How can you not enjoy this one — I love Animal forgetting the lyrics and just yelling “Mama! Mama! Mama!” and Beaker’s high notes. Freddy is giving a big thumbs up from heaven. I loved all those classic performances on the Muppet Show, now you can see it all again on DVD.
Category: Moldy Oldies and Guilty Pleasures
Moldy Oldies: Eric Matthews "Fanfare"
When someone tells you “He arrived with great fanfare…” that pretty much describes how Eric Matthews arrived on the scene in 1995 with It’s Heavy In Here. For a while he was considered the king of chamber pop, and then went on to explore other musical directions (jazz, glam, prog). It’s been very tough for him to live up to this first album, but he does an amazing job covering Brian Wilson’s The Lonely Sea. The big news here is he has a NEW album coming out – preview the whole thing on MySpace.
The Emitt Rhodes revival
One of my favorite under appreciated artists, the great Emitt Rhodes is the one of the few (Badfinger being another) who took up the Beatlesque musical legacy right where Lennon-McCartney left it after the fab four broke up. Billboard magazine called him “one of the finest artists on the music scene today” (4/3/71) and later referred to his debut as one of the “best albums of the decade” (11/23/96.) Alternative Press described it as “essential listening…a true pop gem…” (2/96) It’s a shame that to your average person-on-the-street today, the name Emitt Rhodes doesn’t mean much. From his days as a member of The Palace Guard, The Merry Go Round, and then his solo work – Emitt was one of pop’s brightest and most melodic musicians. After getting chewed up and spit out by the music business, Emitt as faded into obscurity until recently. The new box set: The Emitt Rhodes Recordings 1969-1973 is a superb primer for those who want to hear this genius at work. It contains all remastered tracks (no bonus tracks) of his work that’s been out of print for over 30 years. It’s available on Amazon.
Emitt Rhodes Site | Amazon
Listen to one of my favorite tracks “Somebody Made For Me”
The Emitt Rhodes film documentary, “The One Man Beatles”, will premiere at the Rome International Film Festival on October 21st & 22nd. The film, which is in the running for best documentary in the festival, includes several songs which will be on the forthcoming CD performed live in the studio by the new Emitt Rhodes Band. English narration is currently being put together for the release in the USA. Is it me, or does this theme of the unsung musician sound familiar?
Happy Rosh Hashanah!
It being the holidays, I could not resist this one. Put down your Beatles remastered CDs and listen to this. Enjoy members of the L.A. tribute band The MopTops. The video was directed by the writer and stand-up comic Dave Kessler. Oy Vey — Yeah, yeah yeah, yeah!
Electric Light Orchestra "Mr. Blue Sky" original promo
Probably my favorite song about a beautiful sunny day. I have still been thinking of the passing of ELO bassist Kelly Groucutt. Kelly Groucutt was responsible for the distinctive high-pitched backing vocals present on many later Electric Light Orchestra songs, particularly from the album A New World Record (1976) onwards. For another great ELO video, see The Diary of Horace Wimp