Another Interlude - My Pictures of the Grateful Dead, part 2

It's been a little while since I posted here and during that time I actually received some blog-related E-mails, which was a very gratifying turn of events. I will be posting some new music shortly but in the meantime I thought I'd post another of the photos I took of the Grateful Dead at the Berkeley Community Theater, way way back when. I am particularly proud of this one, though in truth there was little art to my participation: I just aimed the camera, tried to hold it as steady as I could and let Phil Lesh and the light show do the rest. As always, you can click on the pic for a better (larger) view. Enjoy - more photos from this and other concerts (Rolling Stones, Captain Beefheart, Woody Allen, Elvis Presley and more) to come.

Ol' Red Eyes Is Back

I will admit responsibility for the rather unsightly mod you see here, but after all, think of the many similarities between Frank Sinatra and Keith Richards…. Well, wait a minute, there must be a few. They were both skinny in their day (for different reasons I suspect, but still), both were linked to many beautiful women, both were musicians… ok, there’s a few. Understandably, when I say “crooner,” you will think of Frank before you think of Keith. But wait! Here is some evidence of Keith’s more mellow side, in these tracks that, frankly, I can’t remember where and when I found. This much I know: Keith was apparently killing time in the studio and recorded these songs while accompanying himself on the piano. I have no idea when they were recorded – if any of you know, please provide the missing info. I have more tracks from this session, but I think these adequately portray the lesser known side of Keiff, Mr. Smooth, a guy who could very easily slip on Frank’s trademark fedora (though I hope the one he slips on fits better than the one I gave him here). Without further ado, may I present Mr. Keith Richards, Co-Chairman of the Board (or in this case, Bored). Sorry, Pat Cooper was unavailable for warm-up. As always, to download each song, left click on the title and follow the link to the download page.

Keith Richards – The Nearness of You

Keith Richards – Don’t

Keith Richards – Sing Me Back Home

Just to show that Keith did pick up the tempo once in awhile during these sessions, here’s a little Jerry Lee Lewis:

Keith Richards – Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On

And finally, if you’re still with me, here are a couple of interesting Stones rarities. First, Keith takes the lead in “Gimme Shelter,” then Mick returns the favor by taking lead vocal on “You Got The Silver.”

Rolling Stones – “Gimme Shelter” (Keith lead vocal)

Rolling Stones – “You Got The Silver” (Mick lead vocal)

Next time: Garbage B-sides and rarities

Johnny Adams & Aaron Neville at Jazz Fest

Supplementing my last post, I found a photo I had taken of Johnny Adams and Aaron Neville performing together in the Gospel Tent at the New Orleans Jazz Fest, so I thought I'd post it here. The photo was taken on May 3, 1998. Johnny died 4 months later.

Amadee Castenell & Johnny Adams - Heart & Soul of New Orleans

Like so many other great studio musicians, Amadee Castenell is someone you’ve heard but probably never heard of. Born and raised in New Orleans, he’s recorded with everyone from Professor Longhair to Paul McCartney to Fats Domino to Albert King. You’ve heard him on LaBelle’s “Lady Marmalade” and if you check the credits for the Neville Brothers’ “Fiyo On The Bayou” you’ll see his name there, too. Hyena Records recently released “Right Place, Right Time: Live at Tipitina's,” Dr. John’s performance during Mardi Gras in 1989, and guess who was playing tenor sax with the Doctor? You can pretty much name any great recording artist from NOLA and chances are Amadee’s recorded with him or her. Back in the mid seventies to early eighties he was a member and musical director of Chocolate Milk, a huge regional band whose sound was pure New Orleans funk. Highly recommended is their greatest hits CD from Razor & Tie. If you attend the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, you can count on seeing him every year, playing with Dave Bartholomew or Wanda Rouzan, or Marva Wright or with his own combo – as a matter of fact, here’s a cool bit of Jazz Fest trivia – the guy leaning against the wall in the official Jazz Fest poster of 1985, looking like the coolest man alive, is none other than Amadee himself. The thing that distinguishes Amadee from a million other sax players, the thing that keeps people from Paul Simon to Robbie Robertson to Billy Joel to Boz Scaggs to Bonnie Raitt to Dolly Parton to Don Henley to Wynton and Branford Marsalis and so many more asking him to play with them, is his tone, and his tone comes from his soul; from his heart. You can hear it in the three selections here, one from his first CD, “Amadee,” the others from his album “Sax Dreams.” Both discs were produced by the legendary Allen Toussaint, in whose band Amadee is a perennial member – pick up a copy, they’re both on NYNO Records. Amadee is currently touring with the aforementioned Mr. Toussaint and Elvis Costello – if you’re going to Jazz Fest this year in New Orleans, or if you’re fortunate enough to have them coming to your town, that’s a show you will surely want to check out.




One artist that Amadee recorded with had a voice that could melt the coldest heart. That man was Johnny Adams. Also born in the Crescent City, he was known as the “Tan Canary” for his extraordinary, soulful set of pipes. Although he had been recording since the sixties, Johnny really hit his stride and revitalized his career when he began recording for Rounder Records in 1984. The 12 albums he released on Rounder (including 3 compilations) are filled with breathtaking vocals and fantastic instrumentation, courtesy of New Orleans’ finest musicians. Johnny died of cancer in 1998, but I was blessed to hear him in one of his last performances, singing duets with Aaron Neville in the gospel tent at Jazz Fest. Even at the end of his life, the man could bring an audience to tears. I’m proud to own all of his Rounder CDs and while every one is worth buying, I’ve limited my selections for the blog to three tracks from two of his best. Two songs are from his tribute the great Percy Mayfield, “Walking on a Tightrope:” “The Lover and the Married Woman” (That fabulous tenor sax solo that opens the song? None other than Amadee Castenell!) and a jaw-dropping version of “You’re In For a Big Surprise.” From his album “Room with a View of the Blues” I chose his interpretation of the great Gladys Knight song, “Neither One Of Us (Wants To Be The First To Say Goodbye).” Johnny Adams fans will quite rightly point out that while these songs and their albums are prime, they may not even be his best – check out also Johnny’s soulful and loving tribute to the great Doc Pomus, “The Real Me.”
Sit back and enjoy two of music’s hidden treasures, Amadee Castenell and Johnny Adams. As always, left click on title and you will be taken to a download page.

Amadee Castenell - Amacasino

Amadee Castenell - Mumbo Gumbo

Amadee Castenell - Would You Be My Sweetie

Johnny Adams - The Lover and the Married Woman

Johnny Adams - You're In For A Big Surprise

Johnny Adams - Neither One Of Us (Wants To Be The First To Say Goodbye)


Next time: The many moods of everyone's favorite crooner... Keith Richards?

New Orleans: My Home, My Love, My Life

Please, whether you're here for the first time or have become a regular visitor, go here: http://us.video.aol.com/video.index.adp?mode=2&pmmsid=1472048 and watch this powerful, heartbreaking 11 minute film about New Orleans. Your comments will be appreciated. Thanks.

The Black Sessions

Broadcast on Radio France, the `Black Sessions' are hosted by Bernard Lenoir (called the `Black Sessions' because of his last name, which literally translates to `the-black' in English). They are live shows in front of an audience, usually performed in a France Inter studio, lasting anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour and simulcast on the radio. Black Sessions recordings are often released as promo CDs, given free with new albums or provided free to new subscribers of the station’s magazine. Those shows that are made available on CD are pressed in very limited quantities. There have been almost 250 of these sessions (which is pretty amazing in itself) since the show’s premiere in February, 1992. FYI, the very first live show was by Welcome to Julian – and how many of you remember them? (they were a French alternative band – if you never heard of them, you are excused)

Anyway, back on June 1, 1993, a year before “Amplified Heart” would re-make their image and turn them into international stars, Everything But The Girl performed on The Black Sessions. They sang a number of cover songs in their 13 song set, including “The Only Living Boy In New York” (Simon & Garfunkle), “Love Is Strange” (Mickey & Sylvia), “Firefly” (American Music Club) and the song I included today, “My Hometown,” by Bruce Springsteen. EBTG were still in their “folky” stage in 1993, as you can hear. The lead vocal is by Ben Watt, with harmony by the very amazing Tracey Thorn.

Everything But The Girl – “My Hometown”

Years later (11 years later, to be exact), Leslie Feist performed on the Black Sessions, and scattered among songs from her current album, “Let It Die” and Broken Social Scene were a couple of covers, including “That Girl” (the Kinks song) and the one I included here, “Foolproof,” written by Ron Sexsmith. It’s a beautiful song to begin with, but Feist makes it her own. See what you think.

Feist – “Foolproof”

And since I know you’re curious, I even included a track from our mysterious new friends Welcome to Julian, whose sound may remind you a little of the Faces, the Black Crowes, or Drive-By Truckers.

Welcome To Julian – “Leaving This Town”

Next time, the amazing voice of Johnny Adams, a singer you should know, and the soulful New Orleans sax of Amadee Castenell.

An Interlude: My Photos of the Grateful Dead (part 1)

As promised, every so often I'll post some photos I've taken through the years. On August 15, 1971 my friend Josh and I went to see the Grateful Dead at the Berkeley Community Theater in Berkeley, CA. We didn't have the greatest seats so before the show began I asked one of the nice 7 foot 400 lb "bouncers" if I might enter the Holy Land known as "Friends of the Dead" (like the first 10 rows or so) to grab a photo or two. Amazingly, Mr. Bouncer let me pass. As I tried to position myself to take a pic of the opening act (The New Riders of the Purple Sage, of course) someone grabbed me from behind and pulled me into a seat in the front row, center. I later discovered this beautiful angel of mercy was in fact the girlfriend of Rock Scully, the Dead's manager at the time. She said the seat was empty anyhow, no reason why it should go to waste. I even later discovered that the seat I had been occupying was in fact being held for Marmaduke, the lead singer of the New Riders. When he came out after his performance he feigned outrage then laughingly told me to stay where I was, he could always sit backstage. So there I was, front and center, literally, for the Grateful Dead. The pic you see here was taken by me at that show. This is just a taste - I'll post more periodically - and actually the ones I'll post later are better than this one, in my opinion anyhow. If I could figure out how to post more than one at a time without Blogger acting up on me, I would. The funny thing is, if you check out volume 1 of the Deadheads' Taping Compendium you'll see other pics (not mine) from the same show. What's funny is they appear to be taken from about the 3rd or 4th row - hey, maybe that's the back of my head in that photo! Anyhow, hope you enjoy this one. Thankfully, Josh did, and he wasn't too upset about being left behind. After the show he and I needed to catch our breath (it was a great, great show), so we plopped ourselves down on the grass across the street from the theater - while sitting there, we saw Phil Lesh exit the venue, his bass case in hand. He walked over to a BMW sitting by the curb, popped the trunk, placed the bass inside, and drove away. Hey, I said to Josh, why not - as far as the band was concerned, this was a home game!
Later this week I'll get back to music posting, with some cover songs recorded by Feist and Everything But The Girl during performances for the Black Sessions, in Paris.