{"id":1340,"date":"2008-08-29T10:31:59","date_gmt":"2008-08-29T18:31:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/archives\/2008\/08\/29\/todays-downloads\/"},"modified":"2008-08-31T14:58:50","modified_gmt":"2008-08-31T22:58:50","slug":"todays-downloads","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/2008\/08\/29\/todays-downloads\/","title":{"rendered":"Today’s Downloads"},"content":{"rendered":"

"Bama Breeze"<\/span>
Jimmy Buffett<\/span><\/p>\n

Now I know how Jimmy Buffet feels<\/span><\/p>\n

I heard "Mexico" on No Shoes Radio.<\/p>\n

I’ve never really been but I’d sure like to go.<\/p>\n

James Taylor’s career was heading towards the cliff and then he went to work with Lenny Waronker and Russ Titelman recorded the breezy "Gorilla" and was back on track, played on the radio and everything.<\/p>\n

Despite the hits being on side one, it was the second side that shined so brightly.\u00c2\u00a0 "I Was A Feel To Care" sounds exactly like its title.\u00c2\u00a0 You know how you’re still in love, but it’s too late?\u00c2\u00a0 How you dedicated yourself to her but she had wandering eyes?\u00c2\u00a0 "I Was A Fool To Care" contains that wistfulness.\u00c2\u00a0 The hidden gem is "Angry Blues", with the magical presence of Lowell George…his slide playing is truly in the pocket, but his vocal shadings, barely present, are like the love of your life putting her hand on your shoulder.\u00c2\u00a0 Still, the absolute gem is "Lighthouse", with the backup vocalizations of Crosby and Nash and lyrics that will make your heart melt.\u00c2\u00a0 The loneliness of the lighthouse, there for everybody else, but ignored itself.\u00c2\u00a0 I quote this song almost every day:<\/p>\n

Well if you feel lost and lonely and don’t know where to go <\/span>
And you hear this song on the radio<\/span>
Or even if you’re feeling healthy and strong<\/span>
You might like to sing along<\/span>
But just because I might be standing here<\/span>
That don’t mean I won’t be wrong this time<\/span>
You could follow me and lose your mind<\/span><\/p>\n

That’s my goal.\u00c2\u00a0 To be here for you.\u00c2\u00a0 To let you know you’re not alone, that there’s someone who feels like you do.\u00c2\u00a0 Who wonders if he’s a square peg in the round hole of America, a land of winners where oftentimes you’re not even sure what the game is.\u00c2\u00a0 But, I’m shooting from the hip, I’m running on instinct.\u00c2\u00a0 I won’t guarantee I’m right.\u00c2\u00a0 You’ve ultimately got to make your own decisions.<\/p>\n

But as good as the second side of "Gorilla" is, it’s eclipsed by the album’s opening track, "Mexico"…\u00c2\u00a0 Which sounds like your best friend calling you from vacation.\u00c2\u00a0 Telling you to give up the rat race and come down and ENJOY YOURSELF!\u00c2\u00a0 It’s a three minute sea breeze.\u00c2\u00a0 You’d follow this record anywhere.<\/p>\n

And that’s the essence of Jimmy Buffett.\u00c2\u00a0 You want his lifestyle.\u00c2\u00a0 Not only the one he preaches, but the one he lives.\u00c2\u00a0 You want to fly your seaplane, surf, ply the ocean on your sailboat…<\/p>\n

Jimmy had a hit album a few years back by pairing up with some of the new Nashville generation.\u00c2\u00a0 But, he was dry for decades before, and has been dry ever since.\u00c2\u00a0 You could criticize him, call him a pathetic loser in the chart of life, but you’d be wrong…\u00c2\u00a0 Because if you’re truly paying attention, you now know how Jimmy Buffett feels.\u00c2\u00a0 Jimmy Buffett is in the Jimmy Buffett business.\u00c2\u00a0 And business is really damn good.\u00c2\u00a0 He sells out every show, his fans buy merch, they’ll follow him anywhere.\u00c2\u00a0 Chart records are for pussies, people who keep score using a fallacious system.<\/p>\n

We’re all Jimmy Buffett now…<\/p>\n

And stunningly, this track from his instantly forgotten 2006 album, "Take The Weather With You", is really good.\u00c2\u00a0 And he does a killer version of Crowded House’s "Weather With You".\u00c2\u00a0 Infusing that New Zealand opus with the flavor of a different set of islands, those in the Caribbean.<\/p>\n

"Donnie Iris Live"<\/span>
Recorded The Day After April Fool’s Day 1981 at "The Paradise," Boston, MA.<\/span><\/p>\n

Yup, all your favorite North Coast tracks.\u00c2\u00a0 From "The Rapper" to "Ah! Leah!"\u00c2\u00a0 Who even knew this existed?\u00c2\u00a0 I found this on a blog with two Marshall Crenshaw shows…\u00c2\u00a0 One from New York and one from London.\u00c2\u00a0 One from King Biscuit and one from the BBC.\u00c2\u00a0 And then there were the sixteen live tracks from Joe Jackson’s show at the Old Waldorf on May 14, 1979.\u00c2\u00a0 If you want to know about the gay politician, if you want to know how to drive your car, just track this down.<\/p>\n

And then there were the two American Flyer albums…<\/p>\n

You’ve probably never heard the original version of "Gamblin’ Man"…\u00c2\u00a0 No, I’m not talking about the Seger track, but the closing cut on the first side of Bonnie Raitt’s "Sweet Forgiveness".<\/p>\n

"Sweet Forgiveness" is not one of Bonnie’s best albums.\u00c2\u00a0 Paul Rothchild did a better job with its predecessor, "Home Plate".\u00c2\u00a0 If you don’t know her version of "My First Night Alone Without You", I hope you’ve never endured a break-up.\u00c2\u00a0 She nails it, no matter which side of the disconnection you’re on.\u00c2\u00a0 "Sweet Forgiveness" had the hit Warner Brothers was looking for, "Runaway", but the rest of the album was nowhere near as good as classics like "Give It Up" and "Takin’ My Time".\u00c2\u00a0 But it did contain "Two Lives" and "Gamblin’ Man".<\/p>\n

Written by Eric Kaz, like "Home Plate"’s "I’m Blowin’ Away", "Gamblin’ Man" has the same resignation, but with more of a groove.\u00c2\u00a0 And you can hear the writer’s interpretation on American Flyer’s second album, "Spirit Of A Woman".

The odds are down and the track looks slow<\/span>
Sure don’t feel like a sure thing<\/span>
Your horse gets jumpy when the pack runs wild<\/span>
It don’t look like a sure thing<\/span><\/p>\n

You’re involved, maybe even married.\u00c2\u00a0 You’ve seen this behavior before, you’ve protested previously, but it’s made no difference.\u00c2\u00a0 Now you’re just putting in your two cents.<\/p>\n

You must be crazy<\/span>
To gamble this way<\/span>
The children hungry<\/span>
And the rent ain’t paid<\/span>
Gamblin’ man, ramblin’ fool<\/span>
Sure must be crazy to gamble on you<\/span><\/p>\n

And that’s what we are, crazy in love.\u00c2\u00a0 If we can’t gamble, we want no part.\u00c2\u00a0 We don’t want love to be sure, we want love to be exciting, we want to reach, we want to be more than we already are.<\/p>\n

But sometimes we overreach.\u00c2\u00a0 And we sound like the singer of this song.<\/p>\n

Like the above live shows, you can’t buy American Flyer.\u00c2\u00a0 But if you know where to look online, your life will be enriched.<\/p>\n


"The Lyon Tapes"<\/span>
The Silencers<\/span><\/p>\n

THE PIECE DE RESISTANCE!<\/p>\n

When I saw this on the page, my eyes bugged out.\u00c2\u00a0 A live recording by my second favorite act of the nineties, recorded sixteen track and sounding like YOU’RE ON STAGE?<\/p>\n

Won’t you answer me<\/span>
Said the exile<\/span>
Is there a message for me<\/span>
Now I feel so far away<\/span><\/p>\n

That’s what you wait for when you’ve been abandoned, the phone call, the connection, the message that says it was all a mistake.<\/p>\n

I got that.\u00c2\u00a0 When I was finally ensconced in a new relationship.<\/p>\n

But a year before, after my ex-wife moved out, I was thrust into a new life.\u00c2\u00a0 One wherein promo man for RCA Records Kevin Sutter played a magical record entitled "A Blues For Buddha" in the cassette player of his rented car.\u00c2\u00a0 THIS I wanted!<\/p>\n

The original studio take of "Answer Me" rises out of the speakers like the sun.\u00c2\u00a0 Barely perceptibly at first, then you feel the power of its rays.\u00c2\u00a0 By time the bass and drums kick in, you’re sold.\u00c2\u00a0 Then, there’s a FIDDLE!\u00c2\u00a0 I don’t know if the radio is interested in this kind of music, whether it can be used to sell shampoo, but this is the kind of sound you yearn to discover, that pours out of your speakers like aromatherapy and changes the vibe of your whole room.<\/p>\n

This live show was recorded not long after "A Blues For Buddha" was released.\u00c2\u00a0 The Silencers perform "Razor Blades Of Love".\u00c2\u00a0 An almost six minute number that resembles nothing but life itself.\u00c2\u00a0 From birth through death, with all the high points hit in between.<\/p>\n

Stunningly, the album contains a live version of "Possessed".<\/p>\n

After becoming positively ENRAPTURED by "A Blues For Buddha" I yearned to hear the band’s first album, "A Letter From St. Paul".\u00c2\u00a0 Hugh Surratt had to send one from GERMANY!\u00c2\u00a0 Even though "Painted Moon" had been played on American radio, there were no copies in stores.\u00c2\u00a0 And years have taught me that the legend is true, as good as the second album is, the first is better.\u00c2\u00a0 Because of tracks like "Possessed".\u00c2\u00a0 Which reach an intensity akin to that of a metal band, but without the pounding cacophony.\u00c2\u00a0 Possessed.\u00c2\u00a0 BY YOU!<\/p>\n

But my favorite cut off the debut is "Blue Desire".\u00c2\u00a0 Stunningly, searching the track listing, I found it was contained.<\/p>\n

Storm in space now it looks like rain<\/span>
The Holy Ghost on a haunted train<\/span>
Look out<\/span>
Here comes blue desire<\/span><\/p>\n

Great music SWINGS!\u00c2\u00a0 It picks you up from your chair, puts its arm under yours and causes you to stand up straight where you start to MOVE!\u00c2\u00a0 Not the choreographed steps of a music video, but involuntary movements, which you’ve never performed previously.\u00c2\u00a0 It’s living theatre.<\/p>\n

Well I left my home and my family<\/span>
No you don’t realize what you’ve done to me<\/span>
Look out<\/span>
Here comes blue desire<\/span><\/p>\n

I left the east coast behind because I heard the Beach Boys.\u00c2\u00a0 Them and Jan & Dean.\u00c2\u00a0 I watched TV, shot in Hollywood.\u00c2\u00a0 There was a better life on the west coast, I begged my mother to move before I even hit double digits.<\/p>\n

But it wasn’t until I graduated from college that I arrived, and Southern California lived up to my expectations.\u00c2\u00a0 A land where it never rained, where everybody was free and easy, where everybody was so into his own trip that no one cared about yours.\u00c2\u00a0 You could be whoever you wanted, you could cast aside your SAT scores, your college degree, it was suddenly about you, THE REAL YOU!<\/p>\n

There’s a war in space now it looks like rain<\/span>
Electric storms on the horizon<\/span>
There’s a cloud of dust in the distant blue<\/span>
When the twister hits it’ll bankrupt you<\/span>
Now who’s going to pay the equipment hire<\/span>
When the crops are dead and the farm’s on fire<\/span><\/p>\n

That’s what happened at the end of 1999.\u00c2\u00a0 There was a storm in space, known as the Internet.\u00c2\u00a0 It resulted in something called Napster.\u00c2\u00a0 Everybody got a high speed connection and started trading not only what was available commercially, but cuts that fans, traders, never even knew existed.<\/p>\n

Those were the glory days.\u00c2\u00a0 Before the original Napster bit the dust.\u00c2\u00a0 It was so EXCITING!<\/p>\n

KaZaA was never quite as good.\u00c2\u00a0 AudioGalaxy had a bunch of rarities.\u00c2\u00a0 But now, we’re in the absolute heyday of music fandom.\u00c2\u00a0 Via blogs and online repositories, not only have all the out of print albums resurfaced, but gems by your favorite acts that make your jaw drop!<\/p>\n

"The Lyon Tapes" could not sound any better.\u00c2\u00a0 You’re supposed to hear through the hiss, this stuff is supposed to be for the hard core only.\u00c2\u00a0 But none of the live recordings I’m writing about here are impaired.\u00c2\u00a0 Anything but.\u00c2\u00a0 "The Lyon Tapes" are EXQUISITE!<\/p>\n

In the early nineties I told friends I’d like to drive cross-country with a trunk full of Shawn Colvin’s "Steady On" and the Silencers’ "A Blues for Buddha’, converting people one by one.\u00c2\u00a0 I knew I could do it, I believed just that much.\u00c2\u00a0 Shawn eventually broke through, albeit with the inferior "A Few Small Repairs".\u00c2\u00a0 The Silencers faded away.\u00c2\u00a0 Jimme O’Neill left the mother country for France, the only territory to recognize the Silencers’ greatness.<\/p>\n

I’m not down with them on Jerry Lewis, but they’re right about the Silencers.\u00c2\u00a0 It’s not about chart numbers, but the music, the way the music makes you feel.\u00c2\u00a0 The Silencers employ the full panoply, all the colors in the palette, the results are sometimes bright, other times chiaroscuro.\u00c2\u00a0 The music implores you to act and at other times soothes you.\u00c2\u00a0 It’s your best friend.\u00c2\u00a0 Discovering "The Lyon Tapes" is like an unexpected visit from an old camp buddy.\u00c2\u00a0 My entire history is coming back to life!<\/p>\n

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"Bama Breeze"Jimmy Buffett Now I know how Jimmy Buffet feels I heard "Mexico" on No Shoes Radio. I’ve never really been but I’d sure like to go. James Taylor’s career was heading towards the cliff and then he went to work with Lenny Waronker and Russ Titelman recorded the breezy "Gorilla" and was back on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1340","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-the-music"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p96vPs-lC","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1340","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1340"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1340\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1340"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1340"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1340"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}