MUSIC REVIEW OF THE DAY: ROD STEWART - LIVE 1976-1998 TONIGHT'S THE NIGHT

This is a new thing, a brand-new four-disc boxed set, but issued right away in budget configuration.  Usually these sets by major artists (no snickering about Rod, please) come with all the bells and whistles first time on the racks, with the books and scholarly essays and impeccably-sourced photos and such.  The artist has spent months listening to every concert tape, and gets insanely picky about the sound, as CSNY are doing right now as we (still) wait for the much-promised 1974 "Doom Tour" box.  Not our Rod though, and I wonder if he's even heard any of this.  Not that its bad, it's far from that, it's just...  well, a box on a budget.  It has the skimpiest booklet, with just the bare credits, a couple of photos and that's it, four discs in the smallest jewel case possible.

Now the good news; it's very listenable, even during the direst 1980's times, and answers the important question of, Where was the great singer hiding all those years?  As his albums got worse, his live show kept things up.  Now, part of that is thanks to some judicious choices on the compilers' part.  It doesn't dwell on the hit singles of those times, instead pulling out lots of classic cover versions (Rod may be the best Otis Redding impersonator around), and trotting out lots of Maggie May-era tracks and Faces numbers.  He even jumps back into the blues at times, for numbers such as I Just Want To Make Love To You (Willie Dixon), proving he still has the old touch he began with, back when he was performing with the likes of Long John Baldry.

Disc one is all from 1976, while he was still pretty cool, and although Tonight's The Night was the hit, and featured here, the bulk of his show was made of high quality stuff from solo and Faces albums, such as You Wear It Well, Hendrix's Angel and Ms. Maggie.  The second disc is 76 - 81, and although the rot is starting with weaker numbers like Passion, his crack band more than makes up for it with a quality Stay With Me, and Twistin' The Night Away/Every Picture Tells A Story.  Problems spring up on disc three, as we hit the mid-80's, and some significant suckage (and synth) comes in.  Tonight I'm Yours, Infatuation, and some piece of crap called Bad For You are included, the latter actually marred by some kind of stage hum, a very audible bad chord or the like.  Here's where this budget thing comes in, it's the kind of audio error that would normally be either cleaned up with technology or omitted, and it's shameful to hear it on a major label release.

But disc four brings us back to better quality in the 90's, the synth if it is there sounding much better, thanks to improved machinery and tastes of this decade.  Again, the compilers get their game back on, grabbing cuts such as Mandolin Wind, Cut Across Shorty and Reason To Believe over more embarrassing Rod fair.  Hey, I also seem to have developed a tolerance for Baby Jane, no doubt a side effect of this year's flu vaccine.  I'd say a good two-thirds of this box is quite worthy, which is damn good picking for post 1975 Rod Stewart, and at 58 tracks and a $40 price tag, it's a good deal.

MUSIC REVIEW OF THE DAY: CLELA - MORE LOVE AND HAPPINESS

How may singers are there in the world?  Well, all of us I suppose, but a small percentage are good enough to carry a tune, and an even smaller bunch do it professionally.  Even that number probably counts in the hundreds of thousands if not millions around the world.  And how many of those have truly memorable voices that from the moment you hear them, stand out as pure and perfect?  I listen to music all day long on good days, and I dunno, I figure I might have heard a couple of hundred in my time, at least from the folk/jazz/pop world I hang around.  Clela has one of them.

Clela Errington is a Toronto based folk-world music singer, who writes most of her own songs and plays guitar and ukelele.  On her latest, you get a mix of songs with just her voice and accompaniment, and some with soft, spare and well-chosen backing, from strings, steel guitar, some light synth, etc.  The focus is clearly on her voice and words, the first of those truly stunning, the lyrics heartfelt and sentimental.  Much like Eva Cassidy, when you hear her sing for the first time, you wonder where this voice has been all your life, and want to hear more.

She can do lots, and I think we're only get a taste of what she's capable of here.  Open Up My Heart is a hypnotic, mystic blues, where she gets to lean back and perform with power, quite a stand-up in a set dominated by softer numbers.  Home On High is one of the songs performed solo, just her guitar, a lament for a passing friend, but sung with a great amount of joy for the life and strength this woman is showing in her last time.  It's a terrific and powerful lyric, meant to give heart to the family and friends of this loved one, and must have done the job.  Indigo Blue is a lovely closer, a lullaby for a child played out at the end of the day.

The ukelele playing is a nice touch, taking us away from all-acoustic guitar tunes, and it's especially effective on More Love And Happiness, a song written in tribute to Kate & Anna McGarrigle, mentioned in the opening verse, sung in French.  I'm not so keen on another tribute, Angels On the Radio, too cliche in its reference to Dolly Parton, Townes Van Zandt and Emmylou Harris, hoping to one day join them on the airwaves.  Since she can sing anything and make it amazing, I'd love to hear her find an inspired cover (like, not Hallelujah or Songbird) and make it her own.

MUSIC REVIEW OF THE DAY: KYP HARNESS - ARMAGEDDON BLUES

Harness goes political and apocalyptical on his latest, clearly with a bee in his bonnet. The esteemed Toronto songwriter lets it all out, taking on the greedy, the powerful, the politicians, and all the perceived villains of corporate culture. It's enough is enough, for him, singing "They're traitors to the human race, an evolutionary disgrace, they're low, dishonourable men." He's channeling Dylan '63 in the lyrics, going all Masters Of War on their heads, but more Dylan '66 in the music, rushed and rough rock and roll behind him.


It's not all bleak by any means, with some humour diluting the venom, but its at the expense of the greedheads, us against them. The accusations fly, from deliberate polluting to starting wars to stealing land from farmers. There's a rushed feel to the material, as if he wanted to get out while the mood was with him, and sometimes the lyrics are undercooked, as if the first rhyme available had to do: "Slaughtering everything in sight with a machete/turning the environment into confetti." These aren't his most polished songs, but they are passionate.


Wanting to keep the finger-pointing going, Harness also tackles a couple of major crimes in Ontario history involving disgraceful justice. The Black Donnellys isn't a new story to songwriters, with both Steve Earle and Gene MacLellan tackling it in the past, but Harness does it almost as bleakly as Nick Cave. That's safe subject matter, over a hundred years old, but not so Ipperwash and the death of Dudley George. Clearly on the side of the First Nations protesters, Harness condemns the politicians who sent the riot police in to break up a peaceful protest, using transcripts from OPP radios that night. In an album that's filled with anger and the most heinous crimes perpetrated on a global scale, it's the most powerful story.

MUSIC REVIEW: THE FRETLESS

Don't fret, they had planned to be back. Waterbound, the debut album by The Fretless was a huge success, grabbing Canadian Folk Music Awards for both Instrumental Group and Ensemble Recording in 2012, thanks to their totally fresh sound. They are all classically trained players, bringing their talent and technique to folk, coming up with new arrangement ideas and of course, playing impeccably. This time, in addition to originals and traditionals, they take it further, covering Radiohead's Airbag of all things, featuring guest vocals from Ruth Moody. I like it better than the original.


Aside from one other vocal, this time with Moody and Oliver Swain, the real business is folk melodies with fascinating, weaving arrangements by the three fiddlers, er violinists, and the cellist. Grabbing snatches of most old folk-fiddle styles, the sawing up front is adorned by intricate harmony lines and complex four-part arrangements. Hearing these tunes, which conjure up thoughts of Celtic colours, turkey in the straw and Civil War documentaries, now gussied up with orchestral precision and virtuosity, is the best of both worlds

MUSIC REVIEW OF THE DAY: ICON 2 - THE BEST OF BLUE NOTE

The venerable Blue Note label is one of the most appreciated in jazz circles, with a roster that has included many of the greats over the years.  Still going strong, it now has diversified into all sorts of sounds, but back in the day, it was pure cool, and released many of the landmark albums of the 50's and 60's.  Miles and Monk were there for a time, and in their wake the hard bop sound became the house specialty, with such names as Bud Powell, Art Blakeley, Sonny Clark, Lou Donaldson, Horace Silver and Sonny Rollins all in the discography.

When Universal Music snapped up much of the EMI catalogue, it got Blue Note, and has been actively repackaging the works in this, the label's 75th anniversary.  That includes this nicely-priced double disc, part of the Icon series.  Short on notes but long on music, it's a diverse collection that includes all the above names, and some key tracks, although none of the cliches of jazz samplers.  Davis is featured as a guest on Cannonball Adderley's Somethin' Else, blowing great solos, while Monk is featured in his own performance of 'Round About Midnight, which Davis later claimed as his signature song.  Coltrane blows Blue Train, and Jimmy Smith, master of the B-3, delivers his hit Back At The Chicken Shack. 

Disc two takes us into the modern era, with the 60's represented by Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter and Kenny Burrell.  You can also catch Horace Silver's influential Song For My Father, and hear where Steely Dan ripped off the bass-piano motive for Rikki Don't Lose That Number.  After being sold in 1965 and passed around in corporate deals, the label was revived in the 80's, and still has strong jazz  roots, as heard here from Cassandra Wilson.  But you'll also find hip-hop, and label saviour Norah Jones too, covering Hank Williams' Cold Cold Heart.  These days, Blue Note releases everything from Rosanne Cash to Petty/Heartbreakers keyboardist Benmont Tench, but the glory days still give the name prestige.

MUSIC REVIEW OF THE DAY: SCATTERED BODIES - TALKING SONGS

They don't make 'em like this anymore.  Actually, I'm not sure they ever did.  They, being the beat poets, jazzers and folkies who tried matching poetry to music back in the coffee house days.  Certainly they didn't have sampling.  Usually, it was somebody in a goatee with a bongo player, if the stereotypes are correct.  This is not that.

What it is, well, the sum of its parts is harder to describe than the trio of elements in the mix.  First, you have the words and spoken performance of Canadian poet and author Brian Brett, a gritty and funny collection of earthy verse.  Then there's the music, created by producer Andy Meyers, largely weaved from samples of his early avant-punk Toronto band The Scenics, from the late 70's.  Thirdly, there's the performance of composer Susheela Dawne, who sings much of the Brett poetry, composing new melodies to the loops and such.  She often joins Brett in the songs, and their contrasting styles is one of the highlights here, his sonorous delivery and her haunting beauty.

Don't worry about the high-brow combo of all this, although it is quite an artistic feat.  It's quite entertaining, the poetry plain-spoken and full of laughs, never stuffy, with lots of word-play that adds to the aural experience.  Clothing Of My Youth is a tribute to bad fashion of an earlier time:  "The purple pants, skin tight, except for the flaring bell bottom, I wanna wear the clothes I wore when I thought I was beautiful."  Mostly Brett takes on the two big pillars, death and sex, neither one of them very pretty:  "This is the beauty of creatures like us, tomorrow we'll be dead, today we will be desire."  Take that, Cohen.

Meyers' music is more than just a bed, or sound for emphasis.  It drives the rhythm of the performance, the mood, and mirrors the emotion.  There's slippery fun, dream worlds, and tall tales all within the sounds.  Great White Whale is demented surf music to accompany the story of a near-drowning, repetitive in its loops as Brett's words repeat key phrases.  Hearing, of course, is a necessity here, and despite the unconventional nature, I think many would find this quite accessible.

MUSIC REVIEW OF THE DAY: ELVIS PRESLEY - RECORDED LIVE ON STAGE IN MEMPHIS

Elvis was so great, he was easily the biggest talent, and the biggest waste of talent at the same time.  Case in point, Elvis on stage in front of his hometown fans for the first time in 13 years.  It was just one of dozens of sold-out gigs that year in a huge tour of America that stretched from March to October of 1974, with the usual Vegas stand in there as well.  But this was supposed to be special, and the tapes were rolling for this live album, released a couple of months after the March show.  He was still in great voice too, in shape with none of the voice or health issues that plagued his last couple of years, not yet Fat Elvis.

So why a waste?  The guy had it all, except he also had a lousy sense of humour, and spotty taste in music too.  His lame patter and in-jokes with the band are annoying on disc, and worse, he liked to act silly in the middle of songs, wrecking numbers such as Fever.  It's just childish, the result of playing the same numbers too many times, and having such an adoring audience (plus all his sycophants), willing to act like it's quality entertainment.  As for the song selection, this throws the out the old suggestion that if he had been allowed to record what he liked instead of the numbers Hill & Range Publishing pushed on him (they all owned a piece, the Colonel included), he would have made better albums.  Look at what he chose to perform, instead of all his own hits:  Let Me Be There, by Olivia Newton-John, Steamroller Blues by James Taylor, the insipid flag-waver An American Trilogy, and a bunch of oldie hits from Jerry Lee Lewis, Fats Domino and Little Richard, songs they owned even if the King wanted to claim them.  His own hits, what there were of them, were given the indignity of being shoved into medleys, rushed through and barely acknowledged.  We're talking Hound Dog and Jailhouse Rock, being squeezed into a segment with Flip, Flop and Fly and Loggins & Messina's recent Your Mama Don't Dance.  Then there are the usual problems with an Elvis live show, all the missed vocals when he was handing out scarves or laughing or whatever, enough to be a reoccurring annoyance.

Listening to an Elvis show will never give you the true perspective though, as we don't get the incredible charisma, the crowd excitement, and umm, the karate moves.  What you do get is occasional examples of the greatest voice of rock and roll, and certainly one of the best-ever bands as well, led by The Master of the Telecaster, James Burton.  There are, count 'em, three different vocal groups on stage as well, Sweet Inspirations, Voice and J.D. Sumner and the Stamps.  And an orchestra.  Overkill, oh yes, but at times awesome and overwhelming.  Again though, bad choices abound, especially with the singers, ridiculous parts swelling and taking away from the songs.  All in all, a typical early 70's Elvis show and recording.

This Legacy edition is spruced up quite nicely however, especially the bonus goodies.  We get a handful of songs stripped from the original album release, and it now includes the entire show that day.  On the second disc, a test recording from two days earlier in Richmond is included in its entirety, pretty much the same setlist, but with a little less goofiness.  And best of all, there's a chunk of a band rehearsal from August that year; not long, five songs, but now we really hear the full talent.  Running through these to get them stage ready, there's no scarves or puns or kicks, no showing off, he's working with the players and singers, and taking care of business.  There's a stunning version of Good Time Charlie's Got The Blues, and now he's thinking, now he's interpreting and harmonizing with great voices.  Even if the songs he's chosen are sentimental and showbiz (The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face, The Twelfth Of Never), to hear him in this way is to understand why he was, and still is The King.