Aquarium Drunkard: MP3 Blog, Music Blog

The Southern Dream of Freedom

This Spring, after devouring Volume 1 and 2 of the masterfully curated Dirty Laundry black country/soul compilations (do check those out if ’70s southern soul is your thang), I went poking around the label’s website searching for other similarly themed curios. And, not surprisingly, I found one. Cheatin’ Soul: The Southern Dream of Freedom (like the Dirty Laundry comps) collects classic Southern soul jams from both the genre’s mainstays as well as its more obscure fringe artists.

1. Without a Reason - Janet & The Jays 2. Nickel and a Nail - O.V. Wright 3. Never Can You Be - Margie Joseph 4. You’re Just a Friend - Ann Sexton 5. My Desires Are Getting the Best of Me - George Jackson 6. I Wanna Be Free - Joe Tex 7. Hymn No. 5 - Earl Gaines 8. Rockin in the Same Old Boat 9. Right Here Is Where You Belong - Jerry Washington 10. If She’s Your Wife (Who Am I) - Doris Duke 11. I Feel Like Breaking Up Somebody’s Home - Ann Peebles 12. I Wouldn’t Treat a Dog - Bobby “Blue” Bland, 13. What Was I Supposed to Do - Clarence Carter 14. I Don’t Wanna Wake Up - Ruby Andrews 15. Some Mother’s Son - Sandra Phillips 16. Next Man - Jean Stanback 17. Don’t Destroy Me - Margie Hendrix 18. I Still Love You - Ann Sexton 19. I Don’t Know Why - O.V. Wright 20. After Laughter Comes Tears - Wendy Rene 21. I Am a Carpet 22. East of Nowhere - Mickey Murray 23. Love You Save - Joe Tex

Download:
MP3: Bobby “Blue” Bland :: Bobby Blue Bland
———-
Purchase: Cheatin Soul & The Southern Dream of Freedom

*******

Also: Black Keys fan? If so, in conjunction with their upcoming performance on “Live From Abbey Road”, (on the Sundance Channel on Thursday 7/24) we have a cool giveaway. It’s a Vy & Elle messenger bag filled with Black Keys merch plus speakers, t-shirts, etc. Leave a comment if you want to enter to win one of these. Tell us your favorite Black Keys jam or something.

+ Download DRM Free Music via eMusic’s 25 free MP3 no risk trial offer
——————————————————————————————————————————

July 23rd, 2008 | add to del.icio.us | Soul/Funk/R&B | 48 Comments

The Avett Brothers :: The Second Gleam

The Avett Brothers have been slowly transforming their sound in the six years they’ve been releasing records. They’ve winnowed the best parts of their rag-tag and raucous energy and truly begun to marry it to their growing skills as songwriters. Now, on the verge of recording their first major label album for American Recordings and having Rick Rubin put his stamp on their work, they’ve released a final EP for their long-time indie home, Ramseur Records.

Their last LP, Emotionalism, was the most instrumentally complex the band has attempted and it was the most full they have sounded as well. So The Gleam II may come as a bit of a surprise. For one thing, Bob Crawford’s bass is completely missing. Instead, the six songs focus on Scott and Seth Avett’s melodic, melancholic, songwriting - all singing, all guitars, banjos and little else. If there are songs to look back to for comparison, think Four Thieves Gone’s “Sixteen in July” or Mignonette’s “Pretty Girl at the Airport,” but neither of those approach the intimacy of these recordings.

The natural reaction might be to look at this as a step back, but the EP goes a long way to silencing some of the band’s critics. A fellow DJ friend of mine is fond of calling them ‘the tone-deaf brothers,’ a criticism that could be leveled at some of the rowdiest and shoutiest moments in their catalogue, but here the brothers take turns laying out gorgeously sung songs that show just how deft at melody they are. The other thing that comes across is, compared to their earlier songs, the ones that closest approximate these in style and instrumentation, the brothers have grown immensely as songwriters.

“Tear down the house that I grew up in / I’ll never be the same again,” the opening lines of the EP, could well approximate the band’s decision to light out for the major label territories. The first half of the EP doesn’t have anything that properly resembles a chorus, but their style of writing songs that are so verse heavy, verses that are catchy in their own right, calls more attention to the lyrics. Maudlin and focused on family, love and death, themes that run pretty standard on an Avett Brothers album, it’s a good thing on which to focus listeners. While the songs on the album are by no means interchangeable, neither do they tend to stick one above the other. “The Greatest Sum,” because of its chorus, tends to stick in the mind a bit more quickly, but the self-elegiac tone of the songs is what ends up lingering even longer. This is an album that recalls late summer/early fall days and as a bookend to one part of the Avett’s career, they couldn’t have closed on a more poignant note. It makes the anticipation for their American debut all the more intense. - j. neas

Download:
MP3: The Avett Brothers :: Murder In The City
———
Amazon: The Avett Brothers - The Gleam II

www.theavettbrothers.com ++ www.myspace.com/theavettbrothers

+ Download your music DRM free via eMusic’s 25 free MP3 no risk trial offer
——————————————————————————————————————————

July 22nd, 2008 | add to del.icio.us | The Avett Brothers | 3 Comments

Beirut :: The Black Sessions (Paris 2007)

Black Session :: Studio 104 Maison de Radio France

In terms of radio sessions I can’t think of a more fitting city for Beirut’s Zach Condon to demonstrate his trans-Euro flair. The covers cut for the session are especially of note as they translate seamlessly into the Beirut world of sound. Per usual for this series, Radio France deliver the goods.

+ Download Beirut via eMusic’s 25 Free MP3 trial offer.
———————————————————————————————————————–

July 22nd, 2008 | add to del.icio.us | Beirut, Black Session | 6 Comments

Ronnie Wood :: Sure The One You Need (w/ Keef)

Ron Wood & Keith Richards :: Sure The One You Need (Live 1974)

I’ve recently been seriously dipping into Ronnie Wood’s debut solo album I’ve Got My Own Album To Do - a cutthroat minor classic if there ever was one. More about that record later - right now, go check out this clip of Wood and Keith Richard(s) makin’ it happen back in the ’70s when Ronnie had his own album to do. It sounds…like the Faces after a blood transfusion.

*written by Jagger/Richards with Keith is on vocals

+ Download DRM FREE music via eMusic’s 25 free MP3 no risk trial offer
——————————————————————————————————————————

July 21st, 2008 | add to del.icio.us | Ron Wood, Keith Richards | 5 Comments

Bruce Springsteen :: 3/3/74 Saint In The City

AKA Saint In The City - 03/03/74 - GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY, WASHINGTON, DC

Previously: Bruce Springsteen :: Boston Music Hall 10-29-1974

www.brucespringsteen.net ++ www.backstreets.com ++ myspace.com/brucespringsteen

July 21st, 2008 | add to del.icio.us | Bruce Springsteen, Live Upload Series | 4 Comments

Newport Folk Festival, Aug 2008 :: Sunday Preview

Yesterday we told you about who we’re planning on seeing on the first day of this year’s Newport Folk Festival. Here’s what it’s looking like we’ll be doing on day two. If you’re going, drop us a line in the comments and tell us who you’re going to see.

Levon Helm :: Helm’s swampy Dirt Farmer won the Grammy for Best Folk Album this year, though the former drummer for the Band didn’t need any excuse to celebrate; Dirt Farmer was recorded following a long battle with throat cancer that saw him miraculously regain 80% of his singing voice. And though his voice warbles like Garth Hudson’s Hammond B-3 when he talks, the singing on Dirt Farmer is some of the most moving, soulful stuff of last or any year. Helm would be the highlight of the festival even if he were only playing tracks from this record; throw in the Band’s back catalog, and Helm’s set is bound to be rock for the ages.

The Avett Brothers :: Bringing the same punky spirit to folk and bluegrass as the Felice Brothers, North Carolina’s prolific Avett clan have seen their national profile rise considerably in recent years. With that has come something of a smoothing in their style that’s every bit as engaging as their early work while appealing to a somewhat broader audience, landing the group a deal with American/Columbia.

Calexico :: Like the Avetts, Calexico’s punkier background has lately given way to a dedication to pop songcraft. Still, though, the band couldn’t have chosen a better name for themselves; equal parts California and Mexico, they are the unspoken sound of spaghetti westerns and are more suited to west Texas in the scorching heat. Seeing them in the spread of the Bay should be interesting.

Continue Reading After The Jump….

Read the rest of this entry »

July 21st, 2008 | add to del.icio.us | Newport Folk Festival | 4 Comments

Newport Folk Festival, Aug 2008 :: Saturday Preview

As we mentioned yesterday, Aquarium Drunkard will be stomping around Fort Adams State Park next month, taking in the Newport Folk Festival. Following the obvious night-show of Brian Wilson, Kate Taylor, and Willy Mason on Friday night, here’s a quick preview of who we’ll be checking out on Saturday. If you’re going, drop us a line in the comments and tell us who you’re going to see.

Cat Power :: At one point in the not-so-distant past, Cat Power figurehead Chan Marshall was a notoriously flakey performer. Marshall had a history of playing shows with her back to the audience, sometimes even quitting the stage halfway through performances. Following the recording of 2006’s definitive The Greatest, Marshall entered rehab and emerged something of a sober fighting machine, effectively grabbing the touring market by the hand and forcing it to go along with her; where she once shied away from the public, she’s now the face of Chanel. This would be meaningless, of course, if Marshall’s music was anything less than stellar. The Greatest is a smoky, Memphis-smoked record that’s equal parts fall-down and get-up. while her latest release, Jukebox, is a collection of covers, with Marshall putting a mellow golden stamp on everything from Hank Williams’ “Ramblin’ Man” (or “(Wo)man,” as she re-titles it) to Dylan’s “I Believe in You” to a snaked-out version of Sinatra’s “New York.”

Willy Mason :: I was initially made aware of Martha’s Vineyard’s Willy Mason when the then-nineteen year-old opened for My Morning Jacket in Houston the Thursday before Austin City Limits Fest in 2004. The nervous, foot-shuffling folk was matched only by Mason’s gentle demeanor (at one point, he shyly asked if he could catch a ride north to Austin for his ACL slot the following afternoon). Following a self-imposed exile from the music world, Mason reemerged in 2006 opening several American arena dates for Radiohead, of all bands.

Richie Havens :: Let’s get this out of the way: this isn’t Havens’ first time on a big stage. The 67 year-old Brooklyn native famously opened Woodstock thirty-nine years ago, playing his entire repertoire to a raucous crowd that demanded more, and culminating in a jaw-dropping improvisation on “Motherless Child.” Havens’ take on the folkie tradition is decidedly rhythmic; his flapping, fluttering guitar style is found today in the rejoicing hands of Devendra Banhart and the multi-thumping of the Dodos.

Jim James :: My Morning Jacket’s weirdo-in-chief has always sounded more soulful when he sticks to his acoustic guns than he does when aping Prince. Some of MMJ’s early, reverb-and-wine-soaked recordings still stand among his best and most ambitious work. From The Tennessee Fire’s “I Will Be There When You Die” through At Dawn’s “Hopefully” and It Still Moves’ “Golden,” not to mention subsequent solo tours with M. Ward and Conor Oberst, JJ has earned his place among Newport’s headliners. If nothing else, it should be interesting to hear Evil Urges funk-blasted tracks stripped to their core.

She & Him :: Only in 2008 could a record that sounds like 70s FM folk be considered revolutionary. What started as a side project between M. Ward and Zooey Deschanel has quickly developed a life of its own. Deschanel’s warm voice – somewhere in the neighborhood of Patsy Cline, though far more sweet than bitter – is a perfect match for the transistorisms that Ward has tweaked over several albums now.

Continue Reading After The Jump…

Read the rest of this entry »

July 20th, 2008 | add to del.icio.us | Newport Folk Festival | 1 Comment

Newport Folk Festival :: August 2008

Aquarium Drunkard is nothing if not fans of pop music’s twisting and shaking history. While some may point towards Woodstock as the most important music festival in the history of our young country, one could make a very, very strong case for the early 60’s incantations of the Newport Folk Festival. It was Newport, after all, that first trusted Bob Dylan enough to give him a national audience in 1963, only two months after the release of his groundbreaking second album, The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan. Dylan’s first festival appearance heightened his national profile, which led to, among other things, Dylan’s introduction to The Beatles, a single moment in a New York hotel room in 1964 that knocked the worlds of rock ‘n’ roll and folk music off of their charted courses and into groundbreaking territory. Dylan would release the wiry, needly, rock ‘n’ folk of Bringing It All Back Home seven months later and the Beatles began to mine darker, more thoughtful territory on songs like “Help!” and “I’ve Just Seen a Face,” the latter of digs its shovels deep into Dylan’s territory.

And it was at this same festival only two years later that Dylan’s hand let go of the scene and picked up an electric guitar, horrifying the folk music world (anyone who’s seen Scorcese’s Dylan documentary No Direction Home can tell you what Pete Seeger threatened to do to the P.A. system during Dylan’s ‘65 set). In the single stabbing pulse of Mike Bloomfield’s guitar that opened “Maggie’s Farm,” a flurry of scales fell from the eyes of the gathered folkies; this man would not be their messiah, after all.

Ah, but the times, they are a-changin’. Not only are noisy Dylan acolytes like the Pixies willing to unplug at Newport, but Bob’s son Jakob joins the acoustic fray this year without his swirling rock band, the Wallflowers. Levon Helm, former drummer for the Band (themselves Dylan’s backing group at one point), is one of the headliners, and Upstate New York’s Felice Brothers – who have sat in on one of Helm’s famous Midnight Rambles – will be there, too. Dylan’s presence, then, still looms large, even if the man himself isn’t planning on treading the boards. To quote his son, the more things change, the more they stay the same.

Hosted by Fort Adams State Park, bordering the yacht-dotted waters of Newport Harbor, the 2008 edition of the Newport Folk Festival features one of the most consistently solid lineups in the festival’s recent history. Aquarium Drunkard will be there, keeping you up on big performances from Brian Wilson, My Morning Jacket’s Jim James, and Cat Power, and keeping you hip to the criminally lesser-known acts along the lines of Over the Rhine, the aforementioned Felice Brothers, and Willy Mason. Be watching over the next few days as we profile some of the artists that we plan on seeing. words/marty garner

July 19th, 2008 | add to del.icio.us | Newport Folk Festival | 8 Comments

Bruce Springsteen :: Boston Music Hall 10-29-1974

AKA - Flesh And Fantasy, this has long been one of my favorite early ’70s Springsteen shows. Touring behind the Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle this show is loose as a goose. Keep an eye out for another Bruce show (from the same year) I also unearthed from my old CD trading books from back in the day (from ye olde days before file-sharing). - AD

Download:
MP3: Bruce Springsteen :: Incident On 57th Street
MP3: Bruce Springsteen :: Spirit In The Night
MP3: Bruce Springsteen :: Does This Bus Stop At 82nd Street
MP3: Bruce Springsteen :: The E Street Shuffle
MP3: Bruce Springsteen :: Cupid
MP3: Bruce Springsteen :: It’s Hard To Be A Saint In The City
MP3: Bruce Springsteen :: Jungleland
MP3: Bruce Springsteen :: She’s The One

MP3: Bruce Springsteen :: Kitty’s Back
MP3: Bruce Springsteen :: New York City Serenade
MP3: Bruce Springsteen :: Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)
MP3: Bruce Springsteen :: 4th July, Asbury Park (Sandy)
MP3: Bruce Springsteen :: A Love So Fine
———-

www.brucespringsteen.net ++ www.backstreets.com ++ myspace.com/brucespringsteen

July 18th, 2008 | add to del.icio.us | Bruce Springsteen, Live Upload Series | 7 Comments

SIRIUS Radio :: Aquarium Drunkard Show

Our weekly two hour show on SIRIUS, channel 26 Left Of Center, can now be heard twice, every Friday - Noon EST and then an encore broadcast at Midnight EST. Below is this week’s playlist.

SIRIUS 56: Jean Michel Bernard - Generique Stephane (intro) ++ The Walkmen - What’s In It For Me ++ Fugazi - Last Chance For A Slow Dance ++ Spoon - Stay Don’t Go ++ Bob Marley Interview snippet ++ Of Montreal - Cato As A Pun ++ The Soft Boys - I Wanna Destroy You ++ Lou Reed - Satellite of Love ++ The Raincoats - Lola ++ The Vivian Girls - Where Do You Run To ++ The Henry Clay People - Rock And Roll Has Lost It’s Teeth ++ Silver Jews - Night Society ++ Silver Jews - Federal Dust ++ Stephen Malkmus - It Kills ++ Galaxie 500 - Submission (cover) ++ Sonic Youth - On The Strip ++ The Velvet Underground - I Can’t Stand It ++ Patti Smith - Hey Joe (cover) ++ Iggy Pop - Some Weird Sin ++ David Bowie - All The Young Dudes (w/ Ian Hunter vocal) ++ T. Rex - Jeepster ++ Seu Jorge - Rebel Rebel ++ Lou Reed - Vicious ++ David Vandervelde - Cocksucker Blues (Stones cover) ++ Ben Weaver - Geisha ++ Palace Brothers - Horses ++ Fruit Bats - Echolocation Stomp ++ Whiskeytown - Lo-Fi Tennessee Mountain Angel ++ Megafaun - Find Your Mark ++ Roadside Graves - Ruby ++ Guided By Voices - Captains Dead
Guided By Voices - Game of Pricks ++ Guided By Voices - The Official Ironmen Rally Song ++ Guided By Voices - Titus And Strident Wet Nurse

* You can listen, for free, online with the SIRIUS three day trial — just submit an email address and they will send you a password.

——————————————————————————————————————————-

July 18th, 2008 | add to del.icio.us | SIRIUS | 1 Comment

Joe Jackson :: Steppin’ Out…

Culled from the 1982 album Night And Day, Joe Jackson’s pitch-perfect single “Steppin’ Out” has long held a perverse power over me. It’s true. Besides being my round one, go-to, Karaoke jam, I’ve also been known on many occasions to (obviously, after a few drinks) make wild and grandiose statements such as “this is my all-time favorite song!!,” or “You know, Joe Jackson’s early work was practically on par with early Elvis Costello!!” Yeahhh, while neither of those would hold up under intense scrutiny, under the right circumstances they are damn near believable. Trust me, put this one on - after midnight - at your next late-night dance party and watch.

Oh, and that video with the Manhattan hotel maid? It’s probably my favorite Pop vid from that year and/or decade. Viva la “Steppin’ Out.”

Download:
MP3: Joe Jackson :: Steppin’ Out
————-

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Amazon: Joe Jackson - Night And Day

July 16th, 2008 | add to del.icio.us | Joe Jackson | 10 Comments

Sevens :: The Band: Chest Fever

(Sevens, a new feature on Aquarium Drunkard, pays tribute to the art of the individual song.)

From Garth Hudson’s opening notes on the organ - on through to the songs climax - it’s immediately apparent The Band’s “Chest Fever” means business. “I know shes a tracker, any scarlet would back her. The say she’s a chooser, but I just can’t refuse her.” A soulful, yet tortuous, ode to the allure of the elusive, “Chest Fever” showcases some of my favorite vocals by Richard Manuel. Here, the man spits the lyrics out as if he is exorcising a femme fatale seductress that dominates his every thought.

Download:
MP3: The Band :: Chest Fever
———–
Amazon: The Band - Music from Big Pink

+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +