Jamie & Kathleen love music! It's a taste that binds us. We love listening to and talking about music. We enjoy many types, from Jazz to Space to Rock to Folk to Bluegrass to East Indian to Big Band to Rap to Sinatra. And more...
Trouble is, to explore the recesses of our musical attic would take days and be totally boring. These selections may be known to you, or they might be new experiences.
So here goes with "Just the tip of the Iceberg!
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The
Dead- Not a band,
but a lifestyle. Jerry's gone, the other ones march on. "American
Beauty" and "Workingman's Dead" are the classic Dead albums. Jamie
also loves "Wake of the Flood" and "Terrapin Station", but they're
all great. We saw the Dead several times in their day, in Seattle,
SF, and Springfield Oregon (At Chuck Kesey's Creamery...)
The
Band- one of the Best Ever. A beautiful, "organic" sound that seems
to come from within your soul. The albums "The Band" and "Music from
Big Pink" are perfect examples of this "organic" music. "Stage Fright"
is wonderful, "Cahoots" seems a little weaker. Also try out "Northern
Lights/Southern Cross" and "Islands."
It's
A Beautiful Day- The
essence
of the Sixties. If you haven't heard them, you
weren't part of the hippie thing
(or you're a Republican?)
remember "White
Bird"? Their bastard manager (Katz) has control of all their artistic output.
Their second album "Marrying Maiden" was also excellent. I've been
looking for "Choice Quality Stuff" (their third album) for several years.
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Bob
Dylan- Kathleen's top pick, and rightfully so. Jerry Garcia
preferred Dylan songs because the Dead's own music sounded trite
after a zillion playings, but Dylan's music is for the ages. I think
Kathleen likes "Blonde on Blonde" and "Blood on the Tracks" best, while
I love "Highway 61" and "Bringing it all Back Home." We last
saw Bob in a rodeo barn in sunny Red Bluff, California in 2002. Great
show.
Quicksilver
Messenger Service- The old band, before the "brat" (Dino Valente)
joined them. Sizzling guitar by John Cippolina. Long, twisted,
menacing melodies. Great.
Listen
to: QUICKSILVER
MESSENGER SERVICE 1968
QUICKSILVER
MESSENGER SERVICE: Happy Trails 1968
QUICKSILVER
MESSENGER SERVICE: Shady Grove 1969
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Crowded
House. Tim and Neil Finn. Haunting, cool lyrics. Beautiful
harmonies. They try to "rock" too much, when their real strength
is emotion and stories.
Have
you heard Nellie McKay? Young,
fun, and brash. Her first CD was a two disk set. Amazing.
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Ahhh,
Jethro
Tull with the wonderful Ian Anderson. Last saw the group
here in Northern California at the Shasta County Fairgrounds. There
are far more Tull albums we enjoy, but these four are mighty good.
Joni
Mitchell! One of our favorite artists. Joni seemed
to rule the airwaves for a time, but now she is overlooked by the music moguls.
These two albums, Joni Mitchell and Blue, are real treasures.
The
Allman Brothers Band was the
real thing. I believe "Live at Fillmore East" is arguably the
BEST live album of all time. My personal favs are "In Memory of
Elizabeth Reed" and "Hot 'Lanta." WOW. They
were so tight, it was kinda scary.
Simon
and Garfunkel. Too intellectual for some of my generation.
(Those who thought the Hippies were only about drugs.) Songwriting and performance excellence.
Aimee
Mann is someone both of us admire and enjoy. Her voice has a
"real" quality that makes her words sound truthful. She's
married to Michael Penn, who is a great singer/songwriter in his own stead.
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REM...
The voice of Michael Stipe. Nearly every album has at least one perfect
song: "The one I love," "Perfect Circle," "Losing my Religion," "Fall
on You" "It's the end of the world as we know it (And I feel Fine)."
Guadalcanal
Diary. A great band from Marietta, Georgia. Murray Attaway,
Rhett Crowe, John Poe and Jeff Walls. They were one of the "most
underappreciated bands of the 80's, Their sound is a mixture of catchy,
sharp, sometimes twisted lyrics with thundering drums, catchy bass lines
and the well-crafted guitar stylings of Jeff Walls." Jeff stroked
an electric 12 string that really rings. They now have some reissued music
in print.
Midnight
Oil. Powerful Australian Band with an agenda. "Despite
being a highly political rock band, the Oils come across effortlessly as
credible and talented. In other words, they can back up their beliefs with
the solid musicianship as good as anyone else." Another reviewer
says "Midnight Oil is one of those rare bands where the songs are immediately
catchy. They don't need to grow on you, they grab your right away."
How about "Beds are Burning," "Blue Sky Mine," "Mountains of Burma," "Shakers
and Movers" and "River Runs Red" from "Diesel & Dust"
and "Blue Sky Mining?" (My two recommendations) Great
Stuff.
Linda
Ronstadt is one of Kathleen's biggest faves. She's a true
rock pioneer from the stone ponies.
Deva
Premal is a wonderful New age singer whose musical roots go back
to ancient India. We both love this album.
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Neil
Young! Integrity and Talent. Rock on with your
bad self!
Leonard
Cohen. I did a high school poetry assignment on just two
of Leonard's songs, and it was too much material. I'm not sure you'd
want to listen to Cohen when you're depressed, but maybe he could cure
you... Kathleen begs to differ: When depressed, she always listens
to him! The song "The Future" is pretty close to today's reality.
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Joy
of Cooking.
"This critically acclaimed rock band released
three solid studio albums for Capitol Records in the early '70s, and launched
the careers of two greatly respected music women, Terry Garthwaite
and Toni Brown." "They combine rock, folk, jazz, Latin, blues and
country elements into a whole that exceeds the sum of its parts."
Almost impossible to find. Seriously out of print. A shame.
The
Jayhawks. Another Georgia band. Wonderful songs, harmonies,
and intent. A firm recommendation if you have missed them so far.
Jefferson
Airplane. They started the whole thing (with a lot of help
from the Dead, Quicksilver, Santana, etc). Not a bad song on "Surrealistic
Pillow", and many kool ones on "Bark."
Laura
Veirs has a really different and cool tone. I can't pigeonhole her
music.
Laura
Nyro was another pioneer in rock/soul. She wrote and sang
with great emotion. She's missed.
Jellyfish.
Another VASTLY underrated band. Great songs with catchy hooks, perfect
harmonies, almost beatle-like sound at times. Not for children, though
(That's those afore-mentioned catchy hooks!) I need more of their
stuff.
Suzanne
Vega is one of the most intelligent songwriters around. We love her
clever and emotional lyrics.
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The Byrds! These guys have either influenced the newer bands, or formed the newer bands. Solid musicianship, excellent harmonies, tons of energy, and a broad avenue of different styles to choose from. Perhaps the best group ever?
Cousteau
has a great sound. One reviewer says, "...the group's rich chamber
pop suggests a spacious, airy world above the clouds, a celestial garden of
delights eternally suffused with golden light." Yeah.
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How about Love? Their leader was Arthur Lee, the first black psychedelic rocker. Jimi Hendrix got his sartorial steer from Lee, and played on one of their albums. (We don't own all these albums yet...)
Dearest,
Crown is a band made up of guys from Redding, but now they live
elsewhere. They have two (more if you count Harvester, an earlier
incarnation) CD's in print. Amazon says, "The band had its origins as a
diversion for Todd Steinberg and singer/songwriter Sean Harrasser... Harvester's
Steinberg and Harrasser were joined by Ryan Martin, also a capable
singer-songwriter, and cellist and bass player Leif Webb. All fours members
hail, curiously enough, from the small Northern California community of
Redding." We saw them in concert, and they were fabulous. Their
first album "A Single Star, Bigger than the Universe," has Sean Gowan
singing on what I think is their best song, "About Wire Animals."
Another
new one for us is Jenny Lewis.
She's been around in other bands for years, but her first solo is great.