Dylan's Fiascoes: Renaldo And Clara (1978)

"Renaldo and Clara, to me, wasn't long enough."

Bob Dylan

Bob Dylan is an artist of such power and presence that even his fiascoes can be fascinating. When contemplating the range of Dylan's spectacular falls, whether its Tarantula, Isle of Wright, Self-Portrait, Live at Budakon, "Street Rock" or Hearts of Fire, the four-hour improv experiment/concert film Renadlo and Clara certainly looms large. What we have below isn't the entirety of the critically-drubbed film (synopsis) but it's over half of it and even then it can be endurance-defying. Thankfully, the footage of the Rolling Thunder Revue is incredible. So, thanks to the wonders of modern technology, those less interested in plumbing the depths of Dylan's work, can just skip to the concert scenes. Via.

"Americans are spoiled. They expect art to be like 

wallpaper, with no effort, just to be there."

Bob Dylan on critical reaction to Renaldo and Clara.

Let us know what you think of Dylan's Renaldo and Clara in the COMMENTS section.


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The Undertones: Here Comes The Summer BBC4 Documentary (2012)

While this doc's view of seventies Irish pop-punk masters The Undertones are both more grandiose ("They became one of Britain's most iconic bands") and more conventional ("the musical landscape was changing") than the 2002 doc made by John Peel, it still adds a tonne of fascinating information and lots of new interviews to the  the story. Flaws acknowledged, I still loved every minute of it..






Let us know what you think about this new(er) Undertones doc  in the COMMENTS!


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Short Dogs Grow: S/T (1987)

I'll stay the babbling, momentarily, and just ask you to listen RIGHT NOW to the unusually-structured, "I Got It Right",  through to the cascading climax of the song, one of my favourite finales of all time:





At seventeen songs, the San Francisco band's 1987 debut album on Rough Trade is over-long but guitarist/vocalist (and bike courier) Tom Pitts (now author), as well as guitarist/singer Greg Foot (and now blogger) along with bassist/backing vocalist Carmela Thompson and drummer Joe Pethoud successfully navigate the treacherous ground between hardcore and college rock deftly, earning some very well-founded comparisons to early Soul Asylum along the way. 

Carmela catches some air!

Tracklist
A1         I Got It Right        
A2         Egoist Twist        
A3         Don Juan        
A4         Grandstand Play        
A5         Whistling Song        
A6         Serum Hepatitis        
A7         Field & Stream        
A8         Let Go, Let God        
A9         Fresh Clean Water        
A10       Gladbag Blues        
B1         Whirlwind        
B2         No Beef Max        
B3         Fortunate Son        
B4         On Time & Wastage        
B5         Rico's Blues        
B6         Half The Time        
B7         Doesn't Somebody Wanna Be Wanted Like Me

The rip and scans of this long-sought after rarity are courtesy of the amazing lubes17319 and if you'd like to hear what these Short Dogs sounded  like when they grew up, go visit Spavid over at Willfully Obscure!

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Johnny Cash:The Last Great American Documentary on BBC (2004)

"(Johnny Cash) was sorta like Abe Lincoln with a guitar."

 Merle Haggard 

While we're looking at the Britain's love for Johnny Cash (see HERE), let's stop to view this BBC documentary called The Last Great American. It doesn't challenge The Cash Legend, and no wonder that narrative is tough to fuck with, but rather further burnishes it with amazing interviews with Kris Kristofferson, Elvis Costello, Jack Clement Merle Haggard, Rick Rubin, Rosanne Cash and the fabulous-as-fuck Little Richard. Even if you, unlike me, don't enjoy all that laudatory talking head stuff, the historical footage, including Cash's much-discussed Elvis impersonation from the fifties and his comeback performance at the Viper Room in the nineties, is awe-inspiring.




MRML's 23 risky covers by Johnny Cash, is just over yonder.


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'Til Things Are Brighter: A Tribute To Johnny Cash (1988)

 

Y'know, I'd like to offer you context about my re-up of this proto-alt-country collection of Johnny Cash covers done at his career's nadir by a bunch of British post-punkers like Mark Riley of The Fall, Jon Langford of the Mekons (who together were the executive producers), Pete Shelley of The Buzzcocks, Mary Mary of Gaye Bykers on Acid, Mark Almond of Soft Cell et al but Graeme Thompson over at The Guardian did it so well right HERE.





To learn about twenty-three covers that prove that Johnny Cash always kept in touch with the underside of culture, please go read (and listen to) THIS POST, of which I take great pride in.





 Tracklist

1     Michelle Shocked –  One Piece At A Time  3:38    
2     Stephen Mallinder –  I Walk The Line   2:11    
3     Steve Mack –  Rosanna's Goin' Wild  1:55    
4     Sally Timms –  Cry, Cry, Cry   3:01    
5     David McComb –  Country Boy  1:48    
6     Marc Riley –  Wanted Man   2:42    
7     Pete Shelley –  Straight 'A's In Love   1:45    
8     Cathal Coughlan – Ring Of Fire   2:25    
9     Tracey + Melissa Beehive –  5 Feet High And Risin'  1:39   
10    Brendan Croker –     Home Of The Blues     2:33    
11    Mary Mary  –     Boy Named Sue   3:32    
12    Mekons –     Folsom Prison Blues   3:19    
13    Marc Almond –     Man In Black   3:08

Note: Sure Michelle Shocked is going through a bad patch right now (were it not ever so?) but that doesn't reflect on the quality of this record in the slightest.

What do you make of this early attempt to restore some lost cool to Johnny Cash's reputation? Leave us a COMMENT to let us know what you think.