the punishing delivery of heavy metal featuring Vernon Reid's blitzkrieg guitar work as the centerpiece with mountainous support from drummer Will Calhoun, (former) bassist Muzz Skillings and the superhuman vocals of Corey Glover. The classic "Cult Of Personality," which utilizes the voice of no less than Malcolm X, is one of the best album openers that I have heard as it completely announces itself, the album and the band with the fullest intention of its purposes. They will musically pulverize you like Led Zeppelin and will also unapologetically deliver a political agenda that is a cross between The Clash and Public Enemy, who incidentally appear on the album with the ferocious fusion styled assault on racial profiling, "Funny Vibe."
As powerful as the album is with its scathing exploration of gentrification on "Open Letter (To A Landlord)" and the metallic fury contained within "Desperate People," Living Colour immediately displayed a versatile range of influences as they also performed a Talking Heads cover ("Memories Can Wait"), an unabashed power pop song ("I Want To Know") and the wild, James Brown inspired theme song ("What's Your Favorite Color?"). They were a band that demanded the fullest of your attention and admiration and remain so to this day.
In fact, I think their second album, "Time's Up" (released August 20th) and the especially combative "Stain" (released March 2, 1993), are more cohesive, fully realized works and the extra-curricular work of Vernon Reid, most brilliantly presented on his Prince Paul produced solo effort "Mistaken identity" (released June 1996) and his work with the jazz fusion collective Spectrum Road is downright head spinning. But, "Vivid" is where it all began and I celebrate the release and continued existence of this deeply influential album
So, if anyone to this day wonders why I forever hold my allegiance to rock and roll, I will offer this lyrics from Living Colour's track "Pride" from the "Time's Up" album, as composed by drummer Will Calhoun:
"Don't ask me why I play this music. It's my culture, so naturally I use it. I state my claim to say, it's here for ALL to play."
'Nuff said...
...And for now, I must return to the DJ booth but the gate-fold will be here when we all return for SIDE TWO.
Stay tuned....
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