Thursday, November 14, 2024: Santo & Johnny - Sleep walk

 

Here's to sleepwalkin' into the weekend.

Friday, September 27, 2024: Johnny Pacheco - Acuyuye

 

"Juan Pablo Knipping Pacheco, known as Johnny Pacheco, was a Dominican musician, arranger, composer, bandleader, and record producer. Born in the Dominican Republic, Pacheco became a leading figure in the New York salsa scene in the 1960s and 1970s as the founder and musical director of Fania Records. Pacheco was one of the leading exponents of pachanga, a blend of Cuban rhythms and Dominican merengue in the late 1950s. 

"He popularized the use of the term "salsa" and established the Fania All-Stars to showcase the leading artists of the genre, which propelled him to worldwide fame and had an important role in the evolution of Latin music. 

"Pacheco was a nine-time Grammy nominee and was awarded the Latin Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award by the Latin Recording Academy in 2005."

SOURCE:  Johnny Pacheco - Topic

Tuesday, August 20, 2024: TWOfer Tuesday - "The Acoustic Side of 1994" Edition

 

Two very important acoustic albums were released in 1994: Johnny Cash's American Recordings, and Nirvana's Unplugged In New York.

I mean, there was a third important release; Alice in Chains' second acoustic-based EP, Jar of Flies, was released on January 25, 1994, and became the first EP to debut at number one on the Billboard 200 charts.  You know, back when that shit mattered.  But, while Jar of Flies is a great record, I personally think, historically, it has been overshadowed by these other two acoustic albums. 

Released on April 26, 1994, American Recordings was the 81st album by Cash.  The last album Johnny Cash that charted on the Billboard 200 was One Piece At A Time, which reached 185th place back in May, 1976.  Since the 70s, most of his solo efforts were considered lackluster, and in 1985 he left Colombia Records, the record company he had been with since 1958. He did have some marginal success as part of The Highwaymen, an American country music supergroup, working alongside Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, and Kris Kristofferson.  The pioneers of "Outlaw" country.  

But it was a hip-hop producer, Rick Ruben, who really got it.  He understood that while Cash was revered by everybody, he was beholden to nobody, and had an opportunity really double down on his "outlaw" persona, and get his groove back.  Cash recorded American Recordings in his living room, accompanied only by his Martin Dreadnought guitar.  The Man In Black, that voice, that songwriting skill, birthed a  stripped-down, minimalist "This is me, F-You" to the world.  It won him a Grammy for Best Contemporary Folk Album.  He played Glastonbury later that year. 

By contrast, in 1994, Nirvana was a contemporary chart-topping, cultural juggernaut who were riding high after releasing some of the most important and best-selling albums of the early 90s. They were the Beatles, to Johnny Cash's Bill Haley.

That was, until it all came to a screeching halt on April 8, 1994, when Kurt Cobain was found dead of a self-inflicted shotgun wound at his home in Seattle. 

All the drama afterwards is well documented, well worn, and I'll leave it to you, gentle reader, to fill in those gaps.  The important part, for today's post, is that Nirvana still had one album left to release.

Recorded on November 18, 1993, at Sony Studios in New York City, MTV Unplugged in New York was released on November 1, 1994. It debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 and sold over 300,000 copies, the highest first-week sales of Nirvana's career.

Both American Recordings and Unplugged in New York are landmark albums from 1994.  They both showcase stripped-down performances that allow the raw emotion and talent of Johnny Cash and Kurt Cobain to shine through. Cash’s album brought a legendary but dormant artist back into the spotlight, while Nirvana’s album became a poignant final chapter in a tragically short career. Both albums contributed significantly to the legacy of the artists.

These albums emphasize raw emotion over shiny staging, powerful songwriting over glossy production, and how much impact a great singer can have with just an acoustic guitar.  Well, obviously, Kurt still had some pedals turned on, but still.  There is a weight to these performances that is increasingly rare these days.  I highly recommend you check out both, and get re-connected to some raw emotion in music. 

It does a soul good. 

Friday, March 29, 2024: Johnny Cash - The Old Rugged Cross

 

On a hill far away stood an old rugged cross
The emblem of suffering and shame
And I love that old cross where the dearest and best
For a world of lost sinners was slain

 

So I'll cherish the old rugged cross
Till my trophies at last I lay down
I will cling to the old rugged cross
And exchange it some day for a crown

 

To the old rugged cross I will ever be true
It's shame and reproach gladly bear
Then he'll call me some day to my home far away
Where his glory forever I'll share

 

And I'll cherish the old rugged cross
Till my trophies at last I lay down
And I will cling to the old rugged cross
And exchange it some day for a crown

Tuesday, October 23, 2012: TWOfer Tuesday - The "Both Women And Towns Can Be Mean" Edition

Mean Town Blues.  

Mean Woman Blues.

Man, oh man, this world sure can drag a good man down.

Monday, September 3, 2012: Johnny Paycheck - Take This Job And Shove It

Labor Day is an American federal holiday observed on the first Monday in September that celebrates the economic and social contributions of workers.

Let's celebrate Johnny Paycheck style, shall we?

Wednesday, July 11, 2012: The "Telephone In The 70's Edition"

By 1971 there were over 100 million phones in service.

However, the 1970's would prove to be some of the darkest days for the telephone. Well, Bell Telephone Company, I mean.

In 1974, an antitrust lawsuit was filed by the U.S. Department of Justice against Bell , alleging illegal practices by the Telephone Company to stifle competition in the telecommunications industry. After almost a decade of litigation, the suit was finally settled on January 8, 1982, and led to the break up of Ma Bell into the Baby Bells in 1984.

Another example of turmoil in the 1970's. It was truly a world in upheaval, saturated in change, born out of decades of frustration with the status quo. Punks like Johnny Thunders would rise up in rebellion against the very bands like ELO.

And it was all glorious. And horrible. And the breeding ground for some of the best music ever made. Fact.

Tuesday, March 20, 2012: TWOfer Tuesday - Two Giants: Louis Armstrong on "The Johnny Cash Show"

This TWOfer is less about the songs, and more about the artist - Louis Armstrong and Johnny Cash

From the October 28, 1970 episode of Cash's TV variety show, Armstrong sings "Crystal Chandeliers" and "Ramblin' Rose" with the band then duets with Cash on the Jimmy Rodgers classic "Blue Yodel #9."

Epic cool.

Thursday, March 17, 2011: Johnny Cash - Hurt

I've said previously that Jimi Hendrix's All Along The Watchtower is the greatest cover ever.

I was just giving you the general consensus, the popular opinion, the default vote.

Here's the real deal.

Johnny Cash's take on Nine In Nail's Hurt is the greatest cover ever.

He is 71 years old in this video, he died 7 months after it was made.

If this haunting, poignant and heartwrenching exploration of regret set in the twilight of a man's years doesn't give you a Mike Tyson sized punch to the chest, then I don't know what to tell you friend.

Other than, maybe you have no soul.