A “REAL” PIECE OF HARD ROCK CAFE HISTORY

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MORRISON HOTEL
by The Doors
released: 1970
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'MORRISON HOTEL' kicks off with the hard-driving 'ROADHOUSE BLUES', which contains Rock music’s most incisive and “celebratory” lyric of nihilism: “I WOKE UP THIS MORNING AND I GOT MYSELF A BEER; THE FUTURE’S UNCERTAIN AND THE END IS ALWAYS NEAR.” No punk rocker ever said it so well! I no longer think the future’s uncertain, even though the end is certainly near. But I could so relate to Jim Morrison’s outlook during my dark, angsty late teens and early twenties when I nearly played the grooves off of 'MORRISON HOTEL' by The Doors, and many mornings I headed for the refrigerator, Excedrin in hand, hoping to find 12 ounces of the hair of the dog that bit me the night before.
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As I was recently telling a friend, in hindsight I can see how the Jazz that influenced Rock groups I so favored in my youth inevitably led me to the real Jazz I would come to embrace as my favorite music genre. Groups like The Beach Boys, The Carpenters, Traffic, Supertramp, Chicago, and The Doors all contained notable Jazz stylings that appealed to me even if in my youthful ignorance I was unable to recognize the common denominator.
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I owned the entire Doors catalogue in my twenties, but when I sold all of my licorice pizzas and converted to compact discs at thirty, I repurchased very few of my Rock albums. My tastes had changed by then and my Gothic mind-set (yes, I was Gothic before it had mass appeal among young people or even an identifiable label) had given way to the reality of Spiritual Light – also sometimes called “Love.” However, talking about The Doors with my friend the other day, and opening the doors of our memories, I was inspired to pick up a copy of what had always been my favorite of the band’s original releases, 'MORRISON HOTEL'. (It was followed closely by 'L.A. WOMAN'.)
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The music itself is a collection of rhythmically pronounced, highly energetic road rockers, and beautifully rolling ballads (and then there’s the sly 'THE SPY', which defies categorization). If you’re a female attracted to males, yer gonna think Jimbo’s voice is megaerotic on these ballads because even I think his voice is megaerotic, and I happen to be a man attracted exclusively to women! There’s not a bad song on 'MORRISON HOTEL', though I find 'WAITING FOR THE SUN' and 'SHIP OF FOOLS' to be just “Eh.” Yet they are more than compensated for by all the other memorable tunes, of which 'PEACE FROG' is my main man... er... amphibian, I mean. OK, enough about the cool, megaerotic music. Now I’m gonna tell ya the little known history behind this classic Rock album:
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In 1970, photographer Henry Diltz sought to get a picture of the members of The Doors at the Morrison Hotel for the album’s cover. The hotel was located in a seedy section of downtown Los Angeles (1246 South Hope Street) but the owner of the hotel declined to give his permission to shoot there. So shortly afterwards, Diltz had the band run in quickly anyway and when they positioned themselves under the “Morrison Hotel” window lettering, he snapped a couple quick pictures from the sidewalk outside. And there’s your album cover!
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Collectively, the album was titled 'MORRISON HOTEL', but whereas side two of the album (tracks 7-11) was originally also called ‘Morrison Hotel’, side one (tracks 1-6) was actually named ‘Hard Rock Cafe’ (the CDs still come labeled this way). The photograph on the album’s backside shows several old geezers hanging around outside a neighborhood dive called “Hard Rock Cafe”, and the inner gate photo displays Morrison and Company relaxing inside that same dive with the “regulars” and prepared to give mouth-to-mouth resuscitation to some dying Budweiser bottles.
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This little “adult juice joint” located on L.A.’s famous “Skid Row” (aka The School Of Hard [Rock] Knocks) was the FIRST – the “REAL” – HARD ROCK CAFE! It was located at 300 East 5th Street ("The Nickel") - the address is visible above the door in the photo. Many years later, when entrepreneurs got the idea to open a fancy Rock ‘N’ Roll themed bar and grill at L.A.’s upscale Beverly Center mall at Beverly and San Vicente, they were required to pay the owner of the decrepit Hard Rock Cafe dive on Skid Row for the use of the name. THE HARD ROCK CAFE has since become a world famous establishment with franchises located in New York, Hawaii, London, Tokyo, and elsewhere. And while the “first” Hard Rock Cafe was indeed founded in The City Of Angels, it was a little East of its present location in an area you wouldn’t want to be at night without a gun in your pocket.
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(*Incidentally, the above bit of trivia, and much more like it, can be found in Art Fein’s fine little book [link> ‘THE L.A. MUSICAL HISTORY TOUR’, recently reviewed on this site by Yours Truly.)
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The next time you visit Los Angeles, be sure to crank up 'MORRISON HOTEL' in your car and (with your windows rolled up and the doors locked) cruise by the location of the ORIGINAL “Hard Rock Cafe” in downtown - just to say you’ve been there. And listen, if some grizzled bum on 5th Street asks you for a buck, give it to him; he might be some old friend I used to party with.
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~ Stephen T. McCarthy
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HEY, AMERICA! “WHEN YOU GONNA WAKE UP?”

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SLOW TRAIN COMING
by Bob Dylan
released: 1979
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'GOTTA SERVE SOMEBODY', the first song on BOB DYLAN’s 1979 Gospel offering, 'SLOW TRAIN COMING', begins with a metronome-like pounding on Pick Withers' drum. This single, regular beat gives the astute listener an impression of the hammering down of railroad ties. In other words, this is the slowly built but inexorably advancing train track that, once fully constructed, will make a Way for the arrival of a massive, powerful, and unstoppable Divine Force
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“The voice of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.”
(Isaiah 40:3; circa 740-701 B.C.)
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“Then they said to [John the Baptist] ... What do you say about yourself? He said: I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness: Make straight the Way of the Lord, as the prophet Isaiah said.”
(John 1:23; circa 80–93 A.D.)
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Just as John the Baptist was commissioned to prepare the Way for the first incarnation of Jesus – who came as a meek lamb of Salvation – it is the duty of “Christians” to prepare the Way for His Second Coming, which will be anything but meek, and which will come so suddenly, so unexpectedly, and with such force that the many dark-hearted will find their dark hearts fainting with fright. 'SLOW TRAIN COMING' by Bob Dylan is both a warning and a celebration – a locomotive’s whistle.
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Unlike so much contemporary Christian music which seems to whine 'n' wheeze, this collection includes some real A-kickin’, toe-stompin’, and finger-pointing tracks. Buoyed by the unique musical contributions of Mark Knopfler and Pick Withers of Dire Straits, the Muscle Shoals Horns Section, and Barry Beckett with his fiery organ, the arrangements spell trouble for anyone who comes looking for another “Oh, La, La, La” Gospel album. And the lyrics clearly display the familiarity that Ol’ Bob had gained with 'The Word Of God'.
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I recall an interview Zimmy did with some music rag journalist not long after the release of 'SLOW TRAIN COMING' (it was probably Rolling Stoned magazine). The writer asked Bob what his favorite part of The Bible was and he answered “Leviticus.” The journalist dutifully recorded it, never realizing that Bob was obviously pulling the old dog’s leg. But then Rolling Stoned writers have undoubtedly spent more time in the pages of the Communist Manifesto than they have in 'The Word Of God'. (I've always loved Dylan's his smart-aleck nature. Gotta love them Mensa-donkeys.)
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'SLOW TRAIN COMING' is not without its weaknesses: 'I BELIEVE IN YOU' has probably the most atrocious singing I have ever heard from a professional singer. If I didn’t know better, I’d think that Bob was deliberately making a mockery of the song. The Reggae-influenced 'MAN GAVE NAMES TO ALL THE ANIMALS' is too long a piece to go without any musical break or tempo change. And the lyrics are overworked and sometimes too downright silly (“Great big furry back and furry hair”?!) to make the surprise payoff at the end worth the wait. And the slow closer, 'WHEN HE RETURNS', despite some heartfelt lyrics, kind of peters out (like Saint Peter at the trial of Jesus) on what is otherwise a really good record.
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'GOTTA SERVE SOMEBODY'; 'PRECIOUS ANGEL'; and 'DO RIGHT TO ME, BABY' are all solid, but 'SLOW TRAIN'; 'GONNA CHANGE MY WAY OF THINKING'; and 'WHEN YOU GONNA WAKE UP?' all kick some serious heathen a$$! These are “Play-em-Loud-And-Disturb-The-Devil” cuts!
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And Ol’ Zimmy really knew the score:
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“Sister, lemme tell you about a vision I saw.
You were drawing water for your husband, you were suffering under the law.
You were telling him about Buddha, you were telling him about Mohammad in the same breath.
You never one time mentioned the Man who came and died a criminal’s death.”
(~ from 'Precious Angel')
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“In the home of the brave, Jefferson’s turnin’ over in his grave ...
But the enemy I see wears a cloak of decency.”
(~ from 'Slow Train')
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"God don’t make no promises that He don’t keep.
You got some big dreams, baby, but in order to dream you gotta still be asleep. ...
"Counterfeit philosophies have polluted all your thoughts.
Karl Marx has got ya by the throat, Henry Kissinger’s got you tied up in knots. ...
"You got unrighteous doctors dealing drugs that’ll never cure your ills.
When you gonna wake up? 
...
"Adulterers in churches and pornography in the schools,
You got gangsters in power and lawbreakers making rules. 
...
"Do you ever wonder just what God requires?
You think He’s an errand boy to satisfy your wandering desires.”
(~ from 'When You Gonna Wake Up?')
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“Jesus said, Be ready,
For you know not the hour in which I come.
Jesus said, Be ready,
For you know not the hour in which I come.
He said, He who is not for Me is against me.
Just so you know where He’s coming from.”
(~ from 'Gonna Change My Way Of Thinking')
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Hey, America, it’s time to turn off your boob tube and study 'The Holy Book', because there’s a Train coming!
It may seem slow,
but it IS coming,
and sooner than you know.
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~ Stephen T. McCarthy
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SASS 'N' ATTITUDE & BANDAGED PAIN

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[This review originally appeared at BigBitch.com on 2006, May 24.] 
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RICKIE LEE JONES
by Rickie Lee Jones
released: 1979
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In 1979, Rickie Lee Jones released what was probably the most fully-realized and self-assured debut album by any singer of any genre at any time. No other vocalist ever broke from the starting gate with this much aplomb, looseness and "If you don't like it, you can hit the road, Jack" attitude. In a sense, this was both a blessing and a curse: she made it obvious immediately that she was a prodigiously talented songwriter who put her songs over with a finely-tuned, stylistic sauciness and a broken-hearted sincerity. But at the same time, she set the bar so high with her self-titled 'RICKIE LEE JONES' that subsequent disappointment was almost inevitable.
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It was a different world at the tail end of the '70s: originality was still a desirable trait in new artists being developed (unlike the current situation where the new bands and performers seem like nothing more nor less than Xerox copies of last year's hottest model), and I was a 20-year-old looking squarely at a future full of pristine promise (unaware that the best I'd ever do is write semi-appreciated reviews for a then unimaginable Internet shopping site).
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When Rickie Lee Jones released her second collection, 'PIRATES', I initially thought it eclipsed her brilliant debut (I used to sniff Amyl Nitrite while tripping out over Steve Gadd's quirky drumming on the track, 'We Belong Together'), but in hindsight, I realize that the further she went with sonic exploration into highly personal expression, the further she drifted from really making that human connection with her listeners over a shared emotional understanding.
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But on 'RICKIE LEE JONES', with its Jazzy arrangements and stellar musicianship, her poetry was conveyed through exaggerated (and perhaps just a trace too-mannered), flouncy, bohemian sass 'n' attitude upbeat numbers, or ultra-sensitive, lost 'n' lonely ballads of bandaged pain that strike right at the heart.
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In the SASS 'N' ATTITUDE department there's...
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NIGHT TRAIN:
"Swing low, Saint Cadillac / Tearin' down the alley" 
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YOUNG BLOOD:
"But she ain't running / She's walking a little slow / And she ain't crying / She's just singin' a little low / They say this city will make you dirty but you look alright / You feel real pretty when he's holding you tight / City will make you mean but that's the makeup on your face / Love will wash you clean in the night's disgrace"
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DANNY'S ALL-STAR JOINT:
"You can't break the rules until you know how to play the game / But if you just want to have a little fun / You can mention my name" 
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WEASEL AND THE WHITE BOYS COOL:
"You dancin' in the welfare line, Sal / Actin' like some jerk-off fool / When we could lay out eatin' peaches on the beaches / A weasel in a White boys cool" 
(And I can personally recall a time when I did eat a peach on Venice Beach- the superfunky L.A. hotspot where Rickie first developed these songs in the beer bars and bistros along the boardwalk while dogs went airborne over the sand to snag Frisbees in flight and the carnival of human wackiness paraded under the California sun.)
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But even in many of Rickie's thumpin', bumpin', hip-grindin' upbeat numbers, a trace of her melancholy muse can be found: Consider this line from the aforementioned YOUNG BLOOD:
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"Keep a third eye watching behind you / You never know when you're making a memory / They will wish they were here together again, someday." 
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You won't feel the full impact of that sentiment until you are in your mid-forties, but you'll really understand it then.
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In the BANDAGED PAIN department there's...
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ON SATURDAY AFTERNOONS IN 1963:
"The most as you'll ever go / Is back where you used to know / If grownups could laugh this slow"
(If you can't detect two or three worlds in that lyric, then you'd better just stick with the crude pseudo-machismo of your Eminem and Insane Clown Posse.)
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THE LAST CHANCE TEXACO:
"There was this block-busted blonde / He loved her free parts and labor / But she broke down and died / And threw all the rods he gave her / But this one ain't fuel-injected / Her plug's disconnected / She gets scared and she stalls / She just needs a man, that's all"
(This song contains the greatest automotive imagery ever penned. Too bad for you, Springsteen!)
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COOLSVILLE:
"I and Bragger and Junior Lee / That's the way we always thought it would be / In the Winston lips of September / How we met / Decked out like aces / We'd beat anybody's bet / Cuz we was Coolsville"
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COMPANY:
"I'll see you in another life now, baby / I'll free you in my dreams / But when I reach across the galaxy / I will miss your company" 
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Me 'n' the boys were cruisin' the 405 freeway on our way to see Rickie Lee Jones perform at The Universal Amphitheater in 1983. We were all singin' in Tiburon (our permanently topless, 1963 Cadillac), when I realized that I had forgotten the glasses I'd recently begun wearing at night to compensate for my nearsightedness. Rickie was in fine vocal form that night, but she appeared to me like just a greyish, blurry form on the stage. While goin' home that evening, all the boys could talk about was how she had performed braless in a sheer, see-through blouse. I never did determine whether they were serious or just teasing the myopic maroon in the backseat.
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If you want to hear some authentic art from the 1970s, some street-smart, toe-tappin' jive-rock and moving poetry that you can hum along with, then let 'RICKIE LEE JONES' keep you COMPANY. In the song AFTER HOURS (Twelve Bars Past Goodnight), Rickie sings, "Say goodnight, America / The world still loves a dreamer." And here in 2006, I'm still dreaming that someday I'll find my misplaced glasses and then SEE if I can write something more worthwhile than a bunch of semi-appreciated product reviews for an Internet shopping site. Wish me luck, America.
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~ Stephen T. McCarthy
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I'm NOT SHY Now . . .

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NOT SHY
by Walter Egan
released: 1978
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I'm NOT SHY now . . . but I'm still rather attached to my body. I graduated from high school in 1977, and at the Theatre Arts Department's year-end banquet, I received two awards: 'SHYEST' and 'BEST BODY.' That said a lot for my acting ability, didn't it? And you wouldn't expect the guy with the best bod to also be the shyest, would you?
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Well, take a look through some of my online reviews and you'll see that I'm no longer shy (some might even call me an opinionated, loudmouthed jerk). And, yes, I did have the best formed male body in the Theatre Department, but that's because I was also on the wrestling team -- pumping iron all the time -- and my competition in the Theatre Department was a bunch of prancing sissies singing 'Westside Story' tunes. Not much competition there, ya know?
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One summer after graduation, my friend Eric and I were hitting all of the Rock 'N' Roll clubs and seldom missed the free Noontime Friday concerts at Santa Monica City College. One Friday we caught this dude named Walter Egan playing great Summer beach town tunes on that diminutive stage, and I liked his catchy Pop so much that I went right out and bought his just-released album, 'NOT SHY'. Within weeks, I heard his song 'Magnet And Steel' on the radio and listened as that July and August it steadily climbed the charts all the way up to #8, making Egan yet another One-Hit Wonder. I felt like I was an "insider"; I was on the bandwagon before there WAS a bandwagon.
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What's surprising is that the album 'NOT SHY' contains at least half a dozen other cuts that could have just as easily cracked Billboard's Top Ten chart, being (to my ears) much better than the "one hit", but they got no radio airplay. Who can explain that stuff? But if you want an authentic slice of that late '70s Pop Pie, you could do much worse than Egan's second release, 'NOT SHY'. It was recorded in L.A. in '77 and contains 36 minutes of music that includes Fleetwood Mac icon Stevie Nicks singing backup on 5 tracks, and bandmates Lindsey Buckingham and Mick Fleetwood on 2 each, along with Dean Torrance (of Jan & Dean fame) on 1 other.
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As I write this, 'NOT SHY' (out-of-print as a single release) is currently available in a "Two-Fer-One" package along with Egan's debut album, 'Fundamental Roll'. It would be a better buy (more music, less money, and brand new). But I also bought 'Fundamental Roll' way back when and wasn't crazy about it. A little older now (OK, a lot older), and wiser, and more mature, I couldn't bring myself to play that one at this point, as it contains a song called 'Tunnel O' Love' which is about a certain part of a woman's anatomy. Yeah, it's a little too lewd and crude for me at (nearly) 47 years of age. I think women should be considered in their totality, not examined part by part. So let's look at 'NOT SHY' alone:
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SWEET SOUTH BREEZE is a real toe-tapper that opens with Egan's twangy guitar. This had Top Ten hit potential.
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MAGNET AND STEEL is the big hit. A ballad which includes a very Beach Boys-like guitar break. "Hey baby, ya wanna camp out on the beach tonight and build a bonfire and... uh... OK, well maybe next weekend?"
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FINALLY FIND A GIRLFRIEND with Stevie Nicks featured rather prominently in the background had "hit" written all over it. After years of being the loneliest guy with a good body, I finally found a girlfriend. But the minute I began joyfully singing this song... she dumped me! And the search began again.
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THE BLONDE IN THE BLUE T-BIRD is another one that shoulda been a hit. Who can hear this one without thinking of the movie 'American Graffiti'?
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STAR IN THE DUST contains the lyric, "I recall what somebody once told me: Only the lucky in love survive." Here Egan cleverly references his debut album which kicked off with the song 'Only The Lucky (In Love Survive)'. So now you know who the "somebody" was who told him.
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I WANNIT is the weak link on the album. Not offensive but not a standout track either.
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MAKE IT ALONE contains some angst-driven guitar playing from our boy which gives the song the edge it requires -- really his best work on the album. And, yes, you can make it alone! Just look at me -- I've made it alone. But it IS kinda lonely to be a lone kinda guy. But you CAN make it... alone... and lonely... very lonely... desperately lonely. OK, that's all I have to say about that because it's starting to depress me.
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UNLOVED. Ah, yes, here's another one about being alone, lonely, unloved. It's about a girl who can't be contacted because she's "unlisted" her phone. But hey, the singer's gonna make it alone even though he may be a bit lonely, a bit unloved... REALLY unloved. Oh man, here we go again. "Hey baby, let's get together and... oh, I see. OK, well maybe next weekend?"
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JUST THE WANTING. No, this brooding ballad is not about wanting a girl when you're unloved and trying to make it alone. Desperately, pathetically alone. This one is about the wanting to attain something in life... something a little BIGGER than a girlfriend... unless of course, your girlfriend is named Bertha, or something like that. There's a line in this song that says, "I remember when I was seventeen and my life had just begun." That's funny because I was seventeen when I first saw Walter playing on that little college stage, and I too felt that my life was full of pristine promise. Little did I know back then that the best I'd ever do in life was to write semi-appreciated reviews for a then unimaginable Internet shopping site while trying to... make it alone... so alone.
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HOT SUMMER NIGHTS. Yeah, I know all about hot summer nights (today's high here in Phoenix was about 115 degrees and it's still about 100 at 2 AM), but somehow I get the feeling that Egan has a different kind of "hot" in mind. This may be my favorite track. Here's another one with tremendous hit potential that inexplicably never got played over our radios in the summer of '78.
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"A-Woo-ooo-ooo-OO-ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo, hot summer nights."
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There's nothing fancy on 'NOT SHY'. It's just simple but catchy commercial Pop, warm, Summery and tasty.
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Alright listen, I gotta go now. No, you can't go with me, and don't let me catch you trying to follow me, either. I'm gonna MAKE IT ALONE, gosh darn it, and I can't do that if you're following after me like a lost little puppy dog! "Alone" means alone and I can make it that way... I can... I just know I can. Of course, if you're blonde and female... you think maybe I could catch a lift with you in your blue T-bird? Perhaps we could MAKE IT ALONE together. ...OK, well maybe next weekend?
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~ Stephen T. McCarthy
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MY FRIEND$, MY FRIEND$, It’s Worth The MONEY!

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NO CONTROL
by Eddie Money
released: 1982
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Alright now, I’m doing a little stepping back in time reviewing NO CONTROL, Eddie Money’s sharp, 1982, pink ‘n’ black album which found his slim frame in a suit and tie and looking so... ”money.”
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When Eddie’s debut album came to my attention in 1978 due to the radio airplay of “Baby Hold On” [#11 in Billboard], I bought it but didn’t spin it often. I thought most of the songs were too spare and unadventurous musically and that his voice was nondescript.
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I never purchased another Money collection until 1982’s NO CONTROL, though I scarcely remember acquiring it because I was drunk that year. And the next. In truth, those first 4 years of that decade were the height of my partying life. I was living in a house (it’s now a condominium) at 824 Bay Street in Santa Monica (just seven blocks from the skateboarding Z-Boys former surf shop hangout). At that time, 824 must have been the most consistently rowdy house in the greater Los Angeles metropolitan area. John Belushi and National Lampoon’s 'ANIMAL HOUSE'? Pish 'n' Pshaw! That was us when we were BEHAVING ourselves!
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We were THE LEAGUE OF SOUL CRUSADERS, and as Pooh said, “We drank. We drank a lot. We drank more than we did not.” And yeah, you might have heard some of these hard-rocking Eddie Money tunes blasting from 824 back in the day... and the night. (Our neighbors loved us so much that the entire street signed a petition to send us packing. I guess they enjoyed our act to such a degree that they wanted to see us take it on the road.)
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By 1982, Money had learned how to write a solid, head-banging Hard Rock tune, and how to use that slight croak in his voice to maximum effect. The rockers on this set, starting with the great road tune SHAKIN’, are all fiercely guitar-propelled and rhythmically driving songs that had all of us liquidated bad boys breaking out the air guitars nearly twenty-five years ago. We eventually grew up and changed.
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And that’s something else I liked about NO CONTROL: Five years after that other Eddie had revolutionized the electric guitar and had every player emulating him with Van Halenesque “tapping”, here we had Jimmy Lyon and Marty Walsh playing in the old Rock style -- more sustain and distortion -- and it suddenly sounded fresh and exciting again. And on DRIVIN’ ME CRAZY, Tony Brock is the guest drummer behind the kit. Tony Brock? C’mon, dude! He was the stickman for The Babys and, for my “money”, one of Rock’s more formidable and underrated drummers. In ANY BAND not named 'The Babys', Tony Brock would have received the attention he deserved.
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I don’t listen to Rock a great deal anymore; I graduated to the upper I.Q. of Jazz long ago. But every once in awhile (and especially after all my beloved Christmas songs at the conclusion of the Holiday season) I need to hear some fast tunes with loud guitars, and Eddie’s NO CONTROL is right on the money.
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Interspersed between the 80 mile-an-hour road runs on NO CONTROL, Eddie has some "school zone" ballads that drop us back down into first gear. Necessary I suppose for balance, but they suffer by comparison, seeming a little droopy. But the one great exception for me is [link> MY FRIENDS, MY FRIENDS, which is really the principal reason I reacquired this album on compact disc. It’s a wistful look back at the friends who made our old times so special and so memorable. It’s a sad song made sadder by some truly mournful harmonica playing beautifully rendered by the Moneyman himself:
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“My memories are happy / My memories are sad / But I love to take my pictures out / And see the things I had... / My friends, my friends / We never got together again / But I really do miss my friends”
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THE LEAGUE OF SOUL CRUSADERS: Torch, Pooh, Twinkie, Cranium, Napoleon -- hey, you guys, it’s me, Mr. Intense. I want you guys to know that I still take my pictures out and remember what we had. And I still love you guys... wherever you are*.
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*Actually, I do know where my brother, Napoleon, is. He’s outside beating up the biker and his pit bull again. I can tell by the dog’s whining and the biker’s crying. I guess it’s nice that one of us never grew up and changed.
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~ Stephen T. McCarthy
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WHAT I LEARNED FROM LEE RITENOUR

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[This review was written on Sunday, March 20, 2005]
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HOT ROD GUITAR
by Danny Gatton
released: 1999
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I was introduced to the music of DANNY GATTON by Larry Rosen (better known to his friends as F'n Lelly.) In 1994, F'n Lelly (himself a pretty good guitarist in an L.A. Blues band at the time) recorded a cassette for me which he titled, 'Little Guitar Ditties: Lelly's Favorites'. It contained 3 Danny Gatton tracks including the '93 version of HARLEM NOCTURNE, which knocked me out! All these years later, the incredible playing of Gatton still amazes and satisfies. He was one of the most technically proficient musicians to ever sling a six-string; and the most versatile, which more than anything probably accounts for his relative obscurity.
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In 1978, I was on the set of a Lee's Sportswear commercial which featured the renowned Jazz guitarist LEE RITENOUR. I happened to be standing nearby when he spoke to another musician about this new inventive guitarist named EDDIE VAN HALEN who had just arrived on the scene. In demonstrating Eddie's "tapping" technique, Ritenour whipped off a perfect Van Halenesque solo. My jaw dropped! I was an 18-year-old "Rock 'N' Roll Actor" at the time (a silly phrase I had coined for myself to describe my attitude as a performer) and I was heavily into Rock music back then. I later struck up a conversation with Ritenour and asked him what he thought of several other Rock guitarists who were popular at the time. I was surprised to hear him say, "They're all good."
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The proverbial "light bulb" above my head lit up that day. It occurred to me that usually very little difference in technical facility separates the artists of any medium at the highest levels of professionalism. The greatest artists achieve legendary status and eternal fame not so much on their technical ability, but based on their innovations and/or stylistic approach.
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It's not because VAN GOGH was the greatest painter of his time that his works now sell for millions of dollars. He had a style all his own: landscapes composed of brilliant colors applied to the canvas as if in an emotional rage! Nearly every EDWARD HOPPER painting conveys a sense of lonely isolation. That was HIS style. As an actor, JAMES DEAN said that in one hand he had Marlon Brando saying "f*** you!" and in the other he had Montgomery Clift saying "help me!" This approach in combination with a fertile imagination made him an eternal silver screen legend. For a long time, Big Band leader GLENN MILLER sought to capture the unique "sound" he heard in his mind. In putting together arrangements, he eventually stumbled upon it. By using a clarinet or alto sax in tandem with four other saxes, doubling an octave above the lead, he created The Glenn Miller Sound that made his music instantly recognizable thereafter. JIMI HENDRIX was a good player, but Danny Gatton could have played circles around him, and so could many other guitarists who came later. But Hendrix created a whole new sonic palette within the Rock music framework, and that's why he's fondly remembered today.
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DANNY GATTON was a technically GREAT player who excelled at every musical genre. This compilation is a heartfelt guitar potpourri. Whether plugging in the incandescent candles on a midnight romance (SAX FIFTH AVENUE), kick-starting a heart with unbridled electricity (NOTCHCO BLUES), exploring Jazz Avenues at dusk (KINDRED SPIRITS), or rocking your car during the dark rides (FUNHOUSE), Gatton displays both muscularity and sensitivity. His playing was first-class; never maudlin or affected. He may have sacrificed a musical composition to hotdogging once in awhile (ORANGE BLOSSOM MEDLEY), but hey, even that was enjoyable! 
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A couple of reviewers (at Amazon.com) seem to think that "music" is defined by lightning runs over the frets. Well GATTON displays hyperspace speed when he wants to, but if that's all you're interested in, you will miss the shimmering gorgeousness of delicate pieces like CANADIAN SUNSET and POINCIANA. As a person's taste in music matures, they come to discover that speed does not even register on the list of essential elements. A fine illustration of what I'm referring to can be found in the great (Jazzy) Blues guitar album 'GOOD HANDS' by DANNY CARON.
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Releasing his first eclectic album for Elektra, and pondering the direction of his future recordings, GATTON said, "I can't afford to get shelved. It all depends on the public whims." This may account for his anonymity. Other than his prodigiously developed and literally jaw-dropping technique and mind-warping speed, GATTON did not have an immediately recognizable signature sound, a unique personal style (heck, even Tom Scholz of Boston had that!) If widespread fame was what he sought, perhaps he should have mined for his own musical voice -- "public whims" be damned.
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Nevertheless, if you want to experience the playing of a true six-string master in a variety of settings with some world class accompaniment, then you'll be thrilled by this 2 disc set. Purchase 'HOT ROD GUITAR' (along with Danny Caron's aforementioned 'GOOD HANDS') and you won't regret it. You can trust me; I've never lied to you before have I? And be sure to tell 'em that Stephen and F'n Lelly sent you!
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~ Stephen T. McCarthy
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QUESTION: HOEY? WHO HE?

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THE ENDLESS SUMMER II -- Movie Soundtrack
by Gary Hoey
released: 1994
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I'm kind of a quirky character -- "unique" is the word that my friends have used to describe me. Those who were not my friends used other less friendly words from time to time, but those people are all dead now so there's no point in our discussing them.
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One of my little "quirks" is to occasionally ask odd questions from out of the blue. It might be a reasonable question such as, "The year of your best Summer?" (Mine was '74, how 'bout yers?) Or the question might be something totally nonsensical like, "What did you do when the crops failed?" Now, if you expect to remain a friend of mine for very long you will be required to consistently reply quickly with something (at least mildly amusing) that we can develop into a full-blown, long-term nonsensical discussion. Acceptable answers to that last question would go something like: "We turned to cannibalism" or "I died in the famine." You get the idea?
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When I suddenly blurted out, "Best guitarist?" to my buddy at work, The Great LC, he answered, "Gary Hoey".
I said, "HOEY? WHO HE?"
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I thought I had heard of all the highly acclaimed guitarists but this cat was news to me. Well, the compact disc-addicted Rams fan, The Great LC, loaned me a copy of one of his Hoey CDs and I was turned onto truly one of the most unjustly unknown six-string slingers extant. And it came as an added surprise and bonus when I discovered that 'Who He Hoey' had also written and performed the musical soundtrack for the movie sequel 'ENDLESS SUMMER II' (1994).
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The first 'ENDLESS SUMMER' movie (1966) you'll remember was the original full-length movie on surfing that -- along with the fabulous music of The Beach Boys -- really pushed the sport into the American consciousness, and it is still considered the classic, holy grail of surfing films. In the days before art house / cult flick movie theatres and Beta / VHS tapes, they used to show 'Endless Summer' at the packed Santa Monica Civic Auditorium to kids like me who rode waves all Summer long in our quest for skin cancer. That was before the invention of sunblock, ya understand!
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So, is 'Who He Hoey' really the "best guitarist"? Well, The Great LC ain't no dummy, and I'd say that Hoey is darned sure in the running; the cat can really sling it! I'd still have to side with Danny Gatton because, despite his amazing versatility, I'm not sure Hoey could match Gatton's exquisite finesse on numbers like 'Canadian Sunset' and 'Poinciana.' But I'd certainly be interested in seeing the boys duel. That won't happen any time soon though because Gatton "died in the famine" of '94.
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But let's briefly examine this soundtrack and see what 'Who He Hoey' is doing on it: The first thing you'll be happy to find is that this does NOT sound like your typical movie soundtrack album. There is none of that draggy "movie music" with cheesy orchestras sawing away on strings that meander over nondescript melodies -- you know wot ahm talkin' 'bout here: FILLER! No way dudes and dudettes, this is a SERIOUS surf guitar rock album! This is the one movie soundtrack album that REALLY ROCKS! I mean this baby makes most so-called "real" Hard Rock guitar albums sound like the "movie filler" we've been yakkin' 'bout here!
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It opens with 'RIPTIDE', a highly electrified excursion into swirling waters of sonic danger. (How many of you blokes know how to swim out of a riptide? There's a secret to it, but I'm keepin' it to myself.)
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'BLAST' is a heavy-chorded piece of menace (think Black Sabbath or sumpin' like dat), but 'SWEET WATER' is a fluidly-picked bit of metal funk and neo-reggae rhythms.
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Then we get Hoey's outrageous cover of the old War classic 'LOW RIDER' -- the unofficial theme song of my hometown, Los Angeles (maybe you've heard of the place?) It's obvious that Hoey's amplifiers go "up to 11" and that's where he keeps 'em set during most of these recordings.
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If you don't get mental pictures of some long-haired surfer dude pulling off spinners and hanging ten on his longboard while Hoey plays his original composition 'WALKIN' THE NOSE' then you simply have no imagination whatsoever (and yer gonna be in big trouble when out of the blue I ask you to, "Tell me about your business with Roger O'Vernout.")
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'DRIVE' has a nice little melody; it's not gonna wake the children or anything, but it's got a good beat and you can dance to it.
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With 'LA ROSA NEGRA' (that means "The White Petunia" in Spanish), Hoey gives us his Carlos Santana impersonation; it's fairly Latinized for a White Surfer-lookin' guy, and it's a "daisy" of a tune.
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OK, yer halfway thru this disc now, Surfcats. 'LINUS AND LUCY' is a cover of Vince Guaraldi's famous theme song for the Charlie Brown TV specials, and Hoey launches into it with all kinds of weird harmonic shifts and... somehow I'm tinkin' dat Linus an' da kids (and even Snoopy) would have had a difficult time doing their goofy dances to this version!
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'SURFDOGGIN' is one of my favorite tracks. It's a bit o' ticklin' Country/Surf pickin' (I dunno, but methinks 'Who He Hoey' may have invented a new genre with this composition) and it really shows off his nimble fingers as they fly all over that fretboard and make me smile -- this piece has a real sense o' humor... SERIOUSLY! "No, no, I'm nuh kiddin' you, uh!"
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'PIPE' is an almost indescribably moody composition with Hoey's sparking guitar trading licks with Bud "Barefoot and Slippery" Shank's nasty Tenor Sax and Tony Franklin's great grumbling Bass pushing everything through the whitewater -- possibly my very favorite cut. (It's either this one or 'Surfdoggin'.)
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Hoey duets with one of his heroes, surf guitar legend DICK DALE on Dale's classic 'SHAKE & STOMP (Part II)' and it sounds like that wacko who used to juggle live chain saws on Venice Beach... only faster and louder. Forget about waking the children, this one's gonna getcha evicted from yer apartment.
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'THEME FROM THE ENDLESS SUMMER' is the theme song from the movie 'Endless Summer' (guess that's why they called it that) and I've liked the tune since I first heard the original recording by The Sandals.
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'ESCAPE' is pure Heavy Metal "Shock 'N' Awe" pyrotechnics. You might as well crank it up because the manager's already on his way over to yer unit with the eviction notice in his hand, anyway.
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And the disc ends with the surprisingly "spiritual" 'THE DEEP' -- it's an electric ballad with long notes of sustain. With this one, 'Who He Hoey' proves that still waters really do run DEEP. This is a genuinely moving piece of introspection and a fitting way to end what is otherwise an energetic assault, like an electric eel attack while riding waves in the Big Blue. And for that reason, I love to workout to this disc! Yer gonna dig it too.
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I'll end this review now with just one last question for ya:
"What were you doing on the trail with Lewis and Clark?"
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~ Stephen T. McCarthy
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SET THE "WAYBAC MACHINE" TO SEPTEMBER, 1969

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GROOVY '60s
2-Disc Compilation by Various Artists
copyright: 2001 by Medalist Entertainment
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Back in the day, all the smart kids dug 'The Rocky And Bullwinkle Show', so I'm sure that you remember the segment featuring that brainy dog, MR. PEABODY, his boy, SHERMAN, and their time travel device called THE WAYBAC MACHINE. Well, if Mr. Peabody escorted us back to September of '69, do you know what we'd find?
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* The city of Los Angeles is still gripped by fear after the bizarre Tate & LaBianca murders. Rewards are being offered by private citizens as LAPD seems stymied. (It will be a couple more months before the world hears the name Charles Manson.)
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* Julie Newmar (37"-22"-37") sans her Catwoman outfit -- or any other outfit, for that matter -- appears in the pages of Playboy magazine, making every MAN BATTY and every BOY WONDER.
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* A groovy little kid named Stephen T. McCarthy sits day after day at his desk in Mr. Oldham's fifth grade class at Grant Elementary School in Santa Monica. He doesn't learn much but he enjoys flirting with the girls and making a tie-dyed T-shirt in class.
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* "The Real" Don Steele of KHJ is spinning these 26 songs through transistor radios all over Southern California.
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Only a few Septembers ago {September 17, 2002}, my Brother and I drove across the desert to visit the lost kingdom of our Boyhood. We were listening to old tunes along the way. When "Aquarius" by The 5th Dimension played, I said that it was, for me, one of two songs that most exemplifies the day-glo paint & black-light poster daze of the late '60s. The other candidate being Oliver's version of GOOD MORNING, STARSHINE (both songs, coincidentally, originating with the Broadway musical HAIR, a dippy hippie sign of its times). It then occurred to me that I'd really like to own Oliver's trippy hippie flashback...
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When we got to our earliest childhood stomping grounds in Orange County, I spent 45 minutes looking through compilations at the Tower Records store at 220 N. Beach Boulevard in Anaheim, but to no avail. I was just about to give up when my Brother holds up the 2-disc set GROOVY 60s and says, "Does this Go-Go Girl give you any ideas?" I replied, "Nah, she's not my type. ...But let me see that!" And sure enough, there was Oliver with his "far out" musical tribute to Hippiedom: Disc 2, Track 7, GOOD MORNING, STARSHINE. "Right on!"
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There are two things that I especially like about this collection:
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1) It does not indulge in the outrageous excesses of the era. Not to be found are... Frank Zappa's "SUZY CREAMCHEESE" nightmare; the acid-induced "EXPERIENCE" of Jimi Hendrix; the shameless BLUES HEIST of Led Zeppelin; or the (for me) unbearable artsy pretentiousness of The Beatles and their "TOE JAM FOOTBALL" and estimate of "HOW MANY HOLES IT TAKES TO FILL THE ALBERT HALL". Instead, you'll find the mainstream mid to late '60s AM radio favorites.
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2) Unlike many collections that claim to capture an era but actually offer mostly minor hits, GROOVY 60s really does represent the apex of the Pop Music charts. 22 of these 26 cuts found their way into BILLBOARD's TOP TEN in their day. Of those, 14 climbed within the TOP FIVE, with 5 making it all the way to NUMBER ONE!
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Some of these tracks go beyond just the novelty of nostalgia: Nilsson's EVERYBODY'S TALKIN'; The 5th Dimension's WEDDING BELL BLUES and UP, UP & AWAY; Sergio Mendes' THE LOOK OF LOVE; Dionne Warwick's I SAY A LITTLE PRAYER; and The Percy Faith Orchestra's THEME FROM "A SUMMER PLACE" are genuinely fine musical pieces.
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Finally, we've found a first-rate collection of AM radio-friendly songs that gives us an authentic everyday taste of the groovy, psychedelic '60s. And now if we could just find someone who can actually remember the groovy, psychedelic '60s!
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(*I couldn't help noticing that the only other person to post a review of this 2-disc set at Amazon.com was also living in Phoenix, Airheadzona. Well, I guess now we know where all of the "freaks" went.)
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~ Stephen T. McCarthy
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Ol' Stephen T. Rescues Another Album From OBLIVION!

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[This review was originally published at
BigBitch.com on June 29, 2005]
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LIVE OBLIVION -- Vol. 1 & 2
Brian Auger's Oblivion Express
released: 1974 & 1976
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Well, here I am again, posting a review for something th t's been utterly neglected. Of my current 67 reviews, 10 or 11 of them  re the only posting for their respective product. In the song 'THE SOUNDS OF SILENCE', P ul Simon mentions, "writing songs that voices never share". In my case, however, it is "writing reviews that no one ever reads." What does that say  bout me? I guess, as in those immortal words of Waylon Jennings, I'm either "one step ahead, or behind." At any rate, I'm cert inly not a "Helpful" votes hound.
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In 1978 (when this recording was but 4 years old), I was driving North on Highland Avenue in Hollyweird, and shortly after crossing Sunset Boulevard (yes, THAT Sunset Boulev rd), this live version of 'BUMPIN' ON SUNSET' was pl yed on the AM radio station I was listening to (yes, AM radio! Unbeliev ble, I know!) I was immedi tely spellbound. It was one of those instances in which I started silently pleading, "Oh, ple se Mr. D.J., tell me who this is!" Well, he did, nd I went right out and bought LIVE OBLIVION, Vol. 1 (in those days, this was p ckaged as two separate LPs). I liked it so much that I later purch sed the 2-record, Vol. 2 set also. At th t time, I was a Rock 'N' Roll junkie, and these were the first JAZZ albums I ever owned. By the early 1980s, I had gravitated to The Blues, but since the mid-'80s, Jazz has been far nd away my musical preference.
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My favorite instrument is the Hammond B-3 Organ -- it is so soulful, so expressive, and so electrified and "electrifying!" Some of the B-3 Masters I like re Jimmy McGriff, Bill Doggett and of course, Jimmy Smith. But BRI N AUGER is my favorite -- he plays with such passion. Herbie Hancock (yes, THAT Herbie Hancock!) has s id, "Brian Auger is one of the best B-3 artists I have ever heard in my life. His technique is awesome nd the amount of energy he generates is unparalleled and relentless."
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So, when I affix 5 Stars to THE COMPLETE LIVE OBLIVION, you must take into consider tion my affinity for its featured instrument, the nostalgic value this set holds for me, nd the fact that THIS version of 'BUMPIN' ON SUNSET' remains one of my 5 f vorite instrumental pieces of all-time. (I'm const ntly whistling it.)
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Recorded at the intimate WHISKEY-A-GO-GO nightclub on Sunset Boulev rd in Hollywood, this is the rare live set that really conveys th t "you are there" feeling. Most of the pieces are top-notch: this is easily my f vorite version of Auger's signature tune 'BUMPIN' ON SUNSET', as the livelier pace makes the funky groove more pronounced. I really dig 'TRUTH', nd the closer, 'COMPARED TO WHAT?' (with its then-contempor ry Watergate reference), is a flat-out barnburner! (Too bad bout the "G-damn" lyric that infringes on my enjoyment of it.)
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But will YOU like this? It is JAZZ/ROCK/FUNK FUSION with a pronounced 1970s feel. The first few notes of 'BEGINNING AGAIN' immedi tely propel my mind back to that ancient decade. And I prefer these extended jams taken at a slightly quicker pace than their studio counterparts, even if it me ns a sound qu lity that is just a bit raw. In the liner notes, Auger wrote, "Although the sound on the lbum may not be all we would wish it to be, I am satisfied th t the spirit shines through." Indeed it does. I'm not a fan of Alex Ligertwood's frequently over-the-top voc ls, but since they are largely incidental to these lengthy and searing improvis tions, they rarely detract signific ntly.
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The currently "out-of-print" status of this  lbum means an inflated price for a used copy. I'd pay it, as THE COMPLETE LIVE OBLIVION makes my Top 25 album list. Listen to the song samples,  nd if you're already an AUGER fan, consider acquiring it. This IS a hot live set,  nd the band can really work that thang! But if you're fairly new to this surprisingly funky English B-3 bloke, you might w nt to start with the anthology [link> AUGER RHYTHMS: BRI N AUGER'S MUSICAL HISTORY, which is a more sonically varied and re sonably priced 2-disc collection. It presents a decidedly inferior 'BUMPIN' ON SUNSET', but otherwise, has A LOT to offer.
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I hope you didn't have too much difficulty in deciphering this review. For some reason, the letter " " on my keyboard isn't  lways registering, and I'll tell you this much: it's a real p in in the ss!
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~ Stephen T. McC rthy
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SURFING WATERS BOTH DEEP AND SHALLOW

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[This review was written and originally published 2006, March 5th.]
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GREATEST HITS, VOL. 3:
BEST OF THE BROTHER YEARS, 1970-1986
by The Beach Boys
released: Feb. 1, 2000
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THE BEACH BOYS are one of those bands that have provided the soundtrack to my life. Growing up in Southern California, their music really does become a part of one's experiences.
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Examples: I can't hear 'Help Me, Rhonda' or 'The Girls On The Beach' without recalling my years of bodysurfing the waves near Santa Monica's Lifeguard Station #26. 'Good Vibrations' automatically transports me back to Santa Monica High School -- located conveniently 2 blocks from the Pacific Ocean. (Sometimes the sound of the surf called more insistently than did the school bell.) Samohi's official school song, 'Hymn Of Praise' written by Ken Darby from the Class of 1927, starts out,
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Oh Samohi, dear old Samohi
Queen of the setting sun
For you we toil, for you our banners fly
We win for you when victory's won!
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But every pep rally I attended from '74 through '77 ended more "excitationally" with...
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Good, good, good, good vibrations
(oom bop bop)
I'm pickin' up good vibrations
She's giving me excitations
(oom bop bop)
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'In My Room' humorously reminds me of the time in 1986 when I found it on a jukebox in a Reno lounge and drove every other patron out of the place with it. I was in the bartender's doghouse, but what are ya gonna do with a liquidated cowboy who wants to hear 'In My Room'... 18 consecutive times?
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And while the richly melancholic 'The Warmth Of The Sun' is my all-time favorite Beach Boys song, there is a lot to be said for many of the tracks found on this compilation.
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This is the final part of Capitol's Beach Boys Greatest Hits trilogy series. This one -- which features 20 of The Boys' late period minor hits and non-hits -- will be ignored by the casual Beach Boys fan, and that is an unfortunate mistake. True, these "leftovers" were recorded and released after the height of the band's popularity and creative success according to the music critics, but the Beach Boys --though they had largely moved away from their gorgeous and complex trademark vocal harmony arrangements -- were still making some magic music. And some of it as sensitive and more intense than anything that preceded it.
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For every lightweight and silly 'SUSIE CINCINNATI' and 'PEGGY SUE' on this collection, you'll also find a brooding 'TIL I DIE', or nostalgic 'DISNEY GIRLS (1957)', or yearning 'SURF'S UP'. No, we didn't need another version of 'ROCK AND ROLL MUSIC' or 'COME GO WITH ME', and yet I'd hate to have missed out on the world-weary but defiant 'LONG PROMISED ROAD' (my personal "Fight Song") or the intricate protest song 'THE TRADER', with its catchy movements that force my toes to tap or my feet to stomp.
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Some of these songs, being more melodically subtle and lacking that instantly recognizable sound of The Boys' early hits, will require a bit more patience from the listener, but with time, that open-minded patience will certainly be rewarded. Of course, 'SAIL ON, SAILOR' you probably already know (I invented my pen name while it was playing through the sound system in a Coco's Restaurant); the lovely 'GOOD TIMIN'' is reminiscent of that lush harmonizing adopted from The Four Freshmen during The Beach Boys' infancy. And the well-chosen closer, 'CALIFORNIA DREAMIN'', with its urgent tenor sax solo actually eclipses the classic Mamas And Papas version. (Yeah, I couldn't believe it either!)
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If all you desire is a balanced career retrospective of some of The Beach Boys' best music on a single disc, then go with 'Classics: Selected By Brian Wilson'. But the REAL fan will want the 3-part Capitol compilation series: 'The Greatest Hits, Vol 1: 20 Good Vibrations'; 'The Greatest Hits, Vol. 2: 20 More Good Vibrations'; and this disc, 'THE GREATEST HITS, VOL. 3: BEST OF THE BROTHER YEARS, 1970 - 1986'.
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~ Stephen T. McCarthy
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SHELL OUT? SHELL OUT FOR THE L.A. MUSICAL HISTORY TOUR?

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THE L.A. MUSICAL HISTORY TOUR
by Art Fein
published: 1990
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In my personal library there are several different translations of The Holy Bible. And The United States Constitution. And I have books ABOUT The U.S. Constitution. And big books about words and the English language. I’ve got books on politics, S/spirituality, sociology, physiology, and other serious ologies.
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{*Nothing on mathematics. We hate mathematics! Don’t even talk to us about mathematics or I’ll become violent and do very bad things to you.*}
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Oh, just ignore that voice behind the curtain.
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But in one of my bookcases, I also have the 1990, first edition of THE L.A. MUSICAL HISTORY TOUR by Art Fein because... well... because... Well, just because! ...Because I like it way better'n I like mathematics.
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{*MATHEMATICS?! Did someone just mention mathematics?! Who’s talking about that? Huh? Show me who’s talking about that!*}
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I bought THE L.A. MUSICAL HISTORY TOUR in 1991, and I’ll bet I’ve lost myself in it about a million times since then. My copy of Art Fein’s book is 135 pages long and it’s filled with mostly 2 ½” X 3 ½”--
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{*What! Multiplication?!*}
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--black and white snapshots of nearly every famous, infamous, nearly famous, and not-so-famous Los Angeles musical landmark you can think of... or not. Each entry is alphabetized--
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{*But NOT numbered!*}
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--and includes a brief description of what it is and where it is.
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I moved outta my hometown, Los Angeles, (for the second time) in 1995, but I revisit it occasionally via THE L.A. MUSICAL HISTORY TOUR. This is one of those spiffy little books that you pull off the shelf to look up one bit of trivia and the next thing you know, sixty minutes have passed.
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{*Careful where you walk there, boy.*}
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And I spent so much time at so many of these places in my misspent youth that it really is like stepping into Mr. Peabody’s WAYBAC MACHINE for me and traveling back in time to when I had no grey in my hair, no wrinkles in my skin, and no common sense in my mind. Well, I’ve managed to hold onto one-third of those attributes.
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{*Fractions now, is it? Yer makin’ me mad.*}
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Los Angeles is loaded with Rock music history -- LOADED! -- just like I used to be. Whaddaya wanna see? Where ya wanna go? Wanna know where Alice Cooper’s Academy Of Nude Wrestling was located? How ‘bout the Alta-Cienega Motel where Jim Morrison used to sleep it off? Or where the Beatles stayed? Wanna see the strip of Sunset Strip ‘Between Clark And Hilldale’ that Love sang about? George Harrison’s ‘Blue Jay Way’? Club 88, made famous by the band X and the documentary The Decline Of Western Civilization (but more importantly, where my Cousin Johnny’s band, Sex And Violins, played later)?
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How ‘bout Oki Dog, the ‘70s and ‘80s hangout for L.A.’s punk rockers? Lucy’s El Adobe restaurant, home away from home for Linda Ronstadt and The Eagles? The Continental Hyatt House where in the movie 'This Is Spinal Tap' Spinal Tap held their end-of-tour party on the rooftop, and where Warren Zevon did something he didn’t want to talk about with a girl in the song ‘Poor, Poor Pitiful Me’? The Rainbow Bar where the Led Zeppelin “flew”? Or where Don Henley’s ‘Sunset Grill’ can still be found grilling at sunset?
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Shall we visit the grave sites of Eddie Cochran, Gene Vincent, Roy Orbison, T-Bone Walker, Richie Valens, or Randy Rhoads, etc.? Wanna see homes that “The King Of Rock And Roll” owned? Wanna see where Joan Jett lived and Janis Joplin died? Or how ‘bout The Music Machine in West Los Angeles where Stephen T. McCarthy and the rest of The League Of Soul Crusaders were drinkin’, dancin’, cussin’, an’ fightin’ in the early ‘80s, and where Twinkie got his nickname -- oh yeah, and where Los Lobos, Bo Diddley, Ry Cooder, Big Joe Turner, Clifton Chenier, Jane’s Addiction, and many others played?
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All of these places and two hundred and twelve--
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{*Hey!*}
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--other music-related sites are pictured and noted in Art Fein’s fine little book. I only wish this had been published as a large, hardcover coffee table book with nice, big professionally made color photos, instead of a simple black and white cheapie -- entertaining though it is.
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THE L.A. MUSICAL HISTORY TOUR is out-of-print at the moment, but used copies of a couple different editions are available online at a variety of prices. How much is it worth? Should you buy it? Heck, I don’t know -- you do the math.
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{*MATH?! Son-Of-A-Bitch!*}
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~ Stephen T. McCarthy
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"THERE'S A SADNESS IN THE HEART OF THINGS"

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[Originally published on 2005, Feb. 16th]
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SENTIMENTAL HYGIENE
by Warren Zevon
released: 1987
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Although I'm not a hardcore WARREN ZEVON fan, I owned several of his albums back in the era of Licorice Pizza (vinyl records). And I did catch him live once in the late '80s -- a fairly mundane performance, and this in his adopted hometown of Los Angeles. When I sold off my LPs and made the transition to compact discs, his eponymous album was the only recording I reacquired.
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On vacation this past July, I heard SENTIMENTAL HYGIENE in a store and bought a copy -- it having reminded me of my youth and those daze of "Liquid Sedation."
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I've never listened to ZEVON so much for the music. He's not terrifically "melodic" much of the time and his sandpaper-edged vocals lack range. It's Zevon for the lyrics, for his wry take on life. He was Rock's Grim Reaper on Laughing Gas! Zevon's writing didn't just put angst on the table, it presented it as the entree, but usually with rich jocularity sauce ladled over the top for seasoning. A pint glass of arsenic with a "twist" of humor (or perhaps that ought to be "with a twisted humor"). He always gave us the WAR-IN-ZEVON: that interior knock-down, drag-out struggle of a warped man in a totally insane world.
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Overall, this is the warped boy's hardest rocking disc. After a much publicized stint in rehab for drug and alcohol abuse, this was a "comeback" album designed to show that he had indeed gotten up off the canvas swinging! For me, the standout tracks are:
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BOOM BOOM MANCINI -- A thunderous anthem to the lion-hearted, Youngstown, Ohio pugilist. It is driven by an appropriately over-amped, bruising guitar hook and uppercut! I can still remember the car radio announcement that informed me of Mancini's 14 round loss to Alexis Arguello in 1981. I bawled for the brawler. But then I was "LIQUIDATED" at the time -- some evil man at Dodger Stadium having sold me 2 beers an inning for 9 innings. (Don't hate me; I wasn't driving!) THE WAR-IN-ZEVON: "Some have the speed and the right combinations; if you can't take the punches, it don't mean a thing."
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RECONSIDER ME -- A plaintive and moving ballad sung straight on the rocks, no "twist." THE WAR-IN-ZEVON: "If it's still the past that makes you doubt, darlin' that was then and this is now. Reconsider me."
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BAD KARMA -- A very funny song about picking up the gauntlet thrown down by life and coming to grips with disillusionment. THE WAR-IN-ZEVON: "Was it something I did in another life? I try and try but nothing comes out right for me. Bad karma, killing me by degrees."
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EVEN A DOG CAN SHAKE HANDS -- Ya gotta love the enthusiastic energy of this one. It starts out with "YEAH!! WOO-OOO!! HEEEEEY!!" Good stuffs about the tie-wearing parasites in the music biz. Now, if you've lived in L.A., you know that the San Fernando Valley is where you take up residence just prior to limping out of town with yer head down and yer tail tucked between yer legs. So it's pretty funny when our singer is warned to play the game properly or he'll "end up dead, living in The Valley someday". As though the two are synonymous. THE WAR-IN-ZEVON: "Abandon all hope and don't rock the boat, and we'll all make a few hundred grand. Everybody's trying to be a friend of mine. Even a dog can shake hands."
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THE HEARTACHE -- Another ballad on the rocks, no "twist." The subject is unrequited love, which in common parlance means, "unsuccessful open-heart surgery." 'The Heartache' contains one of the greatest lines in song: "THERE'S A SADNESS IN THE HEART OF THINGS". This one line has haunted me ever since I first heard it in 1987. In all these years, not a month has passed that I didn't find myself silently reciting it in response to some unfortunate situation, or while merely contemplating the setting of the sun. If you don't get it, then consider yourself lucky and rejoice in your insensitivity. THE WAR-IN-ZEVON: "There's a sadness in the heart of things" ...of course! Why, it's only the most poignant moment on the entire album!
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I would dig SENTIMENTAL HYGIENE a lot more if the songs that I don't care for, I felt merely neutral about. But I actively dislike DETOX MANSION, Zevon's noisy, irreverent attempt to make light of his drug and alcohol rehab. To plagiarize one of his earlier songs: It ain't that funny at all. The attempt at humor sounds forced. Many years ago I wrote a poem called 'The League Of Soul Crusaders' which included the lines, "THESE BOYS DON'T CRY WHEN THEY SHOULD / AND LAUGH WHEN THEY SHOULDN'T". I feel that 'Detox Mansion' is a good example of that.
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One of my pet peeves in music is when lifelong Rock Stars with Champagne and Brie on their breath sing about the tough life of 'the working man'. Boys, give it a rest! Don't let your conscience convince you that we need to hear your understanding. If you want to sing to us about how difficult it is to have 13 groupies a night but only 2 hotel suites, or how the bad concert promoter forgot to remove the brown M&Ms from the backstage candy bowl, or how room service is too slow at the Hilton, fine. But don't be telling us about punching a time clock with the bossman looking over your shoulder! Don't gripe about the 8 to 5 'blue collar' life, because you don't know it like we do! (Are you listening Bruce Springsteen, Paul Simon & Jackson Browne?) 
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Zevon commits this cardinal Rock Music sin in the unconvincing and unmusical THE FACTORY. Aside from all that, the first four lines are poorly conceived: "I was born in '63 / Got a little job in the factory / I don't know much about Kennedy / I was too busy working in the factory." (Give that some real thought. What happened to the Child Labor Laws?!)
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Overall, SENTIMENTAL HYGIENE is a very solid effort. His self-titled album 'WARREN ZEVON', however, remains his essential release. It includes his real masterpiece, DESPERADOS UNDER THE EAVES, and also CARMELITA, with its reference to the infamous "Pioneer Chicken Stand". Which, incidentally, once stood on the Southeast corner at Alvarado and Montana Streets in L.A., a few blocks north of Echo Park. The spot is now just the upper corner of the Vons Supermarket parking lot. But if any of you Zevon diehards ever make the pilgrimage to this "legendary" location, don't tell anyone that you heard from Stephen T. I hear the cops, a one-eyed bartender, and thirteen angry waitresses are still hunting for me.
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~ Stephen T. McCarthy
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