Music

First Wound Of Pride

/ larryallenmusic / Leave a comment

candle_heart_texture

The wisdom of the prudent is to discern his way, but the folly of fools is deceiving. -Proverbs 14:8

Dying flame, you’re free again
Who could love, do that to you
All dressed in black, he won’t be coming back

It’s over, right? Yep. He’s/she’s gone right? Yep, gone, long gone, gone like yesterday, and gone like a freight train, as Montgomery Gentry once sang.

But it’s not over.

And the truth is, it never really will be. Oh sure, you move on and accept the new reality, but it’s always still there, burned in like the exposed images on the negatives from an old-time camera’s film.

Look, save your tears
Got years and years
The pains of seventeen’s
Unreal they’re only dreams
Save your cryin’ for the day

I turned 21 in April of 1978, and Chris Rea’s debut album, Whatever Happened To Benny Santini and the hit single “Fool (If You Think It’s Over)” was all over the airwaves. Years of teen angst were still fresh in my mind and I was in the nether world between a high school romance lost and a long distance relationship via college separation gone awry. The song absolutely cut me to the quick. But it was so irresistibly catchy, I couldn’t wait to hear it again.

Fool if you think it’s over
‘Cause you said goodbye
Fool if you think it’s over
I’ll tell you why
New born eyes always cry with pain
At the first look at the morning sun
Fool if you think it’s over
It’s just begun

“The folly of fools” as the Bible said, was certainly all over me in trying to deceive myself. The real fool is one who thinks that just because you say it’s over, it really is. And yes, you must open your eyes and face the harsh light of reality, as painful as that may be.

Miss Teenage Dream, such a tragic scene
He knocked your crown and ran away
First wound of pride, and how you cried and cried
But save your tears, got years and years

I guess I’ll never really be able to understand the female side of this equation; I can only imagine what that must be like. I’ve always believed that women were much stronger emotionally than men, for all of our posturing and denial of feelings. I know that the key for men is to feel respected above all, and when not loved, we can justify that as less a loss of respect and more as a loss of value. OK, so she left me for something of higher value. No loss of respect there, right? It’s like she’s getting a new job or trading up for a new car. But a wound of pride? Definitely.

I’ll buy you first good wine
We’ll have a real good time
Save your cryin’ for the day
That may not come
But anyone who had to pay
Would laugh at you and say

Speaking of wounded pride, Chris would probably be chagrined to know that most folks here in the U.S. would probably call him a “one hit wonder”. While it’s true that his biggest hit came from his first album release here – instead of in his native U.K. – he later returned to Europe and recorded over 30 additional LP’s with several singles reaching the charts in France, Germany, Switzerland and Austria, as well as in the U.K..

In fact, his U.S. record label became so disenchanted with his efforts that they didn’t bother to choose a name for his fourth album (Chris Rea), and they just dumped out a bunch of his raw demo tapes as his fifth. Ironically, the fifth album ,Water Sign, became a surprise hit in Ireland and Europe, spawning a Top 20 single, “I Can Hear Your Heartbeat”.

Chris’ career in Europe took off like a rocket after that, with his breakthrough #1 charting LP The Road To Hell coming in 1989.

Fool if you think it’s over
‘Cause you said goodbye
Fool if you think it’s over
I’ll tell you why

No one here in the U.S. these days ever really wonders much about Whatever Happened to Benny Santini and Chris Rea, but here’s a few interesting tidbits to chew on:

  • The album’s title came about because Chris’ record label originally wanted him to change his stage name to – you guessed it – Benjamin Santini.
  • The album was produced by Elton John’s producer, Gus Dudgeon. Chris always wanted to try to sound more like Elton and/or Billy Joel.
  • Ironically, “Fool (If You Think It’s Over)” was nominated for a Grammy (Song of The Year) but got beat out by Billy Joel’s “Just The Way You Are”.
  • And to prove it really wasn’t over, British pop singer, Elkie Brooks, scored a 17 on the U.K. charts with her cover version in 1982.

So light a candle, pour yourself a glass of good wine and admit to yourself that a great song, like a great romance, will never really be completely over.

Listen to the original studio version here:

Elkie Brooks cover version on Top Of The Pops here:

Go back

Your message has been sent

Sources for this post include:

Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Rea

Songfacts.com: http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=19641

 

Beyond The Sky

/ larryallenmusic / Leave a comment

The_Burning_Sky

We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed. – 1 Corinthians 15:31

I was born by the river in a little tent
Oh, and just like the river I’ve been running ever since

It’s been a long, a long time coming
But I know a change gon’ come, oh yes it will

You can run, but you cannot hide. Sooner or later, we all get to a point in life where we begin to question what it’s all about. For some, perhaps due to unusual life circumstances or events, this question raises itself early in life. For others like myself, it comes later.

All the things you were once so sure of; you no longer are. All those things that once seemed so important; they no longer are. You begin to feel this vacuum, this emptiness, a chasm that seems so deep and wide. You don’t know what to grab onto. All the confidence of youth is lost.

It’s been too hard living, but I’m afraid to die
Cause I don’t know what’s up there beyond the sky

And you get to the point where you say “this is hard, it’s just too hard”. Why can’t it be easy, like it was back in your younger days? So carefree, so open, so optimistic…and so, so, very naive. And what is the alternative?

Then I go to my brother
And I say, “Brother, help me please.”
But he winds up knockin’ me
Back down on my knees

And those friends you thought you had? Like family? I was told by my father when I was young that if, at the end of my life, I had more true friends than I could count on one hand, I would be an extremely fortunate man. I still hope I can prove him wrong, but I’m no longer sure.

There been times when I thought I couldn’t last for long
But now I think I’m able to carry on

But the very good news is this; a change is indeed gonna come. I no longer care as much about who is  going to be a friend to me, but rather to whom can I become a friend. And that all starts with a relationship that we all have right in our hands, all along.

It’s been a long, a long time coming
But I know a change gon’ come, oh yes it will

Mike Farris’ story is one of coming to what I call “that shining moment of clarity” earlier, rather than later in life. If there ever was an artist’s story that was perfectly crafted to fit into what this blog is all about, it’s Mike’s.

Mike’s troubled childhood led to early problems with drugs and alcohol, resulting in his almost dying from an overdose before he was 21 years old. I first picked up on his music in 1994 via the Screamin’ Cheetah Wheelies with their self-titled release that included the smoking hot single “Shakin’ The Blues”. If you are a fan of the 70’s “southern boogie” style of music made popular by groups like Lynyrd Skynyrd,  The Allman Brothers, The Marshall Tucker Band, Elvin Bishop, etc., you should definitely check it out.

Jon Stewart famously said of Bruce Springsteen at his Kennedy Centers Honors tribute: “I believe that Bob Dylan and James Brown had a baby. They abandoned this child on the side of the road between the exit interchanges of 8A and 9 on the New Jersey Turnpike. That child is Bruce Springsteen.”

I’d like to make a similar speculation. I’m not sure where Mike was born and who his real parents are, but if Al Green and Eric Clapton somehow had a child and abandoned him in La Grange, Texas to be fostered by Stevie Ray Vaughan, well he would probably sound a lot like Mike Farris.

The SCW’s enjoyed a fair level of success with seven album releases between 1994 and 2004 and  five Top 30 charting singles. But it wasn’t until 2005 that Mike really had a personal breakthrough, becoming clean and sober for the first time since he was 15 years old. From this newfound state of clarity came his 2007 release, Salvation In Lights, which featured the Sam Cooke classic “Change Is Gonna Come”.

At this point, Mike’s career and accolades really began to take off. His achievements included an Americana Music Award for New/Emerging Artist in 2008 and a Dove Award in 2010. And his live performances at Bonnaroo and SxSW – among others – were all getting rave reviews.

But like the song said, just as it seemed he was beginning to stand solidly on terra firma, something knocked him back down again. This time it was an addiction to painkillers resulting from ruptured discs, back surgery and the death of his manager, Rose McGarthy, along with other personal issues. This time around Mike sought help in rehab.

Proving you can’t keep a good man down, Mike has re-emerged in 2014 with the release of what I think is his greatest work ever on Shine For All The People. The album includes a wide range of sounds and emotions with cuts like Blind Willie McTell’s “River Jordan”, J.B. Lenoir’s “Jonah And The Whale”, the heartfelt “Mercy Now” written by Mary Gauthier and my personal favorite “Power Of Love”. If listening to SFATP doesn’t make you want to take a front row seat for a blistering hot Wednesday night Pentecostal tent revival…well, nothing ever will.

As Mike said in a recent mini documentary for the album, “I sing because I have to sing.” and “(Gospel) it belongs to the people who had to go up the rough side of the mountain”. And as Rodney Crowell said: “It  (the music spirit or muse) must have some kind of intelligence behind it, because it chooses a vessel that’s the perfect delivery system for inspiration.” But Ashley Cleveland probably sums it up best, saying: “I would say he’s a gospel singer for the people…and I mean ALL the people.”

So, you can close your eyes and picture Sam Cooke’s original while listening here to Mike. And while you’re at it, take time to reflect and consider all the changes that are surely gonna come.

Oh and as an added bonus, be sure to check out the two cuts from Shine, as well.

Listen to Mike’s version of “Change Is Gonna Come” here:

From his new release: Shine For All The People:

And one more:

Go back

Your message has been sent

Sources:

Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Farris_%28musician%29) and           (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Screamin%27_Cheetah_Wheelies)

Compass Records (http://compassrecords.com/mike-farris)

Mike Farris website (www.mikefarrismusic.com)

 

The Empty Sidewalks

/ larryallenmusic / 2 Comments

sidewalk_leaf

Can two walk together, except they be agreed? – Amos 3:3

And when I see the sign that points one way
The lot we used to pass by every day

Just walk away Renee
You won’t see me follow you back home
The empty sidewalks on my block are not the same
You’re not to blame

Walking away.

It’s not always easy, is it? For even if you do, that’s not the end. These relationships leave an indelible stamp on our hearts, in our minds and deep in our souls. They cannot be erased any more than an old chalkboard’s marks. Maybe not visible to the eye, but still the fine dust and subtle imprint will remain.

And the sidewalks will surely never be the same, because (as Dionne sang) “there’s always something there to remind me”. Those too, just won’t seem to go away. You can avoid those places and things but they’re always still around, lurking in the shadows of your mind, just waiting to reemerge.

From deep inside the tears that I’m forced to cry
From deep inside the pain that I chose to hide

Just walk away Renee
You won’t see me follow you back home
Now as the rain beats down upon my weary eyes
For me it cries

The Bible clearly tells us that there are times to walk away from troubled relationships. When it’s clearly not good for us. When it’s creating wrongs for others. When they are just plain unhealthy.

Sometimes a tree has to be trimmed to ensure it’s long term health and beauty. And so it is with our lives, our pasts and sometimes, those people who are just no good for us.

But it’s hard. As Christians, we sometimes allow ourselves to be trapped in toxic relationships by our false belief that it would be sinful on our part to cut it off, and that God calls on us to remain with love, patience and tolerance.

But that’s not really true.

Your name and mine inside a heart upon a wall
Still finds a way to haunt me, though they’re so small

Just walk away Renee
You won’t see me follow you back home
The empty sidewalks on my block are not the same
You’re not to blame

“Walk Away Renee”, originally recorded by The Left Banke in 1966, was written by keyboard player Michael Brown – he was 16 at the time – after he met the song’s namesake, Renee Fladen, who just so happened to be the girlfriend of the band’s bassist, Tom Finn.

Legend has it that when Michael went into the studio to record the harpsicord part for the song, Renee was there. Her presence made him so nervous and his hands shook so badly that he couldn’t manage the piece. He left without finishing and came back later that night, after she had gone, to record it.

Obviously, young Michael was quite smitten with Renee, as he wrote another song about her – “Pretty Ballerina” – a year later. “Walk Away Renee” was clearly an admission to himself that Renee belonged to another and would never return his advances, so he was better off forgetting about her.

“Walk Away Renee” went on to reach #5 on the Billboard Top 100 and was covered by artists as diverse as The Four Tops (it went to #3 on the British charts), Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes, Linda Ronstadt w/Ann Savoy, Rickie Lee Jones, The Cowsills, Vonda Shepard and many more.

Each of the cover versions have their own unique qualities, but the ageless beauty and universal meaning in the song remains clear and shining bright, no matter who does it.

So, go ahead, let yourself off the hook, and know that it’s OK sometimes to let go.

Then again, we never really do, do we?

Listen to the original here:

Great live version by Southside Johnny and the Jukes here:

The hauntingly beautiful Rickie Lee Jones version here:

Go back

Your message has been sent

 

 

A Red Coal Carpet

/ larryallenmusic / Leave a comment

house-burning

I would hasten to my place of refuge from the stormy wind and tempest. -Psalms 55:8

 

Ooo, a storm is threat’ning
My very life today
If I don’t get some shelter
Oh yeah, I’m gonna fade away

Storms; life is full of them. And the Bible teaches us that we will face troubles in this life.  Some are major hurricanes, others minor squalls. It is some comfort to have the reassurance that Jesus overcame this world and so shall we. But that doesn’t make the troubles any easier to deal with in the present.

Ooh, see the fire is sweepin’
Our very street today
Burns like a red coal carpet
Mad bull lost its way

And so it was in the summer of 1969. On August 17th, the heat of the Gulf Coast night was broken by the howling 175 mph winds of Hurricane Camille. My Uncle Richard was living in Metarie, Louisiana at the time, near the shores of Lake Ponchartrain. Fortunately he, my Aunt and cousins were able to evacuate before it hit.

When it was all over, there were 259 people dead and over 1.4 billion dollars worth of damage. Camille was the second of only three Category 5 hurricanes to strike the U.S. in the 20th century, along with Labor Day Hurricane in 1935 and Hurricane Andrew in Miami in 1992.

War, children, it’s just a shot away
It’s just a shot away
War, children, it’s just a shot away
It’s just a shot away

And, yes the war in Vietnam raged on with still over 500,000 U.S. troops on the ground and more than 11,000 of those killed in battles that year. Even as Ho Chi Minh passed away in September, the war was still very much in question.

The flood is threat’ning
My very life today
Gimme, gimme shelter
Or I’m gonna fade away

So it was, and the mud and the blood and the flood all indeed seemed to be overflowing like a “red coal carpet” and a “mad bull lost it’s way”.

And just a couple of weeks before Camille struck, we were all shocked to the core by the horrific Sharon Tate murders, committed by the truly evil Charles Manson and his desert based “family”.

Dark days indeed.

And they were for the Rolling Stones, as well. In that same fall of 1969, the Stones were struggling with the year long prospect of pulling their latest album, Let It Bleed, together without the help of the band’s founder, Brian Jones. Brian had been dismissed from the band back in June due to increasing personal issues and drug problems, and was found dead a month later in the bottom of his swimming pool.

Let It Bleed was a somber tome, perfectly matching the events swirling at the time and “Gimme Shelter” was no exception. In the book Old Gods Almost Dead: The 40-Year Odyssey of the Rolling Stones , author Stephen Davis wrote: “No rock record, before or since, has ever so completely captured the sense of palpable dread that hung over its era.”

Mick and the boys had surely captured a sign of the times.

I tell you love, sister, it’s just a kiss away
It’s just a kiss away
It’s just a kiss away

In an interview just a year ago on NPR’s All Things Considered, Mick Jagger talked freely about the dark lyrics and the making of the song. “It was a very moody piece about the world closing in on you a bit…When it was recorded, early ’69 or something, it was a time of war and tension, so that’s reflected in this tune. It’s still wheeled out when big storms happen…”.

But some of the most intriguing factors in the recording were created by the incredible background vocals provided by gospel and soul singer, Merry Clayton. Like many great singers, Merry grew up singing in the church. Her father was a Baptist preacher in New Orleans, so I’m sure you can imagine what some of those church services sounded like!

She later pursued singing as a career, performing backing vocals for Bobby Darin, Elvis Presley and The Supremes among many others, but is probably best known for her work as a member of The Raelettes, Ray Charles’ backup singers.

As the story goes, Merry got a call in the late evening (she was already in bed for the night) from a producer she knew – Jack Nitzsche – begging her to come down to the studio to lay down some backing vocals for this project he was working on. At the time, she didn’t even know who the Rolling Stones were.

Merry was reluctant; she was pregnant at the time and her husband even got a little miffed at Nitzsche for calling so late. But once he understood who it was -the Stones – and what was going on, he said  “Honey, you know, you really should go and do this date.”

The rest is history.

She got out of bed and went down to the studio – curlers still in her hair – and met with Keith Richards, who ran through what they wanted her to do. She was bit put off by the dark lyrics at first, but once she understood the gist of the song and it’s meaning, she was ready to go. She did three takes and said “It’s late, I gotta go back to bed.”

Those three takes were some of he most powerful backing vocals ever recorded. She put so much into it that her strained voice began to crack right in the middle of the “Rape, Murder” part.  And, if you listen very closely on a good recording of the song, you can actually hear Mick, Keith and Jack hooting and hollering in the control booth in sheer amazement at the emotional delivery she poured into the track.

It was one of the greatest performances of her career.

Ironically, it also turned into tragedy, as she lost her baby to miscarriage shortly after leaving the studio. It has been widely assumed that the strain of the performance caused it. Years later, Merry still found the song hard to hear, and nearly impossible to sing, due to the dark memories of the night.

“Gimme Shelter” went on to be named the 38th ranked song on Rolling Stone magazine’s “The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time” list in 2004 and was also the name of the documentary film detailing the final weeks of the Stone’s 1969 U.S. tour culminating at the disastrous  free concert at the Altamont Speedway in California.

Martin Scorcese must have also been a big fan, as he has used the song in three of his films: Goodfellas, Casino and The Departed. Interestingly enough, he chose not include it in his 2008 documentary film about the Stones, Shine A Light.

So, crank it up loud and let it roll, as only Mick and the boys can do. And though things may seem grim; remember that love truly is, as Merry sang “just a kiss away”. And be sure to listen for Merry’s voice breaking. Wow!

Unbelievable footage w/Merry Clayton track exposed

Awesome Playing For Change cover here:

Go back

Your message has been sent

 

 

 

 

 

 

Every Word Rings True

/ larryallenmusic / Leave a comment

sun_dancing

And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. – Acts 2:4

The boys were singing shing-a-ling
The summer night we met
You were tan and seventeen
O how could I forget
When every star from near and far
Was watching from above
Watching two teenagers fall in love

What a picture these lyrics paint and definitely one I can remember from my own teenage years. I was seventeen and, yes, she was very tan. I had just moved to Atlanta and was trying to meet and make new friends in the summer of 1974 and she was the step-sister of one of my coworkers. He called her up to get a ride home one night after we closed and when she arrived, he introduced us. There must have been a little magic in the night air because, after a few minutes of conversation, he got his ride home and I got a date with her the next day.

The way we danced was not a dance
But more a long embrace
We held on to each other and
We floated there in space
And I was shy to kiss you while
The whole wide world could see
So shing-a-ling said everything for me

The movie Grease was still a few years away from reminding us of a time when the sounds of doo-wop ruled, but there were still a few songs rolling out of the speakers in my 1970 Chevy that could carry you back to those days. Ringo Starr was singing “You’re Sixteen” by Johnny Burdette, Grand Funk had a hit with Little Eva’s “Loco-Motion” and The Guess Who had us all singing along to “Clap For The Wolfman”.

And oh the poor old, old folks
They thought we’d lost our minds
They could not make heads or tails
Of the young folks’ funny rhymes
But you and I knew all the words
And we always sang along to
Oh sham-a-ling-dong-ding
Sham-a-ling-dang-dong

Every generation has a hard time understanding some of the musical styles and preferences of the next – and vice versa- but I think the translations from some of the great old doo-wop songs and their trademark nonsensical lyrics had to be hard for the generations on either side to fathom.

“Shama-lama” and it’s cousin “Rama-lama”, “Sh-boom”, “Rat da tat tat”, “Shinga ling”, “Bomp bomp ba bomp”, “Dip-de-dip-de-dip”, “Oo-wah, oo-wah” and even “Doo-wop” itself are just a few examples of the lyrical style incorporated in the genre.

It may have sounded like gibberish to some, but young hearts in love instinctively understood every word.

So after years and after tears
And after summers past
The old folks tried to warn us
How our love would never last

And so intense that romantic swell must have been, just as those who are filled with the love of the Holy Spirit also sometimes burst out into languages that no one can understand.

I’ve never seen anyone “speaking in tongues” firsthand, but I know folks who have. If you ever want to experience it for yourself, just check out your local Pentecostal church and ask them when they are going to have their next Revival. It’s not my usual taste in worship style, but I do think it might be invigorating every now and then!

And oh the poor old, old folks
They smile and walk away
But I bet they did some
Sham-a-lama-ding-dong in their day

Jesse Winchester was a southern born and bred singer-songwriter who I believe could have been every bit as influential on the 70’s music scene as James Taylor, if not for his having left the country for Canada to avoid service in the Vietnam war. Branded a “draft dodger” and prohibited from playing in the U.S., he never achieved a high level of popularity as a performer, but his work as a songwriter flourished nonetheless.

Jesse’s songs were recorded by countless artists as diverse as George Strait, Patti Page, Elvis Costello, Jimmy Buffett, Reba McEntire, Emmylou Harris, Wilson Pickett, The Everly Brothers, Nicolette Larson and many, many more.

Elvis Costello included Jesse Winchester’s 1970 debut album in his “500 Albums You Need” list created in Vanity Fair in 2000.

Oh those sweet old love songs
Every word rings true
Sham-a-ling-dong-ding means sweetheart
Sham-a-ling-dang-dong does too
And it means that right here in my arms
That’s where you belong
And it means sham-a-ling-dong-ding
Sham-a-ling-dang-dong

Jesse, along with many others who left for other parts of the world to avoid the war, was granted amnesty by President Jimmy Carter in 1976. His first U.S. concert was sold out in Burlington, Vermont and was covered by Rolling Stone magazine who dubbed him “the greatest voice of the decade”.

“Sham-A-Ling-Dong-Ding” was on Jesse’s final album Love Filling Station in 2009 and quite fittingly was featured that same year on Elvis Costello’s Spectacle TV series. I think it showcases not only his tremendous gift songwriting and vocal style but his great talent as a guitar player, as well.

Jesse lost his battle with cancer and passed away at his home in Virginia earlier this year, but his gift lives on through the many hit songs he penned for others.

So, young or old, and even though we might not understand exactly what some of those old doo-wop lyrics meant, just as Jesse sang, I’m sure we’ve all  experienced a little “Sham-A-Lama” of our own sometime throughout our days.

Listen to Jesse live here:

Go back

Your message has been sent

We’ve Got To Find A Way

/ larryallenmusic / Leave a comment

tears

The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these. – Mark 12:31

Mother, mother
There’s too many of you crying
Brother, brother, brother
There’s far too many of you dying
You know we’ve got to find a way
To bring some lovin’ here today

Nothing changes under the sun. And certainly not the way we treat each other.

“What’s Going On” was the first track on Marvin Gaye’s album by the same title in 1971.  It was the same year that i remember distinctly, the busing of hundreds of inner city black kids out to my suburban junior high school in Jacksonville, Florida. I remember the resultant clashes between the blacks and whites and got to experience some of them first-hand; up close and very, very personal.

I was taught at home that you did not judge a man by the color of his skin. People were people and you should get to know them before forming any opinions. And we were all equal in the eyes of the Lord…just separate. What a paradox.

To give me a little life perspective, in 1972 my Dad put me to work – at age 15 – in a warehouse distribution center where I was the only white worker. My Dad was the GM there, but my supervisor was a black man named Willie Reynolds. And Dad must have clued Mr. Willie in, because I got no special treatment. To Mr. Willie, I was no better – or worse – than the dozen other workers on the floor.

It was good duty. Honest work with honest sweat, loading and unloading trucks in the Florida summer heat, and learning that people really are just people. And I learned a bit about the lives of those folks that lived “across the bridge” from the lily white suburbs of Jacksonville.

Father, father
We don’t need to escalate
You see, war is not the answer
For only love can conquer hate

Yes only love can conquer hate, and from the looks of things, we – as Neil Young sang – are gonna need a lotta love. Jesus said our two greatest commandments were to love God with everything we have, and to love our neighbors as much as – or more than – ourselves.

Tell that to the people today in the Gaza Strip.

Tell that to our troops on the ground in Iraq.

And, most of all, tell that to Michael Brown’s family out in Ferguson, Missouri. And if you don’t know about what happened to him, you should just Google “Ferguson’.

Picket lines and picket signs
Don’t punish me with brutality
Talk to me, so you can see
Oh, what’s going on
What’s going on

“What’s Going On” deals with a lot of problems relative to the human condition, but was originally inspired by a bloody police brutality incident witnessed by one of the song’s co-writers, Renaldo “Obie” Benson (the bass voice for the Four Tops). Benson originally offered the song to his Four Tops band mates, but they turned it down.

“My partners told me it was a protest song”, Benson said later, “I said ‘no man, it’s a love song, about love and understanding. I’m not protesting, I just want to know what’s going on.'” So, he took what he had to Marvin and the rest is history

A few interesting tidbits about the song:

Marvin was good friends with Detroit Lions football players Lem Barney and Mel Farr. “What’s going on” was a common greeting between the three and Marvin invited them to sing backing vocals on the recording.

In the book Mercy, Mercy Me: The Art, Loves & Demons of Marvin Gaye, it says that Motown owner, Berry Gordy, didn’t want to release the song, calling it the “worst record I ever heard in my life.”

Take that, Berry – the single sold over 2 million copies and was ranked #4 in Rolling Stone’s  2011 list of the greatest songs of all time.

Father, father, everybody thinks we’re wrong
Oh, but who are they to judge us
Simply because our hair is long
Oh, you know we’ve got to find a way
To bring some understanding here today

That was 1971 and almost 45 years later, nothing has really changed much.

Oh  sure, nobody pays much attention to hair length – or even color – anymore. And tolerance is all the rage, in all forms and fashion.

And the Bible says judge not, but we still do.

And we still can’t seem to find a way.

In the meantime…

Right on, baby
Right on

Listen to the original here:

Cyndi Lauper cover:

Go back

Your message has been sent

A Bag Of Beans

/ larryallenmusic / Leave a comment

bagofbeans

Let us tear off their shackles from us, and cast off their chains. -Psalm 2:3

You’ve got me sewed up like a pillow case
But you let my love go to waste so
Unchain my heart, oh please, please set me free

Why do we hold on to things that are not good for us? Why do we languish in prisons of our own making. Why can’t we simply “walk away, Renee”?

Our strongest attractions are often riddled with contradictions. Like sweet and sour pork.

I was watching “American Hustle” the other night and it struck me that the whole movie was built around not only the “hustle” itself, but a scene where Irving Rosenfeld’s wife Rosalyn says something to Carmine’s wife about her favorite nail polish: “There’s something, the topcoat. It’s like, perfum-ey, but there’s also something…rotten. And I know that sounds crazy, but I can’t get enough of it.”

That just about sums it up.

Every time I call you on the phone
Some fella tells me that you’re not at home

We’ll even go so far sometimes as to suffer humiliation. We just take it and go back for more. We can’t help ourselves. I can’t even begin to count the number of songs written from that book.

I’m under your spell like a man in a trance
But I know darn well, that I don’t stand a chance

Sometimes those closest to us, hurt us the most.

Jesus knew before the cock crowed about Peter’s denials. And surely He knew what Judas was going to do. He stuck with them, though. And we all know where that led. Of course, in this case, it was all just a part of the plan.

Unchain my heart, let me go my way
Unchain my heart, you worry me night and day

Do we secretly savor the pain and the love mixed together? Does the occasional bad grape make the wine even better? Does the combination of heart-break and heart-race make the love even sweeter? Does the bad feeling make the good feeling that much stronger?

Why lead me through a life of misery
When you don’t care a bag of beans for me
So unchain my heart, oh please, please set me free

Though it was much later in life that Frank Sinatra gave him the label, the “genius” of Ray Charles actually began when he first started playing the piano at the age of three. It’s a good thing he got a jump on it, as Ray was totally blind from glaucoma by age seven.

The “genius” label stuck (and certainly well deserved if you ask me) but Ray himself deflected such acclaim, saying: “Art Tatum, now he’s a genius…and Einstein, not me.”

The genius of Ray Charles spanned over 6 decades of recording over 60 albums and 127 singles and bridging every musical genre available.

And certainly Ray was no stranger to holding on to things that were not good for him.

His drug addiction problems were well known. And his rehab stint in 1965 was followed by the release of the songs “I Don’t Need No Doctor” and “Let’s Go Get Stoned” on his very next LP (Crying Time) in 1966.

He was twice married and divorced, and fathered 12 children with 10 different women.

Musicologist, Henry Pleasants, once summed Ray up this way: “Sinatra and Crosby before him, had been masters of words. Ray Charles is a master of sounds. His records disclose an extraordinary assortment of slurs, glides, turns, shrieks, wails, breaks, shouts, screams and hollers, all wonderfully controlled, disciplined by inspired musicianship, and harnessed to ingenious subtleties of harmony, dynamics and rhythm… It is either the singing of a man whose vocabulary is inadequate to express what is in his heart and mind or of one whose feelings are too intense for satisfactory verbal or conventionally melodic articulation. He can’t tell it to you. He can’t even sing it to you. He has to cry out to you, or shout to you, in tones eloquent of despair — or exaltation. The voice alone, with little assistance from the text or the notated music, conveys the message.”

Once during an interview, Ray was asked if there was any particular element in his musical style that had been most essential to his long running popularity. “Yeah”, he replied, “Me.”

So let yourself off the hook and take comfort in the fact that it happens to all of us. Sometimes, even when a thing is really, really bad, it’s very, very good.

Listen to a little of the genius here:

Go back

Your message has been sent

A River Ran Through It

/ larryallenmusic / Leave a comment

Two_Rivers

How shall we sing the Lord‘s song in a strange land? -Psalm 137:4

By the rivers of Babylon
Where he sat down
And there he went
When he remembered Zion

Well, it was only a matter of time before I got around to writing a post about Linda Ronstadt. It’s no secret that I’ve always held a strong affinity for the SoCal country rock scene of the early 70’s, and Linda was certainly it’s First Lady.

Lately, even our President has confessed to having had a crush on her in his earlier years. She definitely was one of mine, not only for her timeless beauty, but for that “big as a house”, “neck hair raising”, “chill bump inducing”, voice that God graced her with. She has certainly had an effect on me; ever since first hearing her with the Stone Poneys in 1967, I’ve been smitten with brown eyed brunettes. (and yes, I married one)

For the wicked carry us away
Captivity require from us a song
How can we sing King Alpha’s song in a strange land

Linda was not a songwriter; she was a song whisperer (if there is such a thing). A master interpreter of songs from the kings (or queens) of rock, country, soul, bluegrass, gospel , American standards and international themes. As my wife once said, “I love Elvis Costello’s songs…when Linda Ronstadt sings them.”. The list of artists she’s covered is like a songwriter’s “Who’s Who”: James Taylor, Jackson Browne, Jimmy Webb, Mick Jagger, John David Souther, Warren Zevon, Neil Young, Randy Newman, Lowell George, Karla Bonoff, Ry Cooder, Jimmy Cliff, Elvis Costello, Chuck Berry and Bob Dylan. Country legends like Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton, Hank Williams, Emmylou Harris, Mel Tillis, and Phil Everly. R&B greats like Smokey Robinson, Lamont Dozier, Brian Holland, Martha Reeves and Booker T. The list is endless. And, most of the time, her cover versions trumped the originals (appropriate bias applied here). 🙂

So let the words of our mouth
And the meditations of our hearts
Be acceptable in thy sight, over  I

I’ve chosen two of her songs here, “Rivers Of Babylon” – written by the Jamaican reggae band, The Melodians , and “Many Rivers To Cross” – written by Jimmy Cliff. Both songs were featured in the movie, The Harder They Come. The two songs were on “bookend” LPs from 1975 (Prisoner In Disguise) and 1976 (Hasten Down The Wind). I personally think that Hasten Down The Wind was Linda’s absolute best album. And I defy anyone to challenge the trilogy of albums that Linda produced from 1974-76 (Heart Like A Wheel, Prisoner In Disguise and Hasten Down The Wind): all three having gone platinum in sales.

The lyrics for “Rivers Of Babylon” come directly from Psalm 137, describing the feelings and heartaches of the Jewish people following the Babylonian conquest of Jerusalem in 607 BC. Given the current happenings in Israel, I think it’s a good time to give it a listen.

Many rivers to cross
But I can’t seem to find my way over
Wandering I am lost
As I travel along white cliffs of Dover

While “Rivers Of Babylon” shows off Linda’s ability to harmonize (with almost anyone), “Many Rivers To Cross” is a perfect showcase for Linda’s soaring vocal style. I’m not sure if these two songs were meant to be correlated, but it seems to me that there was some sort of cosmic connection at play here.

Many rivers to cross
And it’s only my will that keeps me alive
I’ve been licked, washed up for years
And I merely survive because of my pride

The Jews are God’s chosen people. And certainly, they have had the will to survive, all the while fighting for their place and forced to live in exile. Jimmy Cliff wrote the lyrics to “Many Rivers To Cross” to share his feelings of despondency as a struggling young artist, just trying to find a home and acceptance in the musical world. And if Jimmy’s version of the song doesn’t have a prayerful, “take me back to church”, gospel feel to it, then nothing does.

Many rivers to cross
But just where to begin
I’m playing for time
There have been times I find myself thinking
Of committing some dreadful crime

As for Linda, she’s had her own share of river crossings; passing through her nearly 50 year career migrating from her country roots, to SoCal rock, to New Wave, to 40’s standards, to pop and country, Latino traditional and beyond.

It was studying the album liner notes for Linda’s albums (along with Jackson Browne’s and James Taylor’s) that taught me the ability to appraise the quality of an album before ever popping the shrink wrap. If I looked at the artist credits on a new album and saw the likes of Andrew Gold, Dan Dugmore, David Lindley, Leland Sklar, Russ Kunkel, Wendy Waldman, Nicolette Larson, Emory Gordy, Danny Kortchmar, Don Grolnick, Rick Marotta (and many many more) featured…well you knew it was gonna be good.

Linda’s singing voice has recently been silenced by Parkinson’s, but if you listen to just a few of her tracks; you know it will live on forever.

Listen to a few samples here:

Go back

Your message has been sent

 

Paradise And The Great Divide

/ larryallenmusic / Leave a comment

dry-cracked-earth

The land must not be sold permanently, because the land is mine and you are but aliens and my tenants. Throughout the country that you hold as a possession, you must provide for the redemption of the land. – Leviticus 25:23

And they came from everywhere
to the Great Divide
Seeking a place to stand
or a place to hide

Too much stuff…when it comes down to it. Most of us just have too much stuff. And we want more. Why? Ever thought about it?

I met a man recently, a very wealthy man. Until his house burned down. Along with everything in it. Including his six car garage, with all the vehicles still inside. He told me he’d never felt so blessed, so free, or so at peace (once he got over the initial shock). He’d never realized how badly all of that stuff was weighing him down.

And, if you’ve never watched Annie Leonard’s “Story Of Stuff”…well, you need to. It may just change your life. Not gonna tag it here, but it’s on YouTube.  🙂

And they called it paradise
I don’t know why
Somebody laid the mountains low
while the town got high

Nero fiddled while Rome burned. And we turn inward to our own pursuits while the world burns. Maybe it’s just me. Maybe it’s getting older. I’m not sure, but I do know this: it is our endless quest for more possessions that leads to this destruction of the very thing which God has charged us all with safekeeping.

Some rich men came and raped the land,
Nobody caught ’em
Put up a bunch of ugly boxes, and Jesus,
people bought ’em

Now I’m no “tree-hugger” for sure, but doesn’t it kind of turn your stomach when you pull into these new housing developments where they just bulldoze the land flat and then build a bunch of “McMansions” 12′ apart? Then there’s the ultimate insult added to injury. Yup, they plant a single small tree in the yard, positioned just so. And a few cute bushes. Ain’t that grand?

Who will provide the grand design?
What is yours and what is mine?
‘Cause there is no more new frontier
We have got to make it here

It’s no secret that The Eagles are one of my favorite bands of all time. To me (other than the lineup changes) they were the second Beatles. The songwriting skills of Lennon/McCartney vs. Frey/Henley. Sgt. Pepper vs, Hotel California. The guitar chops of Joe Walsh vs. George Harrison. The Long Run vs. Let It Be. Breaking up (seemingly overnight) at the peak of their fame. McCartney vs. Henley as a solo artist. Let It Be was released in May 1970 and the buzz from the Beatle’s breakup had barely died down when “Take It Easy” came rolling smoothly off the airwaves in May of 1972.

We satisfy our endless needs and
justify our bloody deeds,
in the name of destiny and the name of God

How much stuff do we really need, anyway? How many TV’s are in your house? There’s seven in mine. For four people. Most of the time only three, as my daughter is away at college. And, as the Boss sang: “There’s 57 channels and nothing on…”. Actually closer to 400 at my house. And can you conceive of the carbon footprint needed to supply them?

And you can see them there,
On Sunday morning
They stand up and sing about
what it’s like up there
They call it paradise
I don’t know why
You call someplace paradise,
kiss it goodbye

 

No wonder so many people have a dim view of organized religion. Henley has painted the picture perfectly here. As we stand in church and sing, the majority of us have no real concept of applying what the Bible says to our everyday lives. People looking in from the outside shake their heads and we don’t understand why. If Christians behave the same way (or worse) than the general public, then how valid can the argument for Jesus be? If only they knew; the Church is simply a hospital for sinners. We go to try to get well.

In a 1978 interview with Rolling Stone magazine, Don Henley said, “The gist of the song was that when we find something good, we destroy it by our presence — by the very fact that man is the only animal on earth that is capable of destroying his environment.”

“The Last Resort” was the last song on side two of the album, Hotel California, but was later re-released as the “B” side to the single “Life In The Fast Lane”. Seems perfect: I guess that’s where the fast lane ultimately leads…the last resort.

Yup, we’re singing about Heaven on Sunday and living in Hell all week.

And thus endeth my rant. 🙂

Note: Due to copyright laws I couldn’t find an Eagles original version to share. Sorry!

 

Go back

Your message has been sent

 

The Road To Redemption

/ larryallenmusic / 2 Comments

lightning-road

Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, [as] silver and gold. – 1 Peter 1:18

The screen door slams
Mary your dress waves
Like a vision she dances across the porch
As the radio plays
Roy Orbison singing for the lonely

If there was ever another artist tailor made for this blog, it’s The Boss. He is the yang to Elton John’s yin. Whereas Elton openly decries Jesus, the Bible, the Church and anything remotely connected to organized religion, Bruce Springsteen is God’s own Prince of Rock n Roll. In fact, there are so many religious reference and themes connected to Springsteen’s work, there is a Rutger’s University course titled “Bruce Springsteen’s Theology”.

Don’t run back inside
Darling you know just what I’m here for
So you’re scared and you’re thinking
That maybe we ain’t that young anymore
Show a little faith there’s magic in the night
You ain’t a beauty but hey you’re alright
Oh and that’s alright with me

We are all looking for something…some meaning… to make sense of it all.  And we are all looking beyond ourselves to someone, or something, for the answer.

You can hide ‘neath your covers
And study your pain
Make crosses from your lovers
Throw roses in the rain
Waste your summer praying in vain
For a saviour to rise from these streets

We’re putting too much pressure on ourselves. The Boss is simply, as Aaron Neville sang, “telling it like it is”.

Well now I’m no hero
That’s understood
All the redemption I can offer girl
Is beneath this dirty hood

Yet (with apologies to Mick Jagger) there are ways to gain satisfaction in this world. At least those of a more “temporary” type. You just have to be real about it.  And understand that this satisfaction is a pale imitation of the larger pursuit of eternal happiness.

Well the night’s busting open
These two lanes will take us anywhere
We got one last chance to make it real
To trade in these wings on some wheels

According to professor Azzan Yadin-Israel, who teaches the Springsteen course at Rutgers, Bruce is actually imploring the young woman to not waste her time pursuing salvation in these earthly pursuits, but at the same time saying, essentially: “Hey, while we’re here, let’s have some fun and enjoy what we can.” The only thing he can really offer her is the kind of redemption we can have in this world.

Climb in back
Heaven’s waiting on down the tracks
Oh-oh come take my hand
We’re riding out tonight to case the promised land

Certainly Bruce is no angel here; nor is he the devil. I think most young men and women (and sometimes older ones) have gone down this road in seeking happiness. This is not a song about love, but lust. And, like cheap pizza, it’s not that great, but it’s not that bad, either.

Well I got this guitar
And I learned how to make it talk
And my car’s out back
If you’re ready to take that long walk
From your front porch to my front seat
The door’s open but the ride it ain’t free

During a performance on VH-1 Storytellers, Bruce commented on the lyrical meaning to say this was “My invitation to a long and earthly, very earthly journey. Hopefully in the company of uh, someone you love.”

There were ghosts in the eyes
Of all the boys you sent away
They haunt this dusty beach road
In the skeleton frames of burned out Chevrolets

And like Billy Joel before him, with the Catholic girls who “wait much too late”, Bruce cautions against the opportunities passed by.

And in the lonely cool before dawn
You hear their engines roaring on
But when you get to the porch they’re gone

“Thunder Road” and the album Born To Run were a definite turning point for Bruce’s career. His first two albums had not done well, even though critics were already naming him the new “rock-n-roll Messiah”. It was “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out” that first caught my attention, with Clarence (The Big Man) Clemons’ roaring sax pulling it right out of the gate. But over time I’ve come to see “Thunder Road” as the true jewel on the LP. A bookend companion to “Born To Run” you might say.

Springsteen took the song’s title from a movie poster he had seen from the 1958 Robert Mitchum movie. He never saw the movie itself, but said the poster for it just stuck with him.

So, climb on on in, the door’s open. Loosen’ up and let it roll.

Oh and you can check out “The Boss And The Bible here: http://www.thejewishweek.com/arts/music/boss-and-bible