Live Albums?

Maybe I've just aged myself, but the word album means different things to different people and age groups.

For me an album is a slab of wax, a piece of vinyl, or extended to the music itself, a grouping of songs or pieces put together as to make a whole. Albums were released by artists as a whole (sure, there'd be singles from the album) with each track placed specifically on the album.

Live music isn't any different. When putting together a live show for an album or a concert, the band tries to arrange the songs in a pleasing order. They hook you with a great opener and pull you under so you won't stop listening. Some live albums capture the crowd's energy, while others strive to provide a crystal clear sound. There are a few that manage to do both.  I tend to like raw performances, ones with warts and all--that's what I like about some of the Sinatra recordings, he's putting on a show, cracking jokes, changing words, forgetting words at times, but making it awesome! I'm so happy they didn't screw around with those to get rid of those things.

Here is just a sampling of live albums that I enjoy in no particular order.

Frank Sinatra, Sinatra At The Sands, 1966 -- Perhaps my top Sinatra live album. He's with the Count Basie Orchestra, conducted by Quincy Jones. A great selection of tunes and great banter throughout.

Rush - Exit...Stage Left, 1981 -- While I love all of Rush's live albums this one hit at the right time for me as I'd just discovered Moving Pictures and to hear them recreate live what they're able to put on album was amazing. I also loved the live video released not long after.

Iron Maiden, Live After Death, 1985 -- Iron Maiden wasn't on my radar until this album was released. I was fifteen and that album cover demanded attention. Hearing Bruce Dickinson wail away while the guitars played in harmony with the bass lines thundering and galloping along with the drums was overwhelming and I was a fan from the opening. They lead with a stirring recording of Winston Churchill, ending with, "...we shall never surrender" and they rip into Aces High, it still gives me chills.

Led Zeppelin, The Song Remains The Same, 1976 -- what can I say about this one that hasn't already been said or written? Well, I love this one for how raw it is, and sure they may overindulge on a few tunes, but I'm sure heroine and alcohol had nothing to do with that--I mean Jimmy Page and John Bonham would never partake of the stuff, right?  I prefer this over the strange live video, though I'll watch that from time-to-time.

Judas Priest, Unleashed In The East, 1979 -- I threw this one on here for a couple of reasons, one, back in high school (this is the mid-80s) there were a few people who thought I resembled Rob Halford. The first album I owned by Priest was Defenders of the Faith, but I quickly went back to their older stuff and this live album--though some people don't like how they overdubbed in the studio to present a cleaner and more upfront sound with I'm guessing fewer mistakes as well, I like this album a lot. Rob Halford hits some crazy high notes and the music is heavy! Priest was not only heavy metal back then, but their heavy by today's standards.

Here are a few more I like, some mentioned during a Facebook exchange:

Pink Floyd, Pulse, 1995 
Kiss, Alive II, 1977
Peter Frampton, Frampton Comes Alive!, 1976
Triumph, Stages, 1985
The Rat Pack: Live at the Sands, released in 2001, but from a show performed in 1963
Ozzy Osbourne, Tribute, 1987

I could list many, many more--there's Genesis, Peter Gabriel, The Who, and so on and so on...

Name some of your favorites!

My 2017 Concert Schedule Won't Help My Tinnitus

I'm attending quite a few concerts in 2017. Most people probably figure me for loving Sinatra and big band style music (and they'd be right), however, I have pretty broad tastes when it comes to music.

Tinnitus: I do have a constant high-pitched tone in both ears (probably from being around jet aircraft in the Navy on a daily basis for years, playing in loud bands throughout my life, and attending a large number of concerts), and as such, a few years ago I began wearing musician-grade decibel reducing earplugs at band practice as well as to concerts. Of course I adopted the earplugs way too late in life, but I don't want further damage if I can help it!

Here are the concerts I already have tickets for:

May 6 - Testament & Sepultura at the Summit Music Hall

May 11 - Opeth & Gojira at Red Rocks

June 3 - Roger Waters at Pepsi Center

June 7 - Metallica with VolBeat and Avenged Sevenfold at Mile High Stadium

June 8 - Brit Floyd at Red Rocks

July 6 - Queen at Pepsi Center

July 8 - Ghost at Fillmore Auditorium

August 25 - Depeche Mode at Pepsi Center

That's a pretty cool lineup, and I may add in a few shows if they don't interfere with travel and work.  And I don't think I'll be partaking in any mosh pits this year.

The King of Cool

Dean Martin. So cool and talented. I'm a huge Frank Sinatra fan, but Dean Martin is right up there with Frank as one of the top entertainers of not only the 20th century, but of all-time. Another favorite of mine, Steve McQueen, was also nicknamed the "King of Cool", but Martin got there first.

Today would have been Martin's 99th birthday, but he passed away on Christmas day in 1995 at the age of 78. I'm always shocked at the longevity of guys like Dean and Frank--they smoked, they drank, they partied hard and had a good time. On the other hand, the lifestyle took a toll, but I'm still impressed he lived to the age of 78.

Yes, he had many hits, such as: "That's Amore", "Everybody Loves Somebody", "You're Nobody till Somebody Loves You", "Volare", "Ain't That a Kick in the Head?" and so on, and so on, but he was an entertainer stretching far beyond his dreamy crooner persona.

Most everyone has heard of the comedy team of Martin & Lewis. Dean Martin & Jerry Lewis performed a music-comedy act at night clubs and eventually made a bunch of pretty funny films. From 1949 to 1956 they were in something like 17 films together. Lewis is ridiculous in those films, but Martin, as the straight man always seemed funnier to me. Try My Friend Irma (their first film) and Scared Stiff.

My favorite Dean Martin film is Rio Bravo where Martin shared the screen with John Wayne and was directed by Howard Hawks. Even if you don't enjoy westerns, the pairing of Wayne and Martin is worth the time spent watching the film. He also starred in a string of comedy adventures  as Matt Helm, a super spy--these films are ridiculous, but a lot of fun to watch.

Of course, Martin was a key member of the Rat Pack. They performed on stage together, recorded songs together, and made movies together, such as Ocean's 11, Robin and the 7 Hoods, Sergeants 3 (a comedy remake of Gunga Din), and 4 for Texas.

Martin was everywhere, even on television. He had his own variety show, The Dean Martin Show, which launched in the mid-60s and ran until the mid-70s. It's a fun show to watch, even now, and showed off Martin's gift for improvisation.

As a child I remember seeing Dean Martin on television, but hosting The Dean Martin Celebrity Roast which ran through 1984 when I was a teenager. I thought these roasts were funny back then, but they're funnier now (probably because I've immersed myself so much in old Hollywood films and trivia). He roasted Ronald Reagan, Hugh Hefner, Kirk Douglas, Frank Sinatra, Bette Davis, Jimmy Stewart, and the list goes on and on. I think these roasts are available in a box set, I may have to pick that up.

When I think of the greatest entertainers of all time (the multi-faceted ones, not the one-trick ponies), Dean Martin is in my top 5.

The Cure

This Sunday I'll be seeing The Cure in concert at Fiddler's Green Amphitheater. I prefer Red Rocks (who wouldn't, that venue is amazing, and if you're ever in the Denver area go there and check it out!), but the chance to see The Cure was one I couldn't pass up.

For those in the know regarding The Cure, you can skip this paragraph, but for the uninitiated, read on. The Cure have been around since 1976 and are known for gloomy, gothic rock, but in reality defy any specific categorization. Having written that, Robert Smith (pretty much the driving force behind the band) developed pop sensibilities in mid 1980s and released some commercial albums. Don't get me wrong, those albums aren't all butterflies and flowers and happy, but they're more accessible to the casual listener and do have some "upbeat" tunes. The album Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me is the best example of this.

I enjoy Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me, but my favorite albums comprise a trilogy which Robert Smith toured a few years back, playing each track from those albums in order.

Here they are:

1. Pornography--released in 1982 and is an example of their early gloom and doom and depression. Supposedly this album was conceived under the influence of alcohol and LSD, and the result is a textured, moody, and intense album I love listening to while writing. The entire album is worth a listen, but the opener, One Hundred Years, surges the album forward beneath a gathering storm. The album's cover shows the band members as if they were under the influence of a hallucinogen and alcohol cocktail.

2. Disintegration - released in 1989 after the more commercial Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me, and was a return to gloom land, and from what I've read, Robert Smith claimed to have been, once again, under the influence of LSD during the writing and recording. I suppose this album was a backlash against the commercial elements of the previous album--but this album became The Cure's most commercially successful album. Again, the entire album is worth a listen, but check out Fascination Street--the straight forward beat and punchy bass guitar mixed with the chiming guitars is standard fare for The Cure, but amidst the somewhat optimistic tune, the lyrics strive to pull us down into an inevitable despair.

3. Bloodflowers - released in 2000 is the final album in the trilogy. Robert Smith believes this trilogy of albums best represents what The Cure is all about. This may not be the strongest of the trilogy, but is enjoyable when listened to start to finish with my favorite track being the title track followed by The Last Day of Summer and There Is No If...

I'll be enjoying The Cure live this Sunday and I hope you give them a try if you've not been exposed to them, or if you have, rediscover their music.