All I Have to Do Is Dream
It took me several days to get through the John Coltrane The Complete 1961 Village Vanguard Recordings CD box set. The music is passionate, molten, complex. Sometimes I feel I have a handle on it, at other times I feel completely flummoxed. If I had any sort of musical training, I could break it down structurally, but as "only" an enthusiastic fan all I have to do is dream...
The box set probably contains more music than the average listener needs. But if you're a worshipper of Coltrane and Eric Dolphy, it's a treasure trove of sounds. As I wrote when I was listening to vinyl Trane, his performance of "India" was life-changing to me. Along with Hank Williams's "I Saw the Light," I consider it one of my personal hymns. Well, on this box set you get four versions of the song. Also, you can dig deep into "Spiritual"; "Chasin' the Trane"; "Impressions." Imagine going to a nightclub (the Vanguard) on a cold November evening in 1961 and hearing that two bass drone of Jimmy Garrison and Reggie Workman, the thunderous drums of Elvin Jones, the harmonic color of McCoy Tyner on piano, and the soul-stirring tenor of John Coltrane and bass clarinet of Eric Dolphy. A joyful noise.
And speaking of all you have to do is dream...Over in Nashville, at about the same time that Coltrane and Co. are vaulting into inner and outer space, Phil and Don Everly are cutting a clutch of classic singles such as "Cathy's Clown"; "Love Hurts"; "Crying in the Rain." These songs and many other greats can be heard on a vinyl two-fer entitled The Everly Brothers--24 Original Classics.
Phil and Don Everly: they brought the country harmony of the Delmore and Louvin Brothers to teen pop. They could get right to the center of lonely--check out "Love Hurts"; "When Will I Be Loved"; "So Sad (To Watch Good Love Go Bad)"; "Cryin' in the Rain".
One of the big ironies of their career is that while they were a profound influence on the Beatles and the Beach Boys, they were steamrolled by the success of those groups. Side four of the 24 Original Classics record covers their response to the growing "sophistication" of pop/rock music, with rockers such as "The Price of Love" and "Gone, Gone, Gone" and more melancholy later sixties fare such as "Bowling Green"; "Stories We Could Tell." Sensitive boys with great hair.
Yesterday found me playing a less troubled set of Everly songs--Rip It Up. Hear Phil and Don attempt to cover Little Richard "Rip It Up"; Gene Vincent "Be-Bop-A-Lula"; Fats Domino "Keep a Knockin'"with varying degrees of success. It does contain some of their hits such as "Problems" and "Poor Jenny" (a funny tale of a first date gone terribly wrong).
On Sunday, appropriately, I played a one-off late-eighties bluegrass gospel supergroup, Ever Call Ready. The group featured Chris Hillman (The Byrds) and Bernie Leadon (The Eagles) and some other dudes like bassist Jerry Scheff, who played with the King (Elvis, not Jesus). A very listenable, perhaps a bit too smooth collection of bluegrass/country gospel obscurities. I'm a fan of this genre, even if I'm not this sort of believer. I like the conviction of the songs. But I do have to wonder, were they doing a song like "Don't Let Them Take the Bible Out of Our Schoolroom" (it's gotta be heard to be believed) with completely serious intentions? Come on, Chris and Bernie, you were rock and roll sinners, but you don't have to take it this far, do you? On the other hand, you wouldn't want them to be doing the songs mockingly, either.
Upcoming: more Everlys, more Coltrane.
The box set probably contains more music than the average listener needs. But if you're a worshipper of Coltrane and Eric Dolphy, it's a treasure trove of sounds. As I wrote when I was listening to vinyl Trane, his performance of "India" was life-changing to me. Along with Hank Williams's "I Saw the Light," I consider it one of my personal hymns. Well, on this box set you get four versions of the song. Also, you can dig deep into "Spiritual"; "Chasin' the Trane"; "Impressions." Imagine going to a nightclub (the Vanguard) on a cold November evening in 1961 and hearing that two bass drone of Jimmy Garrison and Reggie Workman, the thunderous drums of Elvin Jones, the harmonic color of McCoy Tyner on piano, and the soul-stirring tenor of John Coltrane and bass clarinet of Eric Dolphy. A joyful noise.
And speaking of all you have to do is dream...Over in Nashville, at about the same time that Coltrane and Co. are vaulting into inner and outer space, Phil and Don Everly are cutting a clutch of classic singles such as "Cathy's Clown"; "Love Hurts"; "Crying in the Rain." These songs and many other greats can be heard on a vinyl two-fer entitled The Everly Brothers--24 Original Classics.
Phil and Don Everly: they brought the country harmony of the Delmore and Louvin Brothers to teen pop. They could get right to the center of lonely--check out "Love Hurts"; "When Will I Be Loved"; "So Sad (To Watch Good Love Go Bad)"; "Cryin' in the Rain".
One of the big ironies of their career is that while they were a profound influence on the Beatles and the Beach Boys, they were steamrolled by the success of those groups. Side four of the 24 Original Classics record covers their response to the growing "sophistication" of pop/rock music, with rockers such as "The Price of Love" and "Gone, Gone, Gone" and more melancholy later sixties fare such as "Bowling Green"; "Stories We Could Tell." Sensitive boys with great hair.
Yesterday found me playing a less troubled set of Everly songs--Rip It Up. Hear Phil and Don attempt to cover Little Richard "Rip It Up"; Gene Vincent "Be-Bop-A-Lula"; Fats Domino "Keep a Knockin'"with varying degrees of success. It does contain some of their hits such as "Problems" and "Poor Jenny" (a funny tale of a first date gone terribly wrong).
On Sunday, appropriately, I played a one-off late-eighties bluegrass gospel supergroup, Ever Call Ready. The group featured Chris Hillman (The Byrds) and Bernie Leadon (The Eagles) and some other dudes like bassist Jerry Scheff, who played with the King (Elvis, not Jesus). A very listenable, perhaps a bit too smooth collection of bluegrass/country gospel obscurities. I'm a fan of this genre, even if I'm not this sort of believer. I like the conviction of the songs. But I do have to wonder, were they doing a song like "Don't Let Them Take the Bible Out of Our Schoolroom" (it's gotta be heard to be believed) with completely serious intentions? Come on, Chris and Bernie, you were rock and roll sinners, but you don't have to take it this far, do you? On the other hand, you wouldn't want them to be doing the songs mockingly, either.
Upcoming: more Everlys, more Coltrane.
posted by ken at 11:49 AM
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