Tag: Marshall Crenshaw
Upcoming projects: Tom Wilson Documentary and Cheap Trick
Marshall Crenshaw has created a Kickstarter project to remember legendary record producer Tom Wilson. It was Tom Wilson who signed The Velvet Underground to Verve/MGM Records and produced their first two albums, signed Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention to Verve/MGM Records and produced their first three albums, became Bob Dylan’s record producer in 1962 (halfway through “The Freewheeling Bob Dylan” album), continuing through 1965 and “Like a Rolling Stone” (the period during which Dylan gradually “went electric”), produced the first album by then-acoustic Folk duo Simon and Garfunkel (“Wednesday Morning, 3 AM”), then seriously launched their career by unilaterally deciding to add electric instruments to “The Sound of Silence” (Legendary record producer John Simon told me that he thought that Wilson did it as an “intellectual exercise”).
Wilson “discovered” Sun Ra and The Arkestra, producing and releasing their first two albums on Transition Records, a label that Wilson established right after graduating Cum Laude from Harvard in 1955. Wilson “discovered” Cecil Taylor and produced his first album, “Jazz Advance”, for the Transition label. These are just the bullet points of Wilson’s artistic legacy; to put it in a nutshell, he was a visionary, someone that moved the Culture, saw the future and set about helping to create it, was one of the architects of Popular Music as we’ve known it since the 1960s and still know it today… And up until just recently he was pretty much a forgotten figure. Visit his website: www.producertomwilson.com to learn more, but even more important check out the Kickstarter page and help fund this project!
Cheap Trick is looking forward to the release of the new album Bang, Zoom, Crazy…Hello on April 1st. Check out the extras on PledgeMusic. If you don’t already have it, you can get the new song “No Direction Home” for FREE just visit the Cheap Trick landing page.
Tommy Keene and Marshall Crenshaw
Tommy Keene “Laugh In The Dark”
It seems doing an album of covers has awakened a spark from the guitar pop veteran and he sounds re-energized on his latest album Laugh In The Dark. Starting out on “Out of My Mind” with its ringing guitars and catchy rhythm he delivers in spades. It fades into “Dear Heloise,” another brilliant jangling, post-Big Star power pop classic and the riffs have more muscle than a Gold’s Gym on “Last Of The Twilight Girls.”
Keene blends his vocal with the chords just right, even the mid-tempo “All The Lights Are Alive” showcases the solid melodic structure comparable to artists like Chris Stamey. Each track is a finely crafted gem; the title track has a descending bass line with its soothing guitar solo, as he chimes “Yesterday was a lark, now we’ll laugh in the dark.” I’ve only touched on half the album, but you get the drill here. Not a note of filler, and this stands as the best Keene album I’ve heard in years — makes my top ten of 2015 list and its a stellar example of guitar-focused power pop.
Marshall Crenshaw “#392: The Ep Collection”
This is a compilation of 6 vinyl EPs that Crenshaw released from 2012 to this year. Its a good equal mix of originals and cover tunes starting with “Grab the Next Train,” it shows Marshall still has a knack for memorable melody, with lyrics by friend Dan Bern. “Red Wine” is another gem with its jazzy guitar and accordion breaks. Then the smart composition “I Don’t See You Laughing Now,” is about a poetic comeuppance.
All the originals are all solid, where the covers are more of a mixed bag. Starting with The Move’s “No Time” penned by Jeff Lynne is an very inspired choice, less so is a competent but pedestrian version of “Close To You.” My favorites here is Bobby Fuller’s “Never To Be Forgotten” and overall this collection makes for some pleasant listening.
