Album Review – Bad Love by Randy Newman

For the first time in over a year, here's an album review that wasn't written for KKBox, but purely for this blog.

Album Title: Bad Love
Artist: Randy Newman
Release Date: June 1, 1999

My Country
Shame
I'm Dead (But I Don't Know It)
Every Time It Rains
The Great Nations of Europe
The One You Love
The World Isn't Fair
Big Hat, No Cattle
Better Off Dead
I Miss You
Going Home
I Want Everyone to Like Me

All songs written by Randy Newman

When Randy Newman released the album Bad Love in 1999, it had been over a decade since his last solo studio album, though he had done a considerable amount of soundtrack work and released the soundtrack to his musical Faust in the intervening period. Most of his previous few albums, though they all contained some good and even great songs, had been somewhat inconsistent for a writer of Newman’s caliber. But Bad Love, though it might not be quite the equal of Newman’s early albums like Sail Away, comes very close to those classics in quality. The lyrics are as ironically clever and well-written as those on Newman’s best albums, and they are coupled with great melodies (unlike quite a few of his more recent songs, where he speaks as much as or more than he sings). There is a lot of stylistic variety in the music and the production by Mitchell Froom and Tchad Blake brings out the best in the songs and in Newman’s voice, which is quite effective despite his vocal limitations. Close to half the songs on the album are truly brilliant and deserve to be regarded as classics, and the rest are all at least good. Unfortunately, in spite of Newman’s relative prominence and positive reviews from critics, this album sold very little at the time, even compared with some of Newman’s own previous releases, which have never been huge sellers. It is one of the most underrated albums that I know of.

Bad Love Song by Song

My Country: The album opens with a song that represents everything I like about Newman’s best songs. In fact, it has a lot in common with “Sail Away”, probably my favorite Newman song of all. For one thing, both have a great melody, particularly the choruses, and someone who didn’t listen very closely might think they are meant to be uplifting, even patriotic songs. But a closer listen reveals the biting irony that Newman so often displays. What’s more, his use of irony is particularly keen in these two songs, in that it is subtle and yet not so subtle that it isn’t obvious in one close reading of the lyrics. In this instance, Newman takes the perspective of a man who talks of nights he and his family spent together, not having deep discussions or sharing anything of real importance, but watching television together. It has some really great lines that are both humorous and insightful about the shallowness of the character and his family relationships, as well as the things they watch (“We’ve got comedy, tragedy/Everything from A to B”). There’s even a line in the chorus that I misheard as perhaps more ironic than even Newman himself intended – according to the lyrics, he sings “This is my country/These are my people/I know them like the back of my own hand”, but to me “hand” sounded like “head”. This was probably not intentional on Newman’s part (though you never know), but of course even the intended lyric is ironic in that the character doesn’t really know his family all that well. In any case, not being a big fan of television and the propensity of modern people – including all too often myself – to spend all their time glued to a screen (now including portable ones on phones and other devices), I particularly appreciated this track.

Shame: This is another one of the standout tracks on the album, and one that seems to be a favorite of Newman himself. The interplay between Newman in his role as the song’s protagonist and the R&B backing vocalists singing “Shame, shame, shame, shame, shame” is particularly clever and amusing. The music is excellent, both in terms of composition and arrangement and the lyrics are well-written. The song is perhaps less easy listening in some ways than the others on the album, simply because, like in many of his best songs, Newman inhabits the character he is playing so fully, and (again like in many of his best songs), that character is a bit creepy. Here he is an old self-centered rich man in love with, or rather obsessed with, an attractive younger woman, who his song is directed at. While in most of the song he alternates between pleading and petulant complaining, at one point he hints strongly at a violent undercurrent to his personality, leaving the listener to hope the target of his affections has the sense to stay away from him. In a sense, this makes the song even more impressive as a piece of art, which is no doubt why Newman himself likes it. But it might be a bit of jolt for listeners who aren’t used to this type of writing in popular music, and it means this song is unlikely to be covered by many other artists, despite its many merits.

I’m Dead (But I Don’t Know It) (amazingly and unfortunately, the album version doesn't seem to be on YouTube anywhere, so the link is to one of Newman's many live performances of the song): This is yet another excellent track, in all its aspects – music, arrangement and lyrics. One of the most rocking songs Newman has done, it mocks over-the-hill rockers who persist in continuing their careers despite noticeable drop-offs in the quality of their work. It has some great lines, such as “I have nothing left to say/But I’m gonna say it anyway” and “Each record that I’m making/Is like a record I’ve made/Just not as good”, and the electric guitars (reminiscent of Brian May of Queen) are used to great effect. Of course this isn’t to say that all old rockers should necessarily take the track to heart, as many of them, including Newman himself, continue to make worthwhile albums. But the type of character Newman portrays here definitely exists, and the problem of knowing when to quit is something people in all sorts of fields from art to sports have to face. All in all, it’s another great song.

Every Time It Rains: This song is one of the most straight-forward on the album, which is why Newman himself considers it a lesser work (though he also notes that it’s the kind of song others are more likely to cover). It may not quite equal the previous three, simply because it lacks the brilliantly ironic lyrics they have, but it’s still a very good song with a beautiful melody and an evocative atmosphere. Perhaps just because of the word “rain”, it sort of reminds me of Newman’s early classic “I Think It’s Going to Rain Today". Apparently Newman wrote it with Michael Jackson in mind, and while Jackson never recorded it, Joe Cocker covered it.

The Great Nations of Europe: This is yet another brilliant track, on par with the first three. The music is a dramatic march, perfectly fitting the lyrics, which in just a few minutes thoroughly eviscerate the Europeans of the Age of Exploration for their wholesale destruction of both wildlife and native peoples in the lands they explored. It features yet more great lines like “There were natives there called Guanches/Guanches by the score/Bullets, disease, the Portuguese and they weren’t there anymore”. Newman concludes the song by suggesting that we may someday by wiped out by a disease from Africa (presumably something like AIDS or Ebola) in the same way the Europeans of the sixteenth century wiped out the native peoples of the Americas. While the metaphor seems a bit of stretch, not so much because the Europeans were not as destructive as a virulent plague (in some ways they were more so, since as Newman points out they destroyed wildlife as well as their fellow humans), but because there is a lot of difference in the pattern of the destruction they cause, but it is still a fairly clever one. While it may not quite equal the rest of the song, it’s a more satisfying conclusion than that in Sting’s similar (and also quite well-written) “Children’s Crusade”, where a brilliant pair of verses about the slaughter that World War I wreaked among England’s youth is somewhat let down by an analogy with the epidemic of drug use among contemporary English youth, which despite its seriousness could not begin to compare with the destructiveness of the war. But even without their conclusions, both songs provide useful history lessons in the most compact and entertaining fashion possible.

The One You Love: This song, an R&B-style track that takes a cynical look at love, is slightly less memorable than the ones before it, but it’s still a solid effort that would be a standout track on an album by a lesser artist.

The World Isn’t Fair (another song where the only versions on YouTube are live performances): This is yet another great song, perhaps the last of the tracks on the album that reaches the level of a true classic, with the possible exception of the closing track. In the first half of the song, Newman provides a capsule biography of Karl Marx, and in the second half he imagines telling Marx about what was done with his plan (“If you’d seen how they worked it/You’d be glad you were dead”) and showing him around Newman’s own world, in which, as Newman brilliantly concludes, “…the rich just richer/And the poor you don’t ever have to see/It would depress us, Karl/Because we care/That the world still isn’t fair”. On this track Newman once more neatly tackles a big issue in just a few minutes of song. If this song has a minor flaw it is that the melody, while good, is not quite the equal those of the first few tracks, and Newman speaks rather than sings some of his lines. This isn’t necessarily such a bad thing, as it’s really just another style of performance with just as much artistic merit as singing. But since I am generally a big fan of melody I would probably rank songs like “My Country” or “The Great Nations of Europe” slightly higher than this one – but only slightly.

Big Hat, No Cattle: This is a cowboy song about a man whose entire life is built on lies. It’s a minor effort compared to what went before, but still good, and it adds even more musical variety to the album.

Better Off Dead: This song is somewhat like “The One You Love”, as it is also a cynical look at love. It’s another good song with a solid arrangement, if not as great as some of what went before.

I Miss You: This is an unusually personal song for Newman, directed at his ex-wife. While some of Newman’s typical cynicism makes an appearance (“I’d sell my soul and your souls for a song”), it is still heartfelt. Lyrically it’s rather simple, but it’s nevertheless effective.

Going Home: This is a short, simple little song that was apparently inspired by World War I. It actually dates back to the late 1970s, and appeared in demo form on the Newman box set Guilty: 30 Years of Randy Newman. While not as memorable as some of the other tracks, it’s a nice, old-fashioned sounding little tune.

I Want Everyone to Like Me: This upbeat track is another fairly personal song for Newman, as the character he plays seems to closely resemble Newman himself. Simply put, he’s in show business because he wants everyone to like him. While he’s occasionally egotistical (“I’d like to learn the respect of my peers…I’d like to find out where they are, by the way”), in reality deep down, he’s “a little insecure”. This is yet another track on which a very good melody is paired with clever, well-written (and meaningful) lyrics, so it makes an appropriate closer for an album of highly varied, very well-written songs that once again illustrate that Newman deserves his reputation as one of the greatest songwriters of his generation.

Band On The Run: A Beatles Album from 1974

Having recently written an article on John Lennon for KKBox (it hasn't appeared on their website yet, but probably will in the next few weeks) and with the McCartney tribute album The Art of McCartney having just been released (I haven't got it yet, but I will pick it up when I see a reasonably-priced copy here, and I'll probably be writing about it for KKBox as well), it seems like a good time for the next in my what-if-the-Beatles-hadn't-broken-up series of imaginary Beatles albums of the 1970s, following What Is Life (1970), Working Class Heroes (1971), Imagine (1972), and Live and Let Die (1973). For the second time, I violated my rule against using an album title from an actual solo release, because the title seemed too suitable to resist. This one, which has some excellent songs, particularly from Paul and Ringo, could have been released either at the end of 1973 or in early 1974. As with previous albums, I'm posting my original track listing and liner notes.

Band On The Run

Helen Wheels (McCartney/McCartney) 3:44 (1973/10/26)
Mind Games (Lennon) 4:13 (1973/11/02)
Photograph (Harrison/Starkey) 3:57 (1973/11/02)
Don't Let Me Wait Too Long (Harrison) 2:58 (1973/05/30)
Band On The Run (McCartney/McCartney) 5:10 (1973/12/05)
One Day (At A Time) (Lennon) 3:17 (1973/11/02)
Jet (McCartney/McCartney) 4:07 (1973/12/05)
Devil Woman (Starkey/Poncia) 3:50 (1973/11/02)
Sue You Sue Me Blues (Harrison) 4:48 (1973/05/30)
Out Of The Blue (Lennon) 3:23 (1973/11/02)
Six O'Clock (McCartney) 4:08 (1973/11/02)
Nineteen Hundred And Eighty-Five (McCartney/McCartney) 5:27 (1973/12/05)

Total Time - 48:27

Helen Wheels
Written by Paul and Linda McCartney; Performed by Paul McCartney and Wings
Recorded 1973/09; Released 1973/10/26 (single release [UK])
Single (Also appeared on Band On The Run [US only])

Mind Games
Written and Performed by John Lennon
Recorded 1973/07; Released 1973/11/02
From Mind Games

Photograph
Written by Richard Starkey (Ringo Starr) and George Harrison; Performed by Ringo Starr
12 String Acoustic Guitar and Harmony Vocal: George Harrison
Recorded 1973/03; Released 1973/11/02
From Ringo

Don't Let Me Wait Too Long
Written and Performed by George Harrison
Recorded 1972/10-1973/01; Released 1973/05/30
From Living In The Material World

Band On The Run
Written by Paul and Linda McCartney; Performed by Paul McCartney and Wings
Recorded 1973/09; Released 1973/12/05
From Band On The Run

One Day (At A Time)
Written and Performed by John Lennon
Recorded 1973/07-08; Released 1973/11/02
From Mind Games

Jet
Written by Paul and Linda McCartney; Performed by Paul McCartney and Wings
Recorded 1973/09; Released 1973/12/05
From Band On The Run

Devil Woman
Written by Richard Starkey (Ringo Starr) and Vini Poncia; Performed by Ringo Starr
Recorded 1973/03; Released 1973/11/02
From Ringo

Sue You Sue Me Blues
Written and Performed by George Harrison
Recorded 1972/10-1973/01; Released 1973/05/30
From Living In The Material World

Out Of The Blue
Written and Performed by John Lennon
Recorded 1973/07-08; Released 1973/11/02
From Mind Games

Six O'Clock
Written by Paul McCartney; Performed by Ringo Starr
Piano and Synthesizer: Paul McCartney
Backing Vocals: Paul and Linda McCartney
Recorded 1973/03; Released 1973/11/02
From Ringo

Nineteen Hundred And Eighty-Five
Written by Paul and Linda McCartney; Performed by Paul McCartney and Wings
Recorded 1973/09; Released 1973/12/05
From Band On The Run

Band On The Run is made up entirely of songs released in 1973, which was the biggest year for solo Beatle releases, with the possible exception of 1970. Paul's best solo release of the 1970s, Band On The Run, is the source of four tracks (if we count "Helen Wheels", which was a single only release in the UK), including the opening, closing and title tracks. The album from which they are taken, Paul's third release with Wings, garnered the most positive critical response that any of his solo efforts had yet received. "Helen Wheels" is a solid rocker and in my opinion makes a great opening track. "Band On The Run" and "Jet" were of course no-brainers when it came to making selections, being two of Paul's best hits of the seventies and the biggest reasons for the critical plaudits the album received, while "Nineteen Hundred And Eighty-Five" makes a melodic closer. Yet more tracks from Band On The Run appear on the next "Beatles" album.

John's contributions come from Mind Games, his fourth solo album. This album is generally regarded as being a much better release than the overly political Some Time In New York City, though not quite as good as Imagine. Ironically, given their reputations, John doesn't rock as much as Paul on this album, but both "Out Of The Blue" and "One Day (At A Time)" are good introspective tunes in the mold of tracks like "Jealous Guy", as is "Mind Games" itself, though the latter has somewhat more elaborate production.

George's tracks, like those on the previous "Beatles" album Live And Let Die, come from his second solo album Living In The Material World. While neither of the two tracks appearing here is the equal of "Give Me Love (Give Me Peace On Earth)", the big hit from LITMW, "Don't Let Me Wait Too Long" is a excellent piece of melodic rock, and "Sue You Sue Me Blues" shows George's tongue-in-cheek humor (despite his serious reputation, many of George's songs provide evidence that he in fact had the best sense of humor of the four), in this case poking fun at the Beatles' legal squabbles.

Last but not least (on this album, if not on others) is Ringo. Like his two contributions to Live And Let Die, all three tracks here come from his 1973 solo album Ringo, which was far and away his best. "Devil Woman" is a track which Ringo co-wrote with Vini Poncia, and "Six O'Clock" was Paul's contribution to the album, which, as mentioned in the notes for Live And Let Die, was the only solo Beatles release to feature all four ex-Beatles. Both of these songs are solid if not spectacular, but what really makes Ringo's contribution important to this album is "Photograph", which not only was a number one hit, but also the best song of Ringo's solo career (the only possible competition coming from "It Don't Come Easy") and in my opinion one of the best songs Ringo ever sang lead vocals for, second only to "With A Little Help From My Friends". George of course played a major role in recording the track, and while it's officially co-written by Ringo, from the sound of it I suspect that George did most of the writing (on the other hand, Ringo apparently has said he wrote most of it and George just helped him finish it). As an aside, other tracks from Ringo which were candidates for inclusion were the other number one hit, "You're Sixteen", featuring Paul on kazoo (which I excluded since it was a cover); the excellent Randy Newman song "Have You Seen My Baby", featuring Marc Bolan on guitar (left off for the same reason as "You're Sixteen") and "Oh My My", another Ringo collaboration with Vini Poncia (I decided I preferred "Devil Woman"). One other track from Ringo did make it onto the next "Beatles" album.

Thanks in particular to "Band On The Run", "Photograph" and "Jet", this is in my opinion one of the best 1970s "Beatles" albums yet, at least as far as good melodic pop songs go. And when you notice that not only all the tracks on this album but many of those on Live And Let Die and a few on the next album as well were released in 1973, you can see why I say it was possibly the best year for solo Beatle releases. As will be seen, their productivity began to decline fairly quickly from this high point, but between them they still managed to produce a lot of good material, though it was spread out over more time.

My KKBox Articles

Over the past year or so, I have been posting articles and reviews that I've written for the online music service KKBox here, partly because they were not viewable by the general public, only by subscribers to the service. But it seems that is no longer the case, as I recently discovered that the KKBox Malaysia website has a webpage for my articles. They seem to all be there, though I haven't look at them to see how they may have been changed by the editor. I can say that most of the titles for the early articles weren't mine, as with the exception of the first couple of articles, I didn't bother to think of interesting titles, and not surprisingly the editor seems to have make up for this deficiency. But the original editor left around the end of last year, and the current one apparently has just been using the rather straightforward titles I put on the documents, as a quick look through the articles should indicate. One of these days I'll get around to reading the articles on the site myself to see if anything other than titles were changed, though in any case what I've republished here has been what I sent them, prior to any editorial changes.

One downside to the articles now being publicly available is that I have less reason to post them here. This is a downside because one reason I've been doing so frequently of late is because I haven't had time to write much new content specifically for this blog, though there are plenty of things I would like to write about. In other words, by republishing my year-old KKBox articles, I could ensure that I had at least one new post a month without actually having to take the time to write anything. To be honest, I may still end up find a way to use my work for KKBox to fill space here. I may still decide to post some of the articles here, particularly ones that I am relatively pleased with myself (in some cases I may also want to provide links to more of the songs or artists referenced in the articles, as for many articles they seem to have edited down the playlists I originally provided), or I may simply post a brief introduction and a link to the article on the KKBox site. One reason is that I've still got a number of projects to work on, including my Taiwanese aboriginal and popular music history research. I've also recently been asked to edit a lengthy English translation for a box set on a type of Taiwanese Hakka traditional music, and to translate some additional material for it, which will take up much of my free time for the next month or so. But I will try to at least sometimes make more interesting use of this space with some music related content that isn't already available elsewhere. One possibility is more posts written as a sort of ricochet off articles I've done for KKBox: a previous example is my list of my top 15 Rolling Stones songs, which was inspired largely by my article on the Stones' 50th anniversary (see below). Of course I also hope to add some more album reviews and artist retrospectives that are independent of the ones I've done for KKBox. I'll probably also post the one or two imaginary 1970s Beatles albums that I haven't posted here yet, and maybe a few of the compilation albums I've put together over the years.

In any case, here is an overview of the articles I did for KKBox that I haven't yet posted here:

My article on the 50th anniversary of the Rolling Stones.

My career retrospective on Paul McCartney and review of his album New (for a different look at McCartney, there's also my old post on him, and those on John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr)

My articles on the recently deceased luminaries Lou Reed and Pete Seeger (I have previously published brief looks at both Reed and Seeger here as well).

My article on Roger Taylor of Queen and his new release, which due to length was split into part 1 and part 2 (for comparison see my post here about him and those on his bandmates Freddie Mercury, Brian May and John Deacon).

My article on Peter Gabriel and his induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, which was also split into part 1 and part 2 (once again, I have previously published a separate post on him and others on his former bandmates in Genesis, Tony Banks, Mike Rutherford, Phil Collins, Steve Hackett and Anthony Phillips).

My article on Nirvana and their induction into the Hall of Fame along with Gabriel.

My article on the recently reissued classic album by Elton John, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road.

My article on the ABBA Gold reissue was also basically a career retrospective.

There are also reviews of albums by Elbow, Tori Amos, the Manic Street Preachers, the Civil Wars, Aviici, and Billie Joe Armstrong and Norah Jones's cover of an Everly Brothers oldies albums. There's good music on each of these albums, though if I buy any of them it's most likely to be the Elbow one and perhaps the Tori Amos and Manic Street Preachers one (though I'd probably be more inclined to look for a Manic Street Preachers compilation with the best of their earlier songs -- I've already got a Tori Amos compilation).

The other articles on the KKBox site have already been posted here, though for those who've missed them some highlights are the articles on Paul Simon and Randy Newman (my earlier overview of him is here), and my reviews of Jamie Cullum's Momentum and the soundtrack for the documentary West of Memphis.

Passenger – All the Little Lights

This is another review I did for the online music service KKBox last year. While I liked the Jamie Cullum album slightly better, this one was pretty good too (though Rosenberg's voice is something of an acquired taste). As noted in the review, one of the best things about it is the lyrics, though a lot of the tunes are quite good as well.

All the Little Lights is the fourth solo album by British singer-songwriter Mike Rosenberg, who goes by the stage name Passenger. Rosenberg, who cites Bob Dylan, Neil Young and particularly Paul Simon as influences, originally formed Passenger as a band in 2003, and the group released one album which was critically well-received. After the band broke up in 2009, Rosenberg went to Australia and continued performing as Passenger, traveling around in both Australia and the UK and busking wherever he went. He released three albums, including one limited edition release. All the Little Lights was recorded in Australia and was released in 2012. Helped by the exposure Passenger has gained touring with his friend Ed Sheeran, the album has become an international success over the past year, hitting the top 10 in numerous countries around the world.

The album opens with “Things That Stop You Dreaming”, which features a prominent string backing along with Rosenberg’s guitar. Rosenberg has stated that All the Little Lights is a departure from the simple, guitar-only arrangements of some of his previous albums, and this song is a good example of the more elaborate arrangements this album features. The clever rhyming in the lyrics also grabs the listener’s attention, showing another of Rosenberg’s strengths, namely his well-written lyrics. The second track is “Let Her Go”, a heartfelt ballad that has become an international hit, topping the charts in numerous countries and reaching No. 2 in his native UK. While these and the subsequent tracks can all be classified as folk rock, Passenger helps keep things interesting by alternating more upbeat songs like the banjo-based “Staring at the Stars” with ballads like “All the Little Lights”. Among the standout tracks are the upbeat “The Wrong Direction”, which features more great lyrics with clever wordplay and a well-placed horn solo, and “Circles”, a melodic ballad which makes very effective use of strings. The second half of the album opens with “Keep on Walking”, a distinctive track with a prominent piano and a country rock sound reminiscent of singers like Jackson Browne and Bob Seger, plus another good set of lyrics about a wandering life, no doubt inspired by Rosenberg’s years as a busking musician. One of the best songs on this half of the album is “Life’s for the Living”, which starts out slow but uses horns and other instrumentation to build into a powerful track with a serious message about making the most of life. The catchy “Holes” is the most recent single off the album, and is another strong track. The album closes with “I Hate”, a song that was recorded live at a performance in London. It’s a very funny rant about things Rosenberg hates, and while it is quite different from the rest of the album, it makes a great closer.

In its most basic form, Passenger’s music is folk music, with Rosenberg’s voice and guitar at the center of the sound, but the variety of instrumentation and arrangements on All the Little Lights ensure that the album doesn’t become monotonous musically. Rosenberg’s voice, which has drawn comparisons to Cat Stevens, James Blunt and Ben Howard, is very distinctive as well. It may not immediately appeal to everyone, but most listeners react positively to it, with some people considering it one of his greatest strengths. His most obvious strong point, however, is his lyrics, which are thoughtful and often witty. He also seems to genuinely care about bringing his music to people, which shows in his heartfelt performances. Despite his recent success, he still likes to go out busking, so keep an eye out for him on a street corner near you.

Some Thoughts on Songwriting Credits

Not too long ago there were a number of articles in the media about a lawsuit that had been filed by the estate of the late guitarist Randy California against Led Zeppelin, claiming that Jimmy Page had plagiarized California’s composition “Taurus” when he wrote the music for Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven”. This and other disputes and controversies, whether taken to court or not, touch on an interesting question, that of how songwriting credits should be written and where to draw the line between being influenced by an earlier composition and plagiarizing it. Since this is a complex issue and there are far too many interesting examples to go over all of them in detail, I will just summarize some of my own thoughts on the subject.

First of all, as a music historian and a firm believer in giving credit where credit is due, I personally think all songwriting credits should reflect as accurately as possible who actually contributed to the writing of the song. I can understand how some writers may occasionally want to give credit to someone else for various reasons; for instance, some songwriters have registered songs in the names of family members or friends out of generosity, often in order to provide them with regular income from royalties. That seems to be why Vincent Ford was credited as the writer of “No Woman No Cry”, even though it is more likely that Bob Marley himself wrote the song. Paul McCartney gave his wife Linda co-writing credits on numerous songs, when in most cases her contributions were probably minimal. In other cases, a band’s songs may be credited to the entire band in order to give everyone an equal share in songwriting royalties and to minimize disputes. Queen, for example, started crediting the entire band on all songs on their 1989 album The Miracle even though some songs were still written primarily or entirely by a single member, because in the past they had had major arguments about whose songs got to go on the band’s singles (which generated considerable extra royalty income). At other times, credit has been given for less noble reasons, such as when Elvis Presley’s publishers insisted he get a co-credit on songs like “Love Me Tender” (which was actually a re-write by Ken Darby of the 19th century tune “Aura Lee”, but ended up being credited to Presley and Darby’s wife Vera Matson), or when disc jockey Alan Freed and Chess Records financial backer Russ Fratto initially received co-credits on Chuck Berry’s “Maybellene” as payback (though their credits were later removed). But regardless of the reason, I’d prefer to see the actual writers credited, so, for example, Paul McCartney should get sole credit on “Yesterday”, “For No One” and “Let It Be” and John Lennon should get sole credit on “A Hard Day’s Night”, “Strawberry Fields Forever” and “Revolution”, to name a few examples.

But even if every effort was made to credit a song accurately, it’s not always so clear cut how that should be done. One problem is determining how much of a contribution is sufficient for someone to deserve a songwriting credit. If someone suggests a line in the lyrics of a song, is that enough for them to get a writing credit? How about changing a few notes in a melody? If your starting point is an older song, how much do you have to change it before you can claim the new song as entirely your own? This of course relates back to disputes such as the one over “Stairway to Heaven”. In that case, there clearly is a resemblance between the opening bars of the two songs, and since California’s band Spirit and Zeppelin played together it seems certain that Page heard California’s tune and was likely influenced by it. On the other hand, some have pointed out that there are many songs far older than “Taurus” that have similar progressions, and in any event the rest of “Stairway” is nothing like “Taurus”. Personally I’m a little dubious whether California should get an actual co-writing credit, though Page should acknowledge his debt to him. On the other hand, Jake Holmes should certainly have received a full co-writing credit for Led Zeppelin’s “Dazed and Confused” (rather than than just "Jimmy Page, inspired by Jake Holmes", which is how it was credited on a Zeppelin release following the lawsuit over the song - this particular wording seems like it might be more appropriate to "Stairway"), though it is fair for Page to also be credited, considering how radically he transformed Holmes’s song. Of course it was an old tradition in blues and folk music to take bits and pieces of older songs and claim your re-working of them as your own (as was done by artists ranging from Robert Johnson and Woody Guthrie to Bob Dylan), but unless the end result was entirely different from the original, I’d prefer to see the original writers (if known) credited alongside the person who transformed it. Admittedly this might be difficult in situations where a song has undergone several transformations, as Pete Seeger once said of the Weavers’ hit “Kisses Sweeter than Wine”, which started as an Irish folk tune: “Now, who should one credit on this song? The Irish, certainly. Sam Kennedy, who taught it to us. Lead Belly, for adding rhythm and blues chords. Me, for two new words for the refrain. Lee [Hayes], who wrote seven verses. Fred [Hellerman] and Ronnie [Gilbert], for paring them down to five….” On the other hand, sometimes it is the ones who transformed a song who don’t get the credit they deserve. For example, one could argue that Carolyn Franklin and Aretha Franklin should have gotten co-writing credit for Aretha’s version of Otis Redding’s “Respect”, since they came up with the memorable “R-E-S-P-E-C-T” and “sock it to me” bits, which weren’t in the original song. But if the changes to an older song or contributions to the writing of a new one are very minor, then it isn’t necessarily reasonable to claim a songwriting credit, so, for example, one wouldn’t expect George Harrison to credit his mother or John Lennon for their lyrical contributions to his song “Piggies”. For that matter, while at the insistence of the main writer Jutopi I received a credit for co-writing the lyrics to a short little song called “I Learn” that I sang on a human rights themed compilation album in Taiwan, I’m not sure that I should have, since I only changed two lines, amounting to just six words (though admittedly there are only 31 words in the entire song, including repeats).

A related question is the use of samples or the inclusion of a bit of another song in a new one. My own feeling is that if the piece of the older song is used as the hook for the new song or makes up a significant portion of it, then of course the writers of the older song should get songwriting credit, but in the case of a brief musical snippet or lyrical nod to another song that is not a vital part of the new song, the most that should be necessary is to mention the original song in the liner notes. So, for example, Stevie Wonder obviously had to be credited for Coolio’s “Gangsta’s Paradise”, since musically and even to some extent lyrically it was based entirely on Wonder’s "Pastime Paradise", and Vanilla Ice’s “Ice Ice Baby” had to credit Queen and David Bowie, since, even though it only used the opening notes of their “Under Pressure”, the entire song was built around that sample. Similarly, the Verve had to credit Jagger and Richards for “Bitter Sweet Symphony” since the latter was built around a sample from a symphonic version of the Stones song "The Last Time", though it was unjust (though hardly surprising considering his reputation) for Allen Klein, who owned the copyright to the older recording, to claim all the royalties from the Verve song, since they had obviously created an entirely new thing around that sample. Likewise, it was unreasonable for Chuck Berry’s publisher to sue John Lennon over his brief lyrical reference to Berry’s song "You Can't Catch Me" at the beginning of “Come Together” since that was a fairly minor part of the song as a whole – though at least they didn’t insist on a co-writing credit for Berry.

Unfortunately, and frustratingly for musical history researchers such as myself, official songwriting credits are frequently unreliable for many reasons, including some of those discussed above. In the case of some Taiwanese popular music recordings, particularly records and tapes of aboriginal popular music, several of the participants in the recording might be listed as having written the entire album when in fact they had written little or none of it, because the songs were pre-existing folk tunes or the music had been directly lifted from a foreign song (usually Japanese but sometimes Western). Even in the West, outright injustices are far more common than they should be. For example, it’s said that Percy Sledge came up with much of his signature song “When a Man Loves a Woman”, but he didn’t get any credit for it. Barrett Strong has said that “Money (That’s What I Want”) began with a piano riff that he came up with, and indeed he was initially listed as a co-writer along with Janie Bradford and Motown boss Barry Gordy, but a few years later his name was removed without his knowledge. Motown says that he was credited in error in the first place, but Barrett’s account of the song’s origins is fairly detailed and believable, and is backed up by at least two witnesses, recording engineer Robert Bateman and guitarist Eugene Grew, whereas to my knowledge Gordy and his lawyers and publishers have not given a credible alternative account. The ridiculous thing in that case is that Strong apparently may not be able to challenge the removal of his name from the credits since he failed to do so within the three years after it was done – even though he wasn’t notified of the change and so had no way to know that it had been made short of going in person to check, which he wouldn’t have had any reason to do unless he was already aware that the credits had been altered. This is just another example of how the copyright laws which should be designed mainly to protect the actual authors of a work often end in fact harm them. Admittedly in disputes over authorship it often comes down to a case of “he said, she said”, but in at least some instances one side is clearly more credible than the other, even when the law doesn’t necessarily favor them.

Of course the main reason songwriting credits are such a big deal – to the point that people will sometimes illegitimately cheat others out of credit they deserve – is money. But in the long run, the real injustice in incorrect, incomplete or downright false credits is that the actual writers of the songs don’t get fair credit for their work. For songs that remain popular for decades or even centuries, this can mean that the actual writer of the song ends up being unknown or at best known to a few experts, while most people falsely believe it to be written by someone else. This is the case with many of the Taiwanese aboriginal songs I have researched; one of the many Western examples is “You Are My Sunshine”, which is credited to former Louisiana governor Jimmie Davis and his collaborator Charles Mitchell, even though they had simply bought the song from a group called The Rice Brothers Gang - who seemingly were also not the actual writers or even the first to record the song, which some have concluded was actually written by Oliver Hood. To me, the most important piece of information about a song is who wrote it, and where possible I always try to give credit where credit is due, though like everyone else I may sometimes be mislead by an inaccurate credit, since it is not humanly possible to do detailed research on every song. In the future I hope to occasionally write more about individual songs with interesting histories or major disputes about their authorship.

Momentum by Jamie Cullum

Here's another album review I wrote last year for KKBox. This was my favorite of the new albums I reviewed in the first half of last year; I eventually purchased a copy. Despite what I say in the first paragraph of the review about all his albums being "jazzy...melodic pop and rock", I've since gotten the impression that many of Cullum's earlier recordings lean somewhat more heavily toward pure jazz, though there was always an element of pop-rock; certainly on the album before this, The Pursuit, the jazz element is more pronounced. Regardless, most of what I've heard from him has been pretty good.

Momentum is the sixth album from British singer-songwriter Jamie Cullum. Like most of his previous recordings, it features an eclectic mix of jazzy, piano-driven melodic pop and rock. Cullum started playing piano and guitar as a child and, influenced by his older brother Ben, fell in love with jazz. He gets inspiration from a wide variety of music, ranging from jazz greats like Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock, Oscar Peterson, and Bill Evans to rock icons like Elton John, Donovan and Tom Waits and more recent artists like the Ben Folds Five, The Wedding Present, the White Stripes and Massive Attack. His music, while remaining rooted in jazz and pop-rock, reflects his wide ranging taste.

The album opens with the propulsive, percussion-driven “The Same Things”, which propels the album to a strong start, though the abrupt ending is slightly disconcerting. Even better is the dramatic, soulful “Edge of Something” and the catchy “Everything You Didn't Do”, which was the album’s first single. The old-fashioned soul torch song “When I Get Famous” is another standout track, one that it’s easy to imagine someone like Amy Winehouse singing. Next up are a couple of covers, something Cullum includes on most of his albums. In this case they are a modern, jazz fusion reworking of Cole Porter’s classic “Love For Sale” (or “Love For $ale” as it is called here [Note: the video is a bit creepy; as an alternative, here's a live studio performance]), complete with a rap by Roots Manuva, and a solid version of “Pure Imagination”, a ballad from the movie Willie Wonka & the Chocolate Factory. Among the notable originals from the remainder of the album is “Take Me Out (Of Myself)”, which has an indie rock flavor vaguely reminiscent of the similarly titled hit by Franz Ferdinand. The gentle “Get A Hold of Yourself” is a guitar-based ballad, which makes an interesting change from the more elaborate keyboard-based arrangements on the rest of the album. The album closes strongly with the powerful pop of “You’re Not the Only One”, which was inspired by his stint as a judge on a music talent show.

Cullum’s skills as an arranger and composer are the first thing to grab the listener, but his lyrics are often well-written and intriguing as well. One of the best is the somewhat tongue-in-cheek “When I Get Famous”, and other lyrically interesting songs include the album’s other look at fame-seeking, “You’re Not the Only One”, and “Take Me Out (Of Myself)” with its jaded, cynical look at partying. Even when his lyrics are nothing particularly special, they fit the music well and do nothing to detract from it. A few songs get slightly repetitive, such as the otherwise good “Anyway”, but for the most part Cullum avoids getting stuck in any ruts. Even the slightly more conventional sounding songs like the melancholy “Sad Sad World” or the power ballad “Save Your Soul” are well done [I've particularly come to like the latter], and each song is distinct from the others, unlike many pop albums where many of the songs sound the same. The production is slick without being overly so, and Cullum throws a wide variety of sounds into the arrangements. While they don’t amount to anything revolutionary, all these elements make Momentum a very entertaining recording for fans of good pop music.

Bastille's Bad Blood

Here's another article I wrote last year for KKBox. While the review may have been slightly more positive than was warranted, I'd still stay the album is slightly better than average pop rock, and "Pompeii" in particular is a memorable song.

Bastille, a British band who has recently shot to the top of the UK charts with an album that melds indie rock with synthpop, was founded by lead vocalist and keyboardist Dan Smith in 2010. Smith, who grew up listening to artists like the Beach Boys and Simon & Garfunkel and admires singer-songwriters like Regina Spektor and Kate Bush, started Bastille as a solo project featuring his songs, but then recruited bassist Will Farquarson, drummer Chris Wood and keyboardist Kyle Simmons to turn it into a band. In 2011, the band released several songs that would later appear on their debut album on independent labels. After signing with Virgin Records, they released their first major label single “Overjoyed” in April 2012, followed by “Bad Blood” and “Flaws”. Each song was a bigger success than the one before, and their fourth single, “Pompeii”, was a huge hit when it was released in late February of this year. When their debut album, Bad Blood, was released a week later, it went straight to the top of the UK charts, making Bastille the hottest new band in Britain, much to their own surprise.

Smith’s songs have a melancholy, even at times apocalyptic, feel and yet are crowd-pleasing and anthemic at the same time. Though Bastille’s music has an indie rock sound, there are no guitars on Bad Blood. Other than bass, drums and keyboards, the atmospheric music is entirely generated by synths and percussion. Smith, who has attracted comment for his gravity-defying hair as well as his singing and songwriting, provides appealing vocals backed by great harmonies from the band, with minimal use of the vocal effects that are heard on so many pop songs today. He is also notable for avoiding straightforward love songs. His songs feature literary and historical allusions instead of the autobiographical references seen in the work of most singer-songwriters (even the group name is a historical allusion, to the storming of the Bastille that kicked off the French Revolution – July 14, the date on which it occurred, happens to be Smith’s birthday). Musically, listeners may be reminded of groups like Coldplay, but Bastille manages to create its own distinct sound.

The album opens with the powerful “Pompeii”, which imagines a conversation between two people caught in the destruction of the ancient Roman city of Pompeii, which was buried by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius nearly two millennia ago. “Things We Lost in the Fire” takes the viewpoint of someone whose home and possessions have been destroyed. The title track “Bad Blood” tells of a friendship gone bad, and the ballad “Oblivion” is lovely but dark. “Flaws”, the album’s second biggest hit after “Pompeii”, is more upbeat, but as its title indicates, it still focuses on people’s inevitable weaknesses. Another classical allusion is found in the haunting “Icarus”, where Smith uses the Greek myth as a metaphor for alcohol abuse. More literary and cultural references are found in “Daniel in the Den” and “Laura Palmer”, which take their titles from the Biblical tale and the Twin Peaks character respectively. The two part “Weight of Living” talks about the pressures of everyday life and features a chorus reminiscent of “Alive and Kicking” by the 1980s group Simple Minds.

All in all, Bastille has come up with an impressive debut for a band that didn’t even exist a few years ago. It isn’t perfect; though the lyrical themes are interesting, some of the lyrics are somewhat repetitive or slightly banal. Bastille’s music doesn’t have quite the variety of that of a group like Muse, who they are currently touring with. Nevertheless, Bastille stands out from the average artist on the charts and while the fairly introverted Dan Smith may be a reluctant star, Bad Blood shows that he possess genuine talent and is at least as deserving of stardom as the vast majority of pop artists.

Old Article: Randy Newman Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

This is another of my articles for KKBox. I wrote it a year ago, a few weeks after the 2013 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony. While I've already posted a Randy Newman retrospective on this blog, this article was written from a different angle, so I thought I might as well post it too.

On April 18, eight artists were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, among them the 69-year-old singer-songwriter and critical favorite Randy Newman. Over the last few decades, millions have heard Randy Newman’s music through his soundtracks for numerous movies, including Ragtime, The Natural, Meet the Parents, Seabiscuit, Monsters Inc., Cars, and the three Toy Story films. He has been nominated for twenty Oscars and won twice (as he remarked when receiving his second one, “my percentages aren’t great”). It is no surprise that Newman has become a successful film soundtrack composer, since he had three uncles who were famous film composers, including Alfred Newman, winner of nine Academy Awards. However, it is chiefly for his work as a singer-songwriter and composer for other artists that Newman has been highly praised by numerous critics and artists like Paul McCartney, Bob Dylan, Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys, Peter Gabriel, and Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits.

Randy Newman recorded his first song in 1962, but it flopped, so he turned to writing songs for others. Several of his songs became hits in the UK for British artists, including “Simon Smith and the Amazing Dancing Bear” and “Just One Smile”, the former of which was recorded by several artists including Newman himself, and the latter of which was later covered on influential albums by Blood, Sweat and Tears and Dusty Springfield. In 1968, he released his first album. Like most of his later albums, it didn’t sell well but was a critical success. Many of the songs on the album were covered by other artists, particularly “I Think It’s Going to Rain Today”, which has been covered more than sixty times. With this and subsequent albums like Sail Away and Good Old Boys, Newman established a reputation for writing songs in a variety of styles that paired attractive melodies with highly ironic lyrics. He usually writes in character, singing from the point of view of losers, misfits, and other slightly unsavory people. The beautiful “Sail Away”, for instance, is written from the point of view of a slave trader recruiting Africans to sail away to slavery in America, and the highly sarcastic “Political Science” is from the perspective of an American who wants to drop nuclear bombs on the rest of the world. One of his most controversial songs was “Rednecks”, a song from the point of view of a Southern racist that mocks Northern hypocrisy. “It’s Money That Matters”, as the title indicates, is from the perspective of someone obsessed with money. Newman’s sole major hit as a performer, “Short People”, also appears on the surface to be making fun of people of short stature. In fact, Newman uses these songs to criticize prejudice and narrow-minded attitudes, but it is perhaps not surprising that some people failed to notice the irony and took the songs at face value. In recent years, Newman’s pop-rock albums have been few and far between, but his most recent album of new songs, 2008’s Harps and Angels, showed that his distinctive brand of sardonic humor and his propensity for tackling controversial topics were still the same as ever.

Newman’s songs have been performed by countless artists, including Dusty Springfield, Ella Fitzgerald, Joe Cocker, Art Garfunkel, Ringo Starr, Linda Ronstadt, Bonnie Raitt, Barbara Streisand, Michael Bublé, and Korean-Japanese singer Noon, just to name a few. His “Mama Told Me (Not to Come)” was a US No. 1 for Three Dog Night and has been covered frequently since. “You Can Leave Your Hat On” was a hit for Joe Cocker and has also been performed by a number of other artists, though many miss the irony in Newman’s original. His “Louisiana 1927”, with the lyric “Louisiana, Louisiana, they’re trying to wash us away”, got frequent airplay in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, which flooded the city of New Orleans. The more recent “Feels Like Home” has also been covered numerous times. Several artists, beginning with Harry Nilsson back in 1970, have even recorded entire albums of Newman covers. Nearly all of these other performers are technically speaking much better singers than Newman, but not all of them are able to capture the spirit of the songs the way Newman does himself. But whether one listens to Newman’s own versions or those by other artists, after listening to a sampling of his best work it is soon apparent why some critics regard him as one of America’s greatest living songwriters.

Live And Let Die: A Beatles Album from 1973

This is the fourth of my imaginary Beatles albums of the 1970s, after What Is Life (1970), Working Class Heroes (1971), and Imagine (1972). It would have been released sometime in 1973, probably in the spring; while in reality the Ringo songs weren't released until November, they were recorded in March. As with the other albums, I'm simply posting my original track listing and liner notes.

Live And Let Die

Hi Hi Hi (McCartney/McCartney) 3:07 (1972/12/01)
Give Me Love (Give Me Peace On Earth) (Harrison) 3:38 (1973/05/07)
New York City (Lennon) 4:28 (1972/06/12)
Live And Let Die (McCartney/McCartney) 3:11 (1973/06/01)
I'm The Greatest (Lennon) 3:18 (1973/11/02)
Big Barn Bed (McCartney) 3:50 (1973/04/30)
Luck Of The Irish (Lennon/Ono) 2:56 (1972/06/12)
Give Ireland Back To The Irish (McCartney/McCartney) 3:48 (1972/02/25)
The Day the World Gets Round (Harrison) 2:51 (1973/05/30)
John Sinclair (Lennon) 3:27 (1972/06/12)
Get On The Right Thing (McCartney) 4:15 (1973/04/30)
My Love (McCartney/McCartney) 4:07 (1973/03/23)
You And Me (Babe) (Harrison/Evans) 4:19 (1973/11/02)

Total Time - 47:17

Hi Hi Hi
Written by Paul and Linda McCartney; Performed by Wings
Recorded 1972/10; Released 1972/12/01
Single

Give Me Love (Give Me Peace On Earth)
Written and Performed by George Harrison
Recorded 1972/10-1973/01; Released 1973/05/07 (single release [US])
From Living In The Material World

New York City
Written and Performed by John Lennon
Recorded 1972/03; Released 1972/06/12
From Some Time In New York City

Live And Let Die
Written by Paul and Linda McCartney; Performed by Paul McCartney and Wings
Recorded 1972/10; Released 1973/06/01
Single

I'm The Greatest
Written by John Lennon; Performed by Richard Starkey (Ringo Starr)
Piano and Harmony Vocal: John Lennon
Guitars: George Harrison
Recorded 1973/03; Released 1973/11/02
From Ringo

Big Barn Bed
Written by Paul McCartney; Performed by Paul McCartney and Wings
Recorded 1972/03; Released 1973/04/30
From Red Rose Speedway

Luck Of The Irish
Written and Performed by John Lennon and Yoko Ono
Recorded 1972/03; Released 1972/06/12
From Some Time In New York City

Give Ireland Back To The Irish
Written by Paul and Linda McCartney; Performed by Wings
Recorded 1972/02/01; Released 1972/02/25
Single

The Day the World Gets Round
Written and Performed by George Harrison
Recorded 1972/10-1973/01; Released 1973/05/30
From Living In The Material World

John Sinclair
Written and Performed by John Lennon
Recorded 1972/03; Released 1972/06/12
From Some Time In New York City

Get On The Right Thing
Written by Paul McCartney; Performed by Paul McCartney and Wings
Recorded 1972/03-10; Released 1973/04/30
From Red Rose Speedway

My Love
Written by Paul McCartney and Linda McCartney; Performed by Paul McCartney and Wings
Recorded 1972/03; Released 1973/03/23 (single release [UK])
From Red Rose Speedway

You And Me (Babe)
Written by George Harrison and Mal Evans; Performed by Richard Starkey (Ringo Starr)
Electric Guitar: George Harrison
Recorded 1973/03; Released 1973/11/02
From Ringo


The songs on this album were recorded in 1972 and early 1973. Paul – or rather his new band Wings – didn't release any albums in 1972, but they did release a pair of singles. The first of these was Paul's response to Bloody Sunday, "Give Ireland Back To The Irish". A very unusual song for Paul, who had heretofore avoided politics in his music, it was pretty hard-hitting (and naturally got banned by the BBC), though the fact that he wrote it and recorded it rather quickly is apparent, especially in the lyrics. Another Wings' song to be banned by the BBC (according to their spokesman, for suggestive lyrics, not for drug connotations), the rocker "Hi Hi Hi", was released at the end of the year. As one of Paul's best early singles, it made a good album opener. It was in fact originally a hit double A-side with "C Moon", a melodic tune which I considered including but decided against (the lyric is a bit irritating).

Wings' second album Red Rose Speedway was recorded in 1972 and released the following spring. It is hardly Paul's best work (a few of the songs are pretty weak), but it did have a few decent tracks, including "Big Barn Bed" and "Get On The Right Thing", both of which appear here. The big hit from this album was of course "My Love", which despite hitting the top of the top of the charts in the US and top 10 in the UK, was poorly received by critics because of its sentimental lyrics. I've never been terribly fond of it myself, but after some consideration I decided that it isn't really terrible either, as it has a nice melody and even the lyric is not quite as saccharine as it seems at first listen. Anyway, it was one of his biggest hits, so I decided to add it on. The final recording from Paul and his band to appear on this album is another single and in my opinion a much better song, namely "Live And Let Die", the theme song for the James Bond film of the same name.

John's album for 1972 was the highly political Some Time In New York City (actually it is a John Lennon and Yoko Ono album). The rather strident tone of the lyrics was a major reason that this is John's least popular release among both critics and the public. Nevertheless, there are some good tracks, and together with Paul's "Give Ireland Back To The Irish" and to a lesser extent George's songs, they make this the most political "Beatles" album. "New York City" is a solid rock song, musically and lyrically kind of like a sequel to "The Ballad Of John And Yoko". "Luck Of The Irish" was co-written by John and Yoko (and is clearly an actually collaboration, unlike the songs of Paul's on which Linda was given a writing credit) and they share lead vocals. Not a brilliant song, but pretty clever nevertheless (and with Paul's Irish song, it also makes this a distinctly pro-Irish album). "John Sinclair" is a song supporting the activist John Sinclair, who in an obvious case of political persecution was given a ten-year prison sentence for selling two marijuana cigarettes to an undercover cop ("they gave him ten for two"). The lyrics are perhaps a bit simplistic, but the song has a good melody and some cool guitar playing.

George finally released his second solo album Living In The Material World in early 1973, over two years after All Things Must Pass. It would be too much to expect LITMW to measure up to its predecessor, and it doesn't. However, overall it is one of George's better solo efforts, and some of the songs are as good as those on All Things Must Pass. Furthermore, as the AMG reviewer pointed out, it gave George a better chance to shine on the guitar, unlike the previous album which had a number of other guitarists, including Eric Clapton. Here George is the only guitarist, so he really gets to show his stuff. Two of the songs from the album appear here, including the big hit single, "Give Me Love (Give Me Peace On Earth)" and the ballad "The Day the World Gets Round."

Ringo had released an album of oldies and an album of country songs in 1970, but so far he had not released an album of pop songs. He finally rectified that with Ringo, which is without doubt his best solo album and for that matter one of the best solo Beatles albums. Of course Ringo didn't do it all himself, rather, as someone put it, he was "getting by with a little help from his friends." The first song from the album, included here, was "I'm The Greatest", written by John and performed by John, George, and Ringo (plus Klaus Voorman), making it the closest thing to a Beatles reunion on a single song until the Anthology sessions. In fact the album had all four Beatles on it, as Paul contributed a song as well (which will appear on the next "Beatles" album). George contributed the most to the album of any of the other three. Besides appearing on "I'm The Greatest", he wrote one song and co-wrote two others, one of them the album's best track, which will also appear on the next album. On this one you can hear one of his other contributions, "You And Me (Babe)", the song he co-wrote with ex-Beatle roadie Mal Evans as the album's closer (it originally also included a spoken part by Ringo where he thanked all those who contributed to his solo album, but since it wasn't appropriate for this album, I cut it out).

This album, if it had been released by the Beatles, would have come out in early 1973 after George and Ringo finished recording their contributions. This year would prove to be high point for Beatles recordings and releases, so much so that the next album in this series will also consist of 1973 recordings (including some real standout tracks), and even the one after that will included a few songs from this year. Stay tuned!

Paul Simon

This is an article I wrote for the music service KKBox a little over a year ago, just before Paul Simon came to play several concerts in this part of the world. It's basically a career overview.

From “The Sounds of Silence” and “Bridge over Troubled Waters” to “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover” and “You Can Call Me Al”, the songs of Paul Simon have entertained millions for half a century. One of the few artists whose music appeals to audiences of all ages, Simon has received numerous accolades over the years, and he is highly respected by his fellow musicians, with people as diverse as Randy Newman and the late Joe Strummer of the Clash praising his work. Now he is bringing the songs which made him the first recipient of the Gershwin Prize for Popular Song to East Asia for concerts in Taipei on March 20 and in Singapore in March 22.

Paul Simon has been making and recording music since he was a teenager in New York. He first gained fame as a member of Simon & Garfunkel, a folk rock duo he formed with his friend Art Garfunkel. Simon wrote the vast majority of the pair’s songs, including such timeless classics as “The Sounds of Silence”, “Homeward Bound”, “Mrs. Robinson”, “The Boxer”, and “Bridge over Troubled Water”, as well as the lyrics for their adaptation of the Peruvian melody “El Condor Pasa”. Due to his poetic lyrics and the duo’s classification as folk rockers, Simon was sometimes compared to Bob Dylan, but Simon & Garfunkel had an even broader appeal than artists like Dylan or rock bands like the Rolling Stones. Together they were one of the biggest acts of the 1960s, and many of their songs are still staples of radio play today. Their songs have also frequently been covered by other artists, particularly the gospel-flavored “Bridge over Troubled Water”, which was performed by luminaries such as Aretha Franklin and Elvis Presley.

After the release of their biggest album of all, 1970’s Bridge over Troubled Water, the duo split and Simon embarked on a solo career, writing and performing an even more eclectic variety of songs than he had with Garfunkel. He had numerous hits in the 1970s, including “Mother and Child Reunion”, “Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard”, “Kodachrome”, “Loves Me Like a Rock”, “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover” and “Slip Slidin' Away”. He was less prolific in the late 1970s and the early 1980s and his work was less successful commercially. But he staged a spectacular comeback in 1986 with Graceland, an album inspired largely by the music of South Africa and mostly recorded in South Africa with South African musicians. Featuring songs such as “You Can Call Me Al”, “Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes”, “The Boy in the Bubble” and the title track, it became Simon’s biggest commercial success as a solo artist and won him a Grammy. It still is commonly included in lists of the “best albums of all time”. The subsequent tour helped bring South African musicians like Ladysmith Black Mambazo (who had also performed on the album) and Miriam Makeba to greater prominence.

After Graceland, Simon released the Brazilian-influenced The Rhythm of the Saints, featuring the UK top 20 “The Obvious Child”. This album was another commercial and critical success. While his releases no longer have much chance of matching the sales records achieved by Simon & Garfunkel or Graceland, his albums have continued to be well-received. His most recent album, So Beautiful Or So What, released in 2011 and featuring meditations on mortality such as “The Afterlife”, reached the top 10 in both the US and the UK and got excellent reviews from critics, and he continues to perform frequently, as well as contribute his money, time, and music to different causes. Back in the 1960s, Simon once sang “how terribly strange to be seventy”. Now he is already passed that milestone, but he is still going strong. Paul Simon’s concerts in Asia offer people in this part of the world a rare chance to see a living music legend in person.

West of Memphis: Voices for Justice (Review)

The following is another album review I wrote for the online music service KKbox. While I might have written it slightly differently if I'd been writing for my blog, it's a fairly accurate representation of my thoughts on the album, which is a very interesting listen, if not as immediately accessible as most mainstream pop.

For some, music is just entertainment. For others, it can be a weapon in the struggle to uphold human rights. West of Memphis: Voices for Justice is the soundtrack for West of Memphis, a documentary about the case of the West Memphis Three, three young men who were sent to prison in 1994 for the murder of three boys on the basis of questionable evidence, in what many people considered a serious miscarriage of justice. Many of the artists who appear on the soundtrack have been involved for years in the fight to clear the names of the three, and their efforts helped the three win their freedom in 2011, though they are still seeking full exoneration, and a portion of the proceeds from the album will go to their continuing legal struggle.

The soundtrack opens with Henry Rollins reading a letter from Damien Echols, who was one of the West Memphis Three and also the co-producer of the documentary, along with Peter Jackson. The letter, sent by Echols from death row, describes the conditions he was living under over music from the movie’s original score by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis, effectively setting the mood and reminding the listener that this is not just a collection of songs. The songs themselves include covers of songs that were of particular significance to Echols during his time on death row, and others that were written in support of the three.

The artists appearing on the soundtrack include a wide range of superstars, often with intriguing choices of songs. Natalie Maines of the Dixie Chicks does a cover of Pink Floyd’s “Mother” that builds from a low key country-tinged tune to a heavier rock sound, Lucinda Williams performs a gritty, guitar-heavy version of her own “Joy”, and Camp Freddy – a group led by Dave Navarro of Jane’s Addiction and the Red Hot Chili Peppers – delivers a powerful bluesy cover of “The Jean Genie”, originally by David Bowie, one of Echols’s favorite artists. Longtime West Memphis supporter Johnny Depp, performing with his ad hoc group Tonto’s Giant Nuts, does a dark cover of the Mumford & Sons song “Little Lion Man” and also plays guitar on shock rocker Marilyn Manson’s heavy metal reinterpretation of Carly Simon’s “You’re So Vain”. Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam accompanies himself on ukulele on “Satellite”, a love song he wrote for Echols and his wife. Even Bob Dylan makes an appearance with “Ring Them Bells”, a song originally released on his album Oh Mercy. But just as moving as the big name performances are the songs by artists who may be less familiar to some listeners, such as Band of Horses’s live rendition of their Crosby, Stills and Nash-style “Dumpster World” or “Anything Made of Paper”, written by Texan singer-songwriter Bill Carter and his wife Ruth after Echols told Carter to bring him “anything made of paper”, as that was all he was allowed to have in prison [click on the song title to see the excellent video for the song].

The main soundtrack closes with Johnny Depp reading another disturbing letter sent by Echols from death row over Cave and Ellis’s haunting score. This is followed by two bonus tracks including Patti Smith’s live rendition of her song “Wing” from a benefit concert for the West Memphis Three and Bill Carter’s rendition of Ozzy Osbourne’s “Road to Nowhere”, another favorite of Echols while in prison. With an array of powerful renditions of classic songs by top-notch performers, West of Memphis: Voices for Justice combines good music with a good cause.

The Songs of Pete Seeger, plus the Beatles on Ed Sullivan

Late last month, one of the most important figures in 20th century American folk music, Pete Seeger, died at the age of 94. I wrote a retrospective article on his career for use by the music service I've mentioned before, and eventually I'll post it here. For now I just want to list a few of the significant songs that were written or performed by Seeger.

The Songs of the Almanac Singers – In the early 1940s, Seeger was a member of the Almanac Singers, who sang songs supporting unions and opposing war, along with other progressive causes. Some notable songs they recorded were "Which Side Are You On?", "Talking Union" (written by Almanacs Millard Lampell, Lee Hays, and Seeger), and "Reuben James" (written by Almanac Woody Guthrie).

The Songs of the Weavers – In the late 1940s and early 1950s, Seeger was a member of the Weavers. Among their best known recordings were their versions of Lead Belly's "Goodnight Irene", the South African song "Wimoweh" (originally written and recorded by Solomon Linda under the title "Mbube"), the Israeli song "Tzena, Tzena, Tzena", the Woody Guthrie song "So Long (It's Been Good to Know You)", and the traditional "On Top of Old Smoky". In addition, the Weavers rewrote an old folk song with Irish origins (it had been further adapted by Lead Belly) as "Kisses Sweeter than Wine", with mostly new lyrics by Seeger's fellow Weaver Lee Hays and a few additional changes by Seeger himself. The Weavers were also the first to record "The Hammer Song" (see below). Contemporary performances by the Weavers of several of their songs can be seen here.

If I Had a Hammer – Originally titled "The Hammer Song", "If I Had a Hammer" was written in early 1949 by Seeger (who, by Seeger's own account, wrote the music) and Lee Hays (who wrote the words). The Weavers released the song (under the title "The Hammer Song") as a single in 1950, and that same year the sheet music appeared on the cover of the folk music magazine Sing Out! The lyric "all of my brothers" was changed to "my brothers and my sisters" in 1952 to make the song inclusive of women. Seeger recorded a solo version of the song in 1956. In 1961, Peter, Paul and Mary changed the melody slightly for their recording of the song, which became a huge hit. They can be seen performing the song live in 1963 here, and a live performance the same year by Seeger himself can be seen here.

Where Have All the Flowers Gone – Seeger wrote the first three verses of this song in 1955. He said the melody he set them to was that of a Russian folk song named "Koloda Duda". In 1960, folk singer Joe Hickerson added some additional verses. In 1961, the Kingston Trio recorded the song, making it a hit. Subsequently it has been recorded by many artists, a notable example being Marlene Dietrich, who sang it in English, German and French. Seeger himself recorded the song in 1960. Here's a live version from 1968 in which Seeger opens with a nod to Dietrich's German version.

Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There Is a Season) – Seeger wrote the music to this song, originally titled "To Everything There Is a Season", in the late 1950s. The lyrics were taken almost word for word from the Biblical book of Ecclesiastes. The song was first recorded in 1962 by the Limeliters and Seeger recorded his own version about the same time (this may or may not be that early recording). In 1963, Judy Collins recorded the song under the title "Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There Is a Season)". One of the backing musicians on that recording was Jim McGuinn (later known as Roger McGuinn), whose band the Byrds recorded the song in 1965 and made it a massive international hit.

The Bells of Rhymney – This song was written by Seeger in the 1950s. The words were from a poem by Welsh poet Idris Davies. Seeger first recorded it in 1958 on a live album he did with Sonny Terry. In 1965, the Byrds recorded the best known version of the song for their debut album Mr. Tambourine Man. Here is one of Seeger's live recordings of the song.

We Shall Overcome – This internationally-renowned civil rights anthem had a complicated history. Among the songs which have been named as influences or early versions of the song are "I'll Overcome Someday" by Kenneth Morris, "I'll Be Like Him Someday" by Roberta Martin, "If My Jesus Wills" by Louise Shropshire, "I'll Overcome Someday" by Charles Albert Tindley, and the 18th century Italian Catholic hymn "O Sanctissima". In any event, Seeger learned the song as "We Will Overcome" from Zilphia Horton, who heard it from a group of striking tobacco workers, one of whom, Lucille Simmons, has been credited with changing the original "I" to "we". Seeger himself apparently was the one who changed "will" to "shall", and both Horton and Seeger wrote new verses. Frank Hamilton, Guy Carawan and students at Highlander Folk School further adapted it to the form heard in the civil rights era. Here is a video of Seeger singing it in the early 1960s.

Guantanamera – This song from Cuba apparently originated as a love song, commonly attributed to José Fernández Diaz. Julián Orbón adapted poetry by Cuban independence hero José Martí to the tune, and this is the version sung in Cuba today. Seeger further adapted the song, popularizing it in the US. He recorded it on his live concert album We Shall Overcome in 1963. His version was the basis for the 1966 hit recording by the Sandpipers.

Waist Deep in the Big Muddy – Seeger wrote this song in 1967 and included it on his album Waist Deep in the Big Muddy and Other Love Songs. The song, while telling the story of a platoon (commanded by a captain who is a "big fool") on a practice patrol in 1942, is obviously directed at the then on-going Vietnam War. Seeger taped the song for the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour in late 1967 (his first national television appearance since being blacklisted in the early 1950s), but the song was censored by the network before broadcast. After widespread protests, he was able to perform the song on the show early the following year.

Little Boxes – The satirical "Little Boxes", which mocks conformity, was written by folk singer Malvina Reynolds in 1962. Seeger recorded it in 1963 and it became a hit. The song has been widely covered since.

This is just a small selection of the songs that Seeger performed in his seven decades in music. Just as important as his music was his activism, as he continued to fight for causes he believed in almost to the day he died.

In other news, a few days ago we passed the 50th anniversary of the Beatles' appearance on the Ed Sullivan show, an anniversary which inspired numerous news reports and media references. I have covered the Beatles frequently here – for instance see my reviews of Revolver and Abbey Road, my articles on Paul, John, George, and Ringo, and my imaginary post-breakup Beatles albums – and I'm sure I will again. For now, here's a clip of the Beatles performing "I Want to Hold Your Hand" on the Ed Sullivan Show.

Overexposed: Maroon 5’s Slick New Pop Album (Review)

The following is a review of Maroon 5's album Overexposed that I wrote for the online music service KKBox a year ago. Their head office is in Taiwan, but they recently set up a Singapore branch, which is why they needed articles in English, and this is the first one I did for them. As the version they used is only viewable by subscribers to their service in Singapore (so I can't even view it myself), I am republishing it here. I haven't changed it from the version I sent to them (though I don't know whether the editor I was working with did anything to it), but I've added some comments at the bottom to further clarify my opinion of the album as compared with the band's earlier work.

Overexposed: Maroon 5’s Slick New Pop Album

Maroon 5 first burst into the public consciousness with soulful funk rock like the group’s breakout hit, the Stevie Wonder-inspired “This Love”. Their debut album Songs About Jane was released in 2002, though it wasn’t until “This Love” was released as a single in 2004 that the group achieved international superstardom, solidified by further hits taken from Songs About Jane such as the popular ballad “She Will Be Loved”. The band’s next two albums, 2007’s It Won't Be Soon Before Long (which featured the group’s first US No. 1, “Makes Me Wonder”) and 2010’s Hands All Over, showed increasing pop sophistication and polish, while retaining much of the funky edge of their debut. Following slightly weaker sales for Hands All Over, Maroon 5 bounced back in 2011 with the huge international hit “Moves Like Jagger”, a single featuring Christina Aguilera that sold over 8 million copies worldwide, becoming one of the top songs of the year and Maroon 5’s best selling song by far.

With their fourth album, Overexposed, Maroon 5 is clearly aiming to capitalize on the massive success of “Moves Like Jagger” (the title of which refers to Mick Jagger of the Rolling Stones) in the hope of matching the sales of Songs About Jane, which remains their best selling album. They have stated in interviews that they consciously made a pop record, shifting further away from indie rock and toward polished pop and dance-oriented music. “Jagger”, which was written mainly by producer/songwriters Benjamin Levin (co-writer of songs like Katy Perry’s “Teenage Dream” and Rhianna’s “Diamonds”) and Shellback (co-writer of P!nk’s “So What” and “Raise Your Glass”) with some additional writing by Maroon 5 lead singer Adam Levine, also inspired the group to make increased use of outside writers on Overexposed. On the band’s first two albums, all the songs were written by Levine with other members of the band (chiefly guitarist James Valentine and keyboardist Jesse Carmichael) or on his own. On Hands All Over, the group collaborated with outside writers on a few tracks, but wrote most of the album themselves. On Overexposed, however, while Levine co-wrote all of the songs, he only wrote four of them with other members of the band, writing all the rest, including the album’s singles, with Shellback, Benjamin Levin and other outside writers. The result is an album that emphasizes a radio-friendly, danceable sound over guitar rock.

Overexposed’s lead single, “Payphone”, is a catchy mid-tempo track about a broken romance featuring somewhat superfluous rapping by Wiz Khalifa. Propelled by its propulsive chorus, the song hit number 2 in the US and became their first UK chart topper. The album opener and second single, “One More Night” is a reggae-tinged pop song about a bad relationship with sexually irresistible lover that topped the US Billboard singles chart for nine straight weeks. The album’s third track and third single is “Daylight”, a soft rock ballad reminiscent of Coldplay. Of the four tracks written entirely by Maroon 5 themselves, the most notable are “Ladykiller”, a Michael Jackson-style number in which the singer’s girlfriend has left him for another woman, and the piano-based ballad “Sad”, which is a welcome change of pace from the dance beats that dominate elsewhere. Lyrically, the songs on Overexposed tread familiar ground for Maroon 5, being mostly about broken, dysfunctional, and sexually-charged relationships, but with the focus on the catchy pop hooks, the lyrics are relatively unimportant. While it marks a distinct departure from the sound heard on Songs About Jane, Overexposed should appeal to fans of danceable, soul-flavored pop, possibly winning Maroon 5 a new audience.

While of course I didn't write anything in this review that I didn't really think was true, I also didn't ever state outright what I really thought of Overexposed. However, most people no doubt can read between the lines and see that I strongly preferred their earlier albums, particularly their first. Overexposed is not terrible: it's got a few decent songs and overall it's more listenable than a lot of pop albums. But it's way too slick and overproduced, and it's obvious that the band was abandoning much of their original sound in a blatant effort to repeat the commercial success of "Moves Like Jagger" (which isn't that great either). While it's true, as I wrote, that this album will appeal to many pop fans (e.g., those who like shallow, disposable pop), I myself would much rather listen to the band's previous albums.