DVD Review: Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers - High Grass Dogs

Considering the age of this DVD, I suppose it is a bit late to be reviewing it now. But then, maybe, like me, you look at it in the shop every time you go in, wondering whether to buy it or not. Hopefully this can help you to make a decision.

I have always really enjoyed Tom Petty’s music. My vinyl collection includes ‘Damn the Torpedoes’, ‘Southern Accents’, ‘Let me up…’ and ‘Pack up the Plantation’. ‘Full Moon Fever’ was, in fact, the first CD I ever owned – a gift from my darling. As mentioned in a previous posting, I believe the ‘Pack up the Plantation’ album to be one of the best live concert documents out there. So I thought – let me try this DVD. It is mostly a collection of newer songs by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and I could get some idea of how good they are.

The packaging is a bit sparse, with not much information given. The audio quality is excellent , although at times I thought that the audience ‘sound’ was mixed down a bit too much, losing that live feel to a degree. The visual quality is also very good with evidence here that very careful planning had taken place. In terms of extras on the DVD, there are none. You can choose between 5.1 surround sound or normal stereo, and there is a menu to select individual songs, but that’s it! My only complaint is the repeated zooming in on Tom's moccasins and Howie Epstein’s boots – what is that all about? This was the last night at a series of Fillmore concerts which allowed the band to settle into the venue, polish their songs, and the director to plan the best visual coverage, and it shows.

I can report that the most recent album’s songs covered are pretty good. Some of the older songs included are ‘Jammin’ Me’ and a set from ‘Full Moon Fever’ such as ‘Free Fallin’’ and ‘Runnin’ Down A Dream’ (old Tom likes his apostrophes). There is a quieter acoustic section in the middle of the DVD that seems to go on for possibly one song too long, but then all is back on track with the Heart-breakers rocking out again including a fairly raucous encore. The band, as ever, do the job with sparkling proficiency. It is no wonder that Bob Dylan waylaid this band once to use as his backing on a tour. My view is that essentially this is a live band – they make all their studio recorded songs sound so much better live. This is why I love ‘Pack up the Plantation’ so much.

There are some funny moments too, where TP fluffs the beginning of ‘Even the losers’ a few times and tries desperately not to laugh for the next few bars once he finally gets it right. I think that Tom must have been watching this when he thought of the name for the DVD.

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers have been described as being ‘so normal they are strange’, and it is this basic unpretentious approach to their music and their performance that draws one in. There are no bombastic theatrics or posturing, and yet most of the full 90 minutes of this DVD go by in a blink of an eye. Leaving you wondering how a band can be so good live. Petty and Mike Campbell trades licks and solos effortlessly and smoothly throughout, with the result being some really enthralling guitar work. My conclusion is that, yes I’m glad I bought the DVD, no mistake there. I will probably never see a band like this live in South Africa and this is certainly the next best thing.

I have heard that there is a new DVD set out that documents the life of Tom Petty over two DVD’s , and then also includes a third live DVD and a live CD, called ‘Runnin’ Down a Dream’. This is definitely on my wish-list!

2008-09-02

Having re-read this a few times, and also watched the DVD a few times more, I have a couple of points to add.

Firstly the visual quality is not that great, but its OK.

Secondly, I never even mentioned the guest appearance of legendary Bo Diddley for a rendition of 'Mona'. This is especially poignant now that the great man has passed away. The whole band was glowing with excitement backing him on the song.

Thirdly, since this recording was made, Howie Epstein has also passed away. The facts behind this are a tragic tale, and while watching the DVD it is really sad to see how much he clearly enjoyed being up there and performing, and then too, how well he complemented Tom Petty on vocals throughout.

Great Song Lyrics Collected

I would like to keep this post running as a collection point for people's favourite or most evocative song lyrics. Please add a comment stating which song lyrics especially appeal to you, and what the reason is. I will constantly update the post with the best comments.

As an example, one of my most favourite phrases in a song (simply for the imagery that it conjures) is Iggy Pop’s ‘Lust for Life’ where he sings ‘…dance like you’re hypnotising chickens…’.

Another of my favourite lyricists is Nick Cave. I’ll provide some more concrete details, but some that immediately come to mind are ‘The Carny’, ‘The Weeping Song’ and ‘When I get home’.

Then for pure fun phrasing and rhyming, I would have to have AC/DC up there at the top of the list. Even some of their less musically brilliant songs are saved by a great turn of phrase and innuendo such as ‘Mistress for Christmas’, ‘Money Talks’ or ‘Big Balls’.

Hopefully this has provided an indication of what I am looking for, please mention the song name, the band, some snippets of the lyrics and why they are important to you.

June 10, 2008

OK I have a comment from 'Bluedaisy' relating to:

The Doors (i.e. Jim Morrison) with 'Child's fragile eggshell mind', pretty cool.

I have come up with a few more too:

Lloyd Cole in 'My Bag' says 'I'm your Yes Man, yes Ma'am I'm your Yes Man' which for some strange reason really appeals to me (the whole song is a roller-coaster of witticisms).

The Hold Steady in 'Party Pit' say '..gonna walk around and drink some more..' which relates to the introspective 'what am I doing at this party' part of me.

Eels in 'Novocaine for the soul' say '... Jesus and His lawyer are coming back..', very clever lyrics indeed.

Keep them coming guys!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Classic albums revisited 2: AC/DC - Back in Black

I clearly remember how I got into AC/DC. I always knew about them, as one of my class-mates in primary school was a big fan. He had the early albums and was always going on about ‘Big Balls’ and ‘Whole Lotta Rosie’. In fact I remember one day when George brought in his record player (the kind in a box whose lid becomes the speaker) so that we could hear some of it. Well to be honest, I was not immediately impressed (probably something to do with the sound quality).

It was only later, in high school, when an exchange teacher from the US took it upon himself to warn us against the dangers of ‘Satanic music’, using AC/DC’s ‘Highway to Hell’ as his prime example (he had spotted it in one of the kids bag). This tirade renewed my interest in the band. Not necessarily due to the satanic link, but rather due to the edginess and rebelliousness I suppose. Needless to say, I really got into ‘Highway to Hell’, and then when ‘Back in Black’ came out I was completely hooked (thank you so much Mr. Waters).

It became a soundtrack to those formative high-school years with the driving hard rock encouraging one to keep going, persist and see the humorous side to the day-to-day drudge. It was our primary party album for a long time.

Recently I bought the CD version in a fit of nostalgia and thought I could provide my insights into how it has held up over the years.

‘Back in Black’ is particularly significant to the band as it was their first album with new lead singer Brian Johnson after the tragic passing away of Bon Scott. They had just achieved spectacular sales and success with the Scott album ‘Highway to Hell’ when he died. The band decided to carry on, and immediately started auditions for a new singer. Within the year the new album was out, and must have been viewed as ‘make-or-break’ by the band. Fortunately it was even bigger than ‘Highway to Hell’. Part a dedication to Scott, part a proving ground for Johnson, and part a proving ground for the rest of the bands abilities, it had a lot to live up to, and it is testimony to the collective band that they managed to pull it off so well. I also believe that this has been their most successful album ever.

Hitting ‘play’ let’s have a look at what we’ve got:

Hells Bells

Whenever I hear bells, anywhere, I am always reminded of this song. A meticulous (although obviously demented too) Quasimodo steps up and starts hammering away at an enormous bell. Then it’s the chiming guitars and the rest is history. In the context of the AC/DC fan-base getting their hands on the new album, putting it on and then getting their first hearing of the new lead singer, this is an excellent showcase.


Shoot To Thrill

These days, I think people are less able to identify the use of similes, metaphors and parodies in songs. This one for example would definitely confuse most people with regards to the message it seems to give.

The music is great Chuck Berry times a 1000 riffing, also echoing some hard hitting types of counter-pointal shots. I love it but then so would Julius Malema.

What Do You Do For Money Honey

Gold-diggers have a special place in rock history, and here AC/DC in their most philanthropic of moods try to warn us about them.

Given the Dog a Bone

Dog lovers to the core, these guys don’t hold back when it comes to some of their very personal revelatory types of experiences. Musically this is probably my least favourite song on the album.

Let me put my love into you

'Let me put my love into you, Babe' pleads the cloth capped Johnson. Showcasing the more sensitive side of the band, this song is also an excellent vehicle for the type of lyrics that never cease to amuse. I am going to be starting a post next whereby I gather my, and my readers favourite lyrics to songs, and this may well be on there. They don’t ever say ‘please’, but at least they are asking for permission! I love Angus’ guitar work on this track, especially during the ‘don’t you struggle, don’t you fight, cause it’s your turn tonight’ part, his guitar solos breaking down into manic giggles.

Back in Black

Hmm – I can still recite the lyrics word for word even after 20 years. That’s either very embarrassing or else proof that the human brain is capable of phenomenal feats. Although I must confess that I have listened to it pretty regularly over those 20 years. Who knew that ‘Back’ can be pronounced with 4 syllables?

You Shook Me All Night Long

This is one of my favourite tracks of all time. Another one whose lyrics I can recite word for word. Come to think of it, I think that we always used to play side 2 before side 1 in those good old vinyl days. I think that this song was key in defining my vision of the perfect woman (sad I know, how wrong I was). The guitar solo on this song is still as fresh and original as ever. If you believe in the ‘Pick of Destiny’, this solo would seem to prove the legend.

Have a Drink On Me

Seen as the tribute song to Bon Scott who died after a heavy night of drinking, I find the lyrics a little below what the guys have consistently proven themselves capable of. However it has always been a great song for playing at the heart of some hard partying, often leading to the arrival of a fresh round, so it can’t be all wrong.

Shake a leg

Another track from the band that makes it feel alright to be a guy. Can be interpreted as a call to some rampant head-banging (‘shake your head’), but obviously is not. This is a slower paced song that is still energetic and hard-hitting musically. The actual sound that the band managed to capture in this song is everything that is great about AC/DC – the guitar tones, the thundering drums and Brian’s seemingly shredded vocal chords.


Rock and Roll Ain’t Noise Pollution

Proving that the band has always had a strong leaning towards environmental awareness, here they tackle some pretty weighty subject matter. In it they also prophetically predict the overall fortune of the band. It’s really uncanny listening to it 28 years later. It’s a great way to end the album and also alerts us to the possibility of pronouncing ‘Rock’ using 3 syllables. If you close your eyes and listen very carefully you can hear that Angus is smiling all the way through this song.


Well, in review, it is amazing how well this album has stood the test of time. Sure it does not sound as ‘heavy’ as it did in the day, but if anything this is a good thing. The band owes a lot to Chuck Berry, and considering this, I suppose that Mr. Berry sounded pretty ‘heavy’ when he first came out. The lyrics are still fresh and entertaining although ‘Have a Drink On Me’ does start to sound a bit dated, and Angus Young’s guitar work still far surpasses what most guitarists are capable of to this day. Anyway, I’m off to gain a better understanding of what ‘American thighs’ are…….

CD Review: Breeders - Battle mountain

What with the recent spate of power outages that have seemed to affect my street only lately, and the fact that I have been out of the country for a week, my music blogging has suffered a bit. As a travel tip, I can say that when landing in Rome it is not advised to speak to anybody about taxi’s while still in the terminal – you get whisked away to unscrupulous taxi services who then charge the earth. Go outside to the official taxi rank, choose a taxi that looks official, and expect to pay about 40 Euros to get from the airport to the city centre of Rome.



Now, on to the CD Review!

My first impression of this album is that it is Lo-Fi. Meaning that things are stripped pretty much to the bone. It sounds like the Breeders are using old and worn out guitars, drums, amps, tape, bass guitars and Kim Deal’s lungs. Not that this is a bad thing, if the songs are strong.

When the Pixies reunited in 2004 I was a little worried. No matter how much one wants more and more of a good thing – in this case a new Pixies album, there is a lot to be said for quitting while you are winning too. My worrying caused me to avidly scan every little snippet I could find to try to determine whether they were recording again, and if so how it was going. In the end they only managed a couple of songs, which I have not heard as I have never managed to figure out Itunes (they don’t seem to service South Africa), which was the only place that they were released. At the time Frank Black commented that they had had problems getting Kim out of her house and into a recording environment. As always there was probably more to the situation than meets the eye, because she has clearly been channelling energy into the Breeders.

Battle Mountain is an album that I believe belongs in a context. It does not play that well in my car where the low-end is lost to the rumblings of the road (and most of the album is pretty much low-end). You can’t play it with the kids around as they consider it boring, and you probably could not play it with guests around as it might be considered too gloomy/moody. So my dilemma is that it sounds like a good album and what I hear I like, but in my natural surroundings the response to it by the co-inhabitants is cool (a bit like Grinderman’s excellent offering). So maybe the context for the album is sneaking off to a nice quiet place with a pair of good head-phones!

Let me try that out before continuing with the review……

Hmmm, this only goes to show how dangerous first impressions can be. The album is definitely fairly low-key in the sense of an un-hurried and simplified type of offering. But that does not mean it is not exciting. There are great songs on this album, my favourite being ‘Istanbul’ which displays how to create something that is complex and fun with a minimum of technology. The single ‘We’re Gonna Rise’ is also strong, while ‘It’s the Love’ is another strong favourite of mine.

This is also one track in German and one in Spanish, I have no idea what they are about, but I really like the German one. All the way through the bass playing is really good.

Listening to this album reminds me of bands like The Breeders (Doh!), Pixies (Doh!), PJ Harvey (not a band I know), and Throwing Muses. If you like these bands, and want some music that comes across as warm and cosy, you will enjoy this album.

CD Review: Eels – Useless Trinkets B - Sides, Soundtracks, Rarities and Unreleased

Compilations of B-sides can be a risky purchase if there is not some underlying level of consistent talent relating to the band or artist concerned.

I have always been more of an album guy, buying an album rather than a single with the view that singles are generally the tip of the ice-berg and one needs to assess the artists entire offering before coming to hasty conclusions.

What this tends to mean though, is that I generally snap up B side and rarity compilations of bands as it is generally guaranteed that I would not have heard the songs before.

Some of my favourite albums are thus The Pixies’ ‘B sides’ and Nick Caves ‘B sides and rarities’. Nick Cave’s offering is a sheer extravaganza, sprawling over three CD’s, containing one highlight after the next. It drives home everything that can be good about this type of compilation, such as finally getting versions of songs that have only appeared on movie soundtracks, or getting a glimpse of the artist when they are just relaxing and having some fun in the studio. Often these types of compilations include cover versions, which provide further insights into a band or artist with regards to their influences. Further, these compilations also often include stripped down or reworked versions of well known songs, which also provides food for thought where the listener can imagine how things are probably turning out in a parallel universe (I could not resist this ‘Eels type reference’). All in all compilations like this are normally the best way to really get to know a band.

Back to the Eels though and I must state up front that they have been one of my favourite bands for a very long time. The main member of the Eels is an individual known as E (His real name is Mark Everett, but he had two childhood friends who were also called Mark so they started using surnames, eventually shortening them to initials only). Oddly enough I missed the whole ‘Beautiful Freak’ period (their debut album) and only became aware of them through their next album ‘Electro-shock blues’ which created a huge positive impression on me. Since then I have been following their progress pretty closely and therefore became aware of the dual releases in 2008 of both a Greatest Hits and the B sides and rarities compilation. I have not checked out the greatest hits album yet as they are both very expensive in South Africa, and my thinking was that I probably have most of those songs. Therefore I decided to spend my hard-earned cash on the rarities album. Expensive though it is, I must point out that it consists of two CD’s and a DVD, as well as a fairly substantial set of liner notes with entries by E himself. Each CD has 25 songs on it with the DVD containing six songs too, so that totals to 56 songs by the Eels that I have not owned before.

Justification I suppose, unless they are all throw-away junk songs…..

But let me start with the DVD. The DVD contains six songs from the Eels’ 2006 Lollapalooza performance. As I understand it, the live Eels band can take on many configurations, this one being pretty stripped down with only 4 people on stage. However, the performances are satisfyingly off-beat and fun with my favourite being a great version of their early song ‘Not Ready Yet’ which includes an extended jam with E handing over his guitar to the 'security' guy at one stage to carry on with the riffing. Sound and image quality are good and the only complaint I have is that the six songs are over too soon.

Next are the CD’s. After three listens, I can report that there are no tracks that have me reaching for the skip button. That in itself is saying something about the consistency of this compilation considering that there are 50 tracks. There are great live and alternative versions of familiar songs such as ‘Novocaine for the soul’, ‘I Like Birds’, ‘My Beloved Monster’, and ‘Hospital food’ to name a few. Then there are some really weird offerings such as ‘Waltz of the Naked Clowns’ and ‘Jelly Dancers’. The firm favourite for now is the Moog Cookbook remix of ‘Novocaine For The Soul’. Also worth a mention is the fact that this compilation includes two covers of Prince songs, which one would not naturally associate as an influence on the Eels, but it all makes sense now (both actually coming from the same album ‘Sign O the Times’). But then who can be impervious to the influence of the Royal Purple Funkmaster?

Overall there is never a dull moment on this set of CD’s and as I hoped, it really does provide some deeper insight into E (I think it is time to order his autobiography from Amazon). They remain one of my favourite bands and hopefully there is a lot more where this comes from (I wonder if I should try to send a note to E warning him of the hazards of smoking those huge cigars he often pictured enjoying before he splutters out).

CD Review: Lucky Dube - The Best of Lucky Dube

Over the years, I have been privileged enough to witness some brilliant South African music live.

Having recently purchased the Lucky Dube – 'The Best Of' CD, I was struck by a big dose of nostalgia. I have been fortunate enough to witness live performances from seminal bands such as Sakhile, Stimela and Juluka. In fact, Sakhile’s show was the only time I have experienced my hair standing on end as a result of the collective band member’s musical virtuosity. Over the years I have been fortunate enough to see myriad bands come, some stay and others go, some brilliant and some rather average. I have been to concerts by Hotline where a young PJ Powers belted out Led Zeppelin covers accompanied by an awesome Alistair Coakley. I have seen Brenda and the Big Dudes dole out the soulful and funky, and then also witnessed the rise and (in some cases) fall of bands such as No Friends of Harry, Cinema, The Helicopters, Little Sister, Psycho Reptiles, Petit Cheval, Tananas, Dog detachment, Tribe after tribe, Seether (as Saron Gas), Wonderboom, Prime Circle, Henry Ate, the list goes on and on. Some were really good, other just OK and others really bad. What bothers me though is the lack of continuity and permanence of good bands and artists in South Africa. I think that there are probably numerous and complicated reasons for this (one being that people don’t go out and buy their albums), but what is sad is that we have this problem at all.

So it is even sadder when we have such seriously talented artists like Lucky Dube, who has been a relatively successful counterpoint to the inconsistency by becoming hugely popular throughout the world, and especially Africa, and releasing album after album of quality reggae music, who are cut down in their prime by mindless criminals. He has not been the only one, sadly there is a long list of highly talented musicians who have lost their lives to crime in South Africa.

It only takes one listen to this CD to realise that here was a hugely talented individual, surrounded by an extremely talented set of musicians, producing quality music time after time. The reasons for his continuous success is also obvious when you listen to the songs and realise just how good the musicians were, how much care was taken with the production of the songs and how much thought went into his lyrics. These songs are so much a part of South Africa’s radio airwaves that it is hard to understand why some of Dube’s underlying messages of Peace and Social Consciousness have not seeped into our ailing national psyche. Every home should have a copy of this CD, play it loud in your home and in your car, quote the lyrics to each other so that hopefully this contributes to South Africa becoming the beautiful nation that we all want so badly.

CD Review: Shack - Time Machine The Best of Shack

Shack is a band that everybody should know about, but they probably don’t. Consisting mainly of Michael and John Head, brothers from Liverpool, the rest of the line-up has kept changing over the years. Members trace their roots back to The Pale Fountains and The Strands. Read about them on Wikipedia here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shack_%28Band%29 The Head brothers apparently have a bit of an obsession with Arthur Lee and the band Love that comes through in their own writing. In fact when Arthur Lee visited the UK they performed the role of his backing band.

Shack consistently produces quality albums that contain beautiful songs. More often than not, these songs are about everyday occurrences with the skill of the Head brothers being that of holding up a mirror for their listeners to use to look at themselves. My first experience of Shack was when I got hold of the ‘HMS Fable’ album. This album on its own should convert anybody into a Shack fan. Each and every song is a killer. Michael and John, on Vocals/Rhythm and Vocals/Lead respectively, sing and strum away in some of the most evocative songs I had heard for a long time. My favourite song on this album is ‘Daniella’ which I don’t think is the obvious choice but really appeals to me. I next got the album ‘The corner of Miles and Gil’, although ‘Here’s Tom with the weather’ came out between these two albums, which in my view was not as good as ‘Fable’, but still a very strong offering.

Next for me has been ‘Time Machine’: the to-date Best Of offering. As with most Greatest Hits compilations, there is always going to be some debate as to which songs make it onto the CD (I for one cannot understand how Neil Young could release a single CD Greatest Hits compilation, he has enough hits to fill at least 3 CD’s). I think that in Shack’s case, this can be even more heated than usual. This is because their songs work on such a personal level, meaning different things to different people. I just love the track ‘Cup of Tea’.

As always, as it is a ‘Best Of’ compilation, one has to view the offering in terms of completeness as well. In other words, if viewed as a ‘Time Machine’ it must include tracks from all stages of their career in order to be able to transport the listener back in time. From this perspective this is an excellent collection that enables the listener to hear the evolution of the band as they grow from strength to strength. This is not to say that the earlier tracks are not good – they are indeed very good. What changes though is the production quality and the growing use of other elements to further enhance their sounds, such as a strings section (maybe what changed was the budget available to the band when entering the recording studio).

The two songs on here that are most recent do not come from any of the already released albums, and therefore could be seen as providing a view into what is still to come from this great band. I must admit, while they are not bad songs, they do seem a bit too conventional in my view.

Overall, this is a nice snapshot of a very good band that manages to help the listener to identify the beauty in their everyday surroundings. The songs always leave me with my mood improved and uplifted. The message from the band seems to be that: no matter what terrible things happen in your life there is also a lot of beauty around if you look hard enough. If you like this their other albums are sure to blow your mind, I recommend ‘HMS Fable’ first and then move on from there, you will not be disappointed.