January 10th – Like the front counter of the B. M. D. shop
today; some ‘ins’, some ‘outs’, some sad, some happy... There are some great
blues tracks that have moved down with time and become the staple of many a rock
band's live show, forming the backbone to their careers in many cases and even,
one could add, giving them ‘credibility’. I think of Cream’s rendition of
‘Spoonful’, The Rolling Stone’s crack at ‘Little Red
Rooster’…was that on their first album, not a fan so dunno…? The Doors cover of
‘Back Door Man’ (always thought Jim Morrison was a plastic poseur with an eye
on the money…and the sex. That’s cut my Facebook ‘friends list’ down by about
10%, I guess).
Didn't Led Zeppelin paraphrase that
line in the song that opened ‘Top of the Pops’? “…shake for me girl, I wanna be
your back door man…” and, whilst on the subject of blues covers, LZ’s cover of
‘How Many More Times’. All of these tracks first came to the notice of the
above bands via the seminal talent that was Howlin’ Wolf who died on this day
in 1976. However, along with much of merit, the blues/rock crossover story has a singular case
to answer; namely WTF did it do to Rod Stewart?
Now
there was a guy who seemed to have all the attributes to create a body of work
that would stand the test of time. Probably one of the best albums EVER is Jeff
Beck’s ‘Truth’. Released in 1968 and carrying, amongst other tracks, two
offerings by Willie Dixon, a blues legend, ‘Truth’ is still as powerful now as
then. It boasted a stellar line-up of both permanent band musicians (Mr. Beck,
Rod Stewart, Ronnie Wood and Micky Waller) and also had, over its release time,
such artists involved as Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones, Keith Moon, Aynsley Dunbar,
Madeline Bell, Clem Cattini…and Nicky Hopkins on piano…Nicky Hopkins f’r
Chrissakes! So, this begs the question; how could you be working with such
talent and yet end up thinking it would be cool to wear spray-on leopard-skin
pants whilst moving about the stage like Max Wall and asking your audience,
possibly in desperation, if they found you sexy? (I hear a further 10%
drop in Facebook ‘friends’) Great work, Rod; real progress, and after such a
start… OK, OK, maybe some of ‘The Faces’ stuff was just above average (just) but, I
mean, you only have to listen to ‘Truth’ to see the wasted promise right there.
Disappointed? You betcha.
On a better note, Aynsley Dunbar made
his appearance into the world on this date too, back in 1946. A real powerhouse
drummer, it was his work with Frank Zappa (was lucky enough to see him on his
last (as in 'final') U.K. tour, NEC Brum – phenomenal) on one of my all-time favourite
albums that stands out; but to do this justice, you have to do it right, and
I’m just the guy to explain it.
Get hold of a copy of ‘Mothers of Invention
– Live at the Filmore East’. Make sure you’re not going to be disturbed for a
couple of hours, pour yourself three fingers of high quality malt (with or
without ice) put album and headphones on, kick back and take it all at one
sitting (said the art mistress to the gardener). What you’ll have is a glorious
tale of 1970’s excess that is both funny and instructional performed by some
of the best in the 1970’s business (Messers Volman and Kaylan of the ‘Turtles’ as well as Ian
Underwood, Jim Pons, Aynsley Dunbar and, of course, Mr. Zappa) who will
introduce you to a whole new lexicon surrounding sex and the rock ‘n’ roll
business; and you’ll also have the pleasure of hearing Mr. Dunbar, a drummer
who is usually as tight as two coats of paint, make a monumental FU of a musical
rim-shot 'exclamation mark'. Mud Sharks rule…
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