Three for the Ride: Ty Tabor, Mandalay, Lee Dewyze

Some days, I take the train to work. Other days, I drive. Either way, I listen to music on the way. I put the iPhone music player on shuffle, and off I go. Calling my collection eclectic would be an understatement. It's often an interesting mix. There are songs though, that I really wish the world could appreciate as much as I do. Songs that make me say, "Ooh, listen to THIS! Isn't it great?!"

Here's what I heard this morning:

Ty Tabor: "The Island Sea"
Ty Tabor is the amazingly talented and hugely under-appreciated guitarist for King's X. In 1998, Ty released his first solo album, Moonflower Lane. (He had recorded several of the songs on an earlier effort that wasn't formally released.) It's one of those desert island records. I'd have to have it. It is my and my wife Krista's favorite album. We played it to death on many a road-trips to Michigan. It is clear, when you listen to this record, what it is that Ty brings to King's X. Ty's a great songwriter (having written my favorite song of all time, "Goldilox") and this record is full of great songs.



Mandalay: "Deep Love"
"Deep Love" is the first single from Mandalay's second album, 2000's Instinct. It's dreamy, in a word. I think I played this song several times in a row when I discovered it. The production by Andy Bradfield is great. The song starts out so understated, then the chorus is huge with beautiful, lush background vocals. I love, love, love Nicola Hitchcock's vocals on this track. They're angelic. The song is one of those tracks that just "takes you away."



Lee Dewyze: "Backbird Song"
So I'm watching The Walking Dead one evening and there's this great song playing during the episode. I immediately jump to the iPad to discover who the artist is. Well, imagine my surprise when I discovered the artist was none other than American Idol winner Lee Dewyze. Not at all what I would have imagined from him. It's a very mature and dark folk blues tune. This track (2014) appears on The Walking Dead soundtrack, volume 2. That show has some great music in it, but this is a real stand out.



Until next time...

Three for the Ride: Dire Straits. Black Sabbath, Supershine

Some days, I take the train to work. Other days, I drive. Either way, I listen to music on the way. I put the iPhone music player on shuffle, and off I go. Calling my collection eclectic would be an understatement. It's often an interesting mix. There are songs though, that I really wish the world could appreciate as much as I do. Songs that make me say, "Ooh, listen to THIS! Isn't it great?!"

Here's what I heard this morning:

Dire Straits: "Telegraph Road"
Most albums I buy, I recall the circumstances. 1982's Love Over Gold is one of those records that I just don't know how I came across it. But I'm glad that I did. "Telegraph Road" is a 14-minute long masterpiece that is, IMHO, Dire Straits's best work. It never gets radio play, so if you've never had the record, you've probably never heard the song. The kinda hokey "Industrial Disease is the only single from the album to chart in the U.S. "Telegraph Road" is an epic, moody piece, best listened to in solitude with headphones. I liken it to being Dire Straits's "Stairway to Heaven", "Freebird", or "Jungleland".



Black Sabbath: "Neon Knights"
Ozzie Osbourne left Black Sabbath in 1979 and was replaced by the now-late Ronnie James Dio. That following year, 1980, the band recorded and released their first-ever album without Ozzie, Heaven and Hell. This song, cowritten by Dio, was the opening track and the first time anyone had heard the new Sabbath sound. I bought the album immediately after hearing the song on the radio.



Supershine: "Take Me Away"
Guitarist Bruce Franklin teamed up with bassist and vocalist Dug Pinnick of King's X in 2000 to release the self-titled Supershine. It's heavy riff-driven rock reminiscent of Black Sabbath and Grand Funk Railroad. As one reviewer on Amazon put it, "it generally makes you want to get into powerful American cars and drive fast with the radio blaring." Which, oddly enough, is exactly how I initially listened to this record, driving my Mustang GT convertible across the Arizona desert. This link is to the entire album, but the first track is "Take Me Away." So, listen to as much as you like, but at least listen to the first track.



Until next time...

Three for the Ride: Collective Soul, Bruce Springsteen, King's X

Some days, I take the train, others I drive. Either way, I listen to music. I put the iPhone music player on shuffle, and off I go. Calling my collection eclectic would be an understatement. It's often an interesting mix. There are songs though, that I really want the world to appreciate as much as I do. Songs that make me say, "Ooh, listen to THIS! Isn't it great?!"

Here's what I heard this morning:

Collective Soul: "The World I Know"
Ed Roland, the band's frontman and primary writer has a great song-writing ability and a unique voice. Without a doubt, this is my favorite track from their catalog. It's a beautiful song. I love the string arrangement and the lyrics really resonate with me.

So I walk up on high and I step to the edge to see my world below.
And I laugh at myself while the tears roll down 'cause it's the world I know.

This is from the band's second studio album, 1995's self-titled Collective Soul, sometimes referred to as The Blue Album.



Bruce Springsteen: "She's the One"
I hated Bruce when I was younger. I just didn't get it. Then, late one night, when I was feeling particularly desperate, I heard "Jungleland". That changed everything. It clicked. Born to Run (1976) is one of my favorite albums and this song captures everything about Bruce's music at the time: Relentless. Desperate. Passionate.



King's X: "Goldilox"
I know. I said I would try to not repeat an artist too often. But when this song showed up on the playlist this morning I couldn't help myself. This is why I love King's X so much. This song. I'll never forget the first time I heard it. I'd never heard anything like it. I've never heard anything like it since. If you asked me what my favorite song was, I'd be likely to tell you, "Goldilox". This captures everything that's great about the band: Amazing guitar textures, Doug Pinnick's soulful vocals, the drop-tuned guitars, the suspended chords in the bridge, killer Beatle-esque harmonies, and a lyric that cuts through to your heart. "I watch you from a mile away... I've got to know your name."
Sigh. "Goldilox" is from the band's 1988 debut, Out of the Silent Planet.



Until next time...

Three from the Train: Pinnick Gales Pridgen, Bill Spooner, U.K.

Every morning that I decide to drag myself to the city, I have a little over an hour to listen to music on the train. I put the iPhone music player on shuffle, and off I go. Calling my collection eclectic would be an understatement. It's often an interesting mix. There are songs though, that I really want the world to appreciate as much as I do. Songs that make me say, "Ooh, listen to THIS! Isn't that great?!"

This morning was tough. I hear at least six songs I'd love to bring to your attention. But I will not break my own rule. I'll also try not to repeat the artist, too often. Here's what I heard this morning:

Pinnick Gales Pridgen: "Been So High (The Only Place to Go is Down)"
So, once upon a time, three incredible musicians got together to form a band and see what kind of music came out. We used to call those super groups, like Asia. This super group is made up of Dug Pinnick (King's X) on bass and vocals, Eric Gales on guitar and vocals, and Thomas Pridgen (The Mars Volta) on drums. What came out was magic. Dug has been my favorite rock vocalist for decades and he's a heck of a bass player, too. Eric Gales channels Jimi like no one else I've ever heard, and Thomas, though new to me, is amazing, as well. Check out this track from their debut album, Pinnick Gales Pridgen.



Bill Spooner: "Too Much"
I'm a huge Tubes fan. Not to detract from the other GREAT talents in the band, one of the truly creative geniuses behind the Tubes was Bill Spooner. He left the band back in the mid 80's and kind of fell off the radar. I try to keep up with what he's been doing because I love, so much, his voice, his writing, and the choices he makes as a guitarist. This is a song - a beautiful song - that he released on 2001's Demolicious: Adventures in Lo-Fi. To me, it encapsulates everything that makes Bill so amazing.



U.K.: "Night After Night"
Speaking of super groups, U.K. was comprised of John Wetton (King Crimson), Eddie Jobson (Roxy Music, Zappa), Alan Holdsworth, and Bill Bruford (Yes, etc.). Terry Bozzio (Zappa) replaced Bruford in 1978, and in 1979, U.K. released the live album, Night After Night, recorded in Japan. Hey, if it worked for Cheap Trick and Deep Purple, then why not U.K.? This track is from that live album. It's classic 70's progressive rock-pop. I really love the audience clapping along with the song the whole way through.


Until Next Time...

Three from the Train, Friday: John Lennon, ELO, and King's X

Every morning that I decide to drag myself to the city, I have a little over an hour to listen to music on the train. I put the iPhone music player on shuffle, and off I go. Calling my collection eclectic would be an understatement. So it's often an interesting mix.

I didn't take the train today, but, working from home, here's what I heard today:

John Lennon: "Instant Kharma"
I'm not a huge fan of Lennon's catalog once he went solo. There. I've said it. In my own humble opinion, McCartney was the better, more-prolific song writer who had a much better feel for accessible music. That said, Lennon sure had his moments. Walls and Bridges is my favorite Lennon solo album, but this is my favorite song. From The Plastic Ono Band, released as a single in 1970 with Phil Spector's signature production. My favorite bit on this track is Alan White's drumming (White would eventually replace Bill Bruford in Yes).

Oh, and Yoko was a freak. If you doubt that, check out the video.



Electric Light Orchestra: "Sweet is the Night"
From 1977's Out of the Blue. I love this album. It features so many great songs, including "Turn to Stone," "Sweet Talkin' Woman," and "Mr. Blue Skies." This one is great too. Jeff Lynne is another one of those amazing song writers that I rank in my top few favorites, along with McCartney, Bacharach, and Rundgren. If you've never heard this album all the way through, do yourself a favor and do so. It's listed in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.



King's X: "Far, Far Away"
Well, it was bound to happen sooner or later: King's X played on my iPhone. When you have 17 albums worth of material from one artist, sooner or later they're gonna show up in the rotation. This track is from their debut album Out of the Silent Planet. Doug Pinnick's vocal on this is a prime example of why I love this band. Not to mention the progressive metal nature of the music, the harmonies, the lyrics, the musical proficiency etc. King's X is incredible. Can you say Phrygian?



Until Next Time...

Three from the Train: Harry Nilsson, Foghat, Galactic Cowboys

Every morning that I decide to drag myself to the city, I have a little over an hour to listen to music on the train. I put the iPhone music player on shuffle, and off I go. Calling my collection eclectic would be an understatement. So it's often an interesting mix.
I didn't take the train this morning, but if I had, this is what I would have heard:

Harry Nilsson: "Gotta Get Up"
The version I heard this morning was from 1971's Nilsson Schmilsson. The version below is live from the BBC in 1971. What an amazing song-writer, lyricist, and vocalist. If you get a chance, see the documentary, Who Is Harry Nilsson (And Why Is Everybody Talkin' About Him?) (2010). It will reduce you to tears.



Foghat: "Chevrolet"
From 1978's Stone Blue. Foghat is one of those bands that was a staple when I was a kid. They're still in my rotation.



Galactic Cowboys: "Someone for Everyone"
Co-founder Wally Farkas is a good friend of the guys in King's X. My love of King's X eventually led me to discover GC and I fell in love with this song from their 1990 self-titled debut, Galactic Cowboys. The Cowboys opened for King's X in May, 1992 at the Chestnut Cabaret in Philadelphia and forever solidified themselves as a favorite of mine. I mean, how can you not like a band that has Thor (Ben Huggins) as their lead singer?



Until Next Time...

5 Favorite Concert Moments

I've seen a lot of shows. My very first was Frank Zappa at Stabler Arena in 1979. I was 15. It was an amazing show. Since then, I've seen The Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney, Eric Clapton, David Bowie, Yes, Kansas, Todd Rundgren, The Tubes, and far too many others to mention and even a few I'm sure I've forgotten.

Of all the shows I've attended, here are five experiences I'll never forget.

5) Metallica, 08/07/1989 at the at the Stone Balloon, Newark, DE

I've always envied people who got to see huge acts in tiny venues. Well, this was my experience with a huge act at a tiny venue.

I thought maybe it was a misspelling or something- perhaps this was a Metallica tribute band or similar. I called the club and they confirmed that it was, in fact, the real deal and Metallica would be playing at the Stone Balloon.

The Stone Balloon was not a huge place. Someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but the legal capacity for the venue had to be less than 400. So when I saw an ad in a local music magazine boasting that Metallica was playing there, I called a friend, and he and I drove immediately from the main line in PA to Delaware to get the tickets - to ensure our place at this historic event.

That night, I experienced one of the loudest concerts I'd ever been to. I hung out with Pauli Slivka (Tommy Conwell and the Young Rumblers' bassist) right in front of the sound board. He and I took cigarette butts and jammed them in our ears to lessen the barrage.

I think Slayer opened for them that evening, but it was all about Metallica for me that night. I couldn't have asked for a better set and a more memorable setting.

4) The Tubes, Summer, 1989 at the 23 East, Ardmore, PA

The Tubes were on a small club tour with another lead singer after Fee had left the band. Now, for some, this would be a disappointment, but the core of the band, Bill Spooner, Rick Anderson, Roger Steen, Vince Welnick, and Prairie Prince - drummer extraordinaire - was intact. I'd pay almost anything to see Prairie play and to hear Bill Spooner croon. (That's Spooner in the pic.)

They played an amazing set list that night, including Pimp and Brighter Day from the Young and Rich album. Hard to believe, but Fee was barely missed.

At one moment, during I Don't Want to Wait Anymore, Bill toasted the crowd, guzzled a 12 oz., subsequently vomited behind his amp, and came in on the vocal without missing a beat- like it had been choreographed.

Afterward, I went backstage and was chatting with the band. They'd seen my band, Love Bomb, on the schedule to appear in the club later that month and wanted to know who and what it was. When I told them it was my band, they asked if we did any covers of their stuff. When I said I hadn't, Roger Steen asked, "What, does our stuff suck so much?" We had a good laugh. At least, I did.

Bill invited my band to come and record at his studio in San Francisco. Unfortunately, it was destroyed in an earthquake and we never got the chance to do so. C'est la vie.

3) Jane Siberry, 5/4/1988 at the Chestnut Cabaret, Philadelphia, PA

I'd caught Jane on MTV's 120 Minutes when she released the single, One More Colour, from her debut album, Speckless Sky. I thought she was terrific. So, imagine my surprise when I arrived one night at the Chestnut Cabaret to see a friend's band, only to walk in Jane playing live. What an unexpected surprise.

During one song, a boisterous number with a rich Latin feel (Very Large Hat, perhaps?), the band broke down into a simple quarter-note piano part. Jane came out looking like Jackie-O with the tight sleeveless dress that ended just above the knee, white gloves, and a pill-box hat. She started waving both arms back and forth with the beat, then broke into Petula Clark's Don't Sleep in the Subway. The rendition was flawless and I was floored. Then, when the song was over, they went back into the loud frenetic Latin number as quickly as they had come out of it.

I will never forget that.

2) Chris Whitley, 10/24/92 at the Chestnut Cabaret, Philadelphia, PA

I'd seen Chris with his entire band at the Trocadero in Philadelphia just six months earlier. He was touring in support of his first album, Living With the Law. That night at the "Troc," the turnout had been good and the show was great. The live versions of his tunes were spot on.

My guitarist, Sean, and I had a serious love affair going on with Chris's first album. So when we heard he was playing again so close, it was a no-brainer to go see him.

On this night at the Chestnut Cabaret, though, there were few in the audience - maybe 50 - and Chris took the stage alone. He came out with National steel Dobro and a gadget called a Stomp-box. What ensued was one of the most intimate nights of music with an amazing artist that I've ever experienced.

Chris stomped out the beat on his stomp-box while he did solo versions of every song on the Living With the Law collection, with the exception of one tune: Dust Radio. Dust Radio was Sean and my favorite song at the time and we - and the other 48 people in attendance -simply wouldn't let Chris leave without playing it.

He came out for the encore and apologized, saying that he couldn't pull it off without the band. We begged and pleaded for him to do his very best and that we would be satisfied with any rendition of the song. He relented and started playing.

I know that the parts of the arrangement he couldn't play were imagined by all of us as we swayed back and forth to the stripped down, but magical version he gave us that night.

What an amazing show.

1) King's X, 8/12/2009 at the Sellersville Theater, Sellersville, PA

I've seen King's X 5 or 6 times now. And every show has been great. In addition to being a kick-ass bass player and having the best voice in rock and roll, DUg Pinnick (see photo) is the pinnacle of charismatic front men - he knows how to entertain a crowd. Ty Tabor is one of the greatest guitar players alive: watching and hearing him play is mind-blowing.

I'd seen a set list online before the show and knew what to expect: along with 4 songs on their set list from their latest album, XV, the band had chosen a broad selection of material from most of their albums.

I attended the show on the 12th with my brother and two other friends. I knew my brother - also a huge King's X fan - would be happy that the band was planning to play Summerland, his favorite King's X song.

My favorite King's X song is Goldilox, a track from their first album that Ty Tabor had written. My brother loves that song, too, but unfortunately, it wasn't on the set list I'd seen before the show. It's not a song they do live very often. We've only seen them do it once before in the early 90's - and my brother and I certainly had no expectations of seeing it that night.

So, as is usual, the band was incredible. We had front row seats just behind the "cabaret" seating (a few tables and chairs immediately in front of the stage) and right in front of DUg, so our view couldn't get much better. The band played Summerland and my brother was ecstatic.

Then came the moment. DUg turned the mics out to the audience, the house lights came up, and Ty started playing the opening guitar part of Goldilox. My brother and I were in disbelief. Then, DUg motioned for the audience to start singing. 300 + people in attendance started singing every word of the song as the band played softly in the background.

DUg came off the stage and stood in front of my brother and I - a mere 2 feet away - and we all continued to sing. "I'd like to know your name and I must know who you are..."

At the end, DUg said, "The hit that never was." Someone behind me yelled, "It's a hit to us." Another yelled what we were all thinking, "Thank you for writing that song."

Sigh. Yeah, I can go in peace now.