Bentley’s Bandstand: April 2024
By Bill Bentley
T Bone Burnett, The Other Side. For an album that opens the door on the next side of life hoping there is one, T Bone Burnett’s new and truly classic release offers an understanding of what could be. There is such a seductive permanence on songs like “He Came Down,” “Come Back,” “The Race is Won” and all the others that by the end of THE OTHER SIDE it begins to feel like a spiritual service has been performed. Maybe that’s because Burnett has always approached music as a chance to really delve into the higher-self elements of what songs can say. The musician’s top-side interest goes all the way back to those Alpha Band releases when he had entered his Bob Dylan-adjacent years in the 1970s, and that gang of players traipsed into the eternal zone. Lucky for us, T Bone Burnett has never really turned his back on that territory. Granted, he’s explored all kinds of other experiences, but never cut infinity loose. THE OTHER SIDE is a sonic joy, allowing the gentler side of what modern music can do in offering hope and understanding walking the folkier side of the street. These dozen songs come just in time for the generation that jumped on the rock & roll train in the 1960s, and are now coming up on moving past this mortal plane and trying to find the faith it needs to make that move without fear. There really hasn’t been a set of songs like this in offering such a profound prescription of comfort and solace for whatever life is now and where it might lead. It’s all here, beautifully played and sung by a man who took the name T Bone all those years ago without looking back or thinking twice. Let it shine.
The Chess Project, New Moves. The music that Chicago’s Aristocrat’s and soon-to-be-named Chess Records started recording in the late 1940s is as pivotal as any label’s work in history. Artists like Sonny Boy Williamson, Willie Dixon, Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf and dozens of others took urban blues from its infancy right into the heavens. There is no way to grok the earliest rock & roll records without the groundwork that Chess Records developed. Marshall Chess, son of label co-founder Leonard Chess and nephew of Phil Chess, had the idea of taking some of those early songs and turn them over to modernity. It might seem a bit much on first thought, but to hear what The Chess Project has done makes a solid case for keeping the ears open to what can happen with today’s abilities. The group’s key trio–Keith LeBlanc, Bernard Fowler and Skip McDonald–enter boldly into Chess territory on songs like “Boom Boom Out Go the Lights,” “Nine Below Zero,” “Smokestack Lighting” and other throbbing achievements to come up with total surprises. The funk factor is jacked up to “Stun” on every track, and while those expecting to hear blues as they know it may be confused, do not worry. There is such a bedrock of badassness on every song that after the initial surprise the soul of these songs comes through loud and fearless. It’s almost like the original music has been living in the vaults waiting for someone to come in and bring it into today’s light. And there is no way those new recordings could have lost their power. It was baked into the songs forever. While blues purists might twitch and itch listening to new versions of their Holy Grail, for many these 11 songs will hit the monkey nerve square on. Like the infamous Chicago DJ Purvis Spann the All Night Blues Man used to say on his program, “Blues me or lose me,” once again the essence of some of American music’s early glory days once again comes to the rescue with enough essential energy to generate noise from the hallelujah choir. it’s like all else in life: time changes everything and it’s best to keep the boogie beating. Wear it out.
Alejandro Escovedo, Echo Dancing. There are those musicians who have always been pushing into new frontiers. They are wired that way for life, and there is nothing they can do about it. No matter what record executives tell them, they are meant to follow their own dreams. Alejandro Escovedo has been doing that from his very start, and now over 50 years later he is just as determined to listen to his own inner voices and find which way he’s going to go. ECHO DANCING is a thrilling experiment of taking songs from Escovedo’s past and giving them a good reimagining. In Italy. An expedition like this hasn’t really been done before, but when the Texan decided to take on the challenge it was an all-in affair. As Escovedo says: “This record breathes a second life into these songs.” What a grand concept. The payoff, of course, is just how stunning the results are. In many ways, it’s like these are brand new originals, full of a life and liberty that was expressed like this the first time around. To hear songs like “Sacramento and Polk” and “Sensitive Boys” now is to be pulled into a new world, one that Alejandro Escovedo is the only person who can create. With mostly Italian musicians, there is a natural shift in emphasis and energy, but that’s where the beauty begins. Rock & roll is a planetary endeavor, but each part of the planet has different attacks and inflections. On ECHO DANCING, it feels like a whole new creativity has come alive. There are elements of the earlier recordings, but they are so subtle that there is no redundancy. This is a brand new day, and the undeniable beauty of such an experiment is breathtaking. There is never a second of doubt about what an achievement ECHO DANCING realizes. Alejandro Escovedo rules.
Hurray for the Riff Raff, The Past Is Still Alive. Hurray for the Riff Raff’s new album is the kind of release that makes every single moment of listening to music worth the journey. From the very beginning of the first song, “Alibi,” it’s clear that something permanently wondrous has been created here. The lyrics and the chords come together to make magic burst alive, and there is such talent coming together there can be no doubt that it will continue to the very last notes of the final song, “Ogallala.” Singer-songwriter Alynda Segarra is absolutely a hero of modern American music. Hurray for the Riff Raff have recorded several great albums, but there is a breakthrough on THE PAST IS STILL ALIVE so profound that it feels like a new world has been born. This is the reason that music continues to be made, and for listeners to be able to march into a new world of songs where there can be nothing short of a belief in the human spirit. Segarra’s voice is so instantly believabie that there is nothing left to do but bow the head and say thanks. In the world of trouble swirling all around us, the songs included here can recast the clouds of doubt and offer a new way forward, possibly where joy and faith come together for a brand new day. There were times when new lives came into being because songs so strong and real and powerful took over the hope for regeneration. That is what THE PAST IS STILL ALIVE offers. Do not fear.
Norah Jones, Visions. There is something so in-the-pocket about Norah Jones’ vocals there is a touch of magic to them. Her voice is down home and totally seductive at the same time, which is no small feat. While she has been spoken of as a jazz singer for many years, she also has a wide streak of folk and country hiding inside her songs. Maybe that’s why Jones has been so popular all these years, especially at the start of her storied career. Norah Jones works outside the borderlines of modern music, and is proud of it. When you begin life as sitar superstar Ravi Shankar’s daughter there’s no need to pay attention to anyone else’s rules–ever. VISIONS is a truly gorgeous collection of 12 songs written by Jones with mostly Leon Michels and one or two others. But the music is clearly something that Jones herself has shaped and brought to life. Listening to songs like “All This Time,” “Staring at the Wall” and all the other gems feels like the woman has really borne down and brought her vision to life. The musicians in the studio with her have a telepathic linkage to where she wants to take the music, and never get in the way of one of the great voices of this generation. And most important, these new songs feel like she has stepped into new territory without leaving behind any of her strengths. Norah Jones started young, and has never really wavered from the kind of self-confidence singers need to stay the course while never forgetting life is a journey. Hopefully one that moves forward. Taking this road has lets the woman grow stronger through the years, and regenerate as she goes. Visions for real.
Little Feat, Sam’s Place. There are sometimes bands that become religon-like among their hardest core fans. And that is surely what had happened with Little Feat in their original incarnation. When they sprang onto the scene at the start of the 1970s, it was like Lowell George and company had the keys to the kingdom. Their hardest core legion of believers thought that the combo held the keys to the secrets of the golden road, and in a musical way that was surely true. After a half-dozen albums of pure inspiration, no one could hypnotize crowds like this crew. But by the end of the ’70s they were losing some of their luster, and when leader Lowell George died in 1979, he had more or less left his band steerless and started a solo career. That also ended suddenly when Lowell George died on his debut solo tour. Since then Little Feat has regenerated with new inductees joinng the vets, and actually has done a compelling job of staying above water. But when they recently lost another integral member it was a toss-up what would happen.. Now we know. Percussionist-vocalist Sam Clayton has stepped to the front of the stage and taken over vocals, and in some ways in the actual musical direction of Little Feat. Which isn’t a bad thing, but just different. The band, always heavily influenced by blues spicing–their debut album included a Howlin’ Wolf cover–has moved into the realm of Chicago-blues aficionados to strong effect. With Muddy Waters, Willie Dixon, Little Walter Jacobs and even Preston Foster originals, Sam Clayton assumes the microphone with easeful power. Also it’s no surprise when they invite their biggest supporter all these years, Ms. Bonnie Raitt, for a vocal assist on Waters’ “Long Distance Call,” showing roots are something that never really disappear. And they often grow stronger. The band’s slippery sweet cover of Louisiana songwriter supreme Bobby Charles’ “Why People Like That” shows the group still has their song antenna up high too. Little Feat is flat-out one of the all-time greatest rock & roll bands ever, and even if leader Lowell George, drummer Richie Hayward and guitarist Paul Barrere have moved on to that great bandstand in the sky, the inspiraton stays alive and well. Blues or lose.
Willie Nile, Live at Daryl’s House Club. There are some rock & rollers who are destined to go the distance. They burst onto the scene with all fires burning, and there is something about their dedication and sonic attack which marks them for the real deal. Which is exactly how Willie Nile entered the national stage in the second half of the 1970s. He had the songs, the band, the album and everything else to send up the flares. And he’s still that way. There is a permanence in how he approaches rock & roll: the music is built out of hard stone, and Nile’s stance is one that does not bend. He’s here and he’s staying. This live album recorded at Daryl’s House Club in Pawling, New York is nothing short of stupefying. In a way it has a feel that conjures up a gig where Willie Nile was told this would be the last show he’d ever play, and he better go all the way. Without doubt, it’s an all-the-way night, featuring songs from the man’s entire career. Which means this a music about someone who isn’t afraid of taking on the world, with no quarter given. Tracks like “Places I Have Never Been” and “The Day The Earth Stood Still” have guts galore, and are perfect proof that Nile will be with us for a very long time. There is no way someone who can write songs like “New York at Night,” “Wake Up America” and “House of a Thousand Guitars” is going anywhere but up. This is rock & roll that is here to stay, and inspire all those who placed their bet on music 50 years ago when bands like the Stooges and MC5 were first dragging their drums and amplifiers into stripped-down rehearsal rooms to try and crank up the musical dust. Before long punk and New Wave aggregations were going aggro, and all hell broke lose. Rock was saved.
Sugaray Rayford, Human Decency. Here is a man who has been there, done that and isn’t about to turn back now. Sugaray Rayford has earned a Grammy nomination, won five Blues Music Awards and named B.B. King Entertainer of the Year. Simply put, this man does not mess around. When he approaches a new song like “Falling Upwards,” “Dirty Rat” and “Hanky Panky Time, there is no fooling around. That’s because Sugaray Rayford believes life is meant to be met with honesty and humanity, and he’s seen enough of the world to know the only way to do that is head-on. That’s why the man uses soul music as a jumping off point, but never gets bogged down in the past. He’s all for mixing up influences and letting the beats fall where they may. He’s just as capable swinging into the shingaling as he is bearing down on the down and out blues. Rayford has seen it all, and isn’t afraid of anything. With guests like guitarist Rick Holmstrom and singer Saundra Williams from Mavis Staples’ band, along with Lucinda Williams’ bassist Taras Prodaniuk, HUMAN DECENCY sounds like a set of songs where everyone involved decided to go for the grandstand. It’s no easy feat taking music in this style and giving it a modern edge without losing the funk flowing underneath, but that’s exactly what Rayford and producer/songwriter Eric Corne have accomplished. It is no small feat when modern soul music sounds as brand new as anything else being released. Luckily for followers of the style that’s exactly what happens on all nine track of HUMAN DECENCY. it’s time to bust loose and follow the funk. Sugaray Rayford knows.
Various Artists, We Still Can’t Say Good Bye: A Musician’s Tribute to Chet Atkins. Sometimes there is a tribute album that is so undeniably righteous that there is nothing to do but shake the head and listen to the whole thing again. Such a release is a total bounty of rewards, and it’s hard to say where to start. Of course, guitarist and record-producer Chet Atkins helped write the manual for making great music a long time ago, and he never faltered in finding the very best in what he was trying to accomplish. Atkins practically invented the gold standard in American recordings. So it goes without saying that this double-disc collection takes off right away with “Mr. Guitar” by Tommy Emmanuel C.G.P. & Michael Cleveland, and stays there until the end of the second disc with a star-studded outfit called The Chester Bees performing “Freight Train.” In between is a travelogue of some of the greatest guitarists alive, playing songs that really are a roll call of wonder. Names like Vince Gill, Eric Clapton, Brad Paisley, Ricky Skaggs and a dozen other string-benders step up all the way in honor of Chet Atkins like only the best on their instruments can. So whether performing songs like “Mr. Sandman,” “Caravan,” “Alley Cat,” “So Sad (To Watch Good Love Go Bad)” or any of the other classics captured here, what’s really important is the pure soul that’s shared while these musicians offer their best talent for the man they respect so much: Chet Atkins. Born in the East Tennessee mountains of Luttrell, it was almost destined that Atkins would become someone who would help create the shape of American music over all the years he played, produced and performed. Listening to the performances of this supberb and unequaled collection is to hear the history of some of the very best American music flash before your ears. Do not miss.
Monte Warden and the Dangerous Few, Jackpot! Known Texan Monte Warden has been working the edges as well as the center of the Lone Star state’s massive musical traditions for four decades, playing almost every style there is. Which is exactly what’s so breathtaking about his newest release JACKPOT! The man has found the perfect foundation to be able to really rise all the way to the toppermost edge of his music of the spheres. There is such an amalgamation of big band excitement with rootsy beauty that the album feels like exactly the creation Warden has been always been working towards. Clearly influenced by everything from rockabilly’s directness to Frank Sinatra’s seductive moves, the singer-songwriter’s real jackpot sounds like the uber quality of the songs written for the album. These are originals that have all the depth and dynamite of the best American songbook staples. And when the Dangerous Few band get ahold of “Waxahachie Hoochie Coo,” they wiggle and wag for all they’re worth, and in the process create an instant classic which very well could find its way onto the Permanent Hit Parade. That’s how inescapable it is. And the flipside of that, “Outside Looking In,” is such a heartbreaker, well, it might be time for Michael Buble to take notice. There aren’t many American singer-songwriters who are as adept at adapting several styles like Monte Warden does, and is able to write songs with his worthy co-writers with such an unerring ability to hit the bullseye like this. For anyone who loves both the center and the edges of American music, JACKPOT! is an instant winner and the culmination of Monte Warden’s march to the top. Pick the winner.
Reissue of the Month
Nat King Cole, Live at the Blue Note Chicago. There can never been enough Nat King Cole music on Planet Earth. There is something so deep and warm about Cole’s voice that it feels like it can heal all pain and even while it captures the essence of hearbreak, it has magical ways of healing that hurt with just a song. This double-disco 24-song live album, recorded at Chicago’s Blue Note nightclub in 1953, is a primer that everything Cole did so well. The range of songs rolls out from “Unforgettable” to “Too Marvelous for Words,” displaying one of the greatest voices of the past century. With the perferct accompaniment of John Collins’ guitar and a perfectly cool rhythm section, Nat King Cole’s piano has every chance to shine. He was not only one of the coolest voices of the jazz era then but he had a way of diving right into the deepest depths of broken hearted pathos, but deliver it in a way that also allows for a vision of a brighter future never disappears. On a song like “Blue Gardenia” or “This Can’t Be Love,” the man is a pillar of passionate power, no matter how hard it seems for positivity to enter the picture. That was a big part of Nat King Cole’s genius: he could deliver the hardest of romantic news in a soothing way that made the future still seem warmly foreseeable. There is a reason that no other singer has ever really topped this King, not to mention how he single-handedly tore down some of the color lines that kept the races in America separated then. Nat King Cole even had a national network television show that, while it didn’t last that long, at least made it to the air. It’s probably no accident that this superb LIVE AT THE BLUE NOTE CHICAGO collection has been released on the ICONIC label. Truth in advertising.
Book of the Month
Dylan Jones, Loaded: The Life (and Afterlife) of the Velvet Underground. If ever there was a permanently intriguing rock & roll band, it’s the Velvet Underground. Though they only existed for five years, and released just four official albums in their run at destiny, there is something about the New York group that keeps them forever alive. Maybe it’s how the songs came from such an original source that there is no way they can be dated. Or possibly it’s how the VU’s brief but burning life on Earth let them become much more important in their afterlife than during the band’s time together in the 1960s. Dylan Jones’ book is the best yet in really getting into the weeds–or should it be called the sidewalks–of their never boring history. Jones goes where so many other authors haven’t been able to, and that’s to any and all of those who lived creating a new culture in Manhattan in such a wild era. Names of those interviewed flash in and out of the chapters like burning comets, remembering so much about what has never been gardened. Granted, it takes a reader who truly wants to know almost every single detail of the comings and goings of Lou Reed, Sterling Morrison, Moe Tucker, John Cale, Nico, Doug Yule and almost every other breathing human who flitted in and out of the band’s zeitgeist. Let it be said there was never a dull moment, and really hearing from those there it’s so apparent why the Velvet Underground still–and always will–matter. From “Sunday Morning” t0 “Oh! Sweet Nuthin'” is the map of what went down musically, and LOADED, named after the band’s last album, is a history book like no other. Head held high.
Bentley’s Bandstand: April 2024