Musicpost: 'Blow Away' by George Harrison

All I've got to say is I love this song.

And love is all around it because George Harrison--lead guitarist, singer and songwriter in the No. 1 band of all time, The Beatles--released this song on Valentine's Day in 1979. I could've sworn it was an 80s song...well, it almost is.

Harrison was incredibly talented. In addition to the guitar, he played classical Indian stringed instruments such as the sitar, sarod, tambura and swarmandal, as well as the mandolin, ukulele, keyboards, and bass.

He died of lung cancer in 2001 at 58-years-old--a huge loss for Rock n' Roll.

Enjoy.



Source: YouTube

Les Paul--the original guitar hero--dies at 94

Les Paul: 1915-2009

Les Paul, a virtuoso guitarist and inventor who changed the course of music with the electric guitar, multitrack recording and a string of hits, died from complications of pneumonia Thursday in White Plains, N.Y. He was 94 years old.

Following is information about his life and accomplishments compiled from several news sources.

Paul was a remarkable musician as well as a tireless tinkerer. He played guitar with leading prewar jazz and pop musicians from Louis Armstrong to Bing Crosby. In the 1930s he began experimenting with guitar amplification, and by 1941 he had built what was probably the first solid-body electric guitar, although there are other claimants. With his electric guitar and the vocals of his wife, Mary Ford, he used overdubbing, multitrack recording and new electronic effects to create a string of hits in the 1950s.

Paul called his first solid-body guitar "the Log." It was made of a four-inch-thick piece of wood from a nearby railroad track, a neck he borrowed from an Epiphone guitar and two pickups to give it the electric pulse. Audiences and music executives laughed at the ungainly device, and he spent years honing its visual appeal.

Paul actively promoted such guitars for the Gibson company, and the Les Paul line of guitars became commonplace among such musicians as Eric Clapton, Pete Townshend and Jimmy Page.

"When most people think of the electric guitar, they think of Les Paul," said Dan Del Fiorentino, historian for the National Association of Music Merchants, a trade group for the music-products industry. "He wasn't the inventor of the solid-body electric guitar, but he certainly made it famous."

Paul said his efforts were toward one goal: to change the way people saw the guitar.

"I wanted people to hear me," he told the publication Guitar Player in 2002. "That's where the whole idea of a solid-body guitar came from. In the '30s, the archtop electric was such an apologetic instrument. On the bandstand, it was so difficult battling with a drummer, the horns, and all the instruments that had so much power"

"With a solid-body, guitarists could get louder and express themselves," he said. "Instead of being wimps, we'd become one of the most powerful people in the band. We could turn that mother up and do what we couldn't do before."

Paul played a key role in developing the eight-track tape recorder and used the device to play many parts on the same recording, a process now called multi-tracking. Such early work in overlaying sound contributed to the richness and distinctiveness of his recordings and changed the face of rock 'n roll music.

"Without him, it's hard to imagine how rock 'n' roll would be played today," the late Ahmet Ertegun, founder of Atlantic Records, said when Paul was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988 for his early influence on rock.

Les Paul was born Lester William Polfuss on June 9, 1915, the younger son of George Polfuss, who owned a car repair service in Waukesha, Wisconsin, and Evelyn Polfuss. The couple separated when he was 8.

He learned to play the harmonica by listening to blues and country on the radio by the time he was 9. Not long after, he paid a few dollars for his first guitar from Sears, Roebuck.

By his late teens, Paul had dropped out of school and was on the radio in St. Louis and then performing in Chicago. During the day, he would play country music as Rhubarb Red, and at night he would jam in the jazz clubs as Les Paul. In the late 1930s, he formed the Les Paul Trio and made his way to New York City.

He finally achieved his long-sought chance to work with Bing Crosby, backing the crooner on his NBC radio shows and recording "It's Been a Long, Long Time" with him in 1945, which quickly hit No. 1 on the charts.

Paul built his own sound studio in the garage of his Hollywood home, where he recorded many tunes, including the 1946 hit song "Rumors Are Flying" with the Andrews Sisters. By then, he had linked up with singer Colleen Summers, whom he later gave the stage name Mary Ford.

By the early 1950s, the couple had mastered the sound that opened the door to their huge popularity. "How High the Moon," which was made with a dozen overdubs, stayed at the top of the charts for more than two months in 1951. "Vaya Con Dios" was another hit.

They divorced in 1964. Ford died in 1977.

In 1984, when he was nearing 70, Paul returned to the stage, appearing in clubs in New York City. In 2005, as he was turning 90, he was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame.

Paul is survived by his three sons, a daughter, five grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.

Sources: New York Times, Washington Post, San Francisco Chronicle
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Musicpost: Blind Faith's 'Can't Find My Way Home'

After "I Can See Clearly Now" I started thinking about other songs that are among my all-time favorites and decided to start posting them from here on.

"Can't Find My Way Home" was released in 1969 by the English blues-rock band Blind Faith, whose one and only album, Blind Faith, climbed to No. 1 on Billboard's charts in the U.S. and U.K. In case you're not familiar with this group, I'll just say that Eric Clapton and Steve Winwood were in it, and that Clapton is a god.

I first heard this song while watching the 1993 film "Benny & Joon" starring Johnny Depp, Mary Stuart Masterson and Aidan Quinn. Joe Coker's version of it plays when Aidan Quinn's character is undergoing the predictable transforming moment towards the end of movie. He spends an uncharacteristically blue night wandering around the railroad tracks, tormented about what to do with his life. I loved the movie, by the way, (definitely worth watching), but better yet, I found one of my soulmate songs.

This is the kind of song, like other all-time favorites, that I can't listen to just once. I have to play it repeatedly for about an hour until I'm satisfied enough to let it go. It's in the lyrics ... and the melody ... and the guitar ... and the voice -- together, they're magic, at least to me.

The video includes both the acoustic and electric versions of the song. The electric one (second in the video) is OK, but the acoustic version is the one I can fixate on for hours. Enjoy.



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Music downloader ordered to pay $675K

This has got to suck.

A graduate student from Providence, R.I., who illegally downloaded and distributed 30 songs six years ago has been ordered to pay $675,000 in damages to four record labels.

For 30 songs he shared with friends. Ouch!

When Joel Tenenbaum faced trial for copyright infringement, he tried to settle the case for $5,000, but the offer was rejected and a Boston jury hit him with the hefty fine.

The 25-year-old Boston University graduate student is the second American to be taken to trial for illegally downloading music.

Tenenbaum reportedly has said he's grateful he wasn't ordered to pay millions of dollars but will have to file for bankruptcy if the verdict stands. He plans to appeal because he was not allowed to ague the case based on fair use.

During the trial, Tim Reynolds, a lawyer for the recording labels, called Tenenbaum "a hardcore, habitual, long-term infringer who knew what he was doing was wrong."

Tenenbaum (right)--who was described as "a hardcore, habitual, long-term infringer who knew what he was going was wrong" by a lawyer for the record labels--admitted he downloaded and shared songs by rock groups Green Day, Nirvana, and The Smashing Pumpkins, among others.

More than 30,000 people have settled similar cases for amounts ranging from $3,000 to $12,000, ABC News reported.

In 2007, Jammie Thomas-Rasset of Minnesota was the first person to be sued by record companies seeking damages for the illegal download and sharing of music files. She was ordered to pay $1.92 million to the labels, but her attorney says she doesn't have the money to for the damages and is asking for a new trial, according to the report.

I get it. The record companies have to make money--not good money, BIG money. But given the nearly endless opportunities the Internet offers music lovers, the labels are fighting a losing battle, if you ask me.

Source: ABC News
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Musicpost: 'I Can See Clearly Now' by Nash, Cliff

This is one of my favorite songs of all time. It's a Johnny Nash song, but most people have only heard the Jimmy Cliff version.

Johnny Nash wrote and recorded this song in 1972. Within 20 weeks, it rose to the top of the charts.



Jimmy Cliff recorded it in 1993 for the movie "Cool Runnings." I chose the following clip because it's just about the song vs. the other video, which shows distracting scenes from the movie.




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Musicpost: KT Tunstall's 'Universe and You'

There's no question this is a beautiful song, and the video shows one gorgeous photo after another. Worth watching. Thanks to Darla for submitting it. I just got my KT Tunstall CD yesterday, and I'm loving it.

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Musicpost: K.D. Lang's 'Constant Craving'

Our music correspondent sent me a link for Sheryl Crow's live performance of the song "Hallelujah," which has been covered by singers from every walk of life; remember Jason Castro from last year's American Idol? It was his one praiseworthy performance all season. Anyway, among these singers is K.D. Lang, whose perfect voice I wish I had. I found myself flipping through my mental jukebox for her song "Constant Craving" and simply had to have it here.

I was hoping to find the studio version because I doubt it can get any better than that, but I ran into this live version from Sydney and decided it was good enough.

Ladies and gents, K.D. Lang--



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Musicpost: Lindsey Buckingham's 'Go Insane'

After "Big Love" I was hoping to get one of my favorite Lindsey Buckingham songs: the acoustic version of "Go Insane." Darla came through, and here we have it.

Ironically, when he released this song for his second solo album in 1984, I hated it. And I still hate that rockish-popish version. Then about six years ago, a friend added the acoustic one, which I had never heard, to a CD he was burning for me. Based on the title, I skipped the song every time I played that CD. One day I didn't get to the CD player on time, and I heard the beginning of the song. Boy, was I shocked! I couldn't believe it was the same song.

Over a set of good speakers, the sounds he makes with his guitar and voice are mesmerizing--to me at least. So if you've got them, use them. Enjoy.

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Musicpost: Jose Feliciano's Malagueña, Zorba

Most of you know Jose Feliciano from his eternally popular "Feliz Navidad" (Merry Christmas) jingle that starts playing the day after Thanksgiving on nearly every radio station and elevator and grocery store and office party...and doesn't stop until New Year's Day. There's no escaping it.

What you might not know is that Feliciano is a self-taught guitar virtuoso who discovered music around the same time he was being potty trained. He was born in Puerto Rico in 1945. He was also born blind.

"Malagueña" is one of the most popular--and technically difficult--guitar songs of all time. It's super sexy, too, and you must have heard it many times. It's the sixth movement of the Suite Andalucia (circa 1927) by prolific Cuban composer Ernesto Lecuona.

The following video of Jose Feliciano playing "Malagueña" is at least 40 years old (probably around 44). I chose this one vs. a more recent one because it's (a) shorter than the others, and (b) such a classic.

He was amazing then and still is amazing. (Yes, he's alive and kicking.)




I adore Greek music. Actually, I adore Greece and all things Greek. And Jose Feliciano's version of the famous "Zorba the Greek" is no exception. This tune is so much fun...makes you wanna get up and dance.

This is another 40-year-old video. Surely, there are more recent ones of him playing this piece, but then we would miss the outfits and hairdos of the people in the audience.




Guitar gymnastics

Following is a video of Tiago Della Vega, the world's fastest guitarist according to Guinness World Records.

After a minute of nothingness that you can skip, and a two-minute introduction in which his background is explained, Della Vega begins playing "Flight of the Bumble Bee" on his guitar at 170 bpm (beats per minute), and I'm thinking, "Wow, that's fast."

What a dunce I am. It turns out 170 bpm for this guy is like slow motion for the average person. The bpm's keep going up and up and up until they peak at 320 bpm. All I've got to say about that is--fuck!

By the way, this guy must go into some sort of Zen-mode when he plays because he barely breaks a sweat. He's cool as a cucumber throughout, and it's not until the end that he kind of exhales.

Warning:

If you're on the jumpy side, you might want to medicate yourself before watching this video--you know...pop in a Xanax or Klonopin...have some wine...whatever. The frantic beat is unlikely to go unnoticed by your body. Trust me on that.

On the other hand, those of you who can't live without your morning dose of caffeine might want to wait until after seeing the video to have that perfect cup of black coffee or espresso, which you might not need by the time you're done watching this.



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Musicpost: KT Tunstall's 'Miniature Disasters'

Another terrific contribution from our music correspondent Darla.

I'm totally digging this girl's voice--it's superb and she knows just how to use it.

Notice what she does in the beginning: she records a beat and her own backup vocals and controls them with pedals on the floor. SupAcool!

Musicpost: Rodrigo y Gabriela's 'Diablo Rojo'

Rodrigo and Gabriela are gifted guitar players with their own unique style in fusion music. Here they are playing an infectiously exciting piece they call "Diablo Rojo" (Red Devil) about a roller coaster.

Thanks to blog friend Darla for sending this wonderful video. Enjoy.



Check them out at http://www.rodgab.com
Click here to go learn more about them.