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Technology and history have made more than a few songs obsolete but they may still resonate with their original listeners because the sentiments expressed in them are still valid today. Here are six examples of such fare. R.B. Greaves - Take A Letter Maria (1969) Ronald Bertram Aloysius Greaves III was not a one hit wonder but he may as well have been because nobody remembers anything else he released except for this little gem that went all the way to #2 on the Billboard Hot 100. The singer discovered his wife cheated on him so he dictates a letter to his secretary (remember them?) to tell her the couple is through. Notice the dictaphone in the video. Oddly, Greaves makes a play for Maria before the song is through so maybe he wasn't really that upset after all. Dating in the workplace? Not always a good idea, R. B., especially in 2019. Jackson Browne - The Load Out (1977) Part of the closing medley on Jackson Browne's Running On Empty , this song, along with "Stay...

Plastic Ono Band is John Lennon's first legitimate solo album and one of only two Lennon solo sets that can be given a five star rating. The other is its follow up, the more famous and celebrated Imagine . Despite being co-produced by Phil Spector, the album is the most stripped down set of music the ex-Beatle ever released and its songs cover everything from Lennon's views on religion, his Mother, his psychological well being, the working man, and more. It's full of thoughts he undoubtedly possessed while he was still with The Beatles but, until he was free from what he believed were the shackles that bound him to the World's most famous band, he didn't express them freely. Supposedly, The Beatles (aka: The White Album ) was the stripped down, anti- Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band but that double set sounds over the top when compared to the starkness of this record. None of these tracks, with the possible exception of the straight ahead, romant...

July 20, 1969 has been in the news so much lately that I'm sure even people who don't care about what happened on that day fifty years ago know its significance. If you don't, shame on you. My favorite words spoken that great day were not Neil Armstrong's. I've always thought Buzz Aldrin came up with the perfect description for what he saw on the lunar landscape. He called it "magnificent desolation." I've always loved the space program. I'm old enough to remember when the USSR rocketed Yuri Gagarin into orbit in 1961 followed by the USA soon after with Alan Shephard's brief fifteen minute jaunt, but I'm too young to remember Sputnik, the Soviet satellite that America found so disconcerting when it was launched back in 1957. Our major rivals may have beaten us to the punch with the first satellite and the first manned flight but we won the big one when Armstrong and Aldrin landed in the Sea of Tranquility that wonderful Sunday afternoon. I ...

The cover photo shows Shocked's arrest at the 1984 Democratic National Convention  Michelle Shocked has always been one of the more controversial figures in the music business. She hasn't suffered for her art but her political and religious views have caused her pain on more than one occasion and she has gotten in trouble with both sides of the political center. Shocked has been laying low in recent years and her neverending outspokenness and activism could explain why her last release was a decade ago. The singer-songwriter made everyone pay attention immediately with Short Sharp Shocked (SSS), her major label debut. It's the diamond in her uneven catalog and, while she came close to perfection on a few others, most notably Arkansas Traveler (1991), she never topped it. SSS contains rock, folk, protest music, songs that discuss the human condition (both good and bad), and straight pop songs. The terrific "If Love Was A Train" works because of the wal...

Click on image to enlarge I've always tried to keep this blog as classy as possible. Controversial topics such as politics are discussed only when there is a relationship with a piece of music that I've written about, and you'll never see any coarse language here at all. Rest assured, for those of you who like it that way things won't be changing in the future. However, I have some sad news today that is forcing me to be less than 100% polite and I'm asking you to indulge me just this once. After 67 years, Mad Magazine , the hilarious rag that always brings back some of the top memories from my youth is mostly going away. I remember riding my bike to the local pharmacy to pick up the latest issue but after August 2019 it will no longer be available at newsstands. Beginning in September Mad can only be purchased in comic book stores or by subscription. I haven't read a copy in decades but I'm still sad that it's gone. Future issues will feature ne...

Ireland’s James Hunter, a modern aficcionado of 50’s and 60’s American R&B, released his first stateside CD, People Gonna Talk in 2006. (He previously released two others discs in the U. K.) Hunter instantly reminds you of Sam Cooke seasoned with a dash of Otis Redding. Blended, they create a tasty, savory, and soulful treat. His voice is not rough enough to be confused with Redding's but he's earthier than the late Arthur Alexander, the smooth James Taylor of soul. The bandleader, who served as a guitarist and backup vocalist for Van Morrison, has a tight group that features two saxophone players: a tenor (Lee Badau), and one of my favorite woodwinds, the baritone sax (Damian Hand or Gavin Whitlock on two tracks). The duo can play tightly as a unit or free and easy on one of their many solos. People Gonna Talk wouldn't be the same album without them. Hunter’s writing is an asset too. His songs are all about relationships but despite the subject matter there i...