(1976) Asylum label. Reissue.  Since I don’t own One Of These Nights, I can enjoy that track along with Take It To The Limit on this greatest hits collection.

SIDE ONE

1. Take It Easy
2. Witchy Woman
3. Lyin’ Eyes
4. Already Gone
5. Desperado

SIDE TWO

1. One Of These Nights
2. Tequila Sunrise
3. Take It To The Limit
4. Peaceful Easy Feeling
5. Best Of My Love

Illinois just confirmed it:  he heard Take It Easy on the radio today.  I wonder if Eagles saturation has occurred in other places in the US?  If you’re in Lincoln Nebraska, do you have the same Eagles experience?  Are you sick of hearing the Eagles on the radio in Des Moines?  How about Orlando?  Seattle?  My sense is this is a uniquely Californian experience.  Our current and former governor DID date Linda Ronstadt in the 1970’s…

(1974)  Asylum label.  Reissue which included a 1/4 sheet poster.  On this album Don Felder is credited as being a band member even though he had played on tracks on all of their albums to date. This album drops some of the country twang in favor of a rocker edge. The cover art is a western stylized motif and the band members pictured on the poster proudly wearing their denim tuxedos.

SIDE ONE

1. Already Gone  (4:16)
2. You Never Cry Like A Lover  (4:01)
3. Midnight Flyer  (3:57)
4. My Man  (3:30)
5. On The Border  (4:24)

SIDE TWO

1. James Dean  (3:38)
2. Ol ’55  (4:21)
3. Is It True  (3:14)
4. Good Day In Hell  (4:26)
5. The Best Of My Love  (4:34)

The difficulty I have writing about these albums is trying to push aside the near repulsion I have in hearing some of these songs.  If you grew up listening to FM radio in Southern California, you heard an Eagles song once a day (maybe more than that) every day, from 1973 until what… maybe today?   There can definitely be too much of a good thing.  Songs like Already Gone, James Dean or Best Of My Love approach fingernails on the chalkboard. Seriously.  Best Of My Love… another prom and wedding reception song…

The Tom Waits’ tune Ol ’55 is a great song.  On The Border is another one I can still enjoy. BUSTED.  As I sit here and read this out loud to my daughter she reminds me that at this very moment I too, am proudly rockin’ my denim tuxedo.

(1973) Asylum label.  Original issue.  This ode to southern-california-knotts-berry-farm- wild-west-show cover art and Eagles meets Foghat sound juxtaposed to stringed choral ballads is all over the place.  To my 2016 sensibilities I am taken aback by all the weapons on the cover both front and back.  What were we thinking back then– as a record buying audience?  So enamored of cowboys and the wild west my guess is that shot guns and rifles weren’t a big deal.  I have to admit at that time and place, I too shot guns, had guns in my home, and thought absolutely nothing of it.

SIDE ONE

1. Doolin-Dalton  (3:29)
2. Twenty-One  (2:10)
3. Out Of Control  (3:05)
4. Tequila Sunrise  (2:54)
5. Desperado  (3:34)

SIDE TWO

1. Certain Kind Of Fool  (3:01)
2. Doolin-Dalton (instrumental)  (0:47)
3. Outlaw Man  (3:34)
4. Saturday Night  (3:20)
5. Bitter Creek  (5:03)
6. Doolin-Dalton reprise Desperado reprise  (4:49)

In high school I had an English class where we looked at song lyrics to learn about poetry devices.  We looked at Bob Dylan lyrics, Rolling Stones lyrics, and the song Desperado.  I remember thinking songwriting can’t get much better than Desperado.

When this album came out in 1973 girls were wearing one single flower in their hair behind an ear, guys were wearing their hair very long.  Tequila Sunrise was played at every prom or wedding reception or singles bar.  I have a memory of dancing at the Playboy Club in Phoenix Arizona to Tequila Sunrise– benefiting from looking older than my actual age…

 

 

(1972) Asylum label.  Original release, original inner sleeve.  Obtained all of the Eagles records in my collection from Illinois in the early 1990’s.  He was going to trade them all in for credit at a used record store.  I jumped in and said “No Way.  I want them”.  I’m missing One Of These Nights.  On this debut album the Eagles are Bernie Leadon-vocals, guitar ,banjo; Glenn Fry-vocals, guitar, slide; Randy Meisner-vocals, bass, guitar;  Don Henley-vocals, drums. This album helped to established the genre known as the “California 70’s Sound” which is rooted originally in Crosby Stills, Nash, & Young; kind of a sleepy cowboy loneliness made beautiful with harmonies and coastal sunsets or drinking wine in a canyon.

SIDE ONE

1. Take It Easy  (3:32)
2. Witchy Woman  (4:11)
3. Chug All Night  (3:16)
4. Most Of Us Are Sad  (3:35)
5. Nightingale  (4:08)

SIDE TWO

1. Train Leaves Here This Morning  (4:10)
2. Take The Devil  (4:01)
3. Earlybird  (3:00)
4. Peaceful Easy Feeling  (4:17)
5. Tryin’  (2:53)

One of my favorite Eagles songs is on this album: Train Leaves here This Morning.  I never get tired of hearing that one– unlike many others on this album that I can’t stand to hear one more time.  Crazy how popularity can poison your art.

The photo on the back of the album cracks me up, it shows the four band members huddled together in what I imagine is the desert either at dawn or sunset.  It looks like they’re freezing their asses off–especially the picture of Bernie Leadon. I think I can hear his teeth chattering…

 

(1970) CBS label. Original UK release 2 LP set with original gatefold jacket.  The reviews of this album are horrible.  Skewering and savage trying to answer the question “What was Bob thinking when he released this?”  To me the answer is probably not that complicated:  many of these tracks are prior unreleased material.  Some are covers.  All of them reflect the total artist– hello? Self Portrait.  Critics want to pigeonhole artists, keep them this or that.  There is no way Dylan would make their jobs that easy.  Above that, Dylan is freewheeling– he has always been an artist that follows and does what he wants– without living up to expectations.  I think that’s it.

Side 1

1. All The Tired Horses  (3:12)
2. Alberta #1  (2:57)
3. I Forgot More Than You’ll Ever Know  (2:23)
4. Days of 49  (5:27)
5. Early Morning’ Rain  (3:34)
6. In Search Of Little Sadie  (2:27)

Side 2

1. Let It Be Me  (3:00)
2. Little Sadie  (2:00)
3. Boogie Woogie  (2:06)
4. Belle Isle  (2:30)
5. Living The Blues  (2:42)
6. Like A Rolling Stone  (5:18)

Side 3

1. Copper Kettle (3:34)
2. Gotta Travel On  (3:08)
3. Blue Moon  (2:29)
4. The Boxer  (2:48)
5. The Mighty Quinn ( Quinn The Eskimo)  (2:48)
6. Take Me As I Am  (3:08)

Side 4

1. Take A Message To Mary  (2:46)
2. It Hurts Me Too  (3:15)
3. Minstrel Boy  (3:32)
4. She Belongs To Me  (2:43)
5. Wigwam  (3:09)
6. Alberta #2  (3:12)

I can’t conclude my Dylan posts without mentioning I saw Bob Dylan in concert in 1988 for the Never Ending Tour.  This was my first encounter with Dylanphiles.  These are the folks that would make it very hard for me to be famous.  Their fanaticism was so rabid.  I really just kept staring around me bug eyed.  I had never seen anything like it– especially since the show itself was terrible.  The sound mix was awful and Dylan’s stage presence was a big flip of the bird to the audience.  Never talked between numbers, didn’t acknowledge we were even out there– many times singing with his back to us.  And the Dylanphiles just ate it up.

 

(1969) CBS label. Original UK release original inner sleeve and glossy cover.The first thing you notice on this record is the change in Dylan’s voice on a few of the tracks.  It is in a different register and sounds unlike his previous releases. On this album Dylan has gone full tilt country.  From his duet with Johnny Cash Girl From The North Country to Nashville Skyline Rag this record is a country classic.

Side 1

1. Girl From The North Country  (3:44)
2. Nashville Skyline Rag  (3:14)
3. To Be Alone With You  (2:10)
4. I Threw It All Away  (2:26)
5. Peggy Day  (2:05)

Side 2

1. Lay Lady Lay  (3:21)
2. One More Night  (2:25)
3. Tell Me That It Isn’t True  (2:43)
4. Country Pie  (1:39)
5. Tonight I’ll Be Staying Here With You  (3:23)

On this record returns Kenny Buttrey, Charles McCoy, and Pete Drake.  Joining along as well are Norman Blake, Charlie Daniels, and Bob Wilson.  Country Pie sounds like the soundtrack to a Smokey and the Bandit movie. I should put this on more often.  It makes me smile.

 

 

 

(1967) CBS label. Original UK release glossy cover. Story songs set with a county sensibility.  From allegorical offerings such as All Along The Watchtower to love songs such as I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight.  Joining Bob Dylan on this album are Charles McCoy on bass, Kenny Buttry on drums, and Pete Drake on steel guitar.

Side 1

1. John Wesley Harding  (2:58)
2. As I Went Out One Morning  (2:49)
3. I Dreamed I Saw St. Augustine  (2:53)
4. All Along The Watchtower  (2:31)
5. The Ballad of Frankie Lee and Judas Priest  (5:35)
6. Drifter’s Escape  (2:52)

Side 2

1. Dear Landlord  (3:16)
2. I Am A Lonesome Hobo  (3:19)
3. I Pity The Poor Immigrant  (4:12)
4. The Wicked Messenger  (2:02)
5. Down Along the Cove  (2:23)
6. I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight  (2:34)

Critically acclaimed, this is a simple album.  It is mostly a quiet, contemplative, rainy day music kind of album.  Even the up tempo songs are boiled potatoes basic.  The harmonica is a FEATURED sound in every song– sometimes like a bird crowing, sometimes as a whistle, sometimes a job’s done blast at the end of the day.

This particular copy is really showing its age.  Almost 50 years of playing it comes through in every pop and scratch.  My absolutely favorite song is I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight.  I love this song, ranks in my top 10 favorite Bob Dylan songs of all time.  Now that I have heard it I will hum it for hours…

(1967) CBS label UK release.  Original issue with original inner sleeve and glossy cover. This greatest hits compilation is made of songs from Dylan’s first six albums.  This album has two additional songs than the US release as well as a different cover.  I have four Dylan albums in my collection.  All originating from my stepfather’s collection.  He purchased each of his Dylan albums as an Army medic serving during the Vietnam War.  How old they are, who and when they reflect– make these Dylan albums some of my most cherished LPs.

Side 1

1. Blowin’ In The Wind  (2:46)
2. It Ain’t Me Babe  (3:50)
3. The Times They Are A-Changin’  (3:12)
4. Mr. Tambourine Man  (5:25)
5. She Belongs To Me  (2:48)
6. It’s All Over Now Baby Blue  (4:13)

Side 2

1. Subterranean Homesick Blues  (2:17)
2. One Of Us Must Know  (4:55)
3. Like A Rolling Stone  (5:59)
4. Just Like A Woman  (4:52)
5. Rainy Day Women Nos. 12 & 35  (2:06)
6. I Want You  (2:57)

“Jingle jangle morning” and “she’s a hypnotist collector and you are an antique” and “the sky is now falling under you” and “god knows when you’ll be doing it again” and “the pump don’t work cos the vandals took the handles” and “threw the bums a dime in your prime” and “when you ain’t got nothing you got nothing to lose” and “with her fog, her amphetamine and her pearls” and “They’ll stone you at the breakfast table, they’ll stone you when you are young and able” and so on.

Dylan’s prolific writing can be isolated and appreciated in bits and threads on their own without the melody and instrumentation.  Writing something and experience a loss for words?  Listen to a Dylan album.

Good Morning!  How Are You?

I’m having a jingle jangle morning, thanks for asking…

(1968) Atlantic label. Purchased used at Rhino Records Claremont in 2000.  As I continue to listen to my collection one by one, I am happily realizing how much I have in 1950’s pop tunes compilations.  This is another one.  So many singers have been in The Drifters, All Music Guide lists 28 different names!!  On this collection lead singers included Ben E King, Rudy Lewis, and Johnny Moore. Original lead singer was Clyde McPhatter.

Side One

1. There Goes My Baby  (2:11)
2. (If You Cry) True Love, True Love  (2:17)
3. Dance With Me  (2:21)
4. This Magic Moment  (2:28)
5. Save The Last Dance For Me  (2:34)
6. I Count The Tears  (2:08)

Side Two

1. Some Kind Of Wonderful  (2:17)
2. Up On The Roof  (2:34)
3. On Broadway  (3:05)
4. Under The Boardwalk  (2:40)
5. I’ve Got Sand In My Shoes  (2:48)
6. Saturday Night At The Movies  (2:26)

A couple of these hits were Goffin & King songs and several produced by Leiber & Stoller. There is a version of The Drifters still making records and playing reunion tours.  All the original lead singers have passed on.  The doo-wop and harmonies are so comforting.   The power of good vocals stirs your soul.

(1981) Elektra label from 1967 recording.  Purchased new at Music Plus in Sacramento in 1981 while in college.  My stepdad owned a copy of this record.  When I went away to college I could not take his albums with me.  So I bought used textbooks to save money back to buy this record.  I don’t know of any red-blooded American teenager into rock and roll that doesn’t either go through a Door phase (at the least) or becomes obsessed with them.  I fall somewhere in the middle. This is the only Doors album I own. There was a time I could hear The Doors on any rock and roll radio station just about any day of the week.  Now not soo much.  No denying their influence.  No grunge without The Doors.

The Doors were Jim Morrison poet, vocalist, and rock icon; Ray Manzarek on organ, piano, and bass; Robby Krieger on guitar; John Densmore on drums.  Much has been written about this band– their early days at UCLA, their meteoric rise on the charts, their questionable lyrics and the infamous Ed Sullivan appearances, the indecency charges (no one has worn leather pants better), the drug use/abuse and the mysterious circumstances surrounding Morrison’s death in Paris in July 1971.

Side One

1. Break On Through (To The Other Side)  (2:25)
2. Soul Kitchen  (3:30)
3. The Crystal Ship  (2:30)
4. Twentieth Century Fox  (2:30)
5. Alabama Song (Whisky Bar)  (3:15)
6. Light My Fire  (6:50)

Side Two

1. Back Door Man  (3:30)
2. I Looked At You  (2:18)
3. End Of The Night  (2:49)
4. Take It As It Comes  (2:13)
5. The End  (11:35)

Here are my Doors memories.

I had the infamous poster of Jim Morrison.  The one WITH the cold sore hanging in my dorm room.

There is the much talked about sighting of Jim Morrison at Riverside City College– because I swear I saw a guy sitting alone in the quad writing in a notebook that WAS Jim Morrison.  I was there waiting for my friends to finish up with a class and I spotted him.  I was so knocked out that I couldn’t even move.  My heart was beating so fast.  I sat staring at him and he must have felt it, because he looked up in my direction with a jolt and got up and walked away.

Then there is the time I saw Apocalypse Now in 70 MM and F R E A K E D out to the part in the film with The End playing in it.  Coppola knew exactly what he was doing marrying that song to that scene in his film.  Cinema perfection.

My next Doors memories: I was managing theaters in Los Angeles.  I had the great fortune to be operating the only theater showing Stanley Kubrick’s Full Metal Jacket. Ray Manzarek came in to see the show.  I shook his hand and told him how much of a fan I was.  He was so gracious.  At the end of the movie during the credits the Rolling Stones’ song Paint It Black plays.  As the movie would end I would often slap out the drumming to Paint It Black on the ticket takers box (it had such a great hollow drum sound).  This particular day I was drumming and Ray Manzarek was standing behind me listening.  As the song finished I hadn’t missed a beat and I heard Ray say, “Right On!”  I was thrilled and embarrassed at the same time. And then there was the time Robby Krieger came in to see a film at another theater I was managing.  He was wearing an old flannel shirt and looked just like a regular guy.  Very humble and unassuming.

Probably more on the “obsessed with” rather than just a “phase”.  Put it this way, Jim Morrison was a Sagittarius and a poet and so is Illinois… I’m just saying…