Underplayed Vinyl: Santana


Although, like many folks , I first became aware of Santana from their stirring performance of their debut-album closer “Soul Sacrifice” at Woodstock, (a movie, BTW, I sat through twice in the movie theater)

(note: brief nudity)

it was the second album, Abraxas that really sold me on the group.
1. Singing Winds, Crying Beasts
2. Black Magic Woman/Gypsy Queen

3. Oye Como Va

4. Incident At Neshabur
5. Se A Cabo
6. Mother’s Daughter
7. Samba Pa Ti

8. Hope You’re Feeling Better
9. El Nicoya

I’ve picked up about a dozen albums by Santana, including Santana III, Caravanserai and Love Devotion Surrender in the 1970s, Zebop! and Havana Moon in the 1980s, and a couple during his commercial resurgence. But none have brought me the unbridled joy of this album.

A couple notes: there are several Santana greatest hits compilations. Do NOT get the 1974 Greatest Hits album, which contains Black Magic Woman WITHOUT the segued Gypsy Queen. It’s like playing the Beatles’ Abbey Road and stopping before “The End”.

While I don’t love the more recent music as I did the earlier stuff, I get the feeling that Carlos Santana, the man, is not only a talented musician but a really decent man, as this interview suggests.

If you happen to be in Austin, TX, tonight, there’s a tribute concert to note Carlos Santana’s 60th birthday.

ROG

ROG

Giving Credit Where Credit Isn’t Due

I canceled a credit card with a $25,000 line of credit this week. It was a card I didn’t use much anyway for which I failed to make a $11.25 payment on time, missing it by a couple days. I was charged a $15 late fee, which is actually LESS than some of the usurious charges on some cards: $25, $29, $35, even $39. The customer service rep was very helpful, but, surprisingly, she did not ask why I was canceling, trying to keep me as a customer, which is usually the case.

Now, my available credit on my cards is only twice my gross income, which is still absurd. (This does not count any credit cards involving my wife.)

I started collecting credit cards in the 1980s. For a while after college, I had none. Then I got one from Sears (first purchase: a clock-radio), which at the time was considered easy to get. Then I’d get any and every card they’d give me, as long as I didn’t have to pay an annual fee. It became a game. More than once, I’d get a card free for six months, then cancel it; as often as not, when I called, they agreed to waive the fee for another year; you can often negotiate with these folks.

But now that I care about things such as credit scores (my most current one was 751, whatever that means), I’ve taken the advice of pieces like this and this and this.

ROG

ROG

July Ramblin’

O.K., I’m finally convinced. I listened to a lengthy (50+ minute) segment of Bill Moyers’ Journal from July 13, with “Constitutional scholar Bruce Fein, who wrote the first article of impeachment against President Bill Clinton, and THE NATION’s John Nichols, author of THE GENIUS OF IMPEACHMENT.” The conservative and the liberal were practically tripping over each other making the case for impeachment of both President Bush and Vice-President Cheney. But it wasn’t to be punitive; it was so that whoever is President on January 20, 2009 won’t feel they have the “monarchist” authority this administration has. They chastise both Congress (the current one as well as the ones since 2001) and the press for not playing their proper roles in the balance of power. The thing that was most helpful for me was their counterpoint to the argument that the country can’t afford another impeachment proceeding after the Clinton one; it appears that the country cannot afford not to.

Interestingly, I read about it first, not in the Huffington Post or even the knowledgeable Mark Evanier. Rather, I saw it first in Steve Gerber’s blog. Gerber is a comic book writer of some note, probably best known by the general public for Howard the Duck, and he wrote the second blog I ever read, after Fred Hembeck’s, and was the final inspiration for me starting my blog less than a month after he started his.

Not so incidentally, Steve’s been having some medical issues; I wish him well.
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Jay Kinney unearths a 1952 T-Man comic that explains the Bush-Cheney policy in the Middle East. (Thanks, Dan.)
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You know how there are people around you, and you don’t even know their names, then they’re gone. Someone on the floor in which I worked died last week. I didn’t recognize the name of Jane Neale, but when I saw the pictures, I said, “Oh, her!” She was always quite pleasant to me. My condolences to her family, friends and colleagues.
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How racism hurts — literally. This was a story in the July 15, 2007 Boston Globe by Madeline Drexler that the Wall Street Journal found important enough to excerpt this week. Essentially, the premise is that dealing with discrimination makes one physically sick.
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Evanier wanted to know whether it was worth saving an L.A.-based Felix the Cat. I say yes; it could become iconic, like Albany’s RCA dog, Nipper.
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Bill Geist is getting a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame next year. I found that very funny because, back in January, he did a story for CBS Sunday Morning exploring what it would take to get on the Walk. He’ll be joining such pikers as actress Angela Bassett, Hemby’s friend Stan Lee[Dec. 28], and the late George Harrison.
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Just How Long Does the Average Baseball Career Last?
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I’m a movie star!
OK, I’m not.
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Every month in which there is a staff birthday, our group has a little party, and this week, we had strawberry shortcake. This led to a conversation about a product called Dream Whip Whipped Topping Mix. Long before Cool Whip, or that stuff in the aerosol can, there was this powdery stuff to which you added milk and whipped. I hadn’t seen it in a while and wondered if it was still being made, and it is, at least in Canada. But what I don’t understand is why it’s available on Amazon (5.2-Ounce Boxes-Pack of 6), “Better Together” with the Pixar movie Cars (Widescreen Edition) DVD.
I also opined that, even as a kid, SpaghettiOs were vile, and this led to a discussion of people defending them. Maybe they’ve changed the formulas, but when I was (trying not to be) eating them, the sauce tasted like watery tomato soup.

ROG

ROG

Play It Again

In my decades listening to music, there have been songs that I’ve purchased on singles where I just had to play it again. Or album cuts where I had to pick up the tone arm and find the track I just played. Or hit the song repeat button on the CD player. Here are some of them; they wouldn’t necessarily be on my list NOW, but there was a time when they most definitely were.

I do need to tell you first, though, why I’m afraid of Kelly Brown. Not only does she have weird thoughts she thinks I’ll know the answers to, while I compiling this list she posted a piece on songs she likes to play repeatedly. SHE’S READING MY MIND! (Or I’m reading hers.)

King Harvest-the Band. From “the brown album”, the second album, it’s the last song on the LP. It’s the vocals and the lyrics: “My horse Jethro, well he went mad.”

Sail On Sailor-the Beach Boys. The first song on the Holland LP. This was released twice as a single, somebody believed so much in it, but it was never more than a moderate hit.

Got to Get You into My Life-the Beatles. I’d play the (US) Revolver album once through this song, then, if my parents weren’t home, play the song again very loudly. This made Tomorrow Never Knows particularly noisy.

Rock Lobster-the B-52’s. The “hook” is in the very beginning. I even like the Yokoesque segment.

I’m Shakin’-the Blasters. Great rockabilly. Only have on vinyl.

Golden Years-David Bowie. Thin White Duke becomes Soul Train worthy. From an LP.

Cannonball-the Breeders. It was loud and infectious. On a 4-song CD.

The Mercy Seat-Johnny Cash. This is a song about an upcoming execution of the protagonist, for a crime he did not commit (maybe). It is the Benmont Tench keyboards on this song, like his keyboards on Johnny’s version of Hurt, that really stand out for me. From the third American Recordings CD.

Love Gone Bad-Chris Clark. I have these Motown CDs of “hard-to-find” hits, and one was this one by a white female artist I had never heard of, certainly one of the earliest ones on the label.

Mustapha Dance-the Clash. Probably from an EP, this is Rock the Casbah with limited vocals.

A Ballata Of Francesco Landini-Judy Collins. Some Italian ballad from about eight centuries ago. Beautiful last song on the first side of the Wildflowers LP.

(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace Love and Understanding?-Elvis Costello. I STILL hear this both as the driving anthem it is and as an a cappella doowop. From a greatest hits CD.

The ’68 Nixon-Denver, Boise and Johnson. A song from a Warner Brothers Loss Leader LP about how the candidate had changed his positions since last time he ran. “He’s more than a candidate; he’s a crowd.” The Denver in this “paid political denouncement” is John Denver; yes, THAT John Denver.

Tell the Truth-Derek and the Dominoes. NOT the version from the Layla album, but the more frenetic version that’s on the Eric Clapton box set.

Celtic Rock-Donovan. The druids are coming. Last song, first side of the Open Road LP.

Takin’ It To the Streets-the Doobie Brothers. The first song I heard with the Michael McDonald vocal. It became a more predictable sound eventually, but when I first heard it, it sounded fresh. From the first greatest hits LP.

Lucky Man-Emerson, Lake and Palmer. Last song on the first album. I used to do a credible simulation of the synth at the end.

I’m In A Different World-the Four Tops. Has a minor chord feel in the verse, major chord in the second half of the chorus. From an LP.

Cuba-the Gibson Brothers. A salsa from a Warner Brothers Loss Leaders LP.

Lonely Avenue -Ian Gillian & Roger Glover. From the Rain Man soundtrack. I put it on a mixed CD for Lefty Brown, who found it “plodding”; obviously, I disagree.

Private Eyes-Hall & Oates. I’m a sucker for hand claps; the Supremes’ Where Did Our Love Go and Neil Young’s Cinnamon Girl could be on this list as well. “Private eyes” (clap) “are wanting you” (clap clap). A guilty pleasure.

Something In 4/4 Time-Daryl Hall. Robert Fripp produced an album called Sacred Songs in 1977, but the label didn’t release it until 1980, fearing that it was “uncommercial.” 4/4 Time is the great hit single that wasn’t. Though the verse and chorus were in regular rhythm, the bridge had interesting triplets an odd time signatures. I wish I had it in digital form.

The Love You Save-the Jackson 5ive. Largely because every vocal, save for Michael’s, was well in my range. It’s mostly Jermaine on the shared vocals, BTW.

Cancer-Joe Jackson. The juxtaposition of the topic “there’s no cure, there’s no answer” with the jaunty, piano-driven tune fascinated me. From side 2 of the LP Night and Day.

Lullabye-Billy Joel. Sad songs say so much. From the River of Dreams CD.

Indiscipline-King Crimson. “I repeat myself when under stress, I repeat myself when under stress…” Tom, my boss at FantaCo, described this song as his description of the store. Last song on the first side of the Discipline LP.

Season Of Hollow Soul-k.d. lang. Very sad, very autumnal song from her pop breakthrough album, Ingenue.

Immigrant Song-Led Zeppelin. I think I liked the third Led Zeppelin LP more than most people. It’s quieter and more reflective. The exception is the first tune, which I’d play once on its own, then again to start the album.

Church-Lyle Lovett. I feel like I’ve BEEN to church after this. The second song from the CD named after the sixth, seventh, and eighth books of the Bible, Joshua Judges Ruth.

No More Tear-Stained Makeup-Martha and the Vandellas. I wish I could find the lyrics to this Smokey Robinson-penned tune on the Internet, because the second verse has a line that’s really a mouthful. On the Watchout LP.

Maybe I’m Amazed-Paul McCartney. A song on the first solo LP as good as anything his old group did.

Well, that’s enough for now. More some other time.

ROG

ROG

From Buffalo to Albany

Mr. Byzantium’s Shores, the guy in the overalls from Buffalo, was generous enough to give, not only me, but a bunch o’ folks five questions. Here they are. I did consider answering with two or three words, but since he seemed to work so hard… Still, in the ALT sections, I’ll give the terse answer.

1. So what’s it like living in Albany and reading other bloggers like myself who gripe about “the folks in Albany”?

See, “Albany” is two things, really: the dysfunctional state government, and the dysfunctional local government. Those of you not from NYS might not be aware of the tiff between Gov. Spitzer and State Senate Majority Leader Bruno; o, that I were one of them. However we’ve come to this place where we’ve long had a difficult time passing a budget on time (though the last one was, shockingly, only a half day late), where the Democratic Assembly and the Republican Senate can pass all the one-house bills they want, because they are inconsequential. The only stuff that DOES get passed is “feel good” stuff.

Now, the city of Albany is a somewhat different animal. For decades, this town was run by a Democratic machine that the original Mayor Daley of Chicago would have envied. We had one mayor, Erastus Corning, for 41 years, until his death in 1983. The progressives have slogged against the empire, even as the current mayor, Jerry Jennings, who ran as a reformer back in 1993, has become more autocratic, with a weak (and by that, I mean structurally) city council. There was a move for reforming the charter that had popular support, yet, through what I can only call chicanery, failed to make it to the ballot.

All of that said, I like Albany. It’s the right-sized town for me. It has some decent mass transport – could be better, but I’ve experienced worse; it has an educated population, due in part to the colleges here and nearby; and it has so much potential to be a lot more.

ALT- It sucks.

2. What made you choose librarianship as a career?

Nothing better to do. This is largely true. I had quit my job at Blue Cross, which I HATED, HATED, HATED, and my friends Jendy, Judy, and Broome, two librarians and a lawyer, all nagged me to go to school. Actually I wrote about this in my second post ever in this blog. It does fit me.

ALT- Boredom.

3. To what extent do you want to slap people upside the head when they suggest that in the day and age of the Internet, public libraries are dispensable luxuries?

I’m a pacifist in action, but I drop 1500-pound boulders on people’s heads mentally when I hear that. In fact, Albany had a vote on funding libraries in February, and some ying-yang said essentially that. I didn’t bother to find his letter, but here’s one response of many; BTW, the budget passed.

ALT- Big time.

4. What’s the strangest request you’ve ever had to field from a library patron (to the extent that you can write about it)?

You know, we get this question all the time, and we never have a ready response. Back in 1993, it was emu and alpaca ranches, but after a few of them, well, maybe they’re not so strange. I suppose what *I* find weird are those requests where somebody doesn’t have a clue what they want, but just want to make lots of money. I find these peculiar, because if you’re going to work 60, 80 hours a week on something, you damn well better love it.

ALT- They’re ALL weird.

5. You’re offered a paid vacation that is to last as long as it takes you to read five books that you’ve always wanted to read but never had the time. What are the books?

I’m going to pick books on the shelves I can see right now; otherwise, I’ll agonize over this.
The Bible, the New Revised Standard Version – I’ve read the King James and the RSV once each.
Personal History by Katherine Graham. She’s interested me at least since Watergate.
Mayor Corning: Albany Icon, Albany Enigma by Paul Grondahl. I’ve read parts of it, but not all the way through. There’s a scene in the book I heard Paul read that I was present at.
The Power of Babel: A Natural History of Language by John McWhorter
The Black New Yorkers: the Schomburg Illustrated History

ALT- YOU choose.

Now, per the social contract, here’s where YOU come in. If you hast a blog, I am supposed to come up with five tailor-made questions for you. If you want me to delve into your heart and soul, let me know by leaving your request in the comments box. Jaq, am I to assume that you want five questions from me?

ROG

ROG
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