MARK’S MUSIC NOTES FOR DECEMBER 2011…

The Black Keys follow up their excellent 2010 Brothers with the upbeat El Camino, another great album that commercial radio will probably ignore just like it did with Brothers. In a day and age where CD sales are on the decline, record labels continue to re-issue classic titles with proven track records in new incarnations that include unreleased material, re-mastered sound, and often lavish box sets. Though not yet included in Music Notes, Pink Floyd and Queen both had their entire catalogs re-vamped this year, and they sound great. Jethro Tull’s classic Aqualung album has been expanded, re-mixed and re-mastered with the level of care and quality that should be the standard for all re-issues. have already released expanded remasters and box sets on Exile On Main Street and Get Yer Ya-Ya’s Out, and now their top selling album, has received the same treatment. Be Bop Deluxe is a 1970’s band that most readers will be unfamiliar with. They never had any mainstream success in the U.S., but the band had several great , and their entire studio catalog has recently been remastered and compiled into a concise box set.

The Black Keys – El Camino

Vocalist/guitarist Dan Auerbach and Drummer Patrick Carney of The Black Keys, have said that they have been listening to a lot of Rolling Stones lately, and they set out to record a more direct rock and roll album than their last album, Brothers was. The duo has succeeded, and El Camino definitely rocks, but just as importantly (and unlike most modern rock), it rolls as well. Perhaps that’s partly why they named the album El Camino, which means the road in Spanish. The band’s sense of humor plays into the album cover, which pictures a heavily worn minivan with missing hubcaps, when one might expect a cool Chevrolet El Camino instead.

El Camino was recorded in Auerbach’s new studio in Nashville between March and August 2011, while The Black Keys were still hot from the success of Brothers. Carney has said that he and Auerbach were no longer thinking on a smaller scale as they had up until, and during the recording of Brothers. After their well-earned and deserved breakthrough success with Brothers, The Black Keys are more confident than ever. The success of Brothers was due to internet and satellite radio , heavy usage in numerous TV shows, sporting events and TV commercials, as well as good old-fashioned word of mouth. While it was easy to doubt that The Black Keys would be able to produce a follow up to Brothers that would be as good, they have done just that, and they’ve done it without any retreads or rip-offs. They may have been inspired by The Rolling Stones, and this album definitely has the swagger of the late 1960’s to early 1970’s Stones albums, but this is all Black Keys. Anyone that liked Brothers or 2006’s Magic Potion, should like El Camino. It’s faster paced than Brothers and not as heavy as Magic Potion. It is 11 songs long, which is short compared to Brothers’ 15 songs, but it’s roughly 39 minutes long, which is a good running length for an album.

The songs on El Camino are all well written, and have lots of hooks, musical melodies and singable choruses. As on Brothers, the sparse bass and keyboards add a great deal to The Black Keys’ sound, but are never overbearing or intrusive. There are lots of different tones on El Camino, from the buzz saw riffing on the first single, Lonely Boy, to the Clash-like strumming in Dead And Gone, Auerbach never disappoints. There is even a little bit of acoustic guitar as well as some talk-box guitar (though it’s strictly musical with no talking). El Camino is refreshing and vibrant, and it may very well wind up being my favorite album of 2011. It is available on vinyl (which includes a copy of the album on CD), CD and download.

The Rolling Stones – Some Girls

First released in June of 1978, Some Girls is The Rolling Stones’ 16th studio album (14th in the U.K.). It was released at a time when punk rock, new wave and disco were all the rage. Blues- based hard rock had swiftly gone out of style, and The Rolling Stones were one of the prime targets, along with Led Zeppelin, of what punk rockers referred to as dinosaur rock bands that were no longer relevant (though both punk rock and new wave were heavily influenced by the Stones’ music of the 1960’s). Some Girls followed 1976’s lackluster Black and Blue album, which had been recorded with several guest guitarists. Ron Wood had since officially become the replacement guitarist for , though he had played on Black and Blue and even appeared on the cover. The Stones wanted to prove their relevance in 1978 and that they had picked the right guitarist to replace Taylor. They succeeded by recording their most controversial and top selling album that is still popular today.

Mick Jagger was the primary creative force behind Some Girls, as was bogged down by his heroin bust in 1977. Jagger was influenced by the music scene in New York City, which was dominated by bands like The Ramones, Talking Heads, Blondie and Television, as well as myriads of punk bands and disco. The resulting sound was leaner and tougher, but the album also included a song, as well as a straight country song. Miss You had been released as a single in May, and had caused a huge sensation as it was labeled the Rolling Stones’ disco song, and it received airplay on rock, pop and disco radio stations. The song was inescapable. Local DJ Ron Olson pulled a stunt on FM100 by locking himself in the studio and playing Miss You repeatedly until he was “fired” by station management. I can’t remember how long it was before he was “re-hired”, but I do remember that he met the band when the Some Girls tour came to Memphis.

The songs Beast of Burden and Shattered both became big hits in addition to Miss You, and the country song and Keith Richards’ rocking Before They Make Me Run both received rock radio airplay as well. There is a great cover of the Temptations’ Just My Imagination, and the rest of the album is snarling rock and roll that has punk leanings. In retrospect, it isn’t really stylistically all that different from some of the Stones’ other 70’s songs, but it was the best material that they had recorded since It’s Only Rock And Roll in 1974. There was no stopping the Some Girls album, it went on to become a 6X Multi-Platinum seller.

The controversial album cover of Some Girls is a parody of a wig ad, and originally included the band members’ faces along with those of Lucille Ball, Farrah Fawcett, Judy Garland, Raquel Welch and Marilyn Monroe. After threats of legal action, the actresses’ faces were removed and replaced with blank colors and the text Pardon Our Appearance – Cover Under Re-construction. The Beast Of Burden single had a vintage circus picture of a lion sitting on a woman who may or may not have been clothed (the lion blocked her torso), and it was banned due to pressure from women’s groups. It is now a very rare and expensive collectible, and it’s laughable to think that it was deemed offensive at all. Perhaps the biggest controversy, however, were with the lyrics to Some Girls, which makes many tongue in cheek sexist comments about the characteristics of women of various races. This even prompted Jesse Jackson to picket the Rolling Stones’ office in New York! When the band was on Saturday Night Live, Garrett Morris performed a skit in which he initially appeared to be criticizing the Stones, but then he said “I have one thing to say to you, Mr. Jagger – where are these women”? It was hilarious, and I’m sure that all of the critics felt ridiculed when they realized that the song was a joke making fun of how some men view women, and not how the band actually views them. I got the joke, but hated that the song was #4 on side one of the vinyl, because I had to get up and move the stylus over to song #5, because my mom would have hit the roof if she had heard it, and may have even banned it herself, though she did like The Stones. The song Lies was too good to skip (and had some controversial lyrics as well), so I got up and skipped the song Some Girls every time I played that album at home.

The Some Girls album has just been expanded and re-released in various versions along with a second disc of 12 outtakes. Just as they did with the Exile On Main Street bonus tracks from last year, many of these songs had to have vocals added to them recently, as they were never completely finished in the 1970’s. The bonus songs include a straight country cover of Hank Williams’ You Win Again that is closer to Jerry Lee Lewis’ version, but most of the songs are the blues based rock that The Stones are mostly known for, which is why they were left off of the album in the first place. Though there is nothing as strong as the songs that were on the original album, it’s still good and will be a must-have for serious Rolling Stones fans.

The expanded album comes in several variations. There is a basic two CD set and a super deluxe box set that includes both CDs, a DVD of some live footage and promotional material, the vinyl 45 single of Beast of Burden (complete with the banned sleeve), a hard bound book, a set of postcards, a poster and some photos. There are also two wig box limited edition sets. One includes the two CD set along with a 24 CD case, a keychain, a set of guitar picks and some buttons, all housed in a CD sized wig box with the album graphics. A full sized wig box set includes the two CDs along with a lipstick USB that has the album along with photos and videos, a T-shirt packaged in a hairspray can, a hair pick and a mirror compact. Furthermore, there is a DVD or Blu-Ray of Some Girls Live In Texas ’78 that is a previously unreleased concert from the Some Girls tour. It is well filmed and has great quality audio. There is a version that includes the audio on a CD as well, and it comes with a replica of the Some Girls tour program from 1978. The concert exhibits why Ron Wood was such a good choice for the Rolling Stones. He still played with some of the fire that he had played with when he was with Rod Stewart and The Faces. One would never know from seeing The Rolling Stones live after this 1978 tour just how good Ron Wood can play. It also includes The Stones’ appearance on Saturday Night Live, when was just recovering from laryngitis. It doesn’t even sound like him singing, and he created yet more controversy when he wiggled his tongue in Ron Wood’s face. The funny skit that Jagger did with Dan Akroyd as Tom Snyder is included as well, but the Garret Morris skit isn’t, unfortunately.

th Jethro Tull – Aqualung 40 Anniversary

Aqualung is Jethro Tull’s fourth and most popular album, originally released in 1971. The album is not as bluesy as the first three Jethro Tull albums, and goes further into rock territory than the band had before. The title song, Hymn 43, Cross‐Eyed Mary and Locomotive Breath are all classic rock staples, though incredibly, Hymn 43 was the only song that was released as a single from this album. Many consider Aqualung a concept album, but singer/frontman Ian Anderson refuted this by making the next Tull album a true concept album that was one song long, parts one and two, seperated only by the two sides of vinyl. Aqualung was and is a popular album due to it’s great guitar riffs and the unique lyrics, penned by Anderson, which are often mis‐ interpreted. Many people thought that Ian Anderson was Jethro Tull, but Jethro Tull is the name of the band. Jethro Tull was a British farmer in the 1700’s who perfected the seed drill and a horse‐drawn hoe. It only makes sense to name a band after him.

Though Ian Anderson doesn’t consider Aqualung a concept album, the general theme is the difference of who God actually is and what men have made Him out to be through religion. It addresses men who use religion to suit their own selfish purposes so that they can be their own god, and surmises that if man had truly followed God’s plan, there would be no homeless people. It also addresses how apathetic people can be towards the homeless and downtrodden. Many people have mis‐understood the message of Aqualung, however. The album cover has passages that are written to look like scripture, and it begins with “In the beginning Man created God; and in the image of Man created he him.” Some thought that Anderson was saying that God was only a creation of man, but he was saying that man has made God into something that he’s not. In the song My God, he sings ‐ People what have you done? Locked Him in His golden cage. Made Him bend to your religion, Him resurrected from the grave. In the song Wind Up, he says that his old headmaster had it wrong, God isn’t the kind you have to wind up on Sundays. Anyone that has studied the Bible can tell you that Jesus despised the hypocritical religious leaders of his day. He pulled no punches and said incredibly radical things to them for the same reasons that Ian Anderson wrote this album. The Aqualung album deals with some timeless subjects, and the music of Aqualung has been proven to be timeless as well. There is both acoustic folk and electric blended with Anderson’s unique flute playing and a bit of Renaissance flair.

One of the downsides to Aqualung is that it has never been a great sounding album sonically. This is where the 40th Anniversary version especially excells. Steven Wilson, singer and guitarist for band Porcupine Tree, has created new mixes of Aqualung that improve the sonic fidelity phenomenally, while still remaining true to the original album. This may be the single most improved remaster ever. The difference in sound quality is astounding, and if all albums had been given this careful and thorough of a treatment, the vinyl record would most likely not have ever made a comeback. There is also a second disc of outtake songs as well as some early versions of songs that made it to the album. These are all very good as well. There is also a super deluxe collector’s edition of Aqualung that includes the two CDs, a 180 gram vinyl LP of the original album, a DVD audio disc with a 5.1 surrond mix, original quad mix, and the new stereo mix that is on the CDs, and a Blu‐Ray audio disc of the same material from the DVD along with a flat transfer of the original album mix. There is a 48 page 12”x12” hardbound book in the deluxe collector’s as well. It is an extremely lavish box set that is very well done. Any fan of the Aqualung album or of Jethro Tull in general definitely needs to at least hear the two disc 40th anniversary edition. The album finally sounds as good as the material that is on it.

Be Bop Deluxe – Futurist Manifesto: Harvest Years 1974-1978 / Live In The Air Age

Be Bop Deluxe was a 1970’s British rock band that was almost completely ignored in the U.S. during their existence. They never had any hits in America and were relegated to underground and college FM stations for the little airplay that they received here. The band was fronted by singer/guitarist extraordinaire , who was also the principal song writer. Be Bop Deluxe’s music had nothing to do with Be Bop music, they were primarily ‐ish with a bit of progressiveness thrown in, hence their being signed to EMI’s progressive rock label Harvest. They released a studio album every year from 1974‐1978, and one live album in 1977. Bill Nelson’s vocals are nothing special and a bit of an acquired taste, but Be Bop Deluxe’s music was almost always awesome.

Futurist Manifesto is a new 5 CD set that includes all 5 Be Bop Deluxe albums along with their singles, some demos and a few live recordings. It has been remastered at Abbey Road Studios, and is a big improvement over the sound of the previously released Be Bop Deluxe CDs. Bill Nelson was not directly involved, but he did approve the sonics of the box set. It is bargain priced, making it a great deal for old fans, and a great way to become introduced to the band for new fans.

The first Be Bop Deluxe album from 1974 was called , and it pictured a guitar that had a human skull as the body (Brian May of Queen had a real guitar custom made to duplicate the album cover). The band members pictured on the back appeared dark and made‐up, kind of like without the poofy hair. The music pretty much picked up where David Bowie had left off when he abandoned his glam rock sound to make a soul album called Young Americans. Where Bowie had Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, Be Bop had Jet Silver and the Dolls of Venus. The influence was obvious, but Be Bop Deluxe still had a sound that was their own, primarily due to Bill Nelson’s awesome guitar playing (not to belittle Bowie’s guitarist Mick Ronson at all, he is one of the all time greats, in my opinion). Adventures In A Yorkshire Landscape has one of my favorite guitar solos, on par with Jimmy Page’s solo in Led Zeppelin’s Ten Years Gone. No Trains To Heaven also has several great solos, and is one of the band’s best songs. No Trains To Heaven was regularly played on Memphis’ Southwestern College radio station WLYX, and was my introduction to the band. The album was only available as an expensive import at the time, but it was an essential purchase to me. After a short tour to promote Axe Victim, Bill Nelson broke up the band and replaced them with all new members. The next album, Futurama, is good, but not as polished as Axe Victim. The songs Sister Seagull and Maid In Heaven are the best songs on Futurama, and offer a glimpse of what was to come. Sunburst Finish picked up where Futurama left off and includes some of Be Bop Deluxe’s most well known tracks. Fair Exchange, Life In The Air Age and Blazing Apostles are Be Bop mainstays, but the real gem is the overlooked Crying to the Sky, with a great Hendrix‐worthy solo from Nelson. The next album was Modern Music, the jewel in the Be Bop Deluxe crown. It is a concept album, inspired by and written by Bill Nelson about the band’s 1976 tour of America, and how much Nelson missed his wife while in the U.S. The writing is an English teacher’s dream and the music is flawless throughout and seagues in and out seamlessly. Bill Nelson’s guitar playing is awesome, though only occasionally flashy. There are a lot of great concept albums, but I can’t think of another one quite like the truly unique Modern Music. There were radio worthy songs on this album, and college radio did play some of them, but beyond that, it was ignored in the U.S. The followup album, , was a major departure, and a huge disappointment to me, though it has many fans that love it. Panic In The World is a great Talking Heads‐ish new wave song, but the rest of the album is in the vein of Low and Heroes from David Bowie. It’s not bad, but it’s keyboard driven mid‐tempo rock that is alright in small doses but gets boring in an album setting, at least for me.

Live In The Air Age is a live Be Bop Deluxe album that was recorded on the Sunburst Finish tour of the U.S. in 1976, but it was released after Modern Music, though all of the music pre‐dated that album. It is a fantastic representation of the pre‐Modern Music Be Bop Deluxe, and every single song is bettered in the live versions. Bill Nelson is absolutely on fire with his guitar playing. He was out to prove that Be Bop Deluxe were deserving of some success in the U.S. The two guitar solos in Adventures in a Yorkshire Landscape (the only song from Axe Victim on the live album) are just awesome. The original pressing of the vinyl LP was on white vinyl and included a bonus black vinyl 12” EP. All of the songs from the LP and EP are on the CD.

Axe Victim, Modern Music and Live In The Air Age are the essential Be Bop Deluxe albums, but with a five disc set that includes the band’s entire studio output for the price of the two essential albums, it seems a no‐brainer, and the sound quality is much better on the box set. Live In The Air Age is actually a good place to start for a new beginner to Be Bop Deluxe’s music, especially for someone that isn’t sure that they want to take the plunge on an entire box set. Having said that, Modern Music is the best album that Be Bop Deluxe recorded, and one of the all time best albums by any band.