Can I Get You A Caw-fee?

I will keep this short as I just got home from a spectacular gig and it is almost 2 am. This was a gig that I have waited 36 years to see. I never had the chance to see the New York Dolls in the beginning back in 1973/74 (I was living in Nova Scotia at the time) and I could not make their show 2 years ago during their "comeback" tour. Now that they have a new album out, Cause I Said So, they wrapped up their North American tour in Toronto with a 2 hour Rock N' Roll party. Yes, the show was a neat mix of old and new, and yes, the new material it pretty damn good. But for the sake of the new and uninitiated, when it comes to the New York Dolls, their sometimes under appreciated legacy and gift comes down to their first 2 albums from 1973 and 1974, respectively, New York Dolls and Too Much, Too Soon.

Their story is of Rock N' Roll legend. Just read their bio on line and it is a mixed up tale of excess, fast times, success and disappointment plagued with drug addiction and death. Their initial image was one that shocked and rocked the western world. That image and their music set the tone for many things to come - 70s Punk & New Wave, 80s Heavy Metal and 90s "Alternative" Rock. From Kiss to Blondie to Def Leppard to Hanoi Rocks to Guns n' Roses to Aerosmith to The Pixies and so much more, the New York Dolls have left their distinct Brooklyn imprint on the music world.

Again, for the uninitiated, check out from their first self titled album - "Personality Crisis", "Trash", "Lonely Planet Boy", "Pills" (written by Bo Diddley) , "Private World", "Bad Girl" and "Lookin' For A Kiss". From Too Much Too Soon - the obvious gems are "Who Are The Mystery Girls", "Babylon", "Puss And Boots" and "Chatterbox".

Now all you have to do is pick out the purse to match the pumps, apply some lipstick and get set to Rock N' Roll! What could be more fun in the urban jungle!

Hats Off To Roy Harper!

Who? Roy Harper! One of the most talented and idiosyncratic musicians/songwriters ever. Roy Harper was also responsible for initiating and helping to set up the series of free concerts held in London's Hyde Park starting in 1968. In fact, today marks the day when the 1st Hyde Park Free Concert was held. Appearing on the bill that day 41 years ago - Roy Harper, Jethro Tull and Pink Floyd (both of these bands had been around for less than a year as professional recording rock bands).

It may take tolerant and trained ears to listen to any of Roy's solo albums from the late 60s and the 1970s. Harper's debut in 1967, Sophisticated Beggar, is a unique and interesting collection of songs. Good enough that it also caught the ears of Jimmy Page & Robert Plant of the newly formed Led Zeppelin. By 1970, they had recorded the song "Hats Off To Roy Harper" for their own album Led Zeppelin III. Harper was the toast of London's music elite by the end of the 60s. Harper's relationship with Pink Floyd lead to his signing with EMI's Harvest label and by 1971 had released the brilliant Stormcock.

No doubt, though, his biggest claim to fame, was in 1975 when he was invited by Pink Floyd down to Abbey Road studios to record the lead vocals on what would become one of the Floyd's most memorable songs "Have A Cigar" from their album Wish You Were Here Harper's vocals successfully implants a hard image of the rock n' roll business mover & shaker. The greasy, insincere tone to his vocals suggests exactly what the lyrics portray about the business side of music. Even back in 1975, long before I became employed in the music business for a major label, Harper's vocals aptly conveyed the image to me as a young lad. It was almost like I knew what to expect later on. Great song. Hats Off to Roy Harper! www.royharper.com

Album Of The Week - "The Rise & Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars"

Yes, I am aware that this album has been reviewed countless thousands of times since 1972. Yes, I am aware that this album is a quintessential album of the 1970s catalog of Rock recordings. Yes, I am aware of how much this album influenced countless teenagers with their fashion sense during the 1970s and long after. Yes, I am aware how much this album is revered as a "coming out" album for the singer and his sexual orientation and how much that influenced many gays in the Western world (being gay wasn't exactly socially accepted to any degree in 1972). Yes, I am aware that this album represents the entire Glam scene in the early 1970s UK. Yes, I am aware of all this and more.

So, after all that, how much detail and critical review do I need to convey when choosing The Rise & Fall of Ziggy Stardust and The Spiders From Mars by David Bowie as my "Album Of The Week"?

Well, not a lot, but some interesting info about the album, might help spark some younger music fans' interest enough to want to check out this fantastic album.

Most of us are already aware that the album was introduced to the world this very same week back in 1972 (37 years ago). David Bowie had already began recording music in a somewhat similar fashion over the previous 2 years. 1971's Hunky Dory and 1970s The Man Who Sold The World differed from each other but both laid the blueprint for Ziggy.

Then there was everything else that was going on around Bowie at the time. For one thing, Marc Bolan and T.Rex were the #1 game in town and the leader of the Glam movement. It wasn't hard to see that Bowie borrowed from Bolan. Also, the world was also being gleaned on future shock ideals and fiction with movies like "2001:A Space Odyssey" and "A Clockwork Orange" (it was also only 3 years since the Nasa Moonwalk). Bowie has always admitted that throughout his career, he "borrowed" from others, which enabled him to achieve the legendary notoriety of being Rock music's true "chameleon".

On Ziggy Stardust, songs such as "Starman", "Lady Stardust", "Soul Love", "Five Years" and "Rock N' Roll Suicide" reflected more of Bowie's love of American Folk and Soul music, with the songs revolving around the 12 string acoustic Bowie wrote most of the songs on and blasts of strings and horns that peppered each song and helped build on the emotional strings they easily tugged the listener with.

Mix all of that with Mick Ronson (may he rest in peace) and his distinct sounding Gibson guitar's illustrious power chords and the result was some pretty captivating and moving songs. Things heated up some more on the title track (the concept story unfolded in this song), "Suffragette City" (originally intended for fellow Glam band Mott The Hoople), "Star" (An ode to the life of a Rock N' Roll star) and "Hang Onto Yourself", which constitute the harder and raucous sounding songs on the album.

What always enthralled me and captivated me about the album was the immense influence and imprint that Mick Ronson left on the album. He was Bowie's right hand man, his lead guitarist and chief arranger of the string and horn sections. I always felt that without Ronson, Ziggy Stardust would never have been as good as it turned out to be.

Sometime, if you get the chance, the SACD Surround Sound version of Ziggy Stardust is wildly entertaining, for with the audio separation, Ronson's guitar just comes to life, as do the strings and horns. Some SACD enthusiasts has panned the SACD version of this album complaining that it too compressed sounding, but I heartily disagree. Sometime just check out the drums and harp evolve slowly in the intro of "Five Years". The lead guitar in is so totally electrifying. The background vocals and double tracked vocals on "Moonage Daydream""Soul Love" and "It Ain't Easy" are so much more upfront and in your face. I really like the SACD Surround Sound version.

The original production, by former producer Ken Scott (who went on to produce such other 1970s Rock classics such as Crime Of The Century and Crisis? What Crisis? by Supertramp), was (for me) the only weak link. Perhaps it was the original studio where Ziggy Stardust was recorded (Regent Studios now no longer in use and converted into a supermarket I think). For one thing, compare the sound of Ziggy Stardust to his followup Aladdin Sane. The difference is quite stark and Aladdin Sane always sounded better to my ears. The sound on Ziggy didn't even match up to the better sound Ken Scott achieved with Supertramp. Something about Ziggy Stardust album sounded thin to me. Maybe that is why I enjoy the SACD version so much more. The 1998 24 Bit Digital Remastering did help the album's sound considerably, but original LPs and early CD versions sounded "thin" for my liking. The only factor that made up for all of that was the incredibly strong songs that ere on the album. The album was, is and always will be one of my favorite and most personable albums I ever listened to and owned a copy of.

BTW - Plenty of cover versions exist out there of songs from the Ziggy Stardust album. One of the most popular and infamous is the Bauhaus version of the song "Ziggy Stardust". I did just hear for the first time, as well, a cover of the song "Ziggy Stardust" by the UK psychedelic surf band The Thurston Lava Tube. I believe you can hear it on youtube.com

Of course, nothing can compare to some of the original live performances in 1972 and 1973 when Bowie was at his full Glam regalia and fashion. Check this out from the D.A. Pennebaker film shot at Bowie's Hammersmith Odeon concert in 1973, performing "Moonage Daydream"...