Writing a music blog this morning wasn't on my very long list of the written words for the day, but as I glanced at my overnight Twitter timeline, something caught my eye.
On Twitter, I follow a lot of music people, go figure. One of those musicians is Joe Bonamassa, guitarist extraordinaire. I also follow and am a huge fan of Beth Hart. Joe and Beth have recorded two albums together, tour together, and I would suspect at this point are friends with each other. If you're not familiar with Beth, you should be, she is incredible. I've already reviewed her live show at the NYC Winery, and her latest solo album Bang Bang Boom Boom.
On Hart's and Bonamassa's latest album Seesaw, Hart does a cover of Tina Turner's "Nutbush City Limits," and knocks it out of the park. When the video of the recording of the song was released, I showed it to everyone I knew. The reaction I received from nearly everyone was one word, "Wow."
This morning on Twitter, I saw Joe Bonamassa retweeted something Gene Simmons (yes, KISS) had tweeted earlier.
Beth Hart's cover of the original, NUT BUSH CITY LIMITS by Tina Turner is surprisingly convincing for a white singer. Check it out
In fairness, Bonamassa replied "I agree, she sang great."
But the tweet by Simmons really bothered me, which is why we are all here today. I thought it might be time to have a little discussion about the inclusion of race in his tweet. While there is no denying there are musical lines drawn in genres of music preferences between races, is it ok to compare an individual voice by race?
Here are the two videos, first the original by Tina, then Beth Hart with Joe Bonamassa. They both kick ass.
I was crazy busy last week and I missed the Twisted MixTape Tuesday which knocked off the 2000 decade. I wanted to finish off the years based theme mixtape, so I'll jump into the pool this week with a little something different. But first, I'm finally able to talk about the project I've been working on, and just why I've been so damn busy.
It starts with a guy... doesn't it always.
A few months ago, I saw a message on one of the group boards I follow on Linked-In. It was someone who was looking for a music blogger so I gave it a glance. Checked out his profile to see if it was the type of music I would be interested in writing about or be involved with. Well, he saw I checked out his profile, he checked out mine and got in touch. Long story short... he had a plan to do something very cool and I was offered an opportunity to be involved in it. Now I don't know about you, but these types of opportunities don't get offered to me very often.
His name is Robert Xeno and he has started a record company out of Nashville called Earth Hertz Records. But beyond the record company, he and his wife Eloa, have created a music streaming site which will offer downloads at various formats, from basic MP3s to top of the line audio. They also had they idea that artists should be fairly compensated for their music, without string attached or selling their souls. So they started the first Musician's Cooperative. This is really something special and it's just getting started.
The streaming site www.streambeam.us went live last week with a soft launch. The tech end of all of this is insanely complicated, so we are working out all the bugs and adding layers as we go. My part in this... well, a lot of writing, interviewing, liner notes and basically building the copy for everyone and everything involved. Needless to say it's been a little like cramming for a final exam. A whole lot needed to be done in a little time, and a whole lot still needs to be done. For me, this is a dream. To be involved with the music from start to finish, and be able to write about it... unbelievably fun. And not only do I have a title, I get to work with some very cool and interesting people.
So for the foreseeable future, I will continue to write in a hit or miss fashion as I get the other stuff under control. Thanks for hanging in guys, we will be having some good music to hear, so I'll let you know about that. Or check out our first few selections now. www.streambeam.us
Soooo, that's my story. Anyway onto Jen's party. Even though I really wanted back in this week, I didn't have a lot of time to spend on, well thinking long and hard about my choices for 2010-2013. I'm cheating just a bit. My list is not based on popularity of a song, or what it meant to the early part of this decade. This list is based on just some good music I found and wrote about either on my music blog, or Ourvinyl.com or MusicStarUniverse.com. So here we go.
There were a few good albums I reviewed, and some I've even had the pleasure of seeing the artist live. One of them is the latest album by Boz Scaggs, Memphis. This album is mostly covers of southern R&B from the 70s. The album is smooth and really well done. One of two songs on the album originally done by Mink Deville, this is just wonderful.
"Mixed Up, Shook Up Girl"
Second song is from Beth Hart's Bang Bang Boom Boom album. Beth Hart is hotter than hell right now and deservedly so. This album and the two she has done with guitar great Joe Bonamassa show that you can go home again. There aren't many blues voices like hers out there. Close your eyes and feel the raw emotion of this. If you can see her live, don't miss her.
"Caught Out In The Rain"
Eric Burdon released one hell of a record at the age of 71. Til Your River Runs Dry is as strong as it gets for a comeback album. And live, he still commands the stage. This is the opening track to the album.
"Water"
Steve Lukather is best known as the guitarist for Toto, but his solo work stands on its own very nicely. Especially his latest album Transition. Gone is the over-playing just because you can tendencies. Transition is down to basics and it one of the best of the year.
"Judgement Day"
Chances are if you're not Canadian, you haven't heard of The Trews. That's a shame because they are one hell of a rockin band. They've been around for like ten years, have opened for oh let's see, The Rolling Stones, Robert Plant and Bruce Springsteen, as well as headlining across the world. Last year they released Hope and Ruin, which is filled with catchy rock songs and sweet ballads. Again, if you get the chance, see them live.
"Misery Loves Company"
So that's it for the decades in the Twisted MixTape, and that's the deal with what I've been doing. Stay tuned guys, the fun is just starting.
Last Friday I had the chance to see Beth Hart in concert. Touring in support of her Bang Bang Boom Boom album, I caught the last of her three sold-out shows at the City Winery in Manhattan.
She also just released See Saw, her second album with guitarist Joe Bonamassa. Hopefully I will be reviewing it next week.
My review of her show at the City Winery has now been published on ourvinyl.com and you can check it out through this link --> Beth Hart @ City Winery
Just a little preview as to what's coming up this week. There are a couple of reviews of shows I have seen in the past week, one is Eric Burdon which should be published soon. Then there is a Beth Hart review which is being written now. I'll set up the links here as soon as they go live.
Now about the weekend. It was a road trip which included a show and an interview. So there will be an interview and a review coming on that too. The band was Survivor and the interview was with founding member and lead guitarist, Frankie Sullivan. It was a lot of fun, can't wait to get it all together.
Just a little note about the night. As we were waiting for the interview to start, we were backstage in basically a corridor. The walls were once white, but now were covered with the signatures of all the artists who have played at the Mohegan Sun. As a music nut, it was fascinating to look at the history. Everyone from Sheena Easton to Buddy Guy, Johnny Winter, Toto, the Outlaws, Robert Cray to Air Supply either signed or doodled on the wall. For me, standing there in the same spots of so many gifted musicians, gave me the chills.
I'll be back as soon as I get my stuff together, but in the meantime, here are a couple of photos from the show.
Just a quick post. Even though I wasn't planning on writing a music blog this morning, sometimes they just write themselves.
Here's how it started. Watched a clip on youtube the other day, a trailer for the upcoming Beth Hart/Joe Bonamassa release. Let me tell you, that album is gonna blow it out of the park. Anyway it was a little tease of Beth doing Tina Turner's "Nutbush." Unbelievable. Watch it here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ynHVLoA2h00
Anyway, that song has been in my brain ever since, so I decided to tweet and post on FB the original by Tina and another version of her doing it 30+ years later. That's when the conversation began. One of my online friends Lance, creator of the 100 Word Song Challenge that I do quite often, replied that the weather where he lives in Atlanta was nasty and the song he was hearing in his head was "Flood" by Jars of Clay. And so it went.
So, here is the conversation... in song. Putting in all the videos, take a look.
"Ever wake up with a song bouncing around your brain. Yeah that."
"And half lifetime later, she still rocked it."
Lance answered with... it won't stop raining here so I woke up with this:
Jars of Clay "Flood"
I replied "bummer,bout the rain.not the music. hopefully you won't be...lost in the flood."
Lance came back with "well, at least I don't live in Texas, although hanging w an alive Stevie Ray would've been worth the rain"
And it ended with me saying "well hell yeah. but you know he couldn't stand the weather... damn I miss that man."
A fun conversation and some great music for a Sunday morning.
Hope it keeps bouncing around in your head.
Some artists work for years to achieve success and never attain it. Some attain it and lose themselves in the process. Only the really lucky and determined ones reach the top of the mountain a second time.
Such appears to be the case with Beth Hart. Back in the 90's her star was on the rise with a breakout song, "LA Song (Out of This Town)" appearing on Beverly Hills 90210 and she was headlining a tour. Inner conflicts of drugs, alcohol and an undiagnosed bi-polar disorder turned a successful career into a downward spiral. It was only through good fortune, love and determination that she has emerged from the depths stronger and more capable of singing the blues.
Her new album Bang Bang Boom Boom has just been released and Beth is touring again as a headline act. Playing last night at the Crossroads Festival at Madison Square Garden with some of the biggest names in the music world, Beth Hart has come full circle.
