DIG THIS WITH BILL MESNIK AND RICH BUCKLAND- THE SPLENDID BOHEMIANS

I’ve been watching THE PRISONER, Patrick McGoohan’s ground-breaking, dystopian fantasy television series (showing currently in its entirety on the Criterion Channel), and it has set my mind reeling. The 1968 British production tells the dream-like allegory of Number 6, a Secret Agent -  (McGoohan was already identified in the public’s mind that way, having starred in the successful spy show ‘Danger Man”),- who tries to retire, but is kidnapped, whisked away, and held prisoner, under 24/7 surveillance inside a charming little seaside village (called “The Village”), which is populated by a group of cheerful, brightly dressed zombies who’ve all been assigned numbers. The person running the asylum is #2 (the actor rotates every week) -who is trying to get number 6 to tell them why he wanted out, but 6 is defiant, refusing to comply, and every week tries to escape. Inevitably, he always ends up back where he started - no matter how elaborate the attempt. The identity of number 1 is a closely guarded secret, revealed (or, is it?) in the final episode. The production design is Mediterranean-Disney outside - Ultra modern inside, and reminiscent of A Clockwork Orange - another monumental, late sixties confection of paranoia. McGoohan himself was a prickly, no nonsense, anti-authoritarian who produced, wrote, starred in, and directed several episodes, and this opus still stands as his masterpiece. In this story, as in many others, the rugged individual is often held up as someone to be admired and emulated. Unfortunately, they also often end up crushed by the system they refuse to bow to. I certainly identify with artists who have carried on with their passion, despite public indifference, poverty, and self doubt: the agony of Van Gogh, the isolation and penury of Henry Darger, and the dyspeptic Charles Bukowski come to mind. They all persisted, against societal scorn, creating work that endures. But I believe that most people (although TikTok might belie this) want to live quietly and peacefully; not to make waves, not to be disdained; but just to make a living for their families, and die having been loved and remembered by their circle.But, then again, if one has opinions about wrongs being committed by one’s government, and one doesn’t speak out for fear of arousing unwanted attention, can one live with oneself? So today’s question for the oracle: QUESTION: IS IT PREFERABLE TO MAINTAIN ONE’S INDIVIDUALITY, OR TO CONFORM TO THE GROUP?The oracle’s response: HEXAGRAM 3: “RETRENCHMENT” (MOVING LINE 2)HEXAGRAM 60: “FRUGALITY” OR “LIMITATION”

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THE JOKER / STEVE MILLER, (CAPITOL, 1973)“The Pompatus of Love,” a nonsense phrase that Steve Miller cribbed from “The Letter,” a doo-wop song by the Medallions from 1958, entered the popular culture lexicon in 1973, when this Apostle of guitar consistency applied it to spread his Joker gospel, and ascended to Rock n Roll Godhead. It’s been used for the title of a movie starring Jon Cryer, and is included in the writings of Dave Barry, Steven King, and Michael Ondaatje - even though its meaning remains obscure.We all sang along knowingly with: “I’m a Joker, I’m a smoker, I’m a midnight toker…”, and when the leering slide goes “Woop Woo,” we all played air guitar right along.  It’s a rudimentary 1-4-5 chord sequence like thousands of other songs, and it’s filled with references from other tunes, such as Ahmet Ertegun’s Lovey Dovey, and Miller’s own Space Cowboy and Gangster of Love, but no matter - The Joker is original gold and unforgettable. The guy is ornery, and has a right to be. I think Miller, a blues man since his teens, is underrated because of all the pop records he sold. I saw him twice - 50 years apart - and he’s still as rock solid on his axe and voice as he was back then - a master at his craft. And, although he was inducted into the Rock n Roll hall, they only gave him one ticket to attend, and he rightfully blasted the institution to the press. Respect must be paid to The Joker. 

I have a secret; should I tell? Maybe you have secrets too. What might be the impact of inflicting personal information on unsuspecting receivers? In AA they say: “You’re only as sick as your secrets,” and there may be some truth in that. They say that once you’ve aired your dirtiest laundry, you can begin to heal, unafraid, with nothing to hide.On the other hand, you might be opening a pandora’s box, as a result of your selfish need to expiate your guilt. There may be consequences and repercussions you never anticipated; hurt feelings, bewilderment - a loss of trust, ironically, just when it should be getting earned back.So I’m asking the oracle. Let’s see what it advises…..

MY HEART TOOK A LEAP - THE POETIC INNOCENCE OF THE SHANGRI-LAS" -RICH BUCKLAND'S EPIPHANY NOTEBOOKLike so many pre teens growing up in the sixites I slept with a transistor radio under my pillow. That receiver was the best friend a 12 year old could possibly have. It told me only what I wanted to hear and unlike the parental tunes regulary dispensed, I could slide the dial to another frequency and change the feel and tempo. 1964 was an extraordinary year for popular music and youthful urges. My wireless companion delivered the sound of pleading voices reciting urgent love calls through the night air. The first feminine intonations that whispered directly to my adolescent hunger ariived through The Supremes in June of that year.  I would wait anxiously through the bedtime darkness to hear the DJ conduct another spin of the salvation revealed  within a Diana Ross plea requesting an explanation to what would become the eternal question of  "Where Did Our Love Go".  I was fully captured by the gentle elocution each conflicted tone incited.  She was conducting a sorrowful inquest, the meaning of which I was not experienced enough to comprehend and yet fully accepted.  It felt like a sensual revolution emanating from the magic of a wireless, spiritual trasmission, but more importantly a glorious awakening having nothing to do with sexual messaging. It was my initiation into the significance of lonliness. And then it became more complex. In August of that same period, a  group calling themselves The Shangri-las, dispatched a 45 revelations per second record titled "Remember (Walking In The Sand )"  It ignited something  dark and dramatic. This was my first migraine heartache and I understood the origin. It was the voice of Mary Weiss, the groups teen vocalist from Queens NY, the very  borough I lived in. She was singing  a story of such anguish,  I just wanted to embrace her and make it better. "Oh, no, Oh no, Oh, no, no, no, no, no. Remember (Walking In The Sand)".  The song and it's production were the child of a music business misfit named George "Shadow" Morton"  But it was the urgent hurt of Mary Weiss that has lived within me going on 55 years. I recall ruminating, " If this is 12, what the hell will 13 be like."  I began to find out when the next Shangri-las recording was released in December.  The melancholy of "Remember"  surrendered to another George Morton composition sung as only Mary and her partners could. It was called "Give Him A Great Big Kiss" and made me feel better about our fate and the abyss she had us both falling into only four months earlier.  Teendom was just around my Queens, NY street corner.  Hope and the sound of rock and roll transmitted by Murray The K,  wrestled with the gusty winds which flowed beneath the Throgs Neck Bridge where my friends and I spent long summer days.In retrospect Mary Weiss was my first true infatuation. The emotions were real, especially for a kid who cried over Jackie Wilsons "Lonely Teardrops" at age 7.  Rock and Rhythm and Blues produced awakenings and sensations with no age restrictions.After 4 marriages I still have similar questions posed by The Shangri-las and The Supremes .   I owe a great debt to those remarkable women and their sacred voices. If we are fortunate, the eternal flame of yearning begs new understanding with each sunrise. Just give the one you love a Great Big Kiss and always Remember. Always.

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is a pervasive topic of conversation these days, and recently it’s been on my mind a lot as I endeavor to move past grief. It’s been over 5 years since my life partner departed suddenly - so suddenly that when it was happening, and for a long time after, I completely denied its reality. We know that death comes for us all, and no matter what age you are it’s probably best to prepare yourself, to make friends with the Reaper, and get ready to surrender to his scythe - (I heard that George Harrison used to rehearse his passing); Sarah Bernhardt slept in a coffin… but, very few of us are truly prepared, even at some pretty advanced ages - my father wasn’t reconciled to his fate even when it came at 96. The last phone conversation we had as he waited to be seen at the emergency room was fraught with annoyed bewilderment at being held there against his will.It seems to be the primary topic of conversation that Rich and I are apt to discuss on any given day, and he has expressed frustration at my reticence to volunteer the dour details of my slide towards the inevitable, but really, why harp on it? Why dwell on the depressing aspects of life while you can still laugh ironically at those same concerns? Eat, drink, and be merry, I say. Of course, if you have to constantly watch your sodium and cholesterol while considering the lethal effects of the cocktail you’re sipping, your options for fun will be limited. Anyway, back to PTSD… This week it’s been front and center of my consciousness because I recently consumed two items of popular culture that feature it - one 60 years old, the other recently released - namely, Rod Serling’s short lived 1965 television series, The Loner, starring Lloyd Bridges, and Christopher Nolan’s freshly minted sword and sandal epic, The Odyssey. In both, the main character struggles with PTSD - Bridges’ character in the aftermath of the Civil War, and Odysseus from his part in the atrocities recounted in the Iliad. Both men have experienced horrific and emotionally crippling events; they roam vistas rife with unremitting violence, and long to find home. Rod Serling transplanted his WW2 experiences to the Western genre, and audiences weren’t ready for it’s moral meditations, ill suited to an escapist medium. Regarding the Odyssey, Jon Stewart has reflected that it seems like a sequel to Oppenheimer, Nolan’s rueful depiction of that protagonist’s bequest of a doomsday weapon to arm mankind with the power to destroy itself. Echoes of PTSD resound everywhere - inside each of us, in the chaos all around, and throughout our popular culture. And, today I asked the oracle how to find peace with it. QUESTION: HOW CAN I OVERCOME RESENTMENT?The Oracle answered with Hexagrams 51  (Provoking), and 31 (Cutting)Let’s examine those, along with  a dream diary passage, and  a song, “Cairns” composed during that time…Chemayne used to collect stones that appealed to her. She would then cover them in varnish to make them glisten. After she died there were tons of them, and I started giving them away as gifts. One friend was so taken with them that he took a bunch and built some amazing cairns, a term which I hadn’t been familiar with, but which filled me with hope and pride for their future home. The following song “Cairns” evokes that appreciation. CAIRNS (Bill Mesnik)Stones banded by layers of timeStacking stone upon stone upon stoneCreates a monumentA tower sublimeMarking timeThese cairns of stoneChorus:Fly away through Arches in the desertTo a windswept morning beachWhere the sun glistens on the pebblesAs you soarSwiftlyOut of reach You left no lost communicationBefore your flight to the unknownJust some orphansWith no destinationLying lonely in our homeI’ll stack stone upon stone upon stoneAnd mark the trail of timeFor some wanderer To wonder onWho left this cairn behind?

Buck Owens (August 12, 1929 – March 25, 2006), and Dwight Yoakam (b. October 23, 1956) :  two master navigators of a very unique tributary along the stream of popular music, inspired and learned from each other - one, being the progenitor of the "Bakersfield Sound", and the other his adopted musical progeny. "The Streets of Bakersfield," originally recorded by Buck Owens in 1973, was revived as a duet between the two men in 1988, becoming  a chart hit and a popular video.    Buck, whose career had gone dark after losing his friend and musical partner, Don Rich in 1974, was sparked back to life when Dwight came into his life.  Here Bill and Rich attempt to connect some of the musical catalogue and biographical dots  of these two musical giants. 

Inspired by the clear and evocative 1985 translation of the I CHING,  by Kerson and Rosemary Huang - a team of a poet and physicist-poet, I kept a diary of musical interpretations of hexagrams which appeared to me when I consulted the oracle over the course of a year.HEXAGRAM 33: RETREAT (Bill Mesnik)"Form is transitory, acquiescing in the flow"I'm yielding to the circumstances, being still and letting go,open to the transformation - going with the flow.I'm gone with the flow in the grip of the tideI don't know - nobody knows if I'll see you on the flip side.What we see ain't what we get, it's not under our control - the tide surges up, then leaves us flat in the midnight coaster rollWhat's the point in making scenes, or, inscribing your little name in stone,When the tide surges up and the beach is swept clean into endless, timeless unknown?I'm gone with the tide in the grip of the flow - Whether or not I'll be purifiedwell, I just don't know.HEXAGRAM 42: INCREASE (Bill Mesnik)"The time of increase does not endure, therefore it must be utilized while it lasts."One hand strengthens the other; on the other hand, I might fall.Could you lend a hand, my brother? I don't have much, but I could lose it all.I'll follow your instructions; you seem to know the way,I played right through the harvest, now my stores are empty at the dark of the day. I heard warnings about the future, but I turned the other way,music soothed my apprehension, and my passions held sway.Now I'm looking for a harbor, and I saw your firelight.Might I bide awhile in your cabin to pass away the dampening night?HEXAGRAM 13: WATCHING (Bill Mesnik)I'm watching - watching... letting things play out in timeAlthough I'm invested in the outcome, I'm just watching, and trailing behind.In the dawn - the anxious dawn... before the pulse of the day,Should it come to pass the shadows grip you, you may not be able to have a say. We are travelers - fond travelers sharing this path for a mile,Although I may want to protect you, we'll only be together a little while.So, I'm watching, watching... letting things play out in time.although I'm invested in the outcome, I'm just watching, and trailing behind.

The story of Gerry Rafferty's "Baker Street" has it all: a troubled, ambivalent creator, an unforgettable sax riff whose ownership has spawned controversy for almost 50 years, and a mysterious, compelling lyric. One of Scotland's leading artistic lights, Rafferty, who started as partner to the beloved comedian Billy Connolly in The Humblebums, went on the wow the world with Stealer's Wheel's irresistible mega-hit "Stuck in the middle with you, before torpedoing that early success. He refused to tour, and after going solo, became increasingly withdrawn into an alcoholic death-spiral, which ended with his death at age 63.   Bill and Rich, The Splendid Bohemians relate the story as only they can - with reverence, tempered with their unique perspective. Take a walk with us down BAKER STREET. 

Hexagram 52: THE ARTIFICIAL DARK (Bill Mesnik)The bird sings in his cage,His song sounds full of rage.I’ll cover him up - and he’s silent,Asleep in the artificial dark.This wine is the color of blood,It releases its dreams in a flood,I’ll sleep for awhile and be silentAwash in the artificial dark.Hexagram 62: THUNDER OVER MOUNTAIN (Bill Mesnik)Thunder over mountain - fire in my soulHolding steady, keeping quiet,Trying to stay whole.Burrowed in the mountain,Waiting out the storm,Fighting the urge to run away,Trying to stay warm….Time heals all wounds,Time steals all…Thunder on the mountain…Listen to the squall.As the flames roar up into the heavensI’m rolled up in a ball.Keep your shit together,Morning’s coming soon.Patience - all will be rewardedWith the setting of the moon.Time heals all wounds,Time steals all.

Vanguard Records is best known for its eclectic catalog of pivotal jazz, folk, rock and blues recordings by iconic artists like Joan Baez, Linda Ronstadt, Buddy Guy, Charlie Musselwhite, John Fahey, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Doc Watson, Country Joe and the Fish and countless others. Most recently, Vanguard has carried forward the label's legacy of artistic excellence with a diverse roster including Barenaked Ladies, Indigo Girls, O.A.R. and Collective Soul.Riding the tail end of the popular boom of  commercialized  Folk Music, Vanguard's unexpected mega-hit "Walk Right In" soared to the top of the pop chart.  Looking for a long forgotten treasure to mine, Erik Darling and Bill Svanoe, doing what many had done before them, updated an old string band tune, composed by Gus Cannon and recorded with his Jug Stompers in 1929. They arranged it for TWO 12-String guitars (one of which, a leftie model, had to be specially constructed  for Bill), and adding the mellifluous tones of Lynne Taylor to complete the trio, the magic concoction was brewed to MOR perfection.And, just in time for Gus Cannon, too!  He had recently pawned his banjo to pay his heating bill, and the royalties and national recognition breathed new life into a long dormant career.

The Mothers Of Invention- Paralipomeni Della Batracomiomachia  Paris- 1970The December 1970 Paris gig was a standout date during their European tour. The setlist included iconic Zappa tracks and heavy improvisations like "Dog Breath," "A Pound for a Brown on the Bus," and "Call Any Vegetable". The band featured an incredible lineup that included:Frank Zappa (Guitar/Vocals)Mark Volman & Howard Kaylan (better known as Flo & Eddie)Ian Underwood (Keyboards/Woodwinds)Jeff Simmons (Bass)Aynsley Dunbar (Drums)Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention performed this legendary concert at the Gaumont-Palace in Paris, France on December 15, 1970. The show famously featured renowned French jazz violinist Jean-Luc PontyBatracomiomachia: Translates from Ancient Greek as the "Battle of the Frogs and Mice" (a classical comic epic parodying the Iliad).Paralipomeni: An Italian term for an appendix, sequel, or "things left out". The Italian poet Giacomo Leopardi wrote a famous satirical continuation titled Paralipomeni della Batracomiomachia in 1831.1 |  | Penis Dimention | 11:262 |  | The Air | 3:533 |  | The Dog Breath / Mother People | 4:234 |  | You Didn't Try To Call Me | 3:345 |  | King Kong | 32:416 |  | Who Are The Brain Police? | 6:32

Inspired by the clear and evocative 1985 translation of the I CHING,  by Kerson and Rosemary Huang - a team of a poet and physicist-poet, I kept a diary of musical interpretations of hexagrams which appeared to me when I consulted the oracle over the course of a year. The result was the album "9 Hexagrams," three of which I offer here.#44 : RENDEZ-VOUS (HEAVEN OVER WIND) / “Persevere” (Bill Mesnik)It’s a dangerous hour when darkness reappears,And a sudden shower of your fears drowns your dreams, chokes your screams,Persevere!Judge not, lest ye be judged, and lead me not Into temptation…Persevere!through the dangerous hour, when I’ve lost my willWhen my soul is sour, and hope is nilFind the will, Forge the will,Crawl uphill —Persevere!#35: ADVANCE (FIRE OVER EARTH) / “Desire” (Bill Mesnik)I want what’s on the shelf,I kill myself…I pray upon my knees,I crave release.I’ll change my point of view,Each day is new.The pull begins again,Desire has no end.I want your every part,I kill my heart.#24: RETURNING (EARTH OVER THUNDER) / “Echoes” (Bill Mesnik)Echoes are echoing from deep in the ground,Churning, turning all around,As far as I’ve come, I’ve come back around,I’m hearing the sound of echoes, echoing from under the ground.Shadows are shadowing from the room down the hall,Dancing, glancing off the wall.Every step that I take, I answer the call Of shadows shadowing in the room down the hall.Whispers, whispering from the waiting graveThrill me, will me to be brave,Each moment arrives in a rush like a wave,It’s the rush that I craveAs whispers are whispering from the waiting grave.

The Army (Bill Mesnik)The war you wage is on yourself,The soul you save is not your own.The words you're saying were said beforeby your enemy.The code you honorhas no honor,and all your wisdom makes no sense;you seek for justicebut there's no justice from your enemy.Don't fight back-you will fail,Your best defense is modesty.The war you wage is on yourself -Your sword and shield is modesty.Inspired by the clear and evocative 1985 translation of the I CHING,  by Kerson and Rosemary Huang - a team of a poet and physicist-poet, I kept a diary of musical interpretations of hexagrams which appeared to me when I consulted the oracle over the course of a year.The result was the album "9 Hexagrams," which I offer here.The first offering, "the Army" - which concerns advice on "leadership", was how the book responded to my question on the proper way to parent. 

Ok, tomorrow is July 4th, our 250th year celebration of our Declaration of Independence.  The temperatures are sweltering, both outside and politically. There’s been a lot of talk recently about the nation’s division, using words like “unprecedented,” but going back over elections past over the the last two and a half centuries, you find that to be a recurring American theme. The founding fathers (about whom we’ve heard so many patriotic references lately) were embroiled in their own knock down - drag outs: John Adams “Alien and Sedition Acts” of 1797 … that term sound familiar? Trump was evoking it recently during one of his ploys regarding deportation…. Made it a crime to criticize his administration. It backfired because Adams pissed off the moderates, and in 1800 Thomas Jefferson (the writer of the declaration of Independence) won the office with this “Free Speech” anthem:It seems that the author of our Declaration of Independence might also be dubbed the “author of America’s Ethnic Cleansing policy” In 1801, a few months after taking the oath of office, Jefferson wrote to James Monroe, then governor of Virginia, outlining his American Dream:“White settlers, sturdy independent farmers, will increase in numbers and eventually cover the whole northern, if not southern continent… nor can we contemplate with satisfaction either blot of mixture on that surface,”Moving on…Let’s talk about THE CONSTITUTION for a moment.  You may have heard references to this document that we all, INCLUDING THE PRESIDENT, pledge allegiance to as members of a democracy. It’s a living document that guarantees us all our rights, and which requires a super majority vote by both the House (the people’s house) and the Senate in order to change, and the its only been amended 27 times since its ratification in 1789. Living Document? Does that mean that hard won amendments like the right to vote, which people fought and died for to make us “a more perfect union” - can be taken away if a tyrant finds it a threat to their power? The following songs illustrate the ongoing challenges that opposed, and continue to threaten our right to vote - (the 15th amendment, passed in 1869, which granted the right to African American Men), but which was impeded -  by any means necessary - in Southern states, until 1965 with the passing of a federal ‘Voting Rights Act - (but, is currently being threatened again).And the 19th amendment, finally passed in 1920, which gave this fundamental right to women (half of the population) - after many decades of struggle by the women’s suffrage movement.Hearing these songs again, reminds me to keep some perspective during this broiling holiday season. Thanks for listening everyone. Enjoy your holiday, and stay safe. 

HOT FUN IN THE SUMMERTIME / SLY AND THE FAMILY STONE (EPIC, 1969)The sweltering summer of 2023 is almost over, and all over the world folks are digging themselves out from under the epic disasters of the past months. Listening to this psych-soul ditty from 1969, one may be momentarily transported back to a cozier time of blotter acid and beach coolers. The carefree tone of the record, however, belies the fact that at the same time that he was jamming on this anthem, an ever-increasingly paranoid Sly Stone was starting to hole himself up in his mansion with bowls of cocaine and a drum machine - from which he would emerge 2 years later with THERE’S A RIOT GOIN’ ON - transmitting a wholly different vibe. And, also, let’s not forget the murderous Altamont concert of 1969 (documented in the Rolling Stone’s film GIMME SHELTER), along with the concurrent killings carried out by the Manson kids - and you realize that everywhere you looked there were emblems of a time when chaos reigned, symbolizing an era of psychic climate change in America.Well, nostalgic or not, music has powers to soothe and direct our minds to kinder, gentler regions. It gives us a moment to meditate and reflect - a time out before we have to brave the cacophony once again. Some say “nostalgia” is defined as a sickness - homesickness. We’re urged to be forward looking and adapt to whatever the future holds. But, it’s ok to take a moment to remember and savor the joys of summers past. Just don’t forget to wear your sunblock.SUNLIGHT by The Youngbloods (RCA, 1969)I’m a romantic; I admit it. I believe in true love, and the moments of ecstatic togetherness that enable one to transcend all the struggles and grief of life. And, this song reanimates this awakening each time I hear it: by the rolling chords off the nylon string guitar, eliciting the feeling of a fresh breeze of possibility; Jesse Colin Young’s falsetto voice (one of nature’s finest) projecting such hopeful innocence; and, the lyrics, which tenderly describe scenes of eternal bliss.  I loved Jesse and The Youngbloods from the first time I put down the needle on Grizzly Bear (the first cut on the debut album). It was a bonus disc from the Columbia Record Club, and since that moment, the relationship with Jesse, Banana, and the boys, during the RCA years, was a meaningful one for me. After they went to Warners, and subsequently split up, the love affair was over.But, the remarkable Elephant Mountain, the last collection from RCA, produced by a young Charlie Daniels, delivered this song, along with Darkness, Darkness - in a collage of Sunlight and Shadow.  Jesse said that this was the first song he wrote after moving to California, and I understand it. As a New Yorker relocating to the Golden State, I too was struck by the quality of the light which casts a spell that makes one unable to sense the passage of time, and the seasons. Years flew by, the mirror mocks me, but the romantic in me remains ever innocent.MILLION DOLLAR BASH by BOB DYLAN with THE BAND (From the Basement Tapes, Columbia, 1967)Ooh, Baby, Ooooh wee!Ooh, baby, oooooh wee!It’s that Million Dollar Bash.I hear that chorus and I’m smiling. It’s a celebration, a party. Dylan and the boys are off the hard road, and they’re just having fun in the Big Pink basement with the Revox tape recorder.  There has been some interpretative gobble dee gook about it being Dylan’s satirical payback to Andy Warhol and his pretentious Factory parties, with a salvo to Edie Sedgwick - the (“big dumb blonde) -, who dumped him, but really, that feels like a stretch. Those intimations might be there, but when Bob sings:“Well, I’m hittin’ it too hard, my stones won’t take-I get up in the morning but it’s too early to wake,First it’s hello, goodbye, then push and then crash,But we’re all gonna make it at that mIllion dollar bash!It feels to me like an expression of sweet release. An appreciation for the moment at hand. And, imagining where the heads of the bar band turned folk-rock players assembled in that bucolic place were at…. -, the men who, for me, comprised the greatest American band in rock history - in the chrysalis from which they were about to emerge to ignite a musical revolution - I can feel the spontaneous energy of joyous creation. Oooh baby, Oooh weeeee!

The concept to which The Rascals were dedicated was, in Felix Cavaliere's words, "Marvin Gaye's voice, Ray Charles' piano, Jimmy Smith's organ, Phil Spector's production and The Beatles' writing. Put them all together and you've got what I wanted to do." A White Rock band playing Black Soul music was a new idea for Pop in 1965. "The great thing about music in the 1960s was that people were discovering there was no color barrier in the business. We were respected by the Black groups we loved as much as we respected them," noted Cornish. The Rascals' music was dubbed blue-eyed Soul, a term Cavaliere never cared for. "I always hated the label because it created a separation between Black and White music. It was a marketing concept. As soon as you put a drum in music, it's R&B. I wish it wouldn't have been called blue-eyed Soul. My eyes aren't blue."The band's first release for Atlantic was called "I Ain't Gonna Eat Out My Heart Anymore" which rose to #52 in the U.S. in 1965, but it was their 1966 effort, "Good Lovin'" that made them Rock 'n' Roll stars. The song quickly rose to the number one spot on Billboard's Hot 100 and went Gold. They followed with two more Top 20 hits, "You Better Run" (#20) and "I've Been Lonely Too Long" (#16) later the same year.The writing was a key component of the band's success, as sixteen of their eighteen chart records were written by Cavaliere alone or in tandem with frequent collaborator Eddie Brigati. As the song writing progressed, social commentary began to show up in the music. The group's growing ambition was reflected in the change from The Young Rascals to simply The Rascals. The word "young" had originally been inserted before the band's name for legal reasons. It seems there was a group named Johnny Pulleo & The Harmonica Rascals who claimed a proprietary interest. "We were embarrassed about that, 'cause we were trying to be a Soul band," said Cornish. "It wasn't The Silver Rascals or The Rockin' Rascals, it was The Young Rascals! And we had to live with it. By the time we got to Groovin', we said, 'Well, enough of this. We are The Rascals.'"A high point for both Cornish and Cavaliere was 1968's #1 hit "People Got To Be Free". "The message in songs like 'People Got To Be Free' is as important now as it ever was," said Gene. It was written in reaction to the King and Kennedy assassinations that year. In fact, Cavaliere had worked for the RFK campaign. "That the song was #1 in places like Berlin and South Africa meant a lot to me," said Felix. Despite the initial resistance to the political nature of the song, it went on to become The Rascals' biggest-selling record. It was also their last #1 hit. The Rascals followed with "A Ray Of Hope" (#24 in 1968), "Heaven" (#39 in 1969), "See" (#27 in 1969) and "Carry Me Back" (#26 in 1969). Two other 1970 releases, "Hold On" (#81) and "Glory Glory" (#71) failed to crack the Top 40, and a song called "Love Me" was a miserable flop when it peaked at #99 during a one week stay on the Hot 100 in the Summer of 1971. The Jazz-tinged experimentation of later albums like "Peaceful World" and "The Island Of Real" (which Cavaliere once called "The best record I ever made") proved less commercial than the group's earlier Garage Band Soul. Management was less than supportive of the new directions the band was headed in and a switch to the Columbia label in 1971 failed to provide the new life they were looking for. Personal frictions were on the rise too, and eventually Brigati and Cornish quit the band. They were replaced with Buzzy Feiten (from The Paul Butterfield Blues Band) and Ann Sutton, who had sung with various Soul and Jazz groups in Philadelphia. By 1972, The Rascals called it quits.

We originally broadcast this episode of election nonsense prior to the debate of 2024, and listening to it anew we are reminded of how drastically things can change, while at the same time aligning eerily with the past. Happy 250th, everybody! The Gladiators are approaching the cage. 

Chip Taylor (3/21/1940 - 3/23/2026)Like a cat with nine lives, Chip Taylor’s persona embodied many iterations. Starting with his successful “songwriter for hire” status, penning golden hits like Wild Thing, and Angel of the Morning, up through his phoenix-like resurgence as an Americana elder statesman, the story of this man’s artistic survival, emerging as it did, out from the quicksand of addiction, stands as one of the Splendid Bohemian’s tales of celebration.https://www.songhall.org/profile/chip_taylorBROWSE THROUGH THE CATALOG OF CHIP'S RECORD LABEL "TRAIN WRECK RECORDS"  https://www.trainwreckrecords.com/

26 years ago, before the election of George W. Bush in 2000, I wrote, produced and starred in a show about the history of the campaign song, called "Muckrakers," with the fabulous Linda Kerns.  Given that this bicentennial election season is heating up, I thought it’d be fun to revisit some songs from elections past…Let's look at one from 1856...Some background: in 1854 was “Bleeding Kansas” - a bitter dispute between pro and anti-slavery forces over that territory, which led to the break up of the two major parties and the formation of a new one — THE REPUBLICANS — who vowed to oppose any further extension of slavery. But, THE DEMOCRATIC WINNER OF THE 1856 ELECTION WAS….?Many people consider him the WORST president we’ve ever had (until now) - because he might have prevented the Civil War, and he blew it. I’ll give you a hint: he was a bachelor - girl he was engaged to as a youth committed suicide. One eye was nearsighted, the other far - so he held his head a a funny angle….Got it? He was the quote: “most available, and most unobjectionable JAMES BUCHANAN, former Secretary of State to Polk, who once called him “an able man,” but added that, “he sometimes acts like an old maid.”Nevertheless, Bucky won big! Carried every Southern state, except Maryland and six free states - proving that the majority still put the preservation of the Union above all else. And, that is exactly what Stephen Foster’s WHITE HOUSE CHAIR urged the voters to do.

WHO KNOWS WHAT TOMORROW MAY BRING by Traffic (United Artists, 1968)The original line up of Traffic had it all: mysticism, funk, folk, world music, and a healthy dose of irony. For an acid head like me they were the perfect accompaniment for a trip through shifting patterns of synchronicity. Of course, Traffic was helmed by the one and only Steve Winwood, who as a teenager impressed the world, shouting the blues on “I’m a Man,” and “Keep on Running” with the Spencer Davis Group, and was now considered a full-blown genius. But they also needed Dave Mason for ballast, because after he left the rising balloon, Winwood navigated the group into extended jazz noodle-ville - (but, that’s another story!) Who knows what tomorrow may bring from the group’s eponymous second album is a deceptively simple groove and mantra that resonates across genres, time-zones, and philosophies, releasing a blast of joy-filled dopamine to one’s synaptic receptors, even as one contemplates the evanescence of life. And, that swinging organ counterpoint is smoking! As I felt the waves of dislocation beginning to distort my perceptions, Winwood encouraged me to “step outside” of my mind, and “float across the ceiling…” I trusted him, and so I did just that. And, it was good.

MOBY GRAPE JUST CAN'T CATCH A BREAKhttps://www.npr.org/transcripts/17498799

"CLARENCE CARTER SLIPS AWAY ON THE MYSTERY TRAIN"When we speak of the deep soul drenched days when certain performers inhabited a heart full of soul so captivating and special that they were ordained as high priests of mournful and lustful magic, we will always recall Soul legend Clarence Carter.Clarence boarded The Mystery Train today, May 14, following struggles with prostate cancer and a battle with pneumonia and sepsis. He was 90.This  blind Southern star from Alabama scored two Top 10 hits in the late 1960s and early 1970s with “Slip Away” and “Patches,” After having hits on the R&B charts (including 1965’s “Step By Step” and 1967’s “Tell Daddy”), Carter landed on the pop charts – as well as, concurrently, the R&B lists – with 1968’s “Slip Away,” a song that highlighted Carter’s powerful and emotional baritone voice with a lyric in which the singer implores his married lover for a secret rendezvous Two years later Carter released his biggest pop hit, the Grammy-winning (for Best R&B song) “Patches,” which rose to #4 on the Billboard Hot 100. Mr. Carter also recorded a number of raunchy novelty songs eschewed by mainstream radio but finding success in later years: The 1968 “Back Door Santa” was sampled by Run-D.M.C. for the 1987 single “Christmas in Hollis,” and the even more explicit “Strokin'” from 1986 was featured on the soundtrack for Eddie Murphy’s 1996 remake of The Nutty Professor as well as in William Friedkin’s 2011 film Killer Joe.Sleep Well Clarence. The first of the six covers that appear on Please Please Me is a mid-tempo ballad called “Anna (Go to Him),” which was written and first recorded by Arthur Alexander. Chances are that most people who hear the version sung by John Lennon have no idea who Arthur Alexander is—but the Beatles certainly knew, and so did the Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan: Alexander is reportedly the only songwriter whose tunes have appeared on studio albums by those three hallowed acts. Elvis Presley recorded one of his songs as well—albeit one that Alexander co-wrote—and so did Otis Redding and Tina Turner and Jerry Lee Lewis and Percy Sledge.Don Covay  recorded for several labels, including Blaze, Sue, Big Top, Fire, Arnold, Fleetwood, Columbia, Epic and Scepter, releasing 'Popeye Waddle' b/w 'One Little Boy Had Money' in 1962 for Cameo Parkway, which became a hit.Don was, by now, recording solo material, and material under the name of Don Covay and the Goodtimers.He penned the U.S. number 1 single 'Pony Time' for Chubby Checker, wrote a hit song called 'I'm Hanging Up My Heart for You', for the Soul singer Solomon Burke, and wrote for Gladys Knight & The Pips, penning 'Letter Full of Tears', which made the top 20.Don formed partnerships with several associates including Horace Ott and Ronnie Miller.In 1964, when he signed to the Rosemart label.His debut single there with the Goodtimers, 'Mercy Mercy' featured Jimi Hendrix on guitar.The following year, Jimi Hendrix played again on the follow up single 'Take This Hurt Off Me' b/w 'Please Don't Let Me Know'.Clarence Carter didn’t have it easy while growing up in Alabama; and being Black and blind was an extra burden, but he has overcome many other obstacles in so many ways. “I feel incredibly good about what I’ve been able to accomplish, but it was not easy. Our world presents challenges and barriers to success for people with disabilities, but I always wanted more in life and believe that the ADA helped me get to where I am today.”I would like to say that Carter now has three “B’s” behind his name, Black, Blind and Blessed. Carter is known for serious Blues music, which includes a string of R&B hits. The songs “Back Door Santa,” “Slip Away,” “Patches,” “Too Weak to Fight” and the dance hall hit “Strokin” are part of his Blues legacy.

How do you come up with a list of best covers of our greatest living songwriter? Splendid Bohemian, and Bob Dylan Maven Rich Buckland states his case as his partner, Bill Mesnik endeavors to keep up.BOB DYLAN COVERSIt’s All Over Now, Baby Blue : 13th Floor ElevatorsBaby, I’d Do it All Over You: Dave Van RonkFoot of Pride : Lou ReedTomorrow is a Long Time: Elvis PresleyBaby, You’ve been on my Mind: DionSooner or Later : Emma SwiftWho killed Davy Moore? : Gary ShearsonChanging of the Guards: Gaslight AnthemDesolation Row: My Chemical RomanceRestless Farewell: Joan BaezI’ll Keep it with Mine: NicoBlowing in the Wind: Sam CookeI’m Not There: Sonic YouthOne More Cup of Coffee: White StripesPlease Crawl Out Your Window: Wilko Johnson with Roger DaltreyPositively 4th Street: Johnny Rivers

Romanticism or misogyny? During the tectonic time of “Me Too” The Splendid Bohemians tackled the subjects of two artists inextricably linked to their romantic images: Sir Tom Jones and Charles Aznavour - both hugely popular and successful in their own times, but, like many with complicated artistic careers, coming under reexamination.Spurred by a demand made to my wife to “shut off that stuff”  by two disgruntled women while she was enjoying a Tom Jones CD, Bill and Rich set out to dissect the difference between romance and chauvinism when considering these cherished icons during this retributive age of Epstein, Trump, Cosby, Weinstein, et al. Seems like a good time to replay this nugget from 2016. The list of predators is long and keeps growing, as evidenced by the recent resignation of democratic Gubernatorial hopeful, Eric Swallwell. So, we batted around the evergreen question of “can you hate the artist, but still love the art?” We ended up with no answers, just more questions.

Paul Simon set the standard for a New American Songbook. Reviewing these selections one is struck by the elegance of his melodies - on a par with that other Paul from Liverpool, but with a lyrical sophistication to rival America’s Nobel Laureate poet, Bob Dylan. “America”, as performed here by David Bowie, presents a barren landscape, - mirroring the mundane with the spiritual - to rival the literary prowess of a Hemingway; and the classically inspired “American Tune,” as interpreted by the wizard of New Orleans, Allen Toussaint, quietly goes to the heart of our nation’s ambivalence. I can’t contain my tears whenever I hear it. Simon and Garfunkel were known as a unified entity. It took awhile for Paul to extricate himself from his childhood performing partner, Artie. Garfunkel, with his singular, choir-boy voice, needed Simon to provide the words for his divine instrument.  But Simon didn’t need Garfunkel, and if Artie’s acting ambitions hadn’t interfered with Paul’s musical ones, Simon might never have had the confidence to go it alone. Lucky for us it turned out the way it did. Because, since going solo, Simon has amassed a body of work that defines America’s last half century. Ray Charles: Still Crazy After All These YearsDavid Bowie: AmericaJustin Townes Earle: GracelandThem: Richard CoryWailin’ Jennys: Loves me Like a RockEverything but the Girl: The Only Living Boy in New YorkAnnie Lennox: Something So RightThe Blue Airplanes: The Boy in the BubbleBlossom Dearie: 59th St. Bridge Song Allen Toussaint: American Tune 

The “talk talk” continues wherein Rich and Bill “rage against the dying of the light,” to honor our past and opine on the socio-political conditions of the present.  

It was a great reunion at the Hotel Bohemia. Bill and Rich got so engrossed in a variety of topics that we left the recorder running - and, as a result we'll be offering these conversational riches in two parts:Part one balances the outrages of today against the comic geniuses of yesteryear, along with ruminations about pet relationships, being at Woodstock, and the formative influences of our lives.Part two will focus on recent additions to the population of the Hotel, namely Country Joe McDonald and John Hammond, Jr. 

Neil Young’s otherworldly ability to morph between raging metalhead to the most sentimental of romantics never fails to astound. Always uncompromising, this cranky Canadian has been inflexible in his stance to be unencumbered - and, prolific - recording over 45 solo albums, not to mention those classics created with Buffalo Springfield and CSN&Y. Surviving polio as a child, and a brain aneurysm in middle age, he kept coming back stronger than ever.  I’ve seen him live twice: at the Greek Theater during the Greendale tour, then again a couple of years back when my son and I flew to Tucson to celebrate the slower, less blazing, but still mesmerizing octogenarian troubadour. His music has been a touchstone throughout my life, starting with the iconic Reprise album “Everybody Knows This is Nowhere” which contained Down by the River - a dorm room sing along. His vast catalogue makes it difficult to pick only ten covers, but the range here is evident, swinging from Pearl Jam’s live version of Keep on Rockin’ in the Free World to Emmylou Harris’s wistful floatation on Daniel Lanois’s diaphanous Wrecking Ball. Neil’s own vocal style is so distinctive that it’s tempting to disregard how beautiful some of his melodies are. I think you’ll find that this line up does them justice.HEART OF GOLD (JOHNNY CASH)MR. SOUL (THE EVERLY BROTHERS)ON THE BEACH (BOZ SCAGGS)KEEP ON ROCKING IN THE FREE WORLD (PEARL JAM)A MAN NEEDS A MAID (DALA)BIRDS (THE METERS)LOTTA LOVE (NICOLETTE LARSON)WRECKING BALL (EMMYLOU HARRIS)BROKEN ARROW (WILCO)HELPLESS (NICK CAVE)

Back in the Tin Pan Alley (and Brill Building) days there were song-pluggers, and there were vocalists, and never the twain met, but this symbiotic relationship formed the successful division of labor for the great American capitalist record business. Whether they be based in NY, LA, or Nashville successful songwriters rarely had hits recording their own material. Hard to believe that it took Willie Nelson so many years to be recognized as his own best interpreter. Of course, that now seems ludicrous, given Willie’s status as “national treasure”.  Tony Bennett, Frank Sinatra and the like had their go-to writers and arrangers, Phil Spector, Don Kirschner and others kept their stable of regular creatives like Carole King and Gerry Goffin in little cubicles laboring to churn out dozens of standards weekly for their employer’s contracted recording artists.  But, just like any actor worth his salt in Hollywood will tell you: “without good writing, you ain’t got shit”Two of Country Music’s most covered songwriters are being honored here today, singing for you in their own voices: Guy Clark, doing “That Old Time Feeling”, and Harlan Howard performing “Heartaches by the Number.” These are craftsmen, whose practical, raw boned approach to their art yielded glittering treasures. HARLAND HOWARD (1927-2002)Harland Howard wrote over 4000 songs, 100 of which made the top ten Country charts. He was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters and Country Music Halls of Fame. There are tribute albums of his songs by Buck Owens, Waylon Jennings and Wille Nelson. He wrote I Fall to Pieces for Patsy Cline, Busted, made famous by Ray Charles, and the monster hit - I got a Tiger by the Tail for Buck Owens. Here he is singing Heartaches by the Number, which a cursory dip into YouTube reveals covers by Ray Price, Dwight Yoakam, Guy Mitchell, Leon Russell, Paul Carrack and Kitty Wells, among others. There are no frills here, but I contend that hearing the voice of the man who created the song is a more personal experience, like someone reading you their diary.GUY CLARK (1941-2016)The ultimate example of an unsung (pun intended) man of influence is “Old No. 1,” the luthier’s luthier, Guy Clark. His Texas home-workshop was the Austin epicenter of the Outlaw Country Movement that transformed Country Music. Watch the scene from the documentary Heartworn HIghway with Steve Earle and Rodney Crowell sitting around Guy’s kitchen table, trading songs. Townes Van Zandt may have been the most elusive doomed romantic poet of that group, but it was Guy they studied with and trusted - the one they could depend on, the Zen Master of song.And, what songs! They are like short stories, full of vivid characters, evocative dialogue, and carefully observed detail. Songs like Desperadoes Waiting for a Train, L.A. Freeway, My Favorite Picture of You (for his late wife Susanna - the magnetic beauty patiently putting up with the Outlaw’s shenanigans). Today, he favors us with That Old Time Feeling, a tune that insinuates itself into your consciousness through a stream of unforgettable images. 

THE BILLY STEWART DISCOGRAPHY  Singles:Chess 1625: "Billy's Blues" / "Billy's Blues"Argo 5256: "Billy's Blues" / "Billy's Blues"Okeh 4-7095: "Baby, You're My Only Love" / "Billy's Heartache" (1957 with Bo Diddley, backed by The "Marquees")Chess 1820: "Reap What You Sow" / "Fat Boy" (1962) – No. 18 R&B, No. 79 popChess 1835: "True Fine Lovin'" / "Wedding Bells" (1962)Chess 1852: "Scramble" / "Oh My, What Can the Matter Be" (1963)Chess 1868: "Strange Feeling" / "Sugar and Spice" (1963) – No. 25 R&B, No. 70 popChess 1888: "A Fat Boy Can Cry" / "Count Me Out" (1964)Chess 1905: "Tell It Like It Is" / "My Sweet Senorita" (1964)Chess 1922: "I Do Love You" / "Keep Loving" (1965) – No. 6 R&B, No. 26 popChess 1932: "Sitting in the Park" / "Once Again" (1965) – No. 4 R&B, No. 24 popChess 1941: "How Nice It Is" / "No Girl" (1965)Chess 1948: "Because I Love You" / "Mountain of Love" (1965)Chess 1960: "Love Me" / "Why Am I Lonely" (1966) – No. 38 R&BChess 1966: "Summertime" / "To Love, to Love" (1966) – No. 7 R&B, #10 popChess 1978: "Secret Love" / "Look Back and Smile" (1967) – No. 11 R&B, No. 29 popChess 1991: "Every Day I Have the Blues" / "Ol' Man River" (1967) – No. 41 R&B, No. 79 popChess 2002: "Cross My Heart" / "Why (Do I Love You So)?" (1968) – No. 34 R&B, No. 86 pop / No. 49 R&BChess 2053: "Tell Me the Truth" / "What Have I Done?" (1968) – No. 48 R&BChess 2063: "I'm In Love" / "Crazy 'Bout You, Baby" (1969)Chess 2080: "By the Time I Get to Phoenix" / "We'll Always Be Together" (1969) Albums:Chess 1496: I Do Love You (1965) (Billboard No. 97)Chess 1499: Unbelievable (1966) (Billboard No. 138)Chess 1513: Billy Stewart Teaches Old Standards New Tricks (1967)Chess 1540: Cross My Heart (1969)Chess 1547: Remembered (1970)Sugar Hill/Chess CH-8401: The Greatest Sides (1982)

https://www.johncoltrane.com/John Coltrane departed this mortal plane more than fifty years ago; today he remains among us, more alive than ever. His sound continues to grab the ears of an ever-widening circle of fans. His legend is stone solid: planted firmly in our culture as that of any 20th century musical giant. His saxophone sound—brooding, searching, dark—is still one of the most recognizable in modern jazz. His influence stretches over styles and genres, and transcends cultural boundaries. The modern ideal of music serving a deeply spiritual, connective purpose? A defining facet of John Coltrane.To Coltrane, a musician was a message-giver; making music was an endeavor tied to a larger, greater good. “I humbly asked to be given the means and privilege to make others happy through music,” Coltrane wrote in 1964 in a letter to his listeners, telling of a prayer to God. In 1966, less than a year before his death, he stated:“I know that there are bad forces, forces that bring suffering to others and misery to the world. I want to be the opposite force. I want to be the force which is truly for good.”Jazz journalist Nat Hentoff, who interviewed and championed Coltrane, praised him more soberly. “By the time A Love Supreme hit, Trane struck such a spiritual chord in so many listeners that people started to think of him as being beyond human. I think that’s unfair. He was just a human being like you and me -- but he was willing to practice more, to do all the things that somebody has to do to excel. The real value in what John Coltrane did was that what he accomplished, he did as a human.”

David Bowie, aka David Jones, aka Ziggy Stardust, aka Aladdin Sane, aka The Thin White Duke, aka The Man Who Fell to Earth had a vision of a future where everybody would be androgynous. Maybe the trans movement of today found its initial voice with him back in the ‘70s, when he proclaimed “make way for the homo superior.” Like so many others at the time, I glimpsed this insight that proposed expanding beyond the narrow labels to which I had been assigned. Like an annunciating alien, David Bowie descended upon the earth to spread his message of an evolving species by employing his celestial musicianship and ethereal beauty. His music inspired others, as we will see from the following playlist, as did this ideal that combined rock and roll with science fiction and glamour. Remaining faithful to the promise of his beatific vision, before he died Bowie prepared a final statement to be delivered posthumously: “Lazarus” in which he greeted us from the cosmos: “Look, I’m in heaven…” Even in death he remained eternally loving, and ever hopeful for our advancement.All the Young Dudes (Mott the Hoople)The Man Who Sold the World (Nirvana) / The Man Who Sold The World, 1970Life on Mars (Seu Jorges) / Hunky Dory, 1971Space Oddity (Brandi Carlisle) / David Bowie, 1969Rebel Rebel (Rickie Lee Jones) / Diamond Dogs, 1974Andy Warhol (Stone Temple Pilots) / Hunky Dory, 19715 Years (Cowboy Junkies) / The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars, 1972Heroes (Peter Gabriel) / Heroes, 1977Under Pressure (Karen O and Willie Nelson) / Hot Space (w/ Queen), 1981Ziggy Stardust (Bauhaus) / The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars, 1972

What is a cover song? It’s an act of devotion, an organic transmission from the essence of one soul into and through another. And, sometimes, by way of the revelations of time and lived experience, one might even surpass the original. Prior to the era of electronic recording, no one “owned” their songs; they were passed on from generation to generation, and neighbor to neighbor - shared and mutating like the living organisms they were. We still retain an instinct to study art through imitation, but if the original exists, why bother? Because we are inspired - (meaning our beings are filled with the breath of their genius) - and we want to capture, and share a bit of that magic. The Splendid Bohemians are proud to present a new series called “Cover Art - The Splendor of the Cover Song,” in which we’ll choose a selection of great covers of artists we cherish, by other artists that we love, or want to know more about, or have been surprised by.  For our maiden voyage we chose Van Morrison - one of the most dynamic and multi-faceted songwriters of his generation.  We’ll go beyond the expected choices like “Gloria” and “Brown Eyed Girl” (two of the most covered numbers in Rock) to explore the deeper recesses of Van’s catalogue, and excavate some precious musical gems. Enjoy!Below is the list of selections, the artists, and the source material:WILD NIGHT / JOHN MELLENCAMP AND MESHELL NDEGEOCELLO ( From: Tupelo Honey, 1971)BRIGHT SIDE OF THE ROAD / RAUL MALO (From: Into the Music, 1979)INTO THE MYSTIC / ALLMAN BROTHERS (From: Moondance, 1970)THE WAY YOUNG LOVERS DO / JEFF BUCKLEY (From: Astral Weeks, 1968)GLAD TIDINGS / MERRY CLAYTON (From: Moondance, 1970)MOONDANCE / GREG BROWN (From: Moondance, 1970) SLIM SLO SLIDER / JOHNNY RIVERS (From: Astral Weeks, 1968)MADAME GEORGE / MARIANNE FAITHFUL (From: Astral Weeks, 1968)FULL FORCE GALE / ELVIS COSTELLO (From: Into the Music, 1979)BRAND NEW DAY / ESTHER PHILLIPS WITH THE DIXIE FLYERS (From: Moondance, 1970)

"Palisades Park" (from Wikipedia) Chuck Barris wrote a song about an amusement park and it was suggested he use the name of an amusement park as the title. One night he was in Manhattan when he looked toward the New Jersey Palisades Cliffs, on which the amusement park sat. That was when inspiration hit and the title was added. Years later the Palisades Amusement Park closed, on September 12, 1971.[2] A tribute to New Jersey's Palisades Amusement Park, it is an up-tempo rock and roll tune led by a distinctive organ part. The track also incorporates amusement park sound effects, including the sounds of screaming riders on the roller coasters, and the quoting of a slower version of "Entrance of the Gladiators", played on an organ imitating a hurdy-gurdy or calliope. In the song, the singer takes a walk after dark and discovers Palisades Park, where he meets and falls in love with a girl. Among the list of rides and attractions listed in the song are: Shoot the Chute, Rocket Ship, Roller Coaster, Loop the Loop, Merry Go Round, Tunnel of Love, and the Ferris Wheel. Chart performanceReleased by Swan Records as a B-side to "June, July and August," "Palisades Park" broke in when a Flint, Michigan radio DJ played it by mistake. It peaked at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 on 23–30 June 1962,[3] On the Hot R&B Sides chart, the song went to #15.[4] "Palisades Park" was the biggest hit of Cannon's career.[5] And, check out Freddy Cannon's webpage: https://www.freddycannon.com/default.htm

TWO CLASSIC SUPPORTING PERFORMANCES BY IRREPLACEABLE CHARACTER ACTORS IN FILMS WITHOUT WHOM WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN AS GREAT.LAIRD CREGAR (1913-1944) from  I WAKE UP SCREAMING (1941), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Wake_Up_Screaming and MARGARET WYCHERLY (1881-1956) from WHITE HEAT (1949) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Heat

Here’s a cosmic riddle for you: A blind man and a mod walk into a bar…. Is it a coffee bar, with a make-shift stage on a corner platform, attended by the beatnik intelligentsia?, or is it a sweaty discotheque packed with beautiful people unabashedly swinging their hips?   It’s definitely a transmogrifying chamber where the musical output of a sharecropper or convict from the work farm can be turned into sexy jazzbo stylings through the sleight of hand of some nifty cultural appropriation and syncopated finesse. There are many manifestations of the “blues” and here we have two vastly different - practically unrecognizable from each other - masters - Sleepy John Estes (1899-1977), and Georgie Fame (born 1943) - existing across the pond, across generations, and across many layers of lived experience, but bonded by their singular love of this primitive music that started in the Mississippi delta, and went on to conquer the world. SLEEPY JOHN ESTESEverybody thought that Sleepy John Estes was dead because Big Bill Broonzy said so. Blind in one eye, folks called him “sleepy” because of a low blood pressure disorder, or some believed he had narcolepsy. He started recording in the 20’s with Hammie Nixon on harp, made some records, went basically “radio silent” throughout the 40s and 50s until Sam Charters rediscovered him in 1962, blind and frail, and kick-started his late in life fame. “Rats in my Kitchen” was recorded at Sun Studios in 1952, but it wasn’t until 10 years later that his recording career gained traction, fueled by those he was influencing across the pond, like Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin. Sleepy John always wrote about his life, and this record has an almost journalistic authenticity. GEORGIE FAMEWhat can one say about Georgie Fame? The man has style for days, and it was thus from the very beginning - in shark skin suits, tab collars, and skinny ties. Born in 1943 as Clive Powell, Georgie Fame and his Blue Flames made their bones swinging his Hammond organ in the mod clubs of the early 60s, and had big commercial hits with Yeh Yeh, and The Ballad of Bonnie and Clyde. Recently, he’s name checked all over the place, and has done notable collaborations with Van Morrison and others. In Parchman Farm you can hear the undeniable influence of the coolest of the cool white blues men, Mose Allison, and the organ of Booker T and the MGs’ Green Onions - a persuasive combination. I’m sure that Bukka White, who wrote this bottle neck Delta blues shouter in 1940 had no inkling that his experience in the Mississippi State Pen would become such a sexy signature tune. You never can tell….

"In 1960s New York City lived a blind, often homeless man with a long, flowing beard, who dressed as a Viking and stood sentinel at the corner of West 54th Street and Sixth Avenue in midtown Manhattan. He sold his poetry and performed on custom-built percussion.  His recordings are considered legendary pieces of original sound emanating from a unique artist who continues to be misunderstood and under appreciated.""Nico was used to being treated as a physical spectacle. At the Dom, Leonard Cohen was a regular guest, and he began writing songs in hopes of seducing her. Her improbable bone structure, and her role in “La Dolce Vita,” intrigued prominent rock managers like Albert Grossman, who worked with Bob Dylan. But her songs were less appealing, and the Dom’s clientele often laughed through her set. She was eventually accompanied on guitar by Tim Buckley, and then by Jackson Browne, who had just arrived in New York. Browne became enamored with Nico, and before they fell out—she accused him of harassing her with obscene phone calls—he gave her two songs: “The Fairest of the Seasons” and “These Days,” both of which appeared on her 1967 début, “Chelsea Girl.”-

Here are a couple of ladies who span generations and genres. They can rock, swing, and croon like nobody’s business, and are renown for their independence. Wanda Jackson is a founding mother of Rockabilly and still partying at 88; She started recording in 1954, and just recently retired. Although she forged the magical fusion elixir that we call Rockabilly, she has also scored hits in the Gospel and Country genres. Sarah Jarosz, 50+ years younger, studied at the New England Conservatory of Music, but remains pure Texas, like Nanci Griffith or Lyle Lovett - indie Americana artists who fuse country with jazz in an irresistible freshness. She has stated that she relishes expansion, collaboration, and experimentation, with a goal toward “honoring the song” and bringing it to life in the most exciting way possible. Both women are accomplished songwriters as well as vocal interpreters, but today we feature them in the latter position - Wanda, from 1962, keens the vertiginous “Whirlpool”, by Fred Burch and Marijohn Wilken, and Sarah crushes Tom Wait’s “Come on Up to the House” with a  funky mandolin.SARAH JAROSZI first heard Sarah Jarosz about 10 years ago on Garrison Keillor’s radio show, and was smitten immediately. Her tender, and at the same time fluid voice and funky mandolin charms completely - reminding me of the great John Hartford and how he transformed bluegrass to Newgrass.  She continued after Garrison left with successor Chris Thile, teaming up with Sarah Watkins, another star from that ensemble, and Aoife O’Donovan to form the trio I’m With Her. At 34, no longer a prodigy, she has become a contemporary bluegrass goddess, who keeps expanding her range. Here she essays Tom Wait’s Come on up to the House, in which she manages to combine spirituality with sex appeal - brilliant. WANDA JACKSONWhirlpool is like a psychedelic Torch Song. Uncharacteristically, Wanda takes the role of a vulnerable, love damaged damsel instead of the Take No Prisoners, kick-ass Rocker she usually projects. Released on Capitol Records and produced by their A&R exec, Ken Nelson, this cut obviously is swinging for the bleachers of commercial Country appeal, but its weirdness kept it from charting. However, it remains a monument to her range and dramatic power. 

To counteract whatever "derangement syndrome" you might be experiencing at the moment, Bill Mesnik of the Splendid Bohemians offers an antidote to your psychic gray skies. Today we're cracking open the big magnums of joy juice, and going back to the very beginning of the Sunny Side of My Street archives with 4 delightful infusions from the land of smiles:100 Years From Today, by Jack TeagardenThe Pink Panther Theme, by Henry ManciniAccentuate the Positive, by Johnny MercerandThe Hut Sut Song, by Horton the Elephant and Freddy Martin.Take as directed.... 

DINO, AND SAMMY, AND FRANK - O MY!What tomfoolery! It’s 4 o’clock in the morning, and these bad boys are just getting started. This recording is a rare glimpse into the real, live, Rat Pack experience - and, the slightly distorted, overloaded sound is just part of the cinema verite. “YOU ARE THERE,” as Walter Cronkite once intoned. The year is 1962. Dean Martin has circled back to the 500 club in Atlantic City, where his career with Jerry Lewis first exploded, and his rat pack brothers in arms are there to support. For anybody devoted to, or interested in this celebrated entourage of 20th century entertainers, you can’t get any closer to the actual experience of being there. The banter is not particularly clever (they’re enjoying themselves, I won’t say MORE than the audience, but equally, at least). There are lapses in taste and attention to keeping the show moving - (an extended drunken improv about stools is one example) - and, though the finest singers of that generation are not always on perfect pitch here, it matters not a jot! The real personalities of these icons is vividly on display. The pecking order and inter-relationships are fascinating. And, as far as sheer entertainment value goes: The band swings hard, the legendary Sammy Davis Jr. sings, dances, and does impressions; Sinatra and Dino croon medleys to die for, and the whole 40 minutes is boffo. Not to be missed!“The 4AM Rat Pack performance presented here was privately pressed on vinyl as a special gift to very special 500 Club patrons.We present this untouched audio from the original acetate as it represents the taste and feel of this historic occasion.”By Don AltobellI will never forget August 26, 1962.I was 24 at the time and after having the good fortune of seeing Dean Martin's appearance at the 500 Club in Atlantic City on Aug 19 -- his first solo gig since his split with Jerry Lewis -- the following week gave me an added treat.Thanks to a drawing I did of Dean, I was able to see his opening shows and also attend rehearsals. And 500 Club owner Skinny Damato introduced me to Dean, who autographed my drawing, which still hangs on my living room wall.Fans knew that Dean's pal, Frank Sinatra, would join him midweek to conclude the engagement. Atlantic City was bursting at the seams, with all hotels, motels, and restaurants jam-packed. At the club itself, tables were pushed together to make room for more patrons. It was a bonanza time for Atlantic City long before the first casino was opened.That closing night after early dinner, I made my way through the block-long line and was ushered inside by a policeman who remembered me after seeing me at so many shows. I didn't mind that I had no seat.Dean was introduced as the star of the show and opened with "I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter" followed by "Volare," "On An Evening in Roma" and "Goody, Goody."Then Sinatra sang, "I Get a Kick Out Of You," followed by Sammy Davis' Jr. doing "The Lady Is A Tramp." (Davis also imitated some actors singing the song including James Cagney and Marlon Brando).Then Frank, Dean and Sammy clowned around and sang "You Are Too Beautiful," "Love Walked Right In" and "This Is My First Affair."While Dean and Frank sang, Sammy danced to "I Can't Give You Anything But Love," "Too Marvelous for Words," "It Had To Be You," and "I've Got the World on a String."Then all three stars joined to close the s

Today we present two piano instrumentals that explore the mysteries of Mist.  Strictly speaking, a “mist” can be defined by some water vapor that obscures your vision, but how many more evocative instances can you think of where a mist appears in a story or film, usually preceding an arrival of some spiritual manifestation? There was a video game called “Myst” (spelled with a Y) which featured a series of puzzles saturated with a heady whiff of the arcane. Your sight is always obscured; your emotional restlessness is never assuaged.  Erroll Garner and Bix Beiderbecke were two jazz titans writing compositions separated by 30 years that hint at this other-worldly quality inherent in the idea of the Mist. Their music excites the senses and tugs at the heart simultaneously; it’s music that lifts off and keeps insinuating an urge to maintain altitude in an unresolved quest for landing, but never deciding on a perch.ERROLL GARNERMost of you probably know Johnny Mathis’s version of Misty, with lyrics by Johnny Burke, that was a monster hit of 1959, but Erroll Garner wrote the song as an instrumental 5 years earlier, on a plane flight to Chicago’s OHare airport, after seeing a rainbow through the airplane window. That’s a fitting image for the complicated feelings invoked here: a glimpse of hope through tears. Influenced by Earl Hines, Garner played with spontaneous timing changes, liquidy octaval melodies, and improvised chordal voicings, and his contribution to jazz evolution was to reconcile the gap between BeBop spontaneity and Orchestral formalism. His style was so free that he was dubbed “the happy man” because this joy he exuded was so palpable. Misty was concocted from the eternal music of the spheres - maybe because his feet were not on the ground when he composed it.BIX BEIDERBECKEThe comet of Bix Beiderbecke’s talent was a mystery in itself: dead from alcohol in 1931 at the age of 28, his cornet style and compositional originality continues to fascinate almost 100 years later. A self taught musician, Bix appeared from podunk Iowa and immediately became a ragtime sensation at the height of the Jazz era with The Wolverines, then with Paul Whiteman’s orchestra (along with Bing Crosby). He was a white man playing a traditionally black form of music, which was a novelty, and that made him easier to market to middle America - but such genius is color blind.Although renowned for his horn playing, he composed In a Mist on piano in 1927 (he was 24), and it’s here that you see the influence of the impressionist composer Claude Debussy, the creator of such sensuous works as Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun and La Mer. Is this Jazz? How did he do it? Clearly, Bix was in touch with mystical forces beyond human understanding, or maybe, like Robert Johnson, he just made a deal with the devil. Either way, the spiritual quest suggested by these chord changes transports us into a misty continent of emotional confusion.

Given that we lost Brian Wilson recently, and there’s been a lot of talk about the elimination of the affordable subcompact, I thought we could reflect a bit upon America’s obsession with the automobile. The BIG auto; the POWERFUL auto.  Especially here in Los Angeles - you gotta have wheels - and you’ll be judged by what you drive. Once, while stopped at an intersection in my little Saturn, I was heckled mercilessly by some tweens on skateboards.On the other side of the argument sits the Goddess Shania Twain - that Canadian Everywoman who raised her siblings single handedly, then went on to conquer Country Pop music with songs like That Don’t Impress Me Much - where she declares that you may have a hot car, Hoss, but, that don’t make you a man in her book. She puts it all in perspective.LITTLE DEUCE COUPE / THE BEACH BOYSNowadays, I drive a Prius, but occasionally I’ll admire the sleek lines of a Dodge Challenger, and fantasize that I could be that muscle car guy. The Prius is wimpy - ya gotta go for The BIG auto; the POWERFUL auto. I can trace this fascination back to ’63, when at the age of 10, I heard Little Deuce Coupe for the first time. I didn’t know what Deuce Coupe meant, but that was ok because Brian Wilson sang “You don’t know what I got!” I now know that the title refers to a 1932 Ford Coupe, and the whole California culture of the drag race was popularized around the country with the invocation of this souped up Franken-car.There were other mechanical beasts in the Wilson canon: There was the T Bird of Fun, Fun, Fun; the “duel in the sun” opponents - the corvette Stingray vs the Mopar described in Shut Down, Granny from Pasadena’s brand new shiny red super stock Dodge, and their anthemic ode to the Chevy 409, but The Deuce Coupe was purportedly Brian’s favorite. You can thank Brian’s lyricist Roger Christian for these automotive articulations, but Brian knew how to implant them into our hearts and minds with his rhythms, melodies, and harmonies.THAT DON’T IMPRESS ME MUCH / SHANIA TWAINThis is where the macho mechanical mythos gets deflated: Shania lets us know in no uncertain terms what makes a man desirable - it’s not your looks, brains, and especially not your car. It’s your courage to commit, your ability to listen, your kindness and tenderness. These are the qualities that win you a place at her table and in her bed.Because she doesn’t need you.  Next to Taylor Swift, Shania is the most successful female Country recording artist. whose albums have spent 97 weeks as the Top Country Albums chart leader. Former husband/producer Mutt Lange may have helped to craft those catchy Pop hits around an image of an accessible Wonder Woman, but even if she hadn’t become a mogul, I have a feeling that Shania’s integrity and sense of who she is would never have faltered.

SPIRIT ANIMALJONATHAN LIVINGSTON SEAGULL by Neil Diamond (Columbia, 1973)There were alot of self-help manuals popularized in the 70’s; I remember gifting my mother the book “Your Eronneous Zones” (but that’s another story)…. My acting teacher in college based her syllabus on Eric Berne’s “I’m Ok, You’re Ok”. But one of the biggest New Age parables making the rounds was Ex-Aviator Richard Bach’s Jonathan Livingston Seagull, the story of an anthropomorphized Christ-like Seagull, who has to fly off from the pack to find his true self.It was a zeitgeist sensation, and spawned a movie with this soundtrack by the immortal Neil Diamond. Maestro Diamond is currently in the middle of a career renaissance - his biographical musical A BEAUTIFUL NOISE  is playing on The Great White Way, and although he struggles with Parkinson’s he continues to work on new music. No one was bigger in the 70s, and although the 1960s Neil Diamond that I loved, the Brill Building song plugger who wrote and recorded Cherry Cherry, You Got to Me, and Solitary Man had seemingly transformed himself into a borscht belt crooner, there was no denying his powers of voice and composition, no matter how cheesy the venue (The Jazz Singer?)I chuckled ironically when I pulled this tape from the pile, anticipating mounds of Velveeta. But now, listening for the first time, I am moved to tears. (This is probably because all my youthful cynicism has given up the ghost). It’s a beautiful musical meditation produced by Tom Catalano, and arranged by Lee Holdridge, and Neil’s voice soars, aloft on chords of longing. Indeed, the album out-grossed the movie by 10 million dollars, and garnered the 1974 Grammy for Best Original Score, demonstrating that although the radio-controlled gliders representing the flying birds in the film might have been fake, Neil’s inspiration was not. 

There have been a lot of good to great films released this year - serious films, films with urgent political underpinnings, films that mix satire, pathos, and artistic ambition with such style that it salves my damaged psyche with a hope that there will be a light at the end of this dark tunnel in which we currently find ourselves. While there is a mordant undertone to many of these transmissions, there is also an implicit message from these artists that life will go on, and there is always love, joy, and gratitude to celebrate at the end of the year.TRAIN DREAMS is such a declaration. Based on a novel by Denis Johnson, the film is a metaphysical meditation on ragged survival through unimaginable grief, and it encompasses all of life and death throughout its dreamscape of primeval imagery. Following the trail of tears of a misbegotten railroad logger, Joel Edgerton delivers the performance of a lifetime, and in the cameo of a wizened old timer-philosopher in the camp, William H Macy transforms to such a degree that he caps his distinguished resume with an Oscar worthy supporting performance.  The Splendid Bohemians nominate this darkhorse masterpiece for film of the year, and would like to honor it today by playing Nick Cave’s Train Dreams theme, along with 2 versions of Jackson Browne’s Shadow Dream Song  (by Gregg Allman and Tom Rush), and Tom Wait’s Innocent When You Dream. 

“You gotta have faith,” George Michael sang a long time ago. Given the unfortunate fate that befell that conflicted artist, it’s worth taking a moment to reflect upon how hard it is to find inner peace, and make a commitment to whatever faith you still possess during this Christmas season. Life is very complicated right now and holding on to love, practicing gratitude, and radiating good intentions will help to get us through these dark days. We here at The Hotel Bohemia want to gift you a holiday sampler chock full of savory contradictions and sweet mysteries, delivered by Jan and Dean, Tom Jones, and Evil Wiener. Since Xmas celebrates the birth of the redeemer, and the gift Christ offered to the world, the three songs lined up today trace the arc of his sacrifice and our crisis of faith: The Annunciation (Jan & Dean); the Crucifixion (Tom Jones); and, finally, the Resurrection (Evil Wiener)The Annunciation (T.A.M.I Show Theme: Jan and Dean)Jan and Dean, like two sun-kissed Angels, announce to the world that a youthful era of optimism has begun. Rock and Roll will save the world, they proclaim, and, we, the youth believed it. In the T.A.M.I. show theme song you can feel the exuberance of their faith. Two years later, Jan Berry almost dies from a car crash, and today the Boomers are rapidly going down in shameful flames, but in this time capsule from 1964 none of that is on the horizon- it’s all smooth sailing ahead.The Crucifixion (Charlie Darwin: Tom Jones)Here the smooth sailing is over, and the all encompassing ocean is overwhelming a ship’s crew - they are drowning. From out of the God given pipes of Sir Tom Jones, a prayer goes out - but to whom? There is a deep crisis of faith portrayed here in mysterious utterances. Does Charlie Darwin represent an irreconcilable conflict between natural selection and charity? Did he try to tell us something that we weren’t ready to hear? That Survival of the Fittest must doom us? Just as Jesus cried out on the cross, “why have you forsaken me?” The crew here is also expressing a crisis of faith. Or, is there a conflict at all? In the end faith is all they have. They are crying out to God as the water consumes them.The Resurrection (All Over the World: Evil Wiener)Bill McCormick, aka Billy Sugarfix, aka Evil Weiner may have had some doubts about the existence of Santa Claus, (and by extension, the Savior), but he’s returned to the fold of the faithful. From the special edition EP from 1993 on the Flavor-Contra label, here is Evil Wiener’s goofy recommitment to his faith - and a joy filled Birthday Greeting to Jesus Christ. Merry Christmas everybody!  

Today, we feature a Christmas cracker that offers some new perspectives on one of our most treasured holiday traditions - The Xmas Song: First, The Turtles, singing “Christmas is My Time of Year,” then, the esteemed actor, Harvey Keitel, telling an off the wall Christmas story, from the film Smoke.Putting on a favorite holiday tape or CD as you wrap the presents or trim the tree was always a highly anticipated ritual - Frank, Dino, Elvis, or Bing never failed to make the season bright. In the 60’s Rock era, of course, Phil Spector’s album was a must. Every pop artist has made one, even Bob Dylan. It made Irving Berlin and Mel Torme millions.  It’s generally a can’t miss proposition. But, I’ll bet you never considered these selections. One isn’t even a song; and then there’s the Turtles number, which is seemingly on the money, but not universally known. THE TURTLES"Christmas is My Time of Year" was written by the jewish Howard Kaylan and the Turtle’s bassist and veteran of the Modern Folk Quartet, Chip Douglas. Douglas also produced, populating the recording with such country rock luminaries as Gram Parsons and Linda Ronstadt. The track has a folksy flair with its twangy guitars and dobros. It’s military 4 on the floor marching beat gives it an overly perky, trying too hard feel, but it’s still a lot of fun - and that’s the mark of a good Turtles song. isn't it?: always promoting optimism and good feelings. Even when they’re singing dark material like PF Sloan’s “Let Me Be” the music counterpoints the dreariness with sunshine.HARVEY KEITEL in SMOKERich threw this curveball into the mix, and I LOVE IT! Mr. Keitel has always been a favorite of ours - and in this clip from Wayne Wang’s Smoke he knocks it out of the park with this shaggy holiday story negotiating the mixed up urges of conscience and larceny. At the end of the segment there is a black and white rendering of the story accompanied by Tom Waits, singing “Innocent when you Dream”.And, it’s here that the overall theme emerges: Christmas is that time when we aspire to live up to our best selves. But, there are so many contradictory images that interfere with this aspiration. We are exhorted to consume, going into debt for the good of the economy, and to our peril. All around us we might notice that the lonely and disenfranchised are suffering worse than ever during this time. So, we look away, trying not to face the disturbing prospect that it could be us next year. We’re only human, after all - but, to be better more than just one day out of the year shouldn’t be asking too much. But, how to begin?

Rich and I are having a ball, reliving our memorable episodes and sharing the cream with you. Today we feature two dynamic instrumental tracks that warranted some our closer scrutiny: Hawaii 5-0 by the Ventures, and Telstar by the Tornados (written and produced by the legendary Joe Meek. 

I hear Jeff Lynne has recently been sidelined by a mysterious infection, and had to cancel some performances. We wish the revered music producer and founder of ELO good health and a quick recovery. Today, Bill and Rich, The Splendid Bohemians would like to celebrate this versatile Rock stylist by playing two cuts separated by decades, from two vastly different incarnations, but somehow identifiable as his, if only by the unique sensibility in which these cuts are marinated: Imposters of Life’s Magazine by The Idle Race, and Tweeter and the Monkey Man by The Traveling Wilburys.There are certain tropes that signify this creator’s hand: catchy musical themes, thick layers of horns and strings and witty Beatle-esque harmonies - (he even got to work with the resurrected voice of John Lennon when producing the Beatle’s ghostly “reunion”tracks Free As a Bird, and Real Love. Like so many of his generation, Jeff came up under the spell of the mop tops, and even this early recording by the Idle Race has that 1967 Psychedelic flavor, pre-dating by a year, but somehow reminiscent of his future Willburys bandmate, George Harrison’s song Savoy Truffle. IMPOSTERS OF LIFE’S MAGAZINEThe personnel changes of the several Birmingham beat groups in the mid-sixties are too numerous to recite here, but one group, The Nightriders are notable because they took on a teenaged Lynne as guitarist in ’66 - and changed their name to The Idle Race (a more timely handle). Roy Wood of the Move, Jeff’s friend and future partner in the formation of ELO, helped the IR get signed, and influential DJ John Peel was an early and strong promoter of the group. Jeff’s tenure with IR was short lived however, and in 1970 he founded (with Wood) the legendary Electric Light Orchestra.This early composition has all the hallmarks that would later define Jeff’s work: witty, yet Romantic lyrics; hard driving rhythms, but with plenty of surprisingly lush filigree. The ambition of the work, with its startlingly different movements, is impressive for such a young talent - but, at the core is Jeff’s unmistakable ear for the “hook” - marking him as one of the most reliable masters of Pop.TWEETER AND THE MONKEY MANTweeter and the Monkey Man, from 22 years later - demonstrates how far the musician had come professionally.  Here Jeff is, arguably the lowest man on the totem pole of The Traveling Wilburys, a Super Group’s Super Group (with a Beatle, George Harrison, future Nobel Laureate Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, and Roy - fucking - Orbison…., yet his mark is unmistakeable. This tune, supposedly written by Bob Dylan, who spittingly delivers it like a parody of Springsteen’s New Jersey, drenched in a Sopranos sauce - and it’s just plain fun. But, the chorus, penned by Jeff with George Harrison, lifts the track to the existential level of a rock opera, giving it “the hook,” the drama and the flair. The layers on this musical cake are delicious - there’s George’s sly slide work; the Lady Madonna horns, the timpani booms counterpointed by a tinkling piano riff; the building of the strings and horns and oohing and aaahing harmonies… they suck me in every time. Good stuff!

Reflecting upon this landmark recording made me realize how much Arlo and his song had been fundamental to my life-long, anti-authoritarian world view. And how, years later, when the war had escalated, and my turn came up for the draft, even though I escaped with a high lottery number, I was already weighing my draft dodging options. I was only 14 when the song was released, but it hipped me to the absurdity of the war in Viet Nam, the legal system, and petty bureaucrats in general. Arlo accomplished this “us against them” subversion with genial irony, which he delivered with an easy charm - not to mention an impressive Travis picking style.  It didn’t hurt that he had the name recognition as the scion of the OG of poetical protest singers, Woody Guthrie, whose song “This Land is Your Land,” almost became our national anthem, and was the adopted relative of “uncle” Pete Seeger, whose signature sing-along method of inspiring social change, which Arlo employs so effectively here.  It was a cultural bombshell, and a first in many ways: At 18 minutes, FM radio usually played it in three separate parts making each rotation an event. It was the longest song to ever gain radio play when spun in its entirety. However, here at the Hotel Bohemia, time has no meaning, so it can be played all the way through on a continuous loop.