...to the Sublime

Happy Birthday, Louie!

 

I've been a fan of Los Lobos for a long time, have had both the pleasure of hanging around them a little bit and the fortune to write about them. I've spent the most  time with Louie Perez and it's been a real treat getting to know him. Aside from being a gifted musician and songwriter, he's a talented visual artist. He's also funny and intellectually curious, and he--like all his bandmates--has wildly eclectic taste in music. When my former magazine asked him to name five albums that changed his life, he listed recordings by Miguel Aceves Mejia, Jimi Hendrix, John Coltrane, Laura Nyro and Marvin Gaye. Last year I had the honor of interviewing Louie and David Hidalgo on stage as part of a show where the writing partners were showcasing some unreleased songs. Honestly, it was a highlight of my journalism career. Happy birthday Louie, and thanks for all the songs.     

Blues for "Fathead"

If you were a fan of Ray Charles, then you were a fan of David "Fathead" Newman, who died on January 20th at the age of 75.  Brother Ray invited "Fathead" to join his first band, in 1954, and the saxophonist provided key horn work on such classics as "Night Time Is the Right Time," "I Got a Woman," "What'd I Say" and "Lonely Avenue." "Fathead" stayed with Ray's band until 1964, and then returned for a couple of years in 1970. Newman was a much sought after session player and he even performed on the 1973 album "Doug Sahm and Band," lending his tenor sax to T-Bone Walker's "Papa Ain't Salty." What's the connection? Well, Walker, Sahm and Newman were all born in Texas. Newman is part of that long line of great Texas sax players that includes Ornette Coleman, Dewey Redman, King Curtis, Arnett Cobb, Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson, Illinois Jacquet and John Handy. (The list also includes a lesser know baritone sax player named Leroy Cooper who also was a longtime member of Brother Ray's band, and who died on January 15th at the age of 80.) So dig out your vintage Ray Charles records, avail yourself of Newman's 2005 tribute album, "I Remember Brother Ray," and listen to that "Fathead" blow.

PS: Fathead wasn't just old school. Check out his hip 2003 collaboration with organist Dr. Lonnie Smith, "Boogaloo to Beck"--jazzy versions of "Loser," "Devil's Haircut," "Jackass" and "Where It's At," among others.

PSS: Another former horn player of Brother Ray's, Hank Crawford, died on Jan. 29 at the age of 74. Damn. They say famous deaths come in threes, but all from the same band?!?!?! 

    

Etta!

I 

I just plunked down 99 centavos for Beyonce's cover of "At Last" from the "Cadillac Records" soundtrack. It's the song of the moment because of her performance Tuesday night at the Neighborhood Inaugural Ball where she serenaded Barack and Michelle Obama. I had been avoiding Beyonce's version because Etta James is one of my all-time favorites and I couldn't bear the possibility of Beyonce butchering the song in her movie portrayal of James. Turns out she didn't, mostly because it's a note-for-note re-creation of the song. Identical phrasing, orchestration and string arrangement. But while Beyonce does no harm, she does no particular good either. It's a decent impersonation, but that's all. Now, I have nothing against Beyonce. She's a fellow Texan, after all, and she seems to have sincere admiration and respect for James. But she simply doesn't have the chops for this song. Etta's vocal is deeper and richer, which is amazing because she was only 22 when she recorded the song in 1960.  Beyonce is 27 now, but she sounds younger, while Etta sounds like a wizened woman who really has been waiting for her dream to come along. So for all you Young Jeezys and young cheezys who think it's cool that Ms. B is mining old school R&B, do yourself a favor and check out the real deal. You can thank me later.

A Great Day

On a clear, mild morning like this, the streets surrounding SIlver Lake are usually teeming with joggers and dog-walkers. But this morning the streets are virtually deserted. A lone lawn mower buzzes through the quiet and when it stops it sounds like there are a million birds chirping. Even the surf-like din from I-5 is tamped down. Everyone is inside, watching the proceedings from our nation's capitol. My natural inclination is to crack wise, but I am actually sobered and overcome by the moment. Now is the time to say a prayer. For our country and our new president.   

Toussaint L'Magnifique

When Glen Campbell's "Southern Nights" ruled the airwaves in 1977, the song annoyed me. It was too jaunty. Probably that infernal banjo. Nevertheless, I knew that it was a great pop song. At the time I didn't know that it had been written by Allen Toussaint. (C'mon, I was 20 at the time and not yet a sophisticated music fan.) My knowledge of New Orleans music was limited to what I heard on the oldies station--Fats Domino, Lee Dorsey, Irma Thomas. At some point I started noticing Toussaint's name as the composer of songs such as Boz Scaggs' "What Do You Want the Girl to Do?" And then on several Neville Brothers albums. About then I started delving into the New Orleans sound and learned that Toussaint's name was everywhere as a composer, producer and pianist. He worked with Domino, Dorsey and Thomas, with Chris Kenner, the Meters and LaBelle. And he was a great songwriter: "Ride Your Pony" and "Working In the Coal Mine" for Dorsey; "Ruler of My Heart" and "It's Raining" for Thomas; "All These Things" for Art Neville; "Yes We Can Can" for the Pointer Sisters. (For legal reasons, many of Toussaint's songs were written under the pseudonym Naomi Neville--his mother's name.) But it wasn't until I came across a collection of Toussaint's own recordings that I realized he had also written "Southern Nights." His version is more laid back than Campbell's, and Toussaint's vocal sounds like it's run through a vocoder, giving it a slightly spooky feel--like he's considering that southern night from the middle of a swamp. His version of "What Do You Want the Girl to Do?" was virtually copied by Scaggs, but as much as I loved Boz's version on "Silk Degrees," Toussaint's restraint carries the day. And then there's my favorite Toussaint song: "Wrong Number," a break-up ballad about a heartbroken guy hoping his girl will call him. Toussaint's version is marred by a cheesy guitar solo and so in this case I prefer Aaron Neville's cover. But, of course, that's Toussaint playing the classic doo-wop piano line. Allen Toussaint turned 71 on Wednesday and he's still going strong, despite having lost his home and all his possessions to Hurricane Katrina. Like New Orleans, Allen Toussaint is a survivor. 

Welcome to the sublime

At long last, I've taken the plunge. Visit me here for random musings and observations about pleasurable distractions and magnificent obsessions. Above is a sunrise in San Antonio, as seen from the deck of a dear friend's fantastic home during our holiday visit. Today in L.A. it may be warm enough to drag out the BBQ grill and pretend that it's late spring/early summer. Burgers and Stella Artois. Meanwhile, I'm hoping that the Dodgers' strategy re: Manny Ramirez will pay off. Otherwise, the team owners may have to go into hiding. Yes, Manny's a head case, but let's keep him our head case. And there are reports that the Phillies are interested in signing Nomar Garciaparra. Nomar may be reaching that point where an aging athlete just can't let go. Who knows if he has anything left. But he obviously believes he does. In any case, it was nice to have the homeboy play at home for a while. Nomar, thanks for the memories.