A bit of a twist with my regular Showdown posts, this time a cover version of a song faces off against the original-  oh yes, I’m going there!  Jimi Hendrix’ original version, found on his final studio album Electric Ladyland, vs. the Stevie Ray Vaughan cover found on his second album, Couldn’t Stand The Weather.  Both versions highlight some of the best playing from each player but only one here will come out on top-  just who wore it best?  Err…  which version is the best?  Well, let’s not say “best”; just stick to which version is my personal favorite.

The Jimi Hendrix Experience was riding high in the late sixties- Hendrix himself was arguably at his creative peak at this time, tossing out a double album in Electric Ladyland that contained his unique amalgam of psychedelic blues and heavy rock.  His version of “Voodoo Child (Slight Return)” is a swirling mass of guitar that is heavily distorted and panned hard left and right in the mix; a psychedelic swath of feedback, wah wah pedal, screaming bent notes, hammer ons…  you name it.  Hendrix dug deep into his bag of tricks to pull out a winner that’s a bit more ferocious than his previous hits, acting more as a guitar tour de force than anything else.  Bassist Noel Redding and drummer Mitch Mitchell are almost non-existent here, laying waaaay back as the rhythm section yet diving in with more force during the chorus and then pulling back the reins to let Jimi weave the guitar magic that he is well known for.

Come Couldn’t Stand The Weather, Stevie Ray Vaughan was already well known as the latest blues guitar sensation on the block and was primed and ready to push the elements come record number two.  Come this album the band’s confidence was already sky high and it shows, especially on their incredible version of “Voodoo Child (Slight Return)”, which exhibits a bit more band interplay than the Hendrix version.  A lot of that is likely courtesy of the mix, although there appears to be a bit more push and pull between all instruments rather than all the focus being on the guitar.  Vaughan’s version not only showcases his killer playing but demonstrates the tightness of the rhythm section and the interactions between all three instruments.  Bassist Tommy Shannon and drummer Chris Layton provide a solid foundation; Shannon’s sleek bass runs and rumblings bob and weave alongside Vaughan’s guitar, and Layton’s kitwork shines as he capably moves from a groovy drive to solid thump as he keeps the trio in line.  How the three play off each other (and on live versions) is a sweet blend of magic and feel that is truly sublime.

What about Vaughan’s guitar work?  The key difference between his version and Hendrix’ is that Vaughan is relying more on straight ahead playing into the amp with no effects whereas Jimi’s version relies on more studio trickery.  Nothing wrong with that in Hendrix’ incredible version, but Vaughan’s feels more live and in your face as if he and Double Trouble hit the record button and captured a hot live take.  Vaughan’s tone is fairly dry yet he is able to wrench out various notes and tones akin to Hendrix but also adding his own flavor-  more muscular bends, tighter rhythms, and a more menacing punch ‘n drive throughout.  Sure, Vaughan owes a huge debt to Hendrix in his own guitar stylings but he was able to take elements of his playing (as well as a host of others) and confidently and fearlessly push things even further into the sonic stratosphere.  When SRV was on, he was on and then some.

The win in this showdown post goes to Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble!

When presented with free ducats to a concert, you better believe it-  I’m gonna go.  And when it’s a classic artist the likes of Steve Miller, that just makes those tix extra special.  Last Thursday at Riverbend Music Center in Cincinnati, Ohio, I accompanied my son and a couple of his co-workers to see the aforementioned Space Cowboy with opener (and fellow classic artist) Peter Frampton in hopes that both would deliver a fine set of hits galore.  That they did, and then some.

I’ll be honest, I’m not a huge Peter Frampton fan.  I never picked up any Frampton records in my formative years and still haven’t grabbed anything since, not even the  ubiquitous Frampton Comes Alive or anything from his Humble Pie days (other than downloading the classic cut “I Don’t Need No Doctor”).  But do I know and respect Frampton’s material?  Absolutely!  Anyone growing up listening to the radio in the mid to late 70s/early 80s undoubtedly heard staples from that aforementioned solo live platter, so I somewhat knew what to expect coming in.  All that said, I didn’t realize how much I would enjoy those cuts AND the rest of his set.  Kicking off the night with “Something’s Happening”, Frampton and band rolled through a tight and somewhat jammy nine song set that featured some fantastic guitar playing from the man and fellow guitarist Adam Lester plus killer accompaniment from the remainder of his band- keyboardist Rob Arthur, bassist David LaBruyere, and drummer Dan Wojciechowski.  Songs like the familiar “Show Me The Way” and “Baby I Love Your Way” drew major applause and nods to his instrumental album in Soundgarden cover “Black Hole Sun” (a nice tribute to Chris Cornell) and his Humble Pie days with a smoking version of “Four Day Creep” were excellent, but finale “Do You Feel Like We Do?” was the showstopper of the night, especially as Frampton broke out the talkbox and did a bit of guitar deuling with Lester.  Before the song, Frampton told a wonderful story about how his signature black Gibson Les Paul guitar had been thought lost for 30 years only to be found and given back to him courtesy of a collector-  that guitar had been on his solo hits and is THE guitar on the live album, so it was only right to bring it back on tour and close the evening on that same instrument.  He may be a few years older and may not have the hair, but that guitar and his talents are still alive and were on full display this evening.

Confession time…  I caught Steve Miller in concert almost 30 years ago and I was surprised that I did not enjoy that show as much as I thought I would.  I’d been a fan since the late 70s and even received Book Of Dreams on 8 track(!) as a Christmas present when I was eleven years old to go along with the new stereo system my parents had purchased for me and my brother that year (he got Paul Stanley’s solo album…  a good deal for both of us!).  Not long after that we got a copy of Fly Like An Eagle via the Columbia House Record Club (I miss those days) and played the lead single and other hits on that album to death, so Steve Miller was definitely ingrained in the brain.  The early 80s hits were good too:  “Abracadabra” was uniquely funky; “Heart Like A Wheel” (an underrated gem) was great, and mid eighties album Living In The 20th Century had a number of great cuts as well.  So you’d think having the opportunity to catch the man in concert in the late 80s would have been exciting but it wasn’t to be.  Would this time be any different?  Read on…

Opening with a speedy rendition of deep cut “The Stake”, Miller and band were on point all night as they mixed up an excellent batch of hits and album cuts from the man’s history with nothing later than 1986’s fine “I Want To Make The World Turn Around”.  Highlights from the night included a rockin’ version of “Living In The USA”, the lazy psychedelic vibe of “Wild Mountain Honey” (complete with story about how he purchased the Coral sitar guitar he played on the song), a spirited run through “Take The Money And Run”, plus wrapping up the evening with four big dogs in “Fly Like An Eagle”, “Rock ‘n Me”, “Jungle Love”, and “Jet Airliner”.  The rest of the set was just as good, including bringing out Frampton on guitar and vocals for the Freddie King song “Same Old Blues” and for a bit of guitar dueling on Elmore James’ “Stranger Blues” and later tossing in the Howlin’ Wolf inspired “Going To Mexico” from his pre-hits days.  As with Frampton, Miller was accompanied by a fine backing band made up of bassist Kenny Lee Lewis, keyboardist Joseph Wooten, rhythm guitarist Jacob Peterson, and drummer Gordy Knudtson who were mostly there to support although Wooten added some fine keyboard interplay and he, Lewis, and Peterson ably handled all background vocals to add heft to each song.

So what was different this time compared to the late 80s show?  Props goes to Miller’s guitar playing and a great mix of non-hits plus the bringing Frampton out to play.  While Miller’s stage presence is pretty much non-existent-  the man stays rooted to one spot and rarely leaves that location save for the occasional spotlight on other members – his guitar work was a nice, subtle highlight; a bit of a contrast to the more fiery Frampton and more serving to the song.  He did not overplay but was more interested in bluesier tones yet offering up a bit more of a rhythmic flair in songs like “Rock N Me” and “Jet Airliner” and saving more of his lead work for his spotlight with Frampton when his playing had a bit more life to it.  Those only there to see the hits may have taken a potty break or went to grab a beer during those unfamiliar tunes, but I dug seeing the deep cuts and the blues standards as the man could take a few liberties vocally and guitarwise and not stick to those radio friendly melodies (unlike the vocal miss in “Abracadabra”-  too much melody tweaking for my tastes and the only sore spot of the night).

Overall, two thumbs up for this fine, fine show featuring these two classic rock masters.  The hits just kept on a-comin’, the rain held off outside of a few sprinkles, and I got to hang with my son for a few hours.  Good times…

Seems like it’s been forever since I’ve done one of these.  Time to give you my two cents on the first ten songs that pop up in shuffle mode on the iPod.

“Prowler” Iron Maiden, Beast Over Hammersmith

Yeah boyee, old school Maiden has always been the shizznit; here new boy Bruce Dickinson takes on a Dianno era classic on his first tour with the band and he nails it, band totally on fire and Dave Murray with an incredible, fiery solo.  Rumor has it that this Hammersmith was going to be an officially released live platter and VHS(!) release with Dickinson; however, dodgy video quality tabled this until it was released as part of the killer Eddie’s Archive box set in the early 2000s.  Love Bruce but I prefer Dianno’s punkier vox on his versions.

“2 Point 8” Roomful of Blues, That’s Right!

Swing, baby!  And swing they do; Roomful Of Blues drops the hammer on this mostly saxophone led instrumental, lots of jump jive and wailin’ goin’ on with some fantastic horn solos and one groovy organ rumble too.  Think sock hops, girls in poodle skirts, Dippity Doo slicked hair, and people twistin’ and gyratin, and getting their groove on like no other, fingers a snappin’ , hands a clappin’, and toes a tappin’.  If you like some uptempo swing, these cats do no wrong.  Great stuff here.

“Move In Silence” Gruntruck, Inside Yours

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BShuIjS4ySQ

I always liked Gruntruck’s brand of low down grunginess, think a bit more of a funkier Soundgarden; maybe less the preponderance of that band’s love for Sabbath but leaning a little more Aerosmith.  At any rate “Move In Silence” is a quick slab of that funky/dirty grunge, kinda Rocks era ‘Smith mixed with Stooges rawness.  Saw these guys and Screaming Trees open for Alice In Chains at the height of grunge and it was a fantastic show.

“Space Truckin'” Overkill, Coverkill

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hovqGYVXzzU

Love Overkill, love Deep Purple even more, but do not love Overkill covering Deep Purple quite as much (and probably wouldn’t enjoy Deep Purple covering Overkill but hey).  Problem number one…  no groove here AT ALL but that’s hard to do when you have a superior drummer such as Purple’s Ian Paice.  Problem number two is that this heavies things up too much during the verses, a bit ham fisted in the riff but saved by a spirited chorus and its spinning, descending riff.  Let’s go a solid C-.

“400 Metres” Sloan, One Chord To Another

Sloan is a Canadian gem-  quite a bit Beatle-y in tunefulness and that band’s multiple singers and writers, with “400 Metres” maybe tossing in a bit of Bowie/T Rex in the psychedelic stew.  “400” starts with an insistent piano note and drum pattern with some really cool guitar work, even sounding a bit like Robert Quine/Richard Lloyd on Matthew Sweet’s great albums yet tosses in a backwards guitar solo that sounds like the great Joe Walsh.  Worthy of your time if you like power pop.

“Gardenia/Asteroid/Supa Scoopa” Kyuss, Sky Valley

Why weren’t Kyuss bigger?  Well, Josh Homme is raking in the dough with Queens Of The Stone Age but for my money his days in his original band along with John Garcia’s vox, Brant Bjork’s drumwork, and (for this album and next) Scott Reeder’s groovy basswork is the ticket.  My copy of the Sky Valley album lumps these three together- “Gardenia” with its fat grooves and choppy chunk fab riff; “Asteroid” floors us with an outer space psychedelic wobbler of a riff doused in massive feedback and gradually building tempo; and “Supa Scoopa” brings it home with a cool Garcia vocal and Sabbath rumble.  Great cut!

“Don’t Run Our Hearts Around” Black Mountain, Black Mountain

It’s always interesting to see how many Sabbath influenced bands I have in my collection.  Black Mountain might actually be more of a Sabbath/Pink Floyd influence, with this song sounding a bit Jack White-ish due to the vocal (especially in Stephen McBean’s vox, who probably drank from the same vocal well).  Toss in a bit of San Fran psych courtesy of keyboardist Amber Webber’s ultra cool vocals, which fall in that smoky Grace Slick range.  This is a great little band for those of you that may dig the Sabbath riffage, psychedelic vox, and spacey keyboards.

“One Man Army” Pro-Pain, The Truth Hurts

First few notes on this riff (and only the first few) makes you think NYC’s Pro-Pain is covering Sabbath’s classic “NIB” but the comparison stops there.  This may have been the first Pro-Pain song I’d ever heard and it’s a good ‘un if you like odd genre mixes to create something a bit fresh and new-  take a hot metal riff, throw in a hardcore vocal bark, sprinkle that with hints of rap, then toss in shades of industrial and you got something totally different.  Oh yeah…  and THEN add a sax solo?  WHHHHAAAAAAAT???  Yeah cool man, totally cool.  I swear 🙂

“We Close Our Eyes” Oingo Boingo, Boingo Alive

Somewhere in the late 80’s, genius songwriter Danny Elfman (yeah, the soundtrack dude…  Batman, Rugrats theme, among many) moved his band Oingo Boingo away from the high energy ska stomp of the band’s early days into something a bit more sing a longish and tuneful.  “We Close Our Eyes” is a brilliant example of the change, driven by an energetic Elfman vocal and some sweet keyboard lines topped off by some great background vocals by the band.  If you’re looking for those horns you won’t find them here, but you WILL find a fine little earworm that will be stuck in your brain for awhile.

“E.R.K.S” Cycle Sluts From Hell, Cycle Sluts From Hell

Cycle Sluts From Hell one and only album is a fun release; a sweet mix of biker rock with shades of White Zombie/Circus Of Power but led by a hell raising foursome of vocal power courtesy of Queen Vixen, She-Fire of Ice, Honey One %er (swoon), and Venus Penis Crusher backed some NYC metal/hardcore vets.  Vocals are more of a menacing sneer/warchant shared amongst the ladies which works really well with the music, leaning thrash in some spots but falling mostly in that heavy Priest/KISS range and the drums are suitably banging.

Song of the week goes to “Prowler”, followed by “Gardenia/Asteroid/Supa Scoop” then “2 Point 8”

I’m waaaay behind the game updating the list of music that I’ve picked up so far this year.  Q2 is almost over, but here’s what I grabbed in Q1:

Mantra Vega – Island

Elder – Reflections of a Floating World

Carcass – Wake Up And Smell The Carcass

Sasquatch – Maneuvers

Warren Zevon – I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead: An Anthology

Neil Young – Harvest

Neil Young – After The Gold Rush

Neil Young – Freedom

Sonny Rollins – Tenor Titan

Radiohead – The Bends

In Flames – Siren Charms

Cake – Fashion Nugget

Stanton Moore – All Kooked Out!

Blue Lou and the Accusations – Blocks Of Stone

Dropkick Murphys – Blackout

John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers – Bluesbreakers with Eric Clapton

Otis Redding – The Dock Of The Bay

The Ocean – Pelagial

Walking Papers – WP2

Dread Zeppelin – Un-Led-Ed

The Radiators – Total Evaporation

The Radiators- Law Of The Fish

Madness – Total Madness

Seemless – What Have We Become

Seemless – Seemless

Bruce Robison – Bruce Robison & The Back Porch Band

Roger Clyne & The Peacemakers – Sonoran Hope and Dreams

The Coasters – Greatest Hits

Moody Blues – The Other Side Of Life

Charlie Haden – Nocturne

Zebulon Pike – And Blood Was Passion

Aaron Neville – The Tattooed Heart

Michael Martin Murphey – The Ultimate Collection

David Lindley – Very Greasy

Gin Blossoms – Follow You Down (single)

Joe Walsh – So What

Joe Walsh – There Goes The Neighborhood

Luscious Jackson – Fever In, Fever Out

Dream Theater – Metropolis Pt 2: Scenes From A Memory

Ry Cooder – Bop Til You Drop

Red Hot Chili Peppers – What Hits!?

Little Charlie & The Nightcats – Deluxe Edition

Seal – Human Being

Thomas Dolby – Astronauts & Heretics

John Campbell – Howlin’ Mercy

Charles Brown – All My Life

OSI – Blood

Blues Pills – Lady In Gold

The Producers – The Producers

Porcupine Tree – Signify

Jefferson Airplane – The Worst Of

The Yayhoos – Fear Not The Obvious

Marc Ford – Holy Ghost

John Hiatt – Live In Texas (1994)

Terry Anderson & The OAK Team – National Champions

Terry Anderson – What Else Can Go Wrong

Paul Gilbert – Spaceship One

Racer X – Extreme Volume II

Terry Anderson & The OAK Team – Terry Anderson & The Olympic Ass Kicking Team

The Yayhoos – Put The Hammer Down

Stone Temple Pilots – Stone Temple Pilots

The Verve – Northern Soul (Deluxe Edition)