George David Weiss, co-writer of "Can't Help Falling in Love," which became a focal point of Elvis Presley's live shows, died last week of natural causes. He was 89.
A multi-instrumentalist and former bandleader, Mr. Weiss penned a number of memorable songs for music's biggest names. In addition to Presley recording, Louis Armstrong made a mark with "What a Wonderful World" and Frank Sinatra and Perry Como also recorded his compositions.
Perhaps his biggest contribution to the pop-rock songcraft was his impact reworking "Mbube," written by South African Solomon Linda in 1939 and recorded as "Wimoweh" in the early 1950s by The Weavers. In the early 1960s Weiss and two others wrote additional melody and penned new lyrics, transforming "Mbube" into "The Lion Sleeps Tonight," retaining the "wimoweh, wimoweh" refrain that helped the song become a hit for The Weavers and helping "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" become a hit for the Tokens in 1961.
Sometimes, whether in the studio or live on stage, there is a moment where a performer sparks and burns like a match and, if we're lucky, that moment -- John Lennon's vocal chord-crushing scream on "Twist & Shout," Bruce Springsteen's raw, scared and endless "Hiding on the backstreets!" cry from "Backstreets" -- is captured for us to hear. Leonard Cohen's entire early morning set before 600,000 people at 1970's Isle of Wight rock festival is such a moment, now available after 40 years as Leonard Cohen Live at the Isle of Wight 1970. And while it might begin with the flick of a thumbnail on a match head the set smolders for 90 minutes -- a must-hear recording if there is one.
Some background of the Isle of Wight festival is necessary before listening to Cohen's first note. Planned for a max of 200,000 people, the concert drew 600,000 people to Afton Down on the Isle off the south coast of England -- and most of those folks decided they shouldn't have to pay. As at Woodstock, promoters eventually gave up and let everyone in for free, but that didn't stop those who just wanted to disrupt. Fans lit fires, booed and threw beer cans at quieter performers and those they didn't like, until Jimi Hendrix eventually went on with a blistering performance that Cohen was expected to follow. He wouldn't, at least not right away, because someone had set the stage's organ and piano on fire and pushed them over the edge. Cohen told promoters he'd go on as soon as they found him a piano, and he went off to take a nap.
Shortly after two in the morning Cohen finally takes the stage with The Army, his hippie group of backup musicians and singers (that includes fiddle player Charlie Daniels). He looks out into the darkness at 600,000 tired, angry, hungry, wet, drunken, frustrated, on the edge, almost-out-of-control people and with the voice of their conscience he brings them together. He starts by quietly telling a story, a methodically slow story about a circus. His raspy voice, soft tone, silent band and possibly even the story itself causes conversations to quiet and arguments to end and attention to be paid, and the story leads to his asking them all to light a match "so I can see where you all are." He grounds them all, brings them out of the darkness, turns their attention to him, and then reflects it back into their souls.
Cohen opens with "Bird on a Wire," pausing long and emphatically between each of the song's first words, making sure they are paying attention: "Like........ a.........bird." And you can hear 40 years later that they are right there. He introduces and sings "So Long, Marianne," then he stops and he talks with them again, speaking to 600,000 people as if they are sitting on his couch in his apartment. "Let's renew ourselves now," he suggests, and for almost a full minute he provides a mantra for the crowd, and then he sings "You Know Who I Am" and they applaud.
Cohen sings and speaks that early morning with the voice of a poet, and while it's not the voice of a singer it was just the voice those people needed. He tells quiet stories about his songs, he whispers poetry, some undoubtedly improvised, and he pokes fun at himself and lets the audience in on the joke. But mainly he sings to them and for them and even about them.
He sings 13 songs (including "Suzanne," see the clip) from his first two albums, Songs Of Leonard Cohen and Songs from a Room, and he introduces several new songs, including the high point of the concert and album, "Famous Blue Raincoat," one of the most stunning, haunting songs about love, betrayal, redemption and forgiveness ever penned. (Jennifer Warnes more than does the song justice on her Cohen tribute record Famous Blue Raincoat but Cohen gets to the heart of the matter quicker and more deeply here, and it's only when he's done that you realize you're holding your breath.)
Finally, he closes the show with "Seems Like So Long Ago, Nancy," which he dedicates to a woman he knew who committed suicide with a shotgun in her bathtub. "But," Cohen says softly, "There was no one else around her to light all their matches."
Pick this up, hit the lights, and light a candle or two.
If there is one thing Bob Dylan has, it is "bootlegs." Hence his idea for his "Bootleg Series," we'd imagine, and he is ready to add more to it. The 9th volume titled "The Witmark Demos" will be released on October 19th of this year.
Billboard is reporting that the 47 track collection will feature songs from 1962 thru 1964 including, Blowing In The Wind, Mr. Tambourine Man, and The Times They Are A-Changin. In addition to the bootlegged songs, the compilation will include 15 songs that were recorded exclusively for this release as well as deluxe booklet with rare photos as the liner notes. This is Dylan's first "Bootlegs" project since 2008 and it should be a good one.
In other Dylan news, accompanying the release of this collection, Columbia/Legacy will release a boxed set of Dylan's first eight albums reproduced from their original mono mixes.
October looks to be the month of Bob Dylan in 2010. Check back here as more information becomes available.
Though Lollapalooza's final day was dominated by bigger names throughout the late afternoon and evening, there were still some gems to be found flexing on the side stages.
1. The Ike Reilly Assassination displayed a fun blend of folk, blues and rock during its 45-minute set on the Sony bloggie stage. Lead by storyteller Ike Reilly, the band played accessible music that attracted a crowd standing way back under the trees and into the street. Reilly's meandering songs are stories that bear the mark of fiction and tall tales.. or do they?
2. Freelance Whales on the BMI stage (which came in #1 on the StraightLinesMusic Favorite Stage Poll) receives a ton of indie buzz and website chatter, and their set proved there's more than something to the acclaim. The band plays what Lolla describes as "folk-inspired pop" and has drawn comparisons to Arcade Fire (early Beck seems more like it based on the Lolla performance but if you check out this clip you can see where the Arcade Fire reference fits) but there's no denying the great melodies, pop hooks, and high energy.
3. Hockey, which landed its "Song Away" as one of the high points of WXRT's recent New Music Sampler, rocked hard on Sony bloggie and gave those who were hoping to hear some straight-on retro rock a place to settle in for an hour. The basic two guitar, bass, drum lineup is led by lead singer and guitarist Ben Grubin, and if your taste is more toward standard than experimental fare then Hockey is worth a listen.
Music fans can hear two of Lollapalooza's better lesser-known bands at a great venue when The xx and Warpaint play The Chicago Theatre on Sept. 28. The two bands (see our Lolla coverage) were highlights of the Fest, though The xx was hurt by playing a mid-afternoon set and too large an outdoor venue. The xx atmospheric vocals and sparse instrumentation should translate well in The Chicago Theatre, and Warpaint's sound will carry the place and will likely be a tough act for xx to follow. Zola Jesus opens.
Tickets are on sale Saturday but the presale runs tomorrow from 10:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. Just visit www.thechicagotheatre.com and use the presale code HCBASIC.
You never know what you are going to get with an Eric Clapton solo project. Will it be stuff like Wonderful Tonight and My Father's Eyes, or the good stuff, you know...the blues stuff. We won't know until the record hits stores, but we do now know when that will be. Mark your calendars, set a reminder on your blackberry, because "Clapton" is dropping on September 28th.
"Clapton," is Eric Clapton's 19th studio album and his first since 2005's "Back Home." Throughout the five years in which he was not in the studio, Clapton took time to tour with old rock legends Steve Winwood and Jeff Beck.
He says of the new album, "It's actually better than it was meant to be because, in a way, I just let it happen...it's an eclectic collection of songs that weren't really on the map-and I like it so much because if it's a surprise to the fans, that's only because it's a surprise to me, as well."
Among the lesser-known bands worth a long listen on Lolla's second day are:
The Morning Benders. Sounding a lot like an updated 1960s California pop band, these folks out of Berkeley kicked off the Sony bloggie stage for the day with a too-brief 30-minute set. Great guitar, sunny melody, good rockin' in the afternoon. Check out their 2010 release Big Echo.
Skybox. This Chicago band rocked pretty hard on the BMI stage, and though their sound is sometimes compared to MGMT their pop sound was more electric than electronic in this gig. New album: Morning After Cuts.
Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros. Must have been the day for the Sony bloggie stage. This hippie band had an SRO crowd bouncing and killing more grass than any other band on that stage. Hyped by a number of music mags including Rolling Stone, these folks were featured on David Letterman -- or at least some of them were. While Sharpe is a constant the Magnetic Zeros are a rotating group, so while you never know who you're going to hear you can be assured they're going to be fun -- and easy -- to listen to. Comparisons are often dicey but press references to both Arcade Fire and the 1960s Mamas and the Papas resonate.
Harlem. Check out an earlier blog about these guys as they were a nice surprise following a lackluster indoor set three weeks ago opening for The Dead Weather. Hippies is their second album, released this spring.
Warpaint. Certainly the discovery of the day was this all-woman band which played a dense, dreamy but accessible set that rocked for 45 minutes and the crowd loved them. Powered by newest madwoman member Stella Mozgawa on the drums, this band plays music with a lyrical and musical edge -- and on the Sony bloggie stage you could hear understand the vocals. All four, including bassist Jenny Lee Lindberg and guitarists Emily Kokal and Theresa Wayman, take turns on vocals so the band's sound shows different colors. Look for hints of Mary Well's "My Guy" in the "Billie Holiday" clip. Their debut EP is Exquisite Corpse.
