re-ac-tor

Keef

Mahoney's Last Stand

Here's one I'd been hoping would turn up: the out-of-print "Mahoney's Last Stand" soundtrack by RON WOOD and RONNIE LANE, with bonus tracks! A great LP from 1976, which also features an appearance by IAN STEWART.

Here's the page at RAMBLER'S PLACE (or is it THAT WAS THEN, THIS IS NOW?):

RON WOOD AND RONNIE LANE - RAMBLER'S PLACE

And thanks to jagger72 for the heads up!

Illustration by John Youssi

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Here's a great illustration by JOHN YOUSSI. I don't know what magazine this came from (maybe CIRCUS or CREEM - anyone know for sure?), but it accompanied an excerpt from TONY SANCHEZ's memoir "Up And Down With The Rolling Stones", so I'm assuming its from 1979.

Click to enlarge.

2007 Magazine of the Week #15

This week we take a quick look at the April 1988 issue of MUSICIAN magazine, with a JOHN LENNON cover story by SCOTT ISLER.

Click on images to enlarge.

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The Lennon story is mainly about the upcoming "Lost Lennon Tapes" radio series. Isler gives us the run-down on some of the tapes and previously unreleased recordings that would likely be heard on the radio show.

Here's a little excerpt that is still tantalizing, even 19 years later:

"A two-note electric guitar ostinato over a rippling bass tone creates a musical ebb-and-flow. This is not a solo tape. "I can hardly raise my head / I'm lying in my lazy bed / I haven't got a care." The ethereal, high-pitched voice - over wordless falsetto backing - comes from the land of tangerine trees and marmalade skies. The tempo is that of molasses. "Everybody's rushing 'round but me / I'm dreaming." These are THE BEATLES performing "Lullabye For A Lazy Day", a song you've never heard. And you won't hear it on The Lost Lennon Tapes either. Official co-writer Paul McYou-Know-Who is unlikely to give clearance to allow the finished (but not incredible) song to be broadcast. This one is truly lost."

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And as usual with Musician Magazine, there's plenty of other cool stuff in here too: particularly "ROBYN HITCHCOCK - On The Trail Of The Gelatinous Blindfish", a great interview in which we get the basic Hitchcock story, from his days with THE SOFT BOYS up through his new "Globe Of Frogs" LP.

Meet Elton John!

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The year was 1976:

"CREEM Celebrates The American Revolution With A ROCK REVOLUTION CONTEST!"

Readers were invited to "tell us in 25 words or less, 'just what is Rock 'n' Roll anyway?'".

The Grand Prize - "A Trip To England To Meet Elton John!"

At The Speed Of Sound

Before They Make Steve Run

If anyone deserves to cover "Before They Make Me Run", it's STEVE EARLE.

Hey wait a minute.....!

No, no, that's a compliment! Honest!

Here's the legendary Earle from May 26, 2000, closing the show with a great live version of the song. And check out those guitars!

BEFORE THEY MAKE ME RUN - STEVE EARLE

Leon and Mary Russell

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For some reason, not all of LEON RUSSELL's old LPs have been released on CD. For instance, the two "Leon and Mary Russell" LPs: "The Wedding Album" from 1976, and "Make Love To The Music", from 1977.

I recently got my hands on a nice clean vinyl copy of "Make Love To The Music", which I had never heard before. Its a fun LP, with lots of vocal interplay. A couple of the tracks are in the then-emerging disco sort of style, and there's also some nice classic Leon piano type stuff. Overall, very enjoyable. Here's my rip:

www.gigasize.com/get.php/1159815/MLTTM.rar

1 Easy Love
2 Joyful Noise
3 Now Now Boogie
4 Say You Will
5 Make Love To The Music
6 Love Crazy
7 Love Is In Your Eyes
8 Hold On To This Feeling
9 Island In The Sun

.....so does anyone have "The Wedding Album" to share?

2007 Magazine of the Week #14

TROUSER PRESS #27, the April 1978 issue.

Its got a great cover story on PETE TOWNSHEND by DAVE SCHULPS. Townshend goes on and on about how THE WHO is never going to tour again.

Click images to enlarge.

Also in this issue, DEVO, NICK GILDER, and "A Power Pop Primer".

Record reviews include BLONDIE, WIRE, STATUS QUO, and THE RUTLES.

Ride A Rock Horse

Metal Machine Music

Get Your Licks

Whistle Rymes

Klaus Speaks

I haven't had a chance to listen to it yet, but there's a free download of a recent half-hour long interview with the legendary KLAUS VOORMAN. Its from Radio 2 in The Netherlands, and its in English.

Here's the page (which is not in English):

http://schiffersfm.omroep.nl/page/artikel/204095

Elton John, part 7

Elton John, part 6

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Yet another ELTON JOHN post. I had forgotten about this one - I downloaded it a year or so ago, and of course I don't remember from where. I wish I did, because as I recall they had a pretty nice description of it.

This one really is cool - its a children's sing-along LP called "Pinball Wizard and Other Elton John Hits", by THE WILD HONEY SINGERS. For each song, a friendly female voice invites us to read along while she speaks the lyrics with a spacey guitar accompaniment. Then we're told to sing along and the band kicks in. The spoken-word tracks are hilarious, particularly "Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word".

Here's the link:

www.gigasize.com/get.php/1116379/Pinball_Wizard.rar

1-2 Your Song
3-4 Pinball Wizard
5-6 Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word
7-8 The Greatest Discovery
9-10 Don't Go Breaking My Heart
11-12 Friends

(There are two tracks for each song - first the spoken-word reading, then the full-band treatment).

And thanks to the original uploader!

2007 Magazine of the Week #13

The April 1989 issue of MUSICIAN magazine featured a cover story on LOU REED and JOHN CALE, who had just reunited to perform their new tribute to ANDY WARHOL, "Songs For 'Drella" at St. Ann's in Brooklyn (though the 'Drella CD wouldn't be released until the following year).

There's an interview with Lou, who talks at length about his new LP, "New York". Then there's an article on Cale, and an interview with the two of them where they discuss "Songs For 'Drella" and ANDY WARHOL.

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Here's an excerpt from "The Devil and JOE SATRIANI", where Joe talks about working with MICK JAGGER:

MUSICIAN: How different was it in Mick Jagger's band, with him calling the shots?

SATRIANI: He's really a complex musician, but a straight-ahead guy at the same time. Mick assembled the craziest bunch of players in the world. During rehearsals in New York, he would jam with us in small groups or sometimes all together. But he would often just leave us alone, and you know how musicians are: Soon there would be this big jam session going on. And he would just listen while he walked around working on the staging or lighting. He'd walk up to you while you're jamming and check out what you're doing and smile.

Then, as we started getting into the songs, he'd remind you of something that he'd heard in the middle of some tech-rap-bebop jam and say, "You can do that if you want".

MUSICIAN: Was it a blast playing those classic Stones songs?

SATRIANI: It's fantastic. It was like a rock 'n' roll dream come true. Of course it would be fun for all of us to see Keith and Mick get back together again.

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Also in the issue is an article about the recent Rock'n Roll Hall Of Fame ceremony, in which THE ROLLING STONES were inducted. The story notes that Keith "wasn't exactly chummy with Jagger".

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Click on images to enlarge.

Elton John, part 5

In May 1977 ELTON JOHN played six shows at The Rainbow in London with percussionist RAY COOPER. Elton had temporarily split with his longtime songwriting partner BERNIE TAUPIN and did not release an LP that year.

This is a wonderful double CD of the May 7th show called "Rainbow Rock":

Disc One:

www.gigasize.com/get.php/1104465/Rainbow_Rock_1.rar

01 Your Song

02 The Greatest Discovery

03 Border Song

04 Daniel

05 Sweet Painted Lady

06 Rocket Man

07 I Heard It Through The Grapevine

08 Candle In The Wind

09 Roy Rogers

10 Dan Dare

11 Cage The Songbird

12 Where To Now St. Peter

13 Ticking

14 Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me

Disc Two:

www.gigasize.com/get.php/1100524/Rainbow_Rock_2.rar

01 Take Me To The Pilot

02 Funeral For A Friend

03 Tonight

04 Better Off Dead

05 Idol

06 I Feel Like A Bullet

07 I Think I'm Going To Kill Myself

08 Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word

09 Crazy Water

10 Bennie And The Jets

11 Saturday Night's Alright

12 Goodbye

Artwork is included in the Disc One file.

Destroy All Rational Thought

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Can't get enough of the MASTER MUSICIANS OF JOUJOUKA?

Then check out JOE AMBROSE and FRANK RYNNE's "Destroy All Rational Thought", the new DVD that, according to THEHANDSTAND.ORG, contains "performances from the extraordinary to the sublime, including such influential Beat scenesters as William Burroughs, Brion Gysin, Hamri (the Moroccan national painter) and the Master Musicians of Joujouka, amongst many, many others connected to the Gysin/Burrough`s Tangier Beat Axis. The DVD contains one of the last interviews given by William Burroughs as well as previously unseen footage of him from the 50`s and 60`s, a slide show of paintings exhibited by Gysin and Burroughs, the music of Bill Laswell, Frank`s band the Baby Snakes, Islamic Diggers as well as texts and contributions by key writers Terry Wilson, Ira Cohen and Gysin and Burroughs."

For more info, and an interview with Joe and Frank, click here.

The Lennon Sessions

I read this book today (oh boy) - "The Lennon Sessions" by TONY DAVILIO with MARY VICARIO, published in 2004 in Canada. Its a short (139 pages) account of Davilio's stint as "Arranger" for JOHN LENNON's "Double Fantasy" sessions in 1980.
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Davilio was right there in the middle of the studio throughout the recording sessions, writing out chord charts, lead sheets, horn arrangements, etc, and received a Grammy as Arranger when "Double Fantasy" won the Album of the Year award.

There are really no great revelations here, but the book is fun and light, and its nice to have an account by someone who was right smack dab in the middle of the action. (Although I think he may have gotten mixed up with some dates). And believe it or not, there is no mention of any drug use!

For more info on the book, check out Davilio's site:

WWW.TONYDAVILIO.COM