“Guinnevere” - An Island Mystery

My wife Pam and I went to Brookfield Zoo today. It was perfect, warm and sunny afternoon for seeing the animals, especially a family of meerkats, and a tiger that thrilled the crowd with some energetic hijinx. While we were sitting at an outside cafe eating ice cream, two peacocks walked right past our table. The line, “peacocks wandered aimlessly” from the Crosby, Stills, and Nash song “Guinnevere” immediately came to mind.

Last year, I featured a different spooky song each day in October for a feature I called 31 Songs For Halloween. I don’t think I’ll be able to pull off anything that ambitious this season, but I would like to bring back some of the profiles for those who might not have seen them the first time around.

Alfred Hitchcock understood that sometimes what is unseen is more terrifying than what is clearly visible. “Guinnevere,” a haunting folk rock tale from the first Crosby, Stills, and Nash record, plays a similar game of suspense. Set in a lush tropical paradise with peacocks and orange trees, and conveyed through gorgeous harmony vocals, the song describes two beautiful but doomed young women. One, Guinnevere has mysteriously vanished, perhaps a consequence of having dabbled in the occult with pentagrams. The second woman seems to be following in her footsteps.

Writer David Crosby casts himself as a sailor who has romanced both women, and it’s left unclear as to whether he’s an instrument in their destruction or just a helpless observer. See “The Lee Shore” for another of Crosby’s mysterious seafaring yarns.

Slumgullion # 33

Photo taken from Aimee Mann's Facebook page.

Just Don’t Smile At Her. Aimee Mann has a gig tonight at the Prairie Center For The Arts, an intimate concert venue in Schaumburg, Illinois that’s perfectly suited to her introspective material. Mann will be performing songs from her critically acclaimed solo releases, including her latest, @#%&*! Smilers. Hopefully, she’ll tap into some Til Tuesday material as well. I believe that’s what she did when I had the pleasure of seeing her perform at the Park West several years ago. Tonight’s concert starts at 8:00PM.

I Love A Band In Reunion Form. Gang Of Four, the politically minded alt rock band that released its debut Entertainment in 1979, is back with Content, its first album in 16 years. Founding members vocalist-melodica player Jon King and guitarist-vocalist Andy Gill will be joined by newcomers Thomas McNiece on bass and Mark Heaney on drums. Content is set to be released in CD and vinyl format on January 25th, 2011. There’s also going to be an Ultimate Content Can version, which is said include the CD, a book featuring original art by King and Gill, lyrics, and various oddities like vials of blood that make me suspect Gang Of Four is pulling our legs on some of this.

Vienna Jammin'. Todd Wright, the singer-songwriter who devoted 40 weeks of his recording career to helping find a career for Juvenile Diabetes, will be performing a “stripped down” acoustic show at one of his favorite Vienna, VA haunts, Jammin’ Java, on October 6th. Wright’s song, “Unlucky Stars” will be heard on the season premiere of the Fox TV show Bones on September 23rd.

Making It Real. Eric Wilson, whose CD The Twenties helped him nab Singer/Songwriter of the Year honors at the 8th Independent Music Awards, will have his songs “Smokescreen” and “Now” used on the MTV shows The Real World and The Hills.

This One Goes Out To The Horse I Love. Peter Buck of R.E.M. and Scott McCaughey of Young Fresh Fellows have worked together in the garage band The Minus Five, and now they’ve teamed up with Snow Patrol frontman Gary Lightbody and Belle & Sebastian drummer Richard Colburn in a new group called Tired Pony. Lightbody’s reported desire to delve into more Country & Western flavored music is evident on “Point Me At Lost Islands,” but the energetic “Dead American Writers” is sure to please rock fans as well. The band’s first effort, The Place We Ran From, which also features She & Him members actress Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward, is now available.

Helplessly Hoping They’ll Hurry Up. WXRT radio personality Terri Hemmert recently mentioned that Crosby, Stills, and Nash are inching closer to the finish line on that Rick Rubin-produced collection of 1960s cover tunes they’ve been working on for over a year. According to Hemmert, the trio has already recorded their takes on The Rolling Stones’ “Ruby Tuesday,” The Beatles’ “Norwegian Wood,” Jackson Browne’s “Lives In The Balance,” and a few others. Looks like the CD will be released in 2011.

They're Rocking (But So Is Brenda Lee.) Singer-guitarist Phil Angotti, who’s always enjoyable whether he’s performing original tunes or covering one of his favorite (usually British) bands, will be opening for power pop veteran Marshall Crenshaw at SPACE in Evanston on October 27th. Crenshaw's latest release Jagged Land is now available. Tickets are already on sale.

It's No Dream. The melodic “Either Side Of The World” raises hopes that Crowded House will have more impressive tunes like that on Intriguer, its first release since 2007’s Time On Earth. The band was recently in Chicago for a performance at The House of Blues.

What I Like About Nostalgia. Fans of 1980s rock can get their money’s worth at the all-day event Hello Yesterday ....An 80’s Festival, which is being staged tomorrow at LaSalle Park in Buffalo, NY. The lineup includes A Flock Of Seagulls, The Romantics, Dramarama, When In Rome, Gene Loves Jezebel, and Animotion. Other festivities include a silent auction, a karaoke contest, and a kids play area.

Vintage Publication Spotlight - Number Three

Cover illustration by John Youssi

Back in 1974, The Concert Book was a monthly publication put out by Jam Productions that cast a spotlight on major artists coming to the Chicago area, and it covered the local club scene as well. This is Volume One, Number Three, and as far as I can tell, there were no issues published after it.

The Year Of The Comeback cover story raises the issue of whether Bob Dylan, who had just released Blood On The Tracks; Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young; George Harrison; David Bowie; and Eric Clapton still had the chops to put on a good a good rock and roll show. Imagine if someone had told the writers that most of these acts would be actively recording or touring in 2010. There’s also something called a Discopective on Led Zeppelin, and profiles on Jethro Tull and Roxy Music. The back cover is a full page ad for rock station WDHF, and there’s a stark, B&W half page ad inside the magazine touting WXRT’s 6pm to 5am hours.

Some of the movie ads include Emmanuelle, The Stepford Wives, Murder On The Orient Express, Stardust, Tommy, Shampoo, and The Godfather Part II. The center spread calendar lists shows by Peter Frampton and Gentle Giant together at the Auditorium; Rod Stewart at the Amphitheatre; Jethro Tull at the Stadium; Robin Trower and Steel-Eye Span in a double at the Auditorium; and Aerosmith at the Aragon. The Different Circle, a chain of jeans stores; Rolling Stone, which used to be one of several record stores downtown (they still have a location on Irving Park); Swollen Head Records & Tapes in La Grange; and Billy K’s Hair Again all had ads in this issue.

In those days, as a resident of the southwest side, I would have been most interested in the ad for the Harlow’s rock club. This was a classy place to see the best bands on the club scene, such as the hard-rocking Beowulf The Great; and Brother Bait, an outfit from Atlanta Georgia that played note perfect renditions of songs by Yes, Steely Dan, ELP, and Jethro Tull. The ad noted that its birthday party for namesake Jean Harlow would be a black tie only affair, and they weren’t kidding. My friends and I were also known to cruise the Rush Street area, where we could have checked out some first class live entertainment from Pez Band; City Boys; or Kracker at the “world famous” Rush Up rock club.

At only 30 pages, the short-lived The Concert Book was relatively slim, but the writing and cool graphics made it worth picking up.

31 Songs For Halloween - October 7th: "Guinnevere"

Each day this month, I’ll be spotlighting a song that seems particularly appropriate to the season.

Alfred Hitchcock understood that sometimes what is unseen is more terrifying than what is clearly visible. “Guinnevere,” a haunting folk rock tale from the first Crosby, Stills, and Nash record, plays a similar game of suspense. Set in a lush tropical paradise with peacocks and orange trees, and conveyed through gorgeous harmony vocals, the song describes two beautiful but doomed young women. One, Guinnevere has mysteriously vanished, perhaps a consequence of having dabbled in the occult with pentagrams. The second woman seems to be following in her footsteps. Writer David Crosby casts himself as a sailor who has romanced both women, and it’s left unclear as to whether he’s an instrument in their destruction or just a helpless observer. See “The Lee Shore” for another of Crosby’s mysterious seafaring yarns.

CD Review: Crosby, Stills & Nash - Demos

As Crosby, Stills & Nash celebrate their 40th anniversary, Rhino Records gives us Demos, an archive of tapes recorded by the trio in preparation for joint and solo efforts from 1969 through the early 1970s. Most of the tracks present Crosby, Stills, or Nash performing alone on acoustic guitar, and the bare bones arrangements are in stark contrast to the way we’re used to hearing this music. But the strong melodies and those famous voices come through loud and clear, particularly when Stephen Stills blasts his way through “Love The One You’re With.” Graham Nash performs his politically charged “Chicago” on piano, and David Crosby weaves his way through the paranormal imagery of “Deja Vu” on acoustic guitar.

Demos also includes various combinations of these musicians, like on a spirited version of “Marrakesh Express” that has Nash singing lead and playing acoustic guitar, Crosby adding the harmony, and Stills playing bass. “Long Time Gone” features a bluesy vocal style from Crosby while some terse bass and drum playing by Stills emphasize the song’s counter culture message. The utopian “Music Is Love” is the only track that includes Neil Young, as he sings and strums guitar along with Crosby and Nash. Demos provides a fascinating behind the scenes look at how one of rock’s most influential groups created some of its best material.

The New Invaders Celebrate The 1960s

from The New Invaders website

August 2009 brings the 40th anniversary of the Woodstock festival so now would a perfect time to catch one of the outdoor concerts The New Invaders will be performing around Illinois this summer. The band covers 1960s rock from its early innocent days, through the British Invasion, right on to the politically charged hippie era. All six band members are accomplished singers, which results in airtight harmonies on covers of Crosby, Stills, & Nash, The Mamas & The Papas, The Byrds, and The Hollies. Melody Mallin, who initially performed with the band as a frequent guest artist, was rightfully granted full New Invaders membership for her spirited renditions of Janis Joplin and Jefferson Airplane songs.

In addition to playing well known artists like The Rolling Stones, The Monkees, Herman’s Hermits, The Doors, and Cream, The New Invaders honor lesser known acts, including Crazy Elephant, The Chambers Brothers, The Seeds and The Human Beinz. August dates include Palatine on the 7th, Bensenville on the 12th, Gurnee on the 13th, St. Charles on the 14th, and Wadsworth on the 15th. See the band’s website at www.newinvaders.com for more info.