Friday, December 21, 2007
CD Review: Greta Gertler and the Extroverts
Greta Gertler and the Extroverts
Edible Restaurant
Goldfish Prize
By David Chiu
Australian/New Yorker Greta Gertler and her band return with another good offering in Edible Restaurant. With a sound that recalls classical, Tin Pan Alley, and old-fashioned pop, Edible Restaurant has dreamy ballads (“Bessie,” “Wrist Slasher”) and buoyant numbers (the title song, “Bergen Street”); Gertler's lyrics cover personal (“If Bob Was God”), romantic (“Aching Melody”), and universal themes (the country-tinged, anti-war “Uniform”). The standout is the feel-good, slice-of-life song, “Veselka,” about the popular East Village eatery. Edible Restaurant is another successful entree in Gertler’s repertoire.
Below are photos from Greta Gertler and the Extroverts' recent show at Joe's Pub:
For more information on Greta Gertler and the Extroverts, visit www.gretagertler.net or www.myspace.com/gretagertlermusic
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# posted by NewBeats @ 8:36 PM
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
CD Review: U2
U2
The Joshua Tree
Island/Interscope/UME
By David Chiu
Released in 1987, The Joshua Tree was the album that put U2 on the worldwide map. Typical of U2’s music, the album has a heartfelt passion and sincerity--writer Bill Flanagan perfectly sums up the album's sentiments in his liner notes on this 20th anniversary reissue: "What came out were songs that dealt less with America the country than with a mythic America of the imagination." Produced by Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois, The Joshua Tree is best known for three of U2’s most famous hits: “With or Without You”; “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For; and "Where the Streets Have No Name.” But don’t overlook the other songs on this classic record: the fiery “Bullet the Blue Sky,” which sounds like an extension of the War album; the soulful “Running on Stand Still”; the folkish and bluesy “Trip Through Your Wires”; and the haunting “Mothers of the Disappeared,” a reference to the tumultuous times in Argentina during the late ‘70s. This 20th anniversary reissue contains a second disc of rare tracks and B-sides from the period, including “Silver and Gold”; the original mix of “The Sweetest Thing”; and “Wave of Sorrow (Birdland),” a song that U2 never was able complete until now.
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# posted by NewBeats @ 4:20 PM
DVD Review: Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
The Other Side of the Mirror: Live at the Newport Folk Festival 1963-1965
Columbia/SMV/Legacy
By David Chiu
The evolution of Bob Dylan from folkie to icon can be traced to his historic performances at the Newport Folk Festival between 1963 and 1965. Directed by Murray Lerner in timeless black-and-white, The Other Side of the Mirror begins with a skinny short-haired youthful Dylan who was still relatively new. He didn’t have the charisma of a stage performer yet but he still delivered some poignant performances such as the Medgar Evers tribute, “Only a Pawn in Their Game” and an amazing duet with Joan Baez on “With God on Our Side.” When he returned to Newport in 1964, Dylan this time around showed more confidence and assuredness—this segment features him performing “It Ain’t Me Babe” and “Chimes of Freedom” as well as Johnny Cash performing “Don’t Look Back” and Baez humorously imitating Dylan on “Maggie Hamilton.” The penultimate moment of course when a leather-clad, curly-haired Dylan performed with an electric band: the reaction is decidedly mixed between cheers and boos. Dylan soldiered on through with “Maggie’s Farm” and “Like a Rolling Stone,” featuring some great guitar by the late Mike Bloomfield. Towards the end of that memorable performance before a divided audience, Dylan played acoustic on “Mr. Tambourine Man” and “It’s All Over Now Baby Blue.” The 1965 set was a turning point in Dylan’s career --for that reason, this DVD a must for Dylan fans.
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# posted by NewBeats @ 2:11 PM
NewBeats Noteworthy Albums of 2007
Studio Albums
Feist—The Reminder
Dean and Britta—Back Numbers
Greta Gertler—Edible Restaurant
Paul McCartney—Memory Almost Full
Once soundtrack
Rilo Kiley—Under the Blacklight
John Fogerty—Revival
Spoon—Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
Reissues
Genesis—A Trick of the Tail, Duke, Genesis
Moby Grape—Listen My Friends! The Best of Moby Grape
Pylon—Gyrate Plus
Pink Floyd—The Piper at the Gates of Dawn
The Traveling Wilburys —Vol. 1 and 3
Joy Division—Closer
Elvis Costello—My Aim is True
Bob Dylan—The Other Side of the Mirror DVD
Alan Parsons Project—I Robot
Nirvana— Unplugged in New York DVD
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# posted by NewBeats @ 1:56 PM
Friday, December 14, 2007
DVD Review: Paul McCartney
Paul McCartney
The McCartney Years
Rhino
By David Chiu
This 3-DVD set is the most comprehensive retrospective on McCartney’s career, spanning his time in Wings through 2005’s Chaos and Creation in the Backyard. On the first two DVDs there is a video for every single Macca has released in the last 35 + years : “Band on the Run,” “My Love,” “With a Little Luck,” “Ebony and Ivory,” “No More Lonely Nights,” and “Fine Line,” and more. Most of the videos were very innovative and extravagant especially on “Coming Up” and “Pipes of Peace.” The third DVD is a sampling of Macca’s live solo performances: a 1976 show at the height of Wings’ popularity; excerpts from the classic 1991 Unplugged concert (which, by the way, deserves to be shown in its entirety on a DVD); and his recent appearance at Glastonbury. Extras include interviews, commentaries for several videos and McCartney’s appearances at Live Aid and the Super Bowl.
Watch clips of McCartney's "Coming Up" and "This One," both on The McCartney Years:
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# posted by NewBeats @ 1:23 PM
Inteview: Pamela Des Barres
By David Chiu
In the late ‘60s and ‘70s, groupie Pamela Des Barres had dalliances with Jimmy Page, Mick Jagger, and the Jimi Hendrix Experience’s Noel Redding. She had access into the worlds of the Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, and many other famous rockers. (She eventually married Michael Des Barres of the band Silverhead; they later split up). Des Barres was also a member of late ‘60s girl groupie group the GTO’s (Girls Together Occasionally).
Des Barres later heightened the profile of the groupie as both lover and inspiration to many a famous rock star in her best-selling 1987 memoir I’m With the Band. Since then Des Barres has written two more books, Take Another Little Piece of My Heart: A Groupie Grows Up and Rock Bottom: Dark Moments in Music Babylon.
This past summer Des Barres, now a journalist, recently published her latest book, Let’s Spend the Night Together: Backstage Secrets of Rock Muses and Supergroupies (Chicago Review Press). The book contains Des Barres’ interviews with rock groupies and muses of the last five decades in rock: from Tura Satara, who had an affair with the young Elvis Presley in the late ‘50s; reminisces from ‘60s and ‘70s muses and groupies such as Patti D’Arbanville and Cherry Vanilla about Cat Stevens and David Bowie, respectively; and today’s muses such as Lexa Vonn (Marilyn Manson) and Amanda Milius (Sune Rose Wagner of the Raveonettes). There’s even an interview with Pleather, one of the rare male groupies known. While there are some steamy and raunchy moments revealed (for example, ‘Sweet Connie’ Hamzy revealed she had sex with 30 guys in one night), Let’s Spend the Night Together explores the strong emotional and musical bond between fan and rock star.
NewBeats interviewed Des Barres, also known as “Miss Pamela,” over the phone as she talked about her book and the groupie lifestyle.
Why and how did the book come about groupies’ experiences?
I’ve gotten so much interest from other groupies through the years telling me their stories. It just seemed like a natural segue for me to go from my stories to their stories. For years they have been sending me these stories. I thought I would finally share them. A lot of the girls I knew from the old days. So it was fun to get their tales too.
Was it very easy to have your friends talk about your experiences? Did you have to pull an arm and a leg?
No, most of them couldn’t wait to talk. Most of the girls just couldn’t wait to share their stories. There’s a fascination with the groupie world. It was quite an honor to hear all these stories. It did take a long time. Altogether, it was a couple of years but it was worth it. I think people are enjoying it, getting a kick out of it.
Jimmy Page’s name comes up quite often amongst some of the women’s memories What was it about him that made him so special or unique with the ladies?
He epitomized the British pop star royalty: the elegance, the charm and the androgyny of the British rock star. He was a flawless example of that. He also had a real way with words and a way with the women. He loved women and he wanted to shower them with adoration. He tortured a lot of us because we thought we were the ones. But it was worth it.
In all of the interviews you conducted, what was the common thing that they shared?
The desire and love for the music. That’s all it’s about for the true groupie—for the real true groupie. It’s all about the music, and just wanting to get close to that music. That’s what their goal is, and they make it happen. A real groupie will not just sit home and wish—that’s a fan. The real true groupie makes it happen.
Model Bebe Buell, who is one of the interviewees, prefers the term ‘muse’ over ‘groupie.’
She doesn’t like the word groupie because it’s become a bad word over the years. Actually it didn’t take very long for it to become a bad word. People are just jealous and envious that makes anybody say anything negative usually about someone. So I just wanted to share these stories, humanize these girls, and make people realize they are just like you and me except they got an incredible desire to make something happen. And they make it happen.
Are women are less likely to be groupies because of feminism these days, or are more of them inclined because of our fascination with celebrity culture?
I think there is the same amount of girls doing what they do. There was a heyday when the groupies were getting a lot of attention because the bands were so innovative and the times were changing. So we were getting the kind of attention that the model-actress groupies do today—Drew Barrymore, Gwyneth Paltrow and Winona Ryder—all these girls are groupies now but they would never say that because they are also actresses. It’s an amazingly interesting lifestyle…and it makes sense that women would want to get romantic and hang out with rock stars.
A real groupie is all about music. There are other kinds of girls who go after celebrityhood, they go after the money, and the bling and the power. That’s not a real groupie is at all. A real groupie wants to be around the people who make them feel so damn good. That’s what it’s all about.
Pleather is the only male groupie interviewed in the book, and I thought his story was interesting. How did you hear about him?
I was very happy to come across him. I get the word out. I just put the groupie toms-toms out that I was looking for a guy groupie. I met him at [Berlin singer] Terri Nunn’s baby shower. I met the girl Drama [of the band Switchblade Kittens] at this baby shower, who is in the chapter. I told her I was looking for a guy groupie, and she said, ‘Oh I know just the guy.’ So I just put the word out—I asked around.
What were your impressions of Pleather?
I loved him. He was totally sincere. Incredibly unique individual—devoted to music. I just related to him. It all comes from the same place. Groupies understand each other.
I get the impression from the interviews and the conversational tone of your writing that you really seem to have a sisterly bond with these women.
I love these girls. To they are a precious commodity. They have incredible stories. It’s rock and roll history. I was very happy to be able to share more rock and roll history with the rock fans.
Was it always competitive between groupies back then?
It’s competitive in the real world too. In the real world some girls get crushes on the same guy. It’s just more heightened in that world and more known now. It’s very different—everything is on the Internet so everybody knows what everybody is doing. Back then there was a little more privacy involved. I knew Jimmy was seeing somebody in New York when I was in LA—we knew these things.
What was the reaction from people and the rock stars you mentioned in your first book I’m with the Band? Did it make a cultural impact on how people perceive the rock and roll lifestyle today?
It was pretty profound because there were not many girls have written about their sexuality so candidly. I didn’t expect the response that it got. I went on Oprah, did the Today show and Larry King, and I got a lot of attention. It was a big best seller and I was thrilled about it. It’s giving me a living. Now I’m a journalist and I do speaking engagements. I’m sort of now a rock historian--I didn’t expect that. So that was cool.
What was the initial reaction from the rock stars you mentioned in that book?
They were all fine with it. Rock stars want to be talked about. They want to be written about, they wanted to be thought of. A lot of the times that’s why they’re in it. They want the attention.
And you’re still friends with some of them?
I’m still friends with most of them—the ones who are still alive, God bless them.
How do you explain this trend of women writing these tell-all books about their time with rock stars years after the fact?
They’ve been pondering their stories for a long time. Catherine [James] has wanted to tell her tale for a long time. Hers is not just a groupie story—she had an amazing life. It’s very cathartic to write your memoirs, and I think that has a lot to do with it, and just wanting to share the incredible time period that we lived in. And Cynthia [Plaster Caster] has got an amazing story.
Do you have a particular favorite story out of all the interviews?
I can’t choose one out. The one that surprised me I guess was Sweet Connie [Hamzy], who was an amazingly sweet person…and still so dedicated to being a groupie. She was a real trip to hang out with. I really enjoyed that.
You have now your career and personal life. Do you miss the groupie’s life?
No, because my lifestyle is really not that different. I was married for quite a while, and I raised a son and everything. I stayed in that [rock] world. I’m still in it. When Robert Plant comes to town, he comes over for tea. I hang out with the Zappas. My boyfriend is a singer/songwriter and I go to all his shows. [My life hasn’t] changed that much, so I didn’t really miss anything. It continues.
What’s access like to rock stars these days? I assume it must be different now as compared to then?
No one can like go out and meet the Stones or Zeppelin, and people like that. Girls meet the younger bands—it’s still going on. It’s a little harder for girls now of course to get back stage. That’s why they do what you do—they do interviews, intern at record companies, they become photographers, and they meet the bands that way. I had a lot of girls write to me and say that their ‘in’ right now is through the music industry.
What do you hope people will come away from reading the book?
Fun! I just want people to have some fun. And get a little peak into other people’s lives. People enjoy that--people want to know what goes on backstage. These girls are special girls, and I wanted to share their stories. I just want people to get a kick out of it and enjoy it really, and understand the groupie mentality a bit more.
I love the sexy book jacket cover photo. Do you remember when that was taken and where you were?
My ex-husband [Michael Des Barres] was sitting next to me and I was backstage at the Whisky-A-Go-Go [in 1974]. He was in a glam group called Silverhead and I was applying his eye makeup just sitting on the floor in my underwear way before Madonna did it.
For more information on Pamela Des Barres and her latest book, Let’s Spend the Night Together, visit her website www.pameladesbarres.com.
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# posted by NewBeats @ 12:21 PM
Thursday, December 13, 2007
CD Review: Genesis
Genesis
1983-1998
Atlantic/Rhino
By David Chiu
This latest edition to the Genesis archival series examines the group’s most successful commercial period from the ‘80s to the early ‘90s, a far cry from their ‘70s prog rock. By this time Genesis, with Phil Collins at the helm, became a hit singles machine starting off with “That’s All” from the 1983 self-titled album. That record is a concise, filler-free effort with great tracks like the powerful “Mama,” “Home By the Sea/Second Home By the Sea,” and the gentle ballad “Taking it All to Hard.” Then in 1986 Genesis blew the doors wide open with the massively popular Invisible Touch album, which gave the band its first Number One song in the title track, followed by four more Top Ten hits: “Throwing It All Away,” “Land of Confusion,” “Tonight, Tonight, Tonight,” and “In Too Deep.” It’s definitely the most accessible album by the group to date. Fortunately the band returned to their ethereal and subdued form with We Can’t Dance (1991). It’s a far more serious and reflective album indicated by the emotional “No Son of Mine,” “Tell Me Why” and the finale, “Fading Lights.” The funky rocker “I Can’t Dance” sounds cheesy in retrospect but fun nevertheless. By 1996, Collins left the band and was replaced by the relatively unknown Ray Wilson. The album he appeared on, Calling All Stations, was dead on arrival, which is a shame—for all its weaknesses, there were some exceptionally strong tracks particularly the title song, “Congo,” and “Not About Us.” Wilson was a decent vocalist who brought a gritty edge to the band’s sound. This box contains the original four albums in audio and 5.1 versions, music videos, recent interviews with the band members (including Ray Wilson himself), and rare B-side tracks covering the period.
Watch a clip of Genesis' "Land of Confusion:"
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# posted by NewBeats @ 10:14 AM
Wednesday, December 05, 2007
CD Review: Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
Mothership
The Song Remains the Same
Swan Song/Atlantic
By David Chiu
The timing of these releases couldn’t have been more appropriate in anticipation of the heralded reunion concert. It gives us another reconsideration of a band that first defined electric blues and later heavy metal/hard rock.
Honestly, Mothership offers no surprises as it is almost the same tracklisting found on the Early and Latter Days releases from a few years ago--the only major difference is that this latest 2-CD compilation tacks on a DVD of excerpts from the excellent Led Zeppelin DVD. So for the casual fan, Mothership is a succinct overview of the might Zep’s career beginning from 1969’s hard-charging Good Times, Bad Times to 1979’s ballad All My Love, along with the familiar classics: “Whole Lotta Love,” “Houses of the Holy,” the signature “Stairway to Heaven,” and the majestic “Kashmir.” Though by no means complete, Mothership is a satisfactory best-of.
Until 1997’s BBC Sessions followed by 2003’s How the West Was Won, the only live recording by Led Zeppelin was the soundtrack to the film The Song Remains the Same. Recorded in 1973 over three nights at Madison Square Garden during the group’s height, Song… is a document of how mesmerizing and masterful Zep was on stage. It gave the members room to jam and perhaps further indulge (i.e. a nearly 30-minute “Dazed and Confused,” and an extended drum turn by the late great John Bonham on “Moby Dick”). The reissue contains six previously unreleased concert recordings not on the original album, including “Black Dog,” “The Ocean,” and “Heartbreaker.”
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# posted by NewBeats @ 12:54 PM
Saturday, December 01, 2007
News: Queen and Paul Rodgers' New Single
Queen and Paul Rodgers released a new single, "Say It's Not True." You can download the single for free by visiting the following web sites:
http://www.queenonline.com/sayitsnottrue
http://www.46664.com/118/ (watch a video of the song)
(graphic from 46664.com)
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# posted by NewBeats @ 2:13 PM
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