Doom & Gloom Dispatch #17: Horizons Heretofore Unsighted
Arbor Labor Union, John Cale, Van Morrison, Bonus Tracks, Michael Hurley
The Meat Puppets and the Minutemen shared plenty of bills back in the SST glory days — and Arbor Labor Union’s Yonder feels like a very tasty blend of both of those classic bands’ aesthetics. Maybe if the Puppets and the ‘men had taken a long cross-country drive together listening to nothing but the Allman Brothers’ Eat A Peach? Yeah, maybe. The songs are generally short and sharp, filled with skewed hooks, locked-in rhythms and sweetly helter-skelter twin guitar interplay. Jamming econo, perhaps, but you can imagine ALU stretching things out nicely in a live setting — especially the kraut-country rock radness of “Forevergreen.” Go Yonder!
You’re A Ghost :: John Cale’s Paris 1919, Re-Imagined
John Cale’s undisputed masterwork Paris 1919 was released on February 25, 1973 — so I couldn’t let its 50th anniversary go uncelebrated, could I? Over on Aquarium Drunkard, I put together a “re-imagined” version of the album — covers, live versions, various oddities, a few appearances from Cale himself. A pretty good listen, I think! (If you’re having any trouble with the download over on AD, try this link instead.) The tracks:
“Child’s Christmas In Wales” – Superchunk ++ “Hanky Panky Nohow” – Yo La Tengo ++ “The Endless Plain Of Fortune” – Pontiak ++ “Andalucia” – Mary Lou Lord ++ “Macbeth (Instrumental)” – John Cale ++ “Paris 1919″ – Final Fantasy” ++ Graham Greene (Live 2010)” – John Cale ++ “Half Past France” – Sally Timms ++ “Antarctica Starts Here” – David J ++ “Child’s Christmas In Wales (Live 1979)” – Nico w/ John Cale
Paris 1919 still sounds so great to me, whenever I play it — which is pretty often. I have a distinct memory of buying it as a teenager way back in 1994. My dad and I had been on a road trip in northern California that at some point had us driving through San Francisco. I managed to dig up the address (in the Yellow Pages, maybe?) for Aquarius Records and made my dad drive me there … and Paris 1919 was waiting for me! I’ve loved it ever since. Thanks, dad.
Van Morrison - The Lion’s Share, San Anselmo, California, February 15, 1973 (Early Show / Late Show)
Following up Cale with Van! What do these two guys have in common? That’s easy. Lewis Merenstein produced both of their solo debuts — Vintage Violence and Astral Weeks. That’s pretty good. So, while Cale was prepping Paris 1919 in February 1973, let’s check out what Van was up to at roughly the same time. Meanwhile, back in San Anselmo!
I’ve posted a link to this particular evening before, but it deserves some more attention. For one thing, the tape source here (just uploaded last month) is vastly improved; it comes from KTIM Program Director Clint Weyrauch’s original pre-FM reel-to-reel tapes. For another, back whenever I shared it previously, I didn’t know that the second set features none other than Vince Guaraldi sitting in on piano. Van and Vince don’t break into a windswept version of “Linus & Lucy” here, but let’s just imagine that for a minute.
All these details aside, this Lion’s Share performance is simply fantastic. I don’t know if it was snowing in Anselmo that night, but the vibe in the club is extremely warm, the band grooving mightily, Van digging deep into his vocals. He’s not very gregarious in between tunes (no surprise there), but you can tell he’s having a great time. Some cool rarities here — the long and lovely cover of “Everybody’s Talking” that kicks off the second set is amazing. And the “scat” versions of “Into The Mystic” manage to be both goofy and sublime all at once. Since this is the Lion’s Share, Van has to indulge in an epic “Listen To The Lion” and it doesn’t disappoint, moving from serene gentleness to pure righteous fury, Morrison searching his very soul.
Bonus Tracks, Vol. 1 :: Jerry Garcia, Gram Parsons, David Bowie
As if I don’t have better things to do with my life … a new column over on Aquarium Drunkard! I’m going through my embarrassingly vast compact disc collection to find some of the great bonus tracks of the past 30 odd years.
David Lowery (the Camper van Beethoven/Cracker guy) tweeted recently: “hate reissues with bonus tracks. Breaks up the flow of the album. Lowers the overall quality of the album. CVB did it several times. I let everyone know I thought it was a stupid idea at the time. But that’s what happens when anarcho-syndicalist organizations need money.”
Fair enough. This Bonus Tracks column is a counter-argument; I love this shit. The first entry has some truly awesome stuff in it — a Jerry Garcia/Grateful Dead epic jam, a solo piano demo of one of Gram Parson’s best tunes and a lost Bowie dirge from the Low sessions. How can anyone complain about that, David!?
Michael Hurley - Nelsonville Music Festival, Nelsonville, Ohio, September 3, 2022
It’s always good to remember that national (international? universal?) treasure Michael Hurley is still out there, making the music that only he can make. His last LP, The Time of the Foxgloves on No Quarter, was absolutely great — if you haven’t yet checked it out, you must. You must!
Also worth checking out is this recent open-air gig at the Nelsonville Music Festival, with Snock performing in the rain amidst the sycamore trees. A perfect setting, really! The camera crew does a great job of capturing the scene and gives us some nice shots that highlight Hurley’s guitar work. Does he get enough credit as a guitarist? His playing feels unique and always very cool; he might not be as nimble-fingered as in days gone by, but what he's lost in technique he's made up for with pure soul.
In addition to his solo set at the Nelsonville Music Festival, Michael also popped up with Yo La Tengo for a loose and wondrous version of “The Hog of the Forsaken.” One of the greatest songs of all time? Oh yeah.
From The Doom & Gloom Archives
Lou Reed - Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, February 19, 1994
In 1994, Lou Reed co-starred in Long Island, Gus Van Sant’s underrated indie drama. Lou played Jack, a tough-but-sensitive chef caught up in a bittersweet love triangle with a younger waitress (Jennifer Jason-Leigh) and her abusive boyfriend (David Thewlis). The film won praise for its low-key, melancholic atmosphere, though it failed to make an impact at the box office.
Just kidding, I made all of that up! But here’s this photo, anyway, taken in early 1994 at the Shrine Auditorium, where Lou performed at a benefit show for the Artists Rights Foundation. “The benefits are kinda fun because you get to play some songs for people and be a little looser and not have to do the stuff you’d have to do in an official show,” Lou tells the crowd.
And yeah, this is a pretty unique setlist, packed with rare covers. We get an Elvis medley, an oddball jazzy rendition of Pete Townshend’s “Now and Then,” Brecht & Weill’s “September Song,” Victoria Williams’ “Tarbelly & Featherfoot” and Smoky Robinson’s “Tracks of My Tears.” Best of all, there’s a pounding rendition of “Foot of Pride,” one of the only times Lou played this Dylan deep cut outside of the Bobfest Tribute show in 1992. It’s a killer performance, with Reed relishing every snarling syllable. A feast!
As for Lou Reed songs, we get a few of those, too — nothing too exciting, though the jammed out “Busload of Faith” is a treat. More Lou in ‘94, you say? How about this strange solo electric gig in Italy? Not many examples of Lou completely alone onstage, so it’s worth a watch!
Lou Says (1994): This ability to not stand idle — to take a stance and respond with the steady force of reason and humor — this is not an unimportant talent. And if it were not a talent, all good people would do it, wouldn’t they? There are other things beyond the importance of who sold what, or how many records this or that year. Things such as permanence, and again, integrity, which act as inspiration for musicians, and writers, and even political figures, who are in constant need of examples, of how you live your life without selling your soul and talent to the highest-bidding maven of greed and fame.
Currently Reading: The Passenger by Cormac McCarthy
You really fooled me with that fake Lou Reed movie, my head was spinning for a few seconds until I got to the next paragraph. 😅