Happy 40th Anniversary, Abbey Road!
The famous photo that graced the cover of the Beatles’ Abbey Road, the last album recorded together, shows the Fab Four walking purposefully across the zebra-striped asphalt. It remains one of music’s best-known album covers, often imitated and parodied. Many music fans name this album as their favorite Beatles record and/or favorite album of all-time.
Here’s the track list:
Side One
Come Together
Something
Maxwell’s Silver Hammer
Oh! Darling
Octopus’s Garden
I Want You (She’s So Heavy)
Side Two
Here Comes the Sun
Because
The Medley: “You Never Give Me Your Money,” “Sun King,” “Mean Mr. Mustard,” “Polythene Pam,” “She Came in Through the Bathroom Window,” “Golden Slumbers,” “Carry That Weight,” and “The End”
“Her Majesty”
Chick Corea & Hiromi: Duet CD review
Grammy-award winning veteran pianist Chick Corea teams up with the up-and-coming Japanese composer and pianist Hiromi Uehera on the two-disc Duet. With three generations between them, Corea and Uehera may seem like an odd pairing, but they play off each other like two friends who learned their instrument from the same teacher at the same time. They are totally in sync with each other. Corea seems as youthful and energetic as the 30-year-old Hiromi, while she performs with talent beyond her years
Duet documents the two pianists’ three nights of live duet performances at the Blue Note Tokyo. The selections chosen for this set are varied; covers of Bill Evans, George Gershwin, Thelonious Monk, Lennon- McCartney, and Antonio Carlos Jobim compositions to original compositions from the two pianists.
The first CD includes an original by each pianist as well as four covers. Monk’s “Bolivar Blues” and Lennon-McCartney’s “Fool On The Hill” attract attention on Disc One. The second disc contains four originals, two a piece. Gershwin’s “Summertime” is included on this disc, and the closer is a lovely melding of Joaquin Vidre Rodrigo’s “Concierto de Aranjuez” with Corea’s “Spain.”
Duet is masterful. It’s a great combination of two extraordinary pianists from different generations and cultures who, with the ivories, communicate with each other passionately and quite effectively.
Here they are performing “Summertime”
In Tribute: George Harrison
Today, Feb. 25, 2009, would’ve been George Harrison’s 66th birthday. He was the lead guitarist of The Beatles and crafted some of the group’s songs, including While My Guitar Gently Weeps, the love song Something, the psychedelic Blue Jay Way, Within You Without You (no other Beatle performs on this song; George plays the sitar), and the gem Here’s Comes The Sun.
His solo work showed off his song writing skills and his stellar guitar talent. His triple album masterpiece All Things Must Pass includes such hits as My Sweet Lord, If Not For You, What Is Life, Isn’t It A Pity, and the title track.
Other notable songs from his solo catalog include All Those Years Ago (dedicated to Lennon after his murder), Give Me Love, When We Was Fab, I Got My Mind Set On You.
His posthumously-released album Brainwashed and his work as part of the supergroup The Traveling Wilburys are highly recommended as well.
John Lennon (1940-1980)
Today marks the 28th anniversary of John Lennon’s death. Take a look at the following article about Lennon written by Lenny Kravitz: “The Immortals: The Greatest Artists of All Time“.
Below, a few of Lennon’s classics:
Happy Birthday, Elvis!
Today would’ve been Elvis Presley’s 73rd birthday. For many of us, it doesn’t feel like he died 31 years ago, and we can remember where we were or what we were doing when we heard about it, even those of us who were only nine years old. Elvis died at the young age of 42, however he did more than most people do in a lifetime. It is estimated – only in sales that were documented- that Elvis has sold over one billion records worldwide, more than anyone else in history.
As the King of Rock and Roll, his music inspired many musicians. Many people danced to, fell in love to, and continue to listen to his music today. Most people only know the songs we’ve heard on the radio or the ones that appear on the #1 complications, however his best aren’t as common. He recorded albums continuously, and they vary in genre from rockabilly, rock and roll, gospel, blues, and country.
Everyone has a opinion about Elvis Presley. Some people are harsh in judgment, while others put him on a godly level. Regardless, Elvis was a strong influence that people couldn’t ignore. Below, are some things influential people said about him.
And since it’s Elvis’ birthday, we’ll only focus on the positive.
There have been a lot of tough guys. There have been pretenders. And there have been contenders. But there is only one king. – Bruce Springsteen
His music and his personality, fusing the styles of white country and black rhythm and blues, permanently changed the face of American popular culture. His following was immense. And he was a symbol to people the world over of the vitality, rebelliousness and good humor of this country. – Jimmy Carter
He was a unique artist… an original in an area of imitators. – Mick Jagger
A lot of people have accused Elvis of stealing the black man’s music, when in fact almost every black solo entertainer copied Elvis’ stage mannerisms. – Jackie Wilson
Before Elvis, there was nothing. – John Lennon
Vote for your favorite Elvis song below!
Imagine
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Early on, John Lennon loved rock ‘n’ roll, and formed his first band when he was sixteen. Paul McCartney attended a performance in 1957 and became a band member soon after that. Paul and John shared mutual admiration for each other’s musical abilities and intelligence. They knew they could create magic together, and agreed that everything written by either of them would be credited to Lennon-McCartney, a promise they managed to keep for almost fifteen years.
As the 60s were fading and the U.S. morale was too, the Beatles captured the essence of the time. The White Album, Abbey Road, and Let It Be, released in ’68, ’69, and ’70 were the beginning of the end for the group.
When the group broke up, Lennon switched his loyalty from McCartney to Yoko Ono, and suffered because of it. His public statements and behavior insinuated as much. However, the difficulty proved to bring forth his most fascinating and enduring works: John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band and Imagine, released in 1970 and 1971.
Those emotionally-driven albums set the tone for Lennon in the 70s, his last decade. He spent the first half fighting the U.S. Immigration Department for his green card, drinking too much, and begging for peace. He spent the second half in seclusion and being a househusband caring for his son Sean. His sentiments come to life on one of my favorite songs, Watching The Wheels.
A creative frenzy emerged in 1980, and Double Fantasy was released a month prior to his death. On the evening of December 8, 1980, John and Yoko were already at work on their next project when, coming home from a recording session, Lennon was shot to death by a young man to whom he’d given an autograph that same afternoon – Mark David Chapman.
The death of John Lennon was perhaps the most emotionally felt of rock deaths. He, in many ways, represented the soul of the Beatles and of 60s rock. Yes, there was an equal outpouring of emotion for Elvis Presley in 1977, which still continues today. John Lennon’s death was equally as shocking, but also violent, and came at a time when he was emerging from a period of silence and at a time when the world really needed his voice.
Click on the songs below for their videos:
Sir Paul
James Paul McCartney was born on June 18, 1942 in Liverpool, England, and was the bass player for the Beatles. He founded the group with John Lennon, forming the most successful songwriting partnership in musical history.
The Beatles were among the few artists that were the best at what they did as well as the most popular. The group was imaginative and experimental and fascinated the world. Their reign as rock icons remains unequaled to this day, decades after their 1970 breakup.
They were a self-contained rock band in that the group, headed by Lennon and McCartney, wrote and performed its own material. As composers, their craft and melodic inventiveness were key to the evolution of rock. As singers, McCartney and Lennon were among the best vocalists in rock. Their harmonies were intricate and the arrangements were multi-layered. As a group, John, Paul, George, and Ringo were refreshing. friendly, and photogenic.
It could have been a clash of the founders’ egos that caused the breakup. And perhaps the creativity of all the members needed to go in different directions, as their solo work does vary in style. Or maybe their popularity, talent, and egos were too great, that combustion was unavoidable. The Yoko Ono intrusion is very likely as well. But, it seems that George Harrison said it best: “All things must pass.”
Paul McCartney released his first solo album, McCartney, just two week before the release of Let It Be. It was followed by his public announcement that the Beatles were going their separate ways. McCartney formed the band Wings his late wife, Linda Eastman McCartney soon after the Beatles’ breakup. From the time he ventured on his very successful solo career to releasing his 34th album Memory Almost Full in 2007, he has proven to be music’s greatest songwriter. He manages to create compositions that could easily be two or three songs in one; Band on the Run and Live and Let Die are prime examples. His presence has been constant for nearly five decades.
He’s worked on film scores, classical music, and electronic music. He paints and writes poetry. He has taken on many charitable projects and causes. McCartney holds the record as the most successful musician and composer in music history. He was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire in 1965, and became Sir Paul McCartney in 1997.
His standout solo albums include Band On The Run, Wings At The Speed Of Sound, Venus And Mars, Tug Of War, and Flowers in The Dirt.
To this day, Silly Love Songs from Wings At The Speed Of Sound is one of my favorite songs. And here it is: Silly Love Songs.
Click on the songs below for their videos:
John, Paul, George & Ringo
In honor of the upcoming December 8th anniversary of John Lennon’s passing, the next few posts will be Beatles-related. I’ll be remembering the Fab Four – the group that changed the look and sound of music forever.
To start things off, click here for an introduction to the Beatles prior to the Ed Sullivan Show.
And here, on their first visit to America and The Ed Sullivan Show, The Beatles sing I Want To Hold Your Hand.
Vote for your favorite Beatle below:
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