Buried Treasure: Will Hodgson - Southpaw (1996)

In the past I've usually hesitated to write about artists who are truly local because I've always believed most readers will not be interested in them. These are the people, many of them quite talented, who appear at the local bars and outdoor summer music festivals on the grounds of your local high school or town hall and usually have no reputation at all outside of the few locales they play.

Fortunately, as we all know, the Internet allows the whole world to discover music that they could never have been exposed to before and because the web has been around for more than just a handful of years now I decided that it's time for me to get over my provincial ambivalence. Case in point: Imagine where music would be today if record store owner Brian Epstein felt the same way when he went to hear a certain, unknown rock quartet at The Cavern in Liverpool, England back in 1961. So, keeping that in mind it's time to discuss the music of Will Hodgson.

Hodgson is the leader of the veteran outfit known as The Mighty Manatees. They are what he calls a "musical cooperative" rather than a band because the group's lineup is quite fluid. The Manatees can perform as a ten piece unit or as a duo. Their repertoire includes reggae, country, blues, folk, ska, funk, zydeco and rock 'n roll. They have played with America, David Amram, Commander Cody, The Spin Doctors, Richard Hell, The Radiators, U2 and more. (I'm going to have to ask how they managed to play with Bono's outfit.)

Hodgson's solo album, Southpaw, was released in 1996 but recorded a couple of years earlier, and it's an enjoyable Americana (or country-rock as the sub-genre was once known) set of ten songs featuring outstanding musicianship and very good songwriting.

The album was recorded in a basement studio in Phoenixville, PA on an eight track mixing board that was down one channel so Hodgson used only seven to make the album.

Hodgson played most of the instruments himself. You'll hear him on guitars, mandolin, keyboards, and on lead vocals. To prove that he is not just a run of the mill wedding act or local coffeehouse performer the bandleader was supported on the record by Chip Roberts who played the guitar solo on "Cracker." Roberts now plays with Tommy Stinson (The Replacements and Guns 'N Roses) and his band. Kurt Johnston, who has worked with Bon Jovi, provided pedal steel guitar and dobro.

The subject matter is diverse and includes songs about love and relationships ("Emma" and "Anniversary Song") as well as thoughts about life in general ("Damned If You Do," and the outstanding "Cracker").

If you're not in the Northwestern suburbs of Philadelphia you may never be able to hear The Mighty Manatees live but you can surely visit their website and listen to all of Southpaw below. It is currently only available for purchase by download.

Comments

Post a Comment

WHAT'S HOT TODAY!

Slower Than Slow: 16 RPM Records

Image
Have you ever heard of a long forgotten vinyl format, the 16 2/3 RPM record? They were half the speed of the 33 1/3 RPM albums that were the traditional standard for recorded music. Most record players in the 1950s and 1960s came with a speed setting to play these long forgotten discs that were considered novelties even during the years they were available. Because most, but not all, 16s had big holes and were 7" in diameter many of them were mistaken for 45 RPMs and at that size the speed allowed for up to 20 minutes of playing time per side. However, there was no true standard size and they were also manufactured to be 9, 10, or 12 inches in diameter, and these larger records played even longer. Just like the other speeds and formats 16s could be played one record at a time or stacked on a changer for continuous play. Radio stations often used the discs for pre-recorded radio shows containing interviews, dramas, and documentaries. More frequen
Read more

Laurie London - He's Got The Whole World (In His Hands) (1958)

Image
Today we're going to discuss an almost totally forgotten hit record along with a little bit of related Billboard chart history. The inspiration for this post came about while sorting through some extremely old 45s that I didn't remember I owned. I've had "He's Got The Whole World (In His Hands)" by Laurie London - a rare, popular, gospel hit - in my record collection since my childhood, even though it wasn't really mine. The single belonged to either my mother or my grandmother who lived with us. I played it once in awhile because I was always allowed free access to their records, and it was eventually absorbed into my collection. Despite the name, teenager Laurie London (born January 19, 1944) was a boy singer who - at age thirteen - became a one-hit wonder in his native UK and in America the following year. Information about London is sparse. Details vary depending on the particular website you're reading, but according to Wik
Read more

Why Do 45 RPM Records Have Big Holes?

Image
Today we're going to find out why 45 RPM records have much larger holes than 78s and 33s. Believe it or not I often wondered about this burning question when I was collecting hundreds of these little seven inch gems back the 1960s. According to several websites, including Answerbag , the reason for the large hole used by 45s was simple. It was difficult for the old 78s, with their smaller holes, to find their way onto jukebox spindles. The large hole effectively eliminated that problem. Strangely, seven inch 45s were often pressed with the smaller holes used for LPs in many countries outside the United States, especially in the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand. Overseas the inserts (commonly know as spiders) were manufactured into the large holes at the factories but they could be punched out if desired. The Beatles' British single of "Love Me Do," pictured here, is a typical example. Why were the spiders built into English 45s? I was unable to fi
Read more

Chicago: An Album By Album Analysis Of The Terry Kath Era (1969 - 1977)

Image
The original lineup of Chicago has always been one of my all time favorite bands. My affection for this great horn band is such that I want to discuss all of the albums they recorded before Terry Kath's unfortunate and accidental passing. Their debut album is now forty years old, and it's followup is not far behind, yet their music endures to this day. * * * * * Everyone Must Own * * * * Excellent * * * Good * * Fair * Poor * * * * * Chicago Transit Authority (1969) - Whether they were playing screaming psychedelic hard rock, jazz, blues, or love songs, everyone in the band proved they were worthy of the huge mass success that followed CTA 's release. The band's ability to play anything and play it well is the hallmark of their debut album. The stars are Robert Lamm, Terry Kath, and the horns, and even Peter Cetera demonstrates he can be a rock and roll animal when he wants to be. The standout tracks are Lamm's "Does Anybody Really Know What Time It
Read more

The Butties -12 Greatest Carols (2005)

Image
This is a word for word rerun of a Christmas themed review originally posted here on December 20, 2008 with a video added for enhancement. It's for British Invasion and Beatles fans everywhere. Yesterday, while listening to Little Steven's Underground Garage on Sirius XM Satellite Radio, I was suddenly taken in by a version of "Joy To The World" that I never heard before. The song opened with John Lennon's famous harmonica introduction to The Beatles' first English #1 single, "Please Please Me," before morphing into one of the world's most famous Christmas songs. While the lyrics and melody were true to the original carol the arrangement screamed early Beatles. With my interest piqued I conducted an Internet search where I discovered, The Butties, a Beatles tribute band who released a CD, 12 Greatest Carols , in 2005. All of the songs were arranged in a way The Beatles may have recorded them. The lyrics and melody of "Let It Snow" fi
Read more