...to the Sublime

One From the Heart

Continuing my Tom Waits kick..."One From the Heart" will forever be known as the film that bankrupted Francis Ford Coppola's American Zoetrope studio. That's what happens when you insist on recreating the Las Vegas strip on a soundstage. But the 1982 release did yield an Academy Award nomination for Tom Waits' gorgeous soundtrack, which he performed with the country-lite singer Crystal Gayle. According to Coppola's liner notes in the CD reissue, the original plan was for Waits to collaborate with Bette Midler. But when she became unavailable, Waits suggested Gayle, whose voice was surprisingly suited to his jazzy ballads. And the band includes such LA jazz stalwarts as Teddy Edwards, Jack Sheldon, Pete Jolly and Shelly Manne. All in all, it's a beautiful, lush, bittersweet affair. (The DVD reissue includes a documentary on the making of the soundtrack.)

Download 01 Opening Montage_ Tom's Piano Intro_Once Upon A Town_The Wages Of Love

 

Tom Waits: The Boho Years

In the late 1970s I found myself living in Sacramento (long story) where I was working at the local PBS station. My musical taste was being refined and I had become a fan of Tom Waits through his 1976 album, "Small Change." The heartbreaking melodies of his ballads and the booze-drenched growl of his boho jazz-blues were the soundtrack to my first real relationship drama. I was young and impressionable, and I drank it all in--figuratively and literally. 

One day I noticed that Waits was to appear on that week's installment of "Austin City Limits." In those days, ACL was almost exclusively dedicated to country and traditional blues acts, so this was their first departure from the norm. The show was astounding--it was more like an experimental theater work, with the set including a beat-up old car and a streetlamp. Most of the TV station's viewers were not impressed. I remember calls coming in that were along the lines of: Get that drug addict off the air! 

I've heard ACL executive producer Terry Lickona talk about how much grief they got over the show. Which may explain why neither video or audio of this Waits performance has ever been released--until recently. "Romeo Is Bleeding: Tom Waits Live From Austin" is now available as an import on CD and DVD. (Curiously, the CD makes no mention of "Austin City Limits.") So now I finally have replaced the deteriorating audio cassette that I copied from the station's videotape of the show.

The opening cut is a medley of Waits' "Burma-Shave" and the Gershwins' "Summertime." This one goes out to Diane Pibbs and Michael Pribich, who helped make Sacramento memorable for me and who remain dear friends.

Download 01 Summertime _ Burma-Shave

 

One Last Note from New Orleans

I thought I was temporarily done with New Orleans music, but Mardi Gras saw the release of this album to benefit Preservation Hall. The recording features the legendary house band collaborating with a diverse group of artists including Tom Waits, Paolo Nutini, Del McCoury, Merle Haggard and Dr. John. But my favorite track is Richie Havens' "Trouble In Mind." He's always been one of my favorite artists, and I wonder why some prominent producer hasn't thought to give Havens a contemporary showcase for his magical voice, which lends itself to a lot of different styles.

Download 1-10 Trouble In Mind

 

It's Mardi Gras, Ya'll!

On Mardi Gras morning in New Orleans, far from the French Quarter and the tourist-heavy parade routes, a centuries-old tradition plays out in the black neighborhoods. The Black Indian "tribes" don their wild suits and carry out an astounding music-and-dance ritual. To this day there remains debate about the origin of this practice. One common story is that, in the early 1700s, when African slaves escaped from their owners, they were sometimes aided and harbored by Native Americans. The Black Indian tradition is said to be a tribute to the native people who helped them.

These neighborhood-based tribes follow strict traditions. They are largely comprised of men who gather every Sunday to work on their intricate bead-and-feather costumes and to rehearse their songs. These working-class men spend a considerable amount of money on their costumes, which are often worn only once. The tribes are led by a "Big Chief," who has a coterie of followers including "Flag Boys" and "Spy Boys." The spy boys run out ahead to scout other tribes, and when they meet, there is a "battle" of song and dance. There was a time when the battles were literal, and fights broke out over turf wars and rivalries. But these days it's all about preserving a folk tradition that is truly unique.

Over the years, some tribes have become recording artists. The Neville Brothers first played together in the mid-'70s as the backing band for The Wild Tchoupitoulas, whose then-Chief was their uncle. Another prominent tribe-band is The WIld Magnolias. On this tune, from their album "Life Is a Carnival," they are backed by The Black Bottom Brass Band of Osaka, Japan!

Do yourself a favor today: put on a pot of red beans, make some cornbread, pour yourself a bourbon or a beer--or both--and celebrate Fat Tuesday in style. 

Download 07 All on a Mardi Gras Day

 

The New New Orleans Sound

Even though he's not a native, author Ned Sublette has become the bard of New Orleans through two stupendous books: "The World That Made New Orleans" and "The Year Before the Flood." Ned is also a musician who writes compellingly about music, such as in "Cuba and Its Music," and in these liner notes for an album by the New Orleans band, Galactic:

It's not a big town, but from the start it's been dense with music. People know each other, and among musicians, stylistic boundaries are as porous as the sinking ground of the city. It's all related, and all the times and genres are present at once. But there's a lingua franca that ties it all together: in New Orleans, whatever your ostensible style of music, it's gonna come out funky.

Galactic is a band of instrumentalists whose new record, "ya-ka-may," features collaborations with a wide range of New Orleans musicians--from veterans such as Allen Toussaint and Irma Thomas to rappers from the distinctly N'awlins style of hip-hop known as "bounce," such as Big Freedia and Sissy Nobby. On this cut, Galactic collaborates with the Rebirth Brass Band, which has re-energized the traditional genre with its raucous sound. Mardi Gras is almost here, ya'll. This will surely get you in the mood:

Download 02 Boe Money

 

Earth Angel

Today's song also does double duty--marking St. Valentine's Day with a love song, and giving props to arguably the greatest R&B voice to come out of New Orleans. The song itself doesn't come from the Crescent City, but it does have the local flavor thanks to legendary arranger Wardell Quezergue and keyboards by Art Neville.

Download 05 Earth Angel

 

"El Rancho Grande," N'awlins Style

This post is not about the song pictured above, but Al Reed was such a semi-obscure figure on the New Orleans R&B scene that I couldn't find a picture of him. Reed was a singer, songwriter and label owner (Axe Records) who seemingly never had anything beyond regional success. While doing some research on Mexican influences in New Orleans, I stumbled upon his version of "El Rancho Grande." I can't find anything that relays how he came upon the song and why he decided to record it, and Reed is long gone, so all we have--at least for now--is this curiosity.

Download 13 El Rancho Grande

   

 

Zydeco, al estilo Hidalgo

Friends and fellow music lovers, I get my hands dirty for you--spending a lot of time (maybe too much?) at record stores searching for vinyl and CD gems. And, occasionally, I strike gold. Like when I came across this compilation, checked the list of contributors, and noticed the name of David Hidalgo. Yep, the adventurous virtuoso from Los Lobos. Of course, zydeco is one of the styles that The Wolves have explored over the years: "Let's Say Goodnight" from their debut EP; and as the backing band on Paul Simon's "The Myth of Fingerprints" from "Graceland." But here Dave not only displays his mastery of Zydeco-style accordion, he also sings in Louisiana's French dialect. Dave: c'est magnifique!

07 Mon Conne La Cause

   

 

My Dearest Darling

Longtime readers of "...to the Sublime" may recall that, when I was a kid, my dad owned a bar in San Antonio. The jukebox was stacked with mostly Mexican music, but there were a handful of English songs and one of them was Etta James' "My Dearest Darling" (recorded in 1960 for Chess Records). Something about those swirling strings and Etta's alternately tender and gritty vocal grabbed me and, to this day, has not let go. But about a year ago I learned that one of the song's co-writers was Edwin Bocage. And there was the answer to why I love the song so much: Eddie Bo--as he was known--was from New Orleans! The song's co-writer, Paul Gayten, was a New Orleans-based talent scout for Chess, so that's surely how the tune got to Etta. So there you have it: "My Dearest Darling" ain't nothin' but a good ol' N'awlins two-step. Here's Eddie Bo's version from 1957.

Download 16 My Dearest Darling

 

 

What Do You Want the Girl to Do?

I played the grooves off Boz Scaggs' 1976 mega-hit album, "Silk Degrees," and one of my favorite tracks was the silky "What Do You Want the Girl to Do?" I noticed that it was written by Allen Toussaint, who had recently produced "Lady Marmalade" for LaBelle. But I didn't know much else about him, or about New Orleans music beyond the Neville Brothers and Dr. John. After a little research I quickly realized that Toussaint was one of the main architects of New Orleans R&B as a songwriter, arranger, producer and pianist. And that sent me deep into an excavation of the city's musical history, which continues today. Here, from his 1975 album "Southern Nights" (yep, he wrote that too), is Toussaint's original version of the song that Boz Scaggs had the good taste to cover.

09 What Do You Want The Girl To Do_