R.I.P. 2023

Another year is over, which inevitably means more loss for music lovers everywhere. We don't live in the 70's anymore when every pop star death was a shock; many of our music idols aren't young any more, and their passing is less of a surprise. Still, however full their lives have been and great the artistic legacy they leave behind, it's sad to have to say goodbye to, among others, legends like Tina Turner, David Crosby, and Jeff Beck. Music-wise 2023 was an especially bad year for Brazil and Ireland: Within a few months, we lost the three great ladies of Brazilian music (Gal Costa, Rita Lee, and Astrud Gilberto), while Irish singers Sinead O' Connor and Shane Mac Gowan, both only middle-aged, also passed away. The latter's best-known song has become a holiday season classic, and I guess it's only fitting for it to be the last video I post this year:

So, please take a moment to celebrate their work and art, and to give a mental

Thanks for The Music to:

[January 1] Fred White (Earth, Wind & Fire), 67

[January 1] Sebastian Marino (Overkill/ Anvil), 57

[January 1] Gangsta Boo (Three 6 Mafia), 43

[January 3] Alan Rankine (The Associates), 64

[January 3] Notis Mavroudis (Greek guitarist),77

[January 5] Gordy Harmon (The Whispers), 79

[January 6] Jeff Blackburn (Moby Grape/The Ducks), 77

[January 10] Dennis Budimir (The Wrecking Crew), 84

[January 10] Jeff Beck (The Yardbirds/The Jeff Beck Group), 78

[January 11] Yukihiro Takahashi (Yellow Magic Orchestra/Sadistic Mika Band), 70

[January 12] Lisa Marie Presley (singer, daughter to the King), 54

[January 12] Robbie Bachman (drummer, Bachman-Turner Overdrive), 69

[January 12] Keith "Duke" Beaton (Blue Magic), 72 

[January 16] Johnny Powers (Rockabilly guitarist and singer), 84

[January 17] Larry Morris (Larry's Rebels), 75

[January 17] Renée Geyer (Singer), 69

[January 18] Van Conner (Screaming Trees), 55

[January 19] David Crosby (The Byrds), 81

[January 19] Alex Napier (Uriah Heep), 75

[January 20] Marshall Tucker (The Marshall Tucker Band), 99

[January 23] Anthony "Top" Topham (The Yardbirds), 75

[January 26] Dean Daughtry (Atlanta Rhythm Section/Classics IV), 76

[January 27] Floyd Sneed (drummer, Three Dog Night), 80

[January 27] Daniel Boone (Pop musician), 80

[January 28] Tom Verlaine (Television), 73

[January 28] Barrett Strong (Singer-songwriter), 81

[January 31] Charlie Thomas (The Drifters), 85

[February 2] Tim Quy (Cardiacs), 61

[February 2] Butch Miles (Jazz drummer), 78

[February 3] Paul Janovitz (Cold Water Flat), 54

[February 3] Lillian Walker-Moss (The Exciters), 78

[February 6] Phil Spalding (GTR/Original Mirrors/Toyah), 65

[February 8] Burt Bacharach (songwriter and pianist), 94

[February 12] David Jude Jolicoeur (De La Soul), 54

[February 13] Huey "Piano" Smith (R&B pianist), 89

[February 14] Tim Aymar (Pharaoh/Control Denied), 59

[February 16] Chuck Jackson (R&B singer), 85

[February 16] Alberto Radius (Formula 3), 80

[February 17] Kyle Jacobs (Country singer), 49

[February 17] Michael "Majk Moti" Kupper (Running Wild), 65

[February 19] Davis Causey (Sea Level), 74

[February 20] Bruce Barthol (Country Joe & the Fish), 75

[February 21] Ron Altbach (King Harvest), 76

[February 25] François Hadji-Lazaro (Pigalle, Los Carayos), 66

[February 27] Ismaïla Touré (Touré Kunda), 73

[March 1] Leon Hughes (The Coasters), 92

[March 2] Steve Mackey (bassist, Pulp), 56

[March 2] Wayne Shorter (Miles Davis Quintet/Weather Report), 89

[March 3] David Lindley (Kaleidoscope, multi-instrumentalist), 78

[March 4] Robert Haimer (Barnes & Barnes), 68

[March 4] Michael Rhodes (The Notorious Cherry Bombs), 69

[March 4] James "Owl" Walsh (Gypsy), 74

[March 5] Gary Rossington (Lynyrd Skynyrd), 71

[March 9] Robin Lumley (Brand X/The Spiders from Mars), 74

[March 10] Napoleon XIV (Singer, "They're coming to take me away haha"), 84

[March 13] Canisso (Bassist, Raimundos), 57

[March 13] Paul Beasley (Blind Boys of Alabama), 78

[March 13] Simon Emmerson (Afro Celt Sound System), 67 

[March 13] Jim Gordon (Derek and the Dominos/Traffic), 77

[March 14] Bobby Caldwell (Singer-songwriter), 71

[March 14] Dix Denney (guitarist,The Weirdos/Thelonious Monster), 65

[March 16] Tony Coe (Jazz musician), 88

[March 17] Fuzzy Haskins (Parliament-Funkadelic), 81

[March 17] Mick Slattery (Hawkwind's original guitarist), 77

[March 20] Dima Nova (Cream Soda), 35

[March 22] Tom Leadon (Mudcrutch), 70

[March 22] Wayne Swinny (guitarist, Saliva), 59

[March 27] Howie Kane (Jay and the Americans), 81

[March 28] Ryuichi Sakamoto (Yellow Magic Orchestra), 71

[March 29] Brian Gillis (LFO),47

[March 29] Sweet Charles Sherrell (The J.B.'s), 80

[March 30] Ray Shulman (Gentle Giant), 73

[April 4] Vivian Trimble (Luscious Jackson), 59

[April 6] Guy Bailey (The Quireboys), 61

[April 6] Paul Cattermole (S Club 7), 46

[April 7] Ian Bairnson (The Alan Parsons Project/Pilot), 69

[April 7] John Regan (Frehley's Comet), 71

[April 7] Lasse Wellander (ABBA Guitarist), 70

[April 14] Mark Sheehan (The Script), 46

[April 16] Ahmad Jamal (Jazz pianist), 92

[April 18] Ivan Conti (Brazilian jazz-funk trio Azymuth), 77

[April 19] Otis Redding III (soul singer), 59

[April 21] Mark Stewart (The Pop Group), 62

[April 22] Ron Cahute (singer, accordionist), 68

[April 23] Isaac Wiley Jr. (drummer, Dazz Band), 69

[April 24] Lilian Day Jackson (singer, Spargo), 63

[April 25] Harry Belafonte (Calypso/folk Singer), 96

[April 25] Ralph Humphrey (drummer, The Mothers of Invention), 79

[April 26] Billy "The Kid" Emerson (Singer-songwriter), 97

[April 28] Tim Bachman (guitarist, Bachman-Turner Overdrive), 71

[April 28] John Fean (guitarist, Horslips),71

[May 1] Gordon Lightfoot (Singer-songwriter), 84

[May 3] Linda Lewis (Singer-songwriter), 72

[May 4] Rob Laakso (Kurt Vile and the Violators), 44

[May 7] Seán Keane (fiddler, The Chieftains), 76

[May 8] Rita Lee (Os Mutantes), 75

[May 9] Jon Povey (Pretty Things), 80

[May 11] Francis Monkman (Curved Air/Matching Mole/Sky), 73

[May 14] John Giblin (bass player for Kate Bush), 71

[May 17] Algy Ward (bassist, The Damned/The Saints), 63

[May 19] Pete Brown (Singer/Lyricist, Cream) 82

[May 19] Andy Rourke (The Smiths), 59

[May 22] Kirk Arrington (drummer, Metal Church), 61

[May 22] James Lewis (Trans-Siberian Orchestra), 63

[May 22] Chas Newby (The Quarrymen, pre-Beatles), 81

[May 23] Mark Adams (bassist, Saint Vitus), 64

[May 23] Redd Holt (Ramsey Lewis Trio),91 

[May 23] Sheldon Reynolds (guitarist, Commodores/Earth, Wind & Fire), 63

[May 24] Tina Turner (Singer), 83

[May 25] Jean-Louis Murat (French singer), 71

[May 26] Jack Lee (The Nerves), 71

[May 26] Reuben Wilson (Willis Jackson/Melvin Sparks), 88

[May 31] Dickie Harrell (drummer, Gene Vincent and the Blue Caps), 82

[June 1] Cynthia Weil (songwriter), 82

[June 1] Jeff Blackburn (Blackburn and Snow), 77

[June 5] Astrud Gilberto (Brazilian singer), 83

[June 6] Tony McPhee (The Groundhogs), 79

[June 10] Yannis Markopoulos (Greek composer), 84

[June 12] Lee Clayton (Country singer-songwriter), 80

[June 13] Blackie Onassis (drummer, Urge Overkill), 57

[June 18] Teresa Taylor (drummer, Butthole Surfers), 60

[June 20] John Waddington (The Pop Group/Maximum Joy), 63

[June 22] Robert Black (Bang on a Can All Stars), 67

[June 23] Lee Rauch (drummer, Megadeth), 58

[June 30] Rick Froberg (Drive Like Jehu, Hot Snakes),55

[June 30] Lord Creator (Trinidadian singer), 87

[July 5] George Tickner (Journey), 76

[July 16] Jane Birkin (chanteuse, Serge Gainsbourg's muse), 77

[July 17] João Donato (bossa nova pianist), 88

[July 21] Tony Bennett (Singer), 96

[July 23] Patty Ryan (Eurodisco singer), 62

[July 24] Brad Houser (Edie Brickell & New Bohemians), 62

[July 26] Sinéad O'Connor (Singer-songwriter), 56

[July 26] Randy Meisner (Eagles/Poco), 77

[August 3] John Gosling (keyboardist, The Kinks), 75

[August 6] David LaFlamme (It's A Beautiful Day), 82

[August 7] Erkin Koray (Anatolian rock legend), 82

[August 7] Toussaint McCall (R&B singer), 89

[August 9] Robbie Robertson (The Band), 80

[August 9] Sixto Rodriguez (subject of the "Sugarman" documentary), 81

[August 11] Ron Peno (Died Pretty), 68

[August 17] Bobby Eli (Songwriter and guitarist), 77

[August 17] Gary Young (drummer, Pavement), 70

[August 24] Bernie Marsden (Whitesnake/UFO), 72

[August 26] John Kezdy (The Effigies), 64

[August 30] Jack Sonni (Dire Straits), 68

[August 31] Curtis Fowlkes (Jazz Passengers), 73

[September 1] Jimmy Buffett (Singer-songwriter), 76

[September 4] Steve Harwell (Smash Mouth), 56

[September 4] Gary Wright (Spooky Tooth), 80

[September 5] Larry Chance (The Earls), 82

[September 5] Charles Gayle (Jazz musician), 84

[September 5] Bruce Guthro (Runrig), 62

[September 10] Brendan Croker (The Notting Hillbillies), 70

[September 13] Roger Whittaker (Singer-songwriter), 87

[September 15] Paul Woseen (The Screaming Jets), 56

[September 16] John Marshall  (Nucleus/Soft Machine), 82

[September 19] Lou Deprijck (singer, producer "Ca Plan Pour Moi"), 77

[September 20] Katherine Anderson (The Marvelettes), 79

[September 20] Kent Stax (Scream), 61

[September 22] Dave Pahoa (The Plimsouls), 67

[September 23] Terry Kirkman (The Association), 83

[September 29] Ron Howden (drummer, Nektar), 78

[September 30] Russell Batiste Jr. (The Funky Meters/Vida Blue), 57

[September 30] Carol Buschmann (singer, The Chordettes), 96

[October 9] Buck Trent (Country instrumentalist), 85

[October 10] Michael “Ibo” Cooper (Inner Circle/Third World), 71

[October 11] Rudolph Isley (The Isley Brothers), 84

[October 17] Carla Bley (Jazz composer and pianist), 87

[October 18] Dwight Twilley (Singer-songwriter), 72

[October 22] Gregg Sutton (Lone Justice), 74

[October 23] Mervin Shiner (Country singer), 102

[October 23] Angelo Bruschini (guitarist, Massive Attack), 62

[October 24] Paul Harris (Manassas/Souther–Hillman–Furay Band),  78

[October 24] Steve Riley (W.A.S.P./L.A. Guns), 67

[October 29] Heath (X Japan), 55

[November 3] Pete Garner (The Stone Roses' original bassist), 61

[November 6,] Sean Martin (The Night Café), 26

[November 9] Gal Costa (Brazilian singer), 77

[November 11] Conny Van Dyke (Singer and actress), 78

[November 16] George Brown (Kool & the Gang), 74

[November 17] Charlie Dominici (singer, Dream Theater), 72

[November 20] Mars Williams (saxophonist, Psychedelic Furs), 68

[November 22] Jean Knight (Soul singer), 80

[November 25] Les Maguire (Gerry and the Pacemakers), 81

[November 25] Julio Anderson (Chilean bassist, Los Jaivas), 74

[November 26] Brian Godding (Blossom Toes), 78

[November 26] Geordie Walker (guitarist, Killing Joke), 64

[November 29] Scott Kempner (Dictators/Del-Lords), 69

[November 30] Shane MacGowan (The Pogues), 65

[December 3] Myles Goodwyn (April Wine), 75

[December 4] Vlado Pravdić (keyboardist, Bijelo Dugme), 73

[December 5] Denny Laine (Wings/The Moody Blues), 79

[December 11] Jeffrey Foskett (Beach Boys), 67

[December 11] Essra Mohawk (Singer-songwriter), 75

[December 14] Giorgos Tolios (drummer, Trypes), 58

[December 16] Colin Burgess (early AC/DC, The Masters Apprentices), 77

[December 17] Amp Fiddler (Parliament/Funkadelic ), 65

[December 22] Laura Lynch (Dixie Chicks), 65 

[December 28] Tommy Talton (We the People), 74

The Reverend Horton Heat "We Three Kings" 2005***

Who is the Reverend Horton Heat? Until now I had never asked myself that question, despite having 3 of their CD's. Well, they're a trio comprised by Jim Heath (AKA The Reverend) on guitar & vocals plus Jimbo Wallace on bass and Scott Churilla on drums and they've been going at it as far back as 1985. Their self-described sound is "country-fed punkabilly" and -given their music- I wasn't surprised to learn they come from Dallas, Texas. In 2005 they decided to put out a Christmas record covering their favorite holiday songs. For this one they've pulled all the stops and delivered a fun record for the whole family, giving their surf/psychobilly sound some jazz infusions. They're at their best when they're themselves though: "Run Rudolph Run" rocks its heart out and "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town" is a garage rock dynamite fusing Santa with Batman (the one from the 60's series, of course). "Frosty the Snowman" starts off slowly but soon turns to a hard rocker with wild boogie-woogie piano. "Santa Bring My Baby Back" is given a faithful rockabilly rendition and the ballads ("Silver Bells" and "Pretty Paper") are also played straight-not a great idea, that. The surf instrumental versions, on the other hand, are all cool: Jingle Bells, We Three Kings, What Child Is This and Winter Wonderland. "Santa Looked a Lot Like Daddy" is  a country/rockabilly number and one of my favorites and "Santa on the Roof" is its psychobilly brother, a Reverend original that should be added to the classic holiday repertory. For once, I can summarize a whole album in just 3 letters: F-U-N. The Reverend are obviously having fun playing and you'll have fun listening.

**** for Frosty the Snowman, Santa Claus Is Coming to Town, Santa Looked a Lot Like Daddy, What Child Is This, Run Rudolph Run

*** for Santa Bring My Baby Back (To Me), We Three Kings, Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, Winter Wonderland

** for Jingle Bells, Silver Bells, Pretty Paper

Let me add my own personal holiday greetings to everyone to has wandered into this blog. Best wishes for a happy Christmas and great New year! Enjoy...

Sons and Daughters "The Repulsion Box" 2005****

Have you ever heard a band for the first time and thought they must have been made with you in mind? Well, I kinda had that impression when I first heard Sons and Daughters. I'm a big fan of the post punk Americana of Gun Club and The Violent Femmes, and of early Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, but I also love bands featuring female lead vocals by dynamic frontwomen. Somehow an amalgam of all this materialized in Glasgow Scotland circa 2001. It was started by two members of Arab Strap (Adele Bethel on lead vocals/guitar/piano, and David Gow on drums/percussion) who were later joined by Ailidh Lennon (bass/mandolin/piano) and Scott Paterson (vocals/guitar). The Repulsion Box (2005) was nominally their 1st LP, released two years after their debut mini album Love the Cup. Not that Box is a "normal" length CD: 10 songs bristling with nervous energy, it's all over in half an hour. "Medicine" is introduced with pounding drums and scratchy guitars and features a manic lead vocal by Adele. "Red Receiver" starts off similarly to Violent Femmes' "Kiss Off", and doesn't disappoint: once again a very energetic piece, with Adele's unbridled shouting combined perfectly with Paterson's more controlled baritone and backing vocals reminiscent of The Bad Seeds. A bit of mandoline adds folk flavor, while there's also a slow bit where the music stops while the two singers continue with the sole accompaniment of handclaps. "Hunt" begins with a burst of noise and continues in the same vein, reminding me of Birthday Party. The most "difficult" track on the record gives way to the most "commercial": lead single "Dance Me In" - and it's telling that they're not too dissimilar, after all. "Taste The Last Girl" is the second single, even though not, in my opinion, among the highlights. "Rama Lama", on the other hand, certainly is. Here Scott takes most of the lead - really most of the songs in this album are duets between the two singers, while often Adele takes on lead with Scott backing her up. "Rama Lama" shows a strong spaghetti western influence, with quieter sections driven by low bass and percussion followed by outbursts dominated by Adele's shrieks. Not to demean any of the other members, who are all excellent at what they do, but it's her ability to sing, shout, holler and scream like there's no tomorrow that drives this band above all else. In this she reminds me of another personal favorite, coincidentally also from Glasgow, Sue Tompkins. Sons and Daughters made two more albums before their final dissolution in 2012; all are good but this is really my favorite. Highly recommended!

***** for Medicine, Red Receiver, Dance Me In, Rama Lama

**** for Hunt, Choked, Taste the Last Girl, Monsters

*** from Royally Used, Gone

Van Morrison, Lonnie Donegan & Chris Barber "The Skiffle Sessions: Live in Belfast" 1998(rec) 2000(released)***

Like any grammar school essay, this review will start with a Wikipedia definition "Skiffle is a genre of folk music with influences from American folk music, blues, country, bluegrass, and jazz, generally performed with a mixture of manufactured and homemade or improvised instruments". It became immensely popular in the UK during the late 50's, to be subsequently forgotten; but not before leaving an important legacy in its wake: the success of skiffle convinced British youths that one doesn't have to be black to play jazz and blues, or a hillbilly to play country; if a Scotsman like Lonnie Donegan can do it, they thought, so can we. So they went on and bought themselves their first guitar - or made themselves one from scratch, using a cigar box and some wires. Thus, in 1956 Liverpool, John Lennon started a skiffle group called The Quarrymen; pretty soon Paul McCartney and George Harrison joined in. The skiffle craze passed the Irish sea, infecting Rory Gallagher and Van Morrison who also proceeded to form bands playing in this idiom. Individual Rolling Stones started their career playing with Alexis Korner, who was Chris Barber's guitarist at the time. Barber introduced trad jazz to the UK; his idea to include folk and blues songs into his repertoire is what gave birth to British Skiffle music. Donegan, a former member of Barber's band, struck out on his own, and had a huge hit in 1955 with a sped-up version of traditional folk blues "Rock Island Line". For a few short years, he was the biggest star of British radio, to be subsequently completely forgotten - by everyone, it seems, except Van Morrison, who organised his reunion with Chris Barber's band for this concert and CD. It's obviously a work of love, a most warm and convivial affair. Barber plays bass and trombone, while Donegan and Morrison share the lead vocal duties; if the latter is the better singer, the former's voice carries more authenticity to the project. Dr. John adds his New Orleans-style piano on two songs, "Good Morning Blues" and "Goin' Home". The presence of an American could be construed as an anomaly in an album that offers homage to a British phenomenon, but, seeing as it all began as an attempt to bring the music of New Orleans to Britain, one can see it as the closing of a circle: an American jazzman paying tribute to Brits paying tribute to American jazz and folk. The material leans heavier on jazz and blues than folk and country, somewhat inverting the analogy of original skiffle. The choice of overtly familiar material (traditionals, songs by Woody Guthrie, Leadbelly, Jimmie Rodgers etc.) is the weakest feature of this collection; one can immediately recall a better-known (or better performed) version of each tune here. I was surprised to hear them close the CD with "I Wanna Go Home", which I knew as The Beach Boys' "Sloop John B" from Pet Sounds. Little did I know that it's a traditional Bahamian tune which has been recorded by various folk singers over the years - Donegan's own version predated The Beach Boys' by 5 years. According to the liner notes, the concert is unrehearsed, which sounds unbelievable considering the perfect coordination between the musicians. I guess the lack of rehearsal time accounts for the fact that they chose these famous songs that everybody was already very familiar with. Ultimately, there's not much here that's novel or particularly interesting; just a fun, good-natured, exercise in nostalgia by the progenitors of British blues and rock - which is enough for me. It certainly was nice to see Donegan rise from decades of obscurity; this (his last ever) recording, together with a honorary MBE by the Queen in the same year, served as belated recognition of his important contribution to British music before his sudden death from a heart attack in 2002.

**** for It Takes A Worried Man, Goin' Home, Good Morning Blues, Outskirts Of Town, Goodnight Irene, I Wanna Go Home

*** for Lost John, Don't You Rock Me Daddio, Midnight Special, Dead Or Alive, Frankie & Johnny, Railroad Bill, Muleskinner's Blues, The Ballad Of Jesse James