ALBUMS TO LISTEN TO ON THE SUMMER OF LOVE 50TH ANNIVERSARY

Fifty years later,the music that defined the summer of love still influenced us like it was only yesterday.Several people who were not around when the social phenomenon originally took place in 1967[including yours truly],can only wonder in awe what was it like back then considering the great music that came along with it.Music that stood the test of time,music that defined a generation,music that can still be heard on this time period and the next.

Herewith is a compilation of albums released in 1967,rock albums that changed forever the way music is recorded,listened to and the engineering on which it was made.Glanced together with their colorful album covers,I gathered here what I think is the best stuff to listen to while we all commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Summer Of Love.But then, there is a twist,I added several albums on which I thought were overlooked and something that other bloggers from Rolling Stone and other music publications won't even think of considering.And of course,the great ones are added to the mix.

Without further adieu,here are what I think are the greatest albums of 1967,some good stuff to listen to on the Summer Of Love's 50th anniversary.

1. Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

Everyone knows the Beatles were exceptional,more than four decades after the band broke up,the impact of their music is still here.With their songs being sung everywhere,from radio stations,digital music and even advertising jingles.

Fresh from their touring retirement the previous year,the Beatles had enough time experimenting in the studio without worrying about the pressures of a gig schedule.Hence,Sgt Pepper's became their seminal album that required all the sonic manipulations,with the help of course from their producer George Martin who did all the mixings in Abbey Road studios.
A 50th anniversary edition is released with a second disc filled with outtakes including the originally intended songs that should've been included on the album.Strawberry Fields Forever and Penny Lane which was released as a double A side single preceding the album and was later compiled on the Magical Mystery Tour LP which was released in the latter part of 1967.

2. BEE GEES 1st


Its a shame a lot of people today knew the Bee Gees as a disco group and the band's early albums were almost pretty much forgotten.Before the Gibb brothers were hitting high with that falsetto while John Travolta is strutting his way through Night Fever, the Bee Gees were actually a five piece rock band that played along with psychedelia and the music that came out from the pen of the three brothers along with the help from two of their bandmates Vince Melouney and Colin Petersen during this time period are marvellous and should not be ignored.

Their first international album Bee Gees 1st clearly points the fact that the band were not Beatles clones but rock stars in their own right competing with biggies such as the former and  the Rolling Stones. The album is a masterpiece and ranks alongside Sgt Pepper as one of the greatest that ever came out of 1967.

3. DISRAELI GEARS

All three members of Cream have excellent resumes prior to the band's formation.The band's second album is where Cream established their own sound,in contrast to their debut released a year earlier where the Delta blues influence is very much observed.

The tour that followed the release of this album is where Eric Clapton achieved a god status in rock guitar.A title that he kept many years later.

 4. THE DOORS

 What would rock music be without the Doors? This debut released early in the year is just mind blowing.Considering the fact that Jim Morrison became such an important icon that his image lingered through the pages of rock magazines and t-shirts years after he passed away.

The Doors changed forever the way music is presented onstage and no wonder the then 32 year old Elvis Presley got so mesmerized and never felt so overwhelmed with the music that is unfolding right before his eyes.The King later acknowledged  the way rock n' roll has evolved during his comeback tv special that was aired a year later.

5. BETWEEN THE BUTTONS

 We all know that the Stones are still rocking and touring more than fifty years later.We all know the impact of what Mick Jagger has then and now considering that newer bands were even singing about his 'moves' over the funny fact that Mick later claimed that he never got paid when Maroon 5 used his name.

I chose this Rolling Stones album over their other 1967 effort Their Satanic Majesties Request to be in this list.Who wants another Pepper clone anyway?

6. MORE OF THE MONKEES

An awesome feat here is that the Monkees has outsold both the Beatles and the Rolling Stones combined with this album.Not to mention the chart performance that has never been equaled until today.

Nevertheless,the Monkees has defined 1967 with  all its might.

7. THE WHO SELL OUT

The Who became one of the most influential bands in rock music,not to mention being famous as the destroyers of expensive hardware.

8. ARE YOU EXPERIENCED

What would the sixties be without Jimi Hendrix? Forming his band with two English musicians after moving to London in late 1966,Hendrix came back to the US as a mighty fish.

And like the other artists that came out of this time period of creativity-his guitar prowess has endured the test of time and has never been equaled.

9. A GIFT FROM A FLOWER TO A GARDEN

 A few gifted musicians and songwriters were often overlooked today.But I suppose a lot of people will have their memories refreshed with the inclusion of this 1967 double album by Donovan.It was cited by Mojo as a masterpiece making Mr Leitch a god of folk rock and psychedelia crossovers.

 10. MR FANTASY

 Steve Winwood's genius and soulful voice is pretty much dominant no matter what band he's into.

This is Traffic's best album ever and over the fact that it came out of the good vibes out of '67.







(c) 2017 Keith Vernon Adagio

A YEAR AFTER YOU'RE GONE: REMEMBERING DAVID BOWIE

A lot of people both in the entertainment world or not,were shocked over the news that David Bowie has passed away around two days after his 69th birthday.Now a year later,we are still in a state of confusion or perhaps vivid fascination,asking ourselves "why?" and "how?".

Hence,David Bowie's sudden passing has indeed started the  dreadful Class Of 2016  trend which was followed by different rock stars and celebrities at a fast and dizzying rate.A fact that the 27 Club became so tame and feeble compared to it.

David Robert Jones was born in Brixton, London on  January 8th 1947 and like his famous musician peers,he was attracted to blues and rock n'roll during his teenage years,performing with one band after another- a fad that has started in school. Dave and his band at the time were singing in pseudo black style-a thing that both the Rolling Stones and the Yardbirds were also doing.He performed professionally as David Bowie as to not confuse him with another British singer--Davy Jones of Monkees fame.

One would quickly notice Bowie's eyes,no,not that evil glance he is known for portraying his albums.But the unusual appearance and discoloration wherein the other one is dilated and the other one is not. Though Google explains it as a rare medical condition called anisocoria,rumor has it that he got the eye defect during a fight in school that has left his eyes permanently damaged.

Bowie drifted from one band to another until he realized that a solo career with a backing band is much better than dealing with a group of equal partnership.He had a few attempts to break the mainstream with one debut album in 1967 but didn't struck oil until 1969's "Space Oddity".The said single was even more successful when it was reissued in 1975.

The seventies were a huge decade for Bowie where he launched himself on colossal albums The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars,Aladdin Sane,Diamond Dogs,Station To Station and so on...Bowie presented himself as different personalities on each of the albums released with music critics easily christening him as the chameleon of rock n'roll.And like what other rock stars that have went through on that tumultuous era,there came the drugs particularly cocaine that has caused him to lose more weight,making his cheeks so hollow without him even noticing it.Bowie has known to have been extremely petrified of LSD,also a recreational drug known at the time with its link to schizophrenia- a thing that his aunt was known to have been strucked with.Such painful experiences became his inspiration writing songs themed with such evil and darkness.After one final tour supporting his Ziggy Stardust album,the aftershow party that followed suggests on what his status has reached-the McCartneys,the Jaggers,Elton John all came to honor the most beautiful and glamorous rock star of his time.Bowie has stated of being gay as early as 1967 saying that "I am gay and always has been",making him one of the first rock stars to admit their sexual preferences.


The eighties were sober times for the thin white duke,writing the upbeat "Let's Dance" and releasing it in 1983.And whenever he sings his old songs from the seventies it sounded as if it was written by some wacko nephew.It was in this decade that he has mellowed a bit,well, a lot of rock stars from the sixties did anyway.

Not letting a good talent go to waste,Bowie busied himself with movies as well apart from starring in several concert films at his height of fame in the 70s,he took acting seriously,from a gay World War II British soldier captured by the Japanese Imperial Army to voicing over children's cartoons as Lord Royal Highness.

It was later revealed that he learned how serious his illness was three months before he died but took it in stride.A lot of people especially closed friends and some fans weren't actually aware of how seriously ill he was.But like your usual professional entertainer the show must indeed go on and he all left us a gift which was considered his final masterpiece.

Though it was a little sad that he had his first number one record after he passed away,one would think of artists like Vincent Van Gogh sharing the same feat as the chameleon of rock would've had.But everytime we put that Ziggy Stardust CD or perhaps a vinyl of say,The Man Who Sold The World,David Bowie's legacy remains with us like a shooting star shining bright in the night sky,gone too soon,which leaves us wondering perhaps when are we going to see him again.Yet his spirit on those records live on.

On the subject of artistic uniqueness,there could only be one David Bowie!

(c) 2016 Keith Vernon Adagio

My Top 10 Women In Rock

So what's basically the best thing to start off 2017 with fresh ideas in mind and hoping extensively that this would be a better year musicwise? Perhaps we're all still trying to dust off what was left out of the previous year and letting it all sink in.

I paid tribute to the most beautiful women of rock n' roll a while back so I hope this compilation that I will be making of the top 10 women in rock shouldn't be confused or otherwise mistakenly identify it with.

So what you will find here dear reader is talent,not to mention bad ass guitar playing,songwriting and vocal range.

1. JANIS JOPLIN

A few women in rock had the charisma and tremendous influence as Janis Joplin,who,together with her peers Jim Morrison and Jimi Hendrix defined rock music in the flower power sixties.

With fifty years of the Summer Of Love in the horizon,Janis continues to influence female rockers and inspire everyone with her timeless charm.

2. ANN AND NANCY WILSON

A lot of rock critics would agree that the Wilson sisters who comprised the core of the band Heart,is one of the most influential women in rock music.The sisters started off as a folk rock group in the seventies then gradually turned arena rock and mainstream in the eighties.

Their music spans forty years of cool acoustics,glam rock and chart topping rock ballads.After a slight decline in the mid nineties,the band came back on tour with a new album as well as an awesome set of performances in the Royal Albert Hall which was released just recently  on DVD.

 3. JONI MITCHELL

A few men and women of folk rock have made it to the mainstream and none of them were as awesome and influential as Joni Mitchell.

Joni started off her career during the folk boom of the early 1960s rivaling her American counterpart Bob Dylan and Donovan across the Atlantic.Joni revolutionized that style of songwriting wherein she used different tunings on her acoustic guitar which was later followed by both alternative and hard rock bands in the intervening years.

4. PATTY SMYTH

During her reformative years in the early 80s with her band Scandal,I would have included Patty Smyth on one of the cutest faces in rock n' roll but with  her new wave looks and awesome singing style she might as well be in this category talentwise.

Though her two solo albums has received mixed to poor reviews,her second effort released in 1992 spawned her a number one hit single with a duet with former Eagles drummer Don Henley.

Scandal was then reformed recently with Keith Mack and she does a regular local bar tours and continues to mesmerize a number of loyal followers.

5. LITA FORD

Like Patty Smyth, Lita's early career would've easily passed her as one of the pretty faces of the industry.But then something lies deeper in the soul of this heavy metal chick that talent became more prominent than looks.

 6. SHERYL CROW

The nineties were pretty much innovative,only to prove that rock music just kept on coming back because there is nothing better around in the interim.

7.BELINDA CARLISLE

Only a few women from the ashes of punk rock had made to the mainstream and eventually had successful solo careers after their respective bands had broke up to such scrutiny.From her punk band the  Go Gos to her solo albums Belinda Carlisle remains an icon,even catching the attention of former Beatle George Harrison,who played guitar solos on two tracks of her 1989 solo album Runaway Horses,even citing it as his all time favorite.

8. STEVIE NICKS

 Again,from her band to her solo career,Stevie Nicks never fail to amaze,there are some instances that her legendary status overshadows her recent achievements wherein hit records don't even matter.

9. DEBBIE HARRY

Debbie Harry has made a tremendous impact on both rock and pop that mainstream female pop stars like Madonna and Britney Spears have cited her as an influence.Her pop and rock crossovers has definitely earned her a place here at my top 10. Blondie's hit "The Tide Is High" remains an FM radio staple more than thirty years after its original release.

10. MARIANNE FAITHFULL

Mick Jagger's ex from the sixties has been a subject of one Beatles song [the fabs' rock hit "And Your Bird Can Sing" was written about her] and much controversy when the Stones got raided with rumors about her wearing nothing but a fur rug.Nevertheless,the bad publicities,booze and drugs has earned her a spot for being one of rock music's strongest women.

Before anything else I would like to give this honorable mentions to these women of rock n' roll that didn't quite make it on my list but still made a tremendous impact on the genre.

Dolores O' Riordan

Grace Slick

D' Arcy Wretzky

Naoko and Atsuko Yamano

Sean Yseult

Sinead O' Connor


 This blog article goes to my friends Anthony Carroll and Michael Ault


(c) 2016 Keith Vernon Adagio

  

CLASS OF 2016

I was about to finish this article that I left in the can about the 27 Club that has shocked millions of rock fans along with the music industry of course until something more sinister has risen right from the wrong side of the tracks that I need not to miss documenting it.

A lot of people were wondering on what will become or at least where music is heading now that we are slowly running out of talented musicians and songwriters as a lot of them are  dying one by one.You can blame  the old age on some of them or perhaps diseases that has struck, but c'mon we almost hear one celebrity(if not a rock star) dying almost every month, not counting some musicians of the local underground acts of present day punk and heavy metal.

(Pictured above,First row: Nick Menza, David Bowie,Prince
Second row: Glenn Frey, Sir George Martin, George Michael
Third Row: Paul Kantner, Greg Lake)

Is music really dead the way it was presented?  This weird phenomena actually started off as early as last year around December 2015 when Scott Weiland of Stone Temple Pilots was found dead on a tour bus of his latest band the Wildabouts on an apparent overdose,then 2016 opened the year with passings of David Bowie,then a week later it was Glenn Frey and was followed by several other musicians the following weeks thereafter.Among them were Prince Rogers Nelson who is known shortly as Prince,Maurice White of Earth,Wind & Fire, Paul Kantner of Jefferson Airplane and Jefferson Starship with the list just keeps on piling up till the last remaining days of the year.


Prince,on the other hand is known as a loner in both pop and rock music.Loner in a sense that he sings,plays all the instruments,mixes and produces his own records.Releasing his debut album in 1977,the flamboyant rock star became a subject of controversy on several award giving bodies, on the subject of album releases and name changes before he was found dead in an elevator of his home/studio.While several heavy metal superstars such as Nick Menza formerly of Megadeth suffered a heart attack after a usual night gig.

Glenn Frey was one of the founders of the Eagles who drove Country rock to prominence in the seventies.Sad fact is that the Eagles had called it quits for good after he passed away citing that he is in fact irreplaceable.

 On the other side of the  industry,two icons of the Beatles' in crowd joined perhaps the saddest year of music and entertainment history.George Martin,who produces the fab fours' albums laying that meticulous ground layer of sound if not complicated,passed away at the ripe old age of 90.Leaving behind or should I say passing over the torch to his son Giles who went on to mix several reissues and forever keeping the flame of the greatest rock band on earth alive and kicking.But goddamn 2016 isn't finished,it also took away the band's early concert promoter shortly before Christmas.

...and if that's not good enough,singer George Michael was found dead in his home on the exact yuletide day.

With a certain degree of consistency,these celebrity deaths whether a rock star or not,one cannot help but compare it to the infamous 27 Club which mysteriously took the lives of rock stars eerily at a young age of 27.So the superstitions or perhaps the numerology somehow sets in on how strange it is that the year 2016 has toppled the former regarding the number of lives it took.

Alas, as the year comes to an end all we can do is pray that these rock star deaths will somehow put to a halt.

IN MEMORIAM:

David Bowie

Dale Griffin

Paul Kantner

Glenn Frey

Maurice White


Merle Haggard

George Martin

Keith Emerson

Prince

Nick Menza


Henry McCullough

Leon Russell


Pete Burns

Greg Lake


Rick Parfitt

George Michael

(c) 2016 Keith Vernon Adagio