RADIO HANNIBAL

Cleveland musician writes song to help cope with father's Alzheimer's

My friend, local Cleveland musician Jack Rugan, and I have much in common.  We both love music, especially well-crafted pop songs.  We share the same first name with our fathers, my dad being known as Jack and myself as John while it was the opposite in the Rugan house.  And like so many, we're both dealing with Alzheimer's in our families. 

My father passed away 12 years ago from a rare brain disease which included dementia.  And now my mother is in a home suffering from Alzheimer's.  Jack Rugan found out his father had Alzheimer's back in 2008.  Like my mom, his dad's in an Alzheimer's  home as well.

To help cope with the sad reality Jack took to writing a song, a love letter to his ailing father.  He had a hard time singing the lyrics himself so he reached out to singer Paula Clare who's own mother recently passed away from the disease. 

Rugan is now sharing the song with everyone making a free download available on his website, Jack Rugan, and creating a YouTube video as well.

He's hopeful that the song will help others that are dealing with watching a loved one succumb to Alzheimer's.  There's also a link to donate to the Alzheimer's Association on the site. 

A youthful John Rugan Sr.

The Neil Young discography - Shakey II, part 14

This discography analysis is written by contributer JT of Perth, Australia (follow him at @thesonofnoone on Twitter).

Neil Young
Hawks & Doves (1980) Spotify

TRACKS:

1) 'Little Wing' - Congratulations, you're reading about the second best song called 'Little Wing' in rock history. This song (and the whole first half of the album, actually) have the same vibe that runs through 'Will to Love', and if they don't quite reach those heights, well that doesn't mean the songs are bad. 'Little Wing' is a song I heard lots of praise about, but never understood. Now I just feel like an idiot, because how could anyone not think this song is great? 9.0

2) 'The Old Homestead' - I hear a lot about how this another 'Thrasher'-esque song that rips on Crosby, Stills and the other bloke. But, unless I'm missing out on something, there's only veiled mentions to the three. What we do have is a rambling, seven-minute epic that at once is unlike anything you've ever heard, but at the same time completely and utterly a 'Neil Young' song. I don't think it's got a brilliant melody, but just like Richard Nixon, it's got a little bit of soul. And a kickass bass line...8.0

3) 'Lost in Space' - I was prepared to give this a pretty low score until today, when at lunch with this playing on the headphones, I finally heard what I was looking for. It's not much, but there's this little melodic run through the verses which just kills you. Don't know what I'm talking about? Have a listen to when he sings "I heard you got out on parole, workin' for the Queen". OK maybe that's just me, but wow. That there folks is what you call a hook. And the little vocal effects when he's singing about the ocean floor? Ween could've covered this onThe Mollusk and it wouldn't have been out of place at all. 7.5

4) 'Captain Kennedy' - Second best song on the album. Wouldn't be out of place on the first half of Rust Never Sleeps. Great playing, great singing... great man. Not much else to say - just listen. 8.5

5) 'Stayin' Power' - Well, it had to end sooner or later didn't it? Maybe not, but this is a step down, no two ways about it. Love the bar room piano, but the song is too slight with not enough charms to hold my attention, ala 'Lotta Love' and a few others. Still better than most of Old Ways though. 5.5

6) 'Coastline' - More of the same, but just a bit better. It's hard not to notice the drop off in quality from the first side to the second - but this isn't completely horrible. 6.0

7) 'Union Man' - This, however - IS completely horrible. This sounds like something that would be better suited being sung by a travelling bunch of Muppets, except if they sang it, the song wouldn't be as bad. 2.5

8) 'Comin' Apart at Every Nail' - Wow - this is more of the same, exactly the same - except it's a different fucking song. Really, this isn't top-notch Neil at all - it's actually the worst he's been since he started recording. Do you think I could take tracks 5-8 back to the shop and ask the rest just to be made into an EP? Didn't think so... 2.5

9) 'Hawks & Doves' - This is a bit better. It's still a bit jarring (and not in the good way), but there's a couple of hooks here. I never knew how hard it was to write about something that disappointed you so much. So, no attempts at clever wordplay or helpful insights. This is just disappointing. 6.0


ALBUM RATING: 6.0

VERDICT: As the title suggests, this album is definitely an album in pairs. Funnily enough, if you mix this album with American Stars & Bars, you'll probably get two better albums. Take the first half of this, mix it with the second half of AS&B and you've got a great album, mix the other two halves and you'll get an album that's not great, but one that would be a lot more stylistically linked than either of the released albums. But enough pondering about what could've been. What we have here is a severly under-rated album (based solely on the first half). Not under-rated on the level of Trans, but under-rated nonetheless. The first half is full of songs that can stand proud next to more lauded songs on more popular albums.

Neil Young & Crazy Horse
Re-ac-tor (1981) Spotify

TRACKS:

1) 'Opera Star' - Way to go Neil - bringin' back the rock! But alas, he didn't bring it back in its best form. Sure, this isn't a bad song, and it has his charms (such as the faux opera voices by Crazy Horse), but Neil did fast and furious rock much better when it was called 'Sedan Delivery'. Still, not a bad start to the album, but is it selfish to have expected more? 6.0

2) 'Surfer Joe & Moe the Sleaze' - This is better. Neil's delivery may not be spot on, but the song's there... I think. I'm not sure whether I'm judging the song on its own, or among the rest of the songs on the album. Still - I kinda like it and when I've heard live versions of the song I haven't ever felt the need to skip them over, so that's gotta say something. Doesn't it? 7.0

3) 'T-Bone' - Should I give Neil points for even trying something like this? A nine minute song where the only lyrics are "Got mashed potato, ain't got no t-bone" repeated over and over again. Should I give him points for anything, or should this be the first 0.0 out of the lot? Well, I'll give him points because of the dirty guitar work through the song, and because I think Neil himself knows how ridiculous the song is. 2.0

4) 'Get Back on It' - You know what? Not the worst song on the album! The type of song you hear a band play when you wander into a bar which you have no idea the name of - or something like that. Sounds as though it should be on the Human Highway soundtrack. However, I've never seen the movie and never heard the soundtrack so I could be talkin' out of my ass here. 6.5

5) 'Southern Pacific' - Love the drums here - Ralph Molina is a seriously underrated drummer. He may be far from perfect, but such is the way with the best music - things aren't necessarily the best when they're the most technically proficient (I'd much rather listen to Johnny Ramone play guitar than Steve Vai or Joe Satriani). But this song is very good - the best on the album so far (although that doesn't say much). Can't really think of much more to say (it's a miracle I'm able to sit up in a chair at this point), but trust me when I say it's good - or not... I don't mind. 7.5

6) 'Motor City' - If this song were on Ragged Glory, it wouldn't have been out of place. It wouldn't even have been the second worst song on the album (although it would've been close). There's this carefree vibe running through it which you can't help but like, which you can't help smile at. My only fault with the song is that it doesn't go long enough. Great playing, great harmonies, great song. 8.0

7) 'Rapid Transit' - Hmm. What to make of this song? I dig the groove and don't hate the purring vocals, but Neil has never been one for gimmicks. He's unpredictable (to the point of being utterly predictable), but he's never resorted to tactics to get his songs across. Anyway, not a bad song that I should probably play more than I do, but one I just can't seem to love. 6.0

8) 'Shots' - When the world needs a saving grace, it normally shows up. Great song - easily the best on the album. There's a running debate among Neil Young fans - "which version of 'Shots' is better?" Is it this version, the electrified Crazy Horse version with all the sound effects, or is it the acoustic version that Neil cut at The Boarding House in San Francisco in 1978? Well, I seem to like both as they each have their merits. I might actually lean towards this version due to it being simply furious. Again, great playing by the Crazy Horse guys. 8.5

ALBUM RATING: 7.0

VERDICT: Ralph Molina himself called this album a "one-legged Turkey". Knowing what Neil was personally going through at this stage in his life - to not only record this album and have it turn out as well as it did is quite an achievement, but then again, Neil's always been one to surprise. So, I don't agree with Ralph Molina, not at all. Sure it's not Neil's best album, but somedays - when you think you don't necessarily want to listen to any one of the various 10s out there - Re-ac-tor's the album for you. Also a great album for when you're in a bad mood and you have no reason to want to feel any better.

NEXT: Computer Games.

Cool Photos Of The Day

Neil Young, Stephen Stills, David Crosby and Graham Nash

Elvis Presley

Jim Morrison

Keith Richards

Phil Spector

Documentary on owner of largest record collection is touching

As a bit of a music collector myself I've known about Murray Gershenz and his staggering record collection for a few years now.  His story has been told in the press and in news clips.  Now it's been made into a touching short film. 

Music Man Murray made it's debut on the Documentary Channel,  appropriately enough on Record Store Day, this past Saturday.  No worry, you can watch the entire 21 minute feature here. 

NPR's Bob Boilen shares an interview with the director Richard Parks, son of musician Van Dyke Parks.  Music Man Murray: What's A Guy To Do With A Half-Million Records?

Murray also has a website for his archive/store, Music Man Murray.  The collection is for sale as a lot but you'll see in the film that it's hard to let go. 

 

Music Pick Of The Day: Jack White - Blunderbuss

I really wasn't expecting this.  A stone cold classic from Jack White.  I mean he's had a good track record but it seemed he was spreading himself too thin.  Playing in a couple of bands, lending his guitar to other people's records, producing iconic artists was overexposing him and diluting his image.  I was thinking it would water down his own material. 

I was wrong.  Jack White's debut solo album Blunderbuss, put today, is a fantastic record.  Hooray for Mr. White to prove that rock and roll is far from dead.  In his hands it is a living, breathing force to be reckoned with. 

Artist:  Jack White

Album:  Blunderbuss

Review:  LA Times

Listen to it on Spotify

 

A source for singles released in 2012

A few weeks ago I pointed my readers to a Spotify playlist I'm curating that contains the better releases of 2012, Radio Hannibal Albums of 2012.  I've also been keeping another playlist containing official singles released this year.

Unlike the albums playlist in which I try to only include the better releases, the singles playlist contains everything that I can find on Spotify.  There's no subjectivity to it.  Just a one stop spot to find what sort of singles are being released in 2012.  Feel free to subscribe to it. 

Single releases for 2012

The Neil Young discography - Shakey II, part 13

This discography analysis is written by contributer JT of Perth, Australia (follow him at @thesonofnoone on Twitter).

DETOUR #1

'Everybody's Alone' Spotify

OK, so I haven't had time to get my head around Live Rust yet, but I'll get there soon.

But anyway, was listening to my iPod on the way to work and 'Everybody's Alone' came on. Great fuckin' song. Unreleased at this stage, but the first Archives box will take care of that I hope. In fact, if memory serves me correctly, Neil's recorded this song a number of times - from Crazy Horse in late '69 or early '70 (from the same sessions that gave us 'I Believe in You'), through to the original Tonight's the Night sessions. Obviously Neil's never got the take he thought definitive enough to put on an album for us. There's a few bootlegs of the song out there for us to enjoy in the meantime.

In fact, it's through a bootleg version that I've grown to know and love this song. Recorded (IIRC) at a KQED radio (or was it TV?) session, it's sound quality is as good as you could ask for from something in that time and hopefully should be even better once we hear the 'proper' version(s).

It's such a simple song that says more than it leads on;

"If you're looking for me
You'll find me resting in the shade
Of the mountains and trees
Beneath the cool summer breeze
And I don't mind if you stay
Everybody's alone

People talking to me
Someone saying that I'm not the same
That's not so easy to be
But when I'll learn to be free
I wonder if I'll miss the pain
Everybody's alone

All I want you to know
Is that I love you so much
I can hardly stand it
When everybody's alone
Everybody's alone"

It's a testament to Neil's prodigious talent that this song never saw the light of day. It may not be a masterpiece, but such was the amount of first-class material he was pumping out around the time that it was recorded that some stuff was bound to miss the cut.

Not too much else to say but this is a great song that I'll try and put up later on today when I get home.

I give this one a 9.0

 

Neil Young & Crazy Horse
Live Rust (1979) Spotify

TRACKS:

1) 'Sugar Mountain' - As I said in my Decade review, this isn't my favourite song, but despite that - Neil makes this work. He sounds far more 'into' the song than he does on the original recording. For something that was apparently one of the first songs he wrote, this isn't bad (far from it), it's just still a song which is destined to never be a favourite. Oh well, my fault.7.0

2) 'I Am A Child' - Works well with the 'Sugar Mountain' intro, matching the theme of childhood well. Still not a really great song, but in the circumstances, it works far better than the original Buffalo Springfield version. For that, I can bump this version up to a 6.5

3) 'Comes a Time' - Not bad at all. The album's picking up a bit. I actually miss the country band on here (live versions of this are rarely better than the versions Neil cranked out in 1984 with the International Harvesters), but Neil still does as much as he can with a song that never really grabbed me enough to talk any more about it than I do. 6.5

4) 'After the Goldrush' - Wow, Neil labours through this one. At times he sounds like he doesn't even want to be there. But such is the beauty of the song itself, he overcomes it to give a satisfactory (but not brilliant) performance. I kinda dig the Blue Notes versions from '88 with the horns. But I guess I might be the only one with that opinion. 6.5

5) 'My My, Hey Hey (Out of the Blue)' - Still brilliant. No better or worse than the Rust Never Sleeps version, which isn't surprising since both were recorded solo, live and acoustic on the same tour. Funny that  Worked better as the opener on Rust Never Sleeps, but still packs an awfully big punch, no matter what the setting is. 9.0

6) 'When You Dance I Can Really Love' - Then there was a bang! This grooves along like a treat - better than the original version. The Horse are tight and their backing vocals are straight out of The Eagles' playbook. 8.0

7) 'The Loner' - This is more like it. On Neil's debut album you could see this song had potential - it just took a decade to realise. There's those backing vocals again! Not much else to say except this one gets bumped up half a point. 8.5

8) 'The Needle & the Damage Done' - I can do without the 'Woodstock' references. Isn't the song as poignant as it can be already without a big sign above our heads saying "this song is about why drugs are bad"? Not bad, but strangely not as effective as the Harvest version. Maybe that was a hopeful Neil back then, this is just a jaded Neil? Who knows... 7.5

9) 'Lotta Love' - Wow. This actually rocks pretty much better than anything so far. Well, maybe rocks is the wrong word - swings might be the way to go. Again (you're probably getting tired of me mentioning them) the backing vocals are great. Underrated song. Better than the album version, easily. 9.0

10) 'Sedan Delivery' - "Let's play some rock and roll!" Yeah - damn right. Just as furious as the album cut, and just as great. The one Neil song I could see the Stooges covering. Not so much punk, as primal rock. 9.0

11) 'Powderfinger' - Still a masterpiece. Actually I don't think I've ever heard a version of this song that made me think it was less than a masterpiece. Maybe the versions from 2000 with Jim Keltner on drums - dude just didn't seem to know how to play it. But I digress. Here? It's still brilliant. 10.0

12) 'Cortez the Killer' - Wow. Oops. What the fuck is up with the reggae shtick? That's just embarrassing. Funny how one little part of the song can ruin it and it still remains (mostly) great. Testament to Neil and his guitar. They save this from a trainwreck. 6.0

13) 'Cinnamon Girl' - Great save. Still crunches as every good version should. 9.0

14) 'Like a Hurricane' - Lacks a bit of punch at the start, but soon picks it up. At its best (and normal), this song is a masterpiece, at worst it strives to be brilliant. This version is somewhere in between. It soars it spots and falls in others. 9.0

15) 'Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black)' - Just as good as on Rust Never Sleeps, maybe with a bit more kick to it. Still great. 9.0

16) 'Tonight's the Night' - Wow. Unexpected. I prefer this to the album version. Is that blasphemous? If so, I don't care - it's what I think. Not the best version I've heard, but definitely not the worst and a very good way to end the album. 9.0

ALBUM RATING: 8.0

VERDICT: There's a trend in music to like whatever you hear first. Maybe you grew up in a family that was more country than rock and roll and was raised on the Flying Burrito Brothers' version of 'Wild Horses', going years before ever hearing the Stones give it a crack... and as a result you prefer what you're most familiar with. Well, in the world of Neil Young, popular opinion suggests that Live Rust is far superior to Weld. And that's simply not the case (as far as I'm concerned). But let's not focus on that too much more, let's focus on what we have here. The 'problem' with Live Rust is that there's too many songs I was never a big fan of to begin with (and when three of them kick off the album, then that's not a good sign) and there's simply not enough Crazy Horse. And when the songs they're on start playing - it's almost as though there's too much sheen on the tracks, and we all know Crazy Horse aren't a 'sheen' band, they deal in 'crunch'. But... I'm really nitpicking aren't I? There's definitive (so far) versions of 'Sugar Mountain', 'The Loner' and 'Lotta Love' among others, and we finally get to hear a 'Tonight's the Night' played by Crazy Horse - who (IMHO) are the only guys who know what it does (or doesn't) take to play this song properly. And if all this sounds like I don't really care for the album, well then that's the wrong impression to take from this. I like Live Rust plenty, flaws and all. It's actually one of the finest live albums going around, however of Neil's three live albums with the Horse, it's my third favourite. Go figure!

NEXT: Paul Walker stars in "Neil: The Misunderstood Years".

Cleveland's Rosavelt reunites for best album yet

At one point in the Cleveland local music scene Rosavelt ruled.  It seemed that with their third album, The Story Of Gasoline, they were poised for something big.  But in the music business there's a great deal of luck involved.  Just ask Michael Stanley. 

Co-leader of the band, Kevin Grasha moved while Chris Allen carried on without him, creating a run of terrific solo albums. 

In the last couple of years Grasha has been coming back to Cleveland with some regularity to play with his old bandmate Allen.  During recent months we've even seen a few Rosavelt reunion shows.  Then word got out that a new album from the band was in the works. 

Earlier this year Allen, Grasha and bassist Tom Prebish, along with their producer Don Dixon, traveled down to North Carolina to record in Mitch Easter's studio.  So there was Dixon and Easter, the producers of those iconic early R.E.M. albums, working with Rosavelt on a new album. 

I've been listening to the results the last couple of weeks and am ready to call Rosavelt's fourth album, The Last 10 Days, their best yet.  In talking with Prebish last week he says they owe much of the credit to the session drummer.  "A great drummer can make all the difference", Prebish said.

There's certainly that jangly guitar sound of early R.E.M. to be found on certain points of the record.  The juxtaposing between Grasha and Allen songs make for a multi-dimentional listen.  At one point sparse and fleshed out while the next compressed and crowded with sound. 

The band has a release party on Friday May 18 in the big hall at House Of Blues.  Dave McKean, who's no stranger to Rosavelt or the various incarnations of Allen's music, will be on drums. 

But why wait for the CD, the album is available on iTunes and Amazon now. 

 

Highlights of a Cleveland Springsteen concert

Ok, I'll say it.  I liked the set list from Albany the night before better.  I'll take comfort in the belief that we Cleveland attendees saw an untouchable "Racing In The Streets" though.

That song from Springsteen's 1978 Darkeness On The Edge Of Town was the highlight of, yet, another three hour show.  As a friend of mine from Detroit put it "I've seen two shows on this tour from the pit and the power is simply unbelievable."

The way Springsteen handled Clarence Clemons absence was just about perfect.  There was a complete horn section instead of just the Big Man's sax, as if saying it takes more than one to replace him.  Clarence's nephew, Jake Clemons, handled the sax solos beautifully.  Early on those solos took place on the drum riser.  It wasn't until "The Promised Land" that Jake took the spot where Clarence stood.  Jake Clemons can also play drums and sing.  Add to that, as my wife put it "he's adorable". 

During "My City Of Ruins" two spotlights were shown on the places where Clarence and Danny Federici used to stand.  During the finale, "Tenth Avenue Freeze Out" Bruce quipped, "here comes the important part" before singing the line "when the change was made up town and the big man joined the band".  At that point the band froze and all eyes were on a video montage of Clarence that had many of us choking back tears. It ended in thunderous applause and the rollicking finish to the song.  Bruce letting us know that we love, we remember and we carry on. 

My seats weren't too bad on the club level. 

But nothing compared to my friend Karen who was planted smack dab in the front of the pit, center stage. 

Another pit dwelling friend walked away with a sign that made it to the stage.

And, finally, yet another friend in the pit had this story to tell.  "Got to the Q yesterday at noon and left at 12am! Met up with my cousin and his son and daughter at noon and we waited in hopes of getting a GA pit pass via the wristband lottery...We struck out... We still had an amazing time and although we didn't get into the GA pit, we were right next to the second stage in the middle of the arena AND my cousins daughter had a sign that read "PLEASE SING A SONG WITH ME", she made...Sure enough, a miracle happened and Bruce saw the sign and brought her up on the second stage last night and he gave her the mic and she sang "Waiting On A Sunny day" with him AND he brought her up to the main stage as well and they did a slide together onstage! It was one of the most amazing things ever!!!I took a ton of pics and video! stay tuned for all of them sometime today! Anne Marie was AMAZING! HA!"

Video by Nick Perry

It's nearly impossible to send out photos during a show as the nearby cell towers become overloaded.  As I see more photos my friends took I'll add them.

Karen Follman Burns

Nick Perry

Karen Follman Burns

Nick Perry

 

One place for all your digital music

If you're like me you have or listen to digital music in many places.  Let's see there's my computer hard drive(s), Spotify, Soundcloud, YouTube and I'm probably missing some others.  It gets a bit confusing trying to find a song sometimes. 

There's a new open source player called Tomahawk that is creating quite a buzz.  You simply download the player, add the places where your music listening takes place and you have a one stop listening spot.

It is quite a piece of software but I'm not sure I'm as thrilled as some of the hype I'm reading.  Mashable calls it "awesome", Cult of Mac "amazing", and Wired says "it's the most important music app nobody's talking about". 

I like the environments that go along with a particular music I'm playing.  Sometimes it'll lead me to music I wasn't planning on listening to or even knew about.  It's kind of like consolidating your remotes.  The universal remote does do all the basic functions but sometimes it's best to just use the blu-ray player remote because it does everything. 

I'm curious to see what you think of it.  Am I alone in my online music listening likes?