Tag: blues rock

620. JD McPherson

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(December 2024) Episode 620 is JD McPHERSON. I first heard him through his song “Lucky Penny” from the excellent soundtrack to the stellar TV show Reservation Dogs (McPherson is from Oklahoma where the show is based). That song is fuzzier/grittier than most of the rest but was a good entry point. Overall, his stuff is in the rockabilly/country blues/roots space; a close analog is the Black Keys (of course, McPherson has collaborated with Dan Auerbach). It’s retro in temperament but not in imitation; the songs are fresh and original in their homage. For example, his Christmas album is all original songs, no covers. On paper I would not normally be drawn to this music but I’m glad I was.

Favorite album: Undivided Heart & Soul

Favorite song: Lucky Penny

Compared to expectations: ↑

Recommendation: His first album Signs and Signifiers is mostly rockabilly and will appeal to semioticians; each subsequent album broadens its scope a bit. All are enjoyable.

525. Cactus

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(September 2023) Episode 525 is CACTUS, a blues-and boogie-rock band from the early 70s that began as a deferred collaboration with Jeff Beck and comprised members of Vanilla Fudge and the Amboy Dukes. While boogie-rock bores me quickly, I took an interest in Cactus because their sound is heavy, accentuated by the singer’s gravelly vocals. But this is not ground-breaking material. They regrouped in later decades for three albums of forgettable bar band music.

Favorite album: Cactus

Favorite song: Let Me Swim

Compared to expectations: ↓

Recommendation: For those exploring deep cuts only.

456. Jorma Kaukonen and Hot Tuna

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(December 2022) Episode 456 is JORMA KAUKONEN and HOT TUNA. Jorma has been my favorite member of Jefferson Airplane for his finger-picking guitar style (on JA songs “Embryonic Journey” and “Third Week on the Chelsea” and his solo album “Quah”) and his amiable singing voice. Most of his albums are in the folk/blues/Americana vein and enjoyable, while the pop ones, not so much. Hot Tuna started out as a blues-rock JA side gig with bassist Jack Casady and has endured through five decades of touring, also generally enjoyable.

Favorite solo album: Quah

Favorite solo song: Genesis

Favorite Hot Tuna album: America’s Choice

Favorite Hot Tuna song: Keep Your Lamps Trimmed and Burning

Compared to expectations: same

Recommendation: if you like finger-style guitar as I do, you’ll like Jorma

417. Jeff Beck

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(June 2022) Episode 417 is JEFF BECK. One of the three Gods of Guitar to emerge from the Yardbirds, he did not earn the same fame as Page or Clapton. This may be due to an idiosyncratic, haphazard output that veered in style from blues rock to jazz fusion, pop rock, rockabilly and modern rock, all of which provided platform for his guitar chops. His musical legacy, though, comes from the first two albums, with Rod Stewart and Ronnie Wood, which laid the foundation for heavy metal and blues rock, and gave us some classic rock staples.  And of course from his much-admired innovations and talents on the six strings.

Favourite album: Truth

Favourite song: Beck’s Bolero

Compared to expectations: ↓

Recommendation: mostly for guitar-o-philes

381. Bonnie Raitt

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(January 2022) Episode 381 is BONNIE RAITT. I don’t think anybody can dislike Bonnie Raitt. Her bluesy/soulful voice and slidey guitar make a wholesome blend of blues/rock/roots music. But it can also be kinda basic. The albums from her mainstream success years are my least favorite, and I like her later, more atmospheric and introspective, recordings the best.

Favorite album: Slipstream

Favorite song: God Was In The Water

Compared to expectations: same

Recommendation: enjoyable but it does not challenge you

294. ZZ Top

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Episode 294 is ZZ TOP. There are tons of boogie-blues bands out there, but none finer than ZZ Top, who stand out with their tight, top-notch musicianship, wry lyrics and proclivity for funky grooves. While their 80s synth- and gated drum-laden songs and videos were their height of popularity, I prefer the Texas BBQ-drenched 70s classics we grew up on, like “Cheap Sunglasses.”  I still chuckle that Frank Beard is the only member without a beard.

Favorite album: Tres Hombres

Favorite song: La Grange

Compared to expectations: same

Best inside-album cover ever:

292. Chuck Berry

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Episode 292 is CHUCK BERRY. Of the Founders of Rock ‘n Roll, he is the most important. He cemented the guitar as its primary idiom, not only for the intro and the solo, but as an essential lyrical element on par with voice (see: “School Days”).  Plus, his antics and teen-focused, innuendo-filled lyrics set the form and attitude of rock.  Like his fellow Founders, his early hits are the essential stuff, and the subsequent albums are largely redundant, unless you really love old-timey rock ‘n roll. But to his credit, he never departed from his commitment to it (as in, he never had a disco phase). 

Favorite album: Chuck Berry Is On Top

Favorite song: Johnny B. Goode

Compared to expectations: same

223. The Black Keys

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(July 2019) Episode 223 of my “opus project” is the BLACK KEYS. I find their initial southern-fried (although they’re from Ohio), bluesy garage rock better in concept than execution due to Dan Auerbach’s reliance on monotonous, laconic vocals. But for me, they pick it up starting with Attack & Release (thanks, Danger Mouse) with a diversified approach and instrumentation. Black Keys satisfies.

Favorite album: El Camino

Favorite song: Gold on the Ceiling

Compared to expectations: same

The_Black_Keys_El_Camino_Album_Cover

162. The Allman Brothers

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I have completed episode 162 of my “opus project,” in which I listen to a band’s full discography. This edition: THE ALLMAN BROTHERS. They didn’t invent Southern Rock*, but they pretty much defined it (see Midnight Rider and Blue Sky). A always enjoy the fret and slide work of Dickey and Duane. Their output after the 1970s often resembled little more than talent-rich bar band.

Favorite album: Idlewild South

Favorite song: Jessica

Favorite period: 1969-72

Compared to expectations: same

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* Gregg Allman once made an astute comment that “Southern rock” was a redundant term, like “rock rock.”

119. Fleetwood Mac

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(April 2017) I have completed episode 119 of my “opus project,” in which I listen to a band’s full discography. This edition: FLEETWOOD MAC. Remember that they put out eight albums before becoming the Gods of Soft Rock after Buckingham and Nicks joined, first as a pure blues band, then blues-rock, then early-70s pop rock.  The Rumours album is remarkable: 9 of the 11 tracks got radio play from what my ears tell me.

Favourite album: Rumours

Favourite song: Oh Well

Worst album: Time

Special sauce: Christine McVie

Compared to expectations: same

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