4 July 2013 (Day 185) – Albums That Pay Homage

It’s American Independence Day.  I’m not going to do something so obvious and construct today’s playlist based on some form of American theme. The reason, I think, is fairly straight forward.  Rock music after all is an American music/cultural form and along with the Hollywood movie probably its most enduring and loved twentieth century cultural export.  Some might disagree with this given that jazz, country, blues, swing, Americana, cajun, zydeco, rap, hip hop, tex-mex, chicano, alternative/indie, do-wop and probably a few others are also American forms.   Just about the only forms I’d rule out would be reggae (obviously), heavy metal (essentially developed by British acts such as Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, etc,  although Americans did eventually develop their own offshoots such as those hair metal bands of the 1980s, thrash and grunge),  most experimental streams (notably electronica) and, of course, world music.  Punk music, of the sort that exploded in the late 1970s, is probably a three way tie with the Ramones in New York City, The Sex Pistols/The Clash in London and The Saints in Brisbane more or less arriving at the same spot simultaneously.

But this did get me thinking.  There are quite a few great albums out there where acts pay homage to other acts.  Some of these are intended to draw attention to larger causes, others as a form of memorial for a recently departed musician and others which serve as an “In memoriam” and raise funds for the act’s family.  And there are also albums where an established act will release an album of cover versions all written or recorded by another act.

And, as it turns out, all of the acts or musical forms celebrated in today’s curtailed playlist are American starting with;

(# 500) Temple Of The Dog – Temple Of The Dog (1990)

Temple Of The Dog (the band and the album) was a one off put together in 1990 by Soundgarden’s lead vocalist Chris Cornell as a tribute to his roommate Andrew Wood.  Wood, in turn, was the lead vocalist of Seattle band Mother Love Bone, who were on the cusp of stardom and, before that, local heroes Malfunkshun.  Cornell brought together Soundgarden’s drummer Matt Cameron, Mother Love Bone members Stone Gossard and Jeff Ament and local guitarist Mike McCready.  A newcomer to the Seattle scene named Eddie Vedder also ended up contributing some lead and back up vocals.  In other words, Temple Of The Dog was Chris Cornell fronting the present day Pearl Jam. 

Apart from being a musically appropriate tribute to Wood this album is fascinating because it, more or less, documents the birth of Pearl Jam.  Say Hello 2 Heaven is a long and emotional ballad featuring magnificent vocals from Cornell.   Reach Down starts off as a typical Soundgarden tune from that era before mutating into a PJ jam.  Vedder and Cornell share the lead vocal duties on Hunger Strike and Four Walled World is the track that really does demonstrate how PJ would have sounded had Cornell become their singer.

(# 501) John Hammond – Wicked Grin (2001)

Hammond (Jr.) is the son of the legendary music producer John Hammond.  An accomplished blues musician with a wonderful voice and casual guitar style, he has not been a prolific songwriter.  But this was never an issue for this record which consists almost completed of covers of songs originally written and recorded by a friend of his, Tom Waits.  Waits not only gave his blessing for the album, he also produced it and plays assorted instruments as well. This is a great introduction to the Waits songbook, particularly if you find his ragged voice annoying.  Also, the tracks have some of the trademark Waits rough edges smoothed and, along with Hammond’s voice, allow you to truly appreciate the genius behind these songs.   Heartattack And Vine, 16 Shells From A Thirty-ought Six, Get Behind The Mule, Big Black Mirah and Murder In The Red Barn among others are handled superbly and the album, fittingly, became one of the best selling albums of Hammond’s long career. 

(# 502) The Blues Brothers – The Blues Brothers Original Movie Soundtrack (1980)

I really should have included this album in my posting about bands to which I owed a debt.  Simply put, the movie and then this album made the blues sound palatable to me, but more importantly, pointed me towards a number of blues and soul legends even before George Thorogood.   Not only that, but the movie was definitely the first time I’d ever seen footage of either John Lee Hooker, Aretha Franklin, Cab Calloway and James Brown.  On top of that, I spent a few enjoyable Friday nights at the original Valhalla cinema in Richmond at the over the top midnight screenings of the movie and even better was going to the Palais Theatre to see the movie followed by a performance by the actual band.  That gig in turn was the only time I got to see Steve Cropper and the late Donald “Duck” Dunn live (and yes, they played Green Onions during the show) but the band also brought Eddie Floyd with them too.

And the soundtrack album still has a lot to recommend.  There are three reasons for this.  First is the obvious love that John Belushi and Dan Ackroyd for the music which does not end up sounding like another celebrity vainly trying to convince they’re a legitimate serious artist album.  Indeed Belushi’s vocal, in particular on She Caught The Katy, are one of the album’s strong selling points.  Another is the authentic music from the pro’s in the crack band and the other is the inclusion of some of the tracks with the music legends.  Aretha’s update of Think, James Brown gospel number The Old Landmark, Ray Charles’ blistering Shake A Tail Feather and, best of all, Calloway’s Minnie The Moocher all mesh well with covers.