Shelter From The Storm

In 1973 I was very deep into Kris Kristofferson. I had discovered him through his 1971 album The Silver Tongued Devil And I. The following two albums, Jesus Was A Capricorn and Border Lord, both released in 1972, were instant favorites. I also went back and picked up is first, self-titled album (later retitled Me & Bobby McGee to take advantage of the huge success from Janis Joplin’s cover). It was through Kristofferson that I first found Rita Coolidge. You could say I was a little late to the game because Coolidge had been around for some time. She’d been a featured member of Joe Cocker’s magnificent Mad Dogs & Englishmen ensemble and she’d made two fine albums of her own. But it was her third album, the 1972 release The Lady’s Not For Sale that I found first and it was all related to Kristofferson. By this time they were a couple (married in 1973). Their careers became very entwined for several years. They shared a band, they toured together, they appeared on each other’s albums and they recorded three duet albums over the next five years. I was seventeen and attending Loyola University in Los Angeles when they played together at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium in 1973. I hitchhiked from school over to Santa Monica (not far, only about six miles) to see the show. I remember my seat wasn’t that great, but I saw some empty seats up pretty close and so after about three or four songs I got up my nerve, walked up and sat down in one of the vacant chairs near the stage. There was a printed invitation on the floor that the previous occupants had left behind. It was one of my first introductions to the jaded excesses of the music business. These people had gotten free tickets, a great seat, a personal invitation to the show and they had left after two or three songs! I couldn’t believe it. It was a great show and I was thoroughly impressed. I saw them play together several times at the Troubador, a much more intimate setting, later that year. They were always great. They’re first debut album, Full Moon, is one of my all-time favorite albums. Unfortunately, it’s never been released on CD. Go figure.

Rita Coolidge is a bit of an anomaly for me. I’m usually drawn to songwriters, artists like Joni Mitchell, Carole King, Shawn Colvin, Rosanne Cash, Trish Murphy, artists who, for the most part, write their own material. It’s not often I find an artist who doesn’t write at all that I like. Linda Ronstadt is the only other notable exception I can think of off hand (well Emmylou Harris as well though she did start writing quite a bit in the last few years), though there may be others. But Coolidge always had a fantastic ear for great songs and many of the songs she recorded were new to me, I wasn’t familiar with other versions. It’s Only Love was her fifth album and it’s probably my favorite. It follows the basic blueprint of her other albums that came before it. Produced by David Anderle (he’d produced her first four albums as well), it’s an excellent collection of ten great songs. “Born To Love Me” and the title track are perfect vehicles for Coolidge’s pure, smooth, sultry, naturally romantic vocals. She has such a wonderful, unique voice that seems tailor made for love songs. Written by little known Nashville songwriter Bob Morrison (I’m guessing there was a Kristofferson connection in there as he was signed to Monument Records) they are also an example of Coolidge’s knack for finding great material that others missed. Matter of fact every song on this album is a love song. There’s one from Kristofferson (”Late Again”), one from the great southern team of Donnie Fritts (a Kristofferson sideman for many, many years) and Eddie Hinton (”Don’t Let Love Pass You By”) and a fantastic version of the Donna Weiss classic “Star.” Coolidge and Anderle take a decidedly interesting sidestep for the last two songs on the album. “Mean To Me” and “Am I Blue” are two classic jazz songs featured in a full, flat out late night jazz session setting. It’s not really my cup of tea, but I think they work very well for what they are.

Coolidge would finally find that elusive hit and huge commercial success with her next album, Anytime…Anywhere. A Top 10 album with three hit singles it also marked a noticeable turn towards a slicker, more pop orientated sound that I never found quite as appealing as her earlier earthy, country/folk flavored albums.

It’s criminal that NONE of Rita Coolidge’s early albums are available on CD. I think the first three were released on CD in Japan at some point, but they were always impossible to find and now fetch over $100 each on Amazon.com. There’s a fine two disc collection titled Delta Lady: The Rita Coolidge Anthology but it’s just ludicrous that her catalog has been so completely ignored in these days of endless remasters and reissues. The Australian reissue label Raven has just released a two-fer containing Anytime…Anywhere and Love Me Again, which is a start. Granted, those two records were probably her most commercially successful so maybe it makes sense, but they were far from her best. We can only hope that someone, somewhere will finally see the light and make an effort to get her first five albums out on CD sometime soon.

Other Listens on August 9th:
Tomorrow The World by The Shazam
Millionaire by Kevin Welch
The Historical Conquests Of Josh Ritter
Pretty Much Your Standard Ranch Stash by Michael Nesmith
Why The Hell Not… The Songs Of Kinky Friedman by Various Artists
Taking The Long Way by The Dixie Chicks

I lived in Texas from 1976 to 1996, except for a brief two year period from 1980 to 1982 when I was in California and Oregon. As most anyone knows Texas is a land and a culture all to its own. The same goes for the music scene. There are literally hundreds of artists and bands who, for the most part, only play the Texas “circuit.” And I’m not just talking about “county” music either. There are plenty of rock, folk, singer-songwriter, jazz, blues, even soul and rap artists who have a significant following in Texas but can’t make much of a splash anywhere else. Some of these artists accept this reality and make a damn good living just working the Texas market (with maybe a jaunt now and then into Louisiana, Oklahoma or a few other neighboring states). There a plenty of clubs, dance halls and bars to support a very thriving music scene. Some of eeked out a niche in clubs and coffeehouses in other parts of the country that support their kind of music, but it is a patchwork network at best. Of course, there are always going to be artists who are not satisfied with a “local” following and want to make it big on the national scene. Many of them spend years slogging all over the country with nothing much to show for it. Occasionally one of them breaks through. But considering the amount of talent in Texas and the popularity some of these artists attain there, it is truly remarkable that more of them don’t manage to create more of a national following. I’ve never understood it. 

Most people only know the Dixie Chicks through their “second” incarnation. They “burst” on the mainstream country scene in 1998 with the phenomenally successful album Wide Open Spaces. With two number one singles, another Top 10 single and quadruple platinum sales the Dixie Chicks were suddenly superstars, overnight it seemed. The truth of the matter is the band had been kicking around the Texas circuit for almost ten years. Their first album, as a four piece band, a very “classic cowgirl” collection entitled Thank Heavens For Dale Evans, was released in 1990. It was followed in 1992 by Little Ol’ Cowgirl. Everything about the band, including their clothes, songs and instrumentation promoted a very traditional approach to country music. But this was the early nineties. Country music was undergoing a huge transformation in Nashville with emerging superstars like Garth Brooks blurring the lines between country, rock and pop. The Chicks had a small, loyal following, but any hopes of hitting the big time seemed awfully distant. They lost one member, released a third album in 1993, lost another member and then didn’t release anything new for almost five years. But when they finally did everything had changed and everything changed. Wide Open Spaces saw the addition of Natalie Maines, major label backing, a complete image makeover, new management and new producers. In short it was a brave new world and everything just fell into place. Everything before Wide Open Spaces was shunned,forgotten, disowned. The three early records are not in print (haven’t been for a very long time) and fetch inflated prices at places like eBay and Amazon.com. As far as the band (and most fans) are concerned Wide Open Spaces was their debut album.

Now I’ll be the first to admit I didn’t pay much attention to the Dixie Chicks, even when they broke big. The songs I would occasionally hear on the radio didn’t generate enough interest for me to buy a CD. I became a fan when they became embroiled in the 2003 controversy over Maines’ remark that they were ashamed President Bush was from Texas. Damn right. They may have lost a lot of mainstream country fans during the ensuing firestorm but I’m sure they gained some fans like me as well. I picked up a copy of their current album at the time, Home, and played it some. But I was much more interested in the the 2006 release of Taking The Long Way as this was the first album to actually be written and recorded since the “incident.”

Produced by Rick Rubin, this is not a country album, it’s a pop album. Ok, sure there are fiddles and banjos, but for the most part they are mixed way down or featured in a distinctly non-country setting. This is pop music  through and through. And it’s very clear that’s the way they want it received. Just look at the cover, there ain’t a damn thing country about it: long sleek coats, high heeled shoes, dark heavy eye makeup, stark lighting. Hell this could be a Paris fashion shoot. Ringing acoustic guitars, driving drum beats and gorgeous harmonies provide the basic backdrop for most of the songs. The really good news is that this may be the best record they’ve ever made. “Not Ready To Make Nice” is certainly my favorite song they’ve ever recorded. It’s the centerpiece of the album, an angry, passionate, soaring rebuttal to everything they had to put up with in the preceding couple of years that cuts right to the heart of the matter. Songwriting on the album is a cooperative effort. All three women are credited as songwriters on all but one of the songs. Each song also features an outside hand, usually Dan Wilson or Gary Louris, though Sheryl Crow, Mike Campbell and Neil Finn also share a credit each on a song. While this kind of “group” songwriting can sometimes result in a watered-down, lackluster outcome it seems to work for the Chicks. The album is full of great songs, all fleshed out to near perfection by Rubin and the rather long list of musicians who are on board. Favorites of mine include “Everybody Knows,” the downright rockin’ “Lubbock Or Leave It,” “Voice Inside My Head” and the infectious, borderline funky “I Like It.” The album closes with the beautiful, inspiring “I Hope” that manages to cover a lot of well travelled ground without ever resorting to cliches and worn out dialogue. Keb’ Mo’ is credited as a songwriter on this and his influence is front and center. It’s unlike anything the Chicks have done before and a great way to close things out.

The Dixie Chicks had to put up with an enormous amount of shit for several years, but in the end they got their payback. Taking The Long Way may not have sold as many copies as their earlier albums but it won five Grammy’s in 2007, including the big kahuna, Album Of The Year. Revenge is sweet.

Other Listens on July 18th:
Ultimate Collection by Jerry Jeff Walker
Russians & Americans by Al Stewart
Live At Emmajoes 10/16/82 (bootleg) by Tom Pacheco

Shelby Lynne’s been making records for almost twenty years now. Her first album, Sunrise, was released in 1989 on Epic. It took about ten years for me to find my way to her. In 2000 she released a stunning album titled I Am Shelby Lynne. Now, I’ll be honest, I’ve never heard any of her earlier albums (she made a total of five before I Am Shelby Lynne), but my understanding is that they are pretty much straight ahead country in the 90s Nashville vein. I think they’re almost all out of print now. I have a few of them, so one of these days I’ll get around to listening to them. I think she had some success, but apparently she didn’t feel like she was making the kind of music she really wanted to make. Somewhere I read a great review or heard something about I Am Shelby Lynne, so I picked it up and was just blown away. This was not country music, this was Southern blue-eyed soul music along the lines of Tony Joe White and Dan Penn but by a woman with a killer voice and a real attitude. It was a complete reinvention of herself and it worked. It worked damn well. So well in fact that Lynne received the Grammy that year for “Best New Artist.” Which is just so damn typical of everything that is wrong with the Grammy awards. I mean how do you get an award for Best New Artist when you’ve made six records during the past ten years? Whatever. I’m happy for her, but it’s just silly. The record itself was what should have received a Grammy. Bill Bottrell produced the album (he also produced Sheryl Crow’s first album) and  some of the credit has to go to him. He co-wrote just about every song on the album with Lynne and does a superb job of matching the texture and atmosphere of the music to each song and Lynne’s singing. But in the end, it was Lynne that really made the album something special. She’s a terrific singer and this batch of songs was suited perfectly to her style and her voice. It’s a minor masterpiece. 

Lynne made three more albums after I Am Shelby Lynne. Unfortunately, none of them were anywhere near the level of that album. Bottrell was gone, replaced by Lynne herself on two of them. I had high hopes for each one but was ultimately disappointed and the three of them together don’t get anywhere near the spins I still give I Am Shelby Lynne. But, I love that album so much that I’m still willing to give a new release of hers the benefit of the doubt and hope that maybe she’s found her way back to that magic place.

So, along comes Just A Little Lovin’. “Inspired By Dusty Springfield” it say prominently on the cover. On paper this sounds fantastic. What a great idea. Lynne singing Dusty Springfield classics like “You Don’t Have To Say You Love Me,” “I Only Want To Be With You,” “Breakfast In Bed” and “The Look Of Love.” What could go wrong? Well, I’m not sure I can put my finger on exactly what did go wrong, but it certainly is not the album I had hoped for. Now I’ve got no problem with covers. I love covers. An inspired cover version of a great song can be a truly wonderful thing. But the first rule of covering a song should be to bring something new to the remake. Otherwise you just make me want to listen to the original version. You’ve got to put your own mark, your own stamp on the song for it to work. A perfect cover pays obvious homage to the original in a brand new, unique way. That just doesn’t happen here. In a word, this album is boring. It’s way, way too sleepy. Dusty Springfield was a master of making a slow ballad seem animated, even effervescent. The songs might indeed be “slow” songs but between Springfield’s singing and the usually brilliant production even a slow song became a lively pop nugget.

Lynne and Producer Phil Ramone approach these songs with way too much reverence. It’s like a dusty, seldom visited museum. And everything seems slowed down to the point where everything just blends together and one song seems just like the previous one. None of the spark, the soul or the buoyancy present in so much of Springfield’s music seems present here. It’s plodding and dull. It just doesn’t work. All it makes me want to do is throw on Dusty In Memphis (which I’m actually listening to now as I write this) or The Very Best Of Dusty Springfield. And unfortunately that’s about the worst thing I can say about a collection of cover songs. Now, I will say that I’ve only given this disc a few spins so far. I can’t see how, but it’s always possible it will grow on me with a few more listens. I’d like to hope so, I just don’t have much faith that it will. I had a hard time getting through the last listen.

I bought my copy of this at Best Buy and it includes an exclusive DVD. Well, it’s not much of a DVD, it’s just two live performances filmed at what looks to be a show celebrating the release of the album in Nashville. It’s even more of a let down than the album. Lynne practically sleepwalks through “Breakfast In Bed” and “Wishin’ And Hopin’.” I mean, come on, “Wishin’ And Hopin’” is like a bottle of champagne, it should be full of sparkle and bounce, but here it’s just plain flat. 

Other Listens on June 20th:
Daltrey by Roger Daltrey
New Skin For The Old Ceremony by Leonard Cohen
Livin’ For You by Al Green
Song For An Uncertain Lady by Randy Burns