The Police File: Part 1

Since The Police are currently on tour somewhere, cashing in on a wave of nostalgia, and since Andy Summers announced a film of his autobiography (see below), and since Sting was recently named one of the worst songwriters in rock music (more on that later), niccomm has asked me to do this retrospective of the band's music. So here we go.
What can we say about the Police.... three superb musicians, check; three strong personalities, check; three monster egos, double check.
Most everyone knows the story of the band, but if you don’t here's a quick Cliff's Notes version.
Stewart Copeland, drummer for hippie art band Curved Air, sees the exploding punk scene and wants a piece of it. He finds a bass player/singer who goes by the name Sting in a jazz band. They recruit a French guitarist named Henry Padovani who plays with them for a while, but is eventually edged out by the addition of seasoned axe man Andy Summers. The Police are born.
How much of the early Police sound is attributable to Copeland? Quite a lot if you consider what he was up to at the same time the band was forming. While putting together The Police, Copeland was also recording under the name Klark Kent as a one-man band. The music is quite clever, and gained a modest following. But listen to "Don't Care," and "Grandelinquent" and you'll hear early Police.

Listen to Don't Care
Listen to Grandelinquent

Copeland says that A&M Records signed The Police to get Klark Kent. True? Could be. Or it could be his ego talking. If true, that agent had some mixed up priorities. Klark Kent was a vanity project and could never perform live, but The Police were beginning to get some notice. It wasn't long before The Police gained a following in Britain as a live band and was creating a unique sound that would influence music for years to come.
Anyway, on to the music.

Outlandos d'Amour -- 1978
With this album, The Police tried valiantly to capture the essence of punk music. The problem? They were quickly revealed as pseudo punks—seasoned musicians riding the wave of a hot trend, rather than the raw talent evidenced by bands like The Clash or even the Sex Pistols. This first collection of tracks notably does not include "Fall Out," a speed-punkish song that is pure Copeland. It was one of the very first songs the band rehearsed and became their first single release. But it wasn't long before everyone realized whom the real songwriting talent belonged to.
The album opens with "Next to You," a burning rocker that starts at race speed and never lets up. The song became a standard in the band's live set throughout its career. The real key to the Police sound began with the next song, "So Lonely." It's a mix of rock (let's not call it punk) and reggae that became the cornerstone of The Police sound. Perfect for the band's instrumentation--particularly Copeland's unique drum style--and Sting's voice. Sting has said Bob Marley’s “No Woman, No Cry”, influenced the song I consider "Can't Stand Losing you" also from this album to be like a companion song to "So Lonely"--both of them switch between rock and Carribean/latin rhythms. The middle section of "Can't Stand Losing You," sort of a spacey solo by Andy Summers, became the foundation of "Reggatta de Blanc” from the second album. Next up is arguably the band's most famous song, "Roxanne." Originally written with a different feel to it, Copeland introduced the tango rhythm to the song that took it to a new level, and Sting's plaintive wail about a prostitute was a bit of rock poetry that would be recalled in later songs by artists from George Michael to the Arctic Monkeys.
Unfortunately, the rest of the album is pretty forgettable. "Hole In My Life" and "Truth Hits Everybody" were good energetic live songs, but for some reason they flop as studio recordings. “Born In The 50s” and "Be My Girl/Sally"--although it features a pretty funny poem by Andy Summers--are best ignored after the first listen.

Listen to Can't Stand Losing You
Listen to Roxanne

Reggatta de Blanc --1979
I've always counted this as one of the albums I'd want to take with me on a desert island (assuming I'd have a way to play it, that is). It's a true classic, and solidifies the sound that defined The Police. The story is that the band hadn't rehearsed these songs before going into the studio. If true, that means that the recording captures a rare moment when a band breaks through to a different level. Nearly every song is gold, and it showcased a three-piece collaborative band that had locked into each other musically and psychically. Could this have been The Police at their prime? Maybe. The songs float along on solid grooves that take on their own lives, giving each member--particularly Copeland and Andy Summers--the chance to explore different sounds. "The Bed's Too Big Without You' and "Bring On The Night" (a song about the execution of Gary Gilmore) are perfect examples, two exhilarating stand out tracks that push the envelope, threatening to fall apart at any time but always hanging together.
"Walking On The Moon" and "Message In A Bottle" build on the reggae-tinged sound begun on the first album, but which had now reached a sophistication and maturity that made it unmistakably "The Police Sound." But the band was still true to its roots as evidenced by "It's Alright For You" and "No Time This Time," two pure rockers, with no pretense of punk (the band had long been exposed as too old and too talented to be considered as true punks).
At least for this brief shining moment immortalized on vinyl in 1979, The Police were the best band in the world.
They'd have a lot to prove with their next album... (Stay tuned for Part 2)

Listen to It's Alright For You
Listen to Walking on the Moon

Andy Summers, We're Ready For Your Closeup

Police guitarist Andy Summers is turning his autobiography "One Train Later" into a feature documentary, which will boast 25,000 photos from his collection as well as footage from the band's reunion tour.
I didn't even know Andy Summers had written an autobiography. (Note to self: get this book) This is good news for a couple reasons. First, in a trio in which two members' egos seemed to be in a continual battle to the death, Summers was the anchor. In the annals of guitardom, he is often overlooked by those who are more impressed by the speed/techno wizards. This is unfortunate because Summers is an amazing player. He is, as they say, "a guitarist's guitarist," playing what needs to be played when it needs to be played. The Police created an amazingly layered and complex sound for a trio, and much of the credit for that goes to Summers.
Second, Summers has played a bigger part in rock music history than many people realize, having performed with influential 70s bands like Zoot Money's Big Roll Band, and Eric Burdon and the New Animals, and he was in the running to replace Mick Taylor in the Rolling Stones (a job which, of course, ultimately went to Ron Wood). Summers was also part of the band that played on Mike Oldfield's creepy classic "Tubular Bells" (the theme from The Exorcist).
It should be interesting to see this history of his life and get an inside glimpse of one of the world's biggest bands, to see what went on offstage when the spotlight wasn't on Sting. Stewart Copeland's film Everyone Stares gave us a hint of that, but the home movie quality and shaky camera work made much of the film difficult to watch more than once. To be fair, they were Copeland's personal films and not intended for feature presentation. But the news that Summers will be releasing this film gives hope that this time they'll get it right.

Monday Mashup: A Bit of Little Britain

If you have access to BBC America on your cable system, you probably know Little Britain. The show has ended its three-season BBC run but lives on in repeats, and rumor has it that Matt Lucas and David Walliams are developing a new program for HBO in the US. If you haven't seen it, the show is built around Lucas and Walliams who portray an incredible range of very odd characters including Lou, a dedicated caregiver, and Andy his charge who isn't really handicapped; Daffyd, "the only gay in the village"; Sebastian, the Prime Minster's aide; Emily and Florence, two not-even-close transvestites; Vicky Pollard, juvenile delinquent who "never did nuffin or nuffin"; Dr. Lawrence and his incoherent psychiatric patient Anne; stage hypnotist Kenny Craig; Marjorie Dawes the abusive leader of a weight loss support group, grossly obese Bubbles Devere, and many, many more. Like a lot of British shows, Little Britain pushes the envelope with scenarios and jokes that would never see air on US network television. It is a brilliant series (check it out on DVD), and I hope whatever they have in the works for HBO is a worthy successor. Anyway, here is a mashup dedicated to the show, called "ABitALittleBritain." Enjoy.

Listen to "ABitALittleBritain"

iheard It Through the Grapevine

Tired of the local "classic rock" radio station that seems to have built its entire playlist around six CDs? (You know who you are.)
Check out iheard.com, an intertube radio aggregator service. It collects meta data about stations with internet feeds into a comprehensive directory so you can find whatever style suits your mood. One caveat: A couple stations I tried did not connect, possibly from heavy traffic or maybe an outdated link, but that seems to be the exception. Others connected quickly and streamed smoothly. And if you have your own net radio station, iheard can help you promote it for more listeners.
Stations are organized by genre, country and language, and includes streams for iTunes, Realplayer and Windows media player.
Genres included on the iheard directory are: Alternative, Country, International, R&B, Ambient, Dance-Electronic, Jazz, Reggae, Blues, Eclectic, Latin, Religious, Christian, Folk, Oldies, Rock, Classical, Hiphop-rap, Pop, and Talk.
And each genre lets you drill down deeper to find your particular flavor. You like hiphop, but you yearn for tracks from the Dirty South school? It's here. You want oldies, but specifically from the WWII era? You got 'em. You like Latin music, but you just want sambas? Ningún problema.
Try it, and you'll never have to sit through those seldom-funny-where's-the-music-morning-zoo-shows again.

Jim Carrey Is The Walrus

What the...I...how...hmmm. Have you seen this clip of Jim Carrey (yes Jim Carrey) singing "I Am The Walrus" as George Martin produces and conducts a studio orchestra? The song is from Martin's 1998 album In My Life. It's...ummm... different to say the least. I don't recall ever hearing about this album, but a quick stop by Amazon reveals that, in addition to Carrey, it was loaded with guest performers such as:
• Bobby McFerrin ("Come Together")
• Goldie Hawn ("A Hard Day's Night")
• Jeff Beck ("A Day In The Life")
• Celine Dion ("Here, There & Everywhere")
• Vanessa-Mae ("Because")
• John Williams ("Here Comes The Sun")
• Billy Connolly ("Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite")
• George Martin ("The Pepperland Suite")
• Phil Collins ("Golden Slumbers, Carry That Weight, The End")
• George Martin ("Friends And Lovers")
• Sean Connery ("In My Life")

Normally these things leave me cold (if you remember the BeeGees Sargent Pepper fiasco you know what I mean), but I have to say this really isn't bad. It might be better if you listened to it rather than watch the video, unless you're a Carrey fan and don't mind his incessant mugging. But he does some interesting interpretations of the lyrics that I liked. And, knowing full well what he was up against, during the fade out he says, "There, I did it! I've defiled a timeless piece of art! For my next trick I'll paint a clown face on the Mona Lisa, while using the Shroud of Turin as a drop cloth!"

Sunday Soul: Be Without You

This single, from Mary J. Blige's 2005 album The Breakthrough ranks as one of my favorite songs of all time."Be Without You" reached number three on Billboard's Hot 100 Singles chart, while peaking at number one on the R&B charts for a record-setting 15 consecutive weeks. That made it the most successful release in the history of the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. Take a listen. The haunting melody will stay with you, and you'll be blown away by the spectacular vocal and harmonies. Fellas tell your lady she's the one. Enjoy.

Listen to Mary J. Blige "Be Without You"

Chaka Khan Says Funk This

The inimitable Chaka Khan is back with a new album of cover songs and original material called Funk This that hit the stores yesterday. She puts her own twist on some classic tracks of the past, including Joni Mitchell's "Ladies Man," Prince's "Sign 'O' The Times," and Jimi Hendrix's "Castles Made of Sand." Michael McDonald, sounding grittier (for a change) and more soulful than he's ever sounded, duets on his "You Belong To Me," and Mary J. Blige joins in on "Disrepectful."
At 54, Khan still sounds as good as she did back in the days of Rufus. You can listen to the entire album at her website.

Track list: "Back In The Day," "Foolish Fool," "One for All Time," "Angel," "Will You Love Me?" "Castles Made of Sand," "Disrespectful," "Sign 'O' The Times," "Packed My Bags," "Ladies Man," "You Belong To Me," "Hail To The Wrong," and "Super Life."

Regina Spektor, Austin City Limits Music Festival

Regina Spektor did a set this afternoon at the live web cast of the Austin City Limits Music Festival. The performance was part of a three-day event, which today included Willy Mason, The National, Robert Earl Keen, DeVotchKa, Lucinda Williams, Ben Kweller, Nicole Atkins & The Sea, Ghostland Observatory, Bloc Party, and The Arcade Fire. Spektor was preceded by Grammy winning country-rocker Lucinda Williams who, despite some long pauses between songs, played to an enthusiastic audience. But Spektor's late afternoon set in beautiful 80 degree weather was, in a word, great. In a few more words, it was, as Barenaked Ladies say in "One Week," like Snickers, guaranteed to satisfy. The set was everything I hoped it would be. Spektor is as mesmerizing to watch as she is to listen to. It must also be said that she is one of those artists that you either love or scratch your head over thinking 'what on earth is this woman doing?' I'm a member of the first camp. Spektor can go from meek to wild to other-worldy in the trill of her voice. She can tease the audience with her lyrics or with a coy look, and she seems to be truly having a good time.
I first came across Regina Spektor's music via Hype Machine (if you don't know what that is, check the Hype Machine link in the right column). Her name kept popping up on blogs, so I had to check her out. The very first song I heard was not "Fidelity," or "Us," or even "Samson," from her 2002 Songs album, which is arguably the song by which she is most identified. No, the first song I heard was the quirky and compelling "Music Box," which was part of a five-song bonus disc distributed with Begin To Hope. I heard the song and played it again. And again. And again. I was totally taken by the voice and the lyrics, which included this great passage:

And then I fill the sink to the top with bubbles of soap
And then I set all the bottle caps I own afloat
And it's the greatest voyage in the history of plastic

Those lines, with their own bit of zen sense just got stuck in my head, and I was hooked. From there I had to check out her whole catalog, and the rest, as they say, is history (for me anyway).
So, when I say her live show was everything I hoped, I mean that all she needs is her unique voice and a piano or guitar (or on "Ain't No Cover," just the microphone, on which she taps the rhythm as she sings) to create magic. The audience clearly loves her and she really seemed to be enjoying herself, giggling and smiling throughout a great song set that included "Ain't No Cover," "Bobbing for Apples." "That Time," "Summer in the City," "Apres Moi," "Us," "Fidelity," and a cover version of John Lennon's "Real Love." She ended strong with "Samson," which seemed to have just about everyone in the crowd--male and female--singing along. And then, like all good things, it was over far too soon. The Austin City Limits Music Festival is tightly scheduled, with each artist getting just an hour to perform, but this crowd clearly wanted more. I did too, but I guess that will have to wait until the day I get to attend a Regina Spektor show in person.

Rolling Stone Magazine's Entire Archive On DVD

When I was but a lad, I read Rolling Stone religiously (my older sister had a subscription to it) and absorbed all that I could about that strange and exciting counterculture that barely touched my suburban Connecticut neighborhood. To this day I still remember many of the articles, especially the groundbreaking journalism of Hunter Thompson and others. (And I remember my parents' outrage when they saw the issue with the infamous photo a shirtless David Cassidy with a hint of "hair down there" on the cover.) We went our separate ways sometime in the late 80s/early 90s as the magazine started to become more mainstream with a heavy dose of fashion pages and (gasp!) ads from the US Army. I've been reading again over the last few years and can overlook those aspects of it because I'm happy to say that first-rate journalism still rules the day at RS. So now, as the magazine celebrates its anniversary, Bondi Digital Publishing is about to release the entire 40-year collection of Rolling Stone magazine on DVD next week. The archives will feature searchable digital editions of every page of every issue published, compatible on both Mac and PC platforms. That's over 1,000 issues, and more than 115,000 pages scanned and digitized exactly as they were in the print release.
The box set comes with a 200-page book about the history of RS, beginning with its storied early days as a tabloid (launched with a $7,500 investment) published out of a San Francisco loft.

Review: John Lennon's Jukebox

A couple years ago I saw a program called John Lennon's Jukebox, which gave a fascinating look into the musical roots of one of the most important singer/songwriters of our time. Since this was before I had TiVo, I thought the program was lost to me unless I happened to stumble upon it in a rerun.

Now, through the magic that is the internets, the program is available for viewing or download from Google videos here.

The story is that Lennon owned a portable jukebox that he carried with him on his early journeys--sort of a precursor to the iPod. In 1989 the jukebox turned up for auction at Christies. The lid to the jukebox features the playlist written in Lennon's hand. Lennon apparently purchased it in 1965, at a time when the Beatles were firmly entrenched in the American pop charts, and it includes some hits of the day like "Do You Believe in Magic" by the Lovin Spoonful. But the jukebox was also loaded with 45s of his favorite songs, many of which the Beatles themselves had recorded or which influenced them in some way. It 's clear from the playlist that Lennon had a fondness for American R&B records with tracks by James Ray, Wilson Pickett, The Miracles, and Otis Redding among others.

In voice-over commentary, Lennon explains the magic that the music held for him.
"I was just interested in the music and how to do it. How can I do that? Which is what I was doing studying the records. I studied the records: What are they saying? How are they doing it? How do they make this music? What is it that they're doing that excites me, that I want to do it?"

Lennon also comments on some of the songs in the playlist, although with no screen credits on this internet version of the video, the source of his commentary is unclear. For example, he mentions Richie Barrett's "Some Other Guy," and points out how the song's intro influenced his own "Instant Karma" years later.

Appearances by performers and songwriters whose work appears on the playlist make this video a gold mine for music history fans. Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, the writers behind so many hits of the era reminisce over some of their tracks included in the jukebox, while Gary US Bonds marvels that the Beatles even heard some of his early work, which wasn't getting airplay in the states. Bruce Channel and Delbert McClinton talk about how "Hey Baby" influenced Lennon's harmonica playing on "Love Me Do," and Bobby Parker tells how his guitar riff on "Watch Your Step" became the introduction to "I Feel Fine." John Sebastian also reveals how the Lovin' Spoonful's "Daydream' inspired "Good Day Sunshine." And, of course, Little Richard reminds everyone, once again, that he invented rock n' roll.

For the curious, here's the playlist that appears on John Lennon's jukebox:

Arthur Alexander: "You Better Move On" /"A Shot of Rhythm and Blues" 1961
The Animals: "Bring It on Home to Me"/"For Miss Caulker" 1965
Richie Barrett: "Some Other Guy" / "Tricky Dicky" 1962
Len Barry: "1, 2, 3" / "Bullseye" 1965
Fontella Bass: "Rescue Me" / "The Soul of a Man" 1965
Chuck Berry: "No Particular Place to Go" / "You Two" 1964
The Big Three: "Some Other Guy" / "Let True Love Begin" 1963
Gary US Bonds: "New Orleans" / "Please Forgive Me" 1960
Gary US Bonds: "Quarter to Three" / "Time Ole Story" 1961
Booker T. & the M.G.s: "Boot-leg" / "Outrage" 1965
Bruce Channel: "Hey! Baby" / "Dream Girl" 1962
The Contours: "First I Look at the Purse" / "Can You Do It?" 1965
Donovan: "Turquoise" / "Hey Gyp (Dig the Slowness)" 1965
Bob Dylan: "Positively 4th Street" / "From a Buick 6" 1965
Buddy Holly: "Brown Eyed Handsome Man" / "Slippin' and Slidin'" 1959
The Isley Brothers: "Twist and Shout" / "Spanish Twist" 1962
Little Richard: "Long Tall Sally" / "Slippin' and Slidin'" 1956
Little Richard: "Ooh! My Soul" / "True Fine Mama" 1958
The Lovin' Spoonful: "Daydream" / "Night Owl Blues" 1966
The Lovin' Spoonful: "Do You Believe in Magic" / "On the Road Again" 1965
Derek Martin: "Daddy Rollin' Stone" / "Don't Put Me Down Like This" 1963
Jimmy McCracklin: "The Walk" / "I'm to Blame" 1958
The Miracles: "Shop Around" / "Who's Lovin' You" 1960
The Miracles: "Ain't It Baby" / "The Only One I Love" 1961
The Miracles: "What's So Good About Goodbye?" / "I've Been Good to You" 1961
The Miracles: "The Tracks of My Tears" / "A Fork in the Road" 1965
Bobby Parker: "Watch Your Step" / "Steal Your Heart Away" 1961
Wilson Pickett: "In the Midnight Hour" / "I'm Not Tired" 1965
James Ray: "If You Gotta Make a Fool of Somebody" / "It's Been a Drag" 1961
Otis Redding: "My Girl" / "Down in the Valley" 1965
Paul Revere & the Raiders: "Steppin' Out" / "Blue Fox" 1965
Timmy Shaw: "Gonna Send You Back to Georgia" / "I'm a Lonely Guy" 1963
Edwin Starr: "Agent Double-O Soul" / "Back Street" 1965
Barrett Strong: "Money (That's What I Want)" / "Oh I Apologize" 1959
Tommy Tucker: "Hi-Heel Sneakers" / "I Don't Want 'Cha" 1963
Gene Vincent: "Be-Bop-A-Lula" / "Woman Love" 1956
Larry Williams: "Short Fat Fannie" / "High School Dance" 1957
Larry Williams: "She Said, Yeah" / "Bad Boy" 1959

A picture is worth a thousand words

Dear Britney,

I saved you some time and trouble by looking up the phrase "lip sync," because last night at the VMAs you clearly had no idea what it meant. The dictionary definition is: "to match lip movements with (recorded speech or singing)." Hope that helps.

As for your overall performance, I agree with 50 Cent and the WTF? look on his face.