Scott Homewood – Page 4 – Lost In The Grooves

Billy, You Is A Hero

In an earlier edition of this blog I had told you that one of my favorite bands ever was Rockpile. You know, the pub rock band and original supergroup from the late ’70’s containing Dave Edmunds, Nick Lowe, Billy Bremner and Terry Williams. I also told you that eventually I would get around to going more indepth and profiling every band member.

Well, here’s the first installment in this loose series of Rockpile rememberances. In this blog, I am going to talk about guitarist, vocalist and songwriter Billy Bremner. Why Bremner first? Well, he’s got a new CD out right now on the Gadfly label entitled No If’s, Buts, Maybes and it’s a killer!

Now, Rockpile had a gimmick of switching between two leaders, Nick Lowe and Dave Edmunds. Besides backing each of these two artists on their solo records, the band would function as the backup band to whoever had a solo album out at the time. If Lowe had an album fresh out, he would lead the band and give Edmunds and Bremner short showcases and if Edmunds had one out, the situation would reverse and Lowe would get a short set.
That worked out well until the band’s fans started clamoring for a true band album. Thinking it a good time to consolidate their careers around the band and put their solo doings on hold, Lowe and Edmunds acquiesced and a Rockpile album was born. Their lone CD, Seconds of Pleasure is a great disc, and, true to form, features Lowe and Edmunds trading off on songs except for two lead vocal spots given to Bremner. But, despite working together so well before, egos started to emerge once the band was formed and Lowe and Edmunds decided they didn’t want to be in a band together any more. Each has said that in hindsight Bremner should have been leader as he was just as good of a frontman as either of them and it would have kept all the egos in check as Bremner was more stable of a personality.

After Rockpile broke up, Bremner drifted around musically until Chrissie Hynde called him to help with the Pretenders’ album Learning To Crawl in ’83. The Pretenders’ guitarist James Honeyman-Scott had just passed away and the band was in a quandry as to give up and split or soldier on. Once Bremner decided to help out the answer was easy – keep going. Though Bremner was a Pretender for only one CD, he was a part of their biggest hit Back On The Chain Gang and helped get the band back on track again.

Shortly after, Bremner emerged with a solo album under his own name entitled Bash. With songs written by Bremner with Elvis Costello and John Wicks of the Records, the album was destined to be great and it was. Too bad the public didn’t notice and it died a quick death on the charts. Needless to say, search this album out. It should be a lot easier to find as it was reissued on the Gadfly label in the late ’90’s.

Deciding to put his floundering solo career on hold, Bremner moved to first LA and then Nashville to become a studio musician. During the next decade (’85 to ’95) Bremner was one of the most popular studio guitarists and played on tons of albums and more than a few country hits. Occasionally a solo song would appear on a comp or two but generally Bremner was doing his guitar thing for others.
Eventually, Bremner grew tired of the studio scene and decided to move to Sweden with his future wife. There, he fired up his solo career once again by releasing the fine disc A Good Week’s Work (so named because it took him a week to record the album) which was released in the US by Gadfly Records to much acclaim. With the re-release of Bash soon after and Bremner’s work helping Swedish band The Refreshments (five albums with them) he was firing on all cylinders again, guitar work smoking and fine songs just pouring out of him.

All of this has culminated with his best work yet, No Ifs, Buts, Maybes which has some of his best guitar playing ever – he plays like John Fogerty on crack on this one, but still tastefully and tight – and his catchiest songwriting to date. This is a must have for pub rock fans who love their roots rock and still pine away for Rockpile.

Please buy this and encourage Bremner to put out more of this great stuff. Rockpile may be gone but Bremner’s still piling on the RAWK – and it just keeps getting better and better all the time.

Billy, you are a hero.

The Music Nerd knows……

Time For Some Elf Examination

There is this casual friend of mine who has realised over the past year or so that I am intensely into music and that I am a certifiable Music Nerd. Though he is a fan of metal and knows that I am not so into that subgenre of Rock and Roll, he asked me if I had any curios in my CD collection that he might like.

Knowing he likes other music besides metal (though metal is the main type of music he listens to) I went to my CD vault in hopes I might find a title which would stick out to me as something he would enjoy listening to.

Fortunately, I had to go no further than the ‘B’ section to find something suitable for him.

He had mentioned in the past he had enjoyed listening to the Beatles, and was a fan of their stuff. So, when I saw a CD by a band that I can only describe as the Evil Beatles, I knew it would be something he would like.

The band’s actual moniker is Big Elf and they ROCK!

Sounding like a cross between The Beatles, Queen and Black Sabbath, they are the only metal band I have found that I like. Over the course of their handful of albums and EPs I have come to respect a band like this who is able to channel their influences into a very unique sound. I mean, this band makes a noise unlike any metal band I’ve heard but is so tuneful and melodic, with songs so well constructed, I believe this band could unite everyone who likes rock and roll and conquer the world.

Maybe I am overdoing it but this is the reaction I got when listening to their better-than-great album Money Machine four years ago. Since then I have become a collector of their stuff which is very hard to find. If you want to check out their stuff (even Allmusic had very little to say about them) then go to their website and have a listen. The address is www.bigelf.com and I hope you give them a try.

My friend, the guy who likes the kind of metal where the vocals sound like grunts and growls, just loves the band now and is attempting to search out their other CDs as we speak. Gratification and validation for me and a great new band to check out for him.

Ain’t life grand?

Have you reconciled with your inner elf?

The Music Nerd knows……

Havin’ A Nazz-ty Time

As I sit here ruminating about another busy day tomorrow, I find myself grooving to an anthology featuring late ’60’s band The Nazz. The 2 CD set is called Open Our Eyes: The Nazz Anthology on Sanctuary Records and it really did open my eyes to a great band I had known previously by name only.

Of course, a lot of people know the band by name only if only because one of the members was a pre-solo Todd Rundgren. That’s how I first heard of them – going back through some of Rundgren’s history and exploring a little. Now, when I say I went back through his history I must say I am talking about his ’70’s albums only. I feel what he has produced since 1982 or so has been mostly dreck with Mr. Rundgren desperately trying to come up with something worthwhile and failing at just about every turn.

Since I’ve mentioned dreck – if anyone has been around this summer and has heard about this thing he has going with a certain vehicle (ha ha) known as The New Cars please tell me what the point is of making a shitty CD and doing a Loserpalooza tour with a bunch of has beens. The “band” features Rundgren and a cohort and a few of the people who used to be in the band The Cars. Now, not to slam the original Cars too much because I love their albums (even the final two lousy ones) but these guys are strictly the backline as Ben Orr is dead and Ric Ocasek didn’t want to sully his rep by going backwards with his career. So, what Rundgren has is the keyboardist, bass player and guitarist Elliot Easton (the biggest whore in the business besides Rundgren himself. Don’t believe me? Easton was once in a little band called Creedence Clearwater Revisited check the name – not Revival but Revisited – so after he was done trying and failing to be Fogerty he decides to be a pale imitation of himself. Sickening.) from the Cars and himself as lead guy trying to imitate Ocasek’s vocal mannersisms as if he was one of those pinheads from American Idol. Actually, I give the people from Idol more credit than Rundgren since they didn’t have fans to betray like he has done to his.

I listen to the great psychedelic Beatle-isms and Zombie-like tones and flourishes from Who-ville of the Nazz with all the beautiful songs written by Rundgren and then think about his ’70’s solo CDs and wonder what the hell has happened to him that he feels he has to do this. Don’t want to play your own music anymore or write songs? Cool. Go away and at least leave people enraptured by the talent you used to have. As much as I despise the suicides by famous artists like Cobain I almost wonder if it wouldn’t be better to do that than to do this with your career. Even his stuff with the band Utopia kicks the shit out of this New Cars crap.

To be serious (as if I haven’t been) – stay away from anything Rundgren’s done since 1982 and buy Runt or something by The Nazz and try to wash whatever he’s become today out of your ears and mind. For some he can do no wrong but I often find myself pitying those people. If I had a new car – I’d drive it as far away from Rundgren as I could and I’d be playing something by The Nazz on the Blaupunkt while I was doing it.

Do you understand Rundgren?

The Music Nerd can’t fathom it…but likes to get Nazz-ty anytime he can!

Bless My Soul

As I sit here, pondering what ponderers usually ponder and listening to the radio in a rare moment of non-CD music enjoyment, I have discovered something really cool: soul music is coming back. Now, you might say to yourself, “That Nerd’s crazy. Soul music never left.” and you’d be right. But, it did vanish for a long time as rap, techno and other forms of synthesized dance music took over.

Over the past few years, however, there has been quite a renaissance of what can only be called The Funk.

I first felt soul was coming back when I heard Joss Stone’s first album. To hear a British teenager sing with such soul made me feel there was something bubbling underground I hadn’t heard about yet. That soul queen Betty Wright produced Stone’s album – that she would even be given a chance to do that for an artist on a major label – made the feeling intensify. Of course, there is a big Northern soul movement in the UK – Northern meaning US-based soul stars, usually obscure at that – but there has been a Northern soul scene in Britain since the early ’70’s so I knew that wasn’t it.

After the success of Stone came a lot of career resurrections for various soul heavyweights of the past: Wright as a hit producer, Al Green reunited with Willie Mitchell for two great CDs, Solomon Burke put out a marvelous CD on Anti produced by T-Bopne Burnett, Bettye Lavette put out two great CDs, the late Eddie Hinton has been rediscovered, obscure soul titan Howard Tate was found and has had albums put out, Soul group Black Merda has been making great new music, Don Covay released a fine disc and many more. All this has happened since the turn of the millenium.

New artists have been plying the soul trade as well, aiming for Sam Cooke most of the time. Earl Thomas, James Hunter, Ellis Hooks have all been cast as Cooke-alikes – aiming for the suaveness and retor sounds Cooke made famous.

There have also been a plethora of archive releases from new labels specializing in vintage soul. Labels like The Numero Group, Ubiquity, Light In The Attic and many others. Rappers have even gotten into the soul game including Madlib with his Stone’s Throw label, specializing in modern variations of classic soul grooves. Not to mention the blogs and websites galore dedicated to the music.

It seems a new day is dawning in the world of soul and I couldn’t be happier about it. Once again music with heart, soul and meaning is rising to the forefront and I couldn’t be happier.

And as usual, you’ll be reading about the best of it in my blog.

How is your soul?

The Music Nerd knows…..

Heard of Cowsills?

It just seems like I can never write as much for this blog as I want to. Luckily, I have some free time and I am enjoying sitting around my house catching up on some little projects and listening to a great new album from Susan Cowsill.

Released recently on the label Blue Corn Music, the album is called Just Believe It and I am having a hard time doing just that. Just imagine, all of the horror of what has happened to New Orleans juxtaposed with the experience of listening to the heavenly vocals of one of the city’s most talented singer/songwriters.

For those who may not remember, or do not know at all, Susan is one of the celebrated Cowsills, a contemporary in concept to the Jackson 5 I guess you could say, only with more members and with a female vocalist in the person of Susan. In other words, the band was made up of brothers and one sister, Susan. The band had a few hits right out of the box in the late ’60’s, possibly the most famous being the song “Hair” which you would remember from the play or the movie of the same name.
After touring for awhile, the band broke up and each sibling went their own way, some pursuing music and some not. For the most part, Susan has stayed in the music business, supplying her angelic vocals to artists as diverse as Dwight Twilley and REM. For quite awhile, Cowsill was co-leader of one of the best bands of the ’90’s, The Continental Drifters, and you would be well advised to check out their CDs for some glorious country-flavored pop.

The Cowsill family also reunited for a critically acclaimed but obscure CD by the name of Global. This CD is wonderful and probably one of the best CDs of 1999. It was a glorious return to form for the band that not only wrapped up their legacy but also gave them new spark at the dawn of the new millenium.

Unfortunately, the band never got a chance to record another CD. Besides the rigors of normal life keeping them apart, Susan lost a brother in the mess that happened to New Orleans last year and has pretty much been on the road ever since like a lot of other Big Easy bands that lost their homes and possessions.

To think of all she has lost this year and hear her voice pouring out of the speakers singing her new songs seems bittersweet to me. Still, the album is fantastic and I hope you search it out. She can hold her own with any female singer out there from Crowe to Pink to Amos and, shit, any male singer as well. Her voice is glorious and so is this CD.

The Music Nerd Knows……

Be My Sal Valentino

I now interrupt your regularly scheduled blog reading to update you on someone very cool I am listening to – Sal Valentino.

For those unfamiliar, let me say right off that the name has nothing to do with any member of the cast of the Sopranos, though being Italian and quite dashing at his general age of late ’50’s/early ’60’s, might be enough reason to call the producers and maybe ask for a part. I am sure of one thing: Little Steven, alias Silvio Dante, no doubt knows who he is and would welcome him with open arms.

So who is this mystery man?

Sal Valentino was the lead singer for the San Franciscan garage-poppers turned country rockers The Beau Brummels. Remember their hits “Laugh, Laugh” or “Just A Little”? You should. If you don’t, go to your local CD shop and get you some Brummel. Keep your eyes peeled for Bradley’s Barn and Triangle as well. Those are the titles of two of the most groundbreaking records the ’60’s had to offer. It would be enough to say the band out-Byrdsed the Byrds but that would be leaving a lot of the greatness out. Needless to say, these records belong in any serious music-lover’s collection.

Right now, I am checking out Sal’s return to musical form, Come Out Tonight, released on Fat Pete Records (fatpeterecords.com), and produced, aided and abetted by Texas’ own Freddie Steady Krc. Krc is a legend in his own right and deserves a blog of his own (which I may do someday) but I must mention one of my favorite bands of his, The Shakin’ Apostles. When ESD was a cool label, it released a few Apostles discs that blew my mind. Great Texas roots rock that I encourage you to check out.

Anyway, back to Sal and his new disc. His voice or songwriting has not lost anything over the years, I must say, and this disc runs the gamut from garage to folk-rock and all of it is just excellent. It is great to see a man with so much history, experience and talent re-enter the music world with such a strong CD. His interpretive skills are at their peak as well, as he runs through Folsom Prison Blues and makes you forget Johnny Cash’s version. Fans of his work with the Brummels or with his later bands like Stoneground (great funk – search them out too) and Valentino need to get this right away and just anyone who wants to hear music on a par with Nick Lowe, Johnny Cash and any truly great songwriter will love this music.

Thanks for coming back Sal….don’t ever leave again.

And you: get this disc now.

Who is your Valentino? The Music Nerd Knows….

Be Thankful For What You Are Tiven

Hope you all had a Happy Fourth of July! I sure did, and the resulting recovery from said celebrations have made me once again kinda slow on the draw here in blog-land and I am once again begging you to bear with me as I catch up.

After a few blogs about the genius of soul that is Don Covay, I promised I would hip you to a series of tribute CDs to soul heroes which came out in the early-to-mid-’90’s on the Razor and Tie label and Shanachie Records.

The tributes, one each for Curtis Mayfield, Don Covay and Arthur Alexander, were spearheaded by a rocker with Memphis ties, Jon Tiven. For those who are unfamiliar with the name, Tiven has bumped around the music scene since the late ’60’s but started gaining fame in the mid-’70’s as part of the Big Star axis. Although never in that groundbreaking pop band, Tiven played in other bands with various permutations of the members and also counted among his bandmates and collaborators unsung Memphis pop geniuses (and who I will devote future blogs to) Van Duren and Tommy Hoehn.

Knocking sround Memphis and later New York City, Tiven slowly gained notice as an excellent producer and songwriter, as well as artist in his own right. Many bands and artists have covered Tiven and his bass-playing wife Sally’s songs over the years and current albums by Ellis Hooks, Shemekia Copeland and Frank Black bear evidence of his song-writing ability and producing skills.

Back in the early ’90’s, Tiven started releasing these great tribute CDs featuring a coterie of great performers like Covay, Ron Wood, members of rock band Living Colour, Dave Edmunds, Nick Lowe, Iggy Pop and on and on. Though they are hard to find today, I suggest searching them out if you can. The performances are all top notch and many feature Tiven and his band playing back-up.

I am set to interview Tiven soon and I will flesh out the story behind these tributes in a few weeks but I hope you endeavor to search them out and listen to them. They are possibly the best tribute CDs ever in a world that has way too many of them. The artists taking part are showcased well and the artists being honored couldn’t possibly have their songs lavished with more respect.

Also keep your eyes peeled for any CD with Tiven’s name in the credits. He is a throwback to the days when people cared about music and everything he produces has an authentic feel to it. Whenever I stumble across his name on a CD, I pick it up because I know I am going to like it. He has a great ear for new artists, is a great songwriter and has a cool little recording career going himself. An album on Rounder from the late ’90’s is especially good. Search that out as well.

The Music Nerd knows…..

A-Covay III – Look, Up In The Sky – It’s Superdude!

When last we left mild-mannered funk hero Don Covay, he was languishing in obscurity, off the charts himself but scoring some hits by writing songs for others. He had put out two great but poorly received blues-rock albums under the moniker Jefferson Lemon Blues Band and was scrambling to find a way to get a bonafide hit.

Being a great songwriter, everyone but Covay knew it was just a matter of time before he got back on the charts. Luckily, it happened with his first album back in a soul groove, which he had largely abandoned when he put out his blues rock experiments.

The album came out in 1973 and was called Superdude. It did wonders for Covay’s career. Not only did it give him three singles which hit high on the charts, but it gave him exposure again, exposure he so desperately needed to continue his side career writing hits for others. As so often happens in the pop and rock world, before artists will give you a chance to write and produce for them you have to score some hits for yourself first. Ask Barry Gibb from the BeeGees about all of his increased songwriting and production activity once those disco hits started coming. His career went into overdrive.

Not only did the album do well back then and revive Covay’s career, but it has stood the test of time by being a source of many samples for modern-day hits and being on so many beatheads’ “must-get” lists. Although it is out of print currently, it should only be a matter of time before this Holy Grail of funk is once again available to the general public. Why it hasn’t been reissued yet is a mystery to me.
While Covay has recorded sporadically since (his last album came out in 2002) Superdude has always been known as the nadir of Covay’s career as an artist in his own right. He continued to score a hit every so often with songs he wrote which other artists would cover but the hits from Superdude were to be the last ones he scored under his own name. The album cemented his place as a soul titan for evermore, though, and wherever people enjoy soul music you can bet someone’s stepping up to the mic and getting ready to sing one of Covay’s hits.

Chain-chain-chain….

The next blog will feature a series of tributes to soul stars in which Covay figured heavily as both participant and honoree….

Who do you tribute?

The Music Nerd knows……

A-Covay II – Give Me Some Lemon

When last we left our hero, soulster Don Covay, we had talked a little about his background as a soul artist and had made the point he was way more successful as a songwriter of hits for others than as an artist in his own right. After his circa 1968 gimmick of uniting a bunch of soul stars under the group name The Soul Clan failed to get anything going for his career, Covay scrambled to find something to bring himself back into the public eye.

This frustration with his lack of chart success led Covay to come up with a gimmick to take advantage of the blues revival and all of the white artists (mostly British) making hard core blues albums.

Together with white blues artist John Hammond and Shirelles’ guitarist Joe Richardson (but credited under Covay’s name) he made an album co-credited to the mostly imaginary Jefferson Lemon Blues Band (a play on the name of the famous bluesman Blind Lemon Jefferson and possibly the inspiration for Cheech and Chong’s legendary blues pastiche) called House of Blue Lights which was basically himself and a few friends like Hammond trying to make a deep blues CD. Surprisingly, it is an excellent effort that stands up solidly next to anything Cream, Hendrix, Fleetwood Mac or any other blues-based band was doing at the time.

Sounding like it was recorded at a roadhouse somewhere, Covay’s old-timey hollered vocals add an authetic feel to a record that is basically a concept album Covay was using to draw attention to his flagging career. Standards like Key To The Highway are pitted against Covay originals such as Homemade Love and House of Blue Lights (not the Freddie Slack chestnut) and draw attention to the fact Covay could adapt his writing style and his vocals to just about any genre of music. The key to a great song is how well it can be adapted and over the years Covay’s songs have been proven to be as good as anyone’s.

A song from the album, “Black Woman”, managed to climb up to number 43 on the R&B charts and this small feat encouraged Covay and company to record another Jefferson Lemon Blues Band CD, this time for Janus Records. Called Different Strokes for Different Folks, the album stalled and became another roadblock in Covay’s road to getting a hit.

Eventually Covay did strike pop gold, two years later on his hard-to-find-but-well-worth-looking-for album Superdude, scoring about four medium-sized hits. These two blues albums are the Holy Grail, though, and indie label Sepiatone has recently re-released the first one in an excellent package. Needless to say, the album blew my mind. Haven’t located the second one yet, but I am sure one label will put it out someday. Find it on vinyl if you can.

In the next blog we will talk about the groove-head masterpiece Superdude as well as a great tribute CD to Mr. Covay.

Has Somebody Been Enjoying Your Home?

The Music Nerd Knows…..

A-Covay Part 1

Old school soul has always been one of The Nerd’s favorite kinds of music. The love began as I started to analyze music as a player. As a burgeoning drummer, I immediately fell in love with drummers who could make a groove swing and make people dance. The pyrotechnics of many rock drummers like Keith Moon and John Bonham, although impressive, didn’t really move me much – I was more into Al Jackson, Bernard Purdie and whoever played on the soul records I heard as a child. Their grooves were enormous and sucked me into the soul world.

I remember one of my favorite songs being Chain of Fools by Aretha Franklin. When I finally got the album it was on many years down the line, I saw in the writer’s credits it was written by Don Covay. Although I searched pretty hard for info and albums (this was prte-Internet after all) I could never find anything by him in the “C” section and just assumed he was a studio songwriter and had never put out any albums on his own.

Boy, was I wrong! He has actually put out quite a few discs, all of them decent and some of them great.

Now, when people think of Don Covay….I started that sentence just to see what it would sound like because you and I both know people don’t ever think of Don Covay. You know why? Because radio never plays his songs and labels really haven’t re-issued his output properly despite his being the writer of over 15 gold records.

To be honest, Covay had always had more success as a songwriter than as an artist. His classic ’60’s song “See Saw” has always been his biggest hit and that came relatively early on in his singing and songwriting career. He never stopped trying to hit it big, though, releasing albums and singles with regularity right up until the ’80’s.

His songwriting, on the other hand, made big waves and continues to do so. Everyone from Aretha to Wilson Pickett to The Rolling Stones have covered his songs, making him a go-to guy when soul stars and rock bands were looking for something soulful to cover. You can still find plenty of albums with Covay songs on them, his songs being evergreens that could drive a star up the charts at any time. Though it’s been a while since a Covay song went high up the charts, his songs are so solid the potential is always there to see one of his songs in the top 10.

Still, he always wrote new songs and continued to perform and show up on albums every once in a while. Not many people know it, but Don Covay filled in for Mick Jagger on the Stones’ Dirty Work CD. You see, Mick and Keith Richards had been feuding over Mick’s then upcoming solo album She’s The Boss and neither one of them wanted to see the other in the studio. Covay (and also Bobby Womack) would sing the guide vocals on the Stones songs so Mick could go in to the studio at a later date and lay down his vocals. On certain parts of the CD, especially Harlem Shuffle, you can still hear Covay and Womack in the background, singing their brains out.

I have given you a little background info on Covay because everything I write about this week is going to involve him. I hope to tell you about two little known blues rock albums he put mout in the early ’70’s that show his versatility in the rock arena and also tell you a little about a series of tribute albums done by Jon Tiven on Shanachie Records – one of which is dedicated to Don Covay.

If you can, find some of Covay’s music. It is soulful as hell and immensely heart-felt – each song containing nothing but the truth and a big fat beat to go along with it.

Do you know about Don Covay?

The Music Nerd Knows….and you will too, starting with the next blog.