Alan Paul's Blog, page 14

Preview 2 singles from Gov’t Mule’s Revolution Come, Revolution Go

I interviewed Warren Haynes recently for an upcoming story that I’ll be telling you more about before long. Because of that,

I’ve been spending a lot of time with Gov’t Mule’s upcoming Revolution Come… Revolution Go album for the past month or more and I like it a lot. It may be my favorite Mule album since Dose, though I’ll need some more time to be definitive about that. 

One of the things that really stands out is it is very diverse, with some classic Mule tunes, and some that could have been on the Allman Brothers album-that-never-was, or Warren’s very different solo albums, the neo-soul Man in Motion or the country-tinged Ashes and Dust. The first two singles have been released and I present them to you here. They reflect what I’m talking about. Enjoy, and stay tuned for more info on my Guitar World interview.

If you’re a Warren and Mule fan who likes CD or vinyl, I’d pre-order now and have this baby in your mailbox on release date, June 9.

“Stone Cold Rage”

“Sarah Surrender”

Making of Revolution Come and Revolution Go

John Prine: A Short Appreciation

More or less what John Prine looks like now.

Some reflection on why I was so profoundly moved by seeing John Prine at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center last Saturday…

I thought I was a John Prine fan. I knew all the words to his “Please Don’t Bury Me” when I was 14. I’ve played his relatively obscure “Great Rain” since Big In China started, often as a second set opener. If you asked me about him anytime in the last 35 years I would have nodded and said I dug him. But I didn’t know shit and had badly underestimated the man.

That became clear moments after Prine walked on stage the other night. I was sitting in the second row holding hands with Rebecca, happy that we made a last-minute decision to attend and found these just-released seats online.

The first sight of Prine was a bit jarring because I still had the wild-haired younger man in my mind. He’s portly and his face is a bit misshapen, from a bout with throat cancer. But Prine immediately dispensed any notion that he is addled, pounding his acoustic guitar with a driving rhythm that steered his excellent four-man band, sitting right between the bassline and snare drum, with mandolin and electric guitar providing seasoning and more drive.

The band was strong, but the music was in support of the words, and the words resonated from first to last. His wry humor is acclaimed and is ever-evident, but I was struck by how much Prine’s songs are rooted in love: romantic love, paternal love,  love of life, empathy for characters struggling with aging or wrestling with the monkeys on their backs. This is in stark contrast to Bob Dylan, the man to whom he was so often compared in his earliest days and whose music I have spent countless hours listening to. So much of Bob’s more personal songs are fueled by spite.

Steve Goodman and John Prine, Chicago, 1978. foto – Kirk West

Their kiss-off breakup songs speak to this essential difference. “Don’t Think Twice It’s Alright” sounds pretty until you pay attention and hear Bob tell his ex-lover, “You just wasted my precious time.” In “All the Best,” a broken-hearted Prine sings, “I wish you love and happiness/ I guess I wish you all the best.”

Love ages more kindly than does spite and the big heart and generosity of spirt so obvious in Prine’s lyrics resonated powerfully with me; the world so badly needs more of these traits right now. The fact that he’s 70 and a two-time cancer survivor just makes it all more powerful. Prine is an old soul who wrote and sang like an old man when he was young. He sings the same songs now with an unquestioned air of authority and the humanity of his songs is all the more pronounced not only in his delivery but in his audience’s ears.

We all have less tread on our tires and hair on our heads and a deeper grasp of the precious nature of every day. We’re watching our musical heroes drop and waver all round. Willie Nelson, Gregg Allman and Eric Clapton have all cancelled recent shows due to illness. We’re past taking anything for granted, and everything about Prine’s performance screamed, “I’m happy to be here!” He was taking it all in and was extremely gracious to his band and to the crowd.

I felt honored to be sitting so close to him and he put me in touch with some very elemental thoughts and emotions. I can only say that I wish him all the best.

If you want to know a lot more about John Prine, read this great New York Times article by my friend Dan Barry.

“All The Best”

Warren Haynes to lead All Star Tribute to Little Feat

Warren Haynes will lead a tribute to Little Feat’s classic live album Waiting For Columbus on Saturday, May 6th at New Orleans’ historic Saenger Theatre. It is the second year in a row that Haynes has teamed with Blackbird Entertainment for such a show on the second weekend of JazzFest; last year he tipped his hat to The Band’s Last Waltz and Haynes, who will be the musical director, will be joined by a lot of the same people: Don Was, Jamey Johnson, The Radiators’ Dave Malone, John Medeski, Terence Higgins and  and a handful of surprise guests. 

“I’m really excited to do this as Waiting for Columbus is one of my favorite records of all time,” Haynes told me this afternoon. He added that he does not anticipate this show going on the road as last year’s tribute to The Band did.

Tickets go on sale March 31, 10:00 A.M. CT via Ticketmaster.com, Ticketmaster locations or by phone at 800-745-3000. Fans can also purchase tickets at the Saenger Theatre Box Office. I made it down last year but it’s not looking so good for me this time around.

Allman Brothers Live at Fillmore 1971 – new video?

Some 8 MM film of Allman Brothers Band at Fillmore East, March ’71 seems to have just popped up. I have to say that I don’t know much about this or its origins, who filmed it, synced it, put it on YouTube.

I do know that as rough and crazy as the footage is, it’s still exciting to watch. It makes my heart race actually, because Duane Allman is so criminally under-seen on video. No other modern-era musician is so underrepresented. I hope that changes somehow some day. In the meantime, enjoy!

And then there’s this, synced by Jules Fothergill. Isn’t it interesting to watch them back to back?

Bob Weir D’Angelico signature guitar unveiled

D’Angelico has released its  Premier SS Bob Weir Signature guitar. Check it out.

[image error][image error] The one I linked to is just one of three price points for the guitar, which looks and sounds great. I am looking forward to trying one out for myself.

I interviewed Weir’s guitar tech AJ Santella last fall whenI wrote this Guitar World cover story on Bob and he told me a bit about the extensive process of developing the guitar, which is a synthesis of various D’Angelico models.

“They’ve been wonderful to work with,” Santella told me. “Bob kept taking different D’Angelico hollowbodies, playing them for a while, offering feedback, swapping pickups and tremolo systems and sending them notes after a few weeks of onstage trial. It’s been a process of refining these great guitars into something that’s just how he wants it – very playable and light and able handle the volume he needs. He’s very excited about this guitar.”

The guitar company recorded this video of Weir playing the guitar, and discussing it as well  as sharing some great Jerry Garcia and other tales. Enjoy:

Happy Anniversary Allman Brothers Band

Photo – Derek McCabe

Happy anniversary Allman Brothers Band, born March 26, 1969. Thank you for all the music, memories and joy. And for the material to write One Way Out: The Inside History of the Allman Brothers Band, of course.

I saw a lot of the 40th anniversary shows, and two stand out by a lot; Eric Clapton on 3/19 and the no-guests 40th anniversary show on 3/26. I was right in front of Oteil. It is, of course, available on DVD and well worth owning. One of my favorites:

Eric Clapton postpones two shows at LA Forum

Photo – Danny Clinch

Statement from Eric Clapton website:

“Due to severe bronchitis and under doctor’s advisement, Eric Clapton is rescheduling this weekend’s two shows at The Forum in Los Angeles. The Saturday March 25th show will now be held Wednesday, September 13th. The Sunday March 26th show will now be held Monday September 18th. He is very sorry to disappoint his fans but looks forward to these shows.

Ticketholders can retain their tickets for the new dates or refunds will be issued at point of purchase. In addition, Clapton will play the already scheduled two shows at The Forum September 15th and 16th.”

This puts a slightly different spin on the show I saw last week at MSG, which I enjoyed though I found it a bit perfunctory. For more details, see my review in Guitar World. I hope all is well with EC. Bronchitis has been  the publicly stated diagnosis for several of Gregg Allman’s cancellations.

Allman Brothers unveil Fox Box – details

Among us hardcore fans, there have been a few legendary runs in the ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND‘s last stage, which lasted fromWarren Haynes’ return at the Beacon in March, 2001 until their final show at the same place on October 24, 2014. The three-night stand at Atlanta’s Fox Theatre September 24-26, 2004, part of a 35th anniversary tour, has been right up there, and for good reason. The band was in consistently excellent form, touring behind the still -new Hittin’ The Note and its fresh material, they were relaxed and settled into the very lovely Fox, which had a lot of the advantages of the Beacon and probably led a more laidback vibe. And they never slowed their momentum to welcome too many guests, which could sometimes hinder Beacon shows. 

All of which is to say: the news that they are releasing all three shows as The Fox Box is damned good news! The shows were released by the then-nascent “Instant Live” program, contemporaneous recordings sold at shows and internet mail order only afterwards without much packaging or fanfare. All three shows are available digitally right now and can be pre-ordered in an 8-CD set. which will be available April 28, featuring a remastered audio mix as well as tightening up of the song spacing.  If you already have the shows, you may want to consider getting the new version, which I am listening to right now and which sound tremendous. If you don’t have it, you definitely want to get this set.

Foto – Kirk West

These three September 2004 shows have a unique feature that I myself had forgotten: of the 53 songs performed, there is only one repeat, “Dreams,” played (three times), and each with a different  guitar soloist: DEREK TRUCKS, WARREN HAYNES and JACK PEARSON. Jack’s version of the song is truly jaw-dropping.

The only other guests include Derek’s bandmate/wife Susan Tedeschi, guitarist Vaylor Trucks (Butch’s son, of course) and keyboardist Rob Baracco (Phil Lesh Quintet/Other Ones).
 

Looks like they can be order individually  as well, at least digitally via Amazon. Check ’em out:
1. Fox Box: 3 Nights Live at Fox Theatre in Atlanta, Ga (September 24, 2004)
2. Fox Box: 3 Nights Live at Fox Theatre in Atlanta, Ga (September 25, 2004)
3. Fox Box: 3 Nights Live at Fox Theatre in Atlanta, Ga (September 26, 2004)
 

Fox Box  track list:
9/24/04 Disc 1
–Mountain Jam
–Trouble No More
—Midnight Rider
–Wasted Words
–Worried Down With The Blues
–You Don’t Love Me
–Ain’t Wastin’ Time No More
Disc 2
–Rockin’ Horse
–Hot ‘Lanta
–Melissa
–Come And Go Blues
–Can’t Love What You Never Had
–Why Does Love Got To Be So Bad?
–Franklin’s Tower
Disc 3
–Black Hearted Woman
–Dreams (with Jack Pearson)
–Mountain Jam (reprise) (with Jack Pearson)
–Southbound (with Jack Pearson)
9/25/04 Disc 1
–Les Brers (Intro) 
–Don’t Want You No More  / It’s Not My Cross To Bear
–Statesboro Blues 
–Stand Back 
–Who’s Been Talking 
–Soulshine 
–Good Clean Fun 
–Old Before My Time 
–Woman Across The River 
–Instrumental Illness 
 
Disc 2
–The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down 
–Leave My Blues At Home
–Key To The Highway 
–Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright (with Susan Tedeschi) 
–One Way Out (with Valor Trucks) 
–Blue Sky 
–Dreams 
–Les Brers In A Minor 
–Layla 
           
9/26/04 Disc 1
–Revival
–Every Hungry Woman
–Done Somebody Wrong
–Hoochie Coochie Man
–Desdemona
–High Cost Of Low Living
–44 Blues
–End Of The Line
Disc 2
–Dreams
–I Walk On Gilded Splinters
–Stormy Monday
–The Same Thing (with Rob Baracco)
–In Memory Of Elizabeth Reed (with Rob Baracco)
Disc 3
–In Memory Of Elizabeth Reed (cont’d, with Rob Baracco)
–Don’t Keep Me Wonderin’
–No One To Run With
–Whippin’ Post

First track of new Chuck Berry album released

In light of Chuck Berry’s death, his record label has released a single from his upcoming album, CHUCK, which will be his first new album since 1979’s ‘Rock It.’ This is good news first of all because I wasn’t sure if the record was actually done and second because the song sounds damn good. It features Tom Morello and Nathaniel Rateliff – who knows why given all the guests there might have been, but they sound good.

Comprised of ten new recordings, eight of which were written by Berry, the album was recorded and produced by Berry in various studios around St. Louis and features his longtime hometown backing group – including his children Charles Berry Jr. (guitar) and Ingrid Berry (vocals, harmonica), plus Jimmy Marsala (Berry’s bassist for forty years), Robert Lohr (piano), and Keith Robinson (drums) – which supported him for nearly two decades on over two hundred residency shows at the famed Blueberry Hill club. The album also includes guest performances from Gary Clark Jr., , and Chuck’s grandson Charles Berry III. Historian Douglas Brinkley contributes liner notes, where he calls “Big Boys,” “a guitar player’s national anthem.” 

“Working to prepare the release of this record in recent months and in fact over the last several years brought him a great sense of joy and satisfaction,” the Berry family said in a statement posted to Facebook earlier this week. “While our hearts are very heavy at this time, we know that he had no greater wish than to see this album released to the world, and we know of no better way to celebrate and remember his 90 years of life than through his music.”

Eric Clapton with the Allman Brothers Band

3-19-09 Photo – Kirk West

It’s March 19. On this day in 2009, I attended one of the handful of most exciting concerts of my life. I have often been skeptical of Eric Clapton and found him  overrated, but every time I’ve seen him with someone on stage who pushed him, he’s been damned good: Steve Winwood, Jimmie Vaughan, B.B. King, Stevie Ray Vaughan – and Derek Trucks. So my hopes were very high for this, and I knew exactly how much it meant to everyone in the Allman Brothers, especially Warren, a died-in-the-wool EC fanatic in his younger days.

The excitement around this show was contagious and the joint was buzzing and hopping long before Clapton took the stage. The first set was a superb, no-guests affair: Little Martha, Statesboro Blues, Done Somebody Wrong, Revival, Woman Across the River, Don’t Keep me Wondering and Whipping Post – a first set ender that signaled serious business.

At the break, a grand piano was rolled out and Gregg opened the second set with a solo “Oncoming Traffic” that was just gorgeous. The tension and the energy just kept building and after a few more songs, Clapton strolled out. The complete video of the performance is below – thank you Butch Trucks and Moogis! – and there’s so much to love in this performance. I give Clapton made props for learning the ABB songs and embracing the role, instead of just playing Stormy Monday and Key to the Highway, which still would have been cool. Most Beacon guests did not take their gig so seriously. 

Watch the end of “Why Does Love Got to be So Sad” and  the beautiful, aching interplay between Warren, Derek and Eric. As it ends, Clapton smiles with such contentment and when the final flourish hits, Butch thrusts his arms in the air in triumph. They all knew what they had just done… and then they go right into “Little Wing.” Please enjoy the  One Way Out section about how this all came about:

ALLMAN: The one guy who of course my brother had a real thing with and had never played with the Brothers was Clapton and it was just real good to have him there. That was a long time coming and really fun and meaningful.

Derek Trucks, who spent a year touring the world with Clapton in 2006-07, facilitated the British guitarist’s appearance.

DEREK TRUCKS: I had mentioned it to him a few times, but the band wrote a letter – it was really important that it come from them – and I just made sure it got delivered. It was a group effort that basically said, “This is the Allman Brothers Band and we are paying tribute to Duane to celebrate our 40th anniversary. Please join us.”

BUTCH TRUCKS: We’ve been trying to jam with Eric for years but have never been in the same place at the same time. Eric is a big fan of the Allman Brothers, and when Duane died, probably his three best friends outside of our band were Eric Clapton, John Hammond and Delaney Bramlett. Eric and John were at the Beacon and Delaney had sadly died a few months earlier. That’s why it was so important to us to have Eric there.

HAYNES: It was a really big deal to the Allman Brothers Band because that had never happened, which is pretty incredible given the history between Duane and Eric. We were so honored to have him there and the fact it turned into seven or eight songs, going well beyond what we originally agreed upon, was icing on the cake. He was great to work with, he played great and everyone was on his best behavior because we all knew what a special moment it was.

We were all very impressed with Eric’s desire to learn Allman Brothers songs rather than just get up and jam and not just choose ones that would make it easy on everybody. We were hoping for the opportunity to play some of the centerpieces, like “Dreams” and “Liz Reed” and Eric was more than game. “Little Wing” was an afterthought and the coolest part of the rehearsal. Everything went very smoothly and when we had basically played through all the songs we agreed upon, Eric looked around and said, “Is there anything else we should think about? What about ‘Little Wing’?” Our group reaction was, “Well, we’ve never played it, but sure.” We started working it up from scratch and I thought it was one of the highlights.

Clapton’s “Little Wing” suggestion was particularly profound since it was Duane Allman’s idea to record it on Layla. Clapton and Haynes sang harmony vocals on the song. On Thursday, March 19, 2009, Clapton joined the band for six songs: “Key To The Highway,” trading vocal verses with Gregg, “Dreams,” “Little Wing” and Derek and the Dominos’ “Why Does Love Got To Be So Sad?”, “Anyday” and “Layla.” The next night, he also played “Stormy Monday” and “In Memory of Elizabeth Reed.”

ALLMAN: He took a private jet in from New Zealand or some place to be with us and then took it back to resume his tour. When he was here with us, he just gave it all. That was special, man.

DEREK TRUCKS: I knew he would come prepared but I was still a little taken back by how much energy he had put into it. He had only hung with Gregg once or twice and obviously Duane was very important to him. He told me that the time he went and saw the Allman Brothers in Miami he was blown away by them – what they looked like, how they sounded. It was a part of his life that he had never put away and he came loaded for bear.

HAYNES: Eric Clapton was my first guitar influence, along with Johnny Winter and Jimi Hendrix, so it was a very big personal moment for me as well. I sometimes forget how much I learned so much from him in my formative years, but it certainly came back those nights! And on top of that I sang a duet with him on “Little Wing,” I was just emotionally ecstatic.

DEREK TRUCKS: Afterwards, when we were hugging, Eric whispered in my ear, saying something like, “I haven’t played like that since 1969.”

Excerpted from One Way Out: The Inside History of the Allman Brothers Band (St. Martin’s Press). Copyright 2014, Alan Paul. All rights reserved.

Here’s the whole sit-in, from the first night, the night I was there, 3-19-09: