Rhino has reissued the first two Pretenders albums — Pretenders and Pretenders II — and packaged each as a two disc set: the first disc containing the original recordings and the second a collection of rarities, out-takes, and live recordings. These albums, featuring the original Pretenders lineup of vocalist Chrissie Hynde, guitarist James Honeyman-Scott, drummer Martin Chambers, and bassist Pete Farndon showcase a band that captured the best qualities of punk, new wave, and rock, all in a radio-friendly package that made the band an instant sensation.
Continue reading ‘The Pretenders First Two Releases Reissued’
The following is a chunk of prose written as an exercise with Tom Jordan. The idea was, he’d write a passage, I’d write a passage, we’d continue until we had sure-fire Hollywood gold. Problem is, I never got past this first submission. Was I intimidated by the lofty company in which I found myself? Perhaps. Regardless, so much for Hollywood gold.
Anyway, here it is. If you happen to be Tom Jordan and you’re reading this: We’ll get it going some day, buddy!
Otherwise, enjoy.
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Three seats behind Phillipe Valdez, a wiry, cigar-colored Mexican stirred and looked around sleepily. The boxy shoulders of his rumpled suit jacket were too large for his thin frame and his sinewy forearms were thrust from rolled up sleeves. He wore no watch. No wedding ring.
His name was Salvador Torrez, but he was simply referred to by those that knew him as Flaco. He was easily the tallest from his home village, near Oaxaca and he came from seven generations of butchers; robust, vital slaughterers of livestock with heavy, pugilist hands. His father was a butcher, his grandfather a butcher, and so it went.
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It is with some surprise that I recently received a copy of The Best of Little Feat from Rhino Records. Surprising, not because of the contents of the disc; Little Feat were one of the most creative forces in 70’s rock, often soaring to the rarified air occupied by the likes of Frank Zappa, The Band, and Captain Beefheart. The surprise, as it was, was that it took this long for somebody to finally get around to cataloging the most popular material from the group.
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Do I seem uptight? In need of some mellowing out perhaps? Google seems to think so. Check out the recommendations that greeted me this morning when I went to Google Groups to do a little guitar reading. Guitar and cannibis are algorythmic peanut butter and jelly, apparently.
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To quote Muddy Waters, “The blues had a baby, and they named it rock and roll.” While most fans of the latter are generally aware of this fact, it’s often surprising to discover that so few have actually explored the roots of their favorite music. For many, the blues start with Eric Clapton, Led Zeppelin, and the Rolling Stones, but the fact remains that a significant portion of the rock and roll vocabulary — both in style and substance — was born in the two-bit recording studios and juke joints of Chicago’s South side, the Mississippi Delta, and Eastern Texas. If you’re looking to get a little deeper into the blues, the following selections make an excellent starting point for any collection.
Continue reading ‘Essential Blues: 10 Must-Have Collections For Rock & Roll Fans’
