After The Gold Rush
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Only Love Can Break Your Heart
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Don’t Let It Bring You Down
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Album: After The Gold Rush (1970)

After The Gold Rush was mostly recorded in my beloved Topanga. After a couple of years of living here, I can appreciate how this creative, idyllic Los Angeles enclave shaped Neil’s music.

Neil was going through a patch of writer’s block in early 1970 when he read a screenplay from his neighbor, the actor Dean Stockwell. Dean is most famous for the TV show Quantum Leap but earlier in his career, he was one of Hollywood’s ambassadors to 60s-era counterculture.

The still-unproduced, whereabouts-unknown screenplay for After The Gold Rush concerned a tidal wave that floods Topanga Canyon. As Dean described it, After The Gold Rush was “a Jungian self-discovery of the gnosis. It involved the Kabbalah, it involved a lot of arcane stuff.” (Hard to believe Hollywood didn’t pounce on this pitch.)

Dean Stockwell’s After The Gold Rush may have been lost to time, but his script was the creative spark Neil needed to create the After The Gold Rush LP. Those were some hazy days, and it’s unclear which specific tracks were written specifically for the film. Some of the tracks were recorded with Crazy Horse, Neil’s loud rock-n-roll collaborators, at a studio in Hollywood; the mellower songs (including those selected for this post) were recorded with local musicians who gathered in Neil’s makeshift studio.

After a couple of mildly successful solo albums, Neil reunited with his Buffalo Springfield bandmate Stephen Stills and joined his new vocal group, Crosby, Stills and Nash. Now known as Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, they went on tour (including an appearance at the Woodstock Festival) and released the hugely successful LP, Déjà Vu. It was in the aftermath of CSNY’s explosion that Neil retreated to his Topanga basement to record After The Gold Rush.

The title track seems to be related to the screenplay. Drug-induced imagery from past, present, and future reveal a devastating natural disaster that results in the evacuation of Earth. Neil’s ethereal falsetto, plaintive piano, and the odd flugelhorn solo create an otherworldly soundtrack that parallels the song’s evocative lyrics.

The waltz-like “Only Love Can Break Your Heart” is beautiful and sad. It wouldn’t have been out of place on Déjà Vu; in fact, Stephen Stills provides vocal harmonies, so perhaps the song was originally intended for CSNY.

“Don’t Let It Bring You Down” encourages folks to get involved as a way to combat the depressing nature of social turmoil. Though he wrote the song over 40 years ago, its message couldn’t be more timely.

After The Gold Rush offers a compelling contrast between Neil’s off-kilter lyrics and the simplicity of its production. Neil’s mission was to strip away anything slick or extraneous from the music: “There was a shitload of room on those recordings, because there wasn’t anything else goin’ on. Just rhythm guitar, bass and drums – that’s all there was. The song was it – and everything else was supporting it.”

Driven To Tears
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When The World Is Running Down, You Make The Best Of What’s Still Around (Different Gear Remix)
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Voices Inside My Head
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Album: Zenyatta Mondatta (1980)

For an album that the band itself isn’t particularly satisfied with, Zenyatta Mondatta sure has some gems on it. The accepted story is that The Police were pressured to complete the record prior to going on a world tour, despite the band’s grumblings. Regardless, Zenyatta Mondatta succeeds due to the trio’s chemistry, songwriting, and musicianship.

Zenyatta Mondatta‘s biggest hits were the terrific “Don’t Stand So Close To Me” and the idiotic “De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da.” More interesting are the dancefloor classics that captured a band willing to broaden their sound.

“Driven To Tears” is a propulsive, reggae-tinged jam that gives each band member a chance to shine. Stewart Copeland (who I learned was American — I thought they were all Brits?) provides steady yet adventurous support for Sting’s unusually melodic bass skills and Andy Summers face-melting guitar solo.

In the shoddy music video for “When The World Is Running Down, You Make The Best Of What’s Still Around” below, there’s a stretch taken from a live performance, and demonstrates The Police were even more exciting on stage than on record:

Instead of the original version, I’m featuring a 2000 remix credited to an outfit called Different Gear. Originally released as a bootleg, Zenyatta Mondatta‘s rightsholder facilitated an official release. Different Gear adds some tasteful house beats behind the original groover, but keeps the core track intact.

“Voices In My Head” was a disco smash, and can still move the crowd some 30 years later. It feels unfinished — especially lyrically — and may be one example of why The Police were frustrated with their deadline. Even so, it’s effective as a (mostly) instrumental exploration of one killer riff.

So what the hell does Zenyatta Mondatta mean? Nothing much, apparently. Stewart Copeland explains, “It’s not an attempt to be mysterious, just syllables that sound good together.” Agreed.

Beyond Belief
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Shabby Doll
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Man Out Of Time
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Almost Blue
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Released in 1982

Elvis Costello is a great all-around songwriter. His work features creative and catchy melodies, deftly honors a range of musical genres, and delivers lyrics that can be both narrative and poetic.

Imperial Bedroom is among his better LPs. Elvis’s artistic restlessness often results in his albums lacking in cohesion. But Imperial Bedroom succeeds due to its diversity and craft; no wonder it is regarded as one of Elvis’s best.

Released in 1982 — his seventh album in five years — Elvis teamed up with a new producer, Geoff Emerick. Emerick was an engineer on many of The Beatles’ later records (the first track he engineered was “Tomorrow Never Knows”), and his influence on Elvis Costello & The Attractions’ sound is clear.

Elvis earned the cover of Rolling Stone just after the release of Imperial Bedroom.

The album starts off with the two-and-a-half-minute epic “Beyond Belief.” The lyrics feel great rolling off the tongue (“History repeats the old conceits. The glib replies, the same defeats”), but my poetic interpretation skills are insufficient to decipher the song’s meaning; my best guess is that he’s awed by a woman who can be cruel.

“Shabby Doll” — which is really fun to say — is filled with idiosyncratic touches: Steve Nieve’s bouncy piano, Bruce Thomas’s bass popping up in unexpected places, and Pete Thomas’s driving rhythm punctuating the final minute of the track.

“Man Out Of Time” is one of those tracks where there’s a lot going on, but the sum is greater than its parts. The riotous shrieking that bookends the song is incongruous with its more serene middle. The lyrics can be inscrutable (“There’s a tuppenny ha’penny millionaire. Looking for a fourpenny one” Huh?). But when that chorus hits, it’s hard not to sing along.

The last featured track is definitely my all-time favorite (and 5-star classic) Elvis song, “Almost Blue.” Musically and lyrically, it could have been performed by Frank Sinatra or Nina Simone in a smoky lounge. Elvis really digs deep on his vocal performance, landing slightly behind the beat to heighten the melancholy.

In the liner notes that came with a CD reissue of Imperial Bedroom, Elvis reflected on his achievement:

Many of the… songs on the record… exhibit a malaise of the spirit and a sinking feeling about happy endings.

That pretty much sums it up.

Elton John
Bennie And The Jets
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Album: Goodbye Yellow Brick Road (1974)

R. Kelly (w/T.I. & T-Pain)
I’m A Flirt (Remix)
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Album: Double Up (2007)

In this post, I feature distant Musical Cousins R. Kelly and Elton John. They don’t have any obvious connection but somehow it’s clear to me that R. Kelly had “Bennie And The Jets” in mind when he wrote “I’m A Flirt.” The bouncy, driving piano lines that feed both tracks result in vastly different songs, but both are 5-star classics to this listener.

I wonder if Elton John had any clue what his lyricist Bernie Taupin was talking about in “Bennie And The Jets.” Maybe that’s why he chose to mumble his way through the lyrics, shifting focus to the anthemic melody he devised for the song. Reading over the lyrics, my interpretation is that it’s a glimpse into the fascinating but vapid characters a famous pop star like Elton must have met after he hit it big, and the misplaced idolatry that comes along with fame.

In my prep for this post, I learned that “Bennie And The Jets” wasn’t intended to be a single until a Detroit R&B radio station started playing it. The song blew up, and eventually became a number-one hit on both the pop and R&B charts. Here’s Elton performing the song on Soul Train in 1975:

As usual with anything from 70s-era Soul Train, there’s much to admire. Elton’s pimp/leprechaun ensemble. His falsetto freakout. His lucite-encrusted piano. To be honest, I don’t think the Soul Train dancers knew quite what to do with this one; I enjoy watching the dude in the beige suit just behind Elton attempt to figure it out.

“I’m A Flirt” is one of the funniest and catchiest tracks you’ll ever hear. No matter what you think of R. Kelly as a person, it’s hard to deny that he’s a musical genius.

Joining Kelz is rapper T.I., who puts in a rock-solid verse that showcases his clockwork flow, and T-Pain, who proves why he remains Auto-Tune’s chief ambassador.

But it’s Kelz’s final, twisted verse that takes this joint to the next level. He was one of the first to fuse rap and R&B, and his double-time delivery rides that edge masterfully. Lyrically, he’s in all-out playa mode, no more so than in this couplet:

She be calling me daddy!
I be calling her mommy!
She be calling you Kelly!
When your name is Tommy!

As I said, the man is a genius.

Viet Nam
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Cohesion
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The Glory Of Man
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Jesus And Tequila
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Album: Double Nickels On The Dime (1984)

How to define punk rock? Is it the sound (electric guitars, hard drums, screaming vocals)? The lyrics (anti-establishment)? The attitude (do-it-yourself, be different)? In a lot of ways, the rise of punk was later mirrored by the explosion of hip hop — it’s as much a cultural movement as a musical one.

Growing up, I can’t say that I was heavy into music that would be neatly categorized as punk, but the punk ethos inspired the bands that I loved (e.g. Talking Heads, R.E.M., The Cure). When I heard Minutemen’s Double Nickels On The Dime towards the end of my high school years, it really opened my mind to how liberating punk rock — and, for that matter, music of any genre — could be. My appreciation of this record has only grown in the two decades since I first heard it.

I could spend most of eternity talking about Minutemen and Double Nickels On The Dime, but then I’d never finish this posting; here are some quick hits:

1. Minutemen was a trio from San Pedro, CA. They formed in 1980 and Double Nickels On The Dime was their third LP.
2. Their name was derived form the militia group that instigated the American Revolution, not the brevity of their songs.
3. Double Nickels On The Dime is a double LP, with 45 total tracks and an average length of 1:48 per track.
4. That’s bassist Mike Watt on the album cover. It took the band three days of driving around the same stretch of Southern California freeway before they could get the speedometer perfectly at 55 MPH*, Watt’s eyes in the rearview mirror, and their beloved “San Pedro” into the shot.
5. It was mixed on a single eight-track in one night and cost $1,100 to record. It sold 15,000 copies in its first year of release.
6. Each band member determined the song selections for one record side. The fourth side of the record was named “Side Chaff”.
7. Lead singer/guitarist D. Boon died in a car wreck in 1985 at the age of 27.
8. The track “Corona” was used as the theme to the TV show Jackass. “Love Dance” was used in a Volvo commercial. Watt licensed both tracks in order to offset medical bills for D. Boon’s father.
9. The documentary, We Jam Econo, is a portrait of Minutemen and their place in musical history; it shows up on the Sundance Channel from time to time. Check it out.

*Sidenote 1: This was in reaction to Sammy Hagar’s terrible but popularish song at the time, “I Can’t Drive 55.” According to Mike Watt: “So he can’t drive 55, because that was the national speed limit? Okay, we’ll drive 55, but we’ll make crazy music.” From this interview on his website.
Sidenote 2: The speedometer is only visible on the LP art.

Clearly, selecting a few tracks to showcase from a candidate pool of 45 was going to be a challenge. As with any LP Classic with this many 5-star classics, there are fluctuations in the tracks I’m feeling at any one point in time.

But select I must. I may need to do a part two.

“Viet Nam” (don’t know why they chose to make it two words) is tight, stinky funk. Mike Watt’s bass pops up in unexpected places and you can set your watch to George Hurley’s drums. Like most of D. Boon’s lyrics, it’s direct, angry, and brief; but his ability to make phrases like “executive order, congressional decision, the working masses are manipulated” swing is a stroke of genius.

“Cohesion” is a D. Boon solo track. In addition to his surprising virtuosity with the Spanish guitar, what amazes me the most about this song is that the melody is played on the bass strings while the treble strings are employed for rhythmic purposes. So cool.

One of my current favorites is “The Glory Of Man,” penned by Mike Watt. I have no idea what this song is about. And what’s with D. Boon’s pronunciation of the word ” measurer?”

The final selection, “Jesus And Tequila” was a favorite of mine during my college years. Lyrically, it comes off a bit as frat rock but on the musical tip, it’s got this woozy, bluesy vibe… and I can’t deny it.

I’ve tried to get into other Minutemen records, but none of them come close to this diverse, mind-blowing LP. “Punk rock” feels too constricting a label for something this free.