This thirty-TWO volume series features artists covering Bob Dylan songs. All of the tracks are recordings of independent origin (ROIO) and hence officially unreleased.
Another wildly-mixed bag of Dylan covers for which you are, as always, free to pick and choose what you feel is worthwhile, though your friendly-neighbourhood blogger recommends: Patti Smith, defender of Street Legal era Dylan.
David Bowie's much-derided but actually rockin' late 80's band, Tin Machine.
And since COMMENTER CallPastorJerkface requested more Clapton, here's 'ole Slowhand with John Belushi (well, actually, Joe Cocker) doing "Seven Days" (which on this collection is actually done by Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood but...y'know different configurations of sixties British blue rockers being as they are, this'll have to do.)
01 Mggie's Farm - Tin Machine * (Jun 25, 1989, La Cigale, Paris, France) 02 Changing of the Guard - Patti Smith (Apr 18, 2007, Hiro Ballroom, New York, NY) 03 Everything is Broken - Kenny Wayne Shepard (Apr 21, 2007, Borgata Casino & Spa, Atlantic City, NJ) 04 Subterranean Homesick Blues - Mitch Ryder and Engerling (Oct 2, 2002, Sinkkasten,Frankfurt, Germany) 05 Highway 61 Revisited - Bruce Springsteen and Wolfgang Niedecken (Jul 9, 1995, Cafe Eckstein, Berlin, Germany) 06 Ballad of a Thin Man - Robyn Hitchcock (Nov 25, 2006, Crocodile Cafe, Seattle, WA) 07 Leopard Skin Pillbox Hat - Frogwings ** (Dec 14, 1997, Paradise Rock Clu, Boston, MA) 08 Seven Days - New Barbarians *** (Apr 13, 1979, Rehearsal Studio, Culver City, CA) 09 Watching the River Flow - Steve Gibbons Band (Oct 5, 1974, BRMB Radio Sessions, Incognito Club, Birmingham, England) 10 Father of Night - Manfred Mann's Earth Band (Sep 23, 1974, Radiohuset Studio 4, Stockholm, Sweden) 11 All Along the Watchtower - Dave Mason (Jan 27, 2007, Scottish Rite Auditorium, Collingswood, NJ) 12 Hurricane - Phil Lesh and Friends **** (Nov 26, 2005, Chicago Theater, Chicago, IL) 13 Rainy Day Women #12 & 35 - Eric Clapton and Band du Lac ***** (May 20, 2006, Highclere Castle, Hampshire, England)
*David Bowie's band ** featuring Derek Trucks and Jimmy Herring *** Keith Richards and Ron Wood **** featuring Chris Robinson on vocals ***** featuring Andy Fairweather Low and Paul Carrack
If you'd like the series to continue - - - please don't forget to leave a comment behind!
Speaking of comments, the Nobody Sings Dylan Like Dylan Volume Twenty-Three link is in there.
Thanks to Jeffs98119 for compiling these and to stewART for the images.
For V.'s 1-22 of Nobody Sings Dylan Like Dylan go here
For slugline's impressive spreadsheet of the whole series go here
Back in the late 80's (and into the very early 90's) a Fishbone t-shirt was to alterna-hipsters of the time what a Jesus fish on a car bumper are to Christians today, a silent, universal signal of knowingness. While this cultural tic quickly grew irritating, Fishbone at their peak were never less than awe-inspiring.
From the beginning Fishbone were always unpeggable, hence why the punk/ska/new wave/funk/psychedelic/gospel/soul/folk/jazz/metal on display on 1988's Truth and Soul was (and remains) so breath-taking. This era of the band may not be everyone's peak Fishbone but ignoring the breadth of its musical scope is, I believe, dangerous. Of course by the time Fishbone finally got to cash in on all that unspoken cool (they got to headline Lollapalooza twice!) the band's stylistic trajectory had begun to snake wildly coming to resembling a more prog-metalized P-Funk. The nineties and the aughts would see Fishbone's stock rise, fall, bottom out and then slowly begin to build once again. The future is Fishbone!
I always thought this song was just done with Fishbone, which leads to the question "Who are all those white guys?"
Fishbone Live at the Entpe in Lyon, France May 27th 1989 (Soundboard)
1. I Got a Fish 2. Skankin' to the Beat 3. Question of Life 4. Lyin' Ass Bitch 5. Ugly 6. Freddie's Dead 7. Cholly (Gonna Have a Good Time Jam) 8. Pouring Rain 9. Slow Bus Movin' (Howard Beach Party) 10. Give it Up 11. Deep Inside 12. Bonin' in the Boneyard 13. One Day 14. Ma & Pa 15. Ghetto Soundwave 16. Subliminal Fascism 17. "Simon Says" The Kingpin 18. Party At Ground Zero 19. Hide Behind my Glasses 20. Fishbone is Red Hot 21. Change
(This documentary, which as punk law dictates, contains an interview with Keith Morris, promises to be fascinating!)
Leave us a comments and tell us which is your favourite era of Fishbone!
Speaking of which, the Live '89 link is in the comments section!
Like so many other off-shoots of seventies British punk, 2-Tone-style ska migrated to sunny southern California, where it incubated for well over a decade until getting re-unleashed into the post-grunge cultural void.
One of the earliest exponents of this sun-soaked ska was L.A.'s The Untouchables, whose dynamite cover of old sixties soul obscurity "I Spy for the FBI" marked them as closer to The English Beat than The Specials. The band signed to Stiff Records and made a bit of a splash (including appearing in Alex Cox's film, Repo Man!) but never quite broke through to a wider audience. (But thankfully friends like Mr. Suave and Marco never forget!)
1990's Decade of Danceshows the band ripping through a mighty set of their best pop-mod-ska-soul-punk stuff. Enjoy!
Leave us a comment and let us know what you think of the California take on 2-Tone ska!
Speaking of which, the Decade of Dance link is in the comments
The Secret Policeman's (Other) Ball concert, featuring the old and the then-new guard of British rock (and comedy), was one of a series of cross-generational events staged, starting in the mid-seventies, as benefits for Amnesty International. The break-through show from 1981 (it went around the world on the then new VHS format) climaxed, as such things must, with a near-full cast run-through of a Bob Dylan song, in this case. "I Shall Be Released". The band, labeled The Secret Police, was lead by Sting and included Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Phil Collins, Bob Geldof, Midge Ure and a helluva lot of tambourines.
While a DVD compilation of the entire series's highlights is now available, the music itself has been out-of-print since the early 90's. Now, MRML's prime directive, to not post anything that harms an artist, is doubly in-effect for charity organization like Amnesty. So, if you are willing to help give voice to the voiceless political prisoners of this world, then please make a donation HERE.
The film foreshadows how earnestness, do-gooderism and mullets would dominate the eighties but were those things (mullets aside) really the worst aspects of that gaudy decade?
So what did you make of this early all-star get-together?
The Secret Policeman's Other Ball (The Music) link is in the comments Support Amnesty here
Get the DVD box set here here and the music DVD here.
(Re-upped due to the many comments! COMMENTS make good things happen!!!)
Every self-appointed rock historian knows the story of how The Clash, after the massive success of 1982's Combat Rock, dumped their musical linchpin, Mick Jones, and let their tone deaf manager, Bernie Rhodes, produce their 1985 album, Cut the Crap. This synth and gang-vocal dominated mess is now often considered the most inept, ill-considered follow-up since Operation Barbarrosa. (Of course, MRML and ... er ... Mojo may have tried to polish this Crap.)
(The Clash Mark II - JOE STRUMMER: Lead vocals and rhythm guitar, PAUL SIMONON: Bass and backing vocals, NICK SHEPPARD: Lead/rhythm guitar and backing vocals (Lead vocals on “North And South"), VINCE WHITE: Lead/rhythm guitar and backing vocals, PETE HOWARD: Drums and percussion)
Now chasing the ghosts of possibilities lost is fruitless, and perhaps it's better that Cut the Crap was such a debacle. After all, Strummer was spent, in his own words, "exhausted physically, mentally, every which way". Maybe an average "back-to-basics'' record, with a few fine songs, would have been even less honourable; after all we can still say the Clash were never mediocre - bombastic or self-indulgent, peut-être - but never, ever mediocre.
But still, for some of us the "What If's?" stick to us like tar. And in that spirit, here's:
THE CLASH: OUT OF CONTROL (CUT THE CRAP REVISITED)
The liner notes say, "An alternate version of the final Clash studio album. Featuring live versions, demos and several tracks performed live but left off the official album."(While the source of the original CD-R is unknown, we will gladly offer credit once the original compiler is identified.)
The sound herein ranges from crude to muffled and this is obviously for the die-hards and the dreamers. I've played with the volume on a few tracks and even added the few songs from the 1983 demos (released as a different bootleg, also entitled Out of Control, see here) that were not on the original version.
The rating system works on scale of one to three "This is Englands":
- Problematic but worthwhile ("Is better than the CTC a compliment?")
- A glimmer of greatness ("Wow, there were real songs beneath the sonic goo.")
- Almost revelatory ("Hey Sony, we demand a re-mix!")
1. Dictator (2:57) (Barrowlands, Glasgow 02/10/84) While the sloganeering still grates, the group rocks and even the recorded-live-in-a-bunker sound can't dull the raw guitar fury.
2. Dirty Punk (3:01) (Brixton Academy, London 12/07/84) Clichés are once-meaningful words dulled by overuse but nothing in this dunderheaded song ever had much meaning and the big, dumb chorus actually works better with the studio gang vocals.
3. We Are The Clash (2:40) (Barrowlands, Glasgow 02/10/84) Written in response to a possible fight with Jones' over the band's name (Mick politely chose the worst name ever, Big Audio Dynamite) this version has enough of that the Strummer self-righteous fire to redeem what is one of the most-oft derided songs on a most oft-derided album.
4. Are You Ready For War? (3:59) (Paramount Theater. Seattle 05/30/84) Kinda funky, especially without the electro-sheen and with an actual human being behind the kit but lyrically it's still stuck in the secular Amageddonism that so gripped the 1980's.
5. Ammunition (3:14) (Barrowlands, Glasgow 02/10/84) A bludgeoning "no bullshit" track that, with a little Mick sweetening on the guitar and vocals could've come from '77.
6. Glue Zombie (2:13) (Barrowlands, Glasgow 02/10/84) Like a cautionary take on the Ramones "Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue", this not yet fully formed rocker is yet another case where you can almost see the gaping wound Mick Jones left in the band.
7. This Is England (3:24) (Brixton Academy, London 3/10/84) A little muddy sounding but transformed from wistful ballad into a defiant rocker.
8. In The Pouring Rain (5:07) (Paramount Theater, Seattle 05/30/84) Okay it can't beat Dylan's' "Blind Wille McTell" from the first Bootleg Series in the Greatest Unreleased Song of All time contest but it sure challenges all the glib dismissals of the Clash Mark II as songwriters and performers.
9. Three Card Trick (3:18) (Stockholm 02/17/84) Like "In the Pouring Rain", this is another nominee for the Last Great Clash Song and this version is ferocious.
10. Fingerpoppin' (3:22) (Brixton Academy, London 12/06/84) This song bears scant relation to the wretched track of the same name on CTC though neither track is terribly exciting.
11. Sex Mad War (2:11) (Oregon 05/29/84) An average song given an slightly-above average reading.
12. Movers And Shakers (2:49) (Gateshead. Newcastle 11/05/85) No quality bootleg of the Clash's 1985 busking tour of England exists, in someways this is a shame as the performances are loose, spontaneous and fun (unlike much of CTC) but on the other hand, the whole affair may have been a bit of an anti-climax, as this song demonstrates.
13. Cool Under Heat (3:01) (Gateshead. Newcastle 11/05/85) See above and ask yourself what's worse a crappy drum machine or a recording made by some guy who taped his sole mike to whatever the hell found object drummer Pete Howard was banging on that day?
14. North And South (2:41) (Brixton Academy. London 12/07/84) Nick Sheppard gets the lead vocals, on a song that might, one day, make a fine English folk-rock ballad.
15. National Powder (3:36) (11/83 demo) The 1983 demos (like the Vanilla Tapes, they're more like rehearsals than actual demos) are a bit a bit bunker-ish and the songs often unfinished, of which this song is a serviceable example of both problems.
16. Galleani (3:06) (11/83 demo) Again the sound quality is muddy but if you listen closely, you can hear that Clash reggae burbling up; a real loss this one.
17. Are You Ready For War? (2:43) (11/83 demo) Second version sounds more human than the CTC version but still falls short of real significance.
18. Out of Control (3:03) (11/83 demo) This fits the template of the CTC material, a basic song structure, sing-along ready chorus but in addition there's a nice ska feel and Pete Howard is doing a shit-kicking job on those very real drums.
19. Rock N' Roll City (2:23) (11/83 demo) Loud, unfinished track missing much in the way of charm or inventiveness.
20. Backwoods Drive (11/83 demo) Once more into the mud, Clash fans will hear the start of something here but for the most part it's garbled noise looking for an escape.
MRML Readers Leave us a comment: Does this ragtag collection improve on a flawed work or not?
Speaking of comments, that section is where you will find the Out of Control link.
MRML is a blog about the devestating effects of culture: music, politics, comics plus etc. blah blah blah. At times MRML will post fine, unpurchasable three-chord obscurica (punk, pop-punk, new wave, mod, power-pop, gospel, reggae, hardcore, rockabilly, folk, country...whatever.) - - - - - - "The otherwise unavailable files in this blog are posted for a limited time and are intended for educational, non-commercial use. These files were transcribed from what are believed to be out-of-print sources. If you are aware of any of these items being readily available from commercial sources, or if any of these files infringe upon rights that you hold, please notify us so that we can quickly remove the referenced items immediately." - - - SUPPORT THE ARTISTS - BUY MUSIC!
If you have any questions or music to donate you can contact me at musicruinedmylife (at) gmail (dot) com
Re: Re-Ups
MRML does not plan to restore all of the content lost in The Great Mediafire Gutting of 2012. Polite requests may be made in the appropriate section, regular commenters will get priority.
