1. februar 2017 arkiv

Street Hassle – Bruce Springsteen som Lou Reed eller noget…

1. februar 2017

“Street Hassle” was recorded at the old Record Plant. I was there, Patti Smith was there, Bruce Springsteen was there. Everyone was in a different studio. I knew Steve Van Zandt and we asked Steve, would Bruce do this monologue? And Bruce said sure, and that was that… but don’t use my name. I wish all of Bruce’s fans would have gone out and bought it, but since we couldn’t use his name, they think it’s me imitating him.

“Street Hassle” is divided into three movements and had different characters talking whereas in “Walk on the Wild Side” [to which the song has been compared], it’s a take on four or five different people, vignettes reduced to four or eight lines. Here you have a lot of words. The very end speech the character gives in “Street Hassle” is like a Tennessee Williams monologue. [Lou Reed]

Blondie er tilbage…

1. februar 2017

Pollinator hedder Blondies nye album, der er lige på trapperne. Og singleforløberen “Fun” tyder på, at Debbie Harry har stemmen i behold. Sangene på den nye plade er skrevet af en række nyere sangskrivere, som ex Sia og Nick Valensi (The Strokes). Genbrug kalder Harry det, så det skal jo nok passe.

Don Everly – 80

1. februar 2017

“Phil Everly was one of my great heroes, with his brother Don, they were one of the major influences on the Beatles. When John and I first started to write songs, I was Phil and he was Don. Years later, when I finally met Phil, I was completely star-struck and at the same time extremely impressed by his humility and gentleness of soul. I will always love him for giving me some of the sweetest musical memories of my life.” (Paul McCartney i forbindelse med Phil Everlys død)

Ja, det er svært at lytte til The Beatles’ vokalharmonier uden også at tænke på inspirationen fra Don og Phil Everly. Og hvad ville Simon & Garfunkel have været uden først at identificere sig med The Evelys under kunstnernavnet Tom & Jerry. Jovist, The Everly Brothers satte tårnhøje standarder for, hvordan vokalpop skulle lyde. Da de to brødre blev forenet i 1983 efter mere end et årtis adskillelse, stod Paul McCartney klar med en sang – den smukke “On the Wings of a Nightingale” – der blev indspillet på duoens genforeningsplade EB84 med McCartney på guitar.

Everly Brothers var først og fremmest fortolkere, men de kunne også skrive velfungerende pop, når det tog dem. Fx Don Everlys “(Till) I kissed you” fra 1959, der nåede helt op på hitlistens fjerdeplads derovre.