RIP Lou Reed.

Lou Reed died earlier today at 71. He’ll be missed for many things, but perhaps his lyrics most of all.

Reed first came to prominence as a founding member of the short-lived but influential Velvet Underground, a band with Andy Warhol as its mentor and producer. The band’s 1970 album “Loaded” featured two enduring singles, “Rock ‘n’ Roll” and “Sweet Jane”. What can you say about Reed’s way of capturing the meaning of rock and roll to a generation:

“Jenny said, when she was just five years old
You know there’s nothin’ happening at all …
One fine mornin’, she puts on a New York station
And she couldn’t believe what she heard at all …
Oh, her life was saved by rock ‘n’ roll”

Here’s “Sweet Jane” form Reed’s live album “Rock ‘n’ Roll Animal” released in 1974. This well-loved version has an extended guitar intro, and gets into the iconic riff at about 3:20. “Anyone who ever had a heart, wouldn’t turn around and break it.”

Reed’s top-charting U.S. single, “Walk on the Wild Side”, was from his early solo album “Transformer”. Racier lines from the album version of the song were edited for the U.S. single release, but it still made quite an impression on the radio.

In later years Reed’s lyrics continued to provide a mixture of humor, self-reflection, social observation and commentary. The title track of “New Sensations” has a wonderful passage starting at the 3:00 mark about a ride on a motorcycle.

One of his biggest selling solo albums was 1989’s “New York”, and it contains a treasure trove of amazing lyrics. “Sick of You” is a rant of fake news stories that will have you recalling bits of history you wish you’d forgotten. And who but Reed could have written:

“The ozone layer ain’t got no ozone anymore,
and you’re gonna leave me for the guy next door?
I’m sick of you.”

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Sir Paul and Sir Elton Release New Music – Over One Billion Sold?

On October 14th Paul McCartney released his aptly titled album “New”, just a few weeks after Elton John released “The Diving Board”. McCartney’s Beatles and Elton John are the two top selling British artists of all time, with an estimated one billion albums sold between them.

McCartney serves up quite a mix of styles on “New”. The title track has a classic McCartney sound and was co-produced by Giles Martin, son of George Martin who produced many records for the quartet. “Appreciate” is something completely different. With the help of British uber-producer Paul Epworth, it seems more a modern take on the complex orchestrations that pushed the Beatles off the stage and into the studio in their later years.

Elton John returns to the style of his earliest albums on “The Diving Board”, delivering mostly piano-driven ballads with the help of American uber-producer T Bone Burnett. “Home Again” was the first track released from the CD a few months back. In a recent interview in Rolling Stone magazine, John says “What can I say, it’s a perfect song” of his early hit “Your Song”. So, let’s also recall some perfection, Elton John style.

If you’d like a bit more of Paul and Elton, check out our earlier posts: Paul Rocks Out and Elton and Pnau.

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After Over 40 Years, I Want You Back!

Lake Street Dive recently covered the Jackson Five’s debut major label single “I Want You Back”. The J5 released it in 1969, and it went to the top of the singles chart in January 1970. Lake Street Dive has been getting buzz from an eclectic set of directions including reviews in the Wall Street Journal, an appearance on Garrison Keillor’s “Prairie Home Companion” and sets at SXSW. Fronted by jazz singer Rachael Price, their sound is as eclectic as their buzz.

Enjoy the laid back Lake Street Dive cover and the historic original.

Of course, Lake Street Dive isn’t the first band to cover this song. Here are some other great renditions from KT Tunstall (showing that she can use the live loop), and Graham Parker knocking it out old-style with The Rumour in 1979.

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Roots Rock Lives! – Suggestions from All Around

Bluesy roots rock is alive and well, with plenty of soulful, raspy voices, guitars of all sorts, and lyrics about heartbreak and women.

A reader suggestion (thanks, Pete!) leads us to JJ Grey from Jacksonville, Florida, recently proclaimed “The Swami of Swamp Rock” in this article from Oxford American magazine. Here is his band, JJ Grey and Mofro, performing “99 Shades of Crazy” from the April 2013 CD “This River”,

Music blog pH balanced, posted news of Amos Lee’s upcoming release, “Mountains of Sorrow, Rivers of Song”, and here’s a live performance of “The Man Who Wants You” from that CD. If you check out more of Lee’s material, you’ll see it generally runs in a softer vein that this track.

While JJ and Amos have solid followings, The Tedeschi Trucks Band is roots rock royalty. Singer/guitarist Susan Tedeschi opened for acts ranging from B.B. King to Bob Dylan to the Rolling Stones early in her career. Her husband, Derek Trucks (nephew of Butch Trucks from the original Allman Brothers Band) was a child prodigy who played guitar with his uncle’s band and is now perhaps the best known slide guitar player working. The Tedeschi Trucks Band’s first album “Revelator” won the 2012 Grammy for Best Blues Album, and their second release “Made Up Mind” is just out. Here’s the title track.

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Janelle Monae Delivers Some End of Summer Fun and Recalls Great Girl Rock

As we mark the first day of fall, Janelle Monae hands us a last bit of summer fun with “Dance Apocalyptic” from her recently released “The Electric Lady”. How can you not love a song with a lyric “chalang-alang-alang”? In the video, Janelle departs from her signature tuxedo style and lets her hair down literally and figuratively.

The song can’t help but recall infectious tunes given to us over the years by other talented women. Here are some bands and songs that come to mind listening to “Dance Apocalyptic” – and they may have inspired Monae’s white-on-white motif: Veruca Salt in the 90s, The Bangles in the 80s, and the B-52’s in the 70s (delivering the other party song we’ll certainly play at the Apocalypse).