 Christmas with my family has many traditions; going to church Christmas Eve, hanging our stockings, opening gifts, and eating tons of cinnamon rolls. Our dad still reads 'Twas the Night Before Christmas to us every year, as we gather around a fire with several dachshunds on our laps. And the past few years, I've noticed that every Christmas, Neil Young is there. Last year I got my dad tickets to go see Neil in New York City, when he played at the United Palace. The year before I got my dad the Jonathan Demme documentary Heart of Gold. Even when there isn't a gift that was specifically created by Neil Young, my dad and I spend at least one afternoon listening to his music. So forgive me for doing two posts in a row about Neil Young, but for me, Christmas time means home, and home is me, my dad, and a Neil Young album. (and the aforementioned dachshunds) Neil Young's self-titled debut in 1969 was good, but his second solo record and his first with long-time backing group Crazy Horse was where he really defined himself as a rock'n'roll force. The songs on Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere are more loose, raw, and powerful; for many, this really is the first Neil Young record. The album starts with Cinnamon Girl, a heavy rocker that for my money may be the best lead-off track on any album ever. [ mp3 ]: Neil Young - Cinnamon Girl CLICK HERE TO READ MORE AND GET MORE TRACKS... Neil Young - After the Goldrush (1970) 12/10/2009
 When I was growing up, the only thing that saved all my friends from becoming hip-hop aficionados (not that tragic) was Nirvana, and what saved me from being a Nirvana aficionado (more tragic) was this album. Now, Neil Young is my dad's favorite artist. Hands down, no contest. He is my favorite now, too. But for a while, growing up, I thought his voice was too 'weird.' How could a professional musician have a voice that was so uncool? Silly, stupid, young Nelson. Like any good teenager, I LOVED the Seattle grunge scene. I wore flannel, played my music loud, I even bought Stone Temple Pilots records, not realizing back then that they were really faking it. When Pearl Jam made Mirrorball with Neil Young, calling him the godfather of grunge, worlds collided. Suddenly, my dad's love for Neil was more than just a quirky obsession - it was Eddie Vedder-approved! So I went back into the Neil catalog, and of course, one of my first stops was Southern Man, the song that got Lynyrd Skynyrd's panties in a twist (...i hope Neil Young will remember...southern man don't need him 'round, anyhow...) Southern Man is actually an indictment of racism in the south; so, way to read the subtext, Skynyrd. [ mp3 ]: Neil Young - Southern Man CLICK HERE TO READ MORE AND LISTEN TO THE FULL ALBUM... Mark Knopfler - Local Hero Soundtrack (1983) 12/07/2009
 Mark Knopfler will always hold a special place in my heart. That place is right next to where John Hiatt lives, and both plots are pretty small, but only because Neil Young's got all the acreage. When I first heard Dire Straits' Brothers In Arms, I was in my dad's Volkswagen, probably on the way to some baseball card show in Phillipsburg, New Jersey. We did that a lot back then - at least once a month we'd find a baseball card show advertised in the Morning Call's sports pages, my dad would drive us, and then my brother and I would blow all our lawn-mowing cash on completing the 1993 Upper Deck full set, or collecting all of Ricky Bottalico's rookie cards. These were simpler times. Anyway, when I first heard Knopfler's voice, I asked my dad if we were listening to Bob Dylan. There was something about Sultans of Swing that struck me as Dylan-esque, in my tweenage ignorance. Little did I know I had just discovered a guitar and voice that I would enjoy much more than Dylan in the next decade. On the porch, in the car, during emotional adolescent soul-searching in my bedroom; the rolling, liquid reverberations of Knopfler's guitar were so often the perfect accompaniment. I didn't find this oft-overlooked soundtrack until years later. It's bright yellow binding jumped out of my dad's collection, and while the album is mostly instrumental, the themes and hooks Knopfler injects make it unmistakingly his. Each track adds theme on top of theme, until the last track layers them all together, in a gorgeous slow build: [ mp3 ]: Mark Knopfler - Going Home (Theme of Local Hero) CLICK HERE TO READ MORE AND GET MORE TRACKS (INCLUDING ONE THAT INVOLVES GERRY RAFFERTY! Steve Forbert - Jackrabbit Slim (1979) 12/01/2009
 I got a decent amount of feedback regarding my last post about Steve Forbert, so thought I'd follow up with his second record, Jackrabbit Slim. This is considered by many to be the best Forbert record, and it was certainly the most successful commercially. Romeo's Tune was his only top 20 hit, the piano riff as catchy as a Beyonce jingle, poetic lyrics with spot on vocals. Definitely a mix-tape keeper. [mp3]: Steve Forbert - Romeo's Tune The song is written so well, it even survived a Keith Urban mauling: Really not that bad. But I do hate that guy's fake southern accent. CLICK HERE TO GET MORE TRACKS.... Jeff Beck - Truth (1968) 11/30/2009
 Ah, Thanksgiving has come and gone, and you know what that means? It's Christmas time, all the time! Gargantuan plastic snow-globes will start popping up on your neighbor's lawn, and the Beach Boy's Christmas album gets put back on the Ipod, because you never know when you'll be at a holiday party that needs Christmas music that's almost impossible to listen to. Countless attempts have been made, some more successful than others, at making a 'cool' Christmas album. One that won't make your ears bleed candy-cane-red, but will make you think of reindeer paws on crest-fallen snow, sleigh rides, silver bells, and chap stick in your stocking (my family is very practical in their gift-giving.) This Christmas, though, why not surprise eggnoggers with Christmas tunes that come from unexpected places? Every now and then, an artist buries a song within an otherwise secular album that just really nails it. A perfect example is Jeff Beck's virtuosic performance of Greensleeves, a concert favorite he threw into his 1968 solo debut, Truth. [ mp3 ]: Jeff Beck - Greensleeves CLICK HERE TO READ MORE AND GET MORE TRACKS.... Fleetwood Mac - Tusk (1979) 11/24/2009
 There's been a lot of posts recently about CFCF's cover of Fleetwood Mac's Big Love. Big Love is from their '87 record Tango in the Night, the last 'Mac album Lindsey Buckingham would be involved with. (Until they all got back together for The Dance.) I went looking in Dad's stacks for Big Love, and instead, I pulled out Tusk. Probably because it's a double-album, which makes it much thicker. Fleetwood Mac was one of those bands that was constantly doing it with each other - Lindsey Buckingham was with Stevie Nicks, then they broke up and she started canoodling with drummer Mick Fleetwood, meanwhile John and Christine McVie were filing for divorce, and I'm sure the guy who drove the bus was sleeping with all of them. All this internal turmoil peaked during their massive hit, the aptly titled Rumours, and by the time Tusk rolled around, Buckingham and Nicks were so estranged, the record became like a child in joint custody - they split it down the middle. Usually, splitting it down the middle can lead to a confusing mess (or a deranged child), and that's exactly what Tusk is. Songs jump from Buckingham's jangly, earthy pop to Nick's beautiful, well, um, Stevie Nicks-like songs. The Ledge is the second track on the first record, and could easily pass as the hippest Appalachian jug band you've ever heard. [ mp3 ]: Fleetwood Mac - The Ledge I could listen to a whole album that sounds like that, (and you probably could put together a full album selecting from the twenty tracks in this sprawler) but then Stevie Nicks chimes in with great songs too, like Sara. This is the original vinyl press, so this version of Sara clocks in at just over six minutes. When Tusk was re-released on CD, they edited Sara down to fit the entire two album set on one CD. Of course, the six minute version is way better. Listen for the build of the backup vocals. Really great stuff. [ mp3]: Fleetwood Mac - Sara CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO THE FULL ALBUM AND GET MORE TRACKS... Leonard Cohen - Songs From a Room (1969) 11/16/2009
 Loads have been written about Leonard Cohen over the years, touting his poetic lyrics, craftman-like song writing, and his general all-around pimpness. But it wasn't until my very good friend Virginia Whittington forced me to watch I'm Your Man, the 2005 documentary about Mr. Cohen, that I began to really understand and appreciate the man and his music. When I asked my father if he had any Leonard Cohen LPs, he was sure he did, but admitted to not having listened to them very often. Sometimes, you just don't jump on board with something. Like, I'm sure Devendra Banhart would just blow my mind, but I'll pass. (Although, if he's today's version of Leonard Cohen, I guess that makes Natalie Portman Janis Joplin?) Anyway, Songs From a Room was Cohen's follow-up to his critically acclaimed debut, Songs of Leonard Cohen. While not nearly as complete as his first record, Songs From a Room contains some real classics. The first cut, oft covered, is probably the best on the album. [ mp3 ]: Leonard Cohen - Bird On A Wire CLICK THROUGH TO READ MORE AND LISTEN TO THE FULL ALBUM...  My early teen years were spent living in fear. In fact, they prepared me quite well for life in post 9-11 America, but at the time I wasn't scared of dirty bombs or ricin attacks on the subway. No, back when I was thirteen I had much greater fears. Would I really have to switch to wearing boxers, or should I tuck in all my shirts so other kids couldn't 'check?' Was I ever going to have the courage to try to kiss the girl I was 'going out with,' or would I be an awkward coward for the rest of my life? But the biggest fear I lived with was the fear that someday soon, my dad was going to say we needed to talk, sit me down, and start with, "when a man and a woman love each other very much..." Oh, the birds and the bees talk, what a horrifying threat lies within you! While you mark an important rite of passage from child to puberty monster, you also mark the first time we have to sit down and allow our parents to wash wave after wave of shame and embarrassment over us. You haunt us, threatening to unfurl during any pregnant silence. Sooner or later we all have to suffer through you. Unless..... Unless your parents spare you this embarrassment by skipping the conversation entirely, and avoiding any situations in which the conversations would have to occur. I guess that's why my dad never said, "Hey, why don't we listen to the second side of The Psychedelic Furs classic Talk, Talk, Talk. There's a track I think you should hear, and then we can talk about what the song means." [ mp3 ]: The Psychedelic Furs - I Wanna Sleep With You READ MORE AND LISTEN TO THE FULL ALBUM....  If you've never heard of Nick Lowe, it's time to learn how to walk on your hands - this guy won't just knock your socks off, he will blow up your feet, leaving you with bloody stumps and a giddy smile. This is some serious sonic happiness people. The first time my dad played this for me in 2008 (thirty years after its release) it was the best record I had heard all year. Is your hyperbole meter spiking yet? Well then, non-believer, listen to the first track: The Move - Message From the Country (1971) 10/27/2009
 I believe it was Quentin Tarantino (or perhaps Chief Sitting Bull) who said, "You're either a Beatles man, or an Elvis man." Well, my dad is definitely a Beatles man. By the time I could walk I probably had heard their entire catalog. Fact - they should be called the fetals...(Sliding Doors, anyone? Noonan?) So it came as no surprise when he pulled out The Move's final studio album, which smacks of the Fab Four from the opening title track: [ mp3 ]: Move - Message From the Country turn off your mind, relax and float downstream...I hear me some Tomorrow Never Knows up in this piece. Also a little I Want You (She's So Heavy), especially in the heavy bass lines. CLICK THROUGH TO READ MORE AND LISTEN TO THE FULL ALBUM... |  ArtistsAll Music I Love This Week
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I started dadsrecords.net because I love my dad, and I love the world of music he's introduced me to over the years. Great Music Resources
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