Whether you know the name Al Kooper or not you’ve heard his handy work. Al wrote “This Diamond Ring,” which was a huge hit for Gary Lewis & the Playboys. He played keyboards on Bob Dylan’s 1965 record Highway 61 Revisited and the 1966 Blonde on Blonde. Because his keyboard playing was so special on “Like A Rolling Stone” everybody wanted him to play on their records. When Al didn’t want a job he would just say it would be triple scale and they’d still hire him. The funny thing is the keyboard was not the instrument he had been playing at the time, it was the guitar. So with all these keyboard jobs coming in he decided he needed to work on his keyboard playing, so he joined the Blues Project as their full time keyboard player. After three popular records he left that band to start a new band of his own. In the mean time he worked on organizing the Monterey International Pop Festival as well as getting to perform there and meet some interesting artist like Jimi Hendrix whom he became a good friend with. The new band Al Kooper put together was like no other band that was out there at the time it was Blood, Sweat, and Tears. He only stayed for one record, Child Is Father to the Man, but hey, there is only one direction to go after a masterpiece like that. He took an A&R job at Columbia Records where he made a record with Mike Bloomfield & Stephen Stills called Super Session. Al and Mike had been good friends’ since the first time they met at the Bob Dylan Session for “Like A Rolling Stone”. This became the best selling record of Mike’s career. Later they put out a live record called The Live Adventures of Mike Bloomfield and Al Kooper. Then Al started a solo career with the record I Stand Alone. He was asked to record with the Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix, and George Harrison. Oh, did I mention he discovered Lynyrd Skynyrd and produced their first three albums. I could go on and on, but why do this when you could buy Al Kooper’s autobiography and get the whole story right from Al? The autobiography is called Backstage Passes & Backstabbing Bastards. The book goes into far more detail than I’ve been able to. Al has a great way of telling a story that builds interest and throws in funny little comments too. Be sure you buy this from his website because it’s the newest most up to date version (2008), plus Al will autograph the book.
The real reason we’re here today is because Al Kooper has a new follow up to his record Black Coffee it’s called White Chocolate. When someone has made as many monumental records as Al has, it’s got to be hard for him to keep making better ones. Never the less White Chocolate is full of excellent songs written by Al (and a few covers) with great performances. This record came together in about six months but some of the songs were written many years ago. “Cast the First Stone” had been written about the Nixon administration. Al said after seeing how the Bush administration had run things he felt this song was reverent again. A good funky song is the Booker T. Jones song “I Love You More Than Words Can Say”. Al plays all the instruments on the beautiful song “Calling Card”. Al also said he had demos of all the songs he was going to record with himself playing all the instruments. He sent the demos all band members so they could learn the songs. This shows how into the music he really is. Not only can he write these wonderful songs but he already knows how all the parts should sound, work together, and can play them himself. There is also an interesting version of “It Takes a Lot to Laugh (It Takes a Train to Cry),” a cover that he originally played keyboards for on Bob Dylan’s Highway 61 Revisited LP. Three years later Al and Mike Bloomfield recorded it on the Super Session LP. This version has some nice horns and a saxophone backing the song. We’ve come a long way from Bob’s harmonica playing. Al is a big fan of song writers Goffin & King so on this record he got to write two songs with Gerry Goffin. “You Make Me Feel So Good” and the lovely “No 1 2 Call Me Baby” Al does a really nice job with some heartfelt vocals. He even does a great job on “I (Who Have Nothing)” Al shows on White Chocolate he still can make great music weather the mainstream radio cares to play it or not. If you like the songs in this show please go by Al Kooper’s Website and buy the CD.
Don’t forget to pick up his autobiography Backstage Passes & Backstabbing Bastards it just may be the most enjoyable book you read this summer. Al will even autograph the book and CD for you.
Songs heard in the show:
I Cried So Hard
(I Don’t Know When But) I Know That I’ll Be There Soon
Love Time
You Never Know Til You Get There
Staxability
Ana Popovic (pronounced Ah´nah Pop´o vitch) was born in Belgrade, Serbia; formerly Yugoslavia. Her father had to work hard to get his hands on records by Howlin’ Wolf, Albert Collins, and Stevie Ray Vaughan. You probably remember all this from the interview I did back in Oct of 2008 with Ana. At that time Ana talked about her incredible musical journey and her CD Still Making History. Wow, what a story and what a record. If you missed that you really should go back and listen to that also (click here to go to that show).
Ana has done it again with a record of great music, with lyrics of equal value. Ana said her approach on Blind for Love was as if this would be her last record for some reason. What should she make for her fans to hear? The record’s central theme is love. There are some diversions like “Lives That Don’t Exist,” about the crazy world of Hollywood. For the most part the songs are about love relationships.
The title track “Blind for Love” is about how love is all around us, and we need to take the time to love the ones around us, our family and friends. “Part of Me” is about Ana’s son who’s a little over a year old now and travels on tour with her. Ana said this works out very well because during the day she gets to be with him, then at night when she is doing a concert he’s in bed sleeping. She said “Blues for M” is for someone special in her life. The guitar solo was done while the studio was being set up to record. Everyone liked what Ana did so much that she had to leave the song just the way it was, even though the microphones were not all set up just right.
Like Ana’s last record, Still Making History, the new one Blind For Love has many different styles of music on it. Ana’s gift for creating songs, her intense guitar playing, and wonderful voice make this album amazing. This is the first record she has made with her touring band. They did a great job and must be a real treat to see live. In fact they are on tour of the United States right now and will be doing a European tour next.
Ana will also be doing a cameo, along with Mike Zito, in the upcoming movie Spring Break ’83. There is also a Remix single of two songs from Still Making History. “Between Our Worlds” & “Sexiest Man Alive,” and it only costs $1.95 for the download. These were both highlights of the last record, so a remix is very welcomed. Blind for Love has only been out for a few weeks now but promises to be one of the highs of this year. This CD is available everywhere, so please get out and get your copy so you too can see why everyone is so in love with her music.
Songs in the podcast:
Putting Out the APB
Part of Me (Lullaby for Look)
Lives That Don’t Exist
Blind For Love
Nothing Personal
Thanks to Ana for taking out of her busy day to do this interview.
Thanks as always to Jody Best for all her help in putting everything together, you’re the best.
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Blues Music and Interviews
A1Blues.Com
formerly A1 Artist Spotlight. Com
by A1 Mark
This week you will get to listen to Stoney Curtis of The Stoney Curtis Band tell about his Blues-Rock CD Raw and Real. A powerful band, giving their audience all they’ve got.
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Stoney Curtis is the guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter for the band. Charlie Glover is the powerhouse drummer and Colby Smith is on bass guitar. There are a few guests on the record with the most notable being Art Groom who does a nice job on the Hammond B-3. Mike Varney who produced their last highly acclaimed record, Acid Blues Experience, is back again on Raw and Real.
The record is hard hitting raw blues-rock with influences by Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, and George Thorogood to name a few of the obvious ones. The record kicks off with a blues-rocker called “That’s Right”. Stoney described this as a song about spending too much time in Las Vegas. It’s definitely a song that will get you tapping your foot, as will the next song “Sometimes She Likes Me”. “Behind The Sun” is eight minutes long and has that beautiful dreamy Robin Trower style. You will swear this is Robin Trower from his record Bridge of Sighs or Twice Removed from Yesterday. Stoney said he loves music with emotion, and when he writes a song or performs a song live it’s important for him to believe in the song and convey that feeling or emotion to the audience. “Rain Over Me” is a good example of that. It’s a ballad that The Stoney Curtis Band play every night even though it’s not a blues song. The emotional honesty of “Rain Over Me” is apparent. For some of you who grew up with rock music it’s like when you first heard Bon Jovi play “You Give Love A Bad Name,” then turn around and do the ballad “Wanted Dead or Alive”. You’re just wowed that the Stoney Curtis Band is doing all these good blues-rockers can turn around and write a ballad that’s a real gem. Stoney describes the next song “Love & Money” as being like something blues-rocker Pat Travers would do. Besides being musically good it has clever lyricist about someone we’ve all met before. “Black Rose” is an upbeat blues-rocker with a lot of good guitar going on. As you will hear in the show the real masterpiece is “Blues Without You”. It’s a nine-minute slow burning blues track that everyone who hears it should call his or her radio station to request. This is a must have song on Stoney Curtis Band’s record Raw and Real.
One other thing you need to know is the Stoney Curtis Band is going to be doing a lot of shows in the mid-west of the United States in the next month or so (2009). If you live around Illinois, Iowa, Ohio, Indiana, even Texas, and of course Nevada and California. Be sure to go to their concert. They give it all they’ve got. I know, I saw them raw real and live. Check their MySpace for more information.
Songs heard on this weeks show are all from Raw and Real:
Sometimes She Likes Me
Dirty
Love & Money
Blues Without You
In this week’s show you will hear Debbie Davies talk about growing up in California, where her father was a professional musician. He wrote music for Disney productions, as well as being a vocalist. Mr. Davies also worked with people like Ray Charles and Frank Sinatra. Debbie’s mother was a protégé classical pianist. Needless to say Debbie grew up with a lot of music in the house. When The Beatles came along they got her interested in a different kind if music. At twelve years old her parents got her an acoustic guitar. As you will hear in the show this was not what she wanted. Hearing the British blues-rock bands is what got Debbie interested in the blues. Debbie tried to learn the blues, but it was hard for her with just an acoustic. What made matters worse was the fact that the boys that knew how to play the blues wouldn’t give her any help. In college she finally bought an electric guitar, which she practiced relentlessly, but she still had trouble getting someone to take her seriously.
By the early eighties Debbie was playing in various bands in the San Francisco area. She landed a lead spot in Maggie Mayall and the Cadillacs, an all-female band. They were the opening act for Maggie’s husband’s band, John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers, on his west coast shows. Next in the show you’ll hear Debbie tell about how she got to join the Albert Collins band. Shortly after her time in the Albert Collins band she started releasing solo records. Some of the people that have showed up on past records are Albert Collins, Peter Green, James Cotton, Mick Taylor, Duke Robillard, Coco Montoya, Tommy Shannon and Ike Turner.
Debbie Davies current CD Blues Blast has a strong guest list too. Charlie Musselwhite blows harp while Coco Montoya and Tab Benoit help out on guitar. Besides the four songs you’ll hear in the show, which she wrote or co-wrote, there are some other show stoppers. Coco Montoya and Debbie trade solos on a very good version of “My Time After Awhile”. “Crawling King Snake” is good, but wait till you hear “Sittin’ and Cryin” and “Movin’ & Groovin” both very good, upbeat songs with Charlie Musselwhite giving his all on harp. It’s obvious by hearing this record or most anything else Debbie has done that she is a very under-rated artist that more people should be aware of. Her singing and song writing is good but the guitar playing is really out standing.
One last thing to keep in mind that besides buying this record of Debbie’s you should think about going by her website and buying the two live CD’s she is selling there. Her website is the only place you can buy them and most likely when they are gone they will be gone for ever. These will most certainly become collector items in the very near future.
Songs played in the podcast are:
Where the Blues Come to Dies
Sittin’ and Cryin’
A.C. Strut
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Thanks to Debbie Davies for taking the time to do this interview also thanks to Harley Erickson for setting everything up. You may want to listen to some of Harley’s song’s at her MySpace page too she has some very good music.
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Blues Music and Interviews
A1Blues.Com
formerly A1 Artist Spotlight. Com
by A1 Mark
