Left to right: Larry Mullin, Jr.; Adam Clayton; The Edge; and Bono Vox.
When I was researching what happened in music 30 years ago, one musical event caught my eye, and I am just sorry I missed it this past spring. In February of 1983, a young band from Dublin, Northern Ireland, released an album that changed the musical landscape. Bona Vox, 'War' was released by The Edge, Adam Clayton, and Larry Mullin, Jr., better known collectively as U2. It was not their first, but the third album from the band, who had established themselves as a musical force with their debut album, 'Boy', and the follow-up, 'October', both of which certified Platinum in sales in the United States, quite the accomplishment for the Irish boys. And then came 'War'.
The band soared to new heights when the album was released, with sales certified as quadruple Platinum. This established U2 as one of the premiere bands of the decade. And this was just the beginning for them. Part of the reason for the success of the album was the remarkable quality of the music. This can be shown with the three singles released from the album, setting the bar for the album. Hitting the shelves on January 1, 1983, "New Years Day" started off as a song about love, but morphed into a song that was inspired by the Polish Solidarity movement, where the Labor Unions came together to fight the bureaucratic Polish government in 1980. The strength of the unions, with leader Lech Wałęsa providing a shining beacon for much of the world. Soon the song became a rallying cry for many across the globe, the message of unity ringing clear. This is the music video for "New Year's Day".
The second single off the album was "Two Hearts Beat As One". Like the previous single, "Two Hearts Beat As One" scored well in the rock market, with heavy airplay on Rock and College radio. The the distinctive playing of Adam Clayton's bass and The Edge's guitar, the sound of U2 was firmly in place on the song. And, of course, there is Bono's spectacular vocals, always delivered with a full-throated exuberance that could not be denied. Released on March 11th, this is the music video for "Two Hearts Beat As One".
Finally, we have another track released in March of 1983, another single that scored well with the Rock and College crowds, garnering plenty of time on the airwaves. The song, another rallying cry for many people, asks the audience how long will they sit by doing nothing when so much is going on in the world that can't be considered right. Whether it is the shooting of Irish Catholics protesting the arrests and jailing of many in Northern Ireland, with no trials or evidence of wrongdoing, or other incidents where injustice is served with weapons, this song calls out for people to unite and stand against oppressive regimes. With a sound that sounds more like a military band going to battle, this is U2 with their final single off 'War', "Sunday Bloody Sunday".
For many, this was a seminal moment for bands in the 1980s. U2 went on to be the Superband of the Decade, as no album released by the band in that 10-year period sold less than triple Platinum. The sound was pure Rock, a driving and engaging sound that is distinctly their own. I remember going to see them play at Giants Stadium in September of 1987, with tickets so far away I couldn't see anything were it not for huge video screens showing us the band playing live. It was an incredible show! You can purchase 'War' from iTunes and Amazon. To learn more about U2, you can visit their official website.
Last week, the Top 4 became the Top 3 when Amber Holcombe went home, leaving Kree Harrison, Angie Miller and Candice Glover to make the hometown visits and prepare three songs for tonight. Each young woman was assigned a song by the judges, one from Jimmy Iovine, and a third by the producers, leaving them no choice of their own. Can they make all the appearances that are scheduled, and still learn and rehearse the songs they need to perform? Only time will tell, and we are certainly doing time on American Idol this season.
Left to right: Angie Miller, Candice Glover, and Kree Harrison.
The judges were introduced, followed by Crusty, who soon brings out the Top 3. One will be crowned the new American Idol next week, and all are hungry for the win. But first, we see quick clips of them visiting their home towns, with the crowds there to greet them all. The first round will be the picks of Jimmy Iovine, and the show kicks off with Kree singing “Perfect” by Pink.
Kree comes out in fine voice, and does a great job with the song. I feel the message coming from her heart, and enjoyed it. Keith was oddly vacant in his critique, instead sort of questioning the song choice, but glad she always sounds Country. Nicki was anything but neutral, instead telling Kree she was great, and seemed more relaxed than last week. But she also suggested Kree try some flat boots so she can move around the stage more. Randy was not impressed, and felt the performance was flat, but Mariah thought she sounded good, but felt she might have been holding back a bit, since she has two more to go. After the break, it is time for Candice to perform, and Jimmy picked “One”, the U2 song also covered by the great Mary J. Blige.
Candice came out ready to give it her all. While I love her energy, and did feel like the song was a bit short, and she spent part of the time yelling at me. There were also a few bad notes in there, which is never the case. I love her, but thought that fell just a tad short. Nicki loved her, and thought she was on par with Mary J. Randy thought she was wonderful, didn't mind some bad notes, and was on her way to the finals. Mariah loved it, wants Candice to believe in herself as much as she believes in her. Keith loved it, and thought she once again proved the power of her voice. And the bad notes proved how much she wanted to win. All mentioned they loved the song choice by Jimmy, something they did not say about the choice for Kree. The final selection by Jimmy Iovine was for Angie, who will be singing Elton John's “Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word”.
Right away, I am shocked she is not on the piano, for that is a shoe in for the judges' approval. She is in the middle of the stage singing amidst smoke and violinists. For me she is spending an awful lot of the song going flat, with an occasional foray into the sharp end. I thought it was a bit sloppy, and struggling. Randy started it all by questioning why she didn't play the piano. But despite that, he loved her, no matter how she sounded. Mariah loved it, and was happy for her restraint. Keith loved it, but wished she was even more restrained. Nicki thought it was a stellar vocal, but the emotions were lacking, which meant she was in it to win it. Confused, I decided to move on. Between the rounds, Jimmy is on camera, and decides the round has to go to Angie, for he thought she connected emotionally to the song. Again, I opt to move on. Now we see a bit of Candice's trip home, and she is thrilled to visit her old boss, and starts to cry as she is close to home. The streets are lined with people, all there to show their love. Candice is the first to sing the Judge's pick, as she takes on Emile Sandé's “Next To Me”.
This is an excellent choice, and she sounds wonderful on it. But somewhere in the middle, I feel like she is off a bit, although she gathers it together at the end. Mariah leads it off, and says almost nothing about the performance, but how Candice was rejuvenated by the trip home. Keith loved the opening, and the end, and thought they were wonderful. Nicki was so moved, she only tells her she is so proud of her. Randy pats American Idol on the back, and in an afterthought, tells Candice she was awesome. Crusty goes back to Nicki, who tells Candice she loves the confidence she shows, which is tough for women of all colors to keep. Tears flow all around. Angie is up after a prolonged commercial break, and she is joined by her brother, who is growing a 'playoff' beard, not shaving until she wins. They played together while she was home, and that leads to her clips. She goes all over her home town, from her kindergarten school to her very special concert. When the tape was done, Crusty announced Angie would be singing “Try” by Pink.
To my ears, her voice still falls flat far too often. And I found this performance to be trying too hard, but going nowhere. I thought she was stiff on stage, and trying to be a bit over sexualized. I was really unimpressed. Keith loved it, and thought she never looked more comfortable on stage. Huh? Oh, and he also threw in the ubiquitous 'Boston Strong' shout-out at the end. Nicki thought the same thing, and loved her. Randy thought the judges again picked a great song, and she was at her best. Mariah also loved her, and gets her festive personality, for Mariah thinks she herself is also festive. Okay, I have no clue what the hell that means, so I just will have to move on. The final contestant for this round is Kree, and we quickly see her giving hugs as soon as she gets off the plane. Soon they visit the home she grew up in, now fallen to pieces after the loss of both parents. It was quite an emotional journey. After the clip, she sings “Here Comes Goodbye” by Rascal Flatts, and co-written by former Idol finalist Chris Sligh.
She is on her game for the song. She sounds plugged in and connected to the emotion, and in amazing form. The audience loved it, and kept the ovation rolling. Nicki was almost in tears, just saying how she was proud of her, and it was her best of the season. Randy loved it, and once again congratulates the judges for picking the song. And, yes, she was good. Mariah was clearly moved by the video and the performance, yet instead just told Kree how impressed she was with her as a person, and the purity of her voice. Keith was still a little choked up, sniffing big before thanking Kree for singing that song perfectly. Now it is time for another long break, and the ladies will be in the last phase of the night, the Producer's picks. Angie is first this time, and she will be singing “Maybe” by Emile Sandé. This is the second song poached from this British songbird, who is a talented lady indeed.
This time, Angie is at the piano, although she doesn't seem to play until the bridge. And she sounds very breathy to me. The chorus goes quite flat for me, and after knowing the original, showed a lack of soulfulness inherent to the melody. Randy loved it, and was happy she was back at the piano. Mariah loved it, and thinks she is the complete package. Keith loved it, and passed to Nicki. She thought Angie has surpassed her expectations, and loved her. She listed some of the faults of the past, like the pageant-like presentations, the failure to emotionally connect, and I just laugh that all that makes one third of the best Top 3 ever. Next! After the achingly long break, it is time for Kree to give her final performance of the evening. The producers mandate she sings “Better Dig Two” by The Band Perry.
Kree is comfortable in the strong Country sound of the song. She sounds wonderful, and I loved it. This was Country realness, served with a little Southern-Fried-Rock. She owned it, and wore it proud. Mariah didn't love it, for she likes the soulful side more. Uhm, she didn't pick the song, she just sang it. Keith thought it wasn't the right song for her, but he loves her. [Cough, Cough] Kree didn't pick the song. Nicki finally called it, and said whoever picked the song for her should be stoned. And that the judges and her fans all know she is a star. Randy goes on to insult the song, being way to plain and boring for her voice. Nice, sure they are happy they gave permission for that song, right? A long break, and we are back, and Candice is going to sing “Somewhere” from the iconic musical 'West Side Story', written by Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim. Here is the version by Barbra Streisand.
This is a glorious song, there is no doubt about it. And Candice is an amazing singer. But that performance had some flaws, to be sure. Her voice broke on two of the runs, and seemed strained at times. I am stunned for her tonight, as for me, this was her weakest night to date. However, Keith thinks that anyone who doesn't vote for Candice needs to see the doctor, and Nicki thinks she is a shoe-in for the finals. Randy called that one of the best performances in Idol history, the second he has called so far this season. Mariah loved her, of course. Jimmy Iovine came out to explain that although he felt Angie won round 1, and Kree took round 2, with that performance, Candice won the night with her miraculous version of a tired old song. We get it. Idol thinks Candice should be in the finals, and win the season. But that is no reason to toss Kree under the bus the way they have tonight, when she clearly out performed Angie. When all is said and done, for my ears, it is Angie who should be going home tomorrow night, and Candice and Kree in the finals. That said, I will not be doing a recap for the finals next week, as I have tickets to drink in the performances of musicians I love, with nary a judge to be seen. So Tune in Thursday night at 8PM on Fox for the results, and next week for the finals. If you miss me, I will be cover The Voice for the rest of the season. Until next time, have fun, and listen to some great music of original and/or independent artists! Support musicians who create the soundtrack to our lives.
I thought it was only right to have the great song from U2, "New Year's Day", be the first post of 2013. The song is off the amazing album 'War', released in early 1983. Even today, I think the album remains one of the greats of the last century, and this is most definitely a great song.
Happy New Year! And you can purchase 'War' from iTunes and Amazon.
To mark Martin Luther King Day, I offer U2's iconic song written about Dr. King. What more needs to be said?
Well, maybe just a little bit more. Here are Peter, Paul & Mary singing at the March on Washington in 1963, at the same march when Martin Luther King gave his 'I Have A Dream' speech. They sang Bob Dylan's Blowing In The Wind. Folk singers like Peter, Paul & Mary stood alongside Dr. King and others to fight for equality.
He's Beautiful! He's sexy! He's talented! He's Out! And now, he's festive, too! Billy Dorch has released a cover of the Christmas (Baby Please Come Home), the song written by Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich and Phil Spector, and released by the great Darlene Love in 1963. It has been covered by many, but perhaps most famously by U2 in 1987 for the Very Special Christmas charity album. Billy's owes more to the U2 than Darlene Love, but if festive and fun, and certainly worth hearing!
If you enjoyed Billy's version, you can have it on your iPod shortly. Just click here, click on the 'Download Now' button, and you'll be listening in no time at all. I know I've added it to my Christmas playlist! To listen to more of Billy's music, check him out here. You can also check out the post I did about him last year here and check out his wonderful video for the song Breathe. You can pick up Breathe at iTunes here.
Posting is a bit light as I am under the weather, but I couldn't let the new month start without a little something. Since this is ROCKtober, I thought I would start the month out with a little rock and roll. The first entry hails from Ireland, and my boys of U2. Bono, The Edge, Larry Mullin, Junior, and Adam Clayton have been making music together for more than thirty years, and still going strong. This is October from 1981 album of the same name.
The band Evanescence has a dense and driven sound that rose above the din of American Rock in the early 2000s to truly stand out and earn the Grammy Award for Best New Artist. Ben Moody and Amy Lee started the band in Little Rock, Arkansas, and they stayed together for a couple of years until creative differences drove them apart. Lead singer Lee continues on with the band, while guitarist and many of the original members of the band went on to form We Are The Fallen with singer Carly Smithson. The song October is from their Unreleased CD, with the original band members.
I guess I shall return to Ireland with the incredible voice of Dolores O'Riordan for the third and final entry tonight. O'Riordan came to my attention when she was lead singer of the amazing band The Cranberries. After the group disbanded in 2003, she went solo and has 2 albums to date. On her 2007 album, Are You Listening?, she had the beautiful song, October.
Wow, this was an interesting year for me - the first time I hadn't worked in the theater for several years. I was working for a multimedia firm, mainly doing slide shows for real estate ventures. Yes, you read that right, slide shows. They were multi-projector shows particular to corporate real estate, and every bit as boring and awful as it sounds. But it paid well. Very quickly I worked my way up to the job of line producer, and was traveling with photographers, overseeing photoshoots of various real estate around the country. While driving around in rental cars, I would listen to the radio, hearing all the songs listed below. And what a great list it is, starting with former lead singer of The GoGos, Belinda Carlisle singing Heaven Is A Place On Earth. I was, and still am a fan of Belinda. When the solo album was released, I ran out to buy it and loved it.And I would be remiss if I didn't mention Belinda's strong support of LGBT rights, having embraced following her own son's coming out. Only made me love her more.
Anyone who watched Family Ties is familiar with Billy Vera & The Beaters romantic song At This Moment. The song was the score to the love scenes between Alex P. Keaton and Ellen, played by Micheal J. Fox and the woman who became his real life wife, Tracy Pollan. Lore has it that Billy Vera had already given up on his musical career, playing occasional dates for the bucks, when a Family Ties producer caught his show, and decided the song would be perfect for the show. The song was originally released in 1981, with minimal success. But when fans of the show started wanting a copy, the album was not available - the record company had gone under. So Rhino Records put out an album, and the song hit #1 on the chart, and remained on the Pop chart for 15 weeks.
George Michael had recently left Wham!, and was wanting to work with one of his all-time favorite singers, Aretha Franklin. So he worked on I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me) to get that done, and it was actually an amazing performance. And while it would be tough to think of many bad efforts by Aretha, I really loved this, and was surprised to see George hold his own [insert giggling here]. The song hit #1 in the US and in the UK. While it was not George's first, it shockingly was Franklin's one and only UK #1. Who'd a thunk it?
Written by Albert Hammond and Diane 'Queen of the Power Ballad' Warren, Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now managed to get Starship back on top of the charts in April of 1987. This enabled the amazing Grace Slick to be pegged with the dubious honor of being the oldest woman to have a number one song. She was later displaced by Cher, who had the 1999 hit Believe, which I blame for the popularity of autotune, which still is killing much pop music to this day. Anyway, the Starship song also appeared on the soundtrack to the wacky comedy Mannequin, and it was nominated for an Academy Award. It lost the award to (I've Had) The Time Of My Life, performed by Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes from the Dirty Dancing soundtrack.
This is the year U2 released their monster album, Joshua Tree. The band was already crowned the Band of the 80s by many because of their popularity, both on records and in concert. But the new album took it to a new level, as did the ballad off the album, With Or Without You. I was already crazy for the band, having gotten on the bandwagon when my sister Kim, still in college, gave me the War album in 1983. I instantly loved the Irish boys, and went and bought their earlier music. In fact, Kim and I, along with another friend, went to see them on this tour, during the stop at Giants Stadium. This is a great song, and deserves to be the #! song of the year.
Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark is set to begin previews on November 14th, and the oft-delayed production has started revving up the publicity machine with a big push on Good Morning America last Friday. First there was the interviews with the men responsible for the music, Bono and The Edge of U2, and director Julie Taymor with George Stephanopoulos.
Also appearing on the show was the man cast as Peter Parker/Spider-Man, Reeve Carney. Carney is a musician who heads up Reeve Carney & the Revolving Band. Here he is interviewed by Sam Champion.
He sang a song from the show, Boy Falling From The Sky.
Here is a clip about Carney and his band performing outside the show, singing the song Love Me Chase Me. I kinda enjoy the blend of rock and blues inherent in the music.
For more information about the show, check out their official website here. Will be interesting to hear about the show once it starts previews. I have to say, I am intrigued.
Once again, I am featuring an album I love from about twenty years ago, Red Hot + Blue. It featured the music of American musical theater legend Cole Porter and some of the top acts of the day, all to raise money and awareness for AIDS research. The album contained 20 cuts, and I found 17 videos for those cuts, and for the next several weeks, will be running them in this Monday night spot. The album was thought of as a fundraising tool, it also allowed the artists involved great freedom with their interpretation of Porter's music, making for a wide variety of styles on the album. We shall go through the album in the order that is on my CD, which I did purchase at the time.
Porter was an amazing talent, and some consider him one of the best LGBT songwriters, if not THE best. He started his Broadway career in 1915, when one of his songs appeared in a Broadway Revue. He was just 24 years old. He went on to write songs for the theater like Lets Do It, Let's Fall In Love, What Is This Thing Called Love, and Anything Goes.Despite having a whife of 35 years, most believed him to be gay, and the marriage one between two dear friends who gave one another space and freedom, while gaining both wider acceptance in the greater world at large.
Annie Lennox has a voice so expressive, so amazing, there seems to be to be little that I can say, other than to crank up the volume and give a listen to her version of Ev'rytime We Say Goodbye.
U2 were the superband of the 80s, and continue to be a force in music today. Bono & the boys were also known to take a stand, and voice their thoughts on politics and raise money for good causes. But with Night + Day, they proved to have the music under control, and record an amazing cover.
I know little about Les Negresses Vertes, but their cover of I Love Paris proved to be quite interesting, and very good. Give it a listen, and I think you will agree with me.
Mary J Blige, in my mind the best R&B singer of her [and the next] generation, is celebrating her 39th birthday today. She can take just about any style of music, distill it to the root emotion, and make it happen in the performance. It doesn't hurt she is a gorgeous woman, with amazing style and ability to keep herself looking and sounding current.
No where is this better exemplified than by her 2006 duet with U2 on the song One. Now the song is a great one, filled with angst and self-analysis, and the 1992 version by U2 is superb. But Mary J takes it to another level.
Happy birthday, Mary J, may we hear your voice for years to come.
I was introduced to U2 by my little sister, Kim. She gave me my first U2 album as a gift, while I was in college all-consumed by the punk movement going on, and somehow missed the this great rock band. Four lads from Ireland, Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullin Jr., took the world by storm in the 80s, and it was most certainly the time they were creating their best music. In 1983, they recorded and released Under A Blood Red Sky, live concert footage shot at Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Colorado, just west of Denver. I was instantly a fan of Bono, whose booming throaty vocals were entrancing, and we were born just 10 days apart - we must be soulmates.
U2 was the supergroup of the 80s, for there were few who could even challenge them for the title. They hardly took a mistep during the decade, from the 1980 release of Boy, to the 1988 film Rattle And Hum. It was after that, however, that the band started to slip a bit, at least for me. But in their heyday, they were changing the face of music, and looked pretty smoking hot doing it. They were young, smart and successful, a certain recipe for amazing music.
So, in keeping with the day, we shall start with the video for the song New Year's Day, a true stadium rocker, anthemic in nature, bombastic in style. From opening to close, the driving rhythms will cause any fan of rock to scream, hoping the song never ends.
Next we are looking at Gloria from the album October. This song is part all-out rocker, with a nod to the punk movement with the tempos and the angry nature. Then again, most great rock is angry, isn't it?
Then we have I Will Follow from the album Boy. Here the band plays with the tempos within the song, elongating sections while offering up staccato sections as well.
And, finally, we have Sunday Bloody Sunday from the album War. Now if you want to talk about songs being epic in nature, this one has to be used as a reference. huge and heady, the song speaks of revolution and the rights of the 'regular' people. And The Edge's signature riffs just identify this song in just a matter of the opening bar.
You can buy a digital download of the Red Rocks album on Amazon.com for just $7.92 by clicking here or you can order the DVD for just $16.99 here.
They were the superband of the 80s, and then some. They continue to put out music that is constantly evolving, never just the same old, same old. The last time I saw them was on the Joshua Tree tour, and they were at Giants Stadium. The seats were quite a distance away, but thanks to the video screens, I saw some stuff. But it was great hearing some of that music live! No matter, they also did a few holiday songs, and here they are.
From the movie Rattle and Hum, U2 performs I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For with the New Voices of Freedom at a church in Harlem. It was recorded when U2 did their 1987 Joshua Tree tour, and released in 1988 as a feature-length documentary movie. I had seen the tour with my sister and a friend at Giants Stadium in New Jersey. This was at the height of their popularity, with critics and fans pretty much unanimously saying they were the supergroup of the 80s and perhaps the century. I agreed, and their show was amazing. Including the soundtrack to Rattle And Hum, their 7 album run was amazing. Sadly, while they went on to release many more albums, they never recaptured that glory for me. Sure, there were some more good and great songs, but the albums fell a bit flat.
I remember I went to see the movie while on vacation in Boca Raton, Florida, with some lesbian friends of mine. They were not particularly interested in going to see it with me (they were into the whole womyn's music thing so all-male rock bands were the devil's spawn), so I went alone during the early afternoon so I got an early bird special on the ticket - Boca is geared toward the retirement population and have lots of specials. I mean, I am a pasty white boy, so I was safer in the dark movie theater than I was on the beach or by the pool. I left the theater and immediately went out and purchased the cassette tape - since I only had my Sony Walkman to listen to while there. I was in heaven, listening to it almost non-stop on the vacation.
