This something I would dearly love to do at some stage of my
life. Take a trip across the highways of
the USA and visit all of the sites associated with the music that obsesses me. I’m
not exactly just how I would structure it, but I think I would start in Chicago
and their blues sights and then travel south to New Orleans with a side trip
into Texas before heading north again, through Memphis and Nashville up to New
York City and Boston. But if time was my
enemy, I think I’d take Amanda Petrusich’s brilliant book It Still Moves Lost Songs
Lost Highways & The Search For The Next American Music and retrace her
steps. Although the specifics escape me
as I write this, I was particularly taken by her stay in cotton sharecropper shacks
in the South that have been converted into tourist accommodation. I’d go in summer, take a view beers and sit
on the porch and ponder the harsh life that gave birth to the blues and
ultimately rock’n’ roll.
These are the sorts of through that go my head these days whenever
I play albums by some of these dyed in wool, heart on sleeve American rockers starting
with:
(#335) Tom Petty And The
Heartbreakers – Southern Accents (1985)
Hard to believe now but I seem to remember that this album
wasn’t all that well received in the States when it was originally released. I suspect it is because Petty was trying to
assert his pride in the Southern States of his childhood. Whatever you might think about that stance –
to an Australian like myself, I find it irrelevant – this album probably
contains his best batch of tunes. Rebels
is a great rocker and perfect opener, Don’t Come Around Here No More injects
some welcome psychedelica and Dogs On The Run employs horns to great
effect. But ultimately everything is
shadowed by the closer, the sublime The Best Of Everything which sounds like
The Band taking on Van Morrison’s horn driven classic Wonderful Remark.
(#336) John Cougar
Mellencamp – Uh-Huh (1983)
Whilst known as Johnny Cougar, this artist had a couple of
hits in Australia where he was ultimately regarded as a top 40 singer. Although this was something like his seventh
album, it was the first one to reveal that there was any real substance. Basically, it’s a rather nifty collection of
rocking tunes, some of which, Pink Houses and Authority Song hinted at the
social commentator role to which he aspired and evolved. But it was the straight ahead relatively meaningless
rockers such as Crumblin’ Down, Play Guitar, Serious Business and Lovin’ Mother
Fo Ya that best hit the mark.
(#337) Bob Seger And
The Silver Bullett Band – Live Bullett (1976)
Take a regional rock hero such as Seeger, put him in from of
his home crowd of Detroit at practically the height of his fame, record it and
release it as a two disc vinyl set and you’d think you’d have the sort of release that today gives the live album a bad
name. But there are two problems with
such an attitude. First, this was
released in 1976, before all those horrible Frampton Comes Alive knock offs
came out. But even more importantly,
this is really, really, seriously good. It kicks off with a great reworking of Nutbush
City Limits, encompasses a solid take on Van Morrison’s I’ve Been Working, a
nice version of Bo Diddley and closes with a rousing Let It Rock. In between is
basically the cream of the Seger catalogue up to that moment, the then unknown
Travelin’ Man and Beautiful Loser segueing beautifully into each other, a strong
Turn the Page and ball tearing versions of Katmandu and Get Out Of Denver.
(#338) The Hold
Steady – Boys & Girls In America (2006)
A few years ago, The Hold Steady were being touted as the
next big rock act with Craig Finn’s songwriting skills and the word “Springtseenesque”
frequently appearing in the same sentence.
This album and its successor, Stay Positive were the reason for the
fuss. Both combined no frills rock with
Finn’s literate lyrics as on this album’s highlights, Chips Ahoy!, Chillout
Tent (a story of love lost and found at a music festival) and Southside Girls. However, Finn’s voice is not to everyone’s taste
and their most album Heaven Is Whenever wasn’t either.
Thanks for posting this.This is awesome!!
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