R.I.P. George Martin, The Fifth Beatle - UPDATED

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A Day in the Life’

From The New York Times:

The song that closes “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band,” and is, for many listeners, the most astonishing track on an astonishing album, actually began as a pair of unrelated songs: The melancholy outer verses were Lennon’s, the brighter central section was Mr. McCartney’s. What transformed these fragments into a cohesive whole is a touch of avant-garde string scoring by Mr. Martin. By the time the Beatles set to work on the track, on Jan. 19, 1967, they and Mr. Martin had mapped out its structure. Two of Lennon’s verses would open the song, followed by Mr. McCartney’s verse, which would lead back to final thoughts from Lennon. Between the two composers’ sections, though, the band would vamp for 24 bars, and there would be another long vamp after the closing verse. How these would be filled — well, Mr. Martin would figure that out later.

For several weeks, the group tweaked the main parts of the song, polishing the vocals, drums and bass, adding extra percussion parts, and trying to imagine what should occupy those long vamped sections. Mr. McCartney thought an orchestral section would be good, but left the question of what that should entail to his producer. Mr. Martin’s solution was to take a page out of the playbooks of classical composers like John Cage and Krzysztof Penderecki, who at the time were creating works in which chance played a role. Mr. Martin hired 40 symphonic musicians for a session on Feb. 10, and when they turned up, they found on their stands a 24-bar score that had the lowest notes on their instruments in the first bar, and an E major chord in the last. Between them, the musicians were instructed to slide slowly from their lowest to highest notes, taking care not to move at the same pace as the musicians around them.

The sound was magnificently chaotic, and it became more so once Mr. Martin combined the four takes he recorded (some with Mr. McCartney on the podium, some conducted by Mr. Martin himself). It was a brilliant solution: as Lennon’s voice faded into the echoic distance, the orchestra began its buildup, ending sharply on the chord that begins Mr. McCartney’s section.

Fooled Around And Fell In Love

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I first saw Elvin Bishop with the Paul Butterfield Blues Band, where he dueled with Mike Bloomfield on guitar.

Those duels were legendary. That band was legendary. And Elvin took some of that magic with him when he left the band in the early Seventies. As in this song, his best. 

And Mickey Thomas has the perfect voice to sing it.

Alfie

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I was listening to Marian McPartland play "Alfie" this morning, in the background as I was working, and as I listened to her take apart and re-assemble Hal David's beautiful melody, as great jazz soloists do, I remembered bits and pieces of Burt Bachrach's lyrics. 

Since everything is just a few Google clicks away, the complete lyrics were easy to find, and I've been struck by how relevant they are, some fifty years later. But then, all great lyrics are like that, aren't they?

 

What's it all about Alfie

Is it just for the moment we live

What's it all about
When you sort it out, Alfie
Are we meant to take more than we give
Or are we meant to be kind?

And if, if only fools are kind, Alfie
Then I guess it is wise to be cruel
And if life belongs only to the strong, Alfie
What will you lend on an old golden rule?

As sure as I believe there's a heaven above
Alfie, I know there's something much more
Something even non-believers can believe in

I believe in love, Alfie
Without true love we just exist, Alfie
Until you find the love you've missed
You're nothing, Alfie

When you walk let your heart lead the way
And you'll find love any day Alfie, oh Alfie
What's it all about Alfie?

Long Distance Information Give Me Memphis Tennessee

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There are so many reasons to visit Memphis. The National Civil Rights Museum is there. Stax Records is there. Gibson Guitar is there, all of them with excellent tours. 

Beale Street is there. And Sun Studio is there. If you love music, you must spend a few days in Memphis Tennessee. 

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On Beale Street

On Beale Street

Emmylou Harris' Gibson Hummingbird guitar, available to play at the Gibson factory tour. 

Emmylou Harris' Gibson Hummingbird guitar, available to play at the Gibson factory tour. 

Green Onions

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Anyone who's ever asked me what it was like to have been a guest on Late Night With David Letterman has heard me say "It was amazing! Booker T And The MGs played every time the show broke for a commercial break - right there next to me!" 

The group was Dave's musical guest that night, and seeing Steve Cropper, Duck Dunn and Booker T playing live in that small venue was one of the peak musical experiences of my life.

And they even played "Green Onions". But Ann Margret wasn't there.

James Taylor 1970

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James Taylor was one of the first artists to be recorded by The Beatles at the Abbey Road studio, for their new record label, Apple Records. James was virtually unknown in the US at the time, with a serious heroin problem, but soon after the album's release, his voice and songs were everywhere, part of the new introspective singer/songwriter renaissance led by Joni Mitchell, Carole King, Jackson Browne and others. His voice and his lyrics were very personal and very clear and, it seemed, exactly what the culture needed in a very dark time.

This is from his concert at BBC Studios in 1970. It is approximately thirty minutes long and, unfortunately, cuts out during the final tune. But it's as glorious and fresh as it was then, no matter how many times you've heard these songs, and no matter how done you think you are with James Taylor by now. There really hadn't been anything quite like this before, at least to those of us who were his contemporaries.

Rock And Roll Odds

I don't gamble. Or buy lottery tickets. It's not that I have any moral objection to gambling, or that I  judge people who do gamble, many of whom are my friends. I don't. I just love visiting casinos and taking advantage of any and all inexpensive inducements to gamble, like buffets. And I love to people-watch - especially in Las Vegas, to which I have traveled often to attend business conferences and trade shows. 

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One of my favorite places to relax in Las Vegas is in the Sports Book at Caesar's Palace, where wagers are possible on just about any proposition you could imagine. The seating is comfortable, the drinks are cheap, and the action is non-stop, especially while there is a major sporting event transpiring.

When I saw this graphic, posted by a friend of a friend on Facebook during this time when a number of major rock and roll figures are exiting the stage for good, I was reminded that Rock and Roll stars used to be young when they died - Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, and Jim Morrison, for example.. 

And I was moved to make the following comment on the graphic:

 I'm sure the Vegas oddsmakers have already set the odds. If you can wager on whether the next play will be a pass or a run, you can get action on who's going to be the next to go.

Maybe it will make it a little easier. Because it's not easy now. 

On A Dark Desert Highway

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Warm smell of colitas, rising up through the air
Up ahead in the distance, I saw a shimmering light
My head grew heavy and my sight grew dim
I had to stop for the night
There she stood in the doorway;
I heard the mission bell
And I was thinking to myself,
"This could be Heaven or this could be Hell"
Then she lit up a candle and she showed me the way
There were voices down the corridor,
I thought I heard them say...

Welcome to the Hotel California
Such a lovely place (Such a lovely place)
Such a lovely face
Plenty of room at the Hotel California
Any time of year (Any time of year)
You can find it here