SANTA RECOMMENDS.....PERRY COMO!

Hello, kids!

CHRISTMAS is almost here!  My elves are busy building toys, reading your e-mails and keeping busy.  A few of them spend far too much time on Facebook these days, but we're still on schedule so I won't complain.

Have you written out your Christmas wish list yet?  No?  Well, you better get busy.  There's only a little time left before I load my sleigh up with gifts and make my journey around the world on Christmas night! 

If you are having a hard time deciding what you want, may I suggest this?

PERRY COMO

COMPLETE CHRISTMAS COLLECTION

2010 two CD holiday release. A roaring fire, something warm to wear (probably a cardigan), and the crooning sounds of Perry Como-such has been the comforting recipe for countless Christmas celebrations for generations. Now, for the first time, here are ALL of the holiday- themed recordings Perry made for RCA over 36 years, with liner notes by longtime admirer Richard Carpenter! The first eight tracks hail from the original 78 rpm album Perry Como Sings Merry Christmas Music (1946). Next up is the 1953 album Around the Christmas Tree. That's disc one; disc two leads off with the 1959 stereo album Season's Greetings from Perry Como, plus the 1967 singles "Christmas Bells" and "Love Is a Christmas Rose". Then comes the 1968 album The Perry Como Christmas Album, plus the album outtake "Some Children See Him", the single release "Christmas Dream" and Perry's final holiday song from 1982, the appropriately-titled "I Wish It Could Be Christmas Forever". 51 tracks.

I must get going now.  Mrs. Claus needs some help in eating those delicicious snickerdoodle cookies and I don't want to miss out!  They are fresh out of the oven, you know! Yum Yum!

Ho! Ho! Ho!

Santa

DENNIS GREAVES-Two Sides Of The Same Coin

To the average punter in the U.S., the name DENNIS GREAVES may not ring any bells, but to hardcore music fans, he is one of the finest Rock/Blues artists in the UK.

Emerging during the Punk era with his Blues/R&B outfit NINE BELOW ZERO, Greaves and the NBZ boys were one of the best live bands in Britain. Appealing to the Punk, Rock and and Mod crowds and bringing folks of all ages together under one sweaty roof was a feat that few bands could lay claim to!

After a handful of excellent albums (including the classic Live At The Marquee), Nine Below Zero split up, putting an end to one of the finest live acts of the late '70s and early '80s.

Shortly, thereafter, Greaves formed Mod/Pop rockers THE TRUTH and continued his live assault with a new batch of bandmates. After a slew of great singles, the band released their 1985 debut album, Playground.

While still energetic, The Truth's repertoire consisted of Mod-oriented Pop and Rock, sounding like a mixture between The Jam (who had already split) and Style Council (who were moving further away from the musical foundation that Paul Weller had created in The Jam). 

While some may have thought that The Truth were mere Weller copyists, that was actually far from the.... er... truth!  Greaves and Weller had obviously both shared a love for the same music growing up and those influences manifested themselves in similar ways in their songwriting.

Playground was, and still is, a joy to listen to, especially since American Beat has reissued it on CD!  Alongside co-guitarist Mick Lister, Greaves served up a delicious album full of melodic gems that truly excite the senses. They are joyful, uplifting and inspiring even after all of these years. "Spread A Little Sunshine", "Exception Of Love", "Is There A Solution" and the title track STILL make regular appearances on various mixtapes that I hand out to friends or play in the office.  The production might be a little dated, it doesn't take away from the songs.  Even slower tunes like "It's A Miracle" and "Always On My Mind" are top notch. 

Mixing Rock, Mod, Soul, R&B and adding some production polish may not have been new in 1985, nobody did it as well as The Truth.  The album remains an under-rated gem from an era filled with over-rated dirtclods.  Twenty five years on, it's great to be able to have it back on the market!

(For trainspotters, Truth keyboardist Chris Skornia had previously tickled the ivories for The Fabulous Poodles while bassist Richard Parfitt would later form the Britpop band 60 Ft. Dolls!)

By the end of the '80s, The Truth was no more and Greaves reformed Nine Below Zero with original member Mark Feltham, perhaps the greatest British Blues/Rock harmonica player of this generation!  The band went back to gigging and recording throughout the '90s and into the millennium.

In 2009, Nine Below Zero released the excellent It's Never Too Late album on the Angel Air Records label.  While the band no longer play their R&B/Blues at a frantic pace like they did 30 years ago, Greaves, Feltham and rhythm section Gerry McAvoy and Brendan O’Neill are as hot as ever. 

Following up their Blues covers album, Hats Off (2004), It's Never Too Late represents the best of both worlds as it offers up Blues-based rock tunes mixed with some poppier tracks that have hooks that would make a trout farmer nervous! 

The album starts out heavy on the Blues ("Mechanic Man", "Breakin' Down") but by "Little By Little", the band are beginning to stretch out and let other influences start to creep in.  Standouts include "The Story Of Nathan John", "Hit The Ground Running", the funky title track, "It's Never Too Late", the poptastic "You" and, of course, the tasty, bluesy tracks that hold it all together.

The band sound like they are having fun in the studio, as opposed to many other po-faced Blues artists who seem to take their art a little too seriously.  NBZ know how to rock and enjoy it... and it shows.

So, now that you are familiar with Dennis Greaves, do yourself a favor and check out Nine Below Zero and The Truth for yourself!  Not many musicians can combine Blues, sweat, tears, conviction and Pop as successfully as he does...

Your lil' buddy,

Stephen SPAZ Schnee

THE HEADPHONE TRAVELER: Collectors' Choice Music

Hey, gang! SPAZ here!

On this edition of THE HEADPHONE TRAVELER, I'm going to give you a rundown on some of Collectors' Choice Music's latest reissues....

Now, I may have my preferences when it comes right down to my favorite types of music, but my insatiable appetite to hear as much music as possible has allowed me to expand my views and even change my opinions on certain styles of music...

With this batch of Collectors' Choice reissues, I was able to revisit some old musical acquaintances from my past and visit some folks that I missed first time around....

NED DOHENY's self-titled album from 1973 is like visiting an old friend from your grade school days: you may not remember him, but once his music washes over you, it begins to take you back to a time long-forgotten but fondly remembered! Like fellow songwriter Jackson Browne, Ned was one of the first acts to sign with David Geffen's Asylum Records. He shares Browne's knack for writing intelligent songs that may seem lightweight on the surface, but allow yourself to dig deeper and the tracks will drag you down into a deeper, more meaningful place. There are hints of The Eagles, CSN, The Doobies and Steely Dan floating around in the mix, but Doheny stops short of sounding like anyone else and ends up sounding much more confident in remaining himself....

Former Byrds drummer GENE PARSONS may have been a very talented musician, but, to be honest, there were not many people expecting much when he released his Kindling album in 1973. The truth of the matter is that many folks didn't even get a chance to hear this full length platter, as it got lost amongst the glut of that year's releases (teen pop, Glam Rock and whatever else was flavor of the month). Over three decades later, this reissue is hopefully going to help give Gene the credit he deserves. Kindling is an authentic slice of Country Rock that features stabs at Bluegrass and everything that lies in between the two genres. This isn't the sound of a musician going through the motions: this is honest and real with emotions that range from joyful to melancholic. It's enough to make you wonder why you never heard it before. Kindling goes a long way in proving that Ringo wasn't the only drummer releasing worthwhile solo albums in the '70s. Maybe I should go give those Cozy Powell albums another listen...

For many Rock fans, Disco was the epitome of overindulgence, both on record and behind the scenes. In fact, most Rock fans enjoyed Disco as much as they enjoyed having their fingers chewed off by rabid rats. Well, I'm glad to say that I LOVE Rock and I LOVE Disco. I think most musical genres has something valid and noteworthy to offer, whether I like it personally or not. (Well, except Emo. But that is another subject altogether.) When Peter Brown released "Do You Want To Get Funky With Me?" during the Disco craze, he became a one-man sensation, shifting a million copies of the single alone! While the clubs loved what he was doing, he barely registered on the popular radar. It wasn't until the '80s when his song "Material Girl" was recorded by some chick named Madonna did he cross over into the Pop charts. Stargazer, released in 1979, came out between those two milestones, but stands up on it's own as a Pop album with an incessent Disco beat. Brown isn't trying to sound 'black' on Stargazer, he's just blending his Chicago Pop roots together with his love and understanding of late '70s Dance music. In fact, if Billy Joel had decided to make a Disco record instead of a New Wave album when he released Glass Houses, it may have sounded like Stargazer. Fancy tunes, swelling strings and a good beat: that's what Peter Brown's Stargazer is all about...

Everyone loves to laugh and Bill Dana's My Name... Jose Jimenez will make you laugh, even though you'll also feel a little uncomfortable. As funny as his character was (and is), Bill Dana would never be able to bring Jose Jimenez to life in today's overly politically-correct world, which is a real shame. This album features Dana portraying his Jimenez character in sketches lifted directly from the Steve Allen Show and it remains extremely funny throughout. Each sketch features the same types of jokes and set-ups, but is always a hoot. Old fashioned, clean comedy will never go out of style. Here is an actually sketch featured on the album...

That's it for today, folks! Stay tuned for some more groovy blog posts... and even more from The Headphone Traveler... coming soon!