Eternal Ozzness?

It’s ironic that every TV news station is doing their “tributes” to the late Ozzy Osbourne this morning. Why is it ironic? Because he was a guy who made a name for himself by being scrutinized by said media throughout a good deal of his musical career. I’ve never been an Ozzy superfan, but definitely have some songs of his I’ve always enjoyed. One Ozzy tune I think has been overlooked is Shot in the Dark from the 1986 album Ultimate Sin.

Osbourne’s first three solo albums had great titles: Blizzard of Ozz, Diary of a Madman, and Bark at the Moon. Years later there was Bat Head Soup: A Tribute to Ozzy. See what I mean?

I would probably have to pick his work with Randy Rhoads as my favorite chapter in his career. I might still have the double album Randy Rhoads Tribute on cassette somewhere. It’s a good collection of his Black Sabbath and solo efforts. Flying High Again is a good cut.

There’s plenty more which can be said about Osbourne, but one thing worth noting, in my opinion, is he was a big fan of The Beatles. I saw an interview where he talked about having a dream where his sister married Paul McCartney. You know, he went downstairs to breakfast and they were having corn flakes. I guess it beats Bats Head Soup.

Till next time, keep your Mojo on the Horizon!

Betwixt or Between?

It’s weird how we all are exposed to different pieces of art, whether it’s music, film, paintings or something else. Sometimes it comes via friends, family, or co-workers. Sometimes it seems completely random. Such is the case with the 2011 film “Twixt” which not only starred Val Kilmer, Bruce Dern, and Elle Fanning, but was directed by Francis Ford Coppola. I was basically channel surfing and came across this one. I couldn’t think of any songs with “betwixt” in the title so I’m sharing George Harrison’s tasty cover of “Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea.”

I’d never seen the video prior to today, but it looks George was having good ole time with his musical mates.

Getting back to the film, “Twixt” was apparently inspired by a dream of Francis Ford Coppola’s. The basic story involves a low-budget writer (Kilmer) who arrives in a Gothic, Stephen King-eque town where he encounters the sheriff (Dern) and a ghostly young girl (Fanning). After Kilmer’s book signing at the local hardware store, he stays at The Chickering Hotel. It’s a place where Edgar Allen Poe stayed (at least in the story). There’s a lot more supernatural aspects to the story and it’s visually interesting to watch. There’s also some clocktower with 7 different times running simultaneously. “Twixt” is definitely an off the beaten path film.

From what I read, Coppola intended to release the film and then sort of extend different scenes as an audience was watching in the theatre. Cool concept, but it was costly.

Till next time, keep your Mojo on the Horizon!

P.S. “Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea” was written by Harold Arlen and Ted Koehler. Cab Calloway recorded the original version.

Case of The Blue Mondays

Well it’s another Monday and that means back to work for most of us. That general feeling of “uggghhh” got me thinking about the song “Blue Monday” which was written by New Orleans songwriting staple Dave Bartholomew. It was originally released by Smiley Lewis, but perhaps the best known version was recorded by Fats Domino. For some reason, I found a video with the lyrics in both English and Spanish. I guess Mondays suck south of the border, too.

I always liked this song. I remember it was prominently featured in the film “This Boy’s Life”, which starred Robert DeNiro and Leonardo DiCaprio. (It’s definitely blog-worthy.) Today I scrolled through a few covers of “Blue Monday” and found one by Dave Edmunds.

If you know Dave Edmunds’ music, you can probably hear some similarity between this one and his version of “I Hear You Knocking”, which was also written by Dave Bartholomew and first released by Smiley Lewis. (Edmunds even calls out Smiley Lewis’ name during the song.)

My Monday hasn’t been bad, but it’s just the idea of going back to work which gives us all “A Case of the Mondays” ( a la the film “Office Space).

Till next time keep your Mojo on the Horizon!

No Fading, Buddy – Pt. 5

For whatever reason, a sense of duty, personal taste, or just sheer randomness, I decided to share some different versions of the Buddy Holly song “Not Fade Away.” So far, most of the versions have been male vocalists with the exception of Sheryl Crow (and Hank Marvin’s instrumental.) After watching a few interviews with Crow, I know Stevie Nicks happens to be one of her big influences. It just so happens that Nicks also recorded this one for a Buddy Holly tribute.

Nicks and Crow aren’t the only female singers to cover it. Tanya Tucker even did her take on it during the late 70s.

I wonder if her record company tracked the number of albums bought due to her wearing leather pants on the cover?

Anyway, if I absolutely had to pick a favorite version, it would probably be The Rolling Stones or the original Buddy Holly version. Apparently, the original featured some high dollar percussion on it. That is to say, a cardboard box.

Jerry Allison apparently used his sticks on both the cardboard box AND actual drums. What else can you say about the song? It was recorded in Clovis, New Mexico for what that’s worth. I could have broken down each instrument into isolated sections, but I think you get the idea.

My love for “Not Fade Away” is bigger than a Cadillac. It always has been and always will be.

Till next time, keep your Mojo on the Horizon!

No Fading, Buddy – Pt. 4

I suppose you can consider this my own personal blog binge. If I were more patient, I would space these entries across a week, but that’s just not me. I’m talking about the Buddy Holly original tune “Not Fade Away” which has been recorded many times by many different recording artists. You have The Stones, The Dead, Rush, Sheryl Crow, and even more. One of those “mores” is blues guitarist Walter Trout. Like many versions out there, the drums start the groove of this one.

While I’m no expert on Walter Trout, I know his name. Somewhere along the way I heard an interview with him where he talked about his shoulder(s) not being able to take the weight of a guitar anymore. I’d call that dedication. He’s also been part of groups like John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers, Canned Heat, and been a sideman for blues legends like John Lee Hooker.

Another musician who has recorded Holly’s “Not Fade Away” is Hank Marvin. Marvin not only wore thick rimmed glasses like Holly, but also learned a thing or two about playing electric guitar. Marvin is known for playing with The Shadows…as in Cliff Richard and The Shadows. They were bigger in England than in the U-S-of-A. Naturally, Marvin’s take is an instrumental.

I appreciate the use of a Wah pedal in Marvin’s version. You can also hear a bit of harmonica as well. I don’t think playing a Fender Stratocaster is a requirement for recording or playing on this tune, but it seems like a popular choice.

Till next time, keep your Mojo on the Horizon!

No Fading, Buddy – Pt. 3

“Not Fade Away” is an interesting three chord tune which has been recorded a lot. Buddy Holly is the brains/voice/guitar/pen behind the original version which came out in 1957. The song was later recorded and released by The Rolling Stones (twice) , Sheryl Crow, and….Canadian three piece band Rush?

Yes, THAT Rush — the prog rock band with bassist/keyboardist Geddy Lee on vocals. It seems a little odd to hear this version now, but give the band credit for going with a Buddy Holly tune for this early recording in their now well-known catalog. This was pre-Neil Peart Rush for die-hard fans with John Rutsey on drums.

Deadheads will associate the same song with The Grateful Dead. However, you might have to wait 3 minutes or longer to hear the actual vocals. I guess that’s status quo for a jam band.

I have some appreciation for The Grateful Dead — especially the guitar playing of Jerry Garcia — but I worked in radio for a time. I don’t think a 3 minute intro is exactly what’s considered to be “radio-friendly”, especially since the original was less than two and a half minutes long. They do get bonus points for the sugar skull artwork from me at least.

I wonder how many other versions of this tune are blog-worthy?

Till next time, keep your Mojo on the Horizon!

No Fading, Buddy – Pt. 2

In case you missed the award-winning blog entry of Part One, I’m sharing some opinion and insight into the Bo Diddley-esque Buddy Holly tune “Not Fade Away.” Personally, I think the original Holly version might be considered a masterpiece in and of itself, but plenty of well-known musicians have also paid homage and put their own unique spin on this song. One of the best known cover versions is by The Rolling Stones. It featured some blues harmonica by founding Stones member Brian Jones (and Mick Jagger on maracas).

I think the first time I was really made aware of the Stones’ bluesified version of “Not Fade Away” was by a guitarist friend of mine. At the time, he pointed out the call-and-response guitar solo which moves quickly. It’s basically the song’s chords of E, A, & D, but played in different positions. Nevertheless, it works. It was also on the innocently titled Rolling Stones album “England’s Newest Hitmakers.”

Many years later, the Stones released a version much like the original Buddy Holly one on 1995’s “Stripped” album. It was a few years after what I would consider the heyday of the whole unplugged phenomenon on MTV, but they didn’t record or play on MTV anyway.

Here’s something to think about…In the 1960s version, you had Brian Jones doing the blues harmonica thing on “Not Fade Away”, but Mick Jagger was the one blowing harp on the 1995 version. I guess Mick picked up a thing or two in those 30 or so years. Regardless of the version, Buddy Holly’s three chord tune still works.

Till next time, keep your Mojo on the Horizon!

No Fading, Buddy – Pt. 1

There are cover songs and then there are COVER SONGS. Do you know what I mean? Some songs seem to just keep going perpetually, which I find fascinating. Case in point is “Not Fade Away” which is associated with Buddy Holly, but has also been recorded well over 100 times. While the songwriting credits go to Buddy Holly (real name Charles Hardin Holly) and Norman Petty, the rhythm of the song is most closely associated with Bo Diddley. Believe it or not, this song was actually a “B-side”, with “Oh Boy” as the “A-side.”

In addition to the number of times the song has been covered, what I find interesting is this — the musical arrangement is fairly simple, but so damn catchy. It’s a three chord thing (E, A, & D) with some backing vocals, infectious percussion, and a non-shredder guitar solo.

I’m going to share several different versions of “Not Fade Away”, but the one by Missouri native Sheryl Crow just came my way recently (and inspired this blog/series).

For whatever reason, I missed this one in 2007. I like this version. It’s true to the original, but simultaneously has Crow’s unique vocal stamp on it. Apparently, Crow’s version also went to benefit breast cancer research. I guess I don’t find myself in a Revlon rich environment too often. There is some harmonica on it, which I will revisit in other chapters.

Personally, I think the first time I heard “Not Fade Away” was when I purchased “Buddy Holly -23 All-Time Greatest Hits”, a double length cassette. That’s a fairly random number, but I definitely got my money’s worth out of it. I also let a linebacker on the college football team dub a copy of it during my freshman year. His comment upon seeing my cassette collection was, “You have Buddy Holly…that is sweet!”

Till next time, keep your Mojo on the Horizon!

America Still Rocks

If you live in America, you’ve probably noticed those loud explosions during the past week or so. Yep, it’s time to recognize the United States of America’s birthday by blowing up as many things as you can get away with or at least lighting off some firecrackers. (Drinking alcohol is not mandatory, but it is highly encouraged.) If fireworks aren’t your thing, hopefully you’ll find the time to enjoy some celebratory music. Versions of patriotic songs seem to come and go with the times. Recording artists like Ray Charles, Whitney Houston, and Kate Smith are a few of the first names which pop into my mind. However, Night Ranger will always hold a special place in my heart for their song “(You Can Still) Rock in America” from 1983’s “Midnight Madness” album.

Night Ranger was one of my first “favorite bands” when I was in junior high and high school. While the video may be a tad dated (and maybe ridiculous in parts), the song is guitar driven, high energy rock and roll. (There’s a nod to the flag raising on Iwo Jima around the 1:35 mark of the video.) In my opinion, we can always use more of that American invention of rock and roll.

One of my other favorite patriotic songs is “Rock, Flag, & Eagle” from the show “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.”

I could muse ‘Murican for a lot longer. However, I feel obligated to mention the youngest competitor in this weekend’s Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest history is from the Kansas City metropolitan area. Thus, proves my theory that you can still rock (and eat) in America.

Till next time, keep your Mojo on the Horizon!

P.S. “I’m gonna rise up, I’m gonna kick a little ass, gonna kick some ass in the USA, gonna climb a mountain, gonna sew a flag, gonna fly on an eagle, I’m gonna kick some butt, I’m gonna drive a big truck, I’m gonna rule this world, gonna kick some ass, gonna rise up, kick a little ass – ROCK, FLAG AND EAGLE!”

Foggy Toasted Town

British Humor — I can’t say I love or hate all of it, but there is one show I highly recommend. “Toast of London” stars Matt Berry as actor Steven Toast. Toast is a portly, middle-aged dude with a skunk stripe in his hair and a moustache. He’s normally dressed in all black…perhaps that’s to mourn is acting career woes. Many, if not all, of the episodes start with Toast supplementing his income while he does voiceover work. At the studio he has to deal with two hipsters. The main one goes by the moniker of “Clem Fandango”. As you might imagine, the show is set in London, England. The Byrds’ tune “Eight Miles High” was inspired by the band’s flight into said town.

The only show I can remotely compare to “Toast” might be “Seinfeld” in terms of its sheer zaniness. It’s off the wall. A few plot lines involve Toast trying to join the Freemasons, his manager Jane falling back into her L.S.D. addiction, and a homeopath performing an exorcism on one of Toast’s house guests. Toast is always auditioning for various roles and is always encountering his nemesis Ray “Bloody” Purchase. Toast’s affair with Mrs. Purchase probably doesn’t help either.

The show was created by Matt Berry and Arthur Matthews. It was directed by Matt Cumming. Currently, you can view “Toast of London” free of charge on The Roku Channel. By the way, Matt Berry also composed the show’s theme song and has released several of his own albums.

Here are some alternate titles for this blog post:

A Post about Toast
London Toast is Falling Down
Toast is the Most (from coast to coast)
Down by the Whipping Toast
Toasted, Not Stirred

Till next time, keep your Mojo on the Horizon!