Album Review: Chris James & Patrick Rynn, 'Gonna Boogie Anyway'

Artist: Chris James, Patrick Rynn
Title: Gonna Boogie Anyway

When guitarist Chris James and bass player Patrick Rynn collaborated as the ‘C – Notes’ behind vocalist and harmonica player Rob Stone, it was my “pure blues” album of the year. With the release of their new album, ‘Gonna Boogie Anyway’ James and Rynn are back with a gritty honest electric Chicago blues sound. Out on the Chicago based Earwig Records this album includes a stellar line-up of accomplices including; David Maxwell (piano), Sam Lay (drums), and Henry Gray (piano). Blues harmonica player and noted radio host Bob Corritore guests on the tracks, ‘H.M. Stomp’ (instrumental) and the Bo Diddley cover, ‘Little Girl.’

An interesting aspect to this album is a study in how drums and drumming styles affect the sound of a band. As a guitar and bass (vocal) duo, James and Rynn often have to rely on guest drummers. In addition to Sam Lay, other drummers on the disc include; Willie Hayes and Eddie Kobeck. There are three ‘drumless’ tracks on the album; which adds to a listeners learning experience; ‘You Can’t Trust Nobody,’ ‘Headed Out West,’ and ‘Black Spider Blues.’ Admittedly, either the music “moves You” or it doesn’t; however, as we listen, we also learn.

This is a straight forward electric pure blues record; no flashy bells and whistles.

Purists will love this album for its honesty, historical root and direct approach. “Modern blues” listeners may initially find this album too traditional although repeated listening will push open the door to a greater appreciation that often, ‘simpler is better.’ As a radio host, I found, ‘Dearest Darling,’ a second Bo Diddley cover to be my focus track. All listeners should focus in on the pure sounding instruments as they juxtapose to James’ vocals. In addition to the great albums from days gone by, this is a very good foundation album of modern purist blues that fans can build a library upon.

Book Review: Patti Boyd's Autobiography

Book Review: Wonderful Tonight
George Harrison, Eric Clapton, and Me

Writer: Patti Boyd
Reviewer: Rick Galusha

Patti Boyd was a fashion model in the early ‘60’s when ‘Swinging London’s’ cool factor was at its height. As a child I can vividly recall the ‘Max Factor’ ads that were filmed in London and aired during ‘The Monkees’ program on television.

Not surprisingly Boyd and Clapton’s autobiographies were released within weeks of each other. After completing Patti Boyd’s autobiography, ‘Wonderful Tonight’ a friend lent me his super rare copy of Derek & the Dominos, ‘In Concert.’ Of all the Clapton albums I’ve heard his playing was never comparable to this – not even close.

Although she was a British citizen, Patti Boyd was born in Africa. The eldest child in her family, Boyd moved back to England at a young age. The product of a broken home, twice, Boyd’s tells the life of an emotionally crippled ‘Child of the ‘60’s’ that lands not one but two of rock’s superstars in matrimony; Beatle George Harrison and Eric ‘Slowhand’ Clapton. Outwardly Boyd lives a dream life; at the center of London’s hip scene, making money as a high paid model, meeting pop stars and traveling the globe meeting celebrities and artists. On the dark side Boyd survives overt spousal promiscuity, drug induced abusive relationships, interlopers & hanger-oners, and an on going saga of egos suffering due to the ups and downs of stardom.

As a ‘hand picked’ model for a role in the Beatles film, ‘Hard Days Night’ Boyd meets and eventually marries the Harrison. Together they stumble through the drug haze of the ‘60’s, go to Wales and then India to hang with the Mariharishi, survive the break-up of The Beatles and then begin to fight as Harrison stumbles to define his post-Beatle life. While Boyd later identifies herself as Harrison “soul mate” she finds time to accept the advances of Harrison’s good friend Eric Clapton. The book is awash with love notes sent from Clapton to Boyd including one signed, ‘Slowhand.’

Boyd eventually leaves Harrison drug dabbling for Clapton’s more serious substance abuse problems with heroin and then alcohol. While Harrison’s life was somewhat cloistered but peaceful, Clapton’s was abusive, self-centered and possessive. Amid the anguish of an alcoholic marriage gone astray Boyd relates how young Conor Clapton, the illegitimate son of Eric Clapton, breaks up her co-dependent marriage. An oblivious husband, Clapton, relates the joy of his new found fatherhood with his barren wife. It is the height of sadness and simultaneous weirdness as the former Patrick Clapham was so self absorbed as to reportedly completely miss her sorrow. The sage continues when the infant falls to his death and subsequently inspires the Grammy award winning song, ‘Tears in Heaven.’

Boyd was certainly one of the ‘In Crowd’ and relates a perspective on many pivotal music moments that Boomers will recognize; including Live Aid, The Concert for Bangladesh and the Apple Records debacle. On one hand it is refreshing as the books spoons away the years to a time of fewer obligations and life’s future beckoned. On the other hand Boyd is a brat that has the gumption to ask Clapton, well after their divorce, for 600,000 English pounds ($1,500,000) for a “cottage with a view” so that Boyd and her new love may reside in.

The book moves very quickly and includes cameos by Mick Jagger, John & Paul, Mick Fleetwood of Fleetwood Mac (who was married to her sister twice), Phil Collins, Mike Rutherford, David Gilmore, Roger Waters and The Who’s Pete Townshend. It is both insightful and gossipy at the same time. This book is fun for fans albeit with little more to offer than moments inside one of rock music’s most famous enclave. It is delicious but shallow and completely entertaining.

Book Review: Neil Young's Biography, Shakey

Title: Shakey
Neil Young’s Biography
Writer: Jimmy McDonough
Review: Rick Galusha

By 1975 Stephen Stills had already established his bad habits. After playing with Neil Young in the highly touted band Buffalo Springfield, the relationship between Stills and Young was rocky. Despite the on-again, off-again nature of Young’s commitment to Stills’ new band, ‘Crosby, Stills and Nash,’ Young had agreed to record and tour the album, ‘Long May You Run’ with Stills. While Young’s substance abuse is well documented in Jimmy McDonough’s authorized biography, ‘Shakey’ he was in control and disliked being around junkies. At the Charlotte, North Caroline show Stephen Stills berated soundman and Young’s confident Tim Mulligan from the stage microphone. After the show an already distant Young got on his bus, ‘Pocahontas, and headed to the next gig in Atlanta. As the bus rolled down the highway that night an inebriated Stills got on the CB from his bus and demanded to speak to Neil. Initially ignoring Stills blathering Young eventually tore the CB out of the dash and told the driver to go to Nashville where he caught a plane and flew home to Malibu. The now legendary note was sent to a confused Stills, “Dear Stephen, funny how things that start spontaneously end that way, Eat a peach. Neil” And so the saga of being Neil Young continued.

In 2002 Jimmy McDonough first published the authorized biography of one of rock’s least predictable characters. Throughout his career McDonough documents Young’s ability to repeatedly thrash vast commercial appeal in favor of his musical art. A complicated man, McDonough’s interviews over the years with Young document an artist that is careful to not revel or define too much. Perhaps the most “innaresting” aspect of Young’s phobia of selling out is his choice to counter-balance the vast commercial success of ‘Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young’ with the barely able to play Crazy Horse band. Young is meticulous in his efforts to play with less competent players in order to capture a rawer, less commercially viable rendition of his songs. It must work since, unlike other “Classic Rock” artists, Young continues to release critically acclaimed albums late in career including; ‘Harvest Moon’ (’92), ‘Mirror Ball’ w/ Pearl Jam (’95), ‘Living with War’ (’06) and this year’s exceptional album, ‘Chrome Dreams II.’

McDonough’s book is a chronological look at Young’s career beginning in the village of OmeMee in Canada. McDonough gets Young to discuss his epilepsy and subsequent seizures but tiptoes around the polio that affected him in his youth. Throughout the book McDonough presents his research; based on bootlegs, interviews and clippings and asks Young to comment. Ever a ‘Shakey’ operator Young often avoid direct answers but gives insight into his state of mind. Often the discussion includes Young’s dismissal of others feelings in the past and today’s remorse such as the time Crosby and Nash were fired from a recording session. “Well, that was an easy way of doin’ it – but I still did it. I still went from place to place, and I just left a trail of destruction behind me, ya’ know. But the older you get, the more you realize how much that hurts people…Those records wouldn’t be there – and those people would still be as pissed off as they were in the first place. I chose to put the energy into the records.”
Once quoted in Rolling Stone magazine, Young indicated he had at least 600 albums in the can for posthumous release. Included in the vault is the album, ‘Homegrown.’ Homegrown was an album that legendary record industry mogul Mo Ostin predicted, in the early 70’s would sell five million albums. The album regards Young’s split with actress Carrie Snodgrass (The Fury) with whom Young had his first child Zeke. Young indicated the album is too honest, too close to the artist. “It was a little too personal…it scared me” said Young. Eventually tracks from the session would show up on other albums including; “Little Wing” and “Old Homestead” on ‘Hawks & Doves,’ “Star of Bethlehem” on ‘American Stars and Bars,’ and “Love is a Rose” and “Deep Forbidden Lake” on Decade but, according to the author, “to hear Homegrown in its entirety is to hear Neil Young at his best.” Another famed unreleased but heavily bootlegged album is “Chrome Dreams” (Chrome Dreams II came out in ’07) which was recorded in ’75-’76 and included the songs, “Pocahontas,” “Too Far Gone,” “Sedan Delivery,” and “Powderfinger.”

Like so many of his period, the drug references and abuse becomes carte blanche in the book. Young’s fear of needles and LSD possibly saved him from the hardcore abuse that others fell into and in retrospect he had harsh words about the drug culture he frequently found himself in, “But cocaine and music don’t really go together, and they never did…Drugs are great until you realize they work against you…Cocaine is a destructive drug. It takes you in, you need more if it all the time. It’s addicting.”

‘Shakey’ is an exceptionally well done rock biography where the artist interacts with the documented past and gives an additional insight on events and recordings rather than the traditional myopic rock-bio where just the author or the artist give a sweeping input. Young’s role in the band’s Buffalo Springfield and CSN&Y predated today’s ‘Americana’ music movement while his ‘three chords and a cloud of dust’ work with the band Crazy Horse and the album, ‘Everybody Knows this is Nowhere’ laid the groundwork for the grunge sound. Unquestionably Neil Young is as significant an artist as rock has seen ranking as a peer to Bob Dylan and Brian Wilson. This book is available at Omaha’s Public Library and is required reading for any true Neil Young fan or budding musicologist. This is an excellent book about one of rock’s few uncompromised artists, Neil Young.