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Jack Nitzsche / Captain Beefheart :: Hard Workin’ Man (1978)

Captain Beefheart Jack NitzschePosted on

I recently re-watched the underrated/half-forgotten Blue Collar -- Paul Schrader's 1978 directorial debut starring Richard Pryor, Yaphet Kotto and Harvey Keitel. Filmed on location at the Checker Motors plant in Kalamazoo, Michigan, the film boasts one of the decade's most effective pairings of music during an opening credits sequence.

Schrader tapped Jack Nitzche to score the film. In an inspired move Nitzche brought in Captain Beefheart (née Don Van Vliet) to lend his rust-leaden vocals to "Hard Workin' Man", the  Nitzche penned track that acts as an aural introduction to the late 20th century metal-machine world the film's characters inhabit. A blues, the song hits of two fronts: the obvious (lyrics), and in keeping with the auto manufacturing plant visuals of the opening sequence, the instrumental. Raw and chugging, that's Ry Cooder on accompanying guitar as Beefheart growls out the lyrics along to the sight of steel and sparks. Check it out, below:

The below track was later included in the collection Hard Workin' Man: The Jack Nitzche Story, Vol. 2, sans the auto plant's 'ambiance' and slightly modified lyrics.

Jack Nitzsche / Captain Beefheart :: Hard Workin' Man

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Return Of The Repressed :: Bikoff, Taussig and McGrath

Don Bikoff Harry Taussig Suni McGrathPosted on

While a younger generation has picked up the American Primitive torch in the past decade, some of the original 1960s fingerpickers have recently emerged from the mists with some damn good new material.

Don Bikoff's magical Celestial Explosion was reissued last year by Tompkins Square, bringing its splendid, slightly spacey acoustic explorations to a much wider audience than when it originally came out in 1968. Up until this year, it was the guitarist's only release. But become a member or log in.

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Greg Ashley :: Another Generation Of Slaves

Greg AshleyPosted on

Greg Ashley is best known as the leader of the Texas cum Oakland psych outfit The Gris Gris, but he's also spent time in other bands, including the brash punkers The Strate-Coats and acid-drenched folkists The Mirrors, while releasing a number of noteworthy solo albums along the way. With his new album, Another Generation of Slaves, Ashley dives deeper into his Leonard Cohen obsession, one that was sparked by his . . .

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T.L. Barrett :: Like A Ship (Without A Sail)

T.L. BarrettPosted on

Save yr. soul. Chicago soul gospel. Year, 1971. I was woken up last night in Los Angeles by a rumbling earthquake, yet this nugget still packs the bigger wallop.

T.L. Barrett :: Like A Ship

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SIRIUS/XMU :: Aquarium Drunkard Show (Noon EST, Channel 35)

SIRIUSPosted on

Our weekly two hour show on SIRIUS/XMU, channel 35, can be heard twice every Friday — Noon EST with an encore broadcast at Midnight EST.

SIRIUS 334: Jean Michel Bernard - Générique Stephane ++ Twin Peaks - Stand In The Sand ++ Twin Peaks - Natural Villain ++ Thee Oh Sees - Toe Cutter - Thumb Buster ++ Jay Reatard - Hammer I Miss You ++ Harlem - Come Back Jonee (Devo cover) ++ Courtney Barnett - History Eraser ++ Gap Dream - Fantastic Sam ++ Dead Gaze - This Big World ++ Surf City . . .

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Reverend Louis Overstreet :: I’m Working On A Building

Reverend Louis OverstreetPosted on

Reverend Louis Overstreet was born in Louisiana in 1947. He began singing in gospel quartets and preaching at a young age, before settling in Phoenix, Arizona in 1961. It was in Phoenix that  Overstreet was discovered by Chris Strachwitz of Arhoolie Records, who would record and release the album Rev. Louis Overstreet — His Guitar, His Sons and the Congregation of St. Luke’s Powerhouse Church of God in Christ. Seriously raw, intense homespun gospel, Overstreet’s recordings have most recently appeared on the Mississippi Records tape, Everybody . . .

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Chris Forsyth :: Cortez The Killer / Little Johnny Jewel

Chris ForsythPosted on

Chris Forsyth's guitar extravaganza Solar Motel was one of 2013's most cosmic releases. As great as the LP is, Forsyth took things a whole 'nother level with the live band he put together to bring it to the stage. The Solar Motel Band, consisting of guitarist Paul Sukeena (Spacin), drummer Steven Urgo (ex-War On Drugs) and Peter Kerlin (Peter Kerlin Octet), have quickly become one of the . . .

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Wax Wonders :: Chicago Blues Finds Its Soul

Wax WondersPosted on

Chicago style blues is a sound rooted in the deep South. Many bluesmen moved north to escape Jim Crow and to make a living working in the steel mills of Chicago and northwest Indiana; the music followed and when Muddy Waters took his Mississippi roots and electrified them in the late 1940's, a whole new thing was born.

While electric blues remained a popular club attraction into the early '60s, soul music and civil rights practically worked hand in hand to become an incredibly important social upheaval. Blues, rooted in 'the country' was viewed by some as a style that was too deeply connected to a world that the black community was doing their best to escape from. Soul rhythms and a more polished, 'uptown' feel began to infiltrate the music of the great Chicago bluesmen in the early '60s, yet this music was practically ignored by radio and for the most part and sold very little until a whole new (white) audience began discovering this amazing music by the middle of the decade.

Probably my favorite of all the '60s Chicago sides is this double sided (double headed) monster from Junior Wells. Released in 1966, "Shake It Baby!" b/w "(I Got A) Stomach Ache" once again finds Wells working with Buddy Guy on guitar and as a songwriting collaborator; a duo that came together for the previous years' incredible LP, Hoodoo Man Blues (an album that is regarded by many as the greatest electric blues LP ever recorded). "Shake It Baby" is the sound of a wild night at a west side bar, one of those magic moments where the energy and unchained atmosphere is somehow captured in the studio. The band cuts a deep groove and swings hard, with Buddy Guy answering Junior's powerful vocal as a wild call and response between lyrics and guitar. The flip side, with Junior scat-singing the intro, captures the 3 AM vibe of the club, when everyone's gotten woozy but the band's still cookin' and we ain't ready to go home yet. Junior Wells moved from Arkansas to Chicago around age 14, and by the age of 18 he was playing harmonica with Muddy Waters. Buddy Guy moved from Louisiana to Chicago at age 21, and immediately cut a presence in the city with his razor sharp guitar playing.

Junior Wells :: Shake It Baby
Junior Wells :: I Got A Stomach Ache

Magic Sam's immense talent was cut short in 1969 when died of a heart attack at 32 years of age. Sam released two incredible LP's that epitomized his soulful blues style (West Side Soul and Black's Magic both on Delmark Records). There's no telling what this man could have done musically had he lived. Sam (Maghett) moved to Chicago in 1950 at age 13 from Mississippi, and he spent a whole lot of time with fellow Mississippi-to-Chicago transplant Syl Johnson carving out their musical styles during this time. Sam cut many 45's for various labels before signing to Delmark in 1967, and this 1966 single is a haunting track that retains the raw, earthy energy of blues and mates it with a deep soulful ballad yielding glorious results.

Magic Sam :: She Belongs To Me

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SIRIUS/XMU :: Aquarium Drunkard Show (Noon EST, Channel 35)

SIRIUSPosted on

Our weekly two hour show on SIRIUS/XMU, channel 35, can be heard twice every Friday — Noon EST with an encore broadcast at Midnight EST.

SIRIUS 333: Jean Michel Bernard - Générique Stephane ++ Serge Gainsbourg - Bonnie And Clyde ++ Deerhunter — Back To The Middle ++ Sonic Youth — Androgynous Mind / Quest For The Cup (AD edit) ++ The Growlers — Hiding Under Covers ++ Twin Peaks — Ocean Blue ++ Cate Le Bon — Sisters ++ Damien Jurado — Silver Timothy ++ Richard Swift — Whitman ++ The Walkmen — This Job . . .

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Doug Paisley :: The Aquarium Drunkard Interview

Doug Paisley The AD InterviewPosted on

This past January, Doug Paisley released his third full-length, Strong Feelings, via No Quarter Records. Regular collaborator Garth Hudson returns on the piano, along with Emmett Kelly, Robbie Grunwald and Mary Margaret O’Hara. Living up to its title, the album is a poignant collection of warm, subtle country-folk, though it finds Paisley exploring new sonic territories and reaching across genres. We caught up with Paisley over the phone, from his home in Toronto, and discussed his new approach for recording this record, the importance of narrative and, of course, Neil Young.

Aquarium Drunkard: I understand, with this album, you took a lot more time and had a lot more people involved than you have previously. What spurred this new approach?

Doug Paisley: The last few recordings I’ve done, prior to this one, were done very quickly; live in the studio in one day or so. I guess I wanted to not keep doing the same thing and just see what it would be like to take a little more time and to get more input from more people. So it was kind of curiosity and also just being able to do that too. In the past, there have been constraints that sort of force you to only spend a day in the studio, financial and otherwise, so this was a bit more of an opportunity.

AD: Did you enjoy that process?

Doug Paisley: I did. I mean, I’ve always found that the fewer options you have, the easier things are and, if you give it some time, whatever you end up making usually ends up sounding right. So, it did mean a little more decision-making. I don’t know if that part helped it all that much, but I did enjoy the process. Being in the studio is a lot of fun. You spend a lot of time songwriting and a lot of time touring and playing and most people don’t get to spend a lot of time in the studio, so it’s kind of a thrill. Like that Metallica movie where they’re in the studio for 700 takes or something. But I think for a lot of artists like me, nowadays, it’s more like a week tops. So, that part was a lot of fun.

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Jack Name :: Light Show

Jack NamePosted on

Jack Name's Light Show is shadow music. The outline is familiar but the insides are dark and unknowable. From certain angles, the shape distorts into a giant's proportions. From others vantages, the shadow dwindles. "I could be anybody/ God knows I've got my shadow," sings John Webster Adams, the man behind the see-through moniker of Jack Name. He proves this claim, in sound at least: Name's debut, Light Show, is an unbridled sonic zig-zag. Light Show

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Lydia Loveless :: Somewhere Else

Lydia LovelessPosted on

"Well, honey, I was just thinking about you / and how you got married last June / I wondered how that worked out for you / so I just thought I would call," goes the opening line to "Really Wanna See You," the lead track on Lydia Loveless' Somewhere Else. That line is the beginning of a spate of questionable reasoning by our narrator. She goes to a party, snorts coke, starts crying and wants to call him; she thinks about how "there were times I was such a bitch . . .

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Aquarium Drunkard Presents: Paradise Of Bachelors ‘Ides Of March Weekender’ – March 14-16 / Los Angeles

Aquarium Drunkard Presents Paradise Of BachelorsPosted on

March 14-16: Aquarium Drunkard presents Paradise Of Bachelors 'Ides Of March Weekender' at The Church On York in Highland Park. Night one: Steve Gunn / Chris Forsyth & The Solar Motel Band (tickets). Night Two: Songs Molina: A Memorial Electic Co. & Hiss Golden Messenger (become a member or log in.

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Sevens :: Slowdive – Morningrise

SlowdivePosted on

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

If you haven’t heard, Slowdive have reunited for a batch of festival performances throughout Europe and are adding more dates as the weeks progress. Apart from My Bloody Valentine and Cocteau Twins, there hasn’t been a more name-checked shoegaze band in the past decade. And rightfully so. Their legacy and impact on current music culture far . . .

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AD Presents :: Real Estate @ The Fonda – March 11th

Aquarium Drunkard Presents Real EstatePosted on

Los Angeles: Next Tuesday night, March 11th, Aquarium Drunkard presents Real Estate at the Fonda Theatre. Kevin Morby and The Shilohs support. Advance tickets available for purchase, here. We’re giving away a few pairs to AD readers. To land them, leave a comment with your name . . .

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