LAMONT’S MUSIC NOTES-APR 25, 2020…IT WAS A REUNION THAT NOBODY THOUGHT WOULD HAPPEN. ON THIS DATE IN 1994 THE EAGLES PLAYED THE FIRST OF 2 SHOWS AT THE WARNER BROTHERS SOUNDSTAGE TO RECORD THE ‘HELL FREEZES OVER’ ALBUM. BACK TOGETHER FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 14 YEARS IT WAS A REUNION THAT NOBODY, AND I MEAN NOBODY THOUGHT WOULD HAPPEN. THE NAME OF THE TOUR WAS TAKEN FROM AN EARLIER QUOTE BY DON HENLEY, WHO RESPONDED TO THE QUESTION “WHEN WILL THE EAGLES GET BACK TOGETHER?”
HERE’S VIDEO FROM A SESSION THAT RESULTED IN AN EXCELLENT ACOUSTIC VERSION OF ‘HOTEL CALIFORNIA’
LAMONT’S MUSIC NOTES-APR 24, 2020…ON THIS DATE 31 YEARS AGO, TOM PETTY RELEASED HIS FIRST SOLO ALBUM (AWAY FROM THE HEARTBREAKERS). THE ALBUM WAS ‘FULL MOON FEVER’ AND EVEN THOUGH IT WAS BILLED AS A SOLO PROJECT, IT FEATURED MEMBERS OF THE HEARTBREAKERS, PLUS ALL OF THE MEMBERS OF THE TRAVELING WILBURYS ! THE ALBUM WAS HUGE FOR PETTY IN TERMS OF SALES, TO DATE IT HAS SOLD OVER 6 MILLION COPIES WORLDWIDE. IT ALSO PRODUCED 4 HIT SINGLES ‘RUNNIN’ DOWN A DREAM’ ‘YER SO BAD’ ‘I WON’T BACK DOWN’ AND ‘FREE FALLIN’ HERE’S A TREAT. PETTY PERFORMING ‘FREE FALLIN’ AT THE SHORELINE AMPHITHEATER CIRCA 1994
LAMONT’S MUSIC NOTES-APR 24, 2020…HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO A FRIEND OF THE SHOW JACK BLADES. BLADES IS BEST KNOWN FOR HIS WORK AS THE BASS PLAYER AND FRONTMAN FOR NIGHT RANGER AND THE SUPERGROUP DAMN YANKEES. BLADES WAS BORN ON THIS DATE IN 1954 IN PALM DESERT CALIFORNIA. HAPPY 66TH BIRTHDAY JACK, YOU’RE ONE OF THE GOOD ONES !! HERE’S BLADES WITH ‘THE DAMN YANKEES’
LAMONT’S MUSIC NOTES-APRIL 24, 2020…ON THIS DATE IN 1967 THE DOORS RELEASED THEIR BREAKTHROUGH SINGLE ‘LIGHT MY FIRE.’ THIS WAS THE SECOND TRACK TAKEN FROM THEIR DEBUT ALBUM. THE FIRST SINGLE WAS ‘BREAK ON THROUGH’ WHICH PEAKED AT #126 ON THE CHARTS. THE ALBUM HAD COME OUT IN JANUARY 1967, AND AT 6 MINUTES & 50 SECONDS ‘LIGHT MY FIRE WAS DEEMED TO LONG FOR AIRPLAY! HOWEVER, RADIO STATIONS GOT A SH**LOAD OF CALLS FROM LISTENERS WHO HEARD IT OFF THE ALBUM. THE RECORD COMPANY CHOPPED IT DOWN TO 2:52 AND RELEASED THE SONG THAT WOULD BECOME THE DOORS FIRST NUMBER ONE HIT.
ACCORDING TO ELEKTRA RECORDS FOUNDER JAZ HOLZMAN “We had that huge problem with the time length – seven-and-a-half minutes. Nobody could figure out how to cut it. Finally I said to Rothchild, ‘Nobody can cut it but you.’ When he cut out the solo, there were screams. Except from Jim. Jim said, ‘Imagine a kid in Minneapolis hearing even the cut version over the radio, it’s going to turn his head around.’ So they said, ‘Go ahead, release it.’ We released it with the full version on the other side.”
TO MANY ROCK FANS, THE CHOPPED UP SHORTER VERSION WAS A TRAVESTY, AND MANY DJ’S WOULD PLAY THE LONGER ALBUM CUT. THE DOORS WENT ON TO HAVE 17 HIT SINGLES, INCLUDING 3 TOP TEN HITS. YOU THOUGHT THE ALBUM VERSION WAS LONG ! HERE’S A LIVE VERSION FROM 1970 THAT CLOCKS IN AT 13:52
LAMONT’S MUSIC NOTES-APR 23, 2020…TODAY STEVE CLARK THE CO-LEAD GUITARIST OF DEF LEPPARD WAS BORN IN HILLSBOROUGH, SHEFFIELD, ENGLAND. HE WOULD HAVE BEEN 60 YEARS OF AGE. KNOWN AS “THE RIFFMASTER” CLARK WAS THE PRINCIPAL SONGWRITER AND GUITARIST FOR DEF LEPPARD UNTIL 1991 WHEN HE DIED FROM ALCOHOL POISONING. THE CORONER’S REPORT ON CLARK SHOWED HE HAD DOUBLE THE LETHAL BLOOD ALCOHOL LEVEL THAT KILLED JOHN BONHAM.
R.I.P. STEVE. HERE’S CLARK WITH DEF LEPPARD WITH THE ORIGINAL VIDEO FOR ‘TOO LATE FOR LOVE’ FROM 1993. THIS VIDEO IS MESMERIZING BECAUSE 1) OF THE ENERGY DISPLAYED BY THE BAND, 2) CLARK’S GUITAR WORK 3) IT’S PRE-COCONUT OIL AND PHIL COLLEN IS WEARING A SHIRT, AND 4) IT’S PRE-CAR CRASH AND RICK ALLEN HAS BOTH ARMS !! ( I AM SO USED TO WATCHING HIM PLAY THAT YOU FORGET HE HAD TO LEARN A WHOLE NEW WAY TO PLAY THE DRUMS)
LAMONT’S MUSIC NOTES-APR 23, 2020…ON THIS DAY IN 1971 THE ROLLING STONES RELEASED ARGUABLY THEIR BEST ALBUM ‘STICKY FINGERS.’ IT WAS THEIR 11TH ALBUM IN THE U.S. BUT ONLY THEIR 9TH IN THE U.K. (IT’S A LONG LONG BORING RECORD COMPANY STORY THAT ISN’T WORTH GETTING INTO)
‘STICKY FINGERS’ WAS THE FIRST ALBUM ON THE GROUP’S NEW LABEL, ROLLING STONE RECORDS, WHICH INTRODUCED THE NOW INFAMOUS “TONGUE AND LIPS LOGO”. THE LOGO WAS DESIGNED BY JOHN PASCHE, WHO WAS FRESH OUT OF ART SCHOOL. THE ALBUM’S ARTWORK BOASTED
A CLOSE-UP OF A MALE WEARING A TIGHT PAIR OF JEANS WITH A VISIBLE OUTLINE OF A LARGE PENIS. MANY ASSUMED THE PHOTO WAS AN IMAGE OF MICK JAGGER, BUT PEOPLE ACTUALLY INVOLVED AT THE PHOTO SHOOT CLAIM ARTIST ANDY WARHOL(IN CHARGE OF THE ARTWORK FOR THE ALBUM) HAD SEVERAL MEN PHOTOGRAPHED AND NEVER REVEALED WHICH SHOTS HE USED. JAGGER WAS NEVER PART OF THE PHOTO SHOOTS. THE COVER OF THE ORIGINAL ALBUM RELEASE ALSO HAD A WORKING ZIPPER. AFTER RETAILERS COMPLAINED THAT THE ZIPPER WAS CAUSING DAMAGE TO THE ACTUAL VINYL (FROM STACKED SHIPMENTS OF THE RECORD), THE ZIPPER WAS “UNZIPPED” TO THE MIDDLE OF THE RECORD TO PROTECT THE ACTUAL VINYL RECORD. SUBSEQUENT ALBUMS WERE SOLD WITHOUT THE WORKING ZIPPER.
IN MY OPINION, ONE OF THE GREATEST AND UNDERRATED STONES SONGS APPEARED ON THIS ALBUM. THE SONG IS ‘BITCH’. THIS IS AN EXTENDED VERSION FROM THE OFFICIAL STONES VIDEO SITE. I LOVE THIS VERSION BECAUSE THE MIX IS A LITTLE MORE RAW. ENJOY
HERE’S THE STONES IN 1971 WITH A TV APPEARANCE IN BRITAIN IN SUPPORT OF THE ALBUM
LAMONT’S MUSIC NOTES-APR 22, 2020…HAPPY 70TH BIRTHDAY TO PETER FRAMPTON. LAST YEAR FRAMPTON RETIRED FROM TOURING. HIS LAST SHOW EVER WAS AT THE CONCORD PAVILION ON OCT 12, 2019. FRAMPTON ANNOUNCED ON FEB 22 OF LAST YEAR HE WAS DIAGNOSED WITH IBM (INCLUSION BODY MYOSITIS). IBM IS A RARE AND INCURABLE INFLAMMATORY CONDITION WHICH CAUSES MUSCLES TO WEAKEN SLOWLY. ACCORDING TO FRAMPTON: “In a year’s time, I might not be able to play, I want to go out screaming”
FRAMPTON REVEALED 8 YEARS AGO, HE STARTED TO NOTICE HIS ANKLES FELT A LITTLE TIGHT IN THE MORNING AND INITIALLY DISMISSED IT AS A SIGN HE WAS GETTING OLDER. THEN HIS LEGS STARTED GETTING WEAKER. HE TRIED TO IGNORE THE SIGNS THAT SOMETHING WAS WRONG UNTIL 4 YEARS AGO WHEN A FAN KICKED A BEACH BALL ONTO THE STAGE AT A CONCERT AND HE FELL OVER IT TRYING TO PICK IT UP. RUH ROH ! HE JOKED: “He’s fallen and he can’t get up. But I was embarrassed.” TWO WEEKS AFTER THE BEACH BALL INCIDENT, HE TRIPPED OVER A GUITAR CORD ONSTAGE AND COLLAPSED AGAIN. HE ALSO NOTICED HIS ARMS WERE GETTING SO WEAK THAT LOADING HEAVY OBJECTS ONTO THE OVERHEAD COMPARTMENTS ON PLANES WAS EXTREMELY DIFFICULT. AN APPOINTMENT WITH A NEUROLOGIST REVEALED THE DIAGNOSIS OF IBM. LAST YEAR’S TOUR WAS A WAY FOR FRAMPTON TO GO OUT WHILE HE IS STILL ABLE TO PLAY UP TO HIS STANDARDS.
FRAMPTON RECORDED ONE OF THE GREATEST LIVE ALBUMS IN THE HISTORY OF ROCK HERE IN SAN FRANCISCO AT WINTERLAND. ‘FRAMPTON COMES ALIVE’ IS STILL ONE OF THE BEST SELLING LIVE ALBUMS AND HAS SOLD OVER 16 MILLION COPIES. LET’S TURN BACK THE CLOCK TO 1975 TO CATCH FRAMPTON ON “THE MIDNIGHT SPECIAL.” BTW, I’VE MADE AN OBSERVATION AFTER WATCHING OLD FOOTAGE OF FRAMPTON….NONE OF HIS SHIRTS HAD BUTTONS !!!
LAMONT’S MUSIC NOTES-APR 22, 2020…32 YEARS AGO IT WAS A CLASSIC ‘DAY ON THE GREEN’ WITH PINK FLOYD AT THE OAKLAND COLISEUM FOR TWO NIGHTS-APRIL 22 & 23. MAN I MISS THE BILL GRAHAM “DAYS ON THE GREEN”. THESE SHOWS WERE PART OF THE ‘MOMENTARY LAPSE OF REASON’ TOUR. PINK FLOYD HADN’T TOURED SINCE 1981, AND WHEN ROGER WATERS LEFT THE GROUP IN 1985, HE BELIEVED THE GROUP WOULD NOT CONTINUE WITHOUT HIM. WATERS THREATENED LEGAL ACTION AGAINST DAVID GILMOUR AND NICK MASON, AS WELL AS ANY PROMOTER THAT PROMOTED A “PINK FLOYD” SHOW. HOWEVER, A LEGAL DEAL WAS WORKED OUT WITH WATERS AND THE TOUR WENT ON. THE FIRST SHOW IN OAKLAND AT THE COLISEUM WAS PLAYED TO A CROWD OF 78,000 PEOPLE. THE SECOND NIGHT WAS A SELLOUT WITH 90,000 FANS LOVING PINK FLOYD. THIS WAS THE SETLIST FOR THE FIRST NIGHT OF DAY ON THE GREEN FROM SETLIST.COM
Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Parts I-V)
Signs of Life
Learning to Fly
Yet Another Movie
Round and Around
A New Machine (Part 1)
Terminal Frost
A New Machine (Part 2)
Sorrow
The Dogs of War
On the Turning Away
One of These Days
Time
On the Run
The Great Gig in the Sky
Wish You Were Here
Welcome to the Machine
Us and Them
Money
Another Brick in the Wall Part 2
Comfortably Numb
Encore:
One Slip
Run Like Hell
THIS IS A CLASSIC COMMERCIAL ADVERTISING THE SECOND SHOW
NOTHING BEATS LIVE PINK FLOYD, CHECK OUT THIS CONCERT FOOTAGE
LAMONT’S MUSIC NOTES-APR 21, 2020…ON THIS DATE IN 1980 THE WHO’S PETE TOWNSHEND PUT OUT HIS 2ND SOLO ALBUM ‘EMPTY GLASS.’ WHAT MADE THIS EFFORT DIFFERENT FROM HIS PREVIOUS SOLO ALBUM, IS THIS RECORD WAS HIS FIRST SOLO ALBUM WITH ALL ORIGINAL MATERIAL. THE ALBUM WAS WRITTEN AND RECORDED BETWEEN 1978 AND 1980, WHEN WORK WITH THE WHO WAS ALSO STARTING TO TAKE PLACE. AS A RESULT, TOWNSHEND WAS WRITING FOR BOTH HIS SOLO PROJECT AND THE WHO’S NEXT ALBUM. AS A RESULT, HIS SOLO ALBUM WAS CONSIDERED MUCH STRONGER THAN THE WHO’S NEXT RECORD ‘FACE DANCES.’THE WHO’S LEAD SINGER ROGER DALTREY EVEN COMMENTED THAT HE FELT “LETDOWN” BY TOWNSHEND, THAT PETE COULD HAVE USED SOME OF THE SONGS ON THE WHO’S ALBUM.
HERE’S THE BIGGEST SONG FROM THE RECORD, PETE TOWNSHEND AND ‘ROUGH BOYS’
LAMONT’S MUSIC NOTES-APR 21, 2020…ONE OF THE MANY THINGS I LOVE ABOUT METALLICA IS THEY ARE NEVER AFRAID TO TRY SOMETHING NEW AND PUSH THE ENVELOPE. ONE SUCH INSTANCE TOOK PLACE ON THIS DATE 21 YEARS AGO. THE GROUP HELD THEIR FIRST OF 2 CONCERTS WITH THE SF SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA AT THE BERKELEY COMMUNITY THEATRE FOR WHAT BECAME KNOWN AS THE S&M CONCERTS. THE TWO SHOWS, HELD ON APRIL 21 & APRIL 22, 1999 WERE RECORDED WITH THE BEST TAKES COMPILED INTO THE S&M ALBUM. TO DATE, ACCOUNTING FOR STREAMING AND PHYSICAL SALES, S&M HAS SOLD OVER 7.3 MILLION COPIES AND COUNTING.
THIS IS A STUB FROM THE SECOND NIGHT. INTERESTING TO NOTE THE COST OF A TICKET FOR THIS MONUMENTAL CONCERT WAS A MERE 40 BUCKS !! THIS IS METALLICA WITH ‘NO LEAF CLOVER’ FROM THE SUPERB S&M CONCERTS
