marți, 31 august 2021

Bee Gees ( B26 )

 After the immensely positive audience response to the Vegas concert, Barry decided to continue despite the pain, and the concert expanded into their last full-blown world tour of "One Night Only" concerts. The tour included playing to 56,000 people at London's Wembley Stadium on 5 September 1998 and concluded in the newly built Olympic Stadium in Sydney, Australia on 27 March 1999 to 72,000 people.

In 1998, the group's soundtrack for Saturday Night Fever was incorporated into a stage production produced first in the West End and then on Broadway. They wrote three new songs for the adaptation. Also in 1998, the brothers released "Ellan Vannin" for Manx charities, recorded the previous year. Known as the unofficial national anthem of the Isle of Man, the brothers performed the song during their world tour to reflect their pride in the place of their birth.

The Bee Gees closed the century with what turned out to be their last full-sized concert, known as BG2K, on 31 December 1999.

2000–2008: This Is Where I Came In and Maurice's death

In 2001, the group released what turned out to be their final album of new material, This Is Where I Came In. The album was another success, reaching the Top 10 in the UK (being certified Gold), and the Top 20 in the US. The title track was also a UK Top 20 hit single.

The last concert of the Bee Gees as a trio was at the Love and Hope Ball in 2002. Maurice Gibb died unexpectedly on 12 January 2003, at age 53, from a heart attack while awaiting emergency surgery to repair a strangulated intestine.


continuare

luni, 30 august 2021

The Who ( B22 )

 The US tour started on 20 November at the Cow Palace in Daly City, California; Moon passed out during "Won't Get Fooled Again" and during "Magic Bus". Townshend asked the audience, "Can anyone play the drums? – I mean somebody good." An audience member, Scot Halpin, filled in for the rest of the show. After a show in Montreal, the band (except for Daltrey, who retired to bed early) caused so much damage to their hotel room, including destroying an antique painting and ramming a marble table through a wall, that federal law enforcement arrested them.

The Who waving to a crowd
Promotional photograph celebrating the band's tenth anniversary, December 1974

By 1974, work had begun in earnest on a Tommy film. Stigwood suggested Ken Russell as director, whose previous work Townshend had admired. The film featured a star-studded cast, including the band members. David Essex auditioned for the title role, but the band persuaded Daltrey to take it. The cast included Ann-Margret, Oliver Reed, Eric Clapton, Tina Turner, Elton John and Jack Nicholson. Townshend and Entwistle worked on the soundtrack for most of the year, handling the bulk of the instrumentation. Moon had moved to Los Angeles, so they used session drummers, including Kenney Jones (who would later join the Who). Elton John used his own band for "Pinball Wizard". Filming was from April until August. 1500 extras appeared in the "Pinball Wizard" sequence.


continuare

vineri, 27 august 2021

Dio - Holy Diver ( S1 )

 


"Holy Diver" is a song by American heavy metal band Dio. It was released in August 1983 as the lead single from the band's debut album of the same name. Although it only reached number 40 on the Mainstream Rock chart at that time, it is one of Dio's most popular songs today.

Reception

Following the September 11 attacks, the song was placed on the list of post-9/11 inappropriate titles distributed by Clear Channel.

In 2009, "Holy Diver" placed 43rd on VH1's Top 100 Hard Rock Songs.

Content

Dio said the lyrics are about a Christ figure on another planet who sacrifices himself to redeem his people. When the people learn that he intends to leave them to save people on other planets, they selfishly ask him to stay.

Music video

The music video for "Holy Diver", directed and edited by Arthur Ellis, features Dio as a hairy barbarian adventuring through a desolate church (the then recently burnt-out St Mark's Church, Silvertown in east London, which is now a music venue). First he strikes a shrouded figure and his hobgoblin friend with his sword, but instead of killing them he turns them into rats. He later visits a blacksmith who is forging a sword. He throws his sword in the trash and deftly catches the newly forged one. Walking through a corridor, he encounters three seated hooded figures. As the camera pans across them, the third slowly raises its head to reveal eyes resembling those of a cat. The final shots show Dio exiting the church.

Chart positions

Chart (1983)Peak
position
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)60
UK Singles (OCC)72
US Mainstream Rock (Billboard)40


joi, 26 august 2021

Neil Young ( b14 )

 Like Time Fades Away, it sold poorly but eventually became a critical favorite, presenting some of Young's most original work. A review of the 2003 re-release on CD of On the Beach described the music as "mesmerizing, harrowing, lucid, and bleary".

After completing On the Beach, Young reunited with Harvest producer Elliot Mazer to record another acoustic album, Homegrown. Most of the songs were written after Young's break-up with Carrie Snodgress, and thus the tone of the album was somewhat dark. Though Homegrown was reportedly entirely complete, Young decided, not for the first or last time in his career, to drop it and release something else instead, in this case, Tonight's the Night, at the suggestion of Band bassist Rick Danko. Young further explained his move by saying: "It was a little too personal ... it scared me". Most of the songs from Homegrown were later incorporated into other Young albums while the original album was not released until 2020. Tonight's the Night, when finally released in 1975, sold poorly, as had the previous albums of the "ditch" trilogy, and received mixed reviews at the time, but is now regarded as a landmark album. In Young's own opinion, it was the closest he ever came to art.

Reunions, retrospectives and Rust Never Sleeps (1974–1979)

Young reunited with Crosby, Stills, and Nash after a four-year hiatus in the summer of 1974 for a concert tour which was partially recorded; highlights were ultimately released in 2014 as CSNY 1974. It was one of the first ever stadium tours, and the largest tour in which Young has participated to date.


continuare

miercuri, 25 august 2021

marți, 24 august 2021

Bee Gees ( B25 )

 Also, in the early 1990s, Maurice Gibb finally sought treatment for his alcoholism, which he had battled for many years with the help of Alcoholics Anonymous.

In 1993, the group returned to the Polydor label and released the album Size Isn't Everything, which contained the UK top five hit "For Whom the Bell Tolls". Success still eluded them in the US, however, as the first single released, "Paying the Price of Love", only managed to reach No. 74 on the Billboard Hot 100, while the parent album stalled at No. 153.

In 1997, they released the album Still Waters, which has reached No. 2 in the UK (their highest album chart position there since 1979) and No. 11 in the US. The album's first single, "Alone", gave them another UK Top 5 hit and a top 30 hit in the US. Still Waters was the band's most successful US release of their post-RSO era.

At the 1997 BRIT Awards held in Earls Court, London on 24 February, the Bee Gees received the award for Outstanding Contribution to Music. On 14 November 1997, the Bee Gees performed a live concert in Las Vegas called One Night Only. The show included a performance of "Our Love (Don't Throw It All Away)" synchronised with a vocal by their deceased brother Andy and a cameo appearance by Celine Dion singing "Immortality". The "One Night Only" name grew out of the band's declaration that, due to Barry's health issues, the Las Vegas show was to be the final live performance of their career. 


continuare

luni, 23 august 2021

Bruce Springsteen - Growin' Up ( l2 )



Well I stood stone-like at midnight
Suspended in my masquerade
I combed my hair 'til it was just right
And commanded the night brigade
I was open to pain and crossed by the rain
And I walked on a crooked crutch
I strolled all alone through a fallout zone
And came out with my soul untouched

I hid in the clouded wrath of the crowd
But when they said, "Sit down," I stood up
Ooh, ooh, growin' up

The flag of piracy flew from my mast
My sails were set wing to wing
I had a jukebox graduate for first mate
She couldn't sail but she sure could sing
I pushed B-52 and bombed them with the blues
With my gear set stubborn on standing
I broke all the rules, strafed my old high school
Never once gave thought to landing

I hid in the clouded warmth of the crowd
But when they said, "Come down," I threw up
Ooh, ooh, growin' up
Work it back now

I took month-long vacations in the stratosphere
And you know it's really hard to hold your breath
I swear I lost everything I ever loved or feared
I was the cosmic kid in full costume dress
Well, my feet they finally took root in the earth
But I got me a nice little place in the stars
And I swear I found the key to the universe
In the engine of an old parked car

I hid in the mother breast of the crowd
But when they said, "Pull down," I pulled up
Ooh, ooh, growin' up
Ooh, ooh, growin' up

duminică, 22 august 2021

The Who ( B21 )

 By 1973, the Who turned to recording the album Quadrophenia about mod and its subculture, set against clashes with Rockers in early 1960s Britain. The story is about a boy named Jimmy, who undergoes a personality crisis, and his relationship with his family, friends and mod culture. The music features four themes, reflecting the four personalities of the Who. Townshend played multi-tracked synthesizers, and Entwistle played several overdubbed horn parts. By the time the album was being recorded, relationships between the band and Lambert and Stamp had broken down irreparably, and Bill Curbishley replaced them. The album reached No. 2 in both the UK and US.

The Quadrophenia tour started in Stoke on Trent in October and was immediately beset with problems. Daltrey resisted Townshend's wish to add Joe Cocker's keyboardist Chris Stainton (who played on the album) to the touring band. As a compromise, Townshend assembled the keyboard and synthesizer parts on backing tapes, as such a strategy had been successful with "Baba O'Riley" and "Won't Get Fooled Again". Unfortunately, the technology was not sophisticated enough to deal with the demands of the music; added to this issue, tour rehearsals had been interrupted due to an argument that culminated in Daltrey punching Townshend and knocking him out cold. At a gig in Newcastle, the tapes completely malfunctioned, and an enraged Townshend dragged sound-man Bob Pridden on-stage, screamed at him, kicked all the amps over and partially destroyed the backing tapes. The show was abandoned for an "oldies" set, at the end of which Townshend smashed his guitar and Moon kicked over his drumkit. The Independent described this gig as one of the worst of all time.


continuare

vineri, 20 august 2021

Neil Young ( b13 )

 Time was the first of three consecutive commercial failures which would later become known collectively to fans as the "Ditch Trilogy", as contrasted with the more middle-of-the-road pop of Harvest. These subsequent albums were seen as more challenging expressions of Young's inner conflicts on achieving success, expressing both the specific struggles of his friends and himself, and the decaying idealism of his generation in America at the time.

Young in Austin, Texas, on November 9, 1976

In the second half of 1973, Young formed The Santa Monica Flyers, with Crazy Horse's rhythm section augmented by Nils Lofgren on guitar and piano and Harvest/Time Fades Away veteran Ben Keith on pedal steel guitar. Deeply affected by the drug-induced deaths of Whitten and roadie Bruce Berry, Young recorded an album specifically inspired by the incidents, Tonight's the Night (June 20, 1975). The album's dark tone and rawness led Reprise to delay its release and Young had to pressure them for two years before they would do so. While his record company was stalling, Young recorded another album, On the Beach (July 16, 1974), which presented a more melodic, acoustic sound at times, including a recording of the older song "See the Sky About to Rain", but dealt with similarly dark themes such as the collapse of 1960s folk ideals, the downside of success and the underbelly of the Californian lifestyle.


continuare

miercuri, 18 august 2021

Bee Gees ( B24 )

 On 10 March 1988, younger brother Andy Gibb died, aged 30, as a result of myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart muscle due to a recent viral infection. The Bee Gees later got together with Eric Clapton to create a group called 'the Bunburys' to raise money for English charities. The group recorded three songs for The Bunbury Tails: "We're the Bunburys" (which eventually became the opening theme to the 1992 animated series The Bunbury Tails), "Bunbury Afternoon", and "Fight (No Matter How Long)". The last song reached No. 8 on the rock music chart and appeared on The 1988 Summer Olympics Album. The Bee Gees' next album, One (1989), featured a song dedicated to Andy, "Wish You Were Here". The album also contained their first US Top 10 hit (No. 7) in a decade, "One" (an Adult Contemporary No. 1). After the album's release, the band embarked on its first world tour in 10 years.

In the UK, Polydor issued a single-disc hits collection from Tales called The Very Best of the Bee Gees, which contained their biggest UK hits. The album became one of their best-selling albums in that country, and was eventually certified Triple Platinum.

The Bee Gees in Los Angeles in 1992

Following their next album, High Civilization (1991), which contained the UK top five hit "Secret Love", the Bee Gees went on a European tour. After the tour, Barry Gibb began to battle a serious back problem, which required surgery. In addition, he suffered from arthritis which, at one point, was so severe that it was doubtful that he would be able to play guitar for much longer.


continuare

marți, 17 august 2021

The Who ( B20 )

 He recovered and completed the gig, playing to his usual strength.

QuadropheniaTommy film and The Who by Numbers

The Who playing live
The Who at the Ernst-Mercke-Halle, Hamburg, 12 August 1972

After touring Who's Next, and needing time to write a follow-up, Townshend insisted that the Who take a lengthy break, as they had not stopped touring since the band started. There was no group activity until May 1972, when they started working on a proposed new album, Rock Is Dead—Long Live Rock!, but, unhappy with the recordings, abandoned the sessions. Tensions began to emerge as Townshend believed Daltrey just wanted a money-making band and Daltrey thought Townshend's projects were getting pretentious. Moon's behaviour was becoming increasingly destructive and problematic through excessive drinking and drugs use, and a desire to party and tour. Daltrey performed an audit of the group's finances and discovered that Lambert and Stamp had not kept sufficient records. He believed them to be no longer effective managers, which Townshend and Moon disputed. The painful dissolution of the managerial and personal relationships are recounted in James D. Cooper's 2014 retrospective documentary, Lambert & Stamp. Following a short European tour, the remainder of 1972 was spent working on an orchestral version of Tommy with Lou Reizner.


continuare

luni, 16 august 2021

vineri, 13 august 2021

Kansas - Bringing It Back ( L2 )



Thirty days have September
In a jailhouse I remember
Well, I got caught with too much soul
Bringing it back from Mexico
Bringing it back from Mexico

Spanish lights and pretty faces
Trip you out to where the place is
Load you up and let you go
Bringing it back from Mexico
Bringing it back from Mexico

Across the border is where you'll get her
And when it's good there ain't no better
I think I'll get me some to go
A-brining it back from Mexico
Bringing it back from Mexico

joi, 12 august 2021

Neil Young ( b12 )

 

The "Ditch" Trilogy and personal struggles (1972–1974)

Although a new tour with The Stray Gators (now augmented by Danny Whitten) had been planned to follow up on the success of Harvest, it became apparent during rehearsals that Whitten could not function due to drug abuse. On November 18, 1972, shortly after he was fired from the tour preparations, Whitten was found dead of an apparent alcohol/diazepam overdose. Young described the incident to Rolling Stone's Cameron Crowe in 1975: "[We] were rehearsing with him and he just couldn't cut it. He couldn't remember anything. He was too out of it. Too far gone. I had to tell him to go back to L.A. 'It's not happening, man. You're not together enough.' He just said, 'I've got nowhere else to go, man. How am I gonna tell my friends?' And he split. That night the coroner called me from L.A. and told me he'd OD'd. That blew my mind. I loved Danny. I felt responsible. And from there, I had to go right out on this huge tour of huge arenas. I was very nervous and ... insecure."

On the tour, Young struggled with his voice and the performance of drummer Kenny Buttrey, a noted Nashville session musician who was unaccustomed to performing in the hard rock milieu; Buttrey was eventually replaced by former CSNY drummer Johnny Barbata, while David Crosby and Graham Nash contributed rhythm guitar and backing vocals to the final dates of the tour. The album assembled in the aftermath of this incident, Time Fades Away (October 15, 1973), has often been described by Young as "[his] least favorite record", and was not officially released on CD until 2017 (as part of Young's Official Release Series). Nevertheless, Young and his band tried several new musical approaches in this period. Time Fades Away, for instance, was recorded live, although it was an album of new material, an approach Young would repeat with more success later on.


continuare

miercuri, 11 august 2021

Bee Gees ( B23 )

 In August 1983, Barry signed a solo deal with MCA Records and spent much of late 1983 and 1984 writing songs for this first solo effort, Now Voyager. Robin released three solo albums in the 1980s, How Old Are You?, Secret Agent and Walls Have Eyes. Maurice released his second single to date, "Hold Her in Your Hand", the first one having been released in 1970.

In 1985, Diana Ross released the album Eaten Alive, written by the Bee Gees, with the title track co-written with Michael Jackson (who also performed on the track). The album was again co-produced by Barry Gibb, and the single "Chain Reaction" gave Ross a UK and Australian No. 1 hit.

1987–1999: Comeback, return to popularity and Andy's death

The Bee Gees released the album E.S.P. in 1987, which sold over 2 million copies. It was their first album in six years, and their first for Warner Bros. Records. The single "You Win Again" went to No. 1 in numerous countries, including the UK, and made the Bee Gees the first group to score a UK No. 1 hit in each of three decades: the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. The single was a disappointment in the US, charting at No. 75, and the Bee Gees voiced their frustration over American radio stations not playing their new European hit single, an omission which the group felt led to poor sales of their current album in the US. The song won the Bee Gees the 1987 British Academy's Ivor Novello Award for Best Song Musically and Lyrically, and in February 1988 the band received a Brit Award nomination for Best British Group.


continuare

marți, 10 august 2021

Istoric ( 288 )

 17.04.1991 - Nirvana concerteaza la OK Hotel in Seattle si canta o piesa noua – Smells Like Teen Spirit – pentru prima oara.

luni, 9 august 2021

The Who ( B19 )

 Entwistle was the first member of the group to release a solo album, Smash Your Head Against the Wall, in May 1971.

Recording at the Record Plant in New York City in March 1971 was abandoned when Lambert's addiction to hard drugs interfered with his ability to produce. The group restarted with Glyn Johns in April. The album was mostly Lifehouse material, with one unrelated song by Entwistle, "My Wife", and was released as Who's Next in August. The album reached No. 1 in the UK and No. 4 in the US. "Baba O'Riley" and "Won't Get Fooled Again" are early examples of synthesizer use in rock, featuring keyboard sounds generated in real time by a Lowrey organ; on "Won't Get Fooled Again", it was further processed through a VCS3 synthesizer. The synthesizer intro to "Baba O'Riley" was programmed based on Meher Baba's vital stats. and the track featured a violin solo by Dave Arbus. The album was a critical and commercial success, and has been certified 3x platinum by the RIAA. The Who continued to issue Lifehouse-related material over the next few years, including the singles "Let's See Action", "Join Together" and "Relay".

The band went back on tour, and "Baba O' Riley" and "Won't Get Fooled Again" became live favourites. In November they performed at the newly opened Rainbow Theatre in London for three nights, continuing in the US later that month, where Robert Hilburn of the Los Angeles Times described the Who as "the Greatest Show on Earth". The tour was slightly disrupted at the Civic Auditorium in San Francisco on 12 December when Moon passed out over his kit after overdosing on brandy and barbiturates.

continuare

sâmbătă, 7 august 2021

Donovan - Josie ( l1 )


Josie, I wont fail ya,
I wont fail you have no fear,
Josie, I wont fail ya,
Give me one more chance to be as near.

The meadows they are bursting
the yellow corn is in your hands,
and with the night comes sorrow
as the tide of dawn slips on the land.

The long breezes are blowing
all down the sky into my face,
I've a worried kind of feelin
that my time has come and gone to waste.

I love you darling Josie,
the trees of pine they grow so tall,
how can you come to love me
when you didn't love me at all.

Josie, I wont fail ya,
I wont fail you have no fear,
Josie I wont fail ya
Give me one more chance to be as near.

My Josie looks a child now
as she lies beyond my breast,
in the night I think about her
in the day I get no rest.

I cut me a young pine cone
And gave it to the river deep,
It sailed way by your window
where you lay so long in sleep.

God bless you darling Josie
with your sparkling eyes so bright and clear,
Josie, I wont fail you have no fear,
Josie, I wont fail ya
Give me one more chance to be as near.

vineri, 6 august 2021

Neil Young ( b11 )

 Making a connection with them, he christened them The Stray Gators, and began playing with them. Befitting the immediacy of the project, Linda Ronstadt and James Taylor were brought in from the Cash taping to do background vocals. Against the advice of his producer David Briggs, he scrapped plans for the imminent release of the live acoustic recording in favour of a studio album consisting of the Nashville sessions, electric-guitar oriented sessions recorded later in his barn, and two recordings made with the London Symphony Orchestra at Barking (credited as Barking Town Hall and now the Broadway Theatre) during March 1971. The result was Young's fourth album, Harvest (February 14, 1972). The only remnant left of the original live concept was the album's live acoustic performance of "Needle and the Damage Done."

After his success with CSNY, Young purchased a ranch in the rural hills above Woodside and Redwood City in Northern California ("Broken Arrow Ranch", where he lived until his divorce in 2014). He wrote the song "Old Man" in honor of the land's longtime caretaker, Louis Avila. The song "A Man Needs a Maid" was inspired by his relationship with actress Carrie Snodgress. "Heart of Gold" was released as the first single from Harvest, the only No. 1 hit in his career. "Old Man" was also popular.

The album's recording had been almost accidental. Its mainstream success caught Young off guard, and his first instinct was to back away from stardom. In the Decade (1977) compilation, Young chose to include his greatest hits from the period, but his handwritten liner notes famously described "Heart of Gold" as the song that "put me in the middle of the road. Traveling there soon became a bore, so I headed for the ditch. A rougher ride but I saw more interesting people there."


continuare

joi, 5 august 2021

Bee Gees ( B22 )

  With the disco backlash still running strong, the album failed to make the UK or US Top 40—breaking their streak of Top 40 hits, which started in 1975 with "Jive Talkin'". Two singles from the album fared little better—"He's a Liar", which reached No. 30 in the US, and "Living Eyes", which reached No. 45.

In 1982, Dionne Warwick enjoyed a UK No. 2 and US Adult Contemporary No. 1 hit with her comeback single, "Heartbreaker", taken from her eponymous album written largely by the Bee Gees and co-produced by Barry Gibb. The album reached No. 3 in the UK and the Top 30 in the US, where it was certified Gold.

A year later, Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers recorded the Bee Gees-penned track "Islands in the Stream", which became a US and Australian No. 1 hit and entered the Top 10 in the UK. Rogers' 1983 album, Eyes That See in the Dark, was written entirely by the Bee Gees and co-produced by Barry. The album was a Top 10 hit in the US and was certified Double Platinum.

The Bee Gees had greater success with the soundtrack to Staying Alive in 1983, the sequel to Saturday Night Fever. The soundtrack was certified platinum in the US, and included their Top 30 hit "The Woman in You".

Also in 1983, the band was sued by Chicago songwriter Ronald Selle, who claimed the brothers stole melodic material from one of his songs, "Let It End", and used it in "How Deep Is Your Love". At first, the Bee Gees lost the case; one juror said that a factor in the jury's decision was the Gibbs' failure to introduce expert testimony rebutting the plaintiff's expert testimony that it was "impossible" for the two songs to have been written independently. However, the verdict was overturned a few months later.


continuare

marți, 3 august 2021

Eagles - Witchy Woman ( L2 )


Raven hair and ruby lips
Sparks fly from her fingertips
Echoed voices in the night
She's a restless spirit on an endless flight

Woo hoo witchy woman,
See how high she flies
Woo hoo witchy woman
She got the moon in her eye

She held me spellbound in the night
Dancing shadows and firelight
Crazy laughter in another room
And she drove herself to madness with a silver spoon

Woo hoo witchy woman
See how high she flies
Woo hoo witchy woman
She got the moon in her eye

Well, I know you want a lover,
Let me tell you, brother,
She's been sleeping in the Devil's bed.

And there's some rumors going round
Someone's underground
She can rock you in the nighttime
'Til your skin turns red

Woo hoo witchy woman
See how high she flies
Woo hoo witchy woman
She got the moon in her eye

luni, 2 august 2021

The Who ( B18 )

 A record attendance in England which the Guinness Book of Records estimated at between 600,000 and 700,000 people, the Who began their set at 2:00 A.M. on Sunday 30 August.

Lifehouse and Who's Next

The Who live in Charlotte, North Carolina, 1971
The Who at the Coliseum, Charlotte, North Carolina, 20 November 1971

Tommy secured the Who's future, and made them millionaires. The group reacted in different ways – Daltrey and Entwistle lived comfortably, Townshend was embarrassed at his wealth, which he felt was at odds with Meher Baba's ideals, and Moon spent frivolously.

During the latter part of 1970, Townshend plotted a follow up TommyLifehouse, which was to be a multi-media project symbolising the relationship between an artist and his audience. He developed ideas in his home studio, creating layers of synthesizers, and the Young Vic theatre in London was booked for a series of experimental concerts. Townshend approached the gigs with optimism; the rest of the band were just happy to be gigging again. Eventually, the others complained to Townshend that the project was too complicated and they should simply record another album. Things deteriorated until Townshend had a nervous breakdown and abandoned Lifehouse


continuare