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Today in Rock History – June 22

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1968, Herb Alpert started a four week run at number one on the singles chart with “This Guys In Love With You.” It was his first chart topper, plus first number one for the A&M label, as well as for writers Burt Bacharach and Hal David

1968, The Rolling Stones go to number one in the UK with “Jumpin’ Jack Flash.” It was the first time they had visited the top spot in two years.

1968, Rolling Stone, reviews the bootleg Basement Tapes in an article titled “The Missing Bob Dylan Album.”

1968, Actor Richard Harris goes to number two with his seven-minute reading of “MacArthur Park.”

1968, The Jeff Beck group featuring Rod Stewart made their US debut at the Fillmore East, New York.

1968, The Otis Redding album Dock Of The Bay went to number one posthumously. Redding was killed in a plane crash on December 10th 1967.

1969, Singer, actress, Judy Garland, died of a barbiturate overdose at age 47. She was found on the floor of her rented Chelsea home, in London. She made more than two dozen films, most  notably playing Dorothy in  1939’s Wizard Of Oz, singing “Over The Rainbow” in the film.

1969, Supergroup Blind Faith release their self-titled album.

1970, Led Zeppelin appeared at Laugardalsholl Hall, Reykjavik, Iceland on the group’s one and only visit to Iceland. It is suggested that Robert Plant was inspired to write the lyrics to “Immigrant Song” during this trip.

1974, Gordon Lightfoot started a two-week run at number one on the album chart with Sundown.

1975, At New York’s Madison Square Garden, Eric Clapton joins the Rolling Stones onstage to jam on “Sympathy for the Devil.”

1978, The Boomtown Rats, supported by Matt Vinyl & The Decorators appeared at the Odeon Theatre, Edinburgh, Scotland.

1985, Bryan Adams started a two week run at number one on the US singles chart with “Heaven,” his first chart topping single, which made it only to number 35 in the UK.

1990, Ry Cooder and David Lindley, The Cure, Happy Mondays, Sinead O’Connor, Deacon Blue, De La Soul, Adamski, Blue Aeroplanes, Julian Cope, Del Amitri, Jesus Jones, James and The Pale Saints all appeared on day one of the Glastonbury Festival. A three day ticket cost £38 ($61).

2008, Coldplay went to number one on the UK singles chart with “Viva La Vida,” their first UK chart topper. The song won a Grammy Award for Song of the Year in 2009.

2013, “Blurred Lines” by Robin Thicke started a 13 week run at number one on the US singles chart. The song featured American rapper T.I. and American singer and producer Pharrell, the video was made in two versions; the first video features models Emily Ratajkowski, Jessi M’Bengue, and Elle Evans being topless, the second features them covered. The topless version of the video was removed from YouTube for violating the site’s terms of service regarding nudity, though it was later restored, but flagged as inappropriate. “Blurred Lines” topped the charts in 14 countries.

Born on June 22: Kris Kristofferson (1936); Chris Blackwell, English record producer, co-founder Island Records (1937); Murphy Dunne, American actor, keyboards, The Blues Brothers (1942); Peter Asher, English singer, guitarist, producer, Peter and Gordon (1944); Howard Kaylan, The Turtles, Flo & Eddie, Frank Zappa (1947); Todd Rundgren (1948); Larry Junstrom, American bass player, 38 Special and Lynyrd Skynyrd (1949); Craig Gruber, American bass player, Rainbow, Elf, Bible Black, and Raven Lord (1951); Cyndi Lauper (1953); Derek Forbes, Scottish bass player, guitarist, Simple Minds, Big Country (1956); Garry Gary Beers, Australian bass player, songwriter, producer, INXS, Absent Friends (1957); Jimmy Somerville, Scottish singer-songwriter, Bronski Beat,  The Communards (1961); Bobby Gillespie, Scottish singer-songwriter, Primal Scream, The Jesus and Mary Chain, The Wake (1962); Dicky Barrett, American singer, actor, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones (1964); Steven Page, Canadian singer-songwriter, guitarist Barenaked Ladies (1970);

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Song Of The Day – “Collide-A-Scope” by Todd Rundgren

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toddrundgrenstateI love Todd Rundgren. I’ve been a fan since the early 1970s, and at this point I don’t see that ever changing. Like Neil Young, Todd is one of the most mercurial of artists who still makes interesting records in all sorts of genres mainly to please himself. That’s made for lots of experimentation along the way resulting in all different types of records like Beatles sound-alikes, samba reworking of older material, a record of Robert Johnson covers (called Todd Rundgren’ s Johnson, no less), rap and disco. So even when Rundgren doesn’t hit the ball out of the park, say on records like (re)Production and One Long Year, you can always count on at least being taken on an interesting ride.

Things must get awful claustrophobic all alone in that studio for Todd Rundgren, judging by the state of affairs on his new album State. It’s an album full of doctor visits, heart attacks, death, bummer relationships, a little bit of faith and a dash of party liquor to make things better.

Todd’s 24th studio effort features him alone in the studio playing everything on ten tracks in different states of heaviosity. The album’s opener “Imagination” begins with classic swirling synths circa 1974 Utopia, before morphing into Black Sabbath territory. The eight minute track features Rundgren’s statement of purpose, “I am what I am…I don’t have a plan to sell myself…Every day’s the same old song…” Unfortunately he fulfills this purpose on a record that pays more attention to creating electronic soundscapes than on writing actual songs.

The first thing you notice is the expansive, thunderous electronic sound inherent in all of the tracks. The audio tracks are powerful and sound good when played loud, but they are almost completely devoid of any melody whatsoever. By the end of the ten tracks, you’ve been exhausted from being pounded into submission. If you’re a fan of the Philly soul Todd, the pop tunesmith Todd or the prog rock Todd, this isn’t going to be the album for you.

The overall sound of the record uses dubstep and EDM as a jumping off point, but by trying to keep up with these trends, Rundgren comes off sounding even more out of step, especially with the wood and strings revival taking place by the current crop of groups that are ruling the charts. And besides, Rundgren did electronica much better before there ever was dubstep.

The new album has more in common with Liars and The Individualist than any of his other records; however both records have songs with far more memorable melodies than this one. Today’s song of the day employs the same lyrical format as on “Happy Anniversary” from Liars, although it really doesn’t have anything much to say. Elsewhere, the song “Serious” comes off like a techno version of Jimi Hendrix’s “Crosstown Traffic,” and “Smoke” attempts to get things going on the dance floor, but ultimately falls flat.

State is also one of Todd’s most lyrically inane records, with songs whose sentiments travel from the misguided to the just plain senseless, especially on “Party Liquor,” one of the record’s weakest tracks. The rest of the songs try to make heavy comments on different states of the world, like “Angry Birds” and “Ping Me” which take on our phone-centric tech savvy lifestyles, although they really don’t say much at all.

Songs like “Something From Nothing,” “Sir Reality” and “In My Mouth” come closest to the Todd most people love the most in both feel and vocal style (and as a result are the best of the bunch), but they only provide a diversion from the claustrophobic electronics elsewhere.

To make matters worse, the deluxe version of the CD includes a second disc with a live performance from last November featuring the Metropole Orchestra backing Todd on such classics as “Another Life,” “Hello It’s Me,” “We Gotta Get You A Woman,” a gorgeous “Flamingo” from A Wizard A True Star, “Mammon,” “Fascist Christ,” several songs from Hermit Of Mink Hollow: “Can We Still Be Friends,” “Bag Lady” and “Fade Away,” several songs from 2nd Wind: “It I Have To Be Alone,” “Love In Disguise” and  “Love Science,” plus many others. Unfortunately, listening to this disc only puts how weak some of Rundgren’s new songs are into hard contrast.

So, Todd really has nothing to prove with State, as stated in the album’s very first song, and overall he does a good job at doing just that.

Song Of The Day – “Bardo” by Todd Rundgren

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toddrundgrenarenaI’m kind of stuck in the middle of a Todd Rundgren jag at the moment. And if you’re a Todd fan, there are many reasons to be excited.

With the recent releases of not one, but two new live recordings from a recent tour, each of a classic album: “Todd” (originally released in 1974)and “Healing” (1980), plus the belated appearance of the 1976 Utopia album “Disco Jets,” I guess I just can’t seem to get enough of that Todd stuff.
It’s led me to revisit some albums from his catalog that I haven’t heard in a while. Once such album is his 2008 album, “Arena”, which, to be honest, I didn’t like much when it first came out. Even after seeing him on the tour to support the record, I still didn’t get it.

“Arena” was the follow up to “Liars” which was a terrific record that delved into religious themes, and was a musically varied affair with elements of soul, hard rock and several great electronic dance tunes. So when “Arena” appeared, I was disappointed with the simplicity of sound within. But sometimes, you play a record again, and it hits you the right way after the passage of time, and that’s what happened to me with “Arena.”

The record came about after Todd toured arenas around the world as a member of The New Cars. While becoming the lead singer for The Cars may not have been his best career move, it did reinvigorate him enough to make a record that harked back to some of his best hard-rocking tunes like “Black Mariah” and “Black And White.”

The concept of “Arena” was to put out a lit-Bic-in-the-air arena rock record, just like they used to back in the 70s and 80s, and this record is pretty faithful to the sound and feel of the era. All of the songs have simple one-word titles that match the meat and potatoes rock ‘n’ roll stew cooked up inside. The album is also a one-man show with everything produced on an Apple laptop computer.

On today’s Song Of The Day, Todd gets in touch with his inner Robin Trower by showcasing his amazing guitar shredding. Here’s a live clip from the “Arena” tour.

Today in Rock History – August 21

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1965, The Rolling Stones started a three week run at No.1 on the album chart with Out Of Our Heads the group’s first No.1 album.

1965, During a 17 date UK tour, The Who played at the Palais in Bournemouth.

1966, On their last ever US tour The Beatles performed in two cities due to a cancellation due to rain the previous day. First they performed at Crosley Field in Cincinnati, Ohio. Then they flew to St. Louis, Missouri, for a concert at Busch Stadium, where they performed under a tarpaulin due to heavy rain. It was this gig that convinced Paul McCartney that The Beatles should stop performing live.

1967, The Doors started recording their second album Strange Days at Sunset Sound Studios, Hollywood, California.

1968,Tommy James and The Shondells returned to the No.1 position for the second time with the single “Mony Mony.”

Lynyrd Skynyrd

1969, During a North American tour Led Zeppelin appeared at the Carousel Theatre in Framingham, Massachusetts.

1969, Yes played at the Star Club, Hamburg, Germany.

1970, Led Zeppelin performed at Assembly Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma

1971, The Band performed at Borough of York Stadium in Toronto, Ontario.

1971, Arthur Brown’s Kingdom Come, Hawkwind, Duster Bennett, Brewers Droop, Indian Summer, Graphite, Queen all appeared at the Tregye Festival Truro, Cornwall, England.

1972, Jack Casady of Jefferson Airplane was arrested after a fight broke out on stage during a concert when the police had been called “pigs.” Grace Slick was maced and another group member injured at the show in Akron.

1974, Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young appear at the Capital Centre, Landover, Maryland.

1976, The Rolling Stones, 10CC, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Todd Rundgren’s Utopia and Hot Tuna all appeared at The Knebworth Festival, Hertfordshire, England.

1977, Yes appeared at War Memorial Auditorium, Rochester, New York.

1978, AC/DC  performed at the Paradise Theatre, Boston, Massachusetts.

1979, Van Halen played at the MECCA Arena, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

1980, Blue Oyster Cult appeared at McNichols Sports Arena, Denver, Colorado.

1981, The Allman Brothers Band performed at Cape Cod Coliseum, South Yarmouth, Massachusetts.

1982, U2 singer Bono married Alison Stewart, his girlfriend from 1975 at All Saints Church, Raheny in Ireland. U2 bassist Adam Clayton acted as Bono’s best man.

1983, The Grateful Dead performed at Frost Amphitheater on the campus of Stanford University, Palo Alto, California.

1983, Ramones guitarist Johnny Ramone had a four-hour brain surgery operation, after being found unconscious in a New York Street where he had been involved in a fight.

1997, Oasis’ third album Be Here Now, became one of the fastest selling albums ever, shifting over 350,000 units on the first day of release. The cover image for Be Here Now was shot at Stocks House in Hertfordshire, the former home of Victor Lownes, the head of the Playboy Clubs in the UK.

2005, Robert Moog, inventor of the synthesizer died aged 71, four months after being diagnosed with brain cancer. Dr Moog built his first electronic instrument, a theremin – aged 14 and made the MiniMoog, “the first compact, easy-to-use synthesizer” in 1970. He won the Polar prize, Sweden’s, music equivalent to the Nobel prize, in 2001. Wendy Carlos’ 1968 Grammy award-winning album, Switched-On Bach, brought Dr Moog to prominence.

2008, Drummer Buddy Harman died of congestive heart failure at age 79. He worked with Elvis Presley (“Little Sister,”) Patsy Cline (“Crazy,”) Roy Orbison (“Pretty Woman,”) Johnny Cash (“Ring Of Fire’,”)  and Tammy Wynette (“Stand By Your Man.”) Harman was the first house drummer for The Grand Ole Opry and can be heard on over 18,000 recordings.

Born on August 21: Count Basie (1904); Kenny Rogers (1937); Tom Costello, Santana (1941); Jackie DeShannon singer (1944);  Joe Strummer (1952); Budgie, Siouxsie & the Banshees and Kim Sledge, Sister Sledge (1957)

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Today in Rock History – August 13

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1965, Jefferson Airplane made their live debut at San Francisco’s Matrix Club.

1965, Mike Smith, lead singer of The Dave Clark Five, suffered two broken ribs when he was pulled off the stage by fans. The group were in Chicago at the beginning of a US tour.

1965, The performed at The Marine Ballroom at the Central Pier in Morecambe, Lancashire, England.

1965, The Beatles arrived at Kennedy International Airport for a tour of North America. The set list for the tour was “Twist and Shout,” “She’s a Woman,” “I Feel Fine,” “Dizzy Miss Lizzie,” “Ticket to Ride,” “‘Everybody’s Trying to Be My Baby,” “Can’t Buy Me Love,” “Baby’s in Black,” “Act Naturally,” “A Hard Day’s Night,” “Help!,” “I’m Down,” and “I Wanna Be Your Man.” The tour was not a happy one for The Beatles, John Lennon took to screaming off-microphone obscenities at the audiences.

1966, Lovin Spoonful started a three-week run at number one on the Billboard singles chart with “Summer In The City,” knocking of “Hanky Panky” by Tommy James and the Shondelles.

1966, Revolver, The Beatles seventh album release in three years, started a seven-week run at number one on the UK charts. Meanwhile, their Yesterday and Today album entered the third of a five-week run atop the US charts.

1967, The Who appeared at Constitution Hall, Washington, D.C. After the show, Pete Townshend and John Entwistle run over to the Ambassador to catch Jimi Hendrix’s set. When Hendrix sees Pete and John in the audience, he launches into a cover of “I Can’t Explain”.

1967, Fleetwood Mac made their live debut when they appeared at the National Jazz and Blues Festival in Windsor. Also on the bill Jeff Beck, Cream, Small Faces, The Move, The Pink Floyd, Donovan and Chicken Shack.

1968, The Who appeared at the Fillmore West in San Francisco, California.

1971, Saxophonist King Curtis Ousley was stabbed to death by a vagrant on the front steps of his New York home. Ousley had worked with John Lennon and also played on The Coasters “Yakety Yak.”

1971, John Lennon flew from Heathrow Airport to New York, he never set foot on British soil again.

1971, Pink Floyd played their first ever Australian date when they appeared at the Festival Hall in Melbourne.

1972, Hawkwind performed at the Rainbow Theatre, London.

1972, Ten Years After headlined the final day of the Reading Festival. Matching Mole, Quintessence, Stackridge, Status Quo, Stray, String Driven Thing, Sutherland Brothers, Vinegar Joe, and Wizzard were also on the bill.

1973, John McLaughlin’s Mahavishnu Orchestra played at the Wollman Skating Rink Theater in New York City.

1974, Rory Gallagher appeared at The Agora, in Cleveland, Ohio.

1975, The Grateful Dead performed at the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco. The show was broadcast on September 1st by the Metromedia Network.

1976, The Clash played a private gig for the press at Chalk Farm rehearsal studios, London.

1977, Yes scored their second UK number one album with their eighth studio album Going For The One. The album marked the return of keyboardist Rick Wakeman, who departed in 1974 over musical differences.

1977, Bachman Turner Overdrive split up.

1978, AC/DC appeared at Gusman Philharmonic Hall, Miami, Florida.

1980, Four masked robbers broke in to Todd Rundgren’s New York house and proceeded to steal Hi-Fi equipment and paintings after tying the musician up. It was reported that one of the intruders had been humming his hit “I Saw The Light.”

1980, The Allman Brothers Band played at the Poplar Creek Music Theater, Hoffman Estates, Illinois.

1982, American soul singer Joe Tex died at his home in Navasota, Texas, following a heart attack, just five days after his 49th birthday. Had nine US Top 40 hits including the 1972 US number two single “I Gotcha.”

1983, KC and the Sunshine Band were at number one on the UK singles chart with “Give It Up.” The American disco group’s only UK chart topper spent three weeks at the top spot.

1992, Neil Diamond played the first of six sold-out nights at Madison Square Garden in New York. Diamond would bring in over $40 (£25) million from touring this year, the second highest in the music industry.

1994, Woodstock ’94 was held in Saugerties, New York, attended by over 350,000 fans, the festival featured Green Day, Nine Inch Nails, Aerosmith, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Tickets cost $135.00 (£89.00). Performers from the original Woodstock appearing at Woodstock ’94 were The Band, Santana, Joe Cocker, Country Joe McDonald, John Sebastian, surviving members of Sweetwater, and Crosby, Stills, & Nash. Additionally, Jorma Kaukonen and Jack Casady of Jefferson Airplane, and Bob Weir, guitar of the Grateful Dead, all Woodstock alumni, performed with The Band.

2009, Guitarist Les Paul died in hospital in White Plains, New York at the age of 94 suffering from severe pneumonia. Paul is credited with developing one of the first solid-body electric guitars, which went on sale in 1952 and contributed to the birth of rock. He also developed other influential recording innovations such as multi-track recording and overdubbing. In the early 50s, Paul and his wife Mary Ford had a string of hits including “Mockin’ Bird Hill,” “How High the Moon,” and “Vaya Con Dios.”

Born on August 13: Cliff Fish, bass, Paper Lace (1949); Dan Fogelberg (1951); Hughie Thomasson,  singer, guitarist, Outlaws, Lynyrd Skynyrd (1952); Danny Bonaduce, The Partridge Family (1959)

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Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – “Does Anybody Love You?” by Todd Rundgren

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Rodgers & Hammerstein…Lerner & Lowe…Andrew Lloyd Webber…Todd Rundgren? Todd’s name up there with some of Broadway’s most illustrious composers is not so farfetched. Indeed, one can trace the Broadway sensibility Rundgren has harbored for years thorough tracks like “Can’t We Just Be Friends,” “It Wouldn’t Have Made Any Difference,” “Parallel Lines,” “Change Myself,” “Hello It’s Me,” “Love Of The Common Man,” “Healing,” “Cliché,” “Lord Chancellor’s Nightmare Song,” and numerous others, including today’s Song Of The Day. Meanwhile, Rundgren has never shied away from covering show tunes on some of his albums either, including “Never Never Land” (from “Peter Pan”) and “Something’s Comin’” (from “West Side Story”). There was a time during the late 1990s when Rundgren became involved with composing the score for the off-Broadway production of Joe Orton’s “Up Against It.” The play was originally intended to be the Beatles’ next screen project following “Help,” but it never came to fruition. Rundgren composed all the music for the show, but the production never moved past its off-Broadway beginnings. The music from the play was, in fact, released only in Japan with some of its songs making their way to his “2nd Wind” and “Nearly Human” albums. In 1972, Todd Rundgren released his classic album “Something Anything,” which established him on rock radio and was chock-full of Broadway flavored material including its two hit singles “Hello It’s Me” and “I Saw The Light.” For the album’s follow-up in 1973, Rundgren sculpted a psychedelic melange encompassing everything from hard rock to Broadway pop, including the aforementioned cover of “Never Never Land.” Spurred on by The Beatles’ side two medley on “Abbey Road,” the whole first side of “A Wizard, A True Star” is also a whirlwind medley. But tucked away on the second side, is today’s Song Of The Day, one of his most tuneful Broadway-inspired gems.

Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – “Something For The Girl With Everything” by Sparks

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Sparks emanated from Los Angeles and cut their first two Todd Rundgren-produced records in Woodstock, New York for the Bearsville record label. The brothers Mael (Russell the flamboyant lead singer and Ron, the keyboard player with the Hitler mustache) were one of Rundgren’s first production projects on the records “Sparks” (originally titled “Halfnelson” which was the band’s original name) from 1971 and “A Woofer In Tweeter’s Clothing” from 1972. Both records tanked on these shores, so the brothers broke up the band, moved to England, got on the glam bandwagon and formed a new band. In a musical world inhabited by David Bowie, Mott The Hoople, Lou Reed, The New York Dolls and Queen, they caused a sensation across the pond with songs like “This Town Ain’t Big Enough For The Both Of Us,” “Talent Is An Asset” and “At Home At Work At Play.” In 1974, they brought their act back to these shores where they became cult favorites. They would go on to work with dance music pioneer Giorgio Moroder on their 1979 “#1 In Heaven Record,” score a 1983 hit with “Cool Places” recorded with Jane Wiedlin from The Go-Go’s, and record countless records for countless labels. They are still together today and tour occasionally…but hardly ever in America. With over 20 albums under their belt, Sparks are the glam fad that just wouldn’t go away…

Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – “Freedom Fighters” by Todd Rundgren’s Utopia

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They were originally billed at Todd Rundgren’s Utopia for their first few albums in 1974 and 1975, and then they just became Utopia…but under any name they were just another vehicle for Todd to go all prog on us instead of sticking to the radio-friendly pop and blue-eyed soul that he’d been serving out up to this point. Sure, we’d had a taste of the wiggy Todd before on the albums “A Wizard, A True Star” and “Todd,” but Utopia’s first foray featured just four songs all over ten minutes long with the exception of this one. In fact, the entire second side of the album featured the 30 minute opus, “The Ikon,” which is required listening for any Todd-ophile. The original line-up of Utopia included Moogy Klingman and Ralph Schuckett on keyboards, M. Frog Labat on synths, John Siegler on bass, Kevin Ellman on drums and Todd on guitar and vocals.

Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – “Bad Time” by Grand Funk Railroad

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Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – “Bad Time” by Grand Funk Railroad

This is not exactly the “Footstompin’ Music” that Grand Funk Railroad were known for in the late ’60s and early ’70s.

But once they lost the Railroad in their name and came under the aegis of Todd Rundgren and Jimmy Ienner, the hits started to come fast and furious including “We’re An American Band,” “The Loco-Motion,” “Shinin’ On,” “Walk Like A Man,” “Some Kind Of Wonderful” and today’s Song Of The Day which climbed to #4 on the pop charts in 1975!

The song was on the group’s ninth album All The Girls In The World Beware!!! and was the follow-up single to their huge hit “Some Kind Of Wonderful.”

Pair this song with “Go All The Way” by The Raspberries and you’ve got pure pop nirvana!

The 3D RadioActivity – OlympicSports

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This week on  The Award Winning 3D RadioActivity, and on this episode we are celebrating triple gold, Our 150th Show and in tribute to The London Olympics, Seanimal and I are playing songs about Sports!  Music and sports are so intertwined it’s hard to imagine one without the other. The action on the field has a built-in sound track—a perfect score.

The ancient Greeks intently tied the performance of music to sporting events, particularly at their quadrenniel Olympic games.  The use of music at sporting events is a practice that is thousands of years old, but has recently had a resurgence as a noted phenomenon. Some sports have specific traditions with respect to pieces of music played at particular intervals. Others have made the presentation of music very specific to the team—even to particular players. Music may be used to build the energy of the fans, and music may also be introduced in ways that are less directly connected with the action in a sporting event.

Tune in for 26 songs with over 100 minutes of music!