Interesting news just in on this subject seems worthy of a re-post. With the recent success of Cadillac Records, Ray and Dreamgirls, it's not surprising that news has broke of an upcoming Jerry Garcia biopic now in development for the big screen.   Let's hope the upcoming film does justice to the larger than life rock and bluegrass American icon and care is taken in telling the story of his early days before he transformed The Grateful Dead into one of rock and roll's legendary bands. Having seen Jerry and the Dead twice and meeting Jerry personally back in 1993, I can say with conviction that the man was probably one of the most "human" rock gods we'll ever see. This is what Bob Dylan had to say upon learning of his death in August 1995: "There’s no way to measure his greatness as a player or a person. I don’t think eulogizing him will do him justice. He was that great–much more than a superb musician with an uncanny ear and dexterity. He is the very spirit personified of whatever is muddy river country at its core and screams up in the spheres. He really had no equal…There are a lot of spaces between the ...

  Overcast skies gave way to an illuminating night of music at the legendary Red Rocks Amphitheatre just west of Denver.  Red Rocks amphitheatre is about 20 minutes due west of downtown Denver and is nestled in a natural park amid the foothills of the Rocky Mountains.  Without a doubt, this is the best outdoor venue I've ever encountered in my 28 years of concerts.    The sight lines were incredible, the natural bowl of this amphitheatre literally carved out of the mountain and hills.  Ample leg and seat room with no confining 'airline' seats were a welcome surprise. Having seen Petty and the Heartbreakers during one of their residency sojourns at the Fillmore in San Francisco back in 1997, I wasn't sure I needed to see the band again.  But, the chance to catch them on the cusp of releasing a new album coupled with the fact that this Red Rocks gig would be the opening night of their new tour, I decided to bite and picked up two tickets in the 10th row with surprising ease on the Ticket Master website.  I had also seen Petty on the Full Moon Fever tour in the cavernous old Chicago Stadium, a muffled and somewhat hazy ...

I'll be the first to admit that I'm a huge fan of the Rumors era line-up but digging deeper into the Mac's catalog is highly recommended . Two forgotten stalwarts of Fleetwood Mac's early 70's lineups include the dandy Bob Welch and guitar virtuoso Bob Weston.  If you like Christie McVie's legendary contributions during the late '70's and early '80's you'll love some of her gems on albums like Penguin, Heroes are Hard to Find and Mystery to Me. Fleetwood Mac Live in 1973 McVie, sorely missed on the two most recent Fleetwood Mac reunion tours, is now retired in the English countryside but her legacy looms large over the long and storied career of the band.  She has, to date, appeared on all but two albums, either as a member or as a session musician.  Any questions about the soul and depth of McVie's compositions and writing skills should be answered with a listen to Mystery To Me's final track, Why.  Hmmm, I'm getting carried away about McVie and I set off to shine some light on Welch and Bob Weston. Here's a 1976 version of Why with Lindsey Buckingham adding some tasteful guitar stylings. Bob Welch was a pure bred Californian who helped to convince Mick Fleetwood and John McVie ...

Bob Mould's first solo album, was composed during the year following the dissolution of Hüsker Dü back in 1988. Released in the spring of 1989, Workbook presented a clear departure for Bob Mould after severing ties with Grant Hart. The album picked up immediate airplay on Modern Rock stations across the country fueled by an infectious bit of jangly Byrd-esque power pop on the single, See A Little Light .  But that song belies the overall mood of the album; closer listening of songs like Wishing Well and Poison Yearswould provide the true spirit Mould set out to document - disgust, despair and catharsis. Poison Yearsslowly builds to a climax as Mould recounts 'poison years that are now just a memory', seemingly clearly referencing the rancorous final year or two that Husker Du trudged through.   Later in the song, Mould states that 'treason is the reason for his poison years' as he slowly adds layers of acoustic and churning electric guitar to the track. Buoyed by an excellent backing band featuring Golden Palominos drummer Anton Fier, Pere Ubu bassist Tony Maimone and cellist Jane Scarpantoni, Mould delivers a career best solo effort out of the gate. Workbook - Bob Mould For all the doom and gloom present in the lyrics, the music and melodies on ...

You call yourself a music lover, music consumer or better yet, a true aficionado? Are you in London or planning a trip there sometime soon? Jaded Londoners need not continue reading but those who have not been to Abbey Road and the famous "zebra crossing" should add it to their itinerary. You see, the famed Abbey Road studios are reportedly up for sale by it's cash-strapped and over-leveraged owner, EMI records. This old Georgian house in north London ranks up there with Graceland, The Whisky A Go Go, Motown's old HQ and Memphis' Sun Studios as 'hallowed ground'. The Beatles recorded 95% of their recorded output here, including the classic Abbey Road album which features the band casually crossing the road in front of the studio during a mid afternoon tea break. Legend has it that the album was set to be titled Everest but the lads couldn't be bothered to travel to the Himalayas for a photo shoot. The iconic album cover was the first not to feature the name of the album or the name of the band. In hindsight, those 7 or 8 photos taken that day seem quaint given today's PR machine world of choreographed photo opps and behind ...

One of them died before he had a chance to get old.  Another died a decadent prototypical rock and roll death at the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas on the eve of their 2002 tour, hot on the heels of their incendiary performance at the Concert for New York. Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey soldier on with help from a brother, the son of a Beatle and others sharing the common cause of continuing to breathe life into a band called The Who.  This  Super Bowl performance proved there is still life and vitality in the now age-less songs that Townshend originally penned decades ago.    Hard to believe it but these guys were also at Woodstock over 40 years ago. Have they aged?  Yes, certainly;  Townshend no longer bounces up and down and smashes his guitar and Daltrey's voice now shows distress on higher registers but these guys can still manage to bring it and deliver a quality performance. Cynics may say this isn't really The Who anymore now that Moon and Entwistle are no longer on the stage and with us.  Others say no, Townshend and Daltrey have every right to  perpetuate the legacy of the band and can still deliver ...

Yes, it's true that Taylor Swift was off key and out of tune during  the Grammys Rhiannon duet with Stevie Nicks.  What's surprising is the  growing backlash against Miss Swift.  Barbs are being thrown in the main stream press citing Swift's weak voice and poor choice of material during last week's performance.  Some are now questioning if  she deserves all of the praise and awards over the past 12 months.  Many are missing the real story behind this flap and fail to recognize a true talent when they see one. Her management have weighed in and are calling Swift the voice of her generation, stressing the unfortunate fact that her live performance at the Grammys was indeed flawed but shouldn't really matter.  Basically, shit happens, especially during live events like the Grammys despite best intentions and many rehearsal hours. The official story from Swift's camp is that the volume levels in her in ear monitors were off which caused her to not hear Nicks and the band,  causing her to harmonize off key and off pitch.  Sounds logical to me.   The funny thing though is that everyone seems to be ignoring other performances from the same night from other artists which ...

1. Jimmy Page.  2. David Evans aka The Edge.  3. Jack White. Those are the three primary reasons why you need to rent It Might Get Loud featuring the interwoven stories of all three and how they came to be uniquely linked forever to the electric guitar and rock and roll. And, there are more reasons which I'll outline below. 4. Headley Grange - This is a mythical place in Led Zeppelin lore and history.  It was here that the band recorded much of Led Zeppelin IV and parts of posthumous albums. Set in the East Hampshire countryside, the film features several scenes in which Jimmy Page returns to the stately home and points to the exact location at the bottom of the entrance stairwell where Bonzo's drum kit was set up for maximum sonic effect.   Page, his white hair in a stylish pony tail,  also strolls the gardens of the estate; the very place where Robert Plant famously remarked that he wrote most of the lyrics to Stairway to Heaven there in one afternoon. 5. Mount Temple Comprehensive School - This is the Dublin high school where Larry Mullin Jr. posted an item on the school bulletin board, seeking band mates to start a ...

Neil showed up with Farm Aid partner Dave Matthews for the Hope for Haiti Now telethon/concert.  They joined together in a stripped down haunting version of Hank Williams' "Alone and Forsaken".  Probably one of the most odd pairings of the evening, this song forced the viewer to pay attention.   It was just one of many remarkable performances, bringing back clear memories of the 9/11 telethon hastily organized in the aftermath of that disaster.  A relentless, selfless performer, Young appeared last night just a day after the death of his long time collaborator and close friend, L.A. Johnson. Alone & Forsaken (Hope for Haiti Now)   Donate Now: 1-877-99-HAITI in US/Canada, or go to www.hopeforhaitinow.org We saw Neil again later that night (although taped earlier) joining Conan on his final Tonight Show, delivering a stellar version of an apropos song, Long May You Run, which originally appeared on 1976's eponymously named Stills-Young Band album.  We'll see more of Neil soon on the upcoming Grammy's and in the Jonathan Demme directed Trunk Show concert film. Neil can always be counted on to show up for friends and important causes, check out his contributions to The Last Waltz--The grand send-off for The Band, his searing version of All Along the Watch Tower for Dylan's Columbia 30th anniversary ...

It's true that good  music can take you back to a certain time and place.  Nick Lowe's album, The Convincer, brings back the autumn of 2001 in Munich for me; an unsettling time that became slightly more settled whenever I put this CD on. Released in Europe in the first week of September 2001, the album snuck up on me and was purchased on a whim one evening after work in a music shop somewhere near the Marienplatz.  I often departed the S-Bahn at the Marienplatz  to stroll through the Viktualienmarkt before making the short walk home to Kanalstrasse for the evening.  It was on one of those jaunts that I found myself purchasing this album. I was faintly familiar with Nick Lowe's back story, kind of an uncle to the angry young men of England's New Wave scenesters - Elvis and Graham particularly.  A songwriter extroadinaire, Lowe had also found success with Rockpile, the rockabilly pub band formed with Dave Edmunds and several classic and sardonic songs incuding What's so funny about Peace, Love and Understanding, I knew the Bride when she used to Rock and Roll and Cruel to be Kind. On this album, Lowe delivers a low key masterpiece, subtly ...