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Pop Rock Nation

Author: David Middleton

  • FORTY-FIVE REVOLUTIONS PER MINUTE #40: The Great Popeye Con

    Jesse Johnson (w/Sly Stone)'s "Crazay" 45

    JESSE JOHNSON  “Crazay” (Featuring Sly Stone)  b/w  “Drive Yo Cadillac” (A&M Records #2878, 1986)

    Money Mike might’ve already covered this track a while back in his brilliant Infatueighties column, but given the random nature of 45 RPM, our rich musical history is destined to repeat itself here at Sonic Clash, so here goes…

    Between the scattershot, flannel-clad, pre-grunge indie slop-rock of young, bored, snowed-in white kids like The Replacements, Husker Du and Soul Asylum, and the glitzy, chart-topping new-wave glam-funk of poon-crazed urban youth like Prince and Morris Day & The Time, Minneapolis was providing a fair chunk of America’s musical sustenance by 1986.  And as deeply indebted to reclusive geniuses like Bob Dylan and Black Flag as the former were, the latter borrowed so many pages from the Sly Stone Book Of Brilliance-Smashed-By-Insanity that it was only a matter of time before either certain hermits emerged from hiding, or the scene imploded in on itself in a cascade of ego, drugs and violence.  Turned out all of the above.  But not before one great, though very brief, comeback.

    Shockadelica, on-again/off-again Time guitarist Jesse Johnson’s 2nd solo LP, showcased this self-penned-and-produced single, which features an ebullient Sly Stone making his first major recording appearance after a near-decade hiatus.  Though sung as a duet, Johnson takes a gentlemanly backseat, politely allowing Sly to steal the show.  Which he does, of course.  This is an example of one of those tracks that comes together perfectly, where all the elements are aligned and nothing is missing or out-of-place.  Backstage may have been a cesspool of crack addiction, fatal sexually transmitted diseases, and botched suicide attempts, but on stage was sheer joy.

    Watch the video for Jesse Johnson\’s \”Crazay\” (Featuring Sly Stone) on YouTube

    And for one brief, shining, gorgeously fulfilling moment, it seemed like Sly Stone was back.

    He wasn’t.

    NEXT WEEK: An early World Music smash, courtesy of a duo from Trinidad.

  • FORTY-FIVE REVOLUTIONS PER MINUTE #39: Flannery Will Get You Nowhere

    The Beatles' "Lady Madonna" 45
    The Beatles' "Lady Madonna" single.

    THE BEATLES  “Lady Madonna”  b/w  “The Inner Light” (Capitol Records #2138, March 1968)

    As much as I loved John, the one I really miss is George.  With his quiet inner peacefulness, sly sense of humor and brilliantly innovative guitar licks ranging from bumble-bee stinging to waterfall fluid,  NO ONE, before or since, epitomized English cool like George Harrison.  Every hip Brit act in recent memory, from The Jam to Oasis to Arctic Monkeys, has featured at least one George look/act/sound-alike in their lineup.  As a high school freshman, I noticed, while paging through my gargantuan tome of World History text, that The Beatles were the only rock group mentioned by name.  Why?  Because of George’s influence, bringing Eastern musical styles into popular Western culture.  Sa-NAP! One-Song-Per-Album-Side, my ass;  a Quiet One shall lead them, ladies and gentlemen.

    A gorgeous two-and-a-quarter-minute blast of Fats Domino-inspired barrelhouse boogie-woogie piano, 1930’s-style Tin Pan Alley vocal chimes and honking Ronnie Scott sax, Lennon & McCartney’s (well, mostly McCartney’s) “Lady Madonna” was the final Beatles single to be released in the U.S. on the Capitol Records.  Their remaining  six official 45s, beginning with “Hey Jude” in August of ’68, would bear the imprint of their newfound corporation (soon to become a downward-spiraling tornado of bad finances), Apple.  Enjoy the ride while it lasts, boys.

    See The Beatles\’ promo clip for \”Lady Madonna\” here

    Recorded by George with a host of Indian musicians (plus John & Paul on backing vocals for good measure), the Tao-inspired “The Inner Light” was the first Harrison composition to be featured on a Beatles single.  Surprising in retrospect, considering how great “Taxman” and “If I Needed Someone” were.  But I’ll never forget placing the needle on this record for the very first time as a youngster, and suddenly being transported into another world that I knew must’ve existed somewhere.   Now I had the power to access it, without going out of my door.

    Listen to The Beatles\’ \”The Inner Light\” here

    Eastern sounds are common in Western pop music today, from the pulsating deep-dub club grooves of Thievery Corporation to more radio-friendly acts like Shakira and fist-pumping aggro-rock like System Of A Down.  But the next time you hear a sitar or tabla somewhere in your mix, take a moment to remember our dearly departed brother George.  Take a page from his solemn book of quiet dignity, and add it to your repertoire.  After all, the music George Harrison made was meant for you, to be carried with you, to walk along side you, for a lifetime.

    NEXT WEEK: A famous recluse makes a comeback.  Briefly.

  • FORTY-FIVE REVOLUTIONS PER MINUTE #38: Sanitized By Swisher

    R.E.M.'s "Driver 8" 45 sleeve

    R.E.M.  “Driver 8″  b/w  “Crazy” (I.R.S. Records #52678, 1985)

    Alternative rock became a saleable commodity in the 1990’s, but back in ’85 it was mostly confined to non-commercial college radio stations, dorm-room record-players, frat-house keggers and a string of musky all-ages clubs that stretched from Jacksonville to San Diego.  Acting as a genuine “alternative” to all the Poison, Warrant and Cinderella gumming up the airwaves, down-to-earth acts like The Minutemen, Husker Du and The Replacements provided a much-needed sanctuary for those of us whose favorite Saturday night records were Marquee Moon and Pink Flag, and whose favorite Sunday morning record was The Velvet Underground & Nico.  By simply being themselves, Athens, GA’s R.E.M. rose to become the intelligent, headstrong, always forward-looking and never-reluctant centerpiece of this phenomenon, and their championing of other great bands who influenced them was second to none.  Along with being an R.E.M. fan came the bonus of others’ great music too.  At the time of release, I saw this week’s featured single as a mature talisman from wizened elder-statesmen.  Looking back, I see that it was only just the beginning.

    The back of R.E.M.'s "Driver 8" 45 sleeve

    If you say it fast enough, the title “Driver 8″ could be mistaken for “Gyrate,” which was the name of a popular LP by Athens art-dance-rock pioneers Pylon some five years prior (around the same time as Gang Of Four’s Entertainment! and The B-52’s’ Wild Planet, to put it in context).  And our boys hold very true to that influence in the song itself, which intercuts Michael Stipe’s oblique Southern storytelling with the same kind of terse, jerky, stark rhythms and wiry guitars patented by their new wave Georgian forebears.  And the train conductor says, “Take a break…”

    Watch the video for \”Driver 8\” by R.E.M. on YouTube

    “Driver 8” was the 2nd of two singles pulled from R.E.M.’s third LP, the Joe Boyd-produced Fables Of The Reconstruction (or Reconstruction Of The Fables, depending on which way you hold the record), an album which focused less on the reverberating, ringing jangle of their previous efforts (which nearly ignored the caffeinated agit-prop of their early live shows) and more on the solid, dense rock foundation that was about to bring them worldwide success.  More Tom Verlaine and less Roger McGuinn, one could say.  The house wasn’t fully built yet, but the cornerstones were well in place.

    R.E.M.'s 1985 LP "Fables Of The Reconstruction"

    Side B serves up more Pylon in the form of a straight-up cover of their 1981 single, “Crazy.”  It sounds so good that I wish they’d done a whole album of Pylon covers.  This recording later appeared on R.E.M.’s Dead Letter Office CD (a great collections of B-sides, and also for the longest time the only way you could get their brilliant Chronic Town EP). You can check out a live concert recording from ’89 here, but even cooler is this more recent footage of Pylon themselves performing the song at KFJC Los Altos last November, keeping very true to their original vision.

    Pylon's classic "Gyrate" LP

    I don’t need to tell you what became of Rock & Roll Hall-Of-Famers R.E.M., but Pylon broke up and reunited several times over, releasing three albums-worth of heavenly, danceable, overlooked genius, plus one best-of collection (appropriately titled, “Hits”).  Guitarist/songwriter Randy Bewley died this past February, after suffering a heart attack while driving, sadly putting an end to all things Pylon.

    NEXT WEEK: The farther one travels, the less one knows.