Shelter From The Storm

Linda Ronstadt gets a bad rap in my opinon. Apart from the extraordinary run of superb albums she released in the mid seventies, she was instrumental in furthering the career of numerous fledgling artists and songwriters. Her self-titled album from 1971 featured a group of musicians who would soon be known as The Eagles. She was a huge influence on other female artists like Emmylou Harris and Nicollete Larson. She provided crucial exposure to up and coming songwriters like Karla Bonoff and Warren Zevon. Beginning with 1973’s Don’t Cry Now and ending with 1978’s Living In The U.S.A. Ronstadt released six albums that virtually defined the California “folk country rock pop” sound. She had enormous commercial success, with many of her albums reaching Gold and Platinum status. But most important of all, behind all the sales and chart success was one of the most talented singers of contemporary times. Ronstadt is one of the few artists who was always capable of holding my attention even though she didn’t write her own material. I’ve always been drawn mostly to singer-songwriters and other artists who write what they record. Ronstadt was different. Somehow she was able to take almost any song, whether it was a well known standard or brand new gem from some young previously unheard of songwriter, and make it her own. I first discovered a lot of great artists via Linda Ronstadt and for that alone I think she deserves a lot more respect than she gets. Her breakthrough album, and probably the record that best defines her career was 1974’s Heart Like A Wheel. It didn’t differ wildly from what she had been doing previously, but the addition of Peter Asher as producer helped bring everything into focus. Ronstadt sang with passion, force and real spirit and every song on the disc was just perfect. A real masterpiece that I still marvel at when I play it thirty years later. 

The title song from Heart Like A Wheel was written by Anna McGarrigle, a name that meant nothing to me at the time. But you had to figure with a song that good we’d probably be hearing more from her. Sure enough the following year saw the release of Kate & Anna McGarrigle on Warner Bros. Quite simply it’s as strong a debut album as has ever been made.  Not only do we get Anna but it turns out she’s got a younger sister, Kate, who’s every bit the songwriter and singer that Anna is. The twelve songs on Kate & Anna McGarrigle (nine originals, one traditional, one by Loudon Wainwright and another by Wade Hemsworth) comprise one of those magical introductions to a new artist that just spins your head around. If ever you need proof that siblings can sing and harmonize together in ways that no one else can, this is it. Their voices blend, mingle and fuse together in some of the most beautiful, intricate, breathtaking palettes of sound one could possibly imagine.

The exuberant, joyous piano riff that begins Kate’s “Kiss And Say Goodbye” encapsulates everything I love about this album. It’s one of my favorite opening tracks ever. It manages to wrap in in three minutes the absolute euphoria and ecstasy of new love in a way that makes me want to sing at the top of my lungs. The song builds to an radiant climax with the exuberant lyrics, “I want to kiss you till my mouth gets numb.” From there it’s straight into class McGarrigle sisters harmonies on Anna’s “My Town.” Throughout the album Kate and Anna take turns with the songwriting and while there is definitely a certain amount of personality in the way they each approach a song, just like with their singing, it’s hard to tell them apart sometimes. And I mean that in a very good way. Their stunning rendition of “Heart Like A Wheel” features only a guitar, a banjo and an organ. And vocals and harmonies that will leave you astonished. There are lighter moments, most notably a dead on take of Wainwright’s “Swimming Song” (how can a song basically about nothing be so damn good?). Other highlights include Kate’s “Talk To Me Of Mendocino,” “Tell My Sister” and especially “Go Leave.”  The French language “Complainte Pour Ste-Catherine” provides a sneak peak into the lovely French Album they would release in 1980. A raucous (well for a folk album anyway) version of the traditional “Travellin’ On For Jesus” featuring Lowell George on guitar closes out the album. Produced to near perfection by the one and only Joe Boyd (along with Greg Prestopino) the album also features musicians Bobby Keys, Tony Rice, David Grisman, Amos Garrett, Andrew Gold and Russ Kunkel.

The McGarrigles never made another album as good as this first one. Don’t get me wrong, they’ve made some great, great albums over the years (1983’s Love Over And Over is my second favorite release from them), but this record set a standard they could never quite reach again. They’re still putting out records, though they seem to get fewer and farther between as time goes by. They’ve collaborated with Emmylou Harris quite frequently in the last decade with songs and performances on her most recent albums. Kate & Anna McGarrigle was first released on CD in 1993 by the Hannibal label (distributed through Ryko). Unfortunately, that CD is now out of print, but it’s still available at a reasonable price as an import from Amazon.com. Finding the rest of their catalog on CD is a hit and miss affair. Some of the older titles are out of print now in the US, but generally you can find most of them as imports. The only album never to be released on CD for some reason is 1978’s Pronto Monto. Kate & Anna McGarrigle is one of my all time favorite debut releases. And every time I listen to it I always think of Linda Rondstadt as well. In fact, I’ll often times pull out Heart Like A Wheel after listening to Kate & Anna McGarrigle. And I’m always amazed at much I still love her version of “Heart Like A Wheel” after hearing Kate & Anna’s.

Other Listens on September 12th:
To The Bone by Kris Kristofferson
The Long Walk by Tom Pacheco
Are You Ready by Blue Rodeo
Crosswords by Larry Hosford

There’s a great version of Jerry Jeff Walker’s classic song, “Mr. Bojangles,” on his 1969 Atco album, Five Years Gone. I didn’t discover Walker until a few years later when he released his self-titled album on Decca (still my favorite album of his and still unavailable on CD). It’s referred to in the liner notes as “the famous drunken recording made early in the morning on WBAI with David Bromberg.” It’s just Walker and Bromberg playing acoustic guitars live at a radio station. It was recorded in November 1967, during a period when Bromberg would regularly back up Walker. David Bromberg is what you might call the textbook example of a “musician’s musician.” He’s played with a ton of people over the years. There’s a great tape circulating of Emmylou Harris playing live on a radio broadcast in 1969 (this was six years before her “debut” album Pieces Of The Sky) with Bromberg backing her. He’s played on sessions with everyone from Bob Dylan to John Prine to Willie Nelson to The Eagles playing everything from fiddle to guitar to mandolin to dobro to bass.

But David Bromberg is so much more than just a backup musician. Over the years he’s recorded over a dozen of his own albums. Originally signed to Columbia, his first, self-titled album is a minor masterpiece. An eclectic artist he is equally adept at blues, country, folk, pop, rock, even jug band music and jazz. An Appalachian fiddle tune might sit right next to the Sam Cooke song “(What A) Wonderful World” on one of his albums. Additionally, Bromberg is an excellent songwriter, and has penned many of the songs on his own albums, including “The Holdup” which he wrote with George Harrison.  After four albums with Columbia he moved to Fantasy who released How Late’ll Ya Play ‘Til in 1976. The original version was a double album LP with the first disc consisting of new studio recordings and the second of live recordings. Now, Bromberg made some terrific studio albums, but where he really excels is live on stage. He has a sense of humor that infuses his performances, and sometimes his songs, that is second to no one. I dare say there are many people who have bought this album after simply hearing his extended rant on “Will Not Be Your Fool.” When Bromberg gets going he is something to see (and hear).

If the studio disc of this set had been issued by itself it would stand as one of Bromberg’s best. Bromberg updates his classic “Danger Man” as “Danger Man II” and his “Kaatskill Serenade” is one of the best songs he’s ever written. He does beautiful versions of Ian Tyson’s “Summer Wages” and Mary McCaslin’s “Young Westley.” The blues are well represented with “Dyin’ Crapshooter’s Blues” and Leiber & Stoller’s “Idol With A Golden Head” fits in surprisingly well. There are guitar and fiddle workouts and even a cowboy song.

But it’s the live disc that’s the real draw here. For being such a dynamic performer Bromberg has released precious few live albums. In fact, other than this, I think the only other official release is an “official bootleg” type project of a New York City show from 1982 released on his own label in 2003. I have several outstanding bootlegs and I’d love to see Bromberg raid the vaults and put out some more classic stuff from the seventies and eighties. Recorded at the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco in 1976, there were only six tracks on the original “live” disc, but one of them clocked in at over sixteen minutes and another at eight. Each one is a real treat, but “Will Not Be Your Fool” and “Bullfrog Blues” are the highlights. Bromberg’s got a full band here, including two horn players and he utilizes them to full effect, though he does take two songs on his own with just an acoustic guitar. “Bullfrog Blues” is one of those, and it features Bromberg on acoustic bottleneck guitar as he weaves a hilarious account of a girlfriend gone wrong. Though it’s over sixteen minutes long it doesn’t even seem half that long due to Bromberg’s captivating performance. The liner notes say he’d been performing it for over eight years and had never done it the same way twice. The bulk of the song is taken up by his rollicking ad-lib. He’s a master of this type of thing. “Come On In My Kitchen” and “Sweet Home Chicago” are acoustic and electric blues workouts (respectively), the kind of thing Bromberg could do standing on his head, yet he imbues each one with a passion and exuberance that make them truly special. This band is at the top of their game.

But like I said, the centerpiece of the entire set is Bromberg’s original composition “Will Not Be Your Fool,” in which he proceeds to admonish his lover: “I’ll be your lover or your friend, darling, but I will not be your fool.” When he carries on with an extended tirade about just how long it will be before he would ever be her fool it’s priceless. The band vamps behind him, the crowd is in the palm of his hand and it’s pure bliss. This is the kind of performance very few artists could ever pull off. It’s what makes Bromberg so distinctive, so original and so unique. The vinyl album closes out with a stellar version of Dr. John’s “What A Night.” 

There are a couple of things that bother me about the CD reissue of this album. First of all the label (Fantasy) has decided to break it into two separate CDs and sell both at full price. That’s just ridiculous. This was conceived and originally issued as a double album and it should be sold on CD as such. And at a more reasonable price. Paying almost $30 for both of these CDs is just too much, and very indicative of everything that’s wrong with the music business these days. Additionally, they switched the order of the CDs and branded the live album as “Vol. 1: Live” and the studio album as “Vol. 2: Studio.” My guess is because the live album sells better. On the plus side however, they have added 3 bonus tracks to the studio disc and two to the live disc. The live tracks (”Loaded And Laid” and “Make Me A Pallet”) are especially welcome.

Bromberg took an extended leave of absence from recording and playing live to go to school and learn to make violins. He now owns and operates a violin store in Wilmington, Delaware. He plays a few shows now and then and released his first album in many years in 2007. It’s good to have him back. Now how about searching through those old tapes and finding some classic shows from years gone by to release?

Other Listens on July 4th:
How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb by U2
Pecos Blues (bootleg) by Bob Dylan
One Man Band by James Taylor
American V: A Hundred Highways by Johnny Cash