DECEMBER 2014 Newsletter ------------------------------------------------------------------- Yesterday & Today Records P O Box 54 Miranda NSW 2228 phone: (02) 95311710 [email protected] www.yesterdayandtoday.com.au ------------------------------------------------------------------- Pretty late for a newsletter but it doesn’t matter. I have found that no one really buys from me for Christmas anyway; they buy for their self gratification and to be honest there is NO better reason. Secondly I was fortunate enough to go to the USA on a buying trip spending a bit of time in both Los Angeles and Music City, Nashville. The results as far as buys go are reflected in the newsletter. As far as quality goes there has never been a newsletter to rival this one. Don’t take my word though...check it out. In Nashville I was fortunate to see the Timejumpers and also (for the first time) the Grand Ol Opry which had commenced its winter Ryman Auditorium run. Highlight of the latter was Old Crow Medicine Show. They don’t really do anything new but have borrowed well and are just so entertaining. Vince Gill is now a full time member of the Timejumpers but they are equal opportunity employers, so to speak and Vince is an equal member. Ameripolitan Music Awards Country music, the Nashville mainstream variety, has departed so far from “country” music that some are starting to call “country music” as we know it (not as Nashville promotes it) something else. Well, the great man Dale Watson is anyway. For the past couple of years he has been promoting the Annual Ameripolitan Music Awards. The artists who are nominated are the artists who are our favourites; Amber Digby, Miss Leslie, Justin Trevino etc. In addition they have an annual DJ award and I am pleased to say my great mate, The Cosmic Cowboy, Eddie White, has been nominated. Eddie does a weekly show on Sydney community radio station 2RRR, 88.5FM. Check it out at 2rrr.org.au then click on programme guide and go to Friday afternoon and click on Cosmic Cowboy Cafe where you can check playlists. To check out the Ameripolitan award nominees simply google “Ameripolitan” and away you go. Cast your vote for the good stuff and the Cosmic Cowboy welcomes any votes. An opinion I was watching a Bill Haley dvd of a 1979 concert. Although recorded less than eighteen months before he died it wasn’t bad. Sure the Comets were actually an English pick up band, but they were good and Bill himself was surprisingly unchanged. Some of it hinted at just going through the motions but one surprise song really energised the whole show. That was “Me & Bobby McGee”...of course done Bill Haley style. You could tell it by the actions of the crowd and the band and Bill himself. I already rated it one of the best but ol’ Bill really set me thinking. How many songs are there that could be sung by either a male or female without changing any of the lyrics? Well technically a he has to become a she but that is neither here nor there. It is also able to be sung as a blues, a folk song, a rock song and as in the case of Bill Haley a rock& roll song (with a lot of roll!). It is also a road song, a driving song, a staple of country music. It is also a song that practically anyone can sing. I would go as far as saying it is a hard song to stuff up. A performer on Peel St in Tamworth is the only one I can think of who was able to remove any semblance of worth from this joyous ode. Sometimes I think there is a lot of snobbery in country music especially when discussing the merits of songs. It almost seems imperative that someone picking their “Best Ever Country Song” has to go for something that is sad. “Me & Bobby McGee” is joyous. Nothing wrong with that but it means the obvious is sometimes overlooked. I have nothing against either “He Stopped Loving Here Today” or “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry” but how many lines of the pithy ilk of “Freedom’s just another word for nothing left to lose” do they contain?? Or “Nothing ain’t worth nothing but it’s free” or even “I’d trade all of my tomorrows for a single yesterday.” Yes, you are scratching your head. Such is the snobbery in country music circles that it has topped the pop charts but never the country charts. Janis Joplin was a blues shouter but there is practically no critic who doesn’t rate her almost straight country take on “Me & Bobby McGee” as her best ever work. Come to think of it remove the word “practically” from that. An alternate, slightly less adorned unreleased version, which has found its way on to several Janis’ compilations, is even better. Damn it is a great song. Simplicity is often the sign of greatness but something that may seem simple but has an inherent complexity is even better. That my friends is why “Me And Bobby McGee” is the greatest country song ever. I write this with the greatest respect for Kris Kristofferson who is suffering from Alzheimer’s Disease. His debut release “Kristofferson”, remains the greatest single singer songwriter album in the history of country music and hopefully he will go on singing “Me & Bobby McGee” for as long as he runs. (Technically the song is attributed to both Kris and Fred Foster who was head of Monument Records. Fred is said to have given Kris the title and apparently it was about a Monument employee, Bobby McKee. Fred said “I have a good title for a song, ‘Me & Bobby McKee”. Kris misheard this as “McGee” and as they say, the rest is history.) ALL THE NEW STUFF A note on postage...as with previous newsletter there are a lot of heavy items so again maximum Australia post is $17 equivalent to a 5kg satchel. Again some of the books and box sets in particular are quite hefty. Ronnie Milsap “The RCA Albums Collection” $130 This is a gem with his 21 RCA albums all in separate reproductions of the original lp covers. It has been issued as Milsap was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2014. His output is marked by quality and many albums have never been on cd, most in fact. His record speaks fro itself with 40 country number ones. Peter Cooper, main country music writer for Nashville’s daily newspaper, “The Tennessean” provides the notes. He could do a pure honky tonk song by Wayne Kemp followed by a love song without missing a beat. One of the best. All of these albums are reproduced. Where My Heart Is (1973) Pure Love (1974) A Legend In My Time (1975) Night Things (1975) 20/20 Vision (1976) Ronnie Milsap Live (1976) It Was Almost Like A Song (1977) Only One Love In My Life (1978) Images (1979) Milsap Magic (1980) Out Where The Bright Lights Are Glowing (1981) There s No Gettin Over Me (1981) Inside (1982) Keyed Up (1983) One More Try For Love (1984) Lost In The Fifties Tonight (1985) Christmas With Ronnie Milsap (1986) Heart & Soul (1987) Stranger Things Have Happened (1989) Back To The Grindstone (1991) My Life (2006) Sylvie Simmons – Sylvie (Light in the Attic) $28 Sylvie is a writer...a magazine and book writer that is. She is featured in the world’s best music magazine, Mojo, and has written books on Leonard Cohen and Neil Young. When in LA and driving I always listen to National Public Radio (NPR) which is like a better version of the ABC. They just so happened to be interviewing Sylvie about her then forthcoming album, which is this gem. It is the type of album that you know you are going to love and can’t wait for . For lack of better comparison Sylvie most reminds of Kimmie Rhodes a la “West Texas Heaven” with perhaps a bit of Nanci Griffith, Iris Dement and Marianne Faithfull (the early Marianne) thrown in for good measure. I would also say this is the most unadorned album I have ever heard with many tracks just featuring Sylvie backing herself on a ukulele. There is some subtle guitar and keyboard accompaniment. As sparse as “West Texas heaven” is , it is almost like a Meatloaf album in comparison to this. The thing is it works remarkably well. Sylvie’s songs are wonderful and the melodies lie there naturally not adorned by effects. It doesn’t take long to get into them. “Lonely Cowgirl” may be the most beautiful catchy song you will even hear. If you are not singing along after the first playing there is something wrong. “Town Called Regret” really reminds of Marianne Faithfull and even infuses it with a word that Marianne often drops, but with a sweetness that will enchant. This could be the soundtrack for a Morricone western with tumbleweeds rolling across the screen. But it will be the most mesmerizing things which gets better every play. All songs by Sylvie apart from the Cascasdes “Rhythm of the Rain”. Just amazing. As far as female singer songwriter albums go (yes our perennial favourite category ‘female folky types’) this is a gold medal winner. Chuck Cusimano “The Collection Volume 1” Cusimusico $30 24 tracks. I will say this is an exclusive as Chuck is only selling this direct for more than I am charging I might add.