HEY, WANNA WASTE SOME STUDIO TIME?

Here's a handful of Dylan curiosities. They're from a 1970 session that he did with George Harrison. While there were versions of Dylan standards recorded, these are covers. I'm not sure if they were intended to be released on a proper album; the fact that they sat on a shelf for fifty years kind of tells you that they weren't quite up to snuff. But, hey, Dylan, with one of the scraggliest voices in the biz, singing songs that were hits by the velvet throated Sam Cooke and the Everly Brothers? Curiosity got to me. These are probably keepers for Dylan freaks but throwaways for anybody else. To be honest, they're kinda lame.

~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY THE BLOGS & SITES NAMED BELOW ~

Listen:
Bob Dylan - Cupid mp3 at Internet Archive (Orig: Sam Cooke)
Bob Dylan - Yesterday mp3 at Internet Archive (Orig: Beatles)
Bob Dylan - Matchbox mp3 at Internet Archive (Orig: Carl Perkins)
Bob Dylan - I Met Him On A Sunday (Ronde-Ronde) mp3 at Internet Archive (Orig: Shirelles)
Bob Dylan - All I Have to Do Is Dream mp3 at Internet Archive (Orig: Everly Bros)
Visit:
Bob Dylan’s Secret Recording Session With George Harrison and Friends - Rolling Stone, May 28th, 1970

LOCK DOWN THEATER NIGHT 26

I'm just finishing reading Never a Dull Moment: 1971 The Year That Rock Exploded (by David Hepworth) and there was a lot of shit that prompted memories. It's an account of the year 1971, chronologically January through December, in rock music. He makes a good case for it being an epic year of firsts and big changes. I won't ruin it for you, just take my word for it. One thing he devotes a few pages to was The Concert For Bangladesh, the film, the LP and the concert itself. For those of you who've never heard of it, it was a benefit concert (actually two shows) organized by George Harrison for the war torn Bangladesh, where people were starving to death. He was asked for help by his friend Ravi Shankar and he just dug in, inviting friends Leon Russell, Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, Ringo Starr, Billy Preston and so on. A very crowded stage. Just one of the clips has Harrison, Dylan and Russell singing "Just Like A Woman".

I couldn't find the whole thing but I did find a playlist someone put together at YouTube. There's enough to give you an idea if you want to pursue it, I'm sure it's all over the place online. I've no idea how young you would have to be to not be cognizant of the event. Well, not young. How non-old you would have to be.

~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY THE BLOGS & SITES NAMED BELOW ~

Visit:
George Harrison and Friends The Concert For Bangladesh (playlist) at YouTube

HE STILL LIVES IN TULSA

Imagine this for a line up on your solo album: George Harrison, Ringo Star, Bill Wyman, Charlie Watts, Steve Winwood, and Eric Clapton. On your first solo album. Oh yeah, and you're twenty eight years old. But Leon Russell didn't exactly get there overnight. He began playing in Tulsa, Oklahoma clubs at the ripe old age of fourteen, in the Starlighters (which also included J.J. Cale). After that he did time in the house band on Shindig, and as a member of the Wrecking Crew (and you know what that means). Just a partial list of people whose sessions he's played on includes Badfinger, Glen Campbell, Joe Cocker, Willie Nelson, Bob Dylan, John Lennon, B.B. King, Freddie King, Steve Cropper, Rita Coolidge, Gram Parsons, Barbra Streisand, Ike & Tina Turner, Ricky Nelson, Herb Alpert, Frank Sinatra, Aretha Franklin, Ann-Margret, Dean Martin, Marvin Gaye, the Monkees, the Astronauts, the Ventures, the Beach Boys, the Byrds, Jan & Dean, Gary Lewis & the Playboys, Paul Revere & the Raiders, the Rolling Stones, the Ronettes, the Crystals, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, the Everly Brothers, the Righteous Brothers, and the Flying Burrito Brothers. (Phew!) His songs have been covered by as disparate artists as the Carpenters, Sonic Youth, and Ray Charles. In short, his CV is mind blowing.

Shindig TV show, 1965

Still, there's something about him that seems so nonchalant. It might be his chronically expressionless face. Or his Jerry Lee Lewis meets early Tom Waits, meets Full House-era Peter Wolf, gravelly drawl. Or the way he calmly tickles the ivories, or the way he goes about his business without the normal look at me rock star posturing. Whatever it is, it works, and although his music may be an acquired taste (it took me about twenty years), once that voice gets under your skin, you realize that there's no one who sounds quite like him. He's that guy you know who's fundamentally badass, without ever having lifted a finger.

The Wrecking Crew effect creeps out at :47

A few notes about the videos: check out the two versions of Hank Williams' "Jambalaya." The first one is from Shindig. If you can ignore the corny set, the performance is great. Now, compare that to the second version, at one of Willie Nelson's Fourth of July Picnics. While he seems a little buzzed, it's got a nice "it's okay, you're among friends" party vibe, that many of you have probably experienced when you've had one two many. Especially endearing is his tug on Waylon Jennings shirt when he joins them on stage (seriously, that part slays me). The other videos are equally engaging, so you might want to budget some time. By the end of them, you'll be adding him to your list.

~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY THE BLOGS & SITES NAMED BELOW ~

Listen:
Leon Russell - Shoot Out At the Plantation mp3 at Newsome.org
Leon Russell - Tight Rope mp3 at Star Maker Machine
Leon Russell - Beware of Darkness mp3 at Ryan's Smashing Life
Leon Russell - Delta Lady mp3 at Leons Bio
Leon Russell - Wild Horses mp3 at Achtung Baby
Leon Russell - Crystal Closet Queen mp3 at Iron Leg (via Funky 16 Corners)
Video:
Leon Russell - Jambalaya (Shindig, '65) at YouTube
Leon Russell and Willie Nelson - Jambalaya at YouTube (with Waylon Jennings and Doug Kershaw, early 70s)
Leon Russell - High Heel Sneakers (Shindig, '64) at YouTube
Leon Russell - Come On Into My Kitchen ('71) at YouTube
Leon Russell - A Song For You ('71) at YouTube
Leon Russell - Crystal Closet Queen ('71) at YouTube
Leon Russell - Jumpin' Jack Flash/Youngblood, Concert For Bangladesh ('71) at YouTube With George Harrison, Ringo Starr, Eric Clapton and many others.
Leon Russell with J.J. Cale - Corrina, Corrina ('79) at YouTube
Leon Russell - White Lightning ('79) at YouTube (Yes!)
Leon Russell, Willie Nelson and Ray Charles - A Song For You at YouTube
Leon Russell's induction into the Rock n' Roll Hall of fame (2011) at YouTube
Visit:
Leon Russell - Bio at Leon Russell Records
Leon Russell at Wikipedia
Semi-related:
How Was Work Today? - Earlier post about the Wrecking Crew