LAMONT’S MUSIC NOTES-APRIL 11, 2019…YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND, I LOVED
CREEDENCE CLEARWATER REVIVAL, SO THIS ONE IS A SAD ONE FOR ME BECAUSE ON THIS DATE IN 1972 CCR RELEASED WHAT WOULD PROVE TO BE THEIR FINAL STUDIO ALBUM. THE ALBUM WAS ‘MARDI-GRAS’. THIS WAS ACTUALLY THE FIRST ALBUM CCR RELEASE AS A TRIO. TOM FOGERTY LEFT BEFORE THE ALBUM WAS RECORDED. IT WAS ALSO THE FIRST ALBUM THAT JOHN FOGERTY DID NOT DOMINATE. OTHER MEMBERS OF THE BAND ACCUSED HIM OF BEING A CONTROL FREAK, SO FOGERTY LET THEM DO MORE OF THE SONGWRITING AND HAVE A MORE PROMINENT ROLE ON THE RECORD. IT WAS ALSO THE BEGINNING OF THE END FOR THE BAND, AS THE ALBUM WAS A FLOP AND THE ONLY SUCCESSFUL SINGLE WAS FOGERTY’S SONG ‘SWEET HITCH-HIKER’( WHICH WAS RELEASED AS A SINGLE A YEAR BEFORE THE ALBUM).
LAMONT’S MUSIC NOTES-APRIL 10, 2019…IT WAS 1970, AND ON THIS DATE PAUL MCCARTNEY ISSUED A PRESS RELEASE ANNOUNCING THE BEATLES HAD BROKEN UP. HE DID SO BY INSERTING A LETTER IN THE PROMO COPIES OF HIS ALBUM ‘MCCARTNEY’ FORMALLY ANNOUNCING HIS LEAVING OF THE BEATLES.
WITH HIS DEBUT SOLO ALBUM RELEASE SET FOR APRIL 17TH,1970,
HE CHOSE TO DO NO INTERVIEWS AS PROMOTION. INSTEAD, HE ASKED APPLE RECORDS PETER BROWN TO SUPPLY A LIST OF QUESTIONS TO WHICH HE ANSWERED. THESE INCLUDED MCCARTNEY’S THOUGHTS ON THE BEATLES, AND THE END OF HIS PARTNERSHIP WITH JOHN LENNON.
PRIOR TO THIS SELF INTERVIEW RUMORS WERE RAMPANT ON THE FUTURE OF THE BEATLES. ALTHOUGH NONE OF MCCARTNEY’S ANSWERS WERE DEFINITIVE, THE PRESS REPORTED “MCCARTNEY IS NO LONGER A BEATLE.”
HERE WAS THE SELF INTERVIEW RELEASED TO THE PRESS:
Q: Why did you decide to make a solo album?
A: Because I got a Studer four-track recording machine at home – practiced on it (playing all instruments) – liked the results, and decided to make it into an album.
Q: Were you influenced by John’s adventures with the Plastic Ono Band, and Ringo’s solo LP?
A: Sort of, but not really.
Q: Are all songs by Paul McCartney alone?
A: Yes sir.
Q: Will they be so credited: McCartney?
A: It’s a bit daft for them to be Lennon/McCartney credited, so “McCartney” it is.
Q: Did you enjoy working as a solo?
A: Very much. I only had me to ask for a decision, and I agreed with me. Remember Linda’s on it too, so it’s really a double act.
Q: What is Linda’s contribution?
A: Strictly speaking she harmonizes, but of course it’s more than that because she’s a shoulder to lean on, a second opinion, and a photographer of renown. More than all this, she believes in me – constantly.
Q: Where was the album recorded?
A: At home, at EMI (no. 2 studio) and at Morgan Studios (Willesden!)
Q: What is your home equipment (in some detail)?
A: Studer four-track machine. I only had, however, one mike, and as Mr Pender, Mr Sweatenham and others only managed to take six months or so (slight delay) I worked without VU meters or a mixer, which meant that everything had to be listened to first (for distortion etc…) then recorded. So the answer – Studer, one mike, and nerve.
Q: Why did you choose to work in the studios you chose?
A: They were available. EMI is technically very good and Morgan is cozy.
Q: The album was not known about until it was nearly completed. Was this deliberate?
A: Yes, because normally an album is old before it even comes out. (aside) Witness GET BACK.
Q: Why?
A: I’ve always wanted to buy a Beatles album like people do and be as surprised as they must be. So this was the next best thing. Linda and I are the only two who will be sick of it by the release date. We love it really.
Q: Are you able to describe the texture or the feel of the album in a few words?
A: Home, family, love.
Q: How long did it take to complete?
A: From just before (I think) Xmas, until now. THE LOVELY LINDA was the first thing I recorded at home, and was originally to test the equipment. That was around Xmas.
Q: Assuming all the songs are new to the public, how new are they to you? Are they recent
A: One was from 1959 (HOT AS SUN). Two are from India – JUNK and TEDDY BOY, and the rest are pretty recent. VALENTINE DAY, MOMMA MISS AMERICA and OO YOU were ad-libbed on the spot.
Q: Which instruments have you played on the album?
A: Bass, drums, acoustic guitar, lead guitar, piano and organ-mellotron, toy xylophone, bow and arrow.
Q: Have you played all these instruments on earlier recordings?
A: Yes, drums being the one that I normally wouldn’t do.
Q: Why did you do all the instruments yourself?
A: I think I’m pretty good.
Q: Will Linda be heard on all future records?
A: Could be. We love singing together and have plenty of opportunity for practice.
Q: Will Paul and Linda become a John and Yoko?
A: No, they will become Paul and Linda.
Q: What has recording alone taught you?
A: That to make your own decisions about what you do is easy, and playing with yourself is very difficult, but satisfying.
Q: Who has done the artwork?
A: Linda has taken all the photos, and she and I designed the package.
Q: Is it true that neither Allen Klein nor ABKCO have been nor will be in any way involved with the production, manufacturing, distribution or promotion of this new album?
A: Not if I can help it.
Q: Did you miss the other Beatles and George Martin? Was there a moment when you thought, ‘I wish Ringo were here for this break?’
A: No.
Q: Assuming this is a very big hit album, will you do another?
A: Even if it isn’t, I will continue to do what I want, when I want to.
Q: Are you planning a new album or single with the Beatles?
A: No.
Q: Is this album a rest away from the Beatles or the start of a solo career?
A: Time will tell. Being a solo album means it’s “the start of a solo career…” and not being done with the Beatles means it’s just a rest. So it’s both.
Q: Is your break with the Beatles temporary or permanent, due to personal differences or musical ones?
A: Personal differences, business differences, musical differences, but most of all because I have a better time with my family. Temporary or permanent? I don’t really know.
Q: Do you foresee a time when Lennon-McCartney becomes an active songwriting partnership again?
A: No.
Q: What do you feel about John’s peace effort? The Plastic Ono Band? Giving back the MBE? Yoko’s influence? Yoko?
A: I love John, and respect what he does – it doesn’t really give me any pleasure.
Q: Were any of the songs on the album originally written with the Beatles in mind?
A: The older ones were. JUNK was intended for ABBEY ROAD, but something happened. TEDDY BOY was for GET BACK, but something happened.
Q: Were you pleased with ABBEY ROAD? Was it musically restricting?
A: It was a good album. (No. 1 for a long time.)
Q: What is your relationship with Klein?
A: It isn’t. I am not in contact with him, and he does not represent me in ANY way.
Q: What is your relationship with Apple?
A: It is the office of a company which I part own with the other three Beatles. I don’t go there because I don’t like offices or business, especially when I am on holiday.
Q: Have you any plans to set up an independent production company?
A: McCartney Productions.
Q: What sort of music has influenced you on this album?
A: Light and loose.
Q: Are you writing more prolifically now? Or less so?
A: About the same. I have a queue waiting to be recorded.
Q: What are your plans now? A holiday? A musical? A movie? Retirement?
A: My only plan is to grow up!
HERE’S THE FINAL BEATLES PERFORMANCE, FROM THE FAMOUS ROOFTOP SHOW
LAMONT’S MUSIC NOTES-APRIL 10, 2019…FIFTEEN YEARS AFTER THE GROUP WAS FIRST ELIGIBLE FOR THE ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME, KISS WAS FINALLY ELECTED. WITH KISS NOTHING COMES EASY, AND THE INDUCTION WAS ONE OF THE MOST ACRIMONIOUS AND CONTROVERSIAL INDUCTION’S IN THE HALL’S HISTORY.
JUST WEEKS BEFORE THE CEREMONY, KISS ANNOUNCED THEY WOULD NOT BE PERFORMING BECAUSE DISPUTES OVER THE LINE-UP PRODUCED ARGUMENTS AND ILL-WILL AMONG IT’S BAND MEMBERS.
ACCORDING TO PAUL STANLEY :
“my sense was that we were going to be a dog-and-pony show. They wanted to have the original guys play in the band, and all of us in makeup, and, quite honestly, I think it would have done the band a disservice.That lineup has not been together for 14 years, and physically, perhaps, wouldn’t have looked that great, and musically, undoubtedly, probably, would have sounded a bit suspect, so, to have people watch it on television and identify that as KISS because there’s four guys in makeup would not send a great signal to the people who are not following the band in its current permutation, or what it is today. It seems like if the Rock Hall wanted a classic KISS reunion, they should have acted sooner. KISS became eligible for a Rock Hall induction in 1999, when the classic lineup of Paul Stanley,Gene Simmons,Ace Frehley andPeter Criss was back together for a handful of years.”
WHEN THE PAUL STANLEY, GENE SIMMONS, ACE FREHLEY, AND PETER CRISS WENT ONSTAGE TO ACCEPT THE HONOR, IT DIDN’T SEEM LIKE THERE WAS ANGER AMONG THE FOUR FOUNDING MEMBERS. IF ANYTHING THEIR ANGER WAS DIRECTED AT THE HALL AND THE BAND’S CRITICS WHO NEVER APPRECIATED THE BAND’S THEATRICS AND HAD DISMISSED THE GROUP AS SHLOCK. THE GROUP ACTED RESERVED AND CORDIAL.
HERE’S THE INDUCTION CEREMONY
AND HERE’S PAUL STANLEY WITH HOW PISSED OFF HE WAS AT THE RRHOF JUST HOURS BEFORE THE INDUCTION
LAMONT’S MUSIC NOTES-APRIL 10, 2019…THIRTY YEARS AGO THE CULT RELEASED THEIR 4TH STUDIO ALBUM ‘SONIC TEMPLE’.
PRIOR TO THIS ALBUM’S RELEASE, THE BAND ACTUALLY RECORDED A DEMO OF THE RECORD IN 1988 WITH ERIC SINGER FROM KISS ON DRUMS. THEY THEN RECORDED A COMPLETE NEW DEMO WITH CHRIS TAYLOR ON DRUMS. THE SECOND DEMO IS THE ONE THE BAND WENT WITH.
SONIC TEMPLE IS THE FIRST TIME THE BAND WORKED WITH PRODUCER BOB ROCK, AND PEAKED AT #10 ON THE BILLBOARD ALBUM CHARTS. SONIC TEMPLE SOLD OVER A MILLION COPIES AND IS THE CULT’S HIGHEST CHARTING ALBUM IN THE USA.
THE RECORD WAS FUELED BY THIS SINGLE. HERE’S THE VIDEO FOR ‘FIRE WOMAN’
LAMONT’S MUSIC NOTES-APRIL 9, 2019…ON THIS DAY IN 1970, PAUL MCCARTNEY OFFICIALLY QUIT THE BEATLES. THE NEWS WAS ANNOUNCED TO THE WORLD THE NEXT DAY.
THIS IS A GREAT INTERVIEW WITH MCCARTNEY FROM THE CBC (THE CANADIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION) WHERE MCARTNEY TOUCHES ON WHY THE BEATLES BROKE UP AND HIS THOUGHTS AND FEELINGS CONCERNING JOHN LENNON AND THE DEATH OF JOHN LENNON.
LAMONT’S MUSIC NOTES-APRIL 9, 2019…IT WAS ON THIS DATE 15 YEARS AGO VINCE NEIL PLED NO CONTEST TO BATTERY CHARGES THAT HE ASSUALTED A PROSTITUTE AT THE MOONLIGHT BUNNY RANCH JUST OUTSIDE CARSON CITY NEVADA.
THE PROSTITUTE, ANDREA “TRIXXXIE BLUE” TERRY WAS QUOTED AS SAYING IT COMES TO A POINT WHEN YOU THINK “It doesn’t matter how much I like their music and a girl has gotta get paid “
ACCORDING TO A SUBSEQUENT CIVIL LAWSUIT FILED BY “TRIXXXIE BLUE” THE INCIDENT OCCURRED JULY 10 ,2003 AT THE BUNNYRANCH WHEN NEIL “grabbed her by the neck, pushed her against a window sill, and then pulled her to the floor after Terry refused to let her and another prostitute have sex with Neil until he paid $4,000 for each woman”.
THE OWNER OF THE MOONLIGHT BUNNY RANCH WAS ALSO NAMED IN THE SUIT. THE SUIT STATED:
“Hof was negligent because he didn’t call police and because the panic button/intercom in her room wasn’t working.”
IN RESPONSE, HOFF SAID HE WAS:
“Confident Terry will lose in court because he thinks she made up the story about the assault. Neil was at the brothel at his request to sign autographs and take pictures a day after performing with the band Poison in Reno. While at the brothel, Terry brought Neil to a room, and soon thereafter another prostitute came to him saying that Terry would not let Neil leave.”
HOF SAID HE WENT INTO THE ROOM AND:
“I saw her with her hands on his shoulders not letting him go. In my opinion Vince Neil did nothing wrong, She was an opportunist.”
HOF ADDED: “even if Neil did go with Terry to have sex, Terry would have known that Neil would not have to pay for her services. We don’t charge celebrities, we pay the girls ourselves.”
LAMONT’S MUSIC NOTES-APRIL 8, 2019…IT WAS FORTY FIVE YEARS AGO PAUL MCCARTNEY RELEASED THE SINGLE ‘BAND ON THE RUN’. IT WAS THE FIRST SINGLE TO THE ALBUM OF THE SAME NAME, AND IT’S AN ALBUM THAT IN SIR PAUL’S OWN WORDS IS “HIS BEST POST BEATLES WORK.”
‘BAND ON THE RUN’ IS ONE OF MCCARTNEY’S LONGEST SINGLES AT 5:09.
THE SONG-WIDE THEME IS ONE OF FREEDOM AND ESCAPE.
MCCARTNEY WROTE THIS SONG IN RESPONSE TO DRUG LAWS THAT CRIMINALIZED HIM AND HIS FRIENDS. HE EXPLAINED IN AN INTERVIEW SHORTLY AFTER THE RELEASE OF THE SINGLE:
“We’re not criminals ,We just would rather do this than hit the booze – which had been a traditional way to do it. We felt that this was a better move.The basic idea about the band on the run is a kind of prison escape. At the beginning of the album the guy is stuck inside four walls, and eventually breaks out.”
ONE THING THAT INSPIRED MCCARTNEY WAS A STATEMENT GEORGE HARRISON MADE DURING A MEETING WITH EXECUTIVES AT THE BEATLES APPLE RECORDS, WHEN GEORGE HARRISON COMPLAINED “If I ever get out of this house.” MCCARTNEY REMEMBERED THE LINE AND USED IT IN THIS SONG.
PAUL ALSO USED A MEDLEY OF THREE DISTINCT DIFFERENT SONGS THAT VARY IN STYLE FOR ‘BAND ON THE RUN’. THE BEATLES DID THIS A LOT ON THEIR ALBUMS, BEING IT PROVIDED A WAY TO USE UNFINISHED SONGS.
BOTH THE SONG AND ALBUM WERE RECORDED UNDER TRYING CIRCUMSTANCES.
THE ORIGINAL DEMOS FOR THIS AND OTHER TRACKS ON ‘BAND ON THE RUN’ WERE STOLEN SHORTLY AFTER THE WINGS ARRIVED IN LAGOS NIGERIA TO BEGIN RECORDING OF THE PROJECT.
THE ENTIRE ALBUM WAS RECORDED WITH JUST MCCARTNEY, HIS WIFE LINDA, AND GUITARIST DENNY LAINE.
IN AN INTERVIEW MCCARTNEY DID IN 2005 MACA DESCRIBED THE PROCESS:
“I was on drums and guitar a lot, mainly because the drummer decided to leave the group the night before and one of the guitar players decided not to come! So we got that solo element into an otherwise ‘produced’ album.”
THE SINGLE BAND ON THE RUN WAS AN INTERNATIONAL CHART SUCCESS. IN THE U.S. IT SOLD OVER A MILLION COPIES IN 1974, AND WAS A NUMBER ONE SONG ON THE CHARTS.
THIS IS AMAZING…HERE’S FOOTAGE OF MCCARTNEY IN THE STUDIO WITH REHEARSALS. IT WAS PART OF A RARELY SEEN “ROCKUMENTARY” MADE BY PAUL MCCARTNEY AND THE WINGS AT ABBEY ROAD STUDIOS IN 1974. THE FILM FEATURES THE GROUP PLAYING LIVE AND DOING VOICE OVERDUBS, AND EACH MEMBER TALKING ABOUT THEIR MUSICAL EXPERIENCES UP TO THAT POINT.
LAMONT’S MUSIC NOTES-APRIL 8, 2019…IT’S HARD TO BELIEVE IT WAS 41 YEARS AGO JOURNEY RELEASED THE SINGLE ‘WHEEL IN THE SKY’.
THIS WAS THE FIRST SINGLE THE GROUP RELEASED FROM THE ALBUM ‘INFINITY’. THE SONG WAS WRITTEN BY ROBERT FLEISHMAN, NEAL SCHON, AND DIANNE VALORY.
DIANNE VALORY WAS BASSIST ROSS VALORY’S WIFE. SHE WROTE A POEM CALLED “WHEELS IN MY MIND”. ROBERT FLEISCHMAN THE GROUP’S LEAD SINGER AT THE TIME, WROTE NEW LYRICS, AND NEAL SCHON WROTE THE MELODY ON AN ACOUSTIC GUITAR IN THE BACK SEAT OF A STATION WAGON WHILE THE BAND WAS DRIVING BETWEEN SHOWS.
THE THING THAT I LIKE IS THE STEVE PERRY ENDED UP REPLACING FLEISHMAN A COUPLE OF WEEKS LATER WHEN IT CAME TIME TO WORK ON THE SONG IN THE STUDIO, AND THIS ENDED UP BEING THE FIRST SINGLE ISSUED WITH PERRY AS THE LEAD VOCALIST OF THE BAND, AND WAS ALSO THE FIRST SINGLE TO CHART FOR THE GROUP.
LAMONT’S MUSIC NOTES-APRIL 8, 2019…DAMN THIS WAS A GREAT DAY IN 1975 !! FORTY FOUR YEARS AGO AEROSMITH RELEASED THEIR THIRD ALBUM ‘TOYS IN THE ATTIC’. THIS RECORD MARKED A GIGANTIC LEAP FORWARD FOR AEROSMITH, IN TERMS OF WRITING AS WELL AS PERFORMANCE.
THE ALBUM WAS FUELED BY THE SUCCESS OF ‘SWEET EMOTION’ ‘WALK THIS WAY’(AEROSMITH’S BIGGEST HIT TO THAT POINT) AND A TREMENDOUS COVER OF ‘BIG TEN-INCH RECORD’
THIS RECORD MARKED THE POINT OF NO RETURN FOR AEROSMITH, SETTING THEM UP FOR THE SUPERSTAR STATUS THEY CONTINUE TO ENJOY.
IN HIS AUTOBIOGRAPHY “WALK THIS WAY” JOE PERRY TALKED ABOUT WHERE THE BAND WAS AT DURING THE MAKING OF THIS ALBUM:
“Our first two albums were basically comprised of songs we’d been playing for years live in the clubs. With Toys, we started from scratch. Making this record, we learned to be recording artists and write songs on a deadline. In the process, we began to see just what Aerosmith could accomplish. With everyone throwing in ideas, Toys was our breakthrough.
That breakthrough was facilitated by Jack Douglas… In the studio he moved into the slot of the sixth member of the band.”
‘TOYS’ IS THE BAND’S MOST SUCCESSFUL ALBUM IN THE UNITED STATES WITH OVER 8 MILLION COPIES SOLD. “ROLLING STONE MAGAZINE” HAS RANKED ‘TOYS IN THE ATTIC’ AS #229 ON THEIR LIST OF THE “500 GREATEST ALBUMS OF ALL TIME.”
HERE’S AN EPIC LIVE VERSION OF ‘SWEET EMOTION’ ( ALL 7 GLORIOUS MINUTES)
