...to the Sublime

"The Wrecking Crew," Indeed

I've been wanting to see this documentary for quite some time and finally got the chance at a screening in Hollywood. "The Wrecking Crew" is a loving film about the studio band that dominated the pop music scene in L.A. in the 1960s. Its most famous members were Leon Russell (bottom, far left), Glen Campbell and drummer Earl Palmer, but it also included legends such as drummer Hal Blaine, saxophonist Plas Johnson, guitarist Tommy Tedesco and the only woman in the group, bassist Carol Kaye.

In fact, it's Tedesco's son, Denny, who is behind this film, which is equal parts homage to his father and a testimony to these incredible musicians. The film has been finished for some time but Tedesco and his team are still raising money to cover the considerable licensing fees for the dozens of famous songs that are excerpted. Tedesco estimates they still have about $250,000 to raise before it can be distributed on DVD. But it screens at film festivals and at fundraisers around the country. (The schedule can be found on the website.)

This film is the West Coast equivalent of "Standing In the Shadows of Motown," the documentary that told the story of Berry Gordy's house band. And this story is just as astounding when you consider the number and prominence of recordings on which this group played. A comprehensive list can be found on the website (along with a trailer), but, for starters, they were the band on the Beach Boys' "Pet Sounds," on every Phil Spector Wall of Sound record, Herb Alpert's Tijuana Brass albums, Sonny & Cher's early hits, Simon & Garfunkel's "Bridge Over Troubled Waters" and "The Boxer," Frank Sinatra's "Strangers In the Night," Nancy Sinatra's "These Boots Were Made For Walking," and the Sinatras' duet, "Somethin' Stupid." And when Glen Campbell began his solo career, he called on his former bandmates to accompany him. They also provided the sound for lesser artists such as The Monkees and The Association, but even on the shlockier material, the musicianship is obvious.

You probably own many of the better known songs on which they performed, so I thought you'd enjoy this obscurity by The Defenders.

 

Download 02 Taco Wagon

 

RIP, Pinetop Perkins

The legendary pianist died Monday at the age of 97 in Austin, where he had lived since 2003. Perkins was an original Mississippi Delta bluesman whose contemporaries included Robert Johnson and Son House. He was like the Zelig of the blues: he appeared on the "King Biscuit Time" radio show in the 1940s; gave lessons to Ike Turner, who put what he learned to use on "Rocket 88," widely considered the first rock 'n' roll record; and he replaced Otis Spann in Muddy Waters' band in the late '60s. Perkins received a Lifetime Achievement Grammy in 2005.

And Perkins never retired. Just last month he accepted a Grammy for best traditional blues album, and last Saturday was onstage jamming at SxSW. He smoked and drank pretty much 'til the end--maybe that was his secret. Here's a song of his with a poetic if somewhat obtuse title: 

Download 1-04 Big Fat Mama

Tom Waits' Beautiful Maladies

Tom Waits was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame last week, which got me thinking about my all-time favorite of his albums. "Frank's Wild Years," released in 1987, was essentially the soundtrack to a theatrical production of the same name that was produced the previous year by Steppenwolf Theater in Chicago, with Waits in the title role. (He described the show as "a cross between Eraserhead and It's a Wonderful Life.")

The album is a perfect mix of Waits' beautiful melodies (or maladies, as he's called them) and the clamorous sound that would dominate his next few albums. And perhaps my favorite track on the album is "Cold Cold Ground," which features Los Lobos' David Hidalgo on accordion.

(FYI--highlights from the Hall of Fame induction ceremony will air Sunday night, March 20, at 9 (E/P) and 8 (Central) on the Fuse cable network.)

Download 15 Cold Cold Ground

For Japan

I can't bear to look at images of the destruction anymore, so let's think about regrowth and the next cherry blossom season in Japan. Because the blooming season is so short, cherry blossoms have come to be known as a metaphor for the ephemeral, transient nature of life. So it is. And I can't get this song out of my head---the beautifully elegiac "Chinsagu no hana" by Ryuichi Sakamoto.

Download 10 Chinsagu No Hana

Mardi Gras and the Creole Mafia

Roger Guenveur Smith (top) and Mark Broyard are writers and performers who some two decades ago created "Inside the Creole Mafia," a hilarious and brilliant theater show about that distinct New Orleans culture and its community of expats in Los Angeles.

I asked Roger and Mark to write, for the L.A. Public Media website, an appreciation of the recently deceased Harold Legaux, proprietor of the legendary Harold & Belle's Creole Restaurant in Los Angeles. Roger and Mark delivered the goods, and so on this Mardi Gras day, this one, by piano great Tuts Washington, goes out to the mafioso.

 

Download 04 Do You Know What It Means To Miss New Orleans_

 

Who Rocks the Hardest?

When it comes to zydeco accordion players, let's see...there's Rockin' Sidney, and Rockin' Dopsie, but no one rocks harder than Terrance Simien. He burst on the scene in the '80s as a young gun. He's now 45 and still bringin' it strong.

This one is from the fine soundtrack to "The Big Easy." Got your red beans cookin'?

Download 07 Oh Yeh Yai

Mardi Gras Menu

Carnival season kinda snuck up on me this year so forgive me for not providing the usual bounty of music from N'awlins. I'll try and make up for it for the next three days--until Fat Tuesday.

This is a song I've previously written about, but it was before I'd figured out the audio player, so here's is the first course for your Mardi Gras meal. It's from one of the godfathers of New Orleans music--Dave Bartholomew.

Download 17 Shrimp & Gumbo