They Were Better When They Weren’t So Good

I held off a long time in getting this, afraid that at the end of the day, I’d consider it overrated.  But then

I’d keep hearing how Radiohead’s first great album was not their third OK Computer, but rather their

second.  And I’ve always been a sucker for the old they were better before they got real famous line.

Radiohead: The Bends

Alas, I was listening to it around the same time I was playing a lot of Aretha Franklin, and well, it’s a matter of (Radio’s) head vs (Aretha’s) heart.  The Brits didn’t fare well in the comparison.  Plus, I'm not convinced they outdo Aretha in the head department, either.

It may have been my mid-year anti-music funk, but even though the three(!) guitars sounded good - clear, chiming, echoey and very sharp when necessary - and Thom Yorke's voice is pretty - I find it to be that kind of near-great album that I'd normally rush to put on, but that is actually kind of boring.

Being the pre-Ok Computer - and slightly less pretentious - Radiohead, the tunes keep coming and it’s certainly less cluttered, But I’ve concluded I like them better pretentious and cluttered.

So why am I not loving it? Why am I not rushing to put it on? And when I put it on, why does my mind wander so easily?  

Well, the two pretty songs are good but utterly predictable. And the loud ones are kind of there. I can’t make out any of the words and haven’t had the slightest interest in looking them up.

In other words I have no good explanation why an album loved by many is doing (next to) nothing for me.

But finally, after about six months there are a couple of songs that are getting stuck in my head. It turns out to be pretty good painting the house music. Not enough to make me want to paint more, though.

So, it’s the end of the day, while I’m not in love with it, I still hold out hope, and can understand why some people are.

B+

“Sulk”

Aretha Five: The Thrill is Back

In the early seventies everyone got to make a live album, so why not Aretha?  

Live at the Fillmore West

Luckily for us, it’s not your usual run through of inferior versions of hits.

If I’m hearing it right, she seems to be playing for a largely white crowd and is not sure they’re going to like what they hear. So she hedges her bets by using most of “side one” (you know what a “side one” is, don’t you?) for covers of popular songs of the day before getting to her own songs.

And, for me now, it works. It might not have then, though. I was a stickler for faithful versions of cover songs. Especially the melodies. And that’s not how Aretha rolls. For her, feelings come first.

And now after hearing “Love the One You’re With”, “Make it With You”, “Bridge Over Troubled Waters” and “Eleanor Rigby” thousands of times, I can stand a change. And change them, she does, in the best possible way. I wanted to hate these versions, but now after her “Bridge” I’ll live if I never hear Art Garfunkel’s voice again.

Having a great band - courtesy of King Curtis - helps.

The vocals on this record are amazing. Duh. But coming from a rock and roll fan all too often  disappointed by live performances, I can say that she sounds even better here.

And while I typically discount the crowd noises on a live album, here they’re so into it, it adds to the fun.

“Respect” is speeded up just to get the show off on the right foot, “Dr Feelgood” is slowed down to, um, get everyone in the mood, and “Spirit in the Dark” has Ray Charles.

She and Ray spend too much time on “Spirit”. It’s a single record and space is precious. Another couple of songs could have fit. Ah, but what’s a live album without one song dragged out?  

And in this way, all live albums suffer from the “you’re not really there” syndrome and one tends to enjoy them slightly less because of it. And since they almost always have songs you already know, you’re less likely to go back to them.

So, as entertaining as this record is, it's not quite essential. 

But it's very entertaining, and by the end Aretha herself seems surprised at the reception she gets.

B+

"Bridge Over Troubled Waters"

Aretha Four: After the Thrill is Gone

It’s the turn of the decade (1970) and Aretha, while doing fine on the soul charts, has her string of of pop smashes are a year or two behind her.

So what does a singing phenomenon (an overused word, but no more apt than here) do next? Get down to work on some new music. Pure and simple.

Spirit in the Dark

Instead of the bright colors of prior album covers, this one’s grainy black and white. And instead of Aretha all done up or dressed to the nines, here I can’t even see any makeup.

As for the music, the first thing I notice is the sorrow of the opening track - “Don’t Play That Song”, which I’m ashamed to say I was unfamiliar with. (Not Mrs. Jaybee, though. She seems to know everything. She just doesn’t blog about it. Don’t tell her I said that.)

It isn’t overwhelming, like “Respect” or “Natural Woman”, Just emotional in the best sense. That wonderful  gospel piano (which Aretha plays herself) is the key to it all. As sad as this tale of heartbreak is, you’re uplifted and singing along by the end.

“The Thrill is Gone” is even bluesier than B.B. King’s version.  Aretha’s batting average on covers remains high! (Ah, but is it a cover? She actually recorded it around the same time as BB.) All she’s missing is his guitar.

“Pullin’” is mid-tempo, piano-based gospel-soul, with great backup vocals. It’s very representative of the album overall.

And it’s here that the strategy of this album becomes clear. Aretha’s no longer interested in blowing the roof off your house, She prefers to just fill it with joy. Which means she’s dropped the volume a bit, leaning more on gospel than soul this time. 

Aretha is now "making an album" as opposed to recording a bunch of songs that may or may not end up together on the same record. She’s aiming to making every cut count and almost succeeds.

“You and Me” is slow, lovely pop-soul (no, she’s not done with soul). “Honestly I Do” is slow and bluesy but a bit forgettable.

The title song is anything but. But again, the goal isn’t to overpower you, but to sweep you along. And it works brilliantly.

“When the Battle is Over” is rock and roll, pure and simple.

The remainder of the record gets back to mid-tempo piano-driven gospel-ish soul. These cuts are not quite on the level of the first half of the record, but I feel like I’m just getting to know them.

She finishes up with her cover of “Why I Sing the Blues” and again she rivals the original.

So how does this record stand up against the classics?

Not knowing any of the songs on a record ahead of time can actually be an advantage for me, because I’m hearing the whole thing fresh, from start to finish. In that respect this is my favorite Aretha album because all the pleasures are brand new.

And Aretha proves (not that she needed to) that she’s in it for the long haul.

A-

“Spirit in the Dark”

Aretha Three: Then

I’m still going through this $10 embarrassment of riches and get to...

Aretha Now

There are no masterpieces here like “Respect”, from I Never Loved a Man… or “Natural Woman” from Lady Soul, but while the peaks aren’t as high the valleys aren’t as low, either.

It kicks off smartly with “Think”, which should probably end in an exclamation point. Her version of “Say a Little Prayer” beats Dionne Warwick’s. And “The Night Time Is the Right Time” is just about as good as Ray Charles’.  (But do hunt down the Creedence version with that bitchin’ electric guitar.) And maybe I’m just not keeping up with the (past) times, but I like her “You Send Me” more than Sam Cooke’s!

Things keep moving briskly almost to the end when the material dries up. Although she sings so well you might not notice.

This is her third record, squeezed out in the space of a year and barely a half hour long. I can’t really blame Atlantic for cashing in on her sudden fame.  Aretha’s Gold takes the cream of this and the other two records and thus ends up as one of the great Greatest Hits records ever. Not that I’m sorry I drilled down here...

And the fact that it’s the most unfamiliar one to me (so far) I'm liking it more than I probably should. So it's really only the third best of the three. To which I say, So Freakin' What?

B+

"I'll Say a Little Prayer"

Aretha Two: And the Title Goes To...

Lady Soul

Such was the impact of I Never Loved a Man… that no one batted an eye at the title of this follow up album.

After the white hot vocals of I Never Loved a Man… she dials it back ever so slightly here. The rhythms are dialed back a bit, too. Not a problem. If anything she might be even more focused, and the band really cooks.

The material, though, is slightly weaker. (The best songs lead off and end each side (if you remember what a “side” is, that is) I think she senses this. Yet she doesn’t overplay her hand by oversinging. Pretty smart, if you ask me.

Her covers compete with the originals: I think I prefer her version of “Money Won’t Change You” to James Brown (but I’ve still got that mountain to climb). “People Get Ready” is fine but not quite on the level of the Impressions.  “Come Back Baby” is up there with Ray Charles’ (and let’s not forget Hot Tuna’s!). “Groovin” is okay but I’m not sure it gives her room to add much to it.

Of course “Natural Woman” is one of the greatest pop songs ever recorded (Thank you again Carole King!) with a an utterly transcendent bridge (starting at 1:45) and perhaps the greatest use of strings on a pop record ever.  A great to be alive record.

“Since You’ve Been Gone” is just So. Damned. Insistent. Whew, I need to sit down.

And there's little old Eric Clapton showing up as a guest on “Good As I Am To You”, but you could easily miss it because of how Aretha wails. Who’s the idiot who said she was dialing it back?

The closer, “Ain’t No Way” tries to match this intensity of “Natural Woman”, and actually has a better vocal, but the song itself comes up short, but that just means instead of it being great it’s merely damned good.

As is the album overall. So I give the edge to I Never Loved a Man…, which is a little more consistent and has more songs. But if you want to be entertained, and amazed by that voice, and you can’t find your copy of that record, this one will do just fine.

B+

“Natural Woman”

Record Store Day, Part Two: Respect

So I left Other Music with every intention of meeting up with Mrs. Jaybee - who was waiting for me a few blocks down at Barnes and Noble - but walked right in the middle of a street fair, where the record racks exert a gravitational pull on you, by which I mean me.

I managed to escape but not before wasting about at least fifteen minutes. (I thought it was five, but have since learned that 5 minutes of record store time is 15 in real time. I know, it wasn’t technically a record store, but somehow the same time/space rules applied.)

So then off to Barnes and Noble where - after a dozen visits without buying a single book (library lurker and cheapskate that I am) - I realized that they have a record section! And I had gift cards!

Which is where I got five Aretha Franklin albums. I know, it sounds like a real gluttony thing to do, but in this case I think it was the right way to go.

It was a five pack that somehow got marked down from $30 to $10(!). And while Aretha’s Gold covers a lot of this territory, it’s on vinyl way down in the basement. Here was a chance to give my knees a rest, and to give this major artist her due.

I’ve always been very intimidated by soul music. When I was a kid I saw a documentary about Aretha Franklin, and was taken aback by how all of these African Americans loved this woman who (I thought) only had that one hit, and who didn’t seem to need the Beatles at all.

And there was such pride and gusto in the music.  Back then, I was uncomfortable with African Americans being anything but meek and quiet. But there Aretha was, commanding the stage.

I’d eventually learn more about Aretha and other soul artists, but usually by reading interviews with Eric Clapton and Duane Allman, whose Anthology opened my eyes to all of these music makers I was not hearing, but who my heroes nevertheless played with and worshiped.

The best I would be able to manage over the years was to sample around the edges by getting Best-ofs and such by Wilson Pickett, Otis Redding and, of course, James Brown..

Now I had a chance to dig a little deeper.

So let’s start with her Atlantic debut.



I’ve Never Loved a Man The Way I Loved You

Sometimes you hear something you’ve heard a million times before, but get to hear it  like it’s for the first time again. Imagine walking around telling people what a great movie The Godfather is. The response is, “Well, yeah.”  You end up belaboring the obvious. So forgive me for telly you how great a record -  “Respect” is. An impossible record, really. Especially if you’ve heard the Otis Redding original. With this one song, Aretha announces herself as the greatest popular singer of the era.

Of course, Aretha had been making records for years before this, but they were mainly blues and gospel. Now, she was leaping into the mainstream. Or was she dragging it back over to her?

“Respect” is followed by an excellent version of “Drown in My Own Tears”. Then the title song - which is one of the most potent soul songs ever.

“Dr. Feelgood” is about her primary care provider. And how.

I’m learning to hear that the B in R&B really is for Blues, which you can hear loud and clear in these songs. It just gets called Soul.

Except for “Save Me”, which is flat out rock and roll.

And her version of “A Change is Gonna Come” is almost as good as Otis Redding's. (I don’t know if he would have been able to deal with her topping him twice on the same album.)

Like a lot of albums from the era, not every track is a classic, but that’s also part of its appeal, hearing it so many years later. You get some classics surrounded by songs you never heard before but that are nonetheless delightful thanks to that great voice.

A-

“Dr. Feelgood”


More Aretha Later

Record Store Day, Part One: Drone Missives

It’s statement to my inability to be in the moment that I’m only getting around to Record Store Day - held back in April - here in mid-August. I’d say it was because I had a life, but you already know I don’t.

It was a beautiful spring day, but I waited on line like all the other nerds for the right to spend time in a small dank crowded space. After twenty minutes or so, that right was granted by the nice young man at the door, and I did my best to maneuver between the aisles without being noticed and pegged as someone’s dad.

I typically visit Other Music to check out their very respectable Used CD section, where I act like the musical Statue of Liberty, taking other people’s rejected records. What I forgot was that on Record Store Day, they move that old crap out of the way so they can make some real money.

With vinyl. Lots of vinyl. Well I’m not interested! My turntable is in the basement and I only play the old records when I got down there. So get this: the old geezer clings to his CDs and doesn’t want to go to that new fangled format - vinyl. The irony is not lost on me.

So the selection was limited (meaning limited to regularly priced items that a cheapskate like me would be unwilling to buy) and although I did my usual pick up of five possible buys, I also did my usual put them all back because none of them quite made the grade.

But then, at the last possible second I made a snap decision.

The Clean Anthology

I thought the chances were good that I’d love this record since it was exactly a year before that I’d gotten their record Vehicle at this very same store during last year’s Record Store Day. That album sounded great right off the bat, lit up my springtime and had amazing staying power..

Some anthologies aim to provide only the best songs of an artist. Others try to paint a fuller picture, showing all aspects of an artist’s development, phases and styles.  This one is of the latter variety, which makes for a great overview, but perhaps a less successful sit up and listen record. At least at first.

That first impression confirmed that I already had many of their finest moments on Vehicle both as a great record in and of itself and with its bonus cuts of live versions of some of the best things from Anthology. I feared that I already had everything I’d ever need in Vehicle, and Anthology would prove superfluous.

So it took a while for this one to work its magic.

Goofy amateurs, they start out crude - the bright opener "Tally Ho!" could have been brighter if they just played it faster - slowly finding their way to their sound. But by cut three the awkwardness drops away and what's left is the droney slight weirdness that is the Clean. Thank god for that strumming guitar and those driving drums.

Each track is it’s own little droney world, so this is not as good as Vehicle for active listening, but excellent for doing things around the house.

And they just wear me down. Track after track (46!) of sometimes raw, sometimes sweet guitar. It’s all quite modest, really.  In attitude at least. And a little more appealing that the screech and yawl of Kleenex/Liliput -

that other forty something cut retrospective I got a couple of years ago.  

None of them great singers, the Clean are at their best keeping things going, mid-tempo or faster.

I really admire how they manage to unearth so many of these little nuggets of sound. I’m not always convinced there’s an actual song behind each one but that’s okay.  

I do recall some of them like I would from a half forgotten dream that nonetheless leaves me uneasy. I guess that counts as a bad dream and maybe even a bad memory. But it makes for good music.

Peaking at the beginning of the second disc with - what else? - highlights from Vehicle, where the guitars are sharpest, the singing the most impassioned and the tunes the most balanced. The quality begins the trail off slightly after that, just like it had built up over the preceding CD. As the second CD goes on they get more conventional and when the go weird it just doesn't have the same zing of the first CD. Not bad,  mind you but you do notice some drop off.

So it's a fuller picture of the Clean, warts and all.  Not with the concentrated  power of Vehicle but a nice leisurely tour through their history both before and after that lofty peak.

At first it’s all too much of an okay thing. It goes on to become quite a lot of a very good thing. Fun but not life changing.  That’s okay. Not everything is. B+

"Two Fat Sisters"