Doom & Gloom Dispatch #55: International Disassociation
Aaron Dooley, Gram Parsons & Emmylou Harris, The Velvet Underground & Nico, Matthew Whitaker, Sonic Youth
The International Disassociation Of Aaron Dooley
I’ve had the good fortune to catch Aaron Dooley and co. a couple of times this year — hopefully you have, too! But if not, this record serves as a more-than-worthy substitute. Dooley and his big band expertly walk the line between free-form improv and more intricate compositions, delving deep into psychedelia, spiritual jazz and various fusions thereof. There’s dark, moody stuff alongside more melodic trips, horns and pedal steel meshing wonderfully with shimmery guitar work and strings, all grounded by Aaron’s rich electric bass. But on the final track, “Jamais Vu,” he plays acoustic upright, leading the ensemble into a luminous, loping “Journey In Satchidananda”-style tune that takes everyone into transcendental spaces.
Gram Parsons & The Fallen Angels - Liberty Hall, Houston, Texas, February 24, 1973
Over on Aquarium Drunkard, I wrote up The Last Roundup, a great new dig into the Gram Parsons live archive, capturing a soaring 1973 gig in Philadelphia. Here, we’ve got a rare video of Gram, Emmylou and the Fallen Angels from a few weeks prior — pro-shot and very lively, but murky as can be. Squint and you’ll be able to see some real sparks fly, though.
This Liberty Hall gig is historic! Why? Well, as Gram mentions towards the end, pedal steel maestro Ben Keith is in the audience — he had just backed Neil Young at the Sam Houston Coliseum during the infamous Time Fades Away tour.
What Gram doesn’t mention is that Neil and his-then-opening-act Linda Ronstadt were there as well, and the pair would clamber onstage during the encore for a few tunes. Sadly, there’s no video of that … but I believe this occasion marks the first time that Neil and Linda encountered the force of nature known as Emmylou Harris. I think it’s safe to say they both fell in love.
Linda says: When I met her, I thought, “I would give anything to be able to sing with Emmylou Harris. I wish we could become the Everly Sisters.” Well, she had a singing partner, Gram, and I thought it was a wonderful combination. I remember telling my boyfriend at the time, who was Albert Brooks, that Emmy could sing higher and lower, and louder and softer, and she could phrase a lot better, than I could. She really had country-rock nailed. Country-rock had been my little niche, but I’d been getting pushed very hard to move it more into rock ‘n’ roll. And I said, “She just does this so well, I think I’ll stop fighting this.” Because she just does it better than anybody.
And hey, here’s Fallen Angels / Firefall guitarist Jock Bartley’s memory of the show …
It was the first time Emmylou Harris and Linda Ronstadt ever met or sang together. Neil said, “Hey, I’m having a big party in my hotel suite. Come on over”. So after our gig, three bands, Neil Young’s band, Linda Ronstadt’s band, and Gram Parsons’ band all go over to Neil’s hotel suite and Gram Parsons, like he was want to do, as soon as we got there and the drinking started and the smoking started and we’re carousing in the hotel suite. Gram grabs Neil’s guitar, starts playing 20 or 25 country songs and the most amazing thing was when Emmylou and Linda Ronstadt sat face to face really close to each other and blended their voices together for the very first time, singing to Gram and all his country songs and all of us watching, I mean, it was obviously incredibly magical. But we knew then that it was historic. Linda Ronstadt, Neil, and Emmylou Harris singing together for the first time. To be a fly in the wall at that, that thing was just so amazing.
The Velvet Underground & Nico - “Little Sister” (Live 66)
It’s a Thanksgiving miracle! A previously unheard snippet of the Velvet Underground & Nico playing “Little Sister” sometime in late 1966 … Where did it come from? Is there more of this tape out there? What is the meaning of life? These are questions I don’t know the answers to (I’ve got plenty of theories, of course — is it the same tape as this one, perhaps?!). But for now, let’s just bask in the lo-fi glory of this unexpected treasure. “Little Sister,” which would later appear on Chelsea Girl, is a Reed/Cale co-write that wasn’t known to have been performed live by the VU until now. It’s a silvery slice of lovely chamber pop, Cale’s keyboards leading the way. Let’s hear the rest … pretty please?
Matthew Whitaker Makes Musical Direction Moves
I’ve started doing a little writing for Yamaha! First up is an interview with jazz phenom Matthew Whitaker, who recently debuted as the musical director for a new musical about legendary Duke Ellington collaborator Billy Strayhorn. Super cool stuff — both Whitaker and Strayhorn are fascinating characters. Definitely check out the David Hadju bio Lush Life and dig this very nice Duke/Billy interview from way back in 1946.
Sonic Youth - Fowler's Live, Adelaide, Australia, February 22, 2008
Starting in 2007, Sonic Youth started performing Daydream Nation from start-to-finish — and in early ‘08, the band took the whole thing down under. Though fans (and the band itself) may quibble, the 1988 LP had grown in stature over the years, earning a rep as the band's towering “masterpiece.” My personal opinion changes from day to day as to whether it’s their “best,” exactly ... but my personal opinion is always that Daydream Nation is a fucking sweet album. Right?
In my interview with him a few years back, Steve Shelley talked a bit about how it all came together:
The ATP folks started this thing called Don’t Look Back, where bands would play classic albums live in their entirety. They asked us for a while, “Hey you want to do Daydream Nation?” And the answer was always like, “No thanks” [laughs]. But they kept offering a better and better payday and finally it was like “OK, we’ll do it.” But that meant we had to go back and learn it. The mix of that record is such a mesh of things that we had to remix it and put Thurston in the left side and Lee on the right side so they could learn their distinctive guitar parts. We really had to go back and figure out what exactly we did. It’s weird, but I enjoyed that that process a great deal.
So how does Daydream Nation hold up onstage almost 20 years after it was first unleashed upon the world? Very nicely. As Steve suggests, this is a faithful rendition of the album’s 12 tracks; they’re sticking to the script for the most part (they did not fly out Mike Watt to re-create his grouchy voicemail message on “Providence” though! That would’ve been cool.). But there's a certain magisterial quality to this Adelaide performance; less frantic and feral than it was back in the day, but with an added confidence and style. This is the band that also made Murray St. and Sonic Nurse — and you can sense that SY has figured out how to make Daydream’s transitions and transfigurations ... not exactly smoother, but more elegant? Something like that. I like it, I think you’ll like it, too.
Anyway, I was stuck in traffic around sunset listening to this recording recently and my mind started marveling at the weird collective energy and built-in trust that fuels a freeway. Hundreds, thousands of total strangers somehow in silent agreement (grudging, yes) that, yes, this is how it works, this is the direction we’re headed in. A utopian interstate? Haha, sure. Of course, a traffic jam filled with pollution-spewing vehicles is far from a good thing. But that energy is worth considering, maybe. If we can make such an unlikely system work, imagine what else we could make work, something with far more positive vibrations. What does this have to do with Daydream Nation? No idea. But that was my own little daydream.
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From the Doom & Gloom Archives
Is this the single longest version of “Tonight’s The Night” … ever? Clocking in at just under 35 minutes, it’s the longest one I know of anyway. And it’s a motherfucker, maybe one of the most unhinged things Neil ever did. Kudos to the Chicago crowd for following the whole thing, they seem to be hanging on every note, even singing along to a tune they’d never heard before that night. Were they each given a bottle of Jose Cuervo at the door?
Currently Reading: Brooklyn Crime Novel by Jonathan Lethem
The stories about the post& show party in Neil's suite are amazing. And yeah, where's a taper when you need one!
Looking forward to the super long TTN, thanks!