bit.ly/2Tuus7I

It’s the solos you want to watch for.

Eric Clapton’s initial solo LP was a disappointment.

Cream broke up and Clapton played, alongside Dave Mason, late of Traffic, with Delaney & Bonnie, to the point an album was ultimately released, “On Tour,” which featured the initial recording, the most famous recording, although not the best recording, of Mason’s “Only You Know and I Know,” alongside the Bramletts and Clapton’s “Comin’ Home,” featuring Eric’s unmistakable wailing. But most people were unaware. This was 1970, before there was FM underground rock in all markets, where to go big you needed a track to cross over to AM, which is what happened with Cream with “Sunshine of Your Love” and “White Room.”

Then, in the spring, both Clapton and Mason released their initial solo LPs. “Alone Together” was an instant classic, with its cover, rainbow vinyl and tunes, along with the definitive take on “Only You Know and I Know,” a bit quieter, with an acoustic guitar prominent in the mix. Clapton’s self-titled solo debut focused more on his singing than his playing, and in retrospect it’s his best solo work, but without that instant crossover hit on AM, it was purchased by fans of the man and played on what FM outlets there were, but it wasn’t until the following year, when Eric hooked up with Duane Allman and a hotshot band of his own that his tracks became ubiquitous once again.

Yes, “Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs” is Clapton’s best post-Cream album, however we must credit it to the group, the Dominos, as opposed to solely Clapton himself. Then again, it contains lengthy masterpieces, not only the title track but the first version of Jimi Hendrix’s “Little Wing” that most people heard, along with “Anyday”… “Layla…” was the right album for the right time. But it still took time to grow, but it and its compatriot double album work by the Allman Brothers, “At Fillmore East,” helped cement the FM firmament, albeit with an emphasis on heavier music than what had come before.

But first there was the self-titled solo LP.

In retrospect, it looks like a smash. It contains “After Midnight,” but it was years later that Michelob made the track ubiquitous, and “Blues Power.” But it also contains my favorite cut on the LP, “Easy Now,” and…”Let It Rain.”

“Let It Rain” was the initial killer. Not the track that got instant airplay, but the one if you owned the album you glommed on to, that delivered what you were looking for, that you played over and over again.

When Clapton reappeared after the Dominos, his sound was in many ways different, the extended hit off “461 Ocean Boulevard,” “I Shot the Sheriff” brought reggae to the masses, albeit in an inferior fashion. “Mainline Florida,” the closing cut, delivered the sound of yore, but you had to buy the LP to hear it, that was never the song played on the radio.

And after conquering heroin and the hinterlands catching up with the metropoli, Clapton was seared into the brains of America, if not the world, as the foremost practitioner of the guitar. People paid attention to everything he did, and FM radio was complicit, there are songs like “Lay Down Sally” that I haven’t listened to completion in years, having been burned out on them via overplay on FM, not only in the seventies, but the eighties too.

Which leaves us with the solo debut. It eventually sold in prodigious numbers, but it took a long time. And as a result of boxed sets and now streaming, people are aware of it, but tracks like “Easy Now” and “Let It Rain” are overlooked at best, especially the former, the latter is seen as a secondary work, if it’s thought of at all.

But if you were of age, if you were there back then, if you were a rock fan, if you bought all the albums, you know every lick of “Let It Rain” by heart, and you immediately want to click this cover to hear it.

On the surface it appears an odd pairing, the Doobies and Frampton, but they must have been on tour together, some time, that’s how I explain it. And I must say, after the initial riff, I was a bit underwhelmed, but then came the SOLOS!

I was thrilled to see Billy Payne playing along. I’m glad he’s found a home with the Doobies, too many of these aces have fallen by the wayside. And I always loved his compositions with Little Feat, but after Lowell died there was too much Paul Barrere, who occasionally delivered, but he was the third best songwriter in the band, and with Lowell gone, so was most of the magic.

But you’re truly wowed when Frampton comes alive.

First you get John McFee on pedal steel, at 1:33, displaying the virtuosity that’s made him the glue in the Doobies, also playing guitar and fiddle and… But at 1:40, Frampton’s there with the Phoenix, his recovered Les Paul, the one he played on “Comes Alive,” and you’re positively stunned that it’s the exact same sound from that album, illustrating how every guitar’s sound is unique. Furthermore, this is a demonstration of Frampton’s skill, which was too long overshadowed by his looks and commercial success.

But then, after a recitation of the chorus, there are more solos. And at 3:08 Tom Johnston channels that iconic Doobies sound, you know, the one that burned up all the airwaves back in the seventies, he’s got his own unique style, back when that was the important thing, as opposed to how fast you can play.

And then Frampton answers Johnston’s work, he ups the ante in response.

And then comes Payne, with understated key work.

And then Pat Simmons alone, representing the other half of the iconic Doobies sound, it was the yin and the yang of Pat and Tom that was the special sauce that made the band’s sound so satisfying.

And somewhere in this axe fest, you realize everybody’s having fun. That’s the difference between yesterday and today, the moments on stage interacting with your brethren, being inspired, playing, that was why you did it. Sure, you liked the girls and the money, but they were secondary, it was the music that set your mind free, that lifted your spirits, and it translated to the audience, which is why these classic rockers and their spawn playing real instruments do such incredible live business. The Spotify Top 50 deliver a show, these people deliver a CONCERT!

And there’s a through line. You know that every one of these players was sitting in their bedroom spinning that initial Clapton solo LP, they devoured it, they unpacked it, they were inspired by it.

Just like you and me.

amzn.to/3kA6XWt

I bought it before I found out it was a Reese Witherspoon Book Club pick.

We finished the second season of “Top of the Lake.” But there was no lake, the action shifted to Sydney, and it did not ring true until about halfway through, then I got hooked. And I’ve also become an Elisabeth Moss fan, she closed me in this series, previously I’d found her too muted, too much in the background.

And then we shifted to “Fortitude,” on Amazon.

Winter is coming. I yearn for it. But those bitter cold days in December and January, not when it’s sunny, but dark…they make you yearn for summer, what a conundrum. But I’m into the winter lifestyle, I lived it for years, but not in years. Is it still the same, do you still feel isolated with the internet, Amazon and FedEx? I’m not talking about being in a resort area, that’s different. But just a town, and in the coldest of territories they’re all towns, because few want to live there. Everybody knows everybody else’s name and also their business, and I found that limiting. That’s one of the things I like most about Los Angeles, the anonymity. As for people moving away, Gene Simmons is leaving for Washington, I doubt they’ll be happy. It all looks good until you actually live there, and you experience the limitations. Sure, maybe the grocery store is open 24/7, but try getting a late meal, try making new friends, it’s inherently isolating, and if you haven’t lived it you probably won’t like it. As for leaving Los Angeles…you can only do it once, unless you’re rich. You cash out your dwelling for much more than you paid for it, you buy a new and better house for a fraction of the price somewhere else and have all this money left over. Meanwhile, real estate prices keep rising in L.A., and you can’t afford to move back. Think twice before you leave town, but people are impulsive, they always convince themselves it will be better somewhere else.

So “Fortitude” is set in a town north of the Arctic Circle. They don’t make it totally clear where, somewhere north of England and Norway, but the reality is it’s snowed in, all the time. There are glaciers. Kind of like Alaska. Take a cruise to Alaska, especially if you’ve never seen the frontier. You stare out at the endless nothingness and you get afraid, what if you were stranded out there?

And Fortitude, the name of the town, is kept alive by a research institute and a mine, but the mine is closing and there’s a push for a hotel and tourism and…

It’s very bleak. Spring has sprung, therefore it’s not dark all day, but the people are still bundled up, it still snows, the roads are covered in white. I love this landscape. And going outside in the cold makes you feel alive. And the mountains tower, but they’re also your friends, you own them, even though they’re unownable. And yes, “Fortitude” is another crime show, well-reviewed, which is why we’re watching it, but I don’t recommend it to everybody. Because these shows are inherently slow. And if this genre appeals to you, start off with “Trapped,” which is on one of the three big streaming services, I can’t remember which, and the truth is shows shift platforms. And if you want to start off with a book, don’t start off with “Such a Fun Age,” I’m not quite sure I can recommend it.

Like streaming TV shows, I don’t go by popularity, I go by reviews. I find that a lot of what people like is crap. Especially in books. So I was searching. Having gone over the 2020 books numerous times, I decided to tackle the 2019 best of lists. And one of the books that was mentioned was “Such a Fun Age,” they said it was long-listed for the Booker Prize.

Now the truth is oftentimes the winner of the Booker Prize is unreadable. Readability is not the main criterion in book competitions. But I downloaded the sample to my Kindle weeks ago and I was looking for a new book and started reading it.

Well, I started a few other samples first, and none resonated. I’m always hesitant to buy a book that bores me right from the start, even if people recommend it, I’m looking for something to engage me, that’s written in plain English, without a plethora of description, that flows like life, and the sample chapter of “Such a Fun Age” did, which is why I bought it.

And the truth is Kindle downloads start at the beginning. Of the tale, not the book. They skip over the cover, title page and table of contents. And I don’t bother with them unless I buy the book itself, since I abandon so many samples. And when I bought “Such a Fun Age” and clicked to begin at the cover I was disheartened to find out it was a Reese pick. I’m not sure I’ll download a Reese pick again. Because they’re made for a special audience. Females. Who don’t want anything too challenging, something that carries along, that can be made into a film.

And, unfortunately, sometimes that’s how “Such a Fun Age” reads, as if it were a treatment for a film, which I’m sure it will be.

But I must say I was drawn to it, I finished “Such a Fun Age” just now, mere days after I bought it. And you want a book calling out to you, especially in these dark days of Covid-19. We turn people off to books at a very young age, reading is seen as a chore. And the books required and recommended too often are the equivalent of eating your Wheaties, and you never want to read one again. If only someone could recommend the good stuff for each and every reader. People say independent bookstores do this, but the people I’m talking about never go into a bookstore, they don’t see it as an emporium of excitement.

So, the main character is African-American. And because so much of the book is set in the upper middle class white world I somehow thought it was written by someone from that world, and I got nervous, could a white woman really write this way, have the characters talk this way? But when I finished the book, I went to the web and did some research, and the author, Kiley Reid, is African-American. Light-skinned. And that’s a theme in this book. You can’t talk about it if you’re white, but if you’re black…how black are you, who do you appeal to, are certain romantic avenues closed to you?

Once again, this is the book. But these are touchy subjects in America today. There are racist people, but does that mean a non-racist person can’t write a book with a racist character, cannot address race at all?

That’s a reason to read “Such a Fun Age,” even though it was written before last spring’s protests. The intersection of white and black. What it’s like being black in America today. Whites think they’ve got it handled, that they know, but they almost never do. And all the issues surrounding this interaction are covered in this book. Should we judge negatively those who bend over backwards to lift up black people, are they doing it for themselves, to make them feel good?

And Emira and all of her friends are educated, they’re college graduates. But that does not mean their culture has been squeezed out of them. And one friend is rich, but Emira struggles. She doesn’t know what she wants, where she wants to be, and she’s aging every day, how is she gonna keep a roof over her head, will she ever get a job with health insurance?

So, Emira is a part time babysitter, for a white family.

And there the games begin.

But there are a lot of games, and not only racial interactions. Do you hate your kid because they need too much attention, do you want to foist them off on the help? Once you have kids and move out of the big city do you lose all your connections, is your career on the road to ruin? We all have wants and dreams, and then life happens and we find out we’re somewhere we never planned to be, oftentimes with an inability to go back to where we thought we once belonged.

And relationships… Do they ever die? Do you ever get completely over one, or do they remain dormant, ready to be activated at any time.

Now the good thing about this book is the expected doesn’t always happen, and when it does, it happens much sooner than it would in other books. You discover the set-up and you sigh, am I really gonna have to wait until the end for these characters to meet? Usually you do, but not in “Such a Fun Age.”

So, if you’re a snob, don’t read this book.

Then again, it’s not pure trash, not by a long shot.

And if you’re a guy…most guys don’t want to read this stuff, even if they’re reading fiction. This is not chick-lit, “Such a Fun Age” is not a genre book, but you can see how it would appeal to women first. And if you follow the fiction business, you know it’s driven by women.

But that does not mean men can’t read “Such a Fun Age.” All the characters and themes were interesting to me. But I love going below the surface, the game board is interesting, but not as interesting as the pieces, the players, what makes them up, what are their motivations?

So, I’m hesitant to recommend “Such a Fun Age.” It’s not a highbrow tour-de-force, this is not Jonathan Franzen, even though Franzen can at times be highly readable. But “Such a Fun Age” does make you think, does open your eyes to issues, and its plot is interesting enough to keep you reading, you won’t want to discard it in the middle.

It’s really hard to do great work. REALLY hard. We’re all looking for greatness and when we find it, we tell everybody about it. The iconic songs, books and movies are such for a reason, all the stars aligned. You’ve got to have the concept and then you’ve got to execute without getting self-conscious. And it’s worst with books, they take so long to write and oftentimes you know you’re off-track long before you finish, what should you do, scrap it or complete it?

Books are not records. Records have to work throughout, books can be imperfect in spots and still be worth reading.

I’m looking for experiences to take me away, make me forget this interactive world where we’re all piling up on each other 24/7. Which is why I’m into “Fortitude,” it’s isolated and it’s slow, what’s happening far away doesn’t matter.

And when you read “Such a Fun Age” you will be engulfed in its world. And even though anybody can read it, the experience is very personal, you truly believe you’re in these rooms, an observer, the characters mean something to you.

That’s another element of so much great art. It’s PERSONAL! Too much is ground down to appeal to everybody, theoretically anyway. But it’s when you dig down and reveal your true self, when you create real situations, that’s when we’re most interested in what you have to say.

Gotta find a new book.

DON’T MAIL IN YOUR BALLOT, IT’S TOO LATE!

In one major city, the mail is running five days late, even though the normal delivery time is supposed to be one day. If you have a mail-in ballot, drop it off, do not mail it.

WATCH THIS VIDEO

“What if a US presidential candidate refuses to concede after an election? – Van Jones: bit.ly/2Tz27Ni

This is a TED Talk that is only sixteen and a half minutes long. I guarantee you, unless you’re Larry Lessig, you will learn something. Furthermore, Van gives advice on how to prepare for this hypothetical situation.

What the hell was she doing on SNL?

She’s the biggest act in the world. Bigger than Drake, bigger than Taylor Swift, bigger than ANYBODY! Maybe because she goes away, she’s not working it all the time, maybe because she has hits, in a genre almost everyone has forgotten about, straight ahead pop, sans the trendy 808 beats, maybe because she’s the best live performer out there, she can not only sing, she interacts with the audience, she tells stories, she’s riveting…she sets herself apart, she exists in her own bubble. SO WHY DID SHE COME DOWN TO EARTH TO APPEAR ON A SECOND-RATE TV SHOW DOING BAD MATERIAL??

I know, I know, she wanted to show off her newly-slimmed body. Her self-image has improved, great. But this does not add an iota to all the elements that made her a star and kept her shining bright. It doesn’t matter how those with true talent appear, hell, I don’t want to body shame anyone, but my point is it’s what goes into the ears, not what comes into the eyes. Furthermore, true fans have already seen these thin images, they’ve been all over the gossip sites. So, you’ve got a coming out on late night television and..?

Why late night television? That’s certainly not cool. What self-respecting youngster wants to tune in on a Saturday night, they’ve got no better options? Hell, they’d rather make a TikTok video using an Adele song than watch her on SNL, where she’s not even singing!

Oh yes, she ended up singing a bit, and that was cool, but it was just a wink to those who couldn’t fathom that she was not the musical guest.

As for the oldsters… They remember when SNL was truly great, back in the late seventies. If they’re watching today, it’s out of habit at best, if they’re awake to begin with, or on the west coast and viewing the live feed.

The opening bit, the political bit…it would be funny if there were any jokes. We’re just supposed to laugh because they’re doing it? How low can the bar be?

So low that major media outlets cover the show the next day, as if it matters, but it’s Quibi without the monthly charge, with bad short bits that you never want to see again. Oh sure, you get more eyeballs than the competition, there’s an imprimatur of importance, if you’re the musical guest it demonstrates to gatekeepers that your handlers are committed to breaking you, but few play absolutely live anymore and it’s all about as genuine as a Twinkie, with the same nutritional effect.

But this is what happens when legacy media is beholden to publicists, when it still lives in the last century, when it believes one show can reach and impact everybody and change the culture. Come on, when was the last time someone employed a catch phrase from SNL? Yet they were rampant back in the seventies. Back when the show was cutting edge, the anti, now it’s establishment, it’s what young kids are REBELLING AGAINST!

So, just by going on SNL Adele hurts her image. Bruce Springsteen does an Apple TV+ movie for his stiff on arrival new album, imagine if Adele created something special stamped with her personality, people would be salivating over it. And she wouldn’t share the stage with others, she’d be the star, deservedly.

Adele is more than the hits, she represents something, rarefied, why bring herself down to earth, we need people to believe in!

As for ticket sales… She can sell every one available. And that’s because you can only get what she’s selling at the gig. Each show is different, they’re magic, there’s no online equivalent.

However, the truth is “25” was not as good as “21,” not as successful. So, unless the next album truly delivers, her fans and her business might fall off. You can sell tickets off a stiff album if you’ve got enough dedicated fans, but how many true fans does Adele have anyway? She’s a pop star with hits, without them..? She was more like Barbra Streisand, there’s only one of her, hits are irrelevant if you manage your career very closely, keep yourself exotic, don’t appear just anywhere, place yourself in your own solar system, above everyone else.

This is where a manager counts.

Then again, not enough managers will say no to an artist.

And probably, Adele had a desire, pushed to do this show. But the truth is she’s a Brit, she doesn’t really understand it, just like Americans don’t understand U.K. television shows, if they know anything about them at all. And eyeball counts only matter if you’re selling, trying to extend your reach, AND ADELE WASN’T SELLING ANYTHING! Except for herself.

But watching all you could do was marvel at her appearance. Did she have weight loss surgery, did she have plastic surgery…what she said was secondary. And it was scripted by SNL hacks, who deliver this tripe every week. If you want to make an impression, write your own intro, that you test elsewhere first.

Subtleties. Many people will say the above makes no difference. That people forget. But the truth is image and career management are what separates the legends from the rest of the acts. Come on, those who go their own way, who are sui generis, those are the ones you want to get closer to, the ones you are yearning to understand. Like Neil Young. He’s an enigma. You hang on his words. But he didn’t give the public what it wanted, he went his own way, and then the world circled back to him and then it left him once again, alone with his fans, who’ve supported him.

Adele had charisma. I tell everybody her live show was one of the two best I’ve seen this century.

But now everybody has seen her. And she appears to be nothing special, not so different from everybody else. Another singer.

It’s a tragedy.