Showing posts with label the rolling stones. Show all posts
Showing posts with label the rolling stones. Show all posts

Sep 4, 2015

British Blues Master John Mayall Hits the Road at Age 81--wsj blogs on the ronnie re

British Blues Master John Mayall Hits the Road at Age 81

 
   
 
Jeff Fasano
John Mayall, one of the first British musicians to fully embrace and perform American blues, was a pioneer. Throughout the 1960s, his band the Bluesbreakers granted PhDs in blues to a steady stream of musicians who became rock royalty, including guitarists Eric Clapton, Peter Green and Mick Taylor, who moved on to join or form Cream, Fleetwood Mac and the Rolling Stones, respectively. Other graduates included Fleetwood Mac’s John McVie and Mick Fleetwood, Cream’s Jack Bruce and Free’s Andy Fraser.
Now 81 years old, Mayall remains vibrant and active. After going five years without a new studio album, he has released two in two years, including the new “Find a Way to Care,” featuring his steady quartet.
Speakeasy talked to him on the phone from his Los Angeles home just before he set off for a 53-date, two-month tour of Europe.
You’ve had a very busy run here, with two albums in two years.
We’ve been touring consistently all these years. We do at least 100 shows a year, but our record company was just holding us back. I finally asked them to put something out or release us, which they did. I signed with 40 Below Records and we’re back in business, which is great because I really feel like this is the best band I’ve ever had.
Your Bluesbreakers were like the University of British Blues, with Eric Clapton being replaced by Peter Green being replaced by Mick Taylor, for instance. It enhanced your reputation but was it frustrating to constantly have to make a new band? Were you a difficult boss?
No. That was all entirely due to the musicians that I chose to be in my bands. They were free to develop their own styles and in very short time they were ready to put their own bands together. It was always that way. I was such a good bandleader that I allowed a band to develop in its own way. If someone was ready to move on, they were replaced with someone else who was ready to step up. They were all very young and they were just finding their own direction. The thing was to encourage them to go on and develop their styles and personalities — and everyone was pleased with that.
Clapton-Green-Taylor was a rather incredible run of guitarists.
You don’t think about those aspects of it while they’re happening. They’re all so different from one another but with such strong playing personalities. Eric was the right player for me to work with at the time. He was in the band for almost a year, during which he set off on a harebraned trip to Greece. He was just very restless and he moved on and formed Cream. He was a great talent, obviously, and Peter Green, the greatest pure blues guitarist of his time, replaced him. Mick Taylor was very young and was in the band for longer than the other two.
But this all happened in a short time and it’s a very short time of my career. They became big names and I understand why people want to know more about them, but there have been so many great musicians in the band, including Sugarcane Harris on violin; Larry Taylor on bass guitar; Walter Trout, Coco Montoya and Buddy Whittington on guitars and the list goes on…
Right, but those three went on to such landmark careers, and Clapton’s playing with you completely altered people’s perspective of what a guitar can sound like. His Bluesbreakers tone changed everything,
The amazing thing is it’s just the sound of him playing. He was just using a guitar plugged into a Marshall cabinet with a couple of 12-inch speakers. It’s really got nothing to do with the instrument or the amplification. He just astounded people with what he played because he was so good!
How has your conception of the role of a bandleader changed over the course of your career?
I don’t think it’s changed at all. You know what you want to play, and if you get the right guys it all comes together and clicks. We have a great time and it’s exciting and we communicate that to an audience. If we’re not excited and having fun, then they won’t be.
You’re 81. As a blues musician, what has gotten better and worse as you age?
There’s a maturity that takes place where you just understand what you want, but really it all has to do with who you’re working with. With this band, we’re so very creative and it’s different every night. We don’t play the songs and we don’t play things the same way and that’s what keeps it fresh and exciting. It’s an endless cycle and I think the new album is a testament to that.
Alan Paul is the author of Reckoning: Conversations With the Grateful Dead and One Way Out: The Inside History of the Allman Brothers Band.


copied from blogs.wsj.com

Aug 22, 2015

Seriously, Everyone is always talking about Mick Taylor

Music review: The Rolling Stones, Sticky Fingers

By Tony Nielsen
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Andy Warhol's provocative zipper and crotch shot on the cover garnered almost as much attention as the music.
Andy Warhol's provocative zipper and crotch shot on the cover garnered almost as much attention as the music.
1971. Keith Holyoake is Prime Minister. Richard Nixon, US President. The Beatles have disbanded. Brian Jones is dead and been replaced by Mick Taylor as the Stones release their 11th studio album. Sticky Fingers will be rated one of their best.
The newly released, repackaged version is a revelation. A tour de force of blistering rock like Brown Sugar, Bitch, and Can't You Hear Me Knocking, counterbalanced by ballads like Wild Horses and their truly mesmerising rendition of Mississippi Fred McDowell's You Gotta Move. But wait, there's more.
Andy Warhol's provocative zipper and crotch shot on the cover garnered almost as much attention as the music. Included is a second disc, which is a treasure trove in its own right. Brown Sugar with Eric Clapton alongside Keith Richards and Mick Taylor, an acoustic version of Wild Horses, and alternate versions of Can't you hear me Knocking, Bitch and Dead Flowers.
Extra gems include a rousing set of live Stones songs, Stray Cat Blues, Love in Vain, Midnight Rambler and Honky Tonk Women.
Special mention must be made of Taylor's coming of age at these sessions and also the "unofficial" members of the Stones. Bobby Keyes on sax, Jim Price trumpet, Ian Stewart and Nicky Hopkins on piano, and magic touches on some tracks by Billy Preston on organ. Sticky Fingers, especially with the extra material included, made 1971 a remarkable year.
The Rolling Stones
Sticky Fingers (Re-issue)
Rating: 5/5

Aug 17, 2015

Music Review: The Rolling Stones - From the Vault: The Marquee - Live in 1971

Music Review: The Rolling StonesFrom the Vault: The Marquee - Live in 1971(DVD/CD Edition)

By , Contributor




Right from the intro of “Live With Me,” it’s clear this show is going to be an indispensable rock and roll artifact. The Rolling Stones' From the Vault series of classic concerts videos has been an undeniable treasure chest for fans of the band and classic rock in general.The Marquee - Live in 1971 offers a small club performance taped for TV broadcast in the U.S., but unused until now. The March '71 performance preceded the release of the Stones’Sticky Fingers album by a few weeks. Four tracks from that classic ("Brown Sugar," "Dead Flowers," "I Got the Blues," "Bitch") were given their live debut at this show at London's Marquee Club. Make no mistake, if you love the Stones then this isn't hyperbole: The Marquee - Live in 1971 is unmissable. 

One of the things that makes this such an awesome performance is the small-club vibe. Everything feels scaled back, with the band concentrating on musicianship more than showmanship. This is especially true of guitarist Mick Taylor, who seems more focused than ever on delivering inventive, fluid lines. Mick Jagger swills booze onstage, but manages to somehow remain in control of the proceedings. As seen in the bonus alternate takes (two each of "I Got the Blues" and "Bitch"), he's concerned about getting things just right. With only eight songs in the set, this isn't a lengthy show. But with the exception of a slightly perfunctory "Satisfaction," the energy and inspiration is high. Sax great Bobby Keys is particularly on fire, with an especially muscular solo on "I Got the Blues." 

The bonus cuts wind up adding about 25 minutes to the running time. It's great to hear the extra Marquee performances, with Jagger pushing his voice to the breaking point on the extra takes of "I Got the Blues." There's also aTop of the Pops performance of "Brown Sugar." The best extra of all is that Eagle Rock Entertainment has included the entire performance as a live album. It takes a certain time commitment to re-watch a concert video, so having the music on CD is a convenient way to revisit the performance while on the go. The CD even has the four extra takes. 

The question is not whether to pick up From the Vault: The Marquee - Live in 1971, it's which configuration to choose. Eagle Rock has issued the set in these combos: Blu-ray/CD, DVD/CD, and DVD/LP. Keep in mind the benefit of Blu-ray is limited to audio, which is presented in lossless DTS-HD MA 5.1. The concert was filmed on standard definition video of a much more technically primitive era. For review purposes, I screened the standard DVD edition and the surround sound mix is punchy. It's worth noting there doesn't seem to be much difference between the BD and DVD, price-wise.


copied from    the morton report.com

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love to read about Mick Taylor......he is the best of both worlds for original Stones fans because he is a genuine rock star and super talented--everyone always credits Mick Taylor with the best of the Stones music--yet we get to chat with him on his facebook page......talented and friendly and willing to share his thoughts.........a lovely opportunity for his fans.


Chaz Lipp is a Seattle-based freelance writer whose focus is music and film. As “The Other Chad,” he has written for the online magazine Blogcritics since 2008. When he’s not writing, Chaz can be found trolling jazz clubs, attempting to find somewhere to play his sax (whether anyone wants to hear…


Jun 25, 2015

Rolling Stones guitarist Mick Taylor: A prime influence on the Pittsburgh Band Hawkeyes' sound.

copied from triblive.com.............

2 Pittsburgh bands to share stage at Hartwood Acres for free concert


The Bastard Bearded Irishmen are Jimmy “Bastard” Smerecky, left, Dan Stocker, Danny Rectenwald, Ben Jaber, Mike Hall and Paul Dvorchak.

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Wednesday, June 24, 2015, 5:24 p.m.Updated 18 hours ago
Two of Pittsburgh's more popular live bands offer quite different sounds.
While the Bastard Bearded Irishmen band incorporates traditional Irish instruments, with an edge, the Hawkeyes' music might remind you of the Rolling Stones' old “Sticky Fingers” album.
Singer-songwriter Bill Deasy described the popular local groups as “different, yet somehow complimentary.”
Both bands will perform at 7:30 June 28 at Hartwood Acres Park in Hampton. Admission is free.
Pittsburgh Magazine named the Bastard Bearded Irishmen the “best bar band” of 2014. All in their 30s, five of the band's six members first met as students at Keystone Oaks High School in Dormont. They cite The Pogues, a Celtic punk band, among their major influences.
Vocalist Danny Rectenwald of Avalon — who also plays banjo and mandolin — likened the Irishmen's sound to “Irish music on speed.”
“It's a combination of the traditional Irish instruments — mandolin, banjo and accordion — with electric guitar, bass and drums,” said Rectenwald, who has a master's degree in guitar performance from the Cleveland Institute of Music.
“It's definitely party music,” Rectenwald said. “We want to be the band that people can get lost to and just have a good time.”
Other members of the Bastard Bearded Irishmen are drummer Dan Stocker of Dormont; singer-guitarist-banjo player Jimmy “Bastard” Smerecky of Castle Shannon; violist Paul Dvorchak of Swissvale; singer-bassist Ben Jaber of Dormont; and accordion player Michael Hall of Finleyville, Washington County.
“Our live shows, I think, are definitely one of our strongest points,” Rectenwald said. “There's a lot of dancing.”
At Hartwood, the Bastard Bearded Irishmen expect to perform some of their newest songs, including “Whiskey Ginger” from a forthcoming third CD to follow up “Bastard Bearded Irishmen” and “Rise of the Bastard.”
“It's a song about the drink — whiskey and ginger ale — but also it could be interpreted as whiskey and a ginger, like a person, like a red-headed, fair-skinned person,” Rectenwald said.
Like the Bastard Bearded Irishmen, the Hawkeyes take pride in winning many new fans at their live shows.
“We like to call ourselves the hardest-working band in Pittsburgh,” said Jay Wiley, 35, of Ellwood City, Lawrence County, the band's lead singer and guitarist.
Wiley cited one-time Rolling Stones guitarist Mick Taylor as a prime influence on the Hawkeyes' sound.
“We are guitar driven,” said Wiley, a self-taught guitarist.
His dad, Jeff Wiley, played bass in the touring Christian rock band Rama in the 1980s.
“I didn't pick up a guitar until I was 16,” Jay Wiley said.
A graduate of Penn State University, Wiley decided to make music full time after he tried teaching for one year at Sto Rox Middle School.
“I hated it,” he said.
Other members of the Hawkeyes are drummer Colin Bronnenkant of Etna; bassist Brian Chalmers of Hopewell, Beaver County; and guitarist Michael Grego of New Castle, Lawrence County.
Deborah Deasy is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. She can be reached at 724-772-6369 orddeasy@tribweb.com.


Read more:http://triblive.com/neighborhoods/yournorthhills/yournorthhillsmore/8585919-74/bastard-band-irishmen#ixzz3e5RbaNK1 
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